When I left the hospital, I discovered that it was pouring rain outside. A measure to not only reflect the somber mood of the city, but also to wash away the blood on the battlefield, I suspected. I doubted that the rain would fully wash it away.

I pushed those thoughts away and turned my focus to finding my sister. Her dark coat, the night, and the rain would make this problematic, but I had my suspicions on her whereabouts. I casted a spell to shield myself from the rain, took to the sky and flew towards Antares' palace.

When I arrived, I saw ponies cleaning up the bodies even in the rain. Giant wagons had been wheeled out onto the field. Ponies worked tirelessly to load the corpses into the wagons, while some unicorn spellcasters worked their magic to ensure that the wagons remained steady. I noted that the wagons carrying pony bodies were covered with tarps to preserve them from the weather, while the griffin corpses had been thrown haphazardly into uncovered wagons to rot.

I still needed to figure out what was to be done with them. I considered burning.

I took my gaze from the gruesome sight and flew higher so that the tops of Antares' castle stood below me. I lit up my horn and focused the energy into a sort of searchlight, scanning the rooftops for my sister. My search proved successful, and within a few moments my beam of light landed on a night blue alicorn, curled up into a ball and shivering. The rain battered her form, but she ignored it. I turned the light off and flew down next to her. I realized with a small feeling of pain that Luna had chosen the very rooftop where Antares and I spent many nights together talking. Where we had shared a kiss...

My hooves touched the ground and I extended my shield spell to cover Luna. She made no sign that she noticed that the rain no longer beat down upon her, though now that I stood closer to her, I could hear her sobbing. I grimaced and sat down next to her, casting a spell that dried her fur.

"Luna..." I put a hoof on her back, and she violently flinched away.

"Leave me be, Tia!" she hissed. "There are no words you can give me that will ever undo what I have done."

"Luna, please." I extended a wing and gently placed it on her back. "You needn't torture yourself like this. What happened here today was not your fault. The blame lies entirely on the griffins and whomever they are working for. That has nothing to do with your fall!"

"Does it not, Tia?" Luna snarled, snapping her head up and glaring at me. "Art thou saying that the griffins would still have the nerve to attack if they did not believe that they had the means to kill Antares?! If I had not created the Nightmare Weapons, they would not have attacked here this day!" Luna pointed out to the remains of the battlefield. "The brave ponies who were slaughtered by the invaders would be safe at home! I may not have ordered the attack, but I gave them the means to do so!"

"Luna, you couldn't have known that there were still Nightmare Weapons around!" I pointed out. "I went on a great purge to rid the land of them after the war!"

"And yet here they are," Luna muttered bitterly. "Antares may die yet. It matters not if I did not believe the rumors that Aepnet had Nightmare Weapons. I created them, and thus I am the one who is to blame for this! Can you tell me with certainty that this day's events would still have happened if I had never created Nightmare Weapons?"

"Luna, I don't know." I sighed and closed my eyes, not wishing to look at the field of corpses any longer. "Luna, I know this hurts."

"You have no idea how I feel, Celestia," Luna growled.

I flinched back ever so slightly. She never uses my full name in private. I shook my head and took a deep breath for another try.

"Very well, maybe I don't. Maybe I don't understand what it's like to look down and see a field of slain ponies, knowing that it was your mistakes that made the difference between a new graveyard and a victory parade with more happy families." I opened my eyes and looked over at Luna. "But you know that's not true, don't you?"

Luna's face twisted into a snarl and she pushed my wing off of her. "Leave me be, Celestia!"

"Lulu, I do know how much this hurts. I do understand the pain." I reached a hoof towards her own. "Please just talk to me."

"What do you wish me to say, Celestia?" Luna screeched, jumping to her hooves. "That I hurt you again? That I inadvertently caused the deaths of hundreds of our subjects? That one of my best friends and your lover is lying in the hospital contorting in pain because I made my Nightmare Weapons so effective and intentionally made them painful?" Luna snorted and rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, but I am sure that despite creating the Nightmare Weapons, attuning them so that they didn't affect me, making them as torturous and dark as possible, making dozens upon dozens of them, and distributing them amongst my soldiers with the express purpose of murdering you, which in turn meant that many vanished when I was defeated, that none of this is my fault at all!"

I gave Luna an even stare for a few moments as I chewed over her words. I could see her sorrows. I know I have made mistakes that cause my own. After a minute, I slowly stood up and looked her in the eye.

"Luna, I have spoken to Antares, and she says that she does not blame you in any way. What happened here today is the fault of the griffins who invaded and those behind them, not you."

"Explain that to the hundreds of families who will be grieving the violent losses of their loved ones," Luna retorted. "And the news of Antares? How she was felled? How long before our ponies find out what a Nightmare Weapon is and who created them?"

"Nightmare Moon created them, Luna, not you!" I snapped, slamming my hoof on the ground.

"And who was Nightmare Moon?"

"An evil entity that is not you!"

"Oh?" Luna scoffed and looked down at the battlefield again. "And whom did The Nightmare possess? Whose jealousy and rage did it feed off of?" Luna shook her head. "No, Tia. Whatever paltry words of false comfort you intend to give, you know as well as I that they ring hollow. I caused the deaths of more of our subjects. I may not have given the order, but I gave the means."

"Luna, you are literally the only pony in all of Equestria who is blaming you for this!" I took a step closer to her. "I understand your hurt, Luna, but if you are to truly help our ponies and Princess Antares through this time then you need to forgive yourself!"

Luna stared silently down at the battlefield, watching the workers dragging around the bloody bodies. For a moment she looked over at me, and I could see a look of utter helplessness in her eyes, like she was reaching out for me to save her.

But only for a moment.

She turned her head back to the sight below us and slowly shook her head.

"You say that as though I had done something forgivable."

Before I could say anything else, Luna ignited her horn and burst my shield spell, letting rain fall on the both of us, before spreading her wings and flying into the night.

I failed. There's no two ways about it.

I had one job: protect Princess Antares, and I blew it. I'm a stupid bucking useless excuse for a guard, much less the captain.

I drained my fourth glass of the swill that I had bought off of some corner store that they pretended was bourbon. Hey, at least it was cheap. It's not like I deserved anything better right then anyway. Still, I guess I should have been glad that Princess Antares was doing better. It had been a week since The Battle of Baltimare, and Princess Antares was up and walking last I heard. Slow, pained steps, but she didn't look like she'd die.

As I poured myself a fifth glass, I heard the door to my private quarters in the barracks open. I groaned and put a hoof on my forehead.

"Go away. I'm busy."

"Yeah, crawling inside a bottle and moping. You look really busy, Blaze."

I sighed and turned around to see Lieutenant Rapids standing behind me out of her armor. Funny, I had forgotten that she had that nice aquamarine coat. I didn't like that her lips were pursed. She can't make that face at a superior officer! I scoffed and waved my hoof at her.

"You don't know what you're talking about, River. I'm busy coping."

"Yeah, I can see that." She leaned in and sniffed me. "Not busy showering, though." She walked to my side and picked up the bottle in her foreleg. She raised it to her lips for a sip, but the moment it hit her tongue, she spat it back out and put the bottle down.

"Antares dammit, Burning, what the Tartarus is that?"

"Cheap." I drained my glass and reached for my bottle again, but River scoffed and swiped the bottle aside, sending it tumbling off of my desk and neatly into a trashcan where it promptly shattered.

I didn't care for her action.

"What the Tartarus, River?!" I screeched. "You have no right to--"

"Oh like heck I don't," River said with a roll of her eyes. "You're being a complete disgrace, you know that? I thought you were a better stallion than this, but I guess I was wrong, huh?"

"Yep, you were. We both were. I thought I was a good captain; I thought I could make a difference." I put my head in my hooves and sighed. "I thought that I could be a good snarcastic guard, and I could serve Princess Antares for a long time, but the first freaking time something comes up, I can't even stop her from getting shot!" I glanced over at River out of the corner of my eye. "I'm worthless. I'm a freaking pitiful excuse for a guard. I'm resigning, River. I'm leaving the guard."

Drunk as I was, I found myself completely unprepared for the hoof that collided with my side. I grunted in pain and curled up from the blow, causing me to fall out of my chair. I managed to look up at River, who was giving me a livid glare I had never seen before.

"YOU ARE A STUPID FUCKING WIMPY PUSSYHOOFED BITCH, YOU KNOW THAT?" River stomped towards me and slammed her hoof down on my head, pinning me to the floor. "I SAW A GRIFFIN SEE ONE OF HIS FELLOW RAIDERS GET EVAPORATED BY PRINCESS CELESTIA, AND WHEN SHE TURNED ON HIM, HE FUCKING WET HIMSELF! HE STILL HAD TEN TIMES THE GUTS THAT YOU DO!" I tried to push her hoof off, but she ground it into my head, keeping me down. "I should just let you wallow; knock you out and drop you at the back door of the nearest run down bar."

"Then do it," I groaned. "You wouldn't have to see this."

"I would, you self absorbed prick. I would but I know you a little better than that. You can be better if you just sack up and do something." River's hoof let up a touch, and I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding in. "You can't leave, Burning. You can't leave because you have to be more loyal than that. You have to be, because you can't leave me with this mess like that! If you leave then I am fucking alone!"

River let out a single sob and collapsed onto her haunches, freeing me completely. I raised my head and rubbed my temple where her hoof had slammed down. She lowered her head, and I saw tears drip onto the floor.

"Sergeant Stones is dead! Sergeant Force is dead! Private Arrow lost a leg and isn't ever going to walk the same way ever again! Private Fields lost one of her wings and one of her eyes! Hundreds of civilians who hardly know what a weapon is charged into that battle and hundreds aren't ever going to wake up again!" River's head slowly raised, and she looked up at me with watery red eyes. "You can't quit and leave me alone. All of the soldiers will be looking to you and me to get them through this. If you quit... it's all me. I'm alone. I can't do that, Burning. I'm not a natural born leader like Princess Antares or Princess Celestia or even you. I... I'm a secondary leader. That's what I'm good at. I can't have everypony looking at me with fear in their eyes, knowing that I am literally the only one that they can turn to, that all the decisions rest on me."

I shakily pushed myself up to my haunches and ran a hoof through my disheveled mane. "River..." I considered putting a hoof on her shoulder, but not knowing how that would affect her mood and not wanting to get hit again, I decided against it. "River, you are a leader. Princess Antares wouldn't have chosen you if she didn't think beyond a shadow of a doubt that you could lead the ponies under your command, alright? I saw you on the battlefield. You didn't falter for a moment. You took charge, and a lot of ponies who would have died otherwise are alive because of your orders, I'm sure of it."

"I can say the same thing about you, Burning!" River moaned. "Why can't you see that? Why can't you see that you are just as good of a soldier as I am? Heck, a better one? We wouldn't be in as good of a shape right now if you weren't out leading the troops."

"Yeah, 'better condition,' I scoffed. "Princess Antares only barely survived. She got shot with a freaking Nightmare Weapon. It doesn't matter how many of us survived if she didn't. She united us, gave us a purpose, River. She's a princess: an alpha alicorn. Now that she's survived this, she'll reign for millennium after the bones of our great-great-great-great grandfoals have turned into dust. All I can do in this time I have in life that is no more than a blink of an eye to her is make sure that she is safe and protected so that she in turn may protect and rule future generations, and I couldn't do that. I had one job, River. All of my duties as captain boiled down to one thing, and I failed her." I shook my head and stood up, stumbling slightly because of the alcohol.

"You didn't see it, River. You didn't see her lying on the ground, shivering and crying like a newborn foal. You didn't see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna covered in her blood. You didn't see how fucking helpless she looked..." I slowly walked to my door, ignoring River's sniffling. "I could have prevented that, but I was too weak. I wasn't smart enough or brave enough or tactically brilliant enough."

"We were outnumbered almost two-to-one, even with the civilian reinforcements, Burning," Rapids whimpered. "What exactly do you think you could have done that would have saved Princess Antares from being shot in a battle like that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. And that just proves my point. A better commander would."

I walked to the door, but was stopped when I heard River speak again. "You're a coward, Burning. One situation arose that you couldn't completely control and you decide to run. Well let me tell you something: Princess Antares isn't dead, she's alive, and she's going to need everypony loyal to her that she can get. Are you loyal to her, or are you just going to run?"

"I am eternally loyal to Princess Antares and always want to do what's best for her. I would do anything for her." I pushed open the door to my quarters. "And the best thing for her is removing an inept commander from a weakened force that doesn't need one right now."

I walked down the mostly empty streets of Baltimare towards the hospital, making sure to go slowly so that I wouldn't trip and hurt myself. That would just be the fitting end, wouldn't it? I looked up from the pavement and saw all of the shops and homes that I passed draped in black flags emblazoned with the blood red scorpion. Black for mourning, the scorpion to show support for Princess Antares. The whole city of Baltimare was like this. Last I heard, most other Equestrian cities had at least some ponies doing this. I heard that Ponyville went as all-out with it as Baltimare.

I reached the hospital and walked inside. I wasn't wearing my armor, but the doctors still recognized me as Princess Antares' captain of the guard, so they let me inside without a second thought. I knew the route to Princess Antares' room by heart. I hoped they'd move her out of the ICU soon.

I approached her room, and the six soldiers guarding it snapped to attention and saluted me. I gave them a half-hearted salute back and mumbled "at ease" before walking past them and into Princess Antares' room. When I got inside, I saw Princess Antares slowly walking around her bed. I could see the pain coursing throughout her body with every step, but the doctors said that she needed to start moving around. She did it every hour on the hour, and she spent the rest of the time recovering from the walk, but she did them without complaint.

Princess Antares slowly turned around and saw me standing behind her. She gave me a warm smile, a smile that fell when she saw the state I was in.

"Sheesh, Captain Blaze, I thought I looked terrible. What have you been doing? You--" Her words were cut off when she became overtaken with a violent bout of coughing. She turned her head and extended her hoof towards me as a signal to hold on for a moment while her loud, wheezing coughs filled the room. After a few moments, she cleared her throat and shook her head. "I hate it when that happens," she muttered, though her voice sounded weaker. She gave a half wing shrug and shuffled over to her bed, where she gently, but painfully, eased into it. I walked over to her and ignited my horn to pour her a cup of water, which she took with a word of ‘thanks’.

After draining two cups, Princess Antares cleared her throat again and pulled the blankets up over her body. "Now, as I was saying: you haven't been working too hard, have you, Captain Blaze? I know our soldiers need you, especially with little ol' me down right now, but you need to take care of yourself too, you know."

I grunted and sat down at a nearby chair, looking down at the clean white tile floor. I couldn't do it; I couldn't look her in the eye and see her joking smirk. Not knowing how weak she truly was. I flattened my ears and ran a hoof through my mane. I could feel her smile falling again. She knew something was up.

"Captain Blaze? Did something happen?"

I let out a half chuckle that held no real humor to it. I just needed to say this and get it over with. River was right: I am a coward.

"Princess Antares, I..." I ground my teeth together and forced myself to raise my head to look at her. The uncertainty in her eyes only hurt me more. "I would like to officially give you my resignation. By not preventing you from being shot with the Nightmare Weapon, I failed in my duties to protect you. It was my singular duty to ensure your safety, and I utterly failed you. I do not deserve to be your captain. You deserve somepony actually competent to hold the position."

I expected Princess Antares to give a nod of agreement. Maybe some begging for me to stay, with lots of looks of hurt. Instead she merely stared at me, a blank look on her face that would have made Celestia herself have difficulty guessing her thought process. After a few moments, though, she let out a quiet sigh and her face shifted to one of utter disappointment. She closed her eyes and put a hoof to her temple.

"Oh Captain Blaze. My most valued of soldiers. Do you really not understand?"

I raised my eyebrow at the question. "Understand what? I failed to protect you. What's there to understand?"

"Do you really think that I'm the only pony in all of Equestria? That I'm somehow more important than anypony in existence just because I'm bigger, stronger, more powerful, and I have wings and a horn?" She shook her head. "No. I'm not. I'm not saying that I'm not an important pony, because we both know that's not true in the slightest. I'm an extremely important pony, but what makes you think that saving the lives of dozens, if not hundreds of ponies by turning a disorganized mess into a fighting force with your leadership is worth nothing because I got shot? A lot more ponies would have died were it not for your orders. Think about it, Captain Blaze: your actions saved lives. There will be generations because of what you did."

"But you're a princess!" I shot to my hooves. "You are more important! You're a goddess in pony form! I may have ensured a few generations, but you are eternal! You will see the generations I have ensured turned to dust, but if I was better at protecting you, I could ensure that you would rule them justly and wisely as long as they endured!"

"Eternal?" Princess Antares snorted and crossed her forelegs. "Is that what you think?"

My reply died in my throat, and I had to think for a moment to formulate my answer. "I mean... aren't you? You, Celestia, and Luna are eternal, right? I mean, you're all immortal! You don't age, you don't get sick, you don't get hurt by weapons like we ponies do. Y-you're eternal, right?"

"Immortal, yes. Eternal?" She shook her head. "Not a chance, Captain Blaze."

"I..."

"Captain, someday, hopefully tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years from now, the world is going to end. If I'm still alive when it does, I assure you that I won't be afterwards. Death comes for us all, Captain Blaze, he just has to be a heck of a lot more patient with some of us than with others."

I chewed that over for a moment, but only a moment. Princess Antares didn't seem keen on letting me think about it for much longer.

"Now, about your request: I'm going to deny it."

My eyes widened. "But--"

"You don't understand what it means to be a true member of my guard, and I do blame myself for that. It's not about unwavering devotion to me, though that is certainly a part of it. It's about protecting the civilians; the ponies who can't fend for themselves when life gets dangerous. I'm an alpha alicorn, Captain Blaze. In time I'll get to the point where I could go up against the army we fought and single-hoofedly turn it into dust. You may not have that strength, but do not mistake that as me saying that you have no strength, because you do." Princess Antares sighed and rubbed the top of her head, where her mane was just starting to grow back. "This is more than just me. This is about Equestria. In ruling Equestria, I serve it. In serving me, you also serve Equestria. I protect Equestria, and so too do you. Tell me, Captain Blaze: of what importance am I if I have no ponies to watch over and protect? I may be immortal and exceptionally powerful, but if I don't use that to rule Equestria justly and protect it, then what good am I?"

I stayed silent as I mulled over what she said to me. I couldn't believe my ears. She was important. She had to be the most important thing. Without her, what would any of us do?

"Captain Blaze, on the whole I don't need protecting nearly as much as the ponies of Equestria do, and I would not have picked you for my captain if I did not think that you were up to the task, and I know you still are, despite your doubts."

"I can't, Princess Antares," I muttered. "I can't fail you again."

"The best way to do that is to re-evaluate your priorities. Figure out who you really serve and protect." Princess Antares sighed again and leaned her head back against her pillow. "If you are so set on this, then I'll demote you to a private, but the moment you ask for the captain's post again, it's yours."

"I understand, Princess."

"Good." She took a deep breath and waved her hoof towards the door. "You're dismissed. You don't have to leave the captain's quarters yet. I won't make the announcement official until I get out of this wretched place. That should give you enough time to think on whether or not you've made the right choice, yeah?"

"Yes, Princess Antares."

With that, I walked towards the door, fully intending to go back to that corner store and buy something a little better, but Princess Antares put a stop to that.

"Oh, and I also order you to take a shower."

I always hated being underground. I liked the sunshine a lot better. Underneath the earth is just so dark and dank, and it's always cold. I held back a shiver and pulled my cloak tighter around me. I wouldn't do this, but the Diamond Dogs had something that I wanted.

I glanced to my left at one of the guards escorting me. He was dressed in ratty armor and carrying a sharp flint spear. He constantly glanced back at the three large bags that my own escort carried. Well, he needn't have worried, I had what he wanted. I just hoped that his boss has what I wanted.

Our group reached a metal door, and the dog to my right knocked loudly on it three times. A little hatch opened up in the door, and I saw the peering eyes of another dog staring out at us.

"The ponies have come," the dog growled. "They have brought the payment."

The dog on the other side of the door grunted and slammed the hatch. After a few moments, I heard a lock click, and the door opened, revealing a slightly cozier room. The furnishings were nicer, and the lamps provided more warmth than in the tunnels. In the middle of the room was a large table and two chairs. On the chair opposite me sat a large, grinning Diamond Dog, drumming his claws on a large metal case.

My prize.

They nodded at me, and we entered the room. I took the initiative and sat down opposite the dog, while my four escort ponies fanned out behind me in a semi-circle. The dog scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"There is no need for this cloak nonsense, pony. No one unfriendly here to see you. Take your hood off at least."

I smirked from underneath my hood and waggled my light green hoof at him. "Now now, you know as well as I that subterfuge is part of the game, Mr..."

"Warlord Jhunah," the dog spat. "Address me by my proper title or our business is concluded, and I know your employer would not appreciate you coming back empty hooved!"

I tilted my head in a nod. "My apologies, Warlord Jhunah. I meant no disrespect."

Jhunah scoffed again. "Silly pony mare means no disrespect. We shall see. Now..." Jhunah looked behind me at the large bags my escorts carried. "You brought the payment?"

"Of course I did. My employer would pay anything for what you have." I waved my hoof at the bags. "Twelve million bits, five million dinars, and eight million gryphs, just as instructed."

My escorts carrying the bags walked forward and deposited them at the paws of Jhunah, who gave me a greedy grin and opened up the first of the bags. He giggled and reached inside, pulling out a pawful of dinars.

"Excellent, pony. Your boss knows how to make a Diamond Dog very happy."

"Yes, and I'm sure you know how to return the favor, yes?"

Jhunah grunted and pushed the case over to me. I undid the clasps and raised the top, revealing a long, pitch black spear. Even from where I sat, I could feel the dark energy radiating off of it.

"A Nightmare Weapon," Jhunah crooned. "Our clan has had that for centuries, passed down from generations. Pony princesses don't know because their reach doesn't extend this far underground. Of course, we only recently found out just what it was exactly, so..." He shrugged and opened up the bag of gryphs.

I reached into the case and grabbed the spear in my forelegs. The instant I touched it, I felt some of the energy zap my forelegs as though I received some kind of electric shock. I yelped and dropped the spear instantly, something that made all of the dogs in the room laugh.

"Oh, you ponies and your innate magic," Jhunah giggled. "Dark magic would affect any of you, even the non-unicorns."

"I was just unprepared, that's all," I muttered. "It doesn't matter. My employer will give it to somepony who knows how to use it."

"Yes, and I do hope that somepony has more success in killing Princess Antares than that dolt Sinosis."

"Of course he will!" I snapped. "The crown will not be expecting a second Nightmare Weapon to appear in so short a time, and Princess Antares is weak! My employer was foolish to employ Sinosis to engage Antares' army, we see that now. We will use more discretion this time."

"You'd better if you're going to kill her, but I'll be interested to see if you do. I was surprised to be contacted by you. I heard rumors that her assassination plot was carried out by someone outside of Equestria." Jhunah reached out a claw and tapped the case. "In either case, that weapon will be legendary if you pull it off. No one has ever killed an alpha alicorn before. Antares' Bane, they'll call it. The Scorpion Slayer maybe. Who knows? I got all I need from you. You can turn the thing into a flagpole for all I care."

"And we have all we need from you. Thank you for the weapon."

Jhunah grunted in response and opened up the bag of bits. Just as he did, I fired up my horn for a spell. Before he could react, the insides of all three bags exploded into a white light that blinded everyone in the room.

Well, everyone in the room not protected by my magic.

The instant the enchanted gems hidden inside the bags exploded, my escorts took out hidden blades and charged the stunned Diamond Dogs. I sat completely still, staring at the black spear before me while trying to ignore the shrieks and gurgles of dogs being slaughtered all around me. I never really liked violence, but I knew that sometimes it was necessary.

After a few minutes, the white light faded away, revealing Jhunah curled up in a ball on the ground, his paws covering his head. Everyone else in the room, besides my escorts, were dead. I sighed and closed the briefcase before standing up and walking over to him. He lowered his arms and looked up at me, his eyes wide with terror.

"You... you double-crossing nag! You betrayed me!"

"No, I ensured the security of Equestria."

A look of confusion crossed his face, and he looked from me to my escorts, then back to me. "I... who are you?"

I ignited my horn again and took off my cloak, revealing to him a green pegasus pony. His eyes narrowed in confusion, but I continued channeling my magic until my disguise washed away, revealing my true form. His eyes widened and he started crawling backwards.

"P-Princess Cadenza! I..." He looked around at my disguised Blade Wings who were rapidly closing in on him. "I d-didn't really mean to sell a Nightmare Weapon. I-in fact, I don't think it's even real!"

"It's real," I said, glaring at him. "That thing is very real."

"If you let me go I'll help you find more!" He held out a claw as if to stop my soldiers from arresting him. "Celestia and Luna want all of the Nightmare Weapons destroyed, right? Well, I'll help with that!"

I would have responded, but I heard a loud knocking on the metal door, something that triggered a triumphant smile on Jhunah's face.

"Hah! You didn't think about that, did you? I have reinforcements just outside this door!" Jhunah pushed himself to his paws. "I guess we're going to find out if Nightmare Weapons work after all, won't we, Cadenza?"

I rolled my eyes and ignited my horn to open the door, revealing two of Auntie Lulu's bat pony guards. They walked in and inclined their heads in small bows.

"Princess Cadance, the rest of the den surrendered without a fight. They have agreed to leave this matter behind them if they are not harmed."

I nodded. "Good." I turned back to Jhunah, whose smug smile had shifted into a look of utter horror. "Take this..." I motioned to Jhunah, "and this..." I pointed to the Nightmare Weapon, "to Princess Luna. I'm sure she'll want to deal with them both personally."

Jhunah whimpered and fell to his knees as one of my guards secured him with chains. "I didn't mean what I said about killing you, Princess Cadenza! I just--"

A glare from one of the bat ponies silenced him, and the two bat ponies and two of my guards dragged him out of the room without another word.

I closed my eyes and walked over to a wall to take a few deep breaths. I flinched when the memory of touching the Nightmare Weapon replayed in my mind. Before I could do anything to stop myself, I let out a low groan and vomited all over the floor. My two soldiers ran to me, catching me as before I hit the ground. I'm kinda surprised that I stayed standing as long as I did.

"Princess Cadance, are you okay?"

I slowly nodded and wiped my mouth with the back of my hoof. "Yes, Commander Skies, I'll be fine in a little bit." I closed my eyes and shuddered. "But that thing was evil. Princess Antares was actually shot with one of those things?" I swallowed a little bit of bile that started coming up my throat. "We need to find more, Commander. We found one, and it's a good start, but I want every single one of those things gone from Equestria."