Snow falls, kissing the world gently with its shimmering softness. Mountains loom large to the east, sentinels lost in the cloudy heavens. A soft glow suffuses the world, a nimbus of blue light marking the presence of the moon behind the fluffy clouds. Trees and shrubs, grass and stone, all are encased in a thin sheath of ice from the freezing rain that came before the storm calmed, fierce needles of ice subsiding to frivolous flurries. The clouds part allowing the moon to shine fully, making the icy fields come alive with prismatic light. In the shadow of the mountains, rolling hills covered in trees rise. Moving swiftly through them come three little fillies wrapped tight in thick dark cloaks to keep out the chill.

“ We shouldn’t be out here Moonbolt. You know that it is forbidden to travel to the east.” Complained one filly, her teeth chattering from the cold. From under the heavy cloaks hood her unicorn horn glowed with a soft orange light. “More than that," Chided another, "This weather is terrible! You couldn’t be picking a worse time to be dragging Autumn out on one of your silly adventures.”

“No one asked you to come out here one eye. I only needed Autumn Glow to help me see through the worst of the darkness,” said the one that had to be Moonbolt as she spread little pegasus wings and started to hover. “Now the moon is high, you two foals can go back to the Sisters for all I care!”

“Except you know we’ll both be in trouble if you don’t come back as well. I know you’re going through a difficult time Moonbolt, but this is a bad idea...” The little dark filly flew down in a rage to confront the speaker, “You don’t know ANYTHING! You never HAD a mother! You have no idea how horrible it is to lose someone like that! You’re just some one eyed freak! You weren’t even born!” Autumn’s glow faded gently as she pulled her hood down over her eyes. “Please girls, don’t fight, not out here. We have enough problems as it is without you two going at it again.” The pegasus pony settled down slightly, “Look, I’m serious. You two can just go back now. The Sisters say that the spirits of those who die must pass through the mountains to reach the land of the dead, where the sun rests and the moon is a ghost. I just want to see it with my own eyes. If its true... I can see my mother one more time, and I’ll be happy. If it isn’t? I’m done with the Sisters, and I will see this ‘sun’, if it exists, with my own two eyes!”

The one eyed filly stamped her hoof, “I’m not a freak! Maybe I am an orphan, but I had a mother. Lady Selene said so! Lady Selene also said that these mountains are dangerous! It would be irresponsible of us to let you go on your own. Until you come to your senses and come back with us you’re stuck with us, isn’t that right Autumn?” The little filly peeked out from beneath her hood, curly red hair falling gently over eyes of soft orange. “I guess so Theia. I’ll try to be brave.” By now the mountains loomed close. The clouds had all but cleared away and it seemed the icy peaks touched the stars. Moonbolt grumbled, pulling back the hood of her cloak, the black ponies mane a scruffy blue that matched the light of the moon, “Whatever. Just don’t slow me down, earth pony.” As they began to climb, Theia muttered under her breath, “Not an earth pony... My horns just not grown in yet. Lady Selene said so...”

Three black cloaks moved slowly on against the forbidding white wastes, the mountains were more like a wall of ice than anything. The going was rough, especially after the storm, but after a time Moonbolt spotted a path that the ground bound ponies could use. Following its twists and turns through the trees, the trio of filly’s made slow but steady progress east. As the moon drew higher it grew brighter, until the light on the fresh fallen snow caused the night to be the brightest it ever became in these benighted lands. Theia and Autumn joked with each other and even Moonbolt was pulled into their conversations from time to time. But every time their talk turned back to returning to the safety of the Sisters of the Moon and the warm caverns that waited for them, the winged pony rebelled. Finally, she landed and turned on her friends. “The Sisters have been held up in their caves for over a thousand years! They’ve been down there eating mushrooms and skulking in the dark long before the ever snows came and their so called ‘sun’ ceased to shine! WHY!?” Autumn shook out her red mane and removed her soaking cloak, roughly hanging it over a tree limb to dry in a spot out of the chilling winds, while Moonbolt had her tantrum. Her white flanks almost as bright as the snow, a harvest moon large and orange upon them. “That is simple sister. We bide.” The darker pony seemed infuriated by this. “Bide for what!? A princess that will never return? A war that might not be fought in our lifetimes, or our foals, or our foal’s foals!? What did my mother die for!? So we can keep shivering in the moonlight waiting for a sign? The mare in the moon disappeared almost a hundred years ago, there will be no day of the moon, and no uprising of the chosen!” She paused in her tirade, rage quickly subsiding into despair. “If I go back now... I’ll never be able to spread my wings and fly. I’ll die here just like my mother.” She lifted her cloak over her head and let it fall carelessly to the ground. The mark on her flank, two crescent moons in the shape of a lightning bolt, caught the light of the moon as she spread her feathers in the chill night air and let it fill her wings, shaking out tiny ice crystals. “This is the closest thing to freedom we will ever have. Don’t you see, sisters?”

Theia kept her cloak wrapped tight around her as she spoke. “Freedom doesn’t mean much if you’re dead. Dying out there as a filly won’t be any better than dying in the caves of the Sisters. But..." The little filly sighed, exasperated, "You have a point Moonbolt. I have to admit I’ve wanted to see the world beyond the mountains too, even if it truly is a world of death as the Sisters claim. I’d like to see it with my eyes as well.” Autumn poked her playfully in her ribs. “Don't you mean your eye?” They all giggled at that. This trio had been together since Theia could remember, from her very earliest memories. Moonbolt had always given her a hard time about her origins, her missing eye, and her stunted horn, but Autumn seemed to genuinely care for her. The girls were meant to live and train together to become a tactical unit in the future. For what purpose only Lady Selene, the leader of the sect, seemed to know. Theia had stole on her matron once, when Moonbolt had picked on her a little more severely than usual. Crying, she’d run to her mistresses' quarters only to find other high ranking matrons deep in conversation with Selene. Their voices were hushed, but little Theia strained her ears to hear.

“It’s not too late to end this folly."

"There are other ways my lady!”

“Yes, the Lunar Republic grows stronger by the year."

"We will be able to take the lands of the usurper soon enough with our own power.”

“Everything has changed now sisters.” That was Lady Selene’s gentle tones. “Our enemy is no longer one we can hope to face on our own. We will need strong allies...ones who’s power is not to be questioned.” Her hoof brushed a large star sapphire that hung from her neck as she spoke. The other matrons bowed to her words.

“Hey, one eye! You day dreaming again!?” Moonbolt’s face was next to Theia’s, so close her scruffy blue mane tangled with Theia’s silver blond locks. The cream colored filly blushed, she had been daydreaming but she’d never admit it. Moonbolt laughed and started to tug at her cloak, trying to take it off. “Idiot, lecturing me for being stupid coming out here and you still have your soaking wet cloak on. Lets get this off of you before you catch your death.” Theia struggled against her, “No!” but her cloak fell to the snow. Theia was gangly, her silver blond curls a mess except for one spot on her forehead where a circular bald spot prevented any hair growth. And her flanks were completely blank. Moonbolt giggled as Theia’s blush deepened. “Oh I see! you’re still a little blank flank! No wonder you never take off your cloak except for when you’re going to bed!” Autumn sighed heavily, “Leave her alone Moonbolt. If we’re going to let the cloaks dry, we better make a fire. Gather up some wood and find a spot where the snow hasn’t fallen too thickly. If you must, you can torment Theia after we're at least warm and dry.”

Still snickering, Moonbolt gathered up pieces of dead wood and began to dump them in a nearby clearing leeward of a tall stone that blocked the biting wind. Before long Autumn had sparked a small fire and the filly’s warmed themselves as their cloaks dried. None would admit it to the others, but each were fairly tired. This was the furthest any of them had ever been from the sanctum of the Sisters and the gentle roar of the flames began to lull them into a dream like state. The fire light drove back the shadows. What the filly’s had thought to be a clearing turned out to be filled with blocks of stone. The one that their fire had been build against was not unique. As the girls watched, rivulets of water streamed down the stones face and it began to shrink. Theia was the first to see what lay beneath.

“Uh...girls...do you see what I see?” The rock was not a stone after all. It was a block of ice...or more accurately a pony frozen in place. Not saying a word, Moonbolt lifted a burning brand from the fire. Bringing the light closer it was clear that the pony had been dead for a long time, the ice had done little to conceal its rot. The pegasus pony moved swiftly, fluttering from block to block, wiping away snow and exposing the ice beneath. Ever last ‘stone’ in the clearing was the frozen body of a dead pony; some ponies were standing, others huddled over, still others half buried in the ice below their feet. It wasn’t until she came to the last one that she let out a gasp of suprise and horror. “What, what is it?” Autumn stammered nervously, already terrified by this grizzly discovery. “It’s her... The Sisters told the truth, this is where the dead come. My mothers here... Under the ice.” It was so, beneath their hooves lay a vast frozen pond. The ‘path’ they had followed here must have once been a small stream leading from this spring. The frozen eyes of the dead gaped wide, staring up at the little fillies. “I think we need to leave. Now.” Theia grabbed her half dried cloak and wriggled back into it. “No. How could the Sisters do this? What kind of burial is this for my mother? She deserved more than this watery grave.” Moonbolt stamped her hoof angrily. “They have no right to do this to ponies!” Autumn tried to comfort her, “They must have a reason sister. Let us return and ask them. I’m sure they had a perfectly reasonable explanation for...” Moonbolt interrupted her, savagely pushing her away. “For what!? Leaving my mothers body to freeze in the wilderness!?”

A sound of crackling came from the direction of the fire. Its light was slowly fading away. “Uh, girls...” Theia finally managed to get the angry Moonbolt and the concerned Autumns attention, “What one eye!?” The fire had almost completely died, a black smudge in a pool of water, but it managed to illuminate the face of the dead pony as the last of the ice slid away from its face. It was gaunt, pale and lifeless, half of the flesh on one side of its skull missing...but its eyes were alive! They glowed from within with a violet light as they thawed. With a crack, the ice encasing the rest of the dead pony shattered as it shook itself free. Hunks of dead flesh breaking away with the ice, she spoke in a sweet, high pitched tone, “Oooooohhh... So good to move again! Thank you so much little fillies!” Flesh moved stiffly over exposed bone. Magical energy vibrated down the length of the undead creature, pink sparks of glittering all over the ponies dessicated frame. Light spilled from its eyes and mouth as it stumbled through the fire, the dying flames licking the last few shards of ice away, and roaring to life again as it engulfed dead flesh. The putrid stench of roasting meat filled the air as the burning creature turned its head back and forth, as if unaware it burned. “Mmm...something smells good. Do you smell that?” The dead thing lit up the ice, its burning melting away the ice all around it, causing the thin sheet to creak beneath her hooves. It seemed to slip, fumbling on the newly melted layer of water and smacked into a nearby tree. Ice and water fell, but still she burned...the flame passing from her to the trees. Soon it and the fillies were surrounded by a slowly expanding ring of fire.

A voice came, dry as dead leaves, but very similar to the first as more ice broke around the fillies. “Yesss...” More and more of the dead ponies were breaking loose from their blocks of ice. Those frozen under the pond stayed put, but that was little comfort to the terrified fillies as the dead literaly came to life before their eyes. High pitched, childish laughter came from all around them. “Hey, you know what calls for? Time to party!” A pony without a scrap of skin to cover its flesh leaned close to the trio and smiled...it had little choice having no lips anymore. “You three look good enough to eat...” Without a moments warning it snapped a chunk of flesh from Autumns shoulder, ripping a hunk free viciously as the little filly screamed. Upon seeing this Moonbolt spread her wings and flew wailing into the night. Theia was frozen to the spot with fear, but seeing the blood streaming down her friends shoulder, she grabbed her and ran as fast as she could, slipping and sliding over the melting ice as dead bodies floated up and burst through the partially melted surface all around them. The childish laughter followed behind them.

“Oh a game, I love games! Hide and seek!”

“Ready or not, here I come!”

“Come out come out where ever you are!”

The woods were alive with laughter, the undead ponies moving swiftly through the trees, eyes glowing ultraviolet in the darkness. A few here and there were easier to spot, sheets of flame washing over their bodies without fully consuming them. They were behind Theia and Autumn, beside them, in front of them. Autumn’s wound left a trail of blood for them to follow but Theia wouldn’t abandon her friend. Dodging, running as fast as they could, the terrified fillies had no idea which way they were going except away. Away from the laughing dead who all spoke in the same voice, who all had the same magic and madness in their dead eyes. The cream colored pony skidded to a stop in the snow, stuffing her friend inside the hollow of a tree and covering them both with her cloak. In mere moments the thunder of hoofs rocketing past them filled the forest. The laughter faded into the distance, but the stench of burning putrefied flesh still clung thickly to the air. The forest was aflame not far off, but here seemed safe enough...for now.

Panting, Theia looked over her friends wound. It was bad...she’d been bitten to the bone and it was obvious she’d lost a lot of blood as they’d been running. Her flanks were slick and her moon mark had been dyed a deep crimson on one side. Theia tore off a strip of her cloak and tied it tight around the bite to try and staunch the flow of anymore blood, but it was clear her friend was in no condition to move further, her eyes glassy and legs trembling. “Just... Just stay here. They’ve gone now. I’ll go get help okay? Just stay awake, you’ll be okay. I’ll be back soon. Just stay awake!” Theia looked left and right, but she couldn’t find the trail that had lead them up into the mountains. She new if she followed their hoof prints back she’d eventually come to the clearing where they had come from...but there was no way she was going back there. Without a clear direction to go in, she looked up, hoping to see Moonbolt hovering nearby, but she was already long gone. Only the stars shone in a now moonless sky. She couldn’t even look to the maiden moon for guidance. But maybe... Theia studied the stars closely. They were familiar to her, from all the times she had watched Moonbolt darting through the darkness. If that red one was there, then that little cluster of stars were to the north. If she turned in the direction of ursa minor, she could head west, out of the mountains and to the caverns of the Sisters of the moon.

Stars reflecting in her one good eye, she didn’t see Autumn come up on her blind side until the filly stumbled into her. “Autumn, I told you to stay put!” Autumn Glow's eyes shone, but not as they usually did. “Theia,” she whispered in a dry, rattling voice that turned sickeningly sweet on the last syllable. From deep within her eyes, pink light shone. “Olly olly oxen free, little cutie!” Theia kicked her friend square in the face and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. The high pitched laughter of the dead came from all around her. Tears streaming from her eye as she ran and ran until she finally left the mountains far behind her. The laughter just followed, dogging her ever step. She finally stumbled, falling down a steep hill and crashing into a snow bank. Glowing pink eyes gathered around her as she tried to rise. They had never been far away, they had only been teasing her, and now the fun was truly done. “Game over! Don’t worry Theia, it doesn’t hurt to be dead.” Autumn was with them, bloody spittle flecked her mouth. The others nibbled at her, peeling off hunks of flesh as the little filly just smiled and giggled. When her stomach burst, spilling her entrails on the ground, Theia thought she’d vomit, watching the ponies worry them like starving dogs. More of the dead were gathering to feed on her, some still burning in patches over their flesh. Others crowded around Theia, a look of delighted anticipation on their dead features as those that still had tongues ran them over black, desiccated gums.

Suddenly the night was flooded by bolts of lightning raining down from the heavens. Those undead nearest Theia were blown backwards by the force of the blast, and those not already burning certainly were now. Still, as the thunder faded, they rose, some in bits and pieces others whole but aflame. All of them laughing, they chorused in sing song voices, “Ashes to ashes we all fall down! What a great party game. AGAIN!” Lady Selene glared at the gathering of burning flesh, her eyes radiating dark power beneath her hood as she spoke, “You’re kidding right?” From the jewel studded heavens lighting poured down again, more fiercely this time, reducing each of the abominations to so much charred ash...even the little creature who had been Autumn Glow. Theia cowered from the light and the noise, shuddering with great racking sobs that shook her entire body.

Selene commanded the Sisters around her to put the fires out and dispatch any of the horrors that might still be lurking in the forest, then knelt in the snow next to the quivering filly. “Shh...its going to be okay little one. Its going to be okay.” Acolytes of the Sisters moved around them, gathering the ashes and scooping them into metal canisters. “What were they?” whimpered Theia, “They...they got in Autumns head. They were eating her even though she was one of them...they wanted to eat me!” Lady Selene nuzzled her mane and spoke soothingly to her. “They are the soldiers of the Twilight. The army of the dead who have claimed the world beyond the night. But you have no need to fear them here. The cold and the mountains hold them at bay. You’re safe now little one.” Lady Selene smiled serenely down on Theia. Then her face melted like ice, leaving behind nothing but a naked skull and pink glowing eyes. “The party is over Theia.” She then took a delicate bite out of Theia's little face.

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Gasping, Theia woke in darkness and blind terror. She was about to scream when a silencing hoof was placed over her mouth. She struggled for a moment, but then saw that the hoof belonged to Sergeant Major Scootaloo. Memories from the last few days flooded back to her as she calmed down. Theia and the remnant of the Dawn’s Light Crusaders had traveled as close to Ponyville as they dared. Rolling over, Theia gazed out a half open door, looking at the rotting carbuncle in the distance as it sat like a blight on the world. The town was a blaze of light twenty four hours a day, spot lights of every imaginable color sweeping back and forth across the sky. Colorful lanterns, made from pony skins, blazed at all hours. Music, at turns loud and discordant and happy and sparkling, floated from the town. So did the screams and the stench of death, even from this distance. It seemed that Ponyville had been turned into an eternal party for the damned, brightly painted skulls and decorative bones hanging from every building. Blood coated nearly every surface, the town had literally been painted red, though most of it was brown and peeling now or black with flies. The insects swarmed so thickly that there was a constant background buzz whenever the music stopped long enough for there to be anything close to resembling silence.

The Crusaders had hunkered down in an old silo just on the outskirts of town in what seemed to have once been some kind of farm. It was hard to tell what the farm had been used for before as all of the fields were filled with rocks and the actual farm house was in shambles. The silo had long since been turned over to rats, but it was safer than sleeping out in the open, so the troop had stopped there to rest and resupply their water from the farms well. Theia had dreamed. It had been a long time since she had thought about the night she earned the mark on her flank. She hadn’t thought of her filly-hood friends Autumn Glow or Moonbolt in all that time. The soldiers of the Twilight on the other hand had haunted her every nightmare. Sometimes they would be the charred, skeletal creatures she dreamed about tonight, laughing and chasing her through burning woods. Sometimes they would simply call to her from under the ice, and pull her down into those watery depths to be trapped with them. As Lady Selene had explained to her, extreme temperatures were the only real defense against the soldiers. The girls had stumbled upon a burial sight for those tainted by the Twilight. If they hadn’t lit their fire there it might be Moonbolt and Autumn Glow questing with Theia now instead of the Crusaders.

Immobilizing the children of the Twilight could be accomplished, but It was almost impossible to completely destroy one without shredding it to tiny pieces. They didn’t burn easily, were resistant to most magic, and could still attack you even while in pieces if the hunks were large enough to allow mobility. The Legion of Twilight was truly fearsome, dominating cities in a matter of hours. But what was truly terrifying about them was not that they killed, but that they added to their ranks with each victim. It was said even those that they ate would rise partway through the meal as bone and sinew, just as hungry as their more fleshly brethren, laughing and joking even as they ate and were eaten in kind. Against that kind of monster and in numbers that appeared to reach well into the tens of thousands, what hope could their little band possibly have?

Even so, they did seem to have one weakness, and it wasn’t until about the third day of observation that they spotted it. Sergeant Belle was the first to notice that once every day for about an hour the town would quiet. The lights would dim, the music would stop, and a display of fireworks would fill the sky over the town. During this time it seemed all the Twilight ponies would gather in the town square. To what purpose none of the scouts had dared draw close enough to find out. They had also discovered that the old town library still stood. Though it was near the town square, it was still far enough away that they did not spot any undead near the building until after the hour was up. If they timed their infiltration just right, they might be able to use the window of opportunity to get into town, find the spell, and get out before anypony was the wiser.

Almost as soon as the plan was hatched, there arose a snag. Sergeant Belle and Theia were the only surviving unicorns in their group, but only Theia had any training with casting any spells other than her specialties. The problem was, Theia’s training made her better suited to recon; to keep an eye on the undead and warn the others when they were coming back. Sergeant Belle on the other hand would be the most capable at defending them if they were discovered, her voice likely being the only thing in their arsenal that could quickly and completely obliterate the enemy by vibrating them to pieces, but she was not skilled enough with her magic to manage much else aside from levitation. Regardless, they would both need some kind of backup, and Scootaloo wasn’t about to let them go in without her, especially given pegusus ponies higher survival rate against the usually ground bound soldiers of the Twilight. The three argued dramatically over who should do what, when, and with whom helping them.

Finally an agreement was reached. Theia and Scootaloo would infiltrate the town square, Theia in her shadow form and Scootaloo keeping to the rooftops. If something happened to either of them the idea was the other could report back. They would discover what was distracting the children of the Twilight and rendezvous with the others to share their discoveries. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and two Privates would infiltrate the library and find the book containing the spell. They could all then meet back up at the farm, and from there figure out how to cast the spell. The bulk of the rest of the team would standby at the farm. If no one reported back, Corporal Wintergreen was to take charge and they were to rejoin the armies of dawn and inform them of what had happened. Hopefully it would not come to that, but they had to be prepared for the worst case scenario. The fourth day hiding on the farm they made their preparations. On the fifth, they went into action.

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Bloated corpses mingled with ponies who barely had any flesh draped over their bones, dressed in party hats and dresses made from flesh and bone. Each and every last one munched excitedly on cakes and pies that clearly contained more meat than sugar. Theia didn’t know where they had found the two colts that were tied at the head of the horrible banquet table as guests of honor, all she knew is they were already dead. One had been sliced open and his organs removed so that from his chest down he had little more than a spinal cord and pelvis. The other had already started to turn, eyes alive with pink light, laughing and joking with the dead as they shared his friends still steaming parts. Theia and the soldiers of the dawn had seen this all before, but it made it no less sickening. Music was still pounding, a nearby DJ with the remnants of a blue mane and her skull cleaned of all but a few trace amounts of flesh under her sunglasses picked tracks at random on what appeared to be a hastily constructed stage. It didn’t seem to Theia that the dead cared what was playing, so long as it was loud and fast.

Sergeant Major Scootaloo had found herself cover in a nearby tree festooned with intestines like streamers. It wasn’t the most pleasant smelling spot, but it afforded good cover while still allowing her to talk to Theia who hid in the trees shadow. There was no point in trying to whisper, the loud music made it so they couldn’t hear what the dead were saying, it seemed safe enough to assume they couldn’t hear them. “When are they supposed to gather up, Scootaloo?” Theia asked. Scootaloo glanced at a watch set in her armor, “Anytime now Theia. I hope Sergeant Belle and the others are ready to move. I think I’m seeing movement behind the curtains on the stage, this is probably it.” Sure enough, as soon as she said that the music died. The DJ bowed to the applause of the dead and took her leave of the stage, stopping to bite a hunk out of the face of one of the dead colts, eyes flaring pink behind her sunglasses as the others cheered. As she left, soldiers of the Twilight began to stream into the town square from various buildings in every direction. Those at the table sat up expectantly, all attention on the stage for the first time since they'd been 'entertaining' the colts, ignoring the flesh they’d glutted themselves on.

It began with a blast of fireworks and a roar of sound. “Gather round Lords and Ladies of Twilight to marvel at the magnificent, the stupendous, the AMAZING TRIXIE!” Theia and Scootaloo’s mouths dropped open at the same time. There on the stage was a completely normal looking unicorn, if you counted being decked out in star studded cape and hat, smiling at the applause of the dead normal. “That's right! The Great and Powerful Trixie is here before you again this evening to marvel you with sights unseen, with feats no other unicorn in Equestria could hope to match! Watch now as Trixie dazzles you with displays of her awesome might!” Small bolts of lightning rained down on the stage and flashed out into the audience. The undead merely giggled as one after the other were zapped, the spell too weak to do any real damage to them. What in the hay was going on here? The magician never skipped a beat launching into the next routine, she began to perform simple magic tricks, manifesting flowers from a roll of paper, performing other illusions involving pigeons and rabbits, and her performance finally culminating in what she referred to as the ‘Liberation of Equestria” . It was a display in fireworks depicting a monstrous pony stomping Canterlot as well as the Twilight Queen and her followers, and a diminutive Trixie cheering them on.

“Only the Great and Powerful Trixie would be brave enough to entertain the Legions of the Twilight not for five, but fifty years in a row without rest! But now, the show ends and she must go!” The blue and sparkling unicorn trotted off stage, only to be surrounded by grinning ‘fans’ who drove her back. “Er... But come back tomorrow night, Lords and Ladies of Twilight, for my fair well performance! My eighteen thousandth, five hundred and fifty first...” The cheers of the dead were deafening, drowning out the despair in Trixie’s voice. Scootaloo and Theia had been so shocked by what they had observed they almost didn’t notice that the crowd was breaking up. Scootaloo called down to Theia, “Hurry, warn the others that they need to retreat!” But even as she spoke, Theia was shaking her head. “No, I didn’t say anything before because I didn’t think we had a choice, but my horns too small for any really big spells. I have the know how but lack the raw power. That pony, Trixie, she’d be perfect for casting the spell we need to get to Cloudsdale. I’ll rescue her, you warn the others!” The pegasus pony looked as if she was going to argue, then nodded her head and took off like a shot, soaring high into the air so she wouldn’t be spotted until she needed to land.

Taking a deep breath, Theia concentrated on willing herself intangible, and slipped along the ground as a shadow. She moved beneath the hooves of the dead. If her concentration faltered now, or her magic failed her, she’d be torn to pieces in seconds. If she were lucky. Silent as any shade, she followed Trixie back to a wagon that apparently served as her dressing room and prison while not performing. Two Twilight unicorns guarded the entrance, one tall and gangly, the other diminutive and fat. Both spoke excitedly in the exact same voice, praising Trixie the Great and Powerful as she entered her prison. Theia slipped in behind her. Once the door was firmly closed and it was clear they were alone, the daughter of the moon willed herself solid with a sigh of relief. Immediately she was thrown to the dressing room floor, a hoof pressed firmly over her mouth. Trixie’s face was inches from hers, a look of panic and madness in her eyes that hadn’t been there while she’d been on stage.

“How did you get in here?” she whispered with an angry hiss, “don't you realize what trouble you’re going to cause me? They’ll be crawling in here with their filthy, rotting hooves looking for you any minute now. This is the one place I don’t have to look at them, smell them, touch them, taste them, feel them all around me laughing and smiling and, and.. Why did you have to come now? I’m leaving tomorrow! Or perhaps the day after that. Or maybe I'll stay until the day just after that.. Or even the one after that...” Theia finally had enough and pushed the hysterical pony away. “Would you calm down? There’s no way you can get out of here by yourself. But I can get us out the same way I was able to get in if you’ll just stop freaking out long enough for me to help you!” Trixie crouched in a corner of her trailer. After trembling like that for a moment she suddenly straightened and shook herself slightly. “The Great and Powerful Trixie apologizes. It’s been awhile since she has seen another living pony,or least one not being eaten alive." She narrowed sparkling eyes, cool and collected as she had appeared on stage. "How can the Magnificent Trixie be of aid to you, poor deluded pony?”

Theia didn’t much care for her tone, but figured this was better than the nervous wreck that had thrown her to the floor. “You can help me by using that power of yours to cast a spell for my friends and I. We plan on getting out of Ponyville as soon as possible and you’re welcome to come with us. Or you can stay here and do another farewell performance for the ‘Lords and Ladies’ of Twilight.” Trixie actually seemed to consider what course of action to take before finally answering, “It would be a crime to deprive the world of the greatest unicorn to ever live. I will accompany you, for the sake of all those who have yet to witness the Amazing Trixie!” Rolling her eyes, Theia stood up and held out her hoof. At first Trixie didn’t understand what she intended, but then Theia grabbed the magical unicorn's hoof and concentrated. “if you can lend me a bit of your power it will help stabilize the spell. It may feel a little cold, but it's safer than trying to walk out of here. Just stay close to me okay?”

A nimbus of magical energy engulfed the two ponies as Trixie fed her magic into Theia’s spell. The two ponies turned translucent and shadowy, and before long they were completely insubstantial. Trixie had never seen the shadow realm before, and at first it looked to Theia that she was going to break down again. Instead the Powerful Trixie walked through the wall of her wagon without pausing. She stuck her head back through the wall. “Excuse me, hayseed, but are you going to be leading the Great and Powerful Trixie, or following me? Only you’ve not told her where she can find your friends.” Grinding insubstantial teeth, Theia lead the way.

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When they were next visible and tangible, they were far away from Ponyville and its horrible inhabitants. After a few moments, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Private Jonathan, and Private Rising Sun appeared from a copse of trees where they had agreed to meet. Theia was thrilled to see that they had all made it out of that death trap alive and in one piece. “Were you able to find the book with the spell Sergeant Belle?” The white unicorn levitated a book towards Theia, flipping to a page that detailed all a pony needed to know in order to walk upon clouds. A simple spell, though the one to actually fly looked very advanced. “This is perfect! Lets get back to the others. We’ll be able to set out to Cloudsdale by moonrise!” Behind her Trixie cleared her throat.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for your small assistance, but now that we have left the confines of Ponyville, I must bid you simple folk good day! The Amazing Trixie has better things to do than make ponies fly.” She went to walk away but Scootaloo landed roughly in front of her, blocking her path. The two privates moved in swiftly, flanking her so she couldn’t bolt. “I don’t think so, traitor. Theia here as good as saved your life! I don't know what you’ve been doing with those undead abominations, but I’m thinking you watched a lot of innocent folk die over the years and didn’t lift a hoof to help them. Well its payback time, and I’m gonna see you pay in full or my names not Sergeant Major Scootaloo!”

“How dare you! The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot be held to the standards of you weak and pathetic country ponies! You had best let her pass, or feel her wrath!” A spark of magic licked along the curl of her horn. Without warning she was suddenly pounded by a sonic scream. Sergeant Belle had cut loose, flattening the Great and Powerful Trixie to the ground like a pancake. “There’s more to being a unicorn than power and prestige. You must also be dignified and graceful. A Unicorn without these qualities is barely a unicorn at all. Have you not grace enough to repay your debts?” Sergeant Belle glared down at Trixie the not so magnificent, a spark of magic in her eyes and thunder in her voice. As powerful as Trixie might be, these were hardened warriors of the Dawn's Light Crusade. If they wanted her to go somewhere, that's where she was going to go. Trixie stood up slowly, brushing the dirt of her magnificent cloak. “Very well. I suppose the Great and Powerful Trixie can spare a few moments more for you. Lead on.”

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By the time they made it back to the rock farm, the moon was already peeking over the horizon, large and red. The ponies opened up the door to the old silo and marched in triumphantly. “Great news everyone! Our mission was completely successful!” Corporal Wintergreen greeted them with a smile. “That’s wonderful news. We should throw a party!” The inside of the silo was a slaughter house. Pieces of ponies were scattered on the floor and blood was smeared all over the walls. Only Corporal Wintergreen appeared whole, eyes blazing bright pink, but when she turned her head, you could see that the back of it was missing, what was left of her brain exposed in the the ragged recess of her skull. “Come on everypony! Its time to party!” A cheer went up from the half eaten corpses that had been the Crusaders. An old phonograph played a cheery tune as two monotone female Twilight ponies danced together, their long manes intertwining with each other, flecked with blood and dripping with gore. Almost immediately a grinning corpse latched itself onto Rising Sun. The pony didn’t even have time to scream before he was pulled down and ripped apart by many hungry maws.

“RETREAT!” the frantic screech from Scootaloo snapped Theia and the others out of their shock. They ran out of the silo, but in the light of the harvest moon glowing pink eyes could be seen massing all around the farm. The only defensible position seemed to be the ruined farmhouse, so they ran there as fast as possible. The structure had no roof and the walls were sagging, there was no way they could hold out there for long. “Trixie, we need you to cast that flying spell now!” The Great and Powerful Trixie read over the book, but it was already clear that she had suffered another break down. “You expect me to cast this under these conditions? I’m not sure I can manage it once, let alone four times! Fifty long years I kept from being devoured by those monsters and in one night you dash it all. Years of planning, wasted. What was it all for!?” Sergeant Scootaloo smacked her across the cheek, “Snap out of it! Jonathan, Sweetie Belle, buy us some time. Trixie, focus on casting that spell on Theia. Once that’s done you two can work together on the others while I hold off the Twilight!”

The soldiers of the Dawn moved into action immediately. Jonathan hurled bombs as fast as he could as the teaming hordes of undead gathered. The explosions weren’t massive, but the shock-waves were enough to shattered one or two into to pieces while any hit directly by the blast evaporated into a pink mist. A head sailed through the air squealing happily, “Yay! More fireworks!” Sergeant Belle on the other hand began to sing a dirge that vibrated deep inside every ponies bones. It made the living uncomfortable, but the dead who wandered into her vocal range began tremble, great hunks of flesh sliding off of bone as they were reduced to quivering jelly. Even so they just kept coming, some nothing but skeletons by the time they were in range of the Crusaders lances. Trixie, meanwhile, had begun to chant. Her curling horn shone brightly, and in a bright flash of magic, the spell was complete. A pair of beautiful butterfly wings spread...from Trixie’s back. Laughing haughtily she took to the air. “Trixie is truly Magnificent! While you poor, brave ponies die for her, she will escape into the skies! Good Luck and fair well!” Trixie rose into the sky, wings gleaming in the moonlight. A lance pierced her wings and the delicate enchantment popped like a soap bubble, sending the spell caster plummeting back to the farms rotting floor.

“I thought you might try something like that,” said Scootaloo angrily, “Now get up and cast the spell right this time, or it won’t be your wings my lance pierces next!” Tears were welling up in Trixie’s eyes, but she began to cast again. This time Theia stepped in and put her hooves on Trixie's shoulders. As there horns touched a pair of feathered wings, rather than butterfly ones, sprouted from their backs. Trixie seemed amazed by this, but Theia just smiled grimly. “In its natural form that spell looks rather weak for all that power expenditure...but two ponies power should be enough to make it stronger. We need to get the others in here fast Scootaloo!” The Sergeant nodded and flew to aid the others. That’s when Trixie smashed Theia in the back of her skull sending her to the floor. No dramatic words of parting, no boasts of power, Trixie simply fled with her new wings pounding the sky for all they were worth.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Sergeant Belle were surrounded. Sweetie Belle's voice had grown ragged and it seemed the longer she sang the more accustomed the abominations became to her voice. Some were laughing and dancing to it now, a ring tightening ever closer around the haggard Crusaders. “Ring around the roses, a pocket full of posies, ashes to ashes, we all fall DOWN!” On the last word the soldiers of Twilight lunged at the two fatigued warriors. Jonathan covered Sweetie Belle with his body, but he couldn’t stifle a scream as the mouths of the dead tore hunks from his hide. Scootaloo dived to the earth, using the momentum to sweep away the dead with her lance, but the damage had already been done. “Get... Sergeant Belle out of here. I’m done, Sarge. Get miss Theia out of here too, ya hear?” His eyes were already starting to glow violet, but he managed a grin that was more suitable for his face than the rictus worn by the Legion of Twilight. He pulled the largest bomb Scootaloo had ever seen out of his pack, smaller ones clustered around it. “Best get to moseying now. I plan on going out with a bang!” Scootaloo leaned in and kissed Private Jonathan before she realized what she was doing. Blood leaking from his mouth, Jonathan’s smile grew wider as his commanding officers took to the sky.

Carrying Sweetie Belles unconscious body as she flew, Scootaloo found Theia back at the farmhouse, but Trixie and the book of spells were long gone. Theia was just coming back around, her new wings twitching. “We’ve got to move Theia, get up and FLY!” In mere moments the lands around the old rock farm turned from evening to day for the first time in a century. The fire ball rose into the sky, and those agents of Twilight who were not incinerated outright gazed in awe and applauded in appreciation. They didn’t notice the ponies flying away into the east. all in all, it had been a fantastic evenings diversion for the relentless dead.

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“So what are we going to do now?” Theia’s wings were tucked under her cloak. She didn’t know how long they would last, but she kept feeding them magic to try and stabilize them. She probably wouldn’t be able to use any other magic for awhile for fear of exhausting the enchantment. Scootaloo sat dejectedly by Sergeant Belle. Her friend still hadn’t awakened even though there was no sign of any external wounds. “We? I can’t leave Sweetie Belle like this. I lost all the other soldiers under my command...I can’t lose her." the Sergeant Major sighed, feathery locks of her mane dropping over sad eyes. "I’m going to fly her to Chimeron and report in to my superiors. I’m sorry Theia...but if you’re still going to Cloudsdale you’re going to have to go on your own. Without that spell book we can’t cast the flying spell again. You need to leave before the enchantments run its course.” Theia nodded. Scootaloo made a lot of sense sometimes.

“But don’t you dare think this means I’m out of the fight, Theia! If Rainbow Dash needs help, you can bet I’ll be there as soon as I can with a battalion of pegasus ponies and, heck, maybe even a griffin or two! You haven’t seen the last of Sergeant Major Scootaloo and Sergeant Sweetie Belle!” Her brave words made Theia smile, even though she doubted she’d get any help once she made it to Cloudsdale. With so many having sacrificed themselves for her, Theia had to seize this opportunity even if it was going to be a great risk. “Here,” Scootaloo handed Theia her battered helmet, “Use this to cover up that stub of a horn of yours. I don’t think Cloudsdale is going to forget the last time there were any flying ponies. Just try to keep a low profile until I get there, okay?” The daughter of the moon nodded and her eyes teared up a little, but she shook herself and with a shuddering sigh said, “Thank you...both of you for all you’ve done. Be sure to tell Sweetie Belle that when she wakes up.” The Sergeant smiled and shook her head yes. Theia put on Scootaloo’s helmet and spreading her wings, took to the sky.

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“Trixie the Magnificent Flying Unicorn! Why didn’t I think of doing this years ago!? Everyone will be so impressed by Trixie’s daring and power!” The babbling magician reclined on a cloud, wings spread wide as she admired them. “Clearly Trixie is a genius without equal, the greatest unicorn, no, the greatest flying pony in all of Equestria!” A sound like metal scraping on bones was completely lost on Trixie. But the hollow voice that came from behind her shocked her into silence.

“I remember you. Still full of yourself, huh?” Trixie turned slowly, eyes going wide at the skeletal pegasus that stood on the cloud behind her, sheathed in blue flame, eyes like cold stars gazing down on her. The creature was bound from hoof to rainbow tail in coarse, charred wire and red hot hunks of jagged black metal. The fleshless skull grinned, eyes blazing like nova in her otherwise empty sockets. “I think I said once before that we don’t need you hanging around, acting like you’re better than the rest of us. Not when I’m here, being better than the rest of you.” Trixie panicked, wings pulsing clumsily as she tried to get away. “First time flier? Doesn’t look to me like you’ve got a lot of reason to strut around and show off. But then, that is my job.” The skeletal pony let Trixie fly a little farther, floundering in the air, trying to get her wings to carry her as far and fast as possible. It wouldn’t be enough. "Twilight said that maybe someday you'd learn your lesson...what better day than today?"

“After all...” the skeletal pony exploded from the the cloud where she stood, a blazing blue comet, her rainbow colored mane streaming behind her. She closed the gap between herself and Trixie in ten seconds flat. As she passed her, a massive sonic rainboom rimmed with blue fire exploded in her wake. The vacuum left in her wake sucked the cloak off Trixie's body, followed swiftly by her skin and then her flesh, sending the hapless pony plummeting to the ground far below in a cloud of freezing scarlet droplets of blood. “They don’t call me Rainbow, and Death, for nothing.” The pony once known as Rainbow Dash sped through the skies without glancing back, leaving a fiery rainbow spiraling in her wake. Something once so cheerful now a grim portent to all of Equestria.

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Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m growing weary of this correspondence with you. You never answer back except in screams and sobs. Why can’t you laugh and play like my new children? Our reunion should have been joyous, but instead you tried to fight.

Can’t you hear it? In the hollow laughter of the dead...there are echoes of the seeds you planted on that day so long ago. You have no one to blame but yourself, dear Princess. It was your decision to continue the lottery...to delay the inevitable fate of Equestria with illusions, smoke and mirrors.

If you’d only been able to laugh at your reality you might not be wracked with screams now. This is a lesson you desperately need to learn.

Keep that in mind, my sweetest Princess.