Where Loyalty Lies

Chapters

Chapter 1 : Forgotten Secrets
Nightmares
Lost Truth
Hidden Enemies

Chapter 1 : Forgotten Secrets

Countless Years ago the story told of two Princesses who would rule the land, then one fateful day one fell to the darkness and jealousy, causing deviation and creating chaos. This Princess of the light had no other option but to banish her dark sister to the moon, to bring peace back to the forsaken land and once more allow it to prosper under the rule of the Princess of light. This is how the story is told, though only one who knows the dark secrets behind the tale.

Darkness fell over the land as storm clouds rolled in from the vast oceans. High velocity winds splintered and tore branches clear off of the trees outside of the everfree forest. An old oak tree in the densest part of the woods aged and scarred from countless battles and weathering finally gave it. Branches broke; the trunk creaked and split as the tree was brought down by the mighty gust. Within the hollowed trunk, a metal cylinder, aged and rusted from the countless years of imprisonment inside the massive tree.

Hours past as the storm finally calmed, winds subsiding and curious ponies peaked out at the devastation, pegasai flew over head clearing the clouds from the sky helping clean up after the chaos of the storm. One lone Pegasus flew over the everfree forest taking notice to the large tree that had fallen and swooped down to examine the destruction. Upon landing the rainbow maned Pegasus’ eyes opened wide gazing at the metal cylinder lodged into the stump of the large oak. Having no knowledge of the object she flew off to retrieve aid from a friend, a pony of vast knowledge.

--------------------------------This is where the Truth begins--------------------------

The Pegasus Returned to the metal container followed by five other ponies and a young dragon. Not even the smartest among the group could say what the container was, nor did she know what it had held. No legend had told of it and no pony had spoke of it. The small dragon approached the container inquisitively and knocked on the metal. Moments passed in silence as they all observed before a loud clank in reply to the knocking. Each pony was startled by the loud noise emitting from the container.

Instantly the capsule sides released a hiss of gas, front hatch dropping to the ground like a ramp. The gas cleared gradually and a figure stumbled out of the mist, gasping as it collapsed onto the ground before the ponies. Each of them gazed upon the colorless pony that lay motionless on the grass. On his flank, a pair of spread eagle wings. The group started to mumble around him as the rainbow maned pony, approached the seemingly lifeless figure and nudged it. There was a sharp inhale from the pony as the head lifted up with a frantic shake and instantly stood with and staggered back.

Color slowly flowed over the pony’s mane, length of it turning black with tips of white and body fading into a pure white. The mare fumbled a bit dropping to her knees as wings spread from her sides “Thou Shall not take thy princess whilst thy still stands to fight thee!” said the Pegasus in a howl of anger.

Each of the six looked at each other before gazing back at the ghostly white pony. “We are not here to harm you. Who are you?” inquired the purple unicorn.

Still Startled and unaware of where she was the white Pegasus flapped her wings rearing up and taking an aggressive stance, “Thou shall not fool thee, thou art republic guards.”

Once more the group looked at each other confused the accusation towards them. “We are not guards at all and you are not near enough to the castle to encounter any guards out here,” Said the purple unicorn once more.

The mare shook her head eyes darting from tree to tree unsure of where she had been. “No this cannot be.. where hath I been taken to.. Who art thou? Why hast thou brought me to this place?”

Speaking once more for the group the purple unicorn spoke “We found you trapped here, we had nothing to do with you coming here. We are friends of the Princess. I am Twilight Sparkle,” she points to the rainbow maned Pegasus “That is Rainbow Dash,” she would point to each pony as she continued “Fluttershy, Rarity, AppleJack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike.”

White wings would fold back to the sides of the Pegasus “Friends of the princess?” she thought to herself questioning the statement “I am Ghost Wing, loyal guard of thy Princess. How far hath the war been taken?”

The group looked at each other once more questioningly before looking back at the Pegasus which stood in the middle of them. “There have not been any wars for hundreds of years,” Twilight mentioned as she thought back upon equestrian history.

The Pegasus laughed with a roll of her eyes, “Surely thou jests, and there hath been war for years. Hath thou not seen nor heard this?”

Twilight would speak once more from the group “The last war was over a thousand years ago.”

The white Pegasus looked around, “That is not possible, I had been leading thy princess’ forces to victory, and the war cannot have ended. I was.. . there…“ there was a pause as Ghost looked up to the sky “Princess Luna.. Is thy princess safe?”

Twilight would walk over to Ghost with a tilt of her head looking over the Pegasus “You were trapped in that container for over a thousand years, that is amazing.. How did you survive that long? How did you get stuck in there? There have been so many stories about this, and so much research with no success, we must study this, know how you did it..”

A hoof interrupted Twilight’s ramble, “Both of the Princesses are safe sugar cube no need to stress yerself none,” Replied AppleJack.

Ghost tilted her head rather perplex with the statement and her wings fell limp to her sides. “So.. the war hath ended? Thy Princess must be most furious with thee, having abandoning her in war.” Ghost said lowering her head and sighing.

As Ghost sighed Pinkie Pie was the first to respond, bouncing over to the depressed pony with a smile began to sing a song about friends and forgiveness. A smile would make its way across the white pony’s face as the rest of the group joined in on the song. Shortly after the song would come to an end and Pinkie would take Ghost by the hoof and drag her in the direction of Ponyville. “Come on Ghost, There is so much you must see, you were gone so long. Everything is fantastic and there are so many ponies for you to meet! I must have a party for you, it is like your birthday,” exclaimed the pink pony in a joyous manner.

Drug by the hoof, Ghost would tilt her head and giggle a bit “Thou art too kind, but I must see the Princess.” She would explain flapping her wing in protest.

“You can do that in the morning, it is almost dark. You must tell me all you know about what happened, it is amazing that you basically time traveled with no magic of your own.” Twilight said as she followed the ghostly pony towards town.

“If you were a flyer then.. Were you one of the royal flyers? Is it true that the wonderbolts were rogues of the Flyers?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously with almost a squeal.

A barrage of questions fell upon Ghost along the walk to town. “Thou cannot answer so many questions at once.. I do not know what hath happened to me to cause me to be here. My memory is a bit fuzzy up to my capture, and I am the captain of the Royal Flyers.. or was, and the Wonderbolts? I hath not heard of thy group, though is similar to the group I created to train to be a Flyer.” The White mare explained with a flap of her wings. “I could not hear all thy questions though, I apologize.”

----------------------------------------Hours later----------------------------------------

The group made their way into Ponyville stopping shy of the town square as the moon started to rise over the horizon behind the gradually cloud filling sky. “It is getting late girls, Ghost you can stay with me, if you would like it. You would have shelter from the coming storm,” spoke Twilight looking at the other in the group.

Rarity would interrupt, “No no no dearie.. You must come stay with me, your mane is a mess and those silver horseshoes are much to tarnish for you to wear. You must let me find something less hideous for you to wear Ghost.”

Ghost looked down at her hooves at the dented and split metal that covered her hooves and then to the metal harness around her chest with a blush and looked back up at Rarity. “I suppose thou art right, my attire hath seen much more glorious days,” Ghost mention with a bit of a chuckle.

The two would trot off after giving a farewell to the rest of the group they trotted to Rarity’s home. Rarity at once opened the door to her home with a smile greeting the Pegasus to her home. “You are welcome to stay in my guest room it is the last room down the hall. We can work on your mane in the morning, for now get some rest, there is a shower in the bathroom. I have a lot of work to do if you would kindly leave me your shoes,” she said with a smile to the mare.

Ghost would blush a bit to herself as she kicked off the metal shoes with a smile before nodding “A shower?” she thought to herself. “Thank thee very much thou art most generous, I shall take my rest now then, good evening Miss Rarity,” Ghost spoke softly headed down the hall to the room. Once in the room she gazed around at the furniture, she had not seen anything quite so elegant even in the castle itself. Surely the Pegasus felt out of place in the home, being only a hard working guard and nothing of royalty.

The mare would trot into the bathroom to find this shower that she had heard of. She did not know what it was exactly; the knobs on the wall clearly were to be turned. “What would happen?” she thought to herself as she gave a twist of the knob with her hoof. Water sprayed down from the spout above and she tilted her head with a smile taking a step forward under the water. This world was strange but much more glorious than her time had been. What other marvels could she encounter she would wonder.

Water flowed down over the feathers on the spread wings of the Pegasus and splashed onto the floor, as a loud crack could be heard just outside the small port window near the ceiling of the room. The Pegasus jumped and covered herself with her wings preparing herself for the worst. She would stand on her hind hooves to peer out the window to look for the cause. A small purple dragon could be seen running off into the distance and Ghost would smirk a bit, having only seen one dragon since her arrival.

Maybe it was safe once again, and no one sought to harm her any more. She relaxed a bit finishing her shower with a sigh before turning the knob to turn off the water. She wrapped a towel around herself and trotted to the bed nearby. Upon lying on the silken bed, her eyes closed, quickly she slipped into slumber. Little did the Pegasus know guards had been roaming the same streets that night in attempts to capture her.

Chimes could be heard from the center of town as midnight hit. A jolt would rush though Ghost’s leg, causing her to jerk a bit and roll of to the side of the bed and drop to the floor below. She rose with a groggy mumble and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof before glancing out of the window. Suddenly a familiar figure flew across the sky, casting a shadow in front of the moon. “Luna..” Ghost spoke softly before opening the window and whistling a tune to hopefully attract the attention of the figure.

Unsurprisingly enough, the high pitched noise caught the ear of the figure which reared up and changed its flight course. One swoop of the figures wings and it landed in the streets, it was much to tall to be the princess that she sought. “Celestia, has to be” she spoke softly to herself and took underneath the bed.

The figure trotted by and peered through the window as it moved by, the soft glow of a candle revealing the hunter. Surely enough it was Princess Celestia, no doubt seeking to find the long lost pony.

Nightmares

Chapter 2
Nightmares

Ghost spread her wings as she plummeted into the depths of the deep chasm, following the narrow passage until it reached a jagged cliff side climbing to the top of the mountain. A swoop of her wings quickly lead her straight up the cliff side, hugging close to the rough ridge, her speed increasing with each flap of her wings. Ghost folded her wings to her sides as she whisked over the crest of the mountain and dropped onto her hooves looking out upon Equestria. Just meters away lay the unfinished Canterlot castle; the site was abundant with workers moving frantically to complete the large structure.

Shortly after Ghost was accompanied on the crest of the hill by a dark figure, the young Princess Luna herself stood next to her. “Greetings Ghost, why art thou up here?”

The Pegasus filly giggled a bit looking at Luna with a bow. “I am just curious is all Princess. To think when you are older, Celestia and you will rule it together.”

Luna would nod as she looked at her friend with a smile. “It will be the most peaceful nation when we do. Together we will watch after every pony day and night.”

Slowly the day turned to night before Ghost, the unconstructed building turning into destroyed ruins of fire under the moon light. Ponies fled from Canterlot with cries of terror and suffering. Ghost dropped to kneel as a ripping pain shot through her shoulder, a spear clipping her and drawing blood from the location. She cried out in pain and anger as her body shook awake. Ghost’s Eyes opened to the sight of the underside of the bed and frantically feeling for her wounds, though none were to be found.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy heard the cry from outside Rarity’s home, and would head in with Rarity to check on Ghost. There would be knock on the door and Ghost would shake as she was startled by the noise, quickly slipping out from under the bed and regaining her composure. “Thou may enter,” she said with as calm of voice as possible.

The three ponies entered the room; concerned looks on their faces as they did “What is wrong?” inquired Rarity “We heard you screaming.”

Ghost would shake her head a she offered a smile to them, “Nothing is wrong; I had a startle is all.” She would say standing tall before them to assure them that nothing had happened. After so long had the horrors of the past come to haunt her? Her mind was in conflict, she had no problems justifying her actions; but now it seemed regret lurked around every corner of her mind. Had the years of imprisonment weakened her? This was all she could think of.

Each of the three mares had questionable looks upon their faces, “Alright, if you say so..” Rainbow Dash said with a pause “Anyway, if you would like Fluttershy and I will fly with you to Canterlot. Twilight is already there as well.”

“I uh.. yeah, that would be most kind of thee.. uh.. yeah let us fly,” Ghost replied pausing a moment as she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.

Ghost was afraid, not of Celestia or of the guards, but of the truth. The images of horror filled her mind and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the truth behind all that had happened and if it had been for nothing in the end. She was determined to find out; shortly she would be in the presence of both princesses. Ghost flapped her wings as she took off for Canterlot with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy by her side.

Two hours had passed before they finally arrived at the gates of the royal town. The group was met by the royal guards at the gate; they knew to stop Ghost right then. “Halt! We must escort Ghost Wing to Princess Celestia immediately, it is of upmost importance,” Spoke the guard.

Rainbow Dash spread her wings standing in front of Ghost, but was interrupted by the white Pegasus bumping into her side. “It is okay Rainbow Dash, I shall meet thee after.”

The guards pushed Rainbow Dash aside as they moved to either side of Ghost and escorted her to the main chambers of the castle. Once they reached the throne room they halted short of the towering throne. Shortly after they were joined by the Princess of the Sun herself, Celestia took a seat at the throne and the group bowed before her. “Guards you are dismissed, I wish to be alone with Ghost Wing.”

In moments the room was empty of all guards and Ghost would lower her head, “I accept any punishment that thou seekith to give thee princess.”

Celestia would wave her hoof, “I do not wish to punish you Ghost, you took care of my sister in the darkest times and you as many of the night’s royal guards stood in honor of your Princess. Loyalty is not a characteristic to be punished and you were foaled as much as any other pony. The only thing I ask you is that before returning to your duty as head of the Night Guard is that you return to ponyville with Twilight Sparkle and learn what you have missed after so many years.”

Ghost would bow once more, “As you wish Princess. Is this with Princess Luna’s consent as well?” She would ask looking up at the dazzling Princess.

“Luna and I spoke much about this day and it is what we both wish to see happen. You should know that she wishes only the best for her friend.” Spoke Celestia, “Any questions?”

“Yes princess, why did thou seekith thee in the night?” Ghost questioned still holding her guard expecting worse than she was receiving.

“I sought to ensure that you were safe. There are many who still seek and fear those of the old Lunar Republic and shadows sometimes follow prisoners of the ever free forest.” Replied Celestia as she would rise from the throne.

“Prisoner?” questioned the Pegasus “What do thou mean? Thou knowith what happened to thee?”

“You do not remember? When we sought to sign the treaty in the neutral clouds over the Everfree forest, we were attacked by the dwellers of the forsaken forest. You were hit by a spear guarding Luna’s life and fell into the dreaded land. Somehow Luna and I had known you would not allow yourself to die in such a manner. What had happened after the fact we do not know nor did we expect your return.”

The Pegasus would nod “Then I shall seek what hath happened to thee, for I know something is awry Princess, there is something that hath been hidden from me.”

“Very well, I shall help you how ever I may and shall send Luna to meet thee in Ponyville for she will be very excited to hear you live. Now go and be with your new friends. They are the best friends a pony could ask for.” Princess Celestia spoke “They will help you find the answer you seek.”

Ghost bowed once more to the Princess “Thou art most pleased by thy decision Princess, I will report to you all that I may know about the subject.”

That moment the Pegasus would turn and trot over to the exit “Wait.. there is one thing you must know. Whatever has kept you captive for so long in the forest is not happy that you left so watch yourself.”

Without a word Ghost nodded and spread her wings showing acknowledgement as she parted from the chamber. Outside the door she was greeted by none other than Twilight Sparkle. “Hey, hope everything is okay, it is good to hear that you are going to be staying in Ponyville though. I am excited, I have so many things I want to ask you, and we can be the best of friends.” Twilight said with a bit of a bounce in her step as they headed back to the castle gates soon to be joined by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

There was a bit of a pause on Ghost’s end but she smiled and nodded a bit “I do not know if I have many answers for thou Twilight, but will help as thy can.”

Twilight nodded a bit as she was lifted into the air by Ghost and Rainbow Dash. The flapped their wings as they flew back towards Ponyville. Rainbow Dash looked over at Ghost as their wings beat in the same rhythm. Ghost tilted her head looking at Rainbow dash “Thou remindith me of some pony I used to know.” Ghost would say with a bit of a smile, “She hath a similar mane.”

Just before Rainbow Dash could respond, shadowed figure swooped down both figures grabbing onto Ghost Wing’s legs and pulling her out of the sky. Fluttershy aided Rainbow Dash by catching Twilight, and they followed after Ghost. The figures disappeared into the forest below just as swiftly as they had appeared. The three halted at the top of the tree line for a moment as the peered down into the depths of the forest, all they could see was darkness. “We have to go after Ghost, we can’t lose them,” Twilight cried out looking up at the two pegasai.

They both looked at twilight with a nod in agreement, before diving into the depths of the darkness without a second thought. It had been too late, even had they been on the tail of the figures it was too dark to see anything in the depths of the forest. Twilight’s horn would glow enough to see a few feet in front of them but any further would be a guess on what lurked in the abyss. As the three progressed screeches and howls could be heard from every corner of the forest, sounds even Fluttershy has not heard. As the group approached an opening in the dense woods there was a crack and Rainbow Dash felt a tug on her leg before she was instantly hoisted into the air hanging by a rope that snagged one of her hooves. “Whoa, it’s a trap!” screamed Rainbow.

Suddenly spears dropped from the over head foliage and impaled into the ground in a straight row in front of the two ponies cutting them off from running to their friend’s aid. “What’s going on?” Twilight would question looking around the gloomy opening.

Four armored guards would drop from the trees; the armor metal coat and a dark purple paint with lunar crests carved into the steel. Could it be the Nightmare moon’s guard themselves? Fluttershy attempted to back away slowly but was stopped by Twilight who held her ground. One of the guards would approach the spear wall, the expression on his face rather angry. “Why do you chase our Captain?” The guard would speak up as he glared at the two in front of him.

“Chase? Are you crazy, she is our friend. Let her go or you will pay!” Rainbow Dash would yell with a flap of her wings to try to pull herself free of the rope.

“We saw you leaving the castle, Celestia probably hired you three to eliminate our leader!” The guard replied with in a growl.

“Eliminate your leader? Yeah like..” Rainbow Dash was cut off by a yell from the darkness.

“Halt!” echoed the voice through the silent forest. “They art not here to harm thee, they art here to help thee.”

Shortly after Ghost Wing would emerge into the illuminated part of the opening looking over at her friends, she would trot over to the rope and cut it with one of the guard’s blades. “The war with Celestia hath long been finished. I may not have been around for many a year but thou do know; this is a time of peace, not vengeance. My friends and I must be on our way Lieutenant.”

“Captain, the guard has waited a long time for your return and you deny us that?” the lieutenant would question her. “We are here to follow you, not Luna. We read your notes and strategy books. We know that there are questions only you can answer, you must lead us. It even says you seek to lead your own forces Ghost.”

“Thou knows not what thy speaks of, I wrote those in a time of evil. This is not who thy Lunar Guard hath been destine for. Thou dishonor the name of thy guard.” Ghost would speak firmly as she motioned for Rainbow Dash to help her lift Twilight.

Swiftly Rainbow Dash swooped over and they lifted Twilight quickly into the air with Fluttershy closely following them. “What was that all about?” Twilight would question as the returned on their path home.

“Tis’ a long story Twilight, one day thy shall know what I speakith of.” Ghost replied as they quickly headed back to Ponyville to escape from the shadows of the dark forest.

Upon landing back at Ponyville they were met with a warm reception from Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack who were glad to see their friends return safely. Ghost would start to head off into the town in search of food, shortly accompanied by Rainbow Dash. “So Ghost, what was this nightmare about this morning?” Rainbow would ask trotting up next to her.

“What does thou mean?” inquired Ghost looking at the colorful Pegasus.

“I know what nightmare looks like Ghost. I haven’t seen a pony that inwardly frightened in a while Ghost, we are both Pegasus you can tell me anything.” Rainbow said with a smile over to the white Pegasus.

“Thou must promise thou shall say nothing to no pony else,” Ghost said with a sigh.

“Nothing will go beyond the two of us Ghost.” Rainbow would reassure with a smile to her.

“I hath done many horrible deeds Dash. I was Captain of Nightmare moon’s guard. I don’t remember all that happened, we fought for what we believed in, so much we had not noticed our princess fall to the darkness as we all did. I hath had the most horrible nightmares.” Ghost said with a regretting sigh and lowering her head.

“It’s been over a thousand years, and clearly you aren’t who you were then. We will all do things we are not proud of but we make it through with friends. What matters is who you are now. You have us as friends now so you can talk to us about anything.” Rainbow replied “I will gladly listen especially if we go for an awesome flight too.”

Lost Truth

Rainbow Dash and Ghost had just returned from their hours of flying. They landed just outside of Twilight’s house laughing. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door followed by the sounds of hooves headed towards the door. Twilight opened the door offering them to come into her home, where Ghost was immediately greeted by none other than Princess Luna herself. Ghost bowed in respect for the Princess, “Your majesty, it is most wonderful to see that thou art okay. Forgive thee for failing you so many years ago. I accept any punishment thou seeith fit for thee Princess.”

Luna shook her head bowing back with a smile to her old friend, “There is no punishment for loyalty. You hath done nothing wrong Ghost Wing. It is I who had failed you my loyal guard for I am the one who lead thou to darkness. It is most wonderful to see my best friend hath not been killed in the war. Please call me Luna as I have always asked.”

Ghost would nod as she stood tall before the Princess. “Thank you Prin.. I mean Luna. I told you long ago they call me Ghost for a reason,” She said jokingly. “I do not remember the last few weeks before I ended up here, do thou know anything Luna?”

The princess would sigh and nod, “I do know what happened.” She paused “As you know I because Nightmare Moon as I was taken by the darkness. Those last few weeks that thou does not remember, Thou had rebelled against Nightmare Moon’s rule and questioned the righteousness of the cause. Nightmare Moon saw you as a threat and cast the spell of darkness upon thee. Thou may recall little during that time but thou fought against the spell and it cost my dark self to much trouble to control thee, that the nightmare decided to trap thee. She cast thou into steel and buried thou in the depths of the ever free so no pony would find thee. You knew the secret that kept you from the same path as thyself.”

The white Pegasus would tilt her head looking up at the princess “What was the secret?”

Princess Luna placed her hoof on her friend’s shoulder, “Friendship. Thou sought to end thy darkness, and fought for our friendship so much that the darkness couldn’t keep you in its control. “

Ghost would nod “I did not want to see my best friend die before me Luna. How does thou rule alongside Celestia though?”

“Our cause started just and became corrupted. We were right then, Thy sister had been captured by Changelings. Their queen was the one who had caused the problems though my jealousy of Tia was what caused my fall to darkness I cannot blame her for any of it now,” Responded Luna

“I see that I hath missed much in my absence then, what does thou wish thee to do Luna?” Ghost would ask tilting her head as she looked up at her.

“I wish thou to be Captain of thy guard still, but wish for thee to experience this new world first. As Twilight hath done for thee, she and her friends will teach you much of this land.” Luna would say with a smile to Ghost, “I hath missed thee much my good friend and will stop in to see thee often.”

Ghost nodded offering a bow to the Princess and smiled, “Thank you Princess, I shall gladly return when thou needith thy services.”

The princess would step outside as two guards would land to either side of her adorn in armor as dark as the night sky. Luna nodded to her friend, “Learn all that thou can, I will be back to see thee soon.” She said as her wings flapped and lifted her into the air, followed shortly after by the guards, while Twilight, Rainbow, and Ghost joined the rest of Ponyville in slumber.

----------------------------------- A few hours later ------------------------------------

“Gee you have to snap out of it!” A black and red tipped maned Pegasus stallion standing tall clad in dulled back armor and a shield with a paw print on his flank, standing out on his light blue coat yelled.

No response was given to him as streams of magic and arrows landed around him in the fire. The Pegasus lifted a shield off the ground to defend against an axe blade, which he forced away from his mass and lunged forward tackling his attacker. He leaned down tugging the mask off the opponent to reveal them. “Ghost this is not you, break the darkness, I know you can.”

The female Pegasus kicked him off and would reach for a blade at her side and swinging it in her maw. “You dare defy thy true ruler, Silent Hunter. You will bow to Nightmare Moon!” cried Ghost showing her teeth with snarl.

“I shall not, Come back to me Ghost. I am not here to hurt you.” Said Hunter looking into her eyes and evading the swipe of the blade, “I cannot allow you to stay lost in the darkness, let me guide you.”

Hunter grabbed her collar in his teeth as he would rotate his body and roll her onto the ground. Once more he’d stand tall above her, “Nightmare moon is deceiving ... you.” There was a long pause before Hunter would grit his teeth with a painful exhale. The stallion stumbled away and collapsed down one his knees. Two arrows had caught him in the shoulder and side. “This.. isn’t.. you,” he would said with a gasp and fall over.

Ghost shook her head as she with start, her hind legs kicking a shelf and causing a row of books to topple down. The commotion woke both of the other mares, Rainbow dash rearing up and taking a fighting stance, “Who’s there? I’ll take on any pony, I’m not afraid!” Rainbow almost yelled looking around the room for the source of the disturbance.

Twilight mumbled a bit as she got out of her bed “Relax Rainbow Dash, It is just books. Ghost, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked as she trotted over to the trembling Pegasus.

“I… I… watched thy best friend parish and twas helpless to prevent it…” Ghost mumbled as her wings would wrap around herself. “Every time I learnt more of what I could not remember, I fear more what thy whole truth shall hold.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash would offer her a hug to reassure her. “Things will work out in the end Ghost, you are not alone and it was not you who did the deeds it were the darkness which caused them.” Twilight spoke softly illuminating the small portion of the room with the glow of her horn, “we are here for you any time that you need us.”

“Having all of thee as friends is splendid, thou art most kind to stay by me after all that I hath done.” Ghost said as she slowly laid her head back on her pillow with a yawn.

Rainbow and Twilight would slip back into their beds, once more drifting off into slumber like the rest of the town. The leaves would rustle outside as a shadow had fled from the sight of the window. Little did the three know that there was something lurking outside that night. Soon the sun would rise leaving no evidence of the spy or their intentions, and the friends would wake oblivious of their visitor.

All three of the ponies would be awoken abruptly by a loud knocking echoing through the home from the front door. With a grumble twilight would get up out of her bed and trot down the stairs to answer the door. As soon as the door opened, Pinkie Pie bounced into the room with a smile. She hopped around the room, “Hey Twilight!” she would exclaim with a grin before stopping in front of the unicorn.

“Good morning Pinkie, why are you here so early?” Twilight asked with a tilt of her head as she looked at the pink pony.

“I found something, I found something, I found something!” Pinkie chanted as she bounced around Twilight and they were joined by the other two mares.

“What is it Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash responded watching the pink pony hop frantically around the room.

Pinkie Pie stopped to think for a moment and tilted her head, “Oh yeah, I found this!” She reached into her saddle back and pulled out a book with a shield and paw print on it. “It looks really old, it was in a stump by the lake near the everfree forest.”

Twilight examined the book, her horn glowing as she lifted it away from the pink one. A small lock sealed the book shut and there didn’t seem to be an opening for a key or dials for a combination. Ghost’s eyes went wide as she saw the logo on the cook and trotted over to Twilight. “Can I see that?” She would ask reaching her hoof out to take the object. “I know that book.”

The book dropped into Ghost’s hooves as Twilight released it. Ghost looked at the book and lowered her head to the lock of the book and whistled a soft-hearted tune near the lock. The metal clasp flipped open and the padlock dropped to the floor. “This is my closest friend’s book, I would know his mark anywhere,” Ghost said a bit shakily on the edge of tears.
The Pegasus’s eyes shifted from one end of a page to another as she mumbled to herself. The other three looked at her curiously, and Rainbow was the first to speak “What does it say?” she’d ask bluntly.

Before Twilight could scold Rainbow on the rude gesture Ghost read aloud the legible parts of the book. “Today I plan to confess my love for that sneaky cloud Pegasus. Years we hath been friends, years I lied to myself. Every enemy of the crown I fight in her honor not the crown’s. I carry mark on my flag into each battle for luck in hopes that one day that these wars will be more frightening than talking to her alone. Today is that day…” there was a pause as the text had faded and was illegible. “Long had it been since I saw my best friend, my love and I return still not having the chance to speak my love. Now I return and I have lost her. In my absence the Princess of the night had fallen to darkness and her most loyal guard, my friend fell with her. Together they fight to take over this land but even if they win the darkness cannot have my friend. I will confront her here, I will try to show her the light. If I don’t survive then…” The pages faded once more for, “I have spent weeks recovering from my injuries, I am not fully ready for the fight but it is our last chance, Celestia has gathered a small remaining her best guard and a group to try some kind of elemental magic to rid the darkness from equestria. I probably won’t return from this so I shall leave my flag folded in these pages and maybe one day ponies shall read my story. So all shall know Ghost… no matter how far you fall I will catch you before you land… I wish only that she would know…” the pages faded once more and the next flip of the page a flag fell out of the book, covered in dirt and tattered from war, her own cutie mark printed onto the center. “That is all that is left.”

There were a few moments of silence before anyone would speak up. “So this is what you meant… I didn’t know that you loved the pony you spoke of.” Twilight said as she offered a hug to Ghost.

“I didn’t know either,” Ghost replied as she hugged the purple unicorn. “He never said anything to me about it…”

“Maybe I can find a spell to make the rest of it legible again so you can read it all,” Twilight would suggest as she smiled at Ghost faintly.

“Thou does not have to do so Twilight, I hath heard what I needed. Though there maybes something useful in the end.” Ghost said picking up the flag that had dropped.

“He sounds like he was amazing,” Pinkie would try to lighten the mood, “What if he is still around like you are… I mean he had to gone after you in those last days. There has to be something left and we should find it!”

Ghost shook her head “I would not expect Hunter to; he hath been through much before, Hard to kill maybe but not immortal.”

There was a bit of a pause before the crack of thunder would echo and shake the tree home. They all jumped with the loud noise and began to laugh as the sound of a hoof rapping at the door would draw their attention. “I wonder who would be out during a storm?” Twilight questioned with her horn glowing and opening the door.

Immediately Applejack and Fluttershy would rush in just as the rain would begin to pour down outside. Both of them were breathing heavy as they had rushed a quickly as they could to seek shelter from the storm. “Howdy Y’all, sorry ta just rush in like that Twi, but didn’t want ta mess up yer house ‘er nothin’ with all that rain.” Applejack would say as she waved her hat to everyone in the room. “What are y’all up ta?”

“We were just talking with Ghost is all, she was telling us about some things that she remembers. Why did you two come over so fast?” Twilight inquired as she approached them.

“Well Fluttershy and Ah’ were herdin’ some animals and had been headed past Rarity’s when she came out and told us ta let y’all know Ghost’s Armor is done. So we were headed over ‘ere ta let y’all know and wouldn’t ya know it started ta rain on us, Seemed kind of random.” Applejack spoke putting down her saddle bags.

Rainbow Dash opened up the door once more looking out at the sky as it poured down rain. “It wasn’t supposed to rain today. I don’t understand how it is possible; none of the weather Pegasus aren’t around either.” She said rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “And it is starting to get foggy as ever out there, what gives?”

Ghost’s eyes widened as she would nudge Rainbow Dash out of the way gawking at the fog. “I know this fog… It ‘tis the fog from… It is not possible…” She yelled rushing out of the door, “You shall not take thee again!”

The white Pegasus disappeared into the thick fog before anyone could response to the outburst. “What was that about?” Rainbow asked after she had been forced out of the way. “Let’s go!”

Twilight would grab Rainbow Dash by her wings as she tried to rush off, “Hold up Rainbow, we should stick together… Ghost seemed a bit weary of this and we don’t know why.”

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings with a mumble, and lifted into a hover as she waited outside the door. The rest of the group walked out of the door towards the fog slowly, each looking about for their lost friend. It remained rather quiet in the fog, everyone must have been locked away in their homes in Ponyville for there was normally an abundance of noise throughout the small town.

Suddenly a loud shatter of glass and screams of horror arose from nearby. The group had approached the corner of town where they had heard the sound. It was outside the bakery, where a familiar figure lay motionless in shards of glass, clearly from where the top story window had broken out. “Ghost…” Twilight cried out with a gasp.

Hidden Enemies

Tapping noises arose from the sounds of the melting ice dripping over the rocks of the mountains. The gusts of wind the caressed the curves of the mountain side became warmer as spring began to set in. Two small figures would emerge from their hiding within the dark caves high up on the mountain. One was a small white Pegasus, the other a dark grey Pegasus; the white one had a blank flank while the grey had winged compass on his flank. They both looked at each other with a laugh “Who knew that thy special talent would be about survival.” Spoke the white Pegasus with a smile.

“You know, I am happier that we found shelter for that blizzard more than I am of earning this to be honest Ghost,” said the grey Pegasus with a laugh.

“Well I think it is still pretty cool Hunter, one day I will get mine and you better be there for it!” exclaimed Ghost with a giggle.

Everything went blurry as another image appeared. Three Pegusai flew through the cloud rings in a straight forward race. Each was adorn in the armor of the Royal Guard. Maneuvering to and fro through the obstacles that had been set for the challenge; the three rammed and kicked at their opponents, very equally matched in their abilities. Suddenly a solid wall was between them and the next ring, their speed ensuring they had no chance to avoid impact with the solid object. A loud crash could be heard at the armored stallions made contact, all three dropping from the clouds unconscious.

The blank flanked white Pegasus immediately dove off of the cloud stands with a gasp before snagging one of the Royal Banners that hung from the pillars. Her wings propelled her faster and faster in a death defying plummet to the earth below in efforts to catch the falling stallions. Finally catching up to the falling stallions, she quickly snagged them one by one in the large stadium banner and with all her might yanked on the material to pull it tight, slowing the decent of the falling figures. With the last of her effort her wings flapped harder and countered the fall, and lifting the fallen back into the cloud.

The stadium was silent as Ghost dropped the Guards onto the clouds and the leader of the group rose from under the banner. He lifted off his helmet, “Hunter… art thou okay?” Ghost asked as she set down her satchel in search of any medical supplies she may have.

“I am doing fine gold wings,” he said with a laugh as he would nudge her with his hoof.

Ghost tilted her head questioningly before realizing what the teasing meant. A grin appeared on the young Pegasus’ face “Ha, I knew mine would involve saving thy flank one day, thou art always getting in trouble.”

The happiness was soon dispersed into a view of flames and war before everything went white. Ghost’s eyes opened to the sight of metal bars all around. How long had she been out? Where was she? Her mind fumbled over her memories trying to figure out what had happened.

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash flew over to the lifeless figure of their friend that lay sprawled through the glass. The blue Pegasus would nudge the figure before its color would fade into a dark grey returning to its normal form. It had been a changeling, and it could only mean that their friend was nearby. “Nawt these things again,” Applejack muttered approaching Rainbow Dash.

“Why are they in Ponyville though? You think they would be in Canterlot after Princess Celestia and Luna. Seems like they are only after Ghost, this doesn’t make any sense.” Twilight said tapping her hoof “Wait, what if they are the ones who trapped Ghost...”

“Well whatever their reason they better not touch my cupcakes!” Pinkie would yell over the commotion as she trotted to the door of the bakery.

“Wait up Pinkie, y’all don’t know what’s goin’ on in there,” Applejack yelled chasing after the overly energetic pink pony.

Twilight shook her head and pointed towards Rarity’s home “Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, go make sure that Rarity is okay and meet us back here.” Twilight quickly followed her other friends into the bakery as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew off.

The group entered the Bakery, every light was off and the rooms empty of life. “Where are the Cakes at?” Twilight asked curiously as the trotted past the counter.

“They are on vacation, I have been running the shop,” Pinkie said in her normal upbeat tone. “There hasn’t been anything weird going on; I don’t know why they would be in here. Maybe they were hungry, they better not be eating everything. What if they are eating Ghost!” Pinkie screamed; her ears flopping as she bumped into Applejack.

“Quiet Pinkie, don’t y’all hear that noise?” Applejack said, as a dull clanking could be heard coming from below them. “Ah’ didn’t know that the Cakes had a basement.”

Pinkie tilted her head as her hoof tapped her chin in thought. “They don’t have one, well not that I have ever known. I mean I have been all over the bakery and never found a way to get into in at least.”

The clanking continued as the talked; Twilight listened closely to the floor to figure out exactly where I might be coming from. Suddenly the floor buckled below the purple unicorn, and in one swift motion she tumbled into the dark pit with a thud. Pinkie and Applejack quickly ran to the edge of the hole, calling for their friend. “I’m fine,” Twilight said as her horn lit up to illuminate the dark space, seemingly a tunnel. “It’s not much of a fall but there is a tunnel down here. It kind of looks like the ones that we saved Rarity from, I bet Ghost is at the end of this tunnel.”

The clanking echoed through the tunnel, only making the darkness eerier than before. Applejack and Pinkie dropped down into the hole behind Twilight, Applejack looking back up at the top of the hole. “Ya think Rainbow and Fluttershy will know ta come down here?”

“Hopefully we find Ghost and get back before they even come, but knowing Rainbow Dash she will encourage the others to go follow down the pit. Let’s go, who knows what is going on down here.” Twilight said trotting off down the tunnel, her glowing horn lighting up their descent into darkness.

Elsewhere in the tunnel, Ghost continued to kick the metal bars that had contained her. The metal shoe causing a loud clanking, this drew her captor from the shadows. The tall white Alicorn approached her. “Thou art not Princess Celestia!” Ghost yelled out taking a defensive stance against the tall being. “Why does thou seekith to imprison thee?”

The Alicorn’s lips would curl with a grin, before echoing a diabolical laugh through the corridors of the tunnel. “You are right, I am not. I do not seek to only imprison you; I seek to destroy you for my revenge. If it was not for you the Lunar Republic would never have defeated me. It does entertain me to know that saving the real Princess Celestia only lead to the down fall of your own Princess.”

“What does thou speak of? I do not recall these events which thou hath mentioned.” Ghost spoke with a confused tone.

The imposter laughed with an evil grin “This is to perfect, you will perish never knowing why or how.”

“My friends shall find thee soon, and then thou shalt see who hath the last laugh.” Ghost said glaring at her enemy.

Ghost kicked at the metal bars once again in effort to get someone’s attention. “No one will look for you under the bakery of Ponyville. I am going to do away with you slowly to exact my revenge,” the imposter said with a crazed look before laughing once more. The fake alicorn’s horn glowed and Ghost was forced against the side of the cage, ropes floating up and tying her hooves to the bars. “I am going to clip those wings of yours. Let’s see you lead another revolt against me.”

The clopping of hooves against rock and dirt could be heard down the corridors of the tunnels. The imposter hissed at the sounds of the hooves as her eyes glared into the darkness. “Twilight Sparkle and her friends no doubt, here to ruin my fun once again, we will see about that. Minions! Follow me.”

Suddenly the dark figures leapt out of the darkness. Their unmistakable appearance gave them away, it was changelings. The herd of changelings ran off into the darkness after the search party. Ghost watched as the figures disappeared into the depths of the cavern, waiting a few moments before her wings flapped violently, loosening the ropes which bound her to the cage. Once free the Pegasus bucked with all her strength at the door, the metal shoes clanking against the chain the held the cage door shut.

Meanwhile Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy arrived at Rarity’s home. Rainbow Dash burst through the door hollering in a vicious battle cry. Rarity jumped in surprise as she looked at her friends who just burst through the door. “What are you doing Rainbow Dash? It is so rude to just barge into one’s home in such a manner.” Rarity spoke, startled by the commotion but continuing on with work.

“Thank goodness you are okay Rarity; we were so worried about you.” Fluttershy said gleefully as she flew over to hug the unicorn.

Before Rarity could speak Rainbow Dash flew over and started to drag both of the ponies. “That’s great, but we don’t have time we have to get back to Twilight and the others before anything bad happens.”

“What’s going on Rainbow Dash?” Rarity inquired as she was dragged out of her boutique.

“Ghost has been captured by the Changelings and Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie went to rescue her. They are at Sugarcube Corner!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she rushed the other two to follow her.

Not long after the group reached the bakery, quickly rushing into the building. It did not take long for them to find the large hole which had busted open into the caves below. “They must be down there!” Rainbow said with a dive into the darkness.

“But it is so dirty, and grim down there.” Rarity responded in a whining tone.

With that Rainbow Dash flew back up and gave Rarity a shove from behind before the unicorn could turn back, causing her to drop into the dark cavern. “We don’t have time for this Rarity our friends need our help.”

Once again the clanking could be heard echoing throughout the corridors as the group quickly rushed in the direction of the sound. “They must be this way,” Rainbow Dash said leading the herd.

One final kick would break the chains of the lock, causing the door to bust open as well. Ghost was free once more, and she hoped soon enough to aid her friends in the fight against the Changelings. Swiftly the Mare ran into the darkness, the ability to see in such dimly lit areas came natural to the guard of Princess Luna. The Pegasus’ wings flapped frantically to reach her friends as quickly as possible.

Changelings dropped from holes in the top of the caves in attempts to ambush the freed prisoner. Without hesitation Ghost would weave through the mass, kicking any who neared her as she fought to find the rescue party.