Crion woke up to a purple unicorn with a green mane. She had red marks over her, as well as red stars for a cutie mark. Oh, and there was also a loaded bow to his neck.
"Welcome back, captain," the pony, evidently a mare, greeted him. Except this wasn't a friendly greeting. More like a welcome back so I can torment you greeting.
Crion tried to use his voice, but he couldn't move any of his limbs. His mind shouted for his limbs to work, but they didn't. His captor seemed to enjoy the fact that he couldn't move any part of his body, much less try to fight her.
Lowering the bow and drawing a dagger, the mare slashed Crion's chest. Blood started pouring out in a steady stream, not seeming to clot. Crion's mind was now screaming at his body to move, to try and avoid the blow, but every attempt failed. He knew was going to be stuck here for quite some time.
"Sadly, not as long as you think. Thanks to Dark, I have a limited time to torture you," was all she had to say.
At the mention of Dark, one of Crion's limbs managed to move. Slight as it was, it was enough to concern the torturer. "You seem to have a more powerful mind than I thought. A shame you're no match for my power," she informed him, destroying the little hope Crion had.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Onyx's group sat in silence, still shocked at the sudden loss of Crion. Sharp was still as critical as ever, but was more reluctant to point stuff out. Bluesteel, Redshield, Onyx and Blaze had gotten to catch up on what they'd missed, expecting Crion to come trotting through the area at any time. He never did.
If it wasn't for Prim, Fallen would have shared the same fate as Crion. He tried to go in to fight alongside Crion, but Prim had stopped him in time. Fallen held the locations of the Guardians, Solus excluded, and they would need his help to find the rest of them.
"Fallen, how many Guardians are left to find?" Rosanna asked him.
"Since Brave is dead, and Crion is captured..." Fallen paused to count up the total in his head. "We know the locations of five Guardians, but the locations of the other three are unknown. Sadly, our former leader is among them," Fallen finished.
"What's our first stop?" Prim asked, not wanting to stand around when somepony was potentially in danger.
"We need to get to the holder of the Rune of Chaos. He's very suspicious of anypony he hasn't met before, not to mention that he holds a Rune that could make it rain milk," Fallen told the group.
"And where is he?" Onyx inquired, voice still slightly shaky.
"With Cobalt being the Guardian nerd he was, I'm surprised he didn't find out sooner. The holder of the Rune of Chaos lives in Ponyville," Fallen explained.
"Wait, what is his name?" Blaze asked, as he knew the entire Ponyville population.
"He's used many aliases, but his true name is Disrupted Harmony," Fallen informed him.
"Then we'd better not waste any time. Let's get going," Rosanna ordered.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"The ruse is working Dark. They have no idea that there's a traitor amongst them. At this rate, they might as well as surrender now and hope we don't kill them," a shade reported to its leader.
"Dark agrees lieutenant. Dark wants to know: what was your mortal name?" Dark asked, not knowing the names of her new officers.
"As a mortal, I was known as Quantum," the chief lieutenant replied.
"Dark remembers now. Dark wishes you to continue your report, surely that can't be all," Dark ordered.
"Actually, yes. Eldritch succeeded in capturing Sunset's captain. He's currently being 'interrogated', in her words," Quantum told her.
"Yes, Dark's plan is working well. Dark believes that it will succeed. Without Dark's mother interfering, the plan will stay on course." After Dark finished speaking, the amulet in Quantum's hoof stopped glowing.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The group was back on the road, morale slightly restored, but most were still shaken by the loss of the captain. Onyx and Blaze stuck near each other, never leaving each other’s side. Crystal took up the front near Fallen, and Prim took up the rear with a watchful eye. The order for the rest changed as they progressed.
“Ponyville isn’t too far from here. In fact, I think we may be able to make it before nightfall. Let’s just hope this map is as accurate as it should be,” Fallen remarked.
When the group arrived in Ponyville, it was near midnight. Some ponies were still out ant about, but not any the group recognized. Even if Cobalt walked up to them, I don’t think they’d be able to tell. Not only was it dark, but none of them had slept since early that morning. They needed provisions and some place to sleep as fast as they could get it. Luckily, Cobalt’s old place had both.
“Feels like years since we set hoof here last,” Onyx commented, Blaze silently agreeing.
“Now how do we get inside...?” Fallen asked, before the door creaked open on its own. “Huh,” he finished.
The sudden opening had felt strange to Onyx, but he paid it no mind. His mind was weary and his bones ached, screaming at him to get some rest. Onyx found his way to Cobalt’s living room and laid down on a sofa, Blaze sitting nearby. The others found out the layout of the house and went to their various resting spots.
* * * * * * * * * * *
“The trap is set Eldritch. Now what?” A voice whispered to the tormentor.
“Now, we wait. In the morning, they will awake to see their ‘friends’ coming through the door. As always, it won’t be real. Simply an alteration of reality. In the mean time, see if you can get the real owner of this house here. I care not what he’s doing or what his current mental state is. Get him in here,” Eldritch ordered.
“Yes ma’am, I’ll get right on it,” the voice told her, scampering off afterwords to fulfill its task.
“Shades,” Eldritch scoffed.