//------------------------------// // Chapter 32: That Which is Lost // Story: Into the Black: A Mare's Tale // by shirotora //------------------------------// Twilight slowly awoke to the sound of medical equipment. Her whole body hurt, especially her head. The lights burned her eyes when she opened them. A glance at the machines told her she was relatively unharmed, though her body said otherwise. “Aden, you in the computer?” No answer. “Damn it.” She sat up slowly, not wanting to move too quickly, and got to her hooves. With her magic, she retrieved her leg and reattached it before jumping off the bed. Twilight's thoughts turned toward the events of their escape as she headed out the door and down the hall. The moments after Xander somehow got back up after her assault were a blur. One memory stood out above the rest, but it couldn't be real. Seth would never leave anyone behind, would he? She was so caught up in her own mind that she didn't hear Debby trying to get her attention, until she placed a hand on her withers. Twilight yelped and spun around, ready to attack. “Settle down, Twilight. I got the alert that you were up and just wanted to check on you.” Debby kneeled down to look her in the eyes. “Are you okay?” “Where's Curt?” was all the pony replied with. Debby looked away, unable to look her friend in the eye. “You need to talk to Seth about that. He's in the briefing room.” Twilight's heart clenched. She knew the only reason Debby wouldn't answer, but she didn't want to believe it. Instead, she ran away from the red-headed woman toward where her CO was. Being a small ship, she arrived quickly and threw open the doors. Seth was leaning over the Black Book, staring at it as if the cover held all the secrets of the universe. Twilight approached him and after a few moments gathered the courage to ask, “W-w-where's Curt?” Seth turned toward her. Twilight had seen quite a few shocking things in her time, but the one that shocked her the most was the tear stained face of the strongest person she knew. It was a sight she never thought she'd see, but it her told her everything she needed to know. Tears began to flow as the loss took hold. “You... you...” She tried to speak through her grief, but found it difficult at first, “You did? You left him... you left him behind... Why? Why! How could you! He was our friend! He saved my life! How could you just let him die?!” “Because it was him or all of us!” he roared, causing Twilight to flinch. “Do you think I wanted to? I had no choice! If we went after him, the destroyers would have caught us! This ship is not meant to fight like that, and would have been overwhelmed!” He collapsed to the floor, his resolve breaking, and began crying again. “He was my best friend since third grade... and I left him... I had to, but... I left him. After everything he's done for me, I left him to die by a goddamn zombie!” The grieving soldier drove his fist into the floor repeatedly, trying to vent the anger and grief. “Is it even worth it? All for a book?” Twilight sat down beside her CO, “He was always so good to me. He gave me more confidence and pride in myself than I've ever had. I... I used him... twice... and he was happy to be used just because it made me happy. I never even got the chance to tell him I-” “Good morning Griffins!” A load of confetti shot over them as a certain Chaos Lord made another appearance. “So I heard you retrieved a weapon. Nice job. Can I see it?” Seth and Twilight didn't respond, they just looked away from the intruder. “Oh, why the sad... fa... ces...” James' bright smile quickly fell as he looked at the book on the table. “What is that doing here? Twilight, tell me that isn't the weapon the Dratali had.” The fear in his voice was more than a little unsettling, and made the pair pay attention. “Yes, Xander was translating it for the Dratali.” Twilight said, “You knew that though... you've been playing puppet master to everything.. right?” “She lied...” he said, not really paying attention to the pony as he approached the book, “She fucking lied... god damn you Turmoil, why?” “What's wrong?” Twilight asked apprehensively. “We're fucked. If the Dratali had this and Xander deciphered it, then everything I've planned for is down the chaos damned drain.” Twilight stood up and looked at the all powerful spirit of chaos in fear, “But... you knew they had this, didn't you? Y-you've been in control this whole time, right? I mean, that's what Chaos Lords do, right?” James looked at the pleading look the unicorn gave with guilt in his eyes. “Yeah,” he nodded, “That's what Chaos Lords do, but...” He swallowed, trying to wet his dry throat, “I haven't been a Chaos Lord for thirty-five years.” Twilight and Seth stared at the being, blinking uncomprehendingly, for several moments. Finally, Twilight found her voice. “What do you mean you're not a Chaos Lord?” Twilight asked, wiping the tears from her eyes, “I've seen you do things only an all powerful being like a Chaos Lord could do.” “Like what, appear out of thin air? You can do that. Or make fireworks and confetti from nothing? Trixie can do that. Give advice that seems to be precognition? It's not hard with the contact network I have. That and I'm just really good at adapting to changing circumstances and predicting what mortals are going to do. You're an extremely predictable bunch. Other than those parlor tricks, what have I done? Yeah, I still have my magic, but I don't have the infinite source of power from The Boss, and chaos magic takes a lot of energy.” “Who's Turmoil?” Seth asked plainly. “She, along with Discord and Mischief, helped me make Avol,” answered the former demi-god, “She tipped me off about you and told me about her little contingency she put on Bob. She said you and Xander's head were all that came through, but she lied. That book changes everything.” “How?” Twilight asked, “What exactly is the Black Book?” James sighed, “Long ago, there was a powerful wizard even more powerful than our beloved Star Swirl the Merlin. One by the name of Yen Sid, his teacher. He was fascinated by the dark arts, but not in the way you might think. He believed that even the most vile, despicable spells could be used for good. That book represents his life's work, the Lux Abyssi, the Light of the Abyss.” Twilight looked to the leather-bound tome in awe, “But, if it's a book about turning dark magic good, why is it bad?” “Because, Twilight,” James walked over to the table and picked up the black book, thumbing through it's pages, “It still contains those vile, despicable spells. Like this one that turns another into a mindless slave, or this one that tears a soul from its body, or this one that opens a portal that sucks in everything.” “That one I'm familiar with,” Twilight mumbled, “That's the spell that got me into this mess.” “No it's not. This spell can suck in an entire city and crush it,” James corrected, “The fact that you're alive tells me Xander used Yen Sid's version. It's much smaller, designed to clear small areas.” He looked at the unicorn's face, and noticed the tear stains with a touch of confusion, “What's wrong? Why were you crying?” Twilight turned away as more fluid leaked from her eyes. “Curt didn't make it.” James' face turned to surprise, “What do you mean?” “She means he's gone!” Seth snapped, “Xander was doing something to Twilight, and he intervened so she could get away... he's dead.” “No he's not,” James stated plainly, “I put a spell on each of you to tell me the moment something happens to you. It's also how I find you.” The two soldiers looked up with in hopeful surprise. It took Twilight a few seconds to find her voice. “C-can you find Curt?” “I'll try,” James closed his eyes and focused, “He's in FTL space heading away from the world you were just on. I think I know which world he being taken to. I'll give you the location.” The former Chaos Lord was about to enter the location on the terminal, but was stopped by the pair of hooves that wrapped around him in a grateful hug. “Thank you,” Twilight cried, “Chaos Lord or not, you're helping us get our brother back.” James seemed a bit taken back by the display before softening and returning the gesture. “You may not know this, but I owe you more than I could ever repay.” “I'm calling the crew here,” Seth pulled out his datapad and punched a few keys. “Attention, this is the captain. All hands report to the briefing room ASAP.” --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- “I still can't believe you guys just assumed I was dead,” Curt feigned indignation. “If not for James' heroism, you'd have left me to rot!” Twilight rolled her eyes, “Be glad we saved your sorry ass.” “You did save him?” Pinkie huffed, “Well geez, thanks for ruining it!” “Uh, Pinkie... he's right there,” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, “They obviously rescued him.” “Well, duh,” Pinkie rolled her eyes, “Of course we know that now.” --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Aden, Debby, and Raak looked apprehensively at James. It wasn't that they didn't like him, it was just that trouble seemed to follow him. “Curt's alive,” Seth began with the most important bit, drawing everyone's attention, “James knows where he being taken and we're going to get him back. But first, James, keep your promise, and tell Twilight how to get home,” Seth demanded. “Very well.” James walked to the terminal on the wall and waved a hand over it. “Avol is in your nav-com. You can go whenever you're ready.” Seth turned to his hoofed friend, “Twilight, you've done more for us than anyone ever has before, but it's time you go home. You've suffered enough.” “No,” Twilight said sternly, “I'm not leaving yet. As much as I miss my friends back home, and as much as I hate all this fighting, I can't abandon you, and I can't abandon Curt.” “I can't let you get hurt. Curt would never forgive me. You're going home and that's an order.” “Then I'll take my fighter, steal a sled and go myself. You know you can't stop me. I'm more powerful and experienced with magic than all of you put together. ” Twilight's steely eyes told Seth she wasn't lying. She would do whatever she need to to rescue her friend. “Ha!” Debby cheered, “That's my girl! Hell, I'll even help.” “I agree,” Raak spoke up, “If we are to have any chance, we will need Twilight's power.” “Plus, I'm almost finished with her birthday present, and this will be a perfect time to use it.” Aden added. “What is this, mutiny?” Seth asked with a light chuckle. “Yes,” said four voices simultaneously. Seth gave a half-sigh/half-laugh. He knew it was no use arguing against the entire crew. “Fine, but no unnecessary risks. There's a good chance that Xander's there, but you are to avoid him if at all possible. We're just going to go in, find Curt, and get out. Where are we going James?” “RHJ-7603,” James answered, “There's a prison there they use for high profile prisoners. Being a human adept, Curt will likely be taken there to be interrogated about how he came to possess his magic.” “What else can you tell me about it?” inquired Seth. “Its defenses are nearly impenetrable unless you have half the Alliance fleet. It has a massive planetary shield generator that this ship will have no hope of penetrating.” “Great,” Seth ran a hand through his short hair, “So how do we get through?” A smile spread across Twilight's face, “I have an idea. It's crazy, but it might be our only chance.” “You gonna tell us, or are we just gonna have to guess?” Debby asked. Twilight giggled a little, “You're going to shoot me out of the mass driver.” Seth gave her a deadpanned stare, “Alright, this is why you need to go home. The stress is starting to affect you. You do realize how crazy that is, right?” “I already said it was crazy didn't I?” Twilight's smile vanished at the response. “I hate to say it, Pony Girl, but he's right,” Debby chimed in, “You'd be killed by the force of the launch alone.” “Not if we use an inertial dampening field,” Twilight argued, “We have two FTL sleds. We can take the ID unit from one of them and fix it to a launch platform.” “Even so, sending you alone is crazy,” Seth remained firmly against it, “Even as powerful as you are, you can't face several hundred soldiers, dozens of adepts, and likely an Archon or two. You wouldn't be able to bring sufficient firepower for that kind of thing.” “Actually, sir, that's not entirely accurate...” Aden said with a small grin. “What do you mean?” Seth demanded. “Follow me.” The four of them followed the technician down the hall to the hangar where a section was blocked from view by a curtain. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...” He pulled the obstruction away, “... Twilight's delayed birthday present.” Four pairs of eyes widened in shock, and four jaws dropped at the glorious sight. Twilight's face turned into one of excitement. She looked at the ship's captain and smiled, “Still think I can't bring the pain?” Seth hung his head, defeated, “Fine, you win. We'll begin planning immediately.”