From the Ashes of Hope

by Zelda Spectrum

Chapter 3

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“Where am I?” A pony woke up in a dark room hanging from chains bound to her forelegs. There were a few candles scattered around to give the room light, but it was not very helpful. Suddenly, the door to the room opened and the Nameless entered. Her aura made her easy to see in the barely visible room as she entered.

“Ah, you’re awake!” the Nameless said, “Good. Now the fun can begin.”

The pony gasped and tried to use its magic to escape, but could not conjure up anything.

The Nameless laughed at this display. “Don’t even try to get out; you still have that Anti-Magic ring on your horn.”

“So then what are you going to do?” the pony asked, its voice feminine, “Are you going to try and kill me?”

The Nameless laughed again. “Oh no, I’m not going to kill you yet; I won’t make it that easy.” She lifted her foreleg and a rune appeared on the bottom of her hoof. “Instead, I’m going to make you suffer!”

The Nameless thrust her hoof into the pony’s chest and the pony let out a blood curdling scream. Sweetie Belle awoke in a cold sweat.
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What was that? Sweetie Belle thought, another vision, they’ve been getting more frequent lately.

Sweetie Belle stared at the Element of Magic. The visions she had in her dreams seemed to only appear when she was around one of the Elements. Every time she fell asleep around one of the Elements of Harmony, she felt like she was in another pony’s point of view, experiencing the same pain they endured.

She rubbed her eyes and walked toward the entrance of the cave where she found Fido standing.

“Have you been up the whole time?” she asked.

“Huh,” he turned and met Sweetie Belle’s gaze, “oh, no; actually I woke up an hour ago. I’ve just been sitting here watching the cave just in case.”

“Are you still afraid that Prince Caesar will come looking for us?”

“Yes actually; if I know Caesar, he may still be searching for you to try and collect that bounty.”

Sweetie Belle let out a disappointed sigh and cursed under her breath. “I was hoping that by showing him the Element of Magic, he would understand my reason for being her.”

“I doubt it,” Fido remarked, “Caesar isn’t exactly the understanding type. Plus, revealing the Element of Magic probably would have confirmed a rebellion and you would’ve been in deeper trouble.” His eyes suddenly turned to the sky. “Get down!”

*********

He pulled Sweetie Belle back and hid from the entrance of the cave behind a boulder. The two carefully peeked out from the boulder to see something flying in the sky. It had the form of a unicorn, but its wings were clearly made out of magical energy.

“Is that the Nameless?” Sweetie Belle whispered.

“No, but it’s just as bad.” Fido answered.

“You don’t mean-”

“Yes, it’s the one of the infamous generals of the Nameless’ army, Blood Moon!”

As the pony got closer to the eclipse, they could see its blood red coat and jet black hair flowing in the wind as it flew by and its soulless white eyes. The two hid behind the boulder again to avoid being seen. They sat in hiding for a few minutes before Sweetie Belle spoke up.

*********

“Is she gone?”

“I will check.” He slowly and cautiously peeked from behind their cover and looked around in the sky. “I don’t see her, I think it’s safe.”

Sweetie Belle peaked out to see for herself, Blood Moon was indeed gone. “Good, that was close.”

“There’s no telling what she would’ve done to us if she had seen us.” Fido commented. The two sat in silence for a while. Sweetie Belle then got up and put her body suit and cloak back on.

“I need to get back to Alcatraz before anypony notices I’m gone.” She told Fido, “Oh, and again, thanks for help out in the bar.” She started away from the cave.

“Wait!” Fido spoke up. Sweetie Belle stopped and turned to look back at Fido. “Whatever kind of crazy plan you are working on, I want in.”

Sweetie Belle was taken aback by this statement. “But if you get involved, there’s a chance you could get killed; or worse, wind up facing the wrath of the Nameless.”

“Well it’s better than working in the mines.” he stated, “Besides, I think the world has suffered from the Nameless long enough.”

Sweetie Belle paused for a moment then agreed. “Ok, if that is the case, follow me. ”

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After a couple of hours of hide and seek with the griffon scouts that were now scouring the land, the duo came upon the docks of the Griffon Lands. The docks had about a dozen ships that were tied down with extra security just in case another 'natural disaster' decided to occur unannounced. As Sweetie and Fido slowly approached the docks, they saw it was crawling with guards.

"Well, those griffons sure are persistent." Sweetie Belle commented.

"So which boat are we going to use to get out of this place?" Fido asked.

"This way." The cloaked unicorn began to lead Fido along a few rocks and bushes to hide them from the patrolling guards. As they approached two large ships on the right side of the port, the duo noticed three guards standing idle guarding one of the ships.

“Let me guess,” Fido whispered, “those guys are guarding the ship we need to get out of this place.”

“Something like that.” Sweetie Belle answered silently. She looked around for something to distract the guards until her gaze came upon a group of barrels stacked upon one another. Making sure she was well hidden, she used her telekinesis to knock over the barrels on top, causing them to make multiple THUDS impacting the ground, catching the guards’ attention.

“Quickly, check the cargo!” The middle one said as they flew over to the barrels strewn about.

The unicorn and the dog used this opportunity to sneak past their position undetected. Sweetie Belle led him to past the giant ship that was being guarded and lead him down to a small boat with a big cloaked figure.

“THAT’S what we are taking to get out of this place?!” Fido whispered loudly, “A small, second-rate Dingy?!”

Sweetie Belle shushed the dog before turning to greet the figure on the boat. “Hello again; sorry to keep you waiting.” The figure turn to reveal the head of a minotaur, partially concealed under his hood.

“Hello again, stranger,” he greeted, “you took a great risk coming to this land it seems. Guards have been swarming these docks for the past few hours. They told me there was a big reward for turning in a pony and diamond dog that fit your descriptions.”

“Well if anyone asks, you have not seen us.” Sweetie Belle said levitating a satchel full of bits. “This is the money for the trip back to Alcatraz and to keep us hidden; you can count it if you need to.”

The minotaur held the satchel in his hand and smiled. “No need, I trust you.” he said. As he set the satchel aside, Sweetie and Fido took a seat in the boat as the minotaur prepared to transport them back to Alcatraz.

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After the boat arrived back on shore, Sweetie Belle and Fido approached the Great Wall of Alcatraz, which outlined its border. The main entrance was heavily guarded and the wall was crawling with guards and search lights.

“How did you manage to get out of Alcatraz when security is so tight?” Fido asked looking at the wall.

“Over here,” Sweetie Belle led him to a section of the wall that had some rocks in a pile. “Behind that rock pile is a hole in the wall. It’s the only weak point I have found in the wall’s security, we just need to wait for the right time to get through.”

The two hid in a nearby bush a waited for the right time. A few guards patrolled the top of the wall and a search light waved by a few times. A few minutes passed before Sweetie Belle finally found an opening.

“Now!” The two immediately dashed to the wall. Sweetie Belle used her telekinesis to move the rock pile and reveal the hole in the wall. It was big enough for Fido to squeeze through with little room to crawl on his paws and knees. Fido entered first and Sweetie Belle followed after, covering up the hole with the rocks behind her.

“So what do we do now?” Fido asked once they reached the other side of the wall.

“That is the tricky part.” Sweetie Belle replied, “I live all the way in what used to be Ponyville, and that is a five-day trip from here. I will have to teleport us to Ponyville to get us there safely.”

“Is that possible?” Fido asked.

“Well, sort of.” Sweetie Bell replied, “It took quite a bit of concentration for me to travel that distance, and teleporting with someone is going to make it harder; but I will give it a try.” She ignited her horn and prepared the teleportation spell. It took more concentration than she was used to, but within seconds, the two were gone in a flash.

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The two reappeared outside the ruined Ponyville. Nothing much had changed in eight years except that there were a few factories in town that sent smoke up into the sky. Sweetie Belle felt a little dizzy from the effect of an extra member traveling with the teleportation. Shaking off the dizziness, they cautiously entered the ruins to avoid being seen by any guards. Their trek was interrupted when they heard the constant cracks from a whip and a loud, harsh voice.
“Come on you weak foals, faster! Carry it faster!”

The two hid behind the remains of a house to see where the voice was coming from. It was coming from a jet-black pegasus with a orange mane. She too had soulless eyes similar to Blood Moon’s and she had a mane cut that made her long hair look like fire. She was using a whip on four earth ponies and two pegasi who were struggling to carry a big, long, wooden beam. The ponies were covered in dirt and scars, and they had blood trickling down their bodies from the now wounds the pegasus’ whip had opened up.

Sweetie Belle grabbed Fido and pulled him behind cover to make sure they were not spotted by the jet-black pony.

“Who in Tartarus is that?” Fido asked, appalled by what he just witnessed, “I’ve never seen HER before.”

“That is Whip Lash,” the unicorn answered, “She is another one the generals of the Nameless’ army. She is stationed here in Alcatraz along with General Death Rose. She mainly tortures the ponies here for her own benefit.”

“That’s horrible!”

“I know; she is ruthless, and has no moral. Anypony who has tried to stand up to her has either been killed by her whip, left to wrath of the soldiers, or left to suffer and rot.”

Fido glanced back at Whip Lash nervously after hearing how heartless she truly was. “So what do we do?”

“We…” Sweetie Belle staggered in her words, looking down at the ground. “We wait for her t-to pass…then we move.” She sat and hung her head. She felt horrible letting Whip Lash torture ponies like that, but she knew standing up to her would be suicide.

The duo sat and waited for the sounds of the whip to diminish. After they were gone, the unicorn and the dog continued to sneak around avoiding the guards. The soon came upon a big tree that had been scarred with burns, robbed of its leaves, and the majority of the windows had been shattered and barred with wood.

Sweetie Belle looked around to ensure that no guards were present’ then she ran to the door of the tree and knocked on the door in Moore’s Code.

‘C –M –C’

The door then opened and the unicorn led Fido inside.

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“Welcome back Sweetie Belle.” said a serious, yet welcoming British voice. The two turned to see a young white stallion with brown spots and a brown mane. He wore a red scarf on his neck and an eye-patch on his right eye that barely revealed the scar behind it.

Sweetie Belle removed her body suit and cloak and laid them in a corner along with her saddle-bag. “Hey Pip, is Apple Bloom here?”

“Ah’m right here.” She turned to see a yellow earth pony with a red mane and a cowboy hat that was burnt on the edges and some on the top. “Now who the hay is this Diamond Dog, and what is he doing here?” Apple Bloom asked pointing to Fido and eyeing him suspiciously.

“Oh, well my name is Fido, and I wish to join the rebellion I hear you are starting.”

“He is the one who saved me when Prince Caesar tried to capture me,” Sweetie Belle added, “I assure you, he can be trusted.”

“Wait a minute. He saved you from Prince Caesar? So does that mean…”

“The plan for the alliance with the griffons did not go as well as we hoped. In fact, Prince Caesar just sees us as bounties to stuff his wallet.”

Apple Bloom cursed under her breath. “Now how’re we s’possed ta find Applejack and the others?” she mumbled to herself, “Now we’ll be lucky ta even set hoof in the griffons territory.” She stood for a minute deep in thought before finally speaking up again. “And so ya say that this Diamond Dog saved ya from the prince?”

“Yes Apple Bloom,” the white unicorn answered, “if it wasn’t for him, I’d be in the hands of the Nameless. I owe him my life for that.” Apple Bloom paused for a moment.

“Fine, he can stay. But Ah still don’t trust him; if he makes one wrong move, Ah’ll be there ta buck ‘im back ta wherever the hay he came from.”

“Thank you Apple Bloom.” Fido said with a smile. “So what do we do now?”

“Now we need to plan out our next move.” Pip answered following Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle into the basement. Fido followed after them to find the basement with shelves of books and maps. In the center of the room was a medium sized table with a map of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom sitting open for all to see.

*********

The three ponies gathered around the table to discuss what to do next. “Okay, so the plan for a griffon alliance didn’t work,” Pip said, starting up their meeting, “Big Macintosh said he is willing to help us out in our struggle, we’ve decided going to Canterlot is too risky, even if Shining Armor is still alive; so what do we do now?”

“Maybe we should try another kingdom,” Sweetie Belle commented, “Maybe we should try getting allies in a different race.”

“Ah, think we’ll jus get the same result.” Apple Bloom replied straight to the point, “Let’s face it, we’re probably nothin’ but prizes to the other kingdoms.”

“Well it never hurts to try.”

“Wait a minute,” Fido interrupted, “what is this ‘Canterlot’ I’ve nothing about?”

“Yer kiddin’ right?” Apple Bloom asked bluntly.

“Well, you may know it as the Central Region of Alchatraz,” Pip answered to Fido, “but we’ve decided against going because we are hopelessly out-mared. Going there would be suicide without more help.”

“Do you have a map of The Crystal Empire and the Frozen North?” Fido asked.

“Yeah, right here,” Sweetie Belle answered, pulling it out from the shelf, “why do you ask?” Fido took the map, opened it, and began to analyze it. After a few minutes of reading the map, he set it down on the table pointing to a specific location close to the edge of the map.

“If you’re looking for help on infiltrating Canterlot, I think I might know someone who can help.”