More letters... more hope...
Or at least, that's what Twilight tried to tell to herself as she picked up yet another letter into her grasp and started to open it with the hopes that at least one more town or village, or even a city would answer her plea of assistance... she even closed her eyes and let out a sigh, as if preparing herself for the quite possibly bad news on the next letter.
At least until a rolled up ball of paper suddenly hit her on the side of the face, making her turn away from the letter to send a glare towards a bored Rainbow, whose hooves were on top of a desk while lazily making another envelope a paper ball and then throwing it up and down on her own hand. Twilight immediately took it away from her with her magic, earning an equally annoyed glare from the pegasus.
"... you know, it's fun writing and reading letters... but this is becoming bothersome, you know?" Rainbow declared before turning to a pile of letters Twilight had neatly arranged in "positive" and "negative" answers. "... I mean, the whole reading negative answers and such... I mean, we do know some of these are positive answers and such... but why bother opening them? If they are actually sending help, then we'll have little to do other than wait, right?"
Twilight sighed at that. On that regards, Rainbow was right. She could only read them and make a mental calculation (and a very inaccurate calculation) of how many ponies would actually be sent to help them. And yet...
Twilight tried to shake away the nasty doubts beginning to cloud her mind. In fact, that was the exact same reason about why she was reading those letters. The wall had been completely repaired while she was out, thanks to the guidance of Granny Smith and Big Mac, and the guards had taken it upon themselves to coordinate the patrols, defenses and such. And in other regards, there was always Mayor Mare and her "council" who had taken to do the usual tasks to keep the city running while on siege.
Even Rarity had been taking it on herself to do some clothing for the guards, specially some of which that could be used as camouflage. Though that had stopped as soon as she found out Twilight was awake... not to mention Rainbow as well.
And speaking of which, Twilight turned away from the pegasus at the desk to look at her unicorn friend, who was almost as focused on her work as her... though with a more... delicate way. While Rainbow simply ripped the top of the envelope, and Twilight used her magic to open the envelope, Rarity was using a small knife to open the envelope, putting the knife down, taking the letter out of the envelope, and then setting it down before reading the letter.
In several regards, even Rarity seemed to be even more organized than herself... and that made Twilight's doubts begin to arise anew. Just by looking at what the other ponies had done in her absence... It made her feel not useless per se... but unneeded? Definitely.
She couldn't blame the rest of the other ponies... they had done it in good faith towards her, thinking she might be feeling not too well after everything. And she really appreciated the gesture... but that left her with too much free time in her hands... time that she had been using to verify almost everything around Ponyville, if only to keep her mind busy to not think too much about the corruption growing inside of her... or rather, THEM, Twilight reminded herself.
One way or another, Twilight knew that the three of them had been exposed in one way or another to the Corruption, Rarity during her time in Canterlot and that shady club Fleur had been... Rainbow for doing direct contact with the Caribou magic... and herself?
Her mind was drifting once more, and once more the doubts were growing once more. Twilight let out a tired groan before getting up from her chair and setting the letter she had hold in her hands for several minutes, still unopened, onto the little table at her side, where several other unopened letters were laying.
"Girls... i really appreciate your help... but i think i'll take a bath, alright?"
"Do you need company?" Both Twilight and Rarity stopped what they were doing sharply, turning almost at the same time to stare at their pegasus friend with a shocked and confused stare. Realizing what she had said, Rainbow let out a nervous chuckle while rubbing the back of her head. "Heh heh... i mean... we are all worried about you Twilight... What would happen if you suddenly passed out while in the tub?"
Twilight smiled at that, followed shortly by Rarity who had placed her hand on top of Twilight's shoulder.
Among the three of them, they had talked about what had exactly happened with them. It was a particularly awkward conversation, to say the least... but even if what they had done and what they were feeling was strange, they were still friends. If anything, the three of them seemed to be... more quiet after coming out like that. While some things had been... strange to confess and hear, they all had opened up in ways they hadn't thought about before... and they were closer like that, despite what they thought.
"Don't worry, Rainbow, i'll be alright. i'm not feeling that dizzy or tired... i'll be fine."
Rainbow nodded at that, slowly getting up on her hooves and starting to walk towards the door, turning once more to her friend and showing an apologetic smile before rushing out. Though at the last moment, Twilight herself called out to her.
"Rainbow? Will YOU be okay?"
Rainbow stopped in her tracks once more, suddenly realizing something... she lived on a cloud... and without wings?
"Ahh, yeeeeah... about that... Granny Smith offered me a room to stay. So... yeah... i'll be fine. Don't worry Twilight."
Twilight smiled at that. If anything, Granny Smith has been a huge support for everyone on those moments, despite always looking tired and, for a lack of a better term, old. Twilight truly wished she could be like that... and yet, she couldn't. By the time she was about to offer her friend to stay at her place, she was already too far away, at least from her perspective...
She frowned before going back into her home, silently closing the door behind her and turning off the lights, going back into her own room. As she looked through her windows, she realized she could still see the lights of the guards (and even some civilians) patrolling the wall.
A single tear fell from her eyes before she fell on her butt, hugging her knees against herself and starting to sniffle softly. She wanted to help so badly... but she couldn't...
Why couldn't she? She began to wonder. Because of the Corruption, she told to herself. It was slowly starting to make her behave differently, as if she was back to being a filly. Clumsy and a fool.
Twilight's sobbings stopped for a moment when she heard a loud snore. A loud and feral snore, which was coming from below her...
Spike...
Twilight's sobbing seemed to stop, thought it was still threatening to continue as she looked at the floor, as if she could see Spike sleeping peacefully below her. Her hands turned into fists, pressing them too hard to the point she was almost cutting herself with her nails and drawing blood.
She was an alicorn, one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, with two of its main members defeating the very incarnation of chaos itself! Then, why was she unable to do anything!? Twilight pressed her knees against her body once more, but she couldn't sob anymore... instead, all she could feel was anger... anger at herself.
When she opened her eyes, she suddenly found herself back at the stadium, looking directly into the eyes of the King. Twilight shuddered. It never ceased sending chills down her body, not even when it was a dream. Twilight almost immediately knew where she was... it was pretty much the same nightmare she had been having so many times in the last days. Before and after entering the hospital.
By the time, she was... almost used to having said nightmares... but she still felt that chill running down her body when she saw HIM. She had read psychology books, and she knew the signs of trauma... and she couldn't lie to herself. That had been downright terrifying... and traumatizing for her.
And still, no matter how much she tried, she always saw the same dream, replaying like a memory. Celestia, how she fought valiantly, how she fell... and how she was crippled for life... then, Cadence's treason, Luna's capture...
Twilight covered her ears in a vain attempt to cover the next part, one she hated so much... Every rape she had seen on that day, every humiliation, everything she had seen... in a sudden twist, she was seeing herself suffering all those things... and she was smiling all the while, seemingly enjoying being raped by those stupid Caribou.
She was covering her ears, and her eyes were closed tightly, desperate to get rid of that nightmare. She couldn't help a quick glance at her wrist, confirming Luna's spell was still working... and still, she was still having Nightmares. She wished dearly for Luna to be there, to help her with at least something.
But she knew better than that. The last time she had seen her, she had made sure to secure her mind and dreams... and that had been several days ago. And they hadn't gotten any news from Canterlot lately. She turned towards the dream version of Luna, who was once more in the same pose she had seen her before.
"... A pleasure... to see you again... Twilight Sparkle..."
Twilight gasped when the dream version of Luna turned to her... and actually spoke to her!
"P-Princess Luna? I-is that-?"
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle... it is I... but i cannot manifest myself fully on your dream... i'll have to use this for now." Luna spoke once more, letting Twilight know she'd have to speak with her like that... while the dream version of luna was still being fucked by the big wolf.
"I understand Princess... speak to me..."
Twilight had to admit it was a pretty disturbing sight... Luna was being fucked by the wolf, but instead of the pain/pleasure filled moans... normal words where getting out of her mouth.
"... Twilight Sparkle... I have come to see... how the war is faring. We have not seen any of our subjects for several days... and our... handlers don't tell us much. Are you winning against Caribou?"
Twilight was immediately taken back by that question... the Caribou hadn't attacked yet.
"... we heard... another tribe would be given the chance to capture you... but it has been several days..."
Twilight was about to answer when she suddenly felt something wrong... Luna was... distressed?
"Princess Luna... what is wrong?"
"... Twilight..."
Twilight stopped when she heard another voice around her. One that seemed to come out from... outside?
""... Twilight... wake up...
The dream was beginning to wave and fade, giving Twilight one last chance to turn back to the dream version of Luna to wish her luck, only to see the dream version of Luna to fade before her eyes, giving her no chance to even speak. The last thing she saw before the dream finally collapsed was the vision of the spell on her wrist shining brighter than before.
She didn't know exactly how it worked... but she did know something when she saw that: Somepony... or rather something had tried to sneak into her dreams.
Twilight gasped when she opened her eyes, finding herself in the same position she had fallen asleep the night before... and with both, Rainbow and Rarity looking at her with concerned expressions on her faces. Twilight immediately began to get up, trying to pretend nothing had happened, when in reality she was once again in conflict. Should she ask her friends if they had been having... strange dreams like her?
"Uhhh... Twi? You alright?"
Rainbow's voice brought her back from her thoughts, making her turn back to her friend while holding herself against the wall. Still drowsy and getting up really fast? Bad combination.
"Yes, Rainbow... sorry if i worried you... Well, i mean, yes, considering the situation."
A heavy silence fell between the three ponies, who seemed like they wanted to say something, but none could start. The silence was broken by Rarity, who politely cleared her throat before looking over at Rainbow, as if expecting her to say something. Rainbow looked at her with a confused face for several moments, before her eyes widened with clarity as she released a long "oh"
"Right, sorry... Twilight... we are... under attack? Maybe? I don't know, it's just... uhh..."
Rarity huffed loudly before stepping forward, showing a serious face, one Twilight had only seen a couple times, being really different to the one she had when working and "inspired".
"What she means to say is... The caribou are here... but they are waiting for you, darling. They are at the doors of the wall, and they are requesting to see you... and they are also threatening to attack if you don't show up."
Twilight was shocked, to say the least. At first, she was expecting it to be one of Rainbow's twisted sense of joking... but when Rarity joined, it was obvious things were serious. As such, she had only one thing to say:
"Then, let us go."
She didn't need to arrive at the wall at all to notice Rainbow and Rarity were telling the truth, as all the guards seemed to be ready to defend, and all gathered and looking at the same place behind the wall. Around them, a crowd of nervous, muttering ponies were gathered, but none of them seemed bold enough to even peek around the wall. Or perhaps they had done it already and were too afraid to look again? Twilight wouldn't blame them if the later was the case.
"What is the matter, ponies!? Is your so called princess too afraid to show herself!?" A rough, heavily accented voice sounded from the other side of the wall. Twilight did recognize that accent. It was almost the same the King and the rest of the Caribou had when they spoke... but even so, that voice sounded... rougher.
Twilight immediately used her wings to leap onto the wall, finally allowing herself a quick look at the army outside. What she saw took out a gasp out of her:
The last army they had faced was a mix of both, Caribou and crystal ponies, along with some formerly Celestia's royal guards... but what she was seeing at that moment was very different: Well organized rows of Caribou before her, with the most obvious difference that almost all of them had a much darker tone of fur on them, a very dark brown easily confused with black, and all of them wearing full armor, with the main difference that the armor of the ones before looked like a novice's work in comparison to the ones before her.
Along with the same runes she had seen on the armor of the ones before them, she did also noticed something else, something that sent shivers down her spine. While the armors of the last ones were crude, they still had a silvery tone to it. A more ornamental design, it seemed... but those armors... They did not have a silvery tone on them. Instead, they had a more grey or blackish tonalities on them. Those weren't armors designed for mere show.
Even the one standing proudly in front of the army had a complete set of armor, but what really sent a deep feeling of fear on her very soul was the fact the leader didn't have a baton on his hands, not even a hammer like the one before him. No, he had a halberd.
They were facing a true warlord among the Caribou.
"YOU!" Twilight almost leaped in fright when the rough tone of the leader sounded once more, making her turn to him and finding him pointing directly at her. "Is it really you the one who is the leader of this... excuse of a militia!?" Some of the caribou behind him even laughed at that, as if they found the idea funny.
In reality, Twilight knew they were little more than militia of sorts. But they were all the hope Equestria had... she couldn't allow herself to show any kind of distress before any of them, her subjects and her enemies. She frowned at them before putting up a serious expression before she opened her wings and lit up her horn.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the princess of Friendship. I am the proud leader of this army before you, the same army that will defeat you AND your king!"
Twilight was still holding a serious expression on her face at the time, trying to look like Celestia before her. That same pose always made her respect her tutor, not only because said pose seemed majestic, but it also reflected her power. If anything, she was hoping she could reflect the same thing.
And that was received with laughter from the Caribou before her.
"Please, do not mock us, your highness!" The leader said before doing an exaggerated reverence towards her direction. "You are pretty, and we can't deny you'd make an excellent slave... but we know you'd give us little to no fight."
Several of the ponies behind her gasped at such a bold statement from the Caribou before them. Even the guards held their weapons tighter. Said things being told to the princess was an insult to them, as if the insult had been directed to them.
"Please... we know it wasn't you the one who won the battle over those useless Wooden Antlers... we heard there was a stallion among you... one bigger than any other seen on this land. He is rumored to be a beast in battle, and he was even able to defeat one of those Rune masters, as the Stone Hooves call them. HE is the one we are truly interested in."
Twilight's memories immediately brought back Luna's message. They didn't know the Rune Master's death had been by her own... an accident, of course, but still her own. And yet... they were blaming it on Big Mac.
"It is him who sounds like a worthy opponent! Bring him forth, and let us battle! If he, your mightiest, wins against OUR mightiest... then, we will give your... village... a fighting chance. Otherwise... we will lay waste on your ponies. After all... the king is only requesting YOU to be brought to him."
Twilight had to land on the floor beneath her before she passed out. One thing were the Caribou who were looking to enslave her and the rest of her ponies... but those Caribou? They were posing another threat.
"Twilight." She could only turn around quietly, coming face to face with the red stallion himself, who was looking at her with burning fire behind his eyes. She felt conflict rising up on her when she saw him not only close to the Caribou who wanted to fight with him... but she also saw him holding tightly the hammer he had taken from the past caribou leader.
None had said a word, but none needed to be said. Twilight wanted to say something to stop him from going outside, anything... but Big Mac's expression said everything. She had nothing to say at the moment.
The silent stallion simply turned to the rest of the ponies before turning once more towards his friend, leaving a clear message: To care for them. If she could prepare them better or think of something while he fought, then maybe they'd have a chance. They had been lucky last time, mainly due to how disorganized the other army was... but the one behind the wall...
Twilight knew they were in trouble. And it was the moment the rest of her ponies prepared... the true battle would begin soon.
Twilight remembered those letters she had read so intensely before. If the rest of her ponies would send help, she sure hoped it'd be soon enough.