Clear Firmament had never been this far from home before. She had passed the mountain, and was now rising up the base of another. The clouds were parting, letting moonlight through, and so she searched for Star Gazer's castle.
There was something in the darkness, but her view was blocked by trees and bushes. She moved towards it, and paused when she found a patch of land on the hill where there was no obstructive plants. Clear ran into the middle of the field and looked up and across the field to see old stone walls, dyed white in moonlight.
On the hillside were old castle ruins. There were towers and crenelations that rose high above the tree line, their silhouettes just barely visible. Clear could see an entrance, but before she tried to cross the field she saw movement atop the castle walls. Was she alone? Was she spotted? She had yet to use the flashlight Star Gazer gave her, so that was unlikely.
Cloud cover returned, and the world was dark again. Clear went to the castle gate, not by crossing the field, rather under cover of the forest. The gate was wide open when she approached it, but she thought on the movement she saw. It had to have been another pony, and it could have been one of the ponies who kidnapped Haze. This night had been all too hostile, so it might not be a good idea to walk right into whatever it had left in store. Another entrance had to be found.
She circled the perimeter looking for another way in. Thinking back on her conversation with Star Gazer, she remembered the magic of old. Pegasi had long since lost their ability to fly, according to legend, but Clear was light enough that she could glide a short distance should the need arise. These ruins were built on to a hill, so there should be somewhere where the height difference would allow her to break in.
Clear looked around while she circled the perimeter. There were no obvious places, but she had to find a way to save Haze. Deciding to make do with what she had, she climbed the nearest trees. She leapt up smaller trees, jumped off of them, and glided to a bigger tree. Dull pain still came from her side, but it was manageable. What was not manageable was the rustle of leaves and the breaking of branches. What if the ponies inside heard?
Clear paused. If she was so scared of other ponies that she refused to use the main entrance, what was she going to do once inside? Her heart felt like a stone. A twisted and knotted stone. Something inside her told her to go back, but like an outside observer into her own body she decided to ignore her feelings. She had to save Haze.
Atop the tallest tree and overlooking the walls, she could see the world around her. All black with a few shapes here and there.
Getting up here gave her a feel for what she had to overcome, but this was too much. A black sea separated her from the castle walls, and Clear was unsure if she could glide that far. If she failed, her crashing into the forest below would surely alert somepony. But she had to find a way to save Haze.
Her heart beat was out of control. Her breathing, however, could be controlled. She took a deep breath and stretched her wings. Then she took another, slower breath and nodded to herself. One more breath, and Clear jumped off the tree. She felt her heart beating against her chest, she felt her limbs become tense, and she felt her guts twist, but that was all just feelings. Her body fighting her. She did not care. She was gliding. She felt wind through her fur and heard it in her ears. Now if she could just keep this up, that would be great.
The castle approached. It was horribly level with her line of sight. She wasn't losing speed, was she? Or was she too low? Was she about to fall? The top of the walls were closing in, and Clear let out a long breath. This was too tight. But she had this, right?
Clear's hooves stepped onto the stone crenelation. Her legs were weak and almost did not stop her from falling on her face. But she was inside. She was inside! What if she couldn't have stopped herself in time and she went right off the ledge? A scary thought, but not important now.
Moonlight began to break through the clouds and onto the castle. Nopony was around to see her. No, wait, there was something over there, on one of the inner walls. Was that a pony? There was a shape there. Something was there. But what was it? No way it was a pony, they would have to be lying down to make that shape, and who would do that?
The shape broke apart. Clear cowered back then down. The shape was in two moving pieces, and then she understood. It was two ponies, their heads peaking over the crenelations. They initially appeared as one shape, they must have been talking.
Clear was unmoving. Fear did not properly describe what she felt, but it was not entirely wrong. There was not a hint of dread, but she defaulted to rejecting every idea that came to her mind.
She had a lead, and she had to use it. Two ponies, right there, talking. If she could get close enough, something would happen. Surely.
Not wanting any risk, she crawled along the stone floor. Her pace picked up when the moonlight faded away, but she kept low. After much too long, she was a corner away from two ponies.
They were engaged in idle chatter. One was talking about marriage problems and the other provided jokes and advice. Nothing helpful.
But they were around the corner. Clear had to go straight ahead, deeper into the castle interior. She waited until the cloud cover returned, and then hesitated. Her insides felt like they were eating themselves. Organs hurt in multiple ways now. Going home was a good idea, because really, somepony else should do this. Did she even have a plan? No, she did not have a plan, but that was not important. Haze needed her. She could think of something along the way.
Then she heard something from the ponies that caught her attention, so she listened closely. After a minute, she could make out what they were saying.
"Anyways, brimming with confidence, he assured Ascension that the ritual only needed one of them. We will only get half the power, but the other one can be found at anytime and we can just re-perform the ritual. I had never seen the kid so full of emotion in my life. Apparently neither had the boss since he trusted the kid. “
Ascension? Was that somepony's name?
"Sounds like the start of a bad joke. Your telling me that Star Gazer waltzed into the courtyard and gave that story, all with a straight face?“
Star Gazer?
"Even worse, practically jumping with joy.“
"We really are going to see some magic tonight, aren't we?“
The conversation turned to bad jokes and idle chatter. Clear inched away. The ponies had mentioned the courtyard. Makes sense, that's where she would have performed a magic ritual. And just her luck, the archway leading to the courtyard was in her line of sight.
Now for the hard part, how to get into there without anypony noticing? Star Gazer also mentioned the courtyard, and said that everypony would be there.
There was nowhere to climb up, and no other obvious entrances. Clear's ears dropped and she sighed. The answer was simple: glide down then run through when nopony is looking. That's it, that's all she had to do. If she couldn't see anypony, then nopony could see her.
Randomly, she leapt over the walls and glided down to the archway. That was dangerous; she didn't give anything more than a quick side glance to see if the other ponies on the wall could see her, but no matter, the archway was right there.
The voices of another two ponies were to the left of her. Clear froze, then jolted to shadows. The voices were out of sight, a few pieces of ruins away. Clear was now in what once might have been a room or small house or something, but now was nothing more than a few dry stone walls jutting out of the main wall. She could see the dark archway just by looking forward, but he had no idea what direction the other two ponies were facing. It was a gamble if they faced the archway, but the gamble on whether they could see her in this darkness was one that Clear was willing to take.
At that second she nonchalantly walked to the archway.
For the briefest second her hope was lost as she saw only darkness and stone towers in front of her. Then she heard the beating of drums. Clear turned the corner and saw the silhouette of a great oak tree against a blue light, and through the low lying leaves she saw solid and moving shapes. Except for one, an unmoving silhouette pressed against the oak tree that looked like a certain long haired colt she was here to rescue.
Clear hugged the walls of the courtyard. She was not sure of what to do now, so she looked for an easy escape route in case anything went wrong. The courtyard was surrounded by stone walls. Beyond the oak tree was a tower that she could climb inside of, but it was beyond the oak tree. To her left and across the court to her right were the stone wall skeleton of what once had been a series of room. She snuck into the room to her left. It was connected to another room, and then another that in turn had an opening on the right to the castle's innermost layer of walls, the walls surrounding the courtyard.
Taking little caution, Clear moved through the rooms and the opening and now was on a small walkable path atop layer of walls just outside the couryard's higher walls. Had she not been a Pegasus, she would have been overcome with vertigo as she looked over the all too low crenelations onto the castle, hill, and valley below. The moon hung high in the sky, and under its light she could see everything so clearly.
The walkway on the walls encircled the courtyard. Since it was surely intended for ponies to defend the couryard once an army breached the other walls, there should be a path to the tower. Clear began to walk around, and soon the tower entrance was found. The inside was dark, and Clear followed the stairs upwards, smiling to herself. A plan was brewing in her head. First, she would gather some rocks at the top of the tower. Then she would drop them down, making everypony scatter. Then she would swoop down, grab Haze, then they would run and jump off the walls and into the forest where they would glide away. A few simple steps. Foolproof plan.
What was she thinking? Wouldn't that hurt somepony?
Her thoughts where racing, as they had been for some time now. Her tail whipped back and forth and she found herself pacing when she stopped paying attention. She had been acting on panicked, directionless autopilot. Clear was now aware of her state and situation, and now had no idea what to do.
She really did break into a castle that really was crawling with villains, all to save her brother. And now, she was practically planning a mass murder. She let out a small laugh at her situation. No way, she was better than these ponies.
She walked onto the roof of the tower and saw the stars. She took a deep breath, then looked onto the courtyard below. A whitish glow emanated from the perimeter. Everypony was clearly visible, but one stood out. He was taller than the rest and wore extravagant necklaces and bracelets that were made of bone. Next to him was Gale. She was looking around for something.
The pony covered in bone ornaments spoke up. “Now that both of them are gathered here, the ritual can begin!”
The ritual required both of them. It required both of them in the courtyard.
This was a little bothersome, but quick action was needed. For the most part the ponies below were talking among themselves and looking around. At least one was looking up and staring right at Clear, surely confirming that he was looking at a pony, a pony that was needed for the ritual.
Clear became increasingly desperate and her heart turned erratic. What could she do? There was not time to think, she had to fly, but no way would that work. But she had to. She had to, she knew it. She felt shook inside, like somepony took her soul and beat it senseless. Her heart raced, until by chance Clear flared her wings.
Something had clicked in Clear this moment. Like remembering a dream, everything fell into place and she channeled instinctual power through her body. With her wings stretched wide, she stepped off the ledge. Flying came to her just as naturally as saving Haze did.
A parabola would bring her to Haze. It would hurt to the tree or any pony, so she made minor adjustments on her curve. The Oak was wide and, really, encompassing was the best way to describe it. Without thinking her wings made subtle movements maneuvered her through through the sweet spot between ponies and foliage. Thinking about it would probably ruin the magic, so she put all her focus on what was in front of her. Which, after what felt like an eternity, was Haze Kicker.
“Clear!” He cried out. His eyes widened. “You're flying!”
Most ponies took a moment to register what happened. The crowd was stunned, probably. Clear wasn't really paying attention. Without missing a beat, Clear grabbed her brother and took a sharp turn upwards. Haze was saved, but the extra mass ruined her speed, and now they sat in the tree branches.
She hit his shoulder. “Haze! Follow me!”
“What are you doing here! Wha-How did you do that!”
Huh? Did he not feel the primal power flowing in him?
“I am here to rescue you! C'mon, help me find a spot to jump off of. We can glide out of here!”
“That was flying, I saw your wings flapping!”
“You can do it too, lets go.”
Haze cocked his head. “Clear, you were flying.”
She paused. She really did it. Her brother was here, and she actually flew. Clear felt a surge of happiness. All they had to do now was jump and fly to safety, and Clear saw the perfect launching point. Her brother was similarly ecstatic, and he came with. Together, they readied themselves to dart out of the tree.
An imposing stallion covered in bone came into view in front of the tree. He was alone. Clear recognized him as the pony that talked with Gale earlier. The stallion's horn was wrapped in a metal case, and it was glowing.
Fwip. Something shot through the leaves. Then another thing, then more. Clear and Haze dropped to sturdier branches. Every second something shot through the leaves. Clear heard the sound of bark exploding and felt splinters hit her head. She looked at the hole in the tree, and saw a screw surrounded by gnarled wood.
More objects shot through the leaves around Clear and Haze. She tried to look for a way out. Commercial horn cases could only move metal in a very limited set of directions. There had to be a pattern, so what was the stallion thinking?
Where is he getting the metal from? They were small objects like screws. This castle was used for storage of all sorts of stuff, so the material could be coming from anywhere. If it was coming from anywhere, then how could a pattern be determined?
Haze was yelling. “Ponies are moving under the tree!”
Clear looked down. A few strong Earth ponies were at the base of the tree. Then she heard another piece of metal hit the trunk. There was no time to be smart. Light was still emanating from the ground, so the ritual must still be going. Any second Haze will be able to just fly out of here.
Something was wrong. She felt that churning, heavy feeling in her.She couldn't just leave. These ponies will have magic, and who knows what they will do with it! Maybe they will be the only ones with magic. For the sake of everypony else, she had to end the ritual.
But this was real magic. A once in a lifetime opportunity for actual magic. Star Gazer had a point earlier. Could she really pass this up?
Clear leaped to the ground. In front of her was the orchestrator of this night.
“Why are you doing this!” Clear said.
To her surprise, he answered.
”To reclaim what was lost.”
They stared at each other. The crowd was silent
“Wondrous things can be done with magic. Imagine a world with no disease, or a world with endless energy. Every pony would know their true calling in life, and pegasi could fly again, as you have discovered.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I am not with these ponies, they are merely using my services. I've spent my life chasing magic, and thanks to you and your brother, we can finally bring it back. Think about our legends and myths. Remember all the magnificent stories of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”
He dropped his guard. “I dream of a better world. A world where everypony knows their purpose and where heroes are real.”
Clear almost felt sympathy. She had to think for a moment. Then he took a step forward.
“This ritual, will it make everypony magical?” she asked.
“If what I know is correct, they will in time. For now, it is only us.”
A familar mare's voice shot from the crowd. "Ascension! Let me take over from here!"
“I told you to stay back! Let me handle this.” He looked back at Clear. “You and your brother are the key to a new era. Please, your cooperation will be very helpful.”
Gale came into view beyond bone pony who was presumably named 'Ascension'. She trotted up to him and talked in hushed tones. To her surprise, they were perfectly audible, to Clear at least.
“We chose this location for a reason. Let's get a move on.”
Ascension replied. "We have days before anypony thats not here will become magical. Don't worry. Unless, of course, you doubt my expertise."
"Watch it. Don't think that you are untouchable or you will be the first one on the chopping block after tonight."
Ascension ignored her and walked forward.
Clear was uneasy. So only ponies here will have magic?
She called out."Hey, Ascension was it?"
The bone covered pony smiled wide and spoke like he was a grand Wizard."That's my name. Speak, and I may answer."
Clear heard a deriding whisper from the crowd. "Actually, that's just what he calls himself."
“Why did you attack us?” Clear said.
“I panicked. That was foolish of me, I could have hurt you. But the priority at the time was the ritual, and I had heard from the insubordinate pony aiming her staff at you right now that you were quite cunning. For what its worth, I merely wanted to suppress your movement, and I will see to it that you get top medical care if you sustained any injuries."
He paused."After the ritual of course.”
“The ponies here, what do they want to do? You want to monopolize power, but for what?”
The stallion was becoming increasingly animated. “Please, let me reiterate. I don't care about what they are doing. They merely require my service, but I am not one of them. Everypony will have magic eventually, and a perfect world can be achieved.”
Magic. It was hard to throw away, but these ponies only wanted it for evil. Equestria has moved on, and with each day it moves forward just a little bit more.
Clear called for Haze, then flared her wings. She heard a series of shouts, then took off. She flew into the sky, then higher, until she could barely hear the shouting. There was not a gust of wind to be heard, there was only the sound of her wings.
Only her wings? She looked around. It was hard to see in the darkness, so she called out for Haze. No response. Clear was in panic, and looked for a little black silhouette anywhere near her. Nothing.
She looked back at the courtyard, and she could make out every detail. Every individual pony and every leaf on the tree was easy to discern. She saw Gale shouting at Ascension, and Star Gazer was nearby, out of the crowd and looking up into the sky. She saw a cloaked stallion who was even further from the crowd than Star Gazer. He was surrounded by ruins, and atop a patch of inclined grass he watched the affair. His image said more than words ever could. He was the leader, and he was angry. Maybe Clear could leave this place with the knowledge that Gale and the others will get righteous justice.
Then she saw Haze. He was still in the tree and was making a terrified expression and had his ears drooped as if to hide his face in shame. Of all times to be scared, now was not it. Clear shouted to her brother, but he could not hear. By the looks of it, nopony heard.
Ponies were moving underneath the tree. Clear watched as her brother made an hideous dash further up the tree as something reached for his leg. She had to do something, but what could she do? Every unicorn's horn was primed and ready to fire metal at her. Some of the pegasi were trying to fly. Some even got off the ground. Star Gazer was staring aimlessly into the sky. There was nothing else here, so what was he looking at?
Everything clicked into place. Nopony could see Clear yet. Only she, and possibly Haze, had magic. If Ascension was correct, than any second the sky would fill with angry pegasi. Clear needed to know if Haze had his pegasus abilities back, and she could prove it by getting his attention.
Clear waved her hooves in huge arcs and tried to make her self obvious. Haze was looking every direction imaginable, so by dumb luck he should see her soon. Finally, after Clear zipped through the sky, they locked eyes.
Clear raised her arms, trying to motion for Haze to go up. When it clicked in him, he looked down for a second. He needed help. Or, more likely, an incentive. Clear waved her arms in an 'X' motion. Enough was enough, he needed to quit messing around. Haze knew full well that she would find him a way out, and that was the problem.
Haze pleaded to her, probably. Clear wasn't looking. Instead, her sights were aimed at the cloaked stallion near Star Gazer. She dove for that pony.
She moved a bit slower than she expected, or maybe she was higher up than previously thought. During her descent, she had time to think. This was the first time all night that doing so wasn't dangerous. It really was the same night, wasn't it? Usually she would wake up before the fun part of her dreams, so maybe tonight was real.
The sky's frozen isolation was wonderful, Clear decided. Once she was close enough to the ground to feel warmth again she realized how shackled and numbed she had been her entire life. Heavy. That's what came to Clear's mind. Everything about the ground was so heavy and crowded. The ground and all its denizens overwhelmed the senses and so dulled them. Clear looked to her brother, and saw his bewildered expression. There was fear, but mostly confusion. Gale went from confusion to a deer-in-the-headlights look. Ascension was muttering to himself. Star Gazer was absolutely terrified. Clear wasn't sure why, its not like she was aiming for him.
At the last second, Clear pulled up next to the cloaked stallion and wrapped her wing around his neck in a single slick maneuver. Enough was enough, it was time to enact justice.
Clear addressed everypony. “None of you have magic yet. That makes my wings the strongest thing in this courtyard. Let my brother go or this stallion dies.” A bit harsh, but these ponies deserved it. Truth be told, Clear didn't really plan how she would kill him, but at least with her and the hostage so close nopony would dare lob metal slugs at them. Was it even possible to choke him with her wing?
Nopony reacted. So they do value their own, and are deliberating. Maybe nopony wanted to make the decision. The crowd was currently shifting. Ascension, Gale, and a few others shoved to the front. Who had authority here? Gale sure seemed confident, but she deferred to Ascension earlier. Star Gazer certainly wasn't their leader, but his name carried some weight and he was the nearest free pony. It had to be him then. He would take Haze to safety.
Clear looked to him, then felt her heart sink. Star Gazer cowered back. His ears hung down and the color was drained from his face. His tail hung under his shaking legs. Star Gazer refused to meet Clear's eyes, and this, more than anything else, terrified her.
Gale yelled. “Get away from him!”
Clear hesitated. “Then let my brother go”
Ascension's horn started to glow. “A world of magic is more important than a single stallions life. I can't believe I have to tell you this.”
Gale snarled. “Star Gazer, kill him.”
Star Gazer leaped into action.
Clear's heart skipped a beat. She looked to Gale, who in return looker her in the eyes. She also heard the snap and thud sound.
Gale cleared the lump in her throat. “Forgive me...Please, grant me permission to take care the child” she said.
A deep voice came from the hostage. “No need.”
Clear felt a leg bear down upon her back. It happened before she could react, but her wing was no longer around her hostages neck. No, she was on the ground, underneath a leg that probably weighed more than her entire body, and she was being crushed. Maybe a rib had already popped, or worse. The stallion was much stronger than expected. Her wings should be stronger, but all she could do was struggle.
Struggle to breath, that is. Her last bit of breath left her alone as she groaned. The world moved around her, but that didn't matter because she just had the air slammed out of her and now she couldn't breath and this was really really bad. If only she could tell the stallion currently killing her that she was going to die. Then, as if her wishes were granted, his weight shifted, and she managed to gasp.
Clear looked off the ground to see Gale bowing. "Forgive me Lord Lightning Oak"
Lightning Oak? As in King of Canterlot Lightning Oak?
"Gale, you are relieved of your duties for the rest of the night."
"As you request, Lord Lightning Oak."
"Star Gazer, make sure the other pony is tied down."
"Yes, father." Star Gazer ran off.
The stallion, the King of Canterlot shifted his weight off of Clear, slightly.
"As you might have figured out, the ritual is quite simple. As long as you and your brother are in this general area, we can undergo the ritual, which gives me time to talk to you. I am impressed, little filly. Your actions took all of us off guard. The real question is, are your actions born from bravery, or arrogance? Most ponies can't think of anything bad happening to them, because that stuff just doesn't happen in our cushy modern lives. Maybe you didn't quite internalize what happened and didn't expect anything bad to happen to yourself."
Clear's heart was an orchestra, but she was still as a rock.
"Now bravery, perseverance, initiative are all qualities you don't find often among ponies. I think you have these qualities, and you are squandering them."
Clear try to do a push up with her wings. It didn't work, the stallion's leg was still pushing her down.
"Case in point."
Clear's wings were free to move about, apparently. No matter how hard she pushed or how she tried to leverage herself, nothing happened. The stallion's cloak was obviously hiding the body of a bodybuilder.
He made a comment about how Clear almost got him, then looked to his men and laughed. Clear used this opportunity to reach her wing into her bag and pull out the flashlight Star Gazer gave her earlier, and then drove it right into him just above his hoof. Lightning Oak recoiled. Only for a second, but that was enough for Clear.
She dashed forward and shambled upwards. She was about to kneel over and was gasping for breath. Forcing herself into good posture, she looked looked Lightning Oak in the eyes. When he grasped the situation, he smirked.
"You really are amazing. I've met just over a dozen ponies like you in my life, and each of them is a household name today. Some of them are right in front of you, if you want to meet them as well. Magic or not, your tenacity will bring you places, someday. Today I would like you to stay here for a few minutes. We can discuss matters further after the ritual."
"You are King Lightning Oak, and you lead these ponies."
He nodded.
"You hurt ponies."
The stallion's face turned dour. He looked down and swallowed. "I have hurt ponies"
The stallion's honest response took Clear off guard. She flew upwards to hover above Lightning Oak when she processed her thoughts. She then looked around to see that she was the only one moving.
"Little filly, I would really like if this ritual worked and for some of that pain to have meaning."
She spoke "You didn't have to do it."
"Nopony has to do anything. I am motivated by something greater than myself, the idea of a magical world. Imagine for yourself a fantasy world where everypony is free, safe, and able to be masters of their own fate, instead of being a cog in a system that just survives."
"It's gone, and the world has moved on."
"We can bring it back. It's normal to be scared of change, but we can change for the better."
"And for the worse."
"Why are you so against the possibility of a better world? Do you know how many ponies can be helped by magic? Why are you not fascinated by this?"
"Because I've seen what you and the ponies here have done when you had power over me and Haze. What happens when you have actual magical powers? You've already justified hurting others for the greater good, how far will you take it when you can conduct magical rituals and spells? I refuse to force others to hurt."
The stallion smiled. "That's a good choice of words. The ritual doesn't have to hurt, but I am asking you to volunteer."
"I accept, on a few conditions. I want you and everypony here to gallop out of the castle the second I stop talking. Then I want everypony to keep moving, until you are beyond the boundaries of Equestria. You will be the last to feel power. You, specifically, I want you to promise to fade into obscurity. A nod will suffice."
"I accept the last position. You can take my place if you like."
That took Clear off guard. The stallion continued.
"Tell me, do you believe in free will? "
Clear flew away, towards Haze, who now felt the magical power within him. She didn't see Star Gazer, but the crowd beneath her was in complete frenzy. Hopefully he was alright. Lightning Oak was stalling for time.
Through the countless shouts, the last question still rung in her ears. Lightning Oak was stalling for time, but it was an interesting thought process, and a part of Clear couldn't help but feel that he was genuinely trying to reach out to her. As Clear and Haze flew into the sky, she heard Lightning Oak shout something along the lines of "This isn't the only way."