Chapter 2
When life leaves us blind
“I DEMAND TO BE SET FREE!” a stallion commanded, flailing wildly.
“Just shut your trap, mammal”, a brown dragon lazily said before hitting Fancy Pants right in the kisser.
“Hehe! Dumb pony” a green hydra chuckled as him and the other reptiles watched the stallion fall unconscious under the impact of the blow.
“Come on! Take him to the big one along with the others” a booming voice ordered from behind the mist, “Charlie wants it filled before tomorrow”.
Scootaloo intently watched as Fancy Pant’s bruised body was carried carelessly by the smallest dragon of the lot. Like most of the other stallions she had seen before she reached the Town Hall, he had definitely been roughed up by the cruel creatures. She was filled with mixed emotions over the entire scene. A part of her wanted to kick the gang’s butt for being so heartless while another part of her almost made her scream in fear.
Sneaking into town was easier than the orange filly had originally thought. Save for the small scout sprite that almost spotted her, getting to her destination was a breeze. However, the same couldn’t be said for the other ponies whom she saw hiding as well. They were caught within a few minutes by the monsters and taken to Celestia-knows-where.
It was like she was invisible to them.
As far as she noticed, there were about ten or so creatures patrolling the misty region of Ponyville. On top of that, there were those spawned panthers which Scootaloo definitely needed to avoid. She wasn’t sure whether or not Mr. M would save her again the next time one of those beasts got her in its clutches. Staying hidden and silent was the obvious choice.
“STOP IT!! MY BABY!!” Scootaloo was snapped out of her train of thought by a stallion yelling behind her.
Scootaloo recognized the bruised stallion as Mr. Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara’s father. Propped in her hiding place, she kept a close watch on the wealthy stallion.
“What’s with these stallion fathers or something?” the small dragon from before muttered as he held the pony, preventing him from running off.
“Gripclaw, just hold him and shut up” a grey hydra sighed. The next moment, a clutched claw found its mark right at the stallion’s face, knocking him out.
“Easy work, all day long” the green hydra snickered.
“Yeah...it would be for you since supervising our hard work is all you do” the brown dragon grumbled, placing a filled sack on the ground.
“Stop fidgeting” a red crocodile groaned as he partially opened the sack.
Suddenly, a filly popped her head from the sack as she took a deep breath of air. Scootaloo stood motionless as her eyes widened in shock. She was absolutely surprised at seeing her classmate being surrounded by the beasts.
“Dad...” the pink filly whimpered as she saw her fallen father, her mane ruffled from being carried around like a sack of potatoes. In an unexpected turn of events, a cold glare came across her face as she stared at her captors. Without warning, she unleashed her anger at them.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FATHER, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING LIZARDS?!” Diamond Tiara screamed with tears in her eyes.
The school bully repeatedly bashed her hooves at her oppressors. She closed her eyes and let loose without even thinking of her target. All she could think about was everything they had done to her, her family and friends, Silver Spoon and the others, even the “blank flanks”. The merciless monsters appeared so suddenly and that too following the burst of light in the sky and the destruction of her home, another event she dearly wanted to erase from her memory.
“Get it off me, Ragged Hide!!!” the brown dragon yelled as Diamond Tiara pummeled him.
“I HATE YOU ALL!!!” Diamond Tiara cried out at the top of her lungs.
The next moment, Scootaloo observed in shock as the red crocodile thrust one of its digits right next to her neck. She could barely stop herself from screaming as she watched Diamond Tiara’s eyes roll to the back of her head and all motion ceased.
“No....” she mumbled helplessly, falling to the misty ground.
Even if Diamond Tiara was one of the worst ponies she had ever known, Scootaloo would have never wished upon her the misery and anger she had gone through. She didn’t see the school bully but instead she saw a powerless filly being tortured by reptilian monsters.
A drop of tear fell from her face. Compassion and pity for the pink filly filled her to the brim. She never thought she’d see such ruthless and merciless actions from anypony. The sickening sights seemed to get worse every minute.
“Don’t ever let them get to me again” the brown dragon hissed at Ragged Hide who merely shrugged.
“Too bad Charlie doesn’t want us to kill these kiddies” Ragged Hide chuckled, carelessly chucking a motionless Diamond Tiara back into the body bag.
“What about this big guy?” the small dragon inquired, licking his chops, “Charlie wouldn’t mind us eating just one, would he?”
“I know orders are orders but I guess we deserve a reward for our hard work. Wouldn’t you agree, Gripclaw?” the grey hydra asked his green compatriot who nodded an answer.
“Me first!” Ragged Hide yelled, his mouth watering.
Scootaloo closed her eyes and whelped. She couldn’t bear seeing the monsters devour Diamond Tiara’s father or even anypony at all right in front of her eyes.
She imagined the beasts devouring him slowly, the sounds of their lust for meat and blood echoing all around following each satisfied bite into the flesh of the poor stallion.
But no.
A blood curdling scream came from right in front of her but it wasn’t from Filthy Rich. It was from one of the monsters.
“AAAAHHHHH!!!!!” the small dragon screamed before he was silenced.
Still shaking, Scootaloo sneaked a peek. Her mouth hung open as she saw the reptiles standing awe-struck at a smoking pile of bones; the shocked expression on their faces puzzled Scootaloo a little.
“What the.....Ripper?” the brown dragon stood with a terrified look. One of their companions was disintegrated right before their very eyes.
“W-What happened?” Ragged Hide asked as the reptiles tried to regain their composure.
“W-Who the hell d-did that!?” Gripclaw frightfully asked, staring into the misty nether. Neither he nor the others heard any answer. Slowly, Gripclaw grabbed the motionless bodies of Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich before he ran away from the place.
Scootaloo could see that the tables had turned. The ruthless reptiles were now the ones being cornered and frightened after they witnessed their comrade being killed right in front of them.
From her hiding place she continued observing as the reptiles huddled together, each one shuddering in fright over what had happened. She assumed they were wary of the beam or ray or whatever that had reduced their friend into nothing but a sizzling pile of bones.
“It’s not C-Charlie, is it?” the grey hydra gulped.
“I sure hope not” the brown dragon replied.
No sooner than the monster had said those words, a bright pink-ish beam of energy consumed him from above. He yelled in pain as it enveloped him in a second, his friends and Scootaloo watching helplessly with horror.
Like Ripper before him, the brown dragon was obliterated in a matter of seconds as the beam of destruction subsided.
Scootaloo clasped her hooves to her mouth as the beasts stood back to back. She scanned her surroundings for any signs of the unseen aggressor. For all she knew, it might choose her as its next target and she definitely wouldn’t want that.
Ragged Hide and the remaining scoundrels tried their best to keep their senses in order. They shifted their gaze to every sound they thought they heard, wanting to find out who the murderer was. To say that they were scared was an understatement.
After a few tense moments, Ragged Hide picked up some hoofsteps coming from a sweet shop due east. Nudging his pals, he turned his attention towards the approaching figure. They waited in anticipation, filled with both fear and anger.
However, the anxiety faded away as they saw a pale blue unicorn stallion walk through the mist. The reptiles as well as Scootaloo stared at the new arrival intently wondering if this pony was the one responsible for the death of the two dragons.
“What is he doing?” Scootaloo thought as she watched the stallion approach the group of monsters. Despite what she saw just a few moments ago, she was sure that this unicorn was gonna feel the wrath of the beasts.
“You!” the grey hydra pointed at the stallion with anger in his eyes, “Are you responsible for this?” he asked accusingly, motioning to their comrades’ charred bones.
The cyan-maned stallion did not reply. He stood eerily at one place, tilting his head to the side as if he hadn’t understood what the hydra had said.
Scootaloo was quick to notice something strange about this pony. She could see that his eyes were sunken and derived of sleep and some kind of magical spark was surrounding him. Also, he seemed to twitch every few seconds and he was muttering some words inaudibly while he stared at the reptiles.
“Hey! Listen to me!” all three heads of the grey hydra shouted in annoyance, walking towards the stallion, “Who are you, pony? What have you done to our fr-“
Just as the hydra was about to grab him, the stallion took a step back before unleashing a pink beam from his eyes at point blank range. Scootaloo knew what was coming. Her hunch was right; this was the one who killed those dragons. The others were frozen in awe as it blasted the unfortunate hydra into nothingness leaving one three skulls in its wake.
Ignoring everyone else near him, the stallion dropped to the misty ground and watched the smoking skulls roll away. A smile came across his face before he twitched again. The next moment, the remaining aggressors ran away, not wanting to do anything with the mysterious unicorn.
Slowly, the stallion got up before firing another magnificently destructive beam into the direction where the other reptilians ran off to.
A few seconds later, ear-piercing screams of agony echoed all around. Scootaloo could barely keep herself conscious after witnessing so many deaths and pain in such a short amount of time. Even the death of the Spawned Panther seemed so meek in comparison to the scenes she saw.
The pegasus filly carefully trotted out from her hiding place, causing a barrel to roll over. The sound caught the attention of the strange pony but Scootaloo kept on going. Something.....familiar told her not to worry but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Trusting her instincts, she decided to ask the stallion a few questions.
“Uh...sir?” Scootaloo asked timidly, careful not to get on the stallion’s bad side.
“...You are alright....I hear them.....trapped...Thank heavens...” the stallion responded with half-closed eyes while staring off into the distance.
“Them? Trapped?” Scootaloo gave a puzzled look, “Hey! Are you talking about Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom? Are they alright?”
“...Understand..Red....conquers all.....their memories....it’s puzzling, the winds of change...what I say...” he chuckled before patting Scootaloo on her head.
“Enough with that” Scootaloo pushed the hoof away. She was definitely sure that this pony was crazy with power, literally.
“...I can’t stop....White....blue....love and magic.....flowing like a river. I’m not crazy....I’m not crazy....” the unicorn twitched as magic started to build up on his horn with a pink glow.
“Um..okay, Not Crazy. Who are you? How come you’re so powerful?” Scootaloo asked.
“...Glint...that’s me.....I have to find.....Sometimes not so good, sometimes not so bad....The power of the four.....” the stallion muttered rapidly as the magic continued to build up.
“Glint? Is that your name?”
“...Believe.....I walked alone.....Scrutiny....Horse of Flesh....help for me....” Glint continued.
“Anyway, I saw what you did....” Scootaloo said before her gaze fell to the pile of bones on the ground making her shudder at the mere thought of the destructive ability of Glint, “Could you help me free my friends? Another guy told me that they’re trapped inside a cage in the Town Square”
Glint shook his head vigorously, snickering all the while. Scootaloo let out a sigh of boredom, it seemed like there was no way she was gonna get this lunatic to help her out. From first glance, he appeared to be a normal pony but his behaviors said otherwise.
“Hear....the guards are coming...me.....” Scootaloo caught Glint’s expression quickly shifting between normal and crazed, “...the power.....stop doing that....of the princesses is inside of me.....no chains....I hear them all....how long...I have to find...”
“You have the princesses’ powers?” Scootaloo asked, taken by surprise, “That would explain the pink beams”
“Walking...we have to escape...hit by orb....hold my hoof.....I can hear....it’s only a matter of time before they take over.....” Glint replied before he disappeared from sight.
“Wait!” Scootaloo yelled but to no avail. Glint was gone. Once again, she was all alone. That was second time somepony had left her in the space of a few hours.
Just as she was about to slip away, she heard some cries in the distance.
“I heard some dumb pony speaking over there! Let’s go!” A familiar reptilian voice shouted followed by audible replies.
Scootaloo didn’t even stop to think. She dashed away from the scene in an instant. She was starting to think it was all a dream again. She woke up to a ghastly environment, almost got killed by a large cat, met a strange stallion, met an even stranger stallion and dodging the sights of monstrous creatures who roamed her home town.
Remembering what Mr. M told her earlier, she kept of galloping towards the Town Square. She traced the direction where the lizard who ran off with Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich headed. As the light in the sky dimmed, her determination to get back to her friends grew.
Another powerful blast of dark magic shook Twilight’s castle yet again. The vile monsters outside had resorted to heavy weaponry to try and demolish the large castle instead of the barrage of attacks from before. Sadistic grins accompanied the faces of the group which grew and grew over time.
Sunset Shimmer let out a low whelp as she fell off the ladder she was standing on while Spike tried his best to regain his footing. Tensions were running high as they pair desperately continued browsing through the books which were littered here and there.
“Are you okay, Sunset Shimmer?” Spike asked, a bit concerned for the pony’s well being.
“I’m alright” Sunset Shimmer replied as she gingerly stood up, “I can’t seem to find anything remotely related to that....weird fog out there” she added, throwing away a book titled “Slim Myths.
“I wonder how long the castle’s gonna hold off the attacks from those guys” Spike shuddered, “Brrrr.....I can’t imagine what they’ll do if they get through”.
“I think it has something to do with the fact that this castle was formed out of the magic from the Tree of Harmony Chest” Sunset Shimmer said while reading a book, “Princess Celestia once told me that it was one of the few sources of pure magic in the whole world”.
“So, you’re saying they’re not after us but they’re after the magic of this place?” Spike raised an eyebrow quizzically.
“I believe so. Obviously, they see us as threats to their goal” Sunset Shimmer commented, “We can’t just sit and wait though. We must find a way to get out” she added before she looked around the library for something that might aid in their escape.
“G-Get out? Can’t we just...I don’t know....contact Twilight and the others with your magic and tell them and anypony else to go through the portal to Canterlot High and away from those big monsters?” Spike nervously asked.
“I’ve been trying to contact Twilight and Princess Celestia but I keep getting these weird voices inside my head” Sunset Shimmer answered, “Plus we can’t risk getting those monsters into the other world. Nopony knows what kind of havoc they’ll cause”.
“Darn it...so, have you figured a way to get out? I’m all out of ideas”
“I don’t think I have....” she replied before her gaze fell on the machinery fitted to the Crystal Mirror, “Maybe I do have” she added with a smile.
“The Crystal Mirror?” Spike scratched his head, “But I thought you said we can’t risk them getting into Canterlot High”.
“Not the portal, Spike”
“Not the portal?”
“Do you think Twilight would mind if we use the machine fitted to the Crystal Mirror to blast our way through those monsters?” Sunset Shimmer asked.
“Uhh....I don’t think she’d want it dismantled” Spike replied.
“Hey, Little Dragon! What’s purple and about to be dead meat in a few minutes?” a hydra yelled. The next moment, a blast hit the castle again, shaking it.
“I don’t think she’d mind. I don’t think she’d mind” Spike smiled sheepishly. He was yearning to get out of their sanctuary more than ever.
“Alright, just fetch me a book on “Storm Haul’s Vault of Weapons and give me a few minutes” Sunset Shimmer said enthusiastically.
A few minutes later
“There, all done!” Sunset Shimmer wiped a drop of sweat off her brow as she finished building a small cannon from the mechanical parts.
“Whoa! When did you learn how to build stuff like that?” Spike asked, staring at the cannon in awe.
“I have no idea” Sunset Shimmer chuckled, levitating the cannon, “We have only one shot. A powerful one but only one so we’ll have to make it count”.
“So, after we blast those bad guys at the entrance, we’ll make a break for it, towards the Town Square, right?” Spike asked about their plan as they headed for the main entrance to the castle.
“That’s the general plan” Sunset Shimmer smiled, although lacking confidence.
“Wait! How will we know if this works or not?”
“Well, I designed this to use almost all of my magic in order to create the biggest blast so I might not have enough left in me to teleport us to safety”
“Meaning...?”
“We’ll either know or we won’t”
“Wha...Maybe we shouldn’t do this...” Spike tried to back away. He could hear the growls and the terrifying noises the monsters were making on the outside.
“We have to” Sunset Shimmer replied, “If this concerns Equestria and my friends, I have to do this even though it’s got nothing to do with my life right now”
“Alright...” Spike let out a breath, “If we don’t make it....I...I just want to say that I’m glad I was raised by kind ponies like yourself. Thanks for helping me right now. I don’t know what I’d become if didn’t meet anypony” he added before a loud roar from outside followed, “Maybe I would’ve been part of them heheh”
“Same here. If you and Twilight and the others hadn’t helped me embrace the magic of friendship, I would’ve never gotten rid of the old me” Sunset Shimmer said with a warm smile.
“Alright, are you ready to do this?” Spike cracked his knuckles, “For everypony and for Equestria?” he held his fist out.
“For Equestria” Sunset Shimmer replied with determination in her heart. She knew it was time she gave something back to her home.