//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Escape // Story: The Nightguard: Legacy of Star Swirl the Bearded // by BigKlingy //------------------------------// I did my best to fill everypony in on the details as we went, but in the adrenaline rush it mostly came out as “StarSwirlBeardedImpostorEvilMidnightHelpMebBigfightonbridgeBadGuyFallDownButGuardiansComingRunRunRunRun!” “That sounded like fun!”, replied Levee. There was no time for idle chit-chat anyway, more and more Guardians came pouring out of every passageway we passed. And they seemed much, much more aggressive than before. But it wasn’t until we were almost at the maze that my friends asked the obvious question. “Wait a minute. If the ‘bad guy’, ‘fell down’, and the ex-bad guy gave himself up… then why are the Guardians still on alert?” As if on cue, a maniacal laughter resounded through the halls, and we all skidded to a halt. “Oh no, oh no no no no no NO!” And there, standing before us, was that thing, still in the form of my ancestor. Except this time, from his back sprung a pair of insectoid wings. “Oh, by the way”, he said casually, “I can fly.” “Horseapples.” Before I knew it, everypony had scattered every which-way, thrown into chaos as the fiend began his magical barrage. Magic Sparks, Burning Rays, I recognised them all, but the chaotic nature of this assault made it hard to come up with a counterplan. Then, feeling like an idiot, I realised I no longer needed a counterplan. For the first time I could match his magic with magic. “Everypony, get going! I’ll handle this!”, I declared. “B..but…”, came Emerald Ray’s voice, before he nodded and beckoned the others to follow. As my friends slipped into the darkness of the maze, I assumed the battle stance I remembered from my study of magic duels. To my annoyance, this was once again met with laughter. “Ha! You mean to challenge me?! Foal! And to think I was going to let you live for another few minutes.” “Do you realise I beat you last time?”, I reminded him, “and that was without magic.” His response was another laugh. “You little foal! Did it never occur to you that I let you win? I’ve been in Tartarus long enough to know that chasm is not nearly as bottomless as it looks, in fact it actually served as a short cut! And I knew with me gone your little friend would have to stay behind to stop the Guardians. I killed two birds with one stone! I was taken aback. I admit I had to give him credit for that, that was pretty smart. “But like I said”, hastily turning my last sentence on its head, “that time was without magic. I now have the power to fight you on even terms!” “Oh isn’t that just precious! Do you honestly think a famous ancestor and a few years of studying put your powers on my level? And ironically enough”, he added with a sneer, “I have you to thank for them. My escape wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for you. Such a shame I have to kill you, although I owe you a great deal.” “Do your worst!”, I yelled, and prepared for it. “Oh don’t worry, I INTEND TO!!!” And with that he fired off a massive green beam of energy. I cursed under my breath; he must have been charging that during our conversation, the little sneak. But although avoiding a Power Beam is near-impossible, blocking it is another thing entirely, and now I had the means to do so. I focused my mind as much as I could, picturing an unbreakable shield, and closed my eyes… And opened them to find myself miraculously unharmed, a magenta-coloured sphere surrounding me. It worked! I did it! I pulled off a class A-2 Shield spell on my first try! Now all I needed to do was close the distance and follow up… And find myself slamming my head against the shield wall. As I recovered from the mother of all headaches, I reached out my hoof to see if what I feared really was true. And it was. This magical bubble surrounding me felt like stone, even from the inside. The barrier was impenetrable all right, it let nothing through. I never realised that would include me. And having no idea how to dispel it, I was now trapped. Once again I heard my enemy’s mocking laughter. “Seriously?! Seriously?! You actually did that?? Ha! Even at my weakest I’ve never been dumb enough to make that mistake! You know, if I was feeling particularly mean, I could just leave you there to rot. But where’s the fun in that?” An overwhelming flurry of blasts came at me, shattering my protection. The moment I regained control, I leapt away and prepared a Magic Spark of my own. ‘How hard could it be?’, I thought. All the books said was to point your horn at the target and focus your power. But I, never having been acquainted with this ‘power’ before, had to clue what ‘focusing it’ entailed. And so I simply spent the next few seconds ineffectually tensing my facial muscles, which would have been an acceptable first try… were this not a life-or-death battle. My hesitancy was punished with another perfectly accurate blast, and this time I had no shield to rely on. Once again I flew backwards, pain coursing through my body. I was surprised my opponent had no mocking words to share with me this time, only an immediate follow up attack which forced me to roll sideways. Knowing full well now I couldn’t afford any screw-ups, I began to focus again, this time letting loose with all my anger. I knew a Power Beam was unadvisable for a new mage to attempt, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I felt magical energies in my horn for the first time, and the experience was strange to say the least. Think of it this way, if an earth pony suddenly became a unicorn, would they know how to describe the sensation of casting their first spell? I thought not. What I did know was the sensation kept building, until I felt like my skull was on fire and starting to split open. It was too much to bear, I screamed as my vision turned white… And felt myself blown several feet backwards. But the room was now enveloped in light, and my adversary was nowhere to be seen. Had I done it? As darkness returned and my blurred vision restored itself I found, to my disappointment, and horror, the bearded imposter still standing. On closer inspection, though there seemed to be a charred line in the ground stemming from my position, it stopped about halfway across the room. He didn’t even need a shield spell; my beam would never have reached him anyway. And what’s worse, he didn’t even attempt to stop it: he knew my attack would fail. And this hit me harder than any conceivable insult. “Like I SAID!” I dodged another blast. “Theory!” Another. “Practice!” And another. “Entirely different things. Power means nothing in the hands of those who can’t control it. Not that you’re pathetic display of magic can be called ‘power’.” I thought to retort, but realised it was pointless if I couldn’t back up my words. “You may as well have stayed hornless”, he said coldly, as if stating an absolute fact. Which, I was forced to admit, it was. No amount of magical knowledge could prepare me for actually using it. I was back where I started, not being able to use magic at all. Wait a minute. I sprung forward, beginning to charge another Magic Spark. My enemy wasn’t fazed, of course. He knew the spell would either backfire of be too weak to pose a threat, and planned accordingly. But here’s something he didn’t plan for: me not using the spell at all. Stopping the charge at the last minute, I instead gave him the good old buck to the face. One moment of confusion was all I needed. I dashed past him, out of the room and into the darkness of the maze. He followed immediately, as I thought. “Grr! Coward! Get back here so I can kill you…” I heard his hoofsteps stop. “Ah, I suppose you think you’re clever. But my senses are advanced beyond those of a mere equine. Darkness means nothing to me!” I kind of figured he could see in the dark. But it didn’t matter. What mattered was his surprise at the darkness itself. If he spent most of his days imprisoned in the very depths of Tartarus, I wondered if the outer regions would be unknown to him. And I was right, which meant I was in with a chance, provided I could outrun him for the moment. Of course, upon remembering I was now inside a convoluted maze without a map or a light, running from something with night vision, I realised I didn’t quite think my plan all the way through. But it was the only option. If I could just feel my way back there… But after a few steps, I felt something alright, but it was against my hooves. It was a light brushing, almost like a quill. Still moving, I took a look downward to satisfy my curiosity. My eyes had adjusted to the dark to the point where I could see what was below me, if not any further than that. And what I found… was a feather. A faded green feather, like a dry leaf. No, it couldn’t be, could it? A few steps later, and there was another. And another. They seemed to be forming a kind of trail. And at that I knew. I had to hand it to her, she was still looking out for me, even when I’d stayed behind. I trusted her sense of direction enough to know that following these feathers would lead me to freedom. But freedom wasn’t my first concern. I ran on, keeping my head to the ground (the feathers always warned of an upcoming turn long before I risked colliding with a wall). A little further, and I saw it: the one lighted room in the darkness, the flaming torches still visibly burning within. I desperately hoped Lilly Blossom was right about how long the Minotaur would be out for… And to my relief, he still lay motionless on the room’s floor. Nice to know I had one less thing to worry about. Now it was time to set the plan in motion. I positioned myself at the far end of the room, just in front of the far exit, feigned exhaustion and turned to face the other opening. He’d been following me close this whole time, so I knew it was only a matter of time before… The impostor burst into the room, and upon seeing my panting form his scowl of frustration turned to a smile of sadistic glee. “Ha! Looks like you’re done running. Good. NOW DIE!” This time, I could sit still, knowing his attack would be useless. No light coming from his horn, the imposter stood ineffectually tensing his facial muscles. “AAAAAARG! YOU! What did you do!!” “Don’t blame me”, I replied with an air of satisfaction, “this is a special room. It seals magic, didn’t you know? Now that I’ve got you here, I don’t plan on leaving any time soon. Welcome to my world!” I may have spoken too soon. Knowing his magic was useless, the impostor rushed at me. I jumped to the side but he caught me with a sideways swipe of his leg, sending me sprawling. I realised I was not the only one capable of hoof-to-hoof combat. I tried to rise, but he was quicker. He struck me again, this time with a stomp to my foreleg. The unbearable pain had barely begun to register as he hurled me backwards into the wall. My body could barely move, but I forced myself at him again, managing a few feeble blows before being beaten back once more. Clearly growing bored of this charade, he lunged after me, and I found myself pinned to the wall, his leg around my neck. As he began to tighten his grip and my world grew dark and dizzy, he spoke what he believed would be the last words I would ever hear… “You sought to face me on equal ground? Ha, foal! There is no such thing!” It was a strain for me to muster even a few words, but I made sure to make them count. “Not… ‘face’, …stall…” My assailant had barely mustered a grunt of surprise when the next phase of my plan began, right on schedule. A single Guardian had leapt onto his back, and fending it off required him to let go of me. Catching my breath, I made sure to stand as far away as possible. If I had stalled him long enough… Another Guardian. And another. More and more poured out of the room’s rear entrance, and immediately set themselves upon the imposter. The first few he flung to the side as effortlessly as he had me, but these moves left him open to the others. He had fought off swarms of Guardians before, but that was with magic. With that removed, it became harder and harder for him to handle such numbers. Soon he began to tire, and was dragged to the floor, more and more stone ponies piling on top of him. I knew now it was safe for me to go. But as the imposter disappeared into the growing mass of bodies, I heard him yell these words: “Listen well, Hornless! You have only briefly delayed the inevitable! I am but one drone in a colony. You’ll see… one day soon we will rise again! And then all will belong to our Que…” It would be almost a year before I understood what that warning meant. Of course, I’m sure you all know that story, so I’ll get back to mine. I breathed a sigh of relief. My plan worked surprisingly well, for something I put together at the last minute. Panting, I began to take my first step away from this infernal place… And promptly passed out. Partly from pain, partly from exhaustion, I guess. I have no idea how long I was out for, but after some time, I began to hear faint voices. “Star Swirl! Can you hear me?” “Miss Star Swirl… I implore you… wake up!” “I don’t suppose an electric jolt is what she needs?” “Gracious no! The smell of my honey should do a much better job.” “Oh come on gals, you’re all doing it wrong. Here, let me show you…” I fully regained my sense of hearing just in time for… “STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!” Right in my ear. “N…no need to shout”, I said, nervously, “I can hear you just…fine.” “Thank goodness! We were all worried sick about you!”, said Bumblesweet, as if I was a foal who’d run off at a fair. “B…but”, my speech functions were still returning, it seemed, “I thought I told you all to go ahead.” “We did”, said Lilly Blossom. “But then we got worried and came back.” She tilted her head and smiled, as if this kind of thing came naturally to her. “Yeah. No offence pal, but being trapped in a room with a homicidal shapeshifter isn’t the best for your health. Neither is passing out in the middle of Tartarus, come to think of it.”, added Electric Sky. “I mean, we’re all friends, right?”, Levee concluded. “Th…thanks”, I said as I realised how lucky I was not to have come down here alone. “But we’ve gotta get… argh!” I had momentarily forgotten the state of pain I was in. It wasn’t nearly as bad as before, but the leg that had been stomped on made walking hard. Luckily it seemed like there were no bones broken, but I sure wouldn’t be galloping until it healed. And considering we had to make a hasty escape right now, this wasn’t good. “We can all catch up later”, said Levee, getting the exact same thought, “somepony help Star Swirl, stat!” Before I could protest, Emerald Ray had lifted my unto his back. I was surprised at first, but logically speaking this was our best option: not only was he the biggest among us, he was also an earth pony, with all the strength that entails. I still felt bad to be burdening him, but he insisted it was no trouble. “Okaaaaay! Now that’s sorted… EVERYPONY RUN!” And we did. The others had dragged my unconscious body out of the maze, so we were close to the gates as it was. Unfortunately, it seemed that the escapee’s capture hadn’t ended the state of alert. Though I reminded myself the Guardians were essentially mindless. For all they knew, we could be escapees ourselves. We had to contend with a few on our way out, all of which were surprisingly drawn to me. As I’d read, the Guardians always go after the biggest threat in the area. Had my newfound powers really elevated me to this status? No, that couldn’t be right, I still had no idea how to use them. Unless… Before I could ponder further, we were at the gates. As Emerald Ray lowered my down, I realised we may have a teensey problem. “Drat. I just realised destroying my Unlockmaster 5000 prototype may not have been such a good idea.” Electric Sky said what we were all thinking. “Oh come on, Sky”, said Lilly Blossom, “I’m sure you have another burst of inspiration like you always do…”, she was immediately cut off. “BURST! That’s it!” Perfect, it seemed she’d had another of her ideas. “Stand back everypony, things are about to get explosive.” I didn’t like the sound of that, but she’d always had the right ideas before… Electric Sky laid down her saddlebags and began rummaging. With a smile she soon found what she was looking for: a small vial of liquid I could have sworn I’d seen earlier… uh oh. “Please don’t tell me that’s…” “You might wanna duck and cover, gals.”, she replied and lowered her goggles. Oh yes it was. A bright yellow aura surrounded the vial as it was levitated into the air. A second later Electric Sky hurled it towards the gate and, at the very instant of impact, fired a jolt of lightning from her horn in its direction. What followed was… “Woah!” Even Electric Sky seemed shocked at the size of the explosion. As the bright white light cleared, the gate had disappeared in a wall of tall green flames. I tried to take a step forward, but Electric Sky held me back. And with good reason, as the flames soon erupted into a second explosion, though not as big as the last. As we all opened our eyes, we found… The door still standing. Glowing white-hot, but definitely still standing. Electric Sky stood still for a moment, then pulled out a quill and parchment and muttered to herself while writing: “Dragonfire Bombs do NOT work on gates of Tartarus.” I heard rumbling in the distance. Trying ineffectually to hide my desperation, I asked: “I don’t suppose you have anything else in that bag that might help?” Her response didn’t bode well. “Put it this way: if that didn’t work, there’s not much that will. I’ve got to hand it to whoever designed these gates. Brilliant piece of engineering.” “I hate to be rude, dear, but not is not the time to be admiring…” Bumblesweet began, but something stopped her. Staring through the bars of the gate, a familiar sight met our eyes. Actually, that’s what it was: another three pairs of eyes. Though considerably larger than ours, and still as sad and pleading as the last time we saw them. “Oh, hi doggie!”, said Levee, with an air of cheerfulness that completely clashed with the situation. “He… he’s still looking at you”, Lilly Blossom added, gesturing towards Bumblesweet. Bumblesweet’s eyes had gone almost as misty as the larger pair. We all knew she couldn’t say no. “Okay, since you’ve been such a good boy, here.” She smiled as she tossed her last jar through the iron-wrought gate. I heard the sound of glass shattering, the sound of frantic licking and… the sound of frenzied digging? A few moments later, with a resounding CLANG, an enormous metal object landed at our feet. It was long and thin, and its end bore a design that looked as if it’s fit right into… “You have gotta be kidding me”, exclaimed Electric Sky. As the rumbling behind us grew louder, I knew we had no time for disbelief. I gave a hurried gesture to Electric Sky, and she got the point. Straining under its weight, she slowly levitated the great key towards the iron lock, then inserted and turned it. And just like that, the gates swung open. We wasted no time. I once again needed Emerald Ray’s assistance as we galloped as fast as we could up the great staircase. I had forgotten just how far down we were, but knew we had a long way to go. And that was troubling, to say the least. Behind us a swarm of Guardians had finally come into view. Those shaped like pegasi were already moving in to cut us off, while the unicorns in the rear fired off inaccurate, but numerous magical blasts. To fail this close to freedom is something I would not stand for, but there wasn’t much I could do in my condition. You’re probably thinking things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Well, naturally, you’d be wrong. Levee, who seemed to have been scouting ahead, suddenly returned to us. And her news was a heavy blow to our already heavy hearts. “Uhh… everypony? The stairs are kinda running out.” “What!?” “I mean… while I was flying ahead, the stairs in front of me kept vanishing. I thought it was just a trick of the light at first… until I tried to step where they used to be. Yep, definitely gone.” “You mean to say… the stairs are ceasing to be?” “Sorry Glowy, but that’s the honest truth. If this keeps up we’ll probably… ooooh! Sooner than I thought!” We all skidded to a halt as we saw for ourselves the harsh truth Levee had discovered. The stairs ahead of us just… ended in midair. And what’s worse, those few we had were vanishing one by one. “Ah, should’ve known there’d be some kind of failsafe. Nice.”, said Electric Sky, once again admiring the ingenuity of the place that was about to kill her. My brain frantically spun with ideas. “Can Levee and Lilly Blossom fly us out?” “You know full well Lilly here can’t take our weight”, answered Bumblesweet. And we can’t just leave all the work to Levee.” “Hey, don’t you worry yourself about that!”, the green pegasus interjected. “I’d be happy to. Though it’ll take a while to fly all of you out. So maybe you could all slooowly walk backwards to avoid the…” Judging by the look of shock on her face, whatever she was going to suggest was now invalid. Dreading what I’d find, I turned around. And I saw… nothing. And that was the problem. It seemed the stairs were disappearing both forwards and backwards. We now stood on a slowly diminishing island. I noticed my friends’ expressions grow melancholy as they, like me, prepared for the inevitable. “Lilly Blossom, go ahead, save yourself”, said the orange earth pony. “Don’t you dare think I’m leaving without you”, replied her lavender pegasus friend. “I just hope… somepony carries on my research. Continues to… improve pony lives”, said the lemon coated, blue maned unicorn. “I still have… things I must do. I cannot fall here.” Unlike the others, Emerald Ray’s voice had an air of defiance. As for me, well, if you were expecting some poignant, meaningful last words, you’d be disappointed. Because at that moment, all could manage was: “Mother…” We each held hooves for what we believed to be the last time, as the world went white…