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.