When Friends are Said and Dun

by xenos29

Chapter 24

Pinkie Pie showed remarkable restraint as the ponies entered Alpenglow’s room. That is to say, she waited five whole seconds before showering the room with balloons and confetti. "Rise and shine!" she sang from the foot of the bed.

By choice or exhaustion, the stallion hardly reacted to the noise. He sat up in the covers groggily, the streamers and colored paper avoiding him as they fell.

"Darn good to see you, Alpenglow," said Applejack. "It was pretty touch-and-go when we were carryin’ you to the train." Rarity and Fluttershy earnestly nodded.

"I knew he was going to make it. He’s tough- just like me!" Rainbow said modestly.

"How are you feeling?" asked Twilight, studying him as he slowly looked around at all of them. He still had that weary look of an old pony about him. His eyes drooped and his face serenely impassive, both familiar sights to everypony by now. Yet, as his ochre eyes scanned her friends, Twilight could have sworn they turned a shade brighter as they came to rest on Pinkie. With some effort, he climbed from the bed and took a few tentative steps towards everypony.

"I’m fine. I'm glad to see the same for all of you."

Applejack gave him a quick pat on the back. "Parta that’s thanks to you, Alpenglow. Don’t know what we woulda happened if you weren’t there to save Pinkie and Spike."

Alpenglow lowered his head. "Pinkie Pie, Spike, I owe you both an apology. Back at the observatory, for a time...I thought about letting you fall so I could take the scroll from Blight."

"But you didn’t," Spike quickly pointed out.

"No, but it doesn't change that I thought about it, even though I knew it’d be wrong. I almost cost both of you your lives, and I’m sorry."

With a face more serious than Alpenglow’s, Pinkie took two deliberate steps towards him, her eyes boring through the centers of his. Nopony moved.

"You’re one of the meanest, grumpiest, and hateful ponies I’ve ever met," Pinkie growled. Everypony gawked at her, wide-eyed. She leaned in closer to Alpenglow, the blue in her eyes like a stove top.

"Um, Pinkie…?" said Twilight.

"But you’re still a good guy!" she shrieked, lifting Alpenglow in a bear hug that would make Big Mac take notice. Everypony exhaled in relief, and Twilight almost felt the need to wipe sweat from her forehead as she watched Rarity pick up Alpenglow’s things from the chair. She looked positively dejected.

"Oh dear, such a shame. It might not have been high fashion, but you couldn’t deny its, shall we say, robust charm? Dreadful sorry, Alpenglow."

"It’s alright, Miss Rarity. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I'll just borrow something from the guards’ barracks."

"It most certainly is not ‘alright!’ A knight without his armor...It’s just not proper! It’d be as wearing an haute couture summer frock without a matching hat or bonnet!"

"I see..."

"Just smile and nod, Alp’," teased Rainbow. Applejack stifled a laugh, unsuccessfully.

Rarity scoffed, "All you filly-stines may be ‘alright’ with it, but I shall make it my mission to have something for you by the end of the week. Something old with something new, something inspiring, something…heroic!" Ponyville's avant-garde designer was now standing upright, her hooves outstretched towards the ceiling and looking not particularly lady-like.

"I don’t suppose I can convince you not to worry about it?"

Applejack shook her head once. "Nnnope."

Twilight couldn't help but smile. For the first time since this all started, she felt a measure of peace, especially in light of how Alpenglow had changed practically overnight. Seeing him now, unharmed and untroubled, it made her feel all the worse for what she was about to say. There was still a long way to go to defeat Blight, and since they didn’t find the scroll while digging for Alpenglow, only one other option remained. "I’m sorry to bring this up, Alpenglow, but…"

"Don’t worry, Twilight, I know," he said quickly. "We need to head back to Ponyville and talk to the princesses."

"There’s no need for that," spoke an authoritative voice.

The ponies spun to face the patient room door, and there stood Princess Celestia and Luna, their majestic visages hampered only by a slight wilt in their shoulders and a few lines around the eyes.

Twilight turned to Alpenglow. "When they heard what happened, they came to Canterlot as soon as they could."

"We’re so relieved to see all of you safe," said Princess Celestia.

"And you needn’t worry, Alpenglow," assured Luna, "Discord has taken our place alongside Cadance and Shining Armor. He is currently studying the box, which we recovered from the forest with the help of Smoke Jumper and some other guards. All we need now is the spell. We must have it in order to understand how we may the channel the Elements of Harmony."

"How're we supposed to do that, Princess?" asked Applejack. "Didn’t Twilight tell ya what happened in her letter?"

"Yes," replied Luna, "but there remains one last place to search. As long as he is willing to remember, Alpenglow’s memories will reveal the spell, as he must have used it during his last battle." She turned to Alpenglow. "The last time we tried, you were not willing. The memory was too painful. Even now you choose to forget." Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the brusqueness in Luna’s voice melted away as she asked, "Alpenglow, are you ready to remember?" He nodded. "Then perhaps we should have some privacy."

"No, it’s alright," he said, turning to face everypony. "It’s your choice, everyone. After the things I’ve said to you, you deserve to know everything, but only if you want to."

"Are you kidding? I’m right behind you, Alp’," Rainbow declared with a confident grin.

"Me too," added Fluttershy.

"We all are," agreed Twilight, putting her hoof on his shoulder.

Luna nodded approvingly. "Then prepare yourselves."

Everypony gathered in a circle. Luna’s horn began to glow, and as she brought it to rest upon Alpenglow's head, a bright light engulfed them all.
 

At first, nothing changed, but then the warm colors of the wallpaper oozed and sank into the floor, leaving behind a rainbow of dirt to decorate the hospital room. The tile beneath the ponies became blackish mud that swallowed their hooves as the bed and all other furniture faded from view. The only feature that survived the transformation was the window light, but even that eventually decayed into a lifeless overcast glow.

Ponyville was a pile of rubble. Burning thatchwork roofs tore and imploded within the confines of their walls. The earth of the streets contorted painfully, shattering into dried wedges where the intersections once lied. A powerful vice squeezed Twilight’s chest, and she gasped for air as her mind fought back to reality. This wasn’t Ponyville.

Everypony stood under a sweeping archway, the griffin town's former entrance. Petrified, Twilight and her friends' transparent faces scanned the town. There was a deathly quiet, only broken by settling dust and crumbling debris, though that may have been preferable once an even harsher sound emerged.

"This is your fault, Alpenglow!" screamed a voice.

Further ahead, three ponies stood in the middle of a broken street, and though they all were covered in dirt, Twilight could recognize Alpenglow and Tawny Timbre by their helmets. Tawny was holding back the third, a large stallion wearing a bulky armet. He was trying to claw his way closer to Alpenglow, who stood facing the ravaged town.

"Come on, Nautilus, that’s enough!" shouted Tawny, her grip barely holding.

"But it is! He wouldn’t listen!"

"You need to calm down!"

"He turned us into monsters!"

"Calm down, Nautilus!"

"No…NO!"

"Stop!" Tawny desperately pulled at him, tears in her eyes. "Alp...?!"" she called desperately.

The sight of Alpenglow in his helmet had also become much too familiar to Twilight by now. The visor, the flaking rust, the jagged corners- the very glimpse of it all made her uneasy on reflex. Nautilus had slackened in Tawny's grip, and she let him go. Alpenglow silently turned to face his fellow knights. Perhaps it was an illusion, but when finally he talked, his mouth didn't move to match the words.

"We have to keep moving if we’re going to catch him. Let’s go."

Tawny took a step towards him. "Alpenglow, you’re not just gonna ignore this, are you?"

"The griffins made it out."

"But they’ve got nowhere to go! It’s over a hundred miles to the closest settlement with no supplies...you know that."

"They chose to leave on their own, and we’re not in any position to help them. Our mission is to capture Blight. Nothing else matters."

"Princess Celestia never said that."

"I’m saying it. He’s done too much damage to turn back now. We need to move out and find him before the trail goes cold. If we don’t, then this was all for nothing."

The ponies watched as Alpenglow and Tawny began to walk off. The other stallion, Nautilus, sat in the dirt, his gaze trapped in the crumbling town. "We could’ve stopped this," he whispered hoarsely. "All we had to do was walk away."

Alpenglow stopped dead in his tracks and spun to face his distraught friend. "We had Blight cornered and I made the call to move in. There’s nothing else to it."

Nautilus sprung to his hooves. "This town is gone!"

"I made the call, not you."

"Why?! I thought we were a team!"

"We are, Nautilus, but the fact is we have a job to do, whether you’re willing to do it or not."

Nautilus tore off his helmet. It landed before Alpegnlow with a sickening scrape against the dried soil.

"Do it yourself," the large knight spat. "I’m done. You’d better be too, Tawny, if you know what’s good for you." With that, he started on his journey to nowhere, its first leg marked by the flat wasteland that lay just beyond the rows of ruined cottages.

Alpenglow picked up the helmet. He scowled at it a moment, then without warning, violently threw it down. The hollow steel screeched as it bit the dirt again, spinning uncontrollably until it pitifully rolled to a stop some meters away.

Luna shivered, and with the slightest tremble said, "This…this is too early. I will try to bring us closer." Her horn flared again.

The world around the ponies fast forwarded. When it stopped, they were standing at the end of a claustrophobic tunnel. Behind them sat a sheer wall of dirt, forcing their gaze forward towards a curving path that stretched into a hungry void, like the esophagus of some giant beast. In the dark, it took the ponies a few seconds to notice Alpenglow lying on the ground in front of them. He was covered in dirt and breathing heavily. Rainbow Dash flew over to his side, only to have her hooves pass through his.

"Remember, everypony," said Luna, "these are Alpenglow’s memories. We are simply observers. He cannot see or hear us, nor can we say or do anything that affects him. All of this happened long ago."

A dusty cough cut Luna off. Slowly, Alpenglow came to and quickly walked through everypony. Throwing off his helmet, he began to dig through the wall. It was several minutes before the wall of dirt collapsed, revealing another layer of heavy boulders. Alpenglow huffed in frustration before putting his mouth to a gap in the rocks.

"Tawny?" He put his ear against the opening. No answer. "Come on, Tawny, if you’re there, I need to hear you."

After several seconds, Twilight heard another cough, this time from the other side of the rocks.

"Yeah, I’m here." Tawny made a sound that was half cough, half desperate laugh. "That probably could’ve gone better."

Alpenglow let out a deep breath. "Yeah, that’s about right. You ok?"

"I’m fine. Landed kind of funny and twisted my leg a bit, but nothing serious. I’m wrapping it now." There was a brief pause. "How come they’re not swarming us?"

"I don’t know. Looks like that trap collapsed the cave leading in. It might’ve crushed the vines, too. Either way, he probably knows we’re coming, so we’re gonna have to move fast." He looked past Twilight and everypony towards the tunnel that lead deeper into the cave. "These tunnels have to meet up somewhere. Start heading down yours and we’ll find each other. You got it, Tawny?"

Alpenglow peered through the whole, searching for Tawny, when her face suddenly appeared in the gap. Even now, the hazel of her eyes cut through the inky blackness. With no room to spare, she squeezed her hoof between the boulders and grasped Alpenglow’s.

"Sounds like a plan, Alp’. I’ll see you on the other side. You be careful, ok?"

He nodded, squeezing her hoof. "Always."

With a steadfast smile, Tawny disappeared from the opening. Alpenglow scooped up his helmet, considered putting it on, but decided he already had enough trouble seeing. Attaching it to his saddlebag, the knight began to wander down the tunnel alone, his invisible entourage following close behind.

Irrational though it was, Twilight began to worry as the minutes dragged on and the tunnel continued with no visible end for Alpenglow, his last torch now little more than a cinder on a stick. Neither he nor anypony else had seen a sign of Tawny Timbre, or the path she had taken.

As the last bit of light bled from the stick's burnt tip, the tunnel miraculously opened up into an awe-inspiring cavern. Stalactites high in the roof glittered as their speckles winked and danced from one to another, water steadily trickling from their coned bottoms all the while, a pitter-patter symphony to compliment the ballet of ripples that took place on the surface of the ponds- luminescent, turquoise dots perforating the stone floor.

Twilight could see the magical scene was lost on Alpenglow as he marched through the ponds. His cloak was dripping by the time he reached the edge of a huge lake. A little island sat in the middle of it, as well as a tiny light that seemed to hover in midair. A jump and a strong flap of his wings sent Alpenglow bounding onto the pebbled shore, his hooves denting the loose gravel sheet.

A small stone desk lay in the middle of the island, covered in carving tools, scrolls, and quills. A small lamp sat there as well, its flame still fresh and strong. Twilight leaned forward to find a better view over Alpenglow’s shoulder as he inspected the scrolls, but found it pointless. Gibberish and alien symbols filled each to the margins, which he apparently couldn’t read either, as he brushed them aside and focused on the shape that loomed on the other side of the desk: a large box, with a chain attached to the lid. As he approached it, the imposing container showed its face, adorned with strange symbols that had no doubt been carved by the tools on the desk.

Before he could inspect it any further, a soft splash to the knight's left brought out his sword. Everypony followed his gaze as he scanned the surface of the lake. Whatever had made the sound, it was well hidden at the bottom. The glowing turquoise water was no longer a delicate mosaic of ripples, but instead came at Alpenglow in distorted waves, soaking his hooves as he baited himself towards the lake edge.

With a deep-pitched splash, a vine pierced the surface of the water- a thorned viper- and pounced. In a single move, Alpenglow dove to the right as he swung. The severed tip of the vine landed with a dull thud.

Flailing like a whip, the remaining stump stopped to smack the lamp off the desk before retracting into the lake. Everypony, Alpenglow included, could only watch as the lamp skittered across the rock, plunging into the lake with a splash and a hiss.

Once the water had settled, nothing in the cavern moved. Despite the water's glow, it was hard to see. Alpenglow stood defiantly in the dark, completely still, listening for any sign of movement. If Blight attacked now, he would come from the water again, or perhaps the ceiling, but he didn’t come. Slowly another vine rose from the water, calmly, holding something Twilight couldn’t make out. With an almost negligent gesture, the vine threw whatever it was holding. The object landed, making another awful metallic scrape against the rock. Alpenglow looked down, and the sword slipped from his grasp.

It was Tawny’s helmet.

The ponies watched in horror as the hulking, wriggling mass of Blight emerged from the lake like some fairytale sea monster. Alpenglow gently picked up Tawny’s helmet, his eyes lifelessly fixed on it as Blight began to circle him.

"Alas, poor Tawny Timbre…will not have her swan song." Blight pondered the helmet, considering its worn, scratched surface. "She really was the best of you. Even then, I doubt I'll ever understand how you two were so close."

Alpenglow roared as threw the helmet at Blight, then dove for his sword. A wall of vines stormed forward, but the flurry of hacks from the enraged knight were too savage, too accurate, and in groups of twos and threes, the vines fell to pieces, their sharpened tips giving up only inches from his sap covered boots. Blight pulled away, wincing. Even now, he did not attack. Instead, he gave a pained groan as he clutched his injured vines. Now Alpenglow circled him, his stance low and sword clenched between his teeth.

"You’re angry, Alpenglow. I understand that. You have every right to be, but you need to know what I did wasn't-"

Alpenglow threw himself at Blight, plunging his sword deep into the wooden body. The two struggled for a moment before Blight wrestled him away, holding him at arm’s length with a pair of vines. Sword still stuck in his side, Blight continued, though with more difficulty.

"- it wasn’t personal, you know that, right? Celestia forced my hand when she sent you after me. It’s her fault we’ve been doing this for the last three months. And while you've done your best to make my life as miserable as possible, despite our differences, I have nothing but respect for you."

Alpenglow ignored him as he clawed and bit at the vines. Clearly wrapped up in his own words, Blight went on talking.

"What you don’t yet understand, Alpenglow, is that ever since I was one of Starswirl’s students, I knew I saw things differently. I can give us a future beyond anything you've ever known. Immortality, ultimate knowledge, we can have it all."

Blight frowned as he realized Alpenglow was still struggling. With a simmering huff, he waited. Surely enough, Alpenglow tired after several minutes, and eventually stopped, though his eyes reignited, as did Twilight's, when they refocused on Blight. His shaded silhouette seemed to revel in the dark, seamlessly merging into the wet charcoal canvas of the walls as the thorned tendrils of his torso shifted and coiled.

"You’ve never been one to deny what's right in front of him. You’ve made some tough decisions the last few months, ones that nopony like the princesses could’ve made. You kept your team together the best you could, and carried on when they didn't have the heart to. Loyalty to your friends and mission, that's a principle I understand, Alpenglow. I applaud it, in fact. Someone like you could change the world. Your only fault is having been raised by a couple of spoiled, lofty-minded ponies who think they know what’s best for everyone."

Alpenglow shook his head. "You're insane," he muttered, and for a moment, Blight just stared through him, lost in memory. Gradually, his face contorted in barely stifled rage. His wooden lips pursed so tightly, they looked as though they might crack.

"Really? I’m not the one who destroyed a dozen towns because some prissy princess told me to! I’m not the one who drove the only friends he ever had to this!"

Four vines shot from Blight. Arcing through the air, they dove into the lake, breaking the surface again before the water had even settled. In their grasp they held four statues, which dripped on Alpenglow as they descended in a ring around him. As his he turned to each of them, his face turned pale as theirs towered over him, glowering in sorrow and contempt as they pierced him from every direction.

"It didn't take me long to find them, Alpenglow. They were more than happy to become statues after what you forced them to do. I kept them around with hopes that I could persuade you to join me. No more games, no more pointless fighting and running. But Tawny couldn't accept that. Celestia had gotten too far with her. But I know you'll make the right choice."

Twilight didn't have to be psychic to know what Alpenglow was thinking. He held his forehead with his hoof, shaking it in a sad weariness. "No...you’re lying. They’d never help you. It...you won't win."

"You really think so?" Blight shook his head. "Here, take a look at this," he said hospitably as he walked past the desk, stopping at the box Alpenglow had seen earlier. From within the folds of his body, Blight produced a torch and lit it. More clearly now, Twilight saw the strange carved symbols on the box, but within the jumble of shapes and ancient letters, she saw two very familiar ones: a sun on the front of the box, and a crescent moon stamped onto the shackle at the end of the chain.

"Between four of her knights and this, I have more than enough help and leverage. I don’t suppose you ever studied enough magic to understand what this is. An old project of mine when I was still a student. Celestia will go in the box, Luna on the chain. Once they’re in it, their magical power will be pitted against one another, trapping both of them until…well, forever."

"It won’t work."

"Of course it will. I designed it so they will have no choice but to fight. Imagine it, the two royal sisters, bound together in a battle that will last for all eternity. I never had Starswirl's passion for words, but I’d say there’s some poetry in there, given their history."

His attention set proudly on his work, Blight unwittingly let the vine holding Alpenglow swing closer. With a desperate twist of his body, the knight grabbed the handle of his sword and pulled it from the decaying trunk. In a single movement, he cut the vine holding him and landed on his hooves.

Blight grimaced, though in pain or anger, Twilight couldn't tell. He looked down at his body, the majority of his vines severed now. "You still want to fight. Fine, I guess you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But believe me, Alpenglow, by the time this is all said and done, you'll see I was right...even if I have to grind you into the dirt to prove it."

With a roar, Blight went into a ferocious leap. Alpenglow dodged him with ease and shot toward the ceiling, his wings blowing misty waves upon the cavern floor.

"It’s over, Blight." Alpenglow opened his saddlebag and pulled out three shaped gems: a shield, a scale, and a cornucopia. He closed his eyes, and a purple haze began to trail from them as the gems began to burn in the air. Alpenglow’s mouth was moving, muttering something, and Twilight strained to hear it. She looked to Princess Celestia, who nodded sluggishly; she had heard it.

With his last three complete vines, Blight grabbed hold of the gems. The cave, now a blazing inferno, grew ever brighter as beams of light shot between the three gems, connecting them. Alpenglow opened his eyes, now a sickly green. A beam shot from the center of three gems, cutting into Blight. Despite everything, he roared again and held on even tighter.

Then, the gems shattered, throwing both of them to the ground. The two watched in disbelief as the sparkling dust rained around them. Blight huffed as he lay on the floor, obviously hurt by the Elements of Heroism, and rubbed his head.

"Well," he said, "either the relics weren't stable when the old goat first made them..." He looked at Alpenglow. "...or the pony who used them wasn't compatible. Don't be too hard on yourself. Just another one of Celestia's lies. She'd sooner blame me than accept the fact that this is just the real you. Still, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. Like Nautilus said, all you had to do was stop."

Alpenglow shut his eyes, shaking his head. "No...everything...all this...it was your fault."

"If you say so. I think the griffins would disagree."

"I was trying to save them."

"Really?" Blight held out a flower. It opened, and a panorama of burning towns painted the cavern walls. The statues of Alpenglow's friends took on a life of their own, their faces all bearing down on him once more.

"You're no savior, Alpenglow. Your talents lie elsewhere. It's just as well- it's an overrated profession."

Alpenglow whispered, almost too low to hear, "I-I didn't mean to hurt anybody..."

"No, no, of course not." Taking a vine, Blight draped it over Alpenglow's shoulder, like a reassuring parent. "You wanted to do what you thought was right. But right and wrong aren't for everypony, Alpenglow. Ponies like you and I do these things because we know the price of making the world a better place. It's our...duty, you could say. To help the weaker, more simple-minded ones along, the ones that believe they can run things without getting their hooves in the dirt." Finally he added, "But you're not one of them. You understand how it works now. You fought a good fight, but it’s time to stop fighting."

Alpenglow gave no sign that he heard any of that, but at last he turned his head at Blight. The stallion's eyes were dirty, yellowed like globes of oily kerosene, his face locked in a dead stare that made Twilight's face numb.

"No, Blight...it’s time to start."

With a bite whose sound echoed through the cavern, Alpenglow chomped down on the vine Blight had placed around him and began marching towards the box.

"Alpenglow, wait...! No! No, no, no!" Blight screamed as he frantically clawed at Alpenglow, the ground, and any rock that promised him refuge from his own twisted creation.

His reluctant burden still in tow, Alpenglow threw open the box, heaved Blight into it, and with a final violent pull, slammed the lid shut. Muffled shouts continued to steam from it, but the knight ignored them as he picked up and sheathed his sword. He took one last look back at the statues and Tawny's helmet, lying still on the ground. Grim determination personified, Alpenglow donned his helmet and placed the shackle around his neck. The ring of rusty metal snapped close, and the memory came to an end.

Author's Note:

Any of you Spec Ops: The Line fans will probably catch the parallel here. I hadn't always meant for it to be so explicit, but decided it'd make a good Easter egg, and would fit the scene well.

Generally, the big challenge of writing this is to keep the tone light enough to keep it recognizable as MLP, but still venture into serious enough areas and situations, like the comics do. In the end, it creates an experience that has both the charm of the show as well as some underlying, more mature themes for older audiences.