Caedryn could feel the pull of the earth spirits as the Lunar Guard took to the wing and charged out of hiding towards the confused and disorganized Shadowtouched.Without a thought, he lifted the ancient horn to his lips and blew upon it. The sound resonated through the pear trees and rebounded upon the canyon walls. With the signal given, he nodded to his fellow warriors and as one they came bounding out of the trees.

Behind them, he could hear the rumble of hundreds of hooves as the rag-tag militia calling itself ‘The Cutie Mark Crusade’ came tumbling after them, screaming wordless cries of battle as they did. But his own warriors gave no such signs, instead surging ahead in silence. They had not come here for glory or honor, but to fulfil a duty they had never believed they would be called to fulfil.

The sight of the hundred or so deerfolk careening across the plain was a sight of grim purpose for Caedryn, for it meant that the dark one had returned to consume the world again. It meant that untold numbers of his beloved kin would die in the moons to come, for Umbra loved nothing more than destroying and corrupting the folk of the wood. It meant the end of centuries of peace and prosperity.

In short, it meant that the world and life Caedryn had hoped to have would never be.

Caedryn was not given to anger or rage, but that did not quell his boiling emotions. It had been why the Lady had assigned him to this task, that he might direct the raw hurt within him at a source deserving of such ire. The feel of his hooves bounding against the grass as they streaked across the distance between themselves at the bridge felt like small victories. Every step he came closer to exacting pain upon those that had chosen to serve the darkness was a good step indeed.

Up until now, keeping that rage in check had been easy enough. The Lady’s word was law, after all, and one did not question her motives. So he had guarded the strange little pony, all while waiting for this day. Here and now, he would claim the blood of the Shadow and bring an end to their mad plans. The plan was already going flawlessly, and Caedryn saw no reason to doubt it would continue to do so.

As if by fate, the Lunar Guard and his deerfolk converged upon the rear of the convoy all at once, and the battle was already on. Caedryn’s training took over from his rage, and he spun and cavorted amidst the chaotic battle that had broken out at their charge. A nameless soldier of the shadow tried desperately to spear him with its weapon, but he gored the creature upon his steel antlers and then cast it aside.

He could not feel pity for them right now, for down that path lay victory of the Shadow. His hooves lashed out at another attacker, but missed their mark. Another ducked in and struck at him, but he darted away from the blow. Caedryn huffed in annoyance at these constant delays, and this time charged a fourth attacker, claiming another servant of the Shadow’s life in the name of the Lady by shoving them bodily over the edge of the bridge and sending them plummeting to their doom.

But far too soon, their targets were not striking out at random. They had retreated and formed a line of defense, and now came the time for them to force their enemies together. So he lashed with his hooves and slashed with the razor tips of his antler-blades, trying to tease his enemies back into line while the earth ponies of the crusade caught up.

But the next thing Caedryn knew, he was on the ground and staring at the scrambling hooves of his fellow warriors, and wondering why his head had exploded in pain. Then he saw the cyan blur flash overhead and two more deerfolk hit the ground, apparently unconscious. Caedryn forced himself up to his hooves, but could not find steadiness in his step.

More pegasi were blurring down from the skies and striking before they could be stopped. As one, the Lunar Guard rose to the wing and struck into the skies, just as a second blow sent Caedryn’s world into silence and darkness...

Rainbow Dash spun midair to avoid a jabbing spear and dove into the shadows under a cart, feeling a thrill of momentary panic at being so close to such danger and death. She felt herself melt out of the shadows of a cloud high above her head, and forced herself back to it, breathing heavily and trying very hard not to have a full on panic attack.

Battles were absolutely nothing like the books had said, and even the extensive training of the last month or two had barely been enough to keep her from utterly losing it. All around her, she could see pony fighting pony, or deerfolk or griffon or whatever the heck else might be around her. Already, casualties were piling up… mostly on her side, it seemed.

Who the buck was attacking them, and why? There were batponies here wearing Luna’s symbol on her chest and earth ponies in haphazard armor, and she recognized most of them too! It was like the entire world had gone mad around her, and the worst was that friggin army of griffons! Winterlight had seemed pretty panicked about those weird banners the griffons had been carrying too, but -

The thought left her head a moment later and instinct took over, her only warning being the barest sound of wind upon feather. Even with all of her speed though, another body impacted her hard and sent her flying head over flank into another cloud, bouncing off of its surface. Rainbow Dash recovered almost instantly, executing a perfect flip midair to land on the cloud facing the enemy… and felt a cold shock thrill through her veins at the unmistakable glare behind the glittering gold helmet.

“Knew you’d be here, Dash,” Gilda Skytalon growled at her, clad in the same golden armor of the griffon army below and bearing a heavy looking steel spear in one of her taloned claws and a large golden shield in the other. “Knew you’d be close to this fucking disaster. You always are when shit hits the fan.” The spear whirled in her grip and she crouched low, her gaze as hard as the steel she wore, and Dash could only feel a momentary thrill of fear and wondered if perhaps Gilda had come for revenge for what had happened in Ponyville all those years ago.

Then… Gilda, one of the oldest friends she’d had before the Elements of Harmony had upturned her life and that fight in Ponyville had seemingly severed them forever, surprised her. “Don’t gimmie that look, Dash. I’m pulling your fat flank out of this fire, and we’re going to take you to see the Doe and get you cured of Dark Sun’s corruption.” Gilda’s voice was rough with an emotion Dash couldn’t instantly identify… and it wasn’t until she saw the glitter of moisture in her once friend’s eyes that the meaning became all too clear. “So don’t make me hurt you, Dashie… I’ll do it if I have to, but I don’t want to.” Gilda’s voice went from rough to hard in an instant, her poise one of a predator preparing to strike.

Rainbow Dash swallowed a lump in her throat and backed up a step on the cloud. Gilda thought she was broken, or thought that the Shadow had done something horrible to her. She… she must’ve been in Roam when it fell. That’s the only explanation. How had she escaped Twilight? Why the hell was she wearing that armor? And what in the world was with the name ‘Dark Sun’? Hard questions, but Dash didn’t have time to answer them. She tried to speak some sense into her, flaring out her wings and preparing to take off again. “I can’t, Gilda. You’re wrong about the Mistress, and I would be happy to show you - ”

Gilda didn’t wait for her to finish. Gilda’s acceleration off the mark was still as absurd as it had ever been, even in all of that heavy armor. For a griffon, she was one of the fastest Rainbow Dash had ever seen or heard of. So fast that the Junior Speedsters had made the unprecedented move of accepting her into their ranks, and even Cloudsdale Academy’s sports program had sought her out.

But as fast as she still was, eight years of hard training since Junior Speedsters had made Dash faster. Griffons simply didn’t have the physiology or pegasus magic to reach the speeds she could. Yet even fast as she was, she missed the sweep of the steel spear by mere inches as she took to the air, and Gilda didn’t stop at a single blow, pivoting in place and slamming her shield upwards at Dash. That blow too she managed to evade, pivoting in midair and watching the hard edge of the steel shield go soaring past her face so close she could have licked it.

It was the most terrifying experience of her life as she hit the cloud deck a moment later and dove desperately into its Shadow, feeling the grazing steel of the spear nearly slashing through her wing before she appeared out of the shadow of one of the other clouds. There was no time for thought or for examination - she had to keep Gilda from killing her or worse. But Gilda was already on her, a blur of crimson red cloak and glittering golden armor diving for her like a predator hawk.

Dash rolled away from the dive, and reached out with the Shadow within her - she needed help, and she needed to get Gilda off of her back. Gilda swooped back into the air just as a half dozen Shadowbolts burst into life out of the cloud, all of them bearing various glittering steel weapons. “Don’t kill her! We want her alive!” Dash screamed at them, even as she pivoted and blasted toward the north end of the bridge again. She had a job to do, and she couldn’t take the time to deal with Gilda right now.

“GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKING LAME-O!” Gilda screeched at her, but Dash didn’t even turn to see what emotions might be on her face. The north end of the bridge was becoming a problem again as dozens of earth ponies pressed in with long spears and flails, pushing past the mouth of the bridge and past the first of the cider carts… which Dash arrived just in time to see explode in fire.

The entire cart lay shattered on the bridge, blocking up the rearward progress of the other carts and pouring out its precious cargo into the drains on the bridge. The entire thing was wreathed in flames, though Dash couldn’t see any bodies upon it. “Oh, buck,” she whispered, and dove back down into the fray.

Things were going very badly already, but she trusted the Captain to pull them through. She could already see their forces slowing their retreat and holding onto a much firmer line of defense. That was good. Once they got organized, they could get everypony off the bridge somehow… Still, it was disturbing to see so many familiar faces from Ponyville. What had happened to them that they were - . And then there it was. The flash of orange coat and magenta mane, the unmistakable sound of those buzzing wings.

Scootaloo.

Dash spun in midair and flew as hard as she could toward that sound. Only to find it on the north end of the bridge next to the strangest looking unicorn Dash had ever seen and another familiar face, Mrs. Cake wielding a wicked sharp chef’s knife and a glare of grim anger upon her brow. Scootaloo too was wearing that glittering gold armor, and her bright red cape was emblazoned with the emblem of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Dash felt her mouth go dry at the sight of them charging forward toward the battle. “No… No, not you, Scoots!” she half yelled out and dove toward them. She had to get Scootaloo away from this. She wasn’t going to let that filly die because somepony had told her all kinds of lies about the Mistress.

She had to save her. Nopony else would.

“Shh… It’s okay, just stay quiet and calm. Everything’s gonna be okie-dokie,” Pinkie gently soothed the younger stallion, and he nodded with a gulp of air. All around her, crowded within the four caravan carts that had carried their supplies, all of the non-fighters were huddling beneath the canvas and holding one another tight. Pinkie deftly moved amongst them, giving a comforting touch and hug to anypony who needed one, and there were a lot of ponies who needed them.

Pinkie was thankful she’d been at Roam now, since it had made her more used to the scary sounds and smells of a battle. It made it easier to stay calm, even when she was just a little bit scared. They were in Equestria, after all, and why would anypony want to attack them here? Princess Celestia was going to get mighty cross with whoever it was, if Winterlight grumpybutt didn’t get cross with them first.

The thought of what was going on outside didn’t even occur to her. She had other duties after all, like protecting the younger ponies and Hippgogriffs that had come along with their soldier parents. And more importantly, she had to make sure they weren’t too scared. Whoever was attacking them, she was sure they didn’t intend to hurt the non-fighters. There was no reason for them to do so, anyway.

So Pinkie hugged a quietly sobbing Hippogriff and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. These poor creatures were still getting used to their new bodies, and now to be thrown into this? It wasn’t fair. He smiled at her though, and Pinkie felt a warmth surge through her heart. “It’ll be over soon, I’m sure,” she quietly said, and all around her nods followed it. They all had faith in Umbra to protect them, and they were all sure that she would come if need demanded.

So Pinkie hopped out of the cart, intending to move on to the next one. Her eyes gazed through the sky and across the ground, trying to pick out how things were going. Winterlight apparently was getting things in hoof, but it was still kind of dicey. Pinkie momentarily considered heading out to do a little fighting herself when it happened.

The sound of rolling thunder clouds came from the east, and her eyes snapped up to it. Pinkie had fantastic vision, almost as good as a pegasus, and it was easy to pick out the unmistakable forms of Thunderlane and Snowflake hauling pitch black clouds toward the bridge at insane speeds. Pinkie felt a little fear race through her and clambered as fast as she could on top of the covered wagons and started waving her hooves frantically in the air.

They were clearly coming to attack the convoy, even if Pinkie had no idea why, so she waved and waved, cupping her hooves around her mouth to yell as loud as she could up at them. “There’s nothing here! Just ponies! Don’t hurt them!” Her words cried out in a plea as the storm cloud raced down low over the bridge and the lightning bolts began to fall. There must have been a half dozen other pegasi striking the clouds to drive the bolts into their forces and smash apart the cider carts.

Closer and closer they came, and Pinkie continued waving frantically. Time seemed to slow down, and a look of wide eyed recognition crossed Thunderlane’s face… and for just a moment, the bolts stopped as they raced overhead. Pinkie felt her heart burst into joy and hope, warmth flooding through her and tears falling down her cheeks, even as the bolts slammed into the next cider carts and continued down the bridge. Whatever was going on, the innocent ponies would be safe, and that was a good thing.

The world exploded in light and sound and colors.

All around her, magical fireworks burst into life like it was the biggest and most violent party in the history of Equestria. A roar of sound from boomer-bombs and light from flashy-flashies would have stunned and blinded a lesser pony. But Pinkie Pie had thrown crazier parties than this, and she simply shook off the light-blindness within moments, wondering what the point of the light display had to be as more fireworks burst into light and pretty sparklies above her head.

If she hadn’t been paying attention, she might have missed it. The unmistakable sound of Scootaloo buzzing along on her scooter and a scattering of galloping hooves charging down the bridge and past her carts. Her eyes followed the figures with wide-eyed shock, with Scootaloo in some kind of armor and accompanied by a scary looking batpony and… “Mrs. Cake!” she blurted out unintentionally and slapped her hooves over her mouth a moment later.

Mrs. Cake didn’t look good at all. There were dark rings under her eyes and her frosting hairdo was a complete mess, relegated to a haphazard ponytail. She wore some kind of makeshift armor instead of the apron she ought to have properly been wearing, and she had been running with a grim purpose until Pinkie spoke. Her head whipped around, and the utter and total lack of joy or happiness in the way she moved drove a steel spike right through Pinkie’s heart.

Pinkie felt the tears coming instantly as Mrs. Cake yelled something to Scootaloo and scrambled up onto the top of the cart along with Pinkie a few moments later: the other two ponies continuing to run down the bridge. Mrs. Cake stalked warily toward Pinkie, her mouth working for a moment before she could speak. “Pinkie… please tell me that’s still you in there. Please tell me they didn’t take you from me too,” Mrs. Cake whispered fervently, her hard eyes softening as she took in all of Pinkie Pie’s pinkness.

Pinkie swallowed, feeling her heart contract at those words. Mrs. Cake had to know about Mr. Cake then, and that had to be why she looked like this. So devoid of the life and joy and happiness she’d had in Ponyville. So lacking in all of the things that had attracted Pinkie Pie to Sugarcube corner in the first place when she’d come to Ponyville. What could she say? What could she do? Mrs. Cake obviously thought the Shadow might have destroyed her… and that it had done the same to her husband.

Pinkie Pie tried to swallow the lump in her throat, and put on her best smile. Mrs. Cake needed her now. “I-I’m still Pinkie Pie as ever, Mrs. Cake,” she piped up, trying her best to stay calm. And then…

Mrs. Cake’s grim demeanour cracked, and she ran across the cart and threw her forelegs around Pinkie Pie, holding her as tightly to her as she ever had before. “Oh thank Celestia. Oh thank you dearest Celestia. You’re okay. We can save you.” Pinkie felt her mouth go dry as Mrs. Cake sobbed into her shoulder for a moment, and gingerly she returned the hug, realizing exactly what Mrs. Cake had been saying there.

Mrs. Cake clearly thought the Shadow was evil, and for the first time Pinkie could not find a reason to disagree with those feelings. After what happened in Ponyville, after what Mrs. Cake had lost… there wasn’t going to be any way to avoid the discussion. How could she tell her what had happened with Carrot Cake? How could she break that tiny sliver of hope she saw in the eyes of one of the ponies she loved most of all?

Mrs. Cake wasn’t going to listen to her, wasn’t going to take in the Shadow willingly. Pinkie would have to force it on her, and though the dark power within her called upon her to do just that… she just couldn’t. “Come on now, Pinkie. We’re going to get you out of here,” Mrs. Cake said in the firm, no nonsense tone she used when it was time to get to serious business. “We know somepony who can help you, Pinkie. Just come with me, please.” The last words came out in a plea, as Mrs. Cake took her hoof and firmly tugged her toward the north end of the bridge. And in that moment, Pinkie Pie felt paralyzed.

What was she going to do?

“Get those fucking spears to the north and start pushing back!” Winterlight screamed, grabbing one of the nearby Shadow Guard who had lost his nerve and smashing her hoof into his face. “And you stop panicking! Get on the battle line, you shit!” The dazed pony trundled off to the south, probably going to die, but Winterlight was way past caring at this point. She was trapped on a fucking bridge and that pissed her off.

She felt lucky though, only a relative few of their enemies were in the air, which meant the Shadowbolts could focus entirely on disrupting enemy formations and keeping their lines from breaking. If either of the two defensive lines on the bridge broke down, that would be that. They’d be between a rock and a hard place, and any half competent commander would grind them into dust.

At that point, Winterlight would have been well advised to take anypony she could convince to do so and run to Canterlot. Luna might not be terribly inclined to take her in, but her loyalty to the Nightmare had not once wavered even in these insane times. She would be an invaluable source of intelligence, and whatever might have changed in her Queen, her practicality surely would not have.

But that was a thought for defeat, and defeated she was not. Pinned down, yes. And certainly not in an admirable tactical position, but she had the numbers to grind this out so long as nopony did anything stupid. Her ears twitched as she heard the sound of rumbling stormclouds and she shot her eyes up… to see a mass of pitch black lightning clouds sweeping down towards the bridge, and she felt her blood go cold.

Only experience saved her then. “TAKE COVER!” she screamed, grabbing whoever was right next to her and dragging them down under the cider cart next to her. She did not see what happened next, but the sound of it was unmistakable. A rain of lightning bolts strafed down the bridge, marching like a cavalry charge through her precious cargo. A moment later, a wall of sound and insanely bright lights slammed into her body and eyes, and she snapped them shut before they could completely blind her.

This was their trump play. Shock and awe tactics, intended to break up any semblance of organization they had and cause a breach at one or both ends of the bridge. Undoubtedly, it was also being used as a chance to bust up their cargo and try to deny the Shadow its prize. Had she not been beneath the cider cart at that moment, Winterlight was sure she would either be dead or so disabled she would have been dead very shortly.

The searing light against her eyelids faded away, and she immediately rolled out from under the cart and to her hooves to survey the devastation. All of the cider carts were on fire or otherwise destroyed, and just the swiftest glance told her that her lines were just barely holding on. She needed to get control of the situation, she needed to push in ONE direction. She needed to-

She needed to duck, as a searing blade imbued with some unknown magic went soaring over her head, barely missing her by a fraction of a second. Thought abandoned her and raw combat instinct took over as she pivoted on the spot to face her attacker, when a thrill of warning through her body forced her to pivot and roll around a second and third incoming blow, driving her into a clear space between the carts.

A blur of crimson cloak and orange coat passed her vision and the screeching sound of steel wheels upon stone as the first attacker flanked her. Winterlight’s eyes focused on the second attacker then, and though her body was nearly numb to it at this point, the shock that hit her was so powerful that she damn near fled on the spot. The ancient armor was unmistakable, since once upon a time it had been hers.

The eyes behind the helmet were faintly slanted, and the curious shape of her horn told her this had to be a Ki-Lin. Two faintly curved blades hovered in front of her, held by the magic of the creature who wore the armor of the Nightmare’s Chosen. The blades were more than wickedly sharp. Winterlight was pretty sure she could have shaved herself with them, and the hard look in the Ki-Lin’s eye was one who knew what ‘battle’ truly meant.

Winterlight glanced over her shoulder, and a grim realization set in. The shimmering crimson cloak and the damnable emblem on her shield was unmistakable. She was young for a Knight Commander, but that didn’t mean a damn thing when it came to the Crusading Knights. She would undoubtedly have been the daughter of one of their oldest members, born and raised to combat the way other foals were born and raised to farming or crafts. And given the grim look in her eye, she had a real serious problem with Winterlight.

There was nothing for it, then. This was the true law of the world and battle - kill or be killed. Winterlight snarled and flicked out her sky talons, poising her body and preparing to fight. At long last, she could stop being the reasonable commander. It was time to be the Shadowbolt again and tear some throats out in the name of the Nightmare Queen.

Scootaloo tightened her hooves around the handles of her scooter as her target growled like a cornered timberwolf. “You must be Winterlight,” Scootaloo glowered back at her, her wings slowly flapping as she prepared to pick up speed again. Crescent Blade hadn’t moved an inch, but her eyes were tracking every movement by the black armored pegasus. Scootaloo could feel her nerves a-jangle, but she couldn’t show any fear.

They had a chance to take out what was, as far as she could tell, the Shadow’s most experienced and capable field commander right here and right now. Crescent Blade had been aghast at the risks at first, but quickly had come to agree with Scootaloo. As the pounding song of Zecora’s chant surged through her veins, Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and felt her breath coming in short. The tension was getting to be rather thick.

The black coated pegasus just snarled wordlessly at her, and Scootlaoo shook her head. There wasn’t going to be any sense out of her, which meant all they could do was beat her. For a single moment, all of the world slowed to a crawl as Scootaloo built up speed in her wings, her hoof bracing her against the ground as her scooter wheels strained against the effort. Crescent Blade nodded minutely, and Scootaloo lifted her hoof from the ground.

The world spun by her in a blur as she drew the shining dagger from its sheath and drove it towards Winterlight’s midsection before being forced to veer off as a pair of heavy metal claws strapped to Winterlight’s hooves clawed across her shield in a shriek of metal. Then she was past her as Crescent Blade dove in like a whirlwind of steel, spinning gracefully inside Winterlight’s guard as her blades flashed in an intricate set of motions. Winterlight was fast though - as fast as any pegasus Scootaloo had ever seen - slipping past the initial blows and trying to drive Crescent Blade away with savage slashes of her wicked claws.

As Scootaloo pulled a hard hairpin turn, her eyes followed every movement of the two warriors. Scipio had told her that the most important thing any warrior could do was to study others in the heat of combat… only there, with all restraint removed, did one finally see the true savagery of battle. And he had been right.

Winterlight’s claws slashed out and Crescent Blade danced aside, as light on her hooves as any dancer could have hoped for. Crescent’s swords dipped in and slashed deep, only to be brutally swatted away by Winterlight’s retaliatory blows. It was like looking at two opposites, each in total balance with one another. Savagery and grace alike trading blows, but never finding purchase upon each other.

But Scootaloo was not a part of that balance, and as she took off at speed toward the melee, she gripped her dagger firmly between her teeth and began to shift her weight. Winterlight’s claws lashed out at her as she came into range, but Scootaloo was already ducking beneath the blow as it came, her Scooter sending a shower of sparks at is skidded along the ground, and she slashed her blade up into Winterlight’s guard… and caught her armor, the blow glancing off but leaving a heavy gash in the plate.

Scoots shifted her weight again and the scooter righted itself, but she’d lost a lot of her momentum in the trick… She’d have to swing around to get her speed up again, and that was going to be dangerous in these narrow confines. Fortunately, Crescent blade had capitalized upon her strike and had forced Winterlight onto the defensive, her blades whirling in streaks of glittering metal that shone every time they struck at Winterlight’s claws.

Scootaloo grit her teeth and took off to the far side of the bridge, hauling in a turn to try to build up some momentum and ducking under a desperate blow by Winterlight with a fierce grin crossing her face.There was no doubt that Winterlight was an exceptional fighter, but so was Crescent Blade. Still, they weren’t hurting her and time was of the essence. Go big or go home time, Scoots! “Crescent Blade! Tag out!” she screamed and flung her scooter in toward the fight.

Crescent Blade whirled one more blow and elegantly spun into the air above Winterlight while Scootaloo charged in from behind her. Just as Scootaloo had thought, Winterlight followed Crescent Blade with her eyes… and not Scootaloo. She lashed out with her claws, just as Scootaloo cleared Crescent Blade’s legs. “FOR THE CRUSADE!” Scootaloo screamed as she grabbed hold of the shield on the front of her scooter and poured all of her strength into her wings as she ducked in behind it.

Winterlight was fast, but she wasn’t a snake. She clawed at the air helplessly, her gaze pulling back to Scootaloo just in time to see the steel shield ram right into her stomach at top speed. The scooter came to a crashing halt as it drove the air right out of Winterlight’s lungs and launched Scootaloo over the handlebars. She drew her dagger from it’s sheath in a single fluid motion as she was flung into the air. Scootaloo felt a thrill of energy through her that she had never felt before as the world once again slowed to a crawl.

It was like fire and wind blowing up inside of her as she slashed the blade in toward a gap in Winterlight’s armor. The blade bit in deep and exploded in a shower of golden light that almost blinded her. Winterlight screamed in an impossible pain as Scootaloo watched dark red blood scatter out of the wound. Her sheer momentum took her shoulder right into Winterlight’s chest, smashing her tiny body into the older pony’s hard enough that it set the warrior off balance.

Scootaloo felt the blade dig in deep before releasing the flesh, and she went tumbling through the air toward the ground. She twisted her body with all of the skill years of turning tricks on her scooter could provide and skidded along the ground as she landed, feeling the metallic taste of blood cross her lips. Her movement halted a moment later, and the rush of power through her was… indescribable.

Crescent Blade landed with a supernatural grace upon one hoof and balanced there, her two blades held at the ready and a smile of approval upon her face. The blood dripped off of her dagger and splashed upon the stone, and Scootaloo saw a look of shock and anger in Winterlight’s eyes. At last - at long long last - she had drawn blood from one of those who had taken what she loved. And she found she wanted more than just blood. “Take her, Chosen of the Sun,” Crescent Blade said softly, her voice almost… ethereal. “Cleanse this foul taint, in the Goddess’ name.”

Winterlight’s eyes narrowed, and widened for a moment. Scootaloo shifted the blade in her teeth’s grip and nodded once. Winterlight growled low in her throat and grit her teeth as she posed low. “I have not survived the personal attentions of the Tyrant Sun and the fall of my Queen to be bested even by one such as you, Knight of the Crusade.” Her voice was thick with hate and pain. “Eternal Night is coming, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

Scootaloo couldn’t help it - she smirked at the sound of the boast. “Oh yeah? You just watch me,” she smirked around the dagger and flung herself forward into the fray. As if on cue, Crescent Blade dove into the fight at the same moment and the two of them converged upon Winterlight as one. Scootaloo tuck-and-rolled under the first slash and came up with her own dagger to strike at Winterlight’s unprotected foreleg.

She pulled her limb out of the way, only to find a vicious slice from Crescent Blade’s sword leave a razor thin cut along her hoof that instantly began to ooze blood. Winterlight snarled and flung out her claws in a spinning move that sent Crescent Blade into retreat and left a rent in the front of Scootaloo’s armor, driving the wind out of her for a moment. Winterlight pounced toward Scootaloo with a grin of triumph on her face only to see it transform into a scream and a forward tumble over Scootaloo’s head as Crescent Blade unleashed a blast of energy from her horn right into Winterlight’s back, searing through the armor.

Scootaloo took Crescent Blade’s offered hoof and hauled herself up, noting the Ki-Lin was starting to show signs of weariness and exhaustion… but Winterlight had been sprawled out on the stone, panting in pain and scrambling toward her blood soaked hooves. “Together,” Crescent said softly, and Scootaloo grit her teeth around the dagger again, and nodded. They moved as one, charging toward Winterlight to finish the fight when a trio of purple blurs appeared out of nowhere and charged into Crescent Blade’s waiting swords.

In a mere instant, Crescent was driven back and her eyes narrowed in anger as three more of the Shadowbolts struck at her with claws of their own. “Goddess, be with me!” she cried out, and her armor took on an unearthly white glow as her blades flashed rapidly around her, deflecting unrelenting blows and striking back at her attackers. For a moment, Scootaloo hesitated… but Crescent gave her a steely look, her voice like low thunder. “Scootaloo, KILL HER!” she cried out, and Scootaloo did not hesitate a moment more, galloping with all her might at the still incapacitated Winterlight.

She leapt into the air and shifted her grip on the blade, twisting her body so as to put the full weight of the blow behind it and fluttered her wings as hard as she could. The dagger and she soared toward Winterlight’s unprotected back and a surge of triumph coursed through her…

Only to feel a hard impact right in her midsection, nearly driving the blade out of her teeth as she was slammed away from her target by a cyan blue blur of a pegasus. She bounced painfully off the ground, and just barely managed to recover to her hooves to dodge the second blow which came rocketing in toward her head. She twisted around the limb by bare milimeters and flung herself backward from her attacker, trying to gain some distance… but by Celestia she was fast.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem interested in pressing the attack, and only then did Scootaloo see the unmistakable mane and those vibrant and shocked eyes staring at her from behind the mask of the Enemy. Scootaloo felt her heart sink as she tried desperately to catch her breath, with Rainbow Dash now standing between her and the target they had worked so hard to isolate.

“Scootaloo…” Dash whispered disbelievingly, even as two other Shadowbolts were driven off to settle around their temporarily felled commander. A moment later, a panting but angry Crescent Blade advanced, her blades slick with blood. “What… what are you doing here? Why are you trying to kill the Captain? And who the buck is that!?” she exclaimed, pointing her hoof at Crescent Blade, and her eyes darted from the blood slick dagger in Scootaloo’s teeth, her voice turning into horrified panic. “You… You’re the one that’s been hitting our caravans! But… why?”

Scootaloo felt every word like it was a dagger impaling her flesh, but Crescent Blade’s voice snapped her back to sense. “We have lost the advantage, Crusader. We must return to the battle, and seek our victory another day.” Crescent whirled her blades and took a low stance. “Flee quickly. I shall provide you with cover and follow.” Crescent Blade looked absolutely, completely confident in herself and her abilities… and frankly, Scootaloo couldn’t blame her in that moment, exhaustion or no exhaustion.

Scootaloo stared into Dash’s eyes, who stared back at her in mute silence for a long moment. When she spoke next, the words came from the burning fire in her belly that raged at the very thought of her once mentor treating things so lightly. Did she not realize what was going on? Was she that fucking ignorant? “You took my friends from me, Dash. You enslaved all of Ponyville. Your Shadow killed Mister Cake. Did you think I was going to let that go?” Scootaloo’s voice was bitter and hard as she spoke, then in a single coiled movement sprinted over to her crashed scooter and snapped it up as fast as she could. “Don’t you dare die on me, Crescent! This is just the beginning!” She shoved off from the ground and tried desperately to pick up speed…

“KILL HER! FORGET THE KI-LIN AND KILL THAT FILLY!” Winterlight’s voice screeched through the air as she grabbed onto Rainbow Dash’s shoulders, and the two other Shadowbolts vanished into midair only to reappear in Scootaloo’s path. Scoots ducked under the first blow, but the second sent her scooter careening into the bridge barrier as it glanced off her shield. The metal of the shield and scooter scraped and screeched against the wall, the front wheel snapping off with the force of the impact.

Scootaloo grabbed the shield in front and tumbled over the handlebars, barely missing the incoming blows and galloping off as fast as her hooves could carry her. “What?! NO! CAPTURE HER! DONT HURT HER!” Dash’s voice screamed out above Winterlights, and behind Scootaloo the sounds of a physical scuffle broke out, soon followed by the sound of steel upon steel. Scootaloo had lost track of which way she was running, but she ran as hard as she could none the less.

Ahead of her though, a mass of Shadow Soldiers were waiting for her as the Shadowbolts bit at her heels. She gritted her teeth and ran as hard and fast as she could… all she could do was dodge, weave, and pray...