Re:Harmony

by starcross7

107 - Mists of Destruction

"Miss Alicorn? Are you all right?"

Her eyes opened hazily to a single source of light in a realm of water pipes. The high humidity emitting from the residual steam caused her to lay back down and catch her breath. Sunny quickly gathered her bearings and the time and place. Knowing them, however, meant she could not rest just yet.

At least a familiar face stood close to her while she licked her own wounds. Flitter had suffered a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious, especially compared to the Silvercurse preventing Sunny from unfurling her right wing.

Sunny remembered a big explosion at the Factory's eastern entrance. Sunny remembered being separated from her group, and she remembered them trying to rescue each other. Sunny remembered failing to protect Twilight despite having strong feelings that her dear unicorn could easily cast her Aegis Shield spell to absorb most of the shock.

"I am all right," said Sunny. "I did not know we had a backup plan when the Empress Commander arrived."

"We didn't, but this is typical of her work."

"Who do you mean?"

"Lord General Surprise. Almost all pegasus warriors prefer to fight their enemies face to face. Surprise, on the other hoof, loves to see the world blow up."

"I suppose we have to thank her for separating us from the Empress Commander."

"Thanks? I seriously doubt it she did that just for us. Damn it all. Do you think that it is time for us to send a distress note, Miss Alicorn?"

"Besides humidity being a problem, we should at least get a bearing on where we at. Also, you don't have to refer to me formally as Miss Alicorn. Just Sunny will suffice."

"Aren't you responsible for bringing out the sun? Sure, the pegasi of Pegasopolis fear you, but my friends and I revere you."

"Perhaps in a previous life I was looked upon as a god, but not all my memories of that time had returned to me. But enough about me. We need to find our way out of here and find our friends."

"Somehow, I have a feeling that you're only pretending that you forgot your memories."

Flitter was spot on, and she did not see Sunny bite her lip to hide her nervousness. The memories Sunny held deep in the recesses of her subconscious still appeared hazy to her, but she did not forget the mission she and her sister began almost a thousand years ago. It was that mission she hesitated to reveal in full detail, because she feared that her most precious unicorn would hate her.

"But I'm sure you have a reason for withholding them," continued Flitter. "Even I have things I keep from my friends."

"Then you must have experienced a lot of horrors when you served in Pegasopolis's military," said Sunny.

"It's too many to count for me. Rainbow Dash was lucky to run away when she was young."

Without any further words, Flitter took point, but her body motions felt as if she protected an important dignitary. She overdid it much to Sunny's annoyance, because each time the alicorn attempted to take a step forward, Flitter would throw out her hoof in front of her to stop her for a brief moment. One look to the left and one look to the right, Flitter secured the path, and then she would press forward while motioning for Sunny to follow her. Sunny might have a disabled wing, but she was far from helpless.

This area must be some kind of water distribution level, maybe even the sewers. The humidity made it difficult to focus on any possible foul odors this Factory could produce, and aside from some rust, the water distribution level appeared clean. Upon finding a large water line, both Sunny and Flitter silently agreed that they should follow it and advance higher and higher. Neither Sunny nor Flitter had yet to encounter anypony in the water lines. They had seen a security camera or two, but no alarm had sounded. All this had worried Sunny greatly, and she could only imagine Twilight and the others being thrust in the same situation.

It was a long walk, but Sunny and Flitter eventually made it to the end of the main water line that shot straight up to what they could only assume was the center of the Factory. Dull lights of the cavernous shaft shone upon the grated floor they stood upon, and a spiral staircase disappeared towards the unseen ceiling above. This was the perfect place for them to start their escape and find their companions.

It was also the perfect place for an ambush. It was only a degree of difference, but Sunny felt the humid air become colder, and the rush of Atmos Particles tingled her other wing. Flitter unfolded her wings halfway and crouched down in a fighting stance.

Seconds later, a black throwing knife stabbed the ground close between Sunny and Flitter. A moment ago, the pathway up the shaft had been clear. Now hovering in the air before them was a pegasus mare in a black and purple battle suit armed with dozens of knives holstered to her body. She had the same shade of mane and tale as Flitter. Sunny could almost mistake the two pegasus mares staring at one another as twin sisters.

"Some things never change," said the enemy mare. "Such as the way you move through the wind."

"I had a feeling you were here," said Flitter.

"Some might even call it destiny that we should meet again."

"Flitter," said Sunny, "do you know her?"

"She used to be my wingmate... and my lover."

"Cloudchaser of the Shadowbolts Stealth Division," said the mare. "On behalf of the Holy Nation of Pegasopolis, I accept the blood sacrifice you and your friends will make towards honoring our glorious Empress Commander."

"I did not come here to die, Cloudchaser. I came here to convince you to join the Rebels and end this thousand-year war between Pegasopolis and Gaea."

"A pegasus only lives for war. Do I need to beat it into you again to make you realize this?"

"You know that's not what you want. I took the abuse in the hopes that you'll realize the error of your ways, and as a last resort I had to defect. Please, all I ask for you is to join us so that we can bring peace between earth ponies and pegasus. I don't want to fight you."

"For that, you will be the first to die. Atmos Arts Special Technique: Mists of Destruction!"

Cloudchaser snapped her wings erect. Almost immediately, several bolts popped out of the joints various pipes on the concrete clearing. The humidity gave way to a chilling mist that obscured all views around Sunny and Flitter. Sunny found herself feeling slightly groggy and lethargic. With her teeth chattering due to the cold, she began to miss the humidity.

Still, there was no time to do battle against a stubborn pegasus warrior. And so, Sunny stepped forward, unfurled her good wing.

"Flitter," said Sunny. "Allow me."

"Please, save your power for stronger opponents, Miss Alicorn," said Flitter as she blocked Sunny with her foreleg. "I may have a selfish reason for accompanying all of you to the Factory, but it is written in the stars that I will be facing off against my former wingmate."

"Are you going to kill her?"

"No. I'm no longer the 'Bloody Flitter' that terrorized the skies. Stand back, Miss Alicorn, and be careful."

The demeanor Flitter possessed right now stood in sharp contrast to the girlish mare that served as the part of the air defense crew of the Spitfire. Very often she hung out with Coco and Rarity gossiping about cute colts and trying out new dresses and bows, and she was very popular with the stallions. The Flitter now had the eyes of a killer, and without hesitation she darted into the mist to vanish.

Sunny only took a few steps back when she started to hear the subdued clashes of hooves emanating from the mist. She could only see ghostly afterimages of Cloudchaser and Flitter from within. She swallowed hard when she heard blades pierce skin and the loud crack of bones. Twice already, two black knives flew straight out from the mist, narrowly missing Sunny to puncture the water pipes behind her. Another flew out and struck the floor next to Sunny's front hoof with its sharp edge colored by blood.

It had been going on for several long grueling minutes, and the relative quietness of the unseen battle put Sunny at unease. After all, both these mares were assassins of the highest order. She did not know who was winning or worse, who was dying. She wanted to step in and flare her hidden horn out in the battle and end the battle immediately. Then she restrained herself with a deep sigh. Even if she had a way to take out Cloudchaser, it would seriously wound Flitter's pride.

But Sunny knew that Flitter would win, and she mentally prayed to the Sun and the galaxy for her. She had closed her eyes for long periods of time to mentally picture the final blow, and right as she opened them, the mist blew off from the center.

Cloudchaser had been defeated, and she hung by her solar plexus on Flitter's roundhouse kick. It appeared painful, for blood stained over Cloudchaser's lower jaw.

Flitter survived, but she appeared to be in a worse shape than her fallen adversary. One of her eyes had been closed and covered in blood. Her wings were shredded, and there were multiple puncture wounds all over her body. It was a miracle that she survived because the bottom of the shaft had been stabbed by what looked to be hundreds of black throwing knives. The fight must have been violent, yet impressive all the same. Sunny did not even see or hear the majority of the knives flying all over.

Both Flitter and the limp body of Cloudchaser collapsed on the ground, and Sunny galloped after the former. Before the alicorn could even act, Flitter, once again, blocked her companion from giving aid. Then Flitter, with an agonizingly painful struggle, rose back to her own hooves.

"I'm fine," said Flitter. "This is nothing compared to the abuse I suffered while growing up in Pegasopolis. Unfortunately, I dealt one too many Bee-Stinger Kicks to my friend Cloudchaser."

"Both of you need medical attention immediately!" cried Sunny. "There's a stairwell that should take us back to the slaver docks. Flitter, allow me to--"

She turned to see Flitter gone, and so was Cloudchaser. Sunny had to give the wounded pegasus deserter a lot of credit. Flitter had already bandaged up her fallen enemy, slung her over her back, and started advancing up the spiraling staircase of the water main shaft. The alicorn quickly followed after her, and it was not hard to miss. Flitter spared no bandages for herself, and her own blood created a trail behind her. It was a worrying sight to see Flitter like this. For the majority of the time, she climbed the stairs at a normal pace, but once in a while she stumbled and veered towards the left and the right. At least one time she nearly fell over the railing.

For Sunny, the arduous stair climbing made her drowsy and she nearly feel over the railing. About half an hour had passed, and the bottom of the water main shaft became a black hole. Then by surprise, she felt something vibrate at her back collar. One of the Tele-Orbs fell out from underneath her mane, and out popped out burning green embers that reassembled themselves into a squarish note. Drowsiness gave way to excitement when she immediately recognized the handwriting of her dear Twilight, and the note read:

Applejack and I are injured, but are okay nonetheless. We encountered a Shadowbolt pegasus, which turned out be the Changeling Queen in disguise. Currently, we are holed up in the Lord General's guest chambers at the western arc of the Factory. If you are reading this, please rendezvous at our location.

"Was that a Tele-Orb pop?" Flitter asked.

"It's from Twilight," replied Sunny. "She and Applejack are alive."

Another Tele-Orb fell off from Sunny's collar, and out popped another note:

Sweetness! I'm there! - RD

"Rainbow Dash is alive as well."

Then a third fell off and produced this note:

I'll be a little late. I freed some slaves and I am taking them to our airship.
- Fluttershy

Sunny waited a minute or so for the transmitted notes from Pinkie Pie and Rarity. None had arrived, and while she expressed worry over those two, she knew she had to write a response.

But she could not. Up ahead, Flitter collapsed before Sunny could pop open her Tele-Orb containing her paper and pencil. She galloped over to her and found the stubborn pegasus trying to rise back up to her feet with Cloudchaser weighing down on her back.

"I can do this," said Flitter. "I just need to get back to the docks before--ugh!"

"It's okay, Flitter," said Sunny. "You are no longer a citizen-warrior of Pegasopolis. There is no shame in asking for help."

"But I--"

Sunny slipped underneath her and rolled Cloudchaser on the other half of her back.

"And there is no shame in receiving help from ponies who care about you," smiled Sunny.

The alicorn could hear Flitter's sigh of shame, but the relaxing of her anxious heart indicated her acceptance of Sunny’s kindness and generosity. Both Flitter and Cloudchaser felt surprisingly heavy with their armor and all, though Sunny had no trouble ascending them higher along the spiraling stairwell of the massive shaft. She did not dally in her steps, but she did not hurry herself to sprint for the sake of the two wounded mares. She tried not thinking how long it took her. Thirty minutes perhaps, or an hour. As long as Flitter and Cloudchaser’s hearts beat down into her fur, Sunny remained optimistic.

At last, she spotted the signs that soon led her back up to the eastern slaver docks. A lattice of catwalk railings greeted the spiraling stairs, but she deduced through all of them and arrived at the place where they started the operation.

It was a mess. In place of the labyrinthine processing station was a giant hole covered by a chandelier of twisted metal I-beams, sparking wires, and overhead lamps that flickered between swings. Thank the cosmos for everypony surviving that blast. Whoever this Surprise character was, heaven help those who come in contact with her.

By some miracle, Sunny's eagle eyes spotted a lone slaver ship just recently docked at the edge, and a line of slaves free of their shackles rushed to it right as the starboard hatch door opened. She glimpsed a familiar yellow pegasus relaying directions to a wall-eyed gray mare and a baby dragon before flying away. Sunny wanted to yell for her, but she refrained from doing so. There might be guards, and she needed to save her energy to traverse the edge of the former slave processing station.

There was no time. The last of the slaves were piling in, and Sunny leapt as fast she could from beam to beam. Her sudden appearance caused some of the freed slaves some shock, and some cried out that they had been spotted. For a moment, Sunny thought that the slaver ship would take off, but it didn't. The gray, wall-eyed pegasus stepped towards the direction of Sunny to squint her eyes, and eventually her face relaxed into a smile. Then it turned into a saddened frown right as she saw the bodies of Flitter and Cloudchaser.

Sunny had made it, and she felt relief when Derpy, Spike and a helpful lanky pegasus stallion helped the bodies of Flitter and Cloudchaser off her back. With no stretchers available, both the wounded pegasus mares had to be hoof-carried straight into the slaver ship's infirmary.

"We got the notes from Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy," said Spike. "Have you seen Rarity or Pinkie Pie?"

"I have not," said Sunny. "Where is Fluttershy going?"

"She says she was going to look for our friends," said Derpy.

"We tried telling her to stay with us in the ship," said Spike, "but we couldn't catch up with her."

The sudden flash of floodlights from lanterns and light poles instantaneously froze everypony. At the other side of the giant hole, pegasus soldiers swarmed in and threw from their hooves and wings bolts of lightning, ice shards, and wind towards the slaver ship. Sunny had no choice but to unfurl her good wing and deflect them. She cancelled out many of their lanterns, but more and more soldiers with mounted lamps continued their attempt to blind or spot out the intruders and the escaping slaves. Just her luck.

"Go, go!" Sunny cried. "I will hold them off while you escape!"

"Where should we go?" asked Spike.

"You know where. Now hurry!"

The swarm of soldiers increased, and so did their weather attacks. Sunny darted left and right to deflect their attacks and to buy time for Derpy and Spike to launch. Their slaver ship immediately descended away from Sunny's line of sight, and soon the frantic beat of its engines and aero-oars faded away. Seconds later, the sleeker attack skiffs dove after them, firing their ice shard machine guns.

The soldiers gave her a brief pause so they could place themselves in various attack formations. Groups of five or more surrounded in the air and on the ground, and each unit charged up their lightning, gathered wind, or ice in front of them. This was quite a show of force just to defeat one pony, but it would certainly be doubtful that they knew they were facing off against a legendary alicorn. Sunny could reveal her horn and dispatch them as quickly as possible, but these pegasi were not like Cloudchaser or even the rest of the Shadowbolts.

She decided to take Flitter's advice to heart. One wing was all she needed.

Comments

[lumberjack]

Whew, was worried for a little while about this story. Good to see it's back.

It's been a long time since I've read the other chapters, but have we ever seen Luna in this story? She wasn't in the labs with Octavia and Spike, IIRC.

[Crimson Dawn]

Yay so happy to see another chapter. No Pinkie in this chapter but she is being thought about. I wonder how she is doing?

[Telaros]

Sunny is such a badflank.

Also, yeah, calling it now. Surprise and Pinkie Pie are inevitable. I can't wait to see what Rarity and Pinkie end up doing against such an opponent. xD

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

7437524 certain things cross a line. This one gets very close to that.

[moonlit scribe]

LUNA'S BACK!!!!!! Oh, I'm so happy, I could just scream! Yay! But... Where has she been this whole time? Theory time: she is also trapped in one of the labs, and part of this quest is to free her. The difference between Tia and Luna is that Luna isn't reverted back into earth pony form, so she can still dreamwalk, though the Elements and the Night has been torn from her grasp.

[GMZ_Casper]

Trying to catch up, so I hope you don't mind if I post some quick C&Cs...

C&C:
The soldiers gave her a brief pause she they could place themselves in various attack formations.
> I think ‘she’ should be ‘so’.