The journey down into the bowels of the citadel had been unnerving, descending deep below ground surrounded by the dark, mouldering metal scavenged from sea going vessels that had washed upon the island’s shores countless years before. Lyra had put her trust in Parchment to keep them on the right path. Now, here they were once again, with the purple unicorn male leading them out. Unfortunately ‘the way out’ was taking them nearer to what sounded like a full scale war. Booms, bangs, the sharp report of what Lyra now knew was called ‘gunfire’ popped and rattled around them with an unearthly fury. Her ears twitched, keeping alert for any signs of imminent danger. Not that she needed to at the moment. What was behind her was the dark depths from whence they came. Further up the corridor where the two males were heading the troupe, was where the real danger lurked. Every so often she felt as though she saw something move, slinking away back into the shadows. Here and there lights flickered, fizzing on and off, plunging the corridors into darkness or sudden bursts of illumination. Lyra’s heart leaped every time it happened, and it was getting worse by the second. Throughout it all the sirens blared on, heedless of whether anypony was left who was as yet unaware of the attack on the citadel. Lyra wished that the damned things would just stop. The whining sound was setting her already frayed nerves on edge even more.

“Power from the generators is being diverted,” Parchment whispered as if in answer to an unasked question.

“Which means?” Blue asked.

Parchment shook his head, “Not sure, but if I had to guess I’d say it has something to do with the portal.”

There was another explosion, a thump, and shouts of command from up ahead. The four, temporarily distracted by Parchment’s statement, exchanged glances.

“What, you mean they managed to get that thing working?” Celandine breathed. “Good god, are you sure?”

“Ask Lyra,” Parchment whispered back, nodding towards the green mare. “Her music was all it needed.” Lyra just shrugged and gave a sheepish smile.

“Then that’s where we need to go,” Celandine replied. “You, Purple guy, take us there.”

“No!” The urgency in Blue’s voice took them all by surprise. “Forget it. If we try going that way and the maester has the thing working I’d bet you a pound to a pinch a’ poop that they’ll have that place sealed up tighter than a nun’s panties.”

Trying to push aside the disturbing image, Lyra asked, “So what’s plan B? I mean, there is a plan B, right?”

“Of course there’s a plan B.” Blue pressed up against the wall as Parchment checked if the way ahead was clear. “Once I can think of it,” he quickly added. “The way I see it, is if Celly’s pals are coming after the medicine then that’s where they’ll be,” the human conjectured. “The citadel’s ponies will have retreated to protect the nerve centre, and that’ll be the portal. In between will be no man’s land where I’d put money on those zek guys slugging it out with Celandine’s pals while the rest stuff their pockets.”

“They’re not my pals,” Celandine hissed back. “I wouldn’t trust Lode Stone as far as I could throw him.”

“You don’t trust the maester either,” Lyra retorted.

Celandine treated her to a sardonic smile, “You’re right. There’s only two people I trust in this world, and one of them isn’t even a pony.” At Lyra’s hurt expression she offered, “No offence.”

“Yeah… None taken I’m sure,” Lyra mumbled.

“So what do you want to do?” Parchment asked.

Blue tapped him on the back, “Stick to the original plan. Get us out of here and back to the ship. I want to put as much distance between us and these dickheads as possible” He waved a hand, “Lead on Macduff.”

“Who?” Parchment frowned, “You know what, don’t bother answering that.”

Blue grinned wickedly, “You’re learning kiddo. Keep that up and I may not shoot you later for selling us out.”

The purple stallion raised an eyebrow, “Gee, thanks.”

Lyra hoped Blue was joking. He certainly sounded like he was, but Parchment didn’t look so sure. Then again who knew what weird nonsense passed through that odd unicorn’s mind. He was at that age when hormones did most of the thinking for him, and yet Parchment came across as peculiarly mature for one in his late teens. Assuming he actually was. Gods, she wasn’t sure! Most of the volunteers were teenagers, the spotty, lust driven creatures descending on the latest dig site as something to do over the summer holidays. Lyra, as indeed did most of the full timers, suspected the volunteers came more out a sense of getting away from under their parents supervision than anything else. The noises that emanated from the tents at night suggested that more than a few of the teenagers were far from passing acquaintances too. Still, they were useful to a degree, and from what little she knew of him, Parchment was one of the better ones. In fact he may prove to be an excellent archaeologist if he applied himself to the profession fully. Or was he already? Lyra’s heart sank. In truth she knew virtually nothing about him, nor had she attempted to really engage with him before this whole debacle began. Now such simple pleasantries as a ‘friendly chat’ seemed about as alien to her as everything else in this mad house. These were matters for later though, when they got the hell out of here. But… how? If they weren’t going to the portal then how would they get out of here?

“Celandine?” Lyra asked quietly.

“What? Keep it down, will you?”

Lyra rolled her eyes and pressed on, “How are we going to get off the island if we don’t use the portal?”

Abruptly a roar from up ahead was followed by a blood curdling scream of pain. “It’ll have to wait,” was all the armoured mare answered, and pushed forward at Blue’s waved instruction. Lyra froze in fear. Up ahead of them the hulking shape of a zek stood over the crumpled remains of a pony. By the war paint on the unfortunate creature’s head, he was one of Lode Stone’s tribals. The axe, still dripping gore from its latest victim, hung from the enormous hand of the zek. It turned to face them, its eyes gleaming ice blue in the faltering light.

To everyponies surprise, Parchment stood tall and addressed the creature in a commanding tone, “Stand down.” He took a step forward, his muzzle held high. In response the creature rumbled menacingly, the axe twitching in its clawed hand. To Parchment’s credit the young stallion didn’t so much as flinch. He took a deep breath and made his words ring out crystal clear, “By order of the Maester, I order you to let us pass. Return to your patrol.”

The creature hesitated, its eyes taking in the small band sheltering not far behind the purple one, and then… it saw Blue. The human. The human… The zek’s movements faltered, those cold blue eyes narrowing to cruel slits. A curious hooting sound abruptly emanated from its throat that sent a chill of terror through Lyra’s heart. “I don’t think it’s friendly,” she muttered. “Parchment, get away from it!”

Parchment however, ignored her. “Stand down,” he repeated, more forcefully this time. “Return to your patrol.”

For a second or two the zek seemed to ponder Parchment’s order, knitting its enormous brows in what passed for thought in the hulking monstrosities brain. It clearly knew him, or at least gave the appearance that it did, but there was something more to that animalistic face, something about the way it stared at Blue, some… some vague or abstract form of recognition perhaps? Maybe somewhere in that tiny brain it knew who he was, or at least retained a dim memory of-

Blue recognised the danger before the others did. Be it military training or perhaps no more than a gut feeling, his yell of warning made everypony jump in alarm. “SHIT! Get down!”

It was too late. A hairy paw the size of a steam shovel swatted Parchment away, effortlessly sending the helpless stallion into the wall like a child’s rag doll. With a howl of rage the red stained axe came up and the beast wielding it began a lumbering run straight towards the focus of its rage - Blue.

“DOWN!”

Celandine’s command cut through the din. Beside her Lyra lay flat to the floor, Blue ducking and rolling aside just in the nick of time. Over his head the cannon fired three times in rapid succession. Three deafening dull thuds of excruciating sound that shook the entire corridor, simultaneously rattling Lyra’s teeth and blotting out everything around her. The world before her burst into vivid flame, darkness, flame, darkness, flame… then red. Lyra screamed, throwing her forelegs over her eyes to try and block out the searing light.

BOM. BOM. BOM.

That sound! That awful, awful sound! It was so steady, so methodical, as if it were no more than an unfathomably large piece of machinery beating out its demoniac song to the direction of its hellish conductor. It was a song alright. A song of death. Hot brass shell casings pinged onto the metal floor, rolling away into the corridor from whence they’d come. As for what was before them…

“Oh… Oh, Celestia...” Lyra was pulled to her hooves by the armoured mare who went to check on Blue. Then, somewhat reluctantly, to Parchment. Lyra nodded her thanks just before her stomach emptied itself. She could barely stand, her legs were shaking so much they felt like jelly. But that was nothing compared to what that… that thing had done to the zek. ‘Jelly’ was the right word.

“You okay?” Blue’s eyes met Lyra, his hand taking her head as he checked her for injuries. He noticed her staring. “Don’t look at it,” he said firmly. “Lyra, listen to me, look at me. Look at me!” Blue’s words finally broke through her shocked daze and she tore her eyes away from the quivering mass of…

“I… I’m okay,” she managed.

“You’re not,” Blue corrected, passing her a drink from his flask. “It’s a god damned nightmare, Lyra, but it was either him or us. If Celly hadn’t shot it we’d all be like that. Do you understand?” Lyra nodded, taking another swig of the water. “Good girl.” Blue slapped her on the rump making her start, “Come on, get your shit together and let’s move out. If we stay here we’ll be in a whole world of hurt.”

Like they weren’t already! Suddenly Lyra paused, “What about Parchment? Where is he?” She’d lost sight of him in the excitement. Between the bright flashes, the high pitched whining in her ears as well as the huge mass of guts that had once been a living creature, everything had gone from rust red to a red that she hoped she’d only ever see again in nightmares.

Parchment himself was nearby, so covered in the innards and body parts of what had once been a zek it was hard to tell where pony began and visceral remains ended. Celandine was already at his side, trying her best to examine him. “He’s a mess,” came the reply. She shook her head and glanced at Blue. Her expression said it all, “I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

Blue’s features hardened, “Damn it.”

Lyra’s ears pricked up at that last utterance. “What? What are talking about?” She dragged herself forward, all thoughts of her own less than ideal state vanishing in an instant. Lyra quickly joined the armoured mare beside the barely breathing unicorn stallion. Trying not to think about what her hooves were walking through right then she pulled a piece of intestine away from the young ones flank, doing her best to see where he was hurt. Damn it all, why did he have to be purple? Blood was… well it was everywhere! Trying to hold her stomach back from emptying itself right then and there she gave herself a shake. She’d come this far, he couldn’t be dying, right? After all, he was the reason she’d come to this hell hole in the first place. To die would just be… well, it would just be stupid. Stupid and selfish. Yes, that was it, he was just be a stupid, self centered child. Your typical teenager really. Lyra huffed loudly, “He just got knocked about, that’s all. Right, Parch?”

The purple stallion made a faint gurgling sound before making an attempt at swallowing the water Celandine was trickling into his mouth. He lay worryingly still, crumpled up where he’d fallen after smashing into the wall. One of his two large eyes had swollen shut and blood trickled steadily from his nose. “Lyra...” Parchment winced, fighting with all his might to stay conscious. “Lyra, listen...”

“Oh no!” Lyra shook her head, “No way, mister! If you think I’m having one of those death bed confession things you can forget it! I know how this shit ends. So you get your damned rump in gear, get on those lazy bone idle hooves of yours and lead us-”

“I’m dying, you… you idiot.”

“You’re-?” Lyra froze. “Not today you’re not. Nope, Blue here will get you up and between us-”

“You’ll never make it carrying me.” Parchment’s one working eye stared into hers, “I won’t make it.” He paused, taking a breath. “Lyra, please, when you get back to Equestria, look up my folks and tell them… tell them...” A sudden cough took him, spraying blood which only blended in with the rest that bathed the hallway. “Tell them something, anything, but don’t tell them I died like this. Just… tell them I love them, and that I’m sorry.” He tried a smile, the first Lyra had ever really noticed him make. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

“I dragged myself into this,” Lyra replied anxiously. She felt a tear welling up, “Gods above, Parch, you shouldn’t be here! Neither of us should. This was my fault. I should have put a guard on that damned portal, and instead what was I doing? Pissing about with a bunch of cock-heads at a bloody night club!” Lyra squeezed her eyes shut, “And here you were, trying to survive on your own for six months before I even got here! What help have I been since then, eh? Celestia’s mercy, I’ve caused all of this!”

Parchment watched her with his one good eye. “It wasn’t six months.”

“What? It was longer?” Lyra frowned in surprise.

“Time dilation,” Parchment wheezed painfully. “I told you it was six months. It was… It was really... twenty one years.”

“Pfff! Yeah, right! Like of course it was!” Lyra felt a smile of her own passing over her lips. If Parchment could still joke, then maybe that meant there was hope for him. Right? And then she saw the look in his eye. “Now wait a minute, you can’t be serious!”

“The reason I didn’t tell you is… is because I’ve been taking the ‘medicine’,” Parchment explained. “The life essence of other... creatures. Creatures like… like the human.”

Lyra instinctively turned to Blue who was sat there beside Celandine watching the corridor ahead of them. If he’d heard what Parchment had said then he wasn’t letting on, but there was something in his demeanour that suggested he’d heard enough. More than enough. She couldn’t imagine what he must have been thinking about the whole ‘medicine’ business after he’d found out what it was and, more importantly, where it came from. When you considered that his own mare had been drinking that stuff then it didn’t bear thinking about.

“I knew what it was, Lyra,” Parchment breathed. “I knew. Not at first of course, but after the Maester, after Galeus took me into her confidence, she brought me down here and showed me… everything.” He gave an ironic snort that turned into an agonised bout of coughing. “But even when I knew, I still did it. I still could have stopped. I could have… I could have warned you.”

“Oh, Parchment...” Lyra’s ears drooped, “You may be older than me, but you’re still just a silly kid who stuck his muzzle into something that should have stayed buried. Gods, no wonder those suits wanted to blow the damned thing up.”

“And yet you still came to get me,” Parchment smiled faintly. “Thanks.”

Thanks? Goddess forgive her, he was thanking her. Thanking her! Lyra felt a wave a hysteria grabbing at her, the sheer madness of the situation trying to drown her in a sea of insanity. Part of her wanted it to. Part of her wanted to start screaming, screaming and running around until it all just went away.

A detonation from somewhere shook a plume of dust down from the vents. Celandine looked up, “Blue?”

The human nodded, “We need to move. Parchment?” Celandine merely shook her head. Despite everything, Blue gave the young stallion a sad look, “Sorry kid.”

Parchment nodded to him, “Take the next corridor on the right. Keep heading straight until you see a long flight of stairs.” He winced painfully, “When you… When get to the top, take the right turn until you reach the metal doors. You’ll see a hatch in the floor there that will take you into the drainage system. Follow the pipes marked with the yellow paint. Keep going through there and it’ll take you to the caves on the coast.”

Blue turned to Celandine who answered with a, “I know the caves. They flood every high tide.”

“Not if you go now,” Parchment wheezed.

“What about the main gates?” Blue asked. “If the citadel is under attack they may have blown the main gates to-”

Celandine placed a hoof on his shoulder. “They came in by pegasus,” she confirmed. “But the only way to get back up there is through them.”

“Them?” As Blue looked to see where his mare was motioning, he saw the shadowed images of zeks fighting with ponies. “If we help them they’ll-”

“They’ll kill you.” Celandine stopped him with a hoof on his chest. “Love, I said I didn’t trust Lode Stone, and you’ll have to trust me on this. Don’t trust his ponies.”

As if in answer there was a loud crack of rifle fire and a high pitched whizzing sound as the bullet ricocheted off over their heads. “Let’s move!” Blue checked his pistol and took the lead. He paused, “Lyra, leave him! For God’s sake we haven’t got time!”

“NO!” Lyra shook her head frantically, “I can’t leave him here like this! Those bastards will-” She froze as a blood stained hoof pressed against hers.

“Lyra...” Parchment smiled that oddly gentle smile of his, “Please… One of us has to make it. Please...”

She didn’t like it. She didn’t like it all! Panic snatched her just as armoured forelegs embraced her, hauling her off the ground. “No! Damn it, let me go!” Lyra’s hooves stretched, kicking frantically, “LET ME GO!”

Celandine suddenly slammed her against the wall, driving the air out of her lungs. The yellow mare’s armoured faced pressed into hers, “You want to die? Sure, I can leave you here, I don’t mind that. You can stay here with your little pal and see how long you can both last. But as for me, I want to live, and more importantly, I want him to live.” She nodded towards Blue, “I live for him, and only for him. If you endanger him I will leave you behind without a second thought. Do you understand?”

Lyra swallowed, “But Parchment-”

“Is FUCKED!” Celandine slapped a hoof across Lyra’s face as her eyes bore into her, “Last chance, you dumb bitch. Stay and die, or come with us and live. Your choice.”

And with that she took a step back and Lyra dropped to the floor. Helplessly the green mare looked towards Parchment who waved a hoof at her to go. It was like waving somepony off at a railway station. Something so simple, so completely innocent. She’d never forget that look in his eyes, so accepting of it all. She’d come here to rescue him when really, really he hadn’t needed rescuing at all. The one who’d really needed help was her. And here Celandine was offering it, and- Celandine? Lyra blinked. She was alone. Alone with a dying stallion, and… “Shit...” Lyra nearly ran right into the back of Celandine’s armoured rump as she rounded the corner in a fear driven rush to catch up. Behind her she could hear shouts, the animal rumblings of what was no doubt the zeks, and gunfire. Lots of gunfire. She would have been amongst that now. Amongst it with Parchment. Poor, poor Parchment. Something stung Lyra’s eyes and she reached up to brush it away with a hoof. It was wet, and red. Tears soaked her fur, mingling with the blood. Whether it was hers, Parchment’s, or the zeks, she had no idea. Right then all she wanted was to do get the hell out there as fast as equinely possible.

The rest of the journey down the darkened corridors was a nightmare of flashes, noise, and screams. Some of it was her, but mostly it was emanating from the battle raging unseen somewhere within the maze that was the citadel. True to Parchment’s word, they were indeed taking a route away from most of the fighting. Most, but not all. She couldn’t understand it; this was supposed to be a raid to get medicine wasn’t it? If so, then why was the fighting so… so intense? And they were everywhere too! There seemed to be small pockets of conflict dotted throughout the citadel, giving her the impression the invaders had split up into smaller groups. They’d seen fleeting glimpses of them as they’d run, and had also come across the carnage they’d left behind them. Lyra had recognised some of the dead ones too. They were familiar, but only in the sense that it was somepony you’d seen walking past you one day, or mowing the lawn, or else doing some other mundane task you didn’t pay much attention too. And now, whoever they were, they were dead. What had they done to deserve this terrible fate? Goddesses, she had been tasked with letting the tribals in, and if she had, would they have still gone on the rampage like this? Had she inadvertently started something more? As the cannon fired once more and she covered her ears as best she could, Lyra couldn’t help thinking that this was what being in a full blown war must be like. ‘Terrifying’ didn’t even begin to describe it. Celandine on the other hoof was the complete polar opposite – the armoured mare looked like she’d been born to this kind of existence. The way she moved in tandem with her human, the way he would slip forward, indicate a target, and Celandine would… would ‘deal with it’, was as terrifyingly efficient as it was utterly horrifying to witness. As Celandine herself had said, the yellow mare didn’t care who or what was in their way. Despite her earlier affinity with the tribe, or so Lyra had presumed, Celandine obliterated anything and everything in their path with barely a pause. Her eyes were cold. Emotionless. Ruthless. Was this how warriors had been in the past? Or had ponies always been so… so brutal? Nowadays they were little more than colourful, happy go lucky creatures who lived lives full of song, joy and magic. How far below that surface lurked the killing machines of history? How far would you need to dig before you unearthed the killer, the… the Celandine within? Was there one inside her? And what about Bon Bon? She was involved with government agencies that did… whatever it was they did. In fact she’d had a taste of that when those suits had turned up at the dig site. They were certainly ready to kill, and with the same blank, heartless expression that Celandine bore now. What you could see of it beneath the armour anyway.

BOM. BOM. BOM.

Again and again. Halt. Duck down. Three blasts. Get up. Move. And repeat. Again and again and again. This was the ‘quiet’ route, right? And dear goddesses, would she ever be clean again? More to the point would her hearing ever be the same? She’d jammed some toilet paper she’d found into her ears, but that awful high pitched whining was getting worse. She’d encountered it before of course, usually when she’d been to a particularly loud gig and was on her way home afterwards. Conversing with friends in increasingly loud voices had become the norm now, at least until the noise abated. Naturally she’d spoken to her family about it. Her mother had warned her about the danger of long term damage to her hearing, but she’d always laughed it off as if it were just an old mares tale. After all, it usually cleared up by morning after a nights sleep. Right now it felt as though it would never, ever go. She flinched; the noise, the flashes, the blood, and the screams were ever present. Whichever way you looked the telltale signs of battle lay scattered like sand before the winds, and carrying sounds that nopony should ever have to hear. Thank the gods for toilet paper! At least it helped to block out the worst of those blood curdling cries of pain and distress which erupted every time Celandine’s cannon spoke. Mercifully they weren’t her screams, but by the goddess she felt like howling at the nightmarish images she couldn’t help but stare at in open mouthed horror.

“This must be it.” What was that? Lyra’s attention was pulled to the sound of Blue’s words. They seemed to hang in the air somehow, offering hope where she’d thought there was none. The human hauled on one of the metal doors with the aid of Celandine’s earth pony strength. “Lyra, watch our back while we get this open,” he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Watch their…? Lyra looked over her shoulder then back again, struggling for words. All she could manage was a strangled, “But-!”

“Do you know how to open locks?” Blue asked, quickly glancing up at her.

“No, but-”

“Here.” Blue grabbed something from over his shoulder and threw it to the surprised green unicorn. “If anything comes round that corner, give it a burst.”

“Burst?”

“Point that end at it and pull the trigger,” Celandine instructed quickly. “Understand?”

“Y- Yes, but-” It was no use. The two of them began fiddling with the lock on the door leaving Lyra dumbfounded. Apparently Parchment had either not known about there being a lock or had simply forgotten to tell them. It was too late to go and chastise the poor sod now anyway, and Celandine was discussing with Blue the possibility of blowing the lock off with the cannon. The human expressed doubt, and felt that he wanted to be able to lock the door behind them. Leaving them to it, Lyra’s attention slipped between them and the opposite ends of the corridor junction which they were now right in the middle of. The sounds of battle were getting louder all the time, the thumps of explosions reverberating throughout the entire citadel. Lyra began to wonder if the whole crazy structure would simply give up the ghost, the rusty mass collapsing in on them like a deck of cards to crush them all to pulp. It wasn’t a comforting thought. She stared at the black thing in her hooves which Blue had given her and flopped against the wall, turning it over and over. It was made of steel, that much was certain, with a peculiar material for the handle. Clearly made of humans, or perhaps some other creature with hands, it was surprising that a pony had managed to use this thing at all, let alone work out out how it operated. Unicorns wouldn’t have too much trouble of course. Lyra’s magic was good with object manipulation, which was an essential talent for any musician, and-

Thwing...

Something hit the wall, sending red hot fragments spattering across Lyra’s neck. She let out a yelp and dropped to the floor, trying with all her might to make herself as flat as possible. There was a loud crack followed by voices, voices approaching from the far end of the curving corridor to her left. The voice were equine, and definitely equestrian.

“You there!” a voice rang out. “Are you-”

“It’s her!” another bellowed. “The traitor and her human!”

Lyra knew what was coming next.

“KILL THEM!”

Bullets pinged all around the green unicorn who instinctively covered her eyes with her forelegs, the weapon forgotten. “Stop it!” she cried, “STOP IT!”

“Lyra, keep them off us!” Blue’s voice came fast and urgent. “I’ve nearly got it.”

Lyra wanted to help. She wanted to do something, something to help, but what? It was one thing shoving an alien weapon into her hooves and demanding she shoot the thing at an enemy, but doing it was quite another. These were ponies for Celestia’s sake, and even if they were shooting at her and her companions, she couldn’t just kill them! She couldn’t-

“Lyra, for Lode’s sake, shoot back!”

The green mare dropped a hoof and stared at Celandine with a wild expression, “I… I CAN’T!” Lyra’s mouth went dry, her body shaking with terror. “I don’t know what to do!”

Celandine heaved on the heavy metal door, straining as hard as she could with Blue similarly turning a bright shade red with the extraordinary effort. “Use your magic!” the yellow mare gasped, “You saw me using a gun, right? Do the same!”

“It…” Lyra swallowed, “I’m not a soldier!”

“You don’t need to be,” Celandine forced out, pushing her back into the rusted door. “I wasn’t, but I do what I have to when it comes to-”

A yell of pain from Blue pulled both of the mares up short. “I’m okay,” the human hissed. Blood trickled down his arm from a nick on his shoulder. Celandine stared cold fury at Lyra, who quickly turned her attention back to the gun lying on the floor. With a deep breath, a very shaky breath it has to be said, she concentrated her magic on the strange device. It looked different to the one Celandine had used, but she knew enough to know which end to point and what the ‘trigger’ was. Yellow magic shone, a pair of remarkably life like facsimiles of a human’s hands taking up the gun. One hand wrapped around the handle, the around around the metal box that hung down before it, and squeezed.

Lyra had been around guns enough now to know what was likely to happen. What she wasn’t prepared for however was the recoil, the flash, and the noise so close to her face. She nearly dropped it. The ponies at the other end of the corridor on the other hoof, did drop. Two hit the ground, yelling to their fellow who ducked into cover as the hail of bullets swarmed all around them. Had she hit one? Gods she hoped not! Anyway, if she didn’t look then she couldn’t, right? It was enough to make a noise and make them hide. Hey, and it seemed to be working too! Lyra let go of the trigger, letting the two ponies join their fellows. Now this really was easy!

“One more shove, Celly, okay?”

Somepony stuck their head around the corner and Lyra gave the trigger another squeeze. The rat-a-tat of the human weapon was strangely intoxicating, gradually filling the young mare with an increasing sense of excitement. Excitement, and power. By Celestia’s horn, if she could make ponies do what she wanted with just a little squeeze of this tiny lever, then imagine what she could do back in Equestria with it! Those rats in the Cinder Club would get what they deserved alright. Especially that smug, self satisfied shit house ‘Mike’ and his young tart. Dumb little bitch, she’d be ridden senseless by those damned bucks and be up the stick in no time. Let’s see how long the taste of stardom lasted when she had a foal on the way!

“COME ON YOU BASTARDS!” Lyra let out a roar of laughter as the sub-machine gun opened up once more. Yells echoed around the corridor, followed by the return fire of a stallion who soon ducked back when one of Lyra’s bullets hit his own weapon. She laughed even louder at that.

“What, you don’t want to come and play?” she called. “Come get some!” She fired again, sending more bullets hissing towards their target with every squeeze of the trigger. Empty brass cases, hot and smoking, fell like rain around her hind hooves. Lyra was still laughing when she suddenly realised the gun had stopped firing. She blinked in surprise, staring down at it. What had happened? It was alright a second ago. Why wasn’t the damned thing-

“She’s out of ammo!” the answer came from along the corridor. “Rush her!”

Lyra opened her mouth to swear, nearly choking on her tongue as arms abruptly grabbed her and pulled the surprised green unicorn down into darkness. She did scream then. Memories of the awful beast Thirty-Thirty were still haunting the edges of her memory even now. But these arms were smoother, muscular certainly, but wearing a tan shirt that only one creature she knew wore. It was Blue, closely followed by Celandine who paused to let fly with a thunderous blast of fire from the cannon. Lyra duck as the huge empty cases dropped by her into the darkness down the stone steps. Wait… Stone? She didn’t have long to ponder as the metal doors slammed shut behind her and Blue slid the bolts home.

“Christ, I thought we were done for then.” The human closed his eyes and took a breath, helping Celandine out of her harness, “You out?” The yellow mare nodded in reply, drawing a shotgun from a holster on her side and leaving the heavy cannon beside them. The majority of her armour soon followed.

“Are you leaving that behind?” Lyra asked in surprise. “We might need it!”

“Only if it can work on fresh air,” Celandine replied, passing her a draught of water. “No ammo, no bang.”

“Don’t we have any more ammo?” Lyra held up her own weapon for inspection. “If those guys come after us...”

“If those guys have got enough firepower to get through that door then that sure as hell won’t stop them,” Blue answered. “And I’ll be taking that, thank you.” He deftly took the sub-machine gun from the surprised mare.

“Hey!”

“Never mind ‘hey’,” Blue retorted. He took out the old magazine and fed in a fresh one he fished out from his jacket pocket. “We’ve only got one left, and we don’t need a trigger happy lady going all Bonnie and Clyde on us.”

“Who?” Lyra frowned, “Oh, you know what, never mind. Just… Just, let’s get out of here, okay?”

Celandine, divested of her heavier gear, pushed forward, racking a shell into her shotgun. “You heard the mare, let’s go.”

Lyra looked at Blue who just shrugged, “Fortune favours the bold, eh?”

“Hmm, apparently so,” Lyra groaned, the adrenalin fading from her limbs as the cold and dark of the tunnel began to make its presence felt. Thank the goddess that Celandine had a small torch built into her helmet. It didn’t do much to illuminate the tunnel as such, but it did help her to keep her footing and provide a focal point. Eventually after several minutes of walking she asked, “You think they’ll be coming after us?”

“No.” Celandine answered the question herself, “They’re too busy trying to topple the queen of the castle to be bothered with the likes of us.”

“But I thought they were just after the medicine?” Lyra asked in surprise.

“She’s right, Love,” Blue added. “This has gone way beyond a quick smash and grab raid. That’s some serious firepower they’re packing there.”

“It is.” Celandine plodded on, dodging past some roots which had squeezed their way into the damp tunnel, “Pick up the pace. If we don’t get out soon this tunnel will flood and we’ll have to back track to the higher part until it drops again.”

Go back?! Lyra felt a lump in her throat, “Sod that!”

“Yeah, so let’s hussle!” Celandine lifted up her hooves, breaking into a trot. Blue struggled somewhat to keep up, with the yellow mare glancing back over his shoulder to make sure he was managing. He smiled back at her, but Lyra could see the strain in his eyes. Blue had been through hell and back, and as much as the life energy had boosted his physical condition, it was by no means back to anywhere near normal.

“I never trusted that Lode Stone guy,” Blue remarked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Something about him gave me the creeps.”

“He’s as old as Galeus,” Lyra said.

“I’m not talking about his age,” Blue corrected. “It was in his eyes when he saw me that time. He looked at me as though I were a bug under a microscope or something. Christ almighty, that guy would make Jack the Ripper look tame.”

“Whoever that is,” Lyra muttered.

“Famous human murderer,” Celadine answered succinctly. “One of many apparently. He liked to carve his victims up into neat little portions.”

“Anyway,” Blue cut in quickly, “I had the impression his ‘nicey-nicey’ game was just a front for some bigger ideas he had simmering away on the back burner. His type always do. Reminded me of a certain little Austrian we had to kick the stuffing out of in forty five.”

Lyra rolled her eyes, “Does he go on like this with you?”

Celandine grinned, “Always. Anyway, he’s got a point. I didn’t like what I saw around Lode Stone’s village. There were way too many weapons in there for what he was talking about, and the citadel had never made any punitive raids into the caves in living memory. No, that old swine was up to something, and I had a feeling it involved a lot more than just getting his hooves on some of the medical supplies.”

“You’re talking about taking over the citadel?” Lyra shook her head in amazement, but after what she’d seen back there, it was the most obvious answer. “The cost in lives...”

“Would be a price he was willing to pay,” Celandine answered. “He may not have said it, but he coveted Galeus’s position. We all knew it, especially the villagers. Speaking of whom, they’re waiting for us at the cove.”

“Waiting for us?!” Lyra felt a shock of alarm run through her. She’d never met them, but she’d heard enough to know that she never wanted to go near the place.

Blue gave her a wink, “Don’t worry, it’s all part of the big plan.”

“Big plan?” Lyra stared at him, “What ‘big plan’?”

“If the shit hit the fan we had a ‘Plan B’,” Celandine called back. “You’ll see. Now belt up and… Shit!” The yellow mare slowed down, staring at the ground. Water reflected in the beam of her torch. “Damn it, we have to move! Blue, get on!”

“On it.”

“Lyra, I don’t know what you’ve got left in the tank, but now’s the time for it.” Blue leaped onto the back of his mare and threw his arms around her neck. Celandine in turn broke into a full gallop with her human flattening himself along her back to avoid hitting the low ceiling. Lyra, for her part, hadn’t understood exactly what Blue’s words meant, but the urgency within them was as clear as day. The tide was starting to come in.

“I thought we had more time,” Blue called out.

“So did I,” Celandine answered quickly, lowering her head. “Pointless complaining about it now.”

“We could go back, couldn’t we?” Lyra queried from the rear.

Celandine snorted loudly, “We’d never make it in time. Did you see the tide marks back there?”

Truthfully Lyra hadn’t paid the walls all that much attention. In her rush to put as much distance between the fighting and their party as possible, all she’d focussed on was getting the hell out of there. Now, with the water noticeably rising along with the heady smell of salt water, there was no time to speculate on ‘what if’s’. The party were running hell for leather now, the sound of water sloshing and splashing around their thundering hooves all she could hear over the hammering of her heart. The temperature was dropping too. For such a hot place, down here it felt damp, dark, and held a distinctly sinister feel which wasn’t doing anything for Lyra’s peace of mind. Add to that the fact that none of them had any idea how long this tunnel was, and the only pony who could have told them was dead and… Oh gods, poor Parchment. He hadn’t deserved that. Nopony deserved to die like that. She gave herself a shake, throwing the intrusive thought aside. Speed was what mattered here. As much speed as she could muster.

In the crazed light of the flashlight the three ran on. Shadowed outlines of cut stone blurred past them as the water splashed up their legs, slowing them down. Before long it was up to their knees, then, horribly, almost up to their chests. With the upward increase in the slope of the tunnel, the strength sucking effort was becoming too much. Hooves dragged on the stone floor, barely contacting the ground. The ceiling bumped their heads, particularly for Blue who had now pushed himself off Celandine’s back as his weight had threatened to drown her. One step at a time they moved forward in the darkness: pushing, heaving, straining against the inrushing water, the vicious cold and the ever present spectre of complete exhaustion. Lyra felt the sting of panic grip her heart. The thought of never seeing Equestria again, of seeing Bon Bon, her friends or her family again, pulled at her. If she died here, if she drowned in this dark, unlit realm, who would ever know she had died? Gods, she didn’t want to die here. Not here! With a splutter of air and water, Lyra focussed her magic and conjured up the golden yellow pair of hands that she took so much pride in. With them she grabbed at the stone floor, using the magical projections as massive paddles, dragging and shoving her and her friends forward with surprising momentum. Despite the combined efforts of the trio, the extraordinary force of the inrushing water repeatedly pushed them back down, the combination of magic and will power driving the three of them forward only to be drive back into the black, choked tunnel. Time, as much as it mattered, seemed to halt for Lyra as she blinked the stinging salt spray from her eyes. And goddesses, how she prayed right then. Prayed for a miracle. She had to get out of here. She had to get out! Then, as if in answer to those very prayers, Celandine let out a cry.

“Light!” the yellow mare called. “I can see daylight!”

She was right. Ahead of them the bright sunlight was starting to cut through the darkness into the tunnel. With that call of encouragement, the three poured their last reserves of strength into the push towards the sun of the goddess, and salvation. They were all yelling at once now, shouting words of hope, encouragement, and appeals for ‘one more push’ to reach the glorious open air. Seconds passed, seconds that felt as though they would stretch off into an eternity of endless struggle. And then they broached. Celandine was the first, followed almost immediately by Blue and Lyra, the three gasping, choking, howling their joy to the world as they sucked in the life giving air of the world. It wasn’t over yet however, as the three were swimming against the pull of the water being drawn into the tunnel by the incoming tide.

“THERE!” Blue yelled. “Head for those rocks, everyone. Celly, can you reach them?”

Celandine, now completely divested of her armour, answered her lover by turning towards the slick, water soaked outcropping. It was little more than a collection of large weathered rocks, but anything that could get them out of this damnable water would be as miraculous as the day the first equestrian stepped hoof onto this wonderful planet. And step she did. Blue hung onto her tail but Celandine didn’t seem to mind. Single minded in her determination she scrabbled up onto the cold hard surface, water sloughing off her back like a snake shedding its skin. Without even so much as pausing for breath she reached back and grabbed the struggling human, all but throwing him onto the wide stone beside her. Lyra was next. At the very end of her strength, both physical and magical, the green mare coughed out a mouthful of water as she was hoisted by a combination of hands, hooves, and the last dregs of her own magic, up onto the rock beside her colleagues.

Celestia’s horn, she was so cold! Lyra could feel her body reacting with outrage to everything it had been subjected to in the last few hours. She was utterly bone weary, and mentally drained beyond anything she’d ever experienced before in her life. Letting out a small sob she started to shake, and as she did so Blue was there before her, helping to lift her up. “Please,” Lyra murmured, “Let me be, just for a few minutes. I… I need to rest before...”

“You stay here and you’ll end up with hypothermia,” Blue said in the same matter of fact manner that Parchment had used.

An image of the dying stallion, lying there covered in blood in that awful corridor full of gore and death, flashed across Lyra’s mind. Did she really want to end up like that? Alone, frightened, passing away with nopony to hold you? Fear surged into her heart, giving a surprising burst of strength that right up until then she’d thought impossible. Blue smiled to himself as he saw her surge to her hooves. Just a little encouragement and she was up beside Celandine who gave her a gentle, if rather soggy, nuzzle. Hell, they were all soaked. Somehow Blue had known that to leave Lyra there, to let her rest, as tired as she was, would likely lead to her never being able to get up again. Why, he wasn’t sure. His memory was as shot to hell now as it had been since the first day he’d woken up with a certain yellow coated mare standing over him. He could remember a lot even so, skills mostly, like how to play the guitar, how to work on electrical equipment, mechanical things and the like. He was very proud of that fact. As for who he was or anything about his family, he had nothing but a great big hole where that most basic of information should be. He wasn’t especially saddened about it, despite Celly’s concerns that he was suppressing his emotions on the subject. It was just that… well, how could you be sad about something you knew nothing about? He could have had a wife and child, maybe even multiple children, back in… wherever it was he was from. But if he didn’t know about them, then how could he miss them? The last things he remembered about how he got here were mostly snippets of imagery, sounds and the like. There were a few faces that he remembered, and names – like Forrest and William, or ‘Bill’ as his friends called him. He recalled the smiling face of one of them waving to him to hurry up, helping him up the ladder into the rear of one of the planes before anyone saw him. They’d had a spare position going as one of their number hadn’t turned up, been sick, or something like that. It was only a training mission anyway, nothing more, so what harm was there? The war was over and he’d missed the boat so to speak. Still, getting away from the books he’d studied on flying and actually getting into one of these warbirds was an opportunity he’d be a fool to miss. It was a punishable offence of course, but the boys hadn’t seemed to mind, finding his presence an amusing accompaniment during the flight. As for the brass, what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. All the other aircraft had full complements, were fully fuelled, and for all intents and purposes it should have been a simple case of flying from one nav point to the next and back again.

And then things had gone wrong. Horribly wrong.

“Blue, come on, we’ll warm up as we move. It’s not far now. Lyra, you keep it up girl, we’re nearly there.”

As the waves crashed around them, Blue recalled the howl of the wind outside the aircraft. Over the noise of the engine he could still here the crackle of the radio, the sound of confusion rising to shouts of frustration, anger, and then… and then the fear. The world pitched and rolled, the aircraft groaning and creaking as it was thrown by incredible forces it had never been designed to withstand. These forces from another world snatched at him and his friends, grabbing their flying machine and hurling them like a child throwing its toys, hurling out through a hole torn in the very fabric of the universe, and into a world of unfathomable nightmares. He had a vague memory of falling, a mass of trees lit by flashes of lightning, hitting something hard, a crashing, splintering sound, and then everything had gone black. When he’d woken up he was being tended to by a certain yellow coated mare. What a surprise that had been! But the rest, as they say, is history.

Sand crunched underfoot as they slipped and crawled over the rocks and out into the full sun of the morning. The sea seemed remarkably calm considering the violence with which it had thrown them all about only minutes earlier. But now there was warmth…blessed, blessed warmth! Blue thought he’d never been so happy to see that glorious orb cresting the horizon. But oh, for a change of clothes! He was soaked to the skin, and he had to fight the urge to peel them off and flop onto the hot sand in all his naked glory.

“You hear that?” Celandine asked.

Blue paused, bending over in an attempt to catch his breath. He glanced sideways at Celandine who looked as though she’d been out for a morning paddle. “Hear what?” he asked. “My ears are full of water still.”

Celandine lifted her muzzle, listening. “Gunfire,” she said quietly. “They’re still fighting back there.”

“Just as well we got out when we did then,” Blue replied. He screwed a finger into his ear. “There won’t be anyone left at that rate. Damn that Lode Stone, the guy’s cracked.” The human raised his head, fixing his mare with a meaningful look. “I told you I didn’t like you going there. Christ alive, you’re lucky you weren’t involved in that shit.”

Celandine frowned, “But I was involved in that shit, wasn’t I?” She grimaced, her brows drawing down. “Somepony had to pull your ass out of fire.”

“Can’t argue with you there.” Blue’s weary expression turned into a sardonic smile, and then a tired laugh. “Ha! We make one hell of a pair, eh?”

The yellow mare shrugged, her eyes twinkling in the sunlight, “As good as Bonnie and Clyde?”

“Oh, hell yeah!” Blue laughed, taking her in his arms. “Come here you, you’re under arrest.”

“You’ll never take me alive copper!” Celandine playfully pushed the human away, but Blue slipped past her whisking her up into his arms. He started to tickle her, raising at a first a chuckle, and then a helpless guffaw until she all but melted into him. “Okay, okay!” she rumbled throatily. “You’ve got me. I’ll come quietly.”

“Oh, I do hope not...” Blue murmured into her ear. He gave the furry appendage a playful nip, followed up by a kiss. And another.

“Ahem!”

The two paused. “Tch!” Celandine huffed loudly, rolling her eyes towards Lyra. “What’s wrong, you want to join us?”

“WHAT?!” Lyra’s face flushed a hot crimson. “NO! Bloody hell!”

Blue let out a sigh, “Guess we’ll have to put it on hold ‘til later, love.”

“Pff! Sod that, let her watch, I don’t mind.” Celandine raised an eyebrow towards Lyra, “You like to watch, don’t you?”

“Celly, please!” Blue pushed his mare away and gave her a pat on the rump, “Leave the poor girl alone. Look at her, she looks like hell. God almighty, we all do.”

“Humph!” Celandine snorted, “Alright, but you owe me one.” She glanced at Lyra, “Pity, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.” She frowned for a moment in thought, “Or maybe you do… sneaky, sneaky!”

“Oh, belt up!” Lyra snapped back. She looked around them, wary of anything potentially flying overhead. But other than a few brightly coloured birds of paradise, there was nothing of note. “Hey, do you guys have a plan for what we’re going to do now? I mean, not being an arse or anything, but they have a big portal back there that’s our ticket out of here.”

“You wanna go back there, be my guest,” Celandine sniffed.

Blue shot her a hard look before looking to Lyra, “Plan B, remember?”

“Yeah, I heard,” Lyra retorted. “But what’s that mean? It’s alright you being all mysterious over it, but for all I know it could be something suicidal that’ll get us all killed. You’re asking me to take a lot on trust here, Blue.”

The human shrugged, “True, but in all fairness, I was kinda winging it.”

“What, you mean you’re making it up as you go along?!” Lyra blinked in horrified realisation of what Blue was saying. “That’s ‘Plan B’? Bloody hell!”

“Hey, you’re alive aren’t you?” Celandine said with a toss of her wet mane. “Plan B seems to be working pretty damned well so far.”

“So far...” Lyra’s eyes widened.

“What?” Blue asked, frowning at her. “What can-”

Just coming into view around the sand dunes was a pony, closely followed by another, and another. They weren’t running, in fact they didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry at all, but they were definitely heading their way.

“We’ve got company!” Celandine exclaimed, backing up a step. “You got a gun on you?”

Blue shook his head, “Lost it back in the tunnel. You?”

“Dumped it with the last of the armour.”

“Ah… So, hooves, fists and magic it is then.” Blue sighed, “Lyra, you up for a fight?”

“Um, no?” came the reply.

“Run?” Celandine suggested.

Blue shook his head, “They’d be on us before we got twenty yards. We’re worn out, love. Look at Lyra, the poor girl can hardly stand, and I’m not much better.”

“I’m not that bad!” Lyra snorted. “Besides, I can magic us a shield,” she suggested. “That’ll buy us some time to get somewhere safe. Are we near the ship?”

Celandine shook her head, “Not near enough. Besides, we aren’t going back to the ship.”

“We aren’t? Why?”

“Too far. Besides, we have something else in mind,” the yellow mare replied. “This way!”

The three took off once again, but this time at a light jog. Further up the beach the newcomers raised a shout.

“I think they’ve seen us,” Lyra said, her hooves kicking up sand.

“Get that shield ready,” Blue prompted. “As soon as they get close, do your thing. I just hope it’s as good as you say it is.”

“We’re about to find out!” Celandine shouted. “Lyra, NOW!”

The golden bubble of magic flowed out to encompass the trio just in time to stop a spear bouncing off the expanding edge.

“I thought this lot were supposed to be the good guys,” Lyra huffed, following Celandine as she threaded her way between the sand dunes. “Guess they took me in hook line and sinker.”

“Don’t blame yourself, they did with all of us,” Blue called back.

“You suspected Lode Stone was up to something though,” Celandine reasoned. She looked around, spotted more of the tribals, and headed towards the treeline. “He may be my father, but he was always the leader first and foremost. The Hidden see him as almost divine, and as the only one who could keep us safe from the maester’s monsters. They’d follow him to hell if he asked them.”

“He may have done just that,” Blue replied.

“But why did they start shooting at us?” Lyra snorted. “I know he didn’t like Blue, but his goons started shooting the second they saw and shouted something. I can’t remember what-”

“It was ‘Traitor’,” Celandine nickered bitterly. “I’m afraid father had no intention of letting Blue leave the citadel alive, Lyra. I disagreed with that opinion and decided to take matters into my own hooves.” She raised an eyebrow at the green mare, “Once you’d let them in they intended to have you lead them to the maester’s rooms where they would kill her, and then force the ponies in the laboratory to destroy the portal.”

Lyra couldn’t believe it, “What? Destroy the portal?! Gods above, why would he want to do that? Is he insane?”

“No,” Celandine replied. “Far from it. He simply wants to rule, and after he removes the maester from the equation he’ll become the de facto ruler of the island. What use will the portal be then? He has everything he wants right here. He wouldn’t want to risk destabilisation of his rule by leaving, in a manner of speaking, the front door wide open.”

“It’s the very definition of the term ‘captive audience’,” Lyra murmured incredulously.

“Guess there were more monsters than just the Chocks on the island, love.” Blue flinched as a bullet zinged off the bubble, “Damned good magic you’ve got there, Lyra. Where’d you learn to do that?”

“Oh, you know, country clubs, bars and the like,” Lyra smiled.

“Jesus!” Blue shook his head, “That must be some audience!”

The tribals kept their distance, dogging the trio step for step. Realising their bullets and spears had no effect they’d hung back, content to remain observing for now.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Lyra asked.

“Watching where we’re going,” Celandine replied. She snorted, adjusting their direction to pick up what looked like a game trail. “They know that sooner or later your magic will run out of juice.”

“I’m good,” Lyra assured her.

Celandine glanced over her shoulder at the green mare, “You’re not. You’re tired out. We all are.” She tapped her head, “I’m not a unicorn, but I know that the last thing we need is you passing out from burnout. Pace yourself, but if you feel like you can’t continue shout out, okay?” Lyra nodded in reply. “Good. Now, we’re not far, so keep it up.”

“Where are going?” Lyra asked.

Celandine bobbed her head, “You’ll see for yourself in a few minutes. Now shush and concentrate on keeping that shield up. Blue, you okay?”

“Right with you, love,” came the reply.

The glance that passed between the two would have been heart warming to see. At least it would have been if Lyra hadn’t been so hopelessly tired that she wasn’t paying attention to anything other than following Celandine nose to tail and keeping the shield at full strength. She hated to admit it, but the yellow mare had been right; she’d seen straight through Lyra’s confident smile and realised her magic wouldn’t last as long as she’d intimated. Lyra sniffed. What did she know of her limits? It wasn’t as if they had any choice in the matter, was it? That lot behind them didn’t look like they were in the mood to take prisoners. But… what if they actually did? Both herself and Celandine had been on good terms with Lode Stone when they’d been in the caves, or at least they had been. Celandine was his daughter for goodness sake, and even if they didn’t see eye to eye, her father wouldn’t really want his girl killed, right? As for Lyra, well, sure she hadn’t ‘opened the door’ the way he’d wanted, but it wasn’t like she’d had no intention of doing it. Right? They’d gotten into the citadel anyway as it turned out, so it wasn’t like he hadn’t achieved his goal. The goal he’d told her about at least. It was clear the guy was aiming a lot higher than simply filling his pockets with as much ‘medicine’ as he could get his thieving mitts on. Then of course there was the matter of Blue. From what Celandine had said it sounded as though Blue would find himself right back in that laboratory again, slowly being drained of life until… until… Gods, it didn’t bear thinking about! Damn it all, she hoped they knew what they were… they were…

“LYRA!”

The shield faltered, flickering in and out of existence. A yell came from somewhere amongst the trees as a shot rang out, hitting a tree near Celandine and spattering the trio with splintered wood. Lyra swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut as she concentrated and brought up the shield once more.

“That’s it!” Blue snarled, “Up you come.”

To Lyra amazement the human put his arms around her and hoisted her up onto his back like a furry rucksack. He huffed loudly under the not inconsiderable load, “Put your forelegs around my neck and hang on. Celly, you okay?” The yellow mare nodded, glancing at Lyra who let out a heartfelt sigh of relief.

“That should buy us some time,” Celandine observed. She looked to Blue questioningly, worried about the way he was breathing heavily, “Are you okay? I could-”

The human simply shook his head, “I’m good. We’re nearly there anyway.”

Lyra closed her eyes, bouncing gently along on the human’s back and just letting it all happen. It was surprisingly comfortable truth be told, if somewhat warm and damp. It reminded her of her foalhood when her father would help her ‘fly’ through the air with the aid of his magic. Much to her mother’s horror it had to be said. Being so close to a human was something she could never have imagined, except perhaps in one of her more ‘graphic’ dreams. These were a guilty secret she kept even from her best friend, but she’d often wondered what it would have been like to have a human as a lover. Of course she’d never really thought something of that nature could ever happen in reality. Heck, she’d never been absolutely sure humans had even existed until she’d met Blue. And, as luck would have it, he was already spoken for. Perhaps it was just as well too, or else she may have considered indulging in what had once only been a fantasy. Once she’d crossed that line there would be no turning back. Or would there? After all she dallied with stallions whenever she fancied back home, and it was no concern of anyponies who, where, or what she did in her own free time. She smiled faintly to herself, enjoying the sensation of warmth spreading through her. What if Celandine’s offer to join them had been sincere? She was probably only joking, but what if she hadn’t been? Would she have said ‘yes’? By Luna’s fetlocks, he was so warm! His movement against her, the way his muscles rippled, rubbing her undersides just so…

“Hoy, keep that shield up there!”

Lyra started, her ears pricking straight up. She thought she was going to pee herself.

“Lyra, are you alright?” Blue called asked over his shoulder.

Lyra nodded, “Uh-huh.”

“You’re squirming around a lot. You’re not hurt are you?”

“No!” Lyra squeaked as the realisation of what she was actually doing caught up with her weary brain. Damn it all, what was wrong with her? “I… I’m fine, Blue. You can let me down if you like.”

“No way young lady,” Blue smirked. “You’re sticking with me until we get to where we’re going. In fact,” he grinned broadly, “we’re here. Best keep your head down a for minute, it’s going to get a touch noisy.”

The human clamped his hands over the mare’s ears as gunfire erupted around them like a storm breaking, unleashing a fury of leaden death that surged, ebbed and flowed. Inaccurate it may have been, but it had the desired effect, sending the encroaching tribals running for all they were worth with their tails well and truly between their legs. Lyra scarcely noticed, her muzzle still pressed into the human’s chest as he pulled her into him beneath the whizzing bullets. She grinned to herself, but sadly she knew that sublime moment of comfort wasn’t to last. With a heavy heart she let Blue help her to her hooves, whilst Celandine, who had a very peculiar expression on her face, walked past her to greet their very timely rescuers.

“Whisk!” Celandine shouted delightedly. A pink mare with a mint blue and white mane came into view through the trees. “Is Marzipan there too?”

“We’re all here!” the pink mare called over. “As many as would come.” She leaned to look past Celandine, exclaiming, “Boy, look at them go! Don’t think we’ll be seeing them here for a while.”

“It’s bought us some time,” Celandine smiled, “and that’s what we need right now.”

More ponies were starting to emerge from the trees. Some confidently strode towards Celandine to embrace her with smiles and hugs, whilst others were more wary, eyeing Blue with suspicion bordering on fear. Many of them were armed with a bewildering array of weapons that were clearly of human origin. Adaptations had been made to make them compatible with equine anatomy, which, Lyra was surprised to note, showed that almost with exception the newcomers were-

“They’re all earth ponies,” Lyra blurted automatically.

Blue nodded, brushing sand from his shirt. “They’re from the village,” he explained. “No unicorns or pegasi there, Lyra. The citadel takes them for its own.”

Cursing her big mouth, Lyra let out a sigh, “I remember Celandine saying. It’s just… y’know, a bit weird to actually see it?”

“You don’t have communities of just one type of pony?” Blue asked in surprise.

“Not since the war of the three tribes,” Lyra said with a shrug. “There may be odd little villages like that here and there, but it would be exceptionally rare.” She frowned, “Without a lot of inbreeding anyway.” Lyra shivered, “Celestia, what a thought!”

Drinks were quickly brought up for the weary trio, along with plenty of food and a pressing mass of equines eager for news. As the new girl amongst these ‘village’ ponies, Lyra was drawing almost as many stares as Blue. She dreaded to think what would have happened if Celandine hadn’t been there. They clearly knew her as one of their own, and if she trusted the human and the green unicorn, then that appeared to be enough to mollify them. Most of them at least.

“Everypony, this is Lyra of Equestria, and the tall guy is Blue, my husband.” A lot of murmuring rose up from the assembled ponies as the revelation of who these two were began to sink it. This in turn rapidly rose to a loud crescendo of questions. Celandine waved a hoof to quieten them down, “There’s time for introductions later,” she said offering an understanding, almost motherly, smile. “For now, the worst we feared has happened, and we will all have to do what we can to escape this place before we’re caught up in the fighting.”

“But we just fought them off!” one called out. He held up his rifle, the thing balanced beside his head by a curious contraption made of wood, wires and string. “With these things we could take the citadel ourselves! We wouldn’t have to toil in the fields any more.”

“Or have our kids stolen!”

“Yeah!”

“We can do it!” a young stallion shouted. “You should have seen that one run!”

“He would have run even faster if you’d actually been aiming at him,” another quipped.

There was a ripple of laughter from the rest until Blue shook his head, raising his hands in the air for quiet. “Friends, please, I know you don’t know me, other than what Celandine has told you of course, but trust me when I say that the fighting in the citadel is not something you want to get involved in. Any of you. They outnumber you, they have a lot more guns in there, and much more powerful ones too. The zeks alone could tear you in half with their bare hands.” One or two of the villagers paled as he continued, “The tribals under the command of Lode Stone wouldn’t hesitate to kill you either. You wouldn’t just be facing the maesters forces, you’d be fighting them too.”

There was short pause before one asked, “I thought they were on our side, weren’t they?”

“Weren’t you listening when Celandine spoke to us the other day?” a young mare replied.

The stallion shrugged, “Dunno, I was taking a shit.”

“You were taking a shit when we were talking about escaping from the island?!”

“Hey, when you gotta go you gotta go, yeah? No fun having a brown dog barking at the back door, if you know what I mean.”

“Gods help us! Who let this idiot in here?”

“But what about the fisher islanders?” one asked, mercifully changing the subject. “We can’t just leave them behind.”

“They had their chance,” an orange stallion snorted disdainfully. “They turned their backs on us years ago. To hell with them I say.”

“They’re still ponies!” an older mare retorted. “My grandfather and nephew are fishers. Do you think they had any more choice in how to live their lives than we did?”

“I don’t trust a pony who eats fish is all I’m saying.”

“They catch the fish to feed the zeks, you idiot! Lode help me, how have you lived this long when you’re so stupid?”

Celandine spoke now, “Please, everypony, we don’t have time for this.” She turned to the worried looking mare, “We can’t take everypony, Flax, as much as I’d like to.” At the disappointed murmuring she added, “But don’t give up hope. It’s my earnest wish that we once we escape we’ll find a way to come back for them - them and anypony else who wants to get away from this accursed place.”

“Praise be to Lode for that!” an oldtimer cheered.

“But what about the human?” a green earth mare asked warily. “We all know what they’re capable of. How do we know he won’t betray us and-..”

“You all know about Blue already,” Celandine assured her gently. “I know you haven’t met him before, or at least not all of you, but I ask that you put your trust in both of us to get our people to safety. Blue and Sparks have been working on getting us out of here for years now, and today is the culmination of all of that effort.” She frowned, “Speaking of which, where is Sparks?”

“He’s in the big bird,” came a reply from further back. “He told us to keep an eye out for you, but when we heard the shooting we came to see what was happening.”

“And I’m damned glad you did!” Blue laughed, hugging Celandine. That raised a smile from many. Some still clearly had reservations, but at least were willing to put their concerns aside for now. “Come on everyone, let’s get this show on the road.”