Author's Note

Warning: This chapter contains Non-consensual sex, bestiality, blood/gore/death.

Future Diary of a Chambermaid

Gloom enshrouded most of the sweltering jungle thanks to the constant overgrowth that now spilled completely out of control. Once the Tree of Harmony had withered and died, the very laws of reality that governed Equestria started to fall out of balance, and the lands and elements shifted accordingly, trying to adapt so that the planet might survive. However the enemy did her best to make certain every portion of the planet was corrupted.

Continents and islands sunk. What lands remained had drifted and formed into one. What scattered settlements still survived were forced into constant hiding, as mercenaries and opportunists hunted them down and captured or picked them off. Many towns and cities had been razed and quickly converted either into munition factories or breeding farms.

For a time the love of the mistress had been enough. But the mind control that kept Wet Nurse under her leash had started to fracture with the death of her twin Foal-Bearer. That gap had only widened over time once she'd started to fall further out of favor. It grew to a point where she was ignored almost completely. She found herself wandering in a fugue state for some time lost in self-pity and despair. Nonetheless there was a certain advantage to being overlooked and underestimated by those around you.

Nopony would have ever expected her to have the guts to seize the fake Necronomicon, and likewise she'd stolen into the temple's vault, slipping past the cultists on guard duty who paid her little heed, and taken a few baubles that might prove useful. Immediately she'd sneaked out and took a desperate flight from the enemy's lair. She'd pushed the bat-like leather wings from her back in a bloody spray and flown nonstop for hours until she was finally drained; whatever she could to put as much distance from there as possible.

She didn't know exactly where she was going, only that she needed to find the resistance, and somehow put this right. It didn't matter much to her now whether they trusted her or what they would do to her; they were the last hope to rescue Shining Armor. She clasped the tome to her prismatic bosom, her shoulder-length bobcut mane whipping about her shoulders as she navigated between the dense foliage everywhere her slit-like eyes looked.

She made it to the outskirts of the Badlands before she needed to rest. It was one of the most dangerous places due to the wild monsters that roamed there, including a number of dragons who now wandered aimlessly without a true alpha to lead them. She huffed and took shelter behind an outcrop of rocks. Wherever she looked there was a combination of browns, yellows, and a hellish red, the atmosphere thick with wafts of acrid smoke.

She choked a little as her heart gradually slowed back to a steady rhythm. Thanks to her new form she needed little sustenance to sustain herself, and what the mistress usually offered her were small corked bottles filled with preserved mixed sexual fluids from stallions and mares. She popped the top from one, drank it down in a sensual manner, as her succubi nature kicked in automatically. She flushed and lapped up every last sweet drop. Felt the warmth fill her mouth and throat as she savored its taste and texture.

Her hoof trembled as she opened the black book and turned the glued-in pages. It was a composite concoction that was often added to, formerly a tome which belonged to King Sombra, which was filled with the blackest of forbidden magic. Thankfully this one couldn't possess her directly like the Necronomicon; however she reminded herself that Sombra had only dabbled in the dark arts at first too before he became obsessed. What was once well-intentioned curiosity to better his Empire's lot had eventually turned into cruel tyranny.

She found most of the spells were far beyond her anyhow. They were little more than babble that would take months of study to unlock for a pony like her who'd never been a practitioner. She flipped from one section to another, looked for anything she could use, knowing she wouldn't last at this rate. There was far too much distance and far too many dangers between here and any destinations where she might come upon survivors, and while she'd memorized the maps her mistress kept, it remained a long shot.

Finally she paused on something she could understand; a spell that could enhance many times over all one's natural abilities. Unfortunately the warning stated that it would shave years off one's life while it was active and thus it had been banned by the Princesses. She figured with this even a pegasus like Fluttershy could potentially master the Sonic Rainboom. But she didn't require anything to magnificent; she simply needed to push herself faster and harder until she reached a safe haven. She memorized the complicated incantations, extracted a severed unicorn horn that had been converted into a magic wand, which she'd stolen from the vault in order to channel spells at her leisure. She didn't know how many charges it would carry but hopefully it wouldn't burn out too quickly.

Her ears twitched when she heard the scratch of claws on the earth and heavy shadows fell over her. She frozen for a moment when a small band of dragons approached. Their nostrils flared as they looked her over. "What kind of strange pony is this?"

A large drake pushed him aside. "Who cares! I'm hungry and she looks tasty!" He rubbed his soft belly which was a weak point for all of their scaly kind.

Another of the beasts piped in. "We should capture and sell her, dummy. Look at how exotic she is. She'd probably be worth a few dozen meals at least."

A fourth one added. "Why don't we fuck her first? Look at that cum stain on her lip." She delicately rubbed it away with a hoof in embarrassment. "She'd probably even like it!"

The horde argued what her fate would be, which soon turned into an all-out brawl, none of them in the least intimated by the wand or book she held. They obviously didn't think she could escape them let-alone resist their advances. She quickly and clumsily cast the spell, and the horn wand lit up, the aura spreading to her shapely form. Suddenly she felt more energized than ever and a smile quickly spread across her dainty face.

She kicked off into the sky and took a screaming cheerful flight, felt a rush of adrenaline as she could now push herself harder than ever. It was exhilarating. Her heart raced to insane lengths but it hardly bothered her as a rush of dopamine flooded her. She moved at speeds which could almost match the best flyers of the Wonderbolts and with time and mastery she could likely even surpass those with this boost. But she also knew the price that would entail. She would burn herself out quickly and shave years off her life as a result.

The scenery whipped underneath her. She wept tears of joy and wished her twin could see her now. For the first time in forever she felt a twinge of real happiness. She kept the satchel slung on her back held close to her, the book and wand stuffed back in until they were needed. She was tempted to discard her maid costume which impeded her movements somewhat, but it was a part of her identity, a reminder of happier times.

Her first stop was the remnants of Los Pegasus. For years the razed area had been abandoned as the citizens had been believed either captured or wiped out. However on occasion stray bands of ponies had been spotted in the nearby area. The enemy had combed the area for potential hidden settlements, captured and tortured a few to interrogate them, but so far the most they'd learned was that there might still be life underground. Even the Four Horses hadn't been able to uncover their lair so far.

Soon she reached the now almost boundless Everfree Forest. She dipped in-and-out of the treetops amidst an explosion of leaves, searching all over for any ponies that might be in the area. This went on for a couple hours and her hopes started to dip. She considered resting some more to wait it out in case some turned up later, but figured it was better to keep trying no matter how fruitless it currently seemed. It all rested on her.

*****

Nights were often spent getting drunk with Fancy Pants as Starlight Glimmer shared stories about her past. Luckily she hadn't slipped up and revealed anything about the Necronomicon, how she'd stolen it and ran away from the camp, or else done anything stupid with him. Not that he seemed remotely the type to take advantage of her; he seemed far more interested in discussing philosophy and politics to the point where it sometimes bored her senseless. Even so she appreciated his company anyhow.

Knowing her reputation as one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, he eventually asked if she'd help one of the hunting-and-gathering parties, in order to help them bring in the supplies their civilization needed to thrive. He warned her it would be dangerous and that she was under no obligation; it was simply a personal request to help his citizens. She reluctantly accepted. Not that she minded the risks or the work; what annoyed her was any time she couldn't read the Necronomicon. It pulled at her even now. Dark circles formed under her eyes since she rested little, the after hours spent as she poured over the tome.

She followed a labyrinthine maze of tunnels back to the surface. Fancy Pants had warned her that many of them were booby trapped in case they were discovered; she'd seen evidence of suck with the skeletons of raiders and mercenaries how had managed to wander in. A small party of trusted ponies led the way. She kept her satchel close with the book tucked into it; she feared it would be lost or stolen no matter what she did with it.

Bon Bon and Lyra took the lead, both of them loaded down with weapons, which included bandoliers draped over them. They chatted noisily with seemingly no care in the world, but started to shut up once they approached the surface, turning serious as they knew constant danger awaited beyond the hidden entryway. Time Turner read his notes as he trotted alongside the group, his assistant Derpy afloat nearby. Lastly came Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, the former's demeanor rather casual, the latter steely determined.

She didn't know any of them well but Fancy Pants assured her they were the best-of-the-best. Bon Bon in particular had served under the Princesses directly in secret as agent Sweetie Drops, in a role similar to Fleur de Lis but without the need to often pretend she was a courtesan or trophy wife. Time Turner's research had led to a number of advances in society until the enemy had co-opted it wherever possible. He'd tried to make a better world, but to his horror his inventions were now used to mass produce weapons.

Gears twisted and creaked when the steel entrance slid open. It came to a stop with a shudder as they climbed the ladder to the surface. Starlight couldn't help but let curiosity get the better of her. "How do you keep all this secret?"

"It's not easy. Fortunately I foresaw such a problem when Fancy Pants moved us here, and I set up contractions that allow the entryway to shift as needed." Time Turner tapped a pen held between his teeth on his notepad. They were scribbled with schematics for machines he'd never been able to realize. "As for the tunnels the earth ponies carve them out and collapse them as necessary. We've almost been discovered so many times..."

"I don't understand why they're so cruel," said Derpy with a frown. She was perhaps the only surviving pony that had almost completely maintained her naive innocence.

"Because they're monsters that need a bullet in their brain pan." Bon Bon practically snarled the words. She'd wracked up quite a killcount over time but took little solace from that. She simply moved from one corpse to the next, like AJ determined to wipe out every last enemy. But she knew it hardly mattered while their true adversary still thrived.

"Come on Bon Bon," said Lyra who covered Derpy's ears protectively. "Tone it down a notch." She shot Time Turner a disapproving look. "Why'd would you bring her here? Taking some innocent mare into a dangerous situation, exposing her to ugliness and-"

"Because I want to show Derpy the wonders of the world! She can learn from it!" His manner was cheery but she could tell he was on the defensive; he'd never admit that he was lonely and that he liked to show off. Especially to somepony he perceived as inferior.

Lyra shook her head in exasperation. "She'd be better off with a book!"

"Hush. Fancy Pants approved it so she stays," said Bon Bon who scouted the area from side-to-side with her eyes. She kept a rifle at the ready, one of the most advanced arms in Equestria, which hadn't yet been mass produced. "She can stay at the rear."

Vinyl Scratch snorted and poked her roommate. "You hear that? She said rear."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Really now, Vinyl. Out of all the immature-"

"Take the stick out, Tavi. Just because the world's gone to hell doesn't mean we have to abandon our senses of humor with it. I'm just trying to lighten the mood. There will be plenty of time to get serious later if things go to shit, which is certainly a possibility whenever we undertake one of these missions. These seem riskier all the time!"

"Quiet you two," warned Bon Bon. "Let's collect whatever we can find and move the hell out. Fancy Pants sent me a list of what we need most at the moment."

"I have my own requirements for my contraptions," admitted Time Turner. "Maybe once I've completed one of my old inventions I'll finally be able to turn all this around!"

They headed deeper into the Everfree Forest in near silence. Huge bags were lined with berries, fruits that would soon ripen, and materials such as tree limbs which could be used to make crude devices. They dared not travel to and attempt to raid any territory claimed by the enemy with such a small party, despite the potential riches that awaited them whenever they dared steal into a munition factory, or supply lines placed around key areas such as the breeding camps where most enslaved ponies were taken.

Starlight Glimmer used a spell to quickly strip entire trees clean and tossed the contents into the bags. With her potent magic she would bring them home a bounty of riches that would put their usual haul to shame. She couldn't help but feel a certain pride in her work.

Satisfied she'd more than done her part, she left the others to their work, and hid behind a particularly thick old tree, which was unlikely to be bothered since it appeared to be petrified. She plopped down on her rump, removed the Necronomicon, and greedily started to devour more of its secrets, convinced she would soon unlock what she wanted.

Her hooves traced the dried blood of an incantation as her lips mouthed the alien words. Suddenly the words started to glow. She quickly slammed it shut but the illumination continued to spread from its interior. She heard a ringing she wasn't entirely certain wasn't only in her head and the faces that made up the corner started to twist and moan.

"What the fuck? Stop! I command you to stop! Bad book! Bad!" She smacked it on the tree trunk, threw it down and stomped on it with irritation, but it refused to respond, trying to worm further-and-further into her psyche. She raised her hooves to her head and did her best to resist its pull. Several minutes passed while she bit her lip so hard it bled in order to resist its demands. However she inevitably started to reach for it even as she trembled...

The mercenaries chose this moment to launch their all-out assault. The Necronomicon had come alive to summon them here, knew that its power would radiate, and draw others to claim it. But what it truly wanted was to put Starlight in such a desperation situation that she would be forced to call upon its power. She'd taken too much time and too many precautions to prevent it from easily taking hold of her and it had started to become impatient as a result. Every time she cast a spell from its pages her soul would be stained a little further until eventually her will was completely subsumed by its ancient secrets.

Iron Will stomped towards the front, flanked by beasts he unleashed from chains. He shook a thick jar filled with innumerable Flash Bees that he kept in the trapped scent of stallions and mares, undid the lid to send the buzzing army out to help his monsters hunt. He'd brutalized the animals under him and convinced them his prey were to blame. He'd shown them how to properly brutalize his victims in return for his scant affection.

He remembered the day when he'd confronted Fluttershy's family in her cabin as they hid out. Zephyr Breeze had finally developed a pair and attempted to intervene in his own clumsy way, only to have his neck twisted completely around before his shrieking parents. He'd beheaded the three of them and cut their heads stuffed on his mantle. Her stupid bunny had tried to stop him too only to end up a bloody smear under his boot.

Fluttershy had wailed like a newborn in horror and disbelief, so shaken she was unable to move when he approached. It was only the intervention of Rainbow Dash that had saved her; he still carried those scars which he masked under heavy tattoos. Similarly he was certain Flutters carried scars of her own forever burned into her timid little psyche.

He snapped back from his reverie as a cascade of noise from the latest hunt was underway. Gunfire erupted and shells were cast from their chambers only to bounce upon the dirt as Bon Bon and Lyra unloaded at the swarm ahead. They screamed and thrashed as they collapsed and rolled about, quickly overwhelmed by the murderous drones.

However he had intentionally crossbred this batch to make them far less venomous so that it would take quite some time for the swarm to slay a pony. He wanted to draw out their pain and humiliation, not to mention violate them before he claimed their heads as trophies. "Stupid lesbo cunts need a thick dick in them to know what they've missed!"

Just in case he'd rubbed a special oil into his muscles beforehand which confused their senses and repelled them. He couldn't afford to have the Flash Bees turn on him. The dark cloud parted to allow him in, Bon Bon and Lyra still sobbing and writhing, as he knelt down and pulled their field leader's body to him. He admired their handiwork, especially the puckered red sores they left on her teats, her ass and its hole, and her cunt.

Lyra weakly attempted to reach for her rifle only for him to slam a fist so hard on her forehoof it audibly cracked. She screamed and sniffled. Convinced she was currently no threat now, too overwhelmed by pain and fear to even work a simple spell, he drew the hateful Bon Bon towards his crotch, his penis flopping free of its loin cloth confines. Groans escaped him as he thrusted her onto him. She yelped despite herself.

She'd never been with a male before. In fact she'd never been with anypony but Lyra, hadn't so much as used a dildo on herself, her pussy unexplored by anything but Lyra's tongue and hooves. She cursed and spat weakly and cried as he violently hammered into her. His hands wrapped around her shapely hips and buttocks, pulled on the excess flesh until she winced, felt his cock strike parts of her she wasn't even aware of as he bottomed out in her moist fuckhole and made contact with the entrance of her cervix.

His minions knew better than to murder the mares before he'd had his turn, but stallions were usually fair game. He'd rape one on occasion to put them in their place, especially if they successfully managed to resist him for even a second, but usually they were little more than meat for the grinder to him. He didn't see much use for them in this new world. Maybe they could be used to do common work, but they weren't even that fuckable compared to mares, nor could they conceive more females on their own, and as for soldiers he was far more suited! He turned to see how his merry band of psychos fared.

Another portion of the swarm had descended on Time Turner and overwhelmed him almost instantly. He blubbered and shook under their assault, drool leaking from his snout, as the Queen knew she had permission to do what she wanted with a stallion, and decided to start pumping her eggs into the still conscious sack of meat. He'd served as a new nest until he inevitably popped as a new generation of hatched bees burst from his insides.

Derpy sobbed as she attempted to crawl towards him, thrown onto her belly as the Orthros settled its weight atop her, wings fluttering uselessly as his pair of knotted cocks locked into her holes as it dominated her. But she didn't care about her own pain, only what her friends endured, as she tried selflessly to aid them however she could. "M-Mr. Turner-!"

"A...Allon-sy," mewled Time Turner as spittle ran from his open snout. He suddenly wished he'd completed that experimental time machine so he could undo all this.

The fat Bugbear took Lyra in its claw, lifted her up in a full nelson, and plunged her cunt onto its stinger. She screamed as her walls spread around the pointed tip, but it took care not to actually sting her, enjoying the way she pissed herself in fear at the idea that it would either suddenly fill her womb with poison, or rip her pussy apart at any moment. It dragged her up-and-down its barbed tip which poked experimentally at the hole to her cervix.

"D...don't," she whimpered as he licked the tears from her face. She'd experimented quite a bit more than Bon Bon but had never actually been with a male; the occasional dildo or vibrator was the closest she'd ever came despite all the offers. To her shame her marehood started to drip down the intrusion inside her; she looked away from Bon Bon's whose body similarly reacted to Iron Will despite how much she loathed him.

Meanwhile the Chimera pulled Octavia to him in furry paws, his cock forced into her nethers, while the snake that formed its tail wormed its way up her asshole. She snarled and thrashed in its grasp, all pretense of manners out the window, but it maw opened and hot drool dribbled on her face, a reminder that it could easily bite her head off instead.

Lastly came Cerberus who almost mindlessly rutted the DJ. Its main head sucked upon her horn, and she cooed reactively in response as the blissful sensation rendered her limp, despite the shocked expression on her face. They'd run into thugs and raiders before, even bands of mercenaries, but never one that employed so many savage beasts like this one. Normally their superior firearms would easily make quick work of their numbers.

*****

A few Flash Bees had stung Starlight's pert asscheeks before she teleported away. She put some distance between her and the mercs, a shaking hoof wrapped around the satchel where the forbidden tome called to her. It had finally quieted down for the moment. She wondered whether it needed rest too? For all she knew this was a ploy to make her call upon it, and yet if she didn't, she'd abandon these ponies to their fates.

She told herself she didn't even know them well, that she could always turn back time and fix this once she unlocked the tome's secrets, but knew those were simply excuses to avoid her dilemma. The truth was those monsters terrified her. "Maybe I could run back to Fancy Pants for reinforcements? No, they'd be captured or dead by the time I reached him! Guess I really don't have a choice!" She clenched her teeth and started to read.

A lithe form touched down almost silently nearby. She looked up at the odd lone figure that trotted over. "A crystal pony?! I thought those were all extinct after the Crystal Empire fell!" But on closer inspection something was off about this one. She saw the slit-like eyes, the leathery wings folded on her prismatic back, and the sharp teeth when she smiled.

"Forgive me. I would have taken my earth pony shape but I wanted to make it clear from the offset I have no desire to deceive you." She shifted from her succubus form into the mare she used to be before the transmutation. "My name is Wet Nurse, and I used to serve Princess Cadance alongside my twin sister Foal-Bearer. Unfortunately we were captured by the enemy and forced to serve her. I've only recently escaped."

"That sounds rather far-fetched," she answered with bitter sarcasm.

"Your reaction is understandable. In your position I'd be hesitant to trust me as well. However I assure you it's the truth. I know mere words won't prove sufficient, so I'm here to offer whatever aid I can." She cautiously reached into her satchel and produced a black book. "This is a poor copy of the Necronomicon my mistress created. It started as a book that was once Sombra's which she's steadily added to. But even if it's power is comparatively subdued it's still a potential weapon of mass destruction."

Starlight looked it over with sudden interest. "My friends...they're in trouble." Were this mare to suddenly betray her she'd suffer the same fate as them. But neither could she do this on her own without submitting to the whims of the Necronomicon. "Will you help?"

"I'm not much of a warrior. Even with the aid of a wand," she procured the unicorn horn from her satchel. "I can only cast the most basic of spells. However I'm yours to use as you please." She curtsied daintily. "Lead the way, miss-?"

"Starlight Glimmer. I tend to avoid the battlefield myself," she admitted as the maid retook her succubus shape which was far better suited for combat. "Not that I can't throw down if I have to. I'd simply rather contribute in other ways, like research and development."

She touched the maid and teleported them into the war zone. The mercs were so busy with their prizes that they failed to notice the newcomers. Starlight took the copy Necronomicon from the maid, channeled one of the offensive spells, which cast the very earth to yawn open near Cerberus, a humongous fist made of dirt and vines rising up and dragging the howling beast down. Worms slithered in the soil as it closed over the horny beast.

Vinyl Scratch stumbled back to her hooves and tried not to think about the warmth that dribbled down her loins. She immediately levitated her discarded rifle back into her hooves, and unloaded on the Chimera, a hail of bullets ripping into its flesh. She took care to make certain Tavi wasn't hit, the earth pony dumped from the wounded animal's paws.

Octavia also did her best to ignore the traces of her recent violation that still dripped from her. She galloped back to her own gun, pressed it to the terrified creature's skull, which exploded into fragments and a spray of blood as she mercilessly finished it off. She continued to hatefully pump bullets into its twitching corpse even after it lay dead.

However the others were now fully alerted. Iron Will closed a heavy fist around Bon Bon's throat, still locked deep inside the wounded mare. "Back off or the marecunt dies! I always satisfy a contract and my word's my honor! Guaranteed or your money back!"

Likewise the Bugbear twitched its buried stinger around Lyra's insides until a bulge was visibly on her belly, like it was ready to tear her in halves from cunt to throat in an instant at any resistance. It continued to lap at her steady flow of salty tears. "D-don't worry about me," she said in an attempt to remain brave. "Just...do whatever you have to!"

"Looks like we have a stand-off! Tell you what, I'm a fair minotaur! Offer up your cunts and I'll let the lot of you live as my personal bitches! What do you say?" He was satisfied it was a fair trade. After all they had little chance and he could easily sell them for a nice sum of money. Plus a broken in mare often learned to like the taste and feel of his cock in the end.

Starlight pretended to consider his offer. "What do I say?" She tapped her cheek a couple of times. "I say fuck yourself in Tartarus for all of eternity!" She channeled another spell, and the trees around him sprung to life with snarling faces, their limbs creaking as they reached out, seized the minotaur, and plucked him from his prey and into the air.

"Hey! Iron Will demands you unhand him! He-" His threats turned to howls when his bones started to crunch under their squeezes. Suddenly he knew how all his victims felt as his bowels turned to water. He'd stoop to begging if he could still form the words. Blood leaked from his eyes, mouth, and nostrils, until he popped like a grape under the strain.

In retaliation the Bugbear prepared to fully spear his prey, but Wet Nurse could see the would-be fatal twitch of his abdomen, and used the same spell as before to rush into action, slamming her lithe body full-force into the beast. Normally her small frame would have made little impact, but at such a blinding speed she completely knocked him off-kilter, driving the unicorn horn's spear like tip into his abdomen. The gaping wound spurted warm blood all over the maid even as it drove its claws into her with an animalistic howl.

A tornado of Flash Bees sprung into action, but Starlight cast another spell which weighed the ones near her down, to the point where they collapsed onto the dirt, twitching helplessly as the now partially recovered Bon Bon started to stomp them into a mushy mess.

Unfortunately Glimmer now realized one of the limitations of this fake copy; whatever spells she cast from it could only be performed once. The proper words disappeared from its pages whenever she channeled their power. Any attempts to repeat them would fizzle out pointlessly until a new spell that inscribed in its place. Like a unicorn's power which was drawn from what was stored within them, which was likewise why wands made from their horns lost power rather quickly, the book itself served as the source for each incantation.

The Orthros knew its master was dead and that the battle no longer favored him. Its jaws seized around Derpy's scruff and lifted her up as it bounded into the Everfree Forest. "H-help!" She attempted to break flee and fly away but its yellow teeth held on tight. Bullets whizzed around it and ripped into the dirt as it dashed unimpeded into the darkness.

Starlight considered chasing after them despite the personal risk, but in order to do so she'd have to abandon the others to the remaining swarm, and although she hated to admit it they were more valuable to the cause. She continued to cast more spells to throw off or outright eliminate the angry insects; unfortunately one look at Time Turner's carcass told her it was far too late for one of them. His bloated form twitched from a mass inside him. She'd have to burn his body later to make certain no more of these demons were born.

"Damn it," said Bon Bon. "You okay now, Lyra?"

"Y-yeah. I'll deal with it later," she replied, visibly shaken by the trauma.

Octavia shook her head at the stallion's corpse. "It's horrible."

"Yeah, war is hell. Never believed the poor bastard would meet his end like that," admitted Vinyl. "Always liked to think he was invincible. Like if he died a new stallion would pop up in his place sometime later. Guess that was only one of Derpy's silly daydreams."

"Speaking of Derpy," started Octavia with a look of concern. "What do you think that wild animal will do with her? Is there even the smallest hope she can still be saved?"

"Not likely. Based on its notorious master she'll probably be taken to the nearest breeding farm he visited," said Bon Bon. "I know where it's at, but we can't afford to stage an extraction, especially for one lone mare that isn't even vital to our cause."

Lyra sniffled. "But she's our friend! I can't simply abandon her to such a horrible fate!"

"Unless you can convince Fancy Pants you don't have a choice," she replied.

While the others continued to talk over and debate recent events, Starlight Glimmer approached her recently made ally, who still laid draped upon the now bled-out Bug Bear. She carefully removed Wet Nurse from its bloodied claws and held her close.

Wet Nurse stirred and blinked sleepy eyes. "S-Star...? I can't see very well. Is everypony-"

"It's fine. We won, thanks to your help. You shouldn't have-"

"It's okay. I...probably didn't have much more time anyhow, after...I used that spell a second time. It burned me out," she admitted softly. "Take the contents of my satchel. I wrote a diary that will tell you all about what's happened. And most importantly, should you ever see Shining Armor, tell him I'm sorry...will you? I tried my best..."

She closed the maid's blank eyes and continued to hold her still warm body. She was probably the last of her kind. Another race now extinct. All because of a book she was obsessed with. She suddenly wanted to tear it apart but knew that wasn't possible. She wasn't certain whether it could be destroyed by any means on Equestria. Perhaps if she could find some extreme measure such as hurling it into the core of the sun...

With a hoof she reached into the maid's satchel and fished around until she found the small diary. There were a number of items as well but she'd rifle through those later for whatever could help. In the meantime she started from the beginning and read. Like she promised there was a detailed account of all that she knew about the enemy's operation and how this current situation had come to be. Information about how both versions of Twilight Sparkle had died, how the Trixie of Equestria had first been captured, it was a treasure trove that would shed light on the situation, and could simultaneously tear the survivors apart once the truth was known. She'd have to share it with Sunset Shimmer once they met up.