Chapter 11: Dark Places

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Twilight Sparkle was well known around Ponyville for being many things; a bookworm, Celestia’s pupil, and a prodigy of magic; to name just a few. On this particular day it was discovered that she was also a total light weight when it came to indulging in the drink. She was not a fan of imbibing alcohol, sipping the bubbly, or entertaining the ‘green fairy.’ When Applejack tried to convince her that the drinking game between farmer and engineer was, ‘another understandin’ in tha study of friendship,’ Twilight figured she should at least give it a test run, just this once. Two drinks later and she was out like a light, face buried deep into an apple pie. When she awoke a short time later, complete with a headache that could split the moon, she had almost wished for a return to that blissful oblivion than face the news that the Cutie-Mark Crusaders had delivered.

Celestia’s tower had vanished from the horizon, rolling clouds of black smoke saturated the sky while Canterlot continued to burn, lit ablaze by the flaming debris. What was left of the tower had left a trail of ruin that ran down the mountain side, a scar that would decorate the horizon forever. Twilight was beside herself with worry, hyperventilating at the absurdity of it all. Maybe it was just an accident, could it be deliberate, both, neither. She didn’t know, but surely Celestia was all right, she had to be. There were so many questions; so many possibilities and contingencies to consider and they were all running through Twilight’s mind like a horde of locusts. Then there were her parents, were they all right, were they injured, how were they handling the situation?

Twilight departed the farm to make a quick return to Ponyville. Spike and Rarity should have already witnessed the disaster and be on their way back at this very moment from the gem fields. If Celestia was alive she would’ve sent Spike a message. Not wanting to leave the children unattended during this crisis, Isaac followed close by while he carried Sweetie Bell on his back. Applebloom stayed on the farm with her family, and Pinkie Pie was in charge of escorting Scootaloo back home.

Confusion and chaos were the new masters in Ponyville. The streets were filled with litter as every pony had dropped what they’d been doing and degenerated in to a dust cloud of bodies running to and fro like a stampede of cattle. Mothers were herding their children, fathers barricaded their houses, street merchants were closing up their carts, all while other ponies were buying up large amounts of supplies from the stores that had yet to close. Every pony was desperately preparing for the worst possible situation, even if the details were sketchy on what that could be. The sudden and inexplicable torching of Canterlot had left some to believe Equestria was under attack from a neighboring kingdom, others said it was the end of the world, while an obstinate few declared that it was clearly an inside job.

“Twilight! Twilight!” She heard Spike calling out to her, his pudgy little legs a blur of motion, while he waved a scroll in his hand.

“Spike, there you are.” Twilight galloped over to him happy to see he was still in good shape, “You got back from your gem hunting trip awfully quick.”

“Rarity gave up and came back early since we didn’t find a single gem up there,” He pointed to an unseen location beyond the western border of the Everfree forest, “seems that someone has really been cleaning up house lately. That’s not important right now, on our way back we found Fluttershy’s pet bunny, Angel. He was limping with a broken paw and collapsed soon after we arrived.”

Fluttershy, the calm and shy pegasus who was afraid of her own shadow, was known to keep many different pets across a wide range of species such as birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, herbivores, omnivores, and even a few carnivores; she was the definitive animal expert. Of all the critters she kept none was more famous than the bunny rabbit she called Angel. He was a tiny white critter well known around Ponyville, because despite Fluttershy doting over him like he was her own child, she had to tolerate a level of grief from the white rabbit that would have gotten any pony lynched by the whole town if they’d dared to treat her in a similar fashion.

“And…” Isaac annoyingly coaxed the purple dragon. He didn’t know what was so important about some stupid rabbit, everyone else acted as if they’d been submerged in ice water.

“Right, Nurse Redheart is caring for him at the hospital right now.” Spike finished.

“How is he doing?” Twilight would freely admit that she held no special love for the white rabbit. She was more concerned for Fluttershy’s sake.

“Still pretty bad. He was rather roughed up, but y’know Angel. He’s more stubborn than both Applejack and Rainbow Dash combined. I’m sure he’ll pull through.”

“Does Fluttershy know?”

“That’s the worst part,” Spike suddenly became more interested tracing a foot across the dirt road, “Rarity and I went to her house and found that it had been broken into. Twilight... a lot of her animal friends were dead. Everywhere we looked there were an awful lot of little bodies, but we searched and searched everywhere and we couldn’t find her.”

“That’s terrible!” Twilight shook in a mixture of disbelief and anger. “What pony could possibly be so... so... villainous, depraved, insidious even, to commit such a deed!?”

“Twilight,” Isaac interrupted, “with everything that’s been going on lately are you really surprised that anything or anyone would be considered sacred or beyond influence? Whoever is behind all this has already shown they’re not pulling any punches.”

“You don’t know Fluttershy.” Logically Twilight knew he was right, but chose to ignore him instead, “It’s okay Spike, we’ll find her.”

“I hope so, maybe when Angel wakes up he can tell us what happened. Rarity is staying by his side and she’ll tell us when he wakes up. I guess that’s the best we can do right now.”

“I suppose you’re right, we’ll just have to wait and see, but I’d like to examine Fluttershy’s home for clues if he doesn’t come around soon. Now, what about the letter you’re holding? Is it from Celestia?”

“Yeah, I think so, but I’m not sure. Look.” Spike held the scroll out and allowed the lavender unicorn to lift it away. The plain brown paper letter was tied with a simple length of twine and lacked a proper sigil or any identification mark that could tell her who it was from. All the same, Twilight opened the letter with great haste and began to read.

“Do not read this letter out…” She hesitated at the final word and dropped into silence before continuing. Unbeknownst to her, Spike, Isaac, and Sweetie Bell had noticed this strange shift in behavior and had gathered together to read over her shoulder.

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

Do not read this letter out loud!

To my dearest pupil, Twilight Sparkle,

No doubt you are aware of the tragedy that has befallen Canterlot this day. It seems our enemy has made an attempt on my life. A plan that failed as I am sure you have concluded with the delivery of this letter. Were it not for Rainbow Dash’s heroic efforts I might not have had time to teleport before the explosion. Dash has also revealed to me and Luna that the Tome of the Marker has left the city and was delivered to Fluttershy’s home. Most likely it is in enemy hooves now, as well as Fluttershy along with it.

However, the enemy has revealed themselves to me. They placed orichalcum into the explosives that decimated my tower. Orichalcum is a material which can absorb and nullify even the most powerful of magics. It was Nightmare Moon’s answer to the Elements of Harmony. However, Nightmare is not the enemy we face now. A thousand years ago, she had built an army with the purpose of hunting me down should I have eluded her grasp. They were defeated along with Nightmare, but I fear some of these sinister allies have survived into the present. For a thousand years they have been quietly waiting and watching and wish to take matters into their own hooves after suffering their master’s defeat for a second time. I am deeply concerned for Luna, she is not taking this revelation well.

All of Canterlot believes me deceased and, for the time being, so does the enemy. For now keep my survival a secret and bury it close to your heart. I need time to recover and observe. Luna will remain by my side for she is the only one I completely trust left in Canterlot now.

I have decided to send you the aid of an old friend of mine; the oldest I have left. He may come across as harsh, uncaring, and spiteful but trust me when I say that his heart is in the right place and that he wishes to put an end to this horrible situation, as do we all. He will meet you tonight, at the stroke of twelve, in the Ponyville clock tower. Go alone and do not keep him waiting. He will help you understand what you face as well provide certain gifts to assist you and Isaac Clarke. I wish you both the best of luck.

Do not try to contact me and do not approach the capital! The enemy has their eyes on you now and I do not know how long it will be before they try to come for you like they did with me. Keep the newcomer, Isaac Clarke, safe and close by your side. He is an unknown element in this fight, but I believe he was sent to us for a reason and may indeed help save us all.

Please know that I did not choose lightly when I took you in as my star pupil,

With all my love,

Princess Celestia.

P.S. Be wary of shadows, the enemy could be any pony, even the ones you trust.

P.P.S. This message will self-destruct in 3..2..1..

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

Twilight gave a surprised yelp and jumped back at least ten feet as a plume of green fire erupted mere inches from her face. Spike’s sudden mighty burp had incinerated the scroll into a pile of ash.

“Spiiiike!”

“Sorry, it just came over me! I couldn’t help it.” he shrugged in protest.

Despite the unexpected surprise, or maybe because of it, Twilight felt a little giggle escape from her. It was just like Celestia to pull a little prank like this. It was her way to try and inject a bit of humor into an otherwise awkward or tense situation. Twilight’s laugh evaporated as soon as it had emerged. She appreciated the gesture, yet there was nothing that the Princess could do to pretend that things were not as bad as they were. The serenity of the world was as hopelessly lost as the Canterlot tower. Now Twilight could see the glimpses of darkness that were showing through the cracks and she wondered if the evil had always been there.

She quietly looked to the sky, trying to find some comfort in the sun’s majestic rays. She ached to embrace her mentor, to hear Celestia’s sweet voice again.

“Nothing is the same anymore.”

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

“I’m scared, Mr. Cutter. Are bad things going to happen to us? Are there monsters coming to eat us?” Isaac felt Sweetie Bell tightly grip onto his back seeking protection, her curly bangs tickling his neck. He wondered why this young unicorn had decided to put her faith in him. For as much as he’d survived death he had only been able to save the life of only one other, Ellie. She had wanted him to go with her, but he had sent her away to be rescued. The Marker had to be destroyed even it cost him life. He wondered what Ellie was doing right now.

“Hey, don’t get all sad on me now. Nothing is going to happen as long as I have anything to say about it.” He hoped he sounded more convinced then he felt. He was terrible at handling kids.

“Really? Do you promise?” she asked with twinkling eyes. Isaac hesitated, there were no guarantees when it came to fighting against a Marker and the Necromorphs it spawned.

“I’m an engineer and that means I solve problems. Yeah, you won’t find a better engineer suited for the job of killing monsters than me in the entire world.” He boasted and Sweetie Bell smiled a comforted look. Satisfied his work had been done, he then turned to Spike.

“So you’re a dragon?” Isaac said plainly, wondering why he couldn’t have been made a dragon in this world instead of a damn horse. Though he would have preferred his dragon self to be a bit taller, maybe a bit more threatening, and a lot less purple than the one standing before him now.

“Yup, name’s Spike and I’m Twilight’s number one assistant. You don’t have a problem with dragons do you?”

“Not at all, it’s good to see someone who’s not a pony.”

“Yeah, and it’s nice to have another guy to hang out with for a change. Being around so many girls all the time and their frilly fru-fru nonsense can really be a drag on a guy.” Sweetie Bell shot Spike an accusing glance. After all, he was the one who had a crush on Rarity.

“Twilight told me all about you. I tell you, it felt so good to finally look Twilight in the eye and say, ‘ah-ha, I told you there were zombie ponies.” Spike sang his own praise.

“Zzzooombie Ponies!” Pinkie Pie arose from the grave, clear out of nowhere, using a flashlight strategically placed under her chin for an effect that was useless in sunlight.

“Yeep!” Sweetie squeaked.

“Warn us when you’re going to do that. You scared her.” Isaac found his vision uncomfortably filled with pink, upon pink, with a side of pink, and an extra helping of another kind of pink on top. This was his third time he’d met Pinky Pie and each time he felt an ulcer coming on. Did he mention that the pony was pink? Gahh! Seriously, what the shit?

“Sorry.” she sheepishly grinned, “Hey! If we have zombie ponies then it’s great that we have you here. You’re supposed to be the big hunter, chief zombie killer engineer guy that I’ve totally heard of so much from Twilight. You should totally show us your supremo awesome sweet maxie-extremeo ultra super moves.”

“Yeah, that’d be amazing.” Spike second the motion. Isaac rotated between the combined forces of dragon, unicorn child, and pink abomination that conspired against him. He started to feel a strange feeling of pride swell like a bubble in his chest. It was nice to finally feel appreciated. Though, when they eventually learned the truth about the ‘zombies’ they won’t be quite so happy about it. Why not indulge a bit for now?

“Well, there is one thing I could show you. A tool I frequently use when fighting zombies. I’ll need to gather the parts first so I can build it. If you want to help then the first thing I’ll need is a flashlight.”

“Here, take this one that I just happen to have for reasons that I can’t remember.” Pinkie tossed him the device. He caught it nimbly and handed it off to Sweetie Bell.

“Thanks, now are there any..” he had to think for a moment. Of all the components he needed the internal circuitry, like the laser lights, emitter, and circuit board would probably be the hardest to find.

“Are there any places that sell electric hardware like wires, batteries, or even lasers?”

“Ooh, ooh, follow me.” Pinkie bounced in bursts of ecstatic joy, “I know the perfect place to go. Follow me.”

“Hey, Emo Sparkle!” Isaac called, breaking Twilight out of her silent misery.

“What?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have any money.” Even if he could access the credit chit in his suit’s rig, Isaac seriously doubted they accepted credits as a form of legal tender in this place.

“Yeah, some. Why?” What she had meant to say was that she got a monthly allowance from the Princess and it was always far more than she needed. So she had saved up a substantial amount of bits over the year.

“I think it’s time we visited the stores.”

“Wait, you want to go shopping? Weren’t you saying we needed to concentrate on a plan to fight the Marker?”

“This is part of the plan, I said we need weapons. I helped a friend of yours, now I need you to help me make a friend of my own. I’m going to show you why a plasma cutter,” he pointed to his tattoo, “is an engineer’s tool of choice. Do you know anything about ionized plasma?”

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

It turns out Twilight didn’t, at least not right off hand, or hoof as the local slang went. She’d look it up at the library as soon as they returned.

“I come here a lot for party music. That’s because I love to throw a lot of parties, so I come here a lot for more music and then throw more parties. But I haven’t given you a party yet so this’ll be a great opportunity to get the music and we should totally get DJ Pon-3 to DJ, of course. Cause I can tell that everypony here needs and extra-extra especially big party to shoo away all the doom-gloom, gloomy, glue feelings.”

“Is she always like this?” Isaac felt an onset of diabetes, and humans had cured that disease centuries ago.

“This is only her getting warmed up. You should see her when her Pinkie Sense starts to tingle.” Twilight shuttered at the memory.

“Right.”

Under the guidance of the pink one they approached a two story building that was the single most technologically advanced structure in the whole of town, yet that still wasn’t saying much. In Isaac’s own time this place would have been described as retro, archaic, or obsolete and that was putting a positive spin on it. Here, in a town of wooden walls and thatched roofs, it seemed odd to finally find one made of brick and using neon signs to advertise its wares.

“Vinyl Scratch: The store for all your Disk Jockey, Stereo System, Bass Music, and Power Lighting needs.” Read the store’s colorful sign. While a posted advertisement on the store’s window declared this the home of the one and only DJ Pon-3.

True to its name there were a set of mounted speakers above the entrance, broadcasting a booming bass beat originating from within the music shop. It was so loud that it vibrated through the ground and shook the air.

“So ponies like techno and electric music, and I can’t believe I just thought that.” Isaac mused. It did raise an interesting question. The technology of this world was very enigmatic and all over the place. It seemed feasible in a strange, disjointed way, yet some areas of science had clearly made leaps and bounds while others lagged far behind. Probably due to unicorn magic acting as a substitute or maybe he’d simply landed in the pony equivalent of Amish country.

Inside the music store all his questions faded and he could only grin and rub his hands, or hooves, together in pure delight of the possibilities laid out before him. Not even that ear-splitting music could distract him now as he had found, neatly arranged upon the shelves, was a bounty of electrical treasures. There were stereos, speakers, sub-woofers, audio mixers, tuners, DJ turnstiles, stage lights, spotlights, microphones, and more. The entire catalogue of equipment one would need to throw a concert the size of the town square and ignite the night sky with a thousand florescent bulbs. It didn’t end there; spare parts, miles of coiled wires, tools, and…

“Are those laser diodes?” Isaac said with incredulity as he inspected the display of penny sized focusing lenses.

“Ah dude, finally a customer who recognizes quality.” The loud techno music was abruptly cut off as a unicorn mysteriously appeared at Isaac’s side. She was an eccentric looking off-white pony with a wild raving blue and cyan striped mane, matching tail, and a tattoo of a double quaver on her flank. She also wore a pair of black rimmed goggles with purple lenses that made her eye color intangible.

“You’re the owner?” Isaac found he liked this unicorn for some reason. It might have had something to do with the fact that she was the only technologically savant pony he’d met so far.

“DJ Pony at your assistance. That’s P.O.N, a little dash, then a three, DJ Pon-3. Can ya dig?”

“I can, so what were you saying about these diodes?”

“Man, these here are some of the most rad lights I have ever seen. These little babies here are special; they can seriously pump the wattage and deliver a coherent beam of awesome! They’re used all the time in those Stalliongrad laser light shows. Totally off the chart stuff, you should see them sometime.”

“Great, this is just what I need.” Isaac was calm although inside he was beaming with excitement.

“You’re in luck, dude. With it being the end of the world and all, I’ve got a special ‘end-of-the-world’ sale going on today only. Buy two get one free.”

“Done and done. I’m also going to need a lot of other items, mostly spare parts and pieces, the best you have, and you can charge it all to Twilight.”

“What?!” A hot rod of fury exploded from the lavender unicorn.

“Right on, cool cat.” DJ Pon-3 departed to get a blank receipt and a quill.

“Wait just a minute; I didn’t agree to pay for anything!” Twilight stomped a hoof for emphasis.

“Yes you did.” Isaac patiently reminded her.

“When?”

“Did you not say that I would be rewarded by the Princess for my assistance?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then consider this a down payment. It might even be tax deductable.”

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

With his funding secured and Twilight’s growing angst over the increasing size of the bill vocally apparent, they made several more trips for additional items. They stopped at the clock shop for items like gears, springs, and rods, then at a hardware store for an assortment of tools and screws. After that made a trip to Carousel Boutique and even though Rarity had closed the shop for the day, Sweetie Bell let them in and showed where Rarity kept all her extra sewing machines. Isaac swiped one of the smaller machines to be used for parts while Twilight left a note of apology and a stack of bits to pay for it.

Finally the trip ended with Pinkie Pie extracting her own oven from Sugarcube Corner. It was, in fact, the same oven she’d used for years to bake cupcakes, muffins, and other sugary delights. Isaac and Twilight had insisted they pay for it, or rather Twilight pay for it, but Pinkie assured them that the Cakes were going to throw this old one out and buy a new one. Besides, she was all too happy to donate to the zombie killing cause. Having gathered all the necessary materials, they made their way back to the library. The team of Twilight Sparkle, Isaac Clarke, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Sweetie Bell made for an interesting caravan.

Back at the library Isaac pulled up one of the reading tables and had all the supplies placed on it, with the oven nearby. He was about to begin work when he realized he’d overlooked the single most important element when it came to building the plasma cutter. He was so put off about this oversight that he had to pull Twilight aside, into the kitchen, to explain it to her.

“How the hell am I going to build something with no hands?!” He moaned while Twilight face hoofed.

“Why didn’t you think of that before you made me spend nearly all my money?”

“Two reasons, I’ve lived all my life with five digits on my hands, until yesterday. So excuse me for not paying more attention that I’m now a damned horse. Even if I remembered it, I still would have made you pay just to see the look on your face, because pissing you off keeps the insanity away.”

“Ughh!” Twilight rolled her eyes, wanting nothing more than to throw him out a window and into a pit of fire. “Fine, then maybe I should explain to you the basic principles of magic and how it is different between ponies. Take a seat, this might take a while.”

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

“Oh, don’t rub it, you’ll get an infection.” Fluttershy softly cooed while carefully cradling the distraught Ditzy Doo, gently stroking her mane.

The two of them had been kept in isolation deep underground inside a cage cut out from a block of hard red earthen clay. It appeared to have been two separate cells at one point because it had two crudely made iron bar doors on opposite sides of the same wall, along with evidence of an intermediate barrier still present. Light was provided from wall mounted torches, however, with no sunlight or moon overhead Fluttershy’s sense of time’s flow had grown fuzzy and she could no longer tell what time of day it was. It felt like days and Ditzy had been sobbing the whole time. No matter what Fluttershy did or said she could not alleviate the gray pegasus’ tears.

When Fluttershy had first awoken in this place, right away she had felt and incredible burning and stinging sensation in her back and wings. It was like a thousand needles had been driven into her sides, the reality was quite the opposite. While she’d slept her wings had been ravaged and all the feathers forcefully removed leaving nothing but two useless appendages. The process had left her back covered in her own congealed blood, long dried by this point, and she could no longer fly. A cocktail of incomprehensible emotions had left her frozen on the spot and were fast driving her into a state of total breakdown when she heard the sounds of faint crying coming from a darkened corner. It was there that she had found Ditzy Doo and realized that the same fate had befallen the mail mare’s wings.

Given time the skin would heal and feathers would grow back, but Ditzy had another problem that was more severe. The left side of her face was slightly swollen and covered in a large bruise. Forgetting her own troubles Fluttershy had gone to attend to wounds of the mail mare. She didn’t know the gray pegasus very well, they had only briefly exchanged pleasantries whenever Ditzy had delivered the mail. Which Fluttershy never got a lot of.

“Okay, I just need to take a look.” Fluttershy calmly spoke while trying to inspect Ditzy’s wound. Every time she got close Ditzy knocked her away.

“No, no, don’t look!” she cried, shielding herself as if Fluttershy was about to strike her.

“Oh, Ditzy, I… I can’t help you unless you let me take a look.” She didn’t want to cause Ditzy any additional distress, she only wanted to help. Fluttershy had dealt with more difficult patients before, not that Ditzy was being difficult, not at all, she was just as scared.

“I’ll be as gentle as a summer breeze. So, please let Doctor Fluttershy have a look, um, if that’s all right with you.”

Gladly her reassurance worked, although she felt that it was only because Ditzy, sadly, lacked the resolve to fight her. True to her word she inspected the wound before carefully pulling open Ditzy’s left eyelid to check for damage. What Fluttershy found wasn’t what she’d been expecting at all and she stared in confusion for a second till she realized that it was just a hollow socket. Ditzy’s left eye was missing and judging from all the scarring it told the yellow caretaker that whoever had committed such a heinous act had done it with deliberate sadistic violence. Fluttershy had to bite her lip hard in order to suppress a shriek that threatened to burst from the depths of her lungs.

“Oh… oh my, oh dear, this is awful.” The bottom of her stomach fell out leaving her light-headed and nauseous as her mind began imagining uncontrollably what it must’ve been like to have an eye forcefully extracted.

“Oh, who could possibly be so evil? Who... who did this to you Ditzy? It was Cherry, it was her wasn’t it?” Ditzy nodded.

Fluttershy felt a hot essence begin to overtake her. It started just behind her eyes and quickly spread throughout her head and down to her throat. The normally meek and soft-mannered Pegasus felt her temper skyrocketing.

“Don’t you worry, our friends will rescue us soon and then we’ll go have a few words with Cherry.” She had to forcefully swallow these terrible feelings down. Ditzy’s well being was what mattered most now, yet there really wasn’t much Shy could do anyway in this empty cell. Then she had an idea, it wouldn’t be much, but maybe it could help.”

“You know my Mom used to sing me a little poem whenever I got scared about getting lost from home. Would you like to hear it? I mean… as long as you’re fine with it.” To her relief Ditzy looked up and nodded in agreement. Fluttershy lightly inhaled and quietly sang in her soothing tender voice. She performed just for the two of them and for just a moment the gloom seemed to recede.

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

My child, we must talk

There may come a day
When you are far away

If I can’t be near
You need not fear

In your darkest time
May you always find

An ally to meet
And a friend to keep

Stand strong with each other
Like sister or like brother

Through the empty spaces
And all the dark places

Where you must walk.

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

After Fluttershy had finished, Ditzy rubbed her tears away and managed to lift herself up into a seated position.

“You know,” Fluttershy looked away in embarrassment, “my Mom sang that to me a lot before she passed away. I never really understood what the poem meant until today. Oh, I wish you could have met her, she was so wise and beautiful.” Fluttershy felt a light nuzzle from Ditzy Doo and she returned it, grateful to have found a new friend in this terrible place.

“Thank you, Fluttershy. Your mother sounds wonderful, bountiful. I want to sing-a-wing to my little muffin too.”

“That’s right, little Dinky Doo is probably worried sick about you. We need to find a way out of here.”

The way out came as a creaking of rusted metal hinges that ended their conversation as a hulking and armored Diamond Dog lumbered into the room on all fours. He briefly considered both pegasi before pointing to Fluttershy.

“The yellow pony will come with me.” He growled with evil intentions clear on his voice. Unfortunately for him it was going to be the yellow pony that would be giving out the orders this time.

“Now look here, mister!” Fluttershy was all up in the dog’s face. The moment he’d spoken she‘d felt all the anger come rushing back into her head and out her eyes, which were projecting like twin daggers piercing deep into his. If looks could kill, then the dog would’ve been a hissing brown spot on the floor at that moment.

“I’m not going anywhere with you unless it’s the way out of here. You’ve been a very bad doggy, nobody! Hurts! My! Friends!!” Each exclamation was like a buck shot to the dog’s soul. The overwhelming power of her personality burrowed past his mental defenses and left him a slave to her will.

In Ponyville, Fluttershy had grown famous for what the other ponies called, “The Stare.” Although she didn’t fully understand how it worked, nor did she have full control over when it happened, it had once allowed her to make a full grown dragon cry like a baby and he had easily been a hundred times her size. Right now she was far more ticked off at the dog then she’d ever been at the dragon because she recognized this canine as one of the assailants that had captured her and Ditzy, had smashed up her house, and killed her animal friends.

The dog cracked immediately under the stare, cringing on the ground whining and whimpering pathetically as if the Stare Master was the most diabolical sight he’d ever seen. Even Ditzy had to back up a bit at the sight.

“Now are you going to apologize to Ditzy or…” She abruptly let out an undignified yelp as she felt a line of searing pain cross her flank followed by the loud snap of a whip. Another Diamond Dog had entered into the cell from the other door. The sudden attack had interrupted her stare and left her momentarily stunned. When Fluttershy had turned to look at her foe it left her wide open. A third Diamond Dog rushed into the room and grabbed her in a unyielding choke hold. Large arms were wrapped around her throat as she gasped for a breath that was impossible to perform. She pounded on the dog’s thick arms and kicked him in the shins a few times.

“Let Fluttershy-maitai go!” Ditzy commanded, stepping forward to assist. The whip once again arced cruelly through the air to land a welt across Ditzy’s bad eye. The gray mother clutched both hooves to her bad eye and collapsed to the ground writhing and rolling in unimaginable suffering, unable to scream through the pain and awash in an eruption of fresh tears.

“Ponies will be quiet.” The dog barked, trudging straight up to her. She held up a hoof in defense, a hopeless gesture that had failed to stop the guard striking her in the chest with his large meaty fist.

Witnessing the torture being cruelly unleashed upon her friend, Fluttershy decided that enough was enough and she must fight back. She was, by no means, a fighter or even an athlete, yet none of that mattered now. No one was allowed to hurt her friends. No one! She bit, she wriggled, she punched, and she bucked and for her efforts she’d managed to break the jaw of one of the guards and knocking out a few teeth in the process. She would not go quietly this time, that’s for sure. Rainbow Dash would be so proud of her.

All too soon she began to grow tired and more guards had arrived to deal with the obstinate prisoner. They wheeled in a stretcher and threw her down upon it roughly. She was helpless, useless, to resist them as they tightly strapped three leather belts to hold her tightly in place. As they did this she noticed a pony standing nearby, partially hidden by the shadows and quietly watching the spectacle. At first she thought it was Cherry, but the color on this pony was too dark to be her.

“Room seven.” The stallion commanded while adjusting a pair of thin spectacles.

That was all she could discern before a dog pulled a black sack over her head and tightened the string on her neck like a noose. As she was being carted away she could hear the whip crack again and her friend screaming in agony.

“Ditzy!” Fluttershy yelled miserably, more of a strangled squeak. Her stare had faded as well as her rage. She had nothing left to give. “Let go, oh, please let us go!”

(…………………………………………………………………………………………)

Princess Luna landed upon the balcony of her personal tower. From here she had a front row seat to an empty patch of sky that only a few hours earlier had held Celestia’s tower. There was still smoke rising from site, as well as a scattering of small fires that continued to burn. The situation remained tense and uncertain, but overall things had calmed down. Yet, underneath the thin surface every pony was holding their breaths. Watching and waiting while they were swept up in the midst of a great changing tide. If nothing was done soon Luna feared there might be a full scale riot on her hooves.

In Celestia’s faked absence Luna had walked the streets and done her best to appear confident and strong to assuage the citizens’ trepidations. Finding herself suddenly in the spotlight was not easy. Given the circumstances it seemed the city was full of mixed emotions over her sudden rise to power. Most appeared civil about it, if a bit stuck up. Others screamed and begged in fear over the fate of a loved one or seeking assurances that everything was going to be alright. Yet, there were a few anarchists out there who pinned the blame solely on her back and had even degenerated into throwing things like rocks, shards of glass, or rotten food at her.

Luna didn’t know where she’d found the patience and the resolve to weather this personal onslaught, but she took it all in stride. The last that thing she would allow herself to do was to give these fools the satisfaction of seeing her stumble. Still it hurt, every projectile, every accusing word was like a hot needle in her heart.

It was now going on six hours since the incident and it was nearly time for Luna’s daily moon rising ceremony. Celestia had remained in Luna’s room during that time and had continued to heal herself almost nonstop. Apart from a few lingering burns it was impossible to tell she’d nearly been done in by an explosion that had, at last count, killed over three hundred ponies and wounded nearly three times that many; and still counting.

Cautiously lifting the curtains as she entered her room, Luna was vigilant to inspect the immediate area outside to ensure that she hadn’t been followed before closing the balcony doors and dropping the curtains into place. In the safety and quiet of her bedroom Luna was ready to unload, like a cannon.

“Bastards! Those cold-hearted rat bastards!” Luna proceeded to pace around the room with a fury that rivaled the sun.

“Luna! Such language is not like you and unbecoming of a royal princess.” Celestia scolded. “Please calm down and tell me what has you so worked up.”

“Oh, big sis! I just want tear this whole castle apart with my bare hooves and box the ears on every single one of those self-righteous snobs!”

“Oh? Who are you referring to?” Celestia stopped her healing and went to try and comfort Luna. However, the moon Princess was inconsolable.

“General Star Sword and the rest of your council members, every single pony in council, all of them have declared that I’m unfit to rule and have even directly accused me of conspiracy in your assassination and want to strip me of my crown. They’ve filled all the paperwork already.” Luna summoned a large stack of scrolls and placed them before Celestia to read.

“I didn’t even know they could do that. Can they do that? I’m going to turn each of them into glue! Just as soon as I calm down!” Luna was far from calming down. Rather, she was winding her own gears and getting more and more upset by the second.

“My dear sister. I believe you when you say you had no hoof in this ghastly matter. You should not let those other ponies get you riled up into such a state.” Celestia ever remained the persona of patience and understanding, yet even she was starting to feel aggravated with how Luna had been treated.

“What about the others? Rainbow Dash, Zecora, and Macintosh? Could they have any evidence of who was involved beyond Ledger?” Celestia briefly considered the scrolls before shoving them aside in disgust.

“In the middle of the confusion I gave Zecora and Macintosh permission to leave the city.” Luna trotted over to her wine cabinet and poured herself a stiff one. She knew she shouldn’t drink in front of her sister, especially since over the past year she’d grown dependent on it to ride out the bad times.

“They should be back in Ponyville by now. Its about the only good thing that came out of this debacle. According to them, Dash was the only pony who had grown wise to the plot against you. She’s the only one who could possibly know who planned this.”

“Good, then she can provide a testament and possibly evidence that you are innocent.” Celestia maneuvered in and, to Luna’s surprise, poured herself a drink too.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible as no pony will listen to Rainbow Dash’s testimony. It appears she is being accused of murder.” Luna continued.

“Murder?” The very word almost caused Celestia to spill her drink.

“Yes, several servants were inspecting the grounds for damage when they came across the body of slain guard in the rear of our private museum, his head had been run through by a voulage. Before he died, it appeared that he’d managed to grab Rainbow’s tail in his mouth.”

“I see, but could it not have been faked?”

“Unlikely. The servants reported that when the culprit impaled the guard to the ground they had accidentally pinned their own tail at the same time. Since there is only one pony currently known to have such distinctive tail hair and Rainbow Dash is missing half of her’s... well, it’s not hard to put two and two together.” Luna walked with great control and measured step over to her balcony, opening the curtain slightly to inspect the last rays of light before they disappeared behind the horizon.

“It gets worse.” Luna sipped lightly from her goblet.

“How so?”

“Once Dash had been accused of murder the order came down to have her placed into protective custody until she was well enough to stand trial. On a hunch, I went to the archives to find the copies of that order. Turns out there were no copies made and the room she was transferred to is a closet for medical supplies.”

“Great!” Celestia stomped in anger and disbelief, “So she’s gone and any evidence with her?”

“I’m afraid so.” Luna confirmed. The sun princess had to inhale sharply before regaining her composure.

“Have you notified General Star Sword?”

“He’s… not responding to any messages at this time.”

“I see...” Celestia nodded with a suspicious grin. Luna moved out into the night air and felt the cold wind caress her body.

“It gets cold up here sometimes, doesn’t it big sis?”

“Yes,” Celestia join Luna out in the open, “it does indeed.” Together they raised a toast to each other and drew deeply before looking out amongst the tarnished glory that was Canterlot.