The Crucible of Restoration

by Golden Paw

Chapter Twenty Four

Sklax could feel his master’s displeasure even from his burrow. Best not to be out and about when the master was angry. The dank tunnels shook causing tiny ice fragments to clatter across the ground and more to Sklax’s annoyance partially block his hiding hole.

“You let them escape!” The words were like thunder, the wrath palatable from even this distance. Sklax quickly forgot the detritus blocking his hole and curled up tightly.

“It wasn’t my fault ‘Ornex’! I sent the she pony to steal the Seed, just like you told me too!” The second voice was whining in its fear. Sklax didn’t blame that stupid Orzana for being afraid.

“I gave you a simple task Orzana, one that even you shouldn’t be able to fail in. I gave you an army to command, a force twice the size used to topple Aithisha and you couldn’t even keep an eye on one naive princess?” There was a sickening ‘crack’ that reverberated down the tunnel followed by a howl of pain.

A much more pitiful cry came from Orzana, “But the ghost of Elzana helped her. How was I to know that he’d give her the Seed I….” Further snapping sounds echoed and Orzana’s excuses were abruptly cut off and replaced by agonised wailing.

Sklax clacked his mandibles eagerly, the master’s anger did have its plus points. It was so hard to find a fresh meal these days and by the sounds of things Orzana would be dinner before the day was out.

“I had hoped to keep my hoof in all this a secret, but it seems that thanks to your incompetence I will have to take personal action. I don’t suppose Elzana was good enough to stay dead this time?” Ornex asked. Only a whimper came by way of reply. “Well that is a surprise. I may even miss the meddling fool, still there’s much to be done.”

“You….will….attack….Equestria?” Orzana managed between gasps, “I can help, you will need an experienced commander to…”

If Sklax had a muzzle he would have smiled widely, the hopefulness in Orzana’s voice was pitiful.

“You? Come to Equestria and fail me again?” Ornex’s tone was scornful. There was a slight pause where Sklax drooled in anticipation. “Yes, I think you would be useful. Twilight has already met you and letting them think you’re in charge could lure them into a false sense of security.”

“Of course Ornex I coul…..” There was a final wet sound followed by a telling silence.

“Then again, I think you’d be far more useful as a delivery dog. Carrying a message is far more suited to your meager skill set,” The sounds of ripping flesh and crunching bone followed this announcement and Sklax dared to poke his chitinous head out of his hole.

The passage had gone quiet, but then something mangled and vaguely dog shaped clattered past, leaving a trail of fresh blood in its wake. It looked suspiciously like it had Orzana’s face. Well there goes my meal.

Sklax’s heart rose, a chunk of meat had fallen off. He was just lowering his head to snap up the meal when Ornex’s voice called out again, the fury replaced by his normal calm, “Sklax I know you’re out there.” Sklax tensed, torn between his prize and fear of his master. “Sklax!” That settled it.

The centipede gave one longing look at the morsel before scuttling towards Ornex’s chamber. The trail of blood lead right to the open doors of Ornex’s rooms and a looming shape with massive horns, silhouetted in the pale light. “Gather the others Sklax, we’re heading south.”

---

Foresight could feel the malevolent darkness swirling around her, its hunger like a prowling cougar. There wasn’t any shape, just an impression of movement, a shadowy figure reflected in the dark ice she’d summoned.

It moved from crystal to crystal, ever just out of focus and all the while the dronning susurration followed in its wake. Like a swarm of flies or bees only deeper and far more threatening.

Foresight couldn’t see Impasse anymore and far more worryingly she couldn’t hear him, nor his thoughts. The tangled mass of strands had constricted into a tight ball and Foresight feared the worst.

“So what will it be? Will you finish what you’ve started or do I crush your dear friend?” It was her own voice that taunted Foresight from the reflections, yet with disturbing harmonics behind it.

Foresight spun around trying to keep the figure in vision but every time she caught a glimpse it darted away again. What a fool I’ve been. I fed it my fears and rekindled the sleeping evil here. Such an amateur mistake. I musn’t be afraid, that’s what it wants.

“I have no guarantees you will even keep your word, you could just kill him anyway,” Foresight said, putting on a far braver front than she truly felt. Her heart stuttered as another creaking sound came from the tight mass above.

“Few things in this world are certain Foresight, I may yet destroy this stallion. But if you want him to live a bit longer you will answer some questions for me. For starters what are you? You’re both Celestia’s mortals, yet wrong somehow.”

Foresight was genuinely surprised. If it really was true that this being (whatever it truly was) had been drawing from her own fears then surely it knew most of what Foresight did? Yet she needed to play for time so answered anyway, “We’re ponies, but cursed ones. My ancestors were tainted with darkness centuries ago.”

“Intriguing, but it still feels like pony magic. Surely Celestia wouldn’t do such a thing? She’s far too soft and weak hearted for such.” The scorn dripped from every word. If a simple phrase was enough to kill then Celestia would have been nothing but a pile of ash right now. Such was the venom in that voice and the angrier it became, the less it sounded like Foresight and more like a seething mess of insect wings.

“If we’re going to do questions then I’m going to ask some as well,” Foresight replied with a snort, “Who are you?” The reflection paused and Foresight thought she saw a whole jumble of shapes within the ice. The silhouette didn’t seem to be able to decide on how many limbs it had.

“I don’t have to answer you,” There it was, the slightest hint of uncertainty.

“Then I won’t answer you either. I think you’ve already killed Impasse and so we can sit and rot here together for all I care,” Foresight said, fervently hoping she was wrong on both counts. The silence stretched out, the shadow darting back and forth within the ice. Finally she could take it no longer, “Well?”

“I am older than your horrid race, I saw the birth of this world and even had a part in making it you sniveling equine. Why should I bow to your demands?” The more it spoke the less like Foresight it sounded.

“And Impasse?” She asked hopefully before a tutting sound resonated in Foresight’s mind.

“My turn little pony. Who cursed you?”

Foresight swallowed, “Nightmare Moon.”

“And who’s that?”

It didn’t know! The realisation began to creep into Foresight’s brain. The library hadn’t been opened since the fall of king Sombra over a thousand years ago. It had been isolated from the events leading to the here and now. How can I use that?

“That’s two questions and you didn’t really answer my first one either,” Foresight countered, fervently working her mind for a plan. “Is Impasse alive?”

“No, but then again was he even so before ‘you’ trapped him?” The voice replied with a sneering chuckle.

Foresight bit her lip and cursed inwardly at her slip up before the voice came again, “Nightmare Moon, who’s that and why did they curse you?”

It was common legend, the idea that anyone didn’t know something of Luna’s fall left Foresight stunned, but it had her captor’s attention now and all she could do was draw things out.

“A powerful pony, one who nearly overthrew Celestia and cover the world in an eternal night,” Foresight replied carefully.

There was a pause as the shadow took this in. As Foresight watched the dark reflection seemed to be shaking and for the tiniest moment she dared hope that it was frightened. Then a roaring laugh echoed through the chamber, “A pony caused such darkness? Oh that is too precious!”

Foresight wilted as the laughter continued to thunder around her, “Good, kind and tolerant Celestia’s own little ones rebelled and cursed their own, oh that is simply wonderful. A far better fate than I could have ever dreamt.”

The shadow grew, its shape spread out across a whole vista of ice crystals that reminded Foresight uncomfortably of a multi faceted eye, “I spent years trying to think of a better way to prove that all her talk of a free world would only lead to disaster, but here I see that another has proven it for me.”

The looming shape seemed to dance and rejoice in a great flailing of limbs, “Where is this ‘Nightmare Moon’ I would dearly like to meet them and congratulate them on a task well done. They hurt Celestia far more deeply than I could have on my own.”

“Have you destroyed Impasse?” Foresight yelled over the noise.

“Destroyed such a wonderful example of Celestia’s failures? Of course not.” Two massive shining black eyes watched Foresight from out of the ice. “But I will should you deny me again and it will be slow, one piece at a time for every act of defiance on your part.”

A sharp crack was heard from up above and to Foresight’s horror a fractured piece of grey stone tumbled down from Impasse’ prison. It clattered on the ground almost in slow motion and Foresight gasped when she saw it was a single tooth. “He may not feel pain, but I know you do little pony.”

Foresight stared at the stone tooth and felt her resistance fall away, the brave show she’d put on crumbled as the hopelessness of the situation pressed in. Foresight closed her eyes and slowly bowed her head, “What is it you want me to do?”

“Tell me all that has happened in my absence.”

---

The groaning corpse tumbled backwards as Repose hammered it with a volley of stun rifle fire and Pipsqueak winced at the sight. The orders from on high had come suddenly for a ship wide lockdown, warnings of infiltrators aboard coming from Twilight herself.

How the Princess had made it back to the Bloomberg was beyond Pip but the threat she’d told them of was clearly very real. The very idea made Pip’s mind freeze. The monsters of ice and dead flesh had been horrible enough, but to see the animated corpses of ponies.

True to his word, Repose had seldom left Pip’s side and Pipsqueak had yet another thing to thank the unicorn for. The alarms had barely sounded out when the first lurching horror shambled into the engine section.

The startled work crews didn’t have time to register the danger emerging from the passageway before a pale pegasus battered a poor unicorn bloody against a bulkhead. The only thing that was stopping the compartment from descending into utter panic was Repose.

With quick efficiency he’d hurled a tool box at the creature, distracting it from the hapless victim before leveling his rifle. Before the box had clattered to the ground, spilling its contents in jangling rain, Repose shot a stun round right between the attacker’s eyes.

The noise alerted the other crew and they all stared in horror as the zombie pony shrugged off the shot without pausing. To make matters worse there were more shambling dead in its wake. The fallen soldiers from before had risen again to turn on their former comrades.

Pip saw at least three more dead pegasi pressing into the already cramped chamber as Repose neatly switched his rifle to a more powerful setting and this time the undead crumpled under the barrage, but even this didn’t stop it. With a growing sense of terror Pip saw it was still crawling towards them, cloudy eyes and frostbitten flesh being driven by a mindless determination.

Without breaking calm resolve Repose continued to fire into the advancing dead, the rifle’s bark nearly deafening Pip in the confined space. It whined and flashed as the overcharged beams of magic impacted against the dead and finally another pegasus was slowed before finally toppling with a shattering sound.

They were frozen, Pip realised. In the brief moment he got to see a pegasus clearly his panicked eyes took in the wounds covering the creatures. The damage that had brought them low when they were alive was now filled with the same murky ice that made up Orzana’s minions. With a sinking feeling Pip understood why the Bloomberg had been released too easily.

“Takes a lot to get them to stay down,” Repose commented and Pip was amazed he could be so calm, not even fighting the risen corpses of his fellow soldiers rattled him. “Best grab whatever you can and get ready to defend yourselves.” Pip didn’t need to be told twice and hefted his trusty wrench. The initial shock was wearing off and several of the workers already had various tools in their shaking hooves.

There was a nasty warning sound that Pip recognised as a power crystal giving up the last of its charge and the rifle fell silent. Only two of the oncoming had been felled by Repose’ last shots still leaving several dead to clamber over their downed fellows.

Repose grunted, the first sign that he was a pony and not a machine since the fight began. He dropped the rifle and neatly drew a sword, holding it in his magic with a wink at Pip, “Good old fashioned steel to the rescue huh?”

Pipsqueak didn’t have time to talk about the pros and cons of technology, the zombies had crossed short distance in a shambling trot. The first one was met by a heavy blow from Repose’ sword which easily sliced off the limb reaching for the embattled unicorn, “Dad was a practical earth pony, showed me how to cut stalks on the farm. Isn’t much different here.”

The severed limb clattered to the ground and Pip saw more murky ice where other vital fluids should have been. He didn’t have time to dwell on it however as his own zombie opponent reached out with a groan.

Pip swung his wrench two hooved and battered the limb aside. It made a nasty crunching sound and bent at a disturbing angle yet the yellow pegasus continued its attack. A glancing blow from its remaining fore hoof made Pipsqueak stagger and he was shocked at just how strong it was.

Pip’s shoulder felt like it had been hit by an anvil, the numbness traveled down his foreleg and he nearly dropped his wrench. The pain wasn’t far behind and Pip had to grit his teeth as he swung a return blow.

It was another sight to add to his collection, the way his tool snapped the dead mare’s head around with a cracking sound. There wasn’t time to consider things further as the zombie still came at him, its head now hanging awkwardly to one side. Pip may as well have been striking a wooden crate for all the notice the dead pony took.

They didn’t move like ponies anymore, not truly at any rate. The smooth actions of a living being that came naturally were tellingly absent. Their foes moved with jerky puppet like actions and Pip was keenly reminded of a ponykin the more he strove to keep the relentless dead at bay.

If Repose hadn’t been there then Pip was sure they’d have already joined the dead, he was the steadying anchor that gave the crew courage to stand and Pip thanked his lucky stars that there were such ponies in the Guard.

The sword flashed left and right, blocking blows not only aimed at Repose, but at the ponies on either side of himself. The narrowness of the way was working against the crew however. The efficiently positioned machinery of the engine room meant that only a couple of fighters could engage at once and Pip quickly realised that, one on one, he wouldn’t last long against these monsters.

He’d struck the dead pegasus several times and still it kept coming, the enchanted ice regrowing to cover and restore any hurt Pipsqueak had done. The foreleg Pip’s first swing had broken was already reshaped again.

Pip’s stomach took another turn as he saw that the ice had simply solidified the limb again, the original hoof was still at its sickening angle, like a broken bone set and left to heal incorrectly.

“How do we stop them?” A pony yelled in terror over the cries of fear and pain. Several of the crew were already down and Pip fervently hoped he wouldn’t be fighting them soon as well. There were only a few undead and that was quite enough for him.

“Stand fast! We only need to hold them until help arrives, then we drive them back!” Repose called even as another swing of his sword parted a zombie’s head from its body. There was no blood, only the horrible crunching sound of broken glass as the pegasus’ head hit the floor with a clang.

Despite the grievous blow the body continued to flail about blindly, tainted ice swelling up from the severed neck in the distorted parody of the pony’s missing head. Though slow and jerky the undead were almost impossible to kill it seemed and Pip felt the grip of panic begin to close around his heart again.

Repose staggered as a heavy hoof blow impacted and his barrier armour flared brightly. Winded he took a step back and the thin line of crew faltered, the illusion of Repose’s invincibility shaken as he was forced to take a step back.

Pip wavered along with them, the sight of the only soldier here being beaten back only fed the growing fear within. But Pip bit down hard and thought of his wife and unborn foal, if these dead overran the engine room then none of them would be getting home.

He’d never see his child grow up, nor Applebloom’s smile again and that forced fresh fire into his heart. With a mixture of desperation and burning resolve Pip stood his ground. He laid into the zombie before him with the fervor of a zealot, driving each strike home for all he held dear. The past few weeks of tension and fears finally finding a release.

The undead fell back before him as reaching limbs shattered and vacant faces crumpled under the relentless blows of Pip’s trusted wrench. He yelled, incoherent in his fury even as tears ran down his cheeks. He wouldn’t let them past he….

The blow felt like a train had hit him. It sent Pip sprawling to the ground and the moment of rage was spent as the wind was knocked from his lungs. Pip felt the world spin and his view became filled with looming shadows. In his moment of recklessness Pipsqueak had thrown himself forward into the undead host and now they were all around him.

The wrench, which only moments before had felt like a tool of almost divine vengeance was knocked from Pip’s grasp and the zombies crowded in. Without any armour Pip was painfully open to their blows but mercifully they seemed more intent of getting to the delicate workings of the Bloomberg rather than just mindless killing.

There was an unnerving sense of direction and purpose to the undead’s advance now, as if some will beyond their own drove them onward. This fresh understanding didn’t help Pip much as stomping hooves and jostling bodies threatened to trample him anyway.

He could hear Repose’ shouts over the heavy hoof falls but in the scrum Pip couldn’t make out what he was saying. Frantically Pip tried to crawl clear of the shambling horde but his progress was slowed when a careless hoof trod heavily on Pip’s own.

He cried out, pain flaring in his ankle like a small explosion. What was worse was the sudden cry that came up from the zombies, who until that point had attacked with only grunts and groans. They wailed like the trapped souls in Tartarus, a sound of horror so blood chilling that Pip even forgot his own pain for a moment. The screaming noise was coupled with a ‘whooshing’ sound and Pip saw the world around him growing brighter until he had to shield his eyes from the glare.

Fearing some new devilry Pip looked around in a panic and saw that the brightness came from a descending cloud of blue-white flames. It drifted down from the ceiling in an almost leisurely fashion, clusters of crackling fire that smothered the attacking zombies.

The screams and groans only grew in intensity as the fire settled, clung and quickly spread across the undead. Some of it sank down past the now thrashing zombies and Pip attempted to shy back to no avail.

Preparing for the agonising pain Pip was completely astonished when, instead of searing him, the fire landed before rolling off him like water droplets on a peach skin. It felt as if a silken handkerchief had brushed over his leg, only slightly warm to the touch.

Confused and fearing his heart would burst Pip saw that the undead were being consumed utterly by the strange fire. Ice melted before evaporating and the dead flesh crumbled away to dust, leaving nothing behind.

Pip felt a hoof grab his shoulder and was quickly reminded of his pain again. Looking around, ready to bite if necessary, He saw to his relief that it was Repose who was pulling Pip away from the disintegrating undead.

The unicorn had a large dent in his chest plate, while his left eye was quickly swelling shut. The nasty signs of heavy bruising were already starting to appear but despite his wounds Repose chuckled. “Brave but very foolish techy, still better that than running away.”

Pip grunted as his shoulder gave another twang of pain, “Yeah...”

Repose nodded, “Combat brings out the best and worst in everyone tech, glad to see you found your bottle and met them head on.”

Pip’s attention was drawn back to the quickly vanishing zombies. The strange fire continued its ravenous progress, eating away at the undead who still shrieked in a dreadful way. It was only then that he saw the line of unicorn soldiers beyond the horde. Their faces were drawn and several looked like they were about to faint under the strain, but their combined spell seemed to be doing the trick.

“Looks like we could make a soldier out of you yet,” Repose added as he leaned down and offered Pip a helping hoof.

The last of the thrashing undead crumpled and Pip saw the devastation left in their wake. Several of the crew were groaning on the floor, while some didn’t move at all. The brief surge of undead had wreaked substantial damage to the cables, pipes and various important machinery. It looked to Pip’s practiced eye like a good couple of days work to fix.

He was pleased for the distraction, it was that or focus on the fresh casualties from the attack. He tried not to linger on the broken bodies and instead found his thoughts straying back to Applebloom. Was she alright?

Evidently she had the very same thoughts for him. With a resounding crash Applebloom barreled into the room, shoving soldiers aside and yelling at the top of her lungs, “Where is he! He better not have gotten himself killed!”

Catching sight of Pip she dove forward and pinned him to the floor, “You stupid stallion, why did yer have to go and get mixed up in such a dangerous fight!” Pipsqueak cringed back as his shoulder gave another explosion of fire, Applebloom’s forelegs pinning his own to his sides. Ah she’s in a fearful mood again.

“He fought bravely Chief, bit over enthusiastic but would have made you proud,” Repose added in between Applebloom’s fussing. She was poking and tugging at Pip, as if testing a suspicious servo or piston for damage.

“See what yer’ve gone n done, that leg needs lookin at right away!” Applebloom scolded as if it was all Pip’s fault that they’d just had to fight off a horde of undead. She waved his foreleg, causing further spikes of pain to shoot along the limb.

She turned her eyes angrily to Repose, “I thought yer were keepin an eye on him!”

For the first time Repose actually shrank back, looking rattled, “I er did my best Chief I really did….”

Applebloom simply snorted and without another word heaved Pip over her shoulders and carried him out of the room. He could only shrug in apology at the others as, still grumbling, Applebloom headed for the medical deck.