Author's note

Great news!  I can now write new things as opposed to rewritten chapters.

This not only makes it more fun but adds some vigour to me,  fuelling me more so to write!

So,  without further hesitation,  I go!

        "Princesses.....Nice to see you again....How have you been?"

        We all stood there in complete silence,  eyes glued to the only other alicorn,  par the Princesses,  we had ever seen.  He stood there,  completely still and lifeless,  a malicious grin upon his face,  waiting for us to make the first move,  every now and then taking a quick glance around the room,  looking very happy with himself.  Normally I would take this small gap in his attention span towards me as an opportunity to strike,  but something told me not to,  this may seem obvious,  being that he was an alicorn,  but I had two of his kind behind me,  so I had no doubt in my mind he would come out the worse in a fight,  but something told me to stay put,  there had to be some reason the Princesses held back,  I decided to bide my time,  for now.  Finally,  he broke the silence once more,  opening his mouth and letting his raspy,  ancient voice out to play once more.

        "Neither of you want to speak?  Not even you,  Luna?  The last time I saw you you were so very vocal,  and the same size!  What happened to you,  my dear?"  He taunted Luna,  confirming that this wasn't the first time Equestria faced him.  He sauntered back and forth as he said this,  his mane dancing in the wind entering the room through the broken window,  his actions almost daring us to assault him.

        "Do not call me that.  I am not 'your dear'."  Luna was the first of us to speak,  verbally objecting to being called 'my dear' to the levels of almost snarling back,  narrowing her eyes in anger.  This only seemed to amuse him,  he chortled in response,  his laugh echoing through the empty chamber.

        "Oh come now,  must we be so hostile?"  He said with a tone of indifference,  turning his back to us,  exposing something I hadn't previously noticed,  an absent spot where a cutie mark would ordinarily be,  I deemed this unimportant as he continued walking towards Celestia's throne,  turning and having a brief stare down with Celestia before smirking and slumping down in her throne insultingly.  I'm no royalty,  but I know enough to know that's an insult on level with burning your apple orchard down,  so for Celestia to be holding herself,  he must have some pretty huge leverage.

        I decided to eradicate my own vow of silence and get some answers,  or at least try.  "What do you want?"  I compressed my sentence due to fear,  something that hadn't happened before.  He immediately turned his head and rest his inanimate upon me,  I managed to keep my composure long enough to hear his response.

        "I almost didn't notice you there,  brother...."  He replied,  getting up and cantering over,  stopping around 20 feet before me before giving me a quick look up and own.  He snapped his head away from me in what appeared to be disgust,  this didn't go far in clearing up my questions.  "What a shame...So much potential..."  He spoke to me in riddles,  or what I hoped were riddles.

        "Leave him alone,  Andrum."  Celestia stepped forward,  breaking her posture for a moment in an outward display of anger towards him,  defending me almost maternally,  and finally putting a name to a face.

        "What is he talking about....?"  I turned to the Princesses,  surprisingly,  the more shy of the two sisters met me head on with an apologetic gaze,  whereas Celestia turned away from me.  I ignored my own perplexed state and decided to come forward with the obvious solution.  "Come on,  it's two on one!  Get him!"

        Everything went silent,  par Andrum scoffing at my proposal.  "Foal,  have you not noticed this little trinket?"  He held something I had not noticed in all the commotion up in his hoof,  a golden amulet around his neck,  housing a gleaming purple gem.  Rarity's blue eyes broadened,  her pupils dilating for a brief second,  before coming back to reality.

        "That's pretty,  really brings out your eyes,  but what has it got to do with anything?"  I bantered,  becoming increasingly annoyed at his continued existence.  No matter which way I spun it,  I couldn't find any situation in which one alicorn could defeat two without some form of upper hand going for him.

        "A little angry,  are we,  brother?  You should learn to keep your tongue in cheek."  He shot an agitated gaze at me,  obviously tiring of this debate himself,  planning to give me my answers.  He floated the amulet from around his neck,  covering it in a dark aura and dangling it above himself.  "The jewel in this amulet is made of no ordinary mineral,  as the less educated among us would believe.  It is named after it's founder,  myself,  it is andridium.  It renders all alicorns,  and their powers,  within it's radius powerless to me.  My entire army is outfitted with them!  You stand no chance....That is...unless...Why,  you destroy both of the Princesses right now,  you could if you so wished it,  come on,  that would be fun,  wouldn't it?  Slaying two so called deities,  that's bragging rights,  if you asked me."  He offered,  I think he knew I wouldn't accept,  he was just playing mind games.  And honestly,  I wouldn't harm Luna,  but it took some restraint not to blast Celestia,  as I still had a good deal of residual anger.

        Nevertheless,  I controlled myself and refocused back on what was important,  his amulet,  it seemed harmless before,  but now that I knew what it was I decided to point out the obvious flaw in his logic.  "Maybe you should polish that jewel up and take a look in it,  because you're an alicorn too."

        "Haha!  You continue to amuse me,  brother."  There he goes again with that 'brother' thing.  I was beginning to think he said these things just to throw my mind off balance.  "Did you not hear the part where I founded it?  I have control over it,  I am attuned to it,  it is an extension of myself,  I can activate and deactivate it's properties at will and am not effected by it.  No small feat,  if you ask me,  it took more time than your lifetime would permit you to have."  He said with pride,  I was taken aback,  suddenly realizing all too well while Luna and Celestia were keeping their anger in check.

        I found myself in an unusual situation,  which seemed to be a recurring theme this week,  I was at a loss for words.  I prided myself on the ability to,  no matter the size,  or power of whatever I was facing down,  be able to look them dead in the eyes,  in confidence or defiance,  and accept what was coming.  Now,  I knew what was coming,  and I didn't like it one bit,  and I was frozen in fear,  body and tongue.  Celestia obviously wasn't.

        "What do you want,  Andrum?"  She hissed,  cutting an enraged gaze at him,  only she knows what her eye that was covered by her multichromatic hair looked like.

        "My home back."  He angrily reciprocated,  stepping forward to her.  "I'm here to reclaim what you once stole from me.  Equestria!  Starting with what I used to call home,  and what you now call 'Canterlot'."  He floated the amulet back around his neck,  looking like he was readying himself to take action.

        "Sister....what do we do...?"  Luna asked,  seeming very uncertain of a lot more than herself.

        I felt like a psychic,  knowing what Celestia was going to say before it had reached her lips.  Managing to predict an alicorn brought me less comfort than I expected,  because of what I was predicting.  ".....Run."

        We all turned and ran for the door,  Celestia magicking the door shut as we went through,  it seemed like we made it when I felt myself leave the stable ground and float back towards the throne room helplessly.

        "Crimson!  NO!"  Luna turned around,  trying to wrestle me from Andrum's magical grasp,  finding herself in unfamiliar ground,  hopelessly outmatched in terms of power.  Andrum magicked the door shut in everypony's faces,  then placed a spell on it to keep it closed,  sealing me in there alone with him.  "Let him out Andrum!"  Luna screamed angrily.

        Andrum released me,  I dropped to the ground hopelessly,  staring at the door as everypony on the other side trying,  but failing to break Andrum's spell and open the door.  I didn't even believe the next words I said.  "Go...There's not a single thing you can do for me now.  Go,  escape,  I'll think of something and be just fine....I promise."

        "....You do?"  I heard Luna respond sounding as if she was tearing up,  I don't know about the rest,  but I like to think they were all crying to.

        "Of course I do,  now go,  Equestria needs you more than ever."  Of course I didn't,  but I didn't want them to stay and try and get through only to die when Andrum tossed me aside.  I heard Celestia mutter a few things to soothe the group,  then the pitter patter of hooves leaving.  I turned around to face my fate,  a clapping alicorn.

        "Touching....You normally have to pay to see that calibre of acting."  He sarcastically remarked,  stepping towards me.  My mind worked overtime,  making and discarding plans,  I was almost certain of my death here,  but almost wasn't all,  so I settled on a plan,  a long shot,  that's a given in this situation,  but a plan.

        "....Just be quiet you pompous foal...."  I spoke down to him,  sternly staring at him as he was caught off guard.

        ".....Do not speak to me like that,  you insignificant litt-"

        "Do NOT speak unless I tell you you can,  you insignificant little filly!"  I screamed in rage,  mimicking his insult to anger him further.  Before he could speak again I slowly began to walk towards him,  berating him once more.  "I do not know who you think you are,  just because you have a silly little amulet around your silly little neck does not mean you can best me.  You're nothing more than a glorified showmare!"

        "Silence!  I am Andrum!  And I will not be spoken to li-"

        "I WAS NOT DONE.  Now,  I'm willing to let you off if you leave now,  with your tail between your legs and never mentioned this again.  If not,  the consequences,  I can tell you,  will be worse than anything you can imagine.  You should run,  back from whence you came,  tell everypony you see that Equestria is off limits."  He didn't respond to this one very well,  charging up his horn with a dark aura and letting a blast off.  I continued walking mercilessly as the blast formed a crater in front of me.  He was taken aback as I stopped just before the crater,  examining it before continuing to walk around.  "Pathetic."  I scoffed,  growing ever closer to him as he had had enough,  leaping forward into my face.

        "CANTERLOT.  IS.  MINE.  You are powerless before me,  all are powerle-"  I motioned a hoof to him,  looking the other way,  seeming indifferent towards the furious alicorn before me.

        "Can I just stop you there?"  I knew this was do or die.  My plan was to get close to him,  more than close,  face to face.  The only way I could think of doing this was exploiting his ego,  which he obviously had due to his need to boast about his victory to Celestia and Luna rather than annihilate them,  letting them get away so he could hunt them down.  Which begs the question,  why was I so important?  Was he just showing off,  picking a pony at random,  or was I important?  All of these were questions for another time.  Point was,  I knew with his ego he would want to hear me out before retaliating,  show me why I was wrong before obliterating me.  All I had to do was maintain his anger at the perfect point between keeping his distance and freaking out and killing me.  And I did just that.  Admittedly I almost lost my cool when he blasted a crater inches ahead of me,  but after seeing that it didn't hit me,  I knew it was because it wasn't supposed to,  it was just to scare me,  and that reaffirmed my belief that he was an egomaniac more than anything,  he wanted me to cower before him.  When he didn't get that,  he reached boiling point,  and the tables turned on him.

        I smirked a little,  inching my face closer to the fuming alicorn and readying myself.  "You should remember my name,  big guy.  I'm no 'brother' of yours,  I'm Crimsonlight,  defender of Equestria from anypony who wants it,  unfortunately for you,  you fall in that category.  But more than that,  much more,  actually,  I'm the pony you should have kept at a distance."  My horn roared to life in an instant,  glowing red with all the magic I could muster,  I discharged it all into Andrum's eyes.  I knew I couldn't really harm him for long,  so I had to blind him for a while.

        He reared back,  charging his hooves up with magic to stomp down and crush me,  I caught this early and dashed out the way,  being knocked off balance slightly by the shock wave.  The lack of a sickening squishing sound angered him more,  as he blasted wildly,  I dodged back and forth steering well clear of the blasts,  scared of charging myself and dashing out the window as I knew the second I activated my aura he would sense it and bullseye me if I wasn't fast enough.

        I eventually gathered the courage,  manoeuvring myself near the window,  feeling time slip by,  knowing he wouldn't stay blinded forever.  I waited for him to turn his back to me and activated my lightning aura,  and dashed towards the window,  crashing through the window he immediately knew where I was.  If my leap through the window didn't do enough damage,  his stream of jet black magic sure did.  It singed my mane as it passed just overhead with near deadly accuracy,  sending even more sharp shards of glass flinging past me.

        I fell to the palace gardens,  immediately activating a magical shield around me as glass that may have skewered me bounced off.  I looked around,  seeing ponies wearing those amulets sporting hooded capes with the same symbol that was on the manticore's forehead on the hood.  I stood in shock for a second,  how long had this been planned?  How many of these invaders were just normal ponies that were waiting for the day their amulet got activated,  ready to reign down their fury on Canterlot?  All these thoughts and more were cut short as I heard the thud of stone and glass shattering above me as Andrum,  obviously still blinded was still trying to kill me.  I wisely decided to save thinking time for later and made myself scarce,  dashing away from the falling debris and through the arches,  leaving the palace gardens and into the halls of the palace itself.

        I ran into the palace,  not very assured by what I saw.  I saw the spear and the blades working in unison with the guards,  yet still being overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of attackers.  I decided it would be a good move to chip in,  readying myself and dashing horn first into one of the invaders,  sending him crashing into a stone column with a fresh new wound,  been there buddy.  I gave a quick look around,  trying to prioritize my targets,  noticing a pony who was about to flank some guards,  congratulations,  you made the V.I.P list.  I pounced atop him,  pinning him down with my hooves and pumped him full of enough lightning to run Cloudsdale for a month.  I jumped up from him,  nearly coming face to face with a pegasus pony who was looking to tackle me,  I didn't let her get much farther though,  shooting a bolt of lightning into his face,  stepping out of the way as she spiralled out of control past me.  Skidding along the ground and into a wall with a crack.

I was thinking I stopped her dead in her tracks,  now I was just thinking she was dead.

        That was enough horsing around for now,  I turned my attention to finding the rest of the ponies.  I deduced,  however bad an idea it was,  I would have to pass by the throne room again,  despite however many murderous alicorns it contained,  as I heard them leave to the right,  and as of my window jumping spectacular,  I was left on the other side.  I galloped through the fighting,  ignoring most of it,  seldom the occasional buck to the face,  to get to my destination quicker.

        I arrived at the hallway that contained the entrance to the throne room,  peering down it,  hoping to keep some modicum of stealth.  It seemed to be relatively empty,  I suppose they wanted to give their beloved leader his privacy,  I thought I was fortunate as I began to creep down the hallway,  I thought wrong.  A unicorn leapt onto me from behind,  clutching around my neck for dear life,  I bucked to try and get him off,  but he wouldn't let go.

        "I've got you now!"  He gloated,  shooting a fire ball directly into the back of my head,  filling my body with adrenaline and pain in equal measure.  I had only one option now,  I lit up my horn,  it crackled with lightning as he scrambled to get off.

        "Psyche."  I gloated right back,  the tables now turned as I was holding onto him.  Teaching him the lesson not to brag unless the other pony is knocked out or dead.  I don't know which he ended up as,  but as I released the lightning built up in my horn,  causing it to surge through his body,  it was the flip of a coin.  "Motherbucker."  I squinted my eyes,  clutching the back of my head as it thumped mercilessly.  He got a pretty good shot in there,  oh well.

        I walked down to the throne room,  looking over my shoulder every couple seconds,  being reminded to do so by a throbbing head.  Thank buck for the natural magical protection ponies have from living amongst magical creatures,  namely the unicorns,  if it wasn't for that,  my skin wouldn't be so....not smouldering....right now.

        I hugged the wall towards the throne room,  hoping for the best,  but expecting nothing but the worst.  I peered around the door,  and my nightmares were fulfilled.  Andrum wasn't there,  I was safe.  But the rest of the castle,  namely Luna,  the elements,  Spike and Celestia,  did not have such a privilege.

        In place of Andrum however,  were six of his lackeys.  The numbers were split perfectly,  two earth ponies,  two pegasi and two unicorns.  Coincidence,  perhaps?  Or were they a strike team?  I didn't want to take a chance,  six less,  possibly high ranking enemies could only be a good thing.  Besides,  I had quite a bit of anger to vent.

         I activated my aura with a crack as they turned to face me,  seeming shocked by my appearance,  no pun intended.  I shot a bolt of lightning at the larger of the two earth ponies,  he was pretty on the ball,  attempting to pre-emptively get out of the way before I had even attacked,  but he still went down for the count,  as my lightning flew through the air and clashed with the side of his head.  Though I suppose that's better than square in the face.  The rest of the ponies scrambled to mobilise,  pegasi launching themselves into the air,  unicorns illuminating their horns whilst the earth pony charge me.  I dashed head on towards the earth pony,  waiting for the last second to hit her in the front hooves with a weak blast of lightning,  calling her to barrel flat onto her face as I ran around her.  I kept my momentum and charged one of the unicorn duo,  leaping over the magic being shot at me and landing inches before her,  slamming my hooves down causing a shock wave large enough to stumble her and her partner nearby momentarily.  I raised a hoof and struck the hooded blue trespasser across the face,  three down,  three to go.

        I turned around,  slightly worried by the lack of pegasi interference,  most pegasi I'd known had been energetic,  too energetic to stay out of it for this long.  I was right to turn around,  side stepping a flying charge from one of them,  he corrected himself as the other followed up,  barrelling towards me at breakneck speeds.  I stood firm,  waiting for the opportune moment,  he grinned thinking I was frozen in fear,  speeding up constantly,  unfortunately for him I spun around at the last second,  planting my two back hooves into his face,  causing his body to fold up on itself and skid across the ground into the wall where it lay motionlessly.

        "You bucker!"  Screamed the other pegasi,  obviously enraged by the defeat,  well,  possible death,  of his comrade.  He charged at me angrily,  not thinking things through very well.  I magically ensnared his wings for a split second,  taking his ability of flight from him,  making him nothing more than a falling sack of bones,  desperately trying to correct himself.  He hit the ground with a dull thud and a crack,  even making me wince.

        "Job well done."  I smugly said,  patting myself on the back before heating a humming coming from behind me,  quickly remembering something.

        "TAKE THIS!"  The remaining unicorn screamed,  unleashing a magical volley he had been preparing for a while now.  I fought back at the last second,  my red lightning colliding with the blue energy as our attacks merged and fought against one another in a spectacular light show.  I struggled at first,  with half formed attacks and through surprise,  but I won back ground after a few seconds,  then some more,  then some more,  and before I knew it,  my lightning was uncomfortably,  for him,  close to his face.  In one last spur,  I drove it home,  connecting with his face and sending him flying across the room,  into the wall,  continuously pumping lightning into his body,  pinning it to the wall with my barrage.  After about ten seconds,  I let up,  his body falling to the floor,  I felt drained.  Not of energy,  but of anger.  I sauntered to the exit,  surveying the carnage.

        "Now it's a job well done."

        I left the throne room into the hallway,  turning right,  my mind still racing as to where Andrum could be.  He had the entire castle to himself,  surely it couldn't be too hard to pinpoint the only other two alicorns in it.  I quickened my step,  turning left at the end of the hallway and being reacquainted with the sight of anarchy.  Looked like Andrum specifically told them to stay clear of the throne room,  so those six were either specifically told to guard it,  meaning they were high ranking,  or just very disobedient.  Either way,  at least half of them were dead now,  the other half wouldn't be waking up for a good day or so.

        I picked up the pace,  breaking character and avoiding conflict,  I gave thought to where I could find them.  This obviously wasn't the first time Andrum had been here,  so maybe Celestia would have led them back to her quarters to find something that he shouldn't get his hooves on?  But the good money was on heading straight to the carriage yard and out of there.  I doubt Celestia wanted to keep the rest in a castle that was under siege from very ill meaning forces.

        Still,  in case I was wrong,  I head down a path that still got me to the carriage yard quickly,  yet took me past her quarters,  I couldn't leave anything to chance.  I charged myself up and began to dash through the hallway,  not even stopping for casual violence or murder.  This truly was a dark day.

        I gave no thought to the fighting around me,  but I couldn't help note that it seemed to be a losing one for the side of Canterlot,  with the unnamed invaders vastly outnumbering them.  It probably had no positive effect that there was currently an alicorn rampaging throughout the palace doing Celestia knows what.  It pained me to think that I could have no impact on the battle,  but with the overwhelming numbers fracturing our forces into tiny,  uncoordinated pieces,  it was a painful reality.

        I eventually came to a crossroads.  On one hoof I could go left,  and stick to my current path,  lose a few minutes,  which could prove vital,  but check Celestia's quarters too.  On the other I could go straight ahead,  and bank all my hopes on the carriage yard,  if they were going to Celestia's quarters then I would definitely lose them,  but if they were,  as I suspected,  going to the carriage yard,  I would make great time there.  

        I gave thought to both options,  and eventually came to a conclusion from an unusual source,  to say the least.  Whilst I was standing there,  in thought,  a hooded unicorn came to his own conclusion,  to pounce me.  My reaction to this was to charge my horn with lightning and leap forward,  striking him in the face and propelling him backwards.  But this made me realize just how urgent the situation was.  I couldn't stand still for thirty seconds before somepony made an attempt upon my life.  There was no time to waste,  but even less,  I couldn't risk letting them escape me,  so all options had to be exhausted.  I turned left and set of dashing down my original path.

        Now with my goal clarified,  I only ran for a minute or so.  I still thought it would be most likely that they would go to the carriage yard,  so I wanted to spend as little time as possible on this diversion.  I turned through the hallways,  struggling to remember which way was which.  Turns out it's a lot harder to navigate the place you know like the back of your hoof when it's a secondary concern to survival.

        I kept running,  and finally found myself to be very happily incorrect.  I saw two Princesses,  six elements and one dragon,  alive and well.  Maybe not well,  they were fending off whatever attackers they could with the help of some nearby guards.  But the elements had no all the combat training of living in Ponyville,  where the largest threat was food poisoning,  the Princesses were severely weakened,  Spike was a baby and the guards were guards,  so they were being quickly overwhelmed.  And we all know my opinion on the capabilities of the guards,  and we know that is no opinion,  it is fact.  So I had to stop being happy with my decision and save some flank.

        I charged forward to protect them,  striking a pony leaping for them with a lightning bolt,  making quite a nasty wound and sending him into one of his friends.  I flailed hooves and lightning,  clearing out the remainders of the attackers with a distinct lack of flair,  but quickly and efficiently,  and judging by the blood on the floor,  pretty gruesomely.  However,  it was after the murderous invaders were dealt with that the real danger came.  An eight pony strong tackle hug.

        Luna,  the elements and Spike piled on top of me,  crushing the life out of me better than anypony else could have.  Why couldn't they have done this to Andrum?  I even caught a glimpse of Celestia looking happy before the death pile consumed me.

        I understood the face that they were all overjoyed that I was alive,  so I tried my best to return the hugs when possible,  but there's only so many hugs one pony can give.  Thankfully,  the pile of death eventually dispersed,  freeing me from it's grasp.  The happy greeting calmed down too as everypony took a step back.  Luna,  being the wise alicorn she was,  was just biding her time,  leaping from the crowd and wrapping her hooves around my neck.

        "How did you survive?!"  She asked,  grabbing me around the neck tightly.  I rested an arm around hers,  wondering how to appropriately answer that question without seeming too big headed.

        "I'm a genius."  I returned,  keeping a level head as usual.

        "Obviously."  She smiled in return.  "I'm....happy you're alive....thank you...."  Her tone softened and became more meaningful.  I didn't know why she was thanking me,  but it was fine.

        "Me too....But thank you for what?"  I asked,  wondering if it was for buying them time,  or simply blasting Andrum in the face.

        "Surviving,  of course."  She happily replied,  the real answer was far more simple,  yet far better.  Of all of my flirts with danger,  I felt this one had not only been the most dangerous,  but the most personally rewarding.

        "My pleasure."  I smiled in return,  letting my mind drift slightly from the current troubling setting.  Rarity stepped forward,  reminding me of the danger that loomed all around us.

        "Tell me,  how did you really do it?"  She inquired,  as everypony leaned forward.  Eager to know how I bested an age old alicorn that had Celestia and Luna pinned.

        "I just kept him talking long enough to get close.  Then I shot him point blank in the eyes with lightning.  Probably didn't hurt him all that much,  but it blinded him just long enough for me to escape.  Barely."  I told them proudly,  as even Celestia seemed impressed.  Not so happy about firing me are you now,  are you?

        "Smart,  couldn't have done it better myself."  Twilight congratulated me with a distant gaze,  seeming to be pondering how it would have played out in her head.  Rainbow Dash wasn't laudatory.

        "Pfft.  I would have just flew up in the air and ki-"  Rainbow began before being cut off by a considerate,  and surprisingly assertive Fluttershy.

        "Rainbow,  I think we should be more supportive of Crimson.  He's probably very traumatized.  Crimson,  are you okay?"  Fluttershy asked,  her caring instincts she had developed from looking after animals kicking in as she gave my body a quick check over for wounds.

        "Thank you Fluttershy.  I think Rainbow should be more supportive.  I'm a gentle flower."  I joked,  looking at Rainbow in pretend disgust.  "But really.  I'm fine.  I got out unscathed,  and I plan to keep it that way."

        Celestia moved forward through them all,  looking at me in the eyes with a confused stare.  As if perplexed by my survival.  I couldn't blame her,  odds were against me.  Nevertheless,  she spoke.  "I'm....happy to see you're unharmed Crimson.....I trust you now understand the severity of the situation?"  She said in her regal tone something I'd wished she hadn't.

        I sucked up my pride,  which took a lot of effort,  Escaping an insane alicorn's clutches had nearly doubled it,  and died inside.  "I......I was wrong,  Princess.....My apologies...."  I knelt down,  not in angry sarcasm this time,  apologetically.  I honestly didn't know which one I preferred.

        "That's okay,  Crimsonlight.  Your apology is accepted.  But lets not dwell on it,  shall we?  I think we are lucky to get this brief moment to ourselves.  Pushing it further would be unwise."  I had to agree with her.  I was also happy to not be angry at her anymore.  Her lack of tackle hugging just to keep her royal image may have been unacceptable,  but if I ruled Equestria,  I wouldn't have told me about....this.....so I couldn't remain annoyed.

        "Agreed.  Where are we headed?"  I asked,  readying myself to protect them.

        "My personal quarters."  I smirked,  being overrun with self satisfaction realizing I had made the correct call for the correct reason as she said that.  "There are things there that Andrum should not....must not see...."  My self satisfaction would have reached new heights if the situation didn't call for a much more serious tone.  "Fortunately,  the lay out of the palace is completely different from when it was in his grasp.  So he will need to find it himself.  And I have ordered any guards I have seen to do their utmost to keep them away from my quarters,  so hopefully the path will be clear."

        "That's reassuring.  The enraged,  murderous alicorn that I hit in the face with lightning has to wander around aimlessly.  Lets hope he doesn't wander in our direction.  I don't think I can pull that level of miracle off again."  I looked around,  spying some fighting not too far down the hallway,  but still avoidable on our way to her quarters.  Guess it was good that Celestia brought the reunion to a halt when she did.

        "Lead the way,  Crimson."  Luna smiled,  taking advantage that she still had the ability to order me around.

        "You want me to lead?"  I said,  beginning to walk down the hallway towards the quarters.  "Isn't this place dangerous enough?"  I joked as I sped up to a gallop,  running down the hallway towards the fight,  fortunately I was allowed to turn left a mere twenty feet before it,  running towards our destination,  thanking myself nopony spotted either of the Princesses.  I dare say that the thought of killing the rival alicorns whilst they were powerless was tantalizing to them,  to say the least.

        It didn't take long to make it to the Princesses quarters,  the guards,  for once,  did as ordered with more than foal-like efficiency,  that or they had just lucked out.  As the way,  as Celestia hoped,  was clear.  "So,  what are you looking for?"  I asked as Celestia entered with everypony else as I stood guard outside.  "Some kind of anti andridium spell?  Big sword?  Club?  Help me out here."

        "A book."  She riposted,  as everypony tore the room apart,  while she went to a certain bookcase,  scanning for with her horn.  Fine,  a book,  a book to save an empire....Kind of lacks a certain flare,  but it could be useful,  in it's own way.  And it seemed to spur Twilight to search even harder,  being the bookworm she was,  she was no doubt intrigued by a book that would somehow provide a defense against an invading army.

        "Well,  I doubt it's taking long for an alicorn and Celest-.....You knows how many ponies to sweep the palace,  so could yo-"

        "Not to worry,  Crimson.  I keep track of my personal items."  She said,  pulling a book out of her bookcase and lighting her horn,  which was accompanied with the sound of something behind the bookcase,  a hidden safe,  unlocking.  She pulled a dusty old tome,  quickly grabbing her satchel.  I noticed it had a very weird string of symbols before she stuffed it into her satchel and slung it over her back,  they looked oddly familiar though.

        "Is that....Ancient Equestrian?.....How old is that thing?"  I asked,  finding it hard to believe anything written that long ago could still be in one piece.  Even in optimum conditions,  chances are it would have become dust by now.

        "I placed a preservation spell on it.  And older than you,  suffice to say."  She scanned the hallways,  looking very worried and anxious.  "Lets make our leave,  shall we?"  I was only half listening,  I was pondering the origins of that book.  Andrum said he came to take back the castle,  was this possibly his?

        I shook myself out of my trance thanks to a curious poke in the face from an unusually contained Pinkie Pie,  I guess that's for the best,  then again,  her dimension bending would have come in useful fetching that book.  "Kshhht,  Equestria to Crimsonlight.  Come in Crimsonlight.  Kshht." She japed,  still managing to put on an unwavering happy visage.  Admirable,  I suppose.

        "Crimsonlight he-"

        "You have to say 'kshht.'"

        "......Rea-?"

        "Kshht.  Yes.  Kshht."

        ".......Kshht.....Crimsonlight here.....lets go.............Kshht..."  I sighed,  going along with her games,  unsure as to why I was doing so.  I took off running down the hallway,  quickly followed by the Princesses and the elements,  with Spike on Twilight's back much to her chagrin.  We almost made it all the way to the end of the hallway without stoppages,  a monumental achievement,  before a familiar voice called out to me.

        "Where do you think you're going,  boy?"  I turned,  dashing around the pack following me to place myself between the ponies I was protecting and the source of the voice.  I saw three ponies at the other end of the hallway.  One was a unicorn and had an auburn coat,  with a grey mane and tail.  Of the two ponies that were flanking him,  the one to his right was also a unicorn and had an orange mane and a dark red coat,  not to dissimilar to the coloration of my mane.  The one to his left was considerably larger,  with a very unflattering lime green coat,  combined with an equally unflattering sky blue mane.  Something told me that due to his size not very many ponies pointed out how silly he looked.  All of them had two things in common,  they were wearing hoods and amulets,  just like all the other invaders.  And none of them had a cutie mark.

        "What's wrong?  Do you not remember me,  child?"  The middle one,  who appeared to be the leader taunted me.

        "Sorry,  it's been a busy day,  care to remind me?."  I called back to him as he laughed insultingly,  reaching a hoof up to pull his hood back.  He lowered his hoof as he got near,  obviously feeling the need to toy with me.  Had I not two Princesses to worry about,  I would have no doubt reciprocated the act in a considerably more aggressive manner.  "Let me give you a clue....."  He said,  tapping his hoof along the right side of his body.

        I struggled to think what he meant,  I looked to the right side of his body as he chuckled at me.  Without much given thought,  my patience wore thin.  "Enough,  you mule!  Who are you?"

        "Not a very nice way of repaying a kindly old pony who changed your bandages in your time of need,  now is it?"

        I was taken aback,  becoming wide eyed and at a loss for words.  It's a good thing Rainbow had me covered then,  I suppose.  "You?  Just wait 'til I get my hooves on you!"  She hollered in anger,  darting forward and coming to an abrupt halt as Applejack grasped her tail tightly in her mouth.  "Let me go!"  She cried,  struggling to get free.

        "Mmmhf!  Mmmmm!"  Applejack attempted to reason with Rainbow,  finding that her attempts were stifled by the tail in her mouth.

        "Rainbow,  don't be stupid."  I turned to look at her,  taking an authoritarian tone.  "You have no combat training.  I'll deal with them,  now simmer down."

        Rainbow sulked to the ground as Applejack released her tail,  jerking her jaw back and forth as she did so.  Cattleprod spoke up once more.  "My apologies,  but that won't be happening.  I'm a lot more than the grunts you've fought thus far."

        I looked him and his friends up and down before making my response.  "Really?  You don't look so different.  Well,  that one does."  I said,  pointing to his oddly coloured earth pony friend.  "He kind of looks like seaweed."

        "Hey,  how did you know my name!"  He screamed in agitation,  leaning forward looking ready to pounce as Cattleprod put a hoof in front of him to keep him back.

        "Wow,  your name's really Seaweed?  I'm so sorry,  I almost don't want to beat you up,  having that name and looking like that is bad enough.  And I thought Cattleprod was silly."  I insulted them,  trying to get them to charge me in an angry haze.  It doesn't seem like the best idea,  but having an opponent charge you without thinking can be a blessing in disguise.  And I'd take all of those I could get right now,  being that I was protecting some very important ponies.

        "Do NOT call me that!"  He screamed,  breaking his calm image for a second before recomposing himself.  "...That was....an alias....My real name....Well,  I don't see the point in telling you,  being that you'll be dead soon."

        "Really?  You think you can take me just because you have the numbers game won?  Think again."

        "Foal,  we were trained to be the best we could be by Andrum himself!  Taught age old techniques.  Why do you think we don't have cutie marks?  Not because I didn't want to live a quiet,  rural life on a farm.  Because I never had a chance to discover my special talent because I was too busy readying myself for this very day."  He boasted,  once again catching me off guard,  he was a darn good liar,  not much got past me in way of lies,  but I didn't suspect a thing with him.  So,  these were essentially Andrum's alternative to the Blades and the Spear?  I usually relished a challenge,  However,  right now,  I could really go without.  

        I turned my head to the ponies I was protecting,  and gave Celestia some sound,  and familiar advice.  "Run."  I whispered.  But the response I got was different.

        "No."  Luna militantly replied.  "I'm not leaving you behind again."  She didn't say much,  but I got the idea I wasn't going to convince her otherwise.

        "We need your protection,  Crimsonlight.  We can't leave without you."  Celestia added,  injecting some logic into Luna's stubbornness.

        "....I suppose....Teleport to your quarters.  I'll knock when I'm done."

        Luna walked up to me,  standing beside me.  "Promise you'll be the one knocking?"

        "Please,  you think Seaweed over there can take me?  Think again."  I pointed to the unfortunately coloured pony,  who's face was quickly turning from lime green to red.  And with that,  Luna,  Celestia,  Twilight and Rarity all lit up their horns and teleported everypony to Celestia's chambers,  I heard the door lock as Cattleprod stepped forward.

        "Well then.  May the winners get the prize?"  He smirked,  motioning to the door to Celestia's chambers.

        "I will."

        And with that,  the kindly old unicorn that patched me up for free lit his horn and shot a pulse of red energy at me.  I couldn't take the time to admire his choice of colour as I was forced into retaliation,  striking back with a a surge of lightning.  The attacks collided in the air,  dancing against one another as I pushed him back,  I began to gain ground as he cut his attack short and looked ready to defend.  I was confident in my attack's ability to break his defence,  when the red unicorn to his right pitched in with the effort.  My lightning collided with their joint shield with a loud crack,  they winced but stayed put,  I struggled for a second as my lightning pulsed against my shield before I realized I couldn't break their combined resolve.  It was then that I noticed the absence of a certain silly looking earth pony from the side of the artist formerly known as Cattleprod.  I looked around,  and spotted him just in time to for him to pounce on top of me from the side.  Impressive tactics,  it was a bait and switch on a grand scale.

        I would have sent them a written letter of congratulations for laying a hoof on me,  but there was still the problem of a rather large earth pony who was currently pouncing on me.  I slid along the floor as he raised a hoof to strike me,  he didn't get the chance to as I kicked him off of myself with my back legs,  sending him crashing into the opposite wall back first.  He fell off and onto the ground as I heard the unmistakable noise of a magical attack nearing me,  I turned to see Cattleprod and the nameless unicorn,  now much closer to me,  combining their efforts.  With no time left to fight back,  I erected a magical shield around myself,  straining myself to maintain against their coordinated assault as they exerted the same amount of effort to destroy it.  Seaweed waited outside the shield for it to break under the pressure,  looking very impatient,  but got no such luck as I stood firm due to no lack of trying,  but he did present me with an opportunity.  I quickly gathered as much energy as I could whilst maintaining enough of the shield's power to defend myself,  realizing I wouldn't have the leisure of doing this discreetly.  Seaweed quickly noticed and turned to run,  but by then,  I had just enough stored up power.  I released it,  pushing back their magical attacks and hitting Seaweed,  allowing him to get reacquainted with his old friend,  the wall.  Impressively,  he got back up,  I stopped to catch my breath momentarily as they all regained their composure.

        "Impressive.  But pointless."  Cattleprod said,  encircling me with the other two,  forcing me to frantically looked between them making sure none of them made a move.

        "Speak for yourself,  ol' green over here took two hits.  He's fortunate to still be on all fours."

        "You will have no such pleasure."  The red unicorn said,  charging up a magical attack in tandem with Cattleprod.  They fired them at me simultaneously,  not realizing the folly of their ways until it was too late.  I dodged out of the way,  leaving the attacks with nowhere to go except Seaweed,  who stood there,  still as a statue.  Holding up his amulet...his magically resistant amulet...which simply absorbed the blasts....Very clever....

        Again,  I had no time to congratulate them on a job well done,  as the red unicorn attempted to murder me.  I dodged her magical blast,  and in turn Seaweed's tackle.  With Seaweed between myself and the other two,  I rammed Seaweed forward,  toppling over the unicorn duo with him.  Leaping at Seaweed,  I had the idea of putting the big guy down,  they had others,  teleporting out of there and taking him with them,  I turned around to find them,  seeing both of them,  but no Seaweed.  I spun around for a quick moment,  not finding him,  and he wasn't very hard to spot,  that's when I realized what they had done.  I looked directly up and shot a volley of lightning off,  connecting with Seaweed directly and sending him careening off,  down for the count,  this time.

        The magical duo at the other end of the corridor wasted no energy,  using their colleague's defeat as a distraction,  firing off more magical attacks.  I managed to dodge one,  but got hit directly by the other.  I skid across the floor,  holding where I got struck,  which was,  funnily enough,  the spot where Cattleprod patched me up.  Life's little coincidences,  eh?

        I rose to my feet,  dashing off and avoiding more magical attacks.  I swerved between them,  aiming to put Cattleprod,  the more powerful of the two,  down for the count.  I charged at him,  straight through one of his magical attacks,  his face contorted to one of worry,  he teleported away,  leaving me dashing through nothing,  the red unicorn beside him did not,  however.  I quickly turned around,  to face her,  as she did to me,  she fired the first shot,  which I deflected comfortably,  my retaliation was not dealt with so well.  It hit her in the face,  causing her to clutch at her eyes in pain,  I took my chance and dashed directly into her,  sending her across the hallway leaving a trail of blood behind her.  One left,  and I was going to enjoy beating him senseless.

        He was in the exact same position on the other side of the hallway,  I decided to go through the same routine,  I charged from one end to the other,  through and around his attacks,  and as I neared him,  he teleported away once more.  I turned around,  seeing him exactly where he was before.  I was beginning to see a pattern,  and if this kept up,  I would get tired much quicker.

        I charged once more,  he teleported once more,  the fight had took a lot more out of me than him due to the numbers game being weighed in his favour,  and he knew that,  he just had to outlast me,  and he was.  I stopped panting,  and rose up,  ready to charge one more time.  Weaving in and out of attacks,  and just as he went to teleport,  I skidded to a halt,  turning to face where he would inevitably be.  I slid along the ground and shot a bolt of lightning straight ahead,  this all happened too fast for him to react to,  and by the time the lightning was fired,  he had already teleported,  right into it's path.

        It collided with him and sent him accelerating along the ground.  I dashed after him,  not giving him room to breath,  and caught up to his sliding body as it came to a standstill.

        "Regret patching me up now,  Cattleprod?"  I asked him,  breathing heavily as he looked up at me with what was once a perfectly fine face.

        "No...."

        "What?"  I confusedly said.  Did he not get there part where he was going to die?

        "You will die....one way or another....Whether it's to your own foolishness...or Andrum...mark m-"

        I dropped an electrically charged hoof on him,  cutting him short.  "Yeah,  we get it.  World domination."  I never was one to hear out my enemies last words.  Seemed redundant,  being that they were my enemies.  I lay down for a brief rest,  before realizing the situation was still the same.  Same old invaded palace,  same old ponies needing protection.  I walked over to Celestia's quarters,  regaining myself.  I have to give them that,  it was a pretty good fight.  It's pretty rare I find myself out of breath.  Andrum trains his guys a darn sight better than Celestia trains hers.  Still,  I couldn't tell her that,  war time isn't the best time for militaristic criticism.  I knocked on the door,  looking through the peephole to see everypony rush over towards the door.

        "Who is it...?"  Rarity asked tentatively as she stepped forward.

        "You know,  there's an eye-hole in the door."  I said,  tapping it with my hoof as all of their eyes darted towards it.  I found it funny that this bypassed both Celestia and Luna.  But this was probably not the best time to berate them on forgetting a tiny glass window in a door.  I'd have to remember that for later.

        They unlocked the door and opened it.  "Are you okay?"  Luna asked worriedly,  levitating a cloth to my mouth and wiping a droplet of blood that had trickled down from the edge of my mouth off my face.

        "I'm fine."

        "And them?"  Celestia asked,  looking at their bodies.

        "Big green one is out,  on the upside,  probably won't remember this though.  The red unicorn over there will probably die from blood loss,  and the old pony is mostly on my hoof."  I spared no detail.  Probably not a wise decision being that the elements were present.  Oh well,  if I didn't teach them about these things,  who would?

        "Charming...."  Luna sarcastically replied.  "I hate to skip the pleasantries,  but the guards won't be able to keep them from her much longer.  Those three breaking through must have weakened the defensive.  Shall we get going?"

        "Right.  To the carriage yard then,  do we have a battle plan or am I just running out of a hostile palace with high priority targets?"  I bantered,  the carriage yard wasn't far,  I suspect Celestia kept it close to her quarters for times like this,  it always seemed like somewhat of a design flaw earlier.  But of course,  I wasn't factoring in murder.

        "Sadly,  yes.  We'll have to rely on the guards to come to our aid."  Celestia gave me the worst possible answer,  trusting the useless.

        "Lovely,  I'll just kill myself now,  shall I?"  I quipped as Celestia scowled,  not liking my insulting of her guards.  What are you going to do,  Princess,  send me to the dungeon?  You can't,  it's not yours.

        We took off,  running through the halls.  Not a word was uttered,  we were all too busy doing our part in protecting the Princesses and not dying.  Me,  the Princesses,  the surrounding guards,  even the elements with the lack of combat training did their part,  we didn't need to get into prolonged conflicts,  just repel the enemies,  and that's just what we did.  We reached the carriage yard quickly,  working as a cohesive unit well enough to make it there unscathed,  and I must give props to the guards.  Apparently,  when taking direct orders from a Princess to,  and I quote.  'Don't let us die.'  They served as rather good distractions.  Suck-ups.

        We ducked into cover,  surveying the area.  Around twenty hostiles huddled into three different groups near the carriages at the end of the yard,  a large drop to the world below Canterlot accompanying them,  had to be careful there.  But past that,  my goal,  clear,  blue sky.  I can deal with that,  given there's not too many higher ranks among them.  I took the three on earlier,  but anymore than that combined with the rest of the grunts around me might not go over too well.  They all checked out though,  cutie marks and all.  The problem still stood though,  twenty of them,  that we had to get through.  With Princesses.  We didn't have that time to spare,  we were on our own as it was,  and I didn't want to count on reinforcements in hostile territory.

        "This don't look too good."  The ever observant element of honesty informed me.

        "Andrum was here.  He sectioned off the area.  Fortunately he must have left,  but I doubt for long.  He'll want to eradicate any chance of escape we have.  We must move quickly.  Crimsonlight,  what do you want to do?"  Celestia laid it out,  however bleak the situation was,  I had a task.  That task was taking out twenty ponies before one really big pony showed up and murdered us all.  Simplicity personified.

        I pondered for a few brief seconds,  before realizing something.  If they wanted the carriages,  why not give them the carriages?  "Okay,  you all hide here,  don't make a peep.  I'll deal with them."  I feigned confidence to soothe them,  it was hard to actually be confident when you know that at any time a much,  much larger pony could decimate you,  or even be waiting in the shadows right now to do so.  But their feeling safe was just all the more encouragement to keep it that way.

        I slipped my magical grasp around a carriage near one of the groups,  a group of six.  The carriage was positioned just right,  I rammed it into them,  causing them to cry in pain,  they weren't light things,  these carriages.  But more importantly,  they went flying off the edge,  something rather dangerous without a carriage.  The other two groups stumbled backwards in shock,  a couple seeing me and fleeing,  great,  that's just what I need,  tattletales.  Seven more of the remaining twelve were met with the same carriage whilst still in shock,  being pushed off the edge and knocked out respectively.  The remaining group mobilized for a fight,  something I hadn't time for.  I hurled the now damaged carriage at them,  taking one and and causing the rest to dodge.  I sped forward,  capitalizing on their surprise,  placing a well aimed buck on one of their chins,  causing him to crash into his earth pony colleague,  who went hurtling off the edge with him,  scratch that,  perfectly aimed.  The remaining pegasi stuck to tradition,  taking to the air,  whilst the unicorn scrambled to get a spell going,  I put an end to that,  backhanding him with a thunder imbued hoof,  one left.

        "Come on,  now!"  I called out to everypony in hiding as they burst from cover and ran towards me.  The pegasi stopped mid flight,  turning and looking at them.

        "Princesses!  You're mine!"  He seethed in a blood-lust,  eyeing up the rulers of Equestria as what they were to him.  A promotion.  He charged at them hooves first as they recoiled in alarm.  I intercepted him,  tackling him from the air onto the ground before his targets.

        "Look away."  I ordered them,  charging my horn and delivering a fatal blast of lightning to his face,  boring through to the mushy stuff and the ground below.  I didn't like taking lives,  I wasn't proud of it,  but I was proud of protecting Equestria,  and how much more can you do to protect Equestria than save the lives of two Princesses from a threat as direct as that.  I magicked the body away from unfortunate eyes,  tossing it over the edge.  Not a dignified service,  but oh well.  "Okay.  Peepers out,  we're out of here kids."

        I jumped aboard a carriage,  followed quickly by everypony else.  Twilight instinctively took the reigns,  so to speak,  lifting the carriage off the ground.  I wordlessly thanked Celestia for her clever design,  normally Twilight,  despite being the element of magic,  wouldn't be able to lift eight ponies and a baby dragon,  but the carriage was made of a rather helpful material,  that negated,  or at least drastically lowered the weight of the passengers.  Magic,  how would we live without it.

        The carriage lifted off the ground as I leaned off the back of the carriage.  surveying for attackers.  Nothing too immediate,  but five ponies were coming in from the right side,  no pegasi among them,  only earth ponies and unicorns,  fortunately.  I watched them approach a carriage,  waiting for the right moment.

        "You planning on stopping them?"  Luna asked in a distressed voice.  I remained silent,  watching them get smaller as we moved into the distance,  they were rapidly reducing to specks.  But those specks had just reached my target,  the carriage.  I let out a ferocious bolt of crimson lightning,  it cracked as it approached them,  diverting all their attention,  it soared through the air,  crashing against the carriage,  splintering it,  and them with it.  They flew off in many different directions,  dazed and hurt.  The unicorns among them too much so to try and follow us again for a while.  "Oh....good job...Not like we were going to be using it anyway."  Luna commented somewhat sardonically.

        "To Stronghorn,  Princess?"  Twilight called out from her position at the front of the carriage as we whistled through the sky,  Celestia's bright sun trickling through the clouds from above and shining over the carriage,  blessing us with it's warmth.  It was nice to be safe,  however fleeting it may be.

        "Stronghorn?"  I asked in bewilderment.  What did I miss this time?

        It's a settlement east of Appleoosa."  She informed me,  answering none of my questions.

        "I still don't think it sounds very inviting."  Rarity piped up,  maintaining her pickiness even in the current situation,  but how long had they known about this?  Oh well,  at least she was consistent with her fussy behavior,  unlike those darn guards,  who just happened to wake up when the palace got attacked.....Okay,  maybe I should ease up on them in the current situation.  But the second Andrum dies,  the hatred continues...Until then....it will probably still continue...but to a lesser degree!.....Probably.

        "Mind telling me where it is?"  I questioned,  feeling considerably less safe riding a carriage and not knowing the destination.  I know,  compared to the things before it it doesn't seem like much,  but I am,  in some ways,  a pony designed after Rarity,  or is it the other way around.....Ah well,  the point is,  I'm fussy about the details

        "Like I said,  it is east of Appleoosa.  It was originally founded by the buffalo.  It became quite a large campsite over time,  expanding to accommodate more buffalo,  and eventually,  the ponies that moved there.  It soon morphed from a campsite into a village,  similar in size to Ponyville,  and similar in looks to Appleoosa.  After you got locked inside the throne room,  I gave the order to any messengers I saw to spread the word over Equestria that anypony and everypony was to evacuate there.  I just hope that they got out,  but if they did,  I trust my little ponies will spread the word efficiently."  Celestia explained as our destination thoroughly,  I wasn't displeased.  Dust for nothing but miles had it's own,  albeit limited charm.

        "I thought the buffalo and ponies didn't get along too well?"  Spike asked,  sounding part confused and part worried.  I had heard of these quarrels,  and gave this thought myself,  so I was interested in Celestia's response.

        "Not all buffalo and ponies are in the same situation as the ones at Appleoosa,  Spike.  Most actually get along rather well.  The inhabitants as Stronghorn view each other as nothing more than neighbours,  friends.  Not enemies.  You have nothing to worry about."  Celestia assured him,  he breathed a sigh of relief,  as did I.

        "Wait a minute!"  Applejack hollered,  leaping up with alarm in her voice.  "What about our families?!"

        "Oh my!  She's right.  Will they be safe?"  Rarity stepped in,  furthering the point.

        Luna stepped in to field the question for her sister.  "Not to worry.  We had some ponies sent there preemptively,  just to assure we had some line of defense in case Andrum caught us off guard.  Which he did.  Your families,  and pets"  Luna added,  nodding to Fluttershy.  "were included in the short list.  We got everything in order to send them as soon as we heard of Crimson's...incident,  needless to say,  whilst we were too afraid to confirm anything,  we were even more afraid to take chances.  I know,  it seems harsh,  like favouritism,  but we had to make the call.  We needed the best of the best,  and we know that your parents aren't the greatest warriors or the most powerful unicorns,  but you girls have saved Equestria from Discord,  from me,  from a snoring dragon.  You deserve to sleep knowing your loved ones are safe."  The elements believed a collective sigh of relief.  It did seem like favouritism,  but...I couldn't argue with her logic.  And I loved to argue.

        "Thank you,  Princesses."  Twilight said,  sounding like a load had been taken off her mind,  unsurprisingly.

        Something had been lurking in the back of my head for a while now,  stirring up and begging to be released.  I held onto it in fear of worrying the elements.  But after holding onto it,  allowing it to gnaw at me for a while now,  I decided it was time for my troubling little thought to see the light of day.

        "Doesn't Canterlot contain the location of every location in Equestria.  Who's to say he doesn't have a contingent of his best waiting for us?"  The second I said this,  the elements went from relief to immediate worry again.  I knew this was a bad idea.

        The carriage rocked as Twilight's worry caused her to lose control for a split second.  "Princess Celestia,  is that true?!"  She looked to her mentor for guidance and comfort as the other elements looked the same.

        "What if they're burning the place down right now!  I've got to go get them!"  Rainbow dash said,  leaping up and preparing to dart forward but being caught short by my magical grip on her tail.

        "Rainbow,  calm down!"  I shouted at her,  as she lowered herself back into the carriage,  struggling the entire way.  "I'm sure the Princesses have a backup plan.  Right?"

        "As a matter of fact,  we do.  Correct,  Canterlot holds every pony settlement in Canterlot founded by ponies."  She assured us....Well,  me.  The elements didn't catch on.

        "....Well,  spit it out,  Princess!  What's yer plan?"  Applejack said impatiently,  stomping her hooves in concern.  I couldn't blame her,  now was not the time to mess around with them and give them half cooked information.  Luna disagreed.

        "Who founded Stronghorn?"  I asked Applejack,  nudging her towards the answer with all the subtle tact of a Pinkie Pie as Luna pouted at me for ruining her fun.  

        "The buff...a...lo...."  She replied,  with a touch of embarrassment in her voice.  "How d'we know there ain't any undercover bad guys there though?"

        "We don't.  We just have to hope Andrum doesn't know about it.  We know he hasn't been back for too long,  but we have no idea how long his agents have been set up for,  gathering information,  biding their time for his return.  We just have to hope they view Stronghorn for what it is.  A tactically and strategically worthless location,  in the middle of nowhere,  that provides no real income,  as it is completely self sustained.  Everything made there,  stays there.  Don't worry,  I'm sure we won't be discovered for a while."  She assured the elements,  as they once again simmered down from their state of fear,  as the carriage simmered down from it's bout of unstable rocking.  However gifted a unicorn Twilight was,  her worry about the current situation was reflected in her precarious flying.  Celestia noticed this and took action.

        "Twilight,  why don't you let me take control of the carriage?  We're outside the range of any andridium,  so I can get us there faster,  take a nap,  won't you?"  Celestia asked kindly,  in a nurturing voice,  seeming very sympathetic to the elements' plight,  being thrust from paradisaical normality to,  to be brutally honest,  a war being rapidly lost.

        "Don't mind if I do!"  Rainbow dash yawned,  laying down in the back of the carriage as Spike curled up too,  supporting her in a truly magnificent display of laziness.  Twilight remained fixed in position.

        "It's okay Princess,  I'm fine here."  Twilight returned,  remaining steadfast in her position despite her now completely lack of followers,  as they had gone to join Rainbow and Spike in their lazy protest.

        "Now Twilight,  you've had a very hard day,  and your last sleep was cut short saving Crimsonlight's life.  Go sleep with your friends.  You need it."  Celestia bargained with her,  finding many nice ways to say 'Move,  now'.  More than I could think of,  that's for sure.

        "Okay...But if anything goes wrong,  will you wake me up?"  Twilight bargained right back,  determined to be as helpful as ponily possible.

        "Of course,  Twilight.  Now go,  I've got it from here."  Celestia stepped up as Twilight moved aside.  The carriage rocked for a second as the two changed control over,  but that was soon steadied by the Princess.  After finishing giggling at me almost falling over,  despite the fact she did the exact same,  Luna decided to speak up about some things.

        "Thank you."  She nodded,  sitting down on her haunches.

        "For the obvious,  or did I do something other than save the day that warrants your gratitude?"  I flicked my tail at her jokingly,  a great pony once said 'modesty is for people who don't wish to be proud of their achievements.'  That pony was me,  I'm great.

        "You had to ruin it,  didn't you?"  She chuckled,  turning her head to the direction of Canterlot as a look of sorrow dawned on her face.

        "Sorry."

        "It's not your fault....But thanks.....So,  you should take my sisters advice and catch a nap."  She advised me,  advice I didn't plan on taking.  I wanted to be awake and ready for any would be attackers.  I'd been protecting these ponies with my life so far,  and I didn't plan on stopping now.  Though,  in all honesty,  I was rather tired.

        "Oh please,  after all you've done today you're not tired?"  Don't you read my internal monologue,  Luna?  "The last considerably amount of sleep you've gotten was forced via near death injury.  Then you spent the day walking around with a huge gash,  escaping from alicorns or defending us from waves of attackers.  You need the sleep,  you can't deny that."  She did seem to have my best interests at heart,  and she was making a lot of sense,  but I didn't want to fight ponies away from a flimsy carriage high in the sky whilst drowsy.

        "What if I need to prote-"  Luna cut me off,  reminding me that getting into an actual debate with a being that you couldn't count to the age of more often than not ends with you feeling,  and probably looking silly.

        "How are you going to protect us half asleep?  You gonna hope they take pity on you and leave?"  Oh,  must we rub the salt in the wound with petty jokes.  Well,  you started it.

        ".........."  Unfortunately,  I couldn't finish it.  ".....Fine."  I admitted defeat,  she grinned and prodded at me as I grudgingly walked past,  containing giggles...what,  I can't be ticklish?  To a nice,  isolated corner.  That's when Celestia decided to save me some shame.

        "Sister,  perhaps you should practice what you preach?"  The Princess of the sun giggled,  causing her sister's face to contort into one of annoyance.  Aw yeah,  here it comes,  alicorn sibling rivalry.

        "I'm fine,  in fact,  I think maybe you should have a lie down whilst I take a shift controlling the carriage."  Luna countered,  cocking an eyebrow and bracing for her sister's comeback.  I know how hard of a day these two have had,  and they must be a lot more burdened than they are letting off,  so just in case it gets nasty,  I'd like to make a formal request for some Andridium.

        "Sister,  I have been running Equestria for a long time,  so have you,  but since your return you have been having,  completely understandable trouble slotting back into royal life.  It's in your best interests you take a nap,  you know I can take us to Stronghorn on my own just time,  we need to all be rested,  go,  lay your head."  Luna pushed out her bottom lip,  glowering at being defeated by her sister.  Celestia smiled at her sister,  Luna returned it,  acknowledging it was all in good fun.  I guess they were just arguing with eachother to cope with the stress of the day,  understandable.

        "Fine,  I will do it your way this time,  but next time,  I drive."

        "Of course."  Celestia smiled as Luna walked off to a corner.  Not just any corner,  the corner I was going to.  The nerve!

        "I had that spot reserved?"  I pointed to my corner defensively.  If there's one thing I value in a crumbling world,  it's the corner of a flimsy carriage suspended in the sky by magic.

        "We can share,  the elements and spike are all sharing one corner,  and there's five more of them than us.  Stop being a filly."  There she goes,  calling me a filly again.  I'd make a joke about HER age if I wasn't deathly afraid to.

        "Don't think you can take it out on me just because your sister just put you in your place."  Celestia tittered away as she heard this.  Luna giggled too,  simpering and feigning a look of annoyance.  "And no,  your place is not that corner."  I said as she parked herself defiantly in MY corner.

        "Tough."  She tapped her hoof impatiently next to her.  "Come,  this is as close to the corner as you're getting."

        "Just and fair ruler my flank."  I lay down beside her,  stretching my forelegs out and resting my head on them.

        "You're thinking of my sister."  She lifted a hoof towards Celestia.  "I'm the-"

        "Big dumb meanie head Princess?"  I interrupted her with what was possibly the stupidest thing in my mind at the time.  She stared my way,  a look of amused disappointment crossing her face.  Funny,  I'd never received that combination of looks before.  She must have been amused because I was an idiot.  And disappointed because I was an idiot.  Truly I was an aficionado in the art of multitasking.

        "....You're a moron Crimsonlight.....I like that.  Never stop being an idiot."  This was a herculean task she was asking of me.

        "I'll try.  No guarantees."  I replied,  shutting my increasingly heavy eyelids as I felt the gentle embrace of sleep wash over my body in tandem with the warming rays of the merciful sun.

        "Not like you have a choice in the matter."  She laughed,  lying her head down too.  I began to drift off almost immediately,  feeling a deep sleep coming on,  I had but one thing left to say.

        "Shut up and sleep,  Luna."