//------------------------------// // 19 - Upheaval // Story: The Necromancer's Ambition // by KuroiTsubasaTenshi //------------------------------// The flurry of movement around me set my already reeling senses spinning. Most ponies took cover behind the closest object, regardless of flimsiness. Surely, dark magic would be no match for fences and flower pots. Curiosity seemed to have an unhealthy hold on them, as they paid little attention to the few who were smart enough to flee. As Gaelle rose, the purple energy swirled around her, licking hungrily at the air. Even though she was no bigger than before, there was this indescribable feeling that she loomed over the entirety of the town square. I forced myself to my hooves, as numb, sore and dazed as a weatherpony after a thunderhead mishap. Of course, thunderheads typically don’t try to murder somepony; effects I could normally spend a few minutes walking off were suddenly a big problem. I flailed, swimming through time as I attempted to get my body into a defensive stance. About half of it obliged. Gaelle let out a cruel laugh, her voice surprisingly unaltered. “Thought you’d won? That you even had a hope against me? Pathetic.” She hobbled forward, her newly revealed power apparently unable to do anything for a couple crushed talons. Or perhaps she was just too crazed to notice. With a wicked grin, Gaelle raised her uninjured claw, the purple flames gathering to form a dense ball where the very centre was a black maw that consumed all light. She gave me a pointed look before casually lobbing the fireball my way. My mind screamed at my body to move and almost a moment too late, I was half-leaping, half-falling out of the way. The blast made a strange, tinny, almost hollow, sound as it sent me rolling. Dust rained from the sky, pelting me every foot or so with a wave of stifling grime. Although, as I slid to a stop and the dust cleared, the smell of scorched earth made me long for the return of that bland dryness. Struggling to my hooves, I tried to put some distance between us. The fight had already bordered on unreasonably risky in the first place, but Gaelle had clearly shown I had no business being here. Escape was a dicey prospect, but I reasoned that if I could lose her among the alleys, I might have a chance. I glanced back at where I’d last seen Blaze, or rather, her spear. There was no sign of the weapon, nor that she had been foolish enough to venture out here. Good, at least she’s safe. There was a flash of purple and I barely ducked in time. The smaller fireball whizzed past, exploding with significantly less force as it collided with one of the unfortunate storefronts. The wall was seared away, charred almost unrecognizable black, as though it had been in a raging forest fire. But that was it; the rest of the building didn’t even catch fire. I shivered. I made for the nearest alleyway, all the while cursing myself for lingering out in the open for so long. Another fireball sailed over my head, but this one didn’t explode; it disintegrated as it impacted the ground, breaking into a fine, mist-like substance. I stepped way the hay back and reluctantly turned around to face Gaelle. “Going somewhere?” She grinned and the green in her eyes grew, creeping out into her feathers like some kind of alien tears. I didn’t answer; I could barely stop myself from shaking as it was. There was no escape, not if she could summon deadly walls at will. In fact, I was certain the only reason I wasn’t dead yet was because she was trying to corral me. So I was left with one plan. It was a terrible plan, but I had little choice in the matter. I would play her game, let her think she’d changed the terms. Then, assuming she made the first mistake, I would bolt. Or perhaps, however unlikely it was, finish the fight. I began to circle Gaelle, watching her movement very carefully. Her grin widened. “There’s a good girl.” I narrowed my eyes, but tempted as I was, I kept my mouth shut; this was not the time to waste energy on pithy one-liners. The staredown dragged out and it wasn’t until I’d made two full laps that Gaelle made her move. A crescent of energy, about as large as her claw, rose from her palm. I took a quick backstep and ducked as she flicked her wrist. As luck would have it, I’d guessed right, the blade cleaving through the air where my wing had been. Gaelle’s next attack came in low and I jumped, though just barely high enough for the sickle to pass between my legs, shortening the hair on my belly. My body surged, the close shave setting my blood on fire. But I wasn’t out of the woods yet. The third was a cleverly placed double-whammy: one behind and one in front of me. Seemed she was tired of my circling at hoof’s length. Presumably, she expected me to step directly away from her, setting me up for one last attack. As crazy as it sounds, that made the obvious choice ‘charge straight at her.’ Her eyes went wide as her neck once more came within blade’s reach. But my stroke never touched a single feather. My wingblade collided with a small, purple surface. An ear-grinding squeal filled the air as my weapon bit into the impromptu shield. I tried to pull away, but as I did, the shield shattered, an invisible force throwing my wing back, wrenching it behind me. Staggering backward, I fought to keep my balance, my vision lost in a flood of tears. Something, perhaps a talon, touched my chest and I tried to back away, but it was too late. Everything went white and my entire body exploded with the same pain and numbness as before. I tried to pull away again, but my senses were gone. I might have even passed out. All I know is that when I could finally see the world again, I was crumpled onto my side, staring up at Gaelle’s malicious grin. “Nice try, you almost entertained me,” she mocked. “Ugh…” was all I could moan, which wasn’t exactly the comeback I was looking for. She grabbed my mane and pulled me close. Strangely, I didn’t even feel it. “We’re going to have so much fun, you and I,” she said, chuckling a little with each word, “and you’re going to tell me everything.” Despair flooded my mind and I froze, not that I could have said anything meaningful at the moment. Once I was past the initial daze, though, I was able to fend off the darkness and get back to the task at hoof. I still had a chance. There would be an opportunity somewhere, I just had to hold out. Gaelle opened her beak again, the barest hint of a sound coming out, but then her eyes went wide. Her grip faltered and I slumped back to the ground to the tune of a screeching griffon. Once I was back on my side, I was able to get a better view of just what had interrupted our little conversation: the shaft of what I was sure must be Blaze’s spear was sticking about halfway out of Gaelle’s right hindquarter. I didn’t know whether to cheer or fear for Blaze’s safety. I think I settled for both. Blaze was charging in from behind and best I could tell, she didn’t have any back-up weapons. Although, as Gaelle turned her way, Blaze did at least have the foresight to twist the still-impaled spear. The blast that leapt from Gaelle’s claw looked something like a cone, with a texture not unlike the vapour from before. The shot was wide, but just close enough to graze Blaze’s flank. I cringed as Blaze’s cutie mark, then the surface of her flesh, melted under the power of the beam. Blaze let out a cry of agony, stumbling off course and skidding across the ground. No! I tried to stand, but my legs remained limp and detached from my mind. “Hah! Don’t you… dumb ponies ever learn?” Gaelle raised a claw, summoning a small fireball. “D-don’t… hurt...” I croaked, collapsing under more failed attempts to get up. Gaelled glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll get back to you as soon as I take care of this mess.” I mustered all my willpower and pushed again, straining like I was carrying a boulder on my back. I got one forehoof up, but all that got me was a better view of the fireball’s launch. As it spiraled the through air, time slowed down. That was it. I wasn’t strong enough. I’d failed. Again. And Blaze was dead for it, just like them… With a screech, a blur swooped down from the sky and collided with the fireball. It stopped abruptly, giving me one last look at the zombie-bird before it exploded. I tucked my head against my body as bits of zombie rained down around us with a sickening series of plops. When the sounds finally stopped, I stole a glance at Blaze. She had suffered the worst of it, unrecognizable pieces of zombie-bird covering her from head-to-hoof. If she was relieved at all, it was lost behind her ‘I’m going to puke’ face. “What the f—!” Gaelle began, only to have a zombie-pegasus slam into her, carrying her several feet away from me. They landed in a tangled heap, limbs flailing wildly. “Dusky!” Ivory was suddenly beside me, shouting into my ear and all I could do was give her a stunned look. “Are you okay?” I nodded, shaking my the haze from mind. “Yeah, she went easy on me, but Blaze… she… she needs a medic.” “We’re a little short on those,” Ivory replied. “Then go, do what you can. I’ll be.. fine,” I gave her a pained smile and though I doubt she bought it, she broke off toward Blaze. I set about working the numbness out of my legs, all the while keeping an eye on Gaelle’s scuffle. While it started as a wild melee, she quickly brought her magic to bear, cleaving the zombie’s barrel in half with one of her sickles. “Looks like someone else needs to be taught a lesson!” Gaelle fumed, forming a sickle in each claw. “Watch out!” I cried. Ivory didn’t even look Gaelle’s way. She didn’t need to. A cacophony of caws and screeches echoed through the town square. Everyone looked up. A great blanket of rotting feathers, comprised of what must have been at least a half-dozen zombie-birds, descended upon Gaelle. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. They danced around her, evading her sickles, all the while clawing and pecking at her face. She did get a few lucky shots in, but their numbers were many. She went down, though that didn’t stop her from swinging nor the zombie-birds from retaliating. Only with one final burst, a short, but intense ring of energy that cut them out of the air, was she rid of them. The shape that lay facedown in the dirt was but a beaten and bloodied shell. Ragged breaths wracked her body while the dark energy only seemed to have intensified, burning across her back like an ominous bonfire. “Stand tall, my citizens!” Prideful’s voice boomed from the balcony above. “This is a test! A test that I have been preparing for! For while Canterlot is content to sit on its hindquarters, I knew! I knew that there were foul creatures about!” I looked up and finally put a face to the voice. His blue-purple coat was as cool as his expression, radiating confidence as he cast a calculating gaze over the carnage below. There was nothing particularly sinister about him; he had no evil aura nor expression of malice. In fact, his was a demeanor much like Princess Celestia’s, even if his words were poison. Regardless, I was starting to see why he held so much sway and that thought was perhaps the scariest I’d had all year. The growing murmurs among the crowd only served to fuel my worry. That they’d been so skittish during previous, far less intense, situations left me with little hope for things to go anywhere but downhill. I turned my attention to Ivory, whose focus remained on tending to Blaze. Though she did sneak the odd wary glance at Prideful Policy from time to time. “And these forces of evil, who aren’t just content for their alliance to take us on, but have the gall to fight over us right inside our town, as though they own us, that is why I built the militia!” Gaelle let out a gurgle. What bits I could make out seemed to be half-coherent curses. I opened my mouth, but after a few seconds, profanity was also about all I wanted to say. Prideful Policy had presented the perfect counter-accusation by virtue of it being so close to the truth. If I was to object with the evidence as incomplete as it was, all the townsfolk would hear would be “Nuh, uh! That’s what you’re doing!” As much as it pained me, I had to let it go for now, lest I make the situation even worse. And with many of the townsfolk stepping out of their hiding places, some of who toted anything from rocks to splinters of planks, I was absolutely certain that said situation needed none of that kind of help. “Rise up and join your brothers and sisters-in-arms! Even if the Guard has abandoned us, we can make a difference! You can make a difference! Strike down this evil and their lackies!” Prideful Policy continued, his voice rising with each word. The other ponies were working themselves into a frenzy, shouts of agreement intermingled with variations of “Down with evil!” echoing through the square. To my dismay, it quickly became a unified chant; it was then and only then, that the full extent of Prideful Policy’s talents hit me. Before, it was time for me to leave; now, it was time to run for our lives. “Blaze! …” I paused, looking for a way to not out Ivory’s name. “Ivy! We gotta go!” The bulk of the crowd stalked toward Gaelle, which she responded to with gurgled threats and feebly swung talons. Seeing the best opportunity we were likely to get, I beckoned to Blaze and Ivory before I began what was some kind of strange hybrid between a hobble and a dash toward the main road. I tried to shut out the pained screeches as we fled the town square. Blaze was moving no faster and even had to lean against Ivory for support. I stayed slightly in front, scouting for anypony in front of us, but it soon became clear that those who wanted to fight were already out here behind us; the rest were huddled in their homes with their hooves pressed to their ears. The crowd behind us was steadily growing and gaining fast. They could easily have been upon us, but it seemed that everyone in the mob was hesitant to be the first to step forward. Despite being a frenzied herd, or maybe because of it, the fear of Ivory’s power held them back. But it was only a matter of time before someone did move and when they did, everything would come down like dominos. I slid back to Ivory’s side. “We need something to hold them off. Do you have anything left?” Ivory shook her head. “I… I can’t use zombies against them. They’ll kill themselves.” All I could do was try not to slump. She was right, these were hardly real combatants and likely do little more than provoke retaliation against a zombie. But if they caught us, we were done. It was a lose-lose situation and we had played right into Prideful Policy’s hooves. Fight back and forever paint Ivory as a monster that massacred a town. Or continue to run, get caught and have the knowledge we had against him wiped out with us. “J-just… leave me…” Blaze’s voice was barely audible. “No way. We’re in this together!” I shouted back, sounding far more confident than I felt. Especially after you risked yourself for me. That was when the air around the road started to… pop, for lack of a better word. Loud and short, the sounds were followed by a thick, white mist. The crowd started shouting about witchcraft and heresy as their forms were lost in the fog. Something tugged at my leg and I spun, ready to take on my opponent. But there was little more than a small, brass aura wrapped around my foreleg. Earnest! I nudged Ivory and pointed her off to the side. She nodded and passed the message on to Blaze. As we stepped into the alleyway, Earnest appeared from the mist and I jumped, nearly bringing my blade to bear. Ivory froze, her eyes suddenly a battlefield of anguish and relief. “E-Earnest?” Earnest looked down for a moment. “Ivory… I’m sorry we had to meet again like this. I… I owe you an explanation, but there’s no time for that now. The mist won’t last long and the townsfolk won’t be any happier once it clears. You have to go! Head directly to the fence! Once you clear it, the closest patch of forest shouldn’t be far.” “What about you?” I raised an eyebrow. “I’ll hold them off.” “What!?” Blaze and I both asked at the same time, though hers was more of a groan. Earnest shook his head. “Don’t give me that look. I’m just going to misdirect them. I have no plans to die here.” I couldn’t help but blush.