//------------------------------// // Chapter 37: Convergence // Story: Eternal Night // by Lucaro //------------------------------// The Scions marched through the ruins of what once was a town. Persei was at the lead, looking around at the forsaken settlement. The smell of burnt wood hung in the air, and every time the wind blew, there would be eerie creaking sounds from the charred husks of the buildings. They came into view of yet another heap of skeletons, and Persei looked back at her soldiers. Their eyes darkened with renewed despair when they saw the pile of bones. “There’s got to be at least a thousand ponies in there…” a mare sighed from beside her, looking down at the tiny skeleton of a foal. “Let’s keep going,” Persei said, continuing to trot. They all began to move past the grim landmark. It seemed as if a sudden blaze had consumed the entire area overnight, Persei thought. Behind her, she heard murmurings of misery. “How is Equestria ever going to recover from all this?” a stallion asked aloud. No one answered. “Forget recovery,” another stallion responded after a minute. “How are we going to survive?” A mare began to cry, and everypony fell silent again. Persei sighed. There was nothing she could say or do to make them feel better. They hadn’t seen a living pony in what felt like ages. She trotted on, her heart feeling like a stone in her chest. The Scions were falling apart. Ponies were abandoning the cause, wanting to be with their families in the death throes of civilization. Persei had condemned the act of deserting many times, but she couldn’t blame them. They were running out of food and water, marching to a city that was the most heavily fortified location in Equestria. Persei looked down at the scorched cobblestones at her hooves. She had failed as a leader. They had set out from the Worldspine, so full of zeal and hope. Now, she was doubting everything. She had become the monster that she had set out to fight, and now that everything was withering and dying... She wanted things to go back to the way they were. Persei thought of her old village and the night she had to leave it all behind. She missed it so much. It had been so quiet and peaceful, living with Mother and Cepheus. The place had made her feel small and insignificant, but she had forgotten how significant she had been to the ponies who loved her. Now, she could never be that significant to anypony now. Persei looked up to the dark horizon. It was over there where she saw the high walls of Canterlot. White spotlights were mounted on the ramparts, and she could hear the shouts of guards. The view of the city gave her hope. It had been the first time in a week she had seen living, healthy ponies and electrical lights in the same place. Something was off though. The shadows around the city, past the searching spotlights, seemed as if they were all shifting. There was a red flare that shot up from behind the city’s walls, and flew in an arc over the mass of moving shadows. The red light illuminated what appeared to be a giant horde of ponies hidden in the darkness. Persei gasped. It was them. The flickering light revealed the pustule-ridden faces of the infected Dayborns and quickly faded. Persei raised her hoof, halting the advance of her soldiers. They had once sighted this horde of infected ponies pilfering the ruins of a town. There were thousands of them, all desperate and dying, leaving a trail of the corpses of their own wherever they went. “We have to circumvent them,” she whispered to herself. “We can’t risk infection.” She turned westward and her soldiers began to circle to the other side of the city. Arriving at the west gate of Canterlot, she saw lanterns, campfires and tents pitched at a safe distance from the city. She could see the Lunaran banner flowing in the breeze, and her breath caught in her throat. Never did she think that she would be happy to see them. Despite her excitement, she felt caution. Her brother could be in one of those tents, but what if she had succeeding in killing him? Persei’s chest ached. She faced her soldiers, who were also looking at the Lunaran encampment. “Fellow Scions…” they all looked up at her. “Here we stand at the edge of extinction. Here we are at the enemy’s doors, the same enemy who unleashed this plague upon us.” She puffed her chest out, declaring authoritatively. “An enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine.” She pointed her hoof at the encampment. “We must join forces with the Lunarans.” There were murmurs of dissent. “I know we have learned to hate the Nightborns,” she said. “But they are the only hope we have of getting inside Canterlot.” Everypony was quiet. Persei swallowed. “If anypony doesn’t wish to go with us, I understand that. I will not hold anything against you if you stay here.” Persei turned around and trotted towards the camp. She looked over her shoulder and saw that most of them were following. Relief washed over her. She had expected only a few dozen to come with her, but perhaps she had underestimated their desperation. Approaching the camp, there was a sharp chittering from within the camp. The bat-ponies rushed out of their tents, facing the army that was encroaching upon them. All the threstals had assembled outside, and among them she saw many Dayborn ponies. She faintly recognized some of her villagers, and she felt tears in her eyes. So, her suspicions had been correct. Everything Ultra Violet had told her were all lies. The Lunarans hadn’t killed them, but had taken them in. Persei hung her head in submission, wanting to be repentant before the witnesses of all the atrocities she had committed. She took off her helmet, and the Scions all laid down their weapons. The threstals stared blankly at them, unable to comprehend what was happening here. A Dayborn mare in armor approached them. Persei looked up, familiar with her beige pelt and soft brown hair. “Candle Glimmer?” she whispered. Candle stood before Persei, a mix of anger and surprise in her eyes. “What do you want?” the mare demanded. Persei looked up at her, remembering how Cepheus felt about her. “Candle, are you still?” she hesitated. “About Cepheus….” “I’m his wife now,” she stated herself angrily. Persei’s jaw dropped. Candle tossed her hair. “Yes, Cepheus lives. But I won’t allow you anywhere near him.” “Yeah! You hurt him!” a colt said, rushing up to stand beside Candle. Persei hung her head in shame. “I am so sorry for all the pain I caused him,” she looked up. “And all of you.” Candle snorted. “Apology not accepted. He only wanted to help you, but you killed him. He was actually dead for a while….” Persei saw Cepheus peering out from one of the tents, and Persei felt relief to see that he was all right. “Please let me speak to him,” she pleaded. Candle’s face remained stony. “I realize what a fool I’ve been, and I’m sorry!” Candle looked away. “Tell all the ponies you killed that you’re sorry. Tell that to Mayor Lavender. Tell that –“ “Enough,” Cepheus said, trotting past Candle and the colt. Wait a moment, she thought. Was that colt his son? Persei felt jealous. He had made his own family, and she was still alone. Cepheus drew close to Persei. “Sister,” he whispered. She looked up at him, shame in her eyes. Seeing him, he didn’t seem angry, but rather disappointed. “Cepheus, I am so glad you’re fine.” Cepheus shook his head. “Persei, you were raving mad a week ago. What changed?” She swallowed. “I realized that the mare who was my lover had betrayed me. She was just manipulating me to advance her own radical agenda. She had been poisoning me with radiation, filling my head up with tumors that made me act very aggressively and irrationally.” Cepheus blinked. “We need to talk,” he turned around and flicked his tail. “Follow me.” Candle tried to stop him, the colt following her. “Cepheus, she can’t be trusted.” “I know,” he whispered. “You and Dusty wait out here. I promise I’ll be all right.” Persei followed Cepheus, and she felt Candle’s burning glare on her backside. They trotted through the open flaps of the tent, and she saw two bat-pony stallions waiting inside. She recognized the pony who had rescued Cepheus from her was among them. They all faced her, and Cepheus spoke. “Persei, why are you here?” “I needed to see you,” she said softly. She looked down at her hooves guiltily. “I didn’t know that you had gotten married… or had a foal to take care of.” She felt tears welling up in her eyes, now becoming fully aware of the pain she had caused him and his family. “I am so sorry.” Cepheus remained still. “Persei… you have done terrible things.” She began to sob, and the two other stallions exchanged glances. “You vowed to kill all the Nightborns, you burned Nocturnus and Manehattan, your revolution was actually genocide…” Tears began to streak down her face, dripping down. She steeled herself, waiting for his condemnation. “But…” she looked up at him, her heart anguished. “I understand that you were being manipulated. It wasn’t truly you who was doing all those terrible things. You are not completely absolved though. You should have realized what Ultra Violet was doing….” Cepheus drew closer to her, and nuzzled her. “You are my sister, and I could never be angry with you for too long.” “I love you,” she whispered, tears still dripping. “I love you too, Persei.” Cepheus looked her in the eyes. “For what you have done to me…” Persei tensed up. “I forgive you.” There was a white glow from inside a sealed crate in the corner of the tent. The light faded as quickly as it came. Persei sighed in relief and embraced him, sobs racking her body. “You don’t know how much this means to me. I have changed a lot since we parted ways.” Cepheus nodded, drawing back. “But for what you have done to all those other ponies, I expect you to make amends somehow.” She nodded, grateful. “I will… thank you.” They hugged again, and Cepheus grinned. “Getting my forgiveness was the easy part,” he jested. “My wife is still angry with you.” She chuckled through her tears. “I am so glad to have you at my side again….” Cepheus nodded, smiling. “I can’t wait to introduce you to all my friends, the Lunaran Knights.” “Okay, okay,” the Lunaran commander said. “We can finish up this reunion later.” He turned and faced the other bat-pony. “Andre, tell them about the plan we have of getting inside.” Andre grinned. “This is the most hope I’ve had since this apocalypse began…” he pulled out a map of Canterlot, and set it down on the table. “If there is a cure to the plague, it has to be inside Canterlot’s research labs. But that’s our secondary objective for the time being. We must first….” There was a chorus of wails and screams from outside, and Persei rushed out of the tent. Cepheus and the two other stallions followed her out. It was unbelievably dark out here. The moon that had been shining overhead had somehow vanished, plunging them all into darkness. “What happened to the moon?” Persei asked. “I don’t know,” Cepheus said. “Something must have happened to Nightmare Moon.” Andre sighed. “This can’t be good. Hurry back in here,” he said, going back into the tent. “We must make haste with our plan to infiltrate Canterlot. But before that, I have a lot of explaining to do….”