//------------------------------// // 8: Fullmoon // Story: Against Time // by GoldenChozo //------------------------------// The sun was now at the horizon. It appeared the moon wasn't going to make an appearance tonight. Tonight's when the guards would know for sure that the Princess was missing. Whinniesburg slowly became visible in the dusk horizon. "Wait!" Ace said suddenly, careful not to disturb Luna. "What is it?" Blaze asked. "We can't just go through Whinniesburg with the princess unconscious on my back," Ace said. "What do you suppose we do, then?" Blaze asked. "Are you any good at transfiguration?" Ace asked. "Don't think that's possible on a pony, mate." "Then we'll just have to go around. It looks like a small town, so it shouldn't be that hard." They veered to the side and started around the town. *** "I don't know where they went from here," Zephyr said. They reached Whinniesburg relatively quickly, compared to how long it took the first time. Naturally, they tried the Inn first, but Summer confirmed they weren't there. "I do," Thunder said. "Follow me. The temple they were going for is this way." He flew up and towards the setting sun. Zephyr followed closely behind. So sure that they were about to find Ace in the temple, they didn't even look to the ground, where Ace, Blaze, and Luna were changing their course to avoid Whinniesburg. Towards the sunset they flew, finally reaching the point Thunder turned back. Something was off, though. The two landed just beyond the perimeter of the temple. The archway that marks the beginning of the first trial stood before them. Behind that, the temple was visible. What's left of the temple, that is. The place looked as if time had caught up to it. No longer did it stand as if it were freshly built. Instead, it lay in ruins. The stone it was carved from had eroded. Two of the three pillars were missing; only dried blood indicated where they were. The third pillar was only a few yards high, with the remainder gone with time. The central part itself appeared to have split in half. One half fell inward, which pushed the other outward. Gravity teamed up with erosion to bring the upper story to the ground. From there, erosion split it further while gravity did it's bidding with various pieces of the temple. Broken statues of various ponies littered the area around it. "What would anyone want in a place like this?" Zephyr asked. "This can't be right, I just saw this place a few hours ago! It was in perfect condition!" Thunder exclaimed. "They must've got the Princess back, 'cause why else would the place have collapsed?" "So we just missed them?" Zephyr asked. "Must have," Thunder said. "Where'd you tell the Lunar Guards they were?" "West of Whinniesburg. They should come here first, too. If we can't find them here, then surely they won't." "Except for one thing. See that?" Thunder pointed at the ground. "Hoofprints. Clearly they've gone back already, and they left an easy trail. Let's go!" "Wait!" Thunder had jumped already and was about to take off. "Why are there only two sets?" Thunder examined the prints, then said, "Ace said the trials were hard. There must have been one survivor who got away with Luna." "Probably Ace," Zephyr suggested. "He said he'd been here before right?" "Right, so we should probably warn him about the Lunar Guards." Thunder took off again, and Zephyr followed behind without hesitation. *** "This seems very ineffective," Blaze said. "I mean, it's a bloody field! Not a tree or hill in sight. I can even see the town from here! Surely they can see us, too!" "Think of it this way," Ace replied. "Out here, they only see three ponies. None of them know who we are. None of them know what we're doing. If we go through town, they'll recognize us. They'll see that I'm carrying Luna on my back. They'll want to know what we're doing. They'll try to stop us. We can't have that." "Alright, fair point. Still, what are we going to do once we get to Canterlot? We can't exactly get into the castle while you're carrying Luna." "Well, I doubt we'll actually get back tonight," Ace began. "Surely somepony will notice that there's no moon. I think we should set up camp, out of view from the town, and rest up until morning. By then, hopefully Luna will be awake, and she can bring us home." "That's probably our best option," Blaze agreed. Suddenly, he stood straight up. He looked around cautiously, like something was about to happen. One by one, the group found themselves surrounded by pony after pony. They seemed to come from nowhere like ninjas. Each of them wore armor bearing the symbol of the Lunar Guard. "Ace Doughty," a blue pegasus in the group stepped towards Ace. "I've heard quite a bit about you. Get the Princess!" Three guards came forward. One grabbed onto Blaze. Another held Ace down as the third grabbed Luna. "I know you've got acquaintances somewhere. Where are they?" Ace didn't respond. He didn't have time to deal with this. He knew he could get out of it, though he would have to leave Equestria if he did. Blaze would also have to be taken care of. Ace hoped the guards didn't know about Thunder and Zephyr, otherwise he'd have to worry about them, too. All his friends back home would be left to worry, and possibly be taken by the Guards for questions they couldn't answer. "Where are they?" Darkfire said, more commanding than before. Ace froze; he thought he already stopped time. He tried again and again, but time kept going. He had no choice. "Dead," Ace replied flatly. "Shame," Darkfire said, a condescending tone slowly taking over. "I know Nighthawk was definitely looking forward to retirement." "What should we do, commander?" The guard holding Blaze asked. "Bring them in," Darkfire replied, walking back to his place among the circle. Ace's hooves were all secured together, and he was fastened to the back of the guard that was holding him. Blaze, however, decided to fight back. He knocked out his captor, using magic to keep the others at bay. "Blaze!" Ace yelled. "Stop fighting." When Blaze gave Ace a confused look, he added, "Just trust me on this one." The magic subsided, and Blaze found himself covered in at least three guards. He was tied up in much the same way as Ace. "Knock them out!" Darkfire called. *** Ace woke up in a strange room. There were cots lining the walls. Based on the blue sky visible from the window at the end, it was around midday. Slowly, the events of the previous night came back to Ace. Then he realized something; shouldn't he be in the dungeons at Canterlot rather than this place? The door opened. Ace expected Darkfire or some other Lunar Guard to walk in and take him to that cell. To his surprise, it was Princess Luna who walked in. She walked up to Ace's cot and stood beside it. "Luna?" Ace said tentatively. "Oh, good. You're awake," Luna responded. "Where are we?" Ace asked. "The infirmary at the Castle," Luna answered. "What are we doing here?" Ace asked as he sat up slowly. "You were unconscious when we got back, so I took the liberty of bringing you here to rest up." "But, your guards...?" "Don't worry about them," Luna said dismissively. "I've taken care of that." Ace was about to say something, but then Luna cut him short. "I know you must have a lot of questions about what happened. I'll try to explain as best I can." She sat down and continued. "I don't know exactly what happened, but I was awakened in the middle of a field by Darkfire. He told me that I was safe, and that he had taken care of my captors. He was of course speaking of you and Blaze. When we got back to the castle, he ordered you be taken to the dungeon. I managed to convince him otherwise. That's why you're here now." "What about Blaze?" Ace asked. "Is he alright?" "He woke up a couple days ago," Luna answered. "Days? How long have I been out?" "About a week. I've been checking in on you daily, as has Zephyr." "Zephyr?" Ace said. "Why's she concerned about me? We sent her home after she attacked me at Whinniesburg." "She's the one who told my guards about my disappearance," Luna said. "She led them to believe you took me, though she had a change of heart afterward. She even went to try and warn you about the guards." It was silent between the two for a minute, until something else came to Ace's mind. "When the guards attacked, I tried to stop time, but it wouldn't work." "That might be because there wasn't anyone to replace me at the temple," Luna said. "No guardian to maintain it. Zephyr told me that it had collapsed. I don't think there will be anymore trouble caused by the Epochust." "What about the tributes? What happened to them?" Luna sighed before answering. "As far as I know, they're still gone. And since you can't use the powers of the Epochust any longer, I don't think they're ever coming back." Ace closed his eyes at the news. He felt terrible dragging them into this, only for them to die without a proper explanation. Another thought came to mind. "What about Stella?" he asked quietly. "She's gone, too," Luna said. "I'm sorry, Ace. When she used her magic on the statue to bring me back, she didn't quite have enough. She converted herself into the magic needed to bring me back entirely." Ace hung his head, eyes still closed. "I know you two were very close. If I could bring her back, you should know that I won't hesitate." "Thank you, Luna." Ace said quietly. "Thank you, Ace, for saving me." Luna stood up. She walked to the door and turned to face Ace again, adding, "You're free to return home whenever you feel like it." She walked out and closed the door, leaving Ace alone once again.