Everyone's dead. No survivors." the Pegasi commander stated grimly. Eyes closed and head bowed slightly.
Cadence passed back and forth in front of the throne nervously. Manehattan had a population that was twice as big as Canterlot's. How could everypony resident there be dead? "Are you absolutely sure?" the princess asked firmly. Her fears were confirmed when her only reply was a silent nod. She stopped her pacing and looked over to the battle-worn stallions before her. She couldn't help but feel sorry for them. "You are all dismissed." she said.
Relief swept over the exhausted stallions as they turned and left for the doors. All but the commanding officer, who still stood where he was. Once he heard the double doors close, he took a step forward and spoke in a somewhat urgent tone. "My lady. We did find witnesses from the mainland that saw the event."
Cadence turned to the pegasus and approached him with a quizzical look. "What are you talking about? I thought you confirmed that there weren't any survivors in the city." The pegasus nodded.
"There weren't. But ponies on the mainland did see an event occur." The commander tightened his jaw nervously. "They claimed that the sky had suddenly darkened; darkened to the point where they actually saw the stars."
Cadence gave the stallion a slack-jawed expression before realizing what it could mean. Princess Luna has been missing ever since the battle in Canterlot, and there was only one pony she knew that could bring the night so easily. Her eyes closed and a soft sigh left her. The possibility of Luna having been brainwashed by the unicorn she'd sworn to capture is very high. If he could do it to all those enslaved ponies, then its likely that he could've done the same to her.
"There is more." the commander added, "Apparently roars were heard."
"Roars?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
The commander cleared his throat, which was very dry due to the lack of water he had to drink all day. "Witnesses informed me that they heard roars. Lots and lots of roars coming from within the city itself."
Cadence felt herself tense. The alicorn knew that it meant one thing and one thing alone. "Thank you for this information, commander." she said. "You may go."
"Yes, Princess." The commander bowed respectfully before trotting out the door tiredly.
"How long do you plan on eavesdropping every meeting I have?" Cadence asked loudly. Her voice echoing the seemingly empty chamber.
"Awww, you're no fun!" Discord pouted as he emerged from his hiding spot in one of the stained glass windows. Cadence rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"You heard everything he said, yes?" she asked the draconequus. "You've mentioned that those dragons only come out in the dark. Is it them?"
Discord let out a heavy sigh and shrunk back to his normal size before standing in front of Cadence with his arms folded. "Yes." he said. "It appears that Sombra must've had a reason for having Luna on his side."
"You think so too?" Cadence asked sadly. "That he brainwashed her?"
"What other reason would she summon the night so early?" Discord replied. "Not only does he have the Princess of the Night on his side, he also has his dragon friends as well."
"You said that these dragons will serve Sombra and Sombra alone." Cadence stared directly in his eyes, "What are the odds of us succeeding if we were to face these dragons in battle?" she asked in a whisper.
Discord's jaw tightened and a grave look replaced the usual relaxed one he had. "Very low." he replied, "And that's with an entire fleet of Pegasi and Griffons combined. They wouldn't last a minute out there."
Cadence gulped and shuddered from the images that flashed through her head from that statement. It would be raining blood and limbs. Water sources would be dyed in crimson while limbs littered the landscape. The air would reek of decay and blood. "The griffons and zebras have already agreed to aid us in this...predicament, but we haven't tried the dragons yet."
"Pff! Don't even bother with those blowhards." Discord said with the wave of his lion paw. "I wouldn't even call them dragons to begin with. They are all nothing but lazy, greedy, slackers. Just like all dragons."
Cadence said nothing to counter it. She knew of Discord's resentment towards dragons. He told her the story of how his family had been slain by the Dragons of Eternal Darkness mercilessly before his young eyes. She couldn't blame him. "There must a clan of dragons who are willing to help. Dragons who aren't like the ones here and are equally as strong as Sombra's dragons."
"I highly doubt there are. Or at least any surviving ones, that is."
The Great Dragonic War had been devastating on both sides; ponies and dragons alike. According to Discord, and from what she's read, many species of Dragon had been wiped out because of it. Dragon blood of all types was literally spilled all over the land for a grueling century before finally coming to an end when the Dragons of Eternal Darkness had suffered heavy casualties and fled to the beyond. The damage had been, and it took a very long time for Equestria to recover from it. By then, dragons had chosen to forget about that horrible war.
Cadence sighed heavily and turned away from the Draconequus with her head low and ears flat against her skull. She wasn't ready for this! No pony was! The Royal Guard didn't train their stallions to fight dragons! Not at this level. "Do these dragons...have a weakness?" she asked softly, looking over her shoulder at him with a pleading look. Of course everypony has a weakness, regardless.
Discord was silent for a full minute. Thinking back to his childhood during the war. He could barely remember most of it because he and his parents were always in hiding. Unfortunately, he couldn't come up with anything and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry." he stated.
...
When Star Knight returned from the battle in Rainbow Falls, Rainbow Dash immediately sensed something was wrong. Aside from the cuts and bruises, he was generally in good physical condition. No. It was his mentality that troubled her. The two of them decided to retreat to the barracks and talk in private. They were fortunate to find that the place was currently empty. Details of the battle spilled from Star Knight as he explained what happened.
"We lost some good stallions today." he finished sadly. "And to think the blood of both my enemies and comrades now stained the soil of my home town. It chills me to even think about it now." The white pegasus shuttered and pressed his wings against his body. Rainbow Dash gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. She couldn't imagine what it must've been like to be fighting for your life. Or...maybe she can. Anyways, it was still enough to even shaken the strongest of spirits. Herself included.
"The thing is, though..." Star's voice started to tremble. "I... I maimed a pony in combat..."
"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"He was going to kill me. I had no choice." Star Knight closed his eyes. "When I was little, my brother use to tell me that I could accomplish anything if I just clear my mind. Clearing your mind is supposed to help you concentrate more. So I did just that."
"How did you maim him, then?"
The white stallion swallowed the bile that had formed in his throat since the battle. "I had my spear up. I was expecting to get him by the throat or something. I didn't even realize I stabbed him in the eye until I heard him screaming."
"Woah, woah, woah. Woah." Rainbow Dash suddenly said. Holding both her hooves up as a sign for him to stop a moment. "You mean to tell me that you stabbed him in the eye without even realizing it!?"
"I had my eyes closed." Star Knight rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"I don't even... Sweet Celestia of the sun..." The pegasus closed his eyes slowly and Rainbow Dash leaned into his side. Rubbing his back in circular motions. "I just want to forget." he whispered, "I just want to forget it all ever happened..."
Rainbow Dash said nothing and gently pecked his cheek. "I'm here if you ever need anything." she said.
"Dash..." Star Knight turned his head over to her until their eyes met. Rainbow Dash leaned back slightly so that they had room for their muzzles. None of them said a word for what seemed like ours; the noise of the other ponies outside filled the silence between them. Star Knight parted his lips slightly to say something, but no words came out. He felt Rainbow Dash gently take his hooves into her's and, in a slow motion, pressed her lips against his.
...
"Discord..." Cadence took a step closer and gave him an almost pleading look. "I know you know something. You were there yourself. Please, for the sake of everypony, tell me. You know it's what Celestia and Luna would want."
Discord looked down at the pink alicorn before letting out a sad sigh. It's true. His adopted daughters would've wanted him to tell them. Equestria was his home, too. While he didn't know of any weaknesses the Dragons of Eternal Darkness might have, he did know something that might help. "The Dragons of Eternal Darkness had an enemy." he stated as he turned to the window behind him. "The Dragon Council had disbanded shortly after the war. Those dragons, The Drakes of the Northern Skies, were the ones that equally out matched the Dragons of Eternal Darkness in both strength and magic."
"But the Dragons of Eternal Darkness had the upper hoof, or hand." Cadence added. Discord nodded.
"Yes. That's how the Obsidian Empire plays in to all this. The Obsidian Empire were neutral at the time, but as soon as the those dragons offered to teach them dark magic..." the draconequus shivered. "Their alliance was a strong and deadly one at that. It nearly cost the Dragon Council the war if not from the aid of the alicorns."
"Where can we find these Drakes of the Northern Skies?" Cadence asked. "Are they still around?"
Discord shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not sure. Last thing I heard is that they disappeared shortly after disbanding. Most of them heading to the southern snow capped mountains in the unmapped area down south."
"Better then nothing." the pink alicorn sighed.
Discord said nothing as she walked back to the throne. "What are you planning, princess?" he asked as he stayed where he was.
"You'll see." Cadence replied while using her magic to jot something down on a blank piece of paper.