Sins of the Fathers

The room was silent as Celestia and Luna watch a replay of the two scouts being attacked. While most were watching in stunned silence, Black Claw was gripping the table so tightly that his claws were digging in deep furrows. The second the image was dispelled, he ripped them out and slam a fist down hard.

"You take me as a fool, Celestia." He said with a growl. "Because when my great grandfather signed the treaty of Cloudsdale, part of the agreement was to banish that kind of magic. Now you dare flaunt it in my present!?!"

"That is not one of my ponies," Celestia said, calmly. "I'm just as shocked as you are that these spells are back in the world."

"Pigeon Crap!" Black Claw shouted, drawing his sword. Several guards jump in to surround him but his two sergeants had drawn their weapons. The Yaks step back as did the dragons, trying to assess the situation. "The only one that knew of those kinds of spells' existence was you and your sister. Even Star Swirl stayed away from that magic. So either you're lying to us all or you're protecting some pony. I have my citizens being held hostage and you still refuse to act."

Celestia looked at the blade pointed at her and then back at Black Claw.

"Fine." She said with a voice of tired patience. "I will act." A flash of magic filled the room and Black Claw cried out as his sword felt like it was red hot. He raised his claws to strike but felt a violet force hit him in the chest. He flew across the room and smacked into the wall with a thud. He felt the force continue to press him into the wall and saw Celestia float over the table towards him.

"You seem to forget why your great grandfather had to sign that treaty," Celestia said, keeping a steady tone. "Because, if I remember correctly, your grandfather's soldiers had a name for me on the battlefield. What was it?" Black Claw struggled against the spell holding him but with a little more pressure, he muttered a name that was told to him in a horror whisper.

"The Burning Sun." He gasped out. He felt the spell drop and he collapsed on the floor.

"We could keep blaming each other for both of our citizens... all of our citizens being held prisoner," Celestia said, turning to the rest of the crisis council. "Or we can work together and bring the heathens who dare threaten our kind."

"Sun Queen is right." General Lowbrook of the Yaks said. "We must work together to punish those who harm Yaks."

The council all mutter agreement and resume the planning to evacuate the innocent but Luna watched her sister carefully. There were few times that she saw Celestia threaten like that and it always dealt with her pupils. Luna was worried since news reach them of Twilight's injuries. Luna herself tried to reach out to any of the ponies only in the fog cloud but something was blocking her from their dreams, which was most frustrating on its own when she tried to reach Twilight, one she knew well, it was like there was a brick wall surrounding her. As she watch her sister silently trot out of the war room, she fear that her sister might do something drastic, something she knew she will regret.

🌖🌗🌔

Twilight watched a group of fouls run by her and at first, she worried that she was repeating the same memory until she saw Bright Eyes as she knew him walking into the village with a bag of loot. She watch as he stop in front of one of the huts and was about to open the door when another unicorn open it instead. She looked like Luna if she was a unicorn and instead of the galaxy-like hair, she was deep blue. Her mark was a bright single star and had a single scar on her cheek.

"Bright Eyes!" She shouted in shock. "I thought you were going to be fighting the Southen Tribes until the next full moon."

"They surrender the second I walk on the battlefield." The memory Bright Eyes said, throwing the bag of loot on the ground. Gold bits and gems spilled out, scattering across the dirt floor. "Now, how is my little star doing?"

"I'm doing fine, Eyes." She said as she started collecting the fallen treasure. "Does this mean you will be here for the Moon Dance?"

"Unfortunately, Majesty is already sending me on another mission." Bright Eyes said, sitting down at a small table in their hut "Apparently some monster is giving traders trouble up on a mountain pass. I'm just dropping off some loot. I have to leave tonight. But these two weeks will pass by without a thought and I'll be able to celebrate the Moon Dance our way."

"I didn't know I would never see her after this." Twilight look to see her guide was sitting in the corner. "Midnight Star never knew what happen to me and probably thought I died in battle.'

"Can't you stay a little longer?" Midnight Star asked, putting a bowl of some kind of soup in front of Bright Eyes. "I have something we need to talk about."

"I'm sure it can wait till after I return." Bright Eyes said, dismissively. "These missions seem to be getting easier lately. Maybe I should remove some of the other..." There was a weird feeling as the vision seemed to warp and almost like a record skip, the way they were talking stopped for a second. Then Midnight started talking.

"Bright Eyes," Midnight cut him off. "I'm with child."

Bright Eyes seem to not notice what she said and started to eat a loaf of bread that was on the table. Midnight walk over and looked directly at Bright Eyes

"Maybe get rid of Bowtie." Bright Eyes said, with a bored tone. "She has been too much of an up stuck bitch."

"Did you hear me?" Midnight said, with a hint of impatience. "I'm carrying your spawn!!! Despite Majesty's orders, I'm carrying a sweet foul inside of me. You never knew. You died before I could tell you. "

"Maybe the Captian should be given an early retirement," Bright Eyes said with a little thought while chewing the bread. "He has been compiling too much about Sparkle and I like the smell of burnt bodies more than the screams of broken bones"

"I wish I could have told you the future I got about our child." Midnight said with a sly smile. "The elder's partner is the oracle. Oh, you should have seen it. The way she talked about them." Midnight's eyes seem to go into a trance as thoughts back to the memory. "She said that our bloodline would end all threats to our kind, unite the tribes and bring peace to our world. She saw how the stars will align to beckon such a power that it will shake the very soul of the earth."

"But then interrogation will take too long" Bright Eyes moaned. "I mean, that's the only reason I keep him. I swear, he would drown if he looked up during a rainstorm."

"But you were too attached to Majesty!" Midnight shouted, smashing the table, without Bright Eyes even flinching "I sacrifice everything to Majesty. I lost my tribe, my father, and all my cousins to her blood lust. I was made your bride and forced to smile every time you came back from killing another. You know what I did when I learn what was inside me! I cried to the magic for protection. I wanted this foul, just to love it, to care for it but most of all, I wanted it to kill Majesty." She screamed at the stoic Bright Eyes. "By the magic, how I wish I said this to you when you were alive. It could have been my last victory but you had to get yourself killed. She disappears before my little Orian came into this world. Maybe she fled or maybe she went hunting for you. I didn't care. I had his love and that was enough."

The world fuzzed a bit and Bright Eyes seem to snap out of his boring conversation and turn to Midnight.

"What are thinking about, Midnight?" He asked as he got up from the unbroken table. Midnight smiled and turn to him.

"Not much, dear." She said. "Just the future," Twilight swore it was through gritted teeth.

"I believe I learned enough." Twilight heard from behind. She looked to see that Bright Eyes had cast a spell. The whole scene froze and seem to turn grey. "I can't believe it was this easy."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight was suddenly on guard. He seem not to have heard his wife's inner thoughts because he was smiling wickedly.

"You thought this was a misfired spell." Bright Eyes said with a wider grin. "While you were looking at useless memories of my past, I found what I was looking for. I found memories of your teacher, your mentor, your ruler."

"No." Twilight moaned.

"YES!" He said with a manic grin. "I now know where your precious Celestia is. And I have to say. what a joke of a leader. She constantly needs You. I mean, I thought I was going to get a better challenge but instead, they are weaker than you. I going to enjoy ripping her to shreds."
"stop."

"I'm going to rid both her and her pathic sister. Then I will find my Majesty and we will remake this land in our image!"
"Stop!"

"And after all is said and done, I think I'm going to find one of your friends to be my new pet. How about that yellow Pega..."

"I SAID STOP!" A voice suddenly filled the room, taking Twilight and Bright Eyes by surprise. They turned to see that Midnight was moving, storming up to Bright Eyes. Her eyes seem to be on fire as she came upon him. Before he could react, she straight slap him across the face.

"What!?!" Bright Eyes said, stunned. "This is impossible. You're a memory, a figment of my mind. You can't hurt me anymore than a cave drawling can!"

"Really?" Midnight seemed to be getting bolder to him. "Then this shouldn't do anything." She sidestep him and swiftly kicked him in his crouch. Bright Eyes made a high pitch whine and drop to the floor. Twilight was both confused and relieved. Whatever was causing this means he wasn't unstoppable. Maybe she could ask this memory for help.

"You know, Bright Eyes," Midnight said as she started to circle him. "You are pathic. You awaken to a time of freedom, lack of war, and killing. And you see that as a problem. You know, if you just came into town and be friendly, you would have been shown such sights. I mean, did you think that your warring ways were the only way?"

"We...are...the...superior ones." Bright Eyes groaned, trying to get back up. "This land...NEEDS to be conquered !"

"Wow, I would ask if you were dropped on your head as a foul but we did just see your tragic life in glorious 3D!" Midnight said with a shake of her head before jumping into the air and elbow dropping on his back. He cried out in shock and fell back to the ground in pain. Midnight got up and put a hoof onto Bright Eyes's head "And I'm truly sorry for what you went through. You were brainwashed by that psycho and the world you grew up in was horrible. But you got a second chance and you decided to bring the horror to this peaceful place. That was your choice, not any pony else. You think that being this monster makes you superior. No. Superior doesn't come from inflicting violence, it comes from willing to protect those who need it. It is not inherent by blood or creed, it comes with actions of goodwill and kindness. By seeing the pain you saw in your life and saying, "I will not allow this to happen to another."

"Thank you," Twilight said, walking toward the two. Midnight look up at Twilight and got off of Bright Eyes with a moan of pain coming from him.

"Ohh, your not innocent either, miss "princess of friendship." She said, starting to encroach on Twilight's personal space. "Going on a trip to the city and not taking all your friends."

"What!?!" Twilight said, a little thrown off. "I took all my friends with me."

"Nope." Midnight said, almost on top of her at this point. "You forgot your best friend. The one who is cool, funny, and above all else," She leaned into Twilight's face and for a split second, Twilight saw her eyes turn yellow with red pupils. "The most handsome."

Twilight's face just dropped and she sighed. "Of course, this is when he decided to show up.

"Do you have something to say?" Midnight said with a big smile. Twilight was going to say something probably consider rude when a loud slicing noise filled the air. Midnight still had the grin when her head shot off her body with a thick fountain of blood shot out of the stump. The blood was still shooting out but Twilight now saw an extremely pissed-off Bright Eyes, floating his weapon with murder in his eyes.

"Demented little freak!" He growled. The head decided to flip in midair to look directly at Bright Eyes.

"Hello, I'm Discord." The head said as to mismatch horns grew out of its head. "And I won't be judging you on your mental state tonight." The blood quickly turned into a solid shape as Discord popped his arms out while kicking a now poorly put-together pony costume off his legs. "I was getting to like that character. Very rarely do I play the strong, female character who is trapped in a relationship of pain and misery."

"You dare disrespect me by pretending to be my mate!?!" Bright Eyes shouted, aiming his blade right at Discord.

"Oh, honey." Discord suddenly was dressed as a tailor "You disrespect yourself every time you go out looking like that. What is this? Crazy warrior of the past. Nope, I got a better crazy look for you." He snapped his claw and a bright flash encased Bright Eyes. When Twilight was able to see again, Bright Eyes was suddenly wearing a red jacket, a flannel shirt with some jeans. His weapon was now an ax and his hair was askew. Discord now had big round glasses with a bushy black beard.

"Now, the line is: "All worship and no thinking makes Brighty a very dull pony" Say it about a hundred twenty-seven times and we should be good." Discord said. Bright Eyes looked at what he was wearing and then in a roar of anger, dived at Discord with the ax. Discord simply snap his claw again and in another blinding light, dressed Bright Eyes in a tattered green jacket with a hockey mask. He missed Discord completely and crashed into his fake home's wall.

"I can't see in this thing!" He shouted as he was struggling to get the mask off.

"You know, I always wonder." Discord said with an amused smile. "Well, while you deal with that wardrobe malfunction, I'm going to talk to dear Twilight for a second." He snapped again and a door appeared right next to Twilight and she didn't need to be told twice to go through it. She ran in to see that she was now in some kind of meadow She look back to see Discord slither into the area before slamming the door shut and covering it with chains and locks.

"Now, dear princess. We need to talk."

🌖🌗🌔

Applejack slipped into the hideout feeling defeated. Although she got a path to the train, she couldn't think that it only delay the inevitable. That she was going to have to fight those monsters again. And this time might not end with her escaping. She was about to open the secret door when she hear hoofbeats approaching. She felt her fur stand at the end, wondering if maybe Bowtie decided to not wait on her answer. She turned to see that it was Rainbow Dash, almost lost in thought.

"Dash!" Applejack called out. "Did you get past the fog?"

"Kinda." She answered. "But Firefly waiting for me. Decided to threaten to kill all of us unless I help her take out Bright Eyes."

"Same here." Applejack said with a sigh. "I guess that's some good news. If they are looking to betray each other, it ain't going to be hard to turn them on each other."

"But that just means we have to fight whoever wins. And I don't know about you but I don't think we can defeat Firefly easily. She uses the weather as a weapon!" Rainbow Dash sat on the ground, feeling depressed. " And we all saw how bad Trixie and Starlight looked after they fought Bright Eyes. How are we supposed to beat ponies who can do this much damage in only a couple of days!?!" Tears started to run down her face. "You know what Firefly offered? If I help her, she would spare one of you girls. And for a second, I consider it. I mean, she destroy me in a matter of minutes and I couldn't get one hit on her. not one! And the fact I even thought it for a second, that I would betray every pony if it means I could save..." She look up at Applejack and felt her words fail her. "one of you girls. I couldn't live with it! Why couldn't I at least get one hit!?! Just a small sign that she can bleed!!!"

She didn't realize she was smacking the ground until she felt the warm embrace of Applejack. She immediately collapse into her and let loose the sobs she had been holding since she woke up.

"There, there sugercube." Applejack said softly. "I getcha. I thought the same when Bowtie offer it to me. We just need to stay strong. As soon as we get Twilight up, she'll come up with a plan that will get us out of this. If not, then Celestia or Luna will come. I believe we will make it. You know why?" She left Dash's head and look right into her eyes. "Because I believe in us. We have been through so much, this isn't where we stop now. Now, wipe away those tears. Can't let them start to worry, now can we?"

"Thanks." Rainbow Dash said with a sniff. Then a small chuckle escaped her lips. "Why couldn't we go back to the day when I beat you at Fall runs?"

"Now I know you are messing with me." Applejack said with a small smile. "Because I had you beat by at least a feather last time we raced."

"Please," Rainbow Dash said with a sly smile. "You couldn't beat me on your best day."

"Girl, you know all I have to do is tie your wings and you're as helpless as a foul." Applejack said with a small poke.

"Is that an offer..." Rainbow Dash started to say but then stopped. "You're right. I'm helpless without my wings, just like any pegasus."

"What are you going on about?" Applejack asked before Rainbow opened the door.

"I think I know how to take them out. Get the rest of the girls." Rainbow Dash said. "And get your thinking caps on. We're about to get creative."

🌖🌗🌔

Twilight looked at Discord, clearly annoyed. After he close the door, he decided to start to fish in the small pond that was in this imagery mellow.

"Are you going to fish or just stand there glaring?" Discord asked as he chew on a small grass stalk.

"We don't have time for this, Discord" Twilight said, gritting her teeth in frustration. "I need to get out of this spell and warn Celestia about that psycho. He going to kill her!"

"Correction." Discord said, adjusting his fishing hat. "Try to kill her. You don't know Tia as I do. You see her as this lovely but stern mentor who never raised a hoof in violence. Let me ask you, Twilight. Have you ever questioned why all the other species, the dragons, the Griffins, or the Yaks; all who value strength over kindness, haven't decided to invade your country once?"

"Because of the treaties," Twilight said, annoyed. "Every pony knows that if any of the other species were to invade, the equestrian army would stop them."

"That's cute you buy that bunk." Discord said, slowly pulling on the fishing rod that was made of balloons. "But after every time You save Equestria, how many times have the army actually saved the day? I'm mean, they couldn't even stop Spike when he had that growth spurt. No, a treaty is only as strong as the one enforcing it. And believe me, they're only there because Celestia had to make rules for her to follow. Which is why we need to talk."

"Okay, let's talk."Twilight started to walk away from the pond. "Just pop up where we are at. Help us get rid of Bright Eyes and we can take all you want."

"Yeah, I can't exactly pop up to you girls right now." Discord said, scratching the back of his head. "As in at all."

"What!?!" Twilight shouted. "What do you mean you can't?"

"Well, it's like this," Discord got up from under the tree he was laying and moved to the small pond. With a wave of his claw, the pond suddenly had an image of Ponyville. Twilight couldn't tell when it was but the sun was shining and looked peaceful. "When I usually visit you girls, jumping into your dimension is as easy as jumping into this pond. A little splash and maybe cause the little fishes a stir but nothing more. But due to your little visitors.." He snapped his claw.

The pond suddenly started to bubble and froth. Almost as if the ground itself turned into a mixer as the pond look like a raging sea. Twilight could also see the image change into a collage of images. Some remind Twilight of the memories Bright Eyes had shown but others were things she couldn't recognize. There was scarred Rainbow Dash looking villainous over a factory and another showed a strange being dreaming of flying across Equestria.

"The time stream, as some would call it, is in flux. If I were to try to jump into your dimension now, there is a strong chance I will be quite literally ripped to shreds across millions of worlds. Take me centuries to put myself together, if I could. Happens every time something time travels. I hate paradoxes."

"So, you can't help us," Twilight said, disappointed. "Then how are you here now?"

"Dreams were never a part of one dimension. They almost float in their own bubbles." Discord said, with a sigh. "And even though he showed you memories, this is still a dream. If Luna knew my tricks, she could be here too." Discord made a small gesture and the pond went calm. "But you are the only one I can reach, so I must tell you this in hopes you can stop it."

"I'm trying to stop Bright Eyes!" Twilight snapped. "But I was never to fight magic like this..."

"Not Bright Eyes." Discord cut her off. "He and his gang's time is limited. Time doesn't like to be cheated and neither does death. They disrupt the flow too much not to be noticed. They will fall and hard. BUT what I need you to do is to make sure Celestia doesn't cross the line. You need to stop her from killing Bright Eyes."

"WHAT!?!" Twilight stepped backed shocked. "She would never do that. Celestia has given you a second chance and has shown nothing but kindness to her..." A loud pop filled her ears and she wasn't the mellow anymore. She was standing in some kind of valley, surrounded by Griffins in full sets of armor. Her history knowledge came in handy because she recognize that this was fifth century period armor, about over nine hundred years old. She looked around and notice all the Griffins were looking in one direction. She turn to see standing on a hill was Celestia as she had never seen her before.

She was dressed from her horn to her hooves in this white and red armor, covered in symbolic suns. She was younger, with a look Twilight had never seen before on her face, of pure determination. Floating beside her right was a large broad sword that was twice as long as Twilight. On her left side was a shield that was decorated with a large sun. It was a little bigger than the size of a wagon wheel, shining in the late morning sun. Twilight realize that Celestia was surrounded by this raging Griffin army, all of them clanging their weapons in bloodlust.

"This is your last warning," Celestia shouted across the valley. "If you do not retreat, you will not be spared." The valley filled with laughter as the army didn't seem phased.

"You outnumber, princess!" One of the griffins, a general from the armor they were wearing, shouted. "We have five hundred soldiers and all you have is one sword and a shield. Throw down your weapons and we will give you a quick death."

"That is where your wrong, Blue Claw," Celestia said, bringing her sword across her shield, causing sparks to fly and the sword itself to burst into flames. "You only have five hundred soldiers, I have the whole day."

"ATTACK!' One of the Griffins shouted and a loud war-cry filled the air. Twilight watched as they rushed forward and fearing she was going to see the worst, almost cover her eyes before a flash of light blasted from Celestia's sword. It look like pure sunlight as it cut through the field and with one swing, half of the army dropped to the ground with screams of agony. Twilight watched as limbs were sliced off like they were paper as Celestia dived into the fury. She swung her sword with ease, cutting griffins without a struggle or a thought it seem. She wasn't even really using the shield to block but more as a blunt force as she beat down several griffins, breaking bones and skulls. But the most disturbing thing was Celestia's face. It didn't show fear, anger, or rage. It just was a face of focus.

"After Luna's banishment, things got hard." Discord suddenly appeared next to Twilight. "Every general thought they could prove they were the best if they could take out Celestia in what they saw as a moment of weakness. They couldn't have been more wrong." As if to prove his point, Twilight watched as the general that tried to get Celestia to surrender got disarmed. He let out a roar of rage and dive at Celestia in a bid to hit her. She simply duck under him and shoved her shield deep into his rib cage with a sickening crack. He collapsed on the ground with a painful cry and was flipped around with Celesta standing over him. Her sword started spinning rapidly and was circling the two, creating a pause in the fighting unless a Griffen risked being turned into mulch.

"Surrender, Blue Claw.' Celestia said, plainly as if she was ordering a drink. "Call off your army or fall here."

"I will never..." He started to say but Celestia didn't let him finish. She raised her shield into the air and brought it down on his front arm with a crunch. He scream in pain but was cut off quickly when Celestia shoved the shield into his beak.

"Surrender," Celestia repeated, without even a hint of emotion. There was a moment when it seem like no one moved. Twilight could see nothing but coldness in her eyes and fear in the griffin. Finally, he made a strangling cry that cause Celestia to remove the shield of his beck.

"WE SURRENDER!" He cried out. Celestia simply nodded and trotted away, with her sword and shield returning to her side. The remaining griffins parted to allow Celestia to walk away from the fallen general. Not one of them looked her in the eye.

"So you see," Discord said, snapping away the images, allowing them to return to the mellow. "I do not doubt that Celestia will be able to handle herself. But if she allows herself to become that pony again, then fear will grow amongst the other species. With fear, comes stupid decisions and even Celestia would not be able to stop the tide of war that could happen. "

Twilight just stood there, still trying to process what she had just witnessed. She had known Celestia all her life, been taught by her, and did her duty to serve her. Was she working under some pony she knew nothing about? Some pony like Bright Eyes, who had been able to take out bystander like it was nothing. She shook her head at that line of thinking. Celestia did what she had to do for her citizens, nothing more. A loud thud caused Twilight to jump. She look to see the door that supposedly held Bright Eyes was shaking and starting to break.

"Looks like our time is up.' Discord said, floating over to Twilight. "I tried to show you some of the truth that he hid from himself. Maybe it will help you or maybe it won't. He doesn't know who I am. I kinda pull a prank on this city before this happened. Remove me from the history book and yet no pony caught it. Sometimes my genius is frightening."

"How do I wake up?" Twilight asked, watching the door start to splinter.

"That's the part that going to suck for me." Discord said as he cracked his neck. "The spell he cast is only powerful enough to focus on one target. Only so much strain a ponies mind can take. I'm going to kind of switch places with you." He snapped his claw again and with a flash, Twilight saw a copy of herself brushing off some dust. This only would have been shocking enough if it wasn't for the fact that she was suddenly taller. She look down to see she was now in Discord's body. "Relax, it just looks like you are me. Hopefully, I angry him enough that he just cast you out..."

The door exploded in a shower of splinters, revealing an extremely angry Bright Eyes.

"You think your so cute, don't you?" He growled, almost foaming at the mouth. "You made me have to cut through a group of ponies that were singing! I don't care if the hill were alive, they are dead now! And you are OUT!" A blast of magic shot out of his horn and hit Twilight straight in the chest. She felt the world slip away, with the last thing she saw was Discord pretending to be her scared as Bright Eyes approach him.

🌖🌗🌔

"This is possibly the worst plan we could have come up with." Rarity said from the makeshift bed. The five had gathered around the unconscious Twilight when Rainbow Dash had laid out a counterattack idea.

"That's not true." Pinkie said, sitting up from her little cot. She was fixing her cannon while listening and was covered in oils. "We could cover ourselves in honey and hope a swarm of killer bees take them out." Every pony turned to her with a confused look. "I'm just saying, we could come up with worst plans."

"I know it's not the best idea but it might be the only good one we got," Dash said, getting the group back on track. "But we are outmatched by our ancestors. They are trained in fighting in ways we couldn't imagine. But they seem to only really know how to beat their side. I think if we fight not on our own but against another ancestor, we might have a better chance. I think I can get Captain Surprise. He seemed to be physically strong but that's pretty useless if I never give him the chance to hit."

"I'll take on that Sparkle," Applejack said. "She seems to be obsessive with fire and I put out a few forest fires in my day."

"That's all good for you two." Rarity said sternly. "But what about Pinkie, Fluttershy, and me? We are not exactly fighters and unless you want me to sew up some capes, I don't see us being much help."

"Well," Pinkie slammed a panel of her cannon shut. "If I do a couple of tweaks on my party cannon, I think I have a way to deal with Firefly. Rainbow Dash knows how determined I can be and if I'm right, she won't be flying for long."

"And I've dealt with angry animals like wolves and bears, I think I can handle Bowtie," Fluttershy spoke up. "I mean if she a physical fighter, I just need to wear her out. The trick is to just keep out of reach."

"I guess I'm going have to deal with that Posey." Rarity said with a dramatic sigh. "Any hint from when she fought you, Fluttershy?"

"She had this amulet," Fluttershy pointed out. "Every time she sang and started flinging things at me, it would light up."

"Maybe I can deal with her but we are forgetting the biggest problem." Rarity said. "Who going to deal with Bright Eyes? I mean, e was able to fight both Starlight, Twilight, and Trixie! None of the citizens here could help nor should they. WE need to get rid of him because even if we luck out and take out the rest, he will easily take us."

"My best suggestion is we have Celestia deal with him." Rainbow Dash stated. It was at this moment, that Twilight shot up from her bed.

"NOOO!" Twilight shouted, causing all those around her to jump up in shock, resulting in Pinkie smacking her head against her cannon. "We can't have Celestia deal with it."

"Twilight! You're awake!?!" They all shouted except for Pinkie, who was rubbing her head in pain.

"We should have tried that earlier," Pinkie muttered. "Say Celestia's name can awaken a sleeping Twilight."

"What are you talking about, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked, ignoring Pinkie's comment. "Why shouldn't we get Celestia involved?"

"Because..." Twilight stop for a second. "Because I just talked to Discord."

"Discord!?!" Applejack shouted, causing the few nearby to turn their heads. "Why isn't he here? We could use his power right about now."

"Because whatever cause Bright Eyes to show up here is blocking him," Twilight said hoarsely, starting to realize how dehydrated she was. She saw a cup of water on the table next to her and with an almost insane amount of speed, drank it down. "But he was able to get to me through my dream for some reason. We need to stop all this before Celestia gets involved or things could get a lot worst."

"Well, we were just discussing how we might be able to stop his friends." Rainbow Dash said, moving closer to Twilight. "We just need to get them separated for it to work."

"Tell me everything." Twilight sat back in her small cot. "Because I don't think Discord will be able to distract him forever."

🌖🌗🌔

"And after I burn that village down, I'm going to hunt every living thing that fled into the forest!" Bright Eyes shouted, madness in his eye."

"Even the bunnies?" The whimpering Twilight in front of him asked. His grin grew wider and he project more flames to surround her.

"YES, EVEN THE BUN..." Bright Eyes stop ranting and look back at theTwilight in front of him.

"I don't get it. Bright Eyes thought as she burst into a new set of tears.. She was showing strength before, acting like I wasn't going to win. Now she wailing like a widow of a soldier. What could have changed? Unless... That thing disappeared with her for a bit and he didn't even try to resist me banishing him. He has been able to create illusions with a snap of his claws and seemed to be able to pretend to be my memories. Which means... WHICH MEANS!!!"

The Twilight was suddenly beside him and lean close to his ear to whisper to him.

"I got her out." She said with a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Bright Eyes felt like something broke in him as he let out a roar of rage and swipe at the illusion. She jumps back and turns into the strange creature he saw before. "Now before you get too angry, I have to say as an ex villain, your monologuing was spot on. Maybe work on your improv and anger issues and you might beat Sombra. Not Nightmare Moon level but definitely in the middle."

"SHUT UP!!!" Bright Eyes roared as plunged his blade into its chest. "I will leave this dream and then I'm going to rip every single one of them apart until there is nothing left but shreds."

"Well, you could try." It said with a sinister smile.

🌖🌗🌔

Sparkle was reading a BBQ magazine and got to an interesting article about brazing when Bright Eyes shot up from his sleep.

"Good morning, did you find out anything interesting..." She started to say before she felt magic wrap around her throat and start to squeeze. She let a startled cry before being slammed to the ground. She was dazed but quickly recover when she saw the craze Bright Eyes standing above her.

"You were supposed to block ALL intruders from entering the mind link." He growled, putting more force on his spell, causing Sparkle to squeal in pain.

"I...did." She barely got it out. But it was enough to lessen the pressure. She took a large gasp of air and coughed violently to continue. "The entire fog cloud has a basic dream walker protecting but I put extra on this spell. Nothing on this plane of existence can break past my wards."

"Well something did." Bright Eyes mutter before letting Sparkle go completely. "But it doesn't matter, I know where her precious mentor is. Alert the other. We leave in two hours for the place called Canterlot."

"There might be a problem with that." Sparkle said, rubbing her neck. "Firefly reported that dragons are helping these ponies. She saw them attempt to enter the fog when she was on patrol. Which explains the younging we dealt with when we got here. And by that logic, that means we got Yaks, Changelings, and Griffins to deal with. Plue some weird ponies that can turn into fish. They might have this city surrounded with only the fog to hold them back. We can't move the fog and the second those hiding from us make a run for it, they just burn this city to ash and be done with it. We need to think of a better plan than just run in and..."

"Oh, now you want to plan!?!" Bright Eyes shouted. "If you had listened to me earlier, we wouldn't be in this mess. But you had to blow up that building and alert them to our existence. So the only plan we got is to take out their figurehead and make them question if fighting us is even worth it."

"Then we need to take out those six we fought before." Sparkle counter. "They seem to be seen as heroes and idols to most here. If we butcher them and present the head to any army outside, they might disband right there. We read their "history" books and they are symbols of unity. We almost had them and only by the skin of their teeth did they escape. Let's hunt them down then go after the one's mentor."

Bright Eyes look around at the loot they collected already and then back at Sparkle. He looked down at the charm on his chest and felt almost an impulse come from it.

"I have a better idea." Bright Eyes said, approaching Sparkle. "Kill them all if you must but leave the princess alive. But do it together and don't get cocky. But I need you to do something for me first..."