//------------------------------// // Intermission 4: Behind The Static // Story: Silent Ponyville: Duet Of Sorrow // by KillerSteel //------------------------------// “Sehn!” Loki shouts as Sorale draws a knife and quickly stabs Sehn in the side, Sorale holding him in place so the knife digs in as deep as it can go. “I expect both of you to keep quiet about this…” He says with a dark tone, quickly pulling out the knife and pushing Sehn onto the sand. He turns to Loki, flipping the knife around so the edge points out the bottom of his hand, and he starts walking over to her. “Because neither of you are walking away from here.” “Crazy bastard…” Sehn grunts, getting to his feet while holding his wound, blood gushing out from under his hand. He shouts out in pain while falling to a knee, holding up his body with his free hand. He looks over to Loki, backing away from Sorale, looking at the glinting red knife. “D-don’t kill me!” Loki whimpers, backing away as quickly as she can from the towering shadow in front of her, the steel of the knife coated in red. “Oh no, I’m not lettin’ you run away, especially since you’re the root of the ‘problem’ right now…” Sorale hisses, quickly leaping forward and grabbing Loki by the neck, easily lifting her up to his eye level, a good five feet off the ground. He looks her dead in the eyes, his own glinting with the red of bloodthirst. “Night night…” He says, bringing the knife back behind him, Loki covering her eyes. She suddenly feels a jerk, shouting outside the darkness of her vision, and she’s thrown through the air. Her eyes open to a struggle between Sehn and Sorale, grappling with each other for control over the knife. “Let go of the knife, traitor!” Sehn shouts, the sand below his trembling legs slowly turning red from his open wound. “I’m not going to be the traitor once we’re through, Darksol!” Sorale shouts, adjusting his body and bringing a quick knee up into Sehn’s gut, knocking the wind out of him. He brings his foot to Sehn’s chest and kicks hard, throwing him to the sand, and Sorale jumps on him, driving the knife towards his face. His arm gets grabbed and pushed back, the knife driving itself into the sand, and a fist flies up into his face, followed by another. Loki simply sits there, watching the two hedgehogs beat the snot out of each other. She gets to her feet, watching Sorale get the upper hand, pushing the knife towards Sehn’s right eye, him pushing back against Sorale’s arm. Loki creeps up behind Sorale, both hedgehogs absorbed in their death struggle, and she jumps up onto Sorale’s back. Quickly running up, she grabs his shoulders and drivers her fangs into the back of his neck, shredding the skin. Sorale leaps back in a cry of pain, reaching around to Loki’s head before a fist is driven into his stomach. He collapses to his knees, Loki keeping a tight grip on his spine while Sehn grabs him by the throat, holding him in place. “Get ‘em!” Loki mumbles through Sorale’s neck, Sehn driving his head into Sorale’s in a large headbutt. Sorale recoils back, Loki biting down harder, and he falls backwards onto her. He shouts into the sky in agony as Loki’s fangs dig further into the back of his neck, and he grips the knife in his right hand harder before bringing it around to stab Loki through the temple. The knife blade meets the back of Sehn’s hand, and his right fist flies straight into Sorale’s nose, crushing it. His fist comes back and flies into it again, Loki grunting under the impact while Sorale shouts in pain, and the punches keep flying until Sorale stops moving, twelve being counted. Loki rolls out from behind Sorale, spitting out a pool of blood. She hacks and coughs, getting her breath back after a few tries, “I nearly drowned in that!!!” She wipes her mouth, grimacing at the horrid taste of the blood and flesh. “Tastes like copper and rot…” She says, spitting out the last glob of blood still in her mouth. She rubs her nose, having bashed it a few times from Sorale’s head recoiling into her from the punches. “Ngh…” Sehn grunts, falling to his knees. Loki spins around and runs over to him, “Oh no, are you ok?!” “N-No…I’m not ok. I got stabbed in t-the side…by the Gods this hurts bad…” He pants, the blood still freely flowing from his wound. His clothes are stained red around the wound, and Loki starts to panic. “Oh no, oh no, oh no! Where can I get you help?!” She shrieks, looking around in a frantic haze before settling on the battalion that passed them before, still within running distance. “Wait here, I’ll get help!” She shouts at Sehn, him simply nodding slowly as she sprints off towards the field of shadows. She leaps over a sand dune in a mad dash towards the patrollers, panting hard from strain and worry. “Help! I need help!!!” She screams to the battalion, one of the soldiers turning around and elbowing another next to him. They both shout to their commander, halting the patrol as they turn around and walk over to Loki. “Hey hey, what’s with the racket?” The taller hedgehog, brown in color, leaning down and asking with a gravelly tone. “T-There’s been a fight, and Sehn’s hurt!!!” Loki shrieks in complete panic, shaking uncontrollably. “Sehn?! Oh crap, that’s the Captain! Hang on, I’ll tell the Sergeant! Jessie, you go with the kid!” He shouts to the soldier next to him, a short dark-purple hedgehog with amber eyes, her nodding and picking Loki up. “Alright kid, tell me which direction and we’ll get there in a snap!” She says with a young, energetic tone. “That way! Go that way, fast!” Loki shouts, sitting on Jessie’s shoulder, pointing off to the right slightly. She takes off in a sprint, easily three times faster than Loki could ever run, and they quickly cover the distance to the wounded Sehn and the knocked out Sorale. She jumps over the sand dune between her and Sehn, almost flying through the air and landing next to him. Sehn’s laid out on his back, having a drowsy look to his staring at the sky. He slowly looks over to the two rescuers, still holding his wound closed. “About…time…” He whispers, moving his eyes back to the blue sky overhead. “Don’t worry sir, help’s on the way. You were lucky Sarge was out on patrols over this way…” Jessie says, taking Loki off her shoulder and putting her down next to Sehn. “I’ll go up to the sand dune and help the patrol find their way, you stay here and make sure the Cap’n doesn’t bleed out.” Jessie quickly says, Loki nodding. She nods back before sprinting off to the sand dune about fifty meters out, waving her hands in the air to act as a beacon for the patrol. Loki turns away from her to Sehn, looking at his wound. “Anything I can do to help…?” “…Doubt it…unless a kid like you can breathe fire…not much to be done until I get to Sickbay…” He wheezes out, clenching in pain. He breaths come in shallow, harsh intervals. “Please don’t die!” Loki whimpers, kneeling next to Sehn, looking over his side as she tries to think of some way to help. She turns around and takes a deep breath, letting it out in a harsh blow in the hopes that a stream of fire would come out, but to no avail. She tries again, nothing. She turns around, Sehn looking over at her. “Don’t worry…I ain’t dyin’ here…” He says with a smirk, gesturing for Loki to come closer. She does so, and Sehn puts his left hand on her head, patting it softly. “Without you, Sorale would’ve gotten away with what he’d done…you’re a good kid.” Sehn says with a smile, looking back up at the sky. Loki looks up with him as the crunching of sand from many feet comes closer, Jessie shouting back to them. “Sergeant Kayl’s here! Oy! This way!” She shouts to the patrol, Loki turning to see several soldiers burst over the sand dune and over to Sehn. “What the hell happened here?!” One of them shouts, while the other two run over to the Captain. “Sehn and Sorale got into a fight, but Sehn won! Sorale’s a bad man!” Loki shouts to the soldier, and he just raises an eyebrow in confusion. One of the soldiers shouts over to the pair, “The Cap’n’s really messed up! We have to get him to Sickbay or he’s not livin’ another thirty minutes! Gimme a hand, Brad!” The soldier in front of Loki nods, quickly running around her, as the rest of the patrol comes over the sand dune to help out, Jessie bringing up the rear. Loki runs over to her as Kayl runs past, her recognizing him as the young Sergeant talking with Sehn before. “Don’t worry, kiddo, Sehn’ll be just fine once we’re done.” Jessie says, picking Loki up and putting her on her shoulder. The entire patrol starts running back to Headquarters, a good two hundred fifty meter sprint away. Thirty soldiers run down the thin halls and walkways of Headquarters, some soldiers jamming themselves up against the walls while others join in the mad sprint, two doctors carrying Sehn on a stretcher in the middle of the mob, while two more doctors follow close behind, carrying Sorale on another stretcher. Loki sits on the stretcher next to Sehn, Jessie right beside her. “Don’t worry kid, we’ll get him the help he needs! No one’s ever died here.” Jessie says, Loki looking up at her. “Doctor Fresten’s a medical genius, and even though Doc’s a little crazy, he’s good enough to do a heart bypass with his eyes closed. Sehn’s in good hands.” “I hope you’re right…” Loki mumbles, looking back at Sehn, passed out since the patrol arrived at the main gates to Headquarters. The mob quickly reaches the Sickbay, two metal doors with a red cross in the center between them, and one of the soldiers kicks in the door, running in. “Doctor Fresten! Code Red, Sehn’s in critical-“ The sound of the soldier getting shoved to the side into a table, and a crash comes out of the Sickbay as Jen runs out, staring at the two patients. “Get them inside, now! One of you go get Doc from his quarters!” One of the corporals quickly nods, dashing off down the hall as the four doctors bring Sehn and Sorale in, Jen picking Loki up off the stretcher. “Sorry, no non-wounded allowed inside while I’m working!” She quickly says, handing her to Jessie, and she runs back inside, shouting orders the doctors. “Get me my tools and an IV, STAT! Let’s move it people, lives are on the line!” Loki shivers on Jessie’s shoulder, staring at the metal door. “Please don’t die…I don’t want him to die…” “I’ve said it again and again, kid. He’ll be fine. Doctor Fresten has been with the army for five years, and she’s saved every life that ever ended up in her hands, the best medic we’ve ever had.” Jessie says with a big smile, looking at Loki. “So don’t let it get you down! Sehn’s been at this line of work for years, longer than a lot of the younger soldiers around here, and he’s well earned his rank as Captain through his efforts in the line of duty. We all know he’ll make it through.” “Still, I can’t help it! I don’t want him to die because of me!” Loki cries, folding her arms tightly and looking down. “If only I’d stayed with Daddy…Sehn never would’ve been hurt…” “He knows what he signed up for…though why do you care for him so much? I’ve never seen you around here.” Jessie asks, raising an eyebrow. “Oh…um…he was helping me with a problem and…well…” Loki says quietly, twiddling her thumbs, wondering if she can be open to the soldier next to her like she was with Sehn. “Sorale was taking things from my family…” “Sorale? That’s weird…some of the Corporals running guard patrols around the base would often see him and his Sergeant walking off to some random corner of the desert. They always said it was for searches along the Rim…guess they found something and didn’t spill.” Jessie sighs, looking over at Loki. “You did good today for a shorty. Shouldn’t be long before Sehn gets released, so I’ll leave you here, I got work to do on the second floor.” Jessie says with a nod, taking Loki and gently setting her down on the ground. “Try not to get stuck under anyone’s feet now, y’hear?” Jessie says with a smirk, waving and running off down the hall. Loki lets out a short sigh, looking over at the metal door, before walking over to it and cracking it open. “It’s alright, you can come in now.” Jen says, opening the door fully from off to the right. Loki walks in to see her reading a magazine, sitting in a chair next to Sehn. “He’s unconscious right now, but stable. It’s a good thing you guys got him in here this quick as well…guess that ‘rigorous’ training Bravo puts all these soldiers through paid off today.” She sighs, looking over at Sehn. “What’d you get yourself into this time, Sehn…?” “Um…th…that was my fault…” Loki looks down, feeling crushed as she walks over to Sehn’s table, leaping up and pulling herself up to Sehn’s side, kneeling next to him and holding his hand. “I went to him with a problem I had…and he tried to help me by fighting Sorale on his own…” “Sehn’s a brave man, but he can be crazy at times. Still…he doesn’t do this for just anyone.” Jen says, leaning forward slightly, closing the magazine. “He must think you’re pretty special to him.” “Still…it was because he tried to help me that he got hurt so bad…” Loki looks down, feeling tears starting to well up. “I heard you talking to the Corporal outside, and she’s right…he knows what he signed up for. To him, protecting the honor of another is just as important as saving a life. It tends to land him here more than anyone else, but the troops respect him for it.” Jen says softly, smiling. “You should be happy to have such a man fight for you.” “Well…I guess so…” Loki turns slightly, still laying her left hand on Sehn’s right. “My name’s Lokiria, but my family calls me Loki. What’s yours, lady?” “I prefer doctor, but my name’s Jennifer Fresten.” “Oh! Doctor Fresten! I heard about you, you’re the best medic ever!” Loki says with a big smile. “Well, I don’t think I deserve that much praise…but go ahead.” Jen says with a smirk and a throwaway gesture, leaning back and returning to her magazine. “He should be able to be released in a few hours.” “Thank goodness…” Loki sighs, turning back to Sehn, a few tears rolling down her cheeks as she smiles and grips his hand. “Wow…that’s pretty emotional.” Twilight says, Loki looking over. Her eyes are locked on the monitors, the snow letting up slightly. “Yeah…Sehn saved my life back then. I left after he recovered, and he came by the village a few days later, wanting to hang out with me. We shared stories, and he quickly got close to my mom and dad. It was like I finally had a big brother I could look up to…” Loki says with a smile, leaning her head back against Twilight’s side. “Quite the story though! Heroism and saving a damsel in distress, like a cheesy romance novel.” Twilight says with a giggle. “Hey! Unlike those novels, this one’s true!” Loki smirks, looking off to the right, happy that her story is setting in right. “I’m sure. The monitors’ve been rather stable in their static until now…they’re becoming clearer.” Twilight says, furrowing her brow slightly as both she and Loki get up, walking over to them. As they draw closer, the flame around the right monitor intensifies. “How long has this spell been going for…?” Twilight asks herself, looking at the left monitor with a solemn look, the sepia-tone snow still clouding the image. “Forty minutes, thirteen seconds.” Loki answers, staring at the right monitor with a serious look. “Do you think the spell’s about to end?” “Can’t tell…I hope so, though. Every time I used this spell, my friends came out shaken…and they all demanded that I never use this spell again, so the shorter the duration, the better for the patient, at least to me.” Twilight says, not breaking her gaze on the monitor. “Agreed…though should it really be taking this long?” Loki asks, looking over at Twilight. “No…it shouldn’t take nearly this long. Forty minutes is about twenty times longer than it usually takes…” Twilight says, lowering her eyes slightly with a frown. “I can only pray that they’re both alright…whatever’s in there isn’t good for ponies…or Hemorans for that matter.” “Sehn survives everything…and just like you told me before, I have to have a little faith in my friends when I can’t be there for them.” Loki says, looking back at the black rimmed monitor. “I’ll do what I can from here…just make it back to me, Sehn…” Loki says under her breath. The images on the monitors continue their snowed-away blur, but an image shows itself on the other side of the snow. Each monitor contains a different looking shadow, staring back at the observers within the Void…the observers look into the souls locked within Hell itself, and the souls stare back at their watchers, showing no feeling, no emotion…yet saying much about themselves. Twilight sits down, staring at the monitor, and Loki does as well. “…Why do I feel so sad?” Twilight asks herself, unable to break her gaze with the monitor. The Equestrian shadow stares back at her, no eyes, no mouth, no movement or speech. “…I feel angry, personally…” Loki says, staring at the Hemoran shadow before her. The snow begins to clear itself, the images revealed to be the two shadows against a white backdrop. Twilight and Loki stare into the shadows, unable to break their gaze. The world around them blurs… The shadows reach out to them…