Cozy let out a scream as everything suddenly turned pitch black.
For a moment she flailed, trying to figure out what had happened. She had been carrying Drafty back towards the wharf and had just reached it when she’d heard an incredible roar – a tornado touching down in the bay! – followed by a loud crash a few seconds later as it tore into the pier. She’d had just enough time to look back and glimpse Lex and Sonata disappearing into the water, and then an instant later everything had gone dark.
For a second she wondered if she’d gone blind, but from what she could hear everypony else was similarly panicked. Cries of “what happened?!” and “I can’t see anything!” were ringing out, along with other yells and shouts, and Cozy belatedly realized that something had snuffed out all of the light spells that she’d conjured. That knowledge brought her no comfort, however; if anything it increased her anxiety. Without being able to see, they were sitting ducks for all of those monsters!
Trying to fight down an overwhelming sense of panic, Cozy raised a hoof to her necklace, touching the symbol of Lashtada that hung from it. The action was partially to help soothe her worry – remembering her goddess’s love for her always helped to calm her down – but had a more practical function as well. Softly murmuring a prayer, she cast her light spell again.
Her spell couldn’t conjure a freestanding light; it had to be cast on an inanimate object, which would then glow like a lamp. Luckily, the holy symbol on her necklace was perfect in that regard, and as she completed her spell it lit up, pushing back the darkness. As it did, the ponies around her, who only moments ago had been fighting for their lives against the horde of monsters, let out further gasps of surprise, turning towards her. Again, a chorus of raised voices rang out, questions and worries and exclamations all mixing over each other in an unintelligible mass of sound. But Cozy wasn’t listening; instead, she was trying to process the sight that greeted her. At least now she knew why the light spells that she’d placed on everypony’s armor had been extinguished.
It was because their armor was gone. The black crystals that Lex had shaped into various forms of protective gear had all, from what Cozy could see, completely disappeared, and with them gone the light spells that she’d placed on them had winked out. The weapons he’d made were gone too. For a moment she wondered if they’d vanished because he’d died, before she realized that she and the others were about to join him, since now they stood no chance of holding off those monsters!
…except, where were the monsters?
“Does somepony…” She trailed off as she realized that no one was listening to her, milling about in confusion and anxiety, voices still raised. Glancing down at Drafty again, Cozy tried to figure out what to do next. “Please! Does anypony know what…” It still wasn’t working. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to try agai-
“EVERYPONY BE QUIET!”
Aisle’s roar was powerful enough to instantly silence everypony else, and an instant later he pushed his way through the crowd, rushing towards Cozy. “Are you alright?” His face was a mask of worry, but he seemed to be in control of himself. The sight was enough to make Cozy reasonably certain that, for whatever reason, they weren’t all about to be killed.
“I’m fine. But Drafty needs help!” She cast a helpless look at the unconscious pony beside her again. “I’m out of healing magic and she’s hurt really bad!” Even as she finished speaking, she remembered that they had doctors right there with them. “Somepony needs to help Drafty! She’s been stabbed!” Her words caused the crowd of ponies to mill for a moment, before several stepped forward to start examining the fallen pegasus, nudging Cozy and Aisle out of the way.
With her friend being tended to, Cozy’s thoughts returned to their current situation. “The monsters-”
“They’re gone,” Aisle replied instantly. “I saw it just before everything went dark. They all just vanished. That tornado’s gone too, hear it?” He paused, and Cozy realized that he was right. The roar of the wind had already died down, and though the rain was still falling, it was no longer coming down in sheets. It was like all of the immediate threats had disappeared. It was like…
“They did it,” she said softly, barely daring to believe it. But this was almost exactly what Lex had predicted: that if the leader of the monsters was killed, then all of the others would instantly be sent back where they’d come from. “Lex and Cloudbank, they did it!” Her words set off a murmur through the assembled ponies. They’d all heard Lex’s assurance about what would happen if his plan worked, and like Cozy could barely believe that it had come true.
Suddenly, Cozy wanted to see it for herself. “Somepony give me something!”
“What?” came a voice from the crowd, and Cozy recognized a stallion with a nasty-looking scar on his throat.
“Anything! I just need things to cast my light spell on!”
The scarred stallion stepped forward, reaching up to pull off his bandana and wordlessly offering it to her. A moment later she’d enchanted it, and it glowed brightly as he tied it back around his head. Then another pony stepped forward, holding out one of her earrings. A third volunteered the bits in his saddlebag, and soon glowing coins were being passed around, restoring the illumination along the wharf.
There were no monsters anywhere to be seen.
“They really did it,” murmured Aisle, looking around in amazement. “Lex and Cloudbank actually took out that giant monster.” Although he didn’t say it, it was obvious to Cozy that he hadn’t thought they’d be able to. She could tell, since she’d had the same doubts.
Slowly, that same realization sank into the ponies around them, and cheers began to erupt. Cries of “we did it!” and “it’s over!” started to ring out, and suddenly the crowd was exuberant. Hugs, hoof-bumps, and pats on the back were being exchanged all around as a palpable wave of relief swept through everypony there.
A splashing sound drew Cozy’s attention, and for a moment her heart leaped into her throat as she whirled around, suddenly sure that they were celebrating prematurely. But what came out of the water was another pony, one that Cozy vaguely recognized as one of the ponies that had been in the vanguard, coughing and panting as she crawled onto the shore. Going over, she helped her climb onto the wharf, where she collapsed, panting for air. A few seconds later another one joined her, then several more.
The last few were dragged onto land by Aria, the large Siren hauling them out of the water with her mouth to flop onto the shore, hacking and coughing. “They swallowed some water, but they’ll be fine,” she whispered, before pulling herself onto the wharf.
“Where’s Cloudbank and the others?” Despite her relief, Cozy couldn’t help but tense as she asked the question. She had been through a lot with Cloudbank, and the thought that she had sacrificed herself for them made her stomach tie itself in knots. The idea that she’d have to tell Drafty that her first kiss with Cloudbank had also been her last was too heartbreaking to consider!
“They’re not here?” Aria’s eyes widened for a moment, then her face sank into its familiar scowl. “Lex better not have kicked the bucket. He owes me!”
“You’re not even worried about your own sister?” Aisle had a disbelieving look on his face.
Aria snorted, waving a hoof dismissively. “Even if she’s a pony now, Sonata’s still a Siren. Even she’s not so dumb that she’d die from taking a dip. It’s her know-it-all stallion that I’m more worried about. I want my voice back!”
“Then maybe you should be out there looking for them!” Cozy couldn’t help but frown. She couldn’t believe how different Aria was from her happy-go-lucky sister. “Cloudbank and the others might need help!”
“I’m injured too, you know!” snapped Aria, pointing to the wounds on her body. “Where’s the concern for me?!”
“You-”
Cozy’s scathing reply was cut off as Aisle suddenly pointed towards the water. “Look!” Looking at where his hoof was directed, Cozy peered out into the bay…and then smiled. She could just make out the form of a familiar scythe floating just above the water line. Beneath it, she could see two ponies – Cloudbank and Sonata – carrying a third one between them as they swam towards the shore. Even as she watched, Sonata waved to them, her lack of concern evident from the casual gesture.
Letting out a breath, Cozy felt the last of her strength leave her as she saw that they were okay, and she leaned against Aisle. Feeling him give a start as she pressed herself against him, she closed her eyes, letting the last of her tension drain away. Although she was still worried about Pillow, and even though Lex had said that the undead ponies would likely still be around, she couldn’t help the powerful feeling of relief sweeping over her. They had done it. They had gone up against impossible odds and somehow managed to win.
It was all going to be okay now.
Spit Polish licked his lips nervously, glancing at his commander nervously for the umpteenth time since the strange activity in the harbor had started. Just as he had for the last several minutes, Block Party remained absolutely still, directing his binoculars towards the edge of the bay in silence. The prolonged wait was enough to make Spit Polish squirm as his tension rose.
Finally, Block Party lowered the binoculars. Spit Polish snapped to attention, but Block Party didn’t seem to notice, giving the bay another long look before turning and heading back towards the train station that now served as his headquarters. Blinking at being so completely ignored, Spit Polish rushed to catch up. “Sir!”
His call received no acknowledgment, and he fell into step alongside Block Party. “Sir, if I can ask, what happened down there?”
“I couldn’t make anything out,” came the terse reply. “It was too dark and too far away.”
“Then…” Spit Polish swallowed as he worked up his courage. Raising a closed issue with the commander wasn’t a good idea, but surely the situation warranted it this time! “Then I’d like to send a few pegasi in to check the situation out.”
Block Party came to an immediate halt, and Spit Polish almost tripped as he struggled to adjust. Getting his footing back, he realized that the commander was no longer ignoring him. Quite the contrary, he was now looking at him with a gaze that was as piercing as it was severe. “We’ve already discussed this,” Block Party said simply, his voice still light and casual in stark contrast to his demeanor.
It was that mixed signal that caused Spit Polish to continue, despite his rising anxiety. “I-I know, sir. But with whatever’s happening down there right now, it might be worth the r-oomph!” His words were cut off as Block Party’s hoof impacted his face, sending him tumbling to the ground. Dazed, he struggled to get up, but had barely lifted his head when another sharp blow sent him back to the ground, groaning in pain.
Nor did the beating end there. Another hoof buried itself in his stomach, causing Spit Polish to curl up as the breath was driven from his lungs. Gasping for air, he couldn’t even whimper as a sharp series of blows landed along his ribs, causing him to close his eyes as agony exploded through his chest. Soundlessly, his jaw worked, trying to apologize, to beg Block Party to stop, but before he had gotten a single syllable out another blow to the face left him reeling, suddenly dizzy and nauseated. Tears of panic fell from his eyes as he turned to look up at the commander, silently begging for mercy, his face pleading.
Then another hoof struck his face, and he knew no more.
Block Party didn’t stop just because Spit Polish had passed out, however, continuing to rain blows down on the unconscious pony until he felt satisfied. Only then did he turn away without a word, ignoring the frightened looks being directed at him from several bystanders. This wouldn’t erode his leadership, he knew. Not when the ponies here were all still wracked with guilt over forcing their friends and neighbors to stay in the ruins of Vanhoover in the name of quarantining the ghoul epidemic. Guilt that only he, as an authority figure, could alleviate for them, which he had judiciously done…all the better to make sure they did it again and again.
It was all textbook stuff, of course. Appeasing their conscience was the carrot, whereas the beatings were the stick. He knew that their self-loathing over what they’d done, and reliance on him to prop up their failing sense of self-worth, would encourage them to blame themselves for being abused. After all, if they blamed him then that would mean that they wouldn’t be able to place any stock in his assurances that their terrible deeds were being done for the greater good. And that would mean that they were horrible people for doing such unconscionable acts, which was a realization that he knew everybody wanted to avoid.
The ponies here were, in other words, degrading themselves. It was beautiful to watch.
But that might be coming to an end soon. Someone had killed that kraken, sealing the planar fissure in the process; that could only have been done by an individual – or a group – of considerable power. Enough so to constitute a significant threat to what he was trying to achieve here, and that was not something he could countenance. Opportunities like this came along once in several millennia, at the very most. Letting this chance be taken away before he could exploit it to the fullest was completely unacceptable.
If these interlopers tried to interfere, there’d be Hell to pay.