//------------------------------// // Retreat // Story: Elements of Revival // by ChivalrythePegasus //------------------------------// They knew we would be coming. They planned for us to come here. She planned for us to come here. And I was too caught up in trying to chase a lost cause to know any better. What kind of leader am I? Getting possessed by a demon, letting Aluna get captured, and now this? Yet through all of that they still trust me. They believe in me. It's a strange feeling. How can they trust me? With all of this? I don't come from anywhere special, I mean I don't even know who my parents are... Morningrise finally managed a command as he began to piece together how he had been so gullible. "Begin full retreat, get everypony out of here." Morningrise barked, as pegasi began to pick up the earth ponies and unicorns. Virtue looked around, realizing that there were some missing ponies. "Wait, Blitz! Lancelot!" She yelled, turning and fleeing further into the city, as Morningrise was unable to stop her. Arc and Teal remained, as Arc approached the three fillies who had been left behind. They stood under Splice, as she reluctantly allowed Arc to approach and pick the fillies up. "I'll get them back to Seclusion." Arc said, getting a hesitant, but sure, nod from Splice. Teal walked to Arc, trying to pick up one of the fillies as well. Immediately, Arc rejected her offer, urging her in the direction that Virtue had traveled. "You go help her, I've got this." Arc said, getting a very concerned glare from Teal. "Are you sure? That's gonna be pretty difficult." Teal said, as Arc nodded. "I must. Now go help Virtue get Blitz and Lancelot out." Teal nodded, immediately flying off to find Virtue. Splice looked to Arc, who extended a hoof. Splice reached, until a violent bellow shook the foundation of Canterlot. A nearby building toppled, splitting the two from each other. Splice shouted over the debris, with urgency in her words. "Get them out of here! I'll be fine." Splice said, as Arc tried to oppose, but was unable to even reach Splice. She flew off, trying her best to keep up with the others. Virtue entered a large open area, seeing Blitz and Lancelot. She flew over, speaking to the two. "We need to get out of here, guys. They're..." Virtue began, immediately interrupted by Blitz and Lancelot. "No, you have to get out of here. We will just slow you down. Get everypony else out of here." Virtue shook her head, refusing his proposition. "We leave nopony behind. That means you two too." Virtue said, as Blitz met Virtues glare with a stern stare. He spoke, saying the same thing, as Teal flew in, staying silent to avoid complicating the conversation. "We will just slow you down. Get out of here, we will hold them off as long as we can." Virtue looked at the two, with much concern in her gaze. "Are you sure about this?" She said, meeting a nod from the two. "Buying time is our specialty, just don't you forget about us." Blitz said, as Virtue nodded. The terrace shook, hearing a loud bellow, as Virtue spoke a last word of solace. "You shall never be forgotten. May you find glory in the fight." Virtue said, as she began to fly away with Teal, hearing Lancelot respond almost immediately afterwards. "We won't be finding any glory where we're going." Lancelot said, turning to meet the gaze of an enormous creature. He nudged his brother, chuckling lightheartedly. "Well, not like we planned to go, but it will have to do." Virtue returned to the doorway to Canterlot, as Morningrise stood, waiting for the two. He spoke of pure concern as they approached. "Where are Blitz and Lancelot?" Virtue responded with only a shake of the head. Morningrise paused for a second, then spoke. "Evacuate now." The group began to ascend, hearing the shout of a unicorn. "Uh, a little help here?" Splice spoke, still concealed from behind the wreckage. Morningrise urged the others to return, as he flew to pick her up. As he approached, an arrow flew in, planting itself into his armor, causing a gaping hole in the shiny carapace. He shrugged it off, flying to Splice, who extended her hoof almost immediately. Morningrise picked her up, as she spoke in a grateful tone. "Thank you, I would have certainly died back there if it weren't for you." She spoke, as Morningrise flew faster to try to catch up with the others. Meanwhile, Splice concentrated, creating a beam of heat, which welded the armor back shut. "That's some talent you've got there." Morningrise said, as Splice shrugged. "It comes handy in a pinch." She responded, chuckling as Morningrise joined in as well. Then, she stopped, looking around. "Did you, hear that?" Splice said, as Morningrise, Virtue, and Teal began to look confused. They had started to gain up to Arc, as well as Chivalry and Starfury. Chivalry was first to respond, still confused. "Hear what?" He said, as she tensed up again. "Oh, no..." Splice said, as everypony began to look at her. "What?" Chivalry said, as he turned and was met with a large group of clawers with wings. "They can fly now!?" Starfury said, as everypony now began to take notice of the mass of enemies behind the group. Morningrise quickly barked orders, managing to get a small defense wall together. "Hold the line! We need to protect the evacuation groups." Morningrise shouted as everypony not carrying anypony formed a mass, protecting the rear flank of the group. Chivalry took the front of the formation, making a small arrow, which helped to better protect the front. Morningrise turned his attention to the evacuation teams, specifically Arc. He went to her, speaking urgently. "Here, let me..." Morningrise said, seeing the obvious strain on Arc's face as she tried to keep pace carrying the fillies. She shook her head, looking to Morningrise. "I've got it." Arc responded, as Morningrise tried to oppose but saw her determination in her eyes. He nodded, turning his attention back to the formation protecting the rear. The clawers crashed into the wall, as the wall pushed back. Chivalry yelled commands, trying to keep the group in formation. "Hold your ground. Don't push, just hold. If we lose this formation, they will pick us off like flies." The second wave hit, as the group again knocked the wave off. The sky began to get darker, as what little light that was present had now begun to be covered by the growing mass of Clawers. They began to get close in on Seclusion, as the third wave hit. The line broke on the far flank, as a pair of clawers broke through. Morningrise intercepted the first, but did not notice the second in the shadow. It flew to Arc, sinking a blade into her flank. Morningrise dispatched the one he was fighting, immediately confronted by a yelp of pain by Arc. He turned, firing a bolt of light through the creature, as it erupted from the inside out, exploding into shards of red flesh which flew everywhere at the instant of explosion. The darkness clouded Morningrise's vision, as he tried desperately to locate Arc. Arc saw Seclusion in the distance, as she swerved, desperately trying to keep the fillies calm and keep from crashing into the ground. She strained, as blood began to pour out of the wound now. She saw the doorway as everything began to completely blur. Her eyes strained, then shut. All she heard were the screams of the fillies followed by an abrupt thud. Morningrise heard the crash, as the others did. Chivalry shouted to the wall, trying to get them under control and into the base. The crawlers had began to retreat, although some remained, trying to claim another of the survivors. Virtue broke formation, flying as quickly as she could to the site, seeing that Aluna and Vela had caught the fillies and removed them from the premises. Virtue turned to the group in the air, shouting with as much force as she had left. "I need help down here!" She managed to shout, getting the attention of Chivalry. Morningrise had created a massive light ward, providing visibility to the nearby areas. She went to Teal, pushing her back inside as she tried to run to her sister, meanwhile yelling to the wall of soldiers to fall back into the fortress. Chivalry and Virtue, dragging Arc into the building, were immediately followed by the wall of soldiers, who fought with all of their might to shut the door and bar it. Mornignrise ran to Arc, Teal directly behind him. "Where all are you hurt?" Morningrise said, the armor concealing the true location of the wound, although the general area was apparent by the steady flow of blood from under the armor. Arc coughed, then smiled to Morningrise. "Nowhere." Morningrise did not smile, only spoke again. "I'm serious Arc, where are you hurt?" Morningrise now tried to remove the armor plating by her flank, as she slapped away her hoof. "And I'm serious, Morningrise, I'm not hurt. In fact, I've never felt better." Arc spoke, coughing again. Teal began to try to coax a true response out of Arc, tears running down her face. "Sister..." "Don't you sister me. I'm the older one here, and don't you forget it. Now I mean it I'm fine." Arc said, as Morningrise nodded. "But she only speaks for your well being." Morningrise said, getting a laugh from Arc, followed by a cough, some blood coming out in the process. "I think I know about my well being. And I think I know when there's nothing you can do. Now I tell you again. I am not hurt." Morningrise said nothing only nodding. He walked out of the room, as Teal began to try to talk Arc out of her stance. "Arc, you can't leave me. Not today." Teal said, as she began to cry even more now. "Oh, I promise I'll never leave you. In fact, I will be with you even more now." Arc looked to Teal, as Teal began to panic, looking immediately to Hope. "Why aren't you helping!?" Teal spoke, her voice shaky. Hope looked to Teal, then down at the ground. "We just can't. It's a matter of fact. You cannot save the life of somepony who does not wish to live. It is both a code of many of us, as well as a form of last respect. Teal looked around the room, getting nothing but blank stares of sorrow and depression, some crying, others too scared to even make a noise. Morningrise had stopped at the corner of the room, not yet leaving further into the complex. "You will never be forgotten, Arc. That is more than can be said for most of us." Morningrise said, as Hope quickly tried to catch up to Morningrise, as he went down one of the corridors towards his quarters. Arc turned to Night Flash, as she stood over her. Arc spoke, as she coughed again. "You know, Night Flash, you were right. I did do a great thing. I'm just glad you were there to tell me that I would. Thank you, Night Flash, Thank..." Arc said, as Night Flash quieted the young Pegasus. "Shh... save your strength for when you walk with Celestia." Night Flash said, as Arc managed to smile through all of the pain. "Thank you... Everypony." Arc's eyes slowly closed, as her life force ceased and she fell limp. Teal began to sob, as she hugged the body of her sister. "Goodbye...sister." Hope finally caught up to Morningrise, trying to speak through her exhaustion. "What's wrong?" She mustered, as Morningrise froze, slowly turning to face her. "What's wrong? Nothing. Besides, you know, losing Arc, Blitz, Lancelot, and learning that my teacher, and any chance of ever figuring out what is going on, to be completely destroyed and nonexistent." Morningrise responded, as Hope tried to cheer him up. "But we know who we are fighting now." "Goody, we know that we are fighting somepony that I've never heard of, you've never heard of. How does that help, or even constitute the loss of life?" "But there is also the gain, we got Splice, Staggershock, the fillies..." Hope responded, as Morningrise shrugged. "So we traded some lives for others. How is that fair? All that does is make me feel responsible for all of this." Frustration began to get to Hope, as she tried desperately to find some upside to all of this. Finally, she hit a breakthrough. "You are not responsible though. Just because you are a leader doesn't mean you choose what somepony decides to do with their life. You merely try to suggest. The leader that decides for others is an oppressive one. We just need to learn to move on, to persevere. If our ancestors made it through 2 Wars with the Griffons, and an evil Discord, we can handle some crazy alicorn." Morningrise laughed, as Hope began to chuckle too now. He brought his head back up, mustering a slight smile. "I suppose you're right." Morningrise said, as Hope began to urge him back into the foyer. "Come on, let's get back to everypony else." Hope said, as Morningrise went back into the foyer, confronted nearly immediately by Justice, who was in the prophetic Balthazar personality. "Morningrise, I have a message for you." Justice spoke, getting a confused look accompanied by a nod from Morningrise. "Shoot." Justice began to float, her eyes glowing bright white. Her voice spoke in a tone that shocked Morningrise. He knew that voice, he knew it from anywhere. It was Twilight. "When the Elements of Harmony fail and the world collapses, there will arise a new set of Elements, Crucial to the survival of the world. You will know them by the following..." Justice's voice began to change, going back and forth from the voices of different ponies, identity unknown, but gender nearly definite. "On the darkest night, a Beacon of Light." A mare's voice spoke confidently. "Simple of Divine, a Wise Mind." A second mare's voice spoke, this time much more softly. "From the end to the start, a Loving Heart." Another mare's voice spoke, in the very middle of the other two in volume and spoke as confidently as the first. "Never giving in, a Brave Whim." A Last mare's voice spoke, the loudest of the four. "Giving all to everypony, a sacrificing heart." A stallion's voice spoke, with a rusty, almost grizzly, voice. "A leader, pure in heart, and vigilant over everypony." A last stallion's voice spoke, which stopped Morningrie in shock. Justice descended to the ground as Morningrise darted out of the room, quickly followed by Hope. Chivalry helped Justice to her hooves, as everypony tried to make sense of what just happened. Virtue looked around, noticing almost immediately that Teal had left the room. She went down the hallway, following it to her room, as she knocked twice. No answer. Knocked again. This time, a depressed voice responded. "Go away..." The voice spoke, as Virtue opened the door. Teal was curled on her bed, the pillow covering her head. Virtue approached, as Teal spoke again. "I said go away." Teal spoke, as Virtue shook her head. "It will take more than that to get me away. Now tell me, what's wrong?" Teal groaned, and then sat up, removing the pillow from her face. "Hm... I wonder, maybe its that my sister just died and there was nothing I could have done to stop it. Or maybe worse, there was something and I didn't do it." Teal groaned again and then curled back up, covering her head again. "I just don't know." Virtue sighed, and then approached Teal. "She did a great thing, and she chose to do it. There was nothing you can do, but now there is something you can do." She picked her head up, looking at Virtue. "There is?" Virtue nodded. "Yes, don't you ever forget her. If you do that, she will never leave your mind. Just remember, she is with Celestia now, and she will always be here for us." Virtue said as Teal groaned again. Virtue walked to the doorway, speaking softly. "If you need me, I will be in my room." She left the room, as Teal slowly began to sob again. Hope knocked on the door to Morningrise's study, frantically trying to get him to open the door. "Morningrise!" "Not now Hope!" Morningrise sat behind his desk, frantically scribbling down the prophecy that had been given to him by Balthazar. He studied it over and over, zoning out Hope at the door. He began to write something down, but then shook his head and crumpled the paper, muttering a simple no. This process went on for minutes onto hours, as frustration grew exponentially. He finally gave up, walking over to meditate. Initially, he calmed, his mind going through the usual calming visions that he used all of the time when meditating. Then, the day's events began to run through his mind. Particularly, all he could see was Arc, bleeding, saying over and over that she was not hurt. "I'm fine, I'm not hurt. I'm...." It drilled through his mind as he tried to maintain his composure, with no success. Finally, he was overcame with stress, as he felt a slip from his mind followed by a large amount of stress removed from his mind. Chivalry stood outside, as Hope volunteered to be the second guard of the night. They stood very close to the door, as they were uneasy because of the day's events. Hope turned to Chivalry, as she looked to him for guidance. "Is something wrong with Morningrise?" Hope said, as chivalry shrugged. "I suppose, but how would you feel if your role model were found to be dead after you clinged to the hope of her being still alive?" Hope nodded, understanding Chivary's point as she began to speak, but was astonished by a giant pillar of light flooding out of the top of Seclusion. Chivalry managed to speak, looking up at the massive tower of light. "What in Celestia's name?" Morningrise fell out of his meditation, as he noticed that his satchel had been knocked to the ground, the book which he grabbed in canterlot spilling out of the satchel. He approached it, moving it to the desk. It opened slowly, the strain of the aged pages evident by the crackling. The writing of the pages became almost immediately recognized by Morningrise, by the title Dear Princess Celestia, at the top of all of them. They were loosely packed at the front of the book, followed by a series of diary entries from some time after she had stopped writing the letters to Celestia. He read through them, laughing at some of the letters and how they had somewhat reminded him of his childhood mischief. Then, as he read through the diary entries, more and more troubling things became apparent. Finally, towards the end of the diary, on the last page with writing, was a frantically written letter. The text was written slowly at first, but then had a feverish pace at the end, abruptly ending. He read it quietly out loud to himself. "Dear anypony who is reading this, If you are reading this, the worst has happened. Even with the best of intentions we have been unable to prevent the imminent disaster. We have failed you. The only thing I know about the threat is that they are controlled. By who, or how, I cannot tell you. All I know is that Celestia told me that eventually light would find its place again, and balance would eventually cast away the shadow and evil of this world. This she told me as she went to buy time for the evacuation. If you read this, know that Celestia has full faith that you are those that will redeem this world from the destruction it faces. You alone can save the world. Know also that.... " Morninrise read, as it stopped there. He turned the page. Nothing. He examined the page, as there was a huge amount of space at the bottom. He examined the text again, as it sounded even more grim the second time. He dropped his head, as he began to cry again. A tear hit the page, as it began to slowly soak into the page. Suddenly, the page began to glow lightly, as at the bottom words began to be written in ink. Morningrise opened his eyes, seeing the handwriting and knowing it by heart. "It can't be..." He said, as at the bottom a small sentence was written out. "You are not alone" Morningrise read out as he heard a small noise from behind him. He turned, meeting gaze with the winged purple alicorn whose handwriting he had known for nearly all of his life, as well as a white unicorn with a purple mane, who he recognized as Rarity. "Hello, Morningrise."