Nebula's War

by SmilesPerHour

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Thriller, Drama, Gore, Original Character, Comedy
Length: 48672

Eight strangers come together to save the world from an evil tyrant. All hell breaks loose.

A warrior, a loner, an outcast, a joker, a mage, a baker and two sweethearts? Believe it or not, they're Equestria's last hope. When The Princesses of Equestria are kidnapped, it falls to these eight strangers to join forces and save the world from an insane tyrant. It's crazy, it's chaotic, but it just might work.

Many thanks to my best friends Azure (The1King), Chiarascura (Wintaura-Art), Melody (PearlDrummer1993), Aaron, Jacob, Traci and Xavier, without whom this story wouldn't exist.
Special Thanks to my creative consultant, Azure (The1King).

Published 2017-08-02 15:20:06 UTC
Last updated 2017-09-19 15:38:49 UTC

Azure Night

Azure Night loved his job. As Head of Night Security, it was Azure’s duty to patrol the castle and keep an eye out for intruders while everypony else slept. True, the position wasn't as sociable as daytime duties, but he did enjoy the company of three bat pony soldiers, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox, and of course, Princess Luna. Azure had admired Luna ever since he was a colt, which was hardly surprising since Azure grew up among The Nights, a herd of warrior unicorns who worshipped Princess Luna as their one true queen. When Princess Luna was banished to the moon, The Nights patiently awaited her return, but during her thousand-year exile, all of The Nights, except for Azure passed away.

Azure mourned the loss of his herd, but he cheered when Princess Luna returned to Equestria, and he was greatly honored when Luna offered him a job in The Royal Guard. Azure was not especially skilled in the arcane arts, but he more than made up for it with unparalleled swordsmanship. Every night, Azure would patrol the castle grounds, but most nights he was free to visit The Royal Garden, where Princess Luna could often be found. Every time she saw the telltale purple hair and sky blue fur of Azure Night, Princess Luna couldn't help but smile.

“Good evening, Azure Night." Luna said as Azure approached. "What news dost thou bring?"

"No disturbances thus far, Princess." Azure replied, bowing low to the ground. "My men are patrolling the rest of the castle, I just came to offer you my company." Luna giggled, and held her hoof to the glowing white pendant that hung around her neck.

"Thank thee for thy offer, but we are not lonely." She replied. "The night offers all of the company we require." She turned and smiled at Azure. "As does this Night." Azure blushed, but retained his composure.

"Thank you, Princess." He said. "But please let me know if there is anything you need. I'll be patrolling the castle foyer if you need me." He bowed again and left the garden to Princess Luna, whose gentle humming carried around the castle. Even with his military background, Azure couldn't help but smile when he heard Luna sing. Things like this made the lonely, tedious hours of patrol worthwhile.

Azure’s patrol continued as usual for several minutes, until a high-pitched scream rent the air. Without a moment's hesitation, Azure unsheathed his twin short swords, charged down the hall and burst through the door of Princess Celestia's bedroom. Celestia's bed was unoccupied, but the wall was peppered with burn marks, the telltale marks of a spell fired at close range. To make matters more confusing, the pillows had literally been turned into Swiss cheese and the bedside table was tap dancing around the room. A missing monarch, signs of a struggle, it all pointed to one thing: Princess Celestia had been kidnapped.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Azure burst through the doors and ran down the hallway, ignoring the three stallions that he had knocked over in his haste.

“Azure, what’s going on?” cried the first stallion. “We heard somepony scream, and-!”

“Eclipse, Night Shade, inspect Celestia’s room for evidence!” Azure shouted as he galloped down the hall. “Nox, come with me!” The trio exchanged confused looks.

“Evidence? What’s he talking about?” Eclipse asked. “Did something happen to-!”

“Just go to her room and look for anything suspicious!” Nox cried as he ran after Azure. As Nox arrived in The Royal Garden, he found Azure holding a silver necklace set with a glowing white pendant.

“Azure, what’s wrong?” Nox asked.

“I gave this moonstone necklace to Princess Luna for Hearth’s Warming Eve last year.” Azure whispered, more to himself than Nox. “She wouldn’t go anywhere without it.” With the utmost care, Azure wrapped the necklace in a swatch of blue fabric and tucked it into his breastplate.

“Search the garden.” Azure ordered. “Find any evidence of who kidnapped Princess Luna and where she was taken.” Nox had many questions, but knew better than to ask; instead, he helped Azure inspect every leaf, pebble and flower in The Royal Garden. The first sign of suspicious activity occurred when Nox examined a bush of roses, when the flowers fired a collective burst of water in Nox’s face.

“Ack-hey! What was that?” Nox spluttered, and shook himself dry.

“What happened?” Azure inquired.

“The rose bush just squirted me with water!” said Nox. “Why would the kidnappers go out of their way to do something so chaotic?” Azure peered at the rosebush for several seconds, then said,

“Keep looking.” Ten minutes later, Azure found several brown hairs lying on the garden path. He tried to pick them up, but as his magical aura surrounded the hairs a sharp pain shot through his horn.

“Ouch!” Azure cried.

“Are you okay?” Nox asked as Azure rubbed his horn.

“Yeah… just a headache.” Azure said. “Hey, I found some hairs that may have belonged to the kidnapper, do you have a piece of fabric that I can borrow?” Nox passed a handkerchief to Azure, who placed the hairs inside and tucked them into his breastplate. They searched for another thirty minutes, but could not find any hoof prints or discarded notes, not even a flower petal out of place. Nox was ready to leave, but Azure was busy investigating the gate for stray hairs.

“Azure, we’ve searched the whole garden.” Said Nox. “I’m sorry, but if there’s any evidence of where Princess Luna was taken we won’t find it here. We’ll have to make do with the evidence that we-!”

“No!” Azure cried. “There’s no such thing as a perfect crime! They always leave a trail; I just need to find it!” Nox stared at Azure with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

“Azure, I know how much Princess Luna means to you,” Nox sighed, and put his hoof on Azure’s shoulder “But searching this garden for hours on end won’t bring her back. We need to-!”

“You have NO IDEA what she means to me!” Azure shouted, and swatted Nox’s hoof away. Nox stared at Azure for several seconds before turning around and returning to the castle.

“I’m going to go and check in with the others, see what they’ve found.” Nox announced. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The last thing Nox saw as he left the garden was Azure, who was still examining every facet of the gate in hopes of finding a stray hair or hoof print. Several minutes later, Nox returned to the garden with Eclipse and Night Shade.

“Nox told us that you’re not feeling well.” Night Shade murmured.

“What’s it to you?” Azure spat, and Night Shade cringed. “I mean, no, I’m not feeling well.” Azure said, regaining his composure. “But I’ll be okay once we find Princess Luna. Did you find anything?”

“Well, yes.” Eclipse said, and produced several coarse brown hairs. “We found these hairs on the bedspread. Nox says that you found a set of identical hairs here in the garden?” Azure nodded, and produced the handkerchief from within his armor; Eclipse added the hairs to the collection, which Azure stuffed back into his armor before turning around and walking out the gate.

“Azure, where are you going?” asked Nox. “I thought you wanted to find evidence of Princess Luna’s capture!”

“I do, and I am.” Azure replied. “You three stay here and keep an eye out for any suspicious characters. I’m going to pay a visit to The Castle of Friendship.”

Azure hailed a carriage, and ten minutes later he was standing before The Castle of Friendship, a crystalline fortress that was home to Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Azure didn’t bother knocking on the door; he just stepped inside and began looking around. Whoever kidnapped Princess Luna and Celestia, Azure thought, they’re probably going after ALL of the Princesses of Equestria. I’m sure Twilight has already been kidnapped, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find more evidence in her castle. Everything was enshrouded in darkness, but Azure’s horn shone a light that sufficiently illuminated his surroundings. He didn’t know the layout of the castle, so he checked every room he came across.

One room contained thousands of books in shelves that reached the ceiling, and yet another contained a large bejeweled mirror that sat by itself in the dusty darkness, but no matter where Azure looked there was no sign of suspicious activity. Finally, Azure found Princess Twilight’s bedroom, where his worst suspicions were confirmed: the bed was vacated, and a number of scuff marks on the crystalline walls suggested that Twilight had fought back against her attackers, if briefly before her abduction. Furthermore, as he inspected his surroundings, Azure found a third set of coarse brown hairs, which he tucked into the handkerchief, as well as a tap-dancing nightstand and a pair of wrestling pillows.

“It’s all starting to make sense.” Azure whispered as a deep, primal growl sounded behind him. With the speed and reflexes born of a great warrior, Azure spun around and pointed his short swords at the unseen threat. All he could see were the beast's crimson eyes and pearly white fangs, but it was all Azure needed. In a flash of silver, the beast roared in pain as blood dripped from a gash in his cheek. “Okay monster, what did you do with the princesses?” Azure demanded. The beast's eyes crinkled in confusion, and it took a step forward; in the dim light of his horn, Azure saw that the beast was a massive black wolf, ten feet tall at the shoulder with four inch fangs.

"What are you talking about?" The beast growled. "YOU'RE the one who kidnapped Twilight, and I want to know where you took her!" The glistening white fangs parted, and closed an instant later on empty air. Azure had just barely dodged the wolf's deadly bite, and sank the blade of his sword into the wolf’s foreleg; the wolf howled in pain, but in a matter of seconds the bleeding stopped and the wound shrank away into nothingness.

“Well, crap.” Azure growled. “Of course it wouldn’t be that-!” But at that instant, the wolf threw Azure across the room, where he landed with a 'crash' upon Twilight's dancing nightstand. Azure was dazed, but he stood up and charged at the wolf, his swords glinting in the light of his horn. The wolf met him halfway, knocking the swords out of Azure's grasp and lifting him into the air as if he were a doll.

"TELL ME WHERE TWILIGHT IS!!" The wolf roared, wrapping his muscular paw around Azure's windpipe. Instead of answering, Azure brought his hoof down hard on the wolf’s paw, forcing him to release Azure.

“Haven’t seen her in months.” Azure replied as he picked up his swords. “I figured you had broken into the castle in hopes of eating her.”

“How DARE you!” The wolf roared. "I would NEVER harm Twilight! I've sworn to protect her with my life!"

"Is that so?" Azure scoffed as he picked up his swords. "And why should I believe you?"

"This is why." The wolf replied, and produced a large, flat square. Azure readied his blades, certain that it was a trick, but as he glanced down he realized that it was a large picture frame that contained four pictures. The first showed Twilight in the park, throwing a massive branch that the wolf bounded after like an eager puppy. The wolf took up most of the second photograph, his mass of black fur only interrupted by the comparatively small form of Princess Twilight, who slept soundly on his back. The third and forth photographs featured Twilight and a stallion with black fur and red eyes, sharing a milkshake and watching the sun set over the horizon. Azure used a spell to scan the photograph, but upon finding no evidence of tampering he was forced to admit that the wolf must have been telling the truth.

"So… you really are friends with Twilight?" Azure asked, looking up into the wolf's sorrowful red eyes.

"Yes, we've been friends for the past few years." The wolf confirmed. "She lets me live here with her. I'm Jacob, by the way."

"Azure Night." Azure replied, and set the picture frame down on the bed. "I’m surprised that you’ve eluded my notice." He continued. "It’s no easy feat for a giant wolf to live under the radar in a town of magical horses."

"Well, most ponies don't know that I'm a werewolf." Jacob explained. "I don't usually assume this form unless it's a real emergency." Azure nodded, and then did a double take.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'this form'? Are you a changeling?"

"Oh no, nothing like that!" Jacob laughed, and assumed an equine form, that of a stallion with black fur, red eyes and black and white striped hair. "Changelings can become whoever they like. I'm a demon, I can only change between wolf and pony forms." Before Jacob knew what was going on, he was on his back with the blade of Azure's sword pressed against his neck.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jacob gasped. "I thought we were friends!"

"That was before I knew you were a soul-sucking abomination!" Azure growled. "How do I know you aren't a spy, trying to infiltrate the monarchy and give your precious demon king a new kingdom?" Jacob tried to break free, but every movement caused the blade to press deeper into his neck, and he could feel the first trickle of blood flowing from his neck.

"I swear, I'm not like that!" Jacob pleaded. "Yes, I grew up in Tartarus, but my brother was killed during a war among our people, and so I came here in hopes of a more peaceful life. I met Princess Twilight, we became friends, and she invited me to live in the castle with her, I swear! I'm friends with Princess Luna, too! Ask her, and she'll confirm that I'm not evil!"

All of a sudden, Azure's mind went blank; he forgot about Jacob, his heritage and his possible treachery, all he could see was Princess Luna. Azure recalled his first meeting with Princess Luna, in The Royal Gardens when she had just returned from her thousand-year exile. Luna had been wearing a hooded cloak, and Azure struck up a casual conversation with her, completely unaware of whom he was talking to. They had conversed for an hour before Princess Luna spread her wings and revealed her true self. Azure was never more embarrassed or honored in his life as he was in that moment. Finally, Azure's mind returned to the present, where he had pinned a demon to the ground with a sword at his throat. After a moment's careful consideration, Azure released his grip.

"…Fine, I’ll give you a chance." Azure reasoned as Jacob stood up. "I've never heard of a good demon, but I don't see any reason to kill you for it."

"Well… thanks." Jacob choked. "But Twilight is still missing! We need to get to Canterlot and warn Princess Celestia!" Jacob ran for the door, but Azure sighed,

"Celestia is missing too, as is Princess Luna." Jacob stumbled and nearly fell over in shock.

"What?" He choked. "They're all gone? Even Princess Cadence?"

"Nopony's checked The Crystal Empire yet," Azure said while examining the scuffmarks on the walls. "But I'm willing to bet Cadence is missing, too." Jacob fell back on his haunches and stared down at the floor, unwilling to believe what he was hearing.

“Did you see or hear anything suspicious?” Azure asked. “Any evil creatures or strange circumstances?” Jacob shook his head.

“No, I was in my room when I heard Twilight scream.” Jacob admitted. “I ran here as quick as I could, but by the time I got here she was gone.” Jacob sat on the floor as tears filled his eyes. “How could this have happened? And why?” He sobbed.

"I don't know, kid, but I'm going to find out." Azure said as he put his swords away. “My friends and I are looking for evidence, and frankly, we need all the help we can get.” He held out his hoof to Jacob. “Come on, let’s get back to Canterlot and see what we can find.”

“Thanks, but not right now.” Jacob sniffled. “Twilight wouldn’t want me to leave the castle unprotected.” Azure scowled.

“Listen kid, Twilight isn’t coming back on her own. We need to work together to find out-!”

“I’M STAYING.” Jacob growled, and for an instant his pearly white molars grew into razor sharp fangs. Azure was not intimidated, but he didn’t want to start another fight, knowing that his swords had no lasting effect on the demon.
“Fine, stay here and keep the castle safe.” Azure sighed, and handed the photo collage to Jacob. “But when the townsfolk march up to your door with torches and pitchforks, don’t come crying to me.”

On Our Own

The next morning, Azure Night and his fellow soldiers were summoned to The War Room for an important meeting. However, when they arrived, they were shocked to find…

"Blueblood?" Azure cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Welcome to The War Council, gentlemen." Blueblood announced, and they were surprised to see that he was crying. "We are here today to discuss how we might locate the missing Princesses of Equestria."

"What are you doing here, Blueblood?" Azure repeated, but Prince Blueblood did not answer.

"It is imperative that we find the identity and location of the kidnapper, not just for the safety of the princesses but for the safety of our entire-!"

"BLUEBLOOD!!" Azure barked, and this time Prince Blueblood did not ignore him. Though his muzzle was stained with tears, he looked upon Azure with unmistakable frustration.

"That's PRINCE Blueblood to you, soldier." Blueblood said, and then added, "Soon to be King Blueblood."

"What are you talking about?" Azure asked. "You can't just promote yourself the moment Princess Celestia disappears!" Prince Blueblood narrowed his eyes.

"You had best mind your temper, soldier, or I'll have you court martialed for insubordination."

“Well then, I’ll get to the point.” Azure growled. "I am the Head of Night Security, and I want to know why you promoted-!"

"I didn't promote myself, I was promoted by the law." Blueblood announced. "Princess Celestia was my aunt, which makes me the heir to the throne. Now that she has disappeared, it falls to me to lead and protect the nation." He looked around the room, inviting somepony else to interrupt, but there was no reply.

"Very well." said Blueblood. "Now then-oh good, you're back." The soldiers turned and saw a team of armor-clad pegasi marching into the room. "What news from The Crystal Empire?" An orange pegasus with blue hair stepped forward. His sorrowful face did not convey good news.

"I'm sorry, sir." He announced. "But Princess Cadence, Prince Shining Armor and their daughter Flurry Heart are… gone." Prince Blueblood sighed and shook his head.

"Just as I feared. And what of the other citizens of The Crystal Empire?"

"They were not harmed physically, sir, but they are mourning the loss of their ruler regardless."

"Of course. I will visit The Crystal Empire this afternoon and offer my assistance to the citizens. Thank you, Flash Sentry, you are dismissed."

"Yes sir." Flash bowed and left the room, as did the pegasi accompanying him.

"As I was saying, Azure, I understand that you and your men were patrolling the castle last night, when the princesses were kidnapped."

"Are you suggesting that I'm the culprit?" Azure asked.

"No, of course not!" Blueblood insisted. "I'm just curious as to weather you saw any suspicious characters in the castle last night."

"No, we didn't see any suspicious characters,” said Azure. "There were no signs of forced entry, either. All we found were several strange transformations, and these hairs." Azure showed the hairs to Prince Blueblood, who was visibly confused.

"What do these hairs have to do with the investigation?" Prince Blueblood inquired.

"Pick them up." Azure insisted. Prince Blueblood lifted the hairs in his magical aura, and almost instantly dropped them back on the table.

"What in Equestria was that?" He cried. “I felt a sharp pain surge through my horn!”

"I found those hairs on each site that the princesses were kidnapped in." Azure explained. "I'm almost certain that these hairs came from our mysterious kidnapper, and that said kidnapper is in possession of powerful dark magic."

"A powerful dark creature with brown fur capable of overwhelming and kidnapping three alicorns?" Blueblood pondered. "That can only mean one thing: Discord." There was a collective gasp of surprise from every soldier in the room.

"Are you certain, sir?" Inquired a soldier with white fur and a bright orange mane. "I thought Discord had turned over a new leaf! Didn't Princess Twilight confirm that she and her friends had convinced him to use his reality-warping magic for good instead of evil?"

"Yes, Grand Valor," Blueblood confirmed. "But the evidence proves otherwise. Aside from the hairs, Discord's record is far from spotless. Twice in the past, Discord has turned our nation into his own personal playground, and that's not to mention last year's incident, when he willingly assisted Public Enemy #1 Tirek in stealing all of the magic in Equestria!" Several of the guards nodded in agreement; all of the evidence suggested that Discord had kidnapped the princesses. Azure, however was skeptical.

"But it doesn't make sense, Blueblood!" He argued. "Discord wouldn’t-!"

"PRINCE Blueblood, if you please."

"… Discord doesn't work like that. Sure, he plays tricks and humiliates ponies, but he would never kidnap them. Where's the fun in that?"

"Well, the princesses did turn him into a statue for several thousand years." Grand Valor said. "Maybe he just wanted revenge. I mean, wouldn't you be upset if you were unable to move or think for centuries?"

"So why make peace with Princess Twilight and her friends in the first place?" Azure inquired. "He could've kidnapped the princesses years ago and saved a lot of time."

"Yeah, but Discord is immortal, he can waste all the time he wants." Another soldier noted. "Besides, by tricking us into thinking he was tame, he got us to let our guard down, making it that much easier for him to kidnap the princesses."

"But-!" Azure began, but Prince Blueblood raised his hoof.

"That's enough, Azure." Blueblood announced. "You pose an interesting theory, but you have no evidence to prove Discord's innocence. You have, however provided these hairs, proof that Discord was at the scene of the crime, and as we have already clarified, Discord is the only being with sufficient motives and magical power to overwhelm The Princesses of Equestria."

"But what about-!" Azure began, but Prince Blueblood overrode him.

"However, if Discord wishes to prove his innocence, he is welcome to make a formal appearance and prove that he was not involved." Blueblood turned to address the rest of the soldiers. "Until then, the draconequus known as 'Discord' is to be considered Public Enemy #1, and we shall use any and all resources at our disposal to bring him to justice." The soldiers cheered, but Azure scoffed.

"Yeah, good luck with that." He mumbled as he approached the door.

"Where are you going, Azure?" Prince Blueblood inquired.

"I'm going to find the real culprit and rescue the princesses on my own." Azure replied.

"But we're all working together to find Discord-!"

"I said 'the REAL culprit'." Azure insisted. "Somepony else has it in for the princesses, and I'm going to find out who. In fact," He added, “These disappearances seem pretty convenient for you, don’t they?”

“I beg your pardon?” choked Blueblood.

“Well, I’m just saying that you’ve wanted to rule Equestria since you were a little colt, and all of a sudden the princesses have disappeared, leaving you in charge.” Blueblood’s cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed.

“Are you suggesting that I am responsible for the Princesses disappearance?” He said through gritted teeth.

“Maybe, maybe not.” Azure said with a shrug. “But unlike you, I’m going to find the truth before I confirm my suspicions.”

"No, you're not." Prince Blueblood insisted. "You're one of my best soldiers, Azure, and I can't have you running off on a wild goose chase, looking for a culprit who may or may not exist. You and the others are going to track down Discord and demand that he either release the princesses or prove his innocence. I am your commander, and you will do as I say." Azure glared at Blueblood, and Blueblood glared back, neither of them speaking or even blinking.

"I only have one commander," Azure growled. "And her name is Princess Luna." Azure stormed out of The Council Room and into The Royal Barracks, where he began packing his personal effects into a set of saddlebags. As he threw his blanket into the bag, something bright and grey fell from Azure’s breastplate: Princess Luna’s moonstone necklace. Visions of her dark blue fur, her twinkling, ethereal mane and soft blue eyes swam through Azure's mind like a torrent.

"I don't care what it takes." He whispered. "I'm going to find you." He lifted the necklace in his magical aura and fastened the chain around his neck. He was just about to leave when three soldiers entered the room and stood between Azure and the exit.

"Eclipse? Night Shade? Nox?" Azure gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"We're going with you." Nox insisted.

"I don't know if you're right or wrong," Night Shade admitted. "But I trust your judgment. If you say somepony else kidnapped the princesses, we're going to help you find them."

"Sure, we might get arrested, but we ponies of the night need to stick together!" Eclipse concluded. Azure looked from one to the other, but could not think of anything that would convince the trio to reconsider.

"Okay, fine, you can join me." Azure sighed. "But we move at my pace, understand? I intend to find Princess Luna and the other princesses, so you’d best keep up."

"You got it, boss." Nox chuckled.

"Well then, empty your lockers and follow me." Azure ordered, with the trace of a smile playing across his muzzle.

"Sir, yes sir!" The bat ponies said in unison, and in a matter of minutes they were ready to go. They charged out of The Royal Barracks and toward the castle's main gate, where they found their path blocked by four tall, armor-clad stallions.

"Azure Night, Prince Blueblood formally requests that you return to The Council Room at once." Grand Valor announced.

"Get out of the way, Valor." Azure demanded. "We don't want to hurt you."

"There is no need for violence." Grand Valor replied. "Please, accompany us back to The Council Room. Prince Blueblood is expecting you."

“Let him.” Azure scoffed. “As a disappointment himself, he should get used to feeling how others view him for a change.” Azure tried to walk past Grand Valor, who moved aside to block Azure's path.

"This is your final warning, soldier." Grand Valor said in a cold, severe tone. "Return to The Council Room, or you and your men will be court martialled for insubordination."

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" Azure shouted, and in one swift motion unsheathed his swords and brought them down upon Grand Valor's neck. Unfortunately, their path was deflected by a silver long sword, whose cross guard was set with a gleaming opal.

"Bad move, Azure." Grand Valor growled as his three soldiers pointed three long and very sharp spears at Azure. "Attempted murder is punishable by five years in prison." Azure snorted and pawed the ground while Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox each produced a dagger of pure onyx.

"Come and get us." Nox growled, and they charged. The air was rent with the sound of metal against metal as Azure and Grand's swords collided in midair, then pulled back for another strike. At the same time, Grand Valor's soldiers charged at Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox, wondering why the bat ponies had their eyes closed.

"Ha! This'll be easier than I thought." Strong Arm chuckled, and jabbed his spear at Nox. To his amazement, the bat pony leapt over his head and jabbed his onyx dagger between the plates of Strong Arm's armor.

"OW!" Strong Arm yelped, and turned around to face Nox. "Why you little-!" He jabbed his spear again and again, but Nox kept dodging around him. “How can you dodge me when your eyes are closed?”

"They’re bat ponies!" Grand Valor shouted as he jabbed at Azure's leg. "Their eyes are weak to bright light, but they have very keen ears! They’re listening to your movements and dodging your attacks!"

"So what do I do?" Strong Arm panted as yet another spear thrust missed its mark. Grand Valor hit Azure with the pommel of his sword, which dazed Azure long enough for Grand to reflect a beam of sunlight into Nox's face. Nox let out a screech of pain, tripped over his hooves and fell over.

"Now!" Grand Valor shouted. "Hit him while he's stunned!" Strong Arm raised his spear for a killing blow, but all of a sudden a sharp, stabbing pain shot up his leg, and a hoof collided with his cheek, knocking him to the ground. Nox didn't know what had happened, but he could hear somepony running toward him.

"Are you okay?" Eclipse asked as he helped Nox stand up.

"I’ve been better." Nox replied. "What happened?"

"Well, I heard you fall over, so I threw my dagger at the grunt attacking you. Judging by his scream, I'm pretty sure I hit him." Eclipse removed his dagger from Strong Arm's leg, wiped off the blood and returned it to its sheath. "Now come on, we need to get out of here."

"But we can't leave without Azure!" Nox cried.

"I didn't say we would." said Eclipse. "Now come on, let's show these jerks what bat ponies can REALLY do." Eclipse and Nox spread their large, leathery wings and soared toward Grand Valor, who they were amazed to find lying unconscious on the ground.

“It’s okay, guys, I had it all under control.” Azure chuckled. “I hit him between the eyes with my pommel and he crumpled.”

"Oh. Okay.” Said Nox. "Now let’s get out of here before these bozos wake up!"

"But where will we go?" Eclipse asked. "We can't exactly stay in Canterlot, now that we've defied our commander's orders and assaulted our fellow guards." Azure stroked his beard in thought.

"We'll go to The Everfree Forest." Azure decided. "The trees are dense enough to provide sufficient cover, and even if they follow us, they'll likely get lost or scared away by the monsters. Somepony get Night Shade, and we'll-!" But at that moment, Night Shade galloped over to them.

"Sorry I'm late, guys. That guy is tougher than he looks." He said, motioning to the unconscious stallion that he had been fighting. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're going to The Everfree Forest." Azure explained.

"Perfect! Let's fly there, it'll make us more difficult to track."

"Sounds good to me!" Eclipse remarked.

"And bad for me." said Azure. "I'm a unicorn, remember? I can't fly."

"No problem! We'll carry you." Night Shade amended as he pulled a large blanket from his saddlebag. "Eclipse, you take the other end." Azure figured out their plan an instant too late.

"Now wait a minute, I'm not-!" But Azure got no further, because he was swept off his feet and lifted into the air. The citizens of Canterlot had rarely seen something as strange as a unicorn in a makeshift hammock being carried over the city by three bat ponies, but as they flew into the distance, everypony returned to their daily tasks.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear." Azure grumbled as they descended upon The Everfree Forest. "We will never speak of this again."

A New King

Ten minutes later, Grand Valor and his men were lying in the infirmary, delivering the bad news to Prince Blueblood.

"They attacked you and ran away?" Blueblood inquired. "Did you see where they went?"

"No sir, my men and I were incapacitated. We didn't see anything." Strong Arm sat up in his bed, cradling his bandaged leg.

"That little runt! If I ever find him, I'll tear off his-!"

"Strong Arm, please!" Prince Blueblood remarked. "I'm sorry to see them leave, but we have neither the time nor the resources to track them down now. Our plan will have to go on without them."

"Plan, sir?" Asked Grand Valor. "What do you mean?" Prince Blueblood's voice took on a more formal tone.

"After you left to apprehend Azure Night and his men, the council was faced with a dilemma. Namely, with Discord being as powerful as he is, tracking and apprehending him will be difficult, to say the least. We simply don't have the resources to take on a threat like this. Following my coronation, I will visit the kingdoms of the changelings, the dragons and the griffons and explain our plight. If all goes well, we'll have a few more allies in our fight against Discord."

"Great idea, sir! And I'll accompany you in case something goes wrong." Grand Valor tried to sit up, but fell back as a stabbing pain shot through his chest.

"No, you stay here and rest." Blueblood insisted. "You have eight lacerations, three cracked ribs and a concussion; the best thing for it is bed rest. I also have a team of soldiers ready to accompany me. I assure you, I will be okay."

"As you wish, sir." Grand Valor sighed. "When do you expect to return?"

"One week from today, if all goes well." Prince Blueblood replied. "But then, I'm getting ahead of myself. My coronation will take place in two days, once we've had time to plan our strategies for addressing the non-equine kingdoms."

"Of course, sir." said Grand. "But please, let me know if there is anything at all that I can do to help."

"I shall." Blueblood replied, and left the infirmary to Grand Valor and his men.

The following week was one of the most hectic in Canterlot's history: the coronation regalia were taken out of storage and cleaned, officials practiced the appropriate speeches and rituals ten hours a day and the soldiers had to practice new marches and formations in the courtyard. Meanwhile, officers were tasked with delivering invitations to every equine ruler, such as Prince Rutherford of YakYakistan and King Jasiri of The Zebra Homelands. Of course, Sugarcube Corner, Equestria's most famous bakery was commissioned to bake a very special cake for the occasion.

“A cake for Prince Blueblood’s coronation?” Mrs. Cake sighed in a sad, monotone voice. “Well, thank you for coming to Sugarcube Corner. We’ll bake the cake and bring it to Canterlot this afternoon.” She bowed to the guard and trotted halfheartedly into the kitchen, where two mares were cleaning the countertops.

“Who was it, Mrs. Cake?” Asked the first mare. She was a tall earth pony with blonde hair, white fur and a cutie mark in the shape of a scroll.

“It was one of the royal guards, Anamir.” Mrs. Cake sighed. “Prince Blueblood is having his coronation tomorrow, and he needs a cake.” Her eyes were glazed with tears as she turned to leave the room. “Could you do this order, please? I… need to check on the children.” Mrs. Cake walked calmly out of the room, but the mares could clearly hear her sobbing under her breath.

“Poor Mrs. Cake.” Anamir sighed. “She hasn’t been the same since the princesses disappeared.”

“Well, you can hardly blame her.” The second mare replied. She was a pegasus with sky blue fur, a soft brown mane and a cutie mark in the shape of a rainbow-colored heart. “Pinkie Pie disappeared the same day, and she was practically a daughter to Mrs. Cake!”

“No, that’s true.” said Anamir. “In fact, the whole town has been pretty dreary since Twilight’s friends disappeared.”

“It has. It really has.” The pegasus sighed. “But at least we have each other.” Anamir smiled cheerfully at the pegasus.

“That’s right, Chiarascura. We’ll always be best friends, no matter what.” Anamir said, and gave Chiarascura a gentle hug.

“Now come on, let’s get baking!” They trotted over to the closet, took out two aprons and tied them around their waists before pulling a large cookbook down from the shelf.

"This is such an honor!" Anamir cheered. "I never dreamed that I would one day bake desserts for royalty!" She adjusted her glasses as she peered down at the recipe. "Chiarascura, could you please get two dozen eggs from the icebox?"

"No problem, Anamir!" Chiarascura replied as she tied her silky brown hair into a ponytail. Anamir did likewise, and began scooping flour into a large bowl. In a matter of minutes, they had beaten the ingredients into a smooth, creamy batter.

"It smells delicious!" Chiarascura purred and ruffled her feathers. "Like vanilla and lemons!"

"I know, right?" said Anamir. "Pinkie Pie used to use this recipe for cupcakes, and they were delicious! Light and fluffy, tangy with just a little bit of sweet." Anamir continued to stir the batter, but Chiarascura's ears drooped slightly.

"I miss Pinkie Pie." She admitted. "The bakery was always so much livelier when she was around. Pinkie had a joke for every occasion, and she never failed to bring a smile to everypony's face." Anamir stopped stirring and turned to look at Chiarascura.

"I know, I miss her too, but Pinkie wouldn't want us to be sad. She'd want us to smile when we think about her, and all the good times we had together. Remember your first day on the job?"

"How could I forget?" Chiarascura sighed. "Pinkie made a hat for me out of balloons, and wouldn't let me take it off while baking, said that my giggles would make the cake batter light and fluffy. It popped when I was pulling the cranberry muffins out of the oven, but Pinkie just gave me a hug and said 'it's okay, I'll make you a new one tomorrow'."

"See? Pinkie always looked on the bright side, made the best of everything life threw her way." Anamir concluded. "Wherever she is, I'm sure she's bringing a smile to everypony's face."

"I guess you're right." Chiarascura giggled, a smile playing across her muzzle. "I'll keep smiling for Pinkie." The rest of the baking went smoothly: the cake was cooked perfectly, without any uncooked batter or burnt edges, and decorated with blue and white icing, with a handmade figure of Prince Blueblood standing on the top tier.

"It's perfect!" said Anamir. "A cake fit for a king!"

"That's quite fitting, considering the occasion." Chiarascura noted.

"Thank you for your quality service and prompt delivery." The guard said as Anamir and Chiarascura carried the cake into Canterlot.

"Think nothing of it, sir." Anamir replied. "It's an honor to provide the cake for Prince Blueblood's coronation."

"Well, we certainly appreciate it." The guard chuckled, producing a large bag and two tickets. "As a way of saying 'thank you', we would like to offer both of you tickets to the coronation." Anamir and Chiarascura were dumbfounded.

"Oh my goodness, thank you!" Chiarascura cried. "This is such an honor!"

"You are each allowed to bring one guest." The guard continued. "Naturally, formal dress is required. Please arrive an hour in advance."

"Yes sir!" Anamir and Chiarascura said, and after taking their payment and the tickets, they returned to Sugarcube Corner, feeling happier than ever before.

The next day, Anamir and Chiarascura arrived in Canterlot with Melody Guardian, Chiarascura's pegasus boyfriend and Silver Lining, Anamir's best friend.

"This is amazing!" Silver cheered, munching bits of cauliflower like popcorn. "I haven't been this excited since I made my first storm cloud!"

"I know, right?" said Anamir. "I still miss the princesses, of course, but from what I've been told, Prince Blueblood has really turned over a new leaf."

"I should hope so." Chiarascura whispered. "He was very pompous and self-centered a few years ago, and becoming King of Equestria wouldn't do anything to improve his ego."

"Well, I'm willing to give him a chance." Melody admitted. "And besides, no matter what happens, we'll still have each other." He wrapped his soft blue wings around Chiarascura, who blushed and nuzzled Melody's cheek. Soon after, the ceremony began: trumpets blared, a red carpet was rolled out and covered with flower petals, and a procession of soldiers marched down the aisle. Finally, Prince Blueblood and a tall, dignified stallion stepped up to the stage, where they were greeted by salutes from the soldiers and applause from the crowd. As Prince Blueblood picked up the official regalia, the ceremony began.

"Prince Blueblood," The official announced. "Do you swear to uphold the sanctity of our nation's laws and traditions?"

"I do." Prince Blueblood replied, standing tall and proud.

"Do you swear to protect our nation from harm, no matter the cost?"

"I do." Blueblood said again.

"Do you swear to respect your subjects and their beliefs?"

"I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me by the nation of Equestria," The official announced, gently placing the crown upon Blueblood's head, "I hereby dub thee King Blueblood!" As he felt the crown settle upon his head, King Blueblood's ears were filled with the cheering voices and stomping hooves of everypony in attendance. He smiled proudly as he turned his head to the audience and observed his loyal subjects. As the applause died down, King Blueblood addressed the crowd.

"Citizens of Equestria! I know that some of you harbor resentment, even hatred toward me, but please understand that I am here to keep our nation safe." He paused, and then continued. "In fact, I feel an obligation to tell all of you why the princesses have disappeared." A feeling of mingled excitement and wariness broke over the crowd; they wanted to know why the princesses were gone, but also feared to hear what they were up against. "I'm sorry to say that we have been betrayed by one we thought to be a friend." The crowd started murmuring nervously; it was bad enough that the princesses were missing, but a former ally had betrayed them? What could be worse? "Discord has kidnapped the princesses." Cries of shock, fear and outrage rent the air like an explosion.

"Discord? But I thought he was our friend!"

"But he's so powerful! How will we ever protect ourselves?"

"I knew he couldn't be trusted! Didn't I say that Princess Twilight was wasting her time?" Eventually, the tumult died down, and King Nebula spoke again.

"I know, we are all shocked and afraid to hear this news, but this is not a time for fear. This is a time for action!" The crowd exchanged confused looks. "As you all know, our unicorn magic is no match for that of Discord, but there may be some power in Equestria that can overwhelm him. Immediately following the festivities, I am going to journey to The Changeling Hive, Draconis and Griffonstone and humbly request that they assist us in locating and apprehending Discord. If all goes well, we will have an army of soldiers and a wealth of information about non-equine magic. I'm sure that somepony will have the answer that we seek, and I won't rest until we find it!" The crowd cheered, more excited than confused now, and eager to see the kingdoms of Equestria united under a common cause. Once the crowd had settled down, King Blueblood made his final statement.

"But for now, I invite you all to join me in the castle for a celebratory feast!" Citizens, nobles and soldiers alike filed into the castle, where they were greeted by bowls of lettuce, towers of carrots, bales of hay and other delicious herbivore treats. Anamir, Chiarascura, Melody and Silver piled their plates and filled their goblets before finding an unoccupied table.

"Well, that was quite a speech." said Chiarascura. "I guess Prince-I mean, King Blueblood really does have the country's best interest in mind."

"See? I told you it would all be okay!" Melody replied.

"Too bad about Discord, though. He was a funny guy, gave me a bouquet of squirting flowers on April Fool's Day." Silver sighed. "But then, he's a being of pure chaos, and I guess he couldn't stand being nice all the time. He just had to do something, well, chaotic." A blissful smile spread across his muzzle as he took a bite of cake. "Great job on the cake, by the way, it's absolutely delicious."

"Thank you." Anamir said curtly.

"Something wrong?" Silver inquired.

"Hm? Oh no, I'm fine." Anamir insisted. "It's just… I hope this whole diplomatic mission goes well. Princess Celestia has tried to broker peace with the non-equine races for centuries, but it's never worked before."

"True, but it might be easier now that Starlight Glimmer reformed the changelings and taught the griffons to be generous." Melody noted. "Even the dragons have learned to mind their own business."

"I guess you're right." Anamir sighed. "Besides, it's like you said, Melody: no matter what happens, we'll still have each other."

"That's the spirit!" Silver cheered as he stood up from the table. "Now then, I'm going to get another dandelion sandwich, do you guys need anything while I'm up?"

King Blueblood was as good as his word: immediately after the party, he left to visit The Changeling Hive with six of his best soldiers. A week later, everypony in Canterlot came to greet King Blueblood as he returned with not just his soldiers, but also several hundred changelings. The crowd oohed and aahed as the changelings stood at attention. When the changelings last visited Canterlot, they were fearsome half bug, half pony creatures with black shells, translucent wings and long fangs who had terrorized Canterlot, literally sucking the love from every pony they could find. The changelings flanking King Blueblood were still bug-like, but they were more colorful and fangless, as if they had undergone a literal metamorphosis. It was clear that the changelings had turned over a new leaf.

Seconds later, a platoon of griffons landed next to the changelings, their majestic eagle wings tucked close to their powerful lion bodies. Finally, a team of dragons landed in the courtyard, their colorful scales sparkling in the afternoon sun. Each of the creatures wore a handsome black badge on their chest, adorned with a crimson star that glinted in the afternoon sun.

"Thank you for your kind welcome, everypony!" Blueblood announced. "As you can see, I have been able to broker peace with the Changeling, Dragon and Griffon Empires. Upon hearing of our plight, and the threat that Discord poses to us all, the changelings, dragons and griffons graciously offered to share their soldiers and magical knowledge with us. Together, we will bring Discord to justice." The crowd cheered louder than before. "But I assure you that as we search for the regicidal maniac, we will not leave our homes and citizens unprotected." Blueblood continued. "We will have several dragons assisting law enforcement in large cities like Manehattan and Las Pegasus. The griffons will protect smaller cities and relay news. Finally, the changelings will work undercover and gather intel in our settlements." This time, the applause was less enthusiastic, and there was some murmuring among the crowd.

"He's going to have the changelings monitor us? Is that legal?"

"I thought Blueblood knew what he was doing!"

"What if they pretend to be our friends? We won't know who to trust!"

"Please, everypony, I understand your concerns!" King Blueblood announced. "But I assure you, the changelings will not pretend to be your loved ones. They will simply take on unassuming forms, search for clues and relay the information to the griffons who will in turn tell me. Yes, it's a diversion from our usual methods, but in cases like this we need to use more subtle methods if we are to succeed. I promise, you are all perfectly safe." The crowd was skeptical, but they respectfully applauded and returned to their daily routines.

Proof

From that day forth, everypony in Equestria lived in fear. They cowered when a dragon passed by, they cringed when they saw the razor sharp beaks and claws of the griffons, and they developed special codes and hoof shakes to prove that their trusted friends were not changelings in disguise. Many were unwilling to leave their homes, certain that one of the monsters would leap out of the shadows and devour them. In fact, it was six months before a new development got ponies talking again.

It was a quiet day in Ponyville as six armor-clad soldiers marched up to the massive golden doors of The Castle of Friendship. Although they could not hear what was being said, two unicorns in the public library clearly saw the soldiers entering the castle.

"How strange." said a female unicorn, who had been reading a book on hypnosis. "Trixie thought that the soldiers had already found evidence to prove that Discord had kidnapped the princesses. Why would they be going back into the castle?"

"Maybe they want to double check their facts.,” replied EagleHeart, a male unicorn with grey fur. "Haven't I always said that Discord was innocent?"

"Yes yes, Trixie remembers." Trixie sighed, but there was no malice in her tone. "You've told Trixie that kidnapping 'isn't Discord's style', and 'I'll go before Blueblood himself and prove that Discord is innocent'. So why haven't you?"

"I wish I could, but I don't have any evidence." EagleHeart admitted, absentmindedly twirling a quill in his emerald green aura. "If I could just get five minutes to investigate the castle, I'm sure I'd find the proof I need!" All of a sudden, a bloodcurdling roar erupted from The Castle of Friendship. EagleHeart and Trixie looked out the window in time to see the soldiers leave the castle, clamor into their sky chariots and fly away.

"… What the hay was that?" EagleHeart cried as the soldiers returned to Canterlot. "What scared them off? Did they trip some sort of magical burglar alarm? Or is there a monster living in the castle? And most of all, why were they in the castle in the first place?"

"All wonderful questions, but no answers. "Trixie laughed. "What do you say we put our research to the test?"

"Well… okay." EagleHeart conceded, and returned his spell books to the appropriate shelves. "But don't get cocky, we have no idea what's in there!"

"Who, Trixie?" Trixie laughed in mock surprise. "Trixie may be a performer, she may refer to herself in the second and third person, but she is anything but-!"

"EagleHeart, Trixie!" A voice called from Sugarcube Corner. "Long time, no see!"

"Oh! Hi Anamir." said EagleHeart. "Sorry, but can we get back to you later? Trixie and I-!"

"Oh, don't be silly!" Anamir laughed. "There's always time for a friendly chat and a sweet snack! Come on, just a few minutes?" EagleHeart stared longingly at The Castle of Friendship, and back at Anamir's pleading eyes.

"Oh come on, EagleHeart!" Trixie insisted. "Just a few minutes! The castle will still be there when we get back."

"I guess you're right, as usual." EagleHeart sighed as he and Trixie trotted up to Sugarcube Corner. "I don't know how you do it, Trixie, but you're very persuasive."

"Trixie supposes it’s her natural charm." Trixie giggled as they trotted up to the dessert display. "Hmm… Trixie will have a slice of cinnamon nut bread, please."

"Certainly!" said Anamir. "But first, which creature did you loose on Ponyville during your first show?"

"… Excuse me?"

“Which creature did The Great and Powerful Trixie loose on Ponyville during her first show?"

"Um, let's see, it was a bear made of stars… an Ursa Minor!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" Anamir smiled, and handed the soft, warm slice of cinnamon nut bread to Trixie.

"Anamir, what-?" EagleHeart began, but Anamir interrupted.

"Who trained EagleHeart in the arcane arts?"

"Chakra. Why?" EagleHeart replied, and Anamir gave a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, I had to be sure it was really you." She explained. "It's almost impossible to tell a pony from a changeling."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." EagleHeart replied, and glanced down at the pastry display. "Let's see… I'll have a carrot cupcake, please."

"Coming right up!" Anamir chirped, and passed a sweet, moist cupcake over the counter. "No no, this one's on the house." She insisted as EagleHeart held out two bits. "Go and sit with Melody and Silver," She added. "They arrived just a few minutes ago." EagleHeart had never seen Sugarcube Corner as empty as this before: aside from his friends, the only patrons were a bat pony with red fur and yellow hair and a stallion who sat in a darkened corner of the cafe, wearing a hooded cloak and sipping a cup of tea. The hooded stallion unnerved EagleHeart, but he reasoned that a changeling would not dress so conspicuously.

"Hey, the gang's all here!" Silver cheered, lifting a mug of hot chocolate in greeting.

"Hello, Silver." said EagleHeart. "How are things in Cloudsdale?"

"Pretty much the same as Ponyville." Silver admitted. "I mean sure, it's a city made of clouds, but nopony really goes outside anymore, not even to hang out with friends. They're afraid that a griffon will gobble them up, or a changeling will try to weasel secrets from them."

"It's ridiculous!" Melody cried. "Ponies wouldn't have to live in fear if they just gave the non-equines a chance! Even the changelings have turned over a new leaf since King Thorax took up the throne!"

"Old wounds run deep, my friend." Silver said, patting Melody on the back. "Starlight Glimmer may have reformed them, but it'll take a while for ponies to accept the changelings. Remember when the changelings led an assault on Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding?"

"But that was years ago!" Trixie objected. "The changelings have reformed, Trixie saw it with her own eyes!"

"Yes, but my point is that until the changelings PROVE that they've changed for the better, they'll be seen as monsters. Same with the dragons and griffons: we've been told that they've changed their ways, but we've yet to see any proof." The group was silent for a moment, and then...

"Proof!" EagleHeart cried, loud enough to attract the attention of everypony in the bakery. "Trixie and I need to find proof that Discord is innocent!"

“I beg your pardon?" Chiarascura asked.

"Trixie and I were sitting in the library, and we saw a team of soldiers march into The Castle of Friendship. We didn't see what happened, but something in the castle roared, and they all ran back to Canterlot! Those soldiers are up to something, and we're going to find out what!" Again, the room fell silent.

"EagleHeart, you know I love you like a brother," said Silver. "But I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It doesn't matter!" EagleHeart cried, and beckoned for Trixie to follow him. "We need to get into that castle before the guards get back!" They ran for the door, when all of a sudden…

"Stop!"

"Oh, what now?" EagleHeart sighed. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to talk!"

"Um, that wasn't us." Melody explained, and pointed to the corner booth.

"You'll never get out of that castle alive." The hooded figure growled. "Not without my help." He threw back his hood, revealing a thick purple beard, a long curved horn and a purple mane that was tied back in a ponytail.

"What the-?" EagleHeart spluttered for a moment before comprehension dawned on him. "Wait a minute, you're Azure Night!" Azure was taken aback.

"You've heard of me?"

"Of course I've heard of you! I visited Canterlot every week to watch your sparring matches. But then you disappeared, and I thought you were dead!"

“You’ve seen me spar, and yet you underestimate me?” Azure replied. "Now as I was saying, follow me to the castle. I wouldn't mind getting some proof myself."

"Well then, lead the way!" said EagleHeart. Without another word, Azure galloped down the street with EagleHeart and Trixie following close behind.

"Hello?" Azure called as he entered the crystalline fortress. "Jacob, are you here? It's Azure! I know we haven't spoken in a while, but I'm here to help!"

“What's going on here?" EagleHeart panted as he arrived on the scene. "Who are you talking to?" His question was immediately answered as a hulking mass with black fur and red eyes stepped out of the shadows

"Azure." said the hulking mass. "Long time, no see."

"A werewolf!" EagleHeart shouted. "So the soldiers weren't trespassing, they were exterminating!" EagleHeart lowered his glowing horn to point at the wolf. "Well, I won't stand by and let you desecrate Princess Twilight's castle!"

"STOP!" Azure shouted. "He's not a monster, he's a resident!" And Azure explained that the wolf, Jacob was a friend of Twilight who was guarding the castle in her absence.

"… Oh. Well, I guess that's okay." EagleHeart admitted. "Sorry I tried to kill you, Jacob."

"Happens all the time." Jacob admitted, and shrank back into his pony form. "So Azure, I guess you're here to ask about the intruders?"

"You got it. I was having a cup of tea in Sugarcube Corner when these two charged in, saying that a team of soldiers ran into the castle and got scared off." A smug grin played across Jacob's muzzle.

"Yeah, that was me. I was taking a nap on when I heard a disturbance in the library. When I got there, I saw a bunch of soldiers pulling books from the shelves and stuffing them into big purple bags. Naturally, I started growling and snarling at them, and they ran off."

"Interesting." Azure said, stroking his beard in thought.

"The good news is that they left their bags behind." Jacob continued. "Bad news, they'll eventually come back to finish what they started."

"Excuse me?" said EagleHeart. "May I take a look around?"

"Yeah, okay." Jacob replied. "The library is just down the hall." As EagleHeart and Trixie went to investigate the scene, Azure turned to address Jacob.

"So, have you given any thought to my offer?" Azure asked. "Do you want to help me find the princesses and prove that Discord is innocent?" Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

"I admit that there's something weird going on, Azure," He said. "But I can't leave the castle unprotected, especially after what happened today. This castle is my home, and I'm not going to let anypony take it away."

"Jacob, I know how important this castle is to you and Twilight," Azure sighed. "But if you want Twilight to come back, you need to-!"

"Excuse me?" called a voice from the entrance. "I'm sorry, are we interrupting?" Azure and Jacob turned to see Anamir, Chiarascura, Melody, Silver and the red bat pony standing in the doorway.

"Explain yourselves, citizens!” Azure shouted. "We're dealing with an issue of national security, and any civilian interference could blow the whole investigation to Tartarus! So explain yourselves or begone!"

"Well I'm sorry, but we wanted to make sure that our friends were safe." Anamir explained, sounding a bit more than offended.

"We don't want to get involved or jeopardize your mission, Sir." Chiarascura insisted. "We'll just get our friends and leave you be."

"And I just wanted to see what The Castle of Friendship looks like." Admitted the red bat pony. Azure stared incredulously at the starry-eyed stallion.

"… And who are you?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm Aaron! I was sitting in the cafe when I heard all this commotion about an invasion on The Castle of Friendship. It sounded like fun, so I just followed everypony here." Azure sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration.

"'Aaron'? Geez, and I thought MY name was weird." Jacob murmured.

"I don't think any of you understand the danger of the situation!" Azure shouted. "This isn't a field trip, this is a crime scene! If Blueblood finds you here, he'll have you thrown in the dungeon for the rest of your lives!"

"Well, I look forward to meeting him." EagleHeart said as he and Trixie stepped into the room, dragging a large bag of spell books. "Because I have a few questions that I'd like to ask our ruler." Back in Canterlot, Grand Valor was in high spirits: he had made a complete recovery from his battle with Azure, and was ready to resume his duties. He returned to the barracks, slid into his highly polished golden armor and strapped his long sword to his back before galloping down the hall to the throne room. Before he could enter, however, he heard the noise of a heated argument coming from within the room: Grand was certain that King Blueblood was in the room, although neither of the voices sounded like Blueblood's. Grand Valor hid behind the doorway and listened carefully to the conversation.

"… don't see why you bother, really." said Strong Arm.

"We've been over this before." replied a cold, haunting voice that Grand Valor didn't recognize. "They wouldn't take me seriously if they didn't think I was their legitimate ruler. I don't care if somepony else gets the credit, just so long as my plans come to fruition."

"Yeah, well, it'd be a lot easier to maintain the illusion if you just asked the changelings to-!" There was the sound of a hoof hitting flesh, and a yelp of pain.

"Don't you dare suggest I ask those worthless vermin for help!" Hissed the haunting voice. "Not after what they did to…" The voice trailed off, and cleared its throat. "At any rate, I have them working on a more important task."

"Okay, okay, fine!" Strong Arm said in an annoyed tone. "So the changelings are working on something important. I don't know why we bothered enslaving the dragons and griffons, though."

"Their races are too volatile." said the haunting voice. "If left unchecked, they would have eventually figured out our plan and come to shut us down. Trust me, they're leading more fulfilling lives than ever before."

"Yeah yeah, you're a real hero, Nebula." Strong Arm laughed. "You'll singlehandedly save Equestria from itself, and all it cost you was your immortal soul."

"For the last time, I don't care!" cried the stallion called 'Nebula'. "I couldn't have kidnapped all four Princesses of Equestria without the power your master provided!"

"Oh, you'll care eventually. They all do." Strong Arm chuckled. Grand Valor was so horrified by what he was hearing that he barely heard the thundering hooves running down the hallway. Grand only had enough time to hide behind a pillar before six armor-clad soldiers charged onto the scene and into the throne room.

"Ah, right on time!" Nebula cheered. "Did you find what I asked for?"

"No sir, there were… complications." Admitted one of the soldiers. "As it turns out, The Castle of Friendship isn't completely vacated."

"What do you mean?"

"There's another demon living there, sir. His name is Jacob." There was a long silence.

“Do you know this demon?" Nebula asked.

"Yes sir, but we thought he was dead. He disappeared from Tartarus last year, after his brother died."

"Well, I suggest we pay this 'Jacob’ a visit." Back in the hallway, Grand Valor was frozen in terrified disbelief. This 'Nebula' was masquerading as King Blueblood, and was keeping the changelings, dragons and griffons as slaves! Grand's mind was racing as he formulated a plan: first of all, he would find Azure and tell him that he was right to not trust King Blueblood. Then he would help Azure spread the word that King Blueblood was an imposter who-! At that moment, Grand Valor felt a horrible pressure on his chest. He gasped and spasmed for a few seconds, and then fell to the floor. A tall, slender figure stood over him, a unicorn with cobalt blue fur, crimson eyes and a magenta mane that waved and sparkled like a nebula of stars. For some reason, the stallion's gaze did not show anger or revulsion, but sadness and pity.

"Hello, Grand Valor." The stallion said in his deep, haunting voice. "I'm sorry it had to end this way, I really am. You were one of my most skilled and loyal soldiers, and if you hadn't heard our conversation just now, you could have been great. But I can't let you tell the nation what's really going on. It would destroy them."

"Y-you… you're already destroying them!" Grand choked. "You k-killed the princesses and …enslaved the non-pony races! T-they're living a l-lie!"

"Perhaps, but it will all be worth it in the end." Nebula admitted. "Goodbye, Grand Valor." A white wolf, ten feet tall with blood red eyes stepped into the hallway and laughed at the sight of Nebula standing over Grand Valor's body.

"What the Tartarus was that?" He laughed in Strong Arm's voice. "Are you trying to get an award for Most Dramatic Death Scene?"

"I stopped his heart. We'll say he had a bad reaction to the infirmary's medicine and nopony will be the wiser."

"Bah! I would’ve slit his throat and thrown his body in the furnace."

"Yes, but then they would suspect foul play. This is less conspicuous.” Nebula explained. “Besides, he was loyal to me. The least I could do was give him a quick, painless death."

"Yeah, well, if loyalty gets me killed, count me out." said the wolf. "Now come on, let's go kill Jacob."

Fight and Flight

Back at The Castle of Friendship, Azure and the others were pouring over the collection of spell books that the soldiers had left behind.

"Illusions? Concealment spells?" EagleHeart remarked. "Why would King Blueblood be interested in this stuff?"

"I told you, it's not Blueblood!" Azure sighed. "Blueblood is a pompous idiot who wouldn't know a spell book from a mule’s flank!"

"Bah, this is preposterous!" Trixie scoffed. "Equestria is more peaceful than ever before! All of the monsters are helping us, and Discord hasn't been seen for months!"

"But hasn't it occurred to you that the monsters aren't CHOOSING to help us?" Azure asked. "Haven't you noticed their blank stares and stiff movements?"

"Now that you mention it, that is pretty odd." Anamir said. "It gives a whole new meaning to those badges they wear."

"Yeah, I've had my suspicions about those things, too." said Azure. "I'm sure the imposter is using them to control the non-equines, but I've never seen anything like them before. I don't know how he does it or how to stop it."

"This is horrible!" Aaron cried. "Next thing you know he'll be controlling us bat ponies, too!"

"Look, I admit that things aren't quite the same as they were with Princess Celestia," Chiarascura said. "And maybe you're right, and King Blueblood is an impostor planning a hostile takeover of the nation, but what can we do about it?"

"Join me and my team." Azure replied. "We're hiding out in-!"

"Excuse me, are we interrupting?" Inquired a familiar voice. Everypony turned to see King Blueblood and six armor-clad soldiers standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Your Highness!" Silver Lining exclaimed. "Sorry, we didn't mean to intrude, but the door was open, and, um…" His voice trailed off as Azure shot a dirty look at him.

"I've sat in the shadows for too long, 'Blueblood'!" Azure growled, and unsheathed his swords. "I might not have enough proof to expose you, but I can always beat the confession out of you!"

"Oh Azure! I was wondering where you'd gone." King Blueblood laughed. "You know, The Royal Guard just hasn't been the same without you."

"Yeah, it's been improving!" Strong Arm laughed. "Go back to the shadows before we lose our perfect record!" The other soldiers chuckled, but Azure and the others were not amused.

"Back off!" Jacob growled. "If you want Azure, you'll have to go through me!" He bared his teeth and flexed his claws, but the soldiers weren't intimidated.

"Nice to see you again, Jacob." Strong Arm remarked, and Jacob frowned.

"How do you know my name?" Jacob stammered.

“What, you don’t remember me?” Strong Arm gasped in mock surprise. “And after all we’ve been through!” As he spoke, he grew larger and furrier, until he was a ghostly white wolf with blood-red eyes. "Well… how about now?”

"… MALUM??" Jacob cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Lord Tenebris got me a cushy new job as King Blueblood's second in command." Malum said with a shrug. "See, I-!"

"ENOUGH! I'm finishing this here and now!" King Blueblood shouted, and his horn glowed scarlet. "Goodbye, Azure Night." Blueblood fired a shaft of energy directly at Azure, which was deflected back at him by the sudden appearance of an emerald green shield. Azure turned to see EagleHeart walking toward him, his horn glowing the same shade of green as the shield that had saved his life.

"I don't know what's going on," EagleHeart said, "But I've seen enough to know that you're up to no…" His voice trailed off as he saw King Blueblood, who was no longer a handsome stallion with pristine white fur, but a tall, slender stallion with a sparkling magenta mane.

"What the-who the hay are you?" choked Melody Guardian.

"Okay Nebula, you proved your point." Malum sighed as Nebula stood up. "I guess our disguise spells leave something to be desired."

"Shut up and kill them, you idiot!" Nebula snapped.

"Finally, a plan I can get behind." Malum chuckled, revealing a set of pearly white fangs. "Okay boys, you know what to do." In an instant, the five soldiers transformed: a reptilian horse with sharp fangs and a long, muscular tail, a hairless stallion covered in black tattoos, a skeleton with beady red eyes, a stallion with a flaming mane and tail and yet another with a mohawk made of spikes.

"Can’t we talk this over?" Silver suggested.

"ATTACK!" Nebula shouted, and the castle exploded with the noises of combat. EagleHeart and Trixie began casting spells at Nebula, which did little more than inconvenience him.

"I'm not afraid of you!" EagleHeart cried as he fired another shaft of green energy that hit Nebula in the chest. "Princess Twilight and her friends faced power-hungry tyrants like you every week! What makes you so different?"

"I seek peace, not power." Nebula replied, and fired a shaft of crimson energy that missed EagleHeart by an inch. "And in case you haven't noticed, I've achieved peace in a matter of days while Princess Celestia sat on her flank for millennia!"

"Peace? More like apathy!" Trixie remarked, and conjured a shimmering pink cage that surrounded Nebula on all sides. "They may be monsters, but they don't deserve such unkind treatment as you provide! They deserve to make their own decisions and live their own lives!"

"That's what they all say, until the 'independent' monsters decide to smash a peaceful village or devour an innocent family!" Nebula retorted as he smashed through the cage.

"These monsters are too dangerous to be left to their own devices, and too stupid to know right from wrong! I'm keeping them under control for their own good!"

"So says every tyrant." Azure said, and opened a gash in Nebula's chest with his sword. Nebula winced, but resealed the wound with a magic spell and kept fighting. In the center of the room, Jacob and Malum began circling each other, bristling and growling in their fearsome werewolf forms.

"What's the matter, Jacob?" Malum taunted. "Your brother died, so you decided to slum it up with the ponies instead?" He spat on the floor. "You're a disgrace to our people!"

"I don't care! I'm happier here than I've ever been in my life!" Jacob barked. "The ponies accept me for who I am, and I won't let you hurt them!" Jacob and Malum charged at each other, scratching and biting with terrible ferocity.

“Hold on, Jacob, I’m coming!” Silver shouted, but before he could approach he heard a low, menacing growl. The huge reptilian stallion was stalking toward him; its fangs were bared, and its long, muscular tail swayed from side to side. However, its fangs closed around empty air as Silver soared into the air. “Geez! Which swamp did you crawl out of?” The demon roared snapped its jaws at Silver, who flew higher with every passing moment. "Oh, you want to dance, ugly?" Silver taunted. "Well okay, but I'm leading!" Silver tucked his wings in tight, fell through the air and landed with a sickening 'crunch' on the demon's head. Several pearly white fangs clattered to the floor, but the beast was little worse for wear. Its tongue dabbed at the spot where the fangs had been, and it let out a bloodcurdling roar. "Oops." Silver squeaked. "Is it too late to change partners?" The demon roared, and began chasing Silver around the room. Meanwhile, Anamir was squaring off with the tattooed demon.

"Just stay back!" Anamir warned. "I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Gonna cut your throat and eat your heart!" The demon snarled, the blade of his dagger glinting in the afternoon sun. "Skin you and wear your flesh!" He laughed hysterically and thrust his dagger at Anamir, who yelped as the dagger opened a gash in her cheek.

"Okay, that's it!" Anamir growled, and delivered a blow that dislocated the demon's jaw. The tattooed demon was knocked back several feet, but he smiled as he reset his jaw. Angrier than ever, the demon charged at Anamir, growling and salivating like a maniac.

"Tear off your head, drink your soul!" He howled. Once again, he had made the wrong move: Anamir tackled him in mid-charge and wrapped her hooves around his neck.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Anamir growled as the demon's face turned red, then purple, then blue. "Not now, not ever!" The demon's limbs flailed in every direction, and as they went limp, Anamir let go of his neck: she hated the monster, but she didn't want to kill it.

"Let that be a lesson to you." Anamir said, and looked up as Silver and the reptilian demon ran past.

"Silver, what are you doing?" Anamir shouted.

"I'm running for my life!" Silver cried. I find it helps when I don’t want to be eaten alive!"

"Hold on, I'll be right there!" Anamir stepped forward, but at that moment Silver spread his wings and flew over the demon's head. The reptilian demon crashed headfirst into the wall, and Silver landed gracefully on the floor.

"Muscles of an ox, and a brain to match." Silver laughed. "Maybe I should quit the cloud factory and become a matador."

"Silver, look out!" Anamir shouted. Silver dove out of the way just in time: the skeletal demon had picked up the dagger and tried to stab Silver with it.

"Hey! Watch it, numbskull!" Silver cried, and the skeleton ground his teeth in frustration.

"You dare mock me with your feeble bone puns?" He hissed. "I'll teach you some respect!" He slashed and jabbed at Silver with surprising speed, but Silver was just as quick.

"Looks like you've got a bone to pick with me." Silver remarked.

"Try as you might, you can't dodge forever!" The skeleton retorted. "None can escape the wrath of Ossium, the greatest warrior in-!"

CRACK! With a single punch, Anamir knocked Ossium's skull clean off his shoulders. The skull bounced along the floor, but the body continued to slash blindly at the air.

"Gah! You wretched interloper!" The skull shouted at Anamir. "When I put myself back together, you will be the first to feel my wrath!" The skull began shouting directions to the body, which pawed around the floor blindly as Anamir and Silver watched.

"Well, that was… odd." Silver remarked. "Thanks for the help."

"Hey, you're my friend!" Anamir giggled. "I'll always be here for you." They embraced, but Anamir let out a gasp of surprise as the reptilian demon stirred and stood up.

"Ah, here we go again." Silver sighed. "What do you say we fight this one together?" Anamir nodded in agreement, and together they ran to meet the demon in battle. On the other side of the room, Melody Guardian was living up to his name: he did not fight, but guarded Chiarascura from the demonic duo that advanced upon them.

"Stay behind me, Chiarascura!" Melody warned. "I won't let them hurt you!"

"Aw, did you hear that?" Laughed the demon with the mane of flames. "He won't let us hurt her."

"Don't you get it, kid? We're demons!" said the demon with the mohawk of spikes. "Just give up, and maybe we'll kill you instead of eating your souls."

"Not a chance!" Melody shouted. "I'd sooner die than lose my girlfriend!"

"And I won't let you hurt Melody, either!" Chiarascura added, and stood proudly next to Melody. The demons looked from Chiarascura to Melody, and laughed hysterically.

"Aww, they're going to fight us! I'm so scared!" The horned demon laughed. "Sorry kid, that was your last chance. Say goodbye to your little-!" And he called Chiarascura something so rude that Melody's temper got the better of him.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL HER??" Melody roared, and sent the horned demon flying with a swift kick to the jaw.

"Hey! You little-!" growled the flame demon, but stopped talking when Chiarascura pummeled his chest with a flurry of punches. Twenty punches later, the flame demon collapsed on the floor next to his partner.

"Mind. Your. Manners.” Chiarascura muttered. Meanwhile, Aaron was shivering with terror as he watched the battle unfold from the ceiling.

"Oh geez, I shouldn't have come here!" He cried. "I just wanted to see the castle, I didn't think I'd get killed for it!" He looked down at the battle unfolding before him, and his gaze fell upon Nebula. EagleHeart and Trixie were casting every spell they could think of, but nothing seemed to have a lasting effect on Nebula. Azure was attempting to get in an attack with his swords, but Nebula knocked him off his hooves every time he got too close. Aaron's mind was racing: on the one hand, his new friends were in terrible danger, but on the other hand, if he entered the fray he'd be killed for sure! What was he to do?

"You're made of tough stuff, Azure, but all warriors fall in the end." Nebula laughed. "Just give up! You're a unicorn who uses swords instead of magic to fight! Do I really need to explain how pathetic that is?"

"Yet your little pets still can’t beat me." Azure grunted, and spat out a mouthful of blood. "But you’re responsible for Princess Luna’s disappearance, and for that I shall end you!" Nebula gave a dry smile and pointed his glowing horn at Azure.

"Cute." Before Nebula could deal his killing blow, a mass of red and yellow knocked him to the ground and sank its pearly white fangs into his neck.

"ARRGH!" Nebula screamed, and involuntarily fired a spell that knocked the reptilian demon into the wall.

"Thank you!" Silver called from across the room. Azure was amazed to see that Aaron, the pony he had taken for an air headed simpleton had come to his aid. Once his initial shock had worn off, Azure galloped over and pulled Aaron away from Nebula's twitching body.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Azure shouted. "That's enough! He’s no use to me dead, I need to interrogate him!" All of a sudden, Aaron seemed to come out of a trance; his eyes grew wide as he saw Nebula's body, and tasted blood in his mouth.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Aaron whispered. "I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"It's okay, I appreciate the help." Azure replied, and gave Aaron a grateful pat on the back. EagleHeart nudged Nebula's body with his hoof.

"Is he dead?" EagleHeart asked. Azure shook his head and pointed to Nebula's neck; the flow of blood was slowing, and the holes in his neck were shrinking.

"He's healing!" Azure gasped. "We've got about ten minutes before he wakes up.” Azure grimaced at what he was about to say, for another chance like this might not come. “We need to go, now.”

"But what about the spell books?" Trixie asked. "Nebula will surely steal them when he wakes up!" Azure looked to the books, then Nebula, then to the others: they were covered in cuts and bruises, but the demons were quite clearly subdued.

"Okay, fine, we'll take the spell books with us!" Azure sighed. "But seriously, we need to get out of here before these guys wake up! Hey everypony!" Anamir, Silver, Chiarascura, Melody and Jacob turned to look at Azure. "Be ready to leave in two minutes! We're going to gather up these spell books and make our escape!" Everypony nodded in agreement, even Jacob, who admitted that it would make more sense to leave the castle now that Nebula knew who he was. While EagleHeart gathered up the spell books, Azure and the others tied up the unconscious demons and piled them against the wall.

"I don't know about this." said Silver. "I don’t approve of murder, but won’t they hunt us down and kill us if we leave them alive?"

"They shall, but we couldn’t kill them if we tried.” said Azure. “Demons can’t be killed by conventional means, and I didn’t plan on running into Nebula this soon. Besides,” Azure added, “I’ve got the perfect hiding place.” Azure loaded the last of the books into the bag and called, "Okay, that's everything! Let's go" Azure grimaced as he stared down at Nebula, lamenting that he had to give up this opportunity.

"Yeah, let's get - WAIT!!" Jacob cried. "I can't believe I forgot about the mirror!"

"The what?" Silver asked. "Look, I'm happy you take pride in personal grooming, but we can't-!"

"No, not like that! It's a special mirror that Nebula tried to steal!" Jacob explained, and turned down a dark hallway. "Follow me!"

"Look, maybe you don't understand the gravity of-!" said Azure.

"Come on, everypony! We need to get that mirror!" Anamir called as she and the others followed Jacob down the hall. Azure rolled his eyes and ran down the hall, where he found the others staring at a tall, jewel-encrusted mirror that was plugged into a set of complicated machinery.

"What's with all the bells and whistles?" Silver asked. "Seems like a lot of effort to put into a fancy mirror."

"Oh, it's not just a mirror." Jacob explained. "It's a portal to another world."

"There are other worlds out there?" Melody gasped.

"Yeah, and this one is called 'Canterlot High'." Jacob continued. "It's a world run by 'humans', these weird hairless creatures that walk on two legs."

"That's horrifying!" Chiarascura cried. "Why would Princess Twilight want a portal to such a place?"

"It's okay, the humans are actually pretty nice." Jacob said. "One of them is an old friend named Sunset Shimmer. Sunset grew up in Equestria, but now she lives in the human world. She comes back to visit occasionally."

"Well, no wonder Nebula wants the mirror!" EagleHeart said. "He'd have an entire world of creatures to enslave!"

"That's fantastic, really fascinating." Azure said. "But we can't take it with us, so let's smash it and get out of here before-!"

"Not. So. Fast." Growled a very unfriendly voice. Everypony turned to see Nebula standing in the doorway, a little dazed but just as dangerous as ever. "None of you are leaving this room alive. I'm going to turn you all to ash and take the mirror and those spell books in the name of King Blueblood." His appearance occasionally flickered to that of a half-crazed King Blueblood as he pointed his horn at Azure. "It's been fun, Azure, but I'm afraid your services are no longer required." Nebula continued. "Consider yourself… dismissed."

In a moment of desperation, Silver Lining grabbed a book that was lying next to the mirror and threw it at Nebula. The book hit Nebula in the face, and his spell, instead of hitting Azure struck the mirror, reducing it to a pile of glittering rubble. When the smoke cleared, Silver was horrified to see that he was the target of Nebula's murderous gaze.

"… Oops?" Silver mumbled, and gave a tiny shrug.

"That portal was my only chance to expand my influence," Nebula whispered, his face contorted with rage. "And you destroyed it."

"Well technically, YOU destroyed the portal, I just-!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Nebula bellowed, and loosed a shaft of bright green energy from his horn. Silver leapt aside, but fell over as a horrendous burning sensation coursed through his veins. It felt like his leg had been dipped in molten lava, which wasn't just burning his flesh but actually melting it. Silver's vision went dark, and his friends' cries of horror were drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat, which was growing slower by the moment. Everything was fading away, and in a matter of minutes he would be no more.

"SILVER!" Anamir screamed, and before anypony could move she galloped across the room and delivered a powerful uppercut to Nebula's jaw. There was a sickening 'crunch' as Nebula hit the opposite wall, and several pearly white teeth clattered to the floor. At the same time, Azure galloped over to Silver's prone body.

"Is he okay?" Melody gasped.

"No, but if we work fast he might just survive." Azure replied, and wrapped a length of blue fabric around Silver's leg. As Melody approached he nearly retched: Silver's left hind leg was covered in a bright green acid that was melting his flesh before their very eyes. Where there had once been sleek grey fur was now a mass of bloody muscle, which was giving way to pearly white bone.

"But how do we stop it? Is there a counter spell or something?" Chiarascura asked.

"It’s an ‘or something’, all right." Azure said as he drew his sword and imbued it with intense heat. "If you’re squeamish, look away." As she closed her eyes, Chiarascura heard the chilling sound of a limb being severed and cauterized at the same time.

"You’ll live, you gutsy kid." Azure sighed as he returned his sword to its sheath and the blue fabric to his foreleg. "Now follow me, we're going to hide out in The Everfree Forest."

"The Everfree Forest?" Anamir gasped. "I know this is a serious situation, but can't we take a few minutes to go home and gather our things?"

"You can't go back. As of thirty minutes ago, we're wanted for treason, resisting arrest, attempted regicide, assault and so forth. Nebula will have a ten thousand bit bounty on our heads before sundown." Anamir hung her head, but Azure put his hoof on her shoulder. "Look, I know it's hard putting your life behind you and starting fresh, but there’s no sense in looking back now. Our best hope is sticking together." Anamir looked up at Azure, and was amazed to see that despite his stern face, his eyes held an inner gentleness and understanding.

"I… I guess you're right." She said. "After all, we've gotten this far. If we stick together, maybe we can figure out what happened to The Princesses and Discord."

"That's the spirit!" Aaron cheered. "Now come on, let's get out of here while we still can!" Anamir lifted Silver onto her back, EagleHeart gathered up the spell books, and the team ran from The Castle of Friendship as fast as their hooves could carry them.

"Wait a minute, hold on!" Azure called. "We're missing somepony. Where's Jacob?"

"Right here!" Jacob called as he rejoined the team, a large square held close to his chest. "Sorry, but I couldn't leave without this." He held up the framed collage that had once sat in Twilight's bedroom.

"Are you insane?" Azure shouted. "We're running for our lives, and you go back to pick up a stupid picture?"

"I… I'm sorry, I just wanted something to remember her by." Jacob admitted. "I didn't mean to put the group in danger."

"Azure, please!" Anamir said. "Obviously this picture means a lot to Jacob, or else he wouldn't have gone back for it. He just misses his friend." Azure looked back at Jacob, who was looking down at the collage with tears in his eyes.

"Fine, whatever." Azure sighed. "Let's just keep moving." The group continued to run out of Ponyville and into The Everfree Forest, where all but the bravest ponies dared to venture. The forest was dark and filled with dangerous plants, but they felt safer knowing that they were that much farther away from Nebula. Nearly an hour later, they pushed through the brush to find themselves in a small clearing with a bonfire, several makeshift tents and three male bat ponies. At the sound of rustling leaves, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox turned their heads and glared menacingly at the new arrivals.

"It's okay, guys, they're with me." Azure said, and explained what had happened in Ponyville.

"Geez, if I'd known what was going to happen we would've insisted on coming with you!" Nox said.

"Aw, I wasn't worried! I knew you could do it!" Night Shade laughed and patted Azure on the back. "They haven't invented a soldier that can take down Azure Night!"

"That’s never stopped them from trying.” Azure noted. "This 'Nebula' guy has half a dozen demons working for him, maybe more! This is worse than I expected." The bat pony trio exchanged nervous glances.

"You're right, Azure, none of us have seen this before." Eclipse said. "But we're a team, and we got this far by sticking together. As long as we help each other out, we'll find a way to save the day." Azure didn't smile, but his frown straightened out a bit. Meanwhile, Aaron, Anamir, EagleHeart, Jacob, Chiarascura and Melody were sitting on the grass and recuperating from the battle. Anamir held Silver in her hooves and sang sweet lullabies to him, while Chiarascura and Melody sat wrapped in each other's wings, nuzzling and kissing each other with gentle passion. EagleHeart and Trixie poured over the wealth of spell books, their horns occasionally alight with color as they practiced the spells. Meanwhile, Jacob trotted over to Aaron, who was sitting alone with his ears pressed flat against his skull.

"Hey there… Aaron, was it?" Jacob said. "You were really brave back at the castle."

"Thanks." Aaron replied without looking up. Jacob shuffled his hooves, unsure of what to say. "Um… I've never seen a bat pony in Ponyville before. I thought they usually lived here in The Everfree Forest." Aaron closed his eyes and let out a long, low sigh.

"Yeah, I was born here, but I didn't live here. A werewolf bit me when I was a colt. My parents looked after me, but when the other colts saw my paws they either teased me or ran away. One day, a team of scientists kidnapped me; they wanted to study the effects of werewolf venom on ponies." Aaron lifted his legs, revealing a set of padded paws and clawed toes instead of hooves. "The venom gave me these paws and made me more resilient to sunlight, but I'd give it all up if I could just be normal again."

"Hey, don't say that!" Jacob coaxed. "I mean, look at me! I'm a demon pony who ran away from home to learn about friendship. You saw how the other demons at the castle treated me, I'm not exactly welcome back home. But moving to Ponyville made me the stallion I am today, and I wouldn't trade that for the world!" Aaron looked up at Jacob for a few moments, and then hugged him.

"I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that." Aaron said. "Thank you."

"Hey, no problem." Jacob said, and patted Aaron on the back.

"Looks like a nice group." Nox said. "But why are they here?" Azure just chuckled.

“New recruits.” He said.

Food

The next morning, the team came to realize the many problems that they had to face, first and foremost being food. Scavenging for hay, oats and the occasional fruit was all well and good for four soldiers, but the addition of six refugees required more stability.

"Why don't we just plant a garden?" Chiarascura suggested. "We've got enough sunlight, and Melody and I can gather some rain clouds for water."

"But we don't have anything to plant." Anamir sighed. "Most of the plants in this forest are poisonous, carnivorous or just really unhealthy! Unless…" She stroked her chin in thought. "Unless we can sneak into Sweet Apple Acres and um, 'borrow' some seeds. The Apples were always the best farmers in Equestria, I'm sure they'd have the supplies we need."

"Good idea." Azure agreed. "But we'll need to be careful, Nebula will definitely have his spies looking for us." He turned to EagleHeart. "Have you found any sort of disguise spells in those books?"

"Funny you should ask…" Trixie replied, and held out a book to him. "Trixie found an entire book dedicated to disguise spells! Most of them are quite advanced, but I found a basic spell that should conceal your appearances well enough."

"Hey, no problem!" said Nox. "We'll go in, get the supplies and get out, simple as that."

"Yeah, but we can't all go at once." Azure added. "It'd be too suspicious, and we'll need a few of us to stay behind to build additional housing." After several minutes of deliberation, Azure, Anamir, Aaron, Chiarascura and Melody stood shoulder to shoulder as EagleHeart passed his horn over each of them. They each felt a slight chill, and looked down to see that their appearances had become extremely plain and unassuming.

"There! Nopony will recognize you now!" EagleHeart said.

"Thanks!" Aaron replied; although his appearance had changed, his voice remained the same.

"Remember, don't speak unless you absolutely have to." Azure explained. "While we go to Sweet Apple Acres, Eclipse, Night Shade, Nox and the others will stay here and build shelters." Azure stepped out of the clearing and into the forest, with his disguised allies walking close behind. When they reached Sweet Apple Acres, Anamir gave a tiny gasp of horror: in the absence of The Apple Family, Sweet Apple Acres had been turned into an industrial facility, with blank-eyed griffons absentmindedly plucking ripe apples from their branches. As they walked closer, Azure was relieved to see that they were not the only ponies present; the griffons picked the apples and ran deliveries, but ponies were in charge of cleaning the apples and baking pies. Anamir nudged Azure and motioned deeper into the facility, where lettuce, carrots and cucumbers were being cleaned.

"Couldn't hurt to get some vegetable seeds, too." She whispered, and Azure nodded in agreement.

"Aaron, Chiarascura, Melody, you get the vegetable seeds. Anamir and I will get the apple seeds." Azure whispered, and the team split up. As they passed tables piled high with fresh fruits and vegetables, Aaron licked his lips; he hadn't eaten since that morning, and it was taking all of his willpower to keep himself from devouring the spread. Chiarascura was also shivering, but for an entirely different reason.

"I'm scared, Melody." She whispered. "What if this doesn't work? What if they recognize us, or send us to jail, or kill us?" Melody didn't look at her, but his gentle smile warmed Chiarascura's heart as nothing else could.

"It'll be okay." He whispered. "We'll just tell them we need some seeds and go back home, simple as that." Melody trotted up to one of the tables and cleared his throat. As the mare looked up, Melody's eyes widened: he knew those wonky yellow eyes anywhere.

"Derpy? Derpy Hooves?" He gasped. "I thought you were a mail mare!" Derpy blinked a few times, and gave a little giggle.

"Oh no, mister, I'm not a mail mare! King Blueblood gave me a job washing veggies, now that the griffons are delivering mail and picking fruit for us."

"… Oh." was all Melody could think to say. "Well, um, do you know where the seeds are kept? King Blueblood is… building a community garden at his castle."

"Seeds? Oh yeah, the seeds!" Derpy giggled. "They're over there!" And she motioned to a large cupboard in the center of the room, which was being guarded by two burly stallions.

"… Thank you." Chiarascura squeaked, and whispered to Melody, "What now? We can't just waltz in there and take the seeds with those guards watching!" Aaron tried to pay attention, but his eyes fell upon the big, juicy apples sitting on a nearby table.

"Wait a minute, I have an idea!" Aaron gasped, and ran from the facility as fast as he could.

"What's he doing?" Chiarascura asked, and got her answer when a terrified pony galloped into the room and screamed,

"Help! Help! There's a bat pony stealing all of the apples from the orchard!"

"Oh, not another one!" Sighed the first guard. "Brawny, you stay here and keep an eye on the seeds, I'll grab the bat pony."

"What? No way, Solar!" Brawny said. "You always leave me to watch the seeds!"

"Well, it's not like I can trust you with intruders. Remember the timber wolf incident?"

"That wasn't my-!"

"Excuse me!" Melody called. "If you need to capture that bat pony, we'll stay here and guard the seeds." The guards looked at Melody, then at each other.

"Yeah okay, that works." Solar said. That was all it took: once Solar and Brawny left the facility, Melody and Chiarascura each filled a small burlap sack with seeds and hid them under their wings. Not long after, Solar and Brawny returned to their posts, looking very disappointed.

"What happened?" Melody asked, silently praying that Aaron hadn’t been injured or captured.

"Ah, the bat pony flew away. Took a dozen apples with him, too." Brawny sighed.

"Well, it wouldn't have happened if you had just stayed here like I told you to." Solar said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brawny asked. "I told you, The Timber Wolf Incident wasn't…!" As Solar and Brawny continued their argument, Melody and Chiarascura turned around and returned to the entrance, where they were unnoticed by all but two equally plain ponies.

"We have the seeds." whispered Chiarascura.

"So do we." Anamir replied, holding up a small bag.

"I assume Aaron is the bat pony who stole the apples?" Azure asked, and Melody nodded.

"Well, I hope he can find his way back to the forest, because we're getting out of here while we still can." Azure and the others marched out of Sweet Apple Acres as quickly as possible without raising suspicion, but once they stepped through the gates they ran as fast as they could toward forest. Thankfully, the only pony that paid them any mind was Aaron, who swooped down on them just as they reached the border of The Everfree Forest.

"Oh good, you got the seeds!" He sighed. "I'm sorry for not telling you my plan beforehand."

"No, no, it was a good decision." Anamir insisted. "We were standing right next to a barrel of apple seeds, but we couldn't steal any until you ran outside and attracted the workers' attention."

"She's right, Aaron." Azure agreed. "It was a desperate move, but it ended up saving the mission. We couldn't have done it without you. Now come on, let's get back to camp and see how the others are progressing." Just as before, the trek through the forest was long and difficult, but it was worth it to see what the others had made of the camp. Instead of tents, several large oak trees had been hollowed out and turned into literal tree houses with doors and windows.

"… I don't remember those being there when we left." Anamir said.

"Oh, welcome back!" EagleHeart called. "Did you get the seeds?"

"What? Oh, the seeds, yeah." Azure mumbled as he stared around at the new, improved camp. "But what about this? What did you do to the camp?" EagleHeart frowned slightly.

"Do you not like it?" He asked. "I'm sorry, we tried our best, but we didn't have enough fabric to make tents, so we just hollowed some trees and made tree houses instead. Well, four tree houses and a cave, that is. Eclipse, Night Shade, Nox and Jacob said they didn't feel comfortable in cabins."

"It's incredible!" Aaron gasped. "But how did you do it?"

"Magic, of course!" EagleHeart replied. "Trixie and I used our magic to hollow out the trees and carve out holes for windows and doors." He motioned to the trees, each of which had symbols burned onto the doors. "There's a house for Trixie and me, another for Melody and Chiarascura, a third one for Anamir and Silver and one for you, Azure." Azure stared in amazement at the masterfully carved houses.

"Well, thanks." Azure said, and shook EagleHeart's hoof in gratitude.

"And I brought apples!" Aaron called, and held up a burlap sack that contained twelve ripe, juicy apples. "Everypony gather around, it's dinner time!" It wasn't exactly a feast, but everypony was grateful to have food in their bellies after a long, arduous day.

"Great job today, everypony!" Azure announced once they had finished eating. "Get some rest, and we'll get up early to make some more improvements to the camp." Everypony nodded and returned to their respective dwellings, but before he could retire, Azure noticed that somepony was missing. "Hey, where's that 'silver' kid?"

"He's resting in his cabin." EagleHeart explained. "He hasn't woken up since we were at the castle, though. I hope he's okay."

"I'll go and check on him." Anamir said. Back in the cabin, Silver Lining was waking up and staring blearily around the room.

"H-hey, where am I?" He mumbled. "What's going on?" He reached down and felt the smooth stump of his left hind leg. He looked up as the door opened.

"What? Who's there?" Silver called to the fuzzy white blob.

"It's me, Silver." Anamir said. "I brought you dinner." She held out a big, juicy apple that Azure had sliced into eight pieces. Silver sniffed one of the pieces, and upon deciding that the red and white blob was edible, ate it.

"Thanks." He said, massaging his stump of a leg. "What happened? Last thing I remember was this… horrible pain shooting up my leg, like I was melting away…"

"Nebula hit you with some kind of acid, and Azure cut off your leg to save you."

"Oh, okay." Silver mumbled. "So where are we now?"

"We're in Azure's camp. He needs our help to stop Nebula."

"Hey, no problem, glad to help." Silver yawned. "It's the least I can do for the guy who cut off my leg." And Silver passed out once again.

Rebuilding

"Silver! Silver, wake up! You have a visitor." As Silver lifted his head and opened his eyes, he saw EagleHeart and an unfamiliar mare standing in the doorway. "Silver, this is Zecora. She's a friend of mine, and Equestria's most brilliant alchemist."

"I have come to offer some assistance to Azure and his brave resistance." Zecora explained.

"…Pardon?" said Silver.

"She's here to help us." EagleHeart said, and added in a whisper, "She speaks in rhyme. Please don't make a big deal of it."

"Um, okay." Silver said. "It's nice to meet you, Zecora. I'd get up to greet you, but… you know." He wiggled his stump of a hind leg.

"That is why I've come to see." Zecora said, and pulled out a vial of green paste. "You need a doctor, and that is I." She trotted up to Silver and began rubbing the liquid on his leg. A cold, tickling sensation ran through Silver's stump, as if tiny worms were crawling over his flesh. Zecora watched Silver's leg for ten seconds, and then raised it toward the ceiling; to his amazement, Silver saw that the raw red flesh was now covered with sleek silver fur, as if the leg had never been there in the first place.

"That's amazing!" Silver cheered. "Can that stuff regrow my leg?" Zecora turned her sad eyes on Silver.

"Regrow your leg? It can't be done." She said. "I'm sorry, but it's dead and gone." Silver's face fell.

"I'm sorry, Silver, but nothing but the most powerful magic can regrow lost limbs. All Zecora can do is heal the wound." Silver looked back at Zecora and smiled.

"It's okay, I never liked that leg anyway." He said, and Zecora returned his smile. "Besides, with a little practice I’m sure I’ll be able to walk on three legs just as well.”

"Well, maybe not." EagleHeart said, and lifted Silver into a standing position. He fell over several times, but with EagleHeart's help Silver was able to manage a slow trot.

"Come on, I've got something to show you." EagleHeart said as he and Silver left the cabin. Moments later, Silver saw that they were approaching a large tent that was issuing smoke and loud bangs.

"You're taking me to see the blacksmith?" Silver laughed. "I can barely walk, much less use a sword." EagleHeart shook his head.

"No, not a sword." He chuckled. "Nox is working on a very special project." As they entered the tent, their vision became tinged with orange: a burning oven stood in the back of the tent, from which a muscular bat pony pulled a red hot block of iron. He set the metal on an anvil and began hammering it into shape with a large mallet. However, Silver was more interested in the blueprints pinned to the wall, blueprints that looked like…

"A leg?" Silver gasped. "You're making a prosthetic leg?" At this, Nox saw that he had visitors.

"Oh, you're awake! Great!" The blacksmith said as he removed his goggles. "Hi, I'm Nox, the resident blacksmith and I'm building your prosthetic leg." He trotted up to Silver and shook his hoof with surprising strength and enthusiasm. "I'm really excited for this, by the way. I love to smith, but I've never built a prosthetic limb before." He tore a blueprint down from the wall and showed it to Silver. "See, I took some measurements of your other hind leg for reference, and now I'm bending the metal into an identical shape. I'll attach a belt to hold it in place, and maybe a little cushion on the hoof to keep your steps quiet." Nox reached into a drawer, from which he pulled out a small, emerald green stone. "And this baby is the key: it's a magic stone that'll create a telepathic link between your mind and the leg."

"Meaning…?" Silver invited.

"You can move the leg by thinking." EagleHeart explained. "I enchanted the stone myself."

"But until I finish the leg," Nox added. "I've made you a temporary replacement." He reached behind the bench and pulled out a small log with a cushion at one end. "It's not pretty, but it'll get you walking again."

"That's fine with me." Silver admitted, and tied the log to his stump. "I'd rather have a log for a leg than no leg at all." He took a few cautionary steps, and found that he was able to walk with relative ease. "Awesome! Thanks, Nox!" Silver shook Nox's hoof and followed EagleHeart outside. "So, where are the others?"

"They're sparring with Azure." said EagleHeart.

"They're doing what now?"

"Sparring. They're learning how to fight. Times like this, it's a valuable trait." On the opposite end of the clearing, their friends were attacking each other with crude poles.

"Jacob, less power and more speed!" Azure barked. "Melody, don't be so gentle, your enemy won't show the same courtesy. Anamir, keep your shoulders loose, it makes it easier to counter!" He looked over his shoulder and saw EagleHeart and Silver approaching. "Morning, fellas. Nice to see you up and about, Silver. How's the leg?"

"Severed." Silver chuckled, and tapped the peg leg for Azure to see. "But seriously, thanks for saving my life."

"Yeah, no problem. You want to join the next round?"

"… You know what? Sure. I've got nothing better to do." Silver did very poorly, but not for lack of trying: in the span of an hour, Silver had sustained over a dozen bruises, several scrapes and a black eye, but he always got back up and tried again.

"I'll be right back," Anamir announced. "I'm going to start work on the garden." She trotted off to an isolated corner of the camp, where they had agreed would be a good spot for a garden. As an earth pony, Anamir had sufficient strength to till the soil with her bare hooves, and the knowledge necessary for organizing seed patterns. An hour later, dirty and exhausted, Anamir had planted crops of lettuce, corn, cucumbers, and beans in neat little rows.

"There! That should do it." She said. "In a month or two, we'll have a bumper crop of delicious, home-grown vegetables to eat! I just need water." As Anamir returned to the sparring match to get a rain cloud from Chiarascura, she noticed Jacob sitting on his own under an oak tree.

"Hey Jacob, what's wrong?" She asked. "You're looking kind of down."

"N-nothing, I'm fine." Jacob sobbed, wiping his eyes on his hoof.

"Oh please, don't be like that. I know something's going on." She sat down next to Jacob and lifted his chin so that they made eye contact. "Please, I just want to help."

"… Okay." Jacob conceded. "I'm sad because I miss Twilight. She was my best friend in the world, and they took her away from me."

"Yes, I know how that is." Anamir explained. "Chiarascura and I worked with Pinkie Pie until she disappeared. She made the bakery a joyous place by just walking through the door. It's not the same without her or Twilight or their friends, but I promise you this: we will find them."

"Do you think they're still out there?" Jacob sniffled and wiped his muzzle. "You don't think Nebula… killed them?" Anamir shook her head.

"Twilight and her friends have saved Equestria more than a dozen times. A lousy creep like Nebula couldn't kill them if he tried."

"I… I guess you're right." Jacob admitted, and gave Anamir a hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Anamir replied. "Now come on, let's see what the others are up to." Back at the sparring match, Silver was covered from head to hoof in bruises and scratches, but thanks to Azure's guidance he was steadily improving. Using his natural agility, Silver ducked and dodged Azure's attacks, only retaliating when the opportunity presented itself. Azure was still the more experienced warrior, but sweat was pouring down his face and his attacks were becoming more clumsy. Finally, Silver jabbed Azure in the chest, causing Azure to drop his pole.

"Okay, that's good for today." Azure announced. "But as long as I have you all here, I'd like to set down a few ground rules: as long as you're staying here, everypony needs to help out. You need to weed and water the garden, sharpen the weapons, gather food and supplies. If you don’t work, you don’t eat, it’s that simple. We all need to pull our weight if this is going to work." Everypony nodded in agreement.

"Of course we'll help, Azure." Melody promised. "This camp is our home now, and we'll do all that we can to protect it."

"I'd rather see this country destroyed than under Nebula's control!" Aaron declared.

"Yeah well, let's hope it doesn't come down to that." Silver added. "But yeah, I'll help out however I can."

"We all will." Anamir said.

"Good to see we're all in agreement." Azure said, and gave a rare smile. "Silver, go to Zecora, she'll take care of those bruises for you. The rest of you, ask Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox what they need help with." He looked around the camp. "It's not much, but with a little time and hard work, we can make it into something great." The team spent the rest of the day making improvements to the camp: as Melody relocated a rain cloud to water the garden, Chiarascura created a series of lovely paintings to adorn the cabins. Jacob shared his knowledge of demons with Azure, including the names and abilities of Nebula's allies, which Azure used to create a wealth of tactics and battle plans. EagleHeart and Trixie set to studying the spell books from Twilight's castle, which mostly involved disguise spells but were helpful nonetheless. Aaron, Eclipse and Night Shade flew into Ponyville and pilfered several bales of hay, which made for a simple, but delicious dinner. Silver helped tend to the garden and built a series of wooden swords, wooden knives and padded arrows to help add some variety to the sparring matches.

"Wait, Silver!" EagleHeart called as Silver walked by. "I have something for you." EagleHeart trotted over and pressed a book into Silver's hooves, a book that had a red and yellow sun emblazoned on the cover.

"Hey, this looks familiar." Silver noted. "Isn't this…?"

"Yes, it's the book you threw at Nebula back at the castle." EagleHeart confirmed. "I thought it was a spell book, but as it turns out it's just a journal." Silver rifled through the pages, half of which were conversations between Princess Twilight and 'Sunset Shimmer'.

"I thought you might like to keep a record of your thoughts and experiences while we're here." EagleHeart explained.

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea." Silver replied, and shook EagleHeart's hoof. "Thanks, EagleHeart. I'll see you later." Once Silver had returned to his cabin and sat down, he opened the journal to a blank page and extended his wings.

"Well, I've been meaning to preen myself anyway." He noted as he plucked a loose feather from his wing. Silver dipped the feather into a jar of ink and began to write: 'My name is Silver Lining, and I'm part of the resistance. It all started when I was a little colt growing up in Cloudsdale…' Time passed, the sun sank over the horizon and Silver continued to write his life story. Eventually, Anamir returned to the cabin and prepared for bed.

"How are you feeling, Silver?" She asked. "You've had a long day, all those hours of sparring and helping out in the camp."

"Feeling better by the minute, thanks." Silver said. "I'm just writing some notes in this journal EagleHeart gave me. How are things going with the garden?"

"The garden is coming along great, thanks! I planted the seeds, Chiarascura watered them, and in a few weeks we'll have a bumper crop of corn, cucumbers, carrots, apples and spaghetti squash! In fact, it might not even take that long, if EagleHeart can find some gardening spells to help the plants grow."

“Yeah, it might." Silver yawned as Anamir climbed into bed. "Can't wait to try some of those delicious veggies!"

"Neither can I." Anamir replied. "Now don't stay up too late, you need your rest."

"It's okay, I only have one more paragraph to write, and then I'll go to bed." Silver picked up his quill, dipped it in the ink and concluded, '… so when I threw this book at Nebula, the spell hit the mirror instead of Azure, and Nebula tried to kill me. He got my leg, but my friends and I escaped to this camp in The Everfree Forest. I'm kind of nervous, going up against somepony as powerful as Nebula, but we won't give up until Equestria knows peace once again.' Once the ink had dried, Silver closed the journal, climbed back into bed and fell fast asleep.

The camp was completely silent, but that wasn't to say that everypony was asleep: Azure, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox sat outside, looking up at the full moon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Azure sighed. "Only Princess Luna could be the true master of such a glowing sphere of purity and hope."

"Yeah, it sure is beautiful." said Nox. "Though I don't know how it's rising and falling without Princess Luna to move it around."

"It's probably Nebula's work." Azure snorted. "He's smart enough to know that without the constant movement of the sun and moon, the planet is doomed. Finding a spell to move them on a cycle was probably his first priority, and he probably has a team of unicorns using the ‘move sun/moon’ spells for him. As if he could ever be its master." As he spoke, Azure held his hoof to the moonstone pendant that hung around his neck.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Eclipse remarked. "But I'd rather have Princess Luna taking care of the moon."

"Same here." Night Shade chimed in. "And I'd like to have Princess Luna looking after The Dream Realm, too. Have you noticed that nightmares have become more commonplace without Princess Luna to bring good dreams?"

"Actually, I have." said Eclipse. "I wasn't sure if I was the only one. Do you think we'll ever find Princess Luna and the others?"

"What kind of talk is that? Of course we will!" said Nox. "We're The Night Guard, we guard the night and protect Princess Luna!"

"But that's just it. Princess Luna was kidnapped while we were guarding the castle. Do you think it's our fault that she's gone?"

"No, don't talk like that!" said Eclipse. "We couldn't have known that she was going to be kidnapped, but we can still work to set things right."

"Hear hear!" Nox cheered, and turned to Azure. "Say Azure, you've been pretty quiet lately. What are you thinking about?" Azure was holding Luna's flower close to his chest as he stared up at the moon.

"Planning." Azure stated firmly. "Always planning on how to take down Nebula and find Princess Luna."

"Yeah, but how can we stop Nebula?" Night Shade asked. "We're talking about the stallion who kidnapped all four Princesses of Equestria in one night!"

"We'll find a way." Azure insisted. "We must."

New Developments

He controlled every major kingdom in Equestria, he had an army of monsters at his beck and call, but the one thing that Nebula truly wanted was the one thing that he could never have. When he wasn't plagued with security meetings, addressing the endless concerns of his subjects or attending the grand opening of a new store, Nebula would lock himself in his room and browse a battered old photo album. Every page of the album held pictures of Nebula's family: his grandfather and grandmother going on a picnic, his father and mother dancing at The Grand Galloping Gala, Nebula playing ball with his father and so many other fond memories.

Tears stained the pages, but never the photographs; Nebula didn't want his memories to be tarnished with spots. Nebula put his hoof on his favorite picture: he was eating ice cream with his father and mother in downtown Manehattan. That was the best day of Nebula's life: he and his family had seen a show on Bridleway, gone skating at the ice rink, fed the ducks at Manehattan Park and even visited The Statue of Friendship. He held the album close to his muzzle and closed his eyes.

"I couldn't save you," Nebula sighed. "But I can still avenge you." All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. Nebula hid the album in his bedside table and flicked his horn; in an instant, his sleek blue coat was pure white, his crimson eyes were sky blue and his flowing magenta mane was golden brown. Nebula cleared his throat and called,

"Who is it?" in Blueblood's typical drawling tone.

"Drop the act, Nebula, it's me." The door opened, and Strong Arm stepped inside.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Nebula hissed. "You're supposed to call me 'King Blueblood' when we're in public!"

"Oh don't blow a fuse, we're the only ones here." Strong Arm sighed before growing into the hulking, white wolf form of Malum. "I just came to tell you that the reconnaissance teams are back from their mission."

"Fine, fine, we'll go and see them." After assuming his 'Strong Arm' disguise, Malum led 'King Blueblood' to the throne room, where three teams of changelings, dragons and griffons stood at attention.

"At ease, soldiers." Nebula sighed as he sat in the throne, and the monsters sat on the floor. "Status report, Captain Inferno?" A dragon with orange scales and blue spines saluted and announced,

"No sign of Azure Night or his associates, sir! My soldiers and I have searched every city from Baltimare to Manehattan, but we haven't found any clues to their whereabouts."

"Very well." Nebula sighed and turned to the griffon captain. "Captain Gilda, do you have anything to report?" Gilda saluted and announced,

"Ponies are seldom seen outside, sir. They only leave their houses to get food, medicine or other utilities before returning home. We suspect that they are afraid of-!"

"Not the ponies, Gilda, I want to know about Azure Night! Has anypony found him yet?" Gilda shook her head.

"Sorry sir, but nopony has seen him since before your coronation." Nebula rubbed his temples in frustration.

"Okay, let's try this one more time." He growled, and pointed his hoof at a changeling with bright orange eyes and a sky blue shell.

"Captain Seta, what news do you and your spies bring?" Nebula demanded. "Have you found Azure Night?"

"No sir," Seta admitted. "But we did-!" There was a flash of red light, and Seta was vaporized on the spot. Malum's jaw dropped as he watched the ash fall to the floor.

"Will that be all, sir?" inquired another changeling. He did not move or cry out when Seta was vaporized, but Malum noticed a glittering tear forming in the corner of his eye. Nebula did not answer, however, he just stared at the spot where Seta had stood moments ago. Then, to Malum's surprise, Nebula smiled, then giggled, then laughed, and as he laughed, his eyes slid out of focus.

"Hey, uh, King Blueblood, are you-?" Nebula fired another spell, and another changeling was vaporized where he stood. Nebula fired again and again and again, and now changelings, statues, pillars and several griffons were being reduced to dust. One spell ricocheted off Flare's chest and missed Nebula by an inch.

"NEBULA!" Malum shouted, and punched Nebula in the face. Nebula stared off into space for a few moments, and then he saw the destruction that he had wrought: most of the changelings and three griffons had been reduced to ash. In spite of the carnage, none of the soldiers had moved in the slightest or given any indication that they knew what was going on.

"Will that be all, sir?" the changeling repeated. Although he had not moved an inch, the glittering tear pooled and ran down his cheek.

"I-I… yes, that will be all." Nebula muttered. "Gilda, Flare, changelings, return to your duties." The remaining soldiers saluted and marched out of the throne room, leaving a dumbfounded Nebula and Malum alone.

"What the hay was that?" Malum cried.

"I-I don't know." said Nebula. "I was furious that Azure hadn't been found yet, and when I looked into Seta's eyes, I felt an unbearable rage. I wanted to kill him and everypony in the room, and then… everything went fuzzy. When I regained my senses, half of the soldiers were gone."

"Well then, I'll tell you what happened." Nebula said, barely restraining his frustration. "You turned Seta into a smoking pile of ash! Then you started laughing and vaporizing everything in sight, until I punched you and you came back to your senses! I mean, it's no big deal that you killed a bunch of monsters, but what if you'd vaporized your subjects, or your advisors? You wouldn't get away with that!"

"You're right, Malum, I wouldn't get away with it." Nebula said in a shuddering, almost frightened voice. "I think… I think I'm sick." He assumed his normal form and showed Malum his hooves; there were tiny glowing cracks in his skin, as if he were made of antique ceramic.

"Oh no." Malum gasped, his eyes widening in fear. "Oh no, that's not good. That is not good."

"What is it?" Nebula cried. "What does it mean?"

"It's your magic, the magic that Lord Tenebris gave you so you could overthrow Celestia." Malum groaned. "It's tearing you apart from the inside." Nebula's mind went blank.

"Tearing me apart?" Nebula whispered. "What do you mean, tearing me apart?"

"He gave you demon magic, which is more powerful than unicorn magic but also more volatile!" Malum explained. "It's like a bad blood transfusion: your body is hardwired for unicorn magic, and the introduction of demon magic into your body is like poison! It's already affecting your mind, making you crazed and bloodthirsty!" Malum gagged as Nebula's magical aura wrapped around his throat.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" Nebula growled. "Why didn't you tell me that demon magic would make me insane?"

"I… didn't know, I swear!" Malum gasped. "Ponies haven't… sold their souls in millennia, and even then… Lord Tenebris makes the deals… not us! We demons just go around… causing chaos and misery, and if somepony wants to… make a deal, we call the boss!" He gagged again as Nebula's aura tightened around his neck. "I swear… I didn't… know!" Nebula peered into Malum's terrified eyes, and dropped his lieutenant to the floor, where he lay gasping for breath.

"Okay, so you're not to blame." Nebula growled. "But that still doesn't solve my problem. How do I keep this magic from killing me?"

"I… don't know." Malum wheezed. "You'd need some powerful magic to keep this kind of poison at bay!" Nebula sighed mournfully, and then his eyes lit up.

"You're right, Malum." Nebula chuckled. "I WOULD need some powerful magic." Nebula leapt from his throne and galloped down the hall.

"Hey, hold on, what are you doing?" Malum shouted as he chased Nebula down the hall. "We just talked about the dangers of running around undisguised, you know! You're acting pretty hypocritical right now!"

"Shut up and follow me!" Nebula replied, and used a spell to unlock a rusted iron door halfway down the hall. The massive door creaked and groaned as Nebula opened it to reveal a spiral stone staircase, which he and Malum followed deep into the depths of the castle. Cobwebs snagged their manes and a few steps crumbled to dust under their hooves, but they kept walking until they arrived at the bottom of the steps, where a second iron door blocked their path. Once again, Nebula unlocked the door and opened it to reveal the most dilapidated and depressing dungeon that Malum had ever seen.

"Okay, I give up.” Malum sighed. “Why are we visiting the dungeon?" Nebula and smiled at Malum, who was horrified to see a set of razor-sharp fangs instead of blunt molars.

"Where else would you go to get powerful magic?" Nebula chuckled, and Malum's eyes widened.

"Wait a minute, you're not talking about-! You can't be-!"

"I am and I am." Nebula insisted. "If this magic doesn't keep my disease at bay, nothing will."

"But this is suicide!" Malum cried. "Your body can't hold such powerful magic at such a high dose! You're literally cracking up as it is!"

"That's why I'm only going to take a small dose, just enough to keep the madness at bay." Nebula explained, and touched the tip of his horn to the far wall of the dungeon. A section of stone swung open like a door to reveal a small, dark room, which contained an ugly serpentine statue and a large crimson crystal. Malum stared in disbelief as Nebula walked up to the crystal and said, "Hello, Celestia."

Knowledge is Power

Once Jacob had explained the outcome of his meeting with Tenebris, Azure summoned the team to his cabin for an important meeting.

"I'm happy to say that the meetings went well, although not quite what we had expected." said Azure. "Canis, King of The Diamond Dogs agreed to trade some silver for Nox's mining tools…" Azure dropped eight silver bars onto the table. "… but not as much as we requested."

"What's wrong with that?" Anamir asked. "That looks like plenty of silver!"

"Well, I was hoping to make an entire arsenal of silver weapons," Nox explained. "But with this, I could only make a dozen daggers, and maybe enough left over for some silver-tipped arrows."

"So let's make some daggers and arrows." said Anamir. "As long as we have something we can use against Nebula."

"Speaking of Nebula, I found out how he got so powerful." said Jacob. "I met with Tenebris, Lord of Tartarus and found out that Nebula sold his soul in exchange for ultimate power." There was a collective gasp and nervous murmuring. "I don't know much about selling souls, other than the fact that it's really dangerous business. Nebula must be really desperate for power if he made a literal deal with the devil."

"That much is obvious." Azure remarked. "Maybe we can use it to our advantage." He gestured to Vesper. "Aaron, why don't you introduce our new ally?"

"Melody, Chiarascura and I visited the bat ponies today." Aaron explained. "We asked them for help, but Chief Neoma refused to help us unless we can prove that King Blueblood is an impostor. Well of course, we don't have any solid proof right now, but Vesper asked to join our cause." He motioned to Vesper, who bowed her head.

"I assure you, Chief Neoma is not a cruel or foolish leader." Vesper insisted. "She is just… careful. Her #1 priority is the safety of the bat ponies, and she does not want to jeopardize it by flying to Canterlot and committing regicide."

"But it's not regicide!" Silver cried. "This guy isn't really-!"

"Yes, your friends have explained the situation." Vesper interrupted. "But until she is shown irrefutable proof that King Blueblood is an imposter, she will not support your mission."

"So why are you here?" Anamir asked.

"Because I trust Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura." Vesper said. "I do not know who is right and who is wrong, but I convinced Chief Neoma to let me investigate regardless. She will call me back if there are any problems."

"Well, now that we've got that figured out," said Azure, "I've been working on tactical plans in my spare time, but I've always come to the same conclusion: we can't stop Nebula. That is," he continued before the others could object. "Not in our current condition. You guys are good fighters, but you're still novices. We have weapons, Nebula has an armory. Right now, I think our best course of action is to expose Nebula for the fraud that he is. If we show everypony that he's not really Blueblood, it’ll tip the odds in our favor. There are far more ponies than Nebula has minions.” Everypony nodded in agreement.

"Well yeah, it's a good idea in theory," said Anamir. "But how do we do it? We can't just drag Nebula in front of every pony in the nation and force him to show himself."

"Well, maybe we don't need to." said EagleHeart. "I know of a few surveillance spells that would prove beyond a doubt that Nebula is masquerading as King Blueblood."

"Perfect!" Silver cheered. "So we can just catch Nebula off guard and have him spill his secret to the nation!" EagleHeart shook his head.

"Well, it won't be that easy. I know that the spells exist, but I don't know how to perform them."

"So we're back to square one." Silver sighed.

"Not exactly." said Azure. "EagleHeart, how did you hear of these spells?"

"Well, Princess Twilight used them to expose-!"

"Then that's our answer!" Azure pounded his hoof on the table. "We need to get into The Castle of Friendship and find the appropriate spell book!"

"Go back to the castle?" Trixie cried. "What are you, crazy? We barely made it out of there alive!"

"It's our only hope, Trixie." EagleHeart assured her. "We need to try."

"… Very well." Trixie sighed. "But Trixie insists on accompanying you."

"Me too." said Vesper. "I will distract the guards while you slip in and find the book."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." said EagleHeart.

"But if I could make one small request?" Vesper asked. "Could we please wait until nightfall? I am quite sensitive to sunlight."

"That sounds reasonable." said Trixie. "It will be that much more difficult for the guards to see us in the dark."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." said Azure. "EagleHeart, Trixie and Vesper, make a plan for infiltrating the castle. Jacob, you know the castle better than any of us, so you should probably give them a layout of the area. Everypony else, meet me at the arena in five minutes for sparring practice." Sparring practice went well: Anamir was Azure's best student, using her considerable strength to wrestle her opponents into submission. Melody and Chiarascura were hesitant to attack their friends, but they were so fast and nimble that nopony could hit them. Aaron, while inexperienced was very well rounded: he was strong enough to deal damage, but still fast enough to dodge incoming attacks. Like Melody and Chiarascura, Silver often dodged attacks instead of dealing them, but he occasionally tripped on his peg leg.

After the sparring match, everypony was covered in scratches and bruises, which Zecora healed with her home-brewed healing potion, and then it was time for dinner. The team sat down around the bonfire, eating garden salads with cucumbers, carrots and diced apples. Aaron and the bat ponies, however preferred whole apples, which they drained to withered husks and spat on the ground. Melody was halfway through his salad when he noticed that Chiarascura wasn't eating.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" asked Melody. "Would you like some oil for your salad?"

"No, it's not that." Chiarascura sighed. "I'll tell you when we get back to the cabin." After dinner, EagleHeart, Jacob, Trixie and Vesper left for The Castle of Friendship, while the others retired to their cabins.

"Now then, what did you want to tell me?" Melody asked.

"It's just… I'm afraid." Chiarascura admitted. "We're going to end up fighting Nebula again, and I don't want to fight."

"I know, neither do I." Melody replied. "I don't want to hurt anypony, but this is different. Nebula and his henchmen have tricked the entire nation into worshipping them! They've enslaved the changelings, dragons and griffons! I hate to say it, but they deserve everything that's coming to them."

"But what chance do we have against him? We're not soldiers! I'm an artist, you're a musician, Anamir is a baker, and Nebula is an all-powerful unicorn! He'll kill us on sight, and…" she buried her face into Melody's fluffy chest. "I don't want to die, Melody. I have so much to live for." Melody lifted her chin and dried her tears.

"That's right, Chiarascura, you do have something to live for, and so do I." He gave her a tender kiss on the lips. "We have each other. Remember when we fought those demons in the castle together? They were going to kill us, and even though we're not soldiers, we beat them up."

"Well… yes, I guess we did."

"And we have Azure and his friends teaching us how to fight. He told us that we're really good at dodging, but we can't be afraid to attack." Chiarascura frowned and lowered her ears, so Melody added, "And if you're afraid to fight, just remember what those demons called you." Chiarascura's eyes flashed.

"I can do that." she said with a malicious smile.

"That's the spirit!" Melody said as he climbed into bed. "Now let's get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow." Meanwhile, EagleHeart, Trixie and Vesper were sneaking through the streets of Ponyville, keeping a careful eye out for enemy soldiers.

"How remarkable!" Vesper whispered. "I've never imagined that humble earth ponies could create such a prosperous society without magic."

"Well yes, Ponyville was founded by earth ponies," EagleHeart explained. "But many unicorns and pegasi have since moved to Ponyville in hopes of a more… humble life."

"Is that how you met your friend?" Vesper asked, gesturing to Trixie.

"Yes, Trixie was performing a magic show in Ponyville when she first met EagleHeart." Trixie confirmed. "EagleHeart met Trixie after the show and congratulated Trixie on her showmanship. He helped Trixie clean up the stage, and invited Trixie to join him for a snack at Sugarcube Corner. Soon after, Trixie decided to settle down in Ponyville so that she could be closer to her friend EagleHeart. We've been friends ever since, studying magic, going on picnics and generally hanging out in our spare time."

"That sounds nice." Vesper sighed. "I have many coworkers, but not so many friends in Noctis. We get along, but we seldom spend recreational time together, unless we are training for battle."

"I'm sorry to hear that." said EagleHeart. "But for what it's worth, Trixie and I consider you to be our friend." Vesper smiled at him.

"Thank you." They continued on the road for another minute, until they were twenty feet away from the crystalline fortress.

"We made it!" Trixie cheered. "Trixie will go in first." She stepped forward, but EagleHeart held her back.

"No, you can't!" He pointed up at the balcony, where a tall skeletal figure was standing guard. "Jacob said that demons have excellent night vision. They'll see us before we reach the door!"

"Perhaps we should take advantage of that…" Vesper suggested. "Follow my lead." Up on the balcony, Ossium scanned the horizon for any sign of intruders.

"Bah! What a waste of my talent!" He sighed. "I don't know why Nebula trusts Malum as his second in command, he's so uncooperative and rude! I, on the other hand… wait! What's that?" He peered into the distance, where a small dark shape was growing larger by the moment. Seconds later, Ossium was tackled by a tall dark bat pony, who leapt to her hooves and pawed the ground.

"You have no business in this castle, monster!" Vesper growled. "Be gone from this place!"

"What? Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Ossium demanded.

"I could ask you the same question." Vesper shot back. "I won't let you defile this sacred place with your presence! I challenge you to a duel!" Ossium' eyes widened: this mare was challenging his honor, and he refused, he would be branded a coward for the rest of his unnatural life! His reputation was on the line, and regardless of his duty to Nebula, he would not let it be sullied.

"Very well, I accept your challenge!" Ossium announced. "I will prove my superiority!" As he boasted, Ossium failed to notice two unicorns float over the balcony wall and sneak into the castle.

"That was very brave of Vesper, taking on Ossium all by herself." Trixie whispered.

"I trust her judgment." said EagleHeart. "Now let's find that book!" EagleHeart's horn illuminated every corner of the hallway, which was unnervingly empty.

"Be careful! There may be traps hiding around every corner!" Trixie warned. Her horn glowed pink, and Trixie closed her eyes, as if thinking very hard about something. "Trixie has something!" she whispered. "There is a silent alarm connected to a trip wire five feet down the hall."

"Good catch." EagleHeart said, and carefully stepped over the wire. "Do you see anything else?" Trixie closed her eyes again.

"Yes, there is a net eight feet ahead that will ensnare anypony who walks over it." They carefully slipped around the net, and avoided capture.

"What else?"

"There is a pressure plate on the floor that will drop a cage over anypony who activates it." With Trixie's guidance, she and EagleHeart slipped past every trap without so much as a blip on the record. Finally, they stood before the stained glass doors that led into the library.

"Be careful!" Trixie warned. "Trixie is certain that there are more traps waiting inside." She put her ear to the door. "Yes, Trixie hears voices. Nebula will surely have set up guards to protect the spell books."

"But who can we expect to find?" EagleHeart asked.

"Trixie is afraid that we'll have to find out." She tapped the handle with her horn, and the door creaked open.

"Hey, did you hear something?" called a low, growling voice.

"Eh, probably just the wind." said a second voice. As EagleHeart and Trixie peered inside, they saw absolute darkness, except for a massive torch standing on the opposite wall. Upon closer inspection, EagleHeart realized that the torch was actually the flaming mane of Ignis, which meant that the cruel face illuminated in the dull light was his brother, Cornu!

"Okay, we can do this." EagleHeart whispered. "It's two against two, and they may be strong, but we have magic! Are you ready, Trixie?" Trixie was shivering from head to hoof, but she nodded regardless.

"Trixie supposes so." She replied. The slipped inside and tiptoed along the wall, but Trixie had a sneaking suspicion that Ignis' eyes were following their progress. EagleHeart cast a spell to scan each book as they passed, and finally stopped in front of a crimson tome with gold markings.

"I've got it!" EagleHeart whispered triumphantly.

"Yeah, and we've got you!" Cornu growled as he and Ignis grabbed EagleHeart and Trixie by their necks. EagleHeart thrashed and kicked, but the harder Cornu squeezed the harder it was for EagleHeart to cast a spell.

“Well well well, what have we here?" Ignis laughed. "Two little mages sneaking in for some late night reading. Remind me to tell Nebula that Azure's team is a little short on magic."

"Like it'd make any difference!" Cornu added. "He doesn't use his magic except for waving around his little pig stickers!"

"Ha ha, yeah! I thought unicorns were pathetic, but then Azure showed up and my brain said, 'you ain't seen nothin' yet!" Ignis and Cornu were so busy making jokes that they forgot to strangle EagleHeart and Trixie, who leaned back and fired a concussive blast that knocked their assailants off their feet.

"Are you… okay, Trixie?" EagleHeart gasped, and massaged his throat.

"Trixie has been better, but she's not dead." Ignis and Cornu stood up and pawed the ground.

"Not dead YET, you mean." Cornu growled. "We're going to teach you the meaning of pain." As they charged, EagleHeart twirled his horn in a circle, summoning an emerald green band that wrapped itself around Cornu's legs and brought him crashing to the ground. A torrent of water burst from Trixie's horn, soaking Ignis from head to hoof and extinguishing his mane. EagleHeart and Trixie smiled, but an instant later, Cornu broke free and Ignis' mane reignited.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Cornu shouted. "Well, why don't you try this one on for size?" Cornu lowered his head so that his spikes were pointed directly at EagleHeart. EagleHeart thought that Cornu was going to charge at him, which made it all the more surprising when four spikes propelled themselves from his scalp like six-inch bullets. EagleHeart had just enough time to conjure an emerald shield, which deflected three of the deadly spikes; the fourth spike lodged itself in EagleHeart's shoulder.

"ARRGH!" EagleHeart cried and fired the spikes back at Cornu, who nimbly dodged the projectiles as they smashed against the wall.

"I know, I'm a real thorn in your side!" Cornu laughed. "Well, there's more where that came from!" As EagleHeart watched in horror, a new set of spikes grew from Cornu's scalp and jettisoned themselves across the room. EagleHeart tried to summon a second shield, but a spasm of pain shot up his injured shoulder, and the shield faded away. In desperation, EagleHeart fired a series of concussive spells that deflected the spikes, causing them to break against the walls or impale themselves in spell books. With the spike in his shoulder, it was all EagleHeart could do to keep from passing out.

He hazarded a glance at Trixie, who was having similar troubles with Ignis. As Ignis shot balls of fire from his mane, Trixie met them in midair with jets of water, which reduced the fireballs to steam in an instant. However, Ignis would not relent, and it was all Trixie could do to keep the flames from hitting her. Once or twice, a small fireball caught her in the chest, burning away her fur and scorching her skin in several places, but she kept fighting.

"Come on, sweetheart, give it up!" Ignis laughed. "You can't protect yourself forever, you know! Fire is stronger than water!"

"The Great… and Powerful Trixie… does not… give up!" Trixie spat as she extinguished another fireball. "Trixie will… prevail!"

"It's your funeral." Ignis scoffed, and threw several more fireballs at Trixie.

"Trixie, I'll be right there!" EagleHeart called as he deflected another spike. Although he sounded confident, EagleHeart’s brain was racing, trying to think of a plan. He and Trixie needed to take charge of the battle, but if they attacked, there was a good chance that they would be killed in an instant. But he couldn't give up! He needed a bright idea before - a bright idea! that's it! EagleHeart thought and shouted.

"Trixie! Close your eyes!" Trixie obeyed, and EagleHeart fired a brief, but intense beam of light from his horn. Ignis and Cornu were not especially weak to sunlight, but the magical light conjured by EagleHeart was too much: the brothers screamed in pain and covered their eyes.

"Now's our chance!" EagleHeart shouted, and fired a concussive blast that sent Cornu crashing into the wall, where he landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. Trixie, on the other hand cast a spell that encased Ignis in a block of ice. Trixie smiled at Ignis and said,

"You better believe I got tricks up my sleeve."

"Trixie, are you okay?" EagleHeart asked, trotting across the room on his three good legs.

"Singed, but safe." Trixie replied. "But what about you? There's a spike in your shoulder!"

"Yeah, I noticed." EagleHeart laughed. "But we'll ask Zecora to patch us up when we get back to the camp. Right now, we need to get those books and get out!" EagleHeart and Tribe galloped around the library, gathering all the books they could find on surveillance spells.

"This is perfect!" Trixie cheered. "Not only will we expose Nebula, but we could also use these spells on our camp, to keep an eye out for intruders!"

"Yeah, it's the perfect-!" EagleHeart stopped and looked back at Ignis and Cornu.

"Oh no. Oh no!" He cried. "Trixie, I can't believe I was so stupid! When those two wake up, they'll tell Nebula that we were here! They might even track down our camp!" Trixie put a hoof to her forehead.

"Oh Celestia, you're right! And even if we were to, well, dispatch them, Nebula would be able to tell by their disappearance that-!" A look of comprehension seemed to dawn on Trixie's face. "Hold on, Trixie has an idea!" EagleHeart watched intently as Trixie galloped up a flight of stairs and along a catwalk. "Trixie is certain that Twilight would have it!" Trixie mumbled to herself. "She has at least one copy of every book in-AHA!" Trixie produced a small black book from a cobweb-ridden shelf and galloped back down to meet EagleHeart. As Trixie got closer, EagleHeart saw that the book had a large white spiral on either cover. "Hypnosis!" Trixie explained, tapping on the cover. "Trixie will enchant the brothers and tell them to forget that we were ever here!"

Trixie and EagleHeart poured over the tome for several minutes, and then approached Cornu and Ignis. After evaporating the ice and releasing Ignis, Trixie turned to EagleHeart.

"Ready?" She called, and EagleHeart nodded. They pointed their horns at the brothers and thought, 'there were no intruders, no irregularities, and any injuries sustained were the result of a boredom-fueled battle." Ignis and Cornus' eyes went pure white for a moment, then returned to their usual red.

"There were no intruders, no irregularities, and any injuries sustained were the result of a boredom-fueled battle." They murmured, assuring EagleHeart and Tribe that the hypnosis had worked.

"Good! They won't remember anything about our skirmish." said EagleHeart. "But they might notice the missing spell books." He looked down at the floor, which was littered with Cornu's spikes, then smiled at Trixie. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Several minutes later, the discarded spikes had been transformed into a variety of books that EagleHeart and Trixie set in place of the real spell books.

"Good, that's everything." said Trixie. "Now let's go help Vesper!" EagleHeart and Trixie left the library, sneaked past the traps and back out onto the balcony, where a badly bruised Vesper stood triumphant over a pile of bones.

"He fought valiantly, but his pride got the better of him." Vesper explained.

"Hold on, we'll hypnotize him so that he doesn't remember we were here." EagleHeart lowered his horn to Ossium's protesting skull and made him forget about the skirmish. When they were a safe distance from the castle, Vesper turned to Trixie and asked,

"Did you find the spell books?" Trixie held up the books, and Vesper smiled. "Excellent! Another victory for Team Azure! Nebula's defeat is within sight!"

"Yes it is," EagleHeart said, limping on his injured leg. "But I think Trixie and I could stand to join a sparring match."

We Meet Again

Over the next month, everypony's top priority was preparing for the battle with Nebula: when they weren't sparring, Azure and Jacob discussed tactics, EagleHeart and Trixie practiced surveillance spells, Aaron, Vesper, Eclipse and Night Shade gathered food and information in disguise while the others helped Nox build armor and weapons. One day, while sparring with Anamir, Silver heard a familiar voice coming from the blacksmithing tent.

"Silver, it's ready!" Nox shouted.

"Oh! Excuse me, Anamir, I'll be right back." Silver left the arena and approached the forge, his wooden leg clunking along the ground with every fourth step. As usual, the light inside the forge was tinged with orange, and there was a lingering smell of smoke in the air. However, Silver's attention was on a long metallic cylinder that lay on the table.

"Here it is, Silver, your new leg!" Nox announced. Silver couldn't believe his eyes: the prosthetic was the exact shape and size of his other leg, and surprisingly light. Its polished surface was especially impressive in the emerald green glow of the stone set into its side. The surface was sleek and smooth, and the rivets tickled Silver's hoof as he picked it up and set it into the stump of his left hind leg. He let out a small gasp as the cool metal touched his skin, but the thin layer of padding inside the cup felt soothing against his stump. As Nox helped secure the straps around Silver's waist, a slight tickling sensation shot up Silver's body.

"Oh! What was that?" Silver asked.

"It's probably the stone getting hooked up to your mind." Nox explained. "Try lifting your leg, see what happens." Silver thought of lifting his left hind leg to his belly, and to his amazement the prosthetic raised itself into the air and touched his belly. He thought about lowering the leg to the ground, and the prosthetic obliged. He thought about tapping his hoof on the ground four times, and the leg tapped the ground one, two, three, four times in succession.

"It might take a little getting used to, but it should work better than that peg leg you've been using. Do you like it?" With tears in his eyes, Silver extended his hoof and shook Nox's hoof.

"Thank you." Silver whispered. "It's absolutely perfect."

"Hey, why don't you test it out, walk around a little?" Nox suggested. Silver stepped outside and walked around the camp; the prosthetic was surprisingly light, and the padded hoof didn't make any noise as it touched the ground. Throwing caution to the wind, Silver extended his wings and leapt into the air, flying circles around the campsite. The prosthetic didn't weigh him down or alter his balance, he flew just as well as before the accident. Finally, Silver soared back to the ground and joined the others at the arena. Naturally, they noticed that Silver had a new leg, and they were quick to point it out.

"Silver, your leg!"

"It's all shiny and new!"

"I can't tell it apart from the real legs!"

"Nox has outdone himself!"

"Thanks everypony," said Silver. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to test its combat capabilities." Silver marched up to a sparring dummy and punched it in the chest; the dummy now bore a hoof-shaped print on its chest, but it was otherwise unchanged. He kicked the dummy, and it shuddered from the impact, but it did not fall over. Silver leapt into the air and delivered a roundhouse kick with his metal leg, and the head flew across the arena, spraying straw everywhere. He smiled at his friends, whose jaws were unhinged down to their chests.

"Works for me." Silver chuckled. "So, who wants to spar?" Silver had a hard time finding a willing partner in the following days; nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of Silver's roundhouse kick, but Azure trained him regardless. In spite of Silver's handicap, Azure didn't show Silver any mercy, which Silver appreciated: he didn't want to be treated any different than his friends, and every injury he sustained was a reminder that Nebula wouldn't be merciful, either. A week later, Azure announced that they were ready to train with real weapons: he set out gleaming swords, powerful bows with razor-tipped arrows and dozens of tiny throwing knives. Anamir and Aaron chose the bow and arrows; seven of them clattered to the ground before reaching the target, three more whizzed past the dummies' heads but the last two hit the dummies in the chest.

"Don’t let go of that bowstring until you're sure it's on target. Make every shot count." Melody and Chiarascura were drawn to the throwing knives, only half of which missed the target.

"You’re releasing too late." Azure remarked. "When your hoof lines up with your eyes, THAT'S when you let go." Instead of choosing a weapon, Jacob bounded up to a dummy in his hulking werewolf form, tearing to shreds with his claws and fangs.

"Not bad, kid. But in mind that your enemy isn't going to stand still and let you tear him apart." Naturally, EagleHeart and Trixie decided to fight with magic instead of weapons. They aimed their horns at two of the dummies and blasted them to pieces.

" I think you two would be better suited to sparring than target practice. Try dueling each other a few times a day, learn to cast and counter spells, and don't be afraid to give it your all." EagleHeart and Trixie nodded.

“Okay Vesper, this is your first time sparring with us,” Azure announced. “So show us what you’ve got. I’m holding you to the same standards as everypony else.”

“And I will do my best to earn your regard.” She said, bowing respectfully. She closed her eyes, breathed through her nostrils and produced a razor-sharp dagger. All of a sudden, Vesper opened her eyes, spread her wings and flew around the arena; she decapitated four dummies in rapid succession and impaled a fifth before returning to Azure.

“Good.” Azure remarked. Now it was Silver's turn to fight, but his spot was occupied by empty air. Azure turned around and saw Silver weighing each weapon in his hooves, unsure of which weapon to use.

"Come on, Silver! Pick a weapon and let's go!" Azure barked.

"But I don't know which one to use!" Silver sighed. "They all look so… lethal." Azure blinked a few times and shook his head, certain that he had misheard.

"I'm sorry?" Azure asked, trying to keep his temper under control. "Did you say that the swords, arrows and knives are 'too lethal'?" He raised his hoof to hit Silver for being stupid, but thought better of it.

"Silver, this is war. Your enemy isn’t going to play fair. You need to fight, or you'll die. Get it?"

"… Yeah, I guess you're right." Silver sighed. "I just… don't like the idea of killing. They say that it leaves a stain on your soul that will never wash away."

"Yes, but sometimes there are stains that you must live with." Azure sighed, and placed a sword into Silver’s outstretched hoof. "Here, try this on for size." As Azure and Silver walked back to the arena, Silver's eyes fell upon the wooden staffs that they used to spar with.

"Okay Silver, I want you to take that sword and-!" When Azure saw Silver holding the staff in his hoof, he put his hoof to his forehead and sighed through his nostrils.

"Silver, for the last time…!" Silver charged up to the last remaining dummy, jabbing and striking it with surprising speed. With every strike, the dummy became more misshapen, and it outright fell apart when Silver kicked it in the chest with his metal leg. Silver turned to look at Azure.

"You fight your way, I'll fight mine." said Silver. Silver fully expected Azure to yell at him or punch him or break the staff in two, but instead, Azure just shrugged and said,

"Fine." After two weeks of rigorous training, the team was ready: they had weapons, armor and the determination to kill Nebula and save Equestria. They stood at attention as Azure inspected their equipment.

"Are you absolutely sure that this spell will work?" He asked EagleHeart.

"I had to do some jury rigging to increase the range, but yes, the surveillance should project itself all across the nation." EagleHeart replied.

"Perfect." said Azure. "Remember, when I give the signal, you cast the spell. Aaron and Anamir, you're our sharpshooters. You'll go with EagleHeart and Trixie, shooting any enemy troops that you can see."

"No problem." said Aaron. "We've got your back."

“The rest of us will charge into the courtyard and attract everypony's attention." Azure concluded. "We'll probably have to fight off most of The Royal Guard as well as Nebula's cronies, but as long as we stick together and watch each others’ blind spots we should be safe. Are you ready?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The team shouted in one voice.

"Good. Then let's get going!" They marched out of the camp in single file, and upon leaving the forest, those who were able to fly carried those who could not up to Canterlot Mountain. Naturally, the sight of a dozen armor-clad ponies flying through the air attracted a lot of attention.

"I swear, these publicity stunts get crazier every year." Remarked a stallion in Canterlot. "It'd save a lot of time and money if they just put up banners saying 'Join The Royal Guard', we don't need these stupid-!" As Vesper flew low over Canterlot, she dropped Azure, who landed and marched down the street. Seconds later, Melody and Chiarascura dropped Anamir, who followed Azure down the street. EagleHeart and Trixie followed, paying no mind to the wide-eyed stallion.

"… Okay, that was pretty cool." He gasped as the team made a beeline for Canterlot Castle. Inside the castle, Nebula watched the procession in his King Blueblood disguise, making a noise between a purr and a growl in his throat.

"Sir, we just got word from Ponyville!" Announced a blank-eyed changeling drone. "Azure Night has been sighted."

"He certainly has." Nebula growled. "Assemble the troops, Maxilla, and have them meet me in the court yard in five minutes." At that moment, Azure and the others arrived at the front gates of the castle.

"Halt! Who goes there?" The castle guard demanded, and pointed his spear at the approaching militia.

"You know who I am." Azure growled, and watched as the guard's stoic face melted into a look of complete shock and amazement.

"Azure?" The guard choked. "I thought you were dead!" Azure rolled his eyes.

"I don't have time for this." Azure sighed.

"King Blueblood said that-!" But before the guard could regain his composure, Azure unsheathed his swords with surprising speed and crossed them against the guard's neck like a giant pair of scissors.

"…Okay." The guard squeaked, and stepped aside.

"Smart move." Azure marched into the courtyard with Chiarascura, Eclipse, Melody, Night Shade, Nox, Silver and Vesper close behind. Except for them, the courtyard was completely empty.

"It's quiet. Too quiet." Silver growled, and everypony turned to look at him. "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that."

"Stay on alert." Azure warned. "Nebula will have seen us coming, but it'll take him a few minutes to assemble the troops." Right on cue, the steady 'clop, clop' of four hundred hooves filled the air, and Nebula (still disguised as King Blueblood) entered the courtyard, accompanied by one hundred burly soldiers.

"That doesn't sound good." Nox said; as usual, his eyes were shut tight against the dazzling light of the afternoon sun, but he couldn’t mistake the sound of one hundred stallions marching toward him.

"Stand your ground, everypony!" Vesper announced. “We shall not let these interlopers prevail!” Azure stood his ground as Nebula approached, and the soldiers fanned out on either side. Finally, they stood twenty feet apart, staring at each other with unbridled hatred.

"Azure Night," Nebula announced. "For crimes against the nation, ranging from treason to attempted murder, I hereby sentence you to death. However," he continued, "I am not without mercy. I will give you and your associates one last chance to stand down, whereupon I will sentence you to life in prison. What do you say?" Azure looked at Nebula's army, and then at his feeble militia before turning back to Nebula.

"Charge." Azure growled. It was pure chaos: as his team of soldiers charged, Nebula loosed a shaft of crimson energy from his horn, but Azure ducked aside and the spell blew up a statue instead. "Remember: don't bother with the soldiers, just go for Nebula and the demons!" Azure shouted as he and his team charged into the fray. Azure shoved a soldier aside and injured another with a well-placed stab to the leg. Eclipse, Night Shade, Nox and Vesper flew over the soldiers' heads, kicking and biting as they went while Silver hit a soldier in the face with a well-placed roundhouse kick.

"I want you to know that I don't take any pleasure from this!" Silver said to the unconscious soldier. Melody and Chiarascura slashed at the soldiers’ legs and necks, taking care to injure, but not kill their opponents. Outside the castle gates, Aaron, Anamir, EagleHeart and Trixie hid on the roof of Canterlot Theater, where they fired arrows and magic spells at the enemy soldiers.

"They're outnumbered ten to one!" Aaron cried. "They can't fight forever. We need to help them!"

"We ARE helping, by fighting from afar." Trixie noted. “Arrows aren’t as effective at close range.”

“Trixie is right, Aaron.” EagleHeart sighed. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but we need to stay up here. When Azure gives his signal, we’ll send a live feed across the nation just as Azure exposes Nebula.”

"Well, I guess that makes sense…" Anamir sighed as she fired another arrow into the fray. "I feel bad just standing here while our fiends are in danger."

"Yeah, but what can we do?" Aaron replied. Back on the battlefield, Azure and the others continued to fight valiantly in spite of the overwhelming odds.

"Keep fighting!" Azure shouted. "Don't hold back!"

"But there are so many of them!" Chiarascura replied, and yelped as a spear grazed her leg. Melody growled and delivered a punch that knocked the offending stallion out cold. "We can't do this forever! We need a miracle." At that moment, a dozen soldiers broke out in confused murmurs as a red and white blob flew high above the courtyard. Silver peered into the sky for a moment, and then smiled.

"One miracle, right on cue." Silver said as he hit a soldier in the jaw with his staff. High in the air, the white blob detached itself from the red blob and landed with a dull 'thud' on the blood-spattered grass. Anamir stood up and charged into the fray, punching, kicking and tossing every soldier she could get her hooves on. Meanwhile, Aaron soared low over the field, scratching and biting every soldier he could find. Many of the soldiers collapsed, suffering from broken bones, lacerations and bite marks, but the ones who were strong enough to stand fought back.

“Well, Trixie can’t blame them for wanting to help.” Trixie said as Anamir and Aaron joined the battle.

“No, I suppose not.” EagleHeart replied. “But don’t lose focus! We need to be ready for Azure’s signal so that we can expose Nebula in front of the entire nation!”

“Stop right there.” Demanded a cold, buzzing voice. EagleHeart and Trixie turned to see a changeling drone with malice in his eyes and a black badge on his chest. “I saw you casting spells and arrows upon the battlefield, and I will not let you harm my master.” The changeling pawed the ground and narrowed his eyes.

“This isn’t good, Trixie.” EagleHeart whispered. “We need to get rid of him before Azure sends his signal!”

“Oh please!” Trixie scoffed as the changeling flexed his translucent wings. “Trixie has battled changelings before. They are nothing but oversized… glorified… butterflies?” The last three words came out hoarse, because the changeling was transforming before their eyes: he was growing larger, his tail and muzzle were elongating and his sky blue carapace was giving way to thick red scales. In seconds, the changeling had taken on the form of a fearsome dragon, which growled menacingly as he stalked toward EagleHeart and Trixie.

“But even Trixie’s made mistakes.” The changeling/dragon roared, but with a flick of his horn, EagleHeart summoned an emerald green band that wrapped itself around the dragon’s muzzle.

“Die, monster!” Trixie shrieked, and fired a spell that bounced harmlessly off the dragon’s thick hide. “… Trixie means, let’s be friends?”

“Go for the eyes!” EagleHeart whispered. Just as the dragon tore the band off its muzzle, Trixie fired a spell directly into its eyes. The dragon yelped and reared and swung its tail around, unable to see anything but a series of flashing lights. At the same time, EagleHeart leapt onto the dragon’s tail and ran up its body, firing spells left and right as he went. The dragon roared and clawed at its back, but EagleHeart was too fast; finally, he leapt off the dragon’s snout and landed back on the roof.

“Insolent bugs!” The dragon roared, and swiped at the duo with his razor sharp claws. However, he was brought up short when Trixie fired another burst of magic into his eyes.

“Look who’s talking.” Trixie laughed.

“Stop doing that!” The dragon growled and rubbed his eyes. “It’s getting annoying!” Trixie turned to EagleHeart and smiled.

“You know, he’s right.” Trixie said. “It’s time we end this.”

“Ladies first.” EagleHeart replied, and they both fired a concentrated beam of magic into the dragon’s face. The dragon gave a small yelp of pain, and then landed with a dull ‘thud’ on the theater roof before shrinking back into a changeling. Trixie trapped the changeling in a shimmering pink cage, and EagleHeart bound its legs and mouth before checking the status of the battle. Neither Azure nor The Royal Guard had slowed their assault, but Azure was no closer to exposing Nebula, either.

"Soldiers of Equestria, retreat!" The soldiers stopped fighting almost instantly, and those who were able to walk carried their injured allies to safety. Once the soldiers had regrouped on either side of the courtyard, Nebula and his six demons (disguised as soldiers) smiled maliciously at Azure's militia, who were beaten and bloodied, but not defeated.

“That’s enough, Azure.” said Nebula. “I refuse to stand by and let you harm my soldiers.”

“That’s a first.” Silver grumbled.

“Although I must admit that I’m impressed.” Nebula continued. "You've managed to turn your little friends into a fighting force on par with the best and brightest soldiers that our nation has to offer."

"Shut up and fight, Nebula!" Azure shouted and charged at Nebula, his swords swinging madly in his magical aura.

“As you wish.” Nebula chuckled, and loosed a shaft of crimson energy that hit Azure full in the face. Everypony gasped as Azure was knocked off his hooves and thrown through the air, landing in a crumpled heap on the stone walkway.

Before The World

“Azure!” Anamir cried and ran to help her fallen commander. As she approached, however, she nearly fainted; Azure’s face was blackened with soot, and even worse, his horn had been blasted to pieces, leaving nothing but a two-inch stump that spat tiny golden sparks. The others soon followed, gathering around Azure and crying over his prone figure.

“Your bodies are beaten and your commander is dead.” Nebula announced. “I’m giving you one last chance to surrender before I kill you!” Jacob turned a baleful eye on Nebula and growled menacingly; as the crowd around them watched in terror, Jacob grew into his fearsome werewolf form.

“I’ll take my chances.” Jacob growled, and Nebula shook his head.

“Pity. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to kill you all in front of these innocent bystanders.”

“You won’t.” Azure groaned as he lifted himself into a standing position; everypony, especially Nebula was amazed to find that aside from his missing horn Azure was completely unscathed.

“But that’s impossible!” Nebula choked. “I killed you!”

“No you didn’t,” Silver remarked. “You only blew up his horn. See how he’s walking and breathing? Dead things don’t usually breathe.”

“Shut up.” Azure said, as he picked up one of his swords in his mouth and the other in his hoof.

“That does it!” Nebula shouted. “ATTACK!” Both parties charged at the same time: Azure made to attack Nebula, but was brought up short by one of his soldiers.

“You were a fool to return here, Azure Night!” The soldier laughed in Ossium’s voice. “Now you will face my wrath!” Eclipse, Night Shade, Nox and Vesper flew around Nebula’s head, listening for the telltale sound of a spell being cast and dodging at the last second. Anamir leapt upon a second soldier, who snarled and reared as Anamir tried to wrestle him to the ground. Silver flew toward a third soldier who jabbed a long, menacing dagger, and tried to jab him in the eye with the end of his staff.

“Well, you’re a cut above the rest!” Silver remarked. Melody and Chiarascura thrust their daggers at a pair of menacing soldiers, who laughed as the wounds sealed themselves in an instant.

“Give it up, kid!” Laughed the first soldier. “You know your weapons can’t hurt us!”

“Give up while you still can!” The other chimed in.

“Don’t listen to them, baby!” Melody shouted. “Stand your ground!” All of a sudden, a pained howl rent the air; Jacob was lying on his back with a spear lodged into his shoulder. He thrashed and whined as the largest soldier walked up to him, chuckling darkly.

“Bad move, Jacob.” Malum taunted. “You went wolf to defend your friend, and now everypony can see you for the hulking, bloodthirsty beast you are.” Malum was surprised and a bit confused to see that Jacob was smiling.

“Well… that makes two of us.” Jacob groaned. Before Malum could say ‘what’, Aaron flew down and plunged his silver dagger into the beast’s back. Malum’s howl of pain could be heard all over Canterlot, and the sight of him turning into a giant white wolf could be seen all over Equestria.

“Are you okay?” Aaron asked as he removed the spear from Jacob’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay in a minute.” Jacob groaned. “Come on, let’s go help the others.” But as they turned around, they heard Azure shout,

“NOW!” and everypony unsheathed their gleaming silver daggers. Ossium screamed as Azure’s dagger pierced his breastplate, and an instant later his disguise fizzled away, revealing Ossium’s true form as a red-eyed skeleton. The guards on the sidelines gasped, the civilians in the city screamed and EagleHeart broadcast the unmasking across the nation. Over the next sixty seconds, all of Nebula’s lieutenants were revealed: Lacerta roared as Anamir stabbed him in the shoulder, and his scaly body was put on display for all to see. Aaron sneaked up behind Atramento, who was still trying to disembowel Silver and stabbed him in the leg, showing a hairless stallion with a mess of black tattoos. Cornu and Ignis were the last to fall, suffering from wounds inflicted by Eclipse and Vesper’s silver daggers. Finally, it was down to Azure and Nebula, who circled each other maliciously.

“Give it up, Nebula!” Azure growled. “I have your ‘rooks’…” He pointed to Malum and Lacerta. “Your ‘knights’…” Ossium and Atramento winced. “And your ‘bishops’.” Nebula’s eyes fell on Cornu and Ignis. “And once I topple the ‘king’, that’ll be checkmate.”

“Oh yes, very clever.” Nebula scoffed. “But I suggest you surrender while you still can. You’re fighting a losing battle, Night!”

“Not by my count!” Azure shot back. “Your demon lieutenants are revealed, my friends still stand I withstood your so-called deadly spell!”

“I had no idea those abominations were masquerading as my most trusted allies!” Nebula cried. “And you’ve lost your precious horn, so you can’t use magic to defend yourself!”

“I don’t need a horn to defend myself, much less kill you.” Azure growled, and tackled Nebula to the ground.

“You’re a maniac!” Nebula cried. “Guards! Guards, protect me!” However, the guards did not rush to Nebula’s aid, or move at all. They stared at the demons that were still moaning in pain, then to ‘King Blueblood’, and came to a momentous agreement.

“I don’t know who’s right or wrong,” said Flash Sentry. “Maybe you knew that your elite strike force was composed of demons, maybe not. But I do know this: you can take care of yourself.” The soldiers nodded in agreement.

“I-insubordination!” Nebula shouted while trying to subdue Azure. “I’ll have you hanged for this!” But Flash did not waver, nor did any other soldier, and Nebula knew he was on his own.

“This is for Princess Luna.” Azure growled, as he stabbed Nebula in the chest. Nebula’s roar of agony could be heard across Canterlot, and the sight of his disguise wearing off could be seen across the nation. Where King Blueblood had once lay, there was now a tall, slender stallion with crimson eyes, a magenta mane and cobalt fur that was covered in glowing cracks.

“Now everypony knows your secret.” Azure growled. “My friends broadcasted this battle across the nation, so everypony sees you for what you really are: an imposter, a despot and a monster.” As he stood up, Azure spat on Nebula’s face.

“It’s true!” a soldier cried. “He’s an imposter! Let’s get him!” The soldiers charged at Nebula, who was muttering ‘no… no…’ under his breath, until…

“NO!” A wave of energy radiated from Nebula, powerful enough to knock the soldiers to the ground and send Azure flying. Nebula slowly got to his hooves and glared at Azure, looking more dangerous than ever before. “I’ve come too far to give up now!”

“Die, monster!” a soldier roared, and charged at Nebula with his spear at the ready. However, before he had run ten feet, Nebula loosed a shaft of crimson energy that reduced the soldier to ash. Another soldier cast a spell at Nebula, but a second shaft of energy blasted a hole through his chest, and he fell to the ground in a heap.

“No, I’m not King Blueblood,” Nebula announced. “But I’m still the most powerful being in the world!” More soldiers charged at Nebula, but he struck them down with a flurry of deadly spells. “Well, as long as you’re broadcasting, I have a message for Equestria: obey me or die! I’m tired of being a kindly diplomat, only using magic when absolutely necessary. Celestia sat on her flank while her soldiers did the work for her, and look where it got her! Well, no more! I will enforce peace and tranquility upon this world, and anypony who objects will DIE!” Nebula fired yet another spell, and six soldiers fell to the ground screaming as their skin and muscles melted away, revealing pearly white skeletons. “As for you,” Nebula glared at Azure. “When I’m through with you, you’ll beg for the sweet release of death.” Nebula winced as he pulled the silver dagger from his chest. With a wave of his horn, Nebula summoned bandages from thin air, which wrapped themselves around his chest and stemmed the flow of blood. “Funny, I can still feel my heart beating.” Nebula taunted. “I guess you just missed it by an inch.”

“Well, if at first you don’t succeed…” Silver said as he and the others flanked Azure. “Try, try again.”

“Come on, everypony!” Anamir shouted as she pawed the ground. “We’ll tear him apart or die trying!”

“Together, as a team.” Melody said, and grasped Chiarascura’s hoof.

“For Equestria!” Aaron cheered.

“Oh, how inspiring!” Nebula laughed. “The brave heroes are standing up to the evil tyrant when all hope is lost.” He lowered his horn, which was once more glowing crimson. “Inspiring, but stupid.” But just as Nebula fired his spell, an emerald green shield appeared out of thin air and deflected Nebula’s spell back at him. Nebula leapt out of the way just before the spell blasted a hole in the walkway.

“What’s going on?” Nebula cried.

“Sorry we’re late, everypony.” EagleHeart said as he galloped onto the scene. “Trixie and I had some loose ends to tie up.”

“And Trixie couldn’t bear to stand by while there are villains to thwart.” Trixie added.

“ENOUGH!” Nebula shouted, and fired a spell that knocked the silver daggers out of everypony’s hooves. “Do you think I’m an idiot? I know that demons are weak to silver, although I didn’t expect you to figure it out! The point is, your daggers are gone, which means you’re no match for me!” He fired off another spell, which was deflected by Trixie. Azure clenched his jaw around his sword, Anamir and Aaron notched their arrows, the bat ponies gripped their daggers and Jacob bared his fangs.

“Small odds are better than no odds at all.” Melody growled, and as everypony charged at Nebula, Melody and Chiarascura felt a hoof on their shoulders.

“Guys, I know this sounds insane, but I have an idea!” Silver said, and whispered into their ears. Melody and Chiarascura exchanged nervous looks.

“Well, I hate to leave our friends alone,” Chiarascura sighed. “But it’s worth a try.”

“Let’s do it.” Melody asserted, and together the trio spread their wings and flew away. Meanwhile, the team was slashing, piercing, biting and bludgeoning Nebula within an inch of his life.

“Keep it up!” Azure shouted. “If we keep hitting him he can’t cast spells, so he can’t fight back!”

“You got it, boss!” Jacob yelled as he clawed at Nebula’s chest. Nebula tried to fire a spell at Jacob, but Anamir fired an arrow into his shoulder, and the spell fizzled away. Nebula tortuously healed from every wound inflicted by Azure and the others, until a dark shadow fell over them. Azure looked up and saw a massive black storm cloud, which was being pushed across the sky by Melody, Chiarascura and Silver.

“Run for it!” Silver shouted. “And cover your ears!” While Nebula stared up at the sky, everypony else ran for cover. An instant later, the entire courtyard was blanketed with white light and an earthshaking ‘KRAKAKOOM’ as a massive bolt of lightning came down upon Nebula’s head. As the smoke cleared, everypony saw that the topiary had been reduced to matchsticks, the statues were loose gravel and there was a massive smoking crater in the center of the courtyard.

“Is he… dead?” Vesper asked, and inched closer to the crater.

“If he’s not, he’s very mad.” Aaron squeaked.

“Don’t let down your guard!” Azure commanded. “Don’t give him an opening!” Right on cue, something from deep within the crater stirred; Nebula was alive, and while the lightning had burned most of his body away, his bones and musculature were slowly repairing themselves.

“Nebula!” Azure shouted. “Tell us where the Princesses are and we’ll end this quickly!”

“N-never!” Nebula gagged. “I haven’t… come this far… to be b-beaten up by y-your pathetic m-militia!” Azure rolled his eyes.

“Surrender, you son of a whorse!” Azure cried. “We have you surrounded and outnumbered!” At that moment, Nebula looked up into the sky and smiled.

“He’s smiling.” Silver gasped. “Guys, he’s smiling! That’s not good!”

“And neither is that.” Melody said, pointing into the sky behind them. As Azure turned, he saw hundreds of changelings, dragons and griffons flying toward Canterlot from all directions. As the creatures reached the courtyard, they landed on the charred grass and stood at attention, their black badges glowing and their glassy eyes unblinking. Azure’s team drew closer but did not retreat as Captain Flare of The Dragons bowed graciously at Nebula’s hooves.

“You just HAD to say he was outnumbered, didn’t you?” Silver groaned.

The Coming Storm

“We apologize for our tardiness, sir.” Captain Flare said. “There were a series of riots that required our attention. The nation seems to have received some troubling news.”

“W-we have int-truders, F-Flare.” Nebula choked, and pointed to Azure. “K-kill them!”

“SIR, YES SIR!” the monsters said in a loud, harmonious bark, and readied themselves to attack: the dragons bared their fangs, the griffons flexed their talons and the changelings began morphing into fearsome beasts. Everypony except Azure was sweating and shivering with fear.

“This doesn’t look good, Azure.” Eclipse squeaked.

“Now THEY outnumber US fifty to one!” Jacob cried. “How can we fight them all off?” Azure looked at Jacob, then to the others.

“Together.” Azure said, and pointed his sword at the nearest changeling. An instant later, the monsters charged, and the courtyard was once again rent with the sound of war: clashing blades, whizzing arrows, snarls of anger and grunts of pain. Changelings and griffons collapsed every few seconds under the assault, although the dragons’ tough scales granted some protection from the influx of arrows, knives and claws.

“Don’t let up!” Azure called as he opened a gash in a changeling’s chest. “Fight until your weapons break, then bludgeon them until your hooves bleed!” The team stabbed and kicked and bit with all their might, but they knew that it was hopeless; every fallen soldier was immediately replaced with a new soldier, hungering for blood. Meanwhile, Anamir and Aaron were running low on arrows, a dragon had bitten Silver’s staff in two and Jacob’s claws were growing dull.

“I hate to say it, but we’re fighting a losing battle!” Jacob shouted as he threw a changeling across the courtyard. “We need to get out of here!”

“No! We need to finish this!” Azure shouted back. “We can’t let Nebula win!”

“Well, if we keep this up he’s going to win by default!” Silver said as he kicked a griffon in the jaw. “There are too many of them, Azure! We need to fall back and regroup!” Azure wanted to object, but as he looked at his beaten and battered comrades, and the ocean of bloodthirsty monsters around him, he was forced to concede.

“So be it.” Azure spat, and slashed his sword at an approaching griffon. “But we’ll need to fight our way out. We’re surrounded on all sides, and if we fly away they’ll follow us!” Everypony was silent for a few moments, and then EagleHeart spoke up.

“I’ve got an idea.” He whispered. “Everypony squeeze close together and prepare for a bumpy ride. Trixie, we’ll need cover!” Trixie nodded and twirled her horn around in the air; a cloud of pink fog blossomed from thin air and enveloped the immediate area, so that nopony, friend or foe could see anypony else. An instant later, there was a flash of green light, and Azure and his team had disappeared.

“What’s going on? What happened?” Nebula demanded. His body had finally repaired itself, and he was now ready to deal the final blow against Azure and his team. “Stand aside, you idiots, so I can-!” But as he reached the epicenter of the battle, he found dozens of prone bodies, pools of blood and no Azure Night. For a moment he was silent, although his eye was twitching dangerously, and then…

“NO!” His unholy roar shook the buildings of Canterlot, including Canterlot Theater, where Azure and the others were hiding.

“He doesn’t sound happy.” Silver whispered. “We should get out of here soon, before he finds out where we are.”

“And we shall do so momentarily.” Vesper replied. “But first, we must tend to Master EagleHeart.” Trixie was waving her horn over EagleHeart, who was passed out on the floor.

“Teleporting twelve ponies is no easy feat." Trixie explained. "It took a lot of energy out of him. Trixie is attempting to awaken him with an Invigoration Charm.” She waved her horn once more, and EagleHeart opened his eyes.

“Are we… safe?” He groaned.

“For the time being, but we need to get going.” said Azure. Anamir lifted EagleHeart into a standing position, but as soon as they began walking EagleHeart gasped.

“Wait! The changeling on the roof! We need him!” Everypony turned to look at EagleHeart.

“A changeling on the roof?” Azure repeated. “What are you talking about?”

“While you were fighting in the courtyard, Trixie and I captured a changeling drone and left him on the roof.”

“Okay, so what’s the big deal?” Azure asked. “We can just go upstairs and kill him before he can return to Nebula.”

“No, we can’t kill him!” EagleHeart insisted. “With the right spells, Trixie and I might be able to remove the control badge on his chest! He can give us information about Nebula’s defenses!” Azure considered the idea for a few moments.

“… Actually, that’s not a bad idea.” Azure admitted. “But we need to make sure he’s restrained at all times. We can’t afford to let him run off and tell Nebula our secrets.”

“Agreed.” Everypony said in unison. Five minutes later, Azure and the others were dragging the changeling through the back door of the theater, through alleys and behind bushes toward the edge of the city. Once they were safe from prying eyes, the team flew back to The Everfree Forest, leaving Nebula to take out his frustrations on his monstrous army.

Back in the courtyard, Nebula’s bellow of rage awoke Malum from his brief coma.

“What’s going on?” He groaned, and winced as he stood up; although the silver dagger was gone, the wound that it had left in his back still stung, and blood was still oozing down his back and soaking into his white fur. As he looked up, however, he saw flashes of crimson light from within the crowd of monsters, which meant that Nebula’s Demon Madness had returned in full. Malum ran as fast as his injury would allow, pushing his way past the blank-eyed soldiers until he reached the center, where Nebula was blasting the monsters to pieces.

“He got away AGAIN!” Nebula roared. “He got away, and revealed my secret to the entire nation! When I find him, I’ll tear him and his friends apart, atom by-!”

“Nebula, stop!” Malum shouted, and Nebula was broken out of his stupor. He looked around at the carnage that he had caused, closed his eyes and sighed. “Nebula, what the hell happened?” Malum asked. “Last thing I remember was getting stabbed in the back; it felt like I was being burned and poisoned at the same time!”

“Spare me the details, Malum.” Nebula sighed. “Azure and his little friends got away, but not before revealing our secret to everypony in Equestria. The jig, as they say, is up.”

“What?” Malum cried. “So everypony in the nation is going to come here and kill us?”

“I’m sure they would, if we weren’t the most powerful beings on the planet. We’ll just need to make a few… adjustments.”

“Well yeah, that much is obvious.” said Malum. “But where do we start?” Nebula turned to address the remaining monsters.

“Soldiers, fan out and subdue the populace. If anypony resists, throw them in jail. If they fight back, feel free to kill and/or eat them. Dismissed!” The monsters saluted and flew off to the various towns and cities of Equestria. Then, Nebula turned to address Malum.

“Have any of the other demons been killed?”

“No, but we're hurt pretty damn bad.” Malum groaned, and pressed his paw to the bleeding wound on his shoulder.

“Then go to the infirmary and tend to your wounds.” Nebula ordered, and drew a circle in the dirt.

“And what are you going to do?” Malum asked. Nebula pierced his hoof, placed it in the center of the circle and muttered ‘suratrat otlatrop anepo’. An instant later, the circle turned into a glowing red portal.

“I’m calling in reinforcements.” Nebula replied as a low, menacing growl sounded from within the circle.

Escape from Manehattan

The smell of rotten garbage burned in Suri’s nose and her heartbeat pounded in her ears, but she would not stop running. Suri Polomare, Coco Pommel and Coloratura knew the penalty for workers who left their posts, but when a door was left ajar, they ran out into the street and didn’t look back. They didn’t know where they were going, but anywhere was better than where they had been.

“Come on, you two!” Suri cried. “If the gargoyles catch us, we’re as good as dead!” They ducked into an alleyway, and Suri was relieved to see an abandoned diner on the other end of the street. “We can hide in there! Come on, just a little bit farther!”

“I’m running as fast as I can, Suri!” Rara cried. “I think the whip marks on my back opened up again!” Sure enough, hot blood was streaming down her back and soaking into her aquamarine fur.

“It’s okay, Rara, I’ll help you.” Coco fell back and lifted Rara’s hoof over her neck. “Don’t stop, we’re almost there!” All of a sudden, a black shadow fell over the mares and they stopped in their tracks.

“It’s the gargoyles!” Coco squeaked. “They’ve found us, I’m sure of it! Oh Suri, I don’t want to die!”

“Shh, it’s okay, Coco, they’re gone.” Suri cooed and patted her friends’ hoof. “See? They just flew over the alley, it doesn’t mean they-!” But at that moment, four hooded creatures with leathery wings landed in the alleyway, surrounding the mares on either side. Coco gave a terrified whimper, but Suri pawed at the ground, ready to charge.

“Stay back! Just stay away from us!” Suri warned, but the figure standing in front of her shook its head.

“We mean you no harm, miss.” The figure said, and threw back the hood of her cloak. “I am Captain Vesper of Noctis, these are my associates, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox, and we are here to assist you.” Suri, Coco and Rara exchanged confused looks for several seconds before turning back to Vesper.

“Well, um… thank you.” Suri said, and shook Vesper’s hoof. “Do you know of a place we can hide from Nebula?”

“Not just hide from him, but live outside his influence.” Vesper confirmed. “We have eluded his prying eyes for almost three years… but it is not safe to say more in our current setting. First, we must rejoin our group.”

“Your group?” Coco gasped. “There are more of you?”

“Twelve soldiers, including us.” Eclipse said, and stepped closer. “In fact, we’re meeting them in a few minutes. If you don’t mind, ma’am, we’ll carry you there.” Again, the mares exchanged nervous looks, but agreed that the bat ponies did not seem to pose any threat.

“… Okay.” Suri announced. “Just please, be careful with my friend. She’s hurt badly.”

“Don’t worry, Ma’am,” Night Shade said as he scooped Rara into a large sheet. “We have experience with this sort of thing.”

A minute later, they landed safely in Saddle Row, where fashion designers and seamstresses once created the most beautiful garments in Manehattan. Now, the buildings were dilapidated, their color drained away, and every seamstress in the city was forced into slavery.

“Psst, over here!” A shadowy figure whispered, and gestured the bat ponies into an alleyway between Passion for Fashion and Fabrics R Us. The alley was pitch black, but the bat ponies clearly recognized the bright orange stallion clad in plate armor.

“You’re back!” The stallion cheered as the bat ponies entered the alley. “Thank goodness, I was worried that you’d been caught.”

“Fear not, Flash Sentry, we were in no danger.” Vesper announced. “We caught sight of these ponies running through an alley, and offered our assistance.”

“That’s very noble of you.” Flash noted, and offered his hoof to Suri. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss…?”

“Suri Polomare.” Suri said. “And these are my friends, Coco Pommel and Coloratura.”

“Coloratura?” Flash gasped. “As in Countess Coloratura, the world-famous singer?”

“Y-yes, that’s me.” Rara gasped. “I’m sorry, I would shake your hoof, but I’m in terrible pain.” Sure enough, her fur was soaked with streaks of dark red blood. Before Flash could say anything, two pegasi holding jars of green liquid leapt out of the darkness.

“Oh you poor dears, you’re in a terrible state!” Chiarascura gasped.

“It’s okay, we’ll take care of you.” Melody added, and applied some of the green liquid to Coloratura’s wounds; in seconds, the bleeding stopped and new skin began to grow over the exposed musculature. Flash smiled warmly as the mares regained some of their color, but nearly jumped out of his skin as Silver Lining cried out in surprise.

“Silver, what’s wrong? What is it?” Flash gasped. Silver was standing transfixed in front of a poster bearing his likeness.

“Look at this!” He said, and showed the poster around for everypony to see. “‘Silver Lining, Wanted for Treason! Reward: 20,000 Bits Dead, 200,000 Bits Alive!’ It’s horrible!” Anamir trotted over and patted Silver on the back.

“I know, Silver, it’s terrifying to live as a wanted criminal, but-!”

“No, it’s not that!” Silver insisted. “Only 200 grand? Azure has a 500 grand bounty on HIS head!” Silver sighed and shook his head. “And I try so hard to be a menace to dystopian society.” Trixie rolled her eyes.

“And Trixie thought SHE had a large ego.” she sighed.

“Please, we need to focus!” EagleHeart announced, and turned to address Flash. “Where do we begin, Flash? How are we going to save those innocent ponies in the sweatshop?” Jacob, already in his hulking werewolf form bounded around like an excited puppy.

“Yeah, come on, Flash!" He cheered. "I want to get in there and save the day!”

“I like your enthusiasm, Jacob, but we can’t just burst in there without knowing what we’re up against.” Flash explained. “I’m waiting on reconnaissance.” Jacob’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Reconnaissance?” Jacob asked. “What recon-!” But at that moment, there was a loud squawk, and a nighthawk landed gracefully on Flash’s outstretched hoof.

“Hello, Jericho.” Flash said, and fed a fat, juicy cricket to the bird. “Status report.” Jericho chirped, squawked and clicked his beak. Flash had some difficulty translating the noises, but eventually announced,

“Forty goblins, fifteen gargoyles and ten minotaurs inside, and five more gargoyles on the roof.” He paced back and forth, considering the situation. “Okay, here’s the plan: Anamir and Aaron, neutralize the guards on the roof. Once the guards are gone, Jacob will break down the door so the rest of us can get inside. Eclipse, Night Shade, Nox and Vesper, fly around the rafters and kill the gargoyles. Jacob, you subdue the minotaurs while EagleHeart, Trixie, Silver and I kill the goblins. While we distract the monsters, Melody and Chiarascura will gather the workers and lead them to Manehattan Park. Are we all in agreement?” Everypony nodded, and as Anamir and Aaron went to shoot the gargoyles, Flash added,

“There’s a slight chance that the monsters will be ready for us, even if the guards don’t raise an alarm. Silver, can I count on you to cause a distraction?” Silver nodded and lifted the edge of his own cloak, to reveal a belt that was covered in grey, white and blue orbs.

“You know it, boss.” Silver chuckled.

Inside the warehouse, one hundred ponies were hard at work, sewing uniforms and tapestries for Nebula’s army. Their hooves were sore and bloody, the hot, stale air burned their lungs and their brains were hardly able to function from dehydration, hunger and sleep deprivation. To make matters worse, their every action was carefully monitored by dozens of unholy creatures, who would torture and/or kill any pony who did not behave. Nothing escaped the beasts’ attention, especially not a small grey orb that sailed through a window, bounced along the ground and rolled to a stop in the middle of the room. Before anyone could say ‘what the-?’ the orb broke open and released a cloud of thick fog that filled the sweatshop. An instant later, the air was rent with the sound of twisting metal, and a square of sunshine broke out where the front door had once been.

“Hey, what’s going on?” A minotaur shouted, and galloped over to the entrance. “Who’s there?” As he approached, a massive furry fist broke through the fog and collided with his muzzle. The minotaur flew fifty feet through the air and landed in a pile of neatly folded uniforms.

“What was that?” hissed a gargoyle. He leapt from the rafters and flew low over the workers, when all of a sudden a flying orange blob drew a silver short sword and sliced the gargoyle in half. Several goblins charged into the fray, but Flash swooped down and bisected them in a single slice.

“Come and get me, you cowards!” Flash shouted, and a minotaur charged in and grabbed Flash around the neck.

“So YOU’RE the intruder!” The minotaur laughed as Flash choked and writhed in his grasp. “Trying to free your little friends, eh? Well, now THEY’LL need to rescue YOU!” Flash knew he couldn’t overpower the beast, so he decided to outsmart it instead: he gave one mighty spasm and went limp in the minotaur’s fist. The minotaur grinned triumphantly and let Flash fall to the floor in a heap.

“It’s okay, guys, I got him!” The minotaur called into the fog. “The freedom fighter is d-ACK!” The last thing the minotaur saw was a shining silver blade that had sprouted from his chest.

“Not quite.” Flash whispered as the minotaur dissolved around his sword. Sensing the disturbance, more gargoyles dropped from the rafters and kept their eyes peeled for intruders. Unfortunately, they fog was so thick that they were unable to see anything, not even the bat ponies who dismembered the gargoyles as they flew by.

“Well done, my friends!” Vesper cheered and brandished her silver dagger. “Come, we shall strike them all down and return them to Tartarus!”

“Intruders!” croaked a goblin. “Cut them, gut them, crush their bones!” A dozen goblins drew their swords, but before they could stab anypony a volley of silver-tipped arrows skewered them through their chests and turned them to ash. The workers wanted to run for safety, but fearing that they would be caught by one of the monsters they hid under their desks instead. One stallion chanced a peek at the battle, and screamed in terror as two big brown eyes stared back at him.

“No, please, calm down!” The silhouette begged; its voice was gentle and calm, like a consoling hug. The stallion looked closer and saw that the shape was not a gargoyle, goblin or minotaur, but an armor-clad pegasus with sky blue fur and long brown hair.

“… Who are you?” The stallion asked.

“I’m Chiarascura, and we’re here to rescue you.” She held out her hoof in greeting, and the stallion shook it.

“Rescue us?” The stallion gasped. “But how?”

“Sorry, but we don’t have time to talk!” Chiarascura interrupted. “Follow us!” The workers didn’t need to be asked twice: they followed Melody and Chiarascura out of the sweatshop and down the street as quickly and quietly as possible. Of course, even in the dense fog, the monsters could not mistake the sound of one hundred hooves galloping down the hall and out the door.

“The slaves are escaping!” A minotaur bellowed. “Hunt them down before they get too-OOF!” Jacob punched the minotaur in the chest, but it was too late; the remaining gargoyles opened the windows and beat their wings vigorously, siphoning the fog out of the building. As the room cleared, the monsters looked to the entrance, where eighty ponies were still pushing and jostling to get outside.

“There they are! Get them!” A gargoyle hissed, and swooped down on the crowd. A mare screamed as the gargoyle’s talons dug into her flesh, and she was lifted into the air high above the crowd. She thrashed and screamed, trying to break free, but the gargoyle was too strong.

“Help! Somepony help me!” The mare screamed, and right on cue, Nox flew in and decapitated the gargoyle with his silver dagger.

“Tell ‘em Nox sent you!” Vesper growled as the gargoyle disintegrated. As the gargoyle disappeared, his would-be victim fell like a stone, but Eclipse and Night Shade caught her and lowered her safely to the ground. Half a dozen goblins ran forward, waving their swords and cackling madly, but before they could strike a wave of pink energy blasted them off their feet. EagleHeart and Trixie were standing between the monsters and the fleeing crowd, ready to kill any demon that approached.

“The door is blocked!” Trixie cried as she knocked a gargoyle out of the air. “The ponies can’t flee fast enough! We need a bigger door!”

“I’m on it!” EagleHeart said, and blasted the entire wall to pieces; the ponies ran away en masse, following Melody and Chiarascura to safety.

“Good thinking, EagleHeart!” Trixie cheered, and continued to knock back any demons who approached the crowd. “But it looks like Jacob is having some difficulty with the minotaurs.” Indeed, Jacob was fighting bravely, but as he was a demon himself, he could not touch, much less wield a silver dagger for killing his foes.

“Jacob, duck!” EagleHeart shouted, and gave his horn a tiny flick. His silver dagger flew toward Jacob, who ducked out of the way as the dagger embedded itself in the chest of a minotaur. The minotaur gasped and stared down at his chest, but before he could pull the dagger out he dissolved into a pile of ash, and the dagger fell to the floor.

“Thanks for the assist.” Jacob gasped. “But I don’t know how I’ll be of any help. I can claw and bite and punch all I want, but they’ll just get back up and attack me again.” EagleHeart smiled and patted Jacob on the shoulder.

“Well, you’re stronger than me, and I can use silver without getting hurt.” EagleHeart said as he picked up his dagger. “Why don’t you knock them down, and I’ll finish them off?” Jacob thought about it for a moment, and then smiled.

“Sounds good to me.” He chuckled, and sank his fangs into an advancing minotaur. Meanwhile, high above the battle, Silver dipped and dove around the scaffolding, trying to evade a pursuing gargoyle.

“You can’t run forever, pony!” The gargoyle cackled. “Eventually you’ll crash, and I’ll feast on your tender flesh!”

“You don’t want me, I’m mostly feathers!” Silver replied. “Why don’t you snack on this?” He unhooked a white orb from his belt and tossed it over his shoulder.

“A smoke bomb?” The gargoyle laughed. “What will that-?” However, instead of producing fog, the orb released a concentrated dose of lightning that made the gargoyle seize up and fall to the floor in a heap.

“Well, there’s a shocker.” Silver muttered as he watched a minotaur approach the fallen gargoyle.

“Risu! What have you done to him?” The minotaur roared and threw a sewing machine at Silver. “Come down here and fight like a man, you cowardly mule!”

“Well, if you insist.” Silver pulled out his staff and dove upon the minotaur, who punched Silver out of the air and took his staff. Silver was badly bruised, but he stood up and pawed the ground, ready to fight.

“A stick? Is that really the best you can do?” The minotaur laughed as he twirled the staff in his hand. “Pathetic.” He took the staff in both hands and tried to break it, but although his muscles strained and sweat beaded upon his forehead the staff did not bend, break or move in the slightest.

“It’s Everfree Oak, cud for brains! Nigh indestructible!” Silver shouted. “Now hand it over before you poke your eye out.” The minotaur looked down at the staff, then smiled at Silver.

“You want it? Come and get it.” Silver charged at the minotaur, but was forced to leap out of the way as the minotaur jabbed the staff at him. Silver spread his wings and leapt into the air, delivering a roundhouse kick to the minotaur’s jaw. The minotaur gave a pained grunt, but regained his focus and swung the staff at Silver in an attempt to knock his head off. Silver just barely dodged the staff and grabbed it in his left hoof.

“Here’s a little trick I learned from Azure.” He brought his right hoof down hard upon the minotaur’s wrist, forcing the beast to release the staff.

“Ow!” The minotaur cried, and rubbed his sore wrist. “Why you flying rat, I’ll tear you apart!” As the minotaur reached out, Silver jabbed him in the snout, eliciting a howl of pain from the monster.

“A flying rat? How dare you, sir!” Silver gasped in mock surprise. “I shall thrash you soundly!” He jabbed the minotaur in the ribs, then struck it in the jaw as it doubled over. “Take this! And that! And some of-!”

“Silver, stop fooling around and kill him!” Flash shouted as he kicked a screaming goblin into the furnace.

“Okay, okay.” Silver sighed, and swung his staff around so that it knocked the minotaur’s legs out from under him. The ground shook as the minotaur fell to the floor, but before he could get up Silver leapt onto the beast’s chest, pulled a silver dagger from his belt and plunged it into the minotaur’s chest. The minotaur gave a bloodcurdling cry and dissolved into a pile of ash as a team of goblins watched in horror. Silver, sensing the goblins’ arrival turned and smiled at them.

“Who’s next?” The goblins dropped their weapons and ran for their lives, with Silver in hot pursuit. However, before Silver could strike them down, a hail of silver arrows rained from the sky and skewered the goblins, turning them to ash.

“Hey, what the-?” Silver looked up and saw Aaron and Anamir, who were shooting monsters from the catwalk.

“Come on, Aaron, we can do it!” Anamir cheered. “Just a few more, and then we can-!” At that moment, the catwalk began to shake; a gargoyle and a minotaur were approaching the duo from either side.

“The game ends here, ponies!” The gargoyle hissed. “Throw down your weapons and surrender!”

“I don’t think so.” Anamir growled. She and Aaron reached into their quivers, but their hooves fell upon empty air.

“Aw, too bad, the little heroes are out of arrows.” The minotaur taunted as he cracked his knuckles. “This is going to hurt.”

“Stand your ground, Aaron!” Anamir said. “It’s okay, I won’t let them hurt you!”

“Likewise!” Aaron replied as the hulking minotaur bore down on him. Aaron gave a yelp and flew into the air as the minotaur’s meaty fists came down upon him. In desperation, Anamir kicked the minotaur in the snout. The minotaur recoiled, and blood squirted from its snout.

“You’ll pay for that!” The minotaur roared and lifted Anamir in a crushing bear hug. However, before he could squeeze the life out of her, Aaron flew down and bit the minotaur on the neck. The minotaur dropped Anamir before turning his attention to Aaron, who flew just out of reach.

“Hold on, Aaron, I’ll-!” Anamir tried to approach, but the gargoyle sank his claws into her flank and dragged her away.

“Delicious ponies!” The gargoyle hissed. “Juicy, succulent flesh, so tender and warm! I’m going to eat you alive!”

“Not today!” Anamir growled, and twisted around to deliver a painful blow to the gargoyle’s chin. The gargoyle soared through the air and landed in an unconscious heap on the catwalk.

“And THIS is for grabbing my flank!” Anamir shouted as she plunged her silver dagger into the gargoyle’s chest: as always, the gargoyle dissolved, and his ashes slid through the grating of the catwalk. Anamir gave a sigh of relief before turning to face the minotaur, who was attempting to swat Aaron out of the air. Aaron, meanwhile was continuously biting and scratching the minotaur, and then flying away before the minotaur got a chance to attack.

“Hold on, Aaron, I’m coming!” Anamir shouted, and kicked the minotaur in the chest, causing the beast to fall backward onto the catwalk.

“Is he… dead?” Aaron asked.

“No, not yet.” Anamir replied as the minotaur began to stand up. “We can’t kill him without silver, and we used up the last of our arrows!” Aaron looked over the catwalk for a moment, and then dove over the edge.

“Aaron!” Anamir gasped, and then turned to face the enraged minotaur, who growled angrily and pawed the ground.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Anamir whispered, and charged at the minotaur, who charged at her. However, just as they collided, the minotaur dissolved, and his ashes slipped through the catwalk grating.

“What in the world?” Anamir asked, and a silver-tipped arrow clattered to the floor where the minotaur had been standing.

“Are you okay?” Aaron asked as he flew up and landed on the catwalk, his bow clutched tight in his paw.

“Yes, thank you.” Anamir said. “How’s the situation on the ground?”

“Flash just killed a goblin that crawled out of the furnace, so once we gather up our arrows we can get out of here.” Two minutes later, the team left the ravaged sweatshop and met with Melody and Chiarascura, who were waiting with the refugees at the end of the street.

“Good job, team!.” Flash cheered. “Now let’s get out of here before anypony else shows up.”

“Too late.” said a familiar, but very unfriendly voice. Everypony turned to see Nebula’s lieutenants strolling down the street, being led by the fearsome white wolf that was Malum.

“Well well well, what have we here?” Malum chuckled. “Sorry we’re late, but the news only just arrived in Canterlot. I mean, I knew you guys were still out there, but I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to show your faces in Manehattan! After all news travels fast in a big city.” As the demons approached, everypony drew their silver daggers.

“Stay back.” Flash growled. The demons flinched, Cornu and Ignis took a few steps back, but Malum just smiled.

“You should be careful where you point that.” Malum said. “Somepony could get hurt.”

“I said stay back!” Flash shouted, and pointed the dagger straight at Malum’s heart. All of a sudden, a terrified scream rent the air: a gargoyle had flown over the crowd and grabbed a stallion, which he dropped in front of Lacerta. The reptilian demon purred and licked his lips, and when the stallion tried to escape Lacerta brought his hoof down on his back, and the stallion collapsed. Lacerta sniffed the whimpering stallion, even tasted his flesh, but for some reason he did not attack.

“Lacerta is well-trained, you know: he won’t eat anything unless I give him permission.” The stallion whimpered as he felt Lacerta’s hot breath on his face. “No matter how much he wants something, he won’t eat it unless I say it’s okay.” Malum paced back and forth in front of the crowd. “But I’d be willing to deny Lacerta his treat if someone answered one teeny, tiny question for me: where is Azure Night?” Everypony’s blood ran cold, even the refugees: they had heard tales of Azure, how he had risked life and limb to reveal Nebula’s true identity before disappearing without a trace, but they had been certain that he was dead. After all, there were still tales of slaves being rescued from the demons’ evil clutches, but nopony had seen Azure in years! But if the demons were willing to travel all the way from Canterlot on the assumption that Azure had been spotted, then…

“Azure Night is dead.” Flash announced, and the crowd gave a collective gasp of horror. “He was devoured by a tatzlwurm in The Badlands during a training exercise.” Everypony was silent for a moment, then Malum began to laugh hysterically.

“A tatzlwurm in The Badlands? You expect me to believe that?” He smiled at Flash and shook his head. “You’ve got nerve, kid, I’ll give you that.” Malum turned to Lacerta and nodded; the ravenous reptile growled happily and leaned down to tear out the stallion’s throat. All of a sudden, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox leapt out of the crowd and onto the demons.

“Hey! What’s going on?” Malum shouted. Eclipse leapt upon Lacerta and stabbed him in the shoulder, which distracted the beast long enough for his would-be victim to crawl back to the crowd. Atramento raised his dagger, but Night Shade opened a gash on his chest and the tattooed terror dropped his weapon. Nox, meanwhile leapt upon Malum and drove his silver dagger into the wolf’s back.

“ARRGH! You little bastard!” Malum howled and thrashed around, trying to knock Nox off, but the bat pony held fast.

“Nox! What are you doing?” Flash cried.

“Go! Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!” Nox shouted.

“No, I can’t! I won’t leave you-!”

“GO!” Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox shouted in unison.

“Everypony follow us!” Melody shouted, and led the crowd to Manehattan Park with Chiarascura. Aaron, EagleHeart, Silver and Trixie helped to guide the crowd while Anamir and Vesper grabbed Flash and carried him away from the fight.

“No! We can’t leave them behind!” Flash shouted. “Let me go, Anamir, I need to save them!”

“No, we need to get out of here!” Anamir replied. “I don’t want to leave either, but the refugees are counting on us! We need to get them to safety.”

“I don’t care!” Flash growled. “Azure trusted me for this mission, he trusted me with his best friends and I won’t let him down!”

“Please, Flash, calm yourself!” Vesper pleaded. “Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox knew the risks when they went on this mission, they knew that they might not make it back alive, but they joined us so that ponies could know freedom again.”

“But we can still save them!” Flash cried. “If we all work together, we might be able to kill the demons!”

“And then what?” Anamir snapped. “If we kill Malum and the others, more demons will show up and try to kill us. If we kill those demons, even more will show up. Eventually, Nebula will show up, find out that we’ve killed his lieutenants and turn us to ash before we can say ‘oops’!” She sighed and looked into Flash’s eyes. “One of the harshest truths of war is that you can’t save everypony, and sometimes that means saving yourself so that you can save others tomorrow. Right now, we need to get out of here and get the refugees to safety.” Pearly white tears streamed down Flash’s cheeks as he looked from Anamir to Vesper.

“… You’re right.” He sighed. “I hate to say it, but we can’t save them. We need to get out of here while we still can.”

“It’ll be okay, Flash. We’ll set things right.” Anamir said. “Now let’s get out of here.” As they looked up, a series of bushes and boulders turned into ten unicorns, who galloped over to greet the team.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re safe!” cheered a female unicorn with minty green fur and a harp-shaped cutie mark. “We were starting to worry that something had gone wrong.”

“It’s okay, Lyra, we’re all safe.” EagleHeart assured her. “Is the team ready for transport?”

“Yeah, we just-!” Lyra frowned as she noticed the team. “Wait, where’s Nox? And Eclipse? And Night Shade?” EagleHeart sighed and hung his head.

“We got ambushed by Malum and his friends.” EagleHeart admitted. “Nox, Night Shade and Eclipse fought them off so we could escape.” Lyra gasped and covered her mouth.

“No!” She cried. “No, we can’t leave without them! We need to-!”

“We need to get these ponies back to camp before the demons find us.” EagleHeart interrupted. “Lyra, I promise that we’ll rescue them, but right now these ponies need our help.” Lyra closed her eyes and sighed.

“… Okay, let’s go.” She said. EagleHeart walked among the refugees and sent groups of ten to each unicorn; an instant later, the groups vanished in a flash of light, and reappeared at the camp. Finally, the only ones remaining were Aaron, Anamir, Chiarascura, EagleHeart, Melody, Silver, Trixie, Vesper and Flash. They huddled together, and with a fleeting glance at the ruined city, they disappeared.

Back in Saddle Row, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox lay unconscious in the street, covered in lacerations, bruises and bite marks.

“You boys have guts, I’ll give you that.” Malum groaned as the wounds on his back turned his fur red. “There aren’t many ponies brave enough to stand up to us, much less fight us, but you boys have gone above and beyond the call of duty.” Atramento leapt forward, slashing his dagger at the air.

“Skin ‘em, slash ‘em, drink their blood!” He hissed, but Malum held him back.

“No no, Atramento, we’re not going to kill them. Not yet, at least.” Malum said, and smiled down at the bat ponies’ semi-conscious bodies. “Let’s get these losers back to Canterlot. We have a lot to discuss.”

Sanctuary

One hundred and twenty two ponies disappeared from Manehattan that day, and reappeared an instant later in The Badlands. Before the ponies could regain their bearings, however, the barren fields were replaced by a valley filled with fragrant flowers replaced the barren fields. The process continued as the team teleported to half a dozen locations across the nation before landing in The Everfree Forest. Many of the refugees had passed out halfway through the journey, but when revived they were simultaneously amazed and confused.

“What happened? Where are we?”

“Where did all these trees come from?”

“Where are the demons? Are they going to pop out and kill us?”

“All of those places flashing before my eyes… did we just teleport?”

“Attention, everypony!” The crowd looked up to see Flash Sentry flying over their heads. “I know you’re confused and scared, but I assure you that you’re not in danger.” He gestured to several unicorns that stood among the crowd. “Our team of mages have teleported you to The Everfree Forest, where we live outside Nebula’s influence and plot his downfall. This is your home now, at least until Nebula is gone.” The ponies looked around, but could not see any tents, campfires or weapons that would suggest a secret resistance group lived there.

“It’s okay, this isn’t a trick. We just need to take a short walk.” Flash flew deeper into the forest, with the skeptical crowd following close behind. They tripped over rocks and weaved around trees, and finally came to a stop in a small, shaded grove. The ponies looked around, but the only thing in the grove was a large, flat boulder that Flash pressed his hoof against. As the crowd watched in awe, Flash whispered ‘Luna Nos Custodit’, and the boulder rumbled aside to reveal a long, low tunnel in the ground.

“Follow me, please.” Flash said, and the crowd complied; they followed Flash down the tunnel, which eventually opened into a large cavern that was lit by massive, burning braziers. Elegant tapestries and magnificent weapons adorned the walls, while a long mahogany table ran down the center of the room. Once everypony was safely inside, Flash Sentry announced, “Welcome to Sanctum.” The crowd was in complete awe: they had never imagined that a secret camp was hidden beneath The Everfree Forest.

“What is this place?” Coco Pommel asked.

“This stronghold once belonged to The Nights, a tribe of elite warriors who served Princess Luna.” Chiarascura explained. “They called it ‘Aevenan’, but we just call it ‘Sanctum’. Unfortunately, when The Nights disappeared, their stronghold was lost… until it was rediscovered by Azure, the last of The Nights.”

“You mean Azure Night is still alive?” called a voice from the crowd.

“Yes, he’s alive and well.” Anamir confirmed. “He’ll be back soon, he’s on a secret mission. But for now, we’ll help you get settled.”

“Get settled?” A stallion cried in disbelief. “You mean we’re going to be cooped up in this one room for the next fifteen years?”

“I doubt it’ll take that long.” Jacob remarked. “And no, you’re not going to be ‘cooped up in this one room’.” He gestured to the walls, which the refugees only just realized had tunnels carved into them every ten feet. “This is just the formal meeting room, The Nights had a whole series of tunnels and rooms hidden in their fortress. First of all, is anypony sick or injured?” Twenty hooves shot into the air.

“Follow us to the infirmary, please.” Melody announced as he and Chiarascura walked down one of the tunnels.

“Everypony else, please follow Aaron and Silver, they’ll show you to your sleeping quarters.” The rest of the crowd followed Aaron and Silver down a second tunnel. Once the refugees had left the main hall, Flash collapsed on the floor.

“Flash! Are you okay?” EagleHeart asked.

“It’s all my fault.” Flash sobbed. “Azure trusted me to save the refugees, and now his three best friends are DEAD because of me! He’s going to skin me alive!”

“Flash, don’t say that!” EagleHeart pleaded. “It’s not your fault that Malum showed up and threatened our lives. You performed well under the circumstances.”

“How can you say that? Azure would have found a way to save them, he’d have tackled Malum to the ground and carve his heart out! I was too chicken-hearted to attack.”

“You were not chicken-hearted! If you had taken a single step, they would have killed that stallion. And you tried to convince them that Azure was dead, that counts for something. You did the best you could with the resources you had.”

“Besides, Azure won’t skin you alive.” Anamir chimed in. “He’s a bit rough around the edges, but he’s not a monster. He wouldn’t have given you this mission if he didn’t believe that you would do everything you could do get everypony back safely.” She gave Flash a consoling hug. “You did your best, Azure will understand that. And if he tries to hurt you, I’ll hurt him.” Flash smiled and gave a weak chuckle.

“I guess you’re right.” He admitted. “But all the same, I’ll take full responsibility for the consequences, and help Azure plan the rescue mission. It’s the least I can do.”

“See? Everything will be okay.” Anamir replied, and walked across the room. “If anypony needs me, I’ll be in the commissary helping Granny Smith prepare for dinner.” Flash made to follow her, but a low, monotone voice called out to him.

“Flash Sentry. Thank goodness you’re safe.” Flash turned around to find Maud Pie, her parents Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz and her sisters Marble and Limestone.

“Maud! So nice to see you!” Flash galloped over and shook Maud’s hoof. Her half-lidded eyes and frown did not waver, but Flash knew that she was happy to see him. “Did your meeting with King Canis go well?”

“Mm hm.” Marble murmured.

“Yes, ‘tis an exhausting, and sometimes hazardous task to unearth minerals and create passages beneath the surface,” Igneous admitted. “But as long as the diamond dogs supply us with silver, we shan’t complain. Furthermore, Maud has great skill in finding minerals and removing stone.” He gestured to Maud, who easily carried a half-ton boulder into the room and with a few well-placed kicks, turned it into a sculpture of Flash Sentry.

“Your father and I are very proud of you.” Cloudy said to Limestone, Marble and Maud. “You are all doing your part to keep our world safe from harm, just like…” Cloudy began to cry, and Igneous gave her a consoling embrace.

“There there, Ma, there is still hope.” Igneous whispered. “When Mr. Night returns the Princesses, he will surely locate Pinkamena as well.” Cloudy sniffled and smiled at her husband. “Surely you recall Pinkamena’s unbridled enthusiasm? I once thought it foolish, but our daughter has overcome incredible odds by remaining optimistic in frightening situations. Wherever she is, Pinkamena will not be broken by her captors.”

“I… suppose you are correct, Pa.” Cloudy sighed. “We just need to retain our faith in Mr. Night and his friends, surely they will return our daughter home.” Flash walked up to the Pie family and bowed respectfully.

“You have my word, Mr. and Mrs. Pie, I won’t rest until your daughter is safely returned to you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sentry.” Igneous said, and gave Flash a rare smile. “We shall do all in our power to assist you on your quest.”

“We know you’ll save the day.” Maud added in her deep monotone voice. “After all, you saved us from the monsters. You’re a hero.” Flash smiled at Maud, and he could have sworn she smiled back.

Meanwhile in the infirmary, Zecora was rummaging through her storage cabinet and throwing bits of leaves, herbs and berries into a bowl.

“What do you think, Zecora?” Melody asked as he observed the ponies’ scars and sores. “Is there anything we can do to make them healthy again?”

"Melody Guardian, have no fear. Their ailments are not too severe." Zecora said as she ground the leaves, herbs and berries into a purple paste. "Some broken bones and painful sores, but thankfully they all have cures." All of a sudden, a stallion cried out in pain as a mare with a heart-shaped cutie mark adjusted his leg and tied it in a splint.

"Please, don't mind the painful moans. Nurse Redheart is resetting broken bones." Zecora explained.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that the refugees can be cured." Melody said. "What can we do to help?" Zecora divided the paste into two small bowls and passed one to Melody.

"Spread this paste on any section that has suffered great infection." She demonstrated by applying a layer of paste to a mare's sore-ridden back. As soon as the paste made contact, the mare's pained whines turned to sighs of relief.

"My goodness, Zecora, you really work miracles." Chiarascura said.

"Chiarascura, if you would, could you please get our patients food?" Zecora asked.

"Oh, certainly! I'll be back in just a minute." Chiarascura left the infirmary and walked down to the mess hall, where dinner was well underway. As she walked toward the kitchen, Chiarascura was welcomed with cheers and cries of thanks from the refugees.

"You saved our lives, miss!"

"I thought I was going to die in that sweatshop!"

"When I saw your smiling face, I knew everything was going to be okay."

Chiarascura smiled and waved at the ponies, and eventually came to a stop in front of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who were handing out bowls of soup and slices of bread to everypony.

"Hi, Chiarascura!" Sweetie Belle called. "Everypony's talking about how you saved them from the sweatshop."

"Did you really lead everypony out of the city while goblins and gargoyles were trying to eat your faces?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well yes, but-!" Chiarascura said, but Apple Bloom interrupted.

"And you used magic goo to heal their injuries? That's amazing!"

"I did, but-!"

"And you met Countess Color-!"

"GIRLS!" Chiarascura cried, and the trio went silent. "I'll be happy to tell you about our daring mission, but right now I need to get some soup to the infirmary."

"Oh! Can we help?" Scootaloo asked.

"I don't see why not." Chiarascura admitted. "But they need twenty bowls of soup, so we'll need a cart to carry them all."

"No problem!" Sweetie Belle chirped, and with a flick of her horn, a four-tier cart wheeled itself out of the kitchen.

"Come on girls, let's feed those ponies!" Apple Bloom announced, and the girls began scooping hot soup into bowls. Once they had filled twenty bowls, Chiarascura wheeled the cart out of the mess hall, with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle following close behind.

“Seems like those girls are always helping out around here.” said Bow Hothoof, a stallion with a rainbow-colored mane. “Any time somepony’s hungry or sick or in need of a hug, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are on the scene, helping to make things better.”

“We’re very proud of Sweetie Belle.” Cookie Crumbles said, and hugged her husband, Hondo Flanks. “You wouldn’t believe it, but she was very fussy when she was a filly; she wouldn’t eat anything but applesauce, and she wouldn’t play with anypony except her big sister Rarity.”

“As a matter of fact, it was Rarity who introduced Sweetie to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.” Hondo chimed in. “It was Sweetie’s first day at school and she was very shy, but Rarity invited her to play catch with them, and the rest is history!”

“As I understand it, that’s how our daughter became friends with yours, Bow.” muttered a stallion with a swirly pink mane and matching moustache. “We sent Fluttershy to Flight Camp when she was a filly, and two colts began mocking her because she couldn’t fly.”

“We were about to come over and put a stop to it when your daughter zipped over and told the bullies to leave her alone.” explained Mrs. Shy. “I had never seen such a display of loyalty in one so young.”

“Yes, all of our daughters were remarkable from a young age.” Twilight Velvet declared. “Twilight was always a studious mare, but we never imagined that she would grow up to be a princess!”

“No, I don’t think any of us thought our kids would grow up to save the world,” Granny Smith put in. “But we’re proud of how far they’ve come.” The parents all nodded in agreement, and fell silent.

“So… do you really think they’re still out there?” Mr. Shy whispered, barely loud enough for the group to hear. “Do you think our daughters are, well, still alive?”

“Not a doubt in my mind.” Granny Smith said with a smile. “My grandchildren are the smartest, strongest and most honest ponies around, just like their parents. If anypony would find a way to save the day, it’s my Applejack.”

“I completely agree.” said Night Light. “Our girls have always found a way to set things right, and they’ll do it-!” But the last word caught in Night Light’s throat as a shadowy figure entered the mess hall.

“It’s… it’s him!” Night Light choked, and pointed at the figure. In one uniform motion, everypony turned to see Azure Night pouring himself a bowl of soup. His features had become more rugged in the past three years: his goatee had become a full beard, although it did not mask the long, thin scar upon his right cheek. His broken horn was now covered with a silver cap that gleamed in the torchlight. He carried himself like a stallion who had lived several lifetimes in the span of three years. Excited murmurs broke the silence, but the stallion paid them no mind; he just trotted past the rows of tables and sat by himself. After a few moments, the crowd turned back to their meals, and Flash Sentry approached the table.

“Welcome back, Azure.” Flash muttered. Azure did not reply, he just glared into the soup. “Um… the rescue mission went well. We saved a hundred workers from the sweatshop and killed seventy demons.” Flash wanted to just walk away and pretend that he had concluded his report, but he knew that it was his responsibility to tell Azure the entire story. “But I’m sorry to say that there were… complications.” At that moment, Azure looked up from his bowl and sighed,

“I was a fool.”

“… Sir?” Flash said nervously, expecting Azure to berate him.

“That lead I was following turned out to be a bust.” Azure grumbled. Those who could hear the conversation looked inquiringly at Azure, as if he were in his own world, unaware of where he was. “I heard a rumor that Princess Luna was being held in The San Palomino Desert, so I went to investigate. Days of travelling through harsh terrain, fighting bugbears and cragodiles only to find it was nothing but a hoax. Nothing there but an ancient village in ruins, and a few dozen goblins and imps. I’m convinced it was a trap, but thankfully goblins and imps aren’t too strong or smart, so I was able to get away.”

There was a moment of silence as Azure stared down at his half-eaten bowl of soup. Then, with a frustrated grunt he leapt up and threw the bowl across the room, where it shattered against the wall. Everypony in the room turned to look at Azure.

“Two weeks wasted on a wild goose chase.” Azure growled. He returned to his seat, folded his hooves and rested his head on the table with a loud thud. Those who had been part of the insurrection the longest had not seen Azure so upset in a long time, but while they wanted to help their commander they were hesitant to approach him. Flash regained his composure quickly, for although this might have been a bad time, he needed to inform Azure of the bat ponies’ capture. He needed to make Azure listen.

“Azure, we were ambushed by Malum and his friends when we left Manehattan.” Flash explained. “Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox stayed to fight them while the rest of us escaped.” Flash closed his eyes and hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry. You trusted me to lead this mission, and I failed. I accept any punishment that you see fit.” Flash braced himself, fully expecting Azure to attack or at least shout at him.

“There’s nothing we can do at the moment.” Azure sighed. “File your report, and in the morning we’ll plan our next step. Our first priority will be to make sure they’re alive, then we can worry about a rescue plan.” The rest of the evening went smoothly: the refugees were each given a warm meal and a soft bed, and even the injured ponies were making a speedy recovery under the care of Chiarascura, Melody and Zecora. Finally, as the moon reached its apex, the soldiers, staff and refugees settled into their beds and fell asleep.

All was silent, except for the steady clop-clop of Azure’s hooves as he marched purposefully into the bowels of the fortress. As he descended, the light grew dimmer and the path became rougher and the light dimmer, as they had been so seldom used, until the tunnel opened into a dark chamber lit by half a dozen torches, whose flickering flame shone dimly on a huddled figure.

“Wake up, you disgusting heap of offal.” Azure growled, and the gargoyle inside the cell glared back at him. “I have some questions for you.”

The Diplomats

The next morning, EagleHeart woke to find Silver Lining pounding on his door, begging to be let inside.

"Hm? Silver, what's going on?" EagleHeart mumbled as Silver ran inside.

"EagleHeart, I need your help!" Silver cried. "That book you gave me yesterday… I think it's HAUNTED!"

"Oh for goodness sake, will you two quiet down?" Trixie groaned. "Trixie needs her beauty rest!" Trixie put her pillow over her head to block out the sound of Silver's cries.

"As I was saying," Silver whispered. "That book is haunted! When I woke up, it was glowing red and vibrating!"

"Did you touch it?" EagleHeart asked.

"Not really. I threw it across the room, and then I came to see you."

"Silver, just calm down. I don't think the book is haunted, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll check it out." EagleHeart and Silver went back to the cabin, where Anamir was making her bed.

"Good morning, EagleHeart." She chirped, as if she hadn't woken up to find Silver throwing a book across the room and screaming about ghosts.

"Good morning, Anamir." EagleHeart replied as he picked up and opened the glowing book. Instantly, the book stopped glowing and vibrating, and EagleHeart noted a paragraph of bright blue text: 'Dear Silver Lining, my name is Sunset Shimmer. I used to live in Equestria, but I've since moved to Canterlot High, an alternate dimension where bipedal creatures called 'humans' are the dominant race. Don't worry, I don't stick out: in this world, I'm a human, too, though I'm a unicorn in Equestria. Anyway, this is one of two journals that Twilight and I use to communicate between worlds when we don't want to use the mirror portal. Speaking of which, I'm sorry to hear that the portal was destroyed (and that you lost your leg), but if this 'Nebula' is as dangerous as you say he is, you may well have saved me and everyone else in this world, and for that I am grateful. Please, update me as often as you can on developments in the war against Nebula. In return, I will provide advice and information based on what I know of Equestria. Thank you, Sunset Shimmer.' EagleHeart looked from the journal to Silver, and back to the journal.

"Interesting." EagleHeart whispered. "Silver, I have good news: the book isn't haunted. It's a means of communication between our world and this 'Canterlot High' world that Jacob mentioned." He showed Silver the entry that had appeared in the journal.

"So I have an interdimensional pen pal?" Silver asked. "Awesome!"

"If you boys will excuse me," Anamir announced. "I'm going to join the others for breakfast."

"Hold on, we'll join you." EagleHeart replied as Silver stowed his journal in a safe location. Breakfast turned out to be day-old apples, leftover hay and water from a nearby lake, which was a satisfactory meal for horses.

"Okay, now that we're all fed and watered, let's talk about our plan for today." Azure announced, and motioned to Jacob. "Yesterday, Jacob was kind enough to brief me on Nebula's henchmen, their identities, abilities and weaknesses." Azure reached under the table and pulled out a large pad of paper, upon which he had drawn six large, ugly creatures.

"These are Nebula's six demon lieutenants." Azure explained, and pointed to the wolf. “The wolf is called ‘Malum’. He's strong and smart, but also rebellious. He doesn't like being bossed around, which might destabilize his relationship with Nebula."

"Yeah, let's hope so." Silver mumbled.

"The scaly one is Lacerta." Azure continued, and pointed at the reptilian stallion. "He's the strongest of the bunch, but not very smart. He'll attack and eat anything that's put in front of him." He pointed at the skeleton. "Next up is Ossium, the skeleton. He's the fastest of the group and he can put himself back together, but he's also a treacherous braggart. Always talks about how great he is, but if there's trouble he leaves his team in the dust."

Azure pointed at the tattooed stallion. "The maniac of the team is Atramento. He’s almost as fast as Ossium, but ten times as deadly, especially with a dagger in his hoof. But like Scaly, he's not very smart, he only cares about killing everything he sees." Azure pointed at the stallion with flame hair, and the one with a mohawk of spikes. "Finally, we have Ignis, the flame-haired one and Cornu, the spike-haired one. They're brothers, and a deadly double team, but kind of immature, too, and easily distracted." Azure set down the pad of paper and looked back at the team.

"Yes, very nice, we know who we're fighting." Trixie sighed. "But how do we stop them?"

"Well, that's where it gets complicated." Azure admitted. "According to Jacob, demons can heal from all injuries except those inflicted by silver."

“Yes?”

“No, not you, Silver.” Azure sighed. “I’m talking about the metal. If a demon touches silver, it’ll burn them, a laceration will require stitches, and a stab to the heart will kill them. Any non-silver wounds will heal themselves in an instant.”

"I can make some anti-demon weapons if I can get some silver," Nox explained. "But the only ones who have pure silver are, well, the diamond dogs." Everypony groaned: diamond dogs were large, bipedal canines that lived in underground caverns and mined for precious metals and minerals. They were also very greedy, and convincing them to share something as precious as silver would not be easy.

"Nox and I are going to meet with the diamond dogs today, explain the situation to them and what we need from them." Azure explained. "We're going to try and sweeten the deal by offering them these hoof-crafted mining tools that Nox built, as well as a set of long-lasting torches to help them mine in dark areas. Hopefully, it’ll convince them to share their silver, but if not we might need to use… other methods of persuasion. I honestly hope it doesn’t come to that, but with the diamond dogs being what they are negotiations may not go so smoothly." Azure and Nox lifted the tools onto their backs and walked out of the camp. "If all goes well, we'll be back here around sunset." Azure called to the others as the forest swallowed up him and Nox. It was a difficult trek, but an hour later they found themselves on the edge of a barren field covered in large holes.

"Well, here we are." Azure announced. "Let's pick a hole and start walking." They stepped into the nearest hole, which was actually a long and winding tunnel that snaked deep into the earth and branched off in odd directions. The tunnels were pitch black, so Nox took the lead, his keen night vision picking out every dip, every fork, every pebble in their path. Finally, the tunnel opened up into a large, torch lit cavern, where diamond dogs were digging holes and tossing precious gems and metals into carts. Their gaze didn't stray from their work in the slightest, but when Nox's hoof touched the earthen floor of the cavern, every diamond dog for miles around turned to look at him.

"Ponies! Intruders!" They hissed. "They've come to steal our treasures!" A dozen or so dogs leapt from their holes and charged at Azure and Nox, who drew their weapons in a heartbeat. The dogs yelped and skidded to a halt mere inches from the razor-sharp blades.

"Ponies have knives!" They cried. "Ponies come to hurt us!"

"No we haven't," Azure said as he and Nox put their weapons away. "We're here to trade." Nox slipped the case of mining supplies from his back and opened it for the dogs to see. The effect was immediate: as soon as the dogs laid their eyes on the shiny new tools, their ears splayed back and they whined with longing, like puppies being offered treats. One of the dogs reached out to touch a pickaxe, but Azure closed the box with a 'snap' that echoed around the cavern. "I said 'trade', not 'gift'." Azure growled, and the dogs looked at him quizzically.

"Trade?" asked the largest dog. "What do ponies want from dogs? Dogs just want pretty tools."

"Well, you can have the pretty tools," said Nox. "If you give us your silver." In an instant, all charity disappeared from the dogs' faces: their eyes flashed dangerously, their fangs were bared and their voices came out deep and growling.

"Diamond dogs will never give precious silver to ponies!" growled the tallest dog. "Dogs will tear ponies limb from limb for trying!" The dogs charged, but Azure and Nox were equal to the occasion: Nox dropped the case and delivered a powerful uppercut to the first dog's chin. Azure turned and bucked a second dog in the chest, causing him to fly through the air and land heavily on his friend.

"Don't use your dagger!" Azure shouted. "If we kill them, we'll never make a deal!" Nox spread his wings and flew around the dogs' heads as they tried to swat him out of the air. Azure, taking advantage of the distraction got one of the dogs in a headlock and threw him to the ground. Another dog tried to grab Azure, but yelped as Azure punched him in the face.

"Hey Azure, need a lift?" Nox called as he swooped down and caught Azure by the hoof. The diamond dogs watched in awe as Azure was carried up to the ceiling before being dropped like a stone onto the largest diamond dog. More dogs closed in on Azure, but at that moment an earsplitting bark echoed through the cavern and caught everypony's attention. A diamond dog with grey fur entered the cavern; he walked with a sapphire-tipped cane, wore a handsome blue and gold vest and was flanked by two attendants.

Every dog in the cavern bowed as the procession approached Azure, who stepped down from the unconscious dog and Nox, who landed next to Azure. The procession stopped five feet in front of Azure, and the crowned dog stared down at him with cold, calculating eyes.

"All hail Canis, King of Diamond Dogs!" The attendants announced. Azure and Nox bowed their heads in respect.

"What business have you here, that you arrive without warning and attack my soldiers?" Canis asked. His tone was not welcoming, nor was it threatening.

"King Canis," Azure explained. "Our people are being lorded by an evil tyrant who we wish to overthrow. The tyrant has an army born from Tartarus itself, an army that cannot be defeated by anything but silver." King Canis did not object, so Azure continued. "We wish to trade these mining tools for your silver, so that we might make weapons to fight the army and save our land." Nox opened the box and showed the tools to King Canis, who picked up a pickaxe and weighed it in his paws.

"Yes, these are good tools," Canis said. "But our silver is very precious, and we would request something of equal value in return. For example, that silver necklace that you are wearing?" Azure’s hoof shot to the moonstone necklace around his neck.

“Not on your life.” Azure said, though Nox heard him call Canis something very offensive under his breath.

“Very well.” Canis grumbled. “Besides, we have no interest in the affairs of ponies.”

"But Your Highness, Nebula has enslaved the changelings, dragons and griffons!" Nox pleaded. "It's only a matter of time before he enslaves you too!"

"You underestimate the power of the diamond dogs." Canis replied. "The subterranean world has made us strong, and we have allies beneath the earth that will come to our aid when they are summoned. We shall never be enslaved." Azure's mind was racing; if he couldn't convince Canis to trade his silver, they would be helpless against Nebula's forces.

"You and your subjects hold great value in the bounties hidden beneath the earth, do you not?" Azure asked.

"We have every right to value them." Canis remarked. "We toil in our mines during all hours of the day find them. We would protect our treasures with our lives."

"That's how ponies feel about our friends: we would value them so much that we would sooner die than let them be taken from us." Canis stared at Azure for a few seconds, then turned to leave the cavern. Azure and Nox sighed in defeat and turned to leave as well, when Canis called,

"Come with me, ponies. We have much to discuss."

Shortly after Azure and Nox left camp, Aaron and Jacob got into a heated discussion.

"Aaron, I know you're scared, but we need all the help we can get!" Jacob pleaded.

"They treated me like a freak!" Aaron cried. "They never came to save me! You can talk to them if you want, but I'm staying here."

"Aaron, we need your help! I'm a demon pony, they'll never trust me, but they'll trust a fellow bat pony."

"So ask Eclipse or Night Shade! They're bat ponies, too!"

"Aaron, please-!"

"Excuse me?" Aaron and Jacob turned to see Melody and Chiarascura approaching. "We don't mean to interrupt, but we heard you two arguing and wondered if we might be able to help."

"Well… okay." Aaron sighed. "We're arguing because Jacob wants me to visit the bat pony village where I grew up. It's right here in The Everfree Forest, but I don't want to go because they treated me like a freak when I was a colt!" To add weight to his argument, Aaron showed the feline paws that he had instead of hooves.

"Oh my goodness!" Chiarascura gasped, and after comporting herself said, "I mean, I know you're upset, Aaron, but we really do need all the help we can get. Besides, that incident was years ago, I'm sure they've matured since then." Aaron looked down at the ground and shuffled his paws.

"Would you feel better if we joined you?" Melody offered, and Aaron nodded sheepishly. As Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura walked away, Melody turned to address Jacob. "Aren't you coming with us, Jacob?"

"Actually, you guys go ahead." Jacob replied. "I have something that I need to do."

"Okay, if you're sure. We'll be back soon." Melody said, and left the camp with Aaron and Chiarascura at his side. Aaron had not been to the bat pony village in many years, but he knew their habits very well. Sniffing around, Aaron found the husk of a withered apple, a telltale sign that a bat pony had stopped here for a snack. They followed a set of hoof prints through the woods, which stopped beneath a large oak tree.

"Bat ponies tend to hang upside down by their tails when they sleep." Aaron explained as Melody and Chiarascura tried to find the trail of hoof prints. As Aaron looked up, he saw a severe looking bat pony who wasn't sleeping, but glaring down at them from a branch twenty feet in the air. She was a tall mare with maroon fur, a royal blue mane and eyes as orange as the setting sun. Aaron opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Um… hello?" Chiarascura said.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The mare demanded. She leapt from the tree, landing softly in front of them and examined them carefully. "We get very few pegasus ponies in our forest. Are you lost?"

"N-no, ma'am, we're not lost." said Aaron. "We're trying to find the bat pony village. I used to live there, and-!"

"What is your name?" the mare asked.

"My name is Aaron. Please, can we just-?

"No, you may not. There was only ever one 'Aaron' in our village, and he disappeared years ago."

"But I AM Aaron! I'm the one who disappeared!" The mare squinted down at him.

"Prove it." she demanded, and Aaron fell silent again. He knew that there was only one way he could prove his identity, but he was afraid to do it. He knew that the mare would laugh or scream when she saw his freakish paws, but at the same time, his friends were counting on him to appeal to the bat ponies.

"Okay, I'll prove it." Aaron sighed, and lifted his paws for the mare to see. As Aaron had expected, she was frightened.

"By Luna's crown, what happened to your hooves?" She cried. "I have not seen a bat pony with paws since-!" Her eyes widened as she recalled a memory from her childhood: she was playing ball with her friends when a colt with red fur and yellow hair galloped into the cave. He was crying for his parents, who carried him to the infirmary. His leg was bandaged, but in the following days he became irritable, developing growths on his hooves that eventually became paws. The colt's parents cared for him, but the other colts called him a freak, and a week later he just… disappeared. There was no doubt in her mind: the colt who had disappeared all those years ago truly was...

"Aaron!" she gasped, and hugged Aaron around the neck. Aaron was about to return the hug, but she immediately let go and regained her composure.

"I mean, it is good to see you again." The mare said, and cleared her throat. "What happened to you? Where did you go?" Aaron explained the whole story, about how he had been kidnapped while everypony else was sleeping, and taken to a facility where a team of scientists ran tests on him, hoping to understand the effects of werewolf venom on ponies. Eventually, Aaron had escaped the facility and gone to live a quiet, solitary life in Ponyville.

"Well, that is quite a story!" The mare remarked. "You are certainly welcome at our village. Follow me." They walked down a path that was just wide enough for a pony to walk through; if the mare hadn't pointed it out, they wouldn't have known that the path existed. “Furthermore, my name is Captain Vesper of Noctis, but you may call me ‘Vesper’ if you so desire.”

“Okay, Vesper.” Aaron replied. After several minutes of silence, Aaron asked,

"You obviously know me, but I don't remember you. Did we grow up in the same village?"

"Yes we did, but we were a part of different… social groups." Vesper admitted. "Such is the way with children: boys socialize with boys, and girls with girls, but I digress." She paused, as if steeling herself for a difficult question. "If I may ask, how did you receive those paws?"

"My parents told me not to go into the woods alone." Aaron sighed. "But I didn't listen. A werewolf bit my leg, but I kicked it in the muzzle and ran back home." Melody and Chiarascura gasped in horror. "That's how I got these." Aaron held up his paws again.

"I am sorry to hear that." said Vesper. "But again, I am glad to see that you are safe." All of a sudden, Vesper came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a small clearing. Aaron stopped at almost the exact time, but Melody and Chiarascura nearly fell over.

“Why are we stopping?” Melody whispered. “Is this where the bat ponies live?”

“I don’t know, I don’t see anything.” Chiarascura replied. “But Vesper seems to know what she’s doing.”

“Stay close.” Vesper warned, and stepped into the clearing. A few steps later, she descended into a tunnel that Melody and Chiarascura were unable to see. They followed her into the tunnel and down a sloping path that opened into a massive cavern, where torches provided the only light.

"Welcome to Noctis, Home of The Bat Ponies!" Vesper announced, and her voice echoed around the cavern.

"It's beautiful!" Chiarascura gasped as she watched a team of bat ponies flying overhead. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"I didn't even know this place existed." Melody said as a trio of colts ran past, playing a friendly game of tag.

"Well, we live solitary lives." Vesper explained. "Bat ponies are nocturnal and very sensitive to light, so we seldom go outside when the diurnal ponies are active."

"What about Aaron?" Melody asked. "He's been active during the daytime."

"Well, the werewolf venom messed with my internal clock." Aaron admitted as they walked past a fruit stand. "It made me diurnal, so I wouldn't be able to rejoin bat pony society if I wanted to."

"Oh, we shall see about that." Vesper chuckled. "We will help you get adjusted, but after a week I am sure that you-!"

"Oh. I'm sorry, but I already have a home." Aaron motioned to Melody and Chiarascura. "My friends and I have a camp in The Everfree Forest." Vesper came to a dead halt, and Aaron nearly bumped into her.

"In the forest?" Vesper said in a puzzled tone. "But the forest is so dangerous! Why not live in Ponyville?" Melody and Chiarascura exchanged nervous looks.

"Well, we used to live in Ponyville," Melody admitted. "But now we're on the run."

"We have an urgent mission." Chiarascura added. "We were hoping to speak with your leader, and ask for their help." Vesper glanced aside and bit her lip.

"Well, I do wish Aaron could stay with us." said Vesper. "But if he is happy, I will not force him to leave you. In regards to our leader, however, I believe I can be of some assistance." Vesper led Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura deep into the cavern, past colts and fillies playing ball or learning to fly, until they stood before a majestic throne that was carved from the mountain itself. The mare occupying the throne was taller than the average pony, with large leathery wings, burgundy fur, a rose colored mane and a glowing necklace around her neck. As the mare looked up from her notes, Vesper bowed respectfully.

"Ah, Captain Vesper!" The mare said in an assertive, but not unkind voice. "What news do you bring from the forest?"

"Chief Neoma, these individuals wish to speak with you." Vesper announced. "They claim to have an urgent mission." Neoma raised her eyebrows.

"I see." she said in a gentle, but authoritative tone. "And what is this mission that you speak of?" Melody opened his mouth, but to everypony's surprise, Aaron stepped forward.

"Your Highness, a tyrant known as Nebula has enslaved Equestria." He said. "My friends and I-!"

"What happened to your hooves?" Neoma inquired, motioning to Aaron's paws. Aaron closed his eyes and exhaled through his nostrils.

"It's a long story, Your Highness." said Aaron. "As I was saying, my friends and I are fighting back, but we can't stop him alone. We need your help." Neoma looked from Aaron to Chiarascura to Melody, as if questioning their fighting capabilities.

"This is a fallacy." Neoma scoffed. "Although we do not fall under her jurisdiction, we received the news that Princess Celestia and her fellow rulers died several months ago, and were succeeded by Celestia's nephew, King Blueblood."

"Your Highness, that's not true!" Melody insisted. "Nebula disguised himself as King Blueblood and took over the throne!"

"The changelings, dragons and griffons aren't his allies, they're his slaves!" Chiarascura added. "Nebula gave them magic necklaces that brainwashed them!"

"Please, you've got to believe us!" Aaron pleaded. Once again, Neoma was silent as she examined the trio.

"I believe you." she said, and Aaron smiled hopefully. "That is to say, I believe that you believe these tales to be true. However, I cannot accept your claims as fact without proper evidence." Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura's faces fell.

"Okay. Well, thanks for your time." Aaron said before he, Melody and Chiarascura left the cave in defeat.

"It's okay." said Chiarascura. "We still have each other, and I bet we'll find a way to-!"

"Wait! Stop!" The trio turned to see Vesper galloping toward them. "Chief Neoma has given me permission to join your crusade. That is, if you will have me." Aaron extended his paw, and Vesper shook it.

"Welcome to the team." said Aaron.

Thirty minutes ago, Jacob waved goodbye as Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura left the camp to visit the bat ponies.

"Now let's see… I hope I remember how to do this." He drew a circle in the dirt and used a sharp rock to pierce his hoof, so that a single drop of blood fell into the circle. Jacob then closed his eyes and muttered in a low, cold voice, "Suratrat otlatrop anepo." There was a flash of red light, and the circle of dirt became a portal to Tartarus, the home that Jacob had left behind. "Well, here goes nothing." Jacob sighed, and stepped through the portal, which closed behind him. All of a sudden, there was a pounding of hooves and screams of terror; Jacob leapt aside as a herd of cursed souls ran across the plains, being pursued by razor-toothed horses and bloodthirsty gargoyles. Ten feet away, a pair of imps roasted half a dozen screaming souls over a blazing fire. The air was filled with the stench of sulfur and brimstone, and the sky above was as red as fresh blood.

"Home sweet home." Jacob muttered as he trotted past scenes of pain and suffering. Finally, he arrived at the gates of a tall, dark castle, the fortress of Tenebris, Lord of Tartarus. As Jacob knocked on the door, a small window opened and a pair of beady black eyes peeked out.

"What is it? What do you want?" barked a shrill, impatient voice. "Speak your business now, or I'll have you skinned and covered in rubbing alcohol!"

"I'm here to see Tenebris." Jacob replied.

"What? Of course not!" the voice laughed. "Nopony gets in to see Lord Tenebris! Not nobody, not-!"

"Let me in, Servus." Jacob growled. "Or I'll get nasty." The beady black eyes blinked in confusion, then looked down at Jacob. There was a squeal of surprise, the black eyes disappeared and there was a dull 'thud', as if Servus had fallen from his perch. A moment later, the door opened and a tiny winged devil fluttered into view.

"My goodness, Jacob!" said Servus. "I didn't expect to see you again. It's been too long!"

"I missed you too, Servus." Jacob groaned.

“No, I was talking about your lifespan." Servus chuckled, showing tiny pointed teeth. "It's been too long."

"Look, I don't have time for this. Bring me to Tenebris or I'll make you my new chew toy."

"My my, I thought the ponies would have at least taught you some manners." Servus chided. "Very well then, follow me." The hall was lit with large braziers, whose dark flames flickered eerily on skulls stolen from all manner of beasts: dragons, hydras, griffons, even ponies. Jacob didn't take his eyes off the skulls until he walked through the doorway at the end of the hall, and came face to face with Tenebris, Lord of Tartarus. Tenebris was as tall as Princess Celestia, but nowhere as lovely: his yellow eyes with their slit pupils shone like lanterns against his ebony fur, his blunt yellow teeth were stained with blood and instead of a mane, he had a pair of gnarled horns that curved down toward his chin. He sat on a throne made of ruby-studded obsidian, and held a box of ghostly white chocolates in his lap.

"A thousand apologies for the interruption, sir," Servus said, bowing so low that his tiny horns brushed the carpet. "But the demon pony known as 'Jacob' seeks an audience with your excellency." Tenebris glanced at Jacob with mild surprise, then set the box of chocolates aside. "Thank you, Servus, that will be all." He said in a deep, chilling voice that seemed to fill the whole room. Servus backed out of the room, bowing repeatedly as he did so and closed the doors.

"Ah, Jacob! The prodigal son returns." said Tenebris. His voice, while terrifying was dripping with sarcasm. "I'd like to kill you for going to live with the ponies, but since you'd immediately be reborn here I'll just ask why you've returned." He popped one of the glowing chocolates into his mouth, and it screamed. "Mm, delicious souls. I love it when they scream."

"Shut up, Tenebris! You're not my king anymore!" Jacob growled. "I want to know why a mortal tyrant named Nebula has six demonic lieutenants!" Tenebris shrugged.

"Well, the usual exchange rate for a mortal soul is just ultimate power, but I decided to add those losers to the deal. They were annoying me." Jacob's mind went blank for several seconds.

"… What?" Jacob gasped. "He sold his soul for ultimate power?"

"Well, of course!" Tenebris laughed. "What, do you think you can kidnap four alicorns and take over a country by studying? No, the little runt prayed to me, said he'd give me anything for the power to take over Equestria. I quoted him the price, he gave me his soul, and I gave him the power, simple as that." Jacob was speechless.

"But this madman has enslaved my friends and countless others! Ponies are worshiping him and they don't even know he's a fake!"

"I know, isn't it hilarious? That's another reason I'm not killing you right now: watching you suffer as your home is destroyed? That's all the payback I need." Tenebris leaned back in his throne and extended his leathery wings. "Now run along home, you're starting to bore me." That was the last straw: Jacob's fur bristled as he grew larger and more muscular, his hooves became massive paws and his elongating muzzle filled with razor sharp fangs. Where Jacob had stood moments before, there was now a ten-foot tall wolf with jet-black fur, crimson eyes and fangs like pearly white daggers.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Jacob howled. He charged at Tenebris, but his claws and fangs passed through the demon lord's body as if he were made of smoke. He clawed and bit as hard as he could, but Tenebris just sighed and shook his head.

"Oh Jacob, you need to control that temper of yours." Tenebris chuckled. "It's going to get you in trouble some day."

"Why is he doing this?" Jacob roared. "How do we stop him?" Tenebris smiled and shook his head.

"Sorry Rover, can't tell you that. Professional courtesy. But just to prove there are no hard feelings, I'll give you a free ride home." His spectral form enveloped Jacob like a shroud of pure darkness as he whispered, "Don't come back."

"No! Get off of me! I'm not done with-!" Jacob shouted, but when the darkness lifted, Jacob saw that he was back in Azure's camp.

"No. No! NO!" Jacob roared, so loudly that the trees in the surrounding area shook.

"What the hay is going on out here?" EagleHeart cried. "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm still working on soundproofing the camp, and if we don't keep quiet we'll get caught!"

"Sorry, I just had a difficult meeting." Jacob sighed, and resumed his pony form.

"Well, if it helps you feel any better, Azure and the others just returned from their meetings. Maybe you can talk to them about yours." Jacob's ears perked up, and he galloped over to Azure's cabin, where Azure, Nox, Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura were discussing the outcome of their meetings. They turned to watch as Jacob entered the cabin.

"Guys, you might want to sit down." said Jacob. "I've got a lot to tell you." Before Jacob could vent his frustration, he saw that Azure, Nox, Aaron, Melody and Chiarascura had returned from their missions. Eager to share his findings, he ran over to join them; at the exact same time, Aaron, Azure and Jacob said, "I have so much to tell you."

Lost and Found

“Ugh, I’m so BORED!” Ignis groaned as he paced around the throne room. “Why won’t Nebula let us torture the prisoners?”

“He doesn’t want to torture them just yet,” Malum explained, and tossed a bone to Lacerta. “He’s trying to probe their minds and find out what they know.”

“I trust our lord’s judgment.” Ossium announced as swung his sword at Atramento, who jabbed his dagger in retaliation. “Nebula always knows the most efficient means of stealing information from those wretched-!”

“Ignis is right. Can’t we just torture one of them?” Cornu asked as he shot spikes at the walls. “We didn’t even get to fight anypony in Manehattan this afternoon!”

“Listen, I don’t like it any more than you do,” Malum said. “But we can’t disobey Nebula’s orders. That was part of the deal with Lord Tenebris.” Cornu and Ignis rolled their eyes.

“… Yeah, I guess so.” Cornu sighed. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and-!” All of a sudden, Nebula burst into the throne room, muttering under his breath. All of the demons turned and stood at attention.

“Oh, hey boss! We were just talking about you.” Ignis said, but Malum did not reply.

“… My lord, are you feeling well?” Ossium inquired, but Nebula kept shaking his head and muttering. Finally, Malum stepped forward and said,

“Hey Nebula, what’s going on? Is the bat pony giving you trouble?”

“I don’t know how he does it.” Nebula muttered. “He’s not even a unicorn!” The demons turned to look at each other.

“What’s he doing?” Malum asked. “Is he hurting you?” Finally, Nebula turned to stare at Malum: his eyes were wide and baggy, and his ever-flowing mane was tousled.

“He’s resisting me!” Nebula choked. “I don’t know how he’s doing it, but I can’t probe his mind! I can’t find out where Azure is hiding!”

“He’s… resisting you?” Malum said in disbelief. “That’s impossible, only unicorns can create mental defenses. Are you sure you cast the right spell?” A cold, hard hoof struck Malum across the muzzle.

“Of COURSE I cast the right spell, you moron!” Nebula spat. “But when I search his memories, I don’t find what I’m looking for! I see moonlit forests and colts playing in caves, but I can’t find so much as a glimpse of Azure Night!” He ran his hoof through his ever-flowing mane and shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve never seen any non-unicorn capable of such cognitive protection.”

“My lord, might I make a suggestion?” Ossium asked. “If we cannot penetrate his mind magically, perhaps we can do so physically.” Nebula turned to stare at Ossium.

“What? You mean want me to cut open his head and-!”

“Oh no, not like that!” Ossium amended, and his teeth shone a bit brighter; if he hadn’t been a skeleton, one might think he was smiling. “I was merely suggesting that we torture the bat pony and force him to tell us what we want to know.” All of a sudden, Nebula’s eyes lit up.

“Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” He cried.

“Oh, it’s nothing, my lord.” Ossium chuckled.

“But I don’t know anything about torture, I might kill him before he reveals his secrets…” Nebula mused, and gestured to the demons. “You, on the other hand know more about torture than anypony I know. Go down there and beat that freak to a pulp.” Ossium stood up straight and raised his skull triumphantly.

“My lord, there could be no higher honor!” Ossium cheered. “You will not regret your decision, for I shall-!”

“Actually, I was pointing to Malum.” Nebula admitted. “Get down there and find out what that pony is hiding.”

“You got it, boss.” Malum replied, and smiled at his dumbfounded comrades (especially Ossium, who looked as though he were about to fall apart).

Several minutes later, Nox awoke to the feeling of a massive paw striking his face. The room was pitch black, but Nox could clearly see that he was tied to a table with a large white wolf smiling down at him. Nox did not speak, but glared angrily at Malum. He also dimly registered a large, grey-white orb hanging above his head.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Malum chuckled. "Ready for a little game of Truth or Torture?" Nox continued to glare at Malum without saying anything. "I'll take that as a yes." He traced his claws along the edge of the table and smiled down at Nox, every one of his pearly white fangs on full display.

“Nebula says that you’ve been giving him some trouble.” Malum announced. “He can’t probe your mind to find Azure’s hiding place, so he sent me to find out what you know.” He punctured Nox’s flesh with his razor-sharp claws and raked them along his chest; Nox winced, but did not cry out in pain.

“Now at first, I thought a few pokes with a hot iron would loosen your tongue, but then I recalled the day you left The Royal Guard. I had a hard time killing you because you kept listening for my movements and dodging my attacks. It wasn’t until you got a beam of sunlight in your face that you lost your mojo. So for our little session, I brought you a little treat.” Nox’s eyes widened, and a few beads of sweat trickled down his brow; he was beginning to understand what the grey-white orb was for.

“Fun fact: before we got rid of her, Celestia was working on an invention to replace torches.” Malum said as he paced around the table. “An orb that glows with the energy of the sun itself, more powerful and efficient than torches. It would’ve been a boon to equines everywhere.” Malum looked down at Nox and grinned. “Well, the diurnal equines, at least.” He reached up to touch the orb, but no matter how hard Nox fought, he couldn’t break free. Malum touched the orb, and the room was flooded with intense light.

Nox gritted his teeth and shut his eyes as tightly as possible, but even the dim glow that penetrated his eyelids was like acid. He whimpered and trembled from head to hoof, but he refused to beg for mercy. Malum, on the other hand was having the time of his life: he loved to watch creatures suffer and cry, sometimes recording how long it took for them to beg for mercy.

“You can stop this, you know.” Malum whispered. “One little word, Nox, that’s all it takes. Say ‘mercy’ and I’ll set you free. Tell me where Azure is hiding, and all will be forgiven.” Summoning all of his strength, Nox lifted his head and spat in Malum's eye. Malum flinched, and turned off the light a moment later, giving Nox a brief respite from the torture. Bright spots danced before Nox’s eyes as he stared at Malum.

"Azure would be proud." Malum chuckled, and pulled four thin wires out from under the table. He then strolled to the head of the table and hooked the ends of the wires under Nox's eyelids; try as he might, Nox couldn’t close his eyes. A small part of Nox's mind whimpered as he realized what Malum was about to do. “Round two.” Nebula said, and touched the orb.

The radiant light seemed to increase a hundred fold when Nox could not close his eyes. It felt as though his eyes were being slowly burned away, and his vision was starting to fade, as if he were going blind. He tried in vain to roll his eyes back into his head and offer some solace to his aching pupils, but the harsh, unfeeling light burned continuously. Nox writhed and screeched in agony, but Malum did not waver.

"Just say 'mercy' and I'll set you free." Malum repeated, but Nox did not speak; no matter how much pain he was in, he would not betray Azure. Finally, Malum pressed the button, and the light disappeared. Nox’s eyes were so damaged by the light that he could only see shadows, but he heard Malum loud and clear.

"Well, this isn’t working." Malum sighed. "I'll need to make some adjustments to our regimen, find another way to get you to talk, but until then I'll reward your bravery with some time in the dungeon." Malum was about to untie Nox when he said, "Oh wait, what am I thinking? I need to clean you up first." He reached under the table and pulled out a bottle of green liquid. Malum uncorked the bottle and poured a small amount of the liquid onto Nox’s chest and eyes. In seconds, the wounds disappeared and Nox's vision was restored.

"There you go, all better!" Malum said. "Can't leave you to bleed out in your cell, and if you go completely blind the light won't hurt as much. Torture is so much more effective when the victim is healthy, don't you think?" He patted Nox's legs, which had been broken upon his arrival in Canterlot. "Well, ALMOST healthy. Can't have you running away when we turn our backs, now can we?" Malum laughed as he untied Nox, removed the wires around his eyelids and carried him down to the dungeon.

“Oh good, we’re just in time for lunch!” Malum chuckled. Nox lifted his head and squinted at Cornu and Ignis, who were tossing moldy hay and brackish water into the cells. The dungeon was a miserable cave with crude cells lining the walls, and the only light came from a series of flickering torches that kept the room in a perpetual state of near-darkness.

“All of the prisoners are fed and watered, Malum!” Ignis announced. “What should we do now?” Malum picked up Nox by the scruff of his neck and nodded to the cell in the corner.

“Put this one back in his cell.” Malum replied. “And take one of the other ones upstairs, I want to see how long it takes for him to crack.” Cornu and Ignis looked at each other and smiled wickedly.

“Oh, this is gonna be good!” Cornu chuckled, and threw open the door to the bat ponies’ cell. “Okay boys, who wants to go talk to Malum?” Eclipse and Night Shade glared at Cornu, but said nothing. “Oh come on, don’t be shy! He’ll just tear you open, eat your pancreas, maybe pull out your eyes and it’ll all be over!” Night Shade shifted on his broken legs, and Cornu turned to stare at him.

“Aw, what’s the matter, kid?” Cornu laughed and stepped closer. “Are you scared?” He reached out, and Night Shade sank his fangs into Cornu’s hoof. “ARRGH! You little bastard!” Cornu swung his other hoof around and punched Night Shade, who let go, but continued to growl menacingly.

“Oh, a tough guy?” Cornu laughed as the bite marks faded away. “Let’s see how tough you are after an hour on the slab.” He grabbed Night Shade and dragged him out of the cell while Ignis threw Nox into the cell.

“Are you okay, Nox?” Eclipse asked as the demons left the dungeon.

“Been better.” Nox groaned. “Malum wants to know where Azure is hiding, but I kept my mouth shut.”

“Did he stab you in the leg? Burn your flesh?”

“No, worse. He turned on a huge lamp and shone it right in my eyes.” Eclipse nearly fell over in shock. “And he put wires under my eyelids so I couldn’t look away. It felt like my eyes were melting, everything was pure white, and then it started to fade…”

“That rotten bastard, I’ll tear him limb from limb!” Eclipse growled and moved to stand up, but a mighty spasm of pain shot up his legs and he fell over again.

“Don’t bother. Even if we could break out, they’d kill us before we ran ten feet.” Nox sighed. “For now, we’ll just have to endure the pain and keep our mouths shut, for Azure’s sake.” He took a drink of water and gagged. “So, what have you and Night Shade been up to?”

“Sitting, planning our escape and trying to talk to the other prisoners.” Nox choked into the water bucket, nearly tipping it over.

“Other prisoners?” He gagged. “There are more down here?”

“Yeah, we heard them snoring half an hour ago. We think there are six of them, two to a cell.” Nox looked around, and was amazed to see two creatures sleeping in the cell opposite theirs, although they were so thin that Nox initially mistook them for skeletons. The first creature was a small dragon with purple and green scales, who was muzzled and bound to the wall with chains. Nox recognized the dragon as Spike, Princess Twilight’s adopted brother, but the second creature, a female unicorn with purple hair and pinkish-purple fur piqued his interest.

“Eclipse! Look, it’s Twilight!” Nox cried.

“What? Princess Twilight?” Eclipse gasped. “Where?”

“Right over there!” Nox gestured to the opposite cell with his wing. “Princess Twilight, look over here! Wake up!” But the mare slept on, oblivious to his cries. In desperation, Nox rolled over and began searching the cell for something to throw.

“Eclipse! Hand me that pebble!” Eclipse grabbed the pebble between his teeth and passed it to Nox, who pressed his lips against the prison bars and spat as hard as he could. By some miracle of aerodynamics, the stone hit the sleeping mare in the face.

“Ow! What the hay was that?” she groaned, and looked around.

“Princess Twilight, over here!” Nox shouted. “Look over here, we-!” But his face fell as the mare turned to face him. It was not Princess Twilight at all, but her student, Starlight Glimmer.

“Who’s there?” Starlight called. “Is it Twilight?”

"No, ma’am, it’s not Twilight.” Nox sighed. “I’m sorry, I mistook you for someone else.” Starlight peered through the bars of her cage and just barely saw Eclipse and Nox lying in their cell.

“Bat ponies? What are you doing here?”

“We’re prisoners like you, and Nebula wants to know about our team.” Eclipse explained.

“Your… team?”

“We’re freedom fighters.” Eclipse explained. “For the past few years, our team has been freeing slaves, killing monsters and searching for The Princesses. And you guys, of course.”

“You’ve been looking for us?” Starlight gasped. “I didn’t think there was anypony left! I was sure that monster would have killed everypony!”

“Oh no, Nebula would much rather have slaves than corpses.” Nox added. “He thinks that by enslaving the non-equine races and forcing ponies to accept his rule, he’s bringing peace the nation.” Starlight glanced aside for a moment, and gave a deep sigh.

“Yeah, who would be crazy enough to do that?” She said. Nebula’s behavior reminded Starlight of herself; before she met Twilight, Starlight had tried to bring peace and equality to Equestria by removing the talents of other ponies.

“What about you?” Nox asked. “How did you get here?” Starlight closed her eyes and tried to remember the events of her capture.

“I was at The Castle of Friendship when Twilight was kidnapped. I live there as her mystical assistant.” Starlight explained. “One night, I went to investigate a disturbance in the foyer, and saw some of the ugliest stallions I’ve ever seen. Well, six of them were clearly monsters, they had spikes on their heads and scaly skin, but the one in the middle wasn’t too odd, aside from his mane, which seemed to flow in the still air. I ran to Twilight’s room and shook her until she woke up. No sooner had I explained that we had intruders than Jacob… Oh I’m sorry, Jacob is-!”

“It’s okay, we know Jacob.” Nox explained. “He’s been helping us rescue ponies. He’ll be glad to know you’re safe.”

"Well, alive at any rate.” Starlight sighed. “So Jacob burst in and promised that he’d protect Twilight from the intruders, but she told him to escape. Of course, Jacob refused, but Twilight explained that whoever they were, they were obviously coming for her, and they’d kill Jacob if they got the chance. Jacob tried to object, but Twilight gave him a framed collage that she kept on her nightstand, whispered ‘we’ll see each other again, I promise’. Jacob jumped out the window, but before I could follow him the monsters burst into the room and charged at us. Twilight and I fought back, but the leader overpowered her and encased her in a huge red crystal. Then they broke my legs so I couldn’t run away, and put this on my horn.” Starlight gestured to a large black ring that sat at the base of Starlight’s horn. “Whatever it is, I can’t cast magic with it. I can’t even pull it off, it’s too tight around my horn!” She sighed. “The last thing I saw before I woke up in here was the leader making the pillows wrestle. Seemed like an odd thing to do, especially in the middle of a kidnapping…”

“He wanted to make it look like Discord was responsible.” Nox explained. “Speaking of which, do you know what happened to Discord?” Starlight shook her head.

“I haven’t seen him in a long time, but Fluttershy might know. She’s in the cell over there.” She nodded to the cell on her right, where a pegasus with yellow fur and a long pink mane lay trembling on the floor.

“Well, that’s a start. Thanks.” Nox said, and turned his attention to the pegasus. “Um, excuse me, miss?” A soft blue eye peeked out from the curtain of pink hair and looked around.

“Wh-who’s there?” Fluttershy whispered. She tried to sit up, but as she applied pressure to her broken legs Fluttershy gave a pained yelp and fell to the ground in a heap. “P-please, don’t hurt me! I’m in so much pain…”

“It’s okay, miss, I’m not going to hurt you.” Nox said in his most calm and friendly voice. “I’d just like to know how you got here.”

“O-okay.” Fluttershy said. “Let’s see… the sun had just gone down, and I was out in the garden, waking up the bats and owls for their nightly hunt. Once I had finished, I turned to go back inside, when I saw seven dark stallions walking up the path to my cottage. I explained to them that I was just going inside, but they could come to visit the animals in the morning when one of the stallions galloped up to me and wrapped his hooves around my neck. I cried out for help, and Discord burst outside. He’s a real sweetheart once you get to know him, although most ponies-!”

“And what happened next?” Nox interrupted, eager to hear of Discord’s fate.

“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy gasped. “Well, when Discord saw that I was in danger, he made the most fearsome, blood-chilling growl I’ve ever heard, almost like he was going feral. He bared his fangs and flew at the stallions, but one of them waved his horn and fired a burst of rainbow magic at Discord, who was…” Fluttershy gasped and choked, as if the memory of Discord’s fate was poison.

“He was turned to stone.” Nox concluded, and Fluttershy nodded.

“I was devastated. I kicked and punched and shouted at the stallions, but the stallion holding me by the throat caught one of my hooves and bent it backward. There was a ‘crack’, and I fell silent. As I watched my leg fall uselessly to my side, I began to cry, begging for them to stop hurting Discord and I, but they just laughed. The big stallion tightened his grip around my neck until I passed out, and I woke up here, in this dark and scary dungeon with all of my legs broken.”

“That’s terrible!” gasped Eclipse.

“But it makes sense.” Nox added. “Discord is too powerful, too unpredictable to be hypnotized like the changelings, dragons and griffons. Nebula’s only chance was to catch Discord by surprise, petrify him and blame him for the Princesses’ disappearance.”

“But it’s still a really chilling thought.” Eclipse said. “As powerful as Discord is, I didn’t think there were any spells capable of hurting or imprisoning him. That is, except for The Elements of Harmony.”

“That’s true, but we haven’t had to use The Elements in years!” Fluttershy explained. “Whoever attacked Discord must have mastered spells unknown to ponykind!”

“Well, that much is obvious.” Nox sighed. “The stallion who kidnapped us? He sold his soul for ultimate power.”

“HE SOLD HIS SOUL??” Starlight cried, her voice echoing around the dungeon.

“Hey, what’s with all the yelling?” groaned a voice from the cell next to Eclipse and Nox.

“Wait a minute, I recognize that voice.” Eclipse gasped. “Is that you, Rainbow Dash?”

“Who wants to know?” Rainbow growled.

“It’s okay, we’re friends.” said Eclipse. “Or at least, fellow prisoners. We’ve been trying to find you for the past three years.”

“Three years?” gasped a second voice from the cell. “Well, what in tarnation are we doing in here? We gotta save our friends and family!” There was a strained grunt and a yelp of pain, followed by a dull ‘thud’, as if the prisoner was trying to stand on their broken limbs.

“That must be Applejack.” Eclipse noted. “Miss Jack, if you can hear me, your family is safe and sound. They’re living with us in our secret base.”

“They are?” Applejack said. “Well, that’s right kind of you, stranger. Thanks for looking after my family.”

“You saved Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom?” called an elegant voice from down the hall. “Have you seen my parents or my sister, Sweetie Belle?”

“We saved your family too, Rarity, you have nothing to fear.”

“What about my family?” called yet another voice. “Did they make a giant wall around the rock farm to keep out intruders, and rock cannons to shoot down dragons and rock sandwiches to-!”

“QUIET!” Nox shouted, and everypony fell silent. “I’m sorry to shout, but if the demons hear us talking and cheering, they’ll come down and whip us until we shut up. Yes, Pinkie Pie, your family is safe. All of your friends and families are safe from harm, and living with us in a secret camp. My associates and I are trying to overthrow Nebula, and once we get out of here we’ll be one step closer to getting everything back to normal.”

“Well… that’s good to know,” Applejack said. “But what are we supposed to do until we get rescued?”

“The only thing we can do,” Nox sighed. “Wait.” And without another word, he lay down and began counting the bricks in the wall.