//------------------------------// // Heart of Old Equestria: Bastion // Story: Corrupted Lands // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// My mind is overloaded. For one, there are the Hunters behind, well - under, me, threatening to get up into the attic any second. Next, there is the Protector responsible for saving me in the library inside the small room with me, and he does not look friendly. HOWEVER, my eyes betray me and slide around the room not in an attempt to find an escape route, but to drink in the crazy old artefacts lying around. I can identify some patterns and items, at least my constant reading was useful for something. There is a century-old full plate Nightguard armor being worn by a dress figurine. A tarnished, yet rust-less halberd from the pre-corruption era. Some jewels adorned with gems and crystals from the famous and lost Crystal Empire. What catches my attention the most, however, is a small leather-bound book portraying a symbol of the sun on its cover. A floorboard creaks under the Protector's weight. I twitch, whine, and try to look small. It's not a conscious effort, the Protector is just too big, too menacing, and his presence too spirit-crushing. I know how fast he can be. I know how strong he is. In his presence, I know better than any time before how insignificant I am. "AAAH!" a stab of pain follows a literal stab of Hunter's talons through my hind leg. Too many things happen too quickly. The Hunter pushes himself through the trap door to bite my impaled leg and drag me down. The Protector's front hooves turn to talons, and he grabs the halberd on the floor. The weapon lenghtens and its blade grows, strenghtened by black taint coming from the Protector's grasp. He lunges past me, stands up on his hind legs, yanks the Hunter up by his mane, and hacks the flailing Corrupted in half. Yes, I am dumb enough to stare straight towards the shower of blood in utter amazement and horror. "Ow, damn!" I curse, wiping the mess off my face. It's not too helpful, as I now get a clear sight of the Protector. My head fails me just like in every crisis situation, and I return to the habit of rambling incoherently, "I know you don't want me here, what with the territory thing. Trust me, I don't want to be here either. I just wanted to get help for princess Luna so that she didn't end like, well, you." "Hmmm?" he looks at me, question in his eyes. Work, work, WORK! Stupid brain. He looks like a really big batpony, well - a corrupted one, so I take a wild guess about what I said. "Princess Luna?" "Hmmm..." he glares. "Well, yeah. She's in danger, if she's even still alive. You... I mean the other Corrupted are attacking her in the throne room. She's awesome and super strong. Plus really nice, she even remembers who I am, but it's only a matter of time." "Hmph!" he huffs meaningfully, and starts rummaging through the pile of things in the back of the attic. I catch myself staring at the firm rump and the large, heavy, swinging testicles. "Mares... mares... mares. Don't shame your dead family even more by being into stallions!" I try to stop myself ineffectually, and look closer at the set of plate armor. Still, I sneak a peek at the Protector's bulging muscles every so often. So, going back down is suicide. At least this guy doesn't seem to want to rip my head off. "Hmmm," every part of the armor is clean, although not oiled, and it is the really heavy kind used by war chargers in the old days. Today it is more important to be agile, because Corrupted can swarm you easily and no amount of protection will help, so full sets of plate mail are almost never used. A set of silver guard tags which read "Bastion" hangs around the dress figurine's, right - ponnequin, neck, "Is your name Bastion?" He gives me a quick look when he hears the name, but returns to his business immediately. I'm not touching the halberd, especially since it looks now to be half-made of the corrupted biomass. The book with the sun, however... I gasp, and my head spins as I open the front page. To my dear sister Luna, The Golden Legion left Canterlot four weeks ago, and today we can finally see what we call "The Barrier". The resistance of the local Corrupted hive is beyond all expectations, but the best of mine, Chrysalis', and your forces are truly the champions among our ranks. Many of us are wounded, but our losses are minimal. We hope to cross The Barrier tomorrow and destroy the root of this so-called corruption. I have many theories, but very little actual proof about what I believe is hidden there. If I am correct, however, then there is a high chance the encounter will pose a deadly threat even to me. In case we fail, I am sending general Bastion back with information we have gathered during our march. I have to cipher this journal's contents, as it contains the methods we used to successfully survive in this hostile territory, and were it to fall into... the wrong hooves, it might destroy your chances of dealing with the Corrupted as well. I turn the page, drop the book, and clutch my head. "ARHG!" chaos of images, words, colors, and sensations ends my perception of the world for a moment. Thankfully, I am just confused, not hurt. "There's no way I can break a magical cipher like this," I mumble with absolute certainty, "Princess Luna might, since it is meant for her eyes. Her sister... Celestia, was it?" Making the not-so-wild assumption that the Corrupted Protector used to be a member of the legion led by princess Celestia to eradicate the Corrupted, I look for a place to pocket the book. "HMPH!" Bastion finally finishes his search, and throws something to me, something heavy and made of steel. The final part of the plate armor - the helmet. Complete with the sliding visor, rotten and withered plumes on top, and everything. With one leg, he picks up the ponnequin wearing the rest of the suit, and it ends on a heap in front of me as well. "Wait a minute..." I look at it with dread, "You can't-" "Grrrrwr!" he points towards his wings, then to the old Nightguard insignia on the breastplate, and salutes. This can't be real. "Look, I think I can guess you want to save princess Luna or something, but there's an army down there. A QUEEN is there!" I shake my head, "I can't even wear that, it's too heavy, I-mmph!" the helmet lands on my head and the visor slides down, "I'm not a fighter! I'm not useful! JUST LISTEN!" With surprising care and precision for somepony so huge, he tightens the straps of the legplates so perfectly that they fit even me. For a second, I ponder why a Nightguard helmet has a hole for a horn AND fits me fairly comfortably, and then my fear gets the better of me. "Come on, I'm not a hero! I'm so tired I can attack Corrupted at best by fainting at them," I sag under the weight of the chest and back plates, "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING!" Meaningfully, he puts princess Celestia's journal into the saddlebag hanging on the side of the suit of armor. I can barely keep balance in this heavy thing. Every movement threatens me to keel over... ...which is exactly what happens when Bastion pushes me gently backwards. Clanking like an overturned trolley of cutlery, I roll down the attic stairs. The padding of the armor is so ridiculously well-done that I barely feel the impacts. Bastion lands like a cat on three legs straight above me, one of his front ones grasping the halberd. "Wonder what training would I have to go through to get a stomach like that," I roll from under him, and shakily get up. Four Hunters are approaching. "I guess heroes aren't born... they are just normal guys with nowhere left to run." Bastion cleaves through the two foolish enough to jump at him head on with one swing, and impales the third one with his free talons. When I trap the last one in a second-long antigravity spell, stopping his lunge at the big guy from behind, he crushes the attacker's skull with his hind leg, and smiles at me proudly. "I get it, I get it," I grumble, "There are hundreds more of them downstair, though, smartass." He doesn't look bothered. Too bad, I am crapping myself. Crapping myself while we DO NOT sneak down, but casually walk, completely without any respect for the horde under us. Crapping myself while Bastion throws a Corruptor out of the window, and the creature of living corruption squirms, trying to find a shape allowing it to survive up there and failing. "Cool," I whistle as the Corruptor explodes into a black shower, "They can't handle heights, and if they are forced to stay up high then Corruptors lose the ability to keep their cells together." Still crapping myself as he methodically cuts his way through any opposition while I simply shove the ones getting to his blind spots away with magic, or cast a quick shield spell to deflect an unexpected bite. I am mostly being ignored, as the Corrupted know who the real threat is, and the few trying to flank us get a taste of Bastion's unearthly agility and weapon skill. My armor is enough to protect me from a furious Hunter until Bastion slices his head off with his wing. My presence is taxing him, that is clear, because while I can save him from an unexpected attack or two, his having to get Corrupted away from me is taking toll on the huge body. Huge body with bulging muscles, sweat-drenched coat glistening in the torchlight, and the posture of somepony filled with absolute confidence and conviction. He isn't just a bulk of overgrown muscles, he is... perfect. Somepony I both wish to be and to be with. "Huh?" I stop staring at Bastion's heaving chest when the Corrupted retreat, "This LOOKS good, but I like it even less now." "Grrrr..." he looks around, sniffs the air, and nods. Our trek to the throne room is clear, with only the distant moaning and shuffling of Corrupted doing Corrupted-y things making my mane stand on edge. The throne room itself, however, is filled with the sounds of growling and chaos. We enter a scene of what should be wild combat, but feels like a theatre play. Princess Luna is sitting in the middle of the long room, barrier of blue flames protecting her from the Corrupted around. The spell feels weird, not like magic, rather something more - reality bent by a powerful wish. Maybe something native only to alicorns? I know for sure I have not seen anything like this before. The survivors of the first attack, who must have returned through the hidden entrance, are holding a line against Corrupted trying to charge them over and over. They aren't causing much damage to the attackers who seem to be killing time rather than trying to break through, The Queen is watching them with amusement, accompanied by dripping forms of Corruptors, and a male Breeder with his muzzle shoved deep in her nethers. The Breeder's ears perk up as the Queen turns to us, and he walks away behind a nearby pillar. "Yep, they were waiting for us," I bite my lip. "Heh heh heh," the Queen chuckles. Tendrils shoot down from the ceiling, entangling one of the defending ponies instantly, and swinging him towards her. The Queen's jaw... and chest... splits... My mouth drops open. The Queen entire front opens, revealing a mass of tentacles inside which envelop the unlucky stallion, shoving themselves into any orifice they find. Accompanied by his muffled screams, the Queen's outer layer closes around him, leaving only the devourer herself. She opens her eyes and licks her grinning mouth. The four Corruptors surrounding her turn to puddles, and disappear. In the same instant, black rain comes down from the ceiling all over the throne room. The ponies look up when the black substance, as if having a mind of its own, slips down their throats, noses, and seeps through their skin. I can't avert my gaze from the ponies willingly throwing away their weapons and presenting themselves to the Corrupted. The rain falls down, leaving only princess Luna's protective bubble, and me hiding underneath Bastion's wing untouched. "FLEE, GET TO PONYVILLE!" I hear princess Luna's scream, just as I get flung out of the throne room. The Corrupted howl, roar, and the horde's hunt for us begins. "I can't outrun them in this thing!" I plead. My legs are like noodles, yet somehow I am absolutely sure that Bastion will not save me if I stop giving it my everything. With how close the enemies are, I doubt it's going to matter. The Corrupted batpony looks at me, and slaps his ears. "What?" I wheeze, moving my legs as fast as I can. He doesn't answer, just takes a long and deep breath. For once my brain pretends to be useful, and makes me slam my hooves into the helmet's earholes. The ultrasonic bat screech shatters all the windows in the long hallway and makes me beg for death. Thanks to the warning, though, I'm not in as bad of a shape as the Corrupted. Excellent hearing CAN be a disadvantage. A quick glance backwards reveals collapsed black shapes, clawing and pawing at their heads in utter agony. That will not last long, though. "-" I say, but can't hear a thing over the ringing in my ears. One thing is clear - we have to escape, but where? "-" I must be muttering to myself, it's too strong of a habit. Considering the previous trap near the Ponyville tunnel, I'm sure the Queen knows we would want to go there. So, since the entire hive is on the lower floors, we could go up, but then what? I pat Bastion's back and point towards the staircase leading up. My legs burn with objections to what I'm planning to do, but it's either this or... You know? After seeing the Corruptor-esque Queen leading this hive and having my stomach revolve so fast it could generate electricity, I think I'm gonna pass the offer of one final mating. Luckily, the old tunnels leading from Canterlot city sewers down the mountain and then to Ponyville SHOULD still be safe-ish. Time for a leap of faith.