Chapter 9: Breaking Through
Daring’s part in the plan was simple: aerial support. Midnight would steer Rose clear of dead ends, while Daring would keep their route clear and burst as many Shadow Ponies as she could. She gave her wings a flick: mostly dry, light and airy again, and anyways she was buzzing with enough adrenaline that she totally could’ve lifted them even if they’d been made of lead. Midnight passed her a tiny cloth bag filled with half of their snapstones. Daring tied it tight around her foreleg, within easy reach of her throwing hoof.
“You’ll keep us in sight, right?” Rose asked.
“Duh.”
“And don’t use up too many of those snapstones,” Rose reminded her.
Daring nodded. On the walls facing into the square she could see the obvious movement of silhouettes, now that she knew what to look for.
“But don’t let them shadows get too close. Ah can’t maneuver as well as normal with Miss Oil on mah back.”
“I got it, Rose. Blow shit up. No problem.” She leapt into the air, revelling at the sensation of hovering, of her legs dangling below her, of her wings forcing huge rivers of air past her with each stroke. Excitement joined adrenaline and she smiled. “Oh yeah! I totally got this!” she yelled.
“Quiet!” Rose hissed, eyes darting back and forth over the silhouettes.
“These shadows aren’t angry,” Daring reminded her, “yet.”
“Have you forgotten all the other Shadow Ponies we’ve been hearing all night?”
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t be quiet, I’m saying you shouldn’t get too worried about these ones!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Midnight Oil interrupted. “We’ll be making more than enough noise and light to attract most of them.”
“Wonderful.”
“Ready?” Daring asked.
Rose knelt beside Midnight and let her hoist herself onto Rose’s back. Midnight clutched the lantern tightly and held it above Rose’s head, wrapping her other foreleg around Rose’s shoulder.
“Ready!” Rose said. “Which way?”
Midnight pointed down a side street. “As soon as we leave the square they’re gonna come after us.”
“Ah know. Ah won’t stop. Just point me in the right direction and we’ll be fine.” Rose looked back at Daring. “Stay close.”
Daring saluted and shot into the relative safety of the black sky. Below, Rose and Midnight set off down the side street, plunging the square into darkness. Even though Daring was expecting it, the chorus of screeches that echoed through the cavern still shocked her. Dark shadows filled the square before the last of the light faded.
“Let’s see how this works,” Daring muttered, focusing on the square and its new tenants.
She folded into a dive and shot towards them, reaching for a snapstone. It was heavy, denser than it should be. Good for throwing. At the bottom of her arc she threw the stone into the mass of Shadow Ponies just as she pulled up. A flashbulb went off behind her, painting the surrounding city white for a fraction of a second. When Daring looked behind her the square was filled with a cloud of burning embers. Daring whooped.
She looked ahead. Rose and Midnight had taken a couple turns and were pacing themselves. A pair of Shadow Ponies jumped into the lane behind them, darting back and forth over the brickwork, up the walls and over gaps, only visible by their motion. They were fast—easily as fast as Rose and Midnight. Daring swooped low and reached for another snapstone.
SNAP. The closest Shadow Pony burst into embers while the other howled and continued running. It was close enough to Rose and Midnight that it was travelling over lit stonework more often than not, even as the two ponies weaved and turned. Before Daring could reach for another snapstone, another flash went off right behind Rose: Midnight had turned and taken out the Shadow Pony herself.
Ahead, another Shadow Pony was racing towards them down another street, about to cut them off. Daring flew to the side, dropped low, and tossed a snapstone in the path of the approaching Shadow Pony. It leapt through the air, spinning past the snapstone, and raced ahead, unfazed by the explosion behind it. Daring thought for a second that it had made eye contact with her—those burning purple eyes were all she could ever make out—but at least it couldn’t reach her.
The Shadow Pony turned the corner and sped down the narrow walkway towards Rose and Midnight. Daring followed behind, closing fast. She waited as long as she dared before throwing her next snapstone. This time her aim was true, and the Shadow Pony was only embers and smoke when Rose ran over it. Daring and Rose made eye contact, then Daring was pulling up and turning for another run.
Shadow Pony after Shadow Pony burst into smoke and coals, some dodging her throws initially, others perishing in groups. She grabbed her bag of snapstones and felt around—only about a dozen left. Each was powerful enough to incinerate a fair few Shadow Ponies, but she had to use them sparingly; otherwise she’d be useless in the air, and she knew Midnight didn’t have many more.
Around her the labyrinth stretched off into the distance. Rose and Midnight were easy enough to spot by the warm yellow glow racing down one of the lanes. Daring turned and dove to cover them. Buildings only half seen rushed past her, occasionally lit by the momentary glare of a snapstone bursting from the two runners. Motion on one of the buildings to the side. She turned her head to track the Shadow Ponies up there, wondering whether it was worth it to spend another snapstone—
Something cold and hard slammed into her side. She screamed in shock, even as the Shadow Pony scratched and bit at her. She tried to grab the Shadow Pony, tried to turn in its grasp and regain control, but it wasn’t cooperating. Her gut lurched as they dropped and spun through the air. Daring kicked and thrashed, desperate to get the thing off her. Up above, she could see the street approaching fast.
The Shadow Pony grabbed her around her withers, face to terrifying face, and the rushing wind pushed their lower bodies apart. Daring brought her knee up between their guts and shoved, loosening its grip. Her wings flared and pulled her free; she stabilized, rolled upright, and pulled up, skimming over the top of some ruined buildings and only just hearing the sickening crunch below. Good to know the Shadow Ponies followed the laws of physics.
She flapped hard to gain altitude. Where are they? She looked around, frantic, all turned around from the fight. Finally she spied the dull orange from Rose’s lantern down below. Oh, no! Above them, on top of the walls on either side, several of the Shadow Ponies had gathered. They weren’t blocking Rose’s path, but they weren’t racing to catch them, either.
Daring readied a snapstone and dove to investigate, careful to keep a good distance above them and still keep an eye on Rose and Midnight. She could only see their purple eyes, all watching her. Angry that she had altitude on her side? Trying to bait her away from the others?
The Shadow Ponies leapt into the air, closing the distance fast. Daring had just reached back, ready to throw another snapstone, when—
“Since when do you have wings!?” she hollered, realizing that of course some of the Shadow Ponies were Pegasi; then she had to duck and weave among a murder of black shadows swarming around her. Hooves and fangs poked and slashed at her, blocking her wings and stalling her airflow. Her stomach lurched as she fell from the group. She whipped a snapstone at the group, closing her eyes at the last moment and opening them to the sight of tumbling and evaporating Shadow Pegasi.
She looked around. More Shadow Pegasi were approaching, their purple eyes glowing like bolts of magic all aimed her way. She growled and narrowed her eyes. So they could fly? Big deal. She might not have been Equestria’s Best Young Flyer, but she was no slouch either.
Down below, the orange light bounced and raced through the labyrinth, right below the approaching flight of Shadow Pegasi. If she followed Rose and Midnight they’d swarm her and all the snapstones in the world wouldn’t stop them from crashing her into the stonework, but already she could see Shadow Ponies darting about between buildings, racing after Rose and Midnight. She had to get around the Shadow Pegasi, a lot of work and a lot of time, while all they had to do was stay between her and the runners.
“Crap.” Her wings ached from the exertion. Daring could stay aloft as long as she could stay awake, but only during a relaxed flight. Maneuvers like these sapped her strength and tested her endurance. She had to lose the Shadow Pegasi, and fast.
Daring banked to the side, away from Rose and Midnight and away from the flight of Shadow Pegasi, and put on the speed. With any luck she could lose them and catch up to Rose and Midnight before they got into too much trouble.
---
Twilight hid behind the top of what she’d decided was a meeting hall and watched the burning yellow glow advance its way through the labyrinth. Just beyond the lantern light, about a half dozen of her creations blurred together in a large mess of inky blackness, eagerly awaiting their prey. She’d given them enough cunning to keep them from running single file into a trap; she wanted them unpredictable as well as dangerous. This meant resurrecting the personalities from her jungle cats and building the shadow bodies around them. Now they hunted, rather than chased; now they didn’t need her constant control, just little hints here and there, and a little restraint now and then.
She looked up. Daring Do soared overhead, rocketing so fast that she left a rainbow trail despite Twilight’s best efforts to recolor it. No matter; Daring was focused only on aiming her snapstones and clearing a path for her team. A snapstone exploded in the distance, ahead of the runners, and Daring yelled some taunt that she couldn’t quite make out.
Rose Gambit and Midnight Oil pushed off into the distance. Twilight needed to keep up, needed to keep both parties in sight. She focused on a nearby rooftop and stepped through the space between spaces, teleporting almost instantly across the gap. Not too hard. A quick series of hops had her in prime view to watch Rose and Midnight approaching, even if it also had her feeling slightly nauseous.
Daring Do soared high overhead, visible only from her wake. Occasionally she would drop into freefall and rocket through an alleyway or street and casually incinerate a Shadow Pony, leaving a flaming, smoldering mess that would quickly extinguish itself. Twilight’s best guess was that Daring had about a dozen snapstones left, and she’d hardly made a dent in the number of Shadow Ponies, which was worrying.
Movement ahead. An intrepid Shadow Pony was climbing a nearby wall, trying to get the jump on Rose.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Twilight shaped her barrier and wedged it between the wall and the Shadow Pony, then flung it up and away—just in time for Daring to come racing overhead.
WHACK
Daring and the Shadow Pony collided and immediately plummeted. Twilight could hear muffled yelling and swearing buried beneath the constant static that was slowly flooding the cavern. A mounting sense of horror filled Twilight as Daring dove towards the stonework, faster and faster, narrow walls reaching out towards her, and only after Daring kicked the thing loose and pulled up did she remember to breathe.
“Uh, sorry,” she muttered, unable to do much more than that. She blinked, shook her head, and reshaped her barrier into a much more boring sphere. This way, at least, if something flew into Daring it wouldn’t be her fault. Not that there were many Shadow Ponies coming after her. In fact, they all seemed bent on chasing down the adventurers, so she’d done something correctly.
Yelling brought her attention back to the runners. Rose and Midnight were going off-course: Shadow Ponies were inadvertently blocking the route in several key places. Midnight was having trouble both steering Rose and throwing her snapstones. Twilight needed to intervene and clear a path for them to continue, since this was taking them dangerously out of the way, but she needed to find a way to do so without Rose or Daring noticing.
They weren’t in trouble, yet; Midnight knew the layout of the labyrinth well enough to keep them from running into any dead ends, so long as the Shadow Ponies didn’t overwhelm them—or separate them.
More movement: in front of her another Shadow Pony had climbed the wall and was turning to face her. She gulped, strengthened her barrier, and winced—just in case—but the hit never came. She opened her eyes just in time to see the Shadow Pony leap over her, off into the sky.
Her jaw dropped.
“Since when do you have wings?!” she hollered. “I’m positive I didn’t give you wings!”
The Shadow Pegasus raced through the sky, and soon Daring Do was dodging and weaving through a whole cloud of them. Twilight ran after them, teleporting herself over the larger gaps. They were fast. In desperation she shot a trio of snapstones their way, but at that distance none hit. Daring turned and shot off into the darkness, dogged by Shadow Pegasi.
Rose and Midnight thundered under her perch. Snapstones burst around them, missing most of the Shadow Ponies that were closing in—Midnight wasn’t particularly dextrous when Twilight wasn’t directly controlling her. Ahead, the way was blocked and they were going to have to detour again.
Twilight whimpered, jumping from hoof to hoof. Daring dodged and danced, only barely staying aloft. Rose managed to slide past another Shadow Pony, nearly sending Midnight flying into the wall. Twilight couldn’t keep up with both parties and, apparently, no longer had control over the monsters she had let loose in the cavern. Already she was breaking her promise to keep them both safe. At least now it wasn’t entirely her fault.
While she had nothing but respect for Rose, Daring was less burdened and needed less help. With a regretful look she turned away from Daring and hurried after the two runners.
A fire smoldered inside her. If she got the adventurers safely to the Sanctum—once she got them there safely—she’d hunt down the Shadow Pegasi and incinerate them, one by one.
---
Rose’s legs were on fire and her lungs couldn’t keep a breath. Sweat streamed down her face. Above, her cargo and driver alternated between yelling at the sky and shouting confusing instructions right into her ears, instructions that led her in circles and up against the occasional dead end. Her lantern bounced back and forth in Midnight’s grasp, and several times it shook so fast Rose was sure she was gonna drop it. At least she wasn’t whacking her in the head with it, anymore.
Thankfully her new friends were happy to motivate her. Behind her a Shadow Pony howled, hungry and angry, but she didn’t have the time or the courage to look behind her. At least the ground was fairly level and mostly dry, ignoring the occasional pile of rubble or pool of water.
Ahead the route split into a T. “Which way?” she panted.
She could feel Midnight fumbling with the lantern and her small stock of snapstones. “Uh . . . hold on—”
“Midnight!”
“Left. Right! Right, go right!”
Rose rolled her eyes and leaned into the turn, careful to keep from clipping her cargo’s face on the stonework.
Midnight steered her left, then left again, then they were flying down a long, curving corridor that stretched off into the darkness. Just how big was this city—and how far until they reached this Sanctum at the center? She’d found a rhythm, but Rose knew she couldn’t keep up her pace forever, and she had no idea whether they’d reach the safety of the temple before then. Of course, she didn’t know whether the temple was safe at all, but she didn’t have time to dwell on that.
Rose leapt over a puddle but messed up her landing, slipping on some pebbles. Midnight pitched off of her back and for a terrifying moment Rose thought she’d dropped her cargo, but Midnight was reaching around and rebalancing, facing backwards. Her hindlegs bobbed in the edges of Rose’s view. The Unicorn yelled something hostile and after a short delay brilliant reflections bounced off the walls around her, followed quickly by the peace-shattering explosion of a snapstone.
“Got it!” Midnight whooped.
Rose was preoccupied with the blockade in their path. “Two more ahead!”
“What?!” More awkward shuffling, and then she was fumbling with the snapstones. Rose kept running, filling with dread as she barreled down on two Shadow Ponies. These two were hulking brutes, glaring at her and growling loud enough that she could hear them over her thundering hooves and pounding chest, standing in front of a low wall. Rose was running right into a dead end, and even if Daring showed up at the last minute and cleared the route, that wouldn’t get them over the wall.
“Midnight! Which way?” she yelled.
“That’s not supposed to be there!”
“Not helpful!”
Midnight leaned left and right, trying to get a better view, but Rose could already tell there were no turns ahead.
“Deal with them!” Rose panted.
“I’m trying!” Midnight insisted. “You gotta turn around!”
Maybe some of Daring had finally made it into her thick skull. Rose shook her head. “We ain’t turning our flank to the enemy!” She leaned low and put her weight in her hooves, practically flying at the Shadows. They were so close she could damned near touch them. They howled. She yelled back. One leapt at her, hooves and fangs outstretched. Rose immediately regretted her decision and prepared for impact. The Shadow Pony exploded into a thousand smoldering chunks. Midnight whooped. The other was blocking their path. No time to throw another snapstone. Leap of faith!
Rose kicked off, and the Shadow Pony had the good grace to step into the perfect position. Rose landed on its back and jumped again, sending the Shadow Pony staggering and herself and her cargo flying over the low wall.
She landed with a skid but kept her momentum. Ahead the route turned sharply. Rose tried to turn in time but skidded sideways into the wall. Midnight cried out in pain, nearly tumbling off.
“Hang on!” Rose called. She could see motion high above, just darker shapes in front of the dark sky. “Take ’em out!” she hollered at Midnight.
“I can’t navigate and throw at the same time!”
“Yer a Unicorn! Figure it out!” She looked ahead. The route rose and fell gently, and curved a little, but she could see a straight line for a fair distance. “Focus on the Shadow Ponies!”
Midnight climbed over her, nearly knocking Rose over as she shifted her weight around; then she was saddled on Rose’s back. One hoof rested on the back of her head for balance. Rose tried to run as smoothly as she could, but it wasn’t easy with the wide, sloping stonework and occasional piles of debris blocking their way.
Another few meters and another detonated Shadow Pony, then Midnight guided her through a series of tight turns through back alleys.
“Ok, tough part coming up here,” Midnight said.
“What? Where?”
“Up there!” She leaned forward enough for Rose to see and pointed. Ahead on the right, fading into view in the warm orange lantern light, was a mostly intact staircase that lead to the roof of one of the buildings. “There’s a wall around this whole district.”
“Yer joking,” Rose muttered.
“I’m told I don’t have a sense of humor.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “What do Ah do when we’re up there? Half these buildings ain’t got roofs left!”
“That’s the tough part.”
Rose seriously considered leaving Midnight as a distraction, but leaned and angled herself towards the stairs all the same.
---
Daring tucked her wings to her side and dropped like a stone, only just avoiding a pair of Shadow Pegasi intent on tearing her to shreds, but that let the others still on her tail catch up slightly. All they had to do was aim for her, and any turns she made gave them a chance to catch up.
She flared her wings and shot forward, turning her downwards tumble into forward momentum that skimmed the road and sent debris scattering in her wake. A shriek of agony told her one of her pursuers hadn’t pulled up in time. She grinned, but it was short lived: soon she was panting and straining to regain altitude. She’d been in enough aerial combat to know that if her enemies were above her, she was a goner.
The ceiling swam out of the distance, only barely visible from the faint light towards the center of the city and a pale blue phosphorescence. She banked and angled herself back towards Rose and Midnight Oil, scanning the streets below for their lantern light—there! Their lantern light bounced up and down, heading towards the murky glow farther in.
She caught motion in the corner of her eye and yanked herself sideways, barely avoiding the razor-sharp fangs of a Shadow Pegasus. She turned and swung, her hoof clipping its head and sending it tumbling back, howling. She dug through her bag to find a snapstone, wincing when she felt only a small hoofful.
“Ack!” she yelped, ducking to avoid another Shadow Pony, and flew down and below, trying to count the shapes dancing in the air between her and her companions. Far too many. They weren’t mindless beasts, then: somehow they knew to keep between her and the center of the dead city, while others chased her in circles, hoping to tire her out. She wiped sweat from her brow, spat out a mouthful of saliva and flew towards Rose and Midnight.
A Shadow Pegasi swooped down in front of her. Daring hurled a snapstone at its face, closing her eyes and trusting that it would find its mark. The brilliant flash visible through her clenched eyelids was a welcome relief, and when she opened her eyes she was racing through a cloud of burning cinders. She whooped then looked to the roads below.
She could see the lantern bouncing around, moving very fast, jumping from roof to roof. Either they’d gotten lost or they were taking a shortcut—Daring tried not to think about how narrow some of those roofs were. Dark shapes flitted around them, easily matching their speed and handling the narrow corridors, tall walls, and crumbling buildings far more easily they they were. Daring had finally caught up to them, but she was still too high to help them—if she dropped snapstones from this height they were just as likely to hit Rose or Midnight as they were to hit a Shadow Pony.
Another Shadow Pegasus flew at her. Daring reached into her bag of snapstones, then tilted sideways and slipped downwards, losing altitude without having to fold her wings and lose control. The Shadow Pegasus tried to catch her, but missed. Its wing slid over Daring’s, freezing feathers trailing over hers. The cold shot through her nerves like a shock of electricity and she staggered for a moment, recovering just in time to fly right at another Shadow Pegasi. She yelped and tried to dodge but slammed shoulder-first into the silhouette.
It shrieked and elbowed Daring square in the jaw. Dazed, Daring reached around and tried to grab the Shadow Pegasus, but it twisted and turned, eluding her grasp. She reached for her bag, finally knocking the shadow’s foreleg aside and tearing out a snapstone. The Shadow Pegasus slashed at her side. She caught its shoulder with her free hoof and turned it face-to-face.
It hollered in her face. She shoved her snapstone in its mouth and punched its jaw shut.
It’s purple eyes bulged outward, and it choked for a second before bursting into embers around her. Daring quickly righted herself and pulled up.
She checked around her. None of the Shadow Pegasi were near enough to catch her for the moment. She sighed and reached for her bag of snapstones.
“Crap!”
Shock shot through her as her hoof closed on empty air. She’d dropped the bag during her struggle. No! Oh, fuck!
She peered towards the ground. There! Something small fluttered below her, visible against the dimly reflected lantern light. She folded her wings, raced towards it, and snatched it from the air, but it was already empty. She’d had at least half a dozen snapstones left.
And she was almost directly overtop Rose and Midnight.
“Look out!” she yelled, well aware that they couldn’t hear her. She winced and closed her eyes just in time to keep from being blinded, hearing successive blasts several seconds later.
After the snapping sounds had stopped she opened one eye and peeked. There! Their lantern flew from ground zero, landing in a cluster of buildings; after a few moments the light blinked out.
“Shit!” Either Rose was dead—or Daring was.
Daring looked around. The Shadow Ponies on the ground were converging on the blast site on the roof, while the Shadow Pegasi had all taken to the air and were between her and the center of the city. She had no more snapstones to fend off her pursuers and couldn’t even see Rose anymore.
Only one place the Shadow Ponies had left clear, in their haste to catch her and Rose. She gulped, but she knew she had no choice.
I’m dead either way. She pressed her helmet tight to her head and dove for the streets.
---
Rose was close enough now to see their destination. A large stone tower loomed out of the distance, well lit at the bottom by rows and rows of firepits and fading into darkness high above, so far above that Rose couldn’t see where it ended, or if it did before it hit the ceiling. There were no windows that she could see, and while it had to have a front door of some sort, she couldn’t see one of those either. Hopefully it was just on the far side.
Rose leapt over a small opening and winced as the roof struggled to survive her impact. She could feel the stones knocking loose, could feel the wobble in the structures as she ran over them.
“We’ve got company,” Midnight said, gesturing ahead. A small group of Shadow Ponies had scaled the walls and were rushing towards them, leaping over the alleys as easily as Rose might avoid a small rock. Midnight threw a snapstone at them, but the Shadow Ponies danced around it. Even illuminated by the snapstone’s bright white burst, they didn’t get any brighter than solid black.
“Where the hay is Daring?!” Rose growled.
“I don’t know! I haven’t seen her in a while,” Midnight said.
Rose tried to ignore the dread filling her gut. She veered away from the tower and aimed for the closest next roof. She leapt over the alleyway, landing awkwardly and scrambling to keep her balance. “Find me a way down!” she cried.
“I’m trying!” Midnight said, a little hysteria in her voice. She shifted her weight left and right, craning her neck for a better view.
“There! To the right!”
Rose glanced. A wall three or four buildings away had collapsed, leaving a ramp of debris in its place. Rose scanned the rooftops for a path that didn’t require a set of wings and angled herself towards the next roof.
“Rose!” Midnight shouted, right next to her ear. “Incoming!”
Rose looked. A cloud of shadows only distinguishable by their glowing purple eyes and their constant screeches was climbing up the walls as she ran past. Ahead Shadow Ponies were already scrambling over the edge and hurrying towards them.
“Midnight!” she yelled, unable to mask the fear in her voice. “Do something!”
“I’ve don’t have enough to take them all out!” Midnight yelled.
They were closing, fast. Every rational thought she had urged her to turn around and run the other way, and try to find another way down. She whipped her head back and forth, searching for a way around, but she couldn’t see anything in the dim lantern light.
Rose turned back to the wall of cold, vicious monsters approaching them. “Just aim for the one in the middle. Don’t throw until it’s right on top of us!”
“What?!”
Rose grimaced. Even she knew it wasn’t going to work. “Just do it!”
Midnight wouldn’t have to wait long. Rose could already make out the leader, only a shade darker than the rest of the mass of black smoke barrelling down on them.
Rose ducked her head and leapt the last gap. “Now!” she cried, shutting her eyes tight.
The world around her bloomed white, brighter than a flashbulb, visible through her eyelids like they weren’t even there. Over and over the snapstone exploded, hammering her ear drums and bathing her in heat. She yelled, barely able to hear herself over the shrieking Shadow Ponies.
Then the carnage stopped. Rose opened her eyes and tried to blink away the afterimages, realizing at the last moment that her hooves still had nothing beneath them and that she and the angled roof were still on a collision course.
“Ahhh!” Rose yelled.
“Ahhh!” Midnight yelled, when she noticed their destination.
They hit the roof and immediately Rose was sliding more than running down the ramp on the other side. Midnight Oil yelped and bounced, and Rose thought she might finally have lost her balance and toppled off, but she landed painfully on her back, barely holding on. Rocks and rubble spilled over and collapsed behind them. Rose leapt the last meter and landed in an open square.
The debris clattered to a stop. Their lantern rolled in a lazy circle, sending shadows across the walls and ringing loudly against the stone. She and Midnight were ringing loudly. Everything was ringing loudly.
“Which way?” Rose panted, head whipping left and right. There were no Shadow Ponies that she could see, but there was also no obvious route out. Who builds an open area between houses and closes it off?! “Midnight! Which way?!”
Midnight groaned and slumped sideways over Rose’s back. Rose bit back a swear and tried to take stock. They were safe, for the moment. She wasn’t about to die a painful death. So far, so good. They were enclosed in a small space with only windows for visibility. Less good.
She backed into a corner and collapsed to the ground, letting Midnight slide down from her back. Her heart was pounding, strong enough that she could feel her body shake with each beat. Her lungs burned. Her muscles burned. She felt like she was going to be sick. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep where she lie; or, better yet, collapse onto a soft pile of hay and lose a couple days to a dreamless coma. Even the cold, hard stone below felt like an inviting bed.
Midnight groaned. “Wuz goin’ on?” She wasn’t ringing as loudly now.
“Shhh!” Rose hissed, eyeing the roofs around her. She and Midnight wouldn’t stay hidden for long.
“They can’t hear—”
“But Ah need to hear them!” She peered into the darkness inside the buildings around her, trying to spot any motion and hoping to see that reassuring blur of rainbow.
Midnight shook her head and shifted her balance.
“It won’t take long for them to find us,” Midnight said. “Pass me the lantern.”
Rose stretched and reached for the lantern, only just able it reach it without getting up.
“Okay. Just . . . just keep quiet, and don’t panic,” Midnight said slowly, before extinguishing the lantern and plunging them into almost total darkness.
---
“Shit! Shit!” Daring Do panicked, flaring her wings wide and slowing to a stop to avoid splattering herself across a wall that had appeared out of the darkness. Her decision to try to navigate the streets at full speed was a mistake. She threw herself sideways and pumped her wings hard, keeping a careful watch over her shoulder at the swirling mass of shadows behind her. She could no longer tell them apart; only their glowing purple eyes were distinguishable. On the plus side, the Shadow Pegasi were having trouble seeing her, too.
“Why are you chasing me?!” she asked through gritted teeth. “I’m not glowing! Go munch on a torch or jump in a fire or something!”
All she got back were screeches and that awful white noise that was filling the air.
The street straightened out. Daring grinned and poured on the speed, rocketing through the narrow corridor. Buildings flashed past her, their edges highlighted in the glow and recklessly close. The sound of air rushing past her ears was a welcome replacement for the constant animal wails, even as the air pressure ahead of her made it hard to breathe.
Beat by beat her cares melted away. She was being hunted, and knew the Shadow Ponies would devour her if they got the chance; she was lost, deep underground, searching for some ancient, dangerously powerful relic; and her friend was missing, more than likely needing rescue; but she didn’t care. She was flying, flying faster than was safe through narrow corridors, and it was wonderful, and for a few short moments that was all that mattered.
Ahead the road split in a T. She angled upwards to peek over the building but the moment her head poked up a chorus of screeches pounded into her. She guessed the sky was a little brighter to her right, and took a hard turn in that direction, banking almost completely sideways to make the turn.
“Shit!”
Blocking the road ahead was a Shadow Pony, a massive thoroughbred stallion if she had to guess, easily twice her size. It reared for her just as she skimmed over it, and reached around her ankle. Daring yelled and struggled to keep from stalling and slamming into the ground, while the Shadow Pony hung on and reached for her other ankle. Daring twisted around and kicked at the Shadow Pony, but it lunged for her, sending them both tumbling. Daring was quickly back on her hooves. The thing loomed over her, blocking her way. Daring didn’t believe for one second that she could beat it one-on-one, and ran back the way she came, passing the narrow street she’d arrived by on her left.
The Shadow Pony thundered behind her, easily keeping up. The road cornered and zig-zagged too often for Daring to get any real speed. The Shadow Pony’s hoofsteps went silent, and Daring leapt sideways into the wall just as it crashed into the ground where she’d stood. It howled angrily, right behind her ears, and Daring could feel the chill in its breath. She was up and running before it could swipe at her.
The building in front of her had an open window, through which Daring could see another on the other side. She angled towards the window and jumped through it, back hooves clipping the edge. She flared her wings, just for a moment, just enough to keep her going level, then crouched tight and cannonballed through the second window. Her hooves met the stonework and she was running. No way that monster could fit through those tiny windows.
She hazarded a look over her shoulder. The Shadow Pony howled. Daring gave a small grin before the wall split apart in an explosion of rubble and dust. The rest of the building quickly collapsed and the Shadow Pony burst from the debris and cloud of smoke, roaring so loudly Daring was sure it would knock down more buildings.
“Oh, come on!” Daring yelled. She jumped into the air and flapped hard, taking her just out of reach of the stallion. All around her Shadow Pegasi were closing in, apparently willing to just collide with her and crash into the ground. She turned left and right, desperately looking for a clear path.
The Sanctum was close, towering out of the surrounding labyrinth and glowing golden from the many torches lit around it. On either side the maze twisted and cornered in a mess even she couldn’t follow. One path led straight down the middle, but it was extremely narrow.
The Shadow Pegasi were almost on top of her. Knowing full well that even one mid-air collision meant serious injury and likely an untimely death, she climbed as high as she dared then closed her wings and dropped like a stone towards the road, trailing a flight of Shadow Pegasi.
---
Just outside the open window was the Sanctum.
The courtyard surrounding it was bare except for several statues and low walls, most of which had crumbled into rubble. Water dripped down from the ceiling, too far above to see, and the stone paving sparkled in little pools of stagnant water. Several torches lit the area, pressing the darkness back up against the buildings surrounding the courtyard, but there were many more torches that were dead. Dark silhouettes flitted across the ground, accompanied by their awful screeches and the constant static that had almost become part of the background.
Rose crouched low beside the window, letting Midnight slide off her back into a sitting position. With the light from the courtyard they hadn’t needed their lantern to see, despite the small scrapes and tumbles Rose had endured; and without their lantern light they’d been able to sneak their way to the center of the city. Now all that lay between their little hideout and the supposed safety of the Sanctum was the courtyard.
“ . . . which is infested with Shadow Ponies,” Midnight muttered, rubbing her left ankle.
Rose peeked up and over the edge. “Ah can’t see Daring,” she whispered. “She should’ve been here by now.”
“She’s probably taking her time, just like we did,” Midnight said. “She’s trying to stay hidden, so she’s sneaking her way over here.”
Rose twisted and tried to get a better view without exposing herself. Her muscles burned, her lungs had given up complaining, and she was thirsty and hungry, but what was worse was the tightness in her chest which had started growing when Daring had stopped dropping snapstones around them.
“Daring doesn’t know what sneaking means,” Rose said. “What do we do if she’s injured somewhere? How in Equestria are we s’posed to find her?” She listened, straining to hear the raspy voice that cracked more often than Rose’d expected, but all she heard was the clattering of Shadow Pony hooves, the thrum of Shadow Pegasi wings.
“Calm down. It’s gonna be okay.”
Rose pressed her hooves to her forehead and groaned. “Land’s sakes, Daring, why can’t you just stick to the plan?”
“Stop freaking out!” Midnight hissed. “Getting upset won’t fix anything!”
Rose was about to snap back when a Shadow Pony howled nearby. She pressed her hat to her head and lay as low as she could, not daring to breathe, sure they were about to be attacked, but the beast never came; instead there were more cries and screeches, and the sounds of flesh hitting flesh, and of rabid snarling.
Rose carefully peeked over the edge. A group of Shadow Ponies were fighting each other around a still-lit torch. Rose couldn’t follow the motion, but she could see their silhouettes getting tossed aside or jumping atop one another, a flurry of black smoke and purple eyes. One of the Shadow Ponies knocked over the torch, and its flame sizzled into a small pool of water, going out immediately. The other Shadow Ponies howled and jumped on the first, tearing it to pieces. The static in the air flared, and clamping her hooves over her ears did nothing to relieve it.
“Sweet Celestia!” she muttered, not wanting to watch but unable to look away. The Shadow Ponies were growing more restless, and with every torch that went out the tension in the courtyard grew. “Why are they fighting each other?!” she asked.
“They must still be agitated from when Cairo went through here.” Midnight gave a weak chuckle. “Guess we’re going in the right direction.”
Rose tore her gaze from the violence and tried to focus, but now all she could see was Daring getting herself buried under those monsters.
Midnight shook her shoulder. “C’mon! We’ve gotta go while they’re distracted!” Midnight hissed.
“Huh? Go where?” Rose asked. The Shadow Ponies had scattered, while the ruined silhouette wisped into the air.
“To the Sanctum. It’s not safe here!” Midnight insisted. “We can wait for Daring there.”
“We don’t know what’s inside there! We might not be able to wait for Daring! We ain’t movin’ until Daring gets here.” She snorted. “Ah wouldn’t hear the end of it.”
“And you think she’d be okay with you getting yourself killed?!” Midnight limped over and sat in front of Rose. “Wouldn’t you rather have that heavy door open and ready for her?”
Midnight made a good point, Rose figured, but that still meant crossing the courtyard full of vicious, angry Shadow Ponies. She could still hear fighting through their window. “How are we s’posed to get over there, then, without getting torn apart?”
“We’ll take it slowly. There’s plenty of cover.” Midnight pulled herself up to the window and looked over the edge. “They’ve knocked out enough torches that we can sneak almost the whole way there. If we take it slow, pay attention, and keep quiet, we should be able to make it. Then we hide near the door—there’s some rubble we can hide behind—and wait.”
Rose felt like laughing. “There ain’t no way we’re making it across that courtyard without bein’ seen. It’s suicide!”
“You got a better idea?”
She didn’t. Midnight crawled atop her back, minding the saddlebags, and together they slunk to the door.
“Okay. There’s a dark patch right over there,” Midnight said, pointing to a low wall maybe twenty meters away. “We’ll go there first.”
“Got it. Ya got any more snapstones?”
“Two.” Midnight held a stone in front of Rose. “You want one of them? In case we get separated?”
Rose really didn’t like the idea that they might get separated, but said, “Sure. Put it in my hat.”
Midnight slid the the stone under the brim of Rose’s hat then said, “Just try not to headbutt anything. Ready?”
“Ready.”
From her view around the doorframe Rose could see a pair of Shadow Ponies rushing across the courtyard, joining a group that was fighting in the center, while others skulked around in the distance.
Midnight said, “On three, hurry out as softly as you can run and park yourself in the shadows. On three,” she said quickly, cutting off Rose, “not after. Ready?”
Rose gulped and nodded.
“One.”
Really, the way was clear. They weren’t gonna be seen. They could do this.
“Two.”
The Shadow Ponies waited outside, ready to strike the moment Rose launched herself from their hideout. They were so dead.
“Wait!”
Rose nearly tripped over her forehooves. “What now?!” she hissed.
“Listen!”
Rose listened. At the edge of her hearing, very faint and distant, she could hear yelling. Not so faint. Getting closer. Desperate, continuous yelling—
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Daring!” Rose cried.
“Openthedooropenthedooropenthedoorwhyisn’tthedooropenyet?!”
A rainbow blur shot past, scattering dust in its wake, followed by a stampede of Shadow Ponies that just kept going.
Midnight smacked Rose on the head. “Go!”
She launched herself from the doorway into the courtyard, powered by a rush of energy that had come out of nowhere. The courtyard was mostly clear nearby, but there was torchlight shining right on her and there was no way they’d remain unseen. Already, fights were breaking up with the arrival of Daring Do, and some would inevitably see Rose and Midnight.
“The door’s around the right! That way!” Midnight hissed, pointing a little to the side. Rose tilted and turned to match, trying to watch for debris or anything else in her path, but she wasn’t really paying attention to the ground. Instead she watched Daring’s rainbow dash through the sky, Daring herself not bright enough to see.
It curved through a gentle, wide turn, keeping up a reckless speed that weaved dangerously close to several of the taller buildings around the edge of the courtyard. It screeched to a stop and plummeted to the ground before pulling up again, trailing Shadow Pegasi that weren’t as maneuverable—Rose watched several crash to the ground, exploding in wisps of darkness. It searched for a landing spot, but no matter where the rainbow went shadows were close behind.
Rose and Midnight sprinted across the courtyard, Rose’s hooves clattering loudly on the stonework and kicking up pebbles and stones behind her. Several Shadow Ponies turned and howled after them. Rose steered around the lit torches, giving the distracted groups a wide berth, and dodged her way around two Shadow Ponies intent on tearing off each other’s limbs.
An approaching whirlwind from the left caught her attention. Rose looked and watched Daring race overhead, low enough to hear her complain, “Hurry up!” Then she was gone, her trail rapidly consumed by a fluttering, shrieking cloud of Shadow Pegasi. The wind from their wingbeats was almost deafening.
Rose snorted. “Can’t you just open it yerself?!” she grumbled, well aware that Daring couldn’t hear her.
Midnight pointed to the side and yelled, “Look out!” Trailing behind Daring was a small stampede of Shadow Ponies. Rose gulped, but forced herself to focus on the road ahead. She already had her own train.
Ahead was the Sanctum, and around the curving wall Rose could just make out a large set of steps hopefully leading to the door. She was almost there!
“They’re gaining on us!” Midnight yelled, bouncing around and trying to keep herself on Rose’s back. Rose risked a glance over her shoulder. Midnight was right: Daring’s stampede had curved to follow her, a swirling black mass of shadow pierced with purple pinpricks. Above, she could see dark shadows streaking across the sky, some definitely aiming right for her. Rose was running as fast as she could, but she’d been running for so long, and her legs were burning. She couldn’t reach the door before they reached her. She needed a distraction.
Looking around, she angled herself towards the nearest torch. The shadows turned to match, steadily closing the gap.
Rose jumped over a low stone wall and slid under an archway. Just ahead was the torch; several shadows stretched out over the floor, greedily sucking down light. Even from here she could see their purple eyes glowing with power. Rose looked behind her, judged her speed, and slowed so that when she approached the torch her stampede was nearly on top of her.
“Hold on!” Rose yelled.
Midnight wrapped all four legs tight around Rose’s barrel. “Ready!”
Rose leapt past the torch, and landed with all her weight loaded into her forelegs. Midnight’s added weight nearly kept her rolling forward. Her hindlegs reared up, and she released the force in her legs like a spring, shattering the stonework supporting the torch. The torch clattered to the floor, flaring bright as its oil splashed across the stone and ignited. As quick as she could Rose raced ahead, and from behind came the satisfying sounds of enraged shadows leaping into being and mindlessly attacking anything that approached—including the stampede. She grinned.
She could see the entrance to the Sanctum. There was a large, heavy wooden door with a gentle flight of stairs carved out of a shiny black rock, approaching fast.
Almost there!
---
Daring’s trail of Shadow Pegasi were steadily gaining on her. She could feel the tightness in her wings that would lead inevitably to painful muscle cramps, and her wings were sluggish and heavy. She couldn’t turn as quickly, and she wasn’t entirely sure she could keep altitude. She didn’t have long now.
“Daring!” Rose called out. “Door!”
Daring looked, turning in a wide arc to keep the Shadow Pegasi behind her. Her teammates had reached the door. Rose had reared up and was pulling back on the heavy wooden door. A faint purple glow pulsed around the handle as Midnight added her magic. They were doing it! The door was opening, sending a line of fiery orange light onto the courtyard. Rose squeezed herself inside and began shoving. Daring couldn’t hear from this distance but she thought she could see Rose cursing up a storm. The door was ancient and there was no way its hinges worked smoothly.
Daring pointed herself at the door and flapped hard and fast. She could almost feel the heat from the Sanctum.
A Shadow Pegasi caught her, reached around and tried to grab hold. No! Not now! They’re right there!
She kicked and punched and thrashed as violently as she could, trying to pry the Shadow Pegasi loose. A frozen hoof connected and a sharp pain bloomed from her wing. She gasped in shock and kicked with her good leg. The beast screeched—Daring must’ve hit something vital. It swooped away, but Daring had completely stalled, and her wing had cramped painfully. She felt her stomach lurch as her flight became more vertical than horizontal. The ground was rushing up at her. Her flight instincts hollered at her to flare her wings and pull up, while her wings demanded that she fold them tight and nurse them back to health, so instead she tumbled, one wing folded tight and the other straining to twist her back to horizontal.
“No. No! C’mon!” she yelled at her unresponsive wing. Below was a swarming mass of black and purple. Even if Daring survived the landing, she didn’t expect to survive the welcome party. “Oh, Celestia, no! Ahh!”
And Rose is gonna be stuck out here alone. Stupid!
A Shadow Pony leapt over the crowd, arcing low and fast, straight at her. Daring twisted, trying to dodge, but the pony grabbed her around the barrel and pulled her back down to the ground. Desperately she elbowed the Shadow Pony in the side.
“Ow!” the Shadow Pony cried. “Fuck off!”
Rose! Daring gasped with relief. She grabbed around Rose’s neck and tried to hold on as Rose landed on the other side of the crowd, racing for the Sanctum and damned near tearing up the cobblestones below her hooves.
“Thankyouthankyouthankyou—” Daring panted.
“Shut yer mouth and hang on!” Rose yelled.
Daring shut her mouth and hung on. Rose swerved around a low wall and turned into the light from the opened door. Daring could just see Midnight on the inside, straining with her magic to keep it open. There was heat pouring out, probably attracting every Shadow Pony in the city.
The ground shook around them. Daring was amazed that Rose was making such a strong run, until she realized the shaking wasn’t in time with Rose’s hoofbeats. She gulped and turned her head.
Charging at them from behind was the large stallion Shadow Pony. “Rose!” she hollered over the clamor. “The brute behind us is gonna go right through that door!”
“We’ve got it covered!” She tilted her head and pointing toward the Sanctum.
Midnight was standing as best as she could, magic failing to hold back the door, with a snapstone in her hoof. She’d seen the Shadow Pony, and was yelling something Daring couldn’t hear over the thundering hoofsteps behind them. Rose’s surprising speed was fading quickly, and she was panting.
Rose aimed for the side of the stairs, matching the only open part of the door. The stairs were steep but somehow she kept most of their speed going up. When Rose reached the top she kicked up, keeping her upward momentum.
“Midnight! Now!”
Rose soared up and over the landing. Midnight aimed and threw a snapstone right under Rose’s barrel and between her legs. Midnight’s magic blinked out, and the door started groaning shut. Somepony was yelling—Daring was yelling. Midnight and Rose were yelling. The Shadow Pony howled.
They landed, the impact rough enough that Daring was wrenched from Rose and sent tumbling head over hooves. Behind them she heard the door slam shut, followed by a muffled explosion.
Daring rolled to a stop and flopped onto her back. She didn’t care if she was about to be eaten by a Shadow Pony, or torn to bits, or crushed to a pulp. As she lay, sucking down air and trying to not throw up, all she cared about was that it was warm and that there was ground beneath her backside.
She chuckled, which quickly turned into coughing.
“What’s so funny?” Midnight asked.
Daring fought to get her coughing under control and said, “I’ve never been so happy not to have to fly. Whoo!”
Her wings had stopped cramping. She carefully moved her limbs, making sure nothing was broken or missing, then slowly turned onto her gut and folded her wings away. “Blow me, that hurts.”
“Daring Fucking Do!”
Daring whipped around. Rose was standing on shaky legs, scratched and bleeding and covered in sweat and dirt. Her hat was barely attached to her head. She looked furious.
“Uh-oh,” Daring gulped.
“You stupid. Arrogant. Pegasus!” Rose growled, punctuating each word with a menacing stomp that rang through the room. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”
“Whoa!” Daring jerked back, landing on her haunches. “What did I do?!” she asked, waving her hooves in front of herself. “I’m sorry I dropped all those snapstones—”
“Midnight and Ah had to wait for you,” Rose snarled, marching towards Daring, “worried you’d gotten lost or hurt or somethin’, all because ya decided to go and show off—”
Daring scrambled backwards out of Rose’s path. “Hey! Whoa! I did not—”
“—how fast and nimble and brave you were, taking on all those Shadow Ponies—”
“I had to dodge those Shadow Pegasi and I still managed to keep an eye on you—”
“—Left me alone in the dark—”
“Are you crying?!”
“Fuck you!” Rose barked, and shoved Daring back.
“Ow! I’m already hurt, don’t oof!”
Rose threw herself at Daring and grabbed around her middle, knocking the wind out of her. Daring tried to wiggle free but Rose had her in a death grip.
“Ah thought you were gonna die,” Rose whispered. “The way you fell like that.”
Daring smiled weakly and patted Rose on the head. Rose squeezed tighter, and started to crush Daring’s lungs. She was trembling, though Daring chose to believe that it was from the adrenaline and that the moisture on her face was sweat.
So tense! Quick, say something sensitive. Witty. Reassuring!
“Gay-yee.”
“Shut up.”
Across the room, Midnight coughed discreetly. Daring sighed.
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That ending...
7705213 Ah, yes. This was most certainly gay! Happy, carefree, and brilliantly showy! Just as I am. I couldn't agree more, friend!
I haven't started reading this, but as it looks like this is going to be a wild read.
Once I started I don't know if I will stop.
I assume Twi will slowly lose control of her creations, forcing her to join the band of adventurers to find the Tome which is the only way out?
7707459
Do it! Do eeeeet!
I like this here story
7716174
My ship sails in the morning. I wonder what's for dinner??
*points*
Boat.
The action in this chapter is well-written. Rose/AJ was the MVP as she had to bear most of the weight, literally and figuratively.
Wait...Has Twilight been recoloring Dash and AJ to look like Daring and Rose the whole time? Wouldn't they notice that? Besides, it's sort of a pointless waste of her magical reserves and concentration.
And indeed, shortly after that moment, she lost control of her shadow ponies, as many readers figured she would.
Nice. Did you do that on purpose?