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The Knights Of Harmony

by TITANOSAUR

Chapters

A Good Book


"A long time ago, in the Magical land of equestria. before the rule of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, when the three tribes of Ponies first formed Equestria the First Alicorn, Queen Ryugu once ruled the land as Celestia and Luna do now, with kindness and love. but one day, the Queen discovered the power to manipulate and even feed on the life force of the land, animals, and even other ponies. eventually she was corrupted, warped, and consumed by the desire to feed on the life force of Equestria itself!

"The three tribes of the land felt betrayed and heartbroken that their benevolent ruler was transformed into an evil vampiric demon. thus six ponies where chosen to represent the virtues the six ponies who first founded Equestria. they were called the Knights of Harmony. these ponies faced the Life devouring Queen, but none could defeat her on their own, and not even together could they quell the evil they sought to end.

"And so a seventh pony was chosen, one who they called upon to lead the Knights of Harmony, one who while did not necessarily represent all six virtues, could call upon them to strengthen them in times of extraordinary crisis. thus the Crusader of Harmony was born! adorn in Armor of Ebony with silver and gold. each piece was enchanted but not by any magic, but the very piece of life force, or soul from all six knights of Harmony. The Helmet, Boots, Gauntlets, and Cuirass each enchanted with a virtue, Honesty, Mercy, Honor, Joy, Loyalty, and Generosity. however the sword was enchanted with the most powerful of the other five virtues. for any who held it, no matter what pony they were, Unicorn, Pegasus, or even Earth Pony. those who welded the sword could harness the most powerful of virtues, Wisdom

"And thus the Crusader did do battle with the Queen Ryugu. the Battle was as amazing as it was Deadly. though he fought Valiantly, The Crusader of harmony had no hopes to win, thus using the sword of magic, struck the final blow to the queen, cutting her through the chest----

"Oh Nyx, this story is so violent at the end!" Twilight said, The purple unicorn had just gotten the book from Princess Celestia from the royal archives upon request. though she hadn't intended it to be the bedtime story of her Alicorn daughter who lay snuggly in bed.

"And don't get me started on the Illustrations." she muttered, looking at the though beautifully stylish, yet violent depiction of an armored pony thrusting a sword through an all black alicorn with glowing green eyes with a maw of sharp teeth before closing it.

Nyx whimpered with her ears wilting a bit. "but Tw--- Mom. wasn't it you who said to never stop telling a story when it finally gets near the ending. isn't that rude to the author?" Nyx was still trying to get used to calling Twilight mom. although she tries, she always tends to slip and call Twilight by her name.

Twilight sighed, it's true, it would be wrong to end a story right when it was near to ending, and to do so would be a crime against good story telling, and despite how violent the story was, she had to admit she wanted to read the rest. even if it meant reading it herself to find out the ending, although thinking about it more. it was rather unfair to deny her daughter the ending together.

Twilight sighed and opened the book back up. "Oh, I guess your right. Ahem!" Twilight cleared her throat as she began reading once more.

"using the sword of magic, The Crusader struck the final blow to the queen, cutting her through the chest, and thus all the life energies the queen has eaten escaped her wound, returning Equestria to it's bright colors, Plant's grew again, Animals played and sing, and the ponies who fell to Queen Ryugu breathed life once more." Twilight continued reading.

"But the queen was not defeated yet!" she declared in a mock laugh. "For Queen Ryugu struck the crusader just as he struck her, and as she advanced on him, the evil queen wanted to take back the life force he stole from her. opening her maw with green energy emanating from her horn she blasted the knight with Green mist that all but slain the valiant Knight. Weakened and wounded, the Knight could think of only one way to defeat the old queen."

"H-How!? did he trap her in the moon? or the sun? or in the ocean?" Nyx gasped, thinking at first how she trapped Celestia and Luna in their respective celestial bodies, it does seem the only way to deal with an Alicorn as they are immortal, and killing them is nearly impossible. "how did he defeat her?"

Twilight Giggled. "well let's find out?" she said as she turned the page and clearing her throat once more.

"The Crusader used his very own life force to feed the magic in the sword to cast a spell, he sent the queen to a far away dimension, a pocket realm devoid of life to feed upon, to satiate her hunger and grow powerful once again." Twilight's smile then evaporated as she read the rest, the illustrations showing six knights kneeling to a casket.

"but the spell had taken the young Crusader's life, the knights of Harmony took his body to rest at the temple of Saddle's Tor. and have sworn to guard the Armor and await the coming of a new crusader, to take up the mantle, and to defend equestria from the queen's return. for it is that day when the skies will turn dark from the eternal Eclipse of the sun that the evil queen will escape her purgatory and unleash her hunger upon an unsuspecting Equestria once more." Twilight closed the book, the ending wasn't quite what she had hoped.

Nyx on the other hoof was running the gears in her head. "But a solar eclipse doesn't last that long."

Twilight smiled. "that was your subject at school today wasn't it?"

"Yep!" nyx nodded though only to give out a yawn. "it was our final subject before Hearth's Warming Eve. A Solar Eclipse is when the moon blocks out the sun over equestria. but it only lasts a few moments. I always wondered though, why does Celestia and Luna do that?"

"the eclipse?" Twilight pondered. "I'm not sure I never asked Celestia about it, but what I hear it's something the two like to do so both the sun and moon can be observed. Celestia did it after Nightmare Moon's Defeat but I think to her it may have been more of a personal thing then tradition."

Nyx yawned again she tried to stay awake but her small filly matablism conspired and betrayed her, as she finally fell asleep. Twilight gave the black coated alicorn filly a kiss on the horn before tucking her in bed before getting up. taking light steps to blow out the candle and trot down stairs. she set down the book she read to Nyx, the cover reading "the Knights of Harmony, Battle of the Crusader".

Twilight began to the kitchen, feeling the mood for a nice cup of tea, trotting past a book case her magic took hold of a book she picked out from a glance. she recognized the book by it's binding markings and colors. it was another book from the Canterlot Royal Archives. though this one was a copy.

After brewing and pouring her tea, Twilight returned to the main room, setting the book down on a reading table before opening it. but before she could lay eyes on the first word, a gust of wind blew open the window, blowing the book she was going to read closed, at the same time the Knights of Harmony book was blown open.

"BAH! what in the world!? Spike, Did you leave the window open?" Twilight however only received a snore upstairs in response. "Ugh, never mind." She looked at the window and with her magic closed it. she looked around the room and groaned. everything was blown on the floor. the letter she was going to send to Luna and Celestia, a box of Candies she received from pinkie Pie as a Hearth's Warming Gift, which was now dirty. and the book she was about to read lay with it's pages folded under it's own weight like an unfortunate victim of fate.

Before she could trot up and retrieve the book however, twilight saw the moon light shining down on a page from the Knight's of harmony. on the page was an illustration of Equestria, at least a now out of date map, as ponyville, Canterlot, and the major cities weren't illustrated. but one thing was recognizable.

"Hollow Shades?" Twilight read from the map, her own horn glowed as she brought out a current map of Equestria, sure enough, North East of Canterlot lay the small town, Hollow Shades. "the town is still there too."

Twilight looked at the old map illustration closer and saw a map marker. above the town what would be in the mountains six miles from the town was labeled Saddle Tor.

"the tomb of the Crusader of harmony! but... this story can't possibly be true!" Twilight muttered to herself. "but, many ponies said the same thing about Nightmare Moon as well." she looked over at the locked display case of the Elements of harmony. "aside from Joy, Each Knight had virtues that coincided with the Elements of Harmony."

However as she mulled it through her brain, Twilight closed the book. "oh Silly Twilight, just because the story of the Mare in the Moon was true doesn't mean an old tome from before Celestia's Rule would be true as well."

Twilight went to pick up the book from the floor and upon inspecting her tea which has gone a tad cold from the gust of wind, Closed the book on Knights of Harmony and set it aside on a shelf. she opened the other book and began to read.

"A long time ago, in the Magical land of equestria. before the rule of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, when the three tribes of---" Twilight stopped and looked at the book again, she closed the book and saw that somehow she mixed the two books up. "What in Celestia's mane is going on here!?"

Twilight huffed in annoyance and slammed the book shut, which would go against her respect and love for the tomes of knowledge and fiction. however the few minutes she's been in the library has quickly turned to frustration. she took the book she wanted to read from the bookshelf and carefully placed Knights of Harmony in it's spot. then double checked the title to ensure, Yes she was putting the correct book in it's place.

"Alright. let's try this again." She opened the book, it's title was the little dragon maid. a bit sultry for her tastes but it was a rare book and Princess Luna had asked her opinion of it.

As Twilight began to read the book on the Shelf began to slowly shift, as though invisible hooves where going to take the book and read it. the movement however did not go unnoticed as Twilight forcefully slammed her hoof on it forcing it back in it's proper place. with a snorting huff the now annoyed Twilight returned to reading. smiling as she finally got into the story.

but as she finally got to the second chapter, another gust of wind blew open the other window across the room blowing books and paper everywhere. one book in particular flew from it's place on the Shelf hitting twilight over the head with such force, Twilight yelped before slamming her head on the reading desk, she gave out a moan before loosing consciousness.

The next morning Twilight rose from the floor, her head throbbing. "Uuughh. what happened?"

"Good Morning, Twilight!" Called Spike from the next room. "I woke up earlier but you looked so peaceful sleeping I didn't have the heart to wake you. I'm making Pancakes, Blueberry!" Spike Licked his lips as his own pancake was glittered with gems and rubies. "And a little something for me."

Twilight groaned rubbing her head, she looked around expecting to find a mess but to her amazement she saw the room as it was before the mysterious gust of wind.

"Hey Spike, did you clean the library this morning?"

"No, the Library wasn't messy, looked the same when I went to bed." Spike replied, flipping a Pancake and setting the finished one on the plate "Not unless you finally found a spell that magically places every book, paper, and quill back in their proper spots."

Twilight's brows furrowed, not by the sudden cleanliness of the library room, but at the book sitting opened in front of her, laying on top of the book she was reading before being knocked out.

"Knights of Harmony...." Twilight muttered to herself.

"What was that?" Spike asked from the kitchen.

Twilight glared at the book, she never encounter a haunted book before, which in itself was silly. books couldn't be haunted, and while she could entertain a story about her library being haunted by an angry spirit, she didn't consider Haunted Books to be entertaining.

However before she could continue to allow her thoughts to continue her stomach growled with authority. it demanded today's contribution of pancakes and would not allow Failure on her part.

------

After breakfast, Nyx put on her Cutie Mark Crusader Cape, she also put on a new Headband, while she didn't like Disguises, this wasn't an enchanted headband. in fact it was a normal one Rarity bought for her. it was the same color as the original and the one she wore at Canterlot. Rarity simply felt Nyx should keep the hairstyle she made for her when Nyx was still trying to Disguise herself as Twilight's Cousin. however when she ran outside she found herself slipping and falling on a Ice covered path.

"Ow." Nyx whimpered, her eyes tearing up as she sobbed, at least for a moment. she wasn't the same 'Cry at the drop of the Hat' Nyx anymore. but when she slipped the fall hurt, REALLY bad. so much so she saw her leg was bruised.

Twilight galloped outside and also slipped, but while she wasn't an ice skater, she immediately gained control using magic to grab a hold of a branch from the tree library.

"WHAOH!" Twilight yelped, her hooves slipping, desperate to gain traction. "Nnngh, Gwah!" But like Nyx before her she too fell flat on her face.

"Twilight, are you okay?" Nyx whimpered as she tried to move towards her. "What's going on? We weren't supposed to get snow until next week. and this is ice. this makes no since.

at that point Spike came running out. "Twilight, Nyx what happened? What are you doing on the ground?" he hadn't yet stepped outside yet, but after a moment he saw what had happened.

Throughout ponyville the whole town was covered in ice, the roads, houses, even the clouds had ice on them. a block away from them a cross-eyed, grey coated, blond haired pegasus pony had her tongue stuck to one of the street poles, not an uncommon sight to see during winter or Hearth's Warming season. however what was noticeable was the pony herself was frozen in Ice. though one could still hear the poor pony whimper and cry, pleading for help.

"Twilight, what's going on?" Spike said as he used his fire to make a solid path and went to help them to their hooves.

"I don't know spike. the whole town is frozen solid." Twilight replied,

Spike then went up and upon reassuring her he'll be careful began to melt the ice off the Ice Frozen pegasus even helping to free her tongue. the cross-eyed mare smiled with a squee and waved thank yous to spike before flying back to her home.

"But I do know we should send a note to Princess Celestia And---"

"uhm... Twilight...." Nyx interrupted pointing her wing over to the capitol in the mountains.

Twilight's jaw dropped. Canterlot, the entire city was encased in ice, as though Shining Armor used his shielding spell and at the same time somepony's young unicorn daughter accidentally used an ice spell. the whole mountain then began to loose it's color. something that was way too familiar to a certain alicorn filly.

"T-Twilight...." Nyx stuttered. "in the story. didn't Equestria loose it's color when the evil Alicorn Queen ate the life force from the land?"

Twilight felt a chill run down her back.... though with how cold it was it was probably the wind as well. she then made another realization.

"Mom.... Dad..." Twilight shook.

Nyx gasped connecting the dots all too fast. "We Have to do something!"

Twilight shook her head, snapping back to reality. "Your right, Spike Send a letter, if Princess Celestia where able to make it out of the city then we have to make contact with her."

Spike pulled out a quill and parchment. "Ready!"

Twilight cleared her throat only for the ground under her to turn grey. "GYAH!"

"'Gyah.' uhm. twilight that's an odd way to start a letter to the princess." Spike said as he looked to her. "ugh. I feel... kinda... tired...."

At that point Nyx and Spike where grabbed by Twilight's telekinesis spell and pulled off the ground and back in the library. she stepped back as the edge of the door went cold and grey, only to stop at the welcome mat.

"Twilight, what's happening?" Spike asked, looking outside as the ground went grey, buildings and other artificial structures were thankfully safe as the ponies inside them looked outside in horror.

"It's hard to believe but I think this book may have been based on real events!" she said holding up Knights of harmony.

Spike looked at the book and raised a brow. "How is that even possible? this story took place before Celestia and Luna were even born..... uh.... created.... uh.... speaking of how did they come around? where they born? wheres their parents---"

"Focus Spike!" Twilight barked as she opened the book to the map. "I don't know how it's possible. but last night an odd wind kept blowing the book open to this map. the marker on it shows where Saddle Tor is supposed to be."

Nyx looked at the map illustration reading the map carefully. "Hollow Shades..... you don't think the book wants us to go there do you?"

"Yes!" Twilight replied quickly though smiled at Nyx. "Us as in My friends and I. your too young to go to Hollow Shades with me. It's a long journey and---"

Nyx furrowed her brows and snorted. "I may be a filly but I've been getting much better with my magic!" Nyx proceeded to demonstrate by lifting spike in the air, for a pony of her age it was quite a feat, though considering she was an alicorn it kinda made since. "And I been learning to defend myself thanks to uncle Shining Armor's help."

Twilight's ears perked. "He has?" she sighed. "I am going to need to have a few words with my brother then. he should have asked me if he could train you."

Nyx pouted. "he said you would have said no."

Twilight frowned. "he wasn't wrong." Twilight then began to gather the elements of Harmony and placed them in a saddle bag. she then took out her winter coat, boots, and scarf. "Alright I'm going to go get Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Spike keep the library safe and...." she looks at Nyx and sighs. "and Nyx, stay here and guard the library."

Spike was still being levitated by Nyx and salutes. though it was kinda silly as he was upside down.

"Yes Sir, Ma'am Sir!" Spike barked.

With that Twilight opened the door and set out for her friends, using a heating spell on her boots to melt the ice to let her pass beyond the path spike melted with his fire.

"uhm.... can you put me down now, Nyx?"

"OH!" Nyx looked at her dragon Brother, and set him down gently, rotating him so he lands on his feet. "sorry."

"It's okay. though I do agree your way better then you were with your magic."

"Aww thank's spike!"

"So.... you want to eat Twilight's Pancake for leaving you at the library?"

Nyx grew a mischievous grin. one way or another she will have her revenge for missing out on an adventure, and soon all of twilight's pancakes will belong to her.

A Frozen Town

It has been an hour since Twilight left the Library, first on her list was pinkie Pie but to her horror she found Sugar Cube Corner frozen in ice, and when she looked inside she saw Pinkie Pie, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and their twin foals frozen and without color. she then went on to Courasel Boutique to find Rarity. but like Sugar Cube Corner, the Boutique was also encased in ice, and Rarity forever frozen in time making a gown for the next Galloping Gala. her colors were also gone from her body. Twilight made her way to Fluttershy's Cottage only to see her shy pegasus friend endure the same fate, but with a twist as Discord was also in the same shape. Twilight didn't know which was horrifying, seeing her friend in such a shape or the fact that Discord, the spirit god of chaos was also affected, though the look of horror on his face made her realize he knew what was happening and in mid teleportation froze. it's not a state she'd like to see herself in if she tried to teleport while on the now vampiric grounds of Ponyville.

Making her way to Sweet Apple Farms, Twilight kept her eyes in the sky for Rainbow Dash, hoping the same effects on the clouds. perhaps like with the houses in town, the sky was safe as well. the clouds didn't look to be affected by the loss of color and the ice couldn't stick to the clouds.

As she turned the next curve in the road she saw a pony on the ground, it looked like they were waiting for her. upon getting closer Twilight recognized the pony as a Pegasus. she could never forget her build and rainbow mane.

"Rainbow Dash! am I glad to see----" Twilight's words died as the cloud above cleared showing Rainbow Dash frozen like the others, her rainbow mane like the rest of her slowly loosing it's colors. "No.... Oh Rainbow.... not you too! Please, let there be a way for AJ to be alright!"

Immediately Twilight bolted for the farm, the spell she put on her boots where only effective if she walked, and the ice began to grab at her trying to hold her still for it to take it's life eating affects on her as well.

But Twilight refused to be stopped, time was of the essence, Applejack always began work early in the morning. but hopefully with the cold and ice she'd stayed inside to start a fire, of course! Applejack was a farm pony, but most of all, a pony who knew what to do when the cold weather hits. first priority would be to keep the house warm, after all Applejack's water came from an underground well, theres no way they'd let the water pipes freeze!

While these thoughts ran through her head Twilight nearly skidded to a stop. she saw Applejack's house and saw the house aglow with candles and chimney puffing smoke, pure signs of a fireplace in use. Twilight gave a cheer, if Applejack was unaffected, then maybe they could use some spell to return the others to normal. granted Applejack wasn't a pony of Magic, but having her there to help in any way was better then nopony at all.

Twilight slowed to a canter, going up to the door and knocked on it. at first there was no answer, but the sound of hooves inside told her somepony was still alive. she knocked again and again. eventually started to call out Applejack's name. but still no answer.

"Hello! Come on guy's it's me Twilight, please open up!"

Then twilight heard a window open as she looked up she saw three very scared fillies, Applebloom looked to have been crying. that alone told Twilight all she needed to know. she reached above the door to a potted plant and retrieved an extra key, Applejack had showed it to her in case of emergency. this counted as one. as she opened the door, Twilight saw the sight of Applejack in mid gallop to the stairs her eyes looking fearfully at the ground. and like all the others encased in Ice as her rear hoof didn't clear it in time. the Ice however refused to move towards the stairs as though the staircase offended it. at the top twilight saw Granny Smith and big Macintosh.

"Please tell me your actually---"

"Oh we're alright youngin...." Granny said back as she looked over to her grand daughter. "Just wish i could say the same for Applejack."

"Are the girls alright?" Twilight asked as she went up the stairs, she realized why the ice didn't come up the stairs. the upstairs had a secondary fireplace. they couldn't get the first one going strong enough in time.

"They're fine. Applebloom's upset. but they'll survive. they don't lookit, but them's some tough fillies." Granny said as she glanced back at the Cutie Mark Crusaders in Applebloom's bedroom. "what 'bout the rest of yer friends?"

Twilight's ears wilted and she shook her head. this was all that Granny Smith needed to know as she hugged her.

"Hey Now, We ain't beat yet." Granny said holding up Twilight's Chin. "Ya'lls Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's Student, and hero in these parts!"

"Yeah because My friend's were with me each step of the way. this.... this isn't right." Twilight said motioning out the window to the whole of now dead grey ponyville. "what could do this? it got everypony. my friends, the princesses, my family..."

"What about Nyx?" Granny asked. "Fer all we know she did this!"

Twilight sighed, she was used to Granny's feelings towards Nyx for a while. but now she was at her wits end. she promptly ignore the elderly mare and looked north east, towards where Hollow Shades would be.

"Nyx had nothing to do with this.... in fact." Twilight swallowed not wanting to say what she was about to, but ultimately she knew it was the only way. "in fact, Nyx and I are going to Hollow Shades, I believe the cause and maybe the solution is there."

"Hollow Shades? Now what in Celestia's Great Mane would be there to fix this mess?" Granny asked, her brow arching.

Twilight sighed, already taking mental lists of what she would need for the trip. "there's a story a long time ago of an evil Queen, and a Champion who defeated her. if I'm correct, the Mountain north of Hollow Shades sits a tomb called Saddle Tor. the tomb will have the Crusader of Harmony's Armor and weapons there." Twilight explained as she gave Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, and the three Cutie Mark Crusader's each enchanted boots to allow them to walk freely over the ice.

Big Macintosh looked at the enchanted pink boots with baloons on them. clearly they were intended for Twilight's friends. but now they needed them more then they did now. "Well if yer goin we should give ya some supplies, right granny?"

Granny nodded putting the boots intended for Rainbow Dash on and made her way down stairs. "Darn Tootin! we even got some pies and other food we can supply ya, should last ya a while."

Big Mac and Granny got to work in the kitchen packing up food in containers and baggies within reason. Twilight however came into Applebloom's room.

Applebloom looked up at Twilight. "Yer gonna stop this ain'tcha twilight?"

Twilight smirked, her determination growing more by the minute as she looked at the three fillies. "You bet! don't worry I'm going to bring our friends back! the Whole town, Even!"

The three fillies smiled, twilight wasn't sure if she could do it all by her self, but she knew she had to try. her friends may not be able to help. but it's their friendship that made her stronger, and right now they needed her.

"Alright youngin, here's all we could afford to give ya, now it ain't much I know but----"

Twilight put a hoof on Granny's shoulder. "I'll make it last, don't worry. and thank you."

Granny smiled then growled. "Now, GO MAKE THE SORRY SON OF A HYDRA WISH THEY WERE NEVER BORN!"

Everypony gave out a cheer as twilight set off. she had a new mission, she couldn't wait to know if Celestia and Luna were alright or if they too suffered the same fate. she knew what they'd want her to do anyways. find the root of this problem and put an end to it. and the only lead was the information in an ancient story book, and the only reason she made the connection was because like in the book the queen fed on the life force of equestria, and in doing so, everything lost it's color and became petrified in ice. just like ponyville and just like canterlot is now. The only reason going to Hollow Shades made since is how weird last night was. the fact the book insisted to be kept on the map. was some spirit at work? was the book enchanted? Was Luna perhaps manipulating her dreams to send a message? though Luna was more direct in these situations, unless something happened that she couldn't? perhaps Canterlot was the first to freeze over?

Upon returning to the Library she saw Nyx and Spike eating Pancakes. she has already noticed hers being eaten by a little black Alicorn with a Mischievous smile on her muzzle (with syrup!).

"Hey twilight....where is everypony---- Oh...." Spike realized the moment she saw Twilight's face. "R-Rarity too?"

"I'm afraid so, I'm sorry spike."

"NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!" Spike Yelled causing Nyx to hold her ears closed and wince. "Don't worry my fair Rarity! I will once again save you!" he said taking out a spatula and pot as a sword and helmet. "Alright, Let me at the hooligans who did this!"

Nyx blinked, shaking her head trying to get the ringing out of her ear. Twilight trotted up and started taking supplies, a Map, Water, more food, and Lockpicks. she never knew why but upon reading many adventure books, having Lockpicks on hoof was always a necessity when exploring. often because tombs, ruins, and other places often had locked rooms they had to get to.

"Actually spike, I'm going to need you here in Ponyville." Twilight said as she charged up her magic and shot a spell at the library ceiling, outside the ice around the Golden Oaks Library began to receded like the tree itself was a sin. the ice melted a few blocks but stopped short of sugar cube corner.

Spike gave out a whistle and looked back at twilight. "but why? don't you want me with you to Hollow Shades? I mean I know you want me to watch Nyx, but it don't feel right letting you go without a Companion? I mean haven't you ever played an RPG? Loners always get killed on Level One!"

Twilight sighed and looked at Nyx her horn glowed as she gave the filly Alicorn her own coat, scarf, and enchanted boots. "Actually, I need Nyx to go with me. because I want you to bring as many ponies who aren't frozen inside the library."

"But, You said it was too dangerous?" Nyx said a bit confused but at the same time putting on the winter-wear.

"It Is, but I'm gonna need help, and alot of the ponies in town I don't think I can trust if I left her here with you." Twilight said as she packed up Nyx's Saddlebags with food and water bottles. "and.... well you said you've been training?"

Nyx nodded with a smile. "Uncle Shining Armor said I need to train my skills, he saw my cutie mark and said if I was going protect ponies I should learn to defend myself and others. he says I'm really good with a sword and shield. heh the guards laughed when I poked him in the flank during one of our training matches."

At that Twilight giggled. "Well serves him right for going behind my back. but I hope he's right about that."

"Well I wish you two luck." Spike said as he started heading out. "don't worry I'll make sure everypony is safe, we have plenty of books. and we went shopping not long ago so we should have plenty of food then the stuff you took."

Twilight smiled. "Thank you spike. well come on Nyx. it's time we got going. the sooner we start the more distance we'll make."

Nyx nodded and followed close behind. "Think the trains still work though? I looked at the map. Hollow Shades is a long ways, how are we going to get there in one day?"

As they continued talking, the two ponies have made it to the entrance of ponyville, deciding to follow the train tracks as a short rout. plus it'll let them bypass the Everfree Forest.

"I'm afraid this journey will take longer then a day, Nyx. I had to pack our camping equipment, several lanterns, oil. and a lot of food. honestly I don't know if it'll last." already the worry in twilight began to grow in her voice.

Nyx continued walking before snorting and smiling. "Then let the trails lead where they may! we shall follow, our journey to Hollow Shades will be a grand Adventure, OH! and after, we can tell Grandma and she can write it into a story! maybe add some romance bits in it too. she did say you need to meet a nice stallion. maybe she'll write you one?"

Twilight blushed and chuckled. "uuuhhh. M-Maybe."

Nyx giggled, followed by Twilight as the two continued on their way, the Journey to Hollow Shades!

Crazy Train of Doom

It was several hours since Twilight and Nyx left Ponyville, the town now encased of ice and dying as some ancient force fed upon Equestria's Life Force. but now the sun began to drift to the horizon, only to stick in place. to Twilight, it was evident Celestia and Luna shared the same fate as Ponyville. it was then however Nyx looked more and more saddened. To her, this was almost a bad case of old memories returning. when she was nightmare moon and her very short reign as queen was over and she saved Ponyville from the monsters of Everfree.

"You okay, Nyx?" Twilight asked, though she kinda knew the answer.

"Uhm. just a bad case of Deje-vu." Nyx said, though it was almost a whisper.

Twilight however did hear it and smiled giving Nyx a playful nudge. causing the Alicorn filly the squeal and chase after her mother. as the two played they didn't notice the rails on the track to start to vibrate softly, but eventually it became noticeable.

Nyx giggled before stopping to look at the rails. "hey, what's with the tracks?"

Twilight also looked at them, she stared at them for the longest time before her ears swiveled in front of them, looking up she saw a train cast in ice with it's crew desperately trying to stop the engine.

"HELP! SAVE US!"

"GET OFF THE TRACKS! MOVE!"

"HELP!"

the Conductor, Engineer, and coal worker's voices snapped the two into action, Nyx jumped off the tracks as twilight did the same as the train went screaming by them.

"We Have to do something!" Nyx cried. "they'll be killed!"

Twilight snorted and her horn began to glow, wrapping the train in her aura of purple magic and began to pull, despite the attempts of the crew on board the train seemed possessed to keep going at full speed, Twilight however wrapped her tail around a petrified tree, like an anchor as she tried to pull the tree to stop.

"NNNGH! it's not slowing down!" Twilight strained.

Nyx however galloped up to the train. "No, Twilight don't stop it, just slow it down for them to get off." she said as she gave the three ponies on board boots. "Put these on! they're enchanted and will protect you from the ice!"

"Thanks Kid!" the Engineer cried out as he handed the boots to his two co-Workers. once the train slowed it's speed enough the three ponies hopped off, each cheering as the train was released by Twilight's magic, the engine like a toy car that had it's spring wound up taught was released in a blur, and as it went around a curve it few off the reals into a canyon, the site was fantastic as it was frightening, as it hit the ground below and exploded in a huge fireball.

The Coal worker whistled at the site. "That could have been us!" he was a pony covered in black coal dust, though his coat was grey with a shovel and three bits of coal in it's blade. "You girls saved our lives!"

The engineer, a Pony with olive coat with a wrench and can of oil for his cutie mark nodded. "yes, thank you so much!"

"What happened? How did your train get like that?" Twilight asked. hugging Nyx.

The Conductor trotted up, he wore usual train conductor garment, he had an orange coat, blond mane, and a train for a cutie mark... if he had an apple instead he'd look like a gender swap Applejack.

"We were doing a cargo haul from Manehattan last night, but by morning our destination, Canterlot was covered in ice. we tried to hail them with the usual train whistles to switch the train tracks so we can get to the city, but nopony came. when we went by we saw why." the Conductor looked solemn shaking his head.

"the whole city. frozen! Nopony was moving. we even saw the Princesses" The Coal Worker said, fear trembling in his voice.

"Really? what happened to them!?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"it ain't good, ma'am..... they were.... Frozen. like the others. but by the looks of it they were going to take a train. where I don't know. looked like they were afraid to fly though." the Conductor said. "from the looks of it, the Pegasi weren't safe either from this stuff." he said kicking the ice like somepony who insulted his mother, and she was a nice mare too! "at any rate, whatever's in this ice, got on the engine, and it started to speed up. we been on that deathtrap all day!"

"We're in your debt, if there's anything we can do to help you let us know." the Engineer said.

"Well, we could use help getting to Hollow Shades. we think the problem may be there. uhm. if it's not to much to ask that is?" Nyx asked.

The three stallions looked at each other, already they didn't like the request, but they owed to help them out.

"Well there's a Airship docked at Canterlot. You'll need to go there to get it though and you saw what this stuff did to our train. but I bet if you can use your spell on that airship you might be able to control it. it's built to have a skeleton crew control it. I think you and your filly here can fly it!" the Engineer said.

the coal worker smiled and gave Nyx some bits. "here kid. it's not much for the boots, but I wouldn't feel right taking these from you. it's from all of us."

Nyx smiled. "thank you sirs!"

The Conductor then gave Twilight a key. "At the train station there's a locker, 38-B. it's my locker. your free to whatever's inside. I mostly keep food in there. but you may need it more then I do."

"that is very kind, thank you." Twilight smiled stashing the key away.

Nyx then trotted up beside them. "Ponyville isn't far from here. if you get to town, there's a big library tree, the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight used a spell to keep the ice back and you can stay there until this whole thing blows over."

The stallions nodded and began their way. "thanks again kid, your a lifesaver. you might have stepped in it as nightmare moon, but I'm glad I got to meet ya, your alright!"

Watching the three stallions make their way back to ponyville Nyx beamed. if any of those three hated her as Nightmare Moon, her actions and saving their lives made them realize she was a good pony.

"let's go Tw-Mom. maybe we can save more ponies?"

the two ponies once again began their walk on the tracks. this time their sights set on Canterlot.

Twilight smiled, and an idea dawned on her. "Your right, and maybe we can free the princesses. or at least one of them!"

Nyx bounced, slowing her decent with a flutter of her wings. "YEAH! I mean their Princesses right? Alicorns HAVE to take time to drain. uhm. like a battery!"

Twilight mulled this over, in a single hour the ice managed to drain the life force from her friends and any other unfortunate ponies exposed to the ice. yet when Nyx was on it, it had a slow if unnoticeable subtle effect on her. "You know, I think your right! think about it, when you went outside did you feel the ice on you?"

Nyx thought for a moment. "I think your right. I know Luna said I was young and she took away a lot of my powers. but, Alicorns are still powerful in their own right? I mean I can lift spike pretty good now. not as much as before. but... maybe it's because I have my own inherent Alicorn magic?"

Twilight thought this over, was Celestia the same way when she was that age? thinking about it, it had to have been the case. even twilight herself wasn't the best at magic when she began. but now....

"I think your right. then let's hurry! we can rest at Canterlot, but the faster we get there the sooner we can act if Celestia and Luna can be freed!"

The two ponies wasted no more words and broke into a gallop. Nyx despite her small sized used her wings to half gallop half glide, making herself lighter and if not faster then before. her encounter with Column at the Hearth's Warming Eve play taught her to use her abilities as much as possible when the situation called it. training from Shining Armor helped as well, having pegasi guards teach her to use her wings not just to fly but to gallop as well, decreasing one's weight makes all the difference. Plus it was funny when he made Nyx think she was upset that he thought she was fat. All in good fun of course.

------

It wasn't long until they reached the large mountain and entered the train tunnels feeding into the mountain's base. as they went inside, it was like something from H.R. Gallop's paintings, the walls were like they were in the rib cage of some creature. the train tracks were covered in ice. eventually they found the train track switch.

"wow it's completely locked in place." Twilight said.

"I think we should try and switch it. if Canterlot's Magical Train Safety Systems are still functional, any train that comes through like the one we saved those ponies from should be caught so everyone on board can get off." Nyx said looking it over and already using her magic to move the now frozen switch.

"Your right---" Twilight then paused, her ears swiveling. as though on cue another train is heard, the ponies on it also crying for help.

"TWILIGHT! HELP!" Nyx strained, trying to pull it both with magic and her own physical force. though being so tiny and small doesn't help.

Twilight snapped to attention and also began to pull both physically and magically on the train track switch, to their amazement the ice began to crack and the tracks began to move.

"It's working!" Nyx yelled. "Again!"

"Alright, One, Two, THREE!" Twilight yelled.

the switch only budged an inch, now they could see the train engine, the ponies on board can see them trying to pull the switch.

"HURRY, PLEASE!" one of the engineers yelled.

"COME ON! PULL!" the Mare conductor chanted.

"It's Not Budging!" Nyx strained. now flapping her wings, hoping in some way they'd grant the momentum she needed.

Twilight snorted, jumped in front of the track switch and gave it her best applejack buck she could.

her hooves hit the track switch, and unfortunately Nyx as well smashing her hoof as she yelped and backed away, the buck however freed the ice off the mechanism and turned the switch all the way back. the tracks then snapped to the next rail as the runaway engine turned, Twilight used her magic to slow it down. the ponies on board cheered as Canterlot's emergency magical systems activated and locked the wheels of the engine, putting out the fire and stopping the train completely. as the ponies on board got off the train is moved by the emergency system off the tracks so the next train wouldn't crash into it.

After the Second train crew were given boots and thanks, Nyx directed them to Ponyville, which the crew immediately went on their way.

"Ponyville may be far, but until we know the situation for canterlot, I'd rather we send them someplace that has a warm enchanted tree." Twilight said. "oh, Nyx, did I hurt your hoof? I'm sorry!"

Nyx held her hoof up in a limp and whimpered. "I-It's okay. the situation was dyer, and I don't think we would have got the switch pulled in time if you hadn't."

Twilight looked at it, indeed it wasn't bad. given a few moments rest Nyx will be fine. but in this cold....

"Alright when we get to canterlot we'll rest at the train station. I'm not risking my daughter's hoof getting infected on our way to Hollow Shades."

Nyx looked at her hurt hoof. "No disagreements there, and I'm getting hungry."

Twilight's stomach growled too. "same. come on. the sooner we get to the train station the sooner we can eat and rest!"

It took til midnight to reach the train station, at least it should be midnight by Twilight's watch. but with the sun and moon locked in place, it was hard to tell anymore. luckily her watch was made to include AM and PM to switch at appropriate times. once they arrived at the train station they saw everypony was frozen in place. color drained from them as though everyone was monochrome.

Nyx took a seat at the waiting area. quickly using an oil lantern to make both light and heat since they couldn't make a fire inside. as she lay down to relax, Twilight began putting salve on her bruised hoof.

"D-Do you think they can see us?" Nyx asked. looking at a pony in mid trot looking at his watch. where was he going to? was he on time? was he late? was he meeting his special somepony? was he going to work?

"I don't know, Nyx. I'm not sure if I'd want them to be. frozen in place like that. not able to move but.... aware. it's got to be scary for them." Twilight said, wrapping Nyx's Hoof with a bandage she got from the train station emergency kit, no point on dipping into their own supplies already.

"Did you find Celestia and Luna?"

Twilight shook her head. "Let me tend to you first."

Moments later Nyx had her hoof wrapped up in a field dressing. already the affects of the Antibiotic cream taking affect. "you should look for them now. I'm gonna stay here and eat if that's okay?"

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Not too much though. we gotta make it last."

Nyx nodded and dug into her saddlebags, digging out some tea and sandwiches. setting two down for twilight for when she returned.

As she looked around the train station, Twilight moved around the many frozen ponies. already Nyx's words filling her head. Where they still Alive? Can they see her? if so, what were they thinking?

Immediately her train of thought crashed and burned like the train that flew off the cliff. there before her stood Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Celestia, forever frozen in mid Canter, looking to be giving orders to her royal guards as Princess Luna just touched down from flying, their eyes locked on each other..... they knew.

"C-Celestia!" Twilight galloped to her mentor and inspected them. "Hmmm there's got to be a way to free you...."

Despite her fatigue, Twilight took a good look at the two frozen Princesses. Upon inspection, it seemed her theory was right, Luna and Celestia did still have their colors, though at their hooves their legs were beginning to turn grey.

"twilmph...."

Twilight's ears perked, swiveling towards Celestia. then she heard it again.

"twilighmph!"

her ears then swiveled to Luna, immediately Twilight's blood went cold as ice. they COULD see, THEY COULD SEE HER! But maybe hear her too!

"P-Princess Luna!" Twilight tried her best to calm herself. "I'm gonna try to unfreeze you but I don't know if it'll work. and I am so tired.... I can only do it once."

"Plmph Trymph" came from Luna's frozen form.

Twilight said nothing more and began to charge her spell, as much as she wanted Celestia's help first, it seemed Luna was less affected as her sister. casting a heating spell around the lunar princess, Twilight began to melt the ice and thaw Luna out, and as the ice melted, Luna took a gasp and fell over, her legs flailing on the slick ice. she yelped and squawked like a new born foal trying hard to get her bearing. however before Luna could get up and congratulate Twilight, the purple Unicorn lost consciousness.

Royal Awakening

Twilight awakened to the sun shinning in her face, as she fluttered her eyes she saw the ice covered floor bordering the warmth that surrounded her. as she looked up she saw a sight she had prayed was just a nightmare she had. but as she tried to wink what dream may still lingered in her mind it became harsh reality. it was no nightmare.

Twilight slowly got up, she looked around taking in her surroundings, they were still in the train station, but it was morning now. the sun was where it was supposed to be at that time. Twilight was groggy, her side was sore and hooves were freezing. she's been undressed from her winter gear and was now shivering from the cold.

"Oh your awake."

Twilight looked up and saw, sitting in a waiting bench was Nyx, with a sandwich on a plate and a cup of hot tea, she levitated it towards Luna, laying next to the lantern, she was shivering and from the looks of it, 'Borrowed' Twilight's winter gear.

"I'm sorry we didn't have anything in your size, Princess Luna." Nyx said passing the tea to Luna.

Luna sniffed the tea, though she immediately drank greedily, it was obvious whatever effect the ice had, if the pony was freed abruptly they would be dehydrated, hungry, and cold.

Luna shuttered in response, it didn't feel that cold, but to her it felt below zero. "t-t-t-t-thank Y-y-y-you, I-i-i-it's q-q-quite Alright-t-t-t."

Twilight slowly got up and sat down near the lanterns, unlike firefly lanterns, these use oil and fire, but they also keep a pony warm at night if used correctly especially with the correct enchantments.

after a few minutes, Luna finally was able to stop shivering, she cleared her throat a bit as she poured more tea. Twilight was about to protest, they needed to conserve their food. but Princess Luna was very Dehydrated, and she needed it more at the moment.

"Princess Luna, Did you raise the sun?"

Luna only nodded as she sipped the tea, though she still drank quite a bit at a time. proper etiquette was taking back seat to survival and the need to warm up.

"I had to. if I didn't Equestria would freeze." Luna said as she took another drink. "I am sorry you must be needed all this food and here I am gorging myself."

Nyx pushed the bag of food to Luna. "No it's alright. Twilight and I are on our way to Hollow Shades to find the Tomb Saddle Tor. we think whatever's causing this might be there, or at least some way to stop it."

"then you do need the food." Luna said about to put the sandwich she was about to eat down.

Twilight however levitated it back up to her. "it's fine, Princess. your the first pony we were able to free from the ice successfully, and you look like you need it. so please eat."

Luna said nothing and ate and drank as much as she could without getting sick. Twilight fixed herself her own sandwich and tea, but also took food stocks. in a way, Luna was right, they needed the food. but they were also in canterlot. they can restock here.

"Saddle Tor, you are going to the tomb of the Knights of Harmony?" Luna asked. nibbling on a sandwich.

Nyx nodded. "it's the only lead we've got."

"Then you are on the correct path." Luna began, taking another sandwich, feeling regret as she dwindled what food Twilight and Nyx, could be the only hope Equestria, had. "this morning.... No.... yesterday morning." Luna was trying to set her mind straight on the time frame, eventually straightening herself out. "my sister and I noticed the ice on the ground, we saw it start to encase Canterlot. but it's when the ground and ponies began to freeze over and loose color that we knew."

"Queen Ryugu was returning." Twilight finished. "by why now? don't equestia's bad guys like to wait a thousand years before coming back? Queen Ryugu was the first Alicorn to rule. that was WAY longer then that."

Luna set down the tea cup and handed it back to Nyx, to the filly's surprise it was completely empty not even a drop. immediately she began to brew more with no complaints to stop from anypony.

"it is true," Luna Began. "but Ryugu has been locked in a Pocket Dimension by magic and a pony soul. it is not easy to break such a seal. but to do so takes time, energy. but something must have aroused her to begin to be able to feed on Equestria again."

"I've studied spells and spell locks that used fractions of a Pony's Soul. only way to undo or break them is with help from another outside the realm she's in." Twilight theorized, who would do this, and Why? what would they possibly gain by killing Equestria itself?

"Princess Luna, is there a possibility you can free Princess Celestia?" Nyx asked. fidgeting her hooves, her bruised hoof now fully healed and free of the bandage.

"I think I can. I'm not One Hundred Percent, but I am certain I can. though I fear she may need more warmth and food then I did." Luna said, already she knew it be way more then the two had. "But I promise you will be restocked from the royal pantry itself!"

Nyx stick her tongue out. "blech, Please. no fancy food!"

Luna giggled. "do not worry little Nyx." she leaned over to her and whispered. "I don't care much for the stuff either, nore does my sister. besides. we got Twinkies!"

"YEEESS!" Nyx shouted happily. "Twinkies are awesome!"

Twilight giggled and had her own sandwich and tea. "uhm, Princess. I could probably enchant your royal attire to ward off the ice for you?"

At that moment Luna looked at herself, realizing she robbed the unicorn's winter gear, as cute as she looked with small winter booties, winter saddle, and purple scarf, she immediately blushed and returned the stolen items.

"I beg your apologies, it was no way for me to act."

Twilight giggled and put her gear on, feeling the snuggly warmth of her boots, oddly enough she and Luna had the same hoof size.... that or Luna shrank recently.

"It's quite alright, Princess Luna. you were freezing." Twilight said as she finished her sandwiches and tea.

returning to where Celestia was, Luna looked over her sister. the grey has moved up her legs and were now at her chest. life beginning to leave her eyes, Luna's ears wilted as her horn began to glow.

"she's so far gone now." Luna's eyes began to tear. "but not beyond hope!" Luna began to scowl as her horn glowed brighter. "I'll need your assistance to help Celestia warm up immediately."

Nyx looked at Celestia then tapped her chin with her booties covered hoof. "Wait, she's like a battery right now. if we take her out now the cold will kill her!"

"Nyx is right!" Luna said. "please get all the blankets, lanterns, and any other warmth you can find!"

Twilight then gave Nyx the key the conductor pony gave her. "here go to the locker room and see if maybe something else is in there too."

Without a word Nyx galloped off, once again using her wings as leverage to make herself lighter on her hooves. she returned with every blanket, lantern, and even food she could carry in a trip. then she went to the locker room and searched for the locker number engraved on the key.

"38-B, 38-B.... uhm..."

she looked around before reaching near the end, the filly chirped as she found the locker. "38-B! found you! PLEASE have something inside!"

She inserted and turned the key, making the locker happily open what secrets it held. inside lay a thermos for hot cocoa, a heat lamp, some noodles, 300 bits, and a hunting Knife, no doubt the train staff weren't allowed to carry a weapon while doing work, and the knife looked to be a present for somepony, his colt maybe? he did however say to help themselves to it, and a Hunting Knife may come in handy. Nyx went up to a Desk and took a quill and parchment, quickly writing a letter.

"Dear, Mr. Conductor pony

thank you for letting us use your stuff. we are going to free Princess Celestia with Luna's help, We're also taking the Hunting Knife, I understand if you'd get mad, but I can't help but feel we'll need it. I will return it to you when we're done, and if anything should happen to it, I'll buy you a new one. And we may need the bits for food and supplies too, but I'll try and pay you back.

Sincerely,

Nyx and Twilight Sparkle."

Finishing the Parchment, Nyx rolled it into a scroll and set it inside the locker. after taking everything inside she left the key hanging from the side before gliding back to the platform.

"I found a space heater!"

Luna smiled. "WELL DONE, NYX! please turn it on and we'll have Celestia freed immediately!"

------

Like Luna before her, Celestia sprawled and flailed as she fell on the floor of the Train Station. the princess of the sun shivered and looked around, the Space Heater worked amazingly well, they took their shelter once again in the waiting area of the station, Celestia shivering as she drank and ate. though either due to how close to death or due to her size, Celestia ate more ravenously. no sandwich or pie survived.

Nyx opened the bags filled with the stuff she got from the conductor's locker and passed Celestia the thermas. "Here. it's Hot cocoa. the thermos is enchanted so it's always----"

Celestia immediately snatched the thermos and chugged the contents down. ignoring the searing heat of the cocoa inside. after a couple more sandwiches, Celestia slowed down, panting from the heat and realizing her behavior.

"Warm." Nyx finished.

"Oh, I'm sorry Nyx. please. I did not mean to let myself go like that." Celestia said, her ears wilting. "I couldn't control myself...."

Twilight smiled and offered another sandwich, the last sandwich. "it's okay Princess Celestia. you were so far gone. you were almost all grey. from what we learned of Princess Luna, the effects of being so abruptly freed like that made you weak, dehydrated, and basic survival instincts took control."

Celestia took the sandwich, though she ate more normally she was not one bit filled up. "Great, now I'm going to loose every bit of success I had not gaining weight this year."

Luna stifled a giggle and rolled her eyes. "at any rate. Twilight and Nyx here are on a journey to Saddle Tor."

Celestia paused in mid bite of her sandwich, darting glances at the two. "So it is as we feared, Ryugu is back."

Luna nodded in agreement. "And since you and I have quickly dwindled their food stores, we'll need to resupply them."

Celestia smiled. "Of course. the Royal Pantry should have plenty of food. though may I ask what is wrong with the food in the shops?"

Nyx pulled out what was once a fresh meal of hayburgers, hayfries, and onion rings. all of which look rotted. "it's rotted. anything outside or from the other shops covered in ice rots in a day."

"it's a good thing the pantry was enchanted for such a crises." Luna stated.

Taking one final gulp of the hot cocoa Celestia got up and tested her magic, like Luna she wasn't at full power but that won't stop her.

"Uhm.... can we at least get some more hot cocoa while we're there?" Nyx asked as she looked at the empty thermos, only to jump by Celestia's loud belch. "EEK!"

Luna fell back and laughed, despite the dire situation, the site of Celestia belching like a drunkard on Cocoa was enough to lighten the mood.

------

Upon Entering the royal pantry they find the room is quite warm with refrigerators and food stored everywhere the enchantment on the room preventing the ice from taking over the entire room.

"I see, it is unfortunate your friends fell victim to this as well." Celestia said as she began to make new meals for her student and Nyx after she and Luna's feeding frenzy. "are you sure you were not able to free them?"

Twilight shook her head, helping make some sandwiches. "I didn't try. they were all grey and... I don't know what would happen if I freed them in that state. for you and Luna you still had your colors. but look at what happened to you when we did free you?"

Celestia nodded. "You made the right choice. if they were that far gone, freeing them would have killed them outright."

"So, Princess Celestia, what do you know about the Knights of Harmony?" Nyx asked, helping Luna make hot cocoa, though smacking Celestia's nose away whenever she playfully tried to steal a sip.

"hehe, well from what I understand it was no Myth, when Luna and I were your age we went to Saddle Tor.... it was beautiful then even for a tomb. but it had it's dangers too." Celestia said mixing some new brew of tea and filling their saddlebags with teabags and some boxes of Twinkies.

"What kind of dangers?" Twilight asked slowly and cautiously as though a dangerous pack hunting carnivore with vicious claws just entered the kitchen.

"Alas, I cannot say," Celestia sighed as she sneaked a Chocolate bar to nibble on. "all I can say is there will be a test for you. but if you find the armor, take care when you put it on. the effects are immediate."

"E-Effects?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, all magical items have affect abilities. from what my sister and I learned the effects are cosmetic, but drastic." Luna said as she placed more healthy foods like apples, carrots, and some fresh sandwiches in the saddlebags, even getting some new bags for them.

"This is a lot of stuff." Nyx noted looking at all the food and other new supplies they had. "makes me wish we had magic pockets and bags. 'Need to carry a gigantic sword around equestria? stick it in your magic pocket!' 'or maybe you need to carry a device bigger then your average pony? In the Magic bag it goes!'"

Twilight Giggled. "Well we were told there is an airship we could take."

Celestia's ears perked. "The Elegance?"

"Oh, You know of it?" Twilight asked tilting her head.

Celestia smiled. "of course, she's Docked near the Palace. you have my authority to take command of her if you like."

"thank you Princess!" Twilight Chirped.

"Soooo....." Nyx tapped her hooves together. "Are you gonna come with us?"

"No Child, we are needed here to defend Canterlot in case of any more threats. Ryugu may have been powerful, but she still had an army, please keep that in mind, Twilight Sparkle. what you face is not the trials of Nightmare Moon, Discord, or King Sombra. this enemy will lash out, violently." Luna said setting the now hefty bag of food down to the floor.

"H-How bad is she?" Twilight asked slowly. her ears twitching from the horrors stirring in her brain.

"she was dangerous not just for her ability to drain a pony of their life force, but also of her sheer strength. Twilight, you will need to fight her." Celestia said. her horn glowing as they seem to be conjuring something.

"B-But I'm not a fighter!" Twilight stammered.

"Twilight, You do remember I tought you self defense, and offensive spells didn't I?" Celestia said with a reassuring hug. "never sell yourself short. even in training you knew how to handle yourself."

Twilight sighed.

"Alright this is all we can spare. we do not know if the other ponies of the city will have the same affect as we did when returning to normal." Luna said lifting the bags and escorting them to the Elegance.

At that point, the magic Celestia was charging finally dispersed, Twilight found herself adorn in light Armor, Silver with gold and ruby lining. with her cutie mark on the chest shield, chain mail between the boots and gauntlets, and a helmet no different from royal guards but smaller and made for a mare. on her side a silver short sword is sheathed with a purple hilt and indigo lining for the blade.

"Princess?"

"You'll encounter many dangers twilight. I don't want you going against them without some kind of protection. spells won't be enough against an enemy like this." Celestia said as she helped load the Elegance with the supplies.

The Elegance was a small airship, it used turbine fans and air jets for propulsion and ascension. being shaped like a flat pill with a arrow shaped bow, and stern. it's white and gold plating made it a site to see with dragon motifs painted on her.

"Oh it's beautiful." Nyx said before she too is cast in armor, hers however is deep dark blue with purple lining details. it was like Twilight's but had her cutie mark on the chest shield instead. the pocket knife now turned into a curved dagger complimenting her coat and mane. "oh it's beautiful! I hope I don't mess it up."

Luna smiles and looks to her sister. "it's actually the same armor my sister and I wore at your age. although I preferred the crossbow. the knife you had allowed me to transfigure it into a dagger."

"Usually I'd say giving a filly Armor and weapons was bad, however you are both on an important mission, If Ryugu MUST be stopped. what ever happens, you must find the Armor of the Crusader of harmony, Equip it and stop this menace. do you understand your mission?" Celestia asked.

"Yes princess Celestia!" the two ponies chimed.

"I must ask, the Knights of Harmony, are they related to the Elements of Harmony in any way?" Twilight asked as she began to undo the secure ropes holding the Elegance docked to the airship docks.

"We believe they were the first to utilize the virtues that became the elements of Harmony." Luna said assisting in the preparations. "though at that time, Laughter was referred to as Joy, and I do believe Magic was wisdom. and Honesty at the time was honor. but as to whether this created the Elements of Harmony I do not know. Celestia and I found the elements long ago. even we do not know where they came from."

"It's too much of a coincidence." Twilight said tying the final restraint.

"Your correct to have your suspicions." Luna said.

"it's time. we wish you luck, Twilight. and thank you for freeing my sister, and myself. it seems we're ever indebted to you again." Celestia smiled.

Twilight giggled. "Well maybe you shouldn't get in such situations your highness it makes you look bad?"

"Oh?" Celestia's face was enough to make Luna fall to the ground laughing.

"Perhaps you are right." Celestia giggled. "Good luck Twilight Sparkle, goodbye Nyx. I pray your able to end this menace with little harm. but take my heeds with great thought."

"Will do!" Twilight chimed as she took helm of the Elegance.

the Airship began it's departure. making it's heading to the North East, towards Hollow Shades.

Elegance Falling

"GOOOOOODMORNING EQUESTRIA! this is DJ Pon3! your Radio Personality with the best mane. and BLOODY TARTARUS IS IT COLD! We're getting alerts from all over equestria's weather teams. the ice has covered the entire central kingdom. Crystal Empire and the southern desert doesn't appear to be affected.

"if my words are carrying over to you Crystal Ponies, WE NEED HELP! this ice is worse then my mother-in-law! and whatever you do DON'T GO OUTSIDE! not without boots, or better yet, enchanted boots! cuz the second you touch this stuff you freeze up. Octavia, she's outside right now frozen in place.... unmoving.... she has no colors anymore. I know she had a grey coat to begin with but....

"Anyways, I am getting news of two mares from ponyville making their way to Hollow Shades, something about going to Saddle Tor, and here I thought that story was an old Mares tale. but hey it's something right? Nightmare Moon was an old Mares tale, so who's to say? So if anypony sees these two mares around give em a hoof, and even some spare water and food if they need it.

"This is DJ Pon3 warming your hearts with Nat King Colt, with Love Me as Though There Was No Tomorrow. Because in Frozen Equestria, You Never Know?"

The voice on the radio was replaced by an old Song began to play, Nyx turned it down after the mare on the other end began to play music.

"I didn't think anypony else was still alive out there." Nyx said with a smile enjoying the music.

"I'm glad Crystal Empire wasn't affected." Twilight said, smiling knowing Cadance and her brother were safe. "the love and joy the Crystal Heart emanates is probably what's keeping them warm."

Nyx turned the wheel of the airship. "You still need to take me there sometime. I want to meet the crystal ponies. I hear you can see through them!"

"Yeah it's kinda odd honestly. I'm just glad you see through them and not in them." Twilight shudders, she's read too many books of ponies with see through skin.

the Airship Elegance left Canterlot five hours ago, the airship has proven to be slow but due to it's size covers alot of distance, despite it's small design. though to be fair it was still quite big. while looking around Nyx notices magical canons lined up on the port and starboard side.

"Twilight, i think this is an Equestrian Air Navy ship...."

"Wha? really?" Twilight went to look noticing the canons as well. "she knew we'd need them. I just remembered, the Elegance wasn't a recreational airship, it was a Naval ship!"

As the Elegance continued it's flight path, Nyx jumps when a winged shadow darts over them.

"BWAH!"

"what's the matter?" Twilight looked to Nyx.

"S-Something's outside. I saw it fly over us!" Nyx said pointing her hoof out the observation window.

Twilight peered outside. using the magical equipment to scan outside the haul. the radar picking up ghost signals.

"The Radar's picking up something.... Maybe some Pegasus survived?" Twilight said as she trotted over to the radio. "Elegance to Unidentified flier, this is the Elegance. please if your a Pegasus show us. you gave us a bit of a fright."

"Why use the radio?" Nyx asked tilting her head.

"actually I'm using the loudspeakers outside. I doubt they'd have radios to here us." Twilight said tapping the radio controls for the loudspeaker and repeated the message.

Nyx looked out the observation window, the clouds stuck to the airship and seemed to want to hitch a ride. they were lucky they had radar and Magical Guidance systems. she leaned in more to the window hoping to spot something with her dragon-esque eyes.

Without warning a black mass slammed against the glass, gripping it with hooked blades, Nyx Jumped back with a scream and hid behind Twilight, they looked at the Pegasus latched on the ship, his eyes glowed sickly green while his mouth had wisps of green mist coming from his mouth, like an exaggerated cartoon affect for bad breath. his coat was like charcoal, with green crack lines throughout his body, however he also wore armor, and on his lower front legs where wrist blades that ended with hooks.

Nyx jumped back and tried to take the airships controls so they don't vear off into a mountain. "What Is That Thing!?"

"it's a storm Elemental! they take equine forms but I never seen them green before. they're normally called Atronachs." Twilight said going to the controls for the Magical defense canons.

"well if they're friendly he has an odd way to show it!" Nyx cried as she tried to keep the Elegance's heading to the North East.

With the sound of roaring whinnies, they can here the sounds of hooves of stone clattering on the ship's hull. their was way more then one. and they were taking the Elegance apart!

Nyx fidgeted with the navigation controls but felt something on the haul come loose. from the rear observation window they see one of the six propellers for the stablizers tumble in a flaming heap.

"They're Tearing the Airship to peaces!" Twilight said as she activated the Magical Canons.

the Canon's folded out from hatches on the port and starboard, taking aim and firing magical blasts at the Storm Atronachs. while they are easy to blow to chunks of stone, the shear number of them are outnumbering the canons. many of the canons are destroyed when an Atronach breathed green fire on them or leaped on one and pulled it free from it's otherwise secure railing.

"We're loosing more canon's then we are blowing them away!" Nyx cried

She is then startled when an Atronach rams itself through the window of the deck. it growls as it finds it's footing and starts to advance on Nyx. the young Alicorn however hits her hoof on the floor of the deck and snorts, taking out her Dagger with her magic.

Twilight is about to run in to save Nyx, but just as she started her gallop she is stopped by a wall of green flame. coming in through a hole through the hull, another Atronach makes it's way inside. growling as it has Twilight blocked off by the wall of flame. she takes out the silver short sword and begins circling the elemental.

On the other side of the fire wall, Nyx tries her best to evade the Atronachs attacks. upon seeing it slash one of the navagation deck's chair clean in half with the hooked blades, Nyx did not want to know what it could do with her. as she blocked with what remained of the chair she continued to evade and dodge, eventually finding herself cornered by the airship's wheel.

"Aw give me a break!" Nyx said to herself as she looked up.

Nyx was greeted to the sight of the elemental rearing back as though ready to pummel her with it's stone hooves, though she knew the curved blades were going to do more damage to her first.

Nyx snorted and did what the Atronach didn't expect.

"CHARGE!" Nyx yelled as she galloped up under it and slashed the Atronach with her dagger, managing to dislodge it's front legs.

The Elemental looked shocked and it's top weight began to bring it forward, it's head mashing into the floor, causing the elemental to fall to peaces on the floor, it's debris smoldering green mist.

"NYAH!" Nyx stuck her tongue out at the fallen Atronach before galloping to the wall of fire, watching Twilight face off another Atronach. "TWILIGHT! get the joints, they'll shatter to bits when they fall down hard enough!"

Twilight grinned. "Thanks for the heads up, now see what you can do about that fire, Nyx!"

Twilight began to charge the Atronach, brandishing her Silver Sword, she jabs and strikes the Elemental in the knees, shoulders, and other joints. but as the Atronach came around it extended it's blades and swung it's remaining front leg, nicking Twilight's armor and almost taking her head off!

"YIKES!" Twilight yelped, she wasn't cut, but the strike was enough to rattle her.

Twilight quickly went on the offensive, using magical bolts to strike the Atronach's legs, eventually the elemental could no longer keep itself stable before falling apart under it's own weight, it's body toppled to the floor shattering to a mess of stone and green mist.

Using a fire extinguisher to choke the flames, Nyx finally reunites with Twilight, though it would seem the Alicorn Filly's training proved to make her more then capable of handling herself. Twilight could not help but to smile with pride.

"I got mine, what about yours?" Nyx said, giving a small smile.

"I don't think these atronach will be giving anypony anymore problems."

then the two are startled when the emergency lights and alarm goes off, during the fight with the two Atronachs that boarded the Airship, the rest have evaded the canons, and have completely disabled the propulsion turbines, the ship began to tilt to it's side as the two remaining turbines continued to try and keep the Elegance aloft.

"No! we're going to crash!" Twilight yelled grabbing onto a pole.

Nyx galloped to the airship control console. the Gems inside began to flicker before going out completely.

"it's no use! the magic for the console just died!"

Twilight's horn glowed as she grabbed Nyx and some rope, as she tied each other to the support beam.

"Hold on as tight as possible, and don't take off the rope!" Twilight yelled as she used a basic shield spell around them.

The Elegance began to drag it's starboard side along the edge of the mountain, the hull groaning in protest as bits and pieces of it began to dislodge off the frame. what was once a beautiful airship was now a wounded behemoth, it's damaged side and turbines bleeding smoke and fire as it made it's final flight, trees began to claw at it's belly as the airship buried itself into the foot of the mountain before resting at the beach of a large river. the last life of the ship died as the lights and remaining two turbines shut down. only the turbines remained turning as they spun freely from their momentum from the motors.

------

Like a slain great monster, the Elegance was now looking pathetic, half it's front side was buried in dirt, rocks, and remains of trees. the ship's turbines lost their momentum and were now turning lazily.

Inside, Twilight and Nyx opened their eyes, they found themselves on the floor, the force of the crash made them fall and loose consciousness, if only for a short time. Twilight slowly got up and untied the rope. as she looked around she saw their supplies had mostly survive the crash, however they lost a fair bit of it to the hull caving in, while it would mean whatever wildlife survives will get it, it still meant they could at least Carry it. Luna and Celestia meant well, but the food they gave them was far too generous to be carried.

Nyx slowly got up and inspected herself, checking for any injuries she or twilight may have gotten from fallen debris, aside from the nick in Twilight's armor from the fight with the Atronach, she looked fine. as did herself.

"I don't think I'd like to go through that again." Twilight said as she packed up their saddlebags and camping equipment.

"where do you think we are?" Nyx asked, opening the access hatch only for it to fall off completely to the shock of the young alicorn.

"Well, we can't be too far now." Twilight said as she jumped out, levitating Nyx down afterwards. she then slowly looked around getting an idea of the area and looking at the landmarks. she then took out her map and looked it over. "we're not far at all. just five miles due east now. we can find the train tracks and follow them the rest of the way."

"What do you think we'll find there?" Nyx asked as she put on her saddle bags and sheathed her dagger.

"I don't know, help I hope. first thing we do when we get there is see if anypony is alright and...." Twilight looked down, she kicked at the ground and realized that it was not covered in ice. in fact the ground still had it's color, as did the trees. "but I think we're on the right track, Let's go!"

The trek to the rail road was long, but with temperatures at tolerable levels and the lack of ice, the journey was much easier to make. Twilight using the water from the river to refill their water bottles (for boiling later of course), and Nyx using reading the map, the two found the train rails within two hours.

"wow we're making good time." Nyx said as she looked at the map.

Twilight looked at her watch then at the sky, it was a few minutes til sunset. "we should make camp here. and I wouldn't like to walk through the forest in the dark. even if we were following the rails."

Nyx stiffled a yawn, the two haven't rested since the train station, and time was thrown out of whack due to the sun and moon not rising and setting, and while Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are now released, Twilight's internal clock was messed up. it felt like midnight.

Twilight and Nyx moved to a clearing in the woods, and working together, pitched a fair size tent for two in less then an hour, Twilight using the machete she packed up for camping equipment got plenty of fire wood and sticks, Twilight hasn't gone Camping before, but she read plenty of books on the subject. how much wood you'll need, how to start and properly put out a fire (because they don't need some talking Bear in a park ranger hat to come after them if they didn't), and how to properly secure their food.

But as she worked she heard Nyx open a bag and smelled the familiar scent of Marshmallows.

"Nyx, where did you get those?" Twilight asked as she tied the rope that was attached to their bag of food, raising it above ground to prevent it attracting unwanted guests.

"Oh, Luna gave it to me when she saw our camping equipment" Nyx said as she gave twilight a roasted marshmallow. "had chocolates too but Princess Celestia kept sneaking them out of the bag."

Twilight tried hard not to giggle, while Celestia always looked good, she had a great weakness to chocolate, cake, and oddly bananas. she took a bite out of the marshmallow, it was still hot but the gooy melted morsal's taste more then made a fair trade.

Unbeknownst to the two ponies, in the trees two pairs of eyes were watching them, their features blended in with the tree shadows, this was in fact camouflage shrouds they wore, adorn in leaves, bark, and twigs. they were ponies, the glow of Twilight and Nyx's campfire reflecting in their eyes.

"I didn't know anypony was left outside of town." one of the camo ponies said. the clawed horseshoes he and his companion wore allowed them to climb and grasp onto the tree's limbs.

"It is unexpected. but look, the little one is an Alicorn." the second camo pony said as he leaned over the branch further, holding up a pair of binoculars.

"how is that possible? I thought there was only Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and that pink one that came about recently." the first one said as he slowly climbed up another branch for a better vantage point. "judging by the smoke, I'd say they came from that airship that crashed not long ago."

"Good eyes, Nightquill. your right, they did come in from canterlot. but I don't think they originated from there. also look at the sky." the second said as he glanced up. "either one or both of the princesses are now free. but the fact that they are not out means one thing."

"They stayed behind to protect Canterlot." the first pony, known as Nightquill said as he climbed back down to his companion. "then what are the orders now, Freefall?"

The camo pony known as freefall snorted as he looked to his shoulder, the camo shroud shuffled before a hawk emerged. he then took out a parchment and quill and began to write, the parchment was rolled and tied to the hawk's leg.

"take this to the Priest, Sunray." Freefall said lifting his shroud for the predatory bird to emerge.

The hawk was quite large with brown and red feathers with black lining along the face, beak, and primary feathers. Sunray flew off, giving out a soft screech in the night.

"So... what do we do?" Nightquill said, looking at his partner then glancing at the camp below.

"Patience brother, We'll watch, listen, remain in the shadows, out of sight. we'll know their intentions and if they pose a threat to our operations.... we'll eliminate them silently and without mercy!" Freefall growled as he drug his clawed hoof along the bark of the tree.

Nightquill gulped as he looked back at the camp. then at the mark on the tree, Freefall had just carved a sign, used by other tree stalking ponies to communicate with each other.... the sign meant Prey is near.

'It's using the trees'

The morning sun rose across the land, it was now back on it's proper scheduled. the night before lasted way longer then it should have, but once six AM hit the moon lowered to give way for the sun, with the Day and Night time cycle back in it's proper place things began to feel right. however Equestria was far from back to normal. the land was still grey, and despite their attempts, Luna and Celestia could not thaw the ponies who were completely grey. as with their life force gone, their bodies had no warmth, no life, yet their souls still resided in their bodies, forever trapped. their bodies now turned into prisons.

Thus, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna did the only thing they could, stand vigil and wait as their hopes and prayers go to a certain little Purple Unicorn and a little black Alicorn filly. Celestia always had faith in her student, but with that faith she knew Twilight had her friends on her side as well, but with five of the six elements of harmony suffering the same fate as the rest of equestria, Celestia realized Twilight was truly alone. Well, not completely alone. Twilight had one Companion to aid her on this quest, Nyx. however, Nyx was not fully grown, she had little Magic of her own since Luna took away Nyx's Magical abilities. but she did know Nyx has received training from Shining Armor. training which Princess Luna requested upon. Celestia did not know why, true the Filly's Cutie Mark did show when Nyx told of how she would protect her friends no matter what, but many other ponies had similar talents, it didn't mean they went out to become super heroes or formed some sacred order of equestrian defenders.

But Celestia had to put her worries aside, Canterlot was at it's weakest, with the royal guard encased in Ice and petrified, She and Luna had to protect the Equestrian Capitol on their own. they have sent many urgent messages to Cadance and Shining Armor for reinforcements, but so far there's been no reply. what could be preventing them from replying? Cadance would never stand and wait while the rest of equestria needed help, she'd send relief teams, soldiers to protect towns from monsters who would love to take advantage to this situation. already there has been news of Elemental Atronach attacks. and why have they not been Affected by the ice? is it because they do not possess any life force like the kind Ponies and other beings need to live? or are they Queen Ryugu's Heralds, to determinant if their defenses are still holding.

Either way, Celestia vowed to protect Canterlot, and there were no monster, elemental, or demon that would force her to abandon her post. for if Canterlot were to fall, so would Equestria!

------

The Camping tint's flap unzipped as Nyx Emerged, giving out a yawn bigger then her small body could manage she stretched out and shook herself, letting the hairs of her obsidian black coat move back into place from laying on one side, the whole night she and Twilight took shifts, keeping watch for anymore Elementals or in a best case scenario, anypony who could help them. but so far the woods has been devoid of any life that didn't amount to small woodland animals, birds, and a Squirrel they come to call Ms. Almond, for account that Nyx caught her eating the bag of Almonds from their food supply bag. however since that morning said squirrel has not been seen, no doubt took the Almonds and went back to her nest.

"Little thief." Nyx giggled.

Nyx lowered the food bag to check their food supplies, they were quickly running low again. the night had been longer then expected so they kept camping for what felt like two days. Nyx had wanted to go salvage what food survived on the Elegance, but Twilight refused. stating the food would have either been rotted by the ice that now covered the airship, or the animals took it by now. they both hoped the latter, they rather the woodland animals make use of the free food then it be wasted.

As she started to pack up the food, Twilight emerged from the tent, yawning and stretching, she could even hear the pops emit from Twilight's back, legs, and neck. and after a good stretch of her legs and back the purple unicorn began to put her armor on, to her amazement, the cut mark on the chest piece was repaired.

"Wow, Princess Celestia's armor is enchanted?" Twilight said as she inspected it.

"Maybe it takes a while for the repairs to take affect? it wasn't like that last night." Nyx said as she dumped dirt on the fire pit.

making sure each ember is snuffed out. all too familiar with what happened when an ember from the BBQ Grill that Hearth's Warming Eve, though she now knew it was Snapshot and Column who started the fire that almost ruined the logs, she still took the incident to learn from. a good gust of wind could easily start a forest fire.

Twilight secured her helmet before looking at her silver sword, the purple hilt had a mouth grip for a unicorn who chose to fight earth pony style while keeping her horn free for using spells and wards. she placed the hilt in her mouth and gave the blade a few practice swings on a bush that she imagined was the most evil thing in the universe. the blade made short work of the thorned foliage, moving like glinting line from the sun itself. once finished, she managed to turn the bush into a sculpture of Princess Celestia.

"ooh pretty!" nyx chirped, clapping her hooves adorably.

"Thank you!" Twilight smiled. "Rarity taught me the spell to make bush sculptures, but she also said using a blade or scissors is a good way too."

as the two began to pack Nyx also put her armor on, then choosing her own bush also practiced with the small blade. the curved obsidian black blade was like a sliver of the night itself, cutting and slashing the bush chosen for her to practice on, although when completed she jumped back at the bush sculpture she created.

"N-Nyx, Wha-What is that Supposed to be?" Twilight stared at the sculpture laterally speechless.

"Uuuhm, would you Believe Princess Luna?" Nyx chuckled unenthusiastic.

The two stared at the foliage sculpture the filly had made. what was supposed to be Princess Luna was more like a bipedal monster with a phallic head, a maw of teeth with a tongue with a smaller maw of teeth. overall having an insectoid appearance.

"uuuhhh, heh, uhm A for effort?" Twilight chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head.

Nyx quickly sheathed the dagger and put the rest of her armor on as she and twilight went to disassembly and pack the tent up. disregarding Nyx's attempt at land sculpting, the two began their journey once again, though the journey has been long, the two were happy to know their path to Hollow Shades were coming to a close.

But as the two continued their trek down the rail road track, they could shake the feeling they were being hunted. not just watched. Whenever they would look up at the trees, they could have sworn they saw the bark and leaves move and shift. though they tried to rationalize it with the wind blowing on them. but as they kept going, they felt their rationalization of it being the wind was turned into desperate wishing.

After two hours of trotting they noticed whatever or whoever was watching them no longer made an attempt to conceal themselves. perched in the trees they saw equine shapes in the trees, what looked like clawed hooves grasping the branches. this caused Nyx to think back to the Storm Atronachs. but she quickly tried to dispel that fear. an elemental wouldn't be this dramatic.... would they?

"HALT RIGHT THERE!"

Twilight and nyx froze, they looked forward to a roofed bridge, on the roof was another equine in a cloak of sticks, bark, and leaves. a Hawk perched on his foreleg, his hooves also having the clawed horseshoes but up his leg was a fabric gauntlet the hawk's claws wrapped around, no doubt to protect the pony's pet from shredding his foreleg in a bloody heap.

"H-Hello? I'm Twilight Sparkle, I come from Ponyville in search of a ruin called Saddle Tor, i'm on my way to Hollow Shades and---"

Twilight was interrupted by the sounds of large wings flapping as the equines flew down, a good number of the shrouded equines were pegasi.... they were ponies.

"Your pegasi?" Nyx asked softly.

"Hollow Shades was the first land home the Pegasus Tribe founded." the Pony on the bridge replied.

Nyx didn't think she was anywhere near loud enough to hear. she then tried to hide behind Twilight as the hawk eyed her. like she was it's prey. however it wasn't long until she got that vibe from everypony else.

"Twilight, something's wrong. I don't like how they're looking at us... at me."

"Shh, just be calm." Twilight whispered before clearing her throat. "please, my daughter and I are in need of help. the whole of Equestria is encased in Ice and the land and everypony else have turned grey like they're---"

"Petrified?" the pony on the bridge finished. "turn back. go home and leave. we don't want your kind here."

"Our kind?" Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing but continued anyways. "sir, please it's been well over a thousand years. the three pony species has learned to coexist together we---"

"I meant no such notion! Hollow Shades was founded by Pegasus but has planty of Earth and unicorns in it's Population. No. I mean, we don't want THAT in our Midst!" he said pointing his clawed hoof at Nyx.

"Wha, Me? why?" Nyx asked. "I know I did bad things as Nightmare Moon but, I am a good pony why are you---"

"WE DON'T GIVE A UNICORN'S SPARKLY HORN WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU DID!" the pony shouted, his hawk friend screaching in aggrivation, as though whatever the pony was feeling fed into his feathered companion, and right now that hawk was hungry for Nyx's flesh. "we don't want that Abomination anywhere near us! you can say the same to her sisters as well!"

"What? Nyx is an only child i mean....." it's then Twilight began connect the dots. "wait. it's because she's an Alicorn isn't it?"

"Now you understand." The pony on the bridge said as he threw back his hood, he too was a Pegasus, silvery white coat with black mane, his eyes gold like the hawk who perched his foreleg. "I will ask you one last time. Leave, and take that spawn from Hades with you!"

Twilight looked at Nyx and snorted. her eyes locking onto the Pegasus stallion on the bridge. her eyes furrowed as she locked eyes with him. they weren't like a pony's eyes, they reminded her of Guilda's but more predatory then even a griffon. judging by his pet, she saw where he picked it up from.

"I'm sorry, but my daughter and I are on a quest, we're going to Saddle Tor whether you let us through or not!"

The stallion snorted and growled. indeed he did NOT act like a pony. though it was soon the others began to act the same. they too were more predatory animals then Equestria's normal Pegasus Pony.

"I admire your bravery young one. But we shall not permit another abomination in our town!" the pony said throwing off his cloak, his body was clad in heavy armor with a hawk like design, it was stream line, sharp, and on his wings three blades attached the end of his primary feathers that glistened in the sunlight, almost blinding Twilight. his cutiemark was that of a beaked creature that looked to be falling mid flight.

"W-Wait! We don't want to fight you, we just want to stop---" Nyx was silenced as the hawk then swooped over her and nearly clawed her eye out. "GAH!"

Twilight snorted and blasted the hawk away from Nyx, however this act was like shaking a hornet's nest as the other Pegasus removed their shrouds and began to circle the sky like vultures whinnying and neighing as they swooped down and took their fair share of hits at the two like birds of prey swiping and clawing at an invader to their nests.

Twilight tried her best to fight back, she proved to be quite adapt with the Shortsword, it's handle clenched in her mouth as she parried and struck back at the Pegasus, she didn't like the idea of hurting another pony. but Negotiations proved ineffective. She kept close to Nyx making sure if the hawk returned she show how dangerous a pony could be when you mess with her young.

Nyx however did not expect to be fighting other ponies. an idea that brought her sick to her stomach. even as Nightmare Moon when she infiltrated Canterlot Castle all she did was knock out the guards with a sleeping spell, same with the staff. it was Celestia and Luna where she actually drew a blade. but at the time she was confused, she believed it was what was expected of her. what she wanted.

But now, if nothing else these ponies wanted to do harm to her, all because she was an Alicorn? the prospect was alien to her. even now the ponies who hated her and wanted to do harm to her didn't feel that way because she was an Alicorn, it was because she was Nightmare Moon Reborn. it made little to no since, and the more she thought about it the more she wondered why? Did Celestia burn somepony's house down while she was there? did Princess Luna eat some pony's Pie without asking first? WHAT HAPPENED to make these ponies despise Alicorns?

Eventually Self preservation set in and Nyx began to defend herself, using her Dagger she blocked and slashed at a Pegasus that tried to shred her to ribbons with their clawed horseshoes. unfortunately due to inexperience some got some lucky hits. but were it not for the armor Luna gave her, they'd make quick work of her.

But as Nyx was busy with one Pegasus who tried to pummel her with his hooves, the hawk returned and grabbed her from behind Biting and scratching at her.

"AAH! M-MOM HELP!" Nyx Screamed, eventually using whatever spell she could to shoot at the hawk, though she was limited in what effective spells she could use. she began to cry as her face, neck and exposed parts of her legs began to bleed from the scratches and pecks.

Unfortunately the Pegasus Flock used the distraction to their Advantage with murderous intent. they began to use hit and run tactics, slashing Twilight with their hoof claws in a bum rush at her, only to veer off before she could make contact with her blade. Twilight tried again to defend herself only for a Pegasus to knock her sword from her mouth as they bucked her in a hit and run flyby.

"AH! NO!" Twilight cried as she spat out blood, a tooth had dislodged and tumbled to the ground.

"You had your chance to leave with that Abomination!" Freefall said as he trotted up to the two as he recalled his bird, leaving Nyx shivering on the ground bleeding. his wings extended as the blades clattered on his feathers, the sun glistening against them as he gave a few practice swings before him. "But we are not heartless, you shall both Die together, we'll ensure your given an honorable burial."

"P-Please! We only wish to help!" Twilight said before going into a coughing fit from the blood in her mouth. tasting iron on her tongue.

"Do not fear, I shall make it quick!" Freefall said as he raised on his rear legs his wings extending all the way out, both wings targeting Nyx and Twilight.

"STOP!"

Freefall froze, looking back to the bridge. "What?"

On the bridge stood an elderly Earthpony in religious robes, but they did not depict Celestia as Luna as most Priests robes would. Instead the robes bore the symbol of a shield and a sword. the shield bore an odd resemblance to nyx's only it was White and gold. not deep dark blue.

"You heard me. Put those blades Down, Boy!" the elder pony growled as he trotted up to the mob of pegasi and their victims. his coat was Dark grey, his mane was light grey with silver highlights, and his eyes were orange.

"But grandfather, they're trespassers, and the black one---"

"I Know what she is, Freefall. You'd be right to attack them. in normal circumstances." the priest said as he hobbled up to the two. "now, stop your attack."

Freefall grumbled. the other Pegasi nodded, also not sharing the priests views on the matter. "But, I will not argue with you, grandfather. Fine. let them through. but we're keeping an eye on the black one. I don't trust it, their kind has never been anything but trouble for us."

With a whinny Freefall and the rest of the pack of Pegasi flew off, most returning to the trees, some however move creepily backwards, and seem to disappear into the trees, but the sensation of being watch soon returns.

The Priest trotted over to Twilight's fallen Short sword and inspected it before sheathing it in his belt. he then lifted Nyx and slung her over his back.

"W-Who are you?" Twilight asked as she slowly got up. noting how he puts more care into Nyx then he does herself.

"I am Sovereign, do not worry, the little one will be fine. the Temple of Harmony has healers that can heal her." the Priest said as he began trotting. then looks back at Twilight. "come now, your not that badly hurt. unless equestrian ponies have become weaker over the last thousands of years?"

Twilight began to get up but felt a sharp pain. she was bleeding, one of the clawed horseshoes ripped her shoulder up good, the armor was shredded, and she could see bone. "I-I'm really hurt."

Sovereign paused and looked back, growling as he grabbed Twilight by the mane. "It's just a flesh wound you'll live, now come on!"

"OW! AH! stop! For a pony who saved our lives your not very polite!" Twilight whined, starting to realize the Priest isn't as kind as she hoped he'd be.

Sovereign huffed and let Twilight go. he said nothing as he lead her into Hollow Shades, the town at first glance seemed dark, but upon entering what felt was a magical barrier proved to be much brighter, In the town center was large with a fountain of a pony in Knight's armor kneeling with his chin and front hooves resting on the hilt of a sword, the pony's features were covered by a full face bucket helmet shaped like a hawk's beak as the back of head around the ears ended in a crest. the segments of the neck armor were like feathers while the wings had the same wing blades Freefall had.

As they Continued down the road, Twilight saw the buildings had Celtic influences in the design. not too different from the architecture of the Castle Celestia and Luna once lived in before Luna's coup. Twilight also noticed the ponies in town were watching them. it was true there were unicorns, who either worked as battlemages, enchanters, Alchemists, and even the occasional town guard, Earthponies however where farmers, construction workers, and the blacksmith was an earthpony. although it was the Pegasi that seemed to have the higher roles. such as town leaders, guards, and Enforcers.

"The Pegasi you encountered are the town's primary defense. they are called the Hunters. they watch the woods around the town, using camouflage cloaks. but the second they find somepony come near I am the first to be informed by messenger hawk." Sovereign stated.

"Messenger Hawk?" Twilight echoed, only to receive a glare from Sovereign. she then thought back to the hawk that attacked Nyx. "So who's bird was it that Attacked us?"

"Sunray, the whole town raised him from an egg, when you attacked him, you set the Hunter's off. Freefall is overly attached to that bird." Sovereign stated as he lead Twilight to the largest building in town, a Church with two bell towers, on the stain glass window depicted the same pony adorn in Knight Armor, though this time he was holding his sword up in an attacking pose.

when they entered they were greeted to whispers and protests. the protests coming from ponies seeing Nyx. others more concerned for Twilight, while it was nice to receive the sounds of worry for her own welfare she didn't like the protests from the others.

"WHAT IS THAT THING DOING HERE! Get it out! this is the chapel of harmony, it shouldn't be on sacred grounds!" a pony in black robes yelled.

"Calm yourself, Revelation. the little one requires medical attention. as does the unicorn." Sovereign ordered stoically. "Or have you forgotten the oath?"

The pony in black robes growled and huffed. "I remember the Oath. need I not remind you the oath also said be damned with the unnatural abominations?"

Twilight couldn't bare to hear another negative word against Nyx, and as far as she could tell these words were aimed at the princesses as well.

"HEY! You watch your mouth! Nyx is my Daughter and I---" Twilight is halted by Sovereign who pushes her over on her wounded shoulder. "AAAH!"

"Shush, Chattering Monkey." Sovereign said as he returned his gaze to Revelation. "this one was not created like the others. you heard the tales outside the barrier."

"Exactly, tales, who knows what this thing would do when it gets bigger, if not now. it could---"

"But mommy, I don't want to go to school today," Nyx muttered as she was suffering a concussion and bloodloss. "I want to stay home and read books with yoooouuuu!"

Sovereign gave his best poker face before grinning. "I'll need our best healers immediately.... oh and please have somepony tend to the chatty one."

Nyx shot up her hoof though it wobbled in the air as she shouted. "I LIKE COOKIES!"

"And I do believe we should act fast, the little one seems to be suffering a bad blow to the head." Revelation stated as he waved some unicorn mares to him, then pointed one to Twilight's direction.

------

Twilight's eyes fluttered open, nothing was in focus, tried to focus and when she could finally see she saw the face of a young unicorn mare in a white dress with the same sword and shield emblem on her robes. she was much younger then twilight but she had eyes with experience... Gold eyes. Twilight looked over to her shoulder and watched as the wound began to close up, muscle and skin reconstituting itself in the aura of the unicorn's magic. she also felt a new tooth in her jaw grow, replacing the one that was knocked out.

She was using a very advanced healing spell, and from the look on her face it wasn't easy to do without remaining focused. instead of questioning the mare now, Twilight began to fall back to sleep her eyes fluttering again before sleep took hold.

"hello twilight."

Twilight found herself in a star field, she looked over to see Princess Luna trotting up beside her, smiling. but when twilight looked down she was back in her armor her Helmet sitting by her hooves.

"Princess Luna, It's good to see a friendly face!" Twilight said as she bowed.

"I take it you arrived to Hollow Shades?" Princess Luna asked as she sat down next to Twilight.

"Yes, but they attacked us after telling us to leave." Twilight said. "I don't know why but when they saw Nyx it's like they made their minds up on the spot." she then sighed. "And I did kinda shoot their bird. in my defense it was attacking Nyx!"

Luna giggled and put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I understand. may I ask what they said? How did they react to Nyx exactly?"

Twilight began to look annoyed as her ears pinned back. "Well for one they kept calling her an 'abomination', 'it', 'thing', it's like Nyx wasn't a pony to them but a---"

"Monster." Luna finished. "Twilight, do you know why they feel this way to her?"

Twilight paused, she thought for a moment. "it's because she was an Alicorn. but Princess Luna, Alicorns aren't monsters."

Luna sighed and rose, trotting in front of her. "There are things you should know Twilight Sparkle. while many, MANY ponies in Equestria see my sister, Cadance and I as princess, goddesses. few ponies however see us as unnatural beings."

Twilight gaped at this. "Bu-but.... Why?"

"it is because we are immortal, we live far longer then a pony normally does. we've seen many ponies come and go, Twilight Sparkle." Luna sighed as she looked up at the stars, imagining many ponies she once knew in them. a few shun brighter then others. "even in my early centuries of rule I've seen friends, loved ones come to this world for the sands of time to ravage and leave nothing behind but bones."

Luna then cleared her throat and frowned. "my point however is even if I hadn't become Nightmare Moon, There were still some ponies who saw my sister and I as 'Abominations'. while Celestia and I saught to seek Harmony for Equestria, they saw us as an affront to nature itself. everything has a beginning, middle, and end, Twilight. Celestia, and I are stuck in the middle." Luna then smiled mischievously "well I'm between the beginning and middle, since Celestia is the WAY Further into the middle."

Twilight gasped, Luna was calling celestia Old! but Twilight still giggled.

Luna smiled. "Now, since your in Hollow Shades now you should find Sovereign, he will aid you."

"Actually," Twilight added. "Sovereign saved Nyx and I from being killed in the forest. though I don't know what help he can be, he doesn't seem too interested in helping me, he ignored me when I had a huge hole in my shoulder!"

"Ah, do not let him fool you, Twilight. He's merely saving face." Luna said with a smile as she tapped Twilight's shoulder, making the unicorn wince from the memory of the wound. "I wish you luck, Twilight. please be quick. we've not heard from Cadance and Shining Armor for too long...."

Twilight nodded. "I will, thank you Princess."

"One last thing before you wake. do not allow the views of the Hollow Shades towns ponies to distract you. your priority is getting to Saddle Tor. while I understand you don't like the prejudice being directed at Nyx, please understand theres not going to be anything you can do to sway the views of these ponies." Luna continued. "ignorance and hate breeds ignorance and hate. the longer it goes, the stronger it gets. and eventually the reasoning behind it is lost."

Twilight nodded and sighed, but then put her helmet on. "I understand Princess Luna. before I wake. give my regards to Princess Celestia, and bring her up to date please?"

Luna smiled. "Actually I have a dream connection spell at work right now, Celestia has heard this entire conversation.... hopefully not the comment about her youth."

"I AM NOT OLD!" Celestia's voice was heard, Annoyance and embarrassment carried in it's undertone.

Luna giggled and stepped away. "Awaken now, Twilight."

A Town of Anger

Twilight awoke in a small soft bed, but most of all it was warm, on a night stand beside her was a glass of water and some food. she began on the water, drinking greedily, she slowed herself and took some bites of the food, it was a simple salad, but she didn't complain. She also felt odd, her body was feeling like it wanted something but she couldn't place her hoof on it. it wasn't food as she was already eating, was it---

as she got up she felt the clank of something on her hoof, she looked down and saw a shackle, but no chain on the end of it.

"What in the...." Twilight muttered.

Twilight began at the door before the shackle glowed and quickly pulled her away from the door.

"AAH!" Twilight yelped feeling an invisible force pull her away. she looked at the shackle and noticed the runes etched on them. "an enchantment of some kind. this room probably has a barrier that reacts when the shackle is drawn close enough. interesting way to keep a prisoner without use of a jail cell..."

"Your awake, good." Revelation said as he trotted through the door. "I hope you understand, Hollow Shades has lived in peace for many decades. our magical barrier protects us from your 'Princesses' influences. even Queen Ryugu's Ice retreats from it's warm touch."

Twilight glared at him but knew any wrong move she made might cause more trouble for her. yet the odd feeling in her body was still present. what in Luna's happy dreams were going on with her?

"the shackle will be removed, after I learn your reasoning for coming here with that.... uhm... Nyx is what you call it?"

"HER, and yes, Nyx is my daughter." Twilight tried to keep her anger at bay, though like a volcano, anypony could see the glow of rage in the little unicorn.

"you two look nothing alike." Revelation stated. "We did a blood test, your not biologically related in any form."

Twilight seethed but did her best to calm down. "I adopted her."

"Ah I see. so why did you and the Abom-er" he quickly backpedaled noticing Twilight's body begin to glow like hot metal her mane somehow starting to smoke and turn to flame. "uhm You and Nyx. why did you come here, is it to force us to bend our knee to your Princesses?"

Twilight snorted. "No. we came---"

Revelation interrupted with a hoof closing her mouth. "I speak. you listen."

Twilight was now fighting hard not to bite the stallion's hoof off. but now as he looked at him in better light, Revelation was a maroon unicorn with black mane and orange eyes.... she's noticed that alot with ponies in Hollow shades. orange, red, and even golden eyes. not a sign of a spell or indoctrination.... but through specific breeding.

"Now, we'll try this again. Did your princesses order you to come here to convert us? you two were armed and wore armor similar to their soldiers, are you their Arbiters? or are you Priests coming to spread the word of the good celestia?" Revelation continued to interrogate Twilight. though a bite of mockery added at the end.

"No. no to all of those."

"Then why have you come?" Revelation asked, his tone softening. "And you may now speak. but you are being recorded I'll have you know. what you say will reflect on the abom---Er on little Nyx. so please speak carefully, but I want the truth. if you lie you'll both return beneath Freefall's blade."

"why would you kill us and not let us go?"

"Just answer the question, Miss."

Twilight sighed, she took a few calming breaths. "a few days ago I awoke to find my town, friends, and family..." Twilight she paused and sighed before she Continued. "all of central Equestria to be covered in Ice. anypony who was outside at the time was frozen still, their bodies went completely grey.... they were petrified. upon further investigation I found out their Life Force was taken from their bodies.

"I recognized the effects is what happened to equestria when Queen Ryugu was in power soon after the three pony tribes founded Equestria. we knew the story of the Knights of Harmony, and the Crusader of Harmony that defeated her before. it was a long stretch, but it was the only lead we had. so Nyx and I started our journey here."

Twilight then paused, she didn't want to reveal too much about Canterlot right now. "After going to Canterlot Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gave us this armor, weapons, and some other supplies as well as an Airship. they confirmed our suspicions. I guess I don't have to tell you an Alicorns abilities to sense things?"

"One of their many unnatural abilities." Revelation stated.

'Don't kill the racist unicorn, Twilight. you can thump him after this whole chat is over.' Twilight thought to herself.

"Anywho!" Twilight quickly started still a hint of anger in her tone. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna told us that it was indeed Queen Ryugu returning, they said we were to find the Tomb of the Knights of Harmony, to equip the armor and sword of the Crusader of Harmony and stop the queen from returning, and now that I am in this town, I got a Pretty good idea of what to think about you and the other racist jerks here!" Twilight inhaled deep as she began.

Revelation walked out of the room with a bloodied nose and rubbing his ears.

"That is one angry Unicorn." Revelation stated as he held a paper towel to his muzzle.

"Shall I punish her sir?" Freefall asked stoically.

"No need." Revelation replied. "I recognize Maternal instincts when I see it. Abomination or not, she believes this Nyx to be her daughter, that's more then enough to awaken those emotions."

Sovereign trots up to them. "I'm afraid their stories match. probably except the last few minutes with the Unicorn."

"What? you believe them?" Freefall asked anger starting to brew on his face. "we can't trust an Abomination!"

"We have no reason to detain them. and I fear the reports outside the town boarders matches their story." Sovereign stated. "if this Queen she speaks of is indeed returning, I rather have the two Abominations we're dealing with now then this new one."

it's then a Pegasus is seen going to Nyx's Room, on one wing a tray of food is being balanced rather professionally.

"Nightquill, What are you doing?" Freefall marched to his comrade from the forest.

Nightquill, a light blue Pegasus with Orange eyes and charcoal mane and tail with a feather and stars for a cutie mark looked at Freefall like he had six wings.

"uhm. bringing some food for the child?" Nightquill said as though he was asked the oddest question in the world.

Freefall growled. "Those things aren't Natural, nightquill, Get it through your thick skull! those things are Immortal. they don't need to eat or sleep!"

Sovereign shoved Freefall away, he then looked over at Nightquill with a smile. "Actually, I have an assignment for you Nightquill. you've served the Hunters well, yet it's obvious you do not view the Alicorn as we do, why?"

"W-Well, my mother was an outsider, if you remember. she said the Princesses were nice. it's...." Nightquill paused for a moment before he spat. "before she was 'Punished' for her heretic beliefs." His glares were like daggers at Revelation, though from the lack of restraint from Sovereign and Freefall, if Nightquill was to make a move on the Maroon Unicorn stallion there be no action against it.

"Honestly, I don't see an abomination." Nightquill stated simmering down his anger but keeping his glare on Revelation. "I wasn't even the one that attacked them. I just saw my brothers beating a mother and her defenseless child. armor or not."

"Perhaps you are best to escort our guests, Nightquill." Sovereign stated.

Revelation muttered something but had no complaints, Freefall however.

"You must be pulling my feathers, you want Nightquill to be their escort, Priest, Grandfather, I am more then capable of---

"Causing more problems by angering or offending the Unicorn." Sovereign interrupted coldly. "You'll do nothing but make things worse!"

Freefall did nothing but growl before storming off, knocking a maid out of the way as he left.

"Stupid Colt," Sovereign muttered as he looked to nightquill. "so do you accept the mission I've given you?"

Nightquill nodded with a smile. "Yes Priest, I hope I do you proud."

"Very good." Sovereign nodded and began to trot to the end of the hall assisting the maid to her hooves.

------

Nyx layed in bed fidgeting with the leg brace. she tried a few times to remove it but after the first electrocution she dared not try a second time. at first she was afraid she and Twilight were separated in different buildings, but it was after she recognized Twilight's yelling she knew she was nearby.... Mommy's very angry.

Nyx felt as though everypony in Hollow Shades hated her, but unlike the few ponies in ponyville, this was different, it wasn't who she was that they didn't like, the nurses referred to her as 'It', or moreso, 'Abomination'. but they spoke the same of the Princesses as well, hearing Sovereign refer Princess Celestia as the biggest Abomination of all. as well as some bad words she was trying to forget. No doubt, the town hated her because she was an Alicorn, she could be the Princess of candy and kisses and these ponies would rather hang her for having wings AND a horn.

It was when the door Opened that broke Nyx's concentration, her ears wilted as she slowly backed away from the Pegasus that trotted in. he was probably the youngest one she's seen so far yet still fully grown, not unlike the boys Applebloom, Sweetie belle, Scootaloo, and herself beat at the Play and Learn Day, Tug of War contest so long ago.

But unlike the others in this town, he didn't look at her with hatred.

"Okay I got you some food. Not sure what they were giving you before but I don't think it's what I'd call food." Nightquill said as he sat the plate on the table.

Nyx kept herself on guard slowly moving towards the plate and sniffed the food. but kept her dragon-esque turquoise eyes locked on Nightquill as though he'd attack her at any moment. but as she looked at the plate she saw the meal he set down, It was her favorite Cabbage soup. CURSES They Knew her favorite food!

"Soooo.... why haven't you yelled or spat at me yet?" Nyx asked. after all it was all these ponies did whenever one came in to check on her. sure they tended to her injuries, but it was obvious they wanted to make some new wounds.

"they gave you that treatment huh?" Nightquill grimaced, shaking his head before looking at her and sitting down. "Look I wasn't with my brothers when they attacked you. it.... it didn't feel right. I never believed that the Princesses were evil. my mother, she came here a long time ago when princess Celestia gave her an assignment to study our town. from what I heard from my father she was really nice. they got together and I guess you can guess the rest."

Nyx sat and listened sipping the juice and began on the soup. it was just how she liked it too. "where is she now?"

Nightquill said nothing as he looked away. one Nyx immediately picked up on.

"Oh.... I'm sorry."

"don't be." Nightquill muttered.

it's then Nyx looked where Nightquill was looking, she saw a sight all too familar. a gallows with a Hangmare's noose.

"Well, she said she was happy when they did it, because it will let me see this town as it really was." Nightquill said as he looked to Nyx.

Nyx tilted her head. "and that is?"

"That everypony in this town is a Bigot who are living in unfounded fear..." Nightquill sighed "I know your young. but do you know what inbreeding is?"

Nyx's ears perked, Twilight taught her alot about pony biology, though she of course kept some certain aspects ponies her age weren't ready to learn., she was still taught enough to know what inbreeding is. especially since alot of the aristocrat families in canterlot use this process to keep their families purebred.

"I was taught it's when there's not enough genetic Diversity in a Family, it happens in secluded towns or high society families that keep their bloodline pure." Nyx began. "ponies begin pairing up with others in their own bloodline. although it's often between cousins, when it's between sibblings it's rare but it happens."

"heh your a sharp one." Nightquill said. "I looked in the records. this town has been inbreeding for the last sixty years. most of the pegasus you fought can't even fly due to wing deformity, they have to glide. others have medical issues. most hide them well. but alot of ponies don't live past their mid twenties."

As Nightquill explains, Nyx sees a Unicorn trot by with a stubby horn. another goes by, a Pagasus with malformed wings.

"Why did this happen? it's like everypony is boxing themselves in." Nyx said looking outside.

"It's because we are. the town is protected by a magical barrier, it makes the town look like it has a shroud of darkness, I been outside once and all you see is the town's lights at night." Nightquill said as he looked outside pointing to the statue in the center of town, the one of the Knight. "Town don't just hate Alicorns, they fear them. I'm not sure why either. but something happened a long time ago that made them fear and hate all Alicorns and view them as Unnatural."

Nyx finished her meal, she was feeling better and even stronger. it was as though she hasn't had a hot filling meal in days.

"So what happens now?" Nyx asked looking at Nightquill. "I mean they can't possibly expect us to stay do they?"

Nightquill looked at Nyx and shook his head. "in normal situations, they'd force Twilight to stay, but I don't think I should say what will happen to you."

Nyx nodded. "No disrespect but the sooner we leave the better, I don't like this place. the ponies here are mean and I don't like how the stallions stare at twilight."

Nightquill chuckled. "Don't worry. you have every right to feel that way. and honestly. I've been thinking about leaving. theres no rules against it. unlike the others I wasn't born through inbreeding. problem is...." Nightquill sighed and looked out the window once more. more fixated on the other ponies of the town.

"It's your home too." Nyx Finished, she could read it from his emotion.

"Yeah." Nightquill smiled. "they may be a bunch of jerks but to me they are cousins, uncles, aunts...."

"Family." Nyx said with a smile, now she had to look at these ponies another way.... well sure they were all Racist jerks, but they were a family all the same. even with the health issues that were beginning to come out of the inbreeding, they all looked to eachother, supported one another. they looked at her with hatred and fear, but at eachother they saw a brother and sister.

"They are still a family of Meanies though!" Nyx pouted as she drank the rest of her juice.

Nightquill laughed, and soon the door opened and Revelation trotted in, already Nightquill glared daggers at him, Revelation however ignored the pegasus as his horn glowed. the shackle on Nyx's foreleg came off and clatter to the floor, at the same time Twilight was brought in, rubbing her now free foreleg.

"the two of you are to leave Hollow Shades. you'll take your belongings, armor, weapons, and any supplies you had with you and Vacate the town." Revelation began. "Nightquill here shall escort you to Saddle Tor. your never to return. and if you should decide to show your muzzles here you WILL be killed on site, am I clear?"

Nyx whimpered and nodded. Twilight also nodded though if she had it her way she'd ensure the town gets a visit by the royal guard when this was over. Twilight then looked at Nightquill and raised a brow as she looked at him then Nyx.

"Uhm... HI?" Nightquill did his best friendly smile.

"First one of those I seen while here." Twilight said to herself.

"I recommend you leave immediately, Freefall has orders to forcibly throw you out if your not on the main road to the mountains in ten minutes."

"Oh trust me, you'll find we'll be out of here in far less time. come on Nyx, let's leave before I Decide to do something I'll arguably might regret later." Twilight huffed as she put her armor on. "where's my---"

"Your weapons will returned to you at the town gates." Revelation assured her. "you have eight minutes now."

Twilight snorted as she simply grabbed the saddle bags, camping equipment, both sets of armor, and Nyx herself as she galloped out of the temple to the town gates. Nightquill following close behind. at the gates Sovereign awaited at the gates with Nyx and Twilight's weapons as well as Nightquill's armor and wing blades.

As Freefall stopped Nightquill to have a talk, Twilight went up to Sovereign as Nyx put on her armor, Twilight took her short sword and Nyx's dagger.

"I wish you luck on your travels." Sovereign stated as he looked at Freefall and Nightquill starting another squabble. "But heed my advice. go straight to Saddle Tor, do NOT return here. the Kill on Sight order is more real then you may think."

"Oh I have NO intention on coming back. ANYTIME Soon." Twilight grumped as she nudged Nyx through the gate. "Come on Nyx."

Nightquill followed quickly sharing a glance at Sovereign before leaving through the gate. the earth ponies then pushed the gate until it was closed with a loud thud and the sound of a metal poll being put in place.

Saddle Tor

Nyx, Twilight, and their new companion, Nightquill made little haste as they hit the trail. and not long after Twilight's mood began to lighten. looking back she felt calmer then before. the odd feeling in her body was also leaving.

"Feeling it now?" Nightquill asked. he seemed more docile now.

"Yeah.... I felt so angry before. now I don't.... it's weird. there was this other odd sensation too." Twilight said,

She knew why she was angry and wanted to hurt Revelation and even Freefall. but now it felt like those feelings were more extreme then they should have.

"I should explain." Nightquill started as he landed and trotted beside her. "The Magical barrier that covers the town does more then masks our town from Celestia and Luna, it has another affect. because the town is so small breeding regimens have to be kept at a scheduled. and it's supposed to be spring coming up which we date our breeding seasons on so---"

Twilight's eyes snapped wide. "WAIT! you mean to tell me that barrier was making me...." Twilight's face went bright red.

"Yeah, it's one of the reasons nopony is allowed to leave the town when they enter." Nightquill said rubbing the back of his head. "the town is so Inbred now, we rely on newcomers to keep the bloodline diverse enough. so when a pony comes to town they are made to stay especially Mares."

Twilight felt wrong. her own body was being manipulated against her will by inbred racist bigots that if they decided differently would force her to---

"Mom, how far is Saddle Tor now?" Nyx asked.

'OH THANK YOU, NYX. And your ever curious little mind!' Twilight thought to herself as she pulled out a map, this one from the book itself.

"Says here it's just a few Miles, now." Twilight looked up and paused, a smile crept on her face as she pointed an armored hoof. "Or you can just look up that mountain!"

As Nyx looked, she saw it, Nestled on the side of the mountain, a stunning view in itself with the sun beginning to set behind it. was a path of stone steps, three white stone arches leading to a massive building made of white stone, a Blue dome sat on it's roof with gold trim running up to the center with a gold bullet cap. the tower's sides had grand size battlement windows for ponies of it's age to occupy to defend against trespassers or any who attempted to raid it.

As they made their way to the building they see a statue depicting six Ponies in Knight's armor, one of which was the same Pegasus Knight from Hollow Shade's but they could see a second Pegasus in near the same armor but holding a Mace instead and a shield. they saw two Unicorns, one brandishing a bastard sword and the other holding a Bow and arrow. the two earth ponies however had the most heaviest armor, yet due to their size compared to the others, they were mares. One had a large sword while the other had a rather large nasty hammer.

"Oh wow!" Twilight gasped as she trotted around the statue using a sketch pad and pencle to do sketches of it. "this is probably the most important historical find in Equestrian History! why when this is all over I want to see if Princess Celestia can allow me to bring a team up here and---"

"But we're not allowed back to hollow Shades." Nyx stated.

"who said I'd go the same rout? I looked at the map again, there's  train rout that goes past these mountains to manehattan. we could bypass Hollow Shades all together." Twilight looked up at the tower. "besides the Princesses would recognize the historical importance alone! one of the few structures from a time before Princess Celestia and princess Luna! look at these statues, the time it must have took to construct them alone!"

"I guess I need to tell Aunt Cadance you have a thing for Bells, AND really old Statues." Nyx said as she smiled.

Twilight sighed in annoyance. "I DON'T HAVE A THING FOR BELLS!" she shouted with a little hop. "What does that even supposed to imply, Anyway?"

Nightquill cleared his throat. "uhm ladies, perhaps we should get inside? all of equestria dying and such?"

Twilight looked dumbfounded as Nyx giggled at her. "Fine."

Making their way up the steps, Twilight took quick notes on the architecture of the arches and stone steps, noting each arch had ancient pony writing on it, if she had time she'd try to decipher them. but right now she could only take notes. they had their priorities, but not to make some sort of documentation of their discoveries would be a crime in itself. at least that's how twilight saw it.

"Wow, Rarity would loved the gold detailing on the dome." Nyx said as she looked at the tower as they approached. "I'm amazed it stood for so long, in the harsh of the cold. wind, rain.... yet it looks so untouched."

"I know. it's breath taking. really makes you appreciate the craftsmareship of Ponies back then." Twilight said as she looked in the book and began to read out loud. "Ehem. 'And so a great tower was built on the foundations of a mountain full of the richest treasures. ponies of all races contributed to it's construction, each aspect a contribution of their efforts. Take off and landing points for Pegasi, Battlements for Earth ponies, and gems to enhance a unicorn's magic in times of a crisis.' the Tower was like a symbol of Ponies of all three species to work together when all was against them."

they reached the huge double doors. upon stepping hoof on the final step they felt warmth emanating from the tower, as though it accepted them. all except Nightquill.

"Something's wrong. I don't feel right coming closer." Nightquill said as he stepped back. feeling normal.

Twilight smiled looking up at the double doors. she took a moment to decipher the ancient texts inscribed on them. the depiction of each knight adorn the two doors into a single image.

"it reads," Twilight Began. "Let only those who enter with true Harmony and Love in their hearts through these hollowed doors. and may you leave with a better understanding and spread it to others." Twilight couldn't help but smile.

Nyx came closer feeling even warmer. "why am I allowed and not him?" She said pointing to Nightquill. "I did.... bad things. why am I allowed to pass?"

Twilight smiled and trotted to her. "Because despite the wrong you did, you fought to make it right, your a good pony.... And your a child again. children are considered to be purest of heart."

Nyx smiled but looked back at Nightquill.

"It's fine. I'll set up a fire here and stand guard. I did some bad things trying to please my father...." He looked up at the doors and smiled. "Besides. this is your quest, not mine. I'm just along for the ride."

Nyx and Twilight looked to each other and nodded, galloping up to the door and began to push it open. they felt the door slowly swing open, inside blue fire magically lights the torch pots lighting up the tower's corridors. inside it was as though no time has passed since it was built. the floors were shiny and reflective marble with large pillers made of polished emerald. as they moved further inside the fires kept lighting up the interior, as though the service ponies of old were lighting them once more. the corridor led them to a large circular room, on the walls layed six stone Coffins. each one the the lids were covered with the armor of each pony that wore them. their weapons layed to the foot of the coffin.

"The knight's of harmony.... this is where they were layed to rest.... enchanting the armor cut their life spans short, the battle with Queen Ryugu, it must have killed a few of them." Twilight said as she looked them over. but she saw one coffin that was not covered with it's owner's armor. in fact it was empty.

"Twilight, look..." Nyx said as she turned her attention to a single room ahead.

Twilight looked down the hall, it was another corridor but a short one. as they went down it they saw a seventh coffin, this one was not like the others, it was decorated with care and love, and respect. flowers were layed upon it, usually this would be normal. but these flowers were fresh and from the field at the foot of the mountain. somepony planted them here.

"it's his coffin...." Twilight mused as she layed a hoof on it. it was as though whatever magic that the coffin held reacted to her. but not aggressively. Twilight Gasped and smiled. "he knows my Element, don't you?"

The coffin merely responded as it did when she touched it. the energy was gentle, warm, but strong and powerful. Twilight could only smile as she looked around. "We need your help again. Ryugu's trying to get free or already is. she's eating Equestria's life force somehow. but we need to stop her. Please. we need your armor."

As though the spirit of the Crusader whispered in her ear, the fire torches came alive, illuminating another hall. lights came alive, created by magical light gems, Twilight and Nyx made their way to the neighboring chamber, and on display was the armor, beautifully crafted, it shared similar designs from the Knights of harmony armor, but was more decorated with Purple, Pink, Blue, Orange, and Red gems, each one the shape the Elements of Harmony used to have carved on them before they became the necklaces and crown they manifested into.

"theres five, wheres the sixth? UGH Not this again! don't tell me we have to find the sword!" Twilight groaned, having a bad case of Deja Vu back to when she had to fight Nightmare Moon to get the sixth Element to appear, unfortunately now her friends weren't there to help her manifest it. but even so, these weren't the Elements of Harmony.

"Why don't you try putting it on? maybe the sword only appears to the wearer?" Nyx chimed in.

It was a fair possibility, perhaps once the armor was activated the sword will be summoned from it's hidden location. Twilight trotted up to the armor and took the helmet, she then noticed the gems at closer inspection. it had two different gems. each of the boots and gauntlets had one of the same gem. like whatever enchantment that exist was for that one set, but the Helmet had two different ones, Orange and Red.

"hmm. Applejack's was Orange, Rainbow Dash's element was Red..... so that means this helmet is enchanted with Honesty and Loyalty.... or Honor and Loyalty as it was called back then." she said removing her own armor and setting it gingerly on the floor.

Twilight then took the helmet and slid it on her head. she heard the sound of metal sliding against metal as an armored sheath slid along the length of her horn. the helmet had to account for unicorns as it was made for all three races. she let the helmet rest a moment before going for the gauntlets.

"Pink. it's Fluttershy's. Kindness. or Mercy as it was." She said as she slid the gauntlets on her front hooves. she then took the boots. "the gems are purple, Generosity." Twilight smiled as she thought of her friends, as though they were with her. perhaps the Knights were ancestors? though it seemed a bit of a stretch.

Nyx trotted up and helped Twilight in the Cuirass, the gem on it was the biggest and was made of blue sapphire. Panting Twilight struck a pose as though ready for the armor to activate any moment.

"And finally, Laughter, or as back then, JOY!" Twilight announced as she stood there.

waiting....

"uhm...." Nyx muttered as she poked the armor. "did it work?"

Twilight looked at herself and felt nothing. if anything the armor felt over sized for her, Heavy and if anything uncomfortable. the Crusader was a stallion, but good grief how big was he!? she shifted in the armor trying to get it to come on.

"uhm. maybe there's a incantation you need to say?" Nyx suggested.

"But what?" Twilight said.

at that moment the armor began to glow, but twilight didn't like the feeling as it immediately fell off her. the Armor rejected Twilight. Twilight got up from the floor and watched as the armor reassembled in a glowing aura before setting itself back on the pedistol.

"Wh-what?" Twilight shook her head. "No! Please! I don't understand! what did I do wrong, please! tell me!" Twilight began to think back. what did she do? Punch the priest at Hollow shades? though if that was the case the gauntlets of Mercy would have slid off right then and there. and besides the wearer didn't need to represent every one of the virtues of Harmony. the creators who made it knew it had to be worn by somepony when a crisis called upon it. and the Crisis was dire. Ryugu was returning and they needed that armor! so who, if not her was meant to wear the armor!?

As this ran through Twilight's mine like a cat chasing a mouse, Nyx had took her own armor off, as she tried the gauntlets on, they were far to big for her, she was the size of an average filly but the boots were huge.

"Wow whoever the Crusader was, he drank his milk." Nyx snickered as she waved the gauntlet around.

it was then however the gems on the gauntlet glowed. Nyx gasped as the rest of the armor came alive and began to put itself on her. Nyx squirmed, caught off guard by the boots, other gauntlet and now the cuirass now fitting itself on her. she also felt herself begin to grow, not unlike when the Children of Nightmare used magic from Everfree Forest to make her grow to a full grown adult. The helmet slowly slid down her head, the face plate closing around her face as her horn slid through the horn's armored sheath, the gems amplifying her magic one hundred fold. the gems all glowing feeding their magic as they made Little Nyx grow, unlike before however the Magic wasn't cold, angry and hatred. it was warm, loving, and inviting, Nyx relaxed, this felt good, the power the armor was giving her wasn't trying to warp or corrupt her, it wanted to aid her. she felt the aspect of each virtue begin to enter her soul.

"Twilight!" Nyx called out.

Twilight turned around, during her muttering thinking she turned away, taking her eyes off the armor, but when she turned back she was greeted to a glowing aura around the now fully grown Nyx. the Armor has turned to Silver with a bluish hue, but if only to compliment her coat, her wings were adorn with long blades that doubled her wing span. Nyx's face was covered in the closed helmet but the eye holes glowed turquoise. the gems now had a warm glow as they seethed with pure magic.

Twilight took a step back to take the imagine in, last time she saw Nyx this big was when she was turned to Nightmare Moon, but now she was fully grown once again. then she remembered what Luna said.

"Yes, all magical items have affect abilities. from what my sister and I learned the effects are cosmetic, but drastic." Luna said in Twilight's Memory.

"Nyx? are you okay?" Twilight asked slowly circling the now fully grown Alicorn.

"Yeah, I'm fine mom, I feel more powerful though. and big." Nyx said. one thing the armor didn't do was alter her voice, aside from some magical reverb and echo.

"are you sure?" Twilight asked. the armor has made Nyx grow but it also contorted to her body. it complimented her and at the same time made her look beautiful.

"I do feel warmth. it's nothing at all like that night when the Children of the Night changed me to nightmare Moon. it's like other ponies are beside me. I feel like I know them. I----" Nyx paused and gasp. Twilight couldn't see them but she could.

Before her were the Knights of Harmony, only five of them however, each one bowing to her their respective weapon in one hoof pointed down their blades to the floor, in salute and respect as they turned their heads, on the far side of the room the wall slid down. and there in the crossed forelegs of the missing Knight, was the sword of Wisdom.

"Nyx, what do you see?" Twilight asked.

"I see the Knights. the armor was enchanted with a fraction of their souls if I recall the story, it seems they are also part of the armor. they are telling me they will assist me when possible. they are summoning the sword to me now." Nyx said as she started to trot to it.

Twilight watched, she had expected it to be her to wear the armor. but somehow, it felt right, Nyx should wear it. her special Talent was Protecting her loved ones.... maybe the armor knew it? the Knights! it was them. they rejected her, not out of some ill feelings towards her, she just didn't need it, she was the Element of Magic. she didn't just represent that virtue, she was its incarnate.

"Can they talk?" Twilight asked, wondering if communication was possible.

"they can." Nyx said as she trotted up to the sword, seeing the knights nod. "they don't speak to me directly but I can feel what they're saying. it's an odd feeling."

"Ask them why I was rejected. I'm not upset. I am curious. and why you?" Twilight asked.

Nyx was silent for a moment before she turned, the eye slits of the helmet glowed white.

"It was not that you were unworthy." it was now another voice. not nyx, but the voice was kind and honest. it was gruff however. "but you lacked the requirement that was needed for the armor to accept you, Experience. we've seen you grow Twilight Sparkle. our spirits may reside in this armor now, but we had to watch the outside world as well. you fought many battles, true. but some, you need to rely on yourself, and draw on the lessons you learned from your friends."

"I, Thought I have." Twilight said as her ears wilted.

Another voice, feminine came from the Armor. "Don't sell yourself short young one. you've only begun a new journey. you will hone these skills in time. until then keep your bow level, and your Arrow straight. draw upon others for the strength you need to draw back the string. let their lessons better your aim, and release."

Twilight smiled at this, true it was weird hearing these words come from Nyx's mouth in different voices. but they made since.

Another voice came from the armor. a male with a soft Scottish accent. "Please excuse us, we've little time if Ryugu is to be stopped. we shall return control to the little one now."

Nyx shook her head and looked at the sword. "ugh that was the weirdest sensation I ever had. I hope you got your answer. I honestly didn't get any of that."

"I think I did. My mistake was relying too much on the element I have, when I should be learning and drawing on the magic of the others to support and strengthen that Element. I think that's what they're saying."

Nyx smiled and nodded. "they're saying you got it."

Nyx's horn glowed she felt the sword be released from the Knight's arms. as she held it up, the years of dirt and rust has tried to overtake it, but as she struck the blade on the pedistol the armor once stood upon, the rust and dirt began to break and fly free of the steel blade. soon the metal of the sword glistened and shun in the light. the blade was Silver, near it's base was a section that held the sixth and final gem, shaped as a six pointed star. the magical energies began to seethe from the blade. it's color then changed to silver with blue hilt and purple handle.

"Oh, it's beautiful." Twilight said, before noticing movement behind her.

The Knight in the wall slowly began to move, pulling out a sword from his back and slowly began to advance on Nyx.

"BEHIND YOU!" Twilight shouted.

Nyx quickly turned seeing the ancient Knight armor begin to raise his blade at her. she quickly moved the sword to Parry, causing the two blades to meet, the clash of metal against magical metal caused the impact of the swords to flash, and as the Knight advanced his attack each strike caused another flash. The Knight proceeded to attack ferociously, slashing and bucking at Nyx.

Twilight however put her armor back on, pulled her Shortsword from it's sheath and charged at the Knight. But before she could land a hit the Knight quickly swatted her aside with a buck and sent her flying, slamming into the wall, Twilight moaned and began to get up. she wished she had put her armor back on, the kick hurt. With a white glow of his horn a magical row of bars formed in front of her.

"HEY! LET ME OUT!" Twilight cried as she bucked at the magical bars.

"I'll get you out, Mom!" Nyx said as she began to advance her attack she combined her sword fighting with the use of her wing blades.

The Knight began to loose his ground, unable to block every blade that came at him Nyx shoved him back and blasted him with a bolt from her horn. she stepped up to him holding the tip of the sword to the Knight's chest.

"Do you yield?" Nyx asked. the Sword's tip pressing against the armored chest of the Knight that assaulted her and her mother.

The Knight looked up and stepped back, dropping to one knee as his armor began to magically restore itself, and not just on the outside. as he removed his helmet, what was once dried up bones has regrown to flesh, skin, fur and hair. he took a breath and bowed, lowering his sword to the ground holding it vertical with his hoof.

"I Yield, M'lady. or should I say, Crusader." The Knight said, he was a unicorn, with blue eyes, Light purple coat, and long dark blue mane. his voice was deep, firm but almost fragile.

"Good, now release my mother." Nyx ordered.

"As you wish." Broadsword's horn glowed as the magic bars disappeared around twilight. "I hope you accept my sincere apologies, Miss. but I was testing to be sure the sword was in the right hooves of a pony who was honorable." He looked up to Nyx and bowed. "I am proud to know you passed that test."

"Who are you?" Twilight asked, the bars have dispelled, she trotted up beside Nyx.

"I am Sir Broadsword of the Knights of harmony order." Broadsword said. "I am ready to be of service M'lady."

"You may rise. how you survived for so long while the others haven't." Nyx said as she sheathed the sword.

Broadsword got up and sheathed his sword, he looked around noting the spirits of his Comrades, Twilight took it to mean only Broadsword and Any pony wearing the Armor, in this case, Nyx could see them.

"After the battle with Queen Ryugu" he began. "my brothers and I brought the Armor here, after his Death." Broadsword looked to the next room with the first crusader's Coffin. the way he looked at the coffin was less of loosing a comrade and more like loosing someone very close to them. "however with all of us gravely injured, and with death lingering, we've decided to put all our remaining energies in one Knight, it was decided that I would stand guard, Protecting the sword as the others let their souls explore Equestria. searching for the next Pony to wear the armor of the Crusader."

"Wait!" Twilight interrupted. "I got to know. was the whole ordeal of the book opening by itself because of you and the Knight's sending me a message?"

Broadsword nodded. "Yes. there was less time then we were expecting. we had to get you both here somehow. although I don't think striking the fair unicorn was the correct method." His glare seemed to focus on a lone corner. the spirit residing there was one of the earth pony mares who shrugged and looked sheepish.

Nyx looked to twilight, as though thinking the same question. "but why me?"

Broadsword looked beside himself and smiled. "We watched you, from the moment of your creation. how you grew, how you learned." he said as he looked to another empty space in the room. his smile weakening. "Even when you were lost in anger and hatred. I wondered why my brothers still kept interest in you after that." his smile then returned. "but then you rose from your errors. raising the sun like that."

Broadsword's smile grew more. "it must have been hard to find out the cheers wasn't for you. but you kept the sun up. and then it was the act of sacrifice we saw you did. you, choosing to sacrifice yourself to save not just a town of helpless ponies. protecting your friends, your loved ones. You restored your Honor!"

"Y-You all saw that?" Nyx said looking around the room, only she could see the armored ponies nod their heads, even their helmets couldn't hide the smiles they contained.

"We know the ponies who distrust, or even still hate you today. but even then. when you saved the workers on that train, the Conductor's son was under the spell that forced him to serve you. he had wanted to do harm to you should he meet you. but in saving his life, he got to know the real you." One of the spirits said.

"and it was you who showed concern for the ponies petrified in the ice. and it was your generous heart to give what little food you had to the princesses to help them recover." a new spirit, again feminine but her voice was more mature, at the same time she was very elegant with a slight Celtic accent.

"and finally, while any other would show anger at the ponies of Hollow Shades for treating you the way they did, you instead chose not to. you listened, learning from one of their own why they felt that way. you understood that in the end, it was their since of community and love for one another that brought out the good in them. even if they hated you for what you were, you knew they shared some kindness to each other." a soft spoken male voice said.

Twilight couldn't help but smile. "I'm so proud of you Nyx. though i still think those ponies were jerks."

"Oh, they were very rude. no arguement from that and by no means does their good aspects make up the fact they attacked you." the second feminine Celtic voice returned.

"forgive me for interrupting my brothers, but we must now begin our hard work. Ryugu somehow is getting herself free, I can feel the spell that locked her in the pocket dimension weakening." the gruff voice said.

Broadsword nodded his horn glowing as she cast a spell from his horn to the ceiling, outside Nightquill watched as a beam of light fired from the dome, clearing and churning the clouds before bouncing over to Canterlot then Ponyville, the ice began to thaw and ponies returned their color and shook themselves free, looking around in confusion and muttering to others. back in Saddle Tor Broadsword stopped the spell and panted.

"I freed those i could. but Equestria has grown a lot in the many decades we waited." Broadsword panted as he sat down.

Twilight smiled. "what towns did you target?"

Broadsword panted and looked up. he was aging. the spell greatly weakened him. but he soon began to recover. "I freed the Capitol and the small town south of it. from what I understand the princesses can assist you, and these Elements of harmony might be a good weapon against this monster as well."

Nyx put a hoof on his shoulder and nodded. "thank you Knight. But please rest. you've exerted yourself too greatly and too quickly."

Twilight was beginning to notice a slight change in Nyx's behavior, but this could be the mix of six other souls that are in the armor. and in many ways they're not a bad influence. still it's not something she liked happening all at once.

"Uhm, Gentlemen, and ladies. i was hoping to ask. will this change in size, and personality in Nyx be... permanent?" Twilight asked. she had to voice her concerns.

"Your correct to voice your concerns." the first female voice spoke.

"but rest assured. the little one is not being altered in any way. we placed safeguards in the armor to prevent such a possibility." the soft male voice said.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "oh thank you."

"if she wishes to remove the armor she may just remove the helmet, she'll return to her original size, the armor will shrink to her size until the helmet is put back on." the Gruff male voice stated.

Nyx reached her hooves to the helmet and pulled it off, and in an instant she returned to her filly size. the armor is now her size, though the wing blades have disappeared, and the sword has turned to to a small dagger twin to the one Luna enchanted the Hunting Knife into.

"whoah. that's a funny feeling." Nyx said as she looked at the helmet.

Broadsword slowly got back up fully rejuvenated and looking young again.

"I am ready to travel with you, now M'lady." Broadsword said as he bowed to Nyx, now it looked kind of silly, as she was filly size again. but that didn't seem to phase him one bit. to him, he saw his new leader. the new Crusader he must Guard and share wisdom with whenever she needs it. As it was his sworn duty to serve the Crusader, no matter if the new crusader was a Stallion, Mare, Unicorn, Earth pony, or even in this case, a Black Alicorn Filly.

Nyx giggled and looked up to Twilight, beaming with a bright smile. "where to now?"

Eyes In The Sky

The doors of Saddle Tor opened as Twilight trotted outside, Nyx wished to remain in the coffin chamber to explore, and with Broadsword's reassuring words that she'll be more then safe, Twilight allowed it, after all she was the Crusader of Harmony now. she was well protected by the armor and the spirits that inhabited it would prevent the filly from getting into any mischief. at least she hoped.

Nightquill was sitting at the steps with a camp fire burning. they've been inside since nightfall and it was now five in the morning, luckily Nyx was kind enough to give him what food she had. when he saw the doors open he half expected Twilight to be adorn in the sacred armor, but he was surprised when she wasn't, More surprised when he saw Broadsword.

"Hello, Twilight. Uhm. who's your friend here?" Nightquill looked at him, though he seemed rather entranced with him.

"OH! Nightquill, this is Broadsword, Broadsword this is Nightquill, he comes from the town Hollow Shades." Twilight said motioning her hooves to the respective stallion as she introduced them.

"Hollow Shades? I've not heard good things about that place." Broadsword said raising a brow.

"uuuh." Nightquill looked deflated as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, So you know, I don't have the same views as them."

"you are wiser then they are then." he said as he trotted down the steps looking over the makeshift camp.

"Twilight, I need to---" Nightquill began only for Twilight to look up.

"is that a chariot?" Twilight asked, taking out some binoculars.

It was indeed a chariot, but more then that, it was Celestia's chariot with the sun princess on board, as well as Princess Luna, but more importantly she had a whole battalion of Royal Guards with her. chariots hauled Unicorn guards as the pegasi pulled them.

Celestia's Chariot landed at the foot of the steps and the two princesses disembarked, they climbed up the steps, some Gentlecolt Guards being sure they don't fall from loose cobble.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna! I am happy to see you, but why are you here?" Twilight asked galloping to Celestia to receive a nuzzle from her mentor, Luna could only smile, yes she was going to tease her sister in some way about this if only playfully.

"Canterlot was thawed by some magic of some sort, at first I took it to mean you defeated Queen Ryugu, but we saw only Canterlot and Ponyville were freed." Celestia said as she looked at Twilight and noticed not what she was wearing but what she wasn't. "Twilight, why aren't you wearing the Armor of the Crusader?"

"Uuuh, well you see---" Twilight chuckled nervously.

"Okay, Mother, I'm ready to go!" Nyx said as she cantered through the doors of the tower, the Silver-blue armor glistening in the sun, the helmet being held under her wing, the armor had fit to her small body, and in the sun the gems on the armor glistened, it was like the armor of a goddess.

Celestia and Luna looked at little Nyx, their eyes were wide and unbelieving. at first they didn't want to accept it, Celestia was sure Twilight was the one to wear the armor. why wouldn't she? it made since.

"Twilight, why are you not wearing the armor? why is Nyx wearing it, Please tell me, I need to know?" Celestia asked, she was polite and spoke gently, but the undertone of Panic was in her voice.... as well as disappointment.

"I..... I was rejected by the armor. I wasn't chosen to be the new Crusader." Twilight said sadly before she trotted up and stood by Nyx, wrapping her hoof around her daughter. "But, I understand why it chose Nyx. and I for one support the decision one hundred and ten percent!"

Nyx beamed as she looked up at Twilight.

Celestia just stared for a moment, she approached Twilight and Nyx, she sighed and looked at them before a smile formed on her face.

"Alright Crusader, If Twilight is with you so am I." Celestia finally spoke, determination in her voice.

Luna approached and smiled, nodding. "You shall have Celestia and I at your side, most importantly you have both our support!"

Nyx smiled and nodded, she looked to the Helmet and snorted before putting it on, the princesses watched as she grew to Celestia's height, meeting the sun princess's eye level.

"Then let us work together then." Nyx said, while it was still young, it had a majestic eco and reverb, making her sound bigger then she was. it was intimidating.

Celestia and Luna backed away a step, they didn't expect Nyx to grow that big so fast, they knew the armor had affects on the wearer, but it would make since that a filly would need to be fully grown to make the armor be useful.

Broadsword approached the two princesses and bowed.

"Welcome back to the Tor, Celestia, Luna. you've.... grown since last I saw you." Broadsword said looking up at them, he was an average build stallion, but the armor made him bulky.

"Hello Broadsword, Your looking young as ever...." Celestia said looking a touch perplexed.

"Don't mind, Celestia she doesn't age well." Luna teased.

"Luna, I am only three decades older then you!" Celestia bit back, she did not take the teasing from her sister as such.

"Yeah, but the stress the last thousand years seemed to added a couple of wrinkles..." Luna gasped then pointed in Celestia's mane. "IS THAT A GREY HAIR!"

"WHAT WHERE!?" Celestia panicked checking her mane only to find no such grey strain, Luna however was giggling like a school filly.

"I see your sister is still as Mischievous as ever." Broadsword chuckled. "it is good to see you've not lost your good spirits. we will need them for the battle that awaits us."

Celestia's face straightened as she realized Luna's teasing wasn't to spite her, she was just as scared of the situation as she was. it was a reason Luna once used the Element of Laughter. she couldn't help but smile and grin herself.

"Well, at any rate, if it is alright with you, my Sister and I wish to bring the Saddle Tor back to service, we have our battalion at the ready." Luna stated as she cleared her throat.

"Your more then welcome to the tower, it be good to see her halls filled with life again." Broadsword stated,

The royal guard wasted no time in getting the tower's defenses up, and some went to the Knights and Crusader's Coffin chambers to pay their respects, Pray, and leave offerings for blessings of strength. an odd behavior when most ponies view the princesses as deities themselves, but the tower itself had a divine feel to it, and the mares and stallions who once Lived, Fought, and layed to rest in this ancient tower demanded respect.

Twilight however watched the stallion and mares in armor, not one were crystal ponies.

"Princess Celestia?"

"Yes twilight?" Celestia answered softly as she levitated a supply trunk from a cargo chariot.

"have you heard any word from the Crystal Empire? I would have thought Cadence and my brother would have sent some soldiers to aid you?" Twilight said as she trotted around two stallions bringing in a Ballista.

"We've not heard word from the Crystal Empire since the day you freed my sister and I, Twilight. though the news says the Crystal Empire isn't affected by the ice, I fear they have their own problems in other forms to deal with." Celestia said.

Twilight watched as Celestia and Luna dawned their own royal armor, it was similar to their royal attire, but the armor covered more of their bodies, legs, and even their wings had protective segments, only Luna used the wing blades. she began to notice how often she seen these weapons. Royal guards did not use them, so they must be an ancient weapon practice for pegasus. and from the way Luna and the pegasi she seen that wore these blades kept the tips of their wings away from their bodies when the wings were folded told her these blades required special training and care. she also recalled the Armored Knight she saw was a pegasus with these blades, and Nyx's armor had them as well, Nyx even seemed to know how to properly use them with care. maybe it was just a pegasus and Alicorn thing?

Nyx trotted up to the two. "It feels good that we are fighting together this time. not against each other."

Celestia and luna smiled.

"then let us be a force to be reckoned with." Luna boasted magically manifesting her swords through her magic.

"Well said sister!" Celestia said summoning her magic sword from her aura.

Nyx took out her sword, the two looked at it, captured in it's glistening majesty as they saw all three of their reflections in it as she met the tip of the blade with their swords. "then let it be here that we swear to fight not just for equestria, for crown, or throne, but as sisters bound by the sword and honor!"

"As Sisters!" the three Alicorns declared in unison.

A declaration that brought the sky to turn dark. Clouds swirled and parted the sky, thunder shook the ground, a cloud of black mist began to form in the sky as a pair of glowing green eyes looked down upon all of Equestria, as though they were looking down at a table of food for a hungry stomach. the eyes flashed as the ice finally melted, the land returned to it's colorful normality, yet ponies who were frozen by the ice that turned grey remained in place.

"It's her." Broadsword said as his brows furrowed. sneering at the eyes as they glared down at him. "Queen Ryugu."

A Laughter echoed through the land, animal and pony alike felt their bodies shake as the eyes narrowed on them.

"My Subjects, your beloved Queen has returned to you!" The ancient Queen cackled, her voice was shill, deep, and threatening as it echoed from the sound echoing through the land. "I am Queen Ryugu, the first queen and rightful ruler of Equestria. Bow to me, pledge your allegiance to me, and I Promise you the power to have all your heart's desire, Pledge yourself subservient to me and live in a Kingdom of true harmony!"

Celestia growled as she flew up, her horn glowing as she used the Royal Voice, something she's not used in a thousand years. however she magnified it as much as possible. "MY LITTLE PONIES! HEAR ME, IF YOU SWEAR ALLEGIENCE TO RYUGU, YOU WILL ONLY DOOM YOURSELF TO A LIFE OF ENSLAVEMENT, YOU'LL BE NOTHING BUT FOOD TO A VAMPIRE TYRANT!"

"SILENCE FOAL!" Queen Ryugu growled as she blasted Celestia with a green mist of fire.

Celestia screamed in pain before falling back to the tower steps, only to be caught by Luna and Nyx in mid fall.

"Equestria is My land to rule, you usurping evangelical Mule!" Ryugu snapped at the fallen sun princess. "You'll soon learn the price of Impersonating Royalty!"

Twilight growled and levitated herself as close she could. "PRINCESS CELESTIA IMPERSONATES AND PRETENDS TO NOTHING! Nopony will Follow a monster like you!"

the pair of eyes narrowed on the little Unicorn that seemed like an ant to them. they then began to shake as the dark Queen began to laugh.

"Stupid Child! Go back to playing with your Abacus and Chemistry Set!" Queen Ryugu snapped. "Your knowledge is nothing compared to mine! your nothing but an infant that thinks her mentor's attention is the all that exists of the universe. like a dog begging her master to be petted. PATHETIC! Return to your master, little dog" Ryugu quipped before blasting Twilight with a mist of green fire.

Twilight Fell but was caught by Nightquill, she was silent the way down and when she landed on the ground she plopped to her haunches. the words dug and twisted deep into her heart, nopony's talked to her in such a way. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, none of their words hurt like the Dark Queen's did. she couldn't help but shudder and sob. she knew they were lies, but something about how she said it...

"Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia barked. "Don't you DARE listen to one word that demon says! I have watched you learn and grow your knowledge the first day I met you, Twilight. your not just smart, but your creative too. you were the one who enchanted those boots to allow you to tread the life devouring ice, your the one who freed my Sister. and let us not forget the lessons of friendship and the many trials you went through against those who brought danger to Equestria."

"Celestia is correct, Mother." Nyx said as she helped Twilight up. "Your the smartest and most magical unicorn I know! and I'm not just saying that because your my mom either!"

the green eyes then fixated on Nyx the way they narrowed and contorted it was almost the invisible face that owned those eyes were smiling. "AH so a new crusader has been chosen? Awww how cute a little Child is going to fight me? Oh how I could just pinch your cute little CHEEKS!" Ryugu growled. "You don't seriously believe a Mutt like you can defeat me? Your not even a pony. your Nothing but a shadow of a Pony who had a temper tantrum. Yes. that's what you are. Nothing but a shell. You believe yourself a Pony of your own, you believe your a good pony? BAH! Your a product of a botched spell that was taken out of the oven too soon. Your not a pony, your a manifestation of pain, regrets, and jealousy. You believe to have a soul, when in reality, your nothing but a lifeless puppet that thinks she's a real filly!"

Nyx tried to ignore the words, but they found scars from old wounds and ripped right into them. digging deep and drawing up old emotions.

"Your a pathetic excuse of a creature if I ever seen one, Why, I should dispose of you this instant!" Ryugu said, a wisp of shadow snaked it's way and wrapped around Nyx, constricting her tightly, invisible thorns stabbing into her, like the bush she was in when she first woke. "An unnatural being like you doesn't belong in My Kingdom, You dare call yourself a pony, You DARE to defy me by pretending to be the new Crusader!? YOU'LL DIE BY MY VERY GRIP!"

Nyx screamed in agony and frustration, the queen's words were all False, she knew this because she knew she had a soul. she was as much a Pony as Twilight, Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, Twist, and Scootaloo, she was as much a pony as Twilight's Friends, Rarity came to mind, she had a soul and she was not going to let the queens words fill her mind with lies!

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Nyx yelled as she unsheathed the sword of Wisdom and struck the tendril of shadow was sliced through like a weed, Ryugu snarled as Nyx extended her wings and hovered before the two eyes. "You like to play with Pony's heads, look into their hearts and twist their image of who they are to the very thing they're not! I'll tell you who you are, Ryugu. or who you used to be."

"Oh? I am Intrigued." Ryugu sneered.

Twilight watched as she tried to levitate back up to Nyx, only for Broadsword to grab her by the tail.

"No, let her do this." he said as he pointed his hoof at Nyx. "Watch, she isn't alone up there."

As Nyx glared up at the pair of glowing emerald eyes, the orange gem of her helmet began to glow. she gave a snort and looked down at Twilight and nodded.

"You were once a pony filled with Love for her ponies, Ryugu. you were Kind, caring, even when you began to become corrupted you still cared for them. and in many ways you still do." Nyx began, the pair of eyes narrowing. "when the ponies felt betrayed when you turned into the monster you are now, you weren't angry, your heart was broken. deep down you cried knowing you betrayed the ponies you loved, and knowing they formed an army against you hurt you even more, and even now as you ask for today's pony's allegiance, you merely wish them to love and admire you like they love and admire Princess Celestia and princess Luna. but I assure you."

Nyx began to grow bold, adding her own venomness bite to her words, venom of honesty. "I'll assure you, Ryugu, they won't love you. they won't admire you. in the deepest part of their minds, they'll fear and hate you! it's what I learned when I was Nightmare Moon, when I sent Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to the Sun and Moon respectively, when I took over as Queen of Equestria, I wasn't loved or adored, when I made jokes, nopony laughed. when I did raise the sun, Everypony cheered, not for me, but because they believed Celestia got free and defeated me.

"Everypony despised me, Ryugu, just as they'll despise you, and deep down that will hurt more then any physical pain. you'll be forever alone, You'll never have friends, you'll never meet your special somepony, you'll be alone." Nyx said looking across the mountain to Moonstone Castle as old memories began to build up, but she quickly dashed those away. "oh sure you'll find a stallion you'll fancy, you might even marry him. but in the end, he won't return your feelings. he'll only hate you more. You'll live forever in fear that the pony you love might turn on you and attempt to assassinate you, because that's all I see in your heart, Ryugu."

the Dark Queen remained silent.  they squinted on Nyx as though she was the only thing that existed. Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Nightquill looked on with their jaws dropped. one of the royal guards even muttered 'Daaaaaang' in the tower.

"Y-You Know Nothing of me, Welp! Your just a---" Ryugu began only to trip on her own words. growling and shouting as she threw a thunderous tantrum.

Nyx just watched the show before her. the gem of honesty on her helmet slowly receded it's glow.

"RAAAAHHH!" the dark queen roared in anger. "ENOUGH of this babbling! do not think you've won with your little words, Crusader! We shall face each other soon, and when we do I shall strip every fiber of your being from your worthless Hide! I shall rip your wings off, Snap that horn from your skull and force your Unicorn 'Mother' to eat your wings as I tourcher her before you! You will learn true suffering! But until then, I have much work to do."

With that the emerald green eyes disappeared from the black mass, and soon the mass too dispersed, Nyx flew down, her body quivering as she shuddered. she barely made a single step before collapsing, her helmet coming off becoming little nyx once more. she cried as though she was back to the way she was when Twilight first found her. and without a moment to waste twilight ran to Nyx and held her tight. it was a few moments before she settled down and panted from her fit.

"are you alright, M'lady?" Broadsword asked.

"Y-Yes... thank you." Nyx said sniffling. "I, I don't know why I broke down like that. I know I have nothing to be sad about. we may not have defeated her but I know I had forced her to retreat, but it was like I was so, sad and lonely."

Broadsword approached and placed a hoof on the young filly's shoulder. "what you felt was Queen Ryugu's true feelings. the helmet allowed you to see into her soul, you got a glimpse of who she truly was and you were able to use that to emotionally fight her. however those emotions also imprinted onto your feelings as well."

Nyx blinked and looked at the helmet in shock. "I could do that?"

Broadsword nodded. "it's the first of many abilities the armor grants the wearer. it's not just protection, it allows you to see your enemy for who they truly are, your predecessor merely used the armor as protection, and while he fought with honor and integrity, he could never learn to use the armor's true abilities."

Broadsword looked over to the shrouded town of Hollow shades, his eyes narrowing as he fixated on it. "I know where she is going."

Twilight looked to broadsword. "you do, where?"

Broadsword merely pointed his hoof to Hollow Shades. Twilight and Nyx however went pale. their mortal enemy was taking residence in a town that if they tried to return to, the ponies there will kill them. a town with a Magical barrier that made Twilight's body betray her. Twilight's face went red as she grimaced.

"Broadsword, if we go back there, we'll be marked as kill on sight." Nyx said as she looked up at the Knight.

"that was before you put that armor on." Broadsword said as he unsheathed his sword. "but now your under my protection, and nopony shall lay harm to you as long as I draw breath."

"Hollow Shades has hid beneath it's shroud of darkness long enough." Celestia said as she glared at the town. "I've lost many ponies that went there to simply talk to these ponies. none felt worse then the pony I sent to send food and medical supplies to. she was meant to stay and study the town... I never heard back from her when she left."

Nightquill's ears perked as he approached Celestia. "this pony you speak of, did she have a coat like mine?" he asked. unlike other ponies in Hollow Shades, his Light blue was a sign he wasn't inbred like the others who had white to dark coats.

Celestia took one look at him, at first light Blue coats were common in Canterlot ponies, but as she looked at his clawed hooves, armor, and mane and eye colors, she made the connections. "Your..."

"I'm her son, Nightquill."

Celestia thought on this, she then smiled. "I guess she found some happyness then, if she found a nice stallion---

"she's dead, your majesty. the town's barrier has an affect on outsider ponies, especially mares to desire the town stallions." Nightquill explained looking away as though he was a sin. "I was her only son, before they decided her 'Indoctrinating' me was an affront to their views and laws and wasn't fit for further... use. so when I got my cutiemark and drafted into the Hunters for being a Pegasus, they executed her."

Celestia stood there letting this sink in, she sighed through her nostrils. "Tell me Nightquill, do you believe as they do? that Luna and I are Abominations of Nature?"

Nightquill looked up, and shook his head. "No. I think they are hateful and scared. My mother told me how kind and loving you were. and i see no sign to prove to me otherwise. every night she'd secretly told me stories about you, Celestia. she told me stories of the battle with Discord, Nightmare Moon, she tell me what you really were like. but it was all in secret."

Celestia looked at the pegasus for the longest time. her horn glowed as she pulled the armor off of him and crumpled it like it was paper, she then took the clawed horseshoes off him and slammed them in the ground.

it was rare to see Princess Celestia angry, even rarer to see her angry and put her anger out on something, but as Celestia smashed the armor and clawed horseshoes, she did it with rage. Nightquill's mother was one of the castle servants, but one she held a friendship with since she was little and her mother worked in the castle. she watched her grow up to a beautiful young mare and the thought her life was robbed of happiness with a stallion, that her body was forced into feelings she had no control of made her sick. but more so angrier. eventually all that remained of the armor and horseshoes was twisted metal in a crater in the ground. now a new addition to the stairs of Saddle Tor.

Luna slowly trotted up to the heaving Celestia, placing a hoof on her shoulder. Celestia closed her eyes and furrowed her brows. she calmed herself before looking at the audience she drew from her display. she snorted and looked to Nightquill, the stallion wasn't sure if he was about to join what remained of his armor. Celestia's gaze soften as she sighed.

"I apologize for my outburst, your mother and I were close friends. and to know she had her life taken away because of me...." Celestia tried hard to keep her emotions from flying off like a hord of angry dragons once more. "Nightquill, I will ask this but once. would you like to be a citizen of Equestria? or return to Hollow Shades?"

Nightquill Balked, he stood silent for a moment then sighed. "About that..... I should tell you all something before this continues. before things unfold before you understand what I was really asked to do."

------

It was now sunset and Luna glowed her horn to raise the moon, she sat near Celestia and Twilight as they formed around the campfire at the base of the mountain of Saddle Tor. they were once again on the road and were making their way to Hollow Shades to confront the ponies that lived there, Celestia and Luna were followed by a squadron of Royal Guard in Special Operations armor, their weapons were no longer spears, but swords and shield. For as long as they have ruled, Celestia has lost many ponies to the town, every time she sent someone as a bringer of friendship and peace, the Ponies of Hollow Shades took them captive, used them to quell their numbers in breeding regimens, and for Ponies like Nightquill's mother, were killed for trying to 'Indoctrinate' their children about the truth.

Nightquill however had a Dark Secret, one he could no longer keep, in meeting Celestia and Luna, in spending time with Nyx, he knew of the Fear and Hatred the town held over the Princesses had warped the towns ponies minds. they twisted the Knights of Harmony's virtues to mean that only ponies of the original three tribes are natural and how nature intended it, and when Queen Ryugu became corrupted it warped their views on Alicorns to be untrustworthy demons that wanted to take over and devour the life of all ponies, to enslave them.

Thus, Nightquill layed by the fireplace, staring at the burning embers as he threw his Camouflage cloak into the fire. watching it burn, he then reached under his wing and withdrew a silver ceremonial dagger. it's blade was swirvy with a depiction of an Alicorn on the hilt of the blade with it's heart cut out.

"Before we left Hollow Shades, my brother, Freefall stopped me, he said he cared deeply for me and worried I was under a spell by Nyx." Nightquill began.

Twilight and Nyx shared looks, Nyx sighing, she heard this angle from Shining Armor once before, honestly it was like a bad joke that run it's course.

"he said if I wanted to restore my place in the eyes of the town, in the eyes of the Hunters, I had to prove my loyalty." He looked up at Nyx. "it was my test of loyalty. one that would send a message through all of equestria. if one of you were to die everypony would see that Alicorns were not divine immortals. that if you could bleed, we can kill you."

Nightquill took the blade and held it up, pointing it at Nyx. "Freefall ordered me to Kill you, Nyx. to cut off your head and bring it back to the temple to be displayed. so I may be renoun through all of hollow Shades as a Hero, and earn my place as leader of the Hunter Pegasi."

Nyx gulped as she looked at the blade, Broadsword kept his Magic on the hilt of his sword, Celestia and Luna shared glances, Twilight however was silent. watching Nightquill carefully, if anypony was to make the first move it be her.

"it's what everypony in town wanted, my Father, Dark Feather would be proud of me, I'd ensure my right to Marry my sister." that got a few grimaces from the royal guards. "Everypony would be proud of me."

"But...." Nyx finally spoke. "what do you want?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the dagger, but her question was careful and genuine.

Nightquill looked at the Dagger for the longest time, the tip began to glow from the fire underneath it, it seemed to thirsting for the Filly Alicorn's blood. he scowled and in one quick move made his choice.

THUNK!

A Heretic Returns Home

The Ceremonial Dagger struck fast and true, it honed in to it's designated target, it's blade sinking deep in it's victim. the flames of the campfire danced in it's reflection as Nyx stared at her mirrored self on the blade. the silver weapon began to melt from the heat of the fire, three inches of it's blade dug into the burning long.

"D-Did you have to be so dramatic about it?" Nyx said more to herself then Nightquill.

"I am sorry, but you asked what I wanted. you have my answer." Nightquill snapped. "Hollow Shades is my Home, and as much as I love my family, if I need to kill an Innocent Filly, Alicorn or otherwise to have that Love returned, then I don't want it."

Celestia watched the dagger melt in the fire, she saw it had an enchantment to allow the blade to not just kill an Alicorn, but absorb their essence into the blade, making it a potent magical item. no telling what it could have done for the pony who wielded it.

"You have an odd way to show it, but your a very honorable Pony, Nightquill." Luna said as she smiled to him.

Nightquill didn't return the smile. he made his decision, but to him, it was like committing suicide. he defied the orders of his Father, his brother, and now he will no longer be accepted by his own kin. when they see him, they'll reject him, probably even try and kill him.

Celestia looked at Nightquill, she knew the social suicide he just committed. "Nightquill, look at me Please?"

the light blue pegasus looked up at her with his red eyes. ears drooped. it was odd how Broadsword looked at him.

"Yes, Princess Celestia?" Nightquill replied though his voice was cracking up a bit.

"in lue of your abandonment of your town, I would like to offer you residence in Canterlot, or maybe---"

"No." Nightquill quickly said.

Celestia blinked, that was way too fast a response she could calculate. "Nightquill, you cannot simply close yourself off like this. I understand what this means for you, what you did may as well cost you your life. but I think you should look at the new options open to you---"

"No."

Celestia frowned.

Broadsword got up and trotted to nightquill. "look to me then."

Nightquill looked up at the ancient Knight, mostly out of curiosity, what could he be offering?

"Nightquill, you have demonstrated you can go beyond the confines of how you were raised. the ponies in your town knew only hate and fear, you however opened your mind. and when you were asked to make a choice, you did more then just refuse it, you defined who you want to be." Broadsword said as he pulled out his sword. "You showed you wish to have your own path made for you, one not layed by your father or brother. but now you are a wind without direction."

Nightquill looked up at him sitting up as he kept his eyes on the blade.

"Nightquill, I Broadsword sword master of the Knights of Harmony wish to offer you a new path, will you offer yourself to the service of the Crusader, to be a new member of the Knights of harmony?"

Broadsword's horn glowed as new armor was formed by the old armor Celestia mangled, re configuring it into gold, white, and red Knight's Armor, with wing blades of silver.

Nightquill stared at the armor, he at first stayed silent only looking at the armor, his mind's gears ran like an overrun machine cranked to high, but as he looked at it, he looked at Broadsword. He did not expect an answer immediately, the choice was truly his to make. if he said no, then that was it, but Nightquill looked at the Armor. he had a new path open to him as all others closed. it was a path he could be proud of.

Nightquill stood and knelt. "I accept this path. I will be a Knight of harmony."

Broadsword's horn glowed as the armor was put on Nightquill, it was light like how he was used to, but it felt... right. Broadsword tapped the blade of his sword on Nightquill's shoulders.

"Rise, Sir Nightquill, you are hereby recognized as a Knight of Harmony, now, swear this oath as I say it, 'do you Nightquill, swear to uphold the virtues of Loyalty, Honor, Joy, Generosity, Mercy, and Wisdom? do you vow to protect all ponies, with no bias to their race, affiliation, faction, or views upon you or others?

"Will you do what you demonstrated tonight that and defy those who would do harm to the innocent? to help others make the choice you just did tonight? To Spread Love, Uphold the Peace, and fight those who would threaten the Harmony bestowed on this land that our ancestors who brought that faithful night Hearth's Warming day?

"do you promise to raise your blade in support of your brother knights in battle, as you would raise your mug to drink with them in times of joy? to stand by them in times of hardship, and to come to their aid when they fall as they would aid you? Nightquill, do you Swear to this Oath I have said them?"

Nightquill nodded. "Yes, I do. I swear to this oath, and will abide and honor it to my best abilities.

Broadsword sheathed his sword. "then Rise, Knight, and breath a life anew." his horn glowed as Nightquill's Clawed horseshoes are transfigured, into a great Axe of steel with a diamond edge. "Take your weapon Knight, may it be a symbol of the oath you have sworn to, your Armor is now enchanted with the virtue of integrity, should you ever feel lost, may it be the beacon to help you find your way back on the path you now walk."

the chest piece of Nightquill's Cuirass forms a new gem, a sapphire in shape of a quill and three stars.

Everypony was speechless, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna could only watch as Nightquill rose, already he felt like a different pony then before as he took his ax and sheathed it. Nyx smiled as Twilight's jaw was agape. Nyx gently brought her hoof up to close her jaw.

"Wow.... I feel, different. New even." Nightquill said as he looked over his armor.

"you are a Knight of Harmony now, Brother Nightquill, wear that armor with pride and respect." Broadsword said smiling, it was obvious this felt good to him as well.

"I will." Nightquill said as he looked to princess Celestia.

Celestia blinked before smiling. "congratulations. I think this is a better rout for you. much better then being a royal guard I was going to offer."

Nyx smiled only to give out a yawn.

"the Crusader is correct, we should all get some rest." Broadsword said as he stood first watch. "Will you stay vigil with me, Brother?"

Nightquill nodded. "I will..... Brother." as he said these words, he felt as though they were natural, not often forced when it was towards Freefall. he was a Knight now, he had a new family. one he will Honor.

------

"Good Morning Equestria! this is DJ Pon3, the Radio Personality with the best mane! I'm sure all of you have seen those pairs of eyes glaring down at us from Equestria's big blue sky. but most of all, I'm sure you saw the ice melt away and color return to our lovely home. a time for joy indeed, but Remember Ponies. our Pony friends are still playing statue, looking like stone.

"I Have however got reports of Canterlot and Ponyville, a little town just south of it being thawed before then, and I take it Princess Celestia is angrier then a nest of hornets because she and a whole herd of the Royal Guard was spotted by yours truly flying east. gotta say the next ponies to see her majesty when they find her and if she's not in a good mood are not going to be having a pleasant day. well unless they're the ponies who's causing this, then I say give them a shot to the flank for Octy, Princess!

"In other news, the ever growing silence from the Crystal Empire has never been deafening, and now that the ice is gone... gotta say ponies, I'm not liking this one bit.

"Now some of you ponies are wondering, DJ, you beautiful mare who's cuteness rivals Princess Luna, and who's mane is more awesome then Princess Celestia. whatever happened to those Ponyville ponies? Well everypony, here's what I was able to gather from eye witnesses who were able to survive the ice and escape being petrified. I even got this information from messenger pony who survived Canterlot, the message was from Princess Celestia herself!

"Turns out those two ponies one of them are none other then the Element of Harmony Bearer, Twilight Sparkle, you remember her, right? the Pony who beat the panties off of Nightmare Moon, kicked Discord's tail, and helped Princess Cadence and Shining Armor fight Chrysalis and retake the Crystal Empire? well she's been on a quest across Equestria to a small town called Hollow Shades. that patch of darkness in the woods east of Canterlot. a quest to defeat the darkness that is besieging Equestria this very moment!

"But what of the other pony, Twilight's ever faithful companion? Well despite what some of you romantics would hope it isn't a handsome stallion with abs you can skate on..... seriously girls settle down. No it is in fact Nightmare Moon herself, or as she now calls herself, Nyx. Cute name by the way. Now before any of you ponies with a grudge start grinding your gears, DJ Pon3's gonna remind you once again. Nyx has been punished by Princess Luna for what she did as Nightmare Moon, her rule was short and in the end she saved a whole town from the monsters of Everfree Forest, not only that but she freed our favorite Princesses. Ponies it's time to forgive and forget. if the princesses have decided to make Twilight her caretaker, then that's whats the bottom Line!

"And if any of you two ponies are listening, here's a few words from yours truly, whatever is happening over there in the east, you have my support. send a Messenger Pony and I'll be sure that message is sent out through all of Equestria. until then, know you have our best wishes and keep your wits sharp.

"And now for some tunes, here's a little something dedicated to Twilight and Nyx I picked out, it's my personal favorite and I hope it's yours too. here's, Big Iron by Marty Robbins."

The song began to play, an old western of a Ranger on a hunt for an outlaw, Nyx turned the music down but kept it at a volume so the song could still be heard. Nyx couldn't help but smile, it was good to know their favorite Radio Personality (With the Best Mane!) forgave and wished her luck.

At the same time Luna playfully teased the fact that she was considered the cuter one (although she completely ignored the fact that DJ Pon3 considered herself cuter then Luna though it didn't seem to phase the Moon Princesses one bit as she now had something else to tease her sister with). Celestia groaned and shook her head, she won't hear the end of this for another decade or two.  Broadsword and Nightquill stayed in front of the group, Nightquill's knowledge of the forest was their best asset, and the way he was keeping his eyes in the trees and told Broadsword to keep his focus out for hidden traps made it clear something nasty awaited them.

Twilight trotted to catch up to Nightquill and cleared her throat. "so, your enjoying being a Knight of Harmony?"

Nightquill nodded, he looked stunning in his new armor, the helmet complimented his eyes beautifully. "I know it won't be an easy life, but it's far better then the ultimatum I was offered by freefall and Dark Feather."

"You don't refer to them as brother and father?" Twilight asked trying to keep pace yet at the same time kept being motioned to stay back. if something were to happen, Nightquill and Broadsword wanted to trigger it first.

"when I refused to kill Nyx, I failed my test of loyalty, they'll see me as an outsider now, and will no doubt attack me on sight." Nightquill said as he looked through the trees, they were being watched but no sign of attack yet.

"May I ask you about your mother?" Twilight asked. "Her name wasn't Star Quill was it?"

Nightquill nodded. "it was, did you know her?"

"Only when I was little and being taught under princess Celestia." Twilight said sighing. "She was very nice." she chuckled a bit. "She always managed to steal a cookie for me from the royal bakery."

Nightquill chuckled. "that's her alright. she always was kind to me. looking back, i can't see how that kindness could be cause to be executed."

"I'll just say right now, that town has some backwards minded ponies I ever met." Twilight grumbled.

"Oh you only got to stay there a few hours. imagine living your life there." Nightquill said. "there's things that happen that I dare not speak of in earshot of little Nyx."

Twilight blushed and gaped. "Speaking of, you weren't serious about.... marrying your sister were you?"

Nightquill chuckled nervously. "it was arranged."

That gave broadsword pause before shuddering.

"though, to be fair we're only half siblings. our father is the town bishop, uhm, he's both the religious leader and town mayor." Nightquill said quickly pulling Broadsword away from a beartrap he was about to trigger. "it also gives him certain perks, mainly with breeding regimens. it's kind of the reason the whole town has similar eyes."

"so most of the town are also your siblings?" Twilight was running this through her mind. it began to make since why mares were often forced to stay. "if that's true then in a short time the town will be so inbred they won't be able to produce foals healthy enough to survive past gaining their cutie mark, if they even last that long!"

"Why on earth would anypony close themselves off for that long? surely they must have known something like that would have happened!" Broadsword said as he gingerly disarmed another bear trap.

"Fear could make a pony do illogical decisions. and Hollow Shades has taught that fear and Hatred to it's children for so long it's become a safety blanket." Nightquill said. "And to be perfectly honest, I'm afraid my sister and I are quite close. we were paired together since foals it'll probably still happen."

Twilight smiled, "So what is she like?"

"My sister, Sunbeam is very nice. she's probably the few level headed ponies in town. our mothers didn't like each other, but I wasn't the only one my mother talked to. although my father keeps her on a short leash, it's why I rarely see her now."

Twilight shuddered. "Ugh, I'm sorry but that just gave me really dirty images in my head." Twilight said with a sickened look on her face.

Nightquill looked at the little unicorn puzzled, before eventually putting together the dots. "Oh! jeeze, yeah i guess I can see why you thought that. and I rather not say if those thoughts were well founded or not."

Twilight only shuddered as she rejoined the middle of the group. she looked to Nyx who was listening to the music, it was nice that they had something to listen to. even better knowing they had ponies out there trying their best to support them.

"STOP!" Nightquill yelled as they came up to the path. "something's wrong."

Celestia looked at the road, then the trees, she squinted but could not place the reason to be cautious. but if Nightquill saw something he knew what it be.

"what is it, what do you see?" Luna asked, her own swords being drawn. despite her playful teasing, Luna has been squirrely all day, she kept seeing things move in the trees.

Nightquill lowered himself to the ground, feeling the cobble path with his armored hoof ahead of them the path was covered in leaves. previous traps were easy to spot, but he knew this method.

"the road ahead is lined with traps. not just the ones we disarmed earlier. the leaves cover the path, the traps before were just to lead us along. they're trying to make us lower our guard."

Nightquil looked to a neighboring tree, anypony not paying attention would miss the tripwire attached to the Magical explosive mine hidden in the bark with mud and leaves covering it, only for it's green light to give it away to Nightquill's trained eye. looking ahead he saw a tripwire on the ground poking up from the leaves, he looked up and saw the log used as it's dead weight and a contraption of sharpened spears pointing down at any unsuspecting pony who would have tripped them. and these were just the ones he noticed at first glance.

Celestia approached and moved behind Nightquill trying to see what he saw, she however only saw a path covered in debris of sticks, leaves, and lingering snow from the mountains. she did however notice one trap that looked fairly obvious. a thick rope that if a pony stepped on would trip the stick holding it in place by a branch, the rope would be pulled by a log dropping as dead weight and pull it's victim up into a branch of sharpened wood spikes. and that was just the one she noticed.

"Hollow Shade ponies are scary." Nyx said, she only saw what obvious traps stood out. but she trusted Nightquill's senses.

"this won't be easy. Broadsword and I will move ahead. make a path for you by disarming what traps we could, we'll make as big a path as we can." Nightquill looked to Broadsword.

"lead the way, Brother Nightquill."

the two armor clad stallions slowly made their way through the path, the traps were near impossible to spot for Broadsword, despite his well trained warrior eyes, he could only see the obvious traps. he had to reply on Nightquill's experience alone.

"I am glad to have you on our side. it is obvious the visible traps are just to fool us."

Nightquill nodded. "they're decoys. in large groups somepony would trigger these bigger traps, when they others panic or try to help, they trigger the more hidden ones. it's how we kept ourselves secluded for so long. Ponies learned to stop exploring the woods near town."

Broadsword moved forward only for Nightquill to grab and pull him away holding his hoof to a tripwire so thin it was nearly impossible to see. he looked over and pulled moss off a claymore mine hidden in a long abandoned bird's nest.

"By the Sword of the Crusader! I could have tripped that if I took another step!"

Nightquill used his wing blades to snip the wire, quickly disarming the claymore before it decides to explode anyway. "try to keep your eyes to the trees. look for anything out of place. they're well hidden but the hunters would need to disarm and reuse the mines later if they aren't set off. they'd need to recognize them by glance alone. look for glowing lights, metal sticking out of the bark. stuff like that."

Broadsword nodded keeping his eyes on the many trees along the path, as he focused he noticed a tripwire mine, pointing it out for Nightquill to disarm it. "You say your sister isn't as fanatical as the others?"

the orange eyed pegasus nodded as he disarmed a spike trap. "she isn't, but as I said Dark Feather keeps her close at all times. he shelters her. not just in an overly protective father way either. he's possessive of her. I could never understand why."

Broadsword then noticed another bear trap and disarmed it, throwing it into the shrubs. "what was her name?"

"Sunbeam. she's a unicorn, like her mother." Nightwing used his wings to blow away the leaves and other debris from the road, in a few minutes they cleared the path. a spiderweb of tripwires were all disarmed while the more obvious traps were dealt with ease.

"Do you think she'll join us?" Broadsword said taking a step forward before the ground gave way. "AAH!"

Nightquill acted quickly as he grabbed the Ancient unicorn knight and pulled him away from the pit of spikes that already claimed a wolf and an unsuspecting scorpio, it's exoskeleton failing to protect it from the specially crafted spikes, but it was the poison that tipped the spikes that fell it.

Nightquill spat Broadsword's tail from his mouth and pointed to the ground. "watch out for loose cobble. it means a spike pit was dug. although I'm glad we tripped it, Spike pits are always difficult to find. but at the same time it means we've got through the traps."

"How are you sure?" Celestia said as the rest of the group finally caught up.

"Hollow Shades relies on the land to survive, but we're also limited in resources. judging by the amount of mines and bear traps we disarmed I'd say they used up their entire stockpile of explosives. the fact they dug this pit meant it was the final trap they made in hopes we won't go farther."

Celestia moved up, using her magic to break down several tries to makeshift a bridge. "then let's disappoint them."

it's then an arrow strikes the tree next to Celestia, catching a strain of hair from her mane on it's tip. Celestia looked up at the archer who fired the arrow, she began to draw again but held her fire, soon more Pegasi in the Camo cloaks emerged from the woods, clinging to the trees with their clawed horseshoes. their eyes glaring down at them like a sea of fiery colors.

Freefall dropped down on the path before them, his wings flared out in an aggressive manner, the blades on his wings in full view.

"Your orders were to kill the abomination, Nightquill, why does she live, and why are those two with you?" Freefall asked as he approached his brother, his stance ready for anything.

Nyx wasted no time and put the helmet on, growing once more and taking out her sword. the Royal Guard Special Operations team formed up, they were six ponies, but very well trained. Celestia and Luna however kept their eyes on Freefall.

"perhaps you brought all three here for us to kill? if that is the plan I must applaud you, we'll both go down in history as heroes." Freefall grinned at Celestia prepairing his wing blades. "rest assured this day will be remembered as a moment of joy as we destroy three of the Abominations, it may be difficult but hard work always has it's rewards!"

Nightquill approached, his eyes narrowed as he kept his eyes on his brother. "No, I did not bring them here to be killed, Freefall."

Freefall glared at Nightquill, like he had just grown a second head. "What? then why have you returned?"

Nightquill snorted and pulled out his ax. "I am here to escort them to Hollow Shades, Freefall. I order you and your forces to move aside, lay down your weapons and surrender."

Freefall fumed, his eyes were like flaming coal. "In what right, in what authority do you have to make that order!? why are you wearing that armor, where's your Hunter's regalia?"

"I am no longer a Hunter, Freefall. as for my authority, I am now a Knight of Harmony. and I once again order you to stand down!"

Freefall looked at Nightquill, trying to put the puzzle before him together. his eyes then trailed to Broadsword, then to Celestia and Luna, his face slowly screwing into a Scowl. "I see. I have reason to believe you are being brainwashed by the Alicorns, and now believe yourself this Knight of an order long dead and forgotten. if you surrender your companions to us as prisoners, you can still be pardoned, and with the Princesses in our captivity you'll be Rewarded! you know spring is near you'll finally get a chance at the breeding queue, Father has already agreed you and Sunbeam to be together. it's what you've always wanted."

"No, it's what YOU always wanted, you and Father, have you two ever wandered what I wanted?" Nightquill spat. "Sunbeam and I are Half Siblings, have you not noticed that!? our town has become so inbred we're all related, in another generation our town will have foals of sickness and deformities. the Princesses aren't Unnatural, WE ARE!"

"YOU FOAL! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK IN SUCH A MANNER OF OUR WAYS! We've kept the town's bloodline pure for thousands of years, and we've done nothing but flourish!"

"Because we occasionally have ponies from the outside forced into staying in Hollow Shades! it's the reason why the bloodline has been kept diverse enough, Honestly I'm surprised our town has lasted as long as it has!" Nightquill tried to reason. as though whatever barriers in his mind his father built into him were finally breaking down.

"ENOUGH! I see there is no hope to convince you, I am sorry brother. but it would seem we have no choice...." Freefall threw his wings forward. "Capture the Alicorns, Kill the rest!"

The Pegasi immediately snapped to action, and to twilight, she saw a familiar picture as the hunters flew up into the sky circling overhead as they began their attack.

"Be ready for hit and run attacks!" Twilight yelled as she drew her sword. "keep your eyes open for any of them that try and sneak behind you!"

The Royal Guards immediately formed a circle, using their shields to reflect any arrows from the archers and repel attempts at them from dive bomb attacks. Nightquill and Freefall charged at each other and began to share blows, Nightquill kept his ax grip firm in his jaws as he attacked his own brother, whatever connection they once had was lost the moment their blades first clashed.

Broadsword tried to assist his new friend, only to have to rejoin the group when several pegasi tried to gang up on him.

"See reason! we do not wish to fight you!" Luna yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"it is no good, they will only fight so long as Freefall Commands them." Celestia said as she blocked the rather nasty clawed horseshoes of a Hunter Pegasus.

Nyx stood her ground beside Twilight, unlike before she was not an easy target, she used magic bolts to repel any attackers that tried to sneak up behind them using the sword only to injure those who tried to face her front on.

"there's too many of them!" Nyx said as she slashed the primary feathers off of one Pegasus that tried to pummel her with his clawed hooves.

"We will stand our ground!" Celestia yelled as she charged her horn and blasted a flash of light, blinding many Pegasus attackers, forcing them to break away from their attack paths and circle overhead to recompose themselves.

"They do not disperse easily it seems." Luna said as she watched the view above them. "it is as though they are birds of prey."

"Oh trust me, Princess Luna, Nyx and I learned that a long time ago." Twilight snapped, holding her foreleg, one of the Pegasus Hunters ripped through the chain mail and drew blood, nearly pulling skin and meat with their curved claws.

Twilight wasn't the only one injured, many of the royal guards were suffering from similar if not worse injuries. Nyx watched the scene unfold, one of the guards couldn't stand anymore and fell to over, his comrade pulling him into the circle as they tightened the barrier, but already their strength was dwindling.

Nyx then began to feel energy from the gems on her armor, on the sword the gem representing wisdom began to glow. she looked at it and began to draw upon it. her horn glowed as the sword did, her wings flared as she took flight straight up, any Pegasus hunter who tried to strike her was blasted away by one of the unicorn royal guards.

Nyx flew higher and higher, the Pegasus hunters watching her fly well above their circling path as she held her position above them, taking the sword in her magical glow she lifted it up as it began to glow.

"ENOUGH!" Nyx roared, her voice echoed through the sky as the sword glowed brighter, Everypony stopped and looked skyward to the armor clad Alicorn. her sword glowed brighter before it sent a wave of rainbow energy across the battlefield.

the Pegasus Hunters were knocked out of the sky and crashed to the ground, their eyes glowing as the magic from the sword taking affect. Freefall looked around at his forces bewildered.

"Look not with your eyes but with your soul, See your actions as they truely are, and open your minds and hearts. Let go of your fear!" Nyx spoke her voice booming down to the scene before her as the armor amplified her voice.

The Pegasus hunters blinked, their eyes returned to normal as they looked at the group and then at each other, they then rose up to their hooves.

Freefall however stepped in. "Focus! You have your orders, and I order you to kill them!"

the Pegasi blinked then looked at each other. they then grew hard faces as they moved in on the group once more.

the guards took defensive stances, but relaxed as the Pegasus hunters began to assist the ponies they wounded.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Freefall yelled. "I GAVE YOU ALL AN ORDER! DID YOU NOT HEAR ME! I SAID KILL THEM!"

"Why?" one of the Pegasus mares asked. "they've done nothing wrong."

Nightquill smiled to his siblings as he looked to Freefall who was seething in anger.

"Don't You Get It!? she's Brainwashed You!"

Nyx lowered herself to the ground and landed gracefully as her wings fluttered. "I have opened their minds to the truth, their minds were clouded by fear and unfounded hatred. clouds I cleared away, with wisdom." She said as she looked at the sword as it shimmered. "Once they saw what they were doing, they realized they were harming others for the only reason then to fuel their own fear, they are more free then they ever have been."

Another Pegasus mare bowed to Princess Celestia, setting the bow she nearly shot her with at the princesses hooves. "Please forgive us, we were only following orders. But now we understand what those orders could have lead to.... I don't think I--we could have lived with those actions if we carried them out successfully."

Freefall watched as his brothers bowed to Celestia and Luna, to him it was as though the world was falling apart. he began to hyperventilate, and in one quick move threw his wing releasing his right wing blades from their feathers as they streaked towards Celestia.

those blades however met home against Nightquill's armor, shattering to pieces against the high quality enchanted armor. Freefall yelled out in frustration and charged his younger brother, bucking and slashing at him with his remaining set of wing blades.

the armor however proved more then capable of taking the blows, as Nightquill Tackled Freefall and pinned him down, beating him with his own wings, the silver blades slashing and slicing through the Pegasus Hunter's armor like a tin can. Freefall tried to buck Nightquill off only to receive an armored hoof to the face. the two wrestled on the ground, the elder Pegasus now only trying to shield himself from the armored hoof blows of his younger sibling.

Nightquill finally stopped and got up, looking at Freefall cower in the dirt, his armor was ripped off him leaving him naked with cuts and slashes along his forelegs as he tried to shield himself. Nightquill then took the clawed Horseshoes off Freefall and smashed them against the cobble stone path.

"It is over, Freefall." Nightquill said as he limped towards his friends.

Broadsword helped the injured Nightquill to be healed with the rest of the Injured, during his battle with Freefall, he received a majority of the beating, so much so his rear leg was nearly crippled. Freefall gasped and looked up, he then got up and galloped away, screaming in frustration and calling betrayal by Nightquill.

Nyx moved towards the group and removed her helmet taking a breath as she looked around, Celestia was healing the injured, both her own royal guards, Twilight, and the Pegasus that attacked them. the Pegasus were now confused, in turning on Freefall they've been branded deserters. many were scared of what to do and where to go.

Luna smiled. "you are free to join us."

the pegasus looked to each other, this only worried them more.

"I am sorry, but, we can't fight our own brethren." one of the Pegasus said.

"I take it some are even closer then friends?" Twilight asked.

many shared glances to another who was obviously either a sibling or cousin, and those between mares and stallions was obvious they paired together even when in service. some however nodded unable to hide the truth.

"We understand." Celestia said. "My royal guard shall escort you back to Saddle Tor, there you will be taken by chariot to Ponyville. I think it be a better start if you were relocated to a new town."

The royal guards nodded and began to escort the pegasi deserters back to the mountain. a few however were hesitant as many of them still had loved ones back at Hollow Shades, who were probably being told their actions by Freefall.

"it is alright, my little ponies." Celestia said as she smiled gently trying to reassure them. "We shall ensure you are reunited with them soon."

with those words, those who hesitated began their way down the path, meeting back with the rest of the Deserters.

once they were out of visual range, Celestia gave out a sigh, shaking her head.

"I'll just say this once." Celestia said. "I have never been comfortable with the thought of Incestuous relationships by other ponies. and the fact that this town has been secluded and that this has been going on for so long makes me sickened to my core.... yet at the same time, I can understand their feelings, it's all they have known. what bonds they have formed with one another aren't bonds that are easily broken...."

She sees Luna grinning about to start another round of teasing and put a hoof to her sister's lips. "And One crack from you and I will make sure to put itching powder in your Bed!"

"I'm just glad they're finally free." Twilight said as her leg is now fully healed, testing the joint a bit.

Nightquill got up after being healed and rubbed his leg. "our job is far from over, Twilight. Our first priority is to stop Ryugu, True. but if she is somewhere in Hollow Shades then our priority is to save them.... that means freeing them as well."

Broadsword smiled and nodded. "Spoken like a true Knight, brother!"

"But, I'm not even sure how I did what I did." Nyx said as she looks at the now smaller dagger that was once a large sword. "I just wished they could see what they were doing and suddenly the sword started glowing."

Broadsword chuckled and patted Nyx's shoulder. "Your concern for the Hunters, as well as your friends allowed the armor to unlock the power of the sword. it sensed you wanting to clear the minds of those ponies, and from that it grew it's power."

Nyx looked at the little blade, it gave a soft warm glow before her as she smiled. "so, I unlocked it?"

"yes, but that is just one of it's abilities. even the first crusader couldn't do that." Broadsword said. "but now, we have the tool to free Hollow Shades, of which, I think I know what that Barrier is."

Nightquill's ears perked. "You do? because it's been there for as long as the town has."

Broadsword nodded. "As I expected, the statue that was built in the center of town was more then just a fountain, it was to act as a doorway that the first crusader used to lock Queen Ryugu into the pocket Dimension. and when he sealed it with his soul it allowed the statue to become a magical item that can be used like other enchanted items. similar to soul jars. but I think when Hollow Shades started using it to continuously shroud the town in a Barrier, continued use made the spell used to lock the queen in the pocket dimension weaken. enchanted items do have a limited source of power, and now that's how she's getting out!"

Nightquill was agape. "So, all this time, in secluding ourselves for so long, we have aided in the escape of one of the most dangerous beings Equestria has ever known! AH THE FOOLS! there must have Been some kind of sign, some kind of Warning!"

"Relax Nightquill." Celestia said as she sheathed her sword. "we shall free Hollow Shades first, then we'll focus on the barrier, hopefully the damage can be repaired and the spell strengthened."

Nyx nodded and once again put her helmet on, choosing to leave it on until Hollow Shades was dealt with.

------

It was now late morning, After walking the rest of the path, the group finally make it to Hollow Shade's gates, Celestia charged her horn and yanked the doors right off their hinges, throwing them aside as the town guard charged.

Nyx trotted forward and pulled her sword out struck the ground causing a force of magic to knock everypony to off their hooves.

"HOLD! We do not wish to harm you!" Celestia called out as she flared out her wings. she's been attacked once already before sunrise, she was at her wits end and was in no mood for more bloodshed. "Lay down your weapons and surrender, there's no need for Violence----AAAH!"

Everypony watched in shock as a Dagger attached to a chain was thrown into the sun princess' shoulder. the pony holding the chain was a rather large built Pegasus stallion in black armor with silver trim. his coat was a Silver coat with gold eyes, his helmet and armor concealed his mane. the armor he wore made his muzzle end in a sharp beak as he looked like an equine black bird.

Celestia cried out as the chain was pulled taut. Nyx's horn glowed as she yanked the dagger from her shoulder, causing the pegasus to retract the chained weapon, the chain wrapping around his foreleg, snorting as he grimaced at the group, Freefall hiding behind him, as well as a small unicorn mare. her coat was light grey with orange eyes and mahogany mane and tail, her cutie mark is of two clouds parting showing a sun and gold rays coming down.

"Did you need to hurt her, Father?" Sunbeam asked, watched as Celestia stumbled back, the dagger was enchanted to drain her magic yet it only worked a short time.

the large Pegasus stallion snorted as he pulled Sunbeam behind him. stomping the ground and kicking up dust as he lowered his gaze.

"Do not interfere, Sunbeam. Freefall, take your sister inside, now!" Dark Feather barked, glaring at his two children.

Sunbeam looked over at the Pegasus in Knightly regalia and gasped. "NIGHTQUILL!"

"Sunbeam?" Nightquill looked to her.

She tried to gallop to him only to be grabbed by Freefall and pulled into the temple. the group tried to keep their sight on the young unicorn only for Dark Feather to stomp in view.

"Nightquill, How DARE you turn on us by bringing the abominations into our midst! and what's this drivel about you being some Knight? surely you know the Alicorns have you in their thrall?" Dark feather said his brows furrowing as he glared at Nightquill.

"I am under no spell, Father. I chose this path, I am a Knight of Harmony now, I made an oath and now plan to enforce it by freeing this town of the fear and hatred that has held it's grip on it for far too long!" the younger Pegasus said as he glared back at his father.

"Oh? and what do you propose to do about it? You've never been anything more then a runt. your mother made you weak! I only wished I got rid of her sooner." Dark Feather spat as he snorted. "Because your my son I am going to say this this once." his face softened as he looked at Nightquill. "Lay down your arms, surrender yourself and your comrades to us and you won't be harmed. I'll pardon your actions and reinstate you as part of the Hunters once more. you can even still have your place on the Breeding list." Dark Feather smiled softly as he approached.

"Don't throw this away, son. I know I've been hard on you, but it's because I wanted to shape you into a better stallion. the fact you beat your own brother tells me you've become stronger since you left. please! please surrender." Dark Feather pleaded, offering his hoof to Nightquill. "it's not too late to rejoin your family."

Everypony looked at Nightquill as he looked to his father, his ears wilted as his hoof began to raise.

"Nightquill!" Broadsword snapped. "You made an oath, if you return down this path you'll loose the virtue you earned."

"Silence You! let the boy choose!" Dark Feather spat.

Nightquill snorted and slapped Dark Feather's hoof away. he backed away from his father and stood by Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Nyx, and Broadsword.

"I am not a Boy anymore. I've made my decision."

Dark Feather watched as his son stood by the invaders of his town, he gave a sad sigh but smiled.

"Your mother would be proud of you, and in the end in some small way, I respect you for standing up for yourself. your Integrity is very strong, Nightquill. it's something I never appreciated about you til now." Dark Feather then sighed and glared at him. "it's just sad the choice you made will end in your death. I am sorry. but I do have a duty to my town to uphold."

"as I have an oath to uphold." Nightquill finally said as he unsheathed his ax.

------

everypony looked to the roofs and streets as more pegasus with heavy armor and assortment of weapons ranging from swords, spears, and crossbows began to surround them, at the same time, clouds from the mountains begin to form overhead, lightening and thunder echo through the streets as rain begins to fall. as though the tension in the air had summon the storm.

everypony began to unsheathe their weapons, Celestia and Luna particularly on guard as the crossbow mares kept their aim at them. the second lightening flash was the strike that lit the tinderbox of matches as all Tartarus broke loose. Dark Feather charged as he and Nightquill began to clash, wing blades striking as they fought, Celestia and Luna blocked the crossbow bolts as Nyx and Twilight fought several of the swords ponies.

Broadsword fought beside Nyx, trying to even the odds, but it was apparent they were out numbered. the Hollow Shades guard didn't need superior strength, they used their vast numbers to swarm Nyx, Twilight and Broadsword, eventually the three ponies were backed into an Ally, Twilight was slashed by a sword across the chest plate of her armor, despite it's enchantments the blade drew blood. Nyx received a Javelin to the shoulder from an opening between the segments of the neck armor, the chain mail was cut all the way through. she began to bleed as she backed into the Ally, Somehow they got separated from Celestia and Luna as the guards swarmed their position.

"This is no battle, it's a Slaughter!" Broadsword realized, he too was injured when a sword's pony impaled his rear leg, though his armor was healing him, the guards ponies would cut and stab him again and again until he was too weak to stop them from outright murdering them.

"Nyx, you have to use the sword again!" Twilight said as she held another bleeding wound, she was just stabbed in the ribs. "It's the only way to make them realize what they're doing is a mistake!" the armor she wore was trying to heal her and itself but it was slow.

Nyx looked to the sword and began to think, but before her train of thought could bring the sword to activate again, a guard swung his sword, slashing Nyx's wing. Nyx gave out a scream of pain as she fell to the ground holding her injured appendage, she tried to grab the sword only for it to be kicked away by another guard.

"N-NO! the Sword!" Nyx cried trying to grab it only for another guard to stab her. "AAH!"

Nyx fell to the ground in a heap. looking up at the rainy sky as lighting flashed, A Hollow Shades guard looked down at her and began to raise his blade, ready for the killing blow.

"M'LADY, NO!" Broadsword said trying to get to her only for  another guard to block his way.

"NYX!" Twilight cried as she tried to charge a spell, but her magic was weak from blood loss.

Nyx watched as the sword began to fall, the guard's intent was clear, he was going to decapitate her head. she never imagined her life to be this short. she sighed and closed her eyes ready for the strike of the blade, for eternal sleep.

"STAY YOUR BLADE!"

The guard pony paused and looked up, as did everypony else. flying above them was a Pink Alicorn. she was smaller then Luna and Celestia, but most of all was clad in gold crystal armor.

"PRINCESS CADANCE!" Nyx cheered as she bucked the Guard away from her. "Get Away From Me!"

Princess Celestia and Luna teleport beside their niece and smiled.

"What took you so long to get here, Cadance?" Luna asked. helping Celestia to stay aloft.

"I apologize, Shining Armor and I got lost on our way here, we got attacked by Atronachs, then Queen Chrysalis came along...." Cadance explained. "ugh, you can guess the rest."

Below the three princesses watched as the Crystal Pony soldiers stormed the town, Shining Armor leading them in his own crystal armor as he went straight to help Twilight, bucking and punching any guard stupid enough to get in his way.

"TWILEY!" Shining cried as he cleared the last few guards in the area. he galloped to Twilight. "oh twilight, what did they do to you?"

"Nnngh, give me a moment and I'll give you a detailed list...." She then began to limp to Nyx. "forget me, help Nyx!"

Shining looked around, all he could see is another large Alicorn clad in silvery blue armor with gems studded on each piece. the armor completely covered her too.

"uh... where is the little filly?" Shining asked as he looked around.

Twilight held shining's head with her hooves and moved his gaze back to the large Alicorn in armor.

"what?" Shining got up and trotted to the larger Alicorn, seeing the shield emblem on the chest armor however made him realize it was indeed Nyx.

"the armor made her bigger and more powerful, but that's not important, please help her. she's hurt bad." Twilight said as a medical Unicorn ran to her side and began use healing spells on the little unicorn.

Shining Armor looked over his adoptive Niece, her wing was bleeding, she was stabbed and many other injuries from the attack. the stallion snorted as he called another medical Unicorn over to heal her injuries.

"she will live but she lost alot of blood." the Medical Unicorn said as he began to heal her.

"that's my niece laying here, give her the treatment you'd give me if I was in her position." Shining Armor ordered as he watched as the Crystal Imperial guard began to detain the Hollow Shade guard into a group. herding them into a circle.

"Yes Sir!" the medic said as he charged his spell and began work.

Twilight Looked around. "where is Nightquill and Dark Feather?"

Broadsword pointed towards the Chapel. "their fight took them in there. if you listen you can still hear their blades clashing inside." Broadsword winced as a Unicorn Medic began to heal him.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir." the medic said as she layed him to his side. "Just relax and I'll have you healed in no time."

Cadance, Luna, and Celestia landed, though Celestia stumbled before falling to the ground. it wasn't long until Medical Ponies were at her side.

"Somepony get some pegasus ponies to the sky and clear this storm!" Cadance ordered. "I want this town secured immediately. all civilians are under house arrest until things are sorted out."

"Yes Your Majesty!" a Pegasus guard bowed as he and several others took off to the sky, beginning to clear the sky, bringing in the mid day sunlight to the town.

Cadance smiled as she removed her helmet, letting her hair flow down her back as she looked up at the clear blue sky. "Much better!"

"Cadance!" Twilight cried as she galloped up to the pink princess and hugged.

"SUNSHINE SUNSHINE LADYBUGS AWAKE! SHAKE YOUR HOOVES AND GIVE A LITTLE SHAKE!" the two chanted and performed their nursery rhyme gestures to the confusion of the Hollow Shade Ponies. the sounds of their armor clanking and shifting about just turned it into a song of noise and giggles.

Giggles which were cut short when Twilight winced and held her ribs.

"OW OW OW!" Twilight whimpered.

"oh my, perhaps we really should do that in better situations." Cadance said as she gingerly held Twilight.

The pan glass window of the Knight on the chapel shattered as Nightquill and Dark Feather chased each other in a pegasus dogfight, striking each other whenever they collided, both were wounded and bleeding, Nightquill's Armor was broken and falling off, whatever enchantment it had either broke or could not keep up with the amount of damage it was sustaining. His shoulder had one of his father's blades stuck in it, blood trailing down his leg which he held limp, his wing was bleeding at the base, where pegasus wings are incredibly strong appendages, the sight would make one worry his was about to break off any moment.

Unfortunantly Dark Feather's injuries weren't as serious, he suffered a bloody nose, a cut across his chest. his armor was either very well enchanted, or it was made of a stronger material then steel and iron. he banked and slashed Nightquill in a flyby with his wingblades cutting the younger pegasus across the back.

"AAAH!" Nightquill cried, eventually he began to loose altitude, he tried to slow but like a rock he skidded across the dirt street of the town.

Nightquill tried to get up, his legs shaking as he started to rise, but before he could stand a large mass of weight landed on top of him. crushing him under hoof was Dark Feather, stomping his son back into the ground, grinding a hoof into his back to force him back down.

"I tried to warn you, Son. I asked you, pleaded you to surrender." Dark Feather said as he raised his wing, the blades on his feathers glistening in the sun as he prepared the final blow. "But you refused, and now. you will join your mother!"

Nightquill only coughed and spat up blood as he watched the blades begin to fall.

"FATHER STOP!" Sunbeam said as she galloped and bucked the much larger and much stronger stallion.

Dark Feather merely looked at her like a father after his young child back talked him. she kept bucking at him which did nothing substantial against him. it was as though she was far too weak, even for her young age. but he stopped and looked at her, yet keeping his wing up. he snorted and began to ready the killing blow again only to be bucked once more.

"I SAID STOP, FATHER! I had Enough! I had enough of the fighting in this town! all I hear is how everypony hates Celestia and Alicorns and, We never talk about good things anymore! What's Gotten Into you Ponies!?" Sunbeam shouted once more at her father, kicking and bucking him.

Dark Feather was about to strike Sunbeam instead but stopped the moment his wing began to swing, he paused and looked at her, folding his wing away and backing off of Nightquill. he never once struck his children, even if they disagreed with him. why was he about to?

Nyx finally stirred as she got up, her horn glowed as she took the sword, it's glow was even brighter the first time as she trotted past the Crystal guards and up to Dark Feather and Sunbeam. she looked at the young mare. she was small, either due to genetic deformity or possibly due to stunted growth, she was overly sheltered, yet she looked up at Nyx, both in awe and in fear, yet that fear was quickly being replaced by curiosity.

"Oh Father, you never said Alicorns were so beautiful..." Sunbeam said as she backed towards Dark Feather, yet at the same time started to smile. "you said they were hideous monsters that ate souls."

Dark Feather took a better look at Nyx, and as they approached he looked at Celestia and luna closer as well. "it's what my father told me. and his father before that." he blinked and looked closer at them. "I thought they'd be bigger...."

Nyx raised the sword of wisdom above her horn and channeled her magic into it, it began to glow as a rainbow of magic spread around the town, lifting the vail of shadow and engulfing the towns ponies in warm light.

Clarity

It wasn't long after the Hollow Shade ponies minds were cleared that the guards threw their weapons and armor into piles to return to their loved ones. Dark Feather went silent as he made his way to the chapel, he had a lot to take in all he believed where lies spawned by fear his ancesters created after Queen Ryugu's rule ended. after which the ponies of Hollow Shades believed all Alicorns were evil, when in reality, despite how powerful they are, Alicorns are simply more easily taken by corruption then the three races as their Emotions can overtake and re-manifest themselves as a twisted version of their being.

Nightquill was immediately brought to the care of the Crystal Empire medical ponies, he was in the worst shape of the group and needed time to heal, Sunbeam never leaving his side since.

"they see the truth now, I recommend you bring some ponies here to help them recover." Nyx said as she sheathed the sword of wisdom.

Celestia nodded, her shoulder now fully healed as she stood by Luna. "I will have it done this instant."

Nyx nodded, she began to look around the town, ponies who once looked at her with anger and hate was replaced with wonder and awe. many of them commented on her beauty, Indeed some stallions began to attempt to flirt with her, it was cute even after she told them she was really still a filly and they apologized embarrassed, and some uncomfortable when they realized they were trying to ask a child out on a date. though some were in trouble when their marefriends immediately thumped them for their lack of commitment in sight of a beautiful Alicorn.

Her encounters made Nyx wondered why there were no Alicorn Stallions? surely there had to be one or two, Celestia and Luna had to come from somewhere unless they just spawned like characters in a video game.

Still, are there Alicorn Stallions? Equestria is a Matriarchal society, true. but they had to be coming from somewhere, after all Twilight said you need a mare AND stallion to make a baby pony. so where are those Alicorn stallions? it began to drive Nyx's mind to crawl in her skull like a beetle in a glass jar. eventually Nyx's mind went to one of her Grandmother's Adult Pony novels she read when she was Nightmare Moon, where a Princess Alicorn kept the stallions she found desirable in a chamber as her personal Harem.

Nyx's mind went to places no filly's mind should. Did Celestia and Luna have a Harem of stallion Alicorns!? is that were all Alicorns that keep popping up come from? then her mind went from inappropriate, to downright imaginative directions, what if there was an Alicorn Queen? similar to a termite! a Massive alicorn pony forever pregnant and giving birth to Alicorn babies, after all Ponies are mammals and don't lay eggs.... OR the Alicorns the queen gives birth to begin as eggs! Nyx's mind continued to wonder as she day dreamed of a massive Alicorn pony laying magical eggs with baby Alicorns ready to hatch when the time is right.

Eventually she found herself with Celestia and Luna, she stared at them, her mind still conjuring the goddess queen, giving birth to Celestia and Luna before sending them forth to Equestria.

Celestia looked up and smiled. "Oh hello Nyx, I figured you've removed your helmet by now?"

"Huh?" Nyx said as she was brought out of her imagination.

"your helmet." Celestia giggled. "you haven't taken it off yet."

Nyx stood there dumb as a brick for a moment before realizing she hasn't took her helmet off all day, it was little wonder stallions kept making moves on her, they thought she was a fully grown pony.

"OH! the helmet." Nyx said as she took it off, returning to her tiny size. "I've been thinking of removing it for a bit. it's nice armor but I could really use a rest."

"I would not blame you, Nyx." Luna said as she drank some tea. "the Armor is beautiful but you've worn it since you left Saddle Tor. and, if I'm honest. you can use a bath."

"Wha?" Nyx said as she turned away and gave herself a sniff, she reeled from the rank of her fur, the smell of sweat, blood, and dirt was not a pleasant one. "Blech! wow I DO stink!"

Twilight trotted up behind Nyx and gave her a towel she was out of her armor and her coat was shiny and clean, she looked as she did before they left ponyville. "the ponies of Hollow Shades are offering there services to us. I think they're sorry for their actions and are trying to make up for it. theres some showers in the southern side of town."

"Thanks, I cannot wait to get this armor off." nyx said as she galloped down the street, pausing when she saw Nightquill and Broadsword talking.

"Hello little Crusader." Broadsword said.

"Hello broadsword, uhm I'm gonna take a shower, which means I need to take off the armor." Nyx began as she looked around. "I know these ponies are okay now, but.... I'd feel better if I knew I had somepony keeping watch."

Broadsword stood at attention and bowed. "as you wish, Nightquill and I shall keep watch just beyond the shower room entrance. you'll have your privacy but you'll know we'll be there if you need."

Nyx smiled and nodded, Nightquill followed silent. as the two stood guard beyond the shower house doors, Nyx removed the armor and began to clean herself off. the hot water felt so good on her coat and mane, she felt more then just dried up dirt and blood come out of her fur. there were bits of wood, rocks, a gold Bit coin that SOMEHOW got in her mane, and finally some leaves she didn't know where there.

"Ew! gross! OOH A BIT!" she said as she set the coin down on a stool. she began to wash her mane and rinsed herself of the soap. she shook herself dry before trotting up to a magical blow drier. "Hmmm...."

Nyx inspected the arcane device, eventually she realized to activate it she had to stand on a pad to start the magic that turns it on. as she did so the warm air began to blow on her, it felt nice at first but then the speed increased to the point she was blown off the mat, the machine stopped as soon as she flew off it and she stood up.

POMF!

Nyx's mane and fur poofed out, turning her into a little fluffy black alicorn. Nyx blinked as she felt her fur and mane, she looked into a mirror and squealed. this caused the door to burst open as Broadsword and Nightquill barged in with weapons at the ready.

"DO NOT FEAR, M'Lady! Your Knights Are Here to prot---" Broadsword's words died in his mouth as he looked over at the fluffed up Nyx. "---tect you...."

the two stallions looked at each other then tried hard not to laugh.

"GET OUT!" Nyx shrieked, every towel and wash rag she had at her disposal was thrown at the intruding Knights. "OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT!

the two knights quickly closed the door and stood guard. trying hard not to fall on thier sides into laughter. Nyx huffed and trotted to a mirror to brush her mane and coat, upon seeing herself, she couldn't help but giggle at how silly she looked.

After brushing her coat and mane back to normal, Nyx looked at the Armor, she never got to appreciate how it looked now that it reformed to fit her. whatever damage it took was now repaired and the armor was like it just left the smith's shop. she put the armor back on, keeping the helmet under her wing. she opened the door and stepped outside, the two stallions trying hard not to laugh too much but she could tell they needed a good laugh.

------

Dark Feather finally emerged from the temple, Sovereign and Revelation flanked behind him though they kept their eyes low. he marched to the town square calling all citizens to the center of town. once he saw everypony was in attendance he began to speak, he still retained his injuries from the fight but now his armor was removed, revealing his Brownish red mane and flying raven cutie mark.

"Ponies of Hollow Shades, in light of recent events, I have decided the town will no longer live in seclusion, we will begin allowing ponies from Centerlot to the town, they will come and go as they please, I also feel it's time we abandoned our views on Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. and I fear that some of us," he looked to Revelation before sighing to himself. "have done very horrible crimes to innocent ponies. Crimes which resulted in murder. therefore, I have named my Daughter, Sunbeam as my Successor, as per tradition, as such, because of his inability to accept the crimes he committed, Freefall will be stripped of his rank as leader of the Hunters, and will be sent to the town jail until he either accepts the truth of our crimes, or until Princess Celestia decides what to do with him."

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna approached the stage, Luna kept wide distance from the Hangmares gallows. the two approached as Dark Feather stepped aside.

"We do not ask you bow to us," Celestia began as she looked over the ponies of Hollow Shades. "nor do we ask for your allegiance, we merely wish that you accept our friendship."

the ponies of Hollow shades looked to each other muttering. Celestia and Luna then noticed so many ponies with dark coats, dark manes, and eyes ranging from orange, gold, and red. the inbreeding will need to be dealt with and stopped. they could send some new pony families to the town to help the diversity issues. the Hollow Shade Ponies all finally smiled and one by one began to bow, the royal sisters couldn't help but smile and nod.

Dark Feather also knelt, as Celestia approached. she looked to Sovereign and Revelation who were kneeling, it's Revelation's eyes that gave away his guilt.

"there are many things we need to talk about." Celetia began. "however, there is the matter of a pony who came here long ago, her name was Star Quill.... she and I were very close friends. I want the truth of what happened."

Revelation looked up at the sun princess. "I-It was me. Princess. Our laws dictated those who try to indoctrinate others, particularly children must be punished.... usually it be lashing but I demanded harsher...." Revelation motioned to the Hangmare's Noose.

Celestia glanced at it and furrowed her brows. she tried hard not to loose her temper then and there, especially with so many watching and she feared she may loose these ponies to fear once again if she had another fit. she looked over to Sovereign.

"You three understand what you did was inexcusable, even in your state of minds, you still Murdered Star Quill through an unjust act. I am afraid I must place the three of you under arrest until situations are stable enough for a proper trial." Celestia said.

Sunbeam approached and bowed. "Princess Celestia?"

Celestia looked at Sunbeam, she wasn't a full grown mare yet, and from her understanding she will soon be of legal age to marry within this year.

"Yes, Sunbeam is it?"

Sunbeam nodded. "Father might have been kinda mean to Nightquill's mom, but he still wasn't happy when they hung her."

Celestia felt a little sickly, nopony should be able to say those words so easilly.

"is this true?" Luna asked looking to Dark Feather.

Revelation and Sovereign looked at Dark Feather, if they heard this before Nyx opened their minds, they would be angry with him.

"I chose Star Quill because I had true feelings for her." Dark Feather said as he looked up at Celestia. "when I heard of the sentence was going to be death, I was angry. I tried to order them to stop, but Revelation ignored my orders. saying if we didn't stop her she'd begin converting Nightquill and Sunbeam until they started a rebellion."

Revelation groaned.

Celestia looked upon the three and sighed. "I want those hanging gallows torn down this instant."

Sunbeam nodded and got some ponies together, they begin to bring the structure down in argueably record time. Celestia looked at the three and ran the information through her mind. she sighed and looked to them, her horn glowed as Revelation had an anti Magic brace put on him, Sovereign was chained and Dark Feather's wings were wrapped up in bonds.

"this information will be brought into consideration at trial. but until then you three and FreeFall will be sent to Canterlot for processing. Murder is a serious crime in Equestria. I hope you understand that."

the three nodded solemnly.

Celestia and Luna moved off the stage, going into a house, Celestia looked around as she sighed and collapsed on the couch. Luna however wasn't sure if they should be in a pony's home without asking.

"Sister, I do not think---"

"just leave me be, Luna. if the owners come in please ask them to give me some time alone." Celestia said as she layed in the couch.

------

Cadance watched as the foals just stared up at her. she loved children but something about the orange, red, and gold eyes glaring at her was making her skin crawl. it was no doubt they were cute, and were only curious about her. but they had very unusual ways to show it. it started out by following her, but then it went to touching and licking. though to be fair she's had accounts of ponies believing the Princesses tasted like certain fruits attaining to their colors. She has been told many believed she probably tasted like strawberries.

"So...." Cadance finally said making a few jump. she couldn't help but giggle and smiled. "is this the first time you saw an Alicorn?"

the foals all nodded. the colts all sat next to fillies, as though they were paired with each other. it was beginning to creep Cadence out more considering what she heard of the village.

"Eheh. I see.... uhm." Cadance looked around, she really hoped she could find somepony to talk to, she found whenever she tried to trot away they'd follow her, eventually she bumped into Nyx, though more like almost ran her over as she wasn't wearing the helmet.

"AAH! Aunt Cadence!" Nyx cried as she got up and saw the Hollow Shade foals stop and look at the two in a heap.

Nightquill trotted up and looked at the scene. "what's going on here?"

"I am not used to Foals with this behavior." Cadance began. "are they all...."

Nightquill answered. "yes, Sunbeam and I were paired together like that when we grew up together."

Cadance looked at him then at the foals they just looked at each other's respective partner. only for an earth pony colt to playfully push his pegasus arranged mate over causing her growl before she began to chase him and pounce on the young colt with an attack of kisses. Cadance couldn't help but to giggle. it was cute if not gross considering she could tell they had genetic relations. though, she tried hard to view it as innocent.

"I do hope we can convince them it won't be necessary, maybe if we separated them---"

"Oh no you don't want to do that!" Nightquill said as he motioned the foals to go play, they did so each sticking with their partner. "trust me if you seporate them they will throw a fit until they are reunited!"

"but we can't let it continue." Cadence said as she watched the foals play, they kept with their assigned pairs but still played together as a whole, each pair working as a tag team.

"I know, it will be up to us to ensure they stop the cycle here. but for them. the dye is already cast and dried." Nightquill said.

"so, were you arranged with anyone?" Cadance asked.

Nightquill looked up at her and smiled. "would you like to meet her?"

------

Twilight looked up at the Statue of the pagasus Knight, now she had time to spend time near it she could feel the energy seething from it. she also felt the energy was beginning to ebb.

Shining Armor trot up beside her looking at the statue. "I never knew the legends were true." he said as he wrapped a blanket around Twilight.

Twilight pulled the blanket around her, she was naked, choosing to remove her armor for a while, it was nice but the mountain air was cold. as they looked up the sky seemed to darken yet it was only half past six.

"it's magic must be failing." Shining said as he noticed the sky, occasionally it would flash with blood red.

"I don't understand it." Twilight said as she looked up at the statue. "Nyx brought the barrier down, there's nothing here to drain the statue's magic seal anymore."

Shining looked it over rubbing his chin. "what created the spell anyway?"

"the first crusader used his remaining life essence into the spell that locked Ryugu in the pocket dimension." she said as she wrapped the blanket around her tighter and shivered when the cold wind blew on her. "if the barrier's failing then the only way to restore it is to duplicate the original spell, but I don't think anypony would like to have their souls used to create the spell again. I wouldn't even know HOW to perform it."

Shining Armor moved to hold Twilight, keeping his sister warm as best he can. "I still can't believe Nyx is our next Crusader. in a way, I can't help be happy. she's gone through so much bad stuff, a lot of ponies still don't trust her. I used to be one of them.... but.... but now she gets to really show the pony she really is."

"Yeah..." Twilight said before turning on her brother and slapping him. "AND THAT IS FOR TRAINING MY DAUGHTER WITHOUT TELLING ME!" she snapped then hugged him. "But I'm glad you did."

Shining moaned and wobbled before rubbing his nose. "Ow. Did you need to slap me, Twiley!?" he whined

"Yes! yes I did!" she giggled.

Shining Armor sighed and hugged her. they then hear Sunbeam order all ponies to go inside. as they go up to the young Unicorn, she is now wearing armor similar to her fathers, only hers is smaller to fit.

"What's going on?" Shining Armor asked. "does your town normally have a curfew?"

"I'm afraid we do. your welcome to stay with Nightquill and I. your men will have to stay in the barracks."

Shining Armor nodded and went to round up his men, Twilight trotted back to Sunbeam's house, it was really her fathers but since he was going to Canterlot prison it was her home now, she had no intention on changing much.

"I am sorry but Hollow Shades has a curfew at Seven PM. your welcome to stay the night, my brother and I however need to be left in private."

"Sunbeam, you aren't going to ask him to..."

Sunbeam smiled. "he's the only stallion I got to know when we grew up, and Freefall was never really nice to me. I know you ponies find it wrong but to us it's all we know. I know it doesn't make it right but see it from my point of view."

Sunbeam opened the door to her home, Twilight saw Nyx, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance has already been brought inside. Broadsword and Nightquill were sitting at the visitor table eating. she motions twilight to the kitchen and closed the door.

"when two foals are arranged to marry they are paired together when they are old enough for school. it's to form a bond." Sunbeam said as she brought out food and began to prepare a meal, Twilight notices her mannerisms are very... housewife-ish. "when Nightquill and I were paired together we lived together, it helps when it's the same house otherwise separate families will have a room set up."

Twilight just listened. though she was visibly uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry sunbeam, it just... doesn't feel right."

"I understand. but because we lived in forced isolation for so long we had no choice. have you ever thought your brother---"

"WHAT!?" Twilight's ears perked. "I'D NEVER DO THAT WITH SHINING!"

Sunbeam giggled. "I'm sorry. but if you were in our possition I'm not sure you'd still say that."

Twilight's jaw went agape, she tried hard to get those thoughts from her mind.

"OH NIIIIIGHTYYY!" Sunbeam sang as she levitated several glasses of tea and some sandwiches.

Twilight watched Sunbeam trot out of the kitchen. when she was well out of the room and out of earshot she gave out a groan of frustration.

"UUUUGH THESE PONIES ARE SO BACKWARDS WEIRD!"

Cadance trotted in and smiled at Twilight.

"My thoughts exactly."

the two giggled and sighed.

"she has a point though, to them it's normal. she can't help how she feels." Cadance said as she sat by Twilight. "NOT to say it's not wrong. hopefully we can put an end of this soon. though Nightquill said separating the little ones now will be bad, and from what I've seen they've already formed bonds. maybe we can still help them, but it's hard to say."

Twilight sighed. "You sound like you got acquainted with her?"

Cadance Nodded. "Yes. and the children too. they seem to be looking at me like I was a being from another world here to whisk them away."

"What's your thoughts on Sunbeam?" Twilight asked.

"I actually think she's very sweet. her father sheltering her did make her kinda.... well she's very under-educated, which normally be understandable for such a small town but Hollow Shades has a very good school if you forgive the 'How Alicorns are bad and we should fear them' lessons." Cadance sighed and continued. "she doesn't know any spells except for basic telekinesis which any unicorn can do without lessons. her growth is stunted and she is very easily excitable. on the other hoof, she can easily rally and gather ponies to guide them. it's her special talent."

"Really? I figured it was because she was a little ray of sunshine?" Twilight said with a giggle.

Cadance laughed and shook her head. "oh she is, but she's a very good leader. turns out her father kept her nearby so she can get used to becoming the next leader of Hollow Shades, which she is now."

Twilight gave a sigh of relief. "OH thank heavens, I was worried he was keeping her on a literal leash and was doing very inappropriate things with her."

Cadance just gaped her mouth open. she blinked and cleared her throat. "Twilight, perhaps you need to find yourself a nice stallion instead of reading your mother's books."

"Wha?" Twilight stammered. "Well Come on, in my defense how could I NOT think that after learning what happens in this town! Besides it's not like she puts a collar on her with a bell."

Cadance couldn't help but try to keep from blushing. "TWILIGHT! I didn't know you were into that stuff!"

Twilight blinked. "What stuff? I----" She then realized what she sounded like she was talking about. "WHAT!? NO I'M NOT INTO THAT!" Twilight was having a hard time to keep her voice down.

"I knew you had a thing for bells, but I didn't know you had a thing for collars too." Cadance tried hard not to laugh.

"I DO NOT HAVE A THING FOR BELLS, COLLARS, STATUES, OR whatever inappropriate thoughts are in your head!" Twilight snapped, her cheeks were bright red.

"are you sure? there's a shop in canterlot that has collars, leashes" Cadance began.

"WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS, ANYMORE!" Twilight shouted

As though cosmic gods heard Twilight's words, the two heard Sunbeam from the living room.

"Are you two coming in here or what? the Sandwiches won't last long!"

"Come on let's go before my aunt Celestia gobbles up everything!" Cadence giggled as she galloped  into the living room.

Twilight sighed in relief, following her aunt and former foalsitter. in the living room Nyx is laying on the floor with Broadsword laying nearby, though he's eating with the others he's keeping close to Nyx in case of a possible attack from enemies only he can perceive (the drapes were looking quite suspicious), Celestia and Luna layed on the couch together as Cadance snuggled up with Shining Armor who just got in, Twilight trotted up and layed next to Nyx, taking a sandwich before she noticed Sunbeam snuggling up against Nightquill. her head laying on his wing as she fell asleep.

"heh, figured she do that." Nightquill said. "she always used my wings as pillows."

Cadance couldn't help but giggle at the sight. "Shame you don't have wings, Shining, I am sure they'd be just as comfortable."

Shining chuckled and nuzzling her. "Yeah but doesn't stop you from using me as a pillow anyways."

"Well you ARE very soft and comfy." Cadance teased.

Twilight giggled as she looked to Nyx who was reading one of the books they brought with them.

"Nyx what are you reading?" Twilight asked trying to look at the title only for Nyx to push it back down.

"Actually I'm writing, I'm reading other books to get references." Nyx said.

"Oh? can you tell me what your writing?" Twilight said with a smile, she liked the idea of Nyx expanding her imagination to writing.

"So what are you Writing?" Twilight asked trying to look at the book.

"I'm writing a theory of where Alicorns come from." nyx said as she wrote her notes.

this got Celestia, Luna, and Cadance's attention. Luna and Celestia looked to each other, not sure whether to tell the filly or not.

"And what would that theory be?" Cadance asked a little curious herself.

Nyx smiled as she held up a crude sketch of a huge Alicorn surrounded by eggs. "I'm not too certain, but considering there are no Stallion Alicorns, I figured Alicorns come from a giant queen Alicorn that lays eggs like a termite kinda. she sends her eggs to Equestria for them to hatch into new Alicorns when Equestria needs them. then they grow up and become princesses. I figured she has to be VERY powerful because she doesn't live in Equestria, she comes from another galaxy!"

everypony just stared at the little black filly as she went back to her work. sketching, writing and reading references. none sat more silent then Celestia and Luna who's mouth were agape, in all their long long lives, they NEVER heard that theory of their manifestation. indeed most theories consist of but not limited to...

Celestia and Luna coming from Space from a distant planet that exploded.

Celestia and Luna coming from the Future to prevent machines from taking over.

Celestia and Luna were once normal unicorns who were turned into alicorns by a nuclear explosion that transformed them.

Celestia and Luna being created in a lab by a mad scientist in an attempt to take over the world only for them to turn on him to save the worked, only to take over equestria for themselves.

Though, most popular theories are that they came from space in some form or another.

But Nyx's theory is probably the most extravagant, if not the most creative one they've heard yet.

"Well, it makes sense to me. they do kinda come from nowhere." Nightquill said as he rubbed his chin. "say you think maybe that's why they live for so long?"

Nyx began to ponder tapping her little hooves together like a mad scientist who discovered a new equation. "YEAH! and maybe why there's no stallions! they don't need them, cuz they don't need to breed, They have an Alicorn Space Mommy!"

"I THINK YOU JUST BLEW LID OFF THIS MYSTERY!" Nightquill declared, by everypony's shock he actually seemed to believe this theory.

"Surely you are NOT believing one bit of this?" Broadsword asked looking at the new Knight as he listened to this new theory.

Twilight raised a brow, her mouth was agape as she watched Nyx.

"Nyx, honey. I don't think that's correct.... What about Cadance? she was a Pegasus before."

"OH that's easy!" Nyx said as she brought up another crudely drawn sketch. "the Alicorn Queen can choose new Alicorns from existing ponies when they do something really amazing!"

Twilight scratched her head trying to make since of this. "But that doesn't make any---

Cadence simply giggled. "oh twilight, it's fine."

Celestia and Luna looked to each other. the two began to laugh. probably the hardest they have for a long time since the past few days.

"Well I must say that is the most unique idea I've heard for our existence." Luna said.

"indeed." Celestia said as she looked to Nyx. "But, why is it we do not remember this Galactic Alicorn Queen that gave birth to us?"

Nyx looked up and chirped. "OH That's Easy! you were eggs, you couldn't have known her cuz you weren't hatched yet!"

the filly immediately return to work as she scribbled and jotted down notes, muttering herself at how awesome a theory this was. Celestia was about to argue against this theory but paused as did Luna.

"oh come on your not going to believe this idea are you?" Twilight said, she wanted to be supportive of Nyx but this was a bit hard to swallow.

"I must admit, there's no evidence to say otherwise." Luna said trying to think back as she could. "in fact, I don't even remember my parents, do you, sister?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, how odd."

Twilight groaned but eventually sighed and smiled. "Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to entertain the idea."

Nyx cheered as she kept working.

Unleashed

In her sleep, Nyx's leg twitched and kicked, she had a full notebook, sketches, and the occasional ramblings of her 'Alicorn space queen' theory. she worked for a few hours before she finally fell asleep. laying on a sleeping back Sunbeam used when she was her size.

Twilight however slept on the floor, sharing a blanket with her. the whole room was filled with the sound of sleep, the occasional dream whinny and twitch throughout. simply put, it was sleep everypony needed. even Broadsword slept soundly for a pony who was possibly older then Celestia and Luna.

Sunbeam stayed close to nightquill, despite many talks that she could meet somepony not related to her, she seemed content with as she puts it 'her Nighty' which mostly brought discomfort to some, and embarrassment to the light blue pegasus. Nyx was the only one who in the end said to let the mare choose for herself.

the night was still and quiet, Luna looked out the window seeing some of the town guards patrolling the streets enforcing the curfew, one stallion waved to Princess Luna, when he came up to the door, she opened it a crack.

"Miss, the curfew is still in effect, I'm sorry but until five AM you need to stay inside." the guard said, he was a unicorn mage, which was rare as the town had a larger population of pegasus guards.

"I understand but as Princess of he night it is my duty to guard the night as I have for thousands of years." Luna said with authority.

The guard thought for a moment. he excused himself for a moment to speak to his commanding officer before returning. "in light of this information and the fact that you do control the moon, we'll allow you to your job. just let us know when something happens."

Luna smiled as she stepped out taking in the cool night air. "you shall be the first to know."

Luna stepped out to the porch, her wings spread out as she took flight, a few guards looked up at her as she landed on the roof of the town hall. she looked around and felt the cool breeze blow along her face, the fur of her coat waving to it's cool caress. she then noticed a guard call her attention.

"Miss, please step off the building." the guard asked politely.

Luna sighed, she was beginning to know why the town had a curfew, it was BORING! as she spread her wings to prepare to take off she paused and looked at the fountain statue.

"Miss please." the guard said again.

Luna glided down towards the fountain, promptly ignoring the guard. as she circled the fountain she saw the water begin to turn black. the statue warped as it cracked and began to fall apart, it then started to rise from the ground as a pillar rose up a section of it slid open.

Luna gasped as she saw into the empty space inside, it was as though it was a door to another world of emptiness, it felt more spacious then the pillar's small structure would allow. it's when the world going quiet did Luna realize something was wrong. she looked to a guard and called his attention.

"You! Get my sister, Quickly!" Luna commanded as she turned her attention to the pillar.

She began to see movement.

the guard nodded and galloped back to Sunbeam's house, moments later he returned.... With Cadance. Luna looked at her niece then at the guard.

"uhm. is this the right one?" he asked. the town now accepted Celestia, Luna and Cadance. Nyx too. but heaven forbid you ask them to properly Identify one.

"Luna, what's going on?" Cadance yawned. "take me back to my shining armor pillow." she began to slink back to the house.

"sir, that was Princess Cadance. Princess Celestia is the big Alicorn with white coat, please hurry!" Luna said.

"Oh you mean the Marshmallow one? okay!" the guard galloped off before returning with Celestia.

Celestia gave out a yawn before slinking up to Princess Luna.

"Yes sister, you asked for me?" Celestia said with another yawn, that yawn died when she saw the pillar and the darkness inside.

"I trust you see it too?" Luna said as she approached the pillar. "what is it?"

Celestia looked the pillar over and peered into the darkness, very few things surprised the elder pony goddess, but this was one of them.

"I believe it's a Pocket realm. if memory serves me right, they were conceived by Starswirl the Bearded to imprison evil spirits that are too dangerous to deal with in other ways." Celestia explained as she lifted a rock and threw it into the dark void. the sound of it clattering against the unseen realm's stone walls.

"it is huge, why would there need to be so much space?" Luna said as she walked closer to the pillar's dark opening, taking great care not to be pulled in by unseen forces.

Celestia looked into the void and began to notice a figure taking shape, something equine, clad in skeletal armor, and very VERY big. she grabbed Luna with her Magic, pulling her younger sister away. before Luna could protest she too saw the figure began to trot towards them. those emerald green eyes glowing, a maw of glowing green light formed on it's muzzle and what looked like sharp teeth silhouetted by the green glow.

Celestia and Luna galloped away from the pillar as green burning mist blasted through the doorway of the pillar, bits of stone being blown off the structure as whatever final ounce of magic that held the pocket realm closed finally gave out. the two alicorns got up slowly and looked back as the fountain, pillar and ground around it exploded in green flames. the town guard gathered around the sight.

The explosion rocked and woke the entire town as everypony emerged from their homes. curfew was still in effect but the scene outside demanded an audience.

"are you alright, sister?" Celestia asked as she got up from the ground.

"Yes, But I fear a small fall is the least of our worries." Luna replied as she too got up and dusted herself off.

"So, the young one is Clairvoyant!" a voice is heard, seemingly coming from the wind itself. "I apologize for my late arrival, but that spell seemed to take forever to finally dry up, but the soul within was a lovely Appetizer to the grand meal of Life Force I shall soon be enjoying!"

Celestia stomped her hoof against the ground, her ears pinning back as her younger sister joined beside her. "Don't believe one second we won't stop you, Ryugu!"

Ryugu's shrill laugh pierced their ears. "Well your certainly welcome to try."

At that moment the form of a large Alicorn began to form itself from thin air like a shimmer of light, her form slowly taking form as though she had optical camouflage leaving only a shimmer to be seen. the ponies of Hollow Shades all gasped and ran away behind Celestia and Luna in panic, even the resolve and bravery of the town guard seemed to die as Queen Ryugu finally came to view.

Celestia and Luna had to look up as stood before them was the size of a three story house, clad in Black and Gold chitinous skeletal Armor an Alicorn of dark purple coat, glowing emerald green eyes and a mouth less like a pony and more like a dragon with interlocking teeth forever in a toothy grin. the armor covered her head from nose all the way around her skull, several dragon like horns jutted out from above her ears. Ryugu's horn was like most unicorns, and long like an Alicorns, though it had a Translucent look to it making it near see through as it glowed like a crystal.

Her mane was a constant green fire that ran from behind her head down her neck in short flames, her tail was an armored nightmare each segment had a shell of spikes like a mid-evil whip that somepony went overboard with. and around the tail was the green fire. similar to Nightmare Moon's stary mist mane and tail, the green flames looked to move similar to Celestia and Luna's flowing mane.

Finally Ryugu extended her wings. what once were beautiful feathery wings are now tethered leather wings like a dragon, the fingered appendages the leather webbing attached to each ended in a long talon, her wings even had small thumbs. no, Dragon wasn't the correct word. they were more like an actual bat's wing.

"Behold, your beautiful Queen has returned!" Ryugu said rearing her head back as she extended her wings up as she moved her forleg out, posing as though she was a beautiful model for all to marvel.

the ponies of Hollow Shades could only look up at the massive Alicorn like a Nightmare. Celestia and Luna were also silent, where Alicorns originally this big? or was this the cause of Ryugu's corruption?

Ryugu began to laugh as she glared down, she opened her maw as green light began to glow from her mouth as she spoke. "Ah, your too enthralled by my beauty to say a word? how very sweet. Now it is time I retake my kingdom!" Ryugu's horn glowed emerald green as she released a stream of her magic into the heavens. the night sky turned a hue of light purple as the stars began to form new more threatening constellations.

Upon doing this Luna grabbed her horn and screamed in agony. she felt her grip on her beautiful night sky be ripped from her very soul. she fell to the ground trying hard to retake what was rightfully hers, but Ryugu's influence was strong and when she fought back, she was put into even more pain. Luna's Moon then turned blood red as Ryugu took control of it.

"SISTER!" Celestia cried out.

Luna fell limp as the moon was ripped from her grasp. Celestia then notice Luna's cutie Mark slowly fade to nothing, turning the night Princess into a Blank Flank. Celestia looked up as Ryugu cackled, who was now sneering at the smaller alicorns.

"YOU MONSTER! How DARE you steal Luna's Moon and Stars!" Celestia roared as her horn glowed.

"Correction! the Moon and Stars have always been mine the day the Unicorn Princess Platinum offered the Moon and Sun for me to control." Ryugu said as she looked down at Celestia.

"And speaking of the Sun. it is time I took That back as well!" Ryugu began to charge her spell again aiming her horn towards the east.

"NOT IF I HAVE ANY SAY ABOUT IT!" Nyx cried out in her armor, minus the helmet that she had tucked under her foreleg.

"Hmmm?" Ryugu glared down at the small alicorn pony, indeed, all she saw was an insect.

Celestia glared as her horn reached full power. "The raising of the sun is MY Duty, just as it is my duty to serve and protect Equestria!" the Sun Princess Bellowed as she flew up to meet the skeletal Armored Alicorn's green gaze.

"Equestria is My Kingdom Now! you may pretend to be it's ruler, but in the end it is I who will rule this land once more!" Ryugu snapped, her horn charging once again, she seemed to have completely dismiss Nyx.

Nyx snorted as she put the helmet on, growing to full size as she joined Celestia's side. Celestia however wasn't all there, she was angry. angry her sister's moon and stars were ripped from her very being, that the very essence of her being was stolen away by a monster who could never recreate Luna's creation.

it was then Celestia attacked with a beam hotter then the Sun she represents, the beam blasting the giant Alicorn off her mammoth hooves and crashing into a thankfully now uninhabited house. Celestia panted and heaved, the attack was strong but also left Celestia exhausted. while it's not widely known, but theorized, Celestia's the most strongest during the day. and it was only an hour until sunrise.

Ryugu growled as she stood up, her gaze fixated on Celestia as she gave out a roaring whinny. "Now, You shall suffer the fate of all who defy me!"

Ryugu's horn charged once more, she then fired a beam at Celestia frying the sun princess in a blast of pure energy, Celestia could only scream in agony before falling to the ground hard tumbling to her side.

"CELESTIA!" Twilight cried as she galloped to her mentor's side.

Celestia groaned as she got up. "it.... It's alright. it hurt but... I don't think she's at full strength right now..."

Ryugu laughed as she moved towards them. "Fool, I only needed you out of my way!"

"What!?" Celestia cried out, realizing all too late Ryugu's reason for attacking.

the Dark Queen looked to the east and charged her magic, she then released it to the horizon, and like Luna before her, Celestia screamed, holding her horn as she felt herself being torn apart, her influence on the sun being stripped away as her Sun Cutie Mark fades away, turning her into a Blank Flank as well.

"No!" Celestia said before she too lost consciousness.

Ryugu laughed as she stomped on the ground, crushing the cobble stone paths beneath her. flaring her large tethered wings. "At last, the Sun and Moon are mine once more!"

"You seem to have forgotten About Me, your royal ugliness!" nyx called out, the sword of wisdom glowing with magic.

Ryugu glanced at Nyx and grinned. "Do you really think I'll allow a small child to beat me?"

Ryugu suddenly and surprisingly despite her size moved in a flash as she lashed her tail out striking Nyx out of the air causing her to fall to the ground. the sword impaling the ground and loosing it's magic charge. Ryugu laughed as she brought up her hoof, intending to crush the Armor clad Alicorn in one step.

"Now, die like the little insect you are!" Ryugu said as she stomped her hoof to the ground on top of Nyx.

"NO!" Twilight cried as she blasted Ryugu's hoof with magical bolts.

All of which did nothing as the Dark queen laughed rubbing her hoof harder into the ground, the sound of metal being crushed echoed in twilight's ears. she looked away with tears in her eyes trying to block out the sound. however it was quickly replaced by Ryugu crying out as she jumped away.

As they looked up they saw Ryugu holding her massive hoof up, under it was Nyx with the Sword of Wisdom impaled into the dark queen's hoof. Nyx holding onto it with her jaws as she twisted and pulled the blade out, flapping her wings as she climbed up the Alicorn giant's foreleg, using her armor as gripping points as she made the climb.

Ryugu however didn't appreciate the Stow Away that was now climbing up her leg. she swatted and slapped at Nyx, using her tail whip to strike the young Crusader of Harmony, but before she could be hit, Nyx flew off and slashed at the segmented appendage of fire. the Ancient mystic sword proving more then capable of doing damage, and the fire doing little to damage the sword in return.

Nyx continued to climb the colossal Alicorn, stabbing the sword into Ryugu's hide to climb up higher, causing the Dark Queen to yell out in pain as she tried to blast Nyx off with a magic bolt, only to do damage to herself when she missed.

Nyx Climbed onto the giant Alicorn's back. as Ryugu turned her head to prepare to strike Nyx again. the armor clad Alicorn leaked at Ryugu's face, bringing the sword down and striking Ryugu's horn. causing it to crack, it's magical energies releasing and bleeding out. Nyx then proceeded to swoop down, on her way back to the ground as she slashed a large gashing cut across Ryugu's Chest.

"AAAAAHHH!" Ryugu cried stumbling back and began using her wings to shield herself, swatting at Nyx before actually landing a hit.

"GAAAH!" Nyx cried as she was hit, taking a nose dive into a pony couple's second story window and landing in a heap.

Ryugu held her horn as she glared down at where Nyx crashed, upon seeing her emerge unharmed Ryugu began to charge her horn, only for a surge of Magical feedback backfired on her.

"RAAAH!" Ryugu yelled as she stumbled to the ground causing the ground to shake. she quickly got up and flared her wings out. "THIS IS NOT OVER! I shall return and I will have my revenge upon you All!"

Ryugu then turned and began to flap her wings, the large gust of wind caused the fire she made from her escape were blown out, and it wasn't long until the giant Alicorn flew off to the South before reaching the mountain range, her whole form disappeared into a shimmer before that was gone too.

------

Luna awoke to several ponies surrounding her, many dark coats and manes with those orange, red, and golden eyes. each set of eyes were of concern and worry. she blinked a few more times, trying to focus her eyes. she felt terrible. she wanted to move but when her brain gave the message to her body to move, her body would only respond with a short attempt to move her legs before they fell back to their resting spot.

Her whole body felt almost gone. she could only look and observe. finally a familiar set of eyes looked down at her.

"Princess Luna, please. don't try and move." Twilight said as she asked for ponies to help move Luna inside.

Nyx approached as she had her horn glowing brightly, she had the full armor set on, making her fully grown. she was Levitating something white, still... unmoving yet familiar.... but before she could focus in on it, Luna felt hooves start to lift her up, Nightquill and Broadsword began to carry her across their backs, her head slumped and felt her horn drag the ground.

"Hey, Watch her head!" Nightquill said as he tried to pull her up more with his wing. "Jeeze it's like she's not even alive!"

"It's the same for Celestia as well." Nyx said.

Luna, despite her weakened dead weight state snapped to as much reality as her body would allow. she wanted to see Celestia, check on her older sister. but she couldn't move. she couldn't talk. she could only look around.

she was brought into the Temple of Harmony and layed down on the alter, it's then she saw Celestia gently layed down beside her. in her mind she was horrified to see her sister's mane and tail now only light pink and shorter, Celestia's cutie mark was gone and.... No, no it couldn't be.

As a Pony trotted by, Luna saw the impossible, she was able to realize Celestia was smaller, almost like a how she was when Twilight and her friends turned her back from being Nightmare Moon.

Luna began to panic, but outside, she looked dead, with only sign of life being the occasional movement of her eyes and her slow breathing. but in her mind, she was doing flips. she then remembered what had happened to her as Queen Ryugu stripped the Moon and Stars from her power.

it was then she noticed Celestia's eye fluttering open. but like herself she too almost looked dead. but she could see the fear and realization in Celestia's eyes.

"What's wrong with them, Twilight?" Nightquill asked as he leaned in waving his hoof at Luna.

this annoyed her, she wanted to grab his hoof but all she managed was moving her foreleg a small inch before it flopped back on the polished wood floor. luckily, Sunbeam was good enough to make him stop.

Twilight moved up and looked them both over. her horn glowing doing a basic spell, probably to test their vitals, though it was hard to tell.

"They aren't dead. they've been severed from the very things that made them special. Queen Ryugu didn't just take control of the Sun and Moon, Celestia was able to raise both when Princess Luna was locked away in the moon for a thousand years as Nightmare Moon." Twilight explained. "I'm sorry but, I could only hypothesize that Queen Ryugu not only took control of their respective celestial bodies, but she stripped them of the very thing that made them special."

Twilight then began her magic on Luna, the feeling was nice.

"It's like if somepony took away my ability to use magic." Twilight said as she glanced at Luna and Celestia's blank flanks. "They're Cutie Marks are gone!" Twilight gasped.

"wait, Luna raises the Moon and Celestia the Sun, Maybe separating them from Luna and Celestia was like removing the reason for them to have those Special talents?" Nyx said as she removed her helmet, turning to a tiny filly again.

Twilight rubbed her chin. "yes but, I don't know why they would be in this state. I can understand the blank flanks."

"Well think about it? When I took over as queen of Equestria I locked them in the sun and Moon, but they still had their special talents to control them when I couldn't." Nyx said. "What if, unlike most ponies where the talent makes them special. Celestia and Luna's Cutie Marks are their connection to the Sun and Moon, but what if the sun and Moon are source of their power? it be like if somepony yanked the magic battery from a toy car."

Twilight looked at Luna then Celestia. Deep down, Luna knew this was true. she had no energy to move, she could only watch and listen. honestly can't anypony tell she was listening? it began to frustrate her mentally how it was like they won't acknowledge her. she was awake, her eyes were open, surely they could see that!

It began to really tick off Luna, so much so she managed a moan. this finally got ponies to notice.

"I think Luna's with us." Broadsword said, trotting up to her. "god she's so tiny now."

WHAT!? Luna's eyes darted, she wanted to see herself. but all she saw was the damned floor and everypony else. thankfully, Nightquill saw Luna's tiny movements.

"Hey guys, I think she's in a bad way here. she's got to be able to hear and see us." Nightquill said as he lifted Luna, setting her up so she could sit up. "there we are, Princess Luna."

Nyx did the same for Celestia, it wasn't hard as Celestia was now almost the same size as her if not a tad bigger.

"Is there any way we can charge them up enough so they can move again?" Cadance asked helping Nyx with her aunt, sitting her in a chair.

Twilight moved up to Luna and thought for a moment looking at her, she hated being like this, having ponies look at her like inanimate objects, and as she looked over to Celestia, she was feeling the same way.

"I could probably try something." Nyx said, putting her helmet on becoming big again. "I'm gonna see if I can call upon some of my magic to charge them up a bit at least so they could move. otherwise if they stay like that they could starve."

Nyx stood between Celestia and Luna and held the sword in front of her, closing her eyes as she began to concentrate. she wanted to give Celestia and Luna energy again. she wanted them to move and speak. even if it was her own magic. she had to help them somehow.

Luna's eyes locked on Nyx as the armor's boots and gauntlets began to glow, her eyes opened with energy as her horn glowed, two balls of magic formed as they both found home going to Celestia and Luna's horns. this however caused Nyx to slump a bit, using the sword as support to prevent herself from falling over completely.

the ball of Energy touched Luna's horn and began to enter her body, she felt the warm energy flow through her, her body returned to feeling again as she slowly began to move. letting out a cry as she stumbled forward. it wasn't long until her legs were strong again and she slowly got up.

"Uuugh...." Luna moaned as she looked to her hooves. her coat was a lighter color as was her mane. "A mirror. Please!"

Sunbeam galloped up and held it up. Luna saw she was small. Really small. moreso then after being released from Nightmare Moon's Influence. she was tiny filly. Luna let out a scream that sounded way younger.

"What Happened to me!?" Luna cried out.

"Sister?" Celestia called as she too began to move, she came up to her sister, looking in shock at the tiny filly Luna before her. "I---I've not seen you like this since....."

Celestia  then heard her own voice. she blinked as she looked and saw the mirror Sunbeam had and immediately grabbed it as she looked in the mirror she saw her reflection. "AAAAAAH!"

Celestia was now also a Filly, no bigger then Nyx. her mane was a light pink, her wings were tiny and her legs were still rather lanky but didn't do much for height. as it was, Celestia was always a bit of a scrawny lanky pony even at this age.

"what happened to us!?" Luna squeaked, being the younger sister Luna was smaller, being a tad smaller then Nyx, who for them was the average size of a pony at school age.

"I believe Nyx's theory is correct." Broadsword said. "when Queen Ryugu severed your link with the Sun and Moon you lost the source of your power, unable to maintain that power your bodies reverted to their most basest of form."

Nyx lifted herself up, finally recovering as the armor replenished her strength.  she sheathed her sword and took off her helmet, setting it down on the Alter.

"That took alot out of me." Nyx said as she sat down. taking the armor of, it was like wearing a ton of bricks. "you two must have been really weak!"

Twilight ran to Nyx and held her, more so to keep her from falling over. "What did you do?"

"I wanted to help them. I wanted to give them the energy they needed, even if it meant I had to give them my own energy." Nyx said as she panted. "can I please have some water?"

"Of course, M'Lady." Broadsword said, leaving a few moments before returning a moment later with a bottle of Water. "here you are."

"thank you." Nyx said drinking greedily.

Celestia saw some water in a jug and went to pick it up. however she noticed her horn won't glow... she tried again and again. but no mater what, Celestia couldn't call upon the most basic of Unicorn Magic.

"I'm sorry, but I could only give so much without putting myself in the same situation." Nyx said as he offered Celestia her water. "I'd gladly give you what energy I had, but I knew if I did we'd have no way to fight Ryugu."

Celestia sighed and took the water with her hoofs, trying hard to keep from dropping the bottle, eventually getting frustrated, grabbing the bottle with her teeth and holding it up, drinking it like it was a baby bottle.

"Hey can I have some?" Luna asked before being given her own bottle.

"Hmm if we were going to have foals I should have got some cribs ready!" Sunbeam said nuzzling Nightquill. "though I didn't think we have them this soon."

"WHA!?" Nightquill gaped and sighed. "Ugh, Sunbeam."

"I am NOT a foal!" Luna declared with her tiny filly voice as she pouted.

"Nor am I!" Celestia said also pouting.

Twilight smiled and tried hard not to giggle at how they failed to look intimidating and just plain looked adorable. Cadance smiled and trotted to her Aunts now turned fillies.

"Perhaps you weren't. but now your in no condition to be fighting that monster." Cadance said as she wrapped her wings around the two. "besides, it may be best if we left you in the care of Sunbeam for a while."

Cadance leaned to whisper in their ears. "Plus it MAY be best if nopony knew of this. lest it became public and became a new popular trend."

the two princess fillies looked to each other, they knew Cadance was right, otherwise they won't hear the end of this from the high society ponies. they sighed and drank their water, trying to get used to using their hooves to manipulate things more then their magic.

"Ugh, Fine." Luna grumbled. "we won't be treated like children!"

"Awww, but your just so cute!" Sunbeam said as she offered Luna a cookie. "are you suuuure?"

Luna's gaze fixated on the cookie, as hard as she tried, no matter how she held her dignity not to be swayed by such a delicious treat, Luna finally caved as the small child in her took over. grabbing the cookie and munching on it, making her tiny wings flutter.

"hey where's mine?" Celestia asked, she lost her internal battle the second she saw the treat float before her. She pouted adorably wanting her cookie as well.

Sunbeam smiled and with a flick of her horn summoned a cookie from her saddle bag. "Yes, here is yours."

Celestia squeed before snatching the cookie morsel. the small treat stood no chance against ravenous Princess Filly.

Twilight giggled as she smiled, she sighed and looked to Nyx who was beginning to regain her strength. "Okay, so what do we do now?"

"Well I've been thinking," Nyx said as she looked up at Twilight. "We need help. what happened a few hours ago with Ryugu was just a skirmish. she's too powerful just for me to fight."

Broadsword nodded. "indeed, Ryugu was unusually strong after emerging from her prison."

"Wait so the whole, 'giant Alicorn with bat wings and flaming mane and tail' isn't Normal for her? maybe I should reiterate the 'GIANT' part?" Nightquill said.

"I'm surprised as you are. she wasn't that big when she was locked in. it's true when she feeds she grows in size and power, but the way she looked it's like somepony was feeding her before she left." Broadsword said.

"maybe she got it from Equestria when she froze it over?" Cadance asked watching Celestia and Luna fight over a bottle of water before she takes it away from them.

"Actually, I think that was just so she had the energy to escape." broadsword said. "but it's like she had energy to begin with."

"Wait!" Luna said as she paused. "Before, she mentioned how the soul that made the spell that locked her away was an appitizer, You don't think she used that to feed on do you?"

Broadsword's eyes widened. "She.... She used his remaining life essence to regain her strength to grow in power!?"

"Oh broadsword, I'm so sorry." Twilight said shaking her head.

Broadsword sighed. "all that matters now is we stop her."

"Your right, that's why I was going to say." Nyx said as she looked up at Twilight. "Twilight we need to return to Ponyville, get our friends and use the Elements of Harmony and the Armor of the Crusader to defeat Ryugu."

Twilight thought on this, she smiled and nodded. "Yes! your right, with our friends we're stronger then just us on our own."

"Then to this Ponyville we shall go." Broadsword declared. "Nightquill, will you join us?"

"Try and stop me." the Pegasus Knight said as he put on his now repaired armor. "I've been with you thus far, and I made and oath to the Knights of Harmony order."

Broadsword smiled as he nodded. "Excellent!"

"We'll need to get a chariot ready, then. we'll need some supplies and...." Twilight began, taking a blank scroll and quill from the temple's supply cabinet.

"You'll have everything you need shortly." Sunbeam said as she began to give orders to the towns ponies, who went out and began to gather the supplies.

Celestia took a parchment and began to write to the best of her abilities with her hooves.

"UGH! this is so difficult without magic!" the filly alicorn grumbled. "there... here is a scroll with orders to my royal guards."

Cadance took the scroll in her magic and opened it to read it. she squinted and turned it to the side, then the other way. what once was elegantly made cursive writing was now a child's scribbles and backwards lettering in uneven size. Cadance knew if she gave this to her royal guards she'd be asked if it was a joke before being laughed off.

"Uhm. how about I just send the message for you?" Cadance chuckled trying hard not to offend her Aunt who was now a filly and can no doubt throw a tantrum. A tantrum of adorableness.

"OH!" Celestia squeeked. "well alright, I guess it make more since and have more authority in it if you sent the message in person."

------

Nightquill secured himself into the reigns of the Chariot, he felt himself being strapped in by Sunbeam. the Chariot was fairly big, but small enough to be pulled by a single Pegasus Pony. it was an older model and was white with pink detailing, it could hold up to six ponies more if they were crammed in.

"Alright, we're ready." Twilight announced as she came out of the Temple of Harmony.

Twilight was once again wearing the armor Celestia gave her, it was fully repaired, however the town's blacksmith, Anvil Steel offered to modify it. he added a side pouch and reinforced the helmet and chest piece. he even polished it making it shine in the sunlight.

"Wow that armor looks good on you Twiley." Shining Armor said as he circled his little sister. "I would have gone with heavier armor myself."

Twilight giggled. "are you kidding!? I wouldn't be able to move let alone fight. the helmet and chest piece is heavier enough now that it's reinforced."

Shining gave the helmet a good pat to test it's strength, this made Twilight grumble.

"hehe if you say so. but either way I just want to know your going to be safe." Shining said as he levitated to Twilight her sword. "here I had the blacksmith improve the blade, I noticed it was starting to degrade. Silver weapons are often beautiful but don't make the best defense."

"Thanks BBBFF!" Twilight smiled as she hugged Shining Armor. "You sure you don't want to come along?"

Shining Armor shook his head. "Cadance and I are gonna remain here to help protect Celestia and Luna incase Queen Ryugu decides to pull a stunt. it's also so Cadance can care for them she feels she'll need the practice anyway if you get my meaning."

Twilight smiled. "Well you four take care."

With another hug, Twilight began to take stock on the supplies, luckily the journey back to Ponyville will be shorter flying then it was Walking.

Nyx and Broadsword approached the chariot, Broadsword taking a look at Nightquill strapped up in the Chariot's pulling reigns.

"Wow. Sunbeam got you in there good huh?" Broadsword couldn't help but chuckle at the light blue Pegasus

Normally Chariots only used railing and a few straps to secure the Pony pulling it. however this was an older model and relied on straps, rope, and a mouth bit.

"Uhm. yeah it's an old chariot so it has to be more secure." Nightquill said as he looked at himself. Sunbeam grinning at him. "Although I do think you went overboard."

"isn't anything different then the games we used to play together." Sunbeam chirped as she took in the sight.

Twilight looked at poor Nightquill, while she took in that he will be very well secured and will be more then capable of flying them back to ponyville, she couldn't help but feel Sunbeam had different ideas in her little head of what the straps and ropes could be used for on her half brother. she looked at Nyx who didn't even noticed it, she was instead back to writing her theories on the Queen Alicorn Space Mommy she managed to cook up.

"So are we ready?" Broadsword asked, taking a seat in the chariot.

Nightquill gave his wings a few test flaps. he looked back and nodded, his armor was in the back of the chariot with Nyx's old armor, as well as some food and other supplies. he began to pull the chariot to the edge of town, despite it's age the chariot was kept in good condition and felt almost new, the seats were refurbished and the woodwork was redone, the whole thing was repainted too.

"Wait!" Sunbeam galloped up and gave Nightquill a tight hug and a kiss before galloping off. "You take care of yourselves!"

Nightquill chuckled. "We will, don't worry."

the Light blue Pegasus flapped his wings once more and began to gallop down the path through the forest, going over the bridge that lead to town. once he cleared the woods he spread his wings and lifted skywards. Nyx squealed when her papers almost flew away, thankfully Broadsword caught any that tried to escape the little crusader's magical grasp.

Homecoming

The ponies of the small town of Ponyville were all relieved to see the ice has melted and everypony was alive and trotting about, they had no idea that the danger was still about, however five ponies were well aware things were not back to normal.

Applejack galloped around the town, she was on a search for a Purple unicorn and her little Alicorn daughter, she was told what happened by Big Macintosh and Granny Smith, but she had no memory since being frozen in ice. the only thing she did remember was she could hear twilight's voice when she called her. but after being freed everything became a blur.

Applejack looked skywards seeing a cyan blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane zip past before coming in to land.

"Any luck?" Applejack asked.

"We've looked at the Library, park, the shops, I even had spike help me look around in Nyx's old castle, we can't find Twilight or Nyx anywhere. it's like they disappeared!" Rainbow said.

Applejack cursed under her breath, she was told time and again by spike, but for some reason she became more confused. what in Celestia's Mane would Twilight want to go so far east for. it didn't help Spike was busy helping the three train ponies that came into town.

"You know, I'm starting to think we should listen to Spike, AJ. Twilight isn't here, and those train ponies said where they were going." Rainbow said as she fluttered her wings.

Applejack sighed, it felt wrong that Twilight left without them. but from what she was told, the whole town was frozen including herself and the others. Twilight had to act. and thinking about it, she wasn't alone. she had Nyx. she may be a filly but atleast Twilight had somepony to watch her back.

"I reckon yer right. but everything feels wrong. the sun isn't as bright as it should be, and did you see the sky last night?" Applejack said as she trotted to her Pegasus friend.

"Yeah, I noticed. Maybe Princess Luna is trying out a new look for the moon and stars.... if you like scary as Tartarus that is?" Rainbow said, she began to trot back into town with Applejack.

once the two ponies reached town hall, they are reunited with Fluttershy and Rarity. the two had given up their search much earlier as they too realized it was in vein. eventually Pinkie Pie bounced up to them.

"Well I reckon they really are gone." Applejack said. "It don't feel right. we've been friends since Twilight came to this here town. she'd never leave us."

Rarity however huffed. "Applejack I understand how you feel, but we have to trust Twilight on this."

"Yer right, Rare, but I still don't like it." Applejack said as she sat on her haunches. "I wish her all the luck though. she and little Nyx."

Pinkie Pie nodded and bounced up to them. "Well until then we have a duty to uphold!"

Rarity's ears perked. "and what duty is that, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie smiled her voice turning soft and slow, yet sincere. "We need to be ready for when Twilight does come back. we need to be ready for when she needs our help."

Applejack stomped her hoof kicking up a small cloud of dirt causing Fluttershy to cough. "Yer right Pinkie! we won't be of no use to Twilight if we're mopin around, Rarity, you an Fluttershy should go back to the library. have the Elements of Harmony ready for when Twilight Arrives. Pinkie, you and Rainbow Dash are with me. we need to keep an eye out fer that little pony when she comes back and be quick as a whip if she needs help."

Rarity nodded. "Good plan applejack. come along dear."

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "right behind you, Rarity."

the light grey unicorn and yellow pegasus made their way back to the Golden Oaks library, Rarity using a spell Twilight tought her to open the identification lock spell to open the display case for the Elements of harmony.

"Rarity, do you wonder why Twilight took Nyx with her?" Fluttershy asked as she took her butterfly necklace and placed it on her neck.

Rarity did the same with her element. "now fluttershy, Nyx may be little, but she is still an Alicorn."

Fluttershy pawed at the floor with her hoof. "Yes. but don't you remember? Princess Luna took her powers away. I know she's gotten better with her magic, but at most she can only lift things. she's not able to do much else. and she's so tiny...."

Rarity looked to Fluttershy and rested a hoof on her shoulder. "Now fluttershy, I fully understand your feelings. but let's also take heart in knowing poor Twilight isn't alone. she has little Nyx by her side, and let us not forget her special talent is defending and fighting for the ponies she cares for."

Spike walked up to Rarity and fluttershy, in his claws was a plate with two cups filled with freshly brewed tea.

"why thank you spike, your quite the gentleman." Rarity said as she levitated the cup and took a sip.

"your welcome. would you like something to eat?" Spike asked. "I kinda feel like a fifth wheel since everypony is free now."

"Actually I would like a biscuit if you have any?" Fluttershy asked softly, taking a sip of the tea.

"right away. how about you Rarity?" Spike asked.

"Oh yes, I too would like only half a biscuit." Rarity said. she tried to hide it but she was wanting to watch her figure.

Spike went off to the kitchen as he began to prepair the meal. Rarity went up to the reading table, the book Twilight intended to read still layed open. Rarity began to read the rather erotic book and blushed, smiling a bit.

"My goodness, I knew Twilight was single but I never knew she had such interests." Rarity said as she turned the page.

Fluttershy trotted up and looked at the book, squeeking as she blushed. "Oh my! I never knew Twilight was into such things!"

Spike returned soon after with a biscuit and a half. "Here you are, ladies! one whole biscuit, and one half for my lady Rarity!"

Rarity levitated the morsal and took a small bite. "mmmh, very delicious. thank you Spike. I see why you're Twilight's number one assistant, your a really good cook."

Spike smiled. "Twilight Velvet tought me alot on how to cook, I also watched the cooks in the Canterlot kitchins in the castle."

Rarity paused in mid nibble as her ears perked. "do you hear that?"

Fluttershy swallowed as she too perked and swiveled her ears. "sounds like a chariot."

Outside Pinkie Pie held a pair of binoculars up to her eyes, peering hard at the chariot approaching.

"Somepony's comin, two Unicorns a Pegasus, and one Alicorn at 12 o'clock!" Pinkie shouted as she stood on a makeshift watch tower made of stacked chairs, tables, and the occassional confused pony.

Pinkie Pie got down from the makeshift tower, hanging the binoculars from her neck. she zipped like a dart through the town streets, weaving and jumping over the occassional pedestrian pony as they go about their day, even taking a detour through Vinyl Scratch and Octavia's house.

"Hiya Vinyl!" Pinkie said passing the headphone wearing unicorn.

Vinyl smiled and waved to the pink pony as she passed. Pinkie Pie bounced her way up to Applejack and Rainbow Dash as she gave a salute.

"Covert Agent Pinkie Pie reporting!" Pinkie said in a faux Militaristic manner.

"Whatcha got fer us, Pinkie?" Applejack asked.

"I spotted a Chariot with a Pegasus pulling and three passengers onboard. they should be landing any moment!"

"Good job, Pinks." Rainbow dash said. "I'll go intercept them and bring them to land in the town square."

With that Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and took to the skies, Applejack went to the town square and watched as the Cyan pegasus and the Chariot pegasus began to turn and made their way to land. at the same time Rarity and Fluttershy arrived, Fluttershy still eating her biscuit.

Rainbow Dash flew overhead as the Chariot settled to a landing, the pegasus pulling it was a young light blue pegasus with Orange eyes he met their looks as he stopped and panted. trying hard not to collapse right then and there.

Rainbow Dash landed beside Applejack as they looked up on the Chariot, the one they noticed the most was the Armor clad Unicorn as he stepped off, Rarity couldn't help but give an audible "oooooh." at the sight of him, it's when they looked to the last two passengers then everypony grew excited. the scene also drew the Ponies of the town to the commotion.

"TWILIGHT!" the five said in unison, they galloped up and began to bombard their unicorn friend with questions upon questions.

"Everypony please! I'll tell you everything I learned soon, but right now I would really like to get back to the library and rest." Twilight said as she got up.

"Wow Twilight, what's with the armor?" Rainbow Dash said looking at her reflection.

"Oh yes, it is quite stylish on you." Rarity said as she looked it over. "it's beautiful and elegant while also saying 'I'm a mare who can take care of herself." it's absolutely stunning."

Twilight giggled and yawned. "Again I'll explain in a bit." She looked behind her. "come along Nyx."

it's when little Nyx hopped up and glided gently out of the Chariot did everypony gasp. seeing the filly adorn in the bluish silver armor got everypony's attention.

"Oh and I thought twilight's armor was beautiful!" Rarity gasped as she looked at the armor. "Oh I do wish to have a closer look, but you all seem so tired. please allow us to guide you back to the Library."

"Thank you, Rarity." Twilight said as she followed her friends back to her home.

------

It's been two hours since returning to the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight and Nyx sat in the library's main room with their friends circled around them, Telling their friends of the entire week of their adventures. while Broadsword and Nightquill were looking through the books.

Broadsword however was most interested in the knowledge they contained. After all despite being able to commune with his fallen Knight Brothers, he knew nothing of the outside world. to him everything was new. the world was bigger there's been much advancement in technology, some practices have died or replaced with new ones, Ponies themselves felt different. indeed it was a new world out there and he wanted to learn about it, to him it wasn't just wanting to keep up to date. it was because he was a Knight of Harmony, who sworn themselves to serve Equestria. how can he serve Equestria if he was stuck in the past with archaic views and mannerisms that have been dead and forgotten for centuries.

Nightquill however turned out to be quite the reader. in fact he enjoyed reading, this caught Twilight's gaze a few times after he managed to complete a whole tome and move on to the next. he even took out a paper and quill and jotted down notes and and slipped them into his saddlebags. Nightquill's cutie mark a Black Feather with three Stars above it in a triangle was not hereditary from his mother as it does happen in some cases. no this is because Nightquill's Special Talent is being a scholar. he had a thirst for knowledge. in fact it's how he got a lot of his knowledge from what books they had at Hollow Shades, he read every one of them! ranging from foal raising to medical knowledge.

Despite this however he hid his knowledge quite well. not out of fear, quite the opposite Hollow Shades would have loved to have Nightquill to use that knowledge. but Nightquill had an obligation to the Hunters, and Freefall hated stuck up eggheads.

Finally after almost an hour and twenty minutes Twilight had caught her friends up on all that has happened.

"So, there's this giant Alicorn from the time before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that eats this stuff called Life Force that gives Plants, Animals, and us here Ponies it's life. and you and Nyx went off to stop this monster. ya'll had to fight Elementals, Racist Incest ponies, survive an Airship crash, and after All that you found out that it was Nyx who was the new crusader, and Not you?" Applejack stated like it was a long laundry list.

Twilight sat there for a moment then nodded. "Yeah that was the gist of it."

"Gotta say Twi. of all the things we've went against. this takes the cake of the most Bizarre." Rainbow Dash said.

"Well it Does make sense if you look at how often somepony or something comes along wanting to spank us for breakfast." Pinkie Pie said as she wrapped her foreleg around rainbow dash's shoulder. "think about it, since Nightmare Moon was released we had evil baddies pop up every so often, why if they weren't so horribly horrible I'd throw a 'Welcome-to-Equestria-Badguy-who-wants-to-do-very-Bad-stuff-to-us' Party!"

Applejack however snorted and stomped her hoof. "Well we're on your side Twilight! we even got our Elements of harmony ready, so you just say the word and we're on that Queen Ryugu like stink on a hog!"

"EEW!" Rarity looked at Applejack in disgust. "Honestly Applejack couldn't you choose a better terminology?"

Applejack sighed as she rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, Rarity."

Rarity relaxed and nodded. "Yes, I do, and your right."

This whole time Rarity has been looking over Twilight's Armor, Broadsword didn't allow her to even touch Nyx's armor, and even shouted at Pinkie Pie for trying the helmet on. it took Nyx talking to the ancient Knight for him to give them more leeway, Nyx ensured they could be trusted with handling the armor. especially when said armor already chose her to wear it.

Twilight sighed as she got up for the upstairs bedroom. "I hope you guys don't mind, but I am going to go rest for a while."

"Of course, Darling!" Rarity said helping Twilight up the stairs as the purple Unicorn nearly slipped a step. "you and little Nyx here have been through Tartarus and back! you deserve a break."

"Thank you Rarity." Twilight said. "Coming Nyx?"

Nyx nodded as she took her armor off and set it on the kitchen table, she had Broadsword keep an eye on it but said her friends had every right to at least look at the armor. Broadsword didn't argue and did agree the armor should be admired for it's beauty.

"Alright, M'lady. go rest, you've deserved it." Broadsword said as he sat at the table.

"Also," Nyx began tapping Broadsword's chest armor. "I know your a knight and have obligations to serve and protect. but I recommend getting out of the armor at the very least if only to get it cleaned."

Broadsword blinked and looked down at himself. the armor was enchanted but was beginning to show wear and was quite dirty. he began to remove the gauntlets.

"Uhm. you can also use a bath too." Nyx said softly. "I wasn't going to say anything. but..."

Broadsword balked and gave himself a sniff and gagged. "PHEW! Yes, your correct. might I ask where the bathing chamber is?"

Nyx blinked. "Uhm. we have a bath upstairs."

After showing the ancient Knight the way to the bathroom and after showing him how the bathtub worked she left Broadsword to his task.

Meanwhile downstairs Rarity was looking over Nyx's Crusader armor. looking at herself in it's reflection, it's when she looked at the boots did she see her element was reacting to it.

"Oooh. I guess the Elements and the Armor have alot in common. but still Look at it!" Rarity smiled, she was so enchanted by the armor. "I never knew Armor could look so regal."

it was then Broadsword returned with a towl resting on his shoulders, he had no armor on. indeed Nyx had asked Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to see about cleaning it.

"the armor changes form when a pony wears it. it looked much different then this. but with the new Crusader being an Alicorn the Armor's enchantments reformed the armor to reflect that." Broadsword stated.

Rarity jumped, she looked back at Broadsword and recomposed herself as such.

"OH! You almost gave me a fright!"

"I do apologize, Ma'am." Broadsword said as he went and sat at the table.

Rarity looked the stallion over, he was slender and lean, but no doubt strong. his cutiemark was a Shield with a sword rested ontop of it vertically. this symbol she was told was what the priests at the Temple of harmony had on their robes.

"So, may I ask." Rarity began. "are you really thousands of years old? if so how did you ever keep such a youthful complexion?"

Broadsword smiled. "Actually I've been put under hibernation, uhm, well a really long sleep. My brothers, the other knights used half their souls to enchant the armor. and after the defeat of Ryugu and Death of the first Crusader, My brothers decided to put what remained of their life essence in a single surviving knight, so he may live to protect the armor and sword until the next Crusader is chosen. that Knight was me."

Rarity looked at Broadsword, at first in amazement before sadness. "Oh I am so very sorry, to loose your friends that way and for them to sacrifice themselves like that only for you to survive, it must have been hard."

"it was." Broadsword sighed, taking a cup of applejuice. "But we swore an oath, one I hold onto this very minute."

Rarity leaned in. "So, I'd hate to be too personal---"

"No it's fine. I think it's alright to say any personal baggage I had withered in the sands of time." Broadsword said as he drank. "ooh this is good."

Rarity chuckled a bit and sat down. "Well if I may ask something personal. uhm. did you leave anypony behind, Family?"

Broadsword went silent for a moment, turning the cup around several times as he watched the contents stir. "Mother and Father died when I was very young, that's before Ryugu's turn to darkness. Had no siblings."

"Oh." Rarity said. "What was Ryugu like before she lost her marbles?"

"Huh?" Broadsword tilted his head. "I do not think she owned Marbles to lose."

Rarity giggled, "no, Darling. it's an expression. I mean what was the queen like before she turned evil."

Broadsword blinked. "Oh. she was actually not too different from your Princess Celestia. she was loving, Beautiful. when a peasant came to the castle starving when the crops didn't grow, she was the first to bring them food. she'd give the very blanket off her back if you were colder then she."

Rarity sighed. "it's a shame someone like that would be turned into a monster."

"from what I understand," Broadsword said as he took another sip of the apple juice. "Alicorns are more subseptible to corruption then normal ponies. they're very powerful true, but that power can easily be used to harm others." Broadsword stated. "It's one of the reasons I founded the Knights of Harmony. it wasn't just to fight Ryugu, it was to defend Equestria and prevent the next princess from becoming corrupted. if we haven't been defeated and the order wasn't lost to time, we may have been able to prevent the rise of Nightmare Moon."

"True, but I do fear we'd not have our little Nyx to this day."   Rarity stated as she looked at the helmet. "But, back to my previous question.... did you... leave anypony close behind?"

"some friends, but the closest were my fellow Knights. Celtia and Rockshatter, they were sisters and very capable fightiers. Celtia was the best Archer we had, and Rockshatter, heh you better not get her angry when she had that hammer of hers. then there was Stonehoof, he was a master at wing bladed swords. he was wise and an amazing tactician, he had a thing for Rockshatter." Broadsword chucked. "from what I recall he found the temper with a hammer more attractive. then there was Windshear, now that was a Pegasus who could leave your Rainbow Maned friend in the dust. he wasn't very strong. but he was amazingly fast. he was gentle but when he served the order he used that sword to cut down anything that got in his way. Finally there was Feyaden. besides me he was one of the most powerful Battle mages in the kingdom."

Rarity nodded to each name and description, she envisioned the six knights. "Uhm what about the crusader? what was he like?"

Broadsword paused and smiled. "the first crusader was a Unicorn by the name of Storm Trotter, he got that name because he was able to use lightening from a storm to power his magic. didn't hurt him either. it's one of the abilities he used to fight Ryugu..... he was a very close and dear friend to the order." he paused and looked to Rarity. "when we made this armor, Storm Trotter was the first to put it on. he wasn't even a Knight. he was one of the guards that originally served under the queen."

Broadsword however slammed his hoof on the table making Rarity jump a bit.

"I told him it was a mistake!" he growled. "blasted fool said it was the only way and he was right. but he was no fighter! not a good one anyway. went headlong against Ryugu. true he landed good hits with that sword, but he could never call upon the Armor's power to guide him. Storm Trotter was a good stallion taken as another victim of crisis!"

Broadsword sighed and relaxed a bit. the other ponies in the library came to check on the commotion but Rarity waved them off, she felt the ancient stallion needed to talk to somepony about it. and right now he only needed one.

"I am sorry. I never got to talk to anypony about it. by the time it was said and done I was put to sleep." Broadsword said drinking the rest of the juice.

Rarity smiled and shook her head. "No, Darling, it's quite understandable. I think I'd feel the same way too."

Rarity looked at the Sword of Wisdom and saw her reflection in the blade.

"it is a very beautiful blade." Broadsword said. "one of Stonewing's best work. he was good with a blade but way better at making them. we had another Blacksmith make the armor however."

Rarity turned and fidgeted her hooves. "One last question if I may?"

"Certainly, Miss."

"Oh, just call me Rarity please." Rarity said as she looked to the sword. "Did you have a 'Special' somepony?"

Broadsword looked dumfounded, but he understood the question. "I did."

Rarity sighed. "Oh I see. what happened to her?"

Broadsword was about to answer but paused. "uhm. not a her."

"Not a her? what do you----" Rarity stopped and realized. "oh.... OH!"

Rarity stammered a bit, she didn't expect Broadsword to have a preference for other stallions, though this wasn't unusual now.

"it's quite alright, it's much more accepted now then it probably was in your time." Rarity said. "May I ask the gentlecolt's name?"

Broadsword sighed. "Storm Trotter."

Rarity gasped. "Oh I am SO sorry, I didn't intend to open old wounds. I wanted to learn more about you and...."

Broadsword chuckled. "No no, it's quite all right."

Rarity sighed. "well at least I won't need to embarress myself in asking if you had interest in twilight."

"Eh, she's all Right." Broadsword said shrugging his shoulders. "not my type. and I don't have a preference to any one gender. it's just. at the time he was the only one I was interested in."

"Oh!" Rarity chirped. "Well is there anypony your interested in now?"

Broadsword raised a brow and thought a moment. "Well.... there is One...."

Rarity grinned. "OOOH! who is it, come now I won't tell. A lady never betrays the trust of a friend, and a lady certainly NEVER Gossips those secretes. at least I don't"

Broadsword blinked and after a moment pointed a hoof. Rarity followed his hoof to a light blue Pegasus with orange eyes and charcoal mane, Nightquill. he was reading the erotic book Twilight had and that Rarity and Fluttershy read not long ago. although he was blushing a bright red that complimented his coat.

"Oh my, well I can see why, he's a very attractive Pegasus." Rarity said looking him over with a scrutinizing gaze like she would a dress.

"Well, You did ask." Broadsword said. "Although I don't think he'd be too interested, he seems more infatuated with his half sister." the ancient knight added with a look of disgust in his face. "Well, I try not to judge, but...."

"Oh, No it's quite understandable." Rarity said as she watched Nightquill move from one book to another. "However, you need to tell him."

Broadsword nodded. "Your right. still I hate to make a fool of myself."

Rarity smiled and turned back to Broadsword. "he needs to know, Broadsword. besides aren't Knights supposed to deal with their troubles head on? this is no different. tell him how you feel. if he doesn't feel the same, or if he turns out to swing both ways you'll know and he'll know. in the end though it's what you do that make your relationship with him stronger or loosen for it."

the ancient Knight paused and laughed. " yes I suppose your right. your awfully accepting of this, I've noticed. in my day if stallion lay with stallion it turnes them to social outcasts."

Rarity smiled and ran her hoof through her mane. "As I've said. times changed. we're more accepting of it now. theres a few same sex couples here in this town. I even known and done business for many ponies with same sex partners. many became very close friends of mine. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are very accepting of same sex relationships and marriage. Princess Celestia even enforced legalization of it a long time ago."

Broadsword smiled. "Well, I guess I should go see what my fellow Knight is reading, judging by the cute blush on his face he's got his muzzle into something interesting."

and with that he went to the Library room as Rarity watched him leave she sighed and looked at the armor. she then tapped her hoof on her chin and suddenly the look of inspiration hit.

"OOH, IDEEEEEAAAAA!" Rarity's horn glowed as she took some paper and a quill and began writing.

Upon finishing her paper, Rarity folded the parchment and tucked it in her saddlebags. she began to the door and saw Nightquill who was reading another book. she rubbed her hoof on her chin and smiled.

"Uhm. Nightquill is it?"

"yes."

Rarity smiled and began to guide the light blue pegasus to Broadsword. "why don't you share those books with Broadsword here?"

Broadsword looked over to Nightquill as he's ushered to his little corner of the library looking over a book about better sword techniques used by the Canterlot guard. his ears perked up as Rarity firmly but gently nudges Nightquill over to him.

"Perhaps you two can find something interesting to talk about?" Rarity said, her voice was sweet and soothing.

"uhm. All right." the rather confused Nightquill said, opening a book with the nudge of his wings as he showed Broadsword what he's been reading.

Rarity smiled as she saw Broadsword smile if also blush a bit. normally she didn't like when ponies in town played match maker with each other. but she also felt the old knight needed help of some form, he hid it well but he was quite shy if not unsure of himself when it came to opening up about his feelings.

"Everypony, I will be leaving for a short time. I'm going to the boutique to get some supplies. it may take me a while, but I'll be back soon." Rarity announced as she began to the door.

"All right, Rarity. you take care of yerself." Applejack said, she was laying near the fireplace nodding off.

"You sure you don't need help?" Rainbow Dash asked, she was reading the latest Daring Do book, but was near to the last chapter.

Rarity thought for a moment. "Actually yes, would you and Fluttershy mind coming with me? I'll need help carrying the supplies."

Fluttershy flew up to Rarity. "Certainly. but what do you need help with?"

"Yeah? kind of an odd time to be making a dress, isn't it?" Rainbow said as she set the book aside and opened the door.

"oh you'll see!" Rarity sang as she cantered out the door. the way she moved she seemed to have a bounce in her step.

A Rest For Tired Mares

Twilight yawned as she rose from her bed, slinking down the steps in a zombie like state as she lumbered into the kitchen and began to brew a pot of coffee. in her half sleepy state her body was on autopilot, going through a preconceived course of preparing for the morning.

It was however when she spotted two stallions in the corner of the library sleeping together did the autopilot shut off and the little twilight pony in her brain took the controls. she took a curious look and saw Nightquill sleeping on a pile of pillows she let her and her friends use for the stormy night when Rarity and Applejack slept over and decided to keep the pillows down stairs, Applejack and Pinkie Pie opted to sleep the bed in the Basement that Nyx slept in when she was Queen of Equestria, it was more then big enough for the two ponies.

but when she looked closer she saw Nightquill was serving as a pillow himself as Broadsword had his head rested on his side, using the pegasus wing as a makeshift pillow. where pegasus wings that comfortable? she knew they were very strong appendages, if anything the muscle and bone mass would have made it feel uncomfortable. unless the feathers and fur was the real culprit of the softness and comfort.

Twilight looked at the two, she was quite aware what was going on and opted instead to let the two sleep, hopefully the smell of breakfast will wake them before a certain curious Alicorn sees them and she starts asking question she's too young to understand the answers to.

And as it were the smell of Pancakes stirred the two from their sleep, however as Nightquill woke up he noticed the ancient Unicorn using him as a pillow, he remembered reading a book and falling asleep but when did that happen?

Before the light Blue Pegasus could say anything though, Broadsword yawned as he slowly rose,  he blinked the sleep from his eyes and once finding his head nestled in the crook of Nightquill's back and neck, he quickly shot his head up and blushed.

"Uhm.... good morning." Nightquill said.

"Morning...." Broadsword muttered pawing at the floor with his hoof.

Nightquill looked into the kitchen, breakfast wasn't ready yet and no doubt twilight saw them sleeping, might as well address the dragon in the room.

"So.... I take it pegasus wings are good pillows huh?" he chuckled, though he was still embarrassed.

"Yeah, soft feathers and fur make the difference, they're a lot fluffier then you'd expect." Broadsword said trying to regain his composure.

the two went silent for several minutes, the only thing breaking that silence was the sizzle of pancakes, and Twilight's occasional curse whenever a pancake got stuck to the frying pan.

Finally, Broadsword sighed and looked to Nightquill. "can I ask you something, Nightquill?"

Nightquill glanced back at the unicorn and smiled. "of course, I'm an open book."

Broadsword once again pawed nervously at the floor. "Well.... I like to ask, If you found somepony interested in you more then just your sister. what would you do? I know you two were arranged, and I can tell she likes you and all, but I honestly don't think it's healthy."

Nightquill however smiled. "No your right. despite what some of you might believe. it's actually why Sunbeam and I spoke privately that night before we left. not for what a certain pink Alicorn with a rather dirty mind may have thought." He extended his wings and stretched them, little pops emanated from them as he winced, the flight to Ponyville was hard on the Pegasus. he was a good flier but not built for long flights, his wings demanded a day to recover and rest.

"And, what did you talk about?" Broadsword asked, wincing as he heard the pops.

Nightquill rested his wings to his sides, letting them droop a little as he nestled more into the pile of pillows. "she wants me to find somepony that isn't her. we both knew even if we did get together it won't work out. and when Nyx cleared the minds of the town, Sunbeam knew she had to move on. we'll still be very close of course. we're so closely bonded together I doubt it'll ever fade."

Broadsword smiled and rested a hoof on the Pegasus wing. "there's no wrong in that."

Nightquill smiled. "So uhm. yeah. she and I decided against proceeding with the arranged marriage. she wants me to be happy with somepony else."

Broadsword couldn't help but smile. he had broke some ice with Nightquill, still simply blurting it out his feelings won't be easy.

"So tell me, what makes you attracted to me?" Nightquill asked with a gentle laugh.

Broadsword balked and snapped his head looking at Nightquill like he just spawned next to him. "How did you....?"

Nightquill chuckled. "my sister sunbeam's talent isn't just leading ponies. she's good at reading their emotions. she saw how you were looking at her when she was around me. plus, I kinda picked up on it a lot recently too."

Broadsword went silent, his ears drooped as he once again pawed at the floor. "Oh... I didn't mean to make her feel uncomfortable."

"it's quite alright. so are you going to tell me or do I need to be more creative in my interrogation?" Nightquill asked with a rather suggestive grin that made Broadsword's whole face go red.

"Uuuuhhh.... well... uhhh." Broadsword cleared his throat and chuckled. "wow you got some interesting ways to ask a question. but... well..." he sighed and sat up. "you see, when we met for the first time I didn't see much in you at first. if I'm honest. I wasn't sure I liked you." He smiled. "and when you told us why you were chosen to escort Nyx and Twilight to Saddle Tor, I was certain my feelings were correct. but when you instead chose to help Nyx instead of kill her, I saw the real you... it's part of why I asked you to join the order. your true virtue shun bright for the first time I met you.

"But, as we started to travel together I felt more then that. You weren't just a pony who was a good fighter, you saw things we couldn't see on the path. in truth, I began to find you more and more attractive. And then... well... You saved me."

Nightquill gaped but then thought back to the poisoned spike pit of overkill back on the path. Broadsword nearly fell into it had he not grab and pull him away. "Oh yes. I remember."

Broadsword smiled and nodded. "Yes." he sighed still smiling. "we knights look out for one another, true. it's to be expected. but for some reason, because of your training. you saw the pit when I didn't, any of the others could have came up and pull me out. Honestly I could have been fine, My armor would have protected me. but you knew better and pulled me up. I may not have showed it but I was more then greatful you saved me.

"as we went on and faced your brother and the Pegasus Hunters I wanted badly to join at your side, but we were kept separated during the fight, but..." he paused and went quiet before broadsword continued. "but it's when Dark Feather had you pinned on the ground and about to kill you that I feared loosing you. I didn't realize how important you were to me and when I realized I was going to loose you I realized how I felt..."

Nightquill wrapped his wing around Broadsword and smiled. "I think I get it now."

Broadsword nuzzled into his neck. this still made Nightquill freeze and blush but he soon relaxed.

"I'm surprised your okay with this, I figured you preferred mares considering you and your sister were so close." Broadsword said as he leaned in on the pegasus.

Nightquill smirked. "Actually... hehe it's because I grew up around my sister if anything I prefer stallions. Sunbeam's friends were my friends and fillies would talk about colts and such. I was part of the group too. granted I didn't partake in getting my hooves painted. though I have been told I look good with my mane done up in a ponytail."

Broadsword paused imagining  it and chuckled. "can't say I'd disagree.... so... your okay with this?"

Nightquill looked to Broadsword and smiled, hugging him close with his wing yet wincing a bit when it popped. "the fact you were honest with me made me even more sure I am. and to be honest I did think your handsome when we first met."

Broadsword grinned, however before he could reply Twilight came up.

"Goodmorning, I have breakfast ready."

"Oh! good I am pretty hungry. Forgive me but I got rather tired of those sandwiches." Nightquill said. though  as he got up he grimaced and strained only to collapse back on the floor. "I'm sorry I'm still very exhausted. I never flew so far in my life!"

Twilight tapped her hoof and smiled. "it's okay I'll bring the food in here and we can all eat in the library together. just please don't get any syrup on the books."

Twilight cantered to the kitchen, levitating the table and plates into the library and sat it down infront of Nightquill and Broadsword, then sat their plates down before them greeting them with their own pancakes.

"thank you, Twilight." Nightquill said as he began to eat.

"Can I say something?" Twilight asked rubbing the back of her head.

The stallions only looked up then at each other, a little worried of what she'll say but nodded.

"now, I have nothing against what you two feel for each other. Infact I think it's rather adorable. but I do ask to not bring it up around Nyx. not that I don't want her exposed, far from it. it's just that Nyx is a very curious filly and when she gets curious she starts asking questions."

Broadsword nodded. "no no, it's quite all right. we understand."

as though speaking her name enough times would summon her, Nyx came down from the upstairs bedroom and yawned, the smell of pancakes drew her to the table as she sat and began to eat.

"good morning, everypony." she looked to Broadsword and Nightquill and smiled. "Ah it's about time you two got together!"

the two looked at eachother rather astonished and amazed.

"You knew about them?" Twilight asked. "how?"

"Oh I heard Broadsword talk in his sleep how he wanted to whisk Nightquill away to Saddle tor and be together... the rest was all mumbling so I couldn't understand it."

Broadsword was now the one blushing as Nightquill looked to him with a grin and raised eyebrow. as though catching the Ancient unicorn in a naughty act.

"So... what's your opinion of it?" Twilight asked, worried of the onslaught of difficult questions she'd soon have to answer.

Nyx smiled as she began to eat her pancakes, sipping some milk leaving the little filly a white mustache.

"My opinion on what?" Nyx asked then looked at the two. "it's no big deal Ponies get together all the time."

Twilight smiled. "Well some ponies I'm afraid do feel two ponies who are the same gender shouldn't be together, because to them it's wrong."

Nyx paused in thought, then shook her head returning to her pancakes. "why should I care if they're colt and filly, or colt and colt, or filly and filly? all that matters is they found their special somepony and are happy. isn't that what's important?"

Twilight couldn't stop herself and hug Nyx tight, then stole a bite of her pancake and receiving protest from the little Alicorn filly.

"You truely are wise for your youth, young Nyx." Broadsword said as he looked to Nightquill.

"so what are we gonna do today?" Nyx asked taking another bite of her pancake.

"You were lucky to injure Queen Ryugu when you did." Broadsword said as he ate.

"he's right, cracking a horn takes time to heal. she won't be able to do much until it does." Twilight said but looked to Nightquill eating without his hooves or wings. "and we need time to recover. so that's what we'll do."

"Good thing too. my wings make this horrible popping sound when they move." Nightquill said as he raised one, a range of different pops sounding from it causing the pegasus to wince. "OW!"

Broadsword held his wing down and smiled. "and we can get to know each other more."

Nyx smiled. "why not take Nightquill to the spa? I'm sure they can help him recover better."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Good idea, Nyx! I do believe I have some coupons Rarity gave me. you two can go together if you like?"

Broadsword smiled and nodded. "I can use some relaxing as well."

Nyx paused and tapped her chin. "hmmm. did they have spas three thousand years ago?"

Broadsword chuckled finishing his plate. "Yes, M'lady. they did. they spa ponies were quite good at the time too. I like the steam rooms personally."

"You just want to see me in a towel." Nightquill whispered in his ear.

"Not in front of the young crusader. but yes." Broadsword grinned.

Nyx grinned at her last pancake like she was a Tyrannosaurus that just cornered her prey, and like the long extinct animal, bit down and tore the meal piece by piece as she ate it. leaving only a small corner to survive before she ate it as well.

"RRAAAAWR!" Nyx growled and giggled.

Twilight sighed and smiled as she finished her breakfast. she let Nyx read a book about dinosaurs before bed. the two wanted some form of normalcy before that morning, and Nyx was now the queen of the pancakes.

"enjoyed that book huh? Well why don't you be a good little dinosaur pony and help mom with the dishes?" Twilight asked as she levitated some plates.

Nyx nodded and without a word began to help out Twilight by getting the glasses and silverware. Broadsword helped Nightquill up before pausing.

"what's a dinosaur?"

Nightquill grinned. "Oh, Dinosaurs are ancient animals that went extinct a long time ago before ponies even appeared." Nightquill said completely cutting Twilight off before she could answer. "there were various different species, subspecies, in fact it's believed some of them evolved into the birds we have today!"

Twilight stared at Nightquill and smiled. "Wow your pretty smart for a pony who's town was secluded for some time. uhm... no offence."

Nightquill smiled. "none taken, actually when a pony came to Hollow Shades they often brought books with them. and we had ponies leave the town to get books and other supplies for us. we weren't completely shut out we took what we needed but left a very small hoofprint behind."

"May I ask what your cutie mark is?" Twilight asked. "are you a writer?"

Nightquill looked at his flank, a blue feather with three stars above it. "Actually I'm more of a scholar. I love to do research and learn new things and expand upon that knowledge. in fact I wanted to be a school teacher."

"then why didn't you?"

"Well my father wanted me to be a Hunter instead. it was an honorable position. but it wasn't that he didn't approve of my talents. far from it, when I had time off from my Hunter duties, he would permit me to work with the other researchers and scholars at the temple of Harmony. I even got to teach at Hollow Shades school for children.

"My father may have been clouded, he may have been harsh on me, but he still wanted me to excel and use my Special talent to extend the knowledge of Hollow Shades." Nightquill paused and sighed. "with certain restrictions, of course. I couldn't teach or research anything about the princesses."

"Well your more then welcome to the books here in the library." Twilight said as she motioned her hoof around the various books on the shelves.

"Oh I've already begun on them. hopefully I can finish a fair amount of them before we leave." Nightquill said as he began for the door to the spa, though it was obvious just moving was difficulty for him.

Nightquill however whinnied when he felt somepony stick their head up his legs and he slid down their back, Broadsword had opted to carry the light blue pegasus who was once again blushing.

"Well how about I take you to the spa? it be a bit difficult for you to read if you can't even turn a page." Broadsword said as he made his way out the door, the spa coupons in tow with his magic.

"You two have fun." Twilight smiled watching the two leave. she turned and saw Nyx grinning ear to ear.

"So we still want to tell your mom for her story? she'll have a blast writing about those two?" Nyx said her tail seemed to be wagging, it's rare but it happens when a pony is excited or happy enough.

Twilight giggled. "Maybe. but let's actually wait until this ordeal is over first, okay?"

Nyx smiled and nodded. "I'll go down and wake up Applejack and Pinkie Pie. they probably sleep for days in that old bed of mine."

Twilight giggled as she went through the books, finding the erotic novel she wanted to read before this whole adventure started, it's been read several times already, but Twilight wanted to read it before some evil mastermind from another dimension or something else that seems to crop up every now and again appeared to ruin their day.

------

the streets of Ponyville weren't as active as they usually are. what with the new crisis of the year posing a threat to the lives of the ponies of Equestria, DJ Pon3 spoke of the giant Alicorn monster that appeared in Hollow Shades and now a new castle had appeared in the badlands. the unusual behavior of the sun and moon were making headlines as well, days were longer and nights were shorter. almost like summer, but the season was still several months before the spring equinox. the Sun was blood red as the moon, this made the daytime sky purple instead of blue. but the sudden light color change didn't seem to make the air feel different. the color change was aesthetic at the very least. but it still didn't feel right.

The ponies of Ponyville however, not knowing what happened to Celestia and Luna simply figured the two princesses were changing things up, or maybe with the new threat, Celestia and Luna were trying to make themselves more intimidating.

One pony however knew this wasn't the case. Rarity cantered through Ponyville down to the industrial corner of town. Twilight and Nyx told her what had happened. and while she would know Celestia and Luna were all right, and how in a way she wanted to see the two no doubt, adorably filly princesses. she knew it was not a sign of good things to come for Equestria. the Pony Petty fashionista made her way to a large building, in the yard on the left hoof side of the building was a smelter for melting metal. it was blowing up smoke and the distinct sounds of a hammer striking metal against an anvil could be heard, she trotted around the building to the back work yard.

The yard was a Smith's work area. the smelter was just part of it. a heating pit sat in the center with an anvil sat just a few hoofsteps away from it, a grinding wheel was set in a corner next to a pile of firewood. near the smelter were large blocks of metal ingots types sitting in a pyramid piles for each type of metal.

Rarity looked to the Anvil as a hammer was brought down and struck a glowing hot rod of metal. as she looked up at the owner of the hammer she saw an Earth Pony, his coat was grey with black coal dust covering him like patches. his mane was auburn red with green eyes. his cutie mark was of a wrench with a bolt in it's grip.

Rarity cleared her throat, not to gain the stallion's attention but because some of the smoke from the fire pit blew in her face. the smell of metal and charcoal blew in her face and assaulted her senses.

"Uhm, Mister Tech I presume?" Rarity asked as she moved up to the stallion. "I'm Rarity, I wrote to you yesterday."

The stallion paused in mid swing of the hammer, he looked up and sat the hammer aside before placing the rod of metal back into the fire pit.

"Ah, Yes. what may I do for you, Miss Rarity?" the pony asked as he opened the door to his shop to let Rarity inside.

"Well, as you know my friends and I have served Equestria before." Rarity began. she went into the shop and looked around. While the royal guard of Canterlot had their armor provided by the royal blacksmith. Ponyville had it's own Blacksmith and supply of armor and weapons for the royal guard that worked there. though it was recently added after discord's defeat. "we defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord, and we helped to free the crystal Empire. But now a new threat has emerged and I feel we simply cannot go against this Queen Ryugu without it turning violent."

the stallion nodded as he looked over Rarity. it wasn't anything uncouth, he was in fact, judging her physique.

"uhm. well, I was looking at the armor my friend twilight was given and was wondering perhaps if you can make armor for my friends and I?" Rarity said getting a bit uneasy from the stallion looking at her body like he was. "so, can you help us, High Tech?"

High Teck smiled and motioned her over to the counter. "Certainly can, miss Rarity. I have a new shipment of moon stone I got from Night Stone Castle. I was the Blacksmith they had working there. I'd be glad to help you ladies out. although if I may...."

The stallion looked over Rarity again, now holding a measuring tape and several ingots of metal. starting with Iron and going towards obsidian and even crystal he ordered from the crystal empire. he held each ingot up to Rarity's coat, seeing how they matched, any that displeased his critical eye was tossed aside in a pile.

"what are you doing?" Rarity asked. she was used to being the one to measure a pony's size, she knew her own measurements, but was never comfortable being on the other end of the measuring tape.

"Miss Rarity, building a set of armor personalized for a pony is similar how you make a dress." High Teck said as he used a claw ruler to measure her head and horn. "armor must be made to fit the wearer snugly. if it was too loose or too tight it will be difficult to move. armor needs to feel like a second skin of protection. it needs to feel natural for it to be affective."

Rarity calmed herself and allowed herself to be measured, though when it came to her stomach she didn't like the ammount of digits she saw on the tape being measured.

"well I have designs if your alright with using them?" Rarity asked as she brought out a few scrolls of paper from her saddle bag.

High Tech smiled and put on a pair of reading glasses as he looked them over. "oh, very nice designs. quite fitting for a mare." as he looked through the others he take each one into consideration. "Perhaps some enamel paint to bring in those details..."

"Oh yes. While I love making dresses, I fear I do not have what it takes to use a smelter... or anvil... or grinder...." Rarity said as she looked at the various sets of armor. one caught her eye and recognized it. on a mannequin was a set of armor. gold plated silver armor with sapphire, emeralds, and rubies studding the gold details. on the chest was the emblem of the sun. "Oh it's absolutely beautiful!"

"Ah, yes I designed that armor for Princess Celestia. she commissioned it several weeks ago. it's not finished of course she asked I enchanted it. which means I have to take it to a mage at Canterlot to do so." High Tech said as he looked through the papers Rarity have gave them. "you have your friend's measurements as well?"

"Hmm?" Rarity looked back to the grey stallion, breaking her focus on the regal Princess Armor. "Oh, yes I had them wrote down after designing the costumes for Hearths Warming Eve. I am certain they should still be accurate."

"I'll be sure to make the armor straps adjustable then." High Tech said as he muttered to himself beginning his work on the parts he'll need. "hmm red stone be good for the farmer... maybe something light for the pink one.... Pegasus armor shouldn't be too heavy... maybe... hmmm. yes that can work."

Rarity watched and smiled as he muttering to himself. not unlike how she would do the same when planning one of her new designs. "If I may ask, for a pony who works as a blacksmith, why is your name High Tech?"

the stallion looked up at her with the small spectacles resting on the bridge of his muzzle. "Oh, well I'm more of an inventor. being a Blacksmith is just part of it. In order to invent, I need the skills to use the smelter and Anvil to build my creations. I design and built things for Princess Celestia. I even made an airship. The Elegance. Although I did hear it crashed recently. I'll need to focus more on air defense for the next one."

Rarity thought on this and recalled the airship was the one Twilight flew before they were attacked by Atronachs. "If that's so why aren't you in Canterlot? Serving as the royal inventor?"

High Tech looked up and smiled as Rarity saw a little unicorn filly gallop in at top speed, she gracefully moved to the side to avoid being ran over by the little filly. she was Sweetie Belle's age but much smaller then she should be, she was dark grey with blue eyes, and a light purple mane.

"Well I have a daughter to raise and wanted her to grow up in a nice town. so we moved here." High Tech answered as he looked to the little filly. "Digit, this is Rarity. she's given us a job."

"Digit? odd name for a filly." Rarity said to herself but smiled politely. "hello dear. just came back from morning class?"

"Actually I'm home schooled. I just came in to help daddy with the shop." Digit chirped as she hopped down on a stool behind a cash register. "I help organize and make orders for Fire and Anvil. that's the name of the shop!" Digit grinned adorably as she began to write down Rarity's order. "So what would this order be?"

Rarity blinked. she was so stunned to see a young filly take up such an important job, but with enthusiasm and what felt like professionalism as well. "Oh! yes, I am ordering Five custom sets of your very best armor. I've supplied the designs I wanted for them."

Digit jotted down the order, holding the pensile with skill in her magical grip. muttering the order to herself to be sure she got it right. "All right, Location of order delivery?"

"Carousal Boutique" Rarity answered as she watch the filly. "I must say your quite professional at such a young age."

Digit beamed with pride as she jotted down the order. "Thank you.... the order will be 12,000 Bits, plus 50 bits for delivery. if you need weapons, depending on the type and what metal we use, it'll be another 70 bits."

Rarity gasped and looked at the bits she had, she didn't expect the armor to cost so much let alone the amount for delivery. however she didn't believe the filly for trying to swindle her. she had a calculator, so her math was on the spot. and the prices for the metals were posted on the wall, she was sure she had more then enough, but she realized since Equestria was frozen for some time, the payment for her recent order hadn't arrived. and the mail ponies weren't working today. in fact most were still frozen in ice.

"I... I'm sorry I don't think I have that much.... but you see we need that armor if we're going against that evil Queen."

Digit became sympathetic. she whispered in her father's ear and after thinking he nodded. smiling and hugging her.

"Okay, how about this." Digit began, calling Rarity's attention. "in light of recent events, we're donating the armor to you for half the price and Delivery will be free."

Rarity looked to the bits she had, she had enough, and more for weapons for at least two of them. "Deal! Although I hope you can squeeze too more orders in?"

Digit looked at Rarity, trying hard but the look in her face told her they were stretching things enough already. the shop was more then a place to buy armor. it was how she and her father made a living. but she sighed and smiled. "Sure. but those will have to be full price."

Rarity smiled and nodded and began to make the order, the father and daughter team looked to the order they were given. High Tech's smile grew as he went to the back room, he motioned Rarity to follow her as he opened a small room vault, inside the vault were more metal ingots, but these were of the highest quality, and upon being asked, Rarity chose five ingots of different metal for the armor. choosing not only for their color, but their weight and strength, stronger metals made heavier armor. lighter ones were good for light armor when used with fabric.

"We'll have the armor ready for you this evening, Miss Rarity. your designs are beautiful but if I'm to make them I'll need to get started immediately."

"Understood, thank you for allowing me to choose the metal. I think light armor will be best for my Pegasus friends, and the colors. I had no idea there was such a variety!"

High Tech nodded as he went to the back yard and began work, Digit helping as well by giving him the tools and taking out the selected mineral ingots Rarity chose. Rarity made her way back to the common area of Ponyville, she had a few bits left and upon seeing the filly scout pony by a donation box smiled as she trotted up to the box and submitted the few bits she had remaining. for some reason she needed to do this. and the smile from the little filly in scout uniform only made her feel better about it.

Recovery

Pinkie Pie and Applejack have returned to their homes and tried their best to get back to the normalty of their lives. however the fact that danger was looming didn't make it easy for Applejack. she felt wrong doing nothing. but at the same time she knew Twilight and their new friends Nightquill and Broadsword need rest. Nyx hid it well but she looked she needed time to recover eternal wounds Magic healing didn't fully patch up.

The Farm Pony continued her work on the farm, however. getting the land prepared for Winter Wrap Up and planting crops.

"Hey AJ." Rainbow Dash said lowering down from the sky and landing next to the Farm Pony.

"Howdy Rainbow." Applejack said, though she was polite and welcoming. the tone of her voice was annoyed.

"no need to say it, Applejack. I'm tired of standing around doing nothing too!" Rainbow stated as she hit her hoof on the ground. "I know Twilight and Nyx need to recover, but I can't stand not doing anything! this Queen Ryugawhatshername, she's injured right? we should bring the fight to her!"

"I hear ya rainbow," Applejack said placing a calming hoof on the cyan Pegasus. "But we can't be rushin in like a bunch of mad bulls. Twilight and Nyx need time to rest. they don't look it but they're a might beat up."

Rainbow Dash sighed as she sat on her haunches. "Your right. Twilight woke up bleeding from one of those sword wounds."

"From what she told me, Magic healing can make healin' faster but she still needs to rest fer a day. it's why she and Nyx are takin the day off.  plus she said the wound Nyx gave that Alicorn monster will need time to heal." Applejack said trying to remember her unicorn friend's exact words. "a cracked horn can heal but takes a while to restore Magic charge.... er something like that."

"Exactly! We can still go and beat her!" Rainbow argued. "But... then Twilight or Nyx might get even more hurt. and in there state maybe worse...."

"Look, let's just keep our wits about us and be ready fer anything." Applejack said. "now I need to get the farm ready for spring. unless ya wanna help?"

Rainbow looked at the farm pony and then looked around and grinned. "uuuh sorry AJ, but I need to get ready to uhhh.... start training! yeah gotta be in shape to fight Queen Rediculess-name-ever!"

And with that Rainbow Dash flew off like a bolt, Applejack shook her head as she laughed and returned to work.

------

Nightquill relaxed on the table as Aloe and Lotus ran their hooves along his wings, Aloe had the right, Lotus the left, gently massaging the Pegasus durable yet fragile wing muscles. an occasional pop and crack is heard as the tension and stress is rubbed out of them. the two earth ponies were well trained on how to treat pegasus ponies wings. the spa's previous owner was a pegasus herself and they had to learn the proper way otherwise they could do a lot of unintentional damage to the delicate tendons and muscles.

Nightquill sighed, he had recently had his legs and fetlocks rubbed as well as his back. his legs were slightly twitchy, but felt amazing.

Across the table Broadsword rested his head on his crossed forelegs, smiling at Nightquill as he was given such good treatment, Broadsword also had a massage, after three thousand years of sleep he was much more stiff and cramped then he thought. but the Spa Twins easily rectified that problem.

"So, how are you holding up there, Nightquill?" Aloe asked with her exotic voice.

Nightquill only responded in a relaxed moan of bliss. Broadsword couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Well I must say you ladies did an amazing job. Amazing!" Broadsword said extending his foreleg and rotating it. "you even got rid of that nasty burn in my right shoulder."

"Oh, Thank You, we work very hard to please ponies, yeah?" Lotus said in a more thick exotic accent, if not also more broken up English. unlike her sister, she wasn't as fluent.

"that we do!" Aloe said as she ran her hoof along the arm of Nightquill's wing, straightening it out as she rubbed the muscles that allowed the wing to extend and flap. "My goodness you have been under much stress. you also appear to be wounded!"

"Uh...." was all Nightquill could say before being lost in the pleasure. it was innocent but one's mind couldn't help but think otherwise if they just heard the sound of his moans.

this however only grew a smile on broadsword's muzzle. "well we've been in a couple of battles recently. we were healed with Magic, but...."

"Oh, yes, magic only heal so much." Lotus said as she did the same with her assigned wing. "AYAH! HE BLEEDS!"

"it's quite all right," Aloe said as she made Nightquill lay back down as he was about to get up and inspect his wound. "we've had issues like this before."

Lotus left and returned with a first aid kit and gingerly wrapped the wound, the wing she was assigned to was the one that was badly cut in Nightquill's fight with his father, it was closed up but the muscles were still tore, it's a miracle he could fly at all.

"there you are, little dove. wing all better." Lotus said, cleaning the blood from her hoof and table and went back to work.

"We do services for the royal guards. while they aren't normally deployed in combat we often get ones come in who are badly injured from fighting the monsters of Everfree Forest." Aloe said, now moving her hoof down his side causing the stallion's ears to swivel to her. "Sorry you did ask for the full treatment yes?"

Nightquill began to blush as he realized what 'full treatment' meant. "uuuh, I guess I did."

"Don't worry, we very professional." Lotus said, though her seductive accent didn't make it sound as convincing. "plus we no want to anger your boyfriend...."

Broadsword laughed. "hey as long as I get to enjoy the show I'm fine with it.

"Huh!?" Nightquill looked at Broadsword smiling as the twins began their work.

outside the sound of Nightquill's moan causes a few ponies to pause and cover their mouths as their minds went places then what really was going on. a few mothers covered their foals ears and quickly left the area of the spa.

------

Twilight winced as she lay on her reading pillow on the balcony. the injuries she got from the fight at Hollow Shades were flaring up again and she just had to patch her side and foreleg wounds when they broke open. but all in all she was enjoying her book of a little dragoness maid under employment of a stallion unicorn who gave her jobs of a less professional and WAY more scandalous variety. it was also now her very favorite book. she couldn't help herself when her mind explored the possibility of being employed by the stallion herself.

her day dreaming was brought to an abrupt end when she heard Nyx cry out in pain. Twilight set the book aside and went down stairs to see Nyx holding her wing and shoulder, the places she was cut and stabbed during the battle of Hollow shades. they were bleeding quite a bit. Twilight wasted no time and took the first aid kit and began to patch her up.

"OW OW OW!" Nyx Cried.

Spike then followed, coming down the stairs as fast as he could without tripping.

"What happened!?"

"Nnngh, it's okay spike. OW!" Nyx said, yelping when her wing was being bandaged.

"our wounds are healing, Spike. but the magic spells used to heal them take a while, right now the pain is coming back." Twilight said, wincing as she held her hoof up as it began to bleed again.

"I hope you heal soon, it hurts seeing you two like this." Spike said as he held his tail. "I mean, I've seen you hurt before, but nothing like this."

Twilight smiled and hugged spike, though gently with her limp leg. "We'll be fine. the spell is still healing us but it has to prioritize the wound by it's severity. unfortunately it means they'll hurt again. but it's not as bad as when we got them."

"I hope so." Spike said, he then looked to Nyx who looked to be miserable being cooped up inside. he was more then capable of protecting her outside, and she practically had body guards now with Nightquill and Broadsword, he knew where to go if she needed help. "if you want to go outside, Nyx. I'll be happy to play with you!"

Nyx's mood picked up as she looked at him, ears swiveling towards him. Spike turned around to a box he was bringing down stairs and pulled out a map, several small figurines, and several dice.

"I found one of Shining Armor's old fantasy game he played when he still went to school. he said we could play it but we had to make our own characters." Spike said as he pulled out a book. on it was titled 'The Arena: a Fantasy Table Top Board Game.'

Nyx lips turned to a smile. "All Right, Let's play!"

Twilight however was skeptical. "So... your going to go outside to play an inside board Game"

Spike nodded. "Come on twilight, it'll be good to get fresh air, and I don't think it be wise to have her run around when one of those injuries flare up."

Twilight paused and considered this. "no I guess your right. know what? let's go to the park! I can finish my book and you two can play."

The two cheered, though Nyx was cut short when her wing acted up in a fit of pain.

"I'll bring the first aid kit just incase though." Twilight added.

At the Park, Spike used a picnic table to set up the game, Twilight chose a nice shady tree to sit under and returned to her book, she stayed to where she could watch the two, but also made sure if the moment arise she had plenty of privacy for her own day dreams.

that privacy was quickly shattered when Twilight was greeted by two pink hooves stepping infront of her, as she looked up she saw Pinkie Pie grinning.

"Hiya Twilight!" Pinkie chirped.

Twilight sighed, slamming her book closed and setting it down, holding a hoof over the cover. "Hello Pinkie."

"Sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to ask if your doing all right." Pinkie asked. she hid her concern well behind the facade of a cheery smile.

Twilight couldn't help but smile at the pink pony's worry for her. usually she'd find it irritating so many ponies worrying for her. but after a week of not seeing anypony, and after her 'Friendly' visit to Hollow Shades she needed to some worry from her friends.

"I'm fine pinkie, our injuries are healing, slowly but they seem to be getting bett-AAH!" Twilight yelped as she held her ribs. "better.... ow..."

Pinkie's concern finally showed, only for the smiling facade to return. "Hey, how about I bring you guys something to eat? how about some get well soon sugar cookies!"

Twilight couldn't help but smile, she knew Pinkie's get well soon cookies are only made and given out to really sick ponies or ponies who got hurt even worse then they were. and Pinkie made them special too, and nopony got one unless they were sick or hurt.

"Yes! I would love some of those right now." Twilight said. "Nyx too I'm sure. she's been through a lot."

Pinkie grinned and began to bounce. "two batches of Get Well Soon Cookies Coming Up!"

Without another word, the Pink Bouncing Earth Pony was gone, although she did say one thing.

"WULD NA KEST!" and at those words spoken Pinkie was lost in a blur of pink as she ran to Sugar Cube Corner.

Twilight blinked and smiled. she paused however and looked around, seeing nopony was around she finally went back to her book. a devious smile on her face formed as she began to daydream.

------

Nightquill and Broadsword left the Spa, both were feeling like a million bits, Nightquill extending and giving his wings a test flap, they were feeling much better, and most of all the pain was gone. there was a slight soreness, but that was due to his injuries. the Light blue Pegasus however wore a blush as Broadsword smiled at him.

"Quite good with their hooves aren't they?" Broadsword said as he grinned.

"Y-Yeah... I didn't know you could get massages there." he said blushing even redder.

Broadsword however leaned in and whispered. "your REALLY cute when you blush."

this however made the Pegasus blush more, his embarrassment was complete, and Broadsword loved it. to him, Nightquill was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

"I'm a little surprised you kept your composure." Broadsword said, starting to tease the poor Pegasus. "though if I was in that position I'd probably have had a bit of an accident considering you had two very cute twins working on you."

"Sh--Sh-SHUT UP!" Nightquill yelled. he was embarrassed even more but was at his maximum blushing point, he was now using his good wing to cover his muzzle to try and hide it. "I didn't know the full treatment was extended to 'That' for stallions!"

Broadsword chuckled and pulled Nightquill close and walked him back to the library. "maybe next time I'll get one of those and you can watch."

"Oh yes, I'm sure you'll like that." Nightquill said in sarcasm, but was enjoying the idea.

During their time at the spa the two began to get to know each other, however. Broadsword was more then just a Knight, he was a skilled Battle mage but at the same time he was a creative pony. during the time they waited to be served he'd sketch on a piece of paper, drawing out very detailed sketches of what he saw, remembered of the world from his time. he even drew Nightquill, though it quickly got rather explicit as he drew the Pegasus in a pinup. though his talent was being a knight to serve and protect. he was more of an artist. he told Nightquill and demonstrated he could do drawings, paintings, and even sculptures.

However the day Queen Ryugu turned on her Kingdom, those skills made way for skills with a blade. and Broadsword wasn't able to do anything creative since then.

"Twilight said Princess Luna had a school of Artistry." Nightquill said, trying to change the subject. "why don't you talk to her after all this is over? maybe she can get you started on a class or have you teach."

Broadsword smiled and thought about it. "Maybe.... though if it isn't too much to ask, if not too soon. I kinda want to work on our relationship for a while. ever thought about where we'll go after this?"

Nightquill stopped and thought for a moment. "I can't say I have. I know sunbeam will give me a room with her..... Or...." Slowly a smile formed on his face as he wrapped his wing around Broadsword. "You can stay with me?"

"Are you sure?" Broadsword asked, his ears were perked up betraying his excitement.

"I see no reason why not." He then grinned rather deviously. "then I can get revenge on you for teasing me!"

Broadsword was now the one to blush as he read his Pegasus partner's face. he recalled how Sunbeam seemed to overly enjoyed strapping Nightquill up in the harness of the Chariot. his eyes went wider as Nightquill's grin got bigger, That Pegasus Was Evil behind his cuteness!

"Y---Your not serious are you?" Broadsword asked slowly trying to back away. "You can't possibly---"

"My sister and I had plenty of practice for me to know how to use a rope." Nightquill said, taking a bit of string and tying it remarkably well for a pony who wasn't a pegasus. he ended up tying up two of his primary feathers.

Broadsword gulped and broke off into a gallop, his face was bright red. Nightquill was laughing at the sight, it was his turn torture his new coltfriend with embarrassment.

"hnngh. your the one who's cutest when blushing, it seems." Nightquill said as he trotted slowly after Broadsword.

they were gaining looks from the Ponies of Ponyville, but they seemed to join in the fun as the mares giggled at Broadsword's embarrassment as they did Nightquill, some even cheering the Pegasus on when he started his teasing for revenge, obviously taking his side.

------

Fluttershy was waiting at Carousal Boutique, helping Rarity with some new dresses though something seemed off about the designs.

"Rarity, these dresses are... uhm...." Fluttershy tried her best to find a honest yet nicest way to say they looked bad. "What are they even for?"

Rarity smiled as she continued work on her project. each outfit was full body and made to fit snug to the pony. the fabric was light, but made of strong materials. having pockets, pouches, and even belts.

"Well, I may as well tell you. it's no secrete. you see, I was looking at Twilight's armor and thought, if we're going up against this Queen Ryugu we need to be prepared. our previous encounters with Nightmare Moon, Discord, and the that fight with the Changelings made it clear." Rarity said as she finished work on a suit for a pegasus, the wings will be covered at the top with straps as though something were to cover them. "we're quite capable of defending ourselves. but this queen isn't going to be easy on us. we need some way to protect outselves, fluttershy."

Fluttershy thought back to the wedding and shuddered. "those changelings were anything but easy on us, Rarity."

"Oh yes, I do remember. I'm still finding bits of their goo in my fur. But that's my point. we need to be ready." Rarity said, just as a knock on the door is heard.

Rarity smiled and trotted up to the door and opened it, she was greeted by the site of High Teck and little Digit.

"Oh, hello there, done already?" Rarity asked as she politely allowed the two in, she however was shocked when Digit was carrying not one but three creates of the armor she ordered with her magic, they floated like feathers in a breeze in the tiny filly's Magical aura.

"Well since your designs were more for light armor, it didn't take as long as a full heavy set would." High Tech said as he opened each create. "I see you've finished your side of the project?"

"Yes, I've just now finished the last alterations." Rarity said. "I've labeled each suite for the pony's respective armor. all that's needed now is they be attached."

Fluttershy watched as Digit slid each piece, of the armor onto the suits, completing the look, now the suites made more logical sense. where Twilight's armor used chain mail for exposed areas. the suites were high quality jump suits to be worn under the armor to protect the exposed areas, as well as secure the armor on the pony for easier maneuverability. and the straps so the armor can be fitted on them.

"Oh, Wow rarity, now they look really beautiful!" Fluttershy said, noticing the set made for her. usually she wouldn't like to be wearing armor, as she wasn't a fighter. she was a meek, helpless little pony. but the armor was inspired by spring, by nature itself. the armor was painted and then later coated with enamel, so the engraved leaves, vines, and small stylized little rabbits on it seem to come to life.

"Why thank you fluttershy, but I only designed so much, High Tech and his daughter here are to take credit for their work with the armor. and I must say..." She said as she looked up at her set, hers was light purple with rubies adorning the chest and helmets. a sheath would go around the horn but with a gem on the front to enhance her magic. "I think we both outdone ourselves."

High Tech smiled, looking at the other three. Pinkie Pie's was of course pink, but was stylized with red detailings of balloons, and Candy done up in small formations seemed to be captured in the armor itself, yet it still had the protection needed. Applejack's was probably the heaviest of the set. utilizing the country style quite well, even having spurs on the gauntlets and boots, as well as a rope of crystal shards sitting on a rest hook on the flank.

Rainbow Dash's was navy blue to compliment her cyan fur. with different gems to make a rainbow of colors on the armor. the wings utilizing the wing blades Twilight described many of the pegasus hunters using.

"the weapons came out good too. never made a diamond whip and wing blades before. Wing Blades alone are a lost art along side Die Cast construction." High Tech said looking over the creations. "I even made the engraved areas for the chest pieces you asked for. all with the correct specifications you described."

"Wonderful!" Rarity chirped as she took her element of Harmony necklace off and placed it on her respective armor. an opening on each set's chest piece was made for the elements of harmony to be held while they wore the armor. "Nyx's armor was the inspiration for this part of the design. instead of wearing the elements like usual we'll place them in the armor so they will look like they're part of the armor."

Fluttershy did the same with hers, and in doing so the two sets of armor began to glow with purple and pink auras as the elements began to surround the armor.

"now, would you be a dear, Fluttershy and ask the others to come here? we'll begin fittings immediately." Rarity said.

"Of course." Fluttershy said softly before flying out the door.

After a few minutes, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, fluttershy, and Twilight were brought to the boutique. Twilight was nibbling the last of the cookies Pinkie had given her and froze in mid bite as she looked at the armor.

Rarity smiled as she stepped towards them, wearing her armor. she looked radiant and regal, while at the same time the armor looked as strong and formidable as Armor should be.

"Rarity? what are you wearing?" Applejack asked as she then noticed the other four sets of armor. her eyes instantly went to the set made for her. "Wow...."

"After Twilight's tale of bravery, Battle, and adventure, And the unfortunant side effect of pain and near decaptitation. I knew we'd be in worse condition if we went into this without some kind of advantage. after all a Lady always needs to have some form of Protection when needed."

Rainbow trotted up to her set. "So Awesome! is this one mine!?"

Rarity nodded. "Yes, yes it is, Rainbow Dash. go head Everypony. try them on. Also you'll notice each set has a place for your Element of Harmony. go ahead and put those in your armor. they'll be just as effective like normal. but now they won't just dangle from our necks."

Everypony began to put their armor on, Applejack felt the armor as she moved in it. she then took notice of the diamond rope. she gave it a test whip as well as made a lasso. "Wow Rarity. how'd you make all this? thought you only made dresses?"

"Oh I do. I made the jump suits the armor is covering. High Tech and his lovely daughter, Digit are the ponies that worked on the armor." Rarity said as she reached into a box and pulled out a new helmet. "Twilight, I know you have your armor, so I made this new helmet. it's made to fit the crown of Magic, and I made sure it matched your armor as well."

Twilight took the helmet, it was similar design to the set Celestia gave hers, but a groove was made to rest the crown her Element of Magic had. she gave it a test fit and smiled. "wow, thank you Rarity. it's beautiful, And functional!"

Rainbow Dash Flared her wings, making the wing blades give out an audible slice through the air.

"Do be careful, Rainbow. those blades are very sharp." Rarity said as she tested the joints of her armor.

"don't worry, I'll be alright." Rainbow Dash said as she gave her wings a test slash. "I can take care of myself!" She said before accidentally slicing a table in half by accident, it fell to the floor in a clean cut. she looked at it with shock as she looked to the blades and grinned sheepishly. "uuuh. Yeah I'll be careful." she then gulped and imagined the Table being a pony with her head sliced off. "real careful...." she looked at her reflection in the blades.

"Please do." Rarity scolded before turning her attention to Applejack.

"Gotta say, you know my style, Rare."

"Yeah! look at mine. it's got candy and balloons and confetti!" Pinkie chirped bouncing in her armor.

"Mine feels a might heavy though." Applejack said as she moved in the armor.

"Your probably one of our best fighters, Applejack. so I ordered your armor be heavier. it isn't a problem is it?" Rarity asked as she looked it over making sure the jump suit under it fit correctly.

Applejack felt the armor shift more comfortably in Rarity's magic aura. "No it's fine. I'm used to pulling heavy equipment on the farm. if anything this here armor will be good for helping me get used to heavier weight later."

Rainbow looked at the whip and smirked. "well that's kinda Kinky."

Applejack snickered and grinned. "hey so long as it does the trick."

"No complaints there, AJ. still if you were into kinky stuff I can direct you to---"

"Now girls." Rarity interrupted. "this armor is strictly for our Mission. so please be careful with it."

With that, everypony began to take better care of the armor they wore. while this caution wasn't needed as the armor was quite durable. they still felt the armor should be respected. Rainbow Dash still had a fresh memory of what those blades of hers could do.

Twilight smiled and began to trot back to the library. "follow me everypony."

Without protest Twilight's friends followed, they went to the library where she began to put her own armor on, though taking care with her injuries. Broadsword and Nightquill watched as the armored mares came in. luckily they haven't interrupted anything between the two stallions. if anything, he was drawing while Nightquill was reading to him, as he illustrated a scene from the book.

"Broadsword, if I may. I like to ask for your permission." Twilight said as she looked to her now armored friends.

Broadsword was about to ask why but the armor made it clear what she was asking, he looked to Nightquill and nuzzled him as he got up and took his sword.

"Very well, Miss Twilight."

"May I ask what your planning, Twilight?" Rarity asked as he watched Broadsword put on his now clean armor, though only the gauntlets.

Twilight turned and smiled, though winced when she accidentally put weight on her bad foreleg. "Nnngh. Long ago. a group of friends forged a society. they became the Knights of Harmony based on the virtues they represented."

With each virtue mentioned she looked to the pony that represented that virtue. "Loyalty, Generosity," she looked to Fluttershy. "Mercy was Kindness, Applejack. Honesty was Honor, Pinkie Pie. Laughter was called joy. and Magic was Wisdom. with those virtues they joined together to create an order to uphold these virtues and helped to spread it. but a great evil arose and they were forced to fight it with little preperation. and in the end the order ultimately sacrificed itself to end that evil. the order died not long after it's creation.

"And so. I wish to bring life to that order again. under the new Knights of Friendship!" Twilight declared as she turned. "like the Knights of Harmony we will represent and spread the virtues we represent through the rest of Equestria."

The others looked to themselves. they then nodded, even fluttershy was inspired.

Broadsword nodded. "then under the authority as Sword Master of the Knights of Harmony." he said as he tapped Twilight's shoulder, "the old order is not dead, but reborn. may it breath new life as I Broadsword. Knight you Twilight Sparkle and your friends as the Knights of Friendship. Rise."

Twilight and her friends rose, their respective elements of Harmony glowing, enchanting the armor their wearing.

"OOOH! Sparkly!" Pinkie giggled.

"May the Knights of Friendship thrive where the Knights of harmony wilted. and should you ever need the help of your brothers, Nightquill and I will be by your side, The Knights of Harmony will come to help our new sister order."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "thank you Broadsword..... uhm we weren't interrupting anything were we?"

Broadsword chuckled. "No no. it's fine. I think we'd have used the basement for privacy."

Nightquill couldn't help but groan and blush. this made the ancient knight grin.

"Aww he's cute when he blushes!" Pinkie said as she bounced in her armor. somehow not making one bit of noise from her armor.

Broadsword chuckled. "Oh yes, he is."

Rarity smiled and winked at Broadsword.

"So, what's our first duty as Knights. Sister, Twilight?" Applejack asked taking in her new title.

"If it's all the same to you, I still need to recover. Nyx too." Twilight said as she removed her armor, gaining help from Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Take the time you need, Twilight." Fluttershy said, looking at her leg. "You've been overly exerting yourself lately. let's get you to bed and I'll help you recover."

"Oh, that's not necessary..." Twilight said feeling the shy pegasus guide her upstairs.

"No No!" Fluttershy said gently yet firmly like a mother to a child. "I insist! what were you doing with that leg to get it so sore anyway?"

Twilight looked away to hide her blush. "Uuuuh.... Reading a good book?" she said putting on a nervous grin. her true reasons were quite personal.

"well, let's get you in bed and rest. I'll bring dinner up for you." Fluttershy said helping Twilight in bed. "Now would you like a book?"

Twilight's ears drooped as she looked to her hoof and blushed. "uuuh. I think I'm good."

Fluttershy smiled before flying out of the room. Twilight layed back in her bed, letting herself relax.

"Well. at least I got to finish my book..."

Darkness

Twilight layed in her bed, her blankets wrapped around her almost like a cocoon. she and Nyx slept the whole night, only having to wake up to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. however what the two didn't know was they had slept the whole morning off. the door to the bedroom opened as Fluttershy came in, checking on the two. she didn't have the heart to wake the two. but something was wrong.

"Twilight. Twilight, please wake up!" Fluttershy said softly, gently nudging her.

Twilight groaned and buried her face under her pillows, only her muzzle stuck out with a snort as she dozed off again.

"Twilight, Please! there's something wrong outside!" Fluttershy nudged the unicorn again. this time she was loosing her patience, while she had patience to fill the Canterlot Vault, the event outside demanded attention.

"TWILIGHT!" Fluttershy finally shouted and shook the unicorn from her bed like a yellow earthquake.

Twilight shouted gibberish as she got up, glaring at Fluttershy's sudden rude awakening of her.

"Yes, Fluttershy, what is it!?" Twilight seethed trying hard to calm down.

Fluttershy sighed and pointed out the window. "just look."

Twilight huffed and turned to look out the window. it was Dark outside.... that's it, it was dark. "Okay, so it's night time?"

"it's 1:40PM Twilight! it should be day time." Fluttershy said as she flew up and opened the bedroom window and pointed up at the sky.

Twilight's curiosity betrayed her annoyance and sleepiness as she got up and looked out the window, looking up and where the sun usually is, however what she saw instead was the sun, but it was also the moon in front of it. the Phenomenon was known as a Solar Eclipse

Twilight quickly looked away not wanting to damage her eyes. "How long has it been like this?"

"Since ten this morning. we figured maybe Princess Celestia and Princess Luna was doing it, but then we remembered what you told us what happened to them. then Broadsword told us it means Ryugu's fully recovered." Fluttershy stated as she flew back inside. "Which means she's going to come here, Broadsword said she'd want to pay Nyx back for hurting her."

Twilight began to remember Ryugu saying they'd pay for their actions against her. Fluttershy began to physically check her though.

"what are you doing?"

"You were hurt remember?" Fluttershy said feeling Twilight's ribs and testing her foreleg. "That sleep seemed to have helped though."

Twilight then noticed she wasn't bleeding or in pain anymore. only thing left of those injuries were barely visible scars.

"All right, please go get the others, Fluttershy. tell them to come straight here with the new Armor Rarity ordered." Twilight said as she made her way to the bathroom. "if Ryugu's coming let's give her a welcome party."

------

In the Bad Lands South of Equestria.

the dry desert land broke and cracked, the ground erupted as large spires rose from the earth made of ancient stone and glass. it rose higher then Canterlot mountain and nearly pierced the sky itself. the tower stood looking down upon Equestria like a giant upon the small ponies it terrorized. around the tower's base the land gave way as fire and lava filled the moat around it.

Inside the grand throne room Green fire erupted, surrounding an alter with a throne in the middle. it was made of marble with feathered cushions. the throne however was being occupied by a now smaller Queen Ryugu, her armor was removed, set up on a display mannequin for display. she took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

"Oh it is Good to be back in my throne room." the dark purple alicorn said as she folded her wings in. her horn was now fully recovered, but was weakened by the loss of energy.

before her was an army of Storm Atronachs. they bowed to her ready to serve their mistress.

"The time is almost here, my faithful subjects. I will now restore you to your true selves."

Ryugu's horn crackled a bit before she built up her magic. the spell extended to the elementals and reformatted them, changing their forms to a more pony like state. for it is in fact that the atronachs were indeed Ponies, forever cursed to be immortal in an almost feral aggressive state. they were still clad in the armor they had before. but now they were given back their coats of various colors their identities returned as they bowed again.

"we are ready to serve our queen." one of the stallions said.

"Please, we eagerly await your orders." a Mare stated indeed her voice betrayed the eagerness in her voice.

Queen Ryugu smiled as she chuckled. "Your loyalty pleases me." her face then turned hard, a scowl quickly forming on her muzzle. "Your orders are to go to the small town of Ponyville, Attack everyone and Everything in sight. however your primary objective is to capture a small black Alicorn Filly. the one named Nyx."

Several of the black armored ponies snarled almost anomalistically. others nodded accepting their orders.

"I see some of you are familar with this pony?" Ryugu asked, looking to one of the stallions growling. "Speak, servant."

"when awaiting your return, my pegasus squad attacked an airship, that very filly was onboard. she and her Unicorn Comrade killed many of my fellow soldiers." the stallion said, stomping his hoof.

Ryugu glared, less at the stallion and more at the information she was given. "then you have your orders. once you've returned with her you will be rewarded."

"We shall not fail you, our queen." the stallion stated with a stomp. "All forces, prepare to head out!"

like a nest of angry hornets, a swarm of black armored ponies began to fill the air and tower grounds. making their way to Ponyville. Ryugu watched as her horn glowed, it's magical energy stablizing as she moved the sun and moon both in the sky, creating the Solar Eclipse, the flames of the sun can be seen as a line of light seems to strike through the black mass of the moon's axis. Ryugu grinned with pride.

"I always loved Solar Eclispes. they're beautiful as well as dangerous. it's a shame those two usurpers only made one once in a decade." Ryugu said, her voice a touch gentler now.

Ryugu took in the view of the eclipse for a while, her eyes unable to be harmed by the solar flares now visible. she then turned away from the view and made her way to the top of the tower her horn glowing as she fired her spell to the horizon, the magic bolt hitting its mark into the ground borrowing a hole into the soil.

if one saw it from outside they would think the spell did nothing. however that was not the case. the magic bolt traveled deep underground, striking a pool of rainbow energy, the pool began to churn violently, and as it did the ground began to shake and crack as a mountain began to rise up from the earth, an opening on the top breaking open. the mouth of the mountain lead straight to the pool of rainbow light, which began to raise up to to the top.

Ryugu grinned and lipped her toothy lips. "Ah, Equestria's Life Force has become much more abundant then last I ruled. the ponies kept good care of this land. and soon I shall drink every last drop!"

Queen Ryugu began to laugh as she once more seem to disappear in thin air. she then reappeared at the mouth of the volcano, looking down at the rainbow light below and lick her lips as it began to draw closer to the mouth like magma ready to erupt. Ryugu continued to laugh as she watched the life force raise faster towards her.

And erupt the volcano did, the Life force of equestria shot up like a beam of light into the sky, Ryugu's horn glowed and a snake of her magic grabbed at the stream of life force and began to pull a smaller stream of it into her mouth and began to feast.

Ryugu's body glowed as she fed upon Equestria's life force, the land around the mountain began to loose it's color. grass, trees, and any animals not fast enough to escape fell as they wilted and died. leaving nothing but death and bones.

the wave of death spanned out from the Bad Lands to the Everfree Forest. as the plants died the animals did as well, the monsters, now in fear of their own lives began to make their way to Ponyville, but before they could Ryugu's soldiers marched through, attacking any monster that would threaten the success of their mission.

Eventually being forced back, any creature with a set of wings took to the air. Predator and Prey formed a truce as they worked to escape the wave of death that threatened their very lives. even the soldiers took pause to take in the view of three dragons carrying a Hydra out of the forest.

------

Back in Ponyville, Nyx was being helped with having her armor put back on. she was now fully healed if not a little stiff.

"Thanks, mom." Nyx said as she wiggled in her armor, putting the helmet on last.

the others watched as Nyx was surrounded in an aura of magic light as she grew to the size of Celestia, Rarity couldn't help but look in awe, the armor was even more beautiful on a full size Alicorn.

"Ooooh, Shiny-rific!" Pinkie said.

"I like her mane." Fluttershy said as she circled around. "it's not wavy like Celestia or Luna's."

Applejack chuckled. "Careful, Twilight. When Nyx gets older she'll need a club to keep the colts away."

Twilight giggled. "Yes I'm quite sure. but that won't be for a long time."

"Actually, I had some stallions try and ask me out until I told them I was a filly." Nyx said as she sheathed the Sword.

"Can't say I blame them, Nyx. you look fully grown." Rarity said. "Honestly I'd be confused as well."

"I would think the voice would give away her age." Twilight said, she didn't quite like the fact a stallion asked her daughter out. though at least they realized she was underage.

Broadsword galloped in, panting, Nightquill followed.

"Ryugu has begun to feed!" Broadsword said as he pointed to the wave of grey coming towards the small town. "the loss of color and death means she's drinking Equestria's life Force. if she isn't stopped soon the entire contenant is dead. then she'll go on to the next kingdom and the next until the world is dead!"

"It's not just that. we spotted Ponies in black and orange armor making their way here through the forest." Nightquill said as he began to put on his armor.

"they're Ryugu's Shock troopers. you'll know them for the curved blades on their forelegs." Broadsword said as he put his armor on as well.

Twilight paused, she began to remember weapons and armor like that. "Wait, there were these storm atronachs with curved foreleg blades."

Broadsword paused and looked to Twilight. "Storm Atronachs?" he sighed as he sheathed his sword, and began to help Nightquill into his armor. "when Ryugu turned on Equestria, she cursed her soldiers in becoming immortal but it turned them into elementals. I was sure the others and I got the last ones. but I guess a few survived."

"Broady, there were more then just 'a few' that 'survived'." Nightquill stated as he took his Ax. "there was hordes of them."

"Ponyville won't be able to defend the town from that many soldiers!" Applejack said as she looked outside.

"I Fought Everfree Monsters to defend Ponyville." Nyx said as she took out the sword. "I'll do the same again."

"YOU Barely Survived it!" Twilight scolded. "Not to mention you had your powers. True, the Armor grants you new powers of your own, but you can't divide yourself like before! Your not going to fight those many ponies by yourself!"

"Darn Tootin!" Applejack said stomping her hoof on the floor. "Ya'lls not fightin alone. We're Knights now, girls. time to act like it."

the girls cheered, although Fluttershy was less enthused with the idea of fighting other ponies.

"I-I don't know, girls. we can't fight these ponies! I know they're doing bad things and are serving this evil queen. but..." Fluttershy sighed and looked back up to them. "even if we do fight. we're still out numbered. I don't think I can strike another pony."

Broadsword placed a hoof on the yellow Pegasus' shoulder. "I understand your feelings. but look outside. Your friends told me how you have a connection with the animals of the land."

as fluttershy looked outside she saw the trees and plants die, any animal unable to escape also died in the wake. worry and reluctance of fighting was quickly replaced with anger and determination.

"I admire your kindness and love for your fellow pony, and equestria's wildlife. but now they need you to protect it." Broadsword said as he looked down into her eyes.

"Your right." Fluttershy said as she glared out the window at the wave of death slowly coming towards the small town.

"I think I have an idea!" Pinkie pie said as she zipped out the door, a few seconds later she returned with one of the training dummies from Night Stone Castle.

Nyx looked at the dummy she returned with, it was the dummy of Pinkie Pie she saw the children of the Night soldiers training with, she then saw the lack of a cutie Mark.

"OH! your going to use the sleeping gas trap huh?" Nyx said, behind her helmet she was grinning remembering the many Everfree Monsters sudden surprise then falling asleep when they tried to attack and eat the dummies. "think it'll fool the soldiers?"

"the lack of cutie Marks will give them away." Rainbow said as she looked at the dummy. "it's a good plan though."

Nightquill thought for a moment before his wings snapped fully erect as his face came alive with comprehension. "The Battle Of Griffin Mountain!"

Everypony just scratched their heads, looking at the Light Blue Pegasus like he took some Pegasus bird seed.

"Let me explain. during one of Equestria's few conflicts. a small battalion of Celestia's royal guards occupied an outpost just outside of the griffin territory." Nightquill explained. "they were often attacked by rogue Griffins that felt Equestria was trying to take over the griffin empire. they would attack any supply caravans that tried to assist the small group.

"after a month, the small team were then being attacked directly. their own forces were growing smaller and smaller and eventually it was three against a hundred." Nightquill paused as he looked at the dummy. "Realizing their odds, they came up with a new plan. they used training dummies and dressed them in royal guard armor. they set it up so the dummies looked to be moving around, when in reality they had a farm boy pulling a rope the dummy was attached to.

When the griffins attacked, they were completely fooled by the illusion there were more guards at the tower then they thought, figuring Celestia herself teleported them there directly. when they stormed the tower they were knocked out when the three remaining guards used sleeping spells on them. the Rogues were turned in to the Griffin Emperor and the three guards were given commendations by the Princess herself." Nightquill finished.

Twilight blinked. "Wait.... how did you know about that story?"

Nightquill grinned, holding up a book on Equestrian Military history. "you really should brush up on your history, twilight."

Nightquill was suddenly hugged then promptly kissed on the muzzle by Broadsword. "YOU GENIUS! We can do the same with these dummies as well!"

Rarity thought for a moment then a smile grew on her muzzle. "Yes! I can ask High Tech and Digit for some Guard Armor we can use."

Nightquill was swaying with a stupid grin on his face, blushing yet again as Broadsword chuckled.

"Then we have a goal, ponies." Twilight announced as she fitted her helmet on and placed the crown of magic upon it's brow.

The ponies in the room nodded and went to work, Nyx and Spike went outside to alert and garner assistance from the town ponies. it wasn't long before Rarity had Digit following her with over ten royal guard armor sets as they fit them on the numerous training dummies, Pinkie, with the help of fluttershy, Nightquill and Rainbow Dash started filling the dummies with sleeping powder with a small explosive that will cause the dust to erupt.

Any Stallions and Mares capable of fighting were given free armor by High Tech as well as swords and shields. as Broadsword gave them the nessicary training they needed to defend themselves.

"AAH! Good! well done, ponies!" Broadsword said as Nightquill flew up beside him.

"How are we doing?" Nightquill asked looking at the small defense they created.

"They're no royal guard, but they'll be enough to bolster our defenses. it be best if they weren't in the front lines." Broadsword said with a sigh. "they are going to defend their home though."

Nightquill tapped his hoof on the ground then slumped. "Ah to hay with it..." he grabs Broadsword and gives him the longest deepest kiss he could muster, with the town ponies watching. a few of them whooping and whistling.

Nightquill finally broke the kiss and returned to his idle stance as though nothing happened and tried to look innocent, but he was once again blushing to his maximum limits.

Broadsword was now the one swaying and blushing.

"Well, brother Knight, let's make sure that's not the last we'll have." Nightquill said as he flew off to assist with shoring up the defense walls.

at the town square, Nyx was helping set up the dummies with other volunteers she sat down a dummy of Twilight and settled the helmet on the stuffed pony's head making sure it was kept straight. her ears swiveled as she heard little hooves gallop up to her.

"HIYA NYX!" The cutie Mark Crusaders yelled in unison.

"Hey, you three are okay!" Nyx said as she took off her helmet shrinking down to her friend's size.

"WHOAH!" Scootaloo said in awe. "we heard the stories, but didn't know it was true."

"That armor is so Pretty on you!" Sweetie Belle said as she trotted around Nyx as she posed in the armor. "Can you put the helmet back on?"

Nyx did just that, sliding the helmet on and grew to full size before the fillies. causing them to "oooh" at the sight of their friend now in regal armor.

"She's like Princess Celestia!" Applebloom said as she looked up at Nyx. "Looks way better then that armor you had when you were queen."

"Not ath thcary too." Twist said as she gazed at her own reflection in Nyx's armor.

Applebloom pouted a moment in thought. "I don't think it was that scary. honestly I don't think it was that protective."

"What do you mean?" Nyx asked as she sat down. to her, she was just talking to her best friends. though to passers by they thought a full grown pony was talking to children. in fact some ponies thought Nyx was Princess Luna in new armor to help defend them. and any who would have wanted to pass their own punishment on her quickly reconsidered their odds when they saw Nyx grew to a full size alicorn adult when she had that armor on.

"Well ya had the helmet, Chest armor, and the hoof shoes. that's about it." Applebloom said as she pointed a hoof at each part of her body when discribing the armor.

"I thought they were foreleg spikes?" Sweetiebell said.

"Your thinking of the Blender. he had spikes on his hoof shoes." Scootaloo said as she brought up a comic book of the Adolescent Abnormal Kung fu Cows, flipping to a pony wearing armor with spikes all over himself.

Sweetie Belle looked at the picture. "well the creators of the comic did say the Blender was based on Nightmare Moon."

"So how was the armor not protective enough?" Nyx asked, she remembered wearing the armor herself. it was heavy and quite durable and did it's job to defend her against Celestia and Luna. "I mean, it was protective."

"Yeah, but it left yer hind quarters, a good bit of yer legs and even yer throat vulnerable." Applebloom Stated as she thought back to how Nightmare Moon and Nyx wore the old armor. "this Armor just about covers everything. ya even have armor on yer wings."

"Hmmm...." Nyx began to think back on that armor with the new criticism of it in mind. the more she thought about it, it really wasn't that protective of more vulnerable areas like the throat. if Celestia wanted to she could have stabbed her in the neck or stomach when they thought. the battle would have been over much quickly. she then recalled how the armor did little against the Monsters of Everfree.

"I think your right...." Nyx said as she looked at her new armor. "Atleast this is more protective."

the four fillies nodded then saw the twilight dummy done up in royal guard armor.

"what's with the dummy?" Scootaloo asked as she examined the pony decoy. "why does it look like Twilight?"

Nyx smiled under the helmet. "these are decoy ponies, we placed them in armor to make the bad soldier ponies that are invading town to think the town is better defended then they believed. and when they attack them they'll ignite the sleep dust inside that will knock them out so we can take them prisoner."

"That's so cool! they'll never expect it!" Sweetie Belle chirped in her cute squeaky voice.

Nightquill flew up and landed beside the fillies. "everything's all set, Nyx. we're ready." he sees the Cutie Mark Crusaders looking up at him with curiosity. "who are your little friends?"

"We're...." Scootaloo Started.

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, YAY!" the five fillies, well four fillies and one armor clad fully grown Alicorn.

Nightquill rubbed his ears wincing. "and I think I lost hearing in my right ear." he flicks at his ear with his hoof. he was of course goofing around, sticking his tongue out at the girls. "BYAH!"

The girls giggled.

"Hey, Nightquill. your good with traps right?" Nyx asked an idea forming in her head.

"Of course. I can set them up to." Nightquill said as he had Twist climbing ontop of him, though because of his time with children at Hollow Shades, he's quite good with them.

"I was thinking if maybe you can set up some natural traps in the forest along the boarder of Everfree forest?"

Nightquill thought about this. "that wouldn't be a bad Idea. I can easily set up traps using the woods itself."

"Do you need any help?" Sweetie Belle asked, feeling his wing. "Oooh they're so soft!"

"I think I can handle it myself, But on the other hoof, I can use some help getting the tools." Nightquill said.

"in your opinion, how long will it take until they reach the boarders?" Nyx asked.

Nightquill's face turned more serious as he ran the calculations. "About a day. they have a mass force, but the forest is dense. it'll take time for them to get here."

Nyx nodded. "I don't like ordering ponies around but, the sooner you get to work on those traps---"

"No your right." Nightquill said as he extended his wings. "well how about you girls come along?"

"SURE!" the four said in unison.

"We even have the tools we used for the talent show!" Scootaloo said as she sat on the stallion's back with Twist.

"You didn't use power tools, did you?" Nightquill asked with a bit of worry.

Siege

Ryugu's Soldiers marched through the Everfree Forest, making quick work of any monsters that tried to attack. all being lead by a rather powerful Unicorn in the most decorated and full set of armor, on his back was a flag bearing the image of a total Solar Eclipse. his horn charged as he fired a blast at a fleeing Timber Wolf. blowing it to smithereens, bits of wood and splinters flying across the forest floor.

An earth Pony soldier canters up and salutes to his commander.

"Report." the commander says, watching more timber wolves trying to flee blasting each one to pieces, mercilessly.

"Commander, the troops are making progress, but the forest is heavily dense. it's slowing our progress and the monsters aren't making it any better, we've lost a third of our forces due to ambushes." the earth pony soldier said as he watched another timber wolf explode. "what are your orders?"

the Commander turned to his comrade. all the soldiers of their queen had black and orange armor, like the royal guard. it is enchanted so it makes them all look alike, dark purple coats with glowing emerald green eyes.

"your order is to form up a wedge formation. unicorns take up the outer ring, Earth and Pegasus ponies inside. the Unicorns are to keep up a constant burning barrier. it'll clear the path and any foolish wildlife will learn not to try and stop us." the commander said, crushing a piece of wood trying to reform itself to the timber wolf he just blew up. smashing it to cracked splinters under his armored hoof.

the earth pony nodded and soon the order was put into action. the army of Ponies formed a fire shield before them. pushing the Everfree Forest and any monsters that attacked back, trees and shrubs began to burn as the soldier's progress began to move faster.

------

Nightquill circled and landed Beside Nyx and Twilight, flapping his wings as the Cutie Mark Crusaders rode on his back, they enjoyed the ride and Sweetie Belle couldn't help but have a small crush on the light blue pegasus.

"here we are ladies." Nightquill said as he let the four fillies off.

"Well looks like you four had a good time, huh?" Twilight smiled. "I wondered where you were."

"we were setting up traps in the boarders of the forest." Nightquill said.

Twilight smiled and nodded. "good idea!"

"Actually it was Nyx's Idea." Applebloom said, pointing at the armor clad Alicorn trying to eat a cookie through her helmet. forgetting she could take it off and eat it.

Twilight looked to Nyx and smiled, she couldn't help but giggle at her daughter being defeated by the evil cookie that refused to go in her mouth. "Well one of the Knights that put part of their soul in the armor was a strategist, at least that's what Rarity told me. so she may have been inspired through the influence."

Broadsword trotted up to the group, he came up to Nightquill and slumped on him in exhaustion. "Ugh! I did all I could with these ponies. they're as ready as they could be." he said, putting his hoof on his forehead in an over exaggerated display of exhaustion.

Nightquill chuckled and held his Broadsword. "You drama queen."

Broadsword looked up at him and pouted. Twilight giggled as she rolled her eyes, the girls didn't seem to get the hint, although Sweetie Belle caught on, however with a bit of disappointed then replaced with finding the scene cute.

"CURSED COOKIE! You Shall Pay for defying me!" Nyx yelled as she pulled the helmet off, returning to filly form as she took revenge on the defiant morsel. nomming on the cookie like a cute ravage beast. "NOM!"

everypony just stared as the cookie was ultimately murdered by little Nyx, the grizzly scene was followed by Broadsword faking a faint, being caught in Nightquill's forelegs who promptly protended shield the view with his wing, although the Pegasus was also rolling his eyes at his partner's overacting. Twilight giggled.

"Served the cookie right!" Twilight said.

everypony went silent however as the sound of teleportation is heard, before them, infront of the Library stood Princess Cadance and the now Filly Celestia and filly Luna, the two fillies had their eyes rolling in circles and wobbling about.

"Ooooh..." Cadence rubbed her head as she blinked and looked up. "Ah, we made it!"

a moan from Celestia caused Cadence to look down, Teleporting is easy for an Alicorn, even though Cadance wasn't as powerful as Celestia and Luna were, she could easily teleport good distances with enough magical charge.

"Cadance!" Twilight almost glomped her old foal sitter and sister in law. hugging her tight. "what are you doing here?"

Cadance hugged back and smiled. "Shining Armor and I decided it be best if we brought Celestia and Luna here, they were getting restless and wanted to see you."

"Oh, I wish you hadn't. we're about to be attacked." Twilight said, she quickly filled Cadance in on the imminent attack, the whole of Ponyville has been hard at work through the night to prepare. now it's only a matter of when the attack will begin.

"Oh dear." Cadance said as she looked at Celestia and Luna who were starting to play with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Twist, even the armor clad Nyx, with her helmet put back on joined on in the play chase. "Well I brought them here for a reason. Hollow Shades, Despite it's small size, has a vast libraries. I was doing research on how to maybe restore Celestia and Luna back to adults. Unfortunately in order to restore them completely, the pony who stole their power must be defeated. the power can't be given back freely."

"Well, what if we used the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight asked. "I mean when we used it on Nightmare Moon it restored Luna to her former self and purified her. maybe if we did the same to Ryugu she'll be restored to her purified self as well?"

Cadance considered this. "Perhaps. but I'm afraid she'll still retain her hold on the sun and moon. and I'm unsure if she can return the power herself."

Nyx sighed. "was Ryugu ever always her name? it's kinda odd when you compare it to Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and so on."

Broadsword stood up from Nightquill's forelegs. "Actually, her original name was Princess Aurora. she was very beautiful and kind once. if we do restore her to her previous self, she'll find a way to restore the two."

"You don't sound excited, Broadsword." Nightquill asked wrapping his wing around Broadsword, the two have become really close during preparations. if this was their last stand they'll make their time count. "if she can be restored, would it not be a good thing?"

Broadsword looked to Nightquill. "Of Course it would be a good thing, it's just that, I don't know. I'm so used to seeing her as my enemy for so long."

"It's completely understandable, Broadsword." Cadance said as she approached, making way for Celestia, Luna, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders's game of Chase the Alicorns. she then jumped out of the way by a Crusader Armor Nyx freight Train to gallop through. "But remember, She's just as much a danger to herself, then just us."

"No, your right, thank you, Princess." Broadsword said watching the seven fillies, well six fillies and one Crusader of Harmony chase eachother through town. "Were they always this.... playful?"

"Well Princess Celestia was always a pony who likes to play the occasional prank, and Luna is also rather Mischievous at times. I think having their magic removed and turned into children reverted their psyche back to how they were before they got their cutie marks." Cadance said as she jumped out of the way with a flap of her wings of the train of fillies and flew higher to make room for Nyx. "and they also seem to have no end to their energy."

"can they use their magic now?" Twilight asked, the situation was bad, but she enjoyed the view of her mentor now a small child playing. it must be the most fun she's ever had in a long time.

Cadance shook her head. "No. I think the separation did a lot of trauma to their magical energies. it's like they're completely locked off from it. Luna especially hates using the eating booties."

at that moment, a shot of magic shot through the air and exploded like a firework, flares of magic fell to the earth as the entire town went silent. Ponies then began to scramble, those who could fight hugged and kissed loved ones, ushering them inside while they dawned their armor. ponies who couldn't fight went to Night Stone Castle, turning the Derelict structure once more into a refuge.

"What was that?" Cadance asked as she looked up at the flare.

"Get the children inside." Nyx said, her demeanor switching from playful to protective the second the flare was shot. "Applebloom, can the Cutie Mark Crusaders please escort Celestia, Luna, and Princess Cadance to Night Stone Castle?"

Applebloom nodded as she, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Twist guided Celestia and Luna to the castle.

"You too Princess Cadance." Nyx said, Using her wing to gingerly guide her to follow the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Princess Fillies.

"What?" Cadance was now confused. "But I can help."

"And you will." Broadsword said as he readied his sword. "somepony needs to be with the civilians during the attack and protect them."

Cadance blinked then nodded. "Your right, the foals will need protection too." with a glow her her horn, Cadance was now clad in her crystal armor, she followed the Cutie Mark Crusaders while at the same time helping other ponies find someone to rally behind, with a Princess in their midst the civilians felt more protected.

Nyx spread out her wings, giving a hard flap as her horn glowed. she looked towards the boarder of the Everfree Forest, Ryugu's soldiers were marching through the dense forest, though when they triggered the traps, their numbers began to dwindle.

During the Night, with the help of the Cutie Mark Cusaders, Nightquill had set up numerous and various traps. he was able to make gunpowder with seagull dropings, sulfur, and charcoal, making very powerful explosive trip wire mines. there were more physics driven traps as well, none as deadly or grizzly as the ones the Hunters set up on the Path to Hollow Shades, when a Soldier tripped a wire, they had their hind legs grabbed by a noose by a bend tree that would snap, sending the surprised pony skyward, and in few cases some went into orbit itself. landing back at Ryugu's tower, or some in another province entirely. though few survived those trips.

when a squad of soldiers tried to get to the bridge leading into the town proper, they were greeted by land mines exploding in their face, uprooting now dead trees, bushes, and the occasional angry squirrel that attacked the first unfortunate soldier they saw.

With the invading forces numbers now brought down to a more manageable number, it wasn't long before the civilian militia of Ponyville marched in and fought back when the now more fewer numbers of soldiers made it into town.

The battle was amazing as well as surprisingly savage for cutiesy wootsy little ponies. Nyx watched overhead, dropping down to assist anypony that got out numbered or separated from the rest of the town's militia. however it was when she did this the soldiers would ignore the ponies they were attacking and began to go after her instead.

"GET HER!" A mare soldier yelled over the battle.

"We have you Now, Crusader!" a Unicorn said as he and the rest of the unicorn battle mages began to shoot spells, Nyx saw when one of these spells hit a Pegasus town Militia flying by, the spell will wrap whoever or whatever they hit in rope.

Nyx looked down at the soldiers, now ignoring the town defenses as they now found their target. Her.

"Y-Your after Me?" Nyx asked, more to herself then anypony in particular.

"Indeed we Are!" the Unicorn commander bellowed as he fired a concussion blast at her, knocking Nyx out of the sky. "her Highness, Queen Ryugu would like audience with you. IN THE DUNGEON!"

Nyx screamed in pain as the Unicorn commander continued to pelt her with blast after blast. the Armor protected her well, but it was like putting a metal bucket over your head and hitting it with a hammer. from the eyes of the helmet, Nyx saw the Knights of harmony standing with her, they were trying to give advice but with each strike they got canceled out.

"AAAH!" Nyx cried. the blasts didn't cut or bleed. it was like being struck by an industrial sledge hammer.

"We have her now, Restrain her!" the commander ordered.

"Yes Sir!" a Unicorn soldier said as he shot Nyx with his spell.

Nyx felt her body being wrapped up by the magical ropes, then constricted and held her legs and wings secure, all she could do is squirm as the commander continued to fire blast after blast. although, she realized quickly he was doing it to take pleasure in her agony.

"J-Just stop! stop attacking, You can take me, but don't hurt anypony else---AAAH!" once again Nyx is shot, her whole body is knocked several yards into the side of Quills and Sofa's store.

the Commander grinned as he trotted up to her, kicking Nyx in the face as he laughed. "Well since you've been so gracious to comply."

"STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!"

the Commander paused and looked up to the roof of the Quills and Sofas Store. standing on the roof was six mares clad in armor with the same design but different details and colors. the purple unicorn in the center was particularly angry, like he had just got caught picking on a Dragon mother's baby, indeed, she was so angry her coat was almost white hot and mane was ablaze in fire.

"And who, prey tell are you? the court jesters?" the commander asked, he was vastly unimpressed even Twilight's red eye glare didn't phase him. his horn glowed as he picked up Nyx. "I'm afraid we cannot stay, my Queen demands this one to return with us, and I won't like to keep her majesty waiting."

"YOUR NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH MY DAUGHTER!" Twilight growled, it almost sounded inequin, it would make Queen Crysalis proud.

"And who's going to stop me!?" the commander growled back. his horn charging another concussion blast.

"I will!" Broadsword said stepping in view on the roof. "hello, again Master."

the commander's grin disappeared as he glared broadsword down. "So the prodigy lives? I'll soon rectify that."

"Broadsword, do you know this maniac?" Twilight asked, keeping her eyes on Nyx who was now bound up and starting to regain strength.

"His name is Sword Master Warblade. I was his apprentice when I first became a Knight for Equestria. I didn't even know he survived." Broadsword said glaring down at Warblade.

Warblade chuckled and fired his magic blast, Broadsword pushed Twilight out of the way and took the shot in the shoulder. as he yelled, Warblade jumped up several crate boxes, keeping Nyx in tow as he got up on the roof.

"Still Sloppy as ever, Little Blade." Warblade growled as he galloped up and head butted his former student in the chest, the helmet he wore made his horn end in a bladed tip.

Broadsword fell to the ground, his armor now had a large hole in it as he began to bleed from his chest.

"You were always a slow learner." Warblade said as he advanced and stomped his hoof down on Broadsword's stomach with such force his armor cracked and dented inward.

"AAAH!" Broadsword yelled and coughed, forcing himself to remove his armor and gasp, the wind was knocked out of him in that one strike.

"BROADSWORD!" Warblade yelled, his horn charging as Broadsword looked to him. "NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON YOUR OPPONENT!"

Broadsword cried out as he was blasted off the roof, falling and crashing in a crate of new quills that broke his fall.  he slid out of the crate and fell to the street below as he looked up, holding his stomach as blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

"that the best you got, old man!?" Broadsword bellowed as he prepared his sword.

Warblade dropped down from the roof like a sack of bricks, slamming and leaving a crater in the cobble street as he landed on his hooves. he kept Nyx close as he held her by the horn, he then swung her and bashed Broadsword against the store's wall. Nyx cried out as he began to use her as a blunt weapon, the armor meant to protect others now being used as a blunt weapon.

"One final Lesson, Broadsword." Warblade said as he drew his own curved, jaggad, black sword.

Warblade brought his sword down, intending to slice his former student in half like an apple, the sword in his magical grip glowed with dark magic, however before his blade could make contact, they met the blades of Nightquill before pushing the larger blade away.

"This isn't your lesson, Pegasus. but I'll be happy to teach you a thing or two." Warblade's horn glowed as he blasted at Nightquill, but the Pegasus was faster as he brought up his ax and deflected the magic bolt, causing it to hit Warblade instead. "AAAAH!"

Warblade fell to the ground, holding his chest as he rolled to the ground. Nightquill lowered his stance, his ax firm in his mouth as he awaited Warblade to attack again, his hoof stomping at the ground as he snorted a mist of air from his nostrils.

Warblade got up and growled. but as he charged his magic he saw Twilight and her friends surrounding him, even Fluttershy was visibly angry.

"Ya'll ain't goin nowhere, ya son of a hydra!" Applejack said, in her mouth was the crystal shard rope now in a lasso being twirled over the farm pony knight's head.

"Your going to put Nyx Down, NOW!" Fluttershy demanded.

"Time to open a can of whoop flank!" Pinkie said, doing her best Stone Colt Steve Austin impression. "and that's the Bottom Line!"

Warblade considered his odds, he was strong but vastly outnumbered, his soldiers were being forced to retreat and many were captured. but he had his prize as he looked to the tied up Nyx in his magical grip, he looked to the six mares and Broadsword and grinned as his horn began to glow.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Rainbow shouted as she dashed towards them, knocking Nyx out of Warblade's magical grip and covering her body as Warblade's teleportation spell ignited as he disappeared in a column of light as his body disappeared in a flash of light.

With Warblade's retreat the rest of the soldiers followed suit, many fled back into the forest while others were captured and restrained. the captured soldiers were brought to Sweet Apple archers to be detained in the barn, watched closely by Granny smith and some of the town militia.

Twilight galloped up to Rainbow Dash as her pegasus friend got up. "Rainbow, are you and Nyx okay?"

"uuugh." was all Rainbow said as she looked down.

Below her Nyx looked up, she was a filly again, her helmet got knocked off in the tackle as the magical rope no longer fit her she easilly got out.

"Yeah, we're okay." Rainbow said as she got up. "little filly's tougher then I give her credit for." she said giving Nyx a noogy, being rewarded by the filly's giggles.

Broadsword galloped up. "Nyx, are you alright?" he was still holding his side, but he looked to be fine, Nightquill however stayed by his side.

"Yeah, those magic blasts hurt bad, but I'm feeling better now." Nyx reached up with her hoof to feel her muzzle, checking if it was bleeding til she realized. "Hey... My helmet?"

"Maybe it came off when I tackled you?" Rainbow asked, looking around for it, as did everypony else.

But as they looked, worry started to grow as they realized it wasn't nearby.

"Oh no, it couldn't have rolled that far, the momentum of the tackle wouldn't have done that." Twilight said then her eyes snapped open. "OH NO!"

When Warblade was teleporting out, in his magical grip he still had Nyx's Helmet. although he himself didn't seem to notice, as he was casting the spell Rainbow Dash grabbed Nyx and kept her from being teleported out with him. Warblade however still had the Helmet. although when the spell started he didn't notice Nyx was caught before the spell was complete.

"Oh No! the Helmet, Warblade had the helmet!" Twilight said, she began to pace back and forth, the realization on broadsword soon followed as he too started to panic. "NO! NO! NO! He didn't take it, it's got to be around here!" Twilight said, she knew this was wishful thinking as she checked the area again.

"Without the helmet, the rest of the armor won't be as powerful. you have to have the full set to utilize the armor completely!" Broadsword stated.

"Well that's a design flaw if I ever heard one!" Applejack argued. "Ya'll make a set of armor and you only make the dang thing work when you got the full set!?"

"The Armor can still be used!" Broadsword yelled back at the farm pony. "But in order for Nyx to use it, she'll need to have the full set! or the armor is only at half strength!"

"Well what about the sword!? Don't ya tell me that fancy sword don't work without the full set too!" Applejack yelled back.

Broadsword stomped. "YOU TRY MAKING ENCHANTED ARMOR AND ENCHANTING HALF YOUR SOUL IN IT!"

"Well if I do I'll be sure not to make it a full set to use it!" Rainbow Dash yelled back, quickly defending her Farm Pony Friend.

"EVERYPONY STOP!" Nyx yelled.

everyone stopped and looked at Nyx, the little filly panted as she got up.

"Right now the armor isn't important. we need to stop Queen Ryugu soon, the whole town is gray now!" Nyx said. during Applejack's and Broadsword's yelling the ground lost it's color, and now half the town is monochrome. "And we can get the helmet back."

"How? we don't even know where that warblade character gone to." Rarity said, stepping between Applejack and Broadsword.

Broadsword took some calming breaths. "there is a place they'd go. to Ryugu's castle tower."

Everypony began to loose hope in those words. and their hope was already quite depleted.

"So, where would that be?" Applejack asked, anger now replaced with concern.

"I'll need a current map of Equestria to say but the location was south east of here." Broadsword said as he sheathed his sword.

"Only place in that area is the Badlands, mostly rocky desert beyond the Macintosh Mountains." Twilight said. Working the information in her head. "well Appleloosa and Dodge City are along that rout too, but from Ryugu's heady when she left Hollows shade the Badlands is most likely."

"Get me a map and I'll show you." Broadsword said grunting as he held his side.

"After you rest!" Nightquill said helping Broadsword to walk.

"I'll be fine, Nighty. I just need to--- AAH!" Broadsword took a step and immediantly regretted it, the shot to the shoulder he got before while protected by his armor was now bruised and sore.

"You need to go lay down and recover." Nightquill order as he firmly but gently helped Broadsword back to the library.

"Yes dear." Broadsword grumbled as he limped.

"Come on, let's getcha patched up." Applejack said helping Nightquill with Broadsword. "Look, sorry I got on yer case about the helmet. I'm just scared."

"I think we all are, Applejack." Broadsword said as he was brought into the library, he rested down on the pile of pillows as Nyx took out the first aid kit.

"Here's the med kit, I'll go get a Map of Equestria..." Nyx said galloping off to the maps and Atlas section of the library, Twilight and the others soon came inside as well and all gathered beside Nightquill, Broadsword, and Applejack, who was now patching the Unicorn stallion up.

"Wow that guy was crazy powerful." Rainbow Dash said looking at the injuries.

"they don't look like much, but Master Warblade's Magic blasts are more to subdue and drain an opponent's strength then outright cause bleeding." Broadsword explained.

Nyx returned with a scroll in her mouth, she set it down and rolled the map of Equestria on the floor. Broadsword looked it over and with a glow of his horn set a pin on the center of the Badlands.

"it's here. there's supposed to be an oases there." he said, squinting when Nightquill tightens the bandages.

"Sorry Broady." Nightquill said looking sheepish.

Applejack just couldn't contain herself and giggled. "Ya'll good together, ya know that?"

"Well yeah!" Pinkie said. "After they were made for eachother!" though the sound in her voice everypony couldn't help but think Pinkie was being more literal.

"Well we can take a train to Appleloosa then go down to the badlands by hoof." Rainbow Dash said as she examined the map.

"Would be nice to see if my kin there are alright." Applejack said though squinted as she looked at the map. "Uh, guys. don't that bit of land look Familiar to any of ya'll?"

Twilight looked the map over. "Oh dear. your right."

"What, what's wrong?" Nightquill asked.

"not long after the Canterlot wedding, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were pony napped by Queen Chrysalis. she tried to take over the town with her changelings so we went to the badlands to face her and get the girls back." Rarity explained. trying to recall the memory.

"Yeah. the badlands are where the Changeling hive is." Fluttershy said. "I really don't want to fight those things too!"

"Well ain't much to do about it. if anything, we may have to ask em for help." Applejack said quickly gaining looks from everypony else. Nyx however was confused. "Look, I know Changelings are a lot of bad apples. but I wouldn't say this if we didn't think we needed the help."

"Applejack. No disrespect...." Twilight started then jumped up. "BUT ARE YOU BONKERS!?"

"I ain't no talkin Cat, Twilight. But think about it, this Queen Ryugu's gotta be givin Queen Chrysalis a hard time too, right?" Applejack explained. "I ain't sayin we cozy up to them and be buddies. the enemy of my enemy is our friend is all I'm sayin."

"just because they could be enemies, don't make them our friends, Applejack." Rainbow Dash said. "True, Daring Do did this with the Scorpion Pony Tribe when Ahuizotl took over the Skeleton Pony Tribe and tried to take over the Lost City, she had no choice but to join forces with them even though they were sworn enemies for three books."

"This ain't a book, Rainbow. we need to at least try." Applejack said.

"Applejack, I can understand your logic on this manner, but let's not forget what the Changelings can do." Rarity said as she managed to pull out some green goo from her mane that somehow was still there since the weapon. "these creatures use ponies to feed on their love. how do we know they won't turn on us?"

"I have an idea." Cadance said as she came in, Celestia and Luna following. though it was kind of strange since they were supposed to be at Night Stone Castle.

"Well, whatcha got in mind, Princess?" Applejack asked,

The whole time, Twilight was watching Cadance, unlike last time she knew how to spot differences in Attitude and mannerisms. she stomped her hoof and got up.

"That's not Cadance, AJ! it's Queen Chrysalis!"

Cadance stared at Twilight rather amazed, although Celestia and Luna's eyes glowed as they dropped their disguise revealing to be Changeling drones.

"Caught me again I see?" Cadance said, though her voice was distorted as she dropped her disguise, showing to be in fact the Changeling Queen.

Everypony but Nightquill and Broadsword got tense and took defensive stances, however Chrysalis waved a dismissive hoof.

"Despite what you may like to believe, I am Not here to fight you." Chrysalis said as she made her way inside the library, looking around. "Quite a lovely home you have, Twilight Sparkle. it's so very You." the changeling queen said, though the tone in her voice sounded more insulting.

"I thought Cadance and Shining Armor had dealt with you?" Twilight said stomping her hoof. "what are you doing here!?"

"My dear Twilight, please calm down, I am not here to fight anypony. my Changeling forces aren't even with me but these two." as Chrysalis motioned her hoof to her two drones one of them smiled and waved only for the other to facehoof at the other's Friendliness.

"you see when that new Alicorn appeared the whole land started to die, I did intend to take the advantage of the chaos to attack the crystal empire, the love in one of those crystal ponies could give me even more power then before. but that Pink Princess and her Husband intercepted me and my forces. now it's just me and these two!" Crysalis growled. "So I decided to hold up here, I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner."

at that moment, the real Cadence opened the door to the Library and trotted in with the real Celestia and Luna. "Twilight, is the battle over, we wanted to----"

Chrysalis and Cadance stared at eachother. and once again the friendly changeling just smiled and waved.

"Did that one get hit in the head?" Pinkie asked taking more notice in the friendly waving changeling then the Cadance and Chrysalis staring contest.

"What are you doing here, Chrysalis?" Cadance demanded as she stood firm.

"Ugh do I need to explain, again?" Chrysalis said then looked at her unusually friendly drone. "oh, Him? he got a bad knock on the head when we were blasted out of Canterlot."

"Alright, Enough, Just tell us what you want, Chrysalis." Twilight demanded. "Then you can take your friends and go."

"Oh but we just want to help, Twilight." Chrysalis said as she caressed the little Unicorn's cheek a little too seductively. "You see, Queen Ryugu's Influenceis causing more then just a loss of color and life. apparently this Life Force fountain she's created runs under my Kingdom. plus she poses a threat to my Changelings. As Applejack said. an enemy of my enemy."

Twilight snorted as she looked to Nyx. "So what do you think?"

Nyx looked up to Chrysalis, she's heard the stories about her and didn't trust her as far as she could throw her. "it seems awfully convenient she popped in as soon as we were talking about her."

"Well I was eavesdropping of course." Chrysalis admitted. "and besides. I doubt you'll be able to get to the Badlands without my Help."

"Twilight, if we accept her help, we'll have two rattler snakes waiting to bite us instead of one." Rarity said not taking her eyes off the queen.

"I have an idea." Nightquill said with a grin. "We'll tie them up while on the train."

"What!?" Chrysalis said in shock as twilight and her friends nodded to the idea. "Y-You can't possibly...."

"I'm quite good with rope." Nightquill said. the grin on his face betrayed how much he'd be enjoying it. this just made Chrysalis blush.

"N-No You can't!" the changeling queen started to back away.

"hey you said you can help us right?" Twilight said, now grinning as well. "So if we're going to trust you, we're going to keep you and your friends here nice and secure."

------

Chapter 18

The Badlands

standing vigilant of the Badland desert, Ryugu's Tower was now alive with soldiers and servants on their rounds. bringing the long forgotten structure to life. but these aren't the same ponies that live in Equestria today. they are in fact ponies misplaced in time, when Queen Ryugu was defeated they were put in a magical sleep, perfectly preserved inside the tower as they slept. But now that the tower stands again, and their queen is once more in power, the ponies of long ago are awake, ready to serve their mistress for whatever she needs.

Warblade made his way to the throne room, he wasn't a happy pony, nore was he anxious to see his queen. he had Nyx in his magical grasp, all he needed was a silver platter to serve the Crusader on to offer Queen Ryugu. but instead he is empty hooved. all he had was the filly's helmet. he was certain he'll be punished. stripped of his rank or worse.

The castle servants quickly moved out of the commander's way, they knew he was in a bad mood and they knew too well what would happen if they got in the crossairs of his horn.

Warblade sighed as he entered the throne room, the fire surrounding the throne pedestal was still burning, two glowing green eyes peered down on him, since her feeding, Ryugu has returned to her massive three story tall height, the throne was resized magically to accommodate that.

the Commander took a breath as he went up the velvet carpet to the throne, bowing as those big green eyes looked down upon him. they were like gems that glistened from the light of the green fire surrounding the throne. and it wasn't long until the owner noticed he did not return with the promised captive.

"My Queen, I've returned---

"I can see that!" Ryugu roared. if she wasn't angry before she is now. "I see you've failed your mission! Would you Mind telling me how you, the Grand Master of the Equestrian Knights failed such a simple task!?"

"I humbly accept my failure, my mistress. I had the crusader in my grasp. and in mid teleportation one of the Knights of Harmony snatched her from my hold." Warblade explained.

"The Knights of Harmony Are Dead!" Ryugu clearified. "Unless.... Ah of course. Broadsword is becoming desperate. tell me, was a purple Unicorn a member of this group?"

Warblade nodded. "Yes my Queen. she was particularly upset when I was fighting the Crusader."

Ryugu went silent for a moment, then the pair of eyes tilted when they spotted a glint of silver behind Warblade. "what is that you have there? Show it to me at once!"

Warblade looked behind him, he levitated the object up to the set of eyes. with a thundering step that shook the throne room, Ryugu stepped into the light of the flames, inspecting the small helmet as she took it in her magical aura and inspected it.

"I apologize, My Queen, it is all I could return with." Warblade said as he lowered his head. "I await punishment."

Ryugu's voice however went soft. "Punishment? Why would I do such a thing?"

Warblade looked up to his queen rather confused. "Forgive me, my Mistress, but I do not follow."

Ryugu stepped down from her throne, each step trembled the throne room due to her large size. "You did fail to bring me the Crusader, but during teleportation it seems you still had your hold on Nyx's Helmet!" the dark queen begain to chuckle under her breath. "Without the helmet, the Armor she wears is useless. she won't be nearly strong enough to oppose me!"

Warblade began to understand the implications, a smile began to form on his lips as he bowed. "Then I will consider this a major blow to our enemies."

"Indeed, and as such you shall be rewarded." Ryugu said as her horn glowed.

Warblade looked down at himself as his armor became black as night with gold and silver detailing, he felt himself begin to grow and change, what was once fur now transfigured into scales, his tail reforming into a long serpentine scaly tail with a pincer at the end. he felt his horn smoothed out and curved upwards like a blade as two new horns formed behind his head, his muzzle grew out into a beak as a set of wings grew from his back and hooves turned into sharp claws.

"I have given you a new form and new powers in addition to your own. you will now serve me as my new dragon praetorian." Ryugu said with a smirk growing along her jagged toothy lips. "Now, I must have a trophy case made, I have a new bauble to add to my collection."

And with that, Ryugu left the Throne room, going to the royal treasury, inside gold, silver, and many jewels and magical relics the existence of was unknown to Equestria or became folklore. in the center of the room was a pedestal, the Dark queen trotted up to it and placed the helmet on it.

"And soon, the Crusader's head shall be the next addition.... MINUS HER BODY!" Ryugu began to laugh as she looked down at the helmet, a magical barrier forming around it.

------

In the middle of the moonless night, one of the few trains running through Equestria was pulling two cars along it's tracks, it's destination was Appleloosa. the ponies working the train were the Conductor, Engineer and coal worker Twilight and Nyx saved from the out of control train. they wanted to help and with the ice cleared offered to operate the train for the Knights of Friendship.

In the last Car, Nightquill pulled the rope tight as he secured their cargo, Chrysalis muffled protests as she felt the rope tighten on her. she was gagged and had her legs and wings tied up. Nightquill even made use of the holes in the Changeling's legs. Broadsword was watching and feeling a bit uneasy at the sight.

"I think you enjoyed tying those three up too much, Nightquill." Broadsword said as he saw the Pegasus grin down at the three Changelings tied up quite professionally, although the way Chrysalis was tied up was in a rather compromised position.

"Well just take heart in knowing they won't be going anywhere." Nightquill said as he trotted out of the car with Broadsword. "shall we rejoin our friends?"

Broadsword smiled and took his Pegasus coltfriend to another room of the rear cart. "Actually, I think it's time we have some entertainment of our own." the Unicorn Knight said as he pushed Nightquill in the lavatory room for the Cart.

in the first Cart, Twilight was looking over the supplies they had. once again they were leaving Ponyville, but at least this time it be faster, And she had her friends to watch her back. Nyx was testing her abilities with the sword, much to their relief, it seems the sword drew on it's own magic and was just as powerful as before. Cadance, Celestia And Luna were huddled up at the Window with the filly princesses making pictures by breathing on the windows and drawing their hooves on the condensation.

"How are you two doing?" Twilight asked, as she went up to Celestia and Luna.

"We're fine. I think being a filly again is more of a blessing." Celestia said with a smile as she drew a derped pony face. "I never had this much fun like this before. but I do feel it's a bad thing too."

"Hopefully we're returned to full power soon." Luna said as she nibbled on a salad. "though I do enjoy being able to go out and not have Ponies bowing and treating my Sister and I like we're the most sacred things in the world. Hardly anypony ever wants to just talk or anything."

"We are princesses, true. but it be nice if we can just be allowed to enjoy ourselves." Celestia said as she levitated some Orange Juice to her lips and drank from a straw. "the situation is dark, I know but it's hard not to enjoy being able to play without ponies looking at me like I grew a second horn."

"Your princesses, Surely you can take a break or two." Twilight said.

"Hmm, perhaps your right. it was fun playing with your friends little sisters and their friends." Luna said as she giggled. "I never had such fun in a long time."

"Didn't the foals in Hollow Shades play with you?" Twilight asked, she wondered if they were scared of the little filly Alicorns.

"They was more interested in keeping paired up with eachother, and some wanted to Pair up with us." Celestia said shaking her head. "when I'm big again I'm going to make alot of changes in that town."

Cadance however couldn't help but giggle. "Oh yes some of the boys there had little crushes on these two. it was so cute!"

"NO IT WAS CREEPY!" Luna whined as she shook her head. "they wanted us to pair up with them and we told them no."

"One of them gave you chocolates, their ways may be odd, but they were still very sweet." Cadance said.

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at the thought. "Awww! they must have been so adorable."

Cadance nodded. "they were. it's true the town's arranged pairing is a bit weird, but it's like a little crush. I couldn't help but to grow used to it."

The Conductor Pony trotted into the cart, he went up to Twilight and smiled. "Appleloosa's the next stop. you should all get some rest before we arrive."

"Thank you, and we will." Twilight said.

"OH!" Nyx chirped as she ran up to the conductor. "the key you gave us really helped. here... "her horn glowed as she returned the hunting knife now turned in the Dagger Luna transfigured. "It kinda got turned into a dagger by Princess Luna... also..." she gave him the bits she took, never finding use for them.

"Wow, that Dagger's beautiful kid. I think it be a better present for my boy then some hunting Knife." the Conductor said as he took the obsidian blade with purple handle and tucked it away. "Keep the bits, you and your mom earned them."

With that the Conductor returned to the front of the car. Twilight trotted up and hugged Nyx.

"okay, so when we get to Ryugu's Citadel what's our next move?" Celestia asked. she was trying to sound like her adult self, but her filly voice shattered the illusion.

"well the rest of the plan was Broadsword, but he asked for he and Nightquill to be left alone tonight." Rainbow said. "Can't those guys do that another time?"

"Do what?" Nyx asked before Twilight patted her head.

"I'll explain when your older." Twilight said chuckling nervously while glaring daggers at Rainbow who grinned sheepishly at her.

"those two have every right to be together tonight, they've gone through a lot as have we." Rarity said as she was polishing her helmet. "I'd expect everypony else to want the same when they meet their special somepony."

"Well in any case, let's get some rest. we have a big day tomorrow." Twilight said as she layed in her seat with Nyx... and Promptly used the Alicorn filly as a pillow. though Nyx didn't protest.

------

As the morning sun rose, it was followed by the moon in a perpetual solar Eclipse. the train began to slow as it arrived at Appleloosa. the Conductor went to the passenger car.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but we've arrived at Appleloosa. please watch your step as you disembark." the conductor said as he opened the doors.

Broadsword and Nightquill emerged from the rear cart, Nightquill helping him in his Armor.

"Have fun last night?" Rarity asked with a knowing smile.

"hehe that obvious huh?" Nightquill asked as he put his wing blades on.

"Well we're just lucky the train muffled out the sounds." she said as she made her way to the rear car. "how are our guests?" Rarity asked as her horn glowed, removing Chrysalis' Gag.

"Just untie me, Unicorn." Chrysalis demanded.

"Are you sure? it be a shame to ruin Nightquill's Rope work." Rarity teased as she carefully untied the Changeling queen, keeping an eye on her. "there. I'm sure you can untie your little friends."

"I am more then capable." Chrysalis said as her horn glowed sickly green and untied the two Changelings.

"I recommend taking up some form of disguise. unless you wish to be attacked on sight. the Appleloosans are more then territorial." Applejack said as she joined by Rarity's side.

Chrysalis looked to her underlings and thought for a moment. she then grinned as she shape shifted to look like Applebloom. "Is this fitting enough a disguise for you?" Chrysalis said in Applebloom's voice. though she couldn't pull off the accent too well.

Applejack snorted and glared at Chrysalis. "it'll do for now."

the two drones transformed into Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"Aww I wanted to be the Unicorn." the Scootaloo Changeling said.

"I don't care which one you wanted to be!" Applebloom Chrysalis yelled. "this is just temporary, once we leave the town we'll return to our---" and with that the disguise started to flicker showing her true self. "what the? that's never happened before."

"What's happening?" Rarity asked, the others came in and saw the three disguise Changelings disguises flicker several more times before finally holding.

"Queen Ryugu's draining of Equestria's Life force is the strongest here since we're closest to ground zero." Broadsword explained. "the drain does more then weaken and kill flora and fauna. it also has an effect on ponies and anything else that uses Magic."

as such, Rarity and Twilight tried to their magic, only for it to flicker and cut out.

"Oh dear, that may be a problem." Rarity said as she tried again, but started to feel her magic drain.

"get in your armor. it's enchantments will protect you." Broadsword said as he put on his gauntlets.

"what about us?" Applebloom Chrysalis asked, her disguise failing completely revealing the large changeling's true form.

the drone changelings followed suit, their disguises failing before them before they collapsed.

"Something's wrong with my changelings." Chrysalis said but began to weaken as well. "and me.... I feel... weak..."

Nyx Galloped in with the boots she and Twilight had when Equestria was covered in Ice, the Changeling Queen grabbed and put them on as quickly as she could, even putting them on her changelings as the enchantment took effect.

"Are you two alright?" Chrysalis asked as her drones got up.

"Yes, that was very weird." one drone said.

Broadsword looked outside, everything was dead and the train began to turn grey as well. "it's what I figured, the entire town is drained. Everypony's in a state of hibernation if we don't stop Ryugu soon, everypony will become too weak to eat and drink. they'll die of starvation."

Everypony and Changeling's looked at Broadsword in horror. they had no idea Life Force had an effect on Ponies and other creatures magic, and the fact that it drains them to the point of starvation scared Chrysalis to the core.

"Then we need to get going now. and stop this menace once and for all!" Celestia said, sounding more like her older self, she had the armor she gave to Twilight on before leaving Ponyville, she asked High Tech to make a new set for Twilight, as she helped Luna in hers.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Twilight asked the worry in her voice was strong. "you have no magical abilities. you could easily----

"Young Lady, are you saying we're defenseless? my sister and I won't sit idly by and let this monster continue to destroy our beautiful Kingdom." Celestia said with a stomp as she took the silver sword in her mouth.

Luna however when trying to put the helmet on fell over. "BWAH!" she then flailed her little armored hooves as the helmet covered her eyes. "WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS!?"

Fluttershy flew up and helped the filly moon princess to her hooves and straightened her helmet right. "there we are, your Majesty."

"thank you!" Luna chirped.

"Don't you dare think your going without help. Cadance can you please follow them?" Rarity asked. "I admire their tenacity but they could still get hurt."

"I've already made the choice of going with you." Cadance said wearing her crystal armor.

"Good, then let's get going!" Twilight said as she stepped hoof out the train car. "let's bring an end to this once and for all!"

The ponies and three changelings disembarked the train as they made their way through the town they saw Everypony was gray but barely alive. Fluttershy and Applejack helped as many as they could by feeding them. but they were all too weak to even eat.

"It's no use. we need to stop it at the source." Nyx said looking at the glint of the spire over the mountains.

"I'm ready to fight by your side, Crusader." Broadsword said as he followed Nyx.

Citadel

The Ponies and three changelings made their way through the mountains to the dirt path through the badlands, but no matter how far they were they could see Queen Ryugu's massive Citadel tower, standing in defiance against them like a bully would against a smaller foal.

"I-It's huge...." Nyx said as she looked up at it. "Do you think my helmet is there?"

"It would be, yes." Broadsword answered. "Ryugu would keep it in the vault. with the rest of her treasure."

"TREASURE!?" Rarity piped. "Nopony said there be treasure involved! Oh tell me, what would this treasure be?"

Broadsword thought back. "hmm there was gold ofcourse. but Princess Aurora also kept the rarest of Jewels. there were even some ancient Magical Trinkets. one of which was the Scepter of Bahue-neigh."

"OOOH I bet they must be beautiful!" Rarity began to giggle at the thought.

Applejack chuckled. "Focus Rarity. we got a job to do."

"But of course!" Rarity replied as though offended at the thought she wasn't focusing.

"Besides, those Magic Relics belong in a museum." Twilight stated matter of factly.

"then they'll be sent to the Royal Vault in Canterlot." Celestia also Stated. "if they are powerful then they could be Dangerous too."

"We only know of the Magic Relics that we currently Have. I wasn't aware there were more." Luna said as she thought back. "We'll have to ensure the treasury is secured after this."

"But, it would be such a waist for them to go from one vault to another. surely you can allow 'Somepony' to at least have a few?" Rarity asked, doing her best sad puppy expression.

The princess fillies however weren't having it. "Once we'vedetermined their worth and if whether or not they pose a danger then we'll see." Celestia said but smiled. "But I'll see if maybe we can send a few to you and your friends as payment."

"But how do we know we're even going to win?" Fluttershy said softly.

"WHAT!?" Rainbow looked down at Fluttershy as she shrank back. "Are you telling us we might loose!? I NEVER LIKED THE IDEA OF LOSING AND I'M NOT GOING TO START NOW!"

"Rainbow Dash, Please calm yourself!" Rarity said. "But we should take heed in what Fluttershy says."

"And she is correct in voicing those worries." Broadsword stated. "A warrior must consider both chances of winning and loosing."

"So what, we just Expect ourselves to loose?" Rainbow asked growing annoyed.

"A warrior lives in the moment. don't focus on the outcome. focus on your actions." Broadsword explained. "you must be like a tree while a storm wind blows against you. a tree doesn't expect itself to withstand the force of the wind. instead it focuses on keeping its roots grounded. and that is what we must do."

"I think I understand." Rainbow said as she continued trotting.

".....I'm sorry but I didn't get any of that." one of the Changeling Drones said.

"so wheres this big danger we need yer help with, Chrysalis?" Applejack asked as she looked around.

It's that moment the ground began to shake as a large Stag Beetle rose from the ground. Fluttershy screamed as it roared and opened it's maw, out if its mouth came a yellow fluid that caught the desert floor on fire.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" Twilight yelled as she grabbed Nyx and pulled her away.

"Why this is my pet ofcourse." Chrysalis said as she approached it. "the Leviathan is the Changeling Hive's protector. I raised him since he was just a pupae."

"and you couldn't have told us about it earlier!?" Cadance said as she watched Chrysalis pet the giant beetle.

"Well if I had I'd worry you kill it. and I wasn't going to let you squash my pet. Besides. Leviathan here can be our ticket to Ryugu's Citadel." Chrysalis said as she spoke in an insectoid voice.

The Leviathan trilled as he lowered himself extending one of his legs as stairs.

"I have fullfilled my end of the bargain, I have no intention on fighting this Queen Ryugu with such few forces to spare. So your on your own." Chysalis said as she began to fly. "Leviathan here will escort you to the tower there he will drop you off. I on the other hoof will be going to the griffin empire to start a new Hive."

"Just like a bug to go scuttlin away when the real fighting starts!" Applejack snapped.

the two changeling drones took flight but one stayed for a moment and waved.

"Bye! nice meeting you ponies!" the changeling said as he continued to follow his queen.

"I like Him!" Pinkie said as she waved back at the friendly CHangeling. "I think I'll name him Jim!"

Everypony just stared at the pink pony as she finished waiting and bounced on the giant beetle's back. the others followed on Leviathan's back as he turned and opened the shell on his back as a set of wings extended and he began to take to the air.

"So why ya reckon the Changeling Queen got the hay out of dodge?" Applejack asked.

"Changelings have a Hive Mind. if you remember when they invaded Canterlot they prefer to swarm their opponents." Cadance said as she rubbed her chin.

"Kinda like Ants!" Nyx chirped. "Maybe Chrysalis doesn't want to risk what remains of her hive being destroyed?"

Twilight nodded. "Makes since. Changelings would prefer the odds in their favor."

Leviathan flew over the Badlands and closer to the tower, it's spire seems endless as they approached, due to it's size many ponies wondered if they're getting closer or if the tower was getting closer.

"UGH! Are we there now or not!?" Nyx cried in annoyance. she was at her wits end and beginning to grow impatient. "HOW BIG DOES SHE NEED TO MAKE THAT STUPID TOWER!?"

"Calm down, Nyx." Twilight said as she rubbed her daughter's back to calm her. "to he honest, I'm not too excited in getting in this fight."

"And the reason why it's so big is because Ryugu needs more space for when she grows large after consuming so much of Equestria's Life Force." Broadsword said as he ran a wet stone along the blade of his sword. "so for now, clear your mind and prepare your mind for the battle to come."

Nightquill was keeping an eye on the skies. "Something's wrong. you'd think we'd be spotted by now, where's the welcoming committee?"

Pinkie looked over the Pegasus shoulder with her hoof over her eyes as she looked around. "Hmmmm...." the pink pony dug into her mane and pulled out several odds and ends of things from her mane, including but not limited to.

A Tennis Racket, a crowbar, several pastries, which Luna and Celestia tried to catch. a Cylinder with the letters TCRI written on it, an Energon Cube, fuzzy Dice, a Platinum poker chip, all of which she threw over her shoulder. and finally a pair of Binoculars which she held up to her eyes.

"how does she keep so much stuff in that mane?" Broadsword asked, Twilight just giggled.

"Pinkie, your so random!" Rainbow giggled dodging the Canister of glowing green goo.

"Well I don't see anypony. OH! unless you count a really big dragon in black armor that looks REALLY angry!?" Pinkie said pointing at the dragon that was now in visual distance.

"Forget the Binoculars, Pinkie!" Twilight said as she dodged the dragon's fireball. "WE'RE LIVING IT LIVE!"

Leviathan dodged the Fireballs as he did a barrel Roll, promptly letting the ponies fall to the ground as he turned and flew away from the dragon, not wanting to become a new equestrian sensation, Roasted Beetle.

Cadance, Rainbow Dash, and Nightquill acted fast, swooping in to catch the non fliers of the group as Cadance used her magic to slow the fall of any she couldn't catch, Celestia and Luna however were still capable fliers and floated down gracefully, although Luna tripped on her landing and fell face first in a pile of dirt with a bleat.

"is everypony okay?" Nyx asked, she wasn't the best flier but she could glide just fine.

"We're alright." Twilight said as she lowered herself down to the ground, using her own magic to levitate her and Rarity.

Broadsword however slammed hard on the ground, landing on his hooves leaving a crater, instead of slowing his decent he used his magic to power slam the ground.

"Wow, that's a cool trick!" Rainbow said as she lowered Rarity and Pinkie Pie to the ground.

Cadance lowered Applejack and Fluttershy, the yellow Pegasus had completely forgot she had her own set of wings and grinned sheepishly.

"Aww, and here I was wanting to catch you." Nightquill said as he landed beside Broadsword.

"I've fallen from great heights before. I just use my magic to strengthen my legs, makes for a good way to knock opponents off their hooves." Broadsword said as he looked around.

Nyx glided down beside Twilight and hugged her. Twilight hugged back and looked up as the dragon flew overhead.

"there's something familiar about that dragon." Twilight said as she watched it land before them.

"Ah I see my good looks still carry over." the dragon said as he looked down on them.

Twilight however recognized the voice. "ITS YOU!" She held Nyx behind her as she stomped her hoof, levitating out her sword. "YOUR NOT TAKING MY NYX!"

The dragon laughed. "I see you do recognize me now. My queen gave me a promotion to Praetorian now!"

"Warblade..." Broadsword said more to himself. "Snap out of it, Warblade! Don't you see what Queen Ryugu is doing to Equestria!? We swore an oath to serve and Protect this land. YOU TRAINED ME TO UPHOLD THAT OATH!"

"I only see my queen spreading her beauty throughout the Kingdom. perhaps if you opened your eyes you'd see it too!" Warblade argued.

Nyx however began to think back to the Children of the Night. it wasn't too far different a situation. Queen ryugu had infected her servants with a spell that made them view her as a beautiful goddess that was spreading her beauty throughout all of Equestria.

"I have an idea." Nyx said as she looked up to Twilight. "Use the Elements of Harmony. it may help him see the truth!"

"AH the little Crusader, I see you've shrunk since we met last." Warblade said as he grabbed Nyx with the Pincer on his tail, holding her up and grinning with large sharp teeth. "I'm sure my queen will reward me more if I brought you to her? Perhaps I'll even be granted her hoof?"

"BLECH!? Even as a dragon you could do better!" Rarity said. "Now put that filly down this instant!"

"Twilight, The Elements trust me!" Nyx said as she squirmed in the pincers grip screaming as he began to squeeze. "AAAH! DO IT!"

"Your my prize now, Little Crusader!" Warblade cackled as he extended his wings.

Twilight saw the dragon begin to lift up into the air, her face turned to determination as she trotted to the front. "Formation Girls!"

Twilight's friends grinned and nodded to each other, they formed a circle and began to concentrate, their Elements of harmony beginning to glow as Twilight's crown followed.

Warblade looked back, the light was bright as he tried to shield his eyes.

"What are you doing!? STOP NOW!"

The Black Armored dragon began to dive bomb towards Twilight and her friends, his mouth opening and glowing as he charged a new fireball.

"RAAAGH!!!"

But just as he was about to fire Twilight smiled as she opened her glowing eyes, from the small group came a stream of rainbow light that caught Warblade in mid flight, the dragon roared in pain as he was ingulfed, at the same time he Released Nyx from his grip, causing the filly to fall.

"I GOTCH!" Nightquill said as he flew up and caught the black filly.

Warblade roared as a blinding flash of light glowed from him. the ball of light lowered to the ground as Twilight and her friends finally lowered to the ground as well, they opened their eyes and looked to each other.

"Wow, that felt good!" Pinkie said as she felt her armor glow from her Element of Harmony.

"Golly, look at the ground!" Applejack said.

As Everypony looked below their hooves, a circle of living green grass grew as color was returned to the ground. but it was the sound of flapping wings did everypony turned to look before them.

Landing on his clawed feet was Warblade. he was still a dragon but was now wearing gold armor with purple gems. his scales were now light grey with a Blue mane.

"I figured the Elements of Harmony would restore him to a Pony, Nyx said as she looked up at him.

"I've been transfigured by Queen Ryugu, this form is now perminant.... but...." Warblade held his head with his clawed hand. "I see now.... I see what is happening to Equestria...." He looked down at Broadsword. "Broadsword... Can you ever forgive me? Please. not just helping Ryugu.... what I said... you were always a good student. Superior even!"

"There is nothing to forgive, Warblade. we just ask you help us now." Broadsword said with a smile. "did you give Queen Ryugu the Helmet?"

Warblade looked down as he nodded solemnly. "I did. I'm sorry. But I will help you now. I have much to atone for."

Nyx approached the dragon and smiled. "that's how we live. we are shaped by the mistakes we make. but it's how we work to fix them that truely matters."

Warblade smiled and nodded. "I see the armor chose well."

"So... what's it like being a dragon?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked up at him.

"Couldn't you just ask spike?" Twilight said giving Rainbow Dash a raised brow.

"Yeah but he's been a dragon all his life. not much to compare." Rainbow answered.

"Hmm, that sounds logical." Twilight said.

"It's kinda odd actually." Warblade said as he gave his wings a flap. "Still I think I look good."

"Well your a very handsome dragon." Rarity said complimenting Warblade.

Twilight stepped forward looking at the Tower.

"whatcha got brewin in that noggin of yours, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

Twilight turned with a smile, she gathered everypony and dragon in a circle and began to share her plan.

------

As they approached the tower, the soldiers wasted no time in attacking. Warblade took to the sky as he blasted his own soldiers with a fireball.

"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK YOUR COMMANDER!" The dragon bellowed as he hovered above them.

"We're sorry, sir. but you look different from when you left. and there was a great light..." One of the soldiers said as he layed his weapons down.

"Of Course I look different!" Warblade replied harshly. "I Have just absorbed the life force from the Crusader of Harmony!" he said holding Nyx's limp body in his talons.

The soldiers then looked to the group of ponies. "what about them?" a mare asked.

"they are our prisoners!" Queen Ryugu's voice bellowed from the tower, the illusion of two green eyes peered down upon them. "I see you fail to impress me, Warblade. But You've overstep your grounds by draining the Crusader of her life force!"

Warblade landed and bowed. "Please forgive me, your Majesty, but even without the Helmet the Crusader was quite powerful."

Ryugu went silent to consider this. "Hmmm, I can see that now."

"If it pleases you, I have left the filly alive so you may punish her further." Warblade said as he held up Nyx squeezing her to make her moan.

"Excelent! if only my other troops were as considerate as you." Ryugu said.

it's then the doors swung open on their own. the moat bridge lowering down as fire pots lit up the steps.

"Welcome Home Home, my Faithful commander. and come claim your reward." Ryugu said as the illusion disappeared.

Warblade turned to his pony prisoners, his horn glowed as he placed them in chains and began to force them to follow him.

"These chains hurt my legs." Celestia said trying to trot faster then her little hooves could allow.

"Shh!" Cadance shushed the filly princess. "We're prisoners remember."

"I don't understand this plan of yours Twilight." Rarity said as she looked at the interior of the tower. "This place can use a mares touch.... and a serious redecoration.... some silk drapes could really brighten this place up...."

"Nyx, are you okay?" Twilight whispered as she looked up to her in Warblade's pincer tail.

Nyx opened one eye and smiled, she was a better actoress then the others.

Warblade opened the throne room doors as he pulled the ponies along on the magical chain. sitting on her throne surrounded by green fire sat Queen Ryugu, she grinned as she toon in the sight.

"BOW TO YOUR QUEEN!" A guard ordered as he struck each pony in the back of the knees causing them to fall over.

"AAH!" Luna cried and sobbed as she fell.

"LEAVE HER ALO---AAH!" Celestia followed suit as she too was struck behind the knees.

"Ah so lovely you accepted your true queen." Ryugu said as she leaned to view. the fires died down as she stepped forward.

Everypony braced the floor as each of Ryugu's steps shook the Throne room. Twilight looked up only to be grabbed by the horn and her head forced back down.

"Do Not Look upon the queen unless addressed!" the guard said.

"Enough! Leave us." Ryugu ordered.

"Yes my queen!" and with that Ryugu's guards bowed and left the throne room.

Ryugu grinned at her prisoners and approached Warblade. "I am very pleased. You brought the knights of Harmony as well as the Usurpers to me Alive. I would have been just as pleased if you killed them. but bringing them in alive is even better, would you like to know why?"

"Of course, my mistress." Warblade bowed.

"it means I can deal with these bothersome insects myself. And I can finally put an end to the Knights of harmony! the very order that stood against me long ago. and now I shall have my revenge!" Ryugu said as she glared down at Broadsword. "Not looking so defiant now, are you, Sword Master broadsword!"

Broadsword looked up and glared at Ryugu. "You do not frighten me, Aurora."

Ryugu growled. "THat name has no meaning to me." she turned her gaze to Twilight, Cadance, and Celestia and Luna. "Ah the Usurpers, and the little Unicorn. I will decide your fate and the fate of your little Knights of Friendship once I deal with...." her gaze turned to Little Nyx, still unconscious. "The little Crusader. Shame she won't be awake as I drain every last drop of life force from her tiny body!"

Ryugu turned and moved towards Warblade. "And now for your reward." Ryugu said as she took his claw. "You have always had my eye, even before I realized my true purpose. I now would like to join me as Prince of Equestria, together we'll rule this land together!"

Warblade smiled then opened his Pincer. "I'm afraid I must refuse, My Former Queen!"

"WHAT!?" Ryugu balked and turned as she saw the chains disappear from everypony's legs. "YOU BETRAYED ME!"

"NO YOU BETRAYED EQUESTRIA!" Warblade bellowed as he blasted Ryugu with his fire.

The dark queen gave out a whinny roar and blasted Warblade with her own green mist. The dragon felt his body grow weak as she continued to blast him, however she stopped when she saw his tail pincer was open and a small black filly was missing.

"What!? Where did the filly go!?"

"I'm afraid you have other things to worry about, Ryugu!" Twilight growled as her horn charged.

Ryugu grinned and kicked Warblade's now withered form across the floor, everypony shielded their eyes from the view, the green mist did more then burn, it completely drained Warblade of his life force. if he wasn't still breathing one would think he was dead. granted he looked like a carcass.

"Oh I'll be happy to deal with you, this will only make this more enjoyable!" Ryugu said as she charged her green mist and fired at the Knights of Friendship, Broadsword and Nightquill began their attack, Broadsword drawing his sword, mixing magical charged bolts with a slash of his sword as Nightquill proceeded to use the same hit and run tactics used by the Hollow Shade Pegasus Hunters.

Twilight and her friends, the Knights of Friendship followed up the attack, charging and firing magic bolts, PInkie and Applejack used the crystal shard rope to wrap around the giant alicorn's legs, Applejack gave a wink and pulled hard, causing the colossal Equine to fall to her side.

"AAH YOU'LL SUFFER FOR THAT!" Ryugu bellowed, her horn glowed as she fired a beam of magical energy at the ponies, but their small size made them faster.

Celestia and Luna galloped on their tiny hooves up ontop of Ryugu, Celestia took her blade and struck hard on Ryugu's horn, Luna doing this as well causing another crack to form. but not one as big or crippling as before.

"Keep it up, we've got her!"

Ryugu suddenly whipped out her tail and snapped the crystal rope, rolling to her hooves as she rose up, growling as her horn regenerated.

"You were saying?" Rainbow said as she looked up.

"RAAAAAAH!" Ryugu roared and began to charge, stomping and blasting at the smaller ponies, her large size causing the throne room start to fall apart.

As he flew overhead, a chunk of the throne room cealing fell and landed on Nightquill, causing him to crash.

"NIGHTQUILL!" Broadsword charged his horn and fired at Ryugu before galloping to his fallen Pegasus.

NIghtquill lay buried under debres of stone, trying to pull himself free.

"Broadsword, Help. I'm stuck, the rocks got my rear hooves!" Nightquill cried as he tried to free himself.

Ryugu saw this and grinned. "Awww look, the poor little dove has gotten trapped. It be only merciful of me to..." She trotted over Nightquill and raised her hoof. "END IT'S SUFFERING!"

"NOOO!" Broadsword cried as Ryugu began to lower her hoof down on Nightquill.

it was like slow motion, Ryugu's hoof began to press down on Nightquill, slowly starting to crush the pegasus, her grin grew bigger as Broadsword was stuck in slow motion. no matter how fast he galloped, Nightquill screamed as he began to feel bones crunch and joints pop out of place.

It truely is the end.

Nyx The Crusader of Harmony Arise!

Warblade's tail Pincer opened, releasing Nyx. she opened her wings and glided down to the ground and quickly snuck out of the throne room. She stayed low and in the shadows, her armor changing from silver blue to all black as it inacted a kind of sneak mode.

Nyx made her way down the vast halls, watching the guards move about, she almost got caught several times. but Nyx was on a mission and needed to get to the treasury, Broadsword who served in the castle before told her were to find it and made haste to the upper chamber in the tower. there she saw two guards standing guard. there was no way she could sneak in. she couldn't stand around and wait either as the sound of a fight in the throne room could be heard. the guards however didn't seem to interested in helping their queen, though even Nyx knew Ryugu was more then capable of fighting her friends.... she also knew without her help they'll loose.

Nyx was running out of time and needed to get inside. she noticed a maid nearby, she swept the floors before sighing and trotting off to have lunch, she left her uniform on the table. Nyx snuck up to the table and looked at the Maid's outfit. even a head band to hide her eyes.

Moments later the guards turned and looked at a little filly maid pushing a mop and bucket. she was black and kept her head down as she worked.

"Excuse me." Nyx said, faking an exotic accent. "Her eminence ordered me to clean the royal vault."

The guards looked to each other then crossed their wings denying entry.

"I'm sorry but nopony is allowed in the treasury. Per the queens orders." one guard said.

"Hey, I don't remember seeing you working here before?" the other said approaching her.

"Uh..." Nyx fumbled. "It's a large tower. Do you not meet ponies for the first time when working here since we awoke?"

The Pegasus guard thought on this. "That's true. I remember meeting that cute pegausus down in the royal pantry."

"I thought you said she was a Unicorn?" The other guard said.

Nyx began to loose her patience, her friends needed her and was running out of time.

"Well they're all cute." the guard said rubbing his chin.

"Please, I've been given an order. you don't wish to anger the queen would you? especially right now as she's dealing with those prisoners." Nyx said keeping her eyes down.

The guards heard the roar from the throne room and retracted their wings. one of them taking out a key and opening it.

"make it quick." the guard said as he and his partner left.

After the guards were out of visual and earshot range, Nyx smiled and took the maid outift off, galloped inside and chuckled. she turned and saw the gold, jewels, and magical artifacts horded in the large chamber. several of the magical items rested on pedestals, several caught Nyx's Eye including a crown made of dragon claws with a red gem in the center.

as Nyx continued deeper in the treasury she ran her hoof through the piles of gold and jewles. necklaces, bracelets, circlets, and even a gem studded corset layed in piles. Nyx continued to the doomed room, the room lit up in the reflection of the treasure, Nyx had to shield her eyes with her wing to see, but one glisten of light caught her eye as she looked to the center of the room.

Sitting inside a magical barrier was the Helmet, the gems on it's brow glowed as Nyx's armor returned to it's silver blue hue. Nyx moved up to it but froze as she saw the magical barrier around it shimmer.

"Hmmm...." Nyx took a gold coin and threw it at the barrier, she looked in horror as the barrier caught the coin and fried it melting it in a glowing pile of goo. and when she tried to use her magic to get the helmet, her attempt was rewarded by a shock as her magic discharged and backfired on her, throwing her off her hooves into a pile of gold.

as she emerged, a silver tiara sat on her head as she spat out a gold coin. she huffed and glared at the magic barrier as it defied the filly of her prize. She took out her sword and began to concentrate.

"Come on, I need your help, knights. my friends my Family is in danger, but the helmet is trapped in this barrier. please. help me get it out." Nyx said trying to commune with the Knights of Harmony's spirits.

Before her, the spirits of three knights stood before her, two mares and a stallion.

"We cannot directly act on your behalf, Nyx." Celtia said.

"the power you need is within you." Rockshatter said as she looked to the helmet.

Stonehoof smiled and trotted up to Nyx. "look within yourself. Broadsword was correct in saying the armor isn't powerful when complete. but it's not powerless. neither are you."

Nyx looked up at them then down at herself. "But, I have no power.... Princess Luna toom away the powers I had and---

"You have your Own power, little one." Celtia said. "Look within yourself and draw upon the love you have for your family and friends. use that to draw your magic on."

Rockshatter smiled and nodded. "and use your own magic to power the armor. the helmet is just a shiny dome. it's the light in your heart that truely powers it."

Nyx blinked. she was really confused until she looked at her reflection in the sword. "but I'm so little...."

"Size isn't important, Nyx." Stonehoof said as he lead Nyx to the helmet resting on the pedestal. "remember when you first used the sword?"

Nyx looked down to the sword again, remembering when she used the sword of Wisdom to free the minds of the Pegasus Hunters of Hollow shades. then the entire town. "I wanted to help everypony. I wanted them to see what they were doing was wrong...."

"exactly. it was your power that activated the sword. not the sword's magic itself. The crusader doesn't draw upon the magic of the armor, Nyx." Stonehoof stated.

"you must draw upon the power within yourself. the Armor and Sword are just the tools to help you." Rockshatter said.

Nyx watched as the three Knights disappeared. "Use the power within yourself." Celtia said lastly.

Nyx looked up at the Helmet, the magic barrier around it shimmered once more as though taunting her, But Nyx grew determined. she held up the sword in her hooves and began to concentrate, her horn glowed bright as she levitated the sword. drawing upon the magic within herself, in her mind she saw Twilight, Celestia, and Luna, then Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash. she saw Fluttershy, then she saw her new friends, Broadsword and Nightquill. she heard them fighting and in pain and wanted to help them. feeding her magic in the sword.

when Nyx opened her eyes she saw the armor around her was glowing as she grew to adult size again, without the helmet on. her horn glowed as she took the sword from her hooves and levitated it high. the sword glowed brighter then the gold in the chamber before she brought the sword down, slashing through the barrier and dispelling it. She took the helmet and held it under her wing as she turned.

"Now it's time to end this." Nyx said, her voice now deep and regal like a full grown mare.

Nyx's horn glowed as she extended her wings, and in one flap of her large wings she flew down the halls faster then any pegasus in Equestria, faster then Rainbow Dash or any that would boast faster.

------

Queen Ryugu grinned as she lowered her hoof down slowly as she began to crush Nightquill, bone began to crack and joints popped out of their sockets as the Pegasus screamed in Agony, Broadsword galloped as fast as he could but he knew no matter how fast he was, he'd be too late. he saw the eyes of the pony he loved begin to lose their light under the hoof of the dark queen.

"NOOO!" Broadsword cried as he tried to go faster a piece of the ceiling fell and dropped on his back, knocking him to the ground. "NIGHTQUILL!"

"Say goodbye, Insect!" Ryugu said as she drew her hoof lower, in a mere second it would be over.

But that second was when a blur of silver blue and purple slashed Ryugu's Foreleg, throwing the giant Alicorn off the pegasus, knocking her off balance as she fell to the ground by the sudden force.

Broadsword looked up at the glowing light as two black wings shot out from the sides and pushed down as the ball of light exploded revealing Nyx Clad in the Armor, fully grown, but the Helmet wasn't on, it was being held under her right foreleg as the sword was being levitated by her magic.

Twilight looked up at Nyx, she was a fully grown, but she felt mature. like when she was given magic from the Everfree Forest to mature into Nightmare Moon, but the energy Nyx was emitting was pure. she couldn't help but smile and shed a tear as her daughter flew above them staring down at Ryugu as she did the many monsters that attacked Ponyville.

"Wow.... She looks beautiful...." Pinkie said, too captivated by Nyx's aura.

"She's absolutely radiant!" Rarity said.

at the same time Celestia's and Luna's bodies began to glow as they felt Nyx's aura, they felt themselves grow to full adults again, their armor forming around them as their magic returned.

"Sister..." Luna said in her adult voice as she returned to full power. "it feels amazing."

Celestia nodded, tears streaming down her cheaks. "Yes Luna. it feels so warm."

Their manes began to flow once more as they turned their attention on Queen Ryugu. but overhead, the ceiling began to crack as it fell, about to fall and bury Nyx and Nightquill Alive.

"NYX!" Twilight yelled.

"Get outta the way!" Applejack yelled.

"ABOVE YOU!" Fluttershy shouted.

Nyx however didn't move as her horn glowed, she stopped the stone debris in mid fall and tossed them aside, lifting the stones off Nightquill and Broadsword as well. Broadsword said nothing as he scrambled towards Nightquill and held his Pegasus lover in his forelegs.

"Hey...." Nightquill only said as he was hugged tightly by Broadsword. "OW!"

"Sorry!" Broadsword said.

"Take him and leave." Nyx ordered.

Broadsword and Nightquill looked up at her. "But---

"Don't question me, I said LEAVE!" Nyx ordered.

"Yes, M'lady!" Broadsword said as he took Nightquill in his magical hold and began to half gallop half limp out of the throne room.

Queen Ryugu got up and watched the two stallions escaping. "Your not going Anywhere!" She charged her horn and fired a bolt of magic at the two.

That bolt however was blocked by a silver blur as it struck Nyx's chest, being absorbed charging the sword more. Ryugu glared down at the Black Alicorn and bared her teeth.

"You.... you can't be this powerful.... your just a filly." Ryugu said as she began to charge her green mist breath again. "No matter. I'll end you just the same!"

Queen Ryugu unleashed her green flame mist from her mouth, the flame engulfed Nyx entirely.

"NYX! GET OUT OF THERE!" Twilight yelled.

Nyx however stood her ground, raising the sword and with a single swing of the blade blew the flame back at Ryugu, the fire burned the giant Alicorn, causing her to scream as she began to shrink, the life force she ate being released as the Mist hit her.

"while I was queen for a few weeks, your reign will end after two days!" Nyx yelled. "YOUR RULE OF EQUESTRIA ENDS NOW!"

Celestia and Luna flew by Nyx's side. their horns glowing as they formed their magical swords.

"Is that so? I'd gladly like to be the judge of that!" Ryugu bellowed as she charged, she was smaller but still quite large.

Twilight and her friends watched as Nyx, Luna, and Celestia attacked Ryugu, Celestia and Luna both slashed and fired magic energy beams at Ryugu, the giant Alicorn roared in pain as she tried to swat the three Alicorns away, Nyx went after Ryugu's legs, stabbing and slicing at them causing the giant Alicorn to fall to her knees.

as they watched, Pinkie ate popcorn and shared with Cadance, the Pink Alicorn could only watch in amazement as the giant was brought to her knees.

"ENOUGH!" Ryugu roared as she reared and with a swipe of her tail knocked Celestia off her flight patch, causing her to crash into Luna. the two tumbled and rolled across the Throne room floor. the magic aura around them fading as they returned to little fillies.

Cadance gasped and galloped to their sides, helping them up. "are you okay?"

"Yes." Celestia said. "We ran out of energy."

"Nyx is on her own now." Luna said holding her wing.

"NO! she isn't." Twilight announced as she and her friends formed a line.

"it ends here and Now, Ryugu!" Nyx said, taking her helmet and placing it on her head. the eye slits glowed as she raised her sword.

Ryugu looked down and saw Twilight and her friends step closer, their elements of Harmony glowing brighter. she realized what was going to happen and began to finally show fear.

"No. You can't!" Ryugu began to plead.

"Long ago, I've done terrible things," Nyx began. "but I accepted my fate and was judged accordingly. Now, it is I who will pass my judgement onto you!"

Nyx's horn glowed as her sword glowed, and with a final push of her wings, charged Queen Ryugu, bringing down her sword horizontally across, Ryugu bellowed as she felt the blade slice into her, from the wound the life force she devoured escaped, she tried as she grabbed at the life energy, trying to pull it back within herself. But Nyx didn't let up. she swung the sword again slicing Ryugu down the middle of her chest vertically. causing more Life Force to leave her body, the Dark Alicorn shrank to the size of Princess Cadance, roaring in anger and agony as she felt her energy dwindle.

Outside, the land began to return it's colors. Trees and animals were returned to life, Ponies who were effected had their colors returned as well. and any pony still encased in ice finally melted and had their colors return. they went to the first loved one they saw and hugged them tightly, they were indeed aware of what happened around them in their frozen prisons. and now that they were free they began to celebrate.

Queen Ryugu's armor broke away from her body, two bleeding slash marks now visible on her chest.

"No, No... NO!" She growled and glared up at Nyx. "Think you have one have you? Guess again!" she opened her mouth charging another blast of green mist.

Nyx eyes narrowed as she glared down at Ryugu, her movement was so fast that by the time Ryugu realized she already blasted a stream of green mist at Nyx's location. But she was now in front of the dark queen, slashing once more cutting off Ryugu's Horn.

Ryugu screamed in pain, her magic sparking out of the stub of her horn. she stumbled back as she tried to charge another blast Nyx charged, bringing the sword's blade forward impaling the dark queen through the neck.

"HUACK!" Ryugu looked down at the blade in her chest the green glow in her mouth dying as she grabbed the blade with her hooves. the glow in her green eyes flickering out.

Nyx glared down at Ryugu, her turquoise eyes glowing as she pulled the blade out. Ryugu grabbed the wound in her chest, feeling the blade pull out as she fell to her knees. her eyes wide as she realized her days have ended.

Nyx moved away. raising the blade of the sword upwards as she closed her eyes, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy moved forward, passing Nyx as she trotted backwards. their armor and elements of Harmony glowed as they began to rise up in the air, the magic of the elements swirling around them and engulfing them in light.

Ryugu looked up at the rainbow wave charging at her, she had no strength to scream as it engulfed her.

The throne room glowed brighter then the sun before a wave of rainbow energy passed throughout the Citadel, engulfing every guard and staff worker. outside the tower glowed as that same rainbow wave shot out in a ring that expanded over the land. all of Equestria felt the rainbow of magic pulse out. reaching every city and province. when the wave hit the crystal empire, the crystal Heart activated as the crystal ponies felt the energy. sending a wave of energy of it's own.

------

Twilight and her friends awoke one more on the ground, as they got up they looked around, the entire tower was now reformed. it was similar to the Marble and emerald reflective walls of Saddle Tor.

"Everypony sound off." Twilight said as she got up.

Applejack rolled to her hooves and got up shaking herself. "I'm good. feelin  like I had a good night though."

"I'm alright." Fluttershy said as she got up off of Rarity. "Oh my, I'm sorry."

"Oh it's quite alright dear. I'm okay too."

"Oooh. I'm okay, a Biiiit woozy. but I'll be right as rain." Pinkie said as she bounced around as usual.

"Ugh, I got a headache again..." Rainbow said as she rubbed her temples. "Does using these things always cause that?"

"the elements of Harmony must have had to do alot of work." Twilight said as she looked around. "Where are we?"

"You are in my castle tower." a gentle voice said.

Everypony looked over to see a new Alicorn sitting in the throne. the broken black armor of Queen Ryugu layed on the ground by her hooves. Celestia and Luna got up, they were adults again as they should be. however they still lacked their cutie marks.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked. she was cautious now, and ready to use the elements again.

"Please, I do not wish to fight you again..." The Alicorn stepped down from her throne and trotted up to Twilight and her friends, looking down at them. she was bright purple with an a flowing mane like the northern lights in the north pole. her eyes were emerald green. her cutie mark was a crescent moon over a sun.

"Queen Ryugu!" Pinkie said as she took in the sight.

"Oh my... you are absolutely a stunning sight, your highness." Rarity said.

"Please, call me Aurora." she said, looking down solumnly. "it is my true name."

"okay, Princess Aurora." Applejack said. "What happened to ya?"

"Please, just Aurora, I'm no Princess... Your elements of Harmony Purified me and freed me of the evil in my heart. I thank you for your actions, and I must apologize for what I've done." she looked up and Nyx as she approached. she bowed and began to cry. "Please, Forgive me, I.... I'm So sorry! I know I could never fully atone for my actions. but please... please forgive me!"

Nyx looked down at her and her horn glowed, removing her helmet. "When you returned to Equestria, you stripped Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of the Sun and Moon. I demand you return them what you stole from them."

Celestia and Luna approached, they expected their talents returned as they saw Aurora's Cutie Mark. it was practically theirs combined.

Aurora looked at the two princesses and rubbed her hooves together. "I.... I can't.... I mean. it doesn't work that way. the only way I can return them the Sun and Moon is if they stripped me of them like I did to them."

Celestia and Luna looked at each other. "We do not have the magic to do that." Luna said.

"What about when you took my magic?" Nyx asked.

"MY magic, Nyx. it was mine to begin with I only took it back." Luna corrected. "this is far different."

Aurora sighed, but her eyes widened as her ears perked. "But... there is one way." she looked at Nyx. "Use the sword, Kill me. You must destroy me entirely."

"WHAT!?" Nyx balked. the sword clattered on the floor along with the helmet as the request completely caught her off guard, making her drop her magic hold on them. "I....I can't! It be murder!"

"I understand how you feel," Aurora began. "but it is the only way for your Princesses to regain their cutie marks and their full power."

"B-BUT I'M NOT A KILLER!" Nyx argued.

Aurora smiled and hugged Nyx. "don't worry. Nopony will judge you. they will see it as you ending a threat to Equestria."

Nyx stepped back as she held up the sword, she furrowed her brows as she pointed the tip of the blade to Aurora's throat, the point pressing enough to draw some blood. however before she could thrust the blade, Nyx clinched her eyes shut and shook her head. "NO I CAN'T!" Nyx dropped the sword to the ground and sobbed. "I JUST CAN'T!"

Twilight could no longer watch and galloped to Nyx's side. "How can you ask her to do such a thing!? She's fought hard to prove to ponies she isn't a monster, if she kills you nopony will believe she's not Nightmare Moon all over again!"

Aurora sighed. "I am sorry, but it's the only way. once I am dead the sun and moon will be returned to Celestia and Luna. and only the Crusader of Harmony is capable of doing this."

"Well it ain't right!" Applejack yelled. "Yer askin a little filly to commit murder!"

Aurora stomped her hoof. "NO! I am asking her to Destroy a threat to your land!"

"I'm sorry to say this, Princess Celestia, but can't Aurora just be the one to raise the sun and moon?" Fluttershy asked softly. "I mean. you can still be princesses and we'll still love you. but this is just too much, you can't condone this course of action!"

Celestia sighed and finally spoke. "Aurora. You have committed heinous acts against Equestria and it's surrounding provinces. you truly deserve to be punished.... but Despite how you see Nyx now, she is infact only a child. a little filly. I won't say if you deserve it or not. but to ask a child to kill you, it's wrong."

"I am sorry, but it is my wish. I have no place in this world. and it's the only way for me to return you your magic." Aurora stated.

"I will not kill you." Nyx said. tears streaming down her cheeks. "if I do this, I'll be a murderer to the eyes of Equestria. even if you say you deserve it, ponies will know you were purified by the elements of harmony. they'll just see me putting the law in my own hooves."

Broadsword limped in. "Everypony, Nightquill isn't doing well. I----" his words died as he saw Aurora standing before them. "A-Aurora.... your... you've returned to your true self." he then noticed everypony's emotions. "What's going on?"

"This crazy Pony is asking Nyx to kill her!" Rainbow replied.

Broadsword looked at Aurora who looked away from him in shame. he sighed and turned. "Well forget about that now, Nightquill needs our help. he's severely injured..."

in the main hall of the tower, everypony gathered around Nightquill as he layed on the floor. his breathing was labored and places on his chest, legs, and wings were sticking up as the bones had broken and begun to poke out. Broadsword looked down at Nightquill, on the verge of tears.

"I... I can't loose him... I can't loose another...." Broadsword said softly.

Aurora trotted up to him. "I did this to him...." She looked to broadsword. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"CAN. YOU. HELP. HIM!?" Broadsword seethed. "please...."

"Yes, I can."

Aurora looked at Nightquill, her horn glowed as she used the extra power she had to repair the Pegasus' body with her magic, the sounds of bones moving and snapping back in place caused Nightquill to writhe in pain until the last joint popped back in place. She then lowered her horn down as a ball of light went into Nightquill's mouth, the pain in his body subsided as he fell asleep.

"I restored him. I gave him a sedative so he can sleep." She looked up to broadsword and smiled. "Your coltfriend will be all right."

"Wait you knew?" Rarity asked, glancing at Broadsword.

"We used to be very close friends." Broadsword said. he then sighed  and looked up at Aurora. "Are you sure it's the only way?"

"I cannot release the magic willingly," Aurora explained. "when I took Celestia and Luna's power and control of the sun and moon I wove their magic in with my soul. once I am killed, they will have their power returned."

Broadsword sighed."are you sure this is what you want?"

Aurora nodded. "Yes. I am ready to pass on."

"But why does it have to be Nyx?" Luna asked.

Broadsword looked to Princess Luna. "the dark secrete of the Crusader Armor, it wasn't just to fight Queen Ryugu. it contained the power to kill her as well. at the time the life force she devoured could only be released by destroying her. but now that she has Celestia and Luna's magic.... it's the only way to release them."

Nyx went quite for a moment and sighed. "All right.... I'll do it!"

Aurora smiled. "if it's all right I wsih to speak one more thing."

Nyx nodded as she put her helmet on and took the sword. she stepped back into the throne room.

"Broadsword, I wish to thank you for what you did. and I am sorry my actions took those you cared deeply for away." Aurora said as she pulled the unicorn Knight close. "I always knew you had a preference for stallions, but I always did have feelings for you. we grew up together afterall."

"Wait you did?" Twilight asked.

Broadsword nodded. "when my parents died, Warblade adopted me and raised me to be a Knight of Equestria. at the time Aurora and I were very young and we grew up together to be close friends.... but I didn't really see her any other way then that."

Aurora giggled. "Yes but I am glad to see you've met new friends. as well as found true love. I wish you two a long and happy life together. I do have one final royal order for you. Do not miss my absence."

"A-Aurora?" Broadsword's ears wilted as he looked up at her.

"do not be sad that I am gone. instead, be happy to know I am now free. tell my story to all. tell it truthfully. the good and Bad. no matter how much it hurts. and let me be judged as such." Aurora said as she hugged Broadsword. "But do not waste the time you have on me. use it to be with your Fallen Dove here."

Broadsword looked to Nightquill sleeping on the floor, a smile formed on his face as he nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I will."

Aurora looked to Twilight and her friends. "I thank you for freeing me. I am sorry my time with you will be so short. but I wish to commend you for your actions. you fought valiantly in the face of danger, risking your own lives to save this kingdom and it's neighboring provinces. I wish you all the best of luck in life."

"It was a pleasure to meet the true you, Aurora." Applejack said lowing her hat. "Just wish it ended better then this."

"Yeah, I would have had a party set up for you and everything." Pinkie said.

Aurora giggled. "You have that party then. let it be the best one yet!"

Pinkie nodded. "you bet I will."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Darling?" Rarity asked, her voice breaking a bit.

Aurora nodded. "I am. but thank you for voicing your concerns." she looked to Twilight and smiled. "Do not worry about your daughter, deep down she knows this is the right thing to do. even if the way to do it will hurt her."

"I know, but.... she's fought so hard to prove to everypony she's not a bad pony. what is everypony going to think when they hear she killed a princess?" Twilight argued.

"They will learn the truth either way, Twilight." Aurora said as she rested a hoof on her shoulder. "but it is up to Nyx if she wants to be viewed as a killer. I've seen Nyx's soul. and it is so very warm and kind. if nopony can see that then they are blind. but until then, she'll need you to support her, to raise her."

"I already have been doing that." Twilight said.

"Exactly! Keep doing it, there is no such thing as a perfect parent, Twilight. just keep doing what you've been doing, and Nyx will be fine."

Twilight smiled. "thank you, Aurora."

Aurora turned to Celestia and Luna as she got up and made her way to the throne room. "I am ready.... for my punishment."

Celestia rested a hoof on Aurora's shoulder. "I am sorry it must end this way."

"Don't be." Aurora smiled. "it's what I want. and besides. your kingdom's Alicorn population will be increasing soon." as she passes Cadance she smiles. "congratulations on the foal by the way."

Cadance smiled, her hoof rubbing her belly. "thank you. I've tried to hide it, but eventually it's going to get out."

Twilight smiled. "Nyx and I are still very excited, we can't wait to know if it's a he or a she."

Cadance giggled. "Shining wants a colt. but we'll see. wait... how did you know?"

Aurora giggled. "I can feel the foals life force growing within you. it's my actual special talent. I can detect and spread the Life Force of Equestria. Oh, just a warning..."

Cadance ears perked as Aurora spoke.

"your foal is going to be a strong kicker." Aurora said, the grimace on her face showing she felt sorry for the pink alicorn.

"Oh dear..." Cadance said as she rubbed her belly.

Aurora smiled as she began her way to the throne room, stopping to look at Warblade, now fully restored but still a dragon.

"I am sorry, Warblade. I do not think I can restore you..." Aurora said as she approached him.

Warblade smiled. "It's fine. I think I want to stay this way."

Aurora smiled as she restored his armor. "what will you do now?"

Warblade looked at his now fully restored armor. "I think I will explore Equestria. see how things have changed, see what's stayed the same. maybe live the remainder of my days at Saddle Tor as it's protector.

Aurora nodded, she hugged Warblade's large foreleg and waved to him. "Good bye, Warblade. I wish you the best of luck on your travels."

"good bye to you as well, Aurora. may your soul find peace." Warblade said as he extended his wings and flew out of the throne room doors and out of the tower.

Nyx stood in her armor, her helmet set aside as she the sword pointed down vertically as her hoof held the hilt. "Are you ready?"

Aurora was silent a moment. she gulped as she looked to Celestia and Luna, the royal pony sisters didn't like the manner they will be restored their magic. and liked the punishment even less. But they knew it was the only way. She looked up to Nyx and nodded.

"I am."

Nyx sighed and took the sword in her magical grip. "Close your eyes, I will make this as quick as I can."

"thank you." Aurora said as she closed her eyes. "And, I forgive you. do what is needed to be done."

Nyx said nothing as she brought the sword down hard and quick.

Epilogue

the Citadel Guards and servants began to leave the tower, their minds were clear and open. they realized they were working for a monster and now wanted to leave. the guards and soldiers tossing their armor and weapons in a large pile. but they were ponies lost in a familiar but alien world. Celestia and Luna, with their magic and cutie Marks restore had a lot of work ahead, but thanks to Nightquill's suggestion, they've decided to send the Citadel Ponies to Hollow shades to begin a new life.

Twilight carried the now filly sized Nyx on her back, she cried for hours before falling asleep, Celestia wanted  to remove the memories, but Nyx refused, if she was made to forget her actions it would only dishonor Aurora's Sacrifice.

"What shall we do with the tower, sister?" Luna asked, watching Twilight leave with Nyx.

Inside, Broadsword was wrapping Aurora's body in linen. he wanted to give her a proper burial. Nightquill was helping him as they began to cremate the body.

"For now sister, let us just worry about it another time, this week has been taxing on me." Celestia said. seeing Aurora be executed was difficult and mentally exhausting as her mind tormented her by playing it over and over. "I just wish to go home."

"Yes, as do I." Luna said. she was just as traumatically exhausted.

Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie followed Twilight, they were silent and also very tired. when Rarity was about to speak, Twilight cut her off.

"Let's just go home, everypony."

------

Back at Ponyville, Twilight pulled the armor off Nyx and tossed it to the side like it was a sin. she tucked her daughter in her bed as she slept. when she turned to leave the room she was greated by the armor fully reassembled and the ghost of a unicorn stallion wearing it. he gave a sympathetic smile to her and nodded.

Twilight blinked and looked at who she knew was the first Crusader of Harmony's spirit. "What now?"

The Crusader trotted up to her. "the threat is gone now. the crusader of Harmony is no longer needed."

Twilight blinked. "W-What should I do then?"

"Take the armor and return it to Saddle Tor, there it will remain until needed once more." The crusader said.

"What do you mean, needed once more?" Twilight asked starting to fear the possibilities of a new threat.

"you will know it when the time is comes.... and by then it will be your time to take the mantel." The Crusader said as he stepped back and disappeared, the armor returning to it's original form, before Nyx ever put it on.

Twilight looked at the Armor and picked up the helmet, seeing her reflection in it. the reflection shifted as she saw herself as an Alicorn, now wearing the armor. she set the helmet down and stepped away from it.

------

Later that Morning, Twilight saw Nightquill and Broadsword sitting together at the park. they were taking in the sunrise as she approached, a box being held in her magic aura.

"Excuse me, Broadsword?"

Broadsword looked back at Twilight and smiled. he trotted up to her. "I've decided to move to Hollow Shades, to be with Nightquill and start a new life. maybe adopt a foal someday."

Twilight smiled and hugged the ancient Unicorn. "I'm happy to hear that! but what about being a Knight?"

"We're going to start a new order, and have the base of operations at Hollow Shades Temple of harmony." Nightquill said, kissing Broadsword's chin causing the unicorn to chuckle. "After the wedding ofcourse."

Twilight raised her brow. "Wedding...? Congratulations!"

the two looked to eachother and smiled. "We know we belong together." Broadsword said as he looked to the box. "what is that?"

"the Armor of the Crusader.... it wants to go to back to Saddle Tor." Twilight said as she gave them the box.

Broadsword looked at the armor, having been returned to it's original state. "Shame, I was hoping Nyx would keep the mantel of the Crusader of Harmony. she shows much promise."

"perhaps, but she's still very young. maybe when she's older, she can become a new crusader?" Twilight suggested with a smile. one that broadsword returned.

"Then the Knights of Harmony shall be ready until then." Broadsword said putting his hoof to his chest, looking to Nightquill.

"Once the order is restored and has new members, we shall serve Equestria once more." Nightquill said wrapping his wing around Broadsword.

Twilight smiled. "and the Knights of Friendship shall wait as well, and join you until our new Crusader is ready to lead us."

Broadsword and Knightquill put their hooves over the box that contained the Armor of the crusader.

"until that day." Broadsword offered.

Twilight reached her hoof out and placed it on Nightquill and Broadsword's hooves. "until that day."

"Until that day when a new crusader arises!" the three declared in Unison.

The End.

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