From Dusk to Night

by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

43 - Foreign Foes

After a, thankfully, uneventful rest of the night, we set out at the crack of dawn. Even though we were back in the Badlands, I found myself distracted. Going under the assumption that Merri had beat us to the Forge, I’d asked Night if Bellerophon could recall the layout. That was how three-quarters of a map ended up in my flight satchel. The troubling part was just how huge that map was. On top of that, not only were we searching a hostile city, but a hostile military city—by Ostfriesen standards of military. Assuming we were able to get in undetected, we’d almost assuredly have to split up in order to cover the requisite ground. After all, the longer we stayed, the more we were at risk. But then if someone got into trouble, they’d have no backup. I was especially worried about Night, because this would be one-thousand times more taxing than talking to an innkeeper. Sure, he had Bellerophon if push came to shove, but as far as I was concerned, we’d already had to call on his power too much.

However, there was hope, in that we did have an opening, even if its cause was otherwise an ill omen. Night had somehow accidentally tricked the innkeeper into revealing he was a collaborator. When he showed Star the paper with a crude drawing of Bellerophon’s cutie mark—a wing overlaid by a lance—my suspicions about the so-called hunt were confirmed. While a steady stream of reinforcements for Firetail’s scheme meant needing to evade more soldiers, it also meant many new faces would be passing the Forge’s gates. If we played our cards just right, perhaps we could gain a window of free rein.

As it turned out, my absent-mindedness mattered little. I don’t know if it was the fake hunt being very committed to keeping the front up, or just the inevitability of having to fight Badlands monsters, but the road was eerily quiet. It only took a few hours of travel to see why monsters would stay clear of us. Every half-hour or so, we’d come across one or more corpses, each stripped of their trophy horns or teeth. Only the surprisingly normal carrion dared venture near.

The farther Bellerophon led us, the quieter it became. I began to wonder just what we were up against. In my mind, rows of elite soldiers appeared, forming a line between us and the Forge's thirty-foot walls. Atop those walls stood an endless expanse of archers and mages, all outlined in the sinister red glow of the volcano. I shook my head. Focus. There’s no use getting intimidated before we even arrive.

The journey continued without incident, and, finally, as we rounded yet another a hill, a series of mountains came into view. While the peaks were omnipresent in the Badlands, this was about as clearly as I’d seen them since we arrived at Fort Rhenish. Even among them, though, there was one that stood hundreds of feet above the rest. There was no mistaking it: this was the Forge.

But it wasn’t like anything I’d imagined. The whole thing was dark, its features almost washed out by the falling sun. There were no looming fort, no army barring its gates. In fact, if not for its size, the mountain wouldn’t even stand out. Upon reflection, it only made sense—such things were hardly covert.

What was probably the most telling feature was the road. When we’d started out, it looked well maintained, especially for something that only led out into a highly hostile wilderness. I supposed they needed to keep some distance in front of the fort safe, but still. After about the halfway point, it started to get much rougher and more neglected, something entirely expected. At first glance, the road we were on seemed about the same, but it was also subtly maintained. The whole thing was still clearly beaten and rugged, but they were all minor blemishes. A few of what I suspected had been deep potholes looked like they’d been filled in somewhat recently.

Bellerophon picked up on it too and Night’s pace slowed. As our hoofsteps became less frequent, a faint crunching intermingled with ours. I was surprised it had taken this long to even come close to encountering anyone else. I wondered if it would be a Forge patrol or one of the fake hunting parties. Not that it mattered, as our cover story was going to be the same either way.

After a few more feet, a couple hoof marks, veering off toward the side of the road, caught my eye. The tracks ended there, but I followed the extrapolated path into the ditch. Another half-print drew me toward a formation of rocks. I circled very carefully, just in case someone, or some people, were lying in wait.

Luckily, despite being somewhat scattered, the rocks were all positioned in such a way that one angle let me see behind all of them. When I realized no one was there, I let out a breath.

That was when I spotted it: a small crossbow, just like the ones Merri uses, lay on its side, half-buried in dirt. The bow string had snapped, both fragments flapping in the air every time a breeze passed by. I didn’t know what to think. I wanted to believe it wasn’t hers. After all, there’s no way she was the only one to use such weapons and many people were coming up this way. On the other hoof, it was the right model in the right place, so could I really deny it?

“What is it?” Night asked as he stepped up beside me.

“I think I found a crossbow, but I don’t know whose. Solanum?” I glanced over my shoulder.

Moving with an uncharacteristic impatience, Star trotted over the crossbow and stared down at it. After a moment, she lifted it up in her magic, examining the butt. “Those bastards.”

I swallowed hard.

Then Star took off, zipping back up to the road with an eery lack of noise.

“Wh-what? Solanum!” I hissed. But she’d already disappeared.

Night and I exchanged worried glances before breaking off after her.

Tracking Star wasn’t too hard, since, while I’d lost sight of her, I knew her origin and general direction. In addition, there were only two targets that made sense: the hoofsteps or the mountain. My money was on the former. Of course, the difficult part was catching up to her without raising suspicion; this wasn’t a race to see who could blow our cover first.

As I crested the next hill, I caught sight of the patrol: a trio of earth ponies ambling down the path. But something wasn’t right. Sure, they were openly armed, with a mix of hoofblades and spears, but these weren’t elite soldiers. In fact, they hardly looked like soldiers at all. To me, these were half-starved farmers in patchwork militia barding—and that was probably being generous.

I crouched low, motioning to Night to do the same.

We'd been watching them for mere seconds when Star leapt from behind a boulder. Two of them only had enough time to raise their weapons before a single stroke put an end to each of them. The third managed a clumsy strike that Star swept aside before turning and driving her hind hooves into the side of her opponent’s helmet. A dull clang proceeded a heavy thud, then silence.

There was little we could do but rush down to Star. If anyone saw us now, there would be no explaining this away.

“What are you doing?!” I half-whispered.

“I will tell you after. Just move the bodies. Quickly.” Star trotted back behind the boulder from whence she came, the third pony trailing in her magic.

With some effort, Night and I got the other two ponies off the path. There was hardly any blood—the wounds were already cauterized. I shuddered.

Once the corpses were out of sight, I doubled back, hastily covering our tracks. By the time I returned, Star had already moved the rest of the patrol. She quickly led us around a slalom of rock pillars before reaching a cave that carved its way downward. Even considering her magic, it was hard to believe she’d picked out such a place and planned her attack so quickly. Her efficiency was nothing short of frightening.

The earth pony was already hogtied, lying on her back in one of the least-dignified positions possible. Between that, the sickly greenish brown of her coat and the dimness of the cave, she almost looked like a big dead bug.

Star strode over and gave the mare’s head a push. When there was no response, Star shook her rather violently.

“Gah! I didn’t mean to oversleep, Sarge, I swear!” The mare’s eyes snapped open and darted around. When she saw Star, confusion turned into a mix of hate and fear.

Without skipping a beat, Star began, “I am not in the mood to play games. I have two questions for you, answer and this will all be over swiftly.”

“Or what?” The mare’s eyes drifted over to the lifeless corpses of her companions. “You’ll kill me? L-like them? You won’t get anything that way!”

Star’s expression remained cold. “No, I will not kill you. I will ask less nicely. Now, answer me. A red unicorn came this way. What did you do with her, and what is the fastest way to enter the Forge?”

Our prisoner struggled against the ropes, but when they wouldn’t budge, she grunted, “I won't tell you anything.”

“Very well. Know that this could have been avoided.” Star held her hoofblade high until the mare’s eyes found it. A rag slid over the prisoner’s mouth as the blade slowly descended.

The mare screamed, her agony clawing its way through the gag, as Star’s hoofblade slid across her chest. A small plume of flame trailed behind the steel, emanating a sickly smell. At last, the screams fell to a whisper, followed by sobbing. “M-monster!”

Thing was, I couldn’t disagree. What Star had just done left me frozen, speechless. I’d never believed Star capable of such a reprehensible act. I still didn’t want to believe it, wondering when I’d wake up in Fort Mareginot to find this all an unfounded twist of a dream.

Star loomed over her. “My signet is not a simple pattern. It will take many strokes to complete. Consider your answers carefully.”

“Th-there's a path out to the ash plains in the east! It's lightly guarded! Just the gatekeeper and he’s always sneaking off for naps!” the prisoner blurted out.

“And? What of the Red unicorn who was taken captive?”

“What?” Confusion returned to the mare’s face. “Wh-what red unicorn?”

Star sighed, raising her blade again.

“N-no! I don’t know! I swear! We’ve hardly even seen anypony a-and we certainly haven’t captured a red unicorn!”

“Wrong answer.”

At last, I pushed the shock aside, leaping forward and parrying Star’s hoof with my wing. “Solanum! Stop! What are you doing?!”

“I am doing what is necessary.” Star’s glare turned to me. “We have to find her.”

I shook my head. “Pain and suffering is necessary on the battlefield. This is cold-blooded cruelty.”

Even though he looked like he was going to be sick, Night stepped up beside me, holding his head more or less level. “I… I can’t let you do anymore of this. I’m… I’m sorry, we need to keep moving.”

“I agree,” I said, lowering my wing. “She’s already told us what she knows. We can get more, concrete information once we’re inside.”

Star glared down at the prisoner, but after a moment, turned her head to the exit. “Fine. Then we must move. Assuming she has not lied to us, we can find this side entrance before nightfall.”

She started walking.

“A-and what about her?” Night asked.

“Leave her.” Star barely spared a step.

Night ran after her. “What? We can’t do that!”

With another sigh, Star stopped, turning just enough to give the prisoner a sideways glance. “We cannot have her returning to the Forge to warn them, nor do we have time to take her back somewhere safe. Either we leave her here, bound as she is, or we need to end her life.”

“N-no! You can’t do this! You can’t!” The mare struggled against the ropes again, but when she did little more than beat herself against the ground, she lay there, despondent.

There were no two ways about it: Star was right. Fort Mareginot was way too far back and freeing her was suicidally stupid. At least, freeing her now was. I held up a hoof before turning to the prisoner. “We’re going to leave you here, but we’ll be back. Unless, we’re walking into an ambush, of course.”

“I’m not lying! The passage is safe, I swear! I-if Old Ed challenges you, tell him, ‘I lay at the hooves of the Immortal Prince, Bellerophon.’” Desperation and hope flood the mare’s eyes. Upon closer examination, even outside of Star’s antics, the mare looked beaten and worn. It was almost heartbreaking, and a clear indication that something was very off about the Forge.

“Then that settles that.” I pushed the gag back into her mouth. “Sorry, but we can’t leave you without this.”

With that, I trotted to the exit, where I stopped, waiting for Star and Night. When they came up beside me, Star gave me a puzzled look. “Now what is it?”

“Something’s not right. Troops and supplies are invariably making their way out here, yet, this patrol was a bunch of half-starved amateurs. Why?”

“Um,” Night said. “Bellerophon says that the Forge takes a lot of ponies to reach full capacity. If they weren’t trying to draw attention, they probably weren’t using the whole thing.”

“All the better that we strike swiftly,” Star insisted.

I shook my head. “That may explain some of it, but the gap still seems too wide. Their armour looks like it was made by an Equestrian apprentice. Even if they had been the ones to catch Solanum by surprise, I have doubts that they could have won. What purpose does such an under-qualified patrol serve?”

“Wh-what?” Night whispered. “No... Why?”

“Night?”

“Bellerophon says… he says they might be decoys.”

“That would make sense,” Star added. “The typical Ostfriesen monster hunter would not give them a second glance.”

“So, they could slink around and report if anyone dangerous was snooping around.” I swallowed hard as the realization hit me. “Or, if they didn’t return, still serve as a warning.”

Silence lingered as we all looked at the ground. Wherever we were headed, it sure wasn’t paradise.

Comments

[Meta Four]

Star is scary. I'm glad Dusky and Night were able to talk her down.

[Yami Vizzini]

And now we're reminded of just how starkly different Star's upbringings and experiences are from Dusky's and Night's, and get an Obligatory War Crime Scene.

[Shachza]

7658599

I'm glad Dusky and Night were able to talk her down.

The difference between stabbing her with a sword and leaving her securely hogtied in a cave in the Ostfresian wilderness? She won't mind being eaten by whatever comes around at night if she is already dead.

At least, that's the impression I get. I mean, I hope for better, but I don't know that any option they have for her is actually more humane than any other. That's the real horror here; she may very well be dead no matter which path our characters take, it's just a matter of how painful an end she gets.

[Meta Four]

7663484 I got the impression that they intend to come back for her, after getting Terra back. Not ideal, but the best that could be hoped for.

[Shachza]

7663554

One can hope, right?

Maybe she'll be so relieved that she'll stick with them and find a better place in Equestria. It doesn't seem like the main Ostfresian country would be accepting of former separatists, eh?

[KuroiTsubasaTenshi]

7663554
Merriweather, not Terra. >.>

And yes, so long as she's able of it, Dusky fully intends to keep her word and come back.

[vdrake77]

Okay. I've read the first story and the first 20 chapters of this one in one very extended sitting.

This is a freaking FANTASTIC read thus far, and you should be incredibly proud of it.

[AppleTank]

7694540
Yea, its pretty cool

[KuroiTsubasaTenshi]

7694540
Thank you for your kind words. I'm happy to hear you tackled it with such enthusiasm.

Is there anything you liked more or less than average?

[vdrake77]

7700177 In general? Your characters are just a lot of fun. Your main character is capable but not excessively. I also like your take on certain forbidden magics and how the regular ponies have to handle them.