//------------------------------// // Four - Nemesis // Story: The Eternal Storm 2 - Eternally Devoid // by TDarkchylde //------------------------------// Eternally Devoid - Chapter 4 - Nemesis "...Drum beats faster, crowd shouts louder, and chaos replaces order..." "Dear Princess Celestia... I'm back." ..:://=||=\\::.. Chaos was starting to overtake the streets of Canterlot as more and more of the population found the magic that had permeated their lives since birth fading away. Discontent... that was putting it lightly. Ponies who had never had a thought of dissent in their lives were marching towards the Royal Castle. "We demand answers!" The chant itself was so benign, but it disguised a growing fervor. The crowd wanted to know why the magic was gone, yes, but they also wanted acknowledgement from the Princesses that something was wrong. This one time, Princess Celestia's urge to keep an impending disaster a secret was threatening to blow up in her face. The protests were loud and boisterous so far, but nonviolent. All involved knew there was simply no way that could last for long. ..:://=||=\\::.. Sweetie Belle awoke inside Rarity's coach. Hours previous, a gas began to fill it. There was no apparent source, no explanation for it. She, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rarity's bodyguards had no time whatsoever to react before blackness overcame them. Now it was still black as night had long since fallen. "Sister, what is the meaning of this?" she asked. The bodyguards soon awoke. "Miss Sweetie Belle... what happened?" one struggled to say. "Where... where are we?" the other bodyguard asked. The driver was now beginning to stir. Some of the gas has seeped outside of the coach, knocking him out as well. He barely had enough time to pull the coach off of the road before blacking out. "I have no idea, but we simply must get to the bottom of this," Sweetie Belle said. "Sister? Aren't you awake yet? Pinkie?" One of the guards attempted to cast a light spell. His magic was very weak from a combination of the coach's proximity to New Harmony and his own inexperience, but the rudimentary spell cast a brief flash of light on the interior of the coach. Neither Pinkie Pie nor Rarity were anywhere to be found. "Sister? This isn't funny!" Sweetie Belle shouted incredulously. "They're gone..." the unicorn guard said. "Driver, stop," the other guard, an older earth pony said. "Go check around the coach, Blackout." "Uhnnn... we're already stopped, Sentinel..." the driver said as he tried to remember where he was. The unicorn guard opened the coach and looked around. He tried to fire up the light spell again, but to no avail. "My magic's gone, Chief," he said. "I can't see ten feet in front of my face." "I didn't ask for an excuse, I said to go check around. Use those ten feet!" Chief Sentinel shouted. "Sir, yes Sir!" Blackout said as he bolted from the coach. "Are you injured, Miss Sweetie Belle?" Sentinel asked, concerned. "...Aside from a dreadful headache, I'm fine..." Sweetie Belle said. "Something's not right, my magic's gone as well..." "There's nothing out here, Chief!" Blackout called from outside, breaking a few contemplative moments of silence. "The coach is intact, there's nowhere anypony could have gone without being seen, and there are so many hoofprints on this road that I can't even tell which are ours." "This is not good," Sentinel muttered. "Get back in, Blackout. We have to assume a kidnapping, possibly magical in origin. Whatever put us out may have also blocked our magic so we couldn't resist. Driver, how far do you figure we are out of New Harmony?" "Ugh... maybe three hours," the driver said as he tried to fight past his own headache. "Let's go then, we can get the local lawponies to help us search," Sentinel said. With Blackout back in the coach, they slowly resumed their climb up the mountain. ..:://=||=\\::.. Rainbow Dash was lying comatose at the Ponyville Clinic. She was not the only injured pegasus at the facility, but she was by far the worst off. She had undergone several hours of emergency surgery for a punctured lung and several broken bones. A hole had to be drilled in her skull to reduce fluid buildup around her brain. She was in grave condition. It seemed that the only parts of her body that remained uninjured were her wings. "I'm not going to lie to you, Fluttershy..." Nurse Redheart began. "We've done all we could. All we can do is wait and see if she makes it through the night." "No... how could something like this have happened?" Fluttershy asked, crying. "Your other friend may know," Nurse Redheart offered. "She'll be fine, but she needs to stay out of the air for a few days. Her left wing needs time to recover." Just as that was said, Scootaloo came out from behind one of the curtains. "Any idea why I couldn't fly back there?" she asked. "I don't have an answer for that, but quite a few pegasi have inexplicably fallen from the sky today," Redheart offered. "Thankfully, most of their injuries were minor." Fluttershy tried to force a smile onto her face. "I guess I was lucky that I didn't fall either," she said. "I'd like to think Rainbow Dash was luckier," Redheart said. "If you'll excuse me, I have other patients." "Of course," Fluttershy said as she motioned for Scootaloo to follow her to the waiting room. "Thank you, Nurse Redheart." Redheart nodded as the two pegasi walked away. She had a stubborn red stallion to check up on. "So... um... if you don't mind my asking, how did my cottage end up destroyed?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't know what happened," Scootaloo began. "I was at the Young Wonderbolts tryouts and I tried to do a Sonic Rainboom. It didn't work, and suddenly I couldn't get back in control. It was like my wings were dead." "That's odd," Fluttershy said as the two walked into the waiting room. "I'd bet my wings still work..." "You barely use them, Fluttershy!" Scootaloo protested. "Today was the most I've probably ever seen you fly." "That doesn't explain the cottage," Fluttershy said as sternly as her quiet demeanor would allow. "Rainbow Dash tried to save me from crashing into the ground," Scootaloo said. "She caught me, but her head must have started acting up or something. She couldn't control where we were going... she took the brunt of it for me..." At that moment, she lost it and started crying. Fluttershy embraced the young mare. "There, there..." she said. "Let it out..." "Ah never thought Ah'd see the day," Applejack said as she made her presence known. "What happened? Where's Applewood?" Scootaloo was too hysterical with tears to answer. "Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo crashed into my cottage..." Fluttershy offered. "Scootaloo's okay but... they're not sure about Rainbow Dash..." "Dang it!" Applejack shouted. "Didn't the doctors tell her she had no business tryin' to stunt fly anymore?" "She was trying to save me," Scootaloo protested. "I lost control at a tryout... she was the only one who could try to rescue me!" "Rescue?" Applejack said, puzzled. "Ah thought you were good at flyin'..." "It wasn't my fault... my wings just stopped working..." Scootaloo said as she turned back into Fluttershy's embrace. "Applejack?" Nurse Redheart called from a nearby hallway. "Macintosh is awake, if you want to see him." "Ah gotta run, Shy, Scootaloo," Applejack said. "Could you keep an eye on Applewood a little longer?" "Yes... I guess I could," Fluttershy said. "Where did you leave him, Scootaloo?" "When I came in, I saw Mrs. Cake waiting outside. I left him with her," Scootaloo said as she tried to regain her composure. "Aw, heck, that's fine," Applejack said. "Mrs. Cake's good people. Lemme know if Rainbow Dash gets better. We gotta catch up." "I'll let you know..." Fluttershy said. Applejack went back to Macintosh's room with new worries on her mind. Fluttershy went back outside to retrieve Applewood and figure out her next move. With everything that had happened, it had slipped her mind until that moment that she was now homeless. Scootaloo just sighed as she walked away to look for another old friend. ..:://=||=\\::.. Back at the Royal Palace, the sister Princesses were faced with a dilemma. The crowds outside were continuing to grow. It would only be a matter of time before things escalated beyond protests and shouting. "You've got to do it, Sister," Princess Luna said as she looked down at the crowd. "You've got to try to calm them down." "I know..." Princess Celestia said, sighing. "What do I tell them, though? I'm not even sure I understand all that is happening." "The truth," Luna said. "Right now, they're panicking because they know nothing. The absence of information is the perfect breeding ground for misinformation. Even the little bit we do know could prevent a riot." "How I wish you could just do this for me, Luna," Celestia said as she made her way to the balcony. "You were always better at delivering the tough news." "I was away too long," Luna reminded her sister. "Even though I have been back for six years, they still don't trust me yet. They need you." Celestia sighed softly as she walked out onto the balcony. "Luna is right," she thought. "These ponies know me. They trust me. I can't abandon them." "Citizens of Canterlot," she began... ..:://=||=\\::.. Twilight Sparkle was keeping up a moderate trot as she followed the mountain road to New Harmony. Spike was following her closely. "It's so dark," Spike observed. "Are we going the right way?" "We're on the right path," Twilight said. In her mind's eye, she could see the map Trixie had implanted in her memories, and she knew she was on course. "Just stay close..." With the lapse in concentration, she nearly ran off of the side of the road and off the edge of the mountain. Luckily, she was able to stop herself in time. "We might be, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous..." Spike mused. "Let me focus then, please..." Twilight said as she shook her head, hoping it would allow her to see easier but knowing it'd do nothing. "Rarity and Pinkie Pie are depending on me." "You do know it's a trap, right?" Spike said. "If she's gone off the deep end like that, there's no guarantee that she'll let them go even if you do give yourself up to her." "It's the only option I can see, Spike," Twilight protested. "She's somehow found a way to take away all of our magic. I don't know what to do without my magic, but it's a chance to save them. I've got to take it." "Can we at least stop soon, then? You've got a little over a day left," Spike suggested. "You need to rest." "I wish I could, but this road's very long," Twilight said, sighing. "It'll take almost a day just to get where we're going, and there's not a lot of wiggle room." "Maybe if you were moving faster..." Spike verbally prodded. "But the book said I've got to conserve myself to keep the energy I need to make it through," Twilight said. "If I burn myself out now, I'll never get there in time..." "I can't win," Spike sighed as he continued to follow Twilight. ..:://=||=\\::.. Scootaloo sighed as she walked up to a hill overlooking Ponyville. From there, especially in the middle of the night, it looked like very little had changed in the last five years. There were a few more lights on in the town and they spread further out than before, but other than that, little had changed. "Why?" she asked. There was no answer. "Why did this have to happen, Rainbow Dash? Why did you save me?" Again, no answer. "I was counting on this... maybe too much, but it was my dream... but... what good is it if you can't be there to see me live it?" Silence. "You should have let me die... why didn't you? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself for me?" Still, nothing... "I'm not worth it..." "That ain't true," a familiar voice said from behind her. "If you wasn't worth it, we wouldn't be friends." Scootaloo turned around, tears welling up in her eyes. "How did you know I was here?" A familiar yellow earth pony looked at her. "My big sis said you was back in Ponyville, an' this was your favorite overlook when we were younger. Ah thought you weren't gonna be back, though," she said. "You was goin' on about how you was gonna be this bigshot high flyer an' now you're back here..." "I shouldn't be here, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo sighed. "I shouldn't even be alive. That should be me in that hospital on the razor's edge between death and life... not her. Why did she save me?" "It's because she cares about you, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said. "She's as loyal to you as she is to all of her friends." "Why, though? Why was she willing to die for me?" Scootaloo cried. "She ain't dead yet, an' thanks to her neither are you," Apple Bloom said, sternly. There was a time and a place to try to lighten spirits, and this wasn't it. Not yet. Scootaloo had a lot to let out first. "If you wanna ask why she did it, though, ask her." "She's in a coma..." Scootaloo sighed. "That don't mean she can't hear you," Apple Bloom said as she put a foreleg around her friend. "You got a lot to let out... wouldn't it be better to ask her all that stuff instead of the night sky?" Scootaloo sighed. "Maybe... but I'm scared to face her with her hurt so bad." "Come on," Apple Bloom said. "There's an all-night doughnut shop near the Carousel Boutique. It just opened up last week. They got the best hot chocolate there that you can get at this time'a night. We can wait there til you go an' get up the nerve." "That could help..." Scootaloo said. "I'm glad we're friends, Apple Bloom. You always know what to say at times like this." "Didn't always," Apple Bloom said, laughing. "Remember that time with the zipline?" ..:://=||=\\::.. Rarity's coach arrived in New Harmony as the sun began to rise. It took a little longer than the three hours the driver had estimated. Something about the town itself seemed a bit off. It seemed drained of its vitality. There was nopony on the streets - not even the undesirables Rarity had been concerned about enough to have bodyguards come along to deal with. It was almost a ghost town. "Be ready for anything, Blackout," Chief Sentinel said. "I've got a bad feeling about this town." "Gotcha," Blackout said as he pulled a knife out from under his seat. He instinctively went to sharpen it, but that proved impossible without his magic. "Guess this'll have to do..." "When we get to the police station, stay put, Miss Sweetie Belle," Sentinel said. "I don't know what's going on here, but it could be dangerous." "Dangerous?" Sweetie Belle said, laughing. "There isn't a single soul on these streets. This place is positively dead..." "Looks aren't everything," Sentinel said. "Neither you nor Blackout have your magic. Miss Rarity may or may not be in the town. We know for a fact that this place has a reputation for lawlessness after dark and it should be a lot more active than it is. Something is wrong here, and it may make it harder for us to find her. Until then, we protect you, and it would make it easier if you stayed here." "...Is this what my sister has to put up with?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Not everywhere," Blackout said. "Most places in Equestria are peaceful. Very little ever happens that she'd need a bodyguard for. The thing is, she sometimes requires exotic materials for her work. Some of them come from less civilized places. That's where we come in. After she was abducted in Zebra lands two years ago, we always check out where she's going. If it's dangerous, we tag along. Nothing has happened to her since..." "...Until today," Sentinel said. "She pays us very well to ensure she remains safe. We intend to do our jobs. That means you're staying in the coach while we try to get information." "...I always resented you for having me guarded..." Sweetie Belle said, wishing her sister were there. "I didn't know that bad ponies like that existed... were you worried they'd try to come after me to get to you?" The coach skidded to a stop. "We're here," the driver said. "Stay put," Sentinel said. "We'll be back shortly. Come on, Blackout." ..:://=||=\\::.. Pinkie Pie came to in Trixie's hut. "Ohhhhhh, my head... this isn't fun," she complained. "Welcome back to the land of the conscious, Element of Laughter," Trixie said. Her physical changes were nearly complete - most of her coat was now jet black, with only a small patch of blue remaining near her cutie mark. She was emanating a constant dark aura. "The Dread and Omnipotent Nightmare welcomes you to her humble abode. Rest assured, you won't be here too long." "N-n-n-n-Nightmare?!" Pinkie stammered. "You're supposed to be in the Sun!" "Well, The Dread and Powerful Nightmare got better," she said. "She just needs you awake for a brief moment." Rarity awoke a few seconds later. "...This dreadful place gets worse with time..." she whined. "Smile," Trixie said. Her horn glowed darkly as both Pinkie Pie and Rarity were enveloped in its magic. For but an instant, both Rarity and Pinkie relived their entire lives - the good times, the bad times... everything. It was draining, to put it mildly. "Done. Back to sleep with you two," Trixie said. "Wha... what do you..." Rarity said as she fell back under the influence of the sleep spell. Pinkie slipped a moment later. Afterward, Trixie looked up towards the ceiling. She scowled. "So, Father, you are free after all this time? No worries. Your power will soon belong to the Dread and Omnipotent Nightmare as well..."