//------------------------------// // Chapter II - The Creatures of the Night // Story: Grandiur // by Takarashi282 //------------------------------// Grandiur, ears still screeching after the volume of Radi's voice, followed her through the square. She'd been silent, walking slowly, looking down at the stone beneath her feet. Sometimes she would mumble an inaudible melody to herself, the rest of the time quiet. She must have been recounting what happened? Grandiur figured, Should I ask? After he kept reminding himself that it was a horrible idea, the thought recurred to him. Curiosity slowly gnawed at his mind as he strode along. No, I shouldn't, he reassured himself, remembering her temper minutes ago. As the sky darkened further and further, more civilians trotted into their tents. A mother called after her children to come inside, mixed with the sound of fearful talking. "Will they come?" "How will we protect ourselves?" Grandiur was offset, wondering what entities laid in the night. The wind blew gently, rustling leaves of nearby trees, swaying grass ever so lightly. Light overcast gathered in the sky as the sun faded, the moon climbing, showing through the mist. Crickets' chirping filled the cool night air. Everything was seemingly peaceful, except for the restless civilians. Radi's pace hastened, trotting to the east to a smaller tent. This tent was angular like a dome, only rising about 6-7 feet. The wind lightly pushed the flaps of the tent open, revealing a mahogany bookshelf filled with books horizontal and vertical, angled slightly and some barely fitting on the shelf. The spines of them were girded with different color and design, ranging from beautiful vine work to straight lines, reds to blues and grays. Radi, having been there far before Grandiur, opened the flap hastily. She glanced over to him. "Grandiur, stop daydreaming and hurry!" she hissed. Grandiur snapped out of another trance, and trotted over to her. She rolled her eyes at him as she and Grandiur entered the tent. Bookshelves littered the right side of the tent with books pouring out of them. A mysterious object was on top of them, probably a weapon. To the left was a hay bed, a mirror, and a couple of pantries. On an oak nightstand were two horseshoes. One was a lighter smooth material, one of darker rough material. Radi equipped the horseshoes and walked toward a mounted torch atop a stone in the center. She rested her front hooves on a ring above, and struck them together. Sparks exploded from the strike, landing at the bottom of the torch. It ignited immediately, filling up a glass bowl, the area illuminating with light. She slipped off the horseshoes on the nightstand. "Flint and steel," she said, "Gotta love it." Freckles danced in Grandiur's vision. "It's-" he blinked "- really effective." Radi nodded. "It's really useful." "I'd imagine." He shuffled his hooves. "So, why are the civilians afraid of staying out in the night?" Radi looked at Grandiur oddly for a second. She assumed a grim facial expression. "The creatures of the night." Grandiur tilted his head a little. "The creatures of the night are pure dark essence," Radi continued, "they appeared when the Elements of Harmony were set off balance. "Ten years ago, there were six mares. These mares were Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack. They each represented one of the six Elements of Harmony. "The day came when the first of them turned into an Alicorn, Twilight Sparkle. She achieved this form by using the Elements to return cutie marks to their owners. Next was Fluttershy, who gathered the courage to speak in public, inspiring many through dark times. After came Rarity, reassuring her and many others that true beauty is not in the looks, but in the heart. Pinkie Pie was the second to last, learning to control her hyperactivity, and be more respectful toward others. Last came Rainbow Dash, shredding every inch of selfishness off her, doing selfless acts. "Applejack almost made it. She was sweltered in jealousy of her friends, and wanted to change just for the reward of becoming an Alicorn. Celestia saw this desire, and postponed the time of her transformation, hoping she would leave this desire behind. In anger of this, she rebelled, her element being removed from her by the Princess. Her anger had taken over her, dishonesty ruling over her heart, becoming a dark abyss within. "Two years later, she led an uprising against us. Applejack had accumulated an army of many, and they invaded Ponyville. The five friends battled against this threat, winning over the effort of their ex-friend. She was tried, and ultimately was banished from this continent to a deserted island. Ever since then, nothing was heard from her. But, since one pillar in sustaining harmony had fallen, the Essence of Darkness arose once again. "The Essence of Darkness began creating creatures of pure dark, unbeatable by those who stood against them. Only the ones who possessed the elements could rid them, but they were not invincible. With the help of her sister Luna, Celestia put a barrier on the boarders of every trace of civilization, a barrier that repelled the creatures. "But they wore off. Over the span of five years, they need to be recast. They have expired about a month ago." Grandiur digested the information little by little. "What do you guys do then, if you can't combat them?" "We hide in the light," Radi answered, "It's the closest thing we have to a shield." Grandiur nodded. The people are afraid of these creatures for good reason. Then, something clicked, a concern that chilled his bones. "What repelled the creatures, exactly?" "Light," Radi answered. "The radiance of many suns. Why?" It was just as he feared. "What's to stop them from coming into dim torchlight?" As he spoke, he felt something coil around his back hoof. A millisecond later, he was on his belly, being dragged into the darkness of the night. He scrambled about to no avail. Flipping himself over, he kicked at his hoof, dark fluid spurting from the beast. He continued kicking until the fiend grew limp. He kicked the body of the creature off him, and swiftly gathered himself to his hooves. "You too?!" shouted a voice off to the side. From the dim lights of the tents, he could see a red-maned stallion to his right. The same one he encountered minutes ago. "Grab a weapon if you can, we have to protect the camp!" Grandiur remembered a detail he had disregarded. It seemed that there was a sword atop the bookshelves in Radi's tent. He galloped back to her tent. Wind ripped at his ears as the dome tent zoomed closer. Why could he fight them off? Was Radi just overstating the power of the beasts? Most likely. But "You too?", he thought, Is there a group of people outside of the six that can stand against them? Grandiur burst through the flaps, skidding to a stop. Radi was backed up against the side of the tent, petrified as a cat-like shadow approached her. Without hesitation, Grandiur stood upon his hinds and landed his front ones on a shelf. The cross guards of a weapon were in sight, just barely out of his reach. He couldn't knock the shelf over if he wanted to; it weighed a ton. His mind was getting blanker as the entity approached Radi. Instinct kicked in, and his vision blanked. A sudden screech and the sharp sound of the sword stabbing into the ground reoriented him. The blade struck into the ground through the head of the night-like creature, dark crimson pooling around the carcass. Radi was frozen in place. "How did you - you have amnesia - yet how?" Grandiur shook his head. "I don't know." He yanked the sword from its place and galloped out of the tent to the square. He dragged the sword to the side, the weight not helping him keep his head straight. The sword was a little front heavy, causing the slight unbalance. The broad blade flickered as he sped past, going through each enemy that came to flank him on his right side. None came to the left, however, as the ginger-haired stallion hacked away at them. "Make sure none of the varmints invade the tents!" his muffled voice ordered. Grandiur nodded and circled around the camp with blade in mouth, killing any of the creatures near the tents. With every strike, energy was sapped more and more from him, until he struggled to raise the sword again. The fiery haired colt let up from time to time, the shadows passing his watch, only to be brutally slaughtered. Grandiur's heart drummed and head pounded as he dealt another blow. The living darkness was closing in on him. He couldn't lift his sword again. His knees buckled, his head fell, dropping the sword. The beings jumped on him, weightless darkness chewing at him. Grandiur barrel rolled, squishing it from under him, exposing his underbelly, unable to flip back over. More and more piled on top of him, clawing at him. A deafening sound filled the air, a sonic boom that ruffled the trees around him. Grandiur had only time to look up to see a blinding collage of colored light explode out toward him, knocking the beasts off. They flew into trees, tumbling head over toe across the field of green. Some launched in midair to greet the ground in a sickening crunch. Snow-blinded, Grandiur stood, wondering what had happened. A cloud of dust surrounded the source, a silhouette of a taller pony in the thick. As the dust cleared, it became apparent that it had a horn, and strange lumps of wings to its side. The dust cleared swiftly, revealing a feminine figure with a cyan coat, and a rainbow colored tail and mane. The ginger stallion propped himself to his feet, then realizing the figure in front of him. "P-Princess Rainbow Dash!" He bowed, shooting Grandiur a look for him to do the same. He bowed to the supposed princess, familiarity hitting again, this time stronger. I know I don't know her... but why do I think this? he thought, stress forming once again in his amnesiac mind. The princess stood regally in place for a moment, as if to give an important messa- "Dude! That was so awesome!" She pulled the red stallion to stand, giving him some air time. "I've been waiting to do that since the longest time!" She enthusiastically trotted over to Grandiur, pulling him up, lifting off at least a foot from the ground before landing on his hooves. He stood still for a moment. She is a princess? he thought, Well, I guess anybody can be themselves... She tilted her head at him. "So, who might... you be...?" She looked confused. They exchanged the confused look with each other for a split second, until Grandiur broke the gaze. "Grandiur... I guess..." She nodded. "You must be the amnesiac that was taken in today." He raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?" "Why, Spike! You don't know -" She cut herself off before she finished the question. Grandiur facehoofed. Every time he'd met someone, they'd suddenly forget first hand that he doesn't remember anything. "Sorry about that. But, Spike is the messenger for Princess Celestia. She's actually quite open about this stuff, especially... we'll have an eye on you." Naturally, Grandiur felt uncomfortable at this statement, and was wondering whether or not to flee from the place. He kept his composure, knowing that the civilians would probably mistake him for a fugitive if he did so. "Milady, if I may ask… why?” She gestured to the statue. "See for yourself." Grandiur tentatively strolled to the statue. What connection would his current situation have with this marble image? He circled to the front, and he saw it. Around the neck of the Alicorn statue was a necklace holding a diamond-shaped jewel. It was transparent, dark as the night sky. But as he closed in at the front, the jewel started to glow a teal light, pulsating dimly. What does this mean? he thought. "That is the statue of Princess Rarity." Grandiur turned to realize Princess Rainbow Dash had walked to his side, a couple feet from him. "This was built when she transformed into an Alicorn." She glanced at Grandiur. "Do you see that jewel?" Grandiur nodded and replied, "Yes." "You have to activate it by using magic." She gestured to his horn. Grandiur glanced around, seeing villagers exiting their tents, bowing to the princess. He sighed. "I don't know how to use it." Rainbow Dash was only more excited after that statement. "Don't worry, just close your eyes and visualize." Grandiur wondered if this rhyme was intentional. Even so, he did as she told him. She did posses magic too, after all. "Now, visualize the area around you." Grandiur pictured the statue of Rarity, along with the area between him and it. He nodded, waiting for Rainbow Dash's next instruction. "Picture a sort of electricity emitting off your horn. Not too much - Not too much! There we go... now imagine that magic spark flowing toward the amulet - Whoa! You missed. Okay, just picture it going toward the amulet; don't think about aiming. That's it! You got it!" Grandiur opened one eye tentatively, then the other. Behind the statue, a stallion and a mare carried a stretcher with a small colt on board, mane singed. Grandiur laughed nervously, knowing that he probably shocked the guy. He gave his heed to the necklace, and the jewel glowed brightly, energy pulsating around it. The energy pulsed faster and faster until a beam of light shot from it into the west. The beam was a bright blue color, stretching on for miles. "What does this mean?" Grandiur asked, slightly blinded by the beam. "This is the new shield. It was built by one of your kind, Grandiur. She integrated the system into the statue. I would tell you a name, but her name is a secret to everybody." Rainbow Dash admired the statue again, and turned to face Grandiur. "Your job is to activate all six statues. The mare I previously mentioned knows the locations of all. She resides in the north, not far from here." He nodded. "So, anything in specific I need to look for?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "She lives in a wide clearance of the wood. Near that area is a tall rock slab, sticking straight up into the air. Around it are smaller stones indicating time." "So the thing I'm looking for is a sun dial?" "Yes." Rainbow Dash seemed impressed. "If you continue north from there, you'll definitely run into the clearance." Grandiur acknowledged this with a nod. "Okay. I've got it." "Good," Rainbow Dash responded, "While you're there, I recommend asking her for basic magic lessons. Seeing how fast you picked up on the spell you cast just now, it won't take long." "Alright, I'll look in to it." "Great. You'll need more ponies to trek with, though. The quest you are embarking on is not easy, and you'll have to rely on each other." "Count me in," volunteered the fiery-maned colt, "Knowing his performance today with swordplay, he earned an ounce of respect from me." "Me too," said a feminine voice from one side, a voice he recognized as Radi, "I owe him. He saved my life tonight." I wasn't expecting people to join this quickly, Grandiur thought, Oh well. I guess it's better than none. "It's settled then. Crimson, Radi, Grandiur, I wish you luck." Rainbow Dash extended her wings as she started galloping, and flew in the air at an astonishing speed. Grandiur looked at the stallion. "Crimson, huh?" "Yep, Crimson Blade," Crimson responded. He picked his weapon up, staggering under the weight of it. He cruised slowly to a tent from the left side of the statue. Grandiur looked back at Radi. "So, has Crimson always been insensitive like he has tonight?" Radi frowned and shook her head. "No, not always; he was probably saying that because of his friends. They're idiots." "I'd imagine. But I was just wondering because we're going all over the place with the guy." "Don't worry about him. He's pretty loyal to his friends." "Are you friends?" "We barely know each other. I guess not." "Well I'd imagine that Teal -" Grandiur stopped himself. Gah... I dropped the ball, he thought, preparing for another snap. This time, she kept her sanity. "Yeah, he and Teal are friends. He wouldn't have known or cared otherwise." Her voice quivered slightly at the name, but was steady for the rest of the statement. Grandiur heard a whoosh of air above him. Rainbow Dash was flying high above them, dissolving clouds as she rushed by. The sky cleared and the moon showed its white face. The clouds dissipated after what seemed like ten seconds. "Of course!" Radi mumbled, just barely audible, "Clearing the sky in ten seconds is a thing with her." "Oh," Grandiur responded, "Well, it's quick and consistent." "True, true." They spent a couple moments in silence, watching the sky above them. "Well," Radi's voice shattered the silence like a broken plate. "We'd better get some rest, and you need to wash up tomorrow morning." She gestured to his blue coat, dirt and dried blood clung on to it. Grandiur nodded in agreement, following her back to her tent. --- Darkness came, yet he could not sleep. Burning questions plagued his mind. How did the Essence of Darkness come to be? Why am I able to defeat the entities that it produces? Does Applejack have anything to do with it? The more he thought the night's events, the more questions he had. Probably Radi has books on the subject. He squinted at the bookshelf. Not tonight, I'll research it tomorrow. He looked up at the tent ceiling, comprehending what had happened before he arrived at camp. It was all a blur. He remembered seeing Radi, the mare that discovered him. But something was off about the memory. He remembered seeing another figure off in the distance. A voice had whispered to him. He couldn't make sense of it until just seconds later. "Welcome back," said Death. --- Darkness absorbed the memory. He looked left and right, but no light was found. Not a single color was present… Until he looked behind him. There was a window, outside it, events from the night before replayed before him. But it was distorted. There were more dark beings than had been in real life. He and Crimson were outnumbered a thousand to two. They had ran out of strength, and were down on the ground, not able to stand. The dark beings pounced on top of the both of them, ripping them apart. Grandiur tried to look away, but he couldn't, watching the horrible scene as it transpired in real time. After the dark beings had devoured the both of them, they looked through the window, gray eyes looking straight toward the real Grandiur. He was able to move again, and galloped in the opposite direction as the beings disappeared in the darkness. Seconds later he was overrun, the beast carrying him atop their cold bodies. He toppled off a ledge, landing flat on his back at the bottom. He stood once again, shaking his head back and forth to clear his mind. He looked around him. Darkness claimed everything around him, except below him. On the ground was a figure of an 'X'. A red droplet diagonally from top to bottom, left to right. Below the droplet was a bright colored streak of some kind, the droplet intersecting it. Could it be a comet, perhaps? Upon closer inspection, he realized the head of the streak was shaped like a diamond. Would it be a tip of a sword? Grandiur tilted his head, wondering what this symbol was. Shortly after this discovery, the sound of scurrying emitted behind him. They're here. Grandiur ran from the sound, getting louder and louder even as he did. Voices blared out of nowhere. "Will they come? How will we protect ourselves?" "You too? Grab a weapon if you can..." "... didn't you and Teal...?" "SHUT UP!!" "Grandiur." "You have to activate all statues..." "Grandiur!" Light filled his vision, blinding him. --- Grandiur scurried to his hooves, alert as a frightened chipmunk. Nightshade stepped back, eyes wide, startled at this sudden action. "Let's go," she said, looking at him oddly, "The earlier we start this, the better."