> Emperor Despair
>  by Comrade Bagel Muffin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Sacrifices
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ditzy Doo hurried through the ruins of ponyville her two daughters keeping close behind her. Dinky tried not to think about her old home, and how it was desecrated. She was only four when it had happed. Her mother thought she was to young to remember when the sun was blocked out by the fog. She however remembered far better than she wished. The Wonder Bolts deploying to Canterlot. Mommy's friends the Elements of Harmony teleporting there via Twilight Sparkle. The screams when the sun became all hazy. She shook and tried not to remember what had happened next. Being here though wasn't making it easy. After Canterlot, Ponyville was the next place hit. Many of the residents where still here; their horrified expressions well preserved in stone.
"Dinky, don't fall behind," Ditzy said in a hushed voice. Glad that she could keep one eye on her children and one on Canterlot at all times. "Don't dilly dally okay."
"Sorry mom."
"It's okay dear I just don't want you or Amethyst here any longer than you need to be. Once we get the book from Twilight's library we'll be one step closer to undoing all of this and making everything right."
"Can we really undo all of this though, mother?" Amethyst looked out the shattered window. The street was full of destroyed vendor carts the patrons and merchants cowering in fear of the thing that had come for them.
"Honey it can." Ditzy said as she plotted their course with one eye. "Spit Fire, Trixie, and your dad bet everything on the book, Screw Ball brought back form the Royal Library. If Twilight didn't have the other tome checked out we might have already fixed all of this. Now come on girls I want to get the two of you out of here as soon as possible." The three of them made their way through the market avoiding the open except when absolutely necessary. The last obstacle was a hundred hoofs of open ground between them and the library. They got as low to the ground as they could, and dashed for the hole that used to be the front door. "Twelve minutes girls," Ditzy whispered frantically. "After twelve minutes we are galloping back to the Everfree whether we have the book or not." Amethyst started through the shelves. Ditzy's eyes went through books that were on the floor in two separate corners. Dinky rushed up stairs. She almost screamed; Tender Taps stared at Twilight's bed. They thought that he had be petrified before he even got to the library, and his statue taken to Canterlot with many of the others. Apple Bloom shut herself in her room when she heard the laughing. Dinky's stomach started to knot he was left here to startle anypony that made it this far. He was a trap. It made her sick. She started to go through the room paying close attention to Twilight's bed. Her eyes went wide when she saw the dusty crimson cover with golden corner guards. She picked it up and flipped through the first few pages.
"I found it," she said. She threw her hooves over her mouth.
"Found what little filly?" The voice echoed in her head.
"Amethyst get Dinky and get out now!" Ditzy yelled as the voice resounded through her mind. A second later there was a flash at the market Amethyst was gasping for breath. "Amethyst I told you to you to take Dinky. You two go now." A roar resounded through their minds. Ditzy's eyes grew wide as a wraith dragon flew toward Ponyville. "Go!" Dinky and Amethyst started galloping for Sweet Apple Archers and the Everfree beyond. Ditzy stayed right behind her two fillies. They were within sight of the old Apple family barn when the wraith overtook them. It vanished in a puff of black smoke. A creature appeared ahead of them. It had the head of a meerkat with four horns coming out of it, the torso of a pony, the claws of a dragon, from the waist down it had hooves like a goat; which it stood on like a minotaur. One of the claws held a cane which glowed a sickly green. Ditzy flew between it and her children.
"Dinky, Amethyst, mommy love you with all her heart. Now get out of here to the Everfree and don't look back." Ditzy spread her wings and charged the creature. Dinky started crying as Amethyst grabbed her and the book in her magic and galloped away to the Everfree forest. There was a flash of green light Ditzy, dodged, and slammed into the creature throwing it into the old barn. The barn was turned to saw dust in blast of green light. Ditzy was slammed into a dying apple tree.
"Now for the kitties." The creature turned to smoke, and soon caught up to fillies. Ditzy Doo's eyes had only focused on the same thing four times in the past: when the love of her life Doctor Whooves proposed, when her first foul Amethyst was born, when her second Dinky was born, and now when a beast from Tartarus was threatening her daughters. She shot at it throwing every ounce of strength she had to slamming the thing to the ground.
"Mom," Amethyst said as she threw Dinky and the book in front of her.
"Get out of here and protect your sister," Dinky shouted. She looked at her daughters, and was blasted back by a pulse of green light. Tears flowed down Amethyst checks and Dinky screamed and shouted for their mom.
"Look at you so weak," the creature mocked. "Now Mrs. Doo I have a special place in my palace for you. You'd make a fine foot stool, so if you would be so kind as to bow to your emperor."
"I will ne-" She screamed as green lashed her and ripped into her body.
"Agony suits you Mrs. Doo. Just hold that pose for a moment." There was a flash of green light.



The two fillies slowly trudged to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Resistance Force base. It took the two of them thirty minutes to get there. During which time neither said a word. Scootaloo and Button Mash, were on watch when the two of them came up to the camp's secret entrance. Amethyst dropped the book at Scootaloo's hooves both watch ponies bowed their heads, as she and her sister went into the base.
"I'm sorry," Dinky said weakly. "If I had kept my mouth shut then we'd still have a mommy." Amethyst hugged her little sister to keep her from seeing her bite her lip.
"We still have a mommy Dinky, and a daddy too. Once Sweetie Bell and Screw Ball decipher the book from Canterlot with the one we just got, then we'll all be together again." There was a knock at the door. Amethyst opened the door with her magic. It was Rumble doubtless Scootaloo must have already told him what had happened.
"I just heard what happened, I'm sorry. Also Sweetie Bell says that you don't need to go on shield duty for a while. She'll take your shift." He bowed his head.
"And the stupid book?" Amethyst asked.
"Screw Ball is already examining it. It's only a matter of time before we'll learn how to fix all of this."
"Thanks Rumble," Dinky said. "I want to be alone with my sister."
"Yeah ditto."
"Alright, good night."
> Finding the Light
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Screw Ball's fore hooves were spread on the table. The two books in front of her seemed to mock her inability to use them. Her eyes swirled, one direction came to an abrupt stop and started spinning the other way. “Ugh, why won’t these things work?” Screw Ball asked the two books in front of her. “Four days and no progress. Why is this so difficult? What kind of crazy pony wrote this nonsense anyway?” She grabbed the two books in magic, and threw them to the corner of the room. She let out a heavy sigh, and put the books back on the table using her magic. “No more miss nice Screw Ball.” She said as she rubbed her temples. Her eyes started spinning, and the books started spinning in the same direction. Soon everything in the room was floating upside down and spinning.
“What are you doing Screw Ball?” Zecora asked. “Don’t you know you could fall?” Screw Ball gave a startled shriek, and everything fell to the ground. The zebra let out a little chuckle, and smiled playfully as the filly rubbed her head.
“That’s not funny,” Screw Ball said as she rubbed her the back of her head. She stood up, and using her magic put everything back in its place.
“Au contraire little filly,” Zecora said “I think it is quite silly” Screw Ball wobbled, and got on the chair for support. “And now my dear, to the reason why I am here. Many here myself included think it best; that you should take a break, relax, and get some rest.”
“How can you say that?” Screw Ball asked. She glared at Zecora like she had just committed treason, and attempted a coup d’état. “How can anypone think that?” she asked, leaning on the table because she couldn't sit up straight. Both books opened up; she let out a yawn as they started spinning. “And even if they were right, even if I should get some rest, how can I?” She growled at the books which spun even faster. “The Doctor, Trixie, Spitfire.” The book spun even faster. “Flash, Braeburn, Ditzy.” Zecora stood by the door calmly, and watched as the book spun so fast the text look like two hipnotic wheels. “Everypony has lost some pony else, some pony they really cared about. So tell me, how can I take a break? How can I relax? When the answer to fixing it, the answer to fixing everything. The way to make everything right again, Is right here, and the only reason they can't have their lives back is because I'm too STUPID TO FIGURE OUT THESE DUMB BOOKS!"
"Screw Ball, listen to me well," Zecora said, "and let me tell you a tale. Once there was a silly filly who had to take a test," Zecora walked up to Screw Ball's side. "So she studied all through the night so she could do her best. But when she went to class she wasn't thinking, Instead of taking the her test she was sleeping." Screw Ball bit back the tears, nodded and released the books.
"Zecora." She stopped at the door. "While I'm resting, would you please try and make some progress on deciphering them?"
"Of course, I shall do my best now please Screw Ball go and get some rest."
Screw Ball kept her eyes down as she walked down the halls of the CMC's base. Everypony gave her a wide breathe as she went through the earthen corridors. She knew that they were all looking at her, many of them would whisper. Most of them at least waited for her to turn down another corridor, some weren't as considerate. She didn't care; she didn't look up from the ground. She just kept walking to her room. How many had it cost to get those two books, dozens, tens of dozens? Those books had cost so many so much, and now that they finally had reason to hope; I'm holding them back. She walked past her room. Sorry Zecora but if anypony doesn't deserve a break that would be me.
"Told ya she'd try it," Apple Bloom sighed.
"Really predictable Screw Ball." Scootaloo shook her head.
"What are you two doing here?" Screw Ball looked around. "And why only the two of you?"
"Sweetie Bell is in there telling Snails and Comet not to let you in," Scootaloo said.
"Thanks," Sweetie Bell said backing out of the door. "And remember if-"
"No need fer that, she’s right here."
"Oh. Oh my ah." Sweetie Bell stared at Screw Ball. "You should probably get some sleep. As much as you want."
"Well then I'm going on shield duty, because I don't want any sleep." Tears welled up in her eyes as she fell to her haunches. "I want to do something right. I want to be able to walk down the halls without ponies avoiding me, and whispering behind my back. I want to be, to be. Useful. I wanna be accepted." She started to shake, ten days and nights of stress finally got the crack it needed to bust out.
"Shh, now, now there ain't no need fer that," Apple Bloom said as they walked over to her. She put her hoof on her shoulder. "Yer one of us Screwy."
"And if you don't want ponies avoiding you and whispering in the halls; you should get some sleep you look like you're two days past dead," Scootaloo added. "Seriously when was the last time you saw yourself in a mirror? You look bad, no offence."
"Come on dear let's get you up to your room, no but's." The three of them calmed her down. Once her stress fueled breakdown was dealt with, they helped an emotionally drained Screw Ball back to her room. "Now then get as much sleep as you need."
"Yeah tearing yourself up isn't going to help anypony."


Screw Ball walked down a dark stone wall. This wasn't her normal kind of dream. Things were orderly, and for once it didn't bother her. Since there was only one way to go there wasn't any fear of getting lost. "What is this?" she asked as she walked down the dark stone stairway. "This is boring my dreams are never boring. So much for getting a restful sleep." She clapped her front hooves together and nothing. "Hey!" she yelled. "That's crossing a line. You can be orderly; you can be boring, but when you take my cotton candy clouds you've gone too far! Hey are you listening! Whoever I see first is in so much trouble." She mopped as she descended further  down. After an eternity of descent the stairway vanished. She was in a room surrounded with glowing blue runes. Which turned to words in the Zebraic glyphs some she recognized. They changed to the strange characters of the Changeling scripts. They continued to change into different symbols Screwballs eyes started spinning as they changed to the equestrian alphabet.
"Of course!" Screw Ball shot up in her bed.
> Darkness Falls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Screw Ball sat on the spinning stool five spinning books open in front of her. Zecora was standing at the table looking over the floating filly's notes. Comet Dust was looking shifting through the notes that Zecora marked as correct. He sorted them out and passed them along to the two others in the room. His horn glowed light purple along with the dozens of papers that he constantly tried to put in order. Pumpkin Cake's horn glowed light blue along with Sweetie Bell's as they flipped through the pages Comet sent to them.
"None of this makes any sense Screw Ball." Comet shifted through the endless flow of notes that Zecora was passing over to him.
"It won't make sense for at least a couple more days," Screw ball answered defying gravity. "Just keep giving Sweetie Bell the notes in ancient griffon and Pumpkin the ones that are in changeling scripts.
"Screw Ball, nopony could have encoded a book using so many languages," Pumpkin protested, "Besides why do I get the ones in changeling, I don't even know what these stupid scribbles mean."
"Just trust me."
"Who in the world would even think to use ancient griffon and changeling scripts, with Zebra glyphs? Who writes codes like this."
"He wanted to make sure that it wasn't misused. Trust me though in a few more days we'll have what we need to win. Just a few more weeks and we'll send Emperor Despair back to where he belongs." Screw Ball's eyes spun with jubilance.

Pound Cake flew down the halls as quickly as he could. Oh man I what did I do this time. Pumpkin better no have tattled again. He came to a instantaneous stop at a door. It was painted red, meaning important, keep out. He gave an uncharacteristically soft knock on the door.
"No need to knock again, please little pony come in." Oh I am so so so so in trouble. He opened the door and walked in. He had expected Zecora and Scootaloo to be there, but he had no idea what Twist and Dinky were doing here.
"So," Scootaloo began talking to the two fillies and the colt. "Do you know why we brought you here?" Her gaze froze on Pound Cake. She raised an Eyebrow; he looked like she did when she tried to find a cockatrice to put in Diamond's locker. Cheerilee caught her just as she was entering Everfree. "Pound Cake?" she asked in a slightly more authoritative tone, the one Cheerilee used she mentally noted. "If you tell me it won't be as bad."
"It was all Pumpkin's idea I swear." Pumpkin who, fate would have it was just outside came in.
"What was all my idea?" she shot twin brother a nasty look.
"It was all your fault. You thought it would be funny to put Poison Joke in Zecora's bed." Zecora's eyes widened slightly.
"Nu-uh I said we should have put it in her desk!" she yelled back at him temporarily forgetting where they were. "It was your dumb idea to put it in her bed."
Scootaloo fought hard not to smile I always wanted to do that.
"I have not been in my room for many nights, now I fear I won't be able to enter without many frights."
"Opps."
"Uh-oh," the twins say in unison ending their argument of 'uh-uhs and uh-huhs.' Scootaloo managed to avoid smiling as the two twins remembered where they were and they both admitted to doing something stupid in front of both Zecora and Scootaloo.
"Both of you are in a lot of trouble." Scootaloo looked between the twins and gave a moment of thought. "First, your going to clean Zecora's room of the Poison Joke. Then you'll be on dish duty for the party."
"Party?" the fillies and colt asked in unison.
"Yep, we're going to be celebrating Screwball has nearly broken the ciphers." All eyes went wide at that. "Which is why I called you all here. You'll all be baking the goods. We've worked hard to get the things needed for this."
"Will it be like the ones aunt Pinky threw?" The Cake twins asked in unison.
"Not quite, nopony could throw a party like Pinky Pie," Scootaloo said. "Though one time some pony came real close." by noon everypony knew that Screw Ball was days away from breaking the riddle of the books. 

Despair sat on his throne in the former monarch's palace. His throne was made of four stone alicorns; who were the former monarchs of the land. His head was at the moment that of a black dragon; his torso was similar to a minotaur's. his lion arms lay on Luna and Cadance who formed the armrest to his twisted throne. His cloven goat hooves rest upon a petrified and contorted Derpy. Celestia's former throne room was full many of the races of Equestria all frozen in stone, his favorite victims. They included the Elements of Harmony, Doctor Whooves, he had been a real catch, an adolescent Spike, a griffon rebel general, the dragon lord, and many, many others. He fed off their despair, their pain, their hopelessness and sorrow, it was delicious. He was enjoy his midday meal when something strange came in from the Everfree. At first it was just the smell. His eyes shot open as he gagged on the sweet scent. Next he noticed the flavor. Flavor. How could it be strong enough for the flavor of it to reach Canterlot? He rose from his throne, at first not sure what to do. He looked around the room, his prisoners were beginning to feel it to, and they were relishing in it. It had ruined his meal and his appetite.
"Book." He looked at Doctor Whooves statue, then to his wife's. His eyes grow wide with terror as he looked around the room. A revelation had struck him. 'When I captured you the chaos spawn escaped with a book. Tender Taps mentioned a book. When I got my foot stool her little brats got away with a book." He spun on Time Turner. "What was in the book you took from the royal library. What book did your wife steal from the Ponyville?" He stuck the Time Turner statue with a blast of green lightning from his staff. "Tell me!"
You feel that it's called panic. It's called despair.
"You want despair?" He sent lashing and wiping bolts of lighting on Derpy. "Tell me what was in those books! You weren't alone when I caught you there were others." He looked around trying to recollect. "The Wonderbolt's leader."
You'll never break her.
"I've broken stronger than you. I just don't want to waste such wonderful woe on my sour stomach." He vanished in a puff of black smog. He instantaneously repapered in the Canterlot Gardens. Here he kept enjoyed parts of his collection that were more valuable than the others, but not note worthy enough for the throne room. He was now a pitch black stallion unicorn with a deep purple mane and tail. He trotted up to his complete collection of Wonderbolts. He came snout to snout with Spitfire.
"When you came here with the Doctor you came for a book," he said. "What was in it?" He locked his eyes with hers. "What do you mean you don't know?"
You don't tell the privates what the generals are up to.
"You know I know you do now, Tell ME!" he blasted her a blazing streak of green fire. "What was the book that you took form the palace. Tell me, tell me now."
Not going to happen.
"I don't take rejection well you see, so I'm going to ask again and again until you get the right answer." His staff was enveloped her statue with a green aura. "What book did you take from my palace."
You'll soon learn what the changelings learned. I'm a bad listener at briefings.
"Wrong answer try again," Despair said tightening his hold. To his annoyance and Spitfires credit she held out for another five minutes. Then he lost his patience completely. Green tendrils came from his staff and started to bore into her head. "There's more than one way to clip a Pegasus. What did you take from my palace." The image of a red book with golden corner guards flashed in his mind. It took him a moment to realize what it was. "No, No. NO!" He exploded into a green fire that raced back to the royal palace. He threw the library doors open. Books flew from the shelves as he searched for the two ancient tomes. "Those insects. Those worms. They would dare to defy me." The books on the floor burst into green flames. "They will know despair. I will not let them get away with this." he hissed vanishing in black smoke. He streaked across the sky toward the Everfree. Soon he was floating four hundred meters over the tree line; his staff held tightly in his draconic claws. It glowed a sickening green; he let out a heart stopping roar which echoed throughout the land of Equestria.
> How to Break Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The base fell into a semi controlled panic. Everyone running or flying down the halls to get where they needed to be. Scootaloo and Pound flew as fast as they could to get to their position outside. Zecora galloped as fast as she could to get her brews ready. The two pegasi passed Screw Ball and Sweetie Bell who galloped the other way heading to the shield chamber. They continued down the halls as fast as they could. Despite her abnormally small wings Scootaloo was keeping well ahead of Pound. The two of them flew over the heads of dozens of earth ponies and unicorns racing to the mouth of the base.
They blasted out of the mouth of the cavern. Scootaloo taking to the front of the gathered ponies. Pound and Rumble flying at her sides. The shield over the Everfree grew brighter as it became an aroura of different colors. All eyes looked through the shield trying to spot the source of the roar.
“You think it’s him Scoots? He sounds mad.” Rumble said looking at the skies.
“Doesn’t matter he’s not getting in.” Scootaloo answered as she watched the skies above the shield.
“You think this shield is going to stop me!” he roared from the sky. His voice booming through the shield.
“There.” Pound Cake pointed his hoof at a black pegasus. Every unicorn fired letting loose their strongest bolt of magic. The bolts passed through the aroura force field at their flying nemesis. Despair roared as at least two dozen bolts of magic, spanning every color of the rainbow, hit their marks. The others either grazed him or barely missed. “Yeah, let him have it!”
“You insolent worms! You insects! How dare you defy your emperor. Your ruler. Your god” Despair roared from the skies the magic bolts doing little more than annoying him. He burst in to a vortex of green flames and emerged a four winged alicorn. He’s hide was black as pitch, his mane was the same horrid green as the staff that floated by his side. “You will all suffer for your defiance.” He blasted the shield with a stream of green fire. The fire licked the Aurora shield. The rainbow color barrier held as the fire spread further and further over its surface.
“Rumble, Pound you two are with me,” Scootaloo said kicking off the ground her wings beating with a buzz. “Gale, Thunderhead, Monsoon, your teams are coming too, the rest of you stay here.
“Right.”
“You two heard her come on.”
“Woo, let’s make this totally crash!”
“Unicorn teams blast him and catch anypony that falls. Now let’s kick his flank back to the hole he crawled out of.”
“Woo-hooo. Westerly Easterly let’s go.”
“Mist, Hailstone, dive bomb, climb, repeat.”
“Right.”
“Hey big and ugly.” Pound yelled as he flew in with for a scraping kick.
“You insolent.” Was all that the titan got out before Westerly and Monsoon side swiped his face. Despair roared the green fire pursuing the two retreating pegasi. The flames ended their pursuit, and refocused on the three pegasi that had just dive bombed their conjurer. They were halfway to the offending trio when Scootaloo, Rumble, and Pound smashed into the left pair of wings. Despair roared only to be sideswiped on both sides of the face. A moment later Monsoon came up with a cork screw to his jaw.
“Woo Hoo you’re so going to be crashed.” She called as her wing flew off
“Enough you annoying gnats!” Despairs eyes glowed baleful green, as he shot black lightning from his horn at the six fliers. Thunderhead gave a nod to his wingponies. The three of them bobbed, weaved, and corkscrewed their way past the black volleys as they lined up their shot. As one they struck Despair’s horn and quickly retreated away. He roared turning to fire before Gale and her team dive-bombed his left wings. Despair smirked as Scootaloo came in to fast to notice the trap. His body turned to smoke as she flew into his side. Pound and Rumble slammed into his side like a brick wall as black lightning contacted with Scootaloo between her wings. She didn’t even scream as she spiraled toward the ground below.
Westerly broke off his path and charged the titan. His twin sister Easterly doing likewise, as Pound and Rumble tried to smash the titan’s wings. Despair laughed as black lightning spun in a cocoon around him, smiting the four pegasi from the sky. Monsoon spun around him avoiding the jets of green flame that shot out of the openings in the lighting webbed cocoon. She found an opening and shot in. Again Despair turned to smoke; Monsoon flew through him only to be struck by the lightning. The other two pegasi wings dove down, beneath the shield, to avoid a blazing vortex of green flame.
Five of the unicorn teams renewed their attempts to blast him out of the sky. The other two teams began casting healing magic on the fallen Pegasi. Button Mash took a sword and stood at the opening to their base.
“All of your efforts are for not. You all hope in vain. None of you can save yourselves. Why then do you think that you can save others?” Despair’s voice echoed as a thousand whispers in their heads. “The one you put your hope in cannot save herself from that which she fears most. Why do you think she save you?” Despair blasted the aroura shield with four bolts of black lightning which pried open a large hole. He descended in as a jet of smoke. He didn’t pay the defenders any mind as he descended into their home.
“Hold on Sweetie Bell” Button said as he charged in after Despair.
As soon as Despair had entered the base the black mist composed itself in the middle of the shielding chamber. The blast of Despair’s materialization blasted the gem lined pedestals and the three dozen unicorns powering them to the ground. A Sweetie Belle was the first to recover and on instinct fired a magic volley at the titan. Soon Comet, Snails, Amethyst, and Screw Ball were blasting Despair with a rainbow of magic bolts. Despair returned fire shooting black lightning at the unicorns that would attempt to oppose him.
“You, horrid beast!” Amethyst charged the four-winged monstrosity. Anger, hate, and rage caused an over glow around her horn as she fired bolts of super charged magic. Despair returned fire with baleful green bolts of his own. The intersection where the bolts meet was turned in to nopony’s land as spheres of disintegration appeared at each point where the bolts met.  Amethyst finally lost control and let loose a stream of magic from her horn. Despair fired a jet of green from his.
“Hold on,” Sweetie Belle said as she joined Amethyst’s side her own magic joining the duel. Snail’s magic joined a second later followed by Comet’s and then Screw Ball’s. As the others came to they joined their magic to the dual. Soon they were doing more than just holding Despair at bay they were pushing him back.
“You foals would defy me; I am a god! I cast down the sun and moon; I made love hard a stone, and bested your champions. Who are you to defy me. Fall to your knees before your emperor.” Despair raved as he began to push back. Slowly but surely the tide turned; then all at once the fifteen unicorns and Screw Ball were blasted back. “You now see your folly none can stand before me.”
“I would like to disagree, though I no pony,” Zecora said as she busted down the door, and threw a flask at Despairs hooves. When it shattered it blew him and half the floor to the other side of the chamber. Button Mash wasted no time to attack.
“Enough of this.” Despair rose to his hooves, and blasted Button Mash and Apple Bloom to the side. “I will be humiliated no longer.” Zecora fared no better than the colt and filly had.
“Leave my sister and friends alone you, big meanie head.” Dinky jumped over the rubble.
“I said Enough.” Despair swatted Dinky to the side “I will not endure this folly any longer. No more unicorns, no more earth ponies, no more zebras, and no more foals.” Each word was punctuated by a bolt of lightning and a scream as it struck the pony unlucky enough to be hit by it. “Now then no more interruptions.” A green magical aura engulfed Screw Ball and brought her up to Despair. “You would defy me. You would give hope to those that had given in.” His horn pierced her chest. “Now your greatest fear will take you.”
“No!” Screw Ball cried as she slowly turned to stone. It took a whole minute before it was over. Nopony could do anything but watch as their hope turned to stone. And the second it was over Despiar vanished; Screw Ball taken to Canterlot to join so many others.

> The Ashes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"What are they doing?" Pumpkin asked her brother who was pacing up and down the hall.
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"
"Don't yell at me I'm just." Pumpkin started to tear up.
"I'm sorry sis." He put a hoof on her shoulder.
"I didn't think he could just come in here when ever he wanted. All of the gems were active. All of the best casters where down there. He pried the shield open and just took her." She took a deep breath. "What's the point of having a shield if he can just break it when ever he wants. He turned her to stone. He did it right in the middle of the shield room and nopony could stop it. It's hopeless. If we couldn't stop him then there's no way we can stop him."
"Don't say that sis." Pound gave his sister a rare hug and pulled back. "He took Screw Ball and turned her to stone but we'll get her back, and mom, dad, and auntie Pinkie Pie. We have to." He wiped the stray tear out of his eye. Got to play it cool till Pumpkin calms down.
"But without Screw Ball how are we going to decipher the books?"
"You tell me sis, you were working on the smart pony stuff. How are you going to decipher the books?"
"Well I guess-"
"That isn't going to happen!" Comet's voice echoed through the door. His out burst making the twins jump.
"Calm down Comet!" Scootaloo yelled back.
"The both of you need to calm down," Zecora said. "You are making our two eavesdroppers frown. I understand Comet that you are up set, but screaming has not helped anypony yet. Button Mash please open the door; there is no need for secrets anymore." The door opened for the Cake twins; Button Mash ushered the two of them in, and gestured them to sit next to others who had apparently been eavesdropping through the door before they arrived. They sat next to Amethyst and Dinky, the latter was clearly disturbed. There were at least a dozen others who sat with them. Watching their leaders come to the brink of breaking down. Comet had tears striking down his face. Sweetie Belle looked like she had run out of tears hours ago. Scootaloo just looked tired.
"Comet I get it really I do." Hold out, so long as the others are here I can't break, no weakness not in front of others.
"Then how could you even suggest that she's replaceable! Would you be so callous if it was Sweetie Belle, or Apple Bloom, or Rumble! How can you not care about Screw Ball?"
"Please calm dow' Comet. She didn' say Screwy was replaceabl' sh' asked ya if ya could decipher them books." Apple Bloom looked at Comet with a patience that only came with exasperation. "We're gonna do everythin' we can ta get Screwy an' everypony else back." She stood up, letting Scootaloo slump down for a second. "An' ta do tha' we need ya ta finish wha' she started."
"I think that I can try." Comet looked away.
"Now to what we've been avoiding." Scootaloo pushed herself back up. "What are we going to do about this attack? I see only one option to avoid this from happening again." She paused wishing that anypony would say what she was thinking or better yet give another option. "We need to put more space between us and Canterlot. We need to leave." Nopony batted an eyelash. "It is only to clear that we were kidding ourselves about being able to keep Despair out." She looked around the room everypony looked down. "Spend the next day packing your things. We won't come back until we've unlocked the two books, and have the means to beat him.

The thick haze hide the dawning sun, which only managed to cast a little light onto the gray forest. Every colt and filly assembled outside the cavern that only two days ago was their impregnable fortress. Every face was down cast as they stood in the dew coated grass. Waiting for the moving orders to be given. Everypony had the entirety of the belongings in their saddlebags. Carts were loaded with the Shielding crystals, supplies, and other essentials. After another hour the order slowly trickled through the seven hundred CMC members. By noon the Everfree Forest was a dot on the on the eastern horizon.
"Scootaloo how much farther are we going?" Pound flew up to the front of the long column of ponies. "Some of the younger colts and fillies are starting to fall behind."
"We can't stop yet. We'll slow down as much as we need to, but we can't stop. Start telling the older ones, to help them along."
"Ah Scootaloo." She look at him waiting for the inevitable. Even the most loyal have their limit. "Some of the others well they want to know where we're going, or if you and the others know where you're taking us, Their wondering what's the point?" 
"And do you question us too?" She asked ready to snap.
"No ma'am. Pumpkin and I just need to know what to tell them." She gave a ghost of a smile at his answer.
"Tell them Rumble and Monsoon are scouting out ahead of us. We're going to the Undiscovered West. And Pound. Thanks I need to know that somepony hasn't given up all hope yet." Pound returned the smile and raced back off to the rear.
"It will take us a week to get out of Equestria going west." Sweetie Belle said. "Are you sure that it's a good idea to go that way, I mean there's nothing out there."
"Exactly no reminders of Despair."
"Scoots we've got a problem!" Rumble flew toward the CMC like a mad pony.
"It's super crash!" 
"Wha's goin' on?"
"Griffons. Dozens of griffons, and they're headed this way."
> Phoenix Rising
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Griffons. I thought they were extinct," Scootaloo said.
"Well these griffons aren't, and there's a ton of them with spears and swords and club, and we're so crash."
"Rumble, get ta the rear an' tell ever'pony to get up her' now." 
"Monsoon tell all of the Pegasi I want them up in the air, go."
"Everypony get into formation. Unicorns closest to the Shielding Gems, get them on now." Sweetie Belle's horn glowed light blue as her voice echoed throughout the barren wasteland. The long column of tired fillies and colts instantly became alive, as ponies run as fast as they can to form a tight circle. The air soon filled with dozens of pegasi and the rainbow colored shield that spread out from the carts.
The griffon flock continues pegasi in the air looking like gnats to them. They pick up speed gnat size becomes bee sized. "Typical ponies making a big circle. What do they think we are stampeding buffalo?" A black griffon asks his commander with a laugh. "They'll be taken care of before breakfast."
"Wait a second," The griffon commander said to herself as she eyes the lead Pegasus. "Is that?" She squinted at the now talon sized Pegasus with little wings. "Halt!"
"Wait what? Why?" A griffon with red head feathers and a panther's back legs asked as he flew past her.
"I said HALT!" She screamed at him grabbing him by his tail and yanking it as hard as she could without tearing it off. He squawked and fell in line behind her. The effect was immediate, every griffon fell in behind their commander. None daring to try her patience, her orders were followed, to the letter.
"What's wrong captain?" Her second in command flew up to her side.
"Nothing." She doesn't look away from the gamboge filly.
"If it's nothing why don't we-" Her glare shut him up and he found a rock on the ground very interesting.
"Gabriella get up here now."
"Yes Ma'am.," A scrawny little griffon called from the back of the flock. "Gabriella reporting for duty ma'am," she said as she hovered at her commander's 7 o'clock. "I'm ready for any mission, or charge, or covert operation or-"
"Yeah that's great, I need you to deliver a message to that little orange Pegasus over there." She pointed at the lead wing. "I want to talk to her, no fighting just talk."
"Commander? What?"
"You got a problem with that Lieutenant?"
"Well." A glare and unspoken promise were all that was needed for him to stop there.
"I didn't think so." She turned her attention back to Gabriella. "What you're still here? Go tell that Pegasus to get over here I want to see her, I have to know if it is who I think it is. Now move it!" The little griffon bobbed her head up and down and dashed away as fast as she could from the griffon flock to the ponies who had remained in position.

"One griffon coming in." Scootaloo rolled her eyes; she never could understand why Pound had to narrate every little thing. Of course there was griffon coming in, she could see it the ponies on the ground could see it, everypony and one zebra could see it. There was no need to say it. "What are we gonna do?"
"Just wait Pound," Scootaloo answered. "We're just going to wait and see what they want. after all it's just one griffon not all of them I want to avoid conflict."
"They didn't seem to want to avoid conflict when they started chasing Monsoon and I across the wastes." Rumble didn't take his eyes of the griffon flock. "And they don't seem to be armed for a peaceful tea party." 
"I'm willing to chop that up to just really poor communication skills, their griffons they aren't exactly the friendliest bunch of creatures on the face of Equestria. Now she is about to get here who ever this lone griffon is hopefully she'll put a light on things."
"Hi ya. So I'm Gabriella the griffon and you are going to go talk to my commander, she want's to talk with you." 
"Right were Scootaloo goes we go to." Pound pointed to himself and Rumble.
"That's right." Rumble nodded his agreement.
"Sorry but the commander only wants to speak to the orange one."
"I don't care if Celestia want's to take her to a tea party on the moon. Where she goes we go." Rumble flew eye to eye with the griffon, she didn't flinch.
"Nope little orange one up front only."
"Not gonna happen."
"That's so crash." Monsoon and her wing were approaching from Scootaloo's five o'clock, Clearer Sky's and his wing were coming in from eight o'clock and Scootaloo was starting to get a headache from the argument that Rumble was having with the little griffon.
"Hey littlest griffon?" Scootaloo asked getting her attention.
"Gabriella," she answered.
"Right Gabriella, I got one question for you what's your commander's name?"
"That's easy she's only like the coolest, neatest, most awesome griffon ever of all time." Scootaloo waved her hoof for the griffon to get on with it.
"Yeah, but what's her name?"
"You really don't know? You came into griffon territory and you don't know?" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "This is the vanguard flock of the Remnant of  Griffon Stone, only the best flock ever and its commander is the amazing, spectacular, uber awesome." Scootaloo rolled her eyes and motioned with her hoof for her to get on with it. Gabriella huffed and finished. "Gilda."

Scootaloo walked across the barren flat waste, alone toward the griffon flock. "Of course it was her it just had to be her. I can't get a break can I? Here's just as good a place as any, if she wants to do this she can come down here." Scootaloo climbs up a rock easily three times her size and sits down.
"Alright, we've got them now, you're a genius commander; one ease in out and their lead flyer is done then the rest of them will drop like flies, only a stupid pony would think-" Gilda glares at him eyes glowing. "What that is the plan right? Trick the ponies into thinking we just want to talk."
"Shut up, I swear by the great egg you are unbearable! Stay put," she growled. "Don't move, don't talk, and definitely don't think. The only thing you're allowed to do until I get back is to breath, hopefully even you can't completely screw that up!" she looked behind her to the rest of the flock. "that goes for all of you no one leaves this formation for any reason." With her standing orders given Gilda descends down to the flat rock and the waiting Pegasus.
"Hello Gilda," Scootaloo begins as soon as the griffon lands on the stone. "I heard that you wanted to talk."
"Yeah, I wanted to make sure that it was you."
"And now that you know?" Scootaloo laid down on the rock, exhaustion finally over coming her resolve to not be seen as weak. "Now what? Do we fight, talk. Hug?"
"I don't hug." Gilda looked indignant. Concern for the little Pegasus however laced the edges of her voice. "And I don't really care for a fight." She looked at the pony caravan in front of her. "Why wasn't Dash leading the charge?" Scootaloo just looked at her eyes tired and full of hurt. "So she really didn't make it out of Canterlot? I always thought, I hoped that if anypony would make it, it'd be her." Gilda looked down at Scootaloo eyes softer than the Pegasus ever thought a griffon's could be. "We had started a correspondence, the two of us, guess neither of us were willing to let the other go. Every letter she sent me had a picture of you, did you know that." Scootaloo started to shake. "She was always saying how proud she was of her 'little sister'. Every letter had at least a whole paragraph about you. It was kinda sappy, but still Dash made it cool."
"Always twenty percent cooler." Scootaloo hiccupped.
"Yeah that's our Dash." Gilda smiled. "She always had that thing about her. Even back when the two of us were just a cub and filly, back at Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. She was awesome, didn't even have to try either. I kinda hated her for that you know, just being born cool. So unfair." Gilda sighed and lay herself down next to Scootaloo. "You know kid, she did have her over dramatic side to her though. I mean woo could she be a drama queen. She wrote me one of her letters while she was in the hospital apparently Dash had crashed." Gilda cocked. "She said that if anything happened to her she expected me to look out for you, or she'd haunt me forever."
"So what happens now?"
"I don't believe that Dash is gone, but I owe her more than I'd ever dare admit to anybody, so as far as I'm concerned you're as much a part of my flock as my own second in command." She looked up at her flock. "And if you want the job its yours." Scootaloo smile.
"No. I have my own job to take care of." Scootaloo looked over her shoulder. "We need to find a new place to live. For the time being anyway. Until we're ready to take down Despair." Gilda perked up.
"What do you mean take him down, I thought that not even the princesses could beat him. Not even Rainbow Dash and her lame friends could beat that monster."
"Apparently he has a weakness." Scootaloo waved her hoof in front of her to tired to notice Gilda's change. "It's in these two books that were in the Canterlot royal library Star Swirl Section, Restricted, Princesses only. We lost a lot of good ponies getting those two books. And just before Screw Ball had cracked the code, he came in broke our defenses and turned her to stone right in front of us. That's why we're here we couldn't save her when she needed us the most. That'll never happen again; I want us to have a place that even he'd have a hard time breaking into."
"Well since you mention it I do know of such a place." Scootaloo was shocked to see Gilda grinning the biggest grin she'd seen in weeks. "There's just one little catch."

"A dragon!"
"That's a bit more than just a little catch don't ya think Scootaloo?"
"A Dragon!"
"True but they can be negotiated with I mean Spike was a dragon, when our sisters and their friends went to stop the smoke they convinced a fully grown dragon to get up and go somewhere else, and when the dragons arrived in Manehattan they held off Despair for nearly fifty minutes." Scootaloo looked around the small table at her friends.
"A Dragon!"
"We'd need something to negotiate with it,"  Comet said. "We could offer the shielding crystals. I think that those could work."
"A Dragon!"
"Yes, Sweetie Belle, we can hear you very well," Zecora said from across the table. "I think this is our best choice, a fact in which I do not rejoice."
"The dragon's cave is a weeks walk from here and is right beside griffon territories in these parts." Gilda pointed to their map. I'll leave you Gabby here and my second in command to make sure you get there safely and to ensure that things remain the same." She glared at black feathered griffon daring him to say anything. He doesn't take the bait. "Just make sure that when you move out I know about it. I want to come along for the final butt kicking."
"I guess it's okay a weeks walk to an actual destination is better than just wondering aimlessly through these wastelands."
"That's the Crusader spirit Sweetie Belle."
"I still don't like it."
"Yeah I don't think any of us do, but like Gilda an' Zecora said it's our best choice."
"A dragon would help with the deciphering."
"So we can all agree on a direction let's point everypony in the right way and start moving." 
> Allies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The griffon flock escorted the pony train for five days, as they made their way across the barren and dead wilderness. Many of the griffons did not take the fact well, however, fear of Gilda and her temper was more than adequate to keep them from doing anything more than just grumbling about it. On the sixth day the mountains came into view on the horizon, and the griffon flock pulled off returning to their territory. Leaving only Gabriella and Trove, Gilda's second in command behind with the ponies. While Gabriella had already made dozens of friends amongst the crusaders; Trove saw the action as nothing short of banishment, or given how the suicidal little ponies were going to try and negotiate with the dragon of these mountains, it could have been an indirect form of execution.
"So like dragons are these huge lizard things that are like hundreds of ponies tall." Trove walked past Gabriella. Who was regaling two dozen foals with her "knowledge" about dragons. He couldn't help but glare at the young griffon. How she had been so weak willed as to allow herself to become friends. The word itself sounded dirty. How she came from the same flock as himself must have been a sick joke of some kind. He continued walking glad to be out of earshot from the half griffon.
The ponies' response to their certain doom was as varied as the color of their coats. While some allowed themselves to be sedated by Gabriella's stories or their leaders empty assurances, others were much more realistic. He walked past dozens of ponies so full of dreed for what tomorrow would bring that they could hardly sleep at all. They just lay on the ground to tired to resist, but still to strong to just concede to fate. Yet their loyalty to their commanders forced them to stay. He grinned at their weak willed nature. They wouldn't flee from the rest of the herd even if the herd was galloping full speed to certain death.
Finally he arrived at the edge of the camp. The only thing separating him from freedom and life was a single pony colt. Who sat inside one of the covered wagons. Trove would be merciful to the colt a quick clean cut across the throat. After only a second he wouldn't even feel the pain. He should be grateful. The dragon fire which awaited his comrades would be much slower, and unparalleled in its pain.
"Come on why are you not working?" Trove slowly and quietly moved up behind the light blue unicorn with the purple mane. He was still fighting with the two strange books, which he had been trying to decipher for nearly the past two days and nights. The unicorns dedication to his duties were commendable. In fact Trove had not seen him sleep for the past two nights, and he never ate without having one or both of the books open in front of him.
"What are those books for?" Trove asked deciding to sedate his curiosity before he dispatched the colt. What could it hurt after all he might as well, it wasn't like either of them would be here tomorrow.
"They're suppose to have the key to defeating Despair." Comet Dust answered to tired to even be surprised by the griffon that was now looming over him.
"No, don't lie to me. What are those books really for?"
"What?!" Comet Dust spun around eyes alight and red from lack of sleep and strain. "What the heck is your problem?" Trove's feathers puffed out he hadn't expected the colt to be this loud. He cast a glance behind him no one was coming over yet. "If you don't want to stay then go!" Comet pointed in the direction of away. "These books are going to help me save her!" Trove stepped back one of the books barely missing his face. "And damn you if you say otherwise! I'm going to see her again! Do you hear me!?"
"Yes sheesh everyone hears you." He didn't look behind him, he didn't need to. He knew that his shot of just sneaking out of this death trap was over. The colt continued his sleep deprived rant at the griffon. He didn't stop until the orange Pegasus showed up. Even then it took five minutes for him quit yelling.
The two of them walked away leaving the blue colt mumbling to the two books. "So why are you still here?" The orange Pegasus looked at the black feather griffon. "I thought you were booking out of here."
"I am the first lieutenant of the Vanguard flock of the Remnant of Griffonstone." Trove puffed up his feathers. "I will never flee from a battle or disobey an order from my superiors." Scootaloo raised an eyebrow clearly not amused or tricked by the show. "I don't see the purpose in this suicidal mission."
"Then you're free to go."
"I'll be free to be branded a coward and executed." Trove spat back. "Or live in self imposed exile away from my people." He left before Scootaloo could respond.

The assent up the mountain took the better part of the morning. But they had finally arrived at the dragon's cave. The mouth of which was easily as tall as town hall in Ponyville. It took forty minute to decide who would go inside and who would remain outside to guard the retreat if things got ugly.
Thus Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Gabby, and Trove made their way through the cave. They soon entered the main chamber of the dragon's lair. The ceiling of the immense cavern was littered with stalactites. In the center of the room lay a giant grey dragon with black spines down that ran down the spine of his back.
"So how do you want to go about this?" Scootaloo asked.
"I say quick assassin take down, bonus damage for sneak attacks." Trove smacked Gabriella on the head. "Ow, what was that for?"
"Well we should probably wake him up." Scootaloo looked over at Sweetie Belle and nodded.
"Ya'll should probably cover yer ears? Giffin's hav' ears right?" Gabriella and Trove rolled their eyes, and put their talons over the sides of their heads. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom did likewise as the white unicorn cleared her throat.
"EXCUSSE ME MR. DRAGON CAN WE HAVE A WORD WITH YOU!" The dragon rose and yawned. He stretched out his arms then scratched his back. He looked down at the ponies through half closed eyes.
"We're here for this cave," Gabriella answered as tactlessly as possible warranting another thud to the back of her head. "OW."
"Oh, you've come to take my cave?" The dragon glared down at them his large blue eyes fully opened. "And what pray tell did you think was going to happen? Did you really think that I would just hand my home over to appetizers."
"What no we're not here to take your home from you." Sweetie Belle said. The dragon's eyes narrowed in on the little white unicorn.
"You're not, then why the heck did we spend the last week trudging through that Borias' damned wasteland?" Trove again bobbed Gabriella on the head. "OW! What did I do?" Apple Bloom glared at the two of them before they could continue to negotiate with a dragon whose teeth were easily twice the size of her whole body.
"As my friend was saying, we're more than willing to pay rent while we are staying here." Scootaloo continued for Sweetie Belle; who for the moment was doing a good job of impersonating her older sister during a bad day. The dragon shifted his gaze to the Pegasus with the abnormally little wings.
"I could always use a snack."
"That's great news we gots tons o' gems, rubies, sapphires, diamonds." Apple Bloom began, listing out their gems before being cut of by the dragons laughter. Which caused the ground to shake.
"Gems why would I eat gems when I have so many tasty ponies?"
"We can also give you something else, pony kinds greatest magic and most treasured possession," Scootaloo said quickly not liking the direction that the conversation had gone in. The dragon raised an eyebrow as his eyes focused once again on the little Pegasus.
"And what is that?"
"Ew, ew I know the answer I know the answer." Gabriella cleared her throat as five pairs of eyes glared at the completely oblivious griffon. "Friendship." Again the floor and walls of the cave shook with the dragon's laughter. Trove face palmed, as the three ponies turned their glares to the dragon.
"Do I look like a fool to you?" The dragons voice trailed off as his silted eyes focused on something beyond the three CMC and two griffons. "Those books." he whispered with, a sense of wonder on the edge of his voice.
"Guys I need some level of quite to work on these things, earthquake levels of laughter is just a bit much don't you think." Comet Dust looked up from one of the books. "What why is everybody looking at me for.
"Those books if you have them then that means." The dragon looked down regarding each of the ponies and griffons in front of him with a new light. "That would mean that." He smiled putting two and two together and coming up with an answer he liked an answer he liked very well. "You know, I think we can work out an arrangement."
Many of the younger members of the CMC didn't know how to respond to the giant dragon. Many of them walked through the main chamber with expressions somewhere between fear and awe. The few braver or more curious members would step out of line, and try to walk up to the large reptile. An act that Scootaloo actively discouraged. He may have accepted their offer of gems after he saw the books, but he still had toyed with the idea of eating them for lunch. The dragon himself watched with a bemused smile as Scootaloo went about intercepting the little ponies who were trying to walk up to him. He admired the little pegasus' desire to protect the little ones almost as much as he was surprised by the 
shear number who attempted to approach him, so many of the little ponies seemed to lack fear, or at least so many more than he originally thought.
"Hello mister," a little grey unicorn with slight blond mane said looking up at him. Scootaloo's head jerked around. Her eyes locked onto Dinky, who sat in front of their mildly amused host.
"Well aren't you the brave little pony." The dragon laughed Scootaloo already moving in to derail the potential disaster.
"Why would that be, mister?" The sincerity in her voice stopped the both of them cold.
"Well," the dragon began. "Because, I am a big dragon and you are a little pony." He stood up to his full height. The spins on his back all became erect. The largest of which scrapped the top of the ceiling causing a few pebbles to fall to the floor below.
"A very, very big dragon," Dinky said standing on her tippy hooves and spreading her forehooves out as far as she could. The action caused her to lose balance and fall backward. Her sister caught her with her telekinesis, and set her gentle back down on the ground. Dinky looked back up at the dragon blushing slightly.
"You're not scared of dragons little filly?"
"Why should I be?" Amethyst walked up to her sister's side.
"Because I could eat you?"
"You won't though."
"I could if I wanted and there would be nothing you could do to stop me." Scootaloo's blood went cold.
"You won't though. I can tell." The dragon looked at her quizzically. "My mommy taught me how to tell the difference between good things and bad things and you're a good dragon who won't hurt me. Or any of us, and I wanted to thank you for letting us live her."
"Your mommy sounds very wise. I'd like to meet her." Instantly the little filly's face became dark and downcast. Tears started to pool in her eyes. "When we save her I'd like you to introduce me." The dragon gently lifted her head with his claw being sure not to accidently cut her. She smile and nodded. "No run along my little pony, you don't want to get stuck with a bad room now do you?" Dinky shock her head, and Amethyst walked back with her into line.

After all the CMC had made their way deeper into the cave Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo walked to the deepest camber the shielding crystals floating behind them.
"This place is perfect for now," Scootaloo said. Her voice echoed through the deeper parts of the cave.
"I'd say so there's no way that we will be taken off guard." Apple Bloom agreed. Sweetie Belle's horn glowed a faint blue; the pillars that held the shielding gems floated in to a circle along the perimeter of the cavern.
"One thing is for sure we are further from Canterlot and Despair's influence."
> I Know Those Eyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Comet Dust sat on a stool. Both books floated in his magic, in front of him. "Why can't I break this stupid code?" he asked himself. He shook his head to stay awake instantly regretting the action as pain flared in his head. He gasped for air fighting the urge to scream. The echo dampening spell had not quite been figured out, and any thing above a normal tone of voice carried though the halls.There was a knock at his door. "Great another distraction, exactly what I need." He sighed in frustration as he looked at the door. "Go away." This only prompted the person on the other end to knock harder. "I said go away!" The person on the other and was now banging on the door. He sighed as he got up and went to the door.
The second of the wooden barrier was no longer in her way, Gabriella rushed into the room, and snatched the two floating books out of Comet Dusts aura."And I'll take these," she said as she whizzed back out into the hall and landed in front of him.
"What is your problem!" He demanded of her. Gabriella held the books closer to her chest as he tried to pull them back with his magic. "Give them back right now!" He screamed not caring if it would echo in the cave.
"No." The little Griffin locked eyes with him neither one flinching or backing down. She tightened her grip on the books, and help them closer to her as his horn glowed brighter. "I was told to come down here and get you, and since you go where the books go I'm taking the books with me." Comet sighed and bowed his head in defeat, too tired to argue with the her.
The two of them walk through the cavernous corridors. They made their way through all the winding passages that make their way through the mountain. "I like to think this mountain once belonged to Griffon Stone's greatest king. As an awesome Goldmine or something." Comet Dust didn't bother to point out that Griffin territory was on the other side of the map. Nor, did he bother to remind her that Griffin Stone had only one king in its history, and a very short-lived one at that.
He wouldn't have been listening to her at all all if she didn't have the two books gripped tightly in one of her talons. They finally ended the upward track, as they came out of a small side tunnel and into the gigantic main hall of the cave; where the dragon lived.
The dragon named Storm was there of course. The ones that caught his attention though were the three ponies and one zebra that were with him, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Zecora. Even Trove watched from the far wall. Gabriella who over to the others and handed the books over Scootaloo.
"What's the big idea?" Comet Dust demanded of the little Pegasus. "Sending this Griffin to take the books from me, and dragged me up here?" His eyes darted between those gathered. "Don't you know I need those books!?"
"What you need is to get some sleep," Scootaloo said flatly.
"Sleep," Comet Dust spit the word out as if it were the worst of vulgarities. "I don't need sleep. I need to those books. I need to see her again the only way to see her again is to have those books. I get them back!" He glared back at her.
"Wow, do those books drive ponies insane?" Sweetie Belle asked looking at the books like she would a snake.
"I was beginning to wonder the same thing after all, we went through this same ordeal with Screw Ball." Zecora agreed with a nod of her head.
"Tell ya what Comet if ya go an' take a rest fer an hour or sos we'll give these books back."
"No I need them." He began to advance on them. "Give them back right now!"
"Comet!" Sweetie Belle's voice boomed through the cave as her horn glowed a gentle blue. Her friends jumped. Trove stopped slouching on the wall and stood straight up at attention. Even the dragon sat a bit straighter at the little filly's booming voice. Comet Dust fell to his haunches, as Sweetie Belle glared at him. Then he lost all control.
"I-I-I need it please. I ne-neeeed her an-and and the only way is wi-with with those booooks." He sobbed and shock violently in front of them rubbing his eyes, hoping to stop or slow the stream of tears that poured out of his eyes. "Please," he begged. "Pleeease I-I need to tell her. I her to know. I. I need her to forgive me." He couldn't say another word he just looked at them begging them to give him back the books. He didn't bother to rub the tears that raced down his cheeks. Apple Bloom came up to him and put her hoof on his shoulder, her eyes full of understanding.
"I get it, Comet. But ya need yer rest first. Take as long or as short of a break as ya need. So long as ya get one hour of sleepen done I'll personally give them books back to ya, okay?" Comet closed his eyes. No, no it wasn't okay. Still though he nodded his head in defeat and went with her back down the corridors.

Comet walked down the endless grey stair case. He must have been walking for hours. The staircase seemed to go on into infinity in both directions and though he had started at what seemed to be the middle something had compelled him to go down, so down he went. It was impossible to tell how many miles he had already walked. He looked down all that was there was blackness, nothingness. No that wasn't right. Every now and then he would see something down in the darkness moving. and would hear a stifled giggling. It was a bit unnerving. Still it meant that some one was down there and so he'd catch them eventually and get his answers as to what this place was. He stepped on the next step. The remaining steps vanished as he stepped down landing appeared out of nothingness soon it became an entire floor with a door at on the other end of the newly existing wall. There was light that came from the door light like from a candle. Shadows also came from the door. He got closer. His ears perked up as the familiar giggling continued.
"Hello," he said opening the door. The second he opened it his eyes met with the most beautiful eyes in all the world. He smiled as he lost himself in those spinning eyes.
> I Promise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Hey Comet." Was all that Screw Ball was able to get out before Comet Dust jumped on her. She was forced to stand on her hind legs in order to avoid being thrown to the floor. He wrapped both of his forelegs around her, and held he as tight as he could. Afraid that if he let her go she'd vanish like the morning dew, or smoke in the wind.
"Screw Ball." He cried unashamedly in the embrace which the spiral eyed filly now returned.
"That's my name don't wear it out." She patted him on the back trying to calm him down.
"Screw Ball," he hiccupped.
"No seriously don't wear it out silly willy, the warranty just expired."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay I'm going to get it renewed first thing tomorrow morning." She pulled back and smiled the colt.
"What." He looked at her in confusion. "No not that I, I'm sorry I let you get turned into stone. I'm sorry I couldn't stop it." She pulled him close again as he started shaking.
"It's alright," she said wishing she could sound more convincing. "You're doing everything you can to save me and the others. You are doing everything you can aren't you?"
"I've spent every second for the past two weeks reading those books trying to figure them out." She frowned and ended the hug with a resounding pop on his head. "Ow, Screw Ball what was that for?" he asked rubbing his crown.
"For being stupid you big dummy." She glared at him for a moment before it softened and she pulled him back into another hug. "You can't help me if you work yourself to death can you? Don't do that ever again." She looked him in the eyes being sure that she had his attention. "EVER. AGAIN. Understand." He nodded. "Good." She smiled and taking his hoof led him up to a door that suddenly sprang into existence on the far wall.
"Screw Ball, where are we?" Comet asked as the two of them walked through the door into what looked like a normal pony home. If sofas were normally used in place of kitchen chairs and inn tables were normally hung from the walls, like family pictures.
"I really don't know where we are or even how I'm here, but to be honest, it's not my first time. I'm just glad that my chaos magic works here this time. I mean could you imagine a world without chocolate milk rain and cotton candy clouds?" She plopped down on a bed that appeared out of no where. and an arm chair came up under the floor and provided Comet a place to sit down. "It's a pocket dimension of some kind, and the books are connected to it in some way or another."
"That's the simple way of putting it I suppose." A large elderly white male alicorn with a flowing ruby mane and sun cutie mark walked into the room with a glass of chocolate milk floating in his magic up to his lips. "This is really good what kind of milk is it again?" He asked after swigging down the whole glass in one go leaving a chocolate milk mustache on his upper lip.
"Chocolate."
"Ah yes it truly is much better than cow's milk. Oh hello where are my manners? It seems we have a new guest." The elderly stallion smiled at Comet Dust and nodded his head. Comet bowed down to the alicorn out of instinct. "No need for formality my boy. I am Solaris. What are you called?"
"I'm Comet Dust Sire." he answered looking up at the great alicorn.
"Ah your the unicorn colt that miss Screw Ball wishes to court, I certainly approve." Screw Ball's eyes went wide at the same time as Comet's face went red. "He had fine loins miss Screw Ball and you good birthing hips the two of you shall have a good big family I'm sure."
"Grandpa not okay. Definitely certainly not OKAY!" Screwball's and Comet's faces were glowing as red as the alicorn's flowing mane. Comet just made noises completely dumbstruck by the comment.
"Grandpa?" Was the first thing he could ask while he tried to glue his brain back together, and not glow redder with each look at Screw Ball and her 'good birthing hips'.
"I insisted on the title. As I insist now that you keep you thoughts pure as a proper suitor should when courting such a fine lady."
"Grandpa."
"Sorry sire. I'm trying sire," Comet answered.
"It is quite alright I too was young once, and spent many an hour dreaming about preforming the most beautiful dance of spring with a good many a pretty maiden and lady of my kingdom." The colt's and filly's faces both grew redder as the old alicorn continued on.
"Make it stop make it stop." Screw Ball covered her ears and begged for the old alicorn to stop recounting his more youthful years. The colt merely looked on dumbly as what was left of his innocence slowly faded away.
"O dear it seems that my regaling of the tales of my youth have not helped you to slow the desires of your own youthful passions." He looked between the two of them. "Though really I'm surprised that you have been so cruel as to make miss Screw Ball wait. She is already at an age of fourteen to make her wait so long I'd first thought she was sworn to celibacy."
"Grandpa stop it you aren't helping not one bit." Screw Ball recovered quickly from the shock of what had happened her chaotic nature being more than partially responsible. Comet Dust however didn't rebound from the shock of what was going on until a few minutes had passed. "I'm sorry about that, Grandpa is from another time clearly." Screw Ball shuffled her hooves around in front of her. "I wish we had more time."
"Wait what? Are you going some where?"
"No you are though. It's been eight hours. The books charms will wear off soon."
"What no. I. I want to be with you."
"You will every time you work on the books you'll come here in your dreams."
"I'll spend every night with you then." A moment later his face glowed red, and a blush returned to Screw Ball's cheeks as well. "And soon we'll have the days again too."
"Just promise me that you won't get hurt until then."
"I promise."
> Search Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Comet held one of the two books in front of him. The room was lit with a faint blue hue as dozens upon dozens of papers floated in the air all around him. Each one filled with scribbles and arcane symbols. He was close he could fill it. His eyes constantly shifting from the book to the symbols that slowly shifted around him. He understood the intentions, the methodical patterns and designs that had been woven into the books. How to translate them from subconscious to conscious was proving more difficult to him than he had originally thought. All the papers stopped. There was something strange about the rune. It was odd, it was the way it should have been, but something felt off.
"Hekima the Zebra of wisdom a zebra that was very wise, taught many a pony and zebra how to avoid swift demise." Zecora said seeming to appear out of no where. Not even in this stony cave did the zebra make any noises that might hint to her presence. "You think something is off that something is not right, something that might bring the secrets of these books to light?"
"I think," Comet stopped he, trying to figure out how to voice what he was feeling. The zebra waited patently for the colt, as she studied the paper. "I think that there something in the symbol something that shouldn't be."
"If what your needing is true, then what you may need is a different point of view." The colt started to spin the piece of paper slowly like it was a combination on lock. The two of the studied it at each angle before Comet screamed in frustration.
"Dang another one just a dead end." The look Zecora gave him prompted him to explain. "The ones on the table over there I thought that they were the same, but clearly they weren't."
"Comet Dust that may not be, dead ends or pieces of a key." Zecora took the paper from him and put it on the table. "Examining each part is good, but never forget the whole, only when all things are seen and heard is the truth told." She started to turn the papers cautiously and gently, like she was listening to invisible tumblers. "Comet if you would please find others that are like these. When you are done help me see, if these old zebra runes are in fact a key."
Comet continued to search through the papers, he pulled out five more for the hundreds that floated around him. and passed them to Zecora. The two of them studied them for an hour placing groups together and slowly rotating them. "Wait" Comet said stopping Zecora. "Keep it like that." He put four more of the old Zebrain runes on to the two that they were working on. "That's it."
"I'm not sure what you mean, tell me please what you've seen."
"It's a Changeling script." Comet gabbed some of the notes that Screw Ball had taken and pulled them up. "See this one here is a match to that one there." He pointed with his hoof to the Changeling scripts.
"I fear that you are right, which means nothing more can be done for tonight."
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that, but." Comet yawned. "I suppose tomorrow we can find out if there have been any changeling incidents in this part of Equestria. The griffons might know of some. Good night Zecora." The Zebra stared at him in shock something that Comet would have found amusing had he not been so tired he put the notes next to the runes, and let his magic die down.
"Just like that no fight, you're willing to go to bed immediately tonight."
"Yes, there's really nothing more we can do." He got on the small cot that made up his bed and closed his eyes. "Zecora, could you tell the others about this I'd like it to get done first thing in the morning."
"Of course I'll get to that now. I was planning on doing it any how."
"Good night mom." Zecora froze at the door before turning around, and smiling at the colt on his bed who was already asleep.
"Good night little one, if I had a foal I'd like you as a son."

"Changelings?" Gabriella asked. "Why the heck would you want one of those things, or more importantly why would you want one of those things here? Aren't they you know like evil?"
"No, I don't think they're evil just really really different," Sweetie Belle answered.
"Sure if by deferent you mean evil. They abduct the ones you love and then feed off of your love."
"Either way. We needed a changeling before, but now it is a top priority,"  Comet spoke up. "I don't like having to ask one of them for help either, but it will have to do. Unless either of you can read it or even the ancient griffon for a start." Gabriella shook her head back and forth Trove followed the negative action, but with much more reserve. Comet sighed. "Well that's a bust."
"I've heard rumors of changelings," Trove said from the wall were he was watching them discuss. "But as you're well aware they're not easily found. Especially if they don't want to be."
"Yeah they're really good at hiding. Rumors are a start though, and right now that's all we need."
"You needn't chase rumors and whispers," Storm said laying down as Dinky played on his back. "I have on rare occasions encountered changelings here in these mountains. Dinky ran up to the top of his head and lay down on her back.
"Storm knows everything about the mountains." She laughed.
"Not everything but enough." The dragon raised his giant hand up to his head for Dinky. She stepped in it, and he lowered her to the ground and her waiting sister. "I think that their hive is either deeper in the mountains or further off. But where I couldn't say. "
"Well that's an even better start if yer askin' me."
"It definitely narrows down the area that needs to be searched."
"I'll get some flyers and we'll begin the search."
"A unicorn should go as well, they can teleport back to the cave with a report to tell."
"I know some magic that will give them wings it's not easy, and I'll need at least a dozen other unicorns to cast it, but it will ensure that the search party isn't slowed down by a grounded member. The spell should last for three days. I think Amethyst should be the one to go. Her teleportation range is second to none."
"Yeah that makes sense. Alright I'll be taking Rumble and Pound of course."
"I am going as well." Trove walked up to the table.
"I wasn't expectin' you ta nominate yerself." Trove glared at her Apple Bloom didn't back down.
"Gilda made this Pegasus a part of the flock."
"Oh this would give me a ton of new stories to tell. I want to come too."
"Alright you're a fast enough flyer." Scootaloo looked around the table. "So we have three Pegasi two griffons and one air born unicorn. That's two wings. I think that will be enough. Get what you think you will need we're leaving at noon."
> The Price of Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The four pony two griffon search party flew through the mountains searching out any signs of life. They had already combed over dozens of the mountains in the range, covering hundreds of square kilometers in only five hours. Scootaloo was grateful that they had the two griffons. They weren't as agile as the pegasi were but their eyes were easily twenty times more keen. The found dozens of caves in the cliff faces, all of which were empty. None of them could be confirmed as changeling caves.
"Hey, Scootaloo?" Gabby asked as she flew up to Scootaloo's four o'clock. "I was wondering say we find the changelings and they turn out to be bad. You know like totally evil. What do we do then?"
"Changelings aren't going to be evil Gabby." Truthfully though she was concerned about that as well. Sure the changelings may not be evil, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't try some form of treachery. What would stop them from attacking. What would convince them to help the Crusaders.
Gilda had been willing to help because of Rainbow Dash, but the griffons she led seemed more interested in fighting to the death. Storm was willing to help because of some yet unknown ties to the books. What would the changelings be willing to help for, would it be something she could promise, and if it wasn't could she bring herself to lie?
"More caves," Trove called out bring Scootaloo back into the now. She followed the griffons pointed talon to a mountain, which at this distance looked like it had been lightly peppered with darker rocks.
"Pound." She looked behind her to her wing pony. He waited eagerly for her to give the code word. "Waffles." He smiled nodded and shoot off for the caves at full speed. If the world hadn't been turned into this hellish mess, Scootaloo had no doubts that Rainbow Dash would have been training him for the Wonderbolts. She would never tell him, lest she give him an ego, but he was the best Pegasus in the crusaders, able to fly faster, farther, and harder than any of them. If things took more than one generation to sort out he was going to be her replacement. Hopefully by then he would be more mature, and not let it go to his head. "Come on let's keep moving," she said as soon as he became a speck.
"I'm just saying what makes you think that the changelings won't just throw us in a dungeon and go back to the mountain disguised as us and turn our friends into an all you can eat buffet?" Gabby continued after only a half an hour.
"Because Gabby, both Comet Dust and Zecora have special magic's that can detect changelings when we get back to the cave both of them will use what they have to make sure that we really are who we say we are," Amethyst answered. "Not to mention, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom will know if it's not Scootaloo, Pumpkin will know if it's not Pound, and Dinky will know if it's not me."
"What if it impersonates me?" she asked. "Who will be able to tell then?"
"If the changeling promises not to be as obnoxious as you I'd gladly take the trade," Trove answered from behind her.
"Yeah well, if the changeling promises it's not evil and that it will be nicer I'd gladly take it and feed it." Gabriella looked back at Trove and stuck out her tongue.
"I agree completely."
"You see Rumble agrees with me."
"I didn't say that honestly I'm kinda hopping we'll come across a whole hive they can have the two of you and we'll take two of them." Rumble smiled. "It's the perfect trade."
"Ha ha ha. That's so funny." Gabby stuck her out her tongue at the grey Pegasus colt. Trove stopped flying.
"What's wrong trove? Can't take what you dish out?"
"Are you blind little griffon?" Gabby's feathers ruffled at the comment to her size, but she followed the older griffon's gaze down to a small pass mostly hidden under two mountain over hangs. "There's a campsite down there. From the looks of it, it's a small group, that doesn't want to be seen."
"I don't see anything, are you sure you're not just having a stroke old one?"
"Do you see the boulder with the two little rocks on it and the rock that looks like a pony at the base?" Trove pointed to the on of the outcroppings covering the small pass. Gabby nodded. "Look right underneath that." Gabby did so.
"Oh wow. I didn't even see that. Good eyes." Trove nodded at the complement, but otherwise went on unfazed. "What should we do Scootaloo? It might be ponies, or zebras, but it could also be changelings."
"We wait for Pound Cake to get back then we go down and investigate. We'll go in slow and cautious. I'll decide soon enough if we go down in the open or if we stick to the shadows, and do it stealthily," she said straining her eyes to see what the two griffons saw to no avail. "You two keep an eye down there and for any movement. We don't want them packing up and moving out because they saw us and got scared." Trove and Gabby nodded at the orders and kept their eyes focused down on that spot.
They waited in that spot unmoving for another thirty minutes before Pound appeared in the sky as a little dot soon he was close enough to see them again and for them to see him plain and clear. He came to a stop a couple of decameters away. "Two, with blue berries and maple syrup, and cold milk to drink," Pound said recalling Scootaloo's usually order of waffles.
"Welcome back Pound fall in." He nodded and did so. "We're going in plainly. I don't want to startle them or surprise them and cause a fight. If they want a fight then we'll be able to oblige them, but it won't be because we accidently spooked them."
"What are you talking about?"
"There's a camp site down there, some where apparently." Pound squinted trying to see what Rumble was talking about to no avail. "We're not sure who or what is down there, but a camp site is hoofs down better than empty caves." Pound nodded to that giving up trying to see the camp site. The two wings went down in the open doing nothing to hide their presence from those that were down on the ground below.
"No magic bolts, spear, or arrows yet that's always a good sign," Gabby said as they got closer to the camp site. Trove's demeanor was getting colder and darker the closer they got to the ground. His eyes never leaving the pony shaped rock.
"No!" Trove shot back up into the sky. "Quickly get back into the skies now!" The was a loud roar from the rocks below he screamed out his warning to the others. A large three headed six eyed creature soon shot out of the covered pass it's large leathery wings pushing it higher into the air after them. The chimera soon caught up to Amethyst whose magically endowed wings were no where near as fast as the really thing. The goat head smiled as the lion opened its maul ready to devour another meal.
Pound Cake fell into a dive smashing the lion head at the last second, he spun away as the serpent tail lunged at him the snake and its venoms missing the young Pegasus by mere centimeters. Amethyst gave up on trying to out fly the chimera teleported to the ground, and began loosing bolt after bolt of magical energy at the monstrous predator, as she tried not to gag on the thick stench of death that covered the ground.
The beast danced around Amethyst bolts as it found a new target. Its leathery wings pushed it closer and closer to Gabriella, the little griffon doing everything she could think of to shake the three headed predator. It was only a meter away when Trove came down on the chimera grabbing it by the horns he pulled the beast away from Gabby, down toward the ground. Scootaloo and Rumble came in from behind it slamming the large bat like wings with all their strength. Trove threw the large beast to the ground. Amethyst teleported back into the sky horn still at the ready. Trove and Scootaloo hovered a couple of decameters from the ground, between the chimera and the others.
There was another roar as the beast launched up at the two of them, claws, fangs and horns, all ready to tear, rip, and beat. Trove and Scootaloo dived down on the beast Rumble and Pound who had been a hectometer and a half higher dived down in unison after them, ready to give a lethal one-two assault.
Trove grappled with the chimera as its claws went for his chest. The lion head brought its teeth to bear, as it to maneuver to get a clear shot at the large griffons throat. Despite his best efforts Trove was little match for the beast, he felt his strength start to slip. In a second he'd be dead and both he and the chimera knew it. Scootaloo came around between it and Trove bashing the lion's head on the crown with as much force as she could muster. The blow drew blood and caused the beast to roar in pain. She wasn't finished before either Pound or Rumble could arrive she leaned in using the lion's head to support her wait; she bucked the goat head shattering one of the horn and causing the chimera to pull away from Trove. The goat bit her leg holding her still for the hundredth of a second needed for the serpent tail to flash out. It released her and fled back down to its lair waiting just under the outcropping, eyes locked on the little winged Pegasus as it waited for the poison to run its course.
Scootaloo hung there in a daze as two little streams of blood slow made their way down her back leg. She felt dizzy her world already starting to spin as the lighter parts of the venom rode her veins to her heart which was pumping over time with all the adrenaline that the fight had caused. Her wings began to beat out of pace. Trove quickly grabbed her from behind his wings easily able to keep the two the them in the air.
"Scootaloo!" Rumble rushed over.
"You two, Hold her up." Trove gently passed Scootaloo to Rumble and Pound. "Gabriella get a tourniquet around her leg." Gabriella nodded and started ruffling around in her satchel. "You teleport back to camp and tell Storm what's happened, unless you can teleport yourself and her back to the mountain." Amethyst shock her head but vanished in a flash. Trove flew between Scootaloo and the ground.
"My chest feels like its going to blow up."
"A chimera's venom is actually two venoms one is lighter, the others heavier. So long as the latter doesn't get to your heart your safe. The lighter one unfortunately is a severe neurotoxin, and I have nothing for that sorry." Gabby applied the tourniquet.
"Storm's on his way and Zecora and Apple Bloom are already working on an antivenom."
Scootaloo clenched her eyes shut as every nerve in her body told her she was on fire. She wanted to cry to scream, to beg for it to stop, but she'd not do any of it while her wing was with her. She would not break with Rumble and Pound around. She had total control over her mind her body however was already covered in sweat though and taking shallow breaths. The ten minutes it took Storm to arrive were the longest minutes of her life. She was grateful that she passed out after four minutes of pain.
"Hey?" Scootaloo came to on Storm's back she looked up and saw Trove standing over her. "That chimera was only interested in a meal and it was about to over power me, so why didn't you just let it?"
"Because friends don't let friends die, and I'd do it again for you." Trove didn't say anything after that he just glared at her. After a couple of seconds she soon fell back into blissful unconsciousness.
> Griffon Problems
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trove slowly paced in his chamber which was one the deeper parts of Storm's cave. Things were not normal here. These ponies were suicidal and weak, or so Trove had thought, or at least that was what he had thought. Perhaps he still did, but he couldn't tell, and that  was what concerned him the most. Ponies were suppose to be weak, they were suppose to be frail needing friends because they were unable to achieve their ends without another's help. That little Pegasus though she had risked her life to save his, because she viewed him as a friend, yet she clearly didn't want to die.
"What is it about these little ponies?" He flapped his wings continuing to go around the perimeter of his room slowly dragging his talons on the wall alongside him. The sound was grating, but the feeling of his talons being dragged along cold stone helped him think. "Why would she risk her life for me if she didn't want to die?" After five laps around the room he finally conceded, he didn't know what friendship was. He had never needed to nor desired to, until now it was weakness.
"Could I have been wrong?" He landed on the cold cave floor. "I need to know." He left heading for the chamber that the Crusaders had turned into their sick bay. Trove swallowed his pride and entered the chamber.
It was well lite by unicorn lights, the little blue unicorn had cast dozens of magical torch spells all along the walls and ceiling. The light was strong, artificial, and warm. There were nearly a hundred cots in the room, but aside from Scootaloo and her wing and her two friends, there were only the two nurse ponies. Two twin nurses shared their tan coat and light brown manes, The colt and filly were currently reading books about complicated surgical magic. Trove left the two of them alone, they didn't even know he existed.
"Hey," Scootaloo greeted Trove warmly as he approached. "How are you doing?"
"Your the one in the sick bed you tell me." Trove answered.
"I'm fine I'll be up in the air in a couple more hours."
"No ya ain't," Apple Bloom protested. "ya'll are going to stay right here and get yerself a good rest."
"I'm fine, really loads better."
"You're staying here Scootaloo. For at least tonight. Just In case."
"Rumble I'm fine."
"We know and you're going to be fine right here until tomorrow." Scootaloo gave Pound her best imitation of the Stare, "If you want that is." She bust into laughter, with the three older ponies joining her.
"You're fine Pound, you're fine." She patted him on the head. "So what are you doing here?" She turned her attention back to the large griffon.
"I need to talk to you alone."
"Huh, okay sure. Do you guys mind?" Her friends nodded and started to leave. "I'd ask Morphine and Anesthesia to leave, but I don't think they're to interested in much aside from that book their reading." She sat up in the cot. "So Mr. Trove what's on your mind?"
"Why did you save me?"
"Oh, well because we're friends."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't have friends."
"Oh, well you may not see me as a friend, but you're my friend, and I don't let my friends get hurt." Trove looked at her perplexed, like she had all of a sudden started speaking in dragon. "What?"
"So you can be someone's friend even if they don't see you as a friend?" Scootaloo shuffled around a little bit.
"Well yea, I guess you can. I wouldn't recommend it normally, but I think you count as an extraneous circumstance. I think of you as my friend, and I hope that one day you'll come to think of me that way to."
"Perhaps, but I need to know why you saved me back there."
"I just told you. You, are, my, friend."
"What does that mean?" Trove demanded. "What does that mean that you see me as your friend?"
"Well it means." She paused thinking of how best to explain it to him. "It means that I care about you. That I want the best for you and want you to be happy. It means that you can depend on me."
"Trove!" Gabriella burst into the sick bay, the colt and filly nurses glaring at her for interrupting them. "Trove, Rojak's here, he wants to talk to you."
"Rojak? What is he doing here?"
"I don't know. He ordered me to get you. He said it was important, and he doesn't sound happy about what ever it is."
"Fine." He turned his attention back to Scootaloo. "This conversation isn't over."
"Yeah I was afraid you'd say that."
He left Gabriella following close behind him. The two of them quickly made their way through the snaking tunnels to the entrance. They heard Rojak long before they saw him. He seemed to be having a heated argument with Comet Dust about something. The two of them turned the corner in time to see him throwing Pumpkin Cake to the floor. "Rojak what is going on?"
"This pony wench got in my way."
"What you-"
"Shut it!" Rojak screamed at Pumpkin as she tried to explain what was going on.
"Bite me you big jerk!" He raised his talon. Trove caught it behind his head.
"Enough. I assume you came here for a reason that doesn't involve mistreating little fillies."
"I did Gilda's position is being challenged and you and her little shadow are being called back, to stand in the court. The whole flock has been summoned."
"We can't go yet Scootaloo needs to stay in the sick bay till tomorrow morning."
"Who's Scootaloo?"
"The Pegasus Gilda made a part of the flock."
"You stupid half griffon I said the flocks been summoned, now shut it and move." Gabriella pulled back as if the insult had physically hurt her.
"Gilda's position may be challenged, but all her orders and changes are still standing until a challenger bests her. The Pegasus is a part of the flock until then."
"Well I'm not staying here, waiting for some little wench to feel better." Trove's glare instantly became cold and deadly. He jerked his talon forward and Rojak screamed in pain.
"Oh dear it looks like you broke your talon Rojak, you should be more careful. Let me see if I can pop it back into place." He jerked it to the side. Again the Griffon howled in pain. "Oh no it seems I've only made it worse, you know there is a sick bay here, I'm sure the pony nurses could patch you up just fine. Of course they'd have to monitor you all night to make sure your talon sets right." He pulled the other griffon up to him just a few centimeters from his beak. "Or would you prefer that I try to pop it into place again?" Rojak shook his head. Trove dropped him to the floor. "Sick bay it is then."
***
After two days of continuous flying the four of them arrived at the Griffon's new city. It was in a large forest. The city itself was in the trees. Some of the houses and buildings being supported by scaffolding, others were made by carving in to the trees themselves. Rope bridges connected the trees providing a road for those to young, old, or tired to fly.
Scootaloo gapped at the city it wasn't like the Crusader's hideout it was a full city with shops and stores and houses and everything. She couldn't believe it. Then they landed and she saw some thing else she couldn't believe. In the center of the town, was Gilda locked in stocks, Glaring at anyone who passed by daring them to try some thing, promising unspoken threats of pain and death should that take her up on her dares.
> The Pit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Gilda!" Scootaloo cried in alarm. "Are you okay?" 
"I'm fine they may be mutinous traitors the lot of them. Either they're smart enough to know not to try anything, or they're to gutless to do anything. I'm fifty/fifty on which it actually is." Gilda waved her talon around. "They threw me in here for sending Trove to his death, but as you can see Gramps he's fine." The four of them looked behind them to see three elderly griffons walking up to them the one in the center looked like he was part vulture. and was plainly blind one eye. 
"Trove you're still alive." Grampa Gruff turned his one good eye to face one of the other elders. "You owe me twenty gold coins. Now whose this?" Grampa Gruff walked up to Scootaloo and studied her with his one good eye. 
"This is Scootaloo, she's Rainbow Dash's sister." Gilda answered. Grampa Gruff looked at her in confusion for a while. Gilda rolled her eyes and continued. "The pony from flight camp." 
"Oh, this is her sister hmm." He turned his attention back to Scootaloo. "Well let's hope that she's as good a flier as her sister was." 
"She's tough Gramps, I wouldn't have brought her into the flock if I didn't think that she could handle herself." 
"That's good because she'll be standing trail with you, tomorrow," One of the other elders said. She was grey and eagle like with a snow leopard's flanks. Gilda glared at her, and if looks could kill the elder would have dropped dead on the spot. 
"Good I'm glad to have her. She's three times the griffon as anyone from your pathetic dead end flock." 
"Then I'll just send in five to make sure the job gets done." 
"Now wait just a second!" Grampa Gruff said his feathers ruffled. "The only reason that you are here is because tradition dictates that you have to be in order for a trial to happen, but this pony is a part of my flock and my flock will judge her worth. You may send in one griffon at a time I'm sure Gilda and Scootaloo will enjoy the sport." 
"Yeah and I'll," Gabriella began but a growl and glare from Gilda caused her to squeak. "Stand on the side lines and cheer them on." she finished weakly. 
"Only on the sidelines?" 
"It's such a shame that elders can't judge." The griffon elder, who pulled back indignantly at Gilda's threat. 
"Well seeing how Trove is still alive, and I doubt that Gilda will run why don't you loosen her bonds a bit. Let her get some stretching done before tomorrow, when the court is convened." One of the guards nodded, and quickly carried out the elders orders. He popped the stocks open. 
"Ah much better." Gilda stepped between the griffon elders and Gabriella. She started stretching. "That's the spot." She sighed as her back and wings popped in unison. "Now why don't you go and get all those rejects you call a flock and get them all nice and ready. I want them jumping in as soon as they can so I can get as many as possible." 
"You'll regret this Gilda." The elders left except for Gruff. 
"Scootaloo, Come with me I want to show you something." 
"And me Gilda." 
"Go home Gabriella. When I get back you and I are going to have a talk." The little griffon seemed to get even smaller as she nodded and walked home Gruff walked with her back to their house. Which, Scootaloo assumed must have been somewhere, deeper in the griffon city. "Scootaloo, come on." Scootaloo nodded and joined Gilda in the air. The two of them flew down to the ground.
They landed in a large wooden coliseum. "Gilda you know Gabriella just wants your approval, right?" Scootaloo looked at the griffon questioningly.
"Scootaloo look around you. This is where we're being judged. It's a free for all death match and any one that wants to join can." Gilda looked down at the Pegasus. "I swore to your sister that I'd protect you and I will. But it won't be easy, doing that and not killing any of those mutinous idiots, and staying alive myself. If Gabriella got involved I don't doubt those bastards would try and make me chose between you or her. That's a choice I don't want to make."
"You said death match?!"
"Yeah griffon law has always been might makes right." Gilda sighed. "So far that's worked out very well for me. Oh Scootaloo please feel free to break wings, but try not to kill any of those griffons. Trust me when we're done I'll make them pay, but until then."
"Keep them alive."
"That a girl. Now lets go home I need to have a talk with Gabriella and I think Grampa Gruff wants to know more about those books."
"You told him about those?"
"Of course it's the only reason they bothered to go and see if Trove was still alive." Gilda to back to the skies flying back into the griffon city Scootaloo following close behind.


***


Scootaloo and Gilda stood in the center of the wooden coliseum. It was filled to the brim with griffons of every type imaginable. All around every seat was occupied.
"Scootaloo stay close to me if you do you should be fine."
"How does this work?" Scootaloo asked in a hushed whisper. Barely audible over the roaring of the crowd.
"Simple the elders will say that we've been charged. And will now stand judgement, and then any griffon that wants a piece of us will come down and try to kill us. Those that want to help us can come down too. Though I wouldn't go getting your hopes up."
"Oh, well horse apples." The three griffon elders were on their special raised podium. Grampa Gruff stood in the center. The elderly she griffon to his left and the fatter elder that looked like a petrel kept his set to his right.
"Gilda and Scootaloo. You two have been charged with treason to the flock, and now stand judgement, by your peers until dead or you are found innocent by your judges." Gruff's voice echoed through the coliseum and the entire forest. "Your trial begins now!"
All at once a dozen griffons took to the air and charged the two of them. Gilda smirked as she rose to meet them talons ready to rend flesh. Scootaloo stayed on the ground keeping her cool as two of them landed on either side of her. Gilda had begun engaging the ten in the air. One of which was already tumbling down to the ground.
One of the griffons circling Scootaloo charged her. Thinking he was well in her blind spot. He was fast Scootaloo was faster. She jumped over him stomping on his back between the wings with her rear hoof. The other griffon had charged her as well. She shifted bringing her for hoofs down of the griffons head, not hard enough to kill but hard enough to make sure he wouldn't be getting up any time soon. Using his head as support she bucked the other griffon has hard as she could in the chest. He collapsed to the ground. One of the griffons above dove down at her. Gilda grabbed him by the tail and pulled popping every vertebra in the tail as she did the pain caused her to black out. Gilda used her as a mace slamming her into one of her other attackers. Eight more griffons had left their seats and were closing in this time they all seemed focused on the Pegasus on the ground.
She moved quickly, and precisely. Aiming each strike at their thoats. Her hooves weren't like they're talons, but that was fine she didn't want to kill them just take their breath away. Her comparatively smaller size was more of an asset than a hindrance. As she moved nimbly around each slash. The last of the new comers though was a lot more agile than the others and kept pushing her back. Which was fine she bought her time waiting for him to mess up. He did He put to much weight on his right talon as he slashed at her with his left. She to the moment jumped over him grabbing a wing and twisting it. It snapped and the griffon collapsed screaming.
"Great job Rainbow Dash!" Gilda called as she swiped her talons through a challenger's wing. Scootaloo froze at the complement. "Look out!" A new challenger slammed into her from the rear.
"Crud." They brought their talons up to deliver the finishing blow. As four others detained Gilda above.
The death blow never came though as the raised talons were grabbed from behind. Stunned the griffon turned only in time to see Trove sweep his talons across their throat. The griffon collapsed chocking on his blood. As Trove helped Scootaloo to her hooves. "Does any other griffon feel like raising charges today!" Troves cold voice demanded. All the griffons able to fly pulled away. and back to the edges of the coliseum. "Then we hereby find them innocent!" He looked over the coliseum. No one raised complaint.
> The Lights Go Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wake up, wake up. It's time to wake up!" Screwball opened and closed her eyes as she tried to adjust them to the darkness of the room that she was in. The darkness of the room was a minor inconvenience her shoulders. Which were supporting all of her weight as she dangled from a pair of chains.
"Where am I?"
"The Canterlot Dungeons. It's a new building project I've been working on." The sound of wood hitting stone echoed off of the walls, as green magic lit the coals underneath her hooves. Despair sat a warped throne of Canterlot guards. "Now that I've answered your question I think it's only fair that you answer mine."
"I'm not telling you anything!"
"That's right fight it. Put up a good struggle. Breaking you will be all the better." Despair rose from his twisted throne shifting his form into a minotaur as he approached her. Screwball pulled up on the chains. In order to escape the flames licking at her rear hooves, and to stare Despair in the eyes.
"You won't break me." Despair chuckled. He walked through the burning coals staff in hand. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. His smirk was arrogant and cold. His eyes were colder. He reached out a hand. It slowly transfigured into a talons claw until the tip of one talon touched the middle of her belly. She refused to blink, focusing on her hatred of him and willing it to be stronger than her fear. He gave her a devilish grin. He began slowly bringing his talon up, the tip just barely touching her flesh. A green line of magic followed. "Argh." She bit down gritting her teeth, and pulling up on the chains trying desperately to no avail to get away. He continued to trace the green line across her body to half way up her throat before finally pulling away. She let go of her weight whimpering as she fell limply back to the licking flames.
"Now Screwball. You haven't even heard my question. I'm sure you'll be willing to reconsider you position once you hear."
"I won't talk." She slowly pulled herself back up to meet his eyes.
"Won't you?" Despair grabbed her by throat. As he dragged his talons across her gut. Green lines of magic appearing in their wake. He repeated the gesture starting at her right cutie mark and ending the curse at the base of her right fore leg. She lost it screaming as tears started streaming from her eyes. The pain doubled as the dark magic cut across the screw and ball on her flank. "Are you ready to hear my question." It took every ounce of her strength to silence the her whimpers, and calm her breathing. "Not yet then. Let's try that last one in reverse shall we." Her eyes widened in terror before he dragged a talon down her side from the base of her left for leg to her cutie mark. The pain redoubled again as her other cutie mark was defiled by the curse. "How about now?" Despair smiled as he was answered by her whimpering. "Yes, I think you're ready to hear my question now. Who has unlocked the books?" She immediately went rigid.
"I won't tell you anything. No matter what you do." Despair frowned and dropped her. She fell limply back to the flames that were slowly dying.
"So you won't. Well I assure you though I may not be able to get the answer from you. I know who can." A shadow moved along the wall in her peripheral. "Break her." The miasmic creature charged at her.


***


"Got you!" Screwball looked up as Solaris pulled her into a hug. "Screwball are you okay? I can't tell you how worried I was.''
"Grandpa? What happened?"
"You were pulled back into consciousness meaning you weren't asleep, so you couldn't be here. I've been trying to bring you back, but my powers are quite limited."
"How did you get me back?"
"You've been here so long that I can feel you in the conscious world, that's how I knew where you were. I'm sorry it took me so long to get you back. Screwball, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Can you do that with Comet Dust also."
"Comet Dust? Why, what's wrong."
"Despair is targeting him, please Grandpa. We have to help him."
"I'm afraid that I don't have that kind of power anymore Screwball, 20,000 years ago sure, I could grab any colt I've only known for a few hours and put them anywhere, but not any more." Solaris put her back on the floor. "But maybe you could. You're bond to him is a lot stronger and you're chaos magic is on par with my own." Solaris' horn glowed a vibrant red. "I'll do my best to amplify the spell. Now focus on him Screwball. Every detail, exactly."
"Right." She closed her eyes focusing at the blue colt slowly formed in her mind's eye. "Comet." There was a knocking at the door. "It worked."
"So it did. And I think that the pony at the door is here for you." Solaris smiled as Screwball opened the door.
"Comet Dust!" Parts of his coat started to pull of as the colt went limp in her hooves. "Comet?!" The corpse fell to the floor as Solaris jerked violently. Transforming into a deep purple miasmic creature spotted with little lights that resembled stars. "What, what's going on?" The room around her burst into flames.


***


Screwball fell to the still smoldering coals as the chains that were holding her up evaporated into smoke. "What happened."
"You just handed Comet Dust over to me." Despair answered as he turned to the miasmic creature. "Tantabus, go destroy him." Tantabus nodded and burst out of the dungeon.
"NO!"
"Thank you Screwball now time to go back to sleep." The weeping cries of the dungeon were cut short by a sickening green flash.
The Tantabus ripped across the sky leaving the purple twinkling trail in it's wake. As it torn across the fog covered sky. With the horrors of every nightmare it could bring. It took it no less than an hour to reach the mountain where its prey was hidden in. The miasmic form slammed into an invisible barrier which lit up as it tackled it. It only stood for seconds before failing. The colts and fillies in the shielding room screamed as the barrier burst, and the Tantabus descended into the mountain. Storm lifted Dinky and her sister Amethyst off of the ground as the miasmic predator descended down the path to its quarry.
"What was that?" Pumpkin asked looking at the door.
"Somethings wrong." Sweetie Belle stood up and headed to the door. "Pumpkin, Comet, I'm calling this meeting off temporarily, come with me down to the shielding room." The two unicorns nodded and got up.
The door was thrown off of its hinges as the Tantabus forced it's way into the blue colt in the back of the room throwing his body into the back wall as it began to feed. As soon as it did Comet's magic broke and every light in the cave went out.
> Embers in the Dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rumble desperately tried to regain some semblance of order. His calls for calm, and quite however were lost in the panicked and frantic screams and cries of the younger colts and fillies. Their screams and cries magnifying off of the cave walls. Increasing the intensity of the noise until it became unbearable, unintelligible, and unending. He groped along the cavern wall as he flew just barely above the uneven floor of the cave. Trying to find and calm the younger ones and hopefully come across a unicorn whose horn could add some light to the all consuming darkness that had fallen on the cave.
"Calm down," Rumble said to the first pony he bumped into. "Are you a unicorn!" Even when he screamed his voice was nearly drowned out by the continuing panic.
"No. I'm an earth pony? Who are you?"
"Rumble now calm down and keep hold of me we need to find a unicorn." Rumble hoped the younger colt could hear him. The unending panic seemed to drowned out everything that was not itself.
"Silence!" Storm's voice roared from the cavern's tunnels. It was deafening. Rumble covered his ears and jerked as the younger colt slammed into him, pushing him into the wall. Storms command echoed off of all the walls amplifying it, as it swallowed the chaotic panic whole, not leaving a trace of it. It echoed back up and down the cave system for four to five minutes, with each echo it got softer and more bearable before it to was succumbed to the silence that it demanded, and faded away into nothingness.
"Listen." Sweetie Belle's voice filled the cave, unlike Storm's voice earlier it didn't bounce off of the walls. "Every unicorn use your magic. If you know the stationary lighting spell then cast it if not just let your horns glow, and stay where you are. Older members of the CMC are coming to help and restore order. A faint green light appeared from around the corner from Rumble as a light spell was cast. Many younger unicorns' horns started glowing every shade of the spectrum.
"Is everypony okay please gather around me." Rumble looked from pony to pony as slowly the every pony in the corridor came to him. The light from every unicorn eventually fusing into pure white light allowing him to see all the injuries. Many were mercifully unharmed, scared out of their wit, but otherwise okay. A few had bumped into the walls or other ponies and had some bumps and bruises. Unfortunately a white Pegasus filly had blood coming down the side of her face, her eyes were completely dilated, fear, adrenaline, and shock kept the pain, but Rumble knew they'd eventually were off, and even if she wasn't screaming, she still needed medical attention, as did an older green unicorn colt. His foreleg was bleeding badly and half his face was bruised and swollen. Rumble propped him up. "Alright everypony come with me to sickbay let's go make sure nopony get's left behind."
They slowly made their way to the sick bay picking up more as they went along. Fortunately nopony they picked up along the way was as severe as the filly and colt already with them. Five halls away from the sick bay Rumble started shifting through them, and leaving less severe cases further from the sick bay.
Morphine and Anesthesia were working as hard as they could, to get the new arrivals dealt with. Morphine led each one to an empty cot while applying minor healing spells while his sister Anesthesia dealt with the more difficult and time consuming patients.
"This way, that's right almost there I promise." Rumble turned around, as Pound lead in a group of younger colts and fillies. One which he was carrying on his back. All of whom were unicorns.
"Pound who are these?"
"These were the ones on shield duty. Something shattered the shield, and they all blacked out. This one still hasn't woken up. Snails is the only one down there now." Anesthesia grabbed the filly off of his back and placed her on one of the few remaining cots while her brother began sorting through the new arrivals most of whom could barely stand. "Still I don't know why Comet Dust would drop his light spell."
"He didn't." Sweetie Belle stepped into the sick bay. The halls behind her glowing a light blue, lit by her own magic. "Morphine I need your expertise at the planning room. Pumpkin take over what he was doing." Both nodded. Pumpkin gave her brother a nervous look as she passed him to start sorting through the seemingly endless flood of ponies that were coming into the sick bay.
"Sweetie Belle what happened?"
"I don't know." She tilted her head to the far end of the sick bay, where all of the cots were still empty. "When the shields went down something, something attacked Comet." Her voice was hushed and laced with anxiousness.
"What?" Rumble looked around before continuing. "What attacked him?"
"I don't know, none of us do, but it went inside of him." Her voice dropped down to a hushed whisper. "As far as I can tell he's fighting it, but we have no idea what it is, how to deal with it, or how long Comet can hold on."
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't know yet, if Morphine can't help Comet then we need to find someone else to work on the books. We're currently debating how long to wait, and since Scootaloo is out you're taking her place. Amethyst was suppose to be next after Comet, but after what happened with him. Those books do something to your mind. It was just like with Screwball." Again Sweetie Belle looked around to make sure that nopony was listening. "I can't do that to Dinky she's already lost everypony else."
"You can't be serious? You're not going to?" Sweetie Belle nodded. "We need to get Scootaloo back." Again Sweetie Belle nodded. "Pound." His wing mate flew over immediately.
"What is it Rumble?"
"Find Monsoon. Get a bag tell her, I said the two of you are flying to griffon territory. Do a broad sweep if you don't find anything in a week come straight back." The younger pegasus nodded and bolted down the corridors. "Before I vote on anything I want to see how Comet is doing."


***


The two of them walked past a shimmering blue shield of energy, which separated the planning room from the rest of the cavernous rooms.
"How many spells are you maintaining right now?" Rumble asked with a concerned glance to Sweetie Belle.
"More than half the lights in the cave are mine right now," Sweetie answered. "Button doesn't need to know about that, or that I'm planning on skipping over Amethyst. I don't want him worrying do you understand." Rumble nodded. "Good." She opened the door. Everypony and zebra were gathered around the table. Both Zecora and Morphine were using their expertise to attempt to wake the Blue unicorn who was tossed and turned on the table.
"It looks like he's having a dozy of a nightmare."
> Blank
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comet screamed again as he continued to thrash about on the table. "I've got nothing for this," Morphine confessed. "What ever is going on with him I can assure you, the answer isn't in any of the books my sister or I have read. It would be more prudent for me to go back to sick bay were I can actually help ponies." Morphine's horn glowed, and a bolt of magic shot into Comet's side. "That's the strongest sedative spell I know. It's not helping him any, but it will keep him from thrashing around and screaming."
"Alright, just send Pumpkin back." Morphine nodded and left.
"Sweetie Belle, we just got the last part of the cave lit that we could. though there are still some places that're dark as night." Apple Bloom came into the room. "The other's are a bit concerned 'bout the force field."
"Button, would you go calm them down please." Button nodded and went to the door. Sweetie Belle rubbed a stray tear out of her eye before Button turned around to close the door. Her horn lit up again. The actions weren't missed by Apple Bloom, but her one of her two oldest and closest friends was kind enough to stay quiet. "Alright let's begin."
"Wait what? Aren't we going to-to," Rumble's voice trailed off as his vision blurred.  With a gentle thud he collapsed onto the floor.
"I know what you are doing Sweetie Belle," Zecora leaned against the wall try hard to fight off Sweetie Belle's sleep spell. "Ask the dragon perhaps he knows a way around the books obsession spell." Zecora slid down the wall falling reluctantly into the embrace of sleep.
"I'm sorry Apple bloom, but I was the one that sent the Doo family to Ponyville I'm not going to let Dinky lose a mom and a sister in the same month.
"It's fine Sweetie just be safe, 'kay." With that Apple Bloom too nodded off to sleep. The only sounds in the room were Comet's agonized breaths and Sweetie Belle's magic. She took a deep breath, and cast the second spell. "Storm we need to talk it's about the books. What can you tell me about their obsession spell?"


***


Pound Cake galloped through the cavernous halls. Trying in vain to find Monsoon. Every hall he turned down the panic grew bit by bit. She could have slammed into a wall or jumped and knocked herself out during the blackout. He needed to find them they needed to go and get Scootaloo. She was the one that was always making the big calls when something bad happened, and the look on Sweetie Belle's face was proof that something really bad had happened. Pound bolted down the hall way after a familiar pony. "Pumpkin?"
"Pound what's wrong?"
"Monsoon have you seen her?" Pound landed trying to catch his breath.
"No not yet."
"So she wasn't in the sickbay."
"No she wasn't. Have you checked her room yet?" Pound face hoofed and bolted down the hall way. "You're welcome Feather Brain." Pumpkin laughed as her brother dashed around the rocky corner. Pumpkin continued her steady trot to the planning room. She could already hear the commotion. Doubtless Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had locked the door, so they could figure something out.
Pound opened the door to the medium sized niche that was Monsoon's room. His ears dropped at the sound of whimpering coming from the corner of the room. "Monsoon?" Pound steeped toward the corner. Hoping that she had only bumped into the cave wall while trying to pull off some kind of crazy stunt during the blackout. "Monsoon are you okay?"
"Go away Pound," she said between sobs.
"Right I'll go get Morphine."
"No, just I need-need you to go away." Pound Cake slowly, cautiously moved toward Monsoon. His eyes were beginning to become accustomed to the pitch darkness of the her room. She pulled herself tighter into the corner. "Go away, please. This is so freaking crash."
"You're not hurt, are you Monsoon." Pound sat down next to her. He pulled up beside her, and put his hoof on her shoulder.
"I-I, I'm scared of the dark." She paused waiting for Pound to laugh at her, in steed he just kept his hoof on her shoulder. "When the sun went out I was really little, Then when Cloudsdale got hit everything was dark and black, just like it did." She started taking deep breaths trying to keep her cool, what little of it she still had.
"Don't tell anypony because if you do I'll deny it, but I'm scared of Parasprites. Back when I was really little there was a really big swarm, and Twillight tried to keep them from eating all the food only her spell made them eat town instead." Monsoon looked at Pound. "One or two of them and I'm fine, but ten and I start freaking out. That's why it took so long for us to do patrols back in the Everfree Forest, but Scoots and Rumble were completely fine with it. I totally crashed right?" Pound gave Monsoon a smile.
"Totally not crash little dude." Monsoon laughed, returning the smile she wiped her eyes. "So, why did you come here?"
"Rumble told me to get you and start searching for Scootaloo, and I'm not little, your only 4 months older than me." Monsoon laughed, as she jumped over him, and glided out into the now lit halls.
"Come on little dude, let's get to work."
"Call me little again, and your going to be totally crash!" Pound chased after her.
"In order to crash me you need to catch me, and you're fast little dude, but you're not fast enough to catch me." Monsoon shoot down the halls. She flew at ridiculous speeds around the rocky walls of the cave.
"I bet I am!" Pound bolted down the halls after her.


***


"Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle!" Button's cries bled threw the shield into the room. Sweetie fought the urge to let him in. She knew that if she did he'd stop her. She knew she'd let him. She couldn't do that.
"So There's no way to avoid the obsession spell?"
"That is correct the spell on those books was set up to judge the mind, heart, will, and soul of the one trying to read them." Storms voice filled the room. "Once your eyes fall on the text of both book the spell is activated. They will consume you. If you leave them to soon, you'll never be able to read them, if you do not leave them soon enough, you will eventually starve yourself, as they continue to consume you're every moment."
"So there's nothing to worry about, my friends won't let it get that far."
"Your mind is made up."
"I'm not going to take Dinky's sister from her." Sweetie Belle swept up the books and floated them up to the table in front of her. "She doesn't deserve that."
"You are a good pony I hope that the books see that as well."
"Yeah, me too." Sweetie Belle gulped and opened the books. A minute passed in silence as her eyes scanned the two pages of the books. "Um, Storm, what does it mean if the books are blank?"
> Trapped
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comet Dust walked across the barren dusty wasteland, dust blew across the ground. His throat was sore. Everything that he saw was off. Something about the environment was wrong though he had no idea what it was. He was alone he didn't know where any of the other Crusaders were or even how he had gotten lost. He could hear somepony just beyond the fog. He pushed further in.
"Screwball?" He stepped around the battered filly. She looked up at him, her purple and white eyes spinning. "Screwball what happened." Something in his head was screaming at him. He couldn't pay it any attention. She cowered away from him fear evident on her face. "Screwball it's me Comet Dust."
"Oh I don't think that she's afraid of you." Comet turned around loosing a volley of magic at the source of the voice. His magic evaporated as it hit a green magical shield spell. Despair's horn flashed. "You're pathetically weak."
"I'm strong enough to beat you!"
"Even if you were, you're not strong enough to save her." Despair laughed. Comet looked over his shoulder to Screwball, she was nothing but a stone statue. "Nor will you ever be." She crumbled into dust. Despair laughed and faded away as Comet tried to gather the dust back into his hooves, tears streaming down his eyes, after several seconds he forgot what he was doing, where he was. He got up and started walking across the barren dust covered waste. His throat was sore.
"Comet?" His ears perked up. The voice was weak, but close. "Comet, help." He rushed into the fog.
"Screwball?" He ran past hundreds of crumbled statues, that were so crumbled that no pony could guess what they originally were, some of the statues were all alone others had two shapes huddled together. "Screwball where are you?" The fog began to fade. "Please answer me, Screwball!"
"Comet. Run!" Screwball ran past him grabbing him and pulling him back into the fog. "Hurry, it's right behind us!" The two of them rushed passed the crumbling statues. With the fog clearing it was obvious that the they were ponies, many were a filly, and the statues that had the two forms one was a colt.
"What's behind us?" Comet looked over his shoulder.
"Don't look, just keep running! We've got to get away from it. We can hide in the fog." The world flashed, Screwball became something that wasn't her, for a second. Something over took the two of them. A miasmic creature tackled Screwball. The two of them rolled threw the ashen dust.
"Screwball!" His horn lit up. The miasmic creature advanced on him. "Stay back." The creature slowed down just standing there for a second, before taking a cautious step toward him. The world flashed again. The miasmic creature became Screwball and the Screwball on the ground became the miasmic creature. Comet stepped back.
"Comet hurry kill it." Screw ball screamed.
"Comet it's me I'm here to get you back. Please, what's wrong?" Screwball's voice came from the miasmic creature. Screwball jumped the miasmic creature throwing it to the ground.
"Comet, run into the fog I'll find you in the there later." He stood there as the world flashed again Screwball pinned on the ground under the miasmic creature. "Hurry I can't hold it down much longer."
"You're not Screwball."
"What?" A blue bolt of magic shot her off of the miasmic creature.
"What are you?"
"What are you talking about it's me Comet." The miasmic creature pulled at his tail. "If you go with her I promise you, you'll regret it." The world flashed again the two switched, this time it didn't flash back. "And you little filly are going to regret comin here. I'll finish what I started in your cell." Comet shot another bolt of magic into the creature, that still used Screwballs voice. His magic evaporated as soon as it struck the creature, as did his horn.
"Come on Grandpa has a portal open." She yanked his tail one last time pulling him into a gallop. The two frantically raced away from the creature, which simple walked after them. Screwball slipped only to find herself caught by Comet and pulled back to her hooves. Shadow like tentacles lashed out at the two of them.
"Screwball, Comet, quickly." Solaris's shot bolts of magic through his portal at the nightmare creature. The colt and filly jumped into the portal with the Tantabus snapping at there tail. The portal closed as the two of them made it to safety. "Are the two of you okay?" Comet struggled to catch his breath.
"Yeah I'm fine." Screwball jumped on him.
"I'm sorry, Comet I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Screwball?" Comet pulled the spiraled eyed filly into a hug returning her gesture. "What are you sorry for?" She continued to babble. He looked up to Solaris.
"Despair tortured her to find out who had unlocked the books." Hatred flashed across Comets eyes and he pulled Screwball tighter to him. "Apparently, Despair decided to use the Tantabus to trick her into giving him the information. And then sent it to attack you."
"He'll regret that." Comet held Screwball close. "I promise."


***


Scootaloo laughed as she and Gilda recalled all of Rainbow's exploits. Grandpa Gruff and Gabriella contented themselves with listening to the awesome tales of the prismatic pegasus. The laughter soon ended as Trove burst into the house. "Scootaloo there's been an attack on the cave." Pound and Monsoon came into the house panting and sweating from exhaustion.
"Comet was the target." Pound panted between gasps. "He's unconscious and not responding, and he's in a lot of pain."
"It's completely crash." Monsoon added.
"Is that the unicorn that was translating the books?" Gruff asked Scootaloo nodded as she grabbed her saddle bag. "Then I'll come as well you may need a griffon now more than ever. Trove you and Gabriella will stay here until I return. You two pegasi as soon as you can fly again, we'll leave for your cave. Hopefully I'll be able to help, you'd be surprised how long I've lived. I've got solutions for just about everything."
> Waking Up.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"He doesn't seem to be hurt'n anymore." Apple Bloom kept an eye on Comet as he slept peacefully in one of the sick bay cots. Sweetie Belle and Button Mash Sat on opposite ends of the cot neither of them were talking to each other. Apple Bloom could understand why Button wasn't to pleased at Sweetie because of her little stunt, but the lover's spat was certainly hurting her moral, as the two of them just nodded at her statement and refused to say anything. "Did Storm think of any reason why them books were blank?"
"No, he didn't." Sweetie continued to look down at the floor avoiding eye contact. She cast a quick glance at Button Mash his glare made her immediately look down in shame.
"You shouldn't have done that," was all that he said. Was all that he was willing to say.
"It was all I could do," she said. "I couldn't order Amythest to do it, I couldn't order the rest of Dinky's family away." She didn't look up from  the rocks. "I'm sorry."
"Well ah'd recon we should head up to wait for Scootaloo." Applebloom spoke up after a very long and uncomfortable pause. Both Button and Sweetie Belle nodded and got up hurrying out of the room. "Ya'll let me know if he gets up right?" She asks the twins as she walks after them. The two medical ponies just looked up from their book and nodded. "Good." She turned around and headed up.
Storm wasn't in the treasure room of his cave, but was standing guard at the mouth of the cave. He looked down as the three ponies came out of the CMC's new base. "I have not yet seen Scootaloo on the horizon." He roared with his normal voice. "Though I suspect that she will be arriving soon." even without yelling his voice echoed off of the near by mountains.
"That's good. I really could use Scootaloo's gumption right about now." Applebloom sat down next to him. Button just stood at the front of the cave glaring out at the mountain range. Two ponies came out and joined them.
"Hey." Amythest stood next to him. "I heard what happened." Her sister hurried over to Sweetie Belle. "I would take up the books. It's my job. But I'm not going to lie I'm glad that Sweetie would take that responsibility from me." Button watched as Dinky hugged Sweetie Belle. "She's sorry. And so am I." Button nodded and went over to Sweetie Belle.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Dinky said again and again. Sweetie looked up as Button came up to him.
"It's okay Dinky." She said. Could you keep look out for Scootaloo with Storm and Apple Bloom." The little unicorn nodded,  and ran up Storm's back . "I'm sorry Buttton." She still looked down on the ground.
"No I'm sorry Sweetie." He gave her a hug. "This is why I care about you. Because you care about everypony else."  He smiled as she looked up at him. "Just please care for yourself too. Please." She sniffed an hugged him.
"Button and Sweetie sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Dinky giggled from the top of Storm's head.
"Here they come!" The draconic voice boomed though the mountains.
"Where?!" Applebloom looked around. Storm pointed to a spot on the horizon. As the pegasi and griffons began to approach the mountains.
"Is everypony okay?" Scootaloo asked landing hard.
"Define okay?" Button Mash asked. Gruff landed with the other gryphons.
"They're here to help. Where's Rumble, where's Comet."
"They're in the Medical Bay." Applebloom turned and lead them in. Pound and Monsoon collapsed on the ground.
"We're total crash but it's okay. You guys go on." Sweetie lead the way to the bottom where the medical bay was. Gruff moved though rows of beds to where Comet Dust was lying unconscious on his own bed.
"This is him?" Morphine nodded. Gruff pulled three feathers and tied them to a dream catcher. "BEGONE!" He threw it down on Comet who instantly jerked awake. "That was faster than expected." Gruff said stepping back.