Author's Note

Warning: This chapter contains Blood/gore/death. Little that could be considered clop in this one, but lots of important plot points.

Old Friends and Old Wounds

Over the days Sunset Shimmer continued to visit her prisoner, making certain he was properly fed, watered, bathed, and otherwise treated, talking with him whenever she could. At first he most maintained his silence, then resorted to one word answers, but eventually he started to open up a bit. He would tell her about all the crimes he'd been forced to commit, how he was beyond redemption even if he could be turned back.

She learned much about their enemy and her daily operations. He even confirmed the suspected location of their lair, convinced they had little hope of overcoming his mistress. In truth he doubted she would accept him back. Considering he was already a third-rate choice for the role, and he'd failed on top of that, she would likely punish him in ways too horrible to comprehend. He had no place anywhere now. He was nothing. He hesitated even at the opportunity to see Starlight Glimmer now, who he didn't want to see how low he'd fallen. Instead he simply listened to Sunset talk.

She knew that the loss of Shining Armor couldn't be kept hidden forever, especially while they sought a new settlement, and so she needed to decide whether he could be turned to their side fast. In order to do so she would have to take drastic measures that might break him completely. She hated to be so cruel and hoped it would pay off. She kept the neutralizing ring and chains on all his hooves, took a procession of guards with her, and took him on a tour of the different caravans to face the results of his work.

After a couple of raps the door to a wagon that served as a hospital opened. Nurse Redheart nodded to her and hatefully stared down Sunburst who was led inside. The pristine white insides were filled with cots and stained blankets that were constantly being washed by volunteers. He kept his head shamefully down, passing the wounded civilians and soldiers alike, who moaned in pain or balked in fear of him.

Flash Sentry stared forlorn into the distance, obsessively testing his one remaining wing. A replacement lay beside his bed, but while it looked similar to the real thing, it was little more than a prop that was no use for flight. He was pretty much grounded for life, for many pegasi the worst fate they could imagine. "Hey Sunset," he said weakly.

Sunset smiled warmly at him. He wasn't the same stallion she'd dated in that other world, but she couldn't help but share a similar affection anyhow. "Sorry, it's the best we could do. You've tried it on, right?" He nodded. "Hey, there are spells that grant temporary flight. I know it won't be the same as doing it on your own, but there's always hope. Keep that in mind." She pressed her cheek to his and nuzzled him affectionately. "I'll always be here whenever you need me so don't be afraid to ask."

"Don't worry about me. I'm a trooper. It's Fleur who needs you. She's been pretty much broken after what happened to her. Look after her for me, will you?"

She reluctantly nodded and turned from him. From the corner of her eye she immediately saw his smile fall as he went back to wallowing in self-pity. She made certain Sunburst noticed too before she directed him and the procession of guards further on, driving home what the Four Horses of the Apocalypse had done.

Next she arrived at a private section with a curtain drawn over it. She could see the silhouette of a slender mare behind one section shaking violently. "Fleur? It's Sunset. I'm coming in." She gently drew the cloth aside and cautiously approached the bed where the white unicorn was huddled up in a corner. She'd surrounded herself with pillows in a protective manner, eyes bloodshot from a constant stream of tears.

Fleur de Lis shot a dazed look in her direction. "Sunset? Look at what they did to my beautiful legs." She pulled down the blanket and showed the heavy bandages wrapped around her smashed knees. She started to hyperventilate as the words spilled out. "I told them to be frank, and t-they said they'll probably never recover. They...they may even have to am-amputate. A-at least they offered me some replacements!"

She wrapped her hooves around Fleur and stroked her mane as she held her to her bosom. "Calm down. I won't abandon you no matter what happens. Without your help Flash probably would've died, and I'm sure that wound you inflicted on War helped Shining Armor finally put him down. You're the proudest mare I've ever met."

"I really use to own it, didn't I?" Fleur smiled and for a moment felt some of her old sass return. However all it took was one look at her situation and the facade quickly crumbled. She'd spent many a night thrashing about, having traumatic flashbacks about the attack, how helpless she'd felt. "I...I-I-I'll be okay, Sunset. I promise."

Sunset kissed her on the temple. "I'll visit you some more later."

He was shown further around the moving camp. The coffins carved for the dead which included Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Rarity wearing black attire and a dark veil as she placed white flowers atop them. Tree Hugger doing her best to comfort Fluttershy who continued to mourn the deaths of so many animals. The dead soldiers and civilians, which included quite a number of foals, murdered by the vines he unleashed. It was a moving funeral procession where the one thing that broke the silence was wailing.

Sunburst tried to appear impassive but each sight chipped away at him a little further. After a while he was reduced to a quivering wreck that was barely able to stand, let-alone walk as guilt started to gnaw at him. He stopped and pressed his hooves to his head. "I...I killed them all," he mumbled to himself. "I deserve to die."

"Death is easy. This is your chance at redemption."

He shook his head. "Nothing I could do would ever make up for this. But...there may still be time to save what remains of Equestria. Since the Necronomicon was used to transmute the Four Horses of the Apocalypse, we maintain a certain connection with it. I sensed its power recently, if only for a brief moment. I can tell you where. It's simply a matter of whether the mistress sensed it as well and recovered it..."

*****

For the moment fortune favored the survivors, for Twilight Sparkle had been wrapped up in her masterplan, the proper spells and potions applied to make sure the seed planted within her blossomed quickly. Her milky breasts and belly had already swelled to fullness with the spawn that would eventually serve as her new vessel. She felt the creature stir and rubbed a hoof over her stomach with a low moan in anticipation of its birth.

She had debated whether to maintain Death's services, as she'd proven a capable weapon, but decided to sacrifice her last Horse of the Apocalypse, in order to further empower herself. The skeletal creature had no choice but to obey and had lowered itself into the cauldron where it too had been cooked down into raw components. A number of sacrifices and cultists had also been added, and more potions as well, alongside the ejaculations of stallions and mares alike, their sexual fluids mixing with the flesh, blood, and bone to contact a rich bubbly soup that would help her perfect her masterpiece.

"You have served me faithfully. However soon I'll have little use for you, and besides, you aren't much for companionship like Trixie. At least I found somepony that may be able to replace her." She looked over her shoulder at a second throne she'd had carved for Shining Armor, her stupefied lover lost in a constant happy daze. She selected the most loyal and skilled cultists on a daily basis and allowed him to breed them.

For the finishing touch she had her cultists drag in by chains whatever exotic creatures they had been able to capture, including the rare griffins and dragons that still survived. They shrieked and thrashed and were thrown live into the sizzling pit. Bubbles popped with a hiss and a crimson stain spread over the fizzy surface. She waited for hours until it had cooled to a safe temperature and drank deep of its morbid contents.

She licked her lips with a smack. All she needed now was the Necronomicon and she would be complete. With all she'd learned over the years she was certain to master its secrets in no time. She drifted off into a contented and trance-like slumber.

*****

There was little time to bury the dead. For now the corpses would have to either be burned or collected before the party returned home. Starlight Glimmer closed the diary for the moment, added the contents of the maid's satchel to her own, and looked at the crystal pony's body, which looked likely she was peacefully asleep. She deserved better. But didn't most of the ponies and other creatures that had died ever since this nonsense started? At least her sacrifice had provided them with a potential chance.

She looked to the others who cleaned up or tended to their wounds. Lyra applied a salve to the nasty red sores all over Bon Bon's flesh. She winced and hissed but didn't complain. "Bon Bon, I...I don't think I can do this anymore! That wasn't like the other raids that went out-of-control! Those monsters..." She sniffled at the fresh memories.

"Fancy Pants would understand if you chose to retire. You've been an honorable soldier to the cause," stated Bon Bon. "Just don't expect me to follow you. I have a war to win and I'll do whatever's in my power to make certain that happens!"

Lyra threw her hooves around her. "Please, Bon Bon! You saw what those demons did!"

She pushed her friend off with a rather cold look. "It's Sweetie Drops. Bon Bon's no more than a stupid facade I put on to interact with the public. This is the real me." Granted she hadn't been quite this harsh in the past. However time hadn't been kind and she'd spat back the same cruelty that surrounded her in an effort to end it.

Further on Vinyl Scratch and Octavia waited near Time Turner's bloated corpse. The former had cast a spell to enclose him in a bubble in case a swarm of Flash Bees suddenly hatched from him. The latter had lit up a torch but hesitated to actually use it.

"Hey, I understand if you can't do it, Tavi, but somepony has to. We can't stay here forever, and the moment I let down the spell somepony'll need to torch him, you know?"

"I know. Believe me. And no matter how much it pains me I will see it done." Her hoof trembled when she inhaled and readied the fire which danced about in wisps of smoke. However they were both taken aback when a brilliant yellow radiance coursed throughout Tim Turner's remains and he started to twitch about in a frantic manner.

The pair screamed and took a step back once Time Turner rose. His flesh started to contort before their amazed eyes, portions of his body twisting and collapsing in a bizarre manner, until he was reshaped into an entirely new stallion. The flesh eventually settled down and the aura that suffused him wafted away in vapor-like trails.

Vinyl hesitantly lowered the force-field. "Seriously, what the fuck? Are you really-"

The more youthful stallion pushed aside his now black mane, rolled something between his cheeks, and spit out a dead Flash Bee. "It's me. Well, not exactly him, but the new me, if you know what I mean. No? Well you see I did this little experiment on myself a long time ago. This is hardly the first time I've changed bodies; I've already been through about ten or so of them. Derpy could tell you all about it. Where is she, anyhow? Poor mare is always wandering off into trouble when I'm busy..."

"She's been captured. We fear she's most likely been taken to the nearest breeding farm," said Octavia. "That's where mercenaries usually visit in their off-time and take their captured prey as well. The enemy let's them peruse those disgusting places to keep them satisfied and in line." She shuddered with naked contempt at the idea.

"That seems quite plausible. Poor Derpy. But we'll need a plan to save her."

Bon Bon chose this moment to butt in, the rifle slung over her back. "No way! We don't have the resources for that, and besides, Fancy Pants hasn't okayed it! We'll return to base, talk it over and rest up, then decide what to do from there! Got it?"

This soon broke about into another round of arguing, which reminded Starlight of her old circle of friends, and left her wondering whether this happened often. At least they seemed to accept this reborn Time Turner pretty fast; it seemed that Bon Bon had met some of his earlier incarnations before. She levitated some of the lumber she'd pulled from the trees, and built a makeshift bed of sorts, which she loaded Wet Nurse's body onto. She'd provide the crystal pony with a proper burial whenever time permitted.

She placed it with the other materials she'd gathered, ready to ship out at any time. Her hope was that there arguments would simply run out of steam eventually. It was far too dangerous to remain here any longer; for all they knew more mercenary companies could be on the way. That's when she saw a dark shadow envelope the area...

*****

It was a race to find the Necronomicon in time. Spike sailed over the Everfree Forest, his main head ridden by Sunset Shimmer and Rarity who held onto her midsection, with the other two mounted by Sunburst and Trixie respectively. The stallion had pointed them to the area where he last sensed the Necronomicon and she decided to chance it. She spotted a section where many of the trees seemed to be damaged, opening up into a clearing, and saw a number of ponies below, among them a familiar face. "There."

Rarity nodded. "Spike, please take us down. Gently. And don't harm any of those ponies." The drake touched down like she commanded. She stroked his neck and patted him affectionately. He closed his eyes with a satisfied snort.

Sunset hopped down and stalked towards her old friend. She knew she wasn't thinking rationally but she hardly cared at the moment. All she could think about was how the camp had went to pieces shortly after the Necronomicon was stolen.

The dark shadow momentarily caused Starlight to freeze up, but she wasn't certain whether to feel relieved or even more terrified when she saw who approached. She wasn't mentally prepared for this confrontation yet. "Sunset, I can explain-"

A hoof belted her across the face and sent her sprawling to the dirt. A yelp escaped when she took it without any attempt to defend herself, the contents of her satchel spilling out, including the Necronomicon which seemed to stare back at her.

Sunset's shoulders rapidly heaved, eyes locked on the dark tome. "You stole from the camp, abandoned your friends, and betrayed us all for this?!" She stomped uselessly on its stitched up cover. "Do you have any idea what's happened as a result?"

"Um...no? I wasn't there," she replied almost cowering before her. "Look, I deserved that. But wait until you hear what I've found! There's a whole civilization of ponies thriving underground that far eclipses ours!" She shifted onto her rump and continued. "You know what this means, right? Not only can we finally stage an attack on the enemy's base, but we can eventually repopulate Equestria as well!"

While her posture relaxed and her features softened, Sunset still couldn't help but feel infuriated with her. She understood her reasons and knew she couldn't take the blame for what had transpired; however her presence may have prevented the loss of so many lives. "I should punish you. But there's far too much at stake now, so I'll offer you the chance to redeem yourself instead. Never pull a stunt like that again, okay?"

Starlight nodded meekly. "Yes. I'm sorry. Truly. It was a stupid move, I admit it."

While she wasn't convinced Starlight had learned her lesson she decided to table the discussion for now. "And one other thing." She levitated the Necronomicon and placed it back in Trixie's hooves. "You hold onto this for now. You seem able to resist it."

"But-" The cold look Sunset shot her made the purple unicorn shut up. "Okay." Maybe she could perfect that time travel spell with the copy anyhow. It certainly seemed less risky to utilize that forbidden tome even though it maintained its own dark pull. Nopony needed to know about it and her new allies seemed to pay it little attention anyhow. "Why is the abomination here? After he razed the entire Crystal Empire, too!"

Rarity slid down and draped herself on Spike's main head which was lowered to the dirt. "A part of him still remembers what we had." She tapped the heart-shape stone on her bosom. "He's one of us now. And he's not the only one. Sunburst? Don't be shy."

Reluctantly the stallion drew the reigns on the final head, which lowered in response, until he was able to slide down and trot up to her. "H-hello, Star." He traced the earth with his hooves, too ashamed to meet her stare. "I've missed you terribly."

She dashed up to meet him and tackled him, hooves thrown about her old friend when their snouts met. He blushed and turned his head to one side. "I've missed you too! I was worried I'd lost you forever!" She planted pecks all over his face, unconcerned with what the onlookers thought. "But how?! I was afraid you'd lost your mind forever!"

"Sunset helped me out. I'm not sure I'll ever really be myself now. I feel more like a copy with distant memories. Like I died the moment I was turned into Pestilence and the parts of my subconscious she help stir to the surface tried to rebuild who I used to be."

"Does it matter? Don't be so paranoid! You seem like the Sunburst I love to me!" She wiped her wet face with a sniffle, happier than she'd been in quite some time.

"Th-thanks," he mumbled as she nuzzled him.

Bon Bon and her companions cautiously approached. "We can catch up later. I'll show you where our base is. Of course I don't think he'd fit inside even if Fancy Pants decides he's willing to risk it." She motioned at Spike whose claws plucked the tops from trees and munched on them. "We'll have to see what he thinks once we're back home."

"Fancy Pants is alive? That's wonderful news. Fleur will be so happy," said Sunset who felt a renewed sense of hope. Admittedly it was tempered with a reminder of all the recent losses, her beloved one of those. At best the situation had simply balanced out. At least she could finally lead the camp somewhere that would hopefully be safe.

She looked to the sun which started to peek out, a symbol that represented Celestia imprinted on it, and hoped she would be proud of her. They would be able to avenge Twilight Sparkle and simultaneously set her free. Not to mention the thousands of others lost to this madness. Only then could they start to rebuild a shattered Equestria.