"The Other Side" Chapter 19- The Tempest Comes

The mayor acted as swiftly as possible, considering the shocking news that had just been delivered to her. Within minutes, the whole of Ponyville was assembled around the Town Hall. They all waited anxiously, whispering words between one another in anticipation.

Dylan walked up to the top of the podium that stood at the front of the hall. All eyes in the crowd turned to him. He was beaten, battered, bloody and every last pony there could see the death in his eyes. His blue eyes seemed filled with a burning wrath, two points of bright passion burning in the darkness.

All of Applejack's friends were there, along with Fluttershy, who had since finished her duties with Big Macintosh; he seemed to be stable and would recover soon. He looked at her longingly for a moment, then turned back to face the crowd. He put on the most serious face that he possibly could, then cleared his throat.

"Citizens of Ponyville!"

His voice carried to the far edges of the crowd, causing some ponies to murmur in shock; the force he put into his words was unusual for them. The Mayor almost never spoke with the tone of voice that Dylan was using, and she definitely did not come close to its volume.

"Tonight, in this very town, the unspeakable has happened! One of this town's most upstanding members has been taken!"

At this, fear and confusion seemed to roll over the throng of ponies like a wave crashing over a ship at sea. They didn't know what to think; their town was one of the most peaceful settlements in all of Equestria.

"Not only this, but one of Ponyville's citizens has been murdered!"

Screams. Panicked yelling. Crying.

"Sweet Apple Acres burns! They have taken Applejack, they have killed Granny Smith... Who has done this doesn't matter!"

Rarity and Pinkie Pie gasped; they had not heard any of this before.

"But what does matter is this: They will come back! They will not stop!"

More panic from the crowd, followed by shouts of 'We're bucked!' or 'Everypony run!'. It looked like the crowd was starting to desperately try to get away.

"Run? NO! NO RUNNING! Where would you run? This is your home... My home! And now, when it is the time to defend it, you run?! What are you? What are you that you would let your homes, your land and your families be destroyed? What are you that you would run away from everything you worked so hard to make for yourselves? I can tell you this... You are cowards if you do these things."

Silence fell over the crowd, and all who had begun to turn and leave looked back at the human standing on the podium.

"I have been here only a few days, and I can tell you that I have found a home... a place that I am proud to be, friends that I never want to lose... And... I WILL NOT LET THAT BE TAKEN AWAY!"

Dylan's last sentence was a roar, full of power and emotion. He felt the defiance in side of him building, straining against the walls of his psyche, bursting forth in a flash of passion. The crowd was now staring in complete awe.

"I WILL NOT STAND AND WATCH AS EVERYTHING I LOVE SO DEAR IS DESTROYED AROUND ME! I WILL NOT WATCH AS IT BURNS, I WILL NOT LISTEN FOR THE SOUND OF ITS DEMISE! WHAT I WILL DO IS FIGHT! This is our home! This is what you must fight for! I know you are a peaceful people, but there comes a time that peace must be dead and buried, lest your freedoms and your love be taken away! We cannot simply sit idly by and let what we love be destroyed!"

The air was silent, the night sky full of sparkling points of light as the stars seemed to gaze down. Dylan's impassioned, booming voice was the only sound to be heard; all else hushed and watched on in chilled anticipation.

"I cannot say that I do not know many of you... even fewer are my friends... but that doesn't matter. What matters is one question: WILL YOU FIGHT BY MY SIDE?!"

Dylan's roaring query was answered at first by stunned silence. It appeared that no one would make a sound. The crowd seemed to stand as still as stone, their eyes locked on the lone human. The moment seemed to drag on forever, when suddenly it shattered. The whole town raised their voices in one affirmative response; yelling, whooping, cheering, chanting.

"SLAY-ER! SLAY-ER! SLAY-ER! SLAY-ER! SLAY-ER!"

It appeared that even Fluttershy had joined in on the chant, to Dylan's surprise. The name, as far as he could tell, came from his killing of the manticore when he first arrived. The whole town seemed to be caught up in a burning fervor, fanatically working themselves up.

Dylan blinked slowly, smiling as he did so. He nodded and spoke again, his expression once again one of darkness.

"We are not soldiers, but I know one thing: WARRIORS ARE BORN, NOT MADE! Now, were you born warriors?"

A resounding cry of "YES!" swept across the crowd. Dylan doubted it, but he needed the townsfolk as confident and as energetic as possible. He didn't have much time to train them at all before the griffons were sure to return with their diamond dog allies. He turned and whispered to the mayor.

"Send messengers to the Princess; we need soldiers, not villagers."

"I'm afraid that might take too long."

Twilight spoke up after the mayor.

"I think I have a solution to that..." Twilight pointed a hoof to Spike, who was cheering from the crowd.

"Good. We don't have much time."

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and huffed. "We can take em'."

"Hopefully we can, but if we can't..."

Fluttershy looked at Dylan tenderly, trying to sense what exactly her human companion was thinking; it definitely wasn't good.

"Um... Dylan?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked nervous and scared, more than she normally did when she was frightened.
"What will we do if-"

Dylan shook his head.

"I'll make sure it never happens."

The darkness in his voice held the most grim certainty that she had ever heard.

"They'll pay with their blood."

***

"What do you mean 'we're not going after the Darkstalkers'?!"

Rover was definitely agitated. Bregan had just informed him of Tanning's plans to attack Ponyville. He was only waiting for his soldiers to arrive at the fortress. The plan to clear out the caves of the current infestation would have to wait.

"Tanning's orders."

Bregan's response was cool and contained; his voice was usually such anyways.

The two figures stood on a platform overlooking a large underground courtyard. The floor of the courtyard was mostly polished stone slabs, but a circle of floor in the center was dirt. The dirt was enclosed by a fence. Diamond dogs sparred in the circle with staves, hands and wooden swords and shields. The clatter of wooden weapons striking one another and the sounds of exertion fell upon the ears of Rover and Bregan.

"So, Tanning wishes to use me like a puppet? I am no one's pawn, and I will not tolerate this disrespect!"

Rover turned to face Bregan after looking down at his subordinates. He was obviously disappointed and frustrated at having plans changed without his say. He growled in frustration. His two well-equipped bodyguards tensed and reached for their swords. Bregan's hand slowly moved onto the haft of his morningstar. Violence seemed to hang in the air like a veil, dark and cold.

The diamond dog alpha stared into Bregan's cold, focused eyes. His expression changed from one of anger to one of resignation. Rover sighed. He knew that the griffon before him could kill both him and his guards easily. He would have to wait for another opportunity. He waved a hand to the guards standing behind Bregan. They looked at each other, then relaxed. After a few moments Bregan removed his grip from his weapon.

"As you wish. We will try to make ready. In the meantime, make sure that Tanning is sure about this."

"He is."

Bregan turned on his heels and walked out of the room, giving the two guards cold looks as he passed. He closed the door behind him after saying a few words.

"Watch yourself, dog. Next time blood will spill, I swear it."

Rover shook his head and turned back to look out into the courtyard. Rover's other unseen guard stepped from the shadows and looked at the door with a hint of anger on his face.

"It shall... And it won't be mine..."

Rover grinned and crossed his paws behind his back. He knew just how to get rid of the griffons.

It's only a matter of time...

***
The dungeons; still quite as depressing, filthy and bleak as always. The cells' occupants moaned and cried. Abuse and neglect was common for the prisoners, but they never truly grew accustomed to it.

He was down here for reasons secret to himself; He wanted to see the latest prisoner personally. The work pony from Ponyville had endured her fair share of hardships this night, and he knew they wouldn't be the last.

The clicking sound of his steps on the prison floor was as loud as thunder to his own ears. His heart beat quickly, fueled by anxious fear and excitement. He was shaking profusely as he came up to the prison guard on duty.

"What is it, whelp? Somebody steal yer' scraps agin'?" The guard laughed mockingly as he leaned on his short spear like a walking stick. He glared from underneath his helmet's visor at the figure before him.

He was only two and a half feet tall -at least three feet shorter than the guard- yet he was slouched over in fear, making him even shorter. He looked like a shaggy and messy ball of fur; it was hard to tell where the fur ended and flesh began. He was dark brown in color, and he looked quite dirty. His watery almond-colored eyes were full of fear, and he could hardly look at the guard in front of him.

"N-no... I'm h-here to... to... s-see the p-prisoner?" He muttered this with as much courage that he could muster, which wasn't much.

"Haha! Are ye now? Well, me tiny compatriot, which prisoner might that be?"

"Th-the new one..."

"The new one?! Nobody's s'posed t' see er'. What makes you so different, eh? R' ye special r' sumfin'?" The guard was starting to look suspicious.

"W-well... I... I have this." The scrawny, fluffy little dog retrieved a scroll from a pouch at his side and held it out. It read:

Order of Treatment.

The bearer of this notice is to be given full authorization to treat any and all prisoners of the great Lord Rover. The bearer of this paper is not to be detained, questioned or injured in any way possible. Such violation of the bearer's rights will be met with immediate execution or worse.

Taskmaster Rex.

The guard took the note from his hand and looked down at it with a frown. His face quickly took on a pale, nervous look.

"G-go ahead, mate..."

The prison guard handed him back the note with a gulp, then waved him through as he opened the heavy door to the interrogation chamber.

He didn't say anything in return; he was too terrified to. He tried to look confident and suppress his guilt; the paper was forged, and not convincingly so. He was lucky that the guard was stupid, otherwise the outcome would have been considerably worse.

He breathed a sigh of relief after the door closed behind him. The sight that greeted him inside the room made him gag. He had to try not to vomit at the disgusting and horrible sight before him.

The pony was slumped in her chair, her chin pressed up against her chest. Bleeding wounds covered most of her body, tracing along her fur in lines of red. He tried not to look, but his eyes were drawn lower, to between the pony's legs. Blood poured from inside her, along with other fluids that are best left not described. The floor around the chair was caked with slowly-drying blood.
There was another pool of blood a few feet in front of the chair, along with red drag-marks leading towards the door.

He moved closer to her. As he neared he felt compassion and pity welling up inside his heart. She looked even worse up close. Bruises covered almost every part of her body, along with ragged chaff marks from the ropes tying her to the chair. Tear-stains led down from her eyes, telling the tale of her misery and pain. She was completely motionless.

He wished and prayed that she was still alive. His clawed hands shook as they carefully moved to her face. He tilted her head upwards, bringing it up to look at him. Her eyes remained closed.

"Wake up! Please wake up!" He whispered this as desperately as he could, almost crying.

Applejack remained motionless. A single drop of blood rolled down her lip, staining her orange fur with its crimson essence. She did not react in any way. He frantically put his ear up to her chest, listening as intently as his sharp canine ears possibly could.

Nothing.

He heard nothing... he knew what it meant... he had heard the silence so many times before... She was dead.

With a shuddering motion, he began to cry. Not just cry; weep. He was sobbing as if he had known her all of his life. An innocent life had been ended. It wasn't the first he had seen pass away, for in his line of work, you either got used to it, or you didn't keep your job for long.

He buried his face against her shoulder, pouring forth his tears. He whimpered and moaned, releasing all the pain and sadness that he felt. He hadn't known her, but that didn't matter; he wished he could have.

He pulled himself away and dejectedly turned away. His shoulders and head hung low as he hunched over in misery. He opened the door and walked through, ignoring the nervous words of the door's guardian. He walked away, trying as hard as he could to hide his sorrow.

Innocence is something we all must come to understand; either we are innocent of all crimes, or we are not truly innocent.

***

War. War is something that the citizens of Ponyville have a hard time understanding. A race of peaceful, fun-loving ponies is not suited for the horrors of brutal combat. All those fights and battles you see in the movies... they're completely false. There's no elegant grace, no clean death; fighting is brutal, dirty and unforgiving. It is not suited for farmers, florists and bakers. The fact that most of the town had never even been in a fight -much less struck another being- made Dylan's job incredibly hard. It was unbelievably frustrating trying to teach ponies how to fight; they had a hard time understanding the concept alone, much less the mindset and techniques behind it.

At the moment, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were watching Dylan's attempts at training a group of ponies for combat. Rarity frowned while Pinkie Pie raised a confused eyebrow. The two were obviously not used to watching fights, and their inexperience was obvious if anyone cared to look at their faces.

Dylan had just knocked a burly looking stallion to the ground with a crude wooden stave. The pony grunted as he collapsed down into the dirt, losing grip of his own wooden pole. He groaned and tryed to stand, but Dylan pressed down on his neck with his foot. He pointed the tip of his staff at the fallen stallion's head. He let it hover there for a few moments before he moved it away. He released his foot from the now-coughing pony's neck.

"You will not show the same mercy to the enemy, remember that."

Dylan pulled the stallion up by a hoof, giving him a satisfied look as the stallion nodded. Although reluctant to admit it, the pony was beginning to understand what it meant to fight.

"How barbaric!"Dylan turned to the sound of Rarity's voice with a scowl on his face. "How can you teach such uncivilized brutishness?!" Rarity was indignant, and Dylan could see the fire in her eyes would not die down without a fight. Hopefully he would teach her how to do that. "I thought you were a noble and honorable soul, Dylan, but now I see what you really think of the world."

Dylan flashed Rarity the smallest glimpse of anger, but it passed almost instantly, replaced with a frustrated and annoyed.
"Some things are more important than being civilized, Rarity. Do you think freedom is made by peace? No. It's made by war. If you aren't willin' to fight those who would take it away, you don't deserve it in the first place."

Pinkie Pie spoke up now. "But... why? Why would anyone ever want to take away our freedom?"

Dylan looked at Pinkie with the grimmest, most focused expression that she had ever seen. He paused for a moment to breathe through his clenched teeth. He blinked and growled out his next three words.

"Because they can."

"Wha- That's so... so-"

"Evil? Yeah. Get used to it, because if you don't, you'll end up a victim of it. The world ain't fun and games, Pinkie. It ain't fun and games. It's kill or be killed. Pinkie, if you don't want to die, you have to remember that this is war. You'll have to kill."

"K-kill?!"

Pinkie looked frightened now, and the glistening fear in her eyes seemed to only make Dylan feel more strongly that she wasn't ready to fight.

"You're scaring her, Dylan!"

"Scaring her with the truth? Good. Better now than when it could cost Pinkie her life. Hopefully she'll be stronger for it."

"I... oh... but I don't-" Pinkie looked like she was going to start crying. Rarity shot Dylan a venomous stare, hunching down to glare at him with disgust.

"That's sickening! How can you live with yourself?! I used to think you were a gentleman! Pinkie didn't ask for you to traumatize her! How can you possibly know what it's li-"

"Because I do."

"Stop acting so superior! You arrogant buck. You think that your mother would like to hear you saying these horrible things?! What kind of twisted, sick person are you? Do you think she would want to see the monster you've become?!"

Dylan's face contorted into a mask of fury. His lips curled back from his teeth, revealing the bright whites of his canines.

"MY FATHER MURDERED MY MOTHER, YOU BITCH!"

Dylan snarled, baring his teeth at Rarity. His eyes flared in a burning display of unrepressed anger. His body language changed to a defensive posture and he threw his staff to the ground. Every pony stared with their mouthed wide open, completely shocked beyond saying anything. Pinkie was the first to speak.

"Oh... that's awful... h-how could he d-do something like that?"

Dylan's face softened. Pinkie could see the sorrow in his eyes.

"He was a monster... just... not like me..."

Rarity looked at him apologetically, genuinely sorry of she had said. She spoke again, her voice ladened down with guilt.

"Dylan... I... I'm sorry... I didn't know that-"

"You. Shut up. Shut. The. Fuck. Up... I don't wanna hear any more from you... I thought we were friends, but apparently we're not."

"But Dylan, I-"

"No. Just no. I don't wanna hear more a' your shit."

Pinkie Pie tried to break the tension, smiling nervously as she began to talk.

"I... I'm sure she didn't mean it, Dylan."

"Really? Could've fucking fooled me."

"You're not a monst-"

"I killed him."

Pinkie Pie's lips barely moved in response; she was almost too taken aback to move.

"What?"

"I shoved a goddamn knife through his heart. He begged for mercy, cried, and tried to tell me he didn't mean to kill her. I still killed him. And you know what? I FUCKING LOVED IT. I told you I was a monster, and I am one. Now you know why I can say this shit... because I lived it... Where I come from, people are murdered every single day. Every... fucking... day... And I've learned firsthand how evil people can be."

There was an odd look on Dylan's face; it was the cross between a grin and a snarl. His clenched his fists violently, turning his knuckles white. He heard someone behind him. He turned first his head, and then his body to look. Standing behind him was Rainbow Dash.

Dylan regarded her awed expression with cooler eyes than he had just possessed a moment ago.

"How much did you hear?" Dylan asked calmly, raising an eyebrow.

Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground, trying not to cast her eyes towards Dylan. "All of it..."

"... Now you know."

"I... I guess I do."

"Now, we need to keep trainin'. If we aren't ready for them when they arrive, then we will die. I've already gotten Twilight to send a message to Princess Celestia to send the army. They won't be here for a while... which means we'll probably have to fight on our own... I don't know how long..."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again after she realized how many ponies were watching the scene with utter shock on their faces. What she wanted to say was also something she didn't want to say in front of Pinkie or Rarity.

"Uh... yeah... Dylan, could I talk to you in private for a sec?"

"Sorry, Dash, I can't waste any time now. If I don't have everyone ready, then there's gonna be a whole lotta blood on my hands."

"I... Uh..."

Dylan regarded Rainbow Dash's expression fora moment; it was tender, vulnerable... this wasn't the Rainbow Dash he had known the past few days. Her face hardened after a moment, becoming confident once again.

"Okay. Could you teach me a few things?"

"Sure, Dash. Sure."

What the hell was that? Something weird's goin' on with Dash...

***

More than two hundred griffon soldiers stood at attention. They were all outside the diamond dog fortress. The guards at the gate looked at each other unsurely, swallowing back their nervous fear. The griffons all had stony looks on their faces, their eyes locked completely on the giant iron doors that served as the fortress' main entrance. Diamond dogs stared out at the griffons from inside the fort, looking through slits and trapdoors in the side of the fort. Everyone present could feel the tension in the air. The two groups did not feel the slightest at ease with one another, that much was obvious.

The uneasy silence was broken by the deep metal groan of the doors swinging outwards. They moved slowly, inching their way open as they continued to groan. All eyes turned to the figures standing.in the doorway:

A dozen of Rover's personal guard, dressed in highly decorated armor and carrying expertly crafted weapons.

Taskmaster Rex, still dressed in his bearhide cloak and carrying his massive battle axe, his thick armor glinting dully in the orange-yellow torchlight.

Bregan, now dressed in full armor and carrying a shield, his cloak open wide to show off his enormous muscles and the cruel morningstar hanging from his belt.

Rover's personal guard, his face hidden under the shadows of his hood, paws dangling loosely over the hilts of his rapiers.

Rover himself, donned head to toe in his gold-trimmed armor, carrying his longsword at his side and holding a glaive like a walking staff in one hand.

Tanning, wearing a suit of finely crafted platemail, his whip and falchion hanging at his side, carrying a spear and shield.

All of the figures looked deadly by themselves; together, their appearance was one of complete menace. They walked forward and stopped a dozen feet from the griffons.

"Avyrr, Kadar!"

The whole of the griffon formation shouted these two words of the griffon language with a violent passion.

Hail, captain!

Tanning smiled as he heard the words, then saluted back, along with Bregan.

"<GLORY TO THE CLAN!>" The griffon captain shouted back even louder than his troops in the griffon language.

"<Glory to the clan!>"

Tanning's troops cheered again, raising their right fists into the air and shaking them. The sound of rattling armor and the snapping of cloth filled the air. They continued to chant furiously, but stopped at the sound of Tanning's voice.

"My ssssoldiers, at dawn we march! We will crush these pathetic, worthlesssss weaklingsss under our clawsss! They harbor an abomination! This abomination could hold my very sssister captive in itsss clutchesss! It has ssslain a dozen of usss already, and I will not give it a chance to kill more! I do not need all of you for thisss, but I asssk every lassst one of you to be ready. Ressst now, for only a few hoursss from now we march to battle!"

The roar of the griffons rose into the night air powerfully. The sound of weapons and armor clattering against each other in celebration rang out like thunder. Tanning smiled and nodded to himself, then turned on his heel and began walking back inside. Rover, Bregan and the others followed close behind him.

His warriors slowly began filing through the open iron doors. The two hundred griffons vastly outnumbered the diamond dogs, and the dogs in question were certainly not at ease with this.

They were ready for war. Victory seemed assured. A town of peaceful, naïve ponies seemed no match for the military might of the griffon military.

***

Celestia looked at the message floating in the air in front of her. The scroll was the typical style that her student in Ponyville sent her, but the message was completely different.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have no time to explain, but this is not one of my normal letters. Ponyville is about to come under attack, and we desperately need the army, otherwise we will not be able to repel the invaders. Griffons and diamond dogs are planning to besiege the town.

Currently, we are relying on the help of a new friend. He seems to know a thing or two about the art of war, or fighting at the very least.
His name is Dylan. He is a human.

Celestia's eyes widened, and a look halfway between horror and anger washed over her visage. Celestia slammed the unfinished letter down on her table. A dark understanding crept over Celestia's mind; she knew exactly what humans were capable of, as well as something else... something that had remained a secret for thousands of years.

"Guards!"

Celestia's cry was answered immediately by a pair of golden-armored royal guards barging into the room with determined looks on their faces. They held their spears as if they had hands; it was not something easily explainable, but it was said to be a form of telekinetic magic that all ponies possessed to some extent.

"What is it, Princess? Is everything all right?"

Celestia frowned. Memories came flooding back from the darkest pits of her mind. Bloody, carnage-filled nightmares trying desperately to tear their way out of her subconscious. Every thought had one thing in common: humans.

"No. Everything is not all right. Assemble the army."

"Wh-what? The army?!"

"You heard me, guardsman. Send word to my generals. We're heading to Ponyville."

The guards saluted and proceeded quickly out of the room. Celestia was left to deal with her thoughts. It was as if each one was barbed; they were painful, and of you tryed to remove them, you only ended up wounding yourself more.

"After all these years... but... how?"

Celestia gazed out into the night sky outside of her throne room's stained glass windows. The window she was staring through was a scene of Discord. As she looked up at Luna's moon, she thought she heard something. A distant sound like dark, low laughter scraped the edge of her consciousness like a clawed hand.

Hello my sweet. It's been such a... short time.

Celestia was breathless. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and she felt a chill race down her spine. That voice was as familiar to her as any old friend's... yet there was no friendliness in it.

"Y-you... but... /Oh, no-/"

"OHHHHH, YESSSSSSS!"

The voice began to laugh again; a shadowy, deep and malevolent mocking cackle. Celestia flared in anger, her mane beginning to burn and her eyes starting to glow. Her voice took on a tone deeper than it naturally should, becoming just as monstrous as the voice she was talking to.

"YOU ARE MY PRISONER, FOOL! YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO BE AMUSED!"

"Oh? Is that so? I suppose you expect me to stay in this stone prison forever? Celestia, you really are a bitch, darling. You used to be so much fun, but now... I think we've passed the point of having any more of that together."

"Discord... You pathetic little fool... YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN DEFEAT THE ELEMENTS? DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU TRIED THAT?!"

"I'm no fool; You'll learn that soon enough once I've got my hands wrapped around your dainty little throat... Things have changed, my dear, and they do not look good for you."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Oh. Ah! I see you've forgotten how fond I am of games, Celestia. I always did love a good game. It's a shame that you don't know all the pieces..."

"What are you talking about?!"

"You'll see, Tia. You... will... see. Traitors will get their dues... especially you."

"YOU DARE THREATEN ME?! THE RULER OF ALL EQUESTRIA IS NOT ONE TO BE TRIFLED WITH!"

The being of Chaos didn't respond, but Celestia felt a strange sensation. She became filled with a terror that she kept to herself, for weakness was not a thing she displayed openly. She knew somehow that Discord was laughing at her...

***

Preparations were going smoothly, apart from the small amount of weapons in the town. There were a few axes, hammers, and a sickle or two, but nothing close to enough to arm the whole town. They had even looted what they could from the griffon bodies, but most of it was broken or burned in the fire that destroyed the farmhouse. Dylan had tasked the towns smiths and carpenters with producing what they could in the short amount of time they had left. What they did manage to make was simple and crude, as they were not used to making weapons of war in the slightest.

Spears and clubs made up the majority of the town's weapons, with an odd axe or other bladed weapon thrown in. Bows were short in supply, and none of the ponies had the slightest idea how to use one in the first place. Now that Dylan thought about it, he wasn't even sure if they could. He took one of the bows that was still salvageable and practiced with it. He wasn't an expert archer, but he had used a bow a few times before.

He had made other preparations as well, taking great care to make sure that they were ready. The ponies he had sent to work on that particular project returned, carrying their shovels and mallets with tired looks on their faces. He nodded approvingly as he watched them pass, noting that despite their tiredness they still looked determined and confident.

Now that he thought about it, most of the town shared the same expressions. Maybe he was better at giving speeches than he first thought, but he didn't have time to think about that now.

After he had sparred with Rainbow Dash for a while, it seemed obvious that she could handle herself in a fight. She was a martial artist like himself; both of them seemed to share a competitive camaraderie, each trying to outdo the other. Normally Applejack would be the one competing with Rainbow Dash, but her current state was unknown to both Dylan and Rainbow Dash.

Dylan continued to get strange looks from Rainbow Dash, yet he didn't really mind; he just didn't understand what they meant. He was suspicious of his new friend, but he wasn't exactly sure what of. She seemed to follow him wherever he went in the town, always a few steps behind him. She got a little defensive about what he had said to Rarity, but Dylan's protectiveness outmatched hers threefold; his family was not an area that he let people ask about. He thought he had made this completely clear the night that they had thrown a party for him. It had almost resulted in a brawl between Dylan and Dash, and he would regret it if it did come to such a thing again.
It also occurred to him that he had almost hit Fluttershy when she tried to intervene. If he had, he didn't know what he would have done.

Dylan arrived at the clinic where Big Mac was being treated. He seemed to be almost completely recovered, much to Dylan's surprise. Inside the clinic along with Apple Bloom, Fluttershy, the staff and Big Mac was a grey pony with a blonde mane. Her cutie mark was a stream of bubbles; Dylan guessed she was either /really/ good at making bubble baths, or that she had a bubbly personality. He assumed it was the latter. Dylan came up and stood next to Big Mac, who was currently sitting down in one of the clinic's chairs. The grey pony turned to look at Dylan. He was slightly taken by surprise at the pony's eyes; one of them seemed to gaze off at an odd angle, looking down and to one side.

"Hello!" The mare said cheerfully. Her expression changed when she saw the state of Dylan; his torn clothes, bloody skin, unshaven face, and the bags under his eyes.

"Uh, hi." Dylan wondered how the pony could be so cheerful at a time like this.

"I... I haven't seen you around town before."

"I haven't seen you either."

"Oh! My name's Ditzy; Ditzy Doo. But my friends call me Derpy!"

"Well, considerin' I've just met you, I should call you Ditzy."

"No, that's fine, call me whatever you like, mister...?"

"Dylan. I'm Dylan MacLauchlan."

"Nice to meet you, Doolan MickLollipop!"

"Uh... Sure. Hehe."

Fluttershy seemed to come out of nowhere, throwing her hooves around Dylan's shoulders.

"Dylan! I'm so glad to see you! I... um... uh... was getting worried about you!"

Dylan smiled at the yellow pegasus whose eyes were only a few inches from his own. He hugged her close, pressing his chest against hers.

"Heh. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself just fine. How's Mac doin'?"

"Ah'm fine. Just a little tired s'all. How's mah favorite city boy?" Big Mac grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth.

"City boy? How'd you know, you literal redneck?"

"I kin' just tell."

"Oh, well, I've done well enough so far out here in the country, haven't I? Besides, I've had my fair share of time in the wilderness, anyways. "

"Eeyup."

Dylan looked at the bandages wrapped around the burly red stallion, his brow creasing as he focused on them.

"How 'bout you, Apple Bloom? You... doin' better?"

The little filly looked slightly distressed, like she was thinking hard about something.

"Whassamatter? Did you have a bad batch of apples or somethin'? Cause /whew boy/ do my farts smell bad after I have me some bad apples!"

Dylan made a farting sound with his lips, which made Apple Bloom's face brighten a tiny bit.

"Aw, shucks no. Ah'm... Ah'm just thinkin' about Granny..."

"I didn't know her, really, but she was a good grandmother for sure. She stood up for Applejack, even with everything that was happening. She sure cared about you guys for sure."

Apple Bloom's melancholy expression began to return. She looked like she was about to cry.

"You're tough, you know that?"

"Huh?"

"Look how young you are; goin' through stuff like this'd probably make other kids your age into a weeping mess. Not you, you're tough. Not many people I can say that about."

Apple Bloom's ears had been drooping, but they perked up immediately after Dylan said this.

"You... you really think so?"

"Sure do."

"Um... Ah dunno what t' say."

"Haha! You don't need to say anything... Apple Bloom, could you give us a minute alone?"

"Why?"

The young filly gave Dylan a curious look and raised an eyebrow.

"It's somethin' the adults have to talk about alone."

"Oh... Okay..."

Apple Bloom's tiny hoofsteps resounded through the room as she left. Dylan closed the door behind her and went back to Fluttershy, Derpy Hooves and Big Macintosh.

"I don't know when they're gonna come, but it's soon. We need everyone completely ready for this. Fluttershy, I need you to get everyone who can't fight somewhere safe. We can't put them in danger. Besides, we don't want the children and the old getting in the way. Ditzy, I need you to get as many pegasi as you can and keep watch for them. They can fly, so make sure to watch the skies too. Big Mac, I know what kind of shape you're in, but I need your help getting the last of the fortifications around the town set up."

"I kin' do that, pardner."

"Good-"

"Dylan?" Fluttershy looked worried, and the concern on her face didn't help him at all.

"Yes?"

"I... just... be safe, okay?" The pegasus mare looked fearful, her eyes staring at Dylan as if she wondered if he would come back.

"I'll try."

"Uh, guys?" Derpy began to speak, but was cut off by the sound of the front door slamming open. Rainbow Dash stood there, wide-eyed. She stuttered out her next sentence excitedly.

"T-t-they're h-h-here!"

"What?!" Dylan's face twisted in surprise. "Oh, fucking shit. They're here earlier than I thought. Fluttershy, go, NOW. Get the children to safety. Derpy, you're with me. Big Mac, you too. Dash, lead the way."

Fluttershy nodded, her face taking on a determined expression. Rainbow Dash flew back outside, spreading her wings to catch the wind. Big Macintosh and Derpy Hooves followed Dylan as he ran out of the clinic. The townsponies were in a panic, scurrying wildly around in confusion and fear. The three of them had to weave and dodge their way through the crowd to get to where Rainbow Dash had seen the enemy.

"Everyone, on me! On me!" Dylan bellowed over the screams and shouts of the crowd. A few of the less panicked ponies stopped and looked at him, then began to follow warily.

Dylan arrived at the outskirts of the town, at one of the ramshackle towers that the ponies had built while he had been training the townsfolk. He climbed the rickety structure, following Rainbow Dash, who had glided up to the top.

Dylan leaned on the crude wooden railing of the tower, staring at the horizon intently. He furrowed his brow when he saw nothing.

"Where are they?!" Dylan asked Dash frustratedly.

"They're there, just keep looking."

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings constantly as she hovered some feet aways from the tower. She had a short sword on her hip and a shield on her front hoof, both taken from one of the griffons that Dylan had slain.

Derpy Hooves seemed nervous. She was almost shaking now.

"D-d-do you s-see them?"

"No... Dash, how far were they from the town when you saw them?"

"A couple a' miles."

"Then we don't have much-... Oh fuck..."

The bright orange sunrise washed its warm light over the plains, washing over each hill and ridge like a wave.

What Dylan saw on the horizon chilled him to the bone; a line of glinting shields, at least a hundred of them. A cloud of dust rose up from the horde of troops advancing towards the town, heralding the formation's size.

"What is it?!" A stallion spoke up, holding his spear with an anxious expression. Dylan still didn't quite understand how ponies held weapons, but his mind was too occupied at the moment to even think about that.

"Get everyone... Get them all here, now... We're gonna need all the help we can get."

***

Tanning looked at the buildings of the town in the distance. He could just barely make out figures moving between them. He grinned and looked at Bregan, who walked beside him. His friend was as stone-faced as ever.

"We'll burn it all to the ground... They don't ssstand a chance."

Bregan nodded and adjusted his grip on his morningstar. Rover turned back to look at Ponyville with cruel, malevolent eyes.

"I'll find the one who took you away, ssssister. I will!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Aw man... Man, oh man. Now I have to write the battle...

Don't think you guys were expecting AJ to die. Oh well. All I can say is stick around, because I'm completely unpredictable.

Cheers.

~Chuckles