//------------------------------//
// 31~Night Eternal (PT. 2) 
// Story: The Emperor Preserves 
// by Centurion Pike-Wall 
//------------------------------//

Anton moved ahead of the group, at least two meters between him and the rest of the group. He kept his head moving side to side, searching for shadows in the darkness. Without his helmets Photovisor, he was unable to pick out specific shapes in the darkness that surrounded the path. Still, he had moved through this area enough to figure that there wouldn't be any immediate threats; too close to the edge of the forest to have any of the bigger creatures nearby. 

"So, Aquila's the only one who comes in here regularly?", Twilight asked, her voice on edge. 

Applejack replied, "Well, ah come in and help 'im with stuff sometimes. But, no; not often. Ah'll be the first ta say it; place just ain't natural."

"What does that mean?", Twilight said. 

"Well, it's dreadful, for one", Rarity said, giving a nervous chuckle. "Plus, nopony has any control over it. Everything just runs rampant; the weather, the animals, the plants."

Anton came to halt, turning his head to look at them. "I suggest you keep quiet."

"What?", Twilight asked. "Why?"

"Because, even if we aren't going that deep in, this area is still dangerous", he said. "The excess noise might alert something we don't want to alert. It would be a different story if we were going to the bunker-"

"I already told you", Twilight said. "The Elements are the only thing that could stop Nightmare Moon. Besides, the longer we take to reach the Palace of the Two Sisters, the more powerful Nightmare Moon could become."

"And I already said, I understand your assessment. I'm merely pointing out that, without the additional munitions, we can't take any major risks. So, we'll have to be careful about what we do, and that includes keeping unnecessary chatter to a minimum."

As if on cue, the ground suddenly began to crack and fragment away from the edge of the path. A large chunk, perfectly covering almost all of them, gave way and began to slide down the side of the cliff edge. Only Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were able to prevent going with the earth, before giving chase to help them.

Anton ripped his sword free, taking ahold of the handle with his hoof and jamming it into the slope. The loose earth didn't give the blade enough bite, and he continued to slide down the incline, albeit at a slower pace. As he did, he saw the two pegasi helping the others, while Applejack slide down to a smaller ledge to assist Twilight. 

Rainbow Dash flew over to him, asking, "You good?"

"Fine", Anton hissed back, finally managing to get some purchase in the slope, coming to a complete stop. He looked down, spotting Applejack barely preventing Twilight from slipping off the slope. "Better help them."

"Right-o!", she said, taking off and joining Fluttershy above the cliff, ready to catch the Intellectual. 

Anton, meanwhile, got to his hooves, one still gripping the handle of his sword. After he righted himself and assured his balance, he wiggled his blade slightly, sliding the rest of the way down the slope. As he reached the bottom of the slope and the small outcropping, he heard Applejack say, "What ah'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe."

Twilight let go, plummeting a few meters down before the pegasi grabbed ahold of her. Applejack smiled, before looking at him. "Aw, don't look so dour, Aquila. Yer always one advocatin' fer faith an' all that."

Anton shrugged. That was far from the faith that he had in mind, let alone one he would have advocated for personally, but he supposed that it was something. Any form of Embracing the Emperor was something he could appreciate, though he doubted that Twilight saw it like that. 

"Come on", Applejack said, heading towards the edge of the cliff. "Ah saw a few ledges we could hop down."


+++++~+++++


The group continued on, the same loose formation they had assumed before entering the forest. Anton continued his sweep of the area in front of them, laspistol now at the ready. 

"And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, whoosh!", Rainbow Dash said, flying over the group. "Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM! Caught you right in the nick of time." As she finished her story, she landed next to the annoyed-looking unicorn, a smug smile on her face. 

"We all saw it, Rainbow", Anton said, eyeing the small cluster of boulders in front of them. "Now, again, I suggest we keep unnecessary chatter to a minimum, as-"

He was cut off by a loud slam echoing from ahead of him. He dropped into a low stance, laspistol held in the direction of the large creature that had just lept in front of them. Twilight yelled, "A manticore!", just as the beast reared up on its hind legs and roared. 

"This is why I wanted to get additional firepower!", Anton yelled, drawing his sword. 

It lept into the air, swinging its paws in a wide arc at Rarity. It landed, though Rarity jumped backward before it could hit her. She then whirled around, slamming her hooves into its face. "Take that, you ruffian!", she yelled. In response, the beast roared in her face, sending her hair shooting backwards almost horizontally. Once the roar stopped, it rebounded together, forming a lumpy, messy ball. "My hair!" Rarity suddenly realized that she was staring a massive, flesh-eating monster right in the face, and wisely decided to run. 

The Manticore chased after her, Anton raised his pistol and fired at it. Red bolts of light shot at it, though most missed. Whenever he got a bead on it, it just moved; he had never seen one quite as fast as this one was. It suddenly ground to a halt, drawing both it and Anton's eyes up. Applejack now sat on its back, just between its mane and neck. "Yee-Haw!", she called, wrapping a hoof into its mane. "Git along, little Doggie!" 

The Manticore gave a vicious snarl, jumping and shaking in an attempt to shake Applejack off. Applejack just kept ahold of it, flying around and rolling along its back while attempting to keep itself on it. Finally, it managed to send Applejack flying, skidding to a halt and landing next to him. Anton raised his pistol again, lining up a shot with its head. 

Before he could pull the trigger, however, Rainbow Dash lept in front of it, flying rapidly around it. Anton growled, yelling, "Rainbow! Get out of the way! I don't have a clear shot!"

Rainbow pulled out of her loop, skidding to a halt along the ground. Anton made a final adjustment to his pistol, the groove of the pistol's sights lining up perfectly between the beasts eyes. The others fanned out around him, assuming defensive postures (Save for the Pink One). The manticore locked eyes with him, pawing the ground. Anton squeezed the trigger-

-And had to jerk it skyward to avoid hitting Fluttershy, who had jumped in front of them and bellowed, "Wait!" 

Both the group of Ponies and the Manticore looked just as confused, eyes shifting between them. Fluttershy turned, the faint outline of a small smile on her face. She approached the creature, who raised a paw to attack. The others winced, while Anton raised his laspistol again. To his surprise, she began to nuzzle the free paw of the creature, whispering, "Shh... It's ok." 

Anton looked on in amazement, laspistol and sword drooping towards the ground. "What... What sorcery is this?"

Twilight looked at him incredulously, before her attention was diverted back to the sight before them. The manticore lowered one of its paws, showcasing a large spike driven into it. "Oh, you poor, poor little baby."

Off to his left, he heard Rainbow say, "Little?"

"Now, this might hurt for just a second", Fluttershy said, ignoring the looks and stunned comments from her comrades. She took the thorn in her teeth, and in one fluid motion, ripped it free. The beast picked her up, roaring in her face. 

"Fluttershy!", the others bellowed, while Anton once again began to raise his weapons. Before they were even ready, he froze as he realized what it was doing. 

It was licking her, a happy expression somehow embossed on its face. And... W-was it purring!? "Aw you're just a little ol' baby kitty, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are." As Fluttershy muttered soothing words to the thankful beast, the others moved past it. Anton sheathed his sword, watching in stunned silence. This had to have been some sort of magic; no creature he had seen, not even Zecora, had this kind of ability to charm the beasts of the Everfree. 

"How did you know about the thorn?", Twilight asked Fluttershy after the Manticore finally let her go. 

Fluttershy said, "I didn't. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness." Anton snorted at the sentiment, pushing back to the front of the group, ignoring the looks that he was being given. 


+++++~+++++


The hardened dirt slowly gave way to a quagmire, the grass becoming patchy and revealing patches of slick mud and wet dirt. "Uh, my eyes need a rest from all this icky muck", Rarity moaned, causing Anton to sigh again. 

Soon, they passed under a section of canopy, obscuring the forest around them to a greater degree. "Uh. Aquila? Do you know how far away the ruin is?"

"About a mile and a half", Anton said, shaking a loose clump of mud from his boots. "The mud is a good sign. Means we're near the river. We cross over that, it should be a clean shot straight there."

"Ah", Applejack said, shaking her hoof. "Ah think ah stepped in somethin'." Before anyone else could say anything, or before Applejack could even shake the mud free, Fluttershy let out an ear-piercing scream. 

Anton turned to her, barking, "Calm yourself! By the Throne, do you want to draw anything to us!?"

"It's just a bit a mud, Fluttershy", Applejack said, taking a few more steps. Suddenly, she ground to a halt, letting out her own startled yell. 

Anton finally brought his gaze away from the terrified pegasus, gliding over the tangle of forest around them. Leering, misshapen faces stared out from the darkness, crooked teeth jutting out at unnatural angles. The more he looked, the more they seemed to emerge from the shadows, while others blinked out, as if they never existed. 

Antons laspistol whipped up, a red beam of light shooting into the darkness. The face it slammed into seemingly disappeared before the bolt impacted, before repeating, none-the-worst-for-wear. He whirled around, firing another couple of shots, only for the same things to happen. "Daemons...", Anton muttered to himself, drawing his sword and backing up with the others. "Get close! Don't let them out of your sight for a second!"

His cry went unheeded however, as while they began to back up and gather together, they were more concerned about shapes themselves, and not the threat they might pose. Their eyes darted around, panic smothering their common sense and features. Anton raised his sword, a prayer gracing his lips, when the panicked cries of the others were cut through by the last noise he expected: 

Laughter. 

Pinkie Pie stood in front of one of the daemonic faces, giggling as if she was (even more) mad. She was... making faces at them!? This was a level of madness that even he hadn't been expecting. 

"Pinkie!", Twilight called out. "What are you doing!? Run!"

"Ha ha. Don't you see!", the Pink One said, before backing away and beginning to shake her legs. "🎵When I was a little filly and the sun was going down!🎵"

"Tell me she's not", Twilight said. 

As if on cue, Pinkie appeared in front of her, singing, "🎵The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown.🎵"

"Unfortunately", Anton muttered, still eyeing the faces. 

"🎵I'd hide under my pillow, From what I thought I saw", she continued to sing, hopping in a circle around them, forcing Anton to break his aim with one of the larger forms. "But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way, To deal with fears at all!🎵"

"Then what is?", Rainbow asked. 

Pinkie hopped away from Rainbow, heading for one of the closer faces. "🎵She said, "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you; Just laugh to make them disappear.🎵" She turned to it, before giving three distinct chuckles. As soon as the last one faded into an echo, the face... disappeared. 

The others let out a collective gasp, and even Anton couldn't avoid a stunned look. "What-", he began, only to be cut off by Pinkie resuming her singing. 

"🎵So, giggle at the ghostly; Guffaw at the grossly; Crack up at the creepy; Whoop it up with the weepy; Chortle at the kooky; Snortle at the spooky!🎵", she sang, pushing the others to do the same. She did a somersault into one of their mouths, drawing Anton's aim towards it, only to stick out of the mouth with no apparent concern. "And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh...! Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!" 

Anton studied one of the trees. Even as he watched, the face gave way, and several charred black holes appeared along its surface. The sheer absurdity of the situation revealed itself to him: He had been scared... by trees. He could only barely cut back a chuckle. 

As he did, however, he saw a shape move through the underbrush. No, it wasn't a shape; not totally at least. It was almost like ink had taken on a shape, broke through a window to escape, and was now running loose. With a start, he realized what was it was. 

He turned to the others, who lay in a small circle, laughing like crazy. He looked back to where he saw the shape, only to see it was now gone without a trace. He looked back at his charges, before firing a shot into the air. When all of their attention was on him, he said, "We need to move. Now."

"What do you mean?", Fluttershy asked. 

"I think I just saw Nightmare Moon, and if you're right about her regaining power", he said, eyes locking with Twilight. "Then this is a delaying tactic. If we don't double-time it, then she might be more than a match for your 'Elements of Harmony'."