The Darkest Storm

by TheReaderAndWriter

Determination

8. Determination.

Ivanhoe did not have a clue how he was related to all of this, but it didn't matter. He had two choices. He could either run away or he could keep going and follow through with his little quest to save the world. The choice was obvious, so he kept going. He walked through the woods, through the rain. He didn't hurry because he didn't have anything to fear. No princess, no guards, nopony would dare to go outside in this rain to fight him. The most dangerous phenomenon in the world, and it was his safe-haven. He wondered why the dark rain didn't affect him. He should be mad, turning into a dangerous monster, but yet he was unaffected. He felt a constant fear that it really was his fault, but the odds were still just as good that it had all been a mistake and he was just really lucky. It didn't matter because he would do his best to find out, and finding the artifacts was the only answer to this riddle. He was sure he would understand why he had been able to save Fluttershy the way he did if he just kept going. Why? What made him special? Was it luck? Destiny or a fluke? He needed to keep his attention on his quest, however, so he tried to make himself stop asking these questions with a most likely insane answer. As he walked through the cold never ending rain he noticed something disturbing. Some of the plants, the flowers, the grass, the trees. It all was very slowly turning black and red. It made him pick up the pace a bit, just being around the corrupted plants made him feel nervous.

***

At least two hours later the rain had finally stopped. Black puddles were everywhere and everything had a threatening red hue due to all the water. Ivanhoe suddenly saw buildings, it seemed he had found his way back to Ponyville. It was so different, seemingly deserted. The further in he went, the more quiet it got. Ivanhoe feared the silence. It was just like in Cloudsdale. Ivanhoe kept his guard up until he finally saw ponies through the windows, staying inside due to fear of it raining again. He noticed the only ones outside: three pegasi. Two were large, white and had a golden armor. The third one was just as big but dark, with bat-like wings and a threatening appearance. They all looked tired, one looked like he was about to crack. They were sitting on the steps of Sugarcube Corner.

"Come on, Rightly, we can do this," said the dark pony.

"I just can't. I can't forget it. I want to, but I can't. How could they do that to themselves?" asked the disturbed guard.

"I would've done the same thing if it would've been my son", said the other white colored guard.

"I'm sorry, Steady, but I think it has already happened. Cloudsdale is beyond help," said the dark pony.

"I...I know, but don't worry. Celestia will fix it. I know she will. I don't blame the Cakes for what they did," said the guard. Ivanhoe recognized the name Cake...the two foals...

"What happened? asked Ivanhoe. The guards didn't even look at him, they were too downtrodden.

"Two foals in this residence accidentally drank from the rain... They turned into two little monsters. And the parents couldn't take it. The foals were so lost, scared, angry, alone...so...so..."

"The parents turned on purpose so their children wouldn't be alone," the dark guard finished. Ivanhoe was just as speechless as he was horrified.

"I wish I could've been there for my son," said the depressed guard.

"They ran away, we couldn't follow them through the rain. We failed."

"Don't worry, this will be over soon", said Ivanhoe and walked past them.

"Wasn't that the pony Celestia wanted caught?" the dark guard's voice asked behind Ivanhoe as he walked.

"I don't even care," said one of the other guards with a heavy sigh. Nopony followed him. Ivanhoe was more convinced than ever, so now he started to run. He ran through the entire town and he didn't stop.

"I don't care what it takes. I will make this right," said Ivanhoe to himself. If it was his fault, no, how could that be? Seriously, how? He was just a random pony. Why was Celestia so sure? Was she brainwashed? It didn't matter. He would stop it...somehow.

***

Some time later he arrived at the forest. It was still raining there. He was just at the edge. His goal would be in there somewhere. He took a deep breath and stepped inside. The most noticeable thing about the forest was that it got very dark, very quickly. Every step he took not only seemed to get him deeper into the forest, but also seemed to make the rain more intense. The wind was like ice on his coat. It was still day, yet he could barely see where he was going. He just stayed on the path as well as he could. He took one step at a time. The wind was getting stronger. After what seemed like almost an hour it got so intense he could barely take a step forward without getting blown two steps back. This could hardly be a natural wind, so Ivanhoe took it as a challenge. Maybe it was protecting something very important. Perhaps, an artifact? Ivanhoe wondered what Windy was doing right now. She was probably in Twilight's library, explaining things and getting them explained to her. Ivanhoe was so worried he had gotten her in trouble because of all of this. She was innocent. She was the nicest pony he had ever met. His mother would've probably liked her too. Ivanhoe started thinking about his parents. What would they say if they saw him now? That they were ashamed? Did they have something to do with this? He wished he could see them now, talk to them. He would've given anything to just be home and not have anything to do with this.

"Keep. Going. Don't. Stop," Ivanhoe said to himself. He started repeating those words every few steps. He couldn't walk back now. "Don't. Let. This. Get. You. Dooooown!" screamed Ivanhoe as he suddenly fell. He rolled down a muddy hill. When he finally hit the bottom his ears started ringing. He felt hazy and his vision was worse than ever. He had hit his head pretty badly. He was trying to keep focused by imagining where the second artifact might be. Perhaps it was hidden in an ancient temple? Maybe it was deep inside the earth in a cave created by an ancient tribe? Who knew? It might just be in a tree right above him. He was too tired to actually check. "This is the worst vacation ever," said Ivanhoe. After all the running and walking today, the last hour was too much all on its own, he was so tired he could barely stand. His legs gave up at last. He fell over exhausted. He couldn't go on any more, it was wet and cold, but maybe he could take a short rest? Just a little rest. He was sure he hallucinated, he saw two odd legs in front of him.

"Are you giving up already, my son?" said his father's voice.

"Father?"

"Come on now, Son. Get down from there" said the fatherly voice.

"What are you-?"

"Zecora, he's waking up!" said a womanly voice, it certainly seemed to be motherly, but it wasn't his mother.

***

Ivanhoe opened his eyes. He was clean, dry and felt much better. He was still quite tired. An oddly tall and skinny pony looked down on him. Just above was a wooden roof. The pony had an orange mane and a yellow coat. He really needed to shave. Ivanhoe was more concerned with something else however, a smell in the air. Somepony was cooking up something good.

"Who are you?" asked Ivanhoe, surprised at how weak his own voice was.

"I'm Carrot Cake. Are you alright?"

"Pound Cake, don't touch that, now," said a female voice. A slightly pudgy blue pony with a purple and pink swirly mane was talking to a pegasus-foal flying wildly around.

"I'm, I'm alright. What happened?"

"You fell over just as Zecora found you in the forest," said Carrot Cake.

"I'm better now, thank you. Wait, Cake? Your name is Cake?" asked Ivanhoe.

"Yes. This is my wife and these are my children. Zecora is helping us out a little right now."

"But in town they said you were-"

"Turned into monsters? Yes, that is unfortunately true. Zecora has some magic that is keeping us normal for now."

"For now?"

"We'll be normal as long as we don't leave her house. It was some potion she mixed up. You must be hungry, do you want some dinner, deary?" said the mare.

"Yes, please, Mrs. Cake," said Ivanhoe.

"It is good to see you awake, thank you, Mr. Cake," said Zecora's familiar voice. She walked in from outside. Ivanhoe noticed the rain and wind from outside the doors and windows. He looked around. It looked like he was in some sort of hut, or tree. There were plenty of traditional objects Ivanhoe had seen before. He saw a mask on the wall that signified a welcome. He felt safe in here.

"We were very lucky Zecora found us all," said Mr. Cake.

"I heard about why you were transformed," said Ivanhoe.

"We didn't like it, but they were so young and scared. A young pony will always need his or her parents, no matter the circumstances. We do not have any regrets," said Mr. Cake.

"That's very admirable," said Ivanhoe.

"So, why are you out here? How did you get here?" asked Mr. Cake.

"I walked. And sort of fainted."

"You should've been turned by now. Every single thing in this forest has been turned. You're lucky the animals have all run away."

"I'm...I'm seemingly immune."

"That so? Why?"

"That's what I'm here to find out, Mr. Cake."

"An artifact to counter doom, before all is consumed," said Zecora.

"How did you know about that? Wait, the artifact. I forgot it! I don't have the feather!" said Ivanhoe. It was probably still in his bag, but he didn't know where it was. It could be anywhere.

"Do you mean this?" asked Mrs. Cake and held up a feather, the feather.

"How. How did you find that?"

"It was in your pockets," answered Mrs. Cake.

"Who could've, when? It doesn't matter. What is important is that I have it," said Ivanhoe and sighed in relief.

"The dinner should be ready now," said Mr. Cake. He sort of tucked Ivanhoe in and walked over to a large boiling cauldron in the middle of the room. "We'll talk more during dinner."

"The soup smells great, Mr. Cake, I simply can not wait," said Zecora.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I'm in a rush. I need to find something in the forest," said Ivanhoe and tried to get up. Mr. Cake kept him lying down in the bed.

"Zecora says you need your rest."

"But I'm in a hurry. Every moment more and more of the land is being corrupted. More and more ponies. I have to do this to stop it all," said Ivanhoe in protest but Mr. Cake would not budge.

"Ivanhoe, do not fear, what you seek is right here," said Zecora. Ivanhoe looked at her while she went up towards one of her shelves. She pulled something out of it and showed it to him. It was a round little orb, a small red ball. Ivanhoe couldn't take his eyes off it. She was right, he had found it.

"In the darkest depths in a harmonious temple, I found this thing, it is quite simple," said Zecora. Ivanhoe just wanted to get to that thing, he reached for it from the other side of the room. He wanted it, he needed it.

"It will not leave, now, be relieved."

"Let's eat," said Mrs. Cake with a smile.

***

Ivanhoe couldn't let himself be refused about the artifact, so he complied. He was eating the soup, he didn't take his eyes off Zecora's bag for a single second. The soup was delicious, but he almost didn't notice. Until he was able to get his hooves on the object then this soup might as well have tasted like paper for all he cared. Zecora said something but he didn't pay attention.

"Hello, she spoke to you," said Mr. Cake. Ivanhoe teared his eyes away from the bag and looked at everyone at the table. They looked at him.

"Obsessed after all, does the object call?" asked Zecora with a knowing smile.

"It sort of feels like that, yeah," said Ivanhoe and drank the rest of the soup.

"Beyond is not a place, but a daze. A friend you would need, to succeed," said Zecora. Ivanhoe who almost started staring at the bag again looked at her. How did she know about that? Ivanhoe finished the rest of his soup.

"There, I'm done. Now could I please have it?"

"If you feel prepared, then this object I shall spare," said Zecora and picked up the ball from the bag. There it was, he needed to just touch it. Nothing in the world could take this away from him. He reached out his hoof, and felt the orbs texture. He instantly heard something echoing from far away. It was a young child laughing and running.

"Mother, mother! Today I made a new friend!" the very young voice said with joy. It slowly disappeared and was replaced with something a little closer, more familiar. It was the king's voice.

"So, you have reached the second stage. You are on your way to set things right in the world. Now the second to last step. You need to find the object hidden beyond."

"Beyond what?" asked Ivanhoe. He didn't even care about those around the table staring at him.

"It lies beyond not a place, but existence itself. You need to go where nopony has gone before: outside of existence. It lies beyond reason and doubt. It lies beyond a train.

"What do you mean?"

"To enter this place, it's simple. Holding these two artifacts, you need to face death itself in its swiftest of forms. In simple terms, you need to be an idiot. Hold the two items, and jump in front of a train. If you do not 'die' so quickly you don't even feel the pain, then you will just simply die. Good luck," said the voice. Ivanhoe imagined a grin on the face of whoever said it. It was gone before Ivanhoe could ask anything.

"I'm sorry, but I will have to leave now. The train to Canterlot is probably about to leave soon if they haven't stopped using them," said Ivanhoe and went over to take his pants on.

"Ivanhoe, you need to wait, I have a few words about your fate," said Zecora.

"What? Tell me quickly so I can leave. Thank you for everything, Zecora," said Ivanhoe and struggled with his pants.

"When you doubt, you still must be sure, never give up and just endure. When you face danger in its chaotic form, be sure of yourself and do not reform," said Zecora and took a deep breath. She looked him dead in the eye and seemed very strict with him. "You will face a force of great power and might, but when you do, do not feel powerless fright. You will do what is right, and against injustice always fight."

"What are you talking about?"

"All will soon be revealed, until then be a brave steed."

"Um, thanks? Anyway, I must be going. Wait, maybe I can cure you four like I cured-"

"Do not attempt that at the Cakes, you fool, this level of curse you can not fully rule"

"I'll solve this somehow. I promise," said Ivanhoe.

"Thanks anyway. Good luck," said Mr. Cake.

***

Ivanhoe was able to get back to Ponyville much quicker this time. He had the two objects in his pockets. The fact he needed to go through Ponyville again made him nervous but there was no other way to get to the train-tracks. It was slowly getting dark, the almost completely covered sky was making it even darker. Ivanhoe was going to use the cover of darkness to sneak through the town. The first time he had gone through here nopony was expecting him, since he had been there recently, they might have expected him to get back. This plan worked just fine for the first half of the way, when he got to the town hall, however...

"Ivanhoe Mane!" a voice shouted loudly like thunder.

"Not her. Not now," said Ivanhoe and turned around. There she was, standing, lit up by the lights behind her. Just as regal as always, but with an even more frightening aura, Princess Celestia.

"I can sense you have two of the artifacts now. I do not know much about them, only that for you to use them, you need to die as suddenly as if you would've been hit by a train," said Celestia.

"At least the voice didn't lie about that, then," said Ivanhoe and turned to face her. She couldn't 'kill' him. So he felt a bit safer. Sure, he would probably need to hold the artifacts, as in actually touching them, but he didn't want her to know that.

"Don't get so confident. It only means that I can't kill you quickly. A slow death with a large wound will still get the job done," said Celestia and lowered her head. Her large piercing horn was visibly being ready to be used. It quite clearly seemed like she was prepared to get her hooves dirty. Ivanhoe started to take a few steps back. A slow death by horn, or a quick 'death' by train. In a magical flash Celestia disappeared. Ivanhoe turned around, he knew, he just knew she would turn up right there. He was right. She appeared there in a deafening bang and slashed her wing right at his legs. He jumped. Sure, he was scared, but he wasn't crying. He just felt like he was so close to doing his duty, he couldn't be a useless little crying foal right now. He had experienced so many bad things today, to his own horror he had realized that he was getting used to it now. Maybe his mind was so much more tired than his body that death wasn't a big deal. No matter what else was on his mind, dodging Celestia's next slice of her sharp wings was all that mattered in the moment. He ducked and jumped backwards. Celestia followed him and raised her front hooves. Ivanhoe was hit right in the face. He was thrown several feet backwards. His face was aching, his ears ringing. The pain was horrible, but he wouldn't die because of that, but he was so dazed he couldn't walk properly. "I'm sorry you have to be removed in ignorance. It just feels like I'm not getting closure," said Celestia. Ivanhoe walked backwards but he fell over. Celestia stomped him right on his hoof. A blinding pain shot up through Ivanhoe's leg as the very hardened surface of his hoof cracked and shattered. Ivanhoe screamed, which echoed into the night.

"I won't give up now!" he managed to say after the initial shock of the pain.

"Of course you won't. You can't," said Celestia.

"Why are you doing this?!"

"To set things right," said Celestia and stomped on his entire back leg. An even worse pain, burning, freezing, like burning coals inside his muscles.

"I'm trying, ugh, trying to set things, things right," said Ivanhoe through the pain.

"What is 'right' is relative," said Celestia and pierced his other leg with her horns. It burned intently just touching it. He could smell his own flesh burning. At this point he could barely keep his focus, he had already forgotten where he was. He just needed to get to the train on the other side of town. He could still do this.

"If you die slowly, this nightmare will be over."

"You, keep...saying I have to...die! Why!?"

"If I tell you, everything would've been for nothing!" Celestia shouted and kicked him. It was obvious she had to keep her own strength back so he wouldn't die too quickly. Ivanhoe could through his blurry vision make out ponies standing around looking horrified.

"Why won't somepony help me?!" yelled Ivanhoe in despair. Nopony came to his aid, they just tried to avert their eyes from the fight, or rather, more accurately: slaughter. Ivanhoe looked up at her face, her very beautiful face, his deepest fear right now. Forever her beauty would frighten him. She was weeping as she was hurting him.

"Just die and get this over with, no more of this," said Celestia.

"Why don't you toss me in front of a train? Or stomp my head?" said Ivanhoe, for some inexplicable reason he laughed. He laughed through his sudden tears.

"You're insane."

"Probably, but I'm not the one killing somepony," said Ivanhoe and coughed. He could taste something in his mouth, it was the bitter taste of blood. Somehow he got the impression this was the first time he had actually tasted it.

"Stop it princess, you're killing him!" yelled a voice with panic in the crowd. It was her voice, Windy's voice.

"You know what this is about, so stay out of-"

"I don't care! I believe in him!" yelled Windy. Ivanhoe could see her running towards them.

"There is nothing to believe in, this thing has to die!" said Celestia. Ivanhoe looked at Windy. He was so hurt, so tired, death would be easy now. Whether it came slowly or quickly, it would be worth it just to get out of this situation.

"Windy Stables, stay out of this," said Celestia and stopped paying attention to him for a moment.

"Spike, now!" yelled Windy. A barrage of green flames started appearing above them both. Almost a hundred scrolls started raining down on the two, obscuring everything. Ivanhoe suddenly felt somepony grab him. Somepony was flying away with him. It was Windy, and somepony else. It was that mare, Fluttershy.

"Windy, I need to-"

"I know, I know. Die quickly. Fluttershy explained to me what the princess told them," said Windy, her voice a bit shaky.

"The artifacts in my pockets, put them in my mouth," said Ivanhoe. They helped him as well as they could. Ivanhoe heard a train in the distance. Even if the death wasn't sudden enough and it wouldn't work, at least he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. He was glad there wasn't a mirror around, he probably looked horrible. He held the feather and the orb with his teeth as hard as he could. He could see Celestia flying toward them with determination.

"I trust you, Ivanhoe. I do."

"I don't, but I owe you this one," said Fluttershy. The train was close. The kings words were important, so he followed them without hesitation. The pegasi dropped him.

"No!" yelled Celestia. The last thing Ivanhoe saw was the oncoming train's blinding lights in the darkness. The last thing he heard was the deafening engine from the mechanical monstrosity. He closed his eyes, ready for it. Then everything went silent.