Mending Light

by Kiromancer

92 - Ashes

We stood in the ash and dirt, covered in blood and bruises, but none of that mattered anymore. Our mission was over, or at least, the hardest part. From here, we could let the guard handle things. Or at least, that was what I’d hoped. Of course, Dusky wouldn’t rest until she was sure. Considering how far she’d come to get to this moment, I suppose I couldn’t blame her. What I could do was support her, and no amount of plans or need was going to get me to leave her side now.

Easing her weight off of me, Dusky began to limp back towards the battlefield. I stayed with her.

We were heading towards the camel, and the strange ring of crystalline spikes surrounding him. Crimson Haze sat still, watching the ponies around him. He was just as bloody as the rest of us, the crystal blades torn through metal and flesh to pin down one of his legs. My guess was that this was the end result of the ‘heavy duty magic’ that Merri and the guard had warned us about. I was still unsure who had done it, as the only powerful unicorns on our side of the battlefield were Starshadow, and Ivory.

The other mercenaries had stopped for the moment, confusion and unease crossing their faces as they watched their leader catch his breath, though he was making no more aggressive movements, either because his leg had been pinned down, or wasn’t willing to fight anymore. The rest weren’t sure what to do, and the zombies formed a nauseating wall between us and them, a standoff, for now.

As we got closer to the camel, we spotted Dusky’s first target. Blaze. The orange mare had been sitting near Crimson, catching her own breath. She rose as she spotted Dusky and staggered towards us, trying to let the fear and pain fall off her face to give us a smile. The effect made her seem all the more scared. She’d seen combat before, she’d been with us in Fillydelphia afterall, but my guess was nothing on this scale.

I frowned at that thought. I’d seen too much of combat the past year. It wasn't as if this scene didn't affect me, just... it was disturbing how accustomed I'd grown to the violence around us. I tilted my head to look at Dusky, the concern for Blaze already playing over her face.

“Phew, glad that’s over. That guy smelled worse than pig dung sunning all day. Thought I was gonna ralph all over his—” She stopped and suddenly spun away from us, only making it about halfway before she vomited. I had to look away, or I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t be joining her.

The smell of the zombies was certainly competing with any number of other things here to win the award for ‘worst smell’, and those few zombies nearby were in terrible condition from the fight, enough to make anypony want to lose their lunch.

Dusky frowned, stepping away from my side to move closer to Blaze once she recovered. “You okay, Blaze? Let me see your ribs.”

Once I managed to swallow back my own sick, I followed Dusky. Blaze looked half dead, her orange coat marred by a deep purple bruise showing vividly across her barrel. Her ribs had definitely taken a heavy hit, and it would be a miracle if they weren’t cracked, or more likely, broken.

“They’re fine, just a little sor—” She cringed in pain as Dusky brushed a hoof against the bruise. “Ow!”

“Now is not the time for that, Blaze. Let me patch you up.” Dusky reached into her satchel to pull out some supplies, and I couldn’t help but stare. For all the damage Blaze had taken, Dusky looked like she’d taken twice as much. She tilted her head at me. “What?”

I frowned, watching her carefully. “What about you?”

Dusky took a second, then mustered up a smile, “It’s weird, but Ivory’s magic negated the worst of my wounds. I can get the rest fixed up once we have more supplies.”

I glanced back down her body in doubt. She looked like she was barely in any shape to talk, let alone treat anypony else. Though, I’d come to know her well enough to understand that she understood her own limits. Though, she was also the first pony to push herself past her limits in order to save someone else. I thought back to Merri’s snarky comment back on the hilltop. We’re not heroes here. Could’a fooled me.

In the end, all I could do was nod, and trust that she knew how far she could push herself. I’d be here for her if she went too far.

Giving me a nod in return, Dusky turned back to attend to Blaze, getting her wrapped up as best she could with limited time and supplies. Blaze definitely had a few cracked ribs, but nothing more serious. If the fight with the camel was as brutal as it looked, she got lucky. We’d all gotten lucky to get this far.

Blaze grinned as she carefully stretched. “That does feel a bit better. Thanks, Dusky.”

My ears twitched, and I turned to focus on the sound of hooves approaching over the dirt. Starshadow and Sergeant Reed tiredly paced towards us.

It was probably a sign of just how tired Dusky was that I’d noticed it before her, as she began to acknowledge Blaze’s thank you, she suddenly stopped and spun, spotting the newcomers, “Star! Feather!”

They picked up their pace, the two likely having moved slowly to avoid startling us until they were noticed. Star looked like hell, but moved like nothing bothered her at all, same as Merri had on the hill. She was likely more hurt than she was letting on. For her part, Sergeant Reed’s training and armor clearly served her well, as she looked just as awful, but not dead on her hooves like the rest of us.

“Looks like you have the situation under control.” Star nodded to Dusky, her eyes still scanning the battlefield.

Dusky smiled with a deep breath. “Mostly thanks to Ivory. I’m so glad to see you’re safe! Where were you two, anyway?”

“Once I saw Ivory’s true power, I became certain I couldn’t do anything to help without hampering her own abilities.” Sergeant Reed glanced at the camel, then back at us, her formal tone falling away slightly. “So I made it my mission to make sure there was no interference from his side.”

“The battle itself seemed to discourage the main force enough. For certain, approaching Ivory from the front would have been suicidal,” Starshadow smirked, “Which is why we stuck to the flanks, watching for anypony who thought they could sneak around.”

Dusky sighed, glancing around the group with a smile. A simple moment, surrounded by her friends, “Thanks for covering us.”

A sharp whistle came from behind us, and all heads rose up to spy two pegasi hovering over Crimson Haze’s position. Mint and Icicle, carrying Prideful Policy downward between them. Mint called out, “Mercenaries! Militia of Pasture! This battle is over! The Equestrian Guard has claimed your leader! The rest of our forces will arrive shortly! If you value your life, you will lay down your weapons and cooperate! Do this and I will guarantee your safety!”

The low murmuring and unease that had surrounded us slowly died to an eerie silence, with only the crackling flames filling the void. All eyes were on Prideful, and before the silence lingered much longer, Mint prodded him with a frown. He had the nerve to clear his throat, lifting his head upwards despite being tied up and carried. “It is as she says! Do not throw away your lives!”

That got everyone’s attention. The mercenaries weren’t putting down their weapons, the majority glancing towards Crimson, clearly the true leader of this group now. The camel wasn’t making any move one way or the other, but his hoof was still bound in jagged crystal. All he was doing now was looking up at Prideful. The thought crossed my mind that maybe it wasn’t Prideful he was looking at, but my sister and Icicle. I was sure he still remembered our last encounter.

Mint and Icicle came down to the ground, lowering Prideful with them until all three were resting on the ashes.

Prideful seemed just as cowed as he’d been with Captain Banner, but he managed to muster up a glower for Crimson Haze. “Oh. You’re still here.”

The camel turned towards Prideful as if he were regarding an insect, considering if he should crush it or be content to just watch. “We aren’t your fanatics. We don’t fight to the last for such a paltry sum.”

That triggered the mayor, all signs of composure falling away as Crimson just chuckled. “P-paltry!? Why you—”

“Prideful.”

From behind us, Ivory’s voice cut through the crowd. There was stress, exhaustion, and pain bleeding through, and although she hadn’t been touched by hoof or blade, she looked just as bad as Dusky did. Now, here she was at the end of it all, facing her persecutor. I hadn’t considered this when I’d thought of bringing Prideful here.

“Necromancer.” He spit the word, all pretense of civility gone. “What now? Are we all to become your zombie slaves? Is that your endgame!?”

Ivory sighed. “I’m tired of this. Aren’t you?”

He struggled against his ropes, staring her down despite Ivory giving nothing back. “Of course I am! Why do you think I was trying to get rid of you?”

“And you think this was all worth it?” Ivory waved a hoof across the remains of the manor lawn and woods, the flames at last dying down in the distance. “Destroying my home, burning down the forest, imprisoning your people—”

“Protecting them. From you.” Had he been standing, Prideful would have dug in his hooves. “They were scared, Necromancer, so I built them fortifications.”

Even now, he was trying to spin this. Disgusting.

Ivory was in pain, this confrontation apparently digging up old memories and sorrows. A range of emotions crossed her face, but she remained silent, watching Prideful as if she were still looking for him, or looking for something within him she couldn’t find.

“Well?” Prideful broke the silence with an impatient sigh. “What are you waiting for? You’ve wanted this for years, haven’t you?”

She simply shook her head. “Look… Prideful, I’m sorry.”

“What?” His face fell slack, I was convinced he’d have fallen over backwards, if he wasn't tied up. As it stood, he was shaken, completely taken off guard. An apology was clearly something he’d never considered happening, especially not at this point.

“I was young and the magic was unstable. I shouldn’t have volunteered something I didn’t fully understand, especially not for something as important as your grandma.” Ivory lowered her head and sighed. “So, I’m sorry. But, Prideful, this has been going on for a very long time. Do you really think a single slight justifies all this pain and destruction?”

Prideful, against all logic, simply started to laugh. Small at first, but he swiftly lost control into a full fledged fit. It took some time for him to recover, Mint and Icicle both stepping forward to hold him in place until his laughter died down.

“What’s so funny?” Ivory peered at him, guarded suspicion back in her voice.

“‘I’m sorry. Never did I think I’d ever hear those words come out of your mouth.” He shook his head and looked back at her. “I could question your sincerity, but… I suppose your point stands regardless, doesn’t it? Fine, you win. We’ll do things your way. It’s not like I have much of a choice, anyhow.”

I turned to look away, wholly confused. Judging by the looks on Blaze, Star, Feather and Dusky’s faces, it wasn’t just me. “What was that, even?”

Dusky sighed. “I think it’s about as close to an apology as Ivory is going to get.”

Sergeant Reed nodded, “Of course. The ‘politician’s apology.’”

“Certainly one of the things I do not miss about court.” Star hummed in displeasure, shaking her head.

Blaze, the one pony who had grown up knowing everything Prideful Policy had stood for all these years, rolled her eyes, dipping her head in exaggeration, rolled a hoof towards him. “Fillies and gentlecolts, the Mayor of Pasture.”

I gave out an unimpressed hmph. “Makes me wish I’d hit him harder. Hard enough to knock out his ego. But that’d probably have been impossible.”

Dusky’s lips started to form a smirk, but suddenly her gaze went upwards. Gleaming with the light of dawn, a dozen golden guards from Solar Company were now descending upon the battlefield, the forerunners to the rest of the Guard's reinforcements.

I looked towards the forest behind the mercenaries, spotting the marching line of armor approaching them. Golden Banner had arrived.

As the pegasi set down around us, a large mare stepped forward, her voice projecting out in a commanding tone. “Weapons down! Hooves where we can see them!” The Battle of Pasture was over.

Comments

[platogkrone]

It wasn't as if this scene didn't affect me, just... it was diI tilted my head to look at Dusky,

What? I think something is missing here.

[Kiromancer]

9784696
Something was missing there, the end of the first sentence. Don't know what happened, but I must have deleted it by accident! Thanks for pointing that out!

[Yami Vizzini]

Whew, I think Blaze was the one I was the most concerned about.

Long overdue talk there. Maybe Prideful is actually going to reflect some on everything he's been doing. He probably won't have a chance to do much else for a long time....