Noble pushed aside another burning beam, and it fell in a flurry of sparks. It was around here somewhere. If he could just get to it-!
"Please survive," he kept on saying to himself. "Please be undamaged!"
But the wreckage of the Storm King's ship yielded no good promises. All around him and stretching out for dozens of feet was splinters and bent beams of metal and wood alike. The ruins were spidering out and ending in sharp tips. Some of it was still burning.
Regardless of all that, Noble needed to find it. If he lost it, what would his father think of him?
He was right around where he thought his room was. Only a few hours prior, he was asleep with Fluttershy, feeling her warm embrace around his back. His mind had been clear from all danger. Until the attack in midair happened and he had to urge Fluttershy from her slumber.
He pushed aside a bent door frame and used his magic to clear away many smaller pieces of metal barricading his way. His room was absolutely flattened by now. Barely recognizable except for the bunks he had slept in jutting up from the wreckage, it was basically a carpet of broken debris.
He began to dig like a terrier through the wreckage where he last remembered it was. His hopes to find it intact were dwindling by the second.
He found it finally, and when he did his heart sank.
He gingerly picked up the twisted, broken breastplate. His lips were trembling, and so were his pupils. There was a long gash tearing the whole thing entirely in half, held only by a small knot of twisted metal at the shoulder. It had also flattened out until it was thin like a sheet of paper.
Unrecognizable. Awful. Heartwrenching.
No other words were running through his head.
He knelt down and held the flat piece close to his chest, his throat and closed eyes hurting. All around him, the fires died down until they were only pinpoints of light and glowing piles of powder. Noble Blade was a silent dark figure amidst the wreckage, clinging to the gift he had been entrusted with.
Finally, he choked out, "Father.."
Noble Blade caressed it along the length of its gash. A small shard nicked his hoof, and a bead of blood appeared immediately. He hissed, but didn't take his bloody hoof away.
His deep blue eyes fell to earth for a moment before he raised them up once more to gaze at the sky. It was still black and cloudy, with neither moon nor star to light his way.
Then his vivid eyes beetled, and he blew a hard breath through his nose. He stared ever harder at his ruined armor, at the protection his father had promised him with.
"I did this," he whispered.
He settled it down as if it was a bomb.
"I destroyed your protection."
He rose on all fours. He was trembling in the knees, and his eyes were on the verge of tears. His mouth was pulled, not in a grieving frown, but in a hard grimace.
"I'm not the knight you wanted me to be…Father...Celestia...Twilight...please…"
Please what? He didn't know what to say at first. What should he say to them? What could he possibly do?
Then the answer rose easily to his lips.
"I hope you see...I don't think I have it in me."
He wiped his eyes. Blood smeared his eyelid as he did so; he did it with the hoof he had drawn blood from his broken promise. It began to drip down his face. Like he was weeping blood.
"I don't think anyone does."
Noble came back to the small fortification the girls had erected. It was a clearing in the midst of the wreckage, and tall beams had been stuck upright around the circle with old fabric draped across them to create a sort of shelter. Shining Armor, Winter Gleam, and Freedom Fighter were outside the circle keeping a lookout. The rest of them were inside, doing their best to tidy up the temporary shelter.
All except for two mares. The first was Tempest. She had been tied to an upright beam and was gagged with a tight rag. The second mare was Twilight, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground next to Tempest, an empty look in her darkened eyes as she stared blindly into nothingness.
Noble took a glance at his sword and shield lying on the ground next to her. They had been the only belongings to survive the crash. The sword was undamaged, but the shield was scorched.
Rarity was gazing with a hoof over her eyes into the western distance, silhouetted in the black of night. A few bright spots were speckled far away.
"Applejack," she requested. "Would you come here and tell me what you see over there in the distance?"
Applejack spat out a length of rope she was using to stabilize a beam and trotted over. "Sure. Uh, where again?"
Rarity pointed in the right direction, and Applejack squinted. Then her eyes widened once again. "Sweet Celestia. That's Appaloosa!"
The other chattering girls paused in their conversations and work and began to pay close attention to what Applejack was saying.
"How could you tell from that distance?" Rarity asked, evidently impressed.
"Ah narrowed ma options down," was her reply. "Ah've been navigatin' the entire journey, and we've been steadily heading north to Canterlot. That route passes through Appaloosa."
"You sure?"
"Ah'm sure." She had that resolute look in her eye. "With any luck, we can head down there in th' mornin' and get some supplies to head on a train north to Canterlot to drop off…" She gave a pointed glance at the mare tied up. "Tempest."
Tempest, lashed to the post, affixed Applejack with a glare.
They ate the few surviving remnants of the kitchen's stocks. Pinkie had rummaged around in the wreckage near where it was located and had cropped up again with several dirty cheese wheels, squishy potatoes, browned apples, and ruined cabbages. None of it made Noble's stomach feel less queasy than it already was.
When the time came for the mares to retire to bed--which was essentially a collection of mats on top of a few scraps of salvaged straw--only Twilight stayed where she was, overlooking the plains below with a blank look in her eyes. Noble noticed this and stayed behind.
He approached her from the left, trying to get a good look at the dull horizon, where Twilight's gaze was dutifully fixed. What was out there that she found interesting?
"Twilight," he said, his hoof hovering over her back. "Talk to me."
She craned her head. Her expression was sickly and aged with many wrinkles. Her lower lip was subtly trembling, and her eyes looked heavy. Noble felt his stomach churn with concern.
"I don't have to say anything to you, Noble," the alicorn whispered. She flopped on her rear and rested her chin in her hooves, and simply sighed. "You know why I feel absolutely awful. Why do you have to ask?"
"This isn't for me," he replied, sitting next to her. "This is about you."
"I somehow doubt that."
"Ponies feel better when they release their emotions, Twilight. I've spent enough time with Freedom and Firestorm to know that. Not to mention, I've done it several times before. And so have you, I imagine. Why not now?"
"I know, I know. I've done it too. Guess what? I know how to use emotion! You're not special, Noble Blade!"
"This isn't about me," he repeated. "This is all about you. Drop the sarcasm."
Twilight snorted and used her magic to levitate a dry stick into the air. "...How did it feel?"
"Hm?"
"When you took your first life." She grit her teeth and pulsed her magic. The entire length of the stick caught fire and fell to earth. "How did it feel?!"
Noble finally understood. With no more than a grunt, he looked away. "It was awful."
Twilight's violet irises expanded in sickened interest.
"I had taken the lives of beasts and animals before, but when I took my first intelligent life, I felt like I had murdered. On purpose."
"Nice to know someone is as miserable as I am," Twilight muttered.
Noble set a surprised hoof on her shoulder. "What?!"
"Don't touch me," she hissed, and jerked away.
Noble obediently lowered his hoof and looked at the ground. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize."
"My mistake."
"You're still doing it!"
"Force of habit. Sorry."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Noble inwardly cursed himself. He just kept on doing it! He never learned! Why did he never learn?!
"Noble. I appreciate the concern. But I…" She faltered before pawing pathetically at the ground. "Just leave me be. I killed someone. Go away!"
Noble arose, and his heart pounded with sorrow in his chest. "Twilight...life is precious. I know you know this. So...don't throw your own life away."
She gave an irate glance over her shoulder. Then she looked away and ground her hoof into the soil.
Noble Blade then went to the fringe of their encampment, which was a jutting ledge overlooking the plains below. Freedom Fighter, Winter Gleam, and Shining Armor were on that ledge, keeping an eye in three directions. Freedom was the one that saw him approach first. His body was nothing more than a featureless black outline; he had donned his bodysuit for practicality, not a necessity.
"I'll keep watch," Noble told him, clasping him on the shoulder as he passed. "Get some rest. You earned it today."
Freedom Fighter gave only a solemn nod and turned. Shining Armor and Winter Gleam trudged back to the encampment of erected timbers.
Noble stood alone on the overlook. Darkness spread out in every direction, save for the collection of lights in the distance that was Appaloosa. And…
Noble squinted. Over there, just north of the camp, there was a darker place than usual. The air was dark black. But that spot, a few miles north of Appaloosa, was shiny black, like obsidian. Or the sheen of a Black Blade.
He promised to keep an eye on it.
"Um...aren't you coming?"
He knew that beautiful voice. He loved it. But it was...distracting.
"Fluttershy, I need to keep watch tonight."
"Why you? Why not Winter Gleam, or Freedom Fighter?"
"I need to be the one to…"
"To make up for what you did on the airship?"
Noble whirled around. Fluttershy was perceptive!
"I…" He stuttered for a second, then cut himself off before he could say much more than that. "You got it."
"That wasn't on you!" Fluttershy nuzzled herself closer to him. "If you hadn't, Tempest would have done it. No matter what, the airship was doomed. No one has blamed you for this. Don't do it yourself!"
"But it was my fault!" he replied.
"And how will you make up for this? Keep watch for one night? That's not the way to make up for your failures!"
"What more can I do? With Tempest in irons again and the pirates gone, and with us stranded in the desert with not even a scrap of food, I don't see a way I can make up for destroying the fastest way home!"
"Noble Blade." After that brief admonishment, Fluttershy gently smacked him under the chin. "You never learn to accept that some things are out of your control, and that blaming yourself for them is not what your father would want from you!"
Noble was on the edge of a cutting remark. But as he was about to strike her down, he balked at the last minute. What? What was he thinking? What was the point? Why was he so riled up by her reassurance? Stupid!
"What do you think your path of redemption consists of, Noble? Self-beration? Beating yourself up? Being ashamed of your former actions? I'm telling you, Noble, that's the wrong way to go about doing it. That won't change your future! I should know! I've f-felt that before!"
Fluttershy's face had changed from stern to distressed. Noble Blade felt unreasonably frightened by the abrupt switch.
"I've d-done things I didn't like b-before! And I was ashamed of myself for that, Noble. I hated that part of my life. So I mentally beat myself up, year after year, and I was shy and secluded and unwilling to look past my mistakes. Everything was my fault back then. Every pony I knew who suffered, I could trace a faint trail back to me.
"But Noble, look at me now! I learned that my errors, my mistakes, are just that--mistakes. They're not a part of me. They're a mistake. They're not me. Not myself. I'm not a mistake. So why bother thinking that way?"
"I…" The ground under him seemed to be swaying more than the deck of the Storm King's flagship. "But we still have to take responsibility for what we've done, Fluttershy! Right?"
"Of course," she cooed. "Take responsibility for what you can control. So control who you really are! There's no point in taking responsibility for things that aren't a part of you!"
That made a little more sense than it was supposed to.
"Fluttershy...Gosh, how can you be so...profound?"
"Oh...practice," she negligently said, giving a small tousle of his mane. "And experience. But...well, mostly, the other girls taught me."
"Did you manage to teach the girls as well?" he followed up. "You're the best teacher I know."
She smiled--such a heavenly smile!--and rolled her eyes. "You think so?"
"I know so!"
She shrugged, and her mane swayed in front of her eyes. "I suppose if that's what you think."
Noble brushed her rose mane aside and cupped her chin. "You've taught me quite a bit, Fluttershy. How to be relaxed. How to not be a stick-in-the-mud. How to become the pony capable of my full potential. And…"
He swooped in for a peck on the lips and drew away quickly. Fluttershy was still processing it with a quiver on her lips and a flame in her cheeks.
"...and you taught me how to kiss." He grinned. "I'm a slow learner, I guess."
"...I think you need a bit more practice," she whispered.
And she leaned in. This time, it lasted considerably longer and was much more soft, yet just as passionate as his. Noble felt himself sinking into the ground. But he didn't want to escape.
When Fluttershy drew away, she had on a much brighter face. "...But...after consideration...you pass with flying colors!" After a giggle, she leaned into his grip and laid a hoof on his chest, gazing into his face. "Want some extra credit?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Oh," she said, twirling a lock of hair. "I'm thinking about some late-night classes."
Noble swallowed a hard lump in his throat. "I'm...looking forward to the lessons."
Fluttershy kissed him again without any other words. Noble got in a bit more practice before he pulled away.
"Come back to bed after your watch," she whispered. She traced a line with a hoof up his chest, ending at his chin. "I love sleeping with you."
Noble cupped her cheek with a hoof of his own. "You'll wake up by a kiss with me by your side, Fluttershy. I promise."
She nuzzled into his touch before she turned and went back to the beds. She swished her tail a few times before disappearing behind the erected timbers of their encampment.
Noble watched her go, and when she disappeared he groaned, turned around, and set his gaze outward, to the shiny black spot just north of the city of Appaloosa.
The sentinel of the night stood alone under the vast overcast sky. Without armor, and wishing he could be anywhere else, the knight nonetheless stood solid and strong. His tired eyes were staring outward.
Not underneath him. Not on the edges of the plateau they were resting on.
If he had, he would have been saved.
Directly beneath him, scuttling under the jutting edge of the cliff, three Noxxa the size of small cars inched their way closer to the unsuspecting knight.
The morning sun touched Fluttershy's face, and it warmed her quickly. Her bed, and the others, laid out in beds of hay, was fully exposed to the elements. It was lucky it hadn't rained.
As she groggily opened her eyes, she dully registered that she hadn't been woken up with a kiss, like she had been promised. Maybe...Noble was asleep?
She turned in her position to where she thought Noble would be. Unfortunately, his spot was open. His mat didn't even look like it had been occupied during the night.
Nervous now, Fluttershy tried to reason with herself. He was up making breakfast, wasn't he?
She sat up. In the middle of their semi-shelter was the cook-fire, which was unmanned, save for Applejack, who was still groggy and tired-eyed. Firestorm was following her.
"Mornin', Shy," she said, before yawning and smacking her lips. "Boy, sleep sure don't come easy after what happened last night."
"Did you see Noble Blade?" Fluttershy meeped.
Applejack quirked an eyebrow. "Ah thought he'd be with you."
"Maybe he fell asleep at his post?" Fluttershy reasoned, panic setting in. "He was keeping watch for the night."
"I'll check," Firestorm volunteered, and sped off to the overlook just outside their encampment.
"What was he mopin' about?" Applejack asked.
"Hm?"
"That guy's always tryin' ta take the world on his shoulders so we don't have to. Ah'm guessin' it's about the downed ship?"
Now Fluttershy quirked an eyebrow. "How did you-"
"What can Ah say?" She shrugged, grinning. "Ah'm perceptive."
"Well…" Fluttershy flapped out of her mat and settled on the ground. "You're right. He was feeling really bad last night about it. I'm afraid I wasn't able to help him. He's stubborn like that."
"Tell ya what," Applejack said, kneeling near the cook-fire. "After we get down ta Appaloosa, Ah'll give 'im a stern talking-to. Nopony's done bad off good ol' Apple family advice yet! Honesty's the best polic-"
Firestorm's scream of anguish and rage tore open the ears of the two girls. The others woke up blindly, flailing about in surprise. Tempest Shadow, who had been lashed to a pole the entire night, made muffled screams against her gag and struggled harder.
"What...what was that?!" Starlight exclaimed.
"Somepony's not having a good time!" Pinkie declared. "Stormy! You okay?"
From behind the battlements of their fortification, Firestorm screamed again. It was a hateful, fearful cry of horror.
That sent every single pony charging for the overlook. They threw aside the log acting as a makeshift door for the camp and came as one body to the overlook.
Firestorm was kneeling on the ground near several stones spattered with old blood. Noble Blade's sword was sticking upright in the rocks, and a tattered black flag hung from the pommel. At the base of the sword was a letter weighed down with several small stones.
"What…" Rainbow gasped, coming closer to her boyfriend. "Stormy, are you…"
Firestorm whirled around. His vibrant yellow eyes were beetled and dark with fury.
"They took him!" he snarled. Rainbow scrambled back in a hurry.
"Who?" Twilight demanded.
Firestorm only jabbed his hoof at the paper at the base of the upright sword. "Read it," he hissed. "I'm going to map out the area out there."
Crouching, he then rocketed off and shot into the air like a bullet from a gun. Small rocks flew up from his takeoff from the sheer force thereof.
Twilight picked up the note with her magic and began to read it. Fluttershy peeked over her shoulder. The other girls squinted into the distance where Firestorm was speeding.
North of Appaloosa was a dark, shiny collection of broken-down hovels surrounding a cave, with a plain black flag on a tall pole towering above it all. Firestorm was speeding towards it, easy to distinguish against the plain blue sky.
Twilight swore. Hard. Fluttershy began to weep.
"Twilight-" Shining Armor began, reaching for her. Twilight evaded her brother's touch, however, and gritted her teeth as she spoke.
"They've taken him!"
"Who has?" Pinkie wondered. She was uncharacteristically serious.
"The Noxxa!"
She thrust the letter into Pinkie Pie's hooves.
Noble Blade is our hostage in Black Fang Redoubt. You have three days. After that, we'll give him back. Piece by piece, in separate boxes.
He felt woozy. The world tumbled around him in swirls of black and tinted red light.
He blinked. Outlines of the small space surrounding him began to materialize.
He blinked again. Though his vision was fuzzy, he could tell he was in a small jail cell. The fused-together iron bars in front of him betrayed that fact. As he blinked again, the bars appeared clearer and more separate.
For the final time, he blinked. The world was clear once more, though he felt pain in his head. Something crusty was on his temple and cheek. It was his own blood.
He was kneeling. His arms were chained to either side of the small cell. Between his arms was a tight line of barbed wire that was wrapped seven times around his horn. If he moved his head in any way, it ground against his horn like chalk. Magic would be out of the option.
Noble Blade's heart was going a mile a minute. His chest thumped with every beat. Sweat began to form on his head. Was he in hell? Did he die in the middle of the night?
A six-legged creature, black as tar, crawled into his limited view beyond the bars and turned his head to face him. The six yellow eyes were narrowed down in both revulsion and glee.
Noble Blade began to hyperventilate. This really was hell.
"Hey there, Faust bastard," the Nox grated. His fangs turned upward in a grotesque grin and he leaned on the bars. "Welcome to Tartarus. Us civilized creatures call it Black Fang Redoubt, but for you...this'll be hell on earth."