//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Failsafe // Story: Daylight Burning // by Guesswork //------------------------------// Chapter 13 "Princess," said Shield Banner, poking his head in through the doorway, "we found Purple Heart." "Show me," said Luna. It was a short walk to a nearby reception area. They came upon a circle of medics attending to a heap on the floor that might once have been a pony. Purple Heart's wounds were so grievous that even Luna could not look upon him without discomfort. He was barely alive. "Step aside," said Luna to the other medics, who were fumbling with the Night Guard's aberrant anatomy. The Princess lay down and cradled Purple Heart against her body, passing a hoof over his cold brow. "I tried to get away..." said the Night Guard medic. "To warn..." "I know," said Luna. "You have done well tonight." "...glad... my death... means something..." said Purple Heart. "...always afraid I'd just... slip in the bathtub... you know?" His laughter turned into coughing. "But you can't die!" said Pinkie, distraught. "You're already dead!" "He's been exposed to UV radiation," said Twilight. "I... I don't think there's anything we can do now." "...got to see sunlight one last time," said Purple Heart. Slon approached, picked up his friend's hoof. "You have always been one badass pony," said Slon, "for a capitalist pig-dog." "Thanks, Slon," said Purple Heart. "Sorry I won't be able to visit Stalliongrad this summer after all..." "When we meet again, comrade," said Slon, "you can show me around." "Deal," said Purple Heart. He coughed again and when he recovered, his breath was a death rattle. "Where's the Apprentice?" he whispered. "I have to talk to her." "I'm right here," said Twilight. "Take... my hoof..." She clasped it, and found herself holding onto a lightning bolt of negative magic, which shot through her and made her shout with surprise. The energy hit her spine, coursing up and down through her nervous system to the ends of her hooves. Sensation began to return to her lower-half, her weariness and pain flowing backwards into the Night Guard's touch. Purple Heart's wounds grew even worse, and he groaned in agony, but did not let go. He's erasing the past, thought Twilight, taking the threads of fate onto himself, transferring my wounds, my exhaustion to himself. At last, the waves of temporal disturbance settled. Purple Heart fell back, all of his strength spent, his rear legs paralyzed, his body completely destroyed. "Tell Cinnamon I forgive him," he whispered. His gold eyes shimmered. "And tell Slim I'll see her around. And that her cooking sucks." Then, with a soft, sifting noise, the pony began to disintegrate. His hooves collapsed into ash, his chest and face caved in like a burning log. Within twenty seconds, the dark pegasus was nothing more than an outline of dust, which scattered as a draft blew in from the atrium. Twilight lifted herself slowly to her hooves, then stomped and snorted, tail whipping back and forth with renewed strength. Her coat was shiny and whole again, and her horn let off a pulse of magic that made all their ears pop. Everypony stared at her in shock, except for Luna, who looked on with grim satisfaction. "A fitting final act," said the Princess of the Night. * * * Twilight eyes settled on the night-sky alicorn. "What now?" "Now for Celestia," said Luna. "If I know my sister, she has surely left some sort of clue for us to follow." "The message!" said Twilight. "'Two Princesses must act as one.' That's what Celestia wrote on the wall right before the Nightmare took control of her. Does that phrase mean anything to you?" "The Failsafe," said Luna, looking surprised for a moment, then pensive. "By grace, these really are desperate times." "What is the Failsafe??" demanded Twilight. "It is a spell," said Luna, "designed long before Celestia and I were born, when the government was still shifting from unicorn to alicorn rule. They knew the sun would always be more powerful than the moon, and that any pair of alicorns linked to the two would share that imbalance. So they created a way for the lesser to even the odds, just in case the greater ever decided to follow a path of tyranny. "What we faced before was Celestia in her night-cycle. She will reach her maximum power at sunrise and none of us will stand a chance after that, least of all me. If we are to win, we must sever the connection between the alicorn and her star. We must block out the sun." "Block out the sun?" said Dash. "What the heck is big enough to do that??" "I know," said Twilight. "The moon." Luna nodded. Nopony else spoke for a few moments. At last, Pinkie Pie said: "Why wouldn't the Princess just write: Failsafe?" "Because it wasn't a conscious thought when she wrote it," said Luna. "It was premonition. And premonition is never meant for pony eyes. I must warn you all, the Failsafe is a terrible gamble. Once the casting is begun, it can not be interrupted or the consequences for the solar system could be... dire." "Just tell us what to do, Princess," said Twilight. "First thing is first. Shield Banner, round up what is left of the Royal Guard and get them ready for a mass-teleport to Canterlot. In order to use the Failsafe, we will need a magic transmitter that can amplify our efforts enough to move the heavens off their tracks." "Aye, Princess," said Shield Banner, and he left through the swinging doors. "This trans-mitter," said Applejack, wrestling with the unfamiliar word. "It's at the castle?" "No," said Luna. "It is the castle." "Did I make it in time for cake?" came a voice from behind them all. "Please tell me there's still some cake left." They all turned to see an exhausted Spike climbing up a back stairwell with a bedraggled Rarity in his forelegs. They were both soaking wet. "Spikey!" shrieked Pinkie Pie. "Rarity!!" "Hey guys," said Spike. "Hey Princess, you look good." "I knew you were alive," said Luna with the hint of a smile. "I knew it. My dragon is tougher than all of the Royals combined!" "Are either of you hurt?" said Twilight, rushing over with the rest of the girls. "Not me," said Spike. "Just..." he panted, "had to swim a long, long way to get out of those tunnels. Rarity, though... I don't know what's wrong with her." Rarity looked as if she was listening to far-off sounds. When she looked over at Twilight, it was without recognition. She didn't even really seem to know where she was. "Rarity," said Spike. "Say something." Nothing. "Okay," said Fluttershy, as she took Rarity gently by the shoulders. "Okay, Rarity, come with me. We're going to go have a seat over in this office and I'm going to make sure you're not injured anywhere." Fluttershy looked up. "Pinkie, you want to give me a hoof over here, please?" Rarity allowed herself to be led inside, walking without a word, without expression. Staring at nothing. Spike watched them leave. He covered his face with his hands and swore bitterly, started to walk away. Luna caught up to him halfway down the hall, cleared her throat, but he just walked faster. "Spike, stop," she ordered. He stopped but didn't look at her. She walked up beside him. "Spike, I am sorry about what happened to Rarity." "I thought I'd saved her!" "You may still have. We will just have to see what the doctors and mystics say. Do not give up yet, Spike." "I'm going to bucking kill the Nightmare, Luna," he said, smoke pouring from his nostrils, "I'm going to rip her right off of Celestia and break her in half over my knee." "While I appreciate the sentiment," said Luna, her midnight-eyes flashing, "it appears that you're letting your emotions get the better of you. As I suspect you did earlier. I think we both know what happens then." Spike glanced at the ground. "It makes me predictable." "It makes you quite predictable. No wonder you allowed yourself to be swept up in a trap set by a Royal, of all ponies. I was sure I had trained you better than that." "You did." She let him sweat for a few more moments, but then the Princess sighed and her tone eased a bit. "Learn from this, and then let it go. True, you blundered into a trap. But it speaks volumes that you survived, and perhaps even managed to save Rarity." "Yeah, maybe," rumbled Spike. Luna moved into his line of vision so that their eyes met. Emerald-green, night-sky blue. "Spike, you made a mistake. But otherwise, you have shown the utmost bravery and leadership throughout this long night. Despite your stumbles, you have not disappointed me. You have never disappointed me, my dragon." "Princess," said Spike with surprise. "You... you've never... I mean, you're always so hard on me--" "Because I believe in you," she said. "And because we all knew this day would come. So my sister and I both picked our champions. Celestia chose Twilight Sparkle, and I chose you. You must admit, after all this time, it is almost a relief to play the game we have practiced for so long." "Oh, for sure," said Spike. "I'm having a great time." He sighed and looked back down the hallway, where Dash and Twilight were pretending not to eavesdrop. "Uh, Princess," said Spike, turning to Luna again, "I hate to ask, but have we lost anypony?" "Purple Heart is dead," said Luna. "Cinnamon Oatmeal is possessed and in the Nightmare's thrall. There are many serious injuries on the Royals' side, but surprisingly, no fatalities." "None?" said Spike. "You've got to be kidding." She shook her head. "Wow," he said. "Twilight and her crazy non-lethal schemes. Too bad for Purple Heart, though. That stallion could play skee-ball like nopony I've ever seen. Skee-ball. What a random skill." "That was his cutie-mark," said Luna. "Before he became Night Guard. I am not sure if I could blame him for choosing a different path in life. It is to our lasting benefit that he chose us instead." "Amen to that," said Spike. * * * An hour later, as true sunrise neared, the various defenders of Equestria found themselves digging in around the Canterlot Observatory. The building lay on a prominence a quarter-mile up the mountainside from the castle proper. Twilight had to marvel at the view. Equestria looked like a patchwork-quilt from this high up. The ragtag remainder of the Guard crouched in position behind sandbag barriers set up around the Observatory. Well over a third of the corps was missing from the lines, having been taken to the Canterlot Horsepital instead, and many of the remaining troops were rookies or noncombatants. The soldiers shifted nervously in their positions. These soldiers are in hastily reconstituted units, brooded Luna. Many haven't held a weapon since basic training. Even as an ambush asset, they will need strong leadership. Thank goodness they trust Hard Target. And thank goodness Spike returned to me. To us. A number of times already, she had considered not using the Failsafe after all. It seemed a terribly selfish thing to do, to endanger the lives of every creature on this planet, just to prevent the Nightmare from seizing control of Equestria. Except that Luna knew it wouldn't stop with Equestria. It wasn't unforeseeable that the Nightmare might enslave the entire world's population, what with Celestia's power added to her own. And that was a fate worse than death. At least this way, they'd go down fighting. "Hard Target," she said. The stallion cantered over. "Yes, Princess." "I need to be absolutely clear about this. Do not order your soldiers to attack until the Event occurs. No matter what. The Nightmare's regeneration makes any attack prior to the Event next-to-useless. We will use the strike team first, to hold her until the Event. Let the strike team do its job. Do not attack too soon, or I promise, she will reap through your ponies like a field of wheat." "Aye, your majesty," said Hard Target. "We will wait, no matter what." * * * Shield Banner's horn glowed orange as he lifted the giant crystal lens into place. He was almost finished re-calibrating the Observatory's main telescope. I really hope this works, he thought, tightening down the copper bolts to secure the lens. Before him lay several pages of Twilight Sparkle's hastily-written chicken scratch, themselves interpretations of some ancient schematic from the Canterlot Archives. It had been a long time since the Failsafe had been devised, and as Shield Banner measured the angle of the lens, he couldn't help but think how easy it would be to mistranslate a single word, or forget to carry the six. Then they'd all be dead. Putting my life in the hooves of a mare I damn near put to the sword. His future was blank even if he did survive. Ironically, his chances actually got worse if they managed to save Celestia. He knew she would be furious with him. Would he be drummed out of the service? Would he be imprisoned? For a pony who craved stability, this was excruciating. And to think, just this morning, he'd been looking at houses in the city. "The blink of an eye," he muttered to himself, twisting the lens into its felt-lined housing. He held up a protractor and measured the angle, made another adjustment. "Your life can change in the blink of an eye..." "Shield." He looked over his shoulder. "Fluttershy," he said. He turned back to his work. "I'm sorry, but not now." "Really?" she said. "After everything that's happened, that's all I get?" "I'm in the middle of a precise operation here. You and I do need to talk, but this is neither the time nor the place." "It's Rarity," said Fluttershy. "I'm treating her injuries now. Just tell me what you did to her and I'll leave." "Some of the details are classified. Maybe if you had security clearance... but you're not a Royal Guard doctor." Fluttershy looked at him nonplussed. She held up a gold necklace, studded with a large pink gem in the shape of a butterfly. The legendary artifact thrummed with power that rattled a nearby teacup in its saucer. "Well?" she said. Shield Banner paused, looked around. They were alone in the room for the moment. He turned back to the massive array of lenses inside the copper telescope, rearranging a few more of them with his magic. "I used an invasive mind probe on her," he said. "I can't say that I was gentle about it, either." "That's... horrible." "She turned out to be rather hard to read, actually, so when Spitfire's information came through, there was little reason to continue the probe. At that point, I decided to employ her as a trap for the dragon. I implanted an aggression hex-cocktail that amplified her more dangerous instincts and placed her into Spike's path with a few well-chosen weapons." Fluttershy was ashen-faced. "What then?" "Then, I don't know. The explosion happened, the flood. I guess he managed to swim with her to the surface." She shook her head, her shock turning to anger, despair. She was feeling too much at once. "I... I just don't even know what to say, Shield. You should see what you did to her. I don't know if she'll ever be the same." "I wish I could take it back," said Shield Banner, firmly. "I never meant to hurt an innocent. This whole thing has been one disaster after another for everypony involved. I've made some incorrect decisions and others have paid the price. I'm going to have a price to pay myself, eventually." "Shield Banner, I'm not mad at you for hurting my friends," said Fluttershy. "Can you believe it? I know that the Nightmare made us fight each other. We hurt a lot of your ponies too, to say nothing of all those poor, innocent sea creatures! I'm mad because you liked it. You took joy in hurting my friends, as revenge for what happened to the Princesses. That's not duty, that's cruelty." "What can I say, Fluttershy? That I'm sorry? Fine, I'm sorry. I'm just a pony, after all. But I'm also sorry that you seem to think the real world is as gentle and sweet as your darling little animal sanctuary of happy endings." "What I thought," said Fluttershy, her voice thick, "was that you were a decent stallion. I guess that was my mistake." She turned and walked away. He watched her leave. "Horseradish," he said. * * * The first rays of the dawn breached the horizon. After the long night, the sun seemed too-bright, piercing. It was hard not to marvel at its beauty, even though everypony knew what it meant. "Nightmare's awake," whispered Dash to herself as she soared through the sky. To the south, far beyond the edge of the Everfree, Dash's excellent pegasus vision picked out a single point of light well above the horizon. The light grew brighter and brighter, started accelerating straight for Observatory Hill, leaving a fiery contrail in its wake. There she is!! thought Dash. Luna had said the Nightmare was going to be pretty far away in order to avoid scans from the Royal Diviners, but she hadn't said anything about space! Looks like the Nightmare's about... two hundred leagues out, going, maybe a half-league per second? Dash wasn't exactly a math whiz, but she could do flight calculations in her sleep. Got a little wiggle-room, a few minutes, but no more than that. Time to send the signal! She pulled a cardboard-tube contraption out of her saddlebag. Pinkie had tried to tell Dash how to use this thing, but the party pony was notorious for saying a whole lot while basically saying nothing. Dash started going over the steps in her head. Okay, 1. Place hoof on cardboard handle, 2. Point blue arrow away from face... or was that towards face?? She turned it over a few times. Got to be away from face. 3. Grip string firmly. Dash took the plastic end-ring in her teeth. 4. Close eyes, 5. Pray... She hauled on it with all of her might. Something in the tube ignited. The thing let out a massive explosion of multicolored sparks and confetti, along with a thunderous sound of flatulence that echoed across the whole valley. * * * "The signal!" said Pinkie Pie, jumping up and down. She exploded into paroxysms of laughter and rolled around in the grass. "Really Pinkie!?" exclaimed Twilight, standing next to her on Observatory Hill. "Pranking Rainbow Dash when we're in the middle of all this?? Are you nuts??" "I for one thought it was funny," said Princess Luna with a chuckle. "And why not one more laugh before we roll the grand dice?" "One minute!!" shouted the caller, eye stuck to his spyglass. They could see the pinprick of light in the sky now, growing brighter and brighter, closer and closer. It was silent, though. She's outrunning her own sound waves, thought Spike with a sinking sensation. How in the world are we going to survive this? Again? I didn't ask for any of this crap. I just wanted to get drunk and hit on mares last night, but no-o-o, some insane disembodied pony soul has to come and try to kill me and everypony I love-- "Spike," said Luna. "I am needed inside. Remember, you are third to engage. Let the other two take her for as long as they can." "Yes, Princess." Then, seemingly on impulse, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Fight well, my dragon." He watched her gallop off without another word. Spike touched his cheek for a second. Then he turned back around to see an intense, bright light in the sky, racing toward them like a living comet. The Nightmare had arrived. * * * Omigosh, omigosh, thought Fluttershy. Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh!!! She kept her eyes tightly closed. The air in the Observatory's tiny entrance parlor seemed stuffy, too hot. She couldn't breath! She had to get away! "Ready, Fluttershy?" said Twilight, from behind the yellow pegasus. "No," said Fluttershy in a tiny voice. "But, yes." "Don't worry," said Twilight. "You've got this. You can do this." "Squeak!" Twilight peered through the peep-hole. "Just another few seconds. Get ready!" The light in the frosted-glass windows grew brighter and brighter. Fluttershy's heart pounded like mad. She was drenched in a cold sweat, knowing that if anything went wrong, even slightly, she would be dead before she hit the ground. But she had no choice. Face the Nightmare now, or run from her forever. "Now, Fluttershy! Now!!" Twilight's horn flared with magic and the doors to the Observatory slammed wide open. Fluttershy took three steps across the threshold, stood directly in the path of the oncoming meteor, and opened her eyes. * * * * * * The Nightmare hung in midair, an equine inferno wreathed in plasma-flame. All pretense of impersonating Celestia was gone. Her eyes were blazing red spotlights, her mouth full of fangs. Celestia's rose-tinted coat burned with an inner light of its own, a glare so bright that it made the morning sky seem pitch-black in comparison. She was a force of nature. And she was trapped in the Stare. "Hold position!!" commanded Hard Target. "Hold position!! Wait for the Event!!" Whoah... thought Spike as he watched the living comet churn and roil, dwarfing the tiny yellow pegasus standing before it. The Nightmare's spherical firestorm was sending off a fierce, hot gale that beat against the soldiers, whipping Fluttershy's mane and tail around like a pair of flags. Spike could only imagine the willpower that kept the yellow pegasus rooted in place. But it worked!! he thought. A brutal handful of seconds ticked by. Fluttershy's hair began to singe at the tips, and the pegasus started wilting like a flower in the intense heat. But even as her legs grew limp and her shoulders sagged, Fluttershy's expression only hardened, and the gentle yellow pegasus actually leaned in towards the inferno and mouthed a number of words. Spike could just barely read her lips from where he stood. "How dare you!?" said Fluttershy to the Nightmare's beautiful, terrible face. "How DARE you!?? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Picture Credits: http://www.spacecatsamba.com/content/items/thumbs-full/luna-stream-wall.png http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/026/2/c/steampunk_wallpaper_ii___1280_x_800_by_flameraven-d4nnxxr.jpg http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/325/d/d/rainbow_dash_be_flying_by_sonicrainboom93-d4gwccj.png http://orig13.deviantart.net/24de/f/2012/146/e/0/the_stare_by_e_swag-d514tlb.gif http://twentypercentcooler.net/data/sample/eb/7f/eb7f5aa5cf7ea9e3f0ed6aad4d8f6298.jpg?1315205098