//------------------------------// // Chapter XXI - Under a Darkling Sky // Story: Repercussions // by GaryOak //------------------------------// Chapter XXI Under a Darkling Sky =============== Canterlot Castle's portcullis smoothly ascended, granting Miasma access to the castle grounds. Her lantern-like eyes peered about the surrounding area, and she grinned as anypony who fell under her malefic glare trembled. She strode past regiments of drilling soldiers in the castle grounds, servants scurrying about, and unicorns shooting deadly fireworks into the sky as they practiced offensive magic. What gave Miasma pause in her observation was how drastically the castle had changed during her brief absence. The various shops and houses that populated the outer portion of the grounds behind the castle walls were plastered with banners of the King. She smiled and looked up at the castle itself. Somehow, it seemed to be a colossus stretching its arms far and wide over the land, representing King Cosmo's broadening influence. As Miasma reached the castle's reinforced double doors, they swung open. The guards stationed at the entrance gave crisp salutes. Before entering the castle proper, she looked to the streets behind her. Her newly-raised army from Manehatten tramped along the road in her wake, its ranks swelled by the thousands. The King would be most pleased. A small bird flew overhead, merrily singing its summer tune. An expression of pure contempt contorted Miasma's muzzle as she blasted the helpless bird with a bolt of magic. The creature's blackened corpse hit the ground soundlessly. Sparing nopony a second glance, she spun around and stormed into the castle, heading toward the east tower. As she swept through the corridors of Canterlot with swift, purposeful strides muffled by the black carpets, she could not help but notice some sort of painting or statue of the King staring down at her every few feet. Everywhere she looked, at least one banner of his insignia was visible. Miasma chuckled when she laid eyes on a hallway that had not been finished yet, the old banners of Equestria laying in tatters on the floor next to a smashed statue of Celestia. The dust from the broken rock dirtied the carpet. As she ascended the east tower's spiral staircase, she felt adrenaline surge through her in anticipation of the coming war. Within the next few hours, the fate of Equestria would be decided once and for all. “The King has been expecting you, my lady.” Miasma blinked. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts, she had not realized she had reached the grand entrance to King Cosmo's throne room. She glared at the Guard, who jumped a few inches into the air and pushed the door open as quickly as he could. As she entered and slowly descended the stairs, she studied the King's face. His demeanor was passive, but his eyes glittered with a sort of childish glee. Upon reaching the throne, she bowed her head and kneeled before her lord's hooves. “Report,” said the King impassively. “I take it that Manehatten proceeded according to plan?” “Yes, my King,” said Miasma, raising back to her full height. “Our ranks swell with thousands of fresh conscripts from the city as well as suitable equipment. We suffered virtually no losses.” “Good,” said Cosmo. “Your work here is now done; all the pieces have been set in motion. Soon, the game will begin, and Luna will meet her demise, assuming that she still lives.” Miasma took a step back. “My lord? I witnessed a catastrophic explosion from Cloudsdale. It must have illuminated all of Equestria and beyond. Additionally, during my return, scouts reported an army thousands strong marching toward the castle. They will arrive as early as tomorrow morning.” “That is correct,” said Cosmo, leaning back in his throne. “The army marches to its death. My forces will soon be prepared to expunge them from the fields below. Not a single piece of Luna's traitorous filth shall set hoof in my fortress.” His eyes flared. “And the explosion you witnessed was the destruction of Cloudsdale's Weather Factory. A small sacrifice to make, in exchange for the obliteration of her air force. Captain Comet has done well.” Miasma chuckled. “Shall I lead your legions into battle, my King? I will tear them apart myself.” “No,” said Cosmo. “I have other plans for you. You will remain here with me.” Miasma's eyes narrowed. “But what of Luna? Surely one of us will need to deal with her.” “That will not be necessary,” said the King, rising to his hooves and slowly walking toward the window. “Soon, Luna will enter the castle relatively unprotected. I have no need to seek her out; she will come to us.” Miasma walked with him. “Of course. She thinks the Elements will be her saviours.” Cosmo stared at the grounds below. “Correct. She should realize that without you and Rainbow Dash, they will do her no good. Come. The army awaits my presence.” He unfurled his wings and his horn emitted a light that enveloped both himself and Miasma. Turning his attention to the window, he opened it with a flick of magic. He paused. then fired a bright burst of sparks into the sky. The sound of an alarum reached their ears. Cosmo began to flap his wings, and ascended from the tower with Miasma beside him, lifted by his magic. Once clear of the tower, they descended toward the royal balcony. Cosmo laughed as he scanned the skies. Sizable formations of pegasi flew toward his destination. High above them, scores of dragons circled the castle like storm crows, slowly gravitating toward the grounds. When the King landed upon the balcony with Miasma touching down beside him, he surveyed the army gathering before them. The entirety of the castle grounds, stretching from the balcony to the castle wall, was filled with thousands upon thousands of soldiers, each clad in gold and silver armour. Seemingly endless ranks of foxes, unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies faced him in precise rows, every head looking up at him. The dragons landed at the army's perimeter. “My loyal subjects,” boomed Cosmo's voice. “The time is upon us! As I speak to you now, my traitorous sister is leading an army that marches on our doorstep. She brings civil war and unrest. See to it that she does not succeed. I behold over four legions of ground troops before me. Your numbers are plentiful, and hers are few. My command is singular: annihilate them. Slaughter everypony who opposes my eternal reign without mercy or remorse. Now go forth. You will march down the mountain as the sun rises. Crush them in the open field, and let their bloodstains upon it serve as a testament to my unbridled power. Bring victory to your King!” * * * “Halt!” said Luna as she turned to face her army. Her heart sank when she shot a quick glance at a pair of earth pony refugees, who had been muttering to themselves. When they grew aware of her attention, they quickly averted their eyes. This was one of many such occurrences in the column throughout the morning and previous day. Their despair had been palpable; Soarin and the pegasi's despair proved virulent. Luna shuddered as she looked up at Canterlot Castle, which grew larger as they drew closer, its towers staring down at them menacingly. She squinted. What looked like a stream of light trickled down the mountainside, starting from the castle's front gate. Even from such a great distance, there was no mistaking its source. The sun glinted off the polished armour of legions of the King's soldiers. She raised a hoof, bringing her army to a halt. “The battle draws close. Even now, King Cosmo's army is preparing to meet us upon the fields below Canterlot. We must now fight not only for ourselves, but the whole of Equestria and beyond!” “Why should we?” said an earth pony from Alpine Heights loudly. “Yeah, ponies who follow you are only asking to get themselves killed!” said a mare from Ponyville. “Cosmo can't be any worse than getting blown up!” “SHUT UP!” said Soarin over the din, flying over to Luna. “Look, nopony saw what happened at the Weather Factory coming. Take it from me, Princess Luna and I did everything we could to avoid a trap, but – but Cosmo outsmarted us. There was nothing anypony could've done. Soarin's outburst only served to stir the crowd's ire. “You don't honestly believe that, do you?” “What can you really expect from somepony who was locked up for a thousand years?” “She's too old-fashioned to lead us.” “Now you wait just a minute!” said Rarity over the din as she charged to Luna's side. “Princess Luna is a wonderful leader. Why, if it weren't for her, I'd be dead. Need I remind you of Ponyville? My entire life's work is gone – and the town, of course – which is only a hint of what's to come to all of Equestria should we lose here today. Living in a world where Cosmo is King is worse than death!” The crowd's outrage did not decrease until Fluttershy flew circles around Luna and Soarin, staring at the army intently all the while. “You can't just run away, not now,” she said, her voice barely audible. “Princess Luna loves and cares for everypony in Equestria. To King Cosmo, we're just tools for him to achieve his goals. He used one of our friends, to kill another, just because she was a threat to him. I'd never hurt anypony, but I will do what it takes to see Cosmo brought down!” “Me too!” said Applejack as she forced her way through the ranks to join Luna. “If Cosmo wins today, then everything and everypony we know and love will be gone, just like that! All he cares about is himself. Many of y'all saw what he did to poor Twilight! The one thing that mare valued above all else was friendship, and what'd he do? He just used it against her, and now she don't even have her own free will anymore!” “Free will...” said Pinkie. “Free will is precious. He took that away from me. I can't even close my eyes without seeing what he made me do to Dashie over and over and over and over again!” She collapsed in front of the army and began to sob into her hooves uncontrollably. Luna's mouth quivered as she found herself on the verge of tears. “Thank you...” she said to the five ponies gathered around her. “Soldiers, if you will not heed my words, heed theirs! They are ponies just like you: unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi alike. They all share one thing in common, as do you: they have suffered terribly at the hooves of King Cosmo. Before us lies his stronghold and the army that protects it. His grasp upon Equestria is relatively weak now, but grows stronger with each passing hour.” She pawed the ground and her eyes narrowed with resolve. “You are the only living representation of direct opposition to his rule. But know this: the longer we wait, the stronger he becomes and the tighter his hold over the land will be. We must strike now, before he can gather forces from all corners of the world, for once he does, he will sweep through any free cities like the Scourge of old that nearly wiped out the zebras. Soldiers, I ask, no, I beg of you, fight for what is right. Fight for freedom, for liberty, for free will! For if Cosmo triumphs this day, those things will be forever lost. I will march into battle and storm Canterlot Castle alone if I have to, for mark my words: as long as I still draw breath, I will never stop fighting. I do not care if Cosmo has one or ten legions at his command, for only one of us will survive this night!” Upon finishing her plea, Luna cast her eyes downward, not wanting to meet the discontented glares that had been boring into the back of her head for the past day and night. But to her surprise, she heard the stamping of hooves. At first it was faint, but it mounted in volume until it was akin to thunder, and the ground shook as the thousands of ponies in front of her roared with applause. Filled with renewed hope, Luna turned around and held her head high, watching a massive column of Cosmo's army forming at the mountain's base. The sheer size of the King's army exceeded even her expectations. She could not fully estimate its size while it gathered from this distance, but she guessed there were at least three full legions, which meant her forces were outnumbered at least three to one. She was sure Cosmo himself would eschew dirtying his hooves on the battlefield. By the look of things, the number of disloyal dragons did not outweigh those Iniquitus had brought with him. “As amusing as this is, we have work to do,” rumbled Iniquitus, landing beside Luna. “Cosmo's underlings will not tarry now they are on the warpath.” Luna nodded. “I thank you, o great dragon. I will never forget this, and I am truly in your debt.” “Spare me your thanks,” said Iniquitus, unsheathing his claws. “We care not for your petty family squabbles. I want Cosmo's head for the transgressions he has made against my kin, both past and present.” “Bring us victory on the field, and I promise I will do everything in my power to bring down my brother within the castle.” Luna turned toward Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, and adopted a hushed tone. “You four, stay close to me at all times. We will not participate in the battle for long; we must retrieve the Elements of Harmony from within Canterlot Tower before confronting King Cosmo.” “Uh, Princess,” said Applejack, scratching her head. “I hate to burst yer bubble, but there are six Elements and only four of us. We couldn't defeat Discord until we used all six!” “Once upon a time, my siblings and I were the ones who harnessed them. Mayhap I can use them once more in our greatest time of need.” “I – I trust ya,” said Applejack, straightening her hat. “Let's do this thing.” “Forward!” boomed Luna. “For Equestria! For Celestia! For freedom!” The ponies and buffalo echoed her warcry at the top of their lungs and began to march toward Canterlot and the mustering army before it. Both forces closed quickly, the dragons on either side circling overhead like oversized vultures. Once the armies were a short distance apart, hundreds of pegasi, clad in the uniforms of the Comets, rose from the enemy ranks to join their dragon allies, posing a significant numerical advantage over their counterparts in Luna's army. “Charge!” bellowed Chief Thunderhooves, as he led his tribe directly into the enemy lines. Mimicking the chief's warcry, the rest of Luna's army charged toward Cosmo's legions at a full gallop. Momentarily taken aback by the bloodlust of their enemies, Cosmo's forces hesitated for a moment before they rushed toward them, the long lines of the two armies clashing in hoof-to-hoof combat. The normally silent fields to the west of Canterlot rang from the sounds of pitched battle. Luna discharged a surge of white electricity from her horn, its tendrils brilliantly playing across the armour of a group of soldiers who bore down on her. No sooner had they collapsed lifelessly to the ground, than they were replaced by fresh bodies from the next rank. Try as she might, Luna gained little ground against the legions' onslaught. Even when Applejack charged forward and began to wildly kick the soldiers with enough force to crumple their polished silver and gold armour inward, Luna saw her army being pushed farther and farther back. Rarity's magical attacks, though less devastating than Luna's, were effective on the few soldiers she targeted, sending small stones through their eye sockets or hurling them high into the air. “Luna, above you!” said Pinkie, pointing above Luna's head. Luna's eyes shot skyward in the direction of Pinkie's hoof. A powerful jet of dragon flame headed straight for them. With not enough time to mount an adequate defense, Luna desperately grabbed ten soldiers with her magic and flung them toward the incoming fire. They intersected in a fiery blaze, and their blackened corpses hit the ground in a shower of ash and melted armour. “We cannot keep fighting like this; we must break through!” said Luna. She turned to Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. “The four of you, hold on!” Luna took flight and harnessed every ounce of magic she could. She enveloped her four companions in a field of white energy and pulled them along as she took flight, weaving through large pegasus aerial combats, deadly plumes of dragon breath, and a myriad of stray spells from the Canterlot unicorns. Between her desperate maneuvers, Luna managed to get an idea of how the battle progressed, and her heart sank. It looked like her forces were being steadily pushed back on most fronts by the superior numbers of the King's army. She gritted her teeth as she veered off to the side of the battle, seeking a suitable place behind friendly lines to land and concoct an attack plan, for a direct flight toward Canterlot Castle would be suicidal. When she had set a course for a safe location, she found her way blocked by a squadron of Comets, far more than she could hope to deal with due to her current magical exertions. Her expression hardened into one of resolve as she let forth a deafening, indecipherable shout accompanied by a bright magical shockwave. The Comets cried out and groped at their goggled eyes. She sighed with relief as she slipped past her blinded foes. “We need to think of something,” said Luna to the others upon touching down. “We cannot get to the castle walls at this rate, and we certainly cannot afford to stay out here; it is too exposed.” “Um... Princess... excuse me...” Luna looked down. “Yes, Fluttershy? What is it?” “Don't you have control over the moon, and now the sun... because...” Luna frowned as she looked skyward. “Not entirely. Upon the death of my sister, my brother appropriated control of the celestial bodies.” She took a deep breath. “However, I am the Princess of the Night. It will not be easy, as he will oppose me at every turn once he discovers my ploy, but I should be able to wrest command of the moon for long enough to accomplish our goal. Should I succeed, we can slip into the castle undetected.” Her eyes glazed over, and she began to emit a dark purple light, which intensified until it enveloped their group completely. Luna's wings fanned out and began to flap at a pace slow enough to gradually lift her into the air. The sky grew darker as she ascended, and the black haze of night pulsed from her body. The four ponies surrounding her began to see stars appear in the sky, but just before they were about to congratulate Luna on her success, an orange light ignited from atop the highest tower of Canterlot Castle. As the light grew more and more brilliant, so too did the sun's rays. Every pony, buffalo, fox, and dragon paused mid-combat and gawked at the spectacle in the sky. The moon grew visible despite it being midday, and it projected a dark mist toward the sun, as if trying to blot it out. But the sun emitted a blinding light that sliced through the haze, forcing long shadows to wildly wax and wane. Luna began bellowing in a deep, rumbling voice, chanting words nopony understood, her incantation intensifying the darkness. Over the constant, seemingly omnipresent thunder of Luna's voice, another voice made itself heard. At first, it sounded faint, but it grew steadily louder, chanting words of the same tongue. The voice was male. The two voices constantly shifted in volume, and as Luna's grew stronger or weaker, the shroud of darkness over the battlefield followed suit. The voices' cadence dictated the heavenly duel's flow. Gradually, Luna's voice began to drown out King Cosmo's, and the moon began its ascent to superimpose itself over the sun. “An eclipse!” said a Canterlot unicorn, galloping full tilt past scores of Luna's soldiers, who all had their eyes fixed upon the events above. “Somepony, stop her!” “Oh, no you don't!” said Rarity, charging toward the opposing unicorn. The two unicorns locked their horns in combat, sending a shower of multicoloured sparks flying in the growing night. Rarity noticed her opponent was a well-groomed mare, which hardly surprised her as even the rich upper class of Equestria was not exempt from conscription into the King's army. Both combatants exchanged a flurry of quick blows, each managing to parry the others' attacks, until Rarity spun around and gave the startled mare a quick kick to the chest. The blow sent the unicorn stumbling backward, the hit ringing off her armour. Rarity rushed forward and slashed her across the neck and chest, her horn's magically enhanced swipe piercing armour and flesh alike. Rarity grimaced when she looked at her handiwork. “I do not want to commit such a boorish act again.” Luna uttered one last word with a strong tone of finality, and the moon fully eclipsed the sun, plunging the whole battlefield into total darkness, save for the sparks coming from the battling unicorns and the bright flame breath of the dragons. “We do not have much time!” said Luna, reeling Rarity and the others toward her with her magic. She took off and sped toward Canterlot once more, four ponies dangling beside her as she neared their destination. The sky lit up like a celebration for them as the Canterlot unicorns fired wildly, but they were so inaccurate in the absolute darkness that Luna did not have to dodge them. She easily outmaneuvered the spells, dragons, and Comets between her and the castle. With one last burst of effort, they cleared the ramparts and touched down in the desolate streets of the city of Canterlot. As they landed, the sun began to rapidly reclaim its dominance over the sky. “We – we made it,” said Luna, panting. “But do not let your guard down, for there is no telling what awaits us. The five ponies cautiously trotted forward, the cobbled streets echoing with every hoofstep as they made their way into the fortress of King Cosmo.