Rockhoof stared at the door in disbelief as it stood there, unobstructed and inviting him to go through it, away from this accursed house. He took a step toward the door, but a polite cough caused him to pause.
Turning toward the sound, Rockhoof saw a cloaked figure, like the one he had met during his loop with Flash.
“... The killer?” Rockhoof asked, confused.
The figure drew back their hood to reveal a perfect clone of Rockhoof. Duplihoof (the internal nickname Rockhoof had spontaneously generated for this surprise doppelganger, one which he supposed was as good as any) frowned and tilted his head to one side.
“Where are ya goin’, lad?” Duplihoof asked.
“Through the door,” Rockhoof replied. “Like Styg told me to.”
“Stygian? Why would he tell you that?”
“Well, he—” Rockhoof paused. “I don’t know. It didn’t make much sense to me.”
“Seems our tactician is a bit off.” Duplihoof tsked. “Seriously, why would ya leave when you haven’t even found all of your friends yet?”
“I haven’t saved everyone from the mansion.”
“Right, you didn’t. As you can see.” Duplihoof gestured toward the wall opposite the door.
“That’s…” Rockhoof squinted “...a wall.”
“Of course, silly me. Let me fix that for you.” Duplihoof stomped his left forehoof twice on the floor.
The mansion opened up, creaking and groaning as it rearranged itself. Wall, floors, and ceilings ripped apart as normally inaccessible sections of the house became visible from Rockhoof’s position. As each part revealed itself, Rockhoof found each of his friends as they were at the start of the loop.
Meadowbrook was in the kitchen brewing a potion, Stygian was browsing the library, Somnambula was nervously scanning the open gears of the clock room, Flash was following a trail of hoofprints as a cloaked figure stalked him from behind, Mistmane banged against the inside of a glass tank, and Starswirl stared transfixed into a massive hole in the floor.
“As you can see,” Duplihoof repeated.
“Those are my friends, aye,” Rockhoof said, uncertainly. “I don’t—”
“Well, get to it,” Duplihoof declared.
“Get to what?”
“Saving your friends! You still have to find out how to do it all in one loop. Here, I’ll even give you a hint.” Duplihoof leaned in conspiratorially toward Rockhoof, covering part of his mouth with a hoof. “The first one you need to save isn’t who you think it is.”
“Right.” Rockhoof shook his head, feeling a fog beginning to lift from his mind that he hadn’t been aware of before. “This is… actually, you know what? I think I’m gonna try the door now. This is… confusing, and Stygian hasn’t led me wrong before.” He began to move toward the exit. “I’ll just check if it’s safe to leave then come back to get everyone else.”
“You’d abandon your friends? Leave them to die here alone?”
“Never, it’s just… something doesn’t feel right about this, it’s not what Styg told me to do and—”
Duplihoof stomped his hoof on the ground. The floor undulated as it rolled, unbalancing Rockhoof and pulling him away from the door.
“What are you—”
“How selfish.” Duplihoof grabbed Rockhoof’s head and twisted it to face the rooms where his friends resided. “Look what you’ve done.”
Meadowbrook choked, foam bubbling from her mouth as she clutched at her throat. A steel spike trap had pierced through Stygian’s body, staining the wooden floors. Somnambula fell through the open floor of the clock room, descending into unknown depths. Flash was stabbed by the cloaked figure by a shovel, bleeding out on the floor. Mistmane floated within the glass tank of water she had been trapped in. Starswirl was grabbed by shadowy tendrils and dragged down into the gaping chasm.
“No!” Rockhoof reached out with his hoof toward his friends. “I have to—”
“Save them, obviously!” Duplihoof exclaimed. “I know this is hard, so allow to provide some more assistance.”
Another stomp. The previously shattered hourglass reconstructed itself back into its pristine condition.
“Break it,” Duplihoof hissed angrily. He smiled. “Then you can go back to doing what you’re supposed to do.” He released Rockhoof from his grasp, leaving him to thud against the ground.
Getting shakily back onto his hooves, Rockhoof began to trek toward the hourglass, a horrid mix of confusion, apprehension, and panic clouding his mind.
I believe in you.
He inspected the hourglass as he came upon it. Everything was back to how it once was, but Rockhoof couldn’t remember how he knew that it was all back together as it was supposed to, since he could not recall a time when the first floor hourglass had ever not been broken.
I have faith in your ability to see this through. Always will.
Looking over the corpses of his friends, his usual protective instinct drove him to do what needed to be done… but it didn’t feel right. The last loops had felt like he was with them, but looking over the corpses that littered the mansion’s many rooms, he couldn’t help but feel that he was looking at mere puppets. Replacements for those whom he actually cared about.
But it had to be them. Because otherwise it would mean… that they weren’t there anymore and had left him behind.
Even the most mentally sound of ponies would crack under that kind of constant pressure, and we weren’t that stable to begin with.
This whole situation felt off. The more he thought through the cloud over his mind, the more he just didn’t get it. Why was there a second copy of him? Why did that copy keep killing him and Flash in that one loop? How did he even get into this place in the first place?
On that note, why was he even here? He’d been trying so hard to save everyone within the loop that he’d never thought to ask why they’d come to enter the mansion in the first place. What was the true purpose of their visit? It couldn’t have been random, Starswirl and Stygian despised diversions from missions, so it wasn’t for fun.
There was never any doubt in my mind.
His friends weren’t there anymore. He had no proof. He had no way to confirm it. But a part of instinctually knew that this was true. He had no reason to be there anymore.
But. What if he was wrong?
If there was even a chance that he would be leaving his friends behind, his family, to die in this place forever and ever… he couldn’t abandon them. He had to stay. He had to save them. That was what he did. He was strength. He was the shield. He never left anyone behind.
What have I told you about fear?
Rockhoof raised his hooves above his head, ready to smash the hourglass and restart the loop. Save his friends. It’s what he did. It was all he was good for. To be the shield that took on all the pain so the others could be safe. It was all that mattered. It was the one thing he could never allow happen, no matter the circumstance.
You just need to want to leave.
And Stygian knew that.
Rockhoof dropped his hooves back to the ground. He turned to face Duplihoof, a firm glare on his face as he recognized his enemy for whom he was.
“I’m leaving,” Rockhoof declared, certain in his choice.
The final circle burst to life. Orange light burned brightly alongside the other colours, before the door burst open, revealing a swirling vortex of white and hazy images of a land beyond.
Green grass. A shaded clearing. Tall standing stones arranged in a circle.
“And you’re going to let me leave whether you like it or not, pony of shadows,” Rockhoof growled.
A moment of silence as the statement rung through the room. Then, Duplihoof grinned, splitting his face literally in half as his mouth opened to reveal rows of jagged teeth, skin cracking to accommodate the sickening expression.
“Well, so much for the fun way. I’d always thought it was a longshot anyways.”
The shell Shadow wore cracked, a thunderous noise that echoed through the room. Fissures spread across his body as Shadow from within surged out, growing in size as it discarded its worthless flesh.
A massive stallion of writhing shadows towered over Rockhoof, a wide manic grin on his face.
“Now, be a good colt, and smash that damned hourglass,” Shadow hissed.
“Nay,” Rockhoof definitely answered. “I don’t even know how I fell for this the first time.”
“It’s simple. This place between makes the mind more malleable and susceptible to suggestion, thus making you easy to manipulate into performing actions you would normally know to be wrong,” Shadow explained.
“...What?”
“You’re a moron,” Shadow stated bluntly.
“... You dinnae have to put it like that,” Rockhoof muttered.
“I’ll be sure to phrase it more politely once I trap you here on a permanent basis.”
Shadow roared. As he did, the mansion came to life. The wooden floorboards ripped themselves up and twisted into long, spiralling tendrils. They shot toward Rockhoof, grabbing him by his hooves, forcing them above his head, and dragging him toward the hourglass.
“Let me go, ye foul beast!” Rockhoof shouted as he struggled against his restraints.
“Just give in already, your struggles are futile. Everything will be fixed soon enough and you can go back to playing as your friends’ shield or whatever.”
As Rockhoof drew closer to his fate, he closed his eyes, unwilling to watch the final moments of his freedom be taken from him. After a few moments of nothing happening, he opened them to see the tendrils had stopped.
Shadow looked as confused as Rockhoof felt. “Why did it stop?” A small burst of black magic from Shadow’s horn followed an indignant growl. “You?!”
The wood released Rockhoof, then turned around and stabbed Shadow through its semi-corporeal form. Shadow roared in pain. Meanwhile, as Rockhoof landed back on the floor, a blue glow of magic enveloped the floors underneath him and began to pull him toward the door.
“...Styg?” Rockhoof whispered.
“You vermin!” Shadow yelled as he smashed several of the tendrils that tried to pierce his body. “How dare you even attempt to take control!”
Shadow dissolved into smoke and removed himself from the tendrils’ assault. It reformed outside of its range, blew them apart with a burst of magic, then charged toward Rockhoof, fangs bared.
“Uh oh,” Rockhoof said.
“You will never escape me!” Shadow roared.
“Styg, Styg, Styg!” Rockhoof tapped the floors rapidly with a hoof. “If it is you, make this go faster, please.”
Hearing his call, the floors sped up, bringing him even closer to the door. Just as he was about to be launched into the vortex, shadowy spikes burst from below and broke the floors, stopping Rockhoof’s forward momentum.
“You will not get away from me! I will claim another!” Shadow screeched.
Shadow lunged toward him, mouth wide. Rockhoof had just enough time to grab the top and bottom parts of Shadow’s jaw, forcing them apart, and, more importantly, not allowing them to clamp down on his body. Sweat drenched his coat in the effort it took to hold them apart.
“Styg, I’m sorry to ask for so much help, but I’m not doing so good here,” Rockhoof said.
A creaking sound drew Rockhoof’s gaze toward the library room. He watched in shock as the corpse of Stygian dismounted himself from the spikes with a loud squelch, dripping blood onto the floors.
The corpse, or possibly just Stygian himself, used his magic to pull out one of the spikes and make his way toward Shadow. He cantered, then galloped, before leaping into the air and stabbing Shadow through the heart with the metal spike.
Shadow screamed in pain.
Rockhoof stumbled backward as the pressure from Shadow’s jaws left. A massive blue glow enveloped Shadow’s body and pinned the beast to the floor as he struggled against Stygian’s bindings.
“You must leave, Rockhoof,” Stygian said.
“I-it is you,” Rockhoof called, tears prciking the corners of his eyes.
“Yes, it is, now leave,” Stygian stressed.
“But what about the others?” Rockhoof asked.
“Gone. The Pony of Shadow’s goal was to corrupt the Pillars. They have already escaped and now you’re the only one still stuck here. For yours and the world’s sake, I ask for the final time, leave.”
“What about you?”
“It is too late for me. You must leave me behind.”
Hesitation caused inaction as a large part of him rejected the idea.
“I can’t just abandon you!” Rockhoof cried.
“Yes, stay here. Try to save your dear lost friend.” Shadow cackled. “More opportunities to claim you.”
“Bold claims while being pinned to the floor,” Stygian retorted. “You presume I would allow you to escape.”
“A bluff at best. The spell has been undone, and our release is inevitable. Once I’m free, you know I will have the advantage. The true price of this place will aid me. It is only a matter of time before I take you all over.”
“You’ll never succeed” Rockhoof said defiantly.
“Certainly the you that exists now could stop me. But all those years of you fighting me, fighting back your darker desires, trying to contain me, the darkness born of you so-called legendary heroes…” Shadow laughed, a harsh, shrill sound. “It’s so funny. You spent all this time focused on saving the very thing you lost the second you came here. When you leave this place, you will have forgotten the bond you all share and I will be as strong as the day you banished me to this place.”
“What does he—” Rockhoof started.
“It doesn’t matter,” Stygian interrupted.
“Of course, it—”
“No,” Stygian cut Rockhoof off. “Look, he’s right. Unfortunately. The price has been paid and… I’m so sorry, Rockhoof. This is going to hurt you so much and you won’t even know.”
“What, I don’t—! Why won’t you explain?!”
“Because then you won’t leave,” Stygian stated bluntly. “And you have to leave. You will always pick the pillars over the cause and, unfortunately, that’s not an option here.”
“This is not helping your case!”
“Rockhoof, you can’t—” Stygian took a deep shaky breath. “Look, all I want you to remember is that I love you, all of you, and that what I want more than anything else, is that you all get to have good lives, in whatever form that may take. But you, more than any of the others need to remember—
“To make sure that you live that life.”
“You’re talking as if we’ll never see each other again.” Tears fell from Rockhoof’s face. “I can’t leave you like this.” The doors shuddered, beginning to close. “Just tell me how to save you. Let me save you.”
“See, that’s the thing, Rockhoof. The me, the us, we are now—” A bittersweet smile “—Can’t save me. And I’m not letting you choose anymore.”
The floor buckled, rearing back, then cracked down, launching Rockhoof through the air and toward the vortex. And away from the Pony of Shadows and Stygian.
As Rockhoof fell into the portal, the horrid laughter of the Pony of Shadows filled his mind.
“...worked! We brought you back!”
Rockhoof groaned as he came to, his body feeling sluggish and weak as his senses began to slowly return to him.
He stood on an old henge stone, deep in a shaded wood. Rapidly returning memories placed the area as Ponehenge, the place he and the other pillars had sealed the Pony of Shadows within.
A strange purple unicorn with wings was arguing with Starswirl.
Rockhoof felt a measure of pity for the lass, as Starswirl was insufferable to deal with. A crotchety old unicorn with no redeeming traits that did nothing but berate everyone around him and act as superior as possible. He’d told them all as much when they had fought the Sirens. Snooty jerk.
A quick glance showed that the other pillars were also present, minus the pipsqueak that had gotten them into this mess in the first place.
He looked at them with a measure of discomfort as their last moments together had been… not great. They’d defeated the Sirens, and then, when they had been too exhausted to stop him, Stygian had stolen their artifacts to gain immeasurable power. An ambitious plot, and one that had unfortunately worked. He’d had one battle with these supposed pillars and he’d been duped.
That’s what he got for trusting strangers.
Mistmane looked dazed as she glanced around. Too nosey for Rockhoof’s taste. He could never really relate to her.
Meadowbrook had immediately turned to look at him, then glanced away with a blush so as not to get caught. He liked her, as a friend, but he knew that’s not how she felt and… he wasn’t ready to confront her about it.
Somnambula looked as out of it as he felt. He was sure that, given time, she would be back to giving her worthless platitudes and optimism. Talking about how they couldn’t give up because there was always hope or some similar lie that she liked to tell. He was being unreasonably harsh, he knew, but… there was a reason for that resentment.
Finally, there was Flash. Rockhoof couldn’t even look directly at him yet. He had feelings for the brash pegasus, but still hadn’t worked up the courage to actually tell him. Becoming aware of those feelings had made things somewhat awkward around him, but Rockhoof knew the crush would pass. Especially when Somnambula inevitably made her move.
Besides, it didn’t really matter. He’d had some measure of hope that maybe they could be more than just strangers and become ponies he could instead rely on, but Stygian’s betrayal made it clear that Rockhoof wasn’t meant to have that kind of bond with others. He was still the pony that everyone hated back at his village, and this excursion had done nothing to change his mind.
A rumble shook him out of his internal musings. Shadows gathered in the center of the henge, forming into a massive stallion.
Stygian— No, the Pony of Shadows had returned from limbo.
Drawing his trusty shovel, Rockhoof readied for combat. He would fulfill his role as the Pillar of Strength. Be the shield to take all the pain, while those smarter then him figured out how to deal with the threat. It didn’t matter how many hits he took, or if it was the last one he could, so long as—
To make sure that you live that life.
—He would survive. The Pony of Shadows would be defeated and then he would figure out what to do from there. Maybe meeting these strangers hadn’t worked out the way he’d wanted, but surely there was somewhere he could feel like he belonged.
But first, the Pony of Shadows would have to be defeated, and this time, they wouldn’t banish him, they would destroy him.
He never noticed the trail of tears that fell down his face that mourned the loss of all the time that had been taken from him.