//------------------------------// // 160. Desires // Story: Rebirth of the Damned // by Borsuq //------------------------------// The knock on the door caught Scootaloo by surprise, almost causing her to drop down to the floor. “Who the heck is up at this hour?!” she wondered, slightly annoyed. That question was quickly answered. “Scootaloo?” Rainbow called in a hushed voice from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?” “Um…” Scootaloo mumbled, glancing at the book before her. After brief hesitation, she swiped it and hid it under her pillow. Her pet Glory opened one violet eye to look at her from its perch; Scootaloo could almost swear there was a ridicule in that gaze. Ignoring it, she turned back to the door. “Sure, it’s your house after all. What are you doing up so late, though?” she added as the older pegasus entered. “Me? What are you doing up so late, squirt?” Rainbow Dash countered, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Her question - which in all honesty she should have expected - made Scootaloo even more confounded. “Um, well…” she mumbled awkwardly, trying to think of a good excuse. “And why are you all sweaty?” Rainbow asked, now even more confused. “Crap!” Scootaloo cursed in her thoughts, now trying to come up with an excuse for that. She would never know if she would think of a plausible explanation, as the next second her idol pointed with her hoof at the pillow. “And why is there a book sticking out from under your pill-” Rainbow began, dispersing any hope Scootaloo had for hiding what she had been doing, only to stop abruptly. “Um… is that what I think it is?” she asked. For some reason, Rainbow seemed now embarrassed too, much to Scootaloo’s confusion. However, it was no doubt in the young filly’s mind that the older pegasus had figured out what she’s been up to. “Yeah, it’s that book from Twilight with all those wing exercises for pegasi like me,” she admitted, hanging her head in defeat. “I’ve been… trying them out.” Oddly, Rainbow Dash seemed to be actually relieved hearing her answer. “Thank Celestia,” she sighed, brushing her forehead. “Did not want to deal with that tonight…” “Wait, was she thinking of something else?” Scootaloo thought, surprised, then grew annoyed at herself for jumping into the conclusion. “What the heck could I have been doing?! Oh well, I guess there’s no point in backing away now...” “I know that Zecora had said that I should wait until she’ll finish her potion for helping with my wings,” Scootaloo continued, expecting Rainbow to soon recover and reprimand her anyway, “and that you told me to wait until you get back from Wonderbolt Academy so that you could make sure I am doing those exercises correctly.” “And the fact that Zecora won’t be able to get the last ingredients until a week from now, when you will get back, is just a weird happy coincidence,” she commented in her thoughts, inwardly rolling her eyes. “But I can’t wait that long!” she continued. Rainbow frowned slightly and trotted closer as she talked. “I’m long overdue on this physical therapy if I want to fly, and a week more-” “Week more or less won’t make a difference,” Rainbow told her, sitting beside her. “And those therapy recommendations don’t account for using zebra’s alchemy as well. You've heard Zecora, she was confident that with her potion those exercises will help you. So there’s no point by overtaxing yourself or worse, risking an injury by doing them wrong,” she pointed out. “I… guess you’re right,” Scootaloo admitted reluctantly, her ears dropping and looking at the floor downcast. “Sorry.” “Hey, no need to apologize kid! It’s awesome how eager you are to start exercising your wings,” Rainbow told her. Scootaloo felt a hoof on her head and looked up to see her idol smiling at her. Her smile slightly faltered as she added: “I'm sorry thought that I have to leave you for a week because of the Wonderbolt Academy-” “Are you kidding?!” Scootaloo immediately interrupted her. “There’s no way I would have you miss out on the Academy!” “Heh, I know you wouldn’t, squirt,” Rainbow said, ruffling her mane affectionately and causing Scootaloo to giggle happily. “So,” she said after a few seconds, “since you already ignored doctor’s recommendations-” “Zecora’s not a doctor,” Scootaloo spoke up, then tilted her head, pondering what she just said. “Is she?” “Oh who knows with her. Also, I meant me,” Rainbow corrected her, pointing at her chest. “Yeah, pretty sure you’re not a doctor either,” Scootaloo couldn’t help but point out. She was rewarded with a good-humored boop on her muzzle. “The point is, since you already went and started doing those exercises, you mind showing me what you got so far?” “Oh, of course!” Scootaloo exclaimed, excited at the prospect of showing off to Rainbow. She jumped away from her to get some more room, then spread her forelegs for better stability as she stretched her wings as wide as she could, then slowly raised them up as high as she could before gently dropping them down against her sides, and repeated doing that ten more times. She had to hold her breath as she was doing that from the strain, then released it as she was done. “Whew… how was that?” she asked, panting slightly. “Wow, you’re already doing great kid!” Rainbow exclaimed, clopping her forehooves. “Which is good; I am going to put you through serious training regimens once I get back,” she added as she trotted closer to her again, narrowing her eyes and smirking. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo replied confidently, smiling. Rainbow giggled and extended her foreleg around her, pulling her into a hug. Scootaloo happily replied in kind, spreading her forelegs around the older pegasus. “We’ll get you flying in no time with this enthusiasm, squirt,” Rainbow said, patting her on the head. Releasing her from the hug, she added, a little sternly “Now, for the love of Celestia, go to bed already. After you get showered maybe,” she added, pushing her away playfully and overdramatically swiping Scootaloo’s sweat off her chest. “Yeah, I will get right on that,” Scootaloo replied, slightly embarrassed as she chuckled. “Sorry for making you come up here in the middle of the night right before you’ll leave for Wonderbolts Academy.” “Meh, it’s alright,” she said as she turned around and began to leave, “something else woke me up a few minutes earlier, and I literally had nothing better to do.” For some reason, Rainbow Dash seemed highly amused as she said that. Sanngrior turned her head sharply as she noticed something approaching the Abbey in the middle of the night. However, as the dark shape grew closer, she realized that it was just one of those two aqir-like ponies that lived on the Abbey’s grounds, and let herself relax. “Even when something approaches in the middle of the night, it cannot be any enemy in this place,” the val’kyr summed up as the changeling flew towards the entrance. “By Odyn, this is boring!” The two pony guards also finally noticed him. Sanngrior, who, out of boredom, stayed close to them while within the Shadowlands so that she could find some diversion in their conversations to pass the time, reluctantly listened as they greeted the changeling. “Oh hey Wind, didn’t know you were out,” the one called Sound Wave said. “Where were you?” Cherry Bomb inquired, tilting his head curiously. “Been flying around, then looked for some fun and grub,” the changeling - Wind Reaver - replied, shrugging, as he landed before the guards and walked past the entrance. The two unicorns exchange a look, then both smirked. “You were out at Rainbow’s, huh?” Cherry asked. “Maybe,” Wind Reaver replied, stifling a yawn. “And got rejected,” Sound Wave added, not even asking. The changeling jerked, stopping, and glanced at the royal guard with annoyance. “‘Rejected’ implies that I’ve actually tried and gave my best effort into the hunt.” “I think you meant ‘courting’ there buddy,” Sound commented. The changeling waved his hoof. “Same thing. I merely been there to make her a friendly offer, as she’s leaving. I will give it my A game when she gets back,” he added, turning around and heading towards the barracks. “You know, some would say there’d be easier ways for you to get ‘food’,” Cherry called after him. Grinning, he added: “Why are you so fixated with Rainbow Dash?” “You do know that I can sense your amusement, right?” the changeling asked, turning his head back to deadpan at them. “Let me explain a changeling’s mindset to you two; what you apparently interprate as ‘fascination’ or even ‘crush’ is nothing more as a hunter’s determination to get the prey he had set his eyes upon. I want to see that prideful mare become putty in my hooves,” he said as he licked his lips lasciviously, his fangs flashing in the dim light the unicorn’s produced from their horns, “and have her become reduced to a mess of moans and sweat… and other bodily fluids you ponies have. She’s a worthy prey to hunt, I will give her that much. But nothing mo- okay, she’s also a good friend to have,” he added, motioning his head as if he was rolling his eyes. “I’ll give her that too. But having a ‘fixation’ on her? Please,” Wind Reaver snorted, resuming heading towards the barrack. “I’m a changeling with an intended mate; the best Rainbow could hope for was to become our pet.” The two guards waited for the changeling to disappear behind the barrack’s doors before they turned to each other. “Dude, he has such hots for her,” they commented at the same time, both unicorns chuckling. In the privacy of the Shadowlands, Sanngrior, one of the val’kyrs of the mighty Keeper Odyn, facepalmed and sighed with despair. “This is my existence now.” “We’ll be back here by nightfall, so leave non essential equipment,” Storm called as they began to get ready to leave. “Anything that would only slow us down. Take about a third of your rations… actually, make that half, just in case,” he corrected his order in an afterthought; there was always a chance that something unexpected would happen and they would get stuck out there longer. It was already morning. Celestia’s sun had barely showed itself over the horizon when Storm woke everypony up for a short breakfast. Having taken the last watch, he had a ton of time to think, and - after quiet consultation with Clover’s echo, who had kept each of them company during their watches - the pegasus paladin was fairly certain that he had came up with the best plan for today’s journey. “Accounting even for a slight detour,” he added, glancing at Sir Lightbringer. Or rather, at Arthas. Clover had mentioned about his desire to fight the echo of Commander Hurricane. Considering her opinion of the Commander’s fighting skills, Storm thought that desire to be bordering on masochism. However, he wasn’t about to try and talk Sir Lightbringer out of that idea. He had to admit, he was a bit curious to see who would win in a fight between the two of them, not to mention just about seeing Commander Hurricane. Furthermore, he had learned recently far more… unsettling things to focus his mind on. Sir Lightbringer’s past was… well, literally not of this world. If it hadn’t been for the Grand Master telling them about it himself, Storm would probably not believe it, even if it did explain a ton of things, like how he was mentored by a weird creature belonging to a human race, and how there apparently weren’t any ponies in the Order of the Silver Hand. Even so, it was difficult to grasp the concept of Sir Lightbringer having been dead or being from another world... or how one person could be responsible for so much evil, let alone that it had been Sir Lightbringer who had done that. “It’s almost as if those were two different people,” Storm commented, then pondered the thought. “Well, I suppose in a way they were… and not just because of the whole ‘race change’ thing. He didn’t have a soul when he joined this Scourge, and couldn’t feel any remorse or pity or any other emotion of that kind… Does having a soul, or just having all those emotions, are really all that keeps us from committing horrible acts?” “You’re struggling to accept what you’ve heard.” Storm almost jumped at the sound of Sir Lightbringer’s voice. He was so lost in thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed the head paladin approaching him. “No Sir, I… um, I mean, sort of,” he admitted, turning to address him. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Sir, it’s just… really hard to imagine you doing all those things.” Sir Lightbringer shook his head as he gave out a sigh that was laced with both amusement and sadness, then turned away and trotted through the ruined tower’s entrance. “Why is it that everytime I tell you ponies about my past you all find it hard to believe?” he asked as he walked, motioning for Storm to follow him outside. “Well, to be fair, you start by saying that you weren’t a pony, that you lived on another world and you have died,” Storm couldn’t help but point out as he caught up with him. “I suppose that’s fair,” Sir Lightbringer replied, chuckling. “But more importantly, Sir, it’s that you are one of the best ponies in Equestria,” Storm continued, meaning the words he spoke. “You are a good pony, a champion of the Light. The person you were the last few years… was not you,” he finished a bit awkwardly, not knowing how to best put his thoughts into words. “If only Azerothians would look at this matter the same way,” Sir Lightbringer sighed. “I fear even those few that would actually wait for an explanation before straight out attacking me and would hear me out would still wish me dead.” “Brann Bronzebeard seemed to be fine with you being alive,” Storm pointed out. “Brann is… an understanding sort. Focusing more on the bigger picture of things. And he knows all too well how terribly cursed some artifacts might be; it was the Explorer’s League that first searched for Frostmourne.” Storm felt a shudder go though his body despite himself at the name of that blade. The blade that had turned his mentor into a monster, that destroyed kingdoms and killed thousands of innocent. “Plus, when he first visited this world, he was immediately surrounded by my friends who all rushed to defend my now good nature,” Sir Lightbringer added, smiling nostalgically. If he had noticed Storm’s reaction, he did not show it. “And then of course there was this entire emergency with Apple Bloom straight after that, so we were all too busy to focus on my life on Azeroth.” He turned to Storm and added, half-humorously and half-dead serious, “I would rather not rely on ill fate befalling an innocent foal the next time a new visitor from Azeroth arrives.” “O-of course, Sir,” Storm replied, not sure if he should laugh or not; the remark was pretty funny, or rather would be if it weren’t for the actual danger Apple Bloom had been in. “Do you think there will have more visitors from Azeroth?” he asked instead to change the subject. Sir Lightbringer snorted. “With my luck, there probably were some in the Everfree Abbey already since the time we have left it.” Storm rolled his eyes; Sir Lightbringer’s opinion regarding his luck bordered on paranoia. “Might I ask what do you plan to do if we indeed receive more visitors like Brann, Sir?” Storm asked, curious about the answer. “Are you wondering if I’d just let them do as they please to me, seeing their retribution as a just punishment?” Sir Lightbringer asked in turn, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Before Storm could reply - which, considering that such a thought indeed had crossed his mind, he didn’t really want to - the older paladin chuckled shortly. “Don’t worry, I know how much I mean to my friends. I would spare them any pain, let alone one caused by the death of such a wretched creature as me. Also, since I count the rulers of Equestria as my friends, I would fear sparking a war,” he added, his brow furrowing. Whatever dark thoughts had crossed his mind, he quickly dispersed then and continued, “To answer your question, I would most likely try and talk with them, and pray to the Light for them to give me the chance to prove myself in their eyes.” Storm nodded, accepting such answer. Especially the earlier part, about not letting Azerothians just kill him. Though Storm prayed that if there would be additional visitors from that world in the future, they would be as understanding as Brann Bronzebeard, he knew that there could be more than a few individuals on that war-torn world that would just attack him on sight, before any words or acts could sway them. The pegasus paladin was confident that Sir Lightbringer would be able to subdue any potential attackers… especially with Storm and the other paladins’ help, not to mention his friends. “Sir, I must confess, the more I listen to you, the less believable your story becomes,” Storm commented, hoping a joke would lift the mood of their conversation. Sir Lightbringer indeed laughed briefly, but he also soon turned to him with a serious look. “Storm, if a terrible threat would emerge in Equestria, if horrors such as the ones you’ve seen in the vision of my past or even here on this island would take place in ponies’ lands, would you try to do everything you could to put an end to them?” “Of course I would, Sir!” Storm immediately answered, passionately and truthfully… and as a knowing smile appeared on Sir Lightbringer’s muzzle, he had realized what was he referring to. “That’s a good answer, but learn from my mistakes; stay true to the Light, yourself and your friends. But enough about that,” Sir Lightbringer added, waving his hoof. “I didn’t pull you out here to lecture you or to discuss my past.” Realizing that there could be only one other thing he could have in mind then, Storm nodded and spoke up, “If this is about you wanting us to make a detour so that you could spar with the echo of Commander Hurricane, Clover the Clever already told me about it.” “There’s a sentence I never thought I would say,” he commented in his thoughts, rolling his eyes inwardly. “So casually talking about two of the Founders of Equestria…” “Ah, I see,” Sir Lightbringer nodded with understanding. “Tell me, what do you think of that?” “I’ve already planned our way so that we’ll have the time for that after reaching the memorial. I… believe it would be an interesting sight to witness,” he said diplomatically. Sir Lightbringer smirked. “You disapprove of the idea.” “It’s not that I disapprove, Sir,” Storm quickly replied. “It’s just that… it seems excessive to me, especially since it was supposed to be our trial.” “Are you saying it’s wrong for me to put myself through a trial as well?” Sir Lightbringer asked, raising an eyebrow. “I suppose if you put it like that, Sir, then no,of course not,” Storm replied. Privately, though, he added “But it does speak about your ego that you’d want to test yourself by fighting the mightiest pony warrior.” “Good, then that’s settled,” Sir Lightbringer said, accepting Storm’s surrender. Despite having agreed to the detour, there were a couple more things Storm wanted to discuss with the head paladin regarding the issue. However, before he could speak, the others had began to emerge from the tower’s ruins, ready to continue the journey. The presence of others alone hadn’t stopped Storm from speaking; after all, they weren’t going to keep that detour idea a secret, and he expected that others would also have slight worries regarding it. What had stopped him, was that while Serenity and Tucker were engrossed in another discussion with each other - or simply put, they were having another argument - Guard and Clover approached him and Sir Lightbringer with a determined yet troubled expressions on their faces. “There’s something I would like to discuss,” Guard begun as they reached the, speaking to both of them. He reached for his saddlebags and pulled out a metal object. “You remember I told you about fighting an earth pony’s echo when I got separated from the group and finding this after defeating him?” Storm nodded, recalling his paladin brother’s tale, as he looked down at the dragon head shaped shield boss. “That was an echo of the pony called Rockhoof,” Clover spoke up, glancing at the shield boss with sadness. “He was a strong warrior, possibly the physically strongest pony. Hurricane and his pegasi warriors held a lot of respect for him, which speaks volumes of his fighting skills.” “It certainly does,” Sir Lightbringer said while Storm nodded in agreement; he remembered what Guard had said about his battle with the echo, and the older paladin was not one for embellishing stories. “Sadly, if this is a part of his shield, then its presence on the island means he must have perished.” “Yes, it does,” Clover agreed. “He hath been assigned with guarding a narrow passage so that the griffons couldn’t call for the enslaved earth elemental reinforcements on that front. Based on what Guard Shield hath told me, the passage must hath been blocked since then, possibly the earth elementals hath caused an avalanche during the fight. Regardless of Rockhoof’s precise fate,” Clover added, shaking her head a little before nodding at the shield boss, “what I am interested right now is this shield.” “What do you mean?” Storm asked, intrigued. “The shield of Rockhoof was a family heirloom, dating back several hundred years to the times the earth ponies were ruled by kings,” Clover began. Storm’s eyes widened in surprise as he listened; she was speaking of a time from which only very faint legends had remained. “It’s Salvation, and according to the legend it was given to the younger son of the last king of earth ponies by Sue’ning, the two-headed king of the diamond dogs, so that he could defeat the dragon Ancalagon. It was said to defend its wielder from every attack, be it a blade or magic; or even the dragon’s flames. For the Salvation to be shattered like this…” she trailed off, troubled, as she shook her head. Storm stared at her, his mouth hanging open as he tried to process what the echo had said. Noticing that the others were also looking at Clover, though, he recovered, still being a little self-conscious about his crooked jaw. He closed it, then asked the first of the many questions that he milled around in his head “What was that about a two-headed king of the diamond dogs?” Clover turned her gaze away from Salvation’s shield boss and looked at him, blinking in surprise. “The ruler of the diamond dog subterranean kingdom under the Ōu Mountain? The diamond dogs hath closed their tunnels and borders when the windigos' blizzard came, and they remained in the Frozen North while we left, but surely, thou shouldst hath some knowledge of them.” Everypony turned to Serenity, who knew the most when it came to history. For once, though, the crystal pony seemed unsure of herself. “I… I had heard some stories about the diamond dogs kingdom in the north,” she admitted, looking at Clover with puzzlement, “but I thought them to be legends. The diamond dogs who live everywhere else are… well, suffice to say that they that they wouldn’t exactly be able to run a kingdom,” she explained, trying to remain civil regarding the diamond dogs’ intelligence and civility. Storm nodded, and was about to voice a similar opinion, but he paused when he caught Tucker’s expression in the corner of his eyes. The unicorn paladin looked… confused. He was looking at Clover and Serenity, his ears perked, and as Storm watched him his brow furrowed, as if thinking deeply about something. “I recall hearing Doctor Daring Do mentioning having found evidence of a city of diamond dogs in the Frozen North and of trade between them and earth ponies,” Sir Lightbringer spoke up, causing Storm’s attention to this shift briefly to him; when he glanced back at Tucker, his brother had already recovered, apparently having worked out whatever had bothered him. “There was also a mention of a two-headed diamond dog that could use magic… so I guess those revelations were indeed true,” he added, nodding at Clover. “I hope they’ve been doing well, living alone those past two thousand years,” the echo murmured, more to herself, clearly troubled by what she had heard. However, she quickly brushed it off and resumed her earlier disposition. “However, the fate that hath befallen Salvation is of more interest to me at the moment. When Guard Shield brought its shield boss to me a few moments ago, I cast a spell to see if I could find the remaining pieces of it. I… managed to locate four more pieces of it,” she added after a brief hesitation, seeming troubled. “I don’t think it’s the entirety of the shield, so it would seem the rest got completely destroyed. Those pieces aren’t far from here,” Clover continued. “I thought thou could help me find them. I could piece together what had happened to Salvation, and thou would get to keep the shield; assuming it could be put together of course,” she added, nodding at Guard Shield. “Interesting thought,” Sir Lightbringer commented, gazing at the shield boss in Guard’s hoof with renewed interest. “If this Salvation was as formidable shield as you have said, it would be good for it to be wielded in defense of Equestria again. I believe we should look for those other pieces,” he said, turning to Storm. Even though this wasn’t technically a command, Storm nodded; he was of the same opinion on the matter. “Alright; can you lead us towards the closest piece?” “Yes, they are all in the area between us and the monument, so thou won’t lose too much time,” Clover said, her horn surrounded by magical aura as she began to turn in the direction where they were about to set of. However, she stopped mid-turn. “Um… I should probably mention first that those pieces seem to be… moving.” “Of course they are,” Storm commented in his thoughts, deadpanning at the echo out of exasperation, and noticed that he wasn’t the only one to react this way. Lord Victorious Blackhorn’s brow furrowed as he passed through the portal leading to his private chambers within the Castle Blackhorn. Although he was glad to be away from those obnoxious ponies from Canterlot and back in the privacy of his sanctum, there were a many matters that troubled him. “Took you long enough,” a familiar voice rang out, pulling his mind out of his musings. Slightly annoyed at not noticing he wasn’t alone, the ebony unicorn turned to the source of the voice. Its owner, the black and pale gray griffoness called Katrana Stormcloud, was leaning against a half open window, as if she had been gazing through it at the sea or the rocky terrain of the Magmarock Island. “Apologies,” Lord Victorious spoke, trotting towards her, “I decided to take the opportunity my trip had provided and take a look at this ‘Everfree Abbey’, since those paladins are currently away.” “Ah, I see,” Katrana replied, her eyes shining with interest. “Well?” “Your guess was right, it most certainly is him; he even had a statue made depicting his old mentor,” he added, rolling his eyes. “Clearly, he lost some of his subtlety along with all his powers…” “So do you still think him to not be a threat to our plans?” the grifoness asked. “He is some of a threat,” Lord Victorious agreed, slightly reluctantly. “Far smaller than those princesses could potentially be; I don’t think even they realize just how much power they have.” He couldn’t stop himself from scowling; it was ridiculous. To think that such pathetic looking creatures could command such powers… it was ludicrous! And it wasn’t just those two alicorns; ponies overall possessed intriguing innate magics. “Then you will be happy to know that I have succeeded in my task,” Katrana said, a smirk appearing at the edge of her beak. “I have found a perfect puppet at Griffenhalla. It will take some work, but soon we will have the means to get rid of those pony princesses. And after you finish your work here…” “... then we will have the means to take this weird little world for our own,” Lord Victorious finished her thought, smiling. “Can you see it?” he asked, raising his forehoof to brush the griffoness cheek affectionately. “No more Father, no more whispers, just you and me, my beloved sister.”