//------------------------------// // Drowning in Darkness // Story: Hold Your Color // by Quillery //------------------------------// Hold Your Color by Quillery Suggestions, Editing and Pre-Reading by : Siyray, Willsons, Izraill Z, BabySkittleMonster, Legion222, Dreamshadow, edensbane, amacita Chapter Eleven Drowning in Darkness Rainbow Dash awoke in darkness. She felt frigid water assaulting her from all sides, thrown about by a rogue current. She struggled to find light to guide herself, but there was none to be found. Holding her breath became difficult as her heart started racing as she searched in desperation for the surface, if there was one. A child’s cry filled her ears and caused her body to still. The current around her stopped, and her body seemed to float upwards. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, and a faint outline of shallow water etched out of the corner of her vision. She kicked her legs and drifted towards the solid ground. She managed to stand and bring her head above water. The wandering surf still struck the base of her neck, but she greedily sucked in air, discarding all worry for a moment. The dark water ebbed against her as she struggled to stay standing in the shallow water. Faint mist escaped her mouth with each breath. Her skin trembled as flecks of ice nipped at her fur. She trudged forward, pushing her entire body against the water. The ground beneath her was level, and no chance of rising any higher from its icy confines presented itself. Her ears twitched again at the same sound as before. A single, piercing cry of a child, echoing in the distance. Dash pushed herself forward towards its source. “Hello?” she called out. “Anypony there?” The splashing water was the only reply. She shrugged and continued on, searching. The expanse of darkness before her only seemed to grow the further she went. What little light she used to see only dwindled away, putting her remaining senses on edge. The water flowing chipped at her hearing, the cold searing her touch. Her hooves touched something just in front of her. She felt around the new obstruction in her path. A large, smooth surface. The grit against her hooves rasped like stone, but it was so smooth. She followed it along its sides. It was large, like a column, several feet wide with corners. On the other side, a faint light graced a section of her vision. She blinked at the etching in the stone pillar. She had seen it before. She looked around. “Hey, kid! Are you out there? I need your help.” A small, tiny whimper replied from above. Dash spun around and looked up the side of the pillar, and gasped. The small silver filly she remembered from the dream before, was there. Her mane cast off the faint light Dash used to see, but it remained still. Dark coils of shadows, much like the ones from before, oozed from cracks in the stone around her, holding her still against it. Her eyes were held tightly shut as she trembled in fear. “Hang on!” Dash said. “I’ll get you down!” Dash reached up to help her down, but the shadows retaliated at her approach. A free limb snapped down and slapped her hoof away. “Ow!” Dash examined the welt forming in her flesh, as she examined the state the child was in. The child was shaking her head briskly, warning Dash to stay away. Dash scoffed. “No dice, kid. There’s no way I’m leaving you up there. Don’t worry. I’ll get you down.” She looked at the shadows holding the child, and the darkness surrounding them both in the abyss. “Somehow.” Her senses screamed in alarm as a rumbling emerged in the distance. She turned around, searching. The waters pushed against her, as if something large displaced the current towards her. Fresh waves crashed into her, but she held her ground. Her body trembled in the cold, her mind frayed from exhaustion, her heart aching in panic, but she held her ground, for her. The new presence rumbled closer. The light from the filly cast small silhouettes of movement approaching. A pair of eyes stuck out from the darkness, cold and emotionless. A set of pointed teeth, curled into a malevolent smile completed the image as the shadowy shape was only a few meters away. “I’m not afraid of you!” Dash screamed. The shadows rumbled in laughter, low and growling. They continued their approach. “I won’t let you take her!” Dash backed up, bracing herself against the stone. “Foolish child,” she shadows said, a million voices acting as one. Dash felt cold, colder than the frigid water as the sound of the shadow’s voice washed over her. “She is already mine. Your resilience is admirable. But here, hope has no power. I will break you in time, as I broke her.” “Never! I will stop you!” Dash tensed, just as something wrapped around her body. She tried to see what, but the darkness was too thick. She thrashed in the water as something coiled around her legs, and slowly drug her down into the water. As her head sunk into the icy depths, she heard one, final laughter. “I implore you to try. It will make it fun. I haven’t had fun in centuries…” Water rushed into Dash’s ears. She heard her own screams boiling in the water was she fought against the shadows that pulled her down. She twisted and writhed, desperately trying to break free. Their grip only tightened as she sunk further into the depths. Her vision began to darken. She cast one last look at the stone before it was completely gone. The light of the filly was fading, but she could still see her. Hang on, kid! I’ll save you! I promise! The current raged all around her. Specks of light exploded in her vision, as a single beam of daylight opened itself before her. She felt the binds pulling at her weaken, if only for a second, and she kicked her legs as hard as she could towards the light. Her body felt heavy. A great, smooth surface pressed against her back, as her vision started to clear. Smoke invaded her nose, and she felt the urge to cough. Her lungs hacked and wheezed, but no water emerged from her lungs. Only air, dim and smoky. She sprang up. She was on her back, staring into a pair of ruby eyes peering down at her. Her chest heaved as the darkness faded away, revealing a fading afternoon sun. “Prizma!” Aurora said. “Calm yourself. Just breathe, darling. You are safe.” “What…” Dash wheezed. “What happened?” “Well, we created a fair mess of Canterlot, my dear.” Dash found the strength to turn her head. Debris and wreckage surrounded her. Armored guards scurried about, shouting orders amongst themselves and digging out survivors of the collapsed warehouses. Pillars of smoke dotted the landscape, and cries of fear and panic rang in her ears Behind Aurora was Ditzy, looking down at her, none the worse for wear. Edweena stood there as well. She was clutching her arm, which had a fresh bandage wrapped around it. Dash’s heart jumped. “Where’s dad?” “Right here.” Dash turned her head. Khroma limped a few steps towards her, wincing. His legs were covered in strips of white with stains of red. One of his wings was lashed to his side by a sling, and one of his eyes was circled in black. Dash got to her hooves as fast as she could manage, and tackled into her father. He lurched back at the impact as Dash wrapped her legs around him and squeezed tight. “I was so scared! When I saw you spin out… I…” Khroma squeezed back. He nestled his head behind Dash’s. His breathing was steady and tickled her ear. “I’m fine, dear. It will take more than a monstrosity of shadows and nightmares to get the best of me.” Dash pulled away from the hug and shot him a level glare. “Don’t ever do anything that stupid and featherbrained again.” Khroma smiled. “And what, leave all the glory to my daughter? My parent’s would roil in their graves to see me ousted by a mare, even if it was my own daughter.” “I’ve ousted you plenty of times, Khroma,” Aurora said snarkily. “I’d say you lost your stallion’s honor years ago.” Khroma huffed and let go of Dash. He examined her carefully, and stopped on her mane, shaking his head. “Are you sure you feel okay? You took quite a fall.” “I’m okay, dad. But what happened? I remember doing the Rainboom, and then I passed out.” Khroma gestured his head to a group of unicorn guards nearby. Five of them stood together, channeling magic. Dash stepped away from her dad to get a better view. Five magic bubbles sat in a row, each containing a dark, shadowy pony sized shape. “Once the beast’s head was severed from your strike, it reverted back to its original forms. The royal magicians arrived just in time to contain them.” Dash smiled. “Heh. I knew it was an awesome idea.” “No, dear. It was not…” Dash looked at her dad, eyebrow raised. “What do you mean? Nothing solves a problem faster than a good ol’ Sonic Rainboom.” “Really?” Khroma said, fatherly indignation in his voice. “Then explain how you have lost another color so soon.” Dash’s eyes widened. “W-what?” She pulled at her mane and examined the colors. Blue, green, purple, ye— “Not yellow… Not already. I just lost orange.” “Such is the demand of the Prism, dear. The magic of a Rainboom is so great, that without an endless supply, it would drain everything away. You are lucky it did not take more.” “Your tail is fading now, too, “Ditzy said. Dash turned her head to look, and felt her heart drop when she confirmed it. The top of her tail was fading out as well to match her mane. Her breathing quickened, and slowed only when Khroma put his hoof on her shoulder. “Do not panic yet. We still have time. But you must not perform a Rainboom again until this is solved. Do you understand?” Dash nodded shakily. “Y-yes, dad. No more Rainbooms. I can do that.” Khroma exhaled. “Right, then.” He turned his attention to Edweena. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in enlightening us with what you know?” Edweena shrugged. “As I said, it is my friend, who may have been the one to stumble on your hiding place of the Prism. She certainly didn’t tell me where it was. I can only think the one who paid her to reveal it was the one who sent these beasts after me.” Khroma turned to the confined shadow monsters. “Then perhaps we can extract something from them.” “If any of them knew where she was, that would be our best hope at figuring out what is going on.” “How does one interrogate a shadow monster?” Aurora said. “It was not a subject of training in the Prizrak.” Khroma’s eyes smoldered. He licked his teeth, an act that sent worry through Dash’s mind. “Very carefully,” he said dangerously. “Actually,” Edweena added. “There might be an easier way.” She hobbled towards the guards. They acknowledged her presence with a brief glance, before returning their attention to maintaining their prisoners. “What exactly is your intention with these creatures, guard?” “That is for the princess’s to decide. They have been informed. We will maintain them until they arrive.” “The princesses aren’t coming,” Dash said. Everypony looked at her. She shied back a moment from the new attention, but nodded gravely. “Celestia… was hurt. By whatever created these things. Luna’s busy keeping her from sleeping forever.” Everypony’s eyes widened. Ditzy cleared her throat and nodded as well. “She’s right. I was there, too.” Khroma glared at her. “And this happened when I left you in the hospital?!” “No, dad," Dash said. "I asked Celestia to take me and Twilight to where the Prism was kept. We were ambushed by the Nightmare.” Khroma staggered back in shock. “The… Nightmare? That’s who took the Prism?” Dash nodded. “I… that…” Try as he might, he could not complete a coherent thought. “And Celestia fell to the Nightmare?” Aurora asked. Dash nodded again. “She tried to protect me, Twi and Ditzy. She’s in some kind of coma, and Luna’s at her side, keeping her from slipping too far.” “This is far more serious than we thought, Khroma,” Ditzy said. “You do not think I know that!? The damned Koshmar, stealing the Prism from us!” Khroma turned and slammed a hoof against one of the magic bubbles. It flashed and rippled from his blow, but was otherwise unaffected. “Watch yourself, Prizrak!” the guard maintaining the shield warned. “We do not need this thing to get out.” “This thing is the only clue we have to finding the Prism before its too late, and I will tear it to pieces if I have to!” “Edweena,” Dash said, cutting off her ranting father. “You had an idea?” Edweena nodded. She leaned towards the bubble, placing her head close. “As I was fighting these things, I remarked that while they are rather frightening, their eyes…” She tapped the shield. The beast within writed and ravaged against the bubble, glaring at her. “... are remarkably pony like.” She stood straight. “Guard, do you by chance know any cleansing magic? Preferably similar to Celestia’s? They hate sunlight.” The guard blinked. “I… suppose I can try something. It isn’t quite cleansing magic, but its close…” He bowed his head and tapped the shield with his horn. It’s whorling shape ceased, and began to harden like glass. The monster inside continued to beat against its cage, which now started to crack. “Stand back,” the guard warned. His horn started to glow. A beam of sunlight poured over the bubble, and it began to glow brightly. The monster inside started screaming, and doubled its efforts into escaping. The bubble chipped away as the magic continued, and shards began to split off. A small hole formed, and the monster tried desperately to escape. It’s strength waned, however, as the magic intensified. Slowly, its struggle to escape vanished as it fell back into the illuminated confines of the glass sphere. When the light faded, the monster was still. The guard tapped the shell and it shattered into dust. Inside, the monster was supine on the ground. Dash turned up her nose in disgust at the fact that the monster appeared to be melting. It’s shadowy body was leaking and soaking into the ground. She blinked at the sight of color in its body. A spot of blue, and then yellow began to emerge from the darkness as it melted away. A mane became distinct, as well as a bright tail. As the shadow cleared from its face, everypony saw the pair of goggles over its eyes. Dash couldn’t believe it. “Its a Wonderbolt!” “How is this possible?” the guard exclaimed. “Because the Nightmare cannot create physical beings to harm us.” Edweena said. “It’s only true strength in its current form is in our dreams. In the physical world, it requires a host, the same can be said of its minions. A touch of its dark magic on a will it can break, and it has a willing accomplice.” Dash stood still a moment, absorbing the new information. After a while, she cocked an eyebrow at her. “How do you know so much about the Nightmare?” Edweena rotated her wrist in quick, jagged motions. “You’d be surprised at what you can learn in a dusty old history book. There are old legends, even among my kind, of the Nightmare’s powers.” The guard kneeled down to the Wonderbolt. His horn glowed and washed over, bringing back color to the pegasus’ skin. The guard stood and looked to his fellows. “Get the medics! We have to free these ponies right away!” After a few hasty minutes, a group of medic guards were brought in and aided the rest in cleansing the dark shadows off the remaining monsters. One by one, an entire group of indoctrinated Wonderbolts was released from the Nightmare’s magic, and placed into healing auras. Dash and everypony else kept close to them as the medics worked to ensure all traces of the dark miasma was gone. They remained unconscious for some time, as the hysteria of the district’s evacuation was starting to wane. Dash was pacing around them, keeping a close eye on her dad, her aunt, Ditzy, Edweena, and the sleeping Wonderbolts. She caught herself staring at the mountain in the center of the city, where Canterlot Castle loomed. “I hope Twilight is okay,” she said aloud. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Ditzy said, appearing at her side. “She’ll be fine.” Dash sighed. “I guess. It's not that I don’t trust Luna, but I just don’t believe that she’s as good a defence from the Nightmare as she says she is.” “I know what you mean. Stalliongrad, while respectful to the princesses, doesn’t really hold them to the absolute highest regard. They’re just ponies, like everyone else. We handled the dragons on our own. We conquered the ashlands and turned it into a fertile land capable of sustaining a population, all without the princesses.” “But they’ve dealt with so much. Things that we just don’t understand.” “Things that they don’t understand either. If they did, they would have removed them, not imprisoned them. You only cage what you don’t understand, or don’t know how to kill.” Dash winced. “Really missing the old Ditzy Doo right now. The one who crashed into town hall with her butt and broke everything, then ate all the muffins.” Ditzy laughed. “It was certainly easier to do that than keep you out of trouble against cosmic monstrosities.” “Prizma. Ditzanya,” Aurora interrupted. “One of the Wonderbolts is waking up.” They followed Aurora towards the medics area. Khroma was standing near the wakening Wonderbolt, with two medics and guards nearby. The pegasus rolled on his bed, groaning and uttering other sounds of great pain and discomfort. His eyes opened slowly, and he brought a hoof to his eyes. “Nng,” he said. “The light… turn off the light…” Khroma lifted one of his massive wings and held it over him, blocking the sunlight from his eyes. “Th-thank you…” he groaned. “Do you know where you are?” Khroma asked. “Now wait a minute!” one of the guards exclaimed. “This is our prisoner, and we will be doing the questioning!” Khroma drifted his gaze to them. Dash felt her skin crawl. She recognized that look. That look that broke many a refusal to go to bed on time. That look that elicited a stricter sense of getting passing grades in school. That look that inspired a lifestyle of working hard, working often, and never giving up. That look that Dash knew all too well that meant yes, no, and anything else possible when listening to her father. The guards ears wilted against their heads as they took a noticeable step back without uttering another word. Khroma nodded his head approvingly, and turned his attention back to the Wonderbolt. “Well?” “I…” the Wonderbolt breathed. “C-canterlot…” Khroma nodded. “What is your name?” “W-wind Drift.” “What do you remember last?” Wind Drift blinked. He stared into Khroma’s eyes. His breathing steadied, as his mouth mouthed out soundless words, trying to piece a sentence together. “I...I don’t…” Khroma set a hoof on Wind Drift’s horehead. “Calm your mind. Think of the high winds and the low ebbs of the sky. Think of the crystal blue skies of the day, and the icy black of the skies of night. Breath in the winds, breathe out the fog.” Dash felt as if her hooves wanted to give out and drift off to sleep underneath her just listening to her dad speak. It was amazing to see… whatever her dad was doing, but it seemed to be working. Wind Drift was trembling less, and his chest rose slower than before. “I remember… leaving a show… It was night… I was with some of the team… And then…” His eyes widened suddenly. He jolted upright in the bed, screaming. “Those eyes! Just staring at you from the dark. You can’t run from them, no matter where you go!” Khroma placed a hoof on Wind Drift’s shoulder and eased him back down. Wind Drift kept blubbering. “And the darkness. It just keeps following you! You can’t see anything! Its just dark! All the time! I hate the dark!” “Good…” Khroma whispered. “What else? Where do you remember going?” “G-going? I didn’t go anywhere. I was everywhere. I felt like… I was darkness. All of it. Everywhere. I…” A short breath escaped his mouth as he began hacking hoarse breaths. A medic rushed to his side and offered him a glass of water. He drank from it greedily, getting more of it on himself then in his mouth. The glass fumbled out of his grip as he finished, and he flattened back against the bed. He let out more ragged breaths, as he met Khroma’s gaze again. “I...don’t know what you want…” “Did you remember taking anypony against their will? Somepony you maybe were told to guard?” “I can’t remember! I… can’t…” He wheezed suddenly and sucked in another painful breath. “There was a cave… I think… It wasn’t far… It felt like… home…” “Where? There must be something you can identify.” Wind Drift looked up into Khroma’s eyes. His expression was nearly vacant as color started to drain from his face. “At the base of the mountain. Where the sun has never been.” Questions? Comments? Feel free to send me a mail Either here on Fimfiction Or at quillerypenfeather@gmail.com Im on Tumblr! Follow me for additional information of upcoming stories, as well as my day to day ramblings about life, writing, and of course, ponies.