Nugatory Vigil

Chapters

A trifling victory, but a victory nonetheless.
In truth I cannot tell how much time has passed since I sent that letter.
The Rush of life.
Gnawing uncertainty - the birthplace of dread.
You remember our venerable house?
Ruin Has Come To Our Family
Unexpected Visit
Meeting Of The Minds
Awkward Circumstances
Real Estate
A little hope, however desperate, is never without worth.

A trifling victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Reynald was never one to falter at the sight of adversity or unyielding abominations,nontheless he shrieked along with the others at the sight of the being.A hideous mass of fluid flesh taking the form of a heart,hundreds of eyes staring ublinkingly into their very souls.A vaguely humanoid shape was protruding from the mass,baring its sharp fangs at the heroes,it's head adorned with a crown consisting of bone and sinew.

But then something happened.

Something that set each of the mercenaries reeling in horror.

It spoke

Behold the heart of the world! Progenitor of life, Father and Mother, Alpha and Omega! Our creator... and our destroyer.

The heart's voice sounded from inside of their heads,they couldn't escape it no matter what they did.Reynald felt himself drifting closer to his breaking point.He looked back at his friends,seeing the fear in their eyes.He couldn't afford this moment of weakness.They needed him more than ever,they looked at him,expecting answers.And so,he gave them one.

"CHAAAARGE!"-The courageous Crusader yelled at the top of his lungs.And just like that,he saw fear disappear from their eyes,replaced with not hope,not courage,but the burning determination to finish this long and bloody crusade.

They unleashed a torrent of attacks,starting with Reynald himself.He struck the creature in what he thought was it's weak point.His sword went through the flesh like hot knife through butter,opening a bleeding,gaping wound.And yet,the creature didn't even flinch.As soon as his sword left the Heart's body the wound began to slowly close.

A bundle of tentacles rushed from the hole in the creature's body,aiming to stike the Crusader.He tried to dodge at the last second,only to feel them tear into his body.He began to bleed profusely,and the only thing that saved him from inordinate exsanguination was a soothing light coming from up above.

Junia snapped back from the horror that gripped her entire being just when the creature ripped into Reynald.Calling upon the Holy Ligh she recited a verse with more fervor that ever before.
A light was cast into Crusader's body,closing the wound and soothing the mind.The Vestal held her mace up in the air,praying to strike at the creature,to momentarily stun it.A blinding light shone upon the putrid flesh,boiling it at the point of contact.The abomination flinched,glaring with all of it's eyes onto the Vestal.It was about to strike when-

BOOMshhh

A poisonous sack came flying into the heart's face,exploding upon contact.Paracelsus has struck at anopportune moment, and unleashed the most vile concoction unto the thing.The Plague Doctor threw everything she had at it.The Heart reeled in pain as the Blight began to liquefy it's many eyes,turning them into a revolting foul-smelling goo.It began whispering an incantation to break her mind when it's concentration was broken by-

Dismas jumped in front of the Crusader,stabbing the Heart,and getting into position to riposte it's next attack.The Highwayman's left arm began to writhe in pain,changing,melding...

The flesh is fluid, it can be changed, reshaped, remade!

Clenching his teeth,he struck the creature through the mind-twisting pain.

The abomination roared,not in pain,but in anger

You still foolishly consider yourself an entity separate from the whole. I know better. And I. Will. Show you.

It advanced on their position,threatening to consume them whole with it's bubbling flesh.

Paracelsus knew what she had to do."Spare the others, I am ready"-She said,casting last look at her friends,before leaping into the heart,dissapearing from view.

Her fellow mercinaries froze for just a moment,before continuing their assault.It was not long before the creature roared for another sacrifice.
Junia knew what she had to do."I-it's so horrible!B-b-but i will take you with me!".Were her last words before being consumed.
Unleashing a fury of attacks Reynald and Dismas attacked the Heart,paying no mind to their debilitating injuries.As both of them struck the foul creature down with a final,desperate,dart,the dungeon began to crumble all around them.

They heard it speak once more.

"Victory...a hollow and ridiculous notion.

We are born of this thing, made from it. And we will be returned to it, in time.

The great family of man -- a profusion of errant flesh. Multiplying. Swarming. Living. Dying.

Until the stars a-"

They stopped listening to it halfway through.As they faded to black,they looked eachother in the eyes and said:

"On the old road,we found redemption."

In truth I cannot tell how much time has passed since I sent that letter.

Reynald felt his body being stretch impossibly wide,and crushed to bits at the same time.He was blinded by the colorful shapes all around him,as he floated through the abyss.He was in it for a moment,or,perhaps,for centuries.He felt unbearable pain and numbness at the same time.He began wondering if this was his punishment for striking down a being of cosmic power,when he awoke with a gasp.A splitting headache wracked his head,as he heard a familiar male voice yell “Para,Junes,Reynald’s up!”.

Paracelsus woke up on the cold brick floor shuddering from the horrifying experience,that was being consumed by the Heart Of Darkness.She saw hundreds of thousands of maddened minds,heard their unending screams,experienced the suffering of thousands of souls,shared their fate as a small piece of bigger whole.And yet,she opened her eyes.

A moldy ceiling crawling with cobwebs and spiders greeted her,a drop of water imacting her forhead.The Plague Doctor wondered if it was another memory or,perhaps,and fantasy her mind conjured up to escape from the disturbing existance withing the Heart.She dicided to put that theory to the test.

She pincehd herself,”Ow!I felt that!”-she heard herself,and only herself.Was...was she alone?She decided to listen if that was the case.She heard niether screaming,nor the sound of tearing flesh.She definantly didn’t hear the creatures.Not the skeletons,she would’ve heard the ratteling of their bones.She didn’t hear the wretched pigmen,she would smell them before she heard them-

Smell.She rummaged through her bag,finding the right vial, having learned them by touch by now.She took a deep breath and regretted it immideatly,as he jerked upright by the scent.

“Right,ammonia,better that a cup of coffee!”-she exclaimed,before noticing three familiar shapes.

“The others!”-she cried,picking herself up and rushing to the first body,feeling the pulse.She could feel Junia’s pulse,and put the ammonia vial to the girl’s nose.

“AAAHHHH!”-the young Vestal screamed as she jerked upright,eyes wide and watering.

”By the Light,what is this foul smell?!”-she said,to no one in particular,observing her surroundings-”And where the hell am I!”.

”Your guess is as good as mine,Junia,but i can assure you,it’s not the worst place i’ve woken up in.”-a familiar voice declared jokingly.

“Para!I’m so glad you’re okay!You are okay,right?Ohholyflameareyoualrightissomethingbotheringyouthatheartwashorribleletme-”-her blabbering was cut short by a loud groan coming from her left.

Dismas woke up feeling lightheaded and rather cold.He produced an audible groan before a wave of familiar warmth filled him.

“Dismas,don’t move you are very hurt!”-the Vestal yelled with concern clear in her voice-”I can keep you stable for some time,but we must stop the bleeding!”

“I’ll see to that”-The Doctor stated with sympathetic sigh.She took off his jacket,revealing a bloodied right hand.

”Well,you’ve suffered a blow,didn’t you?I’ll patch you up,but please,do try to jump away from attacks,not into them.”-she remarked,bandaging his wound.

”If i knew you’d be this snarky,i would’ve stayed dead.”-the Highwayman retorted venomously,he’d bet all of his gold she was smirking behind that bird mask of her’s.

“I can make your wish come true,buttercup~”

“Oh.stop it you two!This is no time for bickering!We still don’t know if Reynald is-”

“REYNALD!”-Dismas jumped to his feet just as the doctor finished bandaging him-”Where is he?Did any of you see him?”-he said,before noticing the unconscious crusader a few meters away from him.

He rushed to feel the holy man’s pulse,and was satisfied,when he felt his heartbeat.Despite being alive the man was still unresponsive.Paracelsus rushed over to the crusader’s side,putting a flask of ammonia to his nose.

“Strange...He’s not responsive.Your foul mixture always wakes people up!”- stated the Vestal,concen clear in her voice.

“So...What do we do now?”-she continued

“We probably have enough wood to start a campfire...I’d say we stay still for a bit,see if the big guy wakes up,and them get our sorry asses out of this place”-Dismas shared his plan with his two accomplices.

“We do need a little break before moving out,i feel so utterly exhausted”-Junia agreed.

“I feel kinda sore,plus i need to organize my medicines for easier access”-concured Para.

“It’s settled then.I will stay up to guard our party from any intruders,better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah,suuure our party,you definently won’t watch over Reynald all ni-”-but before she could finish,Paracelsus felt Junia elbow her in the ribs.

“Oh shush you!Dismas volunteered to keep guard,don’t be so harsh on him!”-Junia reprimanded her friend.

“Oh come on i was joking!”-the Plague doctor was gathering rocks for their campfire.

“It’s nothing serious,we’re still friends,right Dismas?”-she placed the rocks in a circle formation.

“Sure,nothing serious!But the next time you see a shiny new trinket,keep it close,okay?These things are expensive,if I find the right client,that is”-he grinned,arranging the pile of wood within the circle.

Twilight woke up feeling very tired.Even though she went to sleep extra early yesterday,to ensure healthy 10 hours of sleep she still felt drowsy.Today was going to be a very stressful day for the young alicorn.Not because it was the day of Summer Sun Celebration,the event itself was gong to be held in Manehattan,so she wasn’t the one doing all the planning.Not because she’d be spending all day with her friends,she did that all the time,after all!The reason for her worrying laid on top of the nightstand near the bed.It was a simple-looking envelope with a red stamp,depicting a semicircle crossed with several black notches.

When she returned home after the whole “Tree of Harmony” debaucle a few days ago she was already tense.With the elements gone,what will stop Discord from unleashing his chaos upon Equestria,consequence-free?Sure,Fluttershy was his friend,and draconequus seemed to care about their friendship dearly,willing to help them clean the town...And yet,there was a small part of her that was unsure of his intentions.The lavender pony put that thought to the back of her mind,trying to distract herself from it when she noticide a small envelope nailed to the door of the Golden Oak library.
“Why would anypony deliver the letter in such a crude way?”-she frowned before picking it up with an aura of purple magic.She was surprised at how taxing the action was on for her.

“It feels like i’m holding a small rock,not a piece of paper.Could it be enchanted?”-she mused,opening the door and placing the strange mail on the table.Entering her library the mare picked up a good dozen of books on the subject of spells and enchantmets.She spent a few hours going through them,finding a few weigh-enchancing spells,that were mainly used to anchor something in place,be it ships sailing through the oceans,or a tent on a stormy night.She scanned the letter for any kind of magic,and was surprised to not find any weight-enchancing spells.

She was,however,stunned when she found something worse.The letter dripped with arcane magic,and not just any arcane magic,it felt...old.Ancient,even.She tried her best to descipher if it was enchanted with any arcane spells she knew of,and found nothing.By all means,it was as normal as any other letter,barring the weight and arcane magic shenanigans.And despite the letter’s wierdness she was as curious as ever.The pony opened the letter,thinking that whatever it was,she probably faced worse.After all,her friends were not far away,if something happened,she could always call them to her aid and they’d figure it out!

The lavender librarian opened the envelope,waiting for a few moments to see if anything would happen.When nothing did she let out a sigh of relief,and stated reading the letter.Her relief was short-lived when she saw what it contained.It was splatterd with,what seemed to be,blood.The wrighting itself was incomprehencible,with what little she could descern speaking about disgusting monsters,a manor,and the catacombs beneath it.Her eyes darted to the only legible sentence at the bottom of the letter.

“A moment of respite. A chance to steel oneself against the coming horrors.Be ready.Tomorrow.”

She stared at the letter in shock.

“Wh-what?Respite...Coming horrors?What could it mean?”.Her eyes went wide at the word tomorrow.

“Spike!Can you please come here?I need to send a letter,it’s really important!”-the alicorn called her assistant-”I have to alert the pri-”-she stopped at the word.

“The Princesses...Could it be another test?”-the mare thought hard about it.Even with the arcane magic,it was still well within Celestia’s or Luna’s abilities to enchant and send that letter.But what about the manor?And the catacombs?

“AH!”-she gasped at the realisation.”Castle of the Two Sisters!Of course!They want me to go and look for something there!”-she was happy about the opportunity to explore a new place,and at the request of her Mentor and her sister,no less!She still had questions about the blood,and the writing,but she wrote it off as a test of her courage,her determination!The blood was probably fake,and it doesen’t take a genius to write random gibberish.

A little dragon stumbled out of the kitchen,wearing a cute pink apron.He grumbled for a few seconds before facing Twilight,colorful crumbles of crystal visible in the corners of his mouth.

“I’m ready Twi!What do want me to write?”-the dragon asked,taking a piece of paper with a quill and an inkwell out of a near drawer.

Twilight pused before replying -”I`ll write the letters myself,Spike,i just need you to send them to each of my friends.”

Spike arched an eyebrow -”So...Can i go back to making dinner?”-he questioned.

“Of course Spike,sorry for bothering you.”-she smile sheepishly

“There’s one thing i want to ask for”-the little dragon asked-”can i deliver the letter to rarity personally?”

“Sure you can Spike,you can also tell her to prepare a few saddlebags,can you do that for me?”

“Yeah,i’ll do that.Why do you need the saddlebags anyway?And these emergency letters...”-the little dragon put two and two together-”Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes Spike,we’re going to the Castle of The Two Sisters tomorrow!”-Twilight declared.

“Are you...Going to be there for long?”-Spike inquired,a little saddened that his mother figure was going away so soon.

“Don’t worry,it won’t take more than a day.We’ll probably be back by tomorrow’s evening!”-she said,hugging the downcast dragon,who hugged her back.

“If you say so...I guess i’ll go back to making dinner,call me when you need me Twi!”-her little assistant said as he made his way to the kitchen.

Twilight sighed and began writing the letters.

After recalling the events of the evening Twilight got out of the bed,and went with her usual morning routine.

She met her friends on the edge of the Everfree forest,near Fluttershy’s cottage around ten in the morning.When the pleasantries were over she explained her plan.

“Okay girls,as i’ve said in the letter,we get to the castle and try to explore the catacombs beneath it.Stay close to eachother,don’t wander away,the Everfree is still dangerous.”-she warned her friends,before looking at Fluttershy,who was even quieter than usual-”I doubt Discord will make those vines disappear,even if we ask him nicely,no offence,Fluttershy.”

“None taken...”-replied the yellow mare.

“So,have any of you girls noticed anything strange yesterday?Apart from the whole Tree of Harmony fiasko.”-Twilight asked.
Everypony raised their eyebrows,before repying.

“Can’t say ah had,sugarcube”-replied Applejack-”Ah spent the rest of mah day in the orchad,those dang vines almost got to it!”

“Didn’t see anything wierd from up above”-Rainbow said-”Although i was pretty preoccupied with being awesome”-she boasted-”And arranging the clouds above Ponyville.That forest screwd with our weather scedule!”

“I’ve been helping the Cakes,the whole day!They were so worried about the whole situation,they needed my help to finish their order!”-Pinkie Pie said gleefuly,jumping in place.

“It took me the entire day to clean up the whole boutique,those vines made such a mess!”-Rarity cried dramtically,putting a hoof above her head and closing her eyes-”If I step on one more thorn,I’m going to scream.”

“I...actually have something to share something with you girls...”-she almost whispered-”It’s probably nothing,but...”
“Sure thing Fluttershy”-Rainbow Dash interfered-”We’re all ears!”-she exclaimed.

“Please dear,pardon Rainbow for her rudeness,but yes,we’re listening.”-Rarity said,casting an annoyed glance at the rainbow pony,who thought she did nothing wrong.

“Uhm... So,after Discord finished cleaning yesterday,I went to my cottage,but before i entering it,i heard some rustling in the nearby bushes.”-she explained-”I thought it was an animal,so I decided to check on it.”-her face became a little pale,and she spoke quietly as she continued-”I saw four creatures,hiding in the bush.One of them had a long mask,that reminded me of a bird’s beak,it wore a long robe,and had a few bags on itself.The other wore some armor,similar to the royal guard’s,it’s face was covered with a helmet,so i couldn’t see it’s face.The third wore a long coat,and a mask on his face,the only thing i saw,were his brown eyes”-she gulped-”he...he was glaring at me with suspicion,but i didn’t do nothing!”-she cried-”The last of them was a mare,from what i could gather.She looked young,but tired,her blue eyes glanced at me before notifying the others.When they noticed me they stood high on their back legs,and the mare approched me.”

Fluttershy’s friends looked shocked,ready to bombard her with questions,Twilight initiating said bombardment,but they let Fluttershy finish her story.

“I was shocked,so i can’t remember the details,but i remember them asking about a town,a tavern,and a hospital.I pointed towards Ponyvile,and...f-fainted...When i woke up,i was in my cottage.”-she concluded,embarassed of her cowardice.
Rainbow was the first one to ask.

“Are you alright?They didn’t hurt you,did they?I’m gonna kick their flanks so hard if they did!”-she said,looking ready to buck something.

“N..-no,they didn’t”-Fluttershy replied.
“So,they’re probably in the town right now,doin’ whatever,while we’re standing and chattin’!”-Applejack interfered-”So what are we waitin’ for?!We need to find them!Right now!”

And just like that,they started running towards Ponyville.

The Rush of life.

The four adventurers sat at a round table,helmets and masks off,waiting for their food and cider.

"While we wait for our order to arrive i'd like to discuss our provisions.We won't last long on salads and omlets,you know."-Reynald broke the silence.

"No problem,there's a forest nearby.We should be able to find some game there.I take at least one of you knows how to skin an animal?"-Dismas replied,glancing an Paracelsus.

"You offend me sir Dismas!"-she huffed in dismay-"You know better than to accuse me of such ineptitude!I doubt the townsfolk will approve of our dietary choices though."-she noted.

"That's too bad then.I'm not gonna eat grass and flowers because of some multicolor horses."-Dismas stated.

"We could always make a fire on the outskirts of the forest,and prepare our meals there."-Junia proposed.

"With that settled,our next issue is with funds.That last dungeon gave us quite the haul,but i doubt it will last long."-Reynald continued.

"Even if we conserve as much as possible,we still need to pay for treatment at the local sanitarium,we need to eat and a place to sleep in.We have to find a source of income."-he concluded.

"We don't need to sleep *right now*"-Julia commented-"I don't know about you,but i feel pretty rested from our little camping stop."-everyone nodded in agreement.

"I completly agree with Reynald on the sanitarium though,it would be nice to see a medical professional,no offence Para."-she finished.

"None taken.I think i have come up with a solution to our monetary problem."-she said with a sly grin.

"We're listening."-Reynald replied.

Para gestured for the group to get closer.

"If these ponies are at least partly as gullible and ipressionate as that yellow one,we can convince them the dungeons are of huge danger,and we're the only one's who can protect them."-she whispered conspiratorially.

"We may need to exaggerate the danger,but still,it's a great way to keep getting money,while doing what we do best-exploring the dungeons.From what we've seen,these are way tamer that those back home."-she continued.

"We weren't too deep though.It took us,like,three rooms to reach the exit.I think it's safe to assume that,the deeper we go,the harder the dungeons will become.The first few expeditions back at the Hamlet were easy too.And while i do think we can easily scam them out of some money,i'm afraid we'll need some help after awhile"-Dismas said.

"I propose the following:We find a local authority figure,explain the situation to them without too much exaggeration,and offer our services.If they accept,we get paid *and* get all the loot for ourselves.If they decline,we can still make trips to the ruins,but without their approval."-Reynald stated.

"It's a win-win situation."-he concluded.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It is settled then.As soon as we're sober,we find an authority figure,explain the situation and hope for the best."-Reynald concluded.

"But before all that,the cider is here!"-Junia proclaimed loudly,seeing the waiter approach their table with a stand containing a barrel with a tap.

"That's all we have for now,i'm afraid."-he apologised-"But we are getting a new shipment of cider in a few days,i've reserved a barrel just for you!"

"Thank you very much,Mr..."-Junia thanked him,but stumbeled on his name.

"Midnight Hooves,and no need to thank me,it's my job after all!"-the stallion chuckled.

"Your omlette and salat will be ready in a minuite."-he said before turning to serve other guests.

The cider was surprisingly good.It was stronger than the beer back at the Hamlet,and it tasted better too.

"Bugger me,this is the best thing if drank in a long while!"-Dismas exclaimed,downing another pint of cider.

"Agreed,even the communion wine doesen't come anywhere near this!"-Junia concured.

"I just wish there was a working brothel here..."-she muttered to herself.

Para stared at her friend with a wild grin.

"D-did i say that out loud"-the flustered Vestal said,blush spredding across her cheeks.

"Yep,and if you *really* need company,you can always ask me,i know a few tricks that can help you blow off some steam~"-Para was interrupted by a slap to the back of the head.

"Come on,leave the girl alone,or at least get a room.We came here to unwind after all!"-Reynald chuckled,embarassing the Vestal even further with his comment.

To Junia's delight Midnight arrived with their food.

"I see you are having fun!I wish you an exiting evening,if you have any complaints or suggestions,i am ready to listen."-he smiled,putting a pencil in his mouth,and a small notebook in his hoof.

"Everything was fine,but we found the lack of a brot-"-Paracelsus was tackled to the floor by a very flustered Junia.

"EVERYTHING WAS FINE THANK YOU."-she yelled with a very red face before quietly adding.

"D-do you have a room to spare?".The waiter was startled by the unexpected action,but replied.

"I'm afraid we don't.Anything else?"-he questioned the two men.

"Nothing,i hope you can excuse our friend's behavior,she's usually much calmer."-Reynald apologised.

"No worries,such is to be expected when somepony orders cider.I am more amazed at how is she still standing,anypony else would've been out cold by now..."-he mused as Junia helped the target of her assault get up.

"If that is all,i may excuse myself,i have other guests to attend to."-the staliiomn waved a goodbye and left.

Many hours passed by just eating and drinking.When everyone was satiated,it was story time.

"Man,i wish William was here,his hound would help us big time with finding some game."-Dismas broke the silence.

"His dog is also pretty cute,such a good girl!"-Junia replied.

"Have i ever told you about that one time he save our asses and almost died?"-Reynald said.

Everyone shook their heads.

Reynald was leading the expedition.This time their target was the horrible Swine King.This foul abomination has long since plagued the warrens with it's presense,and so the Heir ordered to end it's life.He,along with Alhazred,their resident occultist,a houndmaster by the name of William,and Jingles the Jester have made their way to the hideous being,and found themselfs trying to kill it.

The creature itself was a revolting mass of flesh.It's guts fused to the floor,chunks of flesh were missing from it's arms,bones protruding from it's back.A metal crown adorned it's head,a pulsating brain poking out of the ring of the crown.

The King swung his giant meat cleaver as soon as he heard a squeal.His aim was abysmal,but his attacks shook the ground with each strike.A small swine was standing behind the King,coordinating it's attacks.Laika sank her teeth into the putrid flesh,ripping it out before retreating to her master's side.Jingles played an inspiring tune,before slashing at the creature with his sickle,leaving a large bleeding gash in the creature,before retreating to dodge a strike.The thing was blind,relying on the little one to coordinate it's moves.The damn thing was well protected though,the Swine Kng guarded it well.They resorted to killing it first and dealing with the little bugger later.They were tearing it apart,with only minor wounds to show for it, when the cleaver came crashing down on the houndmaster.

The king lifted his cleaver,and the man went up with it.Reynald rushed to the swine while it was distracted and plunged his sword into it's brain,killing it.The King wailed one last time,and dropped the cleaver to the ground.While Jingles dealt with the smaller swine,Alhazred rushed to the injured man,kneeling next to him,waving Reynald to come closer.

The crusader winced at the sight of the injury.William's shoulder was split open,bleeding profusely.He could see the muscles and bone through the broken wound.Even with medical attention,his chances of survival were astronomical.

"If you want our friend to live,place these candles around him and light them."-the occultist instructed.

Reynald did as he was told.The hound was sitting next to her wounded master,whining.

Alhazred began chanting something unontelligible while tracing the wound with his hand.

The bleeding stopped as the flesh became mallable like clay.Alhazred began guiding the flesh towards itself,closing the wound.

"When he finished,William was unconscious,but alive."-Reynald concluded.

"Wow,Alhazred is really good at what he does!I don't think i would've been able to heal William fast enough..."-Junia replied.

"That guy is still creepy though.The things he mumbles in his sleep are...*Unnerving* to say the least,and that means something coming from me!"-Para said ,shuddering from the thought.

Dismas raised an eyebrow."And why do you know what he says in his sleep?"-he inquired.

"He fell asleep during one of our camps,and i decided to listen,maybe he'd say something interesting or incriminating,you know?Big mistake."-she replied.

"I'd say we head out to find an authority figure of this little town.Just don't forget to pay our bill."-Reynald interjected,stopping any further discussion of Para's eavesdropping.

The group devided their 1500 bits bill among eachother,and Junia went to the bartender to pay.

"Can you point me to the direction of the town's mayor or government representative?"-she inquired politely after paying.

"There's Mayor Mare,but if you want something important to be done,talk to Twilight Sparkle.She's our local librarian and the personal student of Princess Celestia.She lives it the town's library.It's the big tree,you won't miss it."-he replied.

Junia thanked the stallion and rejoined her friends.The lack of headgear on Reynald and Paracelsus head's confused her,but she didn't comment on it.

"I asked the bartender about who we need to find,and he pointed me to one "Twilight Sparkle".Apparently she's a big deal,being a student of some monarch and the town's librarian.We need to go to that big tree we passed on our way here."-she said to her companions.

"I don't think we should be messing with royalty yet,she could kill us with a single ord-"-Dismas was interrupted by a loud voice.

"DON'T MOVE A HOOF,YA HEATHENS!"-Applejack yelled,spotting the group.

Mane six were making their way through town,when they noticed a commotion near the Golden Oak library,and decided to investigate.They saw a large group of ponies,around ten of them,trying to get into the building.Some of them seemed so determined to get in,they were ready to kick down the door.

"What is going on in here!Why are you trying to break into my house"-Twilight yelled,startling a few ponies.

"All we wanted is to talk to you,ÿour highness,but your assistant said you were off,so we hoped to wait for your arrival in the library!Forgive our rudeness!"-one stallion replied.

Twilight was taken aback at the mention of her title,but still replied."You are forgiven,but there's no need for formalities,you can keep calling me Twilight Sparkle.Now,what was so important as to warrant a break-in?"-she questioned,fearing she already knew the answer.

"It all started yesterday,when a group of strange creature came to our town while we were busy cleaning up the mess from the Everfree."-he explained.

"It was around 10 in the evening,so most of us were too tired to care,a lot of wierd stuff happens in Ponyville,so as long as they weren't harming anypony most let it slide.I myself was at the Cafe Hay at the time,resting after a day of hard work."

"They were quite loud"-he continued-"but they looked very tired,so i assumed they deserved some time to rest and blow off some steam."

"The reason for why i'm here is the following:when they were making the order,they tried to order MEAT!"

Everyone except Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gasped.

"This doesn't mean anything!You do know that griffons eat meat too,and they can live with ponies,no problem!"-Rainbow interjected,to her surprise.

"A-as far as we know,there are trees in the crystal empire that grow a crystal substance that's very close to real meat,that's how meat-eating species live alongside ponies in Equestria."-Fluttershy added.

"If only that.Later that night i tried to eavesdrop on their conversation,on the occasion they were up to something."-he replied.

"That's not a nice thing to do,but please continue."-Twilight scolded the earth pony.

"They were discussing their provisions.That salads won't last them long,and if they won't get meat,they'll...they'll go to the everfree and hunt the animals there!"

It was Fluttershy's turn to gasp.

"They talked about it so nonchalauntly...Like it's a normal thing to do!"-he exclaimed,getting a few approving shouts from the crowd.

"And you tried to break into Twilight's home because of such trivial thing?While they sound...crude,we must give them the benefit of the doubt!"-Rarity said.

"I'm with Rarity on this one!They may eat meat,but i knew of a certain griffon who also eats meat,and she was super-duper fun!Her name was Gilda and...Okay,maybe that's not a very good example,but dragons eat meat,and Spike's a dragon!You are not afraid of him,are you?"-Pinkie chimed in,bobbing in place as she talked.

"Don't worry about them,we're currently trying to fix the situation!I assume they're still at the cafe,right?"-Twilight inquired.

"Y-yes,as far as i know..."

"We'll be off then.Don't stress yourself over this!"-she said before rinning towards the cafe with the rest of the mane 6.

"Ah am still not sure about giving these fellas the benefit of the doubt..."-Applejack muttered to herself.

The lavender alicorn was out of breath by the time she and her friends got to Cafe Hay.She *really* needed to lay off of those hayburgers.While undoubtedly delicious,they were certainly bad for her figure and health.

She finally remembered why she was there when she heard Applejack yell,and turned to look at the entrance of Cafe Hay.There,just a few meters away from the door stood four figures,with a look of surprise and amusement clear on their faces.

The first figure wore what seemed to be a knight's armor,with a leather-looking chestpiece,a cross stitched to it,and a belt on it's waist.It's mane was short and dark,and it's eyes were green.It looked over the mares with an evaluating gaze.It's hand was placed on the hilt of its sword that was holstered on the creature's waist.

The second one wore a black longcoat with fur adorning the creature's neck.It looked the most agitated out of all of them,ready to jump at the slightest provocation.It's brown eyes darted frantically,trying to predict where the attack will come from.In its right hand was a very sharp-looking dagger.

The third one was the polar opposite of the second.Its blue eyes stared with a burning interest at each mare surrounding them,but it's face was stoic as it fixed its dark hair nochalauntly.It wore a coat that covered its whole body,with what seemed to be a medicine bag strapped to its waist.Right next to a wierd-looking wavey knife.

The last one was smiling wide at the sight of the ponies.Its brown eyes were full of excitment as it stared at the mares in amazement.It wore a brown battle dress,with a chestplate covering its shoulders.Its hood has fallen,revealing a set of long blonde hair.It carried mace in its left hand,which was lowered to the ground,and a book in its right one.

"They were ready for us... it is a trap!"-the second figure screamed to the others in a panicked voice.If Twilight's judgement was correct,he was a male.That meant the first one must be male too.

"Don't be so quick to judge Dismas,we weren't exactly inconspicuous."-the blonde replied.Just as Twilight suspected,the voice was female.That meant the third one was also female.

"I have to agree with Junia here,this town looks quite small,the rumors spread fast."-the blue-eyed figure said.

"Bullshit!People don't send six brigands to investigate a rumor!"-he turned to face the ponies,and his eyes focused on something,or rather somepony.

"The yellow one is here too!I told you we should've stayed away from her,but no,Junia just *had* to ask for directions.I can't believe i was stupid enough to think she wouldn't come back with reinforcements."

Twilight remembered Fluttershy's story,before she heard Rarity's voice.

"I will not stand being called a brigand by such ruffan!Have you looked in the mirror lately?Talk about being a hypocrite!"

"Yeah!And don't you dare accuse Fluttershy of anything,we're her friends,of course she told us about it!"-Rainbow Dash replied,glaring daggers at the man.

"Now,now,there's no need for further hostilities,how about we all calm down and talk it out?"-Twilight interrupted,taking a few steps towards the man.She stopped when the man pointed a wierd elongated object to her.

"That's about close enough, thank you."-he threatened.Twilight was about to ask what that object was,when a lasso yanked it out of the man's hand.

"Don't you dare threaten mah friends!"-Applejack roared,striking with her lasso once more,trying to tangle the man.

This time however,he was ready for it.With a swift strike,he slashed the lasso and rushed to grab the lost object.

Before he could reach it however,he was engulfed in a purple aura, and was levitated into the air.Twilight noticed the same wierd heavyness she felt when picking up the letter.The purole alicorn could barely hold him with her magic,and he wasn't doing her any favours with his thrashing and flailing.

"LET ME GO YOU CURSED HORSE!I wish to at least DIE like a man."-he screamed.

"By the light Dismas,we can talk it out if you just calm down!"-Reynald interjected,looking at him sternly.

"I wil,but on one condition."-he sighed,before stopping his flailing,and looking Reynald in the eyes.

"When we die i reserve the right to say *i told you so*."

"Deal."-Reynald said with a chuckle.

"Alright,now,since you calmed down i will let you go,do you promice not to act out again?"-Twilight looked at Dismas sternly.

"Yeah,sure,i promise not to stab you,unhand me this instant!"-he spat out.

Twilight let him fall to the ground as she took a step back.

"Now,i'm going to pick up my dagger and pistol,would you be so kind as to not suspend me in the air with your witchcraft?"-he questioned mockingly.

"Just don't try anything funny,and i won't kick your flank,it's *that* easy!"-Rainbow Dash said as he picked up his equipment and moved closer to his friends.

"You?Kicking my... flank?That's almost funny.HAve you ever considered being a Jester?You already look the part..."-he retorted.

"Oh,you're gonna get it now!"-Rainbow said before being interrupted by a loud scream.

"Stop this bickering at once!Rainbow,you should know better than to provoke a cornered animal!"-Fluttershy said,surprising everypony,including herself.Rainbow Dash frowned a little and lowered her had,muttering something resembling an apology.

"Applejack!They have done *nothing* to deserve such treatment!You know we should give them the benifit of a doubt!".Applejack covered her face with her hat.

Fluttershy turned to glare at Dismas."And you Mister!I don't know what happend to warrant such a responce,but this is no wasy to talk to somepony you don't know!I'll gladly listen to anything you have to say,if you'd be more polite and respectful!"

"Come at me again and I will split your gullet."-Dismas muttered,before positioning himself behind Reynald.

"Don't worry,he didn't really mean it.He is under a lot of stress,he's usually much more approachable!"-Junia tried to diffuse the situation.

"Now,if you forgive Dismas for his outburst,we are more than willing to talk."-Reynald continued.

"We're looking for one Twilight Sparkle,do you know her?"-Paracelsus added.

"Y-yes,that's me."-Twilight stuttered,shocked at the man's comment.

"Oh,splendind!We have some important information we're willing to share with you.I suggest we move somewhere more...private."-the Plague Doctor continued.

"Follow me to the library.I am trusting your friend not to act on his threat though."-she said after a moment of hesitation.

"Don't worry,he can be a little short-tempered,but he knows how to handle himself."-Junia reassured Twilight.

With a little protest from the rest of the mane 6,they made their way to the library.

Dismas was furious.How could they believe these ponies?He expected Junia to believe the mares,but Paracelsus?She should know better.And Reynald?He saw the purple one hold Dismas in the air with her witchcraft like it was nothing!But the one he had felt the most hate towards was the farm pony.How dare she embarass him in front of his friends with such a disarming attack?If the purple one didn't stop him,he would've surely stabbed the orange pony!The realisation hit him like a brick.She was just protecting her friend,and if the Highwayman wasn't so paranoid,he would've noticed that.And his threat towards the yellow pony was completly unwarranted.She just wanted to talk to him,and he threatened to kill her.He knew he had to apologise."Fuck me."-he muttered to himself.

The group was standing inside the library.As soon as everyone was inside,Twilight closed the door with her magic,sat on the floor.Everyone followed her.

"Now that we're away from anypony who might listen in,how about we get to know each other!"-the lavender pony said.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle,and these are my friends..."-she proceeded to introduce the main six.

"Nice to meet all of you."-Reynald started.

"I'm Reynald,i serve the light with my sword,that is to say,i am a warrior."

"Now let me introduce my friends.This is Dismas,but you already know him.Don't pay his outburst no mind,he's much more approachable under normal circumstances."-Dismas wave his hand with an apologetic look.

"This is Paracelsus,she's a professional doctor,and a generally nice person.Just ignore her pranks and there should be no problem."-Paracelsus turned to the ponies,staring at them,professional interest clear on her face.

"And last but not least,Junia.She's our healer,you'd be surprised what a small prayer could do in the heat of battle."-the Vestal was grinning with glee,looking over the ponies.

"Now,we've got some important information for you,so let's get to it.".Reynald started.

"We have come from the catacombs beneath the castle in the nearby forest,exactly how we got into said catacombs is not important right now.In these catacombs we encountered a couple of hostile undeads."

"The Castle of the Two Sisters?"-Twilight interrupted."But it doesen't have any catacombs beneath it!As far as i know,at least...And what do you mean undeads?"

"We were hoping to ask you about the ruins beneath the castle,but it seems you know even less than we do.Four skeletons attacked us,which isn't a problem by its own,but we've already dealth with similar things,and we're seeing a pattern here."

"We've once found ourselfs in a very similar situation,and believe me when i say it wasn't a pretty one."-Dismas continued after Reynald.

"There was a ruined estate,deadly dungeons,a small town,so far-we've seen the same thing here."

"But that is not why we're telling you this."-Dismas stated.

"But why then?What could be so important!"-Rainbow Dash interjected.

"Underneath the manor,in the darkest dungeons rested the worst evil to ever exist,the reason behind the corruption that plagued the lands near the estate.The Heart of Darkness."-Paracelsus continued.

"It was the reason behind every monster that inhabited that diseased land."

"We believe that your town and,perhaps,your entire world is in great danger if our theory is true."-she concluded.

Nopony was impressed by that statement.Rainbow Dash was the first to respond.

"Yeah,big deal.We've had a bunch of things threaten Equestria and we've managed to beat them all!And besides,why are you four here,and not back home helping with that heart thing of yours?"

"Because we've killed it."-Junia responded.The ponies were taken aback by the matter-of-fact statement.

"It wasn't easy,mind you,but we've managed to slay it."

"But why!?Couldn't you at least try to reason with it?Try to find out why it was evil?"-Fluttershy interjected angrily.

"Now listen here,i will not take any shit from a bunch of peace-loving horses.We did what we had to,that thing could not be reasoned with and if it ever got strong enough to escape the dungeons,all of humanity would be doomed.So forgive me for not trying to talk with it."-Dismas retorted.

Everyone was silent for a moment,before Twilight broke the silence.

"S-so you think that something as terrible as that thing is under our castle?But if you managed to... deal with it,and get out of there alive,it must have some kind of weakness!"

"No one said we got out of there alive."-Para responded.

Everypony were shocked.

"B-but ya'll are standin' here right now!Are you saying you aren't...alive?"-Applejack tensed up.

"I would't rule out the possibility,but it certainly didn't feel like dying,more like being torn apart and put back together."-Reynald argued.

"H-how do ya know what it feels like?"-she pressed on.

"Let's just say he had some first-hand experience,and leave it at that."-Dismas cut the line of questioning short.

"Well,if it's as important as you say it is,i'll request and audience with the Princesses immidiately.Spike,i need you to send a letter!"-Twilight called out to her assistant.

"While i do that,i would appreciate it if you stay at the library for now,can you do that?"-she asked.

The four adventurers looked at eachother and nodded.

"There is one problem though."-Para said,holding her index finger in the air.

"And what would that be?"-Twiligh inquired.

"We have reserved a barrel of cider at the local tavern,and they will be getting a new shipment in a few days and we'd be devastated if we had to miss it!"-Para put a hand in front of her face dramatically.

"Ah believe ah can help ya with that.I'll make sure Big Mac delivers a barrel to the library tomorrow."-Applejack answered.

"Are you telling me you can supply us with cider directly?"-Para asked cautiously,eyes glinting.

"Sure ah can,mah family owns the Orchad after a-"-her explanation was cut short by a hug from a plague doctor.

"I love you orange horse."-she said,letting Applejack go after a few seconds.

"Woah,slow down there fellar!It's Applejack,by the way."

While Twilight was preoccupied with writing and sending the letter,the rest of the ponies were busy dealing with the guests.

Junia was conversing with Pinkie,looking happier than ever.The pink pony was explaining how she'd throw a party for each of them,once the whole ordeal was over.At some point Rarity approached Reynald,asking him about the peculear ornament on his armor.He,in turn,asked her about the 'tatoo' on her flank.When she explained the 'cutie marks' to him and mentioned her career as a fashion designer and a seamstress, he asked her about fixing a few tears in his cloth,to which she proposed making entirely new set of dresses,at a later time,of course.Para was still thanking Applejack from the bottom of her heart,praising the cider as the best drink she ever tasted.Applejack,was quite embarrased from the praising,but answered any questions about her orchad and family that the plague doctor occasionally asked.

Dismas,in the meantime was deep in thought.He knew he lashed out ,quite unnecessarily, at the yellow pony,but his pride was preventing him from apologising in front of everyone.He looked around,and after seeing everyone occupied and not paying attention to him,he sighed and headed towards Fluttershy,who was conversing with Rainbow Dash at the time.

"Hey there,Fluttershy,is it?May i have you for a few words?"-he said approaching the two.Rainnbow Dash was glaring daggers at him,while the yellow pony seeme to shrink in place.

"I won't do anything to hurt her,i just want to talk."-he replied to Rainbow's silent accusation.Before she could protest,Fluttershy spoke up.

"It's okay Rainbow,i'll be fine."-she replied to her friend."What did you want to talk about?"-she adressed the highwayman.

"I'd like to talk eye-to-eye,but i doubt it'll be possible."-he shot a glance at Rainbow,who was adamant on not leaving her friend.

Dismas swallowed his pride,but continued.

"I really want to apologise for my actions earlier.I didn't mean what i said,it was kind of stressfull,that is all."

To his surprise,a warm smile appeared on Fluttershy's face.

"I forgive you,from my experience it's never a good idea to pressure a cornered animal,no offence for the comparison."

"None taken,i just hope we could put this behind us."-Just as Dismas said that,Twilight called to attention.

"Everypony,I recieved the answer from the Princesses,they agreed to meet our new friends personally!If we head to the trai station now,we'd be there in 2-3 hours!"-she concluded.

Noone protested,and everyone began making their way to Ponyville train station.

Gnawing uncertainty - the birthplace of dread.

The trek to the staition was a short one, and barring a few suspicious glances from the townsponies it was without incidents.While waiting for the train Dismas decided to strike a conversation.

"So,we're taking the train huh?Sure beats the stagecoach if you ask me,right Reynald?"-The other man let out a loud groan,startling the ponies.

"Don't remind me about the ride or that cursed Caretaker.The only reason i didn't beat some sense into him after we came to the Hamlet was the Heir's order."

"What ever did he do to warrant such a drastic measure?Surely the bumpy ride couldn't have provoked such a cruel responce!"-Rarity questioned.

"That blasted fool crashed the carriage and left us to die on the road to the Hamlet,laughing as he left."-Dismas clarified.

"But why would he do that?That's nothing to laugh about!"-Pinkie Pie protested.

"Because he was crazy,duh.Everyone is to a certain degree if they came to the Hamlet."-Para explained,despite getting a few odd looks from the ponies.

"What?Did i say something wrong?"-she was genuenly confused.

"When you said 'everyone',did you include yourself and your friends in that statement?"-Twilight inquired.

"I would be delusional not to,dear.After all "there can be no bravery without madness"."-she quoted,getting questioning looks from everypony.

"Did you quote somepony just now?"-the lavender pony replied.

"It was something the ancestor used to say,according to some townspeople anyways...".

Twilight was about to question her further,when their train conductor announced that it was time to get aboard.She sighed before promising the plague doctor to get back to the subject.Nonetheless,they boarded the train quickly due to the lack of luggage,and were on their way to Canterlot.During the boarding and the following settling down process,Paracelsus thought hard about what she said.On one hand,telling the ponies about the 'horrors' of the Hamlet might reduce their chances of getting in their good graces,and might potentially ruin her deal with Applejack.On the other hand they were probably getting an interrogation from the 'princesses' of this place,so hiding anything wasn't a good idea.She consulted with Reynald on the subject,who agreed with her wholeheartedly, believing that deception was not going to get them anywhere.

She was admiring the quickly moving landscape,sitting in front of the table with everyone,when a familiar voice got her attention.

"Don't think i've already forgot what you said about the town,care to continue?"-Twilight asked.

"Yeah,about that.The Hamlet is a... quaint little town,to say the least."-she started.

"There's a tavern with all sort of fun activities!There's a bar with a very grumpy bartender,but by the light he can mix a good bloody mary."-Junia continued,giving Para some much needed breathing room.

"There's a lot of tables,so there's always someone gambling.I'm not a big fan of it myself,but whatever floats your boat."

A faint blush appeared on her face as she continued.

"And then there's a brothel,all i can say is that the selection is quite variable,a-and that the prices are reasonable!"-she blurted out,before her face went completely red.

The ponies were no strangers to such concepts,Twilight knew these places existed in the big cities like Manehattan,but it was still akward to talk about it.

Before any more questions could be asked on the sensetive topic,Dismas came to the Vestal's aid.

"There's also the abbey!It has a cloister for meditation,and although it isn't my cup of tea,Reynald over there finds it quite a calming experience."-he gestured towards the crusader,who nodded in responce.

"Then there's the Transept,the only good thing that comes from it in my opinion is the communion wine,although there's plenty of that good stuff in the tavern,as Junia said."

Dismas tensed up before continuing.

"And then there's the Penance Chamber.I remember that one guy,i think Damian was his name,who would refuse to go anywhere but the Penance Chamber.They once had to close it down for a week to clean the place!The ditches were running with blood for the whole week!"-he said with a suspicious amount of fervor in his voice.

"B-but that's horrible!Why would he do that to himself?That's clearly unhealthy!Why didn't you do anything to help him?"-Fluttershy suddenly exclaimed.

"Apart that not being any of my business,he takes pleasure in doing what he does,so who am i to stop him?"-Dismas shrugged.

"Plus,i'm not getting into an arguement with a guy who loves getting the shit kicked out of him.For free,anyways."-he added.

"That's... Cruel of you,and don't get me wrong,i still think thant you should've helped him,but i can kinda understand you,i-in a way... "-Rainbow replied.

Her friends glanced at her with raised eyebrows.

"You can't help somepony get better if they don't want to get better."-she shrugged.

"Those who covet injury,find it in no short supply."-Dismas concluded.

"So,we've been telling you a lot about our town,but we haven't exactly heard much about this Ponyville of yours"-He continued.

"We've seen the tavern,sure,but how's life in the town?We found it in quite the disrepair when we arrived."

"Despite the fact that the town seems quiet,a lot of things happen here.I dare say the town is like a magnet to all kinds of trouble!"-Twilight answered.

"You wouldn't believe some things that happened here!Like that one time a few dozen Pinkie Pie's flooded the town!"

The mercenaries shuddered from the thought.

"Or that one time i accidentally traveled back in time,boy that was a wierd one!"-Twilight was about to continue,when Reynald spoke up.

"That's all well and good,but we were more interestend in the day-to day life and the town's facilities.Is there a hospital?We might need it in the future.Who provides the town with supplies?How dangerous is the neigboring forest?We've encountered some wierd-looking wolves,but i doubt that's all.E.t.c."

"W-well,there is a hospital in Ponyville,but the doctors there never seen... somepony like you before,so i doubt they would be able to carry any complex procedures..."-Twilight mused.

"I can help them out with that,if they're willing to listen.It would be quite an unusual experience,but i'll manage."-Para assured,to which Twilight nodded.

"The Everfree forest is dangerous,and nopony goes there for that reason."-the purple mare continued.

"The weather in the forest refuses to cooperate with the pegasi,and the plant life exist by itself,without pony intervention!The animals there are generally more wild,they could event kill somepony just to eat them!"-she concluded,expecting her unusual friends to be at least worried by her statement.

She was met with an array of perplexed faces staring at her.And then Para laughed.

"AHAHAh,that was a good one Twilight,i can't believe you said it with a straight face!The weather refuses to cooperate,HAH!"-she stopped laughing,when she noticed that Twilight was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You-you can't be serious!Please tell me you that don't believe that weather is controlled by anyone."-she pleaded.

"But it is!Here in Equestria,at least.Rainbow is a weather pony.She,as well as other pegasi,control the weather.They have a scedule that describes when it should rain,when it should be cloudy,e.t.c.Is this not the case from where you come from?"

"That was the stupidest thing i have ever heard in my life.No,of course not!NOONE can control the weather!That's like saying the sun revolves around the planet,and not the other way around!"-Dismas vented.

He was about to feel more dissapointed than he ever felt in his entire life.

"Uh,well,the sun does revolve around Equus.Princess Celestia controls the sun,and Princess Luna controls the moon."-she answered the raving highwayman.

He let out a loud cry of frustration.Before continuing his rant.

"None of this can be real!I'm probably in a straitjacket right now,going on and on about pastel horses,while the nurses try their hardest to jab a morphine needle into my flailing arm!This just can't be real!"-he was interrupted by Para's supportive voice.

"Hey,i've been wondering the same thing ever since we came here,but it's highly unlikely we'd all have the same hallucination.Plus you can feel pain,right?If you can feel pain,that means you are awake!So despite the gravity-defying colorful horses you're still as sane as ever and most importantly alive!"

He sighed,covering his face with his hands and taking a few deep breaths.When his face was once again visible he seemed much calmer,with a fake smile across his face.

"My sanity aside,we've all been quite stressed these past few hours.How about we tell jokes!Who wants to begin?"

The Pink pony started waving her hoof-"Ooh,ooh,Me,me,me!Pick me!"-Dismas nodded.

"Okay,ahem,i had an ant farm,but i had to get rid of it...Because i couldn't find farm equipment small enough!-a few ponies chuckled at the joke.

"That was rookie level joke,listen to this one!"-Dismas replied before clearing his throat.

"How many adventurers does it take to die in a pit?Four.One to bleed out on the spikes, one to have a heart attack from watching their friend die, and two for the Collector!"-his joke got a chuckle or two,but was otherwise met with silence.

"Geez,good job killing the mood."-Rainbow Dash deadpanned.

"Hey,it's not my fault you're such a tough crowd!How about another one?"I'm sorry" and "My bad" means the same thing,unless it's a funeral!"-nopony laughed,but he got his fellow adventurers to chuckle a bit.

"Why are you so cruel?"-Fluttershy asked him unexpectedly.

"I'm not cruel just because i enjoy some gallows humor.Plus sometimes the situation calls for it!Like that one time we got beat up pretty bad in the middle of the expedition to the warrens.We had about ten rooms to go,but everyone were pretty stressed,so we decided to make a camp."-he chuckled a little before continuing.

"Me and Audrey went back and forth for hours on end,joke after joke!It was one blast of a time,and when we were done,we felt way better than before the stop.I'm sure petting William's dog was also helpful,but we did most of the job."-he finished.

"Ya must have some wierd friends to enjoy jokes like these."-Applejack replied.

Silence fell upon the train cart.Everyone were thinking about difference things.Twilight was wondering about how the planet can orbit the sun without any guidance.Rarity was stunned by the vulgarity of the jokes.Pinkie was coming up with jokes that she hoped would impress the highwayman.Fluttershy was disapponted by the indifference Dismas displayed.Rainbow and Applejack were even more distrustful of the group than ever before.

Dismas was contemplating the life choises that led him here.While this place seemed cheerier than the Hamlet,he was worrying about what the ponies would do to them when they find out about what happened back there.And he was sure they will,sooner or later.

Reynald was wondering how stable Dismas was after the dungeon.Usually it takes about a week for anyone to calm down after a stressful expedition,and he sure seemed like he needed that week.He also worried about what was going to happen if the princesses didn't like their answers.He was trying to come up with an emergency escape plan for that exact reason.

Para hoped that whatever was going to happen wouldn't involve a forceful interrogation.The ponies looked nice,but looks could be decieving.She had enough gas grenades in her pouch to throw at them,but she was still unsure how effective they would be.She glanced at Reynald,who seemed to understand what she was thinking about and nodded.

Junia was a little mad at Dismas for his behavior,but was still hoping for the best.She was also exited to meet the rulers of this land,if she was right,they would'be as pleasant as it's residents.

It was around four in the evening when they arrived to Canterlot.To say that the city was grand would be an understatement.It was bigger than any town the heroes ever been in.It's architecture was foreign yet beautiful.It was full of two story and three story buildings that overshadowed the group.The ponies looked far more sophisticated that the residents of Ponyville,and were considerably more worried by the sight of the humans.Most of them yelped and ran away upon seeing the strange group.Some muttered something about calling the royal guard.But the most awe-inspiring thing of all could be seen from anywhere inside the town.Canterlot Castle was towering in the distance.It looked magnificent,but somewhat ominous.

What kind of court intrigues could be going on inside these walls?Dismas hasn't seen them first hand,but Audrey told him all about the life in high society.The grave robber spoke of countless intrigues,treacheries and decietful machinations,hidden behind a facade of affability and politeness.Everyone exuded an aura of civility,while being at each other's throats.

It's safe to say that Dismas was going to stay far away from the castle's walls.

"So,Twilight,where are we going,exactly?I'd assume we're going straight to business."-he questioned as they walked towards the castle.

"Oh,Dismas,right?"-she was a little startled by the sudden question,but replied-"We're going to the Canterlot Castle,of course!Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are going to meet you there and ask a few questions."-Dismas must have gone deathly pale,because Twilight quickly continued.

"But it's fine!They're very kind and understanding,you have nothing to fear!You're in great hooves,the Princesses just want to know more about the danger you've told us about."

Her words did nothing to soothe his mind.He made sure to cover lower part of his face with a handkerchief.

"There's one more thing i'd like to know.It might sound stupid,but...do unicorns ram things with their horn?"-Twilight was surprised by the question,but answered nonetheless.

"Well,in theory we can,but it wouldn't be very effective,seeing as the horns are dull and could be damaged by the action.We mainly use them to concentrate magic and cast spells."-she began slipping into her teaching voice,but Dismas was quick to leave the conversation before she could bore him to death

"I see...Thanks Twilight."-Dismas said,going to the back of the line,with the intent of talking with Reynald.The highwayman gestured Reynald to a nearby alley,and the holy man followed.They entered an alleyway and Dismas made sure they weren't followed by the mane six,before adressing Reynald.

"So,do you have an escape plan?"-he asked the crusader,who was dumbfounded by the question.

"What do you mean?"-he replied.

"Don't lie,Reynald,you're the worst at it."-Dismas shook his head.-"You know what i'm talking about!You always have a way to get us out of a sticky situation,and a 100 coins says we're in one right now!"-he saw Reynald's face darken.

"I did think about a potential escape plan,but i doubt it will be necessary,seeing as the pe-erm,ponies around here aren't exactly hostile."-Reynald aswered honestly.

"Yeah,they're not hostile as long as they don't know about where we've come from,and what we've seen."-Reynald raised an eyebrown,not understanding what Dismas was getting at.

"Don't you get it?These idiots look like they haven't fought for a day in their lives!Imagine what their rulers would do to us when they find out that our bread and butter is killing things!We'd be lucky to get the noose."-he finished sullenly.

"What in the Light are you talking about?If their leaders are as wise as Twilight said,they would like to shield their subjects from harm.And they can't do that, without knowing what to shield them *from*."-Dismas scoffed at the mention of the alicorn's name.

"Oh,i've talked to miss know-it-all too,and you know what i got from it?They're gonna throw us into the dungeons and call for the interrogator the second Sparklebutt and her clique leave the room.Audrey told me all about the aristocracy and high-class society,i know how it goes."

"Dismas,you forget that this place isn't the Hamlet,you don't have to be so paranoid."-Dismas laughed dismissivly at the the proposition.

"Do you trust me,Dismas?"-Reynald said,after a few moments of consideration.

"With every fiber of my being."-the other man answered without hesitation.

"Then you need to calm down,i assure you that these princesses won't hurt you."-Reynald looked the highwayman in the eyes and outstretched his hand towards him.

"Fine,but if these blasted horses send us to the gallows,i reserve the right to say "I told you so"."-Dismas,shook the hand with a small chuckle.

Both of them heard a trotting behind them,and were expecting to see one of the familiar ponies.Instead,they were met with a dark-coated unicorn,holding a small dagger with her magic.She blocked the exit of the alley,trapping them inside.

"Well,well,well,who do we have here!A couple of dumbflanks standing in an corner of a backstreet.Now, if you just give me all of your bits,we could go on our merry ways!There's no need for further conflict!"-the mare was looking at them expectingly.

Dismas was ready to strike the overconfident unicorn,but he was stopped by Reynald's voice.

"It's not worth it,i'll knock her out,and then we can leave this place."

Reynald rushed the unicorn.The hilt of his sword stopped mere centimeters in front of her face.
Reynald was held in place by an aura of blue magic.

"Now,now,no need to be so jumpy!I'm afraid you'll have to pay extra if you want me to let your friend go!I'd like to have that pretty dagger of yours.Oh,and think fast,i have places to be,you know!"

Dismas scoffed at her arrogance as he whipped the pistol,pointed it at her horn,and pulled the trigger.A loud bang echoed through the alley and the unicorn shrieked in pain.When Dismas opened his eyes,Reynald was free and the pony laid on the ground unresponsive,but still breathing.What remained of her horn laid near her,along with blood and what looked like pieces of bone.The broken base of her horn was bleeding profusely.Dismas helped his friend to his feet,and motioned towards the exit of the alley,before crouching near the unicorn to loot her bag.He found a few bits and a small dagger that he took as a trophy.He was about to follow Reynald,when he remembered the holy man's words about not killing the thing.He rolled his eyes and thrown a bandage towards the body,before running out of the alley and towards the group of friends,that has gotten quite far after their departure.

Reynald was waiting for his friend near the exit of the alley,and was on his feet the moment the highwayman's frame ran past him.They slowed down when they caught up to the group,who seemed none the wiser to the men's departure.When they were around ten meters away from everyone else,Reynald finally spoke his mind.

"Have you killed her?"

"I don't think so.Twilight said the horn is made of bone,so she's going to be fine.Her horn is gone though."-he explained.

"Thank you Dismas,we wouldn't want to be known as pony-killers the first day we came here."-the crusader sighed.

"Thank the light they didn't notice our departure."-the highwayman concluded.

Paracelsus noticed the two men and excused herself from the conversation she was having with Applejack.The plague doctor headed for the pair,intent on talking to them.She was pissed off.

"What the hell are you two doing?Did you have to kill someone the first day we came here?Do you know how hard it was to conceal that pistol shot?I had to 'accidentally' drop one of my stun grenades!You have some explaining to do."- she said in a hushed voice.

"It's not our fault we got mugged,plus i didn't kill anyone!I just shot her in the horn and she was out cold."-Dismas retorted.

Paracelsus let out a loud sigh."Thank the light,we'd be in a boatload of trouble if you did.Now,me and Junia asked a few questions here and there while you were gone,and we've got something to say."-she said before casting a glance at the ponies to make sure they didn't eavesedrop.The two men nodded.

"If the ponies are to be believed,the princesses are thousands of years old.These thousands of years are known as the age of Harmony.Practically no wars were started,their nation was flourishing."Paracelsus saw her friend's faces drop."That's not the worst part,the one that controls the sun,Celestia,can send people to the moon,and she sent her own sister,Luna,no less!For a thousand years."

Dismas was paler than marble.He called it.He fucking called it.They would be lucky to get the noose.

"But i thought we'd be getting an audience with the princesses,that would imply there is more than one!"-Reynald reasoned.

"Yes,Luna returned around three years ago,and was "reformed" by our pastel friends here using the "elements of harmony".-she was not surprised by the horrified expression on Dismas's face.

"So they can brainwash things with their magic?Fucking-a."-he concluded.

"But there are good news,they don't have the elements right now!They had to give them up to save the town or something."-she tried to cheer Dismas up.

"The first good news for the past hour,i'd vager you don't have more of these?"-Reynald questioned.

"I'm sorry,but no.Junia will tell you the rest,we wouldn't want the ponies to get suspicious,would we?"-she said before walking up to Junia and whispered something in her ear.Dismas rolled his eyes as the vestal walked up to him."Yes,because that was very inconspicuous."

"I hope you are fine despite that disturbance,but i have some bad news."-she began.

"Figures""-Dismas said.

"Luna not only controls the moon,but she has the ability to see other people's dreams."

"Holy light,we just can't catch a break,can we?"-Reynald sighed wearily.

"The ponies said she only entered the dreams if a nightmare occured,no pun intended,and that she respects other ponie's privacy."

"Uh-huh,sure,i'll believe that a literal god that can enter dreams respects some mortal's privacy.Can you hear how naive it sounds?"-Dismas retorted.

"I'm not stupid,i know how it sounds.That's why i have been whispering a prayer to shield our dreams for the past few minuites.But i still believe we should be cautious around this 'Luna' i don't know how powerful she is."-she concluded.Reynald sighed.

"We sure have a fun night ahead of us."

"How about we don't sleep for some time?"-Dismas's proposal garnered a few questioning looks.

"They have coffee here,plus Para's herbs should keep us up for a few days.This should be enough for us to think."

"That's rather radical,Dismas.It's not healthy to not sleep for long periods of time,but as a last resort..."-Junia mused.

"We'll talk about it later,we're almost here.Let's regroup with Para and the rest of the ponies."-he said after seeing the doors to the Canterlot castle.

Everyone were standing in front of the doors to the throne room.The heroes were sweating something fierce,and while the ponies were holding up better,they were pretty nervous as well.Reynald looked stoic,but a glint of fear was visible in his eyes.Junia was shaking a little,while Paracelsus was looking for something in her bag.When she found that something,she stuffed it in her mouth and swallowed.Dismas took a swing of cider he saved in a flask.He covered as much of his face with a handkerchief as possible.The doors opened,and the group stepped in.

Along the right and left walls of the room stood collumns,carved from what seemed to be marble.Windows were made of stained glass,depicting the six familiar ponies vanquishing various villians,among other things.The decor seemed expensive,and in the middle of the room an elegant red carpet led to two thrones,one of which was empty.On the second one sat a pony,unlike any other Dismas seen since coming to this place.While she had both wings and a horn like Twilight,she was way taller,possibly reaching Dismas's own height.Her mane was wavy,as if a wind a was blowing.Her mane was sparkling in the light.Dismas didn't need to see the crown on her head to know he was looking at a princess.She wasn't as intimidating as he thought,but he was still on edge.Wasn't there supposed to be two of them?He could only see one-

"Princess Celestia,I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving us an audience on such a short notice!"-Twilight said,as the humans stared at the ruler in awe.At this moment Reynald remembered that they were in the presence of a diarch,and promtly bowed.The others followed suit.

"Your letter was quite vague,but from what i understand,your nervous friends have something important to say."-Celestia said,facing the bowing humans.

"Your Majesty,if i may?"-Reynald asked before facing the princess.Celestia was amused by the way he adressed her,but nodded.

"We believe your Kingdom is in great danger.A crumbling castle in the woods of a nearby town could be housing an unfathomable evil,that will spread it's corruption until the whole kingdom is left in ruin!"-for a second,he saw Celestia's face turn to a worried expression,but only for a second,before it returned to her regular kind one.

"What led you to that conclusion?"-she asked looking Reynald in the eyes,which made the holy man falter a little.

"We saw a reanimated carcass in the catacombs beneath the Castle,they were the result of necromancy,we're sure of it."

"I see,necromancy is of dark magic,and is rarely practised in this day and age.But i fail to see how that could lead to the destruction of my kingdom.Are you sure this wasn't the doing of a pony?"-she mused.

"I highly doubt it.From our experience,the level of necromancy on display is that of someone who has been doing it for ages!It's a long story,but we're sure that where there's necromancy,other horrors will follow suit.We've seen things like that back home."-he assured her.

"If i may,your highness?"-Paracelsus spoke up,and continued when she got a nod from the princess.

"I concur to Reynald's statement,that couldn't have been a work of someone...alive.These bones were ancient,and they've been reanimated multiple times,if the damage to them is any indication.PLus they felt...familiar.I've seen the same magic back home."-she said adamantly.

Celestia was surprised by their familiarity with such dark arts.And what did they mean by "back home"?If only she could see what they saw...She could ask Luna for help,couldn't she?

"Please,follow me.We will continue our conversation in a more private milieu."-she said as she got up.

That was one hell of a red flag,Dismas thought.There was no reason for her to take them somewhere,unless...Unless she was making sure there were no witnesses.Just as he predicted.His gut was telling him to get out of there,or attack first,while he still had an element of surprise.But they were outnumbered.Seven on four.He looked at Reynald,who gave him a look that said "stay calm".With a heavy heart,Dismas complied.

"B-but Princess!Why are you doing this?What if they're up to something!"-Rainbow interjected.

"Our friends seem to be a bit shy,i think a more comfortable room and a cup of tea would do wonders for them,it's been a stressful day,hasn't it?"-she turned to face the heroes,and saw something that she hasn't seen in a long,long time.Fear.Every single one of them was afraid of her.The man covering his face with a handkerchief was obvious,his eyes were darting all over the room,and he froze when he noticed that princess was looking at him.One of the two women was shaking,and the one that spoke up earlier was stuffing something in her mouth.Reynald was more confident,but she could see his nervousness.But despite their clear unwillingness to move,they followed her.

The group was making their way through the corridors of Canterlot Castle.And while everyone around her seemed bothered by something,Para was having the time of her life.In hindsight,bringing opioids with her was one of her best ideas.Feeling down during a camp?Take a swing,and you'll feel better in a jiffy.Someone's panicking after reading a particulary unsavory passage?You'll forget all about it in a matter of minutes.Talking to a creature that could possibly send you to the moon?YOu only live once,why not strike up a conversation?That last one sobered her a bit,but not enough that she heard her voice of reason that was screaming at her to shut up.

"So,you come here often?"-she said as she caught up with the princess.

Celestia chuckled before replying-"Yes,quite often.And do you?"

That wasn't what the plague doctor expected,but she rolled with it."Well,seeing as it's my first time coming here,no.But if you show me a library,i might visit this place from time to time."

"You remind me of one of my students,she was quite fond of libraries,and in fact,she still is!"

"You mean Sparklebutt?Yeah,she sure likes her books,i have no idea how she has so many friends,while being so into books..."-she was amused by the small chuckle coming from the princess.

"PLease,don't call Princess Twilight Sparkle such rude names!She is a dear friend of mine,and i suspect she would not be amused,if she heard it...If you do,however,call her that please notify me in advance,i'd like to see her reaction."

Para was about to say something,when a hand yanked her away from the princess.She was met with a stern look from Dismas.She got her into the end of the group before talking to her.

"What the hell are you doing?Do you want to get sent to the moon?Because if you do shit like that one more time,i'm gonna send you there myself."-he ranted.

"Relax Dismas,she was totally cool with it!We were having a blast until you rudely interrupted our talk."-she replied.

"I was enjoy our talk with Paracelsus here,Dismas,was it?"The highwayman's heart sank as he heard the princesses voice.

"Y-yes,your highness?"-he said shakily.

"I don't know why you fear me,but i assure you there's nothing to be afraid of.All i want to do is ask you a few question.We just need to meet my sister."

Dismas was not persuaded by Celestia's words,as the princess opened a nearby door and walked in,motioning the others to follow her.

Author's Note

I'd like to ask all of the people who read this story to write a comment (If it's not to much of a bother,that is).I'd like to get any critisism you have.If you have any ideas you want me to implement,you can also leave them in the comments!

You remember our venerable house?

Reynald always liked listening to Baldwin's stories.The Leper King rarely spoke of his past,but when he did,his stories were long and filled to the brim with details.He spoke of battles from times long past,of victories and faulires,and seldom of celebrations.From what the crusader could gather,Baldwin's kingdom wasn't a big one,and it was quite prosperous,largly thanks to the wise leadership and the hard-workingness of it's citizens.The leper described his living quarters,seeming nostalgic for more comfortable accomodations.He particularly missed the royal bed,made from red wood,silk sheets covering it and pillows made from softest feathers in the land.Not to be outdone,everything in his quarters was guilted,peculear patterns lining the walls.The Leper's tales flooded Reynald head when he entered the royal chambers.He was expecting somethin akin to Baldwin's quarters,and was surprised when he noticed the lack of gilting.The room looked royal,sure,but it was more...subdued than he expected.The sun princess gestured the others to take a seat on the sofa in the center of the room.

"Wait for a moment,i will notify my sister.In the meanwhile,you can help yourself to a cup of tea."-she smiled,opening the door with her magic.Before Dismas could wonder about the whereabouts of said tea,a teapot appeared on the table before him.Once Celestia left the room the highwayman let out a sigh of relief.Light knows what to expect from such a powerful pony.He was about to open his mouth,when he noticed Junia was about to drink from a teacup.Her lips were mere centimeters from the cup,when Dismas slapped it away.

"Are you out of your mind?Light knows what could be in that teapot!What if she mixed us some kind of potion!"

"Oh,stop being so suspicious Dismas!Since we came her,these ponies showed us nothong but compassion,if they wanted to get rid of us,they could've done so many times already!"-Junia protested,insulted by the action.

"And by the way,that was very rude!The tea smelled very nice,and you could've asked me to stop."-she added.

Dismas rolled his eyes.He couldn't believe the vestal sometimes.She went through the same things as the rest of them,and yet she was still so naive!

"Whatever,what i want to discuss, is the chain of events that is going to happen now."-he started.

"My best guess,she will iether interrogate us with her sister,and i'm sure that a questioning from two god-like creatures won't be pleasant,or her sister will simply get the information straight from our head.Since she can get into the dreams of others,it's not a stretch to suppose she can do the same when we are awake."-he concluded.

"Well aren't you nervous about the job interview."-Paracelsus said with a chuckle.She groaned when she was met with a questioning look.

"I don't get why you are so paranoid about it.I bet my ass we're gonna get a job here."-she was,once again,getting bewildered looks.

"Fine,fine i'll explain it.Imagine this:four stranger appear in your kingdom,speaking of some kind of evil,they then tell you about how this evil will corrupt your land and kill your subjects.They also have experience with dispatching said evil.Do you get where this is going?"

"Do you think they will let us deal with it?"-Reynald asked.

"Precisely!They get a solution to their problem,and we get a somewhat steady job.It's a win-win situation!"-she said beaming.

"While i like your optimism,we still need to prepare for the worst.I propose we do the following:Junia will prepare a sanctuary and pray for our protection."-he turned his head to the vestal,who nodded and began preparing for a ritual.

"Para,can you find something to cloud our mind?It would be hard to extract any information if we wouldn't be able to recall it."

"I got it big guy."-she was already searching for something in her doctor bag.

"And now we wait,hopefully we have enough time to finish our preparations."-he said before beginning to pray.

Celestia was more wandering the castle, than actually searching for her sister.She knew exactly where she was-in her bed,resting before her night duties.The Sun princess was very worried.While she was amused by the behaviour of the plague doctor,she noticed that she was under an influence.That implied she wanted to ease her mind before talking to the princess.And the fear in the highwayman's eyes was of great concern too.

Celestia considered herself a kind and benevolent ruler.Not without her own quirks,of course,but she believed she acted out of a desire to keep her little ponies safe and happy.She couldn't understand why the human feared her so much.Could he have heard some unsavory rumors?Even so,even the worst of these rumors hardly warranted such a reaction.If it wasn't her,she concluded,the man's preconceptions were the cause.The thought bothered her.What could've happened in one's life,to leave such a lasting fear of authority?Was he wronged by somepony in position of power...or did he wrong them?

The other man was better,but not much.He held up much better and spoke with confidence of a man who has served in some kind of guard,or an army,perhaps.But the same spark of fear,although much smaller,was prevalent in his eyes.

The second woman was a mixed bag.While she seemed exited to see Celestia,she was downright terrified of her.During their first meeting she was shaking like a leaf,and was avoiding the princess during their walk to the royal chambers.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the doors in front of her were engulfed in a cobalt blue aura,and flung open.The Princess of the Night exited her bedroom,a cup of coffee in her magic grasp,bags under her eyes.If she was surprised to see her sister,she didn't show it.

"Ah,I see you came to see me,sister.Have i overslept?"-she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No Luna,I believe it is i who is late.Remember the letter Twilight sent me?"-she said,gesturing Luna to follow her.

"Indeed i do,i presume our guests arrived?"-her sister responded,sipping on her cup of coffee.

"Precisely.I do hope that they will be more talkative when we arrive."-she remarked.

"What do you mean by that,dear sister?"

"Our guests are particularly shy and,perhaps,are somewhat afraid of authority.I hope that by the time we come back they would calm down a bit."-she replied.

Luna thought for a moment,before having a brilliant idea.

"I could put them to sleep,and search their dreams for information!I'd just ask them to remember whatever we need,and see it for myself.If they allow such a thing,of course."-The Princess of the night shared her idea.

Celestia sighed.It's not like she didn't entertain the idea,but given the state of the guests,she doubted it would work.I wouldn't hurt to try though.

"I doubt it will work,but i wouldn't hurt to try."-she said with a soft smile.

They were about to enter the room,when a loud bang was heard from inside.

Dismas finished cleaning his flintlock pistol for the seventh time,and it is safe to say he was bored.Adding to his boredom was the drink Para gave him.He was getting woozy already.By the time he put down his pistol Junia was asleep,Paracelsus soon to follow her friend,and only Reynald was wide awake,still sitting on the sofa.The highwayman sighed as he sat beside the holy man.

"Hey,you've got that escape plan?"-the former asked sarcastically.He was met with a soft smile and a tired gaze.

"I'm working on it.And what are you going to do if i don't have one by the time we need it?"

Dismas smiled and laid his head on Reynald's shoulder.The highwayman searched for something on the opposing wall,before whispering.

"You see that stained glass window,now imagine these are the princesses."-He said,raising his pistol.Before Reynald could protest,he heard a loud bang,and the sound of shattering glass.Both Junia an Para jolten awake,startled by the sound.But before Para could rain metaphorical hell on Dismas,the Diarchs entered the room.

Clear concern was visible on their face,that faded only when they noticed that none of their guests were harmed.The princesses frowned,however,when they noticed the shatterred window.Celestia looked calm,if a little stern.Luna,however,was visibly angry.Dismas rolled his eyes,ready for the oncoming scolding.

"What is the meaning of this?Which one of you broke the casement?Explain this,now!"-she cast an accusatory look on everyone in the room.The adventurers seemed to shrink at the sound of her voice.All,exept one.

"By the light,can you quiet down a little?Any louder,and i wouldn't have to pop my eardrums myself."-Dismas said.

The Princess of the Night was clearly stunned by such disrespectful attitude.So stunned,she paid no mind to the man's slightly slurred voice and dilated pupils.The highwayman was most certainly not ready for what came next.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT IN SUCH TONE OF VOICE!"

Dismas's ears were ringing,and he clutched his head in his arms.He saw Celestia turn to her sister with a worried expression and move her mouth,but he couldn't hear anything.What he thought was an absolutely brilliant idea appeared in his head.He took a deep breath and screamed.

"SEE I CAN SCREAM TOO!IF YOU WANT A SCREAMING MATCH,I'M SURE WE COULD ARRANGE IT LATER.NOW,WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT?"

When he finished his throat was sore,but the ringing was almost gone.The Princess of the Night still looked angry,but seemed to subdue herself before speaking in her quiet voice.

"I demand an explanation for the broken window and the loud sound!"

Dismas rolled his eyes before raising his pistol and responding."This-is a pistol.It shoots things.Sometimes,when it's not maintained properly,it will shoot things when it's not supposed to.That is what happened with your window.No,i won't show you how to use it,and no,it's not magical."-he put the pistol away.

Luna was about to say something,but she was cut off by Reynald.

"Your majesty,pardon my friend's attitude,we've all been through a lot lately.I assume you gathered us here for questioning?"

Celestia responded with a smile.-"I'm sure he didn't mean to come off as rude,and yes,we would like to know about what you've seen at the castle and,perhaps,what you've seen before you came to Equestria."

"Uh-huh,and how does your majesty plan to go about the questioning?"-Reynald said,and to his surprise Luna continued instead of Celestia.

"While we could start with simple questioning,we propose to skip such inefficent methods."-the mercenaries all tensed up.

"As the Princess of the Night we posses the ability to walk through the dreams of others,as such we urge you to accept this alternative solution,since you have something important to say."-Luna concluded.

"But your highness!"-Junia interjected-"Wouldn't that take up a lot of time?There are four of us,and i'm afraid it would take to long for us to dream of exactly what you need to know!"-she finished,hoping to deter the pony from invading her mind.

"Nonsense!My presense in your dream will allow you to remember anything you need.Alas,there might be a period of time where you are on your own,i presume your dreams differ somewhat from the dreams of ponies..."-she said,putting a hoof on her chin.

"Unfortunatly,your... nightness?Flame,am i doing it right?"-Para said-"There are still four of us!Wouldn't it take some time to go through each and every one of us?".

Luna smiled.She anticipated this.

"I can merge all your dreams into one,i assure you it won't take long,and it would be more efficent than simple questioning."-she answered.

For flame's sake,she thought through everything!Reynald had no rebuttal,apart from admitting they had something to hide.And that would lead to even more trouble.The best thing to do was probably to go with the flow.He took a glance at everyone,and they nodded.But if he had to do this,he could at least sweeten the deal.

"Your highness,if we are to do it,may i ask one thing of you?You can look through any of our memories,but can you please not look further than three years?You wouldn't miss anything importnat,just more...private information."-He concluded,and before Luna could say a word,Dismas interjected.

"We would be honored if your highness,in your infinite wisdom and magnanimity would hearken to the wishes of simple mortals such as ourselves and fulfill our plea for privacy."-he said with a bow.

Luna was shocked.Did they think she would show such indecency?She only entered her subject's dreams if they had nightmares,and she always respected their privacy!Well,most of the time that is...

"It pains me that you accuse me of such impropriety!I will adhere to your wishes,but not because you asked me to,but because i show respect to all those who cross into the dream plane,subjects or not."-she finished with her head held high.

Hook,line and sinker.Reynald's plan worked better than he thought,in part thanks to Dismas's silver tongue.If all this works out,the tavern is on him.Celestia cleared her throat.

"Now that we agree on the details,i ask you one question:Are you sure you permit my sister to delve into your dreams?"

A thick silence fell upon the room.The usual suspects looked at eachother before a single reply came through-"Sure,whatever,couldn't be worse than what already happened."-Dismas said.

And just like that,four beds appeared all over the room in a circular formation,and the humans prooceded to lie down.They were comfortable,Para noted,although unsurprisingly so.They were getting the royal treatment,after all.She seemed to sink into the comfy mattress as she laid down.Judging by the sighs of relief she heard from her friends,their thoughts alligned.Once everyone were comfortable enough,the lunar princess stood in the center of the aformentioned circle and began to speak.

"Do not fret,in a few seconds i will cast a sleeping spell,and then a sleep binding one.Get comfy,because you have a long night ahead of you."

"See you on the other side!"-Para exclaimed.

"I just hope i don't come off as indecent..."-Junia whispered.

"Heh,how many adventurers does it take to make a coherent dream?I guess we find out tonight."-Dismas replied with a chuckle.

"Sure,goodnight everyone!"-Reynald finished,getting three goodnights in return.

Four white snake-like lines appeared out of Luna's horn,and began waving their way to the four beds.The lines crept up to the craniums and entered through the forehead.The whole affair felt ticklish,and that was what Dismas was thinking as he drifted off to morpheous's kingdom,or Luna's kingdom,he supposed.

Reynald found himself in quite the predicament.One moment he was in a comfortable bed,drifting off to sleep in a world that was filled with colorful horses,and the next he was here.Before him,in a hundred meters or so,towered a castle that seemed to be under siege.The front gates were still holding,but a giant ram was making it's way towards them,threatening to fulfill it's destructive duty.

Zealous men with crosses stitched into their clothing were climbing the ladders,but their ascent was put to a deadly stop by a waterfal of scalding oil.They screamed as their grip loosened and their flesh boiled and peeled away.The men plummeted to the ground,and landed with a sickly CRUNCH as their bones snapped,and the life left their eyes.Reynald was snapped out of his stupor by a hand clutching his shoulder.A young man was looking at him with distress clear on his face.He was young,no more than 18 years old.As he spoke,his voice sounded distant.

"Sir,we are being overwhelmed,what are your or-"-he was cut short by an arrow through the forehead.As he fell to the ground his face distorted and became a spiraling mess of facial features.Reynald barely manage to dodge a sword strike from a nearby enemy.He focused on the task ahead,and started doing what he does best.

He wielded his sword masterfully,smiting down a dozen or so heretics,before one managed to cut his face.He disposed this one with extreme prejudice,before noticing something shifting.As he looked up at his attacker his stomach turned.Big,black unblinking eyes stared at him.An elongated nose and bloodied mouth stood out,but not as much as a pair of transparent wings on the body's chitinous back.

That's when he heard it.

The buzzing

The sky turned a deep shade of crimson in an instant.The rivers of blood flowed all around him.Men from both side were feasting on the bodies.They were ripping flesh and drinking blood.Reynald was horrified by the sight before him.It was at this moment when he felt a sudden thurst.A familiar thirst.

One simple cut is all it takes.He looked at the crimson rivers with a newfound adoration as he drank from it,indulging in the unexpected vice.He was about to dive into the welcome embrace of crimson waters when he was engulfed in a cobalt blue aura.The sun set down and was replace by the moon as he screamed curses at nobody in particular.

"LET ME DOWN!THE BLOOD MAKES ME WHOLE!"

"SILENCE!"-A dark blue alicorn bellowed.

"You will cease this disgusting feast at once!"Luna said,and a tingling sensation went through the crusader's body.

And just like that,the unyielding desire faded into memory as the world plunged into an inky abyss.

Junia wasn't being wierd at all!She was simply observing a pair for...Their text-book depiction of sin!Yes,that was it.From what she knew,they were both unmarried,and they were dong some very...questionable things,to say the least.But they were so beatiful doing these things.And they looked happy!Truly happy.They didn't need to follow any dogmatic rituals.No idiotic gospels,no nerve-wracking ceremonies,no confession booths that judged you for each and every commited sin.And definitely no penance halls where blood flowed like a river.

Blood

She stalled at the word for an unusual amount of time.Warm,crimson,alive blood.She shook her head,she was thinking impure thoughts!She must get rid of them to make space for more...pleasant impure thoughts,these were no fun...She froze as she locked eyes with the woman.With her big,black,unblinking eyes.Her nose was piercing the man's neck,and her jaw was biting into his flesh,sucking the blood from it.Her monstrous wing shuttered with unholy excitement as she drained the body of color.

The monster turned it's head towards the vestal,a primordial hunger burned in her eyes with unyelding intensity.Junia dashed out of the room at the exact moment when the monster dashed towards her,and broke the glass.She slammed the door close the second she was out of the room.She turned left,but more of the creatures were there.She rushed down the right side,and managed to dodge the insect-looking thing's strike.But in her rapid get-away,she wound up in a dead-end.

The only way to go,was down,into the cellar.The wine cellar,that is.She rushed down the stairs and slammed the door,locking it with all 10 locks.A surprising amount,actually.Why would there be so many locks on the inside of the wine cellar?She paid it no mind,she was safe,after all.She was also surprisingly thirsty,presumably from all the runing.It surely wouldn't hurt to have a drink or two!

She opened the sealed bottle and drank straight from it.The crimson beverage was quite refreshing,surprisingly so.She felt more alive than ever before,her veins were on fire and the only thing that could that could soothe them was more wine.Thankfully,she had a cellar full of it.After a few bottles she was graced by the appearance of Luna herself.

"Hello there!Your highness,would you mind a glass of wine?I'd offer tea,but i'm afraid we're a bit short on that."She giggled slightly.

"It's fine,you don't need to provide anything.What are those...things outside?Where have you seen them?"Luna inquired.

Junia's face turned to marble.She gulped before replying.

"T-they're bloodsuckers,like the ones in the courtyard!"She sad with a stutter.

"Can we please not talk about the courtyard?"She begged.

With a sigh,Luna nodded and the both of them were gone in a flash.

Her shoulder stung like hell.Paracelsus understood that they had to take some precautions,it wasn't the safest vivisection she was going to have,but it was kind of overkill.A long coat covered her body up to the neck,she wore a protective bird-like mask,and a pair of protective gloves.She was practicly impenetrable to any sort of miasma.Plus she's done a hundred vivisections but this point,she's a natural!This speciment was different though.Her professors said it was donated from some kind of estate.

Estate...

That word was causing a headache.For some reason the word felt...Familiar?Can words be felt?That line of thought was causing even more of a headache,so she stopped ruminating about it,and headed for her class.She was a little late,and hastily took a seat before her desk.

To said desk,was strapped a body of a wierd-looking creature.It's proportions were human,no two ways about it,but the skin itself was like that of an insect.Chitin coated it's entire body,the nose was more akin to a proboscis.When it noticed her,a faint buzz became audible,and the thing's transparent wings sprung into action.Quite the peculear speciment,she thought.

She looked around and noticed an unusually large number of students.Hundreds of desks towered behind her,and thousand more stretched down infinitely.Each of the desks had a speciment,just like her's,strapped to it.Most of the students already opened up the bodies and began to note down the anatomy of the speciments.She dug out her fountain pen,placed an inkwell on the table,and opened her journal on a blank page.

"Subject #40 Notes"

She took a close look at the subject.It was thrashing in place,trying to combat the restraints.It's wings were flapping furiously,and it looked ready to kill.She slowly brought her hand closer to it,to wich the bug tried to prick it with it's nose and snarled at her when it found it's efforts were in vain.

"Subject is about 2.7 meters high,the body is coated in a layer of chitin,a pair of wing is present on it's back,but according to my calculations they do not support flight.Incisors and canines are more pronounced,with no sight of premolars or molars.Nose is elongated,supposedly for the purpose of stabbing and/or ~~sucking~~ ingesting blood.Subject appears to be agitated by my presence,and exhibits hightened aggression.Time is 8:30,beginning vivisection."-She put down the pen,took her scalpel,and made incision on the chest.When she was about to open up the chest cavity,she heard a loud snap behind her.She sighed.

"Good to see you,your majesty.Or,hear,i suppose.I was wondering just now when will you show up!Please forgive me for the lack of a tea party,i'm a bit busy right now,but feel free to observe my work and ask anything you want,it's practically muscle memory now."-she said,continuing her vivisection.To say Luna was surprised was to make an understatement.It was a rare occurance for somepony to know they were in a dream,especially before seeing her.She cleared her throat before speaking.

"No need for apologies,i rarely see somepony who knows they're in a dream before i arrive,how did you manage that?"

Paracelsus continued to scribble in her journal as she answered."Well,the first red flag was my headache,i don't have them usually you see."-Luna heard something that sounded suspiciously similar to a bone breaking.Paracelsus put down a chunk of a rib on the table.

"The seemingly infinite amount of desks did not quell any suspicions either,and the esquire was just the nail in the coffin."-Luna was purplexed once more.Did she recognise the creature before her?

"Paracelsus,do you recognise the body before you?You said it once was an... esquire?"-Luna asked,coming closer to take a better look at the creature.

"Not was,is.And yes,i've met these things back at the Courtyard.Can you please hold him still?I want to make a sketch."-she replied nonchalauntly,waiting for the princess's magic to envelop the bloodsucker.She turned her head around when no aura appeared.She saw a stern,if somewhat disturbed expression on Luna's face.

"Uhhh,please,pretty plesase?"-She tried her best.

"Why are you torturing him?From what i gathered,he was human before!how could you do something like that to one of your own people?"

"First:he was a human.Emphasis on was.The crimson curse changed him beyond salvation.Second:scientific understanding of the crimson curse is way more important than the life of this speciment.Third:this is a dream,so,in the end,it doesen't really matter.I already have the notes on subject #40,i'm just trying to reconstruct it from memory."

Luna was shocked by this responce.Sure,it was a dream,but how could one be so cruel to a fellow pony?Even if they were sick.Especially if they were sick!

"I still do not condone such barbaric procedures.What is this "Crimson Curse" you keep talking about?"

"It's a desiase.It taints the blood,and induces a thirst for blood,that can be quelled temporarily.I still don't understand a lot of things about it,but the longer the person is ill and the more blood they consume,the worse the deformities get."-She motioned towards the creature at the table.

"This one spent uncountable years in the courtyard,and we're still in the beginning of the mutation process.You should've seen the Countess..."-A shiver went down the plague doctor's spine.

"I see...You seem to talk from experience."-Luna replied.

"Well,duh.We've all experienced it.Some had it worse than the other,sure,but we all went to the courtyard.The call is unyielding; the urge is irresistable.Only the Blood will quell this thirst."

"We need to move now,Paracelsus,the others are waiting."-Luna said,her horn glowing with a dark blue aura.

"Sure,i'm almost finished here anyways."-The Plague doctor replied,plunging the knife into the creature's heart.It thrashed for a few moments,and lied motionless.

"There,i'm done.By the way,my friends call me Para,i suggest you do the same."

The Princess of the night nodded,and the world around them faded to black as they disappeared in a flash.

Man,fuck Audrey.Not literally,she'd never shut up about it if Dismas did.More like...spiritually.Sure,playing any sort of gambling game was practically suicide,she was notoriously good at them.But he was bored to death,and noone was willing to play with Dismas.Yeah,being a known cheat had it's disadvantages.And he almost had it,she had to be cheating!He sighed.Not like it mattered now.A wish was a wish.In her drunken stupor she made him go to the weald to get her "a flower that is worth a fair maiden like her".

Dismas scoffed.Yeah,he was going to give her something of worth.He was going to find the worst looking shroom,and throw it into her smug fucking face.She was a good pal to drink and pull pranks with,but by the Flame she pissed him off sometimes!Whatever,he was going to get the shroom,get back to the Hamlet,and unwind back at the penance hall.He found bloodletting strangely soothing.

Being deep in thought,he wasn't paying attention to the road and tripped on something.He barely managed to balance himself,but it made him take notice his surroundings.A stagecoach lied on the middle of the road,battered and broken.The luggage was lying all over the place,a myriad of gems were scattered on the ground.This afternoon wasn't all bad,he supposed,stuffing his bag full of gems.

When he was done,he decided to take a look inside,there could be injured people inside,after all!Or untoched bodies full of loot,depends on how you look at it.He approached the opening in the side of the stagecoach,and cautiously peered inside.There was little to see in the dim moonlight,but what little was visible,wasn't hope inspiring.Personal possesions lied broken on the floor in a pool of blood.Dismas decided it was for the best to retire from the scene.Nobody who lost this much blood is still breathing.Nobody human,that is.He backed away,and,unexpectidly,bumped into something.Something alive and breathing.He turned around,unsheathing his blade,and striking whatever was behind him.

Well,kind of,striking.The thing darted back,and he only managed to nick its snout with his dagger.Its dark blue,and very pissed off snout.Fucking hell.He looked closer at the figure of a pony standing before him,and sure enough,it was the Princess of the Night herself.She looked both surprised,and irritated.His blood ran cold as he remembered a fun fact.He was sleeping,which meant...

He was in her world.

Dismas glanced over his options.He could try to leg it,which wouldn't help,seeing as he was in a dream,so she probably knew where he was all the time.Or he could try to play it cool and resolve the situation with his quick wits and a silver tongue.He wondered what would happen if she killed him here.

"This is quite unexpected,i must say.Your friends weren't nearly as jumpy."-She said,the wound disappearing from her snout."Although,i would appreciate it if you were more observant next time,were this not a dream,you would've hurt somepony."-She finished in a calm,somewhat soothing voice.

"I beg your pardon,your highness.It seems i have forgotten this was a dream,and the situation wasn't exactly comfortable."-Luna nodded,before approaching the stagecoach.

"Worry not,Dismas,i bear no grudge against you.Some ponies could be quite paranoid in their dreams,and your reaction does not seem unwarranted,given the circumstances."-She looked inside,and jumped back with a yelp.Something buzzing jumped at her,and Dismas shot the creature square in the chest.It fell to the ground and spasmed a little,before becoming still.

"Damn -- I missed the eyes!"-The highwayman said in mock-dissapointment,before addressing the princess.

"I knew i had this dream before!The cursed bloodsucker almost got you there!I don't know how dreams work,but i'd suggest staying away from these bugs,unless you're fine with drinking a cup of blood from time to time."-He stated matter-of-factly.Luna rolled her eyes.

"Yes,i know of these...vampires.Your friend already told me about them.Speaking of,your friends are waiting for you to show up right now,we mustn't keep them waiting."-She said approaching Dismas.

"Yeah,yeah i'm coming.One question before we go,can you get these into the real world?"-He showed her his bag full of gems.

"You wouldn't believe how many problems such an abuility would entail."-She said with a sigh,as they dissapeard in a flash.

Dismas was the last to appear with princess Luna,and after a few greetings,they all turned to the Princess of the Night.Reynald was the first to ask the question.

"So,what do we do now?"

"Now,you will need to remember what you wanted to tell me,however i will need the four of you to remember it simultaneously,for greater accuracy.Then i will cast a spell,that will make the memory play out for me to see.Any questions before we begin?"-Luna cast a glance at the group.A now unmasked plague doctor raised a hand.

"Yes,Para?"

"Will we feel everything we went through?Like pain,and stuff like that?"-Luna sighed,she anticipated this question,but she was not eager to answer it.Based on their dreams,whatever they wanted to tell her wasn't pretty.

"I am afraid you will,but it would be unwise to turn back now.If you wish to,however,i will not hold you here against your will."-She finished,and looked at the misfits before her.The two men were conserned,but they both looked at the Para and Junia,who looked deathly pale and scared out of their mind.The latter looked at the former,who nodded,and turned to face the princess.

"It's fine,just be quick with it."-Luna nodded,and cast the spell.The world around melted,and the princess became but an observer,as she saw the events unfold.

It was worse than she thought.Much worse.The space-dstorting corridor was nothing in comparison to the horror she witnessed inside the chamber.At first it looked like a human,just like the others.But then it multiplied.Made reflections of itself,reflections that were indistinguishable from the origin.

But then they broke the mirror.Fleshy growths appeared on one of the reflections as it materialised.More of the imperfect ones began to appear,at the original seemed to get hurt when they killed them.Sooner or later the thing was struck down,but not before three spots of... nothingness appeared.The absolute monstrosity she saw after that was maddening.A hideous mass of fluid flesh taking the form of a heart.

She watched in horror as it tore both Para and Junia to shreds,before being overwhelmed by the two remaining heroes.The dream began falling apart as she heard two distant pained screams.

Author's Note

For the people who are reading this,i am terribly sorry for the delay! :twilightsheepish: I had complications that are now resolved.Please write what you think in the comments,and be ready for more chapters soon-ish enough! :twilightsmile:

Ruin Has Come To Our Family

Madness - sublimity of the intelligence, or so it has been said.

Celestia observed as her sister and the four unusual guests fell asleep. A magical screen appeared out of thin air,blank for the time being. She had something very important to do,and it wouldn't be easy. She debated whether or not to do it. On one hoof, the action was arguably immoral,and would certainly promote distrust if it were to ever found out. On the other hoof, if her faithful student and her friends were to be put in danger, they deserved to know what they were dealing with.

She sighed. She was going to do what's best, and besides, nopony is going to find out, and her little ponies would surely understand! These humans are certainly unwilling to share information, and a picture's worth a thousand words! With a heavy heart she materialised a quill and a scroll, scribbled something about an urgent business, asking them to come to her quarters. As it burned to ash in an emerald flame she pondered if she made the right decision.

Twilight was worried. In fact, she was close to panicking. Princess never excluded her from such serious business! The humans definetly had something important to say, why wouldn't princess let her know? She sighed. She was probably overreacting, Celestia knows she's good at it. After all, the princess probably wanted to make sure the guests were comfortable, they sure looked stressed the last time she saw them!

Especially that Dismas fellow. The others were uncomfortable, sure, but he was downright paranoid! She asked Applejack if she noticed something off about him, and the farm pony admitted that the highwayman was not completely truthful. None of them were, in her opinion. They were definently keeping something secret, and judging by the jokes they told earlier, it wasn't pretty.

"Applejack, are you one hundred percent sure they were hiding something? My guess is they're just tired. They definently looked beaten. . ." - Twilight asked her friend. The farm pony finished her meal before replying.

"I'm sure, sugarcube. None of y'all saw it, but two of them went missing for a good ten minutes. The doctor noticed and tried to keep me busy, but ah saw right through her babblin'."

"Ah! So i wasn't the only one who noticed!"-Rainbow exclaimed. "The other one, Junia, i think, was practically throwing herself at me! I mean, my awesomeness gets me a lot of fans, but not that quickly!"

"And one of the birds heard loud sound from an alley! The poor thing was scared out of its mind!" - Fluttershy added.

"I'm not usually the one to play Discord's advocate," - Rarity cast a glance at the yellow mare - "But we simply must give them the benifit of the doubt! And if i had an audience with a princess, i'd be a little nervous too!"

Twilight couldn't argue with that. And after all, she was the Princess of Friendship! She had to give them the benifit of the doubt. A scroll appeared in a green flash of Spike's dragon breath. Twilight quickly unfurled it, eager to see what the princess has to say.

"What does it say?" - Her friends asked. She frowned a little, and put the scroll down.

"Let's go girls, the princess wants us to meet her in her quarters."

The doors opend, and the mane six entered the chamber. Celestia smiled when she saw them, and beckoned them to get closer. They were quite startled by its contents, the circle of beds and Luna sitting in the middle of it was quite jarring, not to mention the mirror-like object floating in the corner of the room. Everyone in the room, barring the Sun princess and the recently entered ponies, were asleep. The aformentioned princess cast a spell over the group, and motioned to sit in front of the magical screen. When everypony settled, Twilight felt it was time to speak up.

"Princess, what is going on? What is princess Luna doing here?"

"Our new friends agreed that the most efficent way to convey the importance of their message, is to show the danger they warn us of. Thus, with the help of my sister i organised this demonstration, hopefully it will provide some insight into the supposed danger beneath the castle." - she concluded.

"Uh-huh, and do they know we'll be at this 'demonstration' ?" - Rainbow inquired. Celestia seemed unwilling to answer the question, but there was no point in arguing right now.

"I did not know how they would react if they knew my sister and i weren't the only observers. However, if you are to risk your life by being in close proximity to the castle, you deserve to know what you are against." -

"Now wait for a second there, ain't it rude to intrude on anypony's dreams?" - Applejack interjects.

"Not only is it rude, it's also probably dangerous! I mean, who knows how they will react?! What if they'll be angry? What if the-." - Twilight was cut short by Celestia.

"I'm sure we'll be able to persuade them to calm down. Now, it seems that Luna has found the first dream, let us watch it."

The seven of them watched curiously as the events of the dreams unfurled. Curiosity soon turned to shock, and shock turned to dread. From the horrors of the blood-soaked battlefield, to the clinical detachment of a vivisection.

But all that paled in comparison to the terror they witnessed in the last dream. An antediluvian evil unleashed, an assault on one's senses. If one was to see such monstrosity in the flesh, they would sure to go mad. "But they did see it. . . " - a thought passed through Twilight's mind, but was quickly smothered by the trepidation caused by what she witnessed next. A mounain on wriggling tentacles sprouted up from under the plague doctor, tearing her limb from limb, simultaneously absorbing her, until nothing remained.

Her body in the waking world began convulsing in the bed. She must have cried out, but the horrific sounds of the heart overshadowed her. "How were they were still asleep?"- Twilight ponderd. The same fate befell the vestal, who, in turn, writhed in agony. The ponies were in a peculear state of awe, too scared to move or act.

All exept Celestia.

As the fiend was slain,she stepped out of the bubble, casting a spell to break them all free from sleep. Yet, after the spell was cast, nothing happened.

For a few moments, at least.

A thunderous voice, familiar yet foreign, spoke with a air of authority and paternity, and all could hear it's call. The screen spell cracked from the intense magic.

"Victory...a hollow and ridiculous notion."

That thrice-damned horror appeared floating in the blackness of the cosmos.

"We are born of this thing, made from it. And we will be returned to it, in time.

The great family of man -- a profusion of errant flesh. Multiplying. Swarming. Living. Dying."

A manor, perched stoically atop the hill appeared in it's place, an incline towards it was filled with still flesh. A small town was visible, although alive at first, it faded quickly into disrepair.

"Until the stars align in their inexorable formation, and what sleeps is roused once more, to hatch from this fragile shell of earth and rock, and bring our inescapable end. . ."

A planet was show, and at it's center was a living, beating heart. It burst brigtly into pieces. A sense of dread filled everypony who watched.

"So seek solace in the manner befitting your lineage, and take up your nugatory vigil."

A single lit candle came into view.

A sealed letter.

A plume.

A pistol.

And a bang.

A ghastly figure appeared, pointing somewhere, as if trying to warn one from passing.

"Haunted forever by that sickening prose, echoing through the infinite blackness of space and time:"

A graveyard was visible as the ghost faded from view, replaced by a myriad of trees and a stagecoach. A single letter fell out of the carriege.

"A familiar letter" - Twilight thought.

"Ruin Has Come To Our Family.""

The screen flickered and dissappeared, but not before spewing out a letter.

Twilight caught it wit her magic and its familiar heavyness unsettled her. She pondered on opening the letter, but a loud cry snapped her out of her thoughs. Luna was breathing heavily, out of breath from the exhaustion, both mental and physical. She ran to her sister and embraced her. Celestia asked no questions, just hugged back. A harsh voice echoe through the chamber, as a loud thud was heard. Dismas got up from the floor and pointed his gun at the general direction of the ponies.

"I knew it! This has all been a trap! We never should've trusted you lot!" - he jerked the pistol from one pony to another.

"Calm down, please, it's-" - Fluttershy stook a single step, but was interrupted when the highwayman pointed the gun at her.

"NO, NONE OF YOU MOVE! I'm wise to your schemes! Look what you did to Junia!"

The vestal in question was rocking back and forth in a fetal position on her bed. From her, only a faint whisper could barely be heard.

"Verse LXVIII: Pray to the Light, for it will grant you joy. . ."

"I'm sorry my dear, i didn't quite catch it?" - Rarity said. The vestal turned her head and looked with uncaring eyes.

"The holy Verses no longer resonate, all is lost."

The pony tried to come closer, but a was stopped when the tile floor exploded in front of her. She shrieked and jumped back.

"I. SAID. DON'T. MOVE! "

Luna's horn lit up with magic, and with a big yawn Dismas collapsed to the floor.

"Oh, would you please shut it? You halfwits are interrupting my concentration! " - the plague doctor complained as she scribbled something in her journal.

"What's with the attitude, sugarcube?" - the farm pony questioned.

"Stop pestering me, or I shall poison your grog!" - Para spat, not looking away from her journal. Applejack abstained from further questioning.

The only one who wasn't freaking out, was Reynald. He calmly got up from his bed, and sighed with relief.

"Could've been worse, i suppose."

"Whu- what do you mean 'it could've been worse'? How in the world could this situation get any worse!" - Rainbow exclaimed. Reynald rolled his eyes as he picked up and held the unconscious Dismas in his hands.

"I don't see any heart attacks, nobody got shot, and i my possesions have not been rummaged through, so i'd say it's a better day than most. Now, i'd advise to let everyone rest for the night, i'm tired as hell, and these two need a good night's sleep."

"Wait, aren't you going to explain what's going on with them?" - the rainbow pony asked.

"I could ask the same question. What the hell are you doing here? Last i remember, only these two were here." - he nodded towards the two princesses.

"I will answer your question later." - the Sun princess said - "Now, Twilight, please escort our friends to the guest quarters. They deserve a good night's sleep."

Reynauld shook his head. "Don't think we're done here, we will talk later." - he turned to face the plague doctor - "Para, can you help Junia walk?"

The plague doctor scoffed, but closed her journal shut and got up. She approached the still rocking vestal and yanked her out of bed. Junia fell to the ground with a whimper, and looked at her friend.

"NO! Please, let me be!" - she pleaded, eyes watering.

"Listen here, i don't have enough patience to deal with your idiocy. You either get up and walk with me, or i'll make you get up and walk with me." Junia wiped a tear and nodded.

"Where are we going?" - she asked as she got up.

"To the guest quarters." - Para answered dryly as everyone, apart the princesses, exited the room.

"B-but what happened? Why are we being escorted? Did we do something?" - with a loud groan, Para turned around and glared at her.

"I don't know, and i don't care. Less talking, more walking."

"Now slow down there sugarcube, what's the matter? You're grumpier than a rattlesnake in the middle of a summer!" - the plague doctor ignored her, and continued following Twilight.

"Wanna hear what i'm thinkin'? Ah-"

"You are unschooled, yes? Then I must decline."

"Sheesh, you must be fun at parties. . ."

"Alright everypony, the suites are down this corridor, breakfast is 8:00 AM tomorrow, and we've got a train to catch at 10:30." - Twilight began - "The dining hall is not far from here, just follow the map, each of the suites has one."

Both Para and Junia got into the suites, but Reynald stood still, Dismas in hands.

"Do any of you know when he will wake up?" - Twilight put a hoof to her chin.

"Honestly? I don't know. He'll be awake by tomorrow, that's for sure, but he could wake up anytime from "in a few minutes" , to "in a few hours"." - Reynald nodded.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow, i presume?"

"Now, darling, why do you need to know when he wakes up? Princess Luna wouldn't hurt him, if you're worried about that." - Rarity interjected.

"He was throwing a fit back then, now imagine if wakes up in an unknow room, alone, in a middle of the night. I'll stay with him, and explain the situation when he wakes up."

"Couldn't you write him a note or something?" - Rainbow questioned, and Reynald shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry."

Reynald entered the guest suite.

Author's Note

Hello there! I'm terribly sorry for the shorter-than-normal chapter :twilightblush: , the next one will be the usual lenght.

Unexpected Visit

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Meeting Of The Minds

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Awkward Circumstances

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Real Estate

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A little hope, however desperate, is never without worth.

"Dismas,i'd appreciate it,if you were a little quieter"-Reynald groaned,his head felt as if a red-hot blade was stuck in it's center-"I swear,this is the worst headache of my life."

"Don't jinx it,Reynald."-he heard Para deadpan."We still have to get out of this hellhole in one piece"-she said,giving him a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.Reynald only realised how hungry he was when he absent-mindedly started chewing the bread,at which point he downed the gruel in one go.

"Whoa there big guy don't drown yourself"-Dismas chimed in,sitting close to his companion."We decided to rest untile you woke up,and then head for the exit."

"We took turns guarding our camp,so i scouted a bit."-he explained."The path is mostly clear,but i heard bones rattle 3 rooms away from here."

"We should avoid battles if possible,we don't know what happened in the Hamlet after we killed that thing.For all we know it could be crawling with all kinds of abominations"-Reynald voiced his opinion.

"Or it could be a sprawling little town."-everyone turned their heads to address Junia and her out-of-place optimism.

"What?It can't be all doom and gloom,we killed that blasphemous thing,the town is probably throwing a feast right now!"-she exclaimed,sending a streak of pain through the crusader's head.

"I say we make our way back,before the feast is finished and drink for the rest of the week!"-Dismas interjected.

"And if we're lucky,the brothel will have some free personell,right Junia?"-Para teased the Vestal,whose face turned bright red.

"Y-yeah,that would be nice..."-she said coyly,before turning her attention to the holy man and hastily changing the subject.

"When are we leaving?Every second we wait is the second we are presumed dead.I don't know for how long we were out,but i'm sure the Heir is freaking out right now!"-her ubridled optimism seemed to seep into the air,cheering everyone up.

"Alright pack things up,we're leaving."-Reynald commanded,getting up from the floor.

"We're ready to go.We didn't have many supplies left before our little stop,so we're basically empty now."-The Plague Doctor summed up their situation.The group got to teir feet and with a command from the crusader they formed up.Reynald wanted to lead the way,but he was suddenly stopped by Dismas's hand.

"No way you're leading the way,Reynald.You're still too weak,i'll go first."-Dismas said standing in front of the crusader."We can't afford to lose you again."

"But i'm fine!"-Reynald protested-"I am in perfect health!"

"No offence, but i've dissected corpses that look better than you."-Para commented.

"Yeah Reynald, you look paler than sheets at the sanitarium"-Junia said,concerned.

"Fine,lead the way Dismas."-the holy man replied,begrudgingly.

And so Dismas lead the way,following him were Reynald and Paracelsus,with Junia closing their formation.The trek was mostly uneventful,barring a higher-than usual amounts of gold,and strange busts and paintings,depicting wierd-looking horses in lavish outfits.

"This is the wierdest thing i've seen today.Never took the Ancestor as a fan of small horses."-Dismas remarked.

"They're ponies."-he heard a gruff voice behind him.

"Sometimes we had a shortage of horsepower during the crusades"-Reynald explained-"we used everything:from donkeys to,well,ponies."

The party stopped in front of a door,leading to another room."That's the room with the skeletons,i'm sure of it."-Dismas stated confidently.The group braced themself and entered the room,ready for combat.What they saw was so absurd they had to make a double-take.

Four skeletal remains of what could only be a pony stood before them.The first two held swords in their mouths,the second one having a pair of bony feathers protruding from it's back.Both of them wore rags,unlike the two corpses behind them.The two skeletons in the back wore expensive-looking coats,fur adorning their hemline and collar.Their chest was stained with red substance of dubious origin.Unlike the first two corpses these had horns adorning their heads,that glowed with a black aura.They each were sipping their drinks from goblets,that were floating beside them, engulfed in the same black aura.

Not giving monster the chance to attack,Reynald struck the first skeleton,hacking it's head off.The body hit the floor just as everyone else snapped out of their stupor.The second monster,seeing it's bretherin fall to the unfamiliar creature charged the attackers.He managed to slash Dismas's chest,before his head exploded in a mess of gunpowder and bones.The two remaining nobles managed to douse Dismas with the foul liquid,before being shattered by the Light from above,or being melted by the corrosive substance from the bombs.
He was repulsed by the liquid,he felt it seep into his clothes,and burn his skin.Burn his mind.At this very moment he heard a yelp from the Vestal,and the room was plunged into darkness.

He couldn't see anything.

He couldn't think.

He couldn't breathe.

HE COULDN'T BREATHE!

The walls were choking him,he saw things move in the darkness,things that couldn't exist!No,shouldn't exist!

"The walls close in, the shadows whisper of conspiracy!"-he heard a faint whisper,as the room was filled with light.

"Sorry everyone,i tripped and dropped my torch!"-Junia began apologising profusely.

"It's nothing,"-Paracelsus answered-"Are you okay,Dismas?"-The Plague Doctor inquired,and was surprised by the mix of terror and suspicion in the Highwayman's gaze.

"I hear more behind us! Hurry!"-he yelled,running towards the exit.

"After him!Catch him before he gets lost!"-Reynald yelled,sprinting after the man.

Dismas was running from the ambush,he sure it was one.How come,out of the four of them he was the only one to get hit?

How come the holy woman 'tripped' in such a way she fell and extinguished the flame keeping them all alive?

He stopped when he heard a low growl.In his maddened run he didn't notice when he left the dungeon.

He didn't notice when he ran so far away from the others.

Before he was able to react, a beast tackeled him to the ground,and began to maul him.He felt pain surge throug him,as the creature bit his arm.

It looked as a wild wolf,if it was made of sticks,twigs and leaves.It's eyes burned a bright green.That thing was going to kill him.

The wolf was about to bite into his jugular,when a sword split its head in half.

Reynald was running right after his friend.He recognized the look in the other man's eyes,it was a look of pure paranoia.He was jumping at every shadow,running thoughtlessly from what he surely thoughed was a trap.

His heart fell when he heard a familiar shriek,and saw Dismas getting mauled by a wild beast.Without a second thought,he ran up to the man,and split the wold's head in half.

He kneeled to look at the injuries.Surprisingly,the creature didn't pierce Dismas's chestplate,leaving a few scratches instead.

Reynald pick Dismas up and sat him on top of the nearest treestump."Stay still"-he said-"The others will come here soon and patch you up.Here,drink this"-he gave the shocked Highwayman a bottle filled with a clear liquid-"It'll sooth the mind."

Dismas wanted to object,hell he almost did!

But he stopped when he saw Reynald's eyes.

His green eyes exuded a peceful aura,calming Dismas enough to trust the man.

He was still on the fence about drinking the liquid,but the hand that lowered onto Dismas's shoulder sealed the deal.

He opened opened the small bottle and downed it in one go.It tasted bitter,not at all pleasent,but left a sweet aftertaste.

When he was calm enogh to speak he asked-"What was in that bottle?"

"Hell if i know"-Reynald replied-"Para has been supplying me with these since our encounter with the Shambler"-both shuddered at the mention of the creature-"It helps me soothe the mind."-he concluded.

That was when the two women emerged from the trees,stopping in front of the Highwayman.

"What on EARTH were you doing?!You could've been killed in these woods!"-Junia scolded him after whispering a prayer or two to help with any injuries.

"I'm sorry,arlight!"-Dismas retorted-"I got scared,and i panicked,and i'm sorry,alright?Let's get moving,before more of these wolfs come here."

"I swear,you're such an idiot sometimes"-Para sighed,before asking-"Where's the wolf?I thought Reynald would've surely killed him!"

Both of the men looked in the direction of the corpse,but saw only a pile of twigs and branches where the body was.

"I swear it was there!"-Reynald pointed at the pile-"It was made of wood!"

"Yeah,fine,wierd things happen around the weald,i can believe that."-Para said nochalantly.

"Remember,we have to keep moving.Let's go!"-she exlaimed as the group moved closer to the road.

They noticed a quaint little cottage near the edge of the forest,and were about to knock on it's door,when Dismas yelped and commanded them to hide in the nearby bushes.

What he saw was quite perplexing.A small,yellow-coated pony with a pink mane,and what appeared to be a tattoo of three butterflies on her flank strode along the road.It seemed she was heading for the cottage."Why on earth did you do that?"-Paracelsus protested.

"Are you blind?She's one of those things that attacked us back in the dungeon!"-he retorted.

"And if you'd stop freaking out,you'd notice that those were skeletons.As far as i remember,the skeletons back home weren't exactly friendly either."-she argued.

"Wherever we are right now,i think it's quite far away from the Hamlet.I'd say we ask for directions."-Reynald proposed.

"Fine,whatever.After all she's alone,she couldn't do much against the four of us.But I'm not going there."-Dismas stated adamantly.

"I'll go!I'm good with with animals,and seeing as she is one,hopefully we'll find some common ground!"-Junia chimed in,enthusiastically.

"I don't want to interrupt your discussion,i really dont"-Paracelsus intruded-"but i thinks she's noticed us."

Everyone immediately turned their heads to see the aforementioned pegasus standing a few meters from the bush they were hiding in,staring at them with wild eyes.
Junia sighed as she stood up to approach the pony.

"Uhhh,hi there!My name is Junia,what's your name?"

"F-flutteshy..."-the pony answered,clearly terrified of the creature towering above her.

"That's a pretty name you got,Fluttershy!"-the Vestal noticed how terrified the pegasus was,and decided to clear some things out.

"Don't worry,me and my friends don't mean any harm!We just wanted to ask for directions to the nearest town,we're a bit stranded..."

"O-oh,Ponyville is that way."-she said,pointing a hoof in the town's direction.

"That's great,Fluttershy!Thanks a bunch,but can you tell me,does this Ponyville have a tavern?We could really use one right now."

"Y-yes,the town h-has Cafe Hay."-the pony said,looking over the three figure getting out of the bush.

"Uh-huh,and one more thing,does it have a hospital?"-she inquired,before Fluttershy fainted before her.

"Wha-What happened?"-Junia said before turning and seeing her friend approach.

"Oh come on,it was going so smoothly!You guys scared her!"-she complained.

"Whatever,you got the info we needed?'-Dismas waived his hand at the lying pony dismissevly.

"I did,but we can't leave her like that!I assume the cottage is her home,the least we can do is leave here there."-she proposed.

Reynald lifted the pegasus in his hands,and went to the cottage muttering-"She's lighter than i thought."
When he entered the building he was met with a barrage of concerned chirps and other animal sounds.He placed the pony hastily on the nearby couch and returned to his compatriots.

"Ponyville?That's the wierdest town name i probably ever heard."-Paracelsus said."As long as it has a tavern i'm fine with it."-Dismas voice his opinin.

"By the looks of this it's getting late,let's get to the town while the tavern is still operational."

"I'm with Reynald on this one.I don't care who these ponies are or where they come from,as long as i can get a drink or two."-Paracelsus agreed.

"Agreed"-came a flurry of voices.

Their trip to the town was pretty uneventful.By the time they got to Ponyville it was getting dark outside and so they hoped the tavern was still open when they arrived.Despite the late hour the group got a few concerned looks from the ponies still roaming the town,but none of them quaked in fear,or fainted at the sight of the heroes.

"I guess that one was just very impressionable."-Paracelsus concluded.

They soon caught sight on the tavern.It was a quite large two-story building with white walls and green patterns adorning said walls.Everyone let out a sigh of relief,as they entered the tavern,thankful that it's still working.

They were met with an unusually quiet tavern.It was full of ponies of all kinds,and yet their language was quite subdued for a tavern folk.No one was yelling at a waiter,demanding another pint,no one was screaming bloody murder over a game of cards,and there certainly was a lack of commotion from upstairs,so it was safe to assume the place didn't have a brothel.
The group plopped down onto the nearest set of chairs,surrounding an empty table.A bemused waiter soon aproched their table.

"So,what can i get for you?"-he said politely.

"Beer,lot's and lot's of beer."-was the unanimous answer.Their faces went sour at the waiter's answer.

"I'm awfully sorry,but we don't sell beer here!May i interest you in any other beverage?"

"Anything with alcohol in it would do just fine."-Dismas answered the question.

"Then i would recommend our famous Apple cider,courtesy of Apple family Orchad.

"Sure,i doubt it will be as strong,but desperate times i guess..."-Dismas was cut short by Para's question.

"How much of this cider do you have here?"

"About two barrels,that usually enough for a month,why do you ask?"

"Simple,we need those two barrels for ourselfs."-she stated matter-of factly.

"But It'll cost you a fortune!"-the stallion warned-"Around a thousand bits or so."

"I don't remember asking for a price.I'll give you a thousand and a half bits if you get us something to eat,without asking any questions."

"We'd appreciate something with meat,i'm starving for a good steak."-Reynald specified.Only then they noticed a terrified look on the stallion's face.

"W-we don't sell meat here!"-he exclaimed.

"Oh for light's sake,then make an omelet or something!"-Dismas snapped

"And a salad please,for all of us."-Junia added.

After taking the order the waiter departed,letting the heroes chat with eachother.