//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 - Sinister Presage // Story: The Darkness among the Stars // by Haseo //------------------------------// Chapter 13 Sinister Presage Princess Celestia reached the balcony of her sister in seconds, the force of her landing manoeuvre caused the marble floor to crack. The vitreous balcony doors shattered under the aerial pressure and crumbled to the ground into a million tiny shards. Her sister was already sitting on her midnight blue cushion and watched the stars. She didn't moved nor turn she her head to her sister. “Good evening my dear sister. What is so important that you had to shatter my balcony doors?” Two guards burst into the room that was connected to the balcony. “Is everything alright? We heard something shattering and... -” They were stopped in their tracks by the countenance of Princess Celestia. This was the first time they could see fear written in the face of their seemingly almighty ruler. The Princess didn't lose any time. “You two, search for Captain Shining Armor! Tell him that his sister could be in great danger, he needs to travel to Ponyville along with his best soldiers as fast as possible!” She created a scroll and a quill out of thin air and began hastily to scribble on the paper levitating in front of her. The Princess shoved it into the mouth of the first guard. “Give this scroll to Shining Armor, he should read it on the way to Ponyville. And now go!” The two guards bowed and ran down the huge halls of the tower. Luna never took her eyes off the stars since her sister arrived, she was still observing them. Celestia placed herself in front of her, with worry written in her alabaster face. “Luna, It's terrible! Twilight could be in great danger! She described a pony that is similar to the one who fought with us over a thousand years ago! Even his cutie mark seems to match!” Luna didn't paid her any attention, she looked still to the sky. “Luna! Listen to me! It could be your...” She was stopped by the dark blue hoof that belonged to her sister. Luna slowly released her but she didn't turn her gaze away from the stars. “Tia, look in the sky. Do you see the nine bright shimmering stars around my moon?” Princess Celestia pointed her gaze at the sky, searching for the ominous stars. “I see them, they are marvellous but what is the point? My student is in danger right now and you know what could happen if it is indeed he who has returned!” Luna still looked upwards, a deep sigh escaped her lungs. “The point is that I didn't set them there. These stars shouldn't even exist. I think I know to whom you're referring and I think you're right.” The face of Princess Celestia got even paler than white. Her eyes formed to small dots and her mouth stood agape. Every muscle in her body began to twitch slightly. In the far distance at the other side of the castle, a chariot was pulled through the sky. Four pegasi pulled a huge golden chariot where Captain Shining Armor sat. In front of him levitated a scroll. [/hr] Dear my faithful Captain Shining Armor, Your sister could be in great danger. You have to fly immediately to Ponyville and bring your sister and the other Elements of Harmony to Canterlot. If our suspicions turn out to be true, then we could be standing before a great battle. Whatever you find, defend the elements. I've added a copy from an old painting of the suspect. It's the black-coated unicorn stallion with the blue eyes. In case your sister asks why you're taking them, tell them it's for the Grand Galloping Gala that is starting soon, that they're special guests or something like that. Tell her nothing about the suspect! If you really have to encounter him, I have to beg you for one favour. Run. Take the Elements with you and run for your life. He is fast, faster than you can imagine. Don't even look back. Look behind and you're dead. Good Luck, Princess Celestia. [/hr] Shining Armor burned the scroll along with the picture with his magic and looked over the Everfree Forest that was stretching it's creepy mass over the ground beneath them. For a moment he thought he could see a purple flash at the corner of the forest. “I’m coming for you, Twily.” While the Captain of the Royal Guard turned his gaze again to the flickering lights of the village of Ponyville, the purple flash faded and a lavender unicorn mare appeared. She ported herself right to her friends. They were already waiting for her. Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Girls! You didn't find him?” Her friend’s faces were still occupied by a frown. Nopony wanted to say something while Applejack was listening. The farmer slowly stepped forward to Twilight. “Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Ah searched through the whole town and we didn't find any hints. Fluttershy is observing the forest from above along with her winged friends and Rainbow Dash is racing through the whole region. A few of Fluttershy's critters are following Rainbow to make sure she is safe.” Twilight knew that Applejack was smart, but didn't thought that she would organize everything that well. “All right, but how do you mean to keep Rainbow safe?” Applejack pulled her hat down to hide her face. From the shadows under the hat a small tear escaped and made it's way towards the ground beneath her. “He might be something special to meh, but that doesn't guarantee he won't attack her. He did so once and could do it again. We saw how powerful he is, and ya looked at him as we found them, even you hadn’t seen magic like that before. Ah can't risk to loose someone so dear to meh because Ah'm running after somepony who probably doesn't feel the same for meh, but at least Ah've to try.” Twilight's expression became soft and proud. She flashed a small smile and her eyes watered a little bit. She pulled her friend into a gentle hug. “That is very mature and wise of you Applejack, but I promise that you’ll see him again. I requested help from Princess Celestia, I'm sure she will send a few Royal Guards to assist us.” Applejack slowly turned around her hat that still hung low. She didn't look at them nor stop her tears. “The real question here is if we will meet as friends again or as enemies.” The three mares looked at each other with a worried expression. They soon followed her from a small distance. None of them said anything while they walked through the dark and creepy forest. Fog blocked their view towards their destination; they could barely see Applejack walking in front of them. The roots of various trees around them crossed their path and slowed them down. Though Rarity and Twilight illuminated the path with their magic, the darkness practically swallowed all light, which made it impossible to see. The atmosphere was dull and grey. The ponies constantly looked around them. The unkempt bushes around them seemed to move along with them. Small red eyes followed them, peeking from the dark in one moment and vanishing in the other. The leafs began to crackle and shadows moved, rushing through the darkness, hidden from the eyes of the four friends. They could feel them observing them, staring at their throats. They came to a stop as they reached a massive stone wall that bordered a small clearing from the rest of the forest. It seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky, reflecting the moonlight on the ground. The rocks were only loosely attached to the wall, any attempt to climb them would be senseless and dangerous. Applejack stood there for a brief moment, looking at the stone wall. She turned around and made a step towards them. “It's a dead end we have to...-” She stopped suddenly in her tracks and stumbled hastily backwards. The farmer began to sweat and her eyes widened out of pure fear from what she saw. Her friends looked at her with a puzzled expression. Twilight didn't get what was scaring Applejack to this measure. “Applejack? What's wrong? Is something sticking to our hooves or …?” She stopped talking as she could hear the creepy and dark voices whose owners Applejack could already see. “The beast and his army will rise from the pit of hell to make war against god.” Countless eyes watched them, surrounding them completely. There was no way out for the four pals. They slowly walked back but came to an abrupt halt as their plots touched the cold and massive hindrance. They stood with their backs against the stony wall. Slowly the hovering eyes formed bodies as they stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight. An endless horde of wolf-like creatures came into view. They were still whispering in unison. “We must feed. We must feed. We must feed...” They emphasized every single word as they got closer and closer. The wolves stepped fully into the beautiful moonlight of Princess Luna. Twilight and her friends had never seen something like this before, although it was somewhat familiar. Only the shape resembled a wolf. It had no fur nor skin. It's surface wasn't solid nor really liquid. Slowly, little drops formed from their black bodies and fell to the ground. Their whole body leaked this weird liquid. Everything on them seemed to be inimical to life. Their teeth were made out of the same material as their general bodies. Though their body seemed to leak, on the upper side of their body the material seemed to stream upwards and disappear into thin air with a light green radiation. But the striking feature were the marks on their foreheads. A turquoise shining rune was emblazoned on their heads. The mystical sign seemed to be drawn into the head and hovered over the spot at the same time. Twilight's mind tried to comprehend what she saw, her eyes wandered from one wolf to another. Her ears fell in every possible position while she thought. “Stop this instant and tell me what you are!” The creatures didn't even think to stop but they seemed to be willing to answer, though they were still speaking in perfect unison. “We are the legion of the beast. The legion shall be many; the legion shall be free. He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time.” A rock from behind Twilight flew in the direction of a wolf at the head of one of the creatures. The grin on the throwers face grew as the rock got closer to it's target. But the rock crossed it's head without causing any harm. Applejack's mouth hung wipe open, but Twilight began to smile instead. “They're not real! That means they can't harm us.” Right behind the wolf that survived the assassination attempt, another wolf walked next to a tree. It's claw only barely touched the tree but the tree began to rot from it's roots upwards. Dying within seconds. Rarity and Pinkie pressed together while Applejack prepared to fight for her life, she pawed her hooves on the ground and pushed air out of her nostrils, ready to charge. Twilight's mood fell in an instant again but the determination in her eyes still didn't fade. “Nevermind that, girls! I’ll teleport us away from here this moment!” Her horn began to glow violently, her friends and she began to glow in a purple light, before a loud cracking could be heard. “See, girls? No problem at all. We were never in real ...” Twilight couldn't believe her eyes, they were still standing at the exact same position. Her magic had failed. Applejack leaped next to Twilight, still tensed up. “What's wrong, Twi? Why are we still here?” The lavender unicorn couldn't respond to her friend, her eyes formed to small dots and she began to breath heavily. She stumbled against Applejack and pushed her along with herself backwards to the shivering Pinkie Pie and Rarity. In her despair she tried again to use her magic and attack the creatures in vain. Her magic once again broke and caused her to fall on the ground. Small tears escaped their eyes. All of them knew that this would be the end if nothing would change. The creatures were still seemingly whispering in a sing-along manner. “He is the sin; and the temptation and the desire and the pain and the loss.” The four mares hugged each other tight and closed their eyes, tears ran down their cheeks. Applejack couldn't bear her guilt anymore as the creatures had nearly reached them by now. “Ah'm so sorry! It's all mah fault! If Ah hadn't looked after him we would never be in this mess!” Twilight stroked Applejack's cheek and pulled her even tighter into the hug. “It's okay, AJ. It's not your fault, but I'm glad that I don't have to die alone. That I can make my last breath together with three of my best friends ever.” The four laid down on the muddy ground, their eyes firmly closed and still in a tight hug. They could hear the creatures lurking through the grass and metal chains rustling in the distance. The breath from their predators was already audible. The chains got louder and louder with every passing second. One of them had already leaned over Twilight. “The circle must be broken!" On Twilight's coat dripped little specks out of the creatures mouths. Her body tensed up, ready to take the fatal death bite. Only a brief moment passed as they felt an object painfully grating against their skin. Feeling weightless and free of every terrestrial burden.