//------------------------------// // The Battle of 'The Town in the Somewhat Middle of the Everfree Forest But Not Quite' (The townsfolk were terrible at naming things.) Part 1 // Story: Chrysalis's little Rush // by Evowizard25 //------------------------------// The sun was starting to set in the distance, when a small patrol of deer, three in total, took their place over a hill overlooking the town. “Anything to report.” The oldest of the three asked his brethren. “Nothing.” One of the others responded, scowling. He scratched at the ground in irritation. “A whole lot of nothing. Just like usual.” “Good.” The eldest said. “I’d rather have nothing over something.” “Well I’d rather have something over nothing.” The deer knight spoke up again. “This place is too dull for my tastes.” “You live in the Everfree Forest, laddy. How is that too dull for you?” The elderly deer of NI tilted his head to the side. “The monsters know very well not to trespass upon our towns and camps.” The deer knight said. “I haven’t seen any action since I first picked up my father’s sword.” The third knight rolled his eyes. He’d heard this argument one too many times before. Tuning them out, he picked up the binoculars that were wrapped around his neck and looked through them. He did have to give the griffons credit for one thing. This invention was quite nifty. He scanned the village. ‘Let’s see.’ He thought, looking over each thing while checking them off in his mind.‘Building intact. Check. Villagers safe. Check. Giant mustached serpent talking with a light green pegasus….Check? Living shadows running towards the village. Check……….’ He let the binoculars fall right out of his hoof. “Guys.” “Democracy is the way of the future.” “That system is doomed to fail, due to the corrupt officials that will inevitably take control.” “Guys!” The spotter said again. The two looked at him. “We’ve got a problem.” They walked over beside him. The spotter took off his binoculars and handed it to the elder. The elder stood still for a moment, looking over with the contraption. “Tray. Go warn the others.” T he spotter nodded and took off. __________________________________________________________________________________ Everyone just stared at the panting deer. “Say what?” Tim asked. “The town is under attack.” The deer repeated. “By who?” Tim demanded. The deer knight went silent, his face turning took on a frightful tone. “Who is attacking the town?” Again, the deer knight looked unable to answer. It seemed as though his very breathing stopped. “Answer me fellow knight, or I shall slap you silly until you talk.” “Shadows!” The deer knight nearly shouted, overcoming his initial fear. “Shadows?” Tim asked. He looked into the deer’s face, searching for a sign of mirth. “You were spooked by mere shadows? Do you honestly think I’m going to buy that?” The deer of Ni shook his head. “No. These were no ordinary shadows. They were alive. At least I though they were. They moved with a conscious of their own.” “How can a shadow just get up and walk?” Chrysalis asked. “That seems quite impossible.” “Tis ‘cause your mind is short and narrow, wench.” The Black Knight spoke up. “I know of these shadows the fellow here speaks of.” “And how is it that you know of them and not we?” Tim rounded upon him. “We, who have lived in these woods for centuries, mapping them to the fullest. We have faced every single danger these woods have thrown at us and then some. Yet, I have never heard of living shadows.” “Because they have not graced this planet for nearly a thousand years.” The Black Knight said. The group looked at him in silence. “A thousand years?” Tim said incredulously. “But that would mean…” “They are Vokunaar. Shadows as we called them.” The Black Knight said. “Servants of the dark forces?” Tim said. The other deer started to panic. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. ‘Dark forces? They don’t sound that tough.’ “The minions of Nightmare Moon have returned? But that’s impossible. She was cast away long ago.” Chrysalis’s eyes widened. ‘Dark forces? Nightmare Moon? In hindsight, I should have made that connection.’ She felt a small shiver of fear run down her spine. That was one mare she certainly did not want to meet again, in one form or another. “Obviously she has escaped her imprisonment.” Chrysalis could hear a tint of happiness in his voice. “Then we should strike them now.” One of the deer of Ni spoke up, stepping forward. “We’ll show her that these woods belong to the Deer Who Say Ni.” The Black Knight laughed. “What?” The knight sounded peeved, stomping a hoof onto the ground. “The lady Nightmare will not be scared away by some foolish deer.” The Black Knight said. “She is the embodiment the darkness within us all. The savior that the pony race needs.” Chrysalis couldn’t but look at him, incredulously. “Savior? She was going to plunge the world into darkness.” “For the benefit of our species.” The Black Knight put a hoof to his chest. “Lest we give way for the other creatures of this world to take what is rightfully ours.” “You make it sound as if you’re going to join them.” Chrysalis said, which caused all the deers to go on the defensive. They clutched their spears and aimed it at the gargantuan Earth pony. The Black Knight looked to Sugar. The little filly was underneath her mother, unsure of what the grown-ups were talking about. He sighed. “The darkness affects the hearts of the pure and the young. I am no fool. I know the evil that lurks within the shadows and I will not let harm come to Sugar. On my honor, I swear that I will do anything to protect her. Even die for her. I owe her that much for besting me.” “She bested you?” Tim said. The other deer started to laugh. “A little earth pony filly bested the famed Black Knight.” He started to join in on the laughter. Chrysalis couldn’t help but chuckle along, just for the sake of irritating the oaf. Sugar sent Tim a small glare, before looking at the large stallion with an expression that read ‘Sorry’. The Black Knight growled. “Her cuteness is not something to be taken lightly.” “I can imagine.” Tim stopped his laughter. “Now honor and morals aside, we still have a problem. And we must stop it, at once.” “That is your problem, not ours.” Chrysalis stated. “If you excuse us, we’ll be on our way.” Chrysalis motioned to go on, but the large stallion blocked her way with a hoof. “What are you doing?” “We cannot leave.” The Black Knight said. “Oh, please do.” Tim gestured to Chrysalis. “This mare is starting to annoy me.” Chrysalis shot him a glare. “We cannot leave.” The Black Knight repeated. “The specters will kill everyone within the village. And they won’t stop there. We must strike now, before the sun sets fully. Else they will have the advantage.” “Then what are we waiting for?” Tim drew one of his trusty sporks from his side. “Let us be off.” “Good luck with that.” Chrysalis smiled, giving a small wave. ‘Hopefully, one of these ‘shadows’ will tear this deer’s head off.’ “You’re not coming, wench?” The Black Knight asked. Chrysalis faked an apologetic smile and pulled Sugar close to her. “Someone needs to look after little Sugar here.” “Bloodshed would do her much good.” The Black Knight lowered his head to the filly’s level. “The feel of someone’s life-force slipping away by your hoof is like no other sensation on this world.” “Umm, no thanks.” The little filly squeaked out, trying to look invisible underneath her 'mother'. Chrysalis sent him a small glare. Fear did nothing for her little filly as well as her. The Black Knight snorted. “Mares.” He then ran off, with the deer close by. “You.” Tim said, pointing to the messenger deer. “Stay with them.” The deer nodded. The leader then ran off after his kindred. Chrysalis sighed happily. ‘Finally, those idiots are gone.’ She then felt something tug on her mane. She looked down at her supposed daughter. “Yes?” “Can we play tea party?” Sugar said. “Princess Celestia and Captain Strong Hoof miss those.” Chrysalis cringed. It was bad enough she had to play little games and such, but to play with her aunt’s figurine, after she had attacked and been expunged from her domain, was a bit much. “Sure.” She said with some scorn. “YAY!” Sugar Rush hugged her leg. The little filly let go and pulled her inside the wagon. The deer knight chuckled at the sight, causing the changeling queen to send him a death glare. He stood at attention and didn’t utter a word afterwards. ___________________________________________________________________________________ The group ran through the forest at full speed. “Say,” Tim spoke up, running beside the Black Knight. “How tough are these ‘shadows’?” “Not very, but they make up for that with numbers.” Tim chuckled. “Then what are we worrying about? My warriors can shred through their ranks like they were nothing but leaves.” “Yes, they could,” The Black Knight said. “But eventually, they will overtake your warriors. We must find the Shadow Master.” “The Shadow Master? You mean someone is controlling them?” The Black Knight nodded. “The ‘Shadows’ will continue to appear and attack until their master is slain or has retreated.” “Shouldn’t be too hard. We’ll just be on the lookout for some creature of darkness spewing nonsense.” “Actually, it’ll look more like a pony wearing a black cloak and white insignias all over.” “That doesn’t sound nearly as impressive as what I had imagined.” Tim looked a little put out. “Thine trust should be put in me.” The Black Knight remarked. “They are most hardy foes.” “I’ll take you word, sir knight.” Tim said. Their talk stopped that moment, for a loud scream pierced the air. Another followed, and another, and another. The group pushed into overdrive, running as fast as they could. The Black Knight thanked the princess of the night for granting him such great stamina, else he would fall behind. Deer were, by nature, much faster then ponies. So, with this new gusto, they made it to the hill, overlooking the town. They didn’t need goggles to see what was happening. Random blasts popped here and there and blackness swept itself through, as if it were alive. The Black Knight could see Tim reeling in anger. He smiled.‘Good. We’ll need that.’ Tim grabbed a spork from his belt, lifted it into the sky, and then pointed forth. “CHARGE!” He bellowed. ______________________________________________________________________________ “EAT THIS!” Lightning Dust yelled, flying right through another shadow monster. Shortly after their initial attack, she had jumped into the fray. The black monstrosities were initially frightening (causing her pause as they sent spells ripping right through ponies and cracking them with their hooves), but her resolve won out in the end.‘Hey, I’m a future Wonderbolt. No shadow chumps are going to stop me.’ Shadows fit them perfectly. Their movements seemed…off. They would twitch, move around all the time. Another thing, they had no eyes or mouth. They were like just one big black blob, the shadowy form of somepony. They seemed to have a whispy aura. That parts of themselves would float around and then come back, only to tear away. These were only small fragments, but it still was very strange to her.‘I’m a pony in a magical land. Nothing should be strange to me.’ Yet, she couldn’t deny how unearthly they were. They certainly did not belong to this world. Soon into her fight, she had nailed one of them full on its side. The shadow monster immediately dissipated. For a split second, she thought she killed it. Then, she came up with something. ‘These chumps are just walking shadows.’ The most obvious answer, but an apt one. Again and again, she attacked, throwing them into walls, the ground, each other, or just flying right through them. The creatures were still dangerous, as she had to watch out for stray magic bolts and flying ones. She thanked Celestia (and Luna) that the sun, albeit dimmed, was still shining. Else, she would think herself done for, even with all her awesome moves. Three more pegasi shadows flew at her. “Oh, you want some of me too?” She grinned. With her superior speed, she zigzagged straight through each. “Ha! No sweat.” Suddenly, a black bolt of energy whizzed straight past her, causing her to flinch.‘Thank Celestia they suck at aiming.’ She looked down at the unicorn shadow. “Colt, you suck at this.” She stretched forehooves and dove downwards, smashing into the shadow. “Ha, my great grandma could take you chumps.” She hovered in her spot, smirking. Another shadow, an earth pony variant charged her. She simply flapped her wings once, getting over it. “Ok, you guys are freakin’ unbelievable in how bad you are.” With an inward sigh, she flew high enough over the town to get a good vantage point.‘Now where’s the real fight?’ She asked herself, before spying a rather large group of shadows. They were gathered around a small shop. Explosions of bright light popped up now and again. Her playful smirk returned. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only one kicking butt around here.” Flying right towards the large shadowy horde, Lightning smashed right through several. Touching her hooves to the ground, she quickly bucked another one. “So, any takers.” She addressed the large group surrounding her. Before any of shadows could answer, the entire area become golden yellow. Lightning Dust covered her eyes to block out the sunshine. She felt a hoof grab her and pull her along. The mare tried to resist, but a stern voice spoke up. “Young mare, you best come with me.” For some reason she listened and allowed the stranger to take her along. Her father’s words running through her head. ‘If you ever find yourself surrounded by demonic shadows, blinded by pure light, and hear someone tell you to come with them, go with them.’ Her dad was strange. When she heard someone close some door, she dared to open her eyes. It was kind of difficult after just getting hit by that bright light, but she managed. Lightning Dust saw an elderly earth pony looking out the window. He was wearing a sort of eastern style dress or something. A saddle adorned his side. “It seems they have been dispatched for now.” “Who’s been dispatched and why’d you set off some mini-sun out there.” The Pegasus mare rubbed her eyes. “Almost burned out my eyes.” The older pony snorted. “You’ll live.” His outward gaze scanned the streets. “That’ll buy us a few minutes.” He rubbed his chin. “Strange. These shadows are much weaker than the ones in the old tales.” “Who are you anyways?” Lightning’s eyesight finally cleared up. “Curio.” He finally turned towards her. “Owner of ‘Curio’s Ancient Secrets’ line of stores.” “You own a chain that sells useless nick-nacks?” Curio stared at her for a while with a neutral expression. “Not all of them are useless.” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like I thought. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have a town to save.” She started for the door. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Lightning snorted. “A bunch of terror wannabees. I’ve seen scarier snails than these losers.” “You underestimate the powers of darkness.” Curio told her. “Cha, I’ve never been afraid of the dark.” Lightning put her hoof on the doorknob. “Then let me assist you.” Lightning chuckled and turned her head to him. “You, an old stallion? Look, I know you want to help your town, but I’ve got better things to do then to babysit someone’s grandpa.” “Do not judge a book by its cover.” Curio walked past her and outside. Lighting couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that old saying. ‘Must be as old as this geezer.’ She smiled. “Okay old timer, let’s see what you’ve got.” ____________________________________________________________________________________ A single pair of eyes watched the two ponies depart. Hiding in the shadows, he knew that they would not see him. He smiled. ‘Good. All is going according to plan.’ He thought. His shadowlings had done their job perfectly. A dark chuckled erupted from the figure.