In Remembrance of Me

by Kalameet

Chapter 9: No Place to Run

Chapter 9: No Place to Run

Icarus sank his teeth into one of the juicy apples that lay before him. Finding the kitchen had been easy, as well as the fresh food stored there. The crate of apples were labeled from the Sweet Apple Acres Farm, so Icarus figured they would be untainted by any of the doctors' drugs. He spent the next several minutes munching on apple after apple until he was satisfied.

His stomach filled, he left the kitchen and headed toward the stairs. Icarus knew it would be best if he made his getaway before the carnage in the lobby was found. It had been a miracle that it was still undetected, and Icarus was thankful for that.

As if to rupture Icarus' bubble of comfort, an alarm sounded in the hallway, followed by a gruff voice over the hospital intercom.

"Attention all security guards! Report to the ground lobby immediately! No exceptions!"

They had found it. Icarus was hit by a wave a realization at the thought. Escape now would be near impossible.

"No," he whispered to himself. "I will make it out. I will not give up."

Icarus needed another escape plan. With the guards gathering in the lobby, that would no longer be a viable choice. His mind raced for another possibility.

"Hey you!"

Icarus turned around and gasped at the sight of the two guards running toward him. He broke into a sprint and made a dash for the stairs. They were just around the corner and he thought he might be able to lose them in the stairwell.

"Stop!" he heard one of them exclaim as they took chase.

He focused on his running speed with all his might, determined not to be apprehended. His hooves thrust against the floor as he heard the guards pursue him. He turned the corner. The stairs were right there, unguarded. Slightly relieved, he threw open the door to make his disappearance.

Unfortunately, a group of guards were going down the stairs just as Icarus had entered the stairwell. They turned and looked at him, wide eyed.

"Stop him!" shouted the guards behind Icarus. The guards in the stairwell regained their senses and lunged at Icarus almost simultaneously.

He fiercely shoved one of the guards out of the way and sprinted up the stairs, the guards scrambling after him. Up the stairs he bolted. The security ponies never ceased their barrage of threats if he didn't submit to them at once.

The stairs continued to spiral upwards as they all approached the end of the path. Icarus slammed into the door at the top and found himself on the roof of the hospital. The guards filed through the open doorway and formed a semicircle around Icarus. He backed away from their advance.

The night sky was lifeless and dark due to the fact that the moon was not visible through the thick clouds gathered above. The building rumbled at the thunder. Drops of rain began to fall shortly after. It all happened rather suddenly.

Icarus was making quick glances to the enclosing guards. His hoof slipped on the edge of the building, but he managed to regain his balance before he fell.

"Surrender yourself!" beckoned one of the guards. "There's no place for you to run!" His voice was slightly subdued in the steady rain.

He was right. As Icarus looked at the drop behind him, he realized the truth of the predicament he was in. The fall would kill him instantly, and there didn't seem to be anything between him and the hard ground to break his decent. He hung his head in defeat.

"I... No!" Icarus shouted. "I am not giving up! I would sooner jump into the abyss behind me than go back with you!"

Icarus scooted to the very edge of the ledge as they continued closer. He wasn't bluffing. Adrenaline filled his bones, causing him to tremble in the pouring rain.

An idea struck Icarus as the closest guard reached out to grab him. Icarus seized his leg and spun around, using the water on the ground to better his momentum. After a full rotation, Icarus released the guard into the right side of the semicircle that the guards had made. In the split second of disorganization amongst them, Icarus leapt over the entangled bodies and headed to the open door.

As soon as he thought he would make it, a guard rammed into his side, causing him to slide away from the doorway. At this point, the squad had regained their senses and had surrounded Icarus again.

A flash lightning appeared and disappeared abruptly. Icarus' eyes widened as he noticed that Eve had shown herself upon the rooftop with them. In another burst of light, she was gone, and all the guards around him had been knocked unconscious and lay on the ground.

The falling rain that pelted Icarus was cold. A gust of wind blew around him, making him shiver. Eve had helped him, and he was grateful, but he only wished he could have asked her why she wanted him. He had learned more about her and wanted to know how he had been an accomplice with her before he had been taken here.

Icarus walked through the doorway into the hospital stairwell. He was finished. He had information, a plan, a full stomach, and a motive. He was ready to depart from this hospital forever.

---

Icarus hobbled his way through the Everfree Forest. The dense trees seemed to endlessly surround him. He knew the Tree of Harmony was deep inside it, but he didn't think it would be this deep. He continued onward.

His mind shifted to think about what he had done in Ponyville. He thought about how cruel he had been to Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, and, most of all, Rainbow Dash. He shuddered at the thought of her nearly lifeless body gasping for air as it lay crumpled in the remains of the square.

Icarus hadn't planned on hurting her that severely, but his anger had gotten the better of him. He needed to control his emotions. They made him act reckless and harsh without restraint.

He remembered the surprised expression that had been frozen on Twilight's face when she had been trapped in ice. Although she couldn't move, Icarus knew she had been analyzing him, trying to come up with a way to free herself and fight back. He was fortunate to have fled Ponyville before she thawed out.

The trees were beginning to thin out. A couple minutes later, he was standing in a large opening of the Everfree Forest. To his right was a canyon that had stairs leading to its base. The Tree of Harmony was supposed to be at the mouth of a cave somewhere near here in the base of the canyon.

Icarus thought about Rarity as he descended the stairs. If he had found her only seconds later, she would have been corrupted from the Alicorn Amulet. He knew she would have been tempted by it, so he wanted to stop her. Perhaps he felt obligated to help because of what he had done only minutes before.

He reached the bottom of the canyon and began to follow the traces of magical energy he felt guide him. His broken leg was in less pain now due to the healing spell he conjured up after his battle with Dash and Applejack. Hopefully it would be good as new by the time his business here was finished.

Icarus turned a corner in the canyon. He noticed a faint light resonate from an opening in the wall up ahead. He increased his pace. Shortly after, he was gazing into the mouth of the cave.

The Tree of Harmony lit up the area as dusk began to set its shadows within the canyon walls. Icarus noticed five large branches that extended from the tree which held five of the Elements of Harmony, as well as the central trunk that contained the most powerful one of all.

Dusk had begun to extend its shadows over the canyon walls. He had hoped to be done by now, but he could delay his assault on Canterlot another day if it was necessary.

Icarus carefully removed the first five stones from their sockets in the tree. One by one, he drained them of their power. It got progressively easier with each one. Lastly, he removed the element of magic and took its power, although it was significantly more difficult than the others.

Icarus looked at the powerless elements that lay piled at the base of the tree. They had lost their glow, as well as their traces of magical strength. He turned to leave, but a voice caught his ears.

"Yes, I'm sure!" It was Rarity. "After only speaking a few words to me, he just stumbled into the forest in this direction. I had no idea what he had done however, so I made no effort to stop him."

Twilight spoke next. "We need to be extremely careful around him. I don't know why he wasn't hostile towards you, but I'm glad you're ok. He was probably headed to the Tree of Harmony. I hope we can intercept him there."

Icarus chuckled to himself. If they found him before he left, he knew he could obliterate them after what he had just gained. But what fun would that be? Icarus enjoyed a good challenge every now and then.

Four mares entered the cave opening and glared at Icarus and the lifeless elements piled next to him. They included Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

"I don't want any trouble," cautioned Icarus. "I apologize for what I did to your companions in Ponyville. I lost my temper, but I can't guarantee that it won't happen again."

Twilight lost it. "Do you have any idea of what you've done?! You almost killed Rainbow Dash, and we're still not sure if she will recover! Her wings were broken so badly that it will be a miracle if she ever flies again! You also terrified Fluttershy so much that after we thawed her out, we couldn't tell if she was still frozen because she was petrified from fear of you! And you expect us just to let you go?!" She was panting hard, fire in her eyes.

The others looked at the ground grimly as they reflected their friends' fates.

"Please, my matters don't concern you anymore. I don't want to hurt anyone else other than those I've targeted already. Twilight, you don't understand what I've gone through to be here. You don't know what hell I've had to escape from to finish this journey. If you were in my hooves, you would have done the same thing."

"I would never do something like that! I'm not like you! You're a monster!" Twilight retaliated.

"I supposed so, but if being a monster is what it takes to take back what has been stolen from me, I will be the most feared monster to have ever existed."

Icarus sensed the urge to take revenge flow from Twilight. Before she could do anything, he froze all their hooves to the ground to keep them from moving. He then coated his body with an anti-magic covering to protect himself from any spells Twilight might cast.

"You see, I have acquired a large sum of power in the past few weeks. Using this power, I will reclaim what has been taken from me, and nopony will stop me."

"Icarus walked past Twilight and the others.

"Wait!" she blurted. "Who are you? What is it that you lost that you so desperately crave?"

"Hmph," Icarus shrugged. "Listen carefully. I will say this only once. My name is Icarus. Only months ago I was confined in a deranged hospital that specialized in odd treatments. It was there that my memory was taken from me. I believe Celestia is responsible for my placement there, so I have been scouring the land for sources to fuel my magical abilities. Tomorrow I will find out what really happened to me. So, Twilight, is that the answer you wished for?"

Twilight's expressions become somber as she heard Icarus' backstory.

"That's what I thought," finished Icarus. He left the four mares standing in the canyon as he made his way toward Canterlot, the moon in the night sky illuminating the path for him.