A year had passed and New Unicornia had been forced into a full retreat across their lands. The New Equestrian Empire's crusade forces had pushed across New Unicornia in five different advances, leaving the open wounds of warfare in its wake. Tens of thousands of graves inhabited by the bodies of soldiers and civilians alike marked the site of battles.

New Unicornia didn't surrender their lands easily or quietly, throwing their wrath against their enemy like ponies possessed.

The industrial cities of Horn Heights and Hammerville were smoldering wrecks as retreating New Unicornian burned and shelled them to deny the New Equestrian Empire's crusade access to the valuable factories, and even to spite them. Untold numbers of civilians were lost in the shelling and firestorms.

In the central highlands that held the most fertile land, New Unicornian forces had stripped the land of all the crops they could carry, and burning or trampling into the ground what couldn't be taken. Farming villages had been put to the torch, forcing the earth ponies who lived there into homelessness. New Unicornian generals had ordered wells to be collapsed, creating water shortages, and dams blown up, causing flooding.

Cadance had led a lightning strike into the foothills where the bulk of New Unicornia's mining efforts were centered. New Unicornian forces had begun the process of destroying the mines when her forces arrived. Some of the mines had been collapsed and mining towns were destroyed. She managed to rout the New Unicornian armies, saving the majority of the mines and mining towns. New Unicornian forces did manage to successfully shoot down three airships and severely damage a forge in a retribution attack.

The twin specters of famine and disease walked across the land like they were old residents as the final frosts of winter gripped the lands.

The Crusade had stopped to re-consolidate and recoup their losses and to deal with the problems of disease and famine that were plaguing the now former citizens of New Unicornia. Mobile medbays were filled with the mortal soldiers whose bodies and minds had been broken by the horrors of warfare. Most would recover through the diligent work of medical staff. Through cybernetic replacement and reconstruction, and therapy they rejoin their brothers in arms, but there were many who would not recover, their injuries were too great, or the mental trauma too much. Civilians struggling with malnutrition and disease had also flooded the medbays

The New Equestrian Empire's crusade had set up tent cities to help protect the now homeless civilians and built soup kitchens. Rations of reconstituted nutrition bars had been hoofed out to those who weren't starving to the point where regular food would shock their systems, and simple, thin gruel who were too weak and too starved.

The ponies working on the high-speed maglev monorail project redoubled their efforts and through much hardship, managed to build an intricate rail system through the newly conquered New Unicornian lands. It would still be weeks before adequate food, medicine and other much needed supplies, along with fresh reinforcements where they were needed.

The crusade dug itself in to await the spring thaw.

***

Star Gleam, had for the first stint of her time as a prisoner of war, had maintained her New Unicornian identity and religious practices. She had worn her dress uniform when meeting with the soldiers under her command, led in several religious services in prayers to The Divine, and even refused to provide information unless she was put under the compulsion of a truth spell as a form of passive resistance. Slowly over the year her beliefs in The Divine and New Unicornia had been slowly eroded, not because of any pressure of her captors. She and her soldiers had been well treated. She had expected to be locked in a windowless cell or some damp hole in the ground and tortured for information. Quite the opposite was the fact, the cells she and her soldiers were kept in, though not lavish by any definition, were clean and comfortable. She had also been expected to be given starvation rations of dirty water and moldy hay, instead she and her soldiers were well fed. The food was bland, but nutritious. Twice-daily rations of synthetic hay and simple ration bars, with ample clean water. She and her soldier had also been encouraged to grow vegetable gardens to supplement their diets. Star Gleam had also been surprised when she after her first month of imprisonment when she had her soldiers had been given a stipend as compensation. The pay wasn't lavish, booklets of trade vouchers stamped with the symbol of Equestria, but it was enough that they could purchase stuff from the commissary to make their lives a bit easier.

Star Gleam had seen the bodies of unicorn civilians broken by the shelling and the hollow, glassy-eyes stares of starving foals from all three tribes. But what had truly swayed her over to the New Equestrian side was seeing the tribes work in concert to help the ponies of her country recover from starvation, disease and injury, and with rebuilding destroyed homes. That had done much to shake the foundations of her faith in The Divine and New Unicornia.

It had been in those last frosts of winter when Star Gleam had been awoken by the sounds of anguished wailing. She knew from the direction that the awful sound came that it was one of her soldiers. Rushing to the door of her cell to see what was going on, she had been met by a pair of guards who were hastily shoving the key into the lock. As soon as the door was open, she bolted out, one of her soldiers was in pain and she needed to know why. The guards followed hotly on her heels.

Bursting through the door in the mostly empty common room, Star Gleam's gaze fell on what was going on. A piebald mare under her command, Private Whimsy, bawling her eyes out. At the mare's hooves were a pair of pieces of paper that Star Gleam immediately knew what they were, a pair of 'To whom it may concern' letters normally given to the families of soldiers when their loved ones are killed in action. Standing in front of the piebald mare was Twilight sparkle, unarmored, though she was still accompanied by her Nova Guard. She had never seen any of the alicorns outside of their armor before, but that was currently secondary to what was going on. Whimsy was unleashing the sounds of pure unbridled grief while two of her fellow soldiers were attempting to console her.

Whimsy looked up at Twilight with bloodshot eyes, grief and rage playing out in equal measure across her face. "You!", she snarled at the princess."This is your fault! They'd still be alive if and your kind had simply stayed away and left us alone!" She then launched herself at the princess with flailing hooves faster than her comrades could respond.

The Nebula Guard moved into position to protect the princess, but Twilight waved them off, opting to endure the blows from the unicorn. Though Whimsy threw all her might into her flailing blows, there was little a single mortal pony could do to harm an alicorn, so Twilight simply held herself in stoic silence and allowed the mare to tire herself out.

Once Whimsy had expended her energy, she collapsed at the alicorn's hooves and curled into a ball, whimpering in agony.

Star Gleam quickly trotted over to stroke the piebald unicorn's mane. "Take her back to her cell and give her something strong to drink. Keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything rash." After the two soldiers escorted the piebald unicorn out, Star Gleam levitated the two letters in her magic and read them. "Tell me what happened."

Twilight, her face a mask of calm, stared at the tan, brown and black blotchy coat of the general and mused, back in the days of old Equestria most Equestrian ponies and horses were mostly of a uniform coloration of a single tone. Was the more common multicolored coats an adaptation to give them better camouflage? That couldn't be the case as three quarters of ponies and horses of the land were still of the single-colored coats that was the norm of her day. She was stalling and she knew it. Blowing out a sigh, she answered. "When our forces took the city of Hammerville, New Unicornian forces had shelled the city before we arrived to deny us its assets. We thought we had encountered the worst when we had dug the remains of innocent ponies out of the rubble, their bodies broken by the blasts and shrapnel, or burned and disfigured by the flames. But as we spread out to the residential districts, we found worse. The soldiers noticed that the doors to houses and apartment buildings had been barred from the outside. When they went to investigate, that's when they noticed the smells."

Star Gleam held up a hoof, she didn't need to hear more. Civilians forcibly locked in their homes and left to starve, this was the signature of a single general. "This sounds like the work of Blood Diamond."

"Who?"

"Her name is Bright Diamonds. She's a general with a brutal streak in her a league wide. She had received that nickname when she had been sent out to the eastern plains to deal with the aftermath of a rogue storm. It was discovered that the storm had caused several ponies to mutate, and had driven others insane. Instead of simply shooting those who were too mutated to function or were incurably insane, she commanded the artillery batteries to deploy toxic gas shells. Back when High Pontiff Burnished Bronze had orchestrated his coup, along with his personal confidant, Sundown Twinkle, Blood Diamond had thrown her lot in with his camp. Myself and others like me who had opposed his coup that were too valuable or too dangerous to execute were redeployed to the plot-ends of the nation."

Sundown Twinkle...Sundown Twinkle. Could this be the alias Cozy Glow used? Surely she's run away by now, knowing that we're coming. "Tell me Star Gleam, are you still in good with any of these generals?"

Star Gleam taped a hoof to her chin. "There's Rusty Nail and Essence Opal. But I'm not sure where they're stationed."

"If they're still alive, our intelligence network will find them and get a message to them.", Twilight replied.

"Wait...how deep does your intelligence network run?"

"That, my little pony, is something that will remain a secret until this conflict is over." Twilight stretched her wings. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have much to plan and tons of paperwork to take care of." In a flash of violet light and a pop, the alicorn and her bodyguards vanished.

Twilight reappeared inside her personal chambers and sat down to meditate. The recent affair had left her nerves quite frazzled and left her on the edge of a panic attack. Taking a deep breath, she placed a hoof to her chest, held it for a few seconds, then blew it out, extending her hoof in the process. Closing her eyes, she began to meditate.

Within seconds Twilight was assaulted by a host of visions. The dead walking the land. A cluster of smoky black shards accompanied by a familiar laughing voice. A massive idol made in the image of porcine creatures as other porcine creatures laughed with wild abandon as they trampled all they came across under hoof. A land of wing, talon and beak where a loyal servant sat alone in a cave. A mine where a figure with a familiar voice sat weeping in front of a hoof drawn image of a unicorn. A curling horn.

With a thud Twilight fell to the floor. She gasped for air as a panic attack took hold. The meditation instead of allowing her to enter her mind-palace, had instead flooded her with strange and unsettling visions.

Four flashes of light signaled the arrival of the other princesses.

"Twilight!", Cadance called out as she rushed over to her panicking sister-in-law.

Twilight tried to speak, but her thoughts wouldn't gather into coherent patterns, causing her to give strangled whimpers. The oxygen felt this as her breaths came in ragged, uneven gasps. She had curled up into a fetal position, her trembling forehooves tightly gripping and stroked her tail.

Cadance pulled Twilight to her hooves and looked her sister-in-law straight in the eye. "Don't try to speak. Just breathe with me. Deep slow breath in through the nose."

The two alicorns took a deep breath in.

"Hold it for three seconds."

The two princesses held their breath for three seconds.

"Breath out through the mouth. Let all of the air out of your lungs. Just like I taught you when you were a young princess."

After a few minutes of going through the breathing exercises with her sister-in-law, Twilight's heart rate slowed and her thoughts became more ordered. "I saw...I can't even...a ram's horn...pigs?...no...hogs...a weeping changeling...what...?"

"A most distressing set of visions.", Luna said. "Normally we only have one. None of us has had so many at once."

"H-how do I make sense of them?", Twilight asked. "The last time I had such a powerful vision, it was years before the cataclysm and the tree took Sunset from the human world and deposited her in my chambers."

Celestia closed her eyes and focused on the empathic field all alicorns share. "The visions are a warning of terrible trials still to come...and maybe a sign of allies. It's hard to make sense of visions as the future is always in motion."

"So what does that mean?", Flurry Heart asked.

"It means we must find a way to bring this war with New Unicornia to a rapid resolution so we can face the next trials with unified strength.", Twilight said, her gaze blazing with intense determination. "Alert all of our forces. When the first thaw happens, we advance as the spring floods start."

Burnished Bronze stalked the halls of his bunker, ranting at phantoms only he could see. As the war progressed and New Unicornia lost ground, it became clear that his hold on sanity was slipping. His guards had kept him isolated in the bunker, with only a small group of loyal generals and priests knowing the truth. Doctors tried and failed to cure, or even treat his worsening mental condition, all had failed. When public appearances or speeches were needed, lookalikes and body doubles had been used to protect the public and the military in general from panicking.

***

General Bright Diamonds, General Shooting Star, Minister of Information Hymnal Book, Vice-Pontiff Silver Script and High Patriarch of the Interior Booklet Leaf all sat around a conference table in the massive Cathedral-Palace that served as the seat of power and high place of worship for all of New Unicornia.

"It's clear that Burnished has vacated his senses.", Silver Script said in a weary tone. "As second-in-command of the government, Hymn you are to release a statement that High Pontiff and voice of The Divine, Burnished Bronze has fallen ill from a poisoning attempt by the interlopers. Booklet, I want you to--"

"I have a much better idea.", Bright Diamonds interrupted. She shared a nod with Shooting Star and Booklet Leaf.

"You may enter now.", Shooting Star said aloud.

The door to the chamber opened and in walked a dozen ponies wearing odd headdresses in the style of curling ram's horns.

"What is this blasphemy?!", Silver Script shouted indignantly. "We do not consort with cultists who worship darkness. Even the slaver and raider gangs avoid them!"

"Guards! Seize them!", Bright Diamonds shouted.

Dozens of praetorians rushed in the room, grabbing a hold of Silver Script and Hymnal Book. A moment later another squad of praetorians led a babbling Burnished Bronze into the room. The elite guards forced Burnished, Shooting and Hymnal to their knees.

"Your Divine has abandoned you." the lead cultists said in a voice that could etch glass. "Be thankful that there are those in your government whom reached out to us, the Herd of Grogar."

On an unspoken command the cultists pulled out wickedly curved knives from within their robes. The lead cultist pulled a stone bowl from within their robe. The cultists began chanting in an esoteric and long-forgotten tongue as they began cutting at their own flesh. The chanting reached a fever pitch as the blood flowed freely from the cultists' wounds, one-by-one they plunged the knives into their chests, piercing their hearts, the pulled them free allowing the blood to gush forth.

The lead cultist caught some of the blood from the self-inflicted wounds in the stone bowl. Walking over to Bright Diamonds, Shooting Star and Booklet Leaf, be began painting stylized fangs around the three's mouths and stylized horns on the sides of the three's heads. "With blood willingly spilled, we offer this flesh for you!"

Picking up one of the wickedly curved knives from the floor, the lead cultist casually strode over Burnished Bronze. The praetorians holding him down sharply pulled his chin up, exposing his throat.

"With this road of blood, we guide you home. With this path of bone, we welcome you home. With this avenue of flesh, we beckon you home. Arise O Great and Terrible Emperor Grogar and give unto your herd blessings!", the lead cultist said, then swiftly slashed Burnished Bronze's throat, causing bright crimson blood to pour forth onto the ground. The lead cultist performed the same ritual of sacrifice with Silver Script and Hymnal Book. The bodies of the three dead unicorns were dumped unceremoniously onto the floor.

The air in the room grew cold and the shadows began to lengthen. "W̵̡͕͖̟̪̻͙͉̰̼͋̒h̶̨̟̬͍͍͚̱̓͐́̏͗̈́̈́̚͠ͅo̴̥̗̼͙̯̫͓͖͋̈̓́̎͌͝͝ ̸̡̨̭̗̺̱̖̫͆̒d̴̪̜̬̭̟̮̝̰͔̪̽͒̐̎͛̄̌͑̄̕a̸̰͍͎̭̻̗͎͙͉̥͙̖̿̇̊́̾͗͜͠r̴̢̯͈̬̠̦̙͕̮͎̤̰̾͜͜ė̶̛̝̜͓̗̼̰̘͎̾̇͌͛̏́̊́̕͠s̸͉͖̺̻̙͉̥̩̰̻̈́̉̇̑̌͂̏̏̈̽̀͑͋͝͝ͅͅ ̴͇͙̤̥̲̙̫̏̄̐͋t̶̞̥̝̠̳̩͙͚̐̿́͜͝ȏ̶̡̧̠͓͈̼̙̝̜̜̇͑̅ ̷͉̙͔͋̏̔̃͂̌̔̈̈̕̚s̴̼͉̝̅̈́͑͋͆͌͛̇̈́̾̇͘ů̷̧̡̫͙̩̰͗̈̓́̂͝m̸̡̡͕̼̬̝̳̳͙̹͐̋̄̑̽̈͋ͅm̵̨͓̤̳̬͊̍͒͐͑̇͗́͛ǫ̴̛̤̦̖̖̩̲̫̏͐͑̊̕ͅn̶̡̧̡̮̳̪̹̹̖̼͖̦̘͔̠͋͋̓̆͒͆̈́͌̉̽̀́͘͝ ̸̢̨̢̛̛͚͉̮̤͓̠͚̙̣̫̅͐̈́͒̀̍̿̽̾͝m̴̨̻̯̣̩͕̜̜̗̖͙͈̐͗͆̾͋̐̄͐̊̍͠͝ͅę̸̙̖͈̰͙͍̠̪̙̲̼̥̾̾͆̔̄̀̄̒̀̀̿̑͘?̸̞̟̦͕̥̣̳̐͌̒͌̿̌̔́̔̂̔͑̕͘͜", a voice spake seemingly from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

"Oh, Great and Terrible Emperor Grogar, I beseech thee! Grant this unworthy servant your blessings!", the lead cultist shouted in exuberation as they prostrated on the floor. "I have labored my whole life to see you returned to your rightful place, O Great and Terrible Lord of Nightmares!"

The pool of blood on the floor began to swirl and bubble. The blood rose up from the floor and coalesced into the shape of a ram. It looked around the room, and with a gesture of a crimson hoof the gathered praetorians collapsed as they let out gurgling shrieks. Puss and befouled bodily fluids leaked from their orifices as their flesh withered and decayed. The ram then looked at Booklet Leaf. The unicorn tried to scream as flames consumed her body. Shooting Star tried to flee, only for clawed shadowy limbs to grab his body and drag him screaming into darkness. The ram then looked at the lead cultist and said one word. "Ư̶͇̙͇̤̰̠̦͉̠͓̪̇̆̈̒̃̐̅͒͗̏͘͝ń̵̡͍̠̖͚̠̭̰͉̲̣͈͂͂̈́͛w̷͎̲̠͔̯̩̭̙̪͊͝ó̷̥̘̠̪͛͌̆̓͒́r̵̘̯͔̪̥̼̠͓̘͕̻̋̓̅̔̔̽̑͑͠ͅţ̷̛̙̜̤̩̞͖̜̝̓́͛͐͛̚̕͝h̷̖̗̼̱̥̮̃̈́͋͌́̽̈́̐̆̉̾̈͘͠ͅy̸̥̤̹̥̺̠͈͕͒̏̿̅̂͌!̸̨̨͕͍̩̥̗̟͛̾͆̄̀̇̔͊̉̓̏̃̓̚"

The lead cultist tried to cry out, only their voice was drowned out as a swarm of maggots poured up from their throat. Soon all that was left of the cultist was robes stained with body fluids and a skeleton.

The ram then looked at Bright Diamonds. "P̵̹̙̳͙̏́r̵̲͕̠̝̫͚̰̦͔̈́́͊̌̿̎̐̽̅̎̏̚̕̕ơ̷̡͇͇̗͇͉̼͊̐͆̍̎̈́̆̐̐̅̍̽͘͜͜v̷̨̧̧̨͕͓̜̲͇̱͈͈̺͖̀̄̉͗͒̄e̸̢͍͙͓̔̉ ̵͇̥̝͍̥̻͇̜͛̀̀̌͋͆̒y̸̛̜̹̑̀̆̊̌́͝ǫ̷̛̛̛̯̹̱̟̩̪͎͇̻̩͈̥͌̌͒͗͒̓͒͝͝ų̸͕̘͕̭̗͆r̵̗̞͉̲̟͇̣͛͒̿͋̈́ ̸̩̤͎͇͙̭̫̖̋̔͗̍͒̎̇̔̃̐͗́̕̚͘w̵̧͍̤͈͍̘͕̩̬̣͊̾̆̎̅̎́̀͂̊̍͜͠ö̷̢͎̺̯̯́̅̀̋̌r̷̛̘̪̘̺̦̠̹̳̓̓̈́͂̎͆͠͝͠͝͝t̶̹͉͚͙̩̯̝͓̫̿̓̈́ͅh̴̢̫͎͎̰̺̪̹̲̺̱̭̹̐͋͝ ̶̡̮̦͎̟̫̥̪̒͛͋̀̈̏͗́̏͂̿̕ă̴͇̹̠͖̣̝͆̍̈͐͑̅̚n̵͕͖̍͜d̷̢͚̻̠͙͕̙̠̦͌̽̋̓͠ ̷̮̣͓͇̬̞͙̹̟̼̥̱̥͙̰̀̀͑͘I̴̳͓͉͛͛̊̑̀̇̇̍̃̈́͝ ̶͈͕̖͈̠͒̐̑̆̽̊̑̑͂̾̊͘s̶͔͊͆͐̈́̈̅̑̌̚h̴̨̲̣̝̝͕̯̯̬̪̯͊̆ą̷̭̘͚̩̗̫̖̰̗̼̞̩̙̈́́̃̋̈͗̎̃̅̔̌̄̍͝͠l̸̼̠̲̱͍͉͑̍͜ͅl̶̨̧̛̗̻̦͋̀̇͊͌̆̑̒̈́̕̚͠ ̸̱̗̘̈͐͝g̶̛̥͈̜̙͉͐͂̃̓̌͌̆͝͠ṟ̴̡͕̟͖͋̀̿̅͛̅̆̄͑͛̈̚͘͝a̸̧͇̦͍̖̞̙̤̻̖̘̭̠̺̐ņ̷̧̢͎͙͓̣͚̲̲̘̝͉̤̒͋͛ţ̴̤̙̰͇͈̭̣̤̝̠̝̓͆͆̈́̑̑̿͋̂̏̆̕͝ ̴̯͇̫̣̗͇̓̃͂̈́̀̀̀͒͛ṱ̶̛̹͙̰̦̲̳̻̖̗̤̋̀̚h̵̛̜͖̻̬̤̘̹̣̓̎̏̽̀̄̋͐ͅę̶͉̯̣̩̟̯̈͑̾̋̑̚͝e̸̢̧̛̥̪̗͚̝͖̜̤̻̦͂͒͆̒̀̀̈̔͌̈́̕ ̴̨̭̭̱̦̦̺̜̲̰̮̰̉͐͐̉̔̓͒͘͝á̵̛̼͖͇̘̖͍͙̞͚͔̙͇̻̩̺̓̆͆̓̓̑͋̚ ̸̡̧̨̘͉̟̦͙͈͋̏͐̽̓̌̓́̚͝g̶̢̛̖̝̮̦̦̯͕͔̬̮̭̍̀͝r̶̤̲͍̪̜͚͇̙̱̩̜̪̘̗͐̂͑̇̎̇̀ͅe̴̜̝̜͖̗͋̀̓͛̒́̀͂̊͐̑͝à̴̡̘͍͔̠͓̣̮̐̀̂̒̀͊̐̚t̷̢̛͕̃͐̔̓̒͛̾̇͋̕̕ͅ ̸̗̻̰͚̺͚̩̫̺̠̼̆́̿̀̀̅̋͗̾̈̕ͅb̸̺̯̓ǒ̴͚̺͈̖̹͍o̸̠̝͆͐̆̇̈͘͝͝ṇ̷̫̒̐̀͌̓̿͊̏̋̈͝.̷̦̙͂̄̽̂͌̍̋̔͆̈́͠͝͝ ̶̦͉̩̦̳̑̃͠B̸̧̰͚̰̭̟̓̑̈́͗͝r̶̡̛̺̱̭̬̱̪̙̠̤̱͔̹̘̯̐͐̈́̈́͆́̄̓̌͠ǐ̵̫͙͚̖̼̗̮̜̒͋̈̀̔͆̐́̇͘͝͠ṇ̸̛̦͎̼̙̣͎̒̒͊̂ͅͅg̸̢̧͍̱͈͙̜͉̬͖͉̠̭͗̚̚͜ͅ ̴̡̙͍̗͉̖̲̟̼̦̯̜͆̈́̽͒̀̏̐̐͑̅͝͠t̸̙̾͆͗͐̌͋͐̎͊͛̏͠h̸̢͕̠͎͋̀ȩ̷͔̱̋̉̐̈́̈̕͝ ̸̢̧̤̳͎̹̲̠͚͕͇̼͠ḥ̵͙̣͉̥̮̱͓͚̆̑͛̐͝e̴̢̥̩̗̝̩͍̲̺̲̺̤̰͉̔͛̊̈̽͝a̴̼̩͙̟̥͙̫͉̠̫͂r̷̖̖̠͖̙͐̅̾͗̕t̶̛͖̪͖̱̱͓̼̳̳̣̖̰̥͕͔̀̇̃̆͑̈͐͌͑̒̽̈́͝s̵̰͍̺̫͋̽̿̀̓͛̾ ̷̧̛̲̯̮̪̹̹̯̞̰͇̫̼̿͛͌͛̒̇̊̊͌̊̇͌ǫ̸̨̼̘̝̫͖̺̖͈̺͓͇͂͒͌̈͋͘͝f̴͈͎̞̲̻̤̭̦̹̠̼̰̂̈͑̒̀ ̴͈̻̪̭̬̣͕̝̱͓̙͛͆̏̓ť̴̢̡̧̧̬̫͖͇̻̖̱̱̻̊̏̇̈́͘̚͠ȟ̴̨͉̗̰̼̠̹̤̟͈̜̗̯́́͆̆͑̓͗ͅę̴̱͚̱̫̦̞̟̮̞͕̜̟̣͐͗̾͑͐̒̆̕͝͠ ̷̡̪͇̪̟̹̱̝̯͌́̐̆́̒̈́̒͜͜͝͠f̶̡̢̠̱̲̱̺̙͕̜͙̈́̈͗̒́́̔͒̄͋̈̒͘͘͠ͅi̸̘̫͍̟͈͎̘̮̤̻̙̗̒̆̌̈́̕͜v̴̫͇̌́͌͆̎̇̓̐ę̷̨̱̟̗̩̭̱̳̬̜̞̙̹̀̈́ ̶̧̗̭͉̳̤̜̹̣͚̑̑͊̎̉͜ȧ̶͇̭̤̗̲̺̻̦͑̇̈́͛̒̾̂̈̀́͜l̸̢̪͔͍͇͎̥̦̉̅͂́́͒̀̈́̂͆į̶̪̦̥͈̲̩͇̻̰̟̼̓̓̉̽̐c̸̡̢̪̟̼̫̘̱͎͈͔̩̭̻̾̈̎̐̊̇̓̅̕o̸̧͚̼͍̟̬̼͕̣̝͉̖͋̈́͐̿̃r̸̹̟͎͙͉̲̭̻͓̪̬̳̬̲̠̀̈́̿̑̎̀̀̚̚̚̚͝ņ̴͍̟̞͙̭͚͖͓̫̠̮̞͇͖͑͛̂s̵͔͓̳̩̻͓͚̙̱͍̳̝͔͕͑̔̇̾͂̐̆̿̌̔̓͌̕͜͠͠ ̵̢̭͇̬̭̞̲͔͛̌͒͛͛̒͝t̸͔̻̮̍͊̓̾̀̔̃̆͝o̵̖͗̈̈́̐̈́̉̑̂̈́̏͜͜͠ ̸̢̡̡̺͓̲͇̳̤͕̥̔̇̔̌͊̃̾͂̊̂͛̕͘͠͝ͅt̸̨̨̩̻̭̮̞̔͋͒̈͗̅́͗͌͝͠͝h̷̢̢̟̦̩͉͕͎̬̰͓͈̠̳͔͋͆͠e̵̦͈̦̞̖̙̰͈̮̘͓̼̼͌̐͑̑̀̔ ̵̲͎̜͚̞̩͍̈́̕p̷̨̨̛͉̪͍̫̱̠͍̊̾̀̓͜e̶͖͍̙̬͇͕͇̩̼̳̪͐̄̽͑̉̚̕ą̶̨͎̱̺͈̣̬̥̱̗̯̅͛̈́͑̐͋̃̂͜ķ̷̨̡̨̛̦͓̺̳̭͚͉̬̩͓͖͒̋͌̄͆̃͊ ̵̧̨̫̩̺̟̱̉̈́̉̌͆͒͘͜͠͠ò̶̢͎̯̉͗̐̈́f̶̧̭̜͈̖̗̠͆̍̈̊ ̴͓̥͍̮͖̣̓̉̃̂͐͋́͒͘M̷̨͎̫̪̜̘͇̹̞̖̠͉͎͂̒̐͜o̴̮̗̿̅̀͒̿̅͒̃́́̃̽̉̔̕ư̸̬̖̩̭͈̘̞͖̪͇̺̮̔͊̅͛͑̕n̴̛̞͖͚͔͎̤̊̓̇̊̈̏͋̂͒̀̆͆͆͝t̶̥̞̝̠͖̔̓̋͊̀̒͗͑̒̒́͆̕͝͠ ̸̧̢̠̱̱̫̻͍͔̻̓̐̉̄́̉̕ͅE̷͕͚̟̹͌́͗̍̍͊̀͑̈v̵̧̨̫̣̟̲̮̱͚̓͌̍̇̑̃͑̌͝ȅ̶̙̗̓̌̎͒̓́̑̈́̆̆͝͠ŗ̷̧̟͕̭̺̅͛͛͗̍h̷̥̖̻̙̑̀͝o̵̩͙̭̜͑̎̌́̕ͅơ̸̺̘̠͇̥̞͙͑̒̉́̿̾̀͆̂̉̚͜͝f̴̡̨̗͉̠̮̻͖̺̬̉͆̈́ͅ.̵̮͇̣̦͉̂̆̋̓͊̾͑͜͝͠͝͠ͅ"

The coalesced blood evaporated and for a moment Bright Diamonds swore she could see a three dimensional shadow. When she blinked, it was gone."

***

Cozy Glow sat atop a plateau. She had move the alicorn amulet back around her neck and had draped the various other amulets and charms around her neck and body. Currently she was weaving a spell over the remains of a dozen freshly killed ponies to be the first soldiers in her army of the undead. She leapt back when black flames consumed the bodies, leaving nothing, not even ashes or scorch marks.

A dark shadow of a ram stretched across the ground towards the undead pegasus. "Ċ̷̝͉̝̖̞̲̜̪̳̹͉͈̠̦̎͌̊̔̑̉̇͛̀̀ơ̴̧̨͕̦̤̱͍̺̠̩̠̝͛̃͌̒͑́̌̉̑̕͝͝z̶̨̯͚̥̘̖̻͉̠͖̮̯̹̓̈́̈́̇̀̒̋́͘ͅͅỵ̵̨̦̹͕̠̘̩̞̻̲͈̰̠̃͗̈̓̌̋̈̔̓͝ͅ ̴̡̛̞̼̜̜͕́͐̍͌̈̕̚̚G̶̨̦̞̱͙̘̹̼͆͋̂ͅl̴̡̯̣̥̮̞̹̣̪͂̀͛̍͘̚ǫ̶̧̰̯͖̼͉̪̫̺͉͈̙̰͋̀̒ẃ̸̢̧̠̬̟̩͔̻͓͎̳̩̈̉̈́̒̓͐͂̊̓̆͘,̸̛̯̘̺̘̠͖̰̭̋̾̄̇̿͑ ̴̨̛̣̰̪͖̻̬̲͕̣̝͙̇̈́͒̄̊́̈̄̇͋̈́͜s̶̡̧̨̞̞͙̝͎̯͚̲̼̈̉͜h̶͙͍̱̣̲̩̹̦͊̉̊̈́̽̚̚͜͠ë̴͔́́̊̉̋̚͝ ̶̡̧͚̝͍̝͍͕̪̹͊͒ͅͅw̸̞̣̦̺̲̳͉̖̰̖̹̆h̵̖͚͚̲͎̦͍͕̠̲̬̟̺͔͑̿̎̌͋ơ̸̭̫͎̩͚̬͐̔̃̊̉͒́̕̕ ̷̲̻́͐̉̀̇̋͠ẘ̴̭̦̥͙̄a̵̩̪̞̪̯̥̭͓̓̈́̎̃̃̂̈́̒̐s̴̜̪̱̭̻̫̅̈̈́̅̐̀͛̌̾́͆̌͝͝ ̸̛̣̹̞̟̻́́̿͆͆͋̅̍͂͠t̷͍͎̩̀͑͒̀͆̓͘h̶̨̨̤̠̪̖̙̦̑̉͑̈́̀̒ę̸̛̦͈͓̝͎̝̂̀̀̈ͅ ̵̢̧̨̨̱̞̣̣̭̏̓̉͂͊̔͘ͅf̵̢̰̋̓̽̕͝i̸̙̘̮̟̣̇̉ŗ̸̩͚̳̜̩͑̄̄͒̍͑̑̂̾̈̚̕͝͠s̶̨̟̱̼̲̱̦̳͍̺̮̹͓̺̝̑t̵̲̥̫͙͕̥̘͔̞̹̆̊́͒̓̌͌̚̚͠ ̸̰͓̯̟̲͆͋̄͌͝ţ̷̛͎̭͓͉̭̜̜̩̝̥͖̖̞̽̈̀͑̑̄̂̚͘ō̴̱͎̥̯̞̐̋̾̈́̀͋̋̿̈́͜͠ͅ ̶̢̨͇͖̹͙̮̰̹̩̫̞̳̜̆̀̀͌̕͝ͅľ̴̡̨̪̤̻͇͕̯͕͈̼͕ä̴̰́y̴̡̪̩̙͙̪̍̐͛͂̋͒̔̓̒̓͊́̓̀́ ̵̹̫̝̩͙̮̖͙̳̱̺̅̋̈́̓̈́̒͒̓̍͜h̴̡̡̞̞̠͕͙̙̦̗̘̺͂͗̅̀̂́͒͜ͅo̴̧̯̔̒̀̀͌̑̇͗́͛̏̚͝o̶̧̳̟̲̟̙̟̖̫̺̺̹͚̳̾͆̅̋̉̍̋̌̌̈̃̃͘̚͝f̴̢͖̪̙̲͖̣̥̠̉̾̽̋̓̓̕̕͠ ̷̛̥̃͊̑̽̀̾͋̒̈́͒͋̏̒ỡ̸̱͒̀͋̇̌̈́̿͐̕͝n̷̥̞͓̗̫͍̩̑̀̇̀̓̃͑̓̀̃̒̑͝ ̶̨̛͙͓̯̏̀͛̐͊͘m̷̢̺̲̳̗̩̟̂̀̇̊̓̀̄̀͛͘y̴̢̨̡͓̘͓̠̞͕̳̬̟̅̿̉̈́̿̒̿ͅ ̸̥̮̞̬̖̼̙̬͕́͒͗͑̐̓̔́̓̒͘͘͝b̸̧̥̟̖̟̅͂͝e̶̡̮͉̺̘̺̤̍̆͜ͅͅl̶̢͙͉͓̥̈̽̂l̴͍̠͈͎̩͔͔̹̮͋ ̴̡̧̡̩̪͎̲͂̿͋͐̈́̿̆̆͋̄̀͛͘ï̴̛̬̣̰̼̩̜̝͇̝̆̆̋̆̒n̶̹̯͍̣̦͉͍͎͂̐̍́͑̅͊̀̑̌̈́͑̎ ̶̤̟͚͍̙̪͛̔̊͂̐̿͒̕͜m̷̹̭͙̻̋̈́̌̊͌̿̆̽͝͝ọ̷͉̠̜̰̓̓́͝r̷̡̟̯̥̗͙̖̘̠͆̓̂͗̏̈́͋͐̈́͠͝e̶͇̲̳̙͎͙̟̘̝̪̪̳͇͂̃̽̀̍̏̕̚͝ͅ ̸̪̭͎̂̓̄͋͊͑̂͘͝ͅͅṫ̶̛͕̔h̵͎͇͐̈́̏͛͊̅͒͊̎́́́̅́̿ḁ̸̗͕͓͍̦̩̮̙̟̩͈͂̾̀̈́̃͊̔̐ͅn̶̛̥͂̿̽͆́́͘ ̸͖̲̖̫̘͉̦̘͐ą̵͈̥̤͍͙͖̣͙͇̩̮̔̌͊̑̽͝ņ̶̝̥̯̩͙̹͖͍̦̣̥̭̞̑̋́̓͝ ̵̡̡̣̭̲̖̲̠̗̪͇̪͚̮̃͋̏̎̎̚a̴̩͕̮̱̰͛̄g̴̘̣̲͙̫̪̭͌͋ͅͅé̴̡̱͔̱̼̮̞̍̐̏̊̍͒ͅͅ.̶̧͉̳̞̰̹͖͕̈̆͐̈́ͅ ̵̨͉̙̮͓͆̔̀́̂̒̅̒̂̾̃B̵̢̙̹͍͉̩̗̗͎̦̤̙̪̓̎̂̈́͊̓̈̈̍̿͆̋̃ͅr̸͔̣͇͎͔̞̦̩̣̀ͅi̶̧̘̝̙̺̩͒̕͝ň̷̡̧͔̟̻̝͖̯͔̖̱͚̲̤͜g̴̨̨͍̮̲̖͔͈͕͛͂͑̓̄̿͋̉̿͊̂̓̒̐͝ͅ ̴̛̬̦̲̠̜̯͙͉̣͚̖̽̈͒̊͌͌͊͑t̵̛͇͔̣͚͙̙̩͎̰͓̯̖̿͐̓̓̑͛͛̉̂͘͝ơ̵̡͓̣̫̬̫̘̭͕͈͚̥̌̃̔̑̈́͝ ̷̮̯̼̘͕͙̺͖̼̰̺̋͛͜m̷̧̨͈̦̫̮͍̣̩̰̩͔͈̌͆̑̉̿̄̐̍̓e̵̼̬̫̺̐̌̓̃̿̔͗̔̏ ̸̡̱̻̜̩͇̘͓̤̭̰̮͔̐̏͆̈̄ͅm̵̺̯̲͓̰͈͂͆́̀̌̋͒͆͝ẙ̶͈̪̠͇̣̲̫͕̭̰͂͜ ̵̨̧̜̼̖͖̣̞̩̣͒̌̀̒̾͛̿̿̓͂͜͜͝͠ͅb̵̝̜̞̞̳̙̿́̀͌̑͊̒̒e̵̢͇͇̪̤͛̈̈́̆͐̄̏̇̀̄̾͘͘͜͝ļ̶̲̟̺̣̱̻̯̟͎̻͇̼̻̓́͊̍̈́͂̑̐̆̉l̸̢̺̪͔̮̖͈̞̟͗͂̍͗̄̌͐̈́̀̈͛̽͘͠͝ ̷̡̢͉̞̙̳͔̻͔̲̪̗̻͒̆͛̒͆͑̄̌̀̑̈́͆͘a̵̧̛̩͇̎̏́̽̈́̔̌̌̂͌͝͠n̶̩̩̾͌̕̕͝d̶̡̫̫̦̗̗̎̋ͅ ̷̧̛͈̥̖͉͎̹̓̓̊͂Ḭ̴̣͕̪̥̓̄̓̏̈́̑͐̾̔̐̎̈̀̇ ̶̬̟̠͎̺̱͔͈̞͖̖̒̏̇̀̔̽͘ͅw̸̹̝̦̼̻̯̝̬̙̱̮̬̺̩͖͗̏́͋ĩ̶̮̂̋̓̐̐̐̄́̚̚͝l̴̨̙͇̱̺̘͒͝l̷̡͕̩̪̬̟̻͕̱͎̰̹̫͉͍̏͛̆̀̆̃̾̂͑̎͘ ̵͚͎͕̆̍m̸͈̮̼̭̠̞̹͉͖̤̦͉̳̙͌͝ą̶̫̘̠̯̖̱̤͔͍̼̱̼͚͇̍͛̔̚͝ḱ̸̖̭̰̻̥͇̭ȩ̵͍͇͇͓͇̹͋̓̈́̈́ ̵̢̞̙̙̫͚͍̾̆̈́͝͝y̶̟͇̖̯̥̗̫̩̳͆̈́̈́͋͝ó̷̦͚̟̈́͗͘ụ̸͇̱̠͎̒̍͊̌͑̌̈́͝ ̴̨̛͓͈̦͈̱̥̓͊͌͛͛̋̀̍̍͝q̴̡̭̳̥̬̺̖̔͗̍̔̾̿͐̀̑̊̉̊͝͝͝ū̸̦ë̵̢̟͈͍̲̹͇͇̳͓̳̳́͗͗̾ę̸͎̻̠̣͆̇̒͋͋̊͊̽̉̓͜͜͠n̴̗͙͔̐̎̊͆̆̃̑̒̔͋̽̆ ̶̨̻̺̫̗̲̭̥̞̥͑͂̀̅̔͂͛̂̆̑͐̆̓̉͝ò̴̹̫̬̦͉̼̪́f̴̧̨͇̩͍͈̖̫̣̘̖͖̑͜ ̵͎̬̮̪̱̘̲̼̯̻͎̹̥̜̿̌a̴̧̢͖̻̺̎̓ ̸̮̖̱͙̿̏̍̌̄̃̽̈́̐c̸̨̡͖͕̠̺̫͈̭̼̮̦̱̥̥͂̈́̈́̒͝h̸̛̜̮̬̲͗̆a̴̧͍̼͕̣̗̬̞͍̯̰̬͚͇̔̈̑̍̏̅ṙ̶͓ṇ̴͖̱̗͍̍̈́̓̒́̒̈́͝ê̴͈̪̗̺͈̕l̸̨͓̬͖͙͖͆͊̔́͌͝ͅ ̴̤̠̟̺̙̃̏͊̒̌͐̌͊͆̌͘͘͘͜k̷̨̭͓͔͈̜̻̞̳̓͊̾̏̅̈́̀͆̌̇͗̕͠ì̶͎n̵̜͔̬̣̲̠̮̯͍̟̹̼̘̔͌͛ģ̷̨̛̛̺̬̱͕͎̙̤͉̖̭̠̩͌͋̀͂͘͘ͅd̴̲̬̺̬̘̾̐̚͝ỏ̴̥͉̬͓̏́͊̃m̴̢̢̭̻̻̼̣̮͚͉̥̬͈̼̪͒́̍̂̄̀̃̚͝.̶̭̓̔͐̓͠"

"How do I know you're not Discord playing another of his pranks or trying to 'teach me another lesson in friendship'?"

Author's Note

The pieces are moving in place. Next chapter New Unicornia surrenders, da Hogz make their appearance and new(or maybe old) allies arrive.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Spot any typos or misspellings? Love the story? Hate the story? Wanna throw shade or pure bane? Leave a comment below.

Special thanks goes out to New_Rebellion for his help in bouncing ideas off of. Go to his profile and show some My Little Pony love.