Shifting Sides

by Moonatik

Rating: teen
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Equestria at War, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Thriller, Original Character, Violence
Length: 6161

In the final hours of the Lunar-Crystal War, Sombra's Empire is on its deathbed. One of his strongest minions must fight, flee, or face Lunar justice.

It was supposed to be so simple for Grim Fate. A necromancer from a far-away land, she offered her services to King Sombra and easily rose through the ranks of his forces owing to her magical skill. With legions of undead thralls under her command, she'd rule the world as one of Sombra's Legates. All that stood in the way was the Lunar Empire to the south.

Eleven months had passed since the Lunar-Crystal War began. After some initial victories in the first weeks, the war had been nothing but a slow, agonising retreat. Now the Lunars had the Crystal City itself surrounded, and for the last week what disorganised and depleted Crystal legions existed in the city could barely resist.

Now pinned down in the midst of the war's final battle, Grim must put in her all if she wants to escape Lunar justice. Sombra himself may not survive, but Grim won't give up without a fight.

Takes place in my New Lunar Millennium alternate universe. More information can be found here, but no prior knowledge of my AU beyond the general concept is required to read this story.

Proofread and edited by Ebonyglow and Izzy Incraft. Cover image by ModularPon.

Published 2023-04-07 23:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-04-07 23:30:01 UTC

Shifting Sides

10:20 - 23/03/1004 - Crystal City

Stomping past an overturned desk, Grim Fate stared at the drab ceiling of the cold, ruined lobby. She could hear the ever-present din of gunfire and explosions from outside along with the stench of smoke and blood, straining her senses. Through it all, she couldn’t help but let the thought creep into her mind: How did it come to this? She’d served Sombra exceptionally well, yet here she was holed up in an apartment building. She hadn’t travelled over the seas and across continents to find herself here. Why was this happening?

Grim’s thoughts were suddenly stripped from her, as, out of nowhere, the door flew open with a slam. She whizzed around, horn readied with magic, prepared to engage with whomever or whatever breached her room. When Sombra soldiers with enchanted helmets on their heads and rifles slung over their armour started to march into the lobby, she lowered her guard. Following them, an unhelmeted, unicorn stallion wearing a sharp black officer’s uniform ran in and swiftly slammed the door shut.

“You,” the officer gestured to a group of soldiers, “secure the lobby, barricade the windows and keep an eye on the entrance.”

The soldiers moved to do exactly what was ordered of them, falling behind cover with their guns aimed at the door as others used whatever furniture they could find to block the windows.

“And you-” the officer nearly gasped as he looked at Grim Fate, recoiling as his eyes widened. “Legate Fate? What are you doing here?”

“I needed cover,” Grim answered. “Lunars overwhelmed me, got separated from my forces, I’m expecting reinforcements. You’re not them, are ya?”

“I’m afraid not, Legate. I was waiting for reinforcements too,” the officer walked up to her whilst glancing at the door. “I just retreated into here to dig in, the enemy is advancing and I’d rather not be out in the open.”

Morale amongst the upper brass was waning, but amongst the common soldiers, it was one of two extremes. Either they fought to the death or they spat in their leaders’ faces. Their enchanted helmets were the most crucial part of their uniform. If they wore them, they’d be under the tight grip of a mind-control spell and become unquestioning and unthinking soldiers in Sombra’s army. It was a proven means of conscripting an unwilling populace, but if the helmet were removed, they’d turn their guns on their superiors faster than one could blink.

The officer served Sombra willingly, as did Grim Fate herself, so no helmets were necessary. Instead of the typical uniform worn by officers, Grim wore a specialised outfit owing to her status as a mage. A black form-fitting bodysuit laid beneath the iron armour around her neck and legs, matching that of Sombra’s own, along with a black cape held together by a skull-shaped iron broach. It made her recognisable and signalled to all soldiers that she was to be respected, protected, and, most importantly, obeyed.

Before long, the officer turned to a group of three soldiers. “Follow me,” he ordered, “we have to secure the upstairs. Legate, please follow us.”

Leaving the rest of the soldiers - around six - in the lobby, Grim hurried up the stairs following the officer and the selected three soldiers. They came to the first door in the hall, breached it and found an empty apartment occupied only by rats. The five of them fanned out into the room, cautiously checking the windows and pushing furniture around to assemble makeshift barricades.

“We might be in the clear,” the officer peeked out a window, “that squad may have-”

He was interrupted by the noise of gunfire and screaming. Not from outside, but from below.

“Get to cover!” he cried, taking a readied stance.

Grim slid behind an overturned sofa, her horn at the ready. The three soldiers trained their guns on the door as they ran to whatever cover they could find.

A few moments passed, and the gunfire below had stopped. Hoofsteps came from the hallway. Quiet, hushed voices followed.

“Who’s there?” the officer levitated his pistol towards the door. “Are you friendly?”

The sudden crack of gunfire followed by a scream reverberated inside the room. Grim whirled her head around, eyes going wide at the sight before her. A soldier - one of their own - had their rifle smoking trained on the officer. Blood was spraying from the officer’s throat as he writhed on the floor. The soldier spun around towards Grim, pulling back the rifle’s bolt. The green light was gone from the helmet’s eyes. Without a second thought, she launched a streak of destructive orange magic from her horn. It left a thin, fleshy hole clean through the soldier's head, leaving them standing for a moment before they collapsed with a solid thud onto the floor below.

Breathing heavily, sweat running down her face, she quickly looked at the other two soldiers. They were shaking and grunting as the green light faded from their helmets.

"Spell jammer!" Grim gasped.

With a swift flick of her horn, Grim unleashed a wave of black magic on the soldiers. They unceremoniously went limp and fell to the floor. Better to deal with them while they were docile than to worry about them turning hostile, she thought. Plus, now that they were corpses-

The doorway exploded. Flinching, Grim threw up a magical shield. It protected her from the blast, but not the deafening bang. What physical cover she had would’ve done her no good, every piece of furniture was launched into the back wall. The whole room had been filled with smoke and dust, and the door itself was reduced to flaming splinters.

Once the ringing in her ears had faded and the smoke had cleared, she saw a unicorn mare in a Lunar combat uniform standing in what was left of the doorway. Her coat was dark grey, her spiky mane a fiery red, and the pink patch on her shoulder indicated she belonged to a mage company. The mage’s horn burned with bright red magic, and her eyes burned with rage.

“No, I’m not jamming the spell. It’s failing,” the mage tauntingly stated, standing tall with her held head high. “Our Empress is here, striking your wretched king down as we speak. His attention is too divided to keep up the spell.”

Five now-former Sombra soldiers, with armour sans helmets, ran up behind the mage. Every one of them had red-hot, seething rage painting their countenances as they pointed their weapons at Grim.

“No,” the mage raised a hoof but kept her eyes on Grim. “You get to safety, I’ll handle this scumbag-”

She was cut off by the bang of a gun as one of the soldiers shot at Grim. The soldier looked up from his smoking rifle, only to see his bullet had been caught in Grim’s magical barrier. Before he could chamber another round, the bullet flew right back at him, tearing through his skull. He crashed to the ground, causing the four standing soldiers to gasp and pull their weapons to their chests.

“Idiot,” Grim sneered.

“Go!” yelled the mage. “Now!”

The remaining four did as asked, with one of them taking care to carry the fallen soldier out with them.

“Weren’t there seven of them?” Grim threw her head back, giving the mage a contemptuous glare.

The mage grit her teeth, scowling over at her. “Not all of them were freed, so a firefight broke out.” She scoffed, throwing a cocky grin at Grim. “Regardless, I’d say spontaneously losing five out of your seven troops, adding in the fact that the two with you ended up dead, is a pretty clear indicator that you’ve lost.” Magic flickered in her horn, intensifying for a moment as her voice was littered with anger. “You might as well give up.”

“Fat chance!” Light flared in Grim’s horn, her shield morphing into a glowing ball of orange energy, before swiftly being launched at the mage. Jerking her head, the mage fired a quick blast of magic at the sphere and deflected it. It ripped through a wall, making a thunderous crash and leaving a large smouldering hole.

A streak of lightning shot out of the mage’s horn. Grim’s magic swatted it aside into a dead soldier’s body, launching the corpse up in a spasm. The grisly sight caught the mage’s attention, distracting her just long enough for Grim’s magic to lift a wardrobe and throw it at the mage. It shattered into splinters and shards on impact, throwing up dust and clouding the area. Grim grinned. Though once the dust cleared, Grim saw the mage had thrown up a shield just in time. Grim’s smirk dropped to a scowl.

“There’s no way you can win this!” grunted the mage as she bore her teeth, literal fire burning in their horn.

Before Grim could ready another spell, a torrent of screaming hot flames burst out of the mage’s horn. Flame grazed Grim’s skin before her shield went up. The fiery blast kept coming. Grim tensed, her teeth clenched, and her legs shook as hot winds threw back her mane and cape. She briefly thought of casting an offensive spell, but she realistically couldn’t risk weakening her shield.

“Face it,” the mage taunted, “you’ve lost!”

As if those words held some otherworldly power, Grim lost her grip and her shield shattered. The infernal blaze threw her back, crashing her through the wall. A sense of uncontrolled weightlessness overtook her as she flew through the air, parts of her clothes on fire as the air was knocked out of her. Then just as suddenly as she was flung, she came to a sudden stop and splashed into a mass of water.

Desperately, Grim gathered her senses and clambered out of the water and onto dry ground. She checked herself, overlooking the damage. Scorch marks were scattered across her armour and her cape was tattered. She looked around, attempting to figure out where she was. From the looks of it, she’d been launched into a town square, having crashed into the ruins of its fountain centrepiece. In the sky above against a dark orange backdrop, two shadowy equine shapes clashed in a display of black magic and green lightning. Past the crackling sounds of the urban warzone, all around her were piles of rubble, fire and smoke, burnt and abandoned vehicles, and dead bodies. Lots of dead bodies.

But her attention was ahead of her, at the mage. Quickly, Grim put a magic shield around herself, silently praying this one would fare better than the last. Her opponent leapt out of the freshly made hole in the apartment and into the square, landing softly with the aid of her magic.

With yet another spell ready, the mage growled as she stared Grim down. “You can’t hide behind that shield forever.”

Grim’s eyes darted around the square, then she focused on the corpses behind the mage. A smile crept onto her lips as magic flared in her horn. “Think you can wait me out?”

“To defeat a monster like you? Oh yes, I can wait,” the mage declared, magic whirling in her horn and a look of determination on her face. “After what you did to my brother, I’ll wait as long as it takes just so I can savour your demise all the better.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Grim tilted her head. “Your… brother?” Some of the dead bodies started to shake, unnoticed by the mage, she hoped. “No clue who you’re on about.”

“Farridale, November 8th. Remember?” the mage stomped forwards, her brow crossed and jaw tensed. “You killed him. You turned him into one of your zombie freaks. You sent him at us. I had to shoot him!”

Smirking and stepping forward, Grim chuckled. “What makes y’think I’d give a rat’s arse about your brother? Whoever he was he surely died a fool and a coward, just like the rest.”

“You take that back!” the mage boomed.

She fired a spell at Grim, only for it to ping off the shield and crash to the ground. A corpse, just behind the mage was slowly pushing itself to its hooves.

“Once I cast the enthrallment spell on a corpse, whoever they were in life is meaningless. They’re nothing but an appendage to my will,” Grim snarled, gesturing dramatically and ruffling her cape slightly. “Want to know what it feels like?”

“The more you talk, the more it’s gonna hurt!” the mage screamed, her tearful eyes locked onto Grim as fire streaked from her horn.

Right behind her, a sulking shambling corpse with glowing orange eyes crept towards her. Grim snickered, a rush of adrenaline coursing through her as her confidence resurged.

“It felt an awful lot like this.”

A guttural shout came from behind the mage. The mage tried to whirl around, but was too late, as the zombie had already sunk its rotting teeth into her neck, leading her to let out a pained scream. Taking her chance, Grim lowered her shield and fired a blast of magic, landing square between the mage’s eyes. The mage went limp and collapsed, but before she hit the ground Grim grasped her with magic. Grim focused her magic and the mage’s body trembled, spasming intensely. Moments later, the corpse unsteadily stood on its own, with her jaw limp and eyes glowing orange.

Then all around the square, the dead rose. Staggering to their feet, several dozen bodies converged on Grim. Wheezing groans filled the air, accompanied by the rotting stench of death. As magic continued to stream from her horn and into her new thralls, Grim’s smirk turned to an ear-to-ear grin, and she let out a manic cackle. Now, she had a fighting force at her beck and call.

From a connecting street, Grim heard galloping. She turned towards the sound and saw a small squad of Lunar soldiers, who all came to a staggering halt once they realised what they had walked into. In terrifying unison, every one of the thralls snapped their heads towards the squad and charged.

“It’s Legate Grim Fate!” the tallest soldier shouted. “Open fire!”

A hail of bullets tore through the square, the blast of gunfire rising above every other noise in the city as smoke obscured the squad. No bullets touched Grim, she had magical shields and meatshields to protect her. Her thralls were ripped apart, yet it didn’t stop them, it barely even slowed them. The bullets tore flesh from bone and ripped chunks off the bones beneath, but the charge continued unabated, the distance rapidly closing. The thralls felt no pain nor fear, but the Lunar soldiers did.

“Run away!” a soldier screamed. His cry was too late. By then the thralls were literally tearing into the squad. Some got away. Most didn’t, as their desperate screams faded beneath the visceral noise of ripping flesh, as they too joined Grim’s grisly legion of undead thralls.

Cackling, Grim leapt up onto the fountain holding a hoof to the sky, the wind catching under her cape. “None can challenge my might! All will- Aagh!”

Grim cowered as an all-encompassing light and piercing screech assaulted her. Shutting her eyes tight and putting her hooves up to her eyes and ears only did so much. As the noise faded, the city suddenly silent, she very slowly and carefully opened her eyes, and gasped.

Plain for all to see, high above the city, a streak of thick black smoke was falling and dispersing beneath Nightmare Moon herself, her eyes glowing white as she held the Crystal Heart in her magical grasp. Bright streaks of cyan, yellow, and pink emerged from the tip of the palace and cascaded across the now bright lilac sky.

Her eyes and mouth open wide, Grim shakily staggered backwards. “Oh, oh no,” she muttered through a heavy, shuddering breath.

“Hear me, Crystal ponies!” Nightmare Moon bellowed, her raw regal voice carrying through the whole of the city despite her distance. “King Sombra is dead! Your chains are broken!”

Grim looked down at the square. Her thralls had gone limp, the light gone from their eyes. “No!” she barked. Clenching her teeth and straining herself, Grim forced as much necromantic energy into her horn as she could muster. She tried, tried with everything she had to drag the thralls up, but nothing happened.

“To those who still dare to fight in Sombra’s name,” Nightmare Moon continued, “stand down at once or face the vengeful wrath of those you enslaved!”

Grim let go. She nearly fell flat on her stomach, barely catching herself. Practically panting, she looked up at the street that the soldiers had come from.

A tank rolled into the square. Its main gun was aimed directly at her.

She was gone in a literal flash, teleporting herself away as instinct drove her actions. A high-explosive shell threw up smoke and debris where she just was. She reappeared on another street, glancing around as she was desperate for an avenue of escape. More of the same, raging fire amidst ruins of buildings surrounded her. She looked up, found the Crystal Palace towering above the city, and shot off in the opposite direction.

Heart pounding, blood rushing, lungs wheezing, legs aching, she ran as fast as she could. She barely focused on what was ahead of her, only caring that she was away from what was behind her. She tripped on something in her sprint, nearly landing face-first on the ground, but quickly regained her footing and kept running - she couldn’t stop.

Rounding a corner, Grim ran into a squad of Lunar soldiers. Before they even raised their weapons, she teleported herself away again. She appeared in a garden, or what was left of it, yet another firm reminder of the circumstances she was in. No time to stop and smell the ashes. She gazed up to find the palace, noted her direction, and took off.

The cycle of encounter and run kept repeating. No matter which way she ran, it’d only be some time before she ran into somepony who wanted her dead. Sometimes Lunar soldiers, sometimes freed Crystal soldiers, sometimes angry civilians seeking retribution. Each time she’d teleport somewhere else, anywhere else. Yet she never lost energy, never lost ground, and never stopped galloping, adrenaline fueling her very being.

When Grim crossed the threshold separating the Crystal City from the blistering cold of the frozen north, the sudden blast of snowy wind threatened to sweep her off her hooves, but it didn’t stop her. She charged straight through the harsh arctic wasteland, didn’t look back, and had no more encounters with other ponies.

Exhaustion eventually overtook her and her pace slowed. By then the palace was far off in the distance. Grim’s gallop turned to a canter, then to an unsteady walk, until she finally fell into the snow. Barely propping herself upright with a leg, she gazed back at the city past the ice and snow. Her teeth clenched and tears welled in her eyes, until she finally snapped.

“Dammit!” she screamed, impotently punching the ground. “Stupid Sombra! Stupid Empire! Stupid Nightmare Moon! Stupid useless soldiers! Stupid everything!” She collapsed onto the ground, burying her face in the snow and letting out a pained, muffled scream.

Barely holding back tears, Grim forced herself to her hooves and stumbled away.

16:13 - 14/04/1004 - Angelless Forest

It had been nearly a full night, but the snowstorm had finally passed. The forest provided some cover but the small cave saved Grim from the elements. It gave her a place to set up a fire and get some well-needed rest, protected from the harsh cold.

By that point, it had been nights since she saw anypony and nearly a week since she stepped hoof in a settlement. The cold, dark, cramped cave she’d spent the last night in had been her only respite from the snowstorm, as even the strongest mages could only do so much against such a powerful elemental force. For most ponies out here, it’d be easier to turn back to one of those villages and lay low.

But Grim lacked such luxury. If she’d gotten this far then Nightmare Moon’s army couldn’t be far behind. As soon as the coast was clear she pushed herself to her hooves, gathered her belongings, and extinguished her campfire. Immediately she was plunged into frigid darkness, as moonlight struggled to reach through the trees and it certainly never reached the cave. She swiftly cast a night-vision spell to grant herself sight and set off outside.

The wild chill of the wind bit Grim hard, the only piece of clothing that she’d kept from the city was her ruined cape and battered broach. All she had to protect her shivering body was a stolen cloak, and while using magic to heat herself helped, she knew she needed to preserve her energy. The last thing she had that was anything close to a proper meal was a looted bag of apples several nights ago.

With every step, Grim felt herself shiver as heavy breaths passed through her chattering teeth and light winds blew through her mane. She moved at a careful yet brisk pace, making sure not to trip on any loose branches or rocks. She was some ways off the beaten path and had to make her way through tall ferns and bushes. Nothing she couldn’t handle.

Before long though, she’d reached something resembling a path. Not quite clear enough to be considered a proper clearing or footpath as there was still foliage everywhere, but it was certainly more traversable than what she had been in just then. She’d used this path before when she first travelled to the Crystal Empire and had to travel south, so she quickly took out her (stolen) compass and oriented herself north.

From there, it wasn’t far. She passed some familiar landmarks such as certain oddly shaped rocks and notably short trees, all things she’d seen and remembered on her way down. Just under five minutes of brisk trotting and the forest had already gotten less dense with trees and plants, and dead ahead was a definite clearing where the forest came to a near total stop. Her pace quickened as she ran up to the forest’s edge.

Exiting the trees’ shadow, Grim was lightly caressed by a cool breeze as she stopped before the edge of a cliff. For a moment, she stopped to marvel at the sight of a wide forested valley bathed in moonlight, underneath a clear starry sky shimmering with brilliant colourful aurora. Her sense of wonderment barely lasted a moment, and she quickly resumed scanning the valley for landmarks.

There she saw it, atop a hill at the far end of the valley, the ancient dilapidated fort she used for shelter when she first made her way to the Crystal Empire. Her smile and eyes widened as she slowly walked across the cliff’s edge. Yes, she thought, the border wasn’t far now, maybe a couple more nights of trekking and she’d be safe on the other side. Settle down in some village where nobody knew her name, maybe hop on a ship down to Zebrica-

“Oh stars,” Grim’s train of thought was derailed by a voice vaguely off in the distance, “it’s her!”

Grim snapped her head towards the voice. Her jaw dropped. A truck, a Lunar truck. Four ponies, all in Lunar uniforms, armed with Lunar guns stood some hundred metres away. They were all looking at her.

Immediately Grim turned and ran.

“Legate Grim Fate has been spotted at our location!” she heard one of the soldiers scream. “Repeat, Legate Grim Fate has been spotted at our location! Requesting additional…”

Grim had no time to listen, whatever they were saying she was well out of earshot by the time they finished. Her hooves pounded against the ground, she ran right off the path and into the wild unkempt woods.

Short bangs sounded behind her, followed by the harsh light of flares being launched into the sky. They illuminated her path for a moment, nearly blinding her combined with the night vision spell.

Racing through the forest, she barely avoided tripping over the mass of foliage under her galloping hooves, dodging rocks and weaving between trees. A bolt of bright blue magic flew by her head, inches away, and splashed onto a tree. More blasts followed, some pink and some yellow, most barely missing Grim.

Grim charged her horn with magic. It slowed her pace. A bolt landed frighteningly close to one of her legs. Grim leapt into the air, spun around, and screamed as she unleashed a powerful wave of magic at the source of the magic bolts. The wave ripped through the forest, tearing saplings and ferns from their roots. Grunts and pained shouts came from the distance, and the magic bolts stopped. Grim turned around and continued to run.

Suddenly Grim was thrown off her hooves as something barreled into her side. Face down, she tried to push herself to her feet but felt something press down on her neck. She looked up, a pegasus soldier had tackled her. He had a suppression ring in his hoof, swinging towards her head. She quickly threw her forelegs up, blocking the soldier’s attempt. The pair desperately pushed against each other, the ring inching closer to her horn. “I got her!” he shouted. “Everyone, on me-”

He was cut off by a blast of magic from Grim’s horn, it sent him crashing into a tree. She heard something crack, whether it was a branch or bones she didn’t know nor did she care. A quick flash of magic teleported her elsewhere.

She found herself on her hooves, somewhere else in the woods. She whirled around, spotted what looked like two ponies, and bolted in the opposite direction. Desperately, she hoped they hadn’t heard or seen her, but she wasn’t going to turn around and check.

“Legate Grim Fate!” a voice from above called. Grim snapped her head up, just long enough to see the silhouette of a gliding pegasus past the trees and against the stars. “This is the Imperial Lunar Army! Surrender in peace and we will assure-”

Grim flicked her horn up and launched a bolt of magic. It narrowly whizzed past the pegasus.

“Okay, point taken!” the pegasus yelled back. “Let her have it, boys!”

Have what? Grim kept running, throwing her head from side to side only to find nothing. No soldiers hiding in the trees, the pegasi above seemed to have broken off. Were they abandoning her? It didn’t slow her pace, if she could just get to some cover and hide it out until-

Then something struck Grim’s flank, hard. She was thrown off balance, only for a moment. But, as she tried to regain footing, her hind legs went cold, stiff, and then numb. She whirled her head back to look. Through thick green smoke, she saw her hind had been turned to crystal, and the crystallisation was spreading.

Desperately, she tried to run, but her shoulders locked as the crystal constricted them, oppressively clinging to her flesh. She could only haplessly thrash around her forehooves in desperation as the crystal surged down, leaving frigid numbness in its stead. Barely more than a second had passed since she was hit.

“No!” Frantically thrashing her head around as crystal crawled up her neck, she fired random spells in every direction. She could hardly breathe. The crystal reached her chin unimpeded. With what breath she had left she screamed “Let me go! Or I’ll rip-”

??:?? - ??/04/1004 - ???

“-you apart limb by limb you, you…”

Just as suddenly as she had been rendered immobile, Grim found herself able to move. Yet, she was trapped inside a glass box, some three cubic metres large, with small holes across the top. It was in the centre of a silent and sterile white room, with four plain walls and bright white lights embedded into the ceiling. She slowly spun around on the spot, mouth open and eyebrows crossed as she examined her environment. Checking herself, her cape and brooch were untouched and no new apparent wounds could be felt or found. She shivered, yet the room was warm.

Almost on instinct, Grim quickly lowered her stance and tried to charge a spell. Grunting through grinding teeth, she forced as much magical energy as she could muster into her horn and felt her strength concentrate. Orange embers sparking off the tip of her horn, which quickly dissipated into nothing.

Dumbstruck, Grim looked up at her horn, then at the glass, then back at her horn. She gave her horntip a quick rub with a hoof, then she channelled a far weaker spell and noticed her horn emitted little-to-no light. Once she released the spell, it too sparked into tiny weak embers. She sulked with a sigh.

“Suppression field, huh?” she murmured. She knew one when she felt one. Suddenly, she lost her balance and nearly fell to the ground. Quick hoofwork kept her upright, but that did nothing to aid her nausea and the aching pain across her head. Grim groaned, clenched her eyes and teeth shut, and threw a hoof to soothe the aching areas. A few seconds passed, and the worst of the headache faded.

Reoriented, Grim slid up to the glass to take a closer look at her cage. She noted the thickness of the glass, scanned it for weak points, and gave it a tap with a forehoof. It seemed thin, fragile even, and a smug smirk slid onto Grim’s face. She swung around, then lowered into a bucking position. “It’ll take more than a wee bit of glass to imprison me!” she haughtily declared.

But the glass disagreed.

“Aagh!”

A sharp pain shot up Grim’s legs as she bucked the glass and she collapsed onto her stomach. Through winces and whines, she rolled onto her side and tried to wiggle the pain out of her hind legs.

Then, she heard a faint hiss from across the room. She whirled her head up and around towards the noise, and spotted a door sliding up. The door had blended so seamlessly into the white walls that she hadn’t even noticed it was there until now.

Out from the doorway entered a bat mare wearing a coal black suit and tie, walking in a careful, calculated manner. Her saffron mane was up in a neat bun, and her piercing orange eyes were locked onto Grim in a cold stare.

Quickly, Grim rose to all fours and tried to match the bat mare’s look with a scowl of her own, only for her headache to return and the sensation clenching tightly onto her head. Grim winced and again threw up a hoof to massage her forehead.

“Ngaah, what’s causing that?” she groaned.

“That’s just a side effect of the petrification,” the bat pony said, her voice assertive and measured. “It will be gone before you know it, but if it persists we can get you some painkillers.”

Grim cringed. Petrification, then. That explained the sudden jump from place to place. Though it wasn’t being petrified she was worried about - she’d been there before - but rather, “where am I? How long was I petrified?”

“A week.”

“A week?” Grim lost focus, but quickly shook her head and looked back at the mare. “Where am I? Who are you?”

“I am Saitasuna,the Director of the Imperial Institute for Arcane Sciences,” Saitasuna said. “I could tell you we’re in Special Research Site C, but if our institute has been doing its job right, you won’t know what that is.”

Taking a step back, Grim looked around the room again. For Grim, that response created more questions than it answered. She’d heard of the Arcane Institute and their numerous - often futile - efforts to create counterspells to her own magic, but as Grim turned back to Saitasuna she had to ask “why are you keeping me here? Am I gonna be here forever? Don’t I get like, a trial, or something?”

Saitasuna’s lips momentarily curled into something nearly resembling a smile as she lightly snickered under her breath. “You don’t want a trial, Ms Fate,” she said clearly.

“Why’s that?”

Saitasuna paced around Grim’s cell. “The politicians and generals are looking for servants of Sombra to make an example out of, to show to the crystal ponies that we’re committed to delivering swift justice. You, Ms Fate, are very high on the list of ponies they want to hoist in front of a court to lay down a harsh sentence. You’re broadly disliked and the evidence against you is overwhelming.”

Silence fell over the room for a moment, until Grim spoke up. “...I was just following orders.”

Saitasuna sneered. “You’re smart enough to know there isn’t a jury in Equestria who’ll heed that defence. Not to mention the many, many testimonies from freed slaves who claim otherwise.”

Subconsciously stepping back, Grim repressed a gulp. “What do they want to do to me?” she muttered. “If they- if they convict me?”

“Some of the ideas I’ve heard floated are a life of hard labour, public execution, indefinite solitary confinement,” Saitasuna said in a tone of detached professionalism that made Grim shudder, given the subject matter. “I even heard one pony suggest petrifying you again, and burying you deep underground out in the middle of nowhere.”

Feeling her breath get heavier, Grim wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Then what am I doing here?” Grim asked hesitantly.

Saitasuna stopped walking and turned towards Grim. “Because simply disposing of you would be a terrible waste of your magical talents. I’ve argued to my higher-ups that you may be useful to us.”

“Useful?” Grim had to double-take. “Useful? To you lot? After I just fought a bloody war against you?”

“Were you ever personally loyal to Sombra?” Saitasuna said as she raised an eyebrow. “Or was it just an opportunity for you to put your skills as a mage to the test?”

Grim stood in stunned silence for a moment. “Huh,” she mumbled, “can’t say I ever liked the bastard.”

“If that’s the case,” Saitasuna walked up to the glass, “then I’d like to formally offer you a position as an Operative in the Imperial Institute for Arcane Sciences.”

Grim’s eyes shot wide open, her head shook slightly, and her jaw fell. “You’re offering me a job?”

“Yes,” Saitasuna said bluntly.

“Doing what?” Grim asked, repressing a laugh.

“In summary, you’ll be putting your magical talents to use where needed, be it in necromancy or other sorts of dark magic,” Saitasuna said. “You’ll also assist with research into the field of dark magic by sharing your unique insights, and help with developing methods for the practical application of such magic. We’ll keep you out of the public eye and within the confines of this facility, but all your needs will be catered to.”

Grim rubbed her chin. “Is there a catch?”

“No, just an assurance of your cooperation,” Saitasuna said as she leaned closer to the glass. “We could use a pony with your extraordinary skill and experience, but you’ll have to prove you’re more useful as a mage than as an example of Lunar justice. I can’t help you if the powers that be aren’t satisfied.”

A smug smile slipped onto Grim’s face as Saitasuna praised her, but it quickly faded as Saitasuna continued to talk. Grim looked to the floor, hoof still to her chin. After a few quiet moments, she looked back at Saitasuna. “Can I have a minute?” Grim asked.

“Of course,” Saitasuna said with a slight nod.

Turning away from Saitasuna, Grim's eyes wandered downward as she became lost in thought. Briefly, Grim thought over what Saitasuna meant when they said Grim would stay within the facility. It sounded like a catch, like this “job” would be a glorified prison where she’d be used for her talents and nothing more. Though this only crossed her mind for a moment. She was enamoured by the thought of continuing to practise all the dark magic she could ever want, so what if it benefitted Nightmare Moon instead of Sombra? Long as she came out on top. Plus, this pony seemed interested in Grim as something more than a tool.

Bringing her train of thought to a stop, Grim looked back at Saitasuna. “So, you’ll be letting me practise all sorts of dark magic, giving me the full protection of the Lunar Empire, and not punishing me for anything I did for Sombra. Right?”

“Yes,” Saitasuna answered. “That’s the jist of it.”

“Not like,” Grim waved a hoof, “a lab rat, or some rubbish, right? A full-on operative and researcher?”

“Yes,” Saitasuna repeated.

Grim smirked. “Aye, I can do that.”