//------------------------------// // 9: Trial of Wing // Story: The Epochust // by GoldenChozo //------------------------------// "Alis volaret in iudicio animae vestrae et honorem." We passed under the arch, expecting something to change drastically for the trial. We weren't disappointed. Massive chunks of earth flew up, leaving a hole the size of Ponyville in it's wake. The chunks broke apart, some relocating to the edge of the trial grounds to create barriers. The remaining chunks swirled above the hole. A sign right next to the hole read, "A substitutum ut vocavit equum impotens fuga." "We're gonna have to fly," Nighthawk said, examining the fresh chasm closely. "No other way around or through it." "Just one problem," I said, before turning to remind them of my burnt wing. "I can carry you, that shouldn't be a problem," Ace offered. "No," Nighthawk chimed in, "this course clearly asks for our fullest potential. Pepper's injury, while admirable in origin, definitely puts us at an impasse." "Besides, I'm not the best flyer anyway," I said. "I probably couldn't make it through this course." I looked back at the sign, noticing one word in particular. "Substitutum... Doesn't that sound like...?" "Substitute," Ace finished for me. "And you could possibly call for a skilled flyer to substitute for you." "I'd call for Zephyr to substitute for me," I said, expecting that to activate something. Nothing happened. "Substitutum Zephyr?" That appeared to do something, as I felt a strange sensation and my vision began to warp. *** For whatever reason, I was laying on the ground. I lifted myself up to find that I was in an unfamiliar territory. There was debris flying around, there was a giant hole, and the area seemed to be enclosed. There was a sign by the hole that said something I didn't understand. "Zephyr?" I looked around to see who called my name. Standing next to me were two stallions, Ace Doughty and an unfamiliar black pegasus. "Ace, what's going on? Where are we?" That was the first question that came to mind. "Remember when I wasn't able to race anymore because I had to leave?" It was several days ago, but I recalled exactly what he was talking about. "This is where we went." "But where's Pepper and Crescent?" The black pegasus seemed to wince at the name Crescent. Ace hesitated a moment before answering, "Well, this is a test of sorts. One for pegasi. We were allowed to call for substitutes during this one. Crescent switched out for a close friend of hers, which is Nighthawk here." He indicated the black pegasus. "And Pepper called for you to substitute. She sustained an injury during a previous test, a burn to her wing." "I suppose that makes sense. What caused Pepper's injury in the last test?" "It was a combat based test, and Pepper got the injury trying to protect Crescent." It didn't seem right, a fighting test that Pepper and Crescent willingly entered. Even for Ace, that seemed a little far fetched. "So how are things back in Ponyville?" Ace asked. "Great. Thunder's been acting a little differently, though, since Cherry returned and said you guys weren't coming back soon. I think he might like Pepper or Crescent, and he's heartbroken at their sudden departure." "Well, when you get back, you can let him know we should be back soon. There's only one test after this one, and we'll be home free." "That's great," I said. "So what are we doing, flying over this hole?" "That's our best guess," Nighthawk said. "As you can see by the sign, we don't know exactly what we're expected to do. We can only guess." "That makes sense. When do we start?" "We can start anytime." "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I took off and flew straight over the chasm. There was extreme turbulence, but it was possible. The debris constantly built up on my wings, but it wasn't anything a large flap wouldn't take care of. I looked back to see if Ace and Nighthawk were behind me. Nighthawk seemed to breeze through like it was nothing, but Ace was struggling. He nearly hit some of the larger bits of debris, and he could barely maintain a good pose. I fell back to try and help him out. "Ace!" I called out, barely audible over the gale. "Keep it together!" He looked at me and said something, but I couldn't tell what. I noticed a rather large piece of debris coming up from behind him. "Watch out!" I yelled, pointing at the boulder approaching him. He turned just in time to see it before it knocked him unconscious. While the winds carried him easily, they weren't very reliable on getting over the chasm. His unconscious body managed to find a low point where the winds stopped altogether, and he fell down the chasm. "Ace!" I instinctively flew downward, against the current rejecting me. I traced the path he took before falling, and found my own way under the winds. It's difficult to find a brown pony in a large chasm with brown adorning the walls. The fact that there was debris floating violently above didn't help, as it blocked out a lot of light. I folded my wings in the hope that I would follow the same starting path that he did. As I fell, the temperature around me rose. I also began to take note of a particular glow coming from the bottom of the chasm. Against it, I could see the silhouette of a pony. Ace! It had to be. I flapped my wings to orient myself in a way that would bring the least resistance as I raced to catch Ace. I faced directly downward, front hooves directly in front of me to keep me oriented against the resistance. My wings hung back, so as to also help me keep balance. The glow emanating from the bottom was getting brighter, and I realized what it was. Magma. This made me even more determined to get to Ace before he hit. I couldn't let him die like this, especially since he only missed the boulder because of me. I could feel the resistance in front of me building up, and I realized I was probably going near the speed of sound. I flapped my wings, hoping that would give me enough speed and power to break the sound barrier. It apparently worked, as I no longer felt any resistance in front of me. Instead, I felt a force propelling me faster towards Ace. I angled myself downward, working out a way to use this force to help me out. I started heading towards the bottom of the chasm under the start, silently praying to Celestia that I could pull this off. The heat was still rising, and the magma loomed ever closer. Finally, I was level with Ace. I pulled out my wings so that I could curve around. It worked, but it was very costly. The magma below came closer and closer, making everything around me appear black. I almost couldn't breath due to the heat, and I felt sweat evaporate instantly. I kept a constant angle downward, hoping that I would catch Ace with enough room to pull off the rest of my plan. I changed angles occasionally to speed my approach towards him. I was finally in a position where I could reach him. I slowed myself so that I could go over him, and sped up to regain lost ground. I reached out to catch him. I had him. I wrapped all four of my hooves around him to keep in an aerodynamic form. I began the curve to ascend, but it didn't appear that it would be enough room. The magma level was nearing. I was about to have a really hot splashdown when I tilted my wings to help speed up the curve. It seemed to work, and I was now flying parallel to the magma, mere feet above it. Taking advantage of the speed gained from the sonic boom, I pulled upward. I didn't even flap my wings, just kept them slightly tilted so as to continue the ascent. I noticed the far edge of the chasm was coming up. I managed to hit the point of the curve that allowed me to fly straight up as I nearly hit the wall. We were less than a foot from hitting the wall. Any overhanging rocks would cause us to fall right back down, with no easy way of recovering. It became difficult to see as I made my way higher, away from the bottom of the chasm. It was getting colder, yet I was still sweating from the heat below. The speed boost from the sonic boom began to waver, and I once again felt resistance. I was still climbing rather quickly, and decided to take advantage of this momentum to make it to the top. I flapped my wings as hard as I could, hoping it would be enough. And it just barely wasn't. I could see the top of the wall, almost reach it, but the resistance, coupled with the gravity and fatigue, caused me to stop. Fortunately, Nighthawk was right on the edge waiting for us. He saw us fall back down from the aforementioned combination, and jumped down to help. He was clearly strong, as he lifted both of us no problem. "Ace, Zephyr, are you alright?" he asked. "We're fine," I said. I was too exhausted to let go of Ace. "He fell, so I went and got him." I must have been close to going unconscious myself, as it was getting difficult to see. *** The brief spell of dizziness finally relented, and I found myself wrapped around an unconscious Ace. While I didn't exactly want that moment to end, the injured wing that I was laying on bid me to do so. I got up and looked to Nighthawk. "Did we finish the trial?" I asked, realizing that we were on the other side of the chasm. "Almost," he said, indicating the hollowed pillar in front of us. "What happened to Ace?" I asked. "From what Zephyr said before you came back, Ace fell, and she rescued him." "Why did Ace fall?" "I don't know, I didn't see it." Ace finally regained consciousness, and he tried standing up. "Ace?" I asked. He didn't even look at me. "Ace, can you hear me?" He looked at me, noticing I was saying something. He put his hoof up to his ear and tapped it a couple times, then shook his head. I took that to mean he had gone deaf. "Regardless, let's finish this trial," Nighthawk suggested. I went up and read the sign. "Recitare Hoc reserare deinde iudicium." A flash shone inside the pillar, and I realized what had to happen. Nighthawk stepped in and turned back to look at us. "Thank you for letting me accompany you during this journey. Seeing Crescent again, it gave me something to fight for. Now that she's gone, there's nothing left for me here." He pulled out one of his swords and threw it to Ace. "You'll need this more than I will." "Nighthawk, you can't--" "Farewell," Nighthawk interrupted me. He turned around. "Ego ipse ut tributum ad Epochust." He looked upward, his eyes closed, and whispered, "I'll be there soon, milady." I looked away. Knowing what to expect this time, I tried my best to withhold tears. A loud crash indicating the center had fallen broke that self restraint away. Ace put his wing around me to try and comfort me. "We can't stop now. We need to finish. For Stella. For Crescent. And now for Nighthawk, too." He had apparently regained his hearing enough, for he said that at a normal volume. "I know, I just... I can't..." I was unable to speak properly. Instead, I just melted into Ace's embrace. After an unknown amount of time, he removed his wing from around me. "We need to go," he said before helping me up. Another path directly to the final pillar was visible as the dirt wall cleared away from it. There was another archway over the path. On the arch was more of this strange writing. "Unum extremo iudicio probatum amet sedet ante. Postea domum Epochust aperietur." What Ace said earlier was right. We can't stop now. We need to complete this last trial, for Stella, Cres, and Nighthawk. But one particular thought kept running through my mind. There was still one of these sacrificial pillars, and it was down to two of us. If either of us died during this coming trial, the entire quest would have been a waste.