“—deliver some terrible news. Princess Pinkie? I’m afraid the resistance has failed. Our home world has been destroyed.”

Spike and Pinkie gasped.

“My father?” Pinkie asked as she got up. Her heart was suddenly threatening to jump from her chest.

Regal lowered his head and looked away. “I’m sorry, my Princess.”

Pinkie shook her head sadly. “Then it’s over. There’s no more reason to remain here.”

“Princess?” Spike asked. “What do you mean? Shouldn’t we remain here where it’s safe?”

“Safe? Spike, our home world was safe once. How long before the Evil One spreads his dark clutches again? How long before the war comes to Equestria? We have to do something!”

“But, Princess Pinkie,” Regal said. “What can we three alone do where our armies could not?”

“Regal. You have been my bodyguard since I was a filly. I have seen you single hoofedly take down monsters that even groups of our elite soldiers couldn’t defeat. I know of the powerful spirit that burns inside you.

“Spike. You are a royal dragon. Your claws can rend metal like tissue paper. Your fire is the thing of legends, able to burn through anything.

“As a princess, you both know of the magic I possess. Did you think I didn’t foresee this possibility? That I had been spending my time in hiding growing weak and forgetful? I have been preparing for this day while hoping it would never come.” Pinkie stared at Regal, fire burning in her eyes. “The enemy has taken from us our home. I say we do the same to them.”

“I can open a portal to the Evil Creature’s home world,” Regal said. “But such a portal would be a one-way trip. Princess... if we do this... we won’t be coming back.”

Pinkie looked out at the stadium, at all the ponies of this happy world. They lived their lives in ignorance of the great battle that was being fought throughout the universe. Pinkie intended to keep it that way. “Open the portal, Regal.”

“Horse apples! They were expecting us!” Regal said as he cut down another foe.

The Evil Mastermind behind the Universal War employed many strange creatures, and these were some of the strangest Regal had ever seen. They were twice his size and had course, sack-like bodies. Their limbs were tiny appendages that flopped about whenever their body moved. No visible head could be seen, but they still knew where to attack. Regal again swung his sword and cut a creature vertically down the middle. The creature roared in pain as a powdery white substance spilled from its wound.

For every creature Regal cut down, two more seemed to take its place. The fields were covered in their bodies, making the already treacherous ground even more difficult to maneuver through. In the distance was a fortress made from a dark metal that absorbed light. It hurt Regal’s eyes to look at it for long. The Evil Being was within those walls. That didn’t matter now. Regal was becoming overwhelmed and what little ground he had gained was being stripped away.

Spike and Princess Pinkie were doing their best. Spike’s fire and claws were making short work of the foes, but even he would soon tire. The Princess’s magic was slowly lifting the creatures into the air. Their bodies would rupture as they landed back on the ground. She was powerful, being able to lift something so heavy, but nowhere near as skilled at combat as she had led Regal to believe. He had to spend more time protecting the Princess than anything else. These creature’s numbers were near endless. All they had to do was keep attacking, and all would be over.

Then the enemy did something Regal didn’t like. They retreated.

The battle broke apart as the creatures, as one, turned and fled the battlefield. Regal looked around in confusion. Why stop? Another hour—two at most—and they would have won. Regal stepped towards the Princess and stumbled. He looked down at what he had tripped on and was horrified.

“Run!” Regal yelled.

The Princess looked at him. “Regal? What—”

“Run!” Regal yelled again.

The group ran. It was a trap within a trap. Of course, the enemy would retreat. Why sacrifice more than what was necessary? All the dead had woken up an even greater foe. The ground rumbled, and a chirping sound could be heard behind the fleeing ponies and dragon.

The Princess looked over her shoulder and screamed.

“Don’t stop!” Regal said between pants. “Keep running!”

“Regal, what are they?”

Regal risked a glance at the horror behind him. Thousands of little fuzzy creatures were pouring out from holes in the ground. “Lint mites. We were fighting on their nests. Now they’ve woken up, and they’re hungry.”

The trio ran on, but were slowing down. The chirping from behind got louder as the lint mites sensed their impending meal.

“Lint mites hunt as a pack, don’t they?” Spike asked.

“Yes,” Regal said, nearly out of breath.

“So they’ll stop if they catch one of us.”

Regal started to answer when he realized Spike wasn’t asking a question.

“Spike! No!” the Princess yelled.

Regal glanced behind him. Spike had stopped running. He took a deep breath and began spraying fire. The lint mites burned but were too numerous. Soon Spike could no longer be seen. The Princess started to slow.

“Princess! Don’t.”

“We could still—”

“Don’t waste this chance he’s given us!”

The Princess continued to run, tears streaming down her face. The lint mites didn’t chase anymore. They had their meal.

The fortress was standing before them. No more creatures had attacked. It was possible that the Evil Overlord had thought them dead, but unlikely. There would be another trap ahead. The Princess stepped onto the dark metal entrance to the fortress. She was tough, there was no doubt about it, but she lacked the necessary experience of real combat. The coming battle would be hard on her.

Regal stepped forward and his hoof sank slightly into the ground. A telltale click was heard, and the world seemed to grow quiet. Regal hated himself. He was so focused on the Princess that he hadn’t seen the trap laid out before him.

“Princess,” Regal said as calmly as he could manage.

Princess Pinkie turned and began walking towards him.

“Don’t come any closer!” Regal yelled. The look of confusion on the Princess’s face was replaced with worry.

“Regal? What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

“I... I’ve stepped onto a turnip mine.”

The Princess gasped and stepped closer.

“Please, Princess. Stay away. If I step from the mine, the magic will go off and destroy me.”

“Regal... no...”

“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. Go, Princess. It’s up to you now.”

“Regal, please! I can’t do this on my own. I’m not the strong one. I’ll use my magic on the mine. I’ll just—”

“No! If you use magic, it’ll just go off early. Princess...” Regal shook his head. “Pinkie, you can do this. I believe in you. Your people. I... we love you. You are our symbol of hope. It was why I took you to Equestria. Why I tried to shield you from all this. I wish things could have turned out differently, but this is the path you must take. The Evil Master is ahead. He must be stopped. Go, Pinkie.”

Pinkie sobbed as she walked into the fortress. Regal looked away. He would wait for her to be out of sight before stepping off the mine. No reason for her to see this. The sound of hooves beating rapidly on metal caused Regal to look up.

Pinkie hit Regal with a running head butt. As Regal flew through the air, the world seemed to slow down. He looked at Pinkie. Tears were in her eyes, but she was smiling. She said three words that Regal would never forget.

The explosion was bright but not loud. Regal hit the ground hard and looked up. He could she Pinkie’s silhouette fade away as the magic of the turnip mine was expelled. Regal slowly got back to his hooves. He stared in silence at the spot where Pinkie had been just moments ago. Then, he continued on into the fortress.

She had sacrificed herself for him. He would grieve long and hard later, but for now, he had an Evil Villain that had to pay.

“Well, well, well,” the voice with a strangely, Manehatten-like accent said as Regal entered the final chamber. “If it ain’t my old chum, Regal.”

“I’m not your chum,” Regal said as he drew his sword. Ahead of him was the back of a large swivel chair.

The voice laughed. “No, I suppose not. You’re no chum of mine. You’re just a loo-sah. I thought I told ya I didn’t want to see ya no mores.”

“Yes, Evil Bad Guy. And I told you that you hadn’t seen the last of me. Though our planet has been destroyed, and our princess is dead. I will still rid the universe of you!”

“Puh-lease. You think you could actually harm...” The chair spun around. “Your own brotha?”

Regal glared at the pile of rocks. “You’re not my brother,” he said angrily. “Not after what you did to our family.”

The rocks chuckled. “And just what are ya gonna to do about it, Regal? Why, I bet ya haven’t even finished your homework!”

Regal looked around at the rest of the class. They were all handing in their homework assignments. Regal looked through his school bag. Surely, he would have remembered such an important assignment. What class was this anyway? On the board was written Advanced Trigonometrical Designs. Regal didn’t remember signing up for this class.

“Alright, class,” the teacher said. “I hope all of you studied for your final exam.”

“And remember, class, today is school picture day.”

~~~

Regal awoke with a choking gasp. He breathed heavily as the dream slowly faded and reality set in. He looked out of the carriage's window and at the fading lights of the WBE stadium. What a miserable experience today had been. The farther he got from that pink pony and baby dragon, the better.

Regal settled himself back into the carriage’s seat and tried to go back to sleep. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have that dream again.

Author's Notes:

← I want to choose another intermission Onward to Chapter Twenty-Five →