The thunderous booms of distant explosions rumbled throughout the city for several hours, the black and empty sky lit only by flickering flames in the distance. With the weather no longer controlled, thick sheets of snow began to fall from unseen clouds above, covering the ground and windows in frost. Inside Precinct Three, the rescued ponies sat in the control room as a team of medics tended to the wounded.

Nearby, a pair of dispatchers, a pale blue thestral and an olive pegasus mare, huddled over the radio set in the corner, trying to filter through the stew of overlapping, crackling voices.

“Setting up a barricade at Sixth and North—”

“—Victor Three, got fires raging out of control here. Requesting backup to support fire crews—”

“Precinct Six...come in Precinct Six…”

“Where the hell is this snow coming from?! I can’t see!”

“—combat ineffective! Need evac for multiple wounded civvies—”

“Say again, Lunar One-One…”

“It’s hell out there,” Polaris commented, listening to the voices.

“Who are these guys? And what’s with that smoke?” Rainbow demanded, pacing around in a circle and shaking off the medic who was trying to examine her.

“That smoke…” Twilight murmured, her brow creased in thought. “That magic looked like…” She gasped in shock, the memory clicking. “Sombra!”

“That...that’s not possible,” Flash protested. “The horn was destroyed!”

“Maybe not,” Phil said, looking up. “With Zugzwang—”

“Captain!” the thestral cried, standing up completely. The young batpony’s face was rapidly losing color.

“What is it?” Polaris asked, bracing himself for the answer.

The dispatcher swallowed a couple of times as if struggling to form the words, then spoke. “T- there was an attack on the Palace. The Princesses have been abducted.”

Everything stopped. Nopony moved. Few dared breathe.

“By who?” Polaris asked slowly.

“A group of gunponies that infiltrated the castle,” the dispatcher reported. “They broke through the safe room and teleported out. They were aided by the Scorchers.”

“Scorchers?” Applejack asked.

Phillip swallowed. “They’re a band of pyromaniacs for hire,” he explained. “Their leader is a mare named Tinderspark. Burned down her family house when she was nine years old after locking her parents and three siblings inside. She’s been setting fires across the country ever since. At last count, she’s killed at least forty-seven ponies, likely more.”

“Well, we’ve gotta go save them!” Rainbow declared, starting to fly towards the door.

Twilight seized Rainbow’s tail in her magic, holding her back. “No, Rainbow, we’re staying here,” she declared.

“Let go!” Rainbow cried, struggling to free herself. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

“Rainbow, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s an army out there,” Applejack stated. “And even if there weren’t, you have no idea where the Princesses are, do you?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but could not come up with anything to say. Defeated, she lowered herself back down to the ground, glaring in fury.

Polaris took a slow, shaky breath and ran a hoof through his mane. “All right. Give me a status report,” he declared to the dispatchers, turning to a large map of Canterlot set on a table in the corner.

“Sir,” the thestral nodded. “Precinct One, Five, and Seven are setting up barricades and holding the line. Precinct Two is currently taking heavy fire. Precinct Four has been overrun: the remaining Guards are trying to set up new positions at Zacherle Stadium. The Palace is currently under siege from heavily-armed attackers who have blocked off the streets and the air: they can’t get into the castle, but the ponies inside can’t get out.”

“What about the escape tunnels?” Polaris asked.

“All of the exits have been booby-trapped and blocked off,” the thestral replied. “Canterlot Jail has been broken into and the inmates have escaped. And several mages have tried to break through the dome, but nothing is working.”

“Excuse me,” Twilight cut in. “Have any of you heard from my brother?”

The dispatchers both shook their heads. “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the olive mare reported solemnly. “Captain Armor is in the wind. Nopony’s seen or heard from him since the attack.”

“Shining is tough and one of the smartest Guards I’ve ever worked with,” Polaris reassured Twilight, laying a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

Twilight swallowed and nodded, but could not bring herself to meet anypony’s eye. She slowly trudged back over to the group. Flash and Spike both embraced her gently, but she did not respond.

“Well, if we’re not going to go out there and kick ass,” Rainbow snapped. “What the hell are we going to do?!”

“The only thing we can do,” Daring said. “Survive.”

With no light in the sky, the only indication that any time passed was the motion of the clocks...what few that were still maintained. The wind and snow continued to intermittently assail the windows and streets, the icy gales howling outside like flocks of banshees. The lamps outside flickered as they struggled against the suffocating blanket of constant night, while the occasional explosion or echoing gunshot seemed muffled. Inside the Precinct, most of the lights had been dimmed to avoid straining the backup generators, and chill drafts hung in every room.

The stream of information and speculation that had flooded the station at the beginning of the crisis had now slowed down to less than a trickle. Messages over the radio were infrequent, and carried little information beyond current status of surviving Guards and civilians, and what little intelligence on enemy movements was available.

“On the plus side,” Pinkie commented, juggling several warm baguettes taken from the bread factory next door. “We won’t run out of bread anytime soon!”

Rainbow managed a half-smile as she watched the show. The Mane Six and Flash were sitting around a second-floor lobby, all in silent contemplation. Twilight was hunched over a desk with several books on magical theory surrounding her, muttering to herself as she scribbled down notes on a roll of parchment that was trailing down onto the floor.

“...if Zugzwang is channeling magic through the crystal fragments that he stole, what effect would destroying the crystals have?” she wondered, tapping her temple in thought. “The crystals are supposed to strengthen and focus magic...of course, he might not need the crystals to maintain the shield…”

“Twilight, would you give it a rest?” Rainbow burst out. Pinkie yelped in surprise and dropped the loaves to the floor.

“Rainbow, I’m trying to figure out a way out of this!” Twilight snapped.

“All your theories aren’t going to do us squat unless we actually get out there to do something about it!” Rainbow shouted, pacing around in a circle. "We've been sitting here, on our tails, doing nothing, for an entire day!"

“And as I’ve told you several times, running out without a plan is going to get us all killed!” Twilight shouted in reply.

“Twi, I hate to speak against you, but Rainbow’s got a point,” Applejack stated. “We just don’t have enough info for you to really—”

“Do you expect me to just sit here and do nothing?!” Twilight shouted, rising from the table.

“Darlings, please, let’s not do this—” Rarity started to say.

“That is what you’ve been doing!” Rainbow shouted. “Sitting here with your books while the city freezes and Zugzwang does who-knows-what!”

“It’s the who-knows-what that I’m worried about!” Twilight screamed, stomping her hoof and glaring at Dash. “We stopped dealing with a petty criminal a long time ago! Zugzwang wants to bring Equestria to its knees, and we don’t know how he’s doing it or why!”

Silence fell over the room as Twilight panted. Flash slowly walked up to her and touched her shoulder. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. “I know you want to go out there and help, but going in guns blazing is the worst thing we could possibly do right now,” she said to Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash slowly nodded, looking crestfallen. “I’m sorry, Twi. It’s just...I’m scared.”

“We’re all scared,” Fluttershy announced, picking up one of the loaves from the floor. “That’s all the more reason why we shouldn’t be arguing.” She broke the bread in half and gave one piece to each of the mares. “There. Better now, right?”

“Better,” Twilight nodded with a faint smile. “Thank you.”

“Look alive, team!” Prowl’s voice shouted from the floor below. “We’ve got another group of civilians coming in, east wall!”

Attracted by the shout, the friends hurried downstairs, tossing heavy coats over themselves as they exited the Precinct. Fortunately, the winds had ceased for the moment, though the air was still bitterly cold to the taste. Several City Guards hurried out with them as they rushed towards the eastern gates that separated what little territory they had claimed from Zugzwang’s army.

A squadron of Guards, all of them clutching white winter parkas over their armor, stood ready at the gate, a pair of burly earth ponies manning the gatling gun. The gate opened up and a scouting team hustled through, escorting a group of rescued civilians inside and bringing in carts of recovered food and supplies taken from outside.

“Got a wounded pony here!” a mare unicorn Guard called, supporting a limping stallion. Fluttershy and a medic hurried forward to help carry the injured civilian onto a stretcher and rush him back to the precinct.

A middle-aged couple passed through the gate. The mare was a white unicorn with two-toned light purple and silver hair and the cutie mark of three purple five-pointed stars; the stallion was a blue unicorn with dark blue hair and the cutie mark of a pair of crescent moons. Both of them gasped upon spotting Twilight.

“Mom! Dad!” Twilight cried, rushing forward to hug her parents. Both of them embraced her tightly.

“We were so worried!” Twilight Velvet said, squeezing her daughter into her chest.

“I was worried about you!” Twilight said.

Night Light kissed his daughter on the forehead, then looked up and noticed Flash. In a couple of strides, he crossed over and wrapped Flash up in a hug, much to the Guard’s surprise.

“Flash,” the elder stallion whispered throatily. “Thank you for keeping my daughter safe.”

“I...it wasn’t…” Flash stammered before eventually relaxing and accepting the hug.

Behind them, a tall, thin, pink-coated unicorn mare slowly trotted through the gate, which closed behind them. Her normally flawless mane hung haggard and pale over her face and her posture bore none of her normal proud bearing, but her famous face was still recognizable.

“Fleur?” Rarity asked, starting forward to face her friend. “Are you alright?”

Fleur de Lis barely acknowledged Rarity’s question, nodding slowly without raising her downcast eyes.

“Where’s Fancy?” Rarity asked, looking around.

Fleur swallowed, a tremor passing through her body. “Zhe looters came for our house,” she said in a thick, heavy voice, her Prench accent penetrating every word. “He...told me to run.”

“Oh, no,” Rarity breathed, leaning in close to support Fleur. “Come with me, darling. Let’s get you inside where it’s warm.”

The rescued civilians and the exhausted scouts trudged back to the Precinct, and it was a great relief to all when the doors closed behind them. Spike, who had awoken from his nap, was already busy brewing batches of hot chocolate and coffee, which were distributed amongst the shivering ponies as the lead sergeant made her report to Captain Polaris, detailing the movements of any patrols they encountered.

“Thank you, Spike,” Night Light nodded, accepting a paper cup from the little drake and taking a grateful sip of the amber liquid.

“Good to see you safe, dear,” Twilight Velvet sighed, hugging Spike.

“We're running low on cots,” Polaris instructed one of the Guards as they escorted the rescued civilians out of the foyer. “You’re going to have to make room in the holding cells." The Guard nodded and signalled for the civilians to follow him.

Phillip and Daring appeared from the radio room and both walked over to Flash. “Any news?” Flash asked, doffing his coat.

“No,” Phillip shook his head. "It's been quiet, like always."

“I hate just sitting here,” Daring grumbled. “You know what this feels like?”

“Like they’re out there, waiting for something,” Phil nodded.

“Captain Polaris! Princess Twilight!” a dispatcher called, clutching a set of headphones to his head as he rose. “It’s Shining Armor!”

Everypony rushed over to the radio as the dispatcher twiddled the dials and unhooked the headphones. “Say again, Captain Armor...come in, Captain Armor…”

“Are you reading me?” The voice was muffled and distorted through a thick filter of static, but Twilight would’ve recognized it from the bottom of a well.

“Shiny!” she cried into the microphone.

“Twilight?” Shining replied, a definitive note of joy in his voice.

“Where are you?” Twilight asked.

“I’m at some place called the Tasty Treat,” Shining’s voice answered. “This is the first I’ve been able to get to a radio. I’m surrounded by multiple hostiles, but I think I found out where the enemy headquarters is. I’m going to need some assistance here, ASAP, over.”

“Understood, Captain,” the dispatcher replied. “We’ll send a team to your location. Stay where you are. Over.”

“Understood. I’ll keep out of sight. Good luck. Out.”

“Prowl! Bumblebee! Gold Dust! Ruby Eye! Screecher! Feathered Flight! Front and center!” Polaris barked.

At his command, Prowl and Bumblebee rushed up to Polaris, along with a small golden unicorn mare, a tall crimson pegasus, a bulky gray thestral, and a lean emerald pegasus mare. All of them stood at attention in front of Polaris.

“Ponies, we have work to do,” Polaris declared, looking each member of his selected team in the eye. “Shining Armor is in danger and requires immediate assistance. He may have intelligence on the location of enemy forces. Are you each up to the task?”

“Yes, sir!” the Guards shouted as one.

Polaris grunted his approval. “We shall—”

“Captain!” Princess Twilight cut in. “I’m going with you.”

“Your Highness, we cannot risk you—” Polaris started to protest.

“He’s my brother,” Twilight snapped. “And I am not unfamiliar to danger. Try and stop me.”

There was a moment of pause where nopony in the room spoke. Then Flash stepped forward. “I want to go on record as you’re crazy,” he said, his eyes on Twilight. “But if you’re going out there, then I’m going out with you.”

“So are we!” Rainbow Dash declared without hesitation. She, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity all stepped forward, gathering around Twilight.

Phillip joined the group without a word. Daring looked about the room, then slowly nodded and unzipped her parka. “What the hell,” she muttered. “I’m getting too old for this anyway.” She shrugged off the long coat, and the false identity of Irene Alibi with it, revealing her olive green long-sleeved shirt and compass rose cutie mark. A ripple of surprised gasps and disbelieving murmurs passed through the assembled ponies as Daring extracted her folding pith helmet and trademark whip from her saddlebags.

Polaris blinked a couple of times, then slowly nodded. “Very well. But you will follow our instructions, and you will not put yourselves in danger.”

Twilight nodded. Polaris turned back to his assembled team. “Get whatever you need. We move out in ten.”

The team nodded and split up to gather any equipment that they needed. Polaris exited the room and made his way to the precinct armory, a basement room with wall-to-wall shelving of armor, swords, spears, crossbows, and guns, with boxes of bolts, bullets and various types of grenades.

Moving along the wall of weapons, he selected a short staff with a lacquered wooden body and an iron barbed tip, slightly longer than he was tall. He tested the weight, thrusting the head into a well-used hanging target at the end of the room. The blade pierced the thick rubber easily, just as it would the flesh of an enemy. Nodding in satisfaction, Polaris placed the spear through a holster across his back. It clanked softly against his metal armor. He then selected an assortment of flash and tear gas grenades, a group of knives, a gas mask, and a set of goggles that were enchanted with a night-vision spell, and placed them in his saddlebags, nestling them amidst his other gear.

Satisfied with his selection, he walked back upstairs and turned down the hallway into a meeting room. Most of the tables and chairs had been pushed aside, and the whiteboard at the front of the room was now littered with doodles and other drawings. Cintamani Stone and their two daughters were sitting in the middle of the floor, playing a game of dice and cards with some other foals. All three mares looked up when Polaris entered, and their faces fell as they recognized the bearing about his form.

“Do you have to go, dad?” Carina whispered.

“Yes, dear,” Polaris nodded. “Shining is in trouble, and he needs me out there.”

Cintamani did not speak. She simply stood up, strode up to her husband, and pressed her lips against his. He kissed her back and slowly reached up to tenderly stroke her mane, holding the embrace as if trying to commit the taste of her skin and the scent of her hair to his memory.

The couple slowly broke off, regretfully. Polaris turned to his two daughters. “Girls, I want you to take care of your mother, and to help look after the civilians here. I need you to help keep order.”

“Yes, sir,” Talitha and Carina both nodded grimly.

Polaris embraced them both, and they clung to him for a moment as if to keep him there, but he had to slide out of their grip. “Goodbye,” he declared softly, then turned on his heels and marched out of the room. Cintamani did not weep until he had disappeared around the corner.

Polaris returned to the foyer, where his team of rescuers was waiting, all of them fully geared up for the adventure...except for Pinkie Pie, who was still trying to stuff snacks into her saddlebags. “Are we ready?” he called.

“Wait!” Spike called, huffing and puffing as he ran up to Twilight. He reached inside his pack and handed her something. It was a small, carved fragment of purple crystal, shaped into a shield with a sun and crescent moon in the center. A length of string ran through the crystal, allowing it to be worn around the neck.

“I made this after Starlight left,” Spike said. “I want you to have it.” He reached up on his tiptoes and placed the necklace around her head so that it dangled from her neck, bouncing against her chest.

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight nodded. She pulled the little dragon into a hug.

“Are you sure I can’t come?” Spike whimpered.

“No, Spike. You’re staying here,” Twilight said firmly.

Spike shuffled his feet, looking both concerned and upset.

“We’ll be back soon,” Twilight reassured him, planting a kiss upon his forehead.

Polaris turned to a lieutenant pegasus with a white coat, flaming red hair, and a fiery shield and helmet on his flanks. “Lieutenant Strider, I’m trusting you to have command until I return.”

“Yes, sir,” Strider saluted. “We’ll be waiting for you to come back.” He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself of his own words.

“All right, let’s move out!” Polaris declared, taking up a map that had a route traced across it. The team exited the precinct into the darkened streets. A fresh snowfall was descending from the black and empty sky as Polaris led them forwards, sweeping the empty, white-coated streets for any sign of enemies.

Spike stood at the window, his breath frosting the glass as his friends disappeared into the swirling whiteness.

Their breath swirled and fogged before their faces as they sprinted across the street, the snow crunching beneath their hooves. Polaris and Phillip led the group, eyes and ears open wide for any enemies.

The stallions signaled a pause as they neared a corner, pressing their backs up against a brick wall. The ponies behind them ducked into a dark alleyway, waiting, breath held, for the all-clear sign.

“I don’t see anything,” Phillip muttered.

“Hold it,” Corporal Ruby Eye hissed. His golden, eagle-like eyes scanned the rooftops of the building around them, peering through the lenses of his night-vision-enhanced goggles.

“Sniper, 2 o’clock, D7,” he whispered, pointing. A faint, twinkling light like a small red star could be seen dancing in a window of a hotel in front of them, the seventh window from the left on the fourth floor.

“Take him out,” Polaris nodded.

PFC Feathered Flight grinned and unshouldered a long crossbow from her back. The emerald mare knelt and cuddled the stock to her shoulder, unfolding the telescoping arms and sliding her hoof into the lever action. With the faintest of clicks, the string drew back and a bolt slid out of the magazine and into place. Feathered placed her chocolate brown eye to the scope, extending her left wing slightly to check for wind and correcting her aim.

“Bye-bye,” she whispered and squeezed the trigger. The crossbow let out the quietest of twangs and the bolt sped through the air, disappearing into the target window. The red star dropped out of sight.

“Kill confirmed,” Ruby Eye stated flatly.

“We keep moving,” Polaris declared. The team moved on, passing by rows of dark, empty buildings. As they penetrated deeper into the city, the shadows pressed colder and harder upon them, and the air grew more and more bitter, stinging at their tongues and nostrils. The ponies attached flashlights to their shoulders, but the tiny beams did little to penetrate the darkness.

Fluttershy stumbled over something in the dark and fell into the snow with a grunt. She turned to look at the obstacle she had stumbled over and shrieked. Splashed across the sidewalk, partially buried in the snow, was the body of a ochre earth pony with pale blue hair. Her dark green eyes were open wide and stared at Fluttershy with an openmouthed, glazed-over gaze. The mare’s back had been ripped open from shoulder to shoulder by a close-range shotgun blast, but the cold had delayed decomposition, so the body and the blood pool around her were still almost as fresh as the moment she had fallen.

Fluttershy screamed again, scrambling to get away from the body. Daring pounced on her and covered her mouth with her hoof to muffle her screams. “Quiet!” she hissed.

“Too late,” Corporal Screecher hissed, his tufted ears turning in every direction. His bat-like wings, a rare sight in Equestria, were spread open wide and his yellow eyes seemed to glow faintly in the dark.

“Patrol coming,” he reported. “At least three of them.”

“We can take them!” Rainbow protested.

“We’re not here to pick fights,” Polaris cut her off. “Getting into a battle we don’t need could only get us into trouble.”

“This way!” Sergeant Gold Dust called, gesturing into an alleyway. The ponies clicked off their flashlights and hurried into the dark alley as a squadron of four snowmobiles rumbled up the street, their powerful headlamps piercing the darkness. Twilight quickly cast a wind spell over the snow to erase their hoofprints as the vehicles halted and their armed riders dismounted.

“You sure you heard something?” one of the invaders called, sweeping the ground with the flashlight mounted to his shotgun. The ponies inched around a corner, sticking to the shadows.

“Back here!” Gold Dust hissed, beckoning everypony over to a low wooden wall. Flash quickly flew up to the top of the wall and swept the area.

“All clear,” he called, dropping down on the other side. The other winged ponies followed him while Phillip, Polaris and Applejack boosted the others up and over the wall before climbing over themselves. The enemy patrol was left far behind, none the wiser.

“Quick thinking, Sergeant,” Polaris commended as he studied the map by the glow of his horn. “Let’s keep moving. The Tasty Treat isn’t far.”

They continued on their way, clinging to the shadows and diverting around roving patrols and sniper nests. More bodies lay stretched pathetically across the white sheets of snow, some of them laying partly in the flickering light of streetlamps, some hidden in the shadows. Looted buildings stood with their windows shattered and their doors kicked in. The stillness and silence was suffocating.

Finally, they reached the Tasty Treat. The tiny little restaurant sat nestled in the alleyway, the windows dark. The door had been kicked in and determinedly clung to the frame by one hinge. An ominous red stain was splashed across the threshold.

The ponies hurried forward. Bumblebee carefully pushed the door open and cast his flashlight inside. “Captain Armor?” he called quietly.

There was no reply from inside. Bumblebee stepped aside and allowed the other ponies to enter. The Tasty Treat lay in disarray, the tables and chairs reduced to splinters and the colorful decorations along the walls and ceiling scorched by magic spells. More than a dozen ponies lay all over the floor, all of them bearing a variety of lethal wounds, many missing limbs. Swords, lances, and guns were scattered amidst the corpses. The scent of cordite hung heavy in the air, having usurped the normal odors of cooking foods and spices.

“Oh, I hope Saffron and Coriander are okay,” Pinkie whimpered, skirting a still-wet bloodstain on the floor.

“Bodies are still fresh,” Daring observed. “This fight was recent.”

“These two have Mareish Mob tattoos,” Phillip noted. “And I recognize this one: she was one of Scarlet Letter’s goons.”

“Shiny?” Twilight called out. Again, there was no answer.

“I think that these ponies were sent to capture or kill Armor,” Phillip stated.

“So where’s Shining?” Twilight asked, a note of desperation in her voice.

“Over here,” Prowl called from the back of the room. He held up a map of Canterlot that had been heavily marked with red pen. Streets had been traced over in color and various buildings had been circled. “Looks like he was monitoring enemy movements. If he—”

“What was that?” Rarity suddenly gasped, looking around.

“What was wha—?” Rainbow’s question was cut off by a shocked cry as she stumbled back in disbelief. The corpse of a blue unicorn with a vicious slice across his chest was rising up off the floor, his glossed-over eyes focusing on Rainbow with a baleful glare.

One by one, each of the bodies lifted themselves up off the ground, turning to stare at the intruders with their dead gazes. With shuffling steps, they advanced upon them, silently staring them down.

“Nopony panic!” Twilight shouted. “It’s just an illusion! None of it is real!”

But her words fell on deaf ears, because the air was suddenly pierced with the shivering screech of a raven, and each of the ponies instantly decided one thing: they must get out, get away, for if they stayed any longer they would die. Abandoning pretense of bravery, they pushed past the walking corpses and fled from the restaurant of death, spilling out into the snowy streets. In their panicked flight, Twilight failed to notice the necklace around her neck slipping loose and tumbling to the floor.

But then the deafening sound of shuffling hooves and crunching snow came echoing up the streets. They looked up and stared in horror as more and more bodies came marching up the streets towards them, the blood of their wounds still fresh and glowing upon their stiff flesh. Their faces were accusatory, blame held in every decaying eye: the so-called guardians had failed to protect them, and now they were here to drag their fallen heroes down with them.

“They’re not real,” Fluttershy whimpered, backing away from a towering, shambling pegasus with snarling, yellowed teeth. “They’re not real, they’re not real—”

The pegasus raised his foreleg and struck her across the jaw, causing her to stumble backwards into the snow. “They’re real! They’re real! They’re real!” she gasped, scrambling to get away from her undead aggressor. Spreading her wings, she took to the sky, disappearing into the swirling snow with a flap of her wings with a scream.

Her retreat was quickly followed by the others, as many of her friends fled with her, racing off in different directions in a desperate bid for escape. Flash took off and flapped away, not caring where he was going, only that he was getting away. Glancing beneath momentarily, he watched as Polaris gave an animalistic bellow and plunged his lance into an advancing corpse, only to be swarmed from all sides and dragged out of sight with a terrified cry.

He flew through the icy winds until he could fly no more, until his wings were covered in frost and his heart hammered in his chest. Dropping to the snowy ground, he panted for breath, his knees trembling. Turning his head from side to side, he scanned for enemies, only to find that, to both his relief and his horror, he was completely alone.

“Ring around the rosy…” a raspy voice suddenly sang from the distance. Remembering his sword, Flash drew his weapon from his sheath and held it up in a shaking hoof, feigning a bid at defense as he searched for his unseen attacker.

“Pocket full of posy…”

Something was coming, something he could not see in the dark. With no light or cover available, Flash instinctively began to back into an alleyway.

“Ashes...ashes…”

His rear impacted against the unforgiving brick of the dead end wall, and he had to halt, tightening his grip on the sword. He squinted into the darkness before him, gasping for air as he struggled to remember his training.

All was quiet. The only sound was his breathing and the wind. And then he felt something move next to him. He forced himself to turn around.

A pair of eyes, red as glowing coals and full of hate, bore into him from the darkness. Flash was not aware of the sword dropping from his grasp; he did not hear his own scream rising into the sky, because those eyes were all he knew, the eyes and the voice…

“WE ALL FALL DOWN.”

Author's Notes:

The situation is normal: getting worse with every passing moment, and more of the same on the way. Hopefully, the same doesn't apply for my writing.

Please leave a like and a comment if you enjoyed, and I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter!