Author's Note

"AS THE DARK DESCENDING, I AM THE SOMBERLAIN! DOWN TO MY EVIL, DIVINE DOMAIN! FOR I AM ETERNAL NIGHT: I AM THE SOMBERLAIN! PROCEED TO MY EVIL, DIVINE DOMAIN!"

Haymaker

Twilight shielded her eyes behind her bangs, preventing the light from blinding her vision. Spike continued scrolling, settling on Dissection's debut album, The Somberlain. It was where the creatures' names had been taken.

"I hate these long rides. I always feel carsick."

"Wouldn't be a problem if you drove."

"I'd rather not piss off the guards. Court-martialing's still a thing, ya know. Shining couldn't defend me if I dinged this thing up."

"The odds of an accident are so small they're negligible. There's no one here."

"In case you haven't noticed, we live in a world overrun by creatures of the night. Counting on luck wouldn't exactly be wise."

"Just try to chill out. We're on our way to do the job. That's the important thing."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Everything'll be fine. Trust me. This'll be a snap."

"If you say so."

During the night, Twilight pulled over to sleep. Spike guarded the car, making sure no somber-lain attacked while her guard was dropped. The following morning, they resumed their journey. Spike caught up on his own rest, awakening only upon reaching Jürinschtick. Based on the name, he assumed it was German.

"We're here."

"Not very often we're sent out to the sticks, but I suppose it's inevitable in our line of work."

"Try to be kind. Southern folk are very hospitable once you get to know 'em."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it."

The pair approached the Apple family farmhouse. Yards away, a barn stood in the distance. The color red carried a far more sinister connotation these days...

"Is anyone home," Twilight questioned, "We were sent by the military! We're here to help!"

Moments of silence passed, and then, the locks began to loosen. A young woman with long blonde hair and a felt cowboy hat peeked through the crack.

"Y'all with the army?"

"Not exactly. We're kind of a top secret special forces unit. It's hard to explain. Here's our ID."

"Y'all still use paper?"

"It's a way to preserve our credentials in case of a system failure. Moving our infrastructure fully online would be too risky."

"Forgive me for bein' skeptical, but I need more proof."

"Thought you might say that. You can inspect our guns if you want. They're government-issued molecular dispersion pistols, or MDPs for short."

"Those little pea-shooters won't do ya much good out here. Come in. If you're the real deal, I've got somethin' a bit better."

"Thank you."

The woman stepped back, allowing the siblings inside.

"Close the door behind ya. Don't want any of those things gettin' in here."

Twilight obliged, relocking the bolts and chains for security.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Twilight, This is my brother, Spike."

"'Sup?"

"Look kinda young to be huntin' demons."

"I assure you," Twilight affirmed, "We're more than qualified. We were trained by general Shining Armor."

"Now I really don't buy it."

"I wouldn't either, but you'll have to take my word for it. Right now, you're all in danger. I'd imagine any help's better than none."

"Good point."

Twilight looked around. The décor was quaint and homey. She expected nothing less.

"You're Applejack, right? We studied your file before we came."

"Least you know something."

"Quite a bit, actually. If you'd be so kind as to gather your family, I'll tell you everything we know."

"Finally - some useful intel. I'll be back in a minute."

"Thanks."

In the kitchen, Twilight told the Apples everything they knew.

"The creatures are called the somber-lain. They're made up of a plethora of different entities - monsters we learned about during childhood. They mostly consist of ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves, mutated humans, and other creatures who pose malicious intent. As I'm sure Ms. Smith is aware, they've always existed, but in the fall of '99, something changed. They began acting aggressively - even more so than usual. They attacked towns, villages, and cities across the globe. Their numbers rapidly increased, and they've been haunting the world ever since."

"Do you know why?" Applejack asked.

"No. That's the strange part. We never found out why or how they invaded. It just kind of...Happened...One day, and it's been like this ever since. The military was overwhelmed, so they had to retreat underground and find ways to fight them off."

"Why didn't you nuke 'em?"

"The radiation would've made repopulation impossible, and the civilian costs would be too high. We're trying to preserve civilization - not destroy it. You mentioned demons earlier, but ironically, those are one of the few entities that don't seem to exist. This conflict is purely ethereal in nature."

"Would dyin' really be so bad, though...?"

"Only if you're okay with killing others in your stead."

Applejack clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. Tears began streaming down her face.

"Damn! I can't take it! Those things took our ma, our pa, and even my brother! He fought to the end to keep us safe! I can't give up now!"

"And you don't have to. Let us handle this so we can take you back to HQ. You'll be far safer there. We've secured enough supplies to keep humanity going for at least the next century."

Applejack inhaled, releasing a breath to calm herself down.

"There's a shotgun above the fireplace. It ain't much, but it's the best we got. Take it when you're out on patrol."

"I promise, we won't let you down."

As night fell over the world, Spike and Twilight prepared to stand guard. Spike took the shotgun for extra protection. While able to use magic to a limited degree, he was nowhere near Twilight, though he did possess a specialty in healing spells.

"I'll take the outside," Twilight declared, "You stay here: keep 'em safe if anything happens."

"Roger that, Major Carl."

Apple Bloom giggled, eliciting a smile from the jokester. It was the first time she'd laughed in years.

"Be on guard. The lain are stronger at night. They feed off the dark. Luckily for us, they're not the only ones."

The others nodded. With that, she was off. The first of many battles was about to begin...