"Fa-," I choked on the words as I approached the stallion I once called father. I was uncertain about how to refer to him at that moment. My mind still in a haze due to the revelation I had a few moments ago. How would I refer to Duellum, the keeper of war? The father of the body I had forcefully inhabited.

My half-greeting was enough for him to notice my presence. However, he stared out the window as the alarm bells rang violently in the distance. I could care less about the approaching storm. I could care less about the possible damage another wave from those Windigoes could cause. They have been causing trouble for years, and it never came close to doing anything significant to Everlight Castle. All I could care about at that moment was my father's gaze. His gaze was intense and intimidating. His mere presence made my blood run cold within my veins.

I hated it. I despised that fear with a burning passion. For the past four years, I had stared at that same expression and felt safe, happy, serene, and prideful. Now? Now, all I could feel was fear, anxiety, regret, sorrow, and solitude. One moment, that was how long all of it took. That is what it took to destroy what we had been building for four happy years.

Duellum didn't look at me. His stern expression stayed on his face as he turned away from me with a simple order.

"Follow me," Duellum ordered while trotting down the halls.

I didn't answer, but I complied.

Father led me down the halls while I kept some distance between us. I didn't want to force him to stand near my presence. The news was too fresh, and the emotions probably too strong still. Mother appeared down the halls, she had her armor on. The fine piece of Mythril armor with expertly crafted rings and plates fit her in such a way that an untrained eye or someone who didn't know who she was would assume that the armor was purely decorative. Fools are the ones that can't see the many forms that art can take, and those fools fell before her, Bella Arte.

Mother had only used that armor on a few occasions, such as an official meeting with Sors and Faust. And the alarm bells were never enough to have her put it on. I knew something else was happening, without the shadow of a doubt something else was happening to the city. Or, perhaps, it was somewhere nearby? In either case, that didn't matter. All that mattered to me at that point were them.

Looking at me the same way she always had, Mother whispered something into Father's ear before rushing to hug me. Her eyes were filled with tears as she kissed me on the forehead and stroke my mane a few times. Sobbing uncontrollably, mother pressed her hooves against my cheeks to make me look at her.

"Be good, ok?" Mother said softly as her voice cracked. I nodded slowly before getting hugged once more by Mother. Suddenly, she took a deep breath and rushed off, but not before looking over her shoulder at Father. Giving him a nod she moved her mouth without saying a word.

I think I saw her say "I love you," before running away.

Turning back to Father, I watched as his emotionless face followed Mother until she disappeared down the corridor.

"Come," Father said stoically as we rushed through the house.

Lighting strikes, howling winds, strange whistles followed by thunderstrikes and what sounded like fireworks, and ponies shouting started to sound outside of our home. Father had begun to pick up the pace, the building began to shake. Vases toppled down the tables, splattering on the floor as small pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling. The columns shook as cracks crept their way into their bodies.

Fear grew in my heart as the shouts from before abruptly shifted into horrendous screams and sounds of metal clashing. Unconsciously, I forced myself to run head-to-head with Father. That was when he entered our family's vault. I hesitated to enter that place, which I had been forbidden to set hoof in, but Father shoved me inside before using his magic to replace the valuable-looking items inside with weapons and other things that didn't look as valuable.

"Take that saddlebag!" Father ordered while pointing at a black saddlebag with silver buttons.

Obeying him promptly, I brought the bag back in my mouth as father pulled out a sword big enough for him from a stand using his magic.

"Put this on your mane, quickly!" Father said while trying to place the sword inside my mane. The sheath's tip entered my mane before being pushed back with a great deal of force.

"I-I can't," I said meekly as Father huffed and strapped the blade on my back before securing the saddlebag. It felt surprisingly light for its size, however, I still felt its weight cumbering me a bit.

Tapping twice on the panel where he had taken the sword off. Rations, waterskins, and a third bag came out as the stand opened up like a crate. Father quickly shoved the items into the saddlebag before rushing off to the central stand. That stand had his weapon, a sword that, according to him, was a gift from the dragons after he helped keep the war fair between their clans, ultimately creating the title of Dragonlord among them. Ironically, his intervention allowed for peace to settle in.

Father secured it on his back before tapping twice, then once, then trice, and then pressing the stand. A winding sound came from the stand's base as it retracted and opened up to a chest. Father opened the chest and pulled out a common-looking book. He didn't hesitate to fling it into my mane before gesturing me to follow. I complied as we silently crossed the corridors.

The torches and gems illuminating the halls had been extinguished. An eerie cold air filled my lungs as I quietly followed Father. I was afraid, I could hear the sound of a strangely disturbing wind howling across the house. Suddenly, Father stood still and gestured me to stop. I could see him looking around for something, I simply cowered beneath him as the howls slowly grew closer.

"RUN! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!" Father ordered suddenly.

The sudden scream made me freeze as the howls grew loud and I saw them. Gigantic horses made out of wind and snow storming towards us. My legs trembled as my eyes widened and I stopped breathing. Jumping in front of me, Father hit me with a kick to the chest that sent me flying back and forced me to breathe once more. As soon as I impacted against the floor, I rushed through the halls as the sound of my father's screams filled my ears. I could hear them behind me, howling at me as I ran through the halls.

I knew that house like the back of my hoof. But, at that moment, all I could think about was running. The weight of the sword slowed me down and unbalanced me. The items and saddlebag didn't help much either. I tripped almost every turn I took. It must have been a miracle that saved me since I somehow ended up at the porch we used to take off from home. Ignoring all of the steps I had been taught to take off, I leaped over the railings and gained the skies.

The extra weight caused me to lose balance. My wings managed to keep me aloft, but I wasn't as fast. And that was when I saw it, the entire city burning beneath me. Other alicorns locked in battles, horrendous screams echoing all around me.

"DI-IE!" I heard from above me as a pegasus soldier lunged at me with a spear mounted on his side.

I would have died if not for Sors's intervention. As I stood there in shock, Sors intercepted the pegasus with a magical beam. The impact had enough force to send him flying through the roof of my home.

"Where is Duellum?!" Sors inquired as he quickly pulled me closer with his magic. In my panic, I didn't answer. "WHERE IS YOUR FATHER?!" Sors persisted as his eyes turned white, and his voice grew louder.

"I-Inside! He was fighting the Wendigoes!" I stuttered before noticing that Sors was looking behind me.

"Sors! They breached the inner areas. They need to take the path to the mountain." Father said from behind me as another loud sound occurred. This time, however, it wasn't the howl of the wind or the screams of the ponies.

A shining beacon came from the sky as it illuminated us. The clouds from the storm spiraled in the sky opening the way for the warm light to pierce through the battles and smoke to reach us.

"Celestia! Take your sister and stay with Lumen!" Sors ordered as he and Father stood in front of us.

"Lumen! Take them away from here! Just fly as fast as you can! Take them to the mountain plates! And then run! Don't stop at nothing!" Father ordered as he spread his wings casting a shadow over me and the other two fillies that were there with me.

"But, father! I?!"

"Save yourself, son! Please!" Father cried as I saw his eyes tearing up while he glanced at me. "JUST GO!" He cried with his eyes turning into the same sea of white as Sors.

Turning away from him, I looked at the two fillies before pointing at the direction we had to go. The alicorn with a white coat and pink mane nodded before carrying a little blue one away. I did my best to fly away. However, I ended up being slower than the fillies because of the extra weight. Father must have packed enough for the three of us. As I continued my escape, I glanced over my shoulder, only to see my Father and Sors flying directly into the beacon of light. And then, there was a huge explosion that sent me flying towards the fillies at high velocity.

All of us crash-landed into snow at the edge of the mountain plateaus. I ended up hitting my head when we landed, and I am unsure of how long I stayed unconscious. But, I do know this, when I woke up, the two fillies were sitting on the edge looking over a pillar of smoke and fire. I limped towards them as my right front-leg got twisted in the landing. The white one had her wing wrapped around the little blue one. The white one was also about as tall as me.

Looking at the base of the column, I saw the remnants of the castle burning within the smoke as they slid down the mountainside. Our entire lives, quickly disappearing into a pile of rubble and flames down the mountain. And for a good while, the three of us just sat there.

We were kids, what were we supposed to do? Father had told me to run, but, run where? There was no place to run to.

"Tia, when can we go home?" The little one said as the white one simply pulled her in closer. "Where is papa? Tia? Tia? Why are you crying, Tia? Don't cry, Tia! Papa will come for us. He always does!"

There was no response from the older one. She simply turned her back to me and hugged the little one as tightly as she could while sniffing and sobbing. Meanwhile, I looked up at the sky and watched the clouds drift away. It was a clear sky filled with stars, nothing could obstruct the view. Nevertheless, it was a horrible day for it to rain. It was a horrible day for the rain to hit my eyes. And because of all that water pouring into my eyes, all I could see was a blurry mix of blue and silver above my head.

The day they came to our homes, not a single drop of water came from the skies.

Author's Note

OK!

Thank you for reading this! I do appreciate that you took your time to check this story! Please let me know what you thought of it in the comments!

Happy new year!!!