The Final Battle for Equestria

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 1
Chapter 10
Chapter 27

Chapter 2

“We know they have an encampment about 10 miles away from our current location. There is another one 5 miles away from that.” Hex said. “Luna if we send two regiments to take the camp, we can resupply there and take weapons and food from them.”

Luna looked at the map trying to decipher what would be the best move for her weakened group. “But this camp that’s farther down, they are the ones who are giving the closer camp all of the supplies.” Luna said. “If we go to farther camp, wouldn’t we be able to wipe out their supply line and make it easier to take the other camp.”

“While that may be true, the extra traveling will make our troops too fatigued for battle. What we could do is meet---“ Hex was cut off by a frantic Linus.

“Luna! Luna I got him, but he’s injured pretty bad. I did what I could but he needs more healing power than what I can give him. Please Luna, I didn’t go out there just to have him die on our doorstep.” Linus said frantically.

“Put him down on the bed over there.” Luna said, pointing to an empty bed. Linus rushed over to the bed and gently placed Blaze on the bed.

“Luna, please. Help him.”

“I will Linus, now go sit down and take some sips of water. How long were you traveling with him on your back?” Luna asked as she worked on Blaze.

“Three hours. He’s been out for two.” Linus replied as he took a few sips of water.

“Ok then. Well the good news is that he’s only unconscious. The bad news, however, is that I don’t know how long he will be out. Did he say anything about what was going on in the prison?” Luna asked. She was stressed from all the battle plans she had to make. She was glad to have Blaze back. They would need his explosive expertise if her plan was to work.

“He did say something about wanting to talk to you. He said something about having information. I don’t know about what though. He blacked out before he could say more.” Linus said.

“Linus. Did you see any weaknesses in the surrounding fortifications of that place?” Hex asked. He had stayed quiet throughout the entire talk between the others. He wasn’t much talk for anything but strategy and battle tactics.

“What? You mean other than the giant hole Blaze put into the building? I swear you give this pony a rock and paper he could create a bomb large enough to fit a full sized buffalo.” Linus said. “That place is a fort. The only way in, besides that giant hole, is through the front entrance. It sits in plain sight, with the guards rotating every 30 minutes. They have scouts on top of the roof that keep an eye out on all the activity that happens below. They walk past every 5 minutes.” Linus explained in full detail.

“And you got in there with only a blowgun and a few darts?” Hex asked, clearly confused.

“Hex, I’m the top class assassin of this army. It was like taking candy from a foal.” Linus said, boastfully.

“Yea. Linus here could sneak past anyone in broad daylight. Moving in the night is like second nature to him.” Blaze said, awake from his stupor.

“Blaze! Thank Celestia you are all right. Hell I should be thanking Luna! If it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t be here now!” Linus exclaimed.

“Really? Well, thank you Princess Luna. I really appreciate it.” Blaze said weakly. “Luna, I have information. About supply shipments from Canterlot to a nearby camp.” Blaze said. Luna hushed him.

“You can tell me later. Right now you need to rest. You have a really bad head injury.” Luna said. “No, Luna, it can’t wait. They know we are here. They know that you are planning something. Luna, there’s a mole here. Somepony has been feeding Chrysalis information on Aureolians movements.” Blaze said. He was close to unconsciousness now.

“Blaze, quiet now. You need to rest.” Luna said. She was disturbed about who the mole could be.

“Linus, I know you just got back, and that you do need rest. But after you sleep, can you go around and look for anypony who looks suspicious? I plan on making an announcement tomorrow morning about this mole. Maybe he will blow his cover.” Luna said.

“Sure Luna. I’ll go around tomorrow and see what I can do.” Linus said, exhausted after the nights ordeal. “He’ll be ok though. Right?” He asked looking at Blaze.

“Don’t worry Linus. He’ll be fine. He just needs to rest tonight. I’ll have a healer come in and check on him regularly.” Luna replied. “But I am curious as to who the mole is. And how he learned of this information. It’s disturbs me greatly.” Luna said as she pondered about what she had learned tonight. “Hex, you may go. We will figure out what to do with the supply routes tomorrow.” Luna ordered.

Both Linus and Hex left the tent. Luna told Linus to send a healer up here so that she could tend to Blaze. She was still worried and shook up about the mole in the army. She could read the thoughts of everypony in the army, but it wouldn’t do much good. Whoever the mole was probably has a spell on them to hide certain thoughts.

Luna was completely lost on this situation. In order for her plan to work, the Leasath would not be allowed to know of any of the details. Dear sister. Why did you save me? Why didn’t you save yourself? You are the stronger one, the one who had more magical ability. You would know what to do with the mole. Luna thought to herself. She found herself thinking of Celestia a lot lately. She missed her, more than anything. But she had a hatred for Chrysalis, for the Leasath, for all the changelings.

The healer arrived and was told to stay and watch Blaze to make sure all his vital signs stay normal and that he is ready for the next day. “Make sure he stays on the ground. I was able to mend his leg, but his wing is something that will be sore for a few days. He needs to be able to fly tomorrow night.” Luna added. She was going to need his help. Desperately.

Chapter 3

Take them! Take them all my minions! Don’t let any survive! “You won’t get away with this Chrysalis! We will stop you!” Such pathetic weaklings! Stay out of my way! “Blaze! Linus! Run!

*GASP* Blaze jolted upright. He frantically searched his surroundings. He started to calm down. He was safe. He was at the camp, not Canterlot.It was just a nightmare. Blaze thought as he slowly worked his way out of bed. He had been having that nightmare, that retched memory of his parent’s death, play over in his head every night. The screams. The shouts. The chaos that ensued. He could still vividly see the dead bodies of his parents, bloody, lifeless, unresponsive to anything. They were just…dead.

“Oh good. You’re awake. Luna is about to make her announcement. I need you to come with me.” The healer said as she entered the tent. She grabbed his hoof and rushed him outside.

“Announcement? Announcement for what?” Blaze asked, still awakening from his restless night.

“The announcement about the mole.” The healer replied.

“She’s making an announcement in front of the entire army? But that means the mole will know that we are looking for him.” Blaze said. He couldn’t figure out why they would tell the mole that he was being searched for instead of secretly scanning the edges of camp in order to capture him.

“I don’t know what she is going to say about the mole. Only that it is of dire importance that you are there.” The healer said, rushing him towards the center of the camp. He was shoved in front of Luna who smiled when she saw him.

“Blaze! I’m so glad you are awake. I know that you must still be exhausted, but I need you to be here when I tell them about the mole. If they see you, the one who heard it, we may be able to draw the mole out.” Luna said in a hushed voice.

“I’ll do my best not to look to worn out ma’am.” He replied. "It might be bad for morale if they see an exhausted, beat down official.”

“If you think it would help, do it.” Luna said as she headed for the front of the crowd. “Attention soldiers of the Aureolian army! We have news that is of grave importance. One of our top members was captured by the Leasath, and prior to his rescue, he learned of a mole that was within our ranks. This mole has been feeding information to the enemy for an unknown period of time.” Luna exclaimed. “We do not know of the name or whereabouts of this mole. It could be anypony. So I would ask all of you, to please keep an eye out for any suspicious pony.” Luna ordered. She wanted to find this mole before anything went amiss with her plan of attack on the supply routes.

“That is all. I wish the best of luck to all of us on our mission today. We will get resupplied by the end of the night if this mission goes well.” Luna added. As the crowd dispersed in hushed tones and whispers of this ‘mole,’ Luna walked over to Blaze and Hex. “Ok, Linus is now patrolling the area to look for anything suspicious. Blaze, I’m going to tell you what our plan of attack is for the day. If you would follow me.”

They entered the tent Blaze had slept in the night before. Hex pulled out a detailed map of the surrounding area and enemy encampments. “There is Camp ‘A’ which is about 10 miles away from here. There is another camp, Camp ‘B’ 5 miles north of that one. Camp ‘A’ has been receiving supplies from Camp ‘B’ and has grown into a stronger force than what our army can attack against.” Luna explained, pointing to the map. “If we can cut off their supply route however, we can cripple Camp ‘A’ and then take it. That will get us closer to Camp ‘B’ and Ponyville.”

“So you need me to make a bomb that can block a supply route? Or do you need me to make a bomb that we can drop on the camps?” Blaze asked.

“We were hoping you could take out the supply line. With that gone, most of the ponies there won’t be able to survive, making them easy pickings for our guys.” Hex stated.

“I’ll get right on it. But first, what are we going to do once we take Ponyville? How are we going to defend against Canterlot? Because you can bet Chrysalis will do whatever she can to regain that town.” Blaze asked as he contemplated what they should do.

“I’m not exactly sure Blaze. I’m not sure. My hope, is that once we get there, we will have enough supplies to launch a siege on Canterlot the next day. But, if our ponies are fatigued to the point of exhaustion, we won’t be able to do anything and we’ll be sitting ducks if she decides to counter attack.” Luna replied. She was lost as what to do after Ponyville became theirs.

“If I may, I suggest we skip Camp ‘B.’ Once we have Camp ‘A’ we can move straight to Ponyville with our new supplies and weapons. Once in Ponyville, we set up as many guards and fortifications around the town as possible.” Blaze said, explaining his plan.

Luna seemed unsure, and Hex was shaking his head disapprovingly. “Look, I know it’s risky. But this war won’t be won by taking every last city in Equestria. We need to look for major cities and towns, and only raid camps that are necessary. We will lose too many ponies if we attack both camps.” Blaze said, a bit more forceful.

“Let’s say we do go by your plan and it fails. Where does that leave us?” Hex asked.

“We would probably be vulnerable to annihilation and slavery. But if we do it your way, our men will be too tired and too few to fight. One of these actions needs to be chosen. Luna, it’s your call. What should we do?” Blaze asked, looking at her.

“I say we go with Blaze’s plan. Hex, with yours, even if we do succeed there won’t be enough ponies to attack Canterlot with. His is the only way that we can stand a chance against them.” Luna said. She thought about how long it would take to get every pony prepared for this. “At 7 P.M. Blaze will drop a bomb on the supply route. At 4 A.M tomorrow morning, we will ambush them while they are asleep. Hex, spread the word to the other officers and have them tell the soldiers. They all will need a good rest before the wake up call.” Luna ordered. I hope we beat the mole to this. If he learns about it we are all doomed.

Chapter 4

Blaze had only a few hours to get his stuff together. He tried his hardest to stay on the ground and out of the air. It was frustrating for him to be earthbound. He wanted to soar in the sky. But he had to wait until it got dark enough so he could fly over the supply route, drop the bomb, and get out of there. “If only magic could heal my wing the way it did my leg.” Blaze said to himself. He would really have liked to have slept a few more hours, but he was needed for tonight’s plan to work. He needed to create a giant bomb to block off the supply route. As soon as it went off, he needed to get out of there. The problem will be if he can fly faster than the guards with his injured wing. He may need to get some extra ponies to fly with him. They would need to kill the guards who would follow him after the explosion.

Luna had given him a communicuff for him to wear so he could relay information back to her. He had wore one before, but after being confined for so long, it reminded him of the cuffs he had to wear while in the prison. But he had to wear it. For the mission. “Luna. Would it be all right if I brought two other ponies to the supply route? I may need them to kill some guards that may follow me after the explosion.” Blaze said speaking into the communicuff.

“I’ll ask Linus. He may be able to spare a few of his assassins to help you out.” He heard Luna reply through the cuff.

“Ok. Thanks.” He knew if Linus trained them, that they would be more than capable of a few guards flying in the air. Time to start building that bomb. I’m glad to have my tools back. They make much better explosives than alkali metals and water. Blaze thought as he rummaged through his stash of explosive devices. He had just started getting everything put together, when the alarm sounded.

A loud ringing noise went out through the camp. They were under attack. He grabbed his gloves and ran to a chest on the other side of the tent. He always had a few gas bombs ready in case of an emergency. Looks like this was one of those emergencies. “Linus! Where are they coming from?” Blaze asked Linus through the communicuff.

“Everywhere! They have us surrounded! We need all of our resources to protect Luna!” Linus shouted through the cuff.

“I’m headed over to her tent now!” Blaze replied. He flew towards the center of the camp. As he approached he met three Leasath soldiers. They charged at him with their full force. Blaze easily dodged the three soldiers and turned on his heels and slammed his hooves into the necks of the soldiers. They crashed to the ground as Blaze made a quick turnaround towards Luna’s tent. He arrived and saw 30 Leasath soldiers surrounding the tent. He threw a gas bomb at the soldiers. There was huge puff of purple gas. The soldiers were keeling over as they inhaled the toxic gas. They tried to run into the tent, but at the slightest move, their bodies imploded. The gas was deadly if inhaled within five seconds of detonation. The few who didn’t inhale when the bomb went off, were killed by darts before they realized that their fellow soldiers had died.

Blaze waited 10 more seconds to breathe. The gas wasn’t deadly anymore, but the side effects of the gas were terrible. He rushed into the tent and saw a wounded Luna. “Luna! Where are you hurt at?” Blaze asked. He surveyed the room. There was a lot of blood.

“I got hit by a magic bolt. He pierced my right leg. I can’t heal this like a healed your leg. This is going to take a special kind of treatment.” Luna said as she sat through the pain.

“What happened to the Gorner?” Blaze asked. A Gorner was a special kind of unicorn. They were touched by a dark magic. It was a mystery as to how they came into being.

“Blaze, don’t even try to fight him. He is way too powerful for a regular Pegasus as yourself.” Luna said.

“Luna with all respect, I can’t let a murderous Gorner run around and start killing all of our soldiers!” Blaze yelled.

“Blaze. You will not go out and fight a battle with a Gorner. That’s an order.” Luna said in an authoritative voice. Blaze knew he couldn’t disobey a direct order from Luna. He groaned in frustration. “I have a different job for you though. It would do more good for us if you could find Linus and take him up to Auroa Mountain. There’s a barrel of highly disorienting gas attached to a tube in the ground. I have given every pony in the army a gas mask. It will protect them from it. You were imprisoned when I handed them out. Here, you can have mine.” Luna said, handing Blaze a mask. “I can create a bubble here that will keep the gas out. Linus has one already. Now go. There isn’t time to waste. Go!” Luna ordered.

Blaze rushed out of the tent and took flight. He found Linus. He was battling five Leasath soldiers on his own. Blaze flew down, and kicked one of them in their back. “Took you long enough to find me!” Linus shouted.

“Yea, well we got direct orders from Princess Luna to get to Auroa Mountain. Do you know what’s up there?” Blaze asked Linus while punching a soldier in his face.

“Yea I know. Let’s go then!” Linus said as he threw four stars at the remaining soldiers, hitting them straight in the eyes.

“Hold on!” Blaze said. Linus grabbed onto Blaze’s back as he launched them into the air. Blaze was having difficulty carrying them both with his injured wing. He kept pushing towards the mountain. When they arrived Blaze could barely stand. “Linus. Turn the valve. The gas needs to get through the tube and into the camp.” Blaze said weakly. Linus had quickly moved over to the barrel. He turned the valve three times to the right. The gas passed through the tube and out of cracks in the valve.

“Blaze! Your mask! Put it on!” Linus yelled at Blaze. “Yea. Right.” Blaze started to put his mask on, but it had a hole in a key filtration section. “Linus! My mask! It’s been sabotaged!” Blaze yelled. “I can fly out of here but I don’t know how far away I can go before I have to rest, and I don’t know how fast the gas travels outside the tube.

Blaze took off and flew in the opposite direction of the mountain. He flew as fast as he could. He knew a place where he could hide for a few hours. But it was very close to Camp ‘A’ but it was all he had at that moment

Chapter 5

Blaze landed quietly in a tree overlooking a cave. He looked around for any sign of the Leasath. He was in no condition to fight any soldier. When he determined the coast was clear, he slid down the trunk of the tree and ran to the cave entrance. He could rest here until dawn, but he would have to leave once dawn arrived. It wasn’t a good idea to stay in one place for too long when so close to an enemy encampment.

He found some leaves and grasses and made a makeshift bed. It wasn’t soft, but it was better than the rocks. After a few minutes of shifting, he finally fell asleep.
****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Linus ran back to camp. He saw all the soldiers that had attacked the camp were tied up. The gas had done it’s job, but he had to get to Luna. She had to know where Blaze went. He also needed to know who sabotaged the mask. It was probably the mole who wanted to get Luna in case of a gas attack.

He reached the center of the camp and saw Luna being treated by the top healer. “Luna. The gas, it worked, but Blaze’s mask, the one you gave him. It was faulty. Sabotaged. There was a hole in a section of the filtration system.” Linus said as he put the mask onto the table next to Luna.

“This aggravates me. They knew we were here, but they chose to attack right before we went to the supply route. This was meant to cripple us, not destroy us. Why didn’t Chrysalis destroy us now? Is she toying with us? Or just wants to experiment with how we would react?” Luna contemplated the possibilities. “The mole is the one who sabotaged the mask. There are only a few who are allowed near my tent and allowed in our meetings. Those people are you, Blaze, and Hex. One of you three is the mole.” she said reluctantly.

“I hate to put you on the spot, like that. But you are the only ones who could be relaying information. I’m sorry Linus. I trust all of you with my life. But it has to be. It can't be any other pony.” Luna said. She hated doing this. It felt like she was placing blame on a pony who didn't deserve it. But she had no choice.

“Luna, whatever I have to do clear my name and Blaze’s name, I’ll do it. But right now Blaze is heading in the direction of Camp ‘A.’ We need to do something.” Linus said. “We can’t lose him again.”

“I know. We will do something. But not tonight. Our soldiers are tired and need to sleep before we go looking for him. The Leasath soldiers won’t be going anywhere very soon. I made sure of that. However, there was a Gorner here. He escaped before the gas could reach the camp.” Luna said, wincing as the healer applied pressure to the wound. “That’s how I got this. I can’t fix it with magic, so I can’t do any substantial fighting until it heals. So, I am making you leader of the army. You will lead our soldiers into battle, but not tonight. Let them rest. They deserve it.” Luna concluded.

Linus was shocked. Not just by the fact that Luna thought he could be the mole, but also the fact that despite her fear, she made him leader of the army. “I’m honored, Princess Luna.” Linus said. It was an honor for him. He knew that the soldiers needed rest, but he didn’t wan to leave Blaze out there all alone. But he had no choice. He had to do what was best for the army. He sat down and thought about what he should do tomorrow. “Luna, are there any hidden paths to the camp that Blaze is near?”

“No. The only way in is through the front door. If you want to take the camp, you need to get Blaze his supplies. He’ll be able to detonate an explosive that will cripple the system. He is, yet again, our top priority.” Luna said. “Now get some sleep. You had a long few days.”

Linus stood up. “Thank you Luna. I appreciate everything you have done.” He said. He bowed his head. No pony had bowed to her since her return from the moon. She had never asked it. Never expected it.

“Linus….why did you bow your head?” Luna asked, baffled by what he done.

“I’m greatly honored by what you have done for our cause. I know that no pony has shown you the same respect as they used to. But I feel you still deserve it.” He said.

“Well, thank you, Linus. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t do that. I don’t want ponies doing that all the time.” Luna said. She wasn’t comfortable with it. Not since her sister died.

“Ok. I won’t do it anymore. I’m going to go see if I can sleep. I have an idea of what to do about Camp ‘A.’”

Chapter 6

Blaze awoke by the sound of rustling leaves. He jumped up ready to strike. A little rabbit hopped through the cave entrance. *Sigh* Get ahold of yourself Blaze. It’s just a rabbit. Blaze’s joints were stiff. He hadn’t slept well and he was hungry. “Alright Blaze. I know you’re hungry, but you need to get back to the camp.” He said aloud to himself. He looked outside the entrance of the cave. There was no pony there. He slowly moved to the tree line. He was just about to fly off when he heard another sound from a nearby tree. That was no rabbit. It was way too heavy of a sound. He thought

He acted like he hadn’t heard anything. He kept walking. On three, I turn around and attack whoever is following me. 1, 2, 3. Blaze turned around and was ready to punch his target. His hoof was grabbed in midair. “And that’s how you greet someone trying to help you out?” Linus asked.

“Linus? How did you find me?” Blaze asked.

“Well you know, if you need a place to hide, your favorite cave as a foal may not be the best idea.” Linus replied. “I have a plan. Since we are so close to Camp ‘A’ how about a little surprise attack on our comrades over at the camp? I got your supplies in my pack.” Linus pulled his pack off of his back and placed it on the ground. When he unpacked it, he let Blaze get to work. He explained his plan of attack to Blaze while he worked. “So basically, once your bomb goes off, me and the rest of my squad will move in and take what we can. This is something we haven’t done in awhile. A hit and run. But this might just work. They got fresh supplies last night. We will get back at them, but first, we need supplies so we can heal our wounded and feed the soldiers.”

After about 30 minutes, Blaze’s bomb was done. “Once I get over the center of the camp, I will drop it. Once I let go, you have 15 seconds before it reaches the ground. After it detonates, you and your squad can take everything that is left standing.” Blaze reminded Linus. This bomb was going to be huge. He didn’t want any unintended casualties.

“Good luck Blaze.” Linus said with grin.

Blaze took off and reached his target altitude. He had a feeling that the Gorner was at the camp. If he was, Linus would have some difficulty getting supplies. But if the bomb killed the Gorner before Linus arrived, then it would be smooth stealing from there.

“Linus? I’m in position. Get your men ready. I’m dropping the bomb now.” Blaze spoke into his communicuff.

“I hear you Blaze. Just make sure the bomb does it’s job, and we’ll do ours.” Linus replied. Blaze rolled his eyes. Typical Linus.

He dropped the bomb. As soon as he let it go, he flew off in a different direction. He turned after about 10 seconds to watch the explosion. He waited a little longer, then a bright light, followed by a huge explosion that sent him shooting up. Not only was his wing injured, but now he was burned all over. He slowly glided down to earth. He was in bad shape, but it wouldn’t matter. The Leasath would be busy with the bomb’s damage to worry about an injured pony in the forest. “Linus. You saw the blast. Go kill whoever isn’t dead yet and take the supplies.” Blaze relayed into his communicuff.

Linus heard static coming from his cuff. He knew what Blaze was going to say. Whatever his bomb did, the blast destroyed the cuff. “All right boys. Let’s get those weapons and medical supplies.” Linus said to his squad. They ran as fast as they could to the camp. When they arrived, it was chaos. They ran in, killing all the soldiers in sight, whether they were burning or standing. They slaughtered without prejudice. Linus was in kill mode. He couldn’t be stopped.

“Ahh Linus. What a pleasant surprise. Where’s your friend? The one who dropped the bomb?” It was the Gorner.

“Who are you?!” Linus yelled.

“Why, I’m the one who brought them to your camp. I’m the one, who allowed your buddy to drop that bomb. I’m the one who is allowing this raid.” The Gorner calmly stated. “You guys are such dreamers. You believe you can win. You think you can take Queen Chrysalis’ throne. What idiots. It’s good that Celestia died that night. Just like your pathetic parents.” The Gorner said. He dodged the knives being thrown at him as if they were nothing. “Come on now! I know you are better than that! Now hit me!” Linus had entered the Jode Rage. When he entered this stage, he could kill an entire army in less than a minute, without a scratch. “Ahh yes. The Jode Rage. This is when it gets interesting.” The Gorner said with a wide smile.

Why is he so cocky?? Linus thought. He threw all his knives and throwing stars as fast as he could at the Gorner.

“Faster! I thought you were an assassin! Prove yourself!” The Gorner was toying with him.

“Enough!” Linus yelled, filled with rage. He grabbed a shaft and swung it around his head. He pressed a button, and the shaft turned into a katana.

The Gorner whistled in amusement. “Now that’s a toy.” The Gorner said with a smile.

Linus took a swing at the Gorner’s head with a yell. He dodged it easily and punched Linus in the gut. “Come one get your act together. I was promised a challenge if I was given the opportunity to kill you.” The Gorner said. “Maybe you need to go back to school and learn your skills again.” He said as he deflected a strike from the katana. He returned with a kick to Linus’ face.

Linus spat up blood. “Who are you? He asked, looking up at the pony standing over him.

“Why,” The Gorner said, pulling of their hood. “It’s me. Luna.” She said with a smile.

“Luna?” Linus asked, shocked and in disbelief at what he was seeing. It was Luna. “No. You can’t be her. She wouldn’t betray us. She’s loyal to the Aureolian’s cause!” Linus yelled. He couldn’t believe, he wouldn’t believe, that this was really Luna. He knew the real Luna. This wasn’t the real Luna. Luna was sweet. She was nice. Linus knew something was amiss. He got up, spat on the ground, and took another swing at Luna’s head. She dodged it easily.

“Hahahahaha! You are so pathetic! I see the hurt in your eyes. I also see how much you love her.” Luna said. What the... “Wait. Her? Why would you refer to yourself as her?” Linus asked.

“What do you mean? I didn’t say her.” Luna said, trying to retrace her steps.

“You are not Luna. You are just a changeling. A sad, lonely, changeling. The only thing you are is a retched, worthless piece of trash.” Linus said. He swung his sword as fast as he could, faster than he ever had before. The changeling started dodging his swings. He started changing his patterns. The changeling started having difficulty with the change in pace and patterns. “First my parents, then Celestia, then you attempt to kill Luna, and now you try to make me believe that Luna is the one who tried to kill me. I swear, as Celestia as my witness, I will kill you for everything Chrysalis has done!!” Linus screamed at the top of his lungs. He swung once, twice, he was able to make the changeling stagger and stall. With one giant swing, he cut straight through the changeling’s body.

Linus wiped the blood from his face. He spat on the bloodied carcass. “That’s for Luna.” he said as he walked away from the dead changeling. “Everypony! Gather what supplies you can. We gotta get the hell outta dodge and find Blaze. He may be in danger.”

Chapter 7

Blaze had found a small lake in the forest. He was sitting in it keeping his burns cool. He hadn’t heard from Linus since the explosion. He knew he needed to go out and find them, but he couldn’t go out and fly. His burns were preventing him from making any slight movements. The water only barley stopped the burns from hurting. “Blaze, why do you keep doing this to yourself?” He asked himself quietly. “I need to make a fire. Maybe I can signal Linus with it.”

He got out of the lake and slowly walked to a tree. He picked up a few fallen branches and leaves. He placed them in a small area and started to light them. The Aureolian Army had a way of telling their fellow soldiers where they were if they somehow got lost. Blaze would light one fire now. After an hour, he would light a second fire. After 2 hours, we would light a third. The soldiers had it drilled in their heads about the procedure. Only come after the third fire had been lit, and only if it didn’t put you and your comrades into bigger danger. “Linus, if you can hear me, I am south of Camp ‘A.’ There is a lake in the middle of a patch of trees. I am there. If you can read me, please respond.” Blaze spoke into his communicuff. Static. That was the only thing he had heard since the explosion. He hoped that Linus and his team were alright. He didn’t want to think that they were dead. Two days. I’ll give him two days. Then, I need to make my way back to the camp.

He got the fire going and went back to lake. He was burning all over. As he walked over to the lake, he looked at his reflection. His legs were blood red and his face looked like someone had tried to take it off with a rusty knife. “Well, I may not be beautiful anymore, but at least I’m alive.” Blaze chuckled to himself. He waded into the lake to soothe his burns.

He sat there for 30 minutes, when he heard crashing coming in through the trees. “Help! Anypony help!” said a voice. It was a mare's voice. It sounded so familiar to Blaze. He got out of the lake, despite his pain, and hid behind a bush. He peered out to where he heard the voice. A pink Alicorn with a broken horn had rushed into view. She was panting and had obviously been running for days with little rest. “Please! If you are there please help me! They’re after me!” Blaze knew he had to do something. He whistled the two note tune that said ‘I’m here.’ Her eyes shot up. “I have three Leasath soldiers after me. If you can please help me I will be forever in your debt.” The Alicorn said frantically.

Blaze knew he heard that voice from somewhere. If only he could see her face. He slowly walked out from behind his bush. “What happened?” Blaze asked, accidentally startling the Alicorn. She turned to him, and he gasped. It was Princess Cadence. “Cadence! What happened to you? Ever since the battle at Manehattan, you and Shining Armor went missing. Where have you guys been? Where’s Shining Armor?” Blaze asked. He was asking too many questions for her right now.

“She’s over there! Get her!” said a deep voice from the trees. “Cadence, hide.” Blaze said. She didn’t budge. “I know that when you are rested that you can easily handle these three. But you don’t have your magic and you are far too exhausted to do any fighting. Please Cadence. Hide and I’ll handle it.” Blaze said. He tried not to let the pains from his burns show. He didn’t even know if he could handle them. But if anything went wrong, Cadence had a chance of escaping. The soldiers came crashing through the trees. They smiled as they saw Blaze.

“Well well. If it isn’t Blaze. You caused a bunch of trouble with that bomb.” The largest of the group said. “Now, if you don’t mind, we will be taking that poor excuse of an Alicorn off your hooves.”

“Oh ok. I’ve only just a met her. I’d like to get to know her a little bit more. Maybe have some tea and a picnic.” Blaze said. He wanted to prolong this for as long as he could.

“Why would you want to be around her? She is nothing without her horn. And her husband, Shining Armor. We still have his retched body in our prisons. He hasn’t told us anything yet. He’s strong. But soon we will have him as our own. Queen Chrysalis will have him under her control. And his soldiers will be ours.” The largest soldier said as he smiled.

“So she’s going to take control of his body again? And how well did that work out last time?” Blaze asked. Just a little longer.

The Leasath soldier growled at Blaze. “We may have lost our battle there, but we returned. 50 years ago and have ruled all of Equestria ever since. Now we will take back the Alicorn. Now step aside.” The soldier said as he prepared to charge.

“Oh I’m afraid I can’t let you take her.” Blaze said. He threw a gas bomb that was strapped to his back straight at the group. They inhaled the deadly fumes and collapsed over. “Cadence! We have to go. Don’t breathe in the gas! You’ll be dead in minutes.” He said as he led her through the trees.

“Where are we going?” She asked as they ran. “I have no idea but anywhere is better than back there by the gas.” He replied. They crashed through the trees and stopped just short of a waterfall. “Think you can fly? There’s a cave just on the other side of that water.” Blaze said.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get somewhere safe!” She yelled. They took off and flew straight into the waterfall.

It was a good thing the cave was where they entered. As soon as they hit the water, Blaze screamed in pain and crashed onto the rocky surface of the cave. The force of the water had inflicted a great deal of pain on his ragged body. “Are you alright?” Cadence asked as she saw him fall. He groaned loudly.

“Cadence. You must get back to our camp. Luna needs to see you. You must tell her what you have endured. Tell her where I am at. She will know what to do.” He was close to blacking out. The pain was too much for him this time.

“You aren’t going to leave me like this! Not now!” she yelled as she saw him slipping into unconsciousness.

“Cadence. Go. You are more important than me right now.” He said as he slipped into darkness.

Chapter 8

“Linus, we sent scouts to the location of the fire. We found three Leasath soldiers there dead. They seemed to have died from a gas bomb.” A soldier said as he reported their findings.

“So, Blaze is alive and on the run. Did you follow the tracks?” Linus asked. He knew he disregarded protocol by sending the scouts after the first fire, but he wasn’t going to lose him again.

“We did, but they ended at a waterfall. There’s a ravine before the waterfall so he had to of flown off.” The scout reported.

“Did you look around the waterfall? Did you see if there were any overhangs or caves in the vicinity?” Linus asked. He knew that the first thing Blaze would do would be to find shelter in a cave of some sort. And if one was near the waterfall, he would be pretty well protected.

“We are proceeding with that as we speak. They will report their findings by the end of the day. Linus, if I might ask, I noticed that while you were fighting the Gorner, he turned into Luna. I overheard him say something about your love for her. I don’t mean to sound like I’m prying, but I wanted to know if you had feelings for her.” The scout asked.

“Rook, I’ve known you for a long time now. I trust you as a friend and as a soldier. But…I would rather not talk about stuff like that right now. We need to find Blaze.” Linus said. He didn’t want to discuss his feelings at the moment.

“I understand Linus. I lost Starbolt in Baltimare. Don’t worry. We’ll find Blaze. And Luna will be fine. She’s the sister of Celestia.” Rook said.

Yea. And now she’s dead. Linus thought to himself. He didn’t doubt Luna’s magical ability, but Chrysalis killed her sister. “Yea you’re right. Anyways, I would like to see this waterfall. Maybe there’s a clue of where he’s at.” Linus said. “You say you saw two pairs of tracks heading to the ravine?”

“That’s right. Neither were soldiers though. The hoofprints were too shallow. Blaze must’ve found somepony who was in trouble.” Rook said.

Linus laughed. “That sounds like Blaze. Always seems to find trouble. Well we might as well move on then and see what kind of trouble he’s into now.”
****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Blaze slowly drifted awake. He heard rushing water. He could barley make out the stalagmites in the dim light of the cave. Blaze slowly lifted his head off of the ground and stood up. He could walk, this time without any pain. How? Yesterday I crashed into the cave because of my burns. He walked toward the entrance where the waterfall was. He heard voices and instinctively hid behind the rocks. After a while he realized it was Cadence talking. Blaze calm down. You’ve been getting jumpy lately he thought to himself. He turned the corner and saw a familiar face. “Linus? How did you find us here?” Blaze asked in delight as he walked toward the two.

“Well don’t think it was me. I’m terrible at tracking. It was all Rook. He’s the one who figured it out.” Linus replied. “That was one hell of an explosion you set on them. It screwed up my communicuff.” Linus said as he held up his damaged cuff. “Yea sorry about that. But I figured they deserved a big boom. Would’ve been bigger too if I could guarantee you and your teams safety. I see you met Cadence.” Blaze added. “I know you guys are having a great chat out here, but I have some questions for Cadence. Most involve what happened while you were imprisoned.” He said looking at her broken horn.

“I guess you’ll learn eventually. Let’s take a seat in the cave. Tomorrow we can go to the camp.” She took a seat in front of both Linus and Blaze.

“After Shining Armor and I defeated Chrysalis during her first attempt to take over Canterlot, We started getting threats. We ignored them for a while, until we got one from Chrysalis herself. It had her insignia on it. She warned of an attack. A war that would ravage the land. We brought it to Princess Celestia and she put the guard on high alert. After 2 years with no sign of the changelings, the guard was put out of high alert. Most forgot about Chrysalis and her threat. But, I believe that was her plan. Make us forget so we wouldn’t be ready. After a few months, the skies above Canterlot grew dark with the Leasath.

“We were unprepared. She struck major cities, striking fear into their citizens. When Chrysalis herself arrived at Canterlot, I knew that Canterlot would fall. I told Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about what I feared. They told me to gather the civilians and evacuate them. Shining Armor was busy fighting the changelings off with the guard. I left with the civilians I could find. I haven’t heard from him since. I thought he may be dead. But he’s alive. I took the civilians to Fillydelphia, the one place that had been able to fight off Chrysalis’ army. We were safe for a few weeks. But then, she came. She came and destroyed the entire city. Leveled it to the ground. She killed everypony. Every pony I had saved, died by her will.

“She found me, and brought me to a prison. She wanted to know where Luna was, where the Elements of Harmony were, where any survivors were. But I didn’t tell her anything. She broke my horn because I wouldn’t tell her where the Aureolian’s camp was at. I had no clue. No matter what I said she would have gone there, and then killed me when she realized I sent her in a false direction. I was moved to the camp you guys attacked 2 months ago. While I was there, I heard rumors, stories from the guards who would patrol our cells. They spoke of Shining Armor. He hadn’t given up any information about Canterlot. They wanted us dead though. For defeating Chrysalis all those years ago. I’ve been imprisoned, tortured, for 40 years. I want to see Shining Armor again. I want to see Chrysalis pay for what she has done.” Cadence explained as tears ran down her cheek.

“I’m so very sorry. About everything. We will get Shining Armor back. And we will kill Chrysalis. She’s killed more ponies in her first year on the throne than the Brotherhood did in Nova’s Return where 3,000,000 ponies were killed in a 20 year conflict. Chrysalis is a deadly creature. There are only 2.5 million ponies left on Equestria because of her. We were 150 million strong before she arrived! Payback, Cadence, will be so sweet.” Blaze said with a fire in his eye.

“Blaze, you should get some sleep. We’re going to go straight to the camp tomorrow and you need to rest.” Linus told him.

“You’re right. Besides I could use a good nights sleep. Oh and Linus? What happened to my burns? They’re gone. It feels like I never had them before.” Blaze asked. He knew Linus wasn’t a healer, and with Cadence unable to use her horn to cast spells, there was no absolute way that the burns could be gone.

“They’re not gone, per say, simply numbed down and treated. You know the supplies we raided? Well it turns out they had barrels and barrels of burn cream. You are getting ponies very paranoid with your bombs.” Linus said with a grin.

“Ah I see. But won’t they return?” Blaze asked. If they returned in mid flight, it would be a long way down. “And why does my wing feel completely fixed? It doesn’t hurt or anything.”

“There was a manual in one of the crates. Linus brought it with him and helped me mend your wing. You can now fly with perfect control, balance, and precision.” Cadence said.

“Thank you. Both of you. We all need sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.” Blaze said.

They all got up early and had a poor excuse of a breakfast meal. Blaze and Cadence stayed close to the ground for Linus’ sake. “You know, there are times when I really wished I was a Pegasus. And then I realize, I hate heights!” Linus said with a smirk. “Now, how about a race? Which is faster? Earth Pony, or Pegasus. Cadence, you can be the judge. You’re faster than both of us when you fly. So what’s the distance? A mile? Two miles? Name it!” Linus said. He hadn’t had a race in years.

“Two miles! I can easily beat you!” Blaze boasted.

“Prove it then.” Linus said.

They shot off with Cadence flying ahead to mark the two-mile point. Blaze had a good lead on Linus, but halfway he caught up with him. “You’re going to have be faster if you want to win.” Linus said as he zoomed ahead.

“Hey Linus? You want to know something about us Pegasi?” He shouted as he zoomed up to Linus. “We never lose.” He sped past him and reached the finish line before Linus even noticed what had happened.

“Nice flying Blaze. I’ve only seen one pony who can fly that fast. She flew on my wedding day.” Cadence said. A small tear ran down her cheek. “She was the best flyer in all of Equestria. I don’t know even know if she is still alive.” Rainbow Dash. The stories about her were legendary. She joined the army after Fillydelphia was destroyed. “Hey, let’s get you to Princess Luna alright? She can get you caught up on everything that’s happened.” Blaze said trying to comfort her. Linus finally reached the finish line, out of breath. “Ok Blaze. You win round one. But next time, I choose the distance.” Blaze only smiled. Cadence gave a light laugh. “How much farther are we from camp?” She asked. “About 5 miles. I sent my team ahead of me. They put markers every 5 miles for me. See that ‘L’ on the tree? They are meant to be lightly brushed on so they can’t be tracked by any unwanted parties.” Linus explained.

“Sounds simple enough.” Blaze said. “Let’s get going. I want to get ready for the next attack.” Blaze always wanted to know who to attack. Not like Hex who only talked about battle, but he always had to be in the loop. “Cadence, Luna is going to be so happy to know you are all right.” Linus said with a smile.

Chapter 9

They reached the camp a few hours after noon. They walked straight to Luna’s tent. “Princess Luna? It’s me, Linus. I have a guest who would like to speak with you.” He said with a grin.

“Send them in.” She replied. Linus pushed the flap away and gestured for Cadence to walk in. When she had entered the room, Luna was studying a map of the local area. While Camp ‘A’ was not a threat anymore, she was looking for an easy way to get into Camp ‘B’ without awakening everything in a 15 mile radius.

“Luna? It’s me. It’s Cadence.” She said softly. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Luna when she turned to her.

Luna’s face beamed with joy at the sight of her. “Cadence! Oh thank Celestia you are all right.” She looked up at her horn. “Oh my…Cadence…did she-“ She couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Yea. She did. Because I didn’t have any information on the army.” Cadence said, trying to keep her composure.

“I am so sorry Cadence. I wish I could have done something.” Luna said.

“Don’t feel bad. They would have done it even if I did have information. I wouldn’t have told them anything. Not after what happened in Canterlot.” Cadence said, very close to tears.

“Where’s Shining Armor? Is he ok?” Luna asked. Cadence lost it and fell into Luna’s shoulder, weeping loudly.

“I haven’t heard from him or seen him since Chrysalis attacked Canterlot. I don’t even know if he is alive or not! I heard rumors from my guards in the prison. They said he wouldn’t talk. Some say he escaped, others say he died. I don’t know what to believe!” She screamed in between sobs.

“Cadence, I am so sorry. We will find him. Even if I have to search from Manehatten to the ruins of Fillydelphia. We will find him. I promise.” Luna said. She meant it to. If she had to travel all across Equestria, she would until she found him.

“Here, sit down.” Linus said as he pulled a chair out for her. As she took a seat she started to calm herself down.

“Linus how did the raid go? I heard the explosion from here Blaze. Is that the biggest blast you’ve created?” Luna asked the others, trying to give Cadence space.

“The raid went perfectly. After Blaze dropped the bomb, the Leasath were completely disorganized. It made taking the supplies easy.” Linus said. “I did run into your old friend. The Gorner. We had a face off, and halfway through, he turned into you. Almost made me believe that it was you. But there was something he said. Something that removed every inch of doubt. Let’s just say they need to sew his upper half with his lower half.”

“Wait a minute. You fought a Gorner, killed it, and are still able to tell about it? What did he say that gave you strength to kill him?” Luna asked.

Linus started to turn red. “Um…I'm not sure. He put me in the Jode Rage.” He said. He wasn’t going to repeat what the Gorner said to him. Not to Luna at least.

“Really? Must have been something big then. But it looks like it was a good idea to raid that camp. They had more than enough supplies.” She said. While you all were attacking, Hex and I got into a little debate on where we will attack next. I was thinking about skipping the next camp so we can save our soldiers. Hex, however, thinks we should try to get as many places as we can and attack the camp. What do you guys think?” She asked.

“I say we skip the small camp. There’s no need to go there and lose ponies for one little area. I say we move on to Ponyville. We have the resources and the forces to take the village back.” Linus said.

“I feel the same. Ponyville should be our top priority. It’s close to Canterlot and we can see what Chrysalis will be doing with her army. Once it is in our hooves, I can get a few bombs ready so we can drop in through the roof.” Blaze said.

“I say we go for Ponyville. We really need to get close. And…I believe that if Shining Armor is anywhere, he would be there or in Canterlot’s crystal dungeons. I know the dungeons under Canterlot. I was imprisoned there so if he’s not in Ponyville, he’s in Canterlot.” Cadence said.

“So it’s decided. We will move on to Ponyville and attack there.” Luna said. “Blaze, there’s somepony you should meet before we go.” she said. She led Blaze outside the tent and across the camp. They entered a significantly smaller tent and when he entered, he was shocked to see the two ponies who were sitting by a table. He stared in disbelief at the purple unicorn then shifted his gaze to the pony with seven different colors in her mane. She had a scar running down her left eye. “Blaze. I’ve heard a lot about you. I'm going to cut to the chase. We need your help. We have located a prison that holds 100 of our soldiers. It is heavily guarded and the easiest way in, is through the roof. But we need a way into the roof. You are highest ranking demolitions expert in the army. Your skill in hoof to hoof combat will come in handy once we enter the prison.” Rainbow Dash told him.

“I can create a diversion by the forest for you guys so it’ll be easier to get in. I’ll create an ‘army’ to distract them. Once the explosive goes off, you will have little time to get our ponies out before they rush back over.” Twilight said.

“Rainbow Dash? I thought you were killed in the battle of Manehatten.” Blaze said, surprised to see her and shocked that he was actually meeting her. “And Twilight. I thought you refused to help kill in this war?”

“I did. But then they killed my parents. It’s funny. How we all seem to lose our parents. It’s like she wants us to come and kill her.” Twilight said with an ember locked behind her eyes.

“And I didn’t die. I barley dodged a magic bolt.” Rainbow Dash said as she pointed to her scarred eye. “This scar is a reminder of how close to death I was that day. A magic bolt is deadly if it hits anywhere above the waist. Luckily my helmet caught most of the bolt and Twilight was able to stop the bleeding. Now, are you in or not?”

“It’s an honor to be here. How many bombs do you need? And do you want them to be big or small?” Blaze asked. Rainbow Dash smiled. He had so many questions, but they could wait. Right now, there were some ponies that needed saving.

Chapter 11

They arrived at camp, where everyone was celebrating the soldiers returned. No pony noticed Blaze carrying a lifeless Twilight through the camp. He walked to Luna’s tent. He knew Shining Armor would be there with Cadence, but he had no idea where to go. “Rainbow. Can you tell Luna I need to speak with her? Outside of the tent? I don’t want her brother to see her. Not until I can talk to Luna.” He said.

“Blaze, she sacrificed herself for us. She gave her life, so that we may live and carry on. I’ll tell her. But Shining needs to know that. You must tell him when he sees her.” Rainbow said. She walked into the tent. A few seconds later, Luna came walking out.

“Blaze! I’m glad to see the mission was---“ She trailed off as she saw Twilight’s dead, lifeless body on his back. “B-Blaze…What…How….” She stammered. A few tears welled in her eyes.

“Luna. She sacrificed herself for us. So that we could finish the job. Once Shining Armor sees me carrying his little sister in, he will blame me. He will say that it is my fault. You can’t interfere, even if it means my life, you cannot interfere.” Blaze had to tell Luna this. As much as he trusted her, he wanted to do this by himself.

“Blaze,” she said, collecting herself and wiping away the tears. “Blaze. He needs to know the truth.”

“I know. I will tell him. But it is up to him whether or not he believes it was my fault for her death or not. Please Luna. Don’t blame him for anything that comes out of this.” Blaze said.

Luna sighed. “Alright. I won’t do anything. But…please Blaze. Be careful.” She walked back into the tent. Blaze whispered a silent prayer to Celestia, and walked into the tent.

“And Blaze and Rainbow Dash were fighting them, all of the Leasath by themselves! It was remarkable it was truly-” Shining Armor got cut off by the sound gasp that left Cadence’s mouth. He turned and saw Blaze placing Twilight onto a bed next to Rainbow Dash who was lost to the world around her.

“Twi? Twilight?” Shining spoke as if he couldn’t breathe. “Twilight? Say something. Please…” he said softly.

“She’s dead Shining. I’m so sorry. During the fighting, we were going to detonate a bomb if we were going to be over-run by the Leasath. It would have destroyed everything in a 5 mile radius. That time almost arrived. Then the walls began to shake, the ground began to open up beneath our hooves." Blaze said. "She told us that we needed to run. We did. We ran away from the prison and it fell into the ground beneath it. She collapsed and we ran over to her. It was too late. The magic she used to destroy the prison and save us, cost her her life. I’m sorry. She is one of the bravest ponies I have ever met.” Blaze said, looking to the ground trying to keep his voice steady.

“She was there. She was there, and you didn’t tell me. You made me run out of there without telling me my own sister was outside the prison!” Shining Armor yelled. “I haven’t seen her alive in 20 years! 20 years!! Do you know what that’s like?! To not see your wife or family for 2 decades, not knowing whether they are alive, dead, or worse in Chrysalis’ hooves?!” He was furious, shouting in Blaze’s face. Blaze didn’t budge. He didn’t retort or throw anything back into Shining’s face.

“Why didn’t you stop her?! Why didn’t you do anything to prevent her from doing this?! You were with her when you planned the attack, you knew what she was going to do! So why not stop her?!” Shining yelled as he punched Blaze in the gut. Blaze fell over, coughed, and was kicked in the head by Shining’s powerful hind legs. He tried to grasp a breath, but couldn’t. The room was spinning, his ears rang, his eyes pulled in and out of focus at the ceiling.

“I…I didn’t know, Shining. I didn’t know she planned on doing that if the time came to detonate the bomb. But if she hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here. You, me, and Rainbow would not be in this tent. We would be dead as well.” Blaze said as he slowly picked himself up.

“She sacrificed herself so that way you could live.” Rainbow spoke, returning to the world around her. “So you could be with Cadence. So we could end this war. She wanted to see you more than anything. She has lost 4 of her closest friends and your parents. She couldn’t bare to lose you too. She thought were already dead, but I believe that once she saw you, she wasn’t going to lose you again. She loved you. She didn’t want to see you die. She didn’t want Cadence to be left alone. She didn’t want Chrysalis to have taken every last pony she cared about. Shining, he didn’t know. Neither of us knew.” Rainbow said, crying.

“Shining, I’m sorry for your loss. It hurts all of us.” Luna said with the tear streak that had stained her cheek. “Tomorrow I will hold a service for her. All military duties, except for sentries, will be canceled for the day. Rainbow, Cadence. I would like you two to prepare speeches dedicated to her life.” Luna said. She was devastated by Twilight’s death. She helped her become the pony she was today and prevented her from making night eternal. Twilight was the only one who believed her and helped her change. She was Celestia’s student and friend. She would surely have been proud of her.

“Shining Armor, for the short period of time I spent with her, I knew she was courageous. I heard the tales of what she and the other Elements of Harmony did for Ponyville and Equestria. She is one of the smartest and bravest ponies I have ever had the honor of meeting. I am, truly, deeply, sorry for your loss.” Blaze said. He turned and left the tent, leaving Shining Armor to mourn for his sister. Blaze went to sit next to a stream by the edge of the forest. He was followed by Rainbow Dash who quickly ran up to him and hugged him, sobbing into his red mane.

“She was my only remaining friend.” She said in between sobs. “First Pinkie Pie, then Fluttershy, then Rarity, and now Twilight. All are dead because of Chrysalis’ evil rule. I haven’t heard or seen Applejack in 15 years. I’m all alone.” She cried even harder. "All of the elements but me are gone. She defeated each of us with ease."

Blaze hugged her back and held her protectively in his arms. “Rainbow Dash, I promise you we will avenge her death, and the death’s of all your friends. We will make her pay for all the killing she has caused. I swear it on my life.” Blaze said. He was going to make Chrysalis rue the day she came to Equestria.

Rainbow looked up to him. “Blaze? I know this may be an odd thing to ask, but can you sing for me? Sing me to sleep?” She asked. She looked so vulnerable. So lost in a world that had taken everything she cared about away from her.

“Sure.” He replied. They laid on the soft grass together with Rainbow Dash leaning her head onto his shoulder.

Through the Everfree Forest

Past those rocky ruins

I will always be waiting

For you to be by my side

Over the Macintosh Mountains

And over those retched Badlands

Soon you’ll be there with me

With me forever at last.

Past those slimy wet swamps

At the beaches of the sea

I will be there waiting

For you to finally arrive

If you’re not there tomorrow

If you are not with me

I will stay there waiting

For you to be with me

It wasn’t really a song, but a hymn. It was something he heard 10 years ago while he was walking through a camp filled with civilians.

A dying mother was singing this to her young foal. She died a few minutes after she sang it but the foal refused to leave her. She stayed by her mother until she was pulled off so they could remove the body. He went up to the crying foal and comforted her. He couldn’t leave her in the state she was in. He took her with him. Lily was her name. She was with him at the camps that he stayed at whenever he traveled. She was like his daughter. He had just gone out and scavenged some of her favorite berries to make her for her birthday. When he returned, he saw that the camp had been raided and destroyed. He ran for his tent where Lily would stay when he left, and found her, dead on the ground with a spear through her heart. He picked her up and cried until he couldn’t shed a single tear.

The next day they held a ceremony for all the ponies they lost in the attack. Blaze just sat there, holding a picture of Lily on her 11th birthday. “I’m so sorry Lily.” He whispered. A single tear landed on the picture. He never talked about Lily. Never brought her up. The pain of losing her was so heart breaking that he shut out any form of her to keep himself safe. This was the first time since her funeral that anything about her came up.

He sang it again. Rainbow Dash fell asleep snuggled into his mane. Chrysalis. I’m coming for you. You will rue the day you came to Equestria. Blaze thought. He fell asleep with Rainbow snuggled close.

Chapter 12

Blaze woke up to the sound of somepony walking through the leaves. Rainbow Dash was still snuggled next to him. He carefully placed her head on the ground, trying not wake her up. He followed the noise and found Linus walking into camp. “Linus. Where have you been? I havn’t seen you since Luna had me go talk to Rainbow and Twilight.” He said. “I was uhh…taking a little morning walk. I couldn’t sleep after what happened to Twilight. I can’t believe she’s gone.” Linus said.

“Neither can I. I remember the stories they told of her and her friends. The Elements are almost dead...Rainbow is the last one. I wish I could’ve done something about it, but I had no idea what she would do.” Blaze said sadly.

“Hey let’s go back to camp. I need to talk to you and Luna about something.” Linus said carefully.

“It’ll have to wait until after the ceremony. Luna wants all military operations put on hold except for sentries and guards.” He said. “I thought you knew? She made an announcement last night. I heard it before I fell asleep next to the stream.” He said pointing towards where he slept.

“Is that Rainbow Dash? Linus asked, amazed. “Uh yea. Lets not talk about that. I need to wake her up so she can prepare a speech for the ceremony."

They walked over to her. Blaze quietly woke her up. “Hey Rainbow. Today’s the ceremony. You should write your speech before it begins.” he said quietly. She awoke with a soft yawn.

"Oh. Right." she said sleepily. They all walked up to Rainbow’s tent. Rainbow turned to Blaze and gave him a look of gratitude. “Thanks Blaze. I needed somepony last night. Thanks for being there.” She smiled, gave him a hug, and went into her tent.

Linus looked at Blaze with an eyebrow raised. “What? Don’t give me that look!” Blaze said.

“Whatever Blaze. Let’s go see Luna. I want to know what she needs for the ceremony.” Linus said as he rolled his eyes. They arrived at Luna’s tent and entered. She was going over something with Shining Armor when she noticed them.

“Blaze, I’m glad you’re here. Shining Armor has something he would like to say to you.” She said.

“Look Blaze. I’m sorry for last night. I was just really upset and couldn’t find anypony else to blame. I know you couldn’t have done anything to stop her. I just felt like it was your fault since you carried her in and started talking. Plus, I really needed to hit something.” He said apologetically. “I do have a request. Could you fly with Rainbow Dash and carry the casket to where we are going to bury her? I would carry it, but I can’t lift it. I’m not at my usual strength.”

“Shining I would have done the same if I was in your situation. I don’t blame you at all for doing what you did. And I would be honored to do what you have asked.” He replied. Shining Armor gave him a nod and a smile of thanks.

The ceremony was to take place at noon. Everypony showed up except for the sentries. Luna went up to the center and began to speak. “Mares and gentlecolts. We are gathered here to mourn the death and celebrate the life of a courageous mare who sacrificed everything for this armyy.” She continued on about everything she did, from fighting off an Ursa Minor to defeating Discord.

When she was done, Shining Armor came up and gave his speech. “I would just like to say, that although I didn’t stay in touch with her through most of her time in Ponyville, she stayed in my heart. She was one of the smartest mares I had ever known. Her incomparable magic ability, her undying love for her friends, and her bravery.” Blaze didn’t pay much attention at his speech. He was too busy thinking of all the stories that he had heard about Twilight, how she saved Equestria from eternal night, how she defeated an Ursa Minor, and how she caused a havoc of Winter Wrap Up.

Before long it was Rainbow’s turn. “Twilight was one of my closest friends. I first met her on the 1000 summer solstice and after that became friends with her. She helped her friends a lot and was able to convince Fluttershy, a scared, shy little pony, to go up a mountain and get a sleeping dragon to leave Equestria. She was able to get her friends to turn Discord into stone after he made us all the opposite of who we were.

“She was smart, brave, cunning, and caring. No pony could take her place. She was more than just my friend. She was also the element of Magic. Without her, most of the ponies we see here with us would not be here. We owe her everything.” Rainbow said as she started to cry. “Twilight…” She stepped off stage, unable to control her sobs. Luna proceeded back to the center. “If you would all join me at the lake.” She said and led the army to the lake behind the camp. Blaze and Rainbow Dash picked up Twilight’s casket and brought it to the grave. As they lowered her in, Blaze noticed Rainbow Dash was crying so much that they were falling into the grave with Twilight.

After the ceremony, everypony went back to their day off. Most were teary eyed by what was said about her. Others kept straight faces. Shining Armor and Cadence left awhile after the others. The only ones left were Rainbow Dash and Blaze. He put a hoof over her shoulder. She was crying. She hadn’t stopped since her speech. He held her in a comforting embrace. “She’s gone…I can’t believe she’s gone… I’m all alone now. At least Shining Armor has Cadence, Luna has her work, and you have Linus. I have nopony.” She said as she weeped into his mane.

“Hey. I’m here. I know what you’re going through. I lost somepony who I thought I would never lose.” He said as he held her.

“Who?” she asked.

He told her about Lily. She was the first pony he had said anything to about her. Rainbow Dash listened to everything he said. He told her about her favorite berries, her favorite books, everything. He stopped when they got to the part on how she died.

“Blaze?” She said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

“I walked into the tent. And a spear had been plunged into her heart. She was only 11 and she became a casualty of war because I took her with me.” Blaze said.

She saw the hurt in his face. She held him close. “I’m sorry. Blaze, like you said, we will avenge them. Chrysalis will pay for everything she has caused.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. He looked at her. His heart skipped a beat.

“You know, you guys should really get a room.” Linus said behind them.

“Linus!” Blaze exclaimed, surprised that he was there. “Why uhh…why are you here?” Blaze asked. “I thought you left with the others.”

“I did. But Shining came to Luna’s tent and wants to move to attack Ponyville tomorrow. She told me to come get you and Rainbow Dash. I wasn’t interrupting anything was I?” He said, lifting an eyebrow. Blaze and Rainbow Dash rushed past Linus and headed back for Luna’s tent.

“I don’t care if military duties are cancelled! I want everypony to get ready so we can attack Ponyville tomorrow!” Shining yelled at Luna.

“Chrysalis will expect us to attack in retaliation against Twilight. We need to wait and attack when she would least expect it.” Luna tried explaining to him. Blaze and the others rushed into the tent.

“What is this? Are we going to attack Ponyville? Are we going to move forward and move for Canterlot?” Blaze said enthusiastically.

“I would like not to. Chrysalis will be expecting us to make a retaliation attempt. She will be heavily fortifying Ponyville. She wants to end this just as much as we do. This war is making us both very weary. I called you two up here so we could take a vote on what to do.” Luna said as she stared at Blaze.

“I vote yes. For Twilight.” Shining said.

“I say no. Too many lives will be lost for us to be able to defend against a counter-attack from Canterlot.” Luna retorted.

“I have to agree with Luna. I don’t want to see a lot of our soldiers die for something we won’t be able to hold for more than a day.” Linus said.

“I say we attack. Let’s end this once and for all!” Rainbow exclaimed. Blaze was the only one who hadn’t voted yet. He looked at Rainbow and remembered the night Twilight died and what it had done to her.

“I vote yes. It’s about time we avenged our friends and families.” Blaze said.

Luna sighed. “So it’s been determined. We will attack Ponyville tomorrow. I will call everypony together and tell them what is going to happen. I hope you guys are ready for the fight of your lives.” Luna said as she left the tent.

“I hope everything goes as you three want.” Linus said as he followed behind Luna.

“Uh Blaze does he have a thing for Luna?” Rainbow asked. He smiled.

“He would kill me if I told you the answer to that question.” Blaze answered with a wink. “Let’s focus on how we are going to launch this assault. It’s time to take the fight to Chrysalis’ front door.”

Chapter 13

They planned the attack on Ponyville and labeled each weak and strong point in the village. “Linus’ forces will attack the east side of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash, while he is attacking the east, you and the other Pegasus soldiers will strike from the air. Shining, you and your soldiers will attack the west side. Me? Well, I’ll be the one kicking the front door in.” Blaze said with a smile. “If all goes well, there will be very few casualties on our side. We may even be able to kill a few of Chrysalis’ high authority leaders.”

“Blaze, once your bomb goes off, will it be safe for us to enter?” Shining asked.

“If you have your mask on, yes. The gas should kill or impair the soldiers there.” Blaze replied.

"What do we do if Chrysalis appears to fight?" Rainbow asked.

"I doubt she will." Shining replied.

"But if she does, radio in her location, and get the hell out of there. I'll drop a bomb on top of her head. If that doesn't work, I'll have Linus throw as many stars at her as he can. We will then meet together and kill her." Blaze said.

"I like the way you think Blaze." Rainbow said with a grin.

"Ok Blaze. You know what's going on, so you can lead the assault." Shining told him.

"I wish I could, but that isn't my job. That's Linus'. Rainbow, can you bring find him and bring him here? I want to go over this with him." Rainbow nodded her head and left to go find him.

"So Blaze?" Shining asked. "What's been going on between you and Rainbow Dash? You two seem to agree on a lot of things and have been getting closer ever since the prison raid."

"She feels alone." Blaze said, clearly turning a shade of red. "I'm just...giving her support and being there for her." He said.

"Oh really? What kind of support?" Shining said with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just giving her support! She doesn't have anypony. I want to be that somepony to support her." Blaze said. He was a bright red.

"Yea, ok Blaze." Shining said with a smile.

Rainbow returned into the tent with Linus. "Here he is." She said as he entered the tent.

"So Blaze what is this plan of yours?" He asked. "And I like that shade of red. It looks good on you." Linus said with a smirk.

"You want to know something Linus? I could care less about what you think right now unless it pertains to this mission." Blaze said.

Linus just chuckled. "Well, what do you have for me?"

After briefing Linus on the plan, he still looked doubtful. "If we take Ponyville, we can end the war in a week." Blaze said.

"I know. But, what if Chrysalis comes? What makes you think that we could fight her, kill her, and still be alive? She's very powerful. And Luna plans to enter the battle now that her leg has healed. What if Chrysalis kills her? The army will have lost it's greatest leader and will lose all morale and will to fight." Linus said. Blaze knew the real reason he was doubtful and weary to agree to it. He loved Luna, and if she died, he would be ruined. He couldn't lose her. He wouldn't lose her.

"Linus. She'll be fine. If Chrysalis comes, we will fight her and kill her. No matter the costs. If Luna does die, I will let you personally kill Chrysalis however you wish." Blaze said. He needed Linus on his side. He needed him to be ready for this.

"Ok Blaze. But if anything happens to her, I'm holding you responsible." Linus said.

"How long until your troops are ready to move?" Shining asked.

"Since it's Ponyville and there's going to be a long fight there, two days. It'll give them time to prepare themselves and to get everything together."

"Ok Linus. Good luck. It's a three day journey. Make sure everypony is fully prepared. We will be taking breaks during our travel so they will be ready to fight once there." Rainbow said. Linus nodded and left to do his job. Blaze looked at the others.

"Let's bring the party to Chrysalis now, shall we?" Blaze said with a smile.

Chapter 14

Linus was making his rounds throughout the camp telling his soldiers what the plan was. I swear if Blaze screws this up and gets all of my soldiers killed, or if Luna gets murdered, I'll never talk to him again. I've known him since we were young, but he knows how I feel about her. I can't lose her. Not like I lost my parents. Linus thought. He went to Rook's tent. "Hey Rook. We're planning on attacking Ponyville. It's a three day journey so make sure you are ready." He said.

"Gotcha Linus. You ok? You look worried. Everything alright?" Rook said knowing something was bothering his long time friend.

"I'm just worried about what could go wrong. It's too soon to launch an attack. Luna said that Chrysalis will be expecting an attack to avenge Twilight's death. And she's right. Chrysalis isn't an idiot. She's very smart in how she conducts war. She was able to infiltrate Canterlot as Cadence and almost succeeded. We got lucky with Twilight knowing who Cadence really was. If not we would've been fighting this war a lot sooner." Linus said.

"That's not what's bothering you. I know you. There's more to it. It involves Luna and what might happen if she Chrysalis comes. You're worried she might die. Linus we all are, but you worry about it more than any other pony here." Rook said.

Linus blushed. "I just don't want this army falling apart because we lost her. It would ruin our chances of winning this war. I need to talk to her and Hex about the safest way to Ponyville. I'll talk to you later." Linus said and rushed out of the tent.

Rook looked at where Linus was standing. I need to find Blaze. Linus' mind isn't focused. I'll need his help. he thought and went out to find Blaze.

As Linus entered the tent, Hex and Luna were putting pins on where the attacks would take place. "Linus. Glad you're here. We need to discuss this plan of theirs. How are they planning to win this battle?" Hex asked with a confused look.

Linus explained the plan. "Now the way we win the battle isn't my concern right now. I trust Blaze's strategy. He hasn't failed us yet. What I want to look at is how we get there safely. We are positioned just outside the town of Apple Loosa. We can move through the farms where they used to grow their apples. Once we get to Apple Loosa we make camp. Then the next day, we follow the train tracks north and enter the Everfree Forest. We will head for the ruins where Twilight found the elements of harmony, and set camp up there. On the final day of our trip, we move on through the Everfree Forest and make camp 3 miles out from the edge of town. Then we will split up and go to our designated striking points. They will make a small camp with no fires. If I see a single cloud of smoke or a single glint of a fire, I will personally send them to the dungeons. We need them to be very careful once we split up." Linus said forcefully.

"You do realize that the Everfree forest is a dangerous place. Our soldiers won't even go near that place. How do you expect them to enter that godforsaken place?" Hex asked.

"I was hoping that a motivational speech from Luna might make them enter, but if that doesn't work, then a direct order should be given telling them to go in. I don't want to do that but it may be the only way." Linus said.

"Linus, I like your idea of going through the forest. But most of them still remember what I did and what I almost caused to happen when I arrived after the summer solstice those many years ago. I don't think me telling them to go in there will work." Luna said doubtfully. "Maybe have Blaze or Rainbow Dash give the speech. They are well respected and more likely to get the soldiers to enter despite what I did." Luna said.

"I don't think they would have much success. We need you to do it. Remind them of what you have done to help them, remind them that you always watched over them. You have never let us down here. Why would you when we we're so close to Canterlot? You have to prove to them that you mean to win this war, not turn us over to Chrysalis." He said. "Luna you are the only one except for Blaze and Rainbow who I truly believe could make us win this. But they aren't as wise. They don't know Chrysalis like you do."

She thought about this. "But I have a history. It's a bad history. I tried to make night eternal and hid the elements in the Everfree Forest. I doubt they will believe me, but I will try what you have asked." She said.

"Thank you Luna. I have to find Blaze. Tell him the path and what ways we are taking. He'll need to know so he can get the Pegasus in position." He said before leaving the room.

"Are you ok? You seem worried." Luna said.

"Rook said the same thing." He said with a grin. "I just don't want anything to go wrong on this attack." He said, and then left.

He went back to the command tent. He figured Blaze would be there since he was coming up with the attack. But when he entered, he only saw Shining Armor. "Hey. Where's Blaze? I thought he'd be here." Linus asked.

"Rook came by and asked if he could speak to him alone. They went back to Rook's tent. Rainbow went with them too I think. I'm here to look for any weakness in the plan." Shining said.

"Are there?" Linus asked worried.

"Not as far as I can see. But I'm still looking." Shining replied, his attention back to the map.

Linus nodded his head, relieved. He left for Rook's tent. Why did Rainbow go? If Rook asked to be with Blaze alone why did she come? An idea popped into his head. He hated to think that, but it may be the only reason. He walked to the tent and entered. Rook was sitting there playing chess with Blaze, and was clearly winning.

"How the hay are you beating me? It's that tea isn't it? What's in it?" Blaze asked annoyed.

"Nothing. It just calms me. It helps me focus." He replied and turned to the tent flap. "Ah Linus. I was wondering when you would arrive. Please sit. We need to talk." He said and took a sip of his tea.

Chapter 15

"What's this about?" Linus asked as he took a seat.

"We know that you are hiding something from us. Something about Luna. Maybe you'd like to share what that is in the company of friends?" Rook said.

"Yea Linus. It's clear that something is up between you two. So what is it? Blaze asked. Rook gave him a glare.

"I said let me handle this." Blaze just rolled his eyes. "Look, Linus, we know you have some feelings towards her. We want to know what those feelings are exactly? You don't have to worry about anypony hearing you outside. I've made the place sound proof with a spell."

"Like I said, I don't want to lose our greatest leader. If we do we will lose every ounce of ground we have. I also don't want to lose a friend." Linus said defensively.

"And how close is she as a friend?" Rainbow asked.

"About as close as me, Rook, and Blaze. I'd be devastated if one of them died." Linus retorted. "And why are you here? I thought Rook only asked to talk to Blaze in private?"

"She's here because I asked her to." Blaze shot at Linus. "And if Luna is just a friend then you wouldn't mind now would you?"

"We are just friends. Nothing more. Now if you'll excuse me I've got soldiers to prep." Linus said as he got up to leave.

"You aren't leaving yet Linus." Rook said. He shut the flap and made it unmovable with magic. "You seem to forget I am one of the few Unicorns left in this army."

Linus sighed. "What do you guys want to hear? That we're doing more than enjoying each other's company? That we sneak off in the night to be alone? That I love her more than anything and she doesn't even realize it?" He stopped. Rook smiled.

"That last one is the one we were waiting for. Linus, there's nothing to be afraid of. You can say you love Luna. You just can't do things you normally would do." Rook said.

"I'm not afraid to tell her. It's just there never is a proper time. We're always either under attack or surrounded by others." Linus said quietly.

"You have this trip to Ponyville to tell her. It's three days to walk there. In three days of just traveling I'm sure you can find a place to tell her." Blaze said annoyed.

"Yea I'll do that. Now why don't you and Rainbow Dash explain your feelings about each other?" Linus shot back.

"Hey this isn't about us. Besides, we're just friends." Blaze said shakily, knowing that it was the exact excuse Linus used.

"Yea that explains why you two were sleeping together by the stream! What was she moaning for anyway?" Linus said accusingly. He knew it was uncalled for, but he didn't care.

"Hey! I was comforting her after what happened that night!" Blaze yelled back.

"Where has she been anyway? Right as we are going to move and attack the other camp she shows up and changes your mind like that!" Linus said with slam of his hoof on the ground. "It sounds fishy to me. If you ask me, she's the mole that's been selling us out! She's here to watch us and report to Chrysalis about everything!" Linus was fuming.

Rook shot up. "Linus! This isn't about who we think the mole is or not!" Linus pushed him to the ground. Rook just looked at him shocked.

"I lost my only remaining friend!! And you have the gaul to accuse me of helping the one who killed her?!" Rainbow said teary eyed.

"That's just who you are! You would let your friend die for your own selfish gain!" He shouted. "What did she promise you? Riches? Power? A shot at the WonderBolts?!"

Now it was Blaze who stood up. "She is the element of Loyalty! She would never do that! Have you lost all sense in that skull of yours?!" Blaze shouted.

"Stop acting like you don't know! She is the mole!! It explains everything!!" Linus roared at his old friend. The tension in the air could've been cut with a knife.

Rainbow was crying now. "You little piece of bucking shit! I helped save Shining Armor and all those ponies in that prison! And you have the bucking nerve to accuse me of helping that piece of shit?! Buck you!" Rainbow screamed and turned her head. She was crying uncontrollably.

"Linus....Get out." Blaze said angrily.

"Why? What you going to do? Protect your new marefriend's feelings?! She's the mole yet nopony seems to care!" Linus said tauntingly. Blaze charge Linus and punched him in the face. He kicked him in the gut sending him flying against the tent's wall. Because of Rook's spell, he slammed into the fabric and fell onto the ground. Linus got up and swung a knife at Blaze. He barely dodged it, receiving a cut on his left cheek. Rook picked both of them up with magic and slammed them against the tent.

"That's enough! Both of you!" He shouted. They just looked at each other.

"Blaze, he's not worth it. Let's just go. He's trash." Rainbow said, still crying. Rook put both of the angered ponies on the ground and lowered the magic around the tent.

Blaze glared at the pony across from him. "Linus, good luck with your Luna problem. Hope she treats you like you should be. Like dirt." Blaze said and stormed out of the tent with Rainbow.

"Linus, you need to calm down. They were just trying to get you over this fear of telling Luna how you feel. You didn't need to lose your cool over this." Rook said, trying to calm Linus out of his rage. Linus ignored him and left the tent. Rook sighed. I better find Luna and tell her not to let those two be near each other for awhile.

Chapter 16

Blaze and Rainbow went back to Blaze's tent. Rainbow had stopped crying but was still hurt by what Linus had said. "How can he say those things? I've been loyal to the cause since it started. I haven't betrayed any pony." She said quietly. Blaze put his arm around her shoulder.

"It'll be alright. He's just pissed at what we said about him and Luna. Even if it is true. He hates being put on the spot. But what he said was completely uncalled for. I know you aren't the mole. I remember the stories about you and your friends. When you went into the Everfree Forest and Luna's Shadowbolts tried to get you to join them and ditch your friends. You chose your friends over what you wanted. When Ponyville was going to be shrouded in smoke because of that dragon, you went in there and kicked him in the face!" Blaze said with a laugh. Rainbow let out a small laugh. She smiled as she remembered all the times she had with her friends.

"Rainbow, Linus is just fumed. In a few days, he will apologize. And if he doesn't, I'll kick him again." Blaze said with a wink. Rainbow chuckled. She looked at Blaze and without thinking, kissed him. Blaze was a little surprised by how she kissed him, but he didn't pull away. Rainbow quickly released the kiss and blushed.

"I'm sorry Blaze. I don't know what happened." She said as she turned her head. Blaze thought of something. Maybe it was foolish, but it could make things less awkward after that kiss. He didn't hate it. He actually enjoyed it.

"Rainbow-" Blaze started but was cut off. Luna had run into the tent with urgent news.

"Blaze!" she said taking in her surroundings. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said as she noticed they were alone. "But we have found some wandering ponies. They say they are refugees from Ponyville. I need you to come with me." She said and left the tent. Blaze and Rainbow looked at each other and jolted up and ran after Luna.

"Refugees? But how did they escape? How did they find us?" Rainbow asked.

"They wouldn't say. They want to speak to Blaze. They heard about what happened at the prison you two went after. They say they want to see the one who got all of them out." Luna replied.

"Where are they at?" Blaze asked.

"They are by the stream." She said and Blaze ran ahead of them towards the stream.

When he arrived he saw hundreds of ponies. Most looked beaten down and sick. Some, he could tell, were close to death. A big red pony walked up to him. "Are you the one who rescued those at the prison?" Blaze nodded. The red one smiled and turned his head, nodding to the group. They cheered and ran up to Blaze. They were all Earth Ponies. They seemed like farmers. "We are the survivors of Apple Loosa. We were over-run by the Leasath and taken captive to be used as slaves. They took us to Ponyville where we have been enslaved for 10 years. About 5 months ago, we rebelled. Many of us were killed and those of us who survived were sent to the prison that was raided a few days ago. We were tortured for rebelling. Many of us died. I lost my little sister there. They didn't care that she was just a filly. She was related to us, the ones who led the rebellion. After we were rescued, we headed for this stream. When the rest of us had arrived, we decided to look for the one who saved us. We followed it here and we noticed a light blue mare with rainbow hair, being followed by you. We asked Luna if we could speak with you. And here you are." He said.

"Yea, I'm here. Is there anything I can do for you? Food, shelter, water?" Blaze asked.

"We want revenge." The red pony said.

"Hold on Big Mac. Ah know you are all pumped up and set on gettin revenge for our sister. But let's take some time to relax. We've been through a lot." An orange pony stepped out from behind Big Mac. Rainbow and Luna had just caught up with him and saw the pony.

"Applejack!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Rainbow! What the hay are you doing here?" Applejack said as she hugged Rainbow.

"I've been helping the army out. What happened to you? I thought I would never see you again." She asked.

"Well, Ah went to Apple Loosa to check on my family. After Ah arrived, they took us." Applejack explained everything. How they were over-run, what happened during the rebellion, and what happened after.

"And....they killed Apple Bloom. They killed her because my family led the rebellion in Ponyville." Applejack said sadly. A tear was forming in her eye.

"What? You mean..." Rainbow asked.

"I think it's time we all went back to camp. Big Mac, how many ponies are with you?" Blaze asked. He knew that Rainbow and Applejack would want some time to talk.

"We have 200 with us." Blaze was shocked, but he didn't let it show.

"Ok. Luna, we're going to need more tents set up. And some food sent to these ponies. They look famished." Blaze told Luna. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you all." Blaze said reassuringly. He led them back to camp. But when he returned, he saw Linus and Rook having a heated talk in front of the army. Linus had turned to address the army, but was stopped by Rook who grabbed him and turned him back around. Linus shoved him to the ground and kicked him in the face. Rook went limp and layed there as Linus readdressed the crowd. Oh no Blaze thought. He knew what Linus was speaking about. He turned to Luna. "Don't let Rainbow enter camp just yet. Hold her back for a little. I'll talk to him."

"Blaze, what's going on?" Luna asked confused.

"I'll explain later, but please keep Rainbow away from the camp." He said and ran off to confront Linus. He slowly entered the crowd and made his way to the front.

"We are told of a mole in our ranks! We are promised revenge! And then she shows up, and gets her best friend killed! She claims loyalty to the Aureolian cause, but it's obvious she doesn't care! She's the mole! Rainbow Dash is the traitor!" Linus proclaimed to the army. Some gave whoops of agreement.

"Linus!" Blaze yelled. "Why are you doing this? She hasn't done anything to you! She has stayed loyal and helped rescue key assets to our cause! She rescued Shining Armor!"

"She has poisoned your mind! She has prevented us from taking our objectives properly! We could've taken that second camp with little losses and she changes your mind to attack a prison and to almost get yourself killed and everypony around with a giant bomb! She has wanted you dead so that way Chrysalis can win the war! But when Twilight did her spell she ruined the whole plane! She has been trying to get in your head and stay in your tent at night. She is trying to get close to you so she can kill you in your sleep!" Linus yelled his accusations with poison on the end of each word.

"She lost her best friend! Why would she do that if she wanted us to lose the war?" Blaze retorted.

"She is selfish! She only wants things for herself." Linus said. "Now, send her up here so she can be put on trial for treason!" Blaze looked behind him and saw Rainbow standing there. Her eyes were tearing up again.

"You think....that I am looking out for myself? That I only want my personal admirations? Well, Linus, my personal admiration right now would be to strangle you for accusing me of wanting my friend to die! I have been loyal to the Aureolians since day one!" She yelled.

"How about we solve it the old fashioned way? A fight to the death! Winner gets to stay." Linus said with a smile.

"Linus! You aren't thinking rationally! Think of what will happen! The army will lose one of their greatest assets in this war!" Luna tried explaining to him as she ran next to Blaze.

"I accept!" Rainbow yelled back. She had had it with this pony. "Tomorrow at noon." She said as she left the area. Blaze looked to Luna.

"You can't allow this!" He said to her.

"I have no control over it. I am not a part of the two parties involved. I can't prevent any of this from happening." She said sadly. "I wish I could Blaze, but I am powerless in this battle. The only thing I can do is to offer to take one of their place's and the other accept." She lowered her head.

"Linus! You can't go through with this! Look at Luna! The one you love is hurt because of this challenge! Why would you do this to her?" Blaze yelled. He had dropped a bombshell on him. The crowd got very still. Linus looked at Blaze. He was red with fury. "I offer to take Rainbow's spot! Do you accept? Or are you too much of a coward to fight me?!" Blaze had to make Linus agree to this. If he didn't Rainbow didn't stand a chance. She didn't know Linus' weak points and how to get inside his head. Blaze did. He didn't want to kill Linus, but he didn't want Rainbow to die. He had to think of something to get them out of this situation.

"I accept you as the new warrior! Tomorrow at noon, meet at the stream. If you don't you will be outcast! Rid of all forms of who you were." Linus said and left the stage. He headed back for his tent.

"Blaze, what do you mean by, the one he loves?" Luna asked.

"Luna, I wasn't going to tell you. I was going to let Linus do it. But I had to antagonize him in order to accept me as the new challenger. I'm sorry. I couldn't think of anything else to do." He said. He left her and went to find Rainbow. He knew where she would be. He took off into the air to find her.

Chapter 17

Blaze flew into the clouds. He knew this is where Rainbow would be. She loved flying and she was definitely upset with Linus. He needed to tell her what happened. She would be very upset when she learned that Blaze took her spot. But he didn't want anything to happen to her. She was very important to her. Maybe we'll get some alone time now. He thought as he remembered their kiss. He really wanted to be with her. Especially since he might die tomorrow. "What they hay am I thinking? I can easily beat Linus." Blaze said to himself. But can I kill him? He shook his head. He didn't want to think about that now.

He found her on top of a cloud. She wasn't crying. She was just sulking. "Hey." He said as he landed next to her on the cloud.

"Hey..." She said.

"You ok?" He asked. He knew she wasn't.

"Blaze, why is he like that? Why is he such an accusationist?" She asked.

"I don't know. But I don't think accusationist is a word." He replied with a small smile. She returned it. "He's just extremely ticked that I called him out at the tent. He's not going to hurt you tomorrow." He said. "

Why do you say that?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's a fight to the death. One of us is going to die." She said sadly.

"Maybe. But I do know it's not going to be you." Blaze said.

"Blaze, he's twice my size and stronger than me. The chance's of my survival are slim." She said. She put her head down and stared at the cloud.

"Actually, your survival chance is 100%." He said as he kissed her forehead. She looked at him.

"I have decided to take your place in the fight to the death." Her mouth hung open.

"You did what?" She asked shocked.

"I told Linus that I would take your spot. He accepted. The rules of the fight state that one pony can take the spot of another as long as the opponent allows it." He said. She just sat there, staring at him.

"Why? Why did you take my spot?" She asked.

"I...I guess I just don't want to see you get hurt. You're too precious to me." Blaze said blushing. He never was good at the romance stuff. I probably just screwed myself over He thought to himself.

"Well, thank you. But next time, ask me first before you fight my fights." She said and kissed him. This time she held it there, and Blaze returned it.

She retreated from the kiss after that. "You know, I used to be very gung-ho about doing things myself. This war has changed me." She said.

"It's changed all of us. I used to be very quiet. I liked to hang out with Linus and play chess and I hated to lose. I never was able to handle a loss well. Even if I lost a game of tag! Now....I can lose battles and soldiers...and not seem to care." Blaze said , remembering all the ponies he's lost. "This war needs to end. I don't see how fighting within our ranks could make the war end sooner. I don't think I can kill him. I know I can't kill him. He's been my friend since we were foals. I know I can beat him in a fight. I'm the better hoof to hoof combat fighter, but he's more ruthless. He could easily kill me if he wanted to." He said slowly. "I hope I can talk some sense into him."

"Blaze, you are a very talented fighter. You proved that over and over again. We can talk to him when we get back to camp." Rainbow said.

"Well, we don't have to go now." He said. "It's still mid-afternoon. I think we have some time to spare." He said with a smile.

"Oh really? By doing what?" She said with a smile. Blaze leaned over and kissed her. She kissed him back as they held each other in their arms. They carressed each other's bodies and kept each other close,feeling each other's heart beats. After a few minutes of this, they stopped and looked at each other. "Well then, I guess that answers Linus' question about us." Rainbow said with a smile. She winked at him.

He laughed. "I guess it does." He said and kissed her again.

Chapter18

Chapter 18

Rook awoke in a tent with a bandage on his head. Luna was sitting on the ground to his left. He tried to raise his head, but as soon as he tried, a searing pain shot through his head. He gave a loud groan and put a hoof to his head. Luna looked up to him. "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"About 4 hours. It's dark out now." she said, wiping her eyes. She had been crying. He could see the swelling in her eyes. "Rook. I would be careful. You have a concussion. After Linus kicked you in the head and you fell unconscious, he started to accuse Rainbow of being the mole and wanting to serve Chrysalis for her own selfish needs. Blaze came and started to defend her. Linus then challenged Rainbow to a fight to the death. Blaze came and...said somethings about Linus' feelings for me. It sent him over the edge. Blaze then offered to take Rainbow's place in the fight, and Linus accepted." Rook was silent. He knew that Blaze was gutsy, but the fact that he was willing to fight Linus in Rainbow's place was something he didn't expect. "Rook? Do you know what Blaze meant? He said, 'The one you love is hurt because of this challenge! Why would you do this to her?' What does he mean?" Luna asked. She knew what he meant. But she didn't want to believe it.

"Luna...Linus loves you. For a long time now. But he hasn't said anything because of the war and your duties. But I do believe that once the war was over, he was going to tell you." Rook said. Luna was teary eyed. She needed to hear it from somepony else who wasn't in the heat of the moment.

"Well, it's obvious Blaze loves Rainbow. He was very quick to take her place in the fight. Even against one of his oldest friends. He flew off to find her. There's something between them." She said. "Maybe it's good for them. To find some relief from the stresses of war."

Rook groaned as another pain seared through his head. "Rook, you are going to have to stay in bed. There is no way you will be able to fight at Ponyville." Luna said.

"Couldn't you just use some magic to make it go away?" he asked.

"If I did that you may do something outlandish. I can't have you do that. I'll need you in case something goes wrong at Ponyville and I don't return." Luna stated. Rook squinted at her. Not because of his head, but because he knew she was lying.

"Luna, you should know I can tell a lie from the truth. You don't want me to try and stop the fight. Why?" He asked.

Sigh. "Rook, you are very good at keeping things calmed between groups. But I fear this may get out of your league and you can't go out and get hit by Linus again." She replied.

"I have no worries about what happens to me. I'm a small figure of this whole army. Linus and Blaze, however, are huge. If one of them dies we lose a big part of our army." He explained. "So if I can do something to stop it, I will. Concussion or not." Luna sighed again. He wasn't going to quit.

She used a spell to remove the concussion. "Rook, don't do anything stupid. Don't make me regret doing this." She said grimly.

"Where's Linus? I need to talk to him." Rook said as he felt the pain leave his head. He got out of bed and started for the tent flap.

"He went back to his tent. I haven't seen him since the confrontation with Blaze. Rook, be careful." She said as he hurried out the door. She looked behind her to a closed chest. She walked over to it, unlatched it, and peered into it's contents. She pulled a picture of a pony out. It wasn't her sister, but somepony she loved. She started to cry as she looked at him. Thoughts of him flowed through her mind. He had given this to her after he got severely injured after saving her in battle. She loved him, but he didn't know it. She put the picture back into the chest, closed it, and locked it. She regained her composure and went outside the tent to get a taste of the night air and to see that the group from Apple Loosa was being attended to. As she did, a dart hit her neck. She flinched, and started to get dizzy. She fell unconscious and was caught by a hooded pony. He flew off and took her across the stream and into an enemy camp.
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Rook moved through the camp as he headed to Linus' tent. He needed to find some way to talk him out this fight to the death thing. He arrived at Linus' tent. There was a small candle burning inside. He walked in and sat behind Linus who was writing something down on a letter. "Linus. What are you writing?" Rook asked.

"Rook....I've bucked up. I just challenged a mare to a fight to the death. And then I accepted my friend as the substitute for her!" He said. "I was just furious at you guys for bringing my feelings for Luna up. I had to lash out at somepony and she seemed the easiest. Rook, ever since I accepted Blaze as the new pony for the fight, I have been depressed. And I can't call it off, because if I do, then I get banished from the army and all ties to it. I'd lose you, Blaze, and Luna. It would be just like dying. But it would be a never ending death." Linus said as he continued writing.

"I am unable to cry. It is physically impossible for me to cry right now. I've tried everything. Dark thoughts, thoughts of losing Luna, and that did nothing but push me even farther down than I thought possible, and...I even tried pain. Physical pain." He said, shakily. Rook looked at the table and saw a knife. It had little traces of blood on it.

"Linus...you didn't..." he said. This wasn't the first time Linus had done this. But it was the first time he did it while in the army. Linus pulled out his arm. It was dripping with blood. "Rook, I plan on losing the fight tomorrow. I can't live in exile, away from Luna, unable to talk to her or have any connection with her. I would rather die. And that's what I plan on doing tomorrow. This will weaken me so I can die tomorrow." Linus said as he finished what he was writing.

"Tomorrow, after it's over, give this to Luna. It will explain everything. What I did, why I did it, and what I have been thinking. She deserves to know." He said as he placed the letter in an envelope and handed it to him. He grabbed another letter from the edge of the table. "Give this to Blaze afterwards. It will do the same thing as the one to Luna does. But it says different things." He said and gave it to Rook, who looked at them shocked.

These...are suicide letters. He looked at Linus. "You can't expect me to let you go through with this. I'm not giving these to them! I know what these are Linus! I've seen these before! You are not handing out final goodbyes to those you love." Rook said frantically. "Linus. How do you think Luna would feel if she knew you didn't give it your all tomorrow? That you just gave up without fighting or looking for a way out of the fight that would keep you here? Look at Applejack. She lost a sister and all but one of her friends. She is still hanging in there. She is still staying with those she loves. Linus, there is a way, but it will cost you a piece of yourself. Literally." Rook said with concerned look.

"What do you mean?" Linus asked confused and worried about what Rook meant.

"There is an ancient rule that has been forgotten. 'If one participant of the fight gives up a piece of him as an offering to his opponent as a way of showing his regretfulness and willingness to refuse the other in battle without fear of exile, the fight will be called off and no harm will be done to either party. The piece must be either larger than the forearm, or an eye. If it is smaller than the forearm, the offerer must be the other's slave for 20 life cycles.' By life cycles, they mean years. It's a rule that is rarely used, since the process of removal is very painful and bloody. Most aren't willing to go through that kind of torture to stop a fight. Back then, most would rather die than lose a body part in the way that is required." Rook finished.

"How? How is it removed?" Linus asked, needing to know what he would be expecting. Rook's reply wiped that from his face. He knew why few ponies ever wanted to do it. The pain would be unbearable. For Luna. For the army. Do it for them. He thought, and looked at Rook. "Do it." He said.

Chapter 19

Blaze and Rainbow ended their kissing after it got dark. "Oh my gosh! How long have we been here?" Rainbow exlaimed.

"Longer than what I would have liked. I enjoyed this, but I need to talk to Linus." He said and kissed her again. They got off of their cloud and started to fly back to the camp.

Rainbow caught a small glimpse of something out of the ordinary to her left. Curiously, she looked over and saw a hooded pegasus flying with an unconscious passenger. She didn't like the look of it. "Blaze, to our left. There's something suspicious." She said. He turned his head and saw the hooded pony.

"Want to check it out?" He asked. She nodded and they slowly banked in that ponies direction. They kept their distance so they wouldn't be noticed.

"Where is he going? He doesn't look like he's from the Aureolian Army." Rainbow said.

"I have no idea. I have some gas bombs with me if you want me to gas him. You could fly underneath him and grab the pony as he falls. Then, I can grab the other pony and figure out who and what he is doing." Blaze said as he reached for a bomb.

"What if it's one of ours?" Rainbow asked. She didn't want to be thought of as the mole, and if they were Aureolian, it would look very bad for both of them.

"It isn't. The Aureolian army has a sun on every uniform, to signify why we are fighting. He doesn't have one. So, it's not treason if he shows no connection to us." Blaze said. "And if he is a spy for us, why would he be heading in the wrong direction to our camp and heading towards the Leasath? Doesn't make sense to me." He flew towards the hooded pony while Rainbow flew underneath him. She hooted 3 times and Blaze lobbed the bomb. It exploded and sent a noxious gas out from its body. The hooded pony wheezed and staggered as the gas caught him by surprise. Another bomb exploded right next to his left ear. He lurched and pawed at his ear, dropping his hostage from his arms.

Rainbow caught her, and flew away. Now Blaze had to grab the hooded pony and figure out who he was and what he was doing. He tossed his last bomb at the pony. It exploded, sending bits of fragments into his right back leg. The pony wheezed as the gases started to enter his lungs. He started to fall, and Blaze grabbed him and zoomed off to meet with Rainbow.

They met at a giant oak tree that had a trunk 5 feet across. It had plenty of branches that could support the four of them, so it was a perfect place. Rainbow was looking the dark, unconscious pony over when she realized who it was they saved. "Blaze....it's Luna. He took Luna!" She said shocked.

Blaze put the hooded pony down. "So, who are you? Where were you taking Luna?" The hooded pony just looked at him.

"You think you can win. You think that Chrysalis can be defeated. Nothing can stop her. Her weapon will be ready. Her plan will be set. If you try to kill her, all will be lost." He said before a white foam leaked from his mouth. He fell out of the tree and hit the ground with a loud splat. Blaze looked over, and saw the pony's crumpled body sprawled out on the ground in a pool of blood as it changed into a changeling

He turned his head back to Rainbow. "I guess we know that the Leasath are getting desperate. But what did he mean by weapon? What weapon does she have?" He asked.

Rainbow only shook her head. "I don't know. But we need to get Luna back to camp. She needs to see a healer." She said as she examined Luna. "She has a fever. I don't know what he did to her, but it's making her sick."

"Well then let's get going." Blaze said. They took off with Luna and flew back to camp. I wish I could have one nice time without something like this happening He thought.

Chapter 20

They landed next to the healer's tent and ran in. "We have Luna! She needs help!" Rainbow said.

"Help her." Blaze ordered. They placed her onto an empty bed and the healer examined her.

"Hmm...this isn't something I commonly see. It looks to be a form of gure. A toxic plant that, when eaten, can kill you in minutes." She said as she looked Luna over. She looked at her neck and saw the puncture wound. "Ahh this, you see, is where she got the gure. Somepony must've hit her with a dart. She'll be fine. She wasn't injected with enough to kill her, only to make her really sick."

Blaze and Rainbow both gave sighs of relief. "The pony who took her died. We tried to interrogate him, but before we got any answers out of him he had a white foam coming from his mouth." Blaze said.

"That would be the gure. He must've had some in case he got captured." She said as she got to work. "Now if you'll excuse me, the remedy that will remove the sickness will take some time and I need to concentrate." She said as she started to pull ingredients out of the surrounding chests.

Blaze and Rainbow nodded and were about to leave as Rook and Linus ran in. "Linus! Uhh... what-" Blaze started but was cut off by Linus.

"Luna! What happened? Is she alright? Blaze what the hay is going on?!" Linus exclaimed.

"Sit down. Linus. It's a long story." Once he was seated next to Luna, Blaze explained everything.

"So, they kidnapped her, but we don't know what for and Chrysalis has a weapon. Now explain to me why you and Rainbow both were out of camp and just happened to run into a hooded pony?" He asked.

"Look Linus. Whatever you think, I am not the mole!" Rainbow yelled.

"I know you're not. I'm sorry for that Rainbow." Linus said as he bowed his head.

"No sweat Linus. You've been under a lot of pressure." Rainbow said. "Linus, you have to end this fight. You can't let this fight happen. If you do somepony will die. And the army needs both you and Blaze in order to win."

"Rainbow, there isn't any way for me to end this. The challenge can't be revoked...unless I give an offering from me." Linus said with his head down.

"What kind of offering?" Blaze asked.

"The rules state, 'If one participant of the fight gives up a piece of him as an offering to his opponent as a way of showing his regretfulness and willingness to refuse the other in battle without fear of exile, the fight will be called off and no harm will be done to either party. The piece must be either larger than the forearm, or an eye. If it is smaller than the forearm, the offerer must be the other's slave for 20 life cycles.'

"I plan on doing just that. I'm not willing to kill my friend. And I'm not living a life of exile. I need to be able to help the cause." Linus said.

Blaze looked to Rook. "I take it that you were the one who showed him this rule?" Blaze asked.

"Yep. I went searching for him after Luna healed my head. I needed to talk to him about the fight. He told me he was going to let you kill him and that he wasn't going to fight. I told him of that rule, and he chose it." Rook said.

"There has to be another way!" Blaze said frantically. "If you do this, he will be severely injured and unable to fight! Can't I just show him mercy and let him live?" He asked.

"If you do you will be exiled. You will have no ties to us. If you talk to any of us, we are obligated to kill you." Rainbow said quietly.

"Blaze, please. There isn't any other way." Linus said.

"I refuse to believe that! Rook. You are smart. Can't you do some investigation on this? Go through some of the books we carry that may talk about it?" Blaze asked hopefully.

"I can. But the fight is tomorrow. And if I do, I may find something that is worse than what we currently have, or some other rule that makes the offering illegal." Rook said. "I would need the key to the chests that contain the books. And only Luna and Hex have them. Luna is unconscious and Hex only answers to her."

"I'll get you the keys. Luna will understand. Let's go." Blaze said in a hurry.

"I'll stay here and keep Linus company." Rainbow said. Blaze nodded his head and led Rook back to Luna's tent.

Rainbow sat down next to Linus. "You really love her. Don't you?" Rainbow asked looking at Luna. They had both forgotten that the healer was in the room. She had been brewing some sort of mixture at the time. Rainbow cleared her throat. "Sorry. Wrong place, wrong time I suppose." She said.

"Yea. It's fine though. I doubt I'll live past the next 24 hours. Yes I love her. But she doesn't know." He said, looking at her unresponsive body. "Well, she might after what Blaze said. I was hoping I could tell her after the war. Now I may not get that chance."

Applejack walked into the tent and beamed as she saw Rainbow. "Well there ya are sugar cube! I been looking everywhere for you. After you ran off with the blue pony, I didn't see you after that. I heard you had flown in awhile ago." she said. "What's wrong with Luna?" She asked as she saw her on the bed.

"She was ponynapped and had a dart shot into her neck. That's why I didn't come back and visit you again. Blaze and I happened to be on our way back to camp when we saw a hooded pony carrying something. Turned out to be her." Rainbow said.

"Ah see. She'll be alright though?" Applejack asked.

"She'll be fine. Just a little sick. Now if the three of you would please leave so I can concentrate? Besides, you ponies need your sleep. Especially you Applejack. You've been dealing with a lot these past couple of days." The healer said.

They left the tent. "I should probably go help Blaze and Rook out with searching for a way out of the fight tomorrow. Rainbow, again, I'm sorry for what I did." Linus said and ran to look for the others.

"I heard what happened Rainbow. Did Linus really do all that?" Applejack asked worried.

"Yea. And more. But it doesn't matter. Blaze already took my spot." Rainbow replied.

"Yea about him. He sure is a handsome colt ain't he? Strong, caring, and a darn well good flyer from what I hear." Applejack said.

Rainbow blushed. "Really? I hadn't noticed." She said shakily.

"Rainbow you can't hide your feelings for him from me. Remember when you tried to do that to when it came to Big Mac? I walked in on you-" Applejack started.

"Applejack!! That was forever ago, after Derpy decided to trash town hall. Again!" Rainbow said.

Applejack laughed. "So, what's the deal between you and Blaze? He seems to really care about you. At least from the way he acted when it came to the fight." Applejack asked.

"Nothing. We're just friends." Rainbow said hesitantly.

"Then what were you guys doing out of camp before you found Luna? You guys were gone for hours. That's way too long for him to be looking for you." Applejack said persistantly.

Sigh "You're not going to quit are you?" Rainbow asked.

"Not until you tell me." Applejack replied.

"Applejack...When I first came to this camp with Twilight, I met Blaze. We had decided to attack the camp that night. When I first saw him...I don't know he just... had this thing about him that I liked. He was there for me when she died and when Linus accused me of being a mole. After I left the camp because of what happened, he came by and stopped by my cloud. For some reason I was just touched by what he did. I know, I know. I'm the one who was always about avoiding the girly things, but when he told me he took my place, I just felt like somepony was there to care for me. I never had any parents who looked after me. I lived alone most of my life and after Chrysalis returned, I felt alone all over again. I had Twilight, but after Spike's death, she just seemed lost to the world.

"After she died, I asked Blaze to stay with me down by the stream. We slept there with my head nuzzled in his mane as he sang to me." Rainbow smiled as she thought back to that night. "After that, we just...clicked I guess." She was smiling. She couldn't help it. She loved him.

"Rainbow, Ah believe that is the first time you have ever opened up about something like this. I'm proud of you sugar cube." Applejack said with a grin.

"I'm sorry about your sister. I really liked her." Rainbow said.

"It's ok. She died fast. She didn't suffer." Applejack said. She was trying to keep her composure.

"AJ, you can let it out you know? I'm here." Rainbow said. Applejack lost it. She wept. Wept for her sister, for her family, for Twilight. She had always been the strong one. She had always been there for her friends. Now, Rainbow was the one who comforted Applejack. She put her hoof on her shoulder and held her. "Things will get better. We will avenge them." Rainbow said.

"Ah know Rainbow. Ah know. But I miss them so much. Apple bloom was only a filly. She did nothing wrong." Applejack said between sobs.

"Hey, AJ. Let's go get you something to drink. Maybe Rook has some tea he could give you. It's very calming from what I heard." Rainbow said. Applejack nodded her head and they walked to Rook's tent. "We should probably help them anyways. It'll be good for us."

Chapter 21

Rainbow and Applejack walked to Luna's tent. Rook and Blaze were crowded over a pile of books. Linus was sitting by the edge of a table. He wasn't doing anything. He just sat there looking at nothing. "Have you three found anything yet?" Rainbow asked. Rook and Blaze looked at each other.

"We did. It turns out that I can't do the offering. Since Rainbow was the original challenger and Blaze took her spot as a substitute, I can't do it." Rook said wearily. Rainbow looked at Blaze. He drug his head down and returned to rummaging through the books. "And we can't just say we didn't know about the rule. There is a....dark magic, very dark magic. It prevents the two participants from forgetting the rules. And if they knowingly break them..." Rook stopped.

"We both die." Blaze finished for him.

Rainbow's mouth was agape. "But that can't be possible! There has to be something we can do?" She said shocked.

"I wish there was Rainbow. I really do. But we can't. Tomorrow is the fight. We need to participate in it or we both die." Blaze said.

"Blaze, go with Rainbow. You two should be able to spend tonight together. I know who will win and I have nopony. I don't want to spend my last night here with the pony who is going to kill me. Even if he is a long time friend." Linus said sorrowfully.

"Linus. I'm not killing you. I refuse to!" Blaze said, unconvincingly. He knew one of them would have to.

"Ok Blaze. I guess tomorrow we will see. I'm going to sit with Luna. I don't care what the healer says. I'm staying with her." Linus said. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Rook. "Tomorrow, after the fight, give this to her." Rook gingerly took the envelope.

Linus walked out of the tent without saying another word. "Blaze, there has to be another way. As much of a jerk he has been to me lately, I don't want to see him die." Rainbow said.

"Is there anyway Ah can help?" Applejack asked. "If you want Ah could corral the camp to a different location so there won't be a crowd tomorrow."

"Thanks Applejack. I would like that. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I don't want a gathering there." Blaze replied.

"I'm sorry about what's going to happen sugar cube." Applejack said. "Ah'll have Big Mac tell our ponies to stay out of camp tomorrow afternoon. He needs to something to do. He isn't used to relaxing." She said. She put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, gave a small smile of reassurance, and left.

Rainbow sat down where Linus had sat. "Blaze..." She said. Rook turned his head back to the books and Blaze walked over to her and knelt next to her. "You can't. You can't fight him Blaze. He may kill you." She said.

"He won't I'm not going to let him kill me. Rook and I will figure something out." Blaze said.

"I already have Blaze." Rook said as he turned back to them. "I choose to take Linus' place." He said as he stood tall.

"What?! I can't let-" Blaze was cut off.

"Blaze! The army needs you and Linus to win this war! It can't continue like this! I didn't tell Linus this because I knew he would knock me unconscious for it. He hates letting things happen to his friends. The rules don't say anything about two substitutes so it's legal. You won't die." Rook said trying to convince Blaze.

"You realize you are condemning yourself right? I can't-"

"Blaze! Accept me as your new challenger! If you don't one of you will die! The army needs you two!" Rook said yelling.

Blaze sighed. "I accept. Rook. You know I'm not happy about this." Blaze said angrily.

"I know. But it's the only way. You two are too important to lose. It's better that I die than one of you. I'll tell Linus tomorrow. That way he can't intervene as easily." Rook said. He handed Blaze Linus' letter. "You know what to do with that. When the time comes." Rook said. Blaze nodded his head. "I'd better go back to my tent. Need to fix the place up and get things organized. Maybe have some tea." He said and left the tent.

"I guess that settles it..." Blaze said sadly. "I really hoped that there was something we could've done so nopony dies. I don't want to kill anypony." He said.

"I know you don't. I don't want him to either. I don't want any of us to die. But....I don't want you to die more than anything." She said as she ran a hoof through his mane. "Rook is smart. He wouldn't have done this unless there was no other way. He knows the army needs you two." She said. "I'm always here for you Blazey boy." She said trying to cheer him up. "C'mon. Let's go for a fly. You need to clear your head and flying always seems to help." She took his hoof and they walked outside. They took off and flew towards the clouds.
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Linus walked into the healer's tent and took a seat next to Luna. The healer came in with a green liquid. "Linus. I thought I said that I wanted everypony out so I could concentrate?" She said with a frown.

"You did, but I want to see her. For my last night here." He said quietly.

"Ah I see." She said. She knew about the fight. Everypony did. "Well, while you're here, want to help me get her mouth open? I need to get this remedy down her throat and not her windpipe." They worked the fluid down her throat with little spillage.

"This will help her right?" He asked.

"Yes. It will work the gure out of her system. Once it is removed, we can use this to wake her up." She said, holding up a blue herb.

"What is it?" Linus asked as he observed the strange plant.

"It's a Junga plant. It wakes up anypony who takes it. It's very common, but most ponies don't know how to identify it since it looks so similar to Poison Joke. The only difference is that Junga doesn't have anything reaching out of the top of it like Poison Joke." She said as she pointed to the top of the herb. "She'll be up 5 minutes after taking this. But for now, we wait." She said. "I need to go check on supplies. Think you can stay here and watch?" Linus nodded his head. "Good. In about 10 minutes the gure will have worked itself out her body. Then, give her the Junga plant. She'll be very tired and clumsy when she wakes, so don't let her stand up right away." She said and left the tent.

Linus looked at Luna. She was beautiful. Her dark coat and flowing black mane. Why? Why now? Why must I die before I can tell you how I feel? "I don't know if you can hear me. Heh, you probably can't. Well, this is my last night here. And I figure this might as well be the time to get everything off of my chest." he started. "Well where should I start? You are the most beautiful mare I have ever met. You are cunning, smart, beautiful. Ah hay, I haven't had a real good chance to say this. I guess now is as good a time as any." Linus said as he took her hoof in his. "Luna, I love you. More than anything. Which is why I did what I did. Why I've done so much for you. You remember that day? The day you were hit by a freezing spell?" He asked.

"It was right after Las Pegasus. Chrysalis had come to destroy all of us. She saw you. How bravely you were fighting. How you gave morale to the troops. You had given them something she hadn't expected, something she didn't foresee in her plans. Hope. You had given them hope in the face of all danger. We had pushed her back, saved the town, but with heavy losses. She charged at you in anger. She shot bolt after bolt of magic at you, but you flung them to the side as if they were nothing. You made a fool of her, proving who was the stronger one. You embarrassed her.

And then, one of her soldiers tried to attack you. You stopped him, but Chrysalis was able to get one last spell off. A freeze spell. You saw it at the last second and didn't have enough time to stop it. Right when it was about to hit you, right before you would've been frozen in time, with no way out, I jumped in front of you. I took the bolt for you. As it struck me, I felt like I had fallen into a sleep. A painful, aching sleep. I could see you, I could hear you, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't say that it would be alright. That everything would be ok." He said with a tear running down his cheek.

"Chrysalis had retreated, abandoned the city. All the healers came to see if there was some spell they could do to awaken me. There was one, but none of them were able to do it. Not a single one. Then, you came. You tried it and failed. You kept trying though even after multiple failed attempts. You stayed in through the night trying to revive me. But you couldn't. Then, for the first time since you were released from the moon, the stars aligned. You gave me a kiss right on top of my head and tried the spell one more time. And it worked. It worked! I wasn't frozen anymore. I was free. But you however, had lost your memory. You gained most of it back as we explained what happened. But nothing of that night I was freed. You were the only pony there when you cast that spell. I've always wanted to tell you about it, but you haven't been alone to talk to about it. And the time was never appropriate."

"So yea. That's what happened that night. You can't hear me, or see me, but it was nice to tell you. Even if you won't remember it when you wake up. But, maybe it's for the best that you don't remember." He finished. It had been ten minutes. He gave her the herb and waited. After five minutes, nothing happened. He got up, rubbed his hoof through her flowing, dark mane, and kissed her forehead. He left the tent and went back to his own tent. When he arrived, he laid down on his bed, and cried softly to himself.
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GASP! Luna jolted upright. As she did a massive pain swept through her head and she fell back onto her back. Tired. Oh so very tired. She thought. She felt the spot where the dart had hit her. It stung, but it wasn't too bad. She slowly lifted her head again, but quickly decided against it. I can't even hold my head up She thought. What happened? How did I end up here? She looked around the tent and noticed all the medicines. "Wow, Derpy. You sure have a nice stash of herbs." She said to herself.

Most ponies though Derpy as a silly little filly who was very clumsy. But the truth was, she was just very easy going. Like Pinkie Pie, only less parties. She had an amazing knowledge in medicine, so she became the healer of the Aureolian Army. She was very into her work. She didn't mess around and was definitely not easy going when it came to medicine. She was very talented, even for her being a little clumsy pony. Luna smiled at herself. She had a wonderful dream. A dream with Linus. She couldn't remember what happened exactly, but she did remember one little action he did. She raised a hoof to her head, right where Linus kissed her, and smiled.

Chapter 22

Derpy arrived back at the tent and pulled open the flap. As she stepped in she noticed Luna was laying on the bed with her hoof to her head. "Got a headache Luna?" She asked. Luna blushed.

"Uh...Yea. Just a little one. Is everything ok?" She asked.

"Everything's fine. You just got hit by a dart with gure on it. Knocked you out, made you a little sick, but now that it's out of your system you'll be perfectly fine." She said. She hesitated before saying her next sentence. "Linus came by. He helped get you back into consciousness when I left to check on the supplies. I come back though and no sign of Linus, but you're awake. I guess that's all that matters." She said as she went back to her chests.

Luna sat up this time. She wobbled a little but was able to stay seated on the bed. "Careful. The gure makes you very dizzy. Wait a few more minutes before you start walking." Derpy said. Luna put her hoof to her head again.

"Did Linus....say anything to you? Before you left?" She asked.

Derpy hesitated a little. "He said he wanted to spend his last night with you. That's it." She said.

"Why is this his last night?" Luna asked.

"Tomorrow's the fight. My guess is that he doesn't think he can beat Blaze in hoof to hoof combat. So I think he is accepting his defeat. It's not like him, but I think he's just worried. He'll have to kill Blaze in order to live. But I think Blaze will win. He's much stronger. But Linus is a little more agile than Blaze. But that can only last for so long." Derpy rambled. This was one problem Luna faced with Derpy. She didn't know when to stop talking. Luna got up to leave. She wobbled a little and almost fell, but she regained her footing and headed for the flap.

"Thanks Derpy for taking care of me. I'm going to check on Linus. Make sure he isn't too worried about this fight." She said and left. She walked to Linus' tent and stopped outside of it. "Linus? Are you in there? It's me, Luna." There was some rustling, the sound of a chair getting knocked over and a small grunt. He opened the flap and smiled as he saw Luna.

"Luna! Your awake!" He said and hugged her. He quickly let go of the hug though. She was still his commanding officer and it wasn't right for him to just hug her. "Oh. Uh. Sorry." He said as he turned red.

"It's ok Linus." She said and hugged him. Linus returned the hug. "Can I come in?" She asked.

"Sure. Here." He said, opening the flap to the tent. "Let me fix this real quick." He picked the chair up and placed it back up. "Here you go. Sorry about the mess. I didn't expect you to come here if you awoke." He said as he looked around at the mess of his tent.

"It's fine. I actually want to ask you something." She said, turning red. "Linus, when you were in the Derpy's tent, did you talk about something? About a past battle? I had a dream about Las Pegasus. How Chrysalis tried to freeze me but you jumped in front of it saving me." She said.

"Yea. I did talk about that. Didn't think you could hear me." He said.

"I see. Well, later on in the dream, you kissed me. Not directly, just on the forehead." She was bright red. "Did you?" Linus gulped.

"Umm... no. I didn't. You're my commanding officer. It wouldn't be right." He said with his head lowered.

Luna smiled. "You really are a terrible liar." She said.

"Luna, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He said frantically. Luna suddenly rushed over and kissed him. When she pulled back, Linus was stunned. He couldn't speak and he turned the brightest shade of red. Luna giggled. It looked good through his green coat.

"Luna..." Linus said. He was too shocked to say anything.

"Don't give up. Fight. Don't just let him win. You both are needed here. But I want the pony who will fight to the end to be helping this army. Don't make this night your last." She said. She turned around and left the tent. Celestia watch over him. She prayed silently.

She kissed him. She didn't know why she had but she did. I need him. I need him more than ever. But he can't know that I feel the same way. I was lucky I was able to turn it into an assurance speech about the fight. It will be hard to explain it to him tomorrow. I hope he forgives me when I tell him. She walked back to her tent and laid in her bed with Linus filling her thoughts.
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Blaze and Rainbow reached the highest cloud in the sky. They landed on the soft cloud and looked to the camp below. It was barely visible. "Think we'll be disturbed up here?" Rainbow asked.

"Nope. I think we're too high up for them." He said with a smile. Blaze leaned over and kissed Rainbow. She put her hooves around the back of his mane and kissed him back. After awhile they stopped and just looked at each other.

"You know, I've never felt like this to any other pony." Rainbow said. "I've never really had any pony to hold me, to comfort me, to be there when I needed somepony." She said.

"I'm right here, and I don't plan on going anywhere. I'll always be here for you." He said.

"I know that. But if it weren't for Rook doing what he did, I probably would've lost you tomorrow." She said quietly. Blaze put his hoof under her head.

"Rainbow, you wouldn't have lost me. I can beat Linus in a hoof to hoof fight easily. But I wouldn't have killed him. Not unless there was no other way." Blaze said. "I'm still a little ticked that Rook did what he did, but I did the same for you." He said

"But Blaze, he's not even going to fight. He's not going to save himself. He's killing himself so that the army will have its best ponies to fight and end this war." She said.

"I know. But the army needs all the ponies it can get." He said. He kissed Rainbow again. When he pulled away she dropped her head. "Blaze...what if Chrysalis kills you in Ponyville? Or Canterlot? What do I do then?" Rainbow asked.

"Move on. Don't dread on my death. It will only hurt you more. Please, Rainbow, let's not talk about that. I already have to kill somepony from this army. I don't want to imagine my own death. I can't even begin to think about what is going on through Rook's head now." He said as he pulled out Linus' envelope. "Since Linus won't be dead tomorrow, I guess we should get rid of this." He said.

Blaze pulled a small match and a piece of flint from his pocket. He struck the match and was about to light the letter when Rainbow stopped him. "Blaze, wait. What if he dies in Ponyville? We should hold onto it in case something happens to him. He should at least have something that he can give to her in case something happens. I never got that chance. To know what every pony wanted to say before they died."

Blaze thought about it. "Ok Rainbow. You're right. She deserves to know what he thought about her." Blaze said. He put out the match and placed the letter back in his pocket. "We should head back to camp. Luna may be awake. We should tell her what happened." He said.

"Or we could stay here for the night and..." She said with a smile, winking at him. Blaze smiled. "Since when did you turn into miss 'snog a lot'?" He asked.

"Around the time I met you I think." She said with a smile. They kissed each other passionately and laid together on the cloud, away from any distractions.
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Rook was putting his belongings, his uniform, and all of his army gear into his chest. Well Starbolt, looks like I'll be seeing you sooner than I expected. It's for a good cause though. This army needs them. Both of them. I hope Linus can forgive me for taking his place. But it was the only way for both of them to live. Rook thought to himself. He didn't know if he was actually trying to talk to Starbolt or convince himself it was the right thing to do. He took a sip of his tea. Only thing that's kept me calm since her death. He was removing books from the table when he accidentally dropped one. It hit the floor and opened up to a page with a letter in it. "What's this?" He picked it up and opened the envelope.

It was a letter from Starbolt, dated the day before she died. It was given to him by a messenger in the early years of the war. He never read it because it kept bringing the pain of her death back to him. Whenever he would try to open it, he would burst into tears. So he placed it in this book, that way he would always have it, a piece of her with him. He slowly opened it up. No tears this time. It said,

My Dearest Rocky....  Despite the fact that I’m sure these letters won't get to you, I will keep it up anyway. Writing these letters to you makes me remember your warm embrace, your hoofs are draped over my shoulders as I sit in bed. It’s so cold at this time, but it’s as if your by my side, keeping me warm throughout the nights with us close together. When you couldn't sleep, you'd play with my hair and twirl it around until you fell asleep. Sadly, it’s all in my mind. You’re not really there, and I know that, but... writing this letter seems to help me get over it a little. It's all I have until you come back.

Memories. That is what I live on when you are gone on your missions. I don't mind much, they are good memories. When you play chess, I love to play against you. Your eyebrows... they do the oddest things. When you are hard at thinking, you lower your left one a bit that makes you seem lie a true thinker. You put your hoofs together, lower that eyebrow, and the game is yours (I know you were just letting me win).

It's funny. When you're around the other soldiers and even your friends, you act so stoic and quiet, almost mysterious. It's like you are a book. A Book with a wealth of knowledge and insight. Normally, everypony is not willing to take the time to read and take a chance with the book. It comes off as hard, cold, unforgiving. But I was willing to take open that book. You may have been hard to understand at first, but I have come to enjoy that challenge. Understanding that enigma that was you wasn't hard, just somepony needed to do it. I guess I just happened to be that pony. When the reader clicks with the book, the book no longer is an obstacle, but a journey.

The gentleness of your touch, your embrace, your voice. You could charm the enemy into surrender if you didn't only do that with me. Despite what you say, I feel like the one who is lucky to have you. I am frightened every time you leave... what if you find somepony better and forget me? I'm glad to feel that it's never happened. I find it amusing to believe that you think that I would leave you. The fact is, there is no other pony that I feel would be worthy to replace you.

Obviously, one of my more symbolic letters. Will this letter get to you? I may never know. Perhaps one day, in a dire situation, it will find it's way to you. You read it, and you may feel better knowing that no matter what, somepony will always be there for you...

Forever yours

Starbolt

P.S. The nurse told me it's a girl. I can't believe we'll be parents! I hope you will be there for her first birthday...

He read the last line again. It was a girl...We were going to have a girl. He thought to himself. He bowed his head as tears rose to his eyes. Jasmine...I wanted to call her Jasmine if it was a girl. He had left for combat the day after Starbolt said she was pregnant. He was excited that he would be a parent, but he was upset that he may not be there for the filly. He had hoped that the army would've dethroned Chrysalis in time for him to be home to take care of the filly. "1 year. That's how long I've been gone. She died 3 months ago." He said to himself.

He returned to see her one day when the army reached Baltimare. He had received word that she was there. He had run into a hotel where she was said to have been staying. As he ran in, he saw her with Chrysalis stabbing her in the heart. She fell to the floor dead with Chrysalis standing over her. "No!" He screamed. Chrysalis looked up with a smile.

"Attack!" She ordered. The ponies who were standing around suddenly transformed back into Changelings. Three charged him at full force but Rook easily defeated them in his rage.

"I'll kill you!" He yelled as the fury inside him burst outward. He killed all the changelings in his rage and ran straight into Starbolt.

"Rook! Thank Celestia you're here! I saw her. Chrysalis ran out the back door!" She said.

Rook looked at her confused. This wasn't like Starbolt. She didn't like him going off to fight, and she definitely wouldn't want him to go and fight Chrysalis by himself. He looked back to where he saw Starbolt originally. "Rook what are you waiting for? She's getting away!" Starbolt yelled.

He looked back at her. "Die Chrysalis." He said and stabbed her with his knife. She had moved though and was stabbed in the shoulder. She slammed Rook against the wall with magic. Some of the Aureolian army scouts burst into the room. Chrysalis transported herself out of the town. Rook ran over to Starbolt, the real Starbolt, and cradled her in his arms. "Star....Star!" He cried out. He couldn't believe that she was gone, that she was pregnant with their filly and they were gone. He held her close, her blood covering his hoofs. He held her and cried.

He had lost her. He had lost everything he loved and cared about. "Starry, I promise you. You and our little filly will be avenged. I swear it."

He read the letter again. I got this letter 2 weeks after that because the mail pony got lost. I never read it because of the pain... He folded the letter and put it into his pocket. "Star, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never read this. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." He said through the tears in his eyes.

Chapter 23

Luna was sitting in her tent thinking about what she had done. I kissed him. I kissed Linus. She thought to herself. She couldn't believe she had done it. Why the hay did I kiss him? I'm his commanding officer. She thought. What I felt when I kissed him. It was like a spark. A tingling feeling in my chest. She shook her head. She got up and left her tent. I need to talk to Rook. He will know what to do in either case.

She walked over to his tent and walked in. He had his face in his hooves. "Rook?" She asked. He looked up, startled.

"Oh, Luna. How uh, how can I help you." He said as he wiped his eyes.

"Well, I was wanting to ask you something about the fight. But, now, I want to know if you are all right. I've never seen you like this in all these years." She said worried.

"I'm fine Luna. I just found something in my belongings. What about the fight do you want to know about?" He said as he regained his cool.

"Well...it was about what we should do after the fight. In either situation." She said.

Rook looked away. "Well, if Blaze should die, we should carry on our fight to Ponyville. The way he wanted to run it."

"And if Linus should die?" Luna asked.

Rook looked down at the floor. "They didn't tell you did they." He said. It wasn't a question. He knew.

"Tell me what?" She asked nervously.

"Linus isn't fighting. I made sure of that." He said.

"Really?" She said with a little too much excitement. She quickly changed her tone, hoping that Rook didn't catch the bump of excitement that she knew he saw. "But how? I thought you guys couldn't find a way to prevent him from fighting?" She asked.

"We didn't find any new ways. Remember when Blaze offered to take Rainbow's place in the fight? Well, I did the same thing for Linus." He said.

"You did what?" Luna asked, shocked. "Why did you take his place?"

"Because the army needs those two the most in order to win. Without them, we are going to have to fight for another 10 years in order to bring Chrysalis down. He doesn't know yet though. I want to keep it that way until tomorrow." He said. Luna went over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Rook...is that what made you cry?" She asked.

"Yea. I've sentenced myself to death by doing this." he said cooly.

Luna made him look at her. "What really made you cry?" she asked.

He looked down at the floor as he pulled out the letter. "This. It's a letter from Starbolt." Luna took it.

"When did she send it?" She asked.

"I don't know. I got it 2 weeks after Baltimare." He said quietly as the memories flooded back of her death. "But it's nothing. It happened awhile ago. It's time for me to move on. I'll get my revenge by having Blaze and Linus put Chrysalis' head on a pick." He said with a little too much malice.

"Rook, I may not be the best liar and I may not be able to read people as well as you, but I know that you aren't ok." She said. She pulled a chair out and put it in front of him. She sat down and her hooves in his. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Rook looked at her. "I remember that day. Every detail, every Changeling, the look on her face when Chrysalis killed her, the dark red of her blood as it spilled onto the floor. The sight of her lifeless body in my arms." He said quietly as he looked blankly into open space. "We met 5 years before the war. I was in the grocery store looking for a specific type of tea, Jasmine tea. It's not around here so I knew I was going to do some heavy searching. I went to the local store and found that the last bottle had been taken by a beautiful mare. She had blue and green hair, the most beautiful I had ever seen. It fit her. It looked really good on her. I went up to her and worked my "Rook charm." I was able to get the Jasmine tea, but only on one condition. I make her dinner at my house and some of the tea to go with it.

"We had our date, and things went really well. We kept seeing each other and after about 3 years, we got married. I had my job helping the police so I wasn't home as much as I wanted, and she was at Canterlot's magic school learning about all the spells she could. She was very talented, but got exhausted quickly after casting a few spells. We decided against having a filly since we wouldn't really be able to watch them with our schedules the way they were. I had a few days off during the week, but not enough to take care of a new filly. Then, Chrysalis attacked." Rook said. His face suddenly became very reserved and blank of emotion.

"I went to join the army because I had this urge to help others who were devastated by the war. Starbolt wasn't too happy about it, but she knew why I had to. I had spent too many years around the police force to not do anything. We would write to each other often and talk about the past few days. I would give her updates on the army's progress and she would tell me how the other ponies in the cities were handling everything." He got quiet. He looked at the ground and started to tear up. "When I got word that she was in Baltimare, I couldn't believe that I would be able to see her.

"But when I arrived..." He stopped. He became extremely tense. "That bitch put a knife through her heart." Rook was very tense. His eyes had this look of hatred in them, a look that could kill.

"Rook, my hooves..." Luna said. He had started to grip them very tightly. He released them and Luna gave a small sigh of relief. She rubbed her hooves as he got up and went outside the tent flap. She followed him and stood next to him as he looked at the stars.

"When I was on leave about a year ago, I met with her. We spent 3 days alone together. 2 weeks after I saw her die, I received a letter from a lost mail mare. I saw who it was from and put it in a book I never opened. While I was putting my things away, the book fell on the floor and the letter fell out. I had never read it and had pretty much forgotten about it." Rook said.

"This was the first time I read it. I feel ashamed that I didn't read it sooner. I would always read her letters first when I got them." He said through tears. "We were going to have a little filly. A girl. I wanted to name her Jasmine because of how we met." He was about to burst into tears.

"Come on Rook. Let's go inside and make you some tea." Luna said. She led him back into the tent and sat him down in a chair next to the table. She went over to his little kettle and went through his stash of tea leaves. She picked one up and noticed what it was. "What kind of tea would you like Rook?" She asked as she grabbed a few of the tea leaves and went back to the kettle.

"I don't care." He said quietly.

He needs this. This is not like him at all. Luna thought as she grabbed the tea she had first seen. She poured water into the kettle and added the leaves to it. She heated it up with a magic spell and made it boil for a few minutes. After it was finished she poured him a cup and sat next to him.

"Here. Drink this. You need it." She said calmly. She handed him the cup and he slowly took a sip. His eyes grew in surprise.

"This...this is Jasmine tea. But where did you get this?" He asked.

"It was in your tea box. I noticed it because I too really enjoy Jasmine tea. It's very refreshing and calming. It's one of the reasons why I made it for you." She said. "It's a part of you and Starbolt's story. Thank you for sharing it. I knew you were close to her. I had no idea about what had happened to you two. I'm sorry." She said. Rook only nodded.

They stayed silent as Rook drank the tea. It calmed him down. he no longer had the urge to rip Chrysalis head from her shoulders. "Luna?" He asked.

She looked at him. "Yes?"

"I don't know your feelings for Linus, but if you feel anything for him, don't let him go. Don't let anypony you care about go." He said.

"My feelings for Linus..." She started. She couldn't finish the statement. "My feelings for Linus are the same as his for me. But he can't know. If he did, I have a feeling I would be a distraction to him." Luna said sternly. Rook grinned.

"I won't tell him. I won't live past tomorrow in order to tell him." He said. "Thanks for stopping by Luna. I usually keep everything bottled up, keeping the bad in but showing all the good. Go back to your tent and get some sleep. It's late and we both need our energy for tomorrow." She nodded, placed the letter back on the table, gave him a quick thank you hug, and left the tent. Rook looked at the letter and grabbed it. He put it into his pocket knowing that Starbolt would be with him throughout the night.

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Rainbow and Blaze arrived in camp the next morning. They had spent the night in the clouds together holding each other. When they arrived, they went to Rook's tent. He was up and putting some books in his chest and cleaning up around here. "Hey, Rook." Rainbow said quietly. She didn't want Rook to think she was happy that Rook would be dying. She wasn't, but she didn't think that going into his tent and saying hello in a usual morning greeting was the best idea.

"Hey Rainbow. Blaze." He said as he closed and locked his chest.

"How are you?" She asked. "I'm fine considering what the day's events hold for me. How are you two?" He asked.

"We're ok." Blaze said. There was an awkward silence that could have been cut with a knife.

"So, uhh, have you told Linus yet" Rainbow said, trying to break the silence.

"Not yet. I figure we shouldn't until it's 5 till noon. That way he can't do much to try and stop it." Rook said.

"That sounds like a good idea. But how will we tell him? 'Hey Linus. You know the fight? Well, you won't be fighting anymore! I am!' If that's how we're going to do it, I don't want to be the one getting punched by him." Rainbow said. Rook just grinned.

"I'll tell him. Don't worry. It'll all be fine." Rook pulled something out from his pocket. "Here. Give this to Hex when you see him. It's a map of Canterlot and the weak points around it."

"I will. Where has he been anyways? I haven't seen him around camp for a few days." Blaze said.

"Well I wouldn't expect you to, since you always seem to be off with Rainbow somewhere. But, your right. I haven't seen him around here for awhile. But I do want you two to do something. Stop sneaking off. This army is going to need you both at Ponyville. If you two are gone on the trip to Ponyville and we get ambushed, we are in trouble. Blaze, you are an amazing hoof to hoof combatant and Rainbow is amazingly fast and agile. You can't be going off to make out whenever chance you get." Rook said sharply. Rainbow turned a bright red.

"We won't Rook. We'll be here for the army in these last few battles." Blaze said. He was turning deep red, but kept his a normal tone.

"Alright Blaze. I'm counting on you to finish this. If you don't, I would have died for nothing. I'm doing this to keep you and Linus both alive. I can't stress that enough." Rook said.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she pays." Blaze said. Luna walked in urgently as she flung the flap back.

"Rook-Oh hey Blaze, Rainbow. Listen, we have a slight problem on our hands. Hex is missing. He hasn't been spotted around camp for awhile and I think he may be in trouble." She said. "We need to go looking for him so we can move on to Ponyville." She pulled out a map. "I know that there is the fight, but we should be back in time." She started to point at the map, when a giant fireball landed right outside the tent. "Blaze! See what's going on in the sky! Rainbow, gather Applejack and Big Mac and have them find a place to hide! Rook come with me! We need to get Linus!" Luna ordered.

"Why the hell can't we ever get some peace around here?!" Blaze shouted angrily. He flew into the sky as he scanned the horizon. He saw the six catapults that were launching the deadly balls of fire and estimated them to be a few miles away.

He soared back to his tent and grabbed some bombs he made awhile back. These were the last ones. He only had three that could do serious damage, the rest were all gas bombs. I have to make these count! He thought to himself. As he was about to launch himself back into the sky, an enormous blast of heat seared the left side of his body. He screamed in pain as the fireball ripped through the flesh in his left side. He fell to the ground in agony and latched on to his side. He looked around as the chaos in the camp ensued. Linus where the buck are you? He shouted in his mind. He watched as the area around him grew into chaos. Ponies were getting sent flying as the fireballs crashed into them. The burning tents that surrounded the camp. This was meant to utterly destroy them. Blaze couldn't allow it to happen. Despite the excruciating pain in his wing, he stood up and took flight. He was slow and sluggish, but he needed to end the assault. He flew low to the ground to avoid the flying balls of death that soared above him.

He reached the catapults and launched the first bomb at the first two and they were obliterated and sent into a fiery heap of wood. He flew to the other catapults and sent another bomb flying towards the next two. The bomb detonated on contact and vaporized the launchers. As he ventured towards the next set, he saw a magic bolt come flying past him. He dodged behind the tree line and whipped and weaved through the trees as the bolts zipped past him. He shot into the sky and dive bombed the catapults. He launched the bomb and it hit the farthest catapult and decimated it. The last catapult was barely functioning. He thought fast, and whizzed past the catapult. He was able to attain the unicorn's attention and flew back towards the catapult. I need to time this perfectly. He thought. As he neared the catapult, he scuffed a branch with his burnt wing. He yelped in pain and slammed into the ground. He rolled and tumbled as he skidded across the rocky ground. He finally arrived at a stop at the base of the catapult. He gazed up as the gorner reached him.

"The infamous Blaze. I've heard so much about you. Master of explosives and an expert in hoof to hoof combat. You know how long we have been waiting to kill you?" He said with an evil grin. "Now you're here, at my feet, subject to my mercy. Don't think about escaping either. That crash has broken your wings. You can't fly, and with my magic I could easily stun you should you try to run." He said with an evil smirk on his face. Blaze spit the blood that had collected in his mouth at the Gorner's face. The Gorner wiped it from his face and kicked Blaze in the back. "How dare you! I was going to kill you quickly, but now I will make sure that you feel the full force of my ability." He said. Blaze felt a sudden screeching pain in his left side. He screamed as the Gorner tortured him. Blaze's left side felt like it was being devoured while someone poured lava onto it. His bones felt like they were breaking and being ripped from his weary body. The Gorner released the spell and kicked rocks into Blaze's face.

"And guess what? That's only a small taste of what I can offer you. Want to feel what I can truly do? What I was born and raised to do?" He said while picking Blaze up off the ground. His side was pouring with blood. He would die of blood loss soon.

"Do your worst." He muttered and spit as much blood back into his captor's face. He was slammed into the ground and kicked in the head.

"I will make you suffer!" The Gorner proclaimed. He was about to cast his spell, when a giant red pony jumped and kicked the Gorner away from Blaze.

"Rainbow! Get him!" Big Mac yelled. Rainbow flew down from the sky and picked Blaze up and set him on her back.

"Mac let's go!" She ordered. Big Mac instead ran at the Gorner and trampled him to the ground.

"Rainbow get him back to camp! He needs help!" He ordered back at Rainbow. After he had spoke, the Gorner launched a magic bolt straight at Big Mac's chest. He gripped his chest as he started scream in pain. "Run! Get out of here Rainbow!" He said as he coughed up blood. He started to bleed out of his nose, mouth, ears. He screamed louder as the spell cursed through his heart, forcing the blood to rush through his system. His eyes turned red as blood rushed out of his eyes. With a final cry of pain, he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Rainbow! Did ya get him?" Applejack said as she rushed out of the trees. She looked at the giant red colt laying on the ground covered in his own blood. The Gorner laughed a melancholy laugh and vanished in cloud of black smoke. "Mac?" She asked quietly. She ran over to him and fell to her knees. "Mac...Please Mac answer me!" She yelled frantically.

"AJ...He's gone..." Rainbow said sadly.

"Big Mac! On Old Granny Smith's grave Ah swear you won't leave me alone! Ah'll have nopony here to help me! You are all the family Ah have left sugarcube...." She finished with a sorrowful cry.

"Applejack..." Rainbow couldn't finish. She knew what Applejack was going through. Applejack stared into her brother's eyes.

"Macintosh.." She said quietly. She put her hoof over his eyes and closed them. "Ah'm so sorry." She whispered.

"Rainbow, go help her. I'll be fine." Blaze said weakly. He was bleeding badly and wasn't going to be conscious much longer, but he didn't care. Rainbow looked at him doubtfully. "Go. I'll be alright." He said unconvincingly. She reluctantly put him down and went over to a weeping Applejack. She took Applejack in her arms and cradled her only remaining friend.

"Oh Applejack. I am so sorry." Rainbow said as her friend cried into her shoulder. Applejack let go of Rainbow, closed her eyes and leaned on her dead brother, hugging him. She came back up, covered in his blood with tears mixing with the crimson blood. She placed Mac on the ground.

"Ah will avenge you. First my parents, my friends, Apple bloom, and now you. Ah swear, you will not die in vain." Applejack said. Blaze weakly walked up next to Applejack and Rainbow. He had a clump of flowers in his hoof. He placed them in Big Mac's hooves.

"He died to protect me. I will help you avenge his death." Blaze said with the last bit of his energy. He collapsed to the ground and passed out next to Rainbow.

"Blaze!" Rainbow screeched. "Applejack, we need to get him back to camp. Once he is there, I will come back and take Big Mac back with us." Applejack shook her head.

"No. Ah don't want the others to see him like this. He helped us all during our times in need when we were in Ponyville. Most of them think of him as one of their family. But he was a true family member to me. Nopony else knew him like Ah did." She said through her tears. "Ah'm going to miss you, Big Macintosh. You were the only pony Ah truly had to help me." She said as she weeped.

Rainbow put an arm around her friend. "He won't die in vain. I promise you Applejack." She said. She picked Blaze up and put him on her back. Applejack leaned down and kissed Big Mac on his forehead. As she turned to leave with Rainbow, she bucked the remaining catapult that stood above Big Mac and destroyed the crippled leg it stood on, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Rainbow. We have lost so many of our friends. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Twi. All of them gave their lives to protect us. Big Mac has helped protect many ponies from Chrysalis and did what he could in order to help us when we were cold, hungry, and lost on hope. He was shy, but he was smart and loyal. He put us before himself." Applejack looked at Rainbow. "I will see to it that the no good, varmint bitch is brought down." Her eyes were alive with fire, a burning passion to avenge her brother. She sped ahead of Rainbow and ran for the camp. Rainbow tilted her head to the floor. I'm sorry AJ. I'm so, so sorry. A tear ran down her cheek, glistening in the sun as it fell onto the grass beneath her hooves.

Chapter 24

Rainbow and Applejack ran into the destroyed camp. Tents that once stood tall and brown now burned with a fiery intensity. Soldiers were intently trying to put the fires out as they blazed through the camp. Most of the fortifications were destroyed, but the medical supplies and the others that were raided were spared from most of the fires, but the medical tents and the command tents were all destroyed in the attack. AJ and Rainbow Dash ran towards where Luna was told to have been.

Luna was sitting with Rook around a makeshift medical tent that was over filled with burn victims and those who were maimed from the fireballs. Rainbow ignored the patients around her and rushed into the tent. “Luna! It’s Blaze! He’s lost a lot of blood! I don’t know how long he will survive. Luna help him!” Rainbow said as Luna ignored her.

She was standing over a table trying to get a spell to work. “Luna are you even listening to me?! Blaze is dying!” Rainbow yelled. Rook appeared in front of her with Derpy.

“Rainbow, now isn’t the best time. Come with us, we’ll help Blaze.” Rook said calmly but clearly distressed.

“Rook what the hay is going on?” Applejack said as she followed him into a conjoining tent. Rainbow placed Blaze on the table and Derpy began to work. “Rook. Explain. Who is Luna healing that could be of more importance than the highest ranking member of the army?!” Rainbow demanded.

“Sit down. Please. Applejack, could you help Derpy for a little bit? I need to talk to Rainbow about some things.” Applejack nodded and went to help her the best she could. Rook looked back at Rainbow and gave a sigh. “When the fireballs began to rain from the sky, Luna grabbed me to go find Linus. We needed him to see if he could help evacuate the soldiers. When we arrived at his tent we found him inside. Bloodied and burned. One of the fireballs landed right on top of his tent.

“Luna went crazy. She couldn’t handle seeing him like that. I had to grab Linus and send him to Derpy. She tried her best, but nothing we did could fully heal the wounds. They were too deep and too badly burned. Luna has been trying to get him to wake up, but to no avail.” Rook said as he explained everything that had happened. “After the fireballs stopped, we started to get over hauled by soldiers who were burned beyond recognition and those who lost limbs. Luna tried to heal as many as she could, but there were just too many. She can only do so much before her magic weakens.”

“How long has she been working on him?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t know. Too long. But for right now, don’t disturb Luna. She is too fragile and he is all she cares about right now. You know how you feel for Blaze? That’s how she feels for Linus. You know that feeling. That feeling that doesn’t leave. That feeling that when they are hurt, you hurt, you feel the same pain that they do. When you can get lost in each other’s eyes. That feeling for the other, where you feel inseparable against all odds. Luna has never felt that. Linus is the only pony who has been able to offer her that.” Rook said as he recalled all the feelings he felt all those years ago.

“What about Blaze? Can Derpy fix his wing? Can she mend bones and fix burns as bad as what he has?” Rainbow asked.

Rook bowed his head. “I don’t know. The burns should be fixable, but it will take time. His wing…” Rook said as he gathered the courage to tell her. “From what I saw when you brought him in here, it looks like it may need to be amputated. His bones are snapped and the muscles torn beyond repair.” He said sorrowfully.

Rainbow let out a small squeak of shock. She covered her mouth as tears began to fall from her eyes. “So he’ll never be able to fly? Never again in his life?” She asked as the realization came to her.

“Yes. He will be grounded for the rest of his life.” Rook said.

Rainbow lowered her head. Never fly again. A Pegasus who is unable to fly…I can’t believe it… Rainbow thought as she imagined what that meant for them. He won’t be able to fly. What will everypony think of me? That I settled? That I stayed with him out of pity? That I can’t even get a true Pegasus? She shook her head. No. This is Blaze. He knows how to get through things. We can figure this out. She stopped her thoughts. But if we have a filly, he won’t be able to teach them how to fly. They’ll be embarrassed by him.

“Rainbow? Are you ok?” Rook asked. She looked up at him. “Yea. Yea I’m fine. Can I see him? I want to be the first one he sees when he wakes up.” She said.

“Sure. Go ahead.” He led her back to Blaze.

“Applejack, hand me the cream to your right. They should help get rid of the burns.” Derpy ordered Applejack. She returned to cutting the wing.

“Rainbow! What in tarnation are you doing here?” Applejack said as she handed the creams over.

“I came here so I could see Blaze. I want to be here when he gets up.” She said as she moved over to the table. Derpy had already began to saw off his wing.

Not able to fly… She couldn’t get the thought out of her mind. Derpy had just cut through half of his wing. Rainbow looked away. She couldn’t see him like this. She couldn’t see the one thing that made him a Pegasus being ripped from his body. Derpy began cut through the rest of the bone. Rainbow cringed as she heard the sound of bone being cut by saws and knives.

Through the Everfree Forest
Past those rocky ruins
I will always be waiting
For you to be by my side

Over the Macintosh Mountains
And over those retched Badlands
Soon you’ll be there with me
With me forever at last.

Past those slimy wet swamps
At the beaches of the sea
I will be there waiting
For you to finally arrive

If you’re not there tomorrow
If you are not with me
I will stay there waiting
For you to be with me

This song he sang. He sang this to me when I was alone. When I was vulnerable and without anypony. The saw rammed into the table as Derpy cut through the final part of the bone. Rainbow let out a small squeak as she saw the wing separated from his mutilated body. He was lying there, burned, beaten, and without a wing. Rainbow let a silent tear run down her face. She couldn’t imagine living without one of her wings. She ran a hoof through the feathers on her back. I couldn’t get rid of these. I need these to be me. I’m nothing without them. She got up and moved to the table. She stood over Blaze and looked down at his mangled body.

She took his hoof and placed it in his. He was cold. Lifeless. “Will he be alright?” She asked Derpy weakly.

“He’ll be fine. If we can get some blood into him. He has lost a lot of it. We need somepony who is willing to donate blood. Without the blood, he isn’t going to make it.” She said. Rainbow ran over to her and grabbed her shoulders.

“I’ll do it! If it will save him I’ll donate the blood.” Rainbow said frantically. If I can save him, I will. She thought. Derpy gave a nervous nod of her head. She grabbed the supplies needed to draw the blood. Rainbow took a seat next to Blaze and held his hoof. Derpy came back with a needle and a bag. She hooked the bag and the needle together and stuck Rainbow in the arm. Blood started to drain and it collected into the bag. After Derpy had drained the amount of blood she needed, she stopped, pulled the needle out, and began to get the transfuser ready.

“You need to drink water. And you need sleep. Without either, you will be too tired to do anything later.” Derpy recommended.

“I’ll do that when I know he is safe and well.” Rainbow shot back. Derpy began to transfer the blood when Rook and Luna arrived to the tent.

“Blaze? Rainbow! What happened?” Luna asked. Rainbow went over the days events with the catapults. She didn’t take her eyes off of Blaze, and she didn’t mention Big Mac’s death, for Applejack’s sake.

“Will he be ok? Will he be able to continue to fight?” Luna asked.

“Once the blood gets transferred to him, he should be ok. All we can do from there is to watch him and make sure he wakes up safely.” Applejack said.

Derpy finished the blood transfusion and stitched the side his wing was amputated from. “Now we wait for him to wake. Applejack, could you stay here and watch him? I need to see the other patients. If anything goes wrong, come get me.” She said and walked out to help those outside.

Applejack walked over to Rainbow who was sitting wearily by Blaze, still holding his hoof. “That was a great thing you did. Giving him your blood. Most wouldn’t do that now. Not in the war zone.” Applejack said.

Rainbow smiled. “Oh AJ. You know I wouldn’t leave anypony hanging.” Applejack gave a light laugh. “Yea I know. You never left us by ourselves when you had the choice.”

Blaze moved his head slightly to the sounds of them talking. “Blaze?” Rainbow asked hoping he was awake. He didn’t respond. Not even a shake of his head. Rainbow lowered her head.

“He’ll be ok sugarcube. He received the best medical help I have ever seen. If we had her with us, we wouldn’t have lost as many as we had while we were imprisoned.” Applejack said.

“Do you really believe he will be alright?” Rainbow asked. “He just lost what makes a Pegasus, a Pegasus. His wing. His ability to fly. It’s the only thing a Pegasus ever dreams of doing, is learning how to fly. It’s an amazing feeling. The rush of the wind ruffling through your wings, the exhilarating rush of adrenaline when in a dive, the feeling of weightlessness as you soar above the clouds.” She said reminiscing her years in Ponyville. “All that gone because of this war. A Pegasus needs his wing. It’s humiliating being a Pegasus who can’t fly.”

Applejack had never known what flying really meant to a Pegasus. She wasn’t ignorant about their ability, but she never thought anything of it. There were Pegasus who flew around Ponyville all the time. It was just natural to see them. Rainbow ran a hoof through his mane. “He won’t be ok. I’ve seen what being unable to fly does to a Pegasus.” She said thinking of Scootaloo. They sat in silence for a few minutes, the other unwillingly to say anything. Blaze moved his head again and made a slight groan.

“Blaze? Are you awake?” Rainbow asked as he started to open his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Rainbow over him, smiling as he stared into her eyes.

“Rainbow.” He said weakly, with a smile on his face. Rainbow’s smile widened.

“I’m here Blaze.” She said as she gripped his hoof tighter.

“Is everypony ok? How many did we-“ He stopped. Something wasn’t right. “Rainbow…Why can’t I feel my left wing?” He asked with a worried look.

Chapter 25

Rainbow bit her lip. "Rainbow? What happened? Why can't I feel it?" He said as he looked where his wing used to be. "...My wing..." He looked over to an adjoining table and saw it. The shock was making him hysterical. "That's my wing! Why is it over there? Why isn't it attached to me!?" He yelled.

"It was broken. Your wing was terribly burned and you had bones sticking out in all directions." Rainbow said quickly. "Your feathers were completely burned off."

"You let them saw my wing off!!" He yelled accusingly at her.

"Blaze she didn't have a choice. Derpy was already halfway through when she came in." Applejack said as she tried to defend a stunned Rainbow.

"Applejack this doesn't concern you! Stay out of this!" Blaze shouted.

"Stop it Blaze!" Rainbow yelled at him. This wasn't like him. "You would've died had I not donated you some blood! Why are you blaming me for the loss of your wing? You should be thanking me for saving your life!" She said between her sobs.

"You wouldn't have had to donate blood if you had stopped her from taking off my wing!" He yelled at her. Applejack stood between Blaze and Rainbow.

"Now you listen here Blaze. We didn't drag your sorry flank back to camp just so you could yell at her and blame her for something she didn't have anything to do with! Big Mac didn't die so you could blame and hurt Rainbow." She yelled back at Blaze.

"Oh yea Big Mac. The big shy guy who only knows two words!" Blaze shouted making Applejack gasp.

"Well maybe he should have left you to die with the Gorner! Buck you, Blaze!" She said and ran out of the tent weeping. Rainbow gave Blaze a glare that could kill.

"Well, it looks like I saved the wrong pony. I loved you, and now you have bucked up everything. Good bye Blaze." Rainbow said as she left with waterfalls leaving her eyes, her spirit, and her heart broken.

Blaze watched her run off and past Luna, who had just ran in. "What the hell happened Blaze?" She asked worried.

"Both of them allowed my wing to be taken off! I could have still used it!" He said.

"Blaze, your wing was featherless, burned beyond repair, and your bones were snapped and sticking out of it! Derpy didn't have a choice. It was either your wing or your life." She said, trying to explain.

"Rainbow saw it before it was amputated. Saw me before I arrived here. She brought me back here and let her cut it off!" He said furiously.

"Look Blaze. I know this is a huge shock for you. But she did what she thought was necessary for you to live. She loves you and wants you to live. Can't you see that?" She asked.

"All I see are a bunch of lying ponies." He said quietly and with a grimace.

"You don't have to believe me, but it's true. I'm going to go find them and see if I can help remedy any and all damage you may have caused." Luna said and walked out of the tent.

Blaze just sat on his table, reliving the events of the attack. The gorner, the torture, the giant red pony that saved him. Oh Celestia. What have I done... He thought to himself. He tried to get off the table, but as soon as he tried to stand, he got dizzy. He had to sit in the chair that was next to him. Rook walked in and looked at the weary pony.

"I heard what you were yelling at Rainbow. Hay, half the camp probably heard it." He said. "She didn't let you get your wing removed. I stopped her before she entered the tent and talked to her. I broke the news to her that you wouldn't be able to fly ever again and that the wing needed to be amputated. I was worried that she may have stopped the amputation. If she had, you would have died from infection. So if you want to blame somepony, blame me."

"I don't blame you Rook. You did the right thing. So did Rainbow. And I just through it in her face." Blaze said as he looked down. "She hates me. She despises me now."

"Oh I wouldn't say that. You losing your wing was a big shock to you. She loves you. She'll understand." Rook said. Blaze looked at his wing, lying there on the table. "Help me up. I'm going to go find her."

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

'Oh Linus. Poor, lonely, and unloved. How does it feel to die by my hands? To watch your friends die in front of you? To know that it is your fault they died?'

"Please, stop this!" Linus cried.

'Why should I? It's so much fun to see you suffer from me. Somepony you trusted.'

"Why though?! Why lead us here, all the way to Canterlot, just so you could kill us? What's the point of it?" Linus asked.

'I did it, so I could watch you suffer.' Luna said.

Linus shot up with a gasp as he awoke from the dreadful nightmare. As he did, he regretted doing so. His body screamed in pain from his burns. What happened to you Linus? he thought to himself. He couldn't remember much. All he remembered was laying in his bed when he heard a low roaring sound. The next thing he remembered was waking up here in pain. He looked around the tent. He could smell burnt flesh, he could hear the moans and groans from the others around him. Slowly, he picked himself up, nudged off the table, and carefully made his way to the tent flap.

When he opened it, he cringed as he saw ash, the burning corpses of dead ponies, limbs lying around, left to stay as the aftermath of what had happened caused a rush. He saw his soldiers, lying on the ground dead, dying, or alive but missing limbs. He tried to ignore the sounds of pain that filled his ears, the suffocating smell of the dead, and the unforgiving sight that the war had wrought. He walked away from the carnage and found his way to the edge of the camp. He saw Luna, Applejack, and Rainbow sitting by the stream. Carefully, as to not agitate his burns, he walked over to the three ponies.

"Can some pony explain to me why it hurts to walk?" He groaned. They looked behind them and smiled to see that he was alive. Luna ran over to him and hugged him tightly. She quickly let go of him though as he let aout a cry of pain.

"Sorry, Linus." She said apologetically. "When did you wake up? You've been out for almost an hour." She asked.

"Well, I woke up about 10 minutes ago and noticed how much it hurt to move. Care to explain?" He asked the group of three.

"First, take a seat. Your burns are irritated." Luna said. Linus took an open spot next to a tree an gingerly took a seat. "We were getting things ready for the fight, which you weren't going to be fighting in anyway because of Rook." Linus held his agape.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be fighting?" Linus asked

"Rook asked Blaze to accept him as the new challenger. He accepted. After that, you were no longer a participant of the fight. Rook knew what would have happened if you were to die. The army would be without a great asset. Anyway, I went looking for Hex. I wanted to discuss where to be after the fight, whether we should host a funeral or move straight to Ponyville. I hadn't seen him for days. I still haven't seen him, even after what happened tonight. I went to Rook's tent where Blaze and Rainbow were also visiting. All of a sudden, a gigantic fireball fell from the sky and landed next to his tent. I sent Blaze out to find what was launching them. Me and Rook went out to find you, but when we arrived you were underneath a burning tent, crushed by a fireball. The fact that you are alive now is amazing. You were burned, but you will recover in due time." She said.

"So I missed a battle because of a cheap shot by Chrysalis? Not the way I want to go out." Linus said. "Is Blaze ok? If he went to what was launching them, he would've been in a lot of danger." The others hesitated before answering. Rainbow stood up and walked away from them.

"His wing was badly burned. The feathers were gone, the skin was shredded and burned, he had bones sticking out of his wing and he lost a lot of blood. Me, Big Mac, and Applejack went after him to make sure he was ok. When we arrived there was a Gorner standing over him, torturing him. Big Mac tackled the Gorner to the ground and I grabbed Blaze. We were getting ready to get out of there, when the Gorner sent a bolt into Mac's chest." Rainbow shuddered. She could still see it. The blood spewing from Big Mac as he convulsed and screamed in agony. "The Gorner disappeared after Applejack appeared. She found her brother dead on the ground covered in his own blood. After we got back to camp, Blaze had his wing amputated. When he awoke and saw it, he blamed me for it. Said it was my doing that caused it to be amputated. He insulted Mac too during his fit. Not a single thank you for saving him." She said, angrily.

"Wait, he can't fly anymore? And I doubt Blaze would do that. It isn't like him." Linus said shocked by what his friend had done. "He has never insulted someone who has fallen in battle, not even if they were complete flank-holes."

"He did Linus." Luna said. "I heard it. So did Rook."

"Where is Rook anyways? I didn't see him at the tent I was at." Linus asked. "Maybe he went to talk to Blaze?"

"Maybe. But right now I could care less as to where Blaze is. His attitude is unbearable." Rainbow said. She hated Blaze for blaming her for what happened. She especially hated what he said about Big Mac. He knew that Mac could have chosen to ignore Blaze, but he went anyway. Why can't he see it. Why is he so blind to that fact? She thought.

"Rainbow, it was a big shock to him. He never thought that he would lose such a huge part of him. He loved flying almost as much as you did. When he first joined, I could barely keep him out of the sky. He was always up in the clouds, soaring through the magnificent blue sky. It was peaceful to him. He can't have that now. He will be bound to the ground now." Luna explained. Rainbow just stared off into the distance.

Applejack looked past Linus and saw Rook and Blaze walking this way. "Great. Look who decided to rear his ugly head." She said distastefully. Luna and Linus both looked to where Applejack was staring. Blaze limped over to them with Rook as a support. Rainbow continued to stare at nothing. She refused to see Blaze. She didn't even want to be in the same vicinity as him.

"Hey Linus. When did you get up?" Blaze asked. He and Rook walked over to the stream. Blaze sat himself next to Rainbow.

"Let's just say the smell got to me." Linus said, trying to lighten the air around them. "I'm sorry about your wing Blaze. If I hadn't been knocked out by the fireball that crashed on my head, I would've been there to help you out."

"It wouldn't have mattered. I got hit by parts of a fireball that scorched my wing. I couldn't fly well after that. Main reason it's gone now." He said. He looked at Applejack. "I'm sorry for what I said about Big Mac. He was strong, courageous, and very loyal. I'm sorry that he had to die, and I'm sorry I was such an ass. He didn't deserve to die, and I plan on avenging his death, along with all the others." Applejack looked at him, and gave him a forgiving nod. He turned and looked at Rainbow.

"I know that I said somethings back at the tent that really hurt you. But I didn't know who to blame. It scared me that I had lost my wing. The one thing I looked forward to, before I met you, was flying. All throughout this war, my wings would be injured. When Linus saved me from the prison I was kept in, they broke them. When I dropped that bomb on the enemy camp, my wings were burned. Yet I still made through it. Yet, I lost that tonight. I regret everything I said before. I know you probably hate me, but I just want to tell you how sorry I am for what I did."

Rainbow turned and looked at him. "I understand your want to fly, your need for it. But I have that same thing, that same want. I would be devastated without my wings. But I would never, ever say what you said to me to somepony I cared about. I'm loyal to my friends Blaze and I no longer know if you are." She said. She turned back around, and just to make Blaze feel even worse, she took off and soared into the sky. She flipped and twirled in the air and zoomed away from them, heading back to the camp.

Blaze looked down. "I told you she would hate me Rook. She doesn't even care that I can't fly. I know why she did though. Whatever we had before, it's over. She'll never forgive me. I'll be on the ground while she soars through the clouds." Blaze said sadly. "I wish I could take it all back." he spoke quietly. They all just sat there by the stream in the light of the moon that shone upon them.

"So Rook. When did you plan on telling me about the fight?" Linus asked. Rook looked quizzically at Linus. "What? You thought I wasn't going to find out about my exemption from the fight?" Linus asked.

Rook looked at Luna. She shrugged her shoulders. "I told him everything about what happened."

Rook sighed. "I was going to let you know right before the fight was to take place. It isn't happening now though because of the attack." He said.

"I see. Well, I wish you would've told me sooner. Would've made things easier." Linus said. "Then again I probably would've griped at you for it."

"One of the reasons we kept it quiet." Blaze said. He stood up and groaned as his muscles tensed up and his burns reignited the pain. He opened his wing. "It's weird. Feeling the wind through only one wing as it sails in between the feathers. The sensation of flight that I've always known, gone. I will find Chrysalis. And when I do, she is going to know the meaning of pain, loss, and everything she has caused us." He said thinking of Twilight, Big Mac, and all the others who lost their lives because of her. He turned to face the others. "I'm going to look for Rainbow. I need to talk to her, even if she doesn't want to talk to me." He said. He limped away from the group in search of her.

Chapter 26

Blaze made his way through the camp. He tried to ignore the stares from the injured soldiers around him. He kept his one wing open for all to see. He had a feeling of where she would be. He walked to the medical tent where he was operated on and found her talking to Derpy. He could hear Rainbow's tears as she explained everything. Derpy gave her a hug and held her close. She looked up and saw Blaze. She pulled out of the hug and told Rainbow something. He couldn't hear what she said, but by the way Rainbow changed her attitude, he knew it was about him. She nodded, and Derpy left her, walking straight to Blaze.

"She's really upset by what you said earlier here. Please don't screw this up. She has nopony. Applejack is the only one left, but she has her own problems after Big Mac's death." She said

Blaze nodded. "Thank you Derpy. If it weren't for you I would be dead. No matter what I said, I really do appreciate it." Derpy gave a light smile and nodded her head.

"Well you go out there and win her back." She retreated from the tent and left Blaze and Rainbow alone to discuss what happened. Blaze walked over to her. She was beaten and exhausted.

"Hey Rainbow." He started.

Rainbow didn't look at him. "What do you want? You want to blame me again for something I had no control over? Blame me for the loss of your wing and your ability to fly?" she said in a frustrated tone.

"No. I'm here to apologize for my irrational behavior. I over-reacted. I shouldn't have blamed you for anything that you did. I was shocked that my wing wasn't attached to me. I feel naked without it. The feel of the wind through my wings, the sight of the ground beneath me, and the soothing feel of the clouds are gone." he explained. He walked to her left side and stood next to her. "I really appreciate what you did for me. You flew me back to camp, donated me some of your blood, and stayed with me. But what did I do? After all you had done for me, I yelled at you, blaming you for everything. I'm sorry Rainbow, I really am."

Rainbow stood there with tears in her eyes. She knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it. She ignored him and turned around to leave. "Rainbow, listen!" He ran after her.

"Stop it Blaze! I don't want to hear it. I did everything to help you. If it weren't for me you would be dead right now! And what do I get in return? I get accused of...of letting them take your wing!" She stammered.

"I know and I apologize. I wasn't thinking and I was shocked at what I had seen. I've never known life without flight. Soaring through the skies, laying on a cloud on a sunny day, all of that wiped out because of Chrysalis. Rainbow Dash please. I'm so sorry for what I said to you and-" Rainbow cut him off.

"Look Blaze, we need to get to the stage. Luna is making an announcement to the army and I don't know why she wants an impaired Pegasus there. Now let's go." She said and retreated from the tent. Blaze groaned and followed her out. They walked to the center of the camp in silence.

When they arrived Linus turned his head and raised his eyebrow to Blaze, who returned it with a glare. Linus lowered his brow and returned facing the crowd. Rainbow and Blaze took their positions to either side of Luna. "Tonight, we were attacked. I don't need to tell you what happened, but I will tell you all this. We have many wounded and many dead. We sent Blaze out to destroy whatever was launching the fireballs, and while he was out, he received terrible burns on his left wing. The damage to it was irreparable. He would've died out in the field if it weren't for a brave Earth Pony. His name was Big Mac and he rushed out to save him along with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Mac ran into a Gorner who had tortured Blaze and would've done worse to him. But Mac crashed into the Gorner which allowed Rainbow to save Blaze. However, in doing so, Mac lost his life." There was a gasp from the group of ponies that had known him.

Blaze lowered his head as he saw the event play back in his head. The bolt hitting Mac in the chest, the blood spewing everywhere, and his cries as the spell shot through his body. A nudge from Linus pushed the memory from his mind. Blaze looked up and noticed that Luna was gesturing for him to come up front. He walked to the front of the stage, knowing what she was going to ask of him. "Blaze, I'm sorry, but I have to." Luna said quiet enough so only he could hear. He nodded his head.

"This is what happened to Blaze when he was brought to the medical tent." She said as she looked at him. She nodded her head to signal his cue. He opened his one wing as the gasps from the soldiers swept across the crowd. There were murmurs, whispers, and jokes spreading through the group. "Even now, with the loss of his wing, he is still willing to fight, to rid Equestria of Chrysalis."

"How will he? Flap her with one wing?" Someone from the crowd shouted. A few laughed, others murmured their opinion, and others looked at Blaze waiting for a reaction.

"I plan to fight harder than ever before. She has taken away too many things from me. My ability to fly will be the last thing she takes." he said to the crowd.

"Do you now? And what if she takes your wing too? You won't even be a Pegasus. You can't claim to be an Earth Pony either. So what would you be then? A Pegasus without wings? The thought of such a thing is hilarious." the soldier said again. More started to laugh at what was being said.

"Hey! Whoever it is who is shouting these obscenities, let me tell you something." Rainbow cried out. "A Pegasus is a Pegasus with, or without their wings. What's different between you and me anyways? I have wings and you don't. Some of you have horns and are Unicorns, who know magic more than any of us. Some are Earth Ponies, strong, fast, and tough to take down. Us Pegasus, we attack from the sky, dropping hell as if it were a daily thing. We all have differences, but we are all the same in more ways than you think." She turned to Blaze. "He may have lost his wing and his ability to fly, but he is more of a Pegasus than most of us. He is cunning, smart, and caring." She said as she gave Blaze a grin.

"He has lost more than just his wing during this war. He has lost not only his parents, but friends who served next to him. He's lost innocent ponies who have seen more action in battle than any of us. There was one pony however. One foal. Her name was Lily. She was an orphan after a battle he had fought in." Blaze looked at Rainbow, not believing that she was saying this. She continued the story of Lily and how she became a part of Blaze's family. Rainbow told of the night she died. It all rushed back to him. Her dead body, covered in her own blood, the spear pierced through her heart, and the flowers that fell to the bloodied ground as he cried out at her death.

"This Pegasus has seen more death than any of us. He has had his chances to leave the fray. He has served in this army for far longer than he should have. Most of you would leave after your ten years, but not him. He has stayed for over 15 years. He was here before Luna returned to help us. So if anypony here has fought more valiantly than him, step up." Rainbow said addressing the entire crowd. Nopony stepped forward. "I thought so." She finished and walked back to her place beside Luna.

"Who are you to talk? You are just a broken Element of Harmony!" he yelled. Many of the others didn't say anything. Most who did say something only gave whispers of disapproval about what was said.

This gave Rainbow pause. She turned back to the crowd and stood tall. "I am still the Element of Loyalty. I may not be like I was from Ponyville, but I am still loyal to all of you. Don't ever think that I have left or abandoned the army." she said calmly.

The crowd whispered to themselves. Blaze walked forward, his wing extended out for all to see. "I know that some of you think I may be incompetent and weak. But after this injury, I feel a renewed fighting spirit. All of us have lost those close to us. "Twilight Sparkle, Big Mac, Lily, Starbolt and Princess Celestia all were somepony who was close to us who stand up here. We are all fighting for something. No matter what, I will still fight. No matter the injury, no matter the cost to me, not until Chrysalis is overthrown!" A few gave shouts of agreement. "Chrysalis will pay for everything! She will rue the day she brought herself to Equestria. Tomorrow, we march not to Ponyville, but to a victory! A victory that will destroy Chrysalis' army. A march that will reap rewards for all of us! A march to end this war!"

More shouts of agreement resonated through the crowd. "Prepare yourselves! Tomorrow, we move through the Forest to Ponyville!" he said with a yell. The crowd of soldiers shouted their agreement and ran off, readying to fight. Luna looked at Blaze with a grin.

"It seems I should have you give speeches more often. You seem to spread encouragement and confidence throughout the soldiers." she said.

Blaze gave a small smile. "I don't deserve all the credit. Rainbow Dash was amazing with her retorts and explanations. Without her, I probably wouldn't have had the same effect." he said as he turned his gaze to her. "I'm going to get ready. I may not be able to fly, but I can still walk and fight. So I'll join a group of soldiers and fight with them."

"You can't Blaze. I made a decision to keep you out of this fight. You may be a good fighter, but your wings helped you. I need you to help in Canterlot so you can't get killed in Ponyville." Luna said. This rose protests from the group on stage.

"You can't be serious Luna?" Rook said. "He just gave a speech moving the army to fight, and you are going to hold him back? He may be injured, but he's still the best fighter we have."

"I understand that Rook, but I need him to be able to build a bomb large enough for our troops to get in." Luna countered.

"But what about the soldiers? What do you think is going to happen when they march into battle and see him staying back as they march into the city? What message do you think that will send to them?" Linus followed.

"I will personally tell them that I ordered him to stay back so he could work on the bomb. We need him to build the bomb so we can end this." Luna said, raising her tone.

"Then I'll build it on the way. Every stop we make I can work on it. I could finish it before we get to Ponyville and then I can be off fighting with the other soldiers." Blaze said finally.

"Blaze I don't doubt your bomb making skills, but it isn't possible for you build a bomb large enough to bring down an entire section of the castle in under three days. Especially when we are on the move." She said. "I'm sorry Blaze, but you are not fighting at Ponyville. That's an order." She said, ending the discussion there and walking off.

Blaze gave a moan and kicked rock in frustration. "What are you going to do Blaze?" Rainbow asked. He looked at her and saw her smile.

"I'm going to fight. No matter what." He said. He ran back to what was left of his tent and pulled out his supplies. I'm so glad I made Rook put a protective spell on this thing! he thought as he opened the chest up. He pulled out the materials and got to work. Rook ran into the tent followed by the others.

"Well obviously you are going to need help if you want this done tonight." Rook said. Blaze looked up at them and smiled. "Rainbow, go back to my tent. There should be a book on demolitions in the bookshelf. Don't worry, it's protected by magic. You'll find it." Rainbow nodded and flew out of the tent. Rook and Linus walked over to Blaze and looked at his components.

"Gees Blaze. I knew you had supplies, but dang! This is just insane." Linus said as he observed the magnitude of the explosives.

"If I really wanted to I could destroy Canterlot. Let's get this done. You two do exactly what I say, and this army will still be here tomorrow." Blaze said cautiously. Rainbow flew in and gave Rook the book.

"Here ya go Rook. Now, before I accidentally blow this place up, I'm going to go around the camp and make sure the soldiers are ready. AJ, you wanna come?"

"Sure sugarcube. Be careful with that bomb ya'll. Save it for Chrysalis." Applejack said and they walked out.

"Alrighty then, let's get started." Blaze said as he guided them through the bomb.

Chapter 28

Dawn had arrived. The three ponies had stayed up all night working on the bomb. They had finished just a few minutes earlier and had asked for Luna to come to the tent. "So, you built a bomb that can knock down Canterlot Castle's wall, in under a day?" she asked, perplexed. The three nodded their heads. "Well I must say I'm impressed."

"Now that the bomb is built, I'm going to fight in Ponyville. You'll need me, and even if you say I can't join, I'll be there on my own." Blaze said.

Luna sighed. "You just won't give up will you? Fine. You can fight in Ponyville." Blaze grinned. "You're lucky Blaze. How did you get that bomb to be the size of a book?" she asked.

"Very easily. It'll take too long to explain so let's just get this trip going. I'm getting a little restless." Blaze said as he placed the bomb in his bag. They all walked out, grabbed their packs, and walked to join the rest of the army. The soldiers were ready to move despite going into the Everfree Forest. They saw Shining Armor talking to Cadence. She didn't look too happy about him leaving. They gave each other a hug and Shining left to join the army.

"I'm surprised so many are eager to go in there. Your speech must have given them more than just a fighting spirit." Rook said. Luna walked up to the front of the army and motioned them all to move forward. As the army started to move, Blaze started searching for Rainbow.

He found her talking to Applejack and Derpy. Applejack didn't look to happy as Rainbow left them to join the army. She walked up to Blaze and the others and gave a small smile. "Luna told ordered her to stay and help Derpy here. You guys ready to finally bring this fight to Chrysalis?" she asked.

"I've been waiting ever since I was broken out of that jail." Blaze said with a small laugh. They walked and discussed what they would do first after they took Ponyville. "I'll probably visit the library, that is if it's still standing. And if it is gone, I'll just walk around and see what I can find." Rook said.

"You and books." Linus said. "I'm going to head for the tavern. I could use a solid drink and you can bet they kept all the good stuff stocked away somewhere. What about you Blaze? What'll you do?"

Blaze looked at Linus. "Do you have to ask? I'm going to be figuring out how to get into Canterlot and fight there without wings. Shouldn't be too hard, but I'm still not really used to the one wing deal." he said.

"I'll probably visit Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack isn't coming so I told her I'd check the place out and see how it's doing." Rainbow said. They continued their march through the dark, dense forest. They walked all day without any breaks, other than for meals, and finally arrived at the ruins for the night.

"We covered more ground today than I thought we would. Great job! At this rate we'll be at the edge of the city tomorrow before dinner. It's extremely late so everypony rest up and get a good night's sleep." Luna said. The soldiers were exhausted and rolled out their bags. No tents tonight. They needed to be on the move again tomorrow morning quickly.

Blaze and the others went to Luna to discuss the plan. "Once we get to the edge of the forest, Rook and Linus will take one section of the army to the East and move into the town quietly taking out the sentries and others before they sound the alarm. Rainbow, once the alarm sounds, you will lead the Pegasi and attack from the sky when it's time. Blaze, you will take a group west and attack. I will take the remaining soldiers straight through the middle of the town." Luna explained. "Once we take Ponyville, we heal our wounded, and move on to Canterlot the next day. Sorry if you guys wanted to do some sight-seeing, but we don't have time."

"This town is going to be heavily guarded. It's so close to Canterlot that losing it will surely give us a huge advantage." Linus said.

"Now that that is out of the way, you four go and get some sleep. You're going to need it." Luna said, dismissing them. They returned to their bed rolls and laid down.

"You think we'll take the town? Ponyville is so important that I can't help but feel that something terrible is going to go wrong." Rook said.

"Hey don't say that. Everything will be fine. Besides, we have Blaze back to send the bombs flying." Linus said with a smile.

"Don't worry Rook. We got this." Rainbow said.

"If you say so. I'm going to sleep. It's been a long day." Rook said as he turned onto his side. He was asleep within minutes.

"Might as well do the same. Not stopping for any reason other than meals tomorrow. Night you two." Linus said and closed his eyes.

Blaze looked at Rainbow. She quickly turned onto her side. "Good night Blaze." she said in a shaky tone.

"Good night, Rainbow Dash." he replied. He stared at her. I don't understand this. First she's defending me and talking to me, the next she doesn't even let me start a sentence. he thought. He rolled onto his back and looked at the stars. He played the song he sang to Rainbow the night Twilight died in his head. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

When the bell rang for the army to wake up, the sun had just barely started to rise over the horizon. Blaze was one of the first to wake up. He got up, shook his friends awake, and began to pack his bag. "Get up you lazy oaf." Rainbow said as se gave Linus a push. He just rolled back into his bag and pulled it over his head.

"I got it." Rook yawned. He grabbed his bag and dropped it on Linus' head.

"Ow! What the hay was that for?" Linus asked.

"You wouldn't get up. Where's my tea?" Rook said. Linus rubbed his head as he got up. "It can't be morning already can it?"

"Stop complaining Linus. It's too early for that." Rook said.

"It's too early to be awake! How many hours of sleep did I get? Like 6?" Linus complained. "That can't be healthy."

Blaze looked at Rook who just shook his head. They had a small fire going that Rook was using for his tea. "I still don't see how that relaxes you, but I'm not complaining. I don't want to know what you're like when you aren't calm." he said.

"You don't." he replied. They put their things together once Rook had his tea fixed, and left for breakfast. Since they were on the move, they had to deal with Luna's cooking.

"Not this stuff again. You know what? Screw getting a drink. Once Ponyville is ours, I'm getting myself some real food." he said as Luna slopped the food onto his plate.

"Your lucky I learned from the last time I cooked. Don't want this to walk off now do you?" she asked Linus. He shook his head quickly laughing.

"No ma'am. That stuff was disgusting by the way." he said and rushed off before Luna could fling something at him.

"I take it your first attempt at cooking wasn't that great of a success?" Rook asked.

"It's not that atrocious! At least it isn't moving!" she exclaimed. Rook laughed. "I will admit, that was one of the livelier days in camp though. Maybe I'll make your food walk." she said.

Rook quickly moved out of the way with a grin. "In all honestly it's not that bad Luna." Blaze said.

"Thank you-" she started.

"I mean sure it has no taste and it's a little chunky, but it isn't downright disgusting." he said and dodged shot of breakfast that Luna flung at him.

"Keep moving Blaze! Sometimes I wonder if I should feed you three at all!!" she said with a small laugh. She gave him his meal and he went to sit with the others. Rainbow went up to for her turn. "Do you have anything to say about my cooking?" Luna asked.

"Nope. Nothing at all. I'm just hungry." Rainbow said with a smile. As soon as Luna put some food on her plate, Rainbow made a comment. "While I'm sure it does have a better taste to it than gravel, I think gravel may keep my mouth clean of cuts." she said as she walked off. Luna just smiled. She knew her cooking was terrible, but the cooks were back at the camp with those too wounded to fight. She cleaned the dishes and gathered the army after breakfast.

"So now that you have bested my cooking, how about we move on?" she said and they continued through the ruins and on to Ponyville. It took about 8 hours to get to the edge of the forest. The army voted to skip lunch not just so they could get to Ponyville quicker, but also because they knew that it was Blaze's turn to cook. Last time he made beans and the air around them had turned toxic.

The army set up their tents this time since they had time and didn't need to get up as early the next day. Blaze and Linus were called in by Luna to discuss somethings. "So we are about three miles out from Ponyville. Tomorrow, we should attack in the morning. This way we can get the Leasath when they are slow and groggy. They need sleep too so it'll be our best shot." Luna explained.

Blaze and Linus nodded, agreeing with what she had planned. "Tomorrow morning, the greatest battle of this war will erupt. This will decide our fate." she said. When they left they found that Rook and Rainbow had put all their tents up for them. They walked into a tent and sat down.

"Well, this is it. We move in tomorrow and seal our fate." Blaze said. They were all quiet. They thought about what could go wrong, what could go right, and what it would mean when they took Ponyville. "I say we get some sleep. We're all in charge of some group and we need to be on top of things." he said.

Everypony except Rainbow Dash left the tent. She looked at him this time. "Blaze, about what I said earlier at the camp. I was just upset. I know you didn't mean anything you said, but I couldn't help myself. I let my pride get in the way. I know I said I wasn't as prideful as before. Yet somehow it always comes out again." she said.

"It's ok. I understand." he replied. Rainbow stared at him.

"I don't want to lose you tomorrow. You could easily be killed in the battle." she said as her thoughts came back to her.

"We'll be fine Rainbow. I survived getting tortured, burned multiple times, wings broken, and then losing one of those wings. I'm not that easy to kill." he said with a small grin. "Here, take these." He pulled out some small bombs and handed them to her. "When you attack, use these to destroy key points; barriers, gorners, leaders, anything of importance."

Rainbow took the bombs. "I'll be fine Rainbow Dash. Don't worry about me." she nodded her head. She got up to leave, but gave Blaze a quick kiss. She left and headed to her tent across from him. Blaze crawled into bed as he held on to her kiss and fell asleep.

Chapter 29

Blaze woke up with a start as Rook walked into the tent. "Hey there. They want us to wake up everypony without the bell since we are close to Ponyville. Luna has an announcement for us after breakfast." Blaze slowly got out of his bed and walked out of the tent. He had a meager breakfast that Linus had made this time.

"Linus, I think I like Luna's cooking better. This doesn't even look like food." He said as the muck fell onto his plate. Linus glared at him. After breakfast, Blaze went to find Luna. He found gathering the army. She's in a hurry to get things moving. He thought. Luna saw him and motioned for him to join her with Rainbow Dash. As he walked up to her, she began.

"We are getting ready to move forward and attack. Those of you who are heading to the East with Rook and Linus, head over to them and move out. Those who are attacking to the west with Blaze, start moving out. If you are flying above with Rainbow Dash, meet with her and she will tell you when to leave. Positions everypony. Today is our day." She finished. The group of soldiers started heading to their commanders. Most didn't seem like they were ready to move on.

"Luna, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think they are really ready to fight. They seem unmotivated." Blaze said.

"I know. I'm hoping that you and the others can give a good speech to them later. But right now we need to get moving." she said. Blaze quickly went to his group of soldiers. He had about 50 soldiers in his command.

"Well, are you guys ready to move out?" he asked.

A yellow colt stepped forward. "Blaze, be honest. How likely are our chances of taking Ponyville? There are rumors going around that Luna is going to get us killed. We haven't seen Hex around anywhere. What are we walking ourselves into?" he asked.

Blaze looked at him. "What's your name?"

"Private Randall sir. I'm from Ponyville. I want to rid them of my home, but I don't want to go in without a chance of survival." he said.

"Well, Randall, we aren't going into a massacre. Not with me leading you into battle. Now as to where Hex is, I have no clue. But this plan was brought up by Linus. He hasn't failed us yet, so I wouldn't worry. We will take Ponyville back. Nothing will stop us from achieving this goal. You'll have your home back." he said. Randall nodded and stepped back. "Now, are there any other questions?" he said. "No? Good. Now we head West. So gather your things and move out."

As they dispersed he went to talk to Linus. "How are your troops doing?" he asked.

"Worried. They don't know if we can take it and are starting to question the plan. But they've known me for a while. They'll do what needs to be done, even if they don't think it's possible." Linus said.

"Alright. Well, use that communicuff to relay information back to me. We need to know what we're going up against." Blaze said. Linus nodded his head and started off to his troops. "Hey Linus!" Linus turned his head. "Good luck." Blaze said. Linus nodded his head and ran off to get his troops on the move. Blaze walked over to his troops and waited for them to put their packs on. "Ok, let's go." They headed off to their position and waited for further instruction.

When they arrived at their spot, they hid behind the trees and looked into the town. "Where is everypony?" Randall asked. "Why does it look so deserted?"

"I'm not sure." Blaze said. He turned on his cuff. "Linus, do you see the town?"

"Yeah I see it Blaze. It's deserted. There's no movement at all from the town." Linus replied. "Rook is going in with a two others to check it out. Standby."

"Ok. Sit tight guys. Rook is going to check things out." Blaze said to his troops. Rook started to speak through his cuff.

"It's a dead zone out here. There's literally nopony here." He said. "Wait, there's somepony in a house. Hold tight."

They waited to see what would happen. They listened for Gunfire, an explosion, anything to signal that there were enemy soldiers in the town.

"It's a civilian! No enemies are present. There's a note tied to his hoof." Rook said. There was silence. "Everypony out! Get out of the hou-" there was a deafening explosion from the inner part of the town.

Chapter 30

"Rook! Do you read me Rook!? Dammit Rook! Answer me!" Linus shouted through his cuff. There was only static. "Rook! Are you there?! Rook!"

"Linus...He's dead. Rook is dead." Blaze said. He was shocked. He's gone. Gone in a blink of an eye. Blaze thought.

"Linus, Blaze, do not move forward. I repeat, do not move forward." Luna ordered through the cuff.

"Linus do you hear her? Don't attack." Blaze said. The cuff only returned static. "Luna, he's going in. We can't let him in there alone. Me and my soldiers are moving in with him. I can't let him get himself killed!" Blaze said and tore his cuff off and threw it into the forest.

"Let's go. We can't let him go in by himself and we need to see if there are any survivors from the blast." Blaze ordered. They ran into town towards the blast in search of Linus. When they arrived at the blast zone, they saw a wounded pony who was gripping his arm.

"Blaze! We have wounded!" Randall yelled. "Stay still. How did you survive the explosion?" he asked.

"Rook. He read the note and pushed me out. He saved my life..." the wounded pony said.

"What's your name?" Randall asked as Blaze rushed over.

"Troy. My name is Troy. Will I be alright?" he asked.

"You'll be fine. I just need you to sit still so I can patch up your wound." Blaze said. "Randall, go inside the house and see if you can find any other survivors." Randall went into the house as Blaze worked on Troy's arm. "Was there anything out of the ordinary when you came into the town?"

"The only strange thing was how empty the place was. When we went into the house, there was this mare tied up with a note around her hoof. The next thing I knew, I was being shoved out the door with a huge explosion behind me." Troy said.

"Well I'm glad you are all right. Randall! Did you find anything in there?" he asked.

"Nothing but what's left over. And Linus. He's in there." Randall said. "I can handle him from here. Go talk to him."

Blaze let Randall work on Troy while he went into the destroyed house. He found Linus sitting next to a destroyed comunicuff. "Linus? You ok?"

Linus picked up the cuff and held it in his hooves. "He's gone. He really is gone." Blaze walked next to his friend and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Linus." Blaze said. He didn't really know what else to say. He hadn't really known Rook. They didn't meet until Linus introduced them. They were friends, but they weren't close, and they were always in different areas during the war. They just rejoined the same division two months before Blaze was imprisoned.

"I sent him in here. I sent him to his death..." Linus said. "This is all my fault."

"No it's not, Linus. You didn't know that there was a bomb here. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Don't blame yourself." Blaze said. He had seen this happen before. Leaders blaming themselves for something that wasn't their fault. But this was his friend. It pained him to see this. He took Rook's communicuff, helped Linus up, and led him back to the group.

Rainbow flew down from the sky and landed in front of them. "What happened? I saw the explosion and when I asked for you guys, nopony answered." She said. "Where's Rook?" She asked slowly. Blaze looked at her and shook his head. Her eyes grew wide. "He can't be... Rook...dead?" she couldn't believe it. He was alive and joking around with them last night and now he was gone.

"Let's get everypony back to camp. Linus and I got rid of our cuffs to go in and see what happened. Luna is probably having a cow over that." Blaze said.

When they arrived back at the camp, Luna was there waiting for them. "What the hell is wrong with you two? I thought I told you to not enter the town?"

"I didn't have a choice Luna. I couldn't leave Linus out there not knowing what else was out there." Blaze replied.

"I understand, but you must know that you two could've fallen into a trap. What if they detonated the bomb to draw us in?" she said.

"Look Luna, now is not the time. If you want to gripe at me, do it later!" Blaze shouted as he walked up to her. "Rook is dead and Linus is not handling it well. I know we disregarded orders, but you need to forget about that for the moment. Linus needs somepony. You are the only one who can really comfort him. He loves you, and you love him. So help him out." he said sternly.

Blaze walked away from her and went over to Rainbow. "Come on. We're going to find Shining Armor." Rainbow looked back at Luna and they left.

Once they were gone Luna looked at Linus. "You ok Linus?" she asked. He didn't look up, lost to the world. She went over to him and sat next to him. "I'm sorry about Rook. He was a great soldier and a wonderful thinker. He helped us a lot." He still didn't respond. She put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to her. She realized he was crying silently. She never had seen him cry.

"He's dead...I sent him in to investigate and he died. I killed him..." Linus said. He weeped harder. He put his face in Luna's mane. She held him close, trying her best to comfort him.

"Linus, you didn't kill him, Chrysalis did. You had no idea what was going to happen." she said. He didn't respond. She gave him a kiss on his head as a single tear ran down her cheek. "Linus look at me." she said. Slowly he looked up at her. His eyes were red and puffy. "You didn't kill him. You didn't. Ok?" she asked quietly. He nodded his head. "Come on. Let's find Blaze and Shining Armor."

She leaned down to him and gave him a kiss, not on his forehead this time and he returned it. Linus was the first to pull back. "Luna? Can I tell you something?" Linus asked. He didn't wait for a response from her. "I've been wanting to tell you this for a while now. You remember all those years ago, when I jumped in front of that bolt Chrysalis threw at you? I've always said it was because I didn't want the army to lose a strong leader, but it was for something more than that. Something more than just the army. It was for a selfish reason." he said.

"For the longest time, I've been thinking about how I should say it. Everypony who knew what it was about, told me to just say it, including Rook. But it took me till now to know what to say." he hesitated before starting the next sentence. "Luna, I-" she cut him off.

"Don't. Not now." she said. Linus looked away from Luna and nodded his head. "You can tell me after we take Canterlot. Ok?" she knew what he was going to say, but she didn't want to hear it right now. She gave Linus another kiss on his forehead and kept him close. "Tomorrow, this war will end. One way or another."

Chapter 31

Blaze and Rainbow Dash were walking throughout the camp. The news of Rook's death had spread quickly. Many were asking questions in hushed voices about what happened. They had all seen the explosion, but they wanted details. Many ran up to him and Rainbow to ask what had happened. They didn't respond and kept on walking. They found Shining Armor surrounded by a group of ponies. He was trying to get them to leave, but was having difficulty since they kept throwing questions at him. He saw them and motioned for them to help him out.

Rainbow walked in front of the group. "Hey! Why aren't you ponies listening to him? Go away!" she ordered.

"What happened to Rook? Are we still going into Ponyville? What about Canterlot?" The group yelled back at her. They weren't going to give up until they heard some answers.

"Rook is dead. We will be taking Ponyville and we will be taking Canterlot. Now go back to your tents!" she shouted.

The group was still asking questions and Rainbow was losing her patience. Blaze stepped up next to her. "I'm going to count to three! Anypony still here by the end of the countdown will be on toilet duty." he threatened. "One. Two." The group separated to avoid the disgusting job. Blaze turned to Shining Armor. "There, peace and quiet. Can we talk?" he asked. Shining nodded his head and motioned them inside.

They went into the tent and sat around a table. "I heard the blast. Are you two and Linus alright?" Shining asked.

"We're fine. But Linus is taking Rook's death hard." Blaze replied. "He wouldn't talk to me or anypony. He's with Luna right now, so hopefully she can comfort him."

"I hope so too." Shining Armor said. He pulled a letter out from his pocket. "Blaze. Before Rook left for Ponyville, he left me this. He told me that if he didn't come back to give this to you. He said it was very important." He handed the letter to Blaze who opened it.

"What is it about?" Rainbow asked as Blaze opened it.

"I don't know. He wouldn't say. The only thing he said was that Blaze couldn't read it unless he died." Shining said. Luna and Linus walked into the tent. Linus looked a little better, but he still seemed lost to the world.

"Hey. What's going on here?" Luna asked.

"Rook left a letter for us

Blaze read the letter aloud.

To my friends...

I have made sure that Shining Armor gives you this letter if I did not return from the mission at Ponyville. If you have read this far, That probably means I’m not around anymore.

The night before the mission, I had this... feeling that I would not make it back. I decided to jot my last thoughts down, so they would still get to all of you.

When Starbolt died, many ponies grieved. She had family and friends that was sad to see her go. Can I say the same about myself? I had no family besides her. Friends? That depends on who you ask. I didn’t have many friends, but I had enough. Will you miss me? Who knows.

My final years have been quiet. I planned on retirement years ago with Starbolt, but her death has made me... numb. I just didn’t care about my life anymore. Why bother living if I had no pony to live with. I didn’t take my life, but I instead fully gave it to the service of the army. My life hasn’t truly been the same since. Why else would I drink so much tea (of course, Linus says I can be dangerous without it). However, My friends... you have made my life liveable.

Linus, you are a strong, able pony. Don’t let others discourage you. And for Epona’s sake, watch out for Luna. I don’t want you to go through what I did, old friend.

Luna, Lead your ponies to victory. With such a great charisma, it shouldn’t be hard for you. Your Sister led the nation without you, and you can do the same. Also, just go with Linus. It’s difficult to find ponies like him nowadays.

Rainbow Dash, even though you are new in my life, I thank you for being there for us.

Blaze, when one loses a part of themselves to the misfortune, an Iron Will picks us up, and gets us going again. Hopefully, you can find meaning in those words.

Whatever may be the cause, or even effect, of my absence from your sides, don't despair. I’ll be watching you all from wherever I end up. Hopefully, Starbolt will be by my side.

With All Due Respect,

Rook

Chapter 32

They sat in silence as they pondered what Rook stated in the letter. What does it mean? 'I hope you find the meaning in this.' What was he trying to say? Blaze thought. I should keep this to myself. I can't say this in front of Linus. He may think I don't care about what happened. But still...

"I can't believe he's dead." Linus muttered. "All these years I've known him, I never thought he would actually be gone." Luna put a comforting hoof around Linus' shoulder. "He was always there for me when I needed help. But I wasn't there for him..."

"Linus, don't put yourself down. You aren't to blame." Blaze said. Linus stood up in a jolt and walked over to the entrance of the tent. "Linus...if you had, you would've ended up dying instead." Linus didn't look at Blaze. He didn't even register his voice. Blaze sighed. I'd better change the subject off of Rook. Linus is still taking it pretty bad.

"Luna? About the mole...who do you think it is at this point? Rook had a reason for telling you to lead your ponies into battle, other than you being the leader." Blaze said

Luna looked to the floor. "I don't know Blaze. All this activity has kept me distracted from finding out the culprit. I had some names, but I'm lost to it now. I'm going to be honest, Linus, you were one of the ponies I originally thought of." Linus looked at her with disbelief. "The only reason why is because you were always out walking along the side of the camp at night. You would be seen walking into camp in the morning. It did cause some suspicion, but I know you aren't the mole anymore." Linus gave a slight nod of his head, still shocked that he was a suspect.

"I also gave a slight thought that it was Cadence, but quickly dismissed it after how she reacted around Shining Armor. So as of now, there are no suspects, which worries me." she said. Linus gave a shout that startled the ponies in the tent.

"Fine! Let's ignore the fact that Rook is dead! Let's ignore that he was killed in battle and start babbling on about a mole who hasn't been found, and has been doing a terrible job of being a mole! What about when Twilight died? The whole camp was in an upset over it! They didn't even know her personally and she got a whole day to herself! But when Rook dies, a pony who everypony has spent time with in this army, and nopony gives a hoot about it now!" He shouted accusingly.

'Leave Twilight out of this Linus!" Shining shouted back. "She died protecting Rainbow, Blaze, and many other ponies. Rook did the exact same thing! He will be remembered." Linus just gave a snort.

"Linus we do care. He was a great friend and he was a great leader. It pains me to know that he is gone, but-" Linus cut Blaze off.

"But what?! That we need to pay attention to Canterlot and forget about Rook's death? Well to hell with that! If you want to forget about Rook go ahead! But I'm not going to sit here and fight a battle with ponies who don't care about a major loss!" Linus yelled before storming out of the tent.

They all sat in astonishment. Nopony had seen him explode that way. They knew it was hard on him, but they never knew what it had done to him emotionally. "Blaze? Is he alright?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know." he replied. He knew though. He knew that it was his fault. "I need to gather my thoughts. Luna, he's not going to talk to me. Again, you need to talk to him. He needs to calm down. He may do something drastic." Blaze said. "I need to clear my head..." He walked out of the tent, not knowing where to go. He let his body take him wherever it wanted to take him.

He found himself sitting in an old house next to the forest. It's walls were peeling pink paint and the floor boards were creaking. He sat down in an old chair next to a table. It had dishes set for a family of three. Wait a minute... he thought. Something had caught his eye. He looked at the table set. There's no dust. 20 years and no dust? There was a knock at the front door.

"Blaze? It's Rainbow...Are you okay? Can I come in?" Rainbow Dash asked. He stood up from the chair and walked over to the door. When he opened it, Rainbow hugged him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Did Luna go with Linus?" Blaze asked returning her hug.

"Yeah. He'll be fine. Luna knows what to do." she said. "You okay? I know you have something on your mind. Want to tell me?" She closed the door behind her and walked over to an empty chair by the table. "Could you have picked a squeakier place to stay?"

Blaze gave a light laugh. "I don't even know why I came here. I don't know this place but it seemed like a nice place to stay. A nice place to think." He took a seat next to her and took her hoof in his. "I've been thinking about Rook lately and what he has done for us. He was a good soldier. An even better friend... I hope Linus is okay." Blaze said. He looked at the table. "This table was meant set for three. I can't help but think of him and Starbolt. They were going to have a filly. A little baby girl. Chrysalis slaughtered her without a second thought."

Rainbow stood up and walked over to him. She pulled him up to his feet and kissed him. She pulled back and gave him a reassuring smile. "She didn't die in vain." she said as she pulled him closer to her. "She gave us Rook. A pony who fought to protect all of Equestria. They're together now. Rook's pain is over." she said. Blaze nodded his head.

"There's something else...I didn't say it in the tent because of Linus. I felt it would do more harm." Blaze said

Rainbow looked at him. "Is it about the, 'find the meaning to these words' part?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's like he thinks I should know something. But I'm lost. What does he mean by, 'an Iron Will picks us up.'" Blaze said.

"I'm not sure Blaze. I wish I knew." Rainbow said. There was a sudden shout from the door.

"Hey you two!! What are you doing here?!" A giant minotaur walked in and was clearly unhappy about seeing these two here.

"This house belonged to a friend of mine. What are you doing here would be a better question!" Blaze said angrily.

"I've lived here for 20 years. I just went out to see what the explosion was about in the center of town. Now expla-" he was cut off by Rainbow.

"Wait. You look familiar." Rainbow said. "I know you! You're the flank-hole who turned Fluttershy into a complete jerk!" she yelled.

"I'm not a flank hole you rainbow colored freak!" the minotaur yelled as he entered the house.

"Hey! Watch it nimrod! Do I have to go over there and knock some sense into you?!" Blaze shouted, angered by what the bull had said to Rainbow Dash.

"And who might you be? Her coltfriend? I could break you in half if I had a mind to!" he shouted back.

"She's not... We're not..." Blaze stammered. "What's it to you anyway? Who are you and what makes you so high and mighty?" he asked.

"I am Iron Will! The greatest inspirer of all Equestria! Iron Will is the most-" he started but ended up coughing half way through it. "Ah forget it. I haven't done that in ages. What the hay are you two doing in my house anyway?"

"Your house? This house belonged to my friend before the war broke out!" Blaze shouted.

"Your friend? I doubt that." Iron Will said.

"Look, Iron Will, I don't know how you came to live in Ponyville, but this isn't your house." Rainbow said.

"Oh really? Who was he? Another Pegasus friend of yours?" he said.

"No. He was a unicorn who joined the army after Chrysalis arrived." Blaze said.

Iron Will raised an eyebrow at them. "Did he have a thing for tea?" he asked.

Blaze hesitated before answering. "Yes. How do you know that? What was his name?" he asked.

"Rook. He helped the police here in Ponyville." Iron replied.

Blaze looked at Rainbow with a raised eye. "How do you know him? You aren't a friend Rook usually finds." Blaze asked.

"He was working with the police and I was a suspect. I wasn't guilty though. They had the wrong minotaur and he helped me clear my name." Iron Will said. "Hey, I'm sorry about yelling earlier. I'm not used to being robbed. Or that's what I thought at first." He walked in and closed the door.

What happened to you? You don't seem like the same minotaur that turned Fluttershy into a jerk." Rainbow asked.

I thought I was teaching her something. Instead she taught me something." Iron Will said. "I'm sorry about her by the way. Do you two want anything? I have some things stored away in the cupboards."

"I'm good." Blaze said, still not sure whether to trust him.

"So you met Rook through the police?" Rainbow asked.

"Yep. He was a great pony. I heard he went off to join the army. Are you two in it as well? How is he?" Iron asked.

Blaze and Rainbow looked at each other. "Um...he died. He was killed in that explosion you went to see." Blaze said sadly.

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry to hear that." he said.

"It's okay... I do have a question though. Where are all the Leasath and how are you able to live here? Don't they normally kill or imprison those who don't side with them?" Blaze asked.

"They left about 3 months ago. There was gossip of a weapon. One that would end this war here and now. Chrysalis wants it to be protected at all costs." Iron said.

"And how do you know this? Are you a spy?" Rainbow asked.

Iron Will chuckled. "No. I'm too obvious to be a spy. I mean look at me! I'm a huge minotaur. I know because I have resources. I know somepony."

"...And who would that be?" Blaze asked.

"I'll show you. Now what are your names? You know mine, but I have no clue who you are." he asked.

"I'm Blaze and this is Rainbow Dash. Now will you-" Blaze was cut off by a surprisingly happy Rainbow Dash.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! Blaze! Don't you see? This is who Rook was talking about in his letter. This is what he meant by, 'an Iron Will picks us up.' Blaze, he can help you!" she squealed. Blaze's jaw dropped in awe as he figured it out.

"That would be me. I didn't say anything to you about your missing wing because of what Rook told me. He told me to keep it under secret. To not let anypony know about it unless the time was necessary." Iron Will said.

Him?! You can't be serious. Blaze thought. "Keep what secret?" Blaze asked.

"I'll show you. Come with me." he said. Blaze looked at Rainbow who was already heading for the door.

"Where are we headed? And what happened to you? You seem to be a lot different than what Fluttershy and the others told me about you." Rainbow said as Iron Will led them out the door.

"After Fluttershy said she wasn't happy with my knowledge. I tried her idea in one of my stands. It worked a little bit better, so I started to go with it. Taught me a few things. I stopped the annoying third pony talk. Never realized how it sounded until I met a pony who did the same thing." he said.

"Let me guess. Blue unicorn, purple hat and cape?" Rainbow asked.

"That sounds about right. What was her name? Pixie? Tipsy? Bixsy?" he said as he tried to recall the name.

"Trixie. She's a total show boater." Rainbow said.

"That's it! She came to one of my shows and tried to out shine me. She failed, but it got me thinking about the third pony talk and how annoying it could get." he said. "Anyways, we're here." They were standing in front of a damaged building. There was a sign that was swaying in the wind on one hinge.

"Wait...This is SugarCube Corner... What are we doing here?" Rainbow asked.

"There's a prison here." Blaze said as he peered through a broken window. There was a door that had Leasath locks all over it. "In the back. There's a door. It leads to prison most likely. Only reason the Leasath would've locked it up that tight."

Iron Will looked at him. "Well, aren't you smart. Yes this was a prison, but after the Leasath left, they killed all the prisoners. Except for one. They left her here to suffer." he said as he opened the door. They three walked in and looked around them. Webs were layered along the walls and ceiling with dust covering every inch of the place.

"I can't believe this place used to be full of laughter and cheer. It's so depressing now." Rainbow said as the memories of her and her friends flooded into her mind. They walked over to the door. Iron Will pulled a key out from the top of the door.

"Couldn't you just bust the door down?" Blaze asked.

"I could, but I can't. If I do then the one you need to meet will not help you. She's very picky about things." Iron said as he turned the key, unlocking the locks one by one. When he opened the door, they peered into a black void.

"I can't see anything." Rainbow said. Iron Will was the first to enter the dark abyss.

"If you stay close you'll be fine. I've been down here many times trying to keep her fed and alive for you Blaze." he said.

"Me? Why me?" he asked as he followed Rainbow down through the darkness.

"Well, not specifically you. Rook said that there might be a time for us to help somepony who really needed it. It just so happens that you are the one who needs the help the most." Iron replied. They continued to walk until they finally arrived at the bottom. "Myrta. It's me Iron Will. It's time to begin Project MWR." he shouted into the darkness.

Suddenly, the lights flashed on, blinding the three. When they could see again, there was a table in the middle of a cement room next to a bunch of metal pieces. "I thought this was a prison. Why are the lights so bright?" Blaze asked.

"To keep us up at night, It's goal began, but slowly headed, for a torturous gain. Falling asleep, we weren't allowed, for it brought escape, from the days of pain," a voice said from the corner. There was a dark shape sitting there. She turned her head, stared into Blaze's eyes through her hood, and motioned to a chair.

"My name is Starbolt. Please have a seat." Starbolt said.

Chapter 33

Rainbow and Blaze looked at each other in shock. "Your Starbolt?" Blaze asked? "The real Starbolt?"

She nodded her head. "I am the real Starbolt. Not some wretched changeling." she said. "I heard an explosion a few hours ago...Where's Rook? Is he alright? How's my Rocky?" she asked shakily.

Blaze lowered his head and walked to the chair that stood next to Starbolt. "Rook...Rook didn't make it. The explosion..." Blaze couldn't finish the sentence. Starbolt stared at him with unblinking eyes. Blaze took her hooves in his and held them. "I'm so sorry." Rainbow walked over and kneeled next to Starbolt.

"He was a great soldier. And a great pony. In the explosion that killed him, he saved the lives of two other soldiers. They are young and have their whole lives ahead of them." Rainbow said. She told her everything that had happened to the army. She spoke of all the things that Rook had done. "He has done so much for this army. I am proud to have served next to him in the time I knew him."

Starbolt looked at them both with teary eyes. "He thought I was dead...I was too. Did he tell you? About how I died?" she asked.

"Yes. It's the reason he stayed in the army. To avenge your death. He received a letter from you a few weeks after you died." Blaze said. "Star...I don't want to pry...but how are you alive now? He said you were stabbed through the heart..."

Starbolt nodded her head. "May I ask what your names are?"

"I'm Blaze, and this is Rainbow Dash." Blaze answered.

Starbolt nodded her head again. "I was stabbed in the heart. Chrysalis pierced it. But there was another pony there. In the background. North Light. He brought me to his house and with help from a friend of his, a unicorn, was able to bring me back with an ancient spell. The spell involved rekindling my remaining life force. When we die, our life force clings to our bodies for a short time. It killed the Unicorn, but North saw what happened to Rook. I don't know much about the Unicorn. All North said about him was that he was old and that his last wish was to help some other pony." Starbolt said. She pulled a folder out from underneath her cloak.

"I came here, hoping that the army would make it this far. I've been here for a long time waiting. North came with me and we were taken prisoner. North had a little anger problem. He saw all the ponies here that were tortured and beaten. He almost lost it. He would've died had it not been for his amazing artwork. He started drawing portraits of the ponies. Not only did this keep him calm, but it worked as a way of keeping track with a few of the ponies here. After the riot that took place here, most of his drawings were destroyed. He died in the riot. North was struck by a stray bolt." She handed Blaze the folder as she explained.

"This contains some of his drawings that I was able to salvage. He had a great way of making them seem less dark." Starbolt said. Blaze took the drawings out and looked at them.

"Wait. Starbolt, I had a friend who was a Unicorn. She was the best user of magic in all Equestria. She couldn't even do that. There's more to it..." Rainbow said. Starbolt looked at her.

"Ok. I may have exaggerated the fact about me being the real Starbolt. I'm...part of a cloning project. The Leasath were trying to find ways to increase their numbers very quickly. They had all the components perfectly arranged. They just needed a test subject. I don't know why they chose me. It may have been to see if they could recreate personal memories and make them just as accurate." she explained.

"I wasn't the first one though. It took them many failures before I was created. You see, they took her blood and some cells and started to recreate them. The first nine were failures. They were either too unstable or not smart enough to handle basic functions." she said. She moved the left side of her cloak revealing stitches with a glowing red hue where her heart should be. "They started putting in Cyber-genetic parts into the clones. They found out that they could use one cell with a piece of metal that latched on to that gene. After a few failed attempts, I came along. They found a way to where if you gave the subject blood from the same species that the metal latched on easier."

"So what your saying is that you aren't the real Starbolt and that Chrysalis had you cloned so they could start making a huge army?" Blaze asked. "And how do you know all of this if you are a clone?"

"They made a mistake. They hadn't perfectly separated my memories from what they wanted to keep, and what they wanted to leave out. They had told the previous clone everything. They thought it was the perfect clone. Until it went mad and killed it's creator." she said. "But that doesn't matter now. Iron Will is here to help me with something. Yes, I am a Cyborg and yes I have the knowledge of how to clone a body part, but during the riot, the lab containing all of those instruments were destroyed. I can't help you get a new wing. But I can give you a mechanical one. It won't be pleasant, but it'll help you fly." she said to Blaze.

He looked at her, unconvinced. "How do I know that you can get me a wing that will let me fly? How do we know that it'll work?" Blaze asked.

Starbolt sighed. She pulled her hood back, revealing her horn. The bottom half was a horn, but the top of it was a bright metal that gleamed in the light of the room. "They tried to see if they could harness magic in a metal for their injured soldiers. They got it right on their first attempt with me. I can use magic just as well now as I could before." she said. She made the folder levitate in the air in front of Blaze. "That's your proof." she said as she ended the spell and pulled her hood back up.

Blaze lowered his head and Rainbow walked next to him. She put a hoof on his shoulder. "You want to go through with it? It could help us win this war." Blaze looked up at her and gave a smile.

"I'll go through with it, but it's not just because of the war. I miss the feel of flying. It's only been a week, but I miss the feel of the wind through my wings and the feeling of weightlessness. And I'll admit it, I want to drop a bomb from a mile in the sky and watch the rubble soar in the sky with me." he said. He looked to Starbolt. "Let's do it."

Chapter 34

Blaze laid on a slab next to the wall. He looked at a worried looking Rainbow Dash. "I'll be fine Rainbow. Don't worry." he said and gave her a reassuring smile.

She nodded her head. "I know, I just don't want anything to go wrong." she said. She gave him a kiss on his forehead and moved to let Starbolt take her place.

"This is going to hurt just a teensy tiny bit." Starbolt said. She injected his side with something. He winced as the fluid entered his bloodstream.

"Well, that wasn't that bad. What was that? Something to help my body mend with the metal wings?" Blaze asked.

"No. That was Penicillin." she said as she picked up a metal pole the size of his torso.

"Oh...I see." he said. Iron Will held Blaze tightly to the slab. "Hey! What gives?" he said. There was a sudden sting of pain that shot up his side. He reflexively jumped, but didn't get far. Iron Will had too well of a hold on him.

"You can't be jumping around so much. That's why I need to hold you down with my muscly arms." Iron Will said as he gave a quick glance to Rainbow. Blaze glared at him.

"Now stop moving. I need to make these cuts exact." Starbolt said. She opened up his side and placed the rod inside his open body. He winced at every movement or agitation. She took a metal object that resembled the top halve of a Pegasus wing. She latched it with the rod and grabbed the bottom halve of the wing. After she latched it onto the rest of the rod, she stepped back. "Ok Blaze. You got through the easiest part of this. Rainbow, I'd look away if I were you." she said. Rainbow kept watching, not taking her eyes away from Blaze's.

Starbolt sighed. She nodded to Iron Will who applied even more pressure on top of Blaze. He winced as pain surged through his entire body. "Maybe you could watch it!" he grimaced. "My side is still open!"

"Maybes are for babies!" Iron Will said. Starbolt's horn began to glow a dark green. Unimaginable pain tore through Blaze's side and he screamed in agony. Rainbow closed her eyes at his screams.

Starbolt's horn stopped glowing and she fell to the ground. The pain Blaze felt left him, quickly as it had come. He laid there gasping and sweaty. He was too tired to get up after the ordeal. Blaze looked at Rainbow, exhausted. She smiled at him and ran over to him. "Are you ok Blaze?" she asked as she nuzzled his mane.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired." he said and gave her a hug. "Starbolt. Thanks for doing this. Will I really be able to fly though? It seems a little-" he stopped as Rainbow gasped. He looked at where her eyes were pointed. Starbolt was laying there with her horn broken in two. The metal halve was lying shattered on the floor next to her. She was lying on the floor, unresponsive.

Iron Will picked her up. Blaze hadn't realized that he had let him go. He poured a blue liquid into her mouth and she started to open her eyes. She coughed a few times and put her hoof to her head.

"What was that? Are you okay Starbolt?" Rainbow Dash asked. She nodded her head.

"I'm fine. I've never been good at doing large amounts of magic. It makes me weak and practically useless." she said as she stood up.

"What was that liquid? Some sort of rejuvenating potion?" Blaze asked. Starbolt nodded her head. "What about your horn? The metal is shattered." he said.

She reached at her horn and looked at the metal on the ground. She didn't seem fazed by what had happened. "It's fine. I didn't like the metal there anyway. It always reminded me I was just a clone." she said. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you have a wing now. You can fly and end Chrysalis' reign."

Blaze slowly and carefully got up from his slab. He tested his metal wing, making sure it moved comfortably and properly. "Everything feels fine on my bones. I'm glad you got it right the first time." he said. "But what about you? You can't use your magic anymore."

"Blaze, I'll be fine. Besides...It's not like I'm going to be around for much longer..." Starbolt said gingerly.

"What do you mean?" Rainbow asked.

"I used up most of my life force to put your wing on right. It involved transferring life energy over to you." Starbolt said. Blaze and Rainbow stared at her mouths agape.

"Why? Why would you do that?" Blaze asked shocked.

Starbolt gave a small smile. "It's because of Rook. I have these memories, but I haven't met him. I haven't seen him face to face in my life time. And now I never will." she said with a small tear in her eye. "But it's fine. I'm glad I could help you out. Rook always helped the police and other ponies out. I now know why. The look on Rainbow's face made me feel... I don't know, really well. Anyways, I'll let you two go. You need to tell Luna about what you can now do." she said. She started coughing violently. She sat down, suddenly very weak.

"You okay Starbolt?" Iron Will asked. She looked at him and shook her head.

"It may be sooner than I thought..." she replied.

"Sooner for what?" Blaze asked.

She coughed a few more times. "My time. You know when I was talking about life force? As a clone I don't live a long life anyways. And now that I have given you most of mine so you're wing would work right, I have maybe an hour left." she said.

"What?!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Starbolt! Why didn't you tell me that would happen?" Iron Will asked.

"Would you have let me if I told you?" she replied.

He didn't say anything. He just stared at her. "You know why I wouldn't let you." he said coldly. Starbolt nodded her head.

"So, what you're saying is, that you are going to die in less than an hour?" Rainbow asked. Starbolt nodded her head and started coughing again. She spit blood onto the floor and put her head in her hooves.

"Star...Rook loved you more than anything. He stayed and fought because of you. He helped us all get to this point and he helped me when I lost my wing." Blaze said. "There's someone I think you should meet. Would you like to go back to the camp with us and see all that he did?" he asked.

Starbolt looked at him, and nodded her head. "Want to test your wing out?" she asked with a small grin.

"I mean I can't feel it. It's not like an actual wing that I can feel with. But I'll give it a shot." Blaze said with a grin.

"Actually there are tiny receptors that signal hot and cold differences. They send signals to your brain when somepony or something touches them. They aren't active yet, since the procedure ended just a few minutes ago. Give it a few hours. You'll have feeling in that wing by lunch." Starbolt said, giving another cough. She spat more blood onto the floor.

"You should take her back to the camp." Iron Will said quietly. "She needs to see what he did for her own eyes."

Blaze and Rainbow nodded their heads in agreement. "We will. And you can come-" Blaze said but was quickly cut off.

"No. I'm not going. Too many memories in that house. Besides, now that she has used up her one go at this, I need to destroy all the other metal pieces we had. You know, in case the Leasath return. There's no point in keeping them just to be used by the enemy." he said sullenly.

"But why not let us take them with us? I'm sure Luna could find a way to use them to help us." Rainbow said.

Iron Will shook his head. "No. The magic requires life force. I knew Star had to give you some of hers, but I didn't think it would drain all of hers. I'm not letting the Princess and leader of the Aureolians give her life force to two ponies. It requires too much." he said as he started gathering the metals. "I'll need to go up and light the fire to get these hot enough to break."

Rainbow Dash lowered her head and sighed. "Ok then." she said sadly and turned to face Blaze. "We should go. No point in staying here with Starbolt like this." Blaze nodded his head. He got up and put a hoof on Iron Will's shoulder.

"Thank you for helping me get my wing back. It hurt like hell," Blaze said with a chuckle, "but I appreciate it." Iron Will gave a snort and walked up the stairs. Blaze turned and walked up the stairs behind Rainbow who was carrying a tired Starbolt up with her.

Chapter 35

Blaze and Rainbow walked out of SugarCube Corner as Starbolt began another coughing fit. She spat more blood onto the ground. They walked back to camp silently. "Hey Blaze?" Starbolt said weakly. "Test your wing. I want to see it in action."

He looked at Rainbow who just smiled. "Go ahead. It'd be nice to see just how well you can handle it. Oh and don't crash. I'm not carrying you as well." she said with a light laugh.

Blaze rolled his eyes and smirked. "All right. Let's see just how well you did Star." He ran forward and jumped into the air. He tried to flap his wings but couldn't get them to fly in sync. He stopped and walked back to the others. "I can't. The new wing is heavier than the other. How is it suppose to keep me airborne anyways?" he asked Starbolt.

"It's made of a lightweight metal made of micro-lattice nickel phosphorous. It's not as light as your usual feathers, but they are pretty close. All I know about them is that the Leasath were trying to use them for their clones. How they are made, I don't know." Starbolt said. "Keep trying."

He sighed, turned around and tried again. He started moving his metal wing before his other. Maybe if I start moving it before the other, maybe I can get into the air. He ran forward and jumped, gaining a few feet of air. He smiled and gave a short laugh before losing the synchronization of his wings and falling to the ground. He landed and turned his head to Rainbow. She returned his smile with one of her own.

"Keep trying Blazey Boy! You'll get it!" she said happily. He ran towards them and jumped into the air again. He started flapping his wings again and launched himself into the air.

He kept hold of the flight longer and flew higher. He landed next to Rainbow Dash and Starbolt and started laughing. "Oh sweet Celestia I missed that feeling!" he said excitedly. He looked at Starbolt who had just started another coughing fit. "Hey. We're almost there." She nodded her head and spit on the ground.

Rainbow looked to the forest and saw Luna and Linus standing there looking at them with wide eyes. "Hey Blaze! Looks like you've caught the eye of some ponies." Rainbow said. He looked over and saw the two of them standing by the forest.

"Let's see just how high I can fly." Blaze said with a smirk as he looked back at Rainbow and Starbolt. He launched himself into the air, flying faster into the clouds. He moved his new wing in perfect unison. Pony and machine. Who would've thought! He shouted in excitement as he blew past the lower clouds and soared higher. He clamped his wings tightly to his body and rolled over into a nose dive.

He dropped like a rock. He felt the wind pass over his face and over his back as he dropped faster and faster. He popped open his wings and leveled out, exclaiming in delight. He flew over to an open-mouthed Luna. He landed in front of her and laughed. "How's that for flying?" he asked.

"I...I...How...how did you..." she stammered. She looked at Linus who was switching between a smile and shock. "How did you do that? You...you..." Luna couldn't even comprehend what she had just seen. "You...flew?" she asked.

Blaze nodded his head and extended his new wing. Luna and Linus gasped. "Blaze! What in the hay is that?" Linus asked bewildered.

"Well if you want to know how, ask her." Blaze said, pointing at the pony on Rainbow's back.

"Who is she?" Luna asked.

"Uhh...I'll let her tell you that." he said. Rainbow and Starbolt had just moved next to him.

"Blaze! How did you do that? That was so cool! Like...wow!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Looks like Blaze has some explaining to do." Linus said.

"First, we need to show her what Rook did." Blaze said.

"Who is she then?" Linus asked.

"You know, just cause I'm not talking doesn't mean I'm not here. I am Starbolt and Rook was-" Linus cut her off.

"Wait. Starbolt? But Rook said you were dead." he said.

"Well...yes. But I'll tell you everything once I get something to drink." she said as she started to cough yet again. Luna led them to her tent and gave Starbolt a cup of water. Starbolt drank it as she held the cup shakily in between her hooves. She put the cup down and looked at Luna. "Ok. So you two know who I am, but I don't know who you are." Starbolt said as pointing to Linus.

"I'm Linus. Rook and I were very good friends. If it weren't for him... I wouldn't be here." Linus said. "I'm sorry about what happened to him." Linus said.

"Starbolt?" Luna asked carefully. "How are you alive? Rook said-" Luna was quieted by Starbolt's coughing.

"Ok. I probably only have about 30 minutes left. So let's make this quick." she said before taking another sip of water. She told them her story. Luna and Linus listened with awe as she explained what she had experienced and how Blaze was able to now fly. "So now you know." she said. "Now what about Rook? How much as he done? I've been told it's a lot."

Linus nodded his head. "He did. He's the reason that Blaze and I are still here. He helped us track Blaze when he was stuck in a cave and was one hell of a thinker. He helped me out a lot and kept me fighting. He even...helped me get something off of my chest to a certain pony." he said cautiously. Luna turned a light shade of red.

"He wrote a letter for us the night before he died. He told me that an Iron Will will pick us up. After he died, I went to his house and ended up meeting Iron Will. I think Rook knew that Chrysalis would try to do something, but I doubt he knew what. He must have known Iron Will would have something for me. Whether it be a bomb plan, a book, or a chess board, I don't know. But it led me to you and you gave me back my ability to fly." Blaze said.

"The battle at Canterlot would have been harder to win without his ability to fly. You gave us back something we desperately needed." Luna told Starbolt who smiled.

"I guess, in a way, I already knew what good he did for the army." Starbolt said looking at Blaze. She began to cough again. "Can I ask something Luna?"

"Yes. Anything." she replied.

Starbolt spit more blood onto the ground. "When I die, which will be soon, don't hold a funeral. Don't even let the ponies know I was here. If they ask about Blaze's wing, tell them. But I don't want a big funeral celebrating my life. I'm just a clone after all. I'm not the real Starbolt." she said.

Luna looked at her as she began another coughing fit. They were getting a lot worse. "I can't deny you that, not after what you did for Blaze and us. You will both be remembered by us for what you two have done." Luna said. She stood up and walked over to a kennel. She poured out the tea into a cup and gave it to Starbolt. She sipped it carefully and her eyes grew.

"You know what that is right?" Luna asked. Starbolt nodded her head. "He told me about how you two met and how much he loved you. He told me about how worried he was about not being there for the baby." This caught Starbolt off-guard. "He wanted to name her Jasmine because of what brought you two together." Luna said. A small smile had emerged from Starbolt's lips.

"He knew I wanted to name her Grace." she said with a light laugh. She looked at the cup in her hands and looked back at her memories. "I always wanted to die happy. Thank you Luna. For everything." she said.

***

They stood next to Rook's house. Linus had emptied out Rook's quarters and brought them out to the little funeral that the five of them had put together. Iron Will had finished destroying the metals and stood with the others as they closed the hole. Two stone slabs stuck out of the earth with writing on them.

"Rook would've been proud of her Linus." Blaze told Linus as he stared at the stone slabs. "They're together now, side by side." He left with Rainbow Dash, Luna, and Iron Will and headed back to the camp.

Linus looked up to the sky and let a small smile escape his lips. "Rook, I hope you are happy now that you have Starbolt with you. As Blaze said, you'd be proud of her." he said and followed the others back to camp as the sun smiled at his back.

Chapter 36

Blaze was getting a mix of shocked and amazed faces as he walked through the camp. Some walked up and asked what it was, but he kept walking. He didn't want to talk to them about his wing, who made it, how he flew, and what it was made of. Not after the funeral. "We need to talk about the attack on Canterlot, someplace away from the army." Blaze whispered to the others.

"Let's head back to my tent. I can soundproof the tent and lock it with a spell." Luna said. She led them back to her tent and put the spells around them. She sat down and pulled out a map of Canterlot and it's surroundings. "This is the train station for Canterlot. It was used to transport soldiers to and from the cities the Leasath control. Now that we are here in Ponyville, there hasn't been much activity coming from the train. Here's what I say we do. We send a group of soldiers led by myself and Linus up to the gates. Once there, Blaze will blow up the gates and we will march in. We fight our way to Chrysalis, and we end her reign." Luna said shakily.

Blaze looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Is that seriously the plan? What happened to me dropping a bomb on top of Chrysalis' roof? I can fly again! I can drop one on her doorstep and end this thing in a few seconds." he said.

"Blaze while you can fly and you seem to be able to fly well. But that doesn't change the fact that you just regained that ability. Blaze-" Luna said but she was cut-off.

"I don't care if I just learned how to walk again, I will do something more than just bomb the gate and fight to the top. Here's what I propose. With the bomb I built back at the camp, I can blow a hole in the side of the castle and either take Chrysalis out or injure her enough to where she can't fight." Blaze said without taking his eyes off of her.

"Luna, I can drop a bomb at the gate as a distraction while Blaze blows a hole in the roof and leads the Pegasus soldiers into Canterlot Castle's hall and fight her without losing a large number of our soldiers." Rainbow said backing up Blaze. "You two can lead an assault on the front gate. Once you enter, Blaze will blow the roof off and his soldiers will fly in and take out Chrysalis. I'll meet up with him, find him, and make sure that he doesn't kill her before you get your chance. Let him do this." Rainbow said sternly.

Luna glared at her. She sighed and looked back at the map. "The best place to attack would be on the side facing Ponyville. Not only would you send a shockwave throughout the entire building, but you could possibly send it crashing to the ground. In doing so, you would kill some of the soldiers that were unprepared and get a better shot at capturing Chrysalis." She gave Blaze a hard look. "Don't make me regret doing this. I'm not losing another great soldier."

"You won't." Blaze said. He glanced at Linus who stood at the back of the tent looking at Luna. "So...What happened between you two?" Blaze asked.

Linus looked up but quickly turned his head. "We talked. That's all." Luna said. Her face had turned red.

Blaze had a feeling what happened, but didn't push any further. "Did you call for Derpy and Applejack to come?" he asked.

"Yes. They are on their way. Knowing Applejack, she should be here by midnight. Derpy won't be far behind considering what the message contained." Luna said.

"What did you say to get her here fast?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well for Applejack I told her we will attack tomorrow. For Derpy...I said that there were muffins for her." Luna said.

Blaze gawked at her. "So you're lying to her?"

"No! Why would I lie to her? There are muffins for her. I made them..." she said quietly.

"Oh no. You'll kill the poor mare! It'll be worse than when Pinkie Pie had Applejack help make cupcakes!" Rainbow said. Luna stared at her as Blaze and Linus tried to hold back their laughs.

"I'll have you know my sweets are very delicious. I may not be able to cook a dinner, but I can make dessert!" Luna said annoyed.

Linus let out a small snicker. "Like it makes a difference. What are they like now? Burnt? Crispy?" he said with a smile.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't like it!" Luna shouted. "Now, you three need to rest for tomorrow. It's almost dinner. Have you two even eaten since breakfast?" she asked Blaze and Rainbow. Blaze's stomach growled and he shook his head. He hadn't eaten after Rook died and hadn't had a chance to since he was with Starbolt.

"We haven't had a chance to. We've been pretty busy." Rainbow said. Luna led them out of the camp and over to the cooking station.

"Give these two something to eat. I know it's not dinner yet, but they haven't eaten all day." Luna said. The cook gave her an annoyed look, but saw Blaze behind her. He stared at his wing and quickly got them their food. They left and Rainbow nudged Luna's shoulder.

"I promised AJ that I would check out her farm for her. We'll eat our dinner there. If she arrives at camp before we get back, send her to the farm." Rainbow said.

"Ok, but be careful. You all will need your rest for tomorrow." Luna said, and turned to leave with Linus.

Rainbow Dash and Blaze walked out of camp and through Ponyville. They would've flown, but she wanted to see her old town again. They passed by familiar places. SugarCube Corner, Town Hall, The Carousal Boutique, the Library, all of which brought back memories. They stopped in front of the farm. The old fence that encased the apple orchard was broken and separated in numerous places. The barn's roof had collapsed in on itself and the barn doors had been eaten away by termites. The color had drained from the structure and left the already dead orchard looking more depressing than it already was.

"I can't believe it. It looks so...dark. This place used to be bright and full of color. The leaves would change from their green tint to a yellow and reddish hue. It was one of my favorite time of the year, next to Cider Season of course." Rainbow said with a light laugh.

"I heard the best Cider came from Ponyville. Is that true?" Blaze asked.

"Hay yeah! I would try my hardest to get in line before everypony else. But Pinkie always beat me and bought like 15 jugs herself!" Rainbow said with another laugh.

"Did you ever get your Cider?" Blaze asked.

"Eventually. I had to beat the Flim Flam wannabes in order to finally get my own mug, but it was worth it. Tasted like heaven." she said with a smile. They walked up to the barn past the orchard. When they arrived to the under-colored structure, they sat down next to the entrance and ate their dinner. It wasn't very tasteful, but it was better than Luna's cooking.

"Do you think we can do it?" Blaze asked unexpectantly.

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Win it. Do you think we can win the war at Canterlot? I mean, yes I can fly, yes I can drop a bomb on Chrysalis, but what if all of that is for nothing? What if, even after all that we try, all that we accomplish, we still lose the war? Even if we kill Chrysalis, there will be Gorners who would be more than willing to take her place. If we lose this battle, all is lost for Equestria." he said quietly, looking at the destroyed barn that stood behind them.

"We will win. Blaze, we have you, Luna, and Linus. You three are the best we have, other than me of course." she said with a smirk. "We'll beat her and the Leasath."

"...but...what if we don't?" he asked again with more persistence.

Rainbow Dash looked at him and put a hoof on his shoulder. She drew him close and gave him a quick kiss. She pulled away and looked at him in his eyes. "Then we go out together, with Chrysalis' head separated from her body." Blaze lowered his head and gave a sigh.

"Howdy you two!" Applejack said as she leapt over the fence. She looked at her old barn that they were sitting in front of. "Well, I guess it's safe ta say that she's seen better days. Ah suppose Ah shoulda' seen this comin'. After all, it has been a long while since Ah been back here." she said as she surveyed the place.

"AJ! How'd you get back so fast?" Rainbow asked surprised.

"Ah you kiddin? Don'cha remember our runnin of the leaves contest? Ah can run pretty darn tootin fast." AJ said.

"Yeah but we still tied for last. Don't forget that part." Rainbow said with a small smile.

"Yeah i hear ya, I hear ya." AJ said. She looked to the barn and sighed.

"Oh! You have to see Blaze! You won't believe what-" Rainbow Dash stopped as she turned and found Blaze had disappeared. "Blaze? Where are you?" she called out to him.

"He was just here a second ago. Ah didn' notice he was gone." AJ said. She let out a shriek as Blaze picked her up and flew her into the air. Rainbow looked at him and smiled. "Let me go you no good varmin!" AJ yelled. Blaze flew close to the ground and dropped her. She landed with a soft thud. Blaze flew back into the sky and gave a whoop. He turned back around and landed next to Rainbow Dash.

"Bet you didn't see that happening did you?" Blaze asked as he showed his metal wing to AJ.

"How in Celestia were you able to find such a contraption?" she asked astonished. Blaze explained everything that happened. "Oh. Blaze, Ah'm so sorry 'bout Rook." she said.

"It's fine. He was a good pony." Blaze said. There was a scream from the camp. Rainbow and Blaze looked at each other.

"There's only one pony who could've made that scream." Rainbow said. The ran back to camp and saw a distraught Derpy looking at the muffins that Luna had placed on the counter.

"They aren't that bad Derpy!" Luna exclaimed. The muffins weren't really muffins. They were more crispy rocks.

"Those aren't muffins! They're black and crispy! Muffins are brown and fluffy!" Derpy yelled.

"Well I'm sorry. They accidentally fell in the fire. I'll make you some more later." Luna said as she tossed the rocks out of the tray.

"So we were right! I told you Luna. You can't cook, not even sweets!" Blaze exclaimed. He dodged the tray that Luna flung at him. "Why do you enjoy throwing things at me? I'm just speaking the truth!" he exclaimed.

"Because I hope to one day knock some sense into your head!" Luna said as she started to make more muffins.

"Well I know one thing I'm looking forward to." Blaze said.

"What's that?" Derpy asked, momentarily distracted from her muffin tragedy.

"Well, once we take Canterlot," Blaze said as he looked at Luna. "We won't have to worry about Salmonella when we eat dinner." The group laughed, including Luna.

"Okay, okay. I know my cooking isn't the best, but you could at least show some courtesy!" Luna said with a smile. The sun was starting to set along the horizon. "Well, you two were gone for quiet some time. You should all get some rest. You had dinner and we need you for tomorrow. I'll remake some muffins and have the cooks give Applejack some food." she said as she picked up the tray.

The three ponies walked back to Blaze's tent and sat down as Applejack ate her dinner. "So, how're ya' likin' that there wing of yer's?" Applejack asked.

"It's nice. Not as smooth as my old one, but I've gotten used to it. It'll help if we are going to win this war, that's for sure." Blaze said as he opened his wings. He could feel the cold night air pass through his feathered wing, while there was a low, cold feeling coming from his new metal wing. "Looks like those receptors finally kicked in." he said as a gust of cold air flew by.

"Well Ah'm glad you can finally fly with Rainbow again." Applejack said. She ate the cold salad she had been given. She didn't complain, even though it was downright awful. "When we take Canterlot, can ya'll leave the kitchen alone? Ah'd like to have some real food for once." she said as she nibbled on the disgusting lettuce.

"I hear you AJ. I could go for some nice warm soup." Rainbow Dash said as she imagined the warm soup she used to have in Ponyville.

"While that all sounds delicious, I'd rather not think about that before I go to sleep." Blaze said as his stomach gave a low growl. Applejack placed the plate on the ground, unable to finish it.

"Well tomorrow is it. It's the last day. The final day." Rainbow Dash said quietly. "We can do this. Right?" she asked, looking for reassurance from her friends. Blaze turned his head to her, but didn't say anything. "We can. Right?" she asked again.

"Rainbow, Ah know how badly you want to win this war. For you, for Twilight, for all our friends. But remember, Chrysalis is powerful. She'll probably have a few dastardly tricks up her sleeves. But we can all win this thing, as long as we all stick together." Applejack told her friend.

There was a shuffle outside, and Linus and Shining Armor walked in. Linus sat down next to Blaze while Shining Armor stood at the entrance, staring at Blaze. "So it's true. You really do have metal for wings." he said quietly. A small grin appeared on his face. "A bunch of my soldiers said they saw you walking around with a new wing. I didn't believe them at first, but then Iron Will told me it was true. He seemed sad about it, but I don't know why! You can fly, right Blaze?" he asked urgently.

Blaze nodded his head. "Yeah, I can. Where have you been? I haven't seen you since we arrived to Ponyville." he asked.

"I was sending the word to Derpy and Applejack to come back. You two are fast, but I guess that was cause you two were just excited." he said, looking at Applejack.

"Where's Cadence?" AJ asked.

"She stayed back." Shining Armor said. "She felt like she would be of better use there than here."

They all stayed in the tent and talked about what they were going to do after the war. Applejack was going to rebuild Sweet Apple Acres, Linus was going to open up a small pub, and Shining Armor was going to help train soldiers to help protect the castle again. Blaze sat there quietly, pondering the outcomes of the upcoming battle.

"What about you Blaze? What are your plans?" Linus asked.

Blaze shook his head. "I don't know. If anything, I'd try to move on. To leave the war behind me. But I know I can't do that." he said, thinking of his wings. "None of us will be able to fully leave the war behind. I just hope we live long enough to make it to tomorrow night." he said as he looked at the group around him.

Derpy ran into the tent with a huge load of muffins in her hold. "Hiyah!" she squealed as she shoved a muffin in her mouth. "What you guys talking about?"

"Our plans after the war. Where'd you get those amazing looking muffins?" Linus asked with wide eyes.

"Luna made them. She's an a really good baker!" Derpy said, shoveling the muffins down.

"Luna? A good baker? Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprised.

"I told you I could make delicious sweets." Luna said as she walked into the tent. "The first batch fell into the fire, so those don't count. I'd like to see one of you make a muffin that's acceptable to this mare." she said as she pointed to Derpy.

"They're really good! Thanks Luna!" Derpy said and ran out of the tent in delight, not dropping a single baked good on the ground.

"Remind me to ask ya how to make those muffins. Ah think it might help the soldiers after this war here. Get them something nice in there bellies." Applejack said.

Luna smiled. "I'll let you in on the secret after tomorrow. Anyways, it's late. You all should get your sleep if we want to come out with little losses at Canterlot. Linus, I want to speak with you privately. It's about our plan of attack on the front gate." she said with a small smile.

"I best be hittin' the hay too. Ah'll see ya'll in the mornin'." Applejack said with a yawn.

"I'm going to see if the soldiers are ready. Can't have them worried before the battle's even begun." Shining Armor said and followed the rest out. Blaze and Rainbow were the only ones left.

"You okay?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah. I'm just worried." Blaze said. "Tomorrow is going to decide this war and we will lose a lot of soldiers. I don't want anypony else who is a part of this army to die. Too many already have."

Rainbow Dash rubbed her hoof through his mane. "Everypony will be fine. All we need to do, is drop the bomb right on Chrysalis' head and the war will be over."

"And what if we miss? What if she isn't in the throne room at the time? What if it doesn't kill her?" Blaze looked at her with a distraught look in his eyes. "What if, by leaving Luna and Linus at the front gate, they end up killed?"

Rainbow gave him a quick reassuring hug. "Hey. C'mon now. Don't do that to yourself. They'll be fine. Luna's a strong alicorn, and Linus is...Well he's Linus. He'll be able to handle himself." Rainbow said, trying to make him feel better. Blaze nuzzled his face into Rainbow's multi-colored mane. "Now, we need to get some sleep." she said.

"Why not stay here tonight? You're already here and I want to hold you close one last night before tomorrow." Blaze said. Just in case we don't make it out. he thought. Rainbow gave a small smile and nodded her head. They went to bed and held each safely in the other's arms.

Chapter 37

Luna and Linus were quietly walking through the camp. Most of the soldiers were either going to bed or being briefed by Shining Armor. They walked to Luna's tent and sat at a small table at the center of the room. "What do you think will happen tomorrow?" Linus asked.

"I don't know. It'll be a close battle, considering we don't have Hex here to help us strategize. But we have Blaze, Rainbow Dash, and you that can help. But..." she trailed off.

"What is it?" Linus asked.

"I fear we may lose them. There is a high chance that you all are going to die tomorrow, myself included. And...I don't know if I could handle having you all die. You all have become really close friends of mine, something I haven't really had. I mean, I've had friends, but none who I felt I could trust with every-" she was interrupted by Linus' kiss. He held her close and didn't let her go. She blushed, but didn't pull away. When he let the kiss go, he stared into her eyes.

"We'll be fine. Listen." he said as he held her. "No matter what happens, we need you. Equestria needs you. I need you." Luna nuzzled her head in his soft mane.

"But what if I lose you?" she whispered.

"You won't." he said, unsure if he was saying this because he believed it, or because he didn't want to trouble her further. "I'll stay and fight. Remember all those years ago? When you revived me from the freezing spell? You wouldn't leave me. Whether it be because of what I did or because of how you felt, it doesn't matter. You stayed. And I plan to do the same." he said, speaking truthfully this time.

Luna bit her lip. "Linus..." she said hesitantly. "How will we-" Linus cut her off.

"Luna please. Not now. We'll figure out the future when we get there." he said and gave her a kiss on her head. He released her from his embrace. "Get some sleep. We need you on your hooves tomorrow." he said and left the tent.

Luna sighed and walked over to her bed. I live for centuries...He'll grow old and die...How will it work out? She shook the thought out of her head. Linus was right. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it. She crawled into her bed and tried to clear her mind of everything but the sounds of the night.

***

Linus walked back to his tent in the cold night air. As he passed the tents with soldiers he heard some laughing, some praying to Celestia, and others just giving mindless chatter. As he continued his walk, he couldn't help but think about his future with Luna, or even if he would have one. He didn't know what the outcome of the next days battle would be, only that one side was going to win. He stopped outside his tent and sighed. Rook, what should I do? He opened the tent and was surprised to see who was sitting there.

"Iron Will? What are you doing here? I thought you would've gone back to Ponyville." Linus said as he closed the tent flap.

"There's nothing there for me. I'm staying to fight. You ponies could use me." he said.

"What do you mean?" Linus asked as he took a seat. "There had to be some pony, or minotaur, that you had back in Ponyville for you to stay there."

Iron Will glared at him. "There was. Not anymore." he turned his head and snorted. "So whether you like it or not, I'm staying." He got up and started to leave the tent.

"Wait. Why did you come here to my tent and not to Luna's?" Linus asked.

Iron Will turned his head. "Because you knew Rook better than Luna. I wanted to tell someone who was close to him." he said and opened the flap.

"It was Starbolt wasn't it?" Linus said without looking at Iron Will. He stopped at the flap. "I'm glad for what you did to help Blaze. Even if it meant...you know."

Iron Will stood there for a second, absorbing what Linus said, and walked out. Linus sighed and walked over to his bed. I swear Rook, you choose the strangest creatures to form friends with. he thought to himself. He fell onto his bed and closed his eyes. "Well Linus, tomorrow is the day we finish this mess. Tomorrow is when harmony will reign again."

***

"Move! She's just behind this door!" Luna ordered. Rainbow Dash and the others rushed next to her panting, bloodied by the battle they have been fighting in.

"This is it. We'll finally end this." Blaze said through his raspy breaths. Rainbow could tell by his weary eyes and hunched body that he was exhausted.

"On three!" Linus shouted. "One, two, three!" he exclaimed and bucked the door down. It slammed against the ground with a loud thud and the rushed inside. The throne room wasn't full of bright and beautiful colors anymore. The usual glass paintings were destroyed and replaced with the dark views of the Changelings.

Chrysalis sat propped up on her throne. She had a smug on her face that disgusted Rainbow Dash. "Stand down Chrysalis! End this!" Luna shouted. Chrysalis just chuckled. Linus charged at her and was shot back against the wall where he hung, unable to move.

Blaze and Rainbow flew up into the air in order to flank her while Luna charged her on the ground. Chrysalis shot deadly bolts at them as they rushed toward her. One of the bolts hit Rainbow's wing and she plummeted to the ground, shrieking in pain. She slammed her head into the ground, skidding next to Chrysalis, knocking her unconscious.

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes. There was a sudden stab pain in her head as she lifted it. "You thought you could kill me, the Queen of the Changelings?" Chrysalis hissed. Rainbow Dash winced as Chrysalis kicked her face. "How foalish of you. Now, watch as your friends die by my hoof!"

Rainbow awoke with a gasp. She frantically looked for Blaze. She was still wrapped in his arms and sighed with relief. It was just a nightmare. She could see the sun's beams of light shine through the bottom of their tent. She flipped around on the bed so she could see him face to face. She rubbed her hoof gently across his face and through his mane. She gave him a kiss, waking him up.

"Good morning." she said with a smile on her face, happy that he was here. "You sleep well?"

Blaze rubbed his eyes groggily. "Not really." he said with a yawn. "Was up half the night. You were very restless last night. You sleep okay?"

"Sorta. I had a nightmare." she said. "But it's fine. Nothing that I can't handle." She tried to fake a smile to show him she was alright.

"What happened?" Blaze asked.

"Just a dream about Manehatten. It's a dream I have before I venture into a fight." she lied. "I'm fine Blaze." she said adding a smile to show her sincerity.

Blaze looked at her quizzically. "Alright. If you say so." he said. They got off the bed and walked outside the tent. They weren't the only ones up. In fact, it looked like they were the last to be up. Many of the soldiers were walking around, talking quietly to each other. Others were writing letters to friends and family about the upcoming battle.

Blaze and Rainbow walked quietly to Luna's tent. Just as they were about to enter they could hear somepony crying inside. They looked at each other worried and walked in. They found Luna holding a sobbing Derpy in her arms. "Shh shh. It'll be alright. We'll save her." Luna said trying to comfort the distraught pegasus.

"They have her...my muffin..." Derpy cried in between sobs. Luna saw Blaze and Rainbow Dash standing by the entrance to the tent. With a flick of her head she motioned for them to come next to them.

"Is everything okay? What's wrong Derpy?" Rainbow Dash asked as they walked over to them.

The wall-eyed pegasus looked up to her with wet eyes. "My muffin. She has her. She has Dinky!" Derpy wailed and buried face into Luna's mane.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry." Rainbow said as she rubbed Derpy's back reassuringly.

"How did you find out?" Blaze whispered to Luna.

"About ten minutes ago. I sent a few of Linus' scouts out to see the defenses and if there were any back ways in. We didn't find anything we didn't already know about Canterlot, but we did find something more horrific." Luna whispered back. "Chrysalis is having all the fillies she has captured standing out front of the gates. One of the scouts recognized Dinky and told Derpy and I about what they found. There aren't any guards to make sure they stay there, so the only rational thing I could think of would be that they are hypnotized in the same way Shining Armor was."

Blaze's mouth was agape. "Fillies? She's using kids as a pony shield?" He couldn't believe it. What kind of sick creature does that? he thought "We can't go through the front gate. It's too risky."

"I know. I'm trying to figure out a way to get through the gate without harming a filly. If we can't get through the gate you, Rainbow Dash and your troops will be fighting the entire Leasath army without help from the rest of the army." Luna said.

"Priority one needs to be getting those fillies away from the fight. Rainbow Dash, myself and a few others could fly by and grab a few of them and drop them back at the army." Blaze suggested. "Do you know any spells that might work against the hypnosis?"

Luna thought for a moment. "Maybe. But it's risky. It's a variation of the memory spell I learned centuries ago, before I was sent to the moon. There weren't many hospitals with Unicorns who knew and studied magic well. When ever somepony lost their memory, whether it be from a fall or a fight, they would come to me and my sister to bring them back. It didn't always end up in the best of ways." Luna explained. "Since I don't know their memories I can use this spell to "reawaken" their old memories. I can use it on a group of ponies too if need be. However, if I make a small mistake, they could lose all of their memories. They'll forget who they are, who they're friends and family are, everything." she said in earnest. "They'll be safe and alive, but they won't be themselves."

"Is there any other spell that's safer?" Rainbow Dash asked. She had been listening quietly to them as she sat there comforting the still weeping pegasus.

"None that I know of. Right now it's our best option." Luna replied. Rainbow nodded her head.

Derpy lifted her head and wiped her eyes. "I'm going too!" she exclaimed.

This caught Luna off guard. "Derpy, I can't allow you too. You are too distraught to go flying out into a battle zone. You'll get hurt." she said, avoiding the fact that Derpy was a very clumsy flier and would potentially do more harm than good.

"But I have too! They have my muffin!" she yelled. Rainbow Dash looked at Luna. She knew all to well why Luna didn't want her going out to help, but it seemed wrong to say no to her when her daughter was on the line.

"I'm sorry Derpy. I really am. But Blaze and Rainbow Dash are very trustworthy and very reliable. They'll get her." Luna said trying to calm her.

Derpy started to cry again and murmur, "muffin." Luna looked to Blaze. "You have ten minutes to gather some Pegasi and head over to the fillies. The scouts counted approximately 50 fillies." Luna said. Blaze nodded and rushed out the tent with Rainbow close behind. They were able to gather plenty of Pegasi who wanted to help get the fillies back.

The group took off and headed for the gates. "There aren't any guards from what we could see. But that doesn't mean that they aren't watching them. Keep an eye out for any thing suspicious." Blaze said as they drew closer to the gates.

"Grab as many fillies as you can before heading back to camp. Grab two in your arms and place one on your back if you have to. Don't leave any of them behind." Rainbow Dash ordered behind Blaze. She flew closer to him. "Something feels off. If they're just standing there doing nothing with no guards around, we could be flying into a trap." she whispered to Blaze.

"I doubt it. Chrysalis would sooner kill them in front of us as a surprise to lower our morale than to attack us with them. But if it is a trap, give 'em hell." he whispered. They could see the gates to the city and saw the fillies standing there, motionless. Blaze turned his head to rest of the group. "Here we go! Grab whoever you can and don't leave one behind!" he shouted and dove towards the fillies with the group close behind.

Right before Blaze was able to pick up a filly, there was a flash of purple light that shot past him, barely missing him but hitting the Pegasus behind him. Son of a-! he swore to himself.

"It's a trap!" he yelled and grabbed an orange filly off the ground. He put her underneath his right arm. There were multiple purple beams flying through the air hitting a few of the Pegasi as they tried to get to the fillies. The bolts were being fired from crevices, windows, and the crenals above the castle walls. Why can't things ever be easy! Blaze thought to himself as he evaded another bolt. He flew past the gate and turned around to grab another filly. He flung him onto his back and steadily flew up. He noticed Rainbow Dash and three other Pegasi distracting the Leasath that were firing at the others who had picked up some of the fillies and were heading back to camp.

He flew down low and grabbed a white filly who hadn't moved even after a Pegasus crashed in front of her. "Rainbow Dash! Grab a filly and lets get out of here!" he shouted to her. She flew to the top of the castle walls and picked up two of the Leasath and threw them off the side of the castle. She kicked another in his face and flew down to grab two of the remaining fillies that were left. She picked them up with one in each arm and flew off past Blaze.

"Let's go Blazey Boy!" she shouted at him. He caught up with the rest of the group and was shocked by what he was seeing up ahead. Pegasi were dropping out of the sky.

"Rainbow! Grab the fillies before they hit the ground!" he exclaimed and flew to try and catch them. When he got close, however, he realized they were Changelings instead of fillies.

"They're not fillies!" a Pegasus up ahead said. "Drop them!" he exclaimed and let go of the two fillies in his arms.

"No!" Blaze shouted."Don't drop them! Not all of them may be Changelings!" He flew towards the dropping fillies and caught them. He was heavily weighted down now and couldn't fly as fast. He tried to climb higher but couldn't carry five fillies and fly high enough to avoid crashing into the ground. Another Pegasus flew down and took the white filly off of his back and one of the fillies who had fallen out of his arms.

"They hid in with the fillies so they could take us down when we were away from the fight and diminish our troops." Rainbow Dash said. Blaze flew up next to her and surveyed the rest of the Pegasi they had with them.

"We lost half of them... Damnit!" Blaze exclaimed. "It was a trap we fell into way too easily. Luna isn't going to like this." They flew back and landed in the camp. He placed the fillies he was carrying with the others. Luna looked at him as she counted those that had returned. She gave Blaze a questioning look and he shook his head. She lowered head and started to cast the spell on the group of fillies that were there. The group of ponies who returned backed away from the fillies, leaving Rainbow and Blaze still with the group. Luna's horn glowed a dark blue as sparks started to shoot out from it.

Blaze's heart was beating out of his chest. What if it doesn't work? What if they forget everything? No idea who or what they are, what they are suppose to be? Luna's horn let out a low hum as she concentrated on the spell. Other than the low hum, it was silent. Nopony talked, coughed, some didn't even breath. Her horn suddenly let out a blue wave of energy that engulfed the entire campsite. The wave lasted five seconds after she released the spell and the group looked towards the fillies. Many of them were turning their heads, confused as to where they were or how they got there.

"Where...where are we?" the white filly Blaze had carried back asked.

"You are at Ponyville with the Aureolian army. Do you remember anything from the past few days?" Rainbow Dash asked.

The filly thought and frowned. "Yeah. I was in a dark room surrounded by stone. There were no windows and every night when we slept we had to worry about the rats gnawing on our hooves. I remember watching these creatures in dark armor walk in and dump our meals on the floors." the filly recollected. "The others would fight each other to get as much food as they could. Those of us who waited until after they finished the meager meal had to lick what was left off of the floor. They were animals..." she trailed off as a tear ran down her eye.

"It's okay sweetie. It's okay." Rainbow Dash said as she comforted the weeping filly. "What's your name?" Rainbow asked.

"White Dawn." she said through her tears. Luna gave a sigh of relief. The spell had worked.

"White Dawn!" the orange filly exclaimed. She ran up to her and hugged her tightly. Rainbow Dash was amazed at how similar the two ponies resembled Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She hugged them both, giving them a comforting place to rest their heads and also to remind herself of what was lost. A small, light purple unicorn walked around looking into the crowd.

"Mommy? Mommy??" she cried out. She frantically ran up and down the group of ponies searching for her mother. "Mommy??" she cried out in anguish. She slumped onto the ground and buried her face into her hooves bawling.

"Muffin? Muffin is that you?!" Derpy asked as she heard her daughter's cries. Dinky lifted her head from her hooves and scanned the group of ponies for her mother.

"Mommy?!" Dinky shouted. The group of ponies that surrounded the fillies made way for the frantic grey pegasus that was barreling through them.

"Muffin! I'm here!" Derpy exclaimed. She saw her daughter, bruised and thin, and flew as fast as she could so she could hold her tightly and never let her go. Dinky saw her mother flying towards her and ran as fast as her little legs would let her.

"Mommy!" she cried in delight. Derpy closed the distance fast and swept her daughter up in her arms and cradled her. Dinky cried and cried as she clung to her mother's golden colored mane.

"Dinky! Dinky Dinky Dinky!" Derpy cried as she held her daughter close to her. "Oh my muffin. My poor sweet muffin."

The rest of the fillies began running around asking for their parents. Some found a family friend, others cried when they couldn't find them, others just sat on the ground, silently wallowing in their sadness. Blaze walked around to each of them and comforted the little fillies. He knew that most of their parent's were alive somewhere in Equestria, but he also knew that some of them would be dead. He didn't know if he could tell a filly about their parents. He kicked the idea out of his head. That didn't matter. What mattered is that the fillies were safe and alive.

He walked over to Luna who was talking to Linus. "Excuse me Luna. I hate to interrupt you, but there was a problem when we were taking the fillies back. There was a trap at the gates. It wasn't anything we couldn't handle. But once we were on our way back, it turned out that some of the fillies were actually Changelings. They took out half of our troops. We saved all the fillies, but one soldier decided to drop his two fillies because he saw some turning into Changelings. I haven't seen him since the incident." Blaze said.

"I see. Well, no matter. The fillies are safe and we can now move on with the original plan." she said. "Linus was just telling me that Iron Will has decided to stay and fight with us. Honestly, I'm glad he's here. We could use him to take down the doors. So your explosive work at the gate won't be necessary."

"He's staying? Why?" Blaze asked.

"He say's there's nothing for him here at Ponyville. Didn't really give much reason as to why." Linus replied.

"Whatever the reason it's good he's here. We are attacking at noon so be ready. I know we just saved these fillies, but we need to attack. We've come so close and we are not about to fall back because of that trap." Luna said. Blaze nodded his head and walked back to Rainbow Dash, who still embraced the two fillies.

Linus turned to Luna. "Are you sure about what you told me? About the mole?" he asked.

Luna bit her lip. "Sadly, yes. We both trusted him and he betrayed us." she said as she stared at Blaze.

Chapter 38

The General walked through the dark halls of Canterlot. The paintings were blotted out and the candles gave off a dark eerie glow. He remembered the days he spent here training for The New Lunar Republic, Luna's night guard. He graduated top of his class and was her right hand pony in the army. After Chrysalis attacked Canterlot, most of the soldiers that were killed were part of Celestia's army. She attacked at noon when most of the Lunar Republic's soldiers were in deep sleep. He remebered the alarm sounding...

***

He jumped up, startled by the sound that rang through the city. He immediately jumped out of his bed and grabbed his helmet. When he opened the door he could see his wife and kids by the window staring out at the commotion. "Why are the kids by the window?" he asked sternly. He knew what the alarm meant and he didn't want his kids anywhere close to the fighting.

"They ran by after they heard some screaming from outside. I ran over just a few seconds ago. Honey? What's going on?" she asked, scared to death.

"Listen, Colgate. We're under attack." he whispered. "Go to the basement bunker. I'll have someone come and take you somewhere safe." he told her reassuringly.

Colgate nodded her head. "Crest, Zooth, come with me. We're going to play in the basement." she said, rushing them to the basement door. They ran downstairs ahead of their mother who turned around and gave her husband a kiss. "Come back soon. Please." she said and left for the kids.

He grabbed the rest of his armor and ran outside. He met an Admiral who was rushing past him. "Hey! Admiral Briggs!" the General yelled. Briggs turned his head and stopped as he saw who yelled. "What the hay is going on here?" the General asked.

"It's the Changelings, sir. They're attacking Canterlot and have reached the throne room. We have to get to the castle and protect the Princesses. Briggs told him and they rushed straight towards the castle.

"Go find whoever isn't up yet! Tell them what you told me and do it fast! We don't have much time." The General ordered. Briggs nodded his head and ran to find the others. The General forced his way through the crowds of trampling ponies. When he got to the gate there were guards and soldiers who were rushing out carrying civilians and wounded. One of the soldiers recognized him and ran up to him. "Sir..." he said quietly. "The sun is down." he said grimly.

The General looked at him with a shocked expression on his face. "What? That's impossible! How did it happen?" he asked.

The soldier merely shrugged. "We don't know. Only that when we got to the throne room, Princess Celestia was sprawled out on the ground dead. The Lunar Princess is nowhere to be found. She may have escaped Chrysalis after she killed the Princess."

The General just stood there shocked but quickly regained his composure. "Get everypony out of there and to safety. Send somepony to my house and get my family out as well. Civilians are our top priority right now. We're evacuating Canterlot." he ordered and ran past the gates. He could see the devastation caused by the attack. Windows shattered, walls with huge holes blown in, statues shattered, it made him fume.

When he arrived at the throne room he bucked the door down and ran in only to meet his wife standing in front of him. "Colgate?! How in the name of Celestia did you-" he started but never finished. There was a hard whack on the back of his head and he fell over unconscious. When he awoke, he was tied up and hanging from the wall. He could hear the cries of his little fillies.

"Colgate!" he shouted. There was a maniacal laughter that arose from across the room.

"You want to see her, right?" Chrysalis said with a smile on her face.

"You!" he exclaimed. "What have you done to them? Let them go!" he shouted, trying to break free from what held him.

"I've just made sure that we understand each other." she said menacingly.

"Understand what? I understand you perfectly well! You're a monster and a murderer!" he shouted.

Chrysalis just grinned. "I am many things, but I'm no murderer. I'd hate to become one because you were uncooperative, General." she said as a Changeling brought out Colgate and their children. She was covered in blood and looked like she had been ruthlessly beaten. One of her eyes was a sickly blackish blue color. Blood dripped from her mouth as she hung her head low.

"Colgate..." he said, distraught at what they did to his wife. At the sound of his voice she rose her head. She was rewarded by a smack across her face from Chrysalis. This sent him into a frenzy. "Don't touch her! Don't you dare lay a hoof on her!" he exclaimed.

"Then listen to me, and listen well." Chrysalis said. "Your castle has fallen, your Princess' vanquished, and your army disorganized. You have nothing here but your family. It would be a shame for them to share Celestia's fate, now wouldn't it?" she said as she readied another strike.

"Wait!" he yelled. Chrysalis' smile grew wide. "What is it you want? Please, just don't hurt them." he pleaded.

"What I want is for you to work with me. You're a leading General who could be of great use to me. I could've just killed you if I wanted to, but that would be a waste of such talent and potential. So, here's my deal. You obey me and do as I say, or I kill your family, one by one, right in front of your eyes." she said as she gripped Colgate's blue and silver-streaked mane.

"I..." he hesitated. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to work with her, despised the idea of it. He would rather be chained to a train and drug behind it traveling full speed before working with her. But they had his family, the one thing he couldn't live without. "Fine. I'll help you. Just don't hurt my family." he pleaded.

Chrysalis smiled."Don't worry about them. They'll be protected and unharmed. But they will stay in the dungeons where they won't be able to interfere with you."

He looked at his wife and kids. Colgate had tears in her eyes as their children clung to her. "I'm sorry." he mouthed. The guards took his family and drug them out of the room. He held his head low and let a tear roll down his cheek.

"Now, here's what you will do. You will return to the army. You will not mention you are affiliated with me or the Leasath. If you do," Chrysalis said as she turned to him and shot a green light at him. He groaned as it slammed into him. "I will know. That spell lets me know whenever you mention us. No matter if you are trying to keep them away from us or if you are helping them get to us, I will know. So don't try anything if you want your family to stay alive."

He looked at her. "And what about Luna? You killed Celestia, but Luna escaped from your wretched hooves. What are your plans when she returns?"

"When she returns, I want you to get as close to her as you can, but don't kill her. I want that pleasure. Learn everything she plans to do in the army." Chrysalis said. "Now go. Find your "army" and be my little spy." she said as she shot the chains that held him up. He fell to the ground with a thud.

***

He could smell the evil that filled the air as he approached the throne room, drawing him out from his flashback. He slowly pushed on the door, which made a high pitched screeching sound. He walked straight to the throne, head held high and no show of emotion. "Queen Chrysalis." he said, indifferent. "I have the artifact you sent me to find when they traveled through the Everfree Forest."

Chrysalis sat in her throne staring out to Equestria. "Good job. That will help us immensely."

He stiffened. "Now, I did what you asked. Can I please see my family? You said that I could get an extra hour of visiting hours. Take me there now."

Chrysalis got up and walked over to him. He could see the new paintings that surrounded the throne through the holes that covered her body. "I did say that didn't I?" she said as she took the black and red amulet from him. "But, I feel like being generous. Since you have done so much to help us, I think you should be allowed to see them whenever you want."

He sucked in. "Really? I can see them now? Whenever? Then I take me there now!" he demanded.

Chrysalis smiled at him. "Oh I don't think you understand." she said. A few Leasath grabbed him and cuffed him.

"Hey! What's going on here?" he asked distraughtly.

"You're going to see your family. You're going to spend all the time in the world with them and more." she said smiling. She walked up until she was inches from his face. "Thank you for helping us. I hope you're ready to spend your last days on Equestria with your family." she said. "Take him." she ordered cooly as she turned and walked back to her throne.

"What?! That was never part of the deal!" he shouted. He struggled to get free of the changelings holding him.

"I have altered the deal. Pray I don't alter it further, Hex." she said and sat back in her throne, gripping the armrest. They dragged him away as he shouted and yelled obscenities at her. She just sat there and smiled as she caressed the Alicorn Amulet. Her victory was almost here.

***

Blaze walked back to Rainbow Dash and knelt next to her and the fillies. The two fillies were holding each other and crying. Rainbow looked at him and smiled. "We did it."

He smiled at her and turned to the orange filly. "Hello there. What's your name?"

She sniffed. "Flare. My friends call me Flare."

"That's a lovely name." Blaze said. "Can you tell me something? How long were you trapped there?"

"I don't know. I couldn't keep track of the days since there were no windows. Some days you slept, others they would keep us up and torture us." she said as she started to cry again.

"It's okay. You're safe now. She can't hurt you anymore." Rainbow Dash told Flare reassuringly. "How about you and White Dawn go and get something to eat? The cooks are in the center of the town. Tell them Rainbow Dash sent you. Okay?"

The two fillies nodded their heads, eyes beaming at the mention of having real food and scampered off to find the cooks. "But don't eat to much! You might get sick!" Blaze exclaimed, but they weren't listening.

"Let them go. They haven't had a decent meal in Celestia knows how long." Rainbow Dash said.

"Blaze, Rainbow. We need to talk." Luna said dryly as she walked to them. Confused, they walked with her back to Linus.

"What's this about?" Blaze asked.

"The mole. We are pretty certain we know who it is." Luna said. "He's helped us out, yet he has betrayed us."

"It's Hex. He hasn't been seen anywhere near the army or it's camps. We thought he might have been captured, similar to how Luna was, but a quick location spell revealed where he was." Linus said unhappily.

"I was able to spy a little bit and saw him talking to her about something. I couldn't hear what it was, but she they were talking and not arguing. I could have spied a little bit more since I've known Hex for a long time, but there was something that started blocking my spell. There's only one thing that could block a spell that I've conjured but it was destroyed a long time ago." Luna said.

"What was it? Some sort of Amulet or charm?" Blaze asked.

Luna nodded her head. "It was called the Alicorn Amulet." she said.

Rainbow Dash gave a long, low groan. "This thing again? I thought Zecora had it hidden away somewhere?" she exclaimed.

"She did. She brought it to me one night. My sister wanted to hide it away in a vault to keep it safe. I, however, wanted to destroy it, to prevent anypony from using it's power again." Luna said.

Blaze stood there confused. "Wait wait wait, what exactly is the Alicorn Amulet?" he asked.

"The Alicorn Amulet blessed the wearer with untold magical capability. It also corrupted the user. The more spells a Unicorn cast while wearing it, the more corrupted they became. The only pony who can take it off is the user." Luna exclaimed. "But, against my sister's wishes, I destroyed the Amulet so nopony, not even another Alicorn, could harness it."

"Then how was she able to block out the spell?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Luna rubbed her head. "It's possible that she is able to harness a small part of it's magical remnant to block out spying. It's not enough to harm us, but it baffles me that she even has the small remnants of power that were left behind."

Blaze shook his head and looked at Rainbow. "Is that the weapon the changeling meant when he took Luna? The Alicorn Amulet?"

Rainbow shook her head. "I don't know. It's possible, but he said it would be ready and that if we tried to kill her, all would be lost. If what Luna says is true, the amulet can't be the weapon. It may be a part of it, though." Rainbow Dash said.

"Let's not rule out the fact that she is a Changeling. They feed off love and the more love they find, the stronger they become. It's much more likely that she is finding love somewhere to feed on." Linus interjected.

"But where would she find love strong enough to block out Luna's spell? There isn't much of it left to go around anymore." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Who knows. But what I do know is that whatever her plan is, we need to attack before she can cause serious harm to us." Linus said. "If she is able to block out Luna's spell with her own magic, or the remnants of the Alicorn Amulet, then we won't last against her if we don't end this. Whatever weapon she has or says she has, it can't be used." he said.

"Blaze, I want you to get the bomb from Shining Armor and be prepared to blow a hole the roof of the castle. Rainbow Dash, gather the troops and prep them for battle. Linus and I will get the soldiers ready for the main gate." Luna ordered. "We are ending this. Tonight."

Blaze and Rainbow nodded. "When we find Chrysalis, let's draw straws to see who gets to tear her apart." Rainbow Dash said.

Linus smiled. "Blaze and I have a parental dispute with her. How about this? First one to the throne room gets to have her head mantled above their fireplace."

Blaze chuckled. "You can keep her head once I rip it off of her."

"That's enough you three." Luna said with a grin. "We'll each get our chance at revenge. In fact, I'm sure Applejack would love to have a hoof on that Gorner that killed Big Mac. Now go. May Celestia protect us."

Blaze and Rainbow walked back to the soldiers. "You finally ready?" Rainbow Dash asked Blaze.

"I was ready 20 years ago." Blaze replied. He looked at her and smiled. "Go get the soldiers. I'll get the bomb and meet you and the soldiers at SugarCube Corner."

They each ran in their different directions. Blaze found Shining Armor with Applejack who was demanding something. "Ah'm tellin' ya' Ah need to be on the front lines with ya'!" AJ exclaimed.

"And I'm saying that you should be in with the other soldiers, not on the front lines with me. If you do, you won't stand a chance." Shining Armor replied. "Look. I understand how bad you want to fight. But I'm only looking out for you. Please understand. I don't doubt your capabilities, but Luna said you could fight. She didn't say where. So I'm placing you in the center of the army."

"I don't see what's wrong with her fighting on the front lines." Blaze cut in. "If she wants to fight on the front lines, let her."

"Thank ya' Blaze! See? He understands." Applejack told Shining Armor.

"Blaze, I know you think it's a good idea for her to be able to kick some flank in the front of the army, but if she does, her chances of dying would be too great. She has little experience in battle and would only be putting herself in danger. I can't allow it." he said more forcibly.

"Ah know how ta fight, Shining Armor. Ah may not be as experienced as you or some of them other ponies. But Ah deserve to fight up front and center! No questions asked!" Applejack said with a shout.

"If you don't let her, I'm sure Luna would be more than willing to let her fight next to her on the front lines." Blaze chimed in. He smiled and winked at Applejack who just laughed.

"You're outnumbered, sugarcube. One way, or anotha', Ah'm going to be fightin' at the head of the herd." she said.

Shining Armor groaned in frustration. "Blaze I swear to Celestia that if anything happens to her, I'll personally fry your flank."

"If I live past today. I need the bomb. We're going to be attacking soon. Rainbow Dash is gathering the soldiers now. We're meeting at SugarCube Corner. Applejack, talk to Luna. She can probably find you some armor to help protect you during the battle." Blaze said.

"Thank ya' kindly Blaze." she said and ran out the tent.

Shining Armor handed Blaze the "Twi bomb" as it was nicknamed, since it was the size of Twilight's favorite things. "Once this goes off, you and the soldiers are only going to have a few minutes before the Leasath know that we aren't the force they need to worry about. You should have plenty of time to move in and gain some stable ground." Blaze said, gingerly taking the bomb from Shining Armor.

"I understand. But why were you so quick to let AJ fight on the front lines, knowing full well that it could possibly kill her?" Shining Armor asked.

"You and I both know the answer to that question." Blaze said solemnly. "Family. That's why."

Shining just lowered his head. "Alright. I just don't want an inexperienced pony to die."

"Don't worry. She'll fight hard." Blaze said and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Now get ready. If you're lucky, I'll let you get a swing at Chrysalis." he left the tent and ran to SugarCube Corner. Rainbow Dash had the army gathered as Luna finished giving them a briefing.

"In five minutes we will begin our assault on the capital. If you have anypony you need to write to or anything you need to do before we fight, now is the time." Luna said, dismissing them.

Blaze walked up to Rainbow Dash who was wearing her battle armor. It was laced with gold along the edges and her helmet had a tail going along the back. "You ready?" Blaze asked.

She turned to him and gave a half hearted smile. "I guess. Never thought we would actually get here." she said.

"And I guess if you're going to be fighting a big battle, you need to look good while doing it. Where'd you get that anyway?" Blaze asked.

"Rarity made it a long time ago when she was here. It's designed over the Pegasus' General's armor from the founding of Equestria. Not only does it make me look 20% cooler, it also protects against most magical attacks." she said.

"Did she make more?" Blaze asked.

"She planned to. Only thing is...she died in a raid a few days after making this. This was the first one she ever made so she gave it to me. It's lasted so long and is one of the few things I have to remember her by." Rainbow Dash said. "Besides, as Rarity always put it, 'If your going to die in battle, might as well look fabulous.'" she said, trying her hardest to match Rarity's tone and voice.

Blaze chuckled. He heard Linus shouting for his troops to get ready to move out. "We should get the Pegasi soldiers. Don't want them to be out of the fight." Blaze said as he turned to gather his troops as well.

Rainbow watched him as he walked away. She heard Applejack walk next to her, dressed in her own silver armor. "You alright there Rainbow? You look mighty worried." AJ said.

"I'm fine. Just..." Rainbow started.

"Worried about what might happen to him?" Applejack finished for her. Rainbow Dash nodded her head slowly. "Don't worry about him. He'll be fine. He's been fighting in this army for almost as long as you have. Besides, with that bomb of his, he'll be able to create so much chaos that those darn Leasath won't know what hit 'em."

Rainbow looked to her friend and smiled. "I know he will. I just hope he doesn't do anything irrational." she said.

"Blaze not doin' something irrational? Seriously?" Applejack asked sarcastically.

Rainbow chuckled. She looked at her friend's armor. "Where you fighting at?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Front an' center next to Shining Armor. Got Blaze to thank for that. Shining Armor wanted me to be in the center of the army. Now what good am Ah to the army there?" Applejack asked.

"Well it's nice to know that he'll have a strong pony next to him to help end this." Rainbow said. She looked back to Blaze who was talking to the Pegasi. "Let's go end this war."

Author's Note

Sweet Luna it's been an ungodly amount of time since I've posted a chapter. Hopefully I don't fully forget about this story.

Chapter 1

It was a dark, muggy night. The guards standing outside were covered in sweat, but neither moved a muscle to wipe their brows. They knew that if anything happened to the prisoner, their heads would be on a pick.

A lone figure stood, hunched over in the trees. He raised the shaft to his mouth, and blew, sending the deadly dart flying towards the guards. It hit its mark and the guard fell over, dead before he had hit the ground. The other guard was suddenly alert but only for a brief second as another passed through the opening in his helmet and straight into his eye.

The assassin jumped down from the tree and quietly ran over their dead bodies. He slowly made his way through the corridors, not daring to even breathe, as he might alert the other guards. Where is he? Where is his cell? Linus thought. His mission was to rescue a top priority member of the Aureolian Army. He was the top ranking demolitions expert who had changed the tides in battle and his knowledge of explosives and hoof to hoof combat made him the biggest asset to their cause.

About 20 years ago, Queen Chrysalis returned to Canterlot after she was defeated by Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. When she returned, she brought the entire changeling army, the Leasath. They were ruthless, killing everypony who didn’t join them to overthrow Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

When the Leasath had reached the castle, Queen Chrysalis killed everypony, guard and civilian, without prejudice. Celestia and Luna fought bravely but after Luna got badly wounded, Celestia used all of her magic to save Luna. She sent her to the moon for 10 years. Celestia knew that they could not defeat both Crysalis and her army. She hoped there would be those who would still fight against Chrysalis. But they would need a leader. Somepony who knew how to fight the Leasath and their queen.

After her magic was spent, Chrysalis killed Celestia and hung her head on a pick outside of Canterlot Castle. She gained the throne and ruled Equestria ever since, crushing all rebellions. But then, Luna returned. She went to the leader of the rebellion, and showed him that she wanted to help. Ever since, the Aureolian army has been gaining ground, and had finally made it to Canterlot itself. But since they lost their highest-ranking member, they have been pushed back away from Canterlot.

Now, it was Linus’ top priority to get him back. He checked every cell, every floor, but was unable to find him. The Aureolian’s had a call, a bird call. They would use it to deliver short messages. He whistled a six note tune. He heard the reply, a quick two note whistle coming from the end of the corridor. He quietly moved down the hall.

When he arrived at the cell, he found him, battered, bloody, and unbathed. “Blaze! Thank Celestia you are all right!” Linus whispered. They had been friends since they were foals, and joined the Aureolian army after Crysalis killed their parents.

“Yea, I’m alright. But my leg, it’s broken. So is my wing. They snapped them while trying to get information. I’m unable to walk on it.” Blaze explained. They knew how hard it would be to get out quietly with Blaze’s leg broken.

Linus looked for any openings in the cell. A window, a vent, but he found nothing. “God it’s like they want you to suffocate on your own waste.” Linus said disgusted.

“That may have worked, if I hadn’t made an opening with a mini explosive.” Blaze said with a smile. “It’s easy. Most of these rocks contain bits of alkali metals. They react vigorously with water. It took forever, but I finally collected enough water and alkali metals to make a small explosive. It was barley noticeable. I covered it with a few rocks to hide it.” Blaze said, wincing as he put his broken leg on the ground.

“Is there anyway you could make it bigger?” Linus asked, hopeful.

“Yea. If you want to wake up the whole dungeon.” Blaze replied.

“Looks like we may have to. You can’t walk well on that leg and escape quietly.” Linus groaned.

“I’m already on it.” Blaze said with a grin. “I’d put your head down if I were you.” Linus ducked his head down on the ground. Blaze grabbed a pouch of water from behind a rock and poured it on top of it.

There was a deafening explosion. The walls shuddered and rocks fell from the ceiling. “God you surprise me sometimes Blaze!” Linus yelled as he picked Blaze up and ran for the blown up exit. Linus was well out of there before the guards arrived.

“Hey Linus.” Blaze asked quietly. “I need to know…where do the Aureolians stand in this war.” He started to drift into unconsciousness.

“Hey Blaze stay with me now! The army is fine. We’ve been pushed back out from Ponyville. We have a camp in the Everfree Forest. Blaze, Stay with me buddy!” Linus said, trying to get Blaze to stay awake.

“Luna…I have to see Luna. I have…information……” Blaze stammered off. His head was bleeding. A rock must’ve fallen on him.

“C’mon man. I’m gonna patch you up.” Linus said. He knew how to make a small bandage. But this wound needed a lot more than what he could give him. “I’m gonna get you to Luna. She’ll know what to do.” Linus said after he patched up his friends head. Blaze was unresponsive. “Blaze stay with me now! We’re going to get you there in one piece.” Linus said frantically. He picked up his unconscious friend and ran staright towards the camp.

Chapter 10

Blaze was flying up high with Rainbow Dash and carrying three bombs. One was small for an entrance hole, the second was bigger and would allow them and all the prisoners to escape, and the third was a precautionary one, in case they had to blow the whole place to Discord’s mansion.

“Blaze, once we get in position, you will wait for Twilight to give the order. She will be distracting the guards and soldiers with her illusion army. When she says to drop it, you drop the small bomb on top of the roof. Then, you and me will dive into the prison and unlock all the cells. Once they are unlocked and out, you will detonate the second bomb by the South wall. Then we will get everypony out and fight our way back to camp. If things go awry, you detonate the 3rd bomb and destroy everything around you. If it comes to that, don’t hesitate to do it.” Rainbow Dash ordered. He didn’t like the idea of detonating the 3rd bomb. It was the largest bomb he had ever created. It would destroy everything in a 5 miles radius. Including Rainbow Dash and Twilight. He didn’t think he could do it.

They arrived at the waiting point. They were too high up to be seen by the sentries below. “Rainbow, what happened to Twilight? She’s….changed. It has to be more than just killing her parents. The look in her eye made it seem like they killed her brother.” Blaze said reluctantly.

“It wasn’t her brother they killed. They did kill her parents, and that was when she decided to help us with supplies. But then, when the army was visiting New Buck, she came. Chrysalis. She flew in with her army. They searched everywhere for her, but they never did. Instead, they found a little purple dragon. Spike. He has been with her since she started training with Celestia. Chrysalis used him as bait to try and bring her out, and it would have worked too, had Spike not attacked Chrysalis. He bit her hoof, her neck, he even tried to burn her mane with what little fire he could create. In the end, Chrysalis snapped his neck in her mouth. Twilight saw the whole thing happen. I was told of the attack and the group of soldiers I had under my command went to help. I flew as fas as I could to find Twilight, and when I did, she was petrified and couldn’t move. She had just seen her life long companion die right before her eyes. I found her underneath her bed, crying, unmoving, unresponsive to the world. I was able to get her out, but she wouldn’t speak, she wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink, we eventually had to force feed her.

“Ever since that night, she hasn’t been the same. She’s vengeful. She only wants to see Chrysalis pay for what she did to her.” Rainbow Dash concluded. “I’m only telling you this because of who she is. She is a good pony with a strong heart. And I can trust you. You are a legend all throughout Equestria. You’ve done so much for this army. We need more like you.” She said. Blaze was speechless. He couldn’t even imagine what that must have been like. To watch your oldest friend die before your eyes.

“Do you think, once this is over, she’ll be able to move on?” he asked.

“Maybe. She’s a smart mare. She’ll figure something out. Always does.” she replied.

Rainbow looked up at the stars. "You know? This war has changed more than just her. I used to be full of pride and adventure. But ever since this war, I have seen soldiers die left and right. I've seen ponies next to me get ripped in two." she said as she stared at the stars above the earth.

I was at Las Pegasus when all those ponies died. I was second in command and I had disobeyed orders from my commanding officer because I wanted to prove that I was prepared and ready for anything. I rushed into the city with the troops under my command and the low intel we had. That didn't matter to me at the time, all that mattered was for me to prove myself. We attacked the city and were slaughtered. I saw the two ponies next to me drop dead, decapitated by magic bolts. I was the only pony who survived. I fought my way out of the city somehow and met up with my superior. He sent me to the medic and said he would discuss what just happened later. I wanted to go back in with him, but the medic had me bedridden. She even went so far as to tie my wings up so I couldn't fly out. We heard an explosion and the medic let me look at the city. There was a giant mushroom cloud over the city. Chrysalis ordered a nuclear bomb to be detonated in the city. It would've been a great strategic point. She must've thought the city would be more useful to her destroyed than in our hooves...

"400 ponies died in a nuclear explosion and it's all my fault..." Rainbow Dash concluded. "Anyways, after that battle, I've put my pride behind me. Too many died that day because of me and my pride. I'm not going to let it happen again."

There was a hoot, followed by three whistles. “That ‘s our cue Blaze. Showtime.” She said with a grin. They dive-bombed the ceiling. He threw the first bomb and blew a hole into the roof sending shards of concrete flying into the air. They dove in and landed in the middle of the jail room.

“Rainbow, you get the ones up top, I’ll get bottom.” Blaze yelled. Both of them got to work immediately unlocking latches and opening doors. Blaze was on the third row when a door opened by itself ahead of him. He got ready for a hoof battle. But it wasn’t a Leasath. It was Shining Armor.

“You! Worry about the guards. They’re starting to filter in. I’ll get the latches.” Shining Armor said as he started using his magic to unlock the doors.

“Rainbow! We got company!” Blaze shouted to her. She flew down and stood next to Blaze, ready for a fight. They closed the distance between them and the soldiers and charged.

Blaze was quick on his hooves and fast with his punches. He would take off and grab a few soldiers and slam against walls. Rainbow Dash was having no trouble in kicking every single soldier around her. “All the prisoners are out! Let’s get out of here!” Shining said. Blaze flew to the south wall, placed the bomb and retreated. When he detonated it, soldiers went flying into the air. A few of them were dismembered, and their fellow soldiers watched as parts of hooves and legs started land next to them.

“Alright! Everypony out! We’re getting out of here!” Blaze shouted. Some of the Pegasi who were imprisoned flew out of the ceiling. Rainbow Dash was trying get a path cleared so ponies could get out of the prison. “Shining Armor! You need to get out of here!” Blaze yelled to him.

“Not until every other pony is out!” He replied.

“Shining Armor! Princess Cadence, your wife, is back at the camp! She thinks you are dead, and if you stay here much longer you sure as hay will be!” Blaze shouted. Shining seemed to falter for the exit.

“But what about the rest of the ponies?” He asked.

“We’ll take care of it. Now go!” Blaze ordered. Shining Armor reluctantly left them and sprinted for the exit. Blaze looked at Rainbow Dash. The look in her eyes told him what she was about to have him do. “I’m not going to do it. Not now anyways. There are still too many of our soldiers here. We can’t let them die before they get a chance to escape. Hold out for 10 more minutes.” He said. She nodded and went back to clearing a path for the rest of the Aureolian soldiers.

Blaze was picking soldiers off one by one with ease. His skill here had kept him alive this long, but he started to grow fatigued. They had been at it for 15 minutes as it was and he told Rainbow to keep at it for 10 more minutes. He wasn’t even sure if he could do that. He kept at it though. Knocking the soldiers back one by one. Even though he was doing well, there were still too many of them. They started to crowd around him, giving him no room to move. He looked at Rainbow Dash. She gave a sorrowful nod. “Do it.” She told him. He reached for the detonator.

All of a sudden, a rumble appeared. First softly, then it grew stronger, and the walls started to shake. Rocks fell from the ceiling and crashed around their hooves and the floor started to open up beneath them. Blaze watched as ponies started to fall into the crevices. “Run! All of you run for the exit now!” Twilight demanded in a voice that wasn't quiet her own. Everypony, Aureolian and Leasath, ran for the exit. Blaze grabbed Rainbow and charged for the exit. He saw Twilight, eyes glowing white as she chanted something over and over again. The building staggered. It sagged, and then collapsed on itself releasing a blast of hot air. Twilight collapsed as the spell took its toll.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew over to her. She picked her up and cradled her in her arms. “No Twilight! Not you too! You can’t die on me! Not today!” Rainbow Dash was crying. “Please. Don’t leave me here alone.” She said between sobs. Blaze knew a lifeless body when he saw one. She was dead. “Rainbow…I’m sorry. I’m so, very, deeply sorry. But we need to go. We need to get out here.” He knew she wasn’t going to move. Not unless Twilight came to. He walked over, picked her up and threw her onto his back. “Rainbow I’ll carry her. We need to go. Now.” He said. Rainbow slowly got up. They took off and headed for the camp.

Chapter 27

Rainbow Dash and Applejack went from soldier to soldier seeing if they were ready. As they walked through they saw that the soldiers had a renewed fight in them and were packing away their necessities. "Rainbow, do ya really these ponies are going to be strong enough to fight once they arrive to Ponyville? I mean, it's gonna take us three days to get there through the forest. That's three days of hiking and carrying their supplies on their backs with short stops along the way. The injured aren't going to be able to handle all that walkin'," Applejack said.

Rainbow became uneasy. "Yeah. Uh, about that. Applejack, don't take this the wrong way, but you won't be traveling."

"Now hold on here just a pea-pickin minute." Applejack said angrily. "Whad'ya mean I ain't coming? Why ain't I? Don't I have a reason to fight?"

"It's not that you don't have a reason to fight, because I know you do. But I don't want to lose another friend. You are all that I have left from Ponyville. I met you there and I don't want to lose you there. It's been arranged for you to stay back with Derpy and help heal the injured." Rainbow walked ahead of her.

"Hold on there Rainbow!" Applejack said as she ran in front of Rainbow. "Now you look here Rainbow Dash! I'm not going to sit back as you and yer' coltfriend go out and save Equestria. I have more than enough reason and right to fight at Ponyville."

"I know you do. But I can't stand to see another friend of mine die. Look, AJ." Rainbow put a hoof on her friends shoulder. "You are my last real friend left. Please, stay here, watch the injured and help them. Once we take Ponyville, I'll send word here to come and get you and the others." she said. "I'm sorry, but Luna already cleared it. You don't have a say in the matter."

Applejack sighed. "Rainbow if I'm going to sit out of Ponyville's fight, I will be in it for Canterlot. And nothing you or Luna do will stop me from avengin' Big Mac."

"Canterlot is where I want everypony to be. The more we have there, the better. But right now, stay and help Derpy." Rainbow said.

"Fine. I'm going to find Derpy and see what I can do." Applejack said and ran off.

Thank Celestia. She thought. She continued her rounds and made sure everypony was ready for dawn.