//------------------------------// // 72 - Guerillas // Story: From Dusk to Night // by KuroiTsubasaTenshi //------------------------------// The ground seemed unsteady. In the logical part of my mind, I knew it was my legs, but sleep deprivation does funny things to one’s perspective. It probably didn’t help that we were approaching over rough, hilly terrain. I’d chosen this route, despite feeling like we could pass out any moment, because if we were caught out in this condition, things could get even worse. Granted, I couldn’t say for certain how much the animosity from my previous… incident in Pasture remained. But this was not a time to be taking chances. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see Night was doing better, but only by a bit. He’d insisted on watching over me for at least part of my sleep. I had to admit that the nightmares felt less powerful when he did, though whether that was placebo effect or not, I couldn’t say. What I did know was the look he gave me when I told him I couldn’t possibly expect him to keep doing it. It had been pure determination, creased by worry, as he looked me straight in the eye and replied, “And I can’t just sit by and do nothing.” The compromise had been sleeping in shifts, which was probably just as well. I still couldn’t put my hoof on it, but whatever this was made me intensely uneasy. It was like someone was constantly watching me. Of course, if I looked around, there was never anything suspicious. That’s why, despite no real evidence, I had to guess that whatever it was was magical in nature. With that that in mind, it definitely wasn’t a bad idea to have someone on watch—even if it was a distracted watch. Shaking my head, I returned to the present. “How are you holding up?” “Well enough.” Night gave me a brave smile. “The forest should be just over this hill. Once we clear them, keep your voice low. The people who usually walk these roads aren’t exactly on friendly terms with me.” Night worked his jaw, like he had a dozen questions trying to come out at once, but quickly realized this wasn’t the best time. “Sorry, Night.” I let out a bit of a sigh, the weight of withheld information hanging off my back. “I’ll explain more once we get to Ivory’s hut. It’s about a mile and some change into the forest.” He simply nodded, doing his best to muster up another smile. “I trust you.” As we crested the hill, I crouched low, skulking about the wild clusters of bushes. Sure enough, there was a group of people, gathered at the crossroads of the main road and the trail that led into the forest. Even with the fog enveloping my mind, something felt off. The way they stood, the general unkemptness, not to mention that every one of them was on the larger side—these were not typical townsfolk. I scowled, wondering if the mayor had decided to have another go at his bandit ploy. “What is it?” Night whispered. I shook my head. “I can’t be certain. But the mayor does have a reputation of the… unsavoury sort.” “This is a waste of time!” One of the stallions, a silver-maned one in a black trenchcoat, practically shouted, as he stepped away from the group and began pacing around them. “How do we even know she’s coming?” I felt my frown deepen, concern for Ivory rising in my chest. While she could take care of herself, nothing could ever be certain. One lapse or moment of bad luck could be the greatest catastrophe. “Because the Boss said so, duh!” Another stallion answered, his exasperation bordering on overplayed enough that I swore I heard the sigh. I couldn’t get much of a look at him, since he was near the back, but it looked like he was wearing a fedora. The next to chime in was a mare, whose mane was held in place by a large, but tattered, bandana. “New Boss or Old Boss” “What do you think?” Fedora snapped. “Old Boss is dead,” Trenchcoat cut in. “Which is why listening to some hallucination is a waste of time.” “She ain’t no hallucination.” Fedora’s voice was an odd mix of nerves and defensiveness as he glanced at the empty road behind him. Trenchcoat stopped and planted his hooves. “Oh, I’m sorry. Listening to some dumbass dream is a waste of time. Better?” “You wouldn’t say that if you saw it like the rest of us,” Bandana stepped up. “I would. It is a dream. Not real.” Trenchcoat didn’t back down. A chill slid in under my coat. There was no way. There couldn’t be. “A dream all of us had. It’s gotta mean something,” Fedora said. “It means you had a coincidence happen to you. Problem solved.” Trenchcoat edged forward. The rest of the crowd murmured as Fedora pushed through to meet Trenchcoat. “Really? All of us is coincidence?” “Yes!” Trenchcoat leaned in. “Then why are you here?” Bandana stood beside Fedora. “Because some fools wandered off into the wilderness because of a stupid dream. So here I am.” Trenchcoat threw his forehooves wide. They continued to bicker, but their words were lost as I turned to my own thoughts. Dreams that seem too real… for more than just me. There has to be something more to it! Suddenly, I was drowning, the flood from my imagination threatening to wash me away. What if Summer Leaf really didn’t die? What if what The Mob did really had made her more powerful? How much more powerful? I fought to calm myself and tried to follow a single train of thought. She’d called herself more powerful than anyone could imagine. And when I’d suggested Celestia, she seemed undaunted. There was always the possibility that she was bluffing, and yet, what she was doing was well beyond the ability of even many exceptional people. I’d only ever heard of two people utilizing such a power: the Princesses Celestia and Luna. What if she could match their ability? What if she could even see me from a distance? It would certainly explain why these thugs were here in this exact place at this exact moment. I felt sick—the same way as when we’d fought Broken Tooth. “Dusky?” Night’s concerned face helped anchor me again. I stole a quick nuzzle. “Sorry, Night, I… there’s a lot going on here that I don’t fully understand, but I believe our enemy is somehow aware of our plans and movements.” “I… yeah. I gathered that much.” He gave me an alarmed, yet sympathetic, look. “What do we do?” “Hmmm. We’re already in rough shape. We can’t let this draw out. If we try to go around, they might be alerted to our plans.” I glanced out at the crowd again. They were still bickering—a prime opportunity to break though. However, as I looked more closely, there were some objects sitting on the road on the far side of them. One of which had the distinct look of a sling. I frowned. Flying would be risky if they were really prepared. At this height, we’d be easy targets. Turning back to Night, I let out a short sigh. “This is going to sound crazy, but I think we have to do something that’s difficult to react to. We need to get as close to the road as we can, then bolt for the forest. If we can reach the edge, we should be safe—at least from those thugs. As far as whatever is watching us or how we’re being watched, I can’t say.” “Are you sure? This really isn’t like you.” Night’s face was filled with concern again. “I know. I’d really prefer not to, but my usual methods are compromised. I can’t stubbornly stick to them. I have to adapt. That’s why… this.” With an apologetic look, I motioned to the side of the hill that would take us down to the road. Gingerly, I made my way down the rocky, uneven slope. The ground was unusually dry, even for the season, making everything brittle and prone to noise. Not only that, but it would provide little for cover, making getting caught out here only marginally better than trying to fly in. The brush was thicker at the bottom, though still of somewhat questionable use. Thankfully, what I was now ninety-nine-percent certain were Cartel thugs, hadn’t stopped bickering for a single moment. I almost had to wonder if I’d given them too much credit. I stole a quick glance at Night, then stepped out. Each tiny crunch of the dirt beneath my hooves made me cringe. There was no sense in drawing attention to ourselves, but they were going to notice any second and I needed to be ready to take off. “You wanna be a skeptic?” Fedora shouted. “Fine! But do it over there. The rest of us have got work to do.” “Know what? Maybe I will. Just don’t come crying to me when they lock you up in an insane asy—” Trenchcoat started to circle the group again, but as he did, he looked straight at us. It took him a moment, but a scowl quickly spread across his face. “What’re you staring at?” The rest of the thugs locked on, their blank, tired eyes somehow exuding a hunger for blood that made my skin crawl. For a moment, I wondered if the truer zombies were in the forest or right in front of us. “It’s her!” Fedora called out. “Kill her and we’ll be free!” “Go! Go! Go!” I yelled as I broke off into a gallop, keeping my distance as best I could without compromising the time to reach the forest. A stone whizzed over my flank. Then another. Several thuds echoed up from the ground as more objects rained down around us. More stones, some knives and—maybe I was just delirious, but I thought I saw a javelin pass overhead. “Agh!” Night cried out and my head swiveled. He had just the slightest of limps, a bit of blood trickling down his flank. The realization hit me like a stone to the face: my plan had made it so everything that missed me was more likely to hit him. A cursory glance told me he’d just been grazed, but even so, I felt awful. Even worse, a few of the thugs had broken off and were quickly gaining on him. Despite my legs threatening to give up and detach from my body, I pushed myself even harder. I reached the bushes at a speed that even surprised me. I had to take a sharp turn to slow my pace, lest I throw myself straight into the forest. “H-help!” I gasped out. And with that, a trio of zombies arose, coming to my side. Frantically, I pointed a forehoof at Night. “Friend! Protect!” At this point, Night just about fell over himself and I felt even worse. I should have told him. But I hadn’t expected—perhaps foolishly—for it to come to this. However, it was too late for me to be having second thoughts. Pointing to each of the approaching thugs in turn, I yelled out, “Bandits! Stop them! Keep coming, Night! They won’t hurt you!” Confusion had clearly taken over his face, but he listened, nonetheless. The zombies lumbered past him, at which point the thugs screeched to a halt, staring wide-eyed. A stone came sailing down and struck one of the zombies in the head, which merely snapped back for but a moment before returning to place. Seizing the opportunity, I grinned wickedly at the frontmost thugs. “You really thought that was going to be effective?” It took only three seconds before they turned tail, screaming at the top of their lungs. “Agh! Necromancer! She’s a necromancer! Run!” With that, I dashed into the forest, motioning for Night to follow. Only once we were well under the canopy did I dare let out a sigh. “Wh-what was that?” Night asked, glancing back over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Night. I should have said something earlier. Ivory has a very… special special talent. But she’s not a bad person. Please trust me on this. The matters are just complicated.” I blurted out about as inelegantly as possible. Night pressed up against me, resting a wing on my withers. “I believe you. You know that. It’s just… weird, is all.” I felt—no, I knew—from experience that he had just made a gross understatement, and knew it himself. “Thanks, Night. Once you meet her, it will all become clear.”