//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: The Blind Side of Justice // Story: Stairway to Equestria // by AlexUk //------------------------------// Chapter 19 The Blind Side of Justice They say death is only the beginning, a doorway to a new world. He waits for you and guides you to it, whispers cold stories of truth into your ears, shows you what was, and never will be. You expect Him to give you the answer to the burning question that’s been on your mind ever since your last breath: why? Yet He doesn’t. He points at the bright spot of immaculate light and whispers “go on”. And you do so. You follow that iridescent point with hope in your heart, hope that soon your questions will all be answered and that you’ll finally be able to rest. But all of that didn’t happen to me because I hadn’t died yet. Not that time. *** *** *** My eyelids started irritating me, and a throbbing pain in my chest sprung up as I came to. The cold touch of the sea’s water against my back sent strong signals of pain to my brain. The gusty wind blew over my pained body and as I tried to move, my fur and skin tore and pinched from the dried-out salt covering them. My ears picked up voices and soon I noticed movement between my half-lidded eyes. The sound of splashing waves nearby raised and lowered in my head as I struggled to keep my conscience. The lights went out for a few moments. When I opened my eyes again, I craned my neck up to look around and a dark, feathery face was staring at me with a piercing gaze. “Is it him?” a voice came from somewhere outside my visual range. The gryphon before me raised his arm, his talons curled into a ball. "Yeah," he said, swinging it down. The blow sent my head crashing into the cold sand, colors and sounds mixing in a dazing spectacle of senses. I opened my eyes again, feeling the stinging pain in my snout. My hooves were held together with some sort of shackles but that became the least of my concern as I gazed to the side of the rather small wooden cart I was in. Stretching underneath me hundreds of feet below were eroded chains of mountains and valleys, much like the Dragon Lands. As I raised my head to peek over the edge I noticed the cart was pulled by the two large gryphons that had found me on the beach. My first reaction was to try and channel some magic and free myself however I immediately realized something was preventing me from focusing my powers. As I moved my head to the side, I felt the added weight of something on my horn. Magic suppressor, not this shit again . . . I let out a frustrated sigh and cringed from a sharp pain in my chest and sides. I tentatively took a large breath and the stabbing pain made itself noticeable again, in the same places. Ohh cool, broken ribs as well. I couldn’t manage to stay conscious for much longer, the pain and fatigue pulling me into another deep black-out. Somewhere in my mind a voice kept yelling, reminding me of what had happened before being found on the beach. Images of a ship lit by bright, white thunders flashed back to me. Spike clinging to a ratline in the middle of a downpouring storm, Pearl’s extended hoof millimeters away from mine as well as every torturous second after the ship’s smashing against the ocean’s water, all those images pulsed in tandem with a dull pain deep in my head. I opened my eyes again. Mountain peaks passed by, the high wind’s whispering sound telling me that I was still up in the air. I peeked over the side of the small chariot and I had to blink a couple of times, unsure of whether I was hallucinating or not. A vast city of stone lay in the embrace of an ancient tall mountain, its walls standing untouched by the centuries. Thousands of gryphons were flying in and out of the capital in orderly patterns, squads of armored guards patrolling all around the air space. My eyes were instantly drawn by their pure golden armors that shined ten times brighter than any of Celestia’s guards. The chariot suddenly banked, angling dangerously as I was thrown to the side of it, my bound hooves straightening the chains locked against the front of the cart. A tall, narrow castle-like building appeared in front of us, its base starting out from within the mountain the city was resting upon. We went straight through a gateway in the middle of the castle that seemed to be used by other guards and their chariots. The aerial docking bay inside the castle was huge, with hundreds of members of the Griffin Guards in transit to their posts and assignments. The chariot shook violently as we landed and the two gryphons that had brought me in called for their superior. Soon enough, an old captain arrived, giving me a glance before signaling his subordinates to get me out. They grabbed me and tossed me out of the vehicle, letting me fall to the ground. All my muscles screamed in protest against the sudden movement but I decided it as in my best interest if I didn’t complain at that time. “Midnight Blink?” the large gryphon asked, reading from a scroll of paper. “Yes,” I said in a low tone, trying not to stare right into his eyes. “Good. Come with me, your trial will start soon.” He then turned around and headed away towards a set of large doors at the entrance of the bay. I fumbled my hooves in an attempt to get up but another gryphon guard pulled me up in a not so gentle manner, pushing me on my way. I started walking behind the older gryphon, but keeping up with him was hard due to the chains that were keeping my front hooves tied. Every now and then, the guard behind me shoved me forward to keep up. On the inside, the castle looked little like the one in Canterlot, all the hallways having tall ceilings and huge statues of gryphons guarding every corner. Guard posts were mostly several feet in the air, their occupants watching me silently with their sharp eyes as I went under them. Several patrolling guards carried heavy chainmail vests underneath steel plates painted in the kingdom’s colors, wooden flints resting on their shoulders. We went into an antechamber, and the leading gryphon turned to me and pointed at a wooden bench nearby. “Wait here, you’ll be called in front of the judge when the next case ends.” He then nodded at one of the guards standing near the court room’s door and handed him the scroll from which he had read my name. Silence fell in the small room as I was left with the two unmoving gryphons. The inhibitor around my horn still irritated me the most, until I was hit by the sharp pain in my chest. I licked my dry, cracked lips and I was thus reminded by the fact that my throat was drier than sand. The doors to the court room swung open, and a chained gryphon dragged by two gryphons armed with spears came through. To my horror, I first thought that the one they were carrying was dead, however I noticed his chest still moving. “He passed out, probably when he heard the sentence,” a guard spoke, signaling me to get up and follow him. I got up and walked through the double doors, however I kept looking back at the gryphon being dragged out until the moment he went out of sight. As I returned my attention to the court room, I noticed the judge at the end of the room, behind a wooden stand. I gulped, seeing his stern, somewhat annoyed look. The guard leading me went to the stand and handed him the scroll of paper he’d been entrusted with. I found it rather weird that the judge was wearing a white gown with black sleeve ends and that there was nobody else in that room except for a line of guards at each side. The elder gryphon at the stand was feverishly writing in a ledger, throwing an occasional glance at me as I stood in the middle of the court room. He closed the book and unrolled the scroll he had been handed, giving it a once-over. The judge then cleared his voice loudly and started talking with a rather frightening indifference. “Eleventh case of the day has now started. The accused, Midnight Blink, is brought forth in front of the royal High Griffin Court to be tried in the incident that took place in the Equestrian town of Ponyville, which involved an official Griffin ambassador and the member of the Royal family, Gilda of the Razorclaw . . .” he took a pause, taking a breath. “As per the non-aggression pact signed at HoofRidge by King Arnost and Celestia you have chosen to be tried by our laws as opposed to facing eternal banishment from both kingdoms for your gruesome acts. Is that right?” He raised his look from the scroll and stared at me, waiting for an answer. I gulped. “Uhh, basically yeah.” “All right then, if there are no further comments, I will proceed to passing sentence in this case,” he said, grabbing a quill and opening the large, leather bound ledger. “Wait a minute, what do you mean pass sentence? Don’t I get to defend myself? Don’t I get to be represented by someone?” I asked, starting to feel nervous, my stomach tightening around itself. The judge raised an eyebrow at me, as if I had said the most stupid thing he ever heard in his life. “You have assaulted a High Griffin Official. There is nothing you or a representative can say that would make any difference at this point. If I were you, pony, I would have gone with the banishment.” My mouth hung open, the sudden realization that I was royally screwed coming down crashing on top me. The only comfort I had was knowing that they didn’t pass death sentences. That is, if Luna was to be trusted. “Attacking a Griffin amb-” “I didn’t attack her first!” I raised my voice at the old gryphon. My gesture drew the attention of the nearest pair of guards, which came to my sides and grabbed onto the chains holding me, as if they were expecting me to lash out. “- is an offence punishable by death under normal circumstances. However, since we cannot execute non-gryphons under our jurisdiction, I will have to do the next best thing.” My eyes widened further, a light tremble in my numbed leg signaling just how tense and most importantly, scared I was. “In the name of King Arnost and the High Royal Griffin Justice Court, I hereby declare you guilty. Your sentence: fight to the death inside The Cage,” he added while scribbling in the book as if it was the most casual things to write down. “Wait, what?! You said no death penalty! What the hell’s wrong with you?!” The guards pushed down on the chains, keeping me pinned to the floor. “We won’t execute you, pony. You just have to kill the thing in The Cage before it kills you. Quite a reasonable sentence for such a crime,” he said and I could see a hint of a smirk forming on the corner of his face. “Court is adjourned!” he then proceeded logging the sentence. The guards immediately picked me up and turned around. I found myself facing the double doors again as the two gryphons pulled me into following them. I craned my neck to stare back the old gryphon but he didn’t even spare me a look as the guards dragged me out. I couldn’t believe what had just happened to me. I had put all my hopes into having a fair trial, while facing my accuser in a lawful way. Minutes later we arrived at a cell block, somewhere probably under ground level, since the floors’ windows had been replaced by deep vents. The cell was freezing and dirty, a foul stench of rotten lingering all around. I lay on the cold stone, closing my eyes to try and block the atrocity that was my world. My fur was still sticky from the salt water, and the floor’s filth mingled with it as I stopped caring about cleanness. Somehow, I missed the cell I was thrown in back in Canterlot when Discord showed up. It was clear that the Griffin did not value their prisoners and criminals more than they valued putrid garbage. “Your fight is today, pony,” a guard announced me at some point. After that, everything blended together in a concoction of cold, filth and pain, the darkness of the cell acting like a powerful mortar. I took notice of my dried lips at some point, yearning for the tiniest drop of water, a drop that never came. In and out the world around me faded, as colorful memories of a faraway place lingered at the edge of my conscience. I had hope that Spike and the captain survived somehow. The ship was damaged in the storm, yet the last moments I remembered from the previous night showed a ship very much afloat over the troubled waters. The prison filled with the clinging of opening doors and a familiar shape stopped in front of my cell. It was a pony. “Midnight Blink?” the new voice spoke, a hint of concern buried deep in the strange accent. I stood up from the ground and got close to the bars, the faint light of a torch revealing a dark blue stallion, strands of white painting his dark mane. “I’m Clever Quill. I’m sorry I couldn’t see you sooner, I just found out that you were brought here after your trial.” “Wh- who are you?” “I’m the Equestrian ambassador in the Griffin Lands. I came here to let you know that they’ve found your two companions.” Hope blossomed and my face stung as a faint smile cracked the salt dried skin around my lips. “They found Spike and Pearl? Are they okay?” “Yes, don’t worry about them. The captain is trying to salvage what’s left of his ship and your friend Spike is with a trustworthy friend of mine outside the capital city. It’s not wise for a dragon to enter this city so he’ll stay there for the moment. Your two birds, the phoenix and that strange black one are also there.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Thank you so much for that . . .” “Don’t worry, that’s my job. Princess Celestia notified me about your imminent arrival weeks ago. I’m sorry about what happened to you, but it’s good that they put you to fight in The Cage. I had to pull all my strings for that to happen, short as they are.” “You . . . what? You made the judge sentence me to a fight to the death?” I asked, anger heavy in my voice. The ambassador went over my reaction. “You don’t understand. This was the mildest punishment you could have received here. It was that or life in prison. A prison far worse than this one,” he added, glancing around. The sound of metal doors opening drew the ambassador’s attention. “Look, I’ve been told that you would be prepared for a fight. You are either going to be put up against a gryphon with the same sentence or with a wild animal.” The talonsteps of an approaching guard signaled the imminent end of the ambassador’s short visit. “It could be a northern cockatrice or a mountain anaconda; they once had a sand Manticore but I haven’t seen one being used in The Cage in a long time,” he said hastily. “You will need to be fast no matter what you face, the cockatrice is almost impossible to dodge and the sand manticore is immune to all sorts of magic-” “Visit is over,” the armored gryphon announced. “Of course, I’ll be right out,” the blue stallion said, proceeding towards the hallway’s heavy steel door. “I will be in the stands, you can do it,” came a last whisper from him as he left the prison. I plumped down, drenched in relief. Relieved not because I knew what I would face, but because my friend was safe. I curled up on the filthy floor and tried to keep the low-burning flame of hope alive. It would all end soon, one way or the other. Sleep overtook me at some point, but a sudden metal clang jolted me back to reality. Panic seized my heart as I was unsure whether the moment of truth was upon me or not. Freezing cold suddenly swept the already chill prison row, a weird feeling forming deep in my stomach. I could only see the clear shape of a gryphon stopping in front of my cell door, the distant torch in the hallway unable to shed more light on him. I looked at the would-be guard but after several moments of him not doing anything, I lowered my gaze again, thinking he was probably checking up on me. His pawsteps made themselves heard again, but to my surprise, they became louder. I raised my head. The gryphon was in the cell, a couple of feet away from me. Fog formed in front of me as I could see my breath from the cold. There had been no sounds from the cell door opening yet somehow, the gryphon was right there with me. The poor illumination could only allow me to notice that he was a very dark gryphon, probably black feathered, and that he wasn’t wearing any guard outfit at all. “You are closer to Death than you realise, young one,” he said with a deep, chilling voice. He then reached down and placed a metal object onto the floor. I backed away the small distance there was between me and the wall behind, my heart leaping from its place. A small area around my flank started stinging. I turned my head and realised my cutie mark was ‘smoking’. A pale gust of wind, and the pain went away. I turned back to the black gryphon but he was no more, the ill-lit cell harboring only me once again. I looked at the ground and realised the object the gryphon had left was a mug. I approached it hesitantly until I saw its content: a clear liquid. Throwing caution to the wind, I clumsily grabbed it with my bound hooves and drank the whole thing up. It was water; clear, fresh water. “Thanks,” I uttered between my lips, salt-dried no more. *** *** *** “It’s peace that we wish for . . .” The six mares watched in awe as all the spirits in the old castle ruins stared back at them. The guards stood tall, time not being able to wane their pride and sense of duty. The night’s air made the six ponies that could still feel it shiver from the cold. “Yo-you’re all Royal Guards . . . what happened to you?” Twilight asked, looking around at each and every one of them. “All the ponies you see in front of you served in the dawn shift over a thousand years ago. They . . . we all died that day, serving our Princesses,” said the spirit of Bellona while stepping around the ruins. “And ever since then, we have been trapped here, where the Elements were laid to rest after our beloved Luna’s banishment.” “What happened back then?” Twilight questioned the lingering spirit, the need of an answer more desperate than ever. “Nightmare Moon,” a new voice came from the entrance to the old castle. Everyone, living and dead, turned their heads to the Princess of the Night, standing at the head of the stone steps. Hesitantly, Luna proceeded walking forward. The moon seemed to have risen higher, soaking the place in unfiltered moonlight. She looked at the spirits of the ponies around, her eyes filled with regret after the realization of what she had done so many years ago, dark memories tainting her mind with remorse and sorrow. With unspoken reflexes, every spirit guard stood at attention as their Princess walked before them. With unspoken reflexes, every guard stood at attention as their Princess walked before them. Luna stormed into one of the castle’s study late into the night, her breath hastened and her eyes sharp. “The nerve of her!” she spat, pacing around. She just had another argument with her sister over the night time celebrations and public events. Lately, she’d been having those more and more often. It started out as a jest, when she proposed to have an entire week dedicated to celebrating the night, a week of nocturnal festivities that would end with the Winter’s Night celebration marking the longest night of the year. Celestia at that time deemed the idea ridiculous, bringing in the argument that everyone’s day to day lives would be affected too much by such extended events. Later on, Luna had proposed just the Winter’s Night celebration alone, yet her sister dismissed that as well. Countless days and nights were spent arguing on what had become a serious matter, and neither sister was willing to compromise. That’s when she started hearing it, the voice she didn’t hear ever since she became a Watcher of that world. It was the same voice tormenting her as a Deathbearer, the whispers of death that lead to her life’s end during the previous Cycle. That night marked a high point in their conflict. When Celestia told her she shouldn’t get involved in Equestria’s official matters anymore, the voice in her head grew even more restless, even more taunting. A table flew across the room, smashing against a wall. Luna stopped, staring at the wooden waste left by her fit of anger. “No . . . no, no, no,” she clamped her hooves around her head, shaking it. “SHUT UP! Shut up . . . shut up,” the pleas left her trembling lips as she rocked back and forth, trying to control herself. Yet they went unanswered. Luna’s irises slit in her eyes, her mind clouded with darkness. The inner battle had been lost in an instant. Nightmare Moon lowered her hooves from her head, an evil smirk hidden by the shadows. In the throne room, Celestia was seeing off the last pony that had an audience with her. She didn’t normally handle the night hearings, however her sister and she just had another fight and talking with her subjects was among the few things that brought peace to her mind. She raised herself from the throne, the clinging of her golden shoes across the floor’s marble echoing into the great hall. “Well, well, dear sister . . .” a strange, yet familiar voice rang in the room. Celestia froze and her ears perked up. “It can’t be. This is impossible . . .” The guards along the large stained glass windows turned their head left and right, yet remained in their positions. The tall shape of Nightmare Moon walked out of the shadows of a pillar, slowing pacing towards her white sister. “Luna, no . . . you are not a Deathbearer anymore,” Celestia said hesitantly, dreading the reason for which her sister had taken that form. “Nor am I your pathetic little sister who hath no involvement in the ruling of this kingdom. Your arrogance and defiance towards our night is unforgettable,” Nightmare Moon spoke, getting closer and closer to her sister. Meanwhile, the guards had silently alerted the whole castle, the ones present in the throne room gathering quickly in front of Celestia. Their weapons were readied, yet not pointed straight at the dark alicorn. “Stand back from the Princess, whoever you are,” spoke a captain in the group. “Ohh, this is just lovely! Thine little ponies standing up for you. Be gone mortals, this is not any of thy concern. We are thy princess as much as she is, henceforth thou answer to me!” The guards didn’t move from their positions one bit, but pointed their weapons at the intruder. Nightmare Moon stared at the spear’s point that was in her face. “So be it.” A black tendril wrapped around the weapon and snapped its tip off, then, with lightning speed, plunged it straight through wielder’s head and helmet. Celestia’s wide, trembling eyes looked upon the body that collapsed on the floor, splattered drops of blood from the fallen guard painting her immaculate white chest and face. Before the other guards could react, she raised a shield between them and Nightmare Moon, stopping the stallions in their tracks. “GET AWAY FROM HER!” she yelled, and the guards started taking a few steps behind, but mostly because their Princess was also backing away. “Luna, what have you just done? How could you take the life of a pony? How?” “Spare us, sister! It is time we claimed what is rightfully ours. Too many centuries thou have ruled this kingdom as if it was only you sitting on the throne.” She resumed her slow walk, stepping over the already cold body of the guard. “Always superior, always the better, yet weak in taking the important decisions that need be taken.” “We rule this kingdom together like we’ve done for so many years. And now you take one of our subject’s lives because of your fixation on celebrating the night? Is it worth it-” “YES IT IS! Not only have thou ignored my rapport to the way this kingdom grows and ignored our simplest of requests, but you’re also a weak leader, Celestia. Our enemies grow stronger behind the pacts you so desperately try to maintain, and every few hundred years, they spit over them and strike our kingdom when least expected!” Nightmare Moon said, her eyes still leaking shadowy rage. “Peace is why we are here! We are Watchers of this world, we decided to be part of their lives because we could guide them and make a better world for them; not only for our ponies, but for all species across this planet.” “There will always be hate and resentment among mortals, that is what thou always forget, dearest sister.” The guards kept their positions despite Celestia’s repeated pleas to stand back. As Nightmare Moon got closer and closer she jumped directly at her sister, yet was struck down mid-air by a powerful bolt of magic, sparks and pure magic flying off everywhere from the point of impact. Nightmare Moon was thrown several feet away, landing on her armor-protected back with a loud clang. Celestia watched her sister in shock, and then looked for whoever had cast the spell. “I am here, your Highness,” came a voice from her side. Celestia turned to an armored mare, the signature sheets of white fabric adorning her armor fluttering in the aftereffect of her spell. “Bellona, you do not understand. Take the guards and leave, this is too dangerous-” “Nonsense, your Highness. We are here to protect you, and we shall do such. Guards, follow my lead! The enemy must not get close to our Princess ever again!” Rows of guards steadied up behind her, the elite members of the Royal Guard having made their way to the throne room once they were alerted of an enemy presence threatening their leader. The Captain of the Royal Guard, Bellona the Wise, stood in front of them, eyeing the recovering Nightmare Moon. Heavily trained mares and stallions held their weapons tight, not one bit of hesitation in their eyes as they stood in front of Celestia. A loud neigh pierced the night when the assault of the guards started, Bellona’s horn glowing wildly as she cast clones of herself to form a vanguard between the enemy and her troops. Silence fell among the ruins in the Everfree, Luna having stopped talking. “At that time I was still struggling to regain control of myself. The last thing I remember seeing through Nightmare Moon’s eyes was the sparkle in your eyes between your visors as you charged at us,” Luna continued, looking at Bellona. “After that, I was no longer myself at all.” Her voice was heavy and at the verge of cracking. The regret and sorrow for one’s actions couldn’t have been more apparent even if they would have been spoken out loud. “The battle went on for most of the night,” spoke Bellona for the first time since Luna had arrived, looking back in her eyes. “Princess Celestia soon realised she couldn’t possibly stop us from trying to protect her, even if my ponies fell left and right. It was not all in vain, not even my own death. The battle strained Nightmare Moon enough so that Princess Celestia could use the Elements of Harmony themselves to banish her inside the moon. It was the most blinding white light I’ve ever seen in my life. It was the last thing I saw with a beating heart.” She lowered her gaze, hesitating to ask something that has been on her mind for literally centuries. “Your majes-” “I’m sorry,” Luna said suddenly, her eyes still focused on the former captain of the royal guard. “I am so, so very sorry.” Bellona’s shaking eyes re-met the princess’s. “You’re here because of me,” continued Luna, her mind putting all the pieces together. “My- my sister never told me what actually happened after I lost myself completely. She didn’t have the heart to tell me the truth.” The former captain didn’t sketch any gesture at that, yet Luna didn’t need any confirmation. “It was our job to protect the crowns, and we did as such without any regrets.” “But I killed you; all of you,” Luna said, turning around and looking at each and every ghastly remain of a royal guard. “And by doing so through Nightmare Moon’s form, I cursed thy souls; cursed to never leave this world, cursed to lie undyingly next to the Element’s resting place in this forgotten place.” “And we would do it again if it would be demanded of us. However that will not be needed. The years of solitude did little to wane our hardened spirits, for we have trained our entire lives to serve and protect the royal Sisters, be that from enemies or even themselves,” Bellona stated, walking away, her eyes focusing on the city of Canterlot in the distance, barely visible between the old ruins and wild forest. Silence filled the night’s cold air, only to be broken by two soft clings across the stone floor. As Bellona turned around, she noticed her troops as well as the six colorful mares staring at the center of the great hall. There, to the mare’s surprise, kneeled Luna herself, her gaze buried in the cold floor. “I thank thee and your guards for your actions, Bellona the Wise. Thine acts of bravery and sacrifice saved these lands from a terrible fate.” A rustle started brewing between the rows of armored guards, their eyes darting around from each other to the kneeling Princess in front of them. Never in their lives have they seen or heard of one of the Princesses to kneel before anypony else. Bellona herself remained speechless in front of the unprecedented gesture. “You and the ponies under thine command are relieved of your duty,” Luna said, standing up again and facing the ghosts. “Wonder not into this world anymore, for thine right to a peaceful afterlife hath been earned.” The guards however moved not one inch from their lines, eyes darting from the Princess to their fellow captain. Bellona glanced over the ponies under her command, and with trembling eyes nodded her head once. One by one the guards stood at attention, presenting a last salute to their beloved princess before turning away and walking towards the sunset’s direction, into the ruined walls. Their outlines slowly faded away, having finally received the permission to stand at ease after centuries of wandering among the abandoned castle. Bellona watched until the last guard left the realm of the living and then turned to the Princess. “Thank you, your Highness; thank you for freeing our spirits so that we may finally rest.” After a moment, just before Bellona started following her men, she stopped and turned back. “I forgot . . . I will remain here for a while more; I need to talk to the one known as Midnight Blink.” Luna shared a quizzical look with the six mares next to her. “There is something I need to talk to him about how we both . . . got to this world. Let him know once he returns that I seek to speak with him; I will be here, waiting.” “Wait, you came from the same-” Twilight’s question got cut out by Bellona’s disappearance into the night. “-place?” she murmured, her eyes glancing around for any sign of the spirit. But she was gone. Twilight then turned to Luna. “Princess, are you all right?” The younger royal sister did not respond at first, her eyes focused on the place where Bellona previously stood. “I’m . . . fine, Twilight Sparkle,” she spoke softly in the night’s cold. “I need to be alone with my thoughts. Thank you for the letter and for coming here, but I must go now.” Without saying anything else, she spread her wings and flapped them once powerfully, vanishing into the night and leaving the six mares alone. “Ah think we should head back; the sun’s about to come out soon,” said Applejack, breaking the settling silence. “That- was it?” came Rainbow’s remark, accompanied by a disappointed sigh. Twilight shot her a bone-chilling look, silencing the pegasus. “It’s good that they finally came to rest, but I’m more worried about the Princess. She really didn’t know about what she had done that night,” Twilight said, jabbing idly at a few pieces of stone laying on the ground. They used to encase the Elements a few years ago, before Twilight and her new friends uncovered them on the night when Nightmare Moon returned. They watched in silence for a few more moments before deciding to return home. Back at the library, Twilight wasted no time, sitting at a desk and grabbing a piece of paper and a quill. Dear Princess Celestia, She stopped, pondering on what to report to her mentor about the recent events. But then she reminded herself of who really needed that letter. She put the paper to the side and grabbed a new one. Dear Princess Luna . . . *** *** *** A deep rumble shook the ground and walls of the dark antechamber. Outside the huge wooden door plated with rusty metal in front of me was a lively crowd gathered to witness my most probable demise. I stared at the entrance to The Cage, desperately trying to gather any shred of self-control I had left. I was elated, not being bound by chains or magic inhibitors; I was about to put this freedom to good use soon, however. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on what I had to return to: Spike, our pet birds, Ponyville . . . Twilight. A loud clang dispersed the image of the unicorn mare from my head, the grim reality settling in without delay. I closed my eyes as soon as I had opened them, the powerful light of the day greatly contrasting the dark environment of the Griffin prison I had been in the past hours. “Move, pony!” came an order from behind a door to my side. I tried to ignore the gryphon guard and took a deep breath before stepping outside. The deafening reaction of the hundreds of gryphons gathered to see me fight who-knows what caught me off guard. The Cage was a large arena with a round, sand-made floor and two heavy doors at opposite ends of each other, one of which I had just come through. Above me, between the fighting area and the stands was an actual metal cage, bits of gruesome remains hanging from the bars, tangled with blood-tainted feathers and other remains. The significance of that place’s name started to sink in. The crowd was restless and thirsty for blood, chanting a strange word over and over again that I couldn’t distinguish clearly. Surveying the crowd above me, I noticed a more separate, higher stand, where my eyes fell on a smirking Gilda, next to a few other high-class looking gryphons. Next to that stand, between the ordinary gryphons, I managed to spot a pony. Moving a little bit around and squinting my eyes to see past The Cage’s bars, I recognized the ambassador that had visited me in my cell. His worriedness betrayed his stern facade. As our eyes met, he pointed at his horn and shook his head. It wasn’t long before I found out what that meant. The opposite doors opened and a large creature stepped out. Its dark mane fluttered in the High Mountain winds as it placed one large paw in front of the other, making its way towards the center of the arena. As it walked, the beast stretched its bat-like wings in the sun, reveling in the sensation of freedom, much like I did when I stepped into The Cage. Its long tail swayed behind it, my eyes focused on the large sting at its end. “Sand manticores . . . immune to magic,” I mumbled disheartened, recalling the ambassador’s words. I was truly dead. There was no way I could have fought something like that with just my physical power. The creature was closing in on me, the noises from the crowd taunting her on. I backed away slowly, trying to keep a distance from it. The manticore charged and I instinctively raised a shield between us. Seeing the sudden appearing object, the creature let out a roar, stood up on its feet and lashed her tail at the glowing energy field. The impact dispelled it completely and even though the strength of the blow was not as big as I expected, the magic link between me and the summoned shield disappeared in an instant. "You fucking anti-magic piece of- Oh shit!" I yelped, the manticore’s tail brushing right through my tail as I jumped to the side in the last second to avoid the lightning fast attack. The start of the combat poured more gas on the flaming rustle of the gryphon crowd, cheers erupting all around the arena stands. I got up from where I landed in the sand and scrambled as fast as I could away from the creature. I was panicked, my heart about to rip out from my chest. I desperately looked around for anything that could have helped me fight the damn thing yet there was absolutely nothing I could have used to my advantage. The manticore lunged at me, its teeth glistering and stinger dripping a green liquid. Acting on instinct yet again, I tried to blast the air in front of me and send the beast flying. The air blast was powerful yet the manticore was not flung back as I expected. The spell stopped her charge for a moment as she looked around disoriented, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. Not used to fighting a lot of unicorns, are you? That was my chance. I focused, horn glowing a deep blue as I channeled magic around it. My opponent had already started to move towards me again. All the gryphons in the arena –and probably the ambassador as well- went silent as the glow grew stronger and stronger until it all imploded back into my horn. An instant later, a single spark at its tip ignited the air around, bright red flames blasting all around me. Fortunately, controlling fire wasn’t as hard as it seemed, and the chaotic blasts started focusing into condensed pillars that swarmed above me, similar to my black tendril spell. The flames were bright yet not particularly hot, the spell acting just as a visual deterrent to keep the manticore away from me. It worked, the beast was hissing and roaring at the flames, pawing the air in front of her. My short moment of relief ended however as soon as I realised my magic energy was being consumed way too fast just to keep the flames controlled where I wanted them. The cogs in my brain turned wildly as I tried to think up of a way to actually defeat the manticore. She was approaching me again, becoming undeterred by the wall of heated magic. The imminent threat was feet away when I decided to change tactics. The pillar of flames fizzled out and I stood on my hind legs, focusing my magic on the tip of my front hooves. When I smashed them against the ground, the whole arena shook, a powerful shockwave sending tons of sand flying through the air all around the manticore. My horn was dripping blue sparks of energy as I tried to maintain control over the sandstorm. I was not prepared for anything like that. The sheer control required to maintain that much sand in the air seemed impossible to achieve. However, even in my chaotic spell casting, the sand particles managed to swirl around the angry beast, causing it to back away. Just as I thought I had the edge, the manticore stopped and seemed to stare right at me, using her wings to protect the eyes from the dust and sand. “Ohh shit . . .” I remembered the creature’s actual name, figuring out how bad of a choice sand was as a weapon against it. With surprising agility, the manticore pranced at me and the next moment it was covering my entire field of view. I ducked and dived to avoid her maul, yet somehow her paw managed to hit me. The only good news was that it was the back of its paw and not the actual razor-sharp claws. Nevertheless, I was propelled to the side, smashing into the coarse sand, its rough texture burning through my coat. I got up as quick as I could, trying to shake off the huge daze I was in. The crowd’s rhythmic beats as the gryphons tapped their paws against the stands helped paint the surreal world around me. I was so close to dying, and I felt that despite my powers, there was nothing that I could do to save myself from being shredded to death by an angry, blood-thirsty manticore. My shoulder hurt like hell and any movement of that leg brought even more pain. I would not survive another fast attack like that last one. As I looked at the beast circling around me, getting ready for another jump, my eyes fell on the arena’s wall behind it. As fast as I could, I focused on the large, loose stone that was part of the wall, yanking it out. The beast sprung on its hind legs again, extending her whole body in the air like the agile half-feline she was. The rock impacted her just in time, deviating her course just enough so that it passed my side, her paws thrashing wildly as they tried to rip away at my head. The crowd was wilder than ever. I immediately raised the boulder again and let it fall against the beast’s tail, eliciting a painful roar from it. The appendage’s tip, a venom-filled sack with a sharp sting was hanging from the rest of the tail, a small patch of skin barely holding it attached. As the manticore flailed her paws around in pain and rising sand, I focused on the stone one last time. At that stage I was barely able to keep the levitation spell working so the rock just slipped from my magic grip, still landing however on my opponent’s head. Its thrashing around intensified as the crowd went silent and the beast’s loud roars turned to muffled chocks and hisses. Blood painted the clear sand of the arena, drops landing as far as next to me, accompanied by green splatters from the chopped-off tail. The gryphons watching the event started cheering again. They cheered for death and blood, not justice. The fight however was not over yet. Mortally wounded, my opponent’s violent flailing managed to send out one last attack. Its tail whipped through the air, and even though it was too far away to actually hit me, the poisonous liquid from the venom sack flew through the air, splattering on the sand around me. I backed away, but it was too late: a second spray of green substance landed on me. My face and back started burning and I let out the loudest scream in my life. I desperately tried to rub away the burning stuff that managed to get straight into my eyes, but the world around me had already dissolved into a green mess, then slowly faded to black. I could barely feel my body, and the last thing I remembered was a fade thud across my side as I crashed to the ground, the sound of the arena ebbing away into the depths of my mind. *** *** *** Fleeting echoes of the fight rang through my mind, jolting me from a world of dreams to a world of pain. In the middle of the surrounding darkness, I reached out with a hoof, opening my mouth to let out a scream that never came. My throat was drier than the sand I fought in, only a barely audible hiss passing through from my vocal chords. My breathing instantly intensified as I tried to figure out where I was. A softness underneath me pointed out that I was laying on a bed, but the rest was a total mystery. A groan finally escaped my lips, as the intensity of the pain started to settle in and focalize on my back and face. As I flailed my hooves around through the darkness of the room, claws suddenly wrapped around one of them. “It’s okay, dude; just relax.” My heart skipped a beat as I recognized Spike’s voice. I reached out with my hoof to his body, tapping his chest in the dark, not believing he was actually there. “Water . . .” His claws grabbed the back of my head and raised it gently. Soon, I felt the touch of a wooden cup against my lips. I clumsily held it, emptying its content in a heartbeat. “Spike . . . what happened? Where are we?” “You’re in a safe place. The pony ambassador brought you here from the capital. You won the fight, so they let you go.” A caw to my left notified me of Raven’s presence. “Ughh, my back. It hurts . . .” I said after another deep moan, clenching my teeth. “What happened to my back and face?” “Try to relax, Clever Quill patched you up well, the wounds will heal, but-” “Spike,” I cut him off, my mind starting to catch on with the lack of light in the room. “Spike, why’s there no light in here?” The dragon remained silent. He gently squeezed my hoof, and I could hear a faint sigh. “The manticore’s venom got into your eyes.” “No . . .” “Quill said he couldn’t fix it with his medical knowledge.” “Am I . . . blind?” I swallowed hard, tears forming around my injured eyes. “We’ll get back home, he said doctors may be able to fix it. It’s going to be all right dude, just try to relax for now.” “I’m blind . . .” Tears started streaming down my face, their saltiness adding to the burn of my wounds. “You’re going to be fine,” the dragon repeated, and I could sense he was saying it to convince himself as well. He didn’t leave my side for hours as I plunged into a painful silence, my mind becoming a storm of thoughts. Not being able to see was surreal, an abyssal darkness being all that surrounded me. The hours passed and the ambassador eventually showed up to talk to me. He congratulated me on defeating the manticore, admitting that my chances of survival were less than favorable considering my magic immune opponent. Between numerous apologies for not being able to heal my eyes, I found out from him that King Arnost himself was present in the crowd. The fight I put up turned to be an entertaining event for the gathered gryphons, yet the end result didn’t seem to please the king, or his niece for that matter. The ambassador was kind and tried to be as reassuring as possible, despite the current, grim situation I found myself in. He promised that I was going to get better and see again if I went to a doctor back in Equestria as soon as I would return. He even made arrangements in Open Beak to have Pearl’s boat repaired, hiring him to sail us back to the continent as soon as I could get out of bed. The eternal darkness however was eerie. Despite coming out of The Cage alive, I felt defeated. A fight with a great opponent had left me sightless, and all the reassuring words in the world didn’t mean anything to me at that moment. Eventually, I was left alone to rest with my thoughts, alone in the darkness. *** *** *** The painful reality blended with the dream world seamlessly. A sound perked my ears up. I ran a hoof through my sheets, reminding me of where I was. The sound of approaching hooves stopped next to my bed. The strange sensation I was feeling intensified as a cold draft sent shivers down my spine. I knew whoever was there wasn’t the ambassador nor Spike. I clearly recalled Death visiting me in the cell as He brought water to quench my thirst. But what was He doing there now? I gulped, gathering the courage to ask what I almost knew for certain. “Death?” Silence was the only answer I got. Something was not right. The chills I got, the eerie sensation I was feeling deep down in my bones were not the same as back in the prison. I hesitantly reached out to the side of the bed with a hoof, probing the darkness with my heart standing in my throat. It was met by fur, a chest covered in fur. My hoof wondered upwards across the neck extending out of it. A mane, and eventually further up, a horn. That was certainly not Death, yet it would have felt more reassuring if it were. I retracted my hoof, ready to call out for Spike. Somehow, I could almost hear the unicorn’s smirk creeping across his face. “Who are you?” I asked in a low voice. I heard a soft tap of his hoof against the wooden floor as I felt him lean over to my ear. “Me?” came back my own voice from his lips, “I’m your Nightmare.” End of Chapter 19