The Fiend that heralds Dark Skies

by Skijarama

Chapter 18 - Into The Maw

The red ring that was the smothered sun loomed overhead in the center of the sky, not to move again until Horizon was destroyed and his spell ended, by declaration of Princess Luna. With what little light it let off now, Equestria needed it as high in the sky as possible so ponies could see what they were doing. This went double for the army of ponies now trudging through a merciless blizzard with the colossal spire that was Mount Eclipse touching the sky in the distance.

The armies had set down about twenty minutes ago, disembarking from their chariots and now proceeding on hoof. Every Unicorn had a light spell going to ensure visibility, casting the entire army in faint spots of light, each one of a different color. Twilight raised a foreleg to shield her eyes from a harsh blast of snow and freezing air, her mane flailing wildly in the wind. Rainbow grit her teeth and groaned in frustration next to her.

“This wind is slowing us down too much!” She shouted to be heard over the storm. “We gotta get rid of this blizzard!”

“Much as I agree, trying to do so would be a bad idea. We would draw unwanted attention to our position and compromise any element of surprise we have!” Twilight shouted back, grimacing as another gust tore past them. Rarity shivered and pulled her scarf tighter around her neck.

“I-i-i sh-should have brought m-m-more scarves!” she whined, shivering again and chattering her teeth together noisily.

Not far away, Twilight could see a pegasus scout galloping up to Shining Armor to deliver a report.

“Report, soldier!” Shining ordered loudly.

“We’ve found the entrance to the valley. With a bit of help from a spell, we were able to spot several fiends already moving around inside. I don’t think they know we’re here yet!” the pegasus responded with a quick salute.

Shining Armor nodded and turned to face the rest of his battalion. “Alright, listen up! We’re coming up on the valley! Weapons at the ready and get ready to take your positions. You all know your roles, so let’s not waste any time. You, go find Princess Luna and let her know what’s going on.” he shouted to the soldiers before singling one out to bring the message to Luna. Everypony acknowledged their orders and set to work.

“Well, here we go.” Applejack, who was somewhat ahead of Twilight, turned around and said with a frown. “We ready, y’all?”

Everypony gave sharp affirmatives, even Fluttershy, though she had opted for first aid and medical aid and thus, would not be fighting. Twilight looked to them all for a moment and then gulped heavily. “Come here, girls! I need to say something first!”

Curiosity burning in their eyes and sharing confused looks, her friends gathered around her. Twilight’s eyes were turned down to look into the snow under her hooves, her lips drawn into a thin line. “You okay, Twilight?” Rainbow asked, patting Twilight on the back.

Twilight’s horn lit up and pulled all of her friends into a group hug. While somewhat surprised by the sudden and seemingly untimely display of affection, they returned it gladly anyway. They knew they may not get another chance to do so, after all.

Then, Twilight uttered but a single word that sent a spark of confusion through the entire group. “Goodbye…” Reaching back with her magic, Twilight felt the spell she had cast in her castle lobby was still in effect. Struggling to hold in a sob, she set it into it’s final stages, grabbing her friends in her magic as she did so.

“What the?! Twi, what are ya doin’!?” Applejack barked in confusion, her hooves leaving the earth. All of them were now drifting in the air, looking down at Twilight in shock and confusion. Twilight looked up at them with tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry…”

“Twilight, no! DON’T-” Rainbow didn’t get to finish. Twilight finished the spell. With a bright flash and a swirl of magic, her friends all vanished into thin air, leaving nothing more than a stunned silence in their place. The soldiers surrounding Twilight looked on in stunned silence, unable to figure out what had just happened or why.

They didn’t have to figure it out for themselves, however. Moonrise Drifter slowly trotted up to Twilight and rested a hoof on her shoulder sympathetically. “I hope you were as sure of that as you said you were.”

“I am… I was. It’s done now. They’ll be safe in Ponyville. None of them will die today…” Twilight replied solemnly before allowing Drifter to draw her into a hug. After a moment, they broke the embrace and looked ahead.

“It’s starting… are you ready?”

“As I’m going to be.”

“Twilight, no! DON’T DO IT!” Rainbow Dash screamed out at the top of her lungs, thrusting a hoof out to reach for Twilight. She was too late. In a flash, the air around them turned blissfully warm and the intense winds of the blizzard faded entirely. The light faded and they were all dropped unceremoniously down to the floor back in Twilight’s castle.

Silence. Everypony was utterly silent for several long moments. It felt like an eternity. Nearby, a pair of double doors leading deeper into the castle swung open, revealing Spike on the other side with a wide-eyed look of shock. “What the… what are…” he choked out, gazing into each of their eyes one at a time.

“She… she…” Fluttershy whimpered, laying down and burying her face in her forelegs, hiding from the world, crying quietly.

“She lied to us…” Applejack breathed out disbelievingly, looking at the floor in shock. “Said we’d be there with her…”

Pinkie sat down, her mane deflating and resting flatly along her back and next to her head. “I… I don’t… how could she break our hearts like that…?”

“What was she thinking…?” Rarity mumbled, her eyes unfocused and wide.

Rainbow Dash grit her teeth. “Twilight…” she breathed before a guttural howl of anger tore from her lungs. She spread her wings and launched into an arc, flying out the doors of the castle hard enough to put a dent in them on the way out. Spike stood in silence, looking on them with a sorrowful look coming over his eyes.

“Twilight… what did you do…?”

“Alright, listen up and pay attention! Remember, we need a clear path to the base of the mountain!” Shining Armor called out to the army of gathered soldiers. “Keep the fiends off of us and keep each other protected! We’re not leaving until the darkness in our sky is gone!”

“The fiends are naught but mindless animals with the ability to speak! They will not show you any mercy, so you should feel no need to show them any.” Luna added at his side, using the royal canterlot voice to ensure she could be heard.

“Remember why we’re here!” Twilight shouted, flaring out her wings. “We came here for the sake of all of the ponies we love in Equestria! We came here so they can see a new tomorrow without the fiends looming over their shoulders and breathing down their necks! We came here to protect our friends and our families from them! As long as we remember that, we won’t lose!”

All eyes went to Drifter, who stood directly in front of Luna, Twilight and Shining Armor. After a moment, she lifted her eyes and gave a small smile. “Let’s go kill my dad, shall we?!” She called out to the gathered army, earning a mighty cheer in response. With a smile and a nod to Shining Armor, Drifter turned and spread her wings out. “I’ll help keep the skies over us clear. We ready?”

Everypony nodded along. Shining Armor conjured up a sword and shield in his magic. “THEN LET’S GO! MOVE OUT!”

The soldiers drew their weapons, readied their spells and did as commanded, pouring forth into the valley in numerous large groups, seeking positions to perform their roles from. Drifter took to the air with a mighty flap of her wings. Luna joined her, her horn lighting up with intense blue magic.

Twilight drew her saber from her side and broke into a charge alongside her big brother, taking as much comfort as she could from his presence. Already the horrid and spine-chilling howls and roars of the fiends in the valley could be heard, calling their brethren forth to join what they probably saw as a feast walking right in through the front door.

A blue explosion crackling with electricity not far away signaled the start of the fighting by the use of a large spell. Luna’s horn lit up and sent pin-point beams of magic to snipe away at flying fiends attempting to advance on her and Drifter.

When a fiend came barreling out of the darkness at Twilight, she barely even thought about it. Her sabre sliced out and bit deep into the creature’s neck, drawing a swath of blood and sending the creature to the snow, never to move again. Nearby, something large crashed into the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of snow and rubble which fell over Twilight and Shining.

“Keep moving!” Shining barked out, drawing closer to Twilight and urging her on, glancing back to make sure they weren’t being followed.

The lights and flashes of defensive and offensive spells going off across the slopes of the valley were accompanied by cacophonous booms, battle cries, screams of pain and the fowl roars of fiends. Twilight felt her blood run cold as she recalled her first encounter with the fiends, the way the ponies aboard the train had screamed in fear and terror. Many of the dying soldiers were no different in their final moments as the innocents aboard that train.

Twilight snapped out of it and shook her head. Focus, Twilight!

Another fiend, reminiscent of a snake, came slithering out of the darkness, snapping for Shining Armor, only to be reduced to ashes by an explosive spell launched from a nearby rocky platform. The crystal unicorn standing their nodded to them and gazed up to the pegasus over his head as more instructions were sent his way.

As the run went on, Twilight began to focus on the mountain. Nothing else matters. Just the mountain. Get to the mountain and stop Horizon!

Suddenly, Shining Armor let out a grunt of surprise and lifted his shield just in time to keep his head on his shoulders. The charging fiend was lanky with long legs and longer claws. It snapped at him viciously, drooling profusely and growling like a rabid dog. With a shove of his shield, Shining sent the creature toppling back. Twilight skidded to a stop and looked back at her brother worriedly. “Brother!”

“Don’t stop! GO!” Shining barked, plunging his sword into the fiends chest before it could stand. “I’ll catch up!”

“But, I-!” Twilight started before another explosion went off nearby. She yelped and dove back, shielding her head as a large chunk of soil writhed and fell away from it’s position, bringing two trees with it to crash into the soil.

“Prince Armor will be fine, Twilight!” Luna called out, vaporizing another fiend with a blast of magic. “We cannot delay! MOVE!”

Twilight stumbled to her hooves and, after a brief moment of hesitation, turned and continued her gallop for the mountain. Without her big brother next to her, Twilight’s senses began to go wild with all of the input. She saw a pony being torn limb from limb in mid-air out of the corner of her eye. Nearby, a fiend was screeching in pain, pinned to a tree with a spear through it’s gut. A unicorn nearby hurled a spell at it, reducing the fiend to a fine red powder and destroying the tree trunk.

Another spell went off almost on top of Twilight, blasting the fiend that had been pouncing at her from behind into chunks. Twilight let out a terrified scream as she was showered with blood and bits of stray flesh, but kept moving forward.

To her, it seemed like the run never ended. Time stretched on for her, the mere minutes she spent galloping forward distorting and slowing into hours and hours of madness, explosions, blood and death on all sides. Finally, she came to a stop when Drifter landed in front of her, pinning a struggling fiend under her before biting into it’s throat.

Luna landed next to her. All three of them were short of breath, especially Twilight. She collapsed to the ground and gasped raggedly for breath. Luna’s horn lit up and she passed a spell over the group to ease the discomfort and pain in their legs, restoring some much needed strength.

Drifter pulled away from the fiend beneath her and swallowed before wiping the fresh blood from her chin. “We can’t stay here. We’re pretty much at the mountain and I bet Skeintooth won’t be far behind us.”

Twilight nodded and stood, her legs wobbling beneath her. She looked to Luna pleadingly. “Is he okay? Is my brother okay?”

“I believe so. He’s tougher than he lets on, I believe.” she answered simply before looking up at the mountain.

“We need an entrance.” Drifter noted simply, reaching out to help Twilight keep herself steady.

“There’s one not far from here. Just up the slopes a little ways, if these memories are correct.” Luna answered, sifting through Horizon’s memories before nodding and taking a step forward.

“All three of Skeintooth’s favorite meals came to play?” a raspy voice called out behind and above them. Twilight felt her blood drain from her face and turned to see Skeintooth standing at the top of a small hill, a dead unicorn clutched firmly in his claws. His grin widened. “Skeintooth does enjoy a good banquet!”

Drifter scowled. “Damn… okay, you two get a move on and don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of this guy.”

“Be careful, Moonrise Drifter.” Luna urged before turning and galloping up the slopes of the mountain to seek out the entrance. Twilight looked at Drifter blankly, nodded and followed after Luna.

“Yes, flee! Make it a chase! A hunt!” Skeintooth jeered in excitement before bounding forwards to give chase, Drifter swiftly got in his way, lifting into the air with her wings and rising to his eye level.

“You’re not going anywhere.” She growled, extending her claws. “I will be your opponent. And II don’t plan on letting you live a second time.”

Skeintooth snarled, bared his teeth and charged.

Comments

[tom117z]

“Twilight, no! DON’T-” Rainbow didn’t get to finish. Twilight finished the spell. With a bright flash and a swirl of magic, her friends all vanished into thin air, leaving nothing more than a stunned silence in their place. The soldiers surrounding Twilight looked on in stunned silence, unable to figure out what had just happened or why.

The soldiers drew their weapons, readied their spells and did as commanded, pouring forth into the valley in numerous large groups, seeking positions to perform their roles from. Drifter took to the air with a mighty flap of her wings. Luna joined her, her horn lighting up with intense blue magic.

Twilight drew her saber from her side and broke into a charge alongside her big brother, taking as much comfort as she could from his presence. Already the horrid and spine-chilling howls and roars of the fiends in the valley could be heard, calling their brethren forth to join what they probably saw as a feast walking right in through the front door.

Drifter scowled. “Damn… okay, you two get a move on and don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of this guy.”

Bye Skeintooth.