Quete

by Comrade Bagel Muffin

Infiltrer la Pyramide

Escutcheon woke up with someone yanking on his tail. "Ow, what the hey?" He opened his eyes. The tunnel was lit with a gentle blue ambient glow. He struggled to turn around, the source of the light and the yank on his tail was the light blue unicorn filly from Pythagorean's estate. "Quadratic? Is Pythagorean and the others okay?"

"Pythagorean and the others are fine. The Choler tore up a lot of the estate, but they didn't find anything, fortunately."

"I'm glad that no pony got hurt."

"I didn't say that no pony didn't get hurt, just that everypony was okay." She floated his saddle bags from behind her and dropped it at his hooves. "Nebula, informed Pythagorean that you were continuing with your plan. You should have just left, you're going to get everyone killed." She crawled back down the tunnel. The blue ambient light leaving with her. The tunnel fell back into darkness. He closed his eyes and focused. He needed his magic back, if he was going to have a chance tonight.

"Come on stupid horn, I need you to work." He focused trying to fell the harmonic waves, like his mother taught him how to do, should he ever suffer a burn out. He was beginning to worry that he'd never use magic again. "Please horn I need you to work again. I need magic for this." He scrunched up his face trying to get the magic to go through his body. He focused on the innate magic in his body. Nothing. "Come on!"

"What's wrong?" Jumped in a start at the soft voice that came from behind him. She laughed.

"Dusk, what are you doing back?"

"Cause I heard that you were going through with the plan, and I thought that you'd start missing me silly. Also you can't fight some evil malevolent being on an empty stomach." She climbed over him. "So, I brought you some Cavern Berries, but that didn't answer my question, what were you doing?"

"I'm trying to focus my innate magical abilities and align them with the natural harmonic fields, so that I can initiate a simple spark. I completely lost you didn't I?" Escutcheon sighed.

"I had no idea what you were talking about. Now say 'ahh'" He did and she tossed a berry in his mouth. He hoped that she couldn't see him blushing.

"I know I'm an egghead." She hummed. "Basically I'm trying to get out of this burnout. I'm really concerned, I've never heard of an absolute burnout lasting this long."

"Maybe I can help, your magic is in your horn right." He was going to point out that the horn only focused the magic, but decided against it, and just nodded. "Maybe I can fix it. Let's see if this works." She leaned up and kissed his horn. His face was glowing red. "Now try it."

"You-you kissed, me." He tried to calm his heart down.

"Yeah, well it's like kissing a boo-boo, right? Come on give you magic a try." He closed his eyes and focused. Nothing. "Well that sucks." She sighed. "I thought it would be kind of romantic if you got your magic back from a kiss. But don't worry Escutcheon, you'll get your magic back when you need it. I trust in you."

"I'm glad that one of us does."

"Do I need to nibble on your ear again."

"No thank you."

"Good. Then smile. Let's go back to pins it's almost dusk. Time to get started." He nodded and gobbled down the last few berries.

"Thank you Dusk, for always helping me."

"No problem." The two of them made their way back down the tunnel to the slave pins. The sky was beginning to darken, and the air was starting to get cold as the sunset low on the horizon hidden by the wall.

"Where are the others?" Escutcheon looked around the pin none of the bat ponies were in armor or even had weapons.

"They're on their way." Nebula walked up to his daughter. "You were supposed to stay at the cave with the other colts and fillies." Dusk jumped on her dad in a hug.

"This is going to be bad, and I didn't want to leave."

"Alright just stay behind me, and do exactly what I say, when I say it." She nodded. "Alright Escutcheon, this is it, we're going buy you as much time as we can, but I don't think that we will be able to hold out for more than one night."

"Don't worry this should be easy, it's probably some kind of talisman or focusing gem. I'll just need to cut it off." I hope. He needed his horn to work, hopefully it still would. "Alright let's go." He exited the pin and headed down the street toward the pyramid. The hundreds of bat ponies and earth ponies following him. Until they walked into a patrol of ten guards.

"What do you slaves think you doing? Get back to your pins." Escutcheon didn't have time to think as ten shadows blurred past him. Each bat pony grappled with a guard. "Colt call for help!" For a second Escutcheon felt all eyes on him. As more Thestrals joined in he almost wanted to, just to get the fighting to stop.

"Please try not to kill anypony." Nebula nodded and him and the impromptu militia headed down the street.

"New Moon, Black Night, take half of the ponies and get to the gate. The others should have armor and weapons the rest of you stay with me. We're getting this unicorn as close to the pyramid as we can. Don't kill anypony unless you have to." The two groups were about to split just a unicorn colt stepped out of his home. He froze when he saw the large group. He wasn't even as old as Escutcheon was. He stepped back his horn lighting up.

"Don't do it." Escutcheon pleaded. Another bat pony pounced just as the spell shot into the sky. The flare lit up the sky in time for Escutcheon to see the colt's body falling limp at the bat pony's hooves.

"Hurry get to the gate. The rest of you do what you must! Escutcheon come on." Nebula pulled Escutcheon's mane and pulled him away from the scene. Dusk followed close behind her father. The three of them rushed ahead of the group, as the city erupted into chaos. The Thestrals and Earth ponies no longer caring about not killing anypony, each fighting as furiously as they could against the city's guards and former oppressors. The chaos came to a sudden end as a horn sounded from the pyramid. And the masked Choler descended onto the town. Doors were shut and barred, candles blown out. Many of the guards attempted to leave the street. There was a red flash and a Choler stood in front of the three of them. They wore black as night robes, and a black mask with red lines etched into the mask. A bolt of magic shot at the two of them. Escutcheon recognized the purple and black aura, from descriptions his mother told him about dark magic. The bolt erupted the ground around them. Another bolt fired at the two Thestrals.

"No!" Escutcheon screamed. His horn lit up and a gold shield wrapped around the two of them the bolt exploded on it. The Choler turned and stared him down.

"I will rip you. I will break you. I will destroy you. And all these weak unicorns with you. Tonight only the strong will be allowed to live." Another bolt shot at him. His shield went up. "Kill everything!" Nebula took a pole and slammed it into the Choler knocking it to the ground.

"Escutcheon get to the pyramid. Now." Escutcheon nodded and vanished in a flash.