Onyx Skies

by SupaSqueegee

Chapter Four

What little bit of the sun that could be seen the next morning shone down on them through the thick haze of the swamp around them. None of the trio had gotten much sleep the previous night, the stress from their encounter the day before having taken a rather serious toll on them. The various bugs and the incessant, sweltering heat of the swamp, leaving all three of them sticky and moist, only made sleep that much more difficult as well. By the time that they had packed up and set off, all three of them were haggard and irritable.

They traveled in silence for most of the morning, Vertigo in the center, Mammoth at the head, and Starshine trailing behind. They had arrived at the agreement that traveling back the way they had come wasn’t wise, the fear of running into their pursuers enough to keep them pushing forward into the deepest recesses of the murky swamp. Mammoth’s warning of the dangers that lay in this particular area still coursed through Vertigo’s mind; if it was enough to make him nervous, then she felt justified in her fear.

There was little in the way of wildlife around them, from what Vertigo could see. The deep, dark pools of fetid water would occasionally bubble, but the only sounds they heard were the almost constant buzzing of insects. The most annoying of which were the clouds of blood sucking mosquitos that they had to constantly fend off. After a while, Starshine had become so fed up with the little beasts that he had cast a warding spell over them to fend off the biting bugs. It proved to be a boon, and it made their traveling that much easier.

The smell of rotting wood soon became overpowering as they made their way farther and farther into the swamp, and Vertigo soon found herself gagging because of the stench. Mammoth brought their little troupe to a stop and pulled a piece of cloth from his saddle bags. After a little instruction, Starshine managed to cut and manipulate the cloth into three mouth covers for them. It helped a little with the stench, but it was more to help filter out the gas of the swamp as they walked.

It didn’t take them long after the sun reached the highest point in the sky before the ground began to harden and the muck to become less prevalent. Vertigo thought that they were finally coming to the edge of the swamp, and was grateful for it, until a dark shape began to come into view ahead of them. It was some kind of building, but she couldn’t make out much more than that until they got a lot closer. A path started to form once they got close enough, and Vertigo was able to see that it was some kind of guard outpost. It was old and dilapidated, and the far right side of the building had collapsed into the swamp.

Mammoth pulled them to a stop once more, this time a couple hundred yards away from the place. “We have to go through there. It’s the only way to reach the other side of the swamp.” He cast his view back to the building and grimaced, “I’ve never been through this way, and for good reason. When that place was built, it was meant to be a crossing station between Equestria and the dragon territories. A long road had been built between the mountain path and here. But from what I understand, an old magic had been disturbed, and it destroyed everything in it’s path. The only thing left is that building.” Mammoth shook his head, “We best get through there quickly, I’m not really sure what to expect.”

Starshine and Vertigo nodded, and the three of them set off towards the cross station. The closer they got, the more oppressive the atmosphere was. It was like there was something heavy hanging in the air, pushing on them, weighing them down. At one point the tip of Starshine’s horn sparked unexpectedly, and he had to drop the bug barrier he had cast earlier. The very air was thick with magic, of a kind the unicorn had never experienced before. Even Vertigo and Mammoth could feel it, like their own natural magic was working against them. Vertigo’s wing began to cramp, and Mammoth’s movements became sluggish. Whatever was causing this was really taking its toll on the three.

They stopped outside the gated entrance to the crossing station to catch their breath for a few moments, unsure of what they were going to find when they made it inside. After a nod of encouragement from Mammoth, they pushed their way in past the metal barricade. The cross station was a simple enough design; two rectangular buildings on either side of a courtyard. The walkway through the courtyard was broken and fractured from the swamp slowly starting to reclaim it. Puddles of swamp water were gathered here and there, and thick bundles of reeds had sprouted forth from the cracks in the walkway.

Almost immediately after entering the courtyard the pressure increased by a great deal and all three of them were nearly pinned to the ground. A deep rumbling in the ground signaled that whatever it was, whatever ancient presence lived here, was waking up. Vertigo felt panic grip at her chest, and her eyes darted left and right as she scanned for danger.

“We have to move! Now!”

The shouted warning from Mammoth was all they needed, and the trio began to run as fast as they could through the guard station, pushing their bodies with all the might they had. Their hooves caused a roaring thunder along the fractured stone of the ground, and their breathing was heavier than it had ever been. Tears streamed from Vertigo’s eyes and she screamed in agony, the magical pressure making each step harder than the last. The trembling ground grew in intensity, and suddenly they were caught up in an earthquake that seemed to focus on just the guard station.

The stone walls began to crumble and collapse, geysers of fetid water exploded from the ground, and the stone under their hooves fractured even more and threatened to trip them with each hurried step. They ran and ran, the fear in their chests expanding and forcing them to falter with almost every moment. A cacophony of sounds rose out from the ground around them; wails the like they had never heard, screams that sounded almost equine, and more tearing of the earth.

They were just over halfway through, the building nearly completely demolished around them, when darkness began to overcome their retreating forms. It was insubstantial, and wasn’t caused by anything natural. It seemed to have a life of its own as it crept along the ground and through the air, reaching for them with tendrils of blackness. Vertigo focused her eyes ahead and pushed herself all the harder. She was starting to fall behind Starshine and Mammoth, the two stallions proving to be much faster than she was.

The darkness was starting to take shape, the thick tendrils forming into substance, reaching for them as they ran. They sped along the ground and through the air, surrounding them as they pushed forward ever faster. It didn’t seem to matter how fast they ran, how hard they pushed themselves, they were losing ground to the monstrous magic. The magic lashed at them, causing them to stumble, ripping along their bodies and tearing at their flesh. Blood spattered the ground, but they pushed themselves all the harder. They couldn’t give in.

Flashes of magic from Starshine seemed to dissuade the magic some, but with every black tentacle that he blasted, another three took it’s place. Mammoth called back to him that he should just push forward, the magic couldn’t be fought like this. Further and further across the courtyard they ran, leaping over the tumbling bits of structure. The building was collapsing in on itself, threatening them just as much as the magic they fled from.

There was a deep roar from all around them, and the magic seemed to pick up in intensity once again. More of the black tendrils exploded from the ground all around them, and their retreat was further hindered. Vertigo let out another wild scream as one of the magical tentacles wrapped around the barrel of her chest and hefted her into the air. Starshine and Mammoth came to a halt, turned, and charged back towards her immediately. “Vertigo!” Starshine’s magic flared to life once more, and bright bolts of it’s power sliced away at the tentacle holding onto the pegasus. Vertigo was thrashed around, and she flailed wildly in an attempt to get away.

Mammoth charged ahead as Starshine fired his magic, dodging left and right around the tentacles trying to capture him. The earth pony let out a roar of his own and slammed his shoulder into the base of the magical appendage. The sheer force he put behind it caused the tentacle to shudder, but not much else. Mammoth reared around, brought his hind legs up, and let loose a kick from his hind legs that carried enough force to topple a tree. The magic shuddered again, and started to retreat back into the earth.

Vertigo was still wrapped up in its grasp, and once she saw what was happening, struggled all the harder. She did not want to be dragged underground with it! She bit, kicked, and flailed with all her might, letting out grunts and whines of panic as she sank closer and closer to pool of swamp water from whence the magic came. Starshine’s horn was enveloped in magic, and the magic extended and hardened until it formed a glowing blade atop his head. The unicorn charged forward and, with one mighty slash, ripped the tentacle in two.

Vertigo fell to the ground, pulled herself free from the writhing mass of the tentacle, and bolted forward once again. Mammoth and Starshine charged after her, and another howl echoed forth around them. The magic was gearing up for another assault and the the rest of the two buildings beside them collapsed completely. The ground was starting to tear apart, and the trio had to leap over rifts as they formed around them. They were almost there!

The exit was just in front of them, and Mammoth burst through the gateway and held it open for Starshine and herself to escape.The unicorn galloped through, and Vertigo followed shortly thereafter, Mammoth chasing after them once they had made it. The trio didn’t stop running, afraid of just how far the magic would reach, and unwilling to test their luck. They didn’t stop until the air was no longer pushing down on them, and when they did stop, all three of them collapsed.

Vertigo could barely breathe, her chest rising and falling quickly from the exertion and from fear. A thick sheen of sweat covered each of them, and none of them felt like they had the energy to continue moving forward just then. Blood dripped from the various wounds they had all received during their escape, but none of them seemed to be too badly injured. Vertigo rolled back to her hooves and looked between her two companions. Pain was evident on their faces, matched only by the exhaustion they were surely feeling.

“What,” Vertigo gasped softly and sank to a sitting position, “What was that?”

Mammoth shook his head and looked back towards the guard outpost, and Starshine followed the direction of his gaze. “I’ve never felt magic like that before, let alone seen it,” the unicorn spoke softly, “I don’t think anyone has in a long time. It felt old, though. I guess I can understand why no one wanted to travel through this way.” He looked back to Vertigo and grimaced a little, “We’re lucky to be alive.”

Mammoth got to his hooves and shrugged his saddlebags back into place, “Come on, we have to keep moving. That was bound to have attracted some attention, and I’d rather not be around when things start to come investigate.”

Vertigo and Starshine nodded, got to their hooves as well, and the three of them began to walk once more. Vertigo’s mind ran over what had just transpired as they moved. She had almost died again, and this time it had been a lot closer than before. If she was going to make this journey, then she was going to have to learn how to defend herself. It was no longer a question of if she had to. She simply couldn’t depend on the two stallions to continue risking their lives to protect her.

She trotted up beside Mammoth and looked up to meet his gaze. “Mammoth, I want you to teach me how to fight.” The earth pony lifted an eyebrow, but nodded. He understood what it was that she was feeling, she could tell by his response. “I don’t want you to die for me.”

---

Time wasn’t something that Swift Shield could rightly grasp right now. The hours and days ticked by without him being able to comprehend them. The only thing he knew, at this point, was his cell. Meals were served at irregular intervals, and he didn’t see any more of the mare that had first visited him. At least his wounds seemed to be mostly healed, giving him a bit more mobility, though he still remained chained to the floor. He supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised that the magic inhibitor remained on his horn, either. They seemed to be taking every precaution to keep him bound.

The only thing that seemed to remain a constant was the field of magic that closed down on him every so often. The same thing would always happen, too. He would drift off to sleep, only to find himself having extremely lucid dreams, usually about the banishment of other sentient creatures. Sometimes he was the one doing the banishing, other times he would just be in the background, cheering on what was happening. But he was always in support of what was happening, and every time he woke up, he would find that he knew more and more about the other magical beings inhabiting the world.

It didn’t make any sense to him at first, all of these things that were happening. He had always been a firm believer of equality. He believed that every species should be part of the greater good, which is why he followed Princess Celestia’s goal of forming a world council so closely. She had already succeeded in forming a bond with ponies from foreign lands, but she had been working on creating a similar bond with other creatures over the years. It was proving to be more difficult than many had originally imagined, but progress was definitely being made.

What bothered him more than anything was that he still didn’t know why he was being held captive. At first he had thought it had something to do with his diplomatic mission to the dragons, but now he wasn’t so sure. If their goal had simply been to disrupt the peace negotiations between Equestria and the dragons, then it would have been easier to kill him on the spot like they had done with the rest of his group. So why take him alive?

There was something bigger going on here, that much was easier to see. Especially if the magic that was overcoming him every night was anything to go by. He was starting to feel like it was some sort of indoctrination. He just didn’t know for what.

All he did know was that he had to get out of here and save his wife. If she was coming for him like that crazed mare from before had said, then he couldn’t just lay here and let them do whatever they wanted. Every waking moment was spent trying to think of anything, any possible way for him to escape. But being bound like he was made it nearly impossible. If only he could get the inhibitor off of his horn, then maybe he might stand a better chance.

A deep, unsettling feeling came over him as he once again contemplated how to escape. It was like someone was watching him, keeping an eye on everything he did. He felt like they could even see into his mind, and with the magic that they kept using, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case at all. Swift gritted his teeth and pulled at his restraints again, forcing the chains to pull tight against the hook in the floor. They gave about as much as they always did, which was almost none. But still he pulled, still he struggled He wasn’t going to give up just because the odds were stacked against him. How could he?

That was when the magic from before circled around above him and began to descend. “No! Stop this!” He pulled and struggled all the more, tilting and twisting his body in an effort to make some kind of progress. But it wasn’t enough, and the magic soon fell over his form, and he once again drifted off into a magically induced slumber.

The dream was different this time. Instead of it focusing on the exile of some species or another, he was where he had been before he fell asleep; in the cell. But this time, he was the one standing over a prisoner. there was a wild look to his eyes as he peered down at the unicorn chained to the floor. “You will succumb. They always succumb,” he sneered as he spoke. The unicorn was broken and battered, lying there in front of him wracked with pain and injury. All Swift Shield could feel was a sense of accomplishment.

This was another victory for the cause, he told himself. Another pawn that would become a member of their order and help them set the world right.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Swift was screaming. This wasn’t right. This couldn’t be happening! He would never falter and work against his better judgement. The unicorn looked up, and Swift Shield saw into his eyes. It wasn’t just any unicorn, but his friend Starshine. In his eyes was betrayal and sadness.

“Swift,” he whispered, beaten, “What have you done?”

Memories flashed before his eyes. He saw it all, all the things this dream version of himself had done. His wife, Vertigo, lay lifeless on the ground in front of him. The large, red earth pony was battered and barely breathing a few feet away, and Starshine was pinned to the ground by members of his order.

Had he done this?

Had he been the one to kill his own wife?

Fear and hatred bubbled up in him, and he stumbled, nearly falling to the floor in front of Starshine. “You killed her! You killed your own wife!” Starshine’s words rang out loudly in his ears, forcing his persona to crumble. “Now you’re going to set the world on fire because of it! What happened to you?!”

Swift fell to the floor and screamed in rage. He couldn’t have done those things! He would never bring harm to the mare he loved!

“No!” The word was empty and hollow, despite the ferocity with which he screamed it. Behind him, off in the shadows of the cell, a cold laughter rang out, and Swift felt tears start to trail down his cheeks.

---

Camp was once again set up for the night, the trio having made it to the edge of the swamp. They had decided to stop here before pressing on, Mammoth suggesting that their attackers from before might have something up ahead waiting for them. They were in little shape to fight again that night.

The sun hadn’t quite set yet, the dull glow of it setting in the East barely making it through the density of the swamp’s atmosphere. But it was still enough light to see by, and Mammoth and Vertigo squared off against one another in the small clearing. The large pony that was serving as their guide had taken the mare’s words to heart. If she wanted to learn how to fight, then he was going to train her. He had warned her before that what was to come would not be easy, but she refused to back down.

“There are many styles of martial arts, as I’m sure you know,” Mammoth spoke levelly as he took a step towards her. “Namely, there are specializations each for Pegasi, Earth Pony, and Unicorn. Unicorn styles tend to focus on magic and striking from a distance, but there are specializations that require physical combat should your opponent get too close. Earth Pony martial arts are all about strength and overpowering your opponent; breaking bones and ending them in as few moves as possible. Pegasi are a different matter altogether. Theirs focuses on speed and striking your opponent’s weak points in a series of guerilla tactics. There’s a lot of flying play that comes with it, but since you can no longer fly, we won’t be worrying with that part.”

“As I’m sure that Starshine told you before, I’m the only Earth Pony to ever make it as far as I did in the guard. There’s a reason for that. I was able to master the art of fighting of all three subspecies of pony, aside from the ones that directly involve magic and flight.” He sunk down into a fighting position, his forelegs spread past his shoulders and his chest almost touching the ground. “This style is called Tempest. More often than not, Pegasi are forced to the ground at some point during any confrontation. This is the style that focuses on that.”

Vertigo watched him closely, her eyes moving over his form as she watched the muscles of his shoulders bunch up. He looked up and met her eyes, smirked, then used all of his strength to push himself into the air in an arc. His whole body flipped as he went, and he ended the maneuver with a solid strike of his left foreleg into the ground in front of her. Vertigo blinked and shook her head. “I don’t think I can do that.”

Mammoth moved over to her and nodded, “It’s an advanced technique, and one that we won’t bother with for now.” Standing beside her now, he sunk down into his previous stance. Once she followed suit, he began to lead her through a variety of different motions. From simple kicks and lunges, to the more complicated strikes and dodges. Vertigo had never been a particularly agile or active pony, so she had a lot of problems keeping up with Mammoth’s movements at first. But after an hour or so, and by the time they stopped for the night, she had come to grasp some of the simpler techniques.

“Not bad. A bit more training and you should be able to at least handle yourself a little.” Mammoth offered her a small smile before walking back over to where Starshine had been watching the whole time.

Flushed, and breathing more than a little heavily, Vertigo walked over and joined them. She knew that she wasn’t anything particularly special when it came to combat, but she wanted to at least be able to do something the next time they were put in a situation like before. She may not be able to handle herself around monsters or magic, but she might be able to do something against the average pony.

Mammoth busied himself with preparing their food for the evening, rifling around in their saddlebags and breaking apart the bread and cheese once he had them in hoof. He passed around a portion to his two companions, then set aside one for himself. Once that was done, he took a swig of water from his waterskin, then passed it around to the other two. He sat down and began to eat in silence.

Starshine cleared his throat and she looked up to him. He motioned with a hoof to his horn, “Seems like most of the baddies we’ve come across have been unicorns, right? So here’s a couple tips for fighting them. If you can get close enough, a solid hit to the horn will disorient even the strongest unicorn. Other than that, line of sight is very important. Not many unicorns can do much against an opponent they can’t see.” Mammoth simply nodded his agreement and Vertigo looked down at her hooves.

Could she really fight like they were suggesting? She was going to have to learn if she had any hopes of surviving this little expedition. The thought of brawling with another pony was unsettling, though. She’d never been the type that enjoyed confrontation. In fact, she had often let her husband handle any that come up around them. And now she was learning how to fight. It was very different from what she had once imagined for herself.

Starshine opted to take the first watch that night, and as Mammoth and Vertigo lay down to sleep, the mare’s mind once again turned over what all she had left behind for this quest. She missed her home, she missed her friends and neighbors, she missed the safety of the city, but most of all she missed her husband. She was more determined now than she had ever been before about bringing him home.

She could do this.

She would do this.

Her eyes drifted shut, a soft glow forming around the edges of her vision, and she fell into a deep slumber, off to dream of a happier time. Not far off, Mammoth was succumbing to the same urges, his body going limp and his own eyes closing as he too drifted away.

---

The glow of the unicorn’s horn faded, and Jet smiled as they watched from the shadows. The mare and the bigger earth pony were now completely defenseless, and all that was left to deal with was the unicorn that was standing guard some twenty paces away. With the spell that had been cast, the biggest threat of the trio was now out of the picture, and taking out the unicorn would be simple enough. Jet reached into the belt at his waist, drew out a slim dagger, and vanished into the undergrowth and mire of the swamp around them. While he did, the unicorn’s magic began to glow once more, and another aura began to pulse around the large, red earth pony. The first spell was to simply render him unconscious. This one would be a bit more deadly.

Jet slipped silently through the fetid waters as he inched closer and closer to the unicorn standing guard. It was obvious that his target had no idea what was coming, that they had gone completely unnoticed. Jet stopped in the darkness a few feet away from the unicorn and waited for the opportune moment to strike, that perfect instant where the unicorn would be caught completely unawares.

The seconds ticked by slowly, and the dragon’s golden eyes never blinked as he watched. The muscles in his body tightened, and he slipped forward the very instant that the unicorn turned his back. That was when the whole world turned white for the dragon, an explosion of pain wracked his entire body.

Magic arced through the air around the dragon, streaking across his flesh and scales and scalding him wherever it touched. He had stumbled across some kind of trap, one that he hadn’t seen before. He knew about unicorns, knew about their magic, but this was something new, a spell that he hadn’t heard of before. Jet roared in pain and tried to approach his prey, but the magic only seemed to pick up in strength, and the dagger fell from his grasp, splashing into the muck at his feet.

Starshine spun around and aimed his horn right at his attacker, a bolt of magic flying forth and striking him right in the chest. Jet was sent hurtling backwards, Starshine’s protective magic having done it’s job. Starshine moved forward, intent on finishing the job and striking down the dragon so he wouldn’t have a chance to retaliate, but the darkness was proving difficult to navigate through, made all the harder by the density of the swamp around him, and he only had a general idea of where the dragon had flown off to.

He was stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a voice in the distance call out, “I’ve got her!” Starshine’s eyes grew wide, and he galloped as fast as he could back to where the other two were sleeping. But he was too late, Vertigo had already been taken, and Mammoth still lay immobile where he had fallen. There didn’t appear to have been a struggle, and his earth pony companion didn’t seem to have woken during the whole scuffle.

Starshine looked around frantically, casting out a net of magic in hopes of finding wherever his attackers had fled. There was no sign of them, and as he looked down to Mammoth he noticed that the earth pony’s breathing was slowing at an alarming rate. “Oh no.” The unicorn knelt down by his companion and began to search through his body with probes of magic, hoping to find whatever it was that was doing him harm.

It didn’t take him long to find the spell. It was an old technique, one he had only heard about in rumors. The magic was closing over Mammoth’s heart, suffocating him. Starshine’s magic grew in power, and he settled in close to the larger pony as he attempted to undo the spell. If he was going to have any hopes of bringing Vertigo back, he would need Mammoth’s help.