//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Another step // Story: Shield and Shadow Part 2: Renaissance // by LucidReverie //------------------------------// Cantata. Radiant Bloom screamed. A splatter of red appeared on her side as she ran. Starlight hit the ground, a dead weight. Some distance away, Chaser lay in the dirt, wings mangled and torn. A dark green pony, neither unicorn, nor pegasus, but both, reared itself toward the fearless and determined Runner, cutting him down in one movement. Luna stood aghast at the sight before her. The pony turned to her, walking slowly. She braced herself, firing a bolt of magic from her horn. It flashed against a shield, diffused into ether. The monstrous pony drew closer, finally embracing her like an old friend, before vanishing; Luna disappearing from sight. *** Spring Mist blinked his eyes open, a dark haze filling his vision. He could see a sliver of light appearing over the horizon, throwing the world into twilight. He stretched out his legs, feeling the muscles pull and tighten as he did. Groaning, he kicked off his small travel blanket and stood. The other members of his party were up, for the most part. Runner, still trying to get in those last few moments of precious sleep, was being harassed by Chaser, who found the need to kick at him repeatedly. Mist watched as Runner arose quickly, startling Chaser, causing her to fly into the air. “Morning, Spring Mist,” said Radiant sleepily. Mist drew his attention away from the guardsponies and toward Radiant Bloom. Her mane was slightly mussed, her coat rough in patches. Mist smiled. “Morning, Radiant. How’d you sleep?” “Oh-” She yawned widely. “Well, I suppose. Camping has never really been my thing. But I guess I should get used to roughing it… how about you?” “Well, certainly not used to the open air any more. But I guess I slept well enough…” “Are you sure, Mist? No more nightmares?” “Oh, they’re there. Not going to go away any time soon, by the looks of it.” “Are they any worse?” “Not necessarily worse… Just different.” “Oh? Different?” Radiant cocked her head as Mist packed up his bedroll. “Yeah, a new nightmare has been added to the mix. Not really in the mood to talk about it.” “Okay, I understand. But I’m here if you need anything.” “Thanks, Radiant.” Mist finished packing as Radiant moved on to her own area. He scanned the camp, looking for Luna. The Princess was standing, talking to Starlight, her saddlebags sitting next to her. Mist walk towards the pair, catching the last few sentences of their conversation as he drew nearer. “- not sure how safe it is. What if it manifests itself?” Starlight said, almost whispering. “That won’t happen. I told you about our theory. I think we should safe for – oh, Mist.” Luna turned to look at Mist with an incomprehensible gaze. Mist looked right back, staring her in the eyes. Starlight backed away slowly, as if fearing the clash of two great beasts. “Luna, could I speak to you?” Mist said sternly. “Mist, I’d rather…” She looked to the rest of the camp, and tried to head in that direction I think I should check on everypony else, see if they’re ready to -” Mist held a hoof out in front of her, stopping her. “No, Luna. Now.” Luna hung her head slightly, walking away from the campsite. Mist followed briefly before speaking again. “Luna, what is going on?” “I don’t know what you mean,” Luna said avoidantly. “Don’t play that game, Luna. You know full well what I mean. You haven’t said so much as a sentence to me since my release. Why?” “Mist, I- I can’t…” “What? You can’t what? You can’t talk? Can’t say hello? Can’t ask how I’m doing? Can’t share a little of your life?” “Mist, please… I…” “Just answer me this, since I think I have earned the right to it: was everything I sacrificed worth it? I love you… do you still love me?” Luna remained silent, a pained look etched on her face. Mist nodded his head tersely. “Well, I guess no answer is a ‘no’. I’m glad we could clear that up.” He turned, walking away, back to his things. Terrific. So… for nothing. Good to know. Not quite for nothing, Mist. Go away, Nightmare. I’m not interested in your games right now. Oh, I have no intention of going anywhere. You have more to play in the world than you think. It wasn’t all for nothing. It was just for something other than what you expected. Not listening to you, Nightmare. This is all your fault. Is it? Am I really the one behind it all? You came to me, remember? You asked for my help. Only because you had already taken Luna. Did I? How much do you really know about what actually happened? What? What do you mean? … … … Nightmare? … Damn that infernal thing. Of course it would leave. Mist stomped the ground, stirring the dust. He snorted, picking up his packs, settling them on his back. He walked to the edge of the camp, waiting for the others. They trickled closer, finally filling out the group just as the sun had fully cleared the horizon. Mist looked around at his fellow ponies. As one, they began moving south… ******** The small Dodge Junction sat quaintly in the middle of a valley, surrounded by sandy hills. Mist looked down on the town from atop a rocky hilltop. He could see the small figures dotting the town, and a few larger ones. Bigger than any pony he had ever seen. “Hey, Radiant. What are those down there?” he asked. “What exactly?” Radiant replied. “Those things.” Mist pointed. “The bigger ones.” “Um, buffalo, Mist.” “Buffalo? What are those?” “Oh, well they’re kinda like ponies. Only bigger. And non-magical. And they can’t fly.” “They’re tribals,” Starlight cut in. “Lower in social development than Equestrian ponies.” “How interesting.” Mist squinted, peering down at the town below. “I wonder what they were like in my time.” “Probably no different. They didn’t have the same projection of growth as ponies did. I don’t think they changed quite as much as we did,” Radiant stated studiously. “Well, ponies didn’t seem to change much in the thousand years… I mean, technology certainly, but not much else…” “Really? Whenever I read old books it feels like a thousand years ago so much was so different…” “Honestly, it wasn’t. At least, not that I saw…” Mist drew his gaze away from the town, but found it pulled back to a dark line that etched through the earth. Following along the line was some large shape, travelling very quickly, smoke trailing behind it, headed straight for the town. “What is that?” Mist inquired. “A… train.” “Train? I read about those. Didn’t get the idea until now….” “The invention of rail travel revolutionized commerce, especially for the common, non-pegasus pony. Leave it to earth pony engineering to create something amazing.” Interesting. A train. And I bet it runs straight to Canterlot. Ah, you’re back. Now you can go away again, if you please. Tut-tut, Spring Mist. I’m only here to help. You? Help? I honestly doubt you are capable, even if you desired. Oh, I’m far more capable than you realize. But that is neither here nor there. Don’t you think it interesting that you’ve been walking all this way, but you could have taken the train and saved days of travel? I- “Spring Mist?” Mist shook his head. “Huh?” Radiant looked at him with concern. “We kinda lost you there. You okay?” “Yeah, just thinking. Say, why didn’t we take the train as far as we could before actually walking?” Radiant shied away slightly. Runner and Chaser, looked at Mist intensely. The others merely diverted their gaze toward him. The back of his neck started tingling. Luna stepped forward. “We cannot be seen.” Push. “But why? You never actually explained it; it’s not like anypony would recognize me…” “Mist, the situation is… delicate… right now. We cannot risk being seen as a group.” Question. “What is happening? What aren’t you telling me?” Luna looked worried, the others looked away. “There is… trouble in Canterlot.” Not good enough. Shut up. “What kind of trouble? Is it what you told me before? About the change of power?” “Yes… The nobility… they are, shall we say, less than happy about you. And this journey.” “Wait, why do they even know? And surely you don’t have to be worried. I mean, you’re the princess.” “Mist, a thousand years ago… maybe we would have been able to contain the issue. But now… well, after I was… banished, the noble houses have gained a hoofhold in politics. Very little is done without their knowledge. Not even our own guards are completely loyal – with the exception of a few, like Flare Chaser and Rough Runner here. Celestia and I are no longer the sole rulers of Equestria. We are continually forced to give in to the nobles’ demands. What I told you before, about how things were changing? It’s worse than I feared.” “Why? What can they do?” “They can control the citizens. And ultimately, the Equestrian citizens can control the kingdom. And they have your face plastered over every wall in the kingdom.” “Then why are you here? Why are we chasing ghosts when you should be defending your throne?” “I- I’m not talking about this, Spring Mist!” Luna turned away abruptly, walking to the front of the group. Before Mist could say another word, Radiant interrupted, “Don’t push it, Mist. She’s in a tough place. Trust me, you’ll find out everything you need to. In time.” Mist hung his head. “What happened to us, Radiant? How did we get here?” “There are too many possible answers for that, Mist…” “Yeah…” Mist looked back at Dodge Junction as they walked away. The train was pulling closer to the town, finally disappearing from Mist’s sight as the party rounded over the hilltop. Drawing his gaze away, Mist looked forward, at the blue alicorn leading the group. ********* Mist’s legs were tired, aching from all of the walking. He could only guess how Radiant, Bleedingheart and Starlight felt. At least the guards had endurance training. But the scholars had nothing. Mist was barely keeping up as it was. He looked at Luna, who walked determinedly. She really can lead… Of course she can. A pity though… What’s a pity? That she is the way she is. What do you mean? Well, that would be telling. But just know that you are going to learn some very interesting things about your beloved princess. What things? Tell me now! Don’t toy with me. I really can’t tell you, Mist. You must discover for yourself… I hate you. And I love it. Mist shook his head and kept walking. The rolling hills were becoming less and less lush, the distance between each bush or shrub growing, patches of dirt dotting the already sparse grass. In the distance, rows of red-brown mountains rose up as if trying to grab the sky. Like a giant wall, they hid what lay behind them from those in the outside world. “Say, Radiant?” Mist leaned over to the pink mare. “Hmmm?” she responded. “How long do you think it’ll take us to get… there?” “Well, it really shouldn’t take us more than a day or two… but I’m just guessing here.” “Really? The mountain range looks so big from here…” “Yeah, just wait until we actually get there. Kinda like the mountain Canterlot sits on.” “That big? Huh… then what?” “Well, that’s a good question. Not many ponies go into the Badlands. It’s not exactly the most hospitable place.” “Any idea what it’s like? I’ve really only heard stories from way back…” “Well, it’s pretty desolate. Mostly crags and rocky outcroppings, the occasional plateau. The ground is relatively flat in areas, but there are these massive fissures that bottom out miles down and some small volcanic pits and magma pools, so we should stay away from those.” “That would be a good idea, I guess.” Mist looked up at the sun, high above the party, beating down. “So… hot, right?” “Yes. Much of the area is surrounded by high mountains, creating a bowl-like formation. Then the heat from the sun and the volcanic regions doesn’t really disperse. So yes, it’ll be very hot there. Kinda makes sense, though. It is one of the most common stops for the great dragon migration. There might even be some still there from the last one, if we’re not lucky…” “You really think we’ll run into dragons?” “It’s possible. But I hope not… we can’t take on a dragon. Well, Princess Luna could. But certainly not a horde of them.” “Well let’s hope we don’t run it to any, then.” The rest of the walk was fairly quiet and uneventful. Radiant spent time taking to the members of the group. A talkative filly, that one, Mist thought to himself. She’s scared. Ponies talk too much when their scared. Not interested in your opinions, Nightmare. Fine. Have it your way. Mist felt a slight itch in his side as the inner voice was silenced. He shuffled his bags around, unsuccessfully trying to relieve that itch. He finally shifted his bags to look at his side. What he saw scared him – a scar, one of the ones he bore before he was healed, had returned, bright and fresh. Mist pursed his lips as he tried to quickly conceal the gash. Oh, that’s not good… No, it’s normal. What? Well, if I’m right, then it’s normal. Which means it’s only a matter of time. Before what? What are you talking about? Mist, if I told you, you’d tell the others. And that would ruin things. I hate you. Yes, so you’ve told me. Mist remained silent for the remained for the day, continuing even as the group set up camp. Tents circled around a fire, each pony quietly settled into their own slumber. No peace for the wicked.