Harriet’s mind raced, but kept hitting a wall. No, a metaphorical one, not the physical one covered in names only slightly shorter than she was in front of her.
“Joy, Cromach, Blazing Light,” she read, trembling.
Then six little fences - six series of five vertical lines crossed with a horizontal one. Thirty unknown names, perhaps?
Then the final name, her mother’s name.
“Red Wind,” she read more and more of the scribbled names, but none helped her make any sense of the situation. Some were griffon names. Most, however, sounded like pony ones.
As far as Harriet knew, her mother hadn’t left Windy since she’d married her dad, and definitely had no connection to any Equestrian order. No, as much as Harriet tried to remember anything unusual, other than the family of a pony and a dragon living together in a hollowed out mountain top, she couldn’t recall any strange event or possible clue. In the end, Harriet had to admit her only option was to either ask Bucket back in the new mansion, or her dad back home. She couldn’t solve this on her own-
Her ear twitched, and chill unrelated to the encompassing cold ran down her spine. Something was behind her.
Her hind legs reacted faster than her head, propelling her over the low wall. Quickly peeking over from her cover, Harriet tried to decipher what had terrified her so much. She was on edge from the atmosphere of the entire area, but something must have set her off.
It was a pony, probably a stallion, a little taller than she was. Huh?
Silver Sun member?
The white recruit robe with hood drawn was there, but he also wore a mask made of the same white-ish metal as Bucket’s armor, and Harriet could swear she saw a glimpse of blue in the mask’s eyeholes. She wanted to call out in case it really was the mechanical pony, then she realized Bucked had a horn and was made of metal while this pony’s hood showed no protrusion of even a small one. On top of it, Harriet could clearly see the pony’s legs, and they looked like a dark blue Corrupted.
Harriet reacted instantly when she noticed his head turn towards her, shoving her own head as low as she could.
She heard hoofsteps closing in. She heard slow breathing emphasized by the mask.
Closer and closer.
Then they stopped.
Harriet prayed to the Emperor that her being pressed against the smooth wall hadn’t made any noise. However, her own ragged breathing was stopping her from hearing anything useful.
She had to take a chance, so she turned her head up while trying to remain hidden behind the wall.
Nothing.
The pony must have been just on the other side, although motionless.
Breathe slower or he’ll hear you. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe-
“EEP!”
The hooded and masked head was suddenly there, staring back.
Discovered, Harriet didn’t try to twist herself into a sitting pretzel to stay hidden anymore. Instead, she slowly stood up, trying to look as unthreatening as a mare of her size could, and took a step backwards.
The silent pony’s presence was completely overwhelming.
“Eheh, ehehe… I’ll… I’ll just go...” she whimpered when the pony raised his hoof, expecting something nasty. Instead, the pony was… pointing somewhere?
“This place isn’t for you...” he said.
Not gurgling, not hissing, not threatening, not some epic echoing deep rumble. Simple, matter-of-fact, maybe a bit raspy, male voice.
“I’m s-sorry,” Harriet kept inching away, this time in the direction where the pony had pointed to, “I only wanted-”
The mask looked to the left of her, right before she heard:
“HARRIET?!”
“Hastur?” she recognized the voice instantly despite the worried tone.
Harriet’s vision blurred, and she found herself standing several more pony lengths away from the masked equine, Hastur’s forelegs putting her back down on the ground. The draconequus flew between her and the pony, an oversized two-handed battle axe appearing out of nowhere, accompanied by crackling lightning.
“Harriet, this creature massacred two garrisons of the best pony soldiers in cold blood. Get away and stay away.”
Harriet shuffled backwards one more time, but froze when the pony took a step towards Hastur.
“Discord is dead,” he said, the sapphire glow of the mask’s eyeholes glowing brighter.
Hastur sighed, and snapped his talons. A bouquet of flowers appeared mid-air, making the pony twitch. The flowers wilted before Harriet’s eyes, which didn’t stop Hastur from putting them down by the wall, his every motion in the air being watched by the mask.
“This isn’t my fight anymore,” he stared the pony down eventually. He didn’t sound angry or scared, only tired. Harriet realized that his worry before was there only because she’d been in direct danger, “Go away, murderer, find whatever doomsday artefacts you want. If they can stop you, good. If they can’t, it’s their problem, not mine.”
The pony glared, silent.
A new, loud and echoing female voice cut through the heavy atmosphere.
“Oh dear me...”
Three heads snapped towards the fresh sound coming from a place where there had been no one a moment before. A mare was standing atop the right edge of the black wall of names. Her entire body was made of stars, nebulae, and darkness of the clear night sky, only eyes and mouth looking like a sawtoothed crack being holes into the heart of the sun.
”What a delightful sight, a floating pool noodle, and… whatever you are. Paying respects to the worthless, are we?”
The apparition smiled at both the pony and Hastur, completely ignoring Harriet. Hastur darted forward, and swung his axe in a wide arc crackling with green lightning. It got incinerated mid-swing, devoured by the same black flames still burning in the dead zone.
Harriet was inexperienced and maybe naive, but not stupid. The equine star creature had to be the one behind the desolation everywhere around. What was the mask’s connection to all this was beyond her, though.
The star pony only laughed, nodding towards the hooded pony.
”You’re not even trying anymore, tsk tsk. Anyway, shouldn’t you be stopping THAT thing from destroying the world? You’re still not boring enough for me to do it myself. Now, how about I liven things up a little since you look like you need a little push, an incentive perhaps?”
A circular white gateway appeared in the air, spitting a pony out. It was a unicorn stallion who could be in his early forties. Shaggy blond mane and short beard of the same color rimming his chin gave him a rugged, handsome look. His bronze coat was criss-crossed with scars easily visible against his sinewy body, and the entire harsh exterior of the pony was lightened up by his blue eyes. Not glowing ones like those of Bucket or the masked creature, but simple, normal blue eyes. His cutie mark didn’t give Harriet any clue as to who he might be - simple two interlocked circles, one white and one black.
The unicorn gathered himself, spitting out some dirt he ate after the obviously unexpected fall.
“Whuh- whah?”
Hastur let go of the remaining handle of his axe which dissipated into nothing as it fell, his jaw dropping in tune.
“...why?” the single Hastur’s word was choked and barely audible.
The star mare laughed.
”You toys break so easily, so I had to find a new one. Do you like him? Do you want him? CAN you even have him?”
The sky above swirled. Glow appeared around the confused unicorn, and air filled with the smell of ozone. Hastur moved so fast Harriet could barely follow, grabbing the confused unicorn and dragging him away right before a strike of lightning shattered the ground where he’d been standing.
”Nice ‘what could have been’ moment, isn’t it? Does it hurt? Does it fill you with hope? Do you have it in you to try to be happy again, or are you broken beyond repair?”
“You okay?” Hastur asked the unicorn while still coiled around his much smaller body.
“Yeah… yeah… what’s going on?” the unicorn stood up with Hastur’s help, and levitated up two broken and burned swords lying in the smoldering ash, clearly ready to fight, “Who are you?”
The star mare’s saw grin grew wider.
”So there ARE some embers of the fire left, Cromach.”
Hastur scowled, Harriet blinked. Many things suddenly became much, much clearer. Hastur’s real name was Cromach from the wall, and the bad memories regarding the Silver Sun had to be connected to this star mare, or the masked pony. He’d brought the flowers to honor those he’d lost. That was the ‘errand’ he’d mentioned. How did her mom fit into this was still a mystery, but at least some things made sense now.
“Another game, Nightmare?” growled Cromach, “More love and hope you want to take away from me?”
Nightmare, the star being, watched the new unicorn twirl his broken swords in the air, seemingly happy about how the situation was evolving despite her clearly being the enemy.
”Smart flying spaghetti, are we? Yes, more amusement for me. I guess poor deceased Discord did leave a bigger mark on me than I thought. Aren’t you glad that’s the case, though? Being my toys is much preferable to being dead, especially when I allow you to be happy for whole SECONDS sometimes.”
Nightmare’s outburst of laughter remained unanswered. By now, Harriet was absolutely certain that being quiet and still was her best way to avoid harm.
”I can’t make it easy for you, can I? Where would be the challenge, the achievement in that? No, if you want to be happy before I take everything away again, you’ll have to put in some work, Cromach. This Blazing Light is from a reality where Choking Darkness gave him a chance early on, where he actually DID gather the courage to ask her out much sooner. It’s funny what a single mare’s ‘yes’ can do to change the history of the world. A much simpler reality, without the intrigue, heroism, but with one long, bloody war. You see, the Blazing Light we both knew and -well, just knew- did it right, you can say. This new one joined the Royal Guard, and with Choking’s support made it into the Paladin order. Without his adventure in the mirror world, he didn’t stop Sombra in time, he didn’t get to know Void, and mirror armies poured into his world. So much blood, so much suffering, twenty years of so much… fun. And here I come into play. Just as he was about to get hit in the good old eye socket by a bullet, I saved him, and dropped him off here, centuries later. His fate is in your claws and talons, Cromach.”
Blazing Light’s eyes darted from Cromach to Nightmare repeatedly, clearly trying to make sense of the situation.
”And here comes the funny snag. This Blazing Light has never met you. In his reality you found your way to Equestria, and got killed by Legion bounty hunters despite the war. Oops, spoilers, not that it matters to either of you at this point. So what now? Is your love strong enough to surpass the differences? Is it really destiny? Or was it pure luck the first time around?”
“I don’t understand any of this,” said Blazing Light firmly, “but I know two things. You, Cromach, saved my life just now, and that’s something I have to repay. That, and I know a villain when I see one,” he pointed the rusty sword at Nightmare, “Let’s show this creature Tartarus!”
Nightmare facehoofed.
”I might have grabbed a brain-damaged version. Well, it’s up to you to be the smart one this time, Cromach, and he can be the eye candy. He’s definitely less scruffy than the previous smear on the ground.”
“Blazing, this is not a fight we can win. I don’t know what you’ve gone through in your life, but… this is too much. My Blazing… the one I knew got as close to being able to kill a true god as a mortal can, and it meant nothing,” Cromach looked around, taking in the ruins and everburning fire, “This… is the result of our failure. I don’t know you, and if you’re not interested in rebuilding my love and my relationship, if you simply want another lease on life, then I won’t force you into anything. I-”
He stopped when Blazing’s foreleg patted the closest part of his flying body.
“I’ve got a lot to learn about this new world and time, but I’d be a pretty poor Paladin if I didn’t protect those weaker than me with all I can,” he scowled at Nightmare, “So what now… god?”
Nightmare clapped her forehooves together.
”Perrrfect. Well, now it’s up to you to stop that thing from destroying the world, as I said. What do you mortals call him, Flow or something? He might be a little too much for you two as well, considering my dear Cromach here can’t be too used to his new divinity this soon. Let me soften him up for you just a little to give you a fighting chance. And don’t forget, get to know each other, grow another relationship, cry together, laugh together, sleep together… AND THEN I’LL TEAR YOU TWO APART AGAIN!”
Laughing, Nightmare jumped down from the wall, and faced Flow.
Sky boiled one more time before a crackling bolt of lightning struck the motionless figure, failing to do anything. Nightmare tilted her head, then everything went dark. Tendrils of living shadows shot from the ground, sparkling white moonlight cleaved the sky, stars fell, and reality bent. Harriet’s mind could barely even relay what her eyes were seeing.
The second of the divine onslaught was over.
Flow stood there, untouched, umoving.
Nightmare blinked.
”Alright, you might be an actual threat. Not to me, of course, but to my toys. It’s my job to break them, not yours.”
Reality shattered.
Harriet’s head began to ache. The localized lights and sounds of Nightmare’s magical devastation were too much to handle. She saw flashes, shapes she couldn’t comprehend, frost, heat. She saw sounds, heard smells, tasted light and darkness. Every way in which the god could bend existence was used on Flow.
This time, however, what remained was a pony barely standing on all fours, gasping for breath, with his dark blue skin torn and burned. His mask lay cracked on the ground, his robe got completely disintegrated, revealing the naked pony. Harriet’s previous guess had been right, he had to be a Corrupted. He didn’t have mane, his tail was simply a long tendril, and his eyes were pitch black aside from blue pupil-less orbs glowing brightly. To be honest, Harriet saw no reason for the mask. Flow wasn’t disfigured or overly alien, and aside from the eyes he would easily pass for any other Manehattan Corrupted. Thin, toned, visible ribs, with rather wide hips for a stallion despite the wiry look, Corrupted skin, but still equine.
Nightmare’s permanent grin withered completely. With a huff, the god disappeared.
“He’s weak now, let’s go!” Blazing called out.
“Right,” Cromach’s axe reappeared, and both of them charged at Flow.
Flow was fast, rolling to the side, grabbing his damaged mask in one motion and putting it on before they could get to him.
Cromach swung his axe which split in half as if hitting an invisible sharp blade, making the draconequus’s eyes bulge. He was clearly used to surprises like that, and immediately backed off in the air, summoning the same weapon again.
Blazing attacked from the side at the same moment, and stopped just in time as a long, narrow cut appeared in his chest. Clutching the wound from the unseen weapon, he darted backwards.
Flow ignored Cromach, advancing at Blazing, at least until Cromach flew between the two.
“You’re not taking him away from me, monster!” he growled at Flow, his axe crackling with green lightning. He swung the weapon over his head again, expecting it to disintegrate. Instead, Flow dodged to the side, his foreleg changed into a tentacle which grabbed Cromach and smashed him against the ground.
“Hey!” Harriet called out, trying her well-tested strategy of being a distraction. She was holding Horst’s metal blackjack, very slowly approaching the combat.
Flow turned his head to her.
“NO, HARRIET, RUN! GO HOME AND LIVE YOUR LIFE! THIS ISN’T YOUR BUSINESS,” screamed Cromach. The second of distraction was just what he needed, though, and he swirled in the air, bursting towards heavily bleeding Blazing, and in a flash of light the two disappeared, leaving Harriet alone with Flow.
“Uhh… Cromach?” she asked the now still and quiet air.
Nothing.
Flow took a step towards her.
She gulped.
Just like the Guild. They left me alo-
Out of nowhere, a clawed foreleg grabbed her by the barrel, and everything blurred.
***
When the falling feeling was over, Harriet found herself dropped in front of the non-destroyed Silver Sun headquarters outer gate, the guarding recruit and the Corrupted watching her sudden appearance with surprised expressions.
Hast- Cromach was nowhere to be found, and thankfully neither was Nightmare or Flow.
He must have taken his new friend to the hospital.
Harriet stood up, and dusted herself off.
The Silver Sun gate guards must have been informed about her situation, because they let her in without a question despite her unusual reappearance.
Unfortunately, the name Red Wind was completely unknown to Bucket, and the robot wasn’t too keen on talking about Cromach either, saying it was an internal matter of the Order. The good thing about the situation was, though, that in exchange for some more measurements and experiments, Bucket would let Harriet stay in one of the many Silver Sun rooms for tonight.
Later that evening, Harriet applied the freshly mixed ointment onto her legs, managed to wrap clean bandages over it despite her closing eyes, and fell asleep before her head touched the pillow.
Tomorrow, she would finally go home.