Eternal Night

by Lucaro

Chapter 33: Treachery, Plague, and Fratricide

Everything felt so distant. It was as if time had slowed down, and every movement was prolonged. Persei danced through the fire, every moment drawn out and graceful. With Manehattan’s burning gates crashing down overhead and the Scions following behind her with all their fury, everything felt so surreal.

There were screams all around her as she thrust her spear ahead of her, impaling a fleeing Night Guard.

Her eyes burned from tears and the smoke. Her entire body ached. Her head felt like it was going to explode. Despite her pain, she held the banner high above her head.

Persei was dying.

She was dying, but she couldn’t scream. There was poison in her bloodstream. She had radiation sickness, and ever since she had been exposed to the air inside those cyst chambers, she hadn’t been able to think clearly. But Ultra Violet had said that the radiation had not been at a dangerous level, and if it had, other ponies would be sick from the exposure as well.

Why was she the only one affected?

Persei’s head ached, and it was painful to reason this out.

So she didn’t think.

Persei galloped ahead, leading the onslaught of invaders. She leapt through a wall of flame, the retreating Night Guards scattering before her. They were advancing rapidly as they blitzed through another weak defending garrison. “This city will be ours!” she howled above the sounds of battle.

Her vision had grown blurry, but through the haze, she saw Ultra Violet fighting alongside her. Persei wanted to reach out to her, but her mental processes were so compromised that she couldn’t form a thought that wasn’t born out of aggression.

Persei thrust her spear again, there was a cry of pain, and flecks of crimson spotted her already failing vision.

There was an explosion behind her. The ground shook violently and fiery debris rained down all around her, but she was unfazed. Persei saw fire all around her. She could no longer see the buildings anymore. All she could see was the blood, fire, and the glint of her own spear, constantly being jabbed forth.

Persei’s vision cleared enough to see a rank of Night Guards protecting the bridge that led to the inner ring of the city, the place where all the civilians had taken refuge. The guards had formed a shield wall, and were blocking their only route of advance.

Persei didn’t even hesitate. She blasted them with a jet of flame, and with their shields glowing orange with heat, she leapt on top of them.

She felt metal giving way underneath her hooves. There were cries of pain as the other Scions tore into the breach she had created. The shield wall was scattered and broken as the Night Guard fled further into the city.

She turned around to check the advance of their soldiers, and saw a flurry of bodies moving past her, pushing on ahead.

A crowd of Dayborn rioters and her own soldiers had mixed together, heading for the bridge. Something akin to fear kept Persei’s hooves rooted to the ground. She had seen something. For a fleeting second, she had seen a pony’s face among the crowd. It had been pale as a sheet, and had been covered in glaring red pustules. He was marked for death. They had made eye contact for a moment, and then he had disappeared.

The silent killer… a voice echoed in her head.

Persei blinked, and Ultra Violet appeared in front of her. She was speaking, but her voice sounded so far away. “The Lunaran Knights are here!” she said, shaking the dazed Persei. “They’re using the city’s train network to get the Nightborns out of here!”

Maelstrom appeared beside Ultra Violet, his face spattered with blood. “The civilians aren’t the priority. We should attack the Night Guard forces,” he waved his hooves sarcastically. “You know… the ponies that are actually a threat to us.”

“We have to blow up the tracks…” Persei whispered.

“But, my lady!” Maelstrom protested, shocked. “Everypony aboard will die!”

She looked up at Maelstrom angrily. “I don’t care how many civilians are on those trains. The ponies who murdered my brother are on there. As long as I get to kill even a few….”

Ultra Violet stared at Maelstrom ferociously. “Are you sympathizing with the Nightborns?” Her Gieger counter started ticking, and his eyes went wide. “You know what I do to traitors?”

Maelstrom looked at Persei for support, but she was too disoriented to say anything. He sighed in frustration. “You will have to do it, Ultra Violet. I will monitor the advance in the meantime.” He flew past them without another word, soaring above the bridge where the Scions were advancing.

Violet took Persei’s hoof. “Come on! The Lunaran Knights were spotted at the central station in the heart of the city. If we destroy the primary transformer there, it’ll trigger a chain reaction that will not only derail the train, but obliterate their escape route!”

“None shall escape our wrath!” Persei declared zealously. But inside, she was screaming for help. For the first time, Persei realized that she was losing control.

There was a terrible pain behind her eyes. It felt like something was pushing them out of their sockets. The same question haunted her again: If this was indeed radiation sickness, why was she the only that was sick? Many ponies had been exposed at Nocturnus….

Persei lost her train of thought again. She felt like she was following whatever impulse her mind could muster. I have to stop the Lunaran Knights… the impulse presented itself. I have to avenge my brother. She was possessed by the sudden urge to meet them head on, and she moved to do so. She blitzed across the bridge, and Ultra Violet called for her to slow down, but she didn’t want to. With her moving this fast, everything seemed to be moving at a normal pace again.

She charged into the inner ring of the city, leaping over an embattled barricade where the Scions were clashing with the Night Guard. They didn’t even move to stop her, and she kept on galloping. Her vision was completely blurred. It felt like her blood was on fire. She had left her soldiers far behind, and was vulnerable, but she didn’t care. Fury prompted her to keep going.

She wanted to taste the blood of the Nightborn bastards who slayed Cepheus. She would tear them limb from limb, rip out their intestines… her mind filled up with the terrible things she had in mind for them. After she killed the Knights, she would finish off the other Nightborns they had been so desperately trying to protect… she would kill them all!

Persei was practically frothing at the muzzle by the time she saw the lone, white, and armored pegasus standing in the street in front of her. She slowed down, realizing he was Dayborn. Through the haze, she thought he looked familiar.

It was silent in the inner ring of the city. There were no fires, no soldiers, just quiet. Persei approached the stallion, and he spread out his wings. “Persei…” he said her name with concern. “What have they done to you?”

That voice. She knew that voice… She raised her spear, convinced she was seeing a ghost. “Cepheus?” she said, her body trembling.

He drew closer to her, and she could see his blue eyes brimming with tears. “Persei, how could Mother have allowed you to become like this?”

Persei blinked. Cepheus had died not knowing that their mother was dead. Perhaps he had come back, looking for what was left of his family. “Cepheus,” she said sadly. “Mother died a few months ago.”

A look of devastation spread across the face of Cepheus’ ghost. “No…” he said, backing up. “Who… how?”

“Sirius killed her,” she said, trying to be gentle. “I’m so sorry. I knew you loved the bat-pony like a brother….”

Cepheus shook his head vehemently. “I don’t believe it!” he shouted at her. “You’ve always hated Sirius for no reason, and you’re just trying to make me hate him too!”

Her brother began to sob uncontrollably, his tears falling onto the street. Anger started to fill Persei again. “He is a murderer, Cepheus…” he looked up at her. “You need to understand this, so you can move on.”

“Oh, so he’s the murderer?” he said, outraged. “You’re the murderer! You’ve killed thousands of innocent ponies!”

Persei’s vision cleared up for a moment, and she saw him clearly for the first time. What is that strange crescent insignia emblazoned on his armor? she thought, noticing how familiar it was.

Cepheus took a deep breath and trotted towards her. “Sister,” he said, taking her hoof in his. “I will always love you,” he gestured to somewhere beyond the horizon. “Let me take you away from all this. Let me introduce you to my wife and son. Terrible things are about to unfold, and I don’t want you to see them.”

Tears were in Persei’s eyes, realizing that this was no ghost. “I’ve missed you so much, Cepheus.”

He embraced her, and she felt as if the world was set right again. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “And you know I’ve always looked out for your best interests.” Persei nodded, but she noticed something that broke her calm. The armor he was wearing. It was of the Lunaran Knight cavalry. Rage started to fill her insides once again, but then she felt the prick on her hoof. Immediately she felt her power being drained. “It’s for the best,” he whispered.

Persei pushed him away with all her strength. The syringe he had just injected her with went flying away, shattering on the street some distance away. “You’re one of them!” she cried out, feeling betrayed. “You’re not my real brother!” her mind struggled to comprehend this. This was some kind of trick by the Lunarans. It had to be. “I’ll kill you!” she screamed.

He raised his hooves in the air defensively. “I just gave you the vaccine!” he said, trying to explain himself. “Necron has unleashed a biological weapon, and some of your soldiers are already infected! You need to….”

“Liar!” she screamed. She would make the Knights suffer for this cruel mockery of her dead brother’s memory. “My brother is dead….”

“I’m alive, Persei!” he said. “You’re just very sick, and please just let me help you. They warned me that you would be very paranoid….”

“Die!” she screamed. She charged forward with the spear, impaling her facsimile brother. He had reared up in shock, so the spear had gone through his gut. She rammed his back into the wall, and held him there as he struggled. “Whoever you are, I’ll make you suffer for imitating my brother!”

False-Cepheus tried to speak, blood dripping from his muzzle and pierce wound. “Persei…” he said, putting his hooves on the spear’s shaft. “I’m…real. I am the brother you have always loved.” She twisted the spear in his wound, causing more blood to gush out. He screamed in pain, and she listened. “How can you not recognize me?” he said, his voice softer, and his struggles weaker. “Please…stop…” he begged, slowly bleeding out.

Persei heard sompeony galloping, and before she could look, he barreled her over. They tumbled on the ground, the spear ripped out of her hooves. He hung over her, and held her throat. She looked into his cold blue eyes. “Sirius!” she hissed. “You’re the one responsible….”

“My name isn’t Sirius!” the bat-pony barked. He grabbed her face, and looked it over. She tried to blast him with her magic, but false-Cepheus had drained her power somehow. He touched her mane, eyeing the bald spots. “Radiation sickness…” he muttered. “The guy in charge of the Scions before you, met his death the same way.” He began to touch the bald spots, feeling several bumps on her head. “I knew it,” he whispered. She struggled, powerless before the stallion’s strength. He held her steady, drawing close to her face. “Your head…more specifically your brain, is full of tumors.” Persei gasped in disbelief. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “The tumors are too big for you to have gotten them from your exposure to the cyst rooms. You were exposed to deadly radiation long before that….”

He shook her, realizing how her eyes were bulging out. “Your brother was right. This isn’t the real you. The tumors are affecting your behavior, making you hyper-aggressive and impeding your rational thinking. It’s why you’ve been acting so crazy, doing things you would never do…it explains your blurry eyesight too.” he looked away, realizing the sounds of battle were drawing closer. “Somepony has been giving you controlled doses of radiation for at least a month now. Whoever did this, knew exactly what they were doing. Somepony very close to you… somepony who you spent both nights and days with…fed you… slept with you… pretended to love you….” The Sirius look-alike backed off of her, leaving her lying there.

Persei was shocked. He was right. She had known something wasn’t right. Who else could have done this to her? Who else’s cutie mark was directly related to radiation and could use it whenever she willed?

Persei slowly stood up, and watched the stallion that looked like Sirius pick false-Cepheus up, and carry him away on his back. The bloody stain on the wall remained.

She began to trot back towards the bridge. Her mind was silent. The Scions had advanced past the bridge and were entering the inner city. The roadblock she has passed earlier had been demolished and was on fire. The corpses of Night Guards lay strewn about. In the heart of the fire, she saw her standing there.

Ultra Violet began trotting towards Persei, her Geiger counter ticking rapidly. “Hear yea! Hear yea!” she shouted theatrically. She stared Persei in the eyes, the ferocity of a nuclear holocaust blazing in those lilac eyes. “Come listen to the tale of how I enslaved a goddess….”

So it was true. Persei felt foolish. She should have seen this coming.

Persei’s former lover, leader, and friend approached her. “Finally got the diagnosis, eh?” she said, her voice full of rage. “Decided to take matters into your own hooves, and give away the Element of Magic?”

Element of Magic? Persei looked down at her golden breastplate, and saw only an empty indent where the purple gem had been. That’s why she had felt so drained of power….

Persei ground her hooves, staring defiantly at Violet. “You betrayed me! You gave me brain cancer!”

Violet laughed, a shrill and abrasive sound. “I knew everypony was looking up to you. You may have not noticed, but you have usurped me as leader. The Scions of Celestion will follow their goddess reincarnate over the commander who has labored, suffered, and sacrificed everything for them.” Ultra Violet shrugged. “But it is what it is. I had to make sure you stuck to my agenda, the extermination of the Nightborn ponies. I feared you might have a change of heart….”

Ultra Violet’s Geiger counter blazed, a powerful pulse of radiation sweeping out. Persei’s already cancer-ridden brain seared with pain. Her vision became dizzy, and she collapsed. There was a loud buzzing in the air, and an intense heat that tore away at her flesh.

Violet hung over her, smirking. “I don’t need you anymore,” she said, ripping a lance out of the hooves of a dead Night Guard. “I’ve gotten the revolution I’ve always wanted thanks to your efforts.” She levitated the lance up in the air, pointing the sharp end down towards Persei’s chest. “You were so great in bed,” she muttered. “But oh well. I’ll wipe my tears with the fabric of Nightmare Moon’s throne once I am sitting upon it.”

Persei closed her eyes, seeing the weapon plunging down towards her. There was a clang, and she felt hot blood splatter onto her face.

She opened her eyes, and saw Maelstrom standing on Ultra Violet’s back. His mace was buried in her skull, blood and brain matter spattered everywhere.

He had flown down from above, and had delivered the fatal blow. Persei looked up at him, and she saw the red pustules on his face. “I was getting really tired of her shit,” he said in a gruff voice. “No more needless bloodshed.”

She remembered false-Cepheus mentioning a biological weapon… had he truly given her the vaccine?

Maelstrom stepped off of Ultra Violet’s corpse. “We’ve got about a hundred others showing symptoms. This isn’t about revolution anymore. This is about survival.”

Her infected commander bowed before her. “My lady, I am ill. So are many others. Lock us away into quarantine while you still can.”

“You saved my life,” she whispered.

“Now save mine,” he said. “Find the cure while you have soldiers who are still healthy and able.”

She rose to her feet, stumbling slightly. “I will,” she said.

He turned away from her, trotting back down the bridge. “The infection spreads. Our time is running out…. Make haste.”

Author's Note:

A lot of things went down this chapter, and yes, she stabbed the real Cepheus.

More drama coming up next chapter.

Discussion and Feedback is more than encouraged at this point.

Comments

[Zodiacspear]

Seems my assessment of Ultra Violet was accurate. Never, ever trust a frothing fanatic.

Not going to lie, this chapter seems a bit rushed. While still good, you got the main points across, I can't help but feel it could have used some more fleshing out.

Keep'a writin'!

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

4789043 have to agree here. it is a bit rushed. and honest not surprised by Ultra Violet's move. She was the one who lied about the knights reaction to her brother.

THe question now becomes. will the brother and sister become Celestia and will they rid their half brother of Necron.

[Lucaro]

4789043

Yeah, it was kind of rushed. I'll be sure to recap in the next chapter.

[Kingofthecouch]

awesome

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

4794451 It helps that the main radical element is gone.