Thirteen
Year 504; Equestrian Calendar
On a lonely beach, long forgotten by time and all but a fraction of a fraction of humanity, there sat a tower. The obelisk-like building was almost as ancient as the beach itself. For hundreds of years, less than twenty people had set foot on the sands of the small island. The balmy waves lapped at the slightly gravelly sands, generating a pleasant white noise. Just beyond the water’s reach, a young woman stood, watching the horizon. Her green eyes shimmered in the light reflecting off of the ocean, but the light was otherwise stopped by her black cloak.
“Waiting for the others to return?” a voice not belonging to the woman asked. She turned, her neat black and silver hair blowing gently in the breeze, and another black-cloaked figure approached to stand by her side. His hands came up to drop his hood, and revealed a creamy-grey haired young man of about the same age.
“Tug. I hadn’t heard you come down the beach.” The woman stated.
“I guess that means I’m doing my job right, then.” Tug stated, a smile on his face. “Rangers aren’t supposed to be detected, by friend or foe, unless they so desire. That includes even you, Lenora, skilled as you may be yourself.”
Lenora smiled, then turned her gaze back out to sea. “I am waiting for the return of the others, to see what they have done this time.” She ended her sentence with the tiniest trace of malice, a gesture which was not lost on her companion.
“I know how you feel. It seems that the viler the act committed by the Order anymore, the less likely you, Alex and I are to be told about any of the details of it. Max is often involved, but more and more often it’s just been those core five calling the shots… I don’t like it. I hate that Gilda has more power and influence than me now. The little brat doesn’t deserve it.”
Lenora nodded solemnly. “I once thought there was hope for all members of the Order… this was surely a naïve dream.” Her voice dropped to scarcely anything above a whisper. “Number One is the very embodiment of anti-hope. The other four in his central circle are very rapidly losing any hope of redemption as well, and I’m scared that he might target Max next. Tug… I think we should consider running away. Leaving the Order and Sentinel’s Keep once and for all. We’re dead weight to them anyway, and if we stay, we may not have much time before they either corrupt or dispose of us.”
Tug frowned. “I agree that it may not be safe for us here any longer… but what can we do? It wouldn’t be easy to hide from them. And even if we could manage it, we both know we’d want to get back into the fight before long, to strike back at them. We don’t have the kind of strength to do that ourselves.”
Lenora sighed. “I know. I can’t abide bringing Alex with us either. He should stay safe, plus he would make flight from this place more difficult. Until we can find a better way to keep him safe, I’m afraid staying here is our best option.”
“I guess… Oh, seems our discussion is over. The others are returning.” Tug and Lenora cast their gazes back to the ocean, where several doors of darkness had opened. First, four unfamiliar figures appeared, then vanished back into darkness, leaving six stone spheres on the sand. Afterward, the five figures of the core members of the Order arrived. The large, inhuman shape of Lord Discord strode forward, surveying the stones left by the shadow forms. With a snap of his free hand- the one not holding the Blade of Blood over his shoulder- Numbers Two and Six moved forward to collect them.
“Move the Elements of Harmony to the basement.” Discord stated flatly. “Seven, I believe you have an appointment to make six years ago, and on the other side of the planet?”
Number Seven nodded. “Be back in five minutes.” She said confidently, in a female voice slightly younger than Lenora’s. With a slight flick of her wrist, another dark portal arose to envelop her, and she disappeared.
~
Scratch’s Journal
Doc and I crouched behind a dusty ridge, watching the horizon. We had been sitting motionless like this for at least an hour, maybe more. All Doc would tell me was that an actual member of the Order would be traveling through this area today, and we had to keep a close eye on them, perhaps even intercept them if it came to it. The sun beat down on our heads, and I was very glad for my new sunglasses. I wasn’t sure how Doc could see very far before us, with how brightly the sands of the Grann desert reflected the sunlight.
“Wait, hang on a second.” I said, breaking the silence. “I think I see someone approaching from the north. Wait… a whole caravan?”
Doc’s eyes opened slightly wider, and he looked to where I was pointing. I could detect a hint of surprise and interest in his body language. “Oh… well, this is a development. Seems we’re being graced by more than just a single member of the Order.”
“Really? Who else?” I asked, straining to get a better look at the party approaching.
“Keep your head down.” Doc advised, “It’s especially important now that we avoid being seen. I believe that would be the retinue of the princess of Daein.”
My eyebrows rose, and I squinted to get a better look at the caravan traveling down the road. I was unable to see the faces or details of anyone in the party, but I could see the waving Daein flag atop the central cart. If it wasn’t the princess, it was at least a noble party from the kingdom.
“Ah, there’s our target.” Doc said softly, pointing to the other end of the road. I shifted my gaze, and watched as a dark portal opened, and let a slight, dark-cloaked figure step out. I couldn’t tell whether it was male or female, but I could see a sword strapped to the figure’s back. He or she moved forward until they were seen by the royal convoy, at which time someone stepped out of the cart.
My breath caught in anticipation. The long, flowing hair- yellow, violet and pink- could not be mistaken. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the heir to the throne of Daein, walked gracefully up to the member of the Order, and the two clasped hands like old friends. I frowned, confused. “Why would the princess of Daein be allied with a member of the Order?”
“Manipulation is most likely, one way or the other.” Doc stated, his voice low. “But who’s being manipulated here, and who is doing the manipulating…? Is princess Daein being led on by the Order? Or is there a higher power forcing her to parlay with them? It’s certainly not the current king, he’s a good man, and would never deal with their sort. I’ve had tea with him on occasion. No, it’s either the Order or something else…”
The black-cloaked figure reached up and lowered the hood shrouding their face, to address the princess properly, and I was at least able to determine it was a girl. Her hair, two shades of blue, wasn’t particularly long, but was very messy. We were much too far away to make out what the two were saying, but it was clear that the Order member and Cadenza were discussing something. After nearly an hour of crouching and watching, and my legs growing more and more numb, the two finally parted ways again, back the way they came. The girl from the Order left through another dark portal, and Cadenza retired to her cart, to be escorted away back to the capital city of Nevassa.
Once the coast was finally clear again, Doc stood. “Well, seems we’ve found a new target. Come, Scratch, let us pursue that convoy. We must find the roots of the princess’s dealings with the Order.”
I nodded and stood, giving my sore legs a well-needed stretch, and Doc and I set off down the dusty road. There were no buildings or areas of cover for miles, so we had to stay a good distance away from the royal party. However, considering that most of the group was on horseback, moving at a gentle but steady lope, we didn’t have to struggle to keep at the ideal distance. The entire day crawled by slowly, the sun traveling west as we traveled north. We only stopped as they did, once for a brief break, and again at sunset to set up camp. When we finally came to a rest for the night, the sands had just begun to give way to grass. I knew that it would stay grass for a while longer, but would be snow in only a month’s time. Daein was known for its long winters, starting early and ending late.
We didn’t have a tent, but didn’t really need one. What got me down more was that we couldn’t make a fire, and had to eat supper cold. I looked in the direction of the royal party, able to see them by the light of their campfire, and felt a small twang of jealousy. Once we had made sure that they weren’t going anywhere for the night, I unrolled my sleeping blanket and quickly fell asleep, exhausted.
I had an extremely strange dream that night. Everything felt surreal, yet completely realistic. I could tell that I wasn’t me, exactly, but I felt completely in-tune with whomever it was that I was. I could access his memories as well as my own, and felt a degree of control, though not quite the same as I felt in real life. I certainly wasn’t human. Not much actually happened, but it was more the experience that made the dream remarkable. When I awoke in the middle of the night, interrupted from my dream, Doc was still sitting awake at the edge of camp.
“Scratch. You’re up a bit early.” He stated simply, and I proceeded to tell him about my dream in every detail. As I did, his face lost some of its normal warmness, and a thoughtful look overtook him. When I finished, it took him a moment to give me a full response. “Scratch, have you been keeping a journal of what has happened on this journey thus far?”
I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. “I didn’t know I was supposed to.”
Doc shrugged. “I suppose it’s my fault for not saying anything sooner. But it would be beneficial if you kept a log on what’s happened and what will happen to us. I especially want you to captcha- pardon; catalogue this dream, and any others like it you have in the future. Ones such as that tend to interlock and tell quite the interesting story…”
I nodded, raising an eyebrow at his correction but not really paying it that much mind. I didn’t have time to start writing a journal just yet. I still needed sleep, and we’d have to resume pursuing the royal party first thing in the morning. With a shrug, I bade Doc goodnight once again. The remainder of the night passed me by dreamlessly. Doc woke me up what seemed like only a few moments later, but I could see that the moon had travelled through the sky, and sunrise would come soon.
“The royal party is moving. Let’s be off.” He whispered, and I nodded. Our meager camp was soon broken down, and we continued our distanced pursuit of princess Daein and her retinue of black-clad soldiers. We hefted our packs and followed suit. We continued like this for almost two more days, before we finally reached the mighty city of Nevassa, over which loomed the fortress-like castle from which the king operated. Over the many hundreds of years, the city and castle had undergone countless renovations and repairs, and while they still maintained the old, classic architecture and design of the sixth century, they were decidedly more modern upon closer inspection. This was most apparent on the interior of the buildings, where the latest fourteenth-century technology was in place.
“This is as far as we’ll be able to safely follow the princess like this.” Doc explained. “They’ve gone into the castle, after all, and just waltzing in would be… impractical, more or less. Now, we could always sign up as part-time servants to the castle, though you might still be a tad young to avoid attention were we to do that…”
“You could always do that, and I could find another way of keeping an eye on her. There’s always some kind of work to be done in Nevassa, and one of those jobs is bound to lead me to cross her path sooner or later.”
Doc nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose that’s the safest and easiest course of action. We’ll set up a base in an inn, and begin tomorrow.”
~
Windmill Promontory, Ivoire
Scootaloo
I exhaled heavily, bored and tired, and played a few more idle notes on my guitar. Only four days had passed so far, and I could feel my patience thinning. I wasn’t the only one either, as I could see both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom staring up at the ceiling, waiting for time to pass. Luna was much more patient, but even she couldn’t deny that there was nothing to do in the pair of inn rooms. At least Angel was kept busy by running various errands in town.
Sweetie Belle sunk to the floor from her bed, then looked at me. “You know we’re going to leave the inn and go into town sooner or later, right?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I figured. Sitting around for two weeks seems really unusual for us.”
“Then what do you say we make it sooner?” Sweetie Belle suggested, rising to her feet and dusting herself off. “Exploring the island won’t kill us.”
“Right.” Applebloom agreed, joining us as we moved towards the door. “I can’t stand bein’ cooped up here anymore.”
“W-wait!” Luna objected, standing. “Shouldn’t we… we should stay here, we’re not supposed to leave…”
“No one said we have to stay in the inn,” I argued, “Just on the island. Besides, Rainbow Dash and the others won’t be here for more than a week anyway.”
“W-well…” Luna stuttered, still trying to find a justification for her unease. “Should we at least wait for Angel?”
“We’ll find ‘im in town.” Applebloom stated, opening the door and allowing Sweetie Belle to waltz outside. “Now c’mon Luna, you don’t wanna be stuck in here any longer than you have to, do ya? Let’s just get out and get some fresh air.”
Luna sighed, deciding she couldn’t win the argument, and rose to her feet to follow us. The four of us made our way swiftly out of the inn, pausing only to lock the door behind us, and we exited into the small city streets. Windmill Promontory was not a big town, but it was quaint and cozy. At the highest point, built into a hill and one of the stone pillars rising from the ground, was the village elder’s home and office, while at the bottom was a port where two or three boats were docked. Between the two was a collection of houses and shops, their windmills turning lazily in the breeze, about twenty buildings in total.
It didn’t take us long to find Angel, who was on the way back to the inn with some groceries. He was surprised and alarmed to see us outside at first, but just as we had with Luna, we explained our boredom and the harmlessness of going outside for a bit to him, until he gave in and went along with us. We didn’t exactly have money to spare, so we didn’t do any tourist shopping, but we just wandered around the small village of owl-people, enjoying the sunshine and ocean air.
Eventually we got bored and decided to head back to the inn, but as we trudged back down the gray path, I noticed another trail that branched off from it, leading further into the island than the village did. Several yards down the path, it went over a ridge and disappeared from sight. Naturally, I was curious to see where it led, and my pause soon got the others’ attention as well. I didn’t want to risk getting lost or stuck, but I really wanted to know the area around me, so I got the attention of one of the locals and asked him about it.
“Ah, nothing major back there,” he stated simply, “mostly just good fishing spots for the fishermen in market. I guess it’s a good hiking route too. But nothing dangerous or particularly interesting, beyond the occasional Fungus.”
I nodded and thanked him, then turned to the others as he walked away. “Feel like taking a hike, anyone? I’d like to see first-hand what’s back there.”
Applebloom nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, sounds fun! Feels weird not knowin’ the land, anyway.” Sweetie Belle, Angel and Luna all eventually agreed, so we set off down the path to see the rest of the island. The stone below still snaked upwards, though it began to take on a hint of red near the tops the further we traveled. Soon, a steep drop cut across our path, at the bottom of which was a slow river. Further along the ridge was a rope bridge that led to the other side, although there didn’t seem to be much of interest across it. Still, with nothing else to do, we began to walk down towards the bridge.
However, as we neared the path across the river, Sweetie Belle stopped and raised her head, as though having heard something. She lowered her eyebrows in suspicion, and sniffed the air experimentally. “Something’s off…” she muttered, then began walking quickly towards the bridge. Confused, the rest of us followed after her, until she came to a halt, just as abruptly as she began. “There! There’s some kind of… thing.”
Her description left a lot to be desired, so I followed her gaze down the path until I saw what she had sensed. Atop a hill on the other side of the bridge was a strange, writhing mass of violet and golden light. Surrounding it already were several hideous creatures only coming up to my waist, with no legs and only wisps of arms. They had no face either, but boasted a sizable array of teeth. They were all a shiny shade of red or purple, and I couldn’t have guessed what their skin was like. It was obvious they didn’t belong in this world, but more were materializing from the portal with every passing minute.
“Are these things with those Order guys?” Applebloom asked, nervous.
“No…” I said, “these ones are different…”
Angel, having just seen them, swore loudly. “Sulphur-spawn!” he spat. “We have to kill them. They only exist to cause pain. But if they’re here at all…” The Scrabbit gulped, but hefted his scythe.
I turned to him. “You’ve seen them before?”
“Seen pictures, heard stories.” he said quickly. “I’ll tell you after we kill them.” I nodded, and drew my spear. It seemed we would have some excitement after all. Applebloom’s swords and Sweetie Belle’s bow were short to follow. I looked to Luna, but once again, she seemed hesitant to fight. Of course, ever since the war ended there had been no need to fight, so it wasn’t really apparent to me, but I guessed that after all Luna had been through with the first civil war and her demented sister, she had probably had enough of combat for her lifetime.
Sweetie Belle opened fire on the things, striking one right in the back of the head. It wasn’t quite enough to kill it, because it turned around and howled at us, a strange, muffled snarl of a sound. The others soon joined in its cry. I knew better than to charge, to make the first move, and simply dug my heels into the dirt in preparation. The howls soon shifted from warning into attack, and several of the beasts leapt at us. Sweetie Belle let fly a series of arrows, all hitting their mark. When one leapt into the air to attack me, I drove my lance forward, impaling it in one hit. The slimy looking red form went limp for a few seconds, then sprung back to life, flailing around on the end of my weapon. Slightly disgusted, I swung the spear like a club, batting away a second one of the monsters while detaching the first and sending it flying.
Applebloom fought just as hard, one blade always spinning at her side, while the other sliced or stabbed at the monsters, then the second would come in to detach it and take over. Angel’s weapon was heavy, but with a long reach, and he made good use of it in bearing down on the enemies from behind our line. These creatures were stupid, much more than anything I’d fought before, but there were so many of them pouring from the portal that we’d be buried if we didn’t destroy it.
“It seems to be a portal of pure darkness…” said Luna, reading my mind. “It must be from another world, as we’ve never seen one like it. But if that’s the case, we should be able to cancel it out…” She nodded, her dark hair bouncing slightly, and she began focusing a mass of dark energy in her palms, drawing from the surplus of shadow forms that were rapidly littering the ground. Soon both her spell and the portal before us began to pulse, gaining speed as Luna’s counter-spell became more powerful. Just as we were on the verge of being overrun, the former princess raised her arms, and her spell flashed and disappeared, as did the portal itself. Without a steady bank of reinforcements, the Sulphur-spawns soon dwindled, and were quickly routed.
We all stood panting for a few moments. Finally, Angel spoke: “If those things appeared here, and in such large numbers… we may be in a lot of trouble.”
“What were they?” Applebloom asked. “Like Luna said, they ain’t from this world, they ain’t natural. Where’d they come from?”
“Where, I don’t know.” he answered. “But I can tell you this much: they’re called Sulphur-spawn, because in the past, their like was brought upon by the demon Sulphur. Each time they appeared, it was a signal that the demon was short to follow, and calamity with him. But… he’s dead! Sulphur was slain almost twenty-five years ago, not simply banished back to his world. He’s gone. But… why are his spawn back?”
“Could the Order be behind it?” I asked. “They’ve clearly shown that they have a firm control over all kinds of darkness.”
“Maybe…” Angel muttered. “Either way, we should tell the island’s elder about this.”
I nodded and let the others go ahead of me. Before I followed them, I glanced back behind me. Please don’t let this get out of hand. I just want to wait this out and get home to help with this battle…