Wings Over Sunset

The bells clanged from untold placed around Safe Haven, summoning the Ponies like thunder to lightning. The sun shone bright as the last of the heavy clouds were bucked away by scores of pegasi. It actually felt pleasant, it was just a shame that the manacles around his hooves left painful rashes. Shimmer inhaled the waft of fresh air and faced the curious crowd with an easy smile on his face.

Shimmer had not expected the public punishment to be right after his court appearance. As soon as he passed through the large iron doors, two soldiers leapt upon him, pinning him to the floor as the slimmer, taller General place the binds around his kickers.

For once, he found a pony who seemed not to take delight in what she was doing to him, although with that black, plumed helmet on her head, the shadows made it difficult to see her expression. But, by the way she handled him in an efficient and impersonal manner, he surmised that she probably felt very little whatsoever.

And the mystery continued as she pulled him along the main road through the southern district with a rope tied around his mouth. Her amber magic prodding him in the sides when he did not trot with enough enthusiasm.

They passed through the Inner Ring wall into the Southern district proper in between two columns of armed soldiers. The number of faces doubled as the murmurs grew into a slowly rolling wave of confused excitement.

A shout came from somewhere behind him, and every soldier unsheathed their blades. “Stand back!” said one Guard.

“Make way for the King,” said another.

The two columns veered left, into another equally wide street that headed towards the town square. Well, that would be the best place.

“Stand back!” a guard reared as he bumped into blue Earth Pony. “I said stand back!” The blue pony visibly shook as his hooves scraped against the cobblestones, but the throng gathered behind him just pushed him forwards.

“Please,” he stammered. “I’m stuck.”

The guard swung his neck and struck the pony with the pommel, sending the limp body tumbling to the floor. The guard then stepped over him as if he were just some rock in the road, followed by the soldier behind…and the soldier behind that.

Shimmer tugged on his restraint just so he could look and see if he were breathing, but the rope tugged hard and made him stumble forwards.  Shimmer found it hard to give that pony any sympathy. It was just a single blow after all.

The soldiers-in-black circled the centre of the square and began hauling every single trading cart into the corners while presenting the infuriated owners with the wicked steel. Damn those soldiers knew how to command fear! It made Shimmer want to prove to Sombra all the more that he was one of them. With that armour, he could command any-pony to do his bidding.

The Slim General led him right in the centre. “Wait here,” she said and for the first time, he was able to get a good look at her. She stood a complete head and shoulder above him with a horn that  extended out like lance. but her tall frame was let down by her slimness. She looked like the armour was the only thing stopping a breeze from sweeping her away. A long purple mane spilled out of her bucket-like helm and fell down one side, a sign of a complete novice in warfare. The last thing she’d want in battle was for it to get in her eyes or, even worse, get snagged on something.

But his traitorous eyes could not help but follow her curves, hidden behind a layer of plate as they were. Her body was purest perfection, as if the God themselves carved her form from marble. Her chest, rose and fell underneath the harness. Her tail poked out of two plates to rise high into the air before dropping into a graceful slide towards the ground. And he could just make out what looked to be a chess piece painted to her ample rear…

The rope almost ripped his jaw off as he tumbled into a heap on the cobblestones. She watched him as he got back onto his hooves and shook himself down. She showed no rage, just a deep, unsettling curiosity, like a foal watching a beetle scuttling around the street. Was she going to squish him at the end to?

King Sombra stepped in front of Shimmer, and the quiet murmerings around the edges of the square fell into complete silence.

“Citizens of Safe Haven,” he said with a booming voice. “I have summoned you all to gather and watch my work be done!”

He stepped forwards, and his horn erupted in a deathly black aura. The ground rippled as the earth itself rose underneath the King’s hooves.

“Equestria is a cold, dark place full of countless nightmares and terrors,” he said from his newly formed dais. “Monsters roam the forests, slaying the unwary. Bandits patrol our lands, raiding villages and destroying livelihoods. The Royal Sisters threaten us from behind their walls, mocking our plight without raising a hoof to aid us.

The feeling of apprehension grew as a wave of concern washed around the town square. Sombra continued without pause. “Lesser Kingdoms would have fallen by now, crushed under the weight of oppression. But not us. We stand alone in a land wanting to end us, and we have taken control. We are the masters of this Kingdom, and we are the masters of this world. Because what binds us together, is what makes us strong. And that is Law and Order. It is what makes us become the sum that is far greater than the parts.”

He pointed at Shimmer, a snarl on his face. “That pony has spat upon the face of the Law. He is what threatens the stability of our great nation, and in turn threatens each and every single one of our very livelihoods. He is what is wrong with the world.” Sombra paused letting his echo fade away.

“Justice!” came a cry from the back. Suddenly, the crowd roared into life like some savage beast. The circle of soldiers crumpled then expanded as they beat back the press of bodies.

The shouts came thick and fast and from all directions.

“Kill him!”

“Dirty Rat!”

“Criminal!”

Shimmer could do nothing but listen to howl of a thousand ponies baying for his blood. His ears drooped as he tried to look away but the General kept his head high and staring into pure hatred.

Sombra looked pleased.

Shimmer snorted and stomped his hoof, all the while fighting the General for control of the rope. She may have been a slim pony, but her magic was strong. He whinnied and reared, but the press of magic pulled him back down to the ground.

Sombra raised a hoof, and the frothing rage behind the million eyes of the crowd calmed into a heated simmer. “But I did not catch this pony. Nay, he came to me, at my home, by his own volition. This pony confessed to me his crimes and begged for forgiveness. He told me that he was a Rat scraping by and forced to commit his sins against this great land.”

Shimmer dared to look up at the King. That was not true. He would never grovel before another, not even for a mountain of bits. What was he playing at?

“This pony has now dedicated his life to me and his realm, and he will see to it that we will all greatly profit, or die trying.”

Sombra turned and gave a slight grin. Shimmer stared back as impassive as he could be without the ability to wipe the tears from his eyes.

“But for every crime, there must be a punishment. And for every crack of the whip, the burden will lift from his soul.”

The ground rumbled and cracked, forming a ring around Shimmer’s hooves. The General let go of the rope, to be replaced by the spine-smashing aura of black. A loud crunch sent shockwave up Shimmer’s legs as his rocky platform freed itself from Mother Earth and lifted him to be equal to his master. Sombra waited, a lash with many head hovering by his side.

“You will receive one lash for every crime you have ever committed, Shimmer Steppe,” he snarled, “Take a long breath, for I fear it may be your last.”

--

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Shimmer howled as the lash sliced open his back like a Gryphon’s talons. He struggled against the immaterial shackles that held his forehooves, and himself, high up in the air. He gasped down a breath as he looked towards the endless blue above him.

“Ten,” said a voice down below.

Ten? Shimmer screamed. How could it be only ten? His back felt like it had been touched by the venom of a million snakes, its bile seeping into his muscles underneath, bringing with it its unholy fire. Warmth seeped into his tail and down his legs to drip on the courtyard far below. Shimmer bit down on the cloth and clecnched his eyes shut.

A fierce crack smashed against him and sent him rocking in his restraints. Agony flared and he gasped.

“Eleven,” said the voice from below.

--

“Fifty-two,” said the voice. Shimmer’s head swam in the fog of agony. He could not feel anything other than pain. He could taste iron, but he lacked the strength to spit it out. The only thing he watched was the blueness of the sky as it swarmed around him, beckoning him closer. The wind rocked him and for a moment, his head would sink and he’d see the faces of the ponies that had come to watch him die. Or, at least, he thought that’s what they were. It looked pretty, the mismatch of colours underneath him, like a jigsaw from hundreds of different sets crammed into one picture. The gentle rocking soothed his tired mind. It was peaceful, the only noise being his own heartbeat and the whoosh of the whip.

Something crashed into him and shook him like the rag doll he was. His head fell back, and he found himself looking into the sky once more.

--

“Eighty.”

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--

Fire burnt within him and purged every emotion but one: hate. His body rippled with the lustful energy, looking for something to burn. Oh, he was power, he was God! The endless rolling forests dissipated underneath him, and, almost instantly, he realised he was hovering over the Slums of Eastern District.

He could see the gangs and mobsters, the weak and the pathetic, all fleeing from his dark shadow. But they could not escape his wrath. He was the flame, and he would purge this world of everything that would stand against him.

And as he flew over, spilling fire on the unworthy, he got to watch their expressions turn to abject fear before they withered and died. The pathetic weaklings tried to fight back. But their attempts only brought them his mercy.

He crashed onto the largest shack, caving it in, and shifted his wings. He could feel the rubble in his claws as he dug a nice groove into the surface until it supported him nicely. He looked over his new Kingdom of smoke and ash, and at the charred corpses smouldering around him. And the booming laughter that came out of his maw oozed utter contempt for those creatures still surrounding him.

One by one, the ponies came, worn, haggard and covered in soot. They came before him and prostrated themselves before him. He spat fire at them once more, and their final screams were the last, until they stood back up, whole, unburnt and with love in their eyes. For they made the perfect slaves.

And the last to arrive was King Sombra himself, limping and bleeding. They made eye contact and the defeated King bowed before him, and submitted.

He laughed again, shooting fire into the air. The Kingdom was his, as was always meant to be. And he would take everything that he desired.

He looked into a pool of water offered to him by a slave, but the reflection was not a Dragon, but a Pony. It was Shimmer, and his twisted grin matched the fire lurking behind his eyes.

--

Shimmer groaned. He felt like he had gotten into a brawl with the entirety of the Eastern District. His hooves failed to cooperate as he rolled onto his side. Something soft cushioned his head, and he snuggled into it, releasing a scent of alcohol twinned with other scents that brought back pictures of the desert lands.

He felt buoyant like he was on a cloud, and the gentle caress of whatever he lay upon wore against his eyelids. Oh, what he would give to sleep for another hour. But his muscles screamed in process every time he merely twitched and the thumping headache wore on his patience more than anything else. He cracked open an eye.

Shining light dazzled him and enraged the stomping beast in his skull. He put a hoof over his eyes and groaned once more. Why did everything have to hurt so?

He lay in the bed, but whose bed he did not know, and contemplated how he got there. He remembered approaching Sombra, demanding rewards. He remembered being marched out into town.

He sat bolt upright and gasped as his spine felt like it was going to snap through his skin. He was flogged!

He rolled to his side, pulling the duvet with him. He shivered as a dark red stain on the mattress greeted him. He shuffled off the bed, his legs barely able to take his weight. He leant against the cold stone wall and shuffled towards the mirror.

Damn, he looked rough. Sweat matted his knot-filled mane, pulling it over the dark circles around his eyes. His armour was no-where to be found, and it took him a moment to remember they took it from him, leaving a naked body littered with angry red marks that stretched over his back and sides. One slash had even gone through his Cutie Mark, splitting his shield in two. Dried blood darkened the fur over his hind legs and clotted his tail to the point where it felt like a stump.

He groaned.

“You should not be out of bed!”

Shimmer jumped and yowled at the angry retort from his back. A grey coated Earth Pony rushed up to him and let him support himself on her. She had her golden mane tied into a bun giving her face plenty of space for the largest glasses he had ever seen.

“Now what are you doing out of bed?” she asked as if he were some stupid colt.

“Wondering where the hell I am,” he replied. He gritted his teeth as the hoof-steps took its toll on him.

“You’re at the infirmary inside the castle, Dear,” she said. “Now, lets get you comfy…” she spied the bloodstain on the mattress. “Oh dear, looks like one of your stitches wore off. Let me get the doctor to attend to you while I clean this.”

The nurse gently hauled him over to a seat where he wobbled awkwardly. Tiredness set in and he felt his head droop, but the sudden sensation of falling jolted him alert before sleep could take him. He watched the nurse strip the bed of its bloodied sheet with an efficient grace, all the while humming some happy tune. He cursed her casual, stuck-on smile under his breath; why should some pony even act happy around him? If he was miserable, they should all be.

It was not fair. Why did pain have to hurt so much?

The nurse left clutching the balled up cloth in her hoof that gave her three legged trot a less than appealing look. It left him alone in the cold room, wobbling on a cahir that just had to have one leg shorter than the others. He kept himself steady with his hind hooves, but the stone felt as cold as this place did. If the flickering flame in the lantern could only free itself from its glass enclosure and gorge upon its surroundings.

Shimmer raised an eyebrow, was that really what he wanted, to be burnt alive? He shivered as memories of his strange dream came back to him. Dreams were never that lucid. An emptiness panged from within like a plucked string on a harp releasing a long sad note. If only he were that Dragon, then he would never feel like…this again.

Shimmer struggled to his hooves, but all strength left him and he sank back onto the unyielding wood. No, he never wanted to feel like this again.

Shimmer’s ears perked at the sound of hooves clopping on stone, followed by what he guessed was the doctor. The doctor wore cloth died black shaped into a mockery of the armour, the red stone on his shoulder. His cream mane had been cropped to perfect military specifications, and, despite the apron about his neck, he looked every bit like the soldiers guarding the castle.

“Shimmer Steppe,” he said in a gruff voice. “You are awake. Good. My name is Blood Loss, the castle’s battle medic.”

Shimmer huffed in reply. He was getting too blasé about his situation. These ponies tending to him weren’t anypony he could trust, or at least bribe, to actually look after him. For all he knew, they were just going to drug him and make the pain so much worse.

The doctor pulled up a seat and placed a hoof on Shimmer’s forehead. Shimmer tried to pull back and swipe the dirt-coloured hoof away, but his blow mere rested on the doctor’s hoof.

“Don’t,” muttered Shimmer.

The doctor looked at him long and hard, like he were some miscreant foal. “What have you been taking?” he asked.

Shimmer growled. “I’ve taken nothing.”

“I’ve been tasked with keeping you alive, Shimmer,” said the doctor. “And I cannot do that when something is preventing my magic from remaining on your body. This is the fourth time I’ve had to recharge your stitches today.”

The doctor leaned in close. “So tell me what you have taken, or do I have to purge your system?”

“When would I have had a chance to get high?” Shimmer said, “did you not see me get whipped?”

“Aye, and why I was tasked to keep you alive is beyond words. But I do not question the will of my Lord on such matters.” The doctor grabbed Shimmer’s jaw and forced his mouth wide open, despite his choked protests. “Is it Mindrot? Three-leaf? Milk-of-the-lily?”

“Oooooo,” screamed Shimmer. He thrashed and the chair tipped, sending him sprawling to the floor.

The doctor snorted. “Fine, have it your way.” He motioned the nurse over to him. “Could you hold him down, please?”

“Are you sure?”

“There’s no place better for scum like him,” he replied.

The nurse hesitated for a moment before her hooves grabbed him by his chest and hauled him onto his side.

“Right,” said Blood Loss, “Let us see what you are hiding.”

His horn flared and a crippling agony squeezed Shimmer’s stomach. Burning liquid made its way up his throat and what little of it spilled across the stone to drip into cracks between the slabs. A round of retching wracked his limbs and more hot, disgusting bile escaped his maw. All the while, the nurse whispered soft, soothing sounds that made little sense to him as she restrained his feeble attempts at fleeing.

The doctor huffed. “Nothing,” he muttered.

“Doctor,” said the nurse. “Another stitch has worn out,” she lifted her hooves, and Shimmer spied his crimson blood dripping from them as he gasped for breath.

“Fine,” grumbled the Doctor, “Flip him over.”

The nurse complied, shifting Shimmer’s weight with apparent ease. The doctor grumbled as Shimmer’s spine tingled with the presence of magic, not that the numbing sensation on his back was enough for him to know what the doctor was doing.

“I just don’t get it,” he said. “I know some Earth Ponies are resistant to magic, but this is on a level I have never seen before.”

“Perhaps,” said the nurse, “we should do this with needle and thread?”

“No time. Orders are to get him on his hooves by tonight.” The doctor leaned close, his cyan eyes reflecting Shimmer’s reflection like a mirror. “What does he see in you?”

Shimmer choked out a snort. “Because I’m better than you.”

The doctor growled, and his magic flared silencing Shimmer’s howling laughter with another round of gagging as his stomach hurled what was left across the floor.

The doctor stomped around the room, his straw-like tail swishing like it were a broom sweeping the floor. Shimmer could practically hear the teeth grinding between each retch. “Nurse,” the doctor said, “clean up the ungrateful lout and put him to bed. And then I want you to refresh his stitches hourly and feed him dinner. Other than that, leave him in the darkness, where his filth can’t distract the other patients.” Doctor Blood Loss stormed out the room, his stomps shaking the castle.

The nurse sighed. “Why did you say such a nasty thing?” she asked. “He saved your life.”

Shimmer stammered but all energy for words left him. What? Her too? But why was he surprised? Of course they would see him as nothing but the dregs from the Eastern District. To them, he should be thankful that he breathed the same air as they.

“You’re all the same,” he breathed. “I’ll prove you wrong.”

The nurse either did not hear it or chose not to, for she did not react. Her ears were not even in his direction. She began humming her happy tune as she lifted him into his freshly lined cot after wrapping bandages around his back.

“There now,” she cooed. “Now you won’t upset the poor washer-lady.” She left his side, “I’ll be back later with dinner and I’ll check on your wounds. Now get some rest, and hopefully you’ll remember your manners.”

Shimmer growled at the mare and she rolled her eyes. She shrugged her shoulders and pulled shut the door with her maw, the metallic clink of metal bar sliding into place echoed around the room.

Silence reigned as the lantern light flickered and made the shadows dance. Shimmer sighed and pulled the sheet-for-a-duvet over him. He would show them all that he was great. He would show them all that he was the most powerful pony in this Kingdom. He would make them rue the times they called him a rat from the Eastern District.

He closed his eyes and wished to the Gods to bless him with another dream about the dragon.

--

The moon greeted him as the medical staff promptly kicked him out of the infirmary. The soldiers, however, had been waiting for him.

“Come with us,” one of them said, with a hint of a smile on his olive green face. They led him across the courtyard, from the short, massive tower, to the one of middling height. Attached to the side of the great fortress of stone smaller buildings, each puffing out thick, black smoke up its side. The ring of hammers filled the air as the scents of brimstone and ash tickled his nostrils. The smithy of Safe Haven sprawled around him like a small town in of itself. This was the only place that had the magic strong enough to forge the black in the armour. What else they did was lost on Shimmer.

The guards took him through the main passageway and past many smiths beating broken blades and bent metal back into shape.

“The forge is always busy,” said the guard “Especially when the powers above cannot see that one forge, no matter how big, cannot provide armour for an entire military.”

The second guard, a rugged stallion who, by the looks of the stump poking up the plate on one side, used to be a Pegasus, laughed. “So are you doubting Sombra’s logic?”

The first guard went stiff, his cropped emerald tail standing pert. “No, of course not. It’s just…”

“Oh relax, newbie. He can’t hear us.” The second Guard winked. “Th’ forge is the best in Equestria both Royal and New. Besides, would you want some smith’s apprentice’s shoddy work protecting your hide?”

“Err, no.”

“Well, there we go then. Problem solved.”

Shimmer looked between the two, a curious look to his face. “What are we doing here?”

“Come on, silly,” said the first. “We’re getting your armour back!”

The second soldier chuckled and leaned towards Shimmer, “Beware, friend, this one’s noisier than a Hydra on a rampage.

“I had a look,” said the first guard. “I hope you don’t mind. But bone! How did you even forge it? And that staff of yours, did you know it’s a femur you attached a blade to? What did it come from? How did you make it? Is it better than steel?”

The questions kept going, and Shimmer visibly slumped. The pain in his back may have disappeared like the angry welts that once covered it, but the pain in his head was only getting worse. The second soldier chuckled. “I’m glad he’s got some-pony else to talk to.”

Shimmer tried to answer as best he could. No, he did not make it; he re-appropriated it off a corpse. No, he had no idea what bone it was, or what it came from. He just knew it was light and flexible, and strong.

But the questions kept on coming, even when the second soldier helped clip the breast plate to his back plate and tighten the leather straps around his belly. His back may not hurt anymore, but his muscles still felt like they had been through the meat grinder. Finally, after the first soldier began questioning his lashing, Shimmer’s patience snapped.

“What” he cried, “is your problem? Why do you even care what I think?”

The second soldier coughed. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Where are my manners, my name is Steel Song, and this pony here is Green Tea…”

“…Of House Trinity.”

Shimmer gagged on his words. Of House Trinity? This kid was not just noble born, but part of the most powerful family that still had independence from New Equestria? Wild thoughts floated through his mind. He wondered how many thousands of bits he could ransom the kid back for. He glanced over at colt staring haplessly at one of the smith’s hard at work, spraying sparks with every crack of his hammer. Even in the armour the kid looked thin and sickly, overpowering him would not be an issue.

But why would a High noble house let one of theirs join Sombra’s ranks? Wasn’t that sort of thing seen as uncouth or something?

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Steel Song. “but the kid’s good in a scrap, I’ve seen it myself.”

“But what does this have to do with me?” asked Shimmer.

Green Tea…of House Trinity, turned and beamed at him. “Don’t you know? We’re part of your escort. We’re going to see a real life dragon temple. Oh, my Uncle is going to be so embarrassed when I tell him that I’ve been there. He told me that they did not exist!”

Shimmer sighed. Not only was he leading a caravan to almost certain doom, his journey was going to be non-ending incessant chatter. His luck could not get any worse.

“Are there more than just…us going?” asked Shimmer.

“Yup,” Steel Song, his rumbling voice filled with mirth. “We got twenty soldiers and over forty of the…”

“Rats?” asked Shimmer.

“I was going to say Mercenaries. But yes, forty of them. And that’s not counting the caravan and its guard.”

It help ease the tension in his belly but he still felt the queasiness turn his stomach. He was leading a small army, but was it enough to slay the beast he knew was just waiting for him. Shimmer gulped, if only there were a way out.

“What’s wrong?” asked Green Tea, “you look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” He put a hoof on his chin and suddenly beamed with delight. “Oh don’t you worry! We’ll find this place. We have mud waders, plenty of maps, more water than you could ever imagine, and supplies to last us until Hearths Warming. What else could we need?”

“Do we have enough arrows?” asked Shimmer, not even looking at the annoying noble.

“What?”

“Nothing…”

--

Shimmer, now reunited with his armour and weapon of choice, lost his chaperones for the quietness of a Southern District that had well and truly shut up shop for the evening. The moon shone down and reflected upon the still damp cobblestone, turning dull stone into crystal. He let his body sway to the rhythm in his head as he headed towards the Eastern district one last time. He knew it was silly, perhaps downright stupid to go back there, but somehow, he wanted to walk its streets one last time before he met certain doom.

And he wanted to apologise to Sun Spear. That pony had been right all along; look at the mess he was in now. Maybe he could scrounge two more ciders, and they could share a drink, just like old times. He realised that some part of him refused to head in the right direction, and he ended up wandering aimlessly between buildings, taking a similar roundabout route to that of a buzzing fly. He guessed that if he continued wandering, midnight would never come.

Shimmer stopped. His sixth sense flared and he heard the clatter of a loose stone bouncing on the cobbles. He turned and lowered his weapon. Crap. The last thing he needed right now was to get a roughing from the constabulary.

“Well, well, well,” said a voice from behind. The voice had a flowery quality to it, but that of daisies or sunflowers. It was more like the toxic seduction of Nightshade. “Is it not the Rat that climbed into the King’s bed.” Glow, the unicorn from the gatehouse, stepped out of the shadows, followed by several other Guard-ponies. Each one wore their civilian Guard tunics of white and grey, but, more worryingly, each one had their axes by their hips.

Noise attracted Shimmer to the bulky Pegasus blocking his only way of escape. “Do you remember me?” he snarled.

“Oink, oink, oink,” said Shimmer, returning a smirk.

“Oh, the rat puffs its chest,” said Glow. “But can it evade the flash of the blade?” Her side took a few steps forwards.

“Do you really want to tangle with me?” said Shimmer. Inside, his back protested and utter exhaustion fogged his mind, telling him to back down, to surrender.

The hairs rose over his body and his legs itched with impatience. Surrender was not an option. These Ponies did not look satisfied with a simple beating. The ponies unsheathed their axes, holding them in their mouths. At least the Pegasi could not take flight, for fear of alerting the real guard.

“You,” said Glow. She spat on the ground. “You ruined everything.”

“Then can I have my gem back?” said Shimmer.

“Sombra’s minions took it,” she snarled. “It turns out that they suddenly had an invested interest of how the Rats kept infiltrating their precious city. And their hounds went straight to me.”

Shimmer laughed. Oh it was funny. He knew what happened next, “And now you’re one of us. Outcast. A filthy, disgusting Rat. Everything you hate. Oh, this is too good. Take it from me, don’t head too far into the slums, that’s where the real nasty ponies are.”

“I will have your head!” she screamed as a stream of @@@ light hurled a spear straight at Shimmer. She rolled to his side and darted straight for her, his bone-spear in mouth. He ducked as something ruffled his mane, followed by the thrum of a crossbow. He lunged at Glow, but he collided into what felt like an invisible brick wall.

The wall of air expanded and pushed him away like a leaf in the wind. But Shimmer rolled in the wave of air and faced the charging Pegasi, rage burning like coals in his eyes. The Pegasi twisted, but Shimmer collided with expert deftness, crushing the massive pony under his hooves. Shimmer swiped once with his blade, finding the tender flesh of wing and the agonised screams of his victim. The sweep of his blade continued until it clashed with the axe of the Earth pony behind. Mismatched plates adorned this pony, all tied to him with bits of string. But his stance was solid, and the muscles underneath rippled as the pony hooked the underside edge around Shimmer’s staff, and pulled.

Shimmer broke the engagement by rolling onto his hind hooves, and swinging his staff full circle.

The pony shoulder checked the oncoming blade, sparks flying off his pauldron and helm, as he darted close and swung his axe.

Shimmer blocked the attack with the stem of the staff, turned and bucked the pony with all his strength. He did not have time to see the pony fly, and instead listened to the heavy thump of metal. Another magically propelled javelin came straight at his face, but dropped to the floor and the projectile pinged off his armour to summersault and sink into the ground nearby.

Another axe came at him, this time by a small, green pegasi that chose chain over plate. His strike was clumsy and Shimmer slapped the weapon away and drove the point of his spear straight into the pony’s chest. The pony did not have a chance to cough out blood before he fell to the paving stones, dead.

The wingless Pegasi roared and charged Shimmer down. He swung his axe with such velocity that it bit into the bone with each strike. Shimmer reared and dropped the spear into his awaiting hooves. Long, whistling sweeps pushed back the Pegasus, but his back roared in protest for the unnatural position. The Pegasi bull rushed him when Shimmer’s sweep went a little too far. They fell in a heap and an axe cracked the cobblestone next to his head. Shimmer pushed his staff up with all his might, straining as the great mass swung his axe again and again. Shimmer felt the heat of the breath upon him as the pegasi snapped at him like a rabid dog.

With a roar, Shimmer rolled and bucked. The Pegasi flew into the air, and his wing instinctively unfurled. The Pegasus screamed and fell into a puddle of his own blood.

“Damn you, Rat!” said Glow from behind. The sixth sense flared, but Shimmer could not dive out the way before a million biting ants crashing into his hindquarters and sent him tumbling across the cobblestones. He gasped and tumbled into the wall of a building, the solid stone offering no quarter.

The sound of rolling hoof beats thundering his way gave strength to his weakening back and with great effort, he flipped back onto his hooves, taking the armoured Earth pony out by surprise. With one sweep of the staff, the Pony’s throat opened up, and the poor sod collapsed, gurgling on his own life’s fluid.

Shimmer panted heavily, his muscles felt close to the edge, as if one more flip would snap them in half. Warmth seeped down his legs where the magic hit, and he found it painful to put his weight on. At least there were only two left standing, Glow and the archer.

Fear was evident on the poor Guards-pony and as his gaze set on her, she dropped her crossbow and fled into the darkness. Glow scowled as her horn aimed the three javelins, made with dull heads mounted on a thin wooden shaft, floating behind her at the fleeing pony. Without a single sound, the javelins disappeared followed by an ear shattering scream.

A painful walk took Shimmer back into direct moonlight. He tried to hide his limp with a casual grace, dropped the staff onto his shoulder and gave her an easy smile.  “Had enough?” he asked while he stared in mock concern at the chipped and bloody hoof.

“You…you,” she spat. Her javelins clattered on the floor as all magic left them. “I will take everything from you, like you did to me.”

“Oh come on, you know I have nothing to give. I’m a dirty Rat after all.”

“Then I will take your life. I will offer your blood to the Sorcerers and I will eat your soul.” She reached into a saddlebag partially hidden by her armour and threw hundreds of tiny steel barbs into the street below. Her magic caught each one, holding them above her like a silver cloud. She closed her eyes as a static charge made her fuzz stand on end. Her horn erupted into a blinding over glow that made her bare her teeth.

Shimmer dropped to a crouch and prepared to roll, but there was no way he would be able to escape. He set his rear hoof on the cobblestone. He had to charge; there was no other way. If he could get through that wall of death, then the battle was over.

Shimmer charged.

The barbs flew.

Something hit Shimmer hard on the back and the pain overwhelmed his mind. His hooves stumbled on the uneven surface and his skull cracked the pavement, making his head ring like a bell. He tried to move, but his body refused. He choked out a breath as the pains sank in and constricted his lungs. He needed to move, the barbs would shred him to pieces.

But where were they?

Shimmer looked up and saw the figure of a tall, armoured pony standing by her lonesome in the moonlight, the small metal barbs lying motionless all around her. How could it possibly be? It was the general that escorted him to his lashings!

She turned and stared at Shimmer as if he were some foreign object in a pernickety pony’s home. “You surprise me,” she said. “Even after my Lord beat you to the gateway of Tartarus, you managed to almost win an impossible fight.”

Shimmer grimaced as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He placed a hoof over his rear and it returned dripping with his blood. He gritted his teeth and twisted his body until he saw the bloody gouge where a protruding bone from his armour should have been. His cutie mark was lost under a steady stream of red. “Oh hell,” he muttered.

His spine tingled and he turned to see that the general had stepped closer with her horn glowing amber. He winced as his rear felt like some pony had branded him, but found the wound closing itself to leave yet another scar.

“That will suffice,” muttered the general. “I only know military basics when it comes to the art of arcane medicine, but a basic wound like that I can deal with. The muscle damage around your spine is something I will get the caravan doctor to deal with.”

Shimmer stared at her, unsure how to react. “Thanks?” he said confusion on his expression. His ears suddenly perked. “Glow? Where is she?”

“The unicorn escaped into the night. Now please, come with me.”

Shimmer gingerly got up and collected his staff, attaching it to the armour on his back. Even after the healing, he carried a limp that gave him a slow wobbling gait. However, the general remained a stride away from his side, although she never looked at him.

“What made you go to Sombra?” she asked.

Shimmer snorted. “Fame, glory.”

“Everypony wants that. But it does not make them face their Lord and Master with a history of crime and a vague promise of riches.” She hummed as her focused disappeared went elsewhere.

She perked with a twitch. “What is it that makes you want fame and fortune?”

Shimmer rolled his eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

“Because you intrigue me. Ponies, especially your breed, are easy to understand. They want to get by earning enough so that they can throw their lives away on some petty vice. It’s not common for a pony in your situation to impress King Sombra long enough to let him hear you out.”

“Wait, he was planning to kill me before we even talked?”

She shook her head. “He had talked about stringing you up on the walls to feed the crows, but something about you…made him pause. A curiosity, perhaps. I do not know. This is the reason why I have come to you. I want to find out what he sees.

“I will be accompanying you on this trip to your dragon temple.”

Shimmer shook his head. “Oh no, you don’t want to do that.”

She cocked her head. “Why not?” she eyed him. “Is this about that dragon you claimed you saw?”

“It’s not a claim, it’s a fact,” he replied. “Look, I don’t care if you come and get devoured like the rest of us. But, I owe you one.” He tried to give her his best haunted stare.

She snorted and her eyes lit up, amused. “Dragons have not existed for hundreds of years, what you saw was merely an illusion. The tomes said that their magic was tricky. You probably just set off an ancient trap.”

“It was not an illusion, mirage or vision. It was a real live, fire breathing, smoke snorting, pissed off dragon.”

Her smile was devilish. Did he just see correctly? Were her teeth pointed? But with a slight start, she strode forwards. If he was not mistaken, he could have sworn he saw the hints of shame in the way she slumped her shoulders.

Before he could open his mouth, she turned. “I’d advise you to come. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

Shimmer grunted. If she wants to die, then it’s fine by him. Shimmer wobbled after her, his hind leg  moving with all the grace of a square cart wheel. “If you’re coming with me, can I at least know your name?”

Without turning, she said “General Amaranth,” as she turned the corner and headed towards the main road.

--

Shimmer sneezed, which startled him. The shockwave sent a shiver down his spine, which enraged the swollen beast that made his back. General Amaranth had pushed him up into the back of the most well appointed wagon he had ever seen. Beneath the heavy canvas propped up by a thick wooden frame, there sat a firm, yet pliable mat. Around him, tinctures, powders and liquids sat in row upon row of shelves, and the combined whiff of herbs and spices he could never believe existed merged into an overwhelming stink that burned the back of his throat.

It was acrid, actually. And Shimmer decided that this must be some elaborate scheme to ‘punish the Rat’. He fell onto the mat and stared at all the bunches of dried leaves hanging from the cross beams, releasing their pungent odour into the miasma.

The doors opened with such force it shook the entire wagon. Shimmer lifted himself up and found a familiar face scowling at him. Blood Loss gave Shimmer a long hard stare as the battle medic’s ear twitched. Glass bottles and tinctures clanked together as the pony, armoured only with fabric, stomped onto the cart.

“We meet again, Shimmer,” he said through grated teeth. “I am to be your doctor on this trip.”

Shimmer wriggled to get his hooves underneath him, but the medics hoof on his shoulder kept him down. “It seems you have torn all your stitches and have significant damage to your leg.” He huffed. “Why am I not surprised?”

Shimmer remained quiet. He sniffled and rubbed his nose, much to the disgust of his host. But that did not stop the shiver as the cold hoof of the doctor rubbed his back as if probing for something.

“This is not good,” he muttered. He released a long breath as Shimmer’s sixth sense flared. “Not good at all.”

Blood Loss looked up and down one of the shelves, producing a herb from one of the jars. He proffered it to Shimmer within his silver magic. “Eat this,” he said.

Shimmer gave it a sniff. It smelt like a pine forest just after rainfall. “What is…”

Shimmer got no response other than a herb forced straight into his mouth. He coughed and spluttered as the foul tasting thing found his throat. He gagged, but the magic forced his jaw shut and pinched his nostrils closed. Shimmer swallowed.

The effect of the herb was immediate, and Shimmer sighed as he relaxed onto the mat. He felt the twangs in his back as something played on his muscles like a harp, but the pain felt…good as exhausted relief washed over him. A powerful smell of metal clung to Shimmer like the static had on his fur, but no blood pooled anywhere. He sniffed a few times but that only made him sneeze Shimmer chuckled as the strange sensations crept up and down his spine. He barely noticed the laboured breathing of the battle medic above him.

“What…is…wrong…with you?” panted Blood Loss. He growled in frustration and the dim light suddenly evaporated into the silver explosion. Shimmer gasped as his entire body bucked and contorted and then went still, but though he did not move, he felt as if he were in the thick of combat. He groaned as even the muscles around his jaw pulled painfully taut.

And then the magical grip left him, and Shimmer gasped a breath. “What in all of the Gods was that?” he cried.

Blood Loss’s head drooped and he fell onto his rump above a large, padlocked shut, chest. “I could not stitch the muscle together,” he said. “I had to fuse it…all of it…together.”

He took a few more breaths and growled. “Now get out of my caravan. Rats are not welcome here.”

“charming,” replied Shimmer. Blood Loss growled. His head may have drooped and his eye lids hung heavy, but the intensity behind that stare did not hide the sheer hatred this doctor had for him. “All right, all right.”

Shimmer opened the door with a nudge of his head. “Oh, and Doc, I’m a citizen now. You should treat me like one.”

Shimmer jumped just as a few glass jars smashed on the closing door. Shimmer landed with an easy grace and a smile on his face. That doctor may be an utter bastard, but he sure knew his magic. A new pony left the caravan, even if he were still a bit sniffly. But what did it matter if he had a cold? It was nothing compared to being fighting fit.

Around Shimmer, almost a hundred ponies went about the business, setting up the caravan for the long trip to the Bottomless Bog. Twenty soldiers lined the edges of the main street, each one pointed towards the large gatehouse protecting them from the dangerous outside and, more importantly, to the overflow of the Eastern District. Three wagons stood proud and tall, each one flying the Mark of Sombra upon a mast. Tradesponies went in between, loading travel rations, arrows, blankets and other necessities wherever a rope would hold it on. He even noticed a pile of at least twenty saddlebags disappear inside the lead caravan.

But it was the mercenaries that interested him. Each one so unlike the uniform soldiers of the military in a million different ways. The buzz of excitement hung in the air and energised Shimmer.

And then Shimmer spied Sun Spear, fully armoured and carrying his three-quarter length spear on his back. He noticed Shimmer and waved. Shimmer approached and they wrapped each other in a hug.

“I can’t believe you did it, you horse-mad lunatic,” Sun Spear said. “I actually…wow. You just scored us the biggest gig yet.” He pointed at the crowd of ponies around him. “just look at this. It’s like we’re in an army.”

Shimmer smiled. “You do realise that it will be us pulling the caravans through the bog, right?”

A playful push from Sun Spear was his response. The young mercenary’s eyes lit up. You think, when you return and I get my commendation, that we’ll stay together through the military? Those types are always so stuffy about conversation.”

Shimmer laughed. “I’m sure they’ll love to lump you in the same boat as me. But, we’ll show them that we’re worthy to wear the black.”

Sun Spear laughed and beckoned Shimmer over to a group of mercenaries. Each one, just like Shimmer and Sun Spear, wore tatted bits of leather armour mixed with all sorts of weapons from curved blades to scythes to a pitchfork. But each one, Shimmer recognised as the more capable of the Eastern Districts offerings. He could have sworn that he had brawled with a couple.

Each nodded to him respectively, which caught Shimmer off guard. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“We’ve been told to report to you. They told us that they will report to you. Sir, you are commanding this caravan.”

What? Shimmer reeled and rocked on his hooves. So much for feeling like a new pony. He asked for clarification and the mercenary repeated what he said. This was unthinkable. He was a rat…well he used to be. But still, this was a position of authority that somepony like him could never achieve. And it explained the suspicious gazes from his fellow ruffians. In a way, Shimmer had made it. He was living the dream that most ponies fought tooth a hoof for even a fraction of. They must have been so jealous right then…

“Isn’t it great!” sun Spear said, “with you in charge, I’ll never have to pull the cart!”

The tall dark form of General Amaranthe approached them, but somehow, her losing her armour in favour for a travel gear and saddlebags only made her look more formidable in a mysterious sense. Her long flowing mane fell down her side, but without the helm on, he could truly see that she was not all angles and hard stares. Her muzzle was a little less protruding than he had expected and was accompanied by a softness in her features. Her mane and fur lacked any form of dirt or mark and she seemed curious about everything as if this was her first time out.

“Shimmer,” she said. “I have put you in charge of this caravan.”

“I know,” he replied. “Why?”

“The best way to find out about a theory is to test it. The same theory applies to ponies.” She gave a small hint of a smile, but her lips never parted. “Besides, you said yourself that you wanted to prove yourself to Sombra. This is your chance.”

She walked off, satisfied with herself, and leaving Shimmer cringing. The mercenary to his left, a balding Earth Pony with a heavy stubble on his muzzle spat on the floor. A floor mounted bow, a monster of wood capable of firing bolts as thick as a foal’s hoof through a fully armoured soldier, was strapped to a loose chainmail jerkin. “Just because Sombra’s bitch has a hard-on for you don’t mean I have too. If this place don’t exist, I’ll save our miserable lord the trouble and impale you myself.”

“Nice to meet you too,” replied Shimmer. The mercenary spat on the floor and walked off.

“Why is it that every-pony I meet hates me in a different way?” asked Shimmer.

“I think it’s your personality,” said Sun Spear. “Or your looks. Or both.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

--

Shimmer spent the next few hours in a mire of complete frustration as ponies from different backgrounds requested all sorts of things Shimmer had no clue about. He tried his best, but the constant stream of rolling information turned into just another row between him and somepony regaling him about expenses over and over until the portly pony’s face turned blue. Shimmer refused to give him a single bit; he had no idea what the pony was charging for anyway. At least endless years working as a mercenary had given him the basics of leading and organisation, even if those skills were seriously sub-par for the tasks at hoof.

Shimmer also instigated the organisation of the soldiers and the mercenaries. A small group of two or three soldiers would head an entire group of ten or more mercs. This job just happened to fall to steel song and Green Tea, who both seemed quite happy with the prospect. However, it surprised him when General Amaranth refused.

“I may be a General, but I am no soldier,” she said.

“But, Generals lead the armies. That’s what Generals are for!” replied shimmer.

“Alas, but this rank is more ceremonial than practical. The Captains take those roles. Generals merely give the Captains directions.”

“But can you fight?” asked Shimmer, hardly believing what he was hearing.

Amaranth scraped a hoof in the dirt. “I know soldiercraft, but the battlefield is not my place. I am a scholar and a tactician. And as such, my place is by the side of the leading authority.”

He could not believe it. One of King Sombra’s most trusted confidants, and Shimmer could probably beat her in a fight! No wonder she took him away from the hustle and bustle of the main road and down a few side alleys.

“Just because I don’t fight does not make me weak,” she said with force in her tone.

“I did not say anyt…”

“But you thought it. It’s written on your face as clear as day.” She calmed down, the static around her dissipating into the air. “Besides, we have plenty of soldiers. But how many ponies knows how to play the game of war?”

Shimmer shook his head. “This is not some long drawn campaign.”

She nodded. “I expected another surprise from you, but alas, I believe we’ve reached your limit.”

Shimmer huffed as he inspected the newly refurbished wheel. Some poor craftspony had spent the last few hours with a saw, cutting out a section of the felloes whose wood had softened and splintered alarmingly. The fresh section, a pale yellow join among the dirty brown frame, shone with a fresh lacquer underneath a fresh cloth tyre.

Ameranth followed him around the wagon. “Your troop placement has at least three different vulnerabilities that I can see; you have not seen to the caravan master; and you have not secured passageway out of the city.”

“This is the largest caravan I have seen in years,” muttered Shimmer, “they’ll get the message.”

He pressed against the wheel and nodded as it stood firm. “I think we’re ready.”

=====some things happened====

The gates opened with a squeal, the guards waving through the procession as it trundled along. Six Mercenaries in their colourful rags pulled the three hulking wagons, surrounded by the shining black of Sombra’s soldiers. A great banner, the red crystal, rose into the air at the front, its fabric catching in the wind.

A crowd had gathered as Shimmer walked towards the final gatehouse that would take them outside. The faces of ponies, both well to do and haggard and worn, watched the spectacle with an idle curiosity, as if the machinations of Sombra’s will could be boiled down to simple troop movements.

How Shimmer wished he were on that side of the wall of guards. How much easier would his life be if he did not have to invade the lair of a dragon…again. He trotted beside Amaranth, who looked as much at ease as a doll in the hooves of an angry foal. Although she kept her head high and walked with the ease and grace of high society, he noticed her shuffling underneath her travel cloak as if she hid a hive of ants. Sun Spear had no issue, whatsoever, and had struck up conversation between a few of the mercenaries walking beside the second wagon.

He passed underneath the great arch and felt the squelch underneath his hooves as cobblestone turned to dirt. “Be ready,” he said. The nearest mercenaries leered at him.

“The foal thinks he’s captain,” he heard one of them say to his friend. The friend, an axe-wielding butter coloured pony who’s curled lips and battle-ravaged skin belied his cheery colouring, snorted and turned to look.

Shimmer ignored the comments and kept walking, ears forward. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the familiar weight of his staff attached on his back and the machete on his side.

“You should make it an order,” said Amaranth.

“Why?” asked Shimmer.

“Because you are Captain and you need to show them that.”

Shimmer snorted.

“Ignore my words all you like,” she said, “but it will hurt you.”

“Fine,” he snorted. He closed his eyes and thought back to the times he had done caravan runs. “Guards,” he shouted. “Form rank!”

Without hesitation, the soldiers stepped in unison, sending shockwaves across the ground and mud up the legs of protesting mercenaries. They stepped in front of one another and formed two lines guarding the sides of the caravan.

“Form rank!” The mercenaries watched him with a mix of irritation and hatred. Shimmer growled, he was going to hate himself for this. “This is my caravan and you are under my command. Form Rank!”

“Oh yeah?” said a bulky unicorn with a scar over one eye, Light Weaver his name was. “You’re not in charge of this and you’re not the one paying us.”

Shimmer trotted up to him. “Do I have to make you?”

The unicorn spat onto Shimmer’s hooves. “I will not take orders from Sombra’s pet Rat.”

And it dawned on Shimmer. Was this Amaranth’s doing? Had she deliberately put him in a position where absolutely every-pony would hate him? Was this one of her tests? Take her to Tartarus! And take this low life with her.

“I will not ask again,” Shimmer growled.

“Make me,” said the Unicorn. His horn flared and a force hit Shimmer square in the chest. Shimmer stood his ground, his hooves digging into the dirt. The Unicorn unsheathed a circular blade, like a discus but with a ring of terrifyingly sharp steel. He threw it in the air, caught it with his magic and threw it at Shimmer.

Shimmer roared, batted the discus away with his hoof – the blade chipping the rough nail-like substance—and sprinted after the Unicorn. Another burst of magic interrupted Shimmer, but he pushed through with surprising ease. He lunged onto the unicorn and slammed him into the dirt. A yellow glow enveloped his horn, and Shimmer’s six sense told him something happened, but by the way the unicorn’s eyes widened, something went wrong. Shimmer smashed his hoof into the unicorn’s face, feeling something snap underneath it.

The unicorn cried out as blood poured from his muzzle, but another blow kept him quiet. The creature underneath him looked so weak that he tasted the bile rising in the back of his throat. Which of the Gods put him in charge of these pathetic lumps?

He needed to take charge of them. He needed to show them the way. He would make them his, and show them their true place in this world. “Will you submit to me?” Shimmer shouted.

“I give up!” said the Unicorn.

Even the sound coming from his pathetic, useless throat sounded rancid. Shimmer’s hooves found the soft flesh of the mercenary’s neck as he fought against the desire to just press down. But death was too easy a way out for this creature. Shimmer punched him again. “That’s not what I asked. Will. You. Submit. To. Me?” Shimmer struck him again.

“Yes,” he cried.

Shimmer roared and smacked the pony one last time. He suddenly realised that every-pony had stopped to watch him. He got off the unicorn, who had started sniffling and addressed his audience. “what are you waiting for? Form Up!”

Every-pony scrambled into position. Even the mercenaries that had once given him nasty looks. Shimmer should have been happy. Things were going his way, and the rush of adrenaline felt wonderful. But something itched in the back of his throat, like he had accidentally swallowed a bug, and no amount of coughing would bring it up.

He rubbed the sweat off his brow with a shaky hoof. He felt the ice sink into his flesh, even though it was relatively warm. It was like he had jumped into an icy lake. Did he just do that?

“That was quite a display,” said Amaranth, “ruthless.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” shouted Sun Spear. “What, in all the gods’ names, was that?”

Shimmer groaned. “Go away Sunny,” muttered Shimmer. “And you too General. Please.”

“No,” Sun Spear said. “Dammit Shimmer, I know you’re an idiot but do you have to be a moron as well?”

“It’s my task to keep this caravan going,” Shimmer said. “I cannot afford to mess up.”

Sun Spear’s jaw hung loose as he stared at me, stunned. “But by almost killing a pony…” Sun Spear stepped to the side, allowing Shimmer to see the mercenary get back to his hooves. His chest rose and sank in a heavy jarring motion as he gasped for breath. The mercenary gave a hasty look in Shimmer’s direction, his eyes wide as if he was seeing for the first time. And, by the looks of it, he was terrified of what he saw. “…Can you afford to do that?”

“The acquisition of order and discipline through the use of overwhelming force,” Amaranth said in a formal business-like tone, “a useful tactic for establishing the boundaries.”

“You can stay out of this,” screamed Sun Spear.

Amaranth did not even bat an eye lid, for all intents and purposes, she could have been a statue. Her words remained calm and civil. “Need I remind you that with one order I can have you strung up over the city walls. But I won’t give the order. I will leave that to the Captain, here.”

“And I say no,” Shimmer said. “No-pony is going to die. But if I am leading this merry band, then I need both of you to leave me alone.” He rubbed his temple with a hoof, “you’re giving me a headache.”

“As you wish,” Amaranth said, turning tail.

Sun Spear growled. “This isn’t over, Shimmer. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” He turned and ran towards the front of the caravan, where most of the mercenaries had formed a rough block five ponies wide and six long.

But, at least Shimmer was alone, trotting behind the lumbering medical wagon at the back. What happened to him back there? Even in the thick of battle, he had never lost it like he had just then. In fact, he prided himself with his control. But this was…different. It was like he was a different pony entirely. For that moment, he felt like the dragon in his dream. Powerful and filled with a rage that could melt steel.

He shook his head. He could not afford to get distracted right now. He had just alienated every single mercenary under his command, including Sun Spear. And, although they would probably follow his orders during the day but by night time, they would probably be plotting to put a shiv into his spine.

The caravan trundled along through the clustered shanty homes that seemed to swarm up and over each other like plants fighting for the sunlight. Ponies stopped and stared at the caravan. Shimmer could see their ribs through their skin and a few of them sported untreated cuts that oozed disgusting white fluid that added to the unwelcome stench of Lower Haven, the town that spilled out of the crumbled walls of Eastern District to occupy the surrounding land outside the Southern Gatehouse.

Shimmer tried to not look at the unfortunate souls that called this hole their own. A couple of foals poked their heads around a darkened corner, their manes unkempt and their bodies filthy. The older sister sported a burn marks over her thigh that completely masked her Cutie Mark.

“Please, Mister,” said the younger one with an eye swollen shut. “Spare us a single bit. We have nothing.” The soldier pushed them out of the way like the trash society thought they were. The fact was, Shimmer could not blame the soldier. Those kids were effectively dead already. No-pony could last in this place without doing things that would turn a decent pony’s stomach.

Shimmer shook his head. This was not right. None of this was right. How could the leader of the realm just let this happen right outside his doorstep?

He kept walking, feeling the weight of his staff on his back. His gaze shifted between alleyway to alleyway, his mind interpreting every movement as a crouching assailant, every speck of light as the flash of a blood thirty blade.

“This won’t do,” he trotted over to a couple of soldiers, both sporting wings. “Hey,” he said. They both saluted and some little gremlin inside of Shimmer burst with glee. “I need you up in the sky, see if any-pony is waiting to jump out at us.”

“Yes sir,” they said. They spread their wings and with a violent gust of air, propelled themselves up and over the nearside buildings.

Not feeling reassured one bit, Shimmer returned to the rear of the column. The sooner he was out of this place, the better.

The path went down at a steady decline, and to Shimmer, it felt like the stink had followed it. The wheels of the wagons sank deeper and deeper into the mud and left deeper lines in the ground, but the efforts of the earth ponies pulling them kept them rolling.

There had been several occasions that the mercenaries had to rush a couple of desperate ponies out for the way using heavy clubs. Even with that, the ponies followed behind and made Shimmer think of them as Timberwolves tracking their prey. He tried to ignore them. They were just curious. They were not going to do anything bad.

“Captain.” The blue Pegasus landed next to him, splashing in the mud. He saluted, rubbing mud onto his helmet. “The path ahead has been blocked. We’re rolling into an ambush.”

Shimmer hesitated. Crap, just what I needed.

“Numbers?” he asked.

“I saw about ten in the buildings around it, but they were all in cover. I think there will be much more.”

“Is there another way around?”

“I have sent Flitterfly to look for another path out. But most of these streets are too narrow for the wagons.”

Shimmer took in a deep breath. “Then we’re going through. Get yourselves ready.”

Shimmer shouted and with a earth pounding stomp, the soldiers dropped the clubs and picked up their spears. The mercenaries did likewise, but in a flurry of frantic running and commotion.

Shimmer hefted his staff off his shoulder and into his mouth. He paced to the front of the column. Houses lined each side with such density that he could not tell when one home ended and another began. Bits of broken bottles and suspiciously yellow puddles covered the street, attracting a horde of flies. And up in front, Shimmer could see a mass of rubble, wooden boards and scrap metal. They had toppled the building.

“Get ready!” he shouted, the staff muffling his voice.

“Sir,” It was Green Tea. He could see the young colt’s wide eyes and shaky hooves. “They’re behind us. A whole load of them.”

Crap.

Shimmer looked around. He needed to think of something fast. The trap was going to spring.

Amaranth stepped out from behind the wagon. “Captain, do you require assistance?”

Shimmer nodded.

Amaranth returned the nod. “Very well, let me handle this.”

She turned to Green Tea. “Soldier! Take your team and two others and hold this point. Use the buildings for cover.” She pointed to the ponies pulling the wagons. “Get those into the centre of the column. Protect them with your lives.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Without pause she commanded the mercenaries back into formation. Pegasi took flight, crossbows in hoof and belly quivers full of bolts.

In the time it took to draw a single breath, wild screaming erupted from behind. “They have food!”

“Get them!”

“Bastards!”

In the next breath, a wave of ponies flooded the street and crashed against a wall of armour and steel. Cries of agony reined as a soldier in front of Shimmer reared up and jabbed a spear straight into a ragged pony’s shoulder. He saw the look of surprise on her face as the light left her eyes.

The soldier to Shimmer’s left stumbled as a Pegasus dropped on her like a brick. Shimmer swung his staff, the bladed end cutting into the assailant’s leg. As the Pegasus dropped, another one flew out of the window, only to spurt blood as a bold sank into his flesh.

Heat crashed against Shimmer as something exploded to his right. A mercenary dropped to the floor screaming as the fire ate him alive. Shimmer recoiled as another explosion left spots in his eyes. Dammit, they had bombs.

Shimmer ran over to a unicorn dressed in thick leather painted black and white. He pointed at a window on the other side of the street, where a burly beige pony with a dirty beard and a maniacal expression on his face clutched a full bottle with a lit rag stuffed into the neck. “Up there!”

She nodded and closed her eyes. Static built up around her and a bolt of yellow light erupted from her horn. The window exploded sending debris down into the street below, taking the pony and his bottle with it. A second explosion of intense flame sealed that pony’s fate.

Amaranth’s voice cut through the cacophony. “Get in the buildings, clear them out!” Shimmer spotted her behind the ring of wagon-pullers. “Shimmer,” she cried. “Hold the front. I’m, going to flush them into you.”

Another scream from above warned Shimmer of the falling Pegasus, this time wearing the jet black armour. His wings had buckled, the flight feather covered in warm red blood.

Shimmer cried out as a stone thumped into his armour. He looked up and saw the soldiers were vastly outnumbered, at least three to one. Their battle was frantic as the soldiers bobbed and weaved, only to stop and raise their crossbows. The crossbow thrummed and another Pegasus fell dead to the floor. The soldier dropped and picked up speed, dodging the onslaught of rocks and rusty blades.

“We need air support!” Shimmer cried. He looked at the unicorn and she nodded. Her horn lit up as she fired bolts into the air. A few more unicorns joined the fight, sending beams of deadly prismatic colour into the air.

His group cleared the front, and pressed against the rubble that made the barrier. Shimmer ordered them to back up and reform their lines, ready to engage the enemy.

It only took a few moments for the sounds of battle in the buildings to grow until he could hear the distinctive cries of Sun Spear. Suddenly a rush of ponies exited the buildings, and crashed into Shimmer’s awaiting line.

They fell quickly as Sun Spear’s group pressed them into his. Suddenly, the sky brightened as the remaining Pegasi fled into the town, bloody and battered. And with that, a howling cheer, fuelled by adrenaline mixed with bloodlust.

Shimmer released a breath as exhaustion settled in. In the hours after battle, Blood Loss got to work. Although, Shimmer noted that he only seemed to be helping the soldiers. Leaving the mercenaries to tend to their own wounds.

“Why are you doing that?” Shimmer asked.

“Can you not see I’m busy?” roared the doctor. “Go bother somepony else.”

Shimmer drew in a breath and supressed the urge to flick his staff back into his maw. “Could you please tend to the mercenaries?” He tried to keep his tone polite, but it was really, really hard. “Some look to be in bad shape.”

“I. Am. Busy.”

Shimmer growled. “Doctor,” he said. “Do your bloody job. I am the Captain and I order you to attend to the ponies under my care.”

Blood Loss stopped wrapping the bandage around the hoof of his patient to give Shimmer a long hard look. “I’d rather die rather than take orders from a dirty gutter rat.”

“Oh I can arrange that.” Shimmer dropped the staff to his shoulder. “Let’s see how good you are at stuffing your own innards back inside of you.”

Suddenly, his staff slipped out of his grasp and zipped into the air. Amaranth stepped in front of him. “There will be no need for that, Captain Shimmer Steppe.”

She turned to the doctor. “Your orders are to obey your captain,” she said.

“But’s not a captain. He’s a joke. Only Sombra’s chosen can become Captain.” He spat on the ground.

Amaranth nodded. “Indeed, that is so. But you are forgetting that I am a General. I am Sombra’s right hoof and who I appoint as acting Captain for this mission is my business. You will not question my decision.”

He growled. “Why waste valuable resources on…them?”

“Because your captain commanded you to do it. So do it, or he’ll book you for insubordination.”

He roared as he violently wrapped the soldiers hoof. The soldier yelped. “Stop whining and take it like a stallion.”

He gave Shimmer another long, hard stare filled with utter contempt. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Shimmer smiled. “that wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

“Piss off.”

--

“So,” said Shimmer as he watched the remaining mercenaries swarm over the fallen rubble. “your idea is to…blow it up?”

“Correct,” said Amaranth, a small hint of a smile on her face. She jumped when she caught him staring at her and turned her head away. But Shimmer saw fangs she tried to hide. A small burst of her horn, and her teeth looked normal again.

She hastily pointed at Steel Song carrying a large basket on his back. The grizzled Pegasus sported a nasty looking scratch on his armour that revealed the shiny metal underneath and a large dent on his helmet, but he still carried a contented smile as he bobbed his head to some tune only he could hear.

“We found a supply of Molotov cocktails in the top building. They should have enough power to clear a path.”

“I don’t know,” Shimmer said. “This seems dangerous.”

“Oh, it is,” she said. “Which is why we’ll back up.”

“I see.”

--

Sun Spear stood with Shimmer about two hundred yards away from the rubble within one of the shacks. Most of the group lingered around the wagons, tucked safely into small alley ways. But the more adventurous had occupied the shacks at the far end of the street.

Sun Spear practically buzzed with excitement as he stuck his head out of the hole that made a window. He turned to Shimmer and his grin drooped. His gaze returned to the solitary Pegasus holding a lit torch as he flew towards the rubble.

“Not talking to me then?” asked Shimmer.

“Not until you tell me why you screamed ‘I’m Shimmer Steppe. I’m a big fat pony who thinks I’m better than every-pony else. Submit to me or die.’” He said it in an annoying voice while he puffed out his chest and pouted.

Shimmer sighed. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

“Lier.”

“No, I’m serious. It was like I was a different pony entirely. For that moment…my blood boiled.”

“Sure.”

Shimmer placed a hoof on Sun Spear’s shoulder. “Sunny, please.”

“Don’t call me ‘Sunny’,” Sun Spear brushed off the hoof. “you should not have done that.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Sun Spear pushed Shimmer into the wall. “Are you?” Tears beaded around his eyes. “All these years. All these promises that no matter what, we treat the poor, the hungry, the weak with respect. You said we should look after each other, because no-pony else will. But then you went to Sombra…and you came back like one of those snooty nobles.”

“Sunny…”

“No, Shimmer. I can see it. You’ve changed. And now your just like the rest of them. Was all of this a lie? Or are you happy to just drop your old life for the plushy comfort of your new one?”

Shimmer’s jaw wobbled as the words hit him harder than any hammer. “I’m not like them,” he said. His breathing became hard, laboured even. He felt like he had just run a marathon.

“I respected you,” continued Sun Spear. “I thought we were brothers, together against everything. And now I know it was all a lie. I was just something convenient for you. And now you’re going to push me away…and I’ll be alone again.”

Tears streamed down his cheeks and his ears drooped. At that moment, Shimmer saw the foal he had found all those years ago. He closed his eyes. Why could he not breathe properly? His breaths came out as gasps as his lungs bellowed with an unseen urgency.

“Shimmer!” he shouted. Anger in his tone. “Look at me. At least have the decency to do that.”

Shimmer’s legs gave way and he collapsed to the floor and his head struck the floor.

“Damnit Shimmer. Shimmer?”

Shimmer’s eyes closed, just as a bright flash of light burst through the window, lighting the entire drab room up. Sun Spear’s hooves trotted closer and he heard his name called repeatedly over a faint round of cheering.

Shimmer’s eyes rolled back and everything went dark.

--

Flames, fire, burning corpses everywhere: on the houses, in the streets, floating in the ponds. All of them were ponies, dead ponies. Absolutely everywhere. And Shimmer sat in the middle of it all revelling in the sweet smell of death. This was his Kingdom. And he was its king. Nothing would stand in his way.

Shimmer unfurled his wings of leather and lifted himself from his throne of bones. He roared into the sky, spewing flame from his protruding maw. This world was his. He was everything. He was power!

He was the dragon.

--

Jerky rocking pulled Shimmer out of a fitful sleep. He felt the prodding of hooves on his body that held him in place.

Shimmer felt like his entire insides were going to come up and out of his mouth any moment. Some-pony had put a warm towel on his head that did little soak the sweat building underneath.

“Shimmer!” Sun Spear wrapped his hooves around him and brought him into a hug, before dropping him unceremoniously back onto the mat.

“Sunny?” Shimmer’s throat felt raw, like some-pony had rubbed sand into his throat. “Where am I?”

“You are in my care, again.” Blood Loss dropped a bottle straight in Shimmer’s mouth, its foul contents sloshing straight into the back of his throat. Shimmer gagged but the doctor held him down. Satisfied that the bottle was empty, he let Shimmer cough most of it back up. “You’re lucky that that pest refused to leave you alone, otherwise I might have had some fun.” Blood Loss leered at him.

Sun Spear rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I thought I’d stay here to stop you two from smooching.”

Shimmer croaked out a laugh, ravaging his poor, abused throat. Blood Loss just growled.

“How long was I out?” Shimmer asked.

“Two days,” Sun Spear replied.

“Two days?” cried Shimmer. He tried to pull himself up, but Sun Spear pushed him back onto the mat. “Where are we?”

Sun Spear smiled, “About two days’ travel away from Safe Haven.”

Shimmer groaned, “And where would that be, precisely?”

“Lakelands,” replied Blood Loss. “Now get out of my wagon. I’m sick of looking at your faces.”

He threw a bottle at Shimmer, who caught it square in the jaw bone. “Ow.” Shimmer rubbed a hoof on his chin.

“Sip this twice a day. It should take care of the fits.” Blood Loss stepped forwards, pushing Shimmer backwards. Shimmer groaned as his aching muscles protested and he yelped when his rear hoof found nothing but air.

“And don’t come back!” Blood Loss barrelled against him, knocking him into Sun Spear. With a yelp, they both tumbled out and slammed into the rocky earth.

Sun Spear giggled as they rolled to a halt. “What crawled up his arse?”

“Whatever it was, it probably died up there.”

They both laughed as they lay on the warm, caked earth. It was a welcome change. The late autumn monsoons usually left most of New Equestria in a layer of mud. It almost felt alien to feel dust in his fur and the sweet smell of oak on a fire.

After a moment of untangling themselves from each other. Shimmer’s ears drooped. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I did not mean for that to happen. I know how important it is to you that we treat each other with respect.”

Sun Spear snorted. “Oh, that. It’s alright. I’ve seen you do plenty of stupid before.” He gave Shimmer a long hard look, one of fake arrogance. But his gulp and pleading stare broke the illusion. “You…you won’t do it again, right?”

“Of course I won’t,” Shimmer said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. “As I said before, I’m not like them.”

Sun Spear nodded. And broke into a warm grin.

That was when one Green Tea poked him in the chest with his spear.

“Hey,” Shimmer said. “What was that for?”

Green Tea gave him a sheepish smile. But his gaze kept darting left and right. “I’m sorry to do this, sir,” he said with a tone of worry that put dread into Shimmer’s heart. “But General Amaranth says you should get your armour and meet at the head of the column.”

“What’s going on?” asked Sun Spear.

“Wildfire in the Lakelands,” Green Tea muttered. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. And I’ve spent a few years on the caravans with Father.”

Shimmer followed what Green Tea was transfixed upon. Long lines of black crisscrossed the scorched earth, surrounding the blackened spindly branches of burnt trees. It stretched on and on below them as the caravans trundled onwards, their drivers visibly relieved.

But Shimmer could not see far enough through a thin fog of ash to determine where he was. Only the perfectly flat grey ground distinguished that they were travelling around one of this area’s many lakes.

And Shimmer realised why the soldiers were so on edge; Not even the wildlife stirred.

“Where’s my armour?” he asked Green Tea.

“The General has it,” he replied.

Shimmer nodded at Sun Spear, “then let’s go.”

Shimmer and Sun Spear sprinted up the column of ponies, their expressions weary, but alert. Caked on mud covered their hoofguards and dirtied their tails.

“There you are.” Amaranth nodded to them and lowered Shimmer’s armour to the ground. “Captain Shimmer Steppe, I am pleased to report that we are a day’s journey away from the swamp. But circumstances have changed.”

“I can see,” muttered Shimmer. He donned his hoof guards and wriggled into his body plate, relaxing as the familiar pressures of the bone material pressed against him. He picked up the staff, twirled it in his hooves and slapped it against his shoulder. He took in a few deep breaths, letting the nerves settle into an annoying weight in his belly. He motioned to her with his head, and they broke from the column and headed towards the ash-covered lake.

Shimmer brushed a hoof into the murky water, watching the froth twirl behind his sweep.

“You weren’t lying, were you?” she asked.

“Nope,” replied Shimmer as he focused all his attention on the water.

“Then…that means…Oh bother.” Shimmer looked up to find a creature that sort of resembled Amaranth. Her fur had taken on a much darker shade, and her sleek, elegant mane took on an inky shine. Her fangs had returned, but that’s not what held his gaze. Her eyes. They were slitted. What?

Shimmer reached for his spear as she flicked a hood over her face and turned away. “Don’t look at me,” she said all calmness gone. “I said don’t look!”

Shimmer retuned his gaze to the water. What in all the Gods’ names had he just seen? She was a monster! And why the hell did he have his back to her?

He spun around, his staff in his maw, but he faltered when he saw the tear track glisten in the grey light.

She sniffed. “It was never my intention,” she muttered, “to look like a monster.” She brought up her slitted gaze to stare into his. “The Nightmare is his obsession. I am just another one of his puppets.”

She stomped over to the lake, and with a bright spark pf her magic, cleared off the layer of ash, revealing the clear water underneath. She stared at herself for an uncomfortably long time.

“But what does it matter?” she said. “Dragons have returned to this world.”

She stared out over the lake, watching as the ash settled back on its surface. Her horn glowed and bit by bit, her otherworldly features fragmented, leaving her mane purple and her body a lighter shade of blue.

Amaranth continued to stare over the lake. “Please tell me everything you know about this dragon.”

“Wait,” Shimmer said, “you still want to do this? Surely we should just flee?”

She chuckled, it sounded dry and humourless. “You’ve had plenty of opportunity to. Why have you not run?”

Shimmer paused. Why had he not just run? It’s not like he owed any-pony anything. Hell, every-pony seemed to want him dead anyway.

But he had made a promise to Sun Spear. Shimmer sighed. “Because Sun Spear would never forgive me if I run. He…he cares about the ponies in Eastern District. I can’t let him down.” He grinned. “And when I return, I’ll be hailed as a hero. And even Sombra will kiss my hoof.”

Shimmer found Amaranth giving him that creepy never ending analytical stare, although with her normal round eyes. “Interesting.”

Shimmer frowned. “What now?”

“Oh, nothing.” She returned to look at the sea. “Now tell me more about this dragon.”

--

Shimmer sipped the medicine Blood Loss gave to him. He winced as he forced the vile poison down his throat. Damn that bloody doctor! At least it kept the dizziness at bay.

Most of the soldiers, including the mercenaries, were busy creating fortifications around the circle of three wagons. In the centre, a mighty bonfire crackled and hissed under the light drizzle, it’s dim blue flames suppressed by the unicorn sitting next to it.

But it just about produced enough light for Shimmer to pack his fresh saddlebags and tie a loop in his armour’s harness to hang an oil lantern.

Around him, the remainder of the group prepared for the trek into the swamp. He was surprised to find Blood Loss as part of his group, although he stayed well away.

At most Shimmer had twelve ponies accompanying him. With another nine ponies following in tow and acting as rear guard. No pony had questioned why Amaranth and he had placed all the archers into this support group. But one thing that surprised every-pony was the decision to leave the Pegasi to defend the wagons. Because, let’s face it, what use was a Pegasus against a dragon?

“I hope you know where we’re going,” muttered Sun Spear. Shimmer had tried to get him to stay, but the determined yellow unicorn just insulted him and stated that he would follow anyway.

“Of course I do,” said Shimmer, puffing out his chest. “I know this bog like the back of my hoof.”

“Really?” Sun Spear asked.

“Sure, why not?” Shimmer smiled as Sun spear rolled his eyes.

“Just don’t make a fool of yourself.”

Somehow, Shimmer knew he would find that place again. A thought in the back of his mind whispered that fate would draw him there…that he had always known.