//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Shades of Grey (2 of 3) // Story: Displaced into Nothing // by Rockstar_Raccoon //------------------------------// Twenty Six minutes later, Twilight and I approached the Edge of Everfree, the images the table had shown us weighing no lighter on our minds... After her friends had left, she’d been going through bouts of shaking.  I’d been pushing her along through the process of gathering all the things she felt she needed in the woods.  Now, on the road, I draped a wing over her withers in an attempt of comfort. “How are you holding up?” “I... I dunno...” she said, leaning against me a little, “Part of me keeps thinking that Spike could already be dead, but another part of me still can't believe he’s been taken.” I nodded, “Your brain is trying to process the ongoing situation without knowledge of the resolution or the likelihood of the possibilities.  You need to focus on reacting to things to distract your emotions from the situation.” She nodded against my side, “I guess I know that... I'm just a little overwhelmed is all.  I don't think I've ever had to deal with this much all at once... I mean, I'm gonna have to write letters to those guard's families...” “That's not relevant.” I said, “There's no point in focusing on something you won't be doing until we get back.” She closed her eyes, “Right, right.  I've just gotta be strong. Spike needs me...” We peaked on the last hill out of town, the clearing at the edge of the Everfree coming into view.  Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were already standing there, the former nervous, the latter unusually solemn.  Glancing beside us, I saw Rarity walking up from the other path, wearing some sort of magician’s outfit. I wasn't entirely sure how much of it was meant for practical spellcasting and protection purposes, and how much was for her to look “fabulous” on an adventure. “Ah, good to see you two. How are you feeling, Twilight?” “Overwhelmed, to be honest.  Just, trying not to think about it all.  Let's just not get into it.” She pushed ahead to where Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were already waiting, leaving us alone behind her. “Poor Dear...” Rarity trailed off, watching her go.  She turned to glance at me, “Well, since I have a moment with you,” she lit her horn, unclasping one of her saddlebags, “I managed to put the last few stitches in this before I left.” she levitated out an ornate cloak and a long vest, offering them to me, “It's not the most elegant work, but you asked for sturdy, and I believe it fits the criteria.” I reached out and took them with my hoof.  The fabric was definitely tough, and the enchantment woven into it felt like a strong net, holding it all to reality.  I hesitated to put them on though, “Really? I mean, are you sure? I know you’re not comfortable around me anymore. I did turn into something monstrous...” She winced, “Ah, well, while it was rather... Garrish... It’s really... what’s on the inside that counts!  Besides, you did it to save my sister. After that, I’ve no right to claim you aren’t deserving of my generosity in return.”  She gave me a weak, half forced smile, which I interpreted was supposed to be reassuring. “Well, thank you.  It really means something to me...” I said, slipping it around myself, feeling its magic creating that much welcome barrier between my form and the moving energy trying to erode it.  “This should make things easier once we get deeper into the forest.” I added, and we started slowly down the hill to join the others. It was occurring to me that I'd never really appreciated just how great Twilight's friends were, even though I didn’t know when or where I'd heard about them.  Now we'd been pushed together by the situation, the truly remarkable nature that each of them had was beginning to stand out. Twilight was lucky to know ponies... People like them. Part of me wished I'd had friends like that in the life I couldn't remember. “Alright, I’m here.”  Applejack called from behind us as she trotted up the road.  She was wearing a tight-woven jacket, probably wool, with two more on her back.  “Ere’s gonna be a chill wind ta'night... ‘Sides, a good strong fur can take a scrape or two fer ya.” she took them off her back, tossing them to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.  She stretched her legs a bit, her heavy-built muscles flexing as she glanced around, “Who we still waitin’ on? Rainbow Dash?” “Um, no...” Fluttershy mumbled from where she was hunched against a nearby boulder, pulling a sleeve over her foreleg, “She went to scout ahead...” As if in response, I heard the rush of air, and Rainbow Dash’s hooves slammed to the ground of the clearing, the steel plates on the spine and chest of her barding clinking lightly against each other, the rest of her body wrapped in a tough, leathery looking material. “I can’t see anything.” She grunted, gritting her teeth as she glanced around, “It’s just too dense out there...” “Then I guess I’ll have to figure it out as we go...” I said, turning to step to the front.  I glanced back, “If you’re all ready, that is. I mean, if you’re afraid now, things are gonna get a lot worse once we find their base...” The girls looked at each other with worried eyes, each studying every other’s expression.  Twilight took a deep breath, stepping forward with a stern nod, “We’re ready. Spike needs us, and there's no way we'd let you handle this alone...” I returned the nod, “Then let’s get going.  We need to move quick if we want to get there before it gets too dark: all of you need light to see by...” “I’m coming too.” a stallion’s voice came from behind us. We all glanced back to see a strong-built pegasus trotting towards us, newly clad in some spare armor from the guard station, sword in sheath, spear resting at his side, orange wings still slung in bandages beneath his saddlebags. “Flash!” Twilight’s wings flared, “I told you to get some rest!” “And I did.” he said, matter-of-factly, “Then I woke up, ate some fish, drank some cider, and put on a new set of armor.  Now, I'm escorting you into the Everfree forest.” “The hell you are...” She hissed, raising her voice again, “Flash, you're in no condition to be here!  Go back to the castle and get some rest!” “I will...” he said with a stern nod, “After I've escorted you through whatever it is you're about to walk into.” “Flash,” Twilight stated in a level tone, her annoyance rising, “I’m ordering you to stand down and go get some rest.” “I understand your order, and I respectfully refuse to follow it, Princess.” Twilight was at a momentary loss.  “I’ll... I’ll have you court martialed.” “Then I’ll be court martialed, after I escort you through the Everfree forest.” Twilight was becoming flabbergasted, “But... But you swore an oath to follow my commands!” “I swore an oath to protect Equestria,” he corrected her, “and I’m sure as tartarus not going to let you and five of the most important mares in Equestria walk into enemy territory without backup.” “No no no,” Twilight set her hoof against her head, “You’re in no shape to fight... Flash, I can’t lead my own guard captain into a situation like this!” “Too bad, because I’m following you.” “What if we were ambushed and you couldn’t get out of the way in time?” she pled, “You’d be throwing your life away!” “Sed Sagitta Pharetra.” he said calmly. The others blinked.  “What’d he just say Twilight?” “Sed Sagitta Pharetra.” Rainbow repeated, “‘I am but an arrow in a quiver.’  It’s an old pegasus military vow.” she glanced around at the others with a stoney expression, “He’s saying his purpose is to die.” Rarity and Fluttershy both put their hooves to their mouths in little gasps. Flash nodded, “I made a vow, Princess, that I would serve Equestria to my death.  If that means I’m about to take a spear through the heart in place of you or the other element bearers, then I’d be glad to die.”  He stood up straight, “I am but an arrow in your quiver.” “I... Flash... You're asking me to take your life in my hooves.  I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility...” “I know.  I didn't take this post because I thought you were an experienced commander, I took it because Shining said you weren't prepared to make the sacrifices you'll need to.  That's why I'm making the sacrifice for you.” his voice was calm, as if he were her teacher, “I'm going to follow you where you don’t want me to, because right now, you need all the help you can get.” “Twilight,” I narrowed my eyes, “We don't have time for you to argue with your guard.  If he's willing to take the risk, let him do it.” “Half an hour ago he could barely walk!” She shouted back, “I can't let him throw away his life for me!” “The hell you can't!” Rainbow suddenly burst in, “Twilight, ponies don't join the military thinking it's going to be safe, they join it because they want to protect other ponies with their own lives!” “Rainbow, I...” “No!” she stomped a hoof, looming over Twilight despite being the smallest pony there, “He made his choice, and he's right: none of you are soldiers, but all of us are important to Equestria.  As much as you don't want to admit it, our lives matter and his doesn’t.  If anypony needs to die, it should be him, because that's the choice he made when he signed up for this, to be an arrow in a quiver, to die for Equestria if it came down to it.  Don't you dare take that away from him!” Everypony stared at Rainbow. I stared at Twilight. Finally, Twilight just threw her head back with a groan, “Fine!”  She turned, “If you wanna run in and die, Flash, go right ahead. Don't expect to return to your post when you get back...” She turned and started walking, “Let's go Meta, before anypony else decides to toss themselves in front of a spear for me...” I nodded, slipping in front of the group, reaching out to navigate the eddies swirling before me. With no further question or delay, we stepped across the threshold, under the dark branches of the Everfree Forest. As we walked, I felt the chill of the night air rolling in through the trees, the dense looming canopy blocking out all but a few of the dying sun’s amber rays.  I felt Rarity shiver nearby, and I’d probably have done so as well, had my body been truly alive. Nopony spoke as we moved swiftly, quietly, as if any sound might alert an enemy, any question might cause further delay. Rainbow and Flash had taken up positions to the left and right of the group, watching the sides for flanking or ambush, while the others stepped carefully behind me in a loose group. Off to the side, I felt some sort of magical presence, which caused me to slow and gesture for Rainbow.  Off in that direction, I could see a moving mass of branches. “Timberwolf.” Rainbow hissed, signalling the group to hunker down. The lone hunter looked at us with one glowing, unblinking eye, before slipping off into the underbrush, deciding we were better left alone. “It's leaving.” I said, turning to continue. “They hunt in packs.” Flash signalled for us to stay put. “It's alone.  Injured by the looks of it... It's not going to be a problem.”  I said, pressing forward. The tension disturbed, everypony started moving again. “Any of y'all ever heard if a lone Timberwolf?” Applejack ventured. “It’s not normal.” Twilight stated in a low tone, “They evolved to exist in groups of three or four.  An individual can reform its body with time if something happens to it, but getting the magical energy and nutrients of a kill requires at least one of them to actually take down their prey.” “Whatever injured that one probably took down its packmates.” I stated, “I have a feeling that's not the last thing we're going to see here...” The smell of decaying flesh was beginning to reach me through the underbrush, barely present over the mud clinging to our hooves. Ahead, I could see a figure huddled against a tree.  At first, Rainbow and Flash seemed to think someone was sitting in the road, but I knew if it had been, I'd've sensed its life. I sensed nothing but background noise here. “Shit’s about to get scary.” I said, narrowing my eyes, “looks like our enemies got territorial.” The stiff corpse of an adolescent drake was halfway propped against a tree, eyes still upturned mournfully, though the blood from the gaping chest wound was mostly dried over her orange scales as she hung from the bark like a pig on a meat hook. “Oh sweet Yggdrasil...” Applejack blurted, pulling off her hat. Rarity was wincing, but managed to not retch this time. Flash stepped in, peering closely at the wound, “I think this is from this morning.  Looks like they got her with a sword to me, like the EUP used to use before the Smouldering Mountain Accords...”  He glanced back at me, “You think she picked a fight with them? Bit off more than she could chew?” “Judging by what we've seen of these guys, I’d say she just wandered in too close.” I shrugged it aside.  “Nothing we can do to help her now. We need to keep moving.” “But, she’s so young... She probably has a family somewhere.” Fluttershy protested meekly, “What if they’re looking for her?” “Whether her parents know or not doesn't matter: she's already dead.” I stated, walking on, “Right now, our priority is getting to Spike while he’s still alive.” They hesitated, but Rainbow pressed with me, “You heard the mare.  We're on a clock here. We have to help who we can.” The girls dragged their hooves as we fell back into our previous formation. Pinkie Pie stepped closer to the corpse on her way by, reaching out her hoof to push closed the lids of her eyes, hiding their lingering look of despair before turning to move on.  We left her like that, no time to mourn or even consider who she might've been before her life had casually thrown away. It was only the first sight in a trail of corpses. Next was a Cragodile with its head split open by a familiar axe, its midsection draped over a rock as insects squirmed where its blood and gore had been spilled on the path.  After that, a series of normal animals were strewn across the path. A pack of wolves, a black bear, a few foxes and rabbits, which looked like they’d had bites taken out of them when they were fresh. Fluttershy had wanted to stop, but there was no way we could spare the time, so instead, she was leaning against Rarity, burying her face in her mane and quietly whimpering while Rarity rambled on with some sort of distraction. “What in Tartarus were they doin’ out here?” Applejack scowled at a twitching timberwolf limb which was wedged in the fork of a tree, “It's like they were tryin’ ta wipe out every monster Luna missed in here.” “Boredom, I guess.” I said, not reacting to all this, “Maybe they were practicing on something they knew they could handle before taking on the main threat.”  The term “jungling” flashed through my mind, but I wasn't sure exactly what it meant, nor did it seem like a word anyone else would've known. Rainbow was about to raise the alert at a figure in the woods, but I stopped her. “It’s dead.”  I projected my voice at a near silent volume, “Just don’t say anything: I don’t want Fluttershy to see it.” She glanced back in confusion as the full face of the Manticore came into view, eyes still half-open as it hung from the tree where it had been impaled. “Like I said,” I clarified, “They didn’t care what was friendly or violent out here.  This is just senseless killing. The sooner we can take out whoever’s been doing this, the better...” “Listen, about that...” she whispered back, “I’m not sure I understand what the plan is here.  Fluttershy and Rarity aren’t really good for a fight, and the rest of us aren't exactly a crack strike team...  Are you just gonna have us hit them with the rainbow? ‘Cause we’ve never really tried to weaponize it like that before.” “Honestly, if it wasn't for that rainbow, I'd’ve left Fluttershy back in Ponyville.  Probably Rarity too.” I murmured back to her, taking a left at the next fork in the road, “with a little bit of backup, I could probably take both of these things, but remember what I said: these are demonic forces we're talking about here, and whatever's behind this is unfathomably powerful.  I don't know what they might be able to pull out when once back them into a corner. That rainbow is way more powerful than anything I could ever dish out.” “How do you know so much about the rainbow anyway?  Nopony saw what it actually did, other than giving everypony their magic back, and we've only used it once.” “Good question.” I said, “I'm not exactly sure. I found the notes Twilight had written on it in the library, and that jogged my memory of it. I have no idea how I know anything else about it, but so far, just about everything else I know about you girls seems to be right...” “You think... You think somepony's been spying on us?” “Or has heard the stories.  After all, the 6 of you are famous, and will probably end up in the history books just for using the elements of harmony...” “Wow.” She drew a blank, “I guess I realize I'm famous, but I forget about everything that entails.  I really should take a moment to find out what the papers have been printing about me...” The trees broke into a clearing ahead, and through them we could see bits and pieces of some sort of crumbling stone structure, walled off by a perimeter of stone which had been placed long ago to hold an earthen terrace in place.  As we walked down the half-overgrown path, what must’ve been a centuries-old fort came into view, a few of the worn cobblestones still visible in the dirt and grass of the path leading up to the entrance. Deep inside, I could feel the disturbance we'd been following throbbing beneath the surface of reality. “This is it.” I said, leading the others towards the stairs, “let's try to be quick and quiet here, if they don't know we're coming after them, they're going to realize it pretty soon...” As we approached, we heard the buzzing of flies, the stench of meat that was beginning to turn reaching our nostrils before we came across what looked like a campsite in front of the gate, holding a grisly sight... “What... What is that?” Rarity said, standing behind the rest of the group.  She pulled out a handkerchief to hide her nose from the biting stench. “Looks like a cow...” Flash said, his face screwed between confusion and disgust. “...Her front half you mean.” Rainbow said, working her jaw in shock. “Dear Celestia...” Rarity held the cloth tight to her face, trying to avert her eyes, “I... I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much blood before...” Applejack cringed as she stepped closer, careful to avoid the casually discarded ribs lying on the ground, “It’s... Moonique.  The young cow who went missing last night...” Applejack breathed, taking her hat off and putting it to her chest, “Her mother's been worried sick.”  Her eyes widened as realizations washed over her. She stumbled backwards to get away from the sight, “Ahh, ahh naw, Celestia no, ahm gonna have ta tell Bessie and Toro we found her like this... like... Ah don’t even know what this is!” Flash was looking at her sunken eyes, dried into place, still holding their sorrowful expression, lips peeled permanently back in silent agony. “I’d say the T.O.D. was about... A day and a half ago, not too long after she was last seen.  Not sure on the C.O.D. though. I'd say exsanguination, but clearly it was a lot more than that.” He glanced up, “Got anything Princess?” Twilight was leaning in the jagged edge of the body, looking over the wounds with a clinical expression.  “It looks like they’ve been... cutting pieces off and...” she stepped away, her eyes following the trail of dried blood to the firepit, “Taking them to the fire?“  Her eyes widened. The fresh, half-cooked bones still shone white in the moonlight, stripped of their meat. “Sweet Celestia...” her jaw dropped as she stared, her train of thought crashing on what she had registered. “Twilight...” Applejack asked, “I... I don’t understand... What did they do to her?” “They ate her.” the words came out in a choke, “They carved up her body and ate her.” The whole group froze, their faces contorted in that moment of shock. “Cannibals.“ Rainbow growled, the blades peeking out from under her wings, “Twilight, this is getting way over our paygrades.  Are you absolutely sure you don't want more backup? I bet I could have the entire fucking guard out here in two hours tops.” “Spike doesn’t have that kind of time, Rainbow!  We need to get in there before...” she looked back at the grisly corpse, afraid to even finish the sentence. “Two hours is more than enough time to open a portal to the Infernal Realm.” I stated, knowing exactly how long it took without need for context, “That... And he already knows we’re here.”  I looked up just in time to catch a flash of a pale face as he slipped back from the arrow-slit, the feeling of his menacing sight falling away again. “So... We’re going... in there?” Fluttershy whimpered. “We have to.” Twilight said, turning to the door, “Spike needs us.” She pulled it open with her magic, a gust of Dusty air wafting out from the dark, echoing depths of the once-abandoned halls. And so, with dread under every hoofstep, we left the corpse of the poor girl they’d butchered for meat, and stepped into whatever forgotten outpost they’d darkened with their presence...