//------------------------------// // The Unexpected Journey - Interlude XIII - part 4 // Story: Diary of the Night // by CalebH //------------------------------// With a ponderous wave of her horn Luna turned another blow. She had learned quickly that simply dodging the titanic dragon’s strokes would bring the mountain down on top of everypony’s heads and so she set about the arduous process of absorbing or stopping every blow. Even so every footstep seemed to bring the ancient fortress to the brink of collapse. As Luna took stock of her dwindling magic reserves she regretted her delicate company. With a sharp yank Bon Bon tied off the knot. She ran her tongue against her teeth, trying to get the unpleasant sensation of cotton fibers and the coppery taste of blood out of her mouth. Macintosh had not been carrying a saddlebag and her canteen would barely be enough for him. The mountain shook beneath them with a distant rumble. “Bon Bon?” Mac’s voice had always been slow and deliberate. It carried a rumbling depth and a solid assurance. You always knew that he had spent far longer thinking than he did speaking. To hear it call out, so small and frightened shook Bon Bon. “It’s okay Macintosh I’m here.” One of her bloody hooves stroked his face as she prayed that it was just the lantern light that made him look so pale. He weakly brought a hoof up to touch his bandaged head. “How’d you learn to fix up ponies?” Bon Bon shook her head and let out a relieved chuckle. “Lyra wanted me to play a healer that didn’t use magic one time. I learned it all for some stupid game.” “Saved my skin. Don’t seem that stupid to me.” “You’ve clearly never played in costume.” Mac let out a light chuckle in response. His eyes turned away from Bon Bon as the conversation lulled. “Pardon,” he said after a yawn. Bon Bon stiffened. “Whoa there buster,” she said. “You just had a concussion, you can’t be falling asleep or you might not ever wake up.” Mac rolled stiffly to his stomach and began pushing himself up. “What are you doing?” Bon Bon asked sternly. “Work helps me wake up,” Mac said between clenched teeth as he strained to rise. “It does no favors for broken ribs, now you lay yourself down this instant.” Mac settled to the ground with an enormous sigh. “What do you suggest then?” “I can’t be that bad to talk to,” Bon Bon scowled. The mountain seemed to punctuate her statement by rumbling ominously. “I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just I ain’t much of a talker. Don’t hardly know where I’d begin.” “The beginning,” Bon Bon said. “What was Ponyville like when you were young?” Mac stared at the lantern for a few moments to let his thoughts collect. “Smaller,” he began, “Weren’t a third as many houses and it seemed like the Everfree came right up to town square. The schoolhouse wasn’t even thought of back then. A grumpy old widow named Mrs. Wormwood taught us right there in the library. She’d do her best to convince you otherwise but she had a heart bigger than most. She wouldn’t take any nonsense. Fighting, cussing, or interrupting meant you’d go to the balcony and cut Mrs. Wormwood a switch,” Mac let out a distant chuckle. “Couple of times I got her riled up enough she gave it back to me right there in sight of the whole town.” Bon Bon gasped. “Public punishment is just cruel.” “Aw it ain’t nothing. Boys are gonna be boys and she did her level best to straighten us up. I reckon with how I’m colored switching me in earshot was the best way for her to let my parents know I’d been acting up.” “What were they like?” Bon Bon’s hooves shot to her mouth the instant it stopped moving. It was an unspoken taboo within Ponyville to talk about the apple family’s missing generation. The parents were no longer around and the children didn’t talk about them, that was all anypony needed to know. “I’m sorry,” she squeaked. “You can talk about something else if you want.” The mountain rumbled like a distant storm as Mac drew on the ground with a hoof. “Pa was big, bigger’n me maybe. Hard to know when you only ever looked up to him. He could talk your ear clean off if you’d let him. He’d talk from breakfast to dinner and hit his second wind before dessert. Before I was old enough for school I’d ride around on his back while he’d work and I’d just listen to him talk. “Ma wasn’t quiet but next to him she looked it. She was our family’s doctor. I reckon you read the same book on bandaging concussions as her.” Mac chuckled at Bon Bon’s surprised expression. “This ain’t my first rodeo,” he said. “She never could get Granny to let her run the kitchen for longer than enough time to make a quick snack. Only time Pa’d quit talking is when those two mares got after it. Once they were done you never saw a more friendly pair. They had their own way of being family I suppose.” This time the mountain’s rumbling seemed to be right on top of them, sending dust from the ceiling and a few stray bricks from the walls. “Come on,” Mac said straining to his hooves. “We need to find someplace else to be. The rest of the story ain’t happy anyhow.” “Well what do you think?” Morning Star glared at the gallery before him one more time. There were a few brick walls leaning dangerously that told it had once been part of the mountain fortress but behind them countless openings lead to any number of places. An errant footfall or strike from the fight above helpfully closed off a few of them. Moon Shadow shook her head beside him. “There’s too many,” she said. “None lead out, one or two back to the dragon but I can’t tell which ones. We’d be better off just picking one at random and hoping we get lucky. Morning Star stifled a laugh. “What?” Moon demanded. “It’s nothing, just something I overheard the others saying about that game of theirs. It might apply here but it’s just…silly.” “Any port in a storm,” Moon said. “Systematically to the left it is then.” “I don’t… Does this help?” Cross asked in an awed tone as the two unicorns gazed upwards at the seemingly endless shelves. “Well we are looking for a book,” Lyra replied. “We’re not exactly short on those anymore,” Cross groused as he gestured to the arrayed shelves. “Look at it this way, we’ve found the haystack, now we just need to find the needle,” Lyra said over her shoulder as she started through the shelves. “I thought finding the needle was supposed to be the hard part,” Cross grumbled as he walked to the nearest shelf. Cross brightened his horn and squinted at the dust covered books in front of him. He took a second to fill his lungs before blowing the dust off of the nearest spine. Cross blinked as the Spine, binding, and a considerable portion of the pages turned to dust and blew away as well. “Uhhh, Lyra,” he called out. “What is it this time,” her voice called back to him. “Are the books holding together any better further in?” “What do you mean?” she asked. “Touch one.” “…Oh…” “So new plan?” he asked. “Hold on,” She called out. After hearing the clip-clop of trotting hooves echo around the library for a few moments Cross saw her appear from between two shelves. “What did you have in mind?” Lyra asked more quietly. “I was going to follow your lead.” “Gee thanks,” Lyra deadpanned. “At this rate we might as well domino the shelves and pick up anything that still looks like a book.” “Wait that’s it!” Cross exclaimed. “You have to know I was kidding,” Lyra said with a frustrated sigh. “No not that. This journal is supposed to be magic out the wazoo isn’t it?” “That really depends on what a wazoo is.” “Anyway it’s the only thing on these shelves with anything resembling a magic charge. Don’t you see it’s a one in a sea of zeroes,” Cross said with a laugh. “So we just use a detection spell?” “Better!” Cross said excitedly. “We use several area based detection spells in combination with math!” “Math?” “Math!” Lyra closed her eyes and brought a hoof up to her face. “Cross,” she said after a pause “you are the biggest geek I know.” “It’s over here!” Cross called out already trotting off with his horn glowing. “Wait up!” Lyra said as she ran after Cross. “Log N algorithms filly. Deal with it.” Cross called back smugly. “A broom closet?” Moon shadow asked angrily. “Yep,” came Morning Star’s frustrated reply. “The only door in this whole place that still looks like a door.” “Yep.” “And it leads to a broom closet.” “Yep.” “I hate this place.” “Yep.” THOOOOMM! The world turned a hazy brown around Big Mac as dust filled the air around them. “Do you think,” Bon Bon said amidst a coughing fit, “that this mountain can have much more dust in it?” “Nope,” Mac coughed in reply. He worked his tongue around his mouth, grimacing at the distasteful feel of grit and mud. “It’s getting hot again. I think we may have looped back to the throne room.” “Eeyup.” “We should turn back and get out of danger.” “Nope,” Mac said shaking his head. “Why not?” Bob Bon demanded. “We’re in danger anyways. Least this way I know where the hell I am.” Bon Bon paused for a moment. “Fine what do you want to do?” “Find the princess and a safe corner to hunker down in. I’m about sick of that dragon stepping on my head and I wanna see him get whupped.” Bon Bon looked ahead nervously. “Just don’t try and interfere, that dragon is way out of our league.” “Eeyup,” Mac said stepping forward. “Right or left?” Moon Shadow asked knowing the answer that was to come. Thoom! They both knew the drill at this point. Close their eyes and breathe through a fetlock until the dust settled again. “Looks like we don’t get to choose after all,” Morning Star said. “Wait,” Moon said. “There’s warm air coming from ahead. A passage back to the throne room must have opened up.” “Let’s hope that was the dragon falling over dead then.” “Yeah,” Moon said, “Let’s hope.” “I still can’t believe this is it,” Cross said as he examined the journal. “And you’re sure that’s it?” Lyra asked as they walked through the library. “This thing has enough magic on it to keep it preserved for another however many thousand years. Plus the stars and swirls are a dead giveaway.” “But couldn’t it be a decoy?” Lyra asked as they passed under a final arched doorway. “It’s possible but why would this Starswirl guy—yaaah!” Cross said, yelping as he passed through the arched entrance to the library. “Are you okay?” Lyra asked. “I’m –gyaah- I’m, I’m fine.” Cross said bringing a hoof up to his horn. With his levitation spell cut off the journal fell to the ground. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing it’s just somepony really, really powerful enchanted these supports.” “Well yeah, I can sorta feel it in my horn too but it’s not that bad.” “I spend all day looking at electronics. It’s all super low powered spells and so I’ve developed some hypersensitivity. Let’s just get out from under this and it’ll be fine.” “Faust Cross how do you function if passive enchantments are enough to hurt you?” Lyra asked as she picked up the journal. “It comes and goes. I don’t think I helped it any with my little trick there. But I have an inhibitor ring back home if it ever gets too bad.” As they moved away Cross gave a sigh of relief. “We may want to check that journal,” he said. “I thought you said it was real.” “If this Starswirl guy can do that making a few dummy journals would have been no problem.” “Alright, how should we check it?” Lyra asked. “Just read the first few pages I guess.” “Oh,” Lyra said after opening the cover. “There’s a note. It’s addressed to the princesses or “whoever they get to come and find this for them”. “What does it say?” “A bunch of things,” Lyra said evasively after taking some time to read. “A lot of it is sort of, uh, old timey vulgar and a bit, uh a bit racist.” “A bit what?” Cross asked almost laughing. “Yeah, uh,” Lyra said blushing, “It turns out those pageants were right about how the tribes hated each other before Hearthswarming. It’s a lot cuter when it’s just foals pretending to bicker.” “Oh I have to see this now,” Cross said trying to take the book from Lyra’s grasp. “Cross, no!” Lyra said sternly. “This isn’t funny, this isn’t amusing, this isn’t interesting. It’s some old sh-shithead spewing out as much hate and filth as he can after he’s dead! If it didn’t have a part for the princesses I would burn it right now.” “Okay, fine,” Cross said relenting. “I think this way leads back to the throne.” “Let’s hurry up and find the others. I think what you have might be contagious because holding this book is making me sick.” Smaug looked down pompously from his throne of treasure. “You have spent yourself Dreamslayer. And for what, these weaklings you call friend? You are a coward but I never thought you such a fool.” Luna could give no response as she panted for breath. Sweat and tears ran in rivulets down her muzzle as she raised her head. She had enough power to defend one last attack but Smaug barely even seemed winded. “Very well then, die a fools death,” Smaug said as he brought his head down and unleashed a torrent of fire. Luna’s shield flickered weakly, nearly invisibly before the inferno it held at bay. With every breath she took she let it in slightly, hoping to make it smaller and redouble its strength but even as it shrank cracks spider webbed through it. Slowly Luna’s shield broke before the power of dragonfire. “Nope!” The word rang through the cavern, over the roar of fire, over the breaking shield and for a moment after everything was still. *crack* The sledgehammer slammed down onto the crown of horns atop Smaug’s head breaking one off. It skidded across the cavern floor coming to a stop at Luna’s hooves moments before Bon Bon placed herself between the princess and the dragon. “Keep behind me, princess,” she said. Luna never heard the words. She was trapped by the horn in front of her and the simple band of gold that wrapped around it. It had been countless years but Luna still recognized her father’s crown. “Insolent mortals!” smaug roared, shaking the mountain around him with his fury. “Protect the princess!” a voice behind Luna called. A golden shield sprung up between her and the dragon as Moon Shadow came to a stilted landing beside her. “We should retreat,” Moon shouted. “You will all die here!” Smaug roared again. His tail lashed out violently against the walls of the cavern. “The library is the best place to hold up,” Luna heard Cross’s voice say to her right. “Until he burns us out?” somepony shouted back as Mac rejoined the line protecting Luna. “You will all taste my fury!” Luna laughed. Amidst the shouting of the ponies and the roaring of the dragon and the rumbling of the mountain Luna laughed until all was silent, save her. “I understand it now,” She said laughing. “How six children could stand before the night incarnate and be victorious; how they could bring even Discord to ruin.” She rose to her hooves, leaning heavily on those around her as she stepped forward. “How many years have I kept myself blind to it all? Thank you, my friends, for helping me see. The bonds between us are stronger than any of us can hope to be. They did not defeat me for themselves but for each other. It was those bonds that Discord sought to break, yet he only showed how strong, how pure they truly were.” Luna turned to Smaug with a triumphant smirk. “You fight for your gold, your pride, yourself and so you have lost.” Luna’s horn ignited as magic flooded to her, more than she even thought possible. Luna could still feel her own depleted reserves as more and more power gathered. Yet it did not struggle against her control as it should, the spell waited patiently for her command. The magic didn’t come from here alone. It couldn’t have come from her. another burst of laughter bubbled out. She was surrounded by friends and friendship was magic, what more could she need. “For my friends, because of my friends who would not abandon me, even as they face down death…I defeat thee.” Magic latched onto Smaug’s neck and plunged his head through the cavern walls. For those around Luna their world went white as they were teleported outside of the mountain, beneath the sunlight. As they blinked and gathered their bearings a nearby cliff face exploded outward. Smaug careened forwards amidst the debris, still dragged by Luna’s magic until his head crashed into a giant, half buried boulder. Luna spread her wings and took to the air. Smaug’s battered form stretched from the crumbling cliff nearly seventy yards to the bolder. His proud crown of crimson horns lay shattered around his head. Each one bearing a band of gold, stolen from a king’s grave. “For my father, and all my kin whose graves you have desecrated I name thee Gravestealer.” For a moment Smaug’s eyes seemed to gain some focus back as the mountain fortress behind him collapsed in on itself he let loose a pained howl. His golden eyes seemed to glow even in the daylight as the howl rose in pitch and volume. Longer and longer it carried on until the once-mountain had settled into a broad and jagged hill. Still the giant dragon howled. Finally Gravestealer fell limp. His unconscious form thumped onto the ground as Luna turned to her companions, her horn still glowing. Once again their world went white.