//------------------------------// // Hitching a Ride // Story: The Knight // by TheStoveHater //------------------------------// "WITH ME! WITH ME! FOR KING AND COUNTRY!" We couldn't falter, not now, they were reloading, we had time! If we hesitated for even a moment we would be ripped apart and the battle would be lost... The screams of men and horses alike ripped through the air, barely muffled by the stomp of hooves on dirt like a thousand drums. My horse, Midnight, charged forward, leaping over fallen comrades and enemies alike, our target, a large group of cylindrical metal tubes swarmed by men, all desperate to re-arm their fearsome weapons. My men stayed with me, keeping close ranks despite the risk, we would break these cannons like we had broken so many before! With my men alongside me, we sped towards the cannons, determined to put a stop to their slaughter, but through my visor I squinted, trying to determine how close we were, but for an unknown reason they only seemed to move marginally closer with every hoofbeat... Glancing down to check on my horse, she was unchanged, galloping as if the dead bodies and haphazard weapons were nothing, as were the horses of my... My men... They were gone... Turning in my saddle I saw nothing but a field filled with the bodies of my men and their mounts, replacing the faceless that I had seen before. Ice started to fill my veins as I turned back towards the line of cannons, almost all movement had ceased among the soldiers manning them, slowly the cannon's open maws turned towards me like some sort of creature straight from the depths of hell. "No..." I whispered, spurring Midnight to increase her speed, only for her to rear and scream as one of their number fired early, throwing me from the saddle. Groggily climbing to my feet, I started to charge towards the cannon's line on foot, my heavily armored feet slamming into the blood soaked ground in desperation, if they fired I would be dead, like so many before me. The faces of the comrades I had lost flashed before me, all accusing and angry. Before my very eyes specters of my fallen comrades became more than just apparitions, their bodies soaked in blood and riddled with arrows, knives, swords, and other weapons of war. Some were even missing huge swaths of their bodies, but stood as if no more inconvenienced than a pebble stuck in ones shoe. "THY FOOLISHNESS WAS MINE END!" One screamed, half of his head missing, his brain spilling out from the jagged bones that once made up his skull. "MINE DEATH IS UPON THY HEAD!" This one's scream was mixed with blood, his jaw partially blocked by a sword through his throat. They started to crowd around me as I started to slow, my helmet echoing with their cries, shaking my head desperately in denial, trying to think of an excuse, any excuse! To justify my decisions, my folly... But none came. My sword and shield slid from my grip and dropped to the mud, the dirt made slick with the blood of men, my arm lacking the strength to hold them any longer, and I slumped forward to my knees as if the weight of the world itself had burdened my shoulders. The cries of those long dead howled in my ears, their cries reverberating inside my very soul. "MY CHILD NEVER RETURNED! THOU PROMISED TO KEEP HIM SAFE!" A mother who had personally seen her son off. I had assured her he would be fine... Do I deserve this? I asked, flinching away at every scream. "I SHALT NEVER SEE MY KIN AGAIN!" A brother who was ill fit to fight, but had helped pay for a new sword anyway. Was all of this truly my fault? I did as much as I could... How were we to know they're cannons could reload so quickly?! As if hearing my thoughts the crowd grew in volume, shouting their derision at me. "THY FOLLY KILLED MY SONS!" A father who had lost both sons in the first day of battle. My armored hand clutched at my breast plate, my mind picturing the brothers, dead, they're bodies mangled upon the field of battle like so many before. "Daddy!" No... It wasn't my fault! I didn't know! I cried out, desperately surging to my feet, staggering under the weight of their cries. "UPON THY ORDERS! MINE CHILD FELL" Their voices screamed as one, the heart felt cries of sons, daughters, mothers, wives... Each one tearing me apart... Finally trying to meet their gazes I raised my head, only to find the flaming maws of the cannons a few meters away, all primed and loaded... I had never stood a chance... No! I had no choice! No Please! Please you must und-! I tried to back away, only to be stopped by more of the crowd. "Daddy!" "MY BELOVED SHALL NEVER SEE HIS CHILD!" Each cannon manned by someone I had wronged, someone I had betrayed. Cold fury emanated from their eyes as they, as one, lowered their fuses to their respective cannons. Please! No! It wasn't my inten- "DADDY!" With a jolt I sat up in bed, my eyes flying open. "NO! NO! PLEASE!" I sob, clutching at my chest, only to be met with darkness and the sound of my own ragged breathing instead of the roar of cannons and the screams of men... "Daddy... Did thou have a bad dream again...?" I blinked slowly, my breath starting to slow, my hands slowly releasing my night shift. "D-daughter...?" With a slow groan I reach out, turning towards the edge of my bed. "I apologize for waking thee, Dearest..." Finding her head I gently reach over, picking her up and pulling her close. "Yes... Father had bad dream again..." Gently my daughter hugged me, laying her dolly against my chest she pulled the blankets back over us both, patting my head gently. "Worry thyself not Daddy, thy sunshine is here!" She giggled sleepily, snuggling into me. With a quite chuckle I wrapped my arms around her, sleep starting to reclaim me. "Mine Sunshine... Mine Sunshine in the... darkest of nights..." This time, I dreamt of nothing. ________________________________________________ "Suuuuunnnnbuuuu-" DESTROY THEE WITCH! RIP THE WENCHES FETLOCKS FROM HER BARR- "-uuuutt, Cmmooooon Sunnnnyyyy~ What happened to Ms. Always Worki-" -EL AND FORCE THINE PIECES DOW- "ng? Don't you want to at least give me a hug? Or am I getting... A HEAD of myself?" After a moment of silence and baited breath my other side groaned, remarking quietly, .... I hate thee with every fiber of mine very being... With a giggle I roll over, using our visor to inch our way over to Sunny's side as she slept, starting to tap my visor against her large posterior. "Wake uuuuupppp! It's rude to fall asleep after rooting around in a person's mind you know!" Thou sound like a petulant Child begging for the attentions of thy mother. "If I remember correctly-" I managed to say before my other half helpfully interrupts me. Doubtful. Always so encouraging my other half. "She WAS called the Mother of Equestria!" LIES! THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT IS THE RIGH- "Yes, yes, All Hail Queen Dark and Edgy, now do you have anything helpful to add or am I going to have to try and escape via visor locomotion?" I ask, rolling in a circle next to the Princess of the Sun, it wasn't quiet what I wanted to do but it would suffice until I figured out how to roll my visor. With a grumble my other half quieted down, both of us trying to think of a way out of our predicament. Surrounding us was forest, but it would take entirely too long to crawl back to the old castle, find our sword, our shield, and the pieces of our body, and wait for it all to piece itself back together, (It would do so by itself, but that would take longer) all before the golden punching bags arrived. So with a heavy sigh I started to drag our way towards the edge of the clearing and towards the forest, trying to find something to aid our escape. Or at least delay our capture. "PRINCESS!" "Fuck." Indeed. _________________________________________________ "Snrk! Hwa? What?" Sitting up suddenly Princess Celestia became painfully aware of a migraine, groaning softly she massaged the side of her head, glancing up just in time to see six of her Companion guards dive down and surround her, spears pointing outwards. Smiling softly and taking a deep breath, Celestia climbed to her hooves, carefully concealing her exhaustion. "Captain Sub-Sonic, it is good to see y-." "No time for talk Your Majesty! As soon as the chariot arrives we are removing you from this area!" To anyone but Celestia, and maybe those close to Sub, Sub-Sonic's voice was calm, collected, and filled with the confidence befitting a member of one of the most elite branches of the Equestrian military. To Celestia, who was slightly miffed at being interrupted, she sounded agitated and... Slightly afraid... This whole debacle would must have shaken the guards heavily... "I understand Sub, but I will need you and your team to stay here, the Nightmare is unlikely to strike any time soon, as she took a, although minor, hit from the elements, we may be able to strike her before she can amass her strength once more." The Captain, one tufted ear facing her Princess and the other constantly searching for out of place noises, her blue eyes darting back and forth across the landscape, her spear steady in her hoof and her wings twitching slightly. "I'm all ears Princess. The sooner we get rid of the Nightmare the better." Smiling, Celestia turned towards the forest, pointing with a raised hoof. "You will seek out an informant, he is roughly three hooves in height and made entirely of metal, he is an ally of the Nightmare and will be the key to finding it." As she spoke several large, enclosed chariots, descended into clearing, more guards pouring out and spreading across the clearing, so many that even a hydra might have second thoughts about coming close. Frowning Sub-Sonic tilted her head slightly, "Are we trying to find a foal, Princess...? Or a Fairy?" To some this would be seen as some sort of sarcastic remark, but when dealing with the Princess, nothing is off limits... Even foals or fairies allied to ancient evils and made entirely of metal, it certainly wouldn't be a first... "No, I can safely say we won't have to deal with those again, the enemy we seek is a helmet." The Princess stated, her ears flicking in various directions, trying to find any sort of clue to his whereabouts before spotting a furrow in the ground. "He will most likely try to hide in the forest or head back to the castle, and every minute we give him is another minute he spends recovering." Pointing at the two lines of dirt on the ground and tracing the lines towards the forest, only to stop and frown, as roughly half way the lines disappeared... The Captain, understandably, paused for a moment and followed the Princess'es upraised hoof. The lines disappeared, but then not but a few hooves away was a small indent in the dirt, then it was gone again, then it reappeared... As the dirt was replaced by loam and leaves however, the strange tracks disappeared. "Princess... Please tell me this isn't like the Minotaur Totem incident..." With a small smile the Princess turned and headed towards the chariots, shaking her head. "No my dear Companion, although I am unaware how he managed to get away, he cannot teleport, but be careful, the longer we delay the more dangerous he shall get, and whatever you do, do not underestimate him." The Princess swiftly climbed into one of the two enclosed chariots, nodding to her captain. "I have the utmost confidence in you and your squad Captain, and please, be careful..." Shutting the door, half of the guard's that had gotten off of the chariots quickly got back on, the rest, roughly eighteen Earth Ponies, stayed and moved to surround the Captain and her Squad. "Alright Mares you heard the Princess! We're searching for a helmet, although its a rather large helmet it's still small enough to hide! Search each area carefully and extensively. Going fast is worthless if you miss it. "First Lieutenant Thunder Bolt, take Alfalfa squad and head west, stay in the forest, and should you come across any wildlife don't be afraid to use the Bill's. This place will be treated like a war zone, anything that seems even remotely hostile you're to take down or high tail it back to here, understood? Which reminds me, everypony is to meet back here two hours time!" With a chorus of 'Yes Ma'am!' Thunder Bolt and her group headed into the forest. "Sergeant Storm Wing, you're to take Bronco and spread around the eastern edge of the forest, its smallest part of the forest and closest to a nearby village so we do NOT want one of Nightmare's ilk getting anywhere near it, got it?" The aforementioned Pegasus quickly saluted and waved for Bronco squad to pile into the remaining chariot before he took off like a lighting bolt, only circling once before flapping hard and flying east. Finally Sub-Sonic came to to last three ponies, Corporal Stroke O'Luck, Specialist Accurate Maps, and Private First Class Brown Snafu. "You three are with me. We're headed towards the nearby river, Maps, what can we expect?" Without pausing the three fell into line behind her, constantly scanning the area as they cantered along. Pausing only momentarily to grab a small map from his saddlebag, Maps quickly starting listing off possible escape routes as well as dangers. "Yes Ma'am. The river is extremely deep and rough, practically unnavigable without wings or experienced sailors, its doubtful the object in question will be heading towards the river as something of its size would sink quite quickly, and I doubt the Nightmare would have placed such vital information as her whereabouts with an idiot. My suggestion is-" ______________________________________________________ Fool! What doth thee think thou is doing!? "What's it look like? I'm going to swim across!" I proclaimed, as if it wasn't obvious, perched upon a stone right at the edge of a river, quite a large river at that. But Apparently my other half doesn't like water or is an idiot... Probably both, and the former is understandable, seriously, who likes deep water? Imbecile! We would sink in an instant! What then hm? We wait an eternity at the bottom of yon misbegotten river!? My other half cried out, clearly too scared of the extremely deep, dark, foreboding river to think clearly about swimming. "Oh please, I just lay us on our front, then use our visor to swim across, it would be like dragging ourselves across the ground like earlier, just with water!" Simple mathematics! Or something along those lines, from what I can remember math never really made much sense. Either way it'd be fine! "Besides, we can't make it to the castle in time before the golden guards arrive by just hopping along, buuuuut the castle is like, RIGHT by the river right? So we just take a little trip down the river, swim out, and viola!" I start to roll forward, only to jerk back and slide almost a foot away from the water. Apparently whatever Sunbutt did to let me stay be control was falling apart... Which was a shame really, it'd been over a thousand years since I'd been the one in charge. No! We shall simply find a tree, retreat to its roots, and hide amongst them! Thy plan is foolhardy! He growls, trying to drag us back towards the treeline. With my own growl I lurch us forward, slamming our visor into the rock with a loud clang. "I'm in charge! And I say Water!" Roots! With another lurch we were once more spun around, this time falling off the rock and into the slightly muddy part of the shoreline. "Water!" I grunted, having the upper hand I wiggle in place, trying to roll into the nearby water. Only to jerk back the other way as my other half focused less on arguing and more on rolling. "Nooo! WATER!" ________________________________________________ Corporal Stroke O'Luck was a simple Pegasus, she liked to fly, play her guitar, and hunt Equestria's most wanted criminals. It helped that her Cutie Mark, that of the fabled seven leaf clover, constantly kept her from becoming one of the many guards who fell in the line of duty. Just last week on a border investigation, the gang she and her colleagues were tracking had ambushed them at a safe house, of course she had 'just happened' to have left her post by the front door and gone to the bathroom when an assortment of Griffons, Diamond Dogs, and Ponies, armed with magic enhanced crossbows, had literally blown through the front wall of the house. Or that she just happened to hit the gang leader with the door to the bathroom on her way out. So it was no real surprise that when Stroke 'just happened' to trip over a seemingly non existent rock, causing her group to pause in their marching and wait for her to recover, in that brief lapse of total silence they heard a faint noise... Like a piece of metal on rock... Instantly Sub-Sonic froze, her ears twitching back and forth before she started creeping forward, motioning for her group to stay low and follow at a distance while she moved closer... Slowly she made her way towards the direction of the sound, the sound of rushing water gradually growing in volume as the trees started to thin. They had been nearby but had elected to stay inside the forest while simply skirting the river. There upon a rock, lightly flashing and reflecting moonlight, was a strange helmet, it tottered and teetered in place, rocking one way then the other, faintly she could hear it yelling. The rushing water drowned out the words, but they were short and persistent, almost like they were crying out for help! She waved for her group to spread out and be on the lookout, wary of anything or anyone that could sympathize with the Nightmare, it was unlikely, but so was a teleporting Totem pole that somehow knew about the pajama's she wore as a foal, specifically the bright pink flower pattern ones, and liked to proclaim it loudly to everypony within earshot. She shook her head from that nightmare and focused on the one in front of her, frowning as she continued to creep closer, her armor making nary a sound, its enchantments having turned her and it dark green to better blend into the environment around her. Slowly she started to make out the sound of its cries, stopping and tilting her head slightly as she listened. "WATER!" Water...? It wasn't crying for help... But for water? Why would a helmet need water...? Frowning she waved for her group to move up slowly, surrounding the helmet as it continued to shout at the water, or for water, or just because that is what it felt like doing... Suddenly the creature fell off of its rock and into the mud, despite sinking deep into the mud it still tried to wiggle its way out, but only succeeding in digging itself deeper. "Fooiot! Now look what tyhou've done!" _________________________________________________________ Fool! Now we've accomplished neither of our goals! My other half had at least stopped trying to wrest control from me, but even so it was starting to take a conscious effort to keep the reins in my metaphorical gauntlets. It seems the moon light we absorb, while repairing our body, is also weakening whatever Sunny did... "It's not my fault! You refused to let us drop into that deep, dark, nasty... Horrible... Water... All because you're scared of it!" There was silence for a moment before my other half spoke. Art thou mentally challenged? Queen Nightmare, in her supreme intelligence, gave thee our fears! So that I shan't balk at the sight of a puddle more than knee deep! I am INCAPABLE OF FEAR. Before I could respond we felt something pulling us from the mud and lift us, made evident by the copious amount of mud that started to fall of us and splatter onto something metallic below. Wait what? "Pardon me? But is someone there?" I asked politely, wobbling a little on the stick they had stuck into us, and trying to get a better look at them. It only succeeded in making us wobble too and fro even more and create an odd tickling sensation at the back of our helmet. "And would you mind putting us down please ? It is quite a nice night and this view is lovely but I'm afraid I have places to be..." It always pays to be polite, especially in or around dark forests in the middle of the night. For a moment there was naught but silence, even from my other half, then a quite rustle and we started moving, our helmet bouncing along quietly on its long wooden prison. "Er... Hello? Come now, its rather impolite to ignore someone when they're trying to make conversation." With a quite growl my other side cut off anything I was about to say. Quite fool! Look at the direction we art moving, our destination is ahead, and if yon stick wishes to take us then we shall let it. With a silent grumble and a slow spin around the stick to make up for my lack of visor turning, the stick making a curious scraping noise like metal on metal as I did so, we settled down to wait...