The fighting fizzled out after the siege cannons exploded. Those creatures fighting for the enemy had retreated back to their side of the wall. Something inside of me told me that this wasn’t over, that it was just beginning. Something bigger was moving in place, something that was going to overtake all of us.

I thought of what Click had done, his noble sacrifice. I thought of the brief moment that Heartshine had touched me with her magic. I had felt something, a connection I hadn’t felt since All’z’reth had infected me.

I watched carefully as the townsponies gathered their dead and wounded. Doctor Shimmer stood at the forefront, guiding them to a tent to be checked on. Golden Chalice had also arrived, looking a little worse for wear but still alive. Heartshine stood next to me while the others were working on getting the town gate back in place enough to slow down a second wave of attack.

“Starry,” Dusk said in my ear. “We need to talk, now.”

I grimaced and glanced sidelong at Heartshine. “Dusk said he needs to talk,” I said.

“Dusk is the pony that was on your robot friend’s monitor?” she asked. “Who is he?”

“It’s… it’s a long story,” I said. “Just… hold down the fort until I get back.”

“Alright. I need to make a stop back at my place anyways,” Heartshine replied. “If there’s going to be a second attack, we need a little more firepower than what we have.”

“Be careful, alright?” I said, bumping hooves with her. I watched as she flew off towards her domicile before turning my attention to Dusk. I walked off towards a quiet corner of the town where we could be alone. “Alright, what’s going on, Dusk?”

“We are in a very serious pickle here,” Dusk said. His face looked weary and tired. “That unicorn leading them, he is bad news. If he is here, we are in a lot of trouble.”

“Who is he? Why is he here?” I asked. “None of what’s happening here is making any sense.”

“That’s because none of the reasons why he came here have happened yet,” Dusk said with a sigh. “His name is Deathless Crystal, and he’s the Archmage Supreme of the Crystal Empire. He is in charge of all military operations that the Empire pursues.”

“The Crystal Empire? Didn’t it get destroyed in the Great War?” I asked, cocking my ears to one side.

“In one timeline, yes. In my timeline, the Empire disappeared and then reappeared with a vengeance, bent on the utter destruction of pony kind,” Dusk replied. “Their technology is far more advanced than you can imagine. The Crystal Empire of my timeline’s primary line of research was Megaspell Weaponry.”

“Like… balefire bombs,” I said flatly.

“Worse,” Dusk said. “I fear that I am the cause of all of this. By jumping back the way that I did… something must have allowed them to travel with me. I’m responsible for this, all of it. What I did… didn’t change a fucking thing.”

“Wait… what do you mean?” I asked.

“The temporal megaspell, the one that I latched onto… it was inside the Crystal Empire,” Dusk said. “I found it, and used it to bring myself back in time.”

“Alright, but I don’t understand… what does that have to do with us in the here and now?” I said. “Why does this Deathless Crystal want this town?”

“He doesn’t… he wants you and your friends,” Dusk said with a scowl. “The Crystal Empire must have reason to believe that you can save me from this temporal prison. If so, their goal is to take you and your friends out of the equation before that can happen.”

My eyes widened. “I can’t believe any of this, Dusk. So, Crystal Empire assassins from the future come back to defeat us before we can impact future events? It sounds… crazy,” I said.

“I know it does, but I assure you that everything is true,” Dusk replied. “And now that Deathless Crystal is here, we can’t fight him. He’s gathered too strong of a force for us to take him on head-on.”

I grimaced, glancing down at my hooves. “Where is your prison, Dusk? Why are they so afraid of you?” I asked.

“We don’t really have the time to go into that right now,” Dusk hissed with urgency in his voice. “You need to prepare for another wave of attack, and I need to think up a way that we can beat Deathless Crystal without getting you and the townsponies killed. That’s going to take me some time.”

I blinked as Dusk’s image faded out of my E.F.S., disappearing into nothingness. I scowled, cursing under my breath as I started heading back towards the town. As I reached the main plaza of the town, I stopped in my tracks, hearing a voice wash over all of us.

“Inhabitants of Stable Town! You have something that belongs to me! I tried to be merciful, but you resisted. You will turn over the unicorn named Starry Night, the Heartmender named Heartshine, and their friends to me! You have one hour to comply,” a raspy angry voice shouted. “One hour, then my generals will enter and collect you personally, dead or alive. They will leave nothing behind.”

I shuddered, feeling the voice shake my bones to the core. That couldn’t be anyone but Deathless Crystal. I noticed that many of the other ponies milling around the plaza were staring at me, as was Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice. They knew who I was, and they knew that they wanted us. I could see in their eyes they were ready to throw us over to them. After all, they didn’t know us.

But they did know Heartshine. Their eyes softened as she appeared, carrying a large bag. She dumped it at my hooves and grimaced as she saw me.

“I just heard their leader,” she said. “This isn’t good.”

From behind her, I saw Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice approaching. Lightning and the others had returned from the gate, walking up behind me. I tensed, ready to move if I had to.

“Hold yourself,” Golden Chalice said. “We do not mean you any harm. My sister and I have spoken at length about our predicament, and we agree as well as does the town, that we cannot in good faith turn you over to these monsters.”

“Exactly. It would go against our very code as Followers of the Apocalypse. If these beasts want to fight, we shall give them a fight,” Doctor Shimmer added. “Besides, they are asking for one of our own as well. Heartshine has been invaluable to the town. We will not let them have her.”

“Thank you,” Lightning said softly.

“We have a much bigger problem now, then,” I said. “The one in charge of this army, he’s bad news, and his generals… they’re just as bad. Well… sort of. I saw all of them through Click’s viewfinder before…”

“And?” Coconut said.

“This guy that’s in charge, Dusk said his name was Deathless Crystal. His generals… well, one of them is Wrath,” I said, noticing Rocky’s eyes narrow at the mention of the name. “The other two are… are Kephali of the Oasis and Iron Comet.”

“Iron fucking Comet? Are you fucking kidding me?” Velvet interjected.

“Yeah, he didn’t look too thrilled to be there,” I admitted. “Maybe he’s our linchpin. If he turns against them, then the extra firepower could be enough to overpower Wrath.”

“Excuse me, but who is Wrath?” Golden Chalice asked.

“Wrath is the leader of a Cult of psychotic minotaurs from our home city in Chicacolt,” Rocky rumbled. “The same Cult that I was born into and escaped from.”

“He’s also clinically insane and capable of incredible feats of strength,” Lightning added. “If he’s here, we’re very much outclassed.”

“Ahem.”

We all turned as one to glance at Heartshine. While we’d been talking she had been working with whatever she’d brought in the large bag. As she snapped the final piece into place, she blew some of the dust off the massive rifle that she now brandished.

“Haven’t used this thing in a long time,” Heartshine said with a wistful look in her eyes. “But they made these things to last, so hopefully this will give us the punch we need to take down this Wrath character.”

“What the fuck is that thing? It’s so big,” Velvet said with awe.

“I call it the Buster,” Heartshine said, a small grin forming on her face. “It’s a charged energy weapon. It can fire normal shots, but it can also fire a burst round that depletes the energy cell while providing a massive kickback of energy.”

“I’m impressed,” Lightning said. “And you can handle firing it?”

“Please, I’m not some little filly,” Heartshine said. “Granted, it’s a little heavy, but I don’t need to carry it to get a bead on a minotaur. I just need clearance.”

I grimaced, considering what Dusk had told me about Deathless Crystal. I needed to make sure that everyone knew what we were up against. I raised a hoof, drawing their attention.

“This pony that’s in charge… we need to be careful. He may have given or outfitted his generals with technology that’s far beyond our own time,” I said. “We need to be prepared for just about anything.”

Lightning glanced at me and scowled. “Dusk,” he said knowingly.

“What do you mean, beyond our time?” Doctor Shimmer questioned. “Are you suggesting…?”

“I’m suggesting that we be careful. We should try to separate them as much as possible,” I said. “Give Heartshine the space she needs to deal with the important one.”

“I will face Wrath,” Rocky rumbled.

“What? Are you sure about that?” I asked, my eyes widening as I turned to look up at him.

“I am sure. Wrath is mine,” Rocky said.

“Coconut and I will deal with Iron Comet,” Velvet said. “That shady fucker will be crying by the time I’m done with him.”

“That just leaves… Kephali,” I said. “I suppose it's only right that I face him.”

“We’ll face him,” Lightning said, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “Together.”

“My sister and I shall provide magical support for you, should there be any forces that hinder you,” Golden Chalice said.

“And I’ll be set up with the Buster, ready to go. Rocky, you’re going to need to give me an opening if I’m going to hit Wrath, but you’ll need to be careful you don’t get hit too,” Heartshine said, hoisting the massively oversized rifle and heading off to where she could get a good vantage shot.

“It’s settled then, we’ll draw them in and cut their leadership off in one fell swoop,” Doctor Shimmer said. “I will inform the townsfolk to withdraw and hide. The less of them that are injured, the better.”

I grimaced and turned to the others. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, but I had a bad feeling about all of it. I turned away and walked past the broken gate. In the distance beyond the wall I could see the fires of the army waiting beyond our doorstep. This town, these ponies, they were all going to die…

Because of me.

The hour passed as we made ready for the inevitable. At the last minute of it all, Deathless Crystal’s voice washed over the town once again.

“I see that you still wish to resist me. No matter. I gave you a choice to live, and you chose to ignore it. Now, you will pay for that decision!” his voice roared. “Generals, proceed with the attack!”

I tensed up, standing next to Lightning in place. I could feel them coming. The ground thundered at their approach.

The gate crumbled under their attack, as Wrath himself threw the broken pieces of it to the side. The minotaur appeared to have been outfitted with crystalline gauntlets that augmented his own savage claws. He was flanked by several more of the strange bipedal creatures along with a few other minotaurs.

“Come and face me like true warriors!” he roared. “I will bathe in your blood this night!”

Rocky rumbled and roared as he stood to face him. Without saying a word, he dove into the fray, tearing into several of the creatures before appearing to face Wrath. At even the barest glance I could tell that Wrath was easily two times Rocky’s size.

“Ah, the runt! I remember you, runt. You think that you can challenge me? The greatest of all of the Cult of Iron Will?!” Wrath shouted in challenge. “You will die where you stand!”

“I am no runt!” Rocky roared as he rushed in, slamming the larger minotaur in the chest, knocking him back.

At the gate, Kephali and Iron Comet appeared. They were flanked by ponies and more of the strange bipedal monsters. Kephali’s staff was made of what appeared to be cybernetic crystal, and he was wearing some crystalline armor. Iron Comet held a rifle in his magic that looked far too advanced for anything else I’d ever seen before.

Kephali locked his eyes on us and pointed his staff. Several of the ponies next to him along with the bipeds rushed towards us. I grimaced, nodding at Velvet and Coconut. They broke off from our group, attempting to draw Iron Comet’s attention. Lightning and I dove into the battle headfirst as Shimmer and Chalice brought their magic to bear.

Within mere seconds, blasts of telekinetic and light magic struck the creatures in front of us, sending them soaring through the air and out of the fight for good. I jumped above another of the bipeds and landed in front of Kephali. The earth pony sneered at me.

“So, the murderer shows her face,” he said. “Your actions at the oasis decimated my tribe. In turn, I shall destroy you and your friends.”

“You and your tribe were hurting Grass Roots!” I shouted. “He was in pain, and he wanted to die!”

“And in turn, you killed my friends and family. Innocent lives were lost! You deserve no less!” Kephali cried out. “You will all perish!”

“Whatever you think is happening, you’re on the wrong side,” Lightning said as he landed next to me. “This pony who’s commanding this army… he’s the real enemy here!”

Kephali snarled, lunging forward with his staff. I jumped out of the way before the end of it struck the ground, sending sparks of magic that nearly shocked me. I growled, sending a blast of fire meant to take out the shield. Instead of setting it on fire, it merely glanced off of it.

Kephali grinned wickedly. “That trick will not work on this little toy, murderer. You will have to do better than that,” he said.

I grimaced. I just hoped the others were having better luck than we were. Cautiously I sidelong glanced at where Rocky and Wrath were fighting. The two minotaurs were back and forth, slashing wildly and crazily enough that none of Wrath’s minions even dared to get involved. It was impossible to tell if either of them were gaining any amount of ground.

My eyes jumped over to where Iron Comet and the others were. Relying on Comet to be a linchpin in the whole operation seemed to have not gone well at all, as both Velvet and Coconut were dodging shots and retaliating against the mercenary. The battle was wearing thin on all sides, and there was no way we could be expected to keep this up, let alone defeat them.

I leaped out of the way again of another strike by Kephali’s staff as Lightning tried to rush in and attack. Kephali gracefully followed through his attack and struck my brother on the jaw, sending him into the air and to the ground.

“Lightning!” I shouted.

Lightning slowly tried to rise, only to take another slash of the wicked crystal staff to the face. He flipped over onto his other side and lay unmoving, only just breathing.

I growled under my breath, sending another blast of fire at Kephali. The earth pony casually batted my attack away, sending it fizzling to the ground like it was nothing.

“I told you before, that will not work,” he said. “You cannot win this fight, murderer. You and your friends will be destroyed, and this town will be razed. The Crystal Empire will rise and this world will end as you know it.”

I charged forward, feinting from side to side as I tried to catch him offguard. My horn glowed brightly, preparing to launch another fire spell. Kephali sneered and brought the staff upwards, striking me hard in my chest, emitting a burst of electrical energy that engulfed me. I thundered to the ground, groaning at the pain that shot through my entire body.

Kephali towered over me, a smug grin on his face. He lifted the staff, holding it aloft as his eyes pierced mine.

“You are helpless, murderer. But I will not kill you yet, no. You will watch. You will watch as your friends are defeated and killed, and only then will I grant you the sweet merciful release of death,” he said. “Starting with your brother.”

I struggled to move, but found that I couldn’t. The electrical energy in the staff had paralyzed me somehow. My eyes widened as Kephali moved to my brother’s unconscious form. He lifted the staff and stabbed it viciously into Lightning’s rib cage, sending waves of electricity into his body. Lightning writhed and screamed until he stopped moving entirely. Kephali pulled away, leaving his body a charred lump of black. He no longer moved.

“NO! LIGHTNING!” I shouted, tears forming in my eyes. Something triggered inside of my body. The pain I had sought to feel leaped to the forefront, removing all normal thoughts and breaking through whatever All’z’reth had done to me. “YOU... YOU FUCKING MONSTER!”

“You call me a monster, yet you are one yourself,” Kephali said calmly. “You will pay for your crimes. All of Equestria will pay for your crimes.”

I wept. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t even use my magic. Kephali was right. I was done. Helpless. I could only watch the end.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rocky. Wrath was holding him by his head, cackling madly. And then in an instant, his clawed gauntlet had punched through the chest of a person I thought I could love. Rocky fell of Wrath’s gauntlet, landing in a heap on the ground. Wrath brandished Rocky’s heart in the air with a roar and then threw it down, crushing it into a million pieces with one armored hoof.

I heard shouting. From my right, I could see Iron Comet and the others still fighting. However, Velvet and Coconut were struggling to dodge his attacks. With two quick shots, Iron Comet splattered their brains all over the ground, even through Coconut’s power armor. They fell down to the ground, dead before they even hit it. Iron Comet cackled wildly.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to die. My friends who had all been with me… they were all dead. My brother was dead. My mother was going to die. I had failed everyone. I watched on as the approaching army obliterated Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer. I watched Heartshine try to fire her weapon, but it was futile. Her first shot missed by the merest of margins, and she was blown apart as return fire struck the barrel of her weapon. Everything was dead. Except for me.

“Starry…” I heard a voice say.

I blinked. I knew that voice. I knew it.

“Dusk?” I whispered.

“Starry, you need to stay very still for me. This is the only time I’m going to be able to do this. It’s going to be disorienting at first, but you’re smart. You’ll figure things out,” Dusk said as his image appeared in the corner of my E.F.S.

“What…?” I managed to say as I looked up to see Kephali standing over me. I couldn’t begin to form a reaction to what Dusk had said. What had he meant?

“And now… you will die, murderer. It is all over for you,” he said as he started to lower the staff.

I blinked as a white light washed over me, and then suddenly… there was nothing.

“...My sister and I have spoken at length about our predicament, and we agree as well as does the town, that we cannot in good faith turn you over to these monsters...”

I blinked. Golden Chalice had just finished saying she wasn’t going to turn us over to Deathless Crystal’s army. Why did it feel like I’d heard that before? Why did I get a bad feeling about that? None of it made any sense. I felt disoriented.

“Exactly. It would go against our very code as Followers of the Apocalypse. If these beasts want to fight, we shall give them a fight,” Doctor Shimmer added. “Besides, they are asking for one of our own as well. Heartshine has been invaluable to the town. We will not let them have her.”

“Wait,” I said before anyone could say anything else. “Something’s not right. I just… I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”

“What do you mean?” Heartshine said.

“Just, something’s off. I feel like… like we’ve done all this already, like déjà vu?” I replied. “Don’t you feel it too?”

“Not particularly, no,” Heartshine said.

“Are you feeling alright, Sis?” Lightning asked, placing a hoof on my shoulder.

I shrugged him off and glanced down at the bag that Heartshine had brought. “Magical energy weapon… Buster gun?” I said, unsure how I even knew what I was saying.

“How did… how did you know that?” Heartshine said.

“I don’t know,” I said. Something clicked in the back of my mind. Whatever plan we were coming up with, wasn’t going to work. It wouldn’t work. We were all going to die. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I did. It was a deep rooted feeling in my very bones. “But I do know that we can’t hold out against Deathless Crystal and his army.”

“We have magical support behind us and Heartshine’s weaponry,” Doctor Shimmer interjected. “They can try to take us, but they will fail.”

“No, you don’t… you don’t understand,” I said, my eyes widening. More and more came rushing back. “If we don’t figure out something else… if we try to face them head on… we’re all going to die.”

A synapse in my brain snapped into place. Dusk. Dusk had done something to me. What had it been? The memories began rushing back, things that hadn’t even happened yet. Horrible things. Lightning being burnt to a crisp. Rocky’s heart lying on the ground. I nearly doubled over.

“Starry!” I heard Coconut say. She was at my side in an instant, holding onto me. “What’s wrong?!”

“I’m okay… I’m fine…” I said as I pulled myself back up. “I just… I saw something.”

“Saw something?” Velvet interjected. “Like, in your mind? Are you a mind reader?”

“No… I…” I started to say, realizing that it would sound incredibly crazy for me if I told them I saw something that hadn’t even happened yet. “It was nothing. Just feeling a little out of sorts.”

“Right then. Well we don’t have much time before this Deathless Crystal’s ultimatum is up,” Doctor Shimmer said. “We must formulate a plan for holding off their attack and turning back their generals.”

I grimaced. There was no way a plan like that would work. Somehow I had seen it, experienced it. What exactly in the hell had Dusk done to me? I had to think fast. Was there a way out of this scenario that didn’t involve us all dying a horrific death? We couldn’t stop them from overrunning the town, but could we stop them if we were… closer?

That would mean walking up to Deathless Crystal and his generals, putting ourselves right in the line of fire. An idea sparked in my mind. Another memory floated forth from things that had yet to occur.

“Heartshine… your gun. Could it be rigged to explode? Like, a bomb?” I asked, cutting off whatever conversation they were having about defending the town.

Heartshine cocked her ears to the side. “A bomb? I guess the energy cell could be rigged to the firing mechanism to blow. Why would you want to…?” Her eyes dawned in realization. “You want to surrender ourselves to them.”

“Can’t get anything past you,” I said with a wink. “So, is it possible?”

“Wait… you want us to surrender?” Lightning said. “Are you serious? That would be suicide, you realize that, right?”

“I agree. This is not a course of action I would consider,” Rocky rumbled as well.

“Look. It’s not smart, I know… but if we got them to drop their guard, even for a moment… that could be all we need to take down Deathless Crystal and stop this whole thing,” I pleaded. “If we let them come to us, then they will be able to bring their full force of their generals upon us, and we will not be able to beat that.”

“Starry’s right. Even if we had Heartshine’s firepower on our side, there’d be no way we can take down these guys if we let them come to us,” Velvet interjected.

“So then how do we even get the bomb close to them? There’s no way they’re going to let us get anywhere remotely close to them with anything that looks like a bomb,” Coconut chimed in.

Shit, I thought. I hadn’t thought of that part. How could we get the bomb in their midst without them realizing it?

“What if we store it underneath our gear in something? Is there a way we can remotely detonate it?” I said frantically. “We could do that, right?”

“Starry, calm down,” Coconut said. “I could rig something up, but are you sure they won’t check it? Not to mention, all of our gear would be on top of it. We’d probably be destroying it too, including any amount of debris that would fly around. It’d be dangerous even for us.”

“Yeah I’m not too sure I like that idea,” Velvet said. “My leg is only just feeling better. I’d rather not break anymore appendages.”

Or get shot in the head… I thought, shuddering softly.

“What if we rig it up inside the bag?” Rocky pointed out, rumbling deeply. “And we just walk up to them? If they’re arrogant enough that they believe they have won… what does it matter that we have weapons?”

“Rocky does make a great point there,” Velvet said.

“Enough,” Doctor Shimmer said. “I will not allow this kind of plan. It goes against my very fiber of my being to allow anypony walk into the firing line like this. We will hold the gate and the town, and that is final.”

“You try that, and your very fiber of your being will be blown to bits,” I challenged. “This is the only way we can get them away from the town and possibly stop all of this.”

“She’s right,” Heartshine said softly. “Besides… I have to do this for myself. If I don’t… I’ll let too much regret back into my heart over not doing enough for this town when it needed me the most. I’ve got so much regret already. I don’t want more.”

Chalice glowered. “Fine. We will leave you to your mission then. But be careful.”

“Rig up the bomb,” I said, glancing over at Coconut and Heartshine. “We’ve got a date with a madman.”

The two nodded, moving over to start working on the bomb. I casually walked away from the group, off where I could be somewhat alone. I glanced at my E.F.S., looking for any sign from Dusk. Nothing. What had he done? I remembered a bright white light, and then suddenly I was back talking to the others.

“Dusk?” I asked softly. “Are you there?”

No response. I scowled.

I started considering the options. Time travel. Dusk had somehow sent my consciousness back in time. How? I thought he was stuck in some sort of temporal prison, so how could his magic effect…

Shit. So stupid. Of course. Dusk has a connection to me and Lightning. He must be able to exercise that connection somehow, I thought. But he said he could only do it one time… which means he’s not able to connect to us again.

“Starry,” I heard Lightning say.

“Lightning,” I whispered. “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“Not being able to protect you,” I said. “Lightning… I watched… I could only watch as you… as the others…”

Lightning scowled. “Dusk,” he said after a long pause.

I nodded. “He did something. I don’t know what it was, but he did something that changed things again. Now I can’t even get in touch with him. Something isn’t right.”

“And you know for certain that giving ourselves up is how we get out of this? What if this ends up just as bad?” Lightning asked.

“We have to try,” I said. “If we don’t… we die anyways. Besides… maybe this will at least give us some insight as to why Deathless Crystal wants us.”

Before Lightning could respond, Coconut and Heartshine appeared. They nodded in unison.

“It’s ready to go,” Coconut said.

I grimaced. “Right. Let’s go meet a crazy pony,” I said.

We trudged up the long hill outside of the settlement towards the waiting army. The creatures at the edge of the perimeter merely joined us in our ascent, guarding us as we approached the top of the camp. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about all of this. I’d witnessed the horrifying nature of our own deaths, and somehow that left me wondering if this course of action would lead to the same ending.

We crested the ridge, coming to a stop in the center of the enemy camp. The bipedal creatures moved away from us, grunting underneath their masks as they stopped at each end of the camp, forming a circle around us. I could see the remains of Click off to the side, sitting atop one of the storage caravans. I closed my eyes briefly, sighing. The robot had given up his life for us, and yet now his sacrifice felt hollow. I felt hollow for asking him to do it. I opened my eyes again. Based on the condition of his body and head, there was no way to repair the damage done. Click was… gone.

A group of the bipedal guards broke the circle, creating a path for the leader of their army as he stepped into our midst. The unicorn was much larger than his troops, his helmet obscuring his face entirely. His red horn glowed angrily as he stopped in front of us. On each side of him, but far behind him, stood Wrath, Iron Comet, and Kephali. They scrutinized us with angry eyes, but held themselves in check before Deathless Crystal. How had they been recruited by Deathless Crystal? Had he known all along that we would be here and these were the right ponies and minotaur to recruit for our capture? Nothing made sense anymore.

“So… you have decided wisely in giving yourselves up to me,” the unicorn said, his voice rasping and throaty. “You would not have liked it if I had to do things the hard way.”

“What do you want from us?” I asked angrily. “Why are you here?”

“To be truthful, I don’t really need or want anything from you, other than your bodies paraded before my glorious Queen,” Deathless Crystal said. “However, your relation to a unicorn named Dusk is known to us. He has done something that has changed things again.”

I blinked. Deathless Crystal had felt the change as well? How? It didn’t make any sense. Unless… Dusk had said the spell originated from the Crystal Empire. Perhaps something about this unicorn being from there had something to do with it? I couldn’t wrap my hooves around how that was possible.

“So, what happens now? Are we to be executed?” Lightning said, stepping up next to me.

“You will be taken before my Queen, may she long reign, and she will decide your ultimate fate. We must know the secrets this Dusk carries. He will make himself known for your sake,” Deathless Crystal said, rasping loudly.

“Forgive me your grace, but the unicorn mare, I am owed blood for her actions against my tribe,” Kephali spoke up, sneering at me. “She murdered one of our own.”

“And the rest of them completely fucked up my operation,” Iron Comet added as he turned an eye towards Heartshine. “If it weren’t for that green mare, I’d be up to my hooves in slaves right now.”

“The runt,” Wrath rumbled, glaring at Rocky. “He is a runaway from the Cult of Iron Will. He and the others who have offended us will pay in blood.”

“Silence,” Deathless Crystal said, turning towards them. “I collected you all because you have specific talents, talents that I desire. You will learn to use them in service of the Empire, or you will be disposed of.”

Kephali glared at him, but merely nodded. Wrath sneered, but his yellow eyes closed and he nodded as well. Only Iron Comet persisted.

“No, I came with you because your fucking guards bullied me into it,” he said, stomping a hoof. “Even then, you promised me that town and all the ex-slaves in it. All I want is my cut and then I’m out of here.”

“Ever the mercenary, I see,” Deathless Crystal said. He took a rasping, heaving sigh. “Fine. You will receive your ‘cut’, as you so-call it.”

Deathless Crystal’s horn glowed an angrier red, sending out a blast of energy that struck Iron Comet in the chest with a force so powerful, I had never seen anything like it. Iron Comet shrieked as his body began disintegrating right before our eyes. Within mere seconds, the unicorn was dead and nothing but a pile of ash on the ground.

“Guards, clean up this mess. This is what happens to those who think to challenge the might of the Empire,” he said, turning to the remaining two. “Think about him next time you decide to speak out of place.”

My eyes widened. The strength of Deathless Crystal’s magic was off the charts. I watched as the guards cleaned away what was left of Iron Comet. It had taken nothing at all for him to die, just a mere flick of a horn. There was no way we would be able to challenge such a monster, even if we could set the bomb off in time. I cautiously looked at Heartshine and Coconut, grimacing.

“Now then, guards. Lock up the prisoners. We shall make for the Crystal Empire as soon as possible,” Deathless Crystal called out.

The guards began to move towards us, closing in deeper.

“What do we do?” I whispered frantically. “We can’t set the bomb off here.”

“Give me a chance to hide the detonator…” Coconut hissed. “Talk to him.”

I scowled, knowing that if I sent the wrong word… I’d be dead. “Wait!” I shouted.

Deathless Crystal turned his gaze towards me. I fidgeted as he took me in.

“You are testing my patience already, Starry Night,” he said.

“I just want to make sure that if we come with you, this town will be left alone!” I called out. “Nopony there will be hurt, right?”

Deathless Crystal’s horn glowed brightly before subsiding. “I don’t believe that you’re in any position to make demands,” he said. “The town was sheltering you, and you believe that by giving yourself up that it will make up for their transgressions?”

My gaze narrowed at him as he thundered past us, parting his army to look down the ridge at the town below. He cackled wildly.

“Burn it to the ground,” he commanded. “Leave nothing alive. It has served its purpose. Let it be a statement of the Empire’s might!”

“No!” Heartshine shouted, tears in her eyes as the army crashed forth. Her nose began to bleed severely, forcing her to close her eyes and bury her face into my shoulder.

I glared, feeling nothing as I watched the town burn. I could hear the cries and screams of the ponies within. I could see the futile struggle of Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer as they fought with the rest of them. They disappeared under the horde of monsters. And yet, I still felt nothing. Within mere moments after the army had attacked, the town lay in ruins. Bodies lay strewn about, burning as one large funeral pyre.

Deathless Crystal turned back towards the camp. “Secure the prisoners,” he called out at Wrath and Kephali.

The minotaur and earth pony nodded, stepping forward with their complement of guards as they ushered us onto a caged cart that looked like it had been prepared just for us. I wondered if Coconut had been successful in hiding the detonator. When the guards didn’t bother removing her power armor, I knew that she had. However, one of the guards had grabbed the bag containing Heartshine’s gun/bomb and placed it on a different caravan, far from where Deathless Crystal would be. Wrath and Kephali strode up to lock the cage and our restraints.

“Wrath,” Rocky rumbled quietly as Wrath quietly shut the cage door.

“Do not speak to me, runt,” Wrath uttered. “You are the one that Envy stole, yes? My sister is brazen, but she should know better than to steal from me.”

“I left with Envy because I wanted to,” Rocky replied. “You act as a lapdog to this pony. You are a leader. Why?”

Wrath sneered, his lip curling to reveal his fangs. “I am no lapdog, runt. I know where true power lies. The Empire has technology far beyond our own. I am offered a place in their ascension,” he said.

“You are a fool,” Rocky retorted. I’d never seen his eyes so carefully trained on anything else as he narrowed them at the leader of the Cult. “You saw what happened to Iron Comet. Do you follow so blindly to think he will let you live as well?”

Wrath snarled and stepped away, saying nothing. Kephali stood in his place, glaring at me.

“Well? Say what you’re going to say,” I said, waving a hoof. “You’ve been itching to do it, I can tell.”

Kephali growled under his breath. “You murdered innocents. Many of the tribe perished after the death of the Great One. I will see to it that your blood is mine,” he said.

“Is that it?” I asked. “Is that all that Deathless Crystal had to offer you to get you to join him? My blood?”

“That’s all I require,” Kephali said before turning away. “What happens after that is none of my concern.”

The cage door shut and locked, the two remaining generals of Deathless Crystal’s army walking away and towards their leader. Deathless Crystal himself took his place at the head of the caravan, being pulled forward by several of his strange bipedal guards.

Within moments the caravan lurched forward, the army moving alongside as one. I grimaced and sat, glancing over at Heartshine. Her nosebleed had subsided, but her eyes were still filled with tears.

“I’m sorry about the town,” I whispered.

“There wasn’t anything anyone could have done,” she said, wiping her face. “No matter what route we chose, someone was going to pay. There was never any way out of this, was there?”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “This plan went to shit really quickly, didn’t it?”

“That’s an understatement, I think,” Heartshine replied. “Still… Chalice, Shimmer… the rest of those ponies… it’s the same thing over and over. No matter what I do, no matter where I go… the ponies I come to care for die.”

I turned to her, my eyes widening. I was starting to understand a little more of why she had left Equestria. Heartshine turned and laid down, resting. It was good that she could rest. I sighed and looked down at my hooves and then the others.

“Coconut,” I said. “Were you able to… you know…?”

The power-armor clad mare nodded. “But they put the bag in the wrong spot. There’s no way that he’s going to check it for anything.”

“There might be a way to arrange that,” Rocky rumbled quietly.

“Well, we’re listening,” Velvet said. “I’d much rather prefer getting out of here than being led to our deaths.”

“Wrath,” Rocky said. “He may be psychotic, but even he is smart enough to see that following this monster is not honorable by the code of the Cult.”

“And how does that arrange anything?” Lightning said. “He won’t challenge Deathless Crystal.”

“Wait… but he saw what happened to Iron Comet,” I said. “He’s gotta have some doubts about his chances of survival now. He didn’t say anything about it, but his expression gave it away. He’s not happy about this. Maybe we can use that.”

“Why would he help us though? I’m sure by now, he knows who we are and who we’re related to,” Lightning said. “You remember what happened with Apple Danish. He doesn’t like us very much.”

“Regardless, he is bound by the code of the Cult,” Rocky said. “He cannot abandon its principles if he sees that this is a fool’s cause.”

“Well, then how do we get him on our side then?” Velvet asked. “This caravan doesn’t look like it's stopping any time soon. We don’t even know how far away the Crystal Empire is.”

“Then we need to get his attention somehow,” Rocky said. “And I know just the way.”

“How?” I said.

“I am going to challenge him for command of the Cult,” Rocky said. “On the grounds of dishonor of the Cult’s principles.”

“Are you mad?” I said, glaring at him. “Rocky… he will kill you. You can’t do that.”

“It is the only way to show Wrath that he is wrong about following this monster, and our only chance of escape. If we can destroy enough of the caravans with the bomb, and hopefully kill Deathless Crystal in the process, then we can escape into the wilds,” Rocky said. “Even if I die… Wrath will understand his dishonor.”

“There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ in that statement,” I said. “Can’t we try just… you know… talking to him?”

“Do you think Wrath will listen to anything but violence?” Rocky retorted.

I grimaced. He had a point there. Wrath was the leader of the Cult, and would only respond to the Cult’s doctrine, which Rocky knew he could appeal to. I sighed deeply and nodded. As much as I hated the idea, I knew it was the only way that we could convince Wrath to help us against a mutual enemy.

“How do we even get that far if that’s the plan?” Coconut said.

The caravan came to a slow, and then halted. I glanced at my PipBuck. We’d only been traveling for an hour or so. There was no way we had arrived at the Empire. I nudged Heartshine, waking her. She seemed disoriented and her eyes were still a little red, but within moments she was fully awake and alert.

I glared outside the cage, watching as several minotaurs and the strange bipedal monsters came crunching on the ground by us. I heard shouting. There was a reason we were stopped. Something was happening.

That something answered my ponderings in the form of an explosion that rocked the center of the caravan. My eyes widened, first thinking that somehow the bomb had gone off, but I realized it hadn’t came from where the bomb had been stored. A flash of glaring light appeared in the center, and I saw what had happened.

Standing defiantly, manes blazing with glory, were Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice. They appeared beaten and broken, but their eyes were full of hatred and rage. They looked… bigger, taller, stronger. Something had changed within them.

“You murdered innocent lives, foul monsters!” Chalice shouted, her voice elevated and her horn blazing with powerful magic. A shield extended around the two alicorns, protecting them from any real harm.

“Release our friends, and perish where you stand!” Doctor Shimmer ordered, her horn forming a magical spell above it that arced across the caravan, killing several of the guards before slamming into one of the storage carts, knocking it over to one side.

“Rocky…” I whispered. “This could be our opportunity. Can you bust out of these restraints?”

Rocky glanced down at the chains binding us. With a short tug, he nodded.

“Good. When shit starts to go down, you bust us out. Heartshine, Coconut, you’re responsible for getting the bomb. Velvet, Lightning, you take the detonator and run. I’ll alert you with a shower of purple sparks. Rocky… you and I are going to distract Kephali and Wrath while the two alicorns are focused on Deathless Crystal,” I said frantically. “I just… I just hope that they can keep him busy long enough for the bomb to be planted.”

Coconut handed the detonator to Lightning, a grimace on her face. Heartshine still looked upset, but her expression hardened into fierce determination. Rocky merely nodded.

“Alicorns? Very interesting,” I heard Deathless Crystal call out. “You think you can challenge the might of the Crystal Empire?”

“Our town was destroyed by your army, but we remain to mete out justice!” Golden Chalice retorted. “We are stronger than you give us credit for!”

“Strong perhaps, but not wiser. You are fools for thinking that you can attack me,” Deathless Crystal said.

From where we were, I could see Deathless Crystal’s horn igniting a deep red. My eyes widened. If his powers were stronger than alicorn magic, than we were truly doomed. A sickening red blast arced across the clearing, slamming into a shield spell that was raised by Golden Chalice. The blast curled around the spherical shield before both dissipated.

“And you are the fool for thinking that we are defenseless against your foul magic!” Golden Chalice roared. Her horn ignited, sending a blast of telekinetic energy towards Deathless Crystal.

“Rocky, now. While they’re distracted,” I whispered.

Rocky narrowed his eyes and nodded, ripping upwards with his claws. He pulled out the chains with ease, slicing them apart into tiny pieces. Without saying a word, he turned around and slashed open the door to the cage. Heartshine and Coconut darted out, sneaking back around towards the back caravan. Velvet and Lightning escaped just as fast, heading in the opposite direction away from the caravan itself. I glanced at Rocky.

“Let’s do this,” I said.

I dropped out of the caravan with Rocky beside me, keeping a close eye on the two alicorns and Deathless Crystal. Despite his claims of being overpowered, the two sides appeared to be pretty evenly matched, neither one gaining magical ground over the other. The issue was that Chalice and Shimmer were tired, despite their seemingly large size and magical strength.

My eyes followed to the rest of the caravan guards and the two generals. They stood back, watching as their leader did battle with the alicorns. None of them appeared to be too interested in intervening, likely for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. Wrath and Kephali stood side-by-side. I motioned at Rocky, who silently acknowledged by charging across the clearing and slamming into the larger minotaur, who clearly hadn’t been ready for his attack.

Kephali tried to react, shouting for the guards. I cut him off with a gout of fire from my horn that caused him to jump back, yelping loudly.

“Runt! You escaped only to meet my claws!” Wrath roared as he threw Rocky backwards. He landed next to me in a heap.

“Guards! Restrain these prisoners, and do a perimeter sweep! The others have escaped as well!” Kephali called out.

The guards moved to action, surrounding us and cutting us off from the two generals. I grimaced, waiting for Rocky to make his move.

“I invoke the Rite of Iron Will!” Rocky shouted, stopping Wrath cold in his tracks. “I challenge you, Wrath, as leader of the Cult. I will show you that this path will lead you to your destruction!”

Wrath sneered, cricking his neck. “You really believe you can challenge me in the Rite of Iron Will? You are nothing but a runt, and I am Wrath!” he snarled. “Your challenge is accepted. Guards! Do nothing to this one. He is mine.”

“Are you mad?” Kephali said. “We must focus on capturing the rest of the prisoners! This is a distraction!”

“I am not dishonorable, pony. You do not know of the ways of Iron Will. I will meet the runt’s challenge with strength and conviction!” Wrath echoed, his sneer widening. “Choose your second, runt!”

“I nominate the unicorn, Starry Night!” Rocky roared back.

“A pony? You must be mad, runt. It is accepted however,” Wrath replied.

My eyes widened. “Wait… you never said anything about…” I muttered under my breath.

“The second in the trial is merely an observer. They ensure that the challenge is upheld from each end to the utmost honor. You are not to intervene in any of the fighting. Doing so will invalidate the challenge,” Rocky quickly explained before returning his attention to Wrath. “Name your second, Wrath.”

Wrath grinned widely, his eyes glancing down at the earth pony Kephali. “My other general shall serve as second and witness to this glorious combat,” he said. “This way, we are equal.”

Kephali looked up at the minotaur. “Wait, what? We cannot waste time with this distraction! The master shall be done with these alicorns momentarily, and we should not allow the prisoners to run free!”

I glanced across the clearing towards Deathless Crystal and the two alicorns. They remained locked in a heated magical battle that was slowly waning towards the crystal unicorn’s favor. I grimaced. We needed to be quick. I watched carefully for any sign of Heartshine and Coconut. Neither appeared as of yet.

“I cannot refuse the Rite of Iron Will! No minotaur can,” Wrath said. “Come now runt. We shall set our terms in battle! Guards, part so that we may settle this once and for all!”

Rocky’s eyes narrowed as the guards parted, jumping to the side as Wrath barely waited for the guards to be out of the way as he barreled forward. I yelped myself as I was nearly clipped by the enraged minotaur. Rocky turned quickly, striking out with a claw that connected solidly with Wrath’s shoulder. A stream of blood streaked down the larger minotaur’s arm.

“Regardless if I win or lose, you will acknowledge that following this madpony is not honorable to the Cult of Iron Will!” Rocky roared. “Should I lose, you will do the honorable thing!”

“Interesting terms, runt!” Wrath snarled back. “You are most certainly a skilled combatant. I will accept them. However, if you lose, I get to choose what happens to your friends!”

Wrath lashed out, slamming into Rocky with a punch that knocked the smaller minotaur away into two of the bipedal guards, who went slumping to the ground under Rocky’s weight. With a quick roll, he moved as Wrath descended, killing the two guards with a two-claw attack meant for his foe.

“Accepted!” Rocky called out as he watched his opponent stand.

“Good, then let us finish this!” Wrath replied with exultant delight.

The larger minotaur charged, lowering his head to gore the other. Rocky retaliated by placing both claws downward, grasping onto Wrath’s horns and twisting, sending the cult leader to the ground. He connected with another solid strike. Blood streamed from Wrath’s other arm as the larger minotaur stood.

“You are strong, but you will never be strong enough to beat me!” Wrath roared, lunging forward.

I heard shouting from all around, between the guards and the battle raging elsewhere. Kephali stood near the guards, a solid grimace on his face as he glared at me. I had a feeling he was not going to take his eyes off me even once. I glanced over at where the battle between Deathless Crystal and the alicorns was taking place. On my E.F.S., two friendly dots had appeared. I grinned. Heartshine and Coconut were okay. All they needed to do was plant the bomb somewhere close to Deathless Crystal without being caught, and get away. I had high hopes that Heartshine would be able to do this.

I returned my gaze to the two minotaurs battling before me. Rocky had appeared to have sustained a cut from Wrath, a gash of blood and sparks coming from his left claw. It didn’t look like it was functional. I didn’t know what to do. Rocky had told me not to intervene. I felt… nothing. I cursed under my breath. I wished I could feel something, anything that would tell me that I was still a pony deep inside.

Wrath charged again, grabbing onto Rocky’s left claw before the smaller minotaur could react. With a quick pull, I heard a loud snapping sound as Wrath ripped Rocky’s left arm out of its socket. Blood gushed and sparks flew. With a wet *plop* the arm fell to the ground next to him. Rocky dropped to his knees. Wrath stood tall over his kneeling opponent, howling with glee.

“...Starry… the bomb is set… repeat… the bomb is set… we’re on the move away from the caravan… nopony saw us…” I heard in my earbloom. It was Coconut Cream Pie.

I scowled and lifted my PipBuck. “Velvet, Lightning… the bomb is set and the others are away… I repeat… the bomb is set... “

“But what about you and Rocky?” I heard Lightning say in my earbloom.

“We’re still busy. We’ll be fine. Just do it,” I said.

I lowered my PipBuck and glared at Kephali across the clearing. His eyes widened as he realized something was up. He looked like he was going to move to stop Wrath and Rocky’s fight, but halted, cursing under his breath.

I turned back to the fight seeing Wrath still standing over Rocky. He lifted the younger minotaur’s head up so he could see his face.

“You are an honorable combatant, young Rock Thresher,” Wrath cackled. “I am impressed at how well you were able to hold your own in battle against me. It is a shame that you have to die.”

Many things happened in succession. My eyes widened as Wrath lowered both massive claws and with a quick twist of his biceps instantly broke Rocky’s neck. As the minotaur I had come to know and come to potentially love dropped to the ground below him, the bomb went off in the camp. Something broke within me. I shouted, calling out Rocky’s name as explosions blew through the entire caravan. Munitions ignited, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Deathless Crystal roared as the bomb went off, shards of metal striking him in several places along his body. The two alicorns, Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer quickly threw up another shield, keeping themselves safe from the debris.

Rocky lay on the ground, unmoving. Blood leaked profusely from the arm that Wrath had removed. I wanted to die, a small spark of what I knew I should have felt leaking through. I slumped to my haunches, vaguely unaware of the chaos erupting around me as minotaurs, ponies, and the strange bipedal creatures tried to respond to the bomb. I looked up as a piece of debris nearly came right at me, being stricken away by Wrath himself.

The larger minotaur stood above me regarding me curiously with a sneer. Kephali instantly took the opportunity to be at his side, his staff pointed at my face.

“Do you see what your silly little contest has done! They rigged the caravan with explosives! You stupid minotaur!” he shouted.

Wrath glared down at him and then back at me. “Rock Thresher was an honorable combatant. His name shall be written in the annals of the Cult of Iron Will’s history. As such, I will honor his request.”

He turned swiftly and grabbed Kephali by the head, crushing his skull in one fluid gesture. My eyes widened as blood spattered all over me from the earth pony’s death. Wrath howled with delight as he picked up the earth pony and tossed him across the clearing.

“But… but you said… you said you got to decide… what happened with us?” I stuttered, trying to process what had happened.

“I did,” Wrath said. “But your friend was right about one thing. I followed this mad-pony out of desire for power, but there is no honor in his conquest. He does not care for others, only for his own Empire.”

“The… the bomb… it was meant to incapacitate him… we should… get there now,” I said, standing shakily. “Will you help me? Defeat him? To the bitter end?”

“Glorious combat is what I live for, Starry Night. Yes… I do remember you. Long ago, you challenged me and won,” Wrath replied. “I do not forget and I always repay my debts.”

I grimaced, but nodded. I glanced over at Rocky, sighing. “I… I loved him. I think. I can’t tell anymore what I can feel and what I can’t.”

Wrath stiffened and sneered. “Then let’s make his death mean something,” he said.

I nodded, following after him as we rushed towards where Deathless Crystal and the alicorns had been dueling. The crystal unicorn lay splayed out along the ground, impaled by several large pieces of metal along his body. I quickly noticed that he was still alive, a foul smelling black substance leaking from where he had been struck. Beyond him, the two alicorns stood, looking exhausted and unable to continue. Both sides had been worn out. The guards that had been watching had been scattered, fleeing off into the wilderness.

“Starry Night. To think that you were able to outsmart me,” the crystal unicorn said, his voice ragged and heavy. “Turning my generals against each other, against me… a hidden bomb. You are much more ruthless than I gave you credit for.”

“You attacked me, my friends. Because of you, two of my friends are now dead,” I said, stepping forward. “And for what? Because you thought that I would tell you where Dusk is?”

Deathless Crystal cackled. “We… we already know where Dusk is. It’s getting to him that is the issue. He cannot prevent what is happening. The Empire shall rise once more, and all of this world and everything in it will perish. We shall be the inheritors of time and space itself.”

“You think you’re so superior? You lost,” I said. “You won’t get Dusk. I won’t let you. Face it. You’ve been beaten.”

“You think it is that easy, do you?” Deathless Crystal said. His horn started glowing a deep red. An arcing lance of red energy erupted from it, coming straight for me.

My eyes widened as I was tossed to the side by none other than Wrath. The large minotaur took the full brunt of the blast to his chest, snarling loudly as he brought both claws down on Deathless Crystal at the same time. The crystal unicorn’s helm cracked wide open, more black fluid leaking from inside. He slumped over, unmoving.

Wrath stepped backwards, the magical energy eating away at his chest as he glanced over at me. With a small grin, he dropped backwards to the ground, his yellow eyes rolling into the back of his head as the magic devoured him the rest of the way. Within mere seconds he was ash on the ground.

I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Wrath… he had sacrificed himself… for me? For what… honor? I couldn’t fathom it. I sat there as the two alicorns, Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer walked up towards me.

“Starry Night? Are you alright?” Doctor Shimmer called out. She looked like she’d been beaten with a bat, her eyes barely open.

“Starry!” I heard voices calling out. I glanced behind me to see the others charging across the clearing of broken caravans.

I shoved myself to my hooves and nodded. “I’m… I’m alright,” I said finally as I felt Lightning’s hooves grab ahold of me. “You don’t have to worry, I’m okay.”

“Where’s Rocky…?” Coconut said.

I looked down at my hooves, silent. Suddenly I felt another set of hooves wrap around me. It was Heartshine. She had tears in her eyes the moment she touched me.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Let it out. We both need this.”

And suddenly, I exploded with feeling, my heart aching as I lived through Rocky’s final moments, the strength he had shown in facing Wrath, how he had shown the older minotaur the value of honor. I began to weep, Heartshine weeping alongside with me. The others looked on in silent understanding, that this is what I needed to do. To grieve. To feel.

After several long moments I pulled away from Heartshine. Her eyes were as red as mine. I realized that she wasn’t just sharing my pain, but sharing hers as well. She’d lost friends in Stable Town. Ponies she’d come to know by name. Years worth of regret and pain had built up inside of her, every town she’d tried to help fallen to the same fate. She was right. She needed this as much as I had.

“I know that this is probably the wrong time, but we need to move,” Lightning whispered. “The guards have scattered, but if they come back.”

I grimaced, but nodded. I glanced down at Deathless Crystal’s body. His helmet had been cracked and had fallen away in Wrath’s attack. What I saw confused me. The unicorn beneath was a ghoul. His rotting coat was orange in coloration, his horn black. I looked over the rest of him, ensuring that he was indeed dead. Attached to his armor was a container. I pulled it away and opened it slowly, revealing a memory orb. I scowled.

“We need to get Rocky’s body… and Wrath’s remains. They deserve to be buried,” I said finally, looking at the others.

Doctor Shimmer’s horn glowed softly, gathering up what had remained of the two fallen minotaurs. Within moments we were walking away from the caravan, finding a place where we could be hidden from any prying eyes.

The two alicorns, for all their beaten selves, assisted in digging two gravesites for each of them. I watched carefully as they laid each in, wondering what might have been if Rocky was still with me. I scowled as Wrath’s remains were entombed. No matter what he had done, he had been responsible for killing Rocky, but it had happened as Rocky had likely always intended, through honorable combat.

“Rocky was strong,” I heard Lightning say. “Stronger than most. He and I… we didn’t get along too well at first. But he was my friend, and I will fight for his loss.”

“The big guy didn’t care what I was, just accepted me for what I could be,” Velvet said softly. “I’m actually going to miss him.”

“Rocky… Rocky died protecting all of us,” I said after several long moments of silence. “He was as Wrath called him. Honorable. In the end he showed Wrath and all of us what being a leader is. Wrath… Wrath did the right thing at the end. He gave his life to protect mine.”

Chalice and Shimmer nodded, their horns glowing as the gravesites covered over with dirt. Simple stones were placed at the head of each one. Silence reigned over our small group. We were tired, beaten, and without much in the way of supplies.

“What happens now?” Coconut said after a few moments.

“We need supplies. There’s no way we’re going to survive out here without food and water,” I said, thinking things through. “The caravan should be easy to raid for stuff.”

“We shall take care of that,” Doctor Shimmer interjected. “If we are to be coming with you, then we will need to make sure that we can survive.”

“You’re… coming with us?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“Of course. Stable Town is lost. There is no point in going back. We came to find you, and find you we did,” Chalice said.

I nodded silently, mulling over their decision. She was right after all, but I worried that she wasn’t going to like were we were headed next. Deathless Crystal was right about one thing. I knew where Dusk’s prison was as well. It was where it had always been, right in the heart of the Crystal Empire.

“Go then,” I said, glancing at Heartshine. “Heartshine? What are you going to do now?”

The lime green mare sighed. “Times of old, I would up and run away from my problems. But… I sense that I can’t do that now. I want to come with you, I want to try and help your mother. It’s the right thing to do. Besides… I have a feeling that we can help each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I channeled my magic through you, I felt the block on your empathic centers. I think… I think I can help push past it,” Heartshine replied. “In return… I felt… I felt something I haven’t felt in a long time when I connected with you. I felt hope, Starry. And it got me thinking… that I really need hope right about now.”

I smiled softly and walked over to her, wrapping her in a hug. My heart swelled, the other mare’s empathic magic allowing me to feel just a sliver of hope as well. Perhaps, even in the darkest of times, hope was all I needed to feel too.

Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice returned to our camp within the hour from the caravan, flush with medical supplies, armor, and weapons. The guards that had come back had been quickly dispatched by the two alicorn sisters, and there was no sign of either Kephali’s tribal ponies or the remaining minotaurs that had been under Wrath’s command.

Darkness descended upon the camp as we began preparations for moving out. I still hadn’t told the others where we were going, because I didn’t even know for certain myself where the Empire was. To find out, I needed to get in touch with Dusk… somehow.

I walked a short distance from the camp, pulling up my PipBuck and scanning the map for anything that would resemble the Crystal Empire’s location, but came up with nothing for my trouble. The Empire was also likely back in Equestria, which meant crossing back across the desert to get to it.

I fiddled with my PipBuck some more, looking for that hidden option that would let me get in contact with Dusk. I finally found it, grimacing as it reached a dead end.

“Dusk… what happened to you? Where are you?” I said aloud.

A burst of static erupted in my earbloom. “...Starry… Starry are you there…?!” I heard through it.

“Dusk? Is that you?” I asked.

“Starry… listen… there’s n-... time… I… I can’t… Listen… the Empire… they’re… they’re back…”

“Dusk!” I shouted. “Come on, dammit! I need to talk to you! What did you do?!”

“...PipBuck... coordinates… please…”

The static cut off and my earbloom went dead. I growled under my breath, kicking the dirt beneath my hooves. An indicator went off in the upper right hand corner of my E.F.S. I brought it up and found a note containing a set of map coordinates. I blinked. Dusk had managed to get through briefly… to send me coordinates. They could only be one thing.

“Starry? Are you alright?” I heard from behind me. “I heard shouting.”

I turned around, seeing Lightning. I sighed, but nodded.

“Are you sure? I just… I know that you and Rocky were close. I just wanted to make sure you were alright,” he said. “I’ll just go back to the camp.”

“No, wait,” I said, reaching over and grabbing ahold of him. I pulled him into a hug so fierce I thought I would never let go. “Thank you for checking on me. I think… somewhere deep inside… I needed it. But we have something more important to do now.”

I let go and started heading back towards the camp, Lightning in tow. The others had used some of the supplies to set up food and a campfire. I stepped into their midst.

“Once we’re all rested… we’re heading back towards Equestria,” I said calmly.

“Towards your home, Chicacolt, right?” Heartshine asked, raising a hoof.

I shook my head fiercely. “No. Dusk is trapped, and we need to save him. But that’s not all… if we do nothing… the Crystal Empire will return, and it will destroy not just Equestria, but everywhere. Deathless Crystal was just the beginning. We need to be the end.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Velvet said.

“Our destination is the Crystal Empire itself. Dusk… he’s trapped there in a temporal megaspell. A time prison. We’re meant to free him. I can… I can feel it in my bones. None of this is happening by happenstance,” I explained. “If we do… maybe we can prevent all of this from happening.”

“But… you’re talking about the Crystal Empire. Won’t they know who we are and why we’re there?” Coconut asked. “What can we do against that kind of power?”

“We’ll do what Rocky would have wanted us to do. We’ll take the fight to them,” I said. “Besides, we have their tech and their armor. We could easily fit in. Well, except for Chalice and Shimmer.”

“We know spells that may be able to assist with such a deception,” Chalice replied. “We’re in. We owe the inhabitants of Stable Town that much.”

“Then it’s settled. In the morning we’ll raid the caravan again for anything extra we may need, and then we’re headed to the Crystal Empire,” I said.

As the others discussed amongst themselves, I walked back to the edge of the perimeter and looked up at the night sky.

“No matter what happens,” I said aloud to myself. “I will make them pay for everything. You have my solemn vow on that, Rocky.”

Author's Notes:

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Slowly inching closer towards the inevitable conclusion to Mending Hearts!