Shadows seemed unnatural in the Court of the Sun, where even during the night a perfect full moon lit up the entire throne room with eerie white light that somehow highlighted its very magnificence as the yellow and orange stones set around the room in the shape of a sun glowed white and silver, reminding all who entered that even at night, this room would forever be held by the power of the sun. Tonight though, the torches of magical origin were dim, and dark shapes flickered about the walls as Celestia felt her kingdom around her feeling as dark as she did.

Even so, as Celestia paced about her empty throne, attempting to think, the softly glowing white images of her greatest responsibility brought back calm, peaceful memories.

'I never forgot about you.' Celestia heard her own voice in her head as she walked up towards her own throne, her head turning left and right as she took in the glowing white stones on the wall. 'When I'd sealed away Nightmare Moon, I took every step I could to remind myself that you are still a princess, and my sister. Whenever I was in here late at night, listening to my subjects,' she turned and sat on a cushion, staring down the long carpet that lead to the open double-doors that let her see out through a balcony to witness the rise of the celestial royalty, 'I would silence them for a few minutes to allow the moon to rise peacefully, so I could watch it, and hopefully you would see me, and be reminded that I am here, that I love you, that I miss you.'

'But the stones on the wall…' She heard Luna's voice now, young, shy, so full of questions about the new Equestria around her. How the land had changed in one-thousand years, how the people had shaped themselves under Celestia's guidance. 'Are they not suns? They're your symbol, sister.'

'Take a closer look.' She'd advised, and Celestia, heeding her own words, stepped down from her throne to examine one of the white suns on the wall. 'Look at what glows. Not my sun's robes, but your moon's perfect circle. What does it really look like?'

Luna had gone quiet and stared at the circle for the longest time, disbelieving her sister's words and her own eyes, but she saw what Celestia wanted to show her. The white light drowned the corona from the looker's vision, leaving a perfectly white glowing sphere. 'You kept my moon.' Luna had gasped softly.

'In your absence, I learned something, dear sister. Without the sun, there is no day to grant the plants, the animals, and the people energy and growth. Without the moon and the stars, the nights would be terrifyingly bleak, devoid of art and beauty, and it would feel as if nobody watched over the people. When I watch the moon rise, it's like your peaceful eye is watching me, guiding me to safety by the twinkle of your stars. I can only imagine the pony children, lost after dark looking to the moon, wishing for your help home, only to watch the stars twinkle where they need to go, and let hope fill them as you guided them to safety. I'd never considered how much effort you put into the beauty and comfort of your nights.' Celestia had explained.

The Alicorn mare smiled as she remembered her sister's blush at her words, and calmly the darker of the two explained herself. 'I remember my old nightmares. I remember pitch black, running in treacherous fields, unable to find my way back to home, constantly wishing for the day. I remember the nights back then, when I was making them, all they did was let a pony know when to sleep. But what if you were in the wrong place? I remember how people looked to your sun for guidance, east to west, so I made the moon to do the same. But still, up in the sky, it was one bright reminder of how terribly dark and ugly it was, so I began to…' she blushed and trailed off.

Celestia had smiled, and she was still smiling, 'Connect the dots? You were so proud of your little mare doodles. I still can't see Orion, even in pictures.'

Luna had scoffed, and Celestia giggled at the indignation in Luna's expression, 'That's because you can't appreciate night art! I can see the colors of the plants and leaves under your sun but you can't see the mightiest of ancient ponies in the stars? I guess I always was the art appreciator in the family.'

Celestia had snorted with laughter, causing her sister to firm up her haughty look. 'Please dear Luna, I've had a thousand years to learn art. If I can't see Orion, ME of all people, he must not be there!'

"Nuh UH!' Luna had started to bounce in place, fuming at Celestia's teasing, 'He's totally there! I'll fly you up there right now and show you!' Celestia had followed her sister that night into the stars, and Luna began to show her Orion. Maybe Celestia really didn't have the right eyes for art, but she could appreciate her sister's imagination, and the way she described him Celestia could imagine the mighty pony of hunting legend, clearing the lands of Equestria of its enemies with only his bow and arrows.

Standing among the field of stars, surrounding by softly twinkling light, as dust swirled into multi-colored patterns in the distance and the land of Equestria lay beneath her, she understood why Luna had been so unhappy nobody would venture out after dark. Whatever had molded her jealousy into a weapon of destruction had done a very sloppy job of giving Luna a reason to stay jealous. The night was still so fantastic even a thousand years ago. It was why she had enthused Twilight so much into looking at the stars and all the celestial bodies floating beyond the sky, because she knew somebody needed to look at the sky and see it not as a flying map, not as an extra bit of light, and definitely not as cold, encroaching terror, but as a beautiful landscape with Luna's thoughtful eye watching over you.

She believed her success had been total, as the few letters Celestia had insisted Twilight write to Luna quickly went into a discussion of Twilight's favorite constellations and curiosity about some of the less documented things in the sky. Twilight had even suggested a few shapes and offered diagrams to make it even more eye-catching, but Luna had reluctantly declined, explaining if she did, the night would be too bright for sleep. Celestia wondered if she should have tried and convinced Luna to go through with it, and toss a Moon Festival under the new sky. She knew the parties would probably be less active and quiet since all eyes would be in the sky, watching the beauty crawl across it.

Part of the idea thrilled her, since she had formerly been in control of the night for a thousand years. The days were full of activity and work and every now and then a bit of fun, but the nights were full of peace and quiet contrast. She began to even grow a little jealous of her sister's position as the artist of the sky, but there was little time to be petty over one's positioning. Besides, the true beauty came on the rare nights they merged their creations and created a brilliant red moon, or a startling black sun.

"Princess Celestia?" The Princess' trance ended abruptly as she heard quiet footsteps behind her, and she turned with a tiny blush towards the few guards who had entered her throne room, the first of the day since she'd demanded alone time. "Are we interrupting you?"

"No, no, of course not. I was just thinking." She turned and stepped up to her throne, and sat gracefully on her cushion, erecting herself to full regal stature, and giving the guards a quiet, thoughtful look. "You have news of what's been happening?" She asked, watching as the guards sat, and the first approached.

"Yes, Princess, and we've discussed our findings privately in an attempt to connect them. We are afraid we have no good news for this night, other than total assured privacy. All lesser meetings for the next month have been cancelled as to turn our full attention to Equestria." He stated.

Celestia couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice as she answered, "For the next month? Is that absolutely necessary? There are so many matters to attend to daily, can my subjects last without me?" They understood she was asking herself more than anyone, it was rare Celestia had any amount of free time longer than an hour. A full month could cause enough political controversy to raise questions of her priorities in Equestria.

"We're not sure, Princess, but Luna has elected herself to take over your meeting duties as you attend to the real problems."

'Oh, excellent. This will be a good experience for Luna.' She trusted her sister. She'd been studying Equestrian history and economy since she returned, and due to being an all natural night owl, she was given plenty of time to catch up, although her wisdom would be more based on logic and gut instinct rather than experience. "Real problems, you say? Please explain."

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and took a scroll from his ankle pack and let Celestia take it. "The scouts have been busy lately, taking much longer on patrols and being more detailed with their reports. They are flying in in greater numbers as well, keeping themselves safe. Foreign ponies have entered Equestria without announcing themselves, performing suspicious activities, appearing and disappearing at random, and with them they've brought many…" He took a deep breath as Celestia's eyes widened at the report. "Many mysteries. Eavesdroppers have heard them discussing magic, artifacts, Goddesses and lords, and more troubling they've discussed what they call 'the False One' or 'the Fake'."

Celestia picked up where he left off as she read his report out loud, "'The Fake', heard discussing 'The Fake' stealing the magic of their Goddess, said magic has not been detailed but is almost revered. 'The Fake' is said to have turned lightning against its wielder, and mercilessly killed eight soldiers without hesitation.'" She paused in thought, her eyes wide as she considered what she'd just heard.

"We believe, as I'm sure you have guessed, they are talking about Twilight Sparkle. This news is especially distressing because," he turned his eyes slowly to the next guard, who approached very weakly.

Celestia stared at the guard as he undid his own pouch and pushed the scroll to Celestia, who picked it up, dreading the information it contained. "There are reports in Ponyville that Twilight Sparkle has disappeared into the Everfree Forest with one of her friends, Rainbow Dash. Where they have gone, if anyone has taken them, or if they're…" He swallowed a very dry throat, "Still alive is questionable."

It would have been more merciful to shoot Celestia through the heart. The pain that crossed her eyes made the guard quiver, nobody had ever seen Celestia is such a state of despair. Celestia had been alone when she'd been forced to banish Nightmare Moon, so she could console herself. The guards watched the Princess squeeze her eyes shut to push the tears back, and her flowing, beautiful, shining hair began to lose its luster, and slowly it fell flat.

The third guard let the second step back and hide himself from view, and she carefully pulled her own report from her pack and rather than let Celestia take it, laid it flat before her. The Princess looked, but did not read, letting her hair hide her face. "The unicorns report unusual amounts of magic in Equestria, and it's disrupting all magical communication and scrying. All magic has been rendered undetectable as well. Two unicorns in the same room could cast a spell and neither would know it without seeing the other. Even worse, any attempts to enter or leave Equestria have failed."

"Failed?" Celestia raised her head, revealing one softly tearing eye.

"Yes… A large shield has been placed on all paths in and out of the Kingdom. We hired the Wonderbolts to check the skyline and they've found there's no upper limit to the spell, but you still cannot go past the magical boundaries that have been placed. Any attempts to dispel them have been disastrous. The unicorns are still recovering from the magical shock they've received but other than pain and unconsciousness are unharmed."

"No…" She mumbled, standing up abruptly, the grace long associated with her as a Princess leaving as she felt things were spiraling out of her control, "No no, that cannot be. I'll have to look into that immediately. Twilight…" She looked past the guards to the moon, watching Luna's protective eye, and willed her to guide Twilight home, back to her, back where she couldn't be touched.

"We have investigations currently under way so we may retrieve Miss Sparkle and bring her to safety and to inspection where we can discover the connection between her and the strange soldiers. For now, we have one final report, and it may be the most disturbing of them." The soldier before her retreated as the final guard approached, and mimicking his comrades undid an ankle pouch to present a scroll to Celestia.

Celestia didn't want to hear more bad news, didn't want to know what more needed her attention. To her, nothing was more important than finding her student, the one being she could genuinely and affectionately refer to as a friend in the last lonely thousand years, the girl she saw her little sister's passion and affection in, and in a way, she saw Twilight as her own little girl. She knew Twilight's parents quite well, and they traded letters often to discuss the growing young girl, and to Celestia's embarrassment found out there was much she had to learn about dealing with a child and helping raise one, but it had been an exciting and fulfilling experience to personally raise a little mare to a blooming adult.

She wondered how her parents would react knowing their daughter had gone missing, and Celestia couldn't immediately help.

"Princess?" The guard asked as he watched the pony of the sun quietly sum up her pained thoughts, and Celestia opened her eyes, just a crack.

"Go ahead. I'm listening…" Just barely, but she was listening to the guard as he made his report.

"The patrol sent to Horshire has not returned. The next patrol sent to Horshire came back, and reported a ghost town. They'd landed and searched briefly, but left quickly. They claimed it was an emergency that had thrashed their nerves. Everyone in the town is gone, except one body."

"One… Body?" Celestia repeated in a slow, disbelieving tone, fear crawling into her voice. Horshire was a safe place, it had always been completely safe. It was the first all unicorn settlement in Equestria, and the forefront of historical and mythical information, and many unicorns were trained there in protection against some of the harsher elements of the land that surrounded it. If it had been attacked or evacuated, the spectacle of magic would have announced such an incident in an instant. But no, a patrol had been lost, and another scared out of town.

"They found a pony child who had been hung by gallows that formerly did not exist in Horshire. He was stuffed into a bad and strung by a rope around the neck. We're assuming it was to send a warning to all entering the town. We're sending an investigation as soon as possible, and to hopefully find a trace of the missing residents." The guard informed her.

"A pony…" The princess took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and breathed it out slowly, "Child…" She took in the information even more slowly, Twilight briefly slipping her mind as the impact of what happened hit her. "… Send Hero in to lead the investigation. The perpetrators, the citizens, everyone must be found. Quickly." She whispered, and the guards nodded. "I'll lead the investigation on the barriers and the cut of communication. Send everyone who can to find Twilight." The Princess began to walk towards the double-doors, towards the moon, every part of her feeling cool with uselessness.

"Of course Princess. We can promise you she will be found and returned safely. We promise." They all bowed low, and left the Princess to herself, all alone on the balcony.

She remembered now why she had so little time to think about art and possibly making the day more beautiful. Duty had a tendency to bite hard when she thought about such things.

---

Scratch. Scratch scratch. Tap scratch rustle.

---

(The following takes place right after Twilight and Dash were imprisoned)

"Ye're certainly dedicated, I'll give you that." Fluttershy smiled quietly at the compliment, her body moving like she had rusted hinges but never stopping. The entire time they'd been walking it had been mostly silent, everyone left to their own assumptions and predictions, but the sight of Zecora's twisted tree was enough to send relief through all four of them.

"I, um…" The shy Pegasus got a meek look as they stopped in front of the door. "I wasn't sure I'd make it all the way myself… Now that I'm here though, I feel kinda… Good. Don't stop on my account though, we need to find them." She nodded to the other three.

"While I understand your concern darling, there's no reason we need to turn an emergency for two ponies into one for three." Rarity looked to Zecora's home as the Zebra poked her head to see the noise. She waved politely to her visitors and stepped inside, leaving the door open. "We'll ask Miss Zecora to keep an eye on you until you can make the full trip again."

"No, I mean…" Fluttershy tapped at the ground with one paw, "I don't want to bother her…"

"We understand sugarcube, but your well-bein' is just as important right now." Applejack told her, making Fluttershy sigh. Of course they'd pick the end of their journey to tell her all this.

"Ahem." They turned to face the zebra mystic standing on her doorstep with a raised eyebrow. "Do you plan to stay out in the cold, or would you like to come in, if I may be so bold?" Zecora swept a hoof up, revealing the light and warmth of her home, and the four made the way inside.

Zecora always had a pot of something going, be it soup or potions, but not tonight. Her cauldron was empty, and instead her workspace was full of thin, shaved sticks, whittled from downed branches. "Sorry t'bother ya so late and all Zecora, but we have some…" She stared around. There was no other talking, just Zecora taking a sharp knife and gently scraping it along the wood.

"Our good bestest friends Twilight and Dashie came to the forest to find you and never came out! Since you live out here in the Everfree Forest, we were hoping you'd have seen a bit of mane or hair of them!" Pinkie Pie smiled, but was not her usual bouncy self.

Zecora continued to sharpen, even as she spoke. "Hide nor hair of your friends I have seen, but this and news of the forest have me feeling a little green." She held up a stick, which they saw had a fine, vicious point, which she dipped into a pot of some disgusting, semi-solid ooze, and then rest it light on a pile of similar sticks. "The animals are fearful and do not share your hope, but they spoke of two ponies and condemned them to the rope."

"Two ponies!" Rarity clapped her front hooves together at the news, but Fluttershy looked a tad suspicious.

"What do you mean: 'condemned them to the rope'?"

"Forgive me Fluttershy, I forgot how Equestria can be so quiet." She took up another branch and began to sharpen it. "Is merely an expression, whose meaning I hope causes no riot. In my old land a thick length of rope was placed around the neck of those found to be guilty, and they were dropped, their neck snapped, and as a cause the land was less filthy." She met their confused, uncomprehending stares, and she frowned. "What I mean to say is that the animals have seen two ponies taken suspiciously, they are afraid…" She gulped, heavily, and stared at her own hooves, "that they will be dealt with most viciously."

She watched all four of them slowly recognize what she meant, and as predicted, Applejack exploded first. "What in tarnation do you mean 'dealt with viciously'! You can't be saying somepony is trying to hurt Twilight and Rainbow Dash, could ya!"

"That is, I am afraid, the point of what I told you. I am sorry, I wish I could help, but I have much to do." The zebra turned and went back to the sticks, but was whirled around rather suddenly and forced to face Pinkie Pie.

"There has to be some sort of mistake! Twilight and Rainbow Dash have done nothing wrong, why would they be taken? Who would be so… So!"

"Mistaken!" Rarity finished with a deep frown. "I can't think of any reason for somebody to target them!"

"And what the hay do you mean there's nothin' ya'll can do!" Applejack seethed, baring closer to the Zebra, who took a step away from the enraged pony. "Ya'll know it happened and ya'll're sittin' here with a pile of sticks and spoutin' nonsense about rope and-"

"Applejack, please, I am worried, make no mistake." Zecora frowned at the ponies, stepping away from them to her pile of sticks. "But first and foremost there are many precautions I must take. The event of a dragon is terrifying sight, and before I can attend to others I must tend to my own plight." She turned lifted a stick carefully from one end, the non-stick side, and laid it where they could see it. "Litter the trees with dung soaked spears, when the dragons try to fly in they will strike their most vulnerable fears."

"Dung!" Rarity cried in disgust, and Fluttershy looked especially faint as the smell finally reached them. Applejack kicked it away, and Zecora placed it back in the pile.

"Filthy, disease-ridden, and nasty I know, but the look and the smell is not just for show. Poke it through and pierce your hoof, and the pain it renders will leave you unable to move."

"You said there were dragons." Applejack snarled, and Zecora bobbed her head. Fluttershy sat slowly at the news, staring in fright at her hooves. "Are you tryin'a tell us that Twilight and Dash… They was taken by dragons?"

"…" Zecora bowed her head low in apology. "The forest claims those dragons had riders, armored-ponies who were trained as fighters. I did not see them but the inhabitants claim that it's true, and the animals that can lie number in the few."

"You have to take us there Zecora, we need to see where they were picked up. Maybe we can find some clues…" Pinkie Pie offered, frowning deeply at the zebra. Zecora knew when she was beaten, and with a heavy sigh, showed them out.

They walked down the trail a long ways, slow again so Fluttershy could keep up. The girls recognized they were just turned around and heading back towards Ponyville, but nobody said anything. Zecora a short distance from exiting the forest, and perked her ears. "We are hear. The animals avoid this place out of their fear." The zebra stepped aside as the four girls examined the ground by the light of the moon.

It was flat, dirt, plain, and had only recently been disturbed by themselves, and all in all, looked like it always had. The five stood in silence as they searched, but turned up short. "Ain't no sign of struggle."

"And the tree canopies have not been disturbed." Zecora added.

"We're not exactly an investigation unit girls, maybe we should go find some professional help?" Rarity offered weakly.

"Speaking of 'needing help', where did Fluttershy go?" Pinkie asked, staring around the clearing. The other three joined her in staring around, and naturally stared down the path they had just come. "She was just here a moment ago."

"In the woods." Rarity pointed, and they followed the direction she pointed. They saw a flash of pink behind some brush and approached, and found the Pegasus talking quietly with a Doe. The creature looked unashamedly frightened of the area, but still made soft whimpering sounds in response to Fluttershy's questions. Frequently the deer pointed her nose in a direction, until it broke away from the conversation with a scamper. Fluttershy walked to her friends weakly.

"All I could gather is that we need to follow the south. She kept looking up and pointing that way, so…" She whispered, watching them with wide eyes.

"Then we don't got a choice." Applejack voiced, looking straight at Fluttershy, then the other three with a clear look of a reluctant plan. "Some of us need to go lookin' before somethin' terrible happens to those two. I think it should be myself, and Pinkie Pie." The pink pony nodded, but Fluttershy and Rarity almost immediately protested.

"You can't expect us to just sit on our hooves and wait for you all day, do you? They're our friends too!"

"And I already promised Twilight I'd protect her. If she got attacked again and I just let her go…" Fluttershy whimpered, but Applejack shook her head.

"Rarity, ya'll have a way with words and know what the hay's goin' on, Fluttershy, you're still too hurt to be doin' much travelin'. I'm sorry ya'll, but Pinkie's fast when she wants t'be and I got the stamina to push through this. We'll be back though, ya'll can count on it. Zecora…?" She turned her head to face the zebra, who bowed her head low again.

"I will finish the defenses and keep my home protected, and when I finish, I promise my presence can be expected. We must hurry, for twilight and Rainbow Dash may be in grave danger." She turned on her hooves and walked down the trail, "Keep an eye out, we do not want to be caught by another mysterious stranger."

The other four looked between each other, Fluttershy and Rarity with a dejected stare, but Applejack gave them her best, comforting smile. "Girls, ya'll don't gotta worry any. Pinkie and I will be right quick. We'll find 'em safe and sound and bring 'em home. Ya'll need to get the word out quickly that they've been taken by dragon-ridin' foals." The two nodded reluctantly as Pinkie Pie bounced proudly.

"I'll be keeping an eye on Applejack so don't worry about a thing! C'mon girls, let's get to it!" She turned and began to charge south with Applejack on her tail, and Rarity urged Fluttershy to follow her.

---

Scratch scratch scratch scratch tink!

---

His steps were fueled by energy, each reach of his long gallop taking him closer and closer to his current object of interest. His speed was blinding, too fast to see, too quiet to hear, and far lighter than one would assume. It was almost like a racing fog, just barely disturbing the surrounding flora while not snapping a single twig, despite the intensity of his steps.

He had to move fast if he wanted to see it, to see her, to see the thing that made Rukafelth indecisive, to see what made the mountain question where it stood, to see what made the Juggernaut quiver. Long long LONG had he waited this day to see even a hint of weakness, and he needed it NEEDED IT. She had Shallom stomping his hooves in rage and Rukafelth opening his heart, she could be the thing he wanted most.

And if Balla was right, she had enough magic swirling around her to make an Alicorn shake. Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes YES! It was just the upper hand he was looking for! The skull smiled viciously at the idea.

Even better, if Rukafelth was right, she was vulnerable herself, not used to violence, which made things all the better.

The forest echoed with the giggles of a poltergeist.

---

"Ow!"

"You alright?"

"Chipped a hoof…"

"You can keep it up. You have to!"

…

…

…

Scratch scratch scratch.

---

Nestled on the side of a low cliff, a shelf carved out from the bare rock to construct homes and a town hall, a lower ring pressed flat and bared for buildings of business and pleasure, Horshire was the model of an updated, well-educated, technologically sound frontier town.

It was as much of a tourist hotspot as it was a center of information on old Equestria and the myths of the world around it. It was a center of archaeology, set up in an old mining town that uncovered an old cavern filled with ancient tomes and devices with enough history around them to make a librarian's jaw detach itself. Unicorns from all over Equestria moved in, tidying up what was formerly a little Earth Pony town and turning it into an industrious center of excavation.

Its value to Canterlot and Equestria as a whole had reached the upper limits when the small town had boomed with enough magic from its collective unicorn population to change the land around it. Formerly small, passive creatures began to grow larger, more aggressive, making things mysterious as objects not nailed down began to disappear, found later deep in the wilds among nests, usually chewed up and a bit sticky. Folk-Lorists and Biologists began to pay a visit and study the wildlife, and set up expeditions to discover the effect the magic was having on the untamed population.

Objects, books, and creatures of mythical legend and value did not go immediately to Canterlot. Horshire, far away and dangerous as it was to get to, unofficially had first dibs on anything historically, magically, or mythologically intriguing. That meant at all hours it was bustling with intellectuals, the handiworkers, the spouses, and the children, as well as the old scholars who have retired, but wanted a place of excitement and information to relay their wisdom and stories of intrigue to any who would listen.

Trade of tools and artifacts as well as objects of mere material value like gems and Old-Equestrian bracelets were always set up for sale in booths, and every now in then, in the back alleys, would be a few mystics looking for a quick buck who would magically align the stars in their payers favor… Or not. It was usually the latter, but sometimes you got lucky. Sometimes.

Hero Cloudbreaker, the inappropriately named but appropriately positioned super soldier of the Royal Guard landed gently on all four hooves in the middle of the town, thirty soldiers landing around him just as quietly, afraid to disturb the silence of Horshire. The blonde haired leader of the investigation and initiation squad took several uneasy steps towards the middle of the town square where, hastily, almost without care about design or safety, a gallows had been built.

He took one step on top of it, pressed his hoof down, and sensing no danger, climbed on top. The raised platform offered no new perspective of the town. Not a local soul seemed to exist. The buildings were dark, quiet, and unlocked, with unbarred windows and doors held open by the wind showing no signs of anyone trying to hide. He turned his head quietly to the center of the gallows, where a bag was hung by a rope. He did not need to open it to tell what was inside. The shape was too distinctive, the smell putrid in his nostrils, and it took him a moment to realize he was quivering in anger.

A child. A child was in that bag. Lifeless. Taken from it needlessly, harshly. His men watched with mixed expressions as he circled around the bag, before carefully reaching up and untied the rope. He caught the corpse over his shoulders and walked down the gallows, to his men. "If the child's parents live, I want the body sent to them post haste. If not…" He stared back at the buildings with a tense expression. "I want them buried in their home town. It's the very least we can do."

There was a mumble of acceptance and one of the Guards took the body and laid it delicately out in the open ground. Hero returned to the gallows and stared at the arm that held the rope. He knew it was not this object's fault, it was just an unfeeling tool, but it was part of it none the less. He turned, and shattered it with a kick, throwing the splinters behind him like so many memories that would need to be unburied. He turned to his loyal men, and began to address them with a voice you'd associate with a wise king. "There will be no fancy speeches today. Whatever is responsible for this tragedy must be found and dealt with immediately. Princess Celestia does not wish for anymore deaths, but I am issuing a 'dead or alive' decree. Fifteen of you will investigate the surrounding woods for traces of the killers, the rest of you will be in town with me looking for much of the same, with the added objective of finding any of the historical documents and artifacts. They must be preserved. Go, in good faith and in Celestia's name, let us find our enemies." A motto that hadn't been uttered in seriousness for tens of years since their last serial killer. Equestria was changing, and Hero, the super soldier of the Royal Guard and proud defender of the land of the Sun and Moon, did not like it.

No. As half his men took to the forest and the other half began to search the buildings, he rapidly made his way to the Historical Society of Equestrian texts. Action meant trouble, trouble meant people, property, lives getting hurt. He'd become a guard swearing he'd protect these people under any cost, but that included the idealistic view of the world around him he once held. He opened the door to the library of old tomes, and found, to his deep dissatisfaction, that it was devoid of both life and text. All the books had been stripped from the shelves, all the old documents pulled out of glass cases, and even the check-out lists and library information had been lifted.

He'd become the legend he was through repeated acts of bravery, strength, honor, and intelligence, always remaining a moral pillar in Equestrian life and military, even if it was considered outdated and just for display. He'd become a legend by seeing the disgusting underbelly of Equestria in all its unholy glory, proving again and again that sometimes police work didn't just foot what had to be done. He'd seen Pegasus bandits attacking sky carriages, Earth ponies with a need for thrills and violence battering towns and wrecking the country-side, rogue Unicorns doing back-alley alterations, experimenting on the lives around them, and he found again and again that for every thousand friendly, lively, good-natured pony citizens there were, there was a rotten one taking advantage of the peaceful lifestyle.

Maybe it was why he found himself xenophobic and a tad racist to outside ponies, but a good number he caught hadn't adjusted to the Equestrian lifestyle. How little the citizens knew of the world outside Equestria, some of the violence that went on beyond the borders of their border countries, and the number of ponies fleeing for a better life… Or an easier profit. Yet in his time, murder was rare.

Outright removal was a new thing altogether. It made his gut churn as the unfamiliar situation settled in on him. He felt look a rookie walking in on his first raid again, and for all his wisdom and experience couldn't sum up his feelings. His gut told him, deep down, that the townies had befallen a terrible fate. His heart told him they could still be alive out there. He sincerely wanted to believe his heart.

"The Historical Society is empty. Clear of all books and papers." He informed one of his captains, who bowed his head low.

"The individual museums have been cannibalized as well. The libraries are empty, and all the crafts buildings are still full, but all papers have just gone up in smoke. Somebody's after the printed stuff here."

"I think we should look in the vaults. Some of the older, more delicate stuff is kept there. As well as some of the more dangerous information." He started to walk towards the town hall in order to retrieve the spare set of keys while his captain hurried up to catch up beside him.

"More dangerous information? Sir?" He'd asked.

"Equestria wasn't always Equestria. From what I gleaned, before Celestia's parents the land was war torn by other Alicorns. The vaulted stuff is information on Ancient Equestria, specifically old practices and weapon-making techniques; at least one has a ritual that can raise volcanoes on command. Things we don't want falling in the wrong hands." He explained as they walked up the wooden steps to the hall, and through the open door into a building full of tables and hastily discarded seat cushions. Not a scrap of paper in the place, and they walked towards the podium.

"Sounds pretty heavy. Why keep it in Horshire?" His captain asked as Hero searched.

"It's more safe than Canterlot. More unicorns trained in protection per square foot, access to arms and technology that have slipped the minds of the more current population, as well as being out of the way enough to not be immediately considered on a map. And since it's fairly easy to find out about Horshire, it's sneaking up on it that's difficult. When threatened, they can easily erect barriers strong enough to hold armies back, and the woods are so thick and full of potential problems, it's almost not worth it. A single artillery strike might get through if nopony is watching the sky, but the observatory eggheads rarely take their eyes off the sky. The cliff they're backed with is full of a lot of well-hidden holes and many sensors to warn the mining operations in town of cave-ins and rockslides. Fifty hooves would count as a 'rockslide'." He snorted in frustration and lifted his head up. No keys. "We may need a demolitions team to open the vaults."

They began to walk back towards the center of town, the captain watching Hero with a confused expression. "So how was Horshire raided?"

Hero remained quiet for the longest time until they stood back on the gallows platform. "That is going to be the question we'll be asked long after the perp is caught."

"Commander Hero!" The two pony guards turned slowly towards the rushing soldier, and Hero noted the haunted expression in his eyes. "There is…" He turned his head frequently in the direction of one of the vault buildings disguised as a local bookstore, gasping for air, eyes wide. "We've found them! We've found all of them. In the vaults. The citizens, the unicorns, the children…" He babbled until Hero stepped down in front of him and met his eyes.

"Take me."

The guard turned tail and ran, Hero and the captain following him kept up a brisk pace. They ran into the building, past the empty book shelves and into the storage room in the back. The cramped space had a panel slid back from behind a bookshelf, revealing a small passageway that lead to a stairway. Down the stairway was a massive metal door full of intricate locks and gears, opened wide to reveal a room that must have once held a dozen ancient items that had devastating potential. Instead, it all made Hero groan from queasiness. He was not alone, as his Captain had to step back out the moment he saw what it was.

The population of Horshire numbered in around the two-hundreds, with the less permanent wanderers bringing it up to around three-hundred daily, and each and every one of them had been heaped haphazardly against the walls, in stacks, one on top of the other. On the outside, nearest to Hero were the elderly, then the adults, and then the children. All except one, who sat with wide, terrified eyes as she stared at Hero.

Hero stared back. The smell of the place was almost overwhelming, and the floor had grown an unpleasant sticky coat as fluids from the corpses seeped across the floor, mixing and mixing and settling into a thin paste. Yet the little filly sat in the middle of it all, an expression that suggested she'd seen death itself laughing in her face written all over her. Hero, for the first time in many years, was at a loss for words.

---

Tink tink tink tink tink scratch tink.

---

Shallom wasn't sure what he found more aggravating about Cloppin's so called info-dump. On one hoof, the Jester hadn't lied when he said he'd found a lot of information in Horshire, meaning Cloppin didn't make himself out to be entirely useless. On the other hoof, as valuable as a majority of the information was, he seemed more concerned with gathering every single possible scrap of information there was, whether it was relevant or irrelevant. In his cloud-covered home base for himself and his men, he had stacks of papers on a desk blessed by himself to float on top of the sea of white fluff, and even larger stacks waiting on the floor.

He hated reading. Hate hate HATED reading. He was an action sort of creature, not to mention dyslexic, so he often spent several minutes on the same page again and again making sure he got all the right info, and the stupid clown decided to send him every single paper whether it was a child's essay on the activity of the moon or an elderly scholar's musings on the great power in whatever piece of rusted scrap he found in a dig. Yet, every few pages, locations were revealed to him and new ideas on the strength of the power he was seeking sent shudders down his spine. It was worth it.

Yet he'd been here for almost eight hours now, reading and sorting and burning whatever was irrelevant with a flash of his eyes, and it was starting to show in his stance.

There was a knock on his door, and he grunted what could have been a "come in" or a "leave the pizza by the door", either way, the door opened and one of his gold armored captains entered. "Pardon my interruptions, Skylord. The men are growing restless without orders. What have you been doing in here?" The mare glanced around the room carefully, and found stacks upon stacks of paper lining the walls. She raised a delicate eyebrow. "You've been reading?"

"Very important." He grumbled, tossing a paper in one of eight piles on the floor. The Pegasus walked over to that particular stack and lifted up the paper in one hoof. "Much to learn, much information to know. Very important."

The Pegasus stared at the paper he'd tossed for the longest time, "Why My Mom and Dad are the Best Parents Ever, by Daisy Digs; a B-, that's very generous of you, sire." The captain smirked as Shallom shook his head and snorted.

"Knew most basic facts, good attention to detail. Very little research done, sloppy hoof writing." Shallom mumbled, and the captain approached delicately, and pressing her side against his, shifted him away from the desk. He did not looked amused. "I am busy, Schola."

"You're delirious. Divide up the work and have us lowly captains work it through, we'll show you what needs to be read or not. Besides, some of us have been doing some research in our spare time based on your information. We've found some thing you might find interesting." Shallom watched Schola reach into a pack on her side and pull out a scroll. She unfurled it and gave it to Shallom, who read it carefully.

"You're doing research on… Twilight Sparkle?" He asked, the name registering in his mind, but barely. He recalled Rukafelth during their last meeting.

"Yes, the Fake. The False One. Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot, the Taker of Golding's Power." Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, and she watched all the right switches click in her leader's head, and Shallom began to growl.

"And what makes you think I care about the information on a thief? Rukafelth has her, all I know is that she'll be taken for her crimes and the power returned. What else matters?" He shook his head, looking to the piles of paper he hadn't gone through yet. Maybe he should just let the others sort it…

"Read it sir. We made it short, and it has the only information you need to know about her." Shallom sighed and turned back to Schola to read the report.

"Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot, the student of…" He trailed off, his eyes disbelieving the words written before him, "The student of Princess Celestia, Alicorn ruler of Equestria. Shown from a young age to have advanced abilities in magic, one of her first and most magical acts being the accidental polymorph of her parents and several staff members into potted plants. Taken as Celestia's student, she quickly advanced through school and showed an aptitude and understanding unmatched in the history of Equestria. While Spartan with her use of magic, her knowledge and fast thinking combined with her excessive magical strength have deterred enemies many times her size, strength, and even age. Almost by herself she nearly defeated a crazed Alicorn of Eternal Night, Nightmare Moon." He turned his head briskly towards the door, marching at a pace one could equate to running.

"Sir! Where are you going? Should I rally the men?" Schola asked, watching her leader walk to the edge of a cloud and spread his mighty white wings. "Sir?"

"No, continue my research, I want detailed reports in two days. Do not try to skip ahead, I want all of them read closely and carefully. I am going to be flying to Rukafelth, he is dealing with a power he does not fully understand. I am the fastest here, so it will be the safest for me to go. I want no missions until I return. Dismissed." He dived off the cloud without waiting for confirmation, wings spread, and he lifted upwards, flapping rapidly as he sped south. Three seconds after his take off, there was a massive crashing noise, and rainbow-colored circles were all that were left of him as he lead a rainbow across the sky.

---

Scratch scratch scratch tink tink tink.

---

Stopping hadn't been part of the plan. Applejack watched the sun sit in the sky, and turned her head to scan her surroundings. The trees of the Everfree Forest had been passed what felt like a long time ago, and now they were in the woods of… Somewhere else. Each tree was straight and tall, of a light brown wood rather than the dark, knotted, creature-like figures of the Everfree Forest. It was certainly more welcoming, but also quite a bit hotter, and they'd been running for most of the night and day now. Applejack was feeling the strain of fatigue in her muscles, and looking to Pinkie Pie she saw there was a way to get all that bubbly energy exhausted.

'Took a while though.' She mused as Pinkie rested against a tree, panting heavily. Her hair hadn't flattened, a good sign she was still hopeful and energetic. Applejack glanced around their surroundings, then turned to her companion. "Hey, Pinkie Pie. Short break, find a good patch a' grass and bushes and fill up, dunno how much further it's gonna be so we should get full."

Pinkie Pie stared at the grass on the ground and then to Applejack, and raised an eyebrow. "Ew, you actually eat this sort of stuff Applejack? I don't think I've ever resorted to eating grass before, it's so plain and icky!"

"Aww c'mon now sugarcube, t'ain't nothin' wrong with a little natural feed." She bent down and bit off the tops of a patch of grass and chewed slowly before swallowing. "Fills ya up if ya give it time."

"No thank you!" The pink mare got to her hooves wobbly-like, and glanced out in the forest. "I prefer my food to be a little more sweet! I thought I saw some berries earlier, so I'm going to go find them. I'll be back in a few shakes!" She began to bounce away from the farmer pony, who just sighed.

"Don' go gettin' lost now, y'hear? If you ain't back in two minutes I'm draggin' ya'll away from those berry bushes."

"Okey-doki-loki!" Was Pinkie Pie's response. Applejack calmly leaned down to graze again. She hoped Pinkie Pie would take longer than two minutes, berries would certainly liven up this feast.

Pinkie Pie skipped back towards the clearing she'd thought she'd spied earlier, seeing it again soon enough. With a smile, she hopped out of the bush blocking her path and landed suddenly. A few feet further and she'd have landed hooves first onto an old tombstone. She stared at it, bug-eyed for a few seconds, before she calmed herself down. It wasn't just one tombstone either, it was an entire, old gravesite, worn away by age and elements. Still, Pinkie Pie was the superstitious sort, and quietly she walked around the length of it, stopping only when one of the outer bushes she passed bore the fruit she'd been hunting for. "A-hah! I knew this was the right place! Er, sorry." She turned back to apologize to the graves, but froze.

She saw a skull, two black holes, a white face, wide, grinning teeth, and… A foal's cap? The upper-half of his body had a sheet thrown around it like a too-short rain poncho that stopped just above has back-half, and it was checkered black and orange, ending in long spike-patterns with tiny bells on the end of each one. His back half actually wore black pants, covering his cutie mark, and letting his oddly thin tail poke out. She turned away from her bounty to stare at the strangest pony she'd ever seen. "What an odd thing to say in a graveyard of all places all places!" The skull spoke, making Pinkie jump. The Pony turned, the bells on the end of his cap tinkling softly as he looked past Pinkie at the bush. Pinkie finally saw it was all face-paint, even though the pitch black eyes were still a curiosity. "Oh, you mean your one of those sorts that lives off the land? What an interesting idea, could never do so myself self, far too unrefined for this court-tempered tongue of mine of mine, but to each their own, yes?" The jester took a step forward.

Pinkie Pie smiled nervously at the odd pony, and took an uneasy step back. "Um, yeah! I usually eat a lot of sweets and stuff because I live in a bakery and I need to test the sweets to make sure they're delicious but a friend and I are in a rush somewhere to help our friends and we stopped for food and I didn't want to eat icky grass and thought I saw some berries here and I did which is really lucky even though this is a gravesite but I'm being careful to be nice to the dead ponies - Celestia rest their souls and all! - 'cause I don't want ten years bad luck and, uh, now that I think about it I'm not hungry! So, I'll just be getting-" She turned her head towards the direction Applejack would be, only to find the skull-pony was standing there as well. She flipped her eyes back towards where he was a moment ago, only to find him still there. Then back to where he was, or would be - or should be? - now, and yes, he was still there. She slowly crept backwards until she could see both in her vision, yet there was only one, where he should have been. Between her and Applejack.

"You're the talkative sort, I can tell." The jester approached, rocking his head back and forth to make the bells jingle. Pinkie Pie quivered a little, her appetite gone as adrenaline began to fill her legs, telling her to flee, to get away from this dangerous thing. "I like to talk too, tell stories, sing songs, entertain my liege and my guests. They call me a genius when it comes to jestering, because even when they're in the greatest of agonies, my jokes will still knock 'em dead!"

Pinkie Pie twitched, one hoof sticking out at an angle for her to run past the slowly walking thing, but as her eyes looked into the dark circles of the pony's eyes, she felt herself freeze with terror as he came closer and closer, for all appearances harmless, but underneath that cheeky grin and flamboyant outfit, she felt there was something deeply disturbed about this creature. She carefully began to back away, and he started to move faster towards her, his smile stretching sadistically until she could see all of his teeth. She felt her flank brush the leaves of a bush, and she pushed back inside of it until the approaching pony disappeared from view.

There was a flash of reflected light, and a rush of air as the jester flew through the bush, a stiletto held between his teeth cutting through the brush, nicking away leaves and twigs with a mere touch, and he emerged from the other side. He stood in brief confusion, seeing his blade was still glowing, not painted red with spilled blood, and he turned his head rapidly around. All he saw was a flash of pink dive out of the berry bush and in the direction he'd been keeping her from, and a hideous smile opened across his face. "Oh-hohohoho. Even Cloppin can appreciate a good trick." He began to give chase, humming loudly, lowly, his magical will stretching across the land as his personal soldiers were roused to action.

Pinkie Pie charged through the brush, turning her head to stare back at where the pony was still standing, and when she turned her head forward she could swear the shadows around her were moving. She stopped as a dark shape emerged from the hole of a nearby tree and she slipped around it quickly, but she watched as the shadows grew and mutated, growing beady red eyes, black tendrils slowly extending to grab at her, brushing her mane with deathly cold mist that made her scream. Something caught her leg, wrapping around it and squeezing, tugging her off her hooves and throwing her onto her face. She felt the sickly cold mist swirl around her, and watched the shadows close in, watched their beady red eyes as they gripped her limbs and neck and tail and hair, closing her veins as they tightened and choking her. The shadows grew thin, sharp white teeth, and made no noise as they held her still while hoof steps filled her ears. Tears streamed from her eyes as she gagged for air and felt her body go numb from lack of circulation, and she watched the gaily dressed pony approach while a sharp blade between his flat teeth.

"How the little mare ran. A tricky girl, but so easily lost in the shadows. A pity, but you were a thrill either way." Pinkie's eyes widened as he stood over her and leaned down, the blade pressing to her abdomen. "I can't wait to see…" He giggled, "I just can't wait to see…" He began to push slowly, making Pinkie give soundless screams as he drew blood, but he pulled away suddenly. Through misty eyes she saw his head turn, and then he was gone. No puff of smoke, no flash of light, he was no longer there, and the shadows retreated to their corners.

Pinkie laid still, panting, feeling the blood flow back through her numb body as Applejack jumped over a bush and landed by her side. "Oh lordie, Pinkie…" The filly leaned down, eyes filled with concerned as she stared into Pinkie's foregone eyes, and she began to rub her with a hoof. "Pinkie Pie what the hay happened, ye're cold as death…" Applejack began to rub her slowly with her hooves, massaging her legs to get the warmth and feeling back, pausing only when she spied blood.

"M-monsters…" Pinkie whimpered as Applejack stared at the wound, then began to glance around. Applejack listened as she grabbed some vines and a lot of sap-soaked leaves, the best she could come up with, "I-I found the berries in a graveyard, and then I s-saw a pony clown, really scary one…" She whispered, feeling Applejack apply the leaves to her stomach and wrap a few vines around her. "H-he chased me with a knife, and the shadows came to life and started to strangle me and-" she couldn't finish, too busy hiccupping in fear and drowning out her own voice with her tears.

Applejack pressed her cheek to Pinkie's and sighed softly. "I didn't see no shadows or clowns, but Pinkie ya probably just spooked yerself in that graveyard. Y'know it's bad luck to hang around those. C'mon, we gotta go save Twilight." She helped Pinkie stand up, and pressed her side against the shivering mare's. "I'll be with ya Pinkie, I'll keep them away from ya. Ya just gotta hang on with me. Let's go." Pinkie nodded slowly, the twisting in her gut never really leaving as they began to run again.

Overhead, they were shadowed by a sadistic wind.

---

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

…

"Got it."

---

Every major unicorn in Canterlot had shown up in the Hearing Room. Celestia mused moodily that this was possibly the first time in a hundred years that everyone chose to show up, and for what? Not to see the killer and hear his story and condemn him, not to discuss the distribution of Horshire's mythical collection, but to hear the story of a little unicorn filly Hero had found. The forty-eight unicorns who took the roles of overseeing the weather planning, crop placement, animal migration, economic chartering, and magical use and misuse sat quietly, twenty-four on one side of the room sitting in their risers, twenty-four on the other doing the same. Celestia sat at the head of the room at the end of a long carpet on a high-raised platform to oversee things while Hero, who had never once left the little gray filly's side, opened the doors and walked in, the tiny mare in front of him.

Celestia knew she shouldn't have been so harsh in her thoughts on the unicorns, many were busy with what they did, and word had only recently been passed around about Horshire's fate, and its sole survivor, the so called "Rubber Pony". As she watched the filly step up to the wooden hearing platform, her eyes never looking at anybody, she could see just how haunted the girl was. She did not smile, laugh, look amazed or dazed, look pleased with herself or nervous, she looked dead on the inside. An uncommon expression in Equestria, that made Celestia gulp. None of the other unicorns looked any better as they stared.

"Connie Torsion?" Celestia called to the young girl, who looked up meekly. Hero was behind her, standing on the steps, his large presence nearly on top of her. He had a look of pained determination while staring down at the filly. Celestia watched how her eyes rarely blinked. She was unnerving as much as she was unnerved. "Could you please tell us what happened in Horshire?" Celestia asked politely, the motions feeling so… Sick right now when pressed on the girl.

Connie looked down at her small hooves, and Hero gently stroked her back with his nose, making her shudder. "You can tell them Connie. That's Princess Celestia, our wise and kind Princess." Connie just nodded weakly, calmly pawing at the wood beneath her hooves. "You can tell her anything. She's a very nice pony and wants to help you. You just have to tell her." He spoke quietly, and fatherly, having never felt the urge to have a kid before, yet paternal instincts punted into overdrive at the sight of this little thing.

"Um…" Connie slowly looked up from her hooves to see the Princess had gotten off her platform and was a few feet in front of her, almost on level with her. That seemed to calm her down. "I-it was… A nice day… I was practicing with mom in our backyard, our circus act was coming soon, and I had to get a trick right…"

"You're part of the circus?" Celestia asked kindly. Several of the unicorns padded nervously and in annoyance at the distraction, but nobody said anything.

"Y-yeah. I was a conto- contro- a bendy girl for the Skyhigh Unicorn Actors of Equestria. It was gonna be my first show…" Celestia approached slowly, resting her chin on the hearing stand's guardrail, and looked into Connie's eyes. "I-I'm really good at it. Momma says so and so did Mister Skyhigh." She paused, her eyes softening as she stared at Celestia. "W-wanna see?"

Celestia opened her mouth, and some of the Unicorns began to follow suit to get the hearing moving, but Hero interrupted them. "Yes, they would like to see it Connie. Show them 'The Pretzelnator'." He advised her, and Connie nodded rapidly. Everypony was quiet as her horn flashed for just a moment, and Celestia noticed the way she began to sag around the middle. The filly turned, ducked her head underneath her torso, her tail meeting her face halfway through, and to Celestia's astonishment, she grabbed her tail in her teeth at the base. Nobody had that sort of flexibility, and there certainly weren't any spells to do that. Connie then flipped over onto her back, and balanced perfectly, legs straight out in the air before bending inwards to make a heart shape over her head and tail. She held it for a few seconds, before popping free.

Another flash of her horn, and she no longer sagged. Celestia watched her smile as a few of the unicorns began to praise the move, and the impressive magic she'd used, but saw very little joy in it. "That was very impressive Connie."

"Y-yeah. I told you I'm good." She wagged her tail a little, and Hero lightly nudged her flank. "O-oh, right," she took in a slow breath, and a little more confident, began to speak, "I was practicing with mom in our backyard when we heard a lot of people talking and shouting near the town square. Momma told me to stay but I followed her sneaky-like because I wanted to see. Some of our guards had put up a shield to keep out a really scary looking pony who looked like a skeleton clown. They were trying to get him to tell them who he was but he would just laugh and say stuff like 'It doesn't matter who I am, just that you give me what I want'. Then he just kind of…" She paused in thought, her little face falling flat with emotion again. "Walked in…"

"Through the shield?" Somebody in the stands asked. Little Connie nodded softly.

"L-Like it wasn't th-there. They s-started sh-shouting a lo-ot. N-nobody coul-could use m-magic on him. Th-then he had a kn-kni- a kn-knife and…" She froze, her eyes wide. Hero gently wrapped a leg around her. "H-he p-put it in… In…" She began to hyperventilate, and Celestia could see where this was going quickly. The unicorns attending began to speak among themselves, understanding just as well as Celestia cast a little spell to calm her down. "And they fell… Just… All of them were… Like sleeping but… Dolls…" She said just loud enough for them to hear, and a small uproar had to be silenced before she could continue.

"The shadows…" She continued in a low voice. "They started grabbing everyone… And soon he had everyone there. I was in the front with a lot of my friends, all the kids were up front near the clown pony, and he was telling us to give him keys to the stuff we'd dug up, but nobody would give it to him so the shadows put together a big wooden arm in the middle of the town, and said if we didn't he'd hurt everyone. I don't think anyone believed him because they just started shouting more. Th-then he got mad at everyone and put a rope on the arm, and grabbed my best friend Molly. Then it got really really quiet because he'd put Molly on the rope, and the shadows squeezed my neck so hard I couldn't scream. But Molly could, Molly cried a lot until he dropped her." Connie laid down as the entire room went dead quiet.

Celestia couldn't move. She could only stare at the emotionless face of the little girl who'd watched her best friend die. "He told us if nobody would speak up, he'd do the same thing to us, and he tossed Molly onto the ground in front of us. I think somebody tried to tell him, but the shadows were squeezing our necks so we couldn't speak, so he grabbed another kid." She paused, and stared up at the ceiling in thought. "Yeah, it was Chaser. He was really good at sports back when he could move. After that I don't remember seeing much because I was crying so hard I didn't see who he got next. I think he was after us kids first, 'cause I don't remember seeing any adults until it was my turn. He dragged me up and put the rope around my neck, and dropped me, but, see, I was smart!" She smiled wide at that, but her eyes never changed.

"I'd never let go of my spell, so when he dropped me I just flopped all over and got tossed onto all the other kids and the mean pony guy never noticed! So I was okay. I was too scared to move because I didn't want him to know I was alive, so I just watched as he finished the kids, then started bringing the adults up to be roped too, and when the adults were all done - there were a lot, I remember I was there long enough to see the sun fall - he took all the old ponies and put them on the rope next. And then when everypony but me was gone, the shadows went away and he started searching everywhere, but I never moved, 'cause if I did he might notice and use a knife on me. So I laid still, really still, until he started carrying out all this stuff with his shadows. I don't know where it went, I couldn't see, and then the shadows came back and grabbed everypony. They pulled us down into this big dark vault place and piled everypony up except for me." She gulped loudly, tears now appearing in her eyes as she thought carefully to herself.

Nobody made so much as a move that might disturb her train of thought, and she curled up weakly, Hero calmly rubbing her side with one hoof. "They put me in the middle of the room, not on the sides like the others, and then the mean skeleton-pony guy walked in and looked right down at me, and he told me, 'You can foal a rope but you can't rope the foal' and then he walked out and shut the door. And then after crying for a really long time, the door opened, and he helped me out." She looked up to Hero, and squirmed to her hooves so she could press her face to his chest. With a passive face he held her close, to let her know he would protect her.

Nopony said anything for the longest time as the girl wept into Hero's chest, but nobody had to. The door had opened, and in walked a royal messenger. "We've just received word of Twilight Sparkle's possibly location from her friends. We've sent a team to investigate."