The Hunters of Secrets

by Arkantos

Fight of the Present Part Six

The journey to the castle wasn't very quiet, especially when five Wereponies attacked them. However, they couldn't kill Arkantos since he is invincible in his current form. He attacked them with green lightning strikes and fear spells. He looked at his brother and said as several Wereponies swerved around him, "You see? This. This is why I don't like to take on this form. I prefer to be challenged. If I'm being challenged, then I'm entertained, and if I'm entertaining, then I'm having fun. But since I'm not being challenged, this battle is proving to be boring.”

But Arkantos’s form didn't stop several Monsters from trying to attack Mowgli and Captain Trail.

The Captain blocked and dodged his attackers, and then managed to ask, "Any ideas on how to beat these things?"

Mowgli answered the Captain. "Yeah! Knock them into next week!"

Suddenly, Mowgli moved as fast as Rainbow Dash and slammed down any kind of Werepony that attacked him leaving them out cold on the ground or stuck in the side of a wall.

Captain Trail continued to block, which was about the only thing he could do. The fighting got worse as a Wereponies slashed at his sword hoof, causing him to lose his sword. Thinking quickly, he decided to fly away from that abomination. However, the Monster matched his speed. No matter how clever he thought he was by trying to lose it in the streets of Canterlot, it always managed to find him a second later.

Blaze Trail did another roundabout and landed in the middle of the street. Not far behind him, six Wereponies landed. Three of them had armor on; he could tell from the constant metal creaking as they slowly approached him like cats hunting a mouse. Armed with only a shield, Blaze Trail charged shield first into one of the Wereponies on the left and continued to push her into a nearby building. As they made impact with the building, a spider crack formed in the wall, and it wasn’t long before several pieces of roof and wall came falling down right on top of them. Thinking quickly, Captain Trail flapped his wings hard and jumped back as debris buried the unconscious Monster.

The other Monsters took advantage of the situation and all charged at Blaze Trail. The closest one tried to take his shield, but it was orange and hot, like it had just come out of a furnace. The very next moment, a Weremare tried to grab the shield and cried out in great pain as the shield started to burn her flesh away. She quickly pulled her paws off of the shield, and Trail hit her with it, following the hit with a punch to the throat. He then slammed his shield into her side and landed five punches to the stomach. After that, he used his shield again to hit her in the face once more. With that final hit, she fell to the ground consumed by the pain and the burns on her body.

Blazing Trail saw the others charging at him, but before they could reach him, he flew up on top of a rooftop that wasn’t too damaged.

Two Wereponys quickly followed him up, then dove down right on him. Thinking quickly, he slammed his shield into the closest monster's face, causing him to lose his balance in flight and crash through the already burned spot. The Monster stood up again, ready to get back on the roof, but the attic floor began failing, making all manner of cracking sounds. ‘This isn’t my day,’ the monster thought. The attic floor quickly gave out, and when the monster landed on the next floor, that floor gave out as well, and the next floor after that. He kept going down until he landed in the basement, several pieces of broken floorboards spread about him. He was about ready to fly up when, suddenly, the bathroom sink came down and fell squarely on his head, causing him to get knocked out.

Up on the roof, a Pegasus and a Werepony played a dangerous game of tag. When the Monster tried to grab Captain Trail’s neck with it’s claws, Captain Trails managed to dive out of the way. But the dodge didn’t deter the Monster; he came after him again; however this time, the Solar captain was ready for it. As the Werepony went for a tackle, Blazing Trail managed to redirect the Monster's tackle toward a chimney. When the Werepony got up, Captain Trail punched it in the throat before grabbing the Monster's front paws. He swung him around three times before letting him go. The Werepony went sailing towards the city's wall. Flying upward, Blazing Trail charged with a shield and slammed into the Monster’s chest; however, the Monster was wearing armor, so the magic didn’t hurt him. But it did leave a melted imprint of the shield on his armor. After seeing that there was no damage done except for the armor, the Solar captain got frustrated. “Why don’t you just die already?” he exploded with anger. Losing his temper, the Solar captain delivered several punches and kicks to the Werepony. Feeling a little more satisfied, Blaze Trail grabbed one of the Monster’s wings and tossed him back to the street.

He hovered in the sky, and when the Werepony started to get up again, Blazing Trail got very frustrated and was ready to fight dirty. However he didn’t get the chance, as the other two Monsters rushed towards him. Before he knew what was happening, it was too late.

They both grabbed him by the legs with their claws, piercing his coat, and then they slammed him back first onto the street. Getting up slowly and painfully, the Solar captain prepared to fight, but he was too late again. A Werepony grabbed him by the neck and tossed him into another destroyed building. When he tried to get up again, he felt a great amount of pain. He checked himself and noticed that his body had been pierced by three rusty metal rods. Also, the edges of his armor had been bent. Some of the edges were bent outward, but seventy-five percent of the twisted metal that had been his armor dug into his coat. Blood started to stream down in the building.

Blaze Trail looked up and around and saw the Werepony he had previously buried getting out of the debris. His armor was bent out of use so he ripped it off. Suddenly, someone grabbed him and dragged him out of the building. When they reached the street, the Monster dropped him roughly. As Blaze Trail fell to the street, he managed to look up. He saw the second Monster with bruises and burns giving him a murderous look. She moved away from him and a puddle of crimson began to form around him.

Suddenly, as if it was written in a script from a bad action movie, a wall from the building behind him was suddenly blasted away. As the dust settled, another Werepony came out, dusting herself off to get rid of small pieces of debris. Across the street, Blazing Trail finished off his last opponent. He had gotten out of the hole, however his armor did have a slight imprint of his shield on it. He walked towards the other two, while they simply glided down to him, surrounding him yet again. Fear shone in his eyes as he truly believed that this would be the end.

Two of the Wereponys picked him up, and the other four stretched out their claws, ready to dig into their prey.

But suddenly, a dark shadow blacked the street, almost like something was taking away most, but not all, of the lights. The only source of light took the form of a sword alive with dark green and purple flames. Blazing Trail managed to look at what was happening around them. Several black tentacles formed from shadows stretched out and grabbed the Solar captain; they dragged him right up next to the Umbrum. As Arkantos’s eyes stared at the Wereponies, Captain Trail, who is lying right next to him, said, “What are you doing here? You’re no match for these guys!”

Arkantos replied, “We are here to save your city, and if you die here then we can’t save it. Oh, and by the way, there’s a price to activate the fail-safe.” Blazing Trails' eyes widened, and the Umbrum continued. “A price that I’m not willing to pay.” Two Monsters charged at him, but the Umbrum held up his sword and slashed it. Both Wereponies crumbled into a pile of dust, as if they were never there.

The other four Wereponites were flabbergasted when they saw that this pony had just killed two of them without breaking a sweat. Two more charged at him, one trying to tackle him, but instead of the part where the Monster is right on top of him, he went right through him as if he was nothing but a cloud of smoke. Arkantos stabbed the one that was still in front of him, saying “You thought that would work?” Then he decapitated the Monster.

Believing that the invulnerability came from seeing the target, the Werepony took a chance that didn’t reward him as he swiped fiercely at the Umbrum. However, the Monster might as well have been trying to attack a cloud for all the harm he was inflicting. Arkantos turned to face the Werepony and stabbed him through his armor into his gut before saying, “I’m in a whole new league compared to you guys.”

Before the Monster could die, Arkantos continued, “Many forget what lingers in the dark.” And as fast as a river flows, the Werepony evaporated into smoke, leaving behind an empty breastplate.

The two remaining Monsters tried to grab Blazing Trail, but they stopped dead in their tracks at the realization of how much of a threat this pony is.

Arkantos said, “Let me show you a new trick I’ve not yet revealed publicly, not even to bring justice to the common bully. Consider yourselves honored.” The Umbrum’s curved horn started to pulse with dark green and purple. The horn lit up brightly and fired two bolts of lightning mixed with purple and green magic. When it hit the Monsters, their eyes began to glow green with cracks of glowing purple. As this was happening, the Umbrum found a rock large enough to sit comfortably on. Then, using his shadow magic, he opened a portal and pulled out a bowl of popcorn. When he noticed the dumbfounded expression on Blazing Trail’s face, Arkantos asked, “Do you want a bowl as well?”

Grunting through his pain, Blazing Trail shook his head and said, “No, thank you. But do you think you could, I don’t know, heal me? Before I die from blood loss?”

“Oh, right, I forgot about your injuries.” With a green glow, the Solar Captain's wounds were healed. Soon after the healing was done, the two Wereponies that had been hit with Arkantos’s spell entered mortal combat; one started to tear through the armor that the other was wearing, digging deep into her. The other fiercely clawed and bit the first. It didn’t take long for both Monsters to kill each other in the most brutal way ever imagined.

Arkantos was about halfway through his popcorn when the fight ended. He reopened his shadow portal and placed the popcorn back inside. As he did that, Blazing Trail looked on him with fear and terror. Arkantos, on the other hoof, said, ”Wow, it took them that long to kill each other?”

Taken aback, his fear disappating, the Solar captain asked, “What?”

“I mean, if they were going to take that long to kill each other, they could’ve spent less time stalling us and gone straight for the kill. But on the other hoof, they are technically Monsters with claws and teeth, so it’s probably natural that they took that long to kill each other.”

“Dude, do you seriously not see how wrong that is?”

Arkantos looked at Captain Trail and said, “Whatever do you mean?”

Blazing Trail replaced his terror and became determined as he stood up to the Umbrum and replied, “This is what’s wrong. You cast a spell and you could’ve given them any kind of command. But no, you just told them to kill each other. Now I understand why you are so bored. You don’t go into the action yourself.”

“Oh, I see what the problem is.”

Captain Trail stood up tall in pride and began to walk away, saying, “Thank you.”

Arkantos started to walk with him and continued, “You’re too familiar with this peace-loving, partying-all-night, sunshiney land of Equestria.”

Losing his pride and smile, Blazing Trail exclaimed, “Wait, what?”

“You may be familiar with everlasting peace and the only kind of problem in any corner is the usual friendship problem. Well, guess what bucko, that’s not what it’s like outside of Celestia’s peaceful, loving nation. It’s brutal out there. War, Destruction, Hunger, Death. It’s like Normandy outside of Celestia’s land. And can you guess who is at the source of it?”

Blazing Trail pondered for a moment before answering. “Um, some kind of bad guy who wants to control everything?”

The dark blue Umbrum donned a guilty smile and replied, “That may be what it looks like on the surface, but underneath, it’s all Celestia’s fault in the long term. She could have sent supplies and food rations to those in need and still had plenty to feed her nation. But did she? No. She used it to keep the party going all night.”

Having a hard time believing what he was hearing, Captain Trail asked, “But why would she refuse to help those in need?”

Immediately the shadow pony responded, “Now you’re asking the right question.” He paused and his face held a concentrated expression, as if he was trying to solve the world's most complicated puzzle box. Seconds passed before he finally said, “Maybe she has some sort of thousand-year-old grudge against them. I don’t know, but I think it depends on her point of view. But for example, what if, like, they didn’t follow a certain rule that she placed on a wooden tapestry. One that says something like, if you do not do this, then she will declare that you are not a citizen of hers.”

Suddenly, like a magical program, Blazing Trail shook his head and yelled back, “I will not fall for your trickery! Your words are poison, and I will not be your next victim.”

Arkantos stopped in his tracks and muttered to himself, ‘So close to getting through to him, but unfortunately, she has that spell on him.’ For a while they walked in silence; well, mostly. There were a few explosions here and there, but they weren’t in real danger.

The Captain of the Solar Guard then asked, “Back there, when those Monsters were going to tear me apart, you said I had a price to pay to initiate Operation Crossbow. So my question is, what price is that?”

A groan came from deep within the Umbrum before he spoke. “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

“Ok, but remember you asked for it. Initiating Operation Crossbow would empower you, but you would also lose your way.” Arkantos gave the Solar captain a look before continuing. “But why take my word for it when you can get it from the horse's mouth.”

Before Blazing Trail could ask what he meant by that, they were interrupted by an oversized projectile that hit its opponent in the head and brought several other impaled Wereponies with it. The oversized arrow flew into the side of a mountain.

Arkantos said, "I'm impressed that you managed to turn a common weakness into an advantage." The Umbrum became a giant cloud again and pondered for a moment while he electrocuted several nearby Wereponies. Then he continued. "Well, not so much an advantage; it's more like a timesaver. Even though it will be short-lived." As he said this, the Wereponies that had been pinned to the mountain began to slide off of the oversized arrows to rejoin the fight.

"What in Celestia's name?" Captain Trail said before he turned around to see the Ballista arrow. He noticed several Earth ponies and saluted them for their help. Hooves in the sky, they fired another Ballista arrow at more flying Wereponies. Other Earth ponies were helping the nearby Unicorns on the ground. They charged with spears and shields or firing arrows at the few Wereponies still running about. An EUP general yelled, "Come On Boys, Let's Fight Like There's No Tomorrow!" However, it wasn't long before the Wereponies started to focus on the remaining ballista towers. Once the ballista towers were targeted again, the Earth ponies were either shredded to ribbons or pushed off of the wall connected to the towers, or they were grabbed in the air or by levitation. But that didn't stop them from defending themselves. When their enemy came closer, the Earth ponies dropped their bows and drew out their swords or grabbed their spears. They didn't last too long. Captain Trail saw one of the ballista towers get overtaken by the Wereponies who started to move the ballista to fire upon another tower. An oversized arrow was shot at another tower, making a very sizable hole in the second tower. In response to the attack, the second tower turned its crossbow and fired upon the taken tower.

Captain Trail swooped down and grabbed some dead pony’s sword. However, the sword seemed different. It was lighter and more silvery. As he continued to fly towards the castle, he began to think, 'It’s only a matter of time before those impaled Monsters get off of the oversized arrows. And the Wereponies are still immune to the Solar Guards' weaponry. If I don't complete Operation Crossbow, then all of us are doomed.’

"Oh, yeah! Is that the best you got?!" Arkantos yelled as several Wereponies fired a dozen spells at the massive cloud.

Blaze Trail was glad that the Umbrum was working with them and not against them; that pony of shadows was a force to be reckoned with.

As he continued to fly, Arkantos noticed something odd; a white Werepony who was carrying a blood-covered staff with a pure white gem in it. And judging by the look, it kind of felt familiar. His eyes widened as he realized that the monster was holding one of the lost relics of Canterlot; it was Star Swirl the Bearded’s missing staff. The Werepony said to Arkantos, "Leave and never come back."

The Umbrum yelled back, "Make me!" Then the Umbrum charged up his horn with several layers of black, purple, and green magic. He shot the magical bolts at the Werepony. But the Monster managed to counter the beam with the staff. A pure white beam flew forth from it and the white gem glowed brighter and brighter. The two beams did a little tug-a-war and the Umbrum’s beam seemed like it would win. But the white Werepony sent a pulse through the beam which destroyed the Umbrum’s cloud form. He fell out of the sky. Luckily for him, he fell on top of a pile of hay. He managed to roll out of the hay but quickly realized that his hind legs were broken.

"Well, it looks like I'm not going anywhere," Arkantos said. Then he summoned a shadow portal. A black and smoky hound came out of the shadow portal to protect him. Arkantos then pulled out a blank book and started scribbling in it. He paused briefly to look straight at the reader and said, "What? Somebody has to keep a record of what happened here."

Captain Trail heard the white Werepony say, "Well, that's one problem taken care of. Now to get rid of the Princess of the Sun."

Before the orange Pegasus could do anything to stop him, the Werepony zoomed through the battlefield, a white blur that quickly killed any pony that got in his way.

When Captain Trail saw the rapid and violent departure, he cursed himself for failing his Princess. He could not know or stop whatever kind of attack that Monster was going to attempt.

“No need to worry. The buildings are just buildings.” When he heard the first two words, Captain Trail jumped. He recovered quickly and turned around to see a magical projection of Arkantos. Arkantos continued, “A city is more than just buildings. It’s the people that live inside them.” The orange Pegasus did not question how he was there. It didn’t matter to him. He listened and felt his confidence build back up again.

“It’s the ponies that work very hard to ensure the well-being of the city.” Suddenly, Blazing Trail took off at sonic speed, close to rainbow warm-up speed but not quite. He didn’t care who was the fastest, he only cared about his duty. And right now, he must get to the castle.

As he flew, he heard the Umbrum yell after him. “So, are you going to wait and let these Monsters win? If yes, then I suggest you find a cloud and sit still on it! But if you want to stop these things, then you need to move quickly before they know what’s up! Make your way to Celestia’s castle!”

The Captain returned to his mission, thinking about what he saw. 'Did that Monster really use Star Swirl the Bearded’s staff? That item has been missing for centuries. How did that White Werepony find it? And more importantly, who is he and what is his endgame.'

Blaze Trail saw more buildings collapsing as he continued to fly. He saw one armored pony fail after another. Several Pegasus were torn to shreds. Some Unicorns were trying to keep up their magical barrier to protect countless civilians behind them, but the shield was too far gone and would give in at any moment from the Wereponies and their relentless beams of fire and lightning. The Earth ponies tried to avoid the Monster fangs and claws. But the Monsters were too fast and it was too late. Wereponies dug into the Earth ponies, makin them their next meal.

The Captain stopped and hovered in the sky. Then he spoke out loudly.

"We have already lost half of our numbers to those Monsters. There's so much chaos here that Discord is probably applauding the destruction that is happening in Canterlot. What is the point in reforming him? Seriously, how can he just let this happen."

He recalled his mission and continued flying to the castle. "Right, well, I'm hoping whatever Celestia wants me to do will even things out in the battle that's raging on right now."

He looked up into the night sky and saw the moon. It made him think of the Ailcorn who raised it. "Now that I'm thinking about it, where is the Princess of the Night? I for one haven't seen her since the battle started."

A light pink Pegasus flew at his level and reported, "That's because no pony has seen Luna at all. And seeing that it’s night out worries me."

Captain Trail replied, "If she’s not out here, then where is she?"

The pink Pegasus mare replied in a worried voice, "Maybe she's in her room at the castle?"

For a few seconds, Blaze Trail pondered on that suggestion. Then he said, "That seems unlikely; I don't have an answer, but what I do know is that Celestia should have-”

"Sir, look up!" The Captain looked up into the sky and paused, then said, "Wait a minute, who are they?"