The Rider Of Darkness

by GaleWind

Interlude 2

Interlude

The glow from the small torches were the only thing that illuminated the otherwise dark tunnel. I was trailing behind the others to guard the rear. I had to be careful to avoid tripping as I kept looking over my shoulder. In front of me, the captive buffalo were wary about the dark space but kept moving forward.

“We’re almost out, the entrance is just ahead!” Steelstrike’s voice echoed throughout the tunnel, which quickened the former captives pace. It wasn’t long until cheers of freedom were heard as one by one, they left the tunnel.

The sudden glare caused most to shield their eyes but it was a welcome discomfort to be free. I climbed up the small slope and welcomed Celestia’s sun fully. We had come out a few feet away from the lake and some we’re already taking mouthfuls of water, while others were celebrating being free.

“Truly a warming sight, isn’t it?” I turned to see Chief Thunderhooves walking towards me. “None of this couldn’t have happened without your help.”

“I’m just glad I was able to help.” I said as I canceled the transformation. “Did you find your brother?”

“Yes, seeing him again raised much off my shoulders.” He said with a smile. “I asked a healer to tend his wounds and to take him to his beloved. Truly, I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was nothing, I was just… doing what I can.” I said with a smile. “Did the others arrive yet?”

“Yes, they arrived moments before you did. The injured were already moved to the camp.” He answered. I thanked him and politely excused myself as I headed back to the camp.

Even before reaching the gates I could see numerous injured being attended too. I walked through the gates and saw various injured but it looked like the worse were broken bones. While walking, some of the warriors gave nods at me while others offered their thanks. I looked right and saw who I was looking for.

Braeburn was propped up against a tepee with Little Strongheart knelling right beside him. I walked towards them and noticed that a female buffalo finishing wrapping a cloth over his right eye. He looked up and gave a smile.

“Ah say that plan was successful… with a few hiccups.” He said. I gave a short nod as I looked at him.

“How bad is it?”

“The injury was not severe as it looked.” The healer answered as she stood up with her equipment. “He has not lost his sight but, the wound will leave a scar.”

She walked away to tend to others as all three of us breathed a relived sigh. I heard a muttered ‘thank goodness’ from Braeburn.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“Bear Claw is helping the healers and injured but, Flame Weed went somewhere on her own.” Strongheart answered.

“Is she alright?”

“Ah don’t worry, she probably went off some steam.” Braeburn said.

“What do you mean?”

“She was fussing about wanting to stay and fight. Guess she didn’t like the retreat part.”

“But she knew what the plan was before we left!”

“I only know little about her tribe from speaking with father.” Strongheart spoke. “They pride themselves on standing before any enemy and never running. Retreating may have hurt her pride a bit.”

I sighed as thought about it. “You think I should talk to her?”

“Ah say let her cool off for a while, she knows we achieved what we did and can’t complain about rescuing them.” He said.

Silence took us as thought about what took place today. It was a minute before Braeburn spoke.

“Ah hope AJ’s okay.”

“Me too. Don’t worry, I’m sure Reverb got her to safety.” I tried to reassure.

“Are you sure we can trust him?” Strongheart asked.

“Yeah, he may be doing what he think is right but he won’t let anything happen to her or the others.” I said.

“Ah still don’t get what she was doing all the way out there?” Braeburn wondered.

I looked at the ground because I knew why. “It’s because I was there.”

Braeburn and Strongheart looked at me. “What do you mean?” She asked.

I closed my eyes as I sighed heavily. “My guess, she and the others tagged along with Reverb to find me… to find out why I’m doing this.” I opened my eyes and looked at them. “So anything that happens to them, is on me.”

“Hold on there, Echo!” Braeburn exclaimed as began to stand up, with some assistance on Strongheart’s part. “This ain’t your fault.”

“I doubt that.”

“You couldn’t have known the girls would follow you. They chose to do this to try to help you.”

“Still doesn’t deny that I dragged them into this?” I said, looking at the ground.

“I believe you’re being too hard on yourself.” Strongheart said.

“Besides, if you need to blame someone, blame me.” Braeburn said.

I looked at him in confusion. “For what?”

“Putting AJ in danger.” He said with a sadden tone. “If I acted faster, I could’ve gotten her out there and to safety from all that mess.”

“Braeburn, you couldn’t have predicated she’d show up there. You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“Then don’t blame yourself for something you couldn’t know would happened.” He said looking at me.

I was about to say something when I stopped myself, realizing what he meant.

“He is right you know.” Strongheart spoke up. “We can never know what lies ahead of us, all we can do is hope that in the end, all we care about are safe.”

I looked at her, blinking at what she had just said.

“No truer words could not have been spoken.” We looked to see a male buffalo approach us with a smile. “I see your mother’s teachings have not left you, Strongheart.”

She returned the smile. “I always keep them close to my heart so they can never leave. It is truly good to see you again, Uncle Rainwalker.”

The chief gave a small chuckle as he looked at Braeburn. “I heard of your injury, I hope the damage is not life changing.”

“Ah, nurse gave me the okay, just gonna leave a scar. Honestly, I’ll take a dozen hits to protect mah family.”

“As do we all, my young friend.” Rainwalker than looked at me. “And you must be the one to I must thank for this.

“I was only doing what was right besides, I always help out a friend.” I said.

He gave a small nod. “I admit, the only interaction I’ve had with your kind is from what my brother has told me.” His face formed a smile. “But what he speaks holds true, you value friendship above all.”

I returned the smile and was about to respond…

“Forgive me for interrupting” We heard Steelstrike’s voice. We looked and saw him standing a few feet away with an uneasy look. “, but something has come up.”

Chief Rainwalker looked at him. “What is the issue?”

Steelstrike looked at me before answering. “Your ‘friends’ want to speak with you.”

I just stood there as numerous thoughts went through my head about this. I looked back at Braeburn and Strongheart and they were worried.

“It’s alright, probably want to talk before leaving.” I looked at Rainwalker. “Excuse me, this won’t take long.”

The chief nodded as I turned and walked towards the entrance. He looked at the others with a confused expression.

“I wasn’t aware he had other friends with him.”

Braeburn’s face turned into a frown. “Uh… they ain’t exactly friends.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You know those tunnels y’all came through?” Rainwalker nodded. “They were the ones who made them.”

The chief looked more confused. “If they created the tunnels, then why the caution?”

“Well…”

---

I approached the entrance to the tunnels. The rest of the former prisoners have moved to the main camp to be treated for injuries and to get something to eat. I peered into the tunnels, seeing nothing but pitch blackness.

“All right, I’m here!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls. No response came, only silence.

I was about to call again when I spotted something. Or rather, something spotted me. Two bright, yellow glowing eyes glared back at me.

“What’s the problem?” I asked unfazed.

“We did what pony asked us.” A low, gruff voice called out. “Not forget promise pony made.”

“I didn’t forget, it’s just things are a lot more complicated than I first thought.” I explained.

A growl came from the tunnel. “Me no care, took risk coming here, not much time left.”

“I understand but there was no other way to pull this off.” I tried explaining. “Look, I promised I’d help and I will, just give me time.”

I didn’t get an immediate answer. I figured he had left after a minute until I got a response.

“Pony keep promise. When time comes, we come for you.” The voice said.

“Agreed, thank you again for your help.” I said as I turned to leave.

“No worry about snake, no more problem.”

I stopped in my tracks as I turned and looked back into the cave’s mouth.

“Snake?” I asked in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Two legged snake, no longer problem.”

A second later, I understood what he meant. “You mean Rattle Vane? What do you mean by ‘no longer problem’?”

“Other snake beat him, he no more.” He said. He closed his eyes and I heard footsteps.

“Wait, hold on a sec!” I shouted as I ran up to the entrance. “What do you mean by ‘no more’? What other snake?! HEY!”

The only response was my voice echoing down the tunnel. I just stood there, gazing down it.

`Other snake beat him, he no more`.

Those words; somethings not right. I turned around and headed straight back to the camp.

“I got a bad feeling about this.”

---

R-V Desert Facility…

It took me a while to make it back here and already I could feel something was wrong. I was in full armor and was still a few minutes off but I was close.

…I mean ‘we’ were close.

After getting back to the others, I told them there was something I needed to check out and went for my bike. They asked what was wrong and I said I needed to check the facility.

They were shocked, wondering why I would go back. I told them I needed to confirm something. I tried to tell them I would be fine but my friends and both chiefs wouldn’t have it. They wouldn’t let me leave unless someone went with me.

Unfortunately, all of them were mostly injured or too busy to go, all except one.

Flame Weed gripped onto my shoulders as she held on in back of me as we got closer on my bike. She had a scowl on her face back at the camp and hasn’t said a word since leaving.

“We’re getting close. Get ready for anything.” I called, looking back at her. She had a frown on her face but gave a nod as I turned back.

I spotted the facility in the distance and turned towards a nearby boulder. I parked behind it and we got off.

“Why are we hiding here like cowards?” She spoke for the first time.

I gave a sigh. “It’s because I don’t want us to get attacked before we even reach the gates.”

“Yet you wished to come back to this place of sorrow, by yourself.”

“I didn’t come to fight, just to confirm something, nothing more.” I whispered. I peeked around the corner and looked back. “Alright, it looks like the airship’s gone and I don’t see any patrols. Stay low and let’s move.”

I drew my sword, we crouched down and began moving toward the base. We ducked behind any boulder we could find, avoiding detection.

“Why do you do this?” She asked as we ducked behind another boulder.

I looked back at her. “What do you mean?”

“You risk your life for our people yet you know nothing of us? You forge alliances with those others see as dangerous? Also, you fight a war alone, with no seeable end? Why???” She asked, staring at me for a response.

I looked at her for a long time, my helmet covered eyes lost in thought. Those were deep questions she asked and thought hard on how to answer them. I stayed silent for a while before taking a deep breath and releasing it.

“For your first question you’re right. I don’t know anything about the buffalo tribes. In fact, the only things I know are from what my friends told me and from what Chief Thunderhooves has told me.”

“Then why help us?!” She questioned.

“Because Braeburn is a friend of mine. If it’s for my friends or family, I will do everything within my power to make sure they stay safe no matter what. And any friend of theirs is my friend as well.” I told my answer.

I couldn’t read her expression as she stared at me. “As for your second and third question… sometimes unforeseen circumstances lead to unforeseen results. Also, even if I can’t see the end, I want to at least know those I care about are there.”

We sat in silence as Flame Weed processed what I told her. In all honesty, my mind was still discussing those last two questions. I was so engrossed that I didn’t notice something.

“Do you here that?” I asked her.

She raised her head and listened for a minute before looking back at me.

“No, I don’t hear anything. Isn’t that the point?”

“Yes in most cases but not now.” I reached in my gem pouch. “Something’s wrong.”

“Lunar Moon”

My breastplate appeared and I tapped into its power. The shadow beneath me darkened and moved forward. Something began to rise from it until a near perfect duplicate stood in front of us. It gave a nod and sprinted past us and towards the base.

“Quite the technique you have there.” Flame Weed commented.

“Yeah well it ain’t all that.” I huffed, short of breath. “It takes a lot just to make one and range is limited, so I got to be close. One plus is any memories it gets, I get when its beat or I dismiss.”

We sat there in silence while my copy went on ahead. For the next minutes we waited in for something to happen. We tensed when we heard movement and readied ourselves for battle.

The tension somewhat relaxed when my copy came back. I was worried when there wasn’t a scratch on it and the shake of its head confirmed. I grasped my hands together and the clone disappeared into shadows.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. I turned to look at her, if she could see my eyes, she would see the uncertain feeling in them.

“The base is… empty.”

---

Once we got to the base, we got a real look at the damage. The metal doors were scorched from the explosion with one of them laying on the ground and the other practically leaning against the partially destroyed wall. Various size of rocks littered the ground from the ‘rock shower’ that graced us earlier.

However, what had us on edge was that there was no one here. No patrol, no guards, no Rattle Vane, not one rezythe. It was like they all vanished. We swept the place and by the time we regrouped, there wasn’t a shred of clues.

“Perhaps they left with the flying ship after losing their leverage against us?” Flame Weed suggested.

“And leave this place without as much as a few guards, I don’t know. Plus, I doubt Rattle Vane would just leave things as they are.” I said.

She scowled at the mention of the name. “Yes, he is one who wouldn’t just abandon his vengeance. He wouldn’t leave without cause.”

‘That and something else.’ I thought as I tried to get an idea on what happened. “Look, let’s take one last look around this place.”

“What would that accomplish?” She asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Just to confirm that nothing else is here. We don’t find anything, than we leave.” I explained.

Flame Weed agreed and walked off to somewhere. I decided to head to the guard tower. The door leading inside was wide open and it was a short climb up the stairs.

There wasn’t much in terms of objects on the observation deck. Glass littered the ground as it crunched under my boot. I walked up to the busted windows and looked out.

I could see the whole courtyard and parts of the field. Doing this gave me time to gather my thoughts. None of it made sense; why just up and abandon this place? Why leave it unoccupied and unguarded? There were so many questions with no answers.

I looked out one of the windows and saw the cliff behind this place. One more question that bothered me: what was that figure tossing the boulders down on us? By chance I glanced down at the foot of the cliff. I couldn’t see but it looked like something was there. I turned around and headed back to the stairs outside to take a better look.

Flame Weed just walking from the building after another look inside. She too was suspicious of these circumstances. After the battle, she had thought they would planning a counterattack or rebuilding, not just abandoning their encampment.

She still was a little irritated that they ran from a fight. Her tribe never retreated from battle, which was their code. When she first heard the idea, she could not believe it.

---

“I will not participate in such an underhanded scheme!” She shouted at him.

After the pony had returned, he explained the plan to all of them. She was the first to dismiss it and few agreed with her. The scout saw recognition in the plan, she still didn’t understand why he got under her skin, while Bear Claw remained neutral.

In the end, the chief was the deciding factor. While he saw the caution and dangers, he thought that it would prove better than their current one. As soon as the decision was given, the group broke up into their duties while she took Echo somewhere to talk.

Right now, he was pinned against the cliff as she glared at him.

“This idea is more obscured than the shadows themselves. You expect us to go along with this!” She exclaimed as Echo struggled as her arm kept him there.

“I-It’s the only thing that might work better than the original. You just have to trust me.” He grunted as he tried to breath.

“Your plan is more obscured than the shadows you hide in.” She hissed as she leaned down to glare at him more. “How do we know you are not planning our downfall?”

“Why the hell would I do that?!” He shouted despite the discomfort.

“Your people were easily swain by illusions and lies.” She narrowed her eyes even more. “How can I trust one who hides in darkness?”

Echo looked at her in defiance. “Look, I would never propose it if I didn’t make sure that everyone can come back safe. And what do you mean underhanded?”

“What you propose goes against the values of my tribe.” She looks at the ground for a minute “Our pride doesn’t allow this deception, it is not the warrior’s way.”

For a solid minute, nothing was spoken as Echo processed this.

“Flame Weed, I’ll admit. I don’t know anything about your tribe and yes, I know I have to earn your trust but answer this one question, personally.” She raised her head and looked him straight in the eyes.

“What’s more important to you: your pride as a warrior or the freedom of your people?”

---

Flame Weed was brought out of her thoughts after nearly tripping over something. She stumbled for a second before regaining her balance. She growled irritably before looking down at the cause.

A group of rocks were strewn out together. But something was wrong, these weren’t like loose rocks. They were a different shade of color than the others and looked like they were once one piece.

Curious as to what they are, Flame Weed knelt down and picked up one of the largest to look at.

I stood at the bottom of the giant cliff face as I examined something. I still remembered that figure at the top of the cliff, hurling boulders at us, from earlier today. I don’t what it was, but now I had a clue.

I was examining hoof prints in the ground, but not usual ones. The prints were about two or three inches into the dry ground itself. They looked like minotaur prints but about twice the size.

“What could do something like this.” What could be strong enough to do this-

“AAAAaaaaahhh!!!” A loud scream sent me shooting straight up. On reflex, I drew my sword and looked for the source. Where could it have-

“Flame Weed.” I muttered before taking off in the scream’s direction. It wasn’t long before I spotted her. She was sitting on the ground but from that scream and look in her eyes, something was wrong. I rushed up and kneeled beside her.

“What happened? Are you alright?!” I exclaimed. She didn’t even register me speaking. I placed on her shoulder and shook a bot. “Flame Weed, it’s me. What’s wrong?”

Upon finally recognizing my voice, she simply raised her arm and pointed straight ahead. I looked in the direction and only saw a pile of rocks. Confused, I moved over and picked up the closest to her. It looked like a regular rock, looking back she still had that shocked look so I looked back at the rock and flipped it over.

“Aahhh!!!” I shouted in shock as I dropped the rock. I couldn’t believe what it was.

Or more precise, who it was.

Some of the pieces had chipped off and there was a crack running down the middle but I recognize the face.

“Rattle Vane.” I whispered under my breath. His face was frozen in rage and fear. I looked at the other pieces of rock. In the middle of what was his chest was the scar from my attack. This wasn’t a statue.

Someone had turned him to stone.

“What madness is this?” Flame Weed muttered next to me. I hadn’t notice she had got up.

“I don’t know.” I shifted my eyes back and forth across the place, my hair standing on ends. “We need to get back to the camp, right now!”

She didn’t argue as we ran back towards my bike to get out of here.

Unbeknownst to either of us, a clocked form watched from a nearby cliff as we sped away from the abandoned place. The figure gave a small chuckle as he watched us go.

“He really is quite the strategist. I look forward to when we meet.” The voice said, the same voice which spoke with Rattle Vane. A green glow came from underneath his hood and in a flash of light, the figure was gone.

Comments

[Medabotsfan33]

Is this cancelled???