The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors

by Fanatic-Heretic-101

Chapter 4: Do not go Gentle into that Good Night

Performing agonisingly slow adjustments to roll herself over and sit up in a more comfortable position, Sky Shroud makes quiet grimaces from the odd tender spike of pain from her broken rib, made the more worse from the battle fatigued panting she needs to make to regain energy. Every too deep breath forces said tenderness to flash again, but as her mind works to dull the pain via adapting to it the best it can, Sky’s breathing also steadies again before long.

Sinking her back into the tree trunk she was thrown into, the mare reaches for her helmet and takes it off, rubbing her eyes. “Remind me to thank the blacksmiths when we get back,” says Sky, running a palm down to the caved in section of her breastplate, feeling the battered metallic material that was the impact site of her body slamming into the tree - the armour having performed its purpose of protection masterfully or else her injury of a single broken rib could have been far worse.

After assessing the armour’s damage, Sky reaches for her satchel bag hanging at her waist and takes from it a vial containing a sparkling blue fluid that thankfully did not break from the battle. POP! Pulling the cork off, she takes a big gulp of the liquid and swallows it down before closing the vial again and putting it back in her waist bag, breathing a gentle long sigh as the painkiller medicine goes to work.

Meanwhile, Shadow Star makes the same effort to heal himself by drinking his own painkiller potion. Kneeling on the damp Everfree Forest ground, the stallion grabs a hold of his waist bag with his still working hand and holds it up to his fanged teeth to awkwardly bite it and pull to loosen it up.

Once the bag is open, Shadow puts the bag down and takes the potion out. POP! Biting and pulling the cork off, he too takes a single gulp of the metallic tasting fluid and swallows. The dull burning sensation at his broken hand almost immediately cools to a more bearable feeling, a higher degree of movement of the hand being granted but even a moderately fast reposition of it would cause said pain to flare again - Shadow’s weapon hand still useless.

The final causality is one of the stallion civilians who gives into the need to lay atop his back across the undergrowth dirt and mud that he was knocked onto, taking steady breaths. Pulling up his tattered and filthy shirt, the stallion observes a single slash mark strewn across half his chest, the scar given to him (by the dead Timberwolf he lies next to) not fatal by itself, but still bleeding at a modest rate, small trails of red running down his body.

“By the Empress!” Whispers the dark green, brown mane and orange eyed stallion between gritted teeth, flinching from the stinging soreness of the large cut now that the immediate danger of fighting was gone, making his brain register the wound with higher focus.

Slowly pacing back and forth to clear his thoughts about what happened, out of the corner of his eye Dusk Spectre spots the hurt civilian, stopping the pacing and recognising him as the stallion father had the Aether Rose flower with the goal of using it to to save his ill colt.

Sheathing his sword and replacing it with his own painkiller potion, Dusk approaches and kneels next to the hurt Earth Pony, nudging the vial at him, explaining with a stoic expression but with a tone concernful, “Here have some of this. It should help you feel better.”

Offering a faint smile, the citizen obliges and takes the vial, consuming a mouthful of the blessed fluid then giving it back to the Legionnaire, an immediate lessening of the stinging from the scar following. “Thanks.”

‘Don’t thank me yet,' replies Dusk, placing the vial back into his satchel bag to pull a different vial out from it that holds a dark orange fluid which Dusk opens POP! and holds up in one hand next to a medical cloth in the other hand, also from said satchel bag. “This will disinfect your scar…..but it will sting.”

Swallowing a lump in his throat, the citizen’s eyes show a look of acceptance despite him not saying a word, something Dusks notes. Taking a deep breath, the Earth Pony reaches for a stick from the nearby Timberwolf’s corpse and places it into his mouth horizontally, ready to a firm bite down on it. Giving Dusk a nod, the citizen closes his eyes and braces for what happens next.

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Clamping his teeth hard around the stick, a muffled painful growl comes from the citizen at the same time he clenches both his fists, the short burning of the disinfectant covering his chest feeling like a raging fire under his skin, the disinfectant destroying all possibility of an infection forming in the scar.

The pain does not last long. With a few final rubs of the cloth Dusk finishes applying the liquid which harmlessly trickles down the stallion’s body, closing the vial the liquid came from then placing it and the cloth back into the Legionnaire's satchel bag. “Sorry, I am not a Healer. Those Unicorns are all back at the Lunar Castle. You and my comrades can see them once we get there,” comforts Dusk, placing a hand on his fellow Pony’s shoulder.

Offering a small smile up at Dusk, the citizen’s focus drifts to the sides as he looks at each of the other soldiers scattered around the forest’s clearing, either resting from their injuries or remaining on high alert for any future Timberwolf attacks - all of them Bat Ponies, “Why didn’t you bring a Healer with your squad?”

“Healers are non-combatants,” answers Midnight, standing with his sword raised at the edge of the forest’s clearing, giving passing sideward glances at the civilian and Dusk as he elaborates, but spending more focus on watching out for danger. “Those Unicorns dedicate all their magic to medical care, which does not leave much left for martial magic. They would have been a liability if we brought one with us…...especially into a place like this.”

“Not to mention that the Empire only has so many qualified Healers in the Legions,” further explains Sky, still laying her back under the tree she was thrown into. “And not in as great numbers as what the recruiters would have you think. Let’s just say…...we are more expendable than them,” admits the mare in a low tone, her voice hinting at hopelessness as she gives a waving point of her hand at each of her fellow troopers.

“But not to me. None of you are,” retaliates Dusk with no hesitation in his words, giving Sky a firm look of determination, then switching to each of his subordinate soldiers, and friends, with the same look. “We are going to make it out of here. If we got this far into the Everfree Forest we can make it out.

“And that goes for you and your friends too,” vindicates Dusk, looking back at the civilian. “The fact you three made it this far in this place, with the tools you have, is exceptional.”

“Thank you, soldier.”

“Dusk Spectre. You can call me Dusk Spectre.”

“Well….Dusk Spectre, I am Terra Hoof,” the citizen replies, giving a point at each of his fellow Earth Pony companions as he calls out their names; the light blue stallion with a black mane and purple eyes. “That is Aqua Harvest,” then the dark yellow mare with a blue mane and red eyes. “And that is Lemon Gold.”

Giving a quick wave to each of them who returns the wave back, Dusk Spectre repeats the same introductions for his own friends; the tall black stallion with orange eyes and a green mane. “That is Midnight Wraith.” The bulky brown stallion with yellow eyes and a light purple mane. “Shadow Star.” The athletic silver stallion with dark blue eyes and a light blue mane. “Sliver Night.” The dark red mare almost as tall as the others with yellow eyes and a black mane. “And that is Sky Shroud.”

“Nice to meet you all.”

Turning away from looking at his fellow Bat Pony soldiers, Dusk brings his attention back to Terra Hoof’s scar which the blood was thankfully leaking less and less from it now, the red liquid starting to clot. “I need to bandage your wound, after that you should be fine.”

Finally pulling from his satchel bag a rolled up quantity of clean cloth, Dusk starts to unravel it to a suitable length to wrap around Terra’s chest and back to cover up the scar, biting into the cloth with his fangs to cut it after unravelling said correct cloth length.

Taking off his dirty cut tattered shirt and leaning forwards for Dusk to bandage him up, the Earth Pony’s sight is unable to look away from the Everfree Forest’s environment; the cage-like canopy of dead branches complimenting the floor’s tree roots surrounding the clearing like tendrils of this unholy forest frozen mid process of reaching for the Ponies, the deathly quiet dark that hides Empress-knows-what within the haunting undergrowth, and the towering trees and thick bushes whose strength and barrier-forming close proximity to one another would make fast retreat through them difficult. “......Not until we get out of this place,” replies Terra, acknowledging all of this.

---

Looking down at his broken hand then to his sword that fell from it to the ground, Shadow Star frowns as he picks up the weapon with his offhand. Attempting to make some twirls with the sword to get a new feel for it, Shadow spots Silver approaching to investigate, the latter asking, “How’s your swings?”

Trying to replicate the same professional slashing as what his main weapon hand would do, Shadow’s offhand produces sloppy motions for the sword as it thrusts and arches through the air at bent angles along with slower speeds, diminishing the weapon’s lethality.

Growling, Shadow awkwardly sheaths his sword with his one usable hand and equips the smaller (though lighter) secondary short sword, practicing with it just as with the primary blade and finding it much easier to use but at the cost of weapon reach.

“...Maybe I should have taken those dual-wielding classes after all,” regrets Shadow, still trying to adapt his secondary hand to fill the primary’s role.

“Surely it can’t be as bad as that one time you challenged one of the Empire’s Changeling Spies to a game of poker,” jokes Silver, getting a quick look of embarrassment/annoyance from Shadow.

“I-I was drunk. I was not thinking straight.”

“Then you must have been as hammered as metal on an anvil. Everypony knows how good Changelings are at deceit.”

Overhearing the stallions, Sky joins in, joking all in good fun. “True, but I guess it just takes Shadow losing 80 Bits to learn what everypony else knows as common sense. Tuition well spent.”

“Hahahahahaha!” Sliver bursts into laughter from Sky’s words, the laughing contagious as the mare herself soon joins in.

Snapping to both his fellow Legionnaires with a stronger expression of shame, Shadow stutters, “S-shut up you two! Hey at least I’m wiser now!”

“Hahahahahaha!- Ahhhhh!” The laughter, having carried on for a short while, dies by Sky’s painful cries from her broken rib, a nerve being struck as she grits her teeth, cursing under her breath.

Shadow and Silver become serious, worried they both walk over to their fellow Legionnaire and look her over. “.....How bad is it?” Inquires Silver, spotting the beaten-in section of the mare’s armour where her broken rib is.

“I’ll live. The pain only comes if I breathe too hard or quickly…..looks like that includes laughing too much.”

“...I am guessing flying or running is out of the question than?” Asks Shadow.

“And fighting…” Responds Sky, looking Shadow in the eyes before drifting her sigh down to his broken weapon hand - too relatable. “...Effective fighting anyway.”

---

Making the bandage wrap around Terra one last time, Dusk Spectre bites into its end with his fanged teeth and cuts it there. Tying off the fabric, the act signals his last step for patching up the civilian as best he could as complete….even if only a much smaller amount of bleeding is occurring, it is still bleeding regardless-

Hoof steps approaching from behind gains the squad leader’s attention. Giving a final nod at Terra who gave a nod back, Dusk gets up from his kneeling position and turns around, meeting Silver Night whose hand gestures coax Dusk to follow him away from Terra.

Several steps halfway across the forest’s clearing, gaining distance from Terra Hoof and everypony else, Dusk and Silver stop to look at each other face to face. “Things are not looking good for us, Sir. Shadow’s weapon hand is broken and so is Sky’s rib, neither of them can fight well.”

Sir? Ponders Dusk, mentally repeating the same way Sliver addressed him…..recognising its meaning as a habit his friend does when the squad is in danger. A habit Dusk notes Silver still has not broken over the years since their battlefield deployments during the Civil War.

Processing his friend‘s assessment, Dusk resists the urge to look at the ground despite a foreboding weight landing on his shoulders. Taking a breath, he questions, “How are those two holding morale wise?”

“All things considered, they seem to be thinking straight. But...you know-“ Silver’s eyes begin to drift away from Dusk’s, an almost jittering movement to them while they look around at the Everfree Forest surrounding them- “….some the stories you hear of this place-“

Dusk puts a firm hand down on Silver’s shoulder, instantly snapping his fellow Bat Pony’s focus back to reality. Conveying his fangs in a gritted snare, Dusk levels at the taken aback Silver, “And that’s what they will stay as for us; stories, fictional ones at that. You’re a soldier, Sliver, not a writer. You keep your imagination on a short string, do not let it get the better of you. Understood?”

Making quick blinks, Sliver feels a tightness in his stomach loosening due to his superior’s words and conviction. Calming down his pulse, Silver replies without fear, his mind set on a purpose, “Acknowledged.”

“Good,” states Dusk, letting Silver go, returning to a more analytic expression and normal in tone. Anything else?”

“How’s the citizen?”

“The bleeding has mostly slowed, but it is not stopping. We need to bring him to a Healer back at the Lunar Castle as soon as possible before he loses too much blood.”

“So what’s the plan, Dusk?”

Silence. A soundless phase that stretches on. Within that time Dusk’s mind buzzes with what information about the situation he has, trying to organise it and think of what should be done next. Eventually formulating something, Dusk announcing, “Everpony, come here!” As his hands reach into his waist satchel bag, retrieving the magical light crystal and the map, both being the same ones he used to guide the squad to this clearing in the first place since leaving the Lunar Castle.

Squeezing the crystal, its torch-light illumination allows Dusk to find a dry patch of dirt on the ground to lay the map out on. Placing stones on its corners to stop the item from blowing away, Dusk then crouches next to it. As everypony gathers around the map and crouches down as well for a better look, several of the Legionnaires (Midnight, Silver and Shadow Star) stay standing as sentries for the group at its edge, though still looking over at times at what was being shown and still listening to what is being said.

“Okay listen up, here is the situation,” begins Dusk, pointing at a circular, open-to-the-sky, red spot on the map engulfed by a green sea of dense trees all around it stretching across the map. “This is where we are.” The only breakage to the canvas of trees being the random looking blue lines running through it all (representing streams) and the tightly wrapped black circles representing rapid increase in elevation (such as hills) scattered around it too.

Dusk then withdraws his finger and lands it near the very edge of the map, atop a large formation of thick black squares and circles (representing buildings) each inside another outwards from smallest to largest. “This is where we need to be. We have to get back to the Lunar Castle as fast as possible to stop Terra’s wound from bleeding.”

“Is it…..that serious?” Probes Terra Hoof, worry the foundation of his words while he looks down at his tattered shirt to place a hand over the spot his bandaged scar is under it...a dull pain resonating from the action.

“At the moment no, but I have seen wounds like that during the Civil War…..it is only a matter of time until when, not if, it will be serious.”

“Okay so we need to get to the Castle fast. Can’t you Bat Ponies fly us there?” Wonders Terra Hoof’s friend, the light blue stallion with a black mane and purple eyes called Aqua Harvest.

“At first glance that would be the best option. But it has some serious problems. Look,” directs Dusk, bringing everypony’s attention closer to the map as he grips the magical light crystal harder to shine it brighter.

Suddenly whole sections of the forested areas of the map changes from bright green to deep dark green, the crystal illumination revealing the lighter green portions concentrated around the Lunar Castle and stretching outwards from it at uneven distances, like a splat of paint colour atop another paint colour.

With his offhand Dusk points back at the red circle within the forest that is the clearing everypony is currently in, proceeding to make a slow direct line trace with his finger from the clearing to the Lunar Castle on the map...that passes directly through the dark green section of the map through almost its whole journey.

“I am the best flyer here, but even I can’t make it 1/3 that distance without stopping to rest, and that was with all my equipment. Having that and carrying a whole other Pony would be worse,” admits Midnight Wraith.

“What does that have to do with this?” Asks the civilian dark yellow mare with a blue mane and red eyes named Lemon Gold.

“A direct flight route to the Castle would be fastest, but would need us to land several times in unmapped territories of the Everfree Forest, fatigued, while we rest. These unmapped areas would almost certainly have monsters in them that could ambush us while we are weak,” explains Dusk.

“....Is there another option?”

“Yes. You see this path?” This time Dusk Points his finger at the red circle clearing again, but now traces it across the map over a bright red winding path that twists and turns through the illustrated landscape until eventually ending at the Lunar Castle’s front gates. “That is the patrol route my squad and I took to get here. It is relatively much safer than the alternative.”

“But it is the long way around. Much longer too,” observes Aqua Harvest.

Running his palm through his mane, Terra Hoof bites the edge of his lip, his breath becoming faster, stress swelling in him. “The bleeding can’t be that bad...right? I mean….I don’t feel bad.”

Shaking his head, Dusk replies without a drop of hesitation or doubt, “Again I am not a Healer, but I am telling you a wound like that is fatal. The bleeding is not stopping, your time is running out for us to get you help, Terra.”

Strength seemingly abandons the Earth Pony’s legs, his body swaying for a moment before falling. Before the fall, the quick actions of his friends (and nearest Ponies) manages to take hold of Terra and slow the descent, easing him to the ground for him to kneel.

Shocked realisation manifests as a deathly lost look on the citizen’s face, his posture defeated and afraid. Looking down again at the section of his chest where the slow bleeding would be under the shirt, Terra’s eyes go wide as a red patch is now present there - the fall having made his shirt press against the wound, and the muscle’s sudden readjustment sending dull pain from it. “Oh no. Oh Empress…..”

“Terra. Terra Hoof, look at me, look at me,” firmly coaxes Dusk, snapping his finger several times in front of Terra’s face to no avail. “Terra!”

Breaking out of his hopeless daze, Terra snaps back up to face Dusk eye to eye at their crouching level, the map separating them.

Tightness grips Dusk’s chest, his efforts to stay professional becoming harder and harder as he offers Terra a softer tone, hopeful at what needs to be done, “I am sorry but we cannot dwell on this, we can’t afford the time to. I need you to focus, work with me and everypony else please. We can do this.”

A pause follows. A time of optimistic reassessment for Terra as he swallows a lump in his throat, his breathing resuming to a normal rate, his body and voice regaining determination. “Okay. Okay. I am listening.”

“Good,” congratulates Dusk, giving a small smile.

Taking a deep breath, the veteran Legionnaire ponders a little while longer, ultimately coming to realise what could be done, meeting everyponies’ gaze with his. “...Okay so, everypony, ideally we should have two choices. We can either go the long route, but risk Terra’s life in exchange for relatively better chances the rest of us will make it. Or we can go the direct route, giving Terra much more time to get help but have a higher risk of further monster attacks, and while we are fatigued….That’s being ideal.”

“.....But because of my broken rib, we can’t fly that fast through either route. Meaning Terra will have less time to get back to the Castle,” further explains Sky Shroud.

“Meaning….taking the long route would be almost guaranteed fatal for Terra,” confirms Midnight Wraith.

“....I guess the direct route is our only option-“

“What?! No, you cannot be serious,” retorts Terra, fear and hopelessness of the situation turning into outrage for it, no more hesitation in the Earth Pony. “You just said how dangerous the direct route will be!”

“We don’t have a choice,” retaliates Dusk, slamming his finger down at the map where their positions are on it. “We are out of options. No Pony else is coming to save us, to save you, in time!”

“There is always a choice! I am not risking my friends’ lives and the rest of you for mine. I can make it through the long route. If I start passing out, hit me to keep me awake, splash water on me, anything!”

“You will make it out of that long route as a corpse! And I am not going to let a colt lose his father under my watch.”

“So what, you want to gamble losing everypony else?! Deep down I knew what I was risking coming into this cursed place, but I still had to get the Aether Rose to save my colt.” Standing up, Terra Hoof unlocks his satchel bag at his waist and shows Dusk the Aether Rose inside it in all its large flora burning red coloured centre and golden triangle pattern petals glory and rarity. “And now that I have it…..my friends can give it to my boy if I do not make…”

“Terra…-“

“No, Lemon!” Retorts Terra, looking at both Aqua Harvest and Lemon Gold. “You both knew something like this could have happened, yet you still came along.”

“This is madness.”

“We are not going the long route! I am not sacrificing you for us. We are soldiers, we make sacrifices for civilians, not the other way around!” Demands Dusk, standing up to glare at Terra.

“You will be sacrificing other civilians with you if you go the direct route!” Shoots Terra back, matching Dusk’s glare with his own.

“That’s not certain. We all could still make it that way.”

“Really? Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?”

“I-“ Dusk opens his mouth to fire back but falls short, Terra’s words hitting him like a battering ram, not a sound coming out of the Bat Pony…….

The clearing becomes quiet as a ghost, everypony feeling uneasy while looking on at Terra and Dusk, everypony awaiting and wordlessly wishing for some kind of resolution to occur - a period of time that feels like it drags on for so much longer than it does in reality. Every moment agonising.

Soundless nothing……...

Eventually Dusk surrenders, his angered expression giving way to deadness, no colour in his eyes. Looking at the ground in defeat, the Legionnaire's posture slumps somewhat, no possible argument back to be made, the truth clear as the daytime of old…

“.....That’s what I thought,” says Terra, looking at the ground as well, his own sense of brokenness potent….

Dusk’s gaze drifts onto the map beneath him, his mind questioning how all of this happened and how they could get out of this. His mind torments him, his consciousness struggling to find something, anything, to help everypony reach safety without harm... Impossible. It is impossible. We are not going to make it out of the Everfree Forest….at least not all of us maybe. At least somepony probably won’t….

“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” Terra’s breaking rhetorical question replays over and over again for Dusk, the undeniable truth it contains overwhelming.

“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” ...No, I can’t.

“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” ...Somepony may die, at least one may die...

“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?” ….I do not know who, but at least one might not make it.-

“That’s not certain. We all could still make it that way. Recalling his own statement, it soars within Dusk’s mind like a piercing force breaking free, its significance something his consciousness can not ignore, it complimenting Terra’s statement after Dusk’s accepts this truth of the situation……..-

And then it hits Dusk, the responsibility for what needs to be done is undeniable, non-negotiable.“That’s not certain. We all could still make it that way.” No, not we. You all could still make it that way.

“...Can you really promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route after everything you said about it?”

“....Yes,” answers Dusk, looking back up at Terra and everypony else, his slit eyes narrowed, his fists clenched.

“C-Come again?”

“Yes I can promise everypony will make it to safety through the direct route,” promises Dusk, his words resonating through gritted fanged teeth.

“But the monsters, the Timberwolves, will have to attack us again there.“

“The Timberwolves will not be there….if they are busy pursuing something else.”

“Something else? What do you-.....” Terra’s eyes blink, his words ceasing to move from his throat - a daunting look of revelation in the Earth Pony’s eyes. “You mean…...”

“Somepony else. Myself. I will be a diversion and pull them away from the route,” declares Dusk with no fear, flaming zeal for the task ahead burning in him. “I am the best fighter here. I have the best chance of fighting them off once they come for me. I will try to follow along as best I can, but I will be sure to keep them away from all of you.-“

AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

A demonic sound carries through the air as spine chilling as the mythical winter blizzards of the Wendigos, the howl of hunting Timberwolves originating from deep within the Everfree Forest’s unseen depths. The howl, a hunting howl, signals the pack of beasts are on the prowl once more, out for revenge on the Ponies who survived them during the first encounter.

“They are coming!” Growls Dusk, picking the map up off the ground and placing it back into his satchel bag with haste. Equipping his silver sword and the magical crystal light, Dusk’s posture displays battle-readiness as he walks past the group towards the direction of the Timberwolves, commanding, “Midnight, I am placing you under command of this squad. Your orders are to lead everypony to the Lunar Castle ASAP and as safely as possible!”

“It will be done!”

“Move out!”

“Legionnaire! Dusk Spectre!” Shouts Terra, stopping Dusk just at the border of entering the Everfree Forest’s undergrowth, the latter turning around to face the prior. “...Thank you.”

“...It’s what a good soldier does.”

“I won’t forget this. Ever.”

Holding out his non-weapon hand straight ahead to draw an imaginary C in the air, Dusk pulls said hand over his heart - a drawn crescent moon being pulled into his heart - giving Terra the Lunar Empire’s salute, then receiving it back, finally expressing the best of wishes, “.....May the Empress protect you. And may you save your colt.” With that Dusk Spectre turns away, vanishing into the darkness of Everfree Forest’s depth.

With purpose the Bat Pony advances towards the Timberwolf menace, his mighty Lunar Empire armour not slowing the pace, his razor-sharp imperial-crafted silver sword in one hand, the arcane crystal light shining in the other (complimenting his Bat Pony nocturnal vision to grant Dusk Spectre full visibility).

The distant and ever decreasing volume of flapping wings from the other Legionnaires sounds off until disappearing altogether - leaving Dusk alone without any further help.

Just before the gorgeous glow of the full Moon disappears from sight overhead behind the Everfree Forest’s trees, Dusk gazes up at its protective, gentle, watchful place in the heavens; a shimmering tear falls from Dusk’s eyes, his hand holding the warm magical crystal light over his heart for a prayer.

“….may you save your colt.” Please, God-Empress, please I beg you to let him succeed where I failed.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Pretty curious on what happens next.

Didn't expect this took place after the movie there(or even season 9?).
Wonder what happened that led NMM to come back again and take over?