For a few hours, Shining and I sat in the cave, waiting in silence for some word from one of the princesses. Eventually, I decided to sit down on the floor. Why? Because it’s a damn sight harder to use meditation while standing up.

“What are you doing?” Shining asked me curiously.

“I’m gonna practice my meditation, and see if there’s anything else out there at the same time. I’m a little rusty, so it might not work…”

Closing my eyes, I began to clear my mind of all distractions. Worry, anxiety, fear, anger, sorrow, and happiness all faded away. A peaceful serenity replaced it all. Shining seemed to sense that I was doing something important, as he made barely any noise at all. Slowly, my mind’s eye started to open, and I saw the entirety of the cave in it. Every single insect, slumbering bird, and creeping bat was open to me. My mind then began to expand, and more life revealed itself to my mind.

It’s a humbling experience, no matter how you look at it. No matter how powerful, or clever that you think you are, whenever you open yourself to the life that’s all around you, the sheer amount of it can always overwhelm you if you’re not careful. And it might turn you into a vegetarian. That’s something I tend to avoid, as I kinda like my cheeseburgers.

Anyways, while I expanded my mental faculties, I worked on calming my physical self as well. My heart started to pump in a slower, more rhythmic beat, while my muscles started to relax. As that happened, my usual aches and pains that lingered after a battle began to fade away, only to be replaced by the same cool feeling of peace, and awareness.

“Shining, don’t try to poke me,” I mumbled without even opening my eyes.

“How did you-?”

“I'm Batman,” I replied instantly. I then opened an eye and winked at him, and we shared a weak laugh.

Five minutes after that, I could sense nothing in our immediate vicinity. And that’s what started to worry me. Even the insects, normally so numerous that they could always be felt, seemed to have vanished. The only signs of life I could sense were myself, Shining, and the plants.

“Something ain’t right,” I finally said, breaking my concentration, and standing up. I rolled my arm a few times to stretch it out, and added, “I can’t feel anything out there.”

Shining nodded, his own eyes darting about. “Yeah. I can’t hear anything out there. And do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” I asked, sniffing a few times. “As far as I can tell, there’s nothing in the air.”

He frowned somewhat, and shook his head. “Not just that, but I mean…there’s something in the air. Like the calm before the storm, you know?”

“I get what you mean. Hm…either way, there’s nothing we can do until somepony gives us the word of where they are,” I sighed. I started to pace around the cave, and started to puzzle over different things.

Waiting. That’s all we did. For almost three hours, in near total silence, we waited, hoping for some sort of signal or confirmation that everyone was okay. I mean, sure, we had fought off the Diamond Dogs, but what about the other potential enemies?

As if in answer to my questions, a sudden spark appeared in the air, and a small scrap of paper dropped onto the cave floor. I snatched at it quickly, and read a small message, in Luna’s hoofwriting. According to it, they had bunkered in a cavern not too far from our own. Shining and I quickly left the cave, and followed the instructions on it to a nearby clearing that was set against a cliff wall.

The wall was peppered with small holes everywhere, each of them a potential hiding place for our friends, but we didn’t know which one was the one they had chosen to bunker down in.

Neither did the dragon smashing its claws against the cliff.

“So…a dragon,” I commented weakly, looking at the massive, green scaled beast that was hammering away at the side of the cliff. Serrated spines twisted down the length of his neck and tail, while his wings furiously beat his wings to stay aloft in the air.

“A dragon. How did you make THEM mad?” Shining asked, as his horn glowed in anticipation of the unavoidable confrontation.

“Great Dragon Migration, I mighta handed some teenage dragon’s asses to them.” I cracked my neck, and started to think of ways we could fight that scaly mother-hubber. “One of them ratted me out to their elders, and the next thing I know, I’m fighting dragons.”

“You definitely don’t get in trouble by halves, do you?” Shining chuckled.

“Any job worth doing is worth doing right,” I solemnly nodded. “Okay then. How the hell are we gonna get rid of that thing?”

“I dunno,” Shining said, scratching his head. “How did you get rid of the dragons that attacked you?”

I coughed slightly, and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I might’ve just snuck away,” I confessed. “I’m not one for fighting dragons…”

“You and me both then. So how are we supposed to get around that thing?” Shining asked, looking around at the other caves lower to the ground.

“I dunno. Normally, in the olden stories, Dragons were always defeated by a combination of wit, and cunning,” I said, scratching my beard. “And witty though I may be, cunning I ain’t…we need a way to distract it, or-”

A hoof tapped my shoulder suddenly, and I whirled around to meet the face of Princess Luna, who was smiling mischievously at the two of us. She tapped her mouth, and gestured for us to come closer. When we were both right next to her, her horn flashed for an instant, and I found myself inside of a dark cave.

“That helps,” I smiled.

Luna nodded, and led us further back into the cave, where the rest of the ponies, and Spike, were waiting. Cadence immediately ran to Shining, and they embraced, pressing close to one another in a combination of relief and happiness. I sighed, and went over to Twilight’s still slumbering form, and placed a hand on her back.

“How much longer until all of this is over?” I murmured, idly running a hand over the small bumps that were protruding from her back.

Celestia stood over me, and shook her head, saying, “Two more days at the least.”

“And at most?”

She hesitated, before answering, “She might be in that state for three months.”

Remaining silent, I continued to stroke Twilight’s mane, and pondered the situation. In any case, I needed to talk with Twilight about all of this. “Princess, is it alright if I remove that sleeping spell now? Or should I just…” I trailed off, and she nodded understandingly.

“Luna can allow you to talk in her dreams,” she said, motioning for Luna to come over and work her magic.

Without warning, soft moonlight filled my vision, and the ground fell away from me. Silently, I plummeted towards…something.

When the light faded, I was surprised to see that stars were twinkling everywhere. No matter where I looked, stars dominated my vision. Well, minus one obvious exception.

“Sean?” Twilight’s voice echoed. I turned, and spotted her lying on the ground, her legs curled up beneath her. Ethereal wings gently floated on her back, and she looked somewhat scared.

“Twi,” I answered, running over, and wrapping my arms around her in a gentle hug.

“What’s happening?” she whispered, burying her face in my shirt.

Easing myself into a sitting position, with Twilight on my lap, I slowly told her everything that had happened while she was asleep. I didn’t even bother trying to hide anything, as we both knew that she would know if I tried.

She just knew me too well.

“So right now, Luna let me come into your dreams for a few moments,” I finished, once again stroking Twilight’s mane. “I can’t wake you up, or else the pain of the transformation’ll hurt you too much.”

[Right now, I’d like to suggest that you listen to “I, Zero, Your Fellow Interlude – Mythos” from Mega Man Zero 3]

She let out a heavy sigh, and closed her eyes. Trembling slightly, she asked me, “How are you holding up?”

“Not too good, actually,” I answered truthfully. “Twilight, I’m scared. Just today, we’ve had to fight through a small battalion of Diamond Dogs, and there’s a huge dragon trying to smash its way into our hiding place, with more on the way. Not only that, but Shining and I both agree that the changelings, griffons, and probably some shadow-stalkers are gonna join up in this whole thing.” Tears fell from my face, and I had to struggle not to raise my voice. “We can’t get the royal guard over here in time, Celestia and Luna can’t fight ALL of them off, and now I somehow managed to get everypony else involved.”

Before I could continue, Twilight pressed her lips against mine, effectively shutting me up. My eyes widened in shock, and she giggled slightly. “Now that I have your attention, maybe you could listen to me for a second?” she asked teasingly. “If it makes you feel better, I’m not scared.”

“What? But…why?” I asked, surprised.

She pressed herself closer to me, and answered, “Because…you’re here.”

“Um, didn’t you hear the earlier rant? I’m not strong enough to fight off all of them by myself! Shining was right…I can’t protect you,” I growled, slamming my fist into the ground.

“Sean…” Twilight chided. “You CAN do this. It’s not just strength that wins wars, and you know that. Besides, I know you can get us through this.”

“How? How do you know?” Just as I asked that, the stars started to glow brighter, and their light filled the room, blinding me.

Suddenly, I started to fly into the air, and the last thing I heard was, “Because I trust you! You’re not just a Traveler! You’re a guardian!”

My eyes shot open, and I jumped up, startled. “What happened?” I shouted, summoning my sword. “What’s going on?”

Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor all continued to face the direction of the opening of the cave, barely acknowledging my return to consciousness. In fact, Rarity was the only one who turned to me, and grimly answered, “They’re here.”

Confused, I crept to the entrance of the cave, and felt my eyes widen in fear as I looked outside.

I didn’t like what I saw.

On the ground, a hundreds of Diamond Dogs prowled about, howling and barking at the caves, some of them already digging into the ground, ready to hunt us down. Loads of them were wearing crude metal armor, and waving around spears tipped with different gems, most likely signifying rank of some kind.

Above them, massive dragons soared through the air, lighting the sky for miles with the occasional burst of fire. The only good thing about them was that they were the least numerous, with roughly fifty dragons there. Flying alongside them, I could see swarms of black specks, eagerly buzzing about.

Yeah. Changelings. Thousands of them.

Shit.

“Well, that’s it then,” Rarity said from behind me. “There’s too many of them. Not even the combined might of the Elements could get rid of them.”

“Rarity might be right,” Shining said darkly. “I couldn’t even bring up a shield large enough to withstand all of them. The changelings and dogs, sure, but the dragons?” He shook his head.

“What we need is more time,” Celestia stated calmly, gazing at the armies below us.

I didn’t answer them at first. At the moment, my thoughts were busy running through endless plans, trying to pick one that could possibly get us all out of this alive. Snippets of conversations flashed before my eyes, as I started to form an idea.

“I’m not strong enough to fight all of them off by myself…”

“More time…”

“Back up…”

“It’s not strength that wins wars…”

“That’ll keep ‘em squabbling for half an hour!”

Hang on...I’ve been through something like this before, or at least, been there for someone else to go through this! If I can just rearrange a speech, and hopefully remember enough of it, then we’ll have enough time for me to…wait a second. IDEA!

“I have a plan!” I shouted, laughing crazily. “I need you all to trust me though!”

“We’re with you,” Cadence instantly said.

“Excellent! Alright then, Rarity I need you to rip my clothes a bit, make me look more battle weary! Luna, if you would please use your magic to make my voice louder and more echoey, that’d be fantasic! Pinkie!”

The pink mare looked at me in confusion, and I grinned.

“Get me the background music.”

Twilight was right. It’s not just strength that wins wars.

Words win wars.

Soon enough, my shirt had been artfully ripped on its sleeves, with bits of red dye (courtesy of Cadence’s magic and some red hairs from Dash) on certain places. I had an eye-patch over one eye, and my hair was still tied back in its signature do-rag. Hopefully, that would make me look a bit more tough...and give me an edge.

“Ready?” I signaled Luna and Pinkie.

They nodded, Pinkie pressing play on her record player (that she stashed just in case of an emergency…it’s Pinkie, don’t ask).

[Right now, I’d suggest listening to “Words Win Wars” from Doctor Who.]

I jumped out of the cave, and landed on a ledge, shouting in my magically amplified voice, “Hello Everfree! Who takes Twilight’s power, takes Equestria! But! Bad news everyone!” Suddenly, the moon’s light focused on me, illuminating me for all to see, and I cried out, “’Cause guess who!? HA!”

The armies roared in anger, and started to move forward. I shook my head, and added, “Listen you lot! You’re all clanking about, it’s really very distracting. Could you all just sit still for a second, because I. AM. TALKING!!!”

In shock, they all stopped where they were, surprised that I would do such an idiotic thing. Some of them were intimidated, others amused. It didn’t matter though. I was on a roll.

“Now, the million dollar question is: Who’s got Twilight? Answer, I do, next question! Who’s coming to take her from me?” I held out my arms, waiting for them to make a move. When no one did, I called out, “Come on! Look at me! No plan, no backup, no magic worth a damn, oh! And something else I don’t have: Anything! To! Loose! So!”

I waved my hand at all of them, and continued, shouting, “If you're sitting down there with all your weak little troops, and all your silly, little, weapons, and if you’ve got any plans on taking Twilight Sparkle tonight! Just remember who’s standing in your way! Remember, every black day I’ve ever stopped you, and then, AND THEN!” I glared at all of them, and held my hand up in a single fist, and stated, “Do the smart thing.”

The armies glanced at one another for an instant, before I hammered it home.

“Let somebody else…try first.”

All of them finally started to remember when I had fought them, some of them remembering individual encounters, others remembering stories. As one, they all fled backwards, retreating to what they thought was a much safer distance, and I grinned.

“That ought to keep ‘em squabbling for about half an hour,” I cackled, coming back inside of the cave.

I looked around at all of them, and scoffed jokingly. “Ponies,” I muttered. “Now! We’ve got some time now! I’m gonna do something that should help us out!”

“What’s that?” Applejack asked.

“Call in a few favors...You know, I think it's time Gordon payed me back...”

"The guy with the crowbar?"

"No...the guy who helped me meet Jenna."

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