Echoing Shadows

Chapters

Evil Never Dies
Grim News
Talk of War
Assault on Ponyville
A Time to Grieve
Dragon's Fire (Edited)
Training Day
The Battle of Griffhala
Against A Friend
Shattered Innocence
The Board Is Set
Total War
What We Do For Family
A Changeling's Plea
The Second Battle of Ponyville
A Changeling Interlude

Evil Never Dies

Chapter One: Evil Never Dies

In the blistering cold of the frozen north, there was no life whatsoever to be found. No birds, no animals, no trees, nothing but the howling, subzero winds and endless blanket of pure white, undisturbed snow. The only features that could be seen were distant, ice-capped mountains looming over the frozen wasteland. It was hard to believe that a place like the Crystal Empire could exist in such a lifeless area, but exist it did. But we look far away from even that sparkling utopia, in some featureless expanse of snow. In this particular spot, a single blemish breached the smooth white of the snow's surface. It was black, and yet tipped blood-red.

A horn.

It had been laying here for several days, giving off a foul, malicious aura that, thankfully, nopony was around to feel. However, something suddenly began to happen.

A shadow began to creep out from beneath the horn, expanding and spreading. Soon the horn itself turned as black as its shadow and melted into the unnatural darkness, which seethed and writhed as if guided by some unseen will. The darkness then began to grow from the ground, forming legs; strong, powerful legs protected by polished, silver armor with sharp, jagged edges. A body merged together above these legs, a muscular frame concealed by a royal red cape. And then a neck, a black-furred tail. Last to come was the being's head, an equine face with a strong, square jaw and a mane as black as night. A silver crown sat atop his head, and below it was the once-lonely horn.

The figure raised its head, and a pair of venom-green eyes snapped open, a purple, mist-like aura trailing out of them. Then he smiled, showing his unnaturally sharp teeth.

And he laughed.

With only the blistering winds as his witness, King Sombra, Ruler of the Crystal Empire, had returned.

XXXXXX

Princess Luna's moon shone brightly over the Crystal Empire, illuminating all the crystalline structures in a pale glow, unnoticed by the now-sleeping populace. All except for two, that is.

Princess Cadance stood on the balcony of the Crystal Palace overlooking the entire city-state, admiring the beauty of the kingdom she and her husband had come to call their own. The pink alicorn smiled warmly, knowing that her subjects could finally sleep in peace, knowing that their former, despotic ruler was no more.

A mere thought concerning that inequine fiend sent an uncontrollable shiver up Cadance's spine. True, he was dead, but the sheer horror of the Crystal King's presence was not something easily forgotten. He had been a force so terrible, Discord paled in comparison.

Cadance sighed as she put the thoughts of King Sombra aside so she could enjoy her evening. Her thoughts drifted to her sister-in-law in Ponyville. She missed Twilight dearly. Perhaps she and Shining Armor could schedule a get-together sometime soon.

Speaking of the devil, the door to their bedroom creaked open, and a handsome white unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane and tail promptly let himself in. "Oh, Cadance," Prince Shining Armor cooed to his wife, catching her attention. "I'm baaaaack."

Cadance smiled. "Hey, what took you so long?"

Shining shut the door behind him with his magic. "Ah, just some last-minute things. The Gryphon King has apparently heard about the Crystal Empire and sent an envoy. I just finished with him. We'll be having guests in three days' time."

"The Gryphons, huh?" Cadance questioned, lovingly nuzzling her husband. "They're always fun to be around."

"Maybe if you constantly have a stick up your flank," Shining remarked, earning a playful smack from Cadance as they chuckled.

"You are awful!"

"I know. And you love me anyways!"

Cadance laughed as she and Shining shared a kiss. "So...are you ready to...?" Shining asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Catching on, Cadance said, "You mean...? Oh..."

Shining's face fell. "Well, if you want to hold off for right now, I'll understand..."

Cadance then flashed a cat-like grin and batted her long eyelashes. "Nuh uh, loverboy. I'm ready when you're ready!"

Shining grinned in anticipation as he and his lover approached their bed. However, the mood was spontaneously cut short by a curt knock at the door. Shining groaned and opened the door, revealing the head mistress, Amethyst Twinkle. She was a rather well-aged Crystal Pony, having a deep purple coat and navy blue and white mane tied neatly up into a bun. She was a bit of a prude, much to Cadance's chagrin. "Yes, Amethyst, what is it?" Shining asked.

"The head cook wishes to discuss some final matters on the preparation of the feast for the Gryphon nobles in three days," she replied in a crisp, no-nonsense tone.

She seriously reminded Shining of a few Canterlot snobs he'd rather not think about. "And he couldn't ask me earlier?" Shining groaned.

"It's not my business," Amethyst answered. "I was just delivering the message."

"Yes, I know, I know," Shining sighed. "I'll be there presently. I'll be back shortly, alright, dear?"

Cadance only smiled and waved her hoof in a 'get going' gesture, and Shining reluctantly left her alone to go tend to his final affair. The alicorn trotted over to her vanity cabinet and looked in the mirror. Beautiful as ever. She lifted her brush with her magic and then began absent-mindedly brushing her mane.

"Ha ha ha ha ha."

Cadance abruptly dropped her brush and sat bolt upright. She could have sworn she had just heard something. Laughter? Cadance looked all around behind her, her eyes scanning the bedroom for any signs of an intruder. There was nothing. Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me, she thought, turning back to her mirror.

What she saw in the reflection made her scream in pure terror.

XXXXXX

Cadance's terrified shriek permeated the entire palace, and as the sound assaulted his ears, Shining felt his heart stop. "CADANCE!" he yelled, galloping back towards theirbedroom, all other thoughts forced out of his mind.

What few palace guards there were (Shining was having a hard time gathering new recruits) tried desperately to keep pace with their prince as they barreled towards the royal bedchamber. Once they finally reached the door, Shining practically threw it off its hinges, crying out for his beloved.

What he found immediately made him and his guards go silent in shock and horror.

Princess Cadance, or rather what had once been Princess Cadance, was now a crystal statue carved in her likeness. Her face was frozen in a look of utter terror and shock. Her mouth hung open, as if she had tried to call Shining's name in her final moments.

It was then that they noticed the other presence in the room, smirking cruelly at them.

Shining's eyes went wide with disbelief. His guards were so overcome by terror that they turned and fled, never looking back. For there, standing at the frozen Cadance's side, was the Shadow Tyrant himself, King Sombra.

The wicked despot regarded Shining with demonic, pitiless eyes. It took several moments for Shining to find his voice again. "N...Not possible...You...You're dead. We saw it!"

Sombra tilted his head back and laughed darkly. "Oh, Shining Armor. Don't tell me you actually believed me gone forever, did you?"

"Your body was atomized by the Crystal Heart! There was nothing left! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"

"My plans for this world are far too grand to allow something as trivial as death to inconvenience me," Sombra answered. "And it just so happens that there was something left of me from that blast. My horn. And with it, I was able to recreate my body. An interesting feat of magic, wouldn't you say?"

Sombra idly flicked Cadance's statue with his armored hoof. "After all, I am the King of the Crystal Empire. A good king doesn't abandon his subjects."

Shining pointed a hoof at the evil tyrant. "You're not the King! Not anymore! You had your chance, Sombra! A thousand years ago, you had the chance to bring about an age of prosperity, but you squandered it for your own personal gain! And then you made slaves out of your own countryponies! You're not fit to wear that crown!"

Sombra's smirk was replaced by a menacing snarl. "Who are you to tell me who is and isn't worthy of the Empire's throne? You, who so declared the Crystal Empire as a vassal state to that odious toad occupying the Equestrian throne?!"

"Don't you dare speak that way about Princess Celestia!" Shining roared. "She's the best ruler in the world and is responsible for moving the sun across the sky every day! She is a goddess and she has a divine right to govern allponykind!"

"Goddess? You think her a goddess?!" Sombra laughed. "You naive, ignorant fool! Gods do not exist! We have only ourselves, and the princess is nothing more than a cake-obsessesed lout who doesn't realize her time is long since over!"

Shining gritted his teeth. "Change my wife back, and leave my kingdom right now, Sombra. You are not welcome here."

Sombra chuckled as he glanced at crystallized Cadance. "I rather like her like this."

The tyrant king nonchalantly deflected a magic blast sent his way by Shining and sneered. "We already duelled once. You lost, and I wasn't even at my full strength. You truly think you stand a better chance now?"

"We'll find out!" Shining shouted, sending a flurry of magical bolts at Sombra, who negated or deflected them all with his own magic.

Shining threw every spell he knew at Sombra, but not one of them had gotten past the king's defenses. Of course, this was to be expected. While Shining was one of the most skilled unicorn warriors in Equestria, he still could not compare to the power of somepony it took the power of both alicorn goddesses just to contain. Sombra wasn't even breaking a sweat. But he felt like toying with this whelp, so he made no move to attack, only defend.

Magic and spells collided again and again, lighting up the whole room. But Sombra clearly had the upper hand, and Shining was starting to wear himself out. Realizing this wasn't working, Shining opted for the only option he had left: he lowered his horn and charged right at Sombra. Seeing this, Sombra swiftly side-stepped to the right.

But Shining had been expecting that. He changed his course the moment Sombra moved, and before the dark king could react, Shining's horn buried itself in the king's ribcage.

Sombra looked down at the wound for a moment before he burst out laughing, kicking Shining's weakened body off of him before glancing unconcerned at his wound. Before Shining's eyes, the injury closed itself, not even leaving a scar. Sombra grinned. "Are you finished? Good. My turn."

Seconds later, Shining found himself flying through the night air, having been blasted through several palace walls by the evil tyrant's attack. The Crystal Prince crashed into the pedestal holding up the Crystal Heart, knocking it out of place and causing a huge ruckus. His vision swirling, Shining barely registered Sombra appearing before him in a swirl of dark magic, or the Crystal Heart being enveloped by the mad king's magical aura and lifted into the air, or the terrified screams of the townsponies who had come to investigate and instead found their feared oppressor taking back his kingdom from their saviors.

Shining slowly blinked as he saw Sombra looming over him, his horn glowing with dark energy as the triumphant despot smirked down at him. Shining was barely aware of the loss of feeling in his entire body as it was converted into pure crystal. His last remaining thought was on his love, and his beloved sister, on whom he pinned his last hopes.

And then Shining Armor knew no more.

King Sombra looked down at the crystallized form of Shining Armor before glaring at the deathly silent townsfolk. "Take this lovely statue and put it in my chambers," he coldly ordered.

Two stallions slowly approached, their heads lowered in sadness and despair as they gently lifted Shining's statue and carried him into the palace. Sombra's palace. The evil king looked to his subjects, and spoke one word they hoped never to hear again, but wordlessly obeyed anyways.

"Kneel."

At last, the Crystal Empire was his again.

All was as it should be.

Author's Note

This idea wouldn't leave me alone. And I'm writing this on my dinky little laptop that only has Microsoft Wordpad. Better than nothing, I suppose. I hope you all like it! Sombra is quite fun to write!

Grim News

Chapter Two: Grim News

The Gryphon Prince Irontalon and his two escorts flew high above the clouds, their feathers insulating them against the biting cold of the high altitude above the frozen north. The prince could not help but be excited; Shining Armor was one of his closest friends, and they had often visited with each other when Shining was off-duty and King Swiftwing and Princess Celestia were conducting diplomatic business. According to the envoy's report, the Crystal Empire was an exceedingly-beautiful place. Irontalon couldn't wait to see it with his own eyes.

And as the clouds parted, see it he did.

And he immediately questioned the envoy's definition of beauty.

The Crystal Empire was now an unholy mess. All the plants and grass had died, and great black crystals surrounded and permeated the city. But the worst part was that the civilians were all chained together and working in vast mines near the castle. They looked absolutely miserable.

"Wha--? What happened here?!" Irontalon's first bodyguard, Lionheart, gasped.

"I-I don't know," Irontalon stammered. "We're going down there. Be on your guard. Something's very wrong."

"Yessir!" both escorts saluted before following the prince downward.

The three Gryphons touched down on the main balcony leading to the conference room. "Shining Armor!" Irontalon yelled. "I demand to know the meaning of this..."

He trailed off as he realized the unicorn glaring in mock amusement at them was most certainly not Shining Armor. Irontalon narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The unicorn smirked. "I am the ruler of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra."

Irontalon's face paled. "No...no way. Shining said you were killed by the Crystal Heart!"

"Shining Armor was wrong," Sombra answered coldly.

Irontalon took a threatening step forward, but Sombra didn't even flinch. "Where is he?" he yelled.

"The prince? Where he belongs. As a rather pleasant statue accentuating my personal chambers, along with his wretched wife. The Crystal Empire is mine again."

Suddenly a group of crystal ponies emerged from the shadows, glaring daggers at the Gryphons. Their fur was jet-black, hard and glossy, like stone. They were encased in jagged, intimidating armor, and their eyes matched Sombra's. Lionheart and the second bodyguard both hissed and got into fighting positions. "Like them?" Sombra asked. "They were once good, innocent crystal ponies. But I have perfected Discord's 'discording' spell, and here you see the results. They are my Obsidian Guard, mindlessly loyal and obedient to me. Their hides are also as hard as dragon scales, and their armor is resistant to magic."

The Obsidian Guardsponies slowly advanced on the Gryphons, the Pegasi stretching their now razor-sharp wings, and the unicorns lowering their horns threateningly. "You know, I've never seen my Guard fight Gryphons before. Time to test how powerful they truly are. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?" Sombra mockingly requested.

"Prince Irontalon!" Lionheart yelled. "Get out of here! We'll hold them off!"

Irontalon shook his head. "No! I'll stay and fight! For Shining!"

"Milord, you must go!" the other bodyguard, Eagle Eye, yelled. "Someone must warn the Equestrians! They are our best chance of stopping this fiend! GO!"

The Obsidian Guard descended on the Gryphons, cutting with their wings and goring with their horns. Talons and beaks flashed, clawing and tearing at the brainwashed ponies. Irontalon threw one unicorn off of him, sending him crashing into an approaching pegasus. The Gryphon Prince spread his wings and took off into the sky, unable to bear the thought of looking back. He did not notice the Obsidian pegasus take off after him.

Lionheart and Eagle Eye fought bravely and with all their strength and skills. Lionheart had managed to succeed in killing one of them, breaking open its head on the hard floor. But the durability and numbers of the Obsidian Guard eventually won out, and before long, both Gryphons succumbed to their many wounds. Both warriors lay on the ground, Eagle Eye dead and Lionheart mortally wounded. The Crystal Tyrant approached the dying Gryphon and sneered. "Any last words, cur?"

Lionheart gritted his teeth, lifted his head up...and spat in Sombra's face. "Long live King Swiftwing!" he yelled, defiant to the end.

Sombra wiped off the spittle and glared furiously at Lionheart. The massive stallion then raised one great hoof and brought it down on Lionheart's head, crushing the Gryphon's skull. Sombra regarded the two Gryphon corpses and growled, "Get these abominations out of here! Burn the bodies! And bring the maids in here to clean up this blood."

The Guard proceeded to follow their orders while Sombra retreated to his personal chambers, gazing fondly at the statues of his enemies. Besides that little blurb, everything was going his way. He was rebuilding his army, the Heart was sequestered in an even more heavily-booby-trapped area of the palace, and his people had finally remembered who was in charge. Yes, this was a glorious day indeed.

However, looking at the statues, Sombra knew there was something missing. One enemy still remained who had been instrumental in his previous defeat. He did not know where that baby dragon lived, but when he invaded Equestria, he would make it a point to find the damned lizard and exact his revenge. After all, the intervention of that dragon was the only reason his traps and security devices had failed. He had been the one thing Sombra couldn't have planned for.

But that was different now.

Now, if his enemies attempted to pull the same stunt, his traps had been modified to account for extra bodies. No one would get the Crystal Heart now, Sombra was certain of that. The wicked tyrant snickered.

XXXXXX

Irontalon beat his wings with all his strength, trying desperately to stay ahead of his pursuer as they got closer and closer to Equestria's borders. His muscles ached, but the Gryphon Prince pressed on, knowing his life was on the line. The Obsidian pegasus was drawing closer despite Ironheart's best efforts, and showed no signs of tiring. Irontalon knew he needed to lose his enemy, or else he wouldn't make it.

The Gryphon then pulled upwards into the clouds, the Obsidian pegasus following behind. The pegasus punched right through the cloud cover and glanced around for his prey. His search was cut unceremoniously short as the pegasus felt talons wrap around his body. Irontalon then spun around before throwing the dazed pegasus downward towards earth. Seizing these precious moments, Irontalon took off, flying above the clouds, weaving about every so often to throw off his pursuer. He looked behind him just in time to see his enemy emerge from the clouds a fair distance back and catch sight of him.

Irontalon put everything he got into his wings and dove downwards, his enemy promptly following suit. The clouds had begun to break, and the air was growing warmer. Irontalon looked down and saw forests and green fields below. He had made it to Equestria. However, the Obsidian pegasus was once more slowly closing the distance between himself and the Gryphon prince.

Irontalon was starting to panic. He was still at least a hundred or so miles from Canterlot, and he was doubting he'd make it before the pegasus was upon him. By now his enemy was just a few yards behind him. Thinking quickly, Irontalon made a desperate gamble; he caught the wind in his wings and pulled backward, slamming his back legs as hard as he could into the Obsidian pegasus's face.

Momentarily dazed, the pegasus spun in, and Irontalon took off again. It wasn't long before the pegasus was once again on his tail. This bastard just won't give up, will he? Irontalon thought bitterly to himself.

Irontalon looked ahead of him and caught sight of the distant spires of Canterlot. He was in the home stretch! If he could just...

Suddenly Irontalon felt a sharp pain in his back. His brief moment of distraction had allowed the pegasus to reach him and slash at his back with his wings. Irontalon could not prevent the scream of pain that followed as he began losing altitude. As the pegasus descended upon him, Irontalon suddenly heard what sounded like a sonic boom ring in his ears.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail performed brilliant maneuvers and tricks a safe distance from her home, congratulating herself each time she succeeded. Rainbow Dash was once again training for the Wonderbolts, but this time it was likely she would actually get in this year. She was certain to wow them with her tricks.

Taking a short break, Rainbow hovered in the sky and smugly folded her hooves. "Heh heh, not bad. Not bad at all," she boasted to herself.

Suddenly she caught sight of an astonishing scene. A Gryphon was flying towards her, fleeing for his life from a pitch-black, armored pegasus. "What in the hay?" Rainbow whispered to herself.

Suddenly she saw the mysterious pegasus slash the Gryphon's back with his wing, who let out a cry of pain and fear as he began losing altitude. Rainbow gasped in shock. That pegasus was trying to kill somepony. She had to stop him!

Rainbow flew back a fair distance before diving downward, the air bending around her as her speed increased. And then an explosion of rainbows heralded a Sonic Rainboom as Rainbow Dash came to Irontalon's rescue. The pegasus looked up just in time to see Rainbow slam her body into him, the force so great he careened into the side of a mountain with the force of a cannonball. Rainbow didn't take time to savor her victory, instead flying down and grabbing hold of the falling Gryphon, her breakneck speeds keeping Irontalon aloft. She didn't stop until they reached Ponyville, where Rainbow slowed down and dropped Irontalon onto the ground. A crowd quickly gathered and began whispering to each other. Rainbow Dash touched down in front of the wounded prince and said, "Okay, now can you tell me what the hay that was about?"

Irontalon stumbled to his feet. "I...I need to see...Princess Celestia..."

The Gryphon then fell on his side, exhausted and losing blood. "Whoa, you need help first, dude! Somepony get Nurse Redheart!" Rainbow cried.

The pony known as Lyra Heartstrings nodded and ran off towards the hospital. "Listen," Rainbow said quietly to the Gryphon prince as he struggled to his feet again. "I have a friend who has a direct line to the princess. Anything you need the princess to know, just tell Twilight."

Irontalon blinked in surprise. "Twilight...? As in...Twilight Sparkle? Shining Armor's sister?"

Rainbow nodded, assuming that this Gryphon apparently knew Shining. "Alright, then," Irontalon wheezed. "Find her. She needs to hear this too."

XXXXXX

A few hours later, Redheart and several unicorn nurses busily stitched up the gash on Irontalon's back. It wasn't until they were done that Redheart left the room to deal with the two ponies that wanted to see him. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash looked expectantly at her. "His condition is stable," Reheart explained. "We've stopped the bleeding and stitched up his wound. However, he was also suffering from exhaustion and some slight dehydration."

"Can we at least talk to him, nurse?" Twilight begged. "He said he had something really urgent to tell me and Princess Celestia!"

Redheart sighed. "I suppose it won't do much good to interfere with royal business, but make it quick. He needs his rest."

Redheart led the two mares down the hallway to the Gryphon's room. "He's in here," she indicated. "You have ten minutes."

Twilight and Rainbow nodded their heads in thanks before entering the room. The Gryphon was laying in a bed with several IV needles poking out of him. He opened his eyes and looked at his visitors. "Are you Twilight Sparkle?" he asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, and this is Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow inclined her head as well."Thank you for saving my life," the Gryphon said. "I owe you on behalf of the Gryphon Kingdom."

The two ponies blinked in surprise. "My name is Prince Irontalon of the Gryphon Kingdom. I'm an old friend of your brother, Shining Armor. When we found out the Crystal Empire had returned, and that Shining was its new prince, my father sent me and two bodyguards to go pay a visit and establish relations with them. However, when we arrived this morning, something was horribly wrong."

Twilight's eyes widened as she felt her heart thumping against her chest. "What happened? Is...is my brother alright?"

Irontalon lowered his head in sadness. "I was not there when it happened, but...the Crystal Empire...has been reclaimed by King Sombra."

A heavy silence permeated the room afterwards. Rainbow's mouth was hanging open in shock. Twilight suddenly felt very weak in her legs. He world began to spin around her. "B-but...that's impossible," Rainbow whispered. "Sombra's dead! H-he was blown to bits by the Crystal Heart!"

"I saw him with my own eyes, Lady Rainbow Dash," Irontalon responded. "He was very much alive and well."

"My...my brother...?" Twilight meekly asked.

Irontalon looked at her, and his eyes misted."I'm sorry, Twilight...Your brother...was turned into a statue by the king. As was Princess Cadance."

Twilight's breath left her as she fell back on her haunches. Rainbow caught her and cried out her name. Twilight stared ahead, hyperventilating, as Irontalon's words sunk in. Then the unicorn mare collapsed in Rainbow's arms and let out a wail of pure emotional agony and heartbreak. Redheart immediately burst in and demanded to know what was going on, and only found Twilight sobbing into Rainbow's shoulder as the pegasus stroked her friend's mane and spoke quietly to her, while Irontalon looked on with an expression of pure devastation.

Author's Note

Here's Chapter Two, fellas. Feel free to throw things at me for putting Twilight through such hell.

Talk of War

Chapter Three: Talk of War

Sombra looked over the balcony at his grovelling subjects below, some carving crystal statues in his likeness, others mining the various crystals that were instrumental in the magics surrounding the creation of his Obsidian Guard. His savage grin widened. Oh, how satisfying it was to be able to witness this scene once again. The ponies that were too weak to continue working were carted off to Sombra's dungeons as new 'recruits' for the Obsidian Guard.

Things were running smoothly. Estimates predicted that he would have a force numbering over a thousand Obsidian Guards by the end of the month. Though that was not a sufficient number to assault Equestria, (as he had learned the hard way a thousand years ago) it was a start. The Shadow Tyrant watched his subjects, no, his slaves, work, a feeling of power rushing through his veins. Oh, how he loved that feeling. They answered to him. Only him. And very soon, the entire world would follow suit.

XXXXXX

Twilight did not leave her bed for the rest of the day. The poor girl was inconsolable, and no words of comfort could ease her sorrow. Her friends lingered downstairs in the main part of the library, at a loss as to how to comfort her. "I-I've never seen somepony so sad before," Pinkie Pie spoke. "I know what'll cheer her up! A party!"

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack snapped. "Twilight just lost her brother. A member of her own family. No amount'a partyin's gonna cheer her up."

Pinkie lowered her head in shame.

"Guys, Princess Celestia needs to know about King Sombra coming back!" Rainbow Dash said. "Normally Twilight has Spike write the letters, but, considering everything that's happened..."

Spike, the ever-faithful assistant, had a quill and parchment already out. "Ready when you are, Dash."

"Dear Princess Celestia," Rainbow began, pacing nervously back and forth as Spike wrote. "We just recently received some really bad news from the Prince of the Gryphon Kingdom, Irontalon. According to him, King Sombra survived the Crystal Heart's attack and has reclaimed the throne of the Crystal Empire. Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were unable to defeat him and were turned into statues. We need your help, Princess, and Twilight needs her mentor. Your Faithful Subject, Rainbow Dash."

Once he was finished writing, Spike rolled up the parchment and engulfed it in his magical flame, the ashes flying out the window towards Canterlot. "This is simply dreadful!" Rarity exclaimed. "To think that brute is still alive...we barely managed to defeat him last time, girls, and he never even lifted a hoof! Who knows what complex plans he's making right now!"

Before anypony else could get a word in edge-wise, the door opened, and there stood Princess Celestia in all her glory. "Princess!" they all gasped as they knelt before Celestia.

"Where is Twilight?" Celestia asked.

Rainbow pointed up the stairs. "I will be down shortly," Celestia said. "Wait for me here."

Celestia trotted up the stairs and discovered her student splayed out on her bed face-down, sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow. "Twilight?" she said, catching her student's attention.

Seeing her beloved mentor, Twilight ran over and latched onto her, burying her face in Celestia's chest. "I want my brother back!" she wailed. "I want him back! Shiiiining! Please come back! Come ba-ha-ha-haaaack!"

Celestia paid no heed to the mix of saliva, mucus, and tears staining her fur, wrapping both her hooves around Twilight and pulling her close, stroking her mane and nuzzling her forehead. "Shhh, it's alright, Twilight," she gently whispered as tears streamed down her own face. "I'm here. I've got you."

Twilight's loud sobs echoed throughout the library, stirring both Peewee and Owlowicious from their sleep. Owlowicious flew over and perched on Twilight's shoulder, nuzzling her as well.

"Hoo!" the owl hooted.

Slowly Twilight's bawls decreased in volume until they were mere hiccups. "I promise, Twilight," Celestia assured, "that we will do everything we can for Shining Armor and Cadance. Now, come with me downstairs. There's a lot of things we need to discuss."

Twilight sniffed, rubbed her eyes, and nodded, following her teacher downstairs, where her friends were waiting. Once they descended the flight of stairs, Twilight's friends all got up from where they were sitting and embraced Twilight in a group hug, Owlowicious flying off her shoulder and perching on his usual spot. Twilight smiled softly and whispered, "Thanks, girls."

"Now we come to the matter at hand," Celestia spoke up, catching everypony's attention. "As you are all aware, King Sombra is not only still alive, but he has reconquered the Crystal Empire right under our noses. Suffice it to say, he has likely also recaptured the Crystal Heart and is building an army as we speak."

"O-oh my!" Fluttershy squeaked. "A-an army?!"

Celestia nodded her head. "Crystal Ponies are brainwashed, and their bodies changed. They're made faster, stronger, more durable, and mindlessly obedient to Sombra's will. The Obsidian Guard. When he last rose to power, he invaded Equestria with an army of Obsidian Guards. But he greatly underestimated Equestria's strength, and with my sister and I in the lead, we drove them all the way back to the Empire, where we confronted and imprisoned Sombra, and you know the rest of that story. I imagine he does not plan to make the same mistake twice."

"Well, if he's gonna take his time building this army of his," Rainbow suggested, "why don't we attack them first, before they can get big enough to be a real threat?"

"Because there is a good chance the innocent population will get caught in the crossfire," Celestia explained. "Sombra cares nothing for honor or chivalry. He would likely use them as meat shields."

Rainbow gulped.

"How barbaric!" Rarity huffed.

"Ah don't understand, Princess," Applejack interrupted. "How's that varmint still alive?"

"By all rights, he shouldn't be," Celestia answered. "However, what I have feared most has apparently turned out to be true. King Sombra has mastered the spell that wards off death. Understand, my little ponies, that Sombra's power is based in darkness. He uses black magic that is forbidden even for me and Luna to use. The spell he has mastered will allow him to regenerate from even the gravest of wounds. Should even a single fragment of his body remain, he can regrow his body from it."

The Mane Six all traded worried glances.

"Unlike last time, however," Celestia added, "we will not be alone in the coming fight."

Her audience looked to her in confusion. "By Sombra attempting to assasinate their prince, the Gryphons have inadvertantly become involved in this conflict as well. Shining Armor and Prince Irontalon were good friends, and we share a beneficial relationship with their kingdom. I wager it will not take much effort to convince King Swiftwing to aid us."

Twilight lowered her head. "War. Something I had always thought gone from Equestria. I can't believe it's coming to this."

"It is a recourse I had hoped to avoid," Celestia mused. "But there is no negotiating with that black-hearted tyrant. War is coming, and nothing we can do will change that."

Celestia then headed for the door. "I'm going to speak to Prince Irontalon, and then I'm returning to Canterlot to discuss these matters with my sister. I will keep you informed."

Just before she exited, Celestia turned her head towards the Mane Six. "When the time comes, you will have to fight. When it comes to that, will you be willing to make the hard choices? Will you be willing to kill?"

The ponies all looked uncertain. Fluttershy looked like she was about to be ill. Pinkie Pie appeared to be on the verge of tears. A single tear trailed down the alicorn princess's face as she regarded the dedicated group of friends whose innocence was soon to be irrevocably shattered. Without another word, Celestia left, shutting the door behind her.

Silence reigned in the library for several long moments as each pony contemplated what actions they would be forced to make. Applejack shuddered. Mah buckin's pretty durn strong, she thought. Ah could probably just...knock 'em upside their heads.

Suddenly the image of her kicking an anonymous stallion in the head hard enough to crush his skull and snap his neck flashed through Applejack's mind, causing her to shiver uncontrollably.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her arms, thinking about how she would contribute to the war effort. I'm the fastest there is, she thought to herself. No doubt about that. I've never been afraid of roughing up somepony who's causing trouble...but...can I do it? Can I kill somepony, anypony, even if they're trying to kill me?

Twilight was no stranger to fighting. After all, she had fought a Manticore, Changeling drones, and Princess Luna's super-powered evil side, Nightmare Moon, in the past. But never had she resorted to taking the life of a foe. The very idea seemed unfathomable to her. She doubted she would have the courage to go through with it. But...would that mean her death instead?

Pinkie Pie was, predictably, the first one to break the silence. "Why...?" she asked simply, her hair going completely straight and her coat dimming in color as she began to cry. "Why can't everypony just *get along*?"

They all looked at Pinkie, sadness written all over their faces. "Why can't we all smile and laugh and throw parties like we always do?! Why do meanies like King Sombra have to hurt innocent ponies?! WHY?!"

Pinkie buried her face in her hooves and sobbed, an equally-saddened Fluttershy rubbing her friend's back. Watching her friends dwell on the coming events, Twilight allowed a cold, dark anger to grip her heart. King Sombra was the cause of all this. He had essentially murdered her brother and sister-in-law, and was now threatening her once-peaceful home with war. She would make the dark king pay dearly for what he had done. As she silently dwelt on her anger, nopony, not even Twilight herself, noticed the wisp of purple smoke that momentarily trailed out of her eyes, nor the flash of sickly-green in her eyes that disappeared just as quickly.

Author's Note

Uh oh. Looks like the proverbial shit is about to hit the fan. Well, hopefully this chapter will bump up the viewer count.

Assault on Ponyville

Chapter Four: Assault on Ponyville

The shrill whistle of a pipe organ's melancholy music pierced the afternoon air of the Crystal Empire, its tune carrying an eldritch, dark quality wholly befitting of the talented organist who played it. Within the personal chambers of King Sombra was a pipe organ of impressive size. A musical device of Imperial origin, it was one of the few things in the Empire not bearing his face or symbol that the king regarded with a degree of fondness. The organ was a powerful instrument; when it sang, you listened.

At this moment, Sombra was dusting off his skills at the organ, playing wicked melodies written by himself. (for who else's genius would ever deserve to be recited at his hooves but his own?) Sombra admitted that it was a weakness, a frivolous activity. But damn it all if he didn't find the experience stimulating. He could only stand to look upon his hard-working slaves for so long before he grew bored of observing, and he had already pored over virtually every spellbook in the library, mastering every useful spell he could find. It had been a thousand years since he had last sat at this gilded chair and graced his halls with his musical genius.

His gorn glowed with the power of darkness as black tendrils of energy snaked out of his horn, dancing across the keys while his hind legs operated the lower pedals beneath the chair. A frightening, animalistic grin stretched across the mad king's face as he played, letting the power of the notes ring in his ears, giving him a twisted sense of ecstacy. One could say Sombra tended to get rather...*passionate* about his music.

All too soon, Sombra's euphoria was cut short as an Obsidian pegasus entered the room. "Your Majesty!" he stated loud enough for his master to hear.

Sombra's grin twisted upside-down for a moment before the energy wisps fizzled out, cutting his performance short. He turned around and got off the chair, shooting the intruding soldier a scathing look. "I ordered you not to disturb me unless it was important," he growled.

The Guard's face betrayed no emotion. "And I am following those orders, milord. There has been an...incident in the mines."

Sombra's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What sort of incident, Captain?"

"It seems that a large group of peasants managed to break free of their restraints and attempted to instigate a rebellion, sire."

The expression of tranquil fury on Sombra's face would have given Nightmare Moon chills. "A...rebellion?" he hissed.

"The criminals were all captured before they could cause much damage, and have all been locked in the dungeons."

Sombra turned his back on the Obsidian captain and stared out the window. "How many traitors were there?"

"Thirty-six, Your Majesty."

"Did they have a single leader?"

"Yes, milord. One of the Palace Guard when the Equestrian whelps occupied the throne. What shall be done with them all, My Liege?"

Sombra's lips curved upward into a smirk. "The leader shall be publicly executed at dawn tomorrow. He will serve as an example to those who dare rise against the throne. The others are to immediately be indoctrinated into the Obsidian Guard."

The captain inclined his head. "Yes, sire."

The pegasus turned to leave, but Sombra's next order stopped him. "And after that is done, send them to the Equestrian village of Ponyville. Our scouts reported that the current bearers of the Elements of Harmony reside there. They are the only remaining threat to my future conquest of Equestria. Find them. Kill them. Bring the Elements themselves to me."

"Thy will be done, King Sombra," the pegasus vowed, bowing before exiting the king's chambers.

XXXXXX

That night, many of the denizens of Ponyville found their sleep fraught with nightmares. Princess Celestia had publicly announced King Sombra's return two days ago, and had explained everything about the powerhungry tyrant, so the whole town was on edge. Pinkie Pie lay in her bed in the sweets shop of Sugarcube Corner, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. There was too much on her mind, a rarity for the usually-excitable, somewhat attention-deficit party pony. She had been experiencing this insomnia for two days now.

She could still recall the feeling of utter terror she had felt when Sombra had descended upon the Imperial city after Princess Cadance's shield collapsed due to her exhaustion. She had never been so frightened in her life, not even when she had faced Nightmare Moon and Discord. Neither of them could compare to the sheer magnitude of Sombra's evil. She had no desire to experience such primal fear again.

She sighed as she got out of bed and trudged downstairs to get a drink of water, refraining from switching on the light so she wouldn't wake anypony. However, when she reached for a glass from the cupboard, a sharp jolt of pain went up her knee, causing her to cry out. "Ow!" she yelped.

Her eyes widened in fear. Her Pinkie Sense was acting up. A pinchy knee meant something VERY scary was about to happen. "Oh no..."

Suddenly and without any warning, an explosion blasted a nearby wall apart, knocking Pinkie to the ground. She covered her head to protect herself from the rubble as Mr. and Mrs. Cake rushed down the stairs. "Pinkie!" Mr. Cake yelled. "What's going--?!"

Another explosion cut him off mid-sentence, taking out the area around the front door. Pinkie lifted her head up and screamed, "Get the foals! We gotta get outta here!"

Outside, magical bolts whizzed through the night air like missiles, blasting apart houses and terrifying the newly-awakened townsfolk. Twilight jolted awake at the noise and looked out her window, her eyes widening in shock.

Ponyville was under attack.

Ponyville was under attack!

Twilight rushed down the stairs as Spike also woke up in surprise. "Agh! T-Twilight! W-what's going on?!"

"Spike, take Owlowicious and Peewee and get into the basement!" Twilight yelled.

"But--!"

"Spike, DO IT!"

Twilight ran out the door of the library and immediately caught sight of the attackers. They were ponies, but their skin appeared hard and glossy like polished stone, and they were covered in ghastly-looking armor. Their soulless eyes matched those of the mad tyrant they now served. The pegasi flew overhead, diving down on houses and tearing through the roofs. The unicorns marched in an ordered line, firing magic bolts in every direction. Earth ponies carried tarnished silver lances with needle-sharp points, ready to impale anypony foolish enough to confront them.

Celestia's words rang through Twilight's head. The Obsidian Guard. Faster, stronger, more durable, and mindlessly obedient to Sombra's will.

It had already begun.

Swallowing her fear, Twilight stepped forward into the hellfire to confront the enemy.

XXXXXX

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were all fast asleep in their clubhouse. Applebloom had convinced Applejack to let her and her friends have a sleepover there that night. She, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were joined tonight by their newest member, Dinky Hooves, the mailmare's daughter. Their peaceful rest was interrupted by the sudden sound of explosions and screams of terror. "What in the hay?!" Scootaloo yelped as they all clamored at the window and looked outside.

Ponyville was in flames.

The gathered fillies all stared in shock at the scene transpiring before them. Suddenly the door burst open, startling them. However, the intruder was immediately revealed to be Applejack, who was currently not wearing her hat. "Girls! Git into the barn with Big Mac 'n Granny Smith!" she ordered, pushing the fillies out the door.

"Applejack, what's happenin'?!" Applebloom shrieked, starting to cry.

"Ah don't know! Jus' git to the barn, NOW!"

"B-but, what about Rarity?!" Sweetie Belle cried.

"She c'n take care'a herself! Go!" Applejack yelled, ushering the terrified fillies towards the barn, where Big Macintosh was frantically waving his hoof.

"I want my mommy!" Dinky shrieked, making a break for it and running towards town. "I gotta find my mommy!"

Seeing her bolt, Applejack screamed, "Dinky! Ya'll come back 'ere right now!"

She turned to Big Mac, who was nudging the Crusaders inside. "Bic Mac! Keep an eye on 'em! I have to git Dinky 'fore she gits herself killed!"

"Take care'a yerself, sis!" Big Mac said before slamming the barn door shut, locking it from the inside.

Without a moment to lose, Applejack galloped towards the beseiged town.

XXXXXX

Fluttershy, having barely managed to overcome her terror at the explosions rocking Ponyville, gently herded her animals towards the relative safety of the woods, ushering words of reassurance and comfort to them. She did not notice the Obsidian pegasus bearing down on her from behind.

However, somepony else did.

The Obsidian pegasus was knocked out of the air by Rainbow Dash, who yelled down at her friend, "Fluttershy! Get outta here! Now!"

Fluttershy eeped in fright, but sighed in relief as she realized it was Rainbow talking. "I have to get the animals to safety first," she explained as calmly as she could.

"Fluttershy, they don't care about the animals! They're after us!"

Meanwhile, the Obsidian pegasus was getting back to his feet. Noticing this, Rainbow got in Fluttershy's face and said, "Get to the forest, and stay there! Got me?!"

Fluttershy dumbly nodded her head and fled with her animals towards the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash then turned around and slammed the Obsidian pegasus into the ground. "You wanna piece'a me, chump?!" she challenged, flying into the air. "Come and get me!"

The Obsidian Guard happily obliged.

XXXXXX

Irontalon awoke to the sounds of exposions. His eyes quickly snapped open as he heard nurses running past his hospital room, talking frantically with each other. He managed to catch the words "Ponyville" and "under attack", and immediately put two and two together. Ponyville was under attack. Cursing, Irontalon pulled out his IV needles and jumped out of bed, wincing slightly at the stitches in his back, and flew out the window, barely managing to fit through.

Fires were spreading throughout the town, and the townsponies were scattering about in panic as pitch-black, armored soldiers attacked them. The Gryphon prince shrieked a fierce battle-cry and dive-bombed an Obsidian unicorn that had cornered two fillies, one dark pink and wearing a tiara and the other gray and wearing blue glasses. They screamed in distress as the Gryphon and corrupted pony fought. Irontalon managed to slam the unicorn's forehead against the ground hard enough to snap his horn in two, causing him to scream in agony. Irontalon then lifted the stunned Obsidian pony above his head and threw him into the side of a burning building.

Now that they were rescued, Irontalon yelled, "Where are your parents?"

"I-I don't know!" the pink one, Diamond Tiara, cried. "I w-was sleeping over at Silver Spoon's, a-and--!"

"I don't care where you were! You have to get to safety!"

"Diamond! Diamond Tiara!" a pony cried.

Diamond's eyes widened as her father, Filthy Rich, swept her up in his hooves, sobbing. "Daddy!" she cried.

"Sir, you have to get out of here immediately!" Irontalon cried. "Go where it's safe! She can't be out here!"

Filthy Rich nodded, tossing both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon on his back. "Come on, children!" he cried, galloping off.

Irontalon barely had time to react as an Obsidian Earth pony bore down on him, his lance pointed directly at his heart. The Gryphon side-stepped the attack, grabbed the lance, and wrenched it out of his foe's grip before whipping it around and smashing it into the side of the Obsidian pony's head, cracking his skull open and killing him instantly. Irontalon tightened his grip on his new weapon and plunged head-first into the fight.

A few of the bolder townsponies were either seeing to the town's evacuation or joining the fight against the invaders. Twilight was busy duelling an Obsidian unicorn, and though her magic was obviously superior to his, the unicorn soldier's armor was lessening the effectiveness of Twilight's magic attacks. But at the very least, she was distracting him from attacking anypony else.

XXXXXX

Rainbow Dash played an intense game of cat-and-mouse with her adversary, weaving between clouds and looping through the air. Though she was unable to shake the Obsidian pegasus, Rainbow was still faster and more maneuverable than her opponent. She didn't know how she could actually injure the pegasus, with both his armor and rock-hard hide, but she was intent on keeping the Obsidian pony too distracted to attack the civilians.

Rainbow didn't see the other Obsidian pegasus right in front of her until it was too late. The enemy pony bucked Rainbow right in the face, knocking her unconscious as she went into a tailspin. Rainbow hit the ground hard and did not move. The two pegasi landed on either side of her, fanning their sharp wings in preparation of cutting her to ribbons.

A lance then lodged itself firmly into the first one's neck, the weapon somehow easily piercing his hide. The pegasus made a strangled gurgling noise before he toppled over, dead. The second foe had more time to react, and defended herself as Prince Irontalon returned his favor to Rainbow Dash, blocking his thrust with her wing. As the two fought, Rainbow slowly came to, her vision spinning and her head pounding.

She saw the Gryphon and Obsidian pegasus fighting and blearily looked around for something, anything, she could use. She then noticed a piece of rubble roughly the size of a pony's head a short distance away and discreetly slunk over to it. Before the Obsidian pegasus knew what was happening, Rainbow Dash slammed the rock onto her head with all her strength. A resounding crack was heard as the Obsidian pegasus's skull split open. The pegasus then slumped forward and lay on the ground as the life slowly left her eyes.

Rainbow stared down at the pegasus, breathing heavily. The dead pony's eyes gazed unblinkingly up at Rainbow, who slowly loosened her grip on the stone and let it drop. The eyes of the pony whose life she had just taken.

Rainbow had just killed somepony.

She had killed somepony.

Rainbow Dash felt her legs give out, unable to look away from those horribly empty, lifeless eyes. Irontalon caught her before she fell as a strained choking noise escaped her throat. Tears fell down her face as Rainbow Dash broke down sobbing, overcome by her guilt. Irontalon wordlessly tended to her, calming her as best he could before returning to the fight. Rainbow just sat there and watched the madness, almost catatonic to the world around her.

XXXXXX

Dinky ran through the streetsof Ponyville, calling desperately for her mother. Luckily for her, none of the remaining Obsidian Guards had taken notice of her yet, so she continued on, crying profusely as she searched for her mommy. A cross-eyed, gray pegasus with a blonde mane and tail suddenly heard her daughter's cries from where she was hiding and whipped her head around. "Dinky! Dinky?!" Derpy Hooves cried, dodging the occasional magic bolt to get to her daughter.

"Mommy!" Dinky cried upon seeing her.

Derpy scooped her daughter up in her arms and flew into an alley between two houses that had miraculously not caught fire yet. "Oh, Dinky," Derpy whispered soothingly, stroking Dinky's mane and hugging her tight. "It's okay. Mommy's here. Mommy's here..."

"I'm scared, Mommy!" Dinky whimpered.

"It's okay. Mommy won't let anything hurt--!"

Derpy suddenly let out a gasp of pain as a lance was forced through her chest from behind. Specks of her mother's blood splashed onto Dinky's face as she watched in horror as the Obsidian Earth pony behind Derpy pulled his lance out of her body, letting her fall on her side. "MOMMY!" Dinky shrieked, heedless of the Obsidian Guard preparing to run her through as well as she came to her mother's side.

"NO! YOU BUCKIN' BASTARD!" a female voice with a country accent bellowed with righteous fury.

The Obsidian Earth pony looked up in time to see a pair of orange hooves buck him in the face, the force so great his cranium caved in. The pony crumpled to the ground as Applejack ran to the fallen mailmare's side. She gently moved Derpy on her back and looked down at the grievous wound in her chest. Dinky cried into her mother's chest as Derpy weakly stroked her hair, blood trickling out of her mouth. "It's...it's alright, Dinky," Derpy struggled to say. "It'll all be o...okay. You're mommy's...special little muffin, and I love you."

The dying pegasus looked up at Applejack, whose eyes were brimming with tears. "T-take c...care of my little Dinky," Derpy whispered, her vision starting to go dark.

Applejack frantically shook her head and put both hooves on Derpy's shoulders. "N-no! No way! D-don't ya dare talk like that! Yer gonna make it, Derpy, ya hear?! YER GONNA MAKE IT!"

A single tear fell down Derpy's as her breathing slowed. "I-I just...don't know...what...w...went..."

With a final gasp, Derpy's body slackened, and she moved no more. "M-Mommy?" Dinky whispered, gently shaking her. "Mommy? P-please...please wake up...Mommy, please...I-I'll never s-steal your muffins again! J-just please, MOMMY WAKE UP!"

Dinky buried her head in her mother's blood-stained chest, wailing in agony. Applejack couldn't stop her own tears as she gently pried Dinky off her mother's lifeless body, trying desperately to tune out her anguished cries as she bolted for the safety of Sweet Apple Acres.

XXXXXX

Princess Luna idly brushed her mane, looking upon herself from her vanity cabinet. Her sister's report had deeply troubled her; that King Sombra had not only survived a direct attack by the Crystal Heart, but was now once again in charge of the Crystal Empire. Thoughts about that vile stallion coursed through her mind. Oh, how she hated him. She would never forgive him for what he made her do...

No. That was a lie.

She was the one who had been foolish enough to listen to him in the first place. And the minute she had become Nightmare Moon, Sombra had gotten the last laugh.

With her mane looking as wonderful and starry as ever, Luna stood up and walked to the balcony of her room to gaze at her beautiful moon.

What she saw instead was distant fire.

Luna's heart stopped as she witnessed Ponyville burning. All other thoughts leaving her mind, Luna invoked the Royal Canterlot Tone with more force than ever before: "TIAAA!"

Celestia jolted awake at her sister's cries and mumbled, "Unh? What's going on?!"

Luna flew into her sister's bedroom, a look of panic on her face. "Sister! Ponyville is under attack!" she exclaimed.

All color drained from Celestia's face. "ROYAL GUARDS! TO ME!" she bellowed.

Within moments, the Lunar Guard and what few Day Guard were still on duty burst into Celestia's room. "Your Majesties, what is it?!" the Lunar Captain Shadewalker cried.

"We're going to Ponyville!" Celestia answered, her horn glowing. "NOW!"

XXXXXX

Twilight was exhausted, and her enemy showed no signs of letting up. The bookish unicorn strained against the shield she had erected around herself to ward off the Obsidian unicorn's attack. Her attacks had done little, all she could do now was defend. Sweat poured down her forehead as Twilight gritted her teeth. Is...is this it*? Twilight wondered to herself as the enemy unicorn sent continuous salvoes of magical bolts into her barrier. *Is this how it all ends for me?

Suddenly a bright light flashed in the center of town, catching everypony's attention. And when it dissipated, there stood the Princesses Celestia and Luna, and the entirety of the Lunar Guard, along with a few Solar Guards. The Ponyvillians that remained cheered loudly, and the surviving Obsidian Guard all turned their attention towards the new arrivals. Wings of steel and lances clashed, and magic flew this way and that as the real battle began.

Princess Luna charged head-long into the thick of the fight, unleashing gravity spells that crushed her enemies into nothingness. Princess Celestia flew over to Twilight, who was kneeling on the ground, panting from exhaustion. Twilight looked up and managed a smile. "Princess...Celestia! You...came!" she panted.

"You've done beautifully, Twilight," Celestia replied benevolently. "Now return to the library and watch over Spike. We'll take it from here."

Twilight wearily nodded her head and retreated back to the library. Relieved at knowing her precious student was safe, Celestia turned around towards the battle, her eyes glowing menacingly. "SERVANTS OF KING SOMBRA," she intoned ominously in the Canterlot Tone. "YOUR TIME IS NIGH!"

XXXXXX

Spike yelped in fright as he heard the basement door open, but sighed in relief when he saw it was Twilight, who shut the door behind her. As Twilight hugged her assistant, Spike said, "Twilight, what's going on out there? I'm scared!"

A muffled explosion and the scream of a dying stallion assaulted their ears. Twilight just squeezed her eyes shut and held Spike close. "It's okay, Spike. I'm here. I'll keep you safe."

"O-okay," Spike whispered, snuggling up close to her.

And there they stayed until the noises of battle dimmed in intensity until there was only silence.

Author's Note

*dons protective armor in preparation for tons of hate messages and rotten tomatoes for killing off Derpy*

Dear Bronies Everywhere,

I have committed an unforgivable sin on this day. I beg for your forgiveness. But at least now you will all hate Sombra like you should.

Your Faithful Servant,

LordSiravant

A Time to Grieve

Chapter Five: A Time to Grieve

Celestia, battle-worn and full of sorrow, brought about the morning, and as the rays of sunshine attempted to penetrate the smoky haze from the fires, she assessed the damage. The majority of Ponyville was in ruins. Many houses had been burned to the ground or reduced to rubble. Most of the fires had died out, leaving only smoldering ashes. The townsponies that had escaped were slowly returning to their demolished town, weeping at their loss. Many of the survivors were covered in dirt, soot, and ash.

The Mane Six tearfully reunited, relieved to see one another alive and well. However, others weren't so lucky. The bodies of the Royal Guards and Obsidian Guards had all been gathered, and now came the difficult task of gathering and identifying any civilians that had lost their lives in the attack. The Princesses wordlessly looked on as six ponies were laid together side by side, their eyes closed and their hooves laid on their chests. Mayor Mare slowly stepped forward and publicly announced the identities of the slain ponies, her voice breaking as she named each pony she had worked with, lived alongside, and cared for like a family.

Pokey Pierce.

Roseluck.

Hugh Jelly.

Bon Bon.

Caramel.

Derpy Hooves.

Cries of anguish rang out as the victims' loved ones rushed to their sides and sobbed into their chests. Sparkler and Dinky's wails were the loudest as they embraced Derpy's corpse. Their emotional agony was too much for Celestia to bear, and the Day Princess excused herself, trotting up to the top of a hill overlooking what was left of the once-peaceful town of Ponyville and sitting down on all fours.

And she wept.

Sombra had struck her closer to home than she could have ever imagined. So many young, fruitful lives heartlessly cut short. A filly left without her mother, a sister without her better half. Families forever shattered. She should have known this would happen. "I could have stopped this," she whispered, lowering her head in shame. "I could have stopped this...and I didn't...My subjects...I'm sorry..."

"Sister?"

Celestia looked up to see Luna approaching her, a concerned look on her face. "Are you well?" Luna asked, sitting down next to Celestia.

Celestia was quiet for several moments as she watched the ponies grieve. "We could have stopped this, Lulu," she finally said. "We could have posted guards...put up a protective barrier...or just relocated everypony to Canterlot."

"Tia, you couldn't have predicted this," Luna responded, sighing sadly. "No one could. There has not been an armed conflict in Equestria since the First Sombratic War."

"Exactly!" Celestia replied. "We face the very same enemy as before! The same mindset, the same tactics! Remember...remember what happened in Stalliongrad all those centuries ago? They were attacked just as Ponyville was..."

Luna lowered her head in remembrance. "So many lives lost that day..."

"By all rights, we should have predicted this," Celestia continued. "Sombra is very bold, and trusts in his tactical instincts too much to deviate from his preferred methods."

The two princesses watched as their Royal Guard assisted the townsfolk with bringing in coffins and removing the bodies from the scene in preparation for their funerals. "I haven't lost anypony like this in over a thousand years," Celestia said. "I hate war. I hate what it does to good ponies. It's not fair, Luna!"

Luna looked away, as if fearing her sister's reaction to what she was about to say. "Tia...We should have killed him when we had the chance."

Celestia scoffed bitterly. "Would it have made a difference? He survived the Crystal Heart without ill effects. And you know very well that the Elements don't kill if they can help it."

Luna sighed. "I know."

"But I promise, Lulu," Celestia vowed. "I promise that King Sombra will not get away with this. Come Tartarus or high water, we will find a way to kill him! I won't let him threaten our subjects again!"

XXXXXX

Far away, within the confines of Canterlot Castle, a magnificent garden lay. Animals roamed, birds sang, flowers of all shapes and colors bloomed. At the center of this garden was a certain statue. It represented a dragon comprised of many animal parts, as if the gods of creation had gotten lazy or just threw together everything they had left after creating the world. The creature was twisted in a way to show fear, holding both mismatched arms out as if it had tried to push away some unseen force. An expression of horror was frozen on its face.

This, however, was no ordinary statue, for sealed within it was the ancient spirit of disharmony and chaos, Discord.

And he had been watching everything.

Hmm...While I admit that chaos is a wonderful thing, this Sombrero fellow's a little brutal for my tastes, the imprisoned spirit thought to himself. He's so...predictable. Evil, evil, evil. And I was rather fond of that little cross-eyed pegasus.

The statue shuddered oh so very slightly. I don't pretend to be a goody two-shoes, but I have boundaries. Sombra crossed the line when he attacked Ponyville. Chaos or no chaos, somepony needs to teach him a thing or two about decency!

Suddenly, a tiny crack spider-webbed across Discord's stone. If the draconequus could grin, he would have. Ohoho! Looks like I might get the chance after all! The Element Bearers must have suffered enough emotional trauma for their inner harmony to waver. How convenient for me...

The spirit's gaze wandered back over to Ponyville, where he saw Ponyvillians gathering near the local cemetary in preparation for the funerals. Discord sighed inwardly. Well, I've never witnessed a funeral before. Never been one for the gloomy atmosphere. But just this once, I'll watch...might as well pay my last respects to my favorite klutz.

And as the tiny crack slowly grew larger, Discord went silent out of respect for the first victims of war in a thousand years.

XXXXXX

The entirety of Ponyville quietly sat in the rows of chairs that all faced the line of coffins. Lyra, Dinky, Sparkler, and the other loved ones of the deceased all sat at the very front, wiping their tears with white cloths as Princess Celestia stood directly in front of the caskets, each depicting the smiling, happy faces of the ponies who lay within. Turning back to her audience, Princess Celestia cleared her throat and began.

"Greetings, my little ponies. We are here to honor the lives of Derpy Hooves, Pokey Pierce, Caramel, Bon Bon, Hugh Jelly, and Roseluck, who were unfairly taken from us before their time. Death is an omnipresent part of life, and sometimes it rides upon us just when we least expect it. As their surviving friends and family, we must take it upon ourselves to remember the times we shared, and the bonds we made with each other. We must learn to move on, and not dwell on the past. Now, all those who have something to share with us about the deceased, please step forward and speak your piece."

Sparkler slowly got out of her chair, rubbing Dinky's shoulder as she turned towards the assembled mourners. "Hello. I'm Sparkler, Derpy Hooves's older daughter. We all know Derpy wasn't the most...clever of ponies...But...she was dedicated to her job...and her family..." Sparkler sniffed, feeling tears gather at the corners of her eyes. "She was kind to everypony she met. Even the ones who...treated her with disrespect. She never had a bad thing to say about anypony...She always knew what to say when we needed cheering up...She was everywhere at once...lighting up our days with her happiness...a-and her silly eyes..." A choked laughter momentarily escaped her throat. "I know you'll s-still be watching over us from the heavens, higher than any other pegasus could fly...I love you, Mom...I'll miss you always."

Sparkler wiped her face, prepared to return to her seat. She then found herself wrapped in Celestia's comforting wing. "Do not weep for the days you will spend without her," the princess whispered in Sparkler's ear. "Smile for the days you did."

Sparkler hugged her. "Thank you, Princess."

The magenta unicorn then returned to her seat, and Dinky was the next to stand, fighting back her tears. "My mommy was a s-special pony," she wept. "Her eyes weren't funny because s-she was weird. Mommy a-always said her eyes w-were goofy 'cause one was w-watching over m-me and the other w-was watching the world s-so she would always k-keep me safe...I'll always b-be your special l-little muffin, Mommy..."

Not a single dry eye was in the audience. Dinky hung her head, unable to finish through her tears. Celestia hugged her as well and brought her over to Sparkler, who held the filly in her arms and comforted her. Lyra, the pianist Key Stroke, and the violinist Octavia stood up next, each carrying their signature instruments. "Princess," Lyra began. "I was never really good with words...but Bon Bon always loved to hear me play. I-if you don't mind, my friends and I would like to play a song for my sister...a-and everyone that knew her."

Celestia smiled and nodded, stepping aside to allow the musicians some space. Lyra readied her harp, and Octavia readied her violin as Key Stroke rolled up his piano. The three musicians then played a beautiful song, a soft, sad tune that tugged at the heartstrings of everyone in the audience.

Celestia wept.

The Mane Six wept.

Spike wept.

Luna wept.

Prince Irontalon wept.

Discord wept...figuratively.

After they were done, they returned to their seats, taking their instruments with them. The other family and close friends of the deceased each said their final goodbyes, until it was time for the caskets to be lowered into their graves. The unicorns all pitched in, removing the photos and flowers before lowering the coffins into the plots that had been dug out for them. Then, one by one, everypony present, unicorn, pegasus, Earth pony, alicorn, dragon, and Gryphon alike, all grabbed handfuls of dirt and tossed one into each grave in a procession. When this was done, the undertaker, Pale Eyes, set about finishing the task of burying the caskets while the mourners all congregated outside the graveyard and mingled together, sharing stories and comforting one another.

XXXXXX

King Sombra surveyed the handiwork of his slaves as they built an array of strange, crystalline devices along the Crystal Empire's walls under the watchful eyes of the Obsidian Guard. The devices were weapons arrays to be manned by Obsidian unicorns, who would fire beams of energy into the devices, the crystals amplifying the magic to a lethal degree. Anypony save the Princesses struck even once would instantly be killed. They had a considerable range too: accurate up to five hundred yards away.

After the attack on Ponyville, Sombra was certain the Princesses would retaliate just as they had after Stalliongrad a millenium ago. And this time he was ready. They weren't protected by the Elements of Harmony, and any army that assaulted his stronghold would be cut to pieces before they could even get close. Pleased with his hard work, (or rather theslaves' hard work) the Tyrant King laughed, his deep, booming voice sending chills down the spines of all who heard.

XXXXXX

Princess Celestia brooded on her throne late that night, reflecting on the tragic events of the day. She was unable to sleep, an irrational fear of another attack ever present on her mind. She was Equestria's protector, and Sombra had staged a devastating attack right under her nose. Luna had tried and failed to convince her sister to go to bed, so she resigned herself to doing her duty as Princess of the Night to bring peace to the frightened populace's dreams.

"Where did it all go wrong?" she whispered to herself.

"You know, sitting there pitying yourself won't do anypony much good," a disembodied, familiar voice abruptly spoke.

Celestia gasped in shock and stood up straight, scanning the chamber with her eyes. "Discord!" she yelled.

"Oh relax, Tia. I'm not in the mood for our usual fun."

Celestia's horn glowed. "Where are you, Discord?!"

"Hmm. You'll find out when you calm down a little. Sheesh, Celestia. You're always so overdramatic."

"I had to watch several of my subjects be buried today, Discord!" Celestia snapped. "I had to look their friends and families in the eye and watch as they grieved hopelessly for the loved ones they lost to a war that shouldn't even be happening! I HAVE EVERY GODDAMNED RIGHT TO BE OVERDRAMATIC!"

"Yes. I'm aware of everything that's happened. I even paid my respects at that funeral today...in spirit, of course."

Celestia slowly fizzled out her horn. She was just so emotionally exhausted she was too tired to stay angry. "What do you want, Discord?" she softly asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

"I want to help, of course."

Celestia blinked in surprise.

"Weren't expecting that? Good. I'm doing my job right, then."

The Sun Princess scoffed bitterly. "And how can you help? You're a statue again, thanks to your usual tricks."

"Ah, yes...about that..."

There was a sudden, bright flash of light, and from it emerged the spirit of chaos himself, smirking playfully as he idly floated in the air. "I finished busting out about half an hour ago," Discord finished, resting his chin on his mismatched hands.

Celestia narrowed her eyes. "How?"

Discord mischievously wagged his finger at Celestia's nose. "Ah ah ah now, Tia. A good magician never reveals his secrets!"

Celestia watched Discord touch down and sit on Luna's throne, who ignored her scathing look as he stretched himself out all over it. "Listen, Tia," Discord began, for once getting down right to business. "I know you've been through a lot with that King Sombrero guy showing up again, and believe me, I ain't too happy with that blowhard either."

Celestia only glared suspiciously at Discord. He took it as a sign to continue. "While the chaos he's caused has enabled me to break out of my latest prison, I know what Sombra wants, and I don't agree with it. He wants order, perfect, tyrannical order under his hoof. Everypony has one specific purpose; paying tribute to that scuzball and feeding his enormous ego. As boring as your rule is, it's at least a heck of a lot better than his would be."

Celestia looked down and said nothing. "You allow personal freedoms for everypony. Freedom is chaos, dear Celestia. And what good would I be if I didn't stand up for chaos?"

Celestia glared at Discord. "You would betray us," she accused.

Discord frowned. "Still don't have much faith in me, do you, Tia?"

"Why should I?" Celestia snapped. "You were once in charge of Equestria, and your chaos and pranks left our country in a state of disrepair! Everypony was miserable! You were arrogant, irresponsible, thoughtless, and-!"

"Young?" Discord suggested, raising one bushy eyebrow. "I agree. I was an arrogant, self-centered jerk. I still am, by the way, ha ha ha! But I have grown up a little. Being encased in stone twice has given me time to think. Perhaps my second stint was too...predictable. I hate predictability."

Discord floated up into the air and rested on his back. "If I heard correctly, you and Lulu both had a hard time putting ol' King Sombrero out of commission, even with the Elements of Harmony. Face it, Tia. You need me."

Celestia looked uncertain for a moment, but her eyes quickly steeled as she said, "If you even think about betraying us..."

Discord chuckled. "Ah, Celestia. You're expecting me to do that, aren't you? You should know by now; when it comes to me...always expect the unexpected."

Dragon's Fire (Edited)

Chapter Six: Dragon's Fire

A vast, reptilian shape soared through the skies, guided by a pair of Obsidian pegasi towards its destination. The great azure dragon's eyes glinted with a pang of greed as it spied the Crystal Empire growing larger by the second. Karzakathul was a dragon of immense age, an Elder Wyrm, and as such, his power and majesty were godlike among dragonkind, enough to go toe-to-toe with a fully-grown Ursa Major. But, as with all dragons, his insatiable lust for treasure had grown with age as well.

And King Sombra had promised him lots of treasure.

The Elder Wyrm banked as the pegasi did, slowly descending upon the crystalline city-state. The chained workers collectively turned their heads towards the sky and balked at the sheer size of the blue dragon bearing down on the city. The Crystal Ponies shrieked in terror and reflexively attempted to escape their restraints and flee far away. The Obsidian Guard kept them firmly in line, immune to the fear aura surrounding Karzakathul.

The ancient dragon landed in the town square, the earth quaking beneath his weighty bulk. Seeing the terrified townsfolk, Karzakathul let loose an ear-shattering roar, sending all who heard to the ground. The slaves didn't bother getting up, covering their heads with their hooves and screaming in terror as the great beast chuckled darkly at them.

Oh, how the Sky Emperor loved that reaction.

All too soon, though, the screams sharply died out, cutting Karzakathul's twisted merriment short. Craning his prehensile neck downward, the dragon immediately saw why. King Sombra himself was approaching. Karzakathul could not help but straighten up a little. This unicorn commanded such fear and domination that his subjects cowered before him even more than before the most powerful of dragons. For this reason, Karzakathul held Sombra with a degree of respect no other creature in their world had the honor of receiving.

The Crystal King slowly trotted up to the hulking dragon, his facial expression oozing confidence. Sombra inclined his head in respect to his visitor, the Elder Wyrm returning the favor. "I knew the promise of treasure would bring you to my doorstep, Master Karzakathul," Sombra began. "Welcome to the Crystal Empire."

Karzakathul drew his head back and spoke, his deep, guttural voice reverberating for miles. "This is a promise you will keep, King Sombra," he growled. "It would be unwise to wrong an Elder Wyrm."

"I have a bountiful supply of treasure ready to add to your hoard. I do not deceive worthy allies. However, if you complete the task I have for you, you will receive more treasure than any other dragon's hoard could ever hold."

A glint appeared in the dragon's piercing eye. "Speak."

"You are, perhaps, aware of the alicorns who currently hold the seats of power in the nation of Equestria, are you not?"

Karzakathul bared his long teeth ever so slightly, a puff of smoke escaping his nostrils. "The Goddesses of the Sun and Moon. What of them?"

Sombra's grin was terrifying. "I would like you to exterminate them."

Karzakathul frowned. "You ask a steep request. I am a god among dragons, but the Goddess Alicorns are a power beyond even my ken."

Sombra chuckled darkly. "Not with my help, they aren't."

The dragon's glowing yellow eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What do you mean, Crystal King?"

"I know of a way to strengthen you. You are a dragon of vast age, knowledge, and power. Your fire burns as hot as the sun. You possess the strength of an Ursa Major. But you, like all dragons, are susceptible to magic. Not magic wielded by a lowly unicorn, of course, but the Equestrian princesses are strong enough to harm you with their magic. All it takes is a single spell strengthened by your fire. After this, your hide will resist even their magic. Your fire will burn through their barriers. And they. Will. Fall."

"...And in return?"

"All the treasure in Canterlot is yours to keep. Do you accept?"

The dragon considered the offer for several long moments, his massive tail twitching in agitation. Then at last, the Sky Emperor flashed a toothy grin. "I accept your offer, King Sombra."

XXXXXX

Twilight and her friends trudged through the grand halls of Canterlot Castle, escorted by a pair of guards. Their thoughts were burdened with fear, doubt, and uncertainty. Why? Because they were here to train.

To become soldiers of the Equestrian military.

Twilight still couldn't believe what she had been told. Princess Celestia had issued a royal edict that all able-bodied unicorns, pegasi, and Earth ponies between the ages of eighteen and fifty were now drafted into the Equestrian army. Thousands of ponies from all across the land flocked to the Equestrian capital, heeding the call. However, Celestia had personally requested the presence of the Mane Six, likely due to matters concerning the Elements of Harmony.

The spirit of chaos floating over them upside-down, smirking mirthfully at them, was not on the list of things they had been expecting.

"Why hello, my little ponies!" Discord cheerfully greeted, startling the gathered mares. "Did you miss me?"

"D-D-Discord?!" Twilight gasped, falling backwards on her flank.

"Heavens to Betsy!" Applejack cried. "Now we gotta deal with him too?!"

"Actually, dear Applejack," Discord smugly pointed out, lifting up a single talon, "I'm here on her Royal Pain's request."

"I beg your pardon?" Rarity exclaimed, disbelieving.

"It's true!" Discord laughed. "I'm here to help you all win your silly little war with King Sombrero."

"Sombra," Twilight corrected, deadpan.

"First rule of phychological warfare," Discord informed them. "Give the enemy a stupid nickname, make it public, and ensure he hears about it. Does a wondrous job of bruising his ego, you know!"

"Who cares about bruising his stupid ego?!" Rainbow Dash rudely interrupted.

Discord guffawed. "Out of all other ponies, I thought you would understand, Dashie! You see, if you strike your enemy in his ego, he becomes angry. When he's angry, he makes hasty decisions and is less likely to think things through."

"...Essentially making him more likely to make a mistake," Twilight finished, her eyes widening in understanding.

"Correct, Twilight," Discord congratulated. "You always do catch on fast!"

Pinkie Pie couldn't help but snort laughter as she imagined the imposing and scary tyrant wearing a fake mustache and huge Marexican sombrero. Discord pointed to her and grinned. "See? She has the right idea!"

"I can see you've already reacquainted yourselves with Discord."

Everyone turned to see Princess Celestia, shooting a glare at the draconequus. "Princess, why did you bring him back?!" Twilight demanded angrily. "You know what he's done, and-!"

"Discord freed himself on his own," Celestia tiredly explained. "He offered his assistance, and we are not in a position to deny ourselves aid...no matter its origin."

Twilight gave Discord a hard, disapproving look. "If you say so, Princess..."

"Besides, he's not the main reason I summoned you all here specifically. You are here because you wield the Elements of Harmony. With that power, you are formidable...However, not all of you are fighters, and I'm afraid that poses somewhat of a problem."

Celestia's gaze centered on Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "Understand, Pinkie Pie, that your enemies will not be deterred by a cannon that shoots party accessories. They will get back up, and they will try to kill you. You must be willing to slay your opponent, and I am not certain you are up to the task."

Pinkie glanced at her friendsbefore responding, "W-well yeah. I've never k-k-k-killed anypony before, Princess. That just d-doesn't sound like a very fun thing to do. I-I couldn't..."

Celestia nodded. "I understand, Pinkie. That is why I'm making you the official Chief Morale Officer. It will be your job to keep the soldiers' spirits up. You will not be required to engage the enemy in battle unless the Elements are necessary for victory."

Pinkie's eyes lit up, and she flashed the widest grin she had made since before the news about Sombra's return. "Wow! Really?! I get to throw parties for all the soldiers?! Oh thank you thank you THANK YOU, Princess!"

Pinkie excitedly hugged Celestia's leg before stepping back. "Fluttershy," Celestia stated, causing Fluttershy to squeak in response. "Your heart is pure and full of kindness. You would never raise a hoof against anypony in good conscience. Great care goes into the animals you look after. That is why you will be in charge of the Medical Unit alongside Nurse Redheart. You will also only participate in battle if the Elements are required."

"O-okay," Fluttershy whimpered.

"The rest of you have all participated in combat already," Celestia continued. "Some of you have even already killed your first enemy..."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack immediately felt sick. Rainbow could still perfectly remember seeing those lifeless eyes staring back up at her from the ground. Derpy's death and the feeling of her hooves crushing bone were still fresh on Applejack's mind. "Twilight, you and your other friends are all officially cadets of the Equestrian army. Twilight and Rarity are to immediately report to the garden with all the other unicorns. You will be taking your orders from Commander Falling Skies of the Unicorn Guard. Rainbow Dash, you are to report to the skies above Canterlot, where Commander Swift Stroke and the other pegasi await. And Applejack, you are to report to the-!"

A fierce, powerful roar resounded throughout the castle. "What's going on?!" Celestia demanded.

Discord slithered over to a nearby window and looked outside. "I don't see anyHOLY GUACAMOLE!" he yelped, jumping back in shock.

"W-what is-!" Twilight began.

A snap of Discord's fingers cut her question short as the whole group was teleported away just as an intense wave of flames incinerated the wall and floor where they once stood. They reappeared outside the castle, in the outer gardens. The unicorn recruits were panicking, and to make things worse, so were the more-seasoned Royal Guards. "I don't believe it!" Discord yelled, the sheer insanity of the moment causing the spirit to cackle in disbelief. "I don't bucking believe it! He actually got a-!"

GGGRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!

The cause of all the chaos then made its presence known, causing even Princess Celestia to take a step back in fear.

Looming over them was the biggest, most menacing dragon they had ever seen.

Its scaly hide was an electric-blue, its claws and teeth long and sharp. A pair of jagged horns protruded from its head, and its massive wings beat the air around it, keeping the beast aloft. Long whiskers protruded from its snout and chin, and the dragon's eyes betrayed centuries, nay, millenia, of cunning wisdom and raw power.

"A d-d-dragon?!" Rainbow screamed.

"Not just any dragon," Twilight explained in horrified fascination at the awesome creature before them. "That's an Elder Wyrm. The oldest, rarest, and most powerful dragons there are. Dragons grow more powerful with age, and they become Elders when they reach two thousand years of age."

The booksmart unicorn gulped. "It is said that an Elder Wyrm is strong enough to take on an Ursa Major...and win. They are viewed as gods among dragonkind. Oh, Mother Faust...we're finished..."

The Elder Wyrm sneered viciously at his soon-to-be victims. "Long have I dreamed of this day," he spoke, his voice rivalling the Royal Canterlot Tone without even trying. "I, Karzakathul, the Sky Emperor! By order of King Sombra, you shall die, Princess of the Sun! GWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Karzakathul reared back and unleashed a super-heated jet of flames at the gathered ponies. Celestia immediately cast a defensive barrier around herself and her subjects...

...only for the flames to shatter the shield like glass.

With only a split-second to act, Discord snapped hisfingers again, teleporting them out of the flame's path over to the other side of the castle. "Whew! That was too close!" Discord breathed, wiping his forehead.

They all promptly heard a thud. They all turned to see that Discord had been too late. Celestia had taken the blast before they had all been teleported to safety. "PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Twilight shrieked, rushing to the fallen Princess's side.

Celestia was badly burned all over her body. Her status as an alicorn was the only reason she was still alive. "Unnnhhh...T...Twilight?" Celestia weakly groaned.

"S-stay still, Princess!" Twilight begged. "Please don't move! Y-you're hurt very badly!"

Discord watched as Karzakathul latched onto Canterlot Castle's highest tower, bellowing in triumph as the ponies either fled or futilely tried to attack him. The chaotic spirit's face contorted into one of intense anger and fury. He gritted his teeth at the audacity of the beast, attacking Canterlot...

Attacking her.

"Twilight. Get up," Discord flatly ordered, not removing his gaze from the dragon. "We're going."

Twilight looked up, fighting back her tears. "G-going where?!"

"To find Luna and show this overgrown lizard who's boss!" Discord snapped. "Twilight, get on my back! The rest of you, keep Celestia safe!"

Shocked into silence, the ponies could only nod as Discord hoisted Twilight onto his back and took off into the air, floating up to eye-level with the waiting Elder Wyrm. "Luna should be coming out in three," Discord mumbled to himself. "...two...one..."

Karzakathul was suddenly blasted away from the tower by an immense surge of dark energy. "YOU WILL SUFFER THE AGONY OF A THOUSAND DEATHS FOR HARMING MY SISTER, DRAGON!" Luna bellowed in the Tone, her rage-filled eyes glowing as she ascended into the sky to do battle with the colossal dragon.

"...bingo."

Discord looked up at Twilight. "Alright, bookworm. Here's the lowdown. Tall, dark, and ugly over there's been strengthened by Sombra's magic. I can sense it all the way over here. So we have to find some way past his defenses without getting roasted to a fine golden-brown."

"Can't you just...negate the spell or something?!" Twilight cried.

"Not at this range, no," Discord answered. "And getting close to a ticked-off Elder Wyrm is the last thing you want to do when fighting one. Not until the right moment, that is."

"What's the plan?" Twilight asked.

"First, keep Lulu from getting her head bitten off. We'll go from there."

Before Twilight could say anything else, Discord swooped down towards the fighting dragon and alicorn, with Twilight hanging on for dear life.

Luna couldn't believe it. Karzakathul was just shrugging off her strongest attacks like they were nothing. There was literally no way she could hurt him, her only advantage being able to dodge his considerably-slower attaccks. Knowing this, the terrible beast guffawed. "GWO HO HO HO! My power is augmented by the Crystal King himself! You cannot hope to defeat me, Moon Princess! Take comfort in the knowledge that your sister shall join you soon in the great beyond!"

Suddenly a multi-colored streak shot by as a massive influx of chaotic energy impacted the side of Karzakathul's head, dizzying him for only a short moment. Discord took this moment to hover over Luna's head and say, "Get over there with Tia, and stay there! Let Twilight and I handle Kazahkstan over here!"

Luna stubbornly glared at Discord for a moment before she finally relented, wordlessly nodding her head before teleporting to her wounded sister's side. Discord and Twilight then stared down the hulking dragon that was coming to his senses. Seeing his new adversaries, Karzakathul sneered cruelly. "Well, this is an unexpected turn of events. The last of the draconequui. It seems we were not thorough enough during our little war two thousand years ago. Discord, am I correct?"

Discord was silent. Twilight couldn't help but be intrigued by the Elder Wyrm's words. "GWAH HA HA! Spirit of chaos and disharmony, eh? What a sad, pathetic grab for attention! I gained much satisfaction from eradicating your wretched parents off the face of this world, prince!"

Discord's eyes widened in realization, all his long-forgotten feelings of heartbreak and sorrow coming back at last as he pointed at Karzakathul. "It was you...Y-you were the one who killed my parents..."

"Yes. It was I. And now, I shall have the pleasure of wiping out your meddlesome species and your former surrogate family once and for all!"

Karzakathul unleashed his fire breath, which Discord swiftly dodged. Twilight was too stunned and heartbroken to complain about the rough movement. Discord had once had a family. And this terrible monster had killed them. Where there was once bitter anger and hate, now there was only pity for the mismatched creature onto whose back she now clung. "Discord...I-I'm so sorry..."

"Save it for later," Discord coldly replied. "Right now we have a dragon to beat!"

And a score to settle, Discord finished in his mind.

Discord then flew away from the castle, with Karzakathul in hot pursuit. "W-what're you doing?!" Twilight yelled. "Where are we going?!"

"Far away from any sort of civilization," Discord explained. "When this guy falls, he's gonna fall hard."

"Discord! LEFT!" Twilight urgently screeched.

Discord reflexively did so, a great ball of fire whizzing past them. "Nice call there, Twilight," Discord congratulated.

"RIGHT! RIGHT!"

Discord banked right, again avoiding the massive dragon's fireball. Soon the two dragons were over an empty field of grass, and Discord veered about, setting himself and Twilight on a collision course with the Sky Emperor. "Are you any good with illusion spells?" Discord asked.

"Uh, yeah, I've practiced some, but-!"

"It'll have to do then!"

Discord dove down, avoiding a swipe of the azure dragon's razor-sharp claws, regaining altitude behind the great beast. As Karzakathul veered around, Discord said, "Alright, this is what we're gonna do. When we get close enough, I want you to cast an illusion spell around Karzakathul and make him think he's on the moon or something! I'll handle the rest!"

"But y-you said Sombra's protected him from enemy spells-!"

"He's protected from attack by offensive spells. But passive spells, like illusions, will still work! Are you ready?!"

As Karzakathul neared them, his fanged mouth contorted into a menacing grin, Twilight gulped and nodded. "Yes...I'm ready."

"Let's end this."

Discord flew straight at the Elder Wyrm, his eyes steeled in resolution. Twilight gripped his back, fighting back her fear and readying the spell. The dragon's wings beat faster.

Discord heightened his speed.

Karzakathul's claws outstretched.

Discord's eagle talon twitched in anticipation.

The dragon opened his gaping maw.

"Twilight, DO IT!" Discord bellowed.

The little unicorn's horn began to glow as the magic asserted itself. Karzakathul's mouth abruptly clamped shut as he noticed his change of scenery. "What in-?! What devilry is this?!" the enraged dragon roared, thrashing about.

Twilight put all her concentration into maintaining her illusion as Discord soared up towards Karzakathul's confused and angered face. Discord's fingers snapped, and a twenty-foot-long lance appeared in his hand. "This is for my parents, you son of a bitch," the draconequus spoke quietly as he drew his arm back.

Karzakathul's mouth was open as the Elder Wyrm roared in frustration.

Discord softly exhaled...

...and hurled the lance down the dragon's throat.

The weapon went all the way down the monster's esophagus and pierced the foul creature's ancient heart. Karzakathul's eyes went wide with stunned disbelief. The Elder Wyrm's body convulsed for but a moment, and then fell from the sky. The impact of the great beast's body meeting land could be felt miles away. A thick cloud of dust obscured the dragon for a few moments, but when it cleared, there lay the Sky Emperor, unmoving forevermore.

Discord slowly touched down by the fallen dragon's body, Twilight jumping off and standing next to them as they surveyed the corpse of their foe. And then Discord fell to his knees, letting out an anguished cry as his past caught up with him. All Twilight could do was embrace him and whisper soothing words to him as he wept by the body of his family's killer.

Author's Note

Blegh, I made the very end overdramatic. I think I'll fiddle with it later, but I just want to get this chapter up for now.

Training Day

Chapter Seven: Training Day

King Sombra idly flipped through his favorite spellbook, Forbidden Magicks, looking for any new spells he could perfect. This book was full of black magic spells and curses, things no Equestrian was allowed to know even existed, and its contents were responsible for Sombra's unnatural lifespan and incredible power. No one knew where this book had come from, or who wrote it, but Sombra silently thanked them for their...generosity.

Suddenly there was knock at the door. Sombra glanced up from the book and barked, "Enter."

The door creaked open, revealing the Commander of the Obsidian Guard. "Your Majesty," the unicorn greeted, bowing. "We have just received word from our spies in Equestria."

A savage grin creased the dark king's face. "And?" he pressed.

"Karzakathûl was slain by the Element of Magic and the spirit of chaos, Discord. The Princesses still live, however Princess Celestia was badly injured in the attack."

Not since the Crystal Heart incident had such a look of shock appeared on Sombra's face. "...Karzakathûl is dead?" he repeated, letting the news sink in. "By Discord's hand?!"

"I am afraid so, My Liege."

Sombra's face contorted in anger and disbelief. "He was one of the oldest and most powerful dragons out there! He was even strengthened by my magic! HOW DID HE STILL LOSE?!"

"Discord hurled a lance down his throat, milord."

Sombra growled softly. "The only sure way to kill any dragon. Clever bastard."

The dark king sharply turned, looking out the window of his personal chambers. "If Celestia was injured in the attack, then that means that the Equestrians will wait for her to recover before striking back and calling upon allies. If anything, at least the Sky Emperor bought us some time..."

"My Lord?" the commander asked, slightly confused.

Without turning from the window, Sombra ordered, "Tell Captain Dagger Wing to ready two hundred of our best Obsidian pegasi for immediate deployment. They are to capture the Gryphon capital city of Griffhala and eliminate the Gryphon Royal Family."

The commander bowed. "As you will it, King Sombra."

"You, commander, shall take a contingent of unicorns and go to the nearby mountains. I suspect that my return has begun to stir my faithful...pets from their rest. Bring them to me."

"Yes, sire."

Sombra was then left alone in his chambers. He knew that his attempt on the life of the Gryphon Prince would force their hand and cause them to bolster Equestria's forces. He was not going to allow that. Besides, conquering the proud Gryphon Kingdom would inflict a serious blow to the Equestrians' morale, even with the sudden, admittedly-unexpected presence of Discord.

Sombra frowned. Discord. He was a wild card. He hadn't counted on that draconequus showing up. He especially hadn't counted on the meddlesome idiot actually slaying a goddamned Elder Wyrm. If he was on the Equestrians' side, things would be somewhat more difficult for him. Discord was the being closest to him terms of power, as far as the dark king was concerned. Superior? Hardly. Sombra had altered, improved, and perfected many of Discord's commonly-used spells for his own use. Darkness and chaos blended together quite well.

But nevertheless, Sombra needed to think of a way to bring the chaotic spirit down a notch. Perhaps the Crystal Heart could be of use this time. He had made a mistake last time, simply hiding away the Crystal Heart instead of adapting it for his use.

The Crystal Tyrant grinned. He needed to make use of the Heart's power. And he knew exactly how he was going to do it.

XXXXXX

Two days after Karzakathûl's attack...

The group of unicorns stood straight in neat, ordered rows as a stern-looking white unicorn dressed in ornate armor inspected them, his coldly-professional eyes scrutinizing each and every one of the new recruits. Twilight had never felt more uncomfortable in her life, and was trying her best to keep herself from showing it. Rarity was doing a slightly better job of it, staring straight ahead like everypony else and not looking at the Royal Unicorn Captain. Finally the Captain spoke. "Well, aren't you all the sorriest sacks of hay I've ever laid eyes on," he snapped. "Too many years of peace have made you all fat and lazy."

Rarity reflexively scoffed at the rude remark, then widened her eyes and clamped her mouth shut as Captain Falling Skies whirled around and glared at her, looking her up and down with disdain. "You there! Prima Donna! You have something you'd like to say?"

Rarity shook her head. "Where are you from, Private?" Falling Skies demanded.

"Ponyville, sir."

"Ponyville?!" Falling Skies scoffed, getting in Rarity's face. "The only things that come from Ponyville are steers and queers! You don't look like a steer, so that pretty much narrows it down!"

Rarity balked. "I'll have you know, good sir, that I am straight as a-!"

"I DON'T GIVE TWO HORSEAPPLES WHICH WAY YOU SWING, PRIVATE! Now drop down and give me twenty!"

"Twenty what?" Rarity asked in confusion, eliciting a number of repressed snickers from the other unicorns.

"Pushups, Private! You know what pushups are, don't you?!"

"...Oh..."

Rarity, sucking up her pride, lay down on her belly and started doing the pushups. While she did this, Falling Skies addressed the rest of the group. "I am Commander Falling Skies of the Unicorn Guard, and I hereby welcome you to Fighting Magic 101! I am gonna teach you sorry little fillies about how to fight like real unicorns! I am gonna teach you about attack and defense, and most importantly, I'm gonna teach you all how to kill!"

The recruits all exchanged nervous glances. Killing pretty much went against their nature, but they all knew now that it would be necessary if they wanted to survive the Second Sombratic War. "Today we're going to start with some basic calistenics," Falling informed them. "The key to having strong magic is by first having a strong body. Now follow my lead, you sad bunch of sissies!"

The whole group wordlessly copied every stretch and move the commander made, some struggling more than others. Many ended up falling over after attempting to twist their bodies a certain way. Needless to say, the next two hours were not a pleasant experience for anypony. When the agony was finally over, ponies were lying spread-eagled on the ground, some having flopped over onto one another. Falling narrowed his eyes. "Fillies and gentlecolts, that there is just a sad display."

The Unicorn Commander snorted. "I guess I can't expect much. It is only the first day. Now, everypony listen up! You have all been assigned bunkmates at the unicorn barracks! The roster will be posted on the door of the mess hall. Each of you will find a book on your bed when you go to your quarters. You are to read the first ten pages until you have fully memorized how to perform the spells laid out in the text. First thing at 0600 hours tomorrow, I want you all out here and practicing. And if just one of you is even a minute late, all of your rations will be cut in half for the day! Do you get me?!"

The gathered unicorns all mumbled in agreement.

"I SAID, DO YOU GET ME?!"

"YESSIR!" the recruits all shouted.

"Dismissed!" Falling Skies barked.

Sighing in relief, the unicorns all gathered at the mess hall of the base at which they were stationed. There were three bases that had been hastily set up around the foot of the mountain on which Canterlot was situated, one for each branch of the Equestrian military: Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony. Twilight and Rarity trotted towards the mess hall together, eager to see who they were bunking with. "My word, that Commander Falling Skies is such a brute!" Rarity complained. "Accusing me of being a fillyfooler and insulting our hometown! Clearly the military is lax in their manners."

"Rarity, it's the military," Twilight pointed out. "They don't have any use for manners. What good will being courteous to the enemy do?"

Rarity huffed. "I know, I know. It's just...this is nothing like what I'm used to! I'm used to sitting in the boutique, making my fabulous dresses where it's nice, cool, and clean! Not doing pushups for defending my integrity, constantly getting myself dirty with sweat and mud, and putting up with such an off-putting blowhard of a stallion!"

"You might as well get used to it, Rarity. It's only the first day. And I'm already aching all over."

Finally the two mares reached the mess hall, where the other unicorns were gathered around, looking at the roster. The two friends jostled through the crowd in order to get a glimpse of the sheet of parchment containing the names. Twilight reached it first, scanning it with her eyes for her name. She found hers about halfway down.

Twilight Sparkle, Vinyl Scratch. Sections D-13, 14.

Twilight blinked in surprise. The DJ? Twilight thought to herself, recognizing the name.

"Who are you bunking with, Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"It says Vinyl Scratch," Twilight answered.

"Awwww, yeah! Comin' through, fillies 'n gentlecolts!" came a tomboyish, slightly-scratchy voice.

A white unicorn with an unkempt, punk-rock blue mane and tail, a musical note Cutie Mark, and magenta eyes emerged from the crowd and promptly put a hoof around Twilight's shoulder, smiling amicably. "'Sup, new roomie?" Vinyl asked, eliciting a nervous smile from Twilight.

"Oh...hi, Vinyl. I'm doing just fine," Twilight answered, laughing uncomfortably.

Rarity took this time to view her own name and bunkmate. "Oh...Lyra Heartstrings. At least it's a familiar face," she mused quietly to herself.

"No need to be nervous, Twi!" Vinyl chuckled. "I ain't Nightmare Moon, for Pete's sake!"

"I know. I've just...never really talked to you before, even though I've been to a couple of the parties Pinkie had you DJ for."

"Ah yeah, Pinks," Vinyl laughed, clapping Twilight on the back. "Don't worry about a thing! We'll get plenty'a chances to talk while we're here! By the way, how is Pinkster?"

"She's good, I guess," Twilight said, slightly getting more comfortable around the Manehattan DJ. "Princess Celestia made her the Chief Morale Officer."

Vinyl laughed. "Figured she'd get that. Only job in the whole army she'd be perfect at."

The former DJ turned towards the mess hall, smelling the delicious food within. "Mmm, I'm famished! Let's go get some chow!"

Noticing her stomach growling in protest, Twilight wordlessly followed her new bunkmate over to the lunch line, getting a tray for herself. The two mares traded idle conversation for a few minutes as they went down the line, watching as the cooks ladened their trays with various foods. Once they reached the end, Twilight and Vinyl walked over to an empty table and sat down. They were joined a few moments later by Rarity and Lyra, who had been talking about Ponyville-related things. "Well, it looks like we won't be seeing each other quite as often as I would like," Rarity explained. "Lyra and I are assigned to Bunks S-9 and 10, on the other side of the pavilion from where you and Vinyl are staying."

"Oh," Twilight responded glumly.

"It's alright, Twilight," Rarity replied. "It's not like we won't get to see each other during the drills and lunch hour."

Twilight lowered her head. "I just wish I could see the others, and how they're doing."

"Commander Stick-in-the-Mud said that we're allowed to mingle with the other two bases on weekends," Vinyl explained. "I kinda wonder how Octavia's doing..."

"Yeah, me too," Lyra added.

After a few minutes of eating their food, Vinyl finally got the courage to ask, "Hey, Twilight?"

Twilight swallowed her hay fry. "Yeah?"

"You were at the Crystal Empire when it first came back. You met King Sombra, didn't you?"

"Well...not personally. But I have seen him."

"What...what was it like?"

Twilight shuddered. "Being in his presence...looking into those eyes and seeing nothing but greed, anger, and hatred...knowing that killing you would be a pleasurable experience for him...it was like being in the presence of the thing you fear most."

Twilight didn't notice how the room had quieted down a little as several of the nearby unicorns all leaned their heads in closer to her table and strained to listen. "Even when he just a living shadow, seeing him for the first time terrified me more than anypony else ever had. And when his true form was fully restored, and he got so close to the Crystal Heart...and Spike...you have no idea how that feels. To experience pure, primal fear. That's what it means to stand before King Sombra."

All those who had overheard gulped uncomfortably. No more words were spoken during their meal.

XXXXXX

Rainbow Dash sighed as she finally got to relax in her bunk after a long, stressful day of training. Commander Swift Stroke was a very stern, but fair drill sergeant. He had been very impressed by Rainbow's slick maneuvers, and when told she had been trying to get into the Wonderbolts for years, the commander said he'd put a good word in for her after the war.

But there begged the question. Would she survive this war?

The rainbow-maned pegasus shivered. It was a terrible thought, always on her mind. Rainbow liked to call herself fearless, but the fact that she could die in this conflict scared her. It scared her a lot more than she was willing to admit. Her bunkmate Whirlwind, a pegasus whose special talent was creating tornadoes, was already fast asleep in the bunk underneath her, snoring like a lumberjack.

Rainbow groaned and put her pillow over her head in a vain attempt to drown out the sawing of logs assaulting her poor ears. She wondered how her friends were doing. Rarity was probably making everypony miserable with her constant complaining about the living conditions. Twilight was probably reciting every spellbook she had ever read to whoever was unfortunate enough to listen. Applejack had probably already tried to buck off her commanding officer's head in annoyance, if his reputation was anything to go by.

She chuckled quietly despite herself. Thinking about her friends always put a smile on her face. Her eyelids slowly became heavier and heavier as sweet, blissful sleep neared.

WOOOWWOOOOOOOOOOWWWWOOOOOOOOOWWW!

Half the pegasi in the pavilion fell out of their beds in shock as the alarm blared several times before the voice of Commander Swift Stroke spoke over the intercom. "We have just received word that King Sombra's forces are attacking the Gryphon capital city of Griffhala. All pegasi are to report to the command office at once. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."

Rainbow Dash was the first out the door, coming to a stop right outside the command post, where Swift was waiting. "Excellent response time, Private Dash," he curtly congratulated. "Let's hope the others get a similar idea."

"Thank you, sir!" Rainbow barked.

It wasn't long before the other pegasi caught up and fell into ranks. "Alright, fillies and gentlecolts," Swift began, pacing in front of the assembled recruits. "Griffhala is under attack by several divisions of Obsidian pegasi. They were caught off guard and are in a tight spot. As you are all fresh recruits, I cannot send very many of you in good conscience. However, there are a few among you who have proven to be outstanding recruits in terms of speed, and/or power. Though most of the relief force will be comprised of the Royal Guard, I will select a small group of you to accompany me to the front."

The Pegasus Commander glanced at each pegasus as he said their names. "Rainbow Dash. Your speed is phenomenal, and you already possess some fighting skill, though not with a lance. You will come."

Rainbow Dash gulped, but nodded resolutely.

"Horse Power," Swift said to a hulking, heavily-muscled pegasus with a short, close-cropped blond mane and absurdly tiny wings. "You possess strength that rivals some of our strongest Earth pony warriors. You are coming too."

For once, the massive stallion refrained from bellowing his trademark "YYYEEEEEAAAHHH!" and simply settled for nodding.

"And Whirlwind. Your ability to create and control tornadoes largely by yourself will be an invaluable asset in distracting and disorienting the enemy. Just make sure it's only the enemy you distract and disorient."

Whirlwind, a dark grey pegasus with a long, black mane and a tornado Cutie Mark, saluted briskly. "I will not fail you, sir!" she stated.

"Alright, you three! Saddle up! Your armor and weapons are in the barracks! At 0300 hours, we move out!"

XXXXXX

All three bases had been alerted to Sombra's attack, but since only fliers could reach Griffhala, the unicorns and Earth ponies had to stay behind. As such, most of them had gone back to sleep. Not Twilight. She laid awake, silently praying to Mother Faust that Rainbow Dash would make it back.

Author's Note

Ehehehe. now the action's really starting to pick up, ain't it? I'll give you a hint on the next chapter: a couple of old faces will make a return as well.

Also Vinyl Scratch for best bunkmate. Figured I'd give her more screentime. This story's pretty much about how everypony deals with the Second Sombratic War, so expect plenty of background characters getting some attention.

'Til next time!

The Battle of Griffhala

Chapter Eight: The Battle of Griffhala

King Sombra watched with a cold, stern gaze as his soldiers repositioned the Crystal Heart in the center of the city where it had once been. However, this was not due to a change of heart on the black-hearted tyrant's part, for the Heart was protected by many spells and traps. Should someone step within ten feet of the Heart, an inescapable prison of black crystals would instantly form around the intruder, trapping him or her until Sombra himself arrived to dole out a swift punishment. Should anypony use magic to teleport the Heart away from its spot, Sombra's spell would immediately bring it back. And finally, with the accursed baby dragon in mind, Sombra had one last trick up his proverbial sleeve. Should someone still be able to get the Heart away from its pedestal, all those not tainted by Sombra's power would be electrocuted by enchanted cobblestone tiles encompassing a fifty-foot radius around the Heart's resting place.

Sombra's horn glowed as he activated the spells that would prevent the Heart from ever escaping his grasp again. However, the main reason for him bringing the Heart out here had yet to arrive, and Sombra was beginning to lose his patience.

Just when his patience was running thin, all those in the Crystal Empire felt a sudden chill, not just in their bodies but also in their very souls. What little stubborn light of hope remained in the Crystal Ponies' eyes vanished as they heard a distant, ghostly whinnying. Sombra laughed cruelly as his long-lost pets descended on the city from the sky.

They were large, spirit-like horses, their eyes glowing an icy-blue, their manes like the frost-bitten winds they commanded with their presence alone.

Windigos. Hundreds of them.

The spectral feeders of hatred gathered around the unicorn they called Master, whinnying in greeting as they began feeding on his hateful aura. Sombra smirked as he scratched one under its chin, his magic allowing him to touch the Windigo. "I can see the past millennium has been good to you, my wonderful pets," Sombra spoke fondly. "You have reproduced to a much higher number than even I anticipated. Which makes things all the more convenient for me."

Sombra motioned with his hoof towards the Crystal Heart. "Behold, my servants! The essence of love itself!"

The Windigos snorted in hatred at the enchanted stone. "I made a mistake in the past, not harnessing its power. But now is the time to twist this foul thing to my whims! Windigos! On my lead, focus your powers of strife on the Heart, and make it a beacon of hatred and despair! Then, its powers shall be mine to wield!"

Sombra's horn glowed with black magic powered by hatred, and the king of darkness fired at the Heart. The Heart's innate power held strong against Sombra's magic. Then, one by one, the gathered Windigos' eyes flashed brighter, feeding their essence into the Heart and bolstering Sombra's beam. The Crystal Heart shuddered, attempting to resist the corruption. But the combined might of Sombra and the Windigos, coupled with the fact that there was very little love and hope for it to draw strength from, was taking its toll on the artifact. Soon Sombra's aura began to surround it, infect it. The Heart changed from a pristine blue to a demonic red as the power of hate tainted it.

All eyes were on the scene transpiring before them, so nopony noticed a single Obsidian Guard discreetly slink away, desperate to escape the draining field of hate before it lost its current appearance. The Changeling scout did not stop running and revert to its true form until it had left the Empire far behind...

XXXXXX

Dozens of armored Gryphons did battle with the swarms of Obsidian pegasi assaulting their great city. The attack had caught them completely by surprise, and many proud Gryphon warriors had been cut down before they even knew what was happening. They were extremely fortunate that one of their scouts had managed to escape in time in order to inform the Equestrians. The civilians had all retreated into the depths of the mountain on which Griffhala stood to escape the raging battle. The doors to the main palace were sealed off, and guards were posted at every window to prevent any access.

Within the strategy room, an aged Gryphon wearing a golden crown was busy arming himself as his son, Prince Irontalon, watched him, his talons twitching in agitation. "I can't believe it," Irontalon growled angrily. "I can't believe Sombra has the audacity to assault Griffhala!"

As King Swiftwing removed his crown and strapped on an elegant battle helmet with an attached crown, the old Gryphon said, "Sombra knew that we intended to ride to Equestria's aid after what he did to Lionheart and Swiftwing. Our land is closer, and we were not even aware of his return until you arrived yesterday, my son. From what I gather, Sombra is a cunning and relentless strategist. If he is able to conquer our capital, and slay me, he will erase our entire kingdom's fighting spirit."

"And it is for that reason that I beg you to join the civilians within the depths of the mountain where it is safe, Father!" Irontalon pleaded. "Our nation needs its king alive!"

Swiftwing sighed. "Your concern is duly noted, my son. But the Gryphon Kingdom needs a strong ruler, not just in economy but in battle as well. And even if I were to fall, our people will turn to you."

Irontalon furiously shook his head. "I could never lead this kingdom as you have, Father!"

"No. I suppose not. I have a feeling you would do even better."

Irontalon was silent as his father smiled proudly at him. The prince could only nod his head in resignation. "Now come, Irontalon," Swiftwing bade, walking towards the door where a pair of guards stood at attention. One of them, a female, had a look of trepidation on her face. As the king passed, he took notice of the girl. "You there, what is your name?" he asked.

"Gilda, sir," the fresh recruit answered, swallowing her nervousness.

"Ah, the blacksmith's daughter," Swiftwing replied. "This is your first time in combat, yes?"

Gilda nodded her head. "I-I fell into some...uh, trouble 'bout a year back, and I figured joinin' the Guard'd be a good way to earn some money, sort out my life. I kinda miss Pops, though, and an old...friend of mine too."

Swiftwing smiled. "Follow me, child, and I promise you will live to see them again."

Gilda wanted to tell the king about how she doubted her old friend would want to see her again after what had happened during their last meeting, but all she did was let out an uncertain, "Yes, sire."

XXXXXX

The main palace's doors opened, a force of Gryphon warriors led by the king and prince themselves flying out and screeching their battle-cries. The Gryphons who were already fighting cheered for their king and redoubled their efforts. Obsidian pegasi broke off from several of their foes to engage the new arrivals. However, even with the king's reinforcements, their enemies had the advantage: their numbers were greater, they were hard to hit and even harder to damage. The Gryphons' weapons, claws, and beaks barely pierced the Obsidian Guards' rock-hard hides.

But that did not mean the Gryphons weren't going to try their damndest to fight the invaders. Gilda saw one pegasus bearing down on her and quickly banked right, the pegasus's razor-sharp feathers barely missing her chest. As the pegasus tried to turn, Gilda slammed onto his back and grabbed hold of his wings. Gilda tugged with all her might until she finally managed to rip off the pegasus's wings.

She was certain his scream of agony would haunt her dreams for weeks.

But she had little time to dwell on that. She watched the pegasus plummet towards earth for a moment before looking at the wings. She had already broken her lance trying to impale another pegasus and was currently weaponless. Without any other options, she plucked off the largest feather from one wing and let the rest drop, returning to the battle. Brandishing it as a blade, Gilda slowly exhaled, allowing her fears to subside, and dove at an Obsidian Guard that was closing in on another Gryphon from behind, plunging it between the startled pegasus's shoulder blades.

The pegasus let out a sharp gasp before she went limp and fell lifelessly below. The Gryphon she had just rescued looked at her with wonder. "Our best weapons haven't been able to penetrate their hides!" he marveled. "H-how did you do it?"

Gilda looked at the blood-spattered blade-feather. "I plucked this off another of them freaks's wing."

The soldier's eyes widened in understanding. "That's it! Their own weapons can harm them! Let us relay the message!"

The soldier took off, screaming, "Their feathers! Their feathers are strong enough to kill them! Everyone, go for their wings!"

A pegasus attempted to silence him, but the soldier saw it coming and slashed at the corrupted pony's face, disorienting him momentarily. The soldier then grabbed a wing, pried off a large feather, and slit the struggling pegasus's throat with it. Seeing this made Gilda almost vomit. Catching on, those that had seen this began altering their strategies as well, finally leveling the playing field a bit.

XXXXXX

Luna, due to Celestia's condition, had raised the sun in her sister's stead. As the morning light washed over the mountains, a battalion of Equestrian pegasi soared towards their destination, Commander Swift Stroke leading them. Their golden armor reflected the sunlight, like beacons of hope in a time of darkness. Rainbow Dash nervously kept pace with their formation, her anxiety growing as they approached their target.

Noticing that she was shaking, Rainbow took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid."

She wanted to believe it, but she knew deep down she was kidding herself. She was terrified. She bitterly wondered what Scootaloo would think of her so-called fearless hero, seeing her shaking in fear as she got closer to what was sure to be a tough battle. Thinking of home, Rainbow sighed. Scootaloo. Gods, she missed that little scamp. Rainbow regretted not spending more time with her Number One Fan.

That was when she was hit by a recent memory.

XXXXXX

The Friendship Express was packed more than usual with dozens of ponies all answering Celestia's call to arms. As the Mane Six had approached the train, Applejack and Big Mac had bade a tearful goodbye to their family. Rarity gave Sweetie Belle a short speech about what she needed to know about being a strong, independent mare before she finally got aboard as well. Spike promised Twilight that he would take care of the library while she was away. Fluttershy had instructed Angel to take care of the other animals while she was gone. Pinkie did her best to make the Cake twins laugh one last time before she left.

Rainbow Dash was the last to board, but just as she had been about to, somepony called her name. "Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow turned around just in time to see little Scootaloo latch onto her leg and sob. "Please don't go, Rainbow Dash! I-I don't want you to get h-hurt!" she bawled.

Rainbow sighed sadly. "I wish I could stay, Scoots, but the Princess needs me. Equestria needs me. And I can't be the most awesome pegasus in the world if I welch out, can I?"

Scootaloo looked up at her with those big, puppy-dog eyes. "No...I-I guess not."

"Hey, Scoots," Rainbow said softly, lifting up the filly's chin with her hoof. "You need to be strong, okay? Don't lose sleep worrying about me."

Scootaloo sniffed. "Promise me, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow blinked. "What?"

"Promise me you'll come back! Please!"

Rainbow stared down at her teary-eyed admirer with an uncertain expression. She had no idea what was going to happen in the coming months. But even so, Scootaloo needed reassurance. She needed to believe she would return home. Smiling, Rainbow made the unbreakable vow.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye."

Scootaloo giggled through her tears and hugged her idol. Rainbow returned the embrace, but she knew she couldn't stay much longer. She slowly withdrew from the filly's grasp. "I gotta go, Scoots."

Scootaloo sniffed again and nodded. Rainbow stepped onto the train, turning around and slowly waving her hoof. "Remember, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo yelled. "You made a promise!"

Rainbow smiled as the train whistled. "I'll see you later, Scoots! I promise!"

As the Express began moving down the station, Rainbow leaned out the window of her cabin and waved at Scootaloo. They didn't stop waving until they could no longer see each other.

XXXXXX

As she recalled the words she had exchanged with the rambunctious filly, it suddenly hit her.

I made a promise, she thought. I made a promise that I'd come back. Scoots is depending on me. And I'm not gonna let her down!

As the sight of Griffhala being surrounded by Gryphons and black demonic pegasi met their eyes, Rainbow's gaze steeled in resolution. I WILL make it through this!

Swift Stroke turned towards his soldiers. "Alright, fillies and gentlecolts! Our primary objective is to protect the Gryphon King and relieve the siege! Once we have confirmed King Swiftwing's survival, we tear these motherbuckers a choice new orifice! CHARGE! FOR PRINCESSES AND COUNTRY!"

"FOR EQUESTRIA!" the pegasi, including Rainbow, all cried in unison as they followed their leader towards the raging battle.

A streak of multi-colored light broke past the formation as Rainbow Dash brandished her lance. The pegasus she had targeted didn't even have time to blink before Rainbow thrust her lance at his chest at high speeds. The force was so great the spear managed to penetrate his hide deep enough to pierce his heart, killing him instantly. Unfortunately, her weapon became lodged in his body, and she had a difficult time prying it out. It worried her that she wasn't as bothered by killing this stallion as she had been the first time. Now free of the lance, the Guard's corpse dropped out of the sky.

Shouts of "The Equestrians! The Equestrians are here!" rose up amongst the Gryphons' ranks as they cheered for their saviors. The Obsidian Guard reacted to their new threat, however, numbers were now against them. Rainbow dodged a pegasi's wing slash and struck him in the face with her lance. The disoriented Obsidian pegasus weaved dizzily thoughout the air as Rainbow prepared to run him through.

A Gryphon beat her to it, goring the pegasus's neck with what looked like an Obsidian Guard's feather. The Gryphon looked ill for a moment, but immediately shrugged it off as she glanced knowingly at Rainbow, who gasped in shock as she recognized her childhood friend.

"Gilda?!"

Gilda flashed a sarcastic smile. "Glad to see you too, Dash."

"W-what're you doing here?!" Rainbow stammered.

"We can discuss this later!" Gilda urgently snapped. "There's somethin' else we need to do first, right?!"

Rainbow blinked as she remembered the battle around them. "Oh...right."

"Just stick close to me 'n we'll plow through these losers!"

The adrenaline rushing through Rainbow's body left no room for questions as the two old friends finally reunited in the heat of battle. Utilizing each other's strengths, they made the perfect team. Rainbow would distract a foe while Gilda would cut them down from behind. Neither bothered to notice the specks of their enemies' blood blemishing their armor and weapons as they took the fight to the Obsidian Guard.

An Obsidian pegasus with more ornate armor than his brethren suddenly flew down into Rainbow and Gilda's path. "Element of Loyalty!" Captain Dagger Wing of the Obsidian Guard snarled. "You will die!"

"Bring it, chump!" Gilda declared.

Dagger Wing sneered and flapped his wings.

To their shock, several feathers flew at them like knives. Rainbow's eyes widened in terror. She was going to die.

"NO!" Gilda suddenly cried, forcing Rainbow aside.

And she took every single hit.

Gilda gritted her teeth in pain and began falling. "GILDA!" Rainbow cried in horror.

The young Gryphon looked at her wounds as she fell. Four blade-feathers protruded from her armor, having been prevented from going deep enough to be fatal. Wincing, Gilda flew back up towards her friend before glaring at Dagger Wing. "Is that all you got, lame-o?!" Gilda snarled, pulling one of the feathers out of her wound. before tossing it to a confused Rainbow.

"Gilda, you bucking idiot!" Rainbow cried angrily. "Don't scare me like that!"

Gilda ignored her outrage and explained, "I don't know how, but their feathers can kill 'em! Hold onto that for all it's worth!"

Dagger Wing snarled and dove at the two of them, wings outstretched. Rainbow flew down while Gilda flew up, causing the captain to halt in confusion, momentarily unsure of who to pursue. This split-second of hesitation was all Rainbow needed to rocket back up and plunge the blade-feather into Dagger Wing's chest. The captain screamed in agony as Rainbow flew back out of his range on the off-chance the blow wasn't fatal.

The Obsidian captain vainly tried to pursue her, but death seized him quickly, and the lifeless body fell down, down, crashing against the mountainside and disappearing into the mists. By this time, victory was moments away, and the last few Obsidian Guard were being ganged up on by the Gryphons and pegasi and were quickly slain.

With the death of the last foe, silence reigned over the skies as the survivors assessed their casualties. Gilda winced as she slowly flew over to the main part of Griffhala's streets to rest. Rainbow followed her. "Gilda, you're hurt!" she yelped.

Gilda scoffed as she painfully yanked out the other dagger-like feathers. "I'll tough it out." She looked up at her old friend and smiled wanly. "It's nice to know ya still care, Dash."

"Well, why wouldn't I?" Rainbow asked, slightly confused.

"Well, after what happened when we last saw each other...I didn't think you wanted to see me again. Since you seemed so happy with your new friends..."

Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, that was pretty rotten of you...but I understood, Gilda. For such a long time, we only had each other, and you weren't used to sharing. You never stopped being my friend, Gilda."

Gilda sat down. "I was such a jerk. Bein' with the military and learnin' about teamwork 'n stuff made me realize that. I hope your friends can forgive me."

Rainbow smiled. "I know they will, Gilda."

And as reports and gratitude were shared by the soldiers above, two old friends caught up on lost time, the past forgotten in their happiness in seeing each other again.

XXXXXX

Twilight, Vinyl, Rarity, and Lyra sat at the table which had unofficially become their designated spot, as that was where they always gathered, quietly eating their lunch. Rarity and Twilight were too worried about Rainbow Dash's safety to really engage in any sort of conversation. Putting her hay and cheese sandwich down, the unicorn sighed. Today had been quite a stressful day so far. Though Twilight had easily mastered the spells she had read about the night before, most of the others hadn't, and this had prompted Commander Falling Skies to berate them on their lack of focus and force them to do ten laps around the base.

Twilight quietly groaned as she rubbed her sore legs with a hoof. So much was on her mind right now, she was starting to get a headache.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Twilight Sparkle," came a sudden voice from behind Twilight.

Twilight's head shot up. No. It couldn't be. The gods of fortune were never this cruel. Twilight slowly turned her head and regarded the mare with a cold expression.

"Trixie," she sourly greeted.

Against A Friend

Chapter Nine: Against A Friend

Indeed, there stood the pompous showmare, a smug look brimming with hate written all over her face. Likely due to military dress code, she was currently not wearing her hat and cape. She grinned cruelly at Twilight.

"Ugh, not her," Rarity glowered.

"I thought I'd seen the last of her when she got run outta Manehattan," Vinyl groaned.

Ignoring them, Trixie said, "Long time, no see, Sparkle."

"What do you want, Trixie?" Twilight demanded.

"Oh, nothing. Just loving the sweet, delicious irony of our newest meeting. I heard you were at the Crystal Empire when it reappeared in the frozen north. Supposedly you and your friends killed that blowhard King Sombra. And yet, here we find ourselves, recruited into the military, because you, Twilight Sparkle, the most magical unicorn that ever lived, failed. Sombra is far from dead, and ponies have died because of your failure! How does it feel, Twilight?"

Twilight was at a loss for words. "You know," Trixie boldly continued, "after that debacle with the Ursa Minor a year ago, I got shunned and laughed out of every town I went to! Nopony would watch my show, and I was bucking broke! No bits for food, with just my traveling stage as my home! But now it seems fortune has swung in my favor once again! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall wow the higher-ups with her new magical prowess and move on up the ranks faster than you can blink, while you remain at the bottom, wallowing in your guilt and self-pity! Trixie shall enjoy ordering you around!"

Twilight just stared at Trixie with a mixed look of anger and guilt. Rarity, Vinyl, and Lyra all immediately stood up and came to Twilight's defense, all of them glaring daggers at Trixie. "You inequine harlot!" Rarity hissed, getting in Trixie's face. "How dare you say such vile, untrue things!"

"Look, dude!" Vinyl added. "I don't care what kinda crap you've gone through in your life, but you do not, I repeat, do not, talk to one of my friends that way! You were kicked out of every town because we all learned you were a lying, self-centered, egomaniacal sack of horseapples! Your show wasn't worth payin' for!"

"Let me ask you something," Lyra said coldly. "Did you defeat the Mare in the Moon when she returned for her revenge? Did you best the legendary Discord himself?! Or the Changeling Queen?! And most importantly, did you slay an Elder Wyrm and save Princess Celestia's life?!"

Trixie's smug expression wavered ever so slightly. "Well, no..."

Twilight sighed and looked up at her friends. "Lyra, I didn't do any of that by myself. I always had my friends, or at least someone else to help me."

Trixie scoffed arrogantly. "See? She has to rely on others to do the hard work! Some great magician you are, Sparkle!"

"Do you even understand what teamwork means?!" Vinyl yelled angrily. "The whole point is that you work together to do stuff you can't do on your own!"

"She and I are Elements of Harmony," Rarity explained, her eyes narrowed. "Our strength comes from working together, compensating for our weaknesses, and bolstering our strengths. Something you wouldn't understand, because you are so hopelessly full of yourself that you'll never allow yourself to make any friends! Nothing about you is 'great' or 'powerful', so kindly do us a favor, and BUCK OFF! Pardon my language."

Trixie's confident smirk contorted into a look of seething hatred. "Trixie has no friends."

The showmare turned around and began walking off. "Trixie needs no friends."

Lyra watched her leave. "Looks like she didn't learn her lesson after all, huh?" she spoke to nopony in particular.

Twilight just looked downtrodden at the ground. "Ah, don't let her get to ya!" Vinyl said, patting her on the back reassuringly.

"She's not worth it, Twilight," Rarity said. "Now let's finish our lunch and put her behind us."

But Twilight knew this was not the last time she and Trixie were going to 'talk'.

XXXXXX

King Sombra, having just finished dealing with the more trivial matters of running his kingdom such as rationing for the slaves and soldiers, calmly walked towards a sealed-off area of the palace. It was a place only he could access, as it contained something that was for his use only. Deactivating the seals, the king stepped inside, magically shutting the door behind him. Sombra then trotted over to a raised pedestal of dark crystals on which a bowl of water stood.

The Mirror of Shadows.

Sombra created it himself as a way to see into the dreams of whoever he wished right under Princess Luna's nose. However, it also served another purpose should Sombra find a truly enticing target.

Sombra was the absolute master of dark magic. As such, those who used the same magic even once in their lives were open to a more...personal approach by the dark tyrant. With this mirror, he could seize the darkness within their heart and infect them with an overwhelming wave of his magic, and worse, his very mind.

And he knew exactly who to target.

The Element of Magic had used Sombra's magic to make it past one of his traps. In doing so, she had inadvertantly set up another trap for Sombra to exploit: an open corridor right into her mind. It was time to unleash his trap.

He doubted she would be strong enough to do nearly as much damage as Sombra would have liked, but the real purpose here was that her compatriots would be forced to defend themselves and would likely kill the rampaging Element wielder. Not only would it be a disheartening blow to Equestria's morale, but Celestia's as well. And the strongest Element would be out of his way.

Sombra's demonic horn glowed with dark magic as images began to flicker in the pool of water, the Mirror sifting through the passing dreams of others as it searched for its intended target. Finally Sombra felt a flicker of familiar darkness and immediately focused on it. Within seconds, the images became coherent, showing the town of Ponyville in flames. He could hear screams of terror and see flashes of intimidating silhouettes darting between the flames.

Sombra grinned maniacally. It was time.

XXXXXX

Twilight twisted and turned in her sleep, the sight and sounds of Ponyville burning ringing in her memory again and again. She softly cried as she slept, low enough so that nopony was woken up by it.

Save one.

Vinyl lay in the bunk underneath Twilight, slowly waking up as she heard a strange noise and felt the bunk bed shake continuously. It took her several moments to realize it was Twilight crying in her sleep. Her concern quickly overpowering her sleepiness, Vinyl quietly got out of her bunk and discreetly climbed a few steps up the ladder to Twilight's bunk.

"Yo, Twilight," Vinyl whispered softly. "You okay?"

Twilight didn't hear her, for her mind was currently processing a much more sinister voice heard only in her head.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Bearer of Magic, you made a mistake opening the Nightmare Door with my magic. By using it, you have opened your mind to me...as well as your soul. I thank you for your generosity, Twilight Sparkle. I shall use your body well!"

"Twilight?" Vinyl whispered again, nudging her with a hoof.

Twilight's eyes snapped open, and in her shock, Vinyl let out a loud curse as she fell off the ladder and landed on her back. For Twilight's eyes had turned a venemous shade of green.

The former librarian's piercing scream abruptly cut everypony's sleep short, chilling Vinyl's soul. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"What the buck's going on?!" a nearby unicorn swore groggily.

Vinyl saw Twilight grip the edge of her bedside, her teeth gritted in agony and tears escaping her tightly-shut eyes as her entire body was engulfed by a menacing, dark aura. "T-Twilight?!" Vinyl gasped.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked down at a confused and frightened Vinyl with the most terrified expression the DJ had ever seen. "V-Vinyl!" she screamed in agony, scared out of her wits. "H-H-HE-HE-HEEEEEELLP MEEEE!"

Not knowing what else to do, Vinyl whipped her head around and screamed, "SOMEPONY HELP! TWILIGHT'S IN TROUBLE!"

Vinyl then noticed all the other unicorns looking up in awe and terror. Vinyl turned back towards Twilight and saw the booksmart unicorn floating up into the air, as if suspended by the dark aura surrounding her. Twilight's head was whipping back and forth, and she was bawling in abject terror. Black lightning coursed through her body, causing Twilight to shriek in agonizing pain.

And then blood-red shafts of light blew out of Twilight's eyes and mouth, a wave of dark energy knocking nearby unicorns off their hooves. Vinyl watched in horror as Twilight's body twisted and contorted, her fur color darkening to a deep, dark blackish-purple and her horn sharply curving upward, turning from lavender to black with a blood-red tip. All eyes were on the transformed mare as the magic lowered her to her hooves. Twilight's head hung down, her hair obscuring her face.

Silence reigned in the barracks as everypony stared at Twilight as she breathed heavily, but otherwise did not move. Vinyl took a tentative step towards her. "...Twilight?"

Twilight's head shot up, causing Vinyl to jump back in fright. Everypony else gasped in fear.

Twilight's eyes were now glowing venom-green, with a purple haze trailing out of them. Her mouth was upturned into a cruel grin, revealing razor-sharp canines. A wave of fear washed over everypony present as Twilight chuckled darkly, her voice overlayered with a deeper, more masculine tone that oozed power and malevolence. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Behold, wretched Equestrians! Your precious Bearer of Magic is now my puppet! Tremble in fear! Mewl for your wretched princesses! I am Sombra, King of the Crystal Empire!"

Commander Falling Skies chose this moment to storm in, looking tired and angry. "What the buck's with all the noise?!" he yelled furiously.

He stopped cold when he saw Sombratic Twilight standing in the middle of the barracks, surrounded by the confused and very terrified unicorn recruits. Sombright slowly turned her head and smiled evilly at Falling. "I take it you are the commander of this spineless rabble?" she asked in a distorted voice.

Falling immediately knew that this was not Private Sparkle speaking to him. "I am," he confirmed, feeling slightly unnerved.

Sombright's savage grin would haunt Falling for the rest of his life. "Good. You die first."

Falling had barely any time to react as Sombright shot an intense blast of dark magic at him. The commander threw up a magic barrier just as Sombright's magic struck it. However, the force was so strong that the shield shattered on impact, the blow flinging Falling Skies far back into the wall, leaving a large dent. Falling slumped to the ground, unconscious. Some of the more cowardly unicorns attempted to flee, but with a casual flick of Sombright's horn, large black crystals tore out of the ground, blocking off all the exits. "Ah, none of that now," Sombright snickered. "I cannot properly enjoy your deaths otherwise."

"King Sombra!" Rarity yelled abruptly, keeping the fear out of her voice. "Release Twilight at once, you fiend!"

The possessed unicorn turned towards her former friend and sneered. "Ah yes," Sombright spoke. "Rarity, the Element of Generosity. What luscious beauty. You would have made a fine mistress in my bedchamber. Such a pity that I require your life ended."

Rarity glared at Sombright, disgusted. "As if I would lower myself to bedding with a low-life brute like you!"

Sombright grinned lavisciously. "I'll save you for last. Then we'll see I low I can bring you."

Before Rarity could voice her objections, shadow crystals surrounded her, trapping her in a makeshift cage. Rarity gasped in shock and horror. There was no way she could escape, as she hadn't mastered teleportation magic, and even then, it was likely Sombra's magic would keep her from escaping anyway. With that matter settled, the possessed mare turned her attention towards the other unicorns, her wicked grin widening. "So, how do you choose to die? Shall you throw yourselves against my might and perish in a one-sided battle, or shall I extinguish your lives one after the other as you cower in corners and hide under your beds?"

A few unicorns were torn between cowering and owning up to the fact that they had no choice but to fight or die. Sombright decided for them, crystals of darkness erupting from the ground and impaling several unlucky soldiers.

All Tartarus promptly broke loose.

Many unicorns threw spells at Sombright, but they were feeble and poorly-practiced, hardly fazing the possessed mare. Laughing madly, Sombright answered their weak attacks with powerful beams of energy, scoring direct hits nearly every time. Meanwhile, Vinyl Scratch and Lyra hid desperately behind one of the crystals, unsure of what to do.

"W-what do we do, Vinyl?!" Lyra whispered, shaking profusely. "That's o-our friend out t-there!"

Vinyl looked past the crystal at her new friend, possessed against her will by a mad king. "So this is King Sombra," she murmured, shuddering. "Maybe not the big guy himself, but...jeez, I haven't been this scared since..."

Vinyl realized she couldn't remember a time when she was as frightened as she was now. But she wasn't going to let that fear get a hold of her so easily. So, right under the rampaging tyrant's nose, Vinyl formulated a plan. It was at this moment that the unlikeliest pony imaginable came to their side and demanded, "So, you two have a plan?"

Vinyl and Lyra gaped in shock at Trixie as she hunkered down next to them. "You...?" Lyra stammered.

"I thought about what you said, and at first the Great and Powerful Trixie shrugged it off as just the ramblings of a bunch of idiots. But I have felt that...thing's power. You can feel it too. There's no way any of us could take King Sombra on our own, even if he is just focusing his power through a host."

Vinyl swallowed and nodded. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. I'm going to get over to my dubstep equipment 'n set up shop. Dubstep's pretty rough on the ears first time around. When I hit the switch, our special guest'll get caught off-guard. When that happens, I want you to hit her with everything you got, Trixie, as long as it don't kill her! And Lyra, when that happens, I want you to teleport outta here and warn the princesses that King Sombra's hijacked Twilight's body!"

Trixie nodded her head. Lyra didn't look so sure. "B-but you need h-h-help," Lyra protested.

"And the best help we can get is the Princesses'. Hay, even Discord'll do! Just go when I tell you to!"

Lyra hesitantly nodded as she and Trixie watched Vinyl zig-zag past all the chaos back to her bunk, pull a large stereo set out from under her bed, and begin setting it up. Sombright was oblivious, reveling in all the mayhem she was causing as more and more unicorns were blasted aside like annoying flies, many of them moving no more after they came to a stop. Finally, when Vinyl was ready, she yelled at her possessed bunkmate. "Oh Your Royal Flankhole!"

Sombright turned towards her, her eyes ablaze with murderous intent. Vinyl smiled and pressed a button on her stereo. "Eat dupstep, you creep!"

Immediately the speakers throbbed and the air vibrated as a very loud, obnoxious mockery of music filled the air, momentarily halting all movement. Sombright grabbed her ears and snarled in anger, the evil king completely unprepared for modern music. "What musical abomination is this?!" she roared. "Graah! Can't...hear!"

Trixie took this as her cue and leapt out from her hiding place, firing a blast of energy point-blank at Sombright's chest, knocking the stunned mare back. Trixie didn't give her foe a chance to recover, sending volley after volley at Sombright, reveling in her ultimate revenge. She didn't care if it was Twilight or Sombra she hurt; either way, it was a win for her. Watching the fight unfold, Vinyl turned to Lyra and beseeched her, "GO!"

Lyra nodded, her horn flashing. A moment later, she was gone.

XXXXXX

Lyra reappeared right outside the main gate to the castle, the two guards reacting with shock and pointing their spears directly at her chest. Ignoring the deadly weapons, Lyra fell to her knees and sobbed. "P-please! I-I-I have t-to talk to P-Princess Celestia!"

"Princess Celestia is still in poor condition," one guard bluntly stated. "You will have to wait until she fully recovers."

"T-Then let me talk to Princess Luna! Discord! ANYPONY! Unicorns are dying right now!"

The two guards looked unsettled. "What do you mean?" the second one asked suspiciously.

"K-King Sombra! H-he's possessed T-T-Twilight Sparkle a-and he's t-trying to kill everypony!"

Both guards paled. "What did you say?" the first one demanded in shock.

XXXXXX

Princess Luna sighed tiredly. She hadn't gotten much sleep since the dragon attack, since she was so worried over her sister. Discord was often at Celestia's side too, trying to cheer her up in his own demented way. But over the last couple of hours, she had begun to feel that something was very wrong. But the perplexing question was: what?

The answer immediately made itself known as a mint-green unicorn and two guards hurried into the throne room. They all gave curt bows as the co-monarch straightened up. "Your Majesty!" one guard gasped for breath. "This mare brings dire news!"

"What is it?" Luna questioned.

"K-King Sombra's possessed Twilight Sparkle, Your Majesty!" Lyra desperately exclaimed. "Y-you have to help!"

Luna's face nearly became as white as her sister's. "What?"

Discord suddenly popped into the room in a flash of light, a rare serious look on his face. "Lulu, I'll deal with it!"

Luna blinked. "Discord?" she asked, shock evident on her face.

"It's about time I actually put some effort into 'doing the right thing' as Tia always drones on about. Besides, I owe a favor to the little bookworm for helping me out with the Sky Emperor."

Before Luna could say anything else, Discord was gone.

XXXXXX

The spirit of disharmony appeared to a scene of such chaos he took a split second to marvel before getting down to business. Sombright had Trixie and Vinyl Scratch caught in her magical grip, ready to strangle the life out of both of them. The possessed mare laughed victoriously. "Pathetic fools! You're all even weaker than I anticipated! It's time I ended this game!"

"I agree," Discord interrupted, causing Sombright to whirl around in surprise.

Sombright grinned. "Ah. Discord. At last we meet. I have always looked forward to testing my strength against you."

Discord smirked and snapped his fingers. Sombright then realized that her horn had vanished from her forehead, causing Vinyl and Trixie to drop to the ground, free of Sombright's restraints. "Not today," the spirit declared smugly.

"What?!" the possessed mare roared.

Discord got right into Sombright's face. "Playtime's over, King Sombrero."

The spirit then tapped Sombright on the forehead. Sombra then immediately felt himself losing control of Twilight. "What?! NO! NOOOOO!" he bellowed in fury, vainly trying to reestablish dominance.

A bright light erupted from Twilight's body and engulfed the barracks, blinding everypony sans Discord. When it subsided, Twilight Sparkle lay on the ground, curled up in the fetal position as she cried uncontrollably. Looking around, Discord snapped his fingers again, removing all the crystals from existence. The bodies that had been impaled crumpled lifelessly to the ground, making Discord wince uncomfortably.

Rarity, Vinyl, and Lyra all rushed over to Twilight's side and began consoling her, but all she did was stare straight ahead at nothingness and silently cry.

Author's Note

And that concludes the next chapter of "What Else Can I Put Twilight Through Today"...I mean, Echoing Shadows.

Shattered Innocence

Chapter Ten: Shattered Innocence

King Sombra stumbled back away from the Mirror, growling in anger and disoriented. "Grr! Discord!" he roared. "That infuriating mismatched dullard!"

Sombra shook his head and stormed out of the Mirror's chamber, passing by a number of frightened maids. He paid no heed to them as he briskly trotted over to the main balcony overlooking the Imperial city. Using his magic to amplify his voice, the evil king made his declaration.

"Guards! Take two thousand slaves and bring them to the dungeons for immediate conversion! And make those that remain pick up the slack! I will not tolerate any delays in mining production!"

Without another word, Sombra turned away from the balcony and disappeared from view. Screams and pleas for mercy rose up amongst the Crystal Ponies as Obsidian Guards removed their restraints and dragged them off towards the palace. Sombra was about to retire to his personal chambers to relieve his stress on his pipe organ when the Obsidian Commander blocked his path.

"What is it, Commander Death Dealer?" Sombra snapped impatiently at the unicorn.

"Our scouts reported having made contact with a Diamond Dog pack of considerable size not far from the Empire's borders. They have expressed interest in allying with us if we provide an ample supply of crystals for them."

Sombra raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Diamond Dogs, you say?"

"Their leader is waiting for you outside the throne room, Your Majesty. He wishes to discuss the terms of our potential alliance."

Sombra smirked and headed off. "I shall be there presently."

XXXXXX

Three large Diamond Dogs stood silently outside the door that led to the throne room, closely watched by a squad of Obsidian Guards. The one in the middle was beginning to snarl impatiently as the minutes ticked by. Finally the large doors slowly swung open, revealing Amethyst Twinkle on the other side, her head lowered in constant sadness. "His Majesty, King Sombra, will see you now," she spoke in a dull, near-lifeless tone.

The Diamond Dogs gruffly walked past her towards the throne, where King Sombra had just made himself comfortable. The demonic unicorn stared down at his visitors as the lead one bowed respectfully. Sombra scrutinized this ape-hound in particular. He was a fine specimen. His fur was white with black splotches all over his body. He wore a black leather vest. A necklace decorated with bones and teeth hung around his neck. He wore a crude belt that proudly displayed a bleached-white pony skull dangling off a leather string. The Diamond Dog was also covered with scars, one of which went over his left eye, which was obscured by an eyepatch. His head roughly resembled an Alaskan malamute. It was obvious this beast was not afraid of a fight and had years of battlefield experience under his belt.

Just what Sombra needed.

"Greetings to you, King Sombra of the Crystal Empire," the Diamond Dog spoke in perfect Equestrian, though with a thick Horsewegian accent. "I am Bjoräl, clan leader of the Rültvek tribe of Diamond Dogs. We come seeking an alliance with your prosperous kingdom."

"In exchange for a share of the crystals my slaves produce, correct?" Sombra asked.

Bjoräl let loose a guttural grunting Sombra interpreted as laughter. "You get straight to the point. I respect that. Yes, we desire your crystals. But that is not the main reason I have come to you."

Sombra raised a half-curious eyebrow, granting Bjoräl permission to continue.

"I come because I wish for aid in conquering a rival tribe of ours that resides in Equestria. We wish to seize control of their mines. We cannot do it as we are now because the Equestrian princess forbade us to enter her country with the intention of conquest, even towards our own kind. And we both know that Celestia is not a foe to be trifled with."

The dark king's expression was unreadable. "Your terms are acceptable, as long as you aid with the main invasion of Equestria. I will deal with the Princesses. Celestia is currently bedridden and her sister is not as capable a leader as she. Luna is gullible and normally looks to Celestia for guidance."

Bjoräl nodded. "My tribeshounds are excellent warriors. We have slain ponies before, when a group of them attempted to lay claim to our territory. We will follow your orders so long as they are not suicidal for us."

Sombra smirked. "As you wish."

XXXXXX

Applejack was a nervous wreck, a far cry from the strong-willed, hardworking pony everypony knew so well. The stress of the last few weeks was not treating her well. After all, she had watched a pony she knew die right before her eyes, and listened to the anguished cries of her devastated child. She had had to leave Granny Smith and Applebloom behind, just when they needed her and Big Mac the most. The look on her little sister's face had been so heartbreaking. She knew very well that Applejack and Big Mac might never return. Granny Smith was already a very old mare, and she would be the only thing Applebloom would have left. After Granny finally passed, where would she go? Another family member would probably take her in, but Applebloom was not as close to any of them as she was to her immediate family.

The farmpony sighed as she lay in her bunk at the Earth Pony camp, listening to her bunkmate Octavia snore softly above her. Applejack had gotten to know the cellist somewhat, but she was a very refined pony who was having some trouble adjusting to the fact that she was being recruited into a war, and was being taught various ways on how to drive a lance through another living being. Applejack had dealt with these kinds of upper crust ponies before, but Octavia was down to earth enough for Applejack to connect with her without there being a sense of awkwardness between them. Applejack had been nudging her along, giving her a few tips on how to deal with the drastic change in lifestyle.

But Applejack had her own problems that were undoubtedly more severe than the musician's. Octavia hadn't seen somepony die in front of her. Octavia didn't take another pony's life, even though they were just a hollow shell of the pony they had once been. Nor had she seen her hometown burn around her. Or leave behind a doting family that depended on her every day, and know very well she might not live long enough to see them again.

And then, of course, there were the events of the past week. She had heard about the attack on Griffhala, and that the battle had been won. What she didn't know was whether or not Rainbow Dash had gone with the relief force, and if so, if she had survived. She also had not completely recovered emotionally from the Elder Wyrm's attack that had crippled Princess Celestia. That had been the most terrifying experience of her life.

But the worst thing was what she had heard about this morning. That during the night, King Sombra had had the audacity, the nerve, to possess one of her best friends and turn her against her companions. At least a dozen unicorns had been killed in the attack, many more injured. Applejack couldn't even begin to imagine how Twilight was feeling right now. Applejack never thought she'd hear herself think this, but thank Celestia for Discord.

But that left an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was sure this was shared by everypony around her. What if Sombra could do the same to any of them? Applejack didn't even want to think about it. Having her mind, body, and soul utterly violated by that unholy abomination that wore the guise of a unicorn...

Applejack sighed wearily as she closed her eyes, allowing sleep to overcome her, and with it, horrid nightmares of fire and brimstone, faces of the dead and dying, and the cruel laughter of a mad tyrant obsessed with power.

XXXXXX

Applejack slowly awoke the next morning, feeling groggy and emotionally exhausted. For a few seconds, she blearily pondered why the revelrie wasn't blaring over the loudspeakers before she realized what day it was.

Sunday. The day when all the soldiers at the three bases could mingle and take the day off in Canterlot.

Applejack blinked away her residual sleep as she took in her surroundings. Most of the other Earth ponies had already gotten up and left, though a few others were still sleeping soundly in their bunks or just relaxing by themselves. The farmpony grumbled incoherently to herself as she reached for where she always kept her hat...

...only to realize, once again, that she had had to leave it with her family, as the base had a strict dress code banning hats, jewelry, and various other regalia.

"Consarn it all," Applejack mumbled in displeasure.

"Ah, you've awoken, I see," came a voice from above.

Applejack looked up to see Octavia looking down at her from the top bunk, polishing her violin. Applejack inclined her head. "Mornin', Octavia," she greeted.

"Actually, it's half past noon," Octavia corrected.

Applejack blinked in surprise. "Why didn't ya wake me?"

Octavia closed her eyes and put down her violin. "Applejack...for a good deal of the night, you were tossing and turning. It eventually stirred me from my sleep, and I distinctly heard you whimpering in yours."

Applejack frantically shook her head. "Ya must've been hearin' things. Ah don't cry in my sleep."

"I didn't say you were crying. I heard only whimpering. The point I'm trying to make is, it took nearly two hours for you to calm down. I woke up at ten this morning, but I thought you needed your rest, so I left you alone."

"Well...thanks, Ah suppose."

Octavia sighed. "I know about what happened in Ponyville, about the things you saw. I don't pretend to comprehend what you've gone through, but..."

"Octavia...Ah know you're tryin' to help 'n all, but...this...this is somethin' Ah gotta deal with mahself. Ah had to watch one'a the most dedicated mothers Ah ever met die right in front of her young filly. Ah'll never forget her cries. Ah just...Ah need to move on, my way. Ah appreciate the thought though, Octavia."

Octavia slowly nodded in understanding. "If that's what you want, I'll not pry further."

Applejack then started walking off. "'Sides, Ah have a friend who's even worse off than me. Today's the day Ah can see her."

Octavia promptly climbed down from her bunk and trotted up alongside the farmer. "If you're heading to the Unicorn base, I can accompany you. I'm meeting some friends down there anyways."

Applejack nodded. "Fair enough."

The two mares walked towards the Unicorn base, occasionally trading small talk about their hometowns. It was about thirty minutes before they reached the entrance to the Unicorn base, where a pair of armored soldiers stood guard. They gave Applejack and Octavia curt nods as they passed. The two mares wandered aimlessly throughout the compound, searching for any familiar faces.

"Applejack!"

Applejack turned to see Rarity, Vinyl Scratch, and Lyra trotting up to her. "Applejack, it's good to see you're well!" Rarity exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"Good to see ya too, Rare," Applejack greeted.

Meanwhile, Vinyl and Lyra trotted up to Octavia. "Hey, Tavvy, how ya doin'?" Vinyl asked, hugging her friend.

"Still getting used to the idea of warfare, I'm sorry to say," Octavia replied. "But Applejack here has been helping me through it."

"How's Twilight?" Applejack asked Rarity.

"I don't know," Rarity answered sadly. "After the...incident, she was taken to the hospital to recover. Her injuries weren't too serious, but she was just so emotionally distraught when they took her away. We were actually going to see her shortly, so you're both welcome to come."

"Hey, girls!" came a familiar voice from behind.

Applejack and Rarity both whipped their heads around to see Rainbow Dash touching down, still wearing her pegasus armor. She was instantly knocked over by an exuberant Applejack and Rarity as they hugged her tightly.

"Rainbow Dash! Ah thought Ah'd never see ya again!"

"I'm so glad you're safe, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow chuckled with embarrassment. "Well, why wouldn't I be? This is Rainbow Dash we're talkin' about here! You know, the most awesome pegasus in all of Equestria?!"

The two friends released her. "Good to know ya haven't changed, Dash," Applejack said.

Rainbow looked around. "Hey, where's Twilight?"

The smiles immediately left Rarity and Applejack's faces as they looked morosely at the ground. "Oh...so you haven't heard," Rarity mumbled.

Rainbow immediately knew something was wrong. "Girls...what happened? Is Twilight alright?!"

"Last night," Applejack hesitantly began. "Twilight was...possessed by King Sombra. He forced her to attack her fellow unicorns...at least a dozen died. If it hadn't been for Discord, they might'a been forced t-to...kill her."

Rainbow gripped Applejack by the shoulders. "Applejack! Is Twilight okay?!" she pressed.

"Discord managed to drive Sombra out of Twilight's mind," Rarity explained. "But the whole ordeal is bound to have left some emotional scars. We were actually just about to go see her at the hospital. Now that you're here, Rainbow Dash, you can join us."

Rainbow looked to Vinyl, Lyra, and Octavia, who had been quietly observing the conversation. "You guys too?"

Vinyl nodded. "Twilight's my bunkmate. I was the first one to see King Sombra take over her body."

The DJ shuddered. "I'll never get her screams outta my mind."

"Do Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie know about this?" Rainbow asked.

"They're staying in the castle," Rarity answered. "I think it's safe to say somepony informed them."

Rainbow nodded. "Let's go, then."

The six ponies then began an hour-long trek up the mountain path to Canterlot, saying little during the journey.

XXXXXX

They traveled through the considerably less-packed streets towards the local hospital, eventually reaching the building as late afternoon rolled around. Applejack led the way in, walking up to the front desk, which was manned by none other than Nurse Redheart. Applejack did a double-take. "Nurse Redheart?! What're ya doin' here?!"

Redheart raised an eyebrow. "Doing my job, Ms. Applejack. I'm a healer, not a soldier."

"Well...nevermind that. We're here to see Twilight."

Redheart's face fell. "Ah yes...Ms. Sparkle. She hasn't spoken or eaten since the ordeal. Poor dear. I can't imagine what it must have been like to have such an evil menace invading her mind and commandeering her body. Ms. Fluttershy and Ms. Pie are already here. I'll take you to them."

Applejack nodded. "Thanks, Nurse."

Redheart said nothing as she led them down a corridor to Twilight's room. Once she led them to the door, she trotted off to return to her duties. Applejack tentatively opened the door. "Twilight?" she said.

Applejack suddenly was engulfed by a large mass of pink. "Applejack! I'm so so so so happy to see you again!" Pinkie Pie cried. "I thought I'd never get to see you again and I was all sad and then Twilight got hurt and I was even more sad but now you're here and everypony's back together and I'm so happy to see you all safe!"

Applejack patted Pinkie on the back. "I'm glad to see yer alright too, Pinkie."

Pinkie then let go of Applejack and latched onto Rarity, spouting off her relief at seeing her too fast to be coherent. She then moved on to Rainbow Dash, who was too happy at seeing her friends again to protest the invasion of her personal space. Fluttershy then timidly walked over and joined the Mane Five in a group hug while Vinyl, Octavia, and Lyra stood off to the side, allowing the closer circle of friends to enjoy their time together.

Soon they broke apart to attend to the last remaining member of the Six, who lay unmoving in her bed, staring ahead into nothingness. Twilight had a number of bandages covering her body, and she looked haggard and exhausted. "Hey, Twilight," Applejack said, smiling softly. "How're ya feelin'?"

Twilight gave no indication that she had heard Applejack. "She's done nothing but stare like that since we got here," Fluttershy quietly explained. "I wish she would say something, but I don't want to push her..."

"It's alright, Fluttershy," Rarity said, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "We understand."

"Twilight," Rainbow spoke, leaning by the traumatized unicorn's bedside. "Twilight, it's us. Your friends!"

Rainbow gently nudged Twilight's shoulder, which seemed to snap her out of her trance-like state. She looked up at the cyan pegasus and slowly blinked. "Rainbow Dash? You're alive?" she whispered.

Rainbow nodded. "I just got back. When I heard about what happened, I came as fast as I could. Look, Twi. We're all here."

Rainbow gestured towards the rest of the Mane Six, who, along with Vinyl, all drew closer to Twilight's bed, warm smiles on their faces. Twilight looked at them all and smiled softly. "Girls...I'm so happy to see you all again."

The lavender unicorn shuddered. "I can...I can still hear his laughter...I felt his hate...I could feel his pleasure when h-he forced m-me to..."

Twilight couldn't bring herself to finish as she covered her face with her hooves and sobbed. "I-I k-k-killed innocent p-ponies because of h-him!" she cried. "T-their families w-w-will remember m-me as a-a-a murderer!"

"Nopony blames you, Twi," Vinyl said. "You weren't in control."

"And you can be damn well sure we won't let him do it again!" Rainbow vowed.

"We'll stand by you through whatever comes our way," Rarity added.

Twilight managed to calm down some. "Thanks, girls."

Her expression suddenly went cold, stunning everypony present. "I won't let Sombra get away with this. He turned my brother and sister-in-law into statues, burned my home to the ground, nearly killed Princess Celestia, and then took over my body and used me against my own friends! I swear I'll make him pay for everypony he's hurt! He'll regret ever starting this war!"

There was a moment of silence until Applejack spoke. "Ah'm with ya, sugarcube. I wanna get the chance to buck his head in."

"If I ever see that good-for-nothing sleazeball, I'll put a lance right between those freaky eyes of his!" Rainbow vowed.

"I may be a civil, sophisticated pony," Rarity added, a fiery glint in her eye, "but I have every intention of inflicting grievous harm to that wretched king's body for threatening mine when I see him."

"I won't let that mean meanypants hurt you again, Twilight!" Pinkie promised. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Fluttershy whimpered. "I-I don't know how I can h-help you...but I-I-I'll stay by your side no matter what."

"I may not've known you for very long," Vinyl finished, "but I don't leave any of my friends hangin'. I'm stickin' with you 'til the end, even if Sombra himself shows up!"

Octavia and Lyra hung back, saying nothing. But it was obvious they shared the same sentiment. Twilight looked at each of her friends, genuinely smiling for the first time in days. She knew in her heart that they spoke the truth. She had the power of friendship on her side.

And that was something King Sombra could never take from her.

Author's Note

Right now, I am mainly concentrating on getting chapters uploaded. After the story is finished, I will set to work on revising it. After that, this story will be a proper masterpiece.

And a little spoiler for the next chapter: Changelings.

The Board Is Set

Chapter Eleven: The Board Is Set

To the immediate east of Equestria lay a mountain range separating the fertile lands of ponykind from a vast, barren desert known as the Badlands. It was here that a peculiar race had taken up residence in a secluded cave hidden by the craggy peaks and sparse shrubbery. They were a grotesque combination between pony and insect, with black, chitinous carapaces, holes in their legs, and large green bug eyes. To all the civilizations of Equestria, they were the Changelings, hostile and dangerous feeders of love.

The caverns were now home to the Changeling hive of Queen Chrysalis. The walls and ceiling were covered in glowing green bio-matter, with numerous egg sacs containing Changeling fetuses lining the walls. Those of the hive that had survived the wave of love that had driven them clean out of Equestria had gathered here to rebuild the colony. As it was, Chrysalis knew it would be a while before her colony reached a productive size again.

The Changeling Queen brooded on her throne in the largest chamber, considering the latest developments of the surrounding world. Her scouts had discovered the presence of the Crystal Empire shortly after the Equestrians had. Naturally, Chrysalis had been curious and had sent a scout to see if the place had a good supply of love that could feed her people. Her mental link had allowed her to see and hear what the scout had.

The place had, at first, been utterly dull, the civilians apathetic and emotionally empty. Then those blasted ponies who had attempted to thwart her takeover of Canterlot showed up, and she learned about a most tantalizing target.

The Crystal Heart.

It was the essence of love itself. Such an object could feed her subjects indefinitely, and Chrysalis had ordered the drone to steal it and bring it back to the hive.

All her plans went up in smoke when King Sombra retook the throne of the Empire. Though she was more than happy that the mad tyrant had eliminated Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, he had made slaves of his people, robbing them of sweet, delicious love. To make matters worse, Sombra had corrupted the Heart into representing hate instead of love. Chrysalis couldn't stand being thwarted before she could even form a coherent plan. Luckily, though, it seemed that Sombra was still unaware that the Changelings had infiltrated his city. But she knew that the hate aura would sap her drones' strength quickly, weakening their magic and robbing them of their ability to shapeshift. But she was not ready to admit defeat quite yet.

There would be no point in bringing the Heart to the hive in the state it was currently in. However, perhaps there was a way to fix that. If they could steal the Heart and leave it somewhere the Equestrians would easily find it, they would likely find a way to restore the Heart to its former glory. When that was done, then she and her soldiers would swoop in, seize the Heart, and retreat back to the hive. By the time the Equestrians found the hive, Chrysalis and her children would be strong enough to fend them off.

Yes, this plan had its share of risks. Chrysalis was not stupid enough to pretend otherwise. But she would be damned if she were to let such a golden opportunity pass her by. Mentally, she commanded a trio of larger drones to her chamber. The three Changeling soldiers soon arrived in the Queen's chamber, their wings buzzing as they flew up to their mother and awaited her orders.

Chrysalis looked down at them. Go to the Crystal Empire, she spoke telepathically. Seize the Crystal Heart, and make sure the Equestrians find it. However, do not let it out of your sight. Once it is restored, we shall claim it for our own.

The Changelings chittered in response. Understood, Mother, they all telepathically replied.

Chrysalis watched as they left the chamber to fulfill their quest, leaving her to contemplate her situation. It was precarious, at best. If Sombra discovered the Changelings attempting to steal the Heart, he would likely hunt down the hive to exact retribution. If the Equestrians caught on to the Changelings' plan, the Princesses would make good on their threat to eradicate every Changeling they found. Despite the unflattering opinions of virtually everypony out there, Chrysalis was very dedicated to her children and feared for them just as any other mother would. If everything went wrong, though, Chrysalis had no idea what she would do.

And that scared her more than an angry sun goddess ever could.

XXXXXX

Two days later...

After Nurse Redheart had given Twilight a clean bill of health, the lavender unicorn returned to the base with renewed vigor. She knew what had to be done, and she was prepared to do it. By this time, Falling Skies had also returned to duty, and was just as strict and foul-tempered as before. This morning, she and the other unicorns had all perfected basic offensive spells such as fireballs, thunderbolts, and low-level healing magic.

Twilight soon found that Trixie was hellbent on upstaging her at every opportunity. She too was a quick learner, and she did not hesitate to show it. That, in itself, didn't bother Twilight. What did, though, was that she showed absolutely no humility and tried to impress the commander at every turn. And then there was that smug grin Trixie always flashed at her whenever Falling commented on her growing skill.

But the most disconcerting thing was the way Falling looked at Twilight every time he took note of her progress. His was a cautious, but still steely and cold glare that made her heart sink a little as she realized its meaning.

He doesn't trust me, she thought. He thinks I'm still a threat.

The thought made her bitter, because she knew that Trixie would easily gain more footing with him and get promoted. Twilight didn't care about the promotion itself; in fact the very idea of being an officer in the army left an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach. But Trixie would waste no time in rubbing it in Twilight's face.

But she couldn't see a way out of this. Now that Falling Skies was wary of her, it was unlikely he would consider her for any kind of promotion. The more she practiced, and the stronger she became, his wariness would only increase, and she would be no closer to getting a hoof up over Trixie. In short, there was no solution. Trixie would win, and there was nothing Twilight could do about it. Resigned to her doom, Twilight just put it all out of her mind and focused on reducing the target dummy in front of her into ash with a well-placed fireball.

XXXXXX

Twilight glumly trotted down the lunch line alongside her friends, paying little attention to Vinyl and Rarity's conversation about fashions. They had not yet taken notice of her unusual silence, which was good, as Twilight wasn't really in a good mood to talk anyway. However, her relief did not last, for as they were approaching their table, Rarity asked, "Is something the matter, Twilight? You've been awfully quiet since practice, darling."

Twilight sighed as she sat down. "It's nothing, girls. I'm fine."

Rarity frowned. "I'm sorry to say this, but you're as bad a liar as Applejack. We're your friends. You can tell us anything."

Twilight looked down at the floor. "It's just...it's just Trixie, that's all."

Everypony frowned a little at the arrogant showmare's name, but let Twilight continue. "She's doing everything in her power to impress Commander Falling Skies so he'll promote her. I don't care about the promotion itself, I just don't like the idea of being ordered around by her."

Twilight lowered her voice to a whisper. "I know it seems...like I'm just paranoid, but...part of me is scared that she'll purposely order me, or possibly all of us, into a dangerous situation hoping we get killed."

The thought of that unsettled all of them, even Vinyl. "Well, why don't ya try to do the same with the commander?" Vinyl suggested.

Twilight sighed sadly. "That's the problem. Ever since the...incident, he's been wary of me. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me. To him, I could still be a threat. At any moment, King Sombra could possess me again and send me off on another rampage. He'll never trust me to be anything of significance in the army."

She gritted her teeth in anger and squeezed her eyes shut, as if her very thoughts caused her pain. "Trixie was right."

"About what? The fact that I am moving up and you aren't?"

The four of them glared at Trixie, who had a rolled-up scroll floating over her head, enveloped by her magic. Her mouth was curved upward into a smirk of such smug arrogance that even Rarity had to resist the urge to slap it off her face. "What do you want now, Trixie?" Rarity growled.

"To allow you all to witness the Great and Powerful Trixie's latest victory!" Trixie boasted. "Behold!"

The showmare slapped the wrapped piece of parchment on their table and opened it towards Twilight so she could read it. "I, Commander Falling Skies of the Unicorn Guard," Twilight read, her dread growing, "hereby grant the bearer of this scroll, Trixie Lulamoon, the rank of lieutenant."

Rarity, Vinyl, and Lyra's jaws all dropped in unison. Sneering triumphantly, Trixie seized the scroll with her magic and whisked it out of Twilight's view. Twilight was too stunned to do anything but stare up at Trixie, who chuckled cruelly as she turned to leave. "'Til next time, Private Sparkle," she crowed before trotting off.

The four of them watched her go. Vinyl spoke first. "I really hate that mare. What a flankhole."

Twilight slammed her hoof on the table. "UGH! It's not fair!" she groaned. "I was afraid this would happen!"

"Try not to dwell on it, Twilight," Rarity suggested. "It'll only add fuel to the fire."

Twilight irritably rubbed her temples. For a short moment, she wasn't sure whether she hated King Sombra or Trixie more. Then again, Trixie didn't invade her mind and use her body like a puppet. She was just a petty bully; Sombra was a power-mad tyrant. But the showmare still ground Twilight's gears in a way nopony else did. She knew Rarity was right, though. Trixie wanted her to get upset and do something rash so she could publicly humiliate her, and she wasn't about to give Trixie the satisfaction.

Twilight's last thought before the end-of-lunch bell rang was how long she could keep that up.

XXXXXX

Sitting atop a cloud made of cotton candy, Discord silently observed the bases at the foot of the mountain onto which the nearly-barren city of Canterlot clung like a parasite. The spirit of chaos idly sipped on a glass of chocolate milk (actually drinking the milk this time, as he wasn't in the mood for drinking glass and turning the milk into makeshift grenades) and sighed to himself.

All this war business, he thought to himself. They always make it sound like a nonstop thrill ride full of swashbuckling merriment and heroic deeds. They never seemed to mention the boring drills. All those drills, those schedules...all that ORDER...I should really make it a point to reform the military structure.

Discord allowed himself a small chuckle. Assuming Celestia even allows it. Or Luna, under the circumstances...

The thought of Celestia lying in that bed in the hospital wing of the castle immediately removed the smile from his face. He remembered walking into the room not long after his battle with the Sky Emperor. She had looked so weak, so vulnerable, and she had been in an extraordinary amount of pain. He knew that he and Celestia were still not on the best of terms, but he couldn't stand hearing her soft moans as the nurses had set to work on healing her injuries. In a small act of mercy, he had cast a little spell that dulled her pain.

Discord shook his head and downed the last of his drink, letting the glass blink out of existence. Ah, where's the fun in dwelling on all that nonsense?

The draconequus's ears pricked as he heard a light commotion below in the city. Idly glancing downward, he saw a rather elderly, well-dressed stallion arguing vehemently with a younger mare dressed in the attire of the Lunar Guard. Not unusual; the Lunar Guard were mostly off during the daytime, for obvious reasons. But why this one wasn't asleep was a mystery to Discord. From what little he bothered to listen to, the older gentlecolt was spouting a bunch of horseapples about how he had had high hopes for the mare, apparently his daughter, as an influential socialite in the Canterlot hierarchy, and was disgusted that she chose the life of a 'common' soldier in the service of Princess Luna.

Ah, so it seemed some of the Canterlot snobs still hadn't warmed up to the Moon Princess. Not that Discord really cared. However, the spirit of disharmony felt up for a bit of mischief. With his trademark snaggletooth grin, Discord snapped his fingers as a cotton candy cloud appeared right above the bickering father and daughter's heads. They were so engrossed in their argument that they didn't notice its presence until it unleashed a torrential downpour of chocolate milk upon them. Drenched in the chocolatey beverage, the father swore loudly and tried to get out of the way.

But Discord wasn't having any of that. The cloud obstinately followed after the father, endlessly pouring its contents all over his body and clothes. The stallion vehemently cursed Discord's name as he retreated to the safety of his home. The mare looked up at the sound of Discord's hysterical laughter high above the city and shot him a scathing look.

Said look soon morphed into a similar expression of amusement as she chuckled despite herself. The draconequus had definitely made an admittedly unimportant, easily-forgotten enemy, but he just might have made an ally at the same time. He didn't really bother pondering this event, as he was too busy laughing his head off.

"We saw that, you know."

Discord wiped a tear from his eye as his chuckles dimmed. "Oh, Lulu. Don't be a stick in the mud like ol' Celly!"

Luna touched down on the cloud next to the chaotic spirit and looked down at the large puddle of chocolate milk collecting in the streets. The cloud was still floating there, but it had stopped raining. The Lunar Guardspony bowed her head at her princess and trotted off down the street. "I think you may have made a friend today," Luna observed.

"Mm, I think she's more of an admirer," Discord lazily answered.

"Be that as it may, the last thing we need right now is angry nobles pounding on our doors demanding that we corral you."

Discord rolled his eyes. Luna smirked. "However, we will let this slide, as that withered old stallion had it coming."

Discord chuckled. "I should feel so lucky."

"But in the future, you will keep a lid on the pranks, understand?"

"But how will I amuse myself until everypony's ready for this crazy war?" Discord whined.

"Take up knitting or something."

Discord just stared flatly at her, as if she had told him the world's unfunniest joke. "Knitting?"

"Knitting."

"No."

"Fine."

An uncomfortable silence followed. Something was nagging at the corner of Discord's mind, and he felt the need to ask. "Why the idle conversation, Lulu? The last time we...*ahem*, talked..."

"Celestia and I had threatened you with the Elements of Harmony," Luna pointedly finished. "Yes, we remember. You were out of control, and you wouldn't see reason. We had no choice."

Discord looked away as Luna continued. "We were angry at how you had treated other ponies. Hay, we still are a little bit...but...with everything that has happened, we simply don't see the point in dwelling on past ills."

Luna looked sadly out towards the sun, her alicorn eyes shielding her vision from the ultra-bright light. "With Tia so badly injured, it falls upon us...upon me, to uphold Equestria's spirits. I have to be the one everypony goes to for favors and advice. My judgement alone now guides the actions of our country. The task is utterly daunting, but nopony else can do it. I'm afraid I might make a mistake. One wrong move, and everything we know will crumble to ruin."

Discord rolled his eyes again. "Now you're just being overdramatic, Lulu."

"No, I'm not. You weren't there when it happened."

"When what happened?"

"...Are you aware of my time as Nightmare Moon?" Luna asked plainly.

"Oh, please. How could I not be? I watched the whole fight between you two from my prison."

"Then perhaps you know why I allowed myself to fall to such darkness?"

"You got jealous because of Tia getting all the love and attention, yes, I know," Discord replied, dismissively waving his hand.

"Well, it may come as a surprise to you, but I did not come to this revelation on my own."

Discord raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Eight years after we were forced to seal you away, King Sombra seized total control of the Crystal Empire, murdering its princess in cold blood. He was consumed by an insane lust for power, and he attacked Equestria just as he has now. We were still recovering from your reckless rule..."

Discord scoffed at this.

"...so we were not well-prepared for an all-out war. But we fought, and we managed to drive Sombra's forces all the way to the Imperial city itself. Wielding the Elements, we confronted him atop his tower. Even with them, it was a hard battle. To this day, I still don't know where he drew his unnatural strength. But he managed to incapacitate Celly long enough to get close to me. I was so naive...so inexperienced..."

A tear slid down Luna's cheek. "I was a fool...I listened to him...His twisted words exposed every single one of my insecurities, my fears...some of which I was not even aware of. He offered me the honor of being his queen of darkness. I...I almost accepted. Mother Faust, I almost accepted..."

A small part of Discord was actually sympathetic to Luna's hardship, but he said nothing and let her continue. "That was when Tia came back, ready to protect me. But Sombra had already planted the seeds of my insanity within me. My confusion and anger overwhelmed me...that was the first time I became Nightmare Moon."

Discord's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "He was caught off-guard by my power surge, and that's how we were able to defeat him. I transformed back into my regular self without much incident. But...his words never left me. They festered in my heart, day after day...until I couldn't take it anymore..."

Luna trailed off, and Discord had a good idea of what had happened next. "I take it you're afraid you'll fall into that very same trap should you confront him again?" he asked.

Luna slowly nodded. "Well don't be," Discord said. "You're a lot smarter than before, though just how much is up for debate..."

Luna glared at him. "Besides, Twilight Sparkle and her darling little friends are the ones with the Elements now," Discord continued. "They'll likely be the ones to face him in the end...though I might just join in, just to see if ol' Sombrero's as powerful as you silly fillies make him out to be."

"What is it you fear most, Discord?" Luna suddenly asked, a serious look on her face.

The question was so sudden it momentarily caught Discord off-guard, though his casual, playful demeanor quickly returned. "Eh...what? Me...afraid of something? Why in the world would you feel the need to ask me that?"

"The thing you fear the most...Sombra could show it to you. He could force you to relive your worst memories...your darkest night terrors, holding nothing back as his nightmares reduce you to an empty husk. Sombra is not somepony to be taken lightly, Discord. Not even by you. He will break you."

Discord was quiet for a moment. "Jeez, and I thought Celestia was the serious one."

Luna's wings unfurled as she stood. "I have every reason to be. Heed our words well, Discord. We do not wish to see you fall from grace a second time."

The Night Princess then flew back towards the castle, presumably to care to her sister. Discord watched her go, shaking his head. Far too serious, that one.

Total War

Chapter Thirteen: Total War

The calm of the sunny morning was unceremoniously broken by a distant roar that echoed from the heavens. The Day Guards collectively glanced skyward as their worst fears were confirmed.

Another dragon was bearing down on the city. And it was even bigger than Karzakathûl had been.

The dragon's golden scales reflected the morning light in such a way that the dragon itself seemed to take the appearance of a second sun. Its wingspan was enormous, large enough to blot out the sun as it passed overhead. The Guards scattered about in panic, some shouting at the top of their lungs that a dragon had come, others shakily stood their ground as the golden dragon flew towards the palace garden, and others still rushed towards the dragon's intended landing spot, spears brandished.

The dragon was of such titanic size that its landing shook the earth for miles around and sent a gust of wind in all directions strong enough to bowl many of the approaching guards over. Those that remained standing fearfully stared up at the awesome creature as it folded its wings, glaring impassively at them. The pony soldiers, despite their obvious fear, prepared to charge.

"STAY THY HOOVES!"

The guards all turned to see Princess Luna enter the garden, staring sternly at the dragon.

"Your Majesty, I strongly urge..." one of the soldiers began.

"I know this dragon, soldier," Luna interrupted. "Stand down."

The guards hesitantly raised their spears as Luna confidently approached the beast and bowed her head in greeting. "Hail, Vladezradi Goldenwing," she spoke. "How may we be of service to the King of Dragons?"

A collective murmuring rippled through the crowd of onlooking soldiers as the princess and dragon conversed.

"Hail, Luna of the Moonlit Nights," Vladezradi returned the greeting in a regal, booming voice. "Forgive me for the unannounced visit, but there is much we must discuss. Where is your sister?"

Luna frowned. "My sister is still recovering from Karzakathûl s attack."

Vladezradi shook his ponderous head. "Ah, so you did not emerge unscathed after all."

Luna sighed. "No. Is that why you are here?"

Smoke escaped the Elder Wyrm's nostrils. "Part of the reason." The Dragon King strode past the princess, his thunderous footsteps shaking the ground. And then the golden beast lay down, folding his large paws over one another as he looked towards the castle. "What I am about to tell you is for your ears alone, Luna."

Despite knowing that half of Equestria would be able to hear him anyways, Luna turned towards the gathered soldiers and barked, "Guards, leave us."

They clearly did not like the idea of leaving their princess alone with this terrifying beast, but her stern glare brooked no argument. The throng of golden-armored ponies slowly dispersed until the two were alone in the garden. "What is the reason for your visit, Vladezradi?" Luna began.

Vladezradi bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Karzakathûl's involvement with King Sombra, and his subsequent demise, has had an...unintended side-effect in the Dragon Kingdom."

Luna slowly trotted up to the great dragon's side. "What sort of side-effect?"

Vladezradi craned his neck and looked down at the diminutive moon goddess. "The kingdom is in turmoil. The council is split."

Luna's heart sank. "Why?"

"Karzakathûl had three sons; Gardranok the Destroyer, Morgarath the Flaming Death, and Pestilence the Vile. The three of them desire vengeance against Equestria for their father's death. They wanted to join King Sombra."

Luna's breath caught in her throat. "By our dear mother..."

"I expressly forbade them from doing so. They disobeyed me and even now are making for the Crystal Empire. And that is where the trouble deepens. My inability to stop them raised questions about my ability to rule the kingdom."

"Surely the Council does not harbor doubts about you?" Luna spoke, horrified.

Vladezradi sighed. "It has become more than mere doubts. When dragons sense weakness, they will not hesitate to strike. The same holds true for politics as well as the hunt and on the field of battle. Several members of the Council have declared me unfit to rule and seek to dethrone me, through armed conflict if necessary."

"Who still supports you?"

The great dragon hummed, a puff of smoke emerging from his nostrils. "Melvekar the Evening Shadow, Serzaket the Mountain Lord, and Arkazari the Hydra's Bane."

"So Vartul, Moragon, and Dalconir are rebelling against you, and the Council is evenly split."

Vladezradi nodded. "That is why the Council could not simply vote to remove me. Even in death, Karzakathûl menaces the stability of the kingdom."

Luna paled as the king's words sunk in. "So...the Dragon Kingdom is about to enter a civil war?"

Vladezradi nodded again. "And with the majority of the rebels now flocking to Sombra's banner due to the knowledge that I have your support, they have unfairly drawn Equestria into the conflict."

Luna collapsed on her rump, overwhelmed by the news. "What...what are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do. If the rebellious dragons wish to join your enemies, then the time has at last come for me to make good on the deal we made all those centuries ago. I and my loyalists are at your command, Your Highness."

Luna bit her lip. "I'm truly, terribly sorry your kingdom has been pulled into this conflict."

"It will do us no good to argue about who is to blame for this," Vladezradi rumbled. "It is time and energy that can be better spent on formulating our strategies for the coming battles. And there will be a great many before this war is through. Sombra is cunning on his own; now he has the knowledge and skills of the three most ambitious members of the Council backing him up, and their corresponding dragonflights and Karzakathûl's sons bolstering his growing armies."

Luna looked shocked. "Growing armies? Have others rallied to his cause?"

"One of our spies reported that a large force of Diamond Dogs has been spotted within the Crystal Empire's boundaries. It is likely that they have formed an alliance with Sombra as well. Numerous Windigos have been sighted patrolling the outskirts of the city as well."

This was a lot for Luna to take in. The First Sombratic War had been bad enough, though it had been confined to Equestria and the Empire. But now other nations and peoples were being drawn into the conflict. "It seems all the world is plunging into war," she murmured.

"Indeed," Vladezradi boomed. "Complete, total war."

XXXXXX

As Princess Luna had suspected, Vladezradi's voice carried over the entirety of Canterlot and traveled all the way to the three barracks below the city.

And as per Equestrian tradition, everypony was panicking.

"Dragons!" one fresh recruit cried in the unicorn barracks. "King Sombra's got more dragons!"

"We're doomed!" another one wailed. "Doomed, I tell you!"

Twilight could not hide her own fear at this horrifying realization, but was sensible enough to remember that they were going to have dragons on their side too. Unfortunately, there was so much chaos and panic that even a voice amplification spell was not enough for her voice to cut through the cacophony. Rarity wasn't helping at all; she had joined in the hysterics. Only Vinyl remained outwardly calm, trying to shut out the roar of the screaming crowd.

Suddenly the strong voice of Commander Falling Skies boomed through the intercom, slicing through the chatter like a hot knife through butter. "Attention, all recruits! King Sombra has dragons on his side, but do not forget that we do too! Do not panic! Victory is not yet impossible! Stay strong for Princesses and country!"

That seemed to reassure the crowd somewhat, as the chattering and screaming did not start up again once the intercom cut out. Twilight and Vinyl both flatly glared at Rarity as they returned to their tables to finish their lunches. "Really, Rare?" Vinyl asked.

Rarity grinned weakly and let loose an embarrassed chuckle. "Aha, well, our last few encounters with those hellbeasts have been...well, frightful experiences, have they not?"

Twilight couldn't help but agree. "I won't argue that point, Rarity. But still, the Dragon King said he and his loyalists are going to fight alongside us. And dragons are weak against magic, so we aren't powerless against them to begin with."

"I feel bad for him though," Lyra said, the others looking at her for an explanation. "The Dragon King, I mean. His whole kingdom's fallen into civil war because of forces outside his control. This is our fight, but Sombra's forcing more and more people into it. First the Griffons, and now the dragons. It's awful!"

Twilight looked up and stared ahead into space. "Sombra will involve everyone on Equis if he thinks it'll help him win. The deaths of thousands will be of no concern to him."

Rarity paled. "Will?"

Twilight sighed and looked at her friend with tired and deeply-sad eyes. "You've heard what is happening out there. Everyone far and wide is choosing sides. There's no way it can be avoided now; this war is going to get bigger. Many thousands will get involved; and many thousands are going to die."

Vinyl looked down at the ground. "And we're gonna be the cause of some of that."

Everyone glanced at their half-eaten food. "I'm not hungry anymore," Lyra whispered, her voice breaking slightly.

They collectively pushed their plates away discreetly, their minds clouded by the same dark, distressing thoughts. The true horrors of war were yet to come, but they were coming nonetheless.

XXXXXX

Those very horrors hit the Changelings that evening.

Bjoräl and his two hundred packmates descended on the Changeling Hive as the sun began to set, their journey considerably shortened by a mass teleportation into the outskirts of the Badlands courtesy of King Sombra. The guardian drones, despite knowing that an attack was imminent, were taken completely by surprise. They had been expecting ponies, not Diamond Dogs.

Bjoräl, his teeth bared in a feral grin and a studded mace in his paw, led his vicious pack into the cave. "Any one of you pups that comes out without Changeling blood on your paws is a dead dog!" he roared at them.

The news rippled through the conglomeration of drones and soldiers until it reached the queen herself. "No...they found us," she whispered, standing from her throne.

Chrysalis looked at the grubs in their egg sacs lining the walls of her chamber, tears coming to her eyes. They needed to flee; they simply did not have the strength and numbers to repel an army of raging Diamond Dogs. But the fetuses could not come. "My babies..." she whimpered, glancing at each slumbering grub.

She could see every one of their dreams and their primitive thoughts, so innocent; unknowing of the terror that was soon to reach their once-safe cocoons. They would be torn from their dreams; torn from their protection; torn away from the lives they had yet to live. "My children," she sobbed, falling to her knees and lowering her head in despair.

One of the drones flew over to the side of its distraught queen. We cannot stop them, it spoke into her mind. Many are dying. What is your will, Mother?

Chrysalis looked up at all the unborn children of her hive, and silently let her tears fall. She knew what she had to do. No matter what, no matter who or what was sacrificed, her hive, her people, must survive.

All drones prepare to retreat, she ordered, directing the collective will of the swarm. We will die here if we stay. We cannot save the grubs.

And just like that, the Changelings made a mass break for it, dodging and weaving past the horde of hulking Diamond Dugs in a mad dash towards the mouth of the cave. The brutish ape-hounds tossed their spears at the buzzing swarm of bug-ponies, nailing a few. Chrysalis soon joined them, coordinating their movements with her monumental will as they attempted to make their escape.

So deep in concentration she was that she did not see Bjoräl catch sight of her and leap upwards, his mace raised. Suddenly she felt something hard slam into her chest, and she let out a cry of agony as she felt her chitinous carapace crack from the blow. She tumbled through the air and out of the cave in an ungraceful fashion. It was only through sheer force of will that she rallied herself and regained her bearings, joining the flight of her people. The baying of the murderous hounds soon died out as they put as much distance between their former hive and themselves as possible.

Breathing was agony. But Chrysalis held on as she spoke to the few hundred children she had left. We make for Equestria. Do not stop. Do not stop.

Then she felt it. They all did.

Every last Changeling grub, one after the other, were ripped from their abodes. Their peaceful dreams became mental screams of terror. And one after the other, they were abruptly silenced. Chrysalis sobbed; her remaining brethren screeched in horror and despair. But they did not turn around.

They would not stop.

What We Do For Family

Chapter Fourteen: What We Do For Family

Unicorn barracks, late evening...

Twilight could not sleep.

So much was on her mind that she couldn't shut it out and be at peace. While she and her friends were training alongside other ponies to fight and kill, King Sombra was off making matters worse for the world at large. The Gryphons were dragged into the conflict, then came the Diamond Dogs, and now there were not just Windigos at his command too, but also dragons. While they dithered about, Sombra was building a truly fearsome army. If the Changelings decided to ally with him as well, Equestria would be hard-pressed to fight off such a mighty force. Though Sombra's goals and methods deprived the love parasites of food sources, the fact that they were enemies with Equestria made their involvement a likely possibility. The chances of them taking Equestria's side in this war were slim at best.

And then there was the war itself. Many innocent people would die. Her friends could die.

She could die.

That alone terrified her. But the thought of losing any of her friends was even more frightening. Applejack especially was at high risk. Earth ponies, lacking magic, were melee fighters and fought at the front lines while unicorns fired from behind and pegasi dive-bombed behind the enemy's front lines. Applejack wouldn't want to be anywhere else but the front lines. Rainbow Dash too.

Vinyl was fast asleep beneath her, snoring and muttering "wub-wub-wub" as she exhaled. Twilight gently shook her head at her new friend's antics, but unfortunately they could not put her at ease.

Throughout the day, she and her fellow unicorns saw a variety of large dragons converge on the mountains above Canterlot, roosting atop the peaks. She knew that others were still entering Equestria and taking up strategic positions throughout the land in case of an attack by Sombra's allies.

Thinking of the dragons made Twilight think of Spike next. With Princess Celestia still bedridden, Twilight couldn’t write to him and find out how he was doing and how things were going in Ponyville. With most of the adults gone, the town was virtually empty. The foals had to stay with older relatives who were too old to join the army. Spike was by himself in that library, with only Owlowiscious and Peewee to keep him company. How would he react to the presence of one of the dragons coming to Ponyville to stand guard, considering that what little interaction he had had with his own kind left him denouncing his dragon heritage altogether?

Twilight shook her head as she sat up in bed. There was just too much on her mind. Maybe a walk will help, Twilight thought to herself as she slowly climbed down the ladder so as not to wake Vinyl.

Twilight quietly left the barracks, noticing that the two guards standing on either side of the doorway were so tired that they had fallen asleep standing up. Shaking her head, Twilight moved on and slowly walked around the compound, breathing in the cool night air.

“Private Sparkle! It’s after curfew! What are you doing out at this time of night?”

Twilight let out a startled gasp as she turned around to see who had spoken to her. Her heart sank as she saw Falling Skies emerge from the darkness, but she remembered to stand up straight and salute. “Sorry, sir!” she croaked, cursing her tired, scratchy voice.

Falling rolled his eyes. “At ease, soldier. No need for formalities when nopony else is looking. Now, I believe you were about to explain yourself.”

Twilight sighed and lowered her hoof. “Can’t sleep, sir,” she spoke. “There’s just…too much going on in my mind right now. I thought a walk might help.”

Falling subtly nodded his head in recognition. In truth, he was out here because he couldn’t sleep either. “I can see that, Private,” he drawled as they slowly began to walk together.

“What do you mean, sir?” Twilight asked, confused.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Falling replied, staring pensively ahead as they walked. “Every day, when I watch you practice with the others.”

Twilight looked down.

“You’re an excellent student, Private Sparkle,” Falling said. “You focus on what I teach you, and you master the spells quickly and efficiently. I can see why Princess Celestia chose to tutor you personally.” He did not fail to see Twilight wince at the mention of her mentor’s name, indicating that she had not yet fully recovered from seeing the princess nearly being killed. “But I can also see that a war is brewing in your mind as much as the one out there. It’s holding you back.”

Twilight sighed. “It’s fine.”

Falling looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Fine, you say? You may be the Element of Magic, but do not forget you are a mortal pony with mortal feelings and thoughts. You confide in your friends, but you have had little chance to do so lately. I’ve been too ignorant of your fantastic abilities in the past, but I will hear your words now, if you so wish to speak them.”

Twilight closed her eyes as she gathered her jumbled thoughts. “I…it’s just…I feel like I’m responsible for this. When the Crystal Empire first returned and we faced King Sombra for the first time, I thought we defeated him. We saw the energy of the Crystal Heart shatter his body into a million pieces. We saw him die. And yet he didn’t. And worse, he reconquered the Empire behind our backs.”

Twilight choked back a sob as she was hit with a wave of memories concerning her brother and her beloved sister-in-law. Falling looked away and stared ahead. “Prince Shining Armor was your brother, correct?” he asked.

Twilight wordlessly nodded, rubbing a tear away with her hoof.

“He was a good stallion,” Falling said. “I was honored to serve under him, Private Sparkle.”

Twilight sniffed. “He’s the reason I’m trying so hard. I want to save him and Cadance. I know there’s a chance to save them if we reach the Crystal Empire, and I hold onto that hope in order to keep going.”

Falling nodded his head in acknowledgement. “As good a reason to fight as any I’ve heard.”

“But…it’s not just them I’m fighting for. I want to protect my friends too. They…they mean the world to me, sir. I almost think of them as family, and I can’t bear to lose any of them. I’m scared of dying too…but I…I’d gladly give my life if it meant saving theirs.”

“It takes a great deal of courage to say that, and mean it,” Falling replied. “But you must conquer your thoughts if you want to overcome the challenges ahead. I’ve heard the stories; you have great potential as a leader. Hay, you may end up with my job one day. But first, conquer your demons. I know King Sombra has affected you far more than any of us.”

Something she had been wanting to ask for some time wormed its way to the front of Twilight’s mind. “Sir…why did you promote Trixie?”

“Allow me to answer your question with another question. Do you have a history with Lieutenant Lulamoon?”

Twilight sighed as she nodded her head. “About a year ago, she came to Ponyville as a traveling magician. Only most of the tricks she did were just her showing off. Several of my friends started heckling her, saying I could do better than her. I didn’t want any part of it, so I refused. Then, later that night, two of the local foals, stupidly believing one of her stories about vanquishing an Ursa Major in Hoofington, drew an Ursa Minor to the town. Naturally Trixie admitted she had lied when she was forced to confront it and ran off. I had to placate the Minor on my own and send it back to its cave in the Everfree Forest.”

Falling’s eyebrows flew up. “I heard about that. You say Lulamoon instigated it?”

“Well, technically the foals did. Even she didn’t anticipate that they would bring an Ursa Minor to town. Snips and Snails are, unfortunately, not the brightest stallions around. Truth is, she blamed me for it, saying that I showed her up by dealing with the Minor on my own when she couldn’t. She apparently went out of a job because word got around that her stories were complete lies and nopony wanted to see her shows. She blames all her hardships on me and hates me for it.” Twilight hesitated. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“We’ve been doing that for the last five minutes, Private.”

Twilight looked down at the ground. “I…I don’t trust Trixie. Her ego is as bloated as my friend Rainbow Dash’s, and she possesses my inability to socialize and make friends before I moved to Ponyville. And she also holds grudges. I’m just afraid that…”

“You think she may purposely order you into performing a suicide mission,” Falling matter-of-factly finished for her, cracking a smirk at her surprised look. “I can tell that Lieutenant Lulamoon is arrogant, but she is no fool. She won’t do that, especially not to you. For one, you are an Element of Harmony; you are one of Equestria’s pillars of strength. Intentionally putting you in harm’s way would earn a one-way ticket to Tartarus Prison. Even if you weren’t, she would still get court-martialed for trying that. Believe me, you aren’t the first pony to step into this situation. I suspect she may try to treat you unfairly in other ways, but if she does so, let me know. I’d be more than happy to transfer her rank to you should she abuse her station.”

Twilight yawned. “Thank you, sir. I’ll…think about everything you said. I think I can finally rest.”

Twilight turned around and started heading back towards the barracks. “Sleep well, Private Sparkle,” Falling called after her. “Fifty laps around the base if you’re even a minute late tomorrow!”

“Yessir!” Twilight half-mumbled over her shoulder, too tired to contemplate whether or not he was joking or being serious.

Probably both.

XXXXXX

The next morning, Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville…

Spike sighed as he finished sweeping the floor of the library for the third time today, despite the fact that there hadn’t been a speck of dust on it for weeks. Nopony came to the library to borrow any books anymore. Although Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom would come and visit him every so often, Spike felt more alone than he had ever felt before. He missed Twilight so much. She was pretty much the only family he had, and with her off fighting in the war, there was a strong possibility that he might never see her again.

He couldn’t handle it anymore. He dropped his broom on the floor, walked up the stairs and fell into his bed, quietly sobbing.

Outside, Ponyville’s newest visitor was causing a stir. What few of Ponyville’s residents remaining gawked at the large dragon that confidently made its way down Main Street, not even sparing them a passing glance as it headed towards the library. Sweetie Belle had just been about to go visit Spike again to see how he was doing when she saw the dragon striding towards her same destination, though she was somewhat closer. Glancing over her shoulder at the dragon as it halted in front of her, staring silently down at her, Sweetie Belle knocked on the door. “Um, Spike?” she called out. “You have a visitor, and I’m not talking about me.”

Only silence greeted her. “Come forth, Spike,” the dragon suddenly spoke. “I would have words with you, dragon to dragon.”

After a few moments, the door opened, revealing Spike, who was fervently rubbing his eyes to brush away the tears. When he saw what his visitor was, his arm dropped, his mouth fell open, and his eyes widened. “Whoa,” he muttered.

The dragon standing before him was large, about the size of the one that had chased him out of its hoard when he had run away from home. His scales were a dark, iridescent purple, and emerald green spines ran down His back. A pair of dark grey horns protruded from the back of his forehead, and his eyes were green like his scales. Something about this dragon looked strangely familiar, but Spike couldn’t put his finger on it. The dragon’s lips curved slightly upwards before he spoke. “I’m not surprised you are still this size, child, considering how little ponies know of our kind.”

Spike was hit by the uncomfortable memory of when he had succumbed to his greed and ravaged Ponyville as a hulking adult dragon. “W-who are you?” he demanded.

Sweetie Belle stepped back to give the two dragons their space, but other ponies were starting to gather nearby as well, watching the exchange play out. The larger dragon chuckled. “Who am I? I am he who watched your egg be laid. I am he whose blood and strength flow through your veins. I am Melvekar, the Evening Shadow, and you, Spike, are my son.”

There was a collective gasp as the dragon dropped its bombshell, but none of them were quite as shocked as Spike himself, who stammered and fell on his rump, staring up at the dragon that had just revealed himself to be his father. Now that he knew the truth, Spike finally realized why the dragon looked familiar. Besides the far darker shade of purple in his scales, the different spines on his back, the presence of horns, and a slightly more elongated snout, this dragon looked just like Spike’s adult form. “W-what…I…how…” he choked on his words, trying to form a coherent sentence. Finally he was able to say one thing. “Why?”

The hurt look on the hatchling’s face was all the confirmation Melvekar needed to realize what Spike was asking. “Why did I give your egg to Princess Celestia instead of hatching you myself?” he asked. “Because, Spike, it is against dragon tradition, and therefore law, for the father to raise the egg. I had no choice, and your mother…well, I will save those details for another time. I have dropped a big enough fireball already. But do not worry, my son; we will have plenty of chances to talk. I will be staying in Ponyville for some time in order to defend it from a possible attack.”

Spike paled. “Ponyville might be attacked again?”

Melvekar shook his head. “These are merely precautionary measures. We do not know for sure. But considering that the Dragon Kingdom’s civil war has been integrated into Equestria’s conflict with King Sombra, it is better to be safe than sorry.”

Melvekar turned away and began to head off. “If you wish to hear more, I will be around.”

Spike watched the dragon, his father, leave, his mind trying to process what had just happened. Sweetie Belle slowly walked up to him and put her hoof on his shoulder. “Spike, are you okay?” she asked.

Spike shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Sorry, Sweetie. I just…need to be alone right now.”

Without another word, Spike walked into the library and slammed the door shut, locking it from inside. Sweetie Belle stared at the door with saddened, concerned eyes for several long moments before she relented and went off to go find her friends.

XXXXXX

Pegasus Barracks, late afternoon…

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel proud of herself. When it came to aerial maneuvers, she left everypony else, including Swift Stroke himself, in the dust. After several hours of this, Swift Stroke finally called for a break. “Alright, fillies and gentlecolts!” he barked. “You’ve done well so far! Fifteen minutes’ rest, and we start again!”

The pegasi recruits collectively sighed in relief as they touched down on the ground and began stretching their legs and preening their wings. Rainbow was about to do the same when she suddenly heard Swift’s voice behind her. “Private Dash!”

Rainbow turned around and saluted crisply. “Yes, sir?” she barked.

Swift began walking past her. “Walk with me.”

Rainbow felt trepidation crawl into her chest. “Yessir,” she said, falling into step beside him.

After a few moments of silence, Swift said, “You’ve done nothing but impress me ever since you started training here. You’re fast, you’re agile, and you’re tough. Good qualities for a pegasus soldier to have.”

Rainbow blushed. “Thank you, sir.”

“I also see you possess leadership qualities and don’t let your ego get in the way of working with others. You commanded the weather team in your hometown of Ponyville, correct?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yessir.”

“Heard you did a good job of it too.”

“I did my best, sir.”

“You’re one of the best recruits I’ve ever trained, Miss Dash. And I’m not saying this because you’re the Element of Loyalty. I’m saying this because of the qualities you possess that drew the Element to you. And that is why you’re getting promoted tonight at my office, eight o’ clock sharp.”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “I-I’m getting promoted?!”

Rainbow flew into the air and did a loopty-loop, cheering loudly. Once she noticed Swift staring flatly at her, she giggled in embarrassment and landed by him. “Eh heh heh, um, sorry.”

Swift smirked. “Don’t make me regret this.”

It was then that the two of them saw something in the distance bearing down on the barracks, a black mass of creatures that they both recognized instantly. “Changelings!” Swift cried, turning around. “Everypony, gather your…”

“No, sir, wait!” Rainbow cried, grabbing his shoulder. “Look!”

Swift turned and looked at where Rainbow was pointing and saw a peculiar sight. The swarm of Changelings had landed a fair distance away from the perimeter, and they looked absolutely exhausted. However, four of them were still heading towards the barracks, carrying something in their arms. Rainbow gasped as she recognized the figure the Changelings were holding. “That’s…that’s Queen Chrysalis!”

Both of them were on guard, but allowed the Changelings to land in front of them. Chrysalis was in bad shape. There was a nasty crack in her carapace on her chest, where green blood still freely flowed. She was barely conscious, but she managed to look up at the two pegasi looking at her with surprised expressions. “Take…me…to your princess,” she weakly groaned before she finally, after hundreds of miles of non-stop travel, lost consciousness in the arms of her drones.

Author's Note

Okay, so the inclusion of Spike's father is for a good reason. I want Spike to be involved in the war, but considering his current size, he wouldn't be able to do much. So Spike's gonna get a crash course in dragon biology and what it means to be a dragon. Gotta give him a chance at Sombra too, you know.

A Changeling's Plea

Chapter Fifteen: A Changeling's Plea

King Sombra sat on his throne, reviewing the various military reports. His Obsidian Guards now numbered well over four thousand, and he had fifty thousand more slaves to add to that number if he ever felt the need to. New weapons of his own design, tower-mounted ballistae that hurled a multitude of sharpened crystal stakes, were being installed all around the walls of the city to ward off any possible attack from the air. With these terrible instruments of murder, there was no doubt any attack on the Crystal Empire would generate grievous casualties on the attackers' part.

But he did not intend for it to ever come to that. Not this time. Soon he would begin formulating his plan to attack Equestria with the forces at his disposal. They would not stop him this time.

The sound of the doors of the throne room creaking open shook the dark king from his thoughts, his menacing eyes fixating on the intruder. King Sombra's lips curved upwards, baring his fangs in a grim smile. "Ah, Bjoräl. You have returned. Are the Changelings no more?"

The Diamond Dog leaned on his blood-stained mace as the exhaustion of the last few days caught up with him. "We found their hive. We killed many, including their unborn grubs. It was beautiful." Bjoräl allowed himself a blood lusted smile at the memory through his fatigue before he relayed the less pleasant news. "But some of them still managed to escape, including the queen. But considering the wound I dealt her before she fled, I doubt that she lives still."

Sombra frowned, not entirely pleased by this news. "Where did they flee to?"

"They were headed for Equestria, sire," Bjoräl answered. "So blinded by fear were they that they did not realize that they are flying right into the arms of those who will gladly finish them off."

Sombra seemed to be placated by this, for he eased back into his relaxed posture. "Yes…Better that our enemies should inadvertently eliminate a potential threat for us. You have done well, Alpha Bjoräl."

Before Bjoräl could voice his gratitude, another intruder burst into the throne room with an air of urgency, revealing himself to be Commander Death Dealer. "Your Majesty, you must come outside at once! There are visitors here who wish to treat with you!"

Sombra's anger at the interruption melted away into a look of surprise. "What visitors, Commander?"

"Dragons, my king. Dozens of them. Leading them are the sons of the Sky Emperor, Karzakathûl."

Sombra flashed a terrible grin as he headed towards the balcony of his palace, with Bjoräl following behind. Awaiting him there were dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors circling over the Empire. Three of them broke off from the flock and hovered over the balcony, facing the king. King Sombra glanced them over. Two of them were colored similarly to Karzakathûl, while one was a muddy green pallor. One of the blue dragons was broad-chested and thickly-muscled, with short white spines running down the length of his back and a squat snout. The other blue dragon was somewhat leaner, with longer spines and a longer snout. The brownish-green dragon looked sickly and gaunt, the very image of death. "King Sombra," the stockier blue dragon greeted. "We come to join your armies in the name of vengeance. I am Gardranok the Destroyer. These are my brothers, Morgarath the Flaming Death and Pestilence the Vile. We are the sons of Karzakathûl, and we want to make the Equestrians pay for the slaying of our father."

Sombra glanced over their shoulders at the other dragons flying overhead. "And what of them? They don't all desire vengeance for his demise, do they?"

"There are those in the Dragon Kingdom who have always resented the alliance with the weakling Equestrians," Morgarath spoke up. "Now that faith in our oh-so-esteemed king has been lost, the Kingdom is facing civil war. The king and those who support him have fled to Equestria with tails between their legs. So we have come to he who seeks to destroy them…you."

Sombra snickered darkly. "I accept your proposal of an alliance. Now, who among you leads?"

"That would be us," a new voice announced.

Karzakathûl's brood flew off to the side as three more dragons made themselves known. These dragons all looked somewhat older than the three brothers. One was totally black, another one was electric-yellow, and the third was emerald green. The one who spoke was the black dragon. "I am Moragon the Black, and these are Vartûl the Striking Thunder and Dalconir the Green. We were members of the Dragon Council before it split."

Sombra smirked. "Then it is you whom I shall consult with planning the invasion of Equestria. Come, we have much to discuss. Commander, Bjoräl, join us."

XXXXXX

There was an immediate uproar when the Changelings' presence was revealed. Though the majority of the hive remained outside the city, resting in the fields not far from the pegasus barracks, the four drones carrying Queen Chrysalis accompanied Rainbow Dash and Swift Stroke as they brought her to the medical wing of the castle. More than once, Swift Stroke had to order surprised soldiers to stand down. Swift looked over at Rainbow. "Private Dash, inform Princess Luna of the situation. Make sure nopony's given her exaggerated details."

"Yessir!" Rainbow saluted, flying down the hallway.

The pegasus barreled throughout the castle at lightning speed, eventually stopping right at the entrance to the throne room, where two guards were stationed. Apparently the news of Chrysalis's appearance hadn't yet reached them, for they stepped aside and allowed her entrance with little trouble. Being an Element of Harmony has its benefits, she remarked to herself as she entered the throne room.

"I greet thee, Rainbow Dash," Princess Luna spoke from her throne. "Do you have a request to make of me?"

Rainbow forgot to answer momentarily as she noticed Discord hovering over Celestia's throne, an uncharacteristically unhappy scowl on his face. Noticing this, Luna said, "Do not mind him. He's been like that ever since the dragons came."

"I'm not fond of dragons," Discord added sourly. "I have my reasons."

Rainbow remembered Twilight telling her those very reasons not long after the fight with Karzakathûl and nodded her head in understanding. "Anyways," Rainbow finally began. "I'm here to tell you that the Changelings are here in Canterlot."

Luna shot out of her throne and Discord's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What?" Luna boomed angrily.

"Don't tell me the cheese-legs have thrown their hand into Sombrero's deck too!" Discord remarked.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, guys!" Rainbow pleaded. "I don't think that's the case! Most of the Changelings aren't even inside the city. But their queen is hurt really badly and she's been taken to the hospital wing. She really wanted to speak to Celestia."

Luna's scowl did not falter. "I don't want that loathsome bug anywhere near my sister or our subjects. Put her in the dungeons and expel her wretched brood from our lands!"

Rainbow didn't like where this was going. "Princess, if you do that, Chrysalis'll die!"

"I don't care!" Luna boomed, her anger causing her voice to take on the Royal Canterlot Tone as her eyes began to glow. "She and every single Changeling deserve whatever they get for what they did to Canterlot and MY SISTER!"

Unnoticed by either of the mares, Discord summoned a bag of popcorn and began watching the argument as though it were a rather interesting show. Rainbow shuddered at the look of fury on the moon goddess's face, but she'd be damned if she backed down now. "Princess, Chrysalis was attacked by Sombra's goons! He's marked the Changelings as his enemy! We're giving Discord a chance, so why not them?! Look, I know the stress of being pretty much the only one in charge is getting to you, but you need to put your feelings aside and help out somepony who needs it! Chrysalis said it herself; Equestria is a land of love. We can't lose sight of that, no matter what, or else King Sombra has already won."

Rainbow's words finally struck home, and Luna's anger slowly ebbed away as she beheld the truth of them. "Yes…you're right," she sighed. "Tia would not want that. Forgive me. The past few weeks have indeed been stressful."

Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief she had not realized she had been holding. Discord rolled his eyes as he ate the empty popcorn bag in one bite. "So the magic of friendship wins out again," he said in a bored tone. "That got old way too fast."

"Don't you gotta be annoying somewhere else?" Rainbow flatly shot back.

"Well…now that you mention it," Discord pointed out with a growing smile, "that Prince Blueblood fellow's been almost asking for a little mayhem to befall him lately."

Rainbow remembered the story Rarity had told her about that particular stallion, and immediately decided she would support Discord in this endeavor if she had to.

Luna frowned at him. "Discord…"

"What?" Discord asked in a slightly-whiny tone.

"…Don't overdo it. He causes enough headaches as it is."

Discord chuckled. "I have ways of fixing that. Just you wait."

The draconequus snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light, presumably to go bother Celestia and Luna's belligerent nephew. Now that they were alone, Rainbow had to ask. "Why do you even keep that flankhole nephew of yours around?"

"You would have to ask my sister about that," Luna replied in a slightly sour tone. "Were it my choice, he would have been banished from Canterlot until he could grasp the concept that he is not above the common pony just because of his relations. Now, take me to the Changeling queen."

XXXXXX

Hospital Wing…

Celestia was making progress with her recovery, but it still hurt to move. Thus, when she instinctively jolted in surprise as she saw the wounded Queen Chrysalis brought into the Hospital Wing, she had to stifle a hiss of pain. The commander of the Pegasus Guards noticed this and bowed.

"What happened to her?" Celestia weakly asked. "Why is she here?"

"Her hive was attacked by King Sombra's forces," Swift Stroke explained. "From what we can gather, they had attempted to steal the Crystal Heart, and Sombra retaliated. She only has a few hundred drones left, which are all currently encamped at the base of the mountain. They have made no hostile moves so far, and their queen expressly desired to speak with you before she lost consciousness."

The two of them watched as the unicorn doctors laid Chrysalis on the bed adjacent to Celestia and began tending to her injuries. Her Changeling guards did not leave her side. Exhausted though they were, they had no intention of leaving their queen unprotected. "Has Luna been informed?" Celestia asked.

Swift Stroke opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another voice. "We have," Luna answered as she and Rainbow Dash stepped into the room. "Are you doing better, sister?"

"Better than before," Celestia replied with a weak smile. "What news of Equestria, other than what has been brought before me?"

Luna sighed. It was only yesterday that her sister had finally fully regained consciousness without succumbing to moaning, delirious fits, so she couldn't have known about the dragons. "Not well, my sister. Vladezrâdi came to me several days ago with grim news."

A look of worry creased Celestia's fatigued features. "The Dragon King? What has happened?"

"The Dragon Kingdom has fallen into civil war, and those who have rebelled against the king have joined Sombra, since Vladezrâdi has been a staunch ally of ours for generations."

Celestia looked horrified. "The dragons…have become embroiled as well?" She looked over at Chrysalis as the doctors tended to the Changeling. "And now the Changelings too…how many more must be pulled into this senseless conflict before King Sombra is satisfied?"

"That is not all, Tia," Luna continued gravely, Rainbow silently looking on. "Vladezrâdi also said that Sombra has rallied a large pack of Diamond Dogs to his cause as well, and that he has gathered the Windigos to him once more."

Celestia groaned, partly in agony and partly in horrified frustration, leaning back into her pillow. "Then our only recourse is to recruit allies as well. There's no avoiding it now; this war will encompass much of our entire world. We must call upon the Minotaurs of Bullgaria and the Rockjaw Diamond Dogs that live close to Ponyville. I'd rather not involve the Saddle Arabians and the Zebras if I can, since they live on separate continents and are safe for the time being from Sombra's machinations. The Diamond Dogs that allied with Sombra can only be the Rültveks, the Rockjaws' oldest enemies. They wanted to conquer the Rockjaws for their richer gem deposits, but I forbade it, since they lived on my lands and were therefore under my protection. An emissary must be sent to them quickly."

"I will see to it, sister," Luna answered. "What of the Changelings encamped outside the city?"

"Have they made any hostile moves?" Celestia asked.

"No," Luna replied. "Though I almost wish they would, just so we could have the excuse to expulse them from our lands again."

Celestia sighed. "Look beyond your anger and let our quarrel with them die. Grudges will not help us in this war. We need every ally we can get, and they are desperate enough to entrust their queen's life to us."

"Have you forgotten what they did to Canterlot just a few months before?" Luna retorted, her voice rising in volume. "What they did to you?!"

Even in her weakened state, Celestia's voice carried all the sternness it boasted at her full strength. "I have not. I also have not forgotten that the Changelings live in a very barren land and that they did what they had to in order to survive. They went about it the wrong way, but that was borne of centuries of ignorance and prejudice on our behalf that I foolishly did not feel was urgent enough to rectify. The Changelings are not monsters like Sombra. They are misguided, not evil. Remember that, sister."

Luna hung her head low, as though she were a foal being scolded for speaking out of turn. "I know, Tia. Rainbow Dash has already spoken these words to me. It is just…difficult to accept, even though I know that I must."

Celestia slowly nodded in understanding. "Now, go, Luna. See that our allies hear our call for aid."

"Rest well, Tia," Luna bade before she left the room.

Swift Stroke and Rainbow Dash moved to follow, until Celestia spoke up once more. "Wait. Rainbow Dash, could I have a moment of your time?"

"Uh…sure, Princess," Rainbow replied uncertainly, glancing at her commanding officer.

"Get back as soon as you're able," Swift instructed. "And remember, eight o'clock sharp, my quarters, Lieutenant Dash."

Rainbow failed to express a delighted giggle at her new title as Swift left. Celestia quirked an eyebrow. "Lieutenant already, Rainbow Dash?" she clarified.

Rainbow excitedly nodded her head. "Uh-huh! I'm gettin' officially promoted tonight at eight!"

"I've missed a great deal lately, haven't I?" Celestia asked. "It's nice to see that you have settled into the military life rather well. Somehow I knew you would adjust quickly. What of your friends? What of my faithful student? How do they fare?"

Rainbow's grin fell at the mention of Twilight. "Oh…yeah. You really have missed a lot, Princess," she began uncertainly.

Celestia's brows furrowed worriedly at Rainbow's hesitance. "Rainbow…has something happened to Twilight?"

Rainbow finally nodded in confirmation. "It was a few days after the dragon attack. I was off fighting at the Griffhala battle when it happened, so I didn't hear about it until later, but the night after the pegasi soldiers left to defend Griffhala, King Sombra…somehow, he gained access to Twilight's mind and…a-and possessed her."

Celestia's look of anguish only made it harder for Rainbow to finish. "He…he made her attack o-other unicorns. If it hadn't been for Discord coming in and pushing him out of her head, they would…they would've been f-forced to…"

She couldn't continue. She felt hot tears roll down her face as the weight of those events finally dawned on her. If it hadn't been for Discord, she would have lost one of her closest friends, mercy-killed by her own comrades all because of an evil king who should have been dead long ago. Even harder to think about was the possibility that Rarity might have been the one forced to do it. She blinked through her tears, wiping them feverishly away with a hoof so as to not lose face in front of the solar monarch. But Celestia was crying too. "I should have been there for her," the princess spoke in a deeply-saddened, ashamed voice. "I should have been there for her, and I wasn't. I allowed Sombra to hurt her. Just like I let him hurt the people of Ponyville. Mother forgive me…"

Celestia's body shook with her broken sobs. The sight of Equestria's unflappable, always-calm and serene ruler crying like an inconsolable child was jarring to Rainbow, to say the least. "P-Princess, it's not your fault!" Rainbow cried, rushing to Celestia's bedside. "You were injured. There's nothing you could have done…"

"I was powerless…powerless to protect my own student, the closest thing I have to a daughter!" Celestia sobbed. "Twice I have failed to protect my subjects! What has become of me?!"

Rainbow, desperate to comfort the princess, threw caution to the wind and wrapped her forelegs around Celestia's neck, wrapping her up in a hug as they both cried over the suffering of the ones they cared about. It seemed this embrace was able to bring Celestia back to her senses, for her cries quieted to mere sniffles as Rainbow let go of her. "Thank you, Rainbow," Celestia said. "I think we both needed that."

Rainbow shook her head. "Yeah…we shouldn't worry over what could have happened. We should be thankful that it didn't."

Celestia smiled. "You are wiser than you would first appear, Rainbow. Now go; I do believe you have drills to finish and a promotion to receive."

Rainbow saluted. "Aye-aye, Princess!"

Celestia watched the rainbow-maned Element Bearer leave before turning to the doctors attending to the still-unconscious Chrysalis. "Would you wake me when she has regained consciousness?" she asked, planning to get some more rest.

"Yes, Your Highness," they droned before returning to their work, trying to ignore the scrutinizing stares of the queen's Changeling guards.

XXXXXX

Several hours later…

Chrysalis blearily opened her eyes and uttered a pained, fatigued groan as the world around her came into focus. She felt something soft underneath her. She was in a bed. From the looks of it, she was in the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle. She breathed a sigh of relief that the Equestrians had been kind enough not to kill her on sight, and then realized that breathing didn't hurt anymore. She glanced down at her chest to see that her carapace had been mended. However, where the cracks had once been were now a series of light grey scars that stuck out on her polished black exoskeleton like a sore hoof. Then she noticed that she was not alone in the room as she saw a unicorn dressed in a doctor's outfit go over to the bedside of her roommate and nudge them awake.

Chrysalis's jaw dropped when she recognized who was in the bed across from her. "Celestia?!"

"It has been a while, hasn't it, Chrysalis?" Celestia greeted neutrally. "Doctor, leave us."

The doctor bowed and complied, leaving the two monarchs alone in the room with their respective guards, who glared suspiciously at each other without breaking eye contact.

"What happened to you?" Chrysalis finally asked.

"Dragon fire, courtesy of an Elder Wyrm," Celestia answered. "And I was told you had run afoul of a group of Diamond Dogs loyal to Sombra."

Chrysalis winced, having hoped that Celestia wouldn't have known about her greatest moment of weakness. "I am sorry about what happened to your hive," Celestia said.

"I don't need or want your pity! You think we came here, to the doorstep of our old enemies, to receive it?!" Chrysalis snapped before catching herself. If she wanted to endear herself to her potential saviors, she would have to suck up her pride. "What we need is to regain our strength. What we want is vengeance against King Sombra. You have lost many subjects in this war already, have you not?"

Celestia solemnly nodded, a sad look on her face. "Now, imagine that you are mentally connected to every single one of your subjects," Chrysalis continued. "Imagine that, in order for the rest of your people to survive, you had to leave the youngest ones behind because they were not yet ready to be born. Imagine, as you flee with all that survives of your people, hearing, sensing, feeling the mental screams of unborn grubs as they are ripped from their eggs without warning, confused, cold and frightened, only to be crushed in the palms of invading monsters. And to know that there was nothing you could do about it. We have had our conflicts in the past, but we will join you if it means we can repay King Sombra and those who serve him ten-fold. He is a vile savage and we want him dead."

Celestia swallowed as she took in Chrysalis's dreadful perspective on the events that had brought her here. "Despite what happened in the past, you did not deserve to experience Sombra's wrath. I will allow you to fight at our side, and…I will find a way to repay you for what you were forced to endure. I will not let your people starve."

Chrysalis frowned as she considered her options. "After this war is over…we want access to the Crystal Heart. Just being near it gives us a never-ending food source. We would have to reestablish our hive in the mountains near there, but as long as we can come and feed on the Heart's limitless energy as needed, we will bring no trouble to the Crystal Empire's people, or your own."

Celestia was silent as she considered Chrysalis's request. Once Sombra was finally defeated, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance would likely object at first. After all, Chrysalis had nearly ruined their wedding. But they did not hold grudges for long if those responsible were redeemable in their eyes. They would come around, in time. "I will see to it," Celestia agreed. "You have my word as Princess of Equestria."

"Celestia, there is one more thing I must tell you," Chrysalis said. "King Sombra, with the help of the Windigos, has managed to corrupt the Crystal Heart's energy."

Chrysalis paused as she watched Celestia's mouth drop open in horror. "No…he didn't…" the sun goddess breathed.

"I do not know what he plans to do with it, but based on what my scouts have observed of the Crystal Heart, the effects might be reversed if the Crystal Ponies regain some semblance of hope and repower it."

Celestia shut her mouth and nodded in agreement. Chrysalis made a good point. "Then that is what we must focus on once we reach the Empire. Once the people see that we have not forgotten them, we can help them restore the Heart's power and then turn it against Sombra once more."

"You tried that before," Chrysalis pointed out. "It didn't work, remember?"

Celestia sighed. Again, the queen raised a good point. "There has to be a way to destroy him for good. There has to be."

"If you devise such a way, let me know at once," Chrysalis stated. "I would be more than happy to stick the proverbial dagger in his back."

Celestia allowed herself a grim smirk. "Get in line. Nearly everyone in Equestria and beyond wants a piece of him now."

XXXXXX

Unicorn barracks…

Word had quickly gotten around about the small army of Changelings lurking a short distance from the pegasus barracks, and most ponies weren't exactly happy at the news. "It's unthinkable!" Rarity complained as she and Twilight took a break from another round of magical combat. "Those awful creatures just a stone's throw away from us and Canterlot! Why hasn't the Royal Guard chased them off yet?"

Twilight sighed. "Rarity, if you had been paying attention, you would've seen how badly injured Queen Chrysalis was. They took her up to Canterlot, and I imagine she's here to talk to Celestia about whatever happened to her and her people."

Rarity frowned. "Do you think he is responsible?"

Twilight's expression darkened, knowing to whom her friend was referring to. "I wouldn't doubt it. If anything, though, we may gain an unexpected ally out of this."

Before Rarity could voice her concerns over this, another voice gruffly spoke over her. "Private Rarity!"

Both Twilight and Rarity turned to see Commander Falling Skies and crisply saluted. "Yessir!" Rarity cried.

"Princess Luna has a task that she specifically requested of you as the Element of Generosity," Falling reported.

Rarity forced herself not to look her commanding officer in the eye as she barked, "What does the Princess require of me, sir?"

"You are to leave immediately for the Rockjaw Diamond Dog territory not far from the boundaries of Ponyville. Princess Luna says you are familiar with the territory and the pack."

Rarity went paler than usual. "W-w-what?" she stammered. "Why does she want me to go see those…those brutes?!"

"The nation of Equestria requires their services in this war, as an enemy pack of theirs has joined King Sombra. And since you have dealt with them before, the Princess felt it wise to send you as an emissary."

Rarity felt like she may faint. "If you have any trouble with them," Twilight reminded, "you could always just whine until they say yes."

Rarity straightened up and sighed. "Yes…I suppose."

Falling raised an eyebrow. "How would whining like a spoiled foal help our case any?"

Twilight giggled. "You'd understand if you had been there, sir."

Falling rolled his eyes. "I don't have time to hear it. Private Rarity, you have your orders. Pack any provisions you need and leave as soon as you're able."

Rarity saluted again. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Falling nodded and trotted off to go supervise the rest of the magical duels. Rarity turned to her old friend and sighed. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now."

Twilight gave her companion a hug. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

"I can handle myself well enough," Rarity replied, breaking the hug. "I'll see if I have enough time to stop by Ponyville and say hello to Spike for you."

Twilight smiled, nuzzling Rarity affectionately. "Thanks, Rare. You're the best."

Rarity laughed. "I'll return as soon as I can, Twilight. You take care of yourself too, alright?"

Twilight nodded. "I will."

Twilight watched her friend leave to go prepare for your journey, and couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was soon to happen.

Author's Note

If anyone asks, Discord took away Blueblood's voice. I couldn't fit that in.

The Second Battle of Ponyville

Holy shit, this was one doozy of a chapter, but I enjoyed writing it immensely. This is by far the longest chapter I've written in this story so far, so enjoy the epicness!

Be warned, though; there's a fair amount of graphic violence in this chapter. Tread with caution.

Now I shall crawl back into my hole where you can't pursue me with your torches and pitchforks.

XXXXXX000XXXXXX

Chapter Sixteen: The Second Battle of Ponyville

King Sombra failed to suppress a smirk as he thought about his impending conquest. The plans had been made; it was time for the invasion. The dragons had been split up into three different groups as part of a massive three-pronged attack. Bjoräl and his pack, as well as a sizeable group of Obsidian Earth ponies, would accompany Moragon's dragonflight to assist in the conquest of Stalliongrad, one of Equestria's most well-defended cities, with the majority of its citizens being Earth ponies. Meanwhile, Vartûl's dragonflight would be accompanied by a large force of Obsidian pegasi and Windigos and would lay siege to Cloudsdale, the unofficial capital city of the pegasi. And finally, Dalconir's dragonflight would, with the help of a substantial detachment of Obsidian pegasi and Karzakathûl's sons, descend upon Canterlot itself and finish the task that Karzakathûl had failed; slay the princesses.

But this was not the Dark King's only plan. He had one more move to make in his grand scheme. He allowed his hatred to fill his body and soul as he remembered the accursed dragon hatchling that had been instrumental in his second defeat. Word was that the dragon lived in Ponyville along with the rest of the Element Bearers. It was unlikely that he had joined in the war effort, on account of him being little more than a baby, despite his troublesome actions. It was time to finish burning Ponyville to ashes, and he had just the plan for that.

Sombra approached the corrupted Crystal Heart, his grin widening as he tapped into its magnificent powers. He could feel his inner power surge to amounts even he had never thought possible. He felt like a god. With this power at his disposal, even Discord would fall before his dark might should the chaotic spirit foolishly decide to confront him. Sombra's eyes glowed even brighter, his red pupils vanishing as the power of darkness took hold, his fanged grin never leaving his face.

The Crystal Heart had the ability to reflect its essence across all of Equestria, whether that be hope and love, or hatred and fear. Soon a blood-red aurora emerged from the tallest spire of the Crystal Palace, streaking towards the fertile lands of Equestria.

Sombra would show the world what true horrors lay in store for all those who would defy him.

XXXXXX

Outside the Rockjaw Diamond Dog caverns…

Rarity looked at the multitude of holes that marred the surface of the ground and unleashed a shuddering breath, silently cursing Luna for forcing her into this before mentally slapping herself for thinking so negatively of her beloved monarch. You can do this, Rarity, she reassured herself. You've dealt with them before, you can do it again.

She regarded the traveling armor she carried that had been issued to every unicorn recruit when out in the field. It was a simple chainmail hauberk underneath a vest with protective spells weaved into its fibers, much less comfortable than her prized dresses, but it would give her an air of formality and a do-not-tick-off-this-pony attitude amongst the Diamond Dogs. There was a small dagger hidden in her vest she could use in a pinch, but she hoped it would not come to that.

Rarity trotted up to one of the holes with all the confidence she could muster. She must have been lucky, because a sentry immediately crawled out of the hole and leveled his crude spear at her. "Who goes there?" the hulking, armored mutt growled.

Rarity glowered at the weapon pointed at her chest and glared at the Diamond Dog intensely. "Somepony that you should not be pointing that spear at," she spoke firmly. "I come on behalf of Princess Luna, and I am here to see your Alpha, Rover."

The guard growled. "Why do you come here, pony? What business do you have with he who leads our pack?"

Rarity frowned. "It concerns the Rültvek tribe. Does that answer your question?"

The guard's jaw nearly dropped at the mention of his pack's oldest nemesis. "How do you know of those pup-takers?" he demanded.

"I am here to discuss that with Alpha Rover, not a sentry," Rarity snapped. "Now take me to him at once."

The guard grunted, seeming to think it over before he finally relented, lifting his spear. "Very well. Follow me. Do not get lost."

Rarity said nothing in reply as she followed the Diamond Dog down the hole, biting back her usual remarks about the dirt as he led her through the tunnels towards the main chamber. Once they entered it, Rarity could not help but smirk at the fond memories of this place. Her last visit had been an unexpected, initially-unwanted, but ultimately profitable experience. And as she heard all activity in the chamber abruptly stop, she realized that they hadn't forgotten either.

Dozens of Diamond Dogs had been busy at work, tunneling through the dirt, gathering gems, piling them on carts, and hauling said carts away, before they saw the one pony they had never wanted to see again strutting boldly back into their mines as if she owned the place. She then spotted a familiar trio loping towards them, anger and no small amount of fear on their faces.

"What…is that pony…DOING HERE?!" Alpha Rover screeched, pointing at her.

"She said she wished to…" the guard began before Rarity cut him off.

"Thank you kindly, good sir, but I can take it from here," she interrupted, never taking her eyes off the Dogs that had brazenly kidnapped her almost a year ago. "How…lovely to see you three again."

Rover glared back at the unicorn, restraining the urge to impulsively cover his ears at the very sight of her. "Why did you come back?" Rover growled. "You weren't supposed to come back!"

Rarity laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You think I'm here by choice, Rover?! I'm flattered, but no. I had no intention of returning to this Tartarus pit. But duty calls, and the Princesses of Equestria need your help."

This was most certainly not what Rover or his Betas had been expecting.

"Explain," the large Beta, Fido, demanded, a hint of curiosity seeping into his tone.

"Equestria is at war, Mister Rover," Rarity began, speaking loud enough that her voice carried throughout the chamber. "You live on Equestrian soil, under the protection of our princesses. But they can no longer guarantee that protection without your help. A powerful enemy seeks to conquer our lands, and we need every ally we can get to halt the invasion, which is certain to come soon."

It took several moments for Rover to find his voice again, and he harshly whispered, "You're asking us…to die for you? Give me one good reason why we should join a fight that isn't ours!"

Rarity matched the Alpha's glare. "Because this is your fight too. Your enemies, the Rültveks, have joined forces with our enemy, King Sombra, who has promised them your lands in exchange for their services."

There were loud gasps, growls, and whimpers echoing throughout the chamber at the mention of the hated Rültveks. Rover and his cohorts went deathly silent, shock evident on their faces. "That means…that we really haven't seen the last of Bjoräl, after all," Spot, the smaller Beta, murmured, shivering.

"Bjoräl?" Rarity repeated.

She was surprised by the dark look that crossed Rover's face as memories overtook him. "Before we moved to Equestria, we were invaded by the Rültveks. They were seeking slaves for their own mines. We fought back. It was a terrible battle, and many a Dog on both sides fell that day. The Rültveks were led by their leader, the vilest and cruelest of their entire tribe…Bjoräl the Defiler. Against his might…we were helpless. My father, our previous Alpha, was slain by him. Beheaded, and cast at my feet. I will never forget that day. I will never forget his face."

Rarity put a shocked hoof to her mouth. "My goodness! How horrible!"

Rover's bitter scowl deepened, Fido and Spot stepping back to give their leader some space. "Many of our pups were taken that day. Killed or enslaved, we did not know. We fled, defeated and leaderless. Satisfied with their victory, they did not pursue us. We fled to Equestria, where we found a richer mine to rebuild our home. We had hoped we would be out of Bjoräl's reach."

Whatever feelings Rarity had held towards these creatures instantly melted away as she realized what horrors they had endured in the past. "I-I'm so terribly sorry your pack endured that," Rarity tentatively spoke.

Rover waved his paw dismissively. "Save it. Pitying us is even worse than your whining."

Rarity bit her lip and held her tongue as Rover continued. "We have no choice then. We delayed as long as we could, but it seems the pup-takers will not rest until we are all enslaved…or worse. I won't let the Defiler's mutts take my packmates' pups again." Finally Rover turned away from his guest and addressed his entire pack, which had since all congregated in the main chamber. His gravelly, high-pitched voice, surprisingly, carried a stern tone that Rarity had not expected capable of him. As he spoke, Rarity could see a number of females amongst them, as well as wide-eyed pups that regarded her and their leader with wide, curious eyes. "My pack-mates, today is a grim day. After many years of living in safety, the Rültveks have once more brought war to our doorstep!" Those who had not heard this news already gasped and yipped in shock and fear. The horrors of their last battle with their hated enemy were still fresh on the older Dogs' minds. "They have joined with Equestria's enemies, who have promised them our mines and wealth! I was charged with your protection the day I became Alpha, and I will not fail as my father did! Bjoräl will not take our pups again! Rockjaws…prepare for war!"

Now it was Rarity's turn to shield her ears from the noise of hundreds of Diamond Dogs howling in unison.

XXXXXX

Outskirts of Ponyville…

Melvekar lay on a large hill overlooking the town, staring silently at the horizon. His thoughts were of his son, and the look in the hatchling's eyes when he revealed himself.

Melvekar suddenly shook his head, snorting lightly as a puff of smoke escaped his nostrils. No, Spike didn't deserve to be called a hatchling anymore. He was at least eighteen now, which was the adult age of a pony. Had he possessed a hoard of his own, he would be quite a bit larger than he was now, and he would have his wings.

A sudden voice abruptly stirred him from his thoughts. "Um…D-Dad?"

The Evening Shadow smiled as he heard the voice of his son behind him. The Great Wyrm craned his neck over his shoulder to see Spike tentatively walking up to him, unsure of himself. "Hello, Spike," Melvekar greeted.

"I-I'm sorry a-about earlier," Spike stammered. "I-I just needed to think…"

"I will not fault you for trying to come to terms with the news I gave you, my son," Melvekar replied.

"Why, though?" Spike asked. "You said it was against the law for you to take care of me. Why is that? What happened to Mom?"

The older dragon sighed. "In the Dragon Kingdom, tradition is law. And there are a number of reasons why male dragons cannot look after eggs. Firstly, the male dragons are the ones that get called out for whatever summons the king issues, while the females stay home with the eggs. Secondly, it is the male that primarily defends the nest from any threats, in order to keep their mates and chicks from harm. Thirdly, a male dragon is not nearly as adept at nesting an egg as the female. The king felt that you would be better off with the Equestrians, despite how little they knew of our kind, and so you were given to them."

Spike sat down by his father, basking in the large dragon's shadow. "What happened to my mom? Why couldn't she take care of me?"

Melvekar heaved a melancholy sigh. He had long feared this question, but he knew that when he finally met his offspring, he would want to know the truth. "You were still an egg, your mother's only egg. I had been summoned by the king to attend the Council on a meeting to discuss an incident with Karzakathûl menacing the Zebras in Zebrica."

"Karzakathûl?" Spike repeated.

"The dragon that attacked Canterlot and was felled by your caretaker and the last of the draconequui, Discord," Melvekar explained. "He had always been a thorn in the kingdom's side, as he was openly rebellious towards the king and commanded a lot of fear and respect amongst other dragons. The rebel members of the Council have implied a number of times that they would have preferred him as king. Anyways, I had left for the royal summit, and your mother stayed behind to look after your egg. While I was gone, a hydra stumbled into our cave, looking for a meal." Melvekar forced himself not to look into the eyes of his son as dreadful realization began to dawn on him. "When I returned, I found the hydra dead, and your mother mortally wounded." A sad smile appeared on Melvekar's face. "She was not a fighter by any stretch of the imagination. But when that hydra threatened your egg, she fought tooth and claw to protect you. It was a hell of a fight, too; all of the hydra's heads had been torn or bitten off. Her last words…her last words to me were, 'Our child's name will be Spike. Keep him safe. I wish I could have seen him hatch.'"

Melvekar looked down to see that his son was fighting back tears. "My mom…s-she's…?" Spike stuttered.

Melvekar only nodded. Spike spent a few minutes silently crying as he realized he would never know his mother before he finally recovered somewhat. "Can…c-can you tell me about her?"

"What would you like to know?" Melvekar asked.

"Everything."

Melvekar smiled. "Her name was Sekkati the Frost-Scaled. She was as white as fresh snow, her eyes blue like ice, but her heart was warm and gentle. I met her sixty-four years ago in the capital city of Drakehold, and I loved her from the moment we met. She was quiet and reserved, but not meek. She was sharp of tongue and even sharper of wit when roused. She had always wanted to bear hatchlings, and felt no disappointment when she laid only one egg. She did not have a hoard of silver and gold, or even jewels. You were her hoard, my son. I can see that you have inherited Sekkati's kindness, and the Equestrians have nurtured it within you. Your mother would be proud of you."

Spike's eyes lit up. "W-would she…?"

Melvekar nodded. "While you may still be small, it is only because you have not discovered a hoard you truly value yet."

Spike looked down. "The last time I had a hoard…I nearly destroyed Ponyville."

The older dragon fought back a smirk. "Ah, so you experienced the Greed Growth, then."

Spike looked up at his father. "Why did I grow up like that?"

"Well…it's a difficult concept to understand," Melvekar replied. "Even we are not entirely sure why our bodies do that. But it can be disastrous if not contained. That's why the Kingdom has an ages-old policy dictating how large a dragon's individual hoard can be based on age, in order to allow them to mature naturally both mentally and physically. It seems you had no such restrictions. At least the Equestrians did a good job containing it their own way."

"Does…does that mean I have to have a hoard in order to grow?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Melvekar replied. "But bear in mind that a hoard does not necessarily equate treasure. It is what matters most to you in this world. When you understand what your true hoard is, you will grow to your proper size."

Spike opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by another voice.

"Spike! Spike!" Sweetie Belle called out between pants, having run all the way up the hill.

Spike and Melvekar turned to look at her. "What is it, Sweetie?" Spike asked.

"Rarity's back!" Sweetie Belle explained. "And she wants to see you!"

Spike's eyes widened before he scrambled to his feet and ran after her towards Ponyville. Shaking his head in amusement, Melvekar rose to his feet and followed behind at a leisurely pace.

XXXXXX

"Rarity! RARITY!"

Rarity smiled as she saw a familiar baby dragon running over to her, arms outstretched. She was nearly bowled over by the force of Spike's hug. "Rarity, I'm so glad to see you're doing okay! What are you doing here? Is Twilight okay?"

Rarity chuckled lightly at the questions Spike bombarded her with. "I'm glad to see you're doing alright too, Spikey-Wikey."

"Spikey-Wikey?"

Rarity gasped in shock as she noticed the large dragon loping towards them, a smirk adorning his reptilian face. Spike broke away from Rarity's embrace and glared indignantly at the older drake. "Yeah, it's my nickname! So what?"

Rarity glanced at the two dragons. "Spike, do you know this gentle, uh…drake?"

Spike took a moment to straighten himself out and finally said, "Rarity, I want you to meet my dad, Melvekar."

Rarity's jaw promptly hit the floor. "Y-your WHAT?"

Spike laughed in spite of himself. "Yeah, I know. I was pretty shocked too. But Dad explained everything to me, about why he gave my egg to Princess Celestia and all that. He's also here to guard Ponyville."

Rarity smiled. "I'm happy for you, Spike."

Spike scratched his head in curiosity. "So why are you here? I thought you and Twilight were off in the army."

"We're still undergoing boot camp, dear," Rarity explained. "So far, Rainbow Dash is the only one out of the six of us who's seen action. Anyways, I was sent on a mission by Princess Luna to recruit the Diamond Dogs to our cause."

Spike frowned. "She sent you back to them?"

"She wouldn't have if she didn't know I could handle them," Rarity replied. "And they said yes, by the way. King Sombra recruited a rival tribe of theirs that committed heinous actions against them in the past, and they want to protect their families."

Spike slowly nodded, respecting that logic. But before he could open his mouth to reply, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Everyone else soon noticed too and looked up towards the sky. A blood red aurora was streaking through the sky towards Ponyville. Dread clutched at Spike's heart. "Isn't…isn't that coming from the direction of the Crystal Empire?"

Rarity paled as her eyes widened in horror. "Spike, hide where it's safe!"

"But…"

"Spike, do as she says!" Melvekar snarled, glaring towards the aurora as it split in two, one trail heading towards the Everfree Forest and the other continuing towards the town. "You are too small to face whatever this is for now!"

Spike knew their words were true, but they stung all the same. Unwillingly, Spike ran towards the library, looking over his shoulders to see the aurora sink into the Ponyville Cemetery. He stopped dead as he saw what happened next.

The ground shifted beneath each headstone, as though something were trying to dig its way out of each grave. No…those can't be… Spike thought in dread.

With numerous explosions of earth, Spike's worst fears were confirmed. The dead that had been buried there had come back to life, moaning and groaning as they crawled their way out of the ground. Spike wasted no time in running inside the library and hastily locking the door. Safe for now, Spike ran up the stairs to the balcony and saw what was going on.

Screams of terror and anguish rent the air as many of the ponies recognized loved ones that had once looked upon them with loving eyes, but now with a soulless, hungry gaze. Spike's hands shook with rage. There was no doubt in his mind that King Sombra was responsible for this horror. Knowing that there was nothing he could do, he watched Rarity and Melvekar recoil in shock at the zombie ponies before readying for a fight. "Please be safe," he whispered. "I don't want to lose either of you."

XXXXXX

Rarity's heart clenched as she saw several familiar faces amongst the undead horde slowly making their way towards her. Most agonizing of all was Derpy Hooves, who had just begun showing signs of decay, shuffling towards her horrified daughters. Rarity knew she had to act.

Sparkler desperately shielded her little sister from the abomination wearing their mother's guise. "M-Mommy?" Dinky whimpered, gazing at her zombified mother in confusion and horror.

"Mom?" Sparkler stammered fearfully, backing away with each step Derpy took. "M-Mom, it's us! D-don't you recognize your daughters? Y-y-your s-special muffins?"

Her words fell on deaf ears, and Sparkler realized that this was not their mother, but a mindless monster that had cruelly taken her place. Derpy's eyes were still misaligned even in death, and they gazed emptily into the eyes of her prey. With an eldritch groan, Derpy's mouth opened wide, her yellowed teeth ready to bite greedily into the flesh of her children like the muffins she had so enjoyed in life.

And she lunged.

Both unicorns screamed.

"NO!"

Suddenly the zombie pegasus was blind-sided by a fiery beam of energy, eliciting a blood-curdling screech as her body disintegrated into ashes. Sparkler covered her sister's eyes, watching the final demise of her loving mother with stricken, sorrowful eyes. She looked over at her savior, and saw Rarity staring at Derpy's remains, tears flowing down her face at what she had done.

It was only thanks to the adrenaline that Rarity willed herself not to faint, along with the weeks of training she had undergone. "Sparkler, dear," she spoke with a shaky voice. "Get Dinky out of here, where it's safe."

Sparkler held Dinky close. "Thank you," she whispered before ushering her charge away from the horde, followed by the other townsponies, which were mostly mares and fillies.

Rarity then turned her attention towards the swarm of zomponies, even as Melvekar unleashed a deafening roar and ignited a great many of the creatures with his fiery breath.

But whatever power King Sombra had sent against them was not finished. Suddenly a horde of monsters emerged from the Everfree Forest, ranging from manticores and chimeras to timberwolves and cockatrices. There was even a hydra amongst them. And all of them had green eyes with mist trailing out of them, a tell-tale sign of King Sombra's influence.

Rarity regarded the monstrous army of zombies and beasts arrayed before her and Melvekar with horror and dread. Even Melvekar looked uncertain. "Mother Faust help us all," Rarity breathed.

"We must give the civilians enough time to escape," Melvekar spoke.

Rarity gulped. He knew they weren't going to survive this fight. But they were determined to hold out for as long as they could.

Rarity began firing magical blasts of fire, ice, and anything else she could think of into the horde of undead while Melvekar drew the attention of the Everfree monsters. Rarity's breath caught in her throat as she spied two more familiar individuals amongst the crowd. "Forgive me, Applejack," Rarity whimpered as she destroyed the walking corpses of her best friend's deceased parents.

Melvekar tore apart a large cockatrice with one swipe of his large claws, using his tail to bash a chimera across its tiger face. A trio of Timberwolves closed in on him, but these he burned to cinders in seconds. The chimera he had struck before recovered and leapt onto his back, digging its massive fangs into his body hard enough to pierce the scales. The Evening Shadow bellowed as he shook the chimera off his back and ripped out its throat before it could get back up. And then the hydra was upon him, its many heads weaving about and snapping at him. Melvekar snarled and breathed flames at the multi-headed creature, forcing it back. Immediately a manticore lunged at his face, but the skilled dragon swatted it aside with one mighty hand, sending it crashing into an approaching chimera.

Suddenly the dragon saw a group of timberwolves break off from the main group, loping menacingly towards Rarity, who was desperately fending off the zombie horde, and it was clear her magic was starting to run low. "Lady Rarity, look out!" Melvekar roared.

Spike watched all this from the balcony of the library, and when he saw his father and the pony he loved about to be overrun by the sheer numbers of their enemy, he felt something stir deep within his chest. It wasn't like the fire that gathered in his stomach. No, this warmth spread through his whole body, as if filling him with an unknown strength. Mine, he thought angrily to himself. They're mine. Those monsters won't touch my family and friends!

And then the epiphany finally struck. THEY WON'T TOUCH MY HOARD!

As he brazenly leapt off the balcony towards the hard ground below, he barely felt his body begin to grow. His seething rage blinded him to the wings that grew from his back, with membranes green as his spinal ridges. All that was on his mind was protecting Rarity and his father from the beasts that dared try to take them away from him.

Rarity already felt fatigued from holding off the zombies, and she knew that she barely had enough in her just to deal with the approaching timberwolves. No matter which enemy she focused on, the others would finish her off.

This was it. This was where she was going to die.

Rarity panted as she drew her dagger from its sheath. She was a proper lady. She knew the inner workings of high class society. She knew what dresses she should wear to each occasion. She conducted herself with grace and dignity. And by Celestia, she was going to go down fighting like a proper lady too.

Melvekar struggled with fending off the hydra, several manticores and chimeras, and the rest of the timberwolves on his own, and the great dragon knew he could not help her.

Suddenly an enraged roar echoed throughout the battlefield. The timberwolves surrounding Rarity looked up just in time to see emerald flames descend upon them. The entire pack burned away in an instant, and Rarity had to cover her face to shield herself from the heat. When she opened her eyes, she gasped at her protector, who stood between her and the zombie horde.

"Spike?!"

Spike, now the appropriate size of a teenage dragon, looked over his shoulder at her. "Rarity, get out of here!" he commanded.

Rarity took a moment to clear her head before she shook it fervently. "Not going to happen, Spike! I have no intention of shirking my duty to Princesses and country."

Spike sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince her otherwise. "Just stay close to me and save your strength!"

Rarity nodded resolutely and held up her dagger. "Shall we dance, my little Spikey-Wikey?"

Spike grinned and bowed grandly. "We shall."

Melvekar took a moment to smile at this new development before turning his attention back to the horrendously persistent hydra. Spike and Rarity worked together to whittle down the zombies' numbers, with Spike burning them with his fire breath and Rarity impaling their heads with her dagger. And when a chimera decided to turn its attention towards them, Spike blocked its path to Rarity and snarled. "You want her, you'll have to get through me first!"

Rarity gasped in alarm. Despite Spike's new size and strength, there was no way he could take on a fully-grown chimera. The monster's three heads, one a sabertooth tiger, another that of a fanged goat, and a snake's head on its tail, all glared menacingly at the adolescent drake, who, despite the fear clutching at his chest, was not about to step aside. "You won't touch her! She's my hoard! MINE!"

Rarity about fell over from this. She knew he had a crush on her, but for him to declare that she was so dear to his heart that she was his true hoard was almost too much for her to take. And the fact that he was willing to defend her from a monster that could easily kill him meant a lot more to her than even she would initially realize.

The chimera roared and lunged. With milliseconds to react, Spike did the first thing that came to his mind; he shoved Rarity out of the way right before the hulking monster pinned him against the ground, digging its sharp claws into his arms. Spike let out a cry of pain and anger before be breathed a stream of fire right into the chimera's face. However, the beast's grip on him would not relent, and as soon as his fire gave out, the chimera leaned towards Spike to bite into his jugular.

Rarity, despite her fatigue, would not stand idly by. "NO!" she screamed, firing beam after beam of energy at the chimera, ignoring the strain beginning to claw at her very life force. "YOU! WON'T! HURT! MY! SPIKEY! WIKEY!"

Her brazen attack succeeded in forcing the monster to release Spike, but now its attention was drawn to her. And she was about ready to drop right then and there. As her head began swimming, she could vaguely hear Spike's voice screaming her name desperately, helpless to stop the rampaging beast as it closed in on her. Her strength finally failed her, and she toppled to the ground, exhausted and very nearly dead. Her eyes closed as it loomed over her body, and she knew no more.

Spike's heart stopped as Rarity fell to the ground, unmoving, as the chimera prepared to devour her. "RARITY! NO!" he cried, struggling to rise to his feet, but he knew he wouldn't be able to save her in time. "NOOOO!"

And then a spear abruptly flew over his head and buried itself in the monster's back. The chimera let out a dreadful death screech before toppling on its side. "W-wha…?" Spike stammered, looking over his shoulders.

Rover, Alpha of the Rockjaw Diamond Dogs, garbed in heavy leather and chainmail armor and a woolen cloak, gave him a grim nod. Behind him, hundreds of fully armored Diamond Dogs brandishing spears, maces, swords, and axes sprang from the forest, unleashing their wrath upon the remaining monsters. A manticore that had been about to sting Melvekar suddenly felt a sword cut clean through its tail, severing the poisonous barb. It howled in agony before it was silenced by a dozen spears. The Dogs ripped through the remaining zombies with brutal efficiency, eliminating the entire horde within minutes. The Everfree monsters, however, put up far more of a fight as the battle began to spread around the rest of the town square. As Diamond Dogs ferociously did battle with the creatures, using their brute strength and superior numbers to overwhelm them, Melvekar faced off with the damned hydra. As the monster's four heads regarded him with evil intent, Melvekar just flashed a hateful smile. "I've wanted to kill a hydra for a very long time," he declared before grappling with the enraged beast.

While he held two of the heads in place, the free ones immediately began biting into his shoulders, trying to tear through his thick scales. About time I took a page out of Arkazari's book, he remarked to himself before beating his wings against the air.

This gave him the extra leverage needed to push the hydra onto its back, the impact shaking the very ground. Melvekar wasted no time in viciously biting a gaping hole in the hydra's chest, a terrible screech of agony issuing from all four heads at once. And then Melvekar dug his claws through the wound, and the screeches abruptly stopped as the mighty dragon ripped out the monster's bloody heart. The hydra went limp, and Melvekar stared down at his fallen foe before casting its heart aside and turning back towards the rest of the battle, which was starting to come to a close. It was a marvel, really. In a single moment, the tables had turned dramatically against the enemy, and victory, and survival, was at hand.

All too soon, the last cockatrice fell, and the battlefield stilled. Melvekar took a moment to observe the damage. Fires had sprouted everywhere, some bodies still burning, the smell of charred flesh and spilled blood thick in the air. The bodies of monsters, zomponies, and a few Diamond Dogs were strewn throughout the town square, many with spears sticking out of them.

Spike took no heed of any of this as he rushed to the fallen Rarity's side and held her limp body in his arms. "Rarity?" he cried, shaking her. "Rarity, wake up!"

Her eyes did not open. Her body was still. Tears welled up in Spike's eyes. "Don't die on me, Rarity. Please…you can't die on me. Twilight needs you! Applejack needs you! All of your friends need you! Sweetie needs you! And Celestia help me, I need you too! You have to hold on, Rare…Please don't go…I love you!"

But there was no response. Rarity lay limp in Spike's arms. "Rare…?" Spike tried one last time.

When she still had not responded, Spike knew in his heart what it meant. Quiet sobs escaped his throat as he held Rarity's limp form to his chest, crying into her fur. Rover quietly walked up from behind, silent as the grave. Despite his past experiences with this pony, seeing her apparently dead in Spike's arms clutched at his heart in a way he had not anticipated. Spike ignored him, crying into the chest of his beloved.

"Uhnn…I…I…love you too…Spike…"

Spike's head shot up and looked into Rarity's face, not daring to hope that what he had heard was real. And yet it was. Her eyes were open barely a fraction, but the smile on her face was not the rictus grin of the dead, but the gentle, kind one she had always sported. And then she slipped back out of consciousness. But even so, it was clear to Spike; she was alive. His tears of sorrow became tears of joy as he held her close, not wanting to ever let go again. He felt the ground shake at his father's approach, and he turned his head and flashed Melvekar and Rover a relieved smile. "She's alive," he spoke.

"I'll warrant she's exhausted, though," Melvekar surmised. "She nearly drained herself of all her magic, down to her very life force to save you, Spike. She'll need a lot of rest before she recovers. Where does she live?"

Spike slowly stood, cradling his beloved in his arms. "I know where it is. I'll take care of her."

Melvekar and Rover watched Spike gently carry Rarity over to Carousel Boutique, where he was received by her frantic parents and sister. Thankfully, he assured them that she was alright and just needed to rest for a while. Melvekar looked down at the Diamond Dog Alpha. "I'll leave the town in your hands for a little while. I must go to Canterlot and report what happened here to the Princesses. I will return shortly."

Rover just nodded his head in reply. As soon as the Evening Shadow spread out his wings and took to the sky, Rover turned to his soldiers. "Dogs! Get these bodies out of here! Salvage what meat you can from the monsters, burn what's left, and work with the ponies to rebury their dead!"

XXXXXX

Canterlot Castle, Throne Room…

Luna chanced a glance at her sister's unoccupied throne as she read through the various military and economic reports. Celestia was recovering more and more with each passing day, and it would not be long before she sat at Luna's side once again. With a pang, she realized that she now felt somewhat like what her sister had when she had had to rule Equestria alone for a thousand years. She shook her head to clear those morbid thoughts from her mind, for she refused to dwell on those dark times. Discord was busy at work setting up various wards around the castle and city (and more than a few times teamed up with Pinkie Pie to prank a few unsuspecting ponies, just to keep up morale) in order to better defend it against heavy attack. Thestrals and Day Guards patrolled the city and castle ceaselessly, while Chrysalis and her Changelings were drinking love potions to regain some of their strength. And finally, King Vladezrâdi and his Royal Guard rested in the various caves pock-marking the Canterlot Mountains, for dragons normally spent a week wide awake and then rested for an entire day afterwards.

As Luna was wondering whether Rarity had succeeded with her mission, a guard suddenly burst into the Throne Room, rushing up to the princess. "Your Majesty! I have dire news!"

Luna hurriedly set her papers aside and straightened in her seat. "Speak," she commanded.

"The invasion has begun, milady," the guard somberly explained. "Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and Stalliongrad are all under attack by King Sombra's forces, and another force is heading our way!"

A Changeling Interlude

Author's note: Have I got a treat for you all tonight. I finally decided to update this story next while at my grandmas, and I have two chapters ready to go. Enjoy!

XXXX000XXXXX

Chapter Twelve: A Changeling Interlude

Under the cover of nightfall, the three Changeling soldiers darted between alleyways and dark shadows, inching ever closer towards the city plaza, where the corrupted Crystal Heart radiated its tainted power. During their undercover work, they had, unfortunately, learned little about King Sombra's plans and activities. They weren't even sure what kind of traps had been laid around the Heart; only that they were there, and they had to be careful not to set any of them off. It was not just fear for their hives that made them tremble, but the fact that the Crystal King himself actually frightened them. It wasn't surprising, after all; Sombra's aura alone exuded so much raw hatred that just being near him was physically draining.

The one thing the Changelings had going for them was that Sombra was so confident in his traps that he had no guards assigned to watch over it. And so, after making sure the coast was clear, the three bug-ponies skittered over to the pedestal containing the corrupted Crystal Heart, looking warily at it.

I was told there would be traps, the first one said telepathically.

Maybe the king just said they were there in order to scare ponies off, the second replied.

But the third one had more sense. Or perhaps they don't activate until you try to remove it.

The others looked stricken. You should take it, the first Changeling said to the second.

No, you take it, the second vehemently suggested.

No, I insist.

You two are acting like grubs, the third one chastised.

The others stared at him for a moment before glancing at each other. Yeah, he should take it, they both said.

The third Changeling shook his head. Cowards.

Of course, when the others stepped back to leave him to his unfortunate task, he hesitated as he stared at the Crystal Heart. Finally he sighed. You are a soldier of the queen, he mentally reminded himself as he wrapped the cursed hunk of rock in his green magic aura. You can do this.

However, as soon as he removed the Heart from its pedestal, it vanished from his grip and reappeared in its previous place. The Changeling chittered in surprise. What in...?

This must be one of the traps, one of the others unhelpfully informed.

No kidding, the third one snapped before turning back towards the Heart.

If magic wouldn't work, then it was time to attempt a different approach. The Changeling turned around and bucked the Heart right off its pedestal.

The effect was immediate; as the Heart skidded across the cobblestone street, a wall of black crystals rose up around the Changeling, trapping him inside. The other Changelings quickly flitted over to help, but the trapped soldier cried, Don't worry about me! The Heart! Get the Heart!

They looked over at the artifact lying uselessly on the ground a short distance away. The second Changeling then flew over to the Heart and picked it up with her magic.

And then both of the Changelings felt an intense agony as powerful electric energy surged through their bodies. It took less than three seconds for them to get cooked to death. The trapped one was somehow spared his comrades' excruciating demises, but that meant that he was all alone in facing Sombra's wrath.

And he knew the Crystal King was coming.

Two minutes later, he did, flanked by two of his stern-faced Obsidian Guards. Upon seeing who had tripped his security measures, the king's scowl turned into a truly terrifying glare. "A Changeling," he snarled.

As soon as he retracted the dark crystals, the Changeling attempted to make a break for it, only to be restrained magically by the two unicorn guards. Smirking, Sombra bent over and stared into the eyes of the frightened Changeling. "Try to steal my Crystal Heart, will you?" he sneered. "I think not. Now...time to find out where your wretched queen is hiding."

The soldier's mind immediately went into panic mode as the violet mist constantly trailing out of the dark unicorn's eyes flowed into the eyes of the Changeling as, far away, Chrysalis sensed the hysterical panic of one of the soldiers she had sent mere seconds before she suddenly felt something foreign, something horrifyingly evil, invade the collective consciousness of herself and her hive. Drones and soldiers alike cowered where they stood, shaking profusely as they felt it probe their minds. The fetuses lining the walls in their egg sacs squirmed uncomfortably as their quiet dreams were interrupted by the feeling of something foreign and wrong. Chrysalis fought hard against the invasion of her mind, desperately trying to shield herself and her children from the far away tyrant trying to glean information from their minds. There was only one thing she could do, and through her fear, she felt great sadness for what she was about to do.

Even as she tried pushing Sombra out of her mind, she sought out the single Changeling Sombra had used to gain access to the hive mind.

My queen...help me...

A tear fell down Chrysalis's face. I cannot.

And with a forceful burst of magic and willpower, she disconnected the frightened soldier from the hive mind. Far away in the Crystal Empire, the Changeling uttered a chirp of horrified surprise as all contact with his brethren had ceased, his mind deathly quiet. Sombra pulled away from the now-useless shapeshifting creature's mind. Looking down at the shivering bug-pony, Sombra's smirk returned. "She has disconnected you from the hive mind," he spoke, relishing the look of abject terror in the Changeling's iridescent blue eyes. "You're all alone, cut off from the comfort of your brethren's thoughts. But that only means your queen does not know the truth. I found her. I found all of them."

The lone Changeling feebly hissed in defiance. "No...my queen..." it spoke out loud.

"...will be dead before this day is out," Sombra finished, "along with every last member of your wretched hive." He glanced at the guard on his left. "Send for Bjoräl and his pack. I have a a task for them."

The guard nodded and left. Sombra turned towards the remaining guard. "Kill this abomination."

XXXXXX

Chrysalis breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the presence of King Sombra vanish. But she could not relax; not yet. She did not know how much information Sombra had gleaned from the hive's collective consciousness, but if the king had discovered the location of the hive, then the possibility of an attack was increased exponentially. She had to prepare the hive, just in case. Their numbers were relatively few, but if an attack was imminent, they would defend their hive and their queen with their lives.

Chrysalis desperately hoped it would not come to that.