Insomnia

Chapters

Chapter 2: Waking Up
Chapter 3: Misdirection
Chapter 4: Revelations
Chapter 4.5: Concerning the State of Things
Chapter 5: Derailed
Chapter 6: Memory
Chapter 7: Regrouping
Chapter 1: Sleepwalker

Chapter 2: Waking Up

The first thing I noticed after regaining consciousness was a hot, throbbing sensation on the side of my head. I could feel that my mane was matted with blood, binding it to my scalp.

I opened my eyes, and saw nothing. Wherever I was now, it was completely dark.

My mind rushed through all sort of horrible scenarios that could be playing out around me, but I wanted to find out which it was quickly.

“Hello? What’s going on?” I called out, my voice echoing through the blackness.

Immediately, I heard the shuffling of hooves around me; I was surrounded. A bright light switched on and shined in my face. I winced from the pain it caused my eyes. I was blinded for the moment, but I heard a voice answer me.

“We will be the ones asking questions here.” It was a booming voice, and the stallion it came from spoke with absolute authority - if not a bit too much volume.

As my eyes adjusted to the new lighting, I started to see the shapes of ponies all around me. Each one wore a long cloak, with hoods that hung over their faces. The hoods that belonged to unicorns had perfect cutouts for their horns to fit through.

I noticed that each of the unicorn’s horns had begun glowing. I initially assumed they were poised to fire some type of spell at me, but as my eyes fully adjusted I could now see blades poised in the air around me, caging me in.

I saw one pony that was significantly taller than the rest. Their hood bore a marking upon it.

That's the marking that was on the parchment last night! At least... I think that was last night. Oh sweet Celestia, how long might I have been unconscious anyways? Surely, Joe or my parents should have started looking for me if it's been long.

“Why should you be the one asking questions,” I spat disdainfully, “when I'm the one you bludgeoned and stuffed in a dungeon?”

The answer came without hesitation.

“Perhaps we would not have needed to take such measures if you hadn't attempted to apprehend our courier.”

Their courier? What was he even talking about?

“I don't know anything about a courier, pal, you're making stuff up. I haven't done anything but mind my own business for my-”

“QUIET!”

The pony’s voice seemed to emit power, and I reflexively stepped back a pace.

“Step forward.”

The voice had changed to a very solemn, and almost feminine tone. I started to step forward, as they had asked, prompting every levitating blade in the room to suddenly move in, inches from my throat. Needless to say, I stopped dead in my tracks.

“Not you,” a familiar, morose voice stated. ”Silly pony.”

The owner of this voice stepped forward, removing their hood to reveal the very same pony that had crashed into me in the streets of Canterlot.

“You! You've got a lot of nerve showing your face to me again,” I seethed. I started to channel magic to my horn in an attempt to grab him.

“Augh!”

I fell. My head suddenly felt like it was going to explode from the inside, and blood began to run from my nostrils.

“What the...”

“Ha! Now you know how it feels,” the stallion laughed at my expense.

I managed a question between shallow breaths while trying to recover from the sudden shock to my system.

“Know how... what feels?” I asked, truly confused by his statement.

“Those nasty little horn rings the guards use? I'm sure you were just told they inhibit magic,” he replied matter-of-factly, “but what doesn't make it into the papers is that it also causes the magic to backfire into your skull.”

I was stunned. If he was telling the truth, it seemed an incredibly barbaric tool for guards to use against anything besides violent criminals. Just what would happen if somepony tried to cast a fireball with one on? I didn’t want to think about it.

“If I may,” the tall pony spoke up again, “can you confirm this is the pony that attempted to apprehend you?”

The stallion looked me up and down once again

“You probably know, based on her little performance just now. But yes, I can confirm.”

“Very good.” The tall pony turned to me. “Who are you working for? Who hired you?”

“How is that even relevant?” I asked, puzzled by this new line of questioning.

“Because we need information about our enemies, and the more you talk, the longer we let you stay,” the tall pony informed me.

I scoffed.

“And why exactly would I want to stay? I just want to get away from this crazy cult, or whatever you think you are.”

The tall pony nodded at me.

“Have a memory wipe spell performed, and find a place to relocate her.”

Wait, what? Memory wipes? Relocation? Is this really a cult? I was just joking!

One of the unicorns began walking towards me, horn glowing and aimed at my head.

“Stop, wait! I don't know anything, I swear! Please don't do this!”

Plead and grovel as I might, none of the ponies moved a muscle to stop the unicorn who was now charging spell aimed directly at me.

“I work for Joe at the doughnut shop!” I was saying anything I could to get these ponies to maybe let me go, even though I had lost most hope of that happening now. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the imminent spell.

Nothing happened. I opened my eyes, seeing that the unicorn had stopped charging his spell, and that the tall pony had a hoof raised.

“Joe? We have seen no evidence of his involvement in such business.... What do you know that we have missed?” the tall pony questioned, cocking their head to the side.

“I don't know anything about secret societies or anything. I just make coffee all day. Please, just believe me.”

I was beginning tear up at this point. My life was about to end, or at least be erased, which wasn't a much better alternative.

“She's just trying to buy herself time,” the pony who had crashed into me insisted, “She knows too much anyways, just wipe her already.”

“Shut up!” I yelled between sobs, no longer trying to hide my fear, “You know nothing about me you stupid pony!”

I wouldn't have been able to speak anymore after my outburst if I had tried. The fear and tension of the situation had completely drained my energy.

There was long silence before the memory spell began being cast again. I couldn't fight anymore. I gave up.

“I believe her.”

Another voice spoke up from the group - this one very meek, almost sweet.

“I apologize for speaking out of turn, but I've been present for a lot of interrogations and this is the most sincerely I’ve ever seen a pony react.”

Finally, somepony with some sense.

She stepped forward and removed her hood, revealing a bright, pink mane, contrasted by her mud-brown coat.

“I know some of you can tell too, but I'm willing to take full responsibility for her if she acts against us after we release her. I trust her story. I really think she's clueless.”

I wasn't sure how to feel about her last comment, but at the very least she was keeping me from having my brain turned to mush. She turned to me and displayed a huge grin, which I found strangely unnerving.

“Candy,” the tall pony in charge replied, “you know what it would entail if we were to grant her release, and what you must do?”

“Yes, Princess,” Candy said, kneeling towards the pony.

Candy sure seems like a strange name for a cultist, and... wait. Did she just say princess? That tall pony is a mare?

“Then I leave her to you.” The mare gestured Candy towards a cluster of ponies near me. “Take her to a holding cell.”

I was left waiting in a makeshift holding cell — which was actually just a broom closet — for what felt like several hours. My nerves after the “trial” probably weren’t assisting the passage of time, though.

I was wondering about what the pony they called Princess meant when she asked Candy about whether she knew what releasing me would entail. Being locked up in a closet wasn’t getting me any closer to an answer, though.

I went over to the door and began banging on it with a forehoof for the third or fourth time since I had been put inside. After a few minutes I gave up once more, and almost immediately after I did, the door swung open.

A hooded pony stood outside the door, who tilted his head in a gesture for me to follow him. I thought about running past him and attempting escape, but there was no telling how many of them were waiting around the corner, or how I would even find a way out for that matter.

Instead I opted to comply, for the time being, and followed the pony down a long hallway until we arrived in what appeared to be a conference room. A large table sat in the middle of the room with seat cushions neatly set around it.

I recognized Candy sitting on one of the cushions close to the end when I saw her pink mane. It was hard to miss. Next to her, at the very end of the table, sat the tall pony - the one they called Princess.

My escort led me to the end opposite where Princess was sitting, so that we were facing each other. Her face was still mostly concealed by the low-hanging hood, but I could feel her stare penetrating me from across the room.

I sat down, and the pony who brought me in stayed by me, presumably to keep me from trying anything funny. I still had the anti-magic ring on my horn from earlier, so I had no means of attack besides my own four hooves.

We all sat in silence for a while, and occasionally another pony would walk in and take their seat. After about fifteen ponies had gathered, Princess finally spoke up.

“Is this everypony?” she directed the question at Candy.

“Yes Princess,” Candy nodded in the affirmative.

“Prisoner, the mission you will be tested by is a simple one. We just need you to get a message to a pony in Manehattan. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, will be to provide defence to the group when needed during travel. You will also be the one to personally deliver the message since you are unlikely to be pinned as one of our members.”

They’re sending me on a mission for them? This is hardly release, more like slave labor.

“And... if I refuse?” I asked.

“Then we go back to our original offer of wiping your memories and removing you from Canterlot.”

Well that settles that.

“Moving on then,” Princess continued, “which of you ponies will be going with the prisoner?”

Many of the ponies got up from their spots and left the room. Out of the fifteen that had been there to start with, three remained: Candy, another pegasus, and an earth pony.

“It’s settled then?” Princess inquired of the ponies. Each of them nodded in unison.

“Well then, I’ll allow you four to get acquainted then. I have matters to attend to in the meantime.”

Princess promptly exited the room. As soon as she did, the three ponies remaining at the table turned to face me.

“Ahem, well then!” Candy began. Her voice was shaky, yet cheerful. “You already know my name is Candy. Well, not my real name, but....”

“Wait, what do you mean not your real name? Do all of you ponies go by code names or something?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yes! Exactly,” she confirmed, to my surprise.

What have I gotten myself into?

“The Princess insists we remain anonymous so that we’re less likely to betray each other to the opposition. We all choose our own name, so I chose Candy because, well, I like candy.”

Quite.

“Anyways, this here is my brother, Crush,” Candy added, pointing to the slender, brown earth pony beside her. “I actually chose his name for him because it sounded cool.”

“Why wouldn’t you just let him choose his own name?” I asked.

“He doesn’t talk very much....” Candy gave Crush a playful look. “Isn’t that right, Bro?”

Crush nodded in my general direction; I couldn’t really tell if he was looking at me. After a moment Candy continued his introduction.

“He’s really good at fixing stuff, and he’s really protective of us all. I guess that’s all you really need to know about him.... Like I said, he doesn’t talk much.”

Candy cleared her throat.

“And last, but not least, this is Sta-”

“My name’s Starfire! Pleasure to meet ya, Doll.” A white-maned pegasus suddenly dashed in between Candy and I and hovered above the table. “I’m considered the combat specialist around here. I can keep y’all nice and safe when things get rough.”

I grimaced. I wasn’t very fond of ponies with big egos.

“Why do you even think we would get into any combat situations on a trip to Manehattan?” I questioned him.

He raised an eyebrow at me, and gestured with one of his forehooves.

“Oh there’s all kinds of troubles we could run into between here and Manehattan. There’s wild beasts, and bandits, and, uh...” his voice trailed off.

I have a feeling you’ve never even had a fight with anypony, or anything for that matter.

“It don’t matter what else,” he informed me. “Point is, I’m trained in flying and fighting techniques that’ll send any pony with a lick of sense running with their tail between their legs.”

Can a pony even do that? I wondered, fighting the urge to try it myself.

“So that’s us,” Candy spoke up again, “tell us about you. What do you want to be called?”

I had no intention to stay with these ponies any longer than I had to. Did it really matter if they knew my name in that case?

I decided to just give them my first name.

“Call me Silver.”

“Oooh, mysterious,” Candy stated gleefully.

Starfire looked me up and down.

“You don’t look silver to me, what gives?”

I am sick and tired of being asked questions today.

“Because that’s what I chose, what does it matter?” I said curtly, raising an eyebrow at Starfire.

“Suit yourself then.”

Candy stood up and addressed all three of us.

“Well if that concludes introductions, then let’s go catch a train.”

I sat staring out the window at the now very small silhouette of Canterlot that was pinned onto the mountainside.

Candy hadn’t talked much since we left the society’s headquarters, instead sitting quietly next to her brother in the seat ahead of me.

Starfire had been my sitting partner much to my disgust. He had just now stopped to take a breath after talking my ear off about his combat and flying skills for the first hour of the ride.

It was strange travelling with so many non-unicorns, all using their mouths to lift everything that wouldn’t fit in their saddlebags. It made me afraid to touch anything for fear of contamination.

Sheesh, couldn’t they at least had one unicorn come along just in case something actually needs to get done on this job? Speaking of magic...

“Hey, uh, Candy?” I tapped the mare sitting in the seat ahead of me on the shoulder, startling her.

“Oh! What is it Silver?” she questioned jovially.

“So I’m a unicorn... and unicorns use magic.”

“Uh huh?” She tilted her head and gave me a puzzled look. “I remember that from school.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, I pointed a hoof to the anti-magic ring, still attached firmly to my horn.

“Oh that,” she began, “Sorry, but we can’t take that off of you until you’ve proven your trustworthiness. Too many risks, especially when we don’t have a unicorn of our own to combat against magic. Really I’m sorry, but it’s the rules. I know it must be super uncomfortable.”

”Uncomfortable” wasn’t exactly the right word for it. It was more about the fact that it could give me a concussion even if I was just trying to pick up some trash off the street with my magic. So definitely more along the lines of “terrifying.”

“Don’t worry Doll,” Starfire spoke up, “I can protect all y’all if we run into any trouble. Which we probably won’t to be honest.”

I swear to Celestia if he calls me that again I am ramming my hoof down his throat.

“So, have you always lived in Canterlot, Doll?” he asked.

“I would much prefer if you called me Silver, thank you,” I informed him politely, choosing to simply fantasize strangling the life out of him instead of attempting it.

“Alright then Silver,” he huffed, “Guess you aren’t too worried about makin’ friends with your new partners.”

“We are not partners. I plan to head back home as soon as we’re done in Manehattan.”

Candy turned back and raised an eyebrow at me, and Starfire started laughing.

What’s that all about?

“You think it’s just that easy? You must not know much about secret societies,” Starfire said, chuckling. “Ain’t gettin’ away from this little group until you’re no longer deemed a threat to the society’s safety, that’s the rules.”

You have got to be kidding me.

My disgust must have been apparent on my face, as Starfire spoke again.

“Don’t worry, I think once you’ve been woken up, you’ll understand what we’re about. You’ll be beggin’ to fight for our side.”

“We’ll see about that... but for now, let’s just get to Manehattan.”

“Suit yourself, Doll.” He turned in his seat, facing his back towards me.

What does he mean by “woken up”? I don’t like the sound of it. I guess I really have no choice but to continue doing as I’m told, though. At least until they take this ring off my horn.

I rested my head against the window of the train car and closed my eyes. Sleep was at least a temporary escape from this dreadful situation I found myself stuck in.

Chapter 3: Misdirection

I had another dream. I was in the same darkness as the first dream, and saw the same light in the distance.

As if the torture of my real-life situation wasn't enough, I had to be plagued in my dreams as well.

The light was much closer this time. I could almost make out the form of a pony within it, but if it was a pony, it was terribly deformed.

It spoke to me again.

"Why do... you hide?" The disembodied voice seemed to be coming from all directions, as if I were somehow within the source. It was a regal voice, like that of royalty. There was an ethereal echo to it.

"Who even are you, and what do you want with me?" I called towards it. I felt a bit silly attempting to speak to my own dream.

"I am truth…. You are... deceived."

The voice of the light-pony sent a chill through my body.

"By whom?" I enquired, dissatisfied with such a vague answer. "Who is deceiving me?"

The light stayed silent for a few moments.

"Look there's a lot of ponies that could be deceiving me so if you want me to take any stock in what you say, you'll need to tell me something I don't already know. You are just a dream after all; I could just be going crazy with this cult stuff going on."

The being appeared to shudder at my words, as much as an almost-pony made of light can shudder, that is.

"Cultists," it finally said. "They are... the ones."

That would be no real surprise. This thing could just be bluffing though, assuming it is even separate from my mind, since I kinda just mentioned the cult.

I decided to see if the creature could give me some specifics, since it seemed so sure of itself.

"If you really know that they're trying to trick me, then tell me what they're planning to do in Manehattan."

It shouldn't be able to answer if it's just my subconscious, right?.

"Mane...hattan?"

"Now entering Manehattan station! Please keep all heads, tails, and hooves inside the train until we reach a complete stop."

The conductor's voice coming over the train's intercom nearly caused me to jump out of my seat as I awoke, eliciting a chuckle from Starfire.

"Mornin' sunshine," he said with a smile. "We was afraid you weren't gonna wake up."

"That's enough," Candy scolded, rolling her eyes. "We have to get off here, and we don't want to be late."

These guys are just way too goofy to be killers and kidnappers. I wonder how they ended up working with a cult.

The four of us gathered what meager supplies we had and stepped off the train. I was taken aback by what I saw. Sure, I had seen postcards with pictures of Manehattan, but seeing these huge skyscrapers in the flesh was a different feeling entirely.

Ponies were darting to and fro, all in a rush. Taxi-carriages were lining the streets as far as the eye could see, and not a single pony seemed to stop for even a moment.

I realized, as I stood there awestruck, that my mouth had been hanging open. I quickly shut it, hoping I hadn't been noticed.

"Quite a change from the serenity of Canterlot isn't it?" Candy turned to ask me. I only nodded.

"So if you don't mind my interrupting, where is it we're supposed to be going?" Starfire walked to the edge of the train platform and stretched out his wings. A low groan came from his gut. "Somewhere with some food?" he added hopefully.

"Well actually, we've got a while before we're supposed to meet with the, uh, client. Something to eat wouldn't be a bad idea," Candy agreed.

I thought this was a mission of some kind, not a vacation.

Rather than protest only to be overruled, I begrudgingly went along with it. As we walked, I chose to stay towards the rear, alongside Crush. He was my favorite of the group; he hadn't said a single word since we met.

Candy and Starfire eventually managed to settle upon a simple sandwich shop to eat from. I wasn't particularly interested in sharing lunch with them, as that meant even more talking.

This city is pretty crowded... a pony could easily disappear into the throngs of citizens.

Before I had a chance to try out that theory, however, Candy had taken me under her wing and was dragging me to a table.

As she sat me down I saw a gryphon at a nearby table eating what appeared to be a large piece of meat. I had the sudden urge to vomit.

“Urgh…. D-do we have to eat here?" I asked, holding a forehoof over my muzzle.

"What's wrong?" Starfire looked around for a moment before spotting what offended my stomach so. He shook his head. "Girl, I'm sorry to say, but that's hardly the worst thing you're gonna see in a city this big."

"Can I at least switch places with somepony so I don't have to watch?"

Candy gave me a half smile, then nodded at her brother. Crush got up, allowing me to switch to the other side of the table.

"He's right though," Candy began, "and that's just a cultural thing. There are ponies who do things that... that shouldn't be acceptable in any place. In broad daylight no less."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Like knocking somepony out and dragging them to their lair?" I said, letting my disgust drip from my words.

Starfire banged a hoof on the table, frightening both Candy and me.

"Now listen here little filly," he began, his voice raised, "wasn't none of us that hit you, and if things had gone according to protocol nopony would have! So you wallow in self-pity all you want, we have to protect our own first and foremost."

"Starfire, please." Candy put a forehoof on his shoulder. "Don't make a scene."

I looked around, noticing some of the ponies at the tables nearest us giving us sideways glares. Candy turned to me.

"Look, I know you're frightened, and we didn't exactly give you any reason to trust us. You have to believe that we don't mean you any harm though."

"There are a multitude of reasons I can't believe that. Mostly the knocking me out cold, kidnapping me, forcing me to work, and then refusing to tell me anything about your society part."

Candy winced at my words, looking to the ground and tracing circles with a hoof.

"Just stick with us through this; I promise you'll get an explanation.... After that, the rest is up to you. You have to earn our trust just as much as we have to earn yours."

“Or else I get my mind wiped right?” I grumbled.

Candy sighed.

“Look, if you want some answers... just ask. If I can’t answer, I won’t, but I’ll try to answer what I can.”

“Well first off... why the hay did you kidnap me? That seems like a good start.”

“It’s already been said, you attacked the courier, you were deemed a threat. End of story.”

“Enough of a threat to have my mind wiped and to kick me out of Canterlot?”

She hesitated for a few moments, looking over to Starfire, who nodded at her.

“If we were to be compromised... we wouldn’t stand a chance. Our group is small, at least, compared to those who would oppose us. The courier said you attacked him without even seeing the guards, so he assumed you knew about... us.”

Regarding her with suspicion, I responded.

“So you just took his word for it?”

“I’m the one who vouched for you, or did you forget already? I am the only reason you aren’t braindead right now,” she reminded me in a callous tone.

Her words stunned me. She was right, if she hadn’t spoke up, I wouldn’t have been able to talk my way out of that basement.

“I’m... I’m sorry. I’ve been ungrateful to you. Your cult’s actions, however, I can’t forgive so easily.”

She only nodded.

We went the rest of the meal without speaking, but it was far from silent. The constant noises of Manehatten were a big change from the calmer streets of Canterlot. Though that was to be expected, I thought, being a melting pot of many races and bloodlines of ponies and gryphons, rather than being filled with thoroughbred families like Canterlot.

Everypony rushed about from place to place, never staying still for long. I thought how horrible it must be to live among such constant commotion.

Crush broke the silence within our group by tapping his hoof on the pavement. We each looked up to him, and he pointed a hoof to his opposite foreleg.

"Oh, is it time now?" Candy looked at the wall clock that hung beside the shop's entrance. "Let's be off then."

Starfire stuffed his head into his saddlebag, emerging with a few bits between his teeth.

This is exactly what we need another unicorn for, that is just gross.

He dropped the bits onto the table as we got up to continue through the streets on our search for this "client".

We walked for a while before stopping at a fairly busy intersection. Candy put a wing around my back, and I recoiled slightly, remembering her dragging me around earlier. She adjusted my angle and pointed to a small pony-drawn carriage that a light-green unicorn mare clad with a cape was packing some seemingly random items into.

"Fireworks, playing cards, and... mirrors? What is she, a magician?"

"Precisely," Starfire confirmed. "She's the one we're here to deliver a message to."

"Address her as Aura, and wait for her to give an answer to the message you give."

"Wait, me? Why me?" I questioned.

"You won't be recognized. I mean, there shouldn't be guards, but if there are, they're not likely to recognize you like they might one of us," Candy explained. "Besides, this is your test, remember? You want to get that ring off your horn so you can be rid of us?"

"Now hurry up, before she leaves." Starfire pushed me with his head.

I turned and snorted at him, but it only managed to make him chuckle, rather than intimidating him.

Welp, here goes nothing.

I trotted to the other side of the street and approached the light-green mare's carriage. I got a better look at her now, and noticed she was quite a well-groomed unicorn, a sight for sore eyes in this city.

She was expertly maneuvering her things into the carriage when she noticed me and turned.

"Show's over, what do you want dear?" Her voice was elegant, and a little proud.

Oh it is so nice to finally hear somepony speak with intelligence again.

"Message for Aura?" Instinctually, I tried to lift the letter from my saddlebag with magic, instantly triggering a horrible headache. I recoiled in pain.

Celestia damn this ring to Tartarus. I'm gonna make a fool of myself.

I reached my head into my bag and awkwardly removed the letter with my teeth, hoofing it over to the mare who was grinning at my little display.

She looked all around, then slowly unrolled the scroll. She only viewed it for a few moments before wrapping it back up, and making it disappear in a puff of flames.

"I accept," she said, staring at me expectantly.

I stood there a few seconds, unsure of what to do next.

They didn't exactly explain to me what to do once I got a response. Oops.

I cleared my throat.

"I, uh... wasn't told what the note said, so."

"Where are your superiors then?" she asked, squinting her eyes at me. She quickly took a look around, ears at attention.

I looked back to the other side of the street, and saw Starfire hovering slightly above the rest of the crowd. I was about to gesture to him, but first saw him wildly gesturing his own forelegs at me. From what I could tell, he was urging me to move.

I turned back to Aura, she was no longer facing me. I traced her stare to a pair of guards standing at our side.

A guard! Maybe I can tell them about these cultists and—

“Ma’am.” One of the guards nodded a greeting to Aura, then turned to face me. “I just happened to walk by this fair mare’s stand, and noticed you wearing a rather quaint piece of jewelry on your horn. Where did you get it?”

Oh shit... the anti-magic ring. He probably thinks I’m on the run. So much for getting help.

“Some... friends gave it to me. Isn’t it lovely?” I struck a pose, angling myself away from the guards in the process. I noticed Aura’s horn glowing. “I think it looks lovely with my mane, don’t you?” I asked, fluttering my eyelashes in an attempt to prolong the distraction.

“What’s your name, miss?” The guard asked without missing a beat.

“You give me your name and I’ll give you mine,” I teased.

Just then, there was a green flash and both Aura and I were on the other side of the street alongside the others.

“Run!” I yelped after gaining my footing.

I glanced back and saw the guards were already halfway across the street. Any ponies in their path were quickly clearing the way for them.

Of all the times for these ponies to start acting courteous.

All of us took off in the opposite direction of the guards, all except Starfire.

“Where is he going?” Aura asked between gasps for air.

“Hopefully to run interference for us!” Candy replied, quickening her pace.

We rounded a corner, only to run into another pair of guards, who noticed the guards in pursuit behind us. They too joined in the chase. We turned the only way we could, down an alleyway, only to be met with a wall.

“Dead end....” Aura said, powering her horn and forming a forcefield between us and the guards.

I turned and saw Crush behind us, but Candy was nowhere to be seen.

Pegasi....

One of the guards chuckled, his mouth slowly curling into a grim smile.

“We have the right to use deadly force against these types, yeah?”

“I don’t see nobody watching... so that’s a yes,” another said matter-of-factly.

The unicorn guard’s horn began glowing brightly, and a second layer of magical energy even layered over the first. This was going to be a kill-shot, even with the shield up.

Right before the would-be killer’s spell went off though, something fell onto his horn from above. There was an enormous explosion that expelled Aura’s forcefield and knocked all three of us back against the wall.

When the smoke cleared, all that I could see were black stains on the ground and walls, surrounded by molten puddles of metal, which I assumed were from the guard’s armor.

“Those rings sure come in handy,” Candy said from above, sounding a little too giddy about what she had just done. “Come on, Starfire’s distracting the rest, let’s go!”

What a gruesome way to die....

I couldn’t dwell on the situation now though, if I wanted to avoid getting cornered again. I followed after Candy and the others as fast as my hooves could carry me. I could see Starfire fighting in midair with a pegasus guard out of the corner of my eye as we ran away from the alley.

“Where are we even running to? The train station?” I yelled to Candy.

“What? That would be a terrible idea! They aren’t just gonna stop chasing us because we get onto public transportation!”

She had a point.

“We’re just gonna get as far away from the city as we can, we might have to walk back, but that’s a price we’ll just have to pay for our lives.”

The outskirts of the city seemed relatively unpatrolled and calm, at least compared to where we had just left.

Starfire finally caught up to us as we were crossing the city line.

“I think I lost ‘em,” he gasped, trying to catch his breath. “That was a good workout.”

He looked to Aura, then flew over to Candy and whispered something into her ear. In a moment, Candy began hovering and slowly worked her way above the group. She began flying directly above Aura.

I regarded her with suspicion, then suddenly had a realization.

Is she really going to go for the same trick twice?

“Aura,” I spoke up. “Watch your head.”

She looked up, and was met with an anti-magic ring to the eye.

She yelped in pain.

“Now what did you do that for?” Candy said, furrowing her brow at me.

“We gotta have somepony with magic around here,” I deadpanned.

Aura turned and smiled at me.

“Thanks, um...”

“Silver,” I informed her proudly.

“Yes, thank you Silver, but I agreed to it. It was in the letter.”

My jaw dropped.

“Not everypony is as stubborn about taking necessary precautions as you, Silver,” Starfire snickered.

“Well not everypony is asked nicely before forced to wear something that inhibits what makes them useful,” I stated, flaring my nostrils.

“If that’s all that makes you useful, then you’re in bad shape,” Starfire said with much too large a grin on his face.

I give up.

After Candy applied her anti-magic ring, Aura slowed her gait and walked beside me.

“I don’t like it either darling, but it’s a good cause.”

“Yeah, well the problem is they won’t even tell me what the cause is.”

She stopped and turned towards me. She cocked her head at me, eyes widened.

“Wait, you really don’t know what they do?”

“I apparently pissed off one of their ponies, got kidnapped, and almost got my mind wiped. Candy ‘saved’ me though, and got me sent on a mission with them.”

We continued walking.

“Well that’s... unfortunate.”

“You’re tellin’ me.” I kicked at the dirt with one of my forehooves as we walked.

“Well,” Aura began, “All I really know is-”

“We’re in luck, ponies!” Starfire interrupted, before speeding up ahead.

I looked towards where he was headed, and saw an abandoned sky-carriage.

“Oh thank Luna! My hooves are killing me.” Aura sighed in relief.

“This thing’ll get us back twice as fast as that lousy train with me and Candy pulling it.” Starfire excitedly did a somersault in the air.

“I’m no expert but, it looks a little... broken.” I pointed at the rotting boards and broken harness.

“Nothing big bro can’t handle, right?” Candy looked at Crush with a smile and a twinkle in her eye.

Crush removed his saddlebags and began peering through their contents. After a moment he looked back up at us and blew his mane out of his eyes.

He nodded.

Chapter 4: Revelations

"What I don't understand is how those guards got the drop on us in the first place," Starfire huffed, pacing his breaths as he and Candy pulled the chariot through the air. "They shouldn't have been able to recognize Silver at all."

"Are you quite alright?" Aura questioned, pulling me away from my eavesdropping.

"Oh sorry, I just zoned out for a minute, what were you saying?" I asked with genuine interest. Aura seemed to be the most sane pony of the bunch, not to mention a fellow unicorn, so I enjoyed our chatting on the way back to Canterlot.

She had shared a bit about her life in Manehattan with me, and about learning the art of illusion from her aunt Trixie, whom she admired greatly. In turn I was sharing what I could about Canterlot with her.

"So have you ever been to the castle? I hear they throw the grandest of galas there," she sing-songed.

I shook my head.

"I haven't been there myself, but my parents have shown me pictures from a gala they once attended."

"Are your parents nobles then?" Aura kept her gaze fixed firmly upon me.

"Unfortunately, no. My father simply won the lottery when I was a filly, and it had always been my mother's dream to live in Canterlot. He used up most of the money for a home on the main street, and we moved there from Baltimare."

"Oh, how romantic of him to do such a thing." Aura sighed, "And what do you mean ‘unfortunately’? I know ponies that would give their right foreleg just to visit Canterlot, let alone live there, noble or not."

"It's not as great as it sounds, trust me," I stated dismissively.

Aura frowned, then turned to look out the window.

"You might be upset to hear we're making our arrival now in that case," Starfire said quietly, looking back at us. "I want quiet until we land now, hear? We don't need to attract no attention."

After a quick circle to scout for any guard activity, we approached one of the landing areas on the outskirts of the city. We silently landed and disembarked. Candy flew ahead to make sure the coast was clear, and we began heading to the hideout.

"So I may just be remembering this wrong because of the whole head trauma thing, but wasn't you guys' headquarters another three or four miles from here? Couldn't we have landed closer?" I asked.

"We're closer than you think," Candy assured me, tapping her forehead with a hoof. I didn't understand the gesture, but I had given up trying to make sense of her already.

After another five minutes or so of walking, Starfire motioned for us to stop. Crush trotted ahead and went down an alley a few yards ahead of our party. He quickly re-emerged and motioned for us to follow.

We did so, walking into the alley. There was nothing there but a brick wall, however.

"So what now exactly?" Aura said, looking at the bare walls surrounding us.

"Yeah, what are we waiting for?"

No sooner than I had asked, there was a flash of light powerful enough to force my eyes shut for a moment. When I opened them, two unicorns had appeared between us and the wall. I was about ready to turn tail and run before I noticed that they weren't facing us. Instead, their horns were poised at the wall in front of us.

With the light from their horns, I could see some chalk drawing what appeared to be some type of symbols on the wall. They touched their horns to two of the symbols, causing the entire drawing to glow. The glow intensified until a solid circle of magical energy formed.

One of the unicorns spoke.

"Alright ponies, through the portal, quickly and quietly."

Starfire and Crush immediately proceeded through the swirling portal, and Candy looked to Aura and I expectantly.

Aura was grimacing; she seemed no more eager than I to walk through the thing.

I decided to speak up to save her the trouble.

"Teleporting is one thing, but a portal? Are you sure it's safe?"

Candy smiled and nodded her head, her mane falling into her face.

"It's absolutely safe! Just don't go through too slowly, or you'll... well just don't, okay?"

Well that's comforting.

I gulped, and slowly approached the portal.

"Take your time, this isn't a strain or anything," one of the unicorns powering the portal said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

I started to snap back, but bit my tongue. I had never mastered teleporting myself, and it had to be much worse trying to hold open a portal for multiple ponies to pass through.

I stepped through, making sure to move quickly. I don't know what I had been expecting, but it was just like stepping through a doorway into a new room, without delay. It wasn't as disorienting as I had imagined it would be. Something wasn't quite right though.

Oh goddesses, I don't feel so good.

My stomach had begun churning violently, and before I had time to think, I emptied its contents onto the floor.

"Damn it, no one warned me we had first timers," I heard the voice of a younger pony saying. I could only assume he was in charge of keeping things clean in this place.

"Heh, sorry, slipped my mind." Starfire scratched the back of his neck with a forehoof.

I turned back to face the portal, and saw that Candy and Aura had passed through. The latter was chuckling at me, but that only lasted a moment. Her face quickly grew serious, and she began looking around frantically. One of the unicorns levitated a bucket to her, which she promptly shoved her head into.

"You get used to it eventually," Starfire said, "They say it's something about movin' in little pieces instead of one big one, like with teleporting."

"I'll get you two somewhere to rest for a bit before debriefing," Candy said, facing Aura and me.

Aura pulled her head out of the bucket. "A shower wouldn't hurt either."

I sat on the edge of a hay-filled sack that was working as a makeshift bed while Aura cleaned up in a nearby room. Running water seemed to be one of the few commodities this place actually had.

Not really that impressive of a headquarters. That one pony in charge, Princess, must be flat broke.

As I had been sitting in relative silence for the past few minutes, I replayed the events of the chase in Manehattan in my mind. If Candy hadn't helped out when the guards cornered Aura and me, I'd be dead right now, no question. On top of that, if Aura hadn't teleported us away from the guards in the first place, I'd probably have been arrested just for having the anti-magic ring.

Whatever cause this group fought for couldn't be a selfish endeavor, I thought, simply based on how much the others went through to help each other, and even me.

Aura walked back into the room, a towel wrapped around her mane.

"Any word yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. I was wondering if I could ask you a question though." I rubbed my forehoof along the edge of the hay-sack bed.

"I believe you just did." She gave a half smile, then motioned for me to continue.

"How did you get recruited? I meant to ask sooner but didn't really feel comfortable around the others."

She scratched her chin.

"It was the queerest thing really, I started seeing these strange visions, and then shortly after that I started receiving letters. The letters offered to explain the visions to me, with the very letter that you carried being the final letter that held the remaining details."

Strange visions? That seems familiar.

"When you say strange visions do you mean, like, a dream?"

"Yes, I suppose you could call them that."

Crush suddenly walked in and tapped his hoof on the door jamb. He tilted his head in a gesture for us to follow him.

How the hell did he just sneak up on us like that? He's gotta be twice my size! Regardless, looks like I'll get the rest of Aura's story later.

We walked into the same room with the long table as I had first met everypony. The others, along with Princess, were already present in their seats.

"Please sit," Princess said. I almost didn't recognize her voice. She was speaking in a much softer tone than before, though it still bore a great amount of authority. “We take it by Aura’s presence that the mission was a success?”

“Yes Princess. It didn’t exactly go off without a hitch though,” Starfire replied.

“Oh? What went wrong, then?” She tilted her hooded head. “None of you appear worse for the wear.”

“Some guards in Manehattan recognized Silver somehow, and we had to make a run for it.... Had to take a few lives as well.” Starfire looked at the floor.

Princess nodded.

“We trust your judgement; it had to have been unavoidable.”

"Yes Princess." Starfire didn’t appear to be any less upset over the matter. “I just don’t understand how-”

"Silver kept some of the guards distracted for me while I powered a teleport for our escape," Aura interjected. “She stood her ground with us when we were cornered as well.”

"It is good to hear that we were not mistaken in allowing her to remain among us,” Princess said pleasantly. “Are the others in agreement that she should remain?"

The others nodded in unison.

“Very well, then we shall see both Aura and Silver accepted into the ranks of the Lunar Offensive,” Princess said, throwing back her hood to reveal her face.

Princess Luna?!

I found myself utterly speechless. I thought to kneel, but my muscles were frozen in shock.

What in Equestria is Princess Luna leading a cult for? The Lunar Offensive, what does that even mean?

I finally managed to lower my head in a shallow bow and speak, albeit it weakly.

“Your Majesty, I-”

"Do not feel the need to show us reverence, we have no authority in Equestria any longer," she deadpanned, head held high, her eyes betraying no emotion.

"But, what do you mean Princess Luna? Do you not rule with your sister?"

"Not in quite a while." She had approached me now, and was holding a hoof out to me. I hesitated to reach for it. Luna retracted her hoof, sighed, and walked to an old painting on the wall. "We shall provide more details at another time, but know simply that our sister is no longer the benevolent ruler you think her to be. For the moment we shall simply provide you all with your next task."

Luna's horn glowed brightly, and a map of Equestria appeared on the table. She pointed to a railroad, one not too far from Canterlot.

"In the next forty-eight hours there is going to be a cargo train of supplies meant for Celestia's military. As far as we know the only ponies on board will be the train's crew. You'll need to stop the train in the valley and gather as many supplies as you can get, and hide them for a second crew to pick up when you finish."

Just then, another pony came into the room. He bowed slightly to Luna.

"Sorry for the interruption Princess, but I'm ready for the unicorns whenever you're through with them."

"You may take them. We will finish discussing the plan with the others."

"Yes, Princess. Ladies, follow me, and I'll help you out with those rings."

That was music to my ears.

Thank goodness, I can finally get back in business.

Aura and I followed the pony to what appeared to be an empty room. He shut and barred the doors once we were inside.

“Uh, what’s with the door-locking? What does this entail exactly?” I was suddenly quite suspicious of this stallion.

“Don’t get your reins in a tangle; we’re just taking precautions.”

“Precautions for what, exactly? I thought we were just getting these rings off.”

The stallion nodded, squinting his eyes at us.

“Sure, I could just take ‘em off and be done with it, but that won’t help you much if a guard ever pops one of these suckers on ya in the future will it?”

“I suppose not, it’s not like we can just take them off if that happens. Hooves aren’t exactly useful when it comes to such things,” Aura said, nodding agreeably.

“You’d be surprised what one can do with their hooves.... Uh, don’t make that weird,” chuckled the stallion. “Anyway, you might remember what that buck you bumped into did when he got ringed yeah?”

I recalled the unicorn stallion I had run into in Canterlot, and the shockwave he was able to emit despite having an anti-magic ring.

“The problem is in how you’ve been taught since the day you were old enough to use your magic. Focus your energy into the tip of your horn, you know, all that noise. What most ponies don’t learn is that your whole horn is a catalyst for magic, the tip just has the most focusing ability.

Now the reason they don’t teach you this in school is because you can lose control of your magic a lot easier when it isn’t focused. So, I’m gonna leave the rings on you two and teach you how to do a proper shockwave using only half your horn. I’d take ‘em off, but since these things redirect the magic back into ya, I figure if you accidentally blow your brains out, you might as well do it now rather than out on the field.”

“Oh how dreadful.” Aura covered her muzzle with a hoof.

Well, that explains the empty room at least.

After what seemed like an eternity, a terrible migraine, and too many nose-bleeds to count on both our parts, Aura and I were able to emit powerful enough shockwaves while “ringed” to please our teacher.

He gave us each our rings to keep. He said they were for souvenirs, but I think he just wanted someone to dump them on.

“I feel like I was hit by a sixteen-pony carriage.” Aura was splayed out on the floor panting, her horn occasionally sparking of its own volition. “Illusion is foal’s play compared to that training. I hope we actually have a reason to use this ability at some point.”

“I’d rather not actually, as that would mean we probably got caught,” I said morosely, lying down on my hay-sack bed. “I would like my old mattress though.”

“Oh don’t even remind me of home,” she said half groaning, half laughing. “It’s only been a day and I’m having horrible withdrawals without my coffee.”

Home... I wonder if Ma and Dad are okay. They have to be worried that I’m gone. I hope they are anyway.

Aura rolled over onto her belly and stood, shivering from the cold of the stone floor.

“I’m going to retire for the night. Would you like me to douse your lights on the way out?” she asked kindly.

“Nah, I’m not going to turn in just yet. I’m gonna snoop around this place for something to eat.”

“Very well, good night then dear.” She walked out of the room with her usual grace, despite having been a disheveled mess on the floor moments ago.

I got up and left the room as well, making sure to move quietly, as it was in fact late in the evening. I moved through the halls of the building, looking down each corridor as I went, seeing what each room contained.

Most rooms simply held more beds and bunks for other ponies, the others just being a few storage areas and some restrooms. My best guess is that the building had once been an office for some business, the rooms just repurposed for housing now.

Distracted by my thoughts, I bumped into a large object, knocking me on my hindquarters. I shook my head, regaining my composure.

“To not be a pegasus you sure have your head in the clouds,” a feminine voice said.

I looked up only to see Crush towering over me. I blinked hard in confusion, before Candy came hovering around from behind him and offered a hoof to help me up. I accepted it.

“What are you doing wandering the halls? Not that it’s wrong, since you’re official now, I was just asking,” Candy said, inhaling and awkwardly shifting her weight against the wall.

Crush nodded and continued wherever he was heading.

“Just exploring I guess, though since I found you, I guess I could ask you a bit about this place.”

“Oh that reminds me, the princess told me to give you these.” Candy reached her head into her saddlebag and brought out an old scroll. I was about to reach for it, but then used my magic to levitate it over to me. “She said it will explain what’s going on for you.”

“That saves me from bothering you with it at least,” I said in as friendly a tone as I could muster. “There is something else though.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“I never really thanked you.” I looked down at the floor, wondering how much a fool I must have appeared.

“Thanked me? For what?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I guess for standing up for me. I spent some time thinking earlier. I hardly even know you, and yet you were willing to vouch for me when I was gonna get my mind wiped. You protected me when the guards had me cornered, and I’ve... well I haven’t done anything actually.” I lowered my ears.

“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself, I just haven’t been in big trouble yet, I’m sure you’d jump right in to action. That’s what friends do.”

When she said that, I felt strange, like something long forgotten had been remembered. She had called me her friend.

“I guess I’ve not really had a friend... not since I was a filly, in Baltimare.” I swallowed back a lump in my throat.

I felt her forehoof on my shoulder, and when I looked up she wrapped both forelegs around my neck. She only held on for a moment, but the comforting feeling remained long after she let go.

“Thanks.” I wiped my face on my foreleg, trying not to show so much emotion. I had no idea what had just come over me.

“Anything you need before I go? I’ve gotta catch up with Crush.”

I hadn’t even opened my mouth when my stomach answered her question.

“Where’s the kitchen around here?”

Chapter 4.5: Concerning the State of Things

I sat down with the bread and fruits I managed to acquire from the kitchen and began unrolling the scroll that Candy had given me.

So according to Princess Luna, this is supposed to answer a lot of questions, lets see if that rings true.

As I unrolled it, a small piece of parchment fell from inside. I levitated it within reading distance.

“Subject, we have included portions of our diary that we believe will be beneficial to your understanding the current situation and the importance of our association. We regret we couldn’t simply explain the situation to you in greater detail, but time is of the essence, as we don’t know what is going to happen next. - Your princess.”

This all seems really serious, I wonder what’s going on, and why Luna apparently no longer rules alongside Celestia. I guess that’s why I’m reading this though.

I finished unrolling the scroll and began reading the entries.

“Seventh Night, Eighth Cycle -- Equestria is living in a period of harmony and bliss. Every aspect of the culture is thriving, and the military grows with each passing day. Since there are reports of enemies appearing in the areas surrounding canterlot, more and more funds have been going towards the military and defenses. At least, this is the story everypony keeps telling. We can see that everything is not as it seems. Ponies are living in bliss, yes, but as they say: ignorance is bliss.

Our sister is not the same ruler she once was. We do not know what has happened, but she has changed, for the worse. There have been no enemy sightings within a hundred miles of the capital, so for what end our beloved sister continues to amass such an army we do not know, but... maybe we do not want to know. When we try to speak with her about it she only shrugs us off or acts like she didn't hear us. We fear something is terribly wrong with her. Perhaps the millennia are finally catching up to her: driving her insane. She distances herself further from us with each day.”

“Twelfth Night, Eighth Cycle -- Our sister has taken to effectively kidnapping young stallions from the street to add to her army. She says it is a draft, but there is no reason for any such thing since the enemy threats, as we mentioned, are non-existent. We must approach her on this matter; what she is doing is just wrong. Since when has Equestria ever needed an army so large?”

“Fourteenth Night, Eighth Cycle -- Our sister has.... There is no explanation for this. We approached her civilly about the army she has amassed, and she reacted in a - most violent manner. She now says that we must refrain from any interaction with her subjects. Not that we ever did interact with them, being keeper of the night. She says if we interfere, she'll send me back to.... She cannot stop us from walking among the dreams of our subjects, though. We have a duty to the citizens of Equestria and we will not neglect them no matter what our sister demands.”

“Twentieth Night, Eighth Cycle -- We saw our sister’s dreams. She is not herself. There is nothing but darkness in her mind. Violence, anger, vengeance. She hates me. We are going to find some citizens that may have noticed what we have. Surely somepony has noticed something strange, we cannot be the only one who finds my sister’s recent actions and proclamations unreasonable. Surely someone will believe us when we say that our dear sister, Celestia... has become a villain.”

I was shocked.

How could something like this be going on under my nose? Under everypony’s noses?

For a moment, I entertained the thought that Luna might have once again been corrupted, and was lying about the situation.

Surely, she wouldn’t amass such a following if that was the case. When I was walking about earlier, I counted at least three-hundred ponies just on my way to the kitchen. This place, whatever it is, is huge.

On top of that, from the stories I had heard, her entire appearance and personality changed when she became Nightmare Moon. This Princess Luna I had been speaking to was nothing even resembling an evil tyrant. She was almost motherly in a way.

What could be wrong with Celestia though? Had she really just snapped? I couldn’t imagine living for hundreds, let alone thousands of years. Perhaps Luna’s guess was right.

Although the story still had holes, and I was more confused now than ever, I knew if I wanted answers, the only way to get them was to stick with this and see where it lead.

Chapter 5: Derailed

I dreamt of darkness once more, this time, armed with the knowledge that Aura had seen similar visions shortly before her recruitment. Even if the visions I was having were not the same as Aura's, I knew in my gut that they had to be related to the Lunar Offensive in some manner.

After all, Aura had mentioned that the visions had started when she received a letter, and I had gotten that parchment with a strange symbol on it the night I ran into the courier.

I thought that perhaps it might be Luna herself; I had heard stories that she had the ability walk among pony's dreams. If that were the case though, it would be odd that she didn't seem to recognize me in the dream world.

I opened my mind, staring deep into the dark void before me, looking for the "light-pony" from my previous dreams.

"Hello, child. I have been waiting."

I spun around, turning to the voice's point of origin. The light creature stood there, much closer to me than in previous visions. There was no question this time that the creature was in the shape of a pony, an alicorn, no less.

The voice was much different this time, however. It spoke fluidly, instead of having such long pauses, and had a much less ethereal tone.

"Who are you? Why have you been waiting for me?" I asked, hoping to get straight to answers this time around.

"I am your guide in a world full of those who wish to keep you in the dark. I have been waiting to take you under my wing." The light-pony spoke in such a gracious tone that it was hard to doubt anything it said.

I wasn't quite the answer I was looking for, but at least it was actually answering this time around. It sounded a lot like what one of the Lunar Offensive would preach at me, about being kept in the dark about the truth.

"You know I'm already fully aware of the cult right?" Maybe if I showed this pony that I was already familiar with its claims, it would move on to something more relevant.

"Yes, but what of its plans?" the light questioned.

What is this, a pop quiz?

"Yeah, yeah, the morning train, I know all that. ‘What can you tell me,’ though, is the real question." I had had enough of being quizzed over and over without getting any answers myself. I had decided this dream pony must be the real deal based on Aura's mention of dreams, so I figured it would be the easiest thing to harrass for answers.

To my dismay, the light simply remained silent. My patience with it was spent.

"Alright, seriously, who are you? I want a name, not some vague description of your goals, if you want anything else from me then you had better-"

I woke up in freefall. It only lasted a split second, however, before I found myself kissing the hard stone floor next to my hay-bed.

"Ow...."

Aura trotted into the room, looking around the corner.

"Are you alright? I heard a crash." She looked down on the ground and saw me on my belly, legs splayed in all directions. She covered her mouth with a forehoof, but I could still see she was trying her best to stifle a laugh. "That's a very quaint way to sleep, dear."

I got on all fours and brushed myself off, feeling the heat of embarrassment in my cheeks.

"Heh, ‘morning Aura. Is it time to go?"

She nodded.

"I overheard Starfire telling the others to prepare, so one would assume they'll be coming to let us know next."

I let out a deep sigh and walked over to a small dresser, levitating a comb and running it through my mane a few times. I had no mirror in the room, but I knew I must have looked completely disheveled.

"As long as we've got a few minutes, can you tell me more about those dreams you had?"

Aura tilted her head.

"You mean the visions I had before I was recruited? I suppose so." She sat on her hindquarters next to the hay-bed and seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments before speaking again. "I don't remember them too clearly, I believe that was part of what made them so intriguing. I do remember seeing a mare though."

Maybe, I thought, Aura would know who the dream-pony was, since I had once more failed at finding out.

"Do you know who the mare was?" I asked, cocking my ears toward her.

"Not for certain, but it was an alicorn. She lead me to this group, so it would stand to reason that it was Princess Luna."

I scratched my head.

"If it were Luna why wouldn't she just tell us? I've been having visions as well, and I'm pretty sure the same mare is in mine too," I finally informed her.

"Really?" Aura raised an eyebrow. "It's not surprising that they use the visions to recruit, but mine stopped a few days before you brought me the final letter."

I thought about that for several moments before I came up with an explanation.

"You were a planned recruitment, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe Luna hasn't realized that it's my dreams she's hanging around in."

"One would think she would recognize you if that were the case."

I waved a hoof dismissively.

"She's a princess, and thousands of years old on top of that, I'm sure she's seen so many different ponies that they all look the same by now."

Aura looked at the ground, and seemed to drift off into a sea of thought.

"Can you even imagine what living that long might do to one's mind, Silver? How much pain she's probably had to endure?" she asked, gazing back up at me with a sorrowful look in her eyes.

"No, I can't... but I think we might find out if we ever have to confront Princess Celestia."

We sat in thoughtful silence until Candy and Starfire came by and poked their heads into the room.

"Time to go," Starfire informed us, beckoning us with a forehoof.

Everypony followed Starfire down the long hallway, and past all the other bunkrooms, before we arrived at a much larger doorway. Starfire and Crush each took hold of the large door and, with much straining, pushed it open.

When the door opened we were met with a frigid blast of air. The door opened up into a large, darkened tunnel. Aura used her horn to light the way.

We walked down the featureless tunnel for several minutes in relative silence. By my reckoning, the direction we were heading was into the mountainside that Canterlot Castle sat perched upon.

Candy suddenly put up a forehoof, motioning for us to stop. She walked ahead, and looked both ways down what seemed to be a sudden fork in the tunnel running perpendicular to the one we were in.

"We're all good," Candy said before spreading her wings and flying into the passage, suddenly disappearing from view.

As we approached the fork in the tunnel, I realized that it was much larger in diameter than the one we arrived in. As I inspected further, I also noticed a set of train tracks on the floor of the cavern.

"Is this where we're stopping the train?" I asked in disbelief.

Candy shook her head, then pointed toward one end of the tunnel, where light could be seen pouring in.

"There's a mine car somepony set up for us a little further up the track, and there won't be another train using this track before the one we're trying to stop, so we can take it to the ambush spot safely."

The five of us rode the mine car for what I judged to be several hours. We had travelled all the way down the side of the mountain, and then a few miles further still.

We took turns with Crush and Starfire pumping the cart manually, and Aura and me using our telekinesis to do so.

Eventually we reached a narrow valley. The train tracks ran along the lowest point of the valley, with walls going up about twenty feet on each side which boasted steep inclines.

"This is the spot." Starfire panted, having just finished a turn of working the mine car with Crush. "There should be a rock up on one of the walls we can roll down as a last resort, but we don't want to injure anypony if we don't have to."

"How exactly do we plan on stopping this train anyway?" I asked.

Starfire smirked.

"Candy n' me are gonna pull off some fancy flyin' and get right into the engine to engage the brakes, and you two unicorns are gonna use your magic to help slow it down. Crush'll stay up by the rock for plan b."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You and Candy are just gonna fly right in? Won't it be guarded?"

"According to what Princess Luna told Starfire and I there's usually just the conductor and one or two guards at most, nothing we can't handle. We have the element of surprise after all," Candy happily assured me.

"You're the boss," I conceded. "Just didn't see you as the fighting type."

Starfire chuckled at that.

"You'd be surprised, Miss Silver, this filly is tough as nails. She ain't as dainty as you Canterlot ponies." He turned to me and grinned. "I've seen her knock a grown stallion on his ass in ten seconds flat."

"Oh stop it you two." Candy blushed. "We've only got a few more minutes, we should get into position."

Everypony nodded.

Candy and Starfire quickly flew up and planted themselves on a ledge that they could easily dive from. Crush made his way up the opposite ledge where a large boulder was perched rather close to the edge, and signaled that he was ready and in position.

Aura and I remained in the valley, where we could best assist with our telekinesis.

"How the hay did I end up here," I groaned under my breath. I winced when I realized Aura was close enough to hear me.

"Oh surely being stuck here waiting to rob a train with me can't be as bad as making coffee all day, dear," Aura cooed.

"I didn't mean it like that, it's just that, just a few dozen hours ago I wanted nothing more than to get away from all this. Now I'm voluntarily helping hijack a train for the same ponies that were gonna wipe my memory."

"I'm sure knowing what you're fighting for helps," she offered.

"I don't even think it's that. I just, I don't know, all I cared about a few days ago was finding a rich stallion so I could quit my job. I probably wouldn't have cared about some debacle between members of the monarchy even if I had known about it."

"Perhaps being around new ponies from different walks of life has helped you realize that Equestria doesn't revolve around your personal life."

Aura's words stung. My inner turmoil must have shown through on my face, as she was quick to apologize.

"Sorry dear, I intended no offense." She placed a forehoof on my shoulder.

"It's okay." I forced a smile. She had put words to the feelings I was struggling to understand, and very accurately so. I hated it.

I felt the ground begin to tremor slightly. I looked down and saw some small stones starting to bounce. A train whistle blew.

Aura and I moved to opposite sides of the valley, poised to begin helping slow the train as soon as we saw the pegasi get on board.

We didn't have to wait long before we could clearly see the train heading our way. Candy and Starfire swooped from the ledge above and dove directly toward the train.

I looked up the other ledge to make sure Crush was still in position. It happened that the sun had fallen even with the ledge by this time, so I only made out his silhouette.

When I turned back, the pegasi were landing on the train engine, and they darted inside. Mere seconds later the squealing sound of the train's brakes pierced the air.

"They certainly made short work of that," Aura observed.

We both steadied ourselves and reached out with our telekinesis, forming a glowing, green-and-gold aura around the train, helping to lower the speed dramatically.

It passed us, but eventually stopped just a few meters short of where we had planned to drop the boulder.

Well, that was simple enough.

I trotted up to the train's engine with Aura following behind. Starfire emerged from its door, a puzzled look on his face.

"Did y'all see anypony jump off?" he questioned.

Aura and I exchanged looks.

"No, why?"

"There was nopony on board..." Starfire ran a forehoof through his mane, looking back at the engine as Candy emerged with the same puzzled look. "This don't feel right."

"A decoy perhaps?" Aura guessed.

"Guess we can check the cargo and find out." Starfire approached one of the cargo cars, turned, and bucked the rusted lock off the door before sticking his head inside. "Well I'll be damned. It's empty."

"I'm gonna go get bro," Candy said, turning to fly up the ledge Crush had been waiting on.

"Yeah, I think we should probably get headin' back... quick like."

After checking the rest of the cars, Aura, Starfire, and I returned to the front of the train.

I felt a sudden uneasiness eat at the back of my mind.

"We aren't alone...." Aura said quietly.

"Wha?" Starfire quickly spun around to survey the surroundings. "Whaddya mean?"

"I can sense the magic of another unicorn nearby."

Starfire gasped, instantly pouncing into the air and starting up the ledge.

I saw Aura charging her horn out of the corner of my eye; she teleported us to the top of the ledge.

Candy was crouched in a fighting stance, her rear end facing us.

I looked ahead of her to see three unicorns standing in a row, all wearing cloaks with sun-shaped insignias emblazoned upon them. At their feet was a bound and gagged Crush.

Starfire arrived at the scene, and wasted no time in charging one of the mysterious unicorns. It was to no avail, as one of them raised a forcefield at the last moment, stopping Starfire in his tracks and dazing him.

One of the unicorns tilted his head down at Starfire and began charging a spell.

"Oh no you don't!" I decided now was probably as good a time as any to attempt teleportation, not on myself though. I reached into my satchel with my telekinesis and held my anti-magic ring without bringing it out of the satchel.

I focused all my energy, and with a burst of magic that drained a large portion of my strength, the ring appeared on the enemy unicorn's horn.

The unicorn seemed unaffected, at least for a moment.

He shortly began twitching, then full-on convulsing, before falling over. I surmised he had been attempting a fire spell, as liquid gray matter began dripping from his nostrils and mouth.

Two to go.

Those two remaining seemed completely unaffected as they turned to face me.

Oh boy.

Candy, seeing they were distracted, rushed at the one nearest her, The unicorn swiftly reacted however, producing a chain from his saddlebag, throwing it and wrapping it around her.

Candy hit the ground with a thud as the unicorn faced me again, his expression unchanging.

In this time, Starfire had managed to recover from his daze and untie Crush, who had snuck up to the unicorns. Crush bucked, his powerful hind hooves colliding with the unicorn's sides, knocking them to the ground.

"Enough of this." The unicorn's voice was steady and determined. With a flash, Aura, Crush, Starfire, and myself all appeared just inches from each other, in front of the unicorns, both of them with their horns glowing powerfully.

A telekinetic cage suddenly surrounded us, and quickly closed in upon us until we had no room to move any longer. The unicorn's horns began to grow even brighter.

"Goodbye," one of them said, an evil grin now adorning their previously emotionless face.

"I'm sorry."

I looked to Aura.

"What are you talking about?"

She produced her anti-magic ring from her saddlebag and put it on her horn.

"Aura what are you-"

A sudden shockwave nearly knocked me unconscious, and threw me several feet in the air. When I landed, I had the wind knocked out of me.

She broke their spell with the shockwave?

After recovering my breath, I looked to see Crush and Starfire had also been blown several feet in opposite directions.

I looked to the unicorns, and saw one's horn smoking from the beam spell he had cast.

My heart sank; time seemed to slow down.

Aura...

As much as I didn't want to, I hesitantly turned to face the point where all our positions intersected: the spot where Aura should have been.

All that remained was the charred shape of a pony in the dirt, an anti-magic ring lying among the ashes. The smoke rising from the ashes matched the smoke of the unicorn's horn.

"Bastard!"

Starfire and Crush both rushed the unicorns. The one who had cast the powerful beam was overtaxed, and therefore could not retaliate with his magic. He appeared skilled in hoof-to-hoof combat, but the combined strength and rage of my two companions quickly overwhelmed him.

There was a loud whistle, nearly deafening in its volume, and several pegasi suddenly dropped into the fray, clothed in the same cloaks as the unicorns.

Two of the pegasi pinned me to the ground, and the remainder engaged Crush and Starfire. They were incredibly agile, but spent most of the time on the defensive.

I saw two more head to where the unicorn was standing. The unicorn tilted his head toward where Candy was still tied up.

"Starfire, stop them!" I yelled. It came out much weaker than I had anticipated, but it was enough to catch his attention.

He broke off from combat to give chase, only to be swiftly knocked out by a blow from behind. The rest of the pegasi suddenly scattered and carried both Candy and the unicorn away.

Crush recovered from a blow he had been dealt and started to follow them, but shortly stumbled due to a wound on his leg. He slammed a forehoof into the dirt in anger.

I looked back to the pile of ashes, and grabbed Aura's ring with my telekinesis. I was weakened by a number of factors, physical and emotional. The strain of using magic was enough to drain the remaining energy from me.

As Crush was removing some type of signal flare from his saddlebag and Starfire was starting to regain consciousness, I allowed my exhaustion to overtake me.

Chapter 6: Memory

I never lost consciousness, but I came as close as one pony could to doing so several times on the flight back to the headquarters.

The signal flare Crush had lit shortly after we were ambushed had been a sign that the mission had a complication, and after a short while a pair of pegasi with the mark of the Lunar Offensive on their cloaks had flown in with a sky-carriage to extract us.

Starfire mumbled curses under his breath throughout the trip, and Crush only sat in silence. He didn’t betray any feeling in his expression, but I could only imagine he was shaking with anger.

Not only was Aura, a friend I had barely begun to know, now dead, but Candy’s fate was uncertain as well. There was no way of knowing what those who had taken her planned on doing with her.

As much as I thought I should be mourning for Aura, I felt no sadness. I had only known her a couple days, after all. What I did feel was anger, anger toward the unicorns who had attacked us... attacked me. We had taken care of two of them, but there was still one more who needed to pay.

Why is it that every mission we’ve gone on I’ve been in the line of fire? These ponies are going to get me killed no matter how good of a cause they may think they’re fighting for. They’re putting an innocent pony like me on the front lines, all just because I bumped into the wrong stallion at the wrong time.

I was determined that I would bring this up to Princess Luna, surely she couldn’t stand for her followers putting others in danger without good reason. If she did, then she wasn’t worth following to begin with.

After making our way back to the base and taking some time to clean up, we were finally going to have a debriefing with the princess.

I sat down at the table, across from Crush and Starfire. We sat for only a brief moment before Luna made her way into the room.

“We understand that this mission did not go as planned,” she stated, “You have lost somepony?”

Starfire swallowed.

“Yes ma’am.”

Princess Luna turned to me, her eyes narrow.

“We have noticed a trend with missions that you have been a part of, Miss Silver Charm.”

She paused, so I took the chance to respond.

“I’ve been noticing it too, Princess. I find it upsetting that ponies should put other ponies in danger like this when they’ve done nothing wrong.”

“We agree.” Her tone was cold as she levelled her gaze with me. “So why would you do such a thing?”

“B- I... what?” I found no words to express my thoughts. She thought I was endangering them?

“We have had major successes with nearly every mission we’ve sent out for the past few months due to our discreteness and member cooperation. That is, until we started sending you along, and we do not believe in coincidence in this matter.”

Starfire and Crush were both staring at me expectantly from across the table.

“How, how could I have been doing that? You’ve been watching me like a hawk ever since I got here!” I reasoned.

“Your body, yes. Your mind though, we do not know where it has been.”

I felt a pinch in my hindquarters, causing me to jump up and yelp. When I turned around, I saw an empty syringe enveloped in a magical aura.

I was immediately filled with a feeling of lethargy.

“Sweet dreams.”

I found myself once again in a dream filled with darkness. The familiar light-pony stood in the distance.

“Alright, what is this? Why did you bring me here again?”

“I did not bring you,” the light-pony responded, “you were sent.”

“Why would anypony even do that?”

The light began moving further away.

“You have to come alone, I will not speak to you this time. She can see us.”

The light kept moving, until eventually it dissipated. Then, suddenly, the room was bright again. I was still in the room with the large table. Princess Luna stood in the shadows.

I awoke from the dream somewhere new. The floor was cold and bare, and just a small bed of hay lay in the room. On one side of me was a door of steel bars.

I could see Starfire on the outside of the bars, staring in. He had the look of a madpony in his eyes.

“What the hell just happened?” I asked, standing up, “and why are you looking at me like that?”

“Luna told us what she saw in your dreams. She told us you were talking to some strange creature about us.”

I shook my head.

“I have no more idea what those dreams are about than she does, they’re just dreams, what do they have to do with any of this? Why am I in a cell?”

“If you believe Luna can walk in your dreams, why would you doubt somepony else could? I ain’t stupid,” Starfire said disdainfully. “This is all your fault. Aura is dead, and Candy is probably dead or dying, and it’s your fault.”

“I don’t know what the hell is going on, why aren’t you listening to me you idiot?” I banged a hoof on the steel door.

Starfire slowly got up and began walking away.

“I ain’t got time for you anyway, they’re gonna wipe your mind like we shoulda done to start with.”

I tried to grab at him with my magic, only to feel the familiar pain of an anti-magic ring reflecting it back into me. I had no way to see it in the empty room, so I tried to inch my magic slowly up my horn to see if I had enough room to perform the shockwave spell.

As it turned out, they seemed to have used one big enough to combat that, as it sat around the very base of my horn, preventing any magic use at all.

I sat down.

How can they just turn on me this suddenly, when I’ve only been doing everything they tell me? And what is up with this dream-treason business? I thought Luna was the one that walked in dreams. Even if somepony else had the power, why would they be in my dreams specifically?

I spent a long few hours seething in the empty room in total silence. There wasn’t the sound of other ponies at all. I had thought Luna would come to question me some more, but she had apparently decided she had done all she needed.

It would only be a matter of time before there were going to come wipe my brain, if Starfire was to be believed. I decided, if I couldn’t get somepony to talk to in the real world, I could make one last try at the dream world.

I found myself in the large table room again, but Luna was not lurking in the corner this time around. I decided to try for the only pony I could.

“I’m alone now.” My voice echoed, and there was no response for several moments. Then, the room began to grow dark.

The darkness slowly set in, until only the shape of the light-pony remained.

“Why did you bring her to me?” the voice questioned.

“I got forced into that one, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about alright? I want real answers this time.”

“Forced, you say? What is it that you seek now, then?”

“I wanna know who you are, and why you’ve been in my dreams.”

The light spent a few moments in silence, then began to slowly take a more corporeal form. The body transformed from yellow light to a pure white. The long mane and tail slowly took on the colors of the spectrum, and a sun cutie mark prominently appeared on the pony’s flank.

“Does this answer your questions, my little pony?” Princess Celestia asked.

Her true appearance was almost doubly as blinding as the light-pony had been, her very form and her smile radiated warmth.

“I must thank you for keeping an eye on my beloved sister,” Celestia walked towards me, head high, wings erect in a pose more regal than I had even seen her represented. “Luna has been acting strange again, and I feared she might be making plans in the night.”

“Of course, Princess Celestia... but how did you know how to find my dreams?”

“That’s quite simple actually, do you recall the insignia on the cloaks of Luna’s minions? When the guards were investigating your disappearance at the request of your parents, they found a piece of paper bearing the mark in your home. So, I was able to find out who you were, and who had taken you.”

I recalled receiving the parchment the night before I had been taken, and how I had only thrown it aside, so the story actually made sense.

“Now tell me, my little pony, they have wrongly imprisoned you, if I read your memories correctly. Tell me where you are being held and I shall rescue you from your misfortune.”

“Actually, I think we’ve heard enough from you, sister.” Princess Luna emerged from the darkness.

“What the-?!” Both Celestia and I responded with equal shock to Luna’s emergence.

“You’ve grown too comfortable in your power, sister, and you underestimate mine.”

Celestia’s mane began turning from its usual multicolored self into one of flame as her face contorted in anger.

She quickly leaped into the air, charging at her sister.

“Wake up, Silver!”

I shot up onto my hooves, only to immediately lose my balance. Crush supported me to keep me from falling.

“What’s going on, why are you guys here? Where are we?” I frantically looked around at the walls of what seemed to be a large wooden carriage. About a dozen of Luna’s followers sat around me, including Crush and Starfire.

“Your memory should be returning any moment,” a well-read looking unicorn wearing glasses told me.

“My memories, what are you-” As sharp pain shot through my head, my mind was becoming clearer. “We’re... we’re on the way to somewhere.”

“That’s right,” the pony, whom I now recalled to be Doctor Neighfario, assured me. “We’re going to save your friend.”

I remembered the shot the doctor had given me during a conversation with Princess Luna. She had found out I had been talking to somepony in my dreams, and was determined to find out who.

Her plan required me to be oblivious to it, since the light-pony seemed to read my memory. Since I was unaware of Luna’s presence, so was Celestia, allowing me to question her. The shot allowed me to forget a few hours of time temporarily, including the conversation we had. I only remembered waking up in the cell, and Starfire’s acting convinced me I was being blamed.

We had also found out that the three unicorns that had ambushed us were three of Celestia’s archmages, in charge of an outpost a few miles outside of Canterlot. We were headed there with a small platoon in order to quickly extract Candy, if she still lived.

We had the element of surprise, since Celestia had been fully focused on my dreams, and probably preparing some of her forces in case I revealed Luna’s headquarters to her.

“We’re nearly there,” Starfire informed me, “You got all those memories sorted out yet?”

“Sorta....”

“Just follow Crush, and take out anypony flying Celestia’s colors.” Starfire set his jaw. “We never wanted to kill nopony, but since they don’t seem to mind doin’ it, I’ll happily join in.”

The carriage stopped. I looked around at our company.

“Are a dozen ponies gonna be enough to take out an outpost?”

“Guess your memory isn’t quite back.” Starfire opened the carriage door, and we filed out of it.

I was stunned to see seven or eight more carriages.

“We’re a hundred strong.” Starfire flew up above the crowd, and made a signal with his forehoof. “Lights out.”

I noticed that the only light was coming from a few large fires and lanterns dotting the walls of the small fort. Several of the unicorns in our company powered their horns, making forcefields around each flame. They were quickly depleted of oxygen and extinguished.

I could hear a lot of movement in the base, and one by one, unicorn’s horns started glowing within its walls. By removing the large lights, we had forced them to reveal many of their exact locations.

“Everypony pick a target,” I heard Starfire whisper. “Three, Two, One... Go.”

The horns of thirty or so unicorns in our company lit ablaze with power and vanished as I heard many wings take to the air. The earth ponies began running toward the fort, and I followed closely behind Crush.

As we made it inside, much of the fighting had already ended. Dozens of ponies in garb depicting Celestia’s cutie mark lie incapacitated or bleeding upon the ground. There was still a few dogfights going on above us between pegasi, but they grew fewer with each passing second.

I followed Crush inside as some of the ponies who had finished fighting followed behind us. We made our way through, taking out some of the stragglers who had been hiding within. As we made our way past a fork in the path, a blast of energy knocked Crush hard against the wall. I turned the corner, charging the best lightning spell I could muster, hoping the unicorn would be too taxed to shield himself.

Unfortunately, he was able to ward off my spell with minimal effort. However, he didn’t seem as prepared for the half a dozen ponies that followed behind me. They kept him on the defensive for quite a few minutes before finally cornering him and giving him a shiny new anti-magic ring.

Starfire and Crush walked into the room. Starfire approached the now helpless unicorn.

“Where’s your prisoner?” he asked simply.

The mage grinned.

“Do you know, I am also skilled at regenerative healing spells? It’s very helpful for getting information.” He sighed. “She sang so beautifully.”

“I don’t know anypony too good at those spells,” Starfire said, looking at Crush.

Crush walked over to the mage, towering over his body. Crush put a forehoof onto one of the mage’s hind legs and slowly applied pressure.

The mage shouted as his leg snapped in two, I felt sick at the sight of the malformation.

“In other words, only way that’s getting fixed is if you find a way to get us to take that ring off of you,” Starfire continued.

“Just kill me, I’m not afraid of death.” The mage growled between breaths.

“Well see I’m not too fond of killing defenseless ponies, so I’d just leave you here, no magic, no medicine. That leg of yours would get infected, and then it’d be a race to see if hunger or bacteria killed you first.”

The mage chuckled.

“You would have done well as a torturer.”

“Starfire we found her,” I turned to see one of the pegasi that had accompanied us at the door to the room.

“Well that’s too bad. We were having fun.”

“At least take this ring off of me, it’ll take me hours if not days to heal the mess you’ve made of this leg. I won’t be able to do a thing,” the mage bargained.

Starfire clicked his tongue.

“We got no use for a three-legged pony, I’m afraid we gotta put you down.”

Crush placed a hoof on the unicorns head.

“Wh-What happened to not wanting to kill defenseless ponies?” the mage panicked.

“I only said I don’t like to do that, nothin’ about my friends.”

I averted my gaze, and heard the cracking of bones and the popping of flesh. I thought I felt some warmth splatter my coat as well.

We followed another pony to the room where they had found Candy barely conscious on her back on an operating table. I looked her over, and although there was a lot of blood on the table and surrounding floor, she didn’t appear to be injured.

Guess that mage wasn’t kidding about regenerative torture....

Crush, for once since I had met him, showed some sign of emotion. He smiled and nuzzled his sister. She also smiled weakly, and looked like she was trying to speak to him, but no words came out.

“Let’s get her out before somepony calls reinforcements or something,” Starfire commanded.

I began following him out as some other ponies helped roll Candy onto her brother’s back, and they promptly followed after.

“Thanks Silver,” Starfire said to me, still looking ahead.

“I can’t really say that was my plan, I don’t even remember half of it.”

“I ain’t treated ya with too much respect, but if you hadn’t decided to use your connection to Celestia in your dreams to our advantage, we’d be short two good ponies now.”

“Well I’m glad I could save your marefriend for you.” I smirked.

“S-she’s not... I don’t know why I even try bein’ open with you,” Starfire grumbled.

“Me either, I am just a Canterlot snob, after all.”

“Just save your sarcasm for later, alright?”

We made it back to the carriages without meeting any further resistance. I overheard some ponies talking, and learned that by some miracle, we hadn’t lost a single pony in the rescue, and only a few bore minor injury.

Candy had been put in a carriage with a bed and some medical supplies separate from the rest of us, and the doctor I had met on the way had been assigned to the carriage to examine the extent of her injuries.

We had also secured some supplies, weapons, and a new crate of anti-magic rings. Once everything and everypony had been loaded onto the carriages, we started back to Canterlot under the cover of the night.

Chapter 7: Regrouping

Canterlot was crawling with far more guards than in our previous arrivals. We were able to land most of the sky-carriages without notice, and most of the ponies went off in different directions. It would have been a bit suspicious to anypony seeing a hundred ponies all disappear into an alleyway.

The dozen or so of us headed to the portal were being tailed by a few guards, we made several detours to make sure, but they followed our every turn. It was decided that we would have to use the portal anyway. Two ponies went ahead of the group in order to prep the portal.

When we felt they had been given enough time, we broke out into full gallop toward the alley. The guards didn’t hesitate to give chase.

We dashed through the portal one by one, the guards not far behind. It took a few moments for two unicorns on the inside to being powering the portal so that the two powering it outside could make it through. By the time it closed, one of the pegasus guards had almost made it inside.

“And that’s why you don’t go through the portal too slowly.” Starfire pointed a hoof to the pegasus’ severed forelimb that lay twitching on the ground. “We won’t be using that entrance anymore now they’ve seen it either.”

I grimaced at the sight of the now cauterized pegasus leg on the floor.

I saw Starfire move to the corner of the room and speak to the doctor from before. He motioned for me to follow after a moment.

“The ponies with Candy got in through the railroad entrance we used before. She’s awake according to the doc.”

We walked down the hallway until we reached one of the bunk rooms. I saw Candy in a cot, wrapped in a blanket. Her brother sat nearby, silent as usual.

I stopped a few yards short of her cot, looking at Starfire and tilting my head toward it with a knowing look.

He shook his head, his cheeks only reddening slightly, and walked over. He sat down next to her cot.

“Nopony got hurt because of me, right?” I heard Candy struggling to ask. She wasn’t struggling with the energy to speak, but with holding back tears.

Starfire put a hoof on her foreleg.

“Ain’t nopony done anything that they didn’t volunteer to do. Worst anypony got was a few bruises. We’re just worried about what they put you through,” he said.

“I didn’t tell them anything, I promise!” Candy sobbed, pushing her face into her cot.

“We ain’t concerned about that... I just want you to know I’m here for you.”

“Me too.” I interjected.

Starfire shot me a glance before continuing.

“We’re all here, and we’re all safe for now. We weren’t gonna leave you behind.”

Candy looked back up at him.

“What about Aura, she’s not safe. I saw... while they were carrying me away. If you hadn’t been trying to help me you could have-”

“She chose to do what she did, and if she hadn’t there’s a good chance we’d all be dead and you would be too.” Starfire sighed. “Sad as it is, this was probably the best outcome we could have hoped for.”

Candy sat up on her cot and remained silent for several moments. She sniffed.

“I was just scared they would make me talk, that they’d make me betray all of you and Princess Luna.”

Since she had sat up, the blanket wrapped around her slowly slid from around her. It was only now that I noticed the two knots wrapped in bandages on each side of her back.

My mouth fell open with a gasp. I tried to speak, but couldn’t find words to express my reaction.

She usually kept her wings folded up like most pegasi, and I never noticed them except when she was flying. I had only managed to miss their absence before as the blood blended in well with her dark brown coat. Now, with the white bandages, it was painfully obvious to me.

I could only wonder to myself, if something this serious hadn’t been deemed worth healing by her torturers, what worse things must they have put her through and healed? Candy seemed to take notice of the horror on my face.

“I know, I look terrible,” she forced through more tears. She covered the stumps back up with the blanket.

“They’re a sign of your loyalty and don’t you say anything different,” Starfire said. “Silver, come over here for a minute.”

He walked to the other side of the room, out of earshot of the others.

“Listen, you can’t go making faces like that, she’s already down on herself and you’re just gonna make it worse.”

“I just... I didn’t know she-” I stuttered.

“Just imagine how you’d feel if you lost your magic. It ain’t no difference for a pegasus to lose their wings. We feel pretty damn useless. She gave up everything short of her life to make sure we didn’t get found out.”

He walked back over and sat down beside Candy’s cot again. I stared for a few moments before choosing to leave the room and head to the quarters I had been given.

I sat down on the bed.

I kept imagining what kind of ordeal Candy had to have gone through. A cycle of mutilation and regeneration. I tried to imagine having my horn removed.

All that, and she simply had to tell her captors where we were in order to make it all stop: to retain what made her who she was. I’d have liked to think I’d do the same for a good friend in the same situation, but I knew I wouldn’t.

I saw my magic as what set me apart from other ponies, that which made me who I was. The thought of giving up who I was in order to protect someone else seemed strange.

Candy had had her wings taken away, what did she have left?

We spent several days sorting and distributing supplies that had been taken from the base we raided. Candy spent the majority of the time in the infirmary having her wounds healed. She wouldn’t be able to grow her wings back, but they had been able to close the wounds and help her recover her strength once more.

Starfire had spent a bit of his spare time with her, and Crush hardly left her side. I chose to keep to myself mostly, both to give the trio their space, and to avoid any more awkward moments.

Now, we were all four together, heading to the large room for a meeting with Princess Luna. She had asked us, and many other ponies, to meet with her to discuss another move against Celestia’s forces.

There had been a few more small forces sent out on scouting missions, most of them without a hitch. They had discovered, however, that Celestia’s guards had been investigating the portal into the base, and were using it to pinpoint our location. Luckily, they had not been able to decipher how to properly activate it.

Either way, however, our time until being found was becoming limited.

We walked into the large meeting room, and saw many ponies already seated around the table. Luna had not yet arrived, but it was only a few minutes until the scheduled meeting time. We all sat down.

Starfire turned to a mare sitting beside him.

“Do you know what we’re supposed to be meetin’ about?” he asked.

The mare shrugged a shoulder.

“All I can get out of anyone is that we’re being sent on another mission. No idea what though.”

Candy sat silently, looking at the floor. She was wearing one of the cloaks bearing Luna’s emblem to cover her wings, or lack thereof. I wanted to say something to her; I wanted to be a comfort to her in some way. I could think of nothing to say that wouldn’t possibly be taken the wrong way, though, and I wanted to avoid any further scolding from Starfire.

Princess Luna entered the room, and several ponies bowed themselves. She took her seat at the end of the table. Looking around the room, she made eye contact with each and every pony, as if doing a mental roll call. Once she finished, she began speaking.

“We are sure that by now you have all been made aware that, thanks to our friend Silver’s unfortunate circumstances, we have confirmed our sister’s corruption. We have managed several more successful missions since freeing our member from the nearby base.

“The case is, however, that Celestia has not been idle in this time. She is coming very close to divining the location of this headquarters by use of the compromised portal. We have no more time to waste, we have to make a move.

“In some of the scouting missions that have been sent out, we have been able to take note of locations that Celestia is keeping the most guards in. If we are able to coordinate several diversions, we will have to opportunity to draw many of the guards away from her castle, easing our entry in order to directly apprehend Celestia herself. It is with regret that we make this decision, but it is not unknown to us that removing the head of a group is the simplest way in order to bring a stop to the whole.”

Silence filled the room for several moments. A few ponies began murmuring amongst themselves.

Directly attacking one of the most powerful beings in Equestria... this seems like a great idea. What the hay did I sign up for?

Luna continued.

“We can understand your apprehension in pursuing this, so, if you so choose, you may opt out now. Only recognize that it will make it more difficult on those who remain.” She scanned over the group of ponies with a stern gaze.

About a dozen ponies slowly made their way to the exit of the room. About twenty remained: a much smaller group than what we had raided a small base with.

I started to get up.

This is a suicide mission, there’s no way.

As I started to turn, I saw Candy still remained seated, looking at the floor. I froze.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said without looking up. “You’ve been through enough for me.”

It pained me to hear those words.

“I’ve been through enough?” I choked the words out. “What about you? What about your wings?”

“It’s- I don’t...” she stammered.

I did the only thing I could think to do and put a foreleg around her in a short embrace.

“I shouldn’t have even considered leaving you all to do this. I’ve hardly got a life to go back to anyways, and I’ve lost nothing compared to you.”

Candy wiped a tear away from her cheek.

“Thank you....”

The meeting later concluded, and plans were made for several small teams of ponies to go out into different parts of the city to create the diversions that would draw guards away from the castle. They wouldn’t leave Celestia completely unguarded, of course, but it would at least make it easier on the main group to get inside.

The diversion groups would attack known weapon caches and supply depots in order to make it seem like they were our main goal, and not just random locations. If the diversion were to fail on getting us into the castle, we would still be able to knock out those outposts.

Crush, Starfire, Crush, myself, and eight other ponies would make up the primary group, as we had the most combat experience of the twenty. The remaining eight ponies would split into groups of two to cause the diversions at different locations in the city.

If the plan went well, we would be able to all twelve make it inside the castle, and finally confront Celestia face-to-face.

Chapter 1: Sleepwalker

“Oh, hello! My name is Silver Charm; I work here. I noticed you sitting here alone, and.... No, no that's too formal. Hi I'm Silver! Are you here alone? Oh for pony’s sake you just sound like a creep now. Maybe something more like-”

“Miss Charm!”

I spun away from the mirror, startled by Joe's sudden, uninvited presence behind me.

“Y-yes sir?” I gulped, wondering how much of my little rehearsal he might have witnessed.

“Your break’s been over for five minutes and we got customers. So, basically, get your flank behind the counter pronto!”

Had I lost track of time again? I could have sworn I checked the wall clock just seconds ago.

“I'm sorry; I won't let it happen again,” I promised.

“Yeah, sure,” Joe scoffed before turning back towards the main dining area.

“Wait!” I interjected, remembering just what I had been practicing for. “Can I have, um, just one more minute to, uh...” I struggled to bring the right words to my mouth, but Joe made it unnecessary.

“Yeah, go get him,” he said dejectedly, rolling his eyes as he left the back room.

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks when I realized he had witnessed more of my little “rehearsal” than I had hoped, but I dismissed the embarrassment quickly. I had to do this.

Alright, now’s your chance.

I psyched myself up, took a deep breath, and stepped into the main dining area of the doughnut shop.

Quickly scanning the tables, I searched for the pony I had seen before retreating to the back room, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Another chance at freedom had eluded me; it was rare to come across a single stallion in this area of Canterlot, let alone a rich one that could put me in a position to quit this minimum wage job for good.

I trudged back to the counter and prepared to spend the rest of my day mindlessly taking orders, packaging baked goods, and preparing the dark ichor these ponies called coffee - all the while daydreaming of a rich, naive unicorn coming along and becoming my ticket out of here.

What does it take for a mare to get a guy around here anyways? Though I suppose the obscene number of mares in Canterlot as opposed to the very few stallions doesn’t exactly give me the best odds.

The day went like most any day of mine had for the past few years. I dreamt up fantasies across a long shift of menial labor, before heading back home just to listen to my parents lecturing me about putting myself out there, and something about my full potential. In the end, I was simply resetting the same day again via a barely restful night of sleep.

I was particularly sick of having to cater to our pegasus and earth pony customers. Unicorns could handle their purchases with grace by using their magic. These non magic-users, on the other hoof, required special attention. They could barely manage to throw their waste in the bin, let alone eat and drink it all in the first place

Maybe they couldn't help what race they were born, but they could at least leave sophisticated actions to more sophisticated ponies.

I kept myself distracted with my wandering thoughts for the next few hours until it was finally time for the shop to close for the night.

I swiftly cleaned up the tables and my work station. I clocked out, nodding a goodbye to Joe.

“See ya in the morning then, Miss Charm?”

I rolled my eyes, scoffing at him.

“Is that really even a question at this point, Joe? What choice do I have? It was hard enough getting you to hire me.”

Joe snorted, and stamped one of his hooves on the hard floor.

“Keep your attitude and I may be inclined to retract that favor, kid - and that's Mr. Joe to you.”

I didn't bother turning back to reply, instead heading out the door and calling back to him.

“Good night, Joe”

It was still quite bright outside, but the sun was just beginning to touch the horizon, so it wouldn't be much longer before darkness fell.

Barely enough time in the day to do anything for myself, part of the reason I just have to keep hoping an eligible unicorn will come into the coffee shop one day to sweep me away, instead of just going out to search for one like-

My inner monologue was interrupted as something plowed into my rear end, knocking me onto the ground and disorienting me.

What the hay was that?

I steadied myself onto all fours, and spun around, trying to spot what had knocked me down. Up the road a ways I saw a pony, galloping away at an alarming pace - most likely to avoid getting his flank kicked when I caught him.

“You aren't getting away that easy. Didn’t notice the horn did ya?”

My horn illuminated with it’s typical blue glow as I reached out to wrap the pony in a telekinetic field. I succeeded in stopping him in his tracks, and began struggling to pull him back to me across the distance he had been able to span while I was discombobulated.

“Just who do you think you- oof!”

Another force struck my hindquarters, this one was different though: it felt much sturdier, and colder than the first.

I was able to catch myself from falling this time, but it required releasing my telekinetic grip on the pony. I no longer needed to hold him as it turned out, though, as the second force that had struck me was one of a pair of guards. They now had the pony pinned down to the pavement.

“Ha! serves you right, cretin.” I brushed myself off and slowly trotted over to where the guards were still struggling to keep the stallion pinned down.

Suddenly he stopped struggling, and his horn began to glow, but one of the guards quickly snapped a ring onto the unicorns horn: a ring designed by the guards to inhibit magic use. Immediately, the glow of his horn became very faint, none of its glow going beyond the point the ring was wrapped around.

He slowly turned his head towards me, locking eyes with me with a listless expression.

“Bet you regret running now, huh?” I taunted, flipping my mane to the side.

“Heh....” The unicorn’s expression quickly changed to a sinister grin, and a fierce look washed over his eyes. “You are the one that will regret meddling in business you know nothing about, little filly.”

I was admittedly quite disturbed by his sudden change in demeanor, but I put on a mask of bravery.

“Is that so? Because it looks to me like you're the one being put in hoof cuffs, and I'm-”

For a third time I was interrupted and knocked to the ground, this time much more forcefully than the others. This time it wasn't another pony, but instead what seemed to be a shockwave from the criminal’s horn.

But, that should be impossible... right?!

The air filled with smoke before I even had a chance to look back up. The smoke dissipated quickly, but when it did, only the guards remained, looking dazed and confused.

“What happened? What was that shockwave?! Shouldn't that have been im-”

“Ma'am.”

Being interrupted seemed to be a trend today as the guard began speaking over me.

“What do you know about that stallion?”

I was quite frankly offended at the guard’s complete lack of interest in my well-being, but knew it was in my best interest to answer him.

“Well, I know he knocked me on my ass, and that he just did the same to you two pansies.”

“So you never met him before now?” The guard looked very serious; it felt like his questioning gaze was piercing my soul.

“N-no, I've no idea who he was, why?” I was genuinely puzzled by the guards strange concern with the unidentified pony.

“Just forget what you saw here tonight, okay? Go home; we’ll take care of this.”

The first night in a long time something interesting is going on, and now the guards are lecturing me to go home and ignore it? Nah, not having that.

“I need to know what was going on and- hey!”

The guards ignored me, and began galloping back the way they had come from. They promptly disappeared around a corner.

Ugh, so that's it? No compensation? No justice? What is this place coming to?

I had no real choice but to head home. I couldn't very well stalk the guards without consequence, and the other pony had disappeared completely.

I went home and headed inside, grabbing the mail off the floor as I walked in. My parents had taken a short trip to Ponyville for some political rally or something, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon. I started to toss the mail on the table, then heard the mail flap on the door clink as another letter fell through the door.

I opened the door and looked outside, I looked left, right, and all around, but saw nopony at all.

“Weird....”

I lifted the piece of parchment from the ground with my magic and illuminated it. The first side was blank, but on the opposite side was some sort of design. There was a hoofprint, with a crescent passing through it horizontally, and two rings in the space made between them.

What in Equestria is this supposed to be, an advertisement or something? I've never seen this logo before... yet, it seems familiar somehow.

I placed the parchment aside and locked and bolted the front door. Becoming increasingly worried by the strange events of the night, I made sure all the doors and windows were secure before getting ready for bed. What sleep I did get that night was far from restful though.

In my dream, there was complete darkness, aside from a small light in the distance. It appeared that the light was from some sort of lantern, at my best guess.

I walked towards it, but no matter how much I walked it didn’t seem to get any closer, or brighter. I heard a voice.

“Why... resist....”

Before I could answer, or question the voice, there was a flash of light.

I went through my usual routine the next morning, a bit anxious from the strange dream I had coupled with the events of the night. Before heading to work I took another look at the symbol on the paper I had received, still puzzling over why it seemed familiar to me. Nothing ever came to mind though.

I grabbed my things and opened the door to head outside, where it was still slightly dark out. I locked the door behind me, and turned around to begin walking. I saw a flash of color, followed immediately by blackness.