//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - ...Stays in the Forest // Story: Nighttide Star // by Vertigo-01 //------------------------------// Nighttide cut through the brush as fast as she could. Thickets of briars and vines fought to slow her down, but she refused to let the object that had taken Twilight get away. While her suit protected her from most damage, she was having a hard time keeping her mane from tangling in the briars. ‘The tragedy of looking awesome,’ she thought to herself amusingly as she tried to keep herself calm. After minutes of chasing the tracking signal, Nighttide noticed the forest begin to thin. Her sonar worked overtime to fine-tune the sound waves bouncing off the trees ahead. Sure enough, it appeared there was a clearing just ahead. In a moment, Nighttide found herself standing at the edge of a small crater, perhaps the same circumference as the castle which she had just left. “What in the world is this?” Nighttide muttered to herself as she observed the strangely empty space. The crater was overgrown with grass and small shrubs, but no trees grew in its place. It appeared the area had been impacted by some large object in a distant past. But something was wrong. The tracking signal had approached the center of the crater and then suddenly disappeared. Nighttide looked around the edge of the expanse to see if there was a safe way down. It was remarkable, the way the forest seemed to avoid encroaching on the crater. As such, there were no vines or ledges of any sort to make use of, so she figured she may have to fly once again. But Nighttide noticed something else strange. Her sonar seemed to rebound from the space in front of her, as if there were a large mass filling the empty space. Sitting next to the edge of the crater, she slowly reached a hoof out to the air directly in front of her and— “WHOA!” Nighttide wrenched her hoof back when she noticed the tip of it began to vanish. She examined her hoof, which appeared to be fine, and tried again. The further she reached out, the more her hoof disappeared. It was as if there was a cloaking device of some sort covering the air around the crater. ‘This doesn't make sense though,’ Nighttide thought. ‘My sonar is picking up a solid object. Why can my hoof go through it?’ Seeing no other alternative, Nighttide closed her eyes and slowly stuck her head forward into the empty space. She felt a strange cold surround her muzzle for a second. Then, when she opened her eyes— “Huh. It is a cloak, after all.” Nighttide looked down at an object that resembled an airship resting at the base of the crater. Within the cloak stood a thicket of trees surrounding the structure, appearing to grow from the ground below and through the cloak. Nighttide's sensors were also able to pick up the tracking signal once again, which emanated from the ship below. Nighttide pulled her head back and thought for a moment on how to proceed next. She was in a foreign land – an even more foreign forest – and had managed to lose a princess of Equestria. She felt compelled to continue on her own, afraid of what might happen at any moment. But something told her this was not her place, that she first needed to inform the others of what was going on. “You're getting too soft, Nighttide,” she spoke to herself as she turned toward Ponyville. “This would never have happened if you had stayed by her side.” Unsure of which would be the better choice, Nighttide decided to throw logic to the side for once and go on her gut instinct: tell a friend. __________ Nighttide managed to find her way back to the main trail after only a few minutes. Just as she reached the clearing toward Ponyville, she saw Fluttershy tending to a group of small animals just off the path. Panting, she cried out, “Fluttershy! We have an emergency!” The animals around Fluttershy scurried away as Nighttide came galloping toward her. “Nighttide, what's wrong? What happened?” Nighttide skidded to a halt in the dirt and took a moment to catch her breath. “Fluttershy… Twilight was kidnapped. Or stolen. Or something – I don't know. She was taken by some invisible floating thing from the old castle!” Fluttershy's expression immediately turned to panic. “What? Twilight? Wh-what should we do?” “That's why I'm here. I think I know where she is, but I wanted to let someone know what happened.” “Come on, we should tell the others.” As Fluttershy turned toward Ponyville, Nighttide's sensors detected a large disruption in the forest and turned back. Fluttershy stopped when she noticed Nighttide wasn't beside her. “Nighttide! What is it?” Just then, a swarm of dirt and debris rose over a portion of the forest in the distance. Nighttide zoomed in on the area to see the airship-like craft rise in the air and bank away from Ponyville. Nighttide shouted back, “We don't have time. We have to go after her now.” Fluttershy squinted into the distance, trying to figure out what the thing was. She looked back at Nighttide with a horrified expression. “B-but the others—” “Fluttershy, that thing is taking your princess – your friend – away from us, right now! We've gotta go!” Galloping ahead, Nighttide deployed her wings and engines. Before she took off, she opened her back and shot a warning flare into the air, hoping that somepony may notice it and see the object in the distance. Fluttershy watched dumbfounded for a few seconds as Nighttide took to the air and looped around her. “Nighttide,” Fluttershy shouted from the ground, “I thought you couldn't fly!” “Doesn't matter! Let’s go!” Fluttershy spread her wings and leapt off the ground, doing her best to catch up with Nighttide as she sped forward toward the craft in the distance. When Nighttide noticed Fluttershy was quickly falling behind, she did another lap back. “Alright, too slow, not okay – you're coming with me.” With that, Nighttide flew above Fluttershy and grabbed her by the barrel, engaging her afterburners. Fluttershy had never flown this fast in all her life. She did her best to squint forward, her eyes tearing up from the wind as her mane was whipped back. An image of Rainbow Dash quickly passed through Fluttershy's mind as they approached the vessel, eliciting the tiniest of smiles on the mare before her expression switched back to panic. Suddenly, the object disappeared, appearing to leave no trace of its existence, minus the crater below that was now clearly filled with trees. “Heh, like that's gonna work this time,” Nighttide shouted to the wind as she continued flying toward its last location. Switching from sonar to radar, Nighttide's sensors quickly picked up the object, which was now veering off toward a mountain range in the distance. “Fluttershy,” Nighttide shouted down, “do you know anything about aerial defense?” “A-aerial—wha—“ Fluttershy stammered as she did her best to keep from suffocating from the force of the air traveling around her. “Forget it, just hang on!” Her radar told her that at any moment now, they would be entering the cloak field and into who knows what kind of danger. She held Fluttershy as tight to her sternum as she could as she slowed her velocity just enough to prepare for a potential landing. In a few seconds, they were surrounded by the same cold sensation Nighttide experienced back at the crater, and then they saw a dark blue airship with what appeared to be giant pegasi wings protruding from each side, flapping slowly in the wind. “That's the strangest thing I've seen here yet!” Nighttide eyed the strange craft curiously while Fluttershy looked on with confusion. Nighttide then gave her a light squeeze. “Alright lil' filly, when I say go, spread your wings as far as you can!” Nighttide changed her approach angle toward a flat surface near the back of the airship – what appeared to be a deck. She could feel Fluttershy beginning to squirm in her grasp. She looked down and gave her a comforting smile in an attempt to reassure her. “You can do this, Fluttershy. I believe in you. Now, get ready!” With a sudden jerk, Nighttide reversed her engines and deployed her leg thrusters, then shouted, “GO,” and released Fluttershy to the air beneath her. The pegasus spread her wings as instructed and was carried by the wind just enough to allow her to safely land on the deck. Nighttide then did a quick loop around the aircraft, gauging its different sections before gliding back toward the deck. But just as she went to touch down, the craft swung a hard right. “Oomph!” Nighttide rolled violently across the deck, her left wing collapsing in on itself as she fell into a crumpled heap at the other end of the deck. Fluttershy crawled toward her as fast as she could, keeping her wings tightly pressed against her sides so she wouldn't be blown off the deck by the wind. “Nighttide!” she called out to the grey mass that now lied in a heap at the end of the deck. The only thing that kept Nighttide in place was a small railing which, if the ship turned just so, could allow her to fall right off. “Ungh…” Nighttide did her best to roll back onto her stomach. Her left wing hung limply out of her side, its engine spitting smoke. She retracted her other wing and engine before squinting back at the damage. Fluttershy crawled up beside her and shouted, “Are you alright?” “Looks like I won't be flying for a while,” Nighttide calmly remarked. With a loud snap, sparks shot out of the opening for her left wing, which then fell and slid off the deck into the forest below. She retracted the engine to examine later and worked to stand against the wind. Nighttide observed what appeared to be the observation deck of a crudely built airship, using a means of propulsion that seemed completely absurd to her: feathered wings, which moved in a very natural manner. “Come on, Fluttershy. Let's find a way inside this thing.” Nighttide started to slink forward, then noticed Fluttershy locked in place behind her. “Fluttershy,” Nighttide called back, “let's go!” The little pegasus shook in place, seemingly glued to the deck now and unable to move. ‘Ugh, why couldn't I have run into Rainbow Dash or something,’ Nighttide thought begrudgingly to herself. She carefully made her way back to Fluttershy's side and asked what was wrong. “I-I… I can't…” Fluttershy had become much braver over the years, but she had never been through a harrowing experience quite like this one – and never before with a pony she had only just recently met. Nighttide squinted across the deck to what appeared to be a door at the other end. “Fluttershy, listen. Somewhere inside this thing is Twilight. I'm sorry it had to be you, but you are the one I brought along for this. We need to rescue her.” She paused for a moment and furrowed her brow. “I know this isn't the first time you've had to do something scary! I’ve heard some of the stories from Twilight! So what's wrong?” Indeed, this was not Fluttershy's first time facing adversity for the sake of a friend. A little shell-shocked from the sudden flight lesson, she tried to regain her composure and kneel on her legs. “Wh-what should we do next?” she managed to stammer with a look of seriousness. “That's my little pony,” Nighttide spoke in as reassuring a manner as she could against the wind. “Follow me.” The two made their way to the door at the other end, Nighttide choosing to crawl at the same pace as Fluttershy. As they approached the door, Nighttide reached for the handle, but was pushed back when it suddenly swung open. In the doorway stood a familiar blue unicorn stallion. “S-Sterling Lazuli?!” Nighttide called over the rushing wind. “I thought I heard something up here,” Sterling shouted back. He looked down at the two ponies who were staring at him in shock. “Either you can stay out here and try to survive the elements, or you can come inside.” Nighttide peered across the side of the deck and saw they were now increasing altitude and heading toward the top of a snow-capped mountain. She then nodded to Fluttershy and began to crawl ahead inside, with Fluttershy right behind her. __________ As Fluttershy and Nighttide were led down a narrow hall, Sterling Lazuli spoke again. “I'm sorry ponies, but this was one adventure you were not supposed to partake in.” Before either could respond, Sterling cast a spell on both of them that restrained their movement to directly forward. They could neither shift their weight side-to-side nor turn their heads, and Nighttide could do nothing to unlock any of her weapons. “Sterling!” Nighttide shouted, “What's the meaning of this?!” “I'm afraid it's not Sterling, actually.” “No, it's not,” shouted a mare’s voice defiantly from down the hall. In a few seconds, they walked into a large, hangar-like room that housed a bunch of crates and a single cage affixed to one of the corners of the room. “You know, one cage in an alternate universe was enough for me. I'd really prefer not to have to go through this again.” Twilight spoke from within the cage, appearing to be more disgruntled than afraid. Nighttide and Fluttershy spotted her from the overhead walkway they were now being led down. “Twilight!” the two called down to her simultaneously. “Hey, girls…” Twilight's ears folded back as she saw her would-be heroes being led down a flight of stairs in her direction. “Well, Twilight,” the stallion spoke, “why don't you introduce me to your friends here?” Twilight groaned. “Girls. This here is Riptide, formerly of the Royal Guard.” Nighttide would have turned to look at the stallion, but then the cage door opened, and the two were nudged inside by the magic surrounding them. “And you two might be?” Riptide asked as he closed the door behind the three ponies. “M-my… my name is Fluttershy.” “Nighttide Star, of the Daedalus Institute of Research and Exploration. You are in direct violation of Roanne code 179—” “Uhm, Nighttide?” Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “That won't be necessary.” Her and Nighttide looked on at their captor pacing outside of the cage as Fluttershy watched from behind the two. “Alright, there's a couple things I want to know,” Riptide began. “First off, Nighttide, you're obviously no ordinary pony. I noticed you had been by the Princess' side here for the past couple of days, and after I saw you flying with Rainbow Dash over Ponyville, I grew curious. The patch was supposed to examine your magical abilities, but it proved useless in the end. Admittedly, it was a fluke that I ran into you last night, but it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.” “Here, Ripoff,” Nighttide barked back, “let me save you the pain of living out a trope. Just answer this one important question: What's going on here?” Riptide cleared his throat and sat down in front of the cage, an expression more of seriousness than of malevolence. “As Twilight mentioned, I used to be a member of the Royal Guard – for several years, in fact. During my service, I studied many spells that could help me become a better member of the guard. As you can see,” Riptide suggested to his flank at a cutie mark of river rapids, “I'm not actually a medical specialist. My true talent lies in water-based magic.” As Twilight watched with a knowing expression, Nighttide tilted her head. “Water magic?” “Correct. My position in the Royal Guard was such that in the event of a crisis based within or around a large body of water, I would be able to provide both offensive and defensive services. I'm one of very few unicorns whose talent is with water-related magic.” “You should tell them the important part, though,” Twilight remarked with a loathsome tone. “Of course,” Riptide continued. “As I furthered my studies, I started to develop a theory. While not directly related to water-based magic, I got many of the basic principles from how aquatics work.” Riptide paused for a second. “Over the years, I have been developing something I call ‘negative magic.’” “Negative magic?” Fluttershy timidly asked from behind her friends. “It is neither dark magic nor the kind of magic typically used. It stands alone. Where ours and dark magic ‘create,’ negative magic ‘eliminates.’ Even infamous creatures like Discord use their magic to create or manipulate something out of a substance that already exists, be it in our plane of existence or another. Negative magic, on the other hand, does the opposite. It removes without the need to replace. It can isolate, encapsulate, and destroy.” “Well, that sounds evil and junk,” Nighttide remarked with thick sarcasm. “Magic is what you will it to be. Creative or negative magic can be used for either good or bad, but there is a specific difference worth mentioning with negative magic.” “Go on,” Twilight implored. “The use of pure negative magic will absolutely erase the existence of whatever it is used on. Space, an object… even a pony.” Fluttershy cowered further back as Nighttide and Twilight stood side-by-side, listening to Riptide explain this magic. “Ugh,” Nighttide groaned, “so much for avoiding the trope. I still don't get what's going on here. What's your motive?” “I can help you there,” Twilight spoke up. “Riptide here explained that he’s also been observing the Princesses alicorn magic for the last couple of years – at least as much as he could from a distance. But when he heard that a pony living in Ponyville had become an alicorn, things changed. After my coronation, Riptide decided watching over me might be a more convenient solution. He then slacked off so much on his duties that the Royal Guard let him go. Since then, he's been living in the Everfree Forest by night, Ponyville by day.” “Motive?” Nighttide whined. “What's the motive? Anypony?” “To become the next most famous magician in history,” Twilight answered resolutely. Nighttide couldn't believe her ears. “Wha… but… just how PG can you ponies get?! Seriously, you guys are really able to become power-hungry?” Riptide scoffed as he glared at Twilight through the bars. “Princess Twilight, of all the ponies in Equestria, you should be the last one to so grossly simplify a point. It's not a hunger for power.” “Then what is it?” Twilight asked with a cocked eyebrow. Riptide sighed as he looked over his captors. “Equestria is a beautiful, peaceful land – that much, we can probably all agree on. And that is thanks in no small part to both the Princesses in Canterlot, the cooperation of billions of ponies over the centuries, and of course, the Elements of Harmony. But in the context of Equestria as a whole, there is a problem with our tactics when it comes to facing some of the more complex issues in life.” Twilight's ears flicked forward. “Thousands of years ago, long before the unity of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, ponies of all sorts fought wars with other ponies – and other creatures – in order to conquer the large majority of the land that now makes up Equestria. Through the unity of these ponies and the establishment of Equestria, peace was eventually won. But had it not been for those wars many years ago, this land may well have never existed.” Twilight's curiosity once again got the better of her. “I've read a lot about the history of Equestria, and I know a little about what you're describing. But we don't have a very detailed account of those times… do we?” “Only if you know where to look.” Riptide looked away with a solemn expression. “You know how dark magic is forbidden?” “Of course,” Twilight said with a nod. “The same goes for Equestria's most ancient history. I discovered the works in a secret corridor within the Castle of the Two Sisters.” Twilight blinked. “A secret passage? With works of history?” “With detailed accounts by the ponies of those times.” Riptide made clear the severity of what he was saying by his deliberate tone. “They are very fragile collections of scrolls and tablets. Our Princesses locked up a small treasure trove of these hoof-written works by the stallions and mares of those days, works that detail a most gruesome prelude to the eventual clash, and unity, of the three pony races. Those ponies used lethal tactics in order to conquer this land. Blood was shed, suffering was felt on all sides. Through those means, Equestria eventually became what it is today.” Twilight became a little nauseous at the thought of Equestria having been built over the spilt blood of ponies. She never thought such a thing could have been possible, even knowing most of Equestria's darker history. ‘And why would the Princesses want the information to be locked away?’ She couldn't believe what she was hearing. “I'm sorry, Riptide. That's a very well put-together story you have there, but it's pretty hard to believe. And how would you have run across this secret corridor anyway?” “I read comics when I was a colt once,” he replied casually. “You pull on enough things hanging from the wall, something's bound to happen. Where do you think they got the inspiration for the stories?” “Alright,” Nighttide finally spoke again, “now that the history lesson is finished… MOTIVE?” “To develop a form of magic that can be used in the event of a major crisis that jeopardizes the lives of those living in Equestria,” Riptide answered flatly. All three ponies looked at him with utter confusion. “Y-you mean, you're trying to help Equestria?” Fluttershy asked as she stood a little closer to Twilight's side. “Yes. The reason you are all locked up is because I'm afraid the Princesses in Canterlot would look down on my studies very critically.” Riptide stood up and gave the ponies an empathetic look. “This is not a grab at collateral. I need to learn more about Twilight's alicorn magic in order to finish my work, but walking up to a Princess and asking for her help to develop what could potentially be the world's most dangerous form of magic wasn't exactly a viable option. Hence why I had to kidnap her – I won't even sugarcoat it.” “And you really think I'd cooperate now?” Twilight shouted at the stallion. “I presume not,” Riptide said. “And it's unfortunate that you two showed up as well,” he added, suggesting to Fluttershy and Nighttide. “But there is something I want to know now that I've explained my story.” He walked up to the cage to face Nighttide. “What are you?” Nighttide didn't even need to feign confusion. She knew exactly what he meant. But that didn't mean she was going to reveal anything. “I don't come from a world where we believe in ‘if you tell, I'll tell.’ Just because you explained your story doesn't mean I'm going to open up.” Riptide looked her over slowly. “One thing is for sure: you're not a magical pony. You neither have a horn nor wings to speak of, and my patch didn't pick up any earth pony magic either.” “So you were trying to see if I had magic by using that patch?” “Correct. It's a spell created by one of Star Swirl the Bearded's lesser-known students.” He frowned for a moment. “It's incredible that such a resource as the Castle of the Two Sisters has been so recklessly abandoned…” “Much as I'd like to sympathize with you,” Twilight said, “I'm afraid we're at an impasse. I don't believe any of us are going to cooperate with anything you have to suggest.” “And I expected as much. Had it not been for your friends showing up, I wouldn't have had to lock you up the way I did.” “So what?” Twilight shouted. “You were still using your magic to restrain me!” Riptide scowled at Twilight. “I just kidnapped a princess of Equestria – an alicorn with incredible magical capacity. Did you really think I'd let you just walk around my ship as you please?” He shook his head, then relaxed his tone. “Here's how this will work, everypony. Until I am finished analyzing Twilight's magic, you are all going to have to stay locked in here. My ultimate intent is to complete the development of negative magic and stabilize it for regular use. Right now, it's still a bit tricky for a unicorn to wield – even the slightest error in its use could be cataclysmic. Once it’s complete, I will surrender to the Royal Guard, but only on the condition that the Princesses review the research I have completed and promise to store it in their files – even if it's locked away from everypony else.” Twilight still couldn't understand his intent. “Why are you so desperate to create this negative magic, Riptide?” “Equestria is ruled with peace. But it may not always be able to be defended as peacefully. While we have the Royal Guard, it may not be sufficient to use in the event of an uprising by a collective group of ponies or other creatures.” He glanced over at the crates behind him. “It's been millennia since any formal war was fought on our ground, and this magic could prove to be the ultimate solution in the event of an otherwise insolvable crisis.” “How do you propose this magic be used in the event of such a crisis?” Nighttide asked. “In whatever manner the Princesses deem fit. Unfortunately, there is only one truly effective means which I have hypothesized.” Riptide visibly grimaced at the thought, but spoke to the group of ponies in earnest. “To use it as a weapon to erase the opposition.” That was it. Both Fluttershy and Twilight became sick to their stomach at the thought. But Nighttide was not as moved. Having grown up with war as the hot topic in her society, she confronted Riptide with one honest question. “So you would have the peaceful ponies of Equestria protect their ground by killing?” Riptide looked Nighttide squarely in the eyes. With all the honesty in the world, he replied, “Yes.” Nighttide understood exactly what the stallion meant. In her world, war was a necessary tool to use when other groups and nations threatened their well-being. But there was one thing which she had learned during her very short stay in Equestria. “Riptide,” Nighttide started. “I believe I understand the concept of war better than either of these ponies standing here with me. And yet, I think you've missed one critical point in your venture: I'm afraid these ponies would never use such a tactic as mass murder for the sake of their own well-being.” She glanced at the two mares before continuing. “I don't know the history of Equestria like Twilight does, or all the various nuances of its government, but I do know the hearts of a hoofful of its ponies. Heck, even the ponies I don't know all seem to radiate a sense of warmth unlike any I’ve ever felt. To think these ponies would ever stand against another with death in their hearts?” Nighttide shook her head. “I don't see that happening.” Riptide let out a snort. “Better to be prepared than not.” And with that, he used his magic to lead Twilight out of the cage. “Twilight!” Both Nighttide and Fluttershy shouted as they tried to pull her back. It was useless though, as the magic Riptide cast prevented them from following Twilight out of the cage. As Fluttershy and Nighttide watched Twilight being led upstairs, Nighttide noticed something odd about her expression. She didn't seem to be resisting anymore. She almost seemed to be accepting of what was taking place. ‘Surely Twilight doesn't think this is now a good idea?’ Fluttershy walked over to Nighttide and asked, “Is there any way we can help her?” “Give it a little time,” Nighttide whispered as she sat and watched Twilight and Riptide walk out of sight. “I've got all sorts of ideas to bust this joint.”