Shadows in the dark

Chapter 36

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."