Ch. 14: Nightmares and Revelations
Legacy of the Pegasi:
Ch. 14: Nightmares and Revelations
Soarin' stood upon a lone cloud. A valiant blue sky was all around him, a summer wind gently wafting across his wings. He wordlessly looked about the sky scape. Nothing was in view, even to his pegasi eyes; there was only himself, his cloud, the brilliant blue above, and the emerald green pastures below.
“Hmm.”
It was odd that he was alone, a predicament that troubled Soarin' far more than how he was suddenly here in the first place. Where exactly was here? Why was he on this cloud? How did he get here? Why did none of these questions seem particularly important? Soarin' recognized the validity of these questions, but chose to ignore them anyway.
Instead, he abruptly leaped from the cloud, letting the wind fill his outstretched wings.
-
Rainbow let the wind carry her into the empty blue expanse. Though she considered that her questions from earlier seemed important, she really didn't feel the need. It just made much more sense to fly.
And fly she did.
She flew for a while. Had it been minutes? Hours? A day? Rainbow hadn't really paid attention. It didn't really bother her. She glanced at the sun, but it didn't really seem like it had moved at all. It wasn't like it really matt-.
Suddenly a white speck appeared on the horizon. Rainbow's eyes lit up, the first time she had truly been focused on anything in the unknown amount of time she had been flying through the barren sky.
-
Soarin' approached the lone cloud. Perhaps it was the nothingness that had surrounded him for the oddly unmeasurable amount of time that Soarin' couldn't recall, but he had felt immediately drawn to the cloud as soon as he saw it.
And now he knew why.
The Wonderbolt landed upon the puffy white cloud, his eyes drawn to the center. Seated in the middle of the cloud was a statue. It was the statue of a pegasus warrior of old, garbed in armor and armed with a pair of dual hoof daggers. With wings outstretched in flight and bladed hooves forward, the statue looked skyward, a grim facade of determination upon it. A silvery fog radiated around near its chest, shifting to and fro.
Soarin' looked up at Commander Hurricane with a grin.
The statue began to shimmer.
-
Rainbow Dash took a few apprehensive steps back.
The statue of Lightning Streak continued to shimmer, its form slowly changing.
Rainbow continued to stare, transfixed by the metamorphosis before her. However, her mesmerized stare soon turned to a cavalier smirk.
No longer did the statue bear the grim features of Lightning Streak, instead Rainbow's own confident visage looked to the horizon. She was clothed in Lightning Streak's armor, looking just as impressive and formidable. A gentle crimson fog hung about the statue's breastplate.
Rainbow simply continued to grin as she admired her magnified self depicted in stone. No questions came to mind. Should there have been? It didn't seem to bother her.
But the statue wasn't the only thing that had changed.
The sun had suddenly disappeared, overtaken by a host of raging storm clouds. A sickly hue of amethyst purple filled the blacked clouds as ominous flashes came, following by the telling rumble of thunder. The wind suddenly whipped around the solitary cloud, catching Rainbow's wings.
-
Soarin' braced himself against the cloud, skidding back toward the edge. His eyes darted all around. His lonely cloud was suddenly surrounded by billowing storm clouds, the haphazard flashes of hidden lightning and tumultuous crashes of thunder seemingly restrained just shy of a raging tempest. Only gusts of chilled air lashed about the cloudy island.
Soarin' readied his wings to take flight. But he would not be leaving just yet.
A surge of warning hit Soarin's mind, but it did him little good. A pair of lightning bolts erupted from above, exploding only a few paces from the Wonderbolt. Soarin' was thrown to the surface of the cloud by the shock wave, his eyes blinded by searing light.
How much time passed, he didn't know. Slowly Soarin' stumbled to his hooves, his sight slowly coming to.
Standing in the craters of the dual lightning strikes, were a pair of cloaked figures, their backs to the stupefied Wonderbolt.
-
Rainbow Dash stood rigid. She blinked several times, but her eyes did not deceive her.
The two figures stood still for a moment, their blackened cloaks whipping madly about with the increasing winds.
“Who are you?” Rainbow called out.
Neither figure moved. It was as if she wasn't even there at all.
Rainbow cautiously waited, but the mysterious ponies before her remained still, both staring down the statue before them.
Rainbow risked to move. Slowly she lifted her hoof, and took a step forward.
Immediately the sound of flourished wings and brandished steel cut through the air. Rainbow froze as the two pegasi hovered in the air, bladed hooves held at the ready before the statue.
“What-” Rainbow called out, but the sound of steel striking stone rendered her speechless.
The cloaked pegasi to her right had slashed across the statue's chest, the otherworldly steel leaving a crisp diagonal scar.
Rainbow tried to speak again, but a sudden tightness in her chest rendered her mute. Looking downward, Rainbow's eyes went wide in horror. A soundless scream left her lips as pain exploded forth.
A vicious laceration crossed Rainbow's chest, blood filling her cerulean coat.
-
Soarin' felt his legs start to wobble as he stared at the deep gash that ran across his chest. He tried to speak, but no words came. His face spoke volumes of fear and confusion as he attempted to stumble forward. All questions of how and why were pushed to the side as he tried to reach the pegasi before him.
The wind began to increase in intensity, but no rain came. Only the foreboding flashes in the distance and the heavy and ominous roll of thunder heralded the coming tempest.
The wound upon the statue's chest seemed to pulse with a sickening amethyst light, its glow dispersing the silvery aura.
“Wait!” Soarin' finally cried out. “Stop!”
But his words did nothing.
The clash of steel against stone rang out again.
Soarin's forelegs gave out from underneath him, as he collapsed with a gasp. Blood poured down to his hooves, a pair of wounds from a single strike along his forelegs. The Wonderbolt lifted his head. The cloaked pegasi still ignored him, as he lay paralyzed to the ground. The shrouded figure on Soarin's left held his right hoof outward from the level strike, the scar running across the statue's shins.
Soarin' tried to push himself forward on his wounded appendages, but the pain was too much as he fell forward once more, crying out as he ground his wounds against the cloud. Tears filled his eyes as the world began to blur.
There was another flourish of wings. Soarin's heart stopped.
He had only a moment to lift eyes upward. The pegasus to his right readied his left hoof for an upward slash to the statue's face.
Soarin closed his eyes.
-
There was another ring as the bladed hoof met the statue, but Rainbow didn't hear it against her own blood curdling scream. Pain filled her mind as an invisible blow struck the left side of her face, throwing her like a rag doll to the surface of the cloud.
Her body lay limp. Rainbow's left eye was gone; there was only darkness and the blood that filled her remaining eye. She could feel the blood beginning to pool around her. Her vision blurred.
The rough landing of two pegasi rocked the cloud. Against the shouts of pain that filled her mind, Rainbow forced her head around to her good eye.
Both pegasi stood before her, only a few paces away. Behind them, Rainbow could barely make out the crimson aura about the ruined statue, its calling warmth a fading flicker against the storm.
The cloaked assailants stepped forward. Their shadowed faces stared down at Rainbow Dash, demonic and unfeeling. They stood still, like the statue behind them, only the driving winds fighting against their black cloaks.
Rainbow's eyes flitted between the empty stares that bored down upon her and the razor sharp blades that lay only inches from her head. Only barely suppressed whimpers escaped her mouth as her mind contested with surging pain and the torrent of questions that beset her. One stood above all the rest.
With what little strength she had left, Rainbow lifted her head toward the two shadowy pegasi. Her mouth opened with a shallow gasp.
“...Why?”
The the shadowy figure to her right lowered its hood. Cold, dead eyes replied back.
Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide in a horror filled shock.
“M-mom?”
-
Soarin' stared back from the surface of the cloud at the two hood-less pegasi, his heart racing as terror and confusion filled him.
“Dad?”
Two sets of eyes stared back at him, a dead, soulless void. Behind the two pegasi, the storm had finally arrived, flashes of lightning streaking past the tiny cloud.
And then, in a flash, the pegasus that was Soarin's father brought his bladed hoof across Soarin's throat.
-
Soarin' bolted upright in his bed. His mane was drenched in sweat, his heart raced, and his breath came in shaky rattles. His body quivered slightly, lingering fear slowly releasing his body, even as the final moments of his nightmare played through his mind.
Slowly, the Wonderbolt looked over himself. His eye was whole. Blood didn't stain his forelegs or hooves. He gingerly dragged his hoof across his chest. He half flinched, but there was no pain, no wound across his chest.
Though he knew it was foolish, Soarin' let loose shaky breath in relief. But even as his body was at ease, Soarin' found his mind was not. Sitting alone in the darkness of his bedroom, there was only one question beside him.
What... was that?
Halfway across Ponyville, Rainbow Dash thought the same.
Shadowy cloaks darted through the deserted streets of Ponyville at night. No sound came as those who wished to remain unseen skulked from alleyway to alleyway, corner to corner. They moved in groups, bounding from cover to cover, not once tripping up, not once making a sound, flawlessly and stealthily sneaking about in a drilled precision. Slowly but efficiently they made their way toward the edge of the small town, each hooded head on a swivel and scanning the sky, the squad leaders ready at a moments notice to thrust a hoof in the air to signal the halt.
The entirety of the Tempest Guard stood silently within the final alley, the darkened passage shielding them from unwanted eyes. Beyond them lay one final obstacle; a dark and open expanse that separated them from their goal.
The squad leader with the first group poked his shrouded head around the corner into the street. For a moment he was still, his comrades waiting tensely for his signal.
There was no activity in the open fields between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, but that was not where the squad leader was looking. His eyes were skyward. Seconds passed without alarm, but the cloaked pegasus was unwavering. Then, there was a twitch of his ears. A gentle whooshing sound, almost undetectable, invaded the sky space.
A pair of Wonderbolts flew in tandem overhead, their eyes like hawks as they scanned the air and the ground below. They passed above the open field, disappearing behind the rooftops. Then, seconds later they reappeared, retracing their flightpath, still ever vigilant.
Abruptly, the sentry spun back to his refuge silently, pushing himself up against the alley wall. His eyes darted toward the center of the group, locking on a particular cloaked pegasus. He pointedly pumped his hoof to the air twice.
The stallion at the center of the group nodded curtly. He made a series of swift hoof signals, gesturing to the pegasus nearest to him. The guardsmen simply nodded, then deftly moved up behind the sentry, his eyes still peeled toward the sky. Without breaking his watch, the lead pegasus gave a quick pat to his fellow guardsmen.
Immediately the second pegasus bolted from the alley, his eyes locked to his destination. A second later he skidded to a halt, taking up his position and mirroring his companion, the two watching both angles in the sky.
The rest of the guardsmen immediately stacked up behind the lead sentry, awaiting the signal.
The second silently made eye contact with the first, and gave a curt nod.
Immediately the first sentry rapped his hoof against the building. Two pegasi whipped around the corner. Soundlessly their hooves struck the ground as the pair disappeared into the shadow at the edge of the Everfree Forest.
Minutes passed as pair after pair of cloaked pegasi skillfully and stealthily crossed into the darkness of the forest. Only two now remained.
The first of the duo sided up behind the first sentry and gave a quick pat with his silver hoof. The sentry affirmed with a nod, then with a quick glance, dashed into the darkness, his fellow sentry wordlessly following in kind.
Silver Wings peered his hooded head across the corner. “Windswept, when I give the signal, you will hug this corner and gallop across to the rest of the Guard.” He said, still watching the skies. “I will follow opposite of you.”
Windswept nodded quickly, trying to keep his breath even.
Silver's steel shoe sounded against brick and mortar.
Windswept jumped slightly, not entirely prepared for the signal. He jumped out around the corner, his hooves echoing a stampede of clacks along the stone road.
Immediately a flurry of wings sounded from the behind the rooftops. Windswept stumbled off the road and into the field, grateful for its silent surface. But it was too late. The field suddenly felt much larger and empty without the mercy of any kind of cover. His head twisted about frantically, trying to pinpoint the aerial sentries.
Windswept gritted his teeth. Run you idiot!
He made a mad dash for the edge of the forest, trying to outrun the growing wing beats, but the distance between Windswept and the Everfree had suddenly become much larger.
Just when he was sure he would be seen, Windswept suddenly felt a presence behind him. Still running, he risked a glance behind. Immediately a winged shadow descendent silently upon him, driving him to the ground without a sound.
Silver Wings pulled his cloak about himself and Windswept, grasping his amulet. “Be silent.” He whispered tersely. A black glow radiated from his amulet, just as the sound of hovering wing beats settled barely a hoof above the two pegasi.
Windswept was tense, not moving a muscle as he held his breath. His ears strained above him.
“...ere's nothing here.”
“....ld've sworn I saw... moving over here.”
Windswept strained to hear more, but the words were muffled and distant, as if he and Silver were two spies eavesdropping on one room from another.
“...bunch of rocks and grass. Come on, ...eck in with the next shift.”
There was another flurry of wings, as the wing beats suddenly became more distant, finally dropping off out of sound completely.
Silver Wings immediately jumped to his feet, dousing the glow from his amulet. He and Windswept then galloped across the field without a word, joining the rest of the waiting Guard at the edge of the shadowy forest.
Windswept nearly tripped, stopping just shy of crossing into the shadow of the wood. If the Everfree elicited a shiver at its sight during the day, then it was absolutely terrifying at night. He had heard the legends and stories about the most haunted forest in Equestria, but they did little to justify the void that waited before him. Everfree clouds had moved in throughout the course of the night, shielding the light of the stars, but Windswept would have bet that their twinkling light would have mattered little. The ancient and gnarled oaks of the forest created an impenetrable canopy, spawning the extreme darkness before him. A chilly fog permeated the forest, joining the dark as a ward against trespassers.
Windswept averted his eyes, afraid to stare too long into the fog veiled darkness. He could feel the frigid wisps around his hooves, small claws reaching forth from the forest.
Some members of the Guard seemed to be of like mind, noticeably more hesitant than their elders.
“The darkness and fog here...” a younger mare whispered aloud. “It isn't natural. I can feel it!”
“Precisely the reason we are here young one.” One of the veteran guards replied.
“Indeed.” Silver added, marching to front of the group. He stomped his hooves in rapid succession against the ground.
Immediately the Tempest Guard fell into formation in around Silver and Windswept, all fear pushed to the side. Four pegasi spread out in a half circle in the front, mimicked by a second in the rear. Together the formation moved slowly into the forest. The rest disappeared into the shadowy heights, maintaining a watchful eye above, just under the canopy of the Everfree Forest. Each Guard bore a dim glowing amethyst light from their amulet, stealthily lighting the way.
The group walked for a time in silence. However, as the pegasi moved forward, Windswept noticed that many of the Guard around him seemed on edge, their hooded heads darting around as if to catch a whisper on the wind. He was about to pass it off as simply a healthy paranoia for the legendary wood, but an involuntary shudder down his spine said otherwise.
Windswept twisted his head about. It was almost as if there had been a brush at the very edge of his mind, unreachable, but very real. It was like the thought of another, reaching out to him. Almost as if it had... Direction? Intent?
Such thoughts were foolish, Windswept reasoned. Spirits and ghosts were foals tales, only amplified by the haunting forest around him. Nothing to worry about. He thought, continuing onward.
Windswept shivered again.
The Tempest Guard continued to patrol forward, but nothing more came to touch Windswept's mind.
Doing his best to set his mind at ease, the would be Tempest Guard glanced from underneath his hood over toward Silver Wings, but the leader made no gesture toward his companion.
Windswept's mind wandered back to his stumbling in the field.
“Silver, I'm sorry. I-”
“Your tactics are rusty Windswept.” Silver stated flatly. “You act like you're right out of Mandatory Service Training.”
“Uh, well, it has been a few years since my time in the squadron. I'll try harder next ti-”
“There may not be a next time.” Silver stopped, turning his hooded face to Windswept. Despite his hidden features, Windswept could still feel the chilling glare that Silver leveled at him. “So you will not try. You will be better. There are no weak links in the Tempest Guard. Our mission is too important to entertain such feeble efforts.”
Windswept was quiet for a moment, processing Silver's words. “I understand.”
Silver nodded, then resumed his forward plod. “You were lucky that I was able to reach you in time; I had not anticipated that the Wonderbolts would move so quickly.” He spoke lightly, though it quickly turned to a sneer. “It truly is a twisted irony that the damnable Legacy Guard would stand in our way and not even know it.”
The gears began to turn in Windswept's head. Wait. If the Wonderbolts and the Legacy Guard are one and the same... “Silver, if what you say is true, then shouldn't the Legacy Guard be helping us?”
Silver let out a sigh. “Windswept, there is something you must understand. What history you know, what all pegasi know, save for the Tempest Guard, is a distorted mockery.” The stallion was silent for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. “Simply put, Commander Hurricane and his Lieutenants are the greatest traitors and the darkest secret of the pegasi race.” Silver Wings spat out the words irreverently.
Windswept was shocked. Commander Hurricane, Ice Wing and Lightning Streak, the single most legendary pegasi to have ever lived, the hallowed Legacy Bearers, traitors? How could it have been possible?
“The victors write the history Windswept.” Silver continued somberly, almost reading his befuddled companion's mind. “They would have you believe that the Archon Council was a corrupted entity, bent on oppressing the pegasus race. Hurricane and his ilk tricked the Last Archon against his brothers in the Council. Then he and his Legacy Guard defeated the Last Archon, the Grandmaster of our Order.”
“But why? Why would they do such a thing? To what end?”
“To shackle us under Celestia. In exchange for power over the pegasi, Hurricane sold out our entire race.” Silver paused for a moment. “His perverse legacy endures today. You know of what I speak Windswept. You see it daily in the farce union and prosperity that would dare to make the other races our equals. The contention that has marked Canterlot and Cloudsdale for centuries. The lies that have blinded all pegasi. Pegasi know it in their blood that we are held back, but our own history has betrayed us.”
Windswept could hear the subdued conviction in Silver's words. “Our true potential is held underhoof by the Royals. Only by the rule of The Master of Storms can we restore the lost legacy of the Skythan Empire.”
Windswept stopped in his tracks, but the gears in his mind continued to turn. Was it truly as Silver Wings had said? That the pegasi had been caged and oppressed for thousands of years without even knowing it? That Silver and the Tempest Guard were who they said they were? An ancient Order operating in the shadows for thousands of years to restore the lost glory of the pegasi?
Windswept clenched his jaw. He could feel an anger burning within him, a righteous fury at the transgressions that Silver had brought to him. But he checked it. I have to know.
“Thankfully, Hurricane and his Lieutenants didn't live long to see the fruits of their victory.” Silver commented off hoof, an almost audible glee in his words. “Our ancestors in the Tempest Guard made sure of that.”
Silver turned when he realized Windswept was not by his side.
Despite the darkness of the Everfree, Windswept could still see Silver Wings looking back at him. “Are you really the Tempest Guard? Is everything you've told me really true?”
“I know this is difficult to swallow Windswept, but now you know the gravity of our cause.” There was understanding in the elder pegasi's words. “I assure you it is the same as the justice and fulfillment for our race that you yearn for. Your commitment will not be in vain, I promise you. I know I haven't been able to tell you much until now, but just a little bit further, and I will prove my words to you.”
Windswept nodded. He would trust his friend. Silver Wings had never given him a reason to doubt.
Silver Wings returned to his course. “Let us carry on, we do not have time to waste, even under cover of the Everfree.”
The Tempest Guard continued to trek warily through the darkened forest. It was eerily silent, bereft of the howls of timber wolves and the many other creatures that inhabited the Everfree. There was only the soundless parting of fog and the snapping of twigs underhoof the traveling pegasi. The unnatural stillness was not lost on many of the Guard, their trepidation clear in the shaky hoof-steps and jilted glances about the darkness.
Windswept continued to walk on beside Silver Wings, trying to ignore the shadows. But the darkness was not all he had to contend with.
Windswept's vision suddenly blurred, as his eyes seemed to move in and out of focus. What in the- Immediately his head was assaulted with an immense headache, like a vice squeezing his skull. He stopped for a moment, trying to shake the sudden ailment, but it did little good. Unintelligible words flitted from both near and far away, taunting him, the familiar presence skirting his mind once more. He closed his eyes trying to shut out the pressure and flurry of half words, but they only seemed to grow, both luring and striking at him.
And then all at once, it ceased.
“Windswept?”
Windswept looked up. He must have been standing still for some time, as Silver Wings was several yards ahead of him, the leader of the Guard almost completely consumed by the fog, save for the amethyst glow around his neck.
Just keep your cool Windswept. The pegasus reassured himself.
Windswept gave another shake to his head, if only to assure himself that it was clear. He trotted quickly toward Silver. “Sorry about that, just had a little run in with a headache. I'll be fine.”
“Is that so?” Silver Wings replied, just a hint of curiosity in his voice.
Several of the Guard glanced Windswept's way, but said nothing.
Windswept walked on rejoining Silver. “Yes. No reason to stop.” He said quickly. “Probably just some of the curses Nightmare Moon left on this forest.” He added jokingly.
“A common misconception, but no.” Silver replied curtly.
“Wait. What?”
“The Everfree Forest was not always the haunted wood you see before you. Thousands of years ago it was a brighter, much safer place. That is, until the Archon was interred within it. His power has seeped across the entirety of this forest ever since, making it what you see now.”
Windswept took a fresh look at his surroundings. “The Archon's magic did this? But why?”
“Understand Windswept, the Last Archon is a being of terrible power. Do not confuse this to mean that he is a creature of evil. In his state, I would wager the Master of Storms has had little control over his power, especially since the Twin Storms.”
“You make it sound like he's not dead.” Windswept replied cautiously.
“Indeed.” Silver remarked cryptically, just a hint of amusement in his voice.
Traveling in silence once more, Windswept surveyed the forest around him. The Archon's magic did this? Then those whispers from before, where those real? The forest suddenly seemed much more threatening in that moment. No longer were there only the fears of foals' stories.
Windswept shook his head again. Focus. He needed focus.
So instead of watching the forest about him, Windswept's eye wandered to the glowing clasp secured around Silver's neck. “So you are all descendants of the Tempest Guard?” He abruptly asked, if only to stave off the trappings of the forest.
“Many of us are, yes.” Silver replied in step. “My line stems from one of the few officers of the Order, and the only one that has remained unbroken.” Silver raised his head a little higher. “Thus, I command the Tempest Guard.”
“But others are not?”
“Quite. You see, the Guard lost many after the defeat of the Last Archon. Captain High Winds' own line vanished soon after our Order was 'officially' disbanded. So we had to bolster our ranks.” Silver gestured to several Guardsmen nearby, then glanced at Windswept. “Pegasi like yourself who have the desire and will to prove themselves.”
Windswept allowed himself a small smile, hidden beneath his hood. He could not deny the pride that filled him, finally working toward a worthwhile cause, unlike the fruitless years toiled away in the Cloudsdale Senate. And I'm doing it with the Tempest Guard! However his grin faded. There were still things that bothered him. He thought back to the The Trough and Cider. A seemingly random black pegasus, who had breached the magic barrier, and not only endured direct magical assaults, but suppressed them enough to escape. Yet even the mystery of the pegasus intruder was a side note to Windswept. One in particular stood out in his mind, though he had done his best to stifle it.
He played the memory over in his mind. The magical barrier had suddenly crumbled, a lone pegasus seated in the doorway.
Silver's cold and lifeless eyes had bored into the black pegasus.
Kill him.
Windswept shuddered. There had been no hesitation in Silver Wings' words, no falter in his face. Only the cold command issued forth and the rapid reply of the Tempest Guard.
“Silver, there's something I've been meaning to ask you.”
“Yes?”
Windswept paused for a moment. “Was it really necessary to try to kill that pony? Another pegasus?”
Silver Wings stopped, but made no reply.
Windswept tensely awaited his friend's answer. He knew he may have crossed a line with his question, but he had to know.
“Sacrifices must be made Windswept.” Silver replied softly, still looking onward. “Secrecy is and has always been our greatest ally. While it is... regrettable that one of our kind should have to die, we cannot allow anypony, even a pegasus, to stand in our way.” He slowly turned his head toward Windswept. “The sooner you understand that, the better.”
Silver did not wait for a reply, walking forward once more into the fog.
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3764516
Very observant...
when more?
Why am I expecting Windswept to try to back out?