1056 AD, January 12th

“He promised to come back… I waited… alone in the darkness… But if you can just help me… I know I can find him…”

The mare never once raised her tone or showed any sort of inflection; even when Ebony pushed her back with a Kinetic Impact spell she never stopped talking, and she struggled back to her skinny legs as the crystal-urchin stepped over her with the other infected ponies stumbling alongside it.

Ebony took a few uncertain steps back: she didn’t expect anything like this. It was horrific, nightmarish – she might have actually preferred Sombra over whatever the hell this thing was.

Pushing her revulsion aside, Ebony conjured up a barrier, made it as high as the urchin and as wide as possible. “Everypony stay back!”

Her platoon was faring just about as well: some were slack-jawed in horrified awe, and it took the more clear-minded guards to prod and jostle them out of inaction. At the very least, nopony had run off.

“What the hell is this?!” Lightning Dust grimaced in disgust as the crystal-infested filly reached the barrier, bumped against it, and suddenly started sniffing the air. “This is some Scythe Crucify bullshit!”

Ebony gritted her teeth as pain lanced through her skull; it started when the filly bumped into the barrier, and intensified as the ageing mare with crystals poking through her legs started prodding her barrier. Each of her touches made her vision blur, and her barrier wavered, threatening to collapse from that meagre contact.

“They’re interfering with my magic…” She growled out, feeling her eyes burn from tears and pain. “I-I can’t hold it up for much longer!”

The mare that spoke managed to get close enough to lick her barrier before the crystal-urchin loomed up from behind and stabbed one leg clean through it.

Ebony shrieked as pain bloomed behind her eyes; it was only for a brief moment, but the backlash still sent her staggering as she dropped her sword.

“Captain!”

She ignored Tremor’s concerned cry and shouted, “Unicorns – aim for that monster’s mouth! Fire!”

Spells arced over her head and slammed against the urchin’s hide.

Ice, lightning, and pure magic struggled futilely to bring the urchin down: it had closed its maw the instant the unicorns started firing and its crystal hide wasn’t even scratched by the assault. Charred from lightning, perhaps, but that didn’t slow its eerie gait; the legs creaked and crunched at the joints as tiny crystals broke and were instantly regrown.

Ebony grimaced and snatched her sword up, taking another step back. ‘Ah, jeez… what are we going to do against this thing?’

She didn’t think her sword’s edge would do much against its hide, but she extended her sword to give a few test swipes anyway.

As she expected, her weapon slid off the urchin’s body uselessly.

Unexpectedly, the urchin reared back, twisted, and stabbed a leg forwards.

Ebony gasped – Lightning Dust cried, “watch out!” – and backpedalled, watching as the leg fully extended with the tip halting mere inches away, and then grew longer as fast as she could blink so it cleared the space between them, pierced her armor, and split her flesh.

Agony flared as she pulled away.

She fell to her front knees, gagging as the leg slid out – the urchin awkwardly stabbed the ground with its bloodied leg so it wouldn’t fall over – but left a piece of jagged crystal in the wound.

Panicking, she dug at the crevice in her armor, but her hoof was too wide to fit through the gap.

“Ebony, what the actual hell?!” Lightning Dust yanked her back – practically dragging her against the concrete – until she was the rest of the platoon, having fallen back a good distance the instant the monster made that lunge. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Get this off of me!” Ebony slapped at the straps keeping her armor from falling off with the desperation of a drowning pony; she just knew that she had to get that crystal out before… before…

Lightning Dust’s confusion was all over her face, but she helped as best she could, undoing the straps so the chestpiece came off.

Ebony’s hoof went to her wound and plucked out a four inch length of dark that clattered on the ground, leaving a few dark red spots.

“Oh shit…” Lightning Dust dropped the chestpiece and cried out over the sounds of spells being fired and tortured groaning, “Uh, healer-unicorn-girl-guy over here!”

Ebony stared down at the ugly gash that divided her flesh in awe: it wasn’t bleeding and the pain had already faded.

And as she watched, it was beginning to close up.

‘Of course…’

A unicorn – Onion – came to her side with her horn glowing orange, but Ebony pushed her away.

“I’m fine!” Ebony stood up straight – not exactly on steady legs – and looked back at the urchin and its… victims making their way towards them.

The urchin’s steps were slow, but they covered a lot of distance, and the groaning ponies were no slouches either; a brisk trot was still a brisk trot, and their vacant stares loomed closer with each passing second.

But Ebony was reluctant to attack them: they were still alive and clearly being controlled by the urchin, so if they could just take that monster out, then maybe the ponies could be rescued?

Although, if this kept up, then she might not have a choice.

She gathered her sword again and bit her lip as she tried to devise another strategy. If the urchin was seemingly immune to magical assault and bladed weapons would only spark off the urchin’s hide, then the only other way she could think of was to either get the urchin to open its maw and strike whatever the hell was inside, or use tools with a bit more ‘oomph’ to them.

Private Tremor had a halberd with a thick and blunt edge, and definitely had the strength to crack a skull with it, but how was he to get close enough without being stabbed?

Maybe if she-

“HEY!!”

Ebony’s attention switched from the monster to one of the castle’s massive legs, where one of the doors was currently being held open by a burly, blue and white stallion gesturing frantically to them.

“Sh-Shining Armor?”

“What are you doing?!” He shouted. “Get in here before it infects you!”

Couldn’t be worse in there than out here.

“Into the castle!”

Ebony and her platoon sprinted over towards the door, past the urchin that sluggishly turned to follow them and past the groaning crystal-infected ponies; one of them – the stallion with bleeding eyes – put on a burst of speed and made a grab for Ensign Coral as she passed, but she managed to dodge and lashed out with her sword in a mindless panic.

The blade sliced deep into the stallion’s flesh and opened his neck like a second mouth; he gurgled and spluttered as one of the other infected ponies – the ageing mare – approached and wordlessly prodded at the spurting gash.

Lightning Dust was the first one there, naturally, followed by Ebony; she remained outside by the door frame, urging the others inside. “What are you…?! Coral, stop freaking out and get in here!”

Coral sped past her – “oh Faust, I cut his fucking neck!” – and only then Ebony ran inside as well after shooting one final look over her shoulder in time to see the infected stallion limply collapse and go still.

Once she was inside, Shining Armor, fully decked in purple and gold armor, threw his weight against the door and slammed it shut; he kept himself pressed against the door, listening to the muffled shuffling and groaning beyond it.

“… None of them can get through here,” He said, still braced against the door. “We’re safe for the time being.”

“Thank goodness…” Ebony released a sigh and a relieved chuckle. “Thank you so much for your help, Prince Shining Armor; we had no idea about the-”

“I don’t want your thanks.”

She trailed off when he turned and she got a good look at him: bloodshot eyes with dark circles beneath them, matted and grimy coat, messy mane…

And one hell of a glare.

“… You’re cut.”

Ebony blinked, looked down at herself. “Oh! Th-this? It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“And your eyes…” The more he examined her, the more his lip curled in shock and disgust. "What... happened to you?"

“It’s… a long story. I-I could tell you, but…”

"Are you safe?"

"Safe? I'm not going to hurt you, or anypony else if that's what you're afraid of."

"You're dead."

"Uh, 'undead', technically," Ebony chuckled awkwardly; if her circulation still functioned properly, she'd be blushing. "I'm a lich - I still have my thoughts and magic, but it's... it's not like I want to eat your brain. That sounds... gross."

"And Nightmare Moon sent you?” When she nodded, he made a few motions with his mouth like he was struggling to say something, but ultimately seemed to decide against it in favor of shaking his head in bewilderment and walking straight ahead, right past her; he would have knocked her aside if she hadn’t moved away. “This is... Ugh, if you want answers, then follow me.”

“Uh, okay?”

He headed over to a staircase on the far side of the room that led up to the floor above them at a brisk pace. She awkwardly gestured for her platoon to follow, but slowed so she could fall alongside Coral; she was at the back of the group and sobbing loudly.

“Ensign, get a hold of yourself!”

Coral flinched and stared at her with big, watery eyes, and Ebony tried to not feel guilty. “I-I didn’t mean to…! Oh Faust, I cut his throat a-and now he’s…”

“You knew what you might have to do when you signed on with the Eclipse,” Ebony whispered harshly. “Don’t you dare break down on me. What you did… honestly, I think you just did that stallion a favour.”

“B-but-”

“Are you going to continue with this mission properly, or do I have to pull you out of the Eclipse?”

“N-no! I can…” Coral trembled, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes and released it, she had at least stopped convulsing with sobs, even if the tears didn’t fully stop. “I-I’m fine, really! I’m… I’m fine.”

Ebony frowned suspiciously, but decided to give her another chance. At the very least, Coral had responded appropriately by cutting down that stallion – nothing worse than suffering a loss on your first mission.

Speaking of which…

“Ensign, where’s your sword?”

“Um…” Coral went bright red in shame and avoided eye contact. “I… dropped it outside.”

Ebony groaned and slapped her forehead. “Moon’s shadow… We’ll find you something later. Just keep up with the others for now.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Ebony quickened her pace so she was at the front of the group once more. As they followed Shining Armor up the stairs, Lightning Dust came up alongside her, using her wings and completely forgoing the steps.

Fade didn’t like steps either.

“So are you, like, okay?” Lightning Dust asked, actually sounding concerned. “I know you’re a zombie and everything, but still…”

Ebony looked down at her chest again, idly noting that her air freshener was missing. That was depressing; her scent of decay would soon overpower whatever fragrance still lingered on her.

“Lich. It… hurt when it pierced me… but now it’s like nothing happened,” She gave Lightning Dust a sideways look and a hesitant grin. “It’s… actually kinda cool.”

Lightning Dust nodded firmly and laughed. “Hey, you might smell like ass, but it’s a tough ass for sure.”

“Thanks?”

Lightning Dust winked and slapped her on the back. “No worries, Cap’!”

Ebony stumbled and scrunched up her face in a grimace. “Please don’t do that.”

“No promises, Cap’!”

“Ugh…”

As genuinely amicable as Lightning Dust was being, Ebony was glad when the pegasus lapsed into silence and hovered alongside her with a small smirk at some random thought; right now, Ebony just wanted some quiet so she could think and reflect on what had just happened.
Firstly, the story behind that crystal monster and the infected ponies.

On one hoof, great – the Empire wasn’t under siege by the Rouge Knight Order.

On the other hoof, that monster didn’t like your garden variety monster; this wasn’t some hydra infestation or wandering yeti, this was… unfamiliar.

She didn’t like ‘unfamiliar’; you couldn’t prepare for ‘unfamiliar’.

Ebony desperately wanted to ask Shining Armor what was up, but the way he looked at her back on the ground level made her uncomfortable.

Beneath the discomfort and revulsion at her state, he was pissed.

Understandable, given that he was certainly no ally of Nightmare Moon and his little sister was being held captive; he had every right to be angry at them, being loyal to the Empress and all.

But surely them being there to help was something, wasn’t it? They were in the same boat, after all.

“…” Ebony cleared her throat. “Prince Shining-”

“Stop.”

He turned and held his hoof out so swiftly that Ebony halted out of sheer surprise; the others behind her weren’t so quick, and she stumbled a little as somepony bumped into her from behind, followed by several other grunts that sounded over the din of clanking metal.

Awkwardly reaching up to adjust her helmet, Ebony looked to the side and realized that they had stopped in front of two large doors – aquamarine and covered in flowing scripture that ran along the frame.

Beyond the doors, she could hear a great many voices, muffled.

Shining Armor put his hoof down. “Stay out here. I’m going to go get my wife.”

Ebony nodded, figuring that whatever she had to say would just be ignored.

Shining Armor opened the doors with a purple flash of his horn; the voices became louder, clearer, and remained that way as he went in and neglected to shut the doors.

“… Everypony – at ease,” Ebony said, sitting down on her rump. “He’ll… Just relax.”

What else could she do? They needed answers, and if waiting would provide them, then so be it.

It wasn’t like there was really anything they could do anyway.

Ebony heard her platoon’s armor shuffle as they sat, leaned against the wall, or remained standing; a few took the time to chat to each other.
She heard two familiar voices and briefly looked over her shoulder to see Onion talking softly to Coral, her tone and face sympathetic.

‘Hope she can do something…’

She turned away, back to the door, and waited.

…

It was only about a minute before her curiosity got the better of her; she really didn’t think one small look inside would harm anypony. If she had to guess, then the rest of the crystal ponies that populated the Empire were in there; the castle seemed big enough to hold them all and Shining Armor already said that the urchin couldn’t get in.

Ebony got back up, took a few steps forward, and poked her head around the corner.

Yep, just as she expected.

Dozens upon dozens of ponies of various ages and builds filled the astoundingly spacious chamber; she had no clue what sort of purpose this large a chamber might have once served – the walls were bare and bland with the only thing of note being two other doors, both open, on opposing walls – but right now it reliably served to house the many ponies that occupied it.

A lot of them were in groups, a few in pairs, and even fewer completely on their own. A scarce few were dressed in the Empire’s armor and shuffled back and forth, handing out food rations or simply checking up on the ponies with a few words and nods.

Unlike the stories she had heard, their coats did not shine or possess any spellbinding lustre; they were all dull and dark, their bodies reflecting the despair and fear in their eyes. Only the youngest – children and babies – had any form of brightness, still too young to properly understand the danger they were in.

Even with their sad state, Ebony was relieved at the sight of so many ponies. ‘Thank goodness – at least the majority of them seemed to have made it safely.’

Her heart went out to them.

Ebony pulled her head back and sat down again, curiosity sated.

She was halfway into another trance when two masses of white and pink came around the corner.

“So you’re the ones Nightmare Moon sent, hm?”

Ebony quickly stood and gave a respectful bow of her head. “Yes, princess. I’m Ebony, captain of the Eclipse and the Empress’ Right Hoof.”

Cadance was… gorgeous; there was no other word to describe her.

There were a lot of beautiful ponies in Canterlot, but whether that beauty was authentic or cosmetic, it didn’t match the radiance that Cadance possessed. The princess was frazzled, tired, and clearly wasn’t putting any effort into keeping her personal appearance up to standard, and still she managed to outclass anypony Ebony had ever met before.

In the past, before all of this, she might have even felt self-conscious, but she had changed over the months and worrying about how she looked was at the near-bottom of her list of priorities.

Still, it was hard not to feel slighted when Cadance’s brow drew together in disgust upon taking in Ebony’s less than lively appearance.

"Oh Faust, I can't believe you're actually..." Cadance bore a mixed look of sympathy and repulsion. "I... I'm sorry for being so crass, but how on Earth did this happen to you?"

Ebony went to explain, but Shining Armor butted in, grimly muttering, "Nightmare Moon, if I had to guess. Wouldn't put it past her to turn ponies into undead."

"No, no! It wasn't her; I chose this!" Ebony said. "The Empress helped me... a little, but I'm the one that did the spell that changed me into... well, the pony I am now."

Shining Armor squinted at her in disbelief.

Cadance looked and sounded utterly confused. "But... why? Why would you do such a thing to yourself?"

"... Because this makes me stronger."

The princess frowned. "I don't understand."

"Well..." Ebony rubbed the back of her head, trying to find the words to explain. "As a lich, I don't need to eat, drink, or sleep. Something that would kill a normal pony just hurts me. A lot, yeah, but at least I'm alive, and I can heal it really fast anyway."

"But why do you need to be stronger?" Cadance asked. "Just to serve somepony as horrible as Nightmare Moon?"

Ebony froze, realizing that this was the first time anypony had asked her why she needed to be stronger. It caught her off-guard; neither the Empress nor her friends had ever asked her why she was so set on becoming stronger; she suspected that her friends simply assumed that it was because of her devotion to Nightmare Moon, similar to how they were devoted to Nightmare Moon.

As for the Empress... well, Ebony didn't know. Aside from some personality traits and tics, Nightmare Moon was still an enigma to her. Haze thought she was a god, Veil simply thought of her as a powerful pony... or demon, and Fade and Miasma didn't give much thought as to what she was, only that she was frighteningly powerful and they'd rather serve than oppose.

As for what Ebony thought...

"That's... part of it," Ebony admitted, lowering her gaze to the floor. "If I'm going to be the Empress' Right Hoof and the Captain of her guard, then I have to be strong enough to suit it, don't I?"

Shining Armor gave a very subtle nod; he was wary of her still, but he seemed to agree on that.

"And... well, I've always been... weak. I was never very strong - physically and magically, and that led to some... problems at my old home. Nightmare Moon helped me get stronger; she made me feel like I can actually do something, and I have to repay her for believing in me, for giving me a chance to prove myself. So..." Feeling more certain of herself, Ebony lifted her gaze back up. "I want to be stronger because that's the best way I can think of repaying her."

Cadance blinked, seemingly astonished at her answer.

Shining Armor sighed and pressed his hoof against his forehead. "Yeah. She's totally brainwashed you. Or Stockholm Syndrome - something like that."

"Wha-? No, she hasn't! I'm here on my own free will!" Ebony stomped her hoof for emphasis, now quite vexed. "We all are! Right?"

She turned to face her platoon, looking for support.

A few of them avoided eye contact, one stallion made an unsure face and tilted his forehoof from side to side in a gesture of ambivalence, and Lightning Dust nodded wholeheartedly before getting upset at the others.

"Oh, you guys are huge liars," She snorted. "I overhear most of you talking about how you - not anypony else - signed up for the Eclipse to clear your criminal records or some shit."

Ebony groaned. 'So much for that...'

"Oh, so Nightmare Moon's conscripting criminals as well as undead..." Shining Armor quipped dryly. "That'll help me sleep better at night."

Ebony turned back, silently seething. She hadn't much personal experience with Shining Armor, but she always thought him to be a respectable and strong pony; one didn't get to the position of captain of the former Royal Guard by being antagonistic and soft. However, he was really starting to annoy her.

Cadance sighed and gently touched her husband's shoulder, which seemed to calm him a little. "I understand how you feel, but these ponies... even if some are criminals and... well, dead-"

"Er, undead, princess."

"'Undead', then... even if they are, they're still here to help. You are all here to help us, right?"

“Yes. We were sent to investigate and to provide assistance if we could,” Ebony replied, then saluted after a brief pause. "We're ready and willing to help in any way we can, princess."

"I appreciate that," Cadance said. “So I suppose you want answers, hm? About the monster? Well, I’m sorry to say that we’re just as in the dark about it as you are. My husband says you were fighting it when he opened the door? Then you’ve already as much experience as any of us.”

That was… disappointing to hear.

“You don’t know anything?” Ebony asked. “A weakness? What it’s trying to do? Where it came from?”

Shining Armor suddenly laughed.

A spiteful and ugly laugh, at that.

“Oh, we know where it came from…” He snorted contemptuously. “You know those caves around here? The ones that we mine crystals from? The crystals we send to your Empress by train for her Resonator? That’s where the thing came out from.”

“So… was it just hiding down there, or did-”

“The mining disturbed it,” He cut her off and suddenly took a step towards her. Ebony took a step back in response, alarmed. “We dug down deep enough that we disturbed it. Do you know why we dug down so deep in the first place?”

“I-I…”

“Shining Armor, don’t start this…” Cadance sighed.

He ignored her.

“Because the most conductive crystals are found deeper in the mines; the very same mines that Sombra forced these ponies to work in, the ones that I promised to have demolished so nopony would ever have to be reminded of him again!” Shining Armor growled as his voice grew louder with each word. “But no! No… your fucking ‘Empress’ needed those crystals. And because of her, because of who you follow, we’re plagued by that monster!”

“W-wait a minute!” Ebony stammered. “N-none of us knew there would be something in the mines.”

“Yeah!” Lightning Dust chimed in aggressively, moving from the back and towards up front. “How the hell was anypony supposed to know there was something down there? I mean, if you guys didn’t know, then how is somepony a hundred kilometres away supposed to? Maybe if you checked properly, then we wouldn’t have had to come and bail your asses out.”

Ebony gaped at her and then facehooved. ‘Oh Faust…’

“Right – you were sent to help out of the goodness of Nightmare Moon’s heart…” Shining Armor scoffed. “Not because she wants her supply of crystals, no, nothing like that at all.”

“Dude, real talk? What the actual shit is your problem? We are here to literally help you!” Lightning Dust slammed her hoof on the floor, holding back just enough so that she didn’t crack its surface. “Be… happy, or something!”

“My ‘problem’ is what Nightmare Moon has done to Celestia and Luna!” Shining Armor copied her, stomping down with a harsh clack and dragging his hoof against the floor. “What she’s done to Canterlot! What she’s done to the Element bearers! What she’s done to my sister!”

“ENOUGH!!”

Cadance’s yell wasn’t just loud, it carried physical force; Shining Armor staggered to the side while Ebony and Lightning Dust flinched backwards, an uncomfortable ringing settling in their ear canals as the shout shook the walls and rattled a few nearby windows. Ebony could only barely hear the rest of her platoon shouting in pain and alarm.

Ebony hissed air through her teeth and rubbed at her head with a grimace as the double doors burst open to allow several crystal guards to filter into the corridor.

“Your majesties, we heard a shout!” One of them cried while readying his spear. “Is everything alright?”

Shining Armor was still trying to shake the bells from his head, so Cadance took a deep breath, tempered the – frankly terrifying – expression on her face, and turned to the guards.

“Yes, we’re fine, thank you. It was just a disagreement between two hotheads…” She shot a glare at her husband and Lightning Dust for emphasis. “Please leave us and reassure the ponies that it’s nothing to worry about.”

The guard and his friends didn’t seem so certain, but obeyed nonetheless, returning to the room and closing the doors after a quick and respectful bow.

Once they were shut, Cadance turned on her husband. “Shining, did Ebony saying that 'they're here to help' somehow go completely over your head?”

Shining Armor shrunk beneath her words, but his jaw was still set tightly. “No, but they're still part of-”

“Yes, I know who they fight for, but are you really going to let your pride stop you from accepting help? We have to think about the lives of our subjects, Shining.”

“… Yeah… you’re right.” He sighed in defeat and hung his head.

Lightning Dust broke the quiet with a triumphant laugh. “Ha! See?”

Ebony, eager to avoid another conflict and also irritated by the pegasus jumping in, turned on her with a snarl. “Lightning Dust, it was you as well! Don’t even try to start things up again.”

“What?” Her face changed, confusion giving way to outrage. “Hey, I’m on your side here! I was just-”

“I don’t care! Just… don’t start anything, alright?”

“…” Lightning Dust narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. “Sure. Whatever you say, Captain.”

Ebony inwardly groaned in annoyance; she hadn’t meant to be so hostile to her, but she really needed to crack down before Lightning Dust said something else that would cause another argument.

She was also slighted by how terribly she handled Shining Armor; maybe if she responded more quickly, that argument could have been avoided.

Well, no use bemoaning on what could have been.

Ebony turned back to the princess and tried a disarming grin. “I’m sorry about that, princess.”

Cadance dismissed her apology with a shrug. “It’s fine. Shining Armor's just been building a lot of hate towards Nightmare Moon. I can't say I'm any better, but... well, you're not her, so you don't deserve being yelled at. Right, honey?"

"Yeah, I guess not," Shining Armor said sheepishly. "Sorry." He even sounded sincere.

Ebony smiled again and shrugged. "It's okay. No harm done, your highness."

"We're all in this together now," Cadance said, gesturing to the entire group in the hallway. "And arguing gets none of us anywhere, so let's just put our differences aside and focus on getting rid of that monster.”

Shining Armor gave her a warm and loving smile. “Jeez, if we had you instead of my hard-ass commander back in the Royal Guard…”

“You’d be busy focusing on something other than your training,” She laughed lightly. “Now, you’re the one with the military know-how, so bring these ponies up to date.”

“Yes, ma’am,” He turned to face Ebony and her platoon; he still seemed iffy about addressing them, but his face and tone was no longer openly hostile. “So… you’ve already seen the monster and what it’s capable of. Those ponies out there? They’re not the first ones; the damn thing infected three others when it was unearthed. Just one scratch and those crystals were growing like wildfire. By the time we got word of what was happening at the castle, the thing was out in the streets.”

Ebony nodded, waiting for him to continue. ‘Finally, we can get some answers…’

“When I got there along with some guards, we tried taking it down with magic,” Shining Armor grimly shook his head. “Nothing. Pure magic just bounced right off its hide. We tried using fire, but it only left scorch marks. Ice slowed it down, but that’s all – it just slowed down. We tried encasing it, but it just let off this… pulse of dark magic that shattered the ice.”

“Dark magic?” Ebony echoed, drawing her brows together in alarm. “It can use dark magic?”

“Primitively – it’s powerful, but it’s got nothing on Sombra. Even so, it was doing things that I’ve never seen regular magic do before, so keep an eye out.”

“What about electricity, or lightning? You said fire and ice, but…?”

Shining Armor gave a minor shiver, as if reliving a bad memory. “Just… no. Nopony use any lightning or electricity spells against it. If you use too much for too long, then it… Just don’t.”

“… Okay? So what do we use against it? It has to be vulnerable to something. Oh! Wh-when it attacked us there was some sort of mouth that opened up, and there was something inside it.”

“Yeah, we tried casting spells inside, but nothing hit the mark; it clammed up the instant it realized what we were doing. That’s… that’s when it got really angry. It’s a lot faster than it looks.”

“What about the Crystal Heart? Can we use that?”

“We need ponies to actually go out and channel their energy into it, and that thing will be on us in an instant.”

“Hrm…”

“We had some success with… killing its victims,” Cadance said with a despondent look. “From what we’ve seen, the creature is almost completely blind to the world, and it infects ponies and uses some mental link to get a clearer picture. One of the miners that got infected… there were crystals growing out from her eyes and suddenly the creature was more ‘aware’ of its surroundings. Before that it was just thrashing around madly.”

“I think we saw something like that…” Ebony agreed with no small amount of revulsion. “There were five ponies that were with the thing when we arrived. There was a stallion with crystals on his eyes – like you said – and the others had some on other parts of their bodies. Sight, smell, touch, hearing… one was a mare that kept saying strange things. Was that…?”

“It was the creature talking through them, yes…” Cadance affirmed. “Although… diplomacy hasn’t exactly been met with much success; it’s dead-set on ‘obtaining’ our help, and it’ll doom all of us to do it. Every stallion, mare, and foal,” She sighed sadly. “I pity it, but we must think of the Empire’s citizens first.”

“So… what about the infected ponies? One of my guards may have killed one before we came in.”

Shining Armor gravely shook his head. “They’re already gone. The only thing we can do for them is put them to rest. If nothing else, you’ve taken away the monster’s eyes, though I suspect it’ll be a hell of a lot more aggressive now until it finds somepony else to replace the poor bastard.”

Ebony grunted in frustration and glanced over her shoulder. “Anypony have any suggestions then don’t be afraid to speak up.”

Her platoon hemmed and hawed and avoided eye contact, afraid to get called on. Tremor briefly perked up like he was about to say something, but frowned and shook his head, muttering, ‘stupid’.

“… What if we just hit it?” Lightning Dust suggested with a shrug. She held up her hoof and made a swinging motion. “Like… really hard. With a big hammer.”

“… Break through its shell?” Ebony pondered skeptically.

Though she had to admit that a lot of the problems Equestria was facing could actually be solved by hitting them hard enough…

“Actually, that’s our best bet,” Shining Armor said with a nod. “Anything sharp just slides or bounces off, but with maces and hammers we can chip away at it.”

“Why haven’t you?” Ebony asked.

“Like I said, one tiny scratch and you’re infected.”

“He’s right. I’ve seen it happen,” Cadance added solemnly. “When I was there trying to stop it with my magic, it scratched one of the guards,” She raised her hoof to her cheek and drew a small line towards her nose. “Barely an inch long, but he started screaming; crystals grew on his body and he fell down. He turned in a little over five seconds.”

Ebony grimaced and heard somepony in the back murmur, “Yikes…”

“You’re the only one I’ve seen that’s survived being hit,” Shining Armor said, staring directly at Ebony. “I'm guessing that has to do with you being dead."

"Undead."

"Right. That's all well and good for you, but unless you can transfer that immunity to the rest of us somehow – preferably not by making us liches as well – then it’s too much of a risk for us to go out and try to smash the monster.”

“No…” Ebony pressed her lips together in frustration. “I can’t. I can’t even make you liches even if I wanted to.”

The Mortal Recoil spell was much too complex for Ebony to do it by memory, and she had left Studies of Flesh back in her office in Canterlot, so it wasn’t like she could just pull it out here and now.

‘I’ve only learned a few of those spells…’ She thought. ‘And most only work on dead bodies or living creatures; that urchin… I have no idea where it falls on that scale.’

Ebony gasped. “The infected ponies…”

Of course! How did it take her this long to realize it?

“What?” Shining Armor asked, seeing her expression. “You got an idea?”

“I think so…” If Ebony’s heart was still active, her blood would be pumping as she fixed Cadance and Shining Armor with a determined stare. “But firstly, I must ask you two, as the governing rulers of the Crystal Empire, to allow me, Captain Ebony, to utilize your deceased for the purpose of warfare.”

They both stared at her incredulously.

“Ebony, I gotta say this… you are one crazy bitch.”

“Uh, thank you?”

“No, I’m serious!” Lightning Dust proceeded to make the situation even more uncomfortable by grabbing Ebony by the shoulders and flash a big smile in her face. “If you pull this off, you’re totally moving up on my list. Way past Miasma!”

“Okay…” Ebony grumbled, trying not to recoil from the unfamiliar touch. “N-not to be rude, but could you please not…?”

“Oh, right!” Lightning Dust gave a short laugh, unbothered as she removed her hooves and backed off. “Gotta prepare those magicky muscles, eh? I get it. No worries, Ebs – I’ll be over here with the boys and girls ‘til we’re ready, yeah?”

“Sure…” Ebony gave a little wave. “Thanks.”

She watched Lightning Dust wander off to join the rest of the platoon for a little while before turning her attention back to the sturdy door just a short few yards away.

The very same door that would take them all back outside and into the crystal urchin’s territory.

Naturally, she was filled with apprehension that made her skin tingle and her insides cold.

After all, there was a lot riding on her plan to succeed; if somepony died, then it would be on her head.

But that was the risk of being a leader, wasn’t it? Taking responsibility for the consequences of one’s plan and bearing the weight of lost lives? Everypony faced that, not just her.

‘… Would Nightmare Moon take responsibility for what happened to the Empire?’

Of course Ebony didn’t think what happened here was the Empress’ fault; she didn’t know about the urchin after all, and the mining of the crystals despite Cadance and Shining Armor’s protests was ultimately for a good cause. The Resonator needed to be kept in prime condition to close the Fractures.

Ebony sighed and turned her head to the left.

Shining Armor and Cadance talked to one another in low tones, backed up by four crystal guards who respected their rulers’ privacy and maintained a fair distance.

‘Though not everypony feels that way.’

Well, she was there to help, not change minds.

Ebony walked over to the couple.

“… out there with you.” Cadance murmured uneasily.

“No, the Empire can’t risk losing both of us, and anyway, you’re the one with the actual Crystal Heart on her flank. If somepony needs to stay safe at all costs, then it’s you,” Shining Armor’s tone was soft but firm. He clearly wasn’t going to budge on this. “I’ll be fine, honey. I promise.”

Cadance gave a low keen of worry as her wings rustled against her sides. “Faust damn it, Shining, you know saying that sort of thing just reminds me of those movies. You know – the ones that don’t have a happy ending?”

Shining Armor chuckled and gently nuzzled the side of her head. “Good thing I’m tougher than some whiny actor in a bad romance film, huh?”

“Up for debate,” Cadance hummed in delight at his touch and leaned forwards to kiss him on the lips. “I’ll be waiting by that door, so just yell and I’ll have it open in a blink. Stay safe, goof.”

“I will.”

The two embraced.

Ebony stood on the sideline, awkwardly rubbing one foreleg and looking off in a random direction. It was less overt than when Lightning Dust and Fade flirted, and that made her feel all the more like she was intruding.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long.

When they parted, Shining Armor finally took notice of Ebony. “Hm? Are your soldiers ready?”

“Yes. We’re just, um, waiting on you.”

“Alright. Honey?”

Cadance nodded. “I know. Be safe.”

They shared one more hug before Shining Armor called his own guards over. Ebony fell alongside the prince as they trotted over towards the exit.

When they were a few yards away, Shining Armor suddenly stopped.

“Hey, give us a second, would you?" He said to his guards. "I want to speak with Ebony. Privately."

Ebony set her lips in a worried frown. Those words would set her on edge if it was one of her friends that said it, never mind somepony she barely knew and probably hated her guts.

'Although he did say sorry earlier. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to assume...'

Shining Armor led her away, far enough that nopony would overhear them. Ebony looked over her shoulder, concerned about leaving her platoon alone with the crystal guards, but it seemed as though both sides were happy to not speak to each other and just mind their own business.

She looked back to Shining Armor and found him glaring down at the floor and idly scuffing it. He looked like he very much wanted to say something, but didn't know how to.

Ebony hoped they weren't going to have another disagreement.

"Um, is everything...?"

"Ebony..." He finally said, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "Are you sure you can do this?"

‘No.’

“Yes, I’ve done it before. Mostly on rats and rabbits, but the same rules apply; you just have to put in a bit more magic.”

"That's not really what I meant."

"Oh..." Ebony furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what he could have meant, and failing. "Then what did you mean?"

"You don't..." He paused, eyes flitting over her form. "You don't seem like the type of pony that would work for Nightmare Moon."

"... Okay?"

"What I mean is ever since I heard that Nightmare Moon formed her own guard force, I had this mental image of what that would look like," He raised his foreleg, putting his hoof high over their heads. "I imagined this big, ugly brute of a stallion wearing skulls around his neck like jewelry; the type of guy you don't want to meet in a dark alleyway. But then you come along..." He lowered his hoof, tilted it towards her. "The captain of the Eclipse, Nightmare Moon's Right Hoof... and just look at you."

Ebony felt heat flare within her; embarrassment and anger. "What are you saying?"

"The way you stand, the way you talk, the way you avoid eye contact... it all just says to me that leadership is new to you, and you haven't quite adjusted to it."

She blinked, stunned at his observation. "That's... Yes, it... kinda is. I'm doing the best I can, though."

"I'm just... astonished," Shining Armor shook his head. "You're not the pony I would give that sort of position to, and the idea that Nightmare Moon would, of all ponies..."

"... Heh..." Ebony chuckled, smiling a little. "You know, I thought something similar a long time ago, when Nightmare Moon was training me. She said that I would be her loyal general, the leader of her forces. I was terrified - I thought I would fail her, fail my friends. But... I don't think I have. The Empress... if she thought I failed at any point, or maybe I'm not the right pony to be doing this, then I'm sure she'd have me removed immediately. But she hasn't. She believes that I can do this."

Ebony blinked, realizing the significance of her own words.

"Nightmare Moon believes in me as a leader."

"But she's evil," Shining Armor said with a disapproving frown. "Look at what she's done."

"Look at what she's doing!" The words left Ebony in a rush; she raised her head high, looking directly into Shining Armor's eyes. "She's built a device that can close the Fractures, she's personally involved in fighting the Rouge Knights - she even sent us to help you and the Empire!"

"And how did she figure out something was up?" Shining Armor retorted sharply. "Let me guess: it had something to do with the trains, right? Or more specifically, the train that ships the crystals she needs for the Resonator."

"That's the-"

"Ebony, look at yourself..." Shining Armor said, tone suddenly desperate. "You've turned undead to become stronger, to become more useful to Nightmare Moon. I don't know what sort of life you've had where you think serving somepony that violently overthrows a benevolent ruling body and holds innocent mares captive is a good idea, but please trust me when I say there's a better way. You don't have to ally yourself with her."

Ebony set her jaw firmly; she could feel her eyes burning brightly. "You're right. I don't have to... but I want to. Nightmare Moon believed in me when nopony else ever did in my life, and look where I am because of that! I owe her everything, and I'll repay her in any way that I can."

Shining Armor didn't say anything for a while. He just looked at her... piteously, like she didn't know any better. It annoyed her greatly, but she refused to speak; the sudden blaze within her helped keep her tongue still.

"... Fine," He finally said with a slow nod. "You think what you want to think."

He turned and left.

"Get ready. I'll rally the troops."

Ebony watched him walk between her platoon and the crystal guards... and let out a shuddering exhale, giddy and lightheaded that she had actually managed to win the argument. Not only that, but she was running on a high over how she had, all by herself, instilled the fact that Nightmare Moon did believe in her. Why else would she continue to hold the title of 'Right Hoof' and Eclipse guard captain?

Nightmare Moon was nothing if pragmatic and logical; she would definitely replace Ebony if she felt her performance to be lacking.

But she didn't.

It was... exhilarating!

Ebony was one step away from dancing on her hooves when Shining Armor shouted; she had to take a moment to compose herself before trotting over to the others, forcing herself to concentrate.

'Okay, don't fly off the handle, Ebony; there's still work to be done. No need to give the Empress a reason to remove you.'

“Everypony know the plan?” Shining Armor shouted, moving so he was ahead of the group. As befitting of a leader, everypony’s attention was drawn to him. “We’re leading that monster as far from the Crystal Heart as we can, but under no circumstances are we to engage it unless I give the order. That means no magic, no weapons, and no wings – we are strictly on the defensive until Captain Ebony completes her task. Remember – it just takes one scratch for that thing to infect you, and the same goes for the infected ponies. For Faust’s sake, be alert and be careful. Are there any questions?”

Ebony looked around. Nopony said anything or raised their hoof.

Shining Armor nodded firmly. “Okay then. Everypony – with me!”

Ebony stayed back while the others marched after Shining Armor as he trotted over towards the door, his pace slowing and his steps softening the closer he got.

The urchin might have been without sight, but none of them knew how sensitive its hearing was. Or rather, how sensitive the stallion who acted as its ears was.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Ebony watched them, waiting for the plan to fully commence, and wetted her dry lips – tasting nothing, as usual.

For her part, she had to be quick and successful – if she wasn’t able to get that stallion’s body and complete her spell – that is, if the crystals didn’t interfere with it – than they’d have no choice but to fall back and get inside the castle.

And she had no back-up plan.

“Excuse me.”

Ebony almost jumped out of her skin when she realized Cadance had moved to her side. “Oh! Princess, I-”

“Don’t,” She said sharply. “You’re about to go outside, so just listen.”

Cadance moved even closer with a dark expression that made Ebony panic a little when she likened it to something her Empress would wear.

The princess was only a few inches taller, but Ebony felt very small all the same when they were muzzle to muzzle and she was halfway from being pushed to the ground.

“My husband will make it back. Understand?”

A dumb pony might have replied with ‘or what’?

Ebony was not dumb.

“U-understood.”

“Good.”

Cadance and her oppressive aura left, and Ebony did not hesitate to run forwards so she was directly behind the group.

‘Nope - still feeling up to it. Just don't look back and you'll remain that way.’

Fortunately, Ebony didn’t have the time to ponder what might happen if Shining Armor didn’t make it back because not even three seconds after she made it to the back of the group, she witnessed Shining Armor shove the door open with all his strength and sprint out into the courtyard.

“With me!”

And then came the thunder of hooves as Eclipse and crystal guards alike rushed through the door in an ordered fashion so nopony would get wedged and vulnerable; the air was filled with shouts and battle cries.

Ebony waited back; she couldn’t see the urchin or the infected ponies from her position, but she could feel the monster’s earth-shaking steps and she could hear the ghastly groans of the infected, as well as the mare that the urchin spoke through – her placid calls for the guards to stop and help could barely be heard over the rest of the din.

Ebony swallowed, jittery as she watched the last guard filter out, and proceeded to wait for a few seconds longer.

‘One… two… three… four…’

She tensed her muscles and burst outside.

The door slammed shut behind her, but she was already scanning the area.

To her relief, the distraction was perfect: the crystal urchin and its victims – four, as opposed to five – were trailing after Shining Armor and the others towards the southern part of the Empire; they were a good distance away and moving fluidly as a group, but then again, so was the urchin and the infected.

She forced herself to look away and concentrate on her true goal.

‘There!’

The stallion that Coral had cut down was exactly where she had last seen him spluttering and choking on his own blood; the urchin and the infected had simply left him where he fell.

Ebony thanked her lucky stars and galloped over to him.

Shouts and groans in the distance filled her ears as she dropped to her knees beside the corpse and pulled him off his side and onto his back.

His neck gaped obscenely like a second mouth.

She closed her eyes to gather her magic.

‘Come on, come on – you can do this!’

She could feel her magic surging up into her horn; she let it all gather there, churning and swelling as she drew out the symbols of her spell.

‘You can do this.’

Completing the spell, Ebony called on the magic in her horn and let it slide down the length of bone, across her forehead, and down into her throat.

‘Please, please work…’

Opening her eyes, Ebony leaned down, cupped the stallion’s head between her hooves and pulled his mouth open.

The smell of blood and something else rotten wafted over her face as she parted her lips and let out a long exhale, watching as red mist poured out and into the stallion’s mouth.

‘Please…’

Once all the magic that had gathered in her throat was gone, she pulled back…

Almost immediately after, the stallion twitched and started convulsing.

She wasn’t out of the woods yet; he could easily just explode like the many deceased pets before him.

But she prayed and held her breath – needlessly – as the stallion convulsed and contorted grotesquely like his bones were trying to break free.

“Come on! Get up!”

The stallion’s neck bent with one final sickening crunch before he suddenly sat up, pitched forwards limply, and then rigidly righted himself before standing.

Ebony blinked in astonishment.

The stallion stared at her with unseeing, milky-white eyes.

Carefully, she telekinetically unhooked an iron mace hanging from her side, opposite to her sword’s scabbard, and held it out.

“Take it.”

The stallion did so, holding it by the handle between his teeth, stained orange with blood.

“Attack.”

The stallion lurched to the side, legs moving before he could even turn his head to fully face the direction he ran in, and Mother Faust did he run, completely and utterly without fear or thought.

“…” Ebony gawked at the sight for a second before letting out a giddy laugh and a shriek. “I did it!” Triumphant, she sprinted after the stallion. “Shining Armor, it worked! I did it!”

Shining Armor was currently holding up a light purple barrier that, unlike Ebony’s, actually stood against the urchin’s swipes. His face was creased in pain and he was sweating furiously, but the urchin’s spindly legs could only put cracks in the wall of magic, and they were repaired as quickly as they were made.

He couldn’t hear her, but he took notice when the stallion- no, her thrall, ran into view, went straight over to one of the infected, and viciously walloped them across the back of their skull.

The ageing mare with crystals piercing her legs fell without a sound.

“What the…?! Everypony get back!” Shining Armor backed up, still maintaining the barrier, and the rest of the guards taking cover followed suit; many watched the newly risen stallion with a mix of awe and horror. “Ebony, you’ve…”

“It worked!” Ebony came to a stop beside him, panting in nervous excitement. She spoke to him, but daren’t take her eyes off her thrall as he swung the mace at the urchin’s legs, forcing its attention to settle on him. “I-I can make more of them, but I need those infected ponies to die.”

“Faust, what have I let happen?” He made a face and turned a light shade of green before drawing a spiked morning star from his side with magic and lifting it high into the air. “That’s our cue, boys and girls! You and you – stay here and guard the captain while she does her stuff. The rest are with me!”

Shadows passed over Ebony as the pegasi took to the air and the ground rumbled beneath her hooves as the unicorns and earth ponies advanced towards the urchin and its victims; underneath Shining Armor’s leadership, they formed a crude circle around the monster while keeping a maximum distance.

The earth ponies shouted and jeered while the unicorns extended their weapons with telekinesis to safely strike at the urchin and the infected ponies. With so many targets, including one undead stallion that ran rampant without fear, the urchin lumbered around clumsily while the infected constantly switched their attention to whoever shouted the loudest.

The pegasi added to the mess by swooping in and using long polearms to pester the urchin; the bladed edges glanced off and chipped the crystals on the creature’s round body, doing little harm but further enticing it to futilely swipe at the air.

And with the urchin so distracted…

Ebony reached out with her telekinesis, snagged the aged mare’s cooling body, and roughly reeled her in.

Blood stained the ground where she was dragged like paint.

The two ponies watching over her – Tremor and some crystal guard she didn’t know – gave Ebony a wide berth as she flipped the mare onto her back and closed her eyes to prepare the Resurrection spell.

It was harder this time, with the action being so close and loud and with her magic reserves already drained from animating the stallion, but Ebony was determined not to fail.

She completed the spell quickly and sent it into the mare’s mouth.

“Damn it, Treb Loft, what did I tell you in training about holding your spear like that?! Lower and with your legs bent!”

“Yes, my liege!”

“You! Eclipse mare with the white coat – use your magic to your advantage! Don’t let yourself get within its range!”

“Uh, yes, sir!”

Once Ebony had given all she had stored in her throat, the mare beneath her began spasming. She stood and backed off as her thrall shot up and turned to engage the urchin; the sense of balance was incredible considering how deep the back of her skull had been caved in.

Ebony felt something akin to pride.

“Please, I need… help… If you will all just-”

SPLAT

One more infected – the mare that the urchin spoke through – fell to the ground as Lightning Dust swooped in and viciously bucked her in the temple.

Ebony was on her in an instant, magic stretching out, grabbing, and dragging in before surging up to fill her horn.

Halfway into the spell, she realized the mare was still alive.

“Shhah…” The mare slurred, one eye half pulverized with a smear of blood streaming down her cheek. “Shhah… ah…”

Ebony physically reached for her sword and plunged it deep into the mare’s chest where there was no chance to miss the heart.

The crystal guard swore loudly in shock.

Reviving the mare was even more difficult this time; Ebony was panting hard when she completed it, and grimaced as she held her head, feeling a headache-

One of her thralls had been impaled.

She didn’t hear it and nopony shouted it, but she just knew.

The stallion, her first thrall, wildly swung his mace at the urchin’s out-of-range body as he was lifted off the ground, completely uncaring to the spindly leg that had crushed his ribcage and exited through his back.

Her other thrall was directly beneath the creature’s body, hopping up and down as her flail went everywhere, even glancing off her own head at one point and leaving a bleeding dent.

‘Damn it, they’re just going on my last order!’ Ebony frowned in irritation as she sent her latest thrall out into the battle. ‘They need me to do more complex actions.’

Shining Armor and the others were doing well in keeping at a safe distance, but with the loss of three of its senses, the urchin was becoming more wild and unpredictable.

As Ebony watched and coordinated her thralls through the force of her will, the urchin flicked its leg to fling the impaled stallion away, and then cracked open its maw, sending out a crackling bolt of black energy accompanied by a sickly green aura that swept across the ground near the guards, blackening stone and conjuring up flames as bright as emeralds.

“Don’t let that get on you!” Shining Armor’s magically amplified voice carried across the courtyard, over the chaos. “You have to dispel it; water and ice won’t do anything!”

A primal part of Ebony shuddered in terror at the sight of spitting embers.

The urchin swept its beam in a semi-circle before letting up and skittering over to a group of ponies that weren’t with Shining Armor.

Several ran out of its path, but one – an Eclipse guard – froze in uncertainty.

“Coral! Get out of there!” Ebony screamed, already rushing over with her bloodstained sword drawn.

The crystal guard and Tremor shouted for her, but she ignored them.

One of the infected ponies intercepted her – the small filly.

She moaned and reached for her.

Ebony swung her sword as she passed and forced down thoughts of a hard-boiled egg getting cut in half to reveal the cooked yolk.

“Coral!!”

Her shout caused something to flicker in Coral’s teary eyes; the other mare gasped as the urchin’s maw loomed in close and just barely managed to throw herself off to the side.

The creature smashed into the ground, sending out a hail of splintered crystal that flew fast enough to slice through the skin on Ebony’s face.

She couldn’t see if anypony else was hit or if Coral was fine, but she could see her advantage.

She called on her thralls and they answered in an instant; the two mares and stallion ran past her and swarmed the urchin’s body before it could raise itself.

Her thralls clung to its body, latching into footholds wherever they could find them, even if it meant they were stabbed and their flesh sliced to ribbons by its protrusions.

Blood sluiced over the urchin, making it glisten in the light as the thralls struck it over and over with their weapons and hooves.

Ebony backpedalled as the urchin shook and stumbled about, shattering the concrete with its immense weight and strength. Its last link to the world was effectively silenced as it took one wrong step and cleaved through the stallion with crystals in his ears; he didn’t make a single sound as his upper half was flung several yards away when the urchin lifted its leg back up.

A sharp crack rang out and was then drowned as a warbling cry, like a hoof being dragged across a balloon’s skin and amplified a thousand-fold, poured out from the urchin’s maw.

Along with a thicker, more intense bolt of dark magic.

In its desperation to shake free the thralls that beat away at its hide and cracked it like an eggshell, the urchin mindlessly cast its bolt and flailed in a huge circle; Ebony couldn’t stand still for a second lest the beam come round and catch her, and she could tell from the way everypony else was running that any semblance of order had left with the creature’s rampage.

“Fall back!” She cried, waving towards the castle, trying to get anypony to hear her. Shining Armor was shouting something similar somewhere in the field, but the blinding lights of the green fires sprouting everywhere and the urchin’s screaming made it impossible to know where he was. “Eclipse – fall back to the castle! Hey! Onion, fall ba-”

Her attempt to run forwards and grab the frazzled unicorn was rebuked as the beam of dark magic swept between them and sent up a roaring wall of fire. Ebony screamed and fell backwards, her dry skin crawling at the heat washing over her.

A shadow fell over her.

She rolled to the side as the urchin’s leg crashed down and half-crawled, half-ran out of its path, only stopping to look over her shoulder when she could hear that it was no longer practically on top of her.

Her thralls were still tirelessly working, mutilated and drenched in blood as they were, and as they each struck the same spot, a beam of green light burst from the crack.

Ebony gasped as she watched the light grow as the crack grew along the urchin’s shell, its cries becoming more frequent and loud.

‘Do it! Aim for the light! Kill it!’ Ebony dove to the side again as the bolt of magic came at her and created another wall of fire. ‘Kill it! Kill it now!’

Several more cracks rang out.

One thrall – the ageing mare – was flung off in the urchin’s flailing and hit the ground in such a way that her damaged skull completely caved in – her demise left an odd emptiness in Ebony.

The sound of shattering crystal rang out again.

The urchin shrieked, went rigid, and crumbled as the green lights went out.

Its legs snapped at the joints, and its momentum was such that the main body tipped forwards and skidded across the ground; another of her thralls fell between it and the concrete, and was violently crushed – his head included.

Her last thrall was stuck between two large spikes and way too damaged to get out by herself.

‘It… It’s dead?’

The fires were still blazing and ponies were still trying to get out of the maze; nopony else could see the urchin’s maw stretched open, nor the two green dots glowing from within.

It was still alive.

Ebony gasped and made her way over to it as fast as she could; the fires and the dreadful heat made her hesitant to approach, but she needed to kill that thing now!

For a second, she thought she heard Shining Armor’s voice, but any thought of him was swept away instantly when she saw the urchin’s maw slowly beginning to grow over with a layer of crystal.

“No!” She screamed, suddenly and immeasurably angry at the hideous thing. “No, you don’t! You…!”

When she was close enough, she levitated her sword, aimed it at the urchin point-first, and hit it with a Kinetic Impact spell.

It soared through the air, dispersing wisps of grey smoke, and-

-clattered harmlessly against a layer of crystal with a burst of sparks.

“NO!!”

Ebony increased her speed-

“You fucking pincushion!!”

Lightning Dust shot down from the sky and landed directly in front of the urchin, cratering the ground beneath her.

In her hooves was a bloodstained mace.

“Lightning Dust!” Ebony cried.

She didn’t hear her.

She slammed the mace against the creature’s ‘teeth’.

“Open up, you Faust-damn coward!”

CRACK

“Come on, you bastard!”

CRACK

“Open! Up!”

CRACK

Ebony ran forwards, fully intending to help, but slowing in shock when she saw green light shining through the urchin’s cracked shell.

‘Oh Faust…’

“Lightning Dust, get out of there!”

The pegasus didn’t respond, too focused on the urchin to pay attention to anything else. “I said…!”

CRACK

Ebony called on her magic, focusing on Lightning Dust and struggling to teleport to her side.

Her horn spluttered red as she failed the spell.

‘No! Why now?! I can’t have used that much magic!’

She tried again, same result.

“Lightning Dust!!”

Lightning Dust lifted the mace again. “Open! U-”

When she was in range, Ebony pushed her out of the way with telekinesis, and gawked in horror as the urchin’s maw cracked open and a blinding green light spilled forth, filling her vision as agony wracked her body.

She screamed as every nerve was set aflame.

Her vision darkened like she was going to pass out, but her lich anatomy wouldn’t let her; it kept her painfully aware and conscious as the light ran its course for what felt like hours before cutting out.

Ebony choked out a sob as she collapsed onto her side.

“Ebs!”

A familiar face loomed over her, horrified and shocked.

“Aw, shit, Ebs…”

It hurt to speak, but Ebony did it anyway. “H… H-how…?”

“How bad?” Lightning Dust’s eyes looked down at Ebony’s chest before she tried to play off her horror with a suave smile. “S-still bring all the stallions to the yard, heh heh…”

“U… urch… in…”

“Faust, I have to get you out of here,” Lightning Dust looked from side to side, the luminescence of the green fires casting part of her face in shadow. “I don’t think any of our guys have the horsepower to dispel all of this fire.”

Ebony felt the air turn thick and heavy before a pulse of magic scattered the green inferno and dispersed the smoke cloud; her eyes burned as sunlight washed over her.

“O-kay…” Lightning Dust blinked in surprise. “Screw what I said.”

Ebony’s pain was fading quickly, but standing on her own power was still more than she could muster, so she readily leaned on Lightning Dust and tried not to cry when she was in a position to look over her body.

The fur on her chest had been burned off and her flesh was partially melted; numerous boils ruptured and bled as the damaged skin sloughed off in clumps to the earth. The sight was horrific, but Ebony desperately reassured herself with the fact that already was starting to regenerate.

It could have been worse – the brunt of the attack could have been focused on her face.

She forced herself not to look at her steaming body and instead focused on anything else, like the sight of her platoon and the crystal guards carefully traversing the scorched courtyard.

Miraculously, everypony was still alive, aside from a few bearing soot-covered fur and minor bruises.

“F-fire…” Ebony wheezed out as she leaned against Lightning Dust. “How did…?”

Lightning Dust gestured ahead with a small smirk. “Heh… guess ‘love’ isn’t that bad of a power after all.”

A few yards away, Cadance floated down from the sky and ran forwards the instant her hooves were grounded; tears streamed down her face as she embraced Shining Armor, the colour of his armor hidden beneath a layer of ash.

Ebony managed a nod. Her bones ached. “R-right…”

‘Wait.’

“Urchin…” Ebony struggled to turn around, but she needed Lightning Dust to help her do so. “Where’s…?”

The urchin was still there, but it was utterly still and silent; the only way she could tell it was still alive was due to the green dots still glowing within its maw.

Her thrall had died at some point – from a shard of crystal that had been blown through her eye, not the burst of magic that cooked her and created an unpleasant smell.

The cracks that had once burned with that terrible green light were still spreading, and each time they grew, more of the urchin’s shell came apart.

As she watched, a decent chunk came loose, revealing what was inside.

“…”

As everypony cautiously gathered around the shell, the shivering mass laying amongst the discarded remains of the crystal shell emitted a strained exhale.

Shining Armor moved up beside her, eyes wide. “It’s…”

Cadance gasped once she got a full look.

Ebony didn’t know what to think as the emaciated mare swivelled her head about, eyes letting off a green mist as bright as her sclera while her irises were stained a deep and unnatural red.

Her horn crackled with purple-green magic.

‘I don’t… Who is this?’

The mare may have once been beautiful, but her face was gaunt and slimy, her figure thin and scrawny… she just looked so diseased and filthy.

The unknown mare opened and closed her mouth lamely, uttering trembling grunts and whimpers. She didn’t seem to be aware of their presence without leeching off of other ponies’ awareness.

“…”

Ebony was more confident swinging her sword when the urchin was just some faceless monster, not this sad sight…

She heard movement to her side and watched as Shining Armor trotted forwards, magically hefting his morning star into the air.

Cadance stepped forwards. “Shining…”

He didn’t stop. “She’s trying to pull it all back together. Do you see it?”

Ebony took a closer look and realized that the crystals surrounding the emaciated mare were being pulled in to cover her body. Not just that either – some of the larger crystals were lengthening, turning sharp.

She didn’t want to know how long it would take for the dark magic bolts to start up again.

“We can’t communicate unless she has somepony to speak through, and we’ve seen that she’s not interested in listening,” Shining Armor stopped a few feet away so his hooves weren’t stepping in the remains of the shell and lifted his weapon higher. “We have to protect the Empire.”

“… I know.” Cadance murmured, looking away just as her husband brought the morning star down.

The wet splat made Ebony grimace.

With that, the crystal shards ceased movement and the glow of dark magic went out.

Ebony sighed and hung her head low, a smile spreading across her face when she heard exuberant laughter and cheers from the others; a loud din that she was all too happy to hear.

“Fuck yeah, what’d I tell ya, Ebs?!” Lightning Dust jostled her as gently as she could with an ecstatic laugh. “Straight past Miasma!”

“I can’t believe we did it…” Ebony whispered.

She had mixed feelings about their success, about how well her plan would go; honestly, she expected a few of their numbers to perish, and the fact that everypony was still walking and breathing – more or less – was nothing short of incredible.

Ebony looked back up and saw Shining Armor trotting over with a tired but relieved grin.

“Thank you for your help. I don’t think we could have done it without you.”

Ebony shrugged bashfully. “It’s… okay.”

“How’s your chest?”

“Okay…” She briefly glanced down, seeing that half of her melted flesh had been replaced. “Still kinda stings…”

“Will you be alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Good – I want you and your platoon out of my city as soon as you’ve recovered.”

Ebony’s smile waned. “What?”

Shining Armor’s grin was also gone; now he just looked tired. “I’m grateful for your help, truly I am; you’ve helped save my kingdom and its citizens from a horrible fate. I don’t think I can ever repay you,” He paused, then shook his head. “But Nightmare Moon ordered us to mine for those crystals when Cadance and I just wanted to close it down. When I initially refused, she made it clear that she’d harm my sister if I didn’t.

“You’re not Nightmare Moon, but you follow her, and though you have your reasons for doing so, it just drives home the point that you're following her willingly.”

“I-”

“And what you’ve done to these ponies' corpses…” He sighed. “I… really don’t know how I’m going to explain to their families that we used their loved ones as a makeshift army.”

Ebony blinked, staring blankly.

“You and your platoon… you might be good ponies, but you’re on the wrong side. Thank you for your help, but please… leave when you can. Preferably soon.”

Shining Armor turned and walked back to-

"H-hey, wait a minute!" Ebony yelled. It hurt, but she was too upset to care. "Nightmare Moon might have ordered you to keep working in the mines, b-but it was for a good cause! The Resonator's the only thing that can close the Fractures that are letting the Rouge Knights into Equestria!"

Shining Armor was half-turned, not entirely facing his body to her, but enough so that she could see his attention was on her. He was stone-faced at her outburst, unreadable.

She didn't care.

"And how could she have known about this... thing if none of you knew? Maybe... maybe the urchin getting free was partially her fault, but it was also because of her that me and the others are even here in the first place!"

Around them, her platoon watched in shock, though a few were nodding in approval.

She continued, irate at Shining Armor's stoic reaction. "If... if you can look past me being loyal to Nightmare Moon enough to thank me, then you can do the same for Nightmare Moon as well! For sending us here!"

Shining Armor didn't reply; he blinked a few times and turned away, staring at the ground.

Again, Ebony didn't care. "Come on..." She murmured, throat sore, unused to yelling. "Let's get back to the airship. We're going home."

"Yes, ma'am!" Lightning Dust laughed loudly and helped Ebony turn away and limp back towards the fields. "Well, what are the rest of you bozos waiting for? A parade? Mission's done and I'm buying when we get back to Canterlot!"

A few cheers went up as Ebony's platoon trotted briskly to catch up with them. They crowded around her and Lightning Dust, congratulating her, one another, and already exaggerating the stories they would tell back at Canterlot.

Ebony responded to the noise with a tired grin. She was relieved and grateful that they were still there and alive, but she'd probably feel more relieved and grateful when her body had fully healed. Right now - all she wanted to do was sleep. Or rather, go into a trance.

“Jeez, Shining Armor can go suck a fat one...” Lightning Dust hissed to her. “Some thanks we get, huh? Not even a hoofshake. You know, I can go kick his ass if you want?”

Ebony shook her head with a groan. “No. It's not worth the hassle. We completed our mission, so we don't really need to stick around for much longer.”

Lightning Dust frowned, not liking the idea, but didn’t argue. “Sure. Can’t wait to get outta here anyway. Crystal Empire sucks anyway; even without some creepy crystal monster clogging up the streets.”

“I always wanted to come here when I was a kid,” Ebony muttered, looking at the buildings they passed. "Maybe... if things get better and I have time, I could come and really see the sights..."

“… Hey, Ebs?”

“Hm?”

“You pushed me out of the way when the urchin…”

"... Yeah?"

“Well, you saved my life,” Lightning Dust gave a big grin. Genuine and without a hint of the usual mischief that accompanied it. “That’s… pretty cool.”

“Oh… you’re welcome.”

Truthfully, Ebony didn’t mean to take the hit; she had been Calling for Lightning Dust to move and was struck by the attack instead because she simply hadn’t reacted in time after shoving the other mare out of the way.

But what was the point in saying that? Lightning Dust was grateful and Ebony – surprisingly – was happy that she’d done it – why split hairs?

“When we get back…” Lightning Dust said as she helped Ebony limp along. “I’m buying you a drink so strong it'll wake the dead. Or put the undead back to sleep.”

Ebony wasn’t fond of alcohol – not that it would affect her anymore – but a stiff drink sounded like ambrosia itself after all of this…

Author's Notes:

Note 1: Resurrection spell - a spell that breathes magic into a corpse to make it move about under the caster’s command as a zombie. Larger corpses require more magic. The corpse is unable to use magic and is vulnerable to fire, but no longer decays. Corpses missing their brain – or the equivalent of a brain – cannot be resurrected.

The soul has long since moved on after death and the corpse is no more a living being than a wooden chair; even so, many are understandably disgusted/horrified by this macabre act of puppetry.

Note 2: "When it comes to barriers, the most common mistake unicorns do is think that the more magic you pour into it, the more success you'll have at warding off assault. Now, granted, this does have some truth to it: barriers with more magic poured into them are, ah... let's say, 'thicker'. I guess a good analogy would be to take an actual, physical shield for instance: the thicker and heavier you make it, the greater the chance a sword will be deflected, right? But that comes at a price: the shield is heavy, so you aren't as mobile with it, and no matter how stable it is, repeated blows and attacks will wear out whoever is carrying it. You just apply the same thing to magical barriers. Yeah, you might be able to hold back an angry earth pony with a big stick, but chances are that you'll run out of mana long before he runs out of stamina. You ever seen earth ponies running the track? Crazy stuff.

"So what's the secret to a good barrier? The trick is not to withstand a blow, but redirect the force. An amateur takes an attack head on, so they take the full brunt of the force, which means they have to expend more magic to make sure their barrier keeps standing. But a professional is able to redirect the force of the blow so it 'slides' off. Going back to the shield analogy, if you angle it in just the right way, your opponent's sword won't just bounce off, but completely go in a direction that, if you're lucky, will catch your opponent off-guard. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen my buddies come at me with a wooden sword during a sparring match, hit my barrier, and then just fall to the dirt because their momentum was directed elsewhere during the most vulnerable part of their swing.

"I try to drum it into the recruits, sometimes the vets as well; in a battle, all it takes is one wrong move and your opponent will cut you down. Can you imagine how many lives can be saved if all unicorns just knew how to properly use their barrier?" - Excerpt from Captain Shining Armor in An Interview with the Guard Captain, written by Inquisitive Smokes.