What is Friendship Now

by darkhorseapples

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Drama, Rainbow Dash, Tragedy, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Profanity, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe
Length: 17533

my name is twilight sparkle and.....and I thought I knew what friendship was but....now i'm starting to doubt myself

Equestria has been plunged into war and the destruction of all three tribes has begun with half of Equestria's royalty dead and the other half imprisoned, Twilight Sparkle must find her friends and survive in this wasteland she used to call home. Follow Twilight as she attempts to calm the storm all the while being right in the middle of it. Friends will turn, enemies will side and the idea of friendship itself will be blurred. Forever.

Published 2015-08-30 23:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2018-04-03 21:25:27 UTC

What Friendship Was

''Friendship'' something I haven't heard of in a very,very long time.

''But I do remember a little about it but anyway that won't solve any problems now, at least I believe it won't, your only so-called ''Friends'' now are your allies in battle''.'

''They are your comrades nothing else but comrades,everyone thinks that comrades stick together and its no man left behind in war, but the truth is if somebody slips up there is no Mummy,Daddy come help me, the only help you'll get up there is a bullet to the head to stop the madness from growing to your brain.

''YOU'LL GO CRAZY UP THERE YOU DO REALIZE THAT RIGHT!!!''.

"Ha ha ha ha looks like it got to me too ha anyway I got all day so I might as well tell you what happened to our beautiful Equestria that everyone loved so much it all started in a town called Ponyville such a wonderful town Green trees,colourful birds,Blue sky and every Pony filled with joy and harmony but none of all those wonderful pony's stood out like those 6 mares not only were they all outstanding but had also kept Ponyville safe from the mythical Nightmare Moon,The God of Chaos Discord and The Magic Obsorbing Monster that is Tirek not to mention Queen Chrysalis.But what these Mares so special is that they are the 6 that not only reunited but also represented the Elements of Harmony if anyone ever told them how amazing they were they would simply say ''we are no different to anypony else'' well except for Rainbow Dash who would probably milk it sometimes,but anyway deep down inside they knew they were different and they were special and this all came to a terrify-".

''Hey where's the death and destruction come in then eh?''

After hearing those words anger filled my mind did she really say that I was literally going punch her but something else happened,I honestly wasn't in the mood for physical punishment so verbal punishment was the next best thing I guessed so I blurted out everything I had on my mind.

"why would you want to relive such a tragedy millions of beings and creatures lost lives I lost something the princesses lost something even you lost something, remember don't you remember Lyr-" I just reran those words I just spoke through my mind and suddenly felt a wave of regret I could only say one thing to her:

".......sorry....I'm...so.....sor...." I was cut off by a Mare who's voice's volume was lowered due to her holding back tears in her eyes.

''No it's....it's fine just give me a minute''

After she had finished that quiet line of speech I barely saw tears stream down her cheeks continuing to roll down her neck as she turned away and walked into the unknown.
I didn't want to continue my readings but something told me I had to so I continued as I pressed the resume recording button on the recording machine.

''well then back to the story I guess'' The Mare they usually classed Twilight Sparkle as the leading element of the group but once Twilight had become an Alicorn there was conflict between the earth ponies and the pegasi then the unicorns began joining in with this argument what this conflict was about was the power given to every tribe the earth ponies felt they had no power given to them and argued about the pegasi's flight and the unicorns magic but once the 3 main Alicorn princesses tried to settle it the negativity turned to Alicorns claiming they had enough power to turn evil and planned to kill all pony kind eventually the three tribes had turned agaist each other and the 6 ponies were seperated for several years then a plan was called to action the Alicorns decided one Princess per tribe Pincess cadance was given to the earth ponies and Luna given to the Pegasi and Celestia given to the Unicorns and only one princess remain Twilight Sparkle the Princesses needed to come up with a soulotion and fast, the tribes had taken over power and were putting immense ammounts of pressure on the princesses until finally they came to a devastating decision she would choose her own tribe but even worse she must choose between her friends.

Author's Note

tell me if you want me to continue this BTW dont worry it will come to its title of the gore tag (if I continue it)

The Choice

''Please Celestia please tell me there's another way,I can't possibly choose between my friends'' Twilight wailed

"I'm sorry my faithful student but you must make a choice the Pegasi, the Earth ponies or the Unicorns"

"But I......I...I want to be with all my frie-" she was cut off by a rather angry sounding Celestia

"NO!, you must choose it has been ordered by the residents of Equestria".

"But....but you are the princesses you should be able to control this problem its seems simple enough for a princess to solve" she whispered not wanting to upset them anymore

"I am sorry I really am but the entire fate of Equestria lies in the hands of this decision it is crucial that we defend ourselves".

"From what, the tribes that live in Harmony and make Equestria as wonderful and beutifal as it is today"

"No we are defending from tribes that ''used'' to live in harmony, Twilight we are at war" she had never wanted to say that word ever again and Twilight could tell from her strong facial reaction.

"But what if you princesses confront each other in the war" she slumped down not really wanting to know the answer.

"I....do not want think the worst but if it comes to that then so be it"

Soon after her Sister had said those lines of speech Luna started to tear up it only took a few seconds for her to disappear from everyone in the throne room's line of sight, Celestia only realised this when she heard the ear shattering sound of the of the about two metre door slam shut, sounding similar to an explosion, even Cadence had shed a tear at Celestia's decision. It was quite clear everyone in the room could tell Celestia was already regretting her decision and even Twilight was trying to convince her not to do this she replied by saying.

"I'll......I'll........I'll consider it" she took a long pause before speaking again

"No I....I cannot let a war break out I can solve this thank you Twilight for convincing me and......oh wait no I'm sorry I said I could help this situation but I remembered the threats the tribes are putting against us Princesses I'm sorry this must be done" as she turned away from Twilight she felt sorry for the poor mare having to be separated from her friends and now her mentor had said a war must go on even though the Princesses had all the power in Equestria she felt pathetic she had to do something. Suddenly she had an idea but she had to wait.

The Princesses meant to rule together about to slaughter eachother horrible just plain awful. Others thought this could be resolved but Twilight knew this would end in death, she had already been separated from the five mares that gave her life meaning,what else could the world throw at her. Just 20 minutes or so as that thought passed her mind the doors of the room flung open standing before them were the Pegasi,Earth ponies and Unicorns stood in perfect orderly lines with Luna leading the Pegasi ordering that Celestia and Cadance take their place too Cadence took place but Celestia refused and Luna puzzled why she did not take her place.

"sister why do you not stand by your Unicorn Allies" Luna stared confused at her sister.

Celestia knew it was time to put this plan into action so she did.

"because I have come to a different decision, the Tribes may have declared war, but I the ruler of Equestria has not, Twilight told me that it was my choice but I did not believe that because of the amount of threats coming from the Tribes, so I have come to different and final conclusion: war is not an answer the Tribes declared war but I am not going to let one break out".

" Bravo my sister Bravo, but there is a reason you have called off this war you said war was the only answer because of pressure or threats and now suddenly its come back to you that instead of starting a war and ending a war you think a simple demand from a princess who lost power and succumbed to friendship and thinks that friendship solves everything well here's a news flash for you it doesn't and certainly doesn't solve a war and you may not believe anything that I say but one thing is true, you started this, but the trouble is you can't end it"

everyone in the room stood silently waiting for the aftermath of Luna's surprisingly long speech that caused Twilight's jaw to drop

"You have brought this war on yourself my sister and you will suffer the consequences of your decision"

Terrifying silence stood,Twilight knew how this would end but she had to let it happen she just hoped Luna's magic wasn't strong enough what was she saying of course it wasn't. (she hoped). Two words broke the silence that stood two dreadful words

"First Hand" she then flew up into the air then diving downwards causing the ground to explode in one area of the room. The devastating repulse of magic caused one area of the floor to explode.

The explosion knocked Celestia off her feet after a very quick recovery she sighed as she stood high and gave her sister a common but rather threatening stare she knew that that was not Luna that stood before her but instead simply a beast overwhelmed with heartbroken rage a beast she had to slay.

"I am your sister and you betray me like that,Disgusting,outrageous but most of all Evil."

As Luna's rage continued her horn began grow darker and the expression on the three princesses faces was sadness especially Celestia who was still staring not wanting to hurt her little sister but deep down she knew that wasn't her sister but even with that thought she could not fight her, she instead turned away and let her sister's horn grow darker. As her power increased and the tribes waited for a blast Cadance screamed at Celestia to fight back or move out the way anything to protect her from impact once she saw the Princess had planned to do nothing she started weeping along with other members of the tribes even the Pegasi started to quietly cry this was one of the most shocking things that had happened in years all three tribes would never expect Celestia's loved sibling to do such a thing like this especially Twilight who had been frozen in shock ever since Luna had lit her horn
the slightest. Her sister had inside she knew their was a high chance she would lose her life if this what was sure to become a battle Cadence tried protecting Celestia but was held down and her magic disabled by a magic wielding staff but she also had to be stunned by Pegasi to prevent non-magical protection they couldn't believe what they were doing As the two Tribes watched heads down but it was the Unicorns who felt the full effect of the guilt and they knew they had the right to feel it. Hell of a team they were not even able to save their leader before the war even started pathetic they were covering their eyes not wanting to experience any of this madness , all they could do was watch as their leader, was about to be murdered. As soon as the Blue Mare's rage had turned her horn dark as the night sky, with one powerful blast she sent Princess Celestia flying across the room landing diagonally into the base of her throne.

"NO!" Twilight shouted as the Princess connected with the steel. Twilight gasped followed by the mocking of Luna.

" Not quite as powerful as the the ruler of Equestria should be, so sad it had to end like this you know that I think about it we should get some fresh air"

a smile appeared as she dragged her older sister across the cracked floor spreading her wings for take off before coming to a sudden stop of realization, a spark of hope hit Twilight but soon faded as it was a realization of a flaw in her punishment.

"Oh silly me forgot there's no open windows better fix that" she said

she asked for two Pegasus ponies to step forward and hold her sister in place as she prepared her two back hooves for a brutal kick to the abdomen.

she waited until her sister had regained consciousness, and then as fast as lightning Luna's two back hooves connected with Celestia and sent her flying at least ten feet across the room. She crashed through the hard layers of the the window pane causing glass to scatter all around the throne room floor Celestia was pulled back into the building by Luna's levitation only to be thrown across the floor once again but this time used the wall as a springboard to jump into flight she stayed in the air staring downwards towards her sister something bad was going to happen She viciously swooped down firing magic from her horn to break Luna's defense then swooped down viciously and tackled her sister they both clung onto each other while flying through the air before Luna got the upper hand and threw her sister through the roof landing on the fragile glass roof the battle continued.

"Get them out of here this is between me and her but keep Miss Sparkle she must witness the destruction of Equestria's most worthless leader" the Pegasi obeyed and forced out the tribes in actual fact the only reason they left calmly was because of the ruthless actions they had witnessed committed by Princess Luna and did not wish for the same punishment to be placed upon them, but worst of all the Princess they thought they all knew and loved now was about to murder her only sister.

Nobody was there to help the ruler of Equestria not even Twilight in fact Twilight had curled up into a ball covering her eyes staying silent ever since Luna shot her first magical blast.At this point Celestia had many cuts and bruises and every time she was slammed into the ground she would get weaker and weaker she believed Luna needed her to be weak to finish the job nobody else could. Luna blasted her sister into the ground and prepared the finishing spell when they suddenly heard a cracking sound the roof was cracking they both fell god knows how many feet to the ground Luna managed to fly to the armory and find a dagger and pointed it towards her prey as her sister desperately tryed to crawl away from the psychopath that used to be her sister corrupted from pain and sadness and the thought of war. The Princess managed to crawl to her throne before another blast sent her through the wall causing her to fall a few feet before landing on a watchtower followed by her sister still holding the dagger ready to strike again. While all this was happening still inside the throne room sat Princess Twilight still curled up thinking about the horrors of her mentor being smashed to pieces probably right in front of here well what did she know she was too scared to stop her own friends being separated from her what could she do for her mentor but then Twilight thought about her decisions in life then she remembered she was the element of magic, she had defeated Nightmare Moon,Tirek,Discord she might not be able to save her mentor but she can do something.

Luna slowly walked towards her prey just as she lunged for her sister her name was called in a rather quiet voice
"Luna why do you take all of this rage on your sister, she called the war off you wouldn't of need to fight each other"Twilight thought in some way she could lower the amount of Insanity infecting Luna's thoughts.
"Listen Princess Twilight the reason this has to be is the fact that my own sister that I thought cared about me would even consider somewhat of a war where we sisters would kill each other but now I've started this war and after the death of the only pony that has a say of stopping this war nothing will stop it"
"But why are you upset about you two killing each other if your'e about to kill her now"
"Because......because.......BECAUSE SHE STARTED A WAR AND I NEED TO END IT" Her voice shattered the window panes surrounding the throne room she turned from Twilight and back to her victim but instead met head to head with a rainbow mane pony who's eyes dripped with water in the rain some tears some raindrops but the sadness soon turned to anger earlier than expected and Celestia finally with the upper hand charged at her sister it took no time at all for the younger sister to be tackled by the older sibling sending them straight through a wall and back into the throne room the older sister still stunned from her previous injuries extremely vulnerable Luna took the opportunity and charged at her sister through the
already broken hole in the throne room wall causing them to fall. But before they both met their certain doom Princess Luna managed to cling onto the ledge with one of her forelegs the other stopping her sister from falling to her death even though her main objective was to do so she felt she couldn't let her go because.....because..because she must spill her sister's blood.

She let go of the ledge but also at the same time flapped her wings viciously to pull up her and her sister's added weight. Sweat rolled down from her head slowly coming to a stop on her cheek as she reached a nearby platform dropping her sister onto another thick glass roof while in the air Luna prepared for a powerful plunge into her sister's stomach but Celestia with some life left rolled out of the way of her sister's deadly finish though the speed that Luna hit the glass caused a small crack in the middle of the roof the sisters did not notice this and resumed their battle.

The older sister's spells much more advanced than the younger sibling but the young one's rage gave her spells unbelievable power Twilight urging to help shot a laser like beam towards Luna,she remembered she had a knife so searched desperately for the silver,shiny object eventually realizing it had fallen into the abyss when they had been clinging onto the edge Luna defended herself by shooting a beam of her own but since her rage was driven to Celestia her magic was no match for Twilight's magic she quickly overwhelmed Luna's laser and left her incapacitated long enough for Celestia to once again recover she started to repeatedly blast Luna with her magic Celestia realised the crack had grown so far it had reached not just maximum length but also maximum width the roof was going to fall apart Celestia getting ready for take off with her student but before lift off Luna's rage kept her alive not resting until her sister met certain intentional death. Celestia trying to fly with her sister clutching her leg was too much she barely made any altitude before dropping but their weights were too much the fall broke the window roof they were falling. Not knowing their fate the sisters thought the smartest thing to do was open their wings but every time a sibling opened a wing it was stopped by the opposite sister it was only going to be a few more seconds until impact and finally CRASH! Twilight tried to fly down to find her mentor but all she could see was two Alicorns lying side by side no movement no sound just......silence.

Goodbye Old Friend Hello New Foe

Twilight slowly crept towards the sight that made her paranoid in so many ways she had the felling one of them could just jump out at her at any moment but in truth that could happen in any moment. Twilight then rushed quite quickly to check on her mentor's health condition it wasn't good she had blood dripping from her nose her left foreleg looked broken she had multiple cuts and bruises in her stomach area (which in Twilights mind was understandable due to the parts of the battle where she wasn't curled up in a ball she noticed Luna mainly attacked the lower waist and stomach for some reason) the Princess had been pretty badly beat up even though the fight was not too grotesque for Twilight to vomit or worse but it still looked like Luna delivered the damage,but what still buzzed around in Twilight's mind was what would corrupt her own sister to commit such an act upon her own loving sister she had already technically explained during the distraction for the Princess to recover but that reason didn't make enough sense there must have been another reason apart from sadness,rage and anger something that happened between them that was so critically infuriating for them to fight like this Twilight thought hard through her experience about the Princesses timeline she just needed to go back to the beginning the very beginning

"stop it Twilight no time for flashbacks"

Twilight told herself as she hurried to help her mentor in need she looked like she had walked straight into a minefield for two hours but that didn't matter well it did matter but ugh she just needed to help her.

As she approached the two body's one of them starting breathing Twilight stood so still until oh thank god she had enough luck for it to be Celestia to start breathing now she had to help her before Mrs Maniac wakes up that's if she does she only just was able to lift the mare off the ground but that wouldn't stop her from saving or trying to save her mentor she then went back to trying to get a flashback to come up in her head

"A feud between Celestia and Luna that would lead her to wanting to kill her what could it be, wait...Nightmare"

"Moon" a familiar voice finished the name she dreaded to say.

"Yes you are correct Princess Sparkle that is the thing that drove me insane, you know what's funny I've always been psychopathic hiding it from everyone even my sister and it took me over one- thousand years to get my long awaited revenge". every sentence the corrupted sister said made Twilight shiver just hearing of how someone went insane gave her goosebumps she laughed as she once again approached Twilight still struggling to hold up Celestia while Luna continued her speech Twilight collapsed and the older Alicorn fell on top of her Luna started to violently laugh at the young Princess squirming trying to crawl from underneath her sister's weight was impossible eventually she gave up Luna slowly approached her Twilight thought this was the end for her Luna gave out a hysterical evil laugh as she lit up her horn and levitated another dagger from the armory shut her eyes and.....what?..... she was puzzled, no pain was that how dying worked no pain she decided the most logical thing to do was to open her eyes instead of a dark abyss of nothingness she could move and was....wait...no...it couldn't be....she was....she was..... alive her eyes were blurred but she managed to see dark Blue Alicorn at the end of the room carrying some sort of sharp object but she was also carrying a rainbow mane white hide Alicorn? it didn't take long for Twilight realise what was going to happen Celestia was about to be killed in front of her own two eyes if she didn't do something so she ran and shouted at the Blue mare

"it's me you want not her" The twisted sibling ignored her getting back to her business.

Twilight needed something more enraging hah she had it Twilight thought about the consequences of these words she was about to say well here goes nothing she had obviously got her attention so it's now or never I guess

"your'e a maniac a powerless horse that has never accomplished anything in your life except getting banished to the moon"

The mare's finally took notice of her but not in a good way her eyes turned red as she galloped furiously towards the soon to be a pile of mangled pieces.
Twilight thought abut this decision and wondered if shed had a plan to get easily out of this sticky situation after panicking so much she had an ingenious plan.
As the enraged Princesses's speed increased she now had perfect sight of her target she lit up her horn and shot a magical blast but about two seconds from impact Twilight disappeared and appeared behind Luna obviously trying a sneak attack but this proved ineffective as Luna did the same to avoid Twilights attack.
Being the Princess of Friendship she did not have much experience with combat spells or hand to hand combat.
At this point Luna had the upper hand throwing Twilight over the ledge of the hole in the wall landing in the room holding the Elements of Harmony she knew what she had to try and do but she also knew her magic might not be strong enough but she had to try she started to light a spark in her horn but she was to weak she couldn't banish Luna to the moon it was only possible if it was done by Princess Celestia Twilight had lots of pain contained in her forelegs and eventually passed out Luna had followed her to this room and when Twilight awoke she found herself in the Throne Room again but this time she was tied to a throne and Luna was ready to kill Celestia
she slowly walked towards her but was thrown to the side by an Alicorn Princess Celestia but she was hurt even more than before she was grounded by the the chaotic blue Alicorn they both raised their horns and shot magic blasts overpowering each other differently until Celestia gave in all her magic blasted Luna causing her to skid across the floor. Celestia collapsed but spoke

"My faith..ful......student....I am putting......the.....fate...of Equestria in your......hands....End this...war......and restore....peace.....using any means......necessary.....Goodbye...Twilight.................................................................I'm....so...proud"

"Celestia....no" Twilight sobbed over her good friend and mentor she had known for years now she had died in her arms and there was nothing she could do both sisters dead nothing to do...............................but there was something to do and it had to be done she could hear the commotion of the tribes outside and flew outside and sat on a watchtower and gave a speech
"Celestia a fallen ruler and Princess of Equestria called off a war but since her recent" Twilight struggled to blurt it out "tragedy" she finished the reaction of the tribes below was a gasp
"She and her sister met their demise today in a sister versus sister battle to the death Celestia left me in charge of restoring peace any means necessary if those means mean a war then so be it " at this point Cadence was breaking down crying tears sloping down her cheek like a river Twilight felt horrible having to tell Cadence and the other tribes this dreadful news everything seemed fine until one of the ponies shouted out "Celestia died because she was to weak to start a war and end it like Luna said" that was the last straw Twilight wasn't going to stand for this she grabbed the knife Luna dropped flew down to the pony and flung it into his neck blood squirting out of his neck and spitting blood when trying to speak everybody gasped in shock Cadance eyes wide

"Any other remarks about our princess" eyerypony shook their head.

Twilight asked the Pegasi to collect the box from the armory they did and layed it in front of all the tribes Twilight broke it open revealing weapons when everypony had grabbed one a metalic object was falling from the sky it took time to realise what this was it was a bomb
Twilight flew up back to the balcony and heard somebody say

"what is that thing " as she pointed to the bomb

"WAR!"

Something Special

It had been 3 months since the bomb had dropped outside of Canterlot castle into the crowd and only a few survived the bombing it did kill a couple hundred people which limited the troops for Cadence, and especially Twilight who still hadn't chosen her tribe she just couldn't choose between her friends it....it....it just wasn't possible she loved all her friends and choosing between them could lead to tragic endings and in war it would definitely end tragically plus she worried about how they would cope Pinkie Pie had no experience with death,combat or anything like that she thought the only ponies that might have some bravery and a chance of survival were Applejack and Rainbow Dash oh and Rarity what would she do and oh god Fluttershy she can't even act aggressively how did they expect her to fight but the thought that was on Twilights mind all the time was what would happen when the war ended, better yet if it ended what will the survivors do, it just didn't seem logical.

Anyway twilight had passed her combat magic and agility skill tests even though she hesitated to join in, but she remembered if she didn't pass they wouldn't allow her to leave HQ and if she didn't she had no chance of finding her friends even if the chances of finding them were slim she had to try so she did and she passed every single test: melee combat, armed combat,agility, and flexibility she was ready to fight for her friends she just hoped they were still out there.

The metal,rusty door slid open revealing the hell Equestria had become. Twilight was glad Celestia wasn't alive to see this. The captain of the squadron gave hand signals for them to survey the area before leaving the HQ they took their first steps into the wasteland Twilight could see from afar Ponyville slowly rotting away as smoke filled the air.

" How could I let this happen I failed Celestia and my friends and I'm not even on any one's side" it was true she wasn't on any ones side she was with what people would call the outsiders the group of people who did not choose a tribe to side with and instead hunt all tribes instead for their own survival.

"All right squad move out to co-ordinates z:3459 x:9375 asap move" the Captain was very serious well I mean who wouldn't be in a war.

"Captain I need to request something"

"Yes?"

"I request to leave this squadron!" the captain's eyes stood in shock a Mare wanted to explore the Wastelands alone it was..it was crazy but she remembered what she had lost her friends and she probably wanted to go looking for them so she thought about it she then regretted her decision but still replied.

"You have permission to leave this squadron"

"WHAT!" shouted another solider in anger.

"Thank you for understanding.Now I must go". she then walked into the black and dark abyss. It only took a few seconds for her to disappear.

"Why'd you let her go Cap she's not special"

"But she is"

"And what is so special about her"

"She has something nopony has anymore"

"What?"

"She has hope"

Author's Note

A short chapter setting up the story for the next few chapters:pinkiehappy:

A Mare On A Mission

Wander,wander,wander that's all Twilight would do because it was the only thing she could do wander the dusty land hoping just hoping to find any source of life, hell she didn't even care if it was hostile life as long as there was life there was sanity in the god forsaken world of war and suffering.Just as all hope seemed lost she spotted a figure standing quite a few feet away waving in the opposite direction. When she had finished her action other ponies started to come into sight they started yelling at Twilight she could only faintly hear them but from what she could make out they wanted her attention so Twilight approached them cautiously not knowing what to expect since this was her first encounter with a pony in the war. The closer she got to the ponies the more she could find out about them there were two stallions and four mares all of them carrying weaponry, the stallions were armed with a type five single barrel rifle it was the only gun used in the old Equestrian War that went on centuries ago that formed the Princesses rule or the previous Princesses rule. That memory still got a hold of her. The sight of her dying mentor and her demolished sister was too much for Twilight to experience all at once. After that thought had passed on she was warped back into reality.

"Hey you" One of the mares shouted.

"Who me?" Twilight said smugly.

"Yeah you who else do you think I would be talking to" Turning her friendly tone into an aggressive one.

"Whatever. What do you want?" Twilight said obviously thinking she was wasting her time.

"We want you off OUR land" Wow, people were already claiming land for themselves great friendship progression just great.

"Look I don't want any trouble I just wan-" she was interrupted mid sentence by the other mare who's voice sounded like some sassy teenage pony with sort of a Diamond Tiara touch to it, well no wonder she had such an attitude.

"We don't care what you want. We care what we want, you got that little pony" she said with a smirk.

"Shut up" replied Twilight feeling quite proud at how stubborn she was during that line.

"Hey! No need for that just get off our land and that's it or stay and see what happens which I'm pretty sure you don't want to know what happens" From what she could tell was she kinda wanted Twilight to stay but not for a good reason.

"So what's it going to be you lonely little thing" Twilight immediately swung her hoof at the mare only to be stopped by the larger stallion with the rifle.

"I guess it's option B then, great choice we're going to enjoy this Ha Ha Ha" Once again Twilight let her anger get the better of her and now look where it's landed her: near certain death absolutely wonderful.

As she was dragged to the entrance some sort of structure, somebody made a clicking sound and the wall fell down similar to an opening door. She was continually dragged across the floor to a worn down building with a door surrounded with barbed wire she was taken to a rather small and cramped cage that just from the look of it she knew it would be uncomfortable but that was the least important thing on her mind now she had to escape from imprisonment and probably death,find what's left of her friends and attempt to end this war but she can't do any of that stuck in a cage but something would come to her mind and stupidly enough they didn't use handcuffs neither so she'd get something something very soon but first she needed sleep.

Twilight's eyes opened slowly as light made It's way through Twilight's eyelids fully awakening her. When she actually wanted to try to get up her vision adjusted due to all her sleep in pitch black darkness. But just then a strange feeling went through her body it felt like she was laying on ice when she lifted her head the cage was nowhere to be seen and Twilight didn't feel a scruffy mattress beneath her but instead the ground was cold and smooth instead of scratchy and lumpy inside the cage. She looked downwards to see she was on the floor and not in the cage at first Twilight was worried and started backing up when something hit her head she turned her head around to see the cage with a carefully sliced hole. She stood up just staring blankly at the sight. She had gone to sleep in a steel cage and woke up outside of it with the cage cut open it didn't make the slightest bit of sense but on the bright side she was free and could slip through Death's grasps for another day. All seemed clear and an escape was posed until a faint whisper came from behind the mattress at the back of the room.

"pssss hey you lavender girl get over here and be quiet" Twilight, puzzled circled the room to find nothing but empty cages and beds but Twilight wouldn't give up she continuously circled the room three times but still found no trace of the voice until it spoke again.

"Over here. Now!" This time the voice sounded quite annoyed and Twilight would be annoyed if she found out the person behind this voice was really just standing in plain sight. Twilight huffing and puffing circled the room a fourth time and finally thought she had found the source of the whisper. She thought it was coming from the window at the very end of the room so slowly trotted towards the transparent looking glass to see nothing but the ruins of numerous towns until she felt a hoof on her shoulder and then the hoof in a split second disappeared. At this point Twilight was more scared than curious. She turned and ran for the entrance only to be blocked by a dark figure dropping from the ceiling. She tried to scream but the pony held a hoof to her mouth and placed his other hoof behind his back and his hoof and pulled downwards revealing he was a Stallion wearing a black cloak.

His fur was as black as his cloak and the red of his wings and the blue spots round his eyes were the only bright colours on his body. Twilight thought she was going to die, again, already. The stallion was armed viciously with about three or four weapons rattling whenever he made a swift movement. Footsteps could be heard coming towards the door the Stallion quickly threw Twilight over the cage causing her to land beside one of the beds near the window. She landed in a way her body was twisted the wrong way making a foreseeable painful impact as she hit the floor. The stallion had already sprinted beside Twilight, she opened her mouth to moan in pain but instead was stopped by the stallion shaking his head. She didn't want to get on the wrong side of this guy so kept her mouth shut and saved the moaning for later. The footsteps finally reached the room door it slowly creaked open it was one of the ponies that dragged Twilight to this room. He came in with a serious look but changed to a shocked expression after he had seen the hole in the cage he started to monitor every cage and every bed and with every step he got closer to the two's hiding spot.Twilight was full of fear though the red winged stallion's face never changed from when Twilight first saw him to the present event he said something to Twilight in a deep but quiet manner.

"Don't move a muscle and keep your mouth shut you got that" Twilight nodded.

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a knife and held it steadily as the sun shined brightly upon the blade. He started moving away from the hiding spot and towards the guard who starting to tear the cages and beds apart.

Twilight's supposed saviour closed in on the outraged guard who had started to shoot bullets into the cages and the walls in frustration. He decided to stop and sit down for a minute just before getting back up and resuming his rampage on the room's layout. Unnoticed the cloaked pony was close enough for an attack he held the knife and thrusted his armforward but the guard saw it coming and ducked following with a head butt. They started throwing punches at each other one by one block by block kick by kick until the guard tackled the pegasus to the floor he started to beat him while shouting for assistance no one came, everyone in the city was probably still sleeping or just wasted. Twilight looked for something she could use to help. Just then she saw the pegasus's weapon belt she grabbed a handgun and pulled the trigger a clicking noise was triggered, dammit no ammo she then examined both men the pegasus had ammo hooked onto his jacket but it was on the other side of the brawl going on so she needed to be fast. She dove for the jacket and missed and ended up sliding across the floor under a bed. Luckily it was a bed right next to the stallion's jacket she reached and crawled until she finally got a grip on it she pulled it towards he and started to put the ammo magazine inside when the guard lunged at Twilight she then threw both the magazine and the handgun to the stallion. He loaded it, aimed and fired. Soon after a hole could be seen in the back of the pony's head, blood dripping from the shot wound.

"So who are you" Twilight needed to know the name of the pony who saved her life.

"The name's Black Shadow. Your's"?

"Twilight Sparkle the-"

"Princess of Friendship" Twilight wasn't very shocked he knew her but she still wanted to know more about him.

"How did you know who I am and how did you find me?" Twilight was curious.

"I heard about you when I heard the mentor got her ass handed to her" Twilight slapped the stallion she knew that probably wasn't the right thing to do but he had no right talking about Celestia that way.

"Don't ever talk about my mentor like that again okay" Stallion obviously took no pain since Twilight was weak with her fists he simply just gave her a raised eyebrow.

"Fine,fine I was just saying. any way we need to get out of here righ-"

"Wait a minute why did you come to rescue me anyway tell me that"

"I'll explain later now lets go" Suddenly a siren went off triggering alarms and bells in all of the buildings.

"What do we do" Twilight said panicking.

"We go through the window"

"But it's not open" Black Shadow then grabbed the corpse of the guard and threw it through the glass shattering it immediately."Really?"

"Really. Now go"

Escape

They both one at a time climbed carefully out he broken window avoiding any detection. they crouched and slowly walked along the wall, glass shards cracking underneath their hooves.

"You've got a plan I'm guessing" Said Twilight with a smirk.

"Nope"

"Ha Ha I knew you'd have a pl- WHAT!"

"I don't plan I act"

"Oh well that explains sooooooooo much"

"You suck at sarcasm"

"Hey you just rescued me and now you're telling me I have bad sarca-"

"Let me stop you right there I didn't rescue you I kept you alive and my occupation is none of your business little missy so just be glad you're not dead and search for the thing you aim to find"

"Wait how did you know I was searching for something"

"Just trust me I know"

"You might want to get moving I think you just made it early waking hours" He then galloped away surprisingly fast compared to his size.

Twilight had to move fast she managed to spot an orange motor vehicle made out of scrap she immediately jumped in and put the car in gear and pressed down on the peddle she could hear gunshots and cursing behind her but she didn't look back she just kept going,going and going.

When she had lost sight of the ponies she drove less aggressively and more calmly than before, but she still wondered what that stallion was all about though he had just appeared rescued, no sorry saved her life and left, but why it didn't compute. Anyway but right now was not the time to make a crazy conspiracy theory now was the time to panic and keep an eye open for danger Twilight also made a knew care in her life: she now does care if the life is hostile. she continued until an uncomfortable revving noise started as the car slowed down she knew what had happened. The god damn car had broken down.

"Great,just great nowhere to go no allies no weapons oh dammit I knew I should have stolen a rifle I'm so stupi- Click Click" A clicking noise followed by a crashing noise echoed behind Twilight as she turned round a rifle could be seen. She carefully approached it grabbing it and examining it there was some words sprayed onto the barrel that read: I'M YOUR SHADOW. Twilight still cautious picked up the rifle then coming to a a halt as a familiar accented voice came from behind her.

"Now who in hay now comes into these here wastelands it's a war you know if ya haven't been livin under a rock the whole of yer life" Twilight remembered that accent it was Appleja-"

"Are you gonna answer me sugarcube or are ya just gonna stand there with yer back turned to ma gun here"

"Wha....wha whats your name"

"Why should ah tell ya that"

"Fine can I least guess"

"I guess so"

"Is it Applejack"

"Okay now who the heck are ya tell me or I'll kill ya I will ah tell ya"

"It's me Applejack Twilight"

"N-n-n-no it's not Twilight died during the canterlot bombing she did I know it"

"Oh really then who am I" Twilight said as she turned around.

"You no it can't be is it oh my it is you come here Twilight" she lunged towards Twilight and hugged her tightly while Twilight felt tears run down her back two friends were reunited and a hell of a journey was ahead.

Fortress

"So where ya been these couple of months everyone thought you were dead especially me I mean everyone was worried sick"

"Oh no. How was Fluttershy"

"Lets just say she stayed in her cottage for about two GOSH DARN WEEKS!"Twilight stared in shock.

"Oh that sounds horrible"

"We had to convince her that you would be okay when we all thought the same as her"

"I'm sorry I didn't know there wasn't much I could do I was severely injured from the blast and was picked up by a team called the uh what were they called?"

"The Outcasts"

"Yeah,why you heard of them"

"More see them destroy Ponyville and the....the...farm"

"They...they did WHAT!"

"Everything burned down to the ground the Town Hall,Sugarcube Corner the S-s-S-Sc-Schoolhouse"Twilight barely saw tear run down her eye. Luckily Twilight had no family in Ponyville so she had no worries but Applejack,Rarity and Rainbow Dash couldn't say the same. Twilight couldn't imagine losing a sister or brother or any relative but then she remembered Shining Armor her Mother her Dad she had to find them but the Canterlot Castle was destroyed so the thought of rescue faded until Applejack spoke breaking her daze.

"What are yer plans on ya know survival" Twilight thought it through she thought she would need a new plan since Applejack probably wanted to find her friends too.

"Well I want to find the rest of our friends then we can focus on supplies. Speaking of supplies do you have any hay a cupcake or some water or anything appetizingly edible"

"I got an apple and some water if that appeals to ya"

"Yeah It'll do" The cold apple slid down Twilight's throat as water followed Twilight was now refreshed and ready to get active.

"Nice?" She said with a smile.

"Yeah" she replied.

"I bet yer wonderin what I plan on doin and what I've been doin" Actually Twilight was curious so she replied.

"Actually yeah please continue"

"Well I've been- wait what's that sound" Twilight was cautious wondering if Applejack was pulling her leg or serious but she knew Applejack in a time like this she was serious.

A nearby tree started rustling and a extra-terrestrial sounding sound came from inside it after a few seconds it stopped and an green repulsive explosion caused both Mares to be sent flying across the dirt after recovery they both looked up to see none other than the Wonderbolts.

"Soarin grab her" Ordered Spitfire.

"What......Spitfire? what are you doing?"Twilight said

"Oh boys look who it is hey Twilight we're just doing Wonderbolt business"

"Oh no you mean Princess Twilight"Mimicked Blaze.

"Please leave us alone"begged Twilight.

"Sorry but we can't chat right now stuff to do you know Wonderbolt business. Boys take them to the Fortress.

Author's Note

Put in comments for feedback and ideas for a story

Spitfire

Two other ponies wearing Wonderbolt suits came towards the two worried Mares with a grin on their face as they took hold of Applejack since she put a bit more effort into struggling free than Twilight who honestly didn't try at all she knew what was coming and she couldn't save herself this time in fact she didn't even save herself last time it was Shadow who did and she just hoped he'd be around probably not since he'd probably be focused on keeping himself alive than Twilight. She still didn't understand why he saved her last time. They didn't know where they were going but they thought it wouldn't be a place they wanted to be. As they got closer towards the trees Twilight got a fair idea of where they were going they were going to the Everfree Forest.

Fear overwhelmed Twilight. Who wants to be dragged by the Wonderbolts who are supposedly kidnapping you into an ominous forest especially the Everfree Forest. Applejack had a look of distress,anger and fear as they were drawn closer and closer to their supposed fate. Applejack tried reaching for her rifle that was ten feet away but she still tried pointlessly eventually giving up when she realised she was strongly restrained. They were almost at the entrance Applejack was sweating from her forehead as they were about a metre away from entering it was soon that they both knew nothing was stopping this so they let it happen as the bushes swayed as they came through.

Upon entering a small light was seen from a distance and voices could be heard in the same direction the forest was completely pitch black Applejack tried to use this to her advantage but failed once again because of the strong grip the ponies had on her. Spitfire was heard galloping ahead and greeting something probably somebody. They were both dragged close enough to the light which was revealed to be a fire to see each other and the ponies holding them. Applejack tried using war signals to communicate to Twilight but what she didn't know is that Twilight had no idea what she was talking about. She pretended to understand with a nod at Applejack who then gave a sigh and soon after the "totally understandable" conversation between the two they were dropped by the fire. Foolishly the first thing Appljack tried to do was lunge at Spitfire and the others but missed and in return got a kick to the hind leg incapacitating her for several minutes before being kicked again causing her to groan in agony.

"Why did...ya'll do....this" She stuttered due to her injuries she cut out some parts in her moans of agony.

"We have our reasons" She said while putting on some sunglasses similar to Rainbow Dash's pair.

"And...what..would those...be" She said again stuttering in pain.

"Sorry can't tell it's classified" She then walked of to a group of Mares and started talking.

"C'mon Soarin we got business to deal with"

"Yeah just gimme a minute"

"Fine,but hurry up we're waiting on you"

"Sorry you two I'll find a way to make it up to you"

"What the hay you apologising for oh sorry wait ATTACKING US what the heck is wrong with ya Soarin ah mean seriousl-" She was cut off by Soarin

"Keep it down okay I can't let them know I'm trying to help you oh and by the way sorry about Spitfire and that entire thing I'll explain later but anyway I know your probably thinking the Wonderbolts have gone insane but Spitfire is just messed up because of what happened"

"Why what happened" Said Twilight in a worrying tone.

"Just when the war started half the crew was killed in the bombing"

"Oh"

"Oh ah'm sorry I didn't know"

"It's okay just don't mention it okay"

"Alright"

"Anyway some how find your way out of your room at night come to the gate and me and this pony I didn't get the name of too"

"Uh what he look like"

"Black fur bit of red"

"Nope never seen him Twilight any ideas. Um Twilight?"

"It's him again"

"Who?"

"Shadow"

S and S

"Lights out scum" Snapped a guard as he trotted off.

"Ya think that Shadow pony and Soarin will actually be there"

"I know I can trust Shadow but I still feel uneasy around Soarin"

The two waited nearly three hours. When their clock was about to strike midnight they waited eagerly in position. There were guards guarding both sides of the door making it nearly impossible to sneak past unnoticed. They were both about to leave their room when a large crash startled them both casing them to trip. They heard a muffled voice say:

"Visitor"

"At this hour in a containment room seems kinda fishy don't ya think Twilight" She glanced only to see Twilight staring at the door entrance with an eyebrow raised. Applejack confused turned to see what was so intresting when she turned she caught eye of Soarin with a blank worried look on his face Twilight began a conversation.

"What's so worrying Soarin something happen" Said Twilight her eyebrow raised higher.

"Um well yes..um...sorta *gulp*" After that gulp Twilight knew something was wrong so she dropped her eyebrow look and turned it into a confused look.

"What's the matter?"

"Well..ha..ha..you...see"

"Yes"

"Shadow didn't turn up and I was just orded to k-k-k-ki-ki" he kept on stuttering over and over again until he blurted it out. "I've been ordered to kill you" Twilight's expression was not worry but anger.

"YOU PROMISED YOU COULD GET US OT OF HERE AND NOW YOUR GOING TO KILL US!" Soarin was calmer now and spoke up.

"I was never going to help you. Me and the Wonderbolts had a business deal with Shadow he would protect you tell us your location and then we would find you and kill you ourselves"

"But why? ya'll were such a friendly bunch" Applejack pleaded.

"Yeah we were"

"But if you wanted me dead why not just let me die at the camp?"

"Well everyone was talking about how you never picked a side and were technically an enemy to all so a bounty was put on your head and money we would use to become famous again and perform our live shows"

"You're insane Soarin don't you get it the world is not what it used to be any more you will never perform again even if you do kill me don't you understand that"

"No that's...that's not true we will perform again and again and again ha ha ha ha ha ha ha" His laugh just showed how much this whole scenario had got to people's heads already it's sickening to watch a well known friend turn into an insane bloodthirsty monster but what do you expect from a war but that's it you can't expect anything in the war everything is always unpredictable.

A guard had heard the argument between them and told Soarin to just do it he then tackled the guard stood over him and said:

"I'll take my time I'll take as much time as I need you got that" The guard nodded in fear as the other guard had already gone to alert Spitfire.

"Spitfire Spitfire"

"Oh what is it now"

"It's It's Soarin he's gone crazy and he's gonna murder my friend"

"And why should I care let Soarin have his fun" She said as she slowly took a sip from an alcohol glass.

"Wha..wha...what" The other pony said in shock.

"Meh he needs to burn off some steam anyway"

"You..You..monster"

"Oh I'm a monster okay lets see if I can make you look like a monster" She said as she pulled her handgun from the holster.

"No..no please"

"Hey you started the competition so er see you in er what's it called oh yeah monster land bye" She quickly pointed the gun straight at his head and pulled the trigger as blood splattered across the wall.

"Wow you are really ugly looking I guess you won" She said in a sick comedic way.

The sound of the gunshot alerted Applejack and Twilight and even caused Soarin to look away just long enough for Applejack to lunge at his weapon but he quickly turned around and slashed her cheek. She fell to the ground after missing the dive and blood flowing from her split open cheek. Soarin held Applejack down with supreme strength and ran his hoof across her cheek causing it to sting the wound. Soarin now had Applejack's blood on his hoof he then proceeded to taste it. Twilight cringed in disgust and tried to help Applejack only to be punched by Soarin leaving a bruise and sending her rolling onto the other side of and causing her to roll off and smack her head against the metal bed support knocking her unconscious.
Applejack grabbed Soarin's back leg and pulled it inwards he then slipped letting the the other metal bed support crash into his skull after he had been supposedly knocked out Applejack rolled over his lifeless body to reveal his snout had been cracked and twisted to the right fracturing his nose.

"That'll teach ya to mess with a country gal" She then sped towards Twilight in hope of waking her up but to no avail she was out cold and so was Soarin in fact the speed Soarin hit the metal support he could be dead.

Over near the others where Spitfire had blown the guards brains out. They were all still drinking and joking until a panicked guard came running towards Spitfire similar to the other deceased guard Spitfire thought about just killing this one on the spot but she thought she might has well hear what she has to say first.

"What the hell do you want. I've already killed somebody today don't make me kill you too"

"No, no you don't understand it's the ponies they attacked Soarin caught him off guard and knocked him out cold in fact he could be dead"

"And you let all this happen in front of you,hm"

"I...I..I wasn't prepared for that experience I only had a handgun"

"Yeah well you can actually do something with a handgun I can do something like shooting brains out like your friend there"

"S-s-s-s-sta-sta-star? What did you do Spitfire"

"I did what you guys obviously don't have the guts to do!"

"And....and what's that?"

"KILL!" Spitfire put a bullet in the guard's left arm he fell to ground in pain before he was silenced by a second cap to the head.

"God damn maggots. Men go survey the area I don't want any trouble to deal with around those ponies take the short stealthy route and make sure those ponies do not see you at all it could compromise the safety of all civilians now get out there and find them"

"Spitfire, my tracker says they're still in the containment room"

"Well that makes your job easier so if you fail I will be more than disappointed do you understand"

"YES MA'AM!"

"Now get out there"

At this point Applejack didn't know what to do other ponies probably heard the crash and were on their way to check it out and if they found out what happened they would probably die even faster than expected adrenaline was rushing through her veins to come up with a plan when she came up with one.

When searching Soarin she luckily managed to get her hands on a Glock pistol to protect herself but what she had to do to really survive was get Twilight and herself out of that room Applejack was preparing to move Twilight when suddenly she saw flashlights in the distance and shadows moving towards the building Applejack slowly rolled under one of the beds to check for hooves their were twenty hooves which meant five ponies (she hoped) they were getting closer and closer to her position and they were already checking under beds then a light shone on a spot directly next to the bed and on the other side they were examining Twilight's body after a few seconds of fear a blue stallion face popped from above to the check the bed when three bullets were fired penetrating three different areas of the skull the solider then collapsed in death as Applejack rolled out from under the bed she loaded her pistol once again.

The four remaining soldiers flipped the beds and started firing high capacity assault rifles at Applejack she too had to flip a bed for cover but the bed was to weak the bullets shot straight through. One of them decided to get closer to Applejack but she slid in the middle of two beds and shot another three bullets two hit the legs of the solider closer to her and the third hitting a different one in the chest spraying blood out of his abdomen onto the floor before dropping to the floor as lifeless as a rag doll. The other solider was still incapacitated and trying to reach for his rifle but Applejack took the opportunity when the last two were reloading to grab the assault rifle and started to shoot full automatic bullets at the soldiers she killed the two as they stood up from reloading and killed the final crawling one by using the last bullet of the rapid fire pistol to put it in his head. On a few of the men she found grenades she had an idea she grabbed Twilight and put her down by the bushes she kicked a loose chain in the fence to make an opening she left Twilight outside while she executed her plan.

"So you think your men are up for it"

"I've known that team for five years they're the best if they can't do it no one can" Just as Spitfire was about to gulp down the last of her drink she quickly spat it out as she caught sight of a sudden explosion of the containment area. Panic was growing and people were wondering what happened so Spitfire gave an answer:

"We must find the two vigilantes and our objective is not interrogate them our objective is not capture them our objective is to kill them"

"But no one knows where they are ma'am so how will we find them"

"Someone knows and that person is going to co-operate with us if they like it or not" She gave the team a devilish smile "Call Black Shadow"

Search Party

Applejack bolted through the Everfree trees desperate to get out of the woods with her carrying Twilight at the same time it was hard enough but running around in pitch black wasn't any easier. She tried to find a source of light nearby not that she would because the only light there was, was the camp fire which she didn't particularly think the inhabitants are very friendly with her right now. She found gaps in trees, holes in bushes but no exit, it was then she heard rustling bushes the sound getting louder by the second something was following her. She needed to pick up the pace. She stopped turned her trot into a gallop until she ran north at least that's what she thought when she was smacked in the head by something. She fell on the ground with Twilight on top of her she then fell into a deep,deep sleep.

"What.....happened" Applejack woke up to find herself not in the Everfree Forest but beside the entrance of it with her rifle laying on her left."What in tarnation!" She was confused she had been knocked out by an unidentified object and woke up outside the forest how did she and Twilight get out just like that speaking of Twilight where was Twilight she swore when she fell Twilight was on top of her where was she. Applejack started panicking until she saw violet fur just barely showing from the bottom of..a..a...a ditch?

"Twi-Twilight are you awake?"

"Ow A-A-A-Applejack is that you?"Twilight had awoken.

"Oh thank the lord your alright so what exactly happened?"

"Seriously I was knocked out half the time"

"Oh ha ha yeah" Twilight then gave her the "are you serious" stare.

"Now we need a gun so where could we find a gun"

"Oh I forgot to tell you I sort of had a little uh "mishap" with guards and that got us a few supplies and weapons I scurried out of the forest then I woke up next to ma rifle"

"Really you just woke up to find your gun and wait you were knocked out?"

"Yeah I know well at least we escaped"Applejack smiled.

"Well the Wonderbolts probably aren't happy and oh no what about Soarin did he die"

"Well actually I didn't check he had blood pouring from his snout and had busted lip but There's a good chance he ain't dead"

"Oh great anyway I need a weapon"

"Take this" she threw the assault rifle to Twilight and she caught it Twilight had a smile on her face.

"So I guess you don't have a lot of experience with killin"

"You must not have seen my anger issues at the bombing and you probably don't want to"

"Your're probably right"Twilight nodded.

They were both trying to figure out where to go they were armed and ready for close encounters unlike last time. Applejack looked across at Twilight and Twilight looked across at Applejack they were like sisters they had each other's back and they would go to extreme limits to save each other but Twilight didn't want to be like her sister. Unlike Twilight Applejack had a sister a lost sister. Twilight was going to ask about it but chose not to bring it up.

"where do ya wanna go then Twi"

"Isn't Fluttershy's cottage right by here"

"Yeah it is ya wanna go check it out examine a few things even though I doubt she'd stay in her cottage for 7 months in the middle of a war"

"You know Fluttershy better than that It's possible"

"How would she survive with food and all that"

"Her animals could get it for her"

"Yeah right"

"Hey you!"

"Huh"

"Huh"

"You can't run this time Applejack and oh and it looks like you found your friend too"

"Leave us alone Spitfire"

"Why should I what stops me from killing you both right now"

"This and this stops you" She pointed at her guns and Twilight.

"Yeah OK tell that to my men"

"And who do you refer to"

"Them" Spitfire turned to reveal a bigger group of ponies who were heavily armed.

Soarin appeared out of nowhere and jumped towards Spitfire with an angry look.

"We had an agreement

"Tell that to what you just did"

"You know about my condition and that doesn't matter we had a deal" Soarin walked with excessive speed towards Spitfire.

"Woah woah woah we had a deal too you wouldn't harm any of us no matter what" There was a silence until Spitfire spoke."Well explain yourself"

"Not anymore" Soarin then pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Spitfire until one of the guards ran towards Soarin which landed him a shot to the head as Soarin continued to shoot his lifeless body again and again before finally raising his gun again at Spitfire.

"Game Over" she pulled the trigger evryone turned away. A silence.

"Out of ammo so soon" said Spitfire as Soarin once again ran for her but met the barrel of a pistol."Nuh uh uh"Said Spitfire as she shook her head and lowered her pistol to Soarin's legs and fired twice. Soarin collapsed.

"Uh! you god damn son of a b-"She was cut off by none other than a gunshot.

"Watch your profanity Soarin"Spitfire smiled.

"Your a monster" said one of the rookies.

"Oh oh so now I'm the bad guy he tried to murder YOU and you called me monster well if I'm called a monster I better live up to the name"Her gun turned to one of the younger soldiers.

"No one else Spitfire this stops NOW!" shouted a recruit.

"No this stops when you shut up, when their dead and when I say so, got it"

"No this ends now" Applejack said followed by a shotgun blast that sent Spitfire flying into a tree. The recruits glared."Well come on then I just shot your leader now you can shoot me come on do it"

"No you just shot our enemy" Twilight looked confused.

"She treated us like her shield of meat her wall of flesh her mindless drones and now we're free so thank you you may now go and we will deal with this mess"

"Oh no not that easily" Spitfire slowly pulled out a timed grenade and pulled out the pin.

"Dammit c'mon ya'll we gotta go now"

"Hmm 3 minutes before it blows 3 minutes of punishment. You go now" Applejack stood stunned at the rookies decision.

"But...but...you'll...d...d...die"Twilight put a hand on Applejack's shoulder.

"It's what they want"

"But...but"

"Just go...please"Applejack and Twilight regretfully turned around leaving Spitfire to her torture and the rookies to their chosen fate.

Both Twilight and AJ had been wandering the wasteland for only seconds and they were at least a mile away but they could still hear the screams of Spitfire and after that a small echoing boom and then silence they were very confused at the decision they made but it must have effected Applejack the most for some reason it was like it reminded her of something, something tragic. It was when they heards shouts and metal clanking together their attention was drawn to the right, as about twelve metres away was fancy dressed mare fighting two to three soldiers with athletic ability on her side it looked like what was going on was going her way but the two witnesses thought they should help anyway they started to sprint towards the scene before the one soul survivor soldier turned to open fire at the two before a metal blade burst through his throat as his hands held his neck while he bled profusely. He fell to his knees and landed face first onto the pebbled and cracked earth. the open wound the knife had left was closed as the well dressed mare placed a rose into his throat and blew the corpse a kiss while she got closer to the two mares standing in awe.

"Well not very polite girls are going to greet your friend" Both of their eyes were wide at the sight.

"It..it...it can't be"said Applejack

"Why what's wrong girls"

"You just....with the...and you are...uh"Twilight's brain sorta crashed during her sentence

"C'mon girls you know me better just because killing is a horrible thing doesn't mean you can't do it in" She paused turned away and looked back again with a smile "Style"

"Is it?" Applejack asked.

"Yep" Twilight replied

"Hey c'mon where are my gift I'm a very rare kind you know"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh"Went Applejack.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh"continued Twilight.

Pizazz

"Excuse me girls it's a bit rude to not talk to a guest" She smiled. Applejack and Twilight were still eyes wide jaws open.

"Rarity?" The white pony leaned forward.

"Yes darling"

"What Twilight is tryin to say is WHERE THE HAY YA BEEN?!" Rarity stepped back.

"Please Applejack change your attitude" She smiled.

"You you grrrrr" Applejack threw down her hat making a wall of dust Rarity screamed.

"How dare you. You almost got dirt on my latest design"

"Really just really?"

A long silence was formed between the three as they just stared and didn't speak to either of each other. Applejack raised an eyebrow and sighed before turning away and continuing her walk as Twilight and Rarity soon followed with pace. Still no one spoke and it felt like days had passed because of the uncomfortable quietness when it had only been seconds. Step after step it just got more challenging to keep going but they all had reasons they needed too move on. She assumed Rarity wanted to find her sister as well as Applejack wanted to find her's and Twilight her mission was half way through two down three to go she thought to herself.

"So any plans AJ,Twilight" Rarity looked at them both.

"Well I'm just trying to find all of our friends and Applejack trying to find her sister"

"With no luck" Applejack added.

"Oh well I am sorry darling and as for you Twilight it seems your if I say so myself dominating your objective eh?" Her elbow budged Twilight's.

"Yeah I guess anyway we need to find Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash and I think Fluttershy cold be nearby so she's up next"

"Great" Rarity said.

"Okay" Applejack said.

They walked in the seemingly endless dessert before they came to a wood they moved closer and as they did a sound could be heard with clanking metal and animal sounds. Closer they hear a roar. Closer they hear a scream. Closer they hear nothing. they all look to the left and see the lifeless corpses of many royal guards who looked to be have to been under a vicious attack. This did not raise anyone's hopes for survival. well honestly nothing in the last few days had all their had been was despair, well what would you expect from a land of war. The sky had darkened so much it was almost only recognizable as a shadow this meant rest finally instead of walking on they had reached an area where they could rest. A giant patch of dry moss suited the princess and farmer but the fashion designer not so much for she was said to have more precise tastes and went looking for any fabric like materials to sleep on but eventually gave in to rocks and moss they prepared a temporary "bedroom" they started to gather dry, flammable objects and threw them onto a pile thankfully Rarity still had some hair spray and both Applejack and Twilight had a lighter so with the combination a fire brew they felt the need to stay and talk about personal problems and their goals now, but fatigue slowly overtook them and they collapsed into a peaceful drift.

A bright light shone into the eyes of the ponies awaking them immediately. Twilight wanted more sleep but something told her that she shouldn't go back to sleep. She nudged Applejack with her hoof trying to get her attention. She rolled over onto her other side, her face was covered by her hat but Twilight could still make out she was awake. They chatted about many topics it was just a conversation mainly just around catching up on each other it had been months since they had seen each other and it seemed like everywhere they go they're always in a deadly situation so they used this spare time to just relax for five minutes they had before they had to get moving. Rarity had been awake for hours admiring herself in her mirror Applejack at some point suggested we break the mirror get some vines or dry plants to make a knife but Rarity seemed disgusted at the idea so they didn't.

They continued their long journey across the wasteland coming across many destroyed and ruined landmarks and may other types of buildings that had been shattered via weaponry. They eventually were standing under a giant building with graffiti all round it's walls saying the shadow will come the shadow will save but the shadow will die. Twilight had a feeling this was not good the were ready to set foot inside it when a very familiar voice came from behind them.

"Well, well, well look what we got here Twilight, Rarity and ooh good to see you AJ" The voice said with a laugh.

"No it can't be is it Twilight?" She askedf but Twilight did not answer. She had been knocked out.

"Well darling you can't just hit a princess we can talk about thi-" Bang she was out cold. Applejack stood there not wanting to see a friend as an enemy she turned around Slap! she was hit to the ground.

"Take them to the warehouse to finish them off" The stallions that stood next to the pony nodded then AJ turned around her eyes filled with horror, it WAS a friend. A friend who was no longer a friend. A friend who had become a murderer.

End Of The Line

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy this comeback chapter of one of my favourite stories to write.

End Of The Line

Twilight awoke from her less than pleasant slumber to see she was tied to a chair with multiple Pegasi watching her every move. Her thigh was burning she had a rash on her left thigh after all she had been dragged through a wasteland for God knows how long. She had no idea where she was, her field of view was limited as she suddenly came to the conclusion she had a bag over her head, and was not simply dizzy from her unconscious state she had slipped into minutes earlier. Or could it have been hours. Or days. Jesus even weeks. For she knew she could have been in a coma. This thought caused her to remember the moments before she had been......knocked out......knocked out by....oh no. A wave of panic hit Twilight like a bombshell she started to rock back and forth and spout nonsense to the the stallions looking at her in annoyance.

"You..what...di...you...do.....to...maaa......fwends" Twilight shouted and she started to realise she was under the influence of some kind of drug.

"Alright pipe down druggie" The smirking pony said while he lightly chuckled to his "friend" beside him.

"Now, now don't tease the princess she needs to focus on finding her friends isn't that right Sparkle" Said a familiar voice from the shadows. "AJ told me all about it, Twilight Sparkle saviour of harmony, you must be joking" Rambled the voice somewhat finding Twilights goal in some way pitiful.

"Its ok.....ill....be...da....one....wafing.....in....de.....end" Said Twilight who's consciousness began to fade.

"Ha, ha. We'll see Twilight. We'll see." The mare said smugly "Now take a nap" Suddenly Twilights consciousness had slipped away.

July 17 14:20 pm

"Jesus christ" Shadow exclaimed as he looked on at a sight so unholy he gagged. A strung up Spitfire lay dead in the trees with a punctured stomach seemingly from a shotgun blast blood dripping from her cold lips and entrails caught in nearby branches, some still acting as a kind of blocked blood hose occasionally allowing the crimson liquid to leak out the open intestines. But below that awful sight was a somehow a more gravitatingly shocking scene. Dozens of recruits Shadow recognised from the camp were blown to bits limbs littering the ground laying before the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Some had obviously ended their suffering before it could begin as multiple guards and rookies lay, firearms in hand and bullet holes visible through the side of each of their skulls. The sight was too much to take in Shadow knew himself he had a strong stomach but this made him sick as equally as it saddened him. Shadow looked at the time his clock read 14:27 he knew he would have to hurry if he were find Twilight on time. He jumped in the sports car he'd hot-wired from the Canterlot Auto-Mobile Retailer and accelerated towards his destination of the Wonderbolt Warehouse, he had twenty minutes to get there and was already running five mins late with the time he'd spent at the Everfree scene giving him fifteen minutes to get there which also added to the fact he didn't know the way, he had no time to waste and put the car into high gear and floored it, dust trailing behind him. He had to get there fast if he wanted to find Twilight instead of what would be left of her. Shadow knew the Pegasi were ruthless and their leader perfectly lived up to that ruthlessness. There wouldn't be much time to......SKKKRRRR! Shadow's car came to a stop skidding along the dirt ground. He exited his vehicle as his attention turned to the ground beneath him tracks of hooves....hooves that had been dragged..she's been here.....He knew she had.

July 17 14:34

Twilight awoke to ringing in her ears and a clanking noise directly above her head, once her eyes came into focus she saw a sight that gave Twilight a feeling of relief and horror as she lifted her head up to see her very own Rainbow Dash slumped in a chair guarded by the two Pegasi she had seen before both were armed with rifles and her old friend herself armed with a small handgun in one hand and a steel pipe in the other clanking the two together in a kind of clapping motion until she saw Twilight was fully conscious and then gestured to the two guards in a way Twilight couldn't understand the two stallions approached the restrained princess and pulled back her mane causing the chair she was restrained to to flip into its back giving Twilight a nasty bit of trauma to her head. Twilight moaned only to be silenced by the hand of Loyalty itself and was greeted by the friend she sought after for weeks by a slap to the cheek. Twilight gritted her teeth in pain still stunned from the chair flip. Twilight caught her breath after a couple seconds only to be plunged into pain once again as a sudden crack of a pipe striking the pony's kneecap caused her to scream in agony and plead for her friends motive for such an act.

"Rainbow...why?!" Twilight pleaded.

"Why? Because in this war there are two types of people there are predators and there's prey and there was no way I was being the latter so I built this empire, an empire consisting of the Wonderbolts their recruits and the Pegasi that were left behind by their old fellow comrades from the Pegasi Union. You don't think I didn't want to do this to you well guess what I didn't, but I'm a leader now I lead people, MY people into war and conflict and they trust my word to keep them safe, can you understand my responsibility now and if you really do, then how did you think Pegasi would react when they saw a unicorn and two earth ponies, may I remind you two hostile unions, they are going to act harshly and in a way I have taught them. Don't forget Twilight you caused this with the swift strike of a blade you slaughtered an innocent Pegasus after he gave an opinion how can you live with yourself you caused this, not Celestia, not Luna and not ME!" She shouted as the pipe came down a second time cracking the distraught princesses other knee with such force the sound echoed in the warehouse and so did Twilight's scream.

"Rainbow you coward, face the one who really disagrees with you!" Screamed a voice with a similar sounding southern accent. Dash turned and scowled at the farmer menacingly before approaching her trying to seem as intimidating as possible. "Yeah that's right you always did think you were tough turns out you're nothing but weak and powerless." Applejack spouted before bracing for an attack or outburst of somekind from the rainbow-maned mare. To both Twilight and AJ's surprise all the Pegasus did was laugh hysterically.

"Ahhh, you really are a crack up AJ, always have been but you see" Dash paused. "I can't be weak, because I'm not the one tied to a chair" Rainbow said as she leaned in close to Applejack.

"But you do have a busted up nose" Applejack said to the confusion of Rainbow Dash

"What are you talking ab-" Applejack leaned and cracked her forehead into the pegasus' lip and nose causing a spout of blood to spray from her nostrils.

"Ow you bitch!" Dash screamed with rage flipping the table to her side and gripping Applejack by her hide and throwing her to the ground with her chair following with her. "Shit I'm late for my meeting get the truck loaded I need to be there for 14:50 and its...." Rainbow Dash glanced at her watch. " 14:42...dammit! " she raced towards the exit before glancing at the two ponies once more "I'm not done with you two not by a long shot!"

July 17 14:39

Shadow had walked around a quarter of a mile after he ditched the sports car to avoid drawing attention after he thought he was closer to the warehouse and then suddenly it was in his sights, that rusty metal structure towering just a couple ten feet off the ground, but with an awfully wide outer structure causing the short height of the warehouse to be made up by the space on the inside. From what Black had heard it was mainly used for Rainbow Dash's vehicle storage and interrogations which didn't spark any hope for Twilight. He was only a couple hundred feet away from the warehouse, which was about the time he began to sprint it took him about a minute to get to the warehouse plus another minute of his inner thought rambling that was two minutes making it "Shit!" Shadow exclaimed " Its 14:42" he quickly increased the pace in his run and made it to the broken entrance of the warehouse, ponies usually used the side door and exit to enter and leave the warehouse he peeked at that side door to see Rainbow Dash and a team of guards leaving in a supply truck directly past Shadow he quickly ducked for cover behind some storage crates and made his way towards the side door on the the West side of the warehouse. He watched as Rainbows team left from the parking lot on the East side after the coast was clear he creaked the door open the guards oblivious to the stealthy movement he saw. .. 1...2.3.....4 guards, 4 rounds he had to be perfect no mistakes lives depended on it he waited. He'd go on three, there were two by the door and one by each of the Mares. He counted..... "1" The mag of the first pistol clicked into place ."2" The second mag clicked "3" Shadow leaped through the gap in the door way and aimed a pistol in both directions firing two rounds and connecting with two skulls. Straight after he rolled into the line of fire of both guards before firing a round into the shoulder of Applejacks guard and one into the chest of the Pegasus sat beside Twilight both guards fell to their knees and one ran to take cover behind some ammo boxes. "Shit" Shadow whispered under his breath. The soldier with the injured shoulder rose above his cover to fire when he saw the light of a match flying towards him the match landed inside the box of ammunition and then went out. Suddenly the pony rose above his cover once again . "Ha what did you think you were a genius, you stupid fu-" An explosion rattled the supports of the warehouse causing the collapse of the roof. As it caved in dust filled the room blinding the other injured soldier leaving a window of vulnerability Shadow darted for him charging at him as they both ran towards each other head on before Shadow slid through his separated legs and re-emerged behind him only to stick a knife into the his stomach twisting it round and swiftly pulling upwards on the handle of the blade causing the the injured Pegasus' vital organs to spill into the floor of the warehouse and blood to stain the hoofs of the two mares' knight in shining armour "Disgusting" Shadow complained. He approached Twilight and Applejack and untied them both. Twilight was unconscious by now but Applejack was fully conscious and fully confused

"Now tell me, who are you?" Applejack said puzzled. As they exited into the wasteland.

" The name's Black Shadow I expect Twilight has said something about me"

"Yeah, she said you rescued her or something like that" Applejack replied

"Well yeah I guess you could put it like that. So I guess that means I'm allowed to know who you are and if you have one, what your relationship with Rainbow Dash is.

"Applejack, to friends AJ and on my relationship with Rainbow, we had history but there's nothing but bad blood between us now, the war did a lot of things to people one thing it did to her. Was turn her psychopathic." Shadow listened on intrigued on the new info she was being given about Rainbow Dash's backstory " She has this ideal she can remake Equestria into a Pegausus only country but only her Pegasus not the union, not the official Pegasus tribe"

"Well that sounds like a grudge I'll leave you two to settle that on your own terms" Shadow barely got out due to the strain of Twilights bodyweight on his shoulder which caused agony for the stallion.

"Glad you understand I wish nothing but hell upon that god damned horse" Applejack shot back angrily.

"She has what's coming to her, especially after she kidnapped you, Twilight and that other one." Shadow blurted out and suddenly seeming puzzled. "That other one, Rarity isn't it?"

" Wait Rarity, Where the hell IS Rarity? "

"Oh Shit" Shadow said as he sighed and toppled over Twilight crushing him in the process .

"Life just ain't easy is it?" Applejack said disappointingly . " Then again Rainbow was in a hurry, and apparently loading up some cargo for a meeting." Applejack came to a realisation. "Oh Shit!"

"Oh Shit Indeed"

Distorted Colours

July 17 15:13

"So you think they took Rarity with them...like a trade or something?" Shadow asked.

"I'm God damn sure if it, well why else would we not see her we were together then we weren't and then Rainbow needed some "cargo" to be loaded up it must be Rarity she was talking about. " Applejack replied.

"Well then I guess we go after them then or at least I bet that's what you want to do" Shadow said in a grumpy tone.

"Why do you say that, you have a better plan?" Applejack said tilting her head at Shadow awaiting his response.

" Well" Shadow replied taking a few minutes to continue. "No not really."

"Then it's settled we go in the morning." The mare said stubbornly

"The morning?! She'll be dead by then, so I wouldn't advise sleep if your so keen on finding her."

"You don't know that so keep that trap of yours sealed." Grunted Applejack
"I'm willing to take a risk if the best outcome is an opportunity to save my friend with the actual energy to do so, so get comfortable and sleep!" Shadow rolled his eyes, reluctantly complying with the country ponies request, sitting down and settling, preparing for some rest which in some ways he was grateful for as he hadn't slept in three days straight, but he believed that the adrenaline of the war kept you awake and the idea of sleep should have been long gone and felt unnecessary once the war went into full swing, plus Shadow usually travelled alone and took contracts from branched off tribes of the three unions Rainbow Dash's Pegasi being one example of the buyers willing to pay for his services. Shadow was a trained assassin hired to Celestia's Royal Undercover Association (CRUA) which was a secret service designed to gain Intel from growing threats to the Canterlot and Crystal empire which gave him an advantage in essential survival traits allowing him to conquer the wasteland as a lone wolf providing for himself at the expense of others lives but some things, just some things really got to him some sights too much, sights that made him think about how things were. How they were supposed to be. How they can't be anymore. These were the things that side tracked him that prevented him from reaching his full potential. His full sanity. Sometimes all he wanted was a little company, and Twilight gave him that, not in any way romantic just seeing someone you slightly know or recognize gives you that small bit of company that keeps you sane in a world of madness. Applejack turned to Shadow only to be met with a cold gaze and emotionless face staring right back at her. Um sugarcube you alright? " Applejack asked.

"Yeah, yeah just fine...just fine." Shadow replied softly.

"Alright, whatever you say." Applejack replied with suspicion in her tone. " now you get some rest you don't look too good" Applejack advised.

"O-okay" Shadow barely murmured before falling unconscious.

"Heavy sleeper I guess" Applejack said with concern before drifting into her own deep sleep.

July 18 9:47

Applejack calmly awoke lifting her head to see the beautiful sunrise above the wasteland. As much as she hated the war it had allowed her to enjoy the little things a lot more. Especially with all the industry burned to the ground the natural beauty of Equestria was perhaps the only thing left untouched by the nuclear fallout caused by the Canterlot bombing. Just as she had gotten used to the beautiful atmosphere she was warped out of her trance by the barking of orders from a certain alicorn princess who Applejack assumed had woke up on the wrong side of the bed. "Applejack! Applejack! Get up, I could use some help over here!" Twilight screamed.

Applejack sighed "What in the hay do you want Twilight at this time"

"Take a look for yourself AJ!" Twilight shouted

Applejack peeked upwards from her groggy state to see Shadow layed on his back boots removed with a bullet wound in the side of his calf that had a unsettlingly large pool of blood beneath it. Applejack got up and moved closer to investigate only to see Shadow was pale in the face and still unconscious with Twilight putting pressure on the wound presumably to stop further blood loss as she turned to Applejack once again "Applejack! Grab those rags from his bag and pass them over!" Twilight ordered. Applejack ran to Shadows bag of supplies and grabbed the ripped blue rags and threw them to Twilight. Twilight acted immediately and tied the rags round the wound and shouted Applejack once more. "Adrenaline shot! Does he have an adrenaline shot!?" Applejack searched frantically in response to Twilights asking only to find nothing but a couple of stun guns.

"Eh, um Twilight will um this work?" Applejack asked holding the stun gun flat in her hoof.

Twilight looking less than impressed shot back with "No of course not! What are you trying to do, kill him indefinitely?"

"Alright sorry just asking"

"Well sorry but we dont have all day, because if you haven't noticed HE'S NOT BREATHING!" Twilight screamed.

" Alright, alright" Applejack pondered for a minute. "Wait Twilight don't you have a defibrillator spell or something" Applejack asked.

"Wait I think I do Applejack you're a genius!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Actually it was just comment sen-" She was interrupted by Twilight before she could finish.

"Hush, I need to concentrate" She uttered as her horn began to glow and sparks began to appear until the process was abruptly halted by Twilight collapsing suddenly. Applejack swiftly ran over to her.

"What happened Twi?" Applejack said puzzled

"Oh no, Rainbow must have disabled my magic abilities whilst we were tied up"

"How?"

"Never mind now just put pressure on the wound, just being him back somehow" Twilight begged in desperation.

Applejack leaped to Shadow and held both hooves on his punctured calf before hovering her left hoof above his chest, estimating where his heart would be before bringing it down slamming into his ribcage. Shadow burst to life with an almighty breath of relief followed by hyperventilating and moans of agony.

"Urggh. I feel like shit and my calf, oh god my calf it burns."

" That would be the convenient bullet hole through it wouldn't it sugarcube"

"Oh shit I must have gotten hit when I saved you two. Remember that when I burst in like a knight in shining armour and saved the damsels in distress."

" Alright don't milk it you're hurt you need rest. "

"Nope, I need my bag. Bring it to me"

"You ain't going nowhere with that wound"

"Just get my bag please." Applejack reluctantly stropped over to the previously rustled through bag and dropped it by Shadow. He pulled out a wooden looking rubix cube and with a few twists had it transform into a workbench holding multiple tools and materials. He went to work to the shock of Applejack and the dazed Twilight.

"How the?" Applejack asked confused

"Just watch and learn" Shadow said as he ripped a screwdriver from the tool box attached to the surprisingly compact work bench and started to screw planks of timber together and placing them inside his removed socks more frequently where the wound would be as well as some soft rags left over from his bandaging minutes earlier to not disturb the wound was the sock was worn.

"Now listen I dont care how well you feel you aint moving from this here spot" Applejack said as she crossed her arms and looked sternly upwards but when her eyes returned she saw Shadow had gone and was doing warm up jogs round the two hundred by two hundred metre path trail surrounding the camp leaving the southern pony in awe. "But how?"

"Being in Celestia 's secret service you pick up a few things one of those being advanced medical engineering or in simple terms robotical and wooden limb replacement and repair."

" Well handy dandy we better get moving then, what do you say Twilight? " Applejack said turning in the weakened Twilights direction.

"Yeah I think I can walk" Twilight said very unconvincingly

"Okay then so Shadow boy where you think we look first?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could follow these tire tracks clearly left by Rainbow's vehicle from the sheer size of them and the tire patterns themselves?"

"That WOULD be a good start" Twilight said clearly annoyed at Shadows demonstrated intelligence to make her and her friend seem like fools.

July 18 10:52

The three ponies had been walking for almost an half an hour when they finally caught sight of a regal looking house like an untouched piece of Canterlot architecture but that was impossible they were in the middle of Ponyville but this couldn't have been built recently who would have the time to build such a large house, actually mansion would have been a better expression to use due to the sheer size of the building. They approached the place with extreme caution when they came to a stop and each pulled out a rifle and loaded up a magazine each and turned off the safety. They were prepared for any threat that came in their way. They climbed the mossy steps which where the only non-fancy piece of architecture in sight. The three soldiers began checking their surrounding noticing every minor detail that could aid them if worst came to worst. Exits, breakable windows, and places of cover from gunfire all were independently being taken into account in each of the horses' minds. Suddenly Shadow ran ahead preparing to lead the charge of one were necessary and kicked open the door with force causing dust to settle in the ponie's mane as he rushed through the hallway checking all rooms while gradually approaching the stairway. Once Shadow got to the base of the stairs he became extremely cautious, all six senses kicked into overdrive, his awareness at its peak and his fear at a low, for the first time he felt backed up he knew he had someone to count on. Someone to rely on. They saved his life he owed them massively, the least he could do was help them find their friend and what happened next just happened but that time was not nigh. At least not yet. He ascended a step at a time to see another hallway except this one so inviting if there was a trap in plain view it could still get you to stroll in. Brightly painted walls, soft fluffy carpet and crisp light texture reflecting onto the floor through the windows. As Shadow walked through, the two mares trailing behind him he began to think the place was empty. He lowered his gun and turned to tell the mares the coast was clear when a strong grip from behind grabbed his throat and pulled him into a reverse bear hug manoeuvre. Shadow struggled before he lifted his knees putting household body weight in the arms of the mysterious man attacking him the man struggled and dropped Shadow momentarily before gaining grip of hisn neck again this time Shadow instead of struggling reached into his armoured sock and pulled out a small flip knife and jabbed it into the pony's leg. The pony let out a surprisingly feminine scream before running away into the easily twenty metre hallway and leaving no clues to her whereabouts except the open and closing of a single door.

"Shadow what happened?!" Twilight asked .

"Someone's here with us" Shadow replied "Now be quiet" Shadow whispered as he tip toed down the hallway adrenaline pumping through his veins until he smelt a metallic substance then he recognized the distinctive smell that turned more and more wretched as he progressed down the hallway until he came to a stop at an open door which he slowly creaked open, rifle loaded and aimed towards the room as he fully kicked open the barely pried open door to find two slaughtered guards who looked similar to the ones Rainbow Dash had with her at the warehouse. Shadow exited and continued down the hallway until he stopped at the door, the two mares by his sides he looked down, and saw there was no doubt about it a fresh drop of blood. He peeked between the door's hinges to see slightly inside the room and saw nothing disturbing so with a mighty buck he kicked the door clean of its hinges and fired a round into the room hopefully to startle the assailant if they were in there but all that was heard was silence and Shadow turned away after investigating the room further but then heard the creak of the floorboards behind him, then he remembered a vital mistake. He didn't check under the bed. "Shit" Shadow whispered as he felt the cold barrel of a shotgun touch the back of his head and click of the safety switch off.