The Fiend that heralds Dark Skies

by Skijarama

Chapter 10 - Darkness Inside

That afternoon, Moonrise Drifter, Palmwood and Wonderboom stepped off of the train that had brought them to Canterlot. The two foals bore expressions of solemn remembrance, though they were trying to remain optimistic about the trip and about getting back some of their old things. They were busy talking to each other, so they didn’t notice what was instantly recognized by Drifter. Everypony on the streets looked distinctly uneasy, nervous, angry or even sad. Normally, chatter in the streets would be loud and hard to tune out. Now, though, it was almost silent. Ponies spoke quietly and solemnly to one another for only a few moments before moving on.

“Something’s wrong…” Drifter muttered to herself uneasily. Hearing her say this, Wonder tapped her gently on her right foreleg to get her attention. Drifter looked down to see Wonder’s worried eyes.

“What’s wrong?” The filly asked, Palmwood nodding along to show he shared the curiosity. Drifter let her ears droop and looked out at the city.

“I’m not sure, yet. It’s just too… solemn, I guess. C’mon, you two. Let’s go find your old house, okay?” She redirected, smiling softly to try and make them feel better. It was only slightly successful, but all the same, it was enough. The foals nodded and broke into brisk canters with a focused direction. Drifter followed along, casting glances at her surroundings uneasily.

After several minutes of meandering through the streets and, much to the foals embarrassment, a couple of wrong turns, they came to a quaint, two story home on one of the ‘lesser’ streets. It was by no means a poor neighborhood, especially not by the standards of, say, Ponyville or Little Lapis, but it was clearly of a somewhat older, smaller and less ornate architecture than the rest of Canterlot.

The foals looked it up and down, frowning and wilting considerably at the sight of their old home. It had not been touched, aside from a surface cleaning, since the invasion. One of the windows was shattered it, looking like it had been used by one of the fighters that day to kill an enemy. Drifter tried not to determine which side had done so.

“Head on in, kids. I’ll be right here.” Drifter urged them on softly, smiling at them.

“But… what if something bad’s in there?” Wonderboom asked, frightened at the unkempt appearance of her foalhood home.

“We’ll be fine, sis.” Palm tried to reassure her, but it was clear he was also worried. Drifter lost her smile before reaching out and gently hugging the two.

“You’ll be fine. If there is something or somepony in there that shouldn’t be, come get me and I’ll take care of it. But… this is your home, not mine. I won’t want to intrude.” she said soothingly, nuzzling the two comfortingly on the tops of their heads.

Wonder pulled back and frowned at Drifter. “But we want you to come inside!”

Palmwood nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. You’re taking care of us now, so, it only makes sense. It does make sense, right?” he added with a frown after a moment. Drifter giggled softly and playfully nudged him.

“Sure, I guess… alright, but go on ahead and I’ll catch up, okay? I have something I need to do real fast. Won’t take long, I promise.” Drifter said she stood and looked around for somepony walking down the street that might know what was up in town today. The foals noticed her serious expression and decided not to question it. They went for the door which, surprisingly, wasn’t even properly on it’s hinges anymore. Giving it a push was enough to knock it down, kicking up some dust and revealing the dark interior, almost exactly as they had left it.

While the siblings stepped inside, Drifter spotted a stallion trotting down the street with the same solemn look in his eyes as almost everypony else. He had saddlebags slung over his back and they looked fairly full. With only slight hesitation, Drifter stood tall and approached the Stallion. “Excuse me, can I ask you something real quick?”

The stallion glanced at her gloomily, slowing to a sluggish stop. “I suppose.”

“Thanks. Did something happen here recently? I can’t help but notice everypony is looking rather… glum.” Drifter asked carefully, briefly looking over her shoulder to make sure the foals were doing alright. They seemed fine for the moment, looking around the front room of the house.

“You weren’t here last night, were you?” The stallion asked bluntly, his gaze falling to stare at the ground.

“No, I wasn’t. I just got here a little bit ago.”

The stallion sighed and shook his head. “...Princess Celestia’s grave was… desecrated.”

Drifter froze, her blood going cold and her eyes widening. She had to make an active effort to keep her fangs hidden. “Desecrated...?”

“Yup. Something dug up her grave, broke her coffin and... I don’t want to talk about it. Solar Plaza is up the street a ways that way. Go see for yourself.” The stallion then resumed his trot, moving significantly faster than he had been before. Drifter watched him go before heading inside the house with Palmwood and Wonderboom.

She couldn’t help the grimace that came over her face upon seeing the two foals coming back into the living room. Wonder had a framed photo hanging loosely from her mouth. Palmwood seemed more despondent. He had nothing to show for his search thus far. Both of them wore saddened faces. Wonder set the framed photo down on the floor, standing it up and then rotated it so Drifter could see. It was a family photo; Wonderboom, Palmwood and their mother, sitting in this very living room on what looked like Hearthswarming day.

Wonderboom sniffled. “I… I forgot this photo was here…” she uttered in a trembling voice. Palmwood didn’t look much better, despite his attempts at staying brave for his little sister. Drifter sighed and gingerly approached.

“Oh, you two… I’m so sorry.” she was going to say more, but didn’t really get the chance. Wonderboom lunged at Drifter and clung to her in a tight hug, burying her face into the hybrid’s chest. Palmwood stayed back, his face twitching and contorting as he tried to maintain some self control.

Drifter gently hugged Wonder back, gently stroking her mane in an effort to sooth the crying filly. She looked at Palmwood and frowned. “Don’t worry, Palm… come here.” she said softly, reaching out another foreleg. Palmwood shied away, his ears going flat. He ran a foreleg over his eyes in an effort to hide his tears.

“I… I’m fine... R-really, I am.” he stuttered before lowering his foreleg. Drifter frowned and shook her head slowly while still comforting Wonder as best she could.

“I know that face, Palmwood… you’re not. It’s okay… let it out.”

That was enough. Palmwood broke down and sluggishly pulled himself into Drifter’s embrace, holding his sister close and joining her in letting out their built up sorrows. All Drifter could do for now was hold them close, try to soothe them and shield them from the world by wrapping her wings around them.

Once they had vented suitably, they took one last runthrough of the house to find anything the foals would want to keep with them. They left with no more than the photograph. Nothing else that was still in the home was significant enough to take with them. Now, Drifter had a new destination with the foals trailing behind her quietly. The closer they came to the Solar Plaza, the fewer ponies there were. That was until they reached the entrance to the plaza.

Several solar guards stood at every entrance, armed and armored. They seemed just as stoic as usual, but it was easy enough for Drifter to see the numerous emotions they were each displaying in subtle ways. Anger, sadness, resentment. The list went on and on. The statue of Celestia could be seen from here, looking just as regal as it did last time she had seen it, if slightly more grungy from a couple months of wear and tear.

Drifter could see Princess Luna, as well. She was sitting in front of the statue, looking down at a hole in the stones with a distant, empty look in her eyes. Before she could say much more, however, one of the guards held up a hoof and stepped in front of her.

“Halt. Nopony is allowed into the plaza without explicit orders of Princess Luna allowing them entrance. Turn around and trot away.” he said simply, earning a grunt from Drifter.

“Oh, excuse me for wanting to pay some of my family a visit.” she grumbled before peering past the guard at Luna. “And from the looks of it, the princess isn’t exactly saying or doing much right now.”

The guard tensed up, opening his mouth to retort when Drifter glared at him directly in the eyes.

“Now, then. I suggest you let me through. I would like to visit my…” she paused before sighing. “...my mother’s grave.”

The guard flinched and looked at his partner, who looked between the two with heavy uncertainty. Finally, the first guard cleared his throat. “W-what’s your name, miss?”

“Moonrise Drifter.”

The guard went rigid and his colors paled considerably. “O-oh! I… I didn’t realize it was you! P-please, go on ahead.” he quickly stepped aside with a nervous look and a slight bow. Drifter sighed but continued on.

“These foals are with me. C’mon, you two.” she added gently. Wonder and Palm followed along silently, faces still turned to the ground. Drifter looked up to Luna and frowned deeply at the sight. The alicorn hadn’t even noticed Drifter’s arrival, eyes glued to the scene of disrespect in the ground beneath her. Drifter drew up next to her and instinctively hissed in disgust when she saw Celestia’s bones so ransacked. This jarred Luna from her trance, looking to Drifter distantly.

“Moonrise Drifter?” she mumbled softly, looking unsure of what she was seeing. Drifter merely nodded before sitting down.

“...It’s good to see you, Princess Luna. I just wish I had shown up at a better time.” she said softly, looking down into the grave with her eyes also going distant. She glanced back at the foals. “Hey, stay there you two, okay?”

“Huh? But…” Wonder started, but Drifter shook her head firmly.

“No buts. Stay there for now, okay? I don’t want you seeing this…” she looked back at the bones, her ears going flat against her head before she added in no more than a whisper, “You two have seen more than enough already…”

Luna looked at Drifter, then at the foals. “You are still taking care of them, I see…”

“Yeah.”

Luna nodded and looked at the statue of Celestia again, her face unreadable. “Tell me, then, Drifter.” she looked down at the hybrid curiously. “Have you made any discoveries? Anything important we should know?”

Drifter scoffed and pointed at the dull sun. “I think you probably know more than I do, honestly. It’s why I came here.”

“So visiting your mother’s grave was but a footnote on this trip?” Luna added with a small scowl spreading on her face.

“Luna, please… just… just don’t.”

“She was my sister, Drifter. I am afraid I cannot help but be offended if my sister’s daughter is unwilling to pay proper respects!” Luna said in irritation before looking away and breathing deeply to calm herself.

“You’re on edge.” Drifter commented with a small smirk.

“What gave it away?” Luna jabbed back. Drifter shook her head.

“Just about everything. I’d be lying if I said I was any different…” she slowly stood and closed her eyes, “Now, then. Do we know who it was that broke into the grave?”

Luna also stood looking down once more into the grave before shifting her attention fully to Drifter. “I have my suspicions. Are you familiar with the fiend called Skeintooth?”

Drifter narrowed her eyes, a soft glow coming to her irises. “In name alone. He wounded Twilight for a piece of her flesh.”

Luna nodded slowly. “He may be the one who took my sister’s bones from her grave.”

“Then I know who I’m killing tonight.” Drifter whispered venomously before looking into Luna’s eyes intently. “Let’s find this thing.”

Luna smiled dangerously. “I couldn’t be happier with your suggestion. Come, let us return to the castle. We can discuss our options more there.”

Comments

[tom117z]

Skeintooth is planning for Luna, but is he ready for Luna AND one pissed off half fiend half alicorn badass!

[Destiny Chaser]

KILL HIM!