Don't Go Outside...II...

Chapters

Macintosh - Life as he knew it
Shadow-Mane - Battle: Cloudsdale
Rainbow Dash | Shadow-Mane - The Sky is Falling.
Shadow-Mane & Company - Variant
The Group - AAAAAAppleloosan Discoveries
The Group - Reminisce, Revenge, and Retaliation
The Train...
The Mare and her Manehatten...
From Her Eyes...
The Great Siege
Redemption (Canon Ending) (Good)
Revenge (Alternative Ending) (Evil)
When the Dust Settles - Epilouge
Prologue - On the first day...
Macintosh - Taking Candy from Strangers...
Author's Notes - Where will we go now?

Macintosh - Life as he knew it

Four Weeks after Ponyville Rescue...

Big Macintosh didn't want to wake up. He would have preferred to stay asleep. Anypony would have wanted to stay asleep on a Monday morning...but he remained awake regardless. He opened his eyes slowly, staring towards the far, cream-colored wall that made up a fourth of his cramped room. Or should he say...'Apartment'...

He grumbled, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling fan that turned rapidly overhead. Some days he wished it would just break...fall from its secure hold on the ceiling and come crashing down onto his unsuspecting head. It would sure be a hell of a lot better than staying in this utter shithole.

He sat up slowly, his eyes drooped and his lips pursed in a grim frown. He looked more angry, or upset, than he did tired. It may that he had been used to restless nights since his stay in Ponyville...or that Twilight was still missing. He knew Applejack was full of shit when she said the unicorn would be back. She could be in danger right now, in need of help! What if she was in need of a rescue, or medical attention!? How could he get to her from behind this 'new' cage he found himself in!

It was simple...he couldn't.

He turned his head slowly, looking over the tight confines of his 'Apartment' carefully. It was a single-room apartment, no bigger then a small kitchen, with a small bed pushed up in one corner of the room with a massive pile of cider bottles in another. There was no bathroom, no living room, not even a closet. A small desk and a tiny lamp rested against one side of the wall, and a dresser took up the other. He cast a disgruntled look towards the digital clock on the nightstand, the gleaming red numbers displaying the time 4:21 A.M.

He sighed, pushing off the covers and getting to his hooves. Another early start...as always. His body seemed to have gotten used to the sleep abuse he was giving himself, waking up at the slightest hint of noise or getting up to start his chores at Sweet Apple Acres.

With a tired groan, Macintosh made his way over to the door, pushing it open with a hoof and stepping out onto the ramparts of the apartment complex. The city of Canterlot looked beautiful at night, with the full moon casting its eerie glow across the marble surfaces of the buildings. The towering pillars of towers were glowing with a hue of midnight blue, cast from the massive shield that covered just about half of the mountain.

How they managed to keep that up...he'd never understand. He was a pony of physical proportions, not magical. He put his hooves up on the railing, looking over and down at the fountain that rested in the courtyard of the 'U' shaped apartment complex. He thought about a lot of things as he stared towards the fountain, his mind and body too bored to do anything else. He couldn't really complain about the apartments...after all, most of the populace of Equestria was flocking to the mountain. Trains came in day and night...although there was a noticeable decrease in their amount as the weeks went by.

That meant that either everypony had saved...or that there wasn't anypony LEFT to save...

In the first week since the shield fell...Macintosh hadn't heard a word about any movements of the infection. But after Applejack and Rarity returned from the royal castle from a meeting with Princess Luna, bad news followed with them. There had been reports of attacks near Hoofington, as well as Phillydelphia. No news of Manehatten or Appleloosa though, not even of Cloudsdale, the city that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had gone to to help with the evacuation...the city everypony referred to nowadays as 'The Hornet's Nest'.

He grimaced, looking up at the moon. Was Twilight up there...watching over him? Was she dead? Was she...one of them? Why couldn't Luna do something...a fancy spell or a search party would be just fine! He sighed, bowing his head and perking his ears to the sounds of a door opening nearby.

"Can't sleep?" came the weary voice of Applejack, the hatless mare rubbing at her eyes as she quietly walked towards her brother from next door.

"Ee-nope..." Macintosh sighed, staring towards the fountain.

"Ah hear ya...it's bout this time that you n' me would be gettin' up to rouse the chickens n' start the buckin'" Applejack replied, a small smile on her face. "Ah miss those times..."

Macintosh nodded slightly, remembering the good times on the farm...back before it was a smoldering, ashen wasteland of burnt trees and grass "Eeyup...ah do to."

Applejack stared out towards the distant shield, wondering how life was for any remaining survivors outside. Were they surviving like they did all those weeks ago? "Ya know..." Applejack sighed "Ah can't wait for all this to get back to normal, ya know?" Big Macintosh looked over at her, an eyebrow raised and a questioning look etched on his face. "Seriously," Applejack said, a defensive tone in her voice "Things always go back to normal eventually, don't matter what the setback is! Just you wait Macintosh...give it a month, maybe two, and we'll be back on Sweet Apple Acres plantin' trees n' makin' cider, just like we used to!"

"You said that about Twilight as well..." Macintosh grumbled, looking back towards the fountain "And we all see how that's working out..."

Applejack frowned, her brow furrowing as she growled "Hey now, ah said she'll be back, and ah mean it! Ah'm the Element o' Honesty Mac, ah wouldn't lie bout that!"

Macintosh stayed silent, not bothering to push it further. It wasn't worth it...not right now at least. He turned his attention back to the sleeping city, taking a moment to look up at the shield and mutter "How do they keep that shield up Sis?"

"Hmm?" Applejack asked, looking up at the shield as well "Oh the shield? Luna's got some kinda crystal thingy or what not powerin' the sucker. Ah don't get any of that magic mumbo jumbo, ya know that."

"Your sure that'll keep em out?" Macintosh whispered, his eyes centering on a single spot of the shield.

"Yeah...why do you a- oh..." Applejack began but suddenly stopped, looking up to where he was. A Pegasus Afflicted was hovering over the shield, buzzing around a single spot like a vulture circling its prey. Blood and saliva dripped from the diseased pony, sizzling and disintegrating against the magical barrier. "Huh...well ah'll be" Applejack whispered in awe "One of em actually made it up here. Well there's yer answer Macintosh, as long as we're in here, and they're out there, we're safe."

Macintosh scoffed as the Afflicted flapped away, flailing about in the air as it struggled to stay airborne. "Yeah..." he grumbled "That's how it all went for Ponyville to...we all saw how long that one stayed up..."

Applejack groaned, facehoofing and throwing a glare towards her brother "Would you cut that shit out Macintosh? Try some optimism for once, for fuck sakes! Yes, the shield around Ponyville went n' fell, yes, it could very well happen to this one to! Am I worried about it!? NO! Ah have faith in Luna's hocus pocus n' the strength of The Lunar Guard! Try letting the sun through the clouds sometime Mac, you'll feel better."

She sighed, looking at his distraught expression and scooting closer to him, pulling him into a side-hug. "It's gonna be fine Macintosh...ok? Ah promise it's gonna be ok. Ah swear it on mah status as the Element o' Honesty."

"Ah believe you..." Macintosh whispered, nuzzling the top of his sister's head "Ah always do...go on, get back to bed. Ah'll wake you when the morn' comes round."

Applejack nodded and gave her brother one final squeeze around his middle before turning on her hooves and heading back to her room. "Macintosh?" she called out as she reached the door, drawing the workhorse to look over and raise an eyebrow. The country mare put a hoof against the door, looking at him with concern for a moment before giving him a small smile and whispering "Ah love you...goodnight, and get some sleep for Luna's sake."

Macintosh smiled, nodding to her and whispering back "Ah love you too Sugarcube, g'night."

He waited until his sister had gone back into her apartment before turning and walking down the concrete ramparts of the building. Some air...yeah...some air would do him good.

~*~

Macintosh sat quietly in Canter-trot Park, laying out on one of the wooden benches in the center of the wooded area. A small central fountain trickled quietly with the sound of flowing water, adding a sense of calm to the area. A port in the storm...as it were. He chuckled, thinking back on the old refuge he and the others had in Ponyville, right across the street from Twilight's Library. The nights where he huddled close with the mares and Spike, keeping each other warm and company in the darkest of times. The times where he and Carrot Top cracked bad jokes...before she was beheaded in the streets. Or the time where Junebug made him the best bowl of canned soup in the world for him...right before she went crashing out of the house and into the hooves of the Afflicted.

He sighed, snuggling up on his belly and staring into the trees. Fireflies fluttered and floated about in a peaceful, graceful light show. It was so cold out...cold without his dear Twilight...cold in his heart, with no lavender unicorn to share it with.

"A beautiful night, is it not?" whispered a voice from the darkness, causing Macintosh to jump from the bench, standing at full alert as the sound of hooves against cobblestone drew closer. "Be at peace, dear Macintosh...I meant you no fright."
Macintosh turned his head towards the sound of the voice, his tension immediately subsiding as a flowing mane of stars caught his eyes. He knelt slowly as Princess Luna stepped out into the moonlight, her eyes weary but twinkling with energy. She held out a hoof out and whispered "Oh Macintosh, you need not kneel...come, rise. What brings you to the park so early in the morning?"

He rose and let his eyes wander over her, the fitting of her lunar armor, the black metal of her tiara, the bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Seemed to be an unpopular trend going around...ponies losing sleep. Then again, with the way things were in today's day and age, who wouldn't lose it? "Milady" Macintosh breathed "Ah hope ah'm not intrudin'...just needed some air."

Luna smiled, her mane flowing quietly behind her as she said "Worry not dear, it is technically the middle of the day for me and I needed a quiet stroll myself. A break from all the dreaded worries and concerns of the kingdom." The stallion nodded as Luna motioned towards the bench, her royal hoof-shoes making soft 'clinks' against the ground. "Come, sit with me" she whispered, moving towards the bench.

The two of them sat, staring into the trees for a good long while, silence wrapping around them. Macintosh couldn't complain, despite all the questions he had for her, sometimes a good silence was therapeutic for those under stress. Considering Luna was facing the total loss of all of Equestria and the loss of her sister's sanity...Macintosh could tell that her stress was more than likely extreme.

For several more minutes the two of them sat, watching the fireflies floating about, and then Luna spoke "So Cloudsdale has fallen..."

Macintosh blinked in surprise at the Princesses sudden outburst, looking over at Luna whose smile had faded slightly "What about all the ponies still livin' there?" Macintosh whispered "Miss Dash n' Miss Shy?"

"On their way back, I believe" Luna muttered, rubbing at her forehead gently "Shadow-Mane reports that around seventy or so survivors have made it..."

Macintosh frowned as he heard this, whispering quietly "How...many ponies originally inhabited Cloudsdale?"

"Over two thousand" Luna muttered, looking up at the star-filled sky. "How did it all come to this Macintosh?"

"What do you mean Princess" Macintosh asked, shifting his weight on the bench.

Luna sighed, staring across the various constellations she had often called her 'paintings'. "Four months ago," she began "I was studying modern Equestrian Politics. Three months ago I was keeping the throne warm for my sister as she went about trying to savagely murder two entire races in Equestria. One month ago I turned Canterlot into a fortress and a refugee camp." She shook her head, looking over at the work horse and whispering "How...how did it all come to this? How did we let it get this bad?"

Macintosh shook his head, sighing "Ah don't know Princess...all ah know is that this is the present. We can't change the past....but we can change what happens in the future. As long as we do our best to keep our loved ones alive...we'll all have a good future."

The princess nodded, putting a hoof on his shoulder and whispering "Thank you Macintosh."

"For what?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"For keeping me company." Luna muttered "It is good to have a relaxing talk with somepony from time to time."

Macintosh chuckled as he replied "Not to sound disrespectful princess but...ah hardly think anypony is gonna have any time to relax with the danger that's lurkin' just outside ya'lls big shield...thingy. That and...well ah wish ah had a certain sompeony's company right now..."

"Twilight Sparkle..." Luna whispered, drawing a slight wince out of Big Macintosh "You miss her..."

Macintosh sighed "She hasn't come back still...ah don't know if she's alive or dead out there...how can anypony survive out there?"

"You did." Luna pointed out, giving him a tender smile "So did Rarity and Applejack, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Even Pinkie Pie and the Cake's twins who now reside in the Royal Quarter of Canterlot Castle. She makes an excellent dessert specialist...top of the line foods." The two of them shared a chuckle as Luna went on "Think about who you're worried about dear. Of course you should be worried...but do not forget that this is the same mare who, forgive me if I miss a few things...defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, led Cerberus back to Tartarus, and defeated Princess Celestia herself. I do not thing she would let a few diseased ponies get in her way."

She could see that some of the worry had dissipated, but not all. She gave him a light nudge and made sure that he was looking him in the eye before she spoke "I have The Lunar Guard searching for her night and day Macintosh, from Ponyville to Manehatten. It's hard, of course...with the monsters out there, but I have them search regardless. If she's out there, we'll find her, ok?" Macintosh nodded as Luna got up, her smile fading fully as she looked up towards the castle and said "I thank you for the company Macintosh...I'm afraid I must depart. The sun will require its...service soon. Good day." With a nod from the stallion, Luna took off, leaving him alone with the fireflies.

As soon as she was gone, he scoffed, shaking his head and laying back down on his belly on the bench. Searching night and day...searching for her...yeah, bullshit. The Lunar Guard had their hooves full with survivors and fighting The Afflicted to deal with a search and rescue, regardless of who the target was. Hell, he'd be out there looking for her himself it that damn shield wasn't in the way. He groaned, putting his front hooves over his eyes. He felt so useless, stuck in this stupid little cage. Sometimes he felt like the protections were reversed...that he was trapped inside rather than The Afflicted outside.

With no choice in the matter, Macintosh rolled over on his back and stared at the stars...watching as the orange tint of the morning began to stretch and glow across the sky. What could he do, trapped in this place? What could he do to help Twilight, help Equestria? What the hell was he even supposed to be doing? Living? Walking? Sitting in his apartment waiting for nothing to happen?

He couldn't do anything.

Nothing except sit on his fat, stallion ass and wait.

It was official...life as he knew it, was completely over.

But if it was over...what would happen now? What would he do? He shuddered at the thought...

Shadow-Mane - Battle: Cloudsdale

Later that morning...

"Everyone is out...?"
"Yes Captain!"
"Assemble the others...it's time."

The Air-Docks of Canterlot were an interesting thing to see, according to tourists. A sort of 'ship-yard' if you will, but more air-based than anything. Balloons, zeppelins, air-boats, chariots and their many varieties. All housed in a gigantic warehouse situated next to long wooden piers suspended in the air, anchored to the mountain with several supports. While in past times the Air-Docks were used for convenient trading and tourism...the drums of war were beating, and the Air-Docks ferried soldiers instead of civilians.

It was on one of these long piers that a calm looking Captain Shadow-Mane sat, his yellow eyes fixated on the far horizon. His wings were restless, fluttering at his side slightly in anticipation. If he wasn't a veteran, he would have said it was out of nervousness...but no, merely eagerness. Eagerness to get out into the sky, to dive, to soar....to fight. It would be his tenth combat drop this month, more action then he had ever seen in his entire military career. Sure there were a few skirmishes to be had here and there...a rebellion, a police action....but this. This wasn't any simple war. No...it was much more personal this time.

It was Cloudsdale....his home.

Behind them, a flurry of activity was taking place. The docks swarmed with Pegasai who ran about, checking and rechecking gear and making sure the Air-Boats and chariots were ready to go. The Air-Boats looked like any ship you'd see in the water...only fitted with some internal, magical crystals imbued with a levitation spell, and slightly less sails. Quite ingenious, if you had an extended knowledge in that sort of arcane knowledge. Shadow-Mane remembered that day and scoffed, thinking back on his Arcaneium 101 classes. Those crystals were life savers...the only known piece of rock able to be charged and manipulable with magic.

He turned his to watch the preparations at hoof, watching as several of the Pegasai were fitted with small, metallic frames on their back. They flapped their wings comfortably through the slits of the frame, the buckles of the harness attached to it being buckled around their belly.

Shadow-Mane scoffed, looking back forward towards the horizon. Ah yes...another weapon of war for the Pegasus ponies who were helpless in combat while flying. Shadow-Mane often had never seen the use for them...but I guess somepony got tired of lugging around unicorns in a chariot for any sort of ranged combat. From behind, one of The Lunar Guard heaved up a long, metal sort of contraption. It consisted of a small box with a long barrel on the end of it, with two sort of metal arms dangling from the side that had a hoof shaped cover on the ends of them, like shoes. The contraption was fitted onto one of the metal frames worn by the other soldiers, the sounds of clicking indicating it had been secured. After the box and barrel were fitted, the pony wearing the frame fit his hooves into the metallic shoes attached to the arms, flexing slightly and getting used to their feel.

'A simple device...', Shadow-Mane thought, his eye looming and looking towards the rear. 'A case of bullets loaded into the metal box...a heavy push forward with your hooves...and the rifle goes kaboom...' Sure it added a weight issue...but after wearing it for so long, you learned to get used to it. They called it a 'Wing-Cannon'...but he preferred the title 'Pain in the Fucking Ass'.

"Captain, I've got your rig!" said a voice, one familiar to the Captain.

"Bring it here Nightfire...let's do this quick." Shadow-Mane sighed, turning to face the other Pegasus who was trotting up to him with a Wing-Cannon of his own on his back, pulling a disassembled cannon in a wagon behind him. Shadow-Mane had often admired Nightfire's spirit, the colt willing to do just about anything for his fellow pony or his Captain. He often remembered the times when Nightfire had saved his flank, always keeping an eye out for danger that that everypony else may have missed. Careful and precise, but humorous and likeable...just the kind of soldier Shadow-Mane needed.

The Captain said nothing as Nightfire fitted the Wing-Cannon across his back, checking its cleanliness and functionality. There was no use in having a gun if you couldn't even fire it. "Nightfire..." Shadow-Mane suddenly said, looking up into the sky.

"Sir?" Nightfire replied, fitting the metal box and cannon onto the frame.

"Do you ever get scared before a drop, or any kind of mission that you know will combat?" Shadow-Mane muttered, his eyes vacant of emotion.

"Course, you'd be an idiot not to sir" Nightfire replied, opening up a small panel on the back of the cannon. "I always get scared. The possibility of dying up there is always constant...but as long as you watch your back and your buddies, everypony will go home at the end of the day."

"Good words Nightfire..." Shadow-Mane whispered as Nightfire slid a metal box of ammo into the slot located in the cannon box, closing it up tight and giving it a few taps with his hoof. He then proceeded to pull a large, blue-colored knife in a sheath off the table nearby, strapping it to the Captain's leg. He also handed him his pair of flight goggles, stringing them around his neck.

"Course sir, all ready to go!" came the Seargent's gleeful cry, the Pegasus sitting on his haunches next to the Captain.

The two of them were quiet for a moment, simply staring out into the horizon before Nightfire spoke up. "Captain...," he began "Are you scared?"

Shadow-Mane didn't answer right away, letting the words sink in along with the sounds of groaning wood and metallic clanking. "Yes, Nightfire, I'm scared." He finally replied "But I'm more angry than anything. Angry and eager..."

"Because of Cloudsdale sir?" Nightfire whispered.

Shadow-Mane nodded and muttered "Indeed...I may not be a pony of many emotions...but you know how soft I get when I start thinking about home..."

Nightfire put a hoof on his shoulder as the commanding shouts of other Captains and Seargent's filled the air. "We'll take it back Captain...we will!" He whispered as he got to his hooves, the roars of the soldiers growing louder and louder.

"Onto the ships!!!"

"Move it up! Get on board!"

"Fall in! FALL IN!!!"

The two got to their hooves, turning and clambering forward with their weapons. They moved towards one of the filling Air-Boats, climbing the wooden ramp upwards and onto the ship. After finding an empty spot on the deck, Shadow-Mane lifted his hoof and shouted as Nightfire sat on his haunches next to him.

"Shadow Company, over here! Form up on me! Moon-Lance, Sky-Driver, Wind-Weaver, over here!"

Several ponies moved out of the steadily moving line in front of the Air-Boat, clambering aboard quickly and moving over towards the Captain. They all snapped to attention and gave him a proper salute as the rest of The Lunar Guard swarmed onto the other ships. "Listen up..." Shadow-Mane growled, his eyes narrowing in determination. "We've done these drops before, we all know the drill. They don't have guns so they can't shoot back, but they will swarm so keep a steady eye on your ass, got it?" The ponies nodded, jumping slightly as the Air-Boat gave a lurch forward, floating towards the shield.

"Open er' up!" came the shout of somepony at the head of one of the boats, the blueish shield dissipating in a large section on the side. Guns were cocked and aimed towards the hole, unicorn crew members doing the same with their horns. They couldn't afford to let anything get through as they got out...they couldn't let the last stand fall. It was a tense set of minutes as the Air-Boats passed through the hole, and as they did, the shield quickly reformed behind them. As the shield closed up behind them, Shadow-Mane grimaced and looked at the passing mountains.

It was funny...the common joke around some of the guards had been a friendly mockery of the rules many Ponyville Citizens lived by during their imprisonment three months ago. 'Don't go outside!!!' they often hissed, watching as the boats or soldiers left Canterlot. The Captain couldn't really blame them...just being outside the shield made him feel dirty.

"All right..." Shadow-Mane grumbled "Dismissed...take some time for yourselves...get loose, get comfy." His squad nodded, dispersing quietly to attend to their own business. Prayers, letters to home in case the battle left them no longer amongst the living...or one of them.

There we no letters to be had from Shadow-Mane...he had no family. The last of his kin, The Captain did not waste time with such trivial matters. He was too busy for love...too bloody for comfort. War was his mare, and he fucked her like a plow would a field. Prayers though...were not beyond him. He walked quietly to the port side of the ship, kneeling slightly and closing his eyes. His words were quiet, a hushed whisper as he prayed to Luna.

"My Lunar Princess...watch over me this day. Watch over my soldiers...let them come home. If a pony needs to die today, let it be me. Guide my aim, guide my blade, guide my spirit. Let my wings carry me forward once more into the fray, and into my once cherished home. Please...allow it to be this day...the day I atone for all my sins. In the Moon's name, I pray to you my Princess, Amen."

Minutes passed at first...then hours...and then finally...

He stood up as the first of the Captain's shouted "Form up! Prepare to drop!". Shadow-Mane quickly waved a hoof in his air, signaling his ponies to move towards the side of the ship. Ponies flocked to the wooden railings of the air-boats, getting into formation and turning their flanks towards the open sky. "Just like scuba-diving" one Pegasus said, drawing a chuckle out of his friend.

Shadow-Mane took his position next to Nightfire and grimaced, getting his mind as battle-ready as he could. He knew what he was going to be facing down there...he always did. The words from the others weren't helping him at all however...

"You hear what they say about Dale?"

"Whole fucking place is a diseased hornet's nest now..."

"Yeah, and we're about to buck the shit out of it..."

"How many they get out again?"

"Around seventy something I heard..."

"Leaves about...two thousand plus?"

"Oh shit...there's that many?"

"Ah fuck it, Phillydelphia had more"

"Wait, Philly was hit!?"

"Shit wasn't that one of the last cities to go?"

"Poor bastards...maybe we'll get to drop there too."

"Quiet..." Shadow-Mane growled towards his right, looking at the watch that wrapped around his hoof, opposite of his knife.

Thirty Seconds...

"Red Signal, drop is in standby! Thirty Seconds to wing-off!" Shadow-Mane barked to his ponies, the other Captains mimicking his words to their own squads.

This was it...the calm before the storm. Already he could hear the crackle of magic from below as the Air-Boats and chariots combated their soaring assailants, distracting them from the drop crews.

Twenty Seconds...

"Yellow Signal! Prepare to Drop! Safety's off!" Shadow-Mane shouted, twisting his right hoof and pulling backwards, making the metal arm push up against a switch marked 'Safety'. Clicks were heard all around as the cannons were armed, a small machine inside the box loading a round.

This was it...this was the end...once more into the fray...into the clear blue skies...into the beautiful ocean of air.

Ten Seconds....

"Stand by!!! STAND BY!!!!" Shadow-Mane barked, pushing a whistle in his mouth that Nightfire had handed to him, flicking his flight goggles down at the same time.

5....

4....

3...

2...

1....

"FOR CLOUDSDALE!" Roared The Lunar Guard, whistles blowing shrilly in the air. "Green Light! DIVE DIVE DIVE!" Shouted the Captains, the ponies standing on the side of the railing leaning backwards and falling through the air. Captain Shadow-Mane sucked in a breath as he stood on his back hooves, extending his front hooves outwards and letting himself fall back. Seconds became years as he slowly let out a tired breath, his mind as free and clear as it would ever be that day.

He fell through the air with his fellow soldiers, his eyes open and staring downwards into the chaotic hell they were diving into.

Cloudsdale...the very city he grew up in...was in utter chaos. Bolts of magic flew this way and that, the tracers of bullets visible in the air. The city itself looked to be in utter ruin, with swarms of Afflicted rushing through the air. "Shadow Squad, break formation and form attack pattern Omega! On me, now!" Shadow-Mane roared over the wind, fanning out his wings and banking sharply to the right. His squad of four quickly followed from behind, forming into a V-shaped pattern of ponies.

All around, the rest of the mass broke off, forming their own units and squads and soaring down towards the city of white. "Clear the skies and prepare a landing zone! We need to secure the middle square for the unicorns!" came the order from Shadow-Mane, the group angling their front hooves in preparations to push them forward and open fire. A group of ten afflicted Pegasai had turned from the main swarm, their eyes gleaming with the color of red and their snarls echoing across the air currents. "Single out your targets, do not panic and steady your aim!" Shadow-Mane commanded, looking up at the cannon over his head and aiming it carefully with a slight adjustment of his body.

As the Afflicted drew closer, Shadow-Mane waited until he could see cutie-marks before shouting "OPEN FIRE!!!" His ears rang as his and his other squad-mates' cannons went off. Five Afflicted went down with bullets, their bodies falling out of their swarming formation and tumbling down through the air. Shadow-Mane pulled back his front hooves and the machine clicked, shooting out the bullet casing. He threw them back forward with a heaving push, firing off another round which struck home. All but one of the Afflicted remained, and he had come too close for rifle fire.

"I've got him!" Nightfire roared, banking hard to the left and doing a barrel roll as he pulled his leg-knife out with his teeth. He caught the Afflicted in mid-air, falling back behind the squad as they surged forward. Shadow-Mane took a glance back and watched as Nightfire gutted the Afflicted in the throat, shoving him away with a buck and re-sheathing his blade. With a quick surge of his wings, Nightfire was already well on his way to catching up. As the group got lower, the streets of Cloudsdale opened up to them. A large section had been blocked off, with Pegasai trying their best to barricade and cut off the streets while defending their overhead position.

"Down there!" Shadow-Mane barked, pointing with a hoof towards the middle of the barricades were several Lunar Guard were already holding the line. Shadow Squad dove quickly, coming down with a quick landing as they galloped forward with momentum onto the ground. "Form up! Secure the perimeter and prepare to move out!" Gunfire rang out everywhere as bodies fell from the sky, tumbling towards the ground far below.

Afflicted rained down from the sky in troves, with bullets meeting them halfway. "SHOOT UP! SHOOT, UP!" Roared Shadow-Mane who reared back on his hooves, aiming his cannon upwards and firing. Afflicted fell around their hooves, but it still wasn't enough to thin the horde that was slowly building up in numbers. "Take cover! Get into the alleys!"

Shadow Squad rushed into one of the alleys between the cloud buildings, hunkering down and aiming their cannons towards the entrance. As Afflicted landed on the street, they were quickly dispatched by the ambushing squad...but the numbers still did not let up. "Fucking hell!" Moon-Lance screamed "There may as well be two MILLION of em'!"

"Shut up and get your head in the fight Lance!" Wind-Weaver barked, gunning a bullet into one of the Afflicted's eyes.

For two minutes the slaughter continued, bodies piling higher and higher in the street. It wasn't until a charred body fell that Shadow-Mane shouted "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" With careful hoof movements, Shadow Squad slowly made their way towards the front of the entrance, looking up and taking a moment to stare in horror and awe.

"Holy shit..." Nightfire wheezed, putting a hoof over his mouth.

All around, unicorn's in pulled chariots used their combine magic to ignite and launch fire through the skies. Flame and molten fire was thrown about the sky, crashing into several swarms of the diseased ponies. "Oh that's just sick..." Moon-Lance groaned, his stomach heaving.

"Better them then us" Sky-Driver grumbled, shifting the weight of Wing-Cannon to his left side.

"Alright cut the chatter" Shadow-Mane grumbled "Let's get moving to the main district. The sooner we take Cloud Square, the sooner we can establish a forward command and get the 'Cloud-Crete' crystals up here." The Cloud-Crete crystals...just another twist of unrestricted magic...a crystal with a powerful aura enough to allow unicorns and earth ponies to walk on clouds as they would the ground.

It was the only way they could properly secure Cloudsdale...the only way to save it, despite the many arguments that Shadow-Mane threw towards the subject. The crystals were still a fresh form of new magic in Equestria...they were too unpredictable. If that crystal suddenly decided to shit out on them...they were going to have to find quite a few more body bags to pick up all the broken unicorns strewn about on the ground below Cloudsdale.

"Alright...let's get moving" Shadow-Mane muttered, moving up the street quickly with his squad. It had only been ten minutes since Shadow-Mane first dove backwards out of the Air-Boat...and it'd be another two days until Cloudsdale could be taken...considering everything went well.

With the lines drawn and the blood raining down from the sky, The Lunar Guard began their vicious struggle to retake the sky.

The Battle for Cloudsdale, had begun.

Rainbow Dash | Shadow-Mane - The Sky is Falling.

"If there anything in Equestria that I enjoyed...it sure as hell wouldn't be more enjoyable then flying. The wind through my mane, the crackle of thunder beneath my hooves as I skirt by the thunder clouds near the Rainbow Factory, the cheering of all the ponies in the Cloudsdale Arena when I do my amazing stunts. It was all such a simpler time back then...back when flying was so enjoyable..."

"Rainbow Dash! Twelve o'clock high! GET THOSE PONIES MOVING!"

"Now...I'm not so sure..."

Rainbow Dash barrel rolled out of the way to her left, letting out a sharp gasp and a squeak as an afflicted soared right through the air that she only just occupied a second before. Like an arrow the afflicted flew, hellbent on cracking Rainbow's spine with a single collision. A crude...yet effective tactic, crippling your foe and waiting until it hit the ground before stomping out the rest of the remains.

The cyan Pegasus righted herself quickly, looking to her left and checking over the small convoy of three large chariots that were being pulled by The Lunar Guard. She was circled all around by other Guards in an 'Atom' formation, taking potshots and swipes at any Afflicted who got too close. From the chariots, a panicked cry echoed out across the sky, a mare's cry. An Afflicted had broken through the formation, darting straight for one of the survivors.

Rainbow Dash swore as she veered to the left, trying her best to reach the chariot in time. Alas...the wind was against her today, the currents reducing her speed and forcing her to watch in despair as the Afflicted took a chunk out of the Mare's cheek with a quick, savage bite before being blasted in the head by a quickly-aimed shot by one of the Lunar Guard. "PUSH HER OUT!" Shrieked Rainbow Dash as the bitten mare began to squeal and holler in pain. The other four survivors who took up the rest of the chariot were frozen in fear, their wide-eyed expressions locked on the mare who was writhing on the floor of the golden vessel. Rainbow gave two hard beats of her wings, pushing herself through the difficult current and towards the chariot, her mouth opening and closing quickly on a large chunk of the mare's tail.

She tilted her wings against the wind, 'hitting the breaks' as her speed slowed and the chariot pushed forward. The mare was dragged quickly out of the chariot as Rainbow Dash released her tail, sending the mare tumbling down through the air. No more than five seconds had passed until the mare gave a violent lurch in midair and spread out her wings, her gleaming red eyes snapping up and locking on Rainbow Dash's. She gave a great howl of rage and flapped her wings rapidly, pushing herself back up. Rainbow let out a sharp gasp and quickly barked to one of the guards in front of her "SIX O'CLOCK LOW!" The guard turned his attention downwards, narrowing his eyes and dipping his body forward. His form turned as he somersaulted forward, his wing-cannon lining up a shot and firing.

The mare took the round in the neck, the bullet exiting out through her spine. Her wings fell limp instantly and with it, her body. With a grimace, Rainbow Dash forced herself to look away from the tumbling body. "Dammit...." she swore to herself "How many more will I have to lose?"

It was only by the stupidity of her own choice that had caused Rainbow Dash to return to Cloudsdale. She was supposed to be on a simple recon mission towards the Everfree Forest...but the amount of pony-power needed in the Battle of Cloudsdale was greater then had been previously predicted. When she passed by the first assault group on her way out of Canterlot, she had heard their target was Cloudsdale...and thought that since it was her hometown, then she had at least deserved a right to try and fight for it.

Yeah...some idea that was.

When she had arrived, shrieks and roars and blood were all that was left of the city. It was like watching a pissed off swarm of bees circle a hive of white, with a massive swarm of Lunar Guard diving down from Air-Boats high up in the sky. Many hours had passed since the Battle of Cloudsdale had begun...and already the situation looked grim. The numbers of Afflicted kept growing and growing and growing since the beginning of the operation, the fighting and chaos drawing them all in like a moth to flame. Rainbow Dash looked back towards the city as the sun moved into its evening position.

With a shuddering breath, Rainbow turned her head back forward and continued onwards with the rest of the rescue group. Like ripping off an old band-aid...the faster she got away from Cloudsdale...the faster the pain of losing it would go away.

~*~ Shadow-Mane ~*~

"Hours....hours that feel like days....days that feel like years....years that feel like centuries."

"HOLD THE LINE, GODDESSES DAMMIT IT ALL HOLD!"

"How much longer must this go on...? Why does this have to go on? It's not fair...it's just....not....fair...."

"Fall back!!! FALL BACK!!!!!"

"Can I die now....please?"

Captain Shadow-Mane swore as he heaved his Wing-Cannon off of his back, his last shell spent. He charged forward towards an oncoming Afflicted, each delivering to the other a savage roar and a look of utter rage. What the Afflicted didn't see coming however, was the sudden leap the Captain made, the colt 'leap-frogging' over the ravaged pony towards another behind it. With a quick draw of his knife in midair, Shadow-Mane landed and swung his blade with a quick whip of his head. The second afflicted took the blade across the neck, going down quickly as the Captain turned to face his first attacker. The Afflicted colt stopped, turning quickly to charge back. With a brace and a kick of its hind-legs, the Afflicted dove towards the Captain...only to be blasted away by a sudden impact to its side. Shadow-Mane turned his head towards a panting Nightfire, his dark mane matted with sweat and his eyes wide and panicked.

The two nodded towards each other, regrouping in the square with the rest of Shadow-Squad. The main center of the city, Wind Square, had been turned into more of a last stand then an actual command post. Tiny cloud-walls, like sandbags, had been erected around the large perimeter, with little more than fifty Lunar Guard fighting hoof and nail for every square inch of cloud they took up. Reinforcements weren't coming...everyone had been cut off from one another...and more and more Afflicted were arriving by the second. The Cloud0-Crete Crystal had been set up in the middle of the square, its purplish aura pulsing outwards and providing a stable ground for the Unicorns to walk upon. Magic bolts and fire lit up the sky and square as five unicorns surrounded the tiny pillar the crystal was situated on, their flanks towards the pulsing gem.

It was as if they had flown into a trap...and were paying for it with their lives.

"Ninety-Nine Wind-Weaver!!!! And you can suck my- ONE HUNDRED, YES!!" Moon-Lance hollered in delight, firing off another round of his Wing-Cannon, felling yet another Afflicted who came dive-bombing towards them.

"Fucking cheater!" Wind roared back, his front hooves moving back and forth quickly as he launched round after round towards the swarms above.

"Can you both quit that shit!?" Sky-Driver screamed, bucking backwards and catching an Afflicted in the throat "Focus on FIGHTING, not some stupid ass score!!!"

"Ah don't be such a sore loser Sky!" Moon laughed, firing off another round into the fray.

Two more Lunar Guard fell to the Afflicted, their allies nearby quickly turning and putting a bullet in their fallen comrades heads before turning back towards the chaos. Just in-case they changed....risks could not be taken. "Dammit this isn't getting us anywhere!!!" Sky-Driver cried, ripping off his own Wing-Cannon as his ammunition ran out, his teeth clamping over the handle of his leg-knife and pulling it free.

"We've got to try!" Nightfire hollered, bucking in an Afflicted's face while swinging the barrel of his Wing-Cannon into another in front of him.

From behind Shadow Squad, Shadow-Mane pointed his hoof in every which direction, hollering and barking orders as fast and as loudly as he could "Reinforce the right! Theta Squad, twelve o'clock high! Nightfire, put more pressure on that street there! Magis Team, I need more FLAMETHROWERS!" The screams of the Afflicted and their death cries were loud as they were numerous...but as the minutes dragged by...they were slowly being replaced by those of the Lunar Guard. Ponies begun to fall left and right, the lines being pushed further and further back by the increasing waves of Afflicted.

Forty Lunar Guard....

Thirty....

Twenty....

"CAPTAIN!!!" Nightfire screamed, his hooves carrying him faster then the wind as he watched an Afflicted push Shadow-Mane onto his back, the Captain pushing on his enemy's belly and doing his very best to keep the lethal creature at bay. Nightfire dove with a savage roar, tackling the beast off of his commanding officer and quickly gutting it in the neck.

"Ah DAMMIT!" Moon-Lance swore "I fucking lost count! Was that two hundred?! SHIT!"

A tight circle is all that remained of the Lunar Guard, the Afflicted towering high above them and circling them like a tornado, creating a cyclone of bodies and ravaged flesh. Shadow-Mane gave a loud cough and pushed himself back up to his hooves, nodding to Nightfire who had just finished looking over him for any injury. "Gentlecolts...." Shadow-Mane began, looking up into the oblivion of diseased ponies "I believe our time has come...."

Sky-Driver threw off his Wing-Cannon, unsheathing his own blade and backing up with the rest of the Lunar Guard. A ring of twelve ponies remained, with five Unicorns standing in the middle...marking a final number of seventeen defenders in all. "Well...we're fucked..." Sky grumbled, staring into the thick wall of Afflicted that surrounded them, watching as the invaders crept slowly towards them from all sides.

"At least we'll go down fighting..." Wind-Weaver scoffed, his eyes darting to the left and right, his brain drawing up every single close-quarters-combat maneuver he knew.

Shadow-Mane turned towards the Unicorn's, his eyes shifting from them to the crystal as he asked "Can you still overload it?"

One final act of rebellion on his part...his refusal to go down without taking as many as he could with him. The only fail-safe to the potential failing of a crystal...overloading it and destroying it with an intense, magical explosion...the magnitude dependent on the amount of magic poured into it.

"Of course...how big of an explosion do you need?" asked one of the hooded Unicorns, the rest of the Lunar Guard gulping and muttering quick, final prayers to their family and Luna.

"As big as you can give...in the quickest amount of time possible." Shadow-Mane answered, turning his glare back towards the masses before him "We'll give you as much time as we can..." He cleared his throat and barked to the remaining Guards that stood with him "Seems this is it! Remember your duty, and remember who you're fighting for! Though we die here today, our memory will live on in eternity! We died fighting for Equestria and her ponies! We fought against the odds of impossibility, and butted heads with the reaper of death, daring him to come after us! Let us dare a little further! Look your enemy in the eyes as you draw your last breath, and hold with them a gaze of the darkest malice you can conjure! If it's our time to go...then let's see if we can use what little time we have left to beat Moon-Lance's high score, and die fighting for the future of Equestria! TO BATTLE!!!!"

The Lunar Guard let out a unified battle-cry as Moon-Lance scoffed, grinning widely as the masses of Afflicted let forth their own shrieking, horde like cry, charging forward towards the group.

"Here we go...HERE WE GO!" Wind-Weaver hollered as they drew close, the Guards bracing for impact. Just as the first Afflicted dove towards Nightfire....a voice rang out across the sky, amplified and booming with an aura of magic.

"SSSSSTOP!!!!!!!!!!"

And the Afflicted...did just that. The tornado of bodies slowed...the charging beasts stopped, some in mid-dive who fanned out their wings and retreated back slightly. The Lunar Guard blinked in shock and awe as the Afflicted...stopped. Shadow-Mane himself could only stare towards the mass of death before him with a limply hanging jaw and a pair of wide eyes. Never before...had an Afflicted ceased in its tracks. Never had the Afflicted stopped once they had targeted their prey. There was only attack...kill...infect....there was no stop!

"That'ssss better." hissed a voice from above, drawing the eyes of The Lunar Guard upwards. What Shadow-Mane saw...brought a shuddering gasp from his lungs. A mare...wrapped in a cloak and shrouded by a mask, floated high above one of the ruined cloud buildings, her horn aglow with a magic colored in pink and purple. her hooves and legs were wrapped tightly with cloth, and from her back sprouted two pick colored, ethereal wings of magic that flapped gently through the air.

"By Luna's Mane...is that..." Nightfire whispered in horror, drawing a deep glare out of Shadow-Mane towards the mare above.

'So they still exist...damn it all...' The Captain thought darkly to himself, his voice echoing out through the sky "So it's you that's in charge of this horde, is it?!" This drew several confused glances out of The Lunar Guard and the Unicorn's...all of them whispering except Nightfire, who seemed to be the only one who understood the Captain's question.

"This horde?"

"What's he talking about?"

"Who is that?"

"Whoa...those wings."

"Why's she all wrapped up?"

More questions bubbled quietly from the group as the mare above cocked her hooded head slowly to the left, her voice light but full of power as she spoke "That is not your business Slaver, I have come for your crystal, and your removal from MY city. You were a fool to even bring that device here...with as much magic as it expels I'm surprised that you didn't alert every Precious One in Equestria."

"Captain...what in the hell is this crazy bitch talking about?" Moon-Lance muttered, his eyes locked on the hovering figure above.

"Not now Moon...." Shadow-Mane growled to his soldier before shouting back up to the mare "This city belongs to the un-diseased, innocent Pegasai of Equestria! You and your heretical, diseased mutants have no right or claim over it!"

"You WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" roared the mare, causing the Afflicted surrounding them to let forth a low, unified growl. "My Precious Ones are ponies just like...yours. It was because of YOU and Celestia that we've ended up this way! Your mistake, your blindness! Lost and misguided were the ones you call 'Afflicted'...lost until I showed them the way, showed them that even though rage boils in their heart, that they're still ponies like you and me. But the consequences of your actions are too severe to leave unpunished....give me the crystal, and I'll promise a quick and painless death for you and the rest of your Lunar Guard!"

The group looked slowly over towards Shadow-Mane who kept his gaze on the mare above for only a few moments longer before turning his attention to the Unicorn's behind him. "We can't let them have the crystal...but I can't leave Canterlot unwarned." he whispered, a look of sympathy in his eyes.

The Unicorn's nodded, the one closest to him muttering "We understand Captain...we'll hold a shield as long as we can...you and the rest of The Lunar Guard push down through the clouds...get out of here."

Shadow-Mane nodded, putting a hoof on his shoulder and whispering "You will not be forgotten...the ponies of Equestria will sing songs of praise for your noble sacrifice." The Unicorn's gave one final nod before flaring up their horns, drawing in as much magic as they could.

"Fools..." growled the floating mare, amplifying her voice yet again and speaking in her hiss-like voice "KILL...." The Afflicted let out a unified howl and dove towards The Lunar Guard...only to be met by a glowing half-sphere of Rainbow color.

"NOW! Through the bottom! STOMP!" Shadow-Mane roared, the guards stomping on the cloud beneath them and quickly breaking it away. The Unicorn's clenched their eyes tight as they poured as much magic as they could into the gleaming crystal, the guards burrowing down into the cloud.

"SSSSTOP THEM!!!!" Shrieked the mare, who covered herself with a pinkish aura, vanishing with a quick teleportation spell. The Afflicted battered and dove into the shield as The Lunar Guard broke through the bottom layers of Cloudsdale, fanning out like a freshly bucked hornet's nest.

"Split up! Fly as far and as fast as you can away from here and regroup at Rendezvous Post Golf! FLY!!!!" Shadow-Mane roared, turning in a random direction with Nightfire at his side. The two of them pumped their wings as hard and as fast as they could as the rest of the guard took off in a 'shotgun' like pattern, scattering everywhere. "Get out of here Nightfire, I'll catch up with you later!" Shadow-mane barked, drawing a firm head-shake out of Nightfire.

"With all due respect Captain, but I think you and I both know that the game's just changed for everypony in Equestria. I haven't abandoned you before and I'll be damned to the moon if I do so now! Brothers to the end sir, as always since Operation Anchor-Wing!"

Shadow-Mane let his lips curl up in a small smile before nodding and pushing harder with his wings through the air. Moments passed, with nothing but the heavy beating of wings for sound. And then...the sky fell. Cloudsdale erupted in atomic, magical flame as the crystal finally overloaded, a mushroom cloud of purple color flaring upwards as a shock wave of rainbow magic and energy blasted outwards, obliterating Cloudsdale and the Afflicted swarming it. The pulse and wind of the explosion slammed into the two fleeing guards, their flight interrupted and their bodies tumbling through the air as pieces of Cloudsdale and bodies of Afflicted that weren't vaporized fell from the sky.

The Captain and the Seargent finally manged to right themselves after a few moments, the two coming to a stop and hovering in the open air. Their armor was broken and mostly in shambles, drawing the two of them to finally discard it completely and let it fall through the air. Shadow-Mane's dark purple mane and Nightfire's black mane flapped about in the high altitude winds, their dark fur matted with sweat and their eyes weary and tired as they stared towards what used to be Cloudsdale. "Captain......Shadow," Nightfire wheezed, looking towards his best friend "I'm so sorry..."

"It's alright Nighty..." Shadow-Mane sighed, looking away from the falling city "We're alive...and we've confirmed that The Carriers are still in existence....we need to get to Rendezvous Post Golf and then back to Canterlot as soon as possible."

"But sir," Nightfire asked as they began their flight south "Wouldn't that be counter productive? Post Golf is way far South at six hours flight and Canterlot is only a three hour flight from here. Why don't we just go home from here?"

Shadow-Mane looked over towards his friend as they flew through the air, explaining as they went "Because Night, that Carrier could be following any one of us. You heard what she said about the crystal, it was emitting too powerful of magic...it was drawing more and more Afflicted there like bees to honey. The last thing we want to do is lure her to Canterlot and the other crystals...which makes me wonder why they haven't been discovered already...." He furrowed his brow for a moment before shaking his head and sighing "Either way, we need to get the hell out of dodge just in-case she's following us anyway. I don't need them opening the shield for us if she's following us with an army of those things. Safety first, as always."

"Yes sir, of course" nodded Nightfire, the two of them diving towards lower altitudes and disappearing quickly into the cloud bank. It wasn't until they were completely hidden in the mass of white that Nightfire asked "Sir...do you think Post Golf will have any of that cider we always used to drink?"

At this...Shadow-Mane simply laughed and said "Well you know Appleloosa and their Cider mottoes....enough is never enough. They'll be plenty there, I'm sure."

The two of them dipped further downwards, appearing out of the bottom of the clouds. The air was slightly warmer, more comfortable at that height, and allowed them much more visibility...visibility of a plume of smoke that was immediately spotted by Nightfire.

"Sir, down there!" He shouted, pointing a hoof towards the ground. Below, a group of three chariots had crash landed, magical fire and bodies littering the area. Whether or not they were Afflicted or not had yet to be seen, and from their height, Shadow-Mane could spot a few glints of midnight armor.

...and a mane of Rainbow.

"The Element of Loyalty's refugee group! Come on Nightfire we got to get down there, on the double!" Shadow-Mane barked, dipping downwards with a nodding Nightfire and soaring down towards the ground.

"Please...please be alive" Shadow-Mane whispered to himself "Please let something good come of this day...something good out of all this bullshit."

Just something good....please.

Shadow-Mane & Company - Variant

Rainbow Dash's heartbeat throbbed in her head, her breath coming out raspy and labored. Her wings and belly hurt, but not as painfully as her head did. She was still unsure of what exactly happened following the sudden stop the group had to make due to a guard's cramped wing. It all happened in such a blur...the screams...the shrieks...the sounds of slicing flesh and the gurgles of death bellowing out all around her.

She let out a weak whimper as she took a steady breath outwards, her ribs flaring up with pain and stilling her movements. She was only vaguely aware of the voices calling her name...their sound muffled by the ocean-like sound humming her ears.

"-is Dash!"

"-ight? Ca-...hear me?!"

"Wake up! Come on wake up!!!"

Their voices started to become clearer as Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, a blurry patch of grass appearing in her vision. "Miss Rainbow, are you ok? Please, wake up!" Nightfire begged, gently nudging her in the side with his nose. Shadow-Mane, who stood next to Nightfire, looked all around them cautiously. An attack happened here...that was obvious...and by the looks of the carnage, it looked like it was done by a monster he recognized all too well...

"Nightfire..." Shadow-Mane growled, his eyes scanning the tall grass around them.

"Sir?" Nightfire asked, turning his head away from Rainbow Dash.

"Look at the grass....look at these bodies....notice anything familiar?" Shadow-Mane asked, looking around at the shredded clumps of grass and bits of pony that were scattered about the area.

Nightfire took notice of this as well, drawing in a breath staring towards the body of a mare (what was left of it anyway...) that lay torn apart in the back of one of the chariots. Wide open, deep gashes adorned most of her bodies, blood dripping down the sides and back of the transport. "Shadow...you don't think...?"

"I certainly hope not..." Shadow-Mane whispered "Because that would mean it's still in the area...and that's a place that we really don't want to be in right now."

"Hnnng....w...what?" Rainbow groaned, weakly putting a hoof to her head. The two colts turned their attention back to the awakened Pegasus, unaware of the rustling in the grass to their left.

"Whoa now...easy does it," Nightfire whispered, putting a gentle hoof on her side as she rolled over onto her belly. "It looks like you took quite a beating there...what happened?"

Rainbow Dash let out a sharp hiss of pain as she flapped her wings once, looking up into the faces of the guards. "Nightfire...?" She whispered in awe, her eyes widening "Captain Shadow-Mane? What are YOU two doing here?!"

Nightfire simply chuckled, getting up to his hooves and helping Rainbow up as well as he said "Glad you still remember us from the Ponyville Incident." He looked her over for a moment "Anything broken?"

She shook her head and muttered "I don't think so...just bruises and a bit of a sore rump."

Shadow-Mane dipped his head slightly as he asked "What happened here Miss Rainbow? Were you attacked?"

Rainbow slowly moved her eyes to look into Shadow's, her memories slowly coming back one by one "I...think so. We were away from the danger zone and descending down into the cloud bank for cover when..." she stopped for a moment, her eyes widening as she let out a gasp "Holy shit, we WERE attacked! It came out of nowhere! All I saw was this red streak come blasting down out of this cloud, soaring right past one of the guards! It looked like the guard was fine for a second, until his head suddenly came off!" She shivered as the visions of the attack quickly flooded back in troves "Ponies start falling all around me, some in bits, some with large gashes on their bodies. The chariots went down, one hit me on the way down and knocked me out...and when I came to, you guys were here."

Shadow-Mane swore under his breath and turned his head away, Nightfire giving her a sad nod and looking out towards the grass. "Um...what's wrong? Do you guys know what that thing that attacked us was?" Rainbow whispered, the colts scanning the grass slowly."

"We think so..." Nightfire said, his voice low "The Captain and I have had our fair share of Afflicted encounters...we think it may be a Variant."

"A...Variant?" Rainbow Dash squeaked "You mean...there's different types of these fucking things!?" A single nod out of Nightfire drove more frantic words from the mare's mouth "H...how can that be?! How come I haven't seen any before? How come they weren't at Ponyville, or reported anywhere else?!"

"Because the Virus is once again hitting a stage in maturation....which means we're running out of time" Shadow-Mane growled, his head snapping to the left as movement was caught just out of the corner of his eye.

"Maturation...? Again? What are you talking about!?" Rainbow whispered in panic, her heart starting to thud loudly in her chest.

"I'll explain later..." Shadow-Mane hissed, his ears fully perked and turning slowly.

Rainbow Dash looked around nervously, the two colts giving every spot of grass they could a hard stare. "So...if this is some kind of...Variant, what type is it exactly?" She asked, her heart still throbbing and a cold wave of fear spreading over her slowly.

"Well..." Nightfire began, taking a peek back at Rainbow Dash "These gashes and large lacerations are the biggest clue...but what really seals the deal is that you were attacked in the sky...which can only mean that it was a-"

"RAZOR-WING! HIT THE DECK!!!" Shadow-Mane shouted, dropping to his belly. The two other ponies followed suit quickly as a shrieking cry blasted forth from behind them, a gust of air and the sounds of blades through the air whooshing just above them. A blur of red had come blasting out from the tall grass, streaking right past them and disappearing back into the grass.

"Holy SHIT!" Rainbow Dash cried, staring after the lightning-fast figure. "What in the hell was THAT!?"

"That..." grumbled Nightfire, mimicking the Captain's rising movements "...was a Razor-Wing. It's an Afflicted Pegasus that's been mutated by the Ravage...a Variant. It turns their wings, mostly their feathers, into razor-sharp blades. Their shoulder muscles are strengthened considerably which means they can swing their bodies violently and effectively to the left and right to slash and slice in front of them. Their two most common attacks however are their dive bomb and their dashing attacks."

"That thing's got blades for wings?!" Rainbow gasped, the Captain retreating backwards to one of the chariots.

"That it does..." Shadow-Mane growled "Luckily for us, the mutation makes their aim too precise, which will allow us to escape it if we move in erratic patterns. It's a straight-aim beast...only able to attack in perfectly straight lines." Rainbow Dash nodded as the Captain went on "Don't even attempt to fly in an escape...this thing is built to slaughter anything in the air. Our only chance is to gallop as fast and as hard as we can out of the area."

"Are you kidding me?!" Rainbow hissed quietly "How are we supposed to out-gallop THAT thing!? Won't it just chase us relentlessly like the other Afflicted?"

"Not exactly..." Nightfire muttered, his eyes scanning the tall grass for the beast "The Razor-Wing is territorial, unlike its common cousins. See that chopped up mare over there? See how her fur's matted on one side? It peed on her, which means it's made this spot and a two hundred meter circle around it its territory. We get out of that circle, we get out of danger."

Rainbow Dash nodded, quietly moving behind the Captain in preparation to run her flank off. "Alright..." Shadow-Mane whispered "We'll wait for its next attack...I know which direction we need to run...so once I say to, follow me and don't stop running for anything!" The group fell into silence, a light wind picking up across the grassy plains. The sounds of a heartbeat were heard, the adrenaline of all three ponies rising as the sounds of rustling reached their ears. "Steady....steady...." whispered Shadow-Mane, his legs ready to give out for the dive.

All was calm for a few moments...and then, the Razor-Wing struck. Rainbow Dash caught a quick glimpse of the pony as it came blasting out of the grass in front of them. It was a large colt, its eye color as red as the other Afflicted...but different. Swirls and spots of yellow drifted in the red sea of color, tears of blood dripping down the Razor-Wing's face. "DROP!!!!" Shadow-Mane hollered, the three of them falling towards their bellies.

A piece of Nightfire's mane was sheared off as he went down, causing him to cry out in shock "WHOA NELLY!"

"Come on!!! GET UP, RUN!" Shadow-Mane barked as the Razor-Wing disappeared into the grass behind them, leaving the three ponies to break off in a desperate run to the south.

They ran...and ran...and ran. Sometimes they dropped to avoid the Razor-Wing that charged at them from every direction, and sometimes they simply dove out of the way. Whether by pure luck or a simple miracle...200 meters had been galloped, and the shrieks of the Razor-Wing thundered in the group's ears. Even after they had escaped the territory, they continued to run. They ran until Nightfire wheezed "I have to stop, I HAVE TO STOP!"

They collapsed in the grass, rolling onto their backs and gasping loudly for air. "F...fat-ass!" Shadow-Mane laughed "Where'd all that training go!? You used to be the fastest when it came to outrunning a Razor-Wing!"

"Y...yeah?" Nightfire grumbled "You try living ten plus years on the guard's diet and see how you fair! I couldn't put up with that healthy shit forever, and you know that!"

"I can't believe we made it!" Rainbow Dash whooped, a smile spreading from her lips as she continued to pant "That was awesome! Did you see that!? We were all like 'whoosh!' and 'dive!', definitely cool!"

"Yeah well..." Nightfire sighed, putting a hoof to his forehead "It's an experience I would have liked not to have to go through again..."

Rainbow Dash frowned slightly, turning her head towards the other two guards "Where have you two seen one of things? Didn't you say you were going to explain this all to me?"

"Perhaps when we get to Appleloosa, Miss Dash," Shadow-Mane answered "I promise...answers will come. I know me and Nightfire owe them to you and the other Elements as well for our...dishonesty." The mare rose an eyebrow as Shadow-Mane sighed, looking up into the clouds. "I lied..." he began "...when I told Twilight Sparkle that I didn't know that much about the virus. In truth, me and Nightfire have probably seen more of it than anypony alive, besides the others that were as well..."

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash whispered, a tone of uncertainty and nervousness in her voice.

"Later...I promise, I'll explain everything after we've regrouped with the rest of the guard in Appleloosa." Shadow-Mane sighed, getting up his hooves and helping Nightfire up as well

"Well...could we walk for a little bit, at least?" Rainbow asked "My wings are still hurting slightly."

With a nod and a reacquiring of direction from Shadow-Mane, the three set off at a steady walk towards the south. They were quiet as the minutes dragged by, the only sounds audible being the light wind and the crisp sound of hooves on grass. After awhile, Rainbow Dash finally asked "So...Razor-Wing is a variant of the Afflicted...are there any more?"

"A few..." Nightfire answered, Shadow-Mane looking back for a moment with his eyes before pushing on. "Razor-Wing is certainly one of the most dangerous, but there's a few others that are worse. There's the Lurker....nasty little Unicorn that's regained some of its magical ability, but only just enough to be able to shroud itself in some kind of...invisible field. It stalks ponies and kills them quietly with a grappling hold, biting into and tearing out their jugular to they can't scream for help." Rainbow Dash shivered as Nightfire went on "Then there's the Hurler...it's one of the more regular Afflicted, with one added little perk...it can spit its own blood and saliva like a spitting cobra, infecting at range."

"By Luna's stars...." Rainbow whispered in awe, her eyes widening at the idea of those kinds of monsters existing.

"Oh that's still not the worst of them..." Nightfire growled "There's one in my opinion that's even more dangerous than the Carriers."

Shadow-Mane winced as Nightfire mentioned them, causing Rainbow to cock her head and ask "Carriers? You mean ponies who are immune to the Ravage but who can still...think? Function? Be aware?"

"Precisely..." Nightfire sighed, shaking his head "Unfortunately...the Ravage re-wires their brain. They become shells of their former selves...obsessed with the infected around them. They begin to refer to them as their own children at some point, calling them 'Precious Ones'. They're unicorns of incredibly powerful magic, able to control hordes of Afflicted, armies even if they get strong enough. They can only control a small number of Variants, so that's at least a good thing. They're basically the leaders of the Ravage Virus...and we thought that they were all dead, until we were confronted by one at Cloudsdale...."

"Sheesh...sounds like a total bitch" Rainbow scoffed "So what about the one that you think is more dangerous?"

Nightfire was quiet for awhile, his form shivering slightly as he was forced to relive the memories of their last encounter with that monstrosity. "Nighty...you alright?" Shadow-Mane asked, a concerned tone to his voice.

"Yeah Shadow...it's just...hard to remember it is all, you know?" Nightfire responded, drawing a nod out of the Captain.

"It must have been pretty bad for it to give you P.T.S.D. or something." Rainbow muttered, drawing a light chuckle out of Nightfire.

"Oh trust me...if you were attacked by that thing, you'd have nightmares too." Nightfire said, looking back towards Rainbow as he walked "Imagine a beast, large and bulky in size. The Ravage has mutated its muscles and body to a size five to ten times bigger than its original, and its hooves are MASSIVE. They're built to trample and crush and smash. Its speed is even greater than a Razor-Wing's when it gets enough momentum...and when it finally gets to that speed, it doesn't stop for ANYTHING until it hits something solid. It's easily avoided out in the open...but in close, confined quarters...good luck getting out alive."

"Shit..." Rainbow gasped "The hell kind of monster is that?!"

"A Thunder-Hoof" Shadow-Mane grumbled "Aptly named for the thunder-like sound it makes as it thunders across the ground. Don't worry though, you're able to hear it long before it actually gets to you. It's easy to hide if you know how to outsmart it, so we should be....perfectly.........oh no."

It was only as Shadow-Mane finished his statement...that the soft sounds of thudding were heard in the far distance. "No....way...." Nightfire gasped, looking off to his far left "That's so not right!" He turned his attention to Shadow-Mane and hissed "You jinxed it dammit! How many times have I told you not to bring up the thunder sound! It ALWAYS summons one of those things somehow!!!"

"It's not my fault, you're the one who brought them up in the first place!" Shadow-Mane barked back, the sounds of hooves pounding away at the ground growing louder.

"Guys, focus!" Rainbow shouted "We need to get moving, NOW!" Indeed, the sounds of the thundering hooves began to get louder, drawing a panicked squeal out of Nightfire.

"Alright, run! Let's get moving!" Shadow-Mane hollered, pushing forward into a gallop.

They galloped for a solid three minutes...but still the sounds of the Thunder-Hoof grew louder, its deep, baritone like roar echoing across the plains. "SHIT! It's catching up!" Rainbow shouted, drawing a fierce growl out of Shadow-Mane who continued to gallop.

"Don't remind me dammit!!!" Nightfire squealed, his nose nearly bumping into Shadow-Mane's flank with as fast as he was going.

"We need a plan, some method of escape!!!" Rainbow yelled to Shadow-Mane, the Captain responding with louder volume as the thundering got louder

"We've got no cover out here!" Shadow-Mane shouted "We need to keep running until we can find some kind of high ground or a patch of trees!"

Rainbow Dash was just about to retort when Nightfire suddenly shouted "Does anypony hear that!?"

"Hear what, the sound of impending DEATH!? Oh don't worry I'm way ahead of you!" Rainbow shouted in sarcasm, drawing a furious shake of the head from Nightfire

"No not that dammit, THAT!" he roared, looking around.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, straining her hearing to hear past the sounds of the Thunder-Hoof and their own hooves. It took a moment...but Rainbow Dash finally heard the faint words being carried across the wind

'-is way!!!! Ov-...ere!'

"What IS that!?" Rainbow Dash asked, leaving Nightfire to shrug his shoulders and for Shadow-Mane to squint his eyes and stare into the far distance.

"Wait...I see something! I think that's a pony, up there on that hill!" Shadow-Mane shouted, drawing the two ponies behind him to look around him.

"I see him!" Nightfire said, squinting his own eyes before asking "Who is it, can you tell!?"

Rainbow Dash strained her eyes as much as she could, looking up at the large hill that rested before hill, and at the figure of the pony waving at them with a large....red....hoof.

She gasped loudly, making the two colts in front of her turn their heads and stare with wide eyes as she exclaimed.

"MACINTOSH!!! MACINTOSH OVER HERE!!! WE SEE YOU!!!"

Big Macintosh, the workhorse of Sweet Apple Acres, was at the top of the large hill, a pair of saddlebags strewn across his back and a large assortment of bandages covering his body. He looked like he had been through two hurricanes and a rodeo gone wrong, his mane an orange-colored mess and his eyes weary. He put a hoof up next to his mouth and took a deep breath, shouting "Head up this way! Ah got a way to lose that big behemoth lookin' thing behind ya'll! Just don't, stop, runnin'!!!!'"

At this, Rainbow Dash felt the overwhelming urge to look too powerful, turning her head to look behind her as they ran up the hill. Her irises shrank in fear and her lungs expelled a high-pitched squeal as she beheld the Thunder-Hoof some good distance behind her. It looked to be maybe a third of the size of the Ursa Minor that Twilight had put back to sleep all that time ago, its muscles overly huge and ripped in nature. Its mane billowed down around its form, dragging its tail on the ground like an over-sized blanket. Its eyes looked to be the same as the Razor-Wing, except that these gleamed like orbs of pure color.

If there was one thing that Rainbow Dash was thinking about at that moment...it was that Nightfire wasn't bullshitting.

That thing was definitely worthy of nightmares.

The Group - AAAAAAppleloosan Discoveries

Time seemed to slow down.

Nightfire's hooves kicked up small plumes of dirt as his legs slowly pumped and pushed him forward. His eyes were wide and frantic as the deep bellow of the Thunder-Hoof behind him sent a wave of pure, cold fear through every inch and fiber of his body. He could see the three ponies in front of him waving and shouting frantically "Jump! JUMP!!!!" He turned his head slowly, looking behind him as the Thunder-Hoof drew in close. The behemoth roared as it reached the top of the hill with Nightfire, the brute swinging wide with one of its massive hooves. Nightfire could feel the wind soaring past his tail as the swipe came up short, the Pegasus turning back forward with wide, panicked eyes.

He looked down as the deep ditch before him came into view, the steep face of the other side proving to be what could be a formidable barrier against the Thunder-Hoof. With a mighty cry, Nightfire reached out with his front hooves as he kicked off with his back legs, his wings fanning out and carrying him over the pit. The Thunder-Hoof roared as it tumbled into the ditch, landing on its back with a thunderous 'BOOM!' It flailed on the ground, roaring and banging its hooves into the ground and dirt wall. Above, Nightfire hit the ground in a roll, coming to a sliding stop and heaving for air.

"Nightfire! Are you ok!?" Rainbow Dash gasped, rushing to his side as Shadow-Mane carefully peered over the edge towards the Thunder-Hoof, grimacing as it panted with ragged, rotten breath. It stared back up at Shadow-Mane with such hate in its glowing eyes, that the colt could have sworn that if it stared any harder, it'd burn a hole in his head.

"W...water!" Nightfire wheezed, clutching his chest with a hoof and pushing another against his head. Macintosh reached into his saddlebags, producing a small canteen that sloshed with the waters of life that Nightfire was begging for. With a quick unscrewing of the cap, the canteen was pushed into Nightfire's hooves.

He took two large gulps before coughing, moving the canteen away to retch and get the burning sensation out of his throat. "Fuck a DUCK!" he hollered, tears in his eyes "This thing's spiked with cider!? The hell Macintosh!?"

Macintosh blushed slightly and shrugged "Heh...sorry bout' that. It helped with the pain of mah wounds...."

Shadow-Mane sighed, moving away from the edge and muttering "Alright, let's keep moving. I want to put as much distance between us and this Thunder-Hoof as we can before it discovers how to get up here."

With a hard nod and a grunt, Nightfire got up to his hooves with a little help from Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh. They set off, Shadow-Mane and Nightfire taking the lead with Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash settling for the back. As they walked, Rainbow turned her head to the workhorse and asked "What ARE you doing out here anyway!? I thought you were in Canterlot?" At this, Shadow-Mane and Nightfire both turned their heads to listen in, their curiosity peaked as well. Macintosh frowned at the question, a look of guilt passing over his eyes and causing Rainbow Dash to whisper "Oh no...Canterlot wasn't...it wasn't hit was it!?"

Macintosh shook his head, drawing a sigh out of all three of them as he said "Eee-nope. Canterlot's was still standin' when ah left. Although...ah can imagine Applejack has probably torn apart the city herself already lookin' for me."

"And how...exactly is that possible anyway?" Shadow-Mane asked, his voice low with suspicion.

"Well...erm...." Macintosh began, trying to find a way to sugar-coat his reason without making himself look an irresponsible ass. "Ah may have...gotten a little too carried away with the idea of finding Twilight. You see...there was this wrapped up mare outside the shield, and-"

"Stop right there." Shadow-Mane growled, turning to face the work horse "Tell me every little detail you know about this, 'wrapped up mare'."

"Well," Big Macintosh began, putting a hoof to his chin "She was about adult size, was covered all up in bandages, had this funny lookin' mask on and-"

"DID SHE LET YOU OUT OF THE SHIELD!?" Shadow-Mane suddenly roared, getting into the stallion's face.

"Whoa, WHOA!" Nightfire shouted, putting his hooves on Shadow-Mane and attempting to pull him back "Go easy Shadow! Go easy!!!!"

"Answer the question!!!!" Shadow-Mane barked at a frowning Macintosh, Rainbow looking on in confusion.

"Well...yeah, she let me outta the shield, but it looked like she had a REAL hard time doin' it. By the time ah got out, she had gone n' teleported herself away."

"Luna DAMMIT it all!" Shadow-Mane groaned, bowing his head and pushing a hoof up against his face.

"Shadow, come on!" Nightfire whined "Cut him some slack, he didn't know! And besides, it's not like she was plotting an attack on Canterlot anyway. According to him, she had too much trouble even getting the shield open!"

"That's not the point Nighty!" Shadow growled, looking up at him "The point is that she was able to! What if getting him out was just a test to see if it was within her power to!? She could have already attacked Canterlot by now!"

Nightfire let out a low 'hmmm...', scratching his chin with a hoof before looking up at the work horse and asking cautiously "Exactly how big was the hole that she made to get you out? And what color was her magic, do you remember?"

Macintosh looked up for a moment, recalling the instance in which he had escaped from the city. After a moment he whistled and muttered "Oh...not too big, bout the size of a market cart, just enough for me to slip by. Her magic? Well...if ah recall it had a sorta' pinkish glow to it."

Shadow-Mane let out another frustrated groan as Nightfire sighed and whispered "Dammit...I should have known."

Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up, her impatience finally becoming too great to handle. "Alright, that's it!" She growled "You two have been hiding information from me, Twilight, and the rest of us this whole time! It's time to start coming clean with what you know!"

"I told you I'd give you answers dammit!" Shadow-Mane shouted, looking up as the Thunder-Hoof bellowed from some distance away "All I can tell you is that things have just gotten a lot more dangerous for the lot of us! The mare that released you from Canterlot, Macintosh? She was a CARRIER of the Ravage Virus, and based on her magical aura, it could very well be the same one that we lost Cloudsdale too! Did she say anything to you before she let you out, anything at all that might give us a lead on her or her plans?!"

"Well she did say something about Twilight bein' in Appleloosa," Macintosh explained, drawing a gasp out of Shadow-Mane and Nightfire "That's why ah was travelin' in this direction when ah ran into ya'll"

"Oh SHIT, Shadow you don't think...!?" Nightfire squeaked, looking towards his wide-eyed Captain

"I think we better get to Post Golf...Appleloosa, on the double and fast. It may very well be in danger. Shadow-Mane growled, turning and breaking out into a gallop.

"Oh come on...more running!?" Nightfire groaned, his hooves aching as he chased after the Captain "Can't we ever WALK to someplace?!"

Macintosh's jaw dropped as he learned the identity of the mystery mare from Canterlot, him and Rainbow Dash running after the two. "Whoa, you mean to tell me that Macintosh was freed by a carrier!?" Rainbow hollered "If that's the case, why didn't she just attack Macintosh then?! Why would she want him to go to Appleloosa?!"

"I couldn't tell you Miss Dash," Shadow-Mane shouted back to her "Carriers are a nasty business, witty and smart, not to mention lethal. She wanted Macintosh to go to Appleloosa for a reason, and I'm scared to find out what that reason is."

"Maybe Twilight really is in Appleloosa!" Macintosh gasped, his spirits rising and a smile passing over his face. It faded slightly though, as Nightfire shook his head, the sounds of their galloping carrying across the wide-open plains.

"I don't know..." he said, looking back towards Macintosh "The Carrier could have very well been lying about Twilight's location. Hell, we don't even know if she's ALIVE Macintosh...there's been no word, sighting, or anything concerning her since she left that train."

"Ah know..." Macintosh sighed, a frown returning to his face "But ah gotta have hope. If she's out there, ah'll find her! Ah won't go back until ah've either found her or her body! Even if ah end up dying, ah won't quit!"

"Oh good, no worries then..." Shadow-Mane mumbled under his breath, the four of them pushing onwards across the land. For a good solid hour, the four of them galloped over the land, stopping repeatedly to rest and get some energy back before pushing on.

Eventually, the four of them came across a long, straight set of railroad tracks, drawing Big Macintosh to speak through large gasps of breath "Ah think....this is....the rail-line...to Appleloosa!"

Shadow-Mane nodded with a smile, pointing further down the track "I think so to. And look, I think we're in luck!" The group looked over in the distance to where Shadow-Mane was pointing, the group smiling as they spotted a sort of rail-cart with a two-pony operated lever. "Me and Rainbow Dash will take the lever first" Shadow-Mane said "That'll give Nightfire a chance to rest his fat ass and for Big Macintosh to tell us a little bit more about how Canterlot's been doing."

"I keep telling you Shadow..." Nightfire growled as they made a go for the cart "If you got stuck on this Guard's diet, you'd let yourself go to!"

One Hour....

Two Hours....

Three Hours Later....

"If I EVER, see another rail cart again, I'll throw a fit." Nightfire groaned as he practically fell from the rusty vehicle. They had come to a stop at a junction where the tracks changed, the four of them having the misfortune of discovering that the tracks they were on had been torn apart. The main track was still in one piece however, a sign nearby displaying the message <==APPLELOOSA-MANEHATTEN==>, the other message right underneath it reading <==APPLELOOSA-PONYVILLE==>.

"Well...at least that makes a little bit more sense" Macintosh noted as they began their walk across the tracks leading towards the western town, the grassy plains now dry sands with large, towering cliffs and rocky pillars.

"What makes sense?" Nightfire winced, his hooves giving little aches as he walked beside a weary looking Rainbow Dash and behind a determined looking Shadow-Mane.

"Twilight could've run from Ponyville and gone to Appleloosa via train." Macintosh said, drawing a slight frown out of Nightfire. "What?" he asked, seeing this "You don't think so?"

"I have no clue," Nightfire said, a tinge of sympathy in his voice "I don't know where she could have gone after the train Macintosh. Better yet, why would she even go down to Appleloosa? Wouldn't it make sense for her to travel to Canterlot instead? There's too many mysteries and no answers to any of them Macintosh...we should just focus on getting to Appleloosa first before we start determining anything."

"Ah...ah suppose yer right..." Macintosh sighed, lowering his head slightly.

"What I'd like to know..." Rainbow Dash began, suspicion still dripping in her voice "Is what Shadow-Mane's hiding from us. I'm going to keep pushing till I get SOMETHING! You already told me you lied to Twilight, which means you've lied to all of us as well!"

"Say what now? You lied to Twilight?" Macintosh asked, a tone of angry surprise in his voice. The two of them had stopped, causing Nightfire to stop as well.

"Shadow...?" he asked, watching as his Captain stopped and gave a heavy sigh.

"Alright...you wanna know the truth?" he growled in annoyance, turning around to face Rainbow Dash. With a firm nod from her and Macintosh, the Captain began to speak. "The truth is, me and Nightfire have been involved in the 'Ravage Project' for years, even before the incident in Ponyville. I lied to Twilight because I needed her to trust me, I needed her on my side so I could make sure the evacuation ran smoothly. Me and Nightfire were there in the war room when the Gryphon Threat was discussed. That was when we first learned of 'Ravage'. Luna knew about it as well, and pleaded for Celestia to stop this suicidal project, but as we all know, she didn't listen. It was only by sheer dumb luck that myself and Nightfire were allowed to accompany Celestia during her tours of the royal castle's science wing. That was before the Virus was moved to its classified location. While there, we learned about the Variants, its maturation, its capabilities. The Ponyville incident was only just the beginning, which is why we had hoped to kill it when we destroyed the town! We wanted to nip the problem in the bud before it got a chance to mature and start producing Variants! IS THAT ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR YOU!?"

Rainbow Dash was taken aback as Shadow-Mane pushed his forehead against hers, shouting at the top of his lungs. "I've fought and killed more of these bastards then you could ever COUNT! I'm sick of this shit, and I don't like it anymore then you do!" He took a few steps back, leaving Rainbow Dash and Macintosh to simply stare at him in wonder. Nightfire simply turned his head away, a look of sheer guilt written all over his face.

"Well...I..." Rainbow Dash stuttered, trying her hardest to piece her words together. "If...if that's the case, what about the Carriers, how did you know so much about them?"

Shadow-Mane seemed to get stuck on this question, his mouth opening but no words coming forth. He closed his jaw slowly, looking away as Nightfire sighed and spoke his own words "It's because we knew one...way back in the day."

"We don't have time for this!" Shadow-Mane barked suddenly, cutting off Nightfire before he had a chance to say more "We need to get to Appleloosa, NOW! Once we've determined the town is safe, THEN we can provide some more answers, alright?!" Shadow-Mane growled, turning back towards the correct direction of travel.

"Alright...you've bought some time Shadow!" Rainbow growled in warning "But I'm still expecting an explanation after all this!" Shadow-Mane merely grunted, and with that, the group continued through the rocky passages.

~*~

"Well ah'll be damned" Big Macintosh whispered as he looked out over the wide expanse of open dessert "It's still standin'!"

Nightfire narrowed his eyes and stared far off into the distance as the town of Appleloosa sat over towards the horizon, shadowed in the shade of the rocky pillars surrounding it. He spotted a pony thrashing about near a cactus further down the field, his voice low and filled with warning "Yeah...and it looks like the Afflicted are here t-"

'BANG!!!!'

The loud crack of a gun echoed out from Appleloosa, the thrashing pony by the cactus falling still as the shot pierced its skull. "Or not..." Nightfire muttered in surprise, drawing a sharp whistle out of Macintosh.

"Alright then..." Shadow-Mane sighed "Everyone just act normal and keep a steady pace towards the town. It's being watched by armed sentries, obviously, so we need to make sure they don't mistaken us for Afflicted." With a nod from each of them, the group started their casual walk towards the small town.

"Oh boy...oh boy! I can already taste the cider now!" Nightfire squeaked in delight, licking his dry lips in anticipation.

"Cool it Nighty...we've still got our duties as Guards to fulfill before we take a break." Shadow-Mane chuckled as they moved past the cactus and the dead Afflicted's body. "We need to make sure that the other Lunar Guard, as well as the rest of our squad, made it here alive."

"I know...," Nightfire sighed "But still, cider!"

Rainbow Dash simply chuckled at the colt, a smile spreading across her face. Macintosh however, looked over the town with a heavy frown and a thudding heart. 'Could she be in there...?' Macintosh thought 'Could my sweetheart really be in there?'. As they approached the edge of town, the clicking of a rifle could be heard as well as the loud shout of a colt from one of the rooftops.

"Hold up now!" shouted the colt "Ya'll best state yer names n' business here for ah go lettin' ya in!"

"Let me handle this..." Shadow-Mane muttered to the others before shouting up at the roofs "I'm Captain Shadow-Mane of Her Majesty, Princess Luna's 142nd Lunar Guard, Shadow Squad! I'm here with Seargent Night-Sky Fire with the same company designation and squad, as well as two civilians! We're regrouping after the Cloudsdale assault and are seeking food, water, rest, and the regrouping with our colleagues!"

There was a pause for a few moments until a shout came from above "Alrighty then...it seems ya'll ain't the first Guard fellers to come on through here anywho. Ya'll enjoy your stay in Appleloosa now!"

"Dammit Joe!" came a sudden, second voice "That's not the way ya'll say it!"

"Wait..." Macintosh gasped "Ah know that voice!"

"Oh come on, not now!" Joe, the first voice, whined before the second voice broke out in a loud (and not to mention annoying...) exclamation of:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPLELOOSA!!!"

"Cousin Braeburn!!!" Macintosh hollered, galloping up towards the building that Braeburn was situated on, his head peering up over the roof.

"Cousin Macintosh!?" Braeburn exclaimed, his eyes wide and his smile massive "Well call me a jack-elope and paint my ass red, what in the sam hell are ya doin' way out here!? It ain't even July Cousin, it ain't no time fer a visit yet!!!"

"You two...are family?" Nightfire asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yep!" Rainbow Dash answered for him, watching as Braeburn jumped from the roof and landed just in front of his cousin, getting scooped up in a crushing hug "The two of them are cousins in the Apple Family, Braeburn's in charge of the apple farming down here."

Nightfire simply nodded as he and Shadow-Mane made their way past the reunion, heading over towards the other pony, Joe, who had hopped down off of the roof as well, their intentions set on asking about the status of the other Lunar Guard.

"How ya'll been, ya sly rascal you!?" Braeburn chuckled and gasped, finally getting released out of Macintosh's crushing embrace.

"Survivin', like always" Macintosh said back, plopping down on his flank and chuckling.

"Well ain't that the truth about everypony round the world nowadays!" Braeburn said with equal happiness, "Ya'll came about the right time, things have been gettin' purty sad around here without anything to spice the place up. What even brings ya'll down here anyway, the Lunar Guards or whatever?"

"Sorta..." Macintosh started, scratching at his ears with a hoof "Ya see, ah kinda went and got busted out of Canterlot because ah heard Twilight might've been down here...ah ran into Miss Dash here and the other two ponies back out in the green fields. Apparently Cloudsdale went all up in smoke, and the rest of their friends were supposed to meet em' down here. Lucky fer me ah guess."

"Twilight..." Braeburn muttered, tipping back his stetson "Isn't that the girl you were all smitten with when ah visited last?"

"Eeyup," Macintosh nodded "Me and her made it official just before we escaped from Ponyville, which is why I gotta ask...Braeburn...is she here?"

There was a tense moment in the air as Braeburn looked towards Macintosh with a glint of sadness in his eyes. The workhorse's face fell slightly as his cousin shook his head and muttered "Nope...sorry Cous, she ain't here. Ain't been nothing but some of those Lunar boys flyin' in here and that runaway train that keeps going back n' forth. Nopony's been comin' round these parts before that, what with that disease lurkin' around."

Macintosh nodded sadly, but Rainbow Dash wasn't too keen on letting the conversation fade away so easily. "Hold on..." she muttered "What was that about a 'runaway train' Braeburn?"

At this, Braeburn simply groaned and rolled his eyes before growling the words "Well...it's a bit of an ass pain to be honest. There's this damn train that comes down from the Manehatten line, and blows right on through the town. Doesn't even make a stop here! It won't stop fer nothing, nearly ran down two of our boys who volunteered to stand on the track to see if it would keep goin'. That ain't the weirdest part though...."

Macintosh and Rainbow Dash went wide-eyed though as Braeburn revealed to them the next part. "The weirdest thing is...the train comes in through town every six hours, and at the front of the train, on top of the engine car...there's this weird pony all wrapped up in bandages and some kind of mask-n'-cloak type deal. We tried calling out to the bastard but...it won't respond to us at all. That, and the train's got this weird looking mark painted all over the sides o' the cars. Damn weirdest thing ah've ever seen..."

"What...mark, exactly?" Rainbow whispered, a sudden fear gripping at her heart.

"Well..." Braeburn began, scratching his chin with a hoof "It looks like it's painted in red. The mark itself looks like some kinda magic wand lookin' thing over this crescent moon. Don't know what to make of it...never seen it before in mah life!"

At this...Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, and she let out a low, frightful

"Oh....no..."

The Group - Reminisce, Revenge, and Retaliation

"AHHH! Finally! Cider! CIDER!!!" Nightfire squee'd in delight, chugging back the brown froth with enthusiastic vigor. He hiccuped as he dropped his mug, flashing a cheesy, but happy, smile and looking across the table towards Shadow-Mane who simply shook his head at the colt.

"Go easy on that Nighty" Shadow warned "We're still on duty, technically!" Nightfire simply grunted at him, leaning back in his chair and looking around the saloon casually. They were resting in the 'Lone Hoof' Saloon at one of the tables towards the back. Shadow-Mane had already met up with around ten of the Lunar Guard, their reports all similar. Each of them had flown as fast and as far as they could away from Cloudsdale and had come to Appleloosa in hopes that orders or some kind of direction would await them. All that Shadow could say to them though was simply "Take as much rest as you can and await further orders, Canterlot should send along some kind of word to us once the destruction of Cloudsdale reaches their ears. Everyone just sit tight and relax...it may be the only time we can."

"Don't be such a party pooper," Nightfire grumbled, sliding the mug out of his way and propping his chin up on a hoof. "You keep up this attitude and you're gonna become a sour old windbag."

At this, Shadow-Mane let out a hearty chuckle and shook his head, sipping the small glass of water before him and letting out a quiet sigh. "I think I'd be alright with that..." he muttered sadly "After all you and I have seen...I think maybe it's time for retirement."

"Heh...I'm with you there." Nightfire whispered with a single nod "There's still a war to finish though Shadow, we've got to see this thing to the end." He turned his head towards the main area of the saloon, watching many towns-ponies and Lunar Guard interact and trade news about the world and the war against 'The Afflicted'. "Once we wipe out the last of them...then you and I can go vacationing in Zebrica, how's that sound?"

"Too be brutally honest Nightfire...I'm rather tired of being hunted of savage animals." Shadow grumbled with a roll of his eyes "Zebrica is the number one capital of predatory animals...I think I can do without a safari or two under my saddle-belt."

"Your loss...I heard the zebras there are really...really cute." Nightfire gave a childish chuckle with a wink of his eye, drawing another sigh out of Shadow and a firm shake of his head.

A few quiet moments passed between the two when suddenly the wooden, shutter like doors of the saloon burst open with a loud 'BANG!', a loud holler passing through as three Lunar Guard stumbled inside "Make way! I got an injured guard here! Bring up a table!!!"

Shadow-Mane whipped his head towards the voice and gasped "I know that vo- MOON-LANCE!". The rest of Shadow Squad: Moon-Lance and Wind-Weaver had stumbled in the bar, with Sky-Driver draped across Wind's back. It looked like the Guard's armor had been shattered in several places, his face scrunched up into a look of pain and droplets of blood dripping from his wings.

"Holy shit! What the hell happened to you three!?" Nightfire shouted as several guards dragged a table up towards the trio. The Captain and Seargent quickly made their way over to their comrades as Sky was gently eased onto the table.

"Thunder-Hoof..." wheezed Moon-Lance as a Lunar Guard approached the side of the table, his saddle-bags stamped with the mark of a red cross. The guard began to treat the injured Pegasus as Wind-Weaver gingerly took a mug of water offered to him, drinking is heavily before letting out a heavy sigh and gasping "Bastard caught us off guard when we landed to rest. I'm surprised we didn't hear him coming...it was like he came out of nowhere. We were getting away just fine until the shithead thew a ROCK at us. Sky-Driver took a hit...he's lucky to be alive."

Nightfire shivered as Shadow-Mane put a hoof on Moon's shoulder "Anything else soldier? Afflicted movements? Any message from Canterlot?"

"None Captain..." started Moon-Lance, his voice slightly hoarse. He muttered as Wind passed him his mug "As far as we could tell, the plains and skies were empty. The Afflicted around Cloudsdale took off in a mighty big hurry to the north after the city went up in a poof of magic."

Shadow-Mane facehoofed and let out a low grumble as the medic draped white bandages over Sky's injured wings. "Well..." Shadow said after a moment "It's good to have you three back with us, we're back to full strength!"

Moon and Wind nodded with narrow eyes and a smile just before a groan was breathed through Sky-Driver's lips. The group turned their heads towards him as the Pegasus weakly whispered "Are we there yet...? I think...I smell pie..."

"Sky!" Moon exclaimed with glee "You ok bud? How're you feeling?!" Sky opened his left eye slowly, the whites cracked with bloodshot red. He drew in a shuddering breath and winced as the medic continued to patch him up. "I've...been better," Sky whispered "Hurt's a bit...but I've taken worse. Won't be too long...until I can...get back up on...h...hooves..."

His eyes drooped slowly as Nightfire put a gentle hoof on the top of his head and muttered "Take it easy soldier...rest...you're safe now."

Sky finally let his eyes close, sleep taking him in a warm embrace. Shadow looked towards the medic who continued his work and asked "Will he be ok?"

The medic, waiting until he tied off one of the bandages, looked up towards the Captain and nodded "Yes sir, it was only a few lacerations on his wings and a bit of a concussion. He looks to be slightly dehydrated, so a steady dosage of water, food, and rest will have him on his hooves within a day or so."

The Captain nodded as the wooden doors once again banged with the hurried entry of a pony. It was a panicked looking Rainbow Dash this time, the cyan mare being closely followed by a confused looking Macintosh and a bewildered looking Braeburn. "Miss Dash?" Shadow asked, raising one of his eyebrows "Is everything alright?"

"No, no it's not alright!" Rainbow said, a worried tone clearly audible in her voice "Braeburn told me about a runaway train that's been going back and forth past Appleloosa...there's a mark on the side of the train that, from what Braeburn describes, is a mark that I know! I know the identity of one of the Carrier's, possibly the one who attacked Cloudsdale!"

Nightfire's eyes widened as Shadow-Mane's narrowed. Moon-Lance looked between the mare and his Captain for a moment before muttering "Um...did I miss something?"

"Later...Moon," Shadow said quietly. He diverted his eyes back to Rainbow Dash and whispered "We should head back to our table...we'll be able to talk there."

"Ah gotta get back to the roofs n' check the outskirts again...you stayin' here cous'?" Braeburn asked, drawing a simple nod and a 'Eeyup' out of Big Macintosh. With Braeburn's departure, the remaining six headed back towards the rear table and took a seat.

Once they were all comfortable, Shadow asked quietly to Rainbow Dash who was sitting across from him "Alright...let's hear it."

"Oh no you don't..." Rainbow growled "You want information? Then we TRADE for it! You start talking like you promised you would, and then I'll fill you in about The Carrier's identity."

Shadow-Mane sighed heavily, facehooving for the second time that day as Moon-Lance muttered with wide-eyes "She knows about The Carrier's?"

"She knows a lot more than that..." Nightfire whispered "Just...let the Captain explain."

Everypony at the table turned their attention to Shadow-Mane, who sat with his stare fixated on the table before him. The colt was quiet for a few moments before finally he sighed and looked up towards Rainbow Dash. With a sad tone in his voice, he muttered "I suppose I do owe you an explanation...or at least a better one...after all this time. Alright..." He leaned back in his chair and looked up towards the ceiling as he began.

"I've lost count of how many years it's been since me and Nightfire...hell...all of us, encountered 'Ravage'. It was back around the time of the formation of Shadow Squad...I was just getting out of officer academy as a Seargent and was only freshly assigned to Shadow Squad under Captain Night-Mare. She was a fiery lass...stubborn as a mule but tough as nails. Nightfire was a fresh transfer as well, and together us three formed the basis of the squad. Night-Mare had tested us to the max, trying her hardest to determine our greatest potential and to see if we really had what it took to operate in her squad. Of course, we passed with flying colors, and were granted the privilege of selecting three other members to join our squad. After much deliberation, me and Nightfire settled on Moon-Lance, Wind-Weaver, and Sky-Driver. Together, us six became the toughest of the tough, and the most elite of all The Lunar Guard."

He paused to take a drink of water, clearing his throat and staring towards Rainbow Dash who was staring back at him with a look of intensity. "Anyway," he continued "I was doing a bit of desk work one day when Captain Night-Mare summons me to the Royal Chambers in Canterlot Castle. I go with haste, and make it just in time to meet up with Nightfire, who was also summoned. The Captain wasted no time in having us stand on her left and right and to have us escort her to the science department of the castle. Upon arriving, we were met by several different scientists, and Princess Celestia herself. It was there that we were introduced to the 'Ravage' Virus, and..the first Carrier."

At this, Rainbow Dash held up a hoof and muttered "Hold on...'first' Carrier? I thought this thing escaped from a bunker in the Everfree forest, that's what you told us back in Canterlot!"

At this, Shadow-Mane bit his bottom lip and looked towards the mare. "Rainbow Dash...I have to choose my next words carefully as they are...well...they're magically tabooed...."

"Um...taboo-whatty?" Macintosh asked, scratching his head.

"It means that the information was so classified, that if I uttered it to improper authority...Princess Luna and Princess Celestia would know about it...and I'd be executed for treason."

"Holy shit..." Rainbow gasped "No wonder you didn't want to talk! Your life was on the line!" She paused to receive a sad nod from Shadow before whispering "I'm...I'm sorry, if I had known so much was at stake I wouldn't have pressured you so much to talk."

Shadow-Mane simply shook his head and sighed "No...it's ok. Somepony has the right to know...The Element of Loyalty included. Anyway...I can't tell you much...but I can tell you this." He paused for a moment, his voice and tone one of carefulness...as if he were treading on thin ice. "Rainbow Dash..." he whispered, leaning his head in slowly and staring deeply into her magenta eyes as he uttered the words that drove a shiver through her bones:

"This is not the first time the Ravage Virus has been unleashed...Ponyville was not the first to fall."

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped slightly as Shadow-Mane leaned back in his seat and sighed "The mission that Shadow-Squad received a few days after we were briefed on the virus was a kill-order. It was more of an experimental attack than an actual tactical move. I cannot detail the exact orders...but it concerned the Gryphons. They've been encroaching on our lands longer than anypony actually realizes, even before the second defeat of Discord by the Elements." He gave Rainbow a grim look as he went on "There was a fail-safe...believe it or not...to the 'Ravage'. All Carriers have a deep, magical ability to purge the virus itself and purify it. Granted, the Carrier would have to be a pony of EXTREME power to pull that kind of magical discharge off, and nine out of ten times it ends in their immediate death. A bubble of gigantic magic pulses outwards from the Carrier when it's launched, purifying and curing any Afflicted that is touched by the magic. It's the only known cure to the 'Ravage', and because Carrier's brains are so warped and demented by the disease...it's almost impossible to get them to use their Purge."

"But...but what about the Carrier that you met? What happened with your mission?" Rainbow Dash asked, her eyes wide.

"It failed..." Shadow-Mane whispered, his eyes flicking off to the side "...it was quite a miserable end...and it was around that time we were ordered to retreat. We so nearly succeeded too...until somepony screwed it all up. It was just as we were getting home that the Ponyville Incident was just starting to take shape. The 'Ravage' Virus and its experiments were moved to the Everfree Forest, away from prying eyes and concerned citizens. It was actually a fluke that it escaped into the world...nopony's still sure how. As for the Carrier that we met in Canterlot...that's classified."

"So...were the Gryphons immune?" Rainbow Dash asked "You said your orders were a kill-order, and that it concerned the Gryphons. As devastating as the 'Ravage' has been to us, how bad was it for them?"

"Like I said...the mission ended in failure Rainbow Dash...I couldn't tell you what exactly happened to the Gryphons...only that they're still around. Why they haven't attacked us in our weakest state...I still don't know. I was lying when I said they didn't want our diseased land. They still would have attacked regardless of what's been happening in Equestria. The rest...well, I can't say. It's all strictly classified." Shadow-Mane finished with a heavy sigh, allowing Rainbow Dash and Macintosh to soak in the information.

After a few moments, Rainbow Dash nodded and whispered "Thank you Shadow-Mane...it's very brave of you to speak about things like this when your life is at stake." He nodded, taking a swig of his water before she went on "And now...about my end of the bargain. Based on what Braeburn's told me about the mark that's covering the runaway train, I think the Carrier is a mare named Trixie, a unicorn who I thought was supremely weak in magic...but if she's a Carrier, that can only mean she's extremely powerful. You said all The Carrier's were incredibly powerful with magic didn't you?"

Shadow-Mane nodded and said "Indeed, you'd have to be a very powerful Unicorn to be able to control the 'Ravage' Virus. Are you sure that The Carrier is this...'Trixie' mare?"

"I'm about...twenty percent positive" Rainbow Dash sighed with a shrug "I'm only going on what Braeburn described to me. If we're going to get any real answers...we're going to have to either stop that train, or take a ride on it..."

The Captain nodded and turned his head to Big Macintosh, asking "Macintosh, does Braeburn know when the train will be coming back?"

"Ah'm...not too sure" Macintosh began, scratching his head "Ah'm sure we could ask him...last ah heard him speak of it, that train was going to be on its way from Manehatten this time around, then it's gonna come back after a few hours n' go back to the city."

At this, the Captain nodded and turned his head to the rest of his squad before saying "Right, then it looks like we've got a train to catch. Let's go talk to Braeburn."

~*~

"The train...? Oh...should be here in about...thirty minutes or so by mah count, why ya'll ask?" Braeburn told the Captain, tipping back his stetson and looking up towards the colt.

Shadow nodded and replied "We're planning on flagging down that train...see if we can't contact The Carrier controlling it. If that fails...then we'll board the train itself as it travels back towards Manehatten."

"Well...alright, don't get yourself killed now, ya hear?" Braeburn warned, turning back towards the small ladder propped up against the house and beginning his slow climb upwards.

Shadow-Mane trotted back towards Shadow Squad, Rainbow Dash, and Big Macintosh. "Alright...we've got about half an hour before that train shows up...Rainbow dash, you ready?"

"Yeah, no problem!" Rainbow exclaimed "All I'm doing is calling out her name. If she reacts, then we'll know it's her. If not...well then I don't know, guess I would be wrong."

"Alright then..." Shadow muttered "let's get into position."

~*~ Thirty Minutes later... ~*~

Shadow-Mane peered out from behind a rock next to the graveyard, his eyes scanning the railroad tracks and the station carefully. Beside him, Nightfire shook his head "This is so not a good idea...what if this...Trixie, reacts badly?"

"I don't know how she'd react negatively Nighty..." Shadow muttered "Unless of course her and Rainbow Dash weren't the best of friends. Either way...everything should be ok."

From the roof of the train station, Moon-Lance and Rainbow Dash waved their hoofs, and from a small bush across the railroad tracks from Shadow-Mane, waved Wind-Weaver and Big Macintosh. With a simple nod, Shadow-Mane slunk back behind his rock and waited. "Captain..." Nightfire suddenly asked in a whisper, drawing Shadow-Mane to turn his head. "In case things go sour..." he began, but was hastily cut off by the Captain

"Don't..." he muttered, shaking his head "Think positive Nighty, like always since Anchor-Wing."

"I know Captain...I just wanted to say..." Nightfire sighed, taking a moment to draw in a breath before looking into Shadow's eyes to say "It's been an honor, sir."

"No Night..." Shadow said with a smile "The honor was all mine. Thank all four of you, for being the best squad that there could ever be in Equestria...and thank you Nightfire...for being my best friend."

The two shared a quick brohoof before the sounds of the train reached their ears, the steady 'clackity clack' of the steel wheels on the tracks growing louder and louder by each second. "Here we go..." Shadow whispered, peering his head over the rock with Nightfire's and looking down the tracks. The train looked as if it had been through a hurricane as it drew closer. The wood of the cars looked slightly rotted and untreated, the engine car vomiting out black clouds of choking death. It appeared Braeburn was right, as the train was absolutely smothered in the mark that he described, painted in what Shadow-Mane hoped wasn't blood.

"Captain...look!" Nightfire gasped, pointing with a hoof. Shadow looked to where his hoof pointed, to the roof of the fourth car, and his eyes widened. There, standing with all four hooves planted firmly against the roof, was The Carrier. Her horn was aglow with pink magic. "Her magic...that's got to be her! It's the same mare!"

As the train drew closer, Rainbow Dash leaped from the roof of the train station and fanned out her wings, hovering as she turned towards the train and drew in a deep breath. She waited until she knew The Carrier was within earshot and was able to scream above the sound of the train before shouting at the top of her lungs "TRIIXXXXEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"

The Carrier aboard the train snapped her head upwards, her horn gleaming with pinkish magic. She took a good look at Rainbow Dash before she let out a piercing cry and stamped her front hooves against the car. She hollered at the top of her lungs as the train passed through the station, her back flashing and two magically-pink wings emerged from her back. She took off as the train barreled through the town, passing by and continuing down towards the south. She flew up and hovered at least thirty feet away from Rainbow Dash, her voice dripping with malice and hate "You! How DARE you speak to me after the misery and shame you put me through! You and the rest of your Elements deserve to BURN for what you've done to me and my Precious Ones!"

"You're CRAZY Trixie!" Rainbow Dash hollered, pointing an accusing hoof towards the mare "You tell me I should burn!? What about you!? You're the one who destroyed Cloudsdale, slaughtered countless innocents and made a heap ton of ponies homeless! It wasn't even our fault for that day in Ponyville! You were the one who boasted and ranted like she was the number one Unicorn in Equestria! Newsflash kiddo, that ain't you! That title belongs to Twilight Sparkle, and you had no right to say different! How could you even use the excuse of that day in Ponyville to commit mass Genocide against all of Equestria!?"

At this, Trixie simply laughed, the mare dropping back her hood and removing her mask. Rainbow Dash gasped as the mask fell away and her face was revealed, the whites of her eyes gleaming with the color of her blood along with the gleaming violet of her eye color. Her cheek was adorned with three slash-like scars, and her mane was messy and disheveled. "Twilight Sparkle you say....?" Trixie said with a sinister smile and a knowing tone, ignoring the jab about that fateful day in Ponyville "How long it has been since I've seen her...I can't recall really the taste of her from Ponyville...I truly wonder how she's doing."

"What are you talking about?! What did you do to her!?" Rainbow Dash screeched, drawing an evil chuckle from the depths of Trixie's lungs.

"Silly girl!" Trixie roared, her horn flaring with magic "I did what you all could not! I gave her friends that wouldn't abandon her in the world, like you did! Not one of you came for her, not one of you searched! I was there for her, and I helped her rise to a power that she only thought existed in her dreams! Some Element of Loyalty you are, not even pushing to form a search party for her great, 'benevolent' leader!"

"C...Captain..?" Nightfire whispered with a shiver "She...she doesn't mean that she...she didn't!"

"I think so Nightfire..." Shadow whispered with wide eyes, peering over carefully towards the bush where Big Macintosh had been hiding. The workhorse's eyes were wide with horror and his jaw was agape, the meaning of the mare's words making sense to him as well.

"What...what did you do to her!?" Rainbow Dash screamed, tears brimming in her eyes "What did you do!? ANSWER ME!!!"

"I gave her freedom...freedom and her own city to play with and rule with as many friends as she wants." Trixie answered with a sneer "And for you...I give you death." Before anypony could say more, Trixie's horn gleamed with a bright light, the mare launching a ball of magic outwards and hurling it towards the graveyard near Shadow-Mane. It exploded with intense force, pushing the two colts in hiding against the rock as the magic it released seeped into the ground. "Perhaps you'll thank me one day, Rainbow Dash." Trixie giggled as she enveloped herself with magic "Until then...I'll see you at the gates of hell themselves, right after I begin the siege of Canterlot!"

She vanished with a spell of teleportation as Rainbow Dash hollered "No! STOP! COME BACK!" She was already gone however, drawing Rainbow to swear and to fly back towards Shadow-Mane. She was joined shortly after by the rest of Shadow Squad and Big Macintosh, who had tears running down his face.

"T...tell me that mare didn't mean what ah think she meant! Tell me it ain't true!" he cried, staring into Shadow-Mane's eyes.

"M...Macintosh." Shadow began, his voice shaky as he tried to break it to the stallion as best as he could "Trixie...The Carrier, said she couldn't recall the taste of her. The Virus is passed through bodily fluids...saliva being one of them. And with Twilight as powerful in magic as she is...it can only mean that she's a Car-"

"NO!" Macintosh roared, getting in Shadow-Mane's face "TAIN'T TRUE! NONE OF IT! Ah don't believe a word that damned mare was spoutin', not one!"

"Take it easy Macintosh!" Nightfire said, trying his best to put some distance between the two "We don't have time for this! Didn't you hear what Trixie said, she's going to BESIEGE Canterlot, our last stand! We need to hightail it back to the city before she gets there, we need to warn Princess Luna!"

"Ya'll can go..." Macintosh growled, turning his back on the group "Ah'm goin' after that mare, and ah'm boarding that train!"

"WHAT!?" came the unified shout of the group, followed by Rainbow Dash's weak cry "No Macintosh, that's suicide! We need you in Canterlot!"

"Don't ya understand Miss Dash!?" Macintosh hollered as he turned to face the Rainbow Mare "Ah've come too far to just give up now! Didn't ya hear what that Trixie mare said!? She said all of us abandoned Twi', and that ain't true at all! Ah've come out in search of her, ah haven't given up on her! Ah love her Rainbow Dash, and ah ain't gonna quit lookin' till Ah've found her or until ah die tryin'!"

Shadow-Mane stared towards the stallion with a look of admiration on his face and nodded "Alright...then I'll go to."

"Captain!?" gasped his squad mates, the colts unsure if they heard him or not.

"You heard me!" Shadow barked, looking amongst his fellow soldiers with narrowed eyes "I owe it to Twilight Sparkle, if what Trixie says is true, and Twilight is now a Carrier, it can only mean that the night she disappeared, she had left to combat the Afflicted at its source! I bet you more than anything that it was HER that de-horned Celestia! She made the ultimate sacrifice in the hopes that she could stop the bloodshed, and end this madness! I won't let her sacrifice be in vain! If she's still alive and she's still a carrier, then we still have a shot! We could reason with her, get her to use her Purge! WE CAN STOP THE RAVAGE VIRUS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

"But...Captain that could kill her!" Nightfire gasped "Nine times out of ten, remember!?" Shadow turned his head to Big Macintosh, who had a sorrowful look in his eyes. He knew it was true...he knew that Twilight could be the only way to stop the Ravage, to finally put Equestria back to the way it was.

"Macintosh..." Shadow whispered, drawing a nod out of the stallion before he went on.

"E...Eeyup...," he said with a shudder "All ah want is to see her again...ah'm not too sure about the Purge but...all ah want is to just see her again..."

Shadow-Mane nodded, but suddenly...his ears perked. The sounds of the train were coming back in the distance, causing the group to turn their heads towards the tracks. "Odd..." whispered the Captain "Didn't Braeburn say it was an interval of six hours between the train visits?"

"Perhaps we forced her hoof?" Nightfire offered, listening to the train far off in the distance.

"At any rate," Shadow Mane growled "I'm going with Big Macintosh, the rest of you will take what Lunar Guard we have here and head back to Canterlot. If there's anything we've gotten out of Trixie today, it's that Twilight may be in Manehatten. It's the only other major city in Equestria, so-"

He was cut off by a voice nearby "Count me in too!"

The group turned their heads and gasped as Sky-Driver made his way over, his wings and right leg covered in bandages. "Sky, what are you doing up!?" Nightfire hollered "You're supposed to be resting!"

"Ha!" laughed the injured colt "And miss out on the greatest battles of Equestrian History? Pfff, with all due respect Sarge, but fuck that noise. I'm going with Captain Shadow-Mane and Macintosh."

"Sky-Driver..." Shadow said with concern "You sure you're fit to travel and fight? Luna only knows how many Afflicted are going to be swarming in Manehatten."

With a firm nod, Sky winked and said "You can count on me, I won't go down without a fight! Besides, three is a lot safer than two!"

The group looked towards Shadow, who for a moment bit his bottom lip and turned the idea over in his head. Finally, the Captain sighed and nodded "Alright Sky, you're in. The rest of you, get to Canterlot as soon as po-"

'CRACK!!!!'

The group grew still as a thunderous cracking noise echoed out from behind them, towards the graveyard. Shadow-Mane slowly turned his head towards the site and his eyes fell upon a cracked gravestone. It was only then that they remembered the ball of magic Trixie had launched towards the graveyard. "No...way..." Nightfire gasped as another grave stone cracked "Shadow...NO WAY!"

"SHIT!" Shadow-Mane cursed, turning his head towards the group and shouting "You need to warn Braeburn, NOW! Nightfire, get to him and tell them we've got imminent danger!"

"No need!" came the familiar shout of Braeburn as he trotted over from near the Train Station "Ah saw that light show from all the way across town! What's all the fuss about?!"

"Braeburn," Shadow began with a tone of warning "You need to get your people out of this town, now! My Lunar Guard are leaving back towards Canterlot, it's in danger! You're in danger as well here, there are Shamblers on the way!"

At this, the Appleloosan colt raised an eyebrow and muttered "What in the sam hell is a Sham-"

"Nnnnnnnnnnhh......"

The group slowly turned their heads towards the Graveyard as the sound of earth splitting reached their ears. A hoof had pushed its way through the ground, rotten meat and bone visible across its length. All around, the other sixty or so graves began to shift and move as well. "Those...are Shamblers" Shadow-Mane growled "Undead Afflicted, almost impossible to kill. I need to move my ponies out of here, now! I suggest you do the same Braeburn!"

Braeburn, however, simply chuckled and shook his head as he hollered "Aw hell naw! Ya'll must not know that much about us. We've spent too long and shed too much of our own blood to keep this here town alive and on the map! We ain't just gonna' abandon it now! Ya'll can up n' leave back to Canterlot...but we...we're gonna fight for OUR land!"

"Cous', that's suicide! Listen to the Captain!" Macintosh spoke with urgency as more rotten hooves began to burst from the ground, the first of the Undead Afflicted beginning to pull themselves out of the ground. Rainbow Dash nearly hurled as she saw the first full hunk of one, a mare with a tiny amount of mane, her body shrunken and rotting away. Her eye sockets were filled with two orbs of bright red light, and her teeth were dripping with blood.

"Don't argue the fact with me Cous'!" Braeburn hollered back, a determined look on his face "We're gonna stay in fight! Somepony's got to take a stand against all this, right? Well, here's ours! Ya'll take care now, and ah hope ya find Miss Sparkle! Good luck out there Cousin Macintosh!"

After a moment, Macintosh simply gave him a small smile and nodded, whispering "You too...Cousin Braeburn."

Shadow-Mane wasted no time in turning towards Nightfire and ordering quickly "Night, take the squad and the guards to Canterlot, we'll meet you there...hopefully not too late after the siege has begun. Go!"

The group nodded and swiftly departed, leaving Sky, Macintosh, Shadow, and Braeburn alone near the graveyard. "Anything ya'll know about em...to help us fight?" Braeburn asked the Captain, to which he nodded.

"Plenty" Shadow muttered, turning his head towards Braeburn and saying "They're slow, but devastating in numbers. They may look like the zombies you've read about in bed-time stories...but these won't go down with a simple bullet or stab to the skull. You gotta cut their entire head off, and then burn it." Braeburn's eyes widened as the Captain went on "Exactly, it's the virus itself keeping the entire body alive, it becomes its new brain. The virus can control muscle movement while it still has a path from its head downwards to the limbs. You cut off the head, you stop em from walking! Just be careful when approaching them, alright?!"

Braeburn nodded and with a tip of his stetson hollered "Will do, ya'll get on outta here now, we'll take care of this!" Without another word, Braeburn scampered off, hollering towards the town to ring the alarm bell, and to prepare for a pretty tight scuffle.

"Alright..." Shadow muttered as he turned back towards the tracks "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Eeeyup!" Macintosh hollered, followed by a "Aye Captain!" from Sky-Driver.

The train had returned, except this time, Trixie was not on top of it. It seemed to be moving slower this time, making Shadow-Mane smile as he turned towards Sky "Alright...I'll carry you aboard, we'll enter in from the caboose." He then turned his head towards Macintosh and asked "You think you can catch that back bar on the balcony of the caboose car?"

"Eeyup," Macintosh answered with a chuckle "Done it back before all this blood n' stuff. Was late for a mighty few train rides down here to Appleloosa, had to catch the back end plenty o' times."

"Alright then...here we go." Shadow-Mane muttered, feeling the weight of Sky as he clambered aboard the Captain's back. The train passed by quickly as Shadow fanned out his wings and took flight, strained only slightly by his soldier's weight. They landed firmly on the Caboose card as Macintosh took a stunning leap forward, hooking his front two hooves on the back bar of the balcony. He steadily pulled himself onto solid ground as Shadow dropped down onto the balcony himself, depositing Sky right next to him. After the three had situated themselves and caught their breath, Shadow-Mane whispered "Ready?"

With a nod from the both of them, Shadow-Mane quietly slid the door open to the caboose, and the three of them crept stealthily into the interior of the train.

The door closed quietly just after them.

The Train...

"Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...goes, my little, pony, clock......"

Shadow-Mane gently closed the door behind them, cutting off the load clatter of iron wheels on tracks from the outside. He turned his head back and looked around the caboose carefully as Macintosh and Sky-Driver took cover behind two of the seats. "Anything...?" Sky whispered, the colt watching the Captain with a careful eye.

After a moment, Shadow shook his head and muttered "Nothing...let's move quickly and quietly and get to the front of the train and see where this thing's going."

The two nodded, falling in behind Shadow and keeping as close as they could to the colt without stepping on his hooves. As they approached the door at the end of the car, Macintosh quietly asked "Shadow...do ya think Twi's really in Manehatten?"

Shadow put his hoof up on the latch, taking a moment to peer out of the window cautiously towards the other door which stood just across the metallic locks that kept the cars together before looking at big Macintosh. With a light sigh he shook his head and whispered "I don't know Macintosh...too be honest we don't even know if Trixie was telling the truth. All I know is that based on what Trixie said, Manehatten is our best bet. Even if she's not there, this train is under Trixie's command...and with the way she was talking about Twilight, it made it seem like they run into each other more often than I'd like to think. If we keep following Trixie...we'll find Twilight Sparkle."

"Yeah but..." Sky interjected, bringing pause to Shadow's hoof "If Trixie's the bad girl here...and she supposedly turned Twilight into one and...granted her friends and her own city...wouldn't that technically make them on the same side!?"

Macintosh and Shadow both looked at one another quietly, concern written on both of their faces. "Naw..." Macintosh said after a moment, shaking his head "Twilight's a good gal...she wouldn't side with her! From what ah remember from this Trixie mare...she's no good in Twi's book. She wouldn't even consider it!"

"I don't know Macintosh..." Shadow said with a tone of apprehension in his voice "If Twilight wasn't on Trixie's side...why wouldn't she help us against The Afflicted? If she's a Carrier, she can control them just like Trixie. Why wouldn't she keep them away from Canterlot? Why wouldn't she destroy them all for good? Over these past months...where's she been all this time? Sitting in Manehatten? If so...what was she doing alone for that long?" He took another peek out of the window, frowning at his inability to see into the other car due to some kind of splatter marks across the glass. "There's too many questions and no answers Macintosh...and sitting here thinking about it and coming up with four hundred possibilities isn't going to help us at all." He turned his head towards Macintosh and gave him a tiny smile as he muttered "Baby steps Mac...we'll find her...I promise."

Sky simply shrugged and watched as Shadow pushed himself up against the door, preparing himself to slide the door across, muttering "What I'D like to know...is exactly what Trixie is using this train for in the first place. She's a Carrier...their magic is amplified by at least forty to sixty times their norm...why would she need a train if she knows how to teleport?"

"Whoa...hold on." Macintosh interjected, turning towards Sky "Yer sayin' the Virus makes Carrier's STRONGER?!"

"Dangerously so..." muttered Sky, who simply shook his head and sighed "We're not sure exactly how it does it...but the Ravage Virus amplifies the magic capabilities, outputs, strengths, and usages of a Carrier at least forty to sixty times...which again, makes me wonder why Trixie needs this train in the first place..."

"I'd rather not think about THOSE possibilities either..." Shadow grumbled, and with that, he pushed up on the latch and started to open the door. The wind from the outside roared with great intensity as the three made their way out onto the small platform connecting the doors of the two cars. Shadow quickly made his way across and tried to open the door, grunting as he pushed his hoof against the latch. After several attempts he turned his head back towards the other two and hollered "Door's locked!!!"

Sky frowned and look towards the door for a moment before slowly looking up towards the roof. He then looked down towards the Captain who followed Sky's gaze and smiled as Shadow face-hoofed and shook his head. "Going up Cap?" Sky jeered as the colt rolled his eyes.

Shadow looked towards Macintosh after he lowered his hoof and shouted over the roar of the train "You ever done this kind of thing before?!"

Macintosh narrowed his eyes and stared at him for a moment to let the stupidity of his question sink in before grudgingly replying with "Does it look like ah climb on the roofs of speeding trains for a livin'!?"

Shadow stared at him for a moment, blinking twice and taking a quick glance at Sky who merely shrugged. "Um..." Shadow said with a slight blush "Good point." He turned his attention upwards as he shouted "I'll go up first and help Macintosh up with a hoof. Sky, you give him a boost once I'm all situated up there. Once we're up there Macintosh, keep your body closely pressed to the roof and crawl. Just follow my lead, alright?"

"If ya'll say so!" Macintosh shouted "Let's get to it!"

Shadow nodded and braced his back legs before leaping up towards the edge of the roof. He gripped it with a firm hoof, adding a second one a quick moment later and shimmying up onto the metallic surface. The wind pummeled the Captain with fierce intensity as the air resistance from the gap of the train disappeared. "Luna damn it all...I'm getting too old for this..." he grumbled to himself, turning his body carefully and pressing his belly against the cold roof. He shivered as he lowered a hoof towards Macintosh, who with a strained boost from Sky, was pushed upwards and towards his extended hoof. Macintosh hooked his hoof in Shadow's and threw the other over the edge of the roof. After a few difficult moments, the two Guards managed to push and pull the heavy stallion onto the roof of the car, with Sky following shortly after.

Shadow took the lead as he crawled across the roof, squinting his eyes against the wind and blinking as much as he could to prevent his eyes from being dried out too quickly. In the span of two agonizing minutes, the three finally managed to crawl across the expanse of the roof. With a quick heave and a not-so-graceful landing, Shadow dropped down onto the metal platform. Sky and Macintosh followed a few moments later, the three of them hugging themselves for a moment in an attempt some kind of feeling back in their limbs. "By Luna's mane!" Hollered Sky, a chuckle rising out of his voice "Remind me to put that on my list of 'Things to never do again in my life time', eh Capt-AAAARGH!!!"

He was cut off as the window of the door behind him shattered and a hoof reached out, wrapping itself across his neck and pulling him back towards the door. "SKY!!!" Shadow roared, charging forward with a quick unsheathing of his knife. An Afflicted shrieked as Shadow approached, the Captain quickly driving his blade into the eye of the beast and releasing Sky from its hold. It fell backwards as several more hooves reached out in attempts to grab the coughing soldier, the three of them retreating back towards the other door. The latch on the door rattled violently as Sky looked on in horror towards the door, being able to see inside the locked car. Afflicted were packed to the walls inside the car, crawling over one another and retching blood everywhere. The sounds of shrieking and howling blasted through the glass as Sky shouted "Holy SHIT! That's what she's using the train for!!! It's not a transport, it's a friggin' TROOP CARRIER!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes towards the cramped car as he spoke "This must've been what she was up to all this time...gathering and collecting as much Afflicted as she could for the siege against Canterlot." He turned his attention towards the door behind them as he barked towards the others "We need to get to the engine car and stop this damn train, NOW! If we can put a dent in Trixie's reinforcements, then maybe we can buy Canterlot some time!"

The Captain peered into the window of the door, looking across the long hallway that was flanked on the left and right by 'Bed Seats', bunk beds embedded into the wall that all had their private curtains drawn to a close. "Alright..." he said towards the two "Looks like the coast is clear...let's get through this one quick." With a quick opening and closing of the door, the three quickly moved inside. The three of them quietly walked through the car with Shadow in the lead, followed by Sky and finally Macintosh, their hooves making soft padding noises as they moved through. At the half-way point, Macintosh quietly turned his head to look behind him, staring towards the shattered window of the Afflicted cramped car and noticing that they were no longer reaching through the broken opening. He was stopped, however, by the sudden impact of Sky's flank against his chest.

"What in tarna-" he began but was quickly stopped by Sky's hoof pressing against his mouth. The colt had a terrified look on his face as he slowly shook his head, the work horse noticing that Shadow had stopped mid-stride, his horrified eyes looking towards his right. Macintosh followed his gaze and his own eyes widened with fear at the sight before him. One of the bunk bed's curtains was open...and inside rested a beast that made Macintosh want to puke. It was a pony, a colt. His coat was a dark blue color, with two bite marks adorning his leg and back. He was Afflicted, Macintosh could tell...but what he lacked was eyes. Its eye sockets were scratched and chipped of bone, with tiny droplets of blood leaking out of the pit and onto the sheets underneath it.

Macintosh looked towards Sky who carefully took his hooves away and pointed towards the blind Afflicted. He pointed to his own eyes and shook his head, but when he pointed to his ears he nodded with a grave expression on his face. Macintosh turned his attention back towards the Afflicted, noticing that its ears seemed to have...grown, along with two large fangs in the front of its mouth. 'A Variant...' Macintosh thought 'Must be a scary type if it's got them big chompers for weapons...'

With a quick nod from the workhorse, Sky turned around and lightly tapped Shadow on his flank twice. Shadow nodded slowly and the three of them began to once again walk through the car...at a much slower and quieter pace. Macintosh watched in complete terror as they came across several more open bunks...each with a blind Afflicted resting inside. Shadow-Mane stopped suddenly as one of the Afflicted slowly crawled out from its bunk, looking up and sniffing quietly. The Captain simply stared with wide, intense eyes as the Afflicted let out a quiet whimper and turned towards them, beginning a slow walk in their direction. With a frantic wave of his hoof, Shadow quickly and quietly stepped over to the side as the Afflicted approached, the two colts behind the Captain mimicking his side-stepping movements.

Several tense moments passed as the blind Afflicted quietly walked past the three, the colts' eyes following its movements carefully. Once it had passed, Shadow pointed a hoof forward and resumed their treacherous trek across the car. The door was approaching quickly, drawing a smile to Macintosh's face...until a violent lurch of the train shattered that hope. A suitcase came flying out of one of the higher bunks as the train suddenly banked to the left in a sharp turn, the container bursting open and revealing two wine glasses amongst the midst of discarded socks and scarves that fell. The three watched in horror as the two glasses came down, shattering loudly on the floor of the train.

The immediate reaction was a near heart-stopper for the group as the heads of very pissed off Afflicted shot out of the drawn curtains of their beds. A unified growl of warning was carried across the entire car as Shadow silently gulped, pointing forward with a hoof quietly and moving as carefully as he could across the shattered remains of the wine glasses in front of him. Sky was up next, passing over the glasses with no problem and letting out a quiet breath of relief. Macintosh followed suit right after, gingerly stepping over the glass and trying his best to keep up with Sky. He misplaced his back right hoof however...stepping right on a sharp piece of glass.

"OW!!!" He hollered, drawing a heaving gasp out of the two guards in front of him. "Aw shi- Sorry! Ah'm SORR-"

...

"SSSSSSSCCCCCCCRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" came the unified, blasting cries of the blind Afflicted, the monsters leaping from their beds and swarming up the middle hall as the colts flattened their ears to their heads in pain.

"SHIT, RUN! RUN!!!!" Shadow shrieked, bolting forward with Sky and Macintosh close behind. The blind Afflicted gave chase behind them, startling the Workhorse as they approached faster than he could have ever predicted. Shadow reached the door quickly, throwing it open and dashing outside as Sky and Macintosh followed. With a quick closing of the door, Shadow and Macintosh braced themselves against it and grunted as several thuds were felt against their backs.

"Buck a cat and call me a Red Delicious, that was the scariest shit ah've ever seen or been through!" Hollered Macintosh. The two glared at him for a moment, drawing a sheepish grin and a blush out of the workhorse as he rubbed the top of his head with a hoof and chuckled "Eh heh...sorry bout' that...stepped on some glass."

Shadow sighed and shook his head, stepping away from the door as the thudding ceased. "Well...at least that's over." he grumbled, looking towards the next car and breathing in a sigh of relief. The next car had a walkway running along both sides, allowing for a quick bypass of anymore Afflicted that they might run into.

"What...were those things, by the way?" Macintosh asked, drawing a shiver out of Sky as he was forced to recall them.

"Those...were Shriekers," Sky answered "They're blind Afflicted who're considered one of the most dangerous Variants of Afflicted that exist. They can't see...but what they lack in sight they make up for it in hearing, their ear-piercing shriek, and incredible speed. I take it you noticed those large fangs that were growing in their mouths?" Macintosh nodded his head in response as Sky went on "Well those are what makes them the most dangerous. They're pumped full of blood that'll turn you into an Afflicted almost immediately after they've bitten you. It cuts the infection time from minutes into seconds, making it to where the ratio between defenders and attackers is turned around almost instantly."

"Nasty bunch ah take it...definitely stayin' away from them in the future." Macintosh grumbled as Shadow peered into the next car.

"...Shit," swore the Captain as he looked through the glass "We've got a problem."

"Oh great," scoffed Sky "I'll be sure to add that to the list of bullshit we've already gone and accumulated already."

Shadow rolled his eyes as he turned away from the door, growling "There's a lot of shimmering in there, which mean this car's devoted to Lurkers."

Macintosh raised an eyebrow as he spoke "So? There's balconies on this car...we can just walk around."

"It's not that simple..." Shadow spoke with irritation in his voice "The window's of these cars are all broken, which means the Lurkers can still lean through and attack! It looks like they already know we're here..." He turned his head back towards the window, watching as the shimmering intensified and moved about the car wildly, some of it flashing in front of the window Shadow stood by. "We're gonna have to crawl across the balcony and hope that they're not within hoof's reach. They're masters at grappling...if you remember."

"Let's just go..." Sky groaned "The faster we get by em the faster we can get to the engine car. How close are we anyway?"

Shadow frowned, moving onto one of the balconies and peering around the corner of the car towards the front. A small smile spread across his face as he spotted only one more car in front of the Lurker's car before the engine car. "Just one more after this one Sky, and we're home free." he said. He frowned, however, as he looked off into the green plains to their right, spotting a familiar range of mountains in the distance. "I know those mountains...we're nearing Manehatten." He turned his head towards the two behind him and barked "We gotta double-time it if we're going to stop this train before we reach the city, come on!"

The two nodded and followed close behind Shadow-Mane as he dropped to his belly, crawling across the wooden walkway towards the opposite end. "Aw dammit...ah'm gonna get splinters in mah belly!" groaned Macintosh, drawing a stiff chuckle out of Sky who replied with a light "Oh grow up ya big baby..."

"Both of you be quiet!" Shadow hissed, looking back towards them "Do you want to let the Lurkers know we're he-"

"Hisssssss!"

"...Shit."

"Real smooth Mac..."

"Says the loudmouth!"

The three of them crawled as quick as they could forward, wincing as the Lurkers swiped at them from above. Macintosh could feel the air of the swipe pass over him quickly, and even let out a loud whine as he felt something wet splatter against his back. "Awww SHIT, they're drooling on me!"

"Tell me you don't have any back wounds Macintosh!" Hollered Sky as they neared the end of the car "It'd be a real shame to have to kill you now, seeing as we're so close to the city already!"

"Aw fuck you!" shouted Macintosh "And no, ah ain't wounded on mah back, so don't go puttin' the thought through yer head!"

The three of them finally made it to the end of the cart, standing and heading towards the next car. "Let me guess..." Sky said with a sarcastic laugh "This one's filled with Hurlers...no, better yet, why not make it cramped with Thunder-Hooves!? That'd be a fucking RIOT!"

"Glad to see yer takin' this so well..." Macintosh grumbled, drawing a firm head shake out of Shadow as he stepped away from the door.

"Nope...standard Afflicted, and all these windows are secure" Shadow said, turning towards the balconies "Let's get to the engine car!" With a quick nod from the others, the three of them hastily galloped across the balcony, reaching the opposite end in no time. Shadow quickly approached the door to the boiler room, peering in and swearing after a moment "Dammit...there's already too much coal inside, Trixie's really pushing this train to its limits...explains why its been lurching on turns." he grumbled before turning towards the other two and shouting "You two wait here, I'm going to get up into the Conductor's room and see if I can't yank the brakes on this thing!"

"You might want to hurry up with that Cap!" Shouted Sky as he peered to the left of the train "I can see Manehatten from here, and she's coming up fast!" The colt grimaced as he spotted the towering city in the distance, dark plumes of smoke and fire rising up across its entire expanse. "Stars above...that place has seen better days."

With a nod, Shadow turned on his hooves and moved around the side of the boiler room, hopping up on a small platform before peering into the smashed window of the Conductor's room. He swore loudly as he spotted the emergency brake, the bar torn off at its base and rendering it useless. He looked forward, watching the train's direction of travel for a moment before noticing that they were rolling on tracks that moved AWAY from Manehatten in a wide turn, not towards it. With a quick retreat, Shadow shook his head and hollered "Brakes are out, Trixie must be stopping this thing with magic and refueling it with coal only when she needs it to go again! It looks like she already moved the tracks herself...probably pointing it straight towards her staging ground!"

"Well sir..." started Sky "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be on this train when it reaches her war camp...and the thousands of Afflicted she's probably got stockpiled. I think we better abandon ship here!"

"But how!?" Hollered Macintosh "If ya'll didn't notice, we're on a high speed train! Jumping at this rate would be suicide!"

"Staying ON IT would be suicide!" countered Sky, the two finally looking towards Shadow-Mane for an answer.

The Captain was quiet for a moment before looking up towards Sky with a sheepish grin on his face and shouting "How close are we Buckson River?"

"No...no fucking WAY Captain!" cried Sky "There's no way you're considering th-"

"Looks like there's a bridge ahead! Ah think ah see water!" Interjected Macintosh with a smile, the workhorse leaning over the edge of the left balcony, drawing a nod out of Shadow who trotted up towards the edge of the balcony.

"Captain you're not serious are you!?" hollered Sky as Macintosh and Shadow threw their front two hooves over the railing.

"What's wrong Sky!?" laughed the Captain "afraid to get your hoofsies wet?!"

The train clacked loudly as it roared onto the bridge crossing the river, drawing a shout out of Macintosh "It's now or never, JUMP!!!"

"AW HELL!" Sky hollered as he followed the two jumping colts off the train, leaping with them as the train rocketed away. The three of them plummeted through the air for several moments, drawing a hearty laugh out of Shadow-Mane and a panicked scream out of Sky as the water quickly approached.

"YEEEEHAAA-" began Macintosh, the stallion quickly being cut off as they plunged into the water with a loud 'SPLASH!' The water rippled from the impact for a moment before being disturbed once again by the emerging of the trio. With a laugh out of Shadow and Macintosh and a disgruntled look out of Sky, the three began their quick swim towards shore as the Afflicted packed train continued its deadly course onwards.

As they shifted onto shore, the three of them shook their bodies and rumps, doing their best to get as much water out of their coats as they could. "Well..." Macintosh began with a laugh "At least the impact didn't kill us! Mighty good luck there eh Shadow? ....Shadow?" After hearing no response, Macintosh turned his head towards Shadow and Sky who were staring towards the city with jaws agape and eyes wide. "What's wrong?" He asked, drawing a grim look out of Shadow who gulped and turned towards the stallion.

"Remember how I said Manehatten was our best bet at finding Twilight...?" he asked, drawing a single nod out of Macintosh. "Well..." he muttered, pointing behind him and saying the words that drove a cold, icy wave of fear and through his heart

"I think...we found her."

Macintosh turned his head slowly, peering towards the city and letting his eyes widen and his irises shrink, and a gut wrenching gasp escape his lungs.

Found her...indeed.

The Mare and her Manehatten...

"Burn...Burn...Burn it all again....set it aflame and watch the tendrils of orange and yellow lick at the ruins of this world. Watch me weave...a simple pattern into the fabric...so that I may come forward into the dawn and weep as I set myself on fire and burn you all to death".

- Twilight Sparkle

"Ah...ah don't.....ah don't understand!!!" Macintosh finally exclaimed as he stared towards the ruined city. Behind him, Captain Shadow-Mane and Sky-Driver said nothing, still looking across the sinister buildings with mouths agape and eyes wide. The buildings of Manehatten were, for lack of a better word, 'marked'. A six pointed star, drawn in what looked like blood, was surrounded by five smaller stars and plastered on almost all of the buildings in sight. It was a mark Macintosh had come to memorizing back in the days of a peaceful Ponyville...when he watched a certain flank adorned with such a mark bounce happily out of and into a library.

"That's...." Shadow-Mane began, taking a large gulp of air before being able to finally compose himself "Is Twilight's Cutie-Mark...correct?" Macintosh couldn't reply, only look across the smoldering, ruined buildings and the the dark mark which they all were labeled with.

"Interesting..." Sky-Driver muttered to himself "I had heard some minor reports about Carriers being somewhat territorial...but I didn't know it could be to such a scale. That confirms it then...she really is a Carrier."

"How much...how much blood did she need for all this?!" Macintosh asked, turning his head towards Shadow-Mane who simply shrugged with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"With as many marks as there are on the buildings..." Shadow muttered "It's safe to assume that there are a LOT of Afflicted inside the city. Depending on how many we find will determine what side Twilight is on."

"Huh?" Sky voiced, turning his head up towards his Captain and raising an eyebrow "What makes you say that Captain?"

Shadow-Mane trotted up towards Big Macintosh, staring up at the ominous black clouds that hung dangerously overhead. "Think about it," he said, looking across the buildings "If there are swarms upon swarms of Afflicted here, it can only mean that Twilight hasn't sent any of her horde to Canterlot. If there isn't...well..." He looked towards Big Macintosh, the stallion not replying except with a closing of his eyes and a sad nod of his head.

The three of them fell into silence, the Captain and his soldier falling in behind Macintosh as he began a slow walk towards the ruined city. "Cap...what if there ARE swarms here? There's only three of us...we won't stand a chance!" Sky whispered in uncertainty.

"Sky..." Shadow whispered back, not taking his eyes off of the buildings "We'll move as we did in Operation Anchor-Wing...simple as that." Macintosh ignored the talk of the two behind him, focusing only on what was before him.

It was time for answers...there was no denying that Twilight Sparkle was a Carrier of the Ravage Virus anymore. His beloved had runaway and had not come back...because she had turned into a monster. How? Why? What was she up to? Questions he wanted, needed, DEMANDED to know the answers to. All of the pain...all of the despair...everything that the poor workhorse had endured ever since he had run into that house with Carrot Top, Rarity, and the others...it was time to finally discover what it was all really about.

"This is it..." Macintosh breathed as his hoof hit the solid stone of Manehatten's streets "Where are you...?" Shadow-Mane and Sky kept close to him as they ventured into the ruined streets of the city, looking about at the wreckage and carnage that had been strewn about the concrete corridors. Carriages, splintered and broken, cramped up the streets. Overturned market carts and smashed in store windows were the norm around the area, with bodies and skeletons of ponies laying about in small groups.

Sky wrinkled his nose as the smell of death and decay reached his nostrils, Shadow merely grimacing and Macintosh not showing any acknowledgement of the smell at all. They walked down the street carefully, the clouds above glowing with the light of dark red, presumably from the sun. The city was covered with the color of a reddish tint, a color Shadow had only ever seen once before in his life...when they had detonated a Rain-Nuke back in the Pega-Soar Wars.

"Where do you think she is?" Sky whispered as they began a slow climb over a giant pile of debris that clogged up the middle of the street.

"Carrier's are very...symmetrical in their thinking." Shadow muttered, trying his best not to step on any skeletons or sharp glass that were crammed into the mountainous pile. "If I know anything about Twilight Sparkle...is that she was the same way. She'll most likely be in Canter Park, right in the middle of the city." After a few minutes, the three reached the top of the debris pile, looking on into the rest of the ruined city.

Sky silently pointed out four or five Afflicted down the street, the beasts venturing alone about the walkways and stores. One was shifting through a pile of glass and wood, sniffing it carefully. "These aren't swarms..." Sky said with a sad tone in his voice.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves" Shadow offered to a frowning Macintosh "They could be inside the buildings...and these could be nothing but strays."

One of the Afflicted's ears perked, the diseased pony looking up and staring towards the three on top of the hill. For a moment, the four ponies stood completely still, staring towards one another with semi-wide eyes. The Afflicted, much to the group's surprise, simply lowered its head back down and continued sifting through the pile of debris it had been messing with only moments ago. "Um..." Sky stated in wonder "That's...new."

"An Afflicted not attacking an uninfected on sight...what in the world...?" Shadow muttered, narrowing his eyes towards the infected.

Macintosh merely grunted, beginning his slow descent down the pile of debris, much to the dismay of the two guards on the hill who hissed at him to come back and not attract their attention. The workhorse ignored them, quickly making his way back down into the street and walking straight towards the Afflicted. "Screw it..." he growled towards the beast "Ah'm tired of all the runnin' n' hidin'. If they wanna tussle...let's get to the square dancin'." The Afflicted looked back up as Macintosh approached, the beast taking a moment to sniff in his direction...before simply putting its head down and poking at the pile of debris.

Macintosh blinked in surprise as he slowly walked past the Afflicted, the two guards on the hill rushing to catch up with him. "What the hell...?" Sky muttered as they passed the Afflicted, reaching out a hoof to poke it.

Shadow-Mane swatted Sky's hoof away as the Afflicted began to growl, the Captain hissing at his soldier "Just because the lion isn't attacking you doesn't mean you have the ok to go and poke the fucking thing!"

"Alright, alright!" Sky grumbled, shaking his stinging hoof "Just figured I'd see what happened..." The two of them kept close behind Macintosh as they passed by several more Afflicted, all of them raising their heads to stare at them for a moment before returning to their business.

"Ok...I'll bite," Shadow muttered in amazement "How the hell is this possible? What in Luna's name is going on?!"

"Maybe Twi' is doin' something to em'" Macintosh offered, looking towards a pair of Afflicted who were casually walking down the street with one another. "Think about it...if Twi's a Carrier, that means she's got some kind of controller powers, right? Maybe she's makin' him friendly or sumthin'"

"Alright..." Sky said with a raised eyebrow "But...why?"

"Again, Sky...too many questions, no answers. Let's find her first before we start asking more" Shadow said, drawing a nod out of two. As they approached the corner, a bright flash of purple and red gleamed across the buildings, followed by a low rumbling sound which lasted about five seconds before disappearing. "That glow...it resembles Twilight Sparkle's magic. We better double-time it to the park!"

The group broke out into a gallop, traveling through the streets at a hurried pace as the glow of magic flashed outwards another three times. With each flash, the glow got brighter and brighter, signalling that they were nearing Canter Park. All around, Afflicted stopped in their tracks to watch them run, noticing that they were traveling toward the park. They let out low growls as they turned, following them at a brisk pace. "Um..Cap!" Sky shouted as he noticed the Afflicted following them "We got company!"

"Ignore them!" Shadow barked "They're probably wondering why we're running towards their Carrier! As long as we don't do anything stupid they should remain docile!"

The three of them, after a few more moments, turned the final corner and spotted Canter Park at the end of a short street. They gasped as they looked over the wasteland of dirt and sand that used to be nothing more than trees and lush grass. Where there was once forested beauty...now stood a dessert of ash, dirt, and sand, with a large, spiral hill rising out of the middle. Situated at the top of the hill was a swirling, tornado like vortex, of reddish magic. The hum of magic was audible in the air, the vortex casting lights and gleams across the building that danced in a spiral motion.

"Is...is that?!" Macintosh gasped as they approached the park, their speed slowing down to a light trot and then to a walk.

"It could very well be...keep on your guard now..." Shadow answered, narrowing his eyes towards the magical vortex before them. The three of them came to a stop just before the stone turned into dirt, looks of apprehension, caution, and wonder mixed on their faces.

After a few moments of staring, Macintosh took his first step onto the dirt, moving towards the vortex. "This is such a bad idea..." Sky muttered, following Macintosh as they approached the vortex.

"Twilight!!!" Macintosh called out, hoping to get any kind of response out of her. The vortex suddenly flashed however, and a thin piece of sheet metal burst from the sand, flying like a razor disk towards Macintosh.

"BY LUNA'S TEARS, WATCH OUT!" Shadow shrieked...but it was too late. The metal soared into the left side of Macintosh's face, bouncing upwards as the workhorse let out a startled, painful cry and fell backwards into the dirt, falling into unconsciousness.

"Macintosh!!!" Sky hollered, rushing to the workhorse's side and staring with a frowning grimace at the blood that was pulsing from above and below his eye. "I think I can stop the bleeding!" he shouted as Shadow-Mane growled towards the vortex.

The swirling motion of the vortex began to slow, the magical aura dissipating and the figure of a mare being spotted from within. "Twilight...Sparkle..." Shadow growled at the mare atop the hill, staring intently at the shredded brown cloak she wore, her front hooves that were bandaged completely, and the brown mask that she wore on her face. The front of the mask was stamped with the bloody symbol of her Cutie-Mark, her horn aglow with a reddish purple magic.

She slowly turned her head towards Captain Shadow-Mane, her ears perking as Sky hollered "I think I can stop the bleeding, but he's not waking up! Dammit come on!"

"Forget it Sky...we've got a bigger issue to deal with..." Shadow muttered, keeping his eyes on Twilight as she began to take her first slow steps down the hill. Her horn's magic faded as she continued her slow walk, listening to the sounds of Shadow and Sky drawing their blades and holding them defensively in front of them. "She's hostile...prepare yourself Sky!" Shadow growled, drawing a nod out of his soldier.

She stopped, tilting her head gently to the side as a low rumble began to echo out from underneath their hooves, her horn slowly emitting a soft glow of magic. Her horn suddenly flashed, gleaming brightly with deadly looking magic. Shadow and Sky had not the time to prepare as a loud-sounding blast of static and white noise pierced their ears, causing them to cry out in pain and flatten their ears to their heads. "The hell is that!?!?" Sky roared in fury as Shadow-Mane shook his head in pain.

"I don't know!!!" He replied "But be ready for anything!!! She's not the Twilight Sparkle we know!"

Twilight's horn flashed again and two ethereal looking swords appeared out of thin air, swirling around her as she charged down the hill towards the two. The static had gone silent, Shadow and Sky shaking off the stunning effect as the mare closed in on both them. She barrel rolled with a quick side flip towards them, bringing her swords to bear and crashing them into theirs. Shadow-Mane pushed his blade against hers, Sky following suit as the magical blades soared about, countering and slashing whenever an opportunity presented itself.

Twilight heaved one of her blades, catching Sky's sword in an uppercut and aiming her horn towards him. A ball of whirling air formed in front of her horn, the unicorn launching it towards the guard. The ball of air struck Sky with a heavy force, exploding violently and sending him flying down the street into a pile of debris.

"Sky!" Shadow shouted as he deflected another slash from Twilight's blades. "Bastard!" Shadow roared as the two of them slashed, parried, and blocked each others' blades. Shadow ducked as one of the blades cleaved the air just above him, diving back and fanning out his wings. He hovered there for a moment as Twilight simply looked up, her horn glowing with bright magic. "Twilight Sparkle!" Shadow roared "What do you think you're doing!? Why are you attacking us?! We're your friends, remember!?" Twilight didn't respond, simply gathering larger and larger amounts of magic in front of her.

"So much for talking..." Shadow muttered as Twilight's magic exploded with a bright light, sending several balls of missile-like energy towards Shadow. The Captain quickly went into evasive maneuvers as he dodged, dove around, and barrel-rolled through the sky. The missiles soared past him, just barely missing him and crashing into the buildings behind him with explosive force. He soared around the park as Twilight ascended the hill, drawing even more power into her horn and casting it forward in a deadly laser beam of magic.

Shadow let out a startled "WHOA!" as he dove, only barely escaping his flying straight into it. "She's not fooling around...what the hell is going on!?"

He felt a ball of magic singe his fur as it soared just over his back, his ears perking at the sound of a cackling laugh echoing across the park. "That...that's not Twilight's laugh!" Shadow shouted "That's Trixie's! Is she here, is she watching this!?" His train of thought was broken as the laser beam chased him, soaring right past Shadow-Mane as he did a quick somersault in the air and dove towards the ground. "Come on, what gives!" Shadow hollered towards Twilight as he blasted by, the mare following with her horn and launching more missiles of homing magic towards him. Shadow dove, spun, and flipped through the air, avoiding as many of the balls of death as he could. "Why are you doing this Twilight!? WHY!?"

Shadow closed his wings, dropping to the ground in a forward roll as several of the missiles pelted the ground he occupied only seconds before, exploding violently and sending him forward from the blast. He landed roughly in the dirt, looking up towards Twilight with a fierce look in his eyes "That's it, I'm sick of this SHIT!" he roared, getting to his hooves and charging upwards with a fierce cry. Twilight simply lowered her head, hurling more balls of magic towards him in attempts to fell him where he stood.

Shadow ducked as the first one passed over him, and quickly leaped to the side as two more soared past. He continued his frantic dance and dodging of the bolts, quickly closing the distance between them. Twilight took a single step back, drawing an ethereal blade out of the air in preparation to combat Shadow once again in close quarters. With a mighty cry, Shadow slammed his blade into hers, the force of the impact shattering Twilight's blade in an instant.

The mare was startled backwards, quickly summoning another blade as Shadow rushed forward, battering and swinging his blade with tremendous force towards Twilight. Shadow swiped Twilight's blade away and roared "ENOUGH!" as she summoned yet another blade, attempting to push Shadow back up the hill.

With a quick parry and a swing of his hoof, Shadow screamed yet again "I, SAID, ENOUGH!!!!" He brought his hoof forward, smashing it into Twilight's mask and shattering it. His hoof connected with her soft face, sending her flying down the hill towards Big Macintosh. She hit the dirt with a soft 'thud' as Shadow panted, sheathing his sword back into its leg holster.

He watched as Twilight looked up at the hill towards him, and the gleaming hatred of red in her eyes that stared into his. Her face had several scratches on it, her mane frazzled, tangled, and caked with mud and dirt. "That's why..." Shadow muttered as he failed to spot any color in her eyes besides red "She's in her territorial defense mode..she's fighting for survival...not for e- ARRGH!!!!"

Shadow cried out in pain as he felt an invisible pressure tighten around him, lifting and suspending him up into the air. Twilight let out a savage growl as her horn gleamed, constricting Shadow even more as he let out a piercing cry of pain.

From behind, Macintosh slowly blinked his eyes awake, groaning and putting a hoof to his head as Shadow continued to shriek and cry out in pain. "Wh...huh?" he grunted, rolling over slowly and looking up towards the hill. He gasped as he beheld his true love, Twilight Sparkle, constricting and twisting Shadow in the air, drawing more and more painful cries out of the poor colt.

"M...Macintosh!" hollered Shadow "G..get out- ARGH!!! ...Get out of here! Run! RUN!!!"

From behind Macintosh, Sky's shouts were just audible over his Captain's cries "Shadow!!! Hang on! I'm...dammit I'm stuck! Just hold on!"

Macintosh slowly got to his hooves, wincing as his eye let out a throb of pain. He looked towards his beautiful mare...his one true goal of this entire, miserable journey. There she was...standing before him...just as he remembered. She let out a savage growl and twisted Shadow's front hoof behind his back, drawing more shrieks out of him as the workhorse slowly approached her from behind.

"Ah found you..." he whispered quietly, quietly moving towards her "Ah finally found you Twi'...and ah don't care what anypony says...you're still mah mare..." he stopped just behind her, staring at the back of her head. "Ah don't care what anypony says..." he whispered with a small smile "You're still Twi'...a good, honest unicorn...and ah love you..."

With that, he grasped Twilight around her neck, drawing a gasp out of the mare who suddenly dropped Shadow, the colt hitting the hill with a loud 'thud' and tumbling down its side. Macintosh turned her head and body around towards him with a light tug, making them stare into one anothers eyes.

"Macintosh...MACINTOSH!!!" Sky hollered as he desperately tried to free his pinned leg. "Don't!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!" Macintosh ignored him, staring into the angry face of Twilight, watching as her horn stared to glow rapidly with magic, magic he knew was meant to kill him.

"No Twi'..." he whispered, stroking her cheek with a hoof "Ya can't do that to me...not now...ah know you're in there somewhere...come back to me Twi'"

Shadow grunted, shaking his head and quickly coming back to his senses. He looked up and over towards the two lovers, staring towards the bloody scar that stained the upper and lower areas of fur and skin around his left eye. "Macintosh get away from her! She's going to KILL YOU!!!" he hollered, trying his best to get to his hooves. His rear legs gave out, however, pain racing up his flank and causing him to cry out.

"No more runnin'..." Macintosh whispered, smiling as tears ran down his cheeks "No more hidin'...if you're gone n' lost...then ah wanna be lost with you..." With that, he closed the distance between the both of them, pushing his lips against hers and kissing her deeply.

"MACINTOSH, NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"! Shadow roared, extending a hoof out towards him in despair. "NO!!! NO NO NO!!! MACINTOSH!!!!"

Twilight let out a gasp, her magic dissipating and the red gleam in her eyes fading until the purple color of her eyes could be seen. She blinked as she watched Macintosh slowly pull away from her, staggering down the hill as tears of blood mixed in with his tears of sadness. "M...Macintosh?!" she whispered in horror, watching as he felt on his rump and hugged his stomach.

"H...howdy..." he whimpered as he felt his insides start to burn, his breathing growing ragged. He smiled at her as she lifted a hoof in front of her mouth in terror, whispering towards her "It's gonna be ok...it's...it's gonna...it........." He fell backwards, landing on his back. He started to twitch and shake as Sky continued to shout from his place in the street, doubling his efforts to free himself.

"N...no!" Twilight shouted "No! Not you!! Why did you...why did you come for me!? Why did you do this!?!" She felt tears slide down her cheeks as Shadow pushed himself to his hooves, staggering for a moment but straightening himself up nonetheless. She watched in despair as Macintosh stopped moving for a moment...his chest rising and falling quickly before he began to stir, getting to his hooves slowly and opening his eyes. His eyes were the color of rubies, his breath ragged and shallow, and his legs shaky as he moved towards her. "Macintosh..." she whispered as he approached her, lifting a hoof towards him before hissing "Ssstop!".

Macintosh stopped in his tracks, as did Shadow, the weary colt watching as Twilight approached her coltfriend, looking up into his diseased eyes. "I'm sorry..." she whimpered, nuzzling the bottom of his chin "I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have come...you should have just left me!" She turned her head towards Shadow, shouting "You should have all just left me behind! I'm nothing but a monster now!"

"That's not true Twilight!" Shadow hollered back, holding his side gently "You were acting out of instinct! It's not your fault, it's Ravage's!"

"Why did you all come for me...?" Twilight whispered as Shadow limped towards her, the mare staring up at her Afflicted lover who stared back down at her, wheezing and drooling a mixture of blood and saliva from his mouth "Why...why did you leave Canterlot?"

"Because Macintosh needed you..." Shadow whispered, falling to his flank and staring up at the workhorse sadly "We all needed you...Trixie is planning on attacking Canterlot, and you're the only one left who can stop her."

Twilight grimaced as she heard Trixie's name uttered, her horn glowing with a bright yellow magic...a color of magic that Shadow once recognized as Celestia's. "I know she is...I'll be there for when the shields fall." She placed the tip of her horn on Macintosh's chin, sucking in a breath and letting out a piercing cry of pain as a bubble of yellowish magic fanned out from her horn. It covered Macintosh completely before vanishing, causing Twilight to drop to the ground in exhaustion.

"Twilight!" Shadow exclaimed, helping the mare back up to her hooves after a few moments and shouting "What do you mean you'll be there?! Tell me you're not helping her destroy the last of our kind!"

"I couldn't care less about Canterlot!" Twilight roared towards the Captain, making him step back a few feet "All I care about is getting to the mare who rests UNDER Canterlot...the mare who I still have unfinished business with."

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed, watching as Twilight turned his back on her and sat on the sandy dirt.

A few moments of silence passed between all of them until a low groan was heard from Macintosh, drawing a gasp out of Shadow as the workhorse muttered "W...what happened?!"

"HOLY SHIT!" Sky hollered as he finally pulled his leg out from under the heavy debris "He's...he's cured!? She purged him! How is she not dead?! How did...what?!"

"Twi'...?" Macintosh whispered, staring towards the back of Twilight's head.

"Macintosh..." she answered quietly, staring towards the ruined city before her and sighing "You shouldn't be here...none of you should be here. You should all be preparing to defend Canterlot...not out here searching for me."

"Hun...that's not true!" Macintosh whispered back "Ah couldn't care less bout' the rest of the world...all that matters to me is you!"

"What matters to me..." Shadow interjected, "is what the hell you're talking about when you say 'unfinished business'. You owe us some answers Twilight, especially after the beating you just gave to the lot of us!"

Sky quickly limped up to the rest of them, the three colts staring towards Twilight as she let out a heaving sigh and looked towards the reddened sky. "I do miss the smell of the wind..." she whispered quietly to herself before turning her head towards the three and muttering "I do owe you that much...don't I...?" There was a pause of silence before Twilight sighed and nodded "Very well...but I will not stay for long...I have business in Canterlot and I will not be stopped now."

She turned towards the colts and with a menacing breath she growled "I do have an appointment with Princess Celestia, after all."

From Her Eyes...

"Dark....I remember it was very dark when I opened my eyes. It was as if somepony had pulled a veil of deep red across my vision, blinding me with the colors of blood and roses. I remember...that it was very cold, despite the fact that the world around me seemed to be on fire. It took me a moment to gather my senses...but besides that...all I could think about was how much pain I was in...and how I felt much more powerful than I could have ever imagined in my entire life."

~Around 1 Month ago...~

Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes, staring towards the sky as her breath came hissing through her lungs in an agonizing wheeze. She was startled to find that her insides no longer burned as if they were on fire, the feeling of heat now becoming the polar opposite and making her body feel like it was covered in ice. She shivered as she stared up towards the sky, a tinge of red blending into her vision as she let out a weak cough and whimpered "Momma...?"

Only the wind answered her as she continued to stare up at the sky, watching as several Pegasus ponies swarmed out overhead, fleeing through the falling shards of gold that once made up the shield surrounding Ponyville. "Oh no, the barrier!" Twilight gasped as she finally noticed the pieces of the cage that had been the tool of her agonizing imprisonment for two long, painful months.

Memories began to flood back to her as she remembered those months...those painful days of sitting on her rear, reading and re-reading every book in the library, gorging herself on apples, and dumping buckets upon buckets of her feces and urine out of the second story window. More importantly...she remembered Captain Shadow-Mane, the escape to Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh, and....Celestia!

"CELESTIA!" Twilight howled, sitting upright quickly and turning her head in every direction. She was sitting next to what she knew was the exit to the escape tunnel that led back towards Town Hall, but all that could be seen inside was the faint glow of red and orange flickering in its depths. With a slow look upwards, Twilight let out a shuddering gasp and beheld her once beloved home...cast in a fiery blaze. Ponyville...was on fire. Houses and shops crumbled and exploded with fire and ash as billowing black smoke was belched from the inferno. In the distance...the now weeping mare could just see the top layers of her library going up in flames.

"So...it's done." she sighed, getting to her hooves slowly and wincing as her body shook with pain. She had only just gotten out of the battle with Celestia, and the end result couldn't have been better. She de-horned Celestia! The Princess was weak and defenseless, making her easily disposed of so that Equestria could finally be rid of and safe from a terrible monster. "Now..." Twilight muttered, looking out amongst the fields and narrowing her eyes slightly "Where...are you?"

She scanned over the tall grass as it waved about in the wind, the smell of smoke and fire choking the air. She started to get a bit worried as she looked across the wide expanse of land, her left eye twitching as she saw no sign of the white Princess. Where could she have gone? Surely she didn't escape!? The Lunar Guard had to have been around to set Ponyville ablaze...they had to have the battle between her and Celestia at some point! Twilight continued to look across the fields...but unfortunately...Celestia was nowhere to be found.

"DAMN IT ALL!" Shrieked the furious mare, her horn suddenly flashing with bright red magic and illuminating an apple tree towards her right. The Tree shook violently for a second before imploding in on itself, exploding outwards an instant later and sending splinters of wood and apples in every direction. The unicorn jumped in surprise at the sudden detonation, turning her head towards the smoldering pile of wood. "Did...I do that?" she whispered in awe, noting just how little magic she used to destroy the tree.

She turned her body towards the rest of the trees, illuminating her horn and reaching out towards another tree nearby. Her magic quickly surrounded the tree, ripping it completely free of the ground with the gentlest tug of force. "By Celestia's mane..." Twilight whispered in wonder "What's...happened to me?" She let the tree drop to the ground with a loud 'crash', conjuring a mirror out of thin air next with a simple spell. She hovered the mirror closer to her...what she saw, making her heart race and her lungs to expel a wheezing gasp.

Her eyes...the whites of her eyes were the color of blood, the purple of her irises remaining. Her body was scarred slightly and she was bleeding in a few places...but her eyes are what stood out the most. "I'm....I'm....!" Twilight stuttered, her body starting to shake and her legs beginning to wobble. "I....I'm...!!!"

"Afflicted, yes." finished a voice from above, causing Twilight to jump and look up towards the top of Applejack's barn. A mare was standing on top of the room, a brown cloak covering her body as well as several wrappings over legs. A mask hung limply via a string around her neck, and her hood had been pulled back to reveal a silvery mane...a coat of blue...and eyes of violet and blood red color. She was a unicorn...a unicorn Twilight had come to unfortunately know as 'The Great and Powerful-'

"Trixie..." Twilight growled, staring up at the mare with a look of loathing in her eyes "What are you doing here? Come to gloat and taunt me some more? Come to say Ponyville has gotten what it's deserved? Go on, say it!"

Trixie seemed stared at Twilight with a raised eyebrow, letting the lavender mare finish her rant before letting out a light chuckle and shaking her head. "Silly girl..." she muttered, the whites of her eyes gleaming with a bloody color "What makes you think I care about Ponyville? It's been scratched off the list...leaving the other cities to be next in line!"

Twilight gasped as she beheld the redness in Trixie's eyes, indicating that she was a Carrier like her. "How...how did YOU of all ponies become infected? The Ravage was contained inside the barrier of Ponyville, and I know you weren't inside the town when the outbreak hit!"

At this, Trixie merely laughed and took a stunning leap off the barn, doing a quick front flip before landing in front of Twilight. The mare took a step backwards out of instinct as Trixie flashed her a sinister smile, hissing quietly "Do you really think a thing like this could be cooped in just one location? There's other places in Equestria that contained Ravage...bunkers...facilities...Canterlot itself. Do you really think that the Everfree Center was the only original outbreak point? Get with the program Twilight Sparkle...this thing is bigger than you know."

Twilight simply blinked as Trixie walked past her, running her tail under her chin and giving it a snap across her cheek. "As for me..." whispered the blue mare "Ravage came to me...oh, let's say...from the stars themselves." Twilight rubbed at her stinging cheek, grimacing towards Trixie as the mare let out a hearty chuckle and stare off across the plains. "Quite a thing to see as I passed on by Twilight Sparkle!" exclaimed Trixie, a tone of over-dramatization in her voice "Flying on by with magical wings...watching as The Lunar Guard rescued Princess Celestia...and left you here to burn with Ponyville!"

"WHAT!?" Twilight shouted, rounding on Trixie who merely smiled, her back turned on the lavender mare "The Lunar Guard wouldn't do that! They had strict orders to rescue me and the other Elements of Harmony!"

"Rescue the UNINFECTED ones...maybe," Trixie hissed, looking behind her with a triumphant grin on her face "You're lost Twilight...infected, Ravaged...useless. You're just another statistic in a war against disease." Twilight looked down slightly as Trixie's words sunk in, her ears drooping as the mare went on "Look at your eyes Sparkle...look at the red that screams 'Diseased!' to anypony unfortunate enough to be around. They take one look at you and either run or try to kill you. Do you really think your friends...Luna...even Macintosh are going to want you around with...what you are?"

"B...but..." Twilight whimpered, looking up with tears in her eyes "They're...they're my friends! They'll stick by me no matter what!"

Trixie let out a scoff of disgust and turned, rounding on Twilight Sparkle and shouting "They stuck by what you WERE, not what you are now! It's because of Afflicted like you and I that Equestria has come to fear and hate us! Think about it, you've been stuck inside Ponyville for two months, what was your general opinion of The Afflicted?"

Twilight frowned, looking towards the ground as the memories resurfaced in her head. After a few moments, the lavender mare finally whispered "I felt...angry. I felt upset...I wanted to kill them all and just make things normal again."

"Uh huh...exactly!" Trixie said with a big smile "You see? They think by killing you and me that things will just go back to normal...but they won't! They NEED us Twilight, they need us to nip the problem in the bud!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, muttering the question of "What exactly is the problem then?"

Trixie simply smiling, pointing a hoof outwards towards the direction of Canterlot and hissing "Why...Princess Celestia of course!"

Twilight growled as Trixie uttered that name...her blood feeling as if it was boiling with fire. "Yes...the Princess that The Lunar Guard rescued and ferried back to Canterlot." Trixie said, a small frown on her face "The Princess who they're going to help recover I presume...cast another shield over Canterlot and protect their little lady while the rest of Equestria burns with the freshly released Ravage from Ponyville. Sad thing...isn't it?" Twilight bit her bottom lip as Trixie began to trot away, speaking out to nopony in general "Oh well...that's the end of it I suppose..."

Trixie smiled, waiting for it...knowing the words were coming. She stopped in her tracks as her ears perked, her smile widening as Twilight shouted "Wait! It doesn't have to be the end just yet!" Trixie turned her head slightly as Twilight quickly trotted up beside her, grumbling "Princess Celestia deserves to die for what she's done to Equestria...but I'm just one unicorn. If the Lunar Guard and Luna herself are really protecting her behind the barrier shields of Canterlot...then I need help!"

At this, the azure mare simply faked a scoff and began to trot away, her words dripping with a mock tone of anger "Oh? Isn't this ironic, the great Element of Magic asking me, Trixie, of all ponies to help out?"

"Please Trixie..." sighed a desperate Twilight, stretching a lavender hoof out towards the mare "I know things may not have worked out in the past...but what's happening now is much bigger than the feud between us! We need to work together if we're going to topple Canterlot!" Trixie frowned for a moment, turning her head back away to the front as she appeared to dive into deep though, presumably thinking over an answer for Twilight.

What Twilight didn't know about, however...was the sinister plot turning and twisting in Trixie's mind, a plan that she had been developing since even before the Ponyville Incident when she was first infected. 'Stupid girl...' Trixie squeed in her mind "It's all coming together so beautifully...though it may take another month or so to bring together...I'll have the shields of Canterlot down soon enough! And then...then Celestia will be dead, and Luna soon after! Equestria will be MINE! MINE!!!!" MI-"

"Trixie...?" Twilight whispered in concern, drawing a light twitch out of other unicorn's neck.

After a moments more of silence, Trixie finally turned around and with a heavy sigh and a grimace on her face, said "Very well Twilight Sparkle...I shall help." Twilight smiled and nodded her head in glee, but it was short-lived as Trixie took on a very serious look and growled "Though the training and preparations will be strenuous as they will be deadly. I have been a Carrier for a lot longer than you have Sparkle...it will take time for your magic to fully replenish and reach its new peak. Once it does...I'll teach you how to better control it...and how to control The Afflicted themselves! Give it a month or so...and you and I will be storming the gates of Canterlot, together!"

~*~

"Sometimes I look back on that day...feeling like it was an eternity ago. When all that passed were twenty eight days...and I found myself training vigorously in Manehatten, I wondered about a lot of things that just weren't making sense. Things weren't adding up...and I had reason to doubt Trixie. Why did she REALLY want to lay siege to Canterlot? It wasn't for Princess Celestia...that was MY goal. What was she playing at? I asked her, of course, about everything...or, well, at least I asked all that I could."

Shortly after the start of The Battle for Cloudsdale

Twilight sat on her rump on the large hill of sand that took up most of Manehatten's Canter Park. In front of her sat four Afflicted, their red eyes glowing and their chests rapidly rising and falling and their breath coming out in ragged gasps. The unicorn furrowed her brow as she pointed with a hoof towards a ruined dumpster resting at the corner of a sidewalk outside one of the demolished buildings. She drew in a breath and called upon what Trixie called her 'Inner Magic', igniting her horn with a reddish glow and hissing "Attaaaack...."

The Afflicted immediately turned and gunned it towards the dumpster, shrieks and howls emitting from their diseased muzzles as they bucked, swiped, and headbutted the infernal trash can with all their might. "Ssssstop!" Twilight hissed, The Afflicted quickly obeying and disengaging from the attack, standing idly whilst staring towards their master. Twilight, having been fed up with waiting, finally sighed and hissed "Roooaaaam....Passssssively..." The Afflicted blinked for a moment, as if confused, before finally turning away and splitting up their tiny group. They began to walk about the area around Twilight, poking and prodding things with hooves and noses, as if they were scavenging or searching for something buried in the sand.

For a little while, Twilight simply sat on her rump, watching her little ponies walk about. She watched them with an amused expression on her face, carefully studying how they moved, how they roamed, how they acted when not on the hunt or the prowl. It was quite a treat for Twilight, seeing as she always wanted to get a chance to study The Afflicted in their natural, non-aggression state, but never could because of the dangers of infection back in Ponyville. She made as many observations, theories, and conclusions as she could in the allotted time that she had. She knew Trixie would be back soon from the supposed 'errands' that she was running...and it was time Twilight needed to quickly crunch in as much observations as she could while forming her own 'Master Plan.'

The goal, of course, was Princess Celestia. Nothing else mattered...nothing else was more important. Celestia was the beginning of this terrible plague...and she would certainly be the end of it. "Once I kill her..." Twilight whispered to herself "I'll use The Afflicted to destroy all of Canterlot...and then Purge my minions right after that." It was a half contradictory plan, in the sense that the goal was Princess Celestia...and the means to get to her were The Afflicted themselves. Canterlot may as well have been corrupt...what with the Lunar Guard and Luna abandoning her as well. Once Canterlot and its corruption had been dealt with...she'd simply wipe out The Afflicted and disappear.

She'd give Pony-kind a chance to start over on their OWN terms...in a world free of Ravage. She of course, would start her own little infection far off in the west of the world...perhaps in Zebrica. A tiny horde and a place to call her own...away from the miserable lands of Equestria and the terrible memories that still scarred her mind from that dreadful place. She sighed as she thought of Big Macintosh and the rest of her old friends. The more she thought, though...the more she agreed with Trixie that they'd be better off without her. What pony would want to be friends with a diseased monster that was responsible for spreading about the Ravage?

The lavender unicorn let out a tiny sniffle as she looked towards the ground, tears brimming in her eyes. She would have liked to turn back into a regular pony...to have the chance to live a normal life again. Unfortunately for her...when she traveled back to the bunker to the Everfree Forest for more information on the research and development of the virus...she learned that once infected...a Carrier could only purge him or herself once...

The Virus needed time to study and fully corrupt its host, memorizing its genetic layout in order to prepare for a permanent infection. Fresh Carriers could prevent this if they acted quick enough, which was how Twilight had escaped her first infection...but after she was somehow infected a second time, the Ravage had already altered her body in a way to where it could make a quick and easy infection possible...corrupting her for good.

It didn't really help either that all the known records of any kind of cure development or anti-virus for the Ravage was destroyed by Celestia's guards in an attempt to cover their tracks. The very thought of it was enough to make Twilight's ears droop and the first droplets of tears to fall from her face. She stamped the ground repeatedly with her hooves, each strike bringing up tiny plumes of death that didn't serve any other purpose but to remind Twilight about her previous life going up in flames...turning into ash and dust itself.

Her crying and stamping ceased however as a thunderous 'CRACK!' of magical teleportation energy echoed out across Canter Park. Twilight's Afflicted bolted away as Trixie stood up right on the dessert of sand, craning her neck and getting a few kinks out. She let out a happy sigh and trotted over towards Twilight as she said "Cloudsdale is out of the picture! Now there's no city between us and Canterlot that can give the defenders any kind of early warning. I'll begin siphoning my hordes via train to the east...and then...before long...we'll have Canterlot bowing to our hooves!"

Twilight sat rigid for a moment, still riding off the tail-end of her little fit before offering a weak smiling and whispering with a hoarse voice "I'm glad...it'll make getting to Celestia all the more easier." Trixie nodded and started to move past Twilight, an agenda clear in her mind that she wanted to get to as soon as possible. Before she could get far, however, Twilight suddenly held out a hoof towards her and shouted "Wait! Trixie!"

The mare stopped for a moment, turning her head back towards Twilight with a raised eyebrow and a curious expression stretched over her face. "You..." began the lavender mare "You never told me about how you were infected...how you became a Carrier." This nearly floored Trixie, the mare's eyes widening and her irises shrinking. She hadn't been expecting this question...believing it to have been already answered back when the two had met outside the flaming ruins of Ponyville. Trixie thought about telling Twilight to mind her own business at first...to simply prepare for Canterlot's Siege...but an idea struck out in her mind. It had begun to quickly weave Twilight into her master plan for Canterlot...her goal for total domination of all Pony-Kind.

'Perhaps Twilight can help me afterall...' Trixie whispered to herself in thought 'If I tell her...perhaps she'll grow even more sympathetic to my cause...and I won't have to worry about killing Twilight until after all is said and done and the Royalty is dead! She smiled as she began to walk back towards Twilight with a nod as she pondered on 'Soon...soon soon soon! I'll get back at Equestria for doubting me...for making me their fool! Big Macintosh is already out of the shield...as well as Shadow Squad...leaving nopony left except the weak Elements of Harmony to defend Canterlot! There won't be enough of them to withstand the never ending hordes of Afflicted that I've gathered! Too long I have been mistreated and mocked for my powerful abilities...too long have I been made the ass of all ponies in this disgusting heap of land! Not anymore...soon, they'll all learn what it TRULY means to be faced with an enemy that is all too great...and all too powerful!!!'

Trixie let out a sigh as she sat on her rear, looking towards Twilight with a bit of a frown on her face. "I suppose I didn't really tell you what actually happened that day..." she began, drawing a nod out of the lavender unicorn. Trixie let out a light breath and went on "Well there's not much to tell...Celestia and the rest of her officials had opened up this new 'Drug Trial' test, offering large sums of bits for anyone interested in doing a trial run for their latest 'unicorn enhancement.'" She paused to take a breath and scratch at an itch on her hoof, allowing Twilight to process the information with a heavy sigh and a sad shake of her head. She knew enough to know what was coming next...to know exactly what dark, deadly lengths that Celestia was prepared to go to for a Carrier. "Anyway..." Trixie continued "I offered myself up, signed the paperwork and laid on the table. I looked towards my left while they were strapping me down and...and I saw the project's 'Noble Benefactors', Prince-"

"Princess Celestia and Doctor Patho Gen, right?" Twilight interjected, to which Trixie merely laughed and shook her head.

"No...even better" Trixie whispered with a tone of malice in her voice "Princess Celestia...AND...Princess Luna"

Twilight's jaw dropped. There were no words to describe the sudden rage she felt building up in her heart and body. Princess Luna...the mare she had come to trust more than any other in Equestria...the Princess she thought was going to bring Equestria out of its dark, depressing days of blood and violence and into a golden age of peace and prosperity. But if what Trixie said was true...it only meant that Luna was against her as well, and had known about the Ravage all along. She felt her chest swelling and her heartbeat quicken as she realized that Captain Shadow-Mane had lied to her as well. There was no way an elite guard like Shadow COULDN'T know about the Ravage! She had heard in the Town Hall, Sweet Apple Acres, and even the Escape Train from Ponyville itself about how close Luna and Shadow were in communication.

Trixie smiled as Twilight let out a furious shriek of rage, the lavender mare's eyes gleaming with violet and red as the cries and howls of her horde echoed upwards with her across the entire city of Manehatten. She was tired of all the lies...all the deceit! Trixie had been right all along, nopony could be trusted! They ALL had to burn in order for Equestria to be fully free of their corruption. It was at that moment that Twilight decided...that it was time for training no longer. It was time for action, for execution, for ATTACK! She'd follow Trixie's plan...allowing the azure unicorn to take the first waves of Afflicted with her to Canterlot to begin the attack while Twilight channeled her magic in Manehatten to draw more and more stragglers of Afflicted that were wandering about the plains and fields of Equestria.

She would be summoned, of course, when Canterlot's barriers began to fall...after all....

...she wasn't going to miss another chance at Princess Celestia, or Luna. She wasn't going to miss it for the world...

~*~

Manehatten - Present Day

"And that's it..." Twilight finished, looking up towards the sky as clouds of black rolled across the area "That's how it's all going to end...with Canterlot's destruction and the corrupt Royalty falling to those who have been victimized by their horrendous science project's and immoral pursuits for the purpose of war and death."

Shadow-Mane, Sky-Driver, and Big Macintosh were all sitting in front of her, eyes wide and jaws agape. Who said it first was a mystery to all four of them, but the word "BULLSHIT!" rang out clear as day, making Twilight simply scoff and shake her head.

"That's a load of SHIT Twilight Sparkle and you know it!" Shadow shouted, making Sky's ears droop from the loudness.

"Tain't right at all Twi'!" agreed Macintosh "Shadow may have gone n' hid some things from us, but it was for all our safety! He needed us all to work together to escape Ponyville, he was gonna tell us everything but...ya'll gone n' ran off!"

"It doesn't matter now Macintosh!" countered Twilight with a furious snarl "All that matters is that Celestia PAY for what she's done! That they ALL pay for what has happened to Equestria!"

Macintosh narrowed his eyes and let out a heavy scoff before barking "Now you just wait a durn' minute there! What makes you th-"

He was cut off by Shadow's sudden interjection...a set of words that shocked even Twilight as they were uttered. "She's right..." he whispered, looking towards the ground, drawing a soundless 'Huh!?' out of Sky and Macintosh. The Captain looked back up into the angry face of Twilight Sparkle as he sighed and said "She's right. We all had a part to play in the Ravage Virus ever since Operation Anchor-Wing was a total failure. We all have blood on our hooves because of it...and all of us who were involved deserve to die..."

This confused Big Macintosh, even Twilight as they both whispered the question "Operation...Anchor-Wing?" Macintosh narrowed his eyes and spoke as he turned towards Shadow "Ya'll mentioned something bout' an...'Anchor-Thingy' before...what exactly was it?"

"I'd like to know as well before I...depart...." Twilight added, getting a dark glare out of Macintosh which she ignored."

"Cap...?" Sky asked in uncertainly, unsure if Shadow was really willing to take the risk of treason and execution for revealing highly classified information.

"Oh what does it matter!?" Shadow groaned "Either way, the lot of us involved are dead anyway...why not come clean...wash as much blood off our hooves as we can?" Sky gave a simple nod, bowing his head as Shadow-Mane turned his head towards Macintosh and Twilight before taking in a deep breath and saying "Operation Anchor-Wing...took place after the War of the Clouds and Trees...which was of course the-"

"Civil War that rocked Equestria for a few years...yes I know." Twilight interrupted for a moment "I read about it back in Ponyville...it happened so many years ago...how is this relevant!?"

"If you'd let me FINISH!" Shadow growled, narrowing his eyes and shutting up Twilight. "Thank you...anyway, after the civil war, it wasn't long until the Gryphons declared war on Equestria...even sent a few raiding parties to attack some of our settlements and villages. The attacks were, by some miracle, kept under hush hush, tales of winged beasts and armies passed off as mere myth and hoaxes, according to Canterlot." Twilight scoffed, something Shadow ignored as he went on "Anyway...this was when Operation Anchor-Wing came into effect. It was shortly after you and the rest of the Elements of Harmony defeated Discord that the Ravage Virus was created. The full capabilities of such a virus had yet to be tested, but it was already determined by the science department that a Carrier variant had to of existed at some point. If they could get a unicorn to become a Carrier...they could create a super soldier capable of leading an army that would not question orders, would not suffer the pains of morale, and that could accomplish, single-hooved, total genocide of an entire race...achieving the end result of adding the enemies numbers to our own."

Twilight and Macintosh looked towards the Captain with jaws dropped, while Sky simply shook his head in shame and turned away from the group. Shadow took in another heavy breath and went on, tears brimming in his eyes "The object of Operation Anchor-Wing was simple...lead a Carrier into Gryphon territory, and covertly decimate their entire race, proving that the age of warfare for Equestria had evolved into something that none would dare stand against...permanently securing peace and prosperity for all of Equestria." He finally let the tears fall, pain and guilt clawing at his voice as he sobbed, looking Twilight straight in the eyes and screaming "I was part of the squad sent to escort the Carrier into Gryphon Territory! Sky-Driver, Wind-Weaver, Nightfire, Moon-Lance, and my old Captain, Captain Night-Mare...we all escorted the Carrier into enemy lands...with genocide stamped in all our brains!" The group looked at him with fear and panic in their eyes as Shadow's eyes grew wide and his lungs expelled a mighty roar of words,

"IT WAS ALL MY FAULT! EVERYTHING! THE OPERATION, THE INFECTIONS, EVERYTHING!!! I HAD MY HOOF IN THIS FROM DAY ONE!"

At this, Sky's ears perked and he turned his head towards the Captain, a concerned scowl crossing his face "What? Captain what are you talking about...you never told the squad about all that! What do you mean it was all YOUR fault, we were all in the Operation, together!"

"No Sky!" Shadow bawled, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap and burying his face in his hooves. "You don't understand...there were things I hid even from Shadow Squad...from Night-Mare...from everypony!" His tears flowed freely...freely and like a gushing river as he finally uttered the statement that would change the three ponies lives and their worlds, forever:

....

"I'm one of three...three beings responsible for the creation of the Ravage Virus."

The Great Siege

For a moment...nopony moved...nopony breathed.

Three ponies simply stared at a fourth, two colts and a mare with eyes locked on a Pegasus of dark colored fur and a shadowy mane. Their faces were all plastered with a look of utter shock, with Twilight's forming into a mix of confusion and rage. "You...WHAT?!" she spat, taking a single step forward which made Shadow cringe. "What are you talking about!? What do you mean you're one of three beings responsible for the Ravage's creation!? That doesn't make any sense!"

Sky gave off a slight grimace and spoke "I hate to say it Captain...but I agree with her. What do you mean you're one of the ponies responsible? We were with you the entire time in Anchor-Wing, and nothing like that happened! Ravage had already been born by that point!"

Shadow sighed, shaking his head and sniffling as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. With a shuddering intake of breath he muttered "There was more to it than just Anchor-Wing, Sky...there were operations and missions carried out BEFORE that!"

"Ah think you all owe us an explanation then..." Macintosh grumbled from his spot near Twilight "No more lies...no more beatin' round' the bush...come clean!"

The Captain looked amongst the three of them, intense glares in their eyes. Finally, with a quick gulp and a wiping of his sweating brow, Shadow-Mane spoke. "It all started when Twilight and the Elements of Harmony defeated Discord..." Shadow said, looking towards Twilight and asking "You remember that day?"

"Of course," Twilight muttered "How could I forget?"

Shadow nodded and went on "Well, shortly after that, Luna and Celestia were ridden with a sudden magical...'sense', if you will. Like pings in a water, revealing locations, the Princesses felt these pings in magic. Our only theory was that this was some kind of trigger spell that only activated upon Discord's defeat. It was probably some kind of protective magic that Discord was using to conceal and hide items of large magical quality...probably stockpiling in case the Elements of Harmony ever started to pose a real threat. When Discord was defeated, the magic spell he used to protect his items backfired, sending out the pings across Equestria to any unicorn, or in this case...Alicorn, powerful enough to detect it. Unlucky for him that he underestimated the Elements...and unlucky for us that the Princesses felt those pings."

"I don't understand," Sky interjected, raising an eyebrow in confusion "Why would that be a bad thing? You've got the location of a treasure trove of powerful artifacts, and with the Gryphon threat rising...wouldn't that be good? You've just got yourself an arsenal from the clutches of Discord himself!"

"That's what we thought at first Sky..." Shadow said with a weak sigh "I also thought that with these artifacts and items, we'd have a sure victory over those winged bastards...but I was wrong...oh so wrong..." He paused to put a hoof to his face and let out a quiet sigh and and to shudder, composing himself before he went on. "I was sent on a covert op...one pony, to one of the locations that held one of Discord's items. Well...I found it, buried deep within a massive cave to the west of Froggy Bottom Bog, near the Drackenbridge Mountains."

Shadow-Mane paused for a moment to take a swig out of his canteen which had been resting comfortably in his saddlebags, letting out a breath of relief as the warm water hydrated his parched throat. "So...one of the ITEMS had the virus in it?! I thought we, pony-kind, created the Ravage Virus!" Sky said to Shadow, who in turn shook his head.

"I wish it were that simple Sky...but it's not." he said, gently dropping his canteen back in his bags "and the item, a necklace, did not actually have the fully-fledged virus in it...what it DID have...was blood."

"Blood?" Twilight asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Blood" Shadow went on, adjusting his position on his rump "It was a pearl necklace...and each of the little pearls held some amount of blood in them. I took it back with me to Canterlot for investigation, and what I learned about it...was shocking." He looked up towards the sky as the three ponies leaned their heads in, their ears practically begging for the truth. "Turns out..." Shadow finally said "That in each pearl...there was a blood type for many races in Equestria. Dragon, Pony, Gryphon, the list goes on. When it was studied by scientists, they noticed that one blood type was unlike the rest...a blood type that was unfamiliar to Equestria. When this was told to Princess Celestia, and she examined it...she revealed that it contained the Blood of Discord himself." The three ponies gasped as Shadow nodded in agreement and went on "Indeed...why Discord put his own blood into the artifact is still a mystery to most of us today. The exact intent of this particular item remained a mystery as well, but when two accidental test-tubes of the blood were mixed, Pony and Discord...the results were...a bit strange. Discord's blood acted like a virus, operated like a virus...but...it didn't do anything. It just morphed itself and attached itself to the cells inside the Pony blood...and sat there. And that was when asked by the scientists for an opinion...I gave them the key to unlocking all the mysteries."

He looked down towards Twilight, staring her right in the eyes as he breathed the word "Magic....". He felt tears brimming once more in his eyes as he whispered "Magic was the key...and I pushed for them to pursue that theory. Discord was a magical being...with his defeat, maybe his magic vanished. He was the Lord of Chaos, and his blood looked as if it was trying to attack the Pony's blood. If anything...I thought maybe if the ingredient of magic was involved...that it could restore Discord's blood, be used to create a Bio-Weapon against the Gryphons. Don't you see now?! The original idea, the base concept of it all...it was all my doing. I RETRIEVED the item! I TOLD them how to release it, weaponize its potential! I...I...!!!"

He fell silent, tears leaking down his face as the other three ponies sat in stunned silence. The truth about Shadow-Mane was a game changer...that much was known, at least to Twilight. According to him, HE was the one who was supposed to die...HE was the one who was responsible for the deaths of thousands upon thousands of ponies in Equestria, and soon-to-be thousands more! Not Celestia...but him.

She felt a slight tug at her heart...a feeling of sympathy seep through her as she looked upon Shadow's weary face. It passed quickly though...a familiar feeling of anger and rage beginning to build up in her heart as she went over the details in her head. With a narrowing of her eyes and a clenching of her teeth, Twilight shook her head and hissed "No..." The colts looked up at her as she took a few steps forward, slamming a hoof forward on the ground with a loud 'thump', as if proclaiming her defiance in the face of authority "You speak the truth, and I see it in your eyes...but this will NOT excuse the crimes of others! Celestia and Luna, as well as the rest of your Shadow Squad, KNEW about the virus, knew about its risks. You all had a part to play in its creation, usage, and the bloody aftermath it left in its wake...and for that...you will ALL have to die for it!" Sky took a few sudden steps backwards, his body tensing as he prepared to reach for his blade.

Shadow, however, merely sat there and let form a tight grimace as he growled "Is this how it ends then...Twilight Sparkle, Mother-Carrier of the Ravage Virus? Are we to do battle here as colt and mare, until death take one of us?" He got to his hooves slowly, ready to strike if necessary.

Twilight shook her head, still glaring at Shadow as she growled back "No...your death, nor anypony elses death will come before that of Princess Celestia's. I will have her head on a pike before the rest of you follow!"

"Twi', NO!" came the sudden shout of Big Macintosh, who rushed in front of her and stood between her and Shadow-Mane. He glared deep into her wide eyes, the mare shocked at the sudden outburst from the workhorse who started to yell at her "Is that how it's gonna be?! Huh!? Ya'll are just gonna forsake everythin' we worked for...cause o' REVENGE!?" He reached up, and with a half-firm swing, slapped Twilight across the face with a hoof. The two colts nearby gasped as Twilight staggered slightly, putting a gentle hoof to her reddened cheek, her eyes flicking back to look at Macintosh as tears began to gather along the rims of her eyes. "Is that what my sweetheart has been reduced to!? This...sick...twisted monster! This ain't the Twi' ah know! The Twi' ah know wouldn't slaughter innocent ponies for the sake o' revenge! She wouldn't destroy and ruin the ponies she used to love, and trust!" He looked back at Shadow-Mane for a moment, giving the colt a stern glare before turning back and saying "Ah know Shadow has made mistakes...but so does everypony in the world! It's what makes us ponies Twilight! We all make mistakes, Shadow's were just bigger than most! He's SORRY for what he did Twi', and Ah'm sure if you were before Celestia right now, looming over a de-horned, mentally broken Alicorn who's lost everything she holds dear, ah know that she'd be sorry too! Don't let this virus plague your mind...and please, for the sake o' the stars above, don't let it plague your heart too!"

For a moment, Twilight simply stared at him. Her face was no longer that of hatred and anger...but of sadness...despair. She looked down at herself, at her bandaged front legs and the string of her shattered mask, still hanging around her neck. She looked back up at him for a moment as her eyes began to fade in red color, specks of white returning to her eyes which in turn made Macintosh widen his own eyes. But just as quickly as they began to change...color swam again in the whites of her eyes, and the violets of her irises gleamed. She shook her head with determination and let out a shout of "NO! I will not be denied this now!" She looked up towards her shaking coltfriend as she hissed "I set out from that train to destroy the monster who abandoned us in Ponyville...the monster who threatened us with mass genocide because she was too cowardly to stand up for her ponies! Shadow-Mane may be a major cause in the creation of the virus, but he didn't willfully abandon his fellow ponies to this disease! He will pay...but Celestia comes first..."

"If you stand against Canterlot, Twi'..." Macintosh said with a low growl "Ya'll are gonna stand against me, Applejack, yer friends, Luna...all of us. You ready to trot down that road Twi'...? Cause I'm warning you now...you start down this path...and there ain't no goin' back...you understand me?"

Twilight looked directly into his eyes and smirked as she said "I understand...you are all now my enemies, and I should kill you all here and now...but..." she paused, looking past Macintosh and towards Shadow-Mane, taking in a breath as she said "I am not beyond some kind of mercy like Trixie is...I'll give you a chance to stand...and fight for those traitorous bitches you call Princesses. I can teleport you all to the Staging Grounds...and after that, escort you to the shield. Once you go beyond that shield...my mercy ends. Is this clear?"

Shadow-Mane didn't waste anytime in giving the unicorn a single nod and muttering "Understood..." Twilight nodded and began to flare up her horn with powerful magic, the aura of an intense spell being formed together igniting the air with a loud humming sound. As Twilight readied her spell, Shadow suddenly asked "Twilight...is it meaningless now...after all of the pain...the suffering...all of this. Is it meaningless to apologize?"

Twilight was taken slightly aback by this question, her spell sparking for a minute on her horn as she went over it in her head. After a few quiet moments, she shook her head and whispered "No, Shadow...it's never meaningless."

"Then..." Shadow whispered towards the mare "I'm sorry...I'm so...sorry. I'm sorry...for everything."

Just before Twilight released her spell, Shadow could have sworn he heard two words float into his ears...two words that sounded like "Me too..."

~*~

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Trixie shrieked as Twilight emerged from her teleportation spell, flanked by three colts who looked as if their fur was smoking from a fire.

"Whoa...talk about jet-lag..." Sky groaned as he put a hoof to his head.

"I demand to know an answer Sparkle, NOW!" Trixie barked, marching up towards the calm-faced mare who simply waved a hoof in the air in petty dismissal.

"Relax Trixie..." Twilight said "I've offered them a mercy...a chance to fight for the losing side. Not like it's going to matter in the end, right?"

Trixie looked past Twilight and towards the three colts, their glares set directly on her. After a moment, the azure mare simply smiled and nodded her head, whispering evilly "Of course...the more the merrier..."

Trixie stood aside as Twilight led the three colts through the fields...and fields...and fields...of Afflicted below. "I know where we are..." Shadow growled as he looked down over the cliff face...at the sea of Afflicted that stood in neat, comfortable lines, staring up towards the mountains that held Canterlot "We're up in Canterlot's mountains...a good running distance away but..." he trailed off, shaking his head as he looked at the vast army that was lying in wait...ready for the order to attack. "By Luna's mane...look at them all. Everypony in Equestria has to be standing in this field..." Shadow whispered as they made their way towards the railroad tracks.

The sea of Afflicted stretched out farther than Shadow could see...and even the skies looked horrific as swarms upon swarms of diseased Pegasus ponies soared this way and that, eager to swoop in on their prey. Sky was pointing out large columns of Variants here and there...Hurlers...the shimmering of the Lurkers...even a column of thirty to forty Thunder-Hooves who were growling and howling at the sky. "Captain..." Sky whispered in terror and in despair, looking back towards his fellow squad member "How do we...how can we even BEGIN to think about fighting this!?"

"It's simple...really" Shadow said, glaring at the back of Twilight's head as he picked his next few words carefully "It's as Twilight said before...we're ponies of Equestria...we should die on our hooves rather than cowards in the dark. We'll fight as we've always fought, kill as we've always killed. Gryphons, ponies, it makes no difference...blood is blood...and much of it will be spilled today in the name of honor...glory....and...revenge." He practically spat out that the last word, but drew no response or reaction from Twilight who merely continued to lead them towards the railroad tracks that wound up towards Canterlot.

When they finally reached the edge of the tracks, Twilight stopped and turned her head, muttering "End of the line...for all of you. I stand by what I said...once you go beyond that shield, you're all dead to me." She looked towards each of the colts, watching as they all gave her a blank stare and stood there, as if waiting for her to say something. "Why don't you just run!?" Twilight suddenly asked, narrowing her eyes "Flee, get away before hell itself comes crashing down on the city? Why must you go blindly to your deaths?"

"Because I was taught by a beautiful...respectable...and loveable mare...not too." Macintosh growled, wasting no time in trotting past the mare and up the railroad tracks.

Shadow and Sky quickly followed suit, galloping after the workhorse and not bothering to look back at Twilight who merely looked on in sympathy and quiet despair...whispering "So be it...forgive me..."

"So..." Sky said as the three of them galloped up the tracks "What's the plan? Canterlot knows about the attack since Rainbow Dash and the others...hopefully made it. Even if they didn't, there's no way that the Afflicted's movements at the bottom of the mountain have gone unnoticed this long. SOME kind of defense has to be in play here!"

"Well..." Shadow muttered as they approached one of the train tunnels "We don't really know how big of a hole they're able to blast in the shield...of if it'll even be a hole at all. As far as we know, Trixie could have found an easier way to destroy the shield since she made that test-run with getting Macintosh out. The whole shield could go down with just a flash of her horn."

"Well what about Twilight?" Sky asked "What if she's the one leading the charge? She's the Element of MAGIC! I'm a bit worried about how much she will do to effect the battle!"

"What ah wanna know is..." Macintosh interjected "is what happened to Twi' to make her go n' act this way! How did she become so...so lost?"

Shadow sighed as they made their way further up the tracks, the blue of the defensive shield in sight "The Ravage Virus makes its victims surge with the emotions of hate and rage...they don't think in terms of logic and reason. Twilight's infected, and her hate for Celestia is clouding her judgement...what's worse is that Trixie is with her. Carriers have a nasty habit of influencing their own...adding their strengths together in order to combat larger and larger foes. That's what makes the Ravage even deadlier...is its abilities to adapt." The group was silent as they galloped up the mountain tracks, nopony saying a word until Shadow finally said "I really am sorry Macintosh...about all of this!"

The group slowed as Macintosh moved down into a trotting speed, resting his weary lungs for a moment and saying back "There was no way you coulda' known bout' the consequences in the future Shadow. Ya'll couldn't of known that this was comin'...you were just lookin' out for your own, there ain't no shame n' that!"

Shadow smiled slightly at his comforting words, giving a single nod as the three of them spent the next half-hour running up the tracks and toward the wall of the blue shield. "Home sweet home..." Sky muttered as two Lunar Guard watching the tracks let out gasps and waved in excitement, one of the guards turning and running into the city.

The three colts walked up towards the shield as the guard standing behind it shouted "I've sent the boy to the defense tower to open a small gap in the shield, and then to the Royal Castle to inform the others that you've arrived! Princess Luna will be awaiting your report Captain!"

"Very good," Shadow said as the part of the shield in front of them began to shimmer "I want there to be no delays, the attack on Canterlot is imminent and we need to have every able-bodied pony we can ready to fight to the very end!"

A hole opened in the shield big enough for a pony, the three colts wasting no time in leaping through it and stepping once more into the beautiful, but ominous looking city of Canterlot. Macintosh looked around with a grimace as he beheld Lunar Guards setting up barricades, mounting Wing-Cannons on their backs, or sharpening their blades for the battle to come. No civilians could be sighted in the streets as the three of them made their way towards the castle, only hordes of Lunar Guard. They were set up on high rooftops, in the streets, inside buildings, EVERYWHERE! Everywhere Macintosh looked, his eyes were met with a sea of polished black and blue armor. "Ya'll got enough ponies to fight the Third Hoof War..." Macintosh muttered as they hurried towards the castle. A large clanking noise, however, drew Macintosh's head back to the front, his eyes widening and his lungs expelling a gasp as he beheld in front of him what could only be described as 'A tin can from hell.'

A pony stood before them, tall in appearance, and clad in a full body suit of pure black metal armor with a full headed helm atop its head. Its wings were fitted with armored strips in the front, and were lined with two razor blades for slashes made by the wing. On its back, however, was the most notable thing about it. Two six-cylinder barrels rested on the pony's back, with four metal boxes attached to the Wing-Cannon like device, with two on the side and two in the back. "Oh mah stars..." Macintosh wheezed in shock "The hell is that!? Some kind o' war machine!?"

"Actually..." came the muffled voice of the pony standing in front of them, his tone that of joy "It's a D-Pony suit...with the D standing for Dreadnought. It's like a tank turned into a suit...if you will." The armored pony looked towards the Captain without delay and shouted "And you, Shadow, are late! You had me in a fit of worry when you didn't come back after so long!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes towards the pony for a moment before gasping, finally remembering his voice. "Nightfire!?" He gasped, looking towards the pony as he nodded "By Luna's mane boy, I missed you!!!" Shadow took a leap forward and threw his front hooves around Nightfire's armored neck, giving him a tight hug which drew a chuckle out of the Seargent.

"I'd hug you back Cap, but uh...this suit's kinda heavy." Nightfire said with a laugh, taking clanking steps out of Shadow's embrace "Luna's waiting for you up in the keep, and your suit is already being prepared. We don't have a lot of time so...I suppose we should get to it."

"Alright...thanks Nightfire, back to your post now!" Shadow ordered, trading salutes with Nightfire and moving past him towards the castle.

"Ya'll got some serious tricks up yer sleeves" Macintosh said with a whistle "Ah bet that think pisses more metal than a cat n' heat in the middle o' July!"

Sky let out an awkward chuckle as he said "Well...yeah, they're a part of Equestria's Advanced Weapons department. The D-Pony suits were specially built for twenty of the most elite Guards, ten for Celestia, ten for Luna. Five were built specifically for Shadow Squad, and were meant to be used during Operation Anchor-Wing but...we decided stealth was a lot better than going in guns blazing." Sky sighed as they entered the front gates, snapping a quick salute to the guards they passed and muttering "Sad thing though that I probably won't get to wear mine on account of my injuries...D-Suits take A LOT of muscle power to control. They operate like a regular Wing-Cannon, with hoof movements...but these come specially built with wing sensors as well, picking up specific movements of the wing in a forward motion and triggering the firing mechanism. That and the razor blades on the front of the wing add for enhanced close combat...and the hidden blades on the front of each hoof...the grenade capacity...the-"

"How in the sam hell do you know so MUCH about these things!?" Macintosh shouted as they ascended the stairs towards the upper section of the castle.

"Um...I'm the squad's tactical genius and engineer Mac" Sky said with a sheepish smile "I helped design these things."

Macintosh let out a silent 'Oh...' as they finally came to the doors of the throne room, the loud sounds of screaming and galloping clearly audible from the other side. "Looks like the war room is in a mess..." Sky said as Shadow put his front hooves on the doors, pushing them forward with a mighty heave. The doors swung inwards and hit the wall with a loud 'KABOOM!', drawing silence from the hectic guards and unicorns who were running about with papers, orders, and other equipment. Princess Luna herself looked to be in shock as she sat behind a small desk, her hoof pointing to a spot on a map of Canterlot, her mouth agape.

"Your highness...gents and fillies..." Shadow simply stated "We've come home, and we're ready to fight."

The room was silent for a second...and then...cheers. Applause and cries of joy were heard throughout the room as Hoof stamps and hoots echoed across the high walls. Luna smiled and beckoned them forward with a hoof, shouting with her Royal Canterlot Voice "Welcome home Captain! Do come hither, we have much to discuss!"

~*~

"So that is it then..." Luna whispered with a grieving look on her face. She had just gotten through with listening to Shadow's story of the events that had transpired since The Battle of Cloudsdale, with the holes filled in from Macintosh's sudden disappearance from the city. "Twilight Sparkle has indeed sided with...Trixie?" She asked, her tone that of disbelief.

"I'm afraid so your highness..." Shadow said with a sigh "She has been lost to us...our only hope now is to throw whatever we've got at them...at best I'd say they have thousands...if not at least ten thousand ponies sitting down there...waiting. We've got maybe two thousand, if at best...not counting the ones keeping guard over the civilians in the mining caves below the city."

"We will have our work cut out for us...I'm sure." Luna said with light smile and a nod "Very well, you and Corporal Sky-Driver are dismissed, proceed to Outfitting for your D-Suits and take charge of the defense...lead us as best as you can Captain Shadow-Mane...the fate of Canterlot rests in your hooves."

Shadow gave a mighty salute, standing at full attention and barking "Yes Milady! As you command, so shall it be! I'll give them a fight that's sure to be worthy in the great archives of Canterlot for years to come!"

As the three colts turned to leave, Luna held out a hoof and said "Wait...Mister Macintosh if I could just have a word...?" Macintosh halted, turning his head back towards the princess as Shadow and Sky made their way out.

He turned and sat on his rump, cocking his head in confusion and asking "Yes, yer highness?"

"Macintosh..." Luna said with a light smile "It's been a little while since we've talked in the park...hasn't it?"

"Ah...um...well yes, ah suppose miss..." Macintosh said with a sheepish smile and a blush on his face "Ah do hope ah haven't caused too much harm by...by leavin' n' all. Ah was just so concerned about Twi' that ah...kind of got claustrophobic..."

"It's quite alright dear," Luna said with a chuckle "A few months in this cage is enough to drive anypony insane. Too be quite honest I'm surprised Twilight was able to keep it together during the two month-long Ponyville incident!"

"Ah'm not sure how any of us made it through unscathed...too be perfectly honest with you miss..." Macintosh said "We were lucky...that's all ah can think of to say...is that we were lucky."

Luna nodded and gave him a light smile as she said "Perhaps you're right Macintosh...but now isn't the time for luck...now is the time for action. I've heard of your exploits during your time outside of Canterlot...your words...your heroics...the devotion and care you've had for Twilight and your fellow pony." She took a moment to take a breath and smile, reaching under her desk and pulling out a small badge stamped with Luna's Cutie Mark resting in front of two crossed blades. "As such..." she said with a tone of formality "I would like to personality invite you into the ranks of the Lunar Guard. Based on what I have heard...you're one of the bravest ponies to ever roam the lands of the Ravaged Equestria, and I would like you to have the chance to prove yourself...prove that you're a pony that everypony else can rally behind in our darkest hour." She paused, pushing the badge towards the wide-eyed colt whose ears twitched as the Princess whispered "Will you accept this honor...will you help us now Macintosh Apple...will you help us, help Captain Shadow-Mane...help me...save Equestria?"

For a moment, Macintosh was quite silent. He looked at the badge, then up at her...down to the badge...up at her. Finally, after several quiet moments, Macintosh looked up towards the princess, and with as much strength and power he could muster behind his voice, the workhorse let forth a booming "EEYUP!"

"Splendid!" Luna exclaimed, pushing the badge towards him as she said "Your oath will have to come later...for right now, I need you to catch up with Shadow-Mane and Sky-Driver in outfitting and suit up...we need you all out there as soon as possible and-"

"BIG MACINTOSH!!!!!!!!!!" came the sudden angry, interrupting shout of a mare that brought near tears of terror and joy to Macintosh's eyes.

"I'll...leave you two alone" Luna said quietly, getting to her hooves and nodding to Big Macintosh before he turned and faced his sister...Applejack.

The country mare looked to be in a rough state, with her mane disheveled and her eyes partially bloodshot. "You bastard!" she cried as she galloped towards him, leaping into his outstretched hooves and giving him a squeezing hug "Yer one of the stupidest ponies ah've ever had the misfortune of meetin'! Ah missed you so much, the whole thing just tain't funny at all! Ah heard you had come back with the Captain n' all them and ah just had to see you for myself! Ah had to know ya'll were ok!"

"Applejack..." Macintosh said in a hurt whisper "Ah'm so sorry ah left...ah'm sorry ah abandoned you here and went off on my own...it was stupid and...and foolish of me and...ah'm sorry."

"Oh horseapples!" Applejack whimpered, burying her face in his coat "Ya'll are back...that's all that matters to me. That's all that matters to the rest o' us." She took a step back and wiped her eyes, sniffling as she said "Me n' the rest o' the girls are holed up in the caves underneath Canterlot...if the comes round, and ya'll can't hold the surface...we're gonna cave in the entrance to the caverns and see if we can't find some kinda escape tunnel leading outside."

"Alright..." Macintosh said, getting to his hooves "When this is over...remind me to buy us both a nice, big round o' cider....deal?"

Applejack let out a chuckle, throwing her hoof forward and catching her brother's in a sort of bro-hoof while replying with "Deal...now let's go n' save Equestria from the sick."

~*~

"Been awhile since I wore this..."

"Sir...I think the only time we even got a CHANCE to wear this was in training..."

Shadow put down a fully armored hoof, looking over himself as he tired to adjust to the weight change of the D-Pony suit. Two mares hurried around him, adjusting straps and making sure the ammo had been loaded correctly. The Captain shifted his weight slightly, pushing his razored-wings forward to test his weaponry. The two six-barreled cannons started to spin, whirring to life as they prepared to unleash their fatal volleys. He pulled his wings back just before the cannons went off, nodding and extending an unarmored back hoof towards the mares. They began to fit his rear leg with armor as the door to the outfitting area opened, and Big Macintosh walked through.

Sky was already in his full uniform, not in a D-Pony suit. Knives, a wing cannon, and a belt of grenades were attached to Sky's armor, the Pegasus looking over towards Macintosh with a smile and shouting "Well look who got inducted into the Guard! Congratulations Mac!"

Macintosh blushed as he gently placed the badge in his mouth on one of the benches, receiving a nod of approval from Shadow. "Thank ya'll..." Macintosh muttered, giving the two a sheepish smile "Ah guess...ah guess it's time to get suited up, huh?"

Sky turned towards the mares who had just finished clasping on Shadow's armor,beckoning them over to begin sizing up Macintosh. "We don't really have a lot of time, so we're just gonna have to get you armored quick. Give him my loadout ladies...if you will."

The mares nodded quietly as they began sizing up Macintosh, pushing their hooves against his sides, his legs, and his chest. The workhorse blushed slightly as he felt one of the mares press a hoof against his flank, sizing THAT up as well. With quiet movements and hooves, the mares had begun to pull bits of armor out of various racks and shelves around the room, clasping them to Macintosh and strapping them on tight. He bowed his head as one of the mares slipped on his head covering and tightened the leather strap under his chin.

The mares took a step back and looked over their work, smiling as they beheld a fully armored Big Macintosh. He looked over himself, doing a quiet spin for the ponies in the room. Shadow nodded in approval, pulling a sword from one of the racks and holding it out towards Macintosh. Just as he reached out for it, however, Shadow pulled it back slightly and said "You take this weapon with honor and commitment, and always live by the fact that this sword is your life. If you lose this, you might as well be dead. Your blade is your essential tool for victory...and will always be your greatest ally, and your enemies' worst nightmare...understand?"

Big Macintosh looked down at the sheathed sword for a moment before looking up and nodding with a simple "Yes sir."

"Good," Shadow said, watching as Macintosh took the blade gingerly and threw the strap over his head and across his chest and back, fitting the blade to his side. With a final adjustment, Macintosh nodded to the Captain who in turn said "Alright...let's get to work."

~*~

The sun was just setting as Shadow-Mane clanked loudly onto one of the high rooftops on one of Canterlot's buildings. The Captain looked out across the rest of the city, watching as the rest of the Lunar Guard took their positions on the roofs and the streets around him. He waved to Moon-Lance and Wind-Weaver on a nearby rooftop, the two of them clad in their D-Pony suits. To his right stood Nightfire, the colt staring up at the shield where the swarms of airborne Afflicted were already gathering in preparation for the first attack. The unicorn to Shadow's left gently poked his armor and muttered "Whenever you're ready sir...I shall cast my spell on your throat."

Shadow gave the unicorn a simple nod as Nightfire sighed and whispered "Out of all my battles...I have to say...I think this is the one I've been most frightened of."

The Captain looked towards his Seargent with a soft smile and whispered back "I asked a soldier once if he ever felt scared before a battle...and he told me that you would have to be an idiot not to be." Nightfire looked towards his Captain as he put a hoof on his armored shoulder, whispering "We're all afraid...but that doesn't mean we have to lose hope either" Nightfire nodded, giving him one final salute before looking back up towards the sky. Shadow turned back towards the unicorn and nodded, feeling the tingle of magic entering his throat just moments later.

He reared up on his back hooves and took in a deep breath, unleashing his magically booming voice across all of Canterlot "Colts and mares of The Lunar Guard! I stand before you now not only as a Captain, not only as a soldier...but as a citizen, and free colt of Equestria! Today...is a day that shall forever be written down, not as the day where we rolled over to our enemy and gave them our lives, NOT as the day where we found despair in the face of adversity, NOT, as the day where Equestria would bow its head and face its death as a coward! Today is a day, that will remembered as the day that in the face of impossible odds, impossible chances, and impending defeat...we...The Lunar Guard of the Glorious Lunar Republic, rose, united, and battled against the hordes of monsters that would seek to slaughter our fillies, our children, our way of life!" He paused as The Lunar Guard let forth a unified roar, stamping their hooves in approval.

"TODAY!" Shadow roared "Let us fight, brick by brick, inch by inch! Let our cannons shake the world with their mighty roars! Let our blades strike true, and our bullets fly straight! If they want to take our beloved city, they will do so over our dead corpses! I SAY, LET THEM COME! Let them all come! They say that these monsters are the true scourge of all life!? That they cannot be stopped!? Well I say let's put them to the test!!!! WHAT SAY YOU!"

Shadow's chest swelled with pride as The Lunar Guard stamped their hooves in a unified beat and shouted over and over again: "Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory!!!!"

"Glory to the New Lunar Republic!" Nightfire cried as a bright flash illuminated the area above the shield. High above, Twilight Sparkle flapped her magical wings, staring down at the city with a dark grimace on her face. Her horn illuminated with gleaming magic, a ball of bright lavender forming at the tip of her horn.

"So you will stand...and so you will all die..." Twilight hissed as the ball grew larger and larger, the magic swirling and spinning like revolving ball. The Lunar Guard below watched as the swarms of Pegasus Afflicted formed up high above Twilight. Shadow looked to Twilight's far left, and then her right as two more magical spheres began to form and grow in the air.

"This is it..." Shadow whispered as Twilight threw her head forward and down, hurling one of the giant spheres towards the shield "This is how it all ends...for everypony...Afflicted...and Guard." The sphere came crashing down with intense speed and force, smashing against the shield with a thunderous kaboom and a violent explosion. Shadow-Mane and the rest of the guards shielded their eyes with their hooves, looking away from the bright flash that blared out from the explosion.

As the sphere disappeared, a gaping hole in the shield was clearly visible at the very top. It looked like it get Ponyville's town hall through it, and the edge of it was line with a glowing, lavender aura, preventing the shield from resealing itself. The swarms of Afflicted above let out a unified howl that echoed across the entire mountains and fields beyond, their forms dipping and diving towards the gaping hole as Twilight vanished with a quick spell.

Shadow looked around him quickly, and with a mighty shout he roared only three words...

"LOCK AND LOAD!!!!!"

Shadow and Nightfire reared back on their rear hooves, bringing their rear hooves back and clicking off the safety of their cannons. All around, the clicks of Wing-Cannons and Dreadnought Cannons sounded off across Canterlot as the guard waited for their assailants to come crashing down upon them. It was a tense moment for the Lunar Guard as the massive swarm neared the entrance to the hole.

"Steady!!!" Shadow barked, spinning the barrels of his guns "Be steady!!!" Nightfire shifted his weight slightly, getting comfy and bracing himself for the inevitable order to come. It was as the first Afflicted entered the shield and shrieked that Shadow opened his muzzle, letting forth a savage battle cry and screaming to the heavens "FOR THE GLORY OF THE NEW LUNAR REPUBLIC!!!! ATTAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!"

It was as if a cannon capable of splitting the world had gone off as the thunderous kabooms of guns and cannons went off across the shaking city. The steady 'Daka daka daka daka' of Shadow and Nightfire's guns shook their metal exteriors, bringing a light ringing to their ears as tracers lit up the sky, savagely pelting themselves into the thick masses of Afflicted that attempted to get into the city. A large portion of the Afflicted broke off to the left, at least fifty strong, and swarmed across the interior of the shield, flying along it and towards the ground. "WATCH THE GROUPS!" Shadow hollered, pivoting his body to follow the detachment and throwing immense amounts of lead towards them.

Bullets pelted the detachment, swatting at least ten out of the sky as several more guards turned their cannons towards them. High above, several individual Afflicted swarmed outwards, buzzing across the sky as body after body after body came tumbling out of the sky, their forms utterly riddled with bullet holes. The second of Twilight's spheres began its own collision course, rushing towards the shield with a stunning velocity. It also crashed into the shield, blasting away another hole and allowing a second stream of Afflicted to come rushing in.

"Divide your shots but keep them pinned in! Take as many as you can out!" Shadow roared as the third and final sphere crashed into the shield, blowing open the entire top section of the shield. Afflicted, dead and alive, rained from the sky, a few of them dive bombing the roofs in an attempt to kill several guards just on impact. Several others had managed to land, and quickly moved to engage their prey.

"Captain!" came the holler of Sky-Driver, the regularly armored Pegasus galloping towards the building Shadow was situated on. He skidded to a halt, grunting as the Wing-Cannon on his back shifted and he shouted upwards "There's breaches along the outer rim of the shield, ground level! Ground based Afflicted have invaded the city!"

Shadow pulled his hooves back, the stream of bullets halting suddenly as he turned his head towards Sky and shouted "Hold those holes! Fall back in waves as you need to, but keep the pressure on! We need to thin out as much of them as possible!" Sky-Driver gave a quick salute as he turned his attention back to the sky.

The Captain narrowed his eyes as he saw a pair of ethereal, lavender wings glint in the sky, the pair of appendages carrying one Twilight Sparkle towards one of the roofs. She dove towards a roof with four Lunar Guard standing on top of it, diving into a forward roll as a blade of magical energy morphed in the air next to her. The blade sailed forward as she finished her roll, striking one of the guards in the neck as she aimed her horn down and shot a magical ball of energy towards another. It struck the guard with violent force, blasting a hole through his middle and sending him flying off the roof. The other two lunar guard quickly turned their barrels towards Twilight and let off a round each, but the bullets met only a small purple shield surrounding the unicorn. Twilight narrowed her eyes as her horn ignited, snapping the neck of one of the guards with telekinesis and tearing the other one in half with a quick hurling of a magical saw blade...the same type used to de-horn Celestia.

"Hold the line Night..." Shadow growled, getting back on all fours and pawing at the ground in front of him "I've got this one..."

"Hurry back!" Nightfire shouted, still pelting the swarms above with his cannons. Shadow nodded and took flight, grunting as his wings strained from the weight of his armor.

He soared towards Twilight as she took a stunning leap off the roof, falling to the ground below. Shadow jumped after her, spinning up his cannons with a push forward of his wings and roaring "TWILIGHT!" Twilight turned her head as Shadow's cannons went off violently, spraying bullets towards her. The mare merely scoffed as her purple shield ignited, the bullets from Shadow's guns pelting the surface but not even scratching her magic.

"I told you..." Twilight growled as she grasped Shadow's neck with a telekinetic spell and hoisting him up into the air "Your death doesn't come just yet...wait your turn..." With that, she threw Shadow across the street, sending him crashing into one of the windows of a building nearby.

Twilight let out a light huff as she turned away from the shattered window, quickly trotting away towards the Royal Castle...unaware of the deadly presence of Trixie, who followed in her wake.

~*~

Twilight walked calmly through the blasted gates in front of the Royal Castle, gingerly stepping over the guards who lay slaughtered at her hooves. She wasted no time in trotting across the outer courtyards, and towards the large barracks building...knowing the dungeons lay underneath. "Finally..." Twilight whispered as she tore the door off its hinges, throwing it aside and stepping in "Finally...I can finish what I started. I can finally end this...end the misery!"

She silently made her way to the large door in the far corner of one of the hallways...her mind having already memorized the path from all the times she had gone to visit the guards back when she was a filly...to listen to their stories of bravery and valor. There were no stories to be heard today, however...only the sounds of distant battle and the roars and shrieks of infected and uninfected alike ringing in her ears.

As she put a hoof upon the handle of the door, she took in a deep breath. This was the moment...the moment she had been envisioning for so long. The time for her revenge was nigh...and she would not be denied now.

~*~

...

"If there's one thing I regret from being bound to this world...it's that I ignored the love and wisdom of my students and subjects...more specifically...my personal protege. Through all her years she gave me her unconditional support and love...love of a daughter. What did I give her...except pain? What did I give her...except misery? I was a coward, and a fool...and because of my failures...my subjects have suffered...my kingdom, has suffered...Twilight........has suffered. Do I deserve death? I do...I honestly believe that this is what lies at the end of my road. I knew one day she would come for me...I knew she wouldn't give up. I taught her to well...taught her that no matter what...perseverance was the key to success...

...and low and behold...the fruits of my labor...the end result to my teachings. My kingdom is gone...my friends are gone...everything is gone.........and Twilight Sparkle, second Mother to the Ravage Virus...stands before me...as an executioner would his block.

Princess Celestia looked like many things, but miserable and dirty would definitely amongst the most prominent. Her mane was no longer flowing, and was completely pink. Her coat was filthy with dirt and soot, and the sawed off base of her horn had been filed into a smoothness. In all...she looked just like a regular pony, but bigger. "Twilight..." Celestia said, a small smile tugging at her lips as she stared towards her former student who stood beyond the iron bars that held her prisoner. The unicorn said nothing for a moment, simply staring towards her old teacher with a look of fury and revenge in her eyes. "I know why you're here..." Celestia whispered, looking towards the filthy ground of her cell "I know that it is time...I've been waiting for you for so long now..." She looked back up towards her as tears began to form along the bottoms of her eyes "Every day thinking about you and Equestria has left me miserable...every day I pray and pray that I could have my horn and magic back...just so I could go back in time, and stop all this from every happening. But alas...I can't. This pain...it blackens my heart...hurts me..tortures me..."

Twilight grimaced as Celestia crawled towards the bars, reaching her hooves out towards Twilight and whimpering "Please...please Twilight! Make it stop! Make it all stop! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything! Please...do me this last service! Put me out of my misery, take the revenge you deserve and be rid of me forever!" Celestia's tears flowed freely as Twilight looked down on her in disgust, resisting the urge to spit upon her face and deny her the death she craved, if only to bring her more torment. But alas...the unicorn had not come this far to falter now...

The bars to Celestia's prison gleamed with a reddish magic, and then...snapped. The bars gave way as Celestia felt her hooves lock together, a rope of ethereal magic binding her and an unseen force lifting her up and tossing her through the hole in the bars. Twilight began to drag her through the dark corridor, keeping her eyes focused ahead of her as Celestia whimpered "Where....where are you taking me?"

For a moment, Twilight did not answer, simply continuing her walk towards the stairs upwards. When she did answer, her voice was low and dripping with malice "I told Shadow that once he re-entered Canterlot...that he was beyond mercy...you however...you for some reason I still hold some manner of mercy for. I want you to see the sky when you die...I want you to look upon the world you created...and the world you destroyed. I want you to look into the true face of horror and the consequences of your actions...and grant you the sweet mercy of a quick death as everything you once loved and cherish comes crashing in on you."

She looked towards Celestia as she dragged her up the stairs, her voice growing into a hiss as her eyes gleamed. "Prepare to die...Princess Celestia."

The two emerged from the Barracks building moments later, the unicorn throwing the bound Celestia across the courtyard and feeling a surge of joy and pleasure as the alicorn let out a painful cry when she hit the ground. From the steps of the Royal Castle, Princess Luna could only gasp. She had sensed Twilight close by, and knew that her target had to have been Celestia. She watched as Twilight put a hoof upon Celestia's neck, igniting her horn with magic and morphing out of the air...a single dagger. Celestia looked towards the dagger, and then to her beloved city. Tracers continued to light up the sky, but there were considerably less now than before. Afflicted swarmed about the skies, diving and soaring through the air.

All around, the repeated cries of "Fall back!!! FALL BACK!!!" echoed across the area, making Celestia's heart sink.

"I've failed them all..." she whispered, looking back up towards Twilight "and now...I shall suffer the consequences of my actions."

"Indeed you shall..." Twilight hissed, raising her dagger in preparation to strike. This was it, this was the end! The end of Princess Celestia, the source of her pain, of her friends' pain, everyponys' pain! Before the dagger could be sent down, however, Luna cried out

"STOP!" Twilight looked up, watching as Luna came to a stop in the courtyard, glaring towards her. "How could you do this...?" asked the Lunar Princess, tears in her eyes "How could you do this to us!? Look at my sister...look at what she is now! Yes...she has made mistakes, but look at her now Twilight! She's calm...sincere...she knows what she did wrong. She will answer for her crimes, but not by death! Can't you find it in your heart to show at least a shred of mercy!?"

It was then that another voice cried out from behind Twilight, making the unicorn turn her head "Mercy!? The same mercy that Celestia showed on Twilight by nearly killing her? The same mercy Celestia bestowed upon Ponyville when she sealed them away and left them to die?! Some mercy that is!" Trixie emerged from behind one of the trees surrounding the courtyard, her eyes gleaming with the color of blood while her irises twinkled with violet. "Twilight deserves this right, the right to put an end to a tyrant, and make way for a new age of Equestria!"

"What age!?" Luna roared, pointing an accusing hoof at the two of them "Look at what you've done! You haven't brought about anything except the destruction of Equestria, not its salvation! Your path of revenge has only led to the slaughtering of even more innocents! Look behind you, look at your armies! Look at who they slay!!! Lunar Guards, ponies defending their friends and family, ponies who didn't do anything wrong, who have done nothing to deserve the death you reap upon them! If you want to go after those responsible, you should have let the power of Law triumph for you! Those accountable will be punished! Shadow has already suffered, as have I, as will Celestia if you would only see mercy in your heart! Don't continue this path of wretched violence and bloodshed, be reasonable!!!"

The two mares continued to shout back and forth at Twilight, the unicorn turning her head back and forth between them as she quietly thought "Is...is Luna right? What makes it right to kill those not responsible...? But Trixie...Trixie is right when she said that we are nothing but monsters to be feared. No one will love us...no one will care for us ever again. In order to save ourselves we, the prey...must destroy the predators. But is this right...? Am I...right?"

Twilight turned her head more quickly between the two of them, her heart thudding loudly in her chest as her mind and heart began to do battle with one another. With the loss of concentration, came the loss of her magical concentration...the binds holding Celestia's hooves coming undone and disappearing, leaving only the floating dagger behind. Twilight jumped slightly as Celestia put a tender hoof to Twilight's cheek, turning her head down towards her to look into each others' eyes. They stared at one another, mentor and student, each with a thudding heart beat...each with a held breath.

Finally, Celestia opened her mouth, and quietly whispered "Twilight Sparkle...the time has come for you to make your choice...at this moment, you must have either your Revenge...or my Redemption. Choose...Twilight...look deep within your heart...and decide for yourself what you must do, just as I have always taught you..."

Revenge....

or...

Redemption...

What...should she choose?

A note, I'll be going out of town this weekend, so I'll leave it to you to think about what Twilight should do. There are TWO ENDINGS to this story, and both will be revealed, but I leave it to you to decide which one you are satisfied with.

I was in a slight hurry to get this chapter done by the end of the week so I could take my trip with clear conscious, and I hope I did not disappoint. The stunning conclusion comes...next week!

Also, do not be afraid that this is the end of the siege. There's still plenty of battle to come.

Until then, farewell.

-Wolokai.

Redemption (Canon Ending) (Good)

"So your path is Redemption...to walk in the beams of happy sunshine once more...to stay your hoof and bestow upon somepony an act of kindness...forgiveness...mercy. You are truly a wonderful Unicorn, Twilight Sparkle...but do you know what you do...truly? Is this really the best course of action...? Perhaps in time, we will all discover it...and see for ourselves, exactly what the price of mercy really is..."

Twilight looked down on Celestia with the glint of tears in her eyes, Celestia not doing anything except staring back at her teacher. "I..." Twilight whispered, her dagger shaking slightly in the air.

"KILL HER!" Trixie shrieked, making Twilight jump slightly and focus even more on Celestia.

"Twilight..." Celestia whispered, stroking her hoof weakly against her former student's cheek "It's ok...be calm...be collected...make your choice..."

"See reason!" Luna cried, stamping her hoof into the ground and letting the tears drip freely down her face.

Twilight silently looked down at the Alicorn as her horn dimmed and glowed with unstable magic. "Celestia..." Twilight whispered, her breath a mere vapor on the chilling air. "I....I'm..."

"No, Twilight..." Celestia breathed, smiling slightly as she whispered "No more words...no more regrets...no more...end it...choose." Trixie and Luna looked towards Twilight as a thunderous explosion rocked the gates leading towards the courtyard. Lunar Guard fled through the the broken in gates, turning to fire as they ran.

"Fall back!!!" came the familiar cry of Nightfire, the bloodied seargent missing his helmet and a few pieces of armor, his teeth red with blood and his left wing looking as if it may have been broken. "Fall back and fight as you go! Don't give them too much ground!" He turned and pushed his good wing forward, spinning his right cannon barrel and unleashing short bursts of bullets back into the crowds and swarms of Afflicted that chased them at the bottoms of the hills.

"Move everypony back to the castle! Get guards on every wall and on every tower!" Cried Shadow-Mane, who looked to be in a worse state than Nightfire and who was quickly followed by Big Macintosh, who also looked weary and overly battle-worn. "Everypony keep moving and hu- SPARKLE!" Shadow cried, looking towards Twilight and drawing the attention of Macintosh as well, who only stared with widened eyes.

"KILL HER!!!!" Trixie shrieked yet again, stamping her front hooves loudly against the ground "KILL HER NOW!" All was quiet...all was calm...Twilight Sparkle looking down...Celestia looking back up. It was as if time itself had stopped, as if the world had stopped, and was now watching Twilight with all the eyes of Equestria upon her.

"I..." Twilight began, sucking in a deep breath...and whispering "...will not." She dropped her magical dagger, watching it as it dissipated in thin-air.

"WHAT?!" Trixie roared, taking a step forward as her eyes gleamed with blood "Why the hell NOT!?"

"Because I'm not like Celestia..." Twilight growled, turning to face Trixie, the blood of her eyes faded and greying slightly. "Though Celestia was wrong in her ways...to let innocents die for a cause she believed to be that of a greater good...that does not give me the right to follow in her hoofsteps, and sacrifice the innocents of Canterlot for revenge.."

"T...Twilight..." Celestia gasped, staring up at her former student who in turn looked back at her with saddened eyes.

"Because..." Twilight went on "What she did was unforgivable...but what I have done is unforgivable as well." She looked back towards Trixie, taking hoofsteps forward and giving forth a glare that could outdo even Fluttershy's famous 'Stare'. "Though Celestia is guilty of murder...I have no right to accuse of her as such when my own hooves are stained in blood as well. I look around me and I see soldiers...husbands...wives...ponies. What crime is theirs? What makes them guilty that they should die, along with the rest of us for what we have done? Nothing...they deserve to live...and I will not assist you in conquering Canterlot and destroying the last of all innocence in this world. I have done enough by opening the gates, by allowing you and your horde the opportunity...but now, despite the hatred that ravages my heart and the malice of revenge that poisons my brain...I will march forward no longer!"

"What are you saying...Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie growled with a threatening tone in her voice "Are you to say that you and I are no longer allies...?"

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, using her magic to pull off her own brown cloak and hood, revealing her bandaged front legs and her unkempt coat. When she opened them, a calm voice answered Trixie's suspicions "I don't think...we ever were." Her eyes narrowed as she spread her legs apart, preparing herself for a fight "As it stands Trixie...the only way to destroy the Ravage completely is by the purge, and those who were already infected once can not be uninfected a second time. When I unleash the great purge...the Afflicted will return to us as innocents...though I can only imagine you won't be allowing that to happen. You'll simply teleport away, preparing only more and more hordes for your assault on Canterlot."

"It seems you've known about this all along Sparkle..." Trixie said menacingly, pulling off her own cloak and spreading her magical wings outwards "Even if you succeed...even if you do win...you'll never be one of them again. As you said, those infected and cured once, can not be so again. You're stuck a monster forever!"

"NO!" Twilight shouted, flaring a pair of her own magical wings outwards "I will no longer be a monster...but a KEEPER of monsters! Should the Ravage Virus ever break out again, I will be its keeper, and I will ensure that this never, EVER, happens again!" The unicorn ignited her horn with a reddish glow, taking a deep breath and growling "And I'll start...by killing you, the last real threat to Equestria...the mare I should have killed from the beginning!"

"It will not be so!" Trixie screamed, taking flight and diving backwards towards the city, hissing in command "Sssslaughter!!!!"

The unified howls of The Afflicted echoed across the city as Twilight turned her head and shouted "Captain Shadow-Mane!" Shadow nodded towards her as Macintosh smiled, and Nightfire looked on with a curious expression on his face. "We have a lot to do and not much time to do it," Twilight began, watching Trixie flee "Continue to lead the defense of Canterlot, and move Celestia and the others inside! Fight for every inch Captain, every block, every stone, every square! Buy me as much time as you can!" Shadow-Mane and the others gave her a mighty salute as she took to the skies, pushing her wings backwards and propelling herself forward as she growled "Celestia...let my wings carry me true...let not my magic fail...give to me your blessings...your hopes...so that I may go forth and bring good and right to Equestria once more." She pumped her wings harder, chasing after Trixie who dove through the air-docks, flying near the rocky cliffs and stone walls that supported them. "Luna..." Twilight whispered to herself as she banked to her left and rolled across the air above the docks "Give me your strength...give me your guidance. Let my aim be true and my hooves be swift as I fight for you and your stars. To the Sun and the Moon I pray...amen."

Trixie looked up as Twilight prepared to dive, the two mares glaring at one another and powering up their horns with magic. "If this is the way you would like to die, Twilight Sparkle..." Trixie said with an evil smile "Bring it on..." Twilight pulled her wings in and extended her hooves outwards, taking a straight dive downwards through the air and moving to engage Trixie. As she soared downwards...Twilight could have sworn she heard the ethereal words of a mare she once knew...once loved...one adored. Words that she once respected, ones that she had often clung to in her most desperate times of need. Though it was odd to accept them now...she did so for her. She smiled and pressed through the air as Celestia's words whispered out to her

"Go...go my little angel...go and bring peace back to Equestria..."

"And now..." Twilight whispered, twirling in the air as her horn ignited with bright magic "We battle..." she launched three bolts from her horn, hurling them towards Trixie who simply banked to the right, avoiding the deadly missiles and leveling out across the rocky terrain of the mountain. Twilight continued to launch her magic towards Trixie, the two of them soaring across the side of the mountain until eventually Trixie dove down towards a rocky valley, barrel rolling into it and being quick to dodge the many rocky spires that stuck upwards from the ground.

Twilight followed her, being quick to dodge the blasts of magic that Trixie threw back at her as she flew. Twilight narrowed her eyes as she twisted and turned around the spires, diving underneath falling rocks that were dislodged from the walls or that were falling from the spires. Trixie soared upwards and did a quick front flip onto the top of one of the spires. She turned towards Twilight and ignited her horn with bright, gleaming magic, and let out a savage roar as she launched a high-powered laser beam towards the lavender mare.

The unicorn gasped and banked violently to the left, the laser beam catching Twilight just under her left wing. She went into a roll past several more spires as Trixie followed the unicorn with the beam. "I'll kill you dammit if it's the LAST THING I DO!" she shrieked, bringing down more spires as her beam cut a giant swatch through the rocky valley. "You should have just killed her and be done with it all! We could have had peace! We could have had everything we ever wanted and dreamed Twilight...and you threw it all away for a messy death that no one will ever remember you for!"

~*~

"EEYAAAH! HAH! GURRAAAGH! AARRRGH!!!"

Shadow twirled where he stood, blade clutched in his mouth and his wing-blades smeared with blood. Piles of Afflicted bodies littered the small area around Shadow-Mane, the colt driving his right wing-blade through an Afflicted's chest and spinning to catch another in the face with his sword as he roared "IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO!" He bucked an Afflicted rushing up from behind, jumping up and rolling across his enemy's back to bring down his wing-blades on another foe behind him.

The Captain panted heavily as several Afflicted replaced the ones he had only just killed, groaning as he looked up at the near endless swarms that dominated the skies and that were pushing up the hills towards the Royal Castle. Bullets rained down from the towers and walls along side magical bolts from the unicorn guards. The Lunar Guard on the courtyards continued to fall back up the hill, with Shadow giving them as much support as they could. "Watch your back!" Shouted Moon-Lance suddenly as he gunned down two infected who jumped at the Captain from behind. The colt was flanked by Sky-Driver, the two of them backing their flanks up towards Shadow and forming a defensive knot.

"Wind-Weaver and Nightfire are inside sir!" Sky shouted, slashing an Afflicted across the face "They're making sure the cave entrance is secure!"

"Good!" Shadow replied as he caught two more Afflicted with his wing-blades "Let's hold them back here and fall back when we have an op-"

"YYYEEAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHH!"

"THUNDER HOOF!!!!" Sky squealed as a large Thunder-Hoof came barreling up the hills towards them. The three dove away from each other as the hulking beast smashed its giant front hooves down, cracking the ground violently.

"Separate! Attack from all sides and watch your flanks for other Afflicted!" Shadow barked as he twirled his body around once, carving two Afflicted who rushed at him with his wing-blades. Moon-Lance dove to the side as the Thunder Hoof swiped at him, barely missing him with his large, muscular legs.

Sky plunged his sword into an Afflicted's neck, shoving the body towards the Thunder Hoof in attempts to hinder its movements. The beast merely swatted the body away, nailing Shadow-Mane right in the side with it and sending him flying across the grass. The Captain landed with a loud 'oof!' as the Thunder Hoof turned towards him, roaring and charging in his direction.

"CAPTAIN!!!" Sky shouted, galloping towards Shadow who was trapped under the body of the Afflicted.

"Get out of here Sky!!!" Shadow roared as the Thunder Hoof galloped with thunderous hoof steps towards him. He tried to shift his weight off of his back, to at least see if he could maybe get his cannons to line up for a heavy volley. They wouldn't budge however, the body of the Afflicted keeping his back pressed down against the ground, locking his cannons up. "Dammit!" Shadow cried, watching as the Thunder Hoof and Sky got closer. He waved a hoof at him and shouted yet again "DAMMIT SKY GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

"You saved my skin on the train Captain!" Sky shouted as he clenched his sword in his teeth "It's time to return the favor!"

"SKY!!!!" Shadow shrieked as his corporal dove in front of the Thunder Hoof, quickly rolling and springing to his hooves to face the beast. Time slowed down for the Captain as Sky reared his head back, chucking his sword at the Thunder Hoof and watching as the blade embedded itself in the neck of the beast. The Thunder Hoof let out a guttural roar of fury, flailing about as blood splurted from its neck. It swung its hooves wildly, with Sky yelping as one of its hooves smashed into his side, sending him flying across the entire courtyard. "SKYYYYYY!!!!!" Shadow cried out in despair, watching his comrade crash into a marble pillar near the front steps of the castle and fall to the floor in a heap "NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"

All sound faded away for Shadow as he looked over towards Sky-Driver. He wasn't moving, his back towards him and his left wing twitching slightly. A small pool of blood seeped out from under the wounded Pegasus as several magical bolts pelted the courtyard, kicking up plumes of dirt and dust. Shadow looked up slightly to see Trixie being chased by Twilight in the air, the two of them diving towards their location as Twilight took potshots at the azure mare. Shadow watched as Trixie zoomed by, and Twilight dove to the ground. She went into a forward roll as she tilted herself forward, coming up and launching herself into the air. As she did so, she twirled her body until she was upside down, facing the Thunder Hoof with her horn gleaming with magic. She narrowed her eyes as she fired off her magic, sending a high-powered laser right through the Thunder Hoof's skull. She completed her roll with a quick spin of her body and a pushing of her wings, quickly resuming the chase.

Several moments passed as the Thunder Hoof teetered violently on its hooves for a moment, before finally falling over with a loud 'thud' which shook the ground slightly. When the beast finally lay still and dead, Shadow gave a mighty heave with his hooves and pushed the body of the Afflicted off of him, screaming "SKY!!! SKY!!!"

"Captain we have to go!!!" Moon-Lance shouted as he backed up towards the castle, firing his cannons off and spraying the advancing crowds with lead "There's too many of them!"

Shadow grunted and limped towards the castle, pointing a hoof towards Sky as he shouted "Get to Sky! Get him inside and get him to a medic, NOW!" He panted as he turned towards the crowds of Afflicted charging up the hill, adding his own lead storm to the fight. "GO DAMMIT, GO!!!" He shouted towards Moon, who nodded and rushed to Sky's aid.

Shadow grunted as his cannons spun, shell casings flying outwards from the machine on his back and clattering loudly to the ground. "I think I can get him stable!!!" Moon shouted from behind "Just give me a se- CAPTAAAAAINNN!!!!"

Shadow let out a furious cry of pain as a Lurker's shimmer appeared to his left, the Afflicted Variant materializing out of its stealth magic and sinking its teeth into an unexposed part of Shadow's armor on his back. The Captain quickly spun, ripping his back away from the beast and smacking it upside the head with his cannons. He let out a savage cry as he spun his barrels, demolishing the ground in front of him with a volley of bullets and annihilating the Lurker.

The Captain...had been bitten.

He groaned as he felt warm, sticky blood leak into his armor, dripping to the ground as he weakly shouted towards Moon "Go! GO!!! GET INSIDE!"

"Ca...Captain!" Moon whimpered, looking towards Shadow's wound.

"FORGET IT MOON! GET SKY INSIDE, NOW!" Shadow roared, tears forming in his eyes "Just go!!! Get out of here! GOOOO!"

Moon-Lance had to force himself to turn his head away, carefully slipping Sky onto his back, resting him right underneath his cannons. He got up slowly, turning his head towards the Captain...the two of them locking eyes for what may very well be...the last time. "Captain..." Moon began, watching as Shadow nodded, telling him that it was ok "It...it was an honor."

"Likewise Moon-Lance...take care of the others..." Shadow said with an affirmative nod, giving him a weak salute and turning to face his foes. Moon-Lance turned away, galloping towards the front gates of the castle with the last of The Lunar Guard. Only one soldier was left to charge head-long into the field...one doomed soldier left to fight on the blood-stained fields of battle.

"I..." Shadow grunted as he limped towards the top of the hill, looking down on the Afflicted who rushed to meet him "I...I am Captain Tiberius Shadow-Mane...of her Majesty, Princess Luna's one hundred and forty second Lunar Guard Detachment...leader of Shadow Squad and the Commander of Canterlot's Defense!" He growled as he felt his insides begin to burn, feel the virus beginning to take its hold over him. "I hereby place you all...under arrest!" Shadow shouted with a laugh "For conspiring against our Princess Luna, the crime being treason...and for being a COMPLETE pain in my ass!" He looked up as the swarms of airborne Afflicted began to move towards the castle, the ground based Afflicted nearing his position on the hill. "The punishment for which," Shadow said as he pushed his wings forward and spun up his barrels "IS DEATH!!!!"

Shadow's cannons with off with mighty roars of their own as he sprayed the area down in front of him, felling as many of the Afflicted as he could before his guns finally clicked with emptiness. He reached around with a hoof, unclasping the machine off his back and rearing back on his hooves. He clenched one of the straps with his two hooves, spinning rapidly and chucking the cannon into the crowd with a savage battle cry. His vision started to fill with the color of red as he ripped his blade free of its sheath, clutching it in teeth that were drenched with saliva, the corners of his mouth leaking with fluid. He felt tears run free from his eyes, but whether or not they were of blood or salt, he did not know.

He felt his hooves carry him forward as he charged forward and down the hill, galloping straight towards the masses which were approaching quickly. With a final cry of "GLORY TO THE NEW LUNAR REPUBLIC!!!!!!", Captain Shadow-Mane of the Lunar Guard dove forward as an Afflicted dove for him, each sharing only one thing in common.

That in the end. They both refused to back down.

~*~

Trixie let out a startled cry as a magical bolt sheared off her right wing, the azure mare tumbling through the air and towards the back area of the castle which held the gardens area. The mare cried out as she hit the ground and rolled through three bushes before finally coming to a rest near one of the cliffs that descended off of the mountain. Trixie coughed as she turned her head towards Twilight, her other wing dissipating into thin air. Twilight dropped to the ground as her wings disappeared, the lavender unicorn conjuring a single sword out of thin air and walking towards Trixie slowly.

The azure Carrier laughed as she conjured her own blade out of the air, turning to face Twilight. "Is this really how you expect it all to end!?" Trixie shouted as the two began to circle one another "You think that by killing me, everything will just magically go back to normal?! That Ponyville will suddenly come back, and that you all won't have to live with the scars of what happened!? None of you will accept Celestia, you'll all want her dead eventually! There's no escaping the hatred, the revenge Twilight!"

Twilight simply looked towards the mare in sadness, quietly muttering "I'm so sorry..."

"What was that!?" Trixie growled, stamping her front hoof down.

"I said it's sad..." Twilight said, raising her voice "The Virus has gotten so far into you Trixie...it has corrupted you. I would know...it nearly drove me to assassinate Princess Celestia."

Trixie raised an eyebrow as they walked around each other in a large circle, the unicorn opening her mouth to mutter "But...that makes no sense! You wanted to kill Celestia from the beginning!"

"Perhaps..." Twilight sighed, looking away from Trixie for a moment. "Though I hated her for what she did to us...when it all came down to it, I would never really wish death upon Celestia. This virus is hate and rage incarnate...it destroys us just as it destroys the Afflicted. We're no more happier than they are Trixie. No amount of blood...no amount of death....nothing, is going to take all this pain and rage away."

"Shut up!" Trixie growled, twirling her sword in the air once "I don't want to hear any more of your philosophical shit! Once I kill you, I can finally wipe Canterlot off the map, and instill a new order of ponies, an order where everyone will love me, and everypony else will fear us!"

"You are truly lost then..." Twilight muttered sadly, bowing her head forward. She looked up towards Trixie and growled, deciding that the time for words was over...there was only action. With a flourish of her blade and a whip of her mane, Twilight Sparkle shouted "En' Garde!"

The two mares charged towards each other with savage battle cries, bringing their blades forward. They crashed in mid-air, Twilight quickly parrying Trixie's away and thrusting forward with a mighty stab. Trixie quickly side-stepped and twirled, bring her blade around and aiming for Twilight's side. Twilight quickly brought her blade back with a quick flick of her head, blocking the strike and pushing back against her enemy's blade. The two remained in a sword lock for only a few moments until they both sprang away, rushing back towards one another with intense speed.

Trixie swiped Twilight's blade away and gave her a quick headbutt, shoving the mare to the ground after. She jumped into the air with a savage cry, aiming her blade down for a stab. Twilight quickly rolled to the side as Trixie's blade met the ground, bringing a hoof around and punching the azure mare right in the cheek. Trixie was flung to the side as Twilight sprang up, swinging her magical sword through the air and towards her foe. They locked blades once again as Trixie regained her stability, the two of them staring into each others blood red eyes.

"This is pointless Trixie...give up!" Twilight shouted as she pushed against Trixie's blade "End the violence in Canterlot...enough blood has been spilled today!"

"Quiet traitor!" Trixie hissed as she tried to shove Twilight's blade away with a quick flourish "There's no more room for words, only room for your body in an unmarked grave!"

The two sprang apart, aiming their horns at one another and launching a large bolt of magic towards each other. The bolts met in midair, exploding violently and sending the both of them outwards. They hit the ground with a hard 'thud' and rolled for a moment, before they both regained stability and stared towards one another.

"Last chance Trixie!" Twilight roared "I am not beyond mercy! Give up! I don't want things to end this way!"

"SILENCE!" Trixie roared back, twirling her blade through the air "This has gone on long enough! MEET YOUR DEATH, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"

As Trixie charged, Twilight simply sighed with sadness and whispered "So be it..."

The two of them were silent as they charged towards one another, blades aimed straight and true. Their distance closed quickly as they met one another...and then....

Time slowed down as Twilight swatted Trixie's blade aside and punched her in the chest with the hilt of her blade. Trixie doubled over as Twilight leaped over her, turning quickly as soon as her hooves hit the ground. She reached out quickly, grasping Trixie around her neck and pulling her backwards as her sword pushed through Trixie's back, the tip pushing its way out of her belly. Trixie gasped as she felt the blade run her through, her eyes wide as she looked down and watched as the sword vanished, the magic holding it no longer in use.

Twilight quietly sat on her flank, holding Trixie gently in her arms as the mare began to cough, a dribble of blood forming at the corner of her mouth. "Twil...I ju-...I..." Trixie muttered, drawing Twilight to run a gentle hoof through her silvery mane and whisper "Ssshhh....hush now...it's all over...it's over..."

Trixie choked slightly, gagging on her own blood for a moment before swallowing and whispering "I...I'm so cold...Twilight. The virus...it burned me up so...and...I can't feel it anymore. Am I...am I cured?"

Twilight let her tears flow freely as she held Trixie to her, burying her face in her mane and nodding as she whimpered "Yes dear...it's all gone...you're all better now. It can never...EVER...hurt you again."

"I think..." Trixie whispered, her eyes drooping "I think I'm gonna rest my...my eyes for awhile. We'll finish this o...once I wake up. You got it?"

"Of course..." Twilight said with a small smile, feeling the heartbeat of Trixie fading away fast.

"Good...I'll see you soon then..." Trixie breathed, closing her eyes and finally cutting the last string she had left binding herself to life.

Trixie, was dead.

Twilight let Trixie's body down to the ground as gently as she could, getting to her hooves and looking back up towards Canterlot. Without a direction or order to guide them, The Afflicted swarmed around the castle, bullets still firing towards the masses. "It's time..." Twilight whispered to herself, the mare approaching the edge of the cliff, her horn beginning to gleam. It was then and there that a voice...a voice so familiar to her yet so foreign, cried out to her

"Twi'!!!" Macintosh shouted, the colt limping towards her as his armor barely managed to keep together. "Ah saw you n' Trixie fall n' ah thought that ya'll had...." he trailed off as he spotted Trixie's lifeless body, a peaceful expression etched upon the mare's face. "So...it's over?" Macintosh whispered, to which Twilight merely sighed and shook her head.

"No..." she muttered, looking back towards her coltfriend "Not yet...almost." She turned her head back forward and with a sad frown whispered "Goodbye...Macintosh..."

The workhorse widened his eyes as Twilight began to swirl rings of magic around herself, her body lifting up off the ground slightly. He quickly shook his head and roared "Twi', wait! What's goin' on! What're you doin'?!"

"Purging..." Twilight answered "I'm destroying the Ravage Virus...and hopefully myself in the process."

"What?!" Macintosh shouted, taking a step towards her "N...no! Ah just got you back into mah life, ah can't you go now!"

Twilight let out a frustrated growl as her concentration broke, her hooves hitting the solid ground as she turned and shouted "Macintosh look at me! You and I...we...we cannot be anymore! You were infected once, if you and I were to be together...the risks would be too great! You could become infected again, in which case there would be no choice BUT to kill you! It MUST be this way, for the both of us!"

"But why do YOU have to die!?" Macintosh shouted as tears brimmed in his eyes "Why do ya have to go n' do a stupid thing like that!?"

At this...Twilight smiled, igniting her horn with a golden color of magic and illuminating herself with it. She began to walk towards him as her body shimmered for a moment, and the magic began to dissipate. What Macintosh saw...made him gasp in wonder.

The red of Twilight's eyes...was white. She stared towards her lover with a small smile and pure, uninfected eyes. "H...how?!" Macintosh stuttered "Ya can't...ya can't cure yerself! Ya'll said so yerself!"

"I know I did Macintosh..." Twilight whispered, sitting in front of her coltfriend "And it is the truth...I cannot be cured. All I have done is pushed the virus down into a solid point of my body...which is why I'm really trying not to notice the massive burning feeling in the right side of my flank." They both chuckled slightly as Twilight went on "I cannot hold back its spread forever...but what I wanted to at least give you a proper goodbye...and a proper parting gift."

"What gift...?" Macintosh whispered, feeling his skin tingle as Twilight put a hoof on his cheek.

"At first..." Twilight began "I was sad...I was so sad...because I had lost you...and I thought I lost her too...but with the Purge, and the last bit of magic I have left to spare...I can save her Macintosh..."

Macintosh's eyes widened as Twilight leaned her head up, pressing her lips against his and sharing an uninfected kiss with him...a kiss that Macintosh pushed against with vigor that his marefriend returned with equal vigor. They lingered there for a moment until Twilight finally backed away, watching as Macintosh stared at her in wonder and whisper "Who...who are you talking about...?"

Twilight simply shook her head and smiled, whispering to him the final words she would ever say to him...

"Our undying love...I love you...goodbye..."

Twilight fanned out a pair of freshly conjured wings attached to her sides as the red of the Ravage Virus once more polluted her eyes, the mare wasting no more time in kicking upwards into the air, soaring straight upwards and gathering in as much magic as she could. She rose up high into the sky, her horn pulsing wildly with massive and massive amounts of magic. She strained to keep it all under control, her head pounding with a splitting ache as her magic reached a point where she knew would result in a critical overload...and hopefully...her death.

She cried out in pain as Macintosh held out a hoof towards the sky, hoping there was something he could do...something he could say to make her stay. Her looking down towards him, tears spilling down her face...smiling...it made him forget all those things, and instead made him whisper back "Ah love you too...Twilight Sparkle..." Twilight nodded one final time, looking back up and bringing her hooves in for a moment, reaching the peak of her magical limits.

With a furious cry, Twilight threw her legs and hooves outwards, her horn exploding with a brilliant golden light. A gigantic bubble of gold roared outwards in all directions, smothering Macintosh and the surrounding area. It raced outwards , completely washing over Canterlot Castle and into the hordes of Afflicted. They fell with shrieks and cries as the Ravage Virus was destroyed in their bodies, the whites of everypony's eyes returning quickly.

From the courtyards, a single Lunar Guard rose up quietly, his eyes draining of red and filling once more with a soft white. Shadow-Mane smiled as he looked towards the golden shield which expanded further and further outwards into Equestria. Waves of Pegasus ponies dropped to the ground, those who used to be Afflicted. They looked around in horror at the carnage that was strewn about around them, but before too long...cheers erupted from them all, and from the royal castle as well as The Lunar Guard rushed out with Luna and the Elements of Harmony behind them.

The gold of Twilight's magic met Manehatten....Appleloosa...and every other corner of Equestria, the lavender mare using a small portion of her saved magic on herself to save what precious life she had left to give. She smiled as she thought about...the day where she was terrified to learn that she...she may be giving birth to a monster....but now, at the end of the road, there could only be peace.

Twilight looked down towards Macintosh as her form began to glow brighter and brighter, her figure quickly disappearing into light as her magic neared its end. "Goodbye..." she whispered with a teary smile, the light fully enveloping her and exploding with a great shock wave of rainbow and gold color.

"TWILIGHT!!!!" Macintosh screamed, holding his hooves upwards towards the air, despair tearing at his heart. The light began to subside as the cheers from Canterlot met Macintosh's ears, the workhorse feeling no victory or happiness of his own. He had lost Twilight...lost her forever, lost her to the light that had almost diminished fully.

Just as he was about to lose himself to his sadness, dropping to the ground in a heap...something appeared in the light. Macintosh looked up and gasped as he saw a small basket floating gently from the sky, dropping slowly towards the ground. The workhorse rushed to intercept it, holding out his hooves as the basket quietly slipped into his grasp. With a peer into the basket, Macintosh's eyes widened to the size of saucers and his breath caught as he beheld...

A baby filly, lavender in color with small spots of red lined in her fur. She had a streak of blonde in her purple and pink mane, her eyes the most dazzling color of emeralds in all of Equestria. "S...she..." Macintosh whimpered, tears spilling down his face as the young filly looked at him with wide-eyes and a look of wonder on her face "She was...the whole time...ever since..." The little filly let out a tiny giggle, reaching with tiny hooves towards the workhorse who simply wiped his face off with his front leg and chuckling. "Hey there..." he whispered to her "Hey there little one...it's nice to meet you...Ah'm Big Macintosh...Ah'm yer daddy...Moonlight...Moonlight Sparkle...ah quite like the sound o' that..."

Moonlight giggled and took a hold of one of Macintosh's hoofs as it rubbed her belly, her tiny hooves squeezing it as her father looked up towards the sky, looking towards the rays of golden magic that still lingered in the air. With a simple smile and a sigh of calm and peace, Big Macintosh whispered to the air...

"Thank you..."

Revenge (Alternative Ending) (Evil)

(This ending will be very short compared to the good one. It's just a simple ending to see what exactly would happen if she chose this path...)

______

"So you have chosen Revenge....the path of darkness...the path of misery. None will stand against you...none will oppose you! No mercy...no survivors. Know that as you trot down the road of blackness...forever, will it dominate your destiny."

Twilight stared down at Celestia with a bigger rage burning in her eyes, her dagger pointing straight and true. "Celestia..." Twilight whispered, to which the former Princess merely smiled and nodded her head quietly. With a quick thrust of her blade, Twilight plunged her dagger deep into Celestia's neck, twisting and felling the Sun Princess once and for all.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Luna cried as Twilight stepped over the lifeless body of Celestia towards Luna, with Trixie cackling and laughing like a mad-mare.

"YES!!!" she shrieked "It's done! You're all finished! ATTACK MY BABIES! ATTACK!!!"

"Fall back!!!" cried The Lunar Guard, the ponies all retreating towards the Royal Castle as Luna stood out front, standing her ground.

"No..." she whispered, staring towards Twilight with a look of fury in her eyes. "How could you do this!? How could you!?" she roared towards the lavender mare, who in turn simply laughed and pointed a hoof towards her.

"Silly Luna!" she said with an evil glint in her eye "I have taken away a thorn in Equestria's side! The world is better off without villains like her, poisoning the land and its ponies with lies! She has paid for her crimes...and just as she has...so must you!"

Twilight wasted no time in lowering her head, igniting her horn with as much magic as she could muster before launching a beam of pure white towards Luna. The Lunar Mare gasped as she dipped her own head forward, launching a beam of blue magic back at Twilight. The beams crashed in the middle, pushing against one another as each tried to gain the advantage over the other.

"What is this Luna!?" Twilight spat as she pushed her magic forward "I have defied Goddesses and Demons! What hope do you have against ME now that your precious sister lies dead underneath my hooves! How can any of you hope to stand against Twilight Crown-Crusher!?" She snarled and shoved her head forward, filling her attack with even more magic as she roared "You will suffer for what you have done! Suffer another thousand years on the moon!"

"WHAT?!" Luna gasped, her irises shrinking and her concentration fading slightly. Her beam of magic was quickly decimated as the fear of going back to the moon pulsed through her veins. She tried desperately to push her attack back up...but she was too late.

As Twilight's magic engulfed Luna, all that the lavender mare could hear were the blood curdling screams of a princess...before a ball of pure white was launched upwards at an incredible speed, quickly passing up through the clouds and up into the sky. "Goodbye...Princess Luna..." Twilight whispered savagely, walking forward towards the castle "See you in a thousand years..."

She walked up the front steps of the castle, already seeing Trixie at the top of them with her back turned to her. She was cackling with glee and shouting towards the sky as Twilight approached from the rear. "It's all mine...MINE! Finally! A world to call our own!!! Where our precious ones can run free, destroying any who would hope to forsake our freedom! MINE....MINE!!!!! MI-"

"Enough..." Twilight hissed, drawing a gasp out of Trixie as the blade of a magical dagger punched through the back of her skull. Trixie stared wide eyed for a moment, her vision quickly blurring as she fell towards the floor, her body being stepped on carelessly by Twilight. She walked through the darkened halls as Afflicted rushed this way and that, overrunning and infecting any guards in the nearby area.

She walked without obstruction towards the throne room, her hoofsteps calm and her strides easy. "Shadow!!!" cried the voice of Macintosh from somewhere in the castle "Ah can't find ya!!! Where did ya'll g-AAAARGH! Fucker bit me!!!"

"Sky-Driver!? Where's Sky!?" cried Wind-Weaver above the chaos.

"Dead!!! Thunder-Hoof got him!" Moon-Lance roared back.

"We need to run!!! HURRY!!!" Shadow shouted, drawing a chuckle out of Twilight.

"You can run..." she hissed, throwing open the doors to the throne room and walking inside "But you'll never hide."

She looked up towards the empty throne...towards the seat where she had often watched Celestia sit when she was a filly. The times she had wondered...what would it be like to rule...? What would it be like to be ruler of Equestria? She turned her head towards a Lurker who materialized out of its stealth magic, looking towards Twilight with its yellow and red eyes. "Leave the othersssss in the cavessssss alone." She hissed in her Carrier voice "let them run away...they are innocent anyway..."

The Lurker moved away, shrieking at the top of its lungs Twilight's message to the rest of the horde.

With a gleam in her eye, Twilight ascended the stairs to the throne, turning in place and gently placing her flank down upon the seat. She smiled as she materialized her Element of Magic crown out of thin air and placing it gently upon her head.

With a savage grin on her face and the sounds of her Afflicted destroying Canterlot echoing about the halls...Twilight Sparkle rubbed her belly and whispered "Soon my baby...soon we'll rule Equestria, and lead this land into a new age of peace." She looked up towards the front entrance, narrowing her eyes as her smile spread from cheek to cheek.

"Long....live....the Queen..."

~*~ The End... ~*~

When the Dust Settles - Epilouge

---Following the Redemption Ending---

One Month Later....

"Yeah...right there! No...shoot. Aw durnit, whatever. We'll get to it later. Come on ya'll, apple juice is on!"

Applejack got a resounding holler of happiness out of some of the workers who leaped off the roof of the freshly built barn. The workers gathered around the table, happily slurping their drinks as Applejack smiled and said "Ya'll take yer time now, relax!" She looked over towards the rest of Ponyville, at all the new construction going on.

It had been around 28 days since The Siege of Canterlot, and already a good portion of Applejack's field had been replanted, her house having miraculously survived the blaze. She tipped back her stetson and smiled as she watched Applebloom play in the yard with the other crusaders, her friends still planting a few seeds out in the far orchard. She jumped slightly when she heard a voice call out from behind her "Need a hoof?"

She turned and raised an eyebrow as Captain Shadow-Mane stood before her, bandages covering his body, wings, and two of his legs. Applejack chuckled and said "Ah don't think you'll be doing much round' here for awhile. Ah told ya, you can pay yer rent in work AFTER yer all better, got me?"

Shadow nodded and with a weak "Yes..." went back into the house. It was kinda funny how Shadow-Mane had asked if he could stay with the apple family and Nightfire who also asked. The two of them really...really didn't want to be in Canterlot...and they felt like they owed it to Ponyville to assist in the reconstruction since they were the ones who originally burned it down. The rest of Shadow Squad was already hard at work inside the town...leaving Shadow to sit on his flank and heal.

With a final sigh, Applejack turned her head towards her workers and hollered "Alright! Let's get ya'll back to that roof! Durn thing ain't gonna put itself up!" She watched as the workers nodded, heading back towards the barn as Applejack turned and headed back inside her house. She made a beeline for the living room, and walking in on a sight that made her smile. Macintosh was curled up on the couch, Moonlight tucked safely in his hooves. She had her face nuzzled up against her father's, and her expression was calm and peaceful.

"Ah guess..." Applejack whispered to herself as she turned to head back outside and help the rest of the girls with the seeds "Things...do work out in the end after all..." With that, she quickly trotted outside into the fresh, clean, uninfected air...and made her way over to her friends, eager to get her apples back up and growing.

And it was something...that Twilight Sparkle couldn't wait for either. The lavender unicorn watched from a tiny hill far away, watched Applejack give a hearty hello to her friends. She smiled quietly at her own little plan, her plan to fake her own death. The world needed to live without the fear of Ravage...she knew that...but she also knew that so long as the threat of Re-Infection remained true and very real in Equestria...she would be there to silence it. As she told Trixie that day...she would be its keeper.

With a quiet sigh, Twilight summoned her magic, teleporting herself back to Canterlot...the city actually abandoned, and void of all life. It had ended up like the castle in the Everfree Forest...nothing more than a ruin now. A new city was being built in the heartland of Equestria, to the west of Ponyville...a city that would serve as a central beacon of peace and prosperity throughout all of the land.

A lovely plan, Twilight thought, if it all went well. She liked walking those empty halls...empty streets...thinking about her life and how simple it all was all those years ago. "Oh well..." she said with a sigh, teleporting to the castle gardens and walking towards the central fountain. It was here that a statue had been built of Nightmare Moon, commemorating her defeat by the Elements of Harmony. The statue of Discord had also been moved to the fountain, his horrified expression still etched in the stone.

Twilight quietly sat down, pulling a map out of her saddlebags and looking over it carefully, deciding on where to go. "Hmmm...Zebrica...seems nice enough. Maybe I could finally look into that Zebra Cultural thing that I always read about!" She smiled just thinking about it, putting away her map and getting to her hooves. Just before she could summon her magic, however...a voice echoed out across the courtyard.

"If I were you...I would have killed her..."

Twilight whirled her head around, looking in every which direction as she shouted "Hello!? Who's there?"

"Bit of a sad thing I guess...I mean, look what she did to you! Did anypony ever seal HER away when she did something naughty? Nooo...of course not...I told her I'm not as cruel as she thinks..."

"I know that voice..." Twilight gasped, turning her head slowly as she looked across the fountain. She gasped as she noticed tears of blood leaking down one of the statues...a grim...dark...chaotic voice echoing across the air...

"After all....I don't turn ponies into MONSTERS..."

~*~ The End ~*~

Prologue - On the first day...

"In the year of our Princess Celestia, Twentieth Seed past Midsummer, The Gryphons declared war on Equestria. Overpopulation and rampant disease have driven the eagle-lion beasts out of the domains, forcing them to conquer new lands in the hopes of preserving their species.

With a limited defense force, and not enough resources to fully support a full scale war, Celestia was forced to pursue other methods to eliminate the Gryphon Threat. With repetitive weapon tests that often ended in failure, Celestia turned to science to solve her cries for help, entrusting most of Canterlot's treasury to an elite team of scientists. Through a careful process and immoral, under the table procedures used to test their weapon, the 'Ravage Virus' was born in the first of many ponies. We're still digging up the graves of those who were infected...studied...then killed...

This virus was transferable easily through bodily fluids, passing rapidly in an enclosed area. Its nature was murderous, driving the mind of the infected into an unstoppable rage. They would pursue and kill, without reason or conscious. Originally intended to infect the Gryphon Populace, the 'Ravage' would (according to the science team) quickly decimate the overpopulated, crowded domains of the Gryphons, thus destroying the threat of war.

However...one small glitch destroyed this plan.

A unicorn...named Twilight Sparkle.

Magic was an unknown variable in the creation of 'Ravage', as the scientists discovered that the virus acted differently in a unicorn's blood more than any other race. A Carrier...that was the abnormality. They discovered Twilight Sparkle was the first carrier, but before further study could be done on her...she infected a pony. It wasn't long before the entire underground facility housing the 'Ravage' was compromised, the virus spilling out into the world of Equestria.

With her memory wiped and her body delivered back to Ponyville, the Royal and Lunar Guard began a quiet, undercover battle to eliminate 'The Afflicted' before they had a chance to attack the cities. However...when the Affliction hit Ponyville and Ponyville only, Celestia immediately quarantined the town, sealing it off from the rest of Equestria, and abandoning it to the disease.

Her original plan had been to kill everypony...but then she decided to build up the affliction...to use the ponies infected in Ponyville to attack the Gryphons. When we rescued the innocents of Ponyville however...Twilight ran off. We didn't know where she went or why...but whatever happened, it ended up in the capture of a de-horned Princess Celestia.

We've secured Celestia in the dungeons of Canterlot, and have effectively sealed off the city from the rest of Equestria. We know about the shield's falling around Ponyville...and all we can do now is send quick warning and word to every major and minor city and town in Equestria...and tell them to hide...tell them to run...

......tell them...Don't Go Outside..."

-Captain Shadow-Mane in a debrief to Princess Luna.

"TWILIGHT!!!" Macintosh shouted, causing everypony to stir in the caboose car. The panicked work-horse galloped towards the back of the car, hastily shoving open the back cars and moving out onto the balcony.

The two guards posted on the rear jumped as he came charging through, their shocked cries ringing out into the windy night. "Whoa nelly! Easy there! He's trying to jump the rails, stop him!"

"Macintosh what in the hay are ya doing!?" Applejack shouted as she tried to help the guards pull a flailing Macintosh back over the back railing of the caboose.

"Twilight teleported outside! She ran off towards the Everfree!!!" Macintosh cried, his voice barely carrying over the roar of the train "Twilight!!! Twilight come back!!!!"

No matter how loud he screamed...no answer was made to him. Twilight...was gone. "Come on darn it!" Applejack groaned, pulling the weeping Macintosh back into the caboose "Pull yerself together Mac! Twilight wouldn't go runnin' off unless she had a real good reason!"

"That's right...she wouldn't!" Interjected a startled Rarity, who was shaken from her deep beauty sleep. "Twilight always goes in with a plan...she knows what she's doing."

"But what IS she doing!?" wept Macintosh, his tears flowing down his face "Why didn't she say where she was going!? Why did she leave now, of all times!?Just as we finally escaped Ponyville she goes n' throws herself back into the fray!?"

The two mares looked at one another for a moment, the same questions written on both of their faces. Where...did she go? Why would she go? Did she see something...say something? "Macintosh," Applejack whispered to him, putting a gentle hoof on his shoulder and giving him a slight shake "What did Twi' say to ya'll before she up and left...she say anythin' at all?"

Macintosh sniffed, wiping his eyes for a moment before whimpering towards his sister "She asked if ah remembered when ah told her that ah would come back for mah heart...and if ah would wait for her like she did fer me...ah started to say 'yes' but then she...she left!"

Rarity narrowed her eyes and went into deep thought as Applejack helped a weeping Macintosh to his bunk, whispering to a drowsy Catie and Spike who were staring over at them "Ya'll go back to bed now...Big Macintosh was just havin' nightmares is all!"

"But..." Catie whispered, watching as Macintosh rolled into his bunk reluctantly "Where's Twilight?"

Macintosh involuntarily kicked the side of his bunk as the words left the filly's lips, drawing a sigh out of Applejack who turned towards the two little ones and whispered "She just...she went somewhere right quick. She'll be back soon, don't ya'll worry!"

This seemed to put the worries of the young ones to rest, the both of them curling back up to sleep. Applejack let out a weary sigh, looking back to make sure Macintosh was alright. He shivered slightly, his back turned to Applejack. "Will he be alright?" Rarity whispered as Applejack sat next to her, staring towards the ground.

"Ah don't know Rarity..." she sighed, tilting her stetson up and rubbing her forehead "He's never been too taken with a mare before, ya know? What ah wanna know is where in the hay Twi' ran off to?"

"I have a theory..." Rarity muttered, putting a hoof to her chin. "Twilight's no fool...she wouldn't just run off for no reason. Considering we're on a train...I'm thinking she saw something outside...something that was worth going after..."

Applejack's eyes widened, her breath a panicked whisper "Oh mah stars, you don't mean to say Celestia or somethin' mighta been out there!?"

Rarity looked up towards Applejack, a serious look in her eye "It is a possibility...remember when Shadow-Mane said the outbreak may have originated near Ponyville? I think Twilight knew exactly where the facility was, she went to go stop this once and for all."

Applejack looked back towards the floor and whispered "Then why did she go alone...? We're her friends, the Elements of Harmony!"

"Maybe she was scared..." Rarity sighed, leaning back against the train car wall "Scared that we might ourselves get infected with the disease. There's no cure Applejack...it's better to risk only one Element then three, don't you think?"

Applejack shook her head "No, I don't. What if she gets herself bit? She's outside of the quarantine zone Rarity. If they got infected ponies locked up in that facility, and she goes n' unlocks all the doors trying to kill em all...she could spread the damn thing across all of Equestria!"

"AJ..." Rarity whispered "We're talking about the most powerful unicorn in existence, third to Celestia and Luna. I have faith in her...you should to."

"Hey...ah have plenty o' faith in Twi'!" Applejack grumbled "Ah just wish...ah wish things could be different."

Rarity nodded, and for awhile the two of them sat in silence.

Not all silence lasts forever...

The train gave a sudden lurch as a distant 'boom' was heard echoing across the land. Applejack's ears perked up as she heard several train cars opening, the flapping of wings whooshing in the air. She ran over to one of the windows and quickly peered outside, gasping as she waved a hoof over at Rarity. "C'mere, quick!" She whispered, drawing the diva to quickly make her way over.

"What is it?" Rarity gasped "What's out-...oh dear." They were staring at several chariots, pulled by bulky Pegasus ponies, that had flown to the side of the train, picking up several of the Lunar Guard. The squadron hovered for only a few moments before veering away, turning in the direction of Ponyville and flying back. In the far distance...Applejack could see what looked like the glow of a rising sun.

"That can't be..." Applejack breathed "There's no way it's mornin' already! It was only getting past dusk about an hour or so ago!"

"Celestia..." Rarity growled, staring towards the reddening horizon "It's Princess Celestia...she's raising the sun for some reason..."

It wasn't long after that...that a even larger boom, a thunderous one, shook the train with considerable force. "Whoa! What's going on!?" Spike cried out, sitting up as Applejack stared in horror towards the direction of Ponyville. From here, she could see the yellow shards of the magical shield that once held Ponyville captive...flying through the air.

"Oh no..." Rarity gasped, her hooves flying up to her mouth.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Catie whimpered, drawing a questioning stare from Big Macintosh as well.

"The shield..." Applejack whimpered "Ponyville's free....."

"....and so are they."

Macintosh - Taking Candy from Strangers...

"Yes little one...one day, when you're big and strong. All powerful unicorns have to start somewhere my sweet filly.

Now...close your eyes...take in a deep breath....relax.......good night my dear."

- A goodnight from Twilight's Mother.

Macintosh stared up at the ceiling of his apartment, his eyes fixed so intently on one section he was afraid that he'd pierce a hole through it after too long. He turned his head slowly the door and sniffed, the aroma of cider clogging his nostrils. The neighbors were probably drinking again...that's all they really ever did anymore. Drink and party like it was the end of the world...which Macintosh of course said was ironic.

Right now, the only thing Macintosh could really hear that was any sort of 'party' worthy was the steady 'Thump, Thump, Thump' against the wall right behind his head and headboard. The shrill shrieks and screams of pleasure echoed through the thin walls, causing the red stallion to grimace and pull a pillow over his head. Of all the times to Tussle...the bastards had to get it on right when he was trying to take a nap.

He tried his best to tune it out, and for a moment he thought they might be done as the screams suddenly stopped. But no...screams turned to low, hot groans, pissing off the stallion even more. He sat up in bed roughly, turning his body slightly and banging on the wall with his hoof. He waited for any kind of reply or a voice of question...but only groans answered him.

With a loud snort, Macintosh whipped off his blankets and quickly trotted to the door. With a shove out of his door and a quick turn to the right, Macintosh lifted a hoof and banged heavily on his neighbor's door. He waited with an annoyed expression on his face, sitting back on his haunches. After ten seconds, he banged on the door again, harder then before. He could have sworn he heard a splintering sound emitting from the door after his third knock...

It wasn't long after that until Macintosh heard the rumbling of curses and 'What the fuck?!' from behind the door. He listened at the sounds of a few locks being unlocked and finally watched as the door opened slightly. An average sized, sweating colt with a white coat and a blue mane answered, looking Macintosh up and down for a moment. He narrowed his eyes and growled "The hell do you want, I'm busy!"

Macintosh growled back "Can ya'll keep the tusslin' down? Ah'm trying to catch some sleep and it's a bit hard if ya'll are makin' all that racket!"

The colt simply laughed in his face and barked "Why do you have to be so intent on ruining other ponies' fun? I'm enjoying a casual afternoon with my wife and I'd appreciate if you kept your dumb hic nose out of it. Now piss off you fucking imbred." With that, he slammed the door in Macintosh's face, locking it back up swiftly.

Macintosh stared at the door with a blank expression on his face as the sounds of his neighbor's love-making intensified, reaching as far as the front door now. "So much fer a nap..." Macintosh grumbled, turning away from the door and heading towards the complex's stairs.

"What a load a shit..." he sighed, descending the stairs.

Today was going to be a long one...he could tell.

~*~

"Should a seen the flank on that one...hoowee!"

"I've actually hoofed that...not too impressive."

"What?!"

"Can you believe this foal?"

'I'm serious, did it right in the back of the chariot shop!"

Macintosh stared down at his daisy sandwich, his ears drooping at the idiotic conversation between three colts going on behind him at a table. He was sitting in a lunch bar at one of the front counter's stools. He figured if he couldn't sleep...some food wouldn't hurt. Just as he was about to take a bite out of it, however, the colts behind him started their dumb conversation. He dropped his sandwich promptly after that, staring at it for a moment before holding up a hoof and growling "Check please...ah'll take this to-go...."

~*~

Downtown Canterlot was a nice little area, filled with all sorts of neat little shops. Antiques, general stores, jewelry, and countless others! The streets weren't crammed, but they were definitely busy. Macintosh strolled calmly down the right side of the street, walking behind a group of four ponies while his sandwich bounced around in a styrofoam box on his back.

The weather was fairly nice...nice and cool. It reminded the stallion of the spring days where he and Applejack would sit with Granny Smith and Applebloom in the orchard and enjoy a nice picnic. Apple fritters...apple pie...apple cider...and the soothing spring wind blowing gently across his face and mane. It was this thought that brought a slight tear to the stallion's eyes...wishing he could go back to that time...wishing he could enjoy it with Twilight as well.

It wasn't until the sound of a gleeful cry that Macintosh looked up, his train of thought broken. "Heya Big Macintosh! What are you doing on this side of town?" The stallion smiled at the sight before him, his worries boiling away as he beheld a set of pink and a set of yellow hooves approaching him. The hooves belonged to none other than an ecstatic looking Pinkie Pie and a weary Fluttershy.

"Well hey howdy Miss Pie!" Macintosh exclaimed, stopping in front of them "And a mighty fine hello to you Miss Shy, you just back from Cloudsdale?"

Fluttershy smiled weakly and nodded slowly, whispering "Um...yes, Rainbow Dash is still out on a recon mission so...I got to come back."

"Yeah! They came back with a whole bunch of new ponies! I was coming down here from the castle to get supplies for a 'Happy Rescue Party' and then I found you!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, her body vibrating with excitement. Macintosh chuckled at this, always finding it amazing that even in their predicament, Pinkie was still as bubbly and as happy as ever.

"Well ah hope you find what ya'll are lookin' for" Macintosh began, clearing his throat before going on "Have ya'll seen Applejack or Rarity?"

"Oh..." Fluttershy said, putting a gentle hoof to her chin "Applejack went with Rarity and the crusaders to the park. I think they were going to have a picnic...which we're going to after we get Pinkie's supplies." She smiled a warm smile towards the stallion and muttered "Would you like to come with us?"

"That's ok..." Macintosh said, an apologetic look on his face "Ah'd rather be alone today, if that's alright."

"Oh no that's perfectly fine!" Pinkie said, giving the stallion a big hug before jumping back "We'll be in the park if you change your mind!"

Fluttershy watched as Pinkie bounced away before turning and giving Macintosh a shy smile. "Um...see you later..." she whispered, walking around the stallion and leaving him amongst the busy street.

It was good to see them, Big Macintosh thought. He knew the past three months had been hard on them, what with them being trapped outside Ponyville...wondering if any of their friends were still alive. They seemed to be in high spirits though, a lot higher than his. It seemed to him as if the rules never really changed after they left Ponyville...like they were still being followed as if they were burned into the back of everypony's mind. Well...at least some of them anyway.

Rule #6: Keep yourself Sane...

Keep yourself happy, keep yourself in bright spirits. A pony's sanity was just about as precious as their barricaded home or fortress. It seemed that Pinkie and Fluttershy were having no problem in keeping theirs...but ever since Twilight ran off on him...he could feel his mood slipping piece by piece. He wanted to leave...he wanted to go outside. Emotion was starting to play on reason...with logic failing and his heart taking the reins. What point was there in being stuck inside a bubble? What point was there in waiting?

He simply sighed, moving down the street quickly in the hopes that he could get to a peaceful spot to eat. Somewhere quiet...somewhere peaceful. Somewhere that nopony would want to go...

...somewhere like the shield...

~*~

Macintosh stared at the humming shield that glistened in front of him, the midnight blue color dimming and glowing every few seconds. There was nopony around here, a secluded section of trees and an empty street which led towards nothing but the cliff of Canterlot. It was the perfect spot to eat his sandwich, alone and away from the stupid, pointless discussions and the loud, obnoxious love-making of ponies.

His stomach growled as he sat back on his haunches, laying the styrofoam box in front of him. It was time...time to devour his delicacy of daisy goodness. He put a hoof on the bottom part of the box and a hoof on the top, gently popping the small tab out of its holding. He slowly pulled back the lid, as if he were opening a rusted treasure chest filled with precious goodies and priceless artifacts. His eyes grew wide as he beheld his perfectly preserved daisy sandwich sitting there, begging to be devoured by the big pony.

He had never seen a more beautiful sandwich in his life.

The daisies were pristine, the crust of the bread was crisp and cooked to perfection. It was like Luna herself had blessed this beautiful morsel. It was all his...all his for the eating. There was no stopping him now! He gently lifted the sandwich from the box as if he were lifting a baby from its cradle, being careful to keep it in a firm hold and to make sure it didn't drop. The aroma of his lunch gently wafted over him, filling him with a sense of joy.

Just one bite...that's all he wanted, was one bite. He slowly brought the sandwich up to his lips slowly, opening his mouth in preparation to take that first, delicious bite. He put his teeth over the sandwich and...

...a glob of white splattered onto the top of the bread.

A bird...had shit on his sandwich.

... Macintosh stared forwards with wide eyes, pulling the sandwich away from his lips and back down into the box. He closed it gently, pushing the box away from him and staring down at it. For awhile Macintosh simply stared down at the box, his stomach quietly rumbling. At long last though, Macintosh's inner walls broke and he let out a wailing sob. Tears streamed from his eyes as he bawled, falling on his side and curling up in the tightest ball he could. He shook and shivered as he wailed, punching the ground with a hoof several times.

What a load of SHIT! How could he just SIT there! Why couldn't he do anything!?

The shield...that damn shield!

He got to his hooves quickly, rounding on the shield and growling loudly. With a furious shout he charged towards the shield and threw a hoof at it in utter rage. He immediately howled in pain however as his hoof throbbed wildly in pain. It was like punching a brick wall, the stallion flying back and cradling his hoof in his other leg. He glared towards the blue barrier and sniffed, wiping a few tears away.

That was it...that was all Macintosh could do. With no way out and nothing else to do...he got to his hooves. The pain in his throbbing hoof at all but subsided, becoming a dull pain as he tried to limp away. As he neared the street however...a voice called out to him

A voice with an ethereal grace...but one of power.

The voice of a stranger...

...from BEYOND the shield...

"Hey...wait!"

Macintosh froze, his eyes widening and his ears perking. Slowly...he turned his head and looked on towards the shield, gasping as he beheld the figure standing just beyond the barrier.

It was a mare, he could tell, but who she was...that was something he couldn't. She wore a large brown cloak with a hood that concealed her body and head, with a white mask covering her face. Her legs were clasped with blackish armor, leading Macintosh to believe her whole body was adorned with it as well. A brown cloth was wrapped around what appeared to be her unicorn horn...and with that, Macintosh couldn't even tell the color of her fur.

"Holy horsefeathers, what the hay are ya'll doing out THERE?!" Macintosh shouted, rushing towards the barrier.

The mare shook her head quickly and spoke with quick urgency "Please, there is not much time! I have come at the request of-"

"Forget that!" Macintosh interjected "It ain't safe out there! Just stay put and ah'll go get the guard, we'll get you in here to safety!"

Just as he turned to leave, the mare shouted "Please, don't! I've come at the request of Twilight Sp-"

Macintosh was back at the barrier before the mare could even finish her sentence. A look of utter shock was splayed across Macintosh's face as he stuttered "T...Twilight?! She's alive?! Where is she, why isn't she with you...who ARE you!?"

The mare shook her head again and whispered quickly "I haven't the time! The Afflicted will be coming soon and I must return to her in Appleloosa! She asked that I retrieve you from Canterlot and I am bound to honor this!"

Macintosh had so many questions...so many answers he wanted...that he needed. The only one he had though...was that Twilight was alive. "How do I get out o' here then?! This barrier's thicker than a cow's ass!"

The mare looked up into the sky, scanning the clouds for danger before looking back down and whispering "I can get you out, but the spell will take time. I need you to gather as many supplies as you can for the trip, and meet me back here in half an hour! Don't let the Lunar Guard or anypony know you're coming!"

Macintosh nodded, turning and beginning his gallop off, taking a moment to shout back "Ah'll be back! Don't ya'll go nowhere!"

The mare nodded, smiling behind her mask as she hissed "Oh don't worry...I won't."

~*~

Macintosh bounded up the stairs to his apartment complex. He had to get his saddlebags, some food, supplies that would allow him to gather more supplies outside. He had gone on plenty of hiking trips before, he knew how to live off the land. It shouldn't be a problem...despite the fact the land was swarming from diseased, ravaged ponies...

As Macintosh ascended the stairs, the same questions began to burn in his mind. What was Twilight doing all the way down in Appleloosa?! Why didn't she come to Canterlot herself!? Was she hurt, was she in need of help? If that was the case, why didn't the mare she sent allow him to alert the guard? In fact...who was that mare? How did he even know she was sent by Twilight?

He stopped as he neared his floor, frowning. How...did he know if it was the truth or not? What if it was a trap...? Macintosh quickly shook his head, shaking off the thought. Trap or not, if Twilight was in danger he had to rescue her! That and he was tired of being cooped up anyway, stuck inside the same monotonous cycle of living in a cage for the past three months.

He stepped up onto his floor, dashing down the ramparts. He immediately cursed however as Applejack closed her own door, looking over at Macintosh with a frown and shouting "Well howdy Ma- whoa nelly, where's the fire!?"

"No time sis', ah can't explain!" Macintosh shouted back, throwing open his own door and rushing inside his tiny room.

"What do ya mean 'you can't explain'?!" Applejack shouted, poking her head into his room. "The hay has got ya'lls flank worked up?!"

"Ah'm leavin' Applejack, alright!?" Macintosh barked, throwing his saddlebags up and on "There's a mare outside the shield, says she knows where Twilight is. Ah'm bustin' out o' here!"

Applejack stared at her brother with a look of horror and sorrow, her voice catching in her throat. She couldn't do anything except stare as the work horse threw several items into his bags, shifting the weight about and getting it comfortable. When her voice finally bubbled out, it came off as terrified and saddened "N...now you just hold on a minute! What do ya mean you're leavin'!?"

"Ah mean," Macintosh growled "Ah'm leavin'! Ah am gettin' out of this damn city and ah am gonna DO something! Ah'm tired of bein' stuck here all fuckin' day n' night, ah have to get out, ah have to go outside!"

"Macintosh see reason dammit!" Applejack roared, moving inside and slamming the door behind her. She rounded on him, pointing a hoof up at his nose and drawing his attention "There ain't no way outside o' the shield! That magic stuff is too strong! How the hay were you plannin' on even escapin' Mister Earth Pony?!"

Macintosh sighed, pushing back Applejack and pushing two full cider bottles into his saddlebag. "There's this wrapped up mare outside" He muttered "She said Twilight sent her from Appleloosa, she's preparing a spell to get me outta here and outside." He turned on her, pointing a hoof at her and shouting "And ya'll know why ah ain't told the guards bout' this! They're all too busy savin' Cloudsdale and the other cities. They ain't gonna care bout' one filly!"

"They will if it's the Element o' fuckin' MAGIC MACINTOSH!" Applejack roared back, running in front of him and blocking the door. "Ah ain't gonna let you go gettin' yourself killed over this Mac! Ya'll done lost your marbles!"

"Get outta the way Applejack!" Macintosh roared in her face, drawing a slight shiver out of her. She was terrified of her brother's temper...but she held firm.

"NO! Ah ain't gonna let this happen! You ain't well Macintosh! Your just homesick is all, that's all!" Applejack said, her voice still tinged with anger.

The stallion looked at her for a moment before his face fell, turning into one of sadness and sorrow. He turned slowly, sitting on his haunches with his back to her. Applejack watched him as he pulled one of the empty cider bottles in front of him, the small clinking of it audible to her as he played with it in his hooves. "Applejack..." he whispered, his voice breaking slightly.

"Yeah brother?" Applejack whispered back, a tinge of concern in her voice.

He sat there for a moment...unmoving...and then... "Ah'm so sorry."

It happened too fast...all too fast. Macintosh pushed the top of the bottle into his mouth, whirling around and crashing it down over Applejack's head. It shattered loudly over her, the country mare dropping to the ground and landing firmly on her side. She was out cold in a single hit, her brother standing over her with the broken bottle in his mouth. He quickly spit it out and dragged her towards his bed, gently laying her upon it. He pulled the blankets up over her with his teeth and gave her a tender kiss on her cheek before whispering "Ah'm sorry...ah am so...sorry. Please forgive me one day AJ...goodbye."

He turned on his hooves...and quickly made his way out.

~*~

"About time, are you ready?" The mystery mare asked, her horn glowing with a purple-ish glow.

"Eeyup, ah got everything" Whispered Macintosh, a pained look on his face. He felt horrible about what he did to Applejack...but it was the only way she was going to let go, the only way he could get out. He was determined to find Twilight now...he couldn't come back empty hooved...he couldn't let Applejack have the right to scream 'AH TOLD YA SO!' and proceed to make his life a living hell.

"Alright, stand back!" Barked the mare, her head bowing and her horn aiming towards the shield. With a loud cry, the mare unleashed a beam of pink light at the shield, the magic surface bubbling and hissing at the contact. Macintosh watched as a hole started to appear in the shield, small at first, but steadily growing. It took all of about 30 seconds for the hole to become 'Macintosh-sized', and in that instant, the mare cut off her spell. "T...there!" she gasped, staggering back "Hurry, before it closes!"

Macintosh nodded and took a galloping start towards the hole...and with a firm kick with his back hooves, he dove right through the breakage...and into freedom. The sweet mountain air greeted him like an old friend as his belly hit firm ground, the hole in the shield closing up behind him. He let out a laugh of joy and started to speak "Alright! Thanks for that...now...all you gotta do is teleport me t-"

But she was gone...vanished in a teleportation spell used on herself...and not him.

"W...wha...oh horseapples." Macintosh growled, getting to his legs. "Maybe it was a trap after all" he muttered, looking back at the smoking shield. Somepony had to have noticed that up at the castle...the crystal or shield had to have given off some kind of warning of a breach. He quickly turned and galloped off towards the mountains, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

The door to safety had been shut...there was no going back now.

The mare had disappeared, but she had at least gotten him out and given him a direction.

The country town to the south...the home of his (Hopefully breathing...) cousins Braeburn and Caramel.

The town that may be housing his true love...

Appleloosa.

Author's Notes - Where will we go now?

Bit of a rush on the end, but I've got projects and plans lining up so I needed to get this story done and on the shelf!

I want to thank everybody who helped inspire me to make this story, and also to my wonderful 400+ followers whose words ring loudly in my heart!

There's special treats coming up for every body and I can't wait to get working on my next project!

I hope you all enjoyed the story, and I hope that I can continue to entertain for as long as you all would like me to!

Have a good one!