//------------------------------// // Ch.7 Tracks in the Desert // Story: The Origin Chronicles Vol. 2 // by SmokeShadow95 //------------------------------// Five friends set hoof in one place that they never thought they would see again. It was a place they never wanted to see again. A place scarred by darkness, madness. Fear and sorrow. Anger and rage. Appleloosa. It was once a nice little town, but now it was little more than a large pile of burnt up debris and rubble. The train ride there was relatively quiet. Now, all five of them stood on the ground of a ghost town and an eerie silence fell over them. They started making their way into town when one pony finally broke the silence. “Spike, why are we in this dreadful place again,” Rarity asked. “We are looking for a clues,” Spike explained, “Those Darkmares that attacked came from somewhere. We have to find out where that is.” “We understand Spike,” Twilight said, “I do have one question, though, if you don't mind. “Go ahead and ask,” Spike replied. “Those Darkmares? There is something different about them, and you know what it is, don't you,” Twilight asked Spike. “I feel it too, Twilight,” Spike responded, “But I still have no idea about most of the things about this.” “'Most?' What do you mean by that,” Rarity asked. “I know three things for certain,” Spike stated firmly, “One: These things are dangerous and need to be stopped. Two: If we don't stop these things and Rainbow Dash wakes up, she is going to be the one kicking our butts.” “And what is the third thing,” Fluttershy asked. “We will make it back to Canterlot,” Spike said seriously, “I have to. I made a promise I have to keep.” “Ooohh! Do tell Spike,” Rarity spoke up, “Was this promise to Luna perhaps? You know, I did see you going into her chambers earlier today.” “Spike, is that true,” Twilight asked. “I was just. . . giving her back something she gave me,” Spike said with blushing cheeks. “What was that, Spike,” Pinkie Pie pried, “Was it a flower? A present? A gift? A hoofshake? A hug? A picture? Huh huh huh?” “If I tell you will you leave it alone,” He asked all four of them. All four of the ponies nodded their heads in unison. He knew he was going to regret this. And yet now it had to happen. He had to tell them. He knew they all suspected it already so now he might as well get it over with. He sighed, took a deep breath, and got it out. “It was a kiss.” Spike was still walking for a few steps when he realized his feet were the only ones moving. He stopped and turned around again. The three ponies were in the same spot. With completely stunned looks on their faces and their mouths slightly open the ponies stared back at him. A few seconds of awkward silence went by before they reacted. When they did they stomped their hooves fast and excitedly. Pinkie Pie was nearly jumping up and down. Twilight was more stunned than the other three. “You kissed Luna,” Twilight said rather blankly. “I don't want to talk about it,” Spike stated. The ponies tried to press the issue a little, but Spike would not talk. After a while they dropped it. There was no way they were forgetting it, but they stopped bringing it up. It got quiet as they split up to search the town for any clues about where the Darkmares came from. Spike started where he saw it all happen. The center of town. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked up and down the street where they first saw the Darkmare Unicorn. Twilight and Rarity headed over to the inn area and looked around there. The groups searched for hours with no results but frustration, irritation and Rarity complaining about how she needed a bath. When it was finally nearing time to leave Appleloosa once and for all a pony finally found something. That pony was Fluttershy of all ponies. “Um, I think I might have found something,” She said, “Maybe, I think.” “Well, what is it, Fluttershy,” Twilight asked. “Well, when I was flying through town I noticed something kind of unusual,” Fluttershy reported, “There are a lot of animal tracks heading from the orchard into Appleloosa. Those tracks are covered by pony hoof prints. Old ones, I think.” Seeing as how Twilight' was the only other flying pony Fluttershy showed her a set of prints that she found. Indeed Fluttershy was right. An old set of tracks that somehow had not been blown away in the wind were unusual. They showed animals leaving the orchard and not going back. Spike followed them over and confirmed that the pony hoof prints were made by Darkmares. He could feel the cold hatred coming from them. “You are the only pony who would have caught that Fluttershy,” Twilight said proudly, “That was a good catch.” “Yes. Very good Fluttershy,” Spike said, “Now we know they came through the orchard first. That means they came from somewhere beyond originally.” “That is all well and good, but what is beyond the orchard other than dust, dirt, sand, and the sun? I would really like to know what to wear,” Rarity proclaimed. Good question. What was beyond the orchard? Spike stepped away from the ponies for a moment and pulled the Night Calling Mirror out of his coat. He breathed deeply as he thought about calling Luna. He hadn't really expected to talk to her again this soon. Would it get awkward? He sighed and turned his eyes skyward. The light of the day was fading fast. Celestia must be setting the sun. That would mean she would be going to bed soon. Maybe Spike could catch her before she got to sleep. The night calls you, Celestia. “Huh? Oh, Spike. It is just you,” Celestia said, “I wasn't expecting you to call me. Normally you would be calling my sister. Right?” “Yeah, but I figured she'd be busy around this time with the moon raising and the ponies having nightmares and all that,” Spike said quickly. “Very well Spike. What is it you need,” Celestia asked. “I need some information from Braeburn. What all lays beyond the orchard of Appleloosa? We believe that the Darkmares came from somewhere beyond.” “I see. Unfortunately, Braeburn has not been fully conscious for longer than a few moments since you brought him here to Canterlot,” Celestia said, “I know little about that area except that it can be very dangerous to ponies and dragons alike. Be careful Spike.” “I will,” Spike said strongly, “And Celestia, can you please not tell Luna about this? I don't want her to worry.” “It is too late for that, young dragon,” Celestia said, “She already worries for you.” He released Celestia from the call of the mirror and put it back in his inside coat pocket. He stepped back out and motioned for the girls to follow him. They all trotted behind him at a good pace for a while. It was fairly quiet until they reached the edge of the orchard opposite Appleloosa. They stood on the border and looked into the vast and barren desert that lay before them. The wind was currently blowing up a sandstorm in front of them. Twilight conjured up some protective garments for her and the other ponies. Rarity complained about the color, but put it on anyway. Spike was able to handle himself. He pulled out a pair of goggles that Luna had given him a couple of years ago for one his spelunking adventures. They would easily keep the sand out his eyes. He tightened his coat around him and stepped out into the desert winds. The trek through the desert was not easy. The desert winds blew dust up into their faces. Spike was sure he was going to have the taste of the desert in his mouth forever. After only ten or so minutes in Twilight was forced to conjure up a rope to tether all of them together. Spike took the rope in his tail and clung to it. The rope idea was sensible and working. Little did they know they would not be needing it long. As Spike led the group through the shifting sands he felt something. Deep in his scales he felt it. A coldness, and a heat. He took a few steps more, and all the while the feeling got stronger. A presence? Out here? Maybe. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw a light through the storm of sand. A barely visible blink of red on the horizon. Spike threw up his arms just in time. The red blast of energy collided with his barrier within seconds of him putting it up. The ponies covered their eyes as the red flash of light slowly went away. Spike knew he couldn't fight like this. Not with his friends right here. Not even his Mana Stomp could help him here. Instead he tried a different spell. The winds of the desert were blowing the sands into a sandstorm. That was dangerous enough, and now there were Darkmares around trying to blast them with magic. There was no way for him to tell how many there were. The shifting sands made his Mana Stomp ineffective at best. But he did have elemental magic. Spike focused his power. So much so that his eyes began to glow green. It was a soft glow, but it got brighter and brighter the more he focused. Twilight and the rest of the girls watched as the green light from his eyes pierced the sandstorm winds. Then, something strange happened. The ever strong winds that were blowing the sands around them died down. The sand fell to the ground once again and the ponies were able to remove their face and eye protection. Twilight's magic rope went away as well. When they did they saw Spike. In his full Mystik mode Spike was channeling his power into the winds that blew the sands. Both his arms were outstretched fully and his claws glowed fiercely. He had created a column of sand that encircled them all, but he was not done yet. Spike let out a small roar as he used one final push of magic. He threw his hands out and the sands went with it. With his hands free for just that one moment he would have to cast fast. He breathed fire into the sands in front of him, and then he took that fire with his claws and spread it across the entire sandstorm column. The ponies closed their eyes as the light of his green fire burned. When their eye finally opened again they found themselves on the inside of a column of glass. “Whoa. Spike, this is incredible,” Twilight said. Spike would have responded right away but he was still trying to recover. He was sitting down where he stood. His breathing was heavy and sweat covered his body. Twilight and the others walked over to him. He knew what they were going to say so he just explained first. “Yeah,” Spike said as he tried to catch his breath, “I haven't gone Mystik in so long. I need a moment.” That moment was not going to be a good one. That was due to the fact they were not the only ones in the desert. As the five of them stood and sat there they were approached by another pony. A mare. A Darkmare. Tall and slender she was, with red eyes and a unicorn horn. She seemed very composed for a mare of Madness. Fluttershy ducked behind Spike as soon as she saw the mare. Pinkie just glared at her in a way Spike had never seen before. “Nice to see you all again,” The Darkmare said, “Except you dragon. This is our first meeting. Introductions are in order.” “The name's Spike. You might have heard of me. I defeated the last thing who tried to use the power of the ooze to destroy Equestria,” Spike said after he stood up. “Ah, so you are the magic using dragon that everypony has been talking about,” The Darkmare said, “My name is Ebony. Ebony Thorn. It is a great pleasure to meet you. Spike the magic using dragon.” Ebony Thorn waved some of her underlings away and they circled around to surround the glass column. Only Ebony herself remained in front of Spike. She looked over the glass column and ran a hoof over the surface as she paced back and forth. She smiled deviously as she spoke, “This is quite impressive. Your doing, I take it.” “What do you want,” Spike asked with annoyance. “That's simple,” Ebony said with a vile smile, “I want every pony in Equestria. I want them broken. I want them Mad. And I want them all to call me Queen.” “That's insane,” Twilight called out, “Even for you ponies of Madness. There is no way you can pull that off.” The words slithered off Ebony's vile tongue, “My dear Princess Twilight Sparkle. We have already begun.” With those words the Darkmare's attacked. If you can even call it that. The glass column did little to hold them back. A Mad Earth Pony lunged at the wall of the column and broke through with ease, landing amidst the shattered glass. It did not even move. It just stood up on it's hind legs for a second. When it's two front hooves came crashing down Spike had a flash. A flash of memory. He cried out to Pinkie Pie as he lunged for her, but it was no use. The Dakrmares hooves split the ground underneath. The sands gave way to a darkness below. Spike dived to reach his friend, but he did not. Pinkie Pie looked at her friends one last time and screamed. She screamed as she fell to the darkness below, and all Spike could do was watch. He rose up from the ground where Pinkie fell. He could hear his other friends behind him. Rarity was crying out for Pinkie. Fluttershy was crying into Twilight's mane. Twilight herself was trying to remain calm, but not even she could do it. With fury in his eyes and his fists he turned to the Darkmare. He came up to it with fists raised and ready to strike. “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Ebony teasingly hissed, “These aren't the simple manifestations that Galeek through at you, dear Spike. These are real ponies. Do you really want to hurt real ponies? What would your precious fans think of you then?” Spike stopped just short of the Darkmare. He was mere centimeters away from making contact. That kind of impact from him would have done serious damage. And he knew that. He looked into the face of the Darkmare before him. He couldn't do it. Spike could not do that to a real, living pony. They knew that. The Darkmare turned on Spike as soon as it realized it was not going to get hit. It spun around faster than Spike expected. The tail whipping Spike in his face as it turned. During that split second of blindness Spike was vulnerable. The Darkmare looked back at Spike with an evil smile and bucked him through the far glass of the column. It was a slow motion show of horror for Twilight. She watched as one her best friends was swallowed up by a hole in the desert floor. Her other two pony friends were so distraught they could not think clearly. And now she watched her once small baby dragon companion go flying through the air with countless shards of broken glass all around him. The air almost glistened as the light of the sun hit the glass. Spike hit the desert sands back first and bounced a few times before coming to rest with his face in the sand. Unfortunately, that was not the end of Twilight's horror show. Her head followed the arc of Spike's travel through the air. She stepped closer with an urge to help her injured friend, but the cries for a friend from Rarity told her to stay close, as well as the tears from Fluttershy. If only she knew how little time she had to cry. Twilight's eyes were fixed on Spike. She didn't realize anything was wrong until she heard a scream. Another scream. Another haunting sound to plague her every time she closed her eyes. She turned her head to see Fluttershy. Rarity was desperately trying to hold on to her hoof as two Darkmares were dragging her away. It was a pointless struggle. The Darkmares dragged Fluttershy away into the blinding sands of the sandstorm. Twilight lunged forward and fired off a few magic blasts into the sands, but hit nothing. She was gone. Fluttershy was gone. Rarity cried out a few times more for Fluttershy. After that she was quiet. There was nothing more she could do. She grew quiet and her eyes always seemed focused on something in the distance that was never there. The Darkmares still surrounded them. But not for much longer. For some reason unknown to Twilight, Ebony and her minions just left. Ebony Thorn glared at them one last time before leaving. Twilight watched the image of her fade into the distance as the sandstorm swallowed her up. Twilight searched frantically for Spike. She knew he was blasted out of the glass column. She saw it. But the sandstorm was raging then. She and Rarity had to take cover in the remains of the column until it passed. . . several hours later. And so Twilight searched for Spike. Rarity was curled up in the same spot she had been in for the past several hours. “I'm sorry Spike,” Twilight said as she hoofed the sand weakly, “I have to get Rarity out of here. We won't survive if we stay here any longer.” Twilight's hoof stopped. She turned and walked back to Rarity. Rarity didn't pose any resistance as Twilight got her to her feet. She just stared out at nothing, as blank a pony as Twilight ever saw. With her last ounce of strength Twilight was able to use her magic and teleport them both back to Canterlot. At least they were safe.