//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Shaded Path // by Crensler //------------------------------// The air in the study was completely still, its occupants silent. The others exchanged glances, unsure what they should say or even do, while Luna, feeling a little drained from her previous efforts, watched as Seeker processed what she'd just said. The stallion seemed to be in a state of shock, staring blankly into space, not even blinking at this point. “Um, Mr. Seeker?” Fluttershy was surprisingly the first to break the silence, feeling worried for the stunned pony as he failed to respond. She knew she shouldn't really ask but she hoped to get him to snap out of it. “Are you okay?” The stallion actually blinked, eyes coming into focus as the corners of his mouth twitched. “M-Mr. Seeker?” The barest of giggles escaped him, sounding broken as he lowered his head, only for him to start laughing in a crazed, unstable fashion, eyes gleaming with the moisture of unshed tears. “Okay? OKAY?!” Seeker shook with the force of his laughter, though there was obviously no cheer or mirth to the sound as he rose from the floor and started unsteadily pacing the breadth of the charred magic circle. “Oh, yes, I am perfect, fantastic even, thank you so much for asking!” Fluttershy flinched, shrinking back from his gaze as he continued. “I just finished spending the last five years searching in vain for a cure, every lead ending in a dead end, every hope save one having been crushed, and now that hope is DEAD! BUCKING DEAD!” A red stain shown through his bandages as he slammed his hooves into the floor, sides heaving as he panted harshly. “I promised them I would fix it! I told them she'd be able to help, that surely Princess Luna could succeed where all our efforts failed!” The princess in question looked away, feeling decidedly guilty as he carried on his rant. “So why wouldn't I be just bucking dandy?!?” “Hey now, there's no call for talkin' ta Fluttershy like-” Applejack had started to speak up, seeing how upset this was making her shy friend, only to freeze as Seeker rounded on her, eyes having gained a feverish look to them as he glared at her. “Shut up!” He shouted, voice cracking with emotion as he shuddered, feeling sick from moving around so much in his weakened state. “We'd lost hope in ever ridding ourselves of this-this taint! Then I heard a rumor, that Princess Luna had returned, the very alicorn the binding magic was tied to.” He looked over to see the princess rising to her hooves, the stallion turning away as he started pacing again, legs shaking with every step. “If we're supposed to be connected to her, surely, I thought, she could do something to fix us.” “Seeker,” Luna began, his ears flicking at the sound of her voice. “Please, you need to calm yourself.” The look he shot her was icy, but she didn't so much as twitch. “You have reopened your wounds. Let us treat-” “Why should I care?” He asked darkly, gazing at the spreading stain on his back and sneering at it. “Might as well get it over with now rather than linger on like this.” He bit into the bandages, grunting and tugging at them, the fabric starting to tear. “Whoa now, fella, you're gonna hurt yourself!” Applejack made to stop him, wrapping a leg around his neck and trying her best to keep him from ripping it any further. “C'mon, y’all, somepony help me!” “Come on now, Seeky, easy,” Pinkie urged, placing her hooves over where the bandage was ripping to keep it in place. “You'll make me have to postpone the 'congratulations for getting better' party I was going to throw.” “Get off me!” Seeker snapped, struggling feebly against them, only for them all to cry out in surprise as his legs were suddenly knocked out from under him, his world spinning dizzily as he hit the floor. “Jeez, you're one crazy pony,” Rainbow Dash griped, having been the one that knocked him on his side, now pinning him easily so he wouldn't hurt himself. “Don't get the wrong idea or anything, this is just me returning the favor I owed you from last night.” “W-what the hay are you, ngn, talking about?” Seeker asked, his vision going in and out of focus as Fluttershy hurried over with the first-aid kit. “She is talking about how you saved her life,” Luna informed him, moving up beside the cyan colored pegasus and gazing down upon him sternly. “I had been about to slay you when Miss Dash interceded. Had you not then moved to take the blast yourself, she would have likely been killed.” She grimaced at the memory, having come very close to making a horrible mistake the previous night. “Now I recommend you hold still so Miss Fluttershy may treat the wounds you so foalishly reopened.” “Don't bother,” he muttered, closing his eyes and going limp. “Just let it happen. I'd rather die a pony than keep living this way.” Not that he was in any real position to stop them at the moment anyway. “Stop being so dramatic,” Luna said, sighing softly as she looked him over, a frown on her face. “I admit I...underestimated how entangled the Nightmare fragment was with your soul, but there is still yet hope.” “What?” Seeker managed to crack his eye open to look at her, not wanting to believe there could still be a chance. “But you said you failed.” “And I did,” Luna huffed, clearly annoyed with herself over having done so. “I cannot strip the fragment from you without doing irreparable damage, however I do know somepony that might, just might, have a chance of removing this...taint from you without doing any lasting harm.” “Can this pony really help him, princess?” Fluttershy asked, having just finished tying off the fresh bandages with Pinkie Pie's help. “I do believe she can,” Luna replied, causing the buttery yellow pegasus to smile ever so slightly in relief. From what Dash had said he turned really scary when he changed and nopony deserved the fate of being a monster. “While she is not as powerful, she is more attuned to the flow of magic than any pony I have encountered.” “So she's some kind of...super egg-head?” Dash tried picturing someone more nerdy than Twilight and had a hard time imagining it. Luna chuckled softly, shaking her head as she pictured the pony in question as an “egg-head”. It wasn't flattering. “Not exactly, but she is talented,” she told them, levitating Seeker to the sofa and setting him down as gently as she could. “Unfortunately, since the train isn't running yet, I will have to go and retrieve her.” She looked the the four mares that she'd come to consider friends. “Can I trust you to keep an eye on our guest?” “No,” Seeker rasped, grimacing as he rolled onto his belly, the effort leaving him panting and sweating as the world swam around him. “Put me back...in the cell.” He looked to the princess imploringly. “If you're gone too long, night will fall and I'll change.” “But you already changed, didn't you?” Pinkie sounded confused. “I mean, you said on the night of the full moon, right? Since it's already happened you should have no worries~” “The full moon does not occur for just a single night, Miss Pie,” Luna informed her, frowning once more as she considered the problem at hoof. “My friend would need time to gather supplies and...damn and blast, it would be simpler to bring you to her.” “But there's no way he's in any shape to travel,” Applejack objected, stuffing the soiled bandages into a wastebasket for the time being. “And how much of a threat can this critter be, all banged up the way he is?” She dusted off her hooves and grimaced at the sight of the bloody bandages, shoving the basket under one of the tables to get it out of sight. “I am afraid the Nightmare is not something to be trifled with, Applejack,” Luna said. “While I know you are not helpless foals, far from it in fact, it still remains a foe we dare not underestimate.” She gazed upon Seeker, frown deepening as she thought back to her experience in the stallion's subconscious. “I also fear I may have made matters worse.” “Worse?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as a distinctly male snore signaled that Seeker had passed out from the added blood loss and emotional stress taking its toll. “Guy turns into a pony eating, fire spitting monster. How could you make that worse?” Pinkie Pie was instantly at her side, covering her mouth with one hoof and looking around as if expecting to find someone watching them. “Dashie, jeez, you should know better than to say that,” she chided her, the pink pony sounding oddly serious. “Stories like this one, somepony saying that just ends up jinxing things!” “Pinkie, what the hay are you talking about?” Dash asked once she'd pushed her friend's hoof away enough to speak. “You need to be more genre savvy, Dashie,” Pinkie told her before bouncing off to grab herself a bite to eat, leaving the athletic mare a little confused. “That mare,” Applejack muttered while shaking her head in exasperation, glancing between Luna and their new “friend” a few times before clearing her throat lightly afterward. “So what were ya talkin' about, princess? Ya look a mite green around the gills there.” “When I entered Seeker's subconscious I found something rather disturbing,” Luna replied, taking her gaze from the sleeping focus of their conversation and focusing on the stetson wearing mare instead. “The imagery representing the state of his mind, his soul, was showing clear signs that he has not weathered being under the Nightmare's influence well. It grips him tightly, like a great snake unwilling to let loose its prey. “Tis only speculation, but I believe the curse I inadvertently inflicted on him and his tribe has become an integral part of who and what they are, likely because of how much time has passed between then and the present day allowing the fragments to more fully bind to their hosts.” Luna looked away, grimacing. “I did not understand this when I attempted to free Seeker from its clutches, his psyche literally shuddering from the damage I did but,” she lowered her gaze, “the worst part is that I made the fragment...aware.” “A-aware?” Fluttershy shivered, really not liking the sound of that. “Does that mean it wasn't awake before?” “Yes, Miss Fluttershy, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head,” Luna said, not looking all that happy about it either. “I believe it was merely a creature of instinct before my interference, no more than a crazed animal if you will, but it seemed to recognize me once I woke it with my reckless meddling.” “So what does that mean?” Dash asked, looking at Seeker like he was going to get up and transform any second. “Can it make him do things? Shouldn't he be chained up or something then?” “Unfortunately, Miss Dash, I have no way of knowing exactly what sort of effects this will have as of yet,” Luna told her, starting to look a little tired as she rubbed one of her temples in an attempt to stave off a headache. “For now, however, I do not believe we are in any immediate danger.” “Come on, girls, cheer up,” Pinkie urged them, taking a bite of a muffin and chewing with obvious enthusiasm. “Princess Luna's on the case and if she says her buddy can fix it then we shouldn't be worried one teensy little bit.” Luna smiled at the mare gratefully, her confidence in her encouraging. “Thank you, Miss Pie,” she said to her, causing the mare to grin happily, showing off a bit of chewed muffin in the process. As the other mares became distracted with thoughts of food, however, the princess looked upon Seeker gravely, whispering to herself, “I merely pray that your faith in me is not misplaced.” 0o0o0o0o0o0 “-I know you don't want to risk breaching containment, but we could learn a lot about how the change works.” Seeker woke to the impassioned reasoning of what sounded like Princess Twilight, the earth pony slowly opening his eyes as she continued. “It's not like we'll be inside the field with him when it happens and the data my instruments can gather could really help out this mysterious friend of yours.” “I think Twi just wants to figure out what makes our new pal tick,” Rainbow Dash interjected teasingly, Seeker's vision slowly swimming into focus. It looked like they weren't in the study anymore, the room empty of furniture save for several lamps ensconced upon the walls, the singular window showing the sky painted in the myriad hues of dusk. “Eggheads just love poking new things until they learn everything they can about them, so it's not surprising she'd want to dissect the guy.” “I do NOT want to dissect him!” Twilight protested, stamping a hoof and looking grumpy about the suggestion. Seeker wasn't exactly a fan of the idea himself. “Okay, I'll admit it, I'm curious, but I really do think this could be of serious benefit to you and your friend in your efforts to get rid of this curse.” The lavender alicorn was one of the few in the room with him, the only others being Rainbow Dash and Luna at the moment, at least as far as he could see from his position on the floor. By the sisters, no wonder why his joints ached. “And you can safely run these tests without jeopardizing the containment field?” Luna asked, sounding concerned for obvious reasons, Seeker curious about what the other princess had in mind as well. “Yes, with the sensors in place I can gather information from within the barrier remotely,” Twilight assured her, smiling slightly. “I'll have to compensate for the signal interference your magic will cause, not to mention whatever dark energy the transformation will put out, but I should be able to record-” She stopped when Luna held up a hoof while chuckling softly. “I shall take your word for it, Twilight,” the princess said, sounding amused, her words causing the younger mare to blush brightly. “What about you, Seeker? Do you consent to Princess Twilight running her tests?” Ah, so he'd been found out. “Well, uh, I guess I don't have a problem with it,” he answered, shifting uncomfortably, stone not the best thing to rest on, much to his nonexistent shock. “I mean if it'll help then I'm all for it.” “Good,” Twilight said, sounding happy to have his go ahead, sticking several electrodes to several spots on his head and barrel, small transmitters attached to them, presumably so wires wouldn't interrupt whatever barrier Luna was going to put up before he changed. “How are you feeling?” The princess asked as she worked, looking concerned. “I heard you, uh, had a bit of a problem earlier.” “You mean am I about to have another mental and emotional breakdown?” Seeker's question caused Twilight's cheeks to gain a dusting of pink, the stallion smirking as a result. “I promise to do my best not to freak out on you, though once the moon rises I can't guarantee the other me will be so cooperative.” “Right,” Twilight muttered, finishing up and stepping back to where she'd set up her instruments, all rather scientific looking to Seeker's uneducated eyes. “Well, that's everything I think. Now we wait.” She looked over to where Luna now stood by the window, watching the sun dipping ever lower on the horizon. It wouldn't be long now, the cursed stallion able to feel a prickling sensation along his coat, like hundreds of ants crawling along his skin. The machines came to life, a couple beeping in response to...something, he didn't know what. Before he could ask, however, Luna chose to speak up. “It is time,” she intoned gravely, horn glowing brightly as the sun set, raising the moon as was her duty, the skin crawling sensation turning to a burning itch as the first rays of moonlight shone through the window. Then the instruments started going crazy, Seeker crying out as he felt his bones starting to shift. “Buck, I really hate this part,” he growled, eyes already changing and teeth growing long and sharp, though fortunately the barrier had already snapped into place. Then it became hard for him to focus beyond the pain and his vision blurred to darkness. 0o0o0o0o0o0 Twilight kept an eye on the readouts as Seeker screamed, sweating a little as she did her best to ignore the wet, popping sounds of his bones rearranging themselves, his cries gradually becoming more primal and sounding more and more like horrendous whinnying than anything else. Rainbow Dash shuddered, getting flashbacks to last night as she watched Seeker change for a second time, this one no less unsettling as things roiled and bulged under his coat. His bandages tore with a sound akin to flesh ripping and the stallion fully changed into his monstrous form. This time, however, several things were different. His eyes weren't the same color, not red but a familiar cerulean blue, and the flames of his mane, tail and hooves blazed the dark color of the midnight sky rather than white. The Nightmare beast snorted and cast about the room in confusion for a few moments until its gaze focused in on the three of them, the monster baring its teeth and hissing angrily, much to Dash's dismay. “Oh, great, I think it recognizes us,” Rainbow Dash groaned, doing her best to keep her legs from shaking as fear clutched at her heart. No way she was going to let the others see how scared this thing made her feel. “Your shield will keep it in there, right?” Luna didn't reply, focusing on keeping the shield dome strong as the Nightmare approached the inner edge of it. It then spun about, lashing out with its hind legs, flaming hooves striking the barrier with a resounding crack, the lunar princess wincing as a sensation like being kicked in the brain filtered through her horn from the force of the impact. “I've never seen readings like this before,” Twilight murmured, sounding in awe as she checked over her equipment, one rolling out a long sheet of paper with wildly jagged lines scratched into it, which she held up to study carefully. “For just a fragment it's putting out a surprisingly large amount of energy.” Another crack of the Nightmare striking Luna's shield made her flinch, the creature bellowing its fury from within the barrier's confines as its efforts seemed fruitless. “Was it like this when you girls first saw it?” “No,” Luna replied, sweating a bit as she watched the Nightmare stalk about its magical cage, noting that the wound she had inflicted seemed to have healed itself during the change from pony to monster. “It is as I feared. My efforts have succeeded only in strengthening the creature.” The Nightmare suddenly reared up, slamming its hooves into the floor with a loud cracking sound. “H-hey, what's it doing?” Dash asked as it did it again, the floor shaking as it pounded at the stone beneath it furiously. “Oh crap, it's trying to bust out!” “Do not be alarmed, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, smirking as the Nightmare continued to strike at the floor in an effort to escape. “If the creature succeeds in destroying the floor my shield shall simply become a bubble instead of a simple dome.” Her words drew the monster's attention, the beast giving a terrible whinny of anger, followed by a blast of dark flames that made her barrier ripple for the duration. “Struggle all you like, Nightmare, but I shalt not let you escape!” “Luna,” Twilight began, sounding concerned as the readings started to spike. “You might want to hold off on antagonizing it.” Luna didn't dare turn away, though she wished she could look and see what had Twilight sounding so nervous. Meanwhile the Nightmare's eyes began to glow, the flames it generated growing as it glared at them from within her shield. “I think it's going to try breaking out again in a second here!” “You may wish to brace yourselves,” Luna urged, redoubling the strength of her barrier, just in case. The Nightmare moved to the far side of the barrier before throwing itself at them, the shield shimmering from the impact as it reeled back for another attempt, this time raising itself up and repeatedly striking it with its hooves, bursts of flame erupting with every strike. Luna, meanwhile, grimaced, its blows stronger than they were previously. The Nightmare moved back and let out repeated blasts of fire, each more powerful than the last, smoke filling the interior of the dome with each explosive burst as they struck her shield. “It's going to suffocate itself!” Twilight was no longer paying any attention to her instruments, pacing a bit as her nerves started to get to her. “Can you make the barrier permeable to smoke?” She asked, not wanting Seeker to choke to death because the Nightmare was doing something stupid. “If I do it would temporarily weaken my spell,” Luna replied, glaring at the smoke in disgust. “This is no mistake, the monster wishes us to be concerned. Damn you, Nightmare.” “Can't Twi just put her own shield over yours?” Dash asked, drawing both of their gazes, making the pegasus feel a little uncomfortable. “I-I mean, she could make it so it could do that, uh, permea-whatever thing right? Then Princess Luna could drop hers.” “Dash that's brilliant!” Twilight exclaimed, causing the athletic mare to blush from the praise. The lavender alicorn wasted no time in constructing her own shield, Rainbow Dash moving to open the window to let the smoke out once she was finished and Luna dropped her own shield. A whinny of triumph sounded from within as the smoke shifted, only for a loud thud to follow as the Nightmare ran headlong into Twilight's new dome. “Nice one, egghead,” Dash cheered, using her wings to help the smoke along as a low growl of annoyance sounded from within the fresh shield. Slowly the smoke cleared and the Nightmare stood there, panting in the light of the lamps, glaring at them all balefully. It's gaze shifted from Twilight, to Rainbow Dash, before settling on Luna, the creature smiling in a way that sent chills down their spines. Instead of trying to break free again, however, it paced a small circle before settling down on the damaged stone floor, closing its eyes as it lay there, curled up as if to sleep. “It's giving up?” Twilight sounded just as confused as they all felt, keeping her shield strong for the time being. “I can't understand this thing. First it's fighting like mad to break out and now it's just...taking a nap?” “Do not let your guards down,” Luna cautioned them, not liking this strange behavior the Nightmare was displaying. “The Nightmare is insidious, this is surely just an effort to unsettle us.” And yet, as seconds turned to minutes and minutes to hours, the monster did not stir. They all stood like vigilant sentinels throughout the passing of the night, until the sky began to steadily lighten and the creature stirred at last. It stood and stared straight at Luna, its smile returning, baring its wickedly sharp teeth. “I remember you, Luna,” it rumbled, shocking them all as its smile turned to a sinister grin. “And I won't forget,” its gaze swept over them each in turn, “any of you~” Then the sun started to rise, the flames dying and its body shrinking, until finally Seeker dropped to the floor with the first rays of the sun shining through the window, the stallion panting raggedly as Twilight lowered her shield. “Seeker?” Luna called, taking a few cautious steps forward. “Are you well?” The stallion coughed and slowly stirred, groaning weakly as he forced himself to sit up. “Just...just great,” he replied, voice oddly scratchy, feeling absolutely awful as a matter of fact. “Feels like I went bar hopping and had too much dragon whiskey, but I'll live.” He grimaced, mouth feeling dry as he noticed the odd looks he was getting. “What? We survived the night, so why are you three looking at me like that?” 0o0o0o0o0o0 Elsewhere... A unicorn mare stepped inside a specially crafted cage within the cellar of a small cottage, the metal bound with special enchantments that would only disarm with the rising of the morning sun, the moon just starting to creep up over the horizon as she shut herself inside it. She was average in height, with an amaranth red coat and a magenta colored mane and tail, eyes a bright, chartreuse green. She grimaced as the pain hit her, but tonight something was different. Her insides felt like they were on fire, the mare screaming as she collapsed to the floor of her cell, eyes rolling up as consciousness left her. However when they opened again she found herself within what looked like a dusty, poorly maintained version of her home, thick, black, thorny vines crawling over every surface, the wooden walls cracked and looking ready to collapse any moment. Worst of all she was bound to her favorite chair, the vines holding her fast. She struggled, grunting from the effort but making no progress. The shadows around her thickened, a hiss like that of a thousand snakes echoing in her ears as she struggled harder, and when a pair of cerulean eyes opened in the gathering dark she could do nothing else but scream.