Black Feather

by Recon777

04 - Target of Opportunity

With hooves pressing deep into the grassy soil, Nyx spun in a circle, head tilted back and wings outstretched. The sun felt warm on her face as she took in the fresh air, blue skies, and wide open spaces which stretched out in every direction. With a blissful smile, she drank in the liberating sensations, feeling her tension begin to fade.

There were so many wonderful memories from this place. A good portion of Nyx’s childhood had been spent here, playing among the apple trees with her friends. The grass was lush beneath her hooves. It was fertile land, carefully tended to by generations of dedicated ponies.

Behind her, Rumble was closing the door of a small structure. The inconspicuous child’s clubhouse had sat unused for years after Nyx and the other Crusaders had grown up and moved on with their lives. Now, it was the only indication that anything was here at all. The high-tech living quarters, nestled securely several canters beneath the surface, had been designed for the ‘Encapsulated Living Program’. But to Nyx and her family, it was simply referred to as ‘home’.

Within seconds, the cool air of the open sky was rushing over Nyx’s body, whipping her mane and tail. The feeling of the wind on her feathers sent tingles through her spine. With a squee and a laugh, she reveled in the pure joy of free flight. Below, the ground receded rapidly, revealing the whole of the Apple farm, and soon, nearby Ponyville itself as she gained altitude.

A tap on her shoulder gave her a startle. Head turning quickly, she caught only a glimpse of dark, wispy hair out of the corner of her eye. Her ears twitched as a tap on her other shoulder caught her off guard. It was Rumble, directly overhead at first but quick to duck to the side as she turned to catch him.

“Stop it,” she said coyly.

Rumble grinned as she tackled him in midair on his third attempt, causing them both to lose altitude fast. He laughed. “Such a serious pony.”

“And you’re such a goofball,” she snickered as they flapped hard to recover their height together. The pair soared through the clear blue sky, side by side. Rumble flew along her right wing, looking back at her with a mixture of love and excitement, his charcoal mane whipping back and forth in the wind as they glided along. When he tried tapping her shoulder once more, she laughed and curved into a barrel roll, luxuriating in the warm sunshine and open air around her.

Looking up, she noticed Flitter gliding along far above where she and Rumble were playing. She was soaring like an eagle, barely moving in serene, meditative flight. Nyx worked her wing muscles hard, tapping into her substantial pegasus magic to gain the altitude necessary to join her.

As she approached, she saw Flitter flying with her eyes closed. Nyx pulled up alongside, soaring silently with her friend for a moment.

“It’s nice up here,” Nyx said. “Peaceful.”

Flitter took a deep breath. “It’s a good way to make my troubles seem small. From up here, everything below, at least for a moment, feels less urgent. It’s as if for just a little while, I have no worries.”

A glance to the southern horizon reminded Nyx that somewhere, far beyond the haze, the war painted a very different landscape than what she could see here. While she couldn’t set her worries aside like Flitter, she couldn’t let herself dwell on them either.

“Yeah. I can understand that,” Nyx said in reply. “But it’s not as much fun.”

Flitter opened her eyes to look at her. “It’s not all about fun, Nyx. It’s how I handle stress. You and Rumble have each other. There’s also your rather… effective stress-relieving activity in the bedroom. I have nopony else, remember? And from the way things are looking, I…”

Nyx’s face fell as she recalled the fate of all the changelings. Despite years of watching for any signs, not a single one had been found. “Sorry, Flitter, I didn’t mean it was wrong or anything. I just wanted you to join us for a bit of play.”

Flitter had closed her eyes again, soaring along with only the breeze as her companion.

“Well… okay, I’m gonna go play with Rumble.” Nyx descended toward where her goofy pegasus was doing loops.

She was laughing and looping around with Rumble in the sky when suddenly, a familiar laugh came from her left. Nyx spun around to see a rainbow-maned pegasus shooting past her, grinning from ear to ear. She hadn’t seen the cyan-coated mare in ages, though it was soon apparent that not all was as it seemed.

Nyx did a double-take, letting out a hearty laugh. “Glad you decided to join us!”

“Well, I couldn’t let you think I was beyond having a little fun now, could I?” the mare replied.

“You better not let Rainbow Dash catch you looking like that, Flitter. You know how she is about her… ‘uniqueness’,” Nyx called over her shoulder with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. A mare can pretend, can’t she? I tend to think I pass pretty well for the world’s fastest pony, don’t you?”

“Well then, let’s put that to the test! I’ll race you both to Ponyville. How about it? Friendship Castle is the finish line.” She looked at both her friends in turn.

Rumble rolled his eyes and stifled a laugh. Nyx knew he could see what she just did.

For a brief moment, Flitter’s uncertain expression betrayed her identity. She knew Nyx was faster, but Rainbow Dash would never pass on such a challenge. In order for Flitter to remain in-character, she had to brashly accept as if she couldn’t lose.

“Oh yeah? You sure you don’t need me to give you a head start?” Flitter taunted, matching Rainbow's vocal inflections perfectly.

A satisfied, sly grin spread over Nyx’s face. “Readysetgo!” She took off for the horizon toward Ponyville, though not with everything she had.

Halfway there, Rumble was right beside Nyx, clearly struggling to keep up. They both looked back to see that despite a decent start, Flitter had fallen far behind. She turned around to let Flitter catch up.

“Hey, you okay?”

Flitter had changed back to her default pegasus form with a troubled look on her face. She said nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Nyx pressed.

Flitter avoided eye contact with Nyx and proceeded toward Ponyville at a more modest pace.

Nyx watched in confusion as her friend flew off alone. She caught up with Flitter easily and poked her shoulder. “Come on, I was just—”

Flitter stopped and hovered, scowling. She looked at Nyx, then Rumble. “Something’s wrong,” she said, finally.

“What do you mean?” Nyx asked.

Flitter resumed flying forward, ignoring her. This was really weird. She never acted like this without a good reason.

Nyx caught up again. “Hey. What’s going on? This isn’t like you.”

Flitter stopped once more, hovering while glancing around, her face forming a look almost like fear. “I feel cold. Like I just flew through a storm cloud. There’s a strange taste in the air. It’s like… like malice. I don’t think it’s anything you did.”

Nyx began to get very worried. She knew where Flitter was going with this.

They both knew.

“It feels almost like…”

“Zebras!” they both said in unison.

With a thought, Nyx instantly triggered the spell matrix resting at the base of her horn. The magical ring held several spells, one of which was the Terminal Empathic Indicator. Despite its failure yesterday, she knew it still worked most of the time. She engaged the spell, activating T.E.I. The world suddenly took on a slightly different hue, adding a layer of perception to her vision.

Glancing around for targets, a tiny red glowing smudge appeared far below in the distance.

“Oh horseapples! Something’s just up ahead, along that treeline!”

Wasting no time, the trio quickly changed course toward where Nyx was pointing.

It was Rumble who saw the problem first. “Nyx!” he called out, pointing toward town. “The school is only about three hundred canters out.”

A surge of adrenaline shot through Nyx’s body as she dived down for a closer look. What she saw confirmed Rumble’s fear.

There he was. Far below, a zebra was hiding behind cover, lying prone and motionless, facing Ponyville Elementary School. He was looking down the scope of a sniper rifle.

“Oh, no...”

Nyx’s heart raced. What was this? What was a zebra doing targeting the school—her school?

A glance toward the school, and sure enough, there were children at play. Her ears flattened against her head as her blood surged with anger. She glanced back and saw Rumble and Flitter already dropping down toward the zebra. They would handle him. She had to protect the children.

Racing toward the school, Nyx scanned the positions of the various playing children.

“Aha!” That has to be the target.

Mentally drawing line-of-sight from the zebra’s position, she could see that there was only one easy shot from this angle. It was a beige earth pony colt, sitting by himself and playing with some action figures.

No… no no no, there isn’t time!

A sickening, empty feeling of helplessness gnawed at her gut as she pushed her flight muscles to their limit.

It’s not enough. He’s going to die!

Through intense concentration, her horn glowed deep indigo and purple while the spell matrix vibrated on her horn, warning of a high magic drain.

Never had she projected a shield bubble this far before. Her horn fizzed and popped with failure.

It’s no use—he’s too far away!

Like a streak of black lightning, she dived toward the colt, hoping and praying that she could get within range in time.

~…~

Rumble shot a glance toward the school. Nyx was tearing across the sky like a bullet. She must have spotted the sniper’s target. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the area below. The zebra was right there in the open!

Sloppy, he thought. He didn’t think to check the air.

He wished he had brought his scattergun, but it wasn’t like they had come expecting trouble over Ponyville of all places. He unclipped the fragmentation grenade, which was still attached to his tinker harness.

~…~

Flitter scanned the area for additional zebras as she flew silently over the trees. She knew they rarely acted alone, so taking the first one out without neutralizing the others could result in a bloodbath.

A glance back toward Rumble showed him signalling his intention. She swallowed dryly, knowing she would have to find the others quickly. Things were about to get crazy. She needed to get in position and wait for his signal.

~…~

Rumble’s heart was thundering in his chest as he tried to position himself perfectly. Satisfied, and with no time to spare, he pulled the pin.

~…~

Flitter touched down among the trees a fair distance behind where the zebra was lying prone. There was a unique risk that came with her role in this type of operation. She looked around quickly, calming herself enough to briefly scan the emotional landscape. Something was there—she could smell it.

I can feel you… Where are you hiding? She swallowed and made her way deeper into the trees, toward the source of the emotional chill in the air.

~…~

Rumble hovered directly over the zebra sniper and released the grenade from his grip. He could still feel his heart beating in his chest as he watched it fall. It wouldn’t be but five more seconds, but it felt like thirty.

~…~

Flitter spotted the other two zebras and their camouflage net. Her breath caught as she noticed them looking in her direction.

Ohshit, ohshit. She crouched down, out of sight, listening for the signal.

~…~

Rumble watched as the grenade hit the ground next to the sniper zebra, still lying prone with his eye firmly attached to the scope. Startled, the zebra fired his weapon.

Rumble’s heart sank. “No…”

~…~

Flitter heard the shot go off. She tensed up, eyes wide. That wasn’t the signal!

~…~

Nyx squeezed her eyes shut as she flew, projecting as hard as she could. Suddenly, she felt the shield snap into existence in her mind.

Yes!

A heartbeat later, she heard the shot. Her eyes popped open at the feeling of an impact smashing right through the shield.

No!

Her terrified eyes sought the colt, horrified at the thought that she had been too late.

Clear green eyes looked back at her, wide and startled as she slammed into the ground inches away.

The colt was okay! The bullet had grazed his ear, deflected by passing through the shield. But he was alive!

~…~

Rumble watched from a safe height as the zebra sniper glanced to his side, jerking as he saw the grenade within hoof’s reach of his body. Suddenly, flesh separated from bone and was smeared across the grass in a crimson paste as the shrapnel and pressure wave from the grenade tore his body to ribbons.

~…~

There’s the signal. Flitter transformed and started running toward the hidden zebras.

The two zebras startled as they heard the explosion. They stood up from beneath their netting and saw their sniper squadmate running toward them in a panic.

“We have to go. Now! They’re using explosives. Follow me!” he yelled.

The three of them ran for new cover, being led by Flitter, disguised as their fallen comrade.

~…~

Nyx and the colt stared at one another for a moment until the sound of an explosion snapped their attention away. She was thrilled that he was alive, but she knew her job wasn’t finished.

She dropped her shield, releasing the colt.

“Run!”

He scampered to safety, watching as Nyx tore off in the direction of the explosion.

Hot tears streaked her face as she flew. Her thoughts raced, and anger burned within her as she considered what had just happened. Children. These monsters! How can anyone target innocent children? Was Brumby Ridge not enough blood for them?

She caught up with Rumble, and the two dived down to where they knew Flitter would lead the rest of the zebra squad. It didn’t take long to find them. Flitter had already given them the slip to scout for further threats.

Rumble and Nyx set down together and approached the zebras, who were visibly shaken.

Nyx felt an anger welling up within her that she had not experienced in years. As she slowly stalked toward the terrified enemy, her entire body began to give off magical energy. Colored patterns darted fluidly across her black coat, shifting like a flock of a thousand birds turning in the sky in unison. A strange sensation surged through her horn, unlike anything she had felt in her life. It was as if a floodgate had opened up and the vast, untamed power of the universe yielded itself to her command.

The zebras took up a defensive posture, each producing a staff that had glowing blades mounted on both ends.

Nyx didn’t even slow down. Her body shimmered, and her mane and tail moved about like fire. The laws of physics couldn’t decide what to do. Pebbles and stones near her hooves lifted off the ground, and the tall grass around her parted to make room as she walked by. Her hoofprints in the soil became like glass. Blazing, white eyes stared down the zebras, who were utterly panicked at the sight of what they could only imagine was some form of demon.

“WHY!” Her voice thundered. It was like a force of nature.

The zebras held their weapons forward, shaking. They glanced at each other, hesitating a moment, then began to charge. They managed only three steps before they were lifted off the ground. Screams filled the air as they burst into violent flames.

After a long moment, they fell to the ground and writhed around before lying still, continuing to burn. Nyx stood there, silently, as the rage within her faded. The unfathomable power, which flowed effortlessly through her horn for but a moment, was now nowhere to be found.

Heart aching beyond what she could bear, the emotional tide swept away any remnants of self-control. Tears streamed from her eyes as she stood over the burning bodies. What had she done? What had just happened to her horn? What were zebras doing in Ponyville, and why were they trying to kill children? It was all too much. She collapsed to the ground and wept.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

that was a close call

[Recon777]

11676676
You're the fastest reader in the world.
I've only posted the chapter a couple minutes ago.

[Bronycommander]

11676679
well. just was idling, plus 2000 words are not much to read

[TheHumanWriter]

While this is an enjoyable story so far, I do have an issue with the ‘mature’ profanity (of which I’m not a big fan). Besides that, so far so good, author.

Blessings!
-Davidtin