Insomnia

         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.