//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: Turning the Tide // Story: Discovering the Past // by Astral Star and Company //------------------------------// Old Castle (One Thousand Years Ago) Sunshine Smiles gathered up all his fury and strength, and charged at the Darkling. He slammed into its side, causing it to reel sideways in an attempt to regain balance. The Night Guard didn’t stop there, he delivered quick, strong slashes with deadly accuracy, each scoring a weak point in the creature’s armour. Finishing his assault, he backed up to survey the damage. Glowing green acidic blood flowed freely from all the gaps in its main carapace, as well as several punctures made by the spears of his fallen comrades. There were several cross bow bolts lodged into its exoskeleton, thanks to Potence. Its right front leg wobbled and shook as it bore weight on it, blood trickling from the wounds inflicted by Golden Lance. His survey was cut short as a projectile singer missed him by inches. Nimbly dodging all the creature’s projectiles, he dove in again, hacking and slashing relentlessly at the Darkling’s weak points. It screamed in rage and frustration, trying desperately to deter the persistent guard. In a last ditch effort, it fired a stinger right at Sunshine as he landed on the creature’s back. Hearing the hissing sound that forewarned an incoming stinger, Sunshine took off again, flying erratic loops to avoid it. Luckily for him, the stinger impacted right where he was moments ago, the creature’s back. The sheer force of the projectile, as well as its size, made the creature’s legs give out underneath it. The stinger pierced right through the body, and hooked itself to the ground. The Darkling screamed and screeched as it tried futilely to pull itself off of its own stinger. Sunshine took this opportunity to go in for the final attack. Flying two vertical loops for momentum, he sped straight towards the monster’s head. Deftly dodging the creature’s feeble attempts to ward him off, he went for a corkscrew, severing the creature’s head like a black spear, with momentum and sword alone. Its head dropped to the ground with a sickening thud, while the rest of its body thrashed and spasmed. It eventually sat still, acid trickling to the ground, sizzling against the rocks. Sunshine observed the damage. The creature’s torso, legs and tail were still intact, but impaled to the ground. Its head was a couple metres away, the glowing in its eyes dimmed as the last of its lifeblood bled out. A burning sound brought his attention to his sword, just a handle and crosspiece now, thanks to the Darkling’s acid blood. He trotted back to the camp, where a weeping mare lay on the ground in a pool of fresh tears. Seeing the sadness in her eyes, Sunshine gathered her up from the ground, and pulled her into a warm and comforting hug. Potence seemed to resist at first, but then gripped him tightly, crying into his shoulder. “Shhhh, It’s okay, its gone now,” Sunshine cooed, stroking the mare’s back as she relaxed into him. He held her like that for minutes, as she wept gently for the death of her friends. After what might have been eternity, she finally broke away, and wiped her tears with a hoof. “Um, thanks,” she whispered, smiling sheepishly “No problem,” Sunshine replied, offering her a comforting grin. This touching moment was interrupted as several more green lights appeared in the darkness, hundreds of them. Sunshine hoped they were just fireflies, but in his heart, he knew better. Lance wasn’t kidding when he said scores came in the night. Sunshine frowned grimly at the prospect of the terrible night to come. To his relief, or chagrin, the creatures advanced on him one at a time. Seeing the demise of their brother, the other Darklings shielded their faces as soon as Sunshine took to the air. Potence was alright again, and provided a distraction with her crossbow. She had plenty of ammunition, since she was the only one using it. Despite her reserved nature, she was a deadly marks pony, scoring several hits on Darkling eyes before they have a chance of protecting themselves. That also made her a target for the ranged stingers that flew by her log shelter. As the creatures focused fire on Potence’s position, it opened up an opportunity for the Night Guard. Taking a loop for speed, he dove towards the closest Darkling from behind and severed both legs on one side with immense speed and force. His target collapsed to its left, sending an ill-aimed stinger into the Darkling in front. Screeching angrily, it turned and fired at the crippled monster, ending its life with an acidic barb through the skull. Seeing his sixth, and last sword broken, he landed next to his latest kill and hacked off a piece of its leg with his hunting knife. With a makeshift, acid-proof weapon in hoof, he charged back into battle, brimming with newfound confidence. Potence was more terrified than she’d ever been in her life, and that is an impressive record. She had lived a very sheltered life, under the cover of her overprotective parents. When the time came to ‘leave the nest’ everything new terrified her. Despite her shy nature, she was an excellent marks pony. She left many an instructor baffled as to how such a delicate pony could ever shoot another, let alone become a Royal Guard. For all her faults and weaknesses, she was one good shot. Each one of Potence’s crossbow bolts scored a hit directly into a weak point in the advancing Darkling’s armour. Despite her deadly show of accuracy, the bolts did little to slow their advance, and seemed to only irritate them further. Several times had she been forced to duck under an incoming stinger. Her log shelter was quickly dissolving as projectile after projectile impacted it with a loud thud. Her shots did however, distract them from the deadly bat pony above, who took out one Darkling at a time with deadly speed and strength. Sunshine begun to feel weary with each kill he made. He must have slain a veritable army already, yet even more lay just beyond his vision, their green glow signalling their presence. The hourglass by the campfire said that he still had 4 hours until the sun rises. Reinforcements wouldn’t arrive until then, and Princess Celestia is in no shape to deal with them herself. If any make it past him and Potence, they would surely go into the Citadel. So caught up in though was he, that a three clawed tail snatched him right out of the air. The claw gripped him so tightly, that it didn’t leave him any room to cut himself free. Even if he did, all he would get is a bucket load of acid, and that would surely guarantee his demise, if the creature below did not. He hung suspended in the air as the fanged, gaping maw of the creature below widened to accommodate him. The inside was no more a mouth, than a tunnel of teeth, with acid dripping from every surface. Slowly he was lowered down, as if the creature wanted to savour the look of fear in the eyes of its prey, just as much as its taste. Just when he lost hope, a new one sprung from the fray. Carver Pie was wearing a thick, dusty brown coat that was a plain as her personality. She also wore a black hard hat with a candle fixed to the front, and a determined expression on her face. With great strength and speed, she leapt from the ground and swung a large iron pick axe straight between the Darkling’s eyes. The monster screeched in agony, dropping Sunshine and allowing him to fly to safety. The Night Guard and earth pony regrouped behind the log where Potence took shelter. “Nice of you to join us,” Sunshine smiled “Thanks for the save,” “Not a problem,” Carver replied, a ghost of a smile on hers “I’m not going to get paid if you’re all dead now am I?” Sunshine and Potence cringed at the thought. “Well, as long as you’re here, we could at least hold them off for a little longer,” the bat pony commented “How long have we got until sunrise?” Potence took a glance at her hourglass, and it didn’t look good. “About 8 hours,” she answered fearfully “Well isn’t that just great?” Carver remarked sarcastically Suddenly, a large stinger, brighter than the rest, impaled itself into the ground one metre from their position, on their side of the log. Sunshine’s eyes turned wide with shock as a terrible realisation came to him. “Every pony! Get down!” he ordered Thinking quickly, Carver Pie shrugged off her coat, and draped it over the three of them as the stinger detonated with a hiss and boom like an exploding boiler. All the stray shards of rock and chitin were absorbed by the coat, but Carver had to quickly abandon it as acid ate its way through. She took a sorrowful glance back at the blackened remains of her coat, it was her favourite after all. Sunshine looked inquiringly at her pickaxe, which seemed relatively unharmed, even when it was swung into a Darkling’s face. “Carver, what’s that axe made from?” Sunshine asked “Why do you want know?” Carver asked suspiciously “Their blood is acid, and your pick doesn’t melt in it, even though you just killed one,” “Some pony turned up at my house last week and sold me this,” she shrugged “Promised me I would never need a new one, and it looks like I won’t,” Ending the conversation, Carver vaulted over their log shelter, and brought the point of her pick down onto an approaching Darkling’s leg. The leg severed with a sickening crack, as the monster lost balance and ploughed into the dirt before her. Bringing in her axe for another swing, she drove it right between the creature’s three glowing eyes, ending its pitiful existence in one stroke. Following the queue, Sunshine and Potence leapt into action. Sunshine returned to the sky to dismember and hopefully kill a Darkling with one fell swoop, while Potence sought to distract them from her two comrades. Sunshine dove in a lateral arc, flying loops around the monsters, and severing chunks of armour with his improvised sword. The Darkling’s shrieked in agony as legs and even tails were severed from their bodies. Carver leapt from foe to foe, finishing what Sunshine started. All the creatures before her fell as her pick made short work of their faces. Being born on a farm, she was extremely fit and strong, with a resilient nature that kept her going despite the atrocities committed by ally and enemy alike. Potence’s crossbow drew in their attention as bolt after bolt pierced their exoskeletons. Even more found their way into their eyes, sending them reeling in pain. By the time they reached Carver, they were moving at a sluggish pace, bleeding profusely, and blind as a bat, though by some animalistic compulsion, they kept going. Darkling’s fell left and right, their big black bodies creating obstacles for the ones behind. They were bottle necked into single file as they tried the narrow passage to the guarded bridge. Their corpses littered the ground, creating pools of acidic blood, which were bounded across gracefully by the pick axe wielding mare. The tides turned as the Darkling’s onslaught decayed to a standoff, the only thing keeping them equal being numbers. For the first time the whole team started to smile. They were winning. Canterlot Throne room (Present) Princess Celestia was not in a happy mood. Murder was a serious crime, one that has been committed very rarely. Incidents only occur once or twice a decade, disregarding the occasional war or invasion. The three she’s after seem to be very dangerous, according to the information gathered. She knew the risk of sending in Luna’s two personal guards, but that did not make her anymore prepared for the consequences. Her sister was absent from her side, tending to the funeral of Sunshine Smiles. Obviously, the terms of his death have been kept secret. If ponies knew why he died, it could cause uproar in the populace. What set her on such a sour mood, lie in the ongoing siege. Firstly it wasn’t supposed to be a siege in the first place, but the apprehension party she sent was quickly incapacitated. Magical fortifications surrounded the Estate, and any guard that managed to get through only wound up back out exhausted, unconscious or hurt, but otherwise alive. Without proper support, the siege can go on for far longer than considered acceptable. She had tried to keep it quiet, especially in such close proximity to Ponyville. Sooner or later, they would be noticed if she did not take action, and end the siege. She strode outside the throne room, and prepared for a long flight. This time, she flew on the intent of seeing justice brought down upon its offenders. Astral’s Estate Astral and Venia were having tea out in the front gardens. Venia’s magic was standard, but her weapon expertise was exceptional. In stark contrast, Astral’s magical prowess was unequalled, but his swordsmanship left something to be desired. Neither of these traits could contribute well to the defence of the mansion, since they wanted minimal harm to come to the guards. Verity was allowed for perimeter control for her ability to enchant certain objects with power, allowing the electric sword and flail she wielded. Honour Bound’s magic worked by draining all of his targets physical strength, and their mental strength too, should it be necessary. Weeping Angels stood silently behind every corner and sometimes in open space. The guards have long since been warned of their capabilities, being struck blind by their movement and stealth. All in all, defending against the siege was a cup of tea for this group ponies. “So, Venia,” Astral said, trying to light a conversation “How goes the guard work?” Venia took a sip of her tea “Not so bad,” she shrugged “I’ve been stationed at Canterlot since the last time I saw you, then the Crystal Empire before I got here,” “The Empire?” Astral breathed, clearly impressed “Tell me, have you seen…” “Of course I have,” she assured him “She’s doing well, and same to your little colt too. She asks where’ve you been though. It’s been a lonely month for her without you around,” The blue unicorn chuckled a bit “I’ll visit when all this blows over. I’m sure Celestia would listen to reason over instinct,” As if by some cruel switch of fortune, the sky was illuminated by a harsh, golden glow. The light was blinding, and encompassed the whole Estate in its glow, leaving not even a shadow. The magical field brightened blue in response, trying in vain to keep the mansion sealed and protected. Eventually, as all good things come to an end, the field dissipated into a haze of cyan sparks. A majestic figure flew above the remains of the shield. A tall, slender white alicorn with a rippling mane and tail. “Venia! Get out of here!” Astral commanded, hastily gathering his equipment “I’m not leaving you,” she shouted, reaching for her own sword “I’m not going to have you hurt, not again,” he replied intensely A light blue aura gathered around his horn as he focused. The same aura wrapped around the struggling Pegasus, silencing all her pleas. “I’m sorry,” he said with finality She vanished in a shower of purple sparks, a scorch mark in the shape of a star on the ground where she had been standing not too long ago. Astral then turned away, and faced his foe above.