The air was thick with blood.

It was almost as if she were dancing an elegant ballet.

The steady thuds and booms of magic throughout the darkness calling more and more to her.

She screamed, whipping her head about violently as her magic cascaded itself over any living thing coming too close.

Twilight Sparkle swung her head to the left as a magical tendril of energy flailed about like a thick whip, lashing and slicing trees and ravaged ponies in half. With a quick buck behind her, she knocked out a shrieking mare's teeth with a quick follow through via magical dagger to the throat. Quickly grasping the mare's lifeless body, Twilight heaved her over and threw her into a group of three other ponies flanking her from the rear.

She was panting lightly, her magical reserves nowhere near exhausted but her physical stamina...that was a different story. She threw a hoof forward, punching a colt right in the face and causing the vile beast to let out a howl of pain. With a quick lunge of her hooves, she twirled and grasped him in a tight headlock. With a heavy turn of her legs and body, she snapped his neck clean with a sickening 'crack!', dropping him like a dead weight before turning and throwing a hoof straight out to clothesline a mare running towards her. The mare yelped as she did a half-backflip, catching a bolt of magic in the back of her head as she flipped upside down, a bolt which tore her head clean off and seared through two other ponies before exploding and taking another five.

Twilight reared her head to the sky and let out a loud, mareish shriek. "Come!!!!" she roared, conjuring two magical shortswords in the air and giving them an ethereal twirl "Is this all?! Is this the best you can do!?". She let forth a guttural scream, a battle cry that literally shook many of the leaves from the trees around her with magical force, causing four ponies around her to drop to the ground, holding their now bleeding ears with pained expressions on their face and loud screeches emanating from their raspy lungs. Twilight wasted no time in gutting the wounded ponies around her with the swords, twirling and cleaving another pony's head clean off.

She swung and swung, cutting and stabbing and cleaving any pony who would dare get near her. No matter how many she killed, it just felt like more and more were taking their places. She paused for a moment as she ripped one of her magical swords free of a pony's skull, blood squirting up into the air from its fresh kill and now lifeless host. She looked around her, her lungs heaving for air. She narrowed her eyes towards the dark treeline around her, watching as more and more shapes started to materialize.

She swore, turning a bolting into the forest. She galloped as fast as her aching lungs would allow her, swinging and cutting her way through every pony that got in her way or got too close. She wasn't even surprised when she heard that unmistakeable, dark voice on the wind somewhere in the forest "Heh...how many more ponies are you going to kill before you finally realize there's nothing you can do to stop me? Pretty soon, you're going to run out of ponies in the population...what then? Will you go after the Griffons who're just now, invading your precious north and east?"

Twilight merely let out a grunt and spat "When are YOU going to realize that no matter how many bodies you throw at me Discord, you're not gonna stop ME from killing you!?" She cleaved off another mare's head as she continued to run through the forest.

"What? Don't believe me?" Discord asked with a laugh from somewhere above the weary unicorn. "I'm telling you the truth, kill one and I'll replace it with twenty." She heard him snap his fingers from above as he cackled and roared "Here, let me show you!!!"

The ravaged ponies who were in hot pursuit of Twilight suddenly skidded to a halt, turning on their hooves and running away like crazy. They were yelping in panic as if a dog had gotten swiped in the rear by its angry owner with a newspaper, drawing Twilight herself to quickly slow to a stop. She turned her head slowly, panting and pushing her disheveled and sweaty mane out of her face with a hoof as the diseased mob galloped for the hills. It was a moment to breathe, she realized. Just a moment before Discord threw something really nasty at her.

She let herself smile as she gave her longswords a quick twirl, positioning them defensively by her sides as she crouched and braced herself. If Discord was making things harder for her...he was getting scared. He wasn't facing her in direct combat, which he could have surely done and win if he wanted. Perhaps he was nervous about going against the magically buffed, diseased unicorn. That or he was simply playing his part as 'Lord of Chaos', making things as annoying and chaotic for Twilight as possible.

She didn't have long to ponder the possibilities as a murderous screech of a bird sounded off above her. A large spot in the canopy of the forest snapped and thundered about violently, causing Twilight to tense up, preparing for whatever was coming. A shape much larger than Twilight fell through the hole in the forest ceiling, crashing into the ground on what looked like...claws and paws. "Uh oh..." Twilight muttered, her eyes widening slightly as the beast stood to its fullest height, its massive body clad in heavy battle armor while its mighty wings were free to unfurl at its sides to an intimidating wingspan. Its helmet visor was down, but that didn't stop the bright red light of undeniable chaos to gleam through the eyes slits. It let out a guttural roar towards her face as two more massive forms crashed through the canopy on either side of the beast, clacking their claws against the dirt.

Twilight's irises shrank as the three monstrosities started lurking towards her, growling through beaked helmets. The tired unicorn had only thing to say as she raised her swords in preparations to attack, a curse passing through hushed lips as she whispered to herself:

"Horseapples..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Momma I'm scared..."

"I know dear, it's going to be ok..."

"Alright now, ya'll just come on through here and straight on, there's plenty o' room so don't get greedy ya hear?"

"Wow, look at this place! I always wondered where the Princesses used to live!"

"Yeesh, no wonder they moved to Canterlot, a castle this deep in the Everfree? Psh, no thanks!"

"I wonder how many Lunar Guard are left...I don't know if we can survive another 'Canterlot'..."

"I heard that a good chunk of them got sent to Stalliongrad, wonder what for?"

"You think the Griffons are still going to invade us?"

"Ha! Why would they?! It's not like there's anything healthy here to conquer..."

Big Macintosh kept his bravest face on as he ushered in another group of twenty ponies over the ruined drawbridge to the Old Castle. Ponies...more like refugees. They carried saddlebags, baskets, even a cart as they moved over the bridge and into the relative 'safety' of the ruined castle. Maybe it was the massive discharge of Harmony that was set off during the battle against Nightmare Moon or just the sheer remote location of the castle that kept the afflicted ponies away. Either one suited Macintosh just fine, quickly beckoning the group inside as Rainbow Dash landed on the bridge behind them, facing the forest. She did a slow scan with her eyes into the trees, being sure that there wasn't anything nasty lying in wait for an ambush. A tense minute passed before Rainbow gave an affirmative nod, trotting over the bridge and nodding to the work horse. "Everypony made it, safe n' sound. Roll her up big guy!"

Macintosh nodded, moving quickly towards the large wooden wheel that was responsible for raising and lowering the drawbridge. He reared up on his hind legs, planting his hooves firmly around one of the wooden stakes jutting outwards from the wheel and taking in a deep breath. With a mighty heave backwards, he very slowly spun the wheel and started to raise the drawbridge. It resisted for a moment before giving a loud, groaning defeat and submitting to the stallion's movements. The chains rattled loudly as the bridge was raised higher and higher before coming to its eventual stop at its upright position.

The workhorse let out a loud 'whew!' before dropping back to all fours and wiping the sweat from his brow, turning to the waiting Rainbow Dash and muttering "Ah don't like the way them damn chains go n' rattle every time ah raise or lower the bridge...makes me nervous about getting heard."

Rainbow nodded, falling into a walk next to Macintosh as they proceeded into the depths of the castle. "I hear ya Mac, but after a hundred survivors, you'd think any of those red-eyed punks would have noticed by now."

The workhorse nodded with a smile as the group of ponies ahead of them entered into a massive rotunda-like area where the rest of the refugees were camped out. Covered wagons, crates, blankets and pillows, anything you could of taking when running away was strewn about across the large, open ground. This way and that ponies walked n' talked, thankful they could be away from the carnage of the outside, chaotic world.

The only two rules they had to follow while staying under "Harmony's Roof?": Play nice, don't go outside.

The work horse and weather mare sat side by side at the top of the large, wide stairway leading up to the throne room, taking in the scene before them. Foals and fillies ran about, playing tag with one another while many of the adults tried to sleep curled up in blankets and a pillow. A few checked on their belongings while others tried socializing or taking a few breezing, walking laps around the rotunda to clear their head and cure the boredom. "Almost seems...normal," Rainbow muttered, nodding towards a colt who bowed his and smiled as he passed by the bottom of the stairs "You know?" She turned her head towards the big red stallion, watching his lips curl into a small smile.

"Eeyup, it's good to see some normal in the world again..." he muttered, letting out a sigh and scratching the back of his head. "Can't believe we got so many ponies out...surprised Discord n' his cronies didn't notice so many houses n' streets empty." He felt his frown deepening however, a sudden realization hitting him "Too bad there's no more ponies to save...everypony else has either gone n' gotten bit or have run fer the hills in their own direction..." It had taken a bit of work, but with the help of Lyra, Thunderlane, and Rainbow Dash, Macintosh managed to convert the ruined fortress into a suitable refugee camp for ponies looking to escape New Ponyville or wherever it was they were running from. Zecora's hut was invaluable to any pony group being led by Rainbow Dash as a pit stop, taking a moment to rest their hooves and take a breather...unaware of a diseased unicorn locked up in a small chest at the foot of the zebra's bed. When ponies asked why the box was moving about so violently, she would tell them it was just one of the forest animals she caught making a fuss, and assured them the lock was quite strong. It didn't play too well on the nerves of the refugees, but they were too thankful to be away from the ravaged ponies town to complain.

There was one thing that was seriously bothering the two ponies greatly, with one particular matter bothering only Rainbow. Applejack still had yet to come back from whatever it was she went to chase after at Sweet Apple Acres. For Rainbow Dash...it was the fact Twilight hadn't showed back up either. Sure she didn't want to reveal to Big Macintosh that she was still alive...but how long would she be able to pull off that particular charade? How long did she plan on hiding herself from him? Was she going to disappear again once the Ravage and Discord were beaten? Rainbow snorted, shaking her head and narrowing her eyes. No way, no way was she just going to let Twilight up and leave again. Diseased or not, Twilight owed it to Macintosh for the misery he'd been through. That was the only thing she agreed with Applejack on. They needed their friend back, and the Rainbow mare swore to herself not to lose that egghead again. She was distracted from her train of thought slightly as Macintosh suddenly said "Can't believe we got so many ponies up in here." he looked up as he saw a couple kissing gently while they pressed up against each others sides. A blanket was draped across their backs, keeping their embrace warm and toasty as the poor stallion felt his heart crack. He tried to ignore the painful feeling swelling up in his chest as he went on "But...now what? What's the plan past this point? Sit here until something happens?"

Rainbow sighed, leaning back and putting her front two legs behind her, keeping herself propped up. She stared at the ceiling as she gave a tiny shrug and muttered "I don't know...we didn't really talk about a plan up past this point." She turned her head back towards the throne room, grimacing slightly "Guess we should probably sit down and probably have a meeting." She got up slowly, stretching her wings out and giving them a good flap or two to keep them from going stiff. He let out a quiet sigh, turning her head toward the work horse and asking "You coming?" The work horse nodded, getting to his hooves as well and following her through the giant, open stone doors leading into the throne room.

The two of them walked in silence into the large open throne room, old scorch marks and battle scars from when the battle between the Elements of Harmony and Nightmare Moon took place still etched into the old stone. Macintosh looked to his left, spotting Thunderlane and Roseluck asleep comfortably together. Roseluck shifted slightly on her side, her body thankful for the warmth her lover was giving her as he pressed his belly against her back, half hugging her from behind. The Cake's twins were nestled just by Roseluck's head and her own soft belly, the two of them just as exhausted as their adopted parents.

"Hey Fluttershy," Rainbow said as they passed by the canary-yellow Pegasus collecting some petals from a flower growing through one of the overgrown cracks in the floor. "What you up to?"

"O...oh, well um..." Fluttershy began, hiding behind her mane for a moment as she dropped the petals in a small pouch that rested inside her saddlebags "I was just...um...collecting some flower petals that I know can be mashed down to create a sort of cream that helps prevent infection in wounds..."

Rainbow smiled, walking up to the timid pony and giving her a soft nuzzle by her ear as she said "Great thinking Flutters, that could help if somepony gets hurt." Fluttershy responded only with a small smile, a blush, and a very tiny 'meep!' as Rainbow pointed a hoof over near the steps leading up to the large platform that used to hold the throne, the surface where Nightmare Moon herself once stood. "We're going to have a small meeting to see if we can't come up with any ideas or some kind of plan about what to do since we've rescued all that we can from Ponyville. Wanna come?"

"Oh! S..sure!" Fluttershy responded with a small smile, closing her saddlebags and following the two towards the platform. A tired looking Pinkie Pie was already seated on tucked in hooves, watching over a sleeping Applebloom and Catie Cloud-Mane while a bored-looking Lyra stood nearby, peering through the ancient, dusty mirrors into the foggy forest beyond.

Pinkie looked up as the three approached, giving her best smile as she waved a hoof and said quietly in greeting "Hey guys, what's up?"

Lyra turned her head to listen as Rainbow Dash sat back on her flank, the rest of the group following suit. She gave Pinkie a wave of greeting in return as she said "We're going to talk about what we should do about this point about future plans."

"Should I get Thunderlane?" Lyra asked, trotting over to the group and receiving a nod from Big Macintosh.

"Eeyup, ah think we could use his opinion." answered the stallion, receiving an affirmative nod from Lyra. "Don't wake up Roseluck though...poor mare could do with some sleep fer takin' care of the twins."

Lyra motioned a hoof towards the two sleeping fillies nearby and whispered "Should I take them over as well?"

"Nah," Rainbow said with a shrug "As long as we keep our voices down, we'll be ok."

With a final nod, Lyra trotted over to the sleeping family off a ways. Macintosh watched with a turned head as the teal unicorn nudged the sleeping Pegasus with her nose, stirring him awake. He saw them exchange a few words before watching Thunderlane let out a groan, pushing a hoof against his face in tiredness and mild annoyance before getting up. He pulled a small blanket he had tucked away in his saddlebags nearby over her sleeping beloved, giving her a small kiss on the cheek before following Lyra back towards the platform. Macintosh couldn't help but feel jealous of Thunderlane. At least his family kept together.

The weather colt gave a loud yawn as he trotted up with Lyra, the two of them sitting on the other side of Fluttershy and completing the circle. "Alright..." Thunder grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes "Let's get this over with...I'm dead tired."

"Yeah, join the club Thunderlane." Rainbow growled, her own eyes looking like they could slam shut at any moment.

Macintosh cleared his throat loudly, nipping that potential argument in the bud as all eyes focused on him. "Now then," he started, looking amongst all of them "Ah think we can all agree that it's bout' time we started thinking on what we oughta do now that we've gotten everypony outta Ponyville."

"Are we sure that we got them all?" Fluttershy asked, drawing a nod out of Pinkie Pie.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Flutters on that one" Pinkie added, holding her hoof out "Are we sure we got every pony out? There could be some hiding in a basement or something somewhere."

To this, Rainbow merely shook her head and let out a simple "Positive," before scratching her head and going on. "I had plenty of time to check every building, every nook and cranny I could think of. Even places YOU would be Pinkie."

Everypony looked amazed to hear such a statement, their eyes widening slightly as Lyra breathed "No way...how'd you manage to sneak past all the Afflicted?"

Rainbow Dash grimaced, her body shivering slightly as she recounted exactly how she did. Her stomach gave an involuntary heave as she muttered "I don't...want to really talk about it, if that's ok?" The group nodded slowly as she went on "Point is, I know for sure that we got everypony out that we could. The rest have either fallen to the Ravage or have gone their own separate way. Point is, it's not going to be long before Discord notices and starts sending his diseased freaks to come search for us."

Thunderlane grimaced, looking towards the dusty windows behind him and Lyra as he said "Yeah...if he hasn't already." He turned his head back towards the other and asked "So what then? We've got a good amount of ponies, do we just sit here in this dusty old castle and wait for rescue? Last I heard, the Lunar Guard was stretched pretty thin before the Ravage hit again. I don't think rescue's going to be coming anytime soon, IF any rescue is gonna come that is."

"Well...ah might have one idea..." Macintosh muttered, all of the group's eyes focused on him as a look of determination passed over his face "We got a good number o' ponies...bout a hundred strong right?" he asked, drawing a nervous shake of the head by Lyra.

"I see that look in your eye Macintosh..." she muttered, a warning tone in her voice "I'm not sure that I like where this is going..."

Rainbow Dash smiled, already starting to piece what Macintosh was going to say together "Awwwww yeah, now that's a plan!"

"Whoa now!" Thunder growled, pointing an accusing hoof at the work horse and asking angrily "You're not thinking about leading ponies into a fight are you!?"

"Why not?" Macintosh asked as Rainbow rolled her eyes at the weather colt "Either we stay here, run outta supplies eventually and starve, or we take a stand n' fight!"

Lyra raised an eyebrow as a mightily confused expression spread across her face, drawing her to ask "But...why? Rainbow Dash just went through the trouble of leading all those survivors over here, why send them all back?"

"Yeah," Thunderlane said in agreement, turning his head towards Macintosh after an affirmative nod towards the unicorn "Why don't you play it smart for a moment, think about what Twilight would do, wouldn't she want to think about the consequences of sending an untrained group of civilians to war?!"

Macintosh growled loudly, narrowing his eyes at Thunderlane about mentioning Twilight to him in such a way. He was just getting to his hooves to say something about it when Rainbow Dash put a hoof to his shoulder, sharing a look with the work horse and shaking her head, implying that it wasn't worth it. As he sat back down, grumbling quietly to himself, Rainbow Dash took the moment to speak and answer the thick headed colt. "What would Twilight do?" She asked angrily, pointing a hoof towards Thunderlane as she said "She'd take a stand and fight! She had the boulders to charge head first into Nightmare Moon, hell she even stood up to Princess Celestia!" She leaned in real close, her eyes narrowing as she growled "And wasn't it your precious little Roseluck who was saved by the Great Purge that Twilight unleashed during the Battle of Canterlot? Thank goodness Twilight chose to side with us and take the fight to the enemy before someone's marefriend got gunned down in a hail of Lunar bullets..."

Thunderlane felt his face flush hot with anger, letting out a deep growl as Pinkie Pie waved a hoof about frantically, her eyes shifting to a mumbling and sleeping Applebloom who had shifted slightly. "Guys come on, play nice!" She whispered urgently, trying to calm the situation down before it got out of hand.

"It still doesn't make sense to fight send ponies back into the very hell they just escaped from." Lyra interjected as the three worked up ponies around her took a few calming breaths, trying to simmer down and take Pinkie's advice. "I don't think many of them are going to be thrilled about having to go fight the living monsters of their nightmares..."

To this, Fluttershy spoke up, an idea sparking into her head. "Um...well why don't you just ask them all at once?" she asked, drawing a few curious looks from the group. "Ask who wants to go and who wants to stay," She went on, causing Macintosh and Thunderlane to look at each other with raised eyebrows "That way, everypony wins...right?"

The group shifted their eyes away, thinking deeply for a moment before Lyra finally spoke up. "Yeah, that seems pretty sensible. Whoever wants to go fight can fight, and everypony else can stay here."

"Where's this fight even going to take place Macintosh?" Thunderlane asked, his doubts still verly clear about the whole thing. "You can't drag an army of civilians across all of Equestria, they aren't seasoned for it!"

Macintosh nodded, agreeing with him on that point, but already he had a sort of good idea. "Ah figure we try n' find any Lunar Guard or Royal Guard unit still operatin' out there. If we can find them, we can find out where the fight is." He sighed, rubbing at his head for a moment before going on with "That or...well we take the fight to the capital. Ah'm not just gonna sit round n' get toyed with by Discord. He wants this land so bad, he's gonna find out real quick that it's gonna take blood!"

"Sounds a bit dangerous Macintosh..." Lyra muttered, a sad-eyed grimace on her face.

Thunderlane merely scoffed, shaking his head and growling "More like suicide..."

"Well that's up to the others to decide," Rainbow interjected, crossing her front legs and narrowing her eyes at the colt "I think it's time to let them decide."

With a quick nod to one another, the group dismissed themselves. Rainbow and Macintosh headed down the steps and towards the main rotunda. Lyra quickly trotted after them as Thunderlane quickly went back to his lover's side. Fluttershy went back to her flower picking, happily trotting along the overgrown parts of the large room and leaving Pinkie Pie to keep silent vigil over the two fillies, ensuring they slept soundly.

Rainbow was confused as to why Lyra was joining them, raising an eyebrow as the unicorn trotted to her side. "I thought you didn't want to fight," Rainbow said, drawing a shrug out of the mare as they moved towards the door.

"I was a little concerned that your plan had too many holes in it," Lyra answered, looking towards the ground slightly as she went on and muttered "But then I...started thinking about Bon Bon...I know she'd fight for me if I were in her skin right now."

"Mighty brave of ya there Lyra," Macintosh offered, giving her a small smile as they moved out of the doors. "Ah'm sure she'd be mighty proud of ya fer being so brave." Lyra didn't say anything in return, but she gave a simple nod and a smile, sitting down with Rainbow at the top of the steps as Macintosh cleared is throat and shouted out into the Rotunda "Everypony, can ah have ya'lls attention for just a second?" All around, ponies started looking in Macintosh's direction, a mixture of confused and curious expressions spread out amongst the sea of refugees. "Now, ah know some of ya'll just got here," Macintosh began, trying his best to sound official "But ah'm afraid ah have to ask ya'll a mighty tough question. Now ya don't have to say yes, ya'll are entitled to choose and say for yerselves what ya wanna do..." He took in a deep breath, finally letting the question drop and hoping they wouldn't scream out in an uproar "But...ah need your help. Rainbow n' her friends need yer help. Ah'm proposin' we take the fight to Discord! Ah say we oughta fight back!"

There was an immediate mix of shouts, approval and disapproval. At least they ALL weren't completely against it, Macintosh thought. There could be some hope yet. "Now if ya'll wanna fight, ah suggest ya say yer goodbyes to any loved ones with you, make peace with your Princesses, n' meet me by the drawbridge wheel to leave. If not, well ya'll are welcome to stay here and rest for however long ya need to. That's all."

The large group of ponies immediately set off to ponder their decision, a loud chorus of murmuring and voices echoing off the old walls of the castle. "Well...let's go I guess." muttered, getting to her hooves and following Macintosh down towards the entrance way that led to the old drawbridge.

As the three ponies waited by the large wheel that controlled the drawbridge's movements, more and more ponies started to make their way over to them. It took only maybe five minutes as Macintosh found himself seated in front of around forty ponies had all grouped up, waiting for his word. Mares and colts alike, some a bit younger than Macintosh would have been comfortable with and a few who looked to be well into their middle-aged years. He scanned the crowd carefully for a moment before he gave a single nod and said "Alright...ah think we all know what we're up against out there. We're gonna see if we can't find some weapons to help out against them diseased folk. Until then, just go for the neck. Stomp on em, kick em', throttle em if ya got to. Just make your energy count!"

They nodded quickly, anticipating and fear making a few of them shiver as Macintosh started to turn the large wheel, dropping the Drawbridge down to the ground. "Here we go again..." Rainbow Dash whispered to herself, following Macintosh with his militia group over the drawbridge and back over into the forest.

It was only an hour or so after that Macintosh, trying his best to lead his large group through the dense trees and underbrush, came across a large clearing. He noticed that light was starting to seep its way into the sky, giving way to a brand new dawn on the horizon. "Alright..." Macintosh muttered, turning towards Rainbow Dash and the others and shouting "We'll stop here fer now! Rest yer hooves if ya gotta. Don't go too far though!" The large group broke up slightly, each trying to find a good place to rest for a moment.

Rainbow sat with Macintosh, a weary but determined look in her eyes. When she really thought about it, she wasn't sure when exactly she had time to get a decent night's sleep. She could see it in Macintosh's eyes as well, those emerald eyes begging to be closed. "You ok Macintosh...?" she muttered, patting the big pony on his massive side "Don't go falling asleep on me now!"

Macintosh merely chuckled, shaking his head and the tiredness out of his eyes as he answered back "Ah know. Maybe once all o' this is over...ah think ah'm gonna sleep for a week straight."

"Heh, I'm with you on that one," Rainbow agreed, smiling "Nothing's going to keep me from the perfect napping cloud ever ag-"

Her words were suddenly cut off as a thunderous boom echoed through the forest, the startled faces of many ponies shooting their looks along the treeline where the explosion originated from. "What in the hay was...?" Macintosh muttered, hearing crashing noises through the trees. A crashing...that was heading their way. "Ya'll get into the trees now and keep low!" Big Macintosh shouted, waving his hoof frantically to the woods behind them. "Don't attack until we're sure we got the drop on em!"

They bolted for the trees quickly as the thunderous booms increased in intensity and volume, the ground beneath the workhorse's hooves vibrating slightly. He retreated back into the trees as well as a tree on the opposite side of the clearing lit up with purple magic before exploding violently, sending shards of lumber in all directions. He gave a mighty yelp as he dove for cover, Rainbow gasping and pointing towards the blown apart tree "Holy horseapples! Macintosh it's Discord!"

"What?!" Macintosh hollered back, taking cover behind the tree next to Rainbow's and peeking his head out. Sure enough, the Lord of Chaos himself could be seen sailing through the trees, a very angry look about on his face as he weaved this way and that, avoiding giant bolts of reddish, purple magic.

"Look's like he's running from something..." Rainbow whispered, watching as Discord swerved violently to avoid a bolt from taking his head off, turning in the direction of Macintosh and his group. "Shit...he's coming this way!"

"Now let's just keep it cool Rainbow..." Macintosh muttered, listening to the panicked whispering of his militia ponies about Discord's presence. "We dunno if the magic user shooting at him is an enemy to us either, they could very well go n' shoot at us t- RAINBOW!"

He hadn't even bothered to look back towards Rainbow to see if she was there, his attention too focused on Discord. A rainbow blur shot away from the trees, soaring towards the incoming Discord who was too busy looking behind him to notice the cyan mare twirling and aiming a rear hoof towards his face in a sailing kick. "Hey, ASSHOLE!" Rainbow shouted "How's your dentistry insurance?!" Discord turned his head back around, an eyebrow raised. His eyes suddenly widened as the hoof connected with his face, bucking him right in the mouth. The multi-formed monster roared as he recoiled in shock and pain, snarling as he reached out with a clawed hand, grasping his mouth with the other.

"You...little...SHIT!" Discord spat, grabbing Rainbow around her neck and causing her to let out a tight wheeze. The poor mare pawed at his hand with her hooves, trying to pry the beast off of her as the chaos wielder growled "I do not have time for you and your Elements today. You're all going to pay for your stupidity and foolish bravery soon enough!" He reared back his arm and threw her forward with a mighty heave, sending her tumbling into the wet grass. She slid to a stop, gasping for air and coughing like crazy. She held a tender hoof to her neck, coughing madly while Discord flexed his griffon hand, the claws starting to gleam a bright red. "I think..." he rumbled, holding his claw back "You'll be the first to discover it! One less Element is one less fool to stop me!" He swiped at the air, three large, crescent moon blades or red sailing through the air towards the helpless Pegasus.

Macintosh gasped, watching as the blades soared towards the mare. Without even thinking, he burst out from behind his hiding spot, rushing out towards hers. "Rainbow!!!!" he screamed, diving towards her as the blades neared their target. Rainbow barely time to react as her vision filled with red, the blades finally entering her vision. It was like slow motion as the cyan mare felt strong hooves shove her out of the way, sending her careening across the grass like a ragdoll.

The work horse however, was not so lucky.

Two of the three blades slammed into his side, cutting into his flesh and drawing a thunderous, wounded holler out of the stallion. He was thrown through the air, crashing into a tree as Discord swore and prepared his claws for another attack. "I'll have you this time you little-"

A bright flash of yellow light cut off the beast quickly as a massive bolt of sunlit energy soared through the air, causing the chaos lord to duck quickly to avoid it. Princess Celestia stood in all her glory, flanked by the members of Shadow Squad and a few of her Royal Warriors. "I knew it!" She shouted, her horn crackling with the might of the sun "All I had to do was follow the magical discharges flying about and I knew I'd find you!" She aimed her horn towards Discord, snarling as the Nightfire spun up his miniguns, narrowing his eyes while Moon-Lance, Wind-Weaver, and Sky-Driver all lined up shots with their bolt actions. "Prepare yourself, Lord of Chaos! Your reign of Tyranny ends here!"

Discord, for a split second....looked like he was afraid. The thunderous crashing of the trees returned behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder and growl. He quickly looked back towards Celestia, narrowing her eyes and hissing "Sssooon..." before snapping his fingers and disappearing into a flash of red magic. The sun princess let out a breath as Discord disappeared, swearing quietly to herself.

"Dammit..." she muttered, staring at the spot where Discord had only just occupied "We nearly had him, I suppose we shall continue to monitor for more large magical disch-"

"MACINTOSH!" Rainbow screamed, cutting off Princess Celestia's words and causing the five of them to jump slightly, startled and amazed at the fact that they were not alone. Quickly turning her head, Celestia watched as Rainbow was thrown away violently, a thrashing Macintosh screaming at her to stay back.

"Don't come a...any closer!" roared the stallion, his side burning heavily and his clenched shut eyes leaking with blood "Ya'll go on n' get out of here, ah'm done for!"

Rainbow shook her head, rushing back over towards her friend as she screamed "Don't say that! You're gonna be ok, you're gonna be fine!!!"

She was once again hurled away as the stallion let out a raspy shout, shaking his head and trying his best to stem away the old rage he had once felt in Canterlot "Ah said stay away! Ah can't...ah ain't gonna...take care o' little Moonlight...d...don't let her...!"

He let out a savage roar as another mare matched his scream in perfect sync. Her shrill cry was enough to cause many ponies' ears to ring as a mare screamed "NNNOOOOOOOOO!" Twilight Sparkle crashed through the treeline, her horn still crackling with the high powered magic she had only just been shooting at Discord when he started to slip away from her in the trees. Tears of blood spilled from her eyes as she rushed towards the flailing stallion, the mare completely ignoring Princess Celestia and Rainbow Dash as she flew as fast as her hooves could carry her.

"Twilight!" Gasped the alicorn and cyan Pegasus, the two of them shocked to see the unicorn.

The lavender mare rushed to the stallion's side, putting her hooves on him and trying her best to pin him down. "Oh honey, sweetie no! Please no! I c...I can't lose you now!" She cried, watching helplessly as Macintosh kept his eyes shut, holding his head in his hooves and letting out heavy whines. The unicorn felt absolutely helpless as she ran through in her mind ANY solution she could use...anything to save him. But getting infected a second time...it was just game over. "There has to be something, anything!" She shouted, the stallion starting to grow still. His breath came out in ragged heaves, streaks of blood staining the fur under his eyes.

The unicorn could do nothing except push her hooves against her eyes, weeping as she felt him move beside her. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry!" She whispered, his shadow passing over her as she wept "I should have told you...I shouldn't have hid from you! Please forgive me!!!"

The ponies around them could only look in absolute wonder as Macintosh reached for the lavender unicorn, his hooves inching towards her neck. Twilight felt his hooves on her cheeks, knowing the inevitable twist of his hooves and the snap of her neck was imminent. She could have easily broken away, easy beaten him but...she just didn't have it in her heart to kill him. She felt her chin being tilted up, a raspy breath taken in and.......lips pressed against hers.

Her eyes flew open, her gleaming violet eyes staring into the gleaming color of ruby eyes. Macintosh pushed his lips harder against her, drawing a muffled 'squeak' of shock out of Twilight. They stayed that way for a good moment before they slowly moved their heads away just enough to stare at one another. The wide-eyed unicorn could do nothing except stare at him, utter disbelief upon her eyes. Could it have been a trick? There was no way...no way at all that he could be...!

Rainbow was the first one to call it out, pointing a hoof at a carrier Macintosh who merely smiled slightly, a blush on his cheeks. "HOW!?" She shouted, causing Princess Celestia to merely blink in surprise as well "How the...when did...WHAT!?" she screamed, her mind absolutely in a confused flux.

"Well then..." said a voice on the opposite side of the clearing, drawing everypony's heads to turn to the source....a large, heavily armored bat-pony as big as Princess Luna, ethereal wisps of red, smokey magic emanating from her blood red eyes. A necklace with several tiny of vials hung around her neck, one of them in particular gleaming with bright red magic. It didn't help the completely shocked pony's mass confusion as Applejack and Shadow-Mane themselves, infected by the looks of their eyes, came trotting out from behind her, standing on both sides of her. "Looks like we were just in time, that's a relief." Said the large bat-pony, a big smile stretching on her face. For a moment, nopony spoke, nopony moved. It was a tense few moments that drew the large pony to raise an eyebrow as she muttered "Um...hello?"

The only sound that came out of anypony at that point, was a high-pitched, voice-cracking Rainbow Dash squeaking quite simply:

"WHAT?!"

Author's Notes:

Oh mah stars it's 7 A.M.

I'm going to bed >.<

Sorry if errors, will fix. Can't think, brain burnout.

More updates soon.