Last of the Dragonlords: A Good Mare Goes To War

by fluttershy20

After two years of peace, Fluttershy must take up arms once again and help save Equestria from ripping itself apart by a bitter, ruthless and insane enemy. Yet, how can she do that, when her friends and loved ones have suddenly turned against her? Rated T for violence.

6. Chapter 6

Voices flowing through her ears like the morning song of birds jolted Fluttershy into opening her eyes. She blinked a few times until her vision cleared and could make out the hall she and her companions were in. Her legs didn't feel as achy as they were whilst walking through the desert, and she felt well refreshed and ready for another day's journey. She let out a loud, long yawn as she brought her head up, and quickly spotted Luna, Cadence and Spike sitting together beside a wall, and speaking in loud whispers.

Her three companions whipped their heads around upon hearing Fluttershy's yawn, and collectively smiled when they saw the pegasus getting up. "Good evening, Fluttershy," Luna greeted her with a small bow of her head. Spike waved joyfully at her, while Cadence only smiled.

Fluttershy stood up straight, and moved her mane out of the way of her face while quickly straightening some of it down upon feeling some of it was out of place. "Good evening, everyone," she greeted as she trotted over to sit alongside them. She turned her head to look through one of the broken windows, and confirmed to herself that it was definitely night time. A few clouds obscured many of the stars, but some shone through, lighting up the broken hall.

At the back end of the hall was what were the remains of a large hearth, blackened and crumbling with age. Left of it was what was left of a door, and behind it was the stairs leading to the top of the tower the four of them saw getting here. A table that had once stood at the hall's centre, and stretched right down from one end to the next was now a broken and rotten corpse of one, with the benches in the same state. The black metallic door at the front end of the hall was the only thing that was largely intact about the interior of this place.

"How do you all feel?" Fluttershy asked, looking from pony to dragon as she sat down in their little circle.

"A bit tired," Spike answered first, "but otherwise fine."

"You were on my back most of the way, Spike, so how could you possibly be tired?" Cadence reminded him, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, do you know how tiring it is to be holding on for dear life when you're going at a few hundred miles per hour?" Spike retorted.

"I do, actually," Cadence replied smugly, leaving Spike silent. Cadence turned back to address Fluttershy. "I'm a bit tired myself, but it's better than being dead, I suppose. I do feel quite stupid for forgetting my wings."

"Don't feel stupid, Cadence," Fluttershy said comfortingly. "I had forgotten them myself at that moment. In fact, there was one time I fell from the sky with my old friends, and was rescued by Rainbow Dash, and another pegasus." She briefly shuddered at the memory. "It is quite easy to forget them sometimes."

Luna nodded in agreement, chuckling. "Indeed. I think it is safe to say all of us forgot them at that point, but if it wasn't for your quick thinking, Fluttershy, we would have all been buried in that sandstorm. So thank you."

Fluttershy felt her cheeks burn pink at the praise, and covered her face with her mane as she looked away bashfully. "I-it was nothing, really," she squeaked eventually. "I just feel silly for not thinking about it earlier."

"Don't worry about it," Cadence said softly, smiling. "We all make mistakes and do silly things, even Princesses do." Her body suddenly shook as a nightly chill crept through the windows and around the inhabitants of the derelict castle. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I think it's time to get some firewood." She turned to face Spike, who had just sat down and got himself comfortable once again. "Spike? Could I borrow you for a moment to help me find some firewood?"

Spike's lower jaw dropped in shock, which quickly turned into a pout. "Why me?" he moaned.

"Because you're a dragon," Cadence answered matter-of-factly. "And the best person to ask about firewood is probably a dragon. So I need your help." She added gently with a big smile and wide eyes, "Please?"

Spike tried to look away or ignore the puppy dog look Cadence was giving him, but it was useless; the cuteness was too strong. "Fine," he sighed, getting up from his sitting position. "But there better be some nice, juicy crystals for me to have when this is over."

Cadence got up and stretched out her legs. "Of course there will be. I'm a mare of my word, Spike; you will get the crystals you want when I can give them to you." Spike grinned eagerly, then jumped onto Cadence's back as she turned around towards the door.

Fluttershy began to stand. "I'll help as well," she offered. However, before she could stand upright, her rump and tail was surrounded by a dark blue magic that set her back down on her rear.

"No, no," Luna said, "I want you to stay here so I can trade words with you."

Fluttershy scrunched her face up in confusion. "But, I don't have any words that I want to trade with you. In fact, I don't know if that's even possible."

"She just wants to talk to you, Fluttershy," Cadence explained. "That's all it means."

"Oh," Fluttershy oozed, nodding in understanding. "Okay, I'll talk to you. I do like talking, especially to my friends. I… I can count you as a friend, can I?"

"Of course," Luna replied, smiling warmly. "Just because we're running for our lives does not mean we cannot be friends. I would go as far as to say it enhances that friendship."

Fluttershy smiled with relief. "That's good. So, um, is what you want to talk to me about something important?"

Luna nodded, then turned her head around to address Cadence. "Just be careful, and don't go beyond the woods surrounding this castle," she warned them. "We don't know what's beyond this place."

Cadence nodded curtly at Luna, then, with Spike on her back, walked through the door and out into the cold night, leaving the door slightly open behind them. Luna and Fluttershy listened to the sound of hooves clopping against the ground, which gradually faded into nothingness.

"Oh, I hope they'll be okay," Fluttershy said, twiddling her hooves around each other in worry.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, so long as they stay in the woods and do not linger." Luna looked back at Fluttershy with a more serious expression. "Now, Fluttershy, I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me truthfully."

Fluttershy felt nervous to be in Luna's presence all of a sudden. She shifted her rump about until she felt comfortable in sitting. "Um, okay… I think. What did you want to ask?"

"I was wondering how you were going to lead us to Horsca?" Luna asked quickly.

Fluttershy's eyes widened in surprise, and fright. "Ho-how did you know about that?"

"Vidarr told me while you were pacing in a circle yesterday evening," Luna explained. "He brought me out of the group for a moment, and told me that Horsca is where we should be going. He told me that he wanted you to lead us all to Horsca, and asked me to give you support, and assist you when necessary."

Fluttershy stared at Luna with her mouth agape, incredulous to what she had just heard. "So that's why you suddenly changed your mind about heading south," she realised.

Luna nodded, her ears falling flat across her head out of guilt. "I apologise for deceiving you like I did, but Vidarr said it was important that you figured it out for yourself."

"But I didn't figure it out for myself, though," Fluttershy countered. "Although you were very discreet about it, you still gave me the push in the right direction by telling me that we should discontinue heading south." She visibly slumped and let out a sigh. "How is that being a good leader? How can I be a leader when everypony helps me rather than letting me do things on my own?"

"Now let me tell you something that I learnt from over a thousand years of living: a leader is only a good leader when he or she listens to the right advice from those he or she protects, and acts on that advice." Fluttershy lifted her head up with a look of disbelief, yet she listened intently. "Although a leader makes the final decisions he or she thinks are the best for everypony, it is always good to listen to others and get a second opinion, for a decision made alone by the one in charge may not always be the right one to make."

Luna's ears suddenly fell flat once again, and her eyes looked sad. "I learnt that from personal experience, Fluttershy. I once made a decision that cost some good lives once, while ignoring those around me who said it wasn't for the best. So never ignore advice given to you, Dragonlord. For if you do, only ruin will follow."

Fluttershy's yellow coat had turned a bit brighter than usual, and her eyes were wide with terror. "I-I-I'll keep that in mind, Luna. Thanks." Although it didn't make her feel any better at all. Listening to one pony saying one thing seemed fine, but have a few more adding their voices into the issue, then it became a problem – one she thought she wouldn't be able to handle.

"But you have yet to answer my question, Fluttershy. How do you plan to get us north and into Horsca?" Luna asked persistently.

Fluttershy already knew the answer. "I don't know, Luna," she responded, lowering her head to shy away from Luna's gaze. "I would like to say by luck alone, but that would be the wrong answer."

"Actually, there isn't a right answer, or a wrong one. At least, not yet," Luna said. "The only way for such an answer to be right or wrong are the events that will cross our path on the coming journey."

Fluttershy nodded. "I just hope nothing bad will happen, that's all. I don't want any of you to get hurt, nor do I want other ponies to be hurt because of me or any of us." She went silent for a moment as she thought intensely about it. "Maybe if we avoid all of the main roads, and major towns and cities close to us, then we may be okay."

Luna smiled at her. "Spoken like a true tactician," she said. Fluttershy felt her cheeks burn pink once more at the praise. "I completely agree with you, Dragonlord," Luna continued. "So long as we are able to travel cross country as we are doing now, then we might get through it all unseen, and without much trouble." Her smile suddenly wavered. "But Celestia is a cunning tactician, and she will employ anything in her arsenal if it means to capture us again."

Fluttershy suddenly went pale as an unwanted thought came into her mind. "Or maybe even to… k-k-kill us?" she suggested.

Luna sighed. "I was going to leave that unspoken, but yes, she might. I'm surprised you thought that by yourself, to be honest. I thought you believed something happened to Celestia to make her act this way?"

"I know what I said," Fluttershy replied, rubbing her left foreleg. "And yes, maybe something is controlling Celestia to make her wish to capture us or even kill us. But sometimes… sometimes I have these fleeting moments of doubt that say Celestia and my friends are fine, and they really do hate me or want to kill me."

Luna hummed as she pondered. "It is only natural that you think like that. Like us, your faith in your friends and loved ones has been put into doubt. It is something we are all going through, dear Fluttershy, so do not think yourself alone in that. But do not ignore them, for they must be fought and cleared from our minds if we want to uncover the truth of what is exactly going on here."

Fluttershy's ears suddenly pricked upright. "You mean you'll help me?" she asked, a hopeful smile crawling across her face.

Luna's eyes cast themselves to the ground between them. "I have been thinking about what you said to me while we were in the desert. Although I may not entirely believe you about my sister no longer liking me, I fear something must have happened to make her think that we are traitors, and it has affected Equestria as well. If you will accept my help, then I will aid you in your quest to uncover the truth."

Fluttershy couldn't decide on whether to just say thank you, or tackle her in a bear hug. Eventually, she decided on the former. "I will gladly take your help. Thank you, Luna," she said with a friendly smile. With that, the two fell into a companionable silence as they waited for Cadence and Spike to return.

As they waited, Fluttershy began to grow increasingly restless with every passing second. She started to feel itchy all over, making it difficult for her to sit still. She prostrated herself onto the ground, and rolled onto her back and began swaying her back from side to side as she tried to rid herself of an agitated itch, squeaking and making other sounds, much to Luna's obviously building annoyance.

Just as she felt that one go, another itch on her left shoulder appeared. She rolled over once again, sat upright, and began scratching the itch like a dog, sighing pleasurably at how good it felt. She set her leg down, and sat still with a completely bored expression on her face. She didn't know what to do, nor did she know what to say to Luna; she barely knew her after all. 'We could try and get to know each other better in Horsca, when we're safe,' Fluttershy decided.

She began to shift her back end about as she tried to get comfortable, with a sound like sandpaper against metal bouncing around the walls. After a minute or so of this, Luna looked as if she had enough. "Have you quite finished, Fluttershy?" she asked, her tone implying her annoyance.

Fluttershy stopped fidgeting instantly, and blushed sheepishly at Luna. "Sorry, Luna. But I'm just so bored sitting here. Do you know anything we can do to pass the time until Cadence and Spike comes back? Any games? I would suggest 'I spy', but there's not much here to play that with."

"Well, we could get out of here and have a look around," Luna suggested, gesturing with her head to the rest of the castle outside the hall. "Cadence and Spike might be a while, and even if they get back and we're not here, they'd know we won't be far away."

Although Fluttershy felt the idea of exploring an old, dilapidated and creepy castle as very scary, it was still better then just sitting around and doing nothing. "I would love to," she said, willing herself to stand upright once again.

Luna smiled, glad that Fluttershy was on board, then got up from the floor and stretched her forelegs. "Then let us explore like the explorer Daring Day," she declared. With that, she turned around and trotted towards the open and rotting door.

"Um, Daring Do is the name of the explorer, Luna. Not Daring Day, who I recall was the name of Daring's son in the final book," Fluttershy corrected her, although it came out as a mumble that was only heard by herself. She quickly sprinted after Luna, who was by the door waiting for her.

The two walked through the door, and looked around at what they presumed to be the old courtyard. The ground was paved in stone and, much like the rest of the castle, was broken up with weeds and other plants growing out of the stonework. Although the night was dark, and the wind was strong, creating a chill that crawled over the ponies, the two could just make out the rest of the castle. In front of them was what was left of the gatehouse, which once stood proud and foreboding, but was now a ruin that looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. While around the old, broken walls lay small buildings, ruined like the rest of this place.

"Which way should we go?" Luna asked, looking left then right. "I wouldn't mind looking left and seeing what's on this side."

"Well I would like to look right," Fluttershy replied. "How about we split up and go both ways?" Luna nodded in agreement, and then turned to head right. "Just be careful, Luna."

Luna looked back at her, grinning assuredly. "I can take care of myself, Fluttershy. Just look out for yourself." With that, she turned around and trotted around the corner of the hall, and out of sight.

"That's what I'm worried about," Fluttershy muttered to herself. She looked away from where Luna went and trotted right of the main hall, which, with the tower added, looked tall and intimidating to the little pegasus. She could see a lot of weeds and other plants weaved into the stonework, making her fear that a slight push to one of the stones would make it all collapse on top of them in an instant. She shuddered at the thought, and then looked away at the other buildings.

In the right corner from the gatehouse stood what was left of a long, rectangular building, with what appeared to be the remains of barrels and crates stacked against and on top of each other. 'Must have been a storehouse,' Fluttershy reckoned. She briefly wondered if there was any food stored in there, but quickly thought against it. If there was, it was probably old and mouldy, and mostly eaten by rats or other predators that might call this place their home.

Next to the storehouse, a shorter, but longer building stood out, in that it was one of the few buildings that was largely intact; its roof was mostly in one piece, albeit a single hole, and the inside was left untouched, as though whoever lived here had gone out for a stroll and never came back. Fluttershy's curiosity got the better of her, so she moved to stand in the open doorway to see what was inside.

The building appeared to have been a forge. On its side near the entrance was an anvil lying on its side, much to Fluttershy's surprise; those things were heavy, and hurt when one falls on one's head – that's what Twilight told her, anyway. In the corner was a large furnace, with a chimney stretching from its centre and out of the roof. The furnace, again like the rest of the castle, had fallen into disrepair. Across the wall was what was left of a rack for storing weapons, but unfortunately there was none to take.

As her eyes moved across the forge, her mind tried to paint an image of what life might have been like here. She could imagine two or three ponies working tirelessly as they forged new weapons, or repaired old ones; the heat coming from the furnace, the sound of metal being bashed together, and a hissing sound as new steel was placed into water to cool down. With a small smile, she turned around and continued down the path, passing a few more storehouses.

Fluttershy moved swiftly past a few more buildings, too derelict and ruined to be recognised or described, until she came to a halt and turned back with a pondering look when she thought of something. 'If ponies lived here, then where did they stay?'

She was going to ponder further into her own question, when a sudden sound from behind her made her squeak loudly in fright and spin around on the spot to face whoever caused it. She looked around, but saw nopony. She pinned her ears upright, allowing her to just make out the sound of hooves clopping against the stone ground away from her. Her right ear twitched. Although Luna had hooves, her hoofsteps were heavy and slow in pace, whereas the ones she had heard were light and quick, more for a pony of her stature.

Luna suddenly came galloping up from behind her. "I heard you squeak in fright," she said. She looked down at the pegasus, who had not moved a muscle as her mind tried to tell her what she just heard. "What is it?" Luna asked, suddenly nervous by Fluttershy's edginess.

Slowly, Fluttershy lifted up her left leg, and Firewing shot out of its bracelet, singing its metallic song. Unlike Drage Bane, which was a dark grey metal, Firewing was made of steel that was bright as the moon now above them, and straight and smooth with a sharp point at the end. "We're not alone," Fluttershy whispered, and proceeded to walk cautiously towards the source of the noise.

"Are you certain it wasn't Cadence, or Spike?" Luna asked, her head low and following Fluttershy submissively.

"I heard hooves, Luna, so it wouldn't be Spike. And anyway, why would Cadence or Spike run away from us?" Fluttershy reasoned to her. She pointed to the other side of the castle with Firewing. "Whatever it was, it went this way." She lowered herself into a crouch, and then crept slowly forward, with Firewing close to her chest, and Luna right beside her.

The two moved off the old stone pavement, and onto a dry muddy surface at the bottom left corner of the old castle. At that moment, the moon went behind some clouds, and the world dimmed slightly. "Luna, do you have an illumination spell we can use, please?" she asked.

Luna smiled and nodded. "Certainly." Instantly her horn glowed a bright light, and the corner of the castle was soon illuminated, revealing the hoofprints that ran through the ground and into the corner.

"Hello?" Fluttershy called in the direction of the hoofprints. "There's no need to be scared! We don't want to hurt you, nor cause you any trouble!"

"Unless he or she starts trouble first," Luna muttered.

Fluttershy eyed Luna for a second, and then looked back at the corner. "We just wanted shelter for the night!" She waited patiently for an answer, but none came. "We'll be going in the morning, if that's okay with you!" Fluttershy tried again, to no response. Fluttershy swallowed down the growing nervousness she was feeling in her throat and stomach. "Um, maybe we should just leave whoever it is alone? Maybe then it would leave us alone." She made her way to turn back to the hall, but Luna quickly put a hoof up to stop her.

"No, we can't just go back now," Luna said. "Whoever it is, we have to know if it is a friend, or a foe." The Night Princess took a deep breath, and walked slowly forward.

"And what if he or she is neutral?" Fluttershy asked, following close behind.

Luna looked back at Fluttershy oddly. "Try not to complicate the situation, Fluttershy," she warned her, before turning around and moving towards the corner.

Fluttershy moved forward, but stopped when she heard hoofsteps behind her. She looked back to see Cadence and Spike walking through the gatehouse, their magic or claws full of firewood. "Hey, Fluttershy!" Spike called, his eyes squinting to just make out the two ponies under Luna's light. "Whatcha doing down there?"

"Heard some hoofsteps, so me and Luna are checking it out!" Fluttershy called back. "Get a fire going! We'll join you shortly!"

"Fluttershy, you have to come and see this!" Luna called loudly, even though the pegasus was standing right next to her.

Fluttershy grimaced as her ears rang as though large bells were right next to her, ringing like they were celebrating a wedding. 'Why is everypony shouting all of a sudden?' "What is it?" Fluttershy asked once she recovered. Luna simply pointed in answer, and when Fluttershy saw what she was looking at, she gasped.

A short-sloped path ran down from the castle, then straightened up to a large iron door that led underground. The door itself was covered in old Equestrian sigils, and even the sigils of the sun and the moon were side by side at the centre of the door, forming the main lock.

Yet the door was opened partially, confirming to the two that somepony had fled into there. Fluttershy looked along the walls, and smiled pleasingly when she saw an old but useable torch held on a brazier. She hovered up to it, and took it with her teeth. "Do you know any fire spells?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Luna nodded, and with a beam of blue magic shooting out from her horn, the torch came alive with the crackle of light blue flames, which fascinated Fluttershy. "Thanks," she said, before turning around and making her way down the slope, with Luna close behind.

At the bottom of the slope, Fluttershy stopped just on the other side of the doors, and peered down the corridor. In the low light, the walls flickered a faint blue, with each revealing the carvings that adorned the walls, all of which were moments of Equestrian glory that were won in battles in the country's past. As Fluttershy looked down the corridor, it didn't take long for her to notice that the corridor sharply turned right.

For a short moment, Fluttershy considered leaving the tunnels alone and go back to Luna and Cadence, yet her heart stopped her. Somepony had fled down there, probably tired, hurt and very, very scared. More scared than her. She had to know if the pony or another hoofed creature was all right, and then move on. 'Besides, if a scared pony ran down here, then why should I be scared?'

"Come on… if you want to, that is," she said to Luna, and trotted on. Luna, although hesitant, compliantly followed. Fluttershy didn't blame Luna for being hesitant. Every muscle in her body was telling her to turn tale and run back to the hall with the others, yet her mind kept her firmly going forward, determined to know if this pony was all right and harmless.

Around the corner, the corridor turned a sharp right again, leading back towards the castle and under it down a gentle slope. "Ah, now I know why I can't remember this place," Luna said, her eyes going over the walls. "My sister was the one who designed this castle. I must have designed the ones in-between this one. I never had these underground rooms built for my ones."

Fluttershy trotted down the slope cautiously, praying she wouldn't find a weak stone that made her slip and break a leg; she didn't want to be a burden to the others. Luckily she made it down with little difficulty, with Luna sliding down the slope with such grace as if she did it all the time. "So you both took turns in designing these castles?" Fluttershy asked as she walked ahead.

"Oh yes," Luna answered. "We decided to equalise the number of castles we had built so both of us gets equal credit by building a castle each along the line, so it was Celestia's first, then one of mine, and so on and so forth. It was actually a lot of fun for us. One day we had a contest to see how many castles we can both design in a day. And another we made models of our castles, and then played mini war games with them. Celestia had these toy models painted like her own army, the Solar Flares, and mine were painted like my own army, the Luna Wolves."

Fluttershy giggled at the image of two grown alicorns playing with little toy soldiers when they should be ruling a country. "What about Cadence?" Fluttershy asked, not wanting to leave out the other Princess of Equestria; she thought it would be rude if she did. "Did she have anything to do with the designs?"

Upon receiving no answer, she looked back to see Luna staring at her weirdly. "Cadence wasn't even born yet," she answered simply. "She isn't as old as we are, Fluttershy."

"Isn't she?" Fluttershy gasped, her ears falling flat. "Oh dear. Now I feel awful for thinking she's very old."

"I would not call thirty-one very old," Luna said. "At least in my case."

Fluttershy looked up at Luna in surprise. "She's thirty-one?" Luna nodded. "Oh. I thought, well being a winged unicorn, that she would be quite old."

Luna shook her head. "Cadence ages like yo– I mean, she ages like any other pony, and she wasn't born with a horn. She was a pegasus orphan adopted by earth ponies in a village somewhere in southeastern Equestria. With her heart of pure love she was able to reform an evil pony that stole love using a necklace. With that ability to spread love recognised, she was teleported to a special place between our realm, met Celestia, and came back as a Princess."

Fluttershy's jaw was nearly on the floor. "So, you're not her real aunt."

"And neither is Celestia her aunt," Luna confirmed. "She adopted her as an niece, and when I came back, Cadence accepted me as an aunt as well. We – I am the closest pony she has to family now."

Fluttershy opened her mouth to ask more, but stopped when she heard the sound of hooves clopping against the ground enter her ears once again, and then gradually fade away. "It's okay!" Fluttershy called. "We want to help you if you would like us to!" Fluttershy cantered down the corridor, a torch of blue flame in her mouth, with Luna hot on her heels.

After going straight down for about a minute, the two ponies stopped when they saw the corridor going two ways: one went left, while the other went right. "I suggest we split up so we can cover both alternatives," Luna said, looking both ways.

Fluttershy shook her head dismissively. "A cornered prey can become a dangerous predator, Luna," she cautioned. "I think we should stick together, and take it slowly." The two walked up to the crossing, and quickly looked left then right.

On their left, the corridor continued down a flight of stairs, with carvings of more of Equestria's long and illustrious history adorning the walls. While right led into a large room, with the far right corner caved in with rubble. "Let's have a look in here," Fluttershy ventured, walking towards the room.

"I'll stay outside and keep an eye out," Luna offered, facing the corridor and standing straight like a guard. Fluttershy rolled her eyes at the sight, and then turned back to the room in front of her.

The chamber was dark, and full of old, battered cobwebs. Fluttershy had a quick look around for spiders, hoping there weren't any really big ones that could capture her in webs and drain her blood later. She had a bad streak with spiders recently, and they were becoming her least favourite animal rather quickly. Luckily for her, there was none. She smiled in relief, and looked around the room. It was mostly bare, save for a few racks along two of the walls that were filled with weapons. 'Wait, what?' She looked back at the racks in disbelief.

"Luna!" she called, gesturing with a hoof for Luna to come forward, even though the Princess couldn't see it. "Come and see these!"

Luna, curious to see what got Fluttershy sounding so excited, peered her head through the door, and gasped at the number of weapons there was. "Incredible," she whispered, walking up to stand next to the pegasus.

All the weapons, save but a few, were locked in scabbards decorated with golden or silvery swirls that spun around the sheaths like snakes. The hilt was shaped like a unicorn's horn, and pommels that sat on the ends were decorated in the shapes of either the sun or the moon, and even one with a crystal. Fluttershy looked at each with a mix of fascination and intrigue. Despite Fluttershy's hatred of weapons, and what they were made for and what they represented, the pegasus couldn't help but admire the beauty and elegance of a sword.

Luna picked up the one closest to her, the magic wrapping around the horn-shaped hilt nicely, and unsheathed it fully. The blade sang as it was freed from its scabbard after years of neglect.

Fluttershy thought the blade in Luna's hold made her swords look like letter openers in comparison. It was about four or five foot long, and a bright silver with a double-edged blade that ended in a heart-shaped point. Although Fluttershy thought the blade was beautiful, she was more interested by the fact that Luna's magic didn't wrap around the entire sword. "How comes the blade isn't fully wrapped by your magic?" Fluttershy asked, pointing at it.

Luna looked at her for a moment, and then looked at the sword in contemplation for a while. "You see the hilt?" Fluttershy nodded. "As you can see, it is shaped like the horn of a unicorn. And you know how magnets work, right?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Of course. North and south attract together, while north and north, or south and south, doesn't."

Luna nodded. "Indeed. With these, the same rules apply. The hilt of the sword, which is the north end, acts as a magnet for the magic from the unicorn's horn to attach to, which is the south end. Understand?"

Fluttershy's mouth formed an O as she nodded in understanding. "I see. So, why did they design them like that? Wouldn't it have been easier if they could allow the magic to wrap itself around the whole sword?"

"It might have been," Luna agreed. "But I think it wouldn't have been as… practical, wielding it like that, when you can have the strength of all your magic on one end. Like this." She backed away and turned from the pegasus, and then proceeded to swing it around her head and slash at the air like she was cutting a foe in half that wasn't there. She thrust her sword forward in a stabbing motion, then pulled it back, brought it above her head, then spun around and swooped it down right where Fluttershy was standing.

Fluttershy, thanks to being a Dragonlord, acted fast. She lowered her body, then brought up her right leg above her head and let Drage Bane shoot out of its scabbard, just before Luna's swing could cut her in half.

The two blades clanged into each other, the sound of steel against steel ringing against the walls, and back into the ponies' ears. Fluttershy felt the weight of Luna's sword against her own, pushing her leg down a little, yet she stayed firm. Luna looked wide-eyed in horror at Fluttershy, while the pegasus stared back at her with a touch of fear, and a small bout of admiration.

"You have some skill with a blade," Fluttershy remarked quietly.

Luna backed away from the pegasus, and quickly dropped her sword, which clattered to the ground at Fluttershy's hooves. "Fluttershy, I deeply apologise if I caused you any fear. That was foolish of me to practice in such a enclosed room, and so close to you."

Fluttershy trotted up to the Princess, and patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. "It's all right, Luna," Fluttershy said kindly, smiling assuredly at her. "I wasn't harmed, and was quick enough to block it. Just next time, practice in an open space away from anypony."

Luna chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

Fluttershy smiled, then picked up the sword with her hooves and held it up for Luna to take. "Are you going to keep this one?"

Luna shook her head. "I was never really a fan of straight-edged swords like that one. Let's have a look and inspect what has been left behind." With that, Luna began looking at the various swords and axes on the racks or on the floor, while Fluttershy placed the sword in her hooves back in its scabbard in the rack.

While Fluttershy looked at the different weapons from her sitting position, Luna walked along the racks, looking for the weapon for her. She stopped and grinned eagerly when she saw the right one. "Found you," she muttered under her breath. Fluttershy turned her head, and tilted her body back so she could see what Luna was looking at. When she saw the blade Luna had picked, she gasped in astonishment.

Like the other swords, its hilt was shaped like a unicorn's horn, with a pommel in the shape of the full moon. The blade, however, was the most exotic design the Dragonlord had ever seen. From the hilt to the point, it was bent into the shape of a crescent moon, almost like Luna's cutie mark. And a word in the old Equestrian tongue was spelt out across the curved edge of the blade. A word that, thanks to Twilight and her knowledge of the old Equestrian language, Fluttershy was able to read.

Fluttershy got off her rump and moved to stand beside Luna, her gaze never leaving the fantastic sword. Suddenly, the hilt of the sword began to glow blue, and was lifted from the rack and held upright for Luna to get a feel of it in the grip of her magic. "Nightbringer," Fluttershy read the word aloud. She nodded satisfactorily at it, and then smiled at Luna. "It's as though it has been waiting for you, Luna."

Luna nodded in agreement, her eyes never leaving the weapon. "It might be best if I had this, Fluttershy, as well as weapons for the others. Incase we have to defend ourselves. I hope you can understand that."

Fluttershy nodded. "Of course. I have weapons of my own, so saying you cannot have one would make me a hypocrite."

Luna nodded, and then strapped Nightbringer loosely to her left side, making it easy for her to grip hold of it incase she had to unsheathe it. "What about Spike?" Luna queried, her eyes scanning at the different swords for one of Spike's statue. "Will he be allowed a weapon?"

Fluttershy's face hardened into a cold stare. "No," she said sternly. "He is just a baby dragon, Luna. We can't expect him to hold a weapon against someone or something, nor do I want him to know what it feels like to take a life. It's a horrible feeling that he's too young to go through."

Luna looked back into her eyes and said, "He's not going to be a baby dragon forever, Fluttershy. He will grow beyond the size of any of us when he's older, and become just like every other dragon that has ever lived: a lonely, greedy killer."

Although Fluttershy wished Luna was wrong, she knew she wasn't. Twilight will eventually die, as will she, leaving Spike alone in the world. Then there would be nothing to stop him from falling back into his dragon instincts.

She rid the thought out of herself, and said, "All the more reason for him not to have a sword yet. Even if he grows into that, he is still young, and I don't think his mind could take putting a sword through someone just yet." She gestured with her head to the other swords and weapons. "Let's get to finding this pony, see if he or she is all right, then get back to the others."

Luna shook her head. "Not yet. Help me find one for Cadence. She'll need one as well." Luna began picking up the various swords, axes, or other weapons that could suite Cadence.

"Giving Cadence a sword?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "Um, forgive me, but I don't think Cadence to be one with a weapon in her magic." She tried picturing Cadence with a sword gripped in magic and a fierce look on her face, yet couldn't. Apart from the incidents with the changelings and the return of the Crystal Empire, she seemed too friendly to wield a weapon. 'Looks can be deceptive, Fluttershy,' her mind explained. 'Nopony would think you were capable of wielding a sword, yet you can, and you do.'

"She was a Princess of Equestria, Fluttershy," Luna replied, turning her head to look back at her. "Like all Princesses before her, one of the first things she learnt was the art of sword combat, and being able to defend herself against such armed foes. She will be able to look after herself, Dragonlord. Have no fear of that." She looked back at the racks of weapons once more, while Fluttershy began pacing and looking around the room, unsure of what to do with herself.

She suddenly stopped when she realised she had trodden on something that didn't feel like the stone floor. She looked down, and gasped at the gorgeous bow at her hooves. She stepped back a little, then picked it up with her hooves, holding it out before her to get a proper look at it.

Like several of the scabbards on the racks, thin golden swirls wrapped around its upper and lower limbs, and what looked like the material a unicorn's horn is made of at the centre of the bow, forming the grip. A long piece of thick, strong string was – amazingly – attached from one end to the other, and the bow itself was, again surprisingly, in perfect condition, as if the ponies that were garrisoned here had never left.

"Luna?" Fluttershy beckoned her. "Would you like to come and have a look at this?"

Luna was soon beside her, and her eyes were going over the bow with a look of amazement. "Fascinating," she whispered as she picked the bow up with her magic. "Most bows, even their string, would have rotted away or broken up by now, yet this one is still complete."

"Maybe it's magic," Fluttershy suggested.

Luna shook her head, and tapped the wooden bow lightly, making a sound like an acorn would make as a thrush cracked it open. "Or maybe it is because the bow itself is made out of Everfree wood," Luna observed, running a hoof along the smooth edge of the bow. At Fluttershy's confused look, she explained. "Wood from the Everfree Forest is usually strong, thanks in part to how old the trees there are. The string itself is from a village a couple of miles away south from Las Pegasus, I believe. The earth ponies there know how to make the toughest string known to ponydom." She looked up with a sense of sudden realisation. "That would mean we're not too far away from Las Pegasus."

Fluttershy's brow creased in surprise. "Wow," she said. "We walked quite far, then."

"Indeed," Luna nodded, "and quite quickly as well. Much quicker than I thought we would be." She looked back at the bow for a second, and then slung it onto her back. "Cadence will be able to use this easily."

"She'll know how to use that?" Fluttershy queried, pointing to the bow.

"Oh yes. I've seen her hit a target at dead centre from two hundred yards away at a festival some time ago. She moved back another hundred, and then shredded the first arrow with her second shot," Luna explained. "She has a good eye for such small details, Fluttershy. The bow would be perfect for her."

Fluttershy nodded; silently pleased that Cadence was not with Celestia and the others by the way her shooting skills were described to her. "What about a sword?" she enquired. "Did you find one for her?"

Luna nodded, and then gestured for Fluttershy to look at her back to see the long sword that was sheathed in a scabbard coiled with silver lines and had a pommel shaped like a crystal. "The only one of this lot that was forged by the ponies of the Crystal Empire," Luna said. "I'm glad, really. It will give her a piece of home." She looked around Fluttershy's hooves. "Did you find any arrows?"

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and spun her head around to face the door upon hearing the sound of hooves trying to sneakily pass the room. Fluttershy galloped to the entrance, and stopped when she saw the silhouette of a pony at the bottom of the stairs. The two stared silently at each other for a moment, before the pony suddenly veered about and galloped back to where he or she came.

"Wait!" Fluttershy cried. She broke into a gallop, and ran down the corridor as fast and as carefully as she could go, with Luna not too far behind her. The corridor went straight down for a long time, before suddenly veering left, and into a large boxed room with several routes to take.

'Why would Celestia design such a complicated system of tunnels?' Fluttershy wondered as she looked around. One way was straight in front of her; the second was to the right of that one, the third was on an elevated structure, with a flight of stairs leading towards it, and the fourth was around the corner of the large block, but was blocked off by rubble.

Luna soon caught up with her, gasping for breath. "I need… to exercise a bit more," she panted. "Any idea… which way the pony… went?"

Fluttershy shook her head frowning, while her ears were pricked up at their highest as she listened for the sounds that might give the pony away. However, all she could hear was Luna's heavy breathing, much to her annoyance.

"Um, excuse me, Luna? Sorry if I sound rude, but would you mind breathing quietly for a moment while I try to figure out where this pony went?" Fluttershy asked.

Luna glared at Fluttershy for a moment. "Well I apologise for breathing so loudly because I was out of breath," she said sarcastically.

"That's okay," Fluttershy said, smiling at her. Luna only rolled her eyes. With Luna now quiet, Fluttershy concentrated as hard as she could on finding out which path the pony took. Although a small part of her mind continued to tell her to leave whoever it was be and get back to Cadence and Spike, she did her best to ignore it. The pony could be injured, or starving, or in a far worse state. Fluttershy could not dream of leaving the pony be without seeing if he or she was all right first.

Her right ear suddenly twitched, as it picked up the sound of something heavy falling over down the right tunnel. "This way," she declared, pointing to the tunnel. With that, she broke into a gallop down the tunnel, with Luna close behind and Nightbringer gripped in her magic.

The corridor continued for a long way, passing carvings on the walls, and sometimes even broken statues of great ponies of Equestria, or even other pony kingdoms. The corridor suddenly turned right, and Fluttershy and Luna followed, with the pegasus praying that they would come to a dead end, and this madness will cease.

She smiled thinly to herself when she saw up ahead the corridor was blocked by a cave-in, and the pony she had saw earlier was pressed up against the wall, with hooves over eyes in the hope the pony would not be seen.

Fluttershy tilted her torch a little, allowing a small amount of light to spread across the corridor, and revealed the pony cowering before them. The pony was a unicorn mare with what seemed to be a dark blue coat in the low light, and what appeared to be a dark brown mane and tail with traces of white here and there. Fluttershy suddenly caught a sense of déjà vu with this pony, as if she had seen her before, yet couldn't remember where.

With cautious movements, Fluttershy set the torch aside and stepped closer to the mare. "Um, excuse me?" she said gently. The mare brought her head out of her hooves. "It's okay. We're not here to hurt you. We just want to he–" She cut herself off when she felt the tip of a blade pressing against her throat.

"Fluttershy!" Luna cried, striding forward ready to bring down Nightbringer on the armed mare.

"Get away from me!" the mare yelled, pushing the short sword in her magic forward and making Fluttershy step back, forcing Luna to stop. "Haven't you ponies ridiculed me enough?"

Fluttershy tried not to show any fear, yet her breathing had quickened as she realised how dangerous her situation had become. One wrong move could see her throat cut open, and send her blood dripping from her neck and onto the ground. Although she kept telling herself she wasn't afraid to die, she didn't want to die just yet.

She looked from the sword at her throat to the mare, and smiled disarmingly. "No pony is here to ridicule you, miss. I just wanted to know if you were all right, and to let you know that there is no need to hide from us. I want to help, that's all."

The pressure Fluttershy could feel on her neck slackened, yet the mare didn't bring the sword away. "Thank you kindly, but I am fine. I do not need any help, nor do I want any. Now go away before I run you both through."

"You look like you don't have the strength to keep that blade afloat for long," Luna pointed out.

"I can and I'll prove it!" the mare yelled. She swung the blade away from Fluttershy, and raised it above her head with intent to swing it down and embed it in Fluttershy's skull. Fluttershy jumped back at the last second, letting the blade fall to the ground. The mare toppled and fell with it as the last of her strength dissipated.

With the mare on the ground, and sniffling with tears, Fluttershy quickly grabbed the sword on the ground, threw it behind her, and then looked back at the mare not in anger, but in sympathy. She could now see the mare's ribs on her body, her mane and tail were not brown in colour but were ragged and dirty, and her cutie mark… Fluttershy's heart stopped beating when she saw the mare's cutie mark. "That's impossible," Fluttershy whispered aloud, her eyes widening in shock.

As she gazed at the unique cutie mark, Fluttershy's mind raced back to when she had last seen this mare, and her eyes bulged when she realised was only a year ago. 'I have to be sure it is the same pony.' She bent into a crouch, brought her torch closer to reveal the mare had a sky blue coat instead if a dark blue, and using a hoof, gently brushed the mare's mane away from her face, letting Fluttershy truly see who she was. Upon looking into the mare's eyes, there was no doubt in Fluttershy's mind who the pony was now. However, the unicorn's eyes, which had once sparkled with great arrogance, now held the soul of a completely broken unicorn.

The mare looked up at her with dark violet eyes, wide as saucers, as though she was trying to remember where she had seen the pegasus from before. "I know your face," she whispered, tears weeping from her eyes and her body shaking with exhaustion.

"As I know yours," Fluttershy replied. She let go and spun around to gallop back out. "Keep her here!" she ordered Luna. "I'm going to see if Cadence and Spike cooked any food yet!" Without waiting for a reply she raced back down the corridor and through the labyrinth as fast as her legs could carry her.

A few minutes later, she was nearly out of breath when she arrived at the top and back out into the fresh, cool air of the night. She stopped for a moment, but as soon as she took a deep breath and released it, she galloped hastily into the main hall where Cadence and Spike had a fire going, and a large pot with something that smelt good inside.

"Do you have any food ready?" she demanded quickly as she rushed in, her eyes wide.

Spike nodded, confused as to what got Fluttershy worked up. "Yeah, we have a whole pot of stew ready for us."

"We found a load of bowls and buckets by the castle gates we could use," Cadence explained. "Admittedly, there were a bit dirty, but a quick rinse in a water fountain we found and they were ready for use."

"Do you have one ready?" Fluttershy asked, jogging on the spot in a hurry to get back down into the tunnels.

Spike nodded, then handed her a large bowl. Fluttershy took it in both hooves, and hovered over the pot and dipped the bowl in quickly. "Fluttershy, I don't understand what's the urgency? Is everything all right? Did you find something down there?"

"We found some things down there, Spike, and some one," Fluttershy replied as she turned around and prepared to fly back into the tunnels.

"You found somepony down here?" Cadence asked incredulously. Fluttershy looked back and nodded in reply.

"Gosh," Spike gasped. "Did you get a name from him, or her?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I didn't need to, since we've met her before." At Spike's confused look, she added, "We found Trixie down there, Spike."

Spike's eyes widened with horror. "Trixie? As in 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'? The most annoying unicorn on the planet?" Fluttershy just nodded, giving Spike a reason to scream out, "WHYYYY!" He put his claws in his face, and groaned so loud the two ponies with him feared the building was about to collapse by his voice alone. "Of all the annoying ponies we could have possibly run into, why did it have to be her?" he complained. He started slamming his fist into the ground, chanting, "Why, why, why, why, why!"

Before Spike could complain anymore about this sudden turn of events, Cadence ran up to him and clamped a hoof over his mouth, silencing him. "Hush, Spike!" she shouted, glaring at him. "Unless you want ponies that are out there looking for us coming here!"

Spike took a deep breath to calm down, which thankfully worked, to the relief of the two ponies with him. "How can a pony be this far from anywhere?" Cadence asked aloud, turning back to face Fluttershy.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Fluttershy answered. "We might be able to find out where the nearest settlements are, and then plan a way to avoid them." Cadence nodded in agreement. "Right, I better get back down there. Thanks for the stew." With a bowl of stew in her hooves, she flew out of the door and back into the tunnels, flying slowly so she wouldn't bump into the walls around her.

After a while of bumping into walls, spilling some of the stew in the process, and almost getting lost, she found her way back down the corridor with Luna and Trixie. The Night Princess was standing over the unicorn, ready to bring down Nightbringer if the need arose, while Trixie cowered in fear of the tall mare. Fluttershy would not have believed the sight unless she was there to see it herself. 'What must have happened to her, though?' she wondered as she approached, for when she looked into the mare's eyes, she couldn't help but feel a great amount of sympathy for her.

Trixie was just a shallow shell of her former self. Her ribs were showing, revealing how starved the poor mare must be. Her mane and tail was dirty and ragged, and her body was covered in small cuts and bruises.

Fluttershy approached cautiously, her wing blades whistling as she fluttered gently in front of the show mare. "Hello? Trixie?" she called gently, tilting her head a little. The mare in question looked up at her with frightened yet curious eyes. "I brought you some stew to eat. I'm sorry that it's not a lot, but it's all we can spare." She set the bowl down in front of Trixie, and backed away. "Please eat it. Please?"

Trixie studied the bowl for a moment, before pushing it away. "I do not want any of your kindness," she said grumpily, looking away.

Luna groaned. "Oh, Fluttershy, let's just leave her and get back to the others. We'll be wasting time and food with her, otherwise."

"No!" Fluttershy snapped, shooting Luna a glare that made Luna visibly shiver and take a step back. "You can head back up if you want, but I won't! Not while she's like this!" She turned back around to look at Trixie, her eyes pleading for her to take a sip. "Look, Trixie, I know it's not in your nature to accept help from others, but I need you to put that stubbornness aside for a moment if you want to live."

"What's the point of living?" Trixie muttered. "Everything that I lived for is gone."

"There is every reason to continue living, Trixie," Fluttershy said. "Yes, there are moments in our lives that make us want to fall down and give up. But if we let those moments control us, and guide us in what we do, then we are truly lost." She put her hooves on Trixie's cheeks, and gently lifted her head up to look her in the eyes. "Yet while we live, the things that make us want to keep on living are still there, but are on the ground, just waiting for you to pick them up again, that's all." She took her hooves off Trixie, and gently pushed the bowl closer to the unicorn. "And you can't pick them up again if you're dead."

Trixie looked at her for a long time, before breaking her gaze from Fluttershy and brought it down at the bowl in front of her hooves. With the speed of a cat pouncing on its prey, Trixie grabbed the bowl with her hooves, and began gulping the stew down.

"Oh, not too quickly, please, Trixie," Fluttershy warned her, raising a hoof to stop her. "It could be dangerous if you do that."

Trixie looked up at her with narrow eyes, and then went back to her stew, gulping more slowly and carefully than before. With Trixie okay for the moment, Fluttershy went back to face Luna, who, to her credit, was still waiting for them. "You really didn't need to stay, Luna."

"I didn't want to leave you alone with her, even if she seemed to be an old friend of yours."

"Oh, she's not my friend, Luna," Fluttershy corrected her, looking back at the blue unicorn. "Just an acquaintance, really." She looked up at Luna. "Did you find anything wrong with her?"

Luna shook her head. "I did a magical scan on her quickly, and walked around her to see. Apart from lacking proper food she seems okay. No forced entry, I'm glad to say."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, glad that such a thing wasn't the case. Yet it didn't make it any easier to understand what had happened to her to force Trixie down here to hide. "So tell me, Fluttershy. How do you know this mare?" Luna whispered in a hushed tone, so Trixie wouldn't quite hear them.

Fluttershy looked over to Trixie for a moment as she ate the stew down greedily, as though somepony was about to snatch it away from her. "We first met her about four years ago," Fluttershy started. "About six weeks after Twilight first came to Ponyville. She came with her own show, and showed us some dazzling magic displays, and boasted how she managed to defeat an ursa major."

Luna snorted in disbelief. "Pah!" she scoffed the idea. "Nopony, not even my sister, could defeat an ursa major, for they are creatures of the night. As such, they are my responsibility to defeat."

"Yes, well, it was quickly revealed that it was a lie, for she wasn't even able to beat a ursa minor when it came walking into town; I wasn't there to see it but Applejack told me all about it in the morning. She told me how Twilight was able to levitate the creature up, and then send it back to its mother in the Everfree Forest. Trixie ran out of town just after that, humiliated, and having lost everything.

"Just a year ago, Trixie returned with the Alicorn Amulet around her neck, and wanted to face Twilight in a magic duel. At first, she defeated Twilight, and banished her from Ponyville, and enslaved us all as she became the new ruler. We all learnt quickly she was becoming corrupted by the Amulet's power, and we needed Twilight back to help us stop her. I was sent out of Ponyville to find her, and found her in the Everfree Forest with Zecora. I told her what we had learnt, and she came up with a plan to rid Trixie of the Amulet.

"With our help, Twilight managed to trick Trixie into thinking she had an even stronger amulet, and was able to duplicate ponies, turn mares into stallions, and other spells. She took the Alicorn Amulet off herself, and we snatched it back and gave it to Zecora to store away. Afterwards, Trixie apologised to Twilight, which the unicorn forgave her, and went off with a newfound respect for her, and for others in general."

As she finished, she looked back at Trixie, who was just finishing off the last of the stew. "So what happened in the past year to bring her to this? I thought everything was going all right for her."

"Well, as you can see, everything has not gone all right for Trixie," Trixie said, glaring up at the pegasus even as she looked ready to collapse again.

Fluttershy took a step forward, trying to resist the urge to hug the poor unicorn. "Oh, Trixie, what happened to you?"

"Yes, and what brought you rather suspiciously to this place?" Luna added. "The nearest settlement must be miles away from here."

"It is. And there isn't anything suspicious about me coming here," Trixie replied. She let out a sigh, and began her tale. "When I left Ponyville, I began thinking about my life so far, and what I had achieved in the time I had been a travelling magician. The answer I discovered shocked me, and chilled me to my bones. I have done so little, whereas your friend, Twilight Sparkle, has became everything I once dreamed of being. She managed to get all of that by being humble, and modest and… well, just being good. While I got as far as I did by telling lies, and you saw how well that went for me.

"So I decided to turn my life around, and do something that many would see me as the Great and Modest and Kind Trixie, rather than the Great and Powerful Trixie most ponies know me by. Therefore, I started going around the cities and towns of Equestria, displaying my magic tricks, as well as telling great stories of many great ponies who saved Equestria many times in the past few years. Three quarters of the money I got from ponies listening to me went to the different charities around these cities, like Vanhoover; the main charity there was for a foal's hospital."

Fluttershy beamed proudly at her. "That is amazing, Trixie. I imagine the ponies who run the place must have been thrilled."

"Oh, they were," Trixie agreed. "They even asked me to put on a show for the young fillies and colts who were there. Of course, being the caring pony I am, I gratefully accepted." She paused to smile at the memory. "You should have seen their faces, Miss…" Her voice trailed off when she realised she didn't know Fluttershy's name.

"Oh, y-yeah, I suppose we were never introduced properly. My name is Fluttershy Firewing, and this is Princess Luna," Fluttershy introduced them, gesturing with a hoof at herself, and then pointed at Luna.

Trixie looked from Fluttershy to Luna in shock. "A Princess!" she exclaimed. She moved to rise, but a gentle hoof from Fluttershy set her back down. "Forgive me, Princess, for not bowing."

"It's quite all right, Miss Trixie," Luna said, waving the apology away. "I can see you are not in a state for such formalities, even if they are not necessary, or acquired for me anymore. I am no longer a Princess of Equestria."

Trixie nodded, although Fluttershy could see most of it went over her head. 'Probably tired out, the poor thing.' She zoomed herself back into concentration when Trixie began talking again.

"Well, you should have seen their faces, Miss Firewing. All of them had beaming smiles across their faces, and their eyes were wide with delight as I worked my magic on them. Everything was going fine; I left cities and towns behind me with happy ponies, and it made me feel like I accomplished something. Until…" Her voice faded away, and her smile disappeared.

Fluttershy and Luna leaned their heads closer. "Until, what?" they both asked.

Trixie looked back at them with solemn eyes. "Until about a week ago," she answered. "Last Saturday I came upon a village of earth ponies about thirty miles or so from here, on the edge of the desert, and surrounded by forest. As always I set up my show and wowed them with my magic and my stories. Afterwards, they welcomed me warmly and as humble as could be expected of me, and we had a village feast that went into the night. Before midnight, I retired for the night, feeling content with what I did, and everything that has happened so far."

She paused to shudder as the memory came into her mind. "The next morning," she continued, her voice staying strong but cracking slowly. "I was awoken by several of the ponies, who were armed and looked extremely aggressive. They threw me out of my wagon, and drove me out of the village, with some of them throwing stones at me."

Luna and Fluttershy looked horrified. "I know this village," Luna muttered, drawing Fluttershy's attention. "The ponies that live there are a peaceful people. Why would they harm somepony all of a sudden?"

"Still think that it could all be a coincidence?" Fluttershy enquired, lifting an eyebrow. Luna's silence confirmed her answer. She turned back to Trixie, who had managed to recover from her sudden breakdown. "Why did they start attacking you all of a sudden?" she asked gently.

"They said it was because I was a unicorn," Trixie replied, sniffing back tears. "That unicorns don't have a place near them, and I should go and live somewhere else." She took a deep breath to calm herself, and continued. "Afterwards, I was left out alone in the forest, starving, penniless, naked, and cold, I was forced to wander aimlessly into the wilderness, with a whole village of earth ponies behind me shouting insults.

"I eventually found myself in Las Pegasus, and was forced to beg for food and bits on the ground streets. Whilst there, I noticed the ponies of the city were acting really strange. There were constant arguments, and even large groups of militia being organised to supposedly defend the New Kingdom of Las Pegasus."

Fluttershy and Luna exchanged nervous glances, both of them wondering, and fearing, what that could mean. "So what brought you out of Las Pegasus and all the way here?" Luna queried.

"It was this Saturday when I was forced out of town once more," Trixie replied. "It was the early morning when I had to take extreme measures to keep myself fed and alive. I stole an apple from the market, and was forced to run when I was caught stealing it. I was chased out of the city and into the wilderness, where I managed to lose them thanks to the woods. That apple kept me going for a day, but it wasn't enough, so I wandered aimlessly once more, hearing the harsh cries of ponies behind me who were looking for me.

"It was yesterday afternoon when I saw the tower of this castle, and willed myself there with what remaining strength I had left. I then saw the sandstorm coming this way, and forced myself to gallop inside. I took shelter in this tunnel, and rested to try and recover before setting off again, which I tried to just now. Then I saw you, Miss Firewing, and feared you were somepony from Las Pegasus looking for me. Therefore, I ran back down here to hide, and prayed you never saw or heard me. The rest you know."

Fluttershy looked at her sympathetically, the urge to hug her, to give her comfort, becoming too much for the compassionate pegasus. Eventually, she caved in to it. She leapt onto the unicorn, and wrapped her forelegs around her gently. "Well, it's okay now," she said gently, rubbing Trixie's back softly. "You are safe now. Nopony will hurt you."

Trixie pushed her away. "But I'm not safe, though. They will continue to look for me; they are probably out there looking for me now! They won't stop! They will never–" She was cut off from her frantic ranting when Fluttershy pressed a hoof against her lips, smiling assuredly.

"She is right, Fluttershy," Luna informed her. Fluttershy turned her head around to face the former Princess. "The Las Pegasus guards ponies are some of the toughest in Equestria. They never stop hunting those that have committed crimes in the city. If they were not far behind from Trixie then they may be close by."

Fluttershy and Trixie's eyes widened with glinting horror. "So what do we do?" the Dragonlord asked.

"We have to get back to the others, and make haste away from this place," Luna answered.

"But what about Trixie?" Fluttershy enquired, gesturing with her head at the unicorn, who was now trembling in fear.

"We have to leave her, Fluttershy," Luna answered, much to Fluttershy's horror. "I'm sorry, but we can't afford to have her tag along with us. We only have enough food for four. Besides, she'll be better off in a prison cell than with us."

Fluttershy shook her head, glaring at Luna with disgust. "I can't just leave her, Luna," she said. "Not like this." She began to slowly place Trixie onto her back. She could tell that Trixie didn't like this, but the unicorn was too exhausted, and too weak, to argue with her or fight back.

"What are you doing?" Luna demanded as she watched Fluttershy struggle with getting Trixie on her back. "Do you realise that bringing her with us might name her a traitor like us?"

"I'm well aware of that, Luna," Fluttershy replied. "But I can't just leave her down here to die, nor can I leave her to the prison cells of Las Pegasus. If we could take her as far as Strutford then maybe we can leave her at one of the hospitals. Better yet, take her with us to Horsca. She will receive great care there."

Luna looked set to argue, but closed her mouth when she realised that arguing with Fluttershy was pointless. Fluttershy was inclined to agree with her. Despite only knowing Trixie as an arrogant, spiteful liar who had once caused great havoc in Ponyville, her heart could not take seeing the unicorn in this state.

After a while, she managed to get the unicorn on her back, and felt the unicorn's legs wrap around her barrel and hips. "Comfortable?" she asked, looking back. Trixie nodded weakly. "Right, you'll be coming with us until you are better," she said kindly. With that, she broke into a gentle trot, with Trixie bouncing on her back, and Luna just behind, her sword loose and ready to draw if need be.

"You don't have to do this," Trixie grumbled persistently. "I don't need help. All I need is to lie down for a bit and fall asleep."

"I know I don't, but I am going to," Fluttershy insisted, looking back at her with a small smile.

"Why are you doing this?" Trixie queried wearily. "Why are you going out of your way just to help me? You should hate me for what I did to you and your town a year ago."

"Because nopony else will, Trixie," Fluttershy replied. "And yes, you wronged me once, as well as many other ponies. But what's the point of holding onto grudges? Grudges only lead to anger and hatred, and they lead to further suffering and anguish." Fluttershy's smile broadened. "We'll take you to Horsca, and they'll get you fixed up and better again. You have my word as a Thane of Horsca."

Trixie sighed and slumped. "Why can't you just get me to anywhere but Las Pegasus? Why make such a hassle in taking me there?"

"Because no city in Equestria is safe, Trixie. Not anymore," Fluttershy answered grimly. She quickly recounted the news she had learnt in Appleloosa to the unicorn about the grim and unbelieving events that were transpiring across the country.

By the time Fluttershy had finished talking, she and Luna had rounded the bend and were walking slowly towards the main doors. "Are you certain of this?" Trixie whispered, her coat far paler in colour than usual.

"I'm afraid that Fluttershy speaks the truth, Trixie," Luna confirmed sadly. "And if you're correct about your story on Las Pegasus, then surely the newspaper can't be too far wrong."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped and let her ears prick right up when she heard raised voices.

Voices that she did not recognise.

"Oh no," she whispered. She lowered herself into a crouch, and walked up to the left-sided door. Luna followed suit, and hid behind the other.

"What is it?" Luna whispered nervously. On Fluttershy's back, Trixie began to shiver in terror.

Fluttershy craned her neck around the door, and pricked her ears right up to hear whoever was out there. Her heart stopped beating when she began to hear what they were saying.

"Are the prisoners secure?" one stallion asked in a gruff tone.

"Affirmative, sir," another replied in a far younger tone, but was still a stallion. "Me and Gedrin got the Princess before she could use her magic on us. We gagged her, tied her up quick and placed one of those unicorn things on her horn to stop her from using her magic. Dannica took on the little dragon. Tied him and gagged him pretty easily, I might add."

"Good. Any sign of the other Princess, or the Dragonlord?"

"None as yet, sir. They might have separated into small groups so they'd be harder to track down."

"Plausible, but I wouldn't have thought so. They know they'll be safer in full numbers. No, they're around here somewhere."

"What do we do now, sir?" the younger one asked. "Take the prisoners back with us?"

"No," the captain replied. "With our numbers we wouldn't be able to get far before their associates jump us and rescue them. The others and me will go back to camp and rouse some more troops. You will stay here and keep an eye on them. Do not under any circumstance engage Luna or Fluttershy should they appear. Let them free the others, and walk away from the castle. Once they're out of the castle, and you know they haven't spotted you, follow them a certain way until you can determine where they are heading. Report back to me as soon as you know."

"I won't let you down, sir," the stallion said.

"I know you won't, private." With that, the two ponies' hoofsteps faded away, as though they were heading back to the hall, where Cadence and Spike were now being held captive. A fact that didn't help Fluttershy's sensitive nerves. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her breaths were quick and heavy and her eyes were wide with terror.

She glanced to her left to see a dark blue hoof on her shoulder, and looked up to see it was Luna's. The winged unicorn gave her a quick shake to calm her down. "What is it, what's wrong? What did you hear?" she asked.

"They've captured Cadence and Spike," Fluttershy replied once she was able to speak again. Luna's eyes widened in horror, and she could feel Trixie on her back beginning to tremble in fear of what might happen.

Luna took her hoof off Fluttershy's shoulder, and peered around the door. "Did you hear where they were being kept?" she whispered.

Fluttershy nodded. "In the old hall," she replied, gesturing with her head. Luna nodded her thanks, and then unsheathed Nightbringer from her side, bringing it up to her face. Before she could take a step outside, Fluttershy stepped in front of her. "Wait, what do you think you're doing?"

Luna narrowed her eyes. "Saving our friends, Fluttershy. What does it look like?"

"You look like you're intending to spill blood to free them, that's what," Fluttershy replied. She shook her head. "We need to do this without resorting to violence. Nopony needs to die tonight."

"Well how are we going to free two captives from a group of guards?" Luna enquired, cocking an eyebrow and tilting her head as she anticipated an answer from the pegasus.

An answer, which Fluttershy did not have on her tongue. "Oh, I don't know how, Luna," she said, shaking her head. "But I want to try this without having to kill a pony. And there's only one guard now."

"You don't have to kill the pony, you know. Just leave it to me and he won't feel a thing when I finish him," Luna boasted, smiling wryly.

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at the former Night Princess. "I would like to get to Horsca without having to see a trail of dead ponies behind me." She peered past the door again, and looked up to see if she could see the guard. Thankfully, she couldn't. 'Okay, Fluttershy, you need to get your brain in gear,' Fluttershy thought. 'What do you have that can take the pony down without resorting to violence?'

Her first thoughts were her good looks. She could use her charm and body to woo the stallion away, while Luna scurried over to the hall and freed Cadence and Spike. After a moment, she shook the thought away. 'That would never work,' she decided. 'I can't even charm a pony into lowering the price for a ten bit cherry!' Her mind began to work again as she tried to think of another way.

Another was to send the stallion on a wild goose chase after her while Luna ran into the hall and freed Spike and Cadence. Again, she shook the idea away. 'I can't go too far, or I'll get lost,' she realised. Besides, after a long day of walking, and staying up late at night, she felt like she couldn't move too quickly, despite being a Dragonlord.

'This is getting hopeless,' she thought as she banged her head lightly on the door. She glanced up and saw that Luna was starting to get impatient. She realised that if she didn't think of a way soon, then Luna would head up there and end the pony's life. 'Come on, Fluttershy, what else do you have that isn't fatally lethal?' She quickly went through everything she had: her weapons, her legs, her flanks, her eyes…

'My eyes!' she exclaimed in thought, grinning at herself. She knew exactly what to do. "Luna, could you take Trixie for me, please?" she asked pleasantly.

Luna, although looking confused, nodded, and gently lifted Trixie from Fluttershy's back and onto her own with her magic. "Do you have a plan?" she queried.

Fluttershy nodded confidently. "You just need to stay down here, while I go up top and hide for a moment. Wait a minute or so, then make some noise really loudly to attract the stallion towards you. Leave the rest to me," she explained in a hushed tone.

Luna looked slightly unnerved by Fluttershy's plan, but nodded. With Luna on board with her plan, Fluttershy swallowed down the nervousness building up in her throat, and started walking out of the tunnel. "Wish me luck," she said shakily as she tried to fight back her fear.

"Break a leg," Luna said, smiling encouragingly at her. Trixie didn't look up from staring at Luna's neck. Fluttershy nodded gratefully at the Princess, then turned around and headed up the slope.

"Okay," Fluttershy breathed, trying to keep herself calm, "just relax, Fluttershy, and keep it together. You've faced far worse than this. Far worse. You can do it. Just stare him in the eyes and don't show any fear." Yet she felt fear. A great amount of fear.

She quickly found herself standing out on the edge of the slope, and in full view of the hall. She spread her wings, and fluttered silently behind one of the ruined buildings to hide. After a moment, and realising she hadn't been spotted, she peered over the wall to have a look around.

The moon was hidden behind a thick wall of clouds, shrouding the world in complete darkness. Fluttershy could barely make out the hall, and neither could she see through the nearest window the pony and dragon held captive in there, or the guard holding them.

Her mind suddenly came up on the subject of bats, and her eyes widened as another idea surged into her head. She might not be able to see clearly in the dark, but she could hear better than most, and bats were just as good listeners as she was. So rather than relying on her eyes for the moment, she would hear her way around.

She pinned her ears upright, and closed her eyes as she blanked out all thoughts and other nocturnal sounds like the owls hooting in the forest around them. After a moment, she could hear the sound of hooves clopping against the stone ground. 'That must be the guard's hooves,' she reckoned. She listened carefully to the sound of the hooves, and her eyes widened when she concluded that he was coming this way.

Hastily, she backed away from the edge, and lowered herself to the ground, shaking in fright. 'Please don't look left, please don't look left,' she prayed continuously. Her heart went still, and her pupils shrunk to the size of pins when she saw him emerge from behind the building.

He was pretty tall for a guardspony. He had thick, strong legs, strong enough to cave a skull in with a single buck kick. His coat was a dark grey, and on his back, even though it was dark, she could make out the faint hint of golden colour on the steel plates of his armour, the colour and armour design for the ponies of Celestia's Royal Guard.

Fluttershy's eyes bulged when she realised he was a soldier of the Royal Guard. She couldn't believe they had caught up with them already. They probably did not even know they were trying to escape the desert, or in the desert for that matter, so why were they this far from Canterlot? Were they out here looking for them and came across them by chance, or was it because of Las Pegasus? Either way, she knew she had to find out, and she knew he had to stay alive. 'I might even learn what's going on with the rest of Equestria,' she reckoned.

Therefore, she waited and stood still as stone as the stallion walked slowly past, his golden eyes shining in the darkness and looking for any sign of movement. She breathed a silent sigh of relief when he didn't stop and try to tackle her. Things would have got violent really quickly, otherwise. With her belly as low to the ground as she could dare, she crawled slowly after the stallion, stopping every now and then when he stopped, and praying that he would not turn around suddenly.

"Wahooo!" the sound of Luna's voice echoed across the castle, making the stallion bolt his head upright and his ears flick up at the noise. He lowered himself into a cautious position, and moved slowly forward, the spear in his right leg lowered and ready to use.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes at the sound. 'I have no idea what that was meant to imitate,' she thought. She jumped a little when she saw the stallion was taking the bait and moving to check out the sound, and continued crawling after him. She prayed this would work, or otherwise there would be blood on their hooves; blood, that she would never be able to forgive herself for. 'I've had the blood of one too many on my hooves already,' she thought sullenly in remembrance to the first – and hopefully only – time she killed something with her own hooves.

Her father was in danger, and was knocked unconscious by a large, terrifying reman. In haste, she had jumped the creature, intending to only knock it out, but recoiled back in horror and sickness when she had opened her eyes to find Firewing in its side, and the reman lying dead with its eyes wide with pain. 'Those might have been the eyes of a monster, but he was still a living creature that was capable of joy, pain, sorrow, and everything else we are capable of,' she thought. Many times since coming back to Ponyville she wished she could go back and change what happened to what she would have preferred to happen, but knew such a wish was stupid and impossible. She knew she would have to just accept the fact she had killed someone, and move on. 'Besides, I'm a Dragonlord. I'm meant to kill something,' Fluttershy thought, yet those words sounded vile in her head.

She broke out of her thoughts when she suddenly realised the stallion was just by the slope leading down into the tunnels, and about to head down there after Luna and Trixie. 'Time to see if this works,' she thought, swallowing down her fear for the moment. She needed to brave, if not for herself then for Luna, Trixie, Cadence and Spike.

She spread her wings out wide, her wing blades glistening in the low moon light, and hovered silently just above the ground. She waited a few seconds to see if the stallion would turn around, and when she felt assured he wouldn't, she floated gently forward, her nerves screaming at her to turn back and run.

However, not matter how loud her nerves screamed, she would not run. She is a Dragonlord of Terra, a warrior pony who had fought battles and defeated far greater foes than a single pegasus stallion of the Royal Guard. 'I can take him down easily,' she thought proudly of herself. Whether that was the arrogance of a Dragonlord speaking, or herself, she could not say.

She stopped till she was hovering just above the guardspony, who was looking down the slope with squinted eyes to try and make out who was down there, and figuring whether or not to investigate. This was Fluttershy's chance, and she didn't hesitate.

She quickly tapped the pony on the shoulder, making him turn his head around to see who it was. His eyes widened quickly upon seeing Fluttershy hovering behind him, and spun around in an attempt to take her down. Before he could bring his spear to bear, Fluttershy widened her own eyes, and used the 'Dragon Stare'.

The 'Dragon Stare' was an ancient power, used by the first dragons to quell entire armies and send them running off the battlefield before any blood could be spilt. It was a trait passed down to every Dragonlord, and Fluttershy was a master of it, having used a less powerful version of it since her birth. Now with her Dragonlord abilities unlocked, she could use its full potential, and to any pony looking into it, was like looking into his or hers worst nightmares formed into one.

The stallion's grey coat turned lighter as his wide, terrified eyes locked into her own, as hers ground into his soul. He spun his body around and began to back away from her, in the hope he would break away from this devilish mare's gaze. He forgot that there was a slope just behind him.

He suddenly lost his footing, and fell backwards and rolled down the slope, screaming in pain as he fell. Fluttershy broke off her 'Dragon Stare' and clamped her hooves over her mouth in shock. "Oh dear," she said aloud. She quickly looked over the slope to see the stallion on the ground, with his forelegs on one his hind legs, gritting his teeth as he tried to bear the pain. "Oh my, I'm so sorry I hurt you, sir!" she called down. She suddenly saw Luna appear next to him, looking down at him emotionlessly. "Luna! Is he okay?"

"I think one of his hind legs are broken," Luna replied, her sword Nightbringer appearing in front of her, which unnerved Fluttershy slightly. "But other than that he's fine." She added in a hushed whisper, "But not for long."

Fluttershy breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Ah, that's good. Could you bring him up here please so we could have a look and see what we can do to help him… um, please?" Fluttershy squinted her eyes when she saw Luna now standing directly above the stallion, with her sword rising slowly in the air, and the stallion looking up at her in fear.

"Luna? What are you doing?" Fluttershy called.

"What is necessary," Luna replied regretfully, raising Nightbringer above her head, and getting herself ready to strike down on the stallion's head.

It took Fluttershy a heartbeat to realise what the former Princess was about to do. "LUNA, NO!" she yelled. In an instant she galloped down the slope as fast as she could, and leapt onto Luna, tackling her to the ground just before Nightbringer could embed itself in the stallion's skull.

Before Luna could haul herself up, Fluttershy pinned the Princess down by the shoulders and side, and looking at her with shock and disgust, while Nightbringer fell out of Luna's magic and clattered to the ground. Once Luna broke out of her daze, she looked up at Fluttershy with surprise. That surprise quickly turned to anger. "What did you just do?" Luna demanded.

Fluttershy did not answer; she did not want to answer. She felt sickened just by looking at the Princess. She took her hooves off the Princess and spun around to look at the stallion, who was lying on the ground, watching the scene with confusion. "Can you walk?" she asked unpleasantly, for she felt like she could not control her anger.

The stallion nodded stiffly, his features giving away his fear of what might happen to him. Fluttershy walked to stand alongside him, and then helped lift him to his hooves. "Put a leg around my shoulders if it helps," Fluttershy said. The stallion nodded, and wrapped his right foreleg over her shoulders. She looked into his pretty gold eyes, and saw great fear in them, fear of what would happen to him. At that moment, her anger faded to the back of her mind, and she gave him a warm, assuring smile. "Come on, let's take you outside."

The stallion nodded, and together the two ponies walked slowly up the slope and out of the tunnels, leaving behind two dazed and shocked ponies. "Take care of Cadence and Spike while I look after him," Fluttershy called to Luna, not wanting to turn around to look at her.

Once they were out of the tunnels and back in the castle grounds, they moved slowly across the pavement, and passed the hall. "By Celestia it hurts," the stallion hissed, gritting his teeth and groaning in pain.

Fluttershy's ears went flat at seeing this pony in such a state, so she moved a little bit faster just so they could get out of the castle and somewhere safe and secure for the moment. "We're nearly there, just keep your leg up for a bit longer," she said.

They were soon outside the castle boundaries, and on the edge of the forest that surrounded it. Fluttershy stopped and had a quick look and listen around for signs that the other guards were not far away. Apart from the sound of Spike grumbling as he was untied, and the occasional bird tweet, there was nothing. Slowly, she guided the stallion to sit on his haunches, and then backed away a little. "Okay, so which leg is it that hurts?" Fluttershy asked. She might not know much about equine anatomy to fix it, but she knew she could try and make it better.

The stallion looked at her with cold, yet frightened eyes, and then gestured with his head at his right hind leg, which was being held up and off the ground. Fluttershy walked up to him, then sat down on her rump and leaned her head in to get a closer look. The leg didn't look broken, thankfully, nor was there signs of any blood from cuts. There was, however, a large red mark over the offending area, on the ankle. She brought a hoof up, and gently ran it along the leg to see how it felt.

The stallion kicked out in instinct when her hoof ran over the red mark, making Fluttershy flinch back by it, unhurt but startled by the sudden movement. "I don't think it's broken," she said once she had recovered. "I've seen a broken ankle on a fox once, and it looked much different to this." She tapped her chin in thought as she tried to come up with a diagnosis. "I think you might have sprained it."

She looked up at him, and couldn't help but feel hurt when she saw he was looking at her like she was an enemy. She knew she needed to win his trust soon, or she would learn nothing from him. "If I had any bandages with me I would wrap it up nicely, but I don't, I'm afraid."

She began looking around for something she could use as an alternative to help soothe the pain. 'If I recall a book I had once read, there was a plant that grew under the trees that healed sprained legs.' It was fortunate since trees surrounded her. Her eyes squinted as she looked at the base of the trees around them. Her eyes widened when she saw it close by. "Stay here," she said, before leaping up and galloping towards the plant.

"That's all I can do!" the stallion called back through gritted teeth.

Fluttershy ignored him, and slowed down when she was in front of it. A small herb, hidden among the trees and bushes, was one that always fascinated Fluttershy, and, she recalled, helped her out on many occasions when she had a sprained ankle. It was a dark green, with leaves like thin snowflakes, and shimmered in the moonlight that shone through the canopy.

She picked it up with her teeth, and quickly cantered back to the stallion, who looked at it skeptically. "How on Terra is a plant going to help me with a sprained ankle?" he asked.

Fluttershy spat it out, and ripped off one of the leaves on the herb. "This isn't your ordinary herb you would find; this is a Doglaviris herb," Fluttershy explained. "And it's not exactly the leaves I want, it's the water on them." She emphasised the point by gently placing a leaf on his knee, then holding it down as the water from the leaf soaked in. "I'm so sorry about this."

The stallion grimaced and groaned in pain, but that look began to evaporate as he realised the pain was easing away. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile smugly at the look of disbelief on his face. She pulled the leaf away, and saw the redness of the knee was beginning to fade away. She took off the leaf, and placed another one in its stead. "Now, hold that down until the pain is entirely gone," she ordered.

The stallion nodded, and quickly placed a hoof on the leaf, while looking at Fluttershy with disbelief. "The herb gives out water from what it stole from the trees," Fluttershy explained. "The water is full of, um, basically painkillers that the herb emanates, and when worked into the ankle it heals it over a short period of time."

The stallion nodded, though she could see most of it flew through one ear and out the other. 'Am I beginning to sound like Twilight?' she thought.

"Why are you doing this?" the stallion muttered, his eyes moving to look at the ground between them. "Why are you helping me?"

Fluttershy tilted her head as though confused by the question, then gently leaned over and lifted his head with a hoof so he could look her in the eye. "Because I can," she said kindly, smiling gently. "Because I can't stand to see somepony hurt, physically or mentally. So I help them, in anyway that I can."

The stallion brought his head away from Fluttershy's hoof, staring at her in surprise. "So, you're not a cold-blooded killer?"

Fluttershy snorted in offence. "I despise killing, mister, and I am not cold-blooded." She looked away, her eyes narrow and her expression cold. "Is that a nasty rumour being spread about me?" she asked, trying not to look or sound like she was hurt, yet she was. The thought of so many ponies hating her hurt so much more than any pain she had ever felt before.

The stallion nodded slowly, his ears falling flat in guilt. "It came from the high command of the Royal Guard, I think, and just got passed down to others. I can see now that those rumours are false."

"Yeah, well don't believe every rumour you hear," Fluttershy warned him, glancing back at the stallion, "for they could end up hurting many ponies." She suddenly noticed she had him talking, and decided to act on it while they waited for the pain to go away. "For instance, I heard one rumour about Las Pegasus becoming its own kingdom. But I doubt that's true."

She looked back at the pony, and saw in the stallion's eyes the confirmation of that rumour. "I'm afraid that you have heard correctly, Dragonlord. Las Pegasus has separated itself from the rest of country, as has the towns in the desert, and Hoofington and Trottingham as well, now."

Fluttershy's eyes widened at the ill news. "So, why are you out here? Because, I imagine you weren't looking for us here intentionally."

Again, the stallion's eyes confirmed that belief. "Yesterday, the Royal Guard received orders from Princess Celestia to mobilise in full, and were split up, with some heading to the borders of these separated states, while others were deployed to try and keep the peace in the loyal towns," the guard explained. "We also received orders to be on the look-out for you and your little band, and to capture and hold you until the Element Bearers arrive to take you away."

Fluttershy's eyes widened even more. "The Element Bearers!" she exclaimed. That was bad – really, really bad. Twilight was an uncanny tactician and leader, and with Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow and Rarity with her, they became an unstoppable team. 'Of course Celestia would send them,' she thought. 'I doubt there's anypony she can trust more than them.' Now, she realised, she would have to outsmart the five ponies she could never outwit in her four years of knowing them. 'Things have just got worse.'

"What about you?" she asked, gesturing at him with her head. "What brings you out here?"

"The soldiers of the tenth Royal Guard legion were dispatched to surround the territory of the New Kingdom of Las Pegasus, and await further orders until the envoys have finished their work– which, I might add, they will fail."

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Wait, did you just say, envoys?" she asked, pointing at him with a hoof.

The stallion nodded. "Celestia had a whole group of ponies hastily trained to be envoys, and sent them to the separated states to try and bring them back without bloodshed. She's given them all two weeks to convince the separated states to come back," he explained.

"And, what if they refuse to come back?" Fluttershy asked nervously, already dreading the answer.

The stallion's eyes moved to look in-between them. "Then I'm afraid that war is the only inevitable conclusion," he answered grimly.

Fluttershy felt the colour of her coat drain from her body. 'War!' she thought incredulously. Not since the reign of King Sombra of the Crystal Empire had ponies spilt each other's blood in a full-scale war. Not since the times of chaos and madness of that time in the past, where history is muddled and incoherent. 'The hammer-fall that will split Equestria into chaos and violence it hasn't seen in thousands of years.'

Now Fluttershy could see what Vidarr truly meant. The hammer-fall had been struck, the cracks had appeared and had begun to spread across Equestria, and it would only be a matter of time – two weeks, in fact – before everypony fell into them and be consumed in the fires of war. 'I have to stop this.' But the question is: how?

She didn't know, and it made her more afraid than she was already. It was becoming exactly like she had feared. She now felt that she could not save Equestria from splitting itself apart, and save her friends from whatever held them at the same time.

Then she remembered she had those that were with her to help her undo this damage. Spike, Cadence, Luna… Her eyes suddenly narrowed with seething anger when she thought of Luna, and what she was about to do to the pony in front of her. 'Once I deal with this stallion, I'm going to have words with Luna,' she decided, though she couldn't think of any kind words to say to her presently.

She cleared her head for a second and looked back down at the stallion's hind leg, and said, "You can take the leaf away now, if you want." The stallion nodded, and threw the leaf off his leg. Both ponies' eyes widened upon looking at his hind leg, for the redness had gone completely. "Does it hurt?"

The stallion lifted himself onto all fours, and pressed the offending leg down gently until he felt it could take his weight. "It feels much better," he replied, sounding surprised. "As if it wasn't hurt at all." He looked up at Fluttershy again, his look expressing his gratitude. "How can I ever repay you for this?"

"By saying we headed south, back into the desert with intentions to get into the Southlands," Fluttershy replied, her eyes pleading with him to say yes. She saw his look waver and his eyes flick from place to place, as though he was fighting to decide on whether to go against his loyalty to the Princess, or his debt of gratitude to the Dragonlord.

Finally, he relented. "I'll do that," he sighed. "Anypony sent after you will head south. You have my word."

Fluttershy smiled, even though she could not say whether or not he was genuine about it. "Thank you." She gestured with her head for him to leave. "Now go, before somepony finds you here with me." The stallion nodded, and began to trot out of the woods and away from the castle. "Wait!" Fluttershy called. The stallion stopped and turned his head back around. "I forgot to ask. What is your name?"

"My name's Robyn, Miss Firewing," he replied. He swiftly bowed his head. "I will not forget your kindness today, Fluttershy. Thank you." With that, he spun around and galloped through the trees, and out of sight.

Fluttershy watched him go, and sighed. 'I hope he was telling the truth when he said he would tell them we headed south rather than north,' she thought in prayer. She sat on her rump, and let her mind begin to go through the information she had learnt from Robyn. 'Okay, so we have two weeks before a devastating civil war begins,' she summarised. She briefly wondered why would Celestia give them all two weeks, rather than rush in and slaughter them all before they could properly defend themselves, like the Celestia that Fluttershy met in Canterlot would have done. Just as she thought that, the answer came to her, and her face lit up in joy because of it.

'She's fighting whatever is holding her,' she realised. Her eyes widened even more when she theorised something else. 'Maybe this two week wait isn't a political move; maybe it's a message! A message to us!' TheCelestia Fluttershy knew, despite being trapped deep in the body of a madpony, still had enough power to burst out for a moment and instigate a two weeks' notice for the ponies to consider coming back. However, it wasn't for them to hear, it was for her and her companions. They were meant to hear the message, and use the two weeks to act against whatever was holding them, and save Equestria and everypony.

Fluttershy felt like bouncing up and down in joy, until her mind reminded her of one small problem. Even if the others believed her, two weeks is still too short to fix everything, so how could they do it? 'We just have to hope Vidarr finds out what we need to know wherever he is,' Fluttershy replied to her mind. 'And be quick enough to tell us about it.'

She spun around and trotted back into the castle, intending to tell Cadence, Spike, Trixie and Luna about this news. She stopped and took a deep breath to control herself when she remembered Luna could have killed Robyn in cold blood had she not intervened. Despite everything she had learnt from the laws of the Dragonlords, she felt she could ignore one of the rules for this one time. With that in mind, she broke into a fast trot to get back into the hall.

She pushed one of the front doors open, sending it to the ground with the force of her push. She looked from Cadence, Spike and Trixie, who were sitting quietly together, to Luna, who had been pacing up and down as though she was waiting for something. At the sight of the Princess, Fluttershy felt sick again. The Princess was going to kill somepony in cold blood, wounded and frightened for his life, and that was something she felt she could never forgive; she couldn't forgive herself for nearly doing the same thing.

She narrowed her eyes, gritted her teeth and trotted quickly over to the Night Princess, who started walking up to her, her eyes demanding an explanation. "Fluttershy, what did you do to the g–?" Luna was cut off when Fluttershy slapped her hard across the face, making everypony in the hall gasp in astonishment.

For a moment, all went silent – even the birds stopped singing. Luna and Fluttershy stood firmly where they were, with Luna holding a hoof against her left cheek as it went red. When Luna recovered, she slowly turned her head to look at Fluttershy, who looked back at her with eyes of burning rage. Her teeth were gritted together as she tried to keep her anger in check, but could not control it. And she was glad for that. She wanted to release it, to let it all out, and Luna was the only pony that she could release it on.

"What, the hay, is WRONG WITH YOU?" Fluttershy yelled, her voice bellowing across the hall, and making everypony back away in fright of Fluttershy's anger. "I want to go through this without bloodshed, yet you think the only way forward is through the sword? If that is what you think then you are no better than a cold-blooded murderer!"

Luna took a deep breath, her eyes wide with shock at the sudden action from the usually quiet pegasus. "I did what I thought to be necessary, Fluttershy," Luna explained. "I though-"

"Necessary! How can killing an unarmed pony who's wounded and needs help be considered necessary?" Fluttershy bellowed, her anger only increasing at the meagre defence given by Luna.

"Because, Fluttershy, sometimes you have to make the wrong choices, for the best of your group," Luna answered, glancing over to the others, who shrank back at her gaze.

Fluttershy took a deep breath to calm herself, which failed miserably. "Well that choice has been taken from you now! He's too far away from you to get your vile hooves on him!" she yelled, pointing at the Princess's hooves.

Another great silence filled the room, the others looking at Fluttershy incredulously. Luna was the only one to look enraged at her. "You let him go? You fool!" She snapped, bringing her head close in a bid for Fluttershy to flinch back. The pegasus, however, stood her ground. "Don't you realise what you have done? You have risked us all with your stupid actions!"

"No, I haven't, because Robyn said he was going to tell them that we just escaped and headed south!" Fluttershy yelled in response, bringing her head closer.

Luna's face twisted further in rage and she brought her head closer, until the two ponies' heads were locked in a fierce struggle for dominance. "If you think that then you are a stupid, gullible fool! He was a soldier of the Royal Guard! He would not betray his superiors just because you convinced him by spreading your legs!"

"How dare you!" Fluttershy yelled through gritted teeth, pushing Luna's head back with her own. "You might, but I would never stoop that low! I healed his leg for him, that's all! Besides, I don't want to kill anything! I may be a Dragonlord, but there are other ways to end conflict without resorting to violence! See, you learn something new everyday! Perhaps you should learn some compassion, or did you lose all of it when you became Nightmare Moon!"

"Just to let you know, I stopped a full-scale war with the whole Griffon Kingdom and the zebras by words alone! And who are you to say that you don't want to kill anything? It is far too late for that wish to come true, you know. I've seen your dreams and your nightmares, and I know that there is blood on your hooves, Fluttershy Firewing! More blood than I ever thought! Do you recall the pain in that reman's eyes as you tore his li-!"

"ENOUGH!" Cadence bellowed. She jumped up and pushed the two ponies forcibly away from each other, then stood between them, glaring at both of them. "Is that how we are going to act, like children trading petty insults at each other in the schoolyard?"

Both ponies looked at the ground in front of them, now feeling ashamed of how they acted. "I expected better from both of you, especially you, Fluttershy! I thought you were above such childish behaviour!" Fluttershy shrank back from Cadence's anger as though it was stinging, her look one of shame. "And you, aunt, I never expected you to stoop as low as to what you just said to her!" Luna shrank back as well. "You, outside, now! I'll talk to you in a minute."

Luna nodded, and briskly trotted past Cadence and Fluttershy, not daring to look at either of them, and went outside. With the nightly alicorn out of the way, Cadence turned to Fluttershy with a questioning expression. "Fluttershy, look at me," she ordered sharply, yet gently.

The way Cadence said it sounded too gentle to Fluttershy's ears, and she flinched back in response. After a moment, she looked into Cadence's eyes, and saw the eyes of a warrior Princess, rather than the Princess of Love she had thought her to be.

Cadence was armed to the teeth. Strapped to her left side was the sword Luna had found for her, with its crystal pommel shining in the moonlight, and its cross-guard gleaming silver. On her right was the longbow, with a large quiver of arrows strapped to her back, ready to be pulled out and loosed whenever she desired.

"And just what do you have to say for yourself?" Cadence enquired, shifting an eyebrow in disappointment.

Fluttershy closed her eyes as tears of shame built up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Cadence. I know I shouldn't have said all of those things, but I couldn't help myself. I haven't felt that angry in such a long time." She cleared her eyes, and looked back up at Cadence. "I apologise to all of you for seeing and hearing that, but I will not apologise to her."

Cadence's frown faltered slightly. "I didn't expect you would. Now, I have an aunt to talk to." She began to slowly walk towards the door, her swords and bow clattering with every step.

"Cadence?" Fluttershy called. The alicorn stopped and turned back around. "I want to know something: what would you have done if you had the choice? Would you have killed him there, or let him live?"

Cadence looked at her sadly, almost sympathetically. "To be honest, Fluttershy, and it isn't easy to say this, believe me, but I would have killed him." Fluttershy's ears flattened across her head, and her eyes spoke of the betrayal she felt in her. "It's not like it is an easy choice for me to make, it isn't – far from it in fact. But like Luna said, it is the necessary one."

When Fluttershy didn't reply, she continued. "Listen, that pony was trained to follow the Princess's orders, and would be entirely loyal to her and nopony else – not even you. He will tell his superiors that we're heading north rather than south, for anypony can see that is where we're now heading, and they will try everything they can think of to catch us between here and Horsca. Others will be informed, and they will try to blockade Horsca from us, or try to corral us into a place where we'll be trapped. Silencing him permanently would have been made our trip there much easier, but the chance of a more peaceful passage has now been squashed, thanks to you."

Fluttershy's eyes lowered to look at the ground, finding herself unable to look at Cadence anymore. "How can you say that?" she asked, her tone stating her disgust. "How can you act so cold?"

Cadence's own ears fell flat, and she sighed. "It's not easy being a Princess, you know. Sometimes you make a choice, and though you know it is morally questionable, it sometimes is the right one to make." With that, she turned away and walked out of the hall, leaving Fluttershy, Spike and Trixie in stunned silence.

Fluttershy shook her head, unbelieving that she had just heard that from a pony she thought was the Princess of love. 'I thought she was an understanding pony. I guess I was wrong,' she thought. She was wrong about a lot of things recently, it seemed. She rubbed her forehead, groaning while feeling her body tremble with anger. Despite Cadence's plausible explanation, she couldn't see how both Princesses would act and think so coldly. 'Is that what means to be a Princess? To detach yourself from that sort of emotion to make it easier to take life? Is that what it means to be a leader?' If so, then she would have no part in it.

She spun her head around when she felt a hoof on her shoulder, and saw Trixie looking at her sympathetically, shaking with exhaustion as she tried to stand upright. "For the record, what you just did back there was very noble. It was stupid, yes, but noble nonetheless."

Fluttershy looked away, her eyes narrow and her ears flat. "What was? Letting the guard go, or slapping Princess Luna?"

"Both, actually," Trixie answered, making Fluttershy look at her again in surprise. "Not many ponies could get away with slapping a Princess of Equestria, or even say they did. But I want to know: why did you spare him, and why was he, and all of those guards, after you in the first place?"

After a moment of pondering on whether to tell the unicorn, Fluttershy sighed and bowed her head once more. "Two days ago, me, Spike and the two Princesses were accused of treason by false documents stating our plans to go against Princess Celestia and Equestria." Trixie's eyes went wide in horror, and she backed away from her as though she was cursed. Fluttershy looked up at her. "We were going to be imprisoned in stone by the Elements of Harmony, and if it wasn't for my friend Vidarr arriving, we would be in stone right now. We were framed, Trixie, and I want to find out who did it, and why."

Trixie tilted her head confusedly. "I still don't get how that answers you sparing that guard's life?"

"Because, Trixie, we are not traitors," Fluttershy answered. She pointed in the direction Robyn had fled. "And if he had died at our hooves, then we would become the traitors we are branded as. I would rather haul myself back to Canterlot and turn myself into stone if a pony died at our hooves."

Fluttershy turned her back on Trixie and Spike, and sighed as she looked up at the night sky. 'Did I make the right choice, dad?' she asked. 'Would you have spared that pony's life, and let him go as I have done?'

Her father didn't come down and tell her she made the right choice, as she had hoped, so she had to make do with what her heart told her, and it said that she was in the right. If he had died, then they would become the traitors they were named as, and they would have to run and hide like cowards. There were times when Fluttershy thought of herself as a coward, plenty of times, yet now she could see that this time was not the time to hide, or be a coward. They could only run. Yet even then, she knew they couldn't run forever. With war threatening Equestria, she knew she had to stop and take a stand, like her father and her ancestors would have done.

After a moment of thought, she looked back at Trixie expectantly. "What about you? What are you going to do?" Fluttershy asked. "Now you know the truth, it would be easier if we parted ways."

Trixie nodded in agreement. "You're right, it would be easier. Yet I'm not going to leave you." Fluttershy's eyebrows flicked up in surprise, while Spike's eyes widened in horror. "You have shown me great kindness tonight, and given me a reason to keep on living and going. I know it's not going to be easy, running from everything and everyone, but if I can help in any way, then I shall."

Fluttershy's lips curled into a small smile. "Thank you, Trixie," she said.

Trixie bowed her head. "So tell me, where are we heading?"

"To Horsca, in the north," Fluttershy answered.

"We're planning to go through the Unicorn Range to get there," Spike added.

Trixie's eyes widened. "The Unicorn Range?" she repeated. Fluttershy and Spike nodded. "Have any of you ever been through the Unicorn Range?" Both of them quickly shook their heads in reply. "Well it's not a place for the inexperienced. There are hundreds of paths across the Range that could send you anywhere, or back to where you started. Thankfully, I know the routes you want to take to get north, so I could guide you there, if you'd like."

Spike opened his mouth to protest Trixie's guidance, but before he could utter a word of protest, Fluttershy slammed a hoof into his mouth. "We will gladly take the offer. Thank you, Trixie," she said, smiling.

Trixie smiled as well; visibly glad she was going to be useful. "Right, I need to go and find that sword I had down in the tunnels." With that, she turned around and walked slowly out of the hall.

"Won't you like somepony to come with you incase you get injured or collapse?" Fluttershy protested.

"I'll be fine, Fluttershy. I feel better than I did this morning. Now if you'll excuse me, Trixie must find her weapon." She broke into a trot and left the hall, leaving a fuming Spike with a slightly happier Fluttershy.

"How can you invite her along with us?" Spike asked, gesturing with an arm at the direction she just left, and glaring at Fluttershy. "She'll be an utter nuisance to us – to me – and she'll probably won't stop complaining about everything – in fact, she'll probably won't shut up half the time."

Fluttershy glanced at him, flicking an eyebrow up. "I don't think she'll be that much of a nuisance; we need her to get through the Unicorn Range. And I don't think she'll complain as much as some ponies I know. She is a travelling showmare, after all; she's probably used to harsh conditions like the ones we'll face when we get there."

After a moment, Spike sighed. "I suppose," he conceded.

Fluttershy slung a leg over his shoulders. "Now, Spike, I know you don't like her, and for that matter neither do I entirely. However, she might turn out to be a real sweetheart. So, give her a chance like I did with Discord. Okay?"

After a minute, Spike nodded. "I'll do it for you, Fluttershy, but if she annoys me once, don't hold me responsible for my actions."

Fluttershy giggled. "I won't, promise." She brought her leg back down, and the two fell into silence as they waited for the others.

A few minutes later, Cadence and Luna appeared through the door, the former looking at Fluttershy amiably and shamefully, while the latter looked at her with a hateful glare. 'She doesn't like me anymore,' Fluttershy thought. She shrugged it away. 'That's okay. The feeling's mutual.'

Trixie came through the door a minute later, her short sword sheathed at her left side and strapped around her neck. "Why do you have that sword?" Cadence asked, pointing at it.

"Because she is coming with us," Fluttershy answered. Cadence and Luna spun their heads around to look at her. "She's coming with us to Horsca to get some proper treatment from the horses." The look she had on her face made it clear that the decision was final.

Cadence sighed. "Very well then. Let us get away from this place before the Royal Guard come back with more numbers." With that, she led the group out of the hall and through the castle grounds. Fluttershy looked back from time to time to see if Trixie was okay, and relaxed a little when she saw the unicorn was still following them, albeit slowly.

Fluttershy stopped and stepped to the side, waiting for Trixie to catch up. "I'll stay behind you to make sure you don't fall too far behind," she said kindly to the unicorn. Trixie nodded in thanks, and then broke into a trot. With Trixie in front, Fluttershy began walking once more with Spike beside her, silently glad to put some distance between herself and Luna.

"Oh, isn't this great!" Trixie exclaimed as she walked, her body shaking to keep herself upright and moving. "Two Princesses, a baby dragon, a unicorn and a pegasus, brought together through circumstance! I think that if we are gonna stay together for some time, then maybe we should have a group name. How about this one? 'The Great and Powerful Posse'!"

Instead of groaning like Fluttershy thought he would, Spike tapped his chin with a claw as he pondered on something. "You know, being turned to stone doesn't sound as agonisingly bad as listening to Trixie all day. I think I might wait for the guards back at the castle and surrender." He turned around and began to jog back to the castle.

Before he could get far, however, Fluttershy wrapped her tail around him, spun him back around and pushed him back to her side. "Sorry, Spike, but you're not leaving my sight."

Spike sighed and slumped as he walked beside her. Fluttershy could sympathise with him; the only time she had known Trixie was as a savage bully who had enslaved her town. Yet she had known Discord as only a monster, and she had become the only friend he had. All it took was time and patience to befriend the creature of chaos, and it would be the same with Trixie. 'I will look past the arrogant side of her, and she will become my friend,' Fluttershy declared to herself. Vidarr knew she needed all the friends she had if she was going to survive.

With that in mind, and slightly pleased their numbers had been bolstered by one, Fluttershy followed the others as they left the castle behind them, and wandered deep into the large woodland that surrounded the castle.

None of them dared to look back.