Banished Shadows

by Intercollision

The Major

Chapter Two: The Major

Consciousness was slow in returning to Twilight, her whole body ached as she lay in an awkward position on her back. She wrenched her eyes open and the world swam slowly into focus. With a groan, she rolled to her feet, shards of glass sliding off her as she stood. Her legs wobbled under her like a newborn foal’s; she took an experimental step and nearly collapsed. Twilight gritted her teeth and focused on remaining upright, This is worse than ice skating.

Twilight eyed the floor sadly, it was littered with broken glass, loose pages, and spilled ink. “My poor books,” she lamented.

“My dear, who cares about your books, are you alright?”

Twilight looked up quickly, too quickly it turned out, as a wave of dizziness sent the room spinning. When everything settled back to its proper place, more or less, Twilight risked looking up again. Rarity stood in the library door eyeing her with a mixture of horror and concern.

“Hello R-rarity,” Twilight said shakily, and took a deep breath to steady herself. “I’m fine, just a few aches, nothing serious.”

“Well, is she alright?” Rainbow Dash’s voice called from outside.

“Yes, she’s fine,” Rarity called back over her shoulder

“Then move out of the way so we can get in!”

Rarity stepped delicately out of the doorway, even so, glass crunched beneath her hooves with each step. Rainbow Dash flew through the door and hovered in front of Twilight, “What happened in here?”

Twilight shook her head slowly, “I’m not sure, but it had something to do with—”

“Land sakes! What in tarnation is that?!”

Twilight looked over and saw Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike standing in the center of the library staring at—“No, it can’t be, that’s impossible,” Twilight whispered. There, thrusting up through a ragged hole in the floor, was the archway from the book.

Twilight staggered closer; the stone blocks of the arch sat in the middle of the room, gray and solid, the vines wrapped tightly around them, their diamond-shaped leaves drifting in a breeze from the broken windows. “It’s not possible, it’s not, it can’t be...” Twilight mumbled and she ran to her desk, the book lay open to same page, but it was now blank. Twilight flipped frantically through the other pages, they were all blank save for the very first with its strange, red letters. Twilight sat down hard, eyes wide. “It’s...it’s real!”

Applejack trotted over to her. “But Twilight, what is it?”

“It was in this book, it was a picture in this book, and then there was this noise, and this wind, and then this light, and now it’s real!”

Everypony was now staring at Twilight, then Rainbow Dash cast a sidelong glance at Pinkie Pie. Twilight stood and looked back at them imploringly. “It’s true, you believe me don’t you?”

Applejack’s expression softened. “Of course we do, sugarcube.” There was a chorus of agreements from the others.

“Is it safe to come in?” a soft voice called from the library door.

Rainbow Dash turned. “Yes Fluttershy, it’s safe.”

Fluttershy stepped tentatively into the room. “Oh Twilight, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, “but we have a bit of a problem,” and she gestured towards the center of the room.

Fluttershy turned and looked. “Oh, oh my!”

Twilight cautiously paced around the arch, eyeing it critically. It was identical to how it had looked in the drawing, except the back of the arch was solid stone that sloped gently down from the top of the arch to the floor some two meters further back. She made a complete circuit and stood before the iron bars of the gate, the others slowly crowding around her. Twilight lifted the vines out of the way and peered between the bars, she could just make out a few roughhewn stone steps that disappeared down into the darkness.

Applejack leaned in close for a better look. “What do you s’ppose is down there?”

Pinkie Pie thrust her head between Twilight and Applejack. “Oh! Oh! What if it’s a candy cellar?”

Rainbow Dash snorted, “Pinkie, why would anyone have a candy cellar?”

Pinkie cocked her head. “Why, to sell candy of course!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy peeked her head above Applejack, and looked hard at the gate. “I don’t like it,” she announced, and ducked back behind Applejack.

“Well, it’s in the middle of my home,” Twilight declared. “I suppose the only thing to do is to go down there and see what this is all about.”

Rainbow Dash whooped and did a loop-the-loop. “Now we’re talking! It’s about time we had some action.”

Applejack pushed the brim of her hat up. “Are y’all sure about this Twilight? It’s awful dark down there.”

Twilight nodded. “Between Rarity and myself, we should have plenty of light, right Rarity?”

“Well...” Rarity looked around nervously for a moment, then hardened her expression. “Yes, yes of course I’ll go with you.”

Twilight turned to face the group. “Who else is coming?”

“I’m in!” Dash called, still cavorting in the air excitedly.

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “I can’t Twilight, I have to watch Sugarcube Corner.”

“That’s fine Pinkie, what about you Applejack?”

“Well shoot, somepony’s gotta keep the lot of you outta trouble, I’m in.”

“And you, Fluttershy?” A small squeak was all Twilight got in response. “I’ll, uh, take that as a no. Alright, Spike, you stay here with Pinkie and and Fluttershy, we shouldn’t be gone too long.” Spike nodded, and Twilight turned to face the arch. “Okay ladies, here we go.” She gulped and pushed hesitantly on the gate, which slid effortlessly open on silent hinges. The darkness waited below. Twilight stared into it, steeled herself one last time, and stepped through the arch, lighting her horn as the shadows surrounded her. The others followed in single-file, Rarity coming last, and soon even the pinpricks of light that were their horns were lost to sight, engulfed by the perpetual night below.

* * *

General Ironlegs was caught in a fitful sleep. The general was not a pony prone to bizarre dreams, nor did he possess a whimsical nature, but this time while he slept he was caught in a tumult of disjointed visions. While it was impossible to discern anything coherent in the torrent of images, one sensation rose above the confusion and suffused the general’s mind: a sensation of anticipation. Even as he slept, someone was approaching the world that General Ironlegs called home. Someone, the dreams conveyed, that came from a place completely unknown to him.

Slowly, one image rose out of the multitude, and the general latched onto it; anything was better than the chaos of random visions. At first all he could make out was a purple smear, but as the general focused his disciplined mind on it the purple smear began to resolve into the outline of what looked like a purple pony. The general focused harder, the image becoming clearer, he could almost make out some of the features in the face. If he could just push a littler harder—

General Ironlegs started awake at the insistent buzzing of the communicator screen on the wall next to his bed, the dream vanishing from his consciousness taking the last remnants of the blurry purple pony with it. With a curse, he smacked the answer button. “This had better be important,” he growled.

On the screen, the image of Lieutenant Shandly winced. “Uh, yes sir. Sir, we’re picking up some movement in the condemned sectors.”

The general narrowed his one good eye, the other having been lost years ago and replaced with a simple steel oval bolted to his skull. In a rare moment of grim humor, the general had inscribed a large, unblinking eye on the patch, which often unnerved new recruits much to his satisfaction. “Get to the point Shandly, because if that’s the only reason you woke me, I’ll have you cleaning latrines for a month.”

“Yes sir, I-I mean no sir, that’s not all. The movement is in sector L-7, and it appears to be friendly.”

The general’s eye widened. “What?! You mean we’ve got civvies wandering around L-7?”

“Yes sir, that’s what it looks like.”

“How the blazes did they get out there?”

“I don’t know sir, they just appeared on the scope, out of nowhere, that’s why I called.”

“Damned idiots, are they trying to get themselves killed? Alright, wake TAU-9 and get them out there immediately; we can’t afford any civilian casualties, we’ve had too many recently as it is. Not to mention the collateral damage that could be caused. Get going, I’ll be there in a few minutes to oversee the operation.”

Shandly saluted sharply. “Yes sir, right away.”

The screen winked off and General Ironlegs let out a sigh, This is all I need right now. His eyes wandered around the steel rectangle that served as his quarters, passing over the private bunk, sink, and privy that were the luxuries afforded to the general by his rank. The plain walls offered no distraction from his grim thoughts. Things hadn’t been going well recently, there were too many deaths and not enough victories. They were losing ground for the first time in decades and the populace was growing restless. If things didn’t improve, the higher ups might just decide to make an example of him and have him court-martialed.

The general slid out of bed, his front legs hitting the floor with a metallic clang. He’d lost his original forelegs in an attack when he was a foal and been fitted with prostheses, a routine procedure, but he had refused the synth-flesh, choosing instead to keep the bare metal exposed. The sight of the taut muscle at his shoulders transforming into polished steel heightened his already imposing figure, his matte-black coat and mane contrasting sharply with the shiny metal.

Anypony who looked at the general, with his metal eye and legs, broad chest, and perpetual scowl, knew that he was somepony who was not to be trifled with. His reputation as a fierce and fearless fighter had earned him his rank and the respect of his troops, and his sound tactics helped him keep it. He slipped on his gray uniform, his expression souring. If luck was with him he wouldn’t lose any of those same troops this evening, but it was out of his hooves now; Tactical Assault Unit 9 was the best, he just hoped they were ready for whatever was waiting out there in L-7.

* * *

The clatter of hooves on the stone steps was the only sound accompanying the small group of ponies as they descended the featureless staircase. Twilight had lost track of how long they had been walking, was it twenty minutes? An hour? It seemed like days, and with no point of reference from which to judge their movement—now that the small window of light from the archway had disappeared—it felt as if they were just walking in place.

“I don’t mean to be a sour apple,” Applejack whispered, “but this don’t feel right.”

“No kidding!” Rainbow Dash spat. “There’s not even enough room for me to fly here, how can you guys stand walking all the time?”

Twilight looked over her shoulder, “I suppose we should—oof!” Twilight missed a step and nearly fell, when she regained her balance she saw that the stairway had ended while she wasn’t looking. Not only the stairway, but the stone walls they had been walking through also came to an abrupt end, and gleaming metal now surrounded her, reflecting the light from her horn. A seam joined the stone of the staircase passageway to the metal corridor, the perfectly straight and smooth metal plates sinking into the rough stone walls where they met. Twilight moved forward cautiously, her hoofs ringing solemnly on the floor plates with each step. Abruptly the corridor widened, its walls disappearing into the darkness in all directions, the small pool of light surrounding Twilight expanding only slightly as Rarity and the others joined her. They huddled together silently, an island of light in an infinite sea of nothingness, eyes straining yet unable to penetrate the dark that weighed down on them.

Rainbow Dash shifted her shoulders. “Hey Twilight, I don’t suppose there’s any way you could make it a little brighter in here?”

“Oh, sure, I guess I could try.” Twilight thought for a moment, then reached within herself. The glow surrounding her horn blazed brightly then coalesced into a tight sphere that launched into the air like a flare. The sphere rose thirty meters before it slowed to a stop, resting ten meters short of the chamber’s vaulted ceiling. The cold, harsh light revealed an immense room composed of smooth steel, and while the light burned brightly, the room was only dimly lit and the far walls were still lost in shadow. Trash lay strewn across the floor, piles of paper and refuse collecting in the corners, buzzing with undulating clouds of flies. The unmistakable aura of decay and neglect hung damply in the air, nearly as pungent as the stench of rot wafting from the piles of garbage. They stood silently for a long while, simply staring out across the room, trying to take it all in.

As Twilight gazed out across the gloomy expanse, she had the distinct impression that they had left Equestria far behind. This alien place was something beyond the scope of the land she knew and loved, and she could feel an emptiness inside, something lacking, being so far from home. Strangely though, Twilight was also filled with a nervous excitement, for here was an entirely new world to explore and learn about; she could even write a book about her experiences in this strange, new place.

“My word,” Rarity breathed at last, breaking the silence, “but this place could do with a bit of redecorating.”

Applejack burst out laughing and the tension that had gripped the group eased slightly. “Ain’t that just like you Rarity, always—” A clatter cut off Applejack, and all four turned to stare towards the sound. It had come from a line of crumbling, concrete buildings that stretched across the room; the jagged remnants of what must at one time have been grand and elegant structures jutted out from within heaps of rubble. Shadows scuttled between the ruins, rough whispers reverberating through the chamber.

Rainbow Dash sprang into the air and hovered in an upright position, forelegs akimbo, facing the rubble. “Alright, who’s there? Show yourselves!”

Cackling laughter was all that answered her challenge. With a snarl, she dove towards the hidden voices, streaking across the room. A large hunk of concrete hurtled out at her from behind one of the dilapidated buildings. Desperately she twisted in midair, too late, the improvised projectile connected with her flank sending her crashing head-first to the floor where she skidded to a halt. Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity ran over to where Rainbow Dash lay unconscious amidst the trash.

A guttural howl assaulted Twilight’s ears and she spun to see a massive shape charging across the room, moving with astounding speed despite its size and strange, uneven gait. The dark form was difficult to make out in the dim light, a jumble of claws, teeth, and shadow. Its eyes, however, shone clearly and had neither pupil nor iris, merely two milky-white disks that burned with cold malevolence and an insatiable hunger to consume life.

Twilight stood frozen, torn between the desire to flee and unwillingness to leave her friends, especially Rainbow Dash who would be helpless in her current state. The thing was almost upon her, claws extending for her throat, eyes gleaming with the promise of death. A streak of light lanced into the creature from the side, knocking it sideways with a savage cry of pain.

Astonished, Twilight looked over and saw...Is that a pony?! Standing halfway down the room, squarely facing the creature was, indeed, a pony wrapped in a black jumpsuit that covered everything except his cyan tail and a horn protruding from his forehead.

The creature whipped around to face its new adversary, snarling with fury. In the brief lull while they stared at each other, Twilight examined the creature more closely. It stood on four stout limbs that extended from a massive, lumpy body on which was perched a head. The head, disproportionately small compared to the broad shoulders, was joined to the body with a short, thick neck. Further details were impossible to make out, both because of the weak light, and because the thing’s uneven body cast shadows that hid much of the underlying form. But the eyes, white and full of menace, and the frothy drool that dripped from its snarling mouth were all too clear.

With a growl, the creature sprinted at the mysterious pony who stood motionless, staring down the beast. Causally, the pony bent his head, pointing his horn at the creature rushing towards him. There was a bang and another streak of light shot from his horn, striking the creature in the shoulder. The creature faltered and fell, dark blood leaking from the fresh wound. Slowly, the creature picked itself up, glanced uncertainly at the pony, then dashed off, disappearing back into the shadows.

When the footsteps of the creature had faded completely, the pony faced Twilight. “We need to go. It won’t be gone long, and it may not return alone.”

“But my...my friend,” Twilight stammered, “she’s injured,” and she gestured to where Rainbow Dash lay, still unconscious.

The pony glanced at Rainbow Dash. “Sawtooth!” he barked.

“Sir!” Another pony materialized from somewhere behind the first, dressed in the same black jumpsuit. The new pony was enormous, his shoulders at the height of Twilight’s head. Wicked, curved blades extended from the cannons of his forelegs, curving down towards the fetlocks, and when he spoke Twilight caught the glint of metal in his mouth.

“We have a casualty,” the first pony said, “do you think you can carry her?”

Sawtooth sidled up to Rainbow Dash, Twilight nervously stepping out of his way. He swept his gaze over the prone form on the floor. “Shouldn’t be a problem, sir.”

“Good, pick her up and let’s get out of—”

“Now wait just a minute!” Applejack interrupted. “Who do y’all think you are? We ain’t going nowhere without some answers.” The pony turned to face Applejack, and even though his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses she still swallowed audibly at the pressure of his gaze.

“I’m Major Tyrrsan,” he said, unperturbed by Applejack’s outburst, “and you are fools. Your friend needs medical attention, in fact, you’re all lucky just to be alive, and I won’t stand around arguing until we’re all killed. We’re going, now. If necessary I’ll have the sergeant carry all of you. Understood?”

Applejack glanced at Sawtooth, Rainbow Dash already slung across his back. He grinned at her, revealing a row of sharpened, metal teeth; it was not a friendly grin, more reminiscent of a shark eyeing its prey. Applejack took an involuntary step back, but Sawtooth was already moving off across the room. They had no choice but to follow.

Twilight saw the major talking to himself—no, not to himself, but to a thin, curved line that extended from his ear to his mouth. “Slingshot, Recoil, give us a ten-second lead and cover our flank. Make sure we’re not followed, and stay out of sight.”

Rarity stepped up next to Twilight. “Do you really think we can trust them?”

“I’m not sure, but do we have a choice?”

Rarity didn’t have an answer.