Midnight Begins: Chapter 4
Midnight’s Shadow
Midnight Begins - Chapter 4
I did not even have the chance to start my journey before I found myself on the receiving end of a tongue lashing.
“Ya'll are the stupidest, dirtiest, and most deplorable ponies I have ever seen!” Applesauce’s wife screamed at me from a distance that did not require yelling, given the pain it caused to my ears. “How dare ya arrest mah husband! He is guilty of nothing, ya sun-loving cretin!”
I looked to see that Stalwart and Silent Forest were still watching over Applesauce, and given the annoyed glowers they were giving Applesauce’s wife, they had probably been subject to the irate mare’s grievances the entire time I had been inside. Most of the ponies that had gathered earlier had left by this point, though a few still milled about the small farm.
Deciding that the mare was not worth the effort of arguing with, I moved onto more important matters. I pulled my cloak tighter around me against the rain. “Red Steel, is there someplace we can imprison Applesauce?” I asked over the continued screaming of Applesauce’s spouse.
Red Steel assisted Applesauce to his hooves. “Aye, there are a couple of cells in the courthouse’s basement. I will appoint a deputy to watch over him until I return.”
“Dost thou intende to accompany us?” I asked.
Red Steel nodded. “I do. It is my duty to protect this town and its ponies.”
I could readily see the benefit of having a pony who knew how to carry herself. I had been around enough soldiers to know how to spot one on sight, in or out of uniform. She had helped keep the earlier incident with Applesauce under control. True, there was a risk that she was somehow involved in the disappearances in Appleton, but if I acted purely out of sheer paranoia rather than looking at the facts before me, then my progress was likely to be slowed. Thus far, I had not seen anything to suggest Red Steel was anything but what she claimed to be and saw little reason not to allow her to help me.
I inclined my head in acknowledgement to Red Steel. “Then let us proceed together.”
Applesauce’s wife stomped a hoof and was all but frothing at the mouth. “Are you ignoring me?”
I gave her a flat look, feeling increasingly annoyed by the mare. “Aye.”
Applesauce’s wife’s face reddened, and her body quivered. She took a step towards me, and I flinched when I thought she was about to strike me. Red Steel stepped between us before she could come within leg’s length of me.
“Peace, Sweet,” Red Steel said soothingly and gently pushed Sweet back. “She is going to help us find Hazen.”
Silent Forest had moved to hold onto Applesauce’s leg while Stalwart took his place next to me. I was silently thankful for that. I had already been attacked by one earth pony that day and did not wish to be struck again. Not only because of my aversion to pain but being smote would endanger the concentration I needed to maintain the tracking spell that should lead me to Hazen Apple.
Sweet Potate took a step back, looking as though she had been slapped. “Hazen? Ye can find mah Hazen?”
One of the ponies that had been standing about the farm, a mare late in her middle age and wearing one of the wide-brimmed hats that seemed to be the fashion of the town, stepped forward to stand besides Sweet. “Do not listen to them.” She scowled dismissively at me. “They are liars. No doubt they work to hide the schemes of the Carrots against our family.”
Red Steel gave the new earth pony a look that should have turned her blood into ice. “I did not ask you to become involved, Apple Butter. We do not need any of your trouble this day.”
Apple Butter snorted. “Somepony has to look out for the Apple Clan around here.” She rubbed a hoof along her dark-yellow coat and purposefully did not look at Red Steel. “Maybe if somepony were more interested in doing her job than looking good for the magnate, then there would be fewer missing ponies around here.”
Red Steel ground her hoof in the dirt. “I am doing the best job I can for everypony. The magnate has nothing to do with it. Stay home and let me and the magus do our work.”
My ear flicked at the insinuation that I was in Appleton to commit an act of slander against the Apple Clan. “I assure thee, that I am here to discover the perpetrator of these foul crimes, not to deceive any of you. I have every intention of finding Hazen Apple. I am using a spell that should hopefully lead us to him without delay.” Maybe if we were fortunate, the farmer would not have already died in some horrific fashion before we arrived.
Sweet Potato shot us a scowl. “Then why ye wasting time here? He might be lost or hurt or who knows what else.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Because thou art distracting us. ‘Tis most irritating.”
Sweet Potato snorted. “Maybe if ya di’n’t arrest mah husband, I would not need to tell ya what a miserable cretin ya are.”
Carrot Juice let out a bark of a laugh. “If it were up to me, we would put the lot of ya traitorous Apples in chains,” she said with a sneer. I had nearly forgotten about the guide Mayor Carrot Casserole had sent with us. It seemed she had decided to stand by the fence to the farmhouse, my confrontation with Applesauce having not driven her away.
Sweet’s eyes narrowed balefully at Carrot Juice. “What did ya say, Carrot?”
“Do you want a fight?” Apple Butter stomped her way over to Juice, ill intent clear in her posture.
No doubt seeing a confrontation unfolding before her, Red Steel inserted herself between Carrot Juice and Apple Butter and fixed both of them with a glare in turn. “Juice, go home. Now.”
Carrot Juice locked eyes with the militia captain. “The mayor told me to help show the magus around town,” Juice said obstinately.
“And no doubt telling her a bunch of lies so that she will hang more Apples.” Apple Butter stepped forward but was pushed back roughly by Red Steel.
Red Steel jabbed a hoof into Butter’s chest. “Not another word from you.” Red Steel turned back to Carrot Juice and leaned in until she was almost touching muzzles with her. “Leave, you are not needed here anymore.” Butter looked like she was about to say something but was silenced by a look from Steel. “Do not think I will not throw you both in chains if you impede my investigation.”
“This is not over,” Apple Butter said, though it was hard to say exactly who she was leveling the ambiguous threat against. “Ah am not going to stand for my kinsfolk being hurt.” She exchanged glares with Red Steel one more time before withdrawing.
It was then Juice’s turn to exchange looks with Red Steel for a long moment before breaking eye contact and taking a step back. “Fine. Ya can talk with the mayor if she becomes angered over this.”
Red Steel’s gaze did not waver as Juice slowly made her way up the trail leading back to Appleton. “I will deal with the mayor. I can guide them from this point forward.”
I must admit that I was at a bit of a loss for what to do during all of this. I had, of course, seen ponies confront one another within the court in Canterlot, but such affairs were far more orderly and civilized than the more brawlish nature of the argument I had just witnessed. In Canterlot, I was used to every argument or clash being carefully prepared and planned. They were run by master orators and manipulators who operated by long-standing rules of decorum. While sometimes arguments could flair into juris ungula in the palaces and manors of Canterlot, I had rarely seen even the most volatile affairs threaten to become a free-for-all. There seemed to be no way for me to defuse the situation without the risk of escalating it further on my part.
I was also not entirely sure how to feel about Red Steel threatening my mayor-appointed guide away. I was annoyed that Red Steel had not asked me if I no longer desired Carrot Juice’s services. But it was undeniable that Juice was attempting to provoke Sweet Potato. Given I was attempting to keep Appleton from erupting into violence, that was unacceptable. I saw no real gains to addressing Red Steel’s behavior at the moment. She seemed to legitimately want to help the ponies of Appleton and was working in concert with my own goals. Alienating her now would likely take away one of the few allies I had thus far in Appleton. Also given Carrot Juice was a mere farmer, the use she could be to me would be limited in any event.
I could not be sure, at this point, if my mere presence was causing discord within the town, if tensions were higher than normal due to the recent disappearances, or if it was always this disharmonious in Appleton. Whatever the source of trouble, it would be best to proceed with my investigation as quickly as possible before tensions boiled over.
I waved Carrot Juice away. “Do not worry about us, Carrot Juice. I am sure the captain is more than capable of escorting us about the town.” Mayhaps supporting Red Steel in her decision would do something to keep her from always staring so balefully at me.
Carrot Juice did not even grace us with a reply as she trotted away. I decided that she was a rude pony and washed my hooves of her. Given my experiences here, Appleton had not struck me a place where proper manners were taught to its ponies. It was probably best to not be over concerned by their mannerisms and focus on my task.
I shook my head, trying to dismiss Juice’s rude behavior from my thoughts. “Perhaps it would be best if we followed my tracking spell without delay. I would prefer to reach our destination before nightfall.”
“Aye, that would be best,” Gale agreed.
Red Steel motioned for Silent Forest to bring Applesauce along. “Then let us take Applesauce to a cell in the courthouse and proceed to the Forbidden Forest.”
I looked toward the direction my tracking spell was telling me to go. There seemed to be little difference between the section of the forest the ponies of Appleton had labeled the Forbidden Forest from the surrounding forest. Though I was no expert in such things, and I doubted it would have been given such a name for no reason.
“Ah am coming with you.” Sweet Potato’s shoulders stiffened, daring us to argue with her. “Ah want to find mah son.”
Red Steel shook her head. “Neigh, we are going to a place of danger. Best for you to stay here and mind your farm. We should be back in a few hours.”
I was surprised to hear Applesauce finally speak up from whatever stupor he had been in that had kept him silent thus far. “Sweet, do as the captain says. What happens will happen, and Ah do not want to see anything happen to ya too.” The two of them locked eyes. “Please.”
Confliction flashed before Sweet’s face for a few moments before she nodded. “Ah will wait here, then.” She placed a hoof on Red Steel’s shoulder. “Red, please find mah son. He means the world to me.”
Red Steel wrapped her fetlock around Sweet’s leg and squeezed it. “I know. We will do the best we can.”
For my part, I silently promised to do the same.
It was while I was marching through the Applelachian Mountains that I discovered something I hate more than dirt: mud. It has all the unattractive properties of dirt, only with more to make me disgusted by it. It clings, it’s slimy, it makes it more difficult to walk, and it can be everywhere. The slowly increasing downpour had turned the forest floor into a sloppy muck that I now had the joy of stomping through. My cloak had proven to be poor protection against the elements, and my hat had done little better as it now drooped before my eyes to partially block my vision. It had been intended for summer weather in Canterlot, and was not thick enough to keep from quickly becoming soaked through or protect me against the wind as it swept past us. It made me wish I had enchanted it to protect me against the weather. That might be something I would correct in the future after I was done in Appleton, especially if I were to be away from Canterlot more often.
I also regretted being unable to spare any focus to maintain my shadow spell. I did not dare risk losing the tracking spell by dividing my attention between multiple spells, as using both spells at once would drain my magical reserves further—especially considering the potential of a dangerous encounter when we found Hazen Apple. So while the rain and mud were extremely uncomfortable, they were things I could tolerate. Barely.
We had been marching for a few hours in the forest when I stepped into a particularly deep patch of the mud. It sucked down my forehoof and caused me to lose my balance. I flailed as I fell face-first into the mud.
“Midnight, art thou well?” Gale asked when I did not immediately stand up again.
I blew out some of the mud that had found its way into my nostrils. “I will live.”
Stalwart assisted me to my hooves, but to my chagrin, a layer of mud stuck to my coat. ‘Twas made all the more unpleasant thanks to the variety of twigs, leaves, and other refuse which clung to the mud, and therefore me. This had been the third time I had fallen to the ground. The novelty of being coated in a firm layer of muck had long been lost to me.
Simultaneously having to maintain the tracking spell, being wary of my steps had proven too much for the level of concentration I could muster—resulting in me looking like I had the steady hoofing of a newly born foal. I was not helped that I had to constantly maneuver around branches, shrubbery, fallen logs, and a multitude of other obstructions. The only relief I had was that the cold of the rain and muck could not touch me thanks to a spell I had cast earlier. I only had to suffer through being wet, dirty, in pain, and exhausted.
“How much farther do we have to go?” Subtle Song called out from behind me. Where most of the ponies of Appleton had shied away from the idea of going to the Forbidden Forest, Song had seemed more than happy enough to follow us. To my annoyance, she had managed to produce a heavier cloak than my own from somewhere.
I concentrated on my tracking spell. The long hours of maintaining the spell were starting to cause me a headache. I supposed I should have been thankful to my mother for having me practice enduring such spellcraft. Otherwise, I might have lost the spell during one of my falls or some other form of neglect. The spell was somewhat of a complex one and, given my tenuous hold on it, delicate. Losing the spell at the very least would have meant lost time. At worst, it would have meant I would have lost a valuable line of investigation.
But I had maintained the spell, and I felt its gentle pull farther up the mountain. “We are drawing closer. I believe we have closed most of the distance.”
Subtle Song drew her cloak closer to her body as a strong gust of wind blew past us. “But do you not know how much farther we have to go?”
I tried to scrape off the worst of the mud that clung to my coat. “Neigh. That is beyond the spell I used. I can tell which direction to go and when we draw nearer but little more.”
In truth, I had hoped that Hazen Apple would have been much closer to Appleton than he had proven to be—at least if my tracking spell was working correctly. A tracking spell could be an amazingly useful spell in the right circumstances. The problem being that it could also be a notoriously difficult spell to use. I had to use some of Hazen’s hairs to even stand a reasonable chance of performing the spell. Then there were any number of things that could be causing the interference I was experiencing with the spell. Some of them unpleasant in origin.
Subtle Song shivered. “A pity, I was wondering how long it would be before I would be able to enjoy a warm hearth and cider again.”
I had to wonder that myself. Well, mayhaps not the strong drink. But a good hearth did sound like paradise at the moment, and a shower most divine. That did not even begin to describe the notion of a warm bed. The draw of the comforts of civilization pulled on me all the more now that they were denied to me.
I tried to draw my own cloak closer to my body but found that to be a rather pointless exercise given it was dripping wet and covered in filth. “Let us continue, then.” I gestured with my horn in the direction it was drawing me.
I started trudging forward but was stopped when Silent Forest motioned for us all to halt with an upraised hoof. “Neigh.” The patrolpony pointed down a different forest path than the one I was about to go down. “That way.”
I let out a patient sigh. “Why? The path I was going down would be faster.”
Silent Forest gave me an expressionless look. If the pony showed any other emotion than calm detachment, I had not seen it. “Faster, but riskier.”
He also seemed to be one of those ponies who took laconicness to an extreme.
“He is right.” Stalwart pointed down the path I had chosen. “That way lies low in that valley, and there are small cliffs from where we could be easily ambushed or have our progressed blocked. The corporal’s path runs along the side of the hill. Not ideal, but better than our other option.”
I rubbed at my face, feeling growing fatigue and pain. “Very well. We will go down Silent Forest’s path.”
Silent Forest nodded to us and trotted ahead of us to take the point position for our impromptu band—much as he had since we started this journey.
I looked to Red Steel, and I felt envious of her thick cloak intended for the mountain rains. The cloak had been stored in the same section of the courthouse as contained its cells. I had noted that the cloak had been but one piece of equipment that she might retrieve on short notice.
Once Silent Forest had left immediate earshot, I spoke to the militia captain. “So how many words has he used during the time thou hast known him?”
“Only as many as he has needed,” Red Steel said wryly.
I so declare, these earth ponies were trying to drive me to madness.
I rubbed at the side of my head as I felt its pain grow. “Let us go before I soak up any more rain.”
As we proceeded up the trail, I found myself forced to be mindful of my steps as I walked through the slick mud lest I fall once again. Thus far, I had only managed to fall on my face in a humiliating fashion, but that was preferable to falling off the trail and down the steep hills that lined the trail. Gale and Red Steel were gotten a little ways ahead of me, and they spoke in hushed tones that I could not readily overhear.
Stalwart drew up next to me as I sneezed. He looked down at me with a pensive frown. “Are you well?”
More than a little of my chagrin might have entered my tone as I spoke. “I am soaking wet. My body is tired and sore from thy training and walking around town all day and now scaling a mountain. I am covered in filth from climbing said mountain, and the earth ponies of this town have done nothing but greatly irritate me. Take that as thou wilt.”
At first Stalwart did not reply, and I watched him as the rain pattered off his armor. “You should learn to be more stoic in front of others if you are going to be in a position of command.”
My ear flicked with irritation. “What art thou talking about? These conditions are almost completely intolerable. I see no reason to hide my displeasure.”
Stalwart ducked under a low-hanging branch. “Because whether you realize it or not, everypony looks to you as an example. If they see that you are afraid, then they will think there is something to be afraid of. If they see you complaining about every little thing, then they will think they will have every reason to do so too.”
“I have seen enough soldiers to know that they complain incessantly,” I said. “In fact, that seems to be their primary activity outside of standing about.”
The slightest smirk creased Stalwart’s features. “You will likely learn, in time, it is a right of soldiers to complain. At least where their officers cannot hear.” The smirk faded from his features. “My point is that—as a leader of ponies—you need to set an example for those around you. Both for soldiers and civilians. They will depend on you, and thus they will need to see that you appear to be calm and in command. This complaining is unworthy of a mare of your station.”
“I will be mindful of that in the future,” I grumbled.
Thinking over Stalwart’s words, I could see the weight of them. Mother had long talked to me about the need of a leader to display poise and confidence in front of others. She had always stated that the showing of weakness or fear could spread it like a plague amongst your fellow ponies, and thus one could never tolerate appearing to be so.
There was a moment of silence between us as we navigated a more difficult part of the trail that featured a sheer cliff on one of our flanks. Once past it, Stalwart spoke again. “You should also be mindful of your words in front of others.”
“What dost thou mean?” I looked behind me to see that Subtle Song was doing an admirable job of keeping up with the group, and she gave me a friendly smile when she saw my glance. There was a mischievous character to her smile and something else I could not quite identify.
“Let us look back to that incident with Applesauce at the farm,” Stalwart stated like so many of my tutors when they were giving me a lesson. “You made that situation far worse when you spoke of hanging ponies.”
“That was merely hypothetical.” I meant to elaborate but was stopped when I was cut off by a sneeze. I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped at my nose, thankful that at least the handkerchief was not completely soaked through yet.
Stalwart let out a long sigh. “You need to take more consideration in how other ponies hear your words. What was merely hypothetical to you sounded like a threat to Applesauce and the other ponies of the Apple Clan. Applesauce had even said that he had kin hanged the last time the Guard came to Appleton.”
I blinked slowly as I considered that. “I ... did not give that much consideration.”
It was true that a number of ponies had been hanged a few years ago the last time the town had erupted into violence. It had been a scene that had played out many times in a number of communities since the end of the Lunar Rebellion. There were sadly few ways to deal with those guilty of murder or seditious activities, and the noose was a rather permanent solution to deal with particularly troublesome offenders. Still, I had not given much thought to how that might have affected the ponies of the towns that had been plagued by the violence and discontent that had resulted from the war. The daily struggles of the earth ponies had always seemed so ... mundane and distant from my own.
“Neigh, you did not.” Stalwart wiped away some of the water that had gathered on his helmet. “And that nearly resulted in the ponies around us fighting one another. We were forced to arrest Applesauce because you provoked him. As a result, we earned nothing but enmity from the Apple Clan—thus making our task all the harder.”
The idea that I had made my mission all the harder for myself was an unsettling one. It seemed that my poorly chosen words had forced Stalwart to resort to violence against Applesauce after that stallion had struck me in anger. Unless I was fortunate and finished my mission quickly, there could easily be more negative consequences for my own actions.
I watched my steps as I moved through a particularly slippery patch of mud. “My apologies, I did not mean to make our mission all the harder.”
“I did not think that was your intent,” Stalwart said. “Remember, you need to serve as an example to the ponies around you.”
I nodded. “I will try and be more considerate in the future. How wouldst thou recommend I—”
My question was cut off when I heard a harsh crack from ahead of me. I felt as much as heard something zip past me not more than a few paces to my side. I barely had time to turn my head to follow the flying object when there was a high-pitched, animalistic roar. I looked to the source of the roar and saw a mountain cat as big as me thrashing on the ground not more than a few pony-lengths away from Subtle Song.
With a startled yelp, Subtle leapt away from the predator. Stalwart wrapped a leg around my chest and firmly pushed me back a few steps to position himself between me and the mountain cat. His wingblades were at the ready should it come too close to us. Probably wisely for the traveling bard, Subtle all but ran behind Stalwart to stand on the opposite side of him from myself.
For a long moment as I stared at it, I wondered what the creature was doing growling and thrashing about upon the ground. I could only imagine that it had been sneaking up upon our group, but now seemed to be seized by convulsions. That is when I saw the shaft of a crossbow bolt jutting from the cat’s throat. The wound bled profusely, soaking the beast’s coat.
Considering the situation, I looked behind me and saw Silent Forest holding his crossbow, a second bolt already loaded and ready to be fired. Given he was the only pony within the party who possessed a crossbow, ‘twas not hard to guess who had fired upon the cat. What did surprise me was the skill the patrolpony must have possessed to have hit his target. The fog that clung to the mountaintops like a blanket had been dissipated by the rain but the downpour had more than made up for it in obstructing our sight. It had only made it easier for the cat to approach our group. I had been closer to the predator—probably no more than a dozen or so pony-lengths away from it—and had no inkling that it had nearly been upon us, but Silent Forest had defied all the rain and vegetation to spot and strike the beast down. We had been lucky that Forest’s trail had curved along the mountainside when it had and thus allowed him to make his shot.
When the mountain cat did not get back up, Silent Forest trotted to the back of the group, took aim, and fired another bolt into the wounded cat with neither comment nor ceremony to end its life. It had been such a cold and deliberate act that I barely had time to realize what was about to happen when the deed was done. Not that ‘twould have made a difference in my actions had I known what he had intended, for I saw no reason to let the cat suffer, but it felt queer how quickly the whole incident had occurred without any of my own input.
I was not sure what I should do as I stared into the dead eyes of the mountain cat, or even if I should do anything. Nopony had been hurt, and all that had been slain was a wild animal in a wholly random encounter. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I did not hear Gale and Red Steel step up next to me.
Red Steel craned her neck to examine the woods about us and then looked down at the dead predator. “Looks like one of the wild animals of the Forbidden Forest. It was probably hoping to pick off an easy meal.” She flashed Subtle Song a smirk.
Subtle Song put her hoof to her chest in a motion that made it look like she was worried it was going to beat out of her breast. “Should not the local animal caretakers be keeping those beasts from eating ponies?”
Red Steel shook her head. “Our animal caretakers do not come out this far. Also, this forest resists our attempts to tame it. Neither earth ponies or pegasi can seem to get a grasp of this area. Best just to avoid the place, considering this mountain cat is far from the worst beast you can find here.”
“Oh? Like what?” Subtle asked.
“There are some packs of bandersnatches, timber wolves, and the odd basilisk.” Red Steel pulled her hoof out of where it had sunk into the mud. Such was a disadvantage of wearing heavy hammerhooves. “As I said, there are few reasons to come to these woods.”
Subtle Song flashed me a wry grin. “Unless you are trying to discover why ponies are mysteriously disappearing and a magus leads you into said forest because one of her spells said to do so.”
Apparently, not even nearly having a mountain lion clamp its jaws down on her jugular vein could keep the bard’s spirits down.
I gave her a flat look. “I assure thee, coming to this filthy and predator-infested forest was not my definition of enjoyment.”
Subtle Song grinned. “Mayhaps you should have a talk with your spell then?”
“Spells do not work in that manner,” I huffed. This whole experience in the Forbidden Forest had put me into a foul mood, and everypony harassing me over my tracking spell was not enhancing my spirits.
“I know that.” Subtle pointed to her horn. “Unicorn, remember? ‘Twas a jest.”
I rubbed at my eyes as I felt the pain in my head grow. “Let us continue on our journey before I drown. Knowing my luck today, I will manage to find a puddle large enough to submerge in.”
“Perhaps we should reorder our line before continuing?” Stalwart asked in such a way that made it sound like a suggestion. He looked at me, clearly wishing for a response. “One that does not leave one of our more vulnerable members in a more exposed position?”
I was given the impression this was one of Stalwart’s tests for me. I examined the group and considered the best way to organize everypony. “Corporal Silent Forest, continue at point. Then Red Steel will be ahead of Subtle Song, Stalwart, and myself. Gale was in the Long Patrol once, so she can take the rear.”
I did not like the idea of putting Gale into one of the more vulnerable positions in the line, but as a soldier and former member of the Long Patrol, she was perhaps the most qualified of the group to take that position. At least with the way I had set things up, Stalwart and I would be near her to give her assistance in the event of trouble. It also let me be nearer to the two ponies in our group that I trusted the most. No small thing to me.
Stalwart inclined his head approvingly. “That should be fine.”
The rest of the group did not argue with my arrangement, and soon we continued deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
After a couple more hours, I could feel us getting close to our destination. Either through good fortune or the fact that no predators wished to face a group as large as our own, we faced no more attacks by random wildlife. It probably helped that we had a capable guide by all appearances in Silent Forest and a native of the area in Red Steel. Them keeping me away from poison ivy and other disreputable plants was certainly appreciated.
I also managed to only fall one more time into the mud. I had long ago attained maximum saturation thanks to the rain, and so I considered it a blessing that the only way I could become wetter was to drown to death. My headache had become a regular throb of pain, and I felt exhausted from trudging up the muddy, forested mountain for the better part of the evening. I was pretty sure by that point that the only way my condition could worsen would be for something to try and kill me.
That made me all the happier to finally reach our destination. The forest along our path gave way to a glade. The wind and rain had become worse as we had ascended the mountain and now obscured our vision more than a few pony-lengths away. The roar of a small waterfall echoed from the side of the glade. The water crashed along smoothed rocks that dotted the waterfall which fed into a creek that ran through the center of the break in the forest and then farther into the forest and down the mountain.
But that is where my normal impression of what a forest glade should be like ended: the place was dead. We had been walking through a vibrant—if hostile—forest one moment, and then as though crossing an invisible line, life ended. Trees, grass, all of it, dead around the glade from some blight that seemed to cling to the ground. Great, gnarled old trees dotted the field, their empty branches seeming to grasp in every direction. Even the animals seemed to avoid the place. I could only hear the chirping of birds in the distance, and nary an insect was to be found.
To state the obvious, there was something wrong about this glade. It made my hair stand on end and made my senses scream that I should avoid this place. That is, of course, part of why I proceeded to move forward and investigate.
Magi, perhaps, do not have the best survival instincts.
I followed my tracking spell to the base of the waterfall. I might have become concerned with the spraying mist that came from the water falling upon the rocks had I not already been soaked. Given my current condition, I could enter the mist with vulnerable immunity. I stared down into the murky waters my tracking spell pointed towards. The pool at the bottom of the waterfall smelled rancid, like particularly acidic chemicals in an alchemical lab.
Gale leaned her head down to look where I was staring. “So, have we reached our destination, oh great magus?”
I ignored her teasing tone as I considered what to do. “So ‘twould seem.” Sensing with the tracking spell, I reached down with my telekinesis and felt something solid other than the smooth pebbles that lined the bottom of the pool. I pulled up and revealed the white bone of a pony’s skull.
“I believe I have found Hazen Apple,” I called out to everypony. Scooping at the bottom of the pool some more, I found more discarded bones. “Or at least, what remains of him.”
I felt regret as I stared into the empty eye sockets of the dead pony. ‘Twould seem that I would not be returning him to his home and family. While I may not have liked Applesauce, I could not begin to summon the malice to wish for his son to have been slain. It also cast poor auspices on the fates of the other ponies that had gone missing.
Out of curiosity, I combed across the pool with my magic and drew up more bones than could have belonged to any single pony. There seemed to be a great mound of the remains, that of at least a dozen individuals. “Also I have reason to believe more than one pony has died in this glade.”
Gale gave me an oblique look. “Oh, and what makes thee say that?” She cut me off before I could tell her that ponies usually do not have two or more skulls. “That was sarcasm, Midnight.”
“Right ... I knew that.” Gale gave me an unconvinced look. She often complained I was too literal in talking with ponies. I always thought it was annoying how ponies did not always just speak what they meant.
Red Steel swallowed as she looked at the bones held in my telekinetic field. “So everypony that has disappeared over the last few days is...” She did not finish her statement. It seemed that the idea that ponies she had probably known much of her life had died did not settle well with her.
“Aye, ‘twould seem so. And possibly more besides.” I levitated the bones closer to examine them. “The question is: what killed them? Other than having the flesh removed from their bones, that is.”
Stalwart cast his eyes about the glade. “I believe we know what you meant,” he said patiently.
Silent Forest motioned for me to levitate a couple of bones closer to where he could see them. I did so, and he looked over what was probably a broken leg bone. He narrowed his eyes at it and grunted disapprovingly before speaking in his laconic manner. “Eaten. Bone marrow probably sucked out. Equine teeth. Bad teeth.” He pointed towards a small circle of stones the size of a pony’s head. “Campfire.”
Subtle Song covered her mouth. She looked like she was going to be sick as her voice came out as a squeak. “Somepony partook of cannibalism?”
I examined one of the bones and saw that there were a number of small indentations on them. The idea that somepony had eaten their fellow pony’s flesh was a disturbing one. My investigation had taken a very grim turn.
Red Steel’s face contorted with a mix of revulsion and rage. “Why would somepony do something like this? This is ... beyond vile.”
That was a good question. Were we dealing with some madpony, or were we facing something else? Not particularly wishing to do so but needing to follow a suspicion, I concentrated and extended my magical senses.
What I felt was a profound corruption in the land itself—like an acidic web had been laid over the entire glade. It choked and burned out all life and left me feeling befouled from touching upon it. I readily recognized what I was feeling.
“Black magic,” I hissed.
“Thou art sure?” Gale asked. I was only able to detect the hint of worry within her tone because of how long I knew her. She had good reasons to be concerned.
“Aye, I am sure.” I motioned to the glade. “The whole area had been blighted by it. I believe that this glade is a focus for the forest’s leylines. ‘Tis likely that whoever is responsible for this was drawing upon the leylines to assist them in their spellcraft.”
Subtle Song shivered and reached into one of her saddlebags—shuffling around something inside. “Black magic can do all of this?” She gestured towards one of the old, gnarled, dead trees.
I cast my eyes about the blighted glade and saw nothing but death around us. “This can be one of the reactions to black magic, at least when much of it is used or over a long period of time. This place is saturated with it.”
“Black magic could explain how so many ponies disappeared without a trace,” Gale pointed out. “A pony with the right spells could enthrall a pony and make them come to this place to be murdered. And there are plenty of spells that could be used to avoid detection.”
Gale was right, of course. If one knew the right spells, magic could open up all sorts of possibilities for misdeeds. It would have made matters far more simple for a ne’er-do-well if he or she could simply dominate the mind of another to make them come here or kill them quickly and silently with spells and then bring the corpse here for some nefarious purpose. Such things were, of course, illegal under the Laws of Magic. The use of magics such as mind control could corrupt the very soul of the pony who used them due to the sheer foulness of the act. But the reasons laws are made to start with is because there is some problem to address.
I nodded. “I am going to have to agree with Gale. ‘Tis likely we are dealing with a warlock.”
Red Steel narrowed her eyes at me. “And you are certain ‘tis black magic and not some other source? I can also think of more mundane methods for how one pony can drag them all the way up here and for this blight. Besides, I thought ‘twas only unicorns who could use such magics? And no unicorns live in Appleton.”
“I know what black magic feels like,” I said confidently and tapped my horn. “And black magic has been used here. I have experience with identifying it.”
The militia captain gave me an unconvinced frown. “At thine age?”
I tried not to grind my teeth. Ponies always seemed to have trouble guessing my age. Many ponies had believed me to still be a child, or else that I was well into my middle years. ‘Twas most irritating, and had been the case my entire life.
“I am quite old enough to know what black magic feels like,” I snapped at her, feeling my choler rise.
If Red Steel was affected by my outburst, she did not show it as she gave me a contemptuous look. “And pray tell, what experience do you have with black magic?”
I put the bones I had gathered with my magic on the ground. I had a feeling ponies would want to recover those. “I have been to the Sealed Repository. ‘Tis where the magi lock away all the evil artifacts and forbidden knowledge they gather. Black magic radiates from that place.”
Red Steel watched as I arranged the bones. “Have you ever dealt with warlocks before?”
“Um, neigh,” I admitted. “I have never faced a warlock in battle, per se...”
“I see.” She exchanged an annoyed glance with Gale, who, in turn, stiffened at the gaze.
I wondered what was passing between Red Steel and Gale when Stalwart placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Mayhaps we should concentrate on more important matters than the magus’ history?” He gave Red Steel a firm look, and she did not challenge him.
Taking the moment of peace to think, I asked, “Could somepony be hiding in the woods around here?” I gestured towards the pool with my head. “For a long time that is. I sense this blight has probably been here for years.”
Red Steel frowned as she considered that. “Neigh, ‘tis unlikely. Somepony looking for lumber in the woods or a sweep of the Long Patrol would probably have spotted them. Besides which, everypony needs food and other supplies sooner or later. This is not a terribly kind land. You could easily get yourself killed if something were to happen to you here. If you were to break your leg while on one of the trails and did not have anypony else to help you...” She shook her head. “There are very good reasons why nopony comes into the forest alone, even in the safer places.”
Silent Forest nodded in agreement. “Do not forget predators. Lone ponies are vulnerable.”
I could readily see the dangers for a single pony in this land. All ‘twould take is one day of ill fortune to kill you. One of our numbers had almost been killed by a mountain cat earlier today, and I did not relish the idea of descending this mountain with only three legs, given how much I had fallen to the mud with all of them available to me.
All of this made for unhelpful news. Briefly, I had hoped that Appleton only had a small population of unicorns that I had not yet seen, or some stereotypical mountain witch living in a remote hut. If that had been the case, then ‘twould have been a simple matter to go to each of their homes, interrogate their owners and investigate their dwellings. Gale had a talent for finding every hidden nook and cranny in which a would-be warlock might hide incriminating belongings, and I knew what foul articles and mannerisms to look for to identify a probable warlock.
Though there is one disturbing fact that magi do not like to advertise: ‘twas perfectly possible for non-unicorns to use black magic. Those methods were fewer and harder to do for earth ponies and pegasi, but they were available. Anypony had the potential to summon forbidden powers or to obtain some evil artifact and use it. Still, ‘twas not something magi such as myself were supposed to tell everypony. Often the best way to keep ponies from being tempted was to never let those temptations near them.
All of this amounted to more pieces to a puzzle that I could not yet put together. This assignment became more confounding by the hour.
Stalwart flicked off the water that had gathered on his wings. Likely everypony’s misery was comparable to my own at this point, thanks to the elements. “Could you tell us what form of black magic this is?”
“Give me a moment to concentrate.” I closed my eyes and focused on my magical perceptions. The touch of the corrupt energies around created a sickening pit in my stomach, but I pushed through the discomfort to carefully study those energies. I felt vast currents of energies moving about. Neigh, being moved about with purpose, rather than in natural currents. They were being shaped and molded.
I recognized it as some sort of ritual—a spell significantly more complex and powerful than a casting from a horn. Whoever had done this had put considerable effort into this working. One layer of spellcraft had been interwoven into another like some great magical quilt. The vastness and subtlety of it made it difficult for me to initially identify it. It was spread out, going beyond the glade, and I could feel it covering the valley as thickly as the fog that clung to the mountains here.
I wondered how much power had been gathered and so skillfully woven. The terrible and obvious answer came to me readily. ‘Twas possible that Hazen Apple and the rest of the ponies that had gone missing had been used as sacrifices for the ritual. Likely even. One can gather a great deal of power doing so, and ‘twas just about the darkest magic imaginable. ‘Twould readily explain why the land here had been so severely blighted. So much death-based magic could easily pollute the land with those dark energies that would radiate from such a ritual. As sickening as the idea was, the cannibalism might have been part of the ritual to harness the energies used for it.
The situation I was looking at froze the blood in my veins. The ritual had not even been completed yet. Someone was gathering massive amounts of power through pony sacrifices for some purpose. This ritual had been meticulously planned out, was being skillfully cast, and I could feel it nearing completion like some crossbow bolt slowly being drawn back to be shot. I could sense a tension in the air that set my teeth on edge. I could think of no good purpose such vile energies could be used for.
I put my full concentration into studying the ritual and its magics to discover what I could. If I could find out more about the ritual, I might be able to stop it. ‘Twas much harder to gather magical energies, harness them, and then put them into motion than ‘twas to disrupt them. And as an Alpha unicorn—the most powerful class of unicorn—I could throw a lot of energy around to attack this ritual. The problem was that I had to figure out how best to do so without doing something like causing a magical backlash that would turn me to ashes.
I went about my work to uncover the intricacies of the ritual when I felt something new in motion, a presence I had not felt before moving along the edges of my perception. New magical energies were suddenly in motions that were not directly related with the ritual. I had not detected these energies under the backdrop of the massive energies gathered for it. I turned my attention to the new disruption to see what was happening. I only had time to feel those energies directed and then shoot towards me with violent purpose.
I was barely able to throw up my mental and magical defenses from the sudden attack. But rather than some sort of metaphysical attack like I expected, the energies hit me and stuck to me like adhesive oil. Before I could discover what had happened, my concentration was broken when I was suddenly knocked to the ground and a body fell on top of me.
My senses snapped back to the material world, and I was seized by a disorientating sense of vertigo. My vision focused just in time to see a branch that was wider than my barrel slam into the ground just where I had been standing. I felt the wind as the branch fell past me and impacted the mud with a slushy smash of rotting wood against muck, and mud splashed against my face in clumps. I noted that Stalwart was lying next to me. I guessed that much have been the one to push me out of the way of the branch. In my moment of disorientation, I thought that one of the branches from the nearby trees had fallen and nearly crushed me by sheer happenstance. That was when the branch pulled itself from the mud.
I followed the length of the branch with my eyes and saw that it was still attached to the tree it came from. It creaked and cracked with the sound of breaking rotten wood as it moved. I stared up and up in confusion as I noticed that this blighted tree had a vaguely bipedal form. It was similar in proportions to some minotaurs I had seen visiting Canterlot and every bit as gnarled and aged as the rest of the trees around us. It stepped a massive trunk of a leg to position itself above me, causing the ground to tremble with its bulk, and sickly looking yellow sap poured from its crevices. The rain flowed down the crevices in its bark to create miniature waterfalls as it clenched the minotaur-like digits on its other fist, causing a loud series of pops, and lifted it above me and Stalwart.
“Move!” Stalwart yelled. He jerked me to my hooves with that steady strength of his and pulled me along to get me away from the attacking tree.
My legs did not seem to want to move right, and I stumbled as I tried to stay on my hooves and move where Stalwart was attempting to drag me. I was still trying to regain my balance from using my magical senses and with trying to come to grips that I was being assaulted by moving lumber. The reality of what I was dealing with became all too real when the blighted tree brought its fist down to squash me.
I would like to say I did not scream as the limb missed me again by no more than a hoof’s length and nearly knocked me down from the jar of the impact on the ground. Now feeling more emphasis to do so, I did what I very much felt was the wise thing to do: I ran. ‘Twould have been suicide for me to stay within that thing’s reach. A single strike of one of its limbs would have crushed me easily. Even being clipped by one of those limbs would likely have caused broken bones. Hence, I had no intentions of remaining where it could strike me. Two brushes with death were quite enough for me.
As Stalwart and I ran across the glade, I saw the blighted tree turn and begin to chase us with a long, purposeful gait. It may have seemed slow and cumbersome in its movement, but its long, tree-trunk legs ate up the distance between us.
I was in the process of calculating our relative speeds to one another when Red Steel bounded out from the mists. A distant part of my mind realized that everypony must have scattered when a giant tree had started moving with murderous intent. Red Steel pivoted when she reached the base of the attacking tree and contorted her body to lash out with her rear hooves against one of the thing’s legs. Her timing had been perfect. She struck with her hammer hooves right as it was raising its other leg. There was a resounding crack of rotting wood snapping, and the creature stumbled, flailing its arms around to balance itself, and fell to one knee with a loud thump.
The tree raised an arm with the deliberate purpose that marked its movements and swung at Red Steel with a backhand. The militia captain fell to the ground, and the limb swished over her. She stood back up gracefully—as if all of her movements were part of one big dance—and darted out of the tree’s reach. I watched on in amazement at how skillfully Red Steel had—at least temporarily—disabled the creature.
I should have been more mindful of where I was running.
I did not see the low-hanging branch until my face collided with it. I broke the degrading branch, and my momentum carried me forward as my vision burst with stars. I stumbled, lost my balance on the slippery mud, tripped upon what must either have been a log or rock, and fell to the ground. My momentum caused me to tumble and roll, and it felt like I hit everything I could as the world spun in my star-filled vision.
I lay there in the muck, my chest heaving. I suddenly felt all the pain and fatigue I had built up from the past few days from my protector’s training and from hiking about town and up the mountain redouble and combine with the new aches and pains I had just gathered with my fall. I knew I needed to get up, to move, to run, but I just felt too tired as the rain poured over me.
I dimly perceived Stalwart stop next to me and felt him try to drag me to my hooves. “Midnight! Get up!” He looked back behind himself and pulled on me all the harder.
I rolled to my stomach as much from Stalwart’s prodding as any exertion of my own will. I glanced back and saw that the blighted tree had stood up again, and while moving slower now, as the knee Red Steel had smitten buckled slightly when it put its full weight upon it to walk, continued its deceptively steady progress towards us.
Not wishing to suffer a lumber-based death, I stood up. A new wave of vertigo seized me, and I all but fell against Stalwart to maintain any semblance of balance. Without him, I probably would have fallen back to the ground. I felt my heart threaten to beat out of my chest as I realized I could not make my legs move correctly to flee. I needed to run, to stay out of that thing’s reach, but my legs just wobbled and took unsteady half steps.
Silent Forest stepped from around a nearby tree. He sat down and braced his crossbow against his shoulder and fired the weapon. The monster did not even seem to register the bolt slamming into what amounted to its chest. That bolt likely would have sent a full-grown pony sprawling to the ground from the impact, but against the mass of the blighted tree, Silent Forest might as well have been throwing twigs at it.
Unable to run, and seeing the gnarled creature closing the distance between us, I seized upon the first spell that came to my mind though the panic that was threatening to overwhelm me. I drew upon the moisture in the air, freezing it into half a dozen javelins as long as myself. I threw the icy projectiles into the thing with all the force I could quickly muster. I had wasted energy in the attack due to being rushed and having my senses dulled by pain, fatigue, and fear, but the javelins still flew fast enough to impact the blighted tree with enough force to bury most of their shafts into the thing.
I had no more luck than Silent Forest. Its bulk was likely too large to be properly affected by anything less than a ballista bolt, and in my current state, I could not draw up such an attack in the small number of seconds I had left before being killed. A creature of flesh and blood would at least have had a few organs punctured by my attacks and have caused significant bleeding, but its lack of any organs or blood made my spell wholly ineffective. I had wasted both time and magic at a critical juncture, and ‘twas likely to cost me my life.
I was momentarily confused when I saw myself waltz up to the creature. I—or something that looked exactly like me—stepped into the blighted tree’s path and started shaking my—her—rump at it. “Here I am! Come and get me!” The not-me started prancing about trying to get the blighted tree’s attention.
It seemed wholly unconcerned by the other me, as it walked right through it, causing it to shift and wave as though ‘twere a mirage in the desert, and continued its lumping path towards me.
“‘Tis after Midnight!” I heard Subtle Song call out from somewhere in the rain
It dawned on me that Subtle Song, the only other unicorn within our group, must have cast an illusion to try and distract the attacking tree. A shame it had not worked. Either the tree was unaffected by the illusion, saw through it, or some other factor worked against it. That was always the issue with illusions; they either worked spectacularly or failed disastrously in their task.
Stalwart growled and cursed something under his breath as the blighted tree came with just a few more steps of reaching me. “Silent, menace its flank! I will attack its other leg!”
Silent Forest nodded and ran in to attack from the same angle Red Steel had used so effectively earlier. Either out of intelligence or some form of instinct, the blighted tree swept a limb at the patrolpony. He was forced to break his charge and rolled out of the way of the attack.
Stalwart took full advantage of the diversion. With a series of flaps from his wings to help build speed, he ran forward and ducked under a klutzy swing from the walking tree. His left wing flashed out and an enchanted steel blade bit into the front knee of the thing. A jolt seemed to move through the tree as the wingblade cut a couple hooflengths into the leg. He jerked his wingblade out of the wood and used the momentum of the attack to swing his body and bring his other wingblade into the back of the tree’s knee. While not biting in as deeply as the first blow, it still caused a cut deep enough to make any lumberjack proud. (1)
1. It is unclear if Midnight actually knows enough about the lumber industry at this point in her life to make that judgement call.
There was a creak of wood being put under too much pressure from the blighted tree’s knee. Gale flew in and stepped onto a branch long enough to flick a pair of darts into the tree’s left knee. There was a small explosion of blue energy, and a layer of frost formed on its knee. Gale must have used one of the darts I had enchanted to explode with cold energy upon impact.
Red Steel took that moment while the creature was distracted by Silent Forest and Stalwart to attack. She ran in and gave the tree’s right leg another savage buck that caused splinters to fly into the air—the rotting wood made all the more brittle from the cold of the enchanted darts.
That seemed to be too much for the malevolent tree’s legs. There was an ear-splitting snap from its knee, and it slowly fell to the ground like—well, a felled tree. It crashed through the branches of nearby trees with its descent and landed with enough force to shake the earth below me.
For a moment, I dared hope that the creature had been struck down. That’s when it simply lifted its arms and started dragging itself forward towards me—using both its arms and crippled legs to propel it forward. In addition to not having to worry about bleeding or damage to its organs, the creature did not seem to be bothered by pain either. Life is not fair.
“Oh come on!” I heard Subtle Song yell from somewhere in hiding.
At least ‘twas moving slower now. And it moving slower meant I had more time to think. My legs now working, I also started trotting away from it, giving myself more space and time to think.
I thought, and facts started coming together. It had unerringly come towards me since the beginning of the fight. It only seemed concerned with my companions when they attacked it, and even then, only as long as it took to ward them away. Then I remembered the spell I had been struck with right before the attack. A quick check confirmed that ‘twas still upon me, its oily, metaphysical mass still clinging to me. I studied the spell, having to stop walking for a few precious moments to concentrate. I felt the spell I had been cursed with thrum with energy, a cold, calculating hatred behind it, and felt it calling out—calling to the blighted tree who heeded the call to attack me.
I tried to push the spell off of me with my magic, but all it seemed to do was spread it around the surface of my essence. Much like attempting to rub tree sap off of oneself, all it did was make a bigger mess. I was sure I could “clean” myself of the spell with given enough time, but ‘twas more time than I really had. And there were other problems with that plan; I could feel that the tree’s power was not tied directly to the spell upon me; the spell merely drew it towards me. Even if I managed to find the time to break the spell, ‘twas likely that it would just go on to attack the nearest pony instead of just me and anypony that stood between us. I found that unacceptable.
I might have been able to run from the tree I was increasingly convinced had been used as a guardian for the glade by the warlock of Appleton. But I had a whole mountain to run down to get back to Appleton. And given the rain was not letting up, there were any number of steep cliffs to fall off of, and the mud was as terrible as ever, fleeing down the mountain under such conditions sounded like a great way to fall and break some of my bones into many, many pieces. And even if I made it that far, there was no guarantee the blighted tree would not follow me to Appleton or attack somepony else.
I also had no reassurances that there was not some other guardian or trap lying in wait for me to do exactly that thing. If I ran, I would be apart from my group for at least a short period of time, leaving me vulnerable.
That left trying to fight the thing. Given the damage that had already been done to it, we would likely have to cripple all of its limbs to destroy it. It was fortunate, then, that this seemed to be everypony’s intent. I watched them try to dart in, attack, and then withdraw like they had done so before. But the blighted tree’s crippling had made it even more dangerous and difficult to attack. Every time somepony tried to attack it, it would sweep the limb—either an arm or a crippled stump of a leg—at its attacker. Its new, low base and ability to swing at an attacker from almost every direction was making it difficult for anypony to approach it.
Gale barked out orders to have herself, Red Steel, Stalwart, and Silent Forest all attack at the same time from different directions. They rushed it, and the blighted tree’s response was to roll around the ground and flail its limbs about. Everypony had to halt their attack as the tree became far too dangerous to approach. Stalwart leapt into the air with a couple flaps of his wings as a limb whipped out to strike at him along the ground. It then rolled towards Silent Forest, intent on crushing him. The partolpony ran, dexterously moving around fallen limbs, rocks, and low-hanging branches the blighted tree just barreled through. I worried he was about to be crushed when he darted behind a tree every bit as large as the one attacking him. The blighted tree smacked into the other tree and rebounded back off of it. With its attackers driven away for the moment, it started crawling towards me again.
At the rate we were going, a straight fight was going to get somepony killed. We had been fortunate thus far, but ‘twould take but a single blow from one of that thing’s mighty limbs to fell a pony.
I considered using the water that saturated the ground and air around us to summon enough ice to stop the blighted tree, but I dismissed the idea with chagrin. Given the strength of the creature, I would have to use a great deal of ice to keep it from moving, probably enough to completely coat it and thus make it impossible to attack. And if I did freeze it in a block of ice twould likely just be delaying the inevitable.
None of the other attack spells in my repertoire seemed to be the answer either. I looked around at my environment as I tried to find some method to stop the blighted tree. That is when it surprised me by lunging for me. I leapt away as its fingers grasped at me, kicking up mud and other refuse all about me. I dug in my hooves to run, but one of my hooves sunk into the muck, and I lost my balance and fell. My hooves scrambled in my attempt to get back up, but the ground was now so drenched that it made it difficult to even pull myself out as the mud sucked at me.
The blighted tree pulled one of its massive arms off a limb to strike out at me. Seeing no way to escape it, I pulled upon my magic, and an ice blue shield appeared between me and the creature. I poured energy into the shield as the malevolent tree swung. Its fist collided with my shield with such force that it actually pushed my shield back into me, and while the shield absorbed the majority of the force, the shield still struck me hard enough to throw me out of the mud. I went tumbling and sprawling through the mud and slid for several pony-lengths through the mud before stopping.
My vision swam as I tried to reorient myself. The others were attempting another assault like the last one on the blighted tree. I felt somepony help me to my hooves. I looked to see Subtle Song helping me balance myself and trying to pull me away from the blighted tree while ‘twas distracted.
“We need to flee!” Subtle Song cried over the battle. She glanced back at the melee with worried eyes and started pulling me away from the fight.
I nodded wearily but once again had trouble moving my exhausted limbs through the muck. ‘Twas as I looked down at the sucking mud that an idea struck me.
I turned back to the blighted tree, my horn glowing as I drew deeply upon the magic that flowed through me. I saw my heavy breaths in the air as the air around me became frigid from the aura of my magic.
Subtle Song pulled on me to try and get me to flee. “Magus, I do not wish to tell thee how to conduct yourself, but I do not think it wise to stand here and be slain by that monster!”
I ignored her and concentrated on my spell as the blighted tree’s flailing limbs fought off another assault. I reached out with my magic into the ground under the creature. I felt the earth with my perceptions, feeling the water seep into the soil, damping the uppermost layer. It felt the rocks and other refuse that had worked its way into the soil over the ages. And, most of all, I felt the corruption that had polluted it to the core of its essence.
I then reached out to the water that continued to pour all around us and began pulling on it with my magic. I felt a strain upon my horn as I moved the water, concentrating it, and then moving it deep into the soil under the blighted tree.
It swatted at Gale and forced her to retreat until she could turn for another attack or risk being knocked out of the air. It turned back to me and slammed its right fist into the ground to propel itself forward again. Except instead of gaining purchase and shuffling forward, the limb sunk down past the wrist in the mud.
Guessing its next move, I then poured magic into the ground underneath its other arm. I turned more of the dirt under the surface into mud—deeper and deeper into the earth. Not content to turn just the surface soil into mud, I poured on my magic and used the water to help transmute the bedrock of the mountain into mud.
The desecrated tree tried to use its left arm to pull itself out of mud but only sunk down to the elbow when it put its weight on that arm.
I growled as I kept pouring magic into the spell to turn the earth under the blighted tree into a pond of mud. Using so much magic pressed against my skull, and stars swam over my vision. ‘Twas rare that I had found reason to use so much magic at once and even rarer for the purposes of a single spell, but I had the need now. I had to stop this monster and keep it from killing me or anypony else.
The blighted tree continued to sink into the muck until most of its limbs had been consumed by the moist earth. It struggled to pull itself out and its limbs cracked and popped from the effort but to no avail.
I dropped the spell after finishing what I had set out to do with it. I had to fight to stay conscious as spots dotted my sight and my head throbbed from the transmutation spell. Breathing in and out to help with my concentration, I then called upon my dwindling reserves for another spell. With a gesture of my power, I froze the water within the soil around the blighted tree. ‘Twould do a little to help hold the creature in place, but more importantly, it gave my compatriots firm hoofing from which to attack.
I felt my legs give out under me, and Subtle Song had to catch me to keep me from falling to the ground. Again. This day had been one of nothing but ill fortune for me.
I grinned as I watched Gale, Silent Forest, Red Steel, and Stalwart descended upon the trapped blighted tree. ‘Twas over as soon as it started. The only question was how long ‘twould take for the final conclusion to be reached. It did not take long, relatively speaking. It rarely does when one is helpless in a battle. The four of them chopped and bucked at the blighted tree until all of its limbs had been removed, and it finally stopped moving. Every one of them gasped for breath from the effort.
For my part, I remained sitting as I tried to recover from everything that had just occurred. My body refused to move, and ‘twas all I could do to not fall asleep in the mud, and ‘twas entirely possible I would have done so if Subtle Song had not held me up.
“What was that thing?” Subtle Song asked, a slowly subsiding fear underlining her tone.
I concentrated on trying to slow my heart before speaking and steadied my nerves enough to talk without trembling. “I am not entirely sure. But what I do know is that the warlock we are looking for sent it to slay me. Worse still, he or she has something even more terrible planned. And soon.”
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The plot thickens...
Good show.
3805771
So does the mud.
If Hazen is dead, Applesauce needs another child for Applejack and possibly Pinkie to be born right?
Mostly a random musing related to Pinkie Apple Pie episode.
A multi-racial, multi-background band of adventurers? Check. Pre-planned combat encounters that require teamwork and everypony's varied skills? Check. A slowly-unfolding dark mystery with an evil and powerful spellcaster at its core? Check. Lampshaded random encounters? Check. A bard who chooses to tag along but won't use Inspire Competence no matter how many times you fall into the mud? Check! This is starting to look more and more like an RPG session.
Hee. Loving it.
Minor error:
^covered
you both of you?
maybe " leader to display"
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Hazen has other children, they just haven't been on screen as of yet.
3807167
What!? Midnight's Shadow doesn't reflect my years of experience playing tabletop RPGs at all! Must be a coicidence...
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Thanks for catching that. Fixed.
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Thanks for noticing those. Fixed.
Shesh, well now Applesauce decides not to be an idiot. He should have tried that last chapter before he darwin-ed himself into prison.
Stalwart has a good point. Even if Applesauce reacted like an idiot, he might not have reacted at all if Midnight hadn't been so blunt. Then again, I'm not sure he ever would have been happy with an agent of the crown investigating his house, even if said agent behaved perfectly.
A dead glade and a pool full of bones? That seems bad.
A black magic ritual involving sacrificed ponies? It's not getting better.
Now that was an great fight scene. I love that Midnight locked the creature down through application of the substance she had been complaining about all chapter.
So Midnight seems to be quite adept with ice magic...interesting.
Very well run encounter, Poni.
I keep liking midnight more and more as this story goes on, I love your take on her! Maybe she'll start getting a little more respect from the others now that they've seen what she can do.
3807167 I played a bard for a while. "You want me to use Competence for this skill check?" "Nah, save your perform rounds for combat when it's more important." "*sigh* Alright."
Regular, or frumious?
You don't say.
I know a singing lumberjack we could introduce her to.
3822497
Bards can be horribly under-appreciated.
And we are talking about normal bandersnatches.
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Okay, it appears that there's actually some inconsistency here, given these two quotes from The Life and Times of a Winning Pony:
I'm inclined to give priority to the second, later one, though.
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The important part of that statement is "one of." There were other pegasi belonging to other clans who stayed loyal to Celestia. In fact, Cloud's mother was from a family that became nobles right after the war for their service.
It will also be covered in Chengar's The Lunar Rebellion story.
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Aye, I understood that; I was pointing out that the two quotes were inconsistent with each other. Thank you for your reply, though. I've also asked Chengar Qordath about this, but that inquiry is not yet complete.
Now I'm all caught up with all of the Lunar Rebellion era stories! This one was quite interesting. Intriguing story and interesting look at the post-rebellion world. I love how you can see the similarities between the ponies in this story and their descendants in modern Equestria (perhaps more so here than in LR)
Also, it should go without saying that Midnight is freakin cute as a button. Ever since the issue of her parentage came up, I've been holding out for someone who meets her to say "You must be
Ned Stark'sSunbeam Sparkle's bastard." :rainbow laugh:Looking forward to more!
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Oh, ponies making remarks about Midnight's parentage is going to come up sooner or later. Especially as she reacts more with ponies who are aware of who she and her mother are. Doesn't help that
And thanks for the compliments.
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There was a scene break between the scene involving Applesauce and the hike up the mountain. Detailing Applesauce being put into a cell wouldn't have been terribly interesting to the readers at this juncture, I thought.
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The transition between chapter 3 and 4 was a bit awkward, relooking at it. I'll admit. Basically Midnight left the house, it started raining, and then she got yelled out by Applesauce's wife as she tried to leave the property.
Right now I'm halfway through a chapter for When Better Days Are Past. After that I'm going to work on a chapter for Study of a Winning Pony considering its been forever since I updated that story. And then I'll likely revisit this story for chapter 5.
Hey Ponibus, I love your Winningverse stories, but I'm always very iffy when it comes to the Dark tag. If I read this story, what am I getting myself into Dark-wise? Is it mostly for the setting—being directly after the Lunar Rebellion and therefore a tumultuous time—or are there some seriously dark points in the story that might make me nope right out of it?
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The main reasons I have the Dark tag is because it is set during the Lunar Rebellion era, so there is violence, war, death, and general unpleasantness. But I don't intend to take to make it super dark or dark for the sake of being dark (Cupcakes or Rainbow Factory, for example.). Bad Things will happen, but there will be limits to what I show given I don't feel I need to fill in every gory detail for my readers (who I feel confident about filling in most of the details for themselves), and certain types of content aren't going to be part of the story.
I hope that answers your question.
Almost twenty weeks since the last update. There's only fifty-two of those in a year. We going to see a new chapter? Hopefully without another twenty week lay-over? Because this is gold. I've developed a newfound love for our Asperger's-suffering anti-heroine and her D&D adventure!
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Actually I just finished the rough draft of chapter 5 of this story, and it's in the middle of the editing process. Trust me, I am dedicated to this story, I just had a couple rough months since the beginning of the year due to things like changing shifts and being sick. So that slowed down my writing for a bit, but now I'm getting my mojo back, and I hope to get back into the swing of this story to get more regular updates.
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Thank you Ponibius! With this, I can weather the wait. I have found my new drug.
Very good from what I have read so far! Just noticed two little errors in this chapter and the last.
Last chapter, some sentences refer to Red Steel as 'he' and possibly a 'his' or two.
Also, last chapter Applesauce's wife was named Sweet Potato, where in this chapter, her name is Celery Soup.
Feel free to delete this comment after the fixes have been made.
Severe understatement, there ...