The Cloud in the Wind

by Bud Grazer

7. What happened to you ?

Nuage was sitting on the ground near the smoking corpse. She wasn’t sure when she had sat down... She didn’t even remember walking closer, but there she was now, plopped on her rear next to the carcass, all alone.

It couldn’t really be Papyrus... It had to be another pony. There were other ponies in those caves, so there should have been unicorns, too. It was one of them on the ground in front of her. It wasn’t Papyrus. Because if it was him, then she was alone.

He was a great magician, he couldn’t have gotten caught in a trap so easily. He couldn’t die like that and leave her alone.

Unless his sick body finally rendered him unable to use his magic... If his lungs seized while he was trying to disarm a trap, like they did earlier, then it was possible : he was dead and she was alone.

No... Nuage couldn’t accept this. She couldn’t be alone, not now, not here. Papyrus had to be somewhere else in those tunnels and she had to find him.

Yes. She needed to find her master again. Her place was by his side, serving him. It was her duty...

There was no other place where she would want to be.

There was no other place where she could go.

Nuage stood up and started walking in the dark tunnels.

Alone.

---

Left talon, left paw.

Nuage didn’t know where she was going.

Right talon, right paw.

She didn’t know where she was.

Left, right, left, right...

How long had she been going through these tunnels ? Nuage had lost track of time. The only light source were the fireflies buzzing around in the lantern she was holding. No sun, no moon to tell the time of day or night, only the maddening silence. It felt like forever.

Left, right. Left, right. Keep walking, keep searching.

Papyrus had to be somewhere. She had to keep moving and find him.

Somewhere else than a piece of scorched rock.

Left, right.

Nuage slowed down, little by little.

Left, right.

Maybe tt was time to admit it.

Left.

She knew where she was going.

Right.

She was going nowhere.

Nuage slumped on the ground, not even bothering to wipe the tears flowing from her eyes.

---

“Headlight !”

The voice echoed in the tunnels.

“Headlight, is that you ?”

Nuage opened her eyes and lifted her head a little. She saw shadows dancing on the wall in front of her. Two ponies appeared soon afterwards.

“Headlight, I swear to Celestia you’d better-” The stallion’s voice died down as his eyes locked on Nuage. “The hay ?”

A bright yellow pegasus mare, holding a lantern under one wing and a spear under the other, stepped forward and let out a low whistle when she saw Nuage. She pointed her weapon at her.

“What’s a gryphon doing here ?” the stallion, a big brown earth pony, asked.

“Dunno,” the mare answered. “And he’s a big one, too.”

Nuage didn’t even bother correcting her about the gender error. She simply stared at the two ponies in silence.

They seemed a bit startled by her lack of reaction and exchanged a glance before getting a little closer, weapons at the ready.

“Who are you ?” the stallion asked.

Nuage simply laid her head back on her arms. “Personne,” she whispered.

“Huh ?” the mare blinked a few times, then approached, pointing the tip of her spear close to her face. “What are you doing here ?”

“Nothing,” Nuage said flatly.

The stallion scratched his head in confusion.“The hay is wrong with him ? Her... She’s a she, right ?”

“Sounds like it,” the mare answered with a shrug. She turned back to face Nuage. “Hey, you ! This here is our turf, get it ? How did you even end up here ?”

Nuage didn’t bother answering.

“We’re talking to you,” the stallion said, getting closer and shoving a hoof against her shoulder. “”Useless featherbrain... Hey...” He walked around her side.

“What the... This is one of ours,” he said, pointing at the bottle of contraband alcohol still tied to her belt. “You damn thief !”

The mare took on a menacing posture, pointing her spear close to Nuage’s face. “You’re gonna come with us to see the boss, he’ll decide what to do with you.”

Nuage simply stared at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Get up !” the mare shouted.

“Okay.”

The gryphoness gathered her feet under her and stood. The ponies tried to keep on a brave face, but she couldn’t help but notice when they cowered slightly at her stature. They composed themselves quickly enough, though.

“Start walking,” the mare said, taking the lead. “And don’t even think of trying anything.”

“Okay,” Nuage said dully, following the pony in the tunnels.

---

Nuage had some idea of where the two ponies were taking her, most likely the room that she had found with Papyrus earlier, or another one like it, maybe. What she wondered about was what they intended to do with her once they would be there.

Ask her questions ? She didn’t have many answers to give. Maybe they intended to kill her ? That seemed exaggerated for one bottle of liquor, though... They may just show her out and let her go.

And where would she go ? She could go home to her cave... And then what ? Go home to her country ? There was nobody waiting for her there. Or anywhere else for that matter. Nobody, nowhere...

Just one gryphoness alone in a huge world, what was she supposed to do ?

Maybe it would be better if they killed her. If they didn’t intend to, she could always be the one to attack them. At least she could die fighting, it wouldn’t be such a bad way to go...

Nuage blinked as she surprised herself with these thoughts. Was she really ready to end it ? Was she really unable to live without her master ?

She kept walking, giving her captors a glance.

“Hey,” she asked quietly, “what do you do ?”

The mare in front of her stopped and turned around, watching her with a confused frown. “What was that ?”

“What do you ponies do ? What do you live for ?”

She stared at the gryphoness for a while and eventually shrugged. “I dunno...”

“Money !” the stallion behind them said cheerfully. “One day we’ll all be stinking rich and live the good life.”

“I guess there’s that,” the mare said, “and we have fun, too. Why, you want to work with us ?”

Nuage observed the mare a moment, processing her words. Finally, she took her eyes off of her and simply stared in the distance.

“No.”

“Humph. Then shut up and keep moving !”

She nodded and followed once more.

They went up and down, left and right, guided by the mare without any apparent hesitation. Either she was able to see details in the monotonous and badly-lit walls that let her find her way easily, or she was going about randomly and hiding it well.

The gryphoness found herself observing the pony in front of her to pass the time. She was... Yellow. Her coat, her mane, her tail were nothing but various shades of yellow. Even her cutie mark was a pile of golden coins, rather hard to see properly in the faint light since it was only a slightly darker shade than the rest of her fur.

Nuage’s mind drifted slowly during the uneventful walk. She wondered if this was how ants felt, walking in never ending lines in their tiny galleries, back and forth... Did they get bored after going along the same route every day of their lives ? They did it to feed the colony or something like that... Maybe their sense of duty was what kept them focused. They did it for their queen, for their family.

What happens to a colony when the queen dies ? Do the ants pick a new one ? Do they just die without her ? Do they leave and join another colony ?

“Nuage !”

The gryphoness froze and blinked a few times, unable to move anything except her eyelids. Slowly, as if it took a huge effort, she turned her head to the left.

“Master ?”

Papyrus was standing under the light of his horn a little ways in a tunnel.

“Nuage. I was wondering where you- Ooompf !”

His words were muffled by feathers as Nuage jumped and squeezed him in her arms.

“Vous êtes vivant !”

Papyrus mumbled incomprehensibly in her chest while Nuage kept hugging him, refusing to let go. The old unicorn struggled for a while before he managed to wriggle his head to one side.

“Nuage... can’t... breathe...”

Her eyes widened in shock and she quickly pushed Papyrus away, holding him at arm length. “Sorry, master...”

He took a few deep breaths before speaking. “Did you think I was dead ?”

Nuage rubbed her head along his neck, as if making sure that he was real. “Je pensais vous avoir perdu pour de bon...”

“Easy, girl.” He patted her head with a hoof. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on dying today.”

She whispered in his fur. “Thank you.”

“Let’s move. We’ve wasted enough time already.”

Nuage let go of him and nodded.

“Ahem...”

She turned around and found herself face to face with the two smugglers, looking very unamused and pointing their weapons at her and Papyrus.

“Are you two done snuggling ?” the mare asked with an irritated tone. “Good. Now you’re both coming with us.”

Papyrus stepped next to Nuage and gave an appraising look at the two ponies. “You know your way around these caves ?” he asked.

The earth pony stallion took a step forward and cracked his hooves menacingly. “You’re not the one asking questions here, old guy. You two will follow us if you know what’s good for you.”

“Looks like you are not the brain of your little duo,” Papyrus answered him coolly.

“What’s that supposed to mean ?” he said with a frown.

“It means that I don’t need you.”

The stallion growled and grabbed a short sword in his mouth.

Before he even had time to take a step forward, Papyrus’s magic glowed a bright green around his horn. The next second, with a sharp crack and a flash of light, electricity arced from his horn to the metallic weapon, almost blinding Nuage. Squinting her eyes to resist the brightness, she saw the stallion stiffening like a statue as lightning ran all around his body, buzzing and crackling for second after second.

When Papyrus stopped, the stallion fell to the ground, twitching erratically as if he was still alive. His empty eyes told otherwise, though.

The yellow mare stared at her dead companion with her jaw hanging low. When she managed to take her eyes off of him, she started to shiver as she noticed that Papyrus had now his own eyes on her.

Her spear clattered to the ground as she lost her grip on it.

Slowly, she composed herself and swallowed the lump in her throat. She looked at Nuage and Papyrus warily, then took a deep breath.

In a blur of yellow, the mare turned tail and ran in the caves.

“Nuage ! Catch her !”

The gryphoness sprang into action, running after the mare.

“Alive !” Papyrus shouted in her back.

The chase was short. The tunnels weren’t large enough for either of the two to fly properly and with her long and powerful legs, Nuage had no trouble catching up. Gryphons were built for short sprints and a pony’s only chance to escape one was to turn the chase into a contest of endurance : after one minute, the gryphon would be exhausted while the pony could keep going. It all came down to how much of a head start the pony had and in this case, it wasn’t even close to being enough.

Nuage closed the distance until, in a combination of experience and predatory instinct, she knew that the time was right. She pounced, letting her powerful leonine legs throw her through the air and landed on the mare, digging her talons in her back to hold her.

Between the pain and the extra weight suddenly pushing on her, the mare lost her footing and tumbled on the ground, Nuage still clamped on her back. She screamed and squirmed, trying to free herself, but the gryphoness’s mass prevented her from moving. Using both her weight and the strong grip of her talons, Nuage pinned the mare completely.

For a fleeting moment, predatory instincts triggered in Nuage’s mind, something telling her to bite down on her prey’s neck and finish the hunt... It only lasted a second, but the mare had seen it. In the flickering light of the lantern that had fallen a few steps away, Nuage observed her catch : her eyes were wide and fixed on Nuage’s face, her whole body shivering, and she was panting from both the exhaustion of the chase and sheer panic.

The knowing look of the prey realizing it is about to be devoured...

Nuage examined one of her talons. The gauntlets protecting them were designed to cover everything except the sharp end of her claws and they did their work perfectly, digging deep in the pony’s flesh. Bright red blood covered the tip of her digits and the gryphoness made a show of licking them clean, causing the mare to whimper. She didn’t particularly enjoy the taste, but what mattered was that the mare thought she did.

Nuage stepped off of the yellow pony and wrapped one of her talons around her neck. “Get up,” she said, keeping her hold even as the mare nodded and got to her hooves in silence.

“You’re not going to run.” Nuage had said this more as an affirmation than a question or even an order. It was simple fact. The mare nodded meekly and started walking, following the direction Nuage pointed her to.

The two walked back to where Papyrus was waiting. The old unicorn was sitting on the ground, eyes closed as if meditating and when he opened them again, Nuage winced slightly as she saw how tired her master looked. Nevertheless, he fixed his gaze on the pony being corralled back to him, observing her in silence with a serious frown.

The mare shook more and more, her eyes switching back and forth between her captors. Both simply stared at her, Nuage waiting for orders, Papyrus apparently deep in thought.

“P-Please don’t k-kill me !” she blurted out.

The mare slumped, sitting on her haunches and her head hanging low. “I don’t want to die,” she said pitifully while giving her companion’s corpse a fearful glance.

“Good,” Papyrus said coolly. “Then you’re going to do what I say.”

“Wh-wha-”

“What’s your name ?”

“My ? I... Gold Dust.” She gulped and tried to steady herself a bit. “Who are you ?”

Papyrus simply ignored the question. “You know your way around these tunnels, correct ?” Gold Dust barely had time to nod before he continued. “You know that there’s a mage’s lair in the upper levels ? I want to get inside and you’re going to show me the way. Simple enough ?”

She blinked a few times, her jaw gaping. “You can’t get in there, the tunnels are way too dangerous above.”

“I know about the traps, I’ll disarm them as we go.”

Nuage turned worried eyes to her master. “Are you sure you can do it, master ? The last time was pretty close...”

Papyrus furrowed her brow and watched her intently. “We are going. Either I get inside Stone Mane’s tower or I die trying. Understood ?”

“Perfectly, master,” she answered with a small nod.

“Good. Now, I can’t teleport. There’s something in the spire to prevent that, that’s why I landed around here. And I can’t run anymore, so I’ll need you to carry me again, Nuage.”

“Of course, master.” She crouched on the ground to let him climb on her back.

Once in place, Papyrus addressed Gold Dust again. “Now get moving and don’t even think about running away. My magic is perfectly fine, so I can break your legs and carry you if I have to. I’d like to avoid that inconvenience, if you don’t mind, so...”

Gold Dust whimpered and nodded, then looked around to get her bearings. She picked one tunnel and headed in, followed by Nuage and the unicorn on her back.

---

“Someone once said : life is nothing but the prelude to death.

There is wisdom in that saying. Always make sure that you are ready for that moment.

Too many live a remarkable life and find themselves failing at the very last instant, because they are unprepared. If you keep a calm and focused mind, you can make use of even your final second the way you choose to.”

---

Progress was still relatively slow, but with guidance from Gold Dust the random wandering was reduced to a minimum. It took about an hour until the the two ponies and one gryphon reached something that seemed out of place in the volcanic tunnels : a heavy iron door.

Nuage let Papyrus down from her back and he approached the rusted gate slowly, almost with reverence.

“Finally...” He put one hoof on the metal as if he needed to make sure that it was real, then turned to Nuage with a smile that looked a little too wide to be comforting. “We’re almost there. Stone Mane’s secrets are finally in my reach.” With a look of renewed determination, he wrapped the door in his magic and opened it. The ancient metal groaned in protest and a little cloud of dust rose as the passage opened.

The cave became silent again. In the light of Papyrus’s horn, Nuage examined the entrance : a high corridor, dug artificially in the rock judging by the smooth walls and right angles. The stone was bare on the walls and ceiling, with no decorations of any kind. The ground, on the other hand, was littered.

Bones. Bones of all kinds and sizes, carpeting the floor along the entire hallway. Hundreds, thousands of them. Judging by the number of skulls, several dozens of ponies were resting here.

“Wha-wha-what the hay i-i-is this p-place ?” Gold Dust was shaking like a leaf, her eyes stuck on the ossuary before her.

“I think,” Papyrus said, “that these are all the ponies who tried to enter Stone Mane’s lair. Without permission.”

“Why... What... There are... so many.”

“He has been dead for centuries. Over the years, many have come here looking for his power...”

“And... you’re going to- to do the same ?”

Papyrus turned around and gave the mare a look of pure contempt. “No. I will not do the same as those. I will not fail. I will not die. Not here. Not now. Not ever.”

The mare winced and took a step back. “I don’t need you anymore,” he told her. “You can leave now. Nuage ? Let’s go.”

He headed into the entrance, using his magic to push aside most of the bones, making a sort of alley for them.

“Wait !” Both turned around to face Gold Dust again. “You said there’s lots of old magical stuff in there, right ? Lots of... valuable stuff...”

“Valuable ?” Papyrus hummed in thought. “Probably, yes.”

“Then... Y- You wouldn’t mind if I come with you, would you ? I’m sure there’s enough for all of us, after all.”

Nuage observed the strange mare for a moment. She still looked scared, but there was a glint in her eyes. Her thirst for gold was enough to give her courage... or maybe foolishness ?

“I won’t take anything you tell me not to. You won’t even know I’m there, I promise. Deal ?”

Papyrus shrugged. “I don’t care. I only want Stone Mane’s spellbook. But watch where you put your hooves. I’m not helping you if you get into trouble.” He turned back and whispered in Nuage’s ear. “Keep your eyes opened. You never know.”

She nodded and followed her master in the grim corridor while Gold Dust hooves clopped on the stone behind her. Everybody remained quiet, the macabre display inciting nothing but silence from the living.

A few seconds later, Nuage was relieved to spot another iron door at the far end of the hallway. She didn’t want to spend more time than necessary in this place... A quick look over her shoulder let her see that Gold Dust was eager to leave too. She was casting uneasy glances left and right at the remains and even seemed to be holding her breath.

Papyrus, on the other hand seemed unfazed by the walk, his eyes firmly set on the exit.

A shrill, metallic noise screeched from behind them, followed by a loud clang that echoed around the room. Nuage and Gold Dust immediately turned around and saw that the other door had slammed shut.

Slowly, a strange blue haze seemed to seep out of the ground, raising like a mist until about ankle high, hiding the piles of bones from sight. The pale glow gave everyone a sickly complexion.

“What’s going on ?” Nuage asked her master. Before he had time to answer, she heard Gold Dust screaming in terror.

She watched where the mare had her eyes stuck : the blue mist had wrapped itself around one pile of bones and was slowly assembling it, giving the inanimate remains a semblance of life again. One skeleton rose from the ground, then another and another and another... The mist was no longer visible around those, only an eerie glow shining through their empty eye sockets a hint of its magical presence.

One of the skeletons took a step forward. A sound, like the wind howling through distant trees came from its animated body, progressively turning into a rasping breath.

“Intruders...” Its voice was a hoarse whisper, but still clear enough to understand. “Entrance... is... forbidden...”

When the skeleton paused for a moment, all Nuage could hear was the sound of liquid splashing on the ground. A quick glance confirmed her that Gold Dust had lost control of her bladder.

More skeletons rose all around them.

“M-M-Maybe we sh-sh-should leave,” the mare said in a pitifully squeaky voice.

Another skeleton approached them. “None... can... leave...” The last ones were reanimated now, all traces of the blue mist completely gone.

“You... will... join... us...”

“I see,” Papyrus said calmly while Nuage took her flail out. “Interesting spell.”

The small army of skeletons shambled forward, encircling the group completely.

“Master ? How do we get rid of living deads ?”

“Well, I’m not too sure. It can’t be that different from the regular living, I guess.”

Gold Dust whimpered, trying to hide behind Nuage. “We... We’re gonna d-d-die...”

“Of course not,” Papyrus said. “If they get us, we’ll become part of the welcome committee here. So, technically... not dead.”

“That... That’s even worse !”

“Agreed. So let’s kick some bony butts.”

“Avec plaisir,” Nuage said with a smirk.

Papyrus was the first to act, sending bolts of pure magic into the mass of skeletons that sent bones flying around. Nuage twirled her flail and jumped forward to strike the nearest enemy.

The head of her weapon hit neatly the bottom of its skull and propelled it all the way to the back of the room where it bounced against the door, making it sound like a gong. The rest of the skeleton simply stood where it was, looking lost. Nuage chuckled at the sight, but quickly focused on the rest of her opponents.

As she quickly learned, a flail appeared to be a great weapon against animated skeletons : a sword or other cutting weapon would have had trouble doing much damage to something without flesh but Nuage’s blunt tool benefited from the opposite effect : without soft tissue to cushion the blows, she was able to crush the bones. She fractured skulls, snapped radiuses and shattered vertebrae everywhere she could reach. Targets were not in short supply, but after a few minutes of furious clubbing and intense magical zapping from Papyrus, most of the skeletons had been incapacitated or pushed away. Gold Dust was happy to stay out of the way in the safe zone between Nuage and Papyrus.

“Well, that was easy,” the old unicorn said after blasting the last skeleton. “Let’s just get out... of... here ?”

The blue mist from before reappeared and wrapped all of the remains in the room. The skeletons started to rise again, their broken bones mending and going back into place. In front of Nuage, the one who had had its head removed walked back to its skull, picked it up with its bony hooves and placed it back casually on its spine.

Papyrus and Nuage observed the scene quietly, seeing every single downed foe stand back up as if nothing had happened. The undead army turned back to face them and ambled forward.

“Merde.”

Gryphon and unicorn went back to work. The skeletons were slow and clumsy, but with the numerical advantage, they managed to land a few hits on Nuage. Still, a few bruises against an entire group of skeletons reduced to a pile of bones was not a bad trade-off...

Or it would have been if the undead army wasn’t getting back up once more.

“We’re going to need a different approach,” Papyrus said while the last skeletons were reforming themselves.

“Do you have an idea, master ?”

“Not yet. Give me some time.”

“Very well.”

The third round went much like the previous ones. When the skeleton army was dispatched again, Nuage found herself panting, sweating a bit and with a few extra bruises. At this rate, it would only take a few more sessions until she couldn’t fight back. Their only hope was Papyrus. If the old unicorn could find a way to cancel this spell, they would be safe.

For the fourth time, the skeletons attacked. Nuage was busy swinging her flail all around when her master addressed her.

“Nuage, get me a skull.”

“What ?”

“I need to study this spell, get me a skull.”

“As you wish.”

Nuage turned to a group of three skeletons. One tried to attack her, but its slow charge was easily dodged. With a couple of back and forth hit from her flail, it was sent into pieces. The next one almost fell on her and she had to activate her shield to keep it at bay. The third skeleton took that opportunity to bite her, sinking its yellowed teeth in her right shoulder.

Nuage suppressed a groan and simply used her wing to bash on the skeleton’s neck. It took a few hits, but she managed to make it lose its hold and punched hard with her talon clenched around her flail’s handle. One quick swing of her weapon later and that skeleton was no longer an issue.

She concentrated back on the one pushing on her shield. With a smirk, she opened her left hand and the spell disappeared, causing the undead creature to lose its balance.

It fell skull first in her outstretched talon.

One quick swing of her flail on its spine and she was left with the head in her hand.

Its glowing eyes seemed to stare at her.

“Join... us...”

She almost threw the thing away in reflex when she heard it speak. Whiter than ever, she quickly went to Papyrus and handed him the thing.

“Thanks, I’ll have to-”

“Join... us...”

“Aaaaaaand that’s creepy...” He shook his head. “I’ll have to study that thing, not sure how long that’s gonna take. Don’t get killed in the meantime.”

“Alright, master.”

“Join... us...”

“I heard you the first time,” Papyrus said with a roll of his eyes. Lighting up his horn, he built a shield spell around himself and started examining the undead skull.

Outside of the bubble, the skeletons were predictably rising again. And now, Nuage had to fight them all by herself. She gave the yellow shivering ball on the floor a look...

“Hey,” she poked Gold Dust with a talon. “Make yourself useful. I can’t fight all alone.”

The mare lifted her head a little and spotted the skeletons coming back, then quickly went back to cowering, eyes shut and hooves covering her ears.

“Et merde...”

Nuage closed her eyes and took a deep breath... then roared and charged into the fray. She kept moving around, never letting the skeletons reach her. When it seemed that they had her cornered, the gryphoness leapt in the air, flying just above the mass and striking as many as possible with her steel flail.

She fell when one managed to catch one of her legs. Nuage got herself free, but not before getting struck by several hooves on her flank. Thankfully, only a few skeletons were still standing at that moment and she dispatched them without more trouble.

The others were already rising back, unfortunately.

Nuage rushed to Gold Dust and grabbed the mare, putting her on her hooves. She looked her straight in the eyes and said only one word. “Fight !”

Gold Dust stammered, unable to make a sentence.

“I can’t keep them off alone. You must fight.”

“I- I can’t... I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die.”

Nuage shook her. “Everypony dies. What matters is what you do before.”

She looked back with teary eyes.

“Do you want to spend your last moments crying in your piss ? Fight back !”

“But...”

“At least you’ll go down doing something you can be proud of, so get up and fight.”

Gold Dust blinked a few times and eventually nodded. “Okay... I... I need a weapon,” she said, scanning the area.

Nuage looked around the room... Her eyes stopped on a headless skeleton, trying to get inside Papyrus’s shield. Probably the body going with the skull he was observing.

She flew to the mindless corpse and grabbed a leg. With a little help from her flail, the limb fell off and she had a nice, sturdy femur to give to Gold Dust.

She watched the bone with disgust... Nuage felt sorry for the digit-less pony, but the time wasn’t right to be picky and she almost shoved the thing in Gold Dust’s mouth. She was still shaking, but at least she was now standing up and could be of some use, hopefully.

The gryphoness got ready to face the next wave of skeletons.

“Watch my back.” Without even waiting for an answer, Nuage went back to work shattering bones.

A skeleton managed to jump on her when she reacted a little too slowly and clamped its teeth on one wing. She hissed in pain but couldn’t dislodge it, still busy with another one in front of her. Fortunately, Gold Dust proved her worth when she jumped in from behind and struck the thing as hard as she could, getting it away from her wing. Nuage muttered a quick thank you to the already retreating mare before focusing back on the endless fight.

After a few more minutes, Nuage had to face the truth : even if they were being pushed back constantly, the skeletons were winning the fight. Slowly but surely, she was getting tired. Her arms were becoming too heavy to keep up, her legs were getting stiff and painful and after getting hit in the ribs a few times too many, breathing was becoming difficult.

“Master ? How much longer do you need ?”

“Give me a few more minutes,” he answered without looking back. “I think I have this figured out...”

“A few minutes.” Nuage watched the revenants rising again, unsure of how many times it had been by now. “Piece of cake...”

She swung her flail again and again, disassembling the skeletons methodically, but each hit sapped some of her strength away little by little and she had to step back to avoid being simply overwhelmed. Until she felt a wall behind her back... With no more room for retreat, she stood and fought, Gold Dust doing her best by her side.

By the time they got rid of the skeletons in front of them, those further back were already back up. Worse yet, now unable to hide behind Nuage, Gold Dust was having trouble defending herself from the horde. She was eventually pushed back and lost her weapon somehow. The mare tried to fly away, but one skeleton bit on her tail and dragged her back to the ground.

Nuage attempted to fight off the revenants pounding on the screaming mare, but she had her problems. One swing of her weapon went too slowly due to fatigue and a revenant caught it in its jaw. She had no time to yank it free, being assaulted by still more enemies. Unarmed, the gryphoness fought as long as she could, but was finally overwhelmed, dragged to the floor and beaten by bony hooves.

Even then, Nuage still tried to fight back. It may have been pointless, but it was a matter of principle. Despite the pain and exhaustion, she was wearing a proud smile on her beak as her last moments were approaching.

Curiously, death did not come for her. A wave of green light washed over her and the revenants suddenly fell to pieces.

It took Nuage a few seconds to react and dig herself out of the bone pile. Her eyes widened at the spectacle in front of her.

The bluish mist had appeared again, but this time instead of animating the skeletons back to life, it took the shape of ponies. Dozens of ponies, standing as ghostly figures in the room. They shimmered and started to dissipate into nothingness right under her eyes. One of the apparitions, the shadow of a unicorn, turned towards Papyrus.

“We’re... free...” it said in its ghastly voice. “Thank... you...”

The last ghosts slowly vanished, leaving the hallway eerily silent but somehow more peaceful.

Papyrus walked near Nuage, giving her an appraising look. “Looks like you had a hard time. Sorry I took so long.”

“I’ll survive. I think I have nothing broken,” she said while poking herself with her talons. She winced at a few cuts and bruises, but couldn’t find anything that felt like heavy damage. Turning around, Nuage swept the bones still covering Gold Dust. The poor mare was curled into a ball, weeping and shivering like a traumatized foal.

The gryphoness pushed her gently, trying to get her attention. “It’s over,” she said. “They’re all gone.” The only answer she got was some babbling and sobbing.

“She’ll find her way out,” Papyrus said. “Let’s keep moving.”

“I think she’s hurt, master.” The mare was breathing shallowly and barely responding to Nuage’s prods.

“So ? I warned her.”

“You can heal her. You did it for me earlier.”

“Why should I ?”

Nuage gaped at him. “Be-Because... I-” She shook her head and stared at her master with a determined frown. “Please, master. It will only take you a minute.”

“It’s a waste of time and energy...”

Nuage held her glare for a moment, until Papyrus sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Fine, fine. Step aside.”

The yellow mare was wrapped in magic for a moment and her breathing calmed down. Once Papyrus was done, she stood back up on shaky legs.

“Am I... Am I dead ?”

“No,” Papyrus answered.

“Am- Am I l- l- like... these ?” she asked, pointing at the bones littered on the floor.

“No, you’re fine.” He turned back to Nuage. “Come on now, this has taken long enough.”

The gryphoness followed her master, giving the mare a single nod as a goodbye. In the corner of her eye, Nuage saw her rush to the door they had come in and disappear in the dark tunnels without looking back.

Papyrus opened the other gate to reveal some stairs leading up. After a short climb, Nuage and him found themselves at long last in the true heart of Stone Mane’s hideout.

The first room was a sort of library or maybe a book repository. All sorts of tomes, scrolls and even a few stone tablets were stored in the round room. Several doorways led to other rooms.

Papyrus spotted a few candles and lit them up, giving them some much needed light.

“Remember, we’re looking for Stone Mane’s grimoire. It has to be somewhere in here.”

“It’s a... book, right ?” Nuage turned around, giving the library a look. “How do we tell it apart from all these ?”

“I suppose it looks a little different. It should be hoof-written and it’s precious, so probably not mixed with all the others.”

The two checked anything that seemed to stand out, with disappointing results, but when she went to grab a candle on a nearby shelf, Nuage spotted something in an adjacent room : on a desk, a leather-bound book was waiting, opened to a blank page with an old quill lying next to it.

“Master ?” she pointed at it, making Papyrus grin as his eyes followed that direction.

“That’s it ! Well done, Nuage, I-” his congratulations were interrupted when he slammed his muzzle against a shimmering blue magical wall. “What the-” He bumped his hoof a few times on the obstruction. “Another security measure ? Grah, just how many did that crazy old bat put in there ? There’s a limit to paranoia, for pony’s sake.”

Nuage absentmindedly pressed a talon on the force field... and almost fell when she encountered no resistance. She waved her arm a few times, going through with no difficulty.

Papyrus stared at her, blinking a few times. “It only works on ponies ? Well this will be easy, for once. Grab that book, Nuage.” She nodded and entered the room, a candle in her hand. The faint scent of dust and mold filled her nostrils, making her a bit queasy.

A few steps in, its light allowed her to see where exactly she was standing. This was a laboratory.

A laboratory dedicated entirely to death : bones were stacked in every corner, a dozen skulls were sitting on shelves, seemingly staring at her, diagrams on the walls detailed the skeletal structure of ponies, others were listing all their organs... Each one of those was covered in notes, scribbled on every available space. Near the back of the room were more shelves, holding jars filled with random parts.

Having dissected her fair share of animals, Nuage could identify all of them : livers, kidneys, hearts, brains... Their origin was not much of a mystery, judging from the operating table at the end of the laboratory. It was completely coated in dried blood and still had a few tools, now rusty but still recognizable as scalpels, scissors and saws. It could almost have passed for a doctor’s equipment, if it hadn’t been for out of place elements, like a pair of pliers or the chains and restraints.

Whatever had happened here, Nuage couldn’t imagine it as being pleasant...

“Nuage ? What’s wrong ?” Papyrus asked, his voice slightly distorted from behind the magic screen. “Just take the book.”

Her eyes fixed on the grimoire. Nuage approached the desk and flipped a few pages randomly. Most of the text was way too technical for her to understand, but the schematics and sketches weren’t.

Death.

It was a book of death. The skeletons at the entrance were making a lot more sense now : Stone Mane had been studying the most unsavory of all possible fields of magic.

And now, Papyrus wanted that horrible knowledge. He wanted to avoid his own death and the grimoire may very well be a solution, in a twisted way.

Nuage’s gaze switched back and forth between the book and the candle in her hand. For what felt like hours, she hesitated. It would be easy : a simple flame and nopony could reproduce what Stone Mane did. She could easily betray her master’s trust. She could betray her own principles.

She could prove that every single aspect of her entire life had been pointless...

Her eyes shut tight, Nuage grabbed the thing and turned around to hand it to Papyrus.

As soon as it was on his side of the magical force field, the grimoire levitated in green magic, opening in front of Papyrus who checked a few pages with a feverish grin.

“Finally... I did it. No... We did it, Nuage.”

“Yes,” she repeated, sounding hollow. “We did.”

“This is perfect. Now come on, let’s get out of here, I still need to study that thing.” The grimoire disappeared, stashed into one of his saddlebags.

Nuage gave the dark rooms a last glance, wondering what was driving Stone Mane in the first place. How many ponies had died here, to satisfy his curiosity and ambition ? How many would still die from the traps in the tunnels, victim of his insane paranoia ? She didn’t even know who the corpse she had mistaken for Papyrus was...

“Nuage ? We’re leaving.”

“I... I was just wondering.”

“About what ?”

She took a few seconds before she answered. “Do you think Gold Dust made it out of the trapped tunnels ?”

He shrugged. “Why do you even care about that mare ?”

“Why don’t you ?” she asked back. “Why didn’t you want to help her, back there ?”

“I told you, it’s a waste of time and effort.”

Nuage looked down. “You used to help ponies when they needed it.”

He scoffed.” Yes, I did. And what did that ever gain me ? Nothing, that’s what. I’ve spent enough time taking care of others for naught, now I’m taking care of myself while I still can.”

Nuage frowned and fixed her eyes on Papyrus again. “What about me ?” she asked. “If you found me with that dragon now, would you just let me die ?”

“You’re not some random stranger...”

“But if I was, you would let me die ?”

He looked at her for a long while. “Probably.”

“Comment...”

“Honestly, fighting a berserk dragon... I don’t know how I managed to actually survive this. If it had been an adult I would have gotten crushed like the idiot I was.”

She watched him as if it was the first time they met.

“Come on, I’m tired of this place.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Me too...” Nuage followed him, dragging her feet on the ground, her eyes stuck on the old unicorn walking tiredly in front of her.

“Qu’est-ce qu’il vous est arrivé ?”

Author's Note:

This chapter took a while, but I like how it turned out in the end, so I guess it was worth it.

The story is getting close to its conclusion by now aaaaand... I'm going to be on vacation for the next three weeks. Yay !
In theory, that should give me plenty of time to write, but I have no idea how often I will have access to a computer. There's only so much I can do on my phone...

So, basically I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. In the worst case, I'll try to have it done before the end of the month.

Comments

[Alondro]

Crazy old unicorn wants evil book of psycho death magic from another serial killer unicorn.

This will not end well...

[Jet Cannon]

Dear oh dear, Papyrus, things are bad when Nuage is genuinely considering not doing what you ask.