Chronicles of the Glow

by Rusty Parker

Chapter 4: Friendship

Chronicles of the Glow
Written by: Rusty Parker
Edited by: Wanderwing
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4
Friendship

Shattered pieces of what had been the miraculous, fiery gemstone pinged against wood, sounding like freshly broken glass as they hit the floor boards in unison. Ears still ringing, Spit Shine lifted his head over the counter, looking in confusion toward the pile of dark shards in the middle of the shop. The customers had either ducked for cover behind the display cases filled with gems or had run out of the shop outright. He cocked his head, wondering just what had happened. All Glitter had done with it was enchant that gem Blitzy had given her, and hang it from the ceiling. Why then, he thought, did it just explode?

It wasn’t anything major, not by far. A simple pop, like a small firecracker, yet there still was no real reason for it to have done that. What was with this gem? First, it has the energy to glow for far longer than any other, and then it simply… blows up? Spit Shine made his was around the counter, going first to see if the pony still behind the display case was alright. “You’re not hurt, are you mam’?” he asked politely as he offered the quivering mare a hoof. Shaking her head, she accepted it and let him pull her to her hooves.

“Uh… I think. Thanks, Shine,” she said, turning to the pile of shards in the middle of the room. She winced as soon as she put weight on her front left hoof, closing her left eye tightly as she quickly lifted it back up. “Or not, it could be… not,” she said in rapid succession with the pain, a gasp escaping her lips with her words. Her hoof was cut open, a single shard of the gem imbedded in the thick material. Blood escaped slowly, rarely dripping due to the size of the shard. It wasn’t a large injury, but it was deep enough to be the center of worry for infection.

“Oh my goodness!” a voice from the other side of the room called out. Turning, Shine found it to be his wife, a look of shock on her face. She had just made her way down the stairs, and the door still hang open behind her. She looked from the point on the ceiling where a moment before, her prized work as an enchanter had hung by a thick leather harness. It was now in shreds, the leather torn apart particularly well on the side that the mare who was hurt had been before she ducked behind the display. She didn’t stand there for long, and was soon bounding her way across the room, watching her step as to not step on a sharp gem.

Spit Shine couldn’t keep the frown off his face. This project had given her so much hope, and now it turned out that all that work was for nothing. She was going to be really upset, beyond doubt. He looked into Glitter’s frantic eyes as she approached slowly, avoiding the mess of possible daggers on the floor.

“Is everyone alright?” she asked as soon as she reached him. Blinking, he looked from her to the mare who still was now fighting the coming pain, shock from the miniature explosion wearing off and adrenaline fading from her veins. She pushed past him, going straight to the mare to examine the fresh wound. “How deep is it?” she asked, pulling the injured hoof gently toward herself.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t think it’s too far in…” she responded, still fighting the pain as it began to reach its peak. She looked worriedly from Glitter to Spit Shine, not sure what to do. She had plainly never been injured before like this, and wasn’t shy to show how worried she was. The blood from the cut began to stain her light yellow coat around it.

Spit Shine went and retrieved the first aid kit from behind the counter, making his way around the last customer who was leaving the scene. Though he still didn’t think it would prove much help. Explosions don’t usually happen in a simple gem and lighting shop, after all. He couldn’t get over that, just what had caused this? Was it the gem? Or just the amount of power it took to enchant it? He couldn’t decide what to think, so he pushed the thought off to the side.

Returning to her side, he popped open the kit, pulling from it a set of tweezers. The mare looked at them with fear, not wanting anything to do with them or their wielder. Holding them lightly with his magic, he closed his eyes and gave her a nod. Glitter was behind her, massaging her shoulders and trying to relieve stress before the coming waves of pain. Looking all around, she finally calmed and let out a light sigh, closing her eyes and turning her head away from the scene. She bit her lip, not wanting to find herself tongue less when it was out. Spit Shine moved quickly, gently, and with precision. He wielded the tweezers with just enough power as to not cause her much more pain than there needed to be. In one swift pull, the shard was out, a yelp and hastened breathing the only response from the mare. With the gem gone, the blood was flowing much more quickly. Spit Shine quickly and lightly bandaged the mare’s hoof with cloth from the first aid kit, being sure to not apply too much pressure. She gave a weak smile as thanks, thought the intensity of the pain was still plain to see.

“Okay, I’ll take you to the doctor’s, Clover. You did well” she said to the injured mare. Glitter made it a point to know all the customers that came frequently, and though Shine had tried, he could never get names to stick well. He smiled at her, nodding in response to her statement.

“And I’ll see if I can figure out just what caused this… and clean up, of course,” he added, blushing a little as Glitter let out a slight laugh. At least she wasn’t upset about her work, he thought. Glitter held Clover’s injured hoof around her shoulder, and made her way for the exit.

“Oh, thanks so much for this Glitter,” Spit Shine could hear her say in the distance as they faded into the crowd outside. Exhaling a long, slow sigh, he then turned his attention to the mess that the once brilliant gem had left. Shards were imbedded in the display case, around where Clover had been standing when that thing had gone off. Wood splintered up, and it was plainly the same force that had caused her injury. She was actually rather lucky, now that Spit Shine looked more closely. If one of these had hit her in the right spot, it would have been over.

Looking around the rest of the room, he found that the area Clover was standing was the only place where shards were imbedded in the wood. The rest of the mess was just clattered in a pile, easily moved and cleaned with a dust pan and broom. Thinking it out, he could now conclude one thing about what happened. The gem only exploded in one area, not as a whole. Something went wrong with the magic cycling through it, and there was probably some form of congestion. Then, like a balloon filled with too much air, pop. Spit Shine smiled at his analysis, and it seemed to fit with the area of the leather harness that was torn to shreds.

Putting the loose shards into a bowl, he began the long, tedious process of digging out the rest of them. Well, he knew what caused it. Now if only he could figure out why the congestion had occurred, he might be able to stop it from happening again. Pealing the wood back, he pulled one of the shards out, and held it near his face with his magic. He let out a sigh, and returned to his little chore for the afternoon. This was going to take a while.

…

Dim light from the flickering gem above fell on the cyan colt’s face as he lay down on the wooden floorboards. His tears had dried since he ran out of the school, not able to take his utter failure as a unicorn. Yet still, it showed more plainly than anything else that he had been crying, and he felt that it would start again at any moment. Laying here in the clock tower, he came to realize just how worthless he was. How can a unicorn not do any magic? What was the point of being able to channel all that energy he knew was there if he couldn’t in the least bit use it?

He let out a heavy, rasp of a sigh that sounded as if it had to fight its way up broken glass to escape his mouth. Staring down at the texture of the boards beneath him, memories of his sister stabbed at his mind. He tried to fight them off but it was of no use, they persisted just like the genuine article. “Your going to be a much better pony than I am, you know?” resounded in his head. Without any warning, fresh tears poured from his eyes, the memory reawakening his sorrow. Here he was again, in the clock tower, with the worst pain possible in his heart. Her faith in him was genuine, and he wasn’t able to live up to it. He wanted so badly to make her proud…

Sniffling, he brought himself to his knees, having to pull his tired body off the floor. With effort, he was able to bring himself to his hooves, tears still falling to the floor as he moved. His front legs were numb, having been under his chin for what seemed like hours. Wobbling, he made his way to the glass window that was in the lower section of the large clock that still ticked above him. The wind gently blew in, cooling his warm body and pushing some of his mane out of his face as he approached. The colt reached the sill, and sat with his front hooves on the ground as he looked out to the black forest before him. It was so deep, so dark, so… infinite. Usually he hated it, but right now, in his pain, it brought him relief. He was able to lose himself staring out at the forest, the memories receding as his eyes bore into the shadows.

A sound behind him brought him back to reality, and while he was initially startled, he didn’t move from his spot before the window. It didn’t matter to him anymore who or what it was. He felt there was nothing left to lose, nothing left to worry about. His sister would never love him now, and he had no friends in Beacon. Perfect loneliness, even with his parents, was still the worst depression he could imagine. For a moment, he almost wished… wished that the sound was that of a shadow beast, ready to pounce and steal away the pitiful life he had left in him. Everyone hated him, after all. The colt’s eyes clenched shut. No. No no no no! He wouldn’t think like that! Life was never worth giving up on… no matter how much it hurt.

He felt the light touch of a hoof on his shoulder, and in the silence it remained there, unmoving and ever gentle. It took him a moment to realize that he had been weeping. The floor beneath him was tinged darkly with the puddle of tears upon it. Slowly, he turned his head to the side of him where the hoof still lay soothingly on his shoulder. His vision was blurred, and though he could barely see, he knew instantly who the filly beside him was. “Why… why are you here?” he asked, his eyes falling to her hooves as he lost his strength to face her directly.

“Don’t worry about me now,” her voice spoke out in a light, high pitch whisper. This can’t be happening, he thought as he stared at her in shock. “Y-you… are you okay? You were… crying. If I can help… well…” she dragged on, looking at him shyly as he stared on. Her white mane covered half her face, and as the colt looked into her visible eye, he saw sincerity. Honest concern for him. He almost couldn’t believe it, this had to be a prank, or a trick, or something. How can she worry about someone like him? Who is she, this Tick?

“I… I don’t know. I just… I’m worthless,” he let out, not sure what to think of her. His ears lowered as he spoke, pointing downward as he admitted what he knew to be true. Tick’s eyes seemed to be having trouble looking him, darting off to the side every now and then. When she was able to focus on him, she seemed unable to speak for what seemed to be hours. After a while, she inhaled deeply, and sat beside him, looking out the same window as him.

“You know… I feel the same way sometimes,” she whispered, rubbing her left hoof against her right ankle nervously. She stared at them, not speaking for a while. Her eyes slowly shut as she turned away. “But you know,” she began, “It’s never true. You can do great things… I’ve seen you in class, you’re really smart,” she said as she looked over to him again. The orange manned colt stared now in awe, not sure how to feel.

“But… I can’t do magic… Why can’t a unicorn do magic? I’m pointless,” he said through his raspy voice. “I can’t make her proud… What’s the point of trying if I can’t even do that?” he let out slowly, his eyes falling to his hooves on the floorboards, which were trembling furiously. Slowly but powerfully, his eyes clench together. “I’m so pathetic…” he whispered softly to himself, unsure and uncaring of weather or not Tick could hear him. It didn’t matter, there was no point in hiding anything here now. He would just break down.

“No you’re not!” she let out almost angrily to his surprise, raising to her hooves and looking him directly in the eyes. Her movement was swift, her wings quickly extended and her expression angry. It almost inspired fear in the cyan colt. She seemed so shy all the time, he never expected her to take a direct approach. Is this really the same filly who, just the other day, couldn’t finish giving an answer in class without stammering? She sighed, looking up in thought, her aggressive posture retreating. “Listen,” she said, returning to a less aggressive voice, “I… I know, okay. I know,” she reiterated as she sat back down, this time facing him. “It’s just… you can’t give up on yourself like that. That’s what a friend of mine would always say, at least. But it’s true!” she pushed, no longer seeming like the same scared little girl the colt had seen in class all this time. He looked at her, tears welling in his eyes.

“But… I can’t do it. I can’t do magic. I can’t even levitate a pin. How can I…?” he found himself asking her, as if she somehow had all the answers. He hoped to his deepest depths that she could help, though he still felt it would be of no use.

“You sound just like me,” Tick said, looking down now, lost in memory. “But back then, there was always one friend who came to help me. She always reassured me with her smile, her positive thinking, and her kindness…” she said, still staring down as a smile began to cross her face. “But… of all things, she would always tell me not to give up hope, that there was always hope,” she said, looking to him now. They both remained silent for a while, the colt thinking through what she had just said. She… she was right. He could keep trying, he could keep pushing… there was always hope.

“That sounds a lot like my sister… she’s always making me feel better whenever things are tough. I came here one time, when I was young, and she found me,” he said, Tick’s eyes widening as he spoke. “I had given up then too… but she came and told me I was going to be a great pony one day…” he said looking out the window with new emotion painted plainly on his face. Though his fur was soaked with tears, he looked happy. Next to him, Tick simply stared in awe at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“That… that was you?” Tick asked excitedly, getting up to her hooves in one swift movement. “No, that can’t be right. It just can’t be,” she said, seeming to question herself more than the orange manned colt. She shook her head and blinked her eyes a few times, checking to make sure she wasn’t imagining this.

“Why is that so strange?” the colt asked, unsure of what to think about her reaction.

“The filly with a red mane and snow white coat, is your sister? She is isn’t she?” she asked, grinning largely at him as she eagerly awaited his response.

“Well yea, but how did you kno-“

“She is! You’re her brother! I never had a clue; you were under the staircase that night,” she said, wings erected in her excitement. The orange manned colt cocked his head in question. “Your sister is the friend I mentioned!” Tick elaborated plainly with a wide smile across her face. The colt couldn’t believe what he was hearing, the irony of it… this just never seemed to happen.

“Wait, hold on a second,” the colt pressed, a hoof held up to get Tick’s attention. “You were there? But… why? I thought I was all alone that night…” he stated, looking at her in question now. She blushed, her face turning a bright, beat red under her eyes.

“It… it’s a long story,” she began, ready to explain herself. “Your sister, she was bringing food for me that night, since I had nowhere to go and-” The clock above rang out, stopping her dead in the middle of her statement. The orange and cyan colt before her jumped, startled by the noise. The bell rang out six times, a resounding “dah-dum” thundering in the room. Tick looked over to her new found friend, who was looking frantically out the window to check the horizon above the tree line. It the sky above was a light tinge of orange, the day’s ending approaching as the sun beyond the dark forest surely was close to falling.

“We need to get back home!” the colt announced, turning to her frantically as he made way for the stairs. The shadow beasts would be out the moment the light dwindled enough, and he knew more than well enough that they needed to move. “I live across the street, will you be able to get home in time, Tick?” he asked over his shoulder. She remained in place, watching him as he went.

“Yea, I can. Wings and all,” she said, extending her feathered appendages as he looked over to her. The colt reached the stairs, but stopped before heading down. He turned to her slowly, his nerves catching up with him.

“Uh…” he said, still not sure what to say. This was, after all, his first encounter with a friend who he would be able to see regularly. Above them, the clock ticked away the seconds, time slowly passing away as they both remained still as stone. “Maybe we can… talk… or play sometime? I mean, if your not bus-”

“Oh, I’d love to!” she cut in, noticing his struggle. She offered him a light smile, her eyes brightly reflecting the flickering light from above. The colt returned her smile, happy now that he had come here again. To think, such a great thing could come from nothing.

“Well… goodnight then, Tick,“ he said, turning to the stairs again. “Don’t let the shadow beasts bite!” he added teasingly, now thundering down the staircase. Tick remained for a moment, looking at her watch, and recalling why she had come in the first place. Under the window sill where they had been looking outside lay a small tool kit, the very one she had used to fix her watch. She picked it up in her teeth by the handle on top, carrying it with little effort. She flew out the window then, heading for Kalk’s house.

As she flew, she couldn’t help but happily rotate in the air, easily navigating the lower airspace of Beacon. The orange manned colt was her friend… she never thought anyone in her class would even so much as talk to her, let alone befriend her. It brought such joy to her, to know she now had someone else in class who she could go to other than her adoptive father. Light faded as she reached her still new home, entering quickly as not to be caught up by a monstrosity from the pitch black forest.

…

“I see,” Kalk said to the mop-headed filly who had just finished explaining where she had been up to the very setting of the sun. “and how is he now, Orange Cyan?” he said turning to her. “Had me worried all day, going off like that in the middle of class like that.”

“I think he’s better than when I first came. I think I saw a smile before he left,” responded Tick. She sat on the soft, brown couch in the living room. Kalk turned away from the his work at his desk, looking over to his adopted daughter with a look of relief. His eyes had brightened since she got back, and though he still had bags under them, he looked relieved.

“Good… good,” he walked toward the small, slit of a window that the structure allowed for. Looking through, he saw nothing. The darkness seemed to pour out from every point he could see, almost seeming to pull him in as he looked. It was as the maw of a monster, ready to swallow him in a single gulp him. There was no moon out tonight, and thus, no light aside from the gems in the town. Turning away, the stallion went to back to his desk, sighing as he did. He sat back down, pulling the mess of papers into order as he did. “He is a great student in class, but he could be having trouble doing magic,” he paused. “A lot of young fillies and colts don’t have much talent for it when they are young.”

“I hope he gets to be better soon,” Tick let out, pawing the cushion beneath her gently, its surface wrinkling under the weight of her hooves.

“He will. That colt, I haven’t seen a pony like him in years,” Tick smiled at this, lifting her head a little.

“I sure hope. I mean… he’s like I was,” Kalk finished his work on the last student’s test, a perfect A. Taken by the very colt they were talking about, ironically.

“If that’s true,” he patted her gently on her pure, white mane. “Then he’s going to be more than alright,” he told her, a smile on his tired face. Tick received the compliment lightly, not really responding. Instead, a yawn ensued, her little wings extending as she exhaled. Slowly relaxing the muscles, she brought them back to her sides and used her knee to rub her eyes that had watered over. Kalk looked down at her, knowing exactly how she felt. “I think we should both get some sleep, don’t you?”

“Yes, that sounds,” she yawned again. “Nice,” she let out midway through it. Turning to the hall, she headed off to her room, stumbling to the side a bit as she did. It was rather late, Kalk realized. The sun had set at least two hours ago, and the long day must have been getting to them both.

“Goodnight, Tick!” he called after her, hanging back in the living room for a moment.

“Goodnight Kalk, see you tomorrow,” she said as she turned into her room, smiling at him before she got through the doorframe. For a few seconds, the unicorn simply stood there. He couldn’t decide if he should go to sleep yet, he did have a lot of responsibilities after all. He had some paper work to catch up on, having pushed it off while he searched the town after school and looked for his missing student. Looking toward the next stack on his desk, though, he decided against it. They could wait, it didn’t matter so much as what he came to worry about now. A night like this… it definitely was going to bring in a lot of shadow beasts from the black forest.

Those monstrous beings… they still kept him up with worry even now, with all the experience he had in the town. It was a big part of why he had to give Tick a big lecture on why she shouldn’t put off coming home for so long. No one but him and Glitter seemed to realize the all too real danger the shadow beasts posed. Their strange behavior didn’t help, and he had a guess as to what they were after, a guess as to what she was after. He didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed to be just as Glitter had said many times before. These things, they were… learning. Getting smarter and more cunning with each passing day it seemed. He walked to the window once more, staring out into the blackness. Their calls reached him there, wails of failure and frustration. He inhaled, breathing in the cold, odorless air through his nostrils.

His eyes remained locked outside, still not sure of what to do. He levitated his coffee over to his lips, sipping its warmth in slowly as he considered his options. There were more out there tonight, that was for sure. Maybe he should… no. That wasn’t the kind of magic he could delve into often. He looked over to the pale wall over the couch in his living room. It’s clay surface hid rocks beneath it, and he looked to it now with the intent to see them. His eyes did not blink as he looked at the wall, arguing with himself over what to do. What he thought of wasn’t his magic, but he still knew he could use it. It could help, and that’s what ultimately convinced him.

Sighing deeply, the cold causing his hot breath to turn visible, Kalk turned back to the window. He closed his eyes, his horn gleaming as he channeled energy to them. He had to struggle to keep them closed, the magic causing some pain as he forced it out of its hiding place within him. In all his years, he had never experienced anything like this spell. It always felt like something was clawing at his forehead from within, the headache pushing harder and harder as he finalized the energy. With a flash, he opened his eyes and the spell was complete.

The whites of his eyes had turned to a deep black, matched only by that of the forest before him. His pupils had grown to almost the size of his iris, allowing only a sliver of the gray color to show through. If anyone had seen him like this, they would have thought him to be a monster himself, the look of his eyes were truly horrifying. They did, however, allow him to see what he needed to. Everything around him lost all its color as the magic took hold of his vision, leaving only dark outlines of what had been his living room in sight. From where once was nothing but darkness, there now glowed many bright blue lights. They all took the shape of small spheres, and were scattered across the town. Some moved in the forest, but the vast majority formed together into one mass in town. He sat in awe, unable to believe what he knew to be there. There were so many, he couldn‘t hope to count them simply by the sight of the overlapping spheres. How long has this been going on, he wondered.

The same magic that gave the shadow beasts their strength illuminated them in the eyes that Kalk now bore. Wincing, he fought back the pain in his head. Simply maintaining this spell took its toll on him. Looking around, he took in everything around him. The walls that kept him safe were no barrier for these cursed eyes, the magic could be seen through most anything. He came to face the opposite side of the window, only to fall back on his flank in shock. This is unbelievable, he thought. His jaw hung open as his breathing increased and his heart pumped faster. How can one be… so… enormous? Beyond the back wall of his house, he saw a sphere of energy within the forest, approaching the town with speed. It was far off, but it must be something big to have that much magic in it.

Sweat rolling down his forehead, Kalk let the spell die out, his pupils shrinking to regular size and the whites of his eyes fading back to white. The sight of his walls returned in plain sight around him as he fought the coming migraine this spell always gave him. There was no time for this! It’s coming here, to Beacon. It could easily lay waste to the town. He got up off the floor with haste and almost bolted out the door before stopping. He turned to the hall behind him, thinking of Tick.

Memories of the ponies in his portrait flashed before him, the little filly in particular haunting his vision. Kalk shut his eyes tightly, knowing he couldn’t ever let that happen again. Her face was always the happiest when she was young… and then… “Tick! Come on! We have to go, now!”

…

Dinner lay on the table, untouched since it was set for the family of four. The gems hanging above swayed from side to side, gently pushed by the forces outside. The room was silent from within, but outside, the beasts were in an uproar. They ferociously tackled buildings all through the town, as if blinded with anger. While all was still in the room, the impact against the walls from outside was starting to shake things up, the silver wear vibrating and clanging on the plates. Screeching could be heard that could have been a hawk, though there was no telling when it came to the shadow beasts. With every shattering blow made close by, the colt shuddered, pulling within himself tightly.

The filly looked down at her brother with worry, not sure if she could do anything to help. His head hung low, eyes hidden behind his mane, there was no doubting that he had broken out into tears by now. Her eyes thinned as she watched the colt, feeling sympathy for him. She was terrified of what could happen, though she didn’t show it. She couldn’t show it, not with him so scarred already. Another impact sent cracks up the wall behind them, and both were instantly on their hooves. Pieces of clay chipped away and fell to the ground as its growth halted. Wide eyed, the filly looked up the enormous fissure in aw. The walls were at least two feet thick… and made of stone and clay… this was just insane!

She turned to her brother only to find him standing still as stone, staring at the wound made in their home. From behind him, she couldn’t see his eyes, but he seemed paralyzed. The filly’s eyebrows arched upwards in seeing him there, unmoving. She lifted a hoof to go to him, to lighten his worry, but she was stopped in her motion mid step. He turned slowly around, his mane hiding his eyes until he was directly facing his sister. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. His face, though was still filled with worry, was not wet with tears. Nor was he in shock. The filly couldn’t help but blink several times. Then, slowly, a smile came to her face as her hoof lowered back down to the ground.

“Let’s go see if everything’s alright in the bedroom,” she told him. The orange manned colt nodded and even gave her a slight smile as he walked past her. Did… did talking to Tick really change him that much? She watched him for a brief moment before following. This situation was horrible, so many beasts right outside the shop. Mom and Dad were talking about what to do. It was plain, Mom had said before heading into the other room to discuss what was happening, that there was no way Beacon could handle this anymore. She had heard them talking about teleporting a letter to Celestia directly asking for help, though Dad seemed to be against it. They reached the door and in opening it, drew both their parents’ attention.

“Everything alright in here? They cracked the wall in the kitchen,” the filly let them both know. Her father cocked his head to the side, looking at her with question.

“Did they really?” he asked, his wife pushing past him as he spoke.

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course they did. It’s a war out there! Just listen,” she said, turning from him to the children standing in the doorframe. “We sent a letter to Celestia, though, I won’t lie,” a beast just outside the window screamed, shortly drawing their attention. “It doesn’t look like she can help,” she said, a little flare of anger entering her tired eyes as she spoke. She was getting more and more fatigued with each passing day. The filly had almost forgotten what it was like to see her mother without the dark circles under her eyes defining her lack of sleep. She walked out into the hall quickly, hastily heading to the kitchen to assess what was done. They all followed close behind, and as they were entering the kitchen, a crack formed above them, sending dust and sand down on Spit Shine.

The family looked to one another, then to the fresh scar formed on their ceiling. The wet thud of flesh against brick could be heard across the street. As they all remained silent, they could hear the pitter patter of paws on the rooftop. Large paws. Glitter’s right eye half closed as she turned back to the task at hand. She reached the kitchen, and in looking at the crack there, sat on her flank and sighed deeply. The noise outside persisted as she sat on the floor, her head hanging low.

“There’s… nothing. Nothing at all!” she said, her head cradled in her knees. “We can’t do anything to get ourselves out of this, just hide and… hope,” she whispered, looking to her family now. Spit Shine came over to her and sat directly beside her, wrapping a hoof around her. The filly and colt also came to lie before them, the family huddled together now in hopes of staying safe. Glitter used her levitation to grab a group of gems from the counter and pull them toward them.

She began to enchant some, setting them down around them to provide more light. As she went about this, she began to hum… She hummed the same song she had used to comfort her children when they were just little foals, laying in their cribs. Spit Shine joined in and for a while, it seemed to bring peace to them. It brought back memories for the red manned filly, who could recall in this tune her brother calming and coming to rest peacefully in time. They stayed that way, together, holding closely to one another knowing full well that this could be the last time they would have the chance to.

The storm of shadows roared viciously outside, the beasts almost driving themselves to death as they tried again and again to break down the walls of every home in Beacon.

…

Horn glowing brightly, the gray and blue stallion made his way through the city streets. In the darkness, the filly clutched more tightly to his back for dear life. She didn’t know why Kalk had to bring her outside in this… disaster. She thought things would be much safer inside, not stuck here on his back with no light of her own. They turned the corner, the cries of the monsters growing louder and louder as they approached. In full gallop, Kalk rushed down the street, panting lightly with each falling of a hoof. Tick couldn’t see much, but from the bulb of light her teacher and step father produced, it seemed the whole town was in ruins. Shattered pieces of wall lay beneath where they had broken off from. Stones that once evenly covered the street now were broken to bits. It was as if everything was made of glass… except this was solid stone that was scattered everywhere.

Kalk stopped suddenly, pulling Tick’s attention forward. Before them was a beast at least double Kalk’s size, glaring at them. Unmoving, the beast looked to them both, almost having expected them. It seemed to be a standstill, the light blocking him, but him blocking Kalk and Tick. It refused to move, rather seeming to almost make its way to them. As it moved closer, the low light gave way to its true appearance. Its fur was a ragged, jet black. Its eyes were no different; rather, there was no white to them, only a gleaming, single toned black. They seemed empty… as empty as the forest. Drool dripped from its upper fangs, and as it took a step forward, it snarled viciously.

“K-Kalk,” Tick whispered into his ear, eyes wide and trained on the monstrosity before them. “We need to run… it’s going to k-“ the wolf like beast roared out, spit flying in every direction as it shook it’s head from side to side. With a yelp, Tick was stopped entirely from speaking. She felt herself begin to shake in terror as she curled herself closer to Kalk’s back. She opened her eyes, only to find that Kalk still hadn’t moved, and shockingly, his eyes were closed. “Kalk! Kalk we have to move!” she screamed, the shadow beast still approaching, its eyes looking longingly at her. Looking into them, she could only see a distorted reflection of herself on Kalk’s back. “Kalk!” she screamed again, pulling herself closer to him and clutching her eyes shut as it leaped toward them.

She shook viciously, waiting for the moment of death… and felt nothing. Slowly opening her eyes, she found that they were behind the beast now. Kalk, without hesitation, took the opportunity to bolt around the nearest corner before the beast could turn around. This did nothing to detract it, as looking behind them, Tick saw it jump from the street level up to the roof tops and follow overhead. Her heart pounded loudly in her quickly rising and falling chest as she looked around and only saw more… so many more. One, two… four. And that was only the count she could see in the light from Kalk’s horn. Behind them, there was the roar of many more paws and claws erupting from the darkness.

Tick felt her heart stop as Kalk, against all sense, stopped beneath the clock tower. The noise from the beasts was everywhere, but the ringing in her ears seemed to drown out even that. The world around her seemed to slow down, the beasts ripping at the walls and buildings turning to them in slow motion. She’d experienced this before, but only in the air while moving at high speeds. The adrenaline rush didn’t last long, and she felt the end draw nearer and nearer as Kalk’s horn burned out and stopped glowing. It was throwing a hunk of meat into a sea of sharks. The buildings around them seemed to close in on them, the glimmering eyes of the beasts drawing near as Tick felt herself cry out and curl into a ball once more. A hook covered paw was in full sweep, ready to hack them in two when, without warning, it stopped.

The beasts hacked and slashed, bit and stomped, but to no avail whatsoever. Tick looked all around them, relieved to be alive but utterly confused. None of them seemed to be able to get through a circle around them… one lined out by lightly glowing green lines that took the shape of a pentagon. Understanding instantly came to her, and she looked to the beasts now with fascination more the fear. How can there be so many here?

She turned to Kalk only to find his eyes shining brightly in the low glow of the seal below them. His teeth gritted, and as he stood beneath her, his back arching slightly, he seemed to be focusing a lot of energy. All at once, a shockwave released from his horn, going in every direction from the tip. It passed straight through Tick with no affect, but upon reaching the outside of the barrier, it seemed to turn into a hurricane-like force. Shadow beasts flew in every direction, the pulse of energy seeming to only take hold of them as it passed over the town. Buildings endured the pulse with no damage at all. Tick couldn’t help but gawk at what Kalk had just done. Every single shadow beast in town had to have been thrown away all at once.

Kalk blinked once, and in that very instant, they were standing on the top of the clock tower. He lowered himself, his eyes fading from their glowing state and motioning for her to get down. “Sorry for the rough ride. It’s only just begun, though,” he told her, looking off into the forest as she got down.

“Whoa whoa, what do you mean ‘just begun’?” Tick asked with haste, looking at him with fear as she hopped onto the solid rooftop. “You just got rid of all the shadow beasts right?” she looked in the direction he was looking. “It’s ov…..er,” she was barely able to say, her eyes widening as the trees rising above her in the distance parted.

Two enormous bead-like eyes gleamed in the dark as a black, sparkling shadow emerged. Enormous paws stamped into the ground, bringing a cloud of dust up as it moved forward. Reaching the town, it did not even make the effort to fit its foot into the narrow streets. Rather, it went over the buildings, stepping upon the rooftops with no struggle at all. Under its great weight, the stone and clay that made up each building cracked and deformed as it came forward. Taller than the tower they stood upon, it had no trouble sighting them. Its mouth opened wide, hundreds of long, dagger like teeth showing. A wave of sound blasted out that could deafen those who were close enough to it. Tick found herself on the stone roof, holding her ears down in a failed attempt to block it out. The sound was jarring, causing a high pitched whine to ensue when it had finally passed.

Kalk, still standing tall, looked straight into the shadow’s eyes. It was almost like what had happened before in the streets, a stand off. But this time, on a much bigger scale. Rather than a street, it was the entire city, and looking up to Kalk, she couldn’t tell who was bigger now. Kalk was different than any unicorn she’d seen… It was almost like he was an alicorn. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, and held in his breath for a few seconds. In an instant, his eyes opened glowing more powerfully than ever before.

He vanished before her, the battle that would decide the very fate of Beacon beginning. Standing on the rooftop, she wasn’t sure weather or not she should feel confident or fearful for him. She was able to spot him on a roof some distance away, and in trying to move in his direction, found herself hitting a solid object. Tick had to get back up, having tried to leap into flight to go to him. All around her, glowing faintly, was another bubble surrounding a seal on the rooftop. Tapping the bulb, she came to realize that there was no way she could help. All she could do was sit down and hope… just like always.

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Pain thrust through all, pushing back any that could have hoped to stand where the light had come from. Gone now was the brilliant source of energy that was the driving force behind all. All that remained was boiling… boiling heat. The searing would not relent, the sight difficult to even take in with such devilish things. Blood pushed, a force that broke though all. Blood called forth like never before, and so its will was allowed.

There is no fighting the blood. All come to obey.

Comments

[Rose Lucks special somepony]

Its so intense.