Mending Light

by Kiromancer

29 - Resolve

I hadn't expected Tartarus to be so bright. I didn't know where else I could be, for surely there was nowhere else which could make a pony feel so abandoned, alone, and utterly hopeless. A featureless hell, blindingly bright in all directions, which for all its warmth, felt isolated and alone.

But there was a voice. This hell is your own making, Night Light. This is what you feel, now. Or what you choose not to feel. Lost, alone, isolated, but you are none of those things. Come.

The voice faded, and the great nothingness was replaced by a long hall of gleaming, elaborate marble columns which I swear I'd seen before, though I knew I'd never been to such a place. I slowly uncurled and found my footing, the floor feeling surprisingly solid for a surface which hadn't existed moments before.

"Come? Where? Why?" My head drooped as I stared down at the foreign marble tiling. "What's the point?"

Dusky's voice echoed through the halls. "You're stronger than you think."

"Dusky? Dusky, where are you?" My ears perked back up, trying to locate the source of her call. "I... I don't know what to do..."

The other voice returned, certainly not Dusky's. It was a male voice, hard and commanding. So swift to surrender? How disappointing, I thought you were worthy.

The words cut to the quick, but there was something hauntingly familiar about that speaker. "I... I've heard your voice before. Wh-what is this?"

It has taken time to make you hear me. Whispers at first, in moments when I could reach out to you. I can give more answers when you arrive. Now come.

I looked over my shoulder, and found only darkness behind me. "Wh-what about Dusky? Where is she?"

You already know. I can help you save her. I can help you fight.

There was something tantalizing about the darkness, inviting in a terrifying way. My heart still hurt, and part of me wanted to simply fall back and let that pain go. The abyss beckoned, but I knew that was wrong. There was something else though, something strong.

The pain in my heart was intense, but it only hurt so much because I was starting to realize just how much Dusky truly meant to me. It was fear. Fear I'd lost her, but there was also strength. The knowledge that I couldn't let her down, not now. Not when she needed her friends more than ever. I took a step forward.

The step became a canter, then I broke into a gallop. Wherever I was, I had to get out of here. I had to find out what had happened to Dusky, to find her and help her however I could. Not because of some stupid need to be a hero, I'd made a promise. I had to help her because I knew she’d do the same for me.

My hooves skidded to a halt as the columns suddenly ended, the long ornate hall shifted in appearance to become the walkway in Myrtail Beach. The marble was now a rough stone path, with the familiar hotel towards the end. I looked backwards to find the hall, but again, there was only darkness.

"Wh-what is this? Where am I?"

Continue forward, do not hesitate.

I grit my teeth and charged forward into Myrtail. My wings unfurled and I pushed up, flying over the street far faster than I could run. The scenery shifted time and again, from Myrtail Beach's streetscape, to the Snowpony festival in Fetlock Falls, then to the nighttime streets of Canterlot, and then to the familiar terrain of Ponyville.

I kept flying, but found nothing. Dusky was nowhere to be found, and an emptiness within me grew. It dragged me down like an anchor around my legs. I flew for what felt like forever, but couldn't keep going. I sank to the ground, exhausted. "I... I can't. I can't go any further."

You can. You must!

I tried to walk again, but collapsed in exhaustion. As I fell, the grass parted into soft cloud, white puffs knocked loose around me. "Y-you. Answer me, who are you?"

We have met before, when I showed you my past, and my oaths.

My eyes rose to trace the room where I'd fallen. The cloud was familiar, and there was little doubt. This was my home, the living room of the cloud house I'd built in Ponyville. "Your past? Your... oaths? I don't know what you're talking about."

Stand. The voice ordered.

I breathed out a sigh, body sore and mind at its breaking point. I had reached whatever limits my heart had. "I... I can't."

You can. You choose not to, because that is the easy way out. But if you wish to fight for what you want, for what you believe in, then you must.

My legs strained to push upwards. "I... I don't even know who you are, or what this is all about. L-last thing I remember was... was Dusky. She's gone. I thought... I hoped... I don't know."

You would help her?

"Of course!" I pushed against the cloud, struggling to stand back up. "Of course, I promised her..."

A sky blue hoof lowered in front of my eyes. I can help you. Take my hoof, and stand.

I raised my hoof towards his, then hesitated. Something felt wrong, but I couldn't figure it out.

Take it!

I grabbed the hoof, and felt its strength lift me up. A now familiar pony stood before me, though I'd never truly met him, only seen him before in a dream. I stepped back, eyes wide in shock at the long dead pony before me. I should have run, or screamed in terror. I only stuttered out its name. "B-Bellerophon...?"

The ancient Ostfriesen Knight smiled, and it sent a chill through me. "I am. You have my word, Night Light, we shall see Dusky safe. You have my oath."

I woke with a start, breathing quickly as I fumbled about in an unfamiliar bed. The panic faded slowly as I recognized the room as one within the Lusty Seapony. Either Dad or Starshadow must have brought me up here after I'd broken down.

The vividness of the dream still lingered in my mind, and part of me wished it had all been a dream. Perhaps Mahogany had spiked my tea, and I'd gotten drunk and had a nightmare. My worst nightmare. Perhaps Dusky was still safe.

She is not. You know it was no dream, Night Light.

I nearly panicked again. The voice was in my head, completely distinct now, recognizable as coming from somepony else. I glanced around simply by instinct, searching for the source, but I knew that answer as well. Keeping calm as best I could, I quietly called out. "Bellerophon?"

I am, or was, Lord Bellerophon.

"H-how... how is that even possible? I don't understand." My mind raced for an answer, and the only thing I could imagine was the bracer, the hoof-blade that he had once worn, passed down to me as a gift from Merri and Starshadow, though that gave no explanations.

There will be time for that later. For now, you must prepare. there is much to do if we are to save your friend.

---

I don't know how late it was when I trotted down the stairs, but it was late enough that the bar was, for the first time ever to me, completely empty. A few muted lamps illuminated the room, ensuring I wasn't going to stumble through complete darkness.

The Barkeep wasn't at his post, likely in bed for the night as well, and his absence gave the whole place a forbidden atmosphere. I wasn't supposed to be here. No pony was, but the telltale light coming from beneath one of the backroom doors told a different story.

I crept up, leaning my head to tilt an ear. On the other side were voices, familiar and unfamiliar.

Mahogany's came through the loudest, which was a relief in itself. "They put a bag over her head and loaded her into a cart. They'd propped me up for that, made me watch. That's when they gave me the message and told me give it to all of you."

The room went deathly silent as I pushed open the door. I scanned the room, finding multiple faces peering back. Most were familiar, Merri and Starshadow, my Dad and my sister, Mint. Though there was one stranger amidst them who I couldn't place. They were all staring at me. I glanced at Mahogany and nodded. "A, um... a message?"

He nodded, closing his mouth and swallowing before he continued. "That... we're helpless against them. That what happened to Dusky will happen to all of us if we try to stop them."

I shook my head, closing the door behind me. "I refuse to accept that."

Mahogany snorted. "Well, me neither, Flurry. I don't care what anypony says, I'm going to help her, anyway I can."

"Good. Because I don't intend on backing down either." I looked at the other ponies in the room and smiled. "I'm guessing, we're all here to bring her back?"

"Of course. Dusky is our friend." Starshadow bowed her head. "It is good to see you back on your hooves, Night."

"We were worried." Merri's bow mirrored her sister's, even her expression lacking its usual levity. "And we're not gonna sit back and let her just get taken."

The stranger, an orange unicorn with a vibrant red mane, spoke up. "I'd told her I'd help, no matter what. I just wish I'd been here."

"Don't we all." Mint looked at me oddly, then nodded. "Night, this is Blaze. She's a good friend of Dusky's. Dad's had an eye on her for awhile, and after she got transferred to Canterlot, she's been training with me."

My dad had sat with his head down since I'd entered. Now, he looked up at me, his eyes sunken. "Night, this is all my fault, and I will make it better."

"No." I stepped up to the table. "I spent a lot of time thinking. I already blamed everyone. I blamed you, I blamed Mahogany. I... I blamed myself. I can't do that anymore. Casting blame gets us nowhere. And... and Dusky is still in danger. Dad... you have a plan."

It wasn't a question, because I already knew the answer. He wouldn't be here if he wasn't ready.

He was watching me carefully, a faint smile crossing his face before he turned his attention to the table. "There's been preparations being made for this for awhile now, though to really go through with the intended plan, I'd hoped for more time."

Starshadow cleared her throat, her voice carrying obvious disapproval. "Time we do not have, Sir Noble."

"I'm aware. This wasn't a rescue plan initially, either, so we'll have to improvise." He reached for a scroll setting on the table and unfolded it, wings spreading the map. With a nod to Starshadow, she levitated weights onto the corners. "This is the building where she'll be taken."

"We know where she is?!" My eyes tried to take it all in at once, though I was no expert on blueprints. There were multiple floors, each big enough to fit a building the size of the Lusty Seapony inside of it, and then split into a staggering number of rooms.

Dad put his hoof down on the map. "Fillydelphia. The Cartel has a big presence there, one we’ve been preparing to root out for some time now. They’re centralized here, at the New Leaf Paper Mill."

Starshadow leaned in. "A Paper Mill? That sounds more legitimate than I expected."

"It is legitimate, but mostly just a front for the Cartel's real operations. The first floor is where they keep their equipment, and run their day-to-day operations, with the second floor of the building acting as a security floor overlooking it. Catwalks watching over the whole operation. We can expect the Cartel will be watching everything from there."

Mint tapped a hoof on the table before she chimed in. "If it's a legitimate operation, then that means there's innocents there."

"Bah." Blaze narrowed her eyes. "Making deals with devils means it’s their own fault if they get hurt."

Everypony's attention turned to Merri as her hoof slammed on the table. "Hey! They may not know. Lots of ponies have done something wrong without knowing it, alright?"

Blaze looked struck and settled back down. "Right, guess that's true. Can't judge 'em on that."

Dad continued. "Regardless, they are a factor. One way or another, we need to get past the first floor and get to the third. This is their prison block. More catwalks above the paper mill, likely to prevent any curious Pegasi from flying up as well. They have it listed publicly as office space, but odds are, this is where we'll find Dusky."

I flexed my wings. "Can... can we get to it from the roof? Come down to the third floor?"

"Flying won't work. Their roof is too secure, and the windows on the other levels are barred. We'd have to work our way down from the eighth floor, and those floors are where they've got their enforcers, their labs, and their private suites. We'd be overwhelmed."

Starshadow levitated a small quill towards the map. "What of this? The fourth floor seems to lack any significant structure like the other floors. No walls, doors, or other such markings."

"Storage space for their shipments. It may seem empty, but it'd be primarily filled with crates."

I nodded slowly. "Then that should be where we go. If we can sneak in or create a distraction, we need to make our way there, and then down to the prison. Does um, does this building have any elevators, like the hotel in Myrtail?"

"Elevators?" Dad glanced at the plans. "Yes. Here, and here... two elevators towards the rear of the building. We'd need to get past the first floor, but then it'd be easy to reach the fourth."

Mint leaned in and poked at some other lines. "And from there, to the stairs along the opposite wall. We can come into the prison block without alerting anypony on the catwalks."

Blaze nodded. "And once Dusky's free, we all head up and take out their leader, right? Cut off the head of the snake and keep them from ever hurting Dusky or anyone else ever again."

"No, confronting their leader is not our priority, Blaze." Mint set a hoof on the other pony's side. "This is a rescue, not an assassination."

I nodded at my sister's words. "Yes. Dusky has to come first... all else... I don't like it anymore than you, um, Blaze. But we need her safe above all else."

She stared at me curiously, then nodded.

Starshadow hummed a moment. "And what about reinforcements? You mentioned the need for a distraction, I think it would need to be sufficient to both scare the civilians out of the building, and to attract all attention away from our activities."

Clearing his throat, Mahogany glanced about. "Yeah, I mean. I'm down for whatever helps, but... isn't the whole point that they don't see us? Else we're just making an even bigger problem, not just for Dusky, but for all of us."

"We really need one hell of a distraction." Merri chuckled. "Hey Sis, remember that one time back in the Manege?"

Her sister's eyes went wide. "The explosion was s— you don't seriously mean...?"

"You gotta admit it’d be a pretty great distraction!" Merri laughed.

Dad's head was lowered, a hoof placed against his chin. "I... might be able to manage that on short notice."

Mint raised an eyebrow, "Dad?"

"There aren't enough guards in Fillydelphia right now to do anything. That's why I wanted time." He raised a hoof to forestall Star's objection. "But that doesn't mean I don't have ponies already there. And it doesn't mean there's not a group all set to take advantage of a little bit of chaos."

I mirrored Mint’s expression. "Um...Dad? You alright?"

"Yes... just considering." He nudged the weights off the blueprints, letting them roll back up. "We have a plan, or at least the start of it. As you all know, time is against us. We head out tonight, do any of you need more time?"

Star and Merri looked at one another and nodded, Merri speaking for them both. "We were ready yesterday."

"Not much else I can do, now that we're committed." Mahogany moved over to my side and nodded his head.

"D-dad?" I glanced at everypony there, each of them were Dusky's friends, my friends. Save one. "Dad... what about you? Why are you coming?"

Dad stared at me. "Night. I owe it to her, for failing to protect her like I promised. And I owe it to you, because she means something to you."

"Alright." I glanced down at my hoof, the gold bracer already fitted onto my leg. "I'm ready."

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

Well, that got weird all of a sudden.

Oh, hi Blaze!

And now it's a heist story.

[Kiromancer]

6788847
Very weird... and maybe just a little bit crazy.
And of course Blaze is coming! Gotta have as many dedicated ponies as possible to pull off a heist this crazy. And Noble's had an eye on her for awhile.