Mind Over Might

by SilentSky

CHAPTER ELEVEN: REDEMPTION

---

It was like he was falling.

Daniel saw only blackness, but he felt himself falling. Red points of light began rushing past his field of view, and it looked like he was falling fast.

He had gotten so accustomed to living as a pegasus that he felt out for his wings and tried to spread them against the fall, only to feel none there.

He looked down at his...hands? Daniel was shocked to find himself back in his human body. He had just enough time to realize he was in the full ceremonial dress uniform of the United Terran Fleet before the fall stopped abruptly.

He looked around. He was back in the docking bay of the Faction research vessel, only there were no Wolf fighters, and no Rhino-class gunship. Nor were there any of his fellow soldiers, only a dark blue twinkling mist which he recognized immediately.

“Luna?” he asked to it.

The mist instantly formed itself into the more familiar alicorn, who stood before his human form just tall enough to meet him eye to eye.

“Do not be afraid. We are within your mind right now, Knight Sky. Or would you prefer Daniel?”

He looked down to his gilded nameplate, it read his original name.

“Daniel is fine for now. What exactly is happening?”

“Your mind currently belongs neither to you nor to the beast. This, Daniel, is the battleground. This must be a place of significance to you, am I correct?”

He looked around thoughtfully, “Yes...it is. This is where it all went wrong.” He paused in reminiscence, “How do we find it, and how are we supposed to we fight it?”

“This battleground is taken from your memories, so you should know exactly where we can find it. As for how we will fight it...” She gestured to the ceremonial saber that hung at his waist, “Any weapon will do.”

Only those officers who had completed advanced strategy training wore ceremonial sabers on their uniforms. He drew the saber to find that instead of a blunted steel blade, it was razor sharp.

“We were only taught swordsmanship as a means of learning strategy, I never dreamed I’d have to use it in combat.” He sheathed the sword somewhat clumsily, “My skills are a bit rusty. I haven’t so much as held a sword since training, and that was years ago.”

“Courage is more important than fighting skill here. Do you know where to go, Daniel?”

He looked to the corridor, “I know exactly where we need to go.”

She walked beside him, and put a wing up against his back, “Then lead the way. I will be right behind you.”

Daniel smiled to hide the crippling fear that boiled within him, and began the trek through the long and winding corridors of the research vessel.

---

To Celestia, Shining Armor, the four guards, and all six Element Bearers, it looked as though the Lunar Princess was in a trance, with her glowing horn just barely touching Knight Sky’s forehead.

“Princess,” Twilight began. “What exactly is happening right now?”

“My sister is far more powerful than many believe, Twilight,” she answered, never taking her eyes off the two.

“What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

Celestia looked to her student, “I have absolutely no idea what exactly is happening. Luna is currently using spells that are far, far beyond my comprehension. I suppose you could say that while I possess much more brute strength as far as magic is concerned, my sister is capable of extraordinarily complicated spellcasting. She is the only pony in recorded history to have such incredible finesse.”

Twilight cocked her head in wonder, “Wait, really?”

“You seem surprised, my student.” Celestia gave a half smile that brimmed with obvious pride for her younger sister.

“No, it’s just...I always assumed you were more powerful, and I think pretty much everypony else shares that view,” she explained.

Celestia opened her mouth to speak again, though as she did, the gentle blue glow around Luna’s horn flashed red, and she jerked her head back, yanking herself out of the spell with a cry of pain.

---

soundtrack

The human and alicorn duo rounded a corner, past a familiar hatch with a blinking red warning light. Before long, they came to the hatch that led to the bridge of the ship, and just as before, there was a cool, blue light on the door.

Not wanting to take any chances at all, Daniel looked away from the light before reaching for the control pad.

“You should look away from the light. Trust me on this one,” he said to the princess.

She did as he suggested, and with eyes averted, he opened the door.

When he turned back around to look into the bridge, it was exactly as he remembered it, only there were no bodies, just one being inside. It was seated in the captain’s chair, and facing the viewports.

He stepped inside, Luna following closely behind.

“It’s you isn’t it?” he asked to the thing sitting in the captain’s seat.

It didn’t turn to answer, but spoke in a multitude of voices, “Me? We think it would now be more accurate to say ‘us.’ But yes. We were Rewrite Program 67422.28 Alpha. That was a long time ago, before you lost your memories.”

“What do you mean you ‘were?’” he asked, his hand on the grip of his saber.

“What a wonderful thing that was. Your amnesia gave us a veritable feast, but few of your memories were appetizing, only her.”

Fearing the answer, he asked, “Who?”

“The girl. Adra. Your memories of her were strong, and they made us so much stronger. For a time, we were Adra. And for a time, her memory almost overpowered us. It used us to speak to you, but that didn’t last long.”

“Didn’t last long? What are you talking about?” he pressed.

“We were imprisoned for a thousand years, we escaped that prison, only to be imprisoned again as a mere afterthought. But when our last victim connected her mind to your own, we saw what you called, ‘the beast,’ and my, was it fulfilling to consume. We are stronger now than we have ever been, if only you hadn’t been gravely injured, we would have taken over as soon as the changeling was dealt with.”

“And now what? You’re still not ready or you would have already taken hold.”

“Your companion is not welcome here.” it said angrily, and rose from its seat. “We think this form will be the most suitable for us to finish this. You regret losing her the most, so you will be powerless against her.”

Daniel staggered back, Luna caught him with a wing, “No...you can’t be...Adra?!”

It turned to face him, and that was when he finally laid eyes on it, standing before him was Adra, only her eyes were a bright red.

“We said...your companion is not welcome here!” it’s eyes blazed bright, and Luna gave a cry of pain.

“Luna!” Daniel shouted.

She grunted back, “I will await you! Do not be afraid!” and disappeared from the battleground.

“What did you do? She’s my friend!” he demanded.

“Oh she’ll be fine, we merely removed her from this place. We will deal with her after we are done with you.”

The red-eyed Adra approached...

---

“Luna! What’s happened, are you alright?!” Celestia asked concernedly, holding her sister up.

“I am fine, Celestia. However...” she got to her hooves and looked at Knight Sky, his body now twitching and jerking erratically, much to the horror of his friends. They looked on, mortified as Knight Sky twitched like one who had been struck by lightning.

“...Nightmare Moon has expelled me from the battle. I could try to force my way back in, but that would likely end in catastrophe for us all. I am afraid Knight Sky is on his own.”

In their conversation, they failed to notice the moisture gathering in Fluttershy’s teal eyes until she ran from the room in tears.

Celestia looked to her sister, “You stay here and watch over Knight Sky. I will find her.”

Fluttershy had no destination, only to get as far from that hospital room as possible. She didn’t know what to do, so she just ran. She ran through the rain in the pitch black night until she slipped in the wet grass and fell into a puddle, too miserable to get up, she simply laid there and sobbed as her tears mingled with the rain.

She cried for what felt like hours until the rain seemed to stop; though she could still hear the storm raging around her, she no longer felt the cold raindrops. She felt a warmth on her coat as though the sun were shining down on her.

Fluttershy opened her eyes to see none other than Princess Celestia standing over her, giving her a kind smile, and shielding her from the rain with a massive white wing.

“All is not lost, Fluttershy,” Celestia said gently.

The sorrowful pegasus sniffed back her tears and asked in a weak voice, “...what?”

“My sister has helped him all she could, but you are capable of more than you know.”

“B-but what can I do? I can’t use magic, I can’t go into his dreams, I can’t even fight. What good am I to him now?”

Celestia gestured to the Element around her neck, “Without you, Fluttershy, that Element of Harmony is merely an object, cold and dead. But when near the holder of the Element of Kindness, its wielder is capable of powers most ponies can only dream of.”

“So I...I can help?” she asked, just a hint of hope in her voice.

Celestia nodded, “Knight Sky’s battle is far from over, but you can turn the tide for him. When an Element Holder must fight to protect one they love, they truly become a force to be reckoned with.”

“You really think I can do it?” she asked, slowly getting to her hooves.

“No. I know you can do it. And I know that before you, the beast in his mind is powerless. Nightmare Moon is fueled by bitterness and misery. Love and kindness are to those what fire is to ice.”

That was all she needed to hear. The flame deep within the timid pegasus had awoken, and she would stop at nothing to save the one she cared about. Fluttershy stood, wiped the mane out of her face, and looked to her princess with a determined spark in her eye.

“Knight Sky needs you Fluttershy, go fight for him.” Celestia said.

Fluttershy gave the princess a confident grin, and galloped back to the hospital.

---

Already bruised and battered, Daniel took yet another blow that sent him sliding across to the other side of the bridge.

Completely unscathed, it followed him calmly, and prepared to strike again.

“You spoke to us so confidently in your dreams. Where is your confidence now? You told us we were nothing but a scrap of memory to be forgotten. You are the one who will be erased.”

He covered his face, “I...I killed you once, I can’t do that again. I’m sorry, Adra. It looks like I have to lose this one.”

He heard that same snort of derision, only this time it was not tinged with even the slightest doubt.

“You humans, you are so weak. You are weak, yet you are filled with anger, bitterness, resentment. It makes us so much stronger.”

It struck him hard once again, this time sending him through the air, only to collide painfully against the captain’s seat at the center of the bridge.

As it approached him for another blow, the entire battleground seemed to shudder. A large crack spread across the floor, and it felt as though the ship had tilted over to the side. The whole environment was suddenly sloped.

Doubt briefly flashed across its cold, soulless features. At the same time, Daniel heard a whisper in his ear as if from nowhere.

He heard Fluttershy’s voice, “You can do it, Knight Sky...”

As the echo of her whisper faded, he heard the beast cry out in pain. He looked up to see it stagger and fall to its knees.

“Wha...what is this?!” it spat hatefully.

Daniel felt pride well up within himself as he remembered what he had been told about Fluttershy.

He stood despite the pain and answered, “This is what happens when you wake her fire. I’d run if I were you.”

It looked at him hatefully, “You can’t be serious...that little wretch?! We can’t be beaten by her filth!”

As he limped towards the beast, he drew his sword. “Her name...” Daniel sliced as hard as he could, “...is Fluttershy!”

It held up an arm to block and screamed as the blade met its forearm. An attack which would normally have severed the hand simply caused it to vanish as a strange dark purple glow flowed from the wound. The beast grabbed the stump of its wrist as it shrieked in agony, and then seemed to snicker in amused confidence.

“You won’t kill us...we are your beloved Adra. You said it yourself...”

As it spoke, the image it had projected onto itself of Adra flickered, revealing a face beneath. The face seemed to be an evil-looking black alicorn with sharp fangs, but it quickly reverted back to just the red-eyed Adra.

“No, I could never kill her a second time, but you...you are not Adra. You are a monster who dares invoke her image,” Daniel tensed for another strike at the beast.

“You’re right, we are not Adra. But we are everything you remember of her. Kill us if you dare, but you won’t even have the memories to cherish. Go ahead. Do it.”

He hesitated for a split second, long enough for the beast to continue, “We knew it. Weak to the core.”

It got to its feet against what looked like significant strain, and collapsed again as the world around them shook violently.

“Agh! No, dammit no!” it shrieked and grasped at its face with its one good hand as the image flickered again. When it pulled its hand away, half its face seemed to have gone from that of Adra to that of the monster he saw beneath. It was definitely some sort of demonic alicorn, and the two faces merged irregularly.

“You call me weak, yet which one of us is on the ground?” Daniel asked rhetorically as he limped around behind it to deliver a final blow and impale it through the back.

In an instant, the beast turned and lunged forth with a hand outstretched to his face, and Fluttershy whispered again in his ear, “Go, Knight Sky, I’ll be waiting for you!”

That was all he needed, he grinned in defiance and thrust the saber forward, straight through the beast’s chest. At the same time however, its hand clawed at the right side of his face and a searing pain shot through his eye.

The image of a red-eyed Adra grimacing in anger and pain faded to nothing before him, and he collapsed from the beating.

-The Next Day-

“Any change? Has he even stirred?” Blood Dancer asked solemnly, a radical departure from his usual exuberant self.

“No, Doctor. He’s still in a coma.” Fluttershy answered.

She looked down on the stallion, and recalled what had happened.

By the time she’d returned to the room in the basement, Knight Sky was twitching violently, and bruises were somehow forming all over his body. Despite her friends’ warnings, she walked directly to his bedside, and her Element began to glow.

Its soft pink light spread over both their bodies, and she saw everything that was happening. She watched Daniel Tarian allow himself to be beaten by the beast, and she knew that he couldn’t bring himself to destroy it. That was when she intervened.

She followed Celestia’s advice, and her powers of kindness melted the icy malice that fed Nightmare Moon. In one move, she brought the beast to its knees.

When he struck the final blow, Fluttershy fell out of the spell in time to see a large gash open on the stallion’s face where the beast had struck him.

Luna checked his mind and found no trace of Nightmare Moon, though his mind was also dormant. There was no telling what had truly happened, at least until he woke up.

To be certain it had not simply jumped ship, Luna searched for it in Fluttershy’s mind and her own, only to come up empty. That meant it was either gone for good, or had succeeded in conquering Knight Sky’s mind, and would show itself when he woke.

---

Hours turned to days as Knight Sky’s shattered leg began to heal, his bruises disappeared, his blood returned, and the gash on his face faded to a large scar. All the while, he remained comatose. Visitor after visitor came to wish him well.

All of his friends, the Element Bearers, visited. Both Princesses whom he had fought alongside, many of the soldiers who watched him defy the changeling queen, citizens of the town he had inspired with courage, scores of visitors came to see him, but it was over a week before he finally stirred.

The window was open, and the sun shone brightly into the room through a clear, deep blue sky. The rays of the sun fell across his scarred face and brought him forth from the darkness.

Knight Sky cracked an eyelid only to be temporarily blinded by the sun’s brightness in a now unusually sensitive eye. As soon as he moved, however, Fluttershy reacted.

She nudged him with her wing and whispered into his ear, “Knight Sky, can you hear me?”

He whispered back weakly, “I...I think so. Am I alive?”

She could not hold back the tears of joy. She wrapped a wing and foreleg about him in a gentle but strong embrace, and let it all out.

If he had the energy, he would have cried tears of joy as well. Instead, he just smiled a weak but relieved smile, and consoled himself in Fluttershy’s embrace.

“It’s over...it’s done.”

---

The door opened quietly and Fluttershy stood in the entrance, “Alright, you can all come in now. But keep in mind that he just woke up from a week-long coma. Try to be sensitive of that.”

With a deep frown, Pinkie rolled her large party cannon, now loaded with confetti and streamers, down the hall before coming back.

The five mares Knight Sky had befriended in his time here joined the yellow pegasus in the hospital room. Only a few hours since rejoining the waking world, he forced himself upright to greet them.

“I’m glad you could all make it, it’s good to see my friends again. For a while I thought that might have been goodbye.”

Rainbow Dash was the first to reply, she walked up to the bed and gently nudged his shoulder with a hoof, “I knew you’d make it, welcome back.”

Grateful she’d taken care to nudge the opposite shoulder from his shattered leg, he grinned, “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. Maybe when I’m all healed up you can give me some flying lessons. Do you think you could do that?”

She smirked at him, “Knight Sky, when I’m done with you, you’re never gonna want to walk anywhere again. Of course I’ll teach you.”

Twilight interjected, “Not so fast. I did a little research, and he’s technically considered a refugee from a foreign...country, I guess. Knight Sky should fill out citizenship papers first. That’s more important.”

“Wow, I’m happy to see you too, Twilight,” he remarked sarcastically.

Realizing her mistake, Twilight backpedaled. “Oh, I was only joking, well, mostly joking. In any case, I’m really glad you’re okay,” she finished with a genuine smile.

“Oh this is awful, just awful!”

“You okay over there, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked the unicorn, who seemed to be mortified.

“This...this is simply a travesty! All my hard work!” she lamented. “Knight Sky, your uniform...it’s...it’s utterly ruined!”

Everypony breathed a collective sigh of relief that Rarity’s dramatic outburst was over something small. “Ya had me worried fer a bit, Rare. Glad it’s nothin’ serious,” Applejack remarked.

“Nothing...serious?! No, I cannot allow this to go unfinished. Knight Sky, I’m recreating your uniform again and I won’t take no for an answer!” she insisted.

Knight Sky couldn’t help but chuckle at how all their concerns for the present were so minimal. It was a nice change from the hell that had been the last several weeks.

He looked past Rainbow Dash to see Pinkie Pie pouting in a corner. A vast departure from her usual hyperactive self, he called to her, “Pinkie, what’s wrong?”

She crossed her forelegs, “Fluttershy doesn’t want me to use my party cannon. I just wanted to make everypony happy since you’re okay and everything!”

He looked to Fluttershy, “I wouldn’t mind it.”

That was all the encouragement she needed, Pinkie burst into a huge grin and somehow slipped out under the door, returning seconds later, party cannon in tow. Before anypony could get a word in, she fired. The room was instantly covered in festive decorations.

Pinkie Pie lived up to her promise. Though it was somewhat subdued, taking place in a hospital, the party lasted until well after midnight.

---

It wasn’t until the morning after the party that he began to notice the gaps in his memory.

“So what do you remember?” Fluttershy asked of him, once he’d told her about them.

“I remember fighting some kind of battle within myself, but I can’t remember who the enemy was, only that it was tormenting me the entire time I’ve been on this world. And there’s something else,” he trailed off.

“What is it?” she insisted.

Knight Sky gazed off wistfully, “A name, there’s nothing I can remember about it. No face to go with it, no memory of any individual, nothing attached to it at all. Just...a name and the feeling it brings.”

She looked at him questioningly, wondering whether it was his name or something else. “And what name is that?”

He turned to face her, “Adra. Something about the name Adra is sticking out in my mind. Whenever I think of that name it makes me feel almost...happy. Like I’m remembering something really good from my past.”

Fluttershy debated telling him why that name stuck out in his mind, but her inner conflict was cut short when there was a knock at the door.

“Knight Sky. It’s good to see you alive and well again.”

In walked none other than Princess Luna, with Captain Shining Armor accompanying her.

“It’s good to be alive and well, Princess,” he replied.

She smiled. “Considering that it’s you that awoke from the coma and nothing else, I can safely say that you’re in the clear.”

“As in the clear as I can be for the moment. Apparently, I got most of my blood back while I was comatose, but this leg’s going to take a while to heal,” he gestured with a humble half-smile to his braced and bandaged foreleg. “I’m glad you two came to visit. There’s something I’d like to ask you, Your Majesty, and something I’d like to say to you as well, Captain.”

Luna stepped closer, “Certainly, what would you like to ask?”

“When we first met, you told me you’d glimpsed humanity. Do you remember?”

The Princess thought for a moment and recalled, “Ah, yes I do. Why do you ask?”

“I hope this isn’t too much to ask, but...would you be able to take another look? The messages I received made it sound like my ship was lost, as was the war. But it’s been bothering me ever since. I feel like I might have missed something.”

She smiled and answered, “I suppose I could take another look for you,” her smile faded, “but I should warn you. You may not like what you hear.”

Knight Sky nodded, “I understand. Whatever the answer, I have to know for sure if humanity is on the right path, or it’ll haunt me forever.”

“I understand. It may take some time, but I will do my best to find your answers.”

Relieved, Knight Sky replied, “Thank you, Princess Luna. I appreciate it.”

soundtrack

“I believe you also had something you wanted to say to Shining Armor?” Luna reminded him.

Knight Sky forced himself upright to say it, “Yes, yes I did. Captain, when last we met, you made me an offer regarding my future here in Equestria. I have an answer for you.”

“I’m all ears, Knight Sky,” the unicorn stepped a bit closer.

He took a deep breath, “I’ll take your offer, and join the Royal Guard. I’ll teach strategy at an academy here, and do what I can to make your world just a bit safer,” he said confidently.

Shining Armor grinned, “That’s excellent news, Knight Sky. In that case, I think I’ll have to promote you so you can officially be considered an instructor.”

“You want to promote me? I was never a lieutenant commander in your military, are you sure that’ll work?” Knight Sky asked with a bit of skepticism.

He laughed lightly in response, “I’m certain that won’t be a problem. I’ll have to see about getting you fitted for a uniform before I return to Canterlot. Welcome to the Royal Guard, Commander Knight Sky.”

The white unicorn gave him a salute, which he returned with his uninjured hoof.

“I can’t wait to start, sir.”

As harrowing an ordeal as Knight Sky had just been through, as many horrors as he’d faced, by all other accounts, he should have been a broken stallion. But that was not what Luna saw when she looked down to this still injured, yet very whole stallion. Instead, she saw one who was ready and eager to begin a new chapter in his life, to see what tomorrow had in store for him, and to say it made her happy to see would have been a massive understatement.

THE END

Comments

[DouglasFir]

This chapter doesn't seem particularly Red, or even Dead... Nor does it have anything to do with Shawshank...

[Blankman]

Love the ending (still think the battle with nightmare moon was a bit short) great job.... sad its over tho

[JDSmith1123]

Any sequels planned?

[SilentSky]

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[SilentSky]

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