Not a word was spoken by anyone. Day guards and maids silently watched as the Night’s Reign were escorted through the caste in chains, Winter’s head hung low the whole way. Her legacy was forever tarnished, all because one stupid pony felt guilty. How could he not understand what she was trying to do? She shook her head, a low growl escaping her chest. No one understood.

Her breath sucked back into her chest when they turned the corner and became face to face with Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle. The two stopped in their tracks, as did the prisoners. A tense few seconds passed as the Princesses stared at their former guards. Celestia, as expected, kept a neutral expression, but Winter could see the concern slipping through her stoic mask. Twilight, on the other hand, looked between them and the elder alicorn, clearly confused. She and Winter never had the chance to meet, so she didn't know what the Captain of the Night Guard looked like. After making eye contact with Twilight for a split second, Winter slowly lowered her head again, too ashamed to keep it up. She stayed fixed on the floor, even when Luna hastily walked over to her sister and whispered something into her ear.

Even when they were ordered to move past a worrying Celestia and a curious Twilight.

Even when she passed the cells the changelings occupied.

Their death threats and insults did little to change her demeanor. When the cell doors closed on the second level of the dungeons, away from the changelings, she simply stood there, staring at the wall on the other side of the bars. Her future, everything she’d accomplished, all washed away in one day.

***

Winter’s eyes shot open. Instead of the bed she fell asleep in, her stiff body awoke on a hard surface. The stone ceiling above her was grimy and filthy.

No.

Sitting up, she slowly looked around; she was in a cave.

Please no.

There were rusty bars on the entrance, keeping her imprisoned. A dead forest on the outside stretched on for miles.

This can’t be happening, not again.

Dried blood and vomit littered the walls and floor.

I have get out of here!

Like a feral animal, she jumped up and ran into the bars, slamming her hooves into them with all her might. Her cries of anguish echoed throughout the lifeless forest; silence was the only answer she received. After a few minutes of relentless pounding and screaming, she slumped down, her back resting against the bars.

They had taken her again. She should have known they would find her, especially after what happened in Our Town. She felt like it was only yesterday when her and her team found themselves locked away in that heinous cave. They all knew the consequences of being part of the Night’s Reign; Princess Luna warned them of the dangers herself. They were the ones meant to go out at night, to travel to the darkest parts of Equestria and beyond to eliminate possible threats.

So when they were sent to a burned forest outside of Griffionstone two years ago to take down a powerful criminal, it was just another mission to her and her team. She was wrong. They were all wrong. They got their target, but ended up encountering something else: the changelings. Most of Winter’s original team never made it out of the forest alive. Only her and Moonlight. Back then, nobody knew what a changeling was. Even after their encounter, ponies didn't know anything about them or where to find them. The cave was all but abandoned when Celestia’s troops got there.

The sound of hooves walking across the stone floor made her jump back up. Crouching low, she faced the never ending darkness of the cave's exterior, prepared for whatever was coming. Two changelings with grey eyes appeared out of the shadows, a look of amusement on both their faces.

“It’s time to go, Captain,” one of them said.

“Not without a fight, you bastards,” Winter hissed.

She tried to move forward, but her legs wouldn't listen, like they was glued to the ground. Grunting and gritting her teeth, she struggled against the unseen force that kept her hooves pinned. One of the changeling's horns lit up, grey magic shooting out of it towards the defenseless earth pony. With no way of escaping the blast, she quickly covered her face with a foreleg. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw what appeared to be a tall dark blue pony watching her. It was only a glimpse, as the blast hit her at full force.

What came next was a blur; before she knew it, she was deep in the cave’s tunnels. There was darkness as far as the eye could see, the only light coming from green cocoons that lined the walls. Still lying on her stomach, she painfully lifted her head to peer into them. What she saw made her tremble. It was them. Her teammates, sucked dry of nearly all emotion. They were skinny, too; the outline of their ribs practically stuck out of their flesh and their withered faces looked like they were going to melt off their bones. A shiver went down Winter’s spine when they all turned their attention to her, their hooves touching the walls of the cocoons.

Winter tried to say something, but no words came out. The cocoons then began glowing bright green, making her friends faces contort in pain. Their bodies jerked around frantically as the cocoons grew brighter and brighter. Winter tried to get up, to do something, anything, but her body wouldn't listen. She was stuck on the floor, helpless as her teammates squirmed and moaned in agony. As the final bit of love and emotion was taken from their starving bodies, they ceased moving.

Wishing for the horrors to end, Winter buried her face into her hooves. This can't be real, this can't be happening again! This has to be some sort of… nightmare. A strange calmness swept over her, giving her the courage to lift her head back up. The cave was gone, replaced by a blue void. Slowly getting up, she looked around, seeing only blue and purple with bright white stars surrounding her. It almost looked like she was in space.

“Winter.”

She spun around to see Princess Luna before her. “Luna?”

“It’s okay Winter, you’re safe.”

The dreamscape seemed to move with Luna as she walked, like it was a part of her. Her voice was soothing and graceful, but that did little to take Winter off her guard, who stiffly stayed in place. “Where am I?”

“Asleep… in your cell.”

“Did you… see all that?” Winter asked.

Luna nodded. “I did.”

“It was the same, you know?” Winter said softly. “Everything, that’s… that’s exactly how it happened. That’s exactly how the changelings killed them.”

Luna stepped forward. “What the changelings did to you was horrible. I -”

“I don’t want your pity, Luna,” Winter spat.

“It’s not pity. I’m trying to help you.”

“You locked me in a cell,” Winter growled. “You said I betrayed everything the night guard stood for!”

Luna’s face hardened. “You did. But I believe in redemption.”

“Only fools believe in redemption.”

“You’re wrong, Winter,” Luna said. “We can take you and your team out of the dungeons and to a proper place were we can help you.”

Turning her back to Luna, Winter mumbled to herself. “You just don’t get it.”

Luna sighed. “If you let vengeance consume you, you will seal your own demise.”

The seconds ticked on as the Princess and her soldier silently stood in the dreamscape. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Winter’s head. Let Celestia and Luna feel sorry for me and shower me in forgiveness. Let them be fools. I’ll never stop. Not until every single one of those vile bugs are dead.

“Fine.” Winter said, hiding her smirk. “I’ll try it your way.”

Author's Note

I know this chapter's pretty short, but I've just been getting back into this after starting college. Now that I'm settled in though, I'll hopefully have more time.