//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Running Scared // Story: The Elements in Harmony // by No One and Nobody //------------------------------// Chapter 19: Running Scared The deeper they ran into the swamps the denser the atmosphere grew and the slower they could progress. Despite the obvious trail left by the beetle Thomas was certain they were falling farther and farther behind because of the encumbering topography. Tom had expected to encounter difficulty running through the swamp from his experience in the Everfree. But there's a big difference between 'marshy' and 'swampy'. The mud clung to his feet and sucked him down with every step like superglue, while the hot oppressive air and bugs clung to anything and everything. If Tom hadn't been holding Luna in his right arm he would have been furiously swatting insects. Even though they couldn't do anything to him, there was something about the high-pitched whine of wings around him that still drove him up a wall. Lucas too was having trouble. Moving through salt or fresh water was a breeze, but the 50/50 water/clay mixture of the swamp was like trying to swim through damp straw. As Luna watched Tom struggle through the mud and Lucas drag the burning patch of oil across the surface of the swamp like a firesnail, her worry grew. She could see the trail the beetle had left behind. You'd have to be blind not to. A tunnel was plainly visible straight through the branches in front of them as well as slowly filling holes in the mud left from the beetle's frantic strides. But at last she'd had enough. "Thomas. THOMAS-" Their forward progress came to a stop. "I understand thee wisheth to end this swiftly. However, would it not be prudent to reconsider our options in light of this-" Luna swatted furiously at a swarm of insects that was trying to nest in her mane, "Environment?" "But we're so close..." said Mira for Thomas. "Then scout ahead for us Mira. We shall wait here and recuperate." "If I leave, Tom's going to lose his sight. The ground here isn't conducive to his vision." As Mira was saying this, Tom tugged his sinking feet out of the mud and replanted his stance only to begin sinking once again. "I shall watch out for him and call thee, should we have need." Mira turned back to Tom who wasn't quite thinking clearly. His mind, absent the heaving breaths, was exhausted and all she could make out was, GO! FIND-FIND-IT! UUngh "OK, see you soon guys!" Mira called out and peered deeper into the swamp. While on Tom's shoulder she had limited herself to the general area. Now that she was taking a longer look at the swamp there were some things that confused her. There were spots, blobs and blurs in her vision. Did the beetle do something to me? Focusing, Mira cleared her mind of worry. I left the island behind. I'm intangible. Nothing out there can hurt me. She aimed for the hole in the treeline and took off like a rocket- Directly into a polluted waterfall, through the pitch black of a musty cave to end up floating, lost inside a dense patch of fog that tasted of rotten eggs. "GUYS! WHERE ARE YOU?!" She called out into the greasy swirling blur that filled every particle of her being. Much to her surprise the response was instantaneous and... nearby!? "Mira? What is thy trouble? Why hath thee chosen to linger?" "What do you mean linger? I'm lost in some giant fog somewhere." "Thine voice resoundeth from nearby. Art thou sure thou hast traversed a great distance?" Then Mira heard something she didn't recognize. A great whooshing sound accompanied by a flash of heat to her right and shouts of surprise. Then her brother's voice, with the depth of Flutterguy, and the power of the Royal Canterlot Voice, echoed through the swamp. "SWAMP GAASSSS! HECK YEAH!!! WAIT HERE MIRA. I'M GONNA GO TORCH THIS STUPID BUG- There was the sound of a jet engine. One continuous explosion washed over her, boiling the fog from her vision and fading into the distance behind her. Luna, Tom and the others stood, revealed, less than a hundred feet to her right. "What happened?" She asked. Lying on the ground with half his face in the mud, Heavy Hoof started talking for Lucas. "Your brother wasn't happy with how fast we were going. When he heard you calling out from in front of us that you were stuck, he tried aerosolizing some of the oil and I guess that put him in contact with a free floating gas pocket." Standing up, Heavy Hoof continued from his point of view where Lucas's stopped, "There was a big fire blast and I... fell down in surprise. But I saw your brother hold his position for a few seconds in a geyser right over there-" He pointed to a dry black spot in the mud surrounded by burning branches and still rising smoke, "Then he took off in that direction." "Canst thou follow thy brother's lead?" Asked Luna. "Actually," replied Mira, "Those pockets of swamp gas my brother's burning... I don't think I can see through them. Basically they're giant bubbles of blindness floating around out there. I could try to follow, but I won't be able to keep up with him." "Very well, then we shall wait here for his return." Tom found the most stable bit of ground he could and sat dow- sat in it. However, they hadn't been resting for more than a minute or so before one of the guards stood to attention and called out, "SOMETHING APPROACHES!" Michael was getting more and more impatient with every passing second. It had all started well, monster pokes its head out of the ocean, he could throw fireballs and the beetle didn't like that. Then that stupid pony princess had stuck her nose in and everything had gone to $#!+. The beetle got away and at last he was reduced to riding a damp puddle through the middle of a swamp at the speed of paint drying. His flame was visibly rocking back in forth from the pent up boredom, anger at a missed opportunity and frustration at having to keep the fireball-throwing to a maximum of none. Lucas could feel Michael's attitude radiating from him like unexploded ordnance and had chosen to keep silent during the "chase" so far. Insects sputtered and popped in Michael's growing flame as his anger rose. Then the blue princess called a halt and suggested they take a break. This was almost too much for him. But then she send his sister off by herself, without him... again. Droplets of molten fire began to dance above his brilliant form as his flames grew hotter and hotter and the voices around him grew fainter and fainter. All of the sudden it was like he took in a breath a thousand times larger than himself. The world flew into bright, brilliant focus and the guard next to him fell to the ground. The breath only lasted about a second, but it was enough for Michael to reach out and find a new pillar of "air" to breathe. A geyser had just popped up in front of the group. As Michael hung there, fire screaming through every fiber of his being, the hope of killing the beetle, going straight home and getting to torch everything along the way rose up inside him. This hope and his new-found freedom meant he never noticed that he might have gone a little off the deep end. "SWAMP GAASSSS! HECK YEAH!!! WAIT HERE MIRA. I'M GONNA GO TORCH THIS STUPID BUG- He called out before taking one explosive leap into the swamp, straight through another cloud of gas and leaving his older sister behind him. Flying through the swamp was awesome! Jumping from gas-cloud to gas-cloud was a little bit like climbing on the furniture and pretending the floor was lava. Except rather than jump from cloud to cloud it was more like he stretched out a hand to the next and it pulled him to it. Almost like Spider-man web-zipping through the city. The farther he went the faster he went, leaving a trail of burning bushes and smoldering leaves in his wake. Then at last he saw the beetle, just beyond a fringe of trees. It hadn't noticed him, But then who could? Fast as fire, swift as liquid lightning, like flaming quicksilver- While he saw the beetle above him, he never noticed the pony step out in front of him until it was too late. Though hardly what one would call a 'physical' collision, to Michael the shock of feeling burning flesh, smelling smoking fur and the sight of two hopeful eyes transfixed with terror before melting into a small, deformed ball of pitied sobs felt like he had been hit by a truck. Tom jumped to his feet as the rush of flame flooded the clearing where they sat. "PLEASE HELP! GUYS- I CAN'T- YOU GOTTA- SHE'S- PLEASE HELP!" Michael's voice was choked up and Tom's exhaustion was barely a second thought as he slammed his hand into the ground and ripped up a slab of mud, permeated with Lucas. Then he darted after Michael as Luna (who had recovered much of her strength) and the guards chased after them. Mira clung to Tom, sometimes guiding sometimes being carried through patches of blinding gas. Until at last they came to another clearing, fire still clinging to the edges and the silhouette of a pony outlined against a dark patch of scorched mud in the center. "Michael... what have you done?!" Said Mira. The mud in Tom's hand melted out of his grasp and landed on the ground, Lucas literally plowing a furrow through the soil to the pony. Steam rose up from the earth around the pony as Lucas filled the soil with water and the bright colors of the pony sank into the dark gray of the mud. Luna took slow steps towards the body. Through Mira, Tom could see Michael resting in a comparatively gentle flame behind them, just out of the pony's sightline. Tom could almost see the outlines of his hands covering his head as he rocked back and forth, sobbing breaths making his flame bob and quiver. "Who is it?" Asked Mira for Thomas, although he could feel she had a few other words she wanted to use. "I can't even remember her name. I didn't see her. I just- she just ran out in front of me- I couldn't stop- I couldn't put out the- I-I'm... I'm so sorry!" Luna levitated the small ball of fur gently out of the mud and Tom could see the two small hooves of a foal drop down and then convulse in pain. A tendril of Lucas touched Tom's leg and he said, It's Rosy. She's badly burned, but still alive. Mira was listening, but Lucas's statement only seemed to fuel her rage. "YOU CAN BLAME MY *%#!ING BROTHER FOR THAT! HIM AND HIS STUPID HATING- JUST BECAUSE HE THINKS PONIES-" MIRA! Tom tried to cut in, but was interrupted by her brother. "Mira, I'm sorry-I'm sorry-I'm so sorry. I'd never do that to anyone. You know I wouldn't. Please, you've gotta- Just help her... Please" and with that Michael broke down, his tears of smoke rising into the sky. "Back to the train, this filly needs medical attention!" Said Luna, lifting Rosy's small frame higher. But before they could make a move, a gasping cry came from the little pony, "...wait..." Luna hushed everyone and lowered the little filly to eye level. "... Back... there... in the bushes... I saw it... Just... wanted... to help..." Luna nodded to one of the guards and he came over to take Rosy gently in his magic. With that, Luna went to check where Rosy had gestured to. As the princess nosed through the bushes, Michael flinched at every shiver and sob from the floating foal. Then Luna stepped back, a knotted, ovoid object held in her magic. "Is that what I think it is?" Asked Mira for Tom. Luna's horn lit up, followed by a layer of over-glow, then the (roughly microwave-sized) object blinked out of existence back to its rightful habitat hundreds of thousands of miles away. "It was," replied Luna, "But, at least, that threat... is no more. Now, to the train!" Tom once again dug up a chunk of Lucas, Michael flashed into the small wick of the lamp sticking out of Heavy Hoof's saddlebags and Mira clung to Tom's shoulder as they took off back to the bay; Luna magically lifting Tom's feet for better traction. Luna sent up a flare as they neared the bay and as they crested the beach and darted for the train station, they could see porters hauling carts through the city towards the train. Luna's Royal Canterlot voice rolled across the sand and spurred them all to action. "DROP EVERYTHING EXCEPT MEDICAL SUPPLIES, WE HAVE A WOUNDED FOAL. GET THE TRAIN READY, WE'RE LEAVING!" Michael watched the limp foal, hanging in the magic field, from the bouncing saddlebags and prayed they would make it in time. As they piled into the train, Tom found himself and the rest of the Elementals in one car while Luna, several guards and medically trained porters piled into the one in front of them. A pony tried to make his way into their car, but Mira's voice stopped him. "If you wouldn't mind, I think we need to work some things out. Please let the princess know we shouldn't be disturbed for a few minutes. The pony nodded at Tom's imposing form and trotted to the other car, leaving Mira, Thomas, Michael and Lucas alone for once. Tom sat down on the floor and then raised his arm as if to hold someone back. He could feel Mira tentatively grasp his hand and he said, Mira, I don't know your brother as well as you do. But... try to keep in mind we need to all be together if we're going to end this. He could feel her anger waver just a little, then she replied, I know; but this isn't about Rosy. My brother's had this coming for a long time, and I think this might be the one time I'll be able to get through to him. Tom dropped his hand and was thankful that the train started to move, loudly, out of the station as Mira set into her brother. From what he could hear, she had been telling the truth. This was barely about Rosy. Apparently her brother had been mistreating her and the whole family for years. Nothing like domestic violence, just a surly attitude and misbehavior. But she had had enough of it. Tom had expected her to bring up the show, but she never even mentioned it. All the while Michael just sat there, silent as Thomas. At last Mira quit yelling and breathed a sigh that could be felt throughout the whole car. Lucas and Tom sat waiting to see what would happen, then Michael spoke. "You're right Mira. I'm sorry, for how I've treated you. I used to think that you, Mom and Dad were just against me, but all this... Everything we've been through... It puts it all in perspective. I've been a jerk, puberty probably helped with that, but that's no excuse. I'm sorry. I promise to do better. I don't know how well I'll do but, with you're help, hopefully I can change." There was a moment of silence and then, "You're forgiven. And... I'm sorry too. I've been pretty hard on you the last few years. I take it your old nickname didn't help things?" "It didn't." "Sorry... I guess I've been a little too focused on myself as well. I just hated to think of you squandering your talents. I just wanted the best for you." "Well that's no reason to try and make me do stuff." "Yeah, sorry about that. How 'bout, I promise to lay off you if you ask me, and you promise to lay off me if I ask you, deal?" "Deal!" The tension drained from the car and Lucas took that moment to ask Tom, So what do we do now? Mira voiced Lucas's question for everyone and echoed Tom's reply, "I think we're headed to that trap we had planned at Rambling Rock Ridge. Honestly I had hoped to stop the beetle before then, but I suppose a rockslide should stop it. At that point the door to the next carriage slid open and Luna walked in. "Art thou done with thy discourse?" "Yeah. Are we headed for the rockslide plan?" "Tis our only option... lest you have another to suggest?" Tom shook his head then Lucas asked a question through Mira, "Could I have a container or something? This glob of mud is getting cramped." Luna levitated a jar over and wrung out Lucas into it, then she added some more water and Lucas's next question reverberated from the container, "How do we know the beetle's even headed in the right direction? We didn't send anyone to follow it." "Tis less a problem than you may think," replied Luna, "The egg signifies it nears its end. After my... idiotic blunder, it seeks one more meal for its fill." "But how does that tell you where it's going?" "It hath taken one half of a two-part feast. It hath sipped of the night, now... it seeketh the the day to satiate itself." "OK, but how do we cause the rockslide? I take it you're still to exhausted to move that much stone... no offense," said Mira for Thomas. "Non taken. Tis true I am too weak at the moment to bring about that end. Thankfully, we hath prepared in advance. The end carriage hath enough explosives to level all the stone we require." Tom couldn't help but notice, through Mira, that Luna looked particularly pleased with this arrangement. "How is Rosy?" Luna's face fell as she turned to look at Michael's lamp. "Thou hath brought about much pain and, even with the royal physicians, she will retain the scars till her last days. However, she possesses a strong spirit and I can imagine nothing could deter her from healing, and living a long and beautiful life. Almost in a whisper, Michael asked one more thing, "Do you think... she would- If I asked, I mean. Could she ever... Just consider... forgiving me?" The silence in the carriage was deafening. "I cannot say. I know, at the moment, she would definitely fear you, should you enter the other car. Given time... I truly cannot say. We stabilized her by horn-light. Even a candle frightened her." The rest of the journey Michael was silent while Luna discussed the trap setup with Tom, his friends and a few guards who had joined them. Luna informed that guards that, after they got Rosy to the Canterlot doctors, they should warn everypony to flee the city. She left out however, that if the beetle survived the rockslide, it would probably be too late for Canterlot. All the while Michael just sat there. The light from his flame reflecting off the glass as he stared at the blacked-out windows of the train car in front of them. It had been several hours since the train left and they had finished setting the charges. Luna had directed the guards where to place them. Now they waited. Tom could feel the sun beating down, it was probably around noon by now. His hands held tight to the stone he sat upon, feeling deeply into the earth, waiting for the telltale footfalls. Luna was standing by the tracks, on the edge of the cliff, looking out at the forest below. The guards had tied a rope around her, to pull her away in case the beetle actually took the bait. Michael and Mira waited above the blast zone. Poised to light the charges at a spit second. As Tom sat there he thought about Rosy. It had never even entered his mind, even after the beetle had taken Luna, that anypony could get hurt. He knew it was possible, and had even worried about what might happen should they fail to stop the beetle. But that had been on such a massive scale he couldn't wrap his head around it. But one foal suffering? A dark seriousness had fallen over the group. Mira and Michael were like two parts of a dead machine; working together, but with the lifeless teamwork of automaton. Lucas too had been deeply affected by Rosy. He sat, silent, in his urn with the guards away from the blast radius; calmly pondering what to do should they fail and silently praying for Rosy's recovery. Thomas could feel the somber attitude like a blanket over them all. A brief thought that this is what it felt like to be the brooding hero fluttered through his mind, before it was swallowed up by the emptiness. Depression, not brooding, he though, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. It felt like they were trapped, unable to do anything... Anything but wait. THUD-THUD-THUD Tom barely registered his hand hitting the rock. The signal that he could feel the beetle approaching. The guards tightened their hold on the rope, and Tom could feel everyone tense, even though no one could see the beetle but him. THUD-THUD He hit it again, twice this time. It was close. Luna spread her wings and perked her ears. This time, relying purely on Tom to warn her when to make her move. He sat there, his hand hovering inches from the rock. THUD Luna leaped into the air as the head and tentacles flew out of the branches below them towards her, just missing her tail. He had been so focused on feeling, he never even heard the explosion. There was a concussive burst of flame behind him and Tom could feel the mountain lift into the air and begin to slide down towards the beetle, which was quickly obscured behind a cloud of falling rock. Luna landed to the side of the rockslide. The more Tom thought about it, the more the term 'rockslide' fit. The cliff and train track had fallen, but most of the mountain was still sliding; chunks of stone moving slowly along, as though carried in a river over the edge. No one could see what was happening below. No one, save Tom. Through the pounding thunder of earth and stone, Tom could feel the beetle fighting. Not pushing up or digging out, but pushing back; trying to escape before the downpour engulfed and buried it. Its back legs pulled, its claws pushed and Tom could feel the beetle below him, its crippled leg caught, but the unburied body still trying to pull free. Three failures: one at the bay, the second in the swamp and now the third here? Mira and the rest of them didn't know what came over Tom. All they knew was what they saw. Thomas was fed up. Rosy... the depression... their complete ineptitude as saviors. Mira wasn't even there to guide him as he dove off the cliff towards his last felt position of the beetle's head. There was the sickening CRUNCH of something like a tree-limb snapping, the psychic scream of a thaumaturic monster, Tom swung at empty air and was then engulfed by the dark embrace of the falling mountain. As the earth and stone came down on top of him, and everything became darker and heavier, Tom could feel the beetle's missing leg still sticking out of the deepening darkness. Like a stabbing finger, it pointed him out. Failure! ... Failure! ... Failure! Tom couldn't move. He was pinned on all sides by the raw power of the earth. The pressure was oddly calming. Just give up... Give in... Surrender to the earth... It seemed to say, You failed at everything else... A rock is all you're good for. Tom could feel the depression closing in, even tighter than the earth that bound him. He was narrowing, compressing down to something less than small. An absence, a void, a hole in the earth. Worth less than that which surrounded him. This is just like my dream. Except, my friends can't help me down here... Then a thought, like a spark in the darkness, flickered into view. Rosy could make it. Rosy would make it. Despite our failure, that little foal has more spunk than Rainbow or Scootaloo! This thought seemed to push back some of the darkness that filled his mind. The earth wasn't the problem, the darkness was. Then the spark burst into a flame. Rosy was still alive! There was still the chance to save her! The flame grew into a massive brilliant figure, an impossible ideal. Rosy in all her unstoppable, undeterrable and undeniable joy stood before him. Challenging him to escape. Should my back break, my bones crumble to dust and my very soul beat itself to death against this prison. I. SHALL. ESCAPE!!! Tom had no idea where the strength came from, but he braced his arms and legs and heaved with all his strength, and then some. And the walls... shifted. It was barely noticeable, but to Tom that was all he needed. Once more he strained against the stone. He could feel cracks working their way through his body, but he didn't care. That flickering smile, those lowered eyebrows. She wasn't encouraging, she was daring him to make it. The minutes felt like hours. But slowly, almost imperceptibly, the stone he was trapped under started to rise. After every desperate centimeter, Tom braced his legs and started again, not letting the stone claim back even a hair's breadth. The more he pushed the more certain he became that he wouldn't make it. But for some reason that just pushed him to try harder. Then, just as he thought his body would burst into a million pieces, a stone above his head rolled away and a grey hoof descended to rest on his shoulder. "Here, let me help you," came the monotone voice and Tom, with all his might, shifted his right arm and took the proffered hoof. It had taken quite a while to dig Tom out from beneath the rock-slide, and only slightly longer for him to apologize for his thoughtless attack. "Could have been worse," said Michael, "At least you didn't hurt anypony..." Only Maud failed to catch the self-deprecating support. But she was too busy walking back up the rockslide towards the train tracks. "Where are you going?" Asked Mira. "Canterlot." "Thou will not make it in time, I'm afraid," said Luna, resting a hoof on Tom's knee. "Don't care!" Said Mira for Tom, as he stood up, took Lucas's and Michael's containers, and followed Maud, "Better to try and fail, than never try at all. Making his way, slowly up the still shifting slope towards the now ruined track, Tom could feel the ponies behind him, one by one, pick themselves up and start after him. As they walked along the tracks, the guards surrounding Luna, Maud leading and Thomas following close behind, he couldn't help but think back to his dream. I'm missing something. Something important. Something I've been missing since we started fighting the beetle this morning. Tom couldn't help but delve deeper into his memories, trying to pry something of meaning from his unconscious, or had it been his unconscious? Tom was so deep in contemplation, even Mira couldn't follow his train of thought. He was totally unaware of his surroundings and deaf to all outside sound... Which was why it was such a complete surprise when he walked headfirst into the front of the train engine.