//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven // Story: Era of Grogar // by Pulsar Wave //------------------------------// As the senses idly returned to Gusty, she heard the sounds of what felt like a distant battle. She heard angry snarls and more sparse cries that sounded like they were coming from ponies. When more of her brain functions kicked in, she remembered what had occurred. Dazedly awakened from her slumber, she opened her eyes, and found that the unicorn army had been desolated. Aside from the few dozens of the still-living warriors, the task force of two thousand was now consisting of the gnawed remains of the unicorns. Still numbed, she slowly stood up and looked around. It was difficult to find a corpse that was more or less whole - laying eyes on derelict limbs, body-parts and organs was much simpler. She couldn't see the general anywhere. The scene was dominated by the color red, which had painted the monsters as well. Gusty had to gather all her composure to defy the urge to pass out again, at the horrible sight. As her perception was returning to its full capacity, she was overcome by a realization and looked behind her. There he was standing, on a prominence in front of his lair, and observed what was happening with a visible smirk on his face. She saw Grogar looking down on her and breaking into a wide gloating smile. Gusty turned toward him to face him with her whole body. She felt blood-streams running down her face from the wound on her forehead. She noticed her legs were shaking, either from her stupor or her anger, but she didn't break her accusing stare. Newfound resoluteness made its way into her heart, and she came to a decision. She had nothing to lose, and however ineffectual it would be, one last charge on Grogar was something she needed to do, to go out with honor. She sprang at him, but was stopped in the air before she could reach him. Her face only mere inches away from his, she glared at his somewhat bored features with ireful expression. "It was a waste," he told her. Gusty aggressively pressed her eyelids shut, only a few tears rolling down on each side of her face could escape. Grogar turned her around to face the battleground. "Look." She opened her eyes, and saw about twenty unicorns still on hoof. Then she was released from the ram's hold and fell to the ground. She looked again, and to her biggest surprise, saw the monsters back down. She pushed herself up from the ground, and watched closely as the creatures turned from the survivors and walked off. All their murderous intents and bloodthirst disappeared in an instant, and were replaced by the same coolness she had seen before at the orchard when Grogar appeared. She went up to the remaining ponies, taking each step faster than the previous one. She was cantering when she arrived in front of them. She had a hard time looking them in the eye, seeing the sorrow in them, even though it was devoid of incrimination. She didn't find traces of resentment or blame, which appeased her, but she quickly scolded herself, as she knew she was responsible for coming there. "I'm sorry," she said as soon as she was able to talk to them. "I'm sorry..." "You, unicorn warriors"- Grogar started, breaking the silence -"had the nerve to come here unprepared, and paid the price for your reckless overconfidence. Now you see the punishment reserved for those who act upon their delusions to attack Grogar." He used his Bewitching Bell to fill up his body with the most quintessential of magic stored within. His eyes closed, his hoof on his bell, his head down, Grogar practically froze as good as a statue, until the luminous object released rays of brilliant yellow magic that began to dance around Grogar and envelop him in a loose whirl. His mane and tail started floating, his coat shining, as if readying himself to strike them all down with one deadly blow. "It was my pleasure serving with you, my friends," Gusty remarked. "I'm sorry I dragged you all the way out here." One of the survivors, a mare she only knew by sight approached her and put her hoof on her back, comforting her. Gusty turned to her, and saw her smiling. "It was our pleasure to serve under you, commander." Gusty returned the smile. It was a strange feeling of inevitability, and accomplishment too. She wasn't afraid to die, because she was surrounded by ponies she cared for, and she was ready to lay down her life, to let go. Grogar looked up and pointed his blazing eyes toward the sky. He set his teeth and grimaced in exertion. His repeated groans were eventually coalesced into a long, drawling roar. After he finished, his glistening faded away, his legs slackened and couldn't hold his weight anymore, so he toppled down, breathing heavily. "You were blessed with the power of magic, but you were unable to harness it properly. You have to put your ability to the trial with an act of extent you never could have dreamed of. If you fail, you, and all the living in this world will die." After a brief pause, he continued, "Have you ever thought about what would happen if the Sun and the Moon were to stop dead in their tracks?" "What? You... what..." "Go home and spread word of what has taken place here." "They're coming!" the sentry exclaimed, prompting his mate to sound the horn, alerting everypony of the warriors' return. King Taxis' thoughts had dwelled on the army's mission that whole day; so much so that he hadn't been able to do a duly job concerning his royal duties. When he arrived outside the castle gates, a large crowd was already waiting there. He strove his way through his subjects to see it for himself, but he was disheartened by what he saw. Or rather, the vast, overwhelming majority of the task force he did not see. "We failed, your majesty. I failed. The division, half of the Legion is gone." Three ponies; the king, the old leader of the Sorcerers' Guild - a group consisting of the most apt unicorn sorcerers - and an officer of the army - deputy to the late General Hardboil - showed up to the slapdash knocked together audience. "We knew the odds weren't in our favor, Gusty." The compassionate royal was the first to answer. "We knew this outcome was a possible one." "I know," Gusty said. "When we arrived, he unleashed his creatures on us. We didn't see any trace of an army, and he did say our presence there was a distraction. The army must not be ready yet." "That would mean we have some time to brace ourselves," noted the officer. "How did you escape?" "He let us go. After having to witness the atrocious slaughter. But it wasn't over when the massacre ended. He's done something... unspeakable. I... I don't even know how it is possible. But if we don't figure out a way to fix it, every living being will die for sure." "What? What did he do?" the old unicorn asked. "The Sun and the Moon... he made them stop. You must've noticed that the Sun hasn't moved for some time. It's been staying in the exact same spot for hours now." "So that's it. An unusual phenomenon has been reported, but frankly I haven't been paying much attention today to... anything, really," admitted the king. "I knew Grogar was immensely powerful, but I never would have imagined power to that extent. So, here's the challenge he wished for. We, unicorns have to use our magic to move the bodies in the sky." "So it is. But how many of us are needed to possibly execute something of that scale." "If we don't want to have our connection to magic drained forever" started the old one, "all of us." The letters had been sent to every unicorn castle. Theoretically, by now every unicorn knew the reason for why it seemed like it was noon, but the clocks revealed the time to be around the evening. And they knew that it would be their magic, that would move the celestial bodies, and bring about the night, and the day. The collective magic of every single unicorn in the Kingdom. Gusty was nervously trotting up and down, waiting for the minute to begin the ritual. The monarch and the newly appointed general of the Legion were discussing the rearrangement of the army in the open, while the inhabitants of the capital rallied at the site, but their conversation was disturbed by the arrival of a guard, who pointed at two approaching dots in the sky. When they got closer, the king was shocked to see that the airborne beings were ponies, though they lacked horns. After they landed in front of the pair, they took off their compelling crested helmets, and bowed. "My lord, we are the scouts of the Pegasus Military. We were given an order to monitor the tyrant's hideout, and found your army battling the monsters. We followed the survivors here, then reported our findings to our ruler, Archon Alestheus. He decreed that we come back and make contact with you, at the same time ask for assistance against the tyrant." "Military assistance?" Taxis asked. "Yes, sir." "Well, as you may know, our army is currently... dwindled." The general looked at her king, then the scouts, and asked, "How many soldiers does your army consist of, scout?" "Ten thousand, ma'am." "Ten thousand?" she repeated in wonder. "We're a heavily military-based culture, ma'am." The general persuasively looked at the king, who in turn told the visitors, "Good soldier! Tell your ruler, we'd be glad to assist you. Now tell me, where do you come from?" The scout looked up and smiled. "The home of all Pegasi. The city of Cloudsdale."