Chapter 10: Post Tenebras Lux
Ground zero. Where everything went wrong.
It was hard to believe that this insignificant strip of road had been a warzone only a few hours ago. The burning wrecks of Unit 1 and Unit 5 were gone, and the countless bodies of noble guardsmen had disappeared. By storm or by man, every trace of the attack had been removed. All that remained was the memory. Even though the cabin was hermetically sealed, Shining Armor could still smell the carnage: ashen smoke, ferrous blood, burning gunpowder. He combed his fingers through his cobalt hair and turned his attention back to the outside world.
The young guardsman refused to blink as he continued through the forgotten forest. He had gotten sloppy- gotten distracted- and he barely made it out alive. After four years’ worth of dull, 12-hour patrols along the Institute’s border wall as a member of the Civil Guard, he had hoped to keep his skills sharp by training in his free time: a 2 mile run every morning, two hours of physical training every evening, and a visit to the shooting range at least twice per week. When the rest of his barracks had gone to sleep, the man spent hours shining his shoes and ironing the uniform he was forbidden from wearing. Even in disgrace, Shining Armor wanted his uniform to be perfect for the day he would have the chance to wear it again. He got his wish only last night, when Captain Light had personally invited him to return to the ranks of the Royal Guard.
Armor had dreamed for a chance to prove that he was worthy enough to wear the uniform. Now he only hoped to make it home in one piece. His grip never loosened from his pistol’s holster, and he simply sat there waiting. Waiting.
“Something on your mind, Knight?”
There were a million answers to that question, one for every rambling thought that was passing through his head. “No sir,” he said with practiced confidence, “just staying focused. Vigilamus pro te.”
Captain Light nodded approvingly. “A clever use of the Civil Guard’s motto, but you aren’t patrolling the wall anymore. You are a member of the Royal Guard, Armor; you can find strength in our creed.”
Fortiter et fideliter. Shining Armor hoped that he could live up to those words in the moments to come.
Rainbow Dash felt a knot in her stomach as she stared out the window of Applejack’s truck. Something about the forest seemed to change as they passed, everything perverted beyond nature’s design. Trees began to pale in color, turning from vibrant browns and reds to ghostly grey and white. Branches twisted and stretched in unnatural forms, reaching their razor-sharp fingers as far as they could. Ivy snaked between the deathly trees while bushes began to bristle with thorns. The comforting songs of birds had fallen silent, replaced claps of thunder and the unearthly howls of some distant creature.
And to make matters worse, AJ still refused to turn her country music off.
When Rainbow turned her attention to the forest, she could swear a swarm of glowing lights leered back at. “Jack, are you seeing this?”
“I wish I wasn’t. Whatever it is, it’s spreading fast, faster than us. If there’s no stopping it-”
“Pleasantville, all those people…”
Applejack nodded grimly. “If we’re here, the United Security Forces must be too. If they’re smart, they should be evacuating the town already. But at this rate, it’ll reach the town in an hour. The coast, in a day. Beyond that, I can’t fathom.”
Dash didn’t need to hear any more.
The whole mission had been suspicious from the start, and Applejack was beginning to doubt their mission entirely. She looked in the rear view mirror, finding the ceramic white SUV that they had volunteered to escort into the city. Were they telling her the full truth? If not, what weren’t they telling her? And what were the chances that they were involved with whatever was changing the forest? The woman could only speculate at the answers.
“I’m getting the feeling that the forest and the g-men we picked up are related,” Dash said. “What do you think?”
She leered into her mirror once more, trying to spy the three through their black tinted windows. There was nothing to be seen, and that’s what worried her. “I think that once we’re out of this forest, we deserve ourselves some answers. Check your weapons and be prepared for anything. Trouble’s bound to find us sooner or later.”
When you’re waiting for danger to inevitably strike, waiting becomes the hardest thing to do. If a bullet or a bomb didn’t kill the Knight, then the boredom certainly would. Part of him wanted an attack to come, to let it happen and be done with the whole ordeal. The air was getting stiffer as the seconds suffocated him. His mind wandered in order to maintain his sanity. “I haven’t heard a peep out of Twilight since we left. You think she’s okay in there?”
Captain Light was awfully calm for a man who was driving into a potential ambush. He never twitched, stuttered, or even blinked, his surefire focus honed by years of experience. Even in the face of certain danger, he was always looking forward. “I’m sure she’s fine,” the captain said. “Besides, the wall between us and her is soundproof. Consider it a side benefit of the extra plating.”
Shining Armor knocked on the wall with the back of his hand; three short knocks followed by two longs, just as it he remembered. The wall replied with barely a note after each tap, so it wasn’t surprising when no response came through. “You weren’t kidding, sir. You could probably fire a gun in here and she wouldn’t hear it.”
“Believe me: you can.”
The young man let out a ponderous, “Huh.” He certainly wouldn’t doubt it: Light probably knows from experience.
There was a long pause before Captain Light said, “I watched you two introduce each other in the Palace garage. You’ve met her before, haven’t you?”
It was an astute inference, one that caught Armor by surprise. Then again, perhaps he should have expected as such from the head of Cell’s personal guard. “That’s correct, sir. We met during my first assignment with the Royal Guard, working as a bodyguard for one of the royals. Twilight and I were both introduced through… a mutual friend.”
Light nodded. “For what it’s worth, I don’t blame you for what Princess Cadence did.”
Hearing her name again sent a pang of guilt through Shining Armor’s body. “Funny. Everyone else seems to.”
“Not everyone appreciates the power love can have. It’ll change your world, for better and for worse.” Captain Light let out a long, pained sigh. “There was once a saying, ‘love is all you need’. But the truth is that sometimes… love is all you have.”
Shining Armor had never seen this side of his superior before. It felt strange to discuss emotions with a man who seemed to have forgotten them entirely. But there was a somber sincerity in the good captain’s voice, a hint at something still beating beneath the floor boards. “It sounds like you’re speaking from experience, sir. With all due respect, were you … ever in love?”
A long, cold silence hung in the air. There was nothing but the sounds of the humming of the engine and the howling of the storm. Perhaps the silence was preferable to the truth. For the longest time, it seemed like no answer would come.
“Yes,” Captain Light finally said. “But they aren’t memories that I like to think about. It was a long time ago, before the Umbra started their rebellion. I was a member of the Umbra Royal Guard back then, a loyal servant of Luna. I was a Knight, just like you, when we first met.”
The young man watched his commanding officer’s stoic face soften with an ounce of humanity. Humanity, regret, and sorrow.
“She was a pupil of Celestia, the first student to be taken under her wing in the history of the Network. And she was the most loving, brilliant, beautiful person I’d ever known. I will never forget the way she looked at me with those great, blue eyes. What I wouldn’t give to see her one last time…”
Armor recognized the way those eyes stared into the window’s reflection, gazing at something that was not really there. He could read his every longing thought and emotion in the elder guardman’s eyes. The same feelings had resonated within him many times before, causing such emotions to bubble up inside of him.
“Her name is-… her name… was… Twilight Velvet… and we had a family.”
The façade of the unbroken guardsman had been eroded away. Shining Armor looked at Light once more. He could no longer see a captain, a guardsman, or even a follower of the Illuminatus. All he could see was Light, the man beneath the uniform.
It took some time for Light to regain his composure. He cleared his throat of sadness and blinked away the moisture in his eyes. But while his mind had been cleared of the painful memories, his thoughts had turned to their current situation.
“Shining Armor,” he said, “listen to me now. We must all live with the things we’ve done, and the things that have been done to us. But we can’t keep running from our problems forever. Eventually, we’ll need to take a stand, even against the likes of Midnight. Running is what she is counting on us to do, but even the likes of her can be stopped.”
The captain put his hand on the Knight’s shoulders, his hazel eyes intense as they stared into the younger blues. “There are people in this world you can trust, but they will not defeat someone like Midnight on their own. You, Sarah, and I are the only ones who can.”
“Sarah?” Shining Armor asked, “Who’s Sarah?”
An answer would never come. There was a great flash of light and an immediate trembling through the earth. Blinded by the bright blue bolt, the men were helpless to react. The car swerved out of control. Tires screeched against the rain-soaked road. And their moment of peace came to a crashing halt.
An authoritative voice barked out over the sound of a car horn and the ringing of his own ears. “Armor! Shining Armor, report!”
A wave of the young man’s arms confirmed the Knight’s condition: injured but awake. Both Light and Armor were struggling to hold onto consciousness, but they were thankful to be alive. The seatbelts and airbags did their job, but they didn’t stop the overwhelming sense of vertigo. The force of impact had imprinted a series of throbbing pains across their heads and bodies, but the adrenaline quickly caused them all to subside. They were shaking, disoriented, and confused, but still combat ready. The doors flew open as they exited the Chariot, their guns drawn, their safeties off.
The forest looked even more horrible in person, covered ominously in a haze and slicked by the recent rains. The Chariot had slid several meters away from the road and embedded itself within the forest, the unnatural moisture of the forest mixing with the artificial smell of burnt rubber. The trees and their sharpened branches looked black and sickly as if infected by some sort of disease. The ground had turned from a carpet of green to a bed of dry dirt, with the few surviving patches of grass turning a strange purplish hue.
The younger guardsman opened his door to come face to face with the infinite depth of the forest. Amidst the woods and the fog, he could feel something approaching from deep within. He aimed his pistol downrange, scanning for anything that moved. “Captain, how’s it looking?”
Light quickly walked around the edge of the car, thorns and brambles grabbing at his clothes as he inspected for damage. The Chariot’s titanium frame had held its own against the crash, sustaining only a few new scratches to its paint job. However, its large wheels were tangled in the undergrowth, vines of ivy as thick as a finger snaked in and around the undercarriage. “Vehicle is intact, but caught in something. Help me pull it out, cut us loose.”
“Roger that,” the young man said as he knelt beside the front-right tire.
With his right hand still clutching his pistol, he grabbed the closest vine with his left. Armor winced as the razor-sharp thorns pressed into his exposed palm, but he maintained his grip and pulled as hard as he could. The vine refused to break, but the man slowly managed to pull it back from the wheel. But as he managed to free the car from the strand, the ivy slipped through his grasp with a sudden shock of pain; the saw-like thorns had left a jagged cut on his palm that wept fresh, bright red blood. As Armor clenched his hand in pain, screaming under his breath, he looked back at the wheel: the vines slid amongst each other like a tangle of snakes before his very eyes, multiplying in both size and number with each passing second.
“Sir, the ivy is overrun the wheels. It’s no use!”
The orange truck pulled up in front of Captain Light. After a quick parking job off to the side of the road, a blonde ponytailed head peered through the driver’s side window. “Hey! We saw the crash. Are y’all okay?”
Captain Light swore under his breath. The situation was spinning out of control, and he knew it. “Negative,” he said, “we’re caught on the undergrowth, and it’s growing fast. Give Armor some help while I get Twilight out of the car.”
Applejack didn’t waste any time with the orders. She jumped out from the driver’s seat, leaving her car still-running in the middle of the road with a flustered Rainbow Dash in the passenger’s seat. Reaching for her sheath on her belt, she took her tactical knife in hand. As moved to Shining Armor’s side, the sight of the seven inch blade startled him, but he was relieved once he saw the blade was not turned against him. The ivy had already engulfed half of the tire and was threatening to consume the rest. Applejack sawed at the mass of snaking thorns with the serrated edge of her knife, but they were still losing ground. “Dangit, the vines ‘re too thick. We’d need a chainsaw to get through just one of ‘em.”
Shining Armor still clutched his bleeding hand as he stood up to provide overwatch for Applejack. Even as he felt the blood trickle from the palm of his hand down his wrist and arm, he would not be deterred. “We have to make a breakthrough soon. We can’t just stay here.”
The wheels now resembled the trunk of a fibrous tree, firmly planted to the ground in a single twisted body. The snaking ivy, not content with jamming the wheels, were beginning to travel up the body of the SUV as well, fingers of jaded green stretched across the sterling white metal. “Armor, there ain’t going to be any breakthrough with these things. The car’s lost, and there ain’t nothin’ we can do about it.”
“You don’t understand: the Chariot is too important to simply leave behind like scrap metal. We have to keep trying!”
“I am trying. It ain’t working.”
“Then try harder!”
A sudden bristling from the forest them drew their attention away from the ivy. Something was out there, and it was big. They couldn’t guess at what it was, only that it was now lurking in the underbrush for them, waiting for the perfect time to strike. There were signs of movement amongst the bushes and between the trees, but its crooked form was camouflaged amongst the dead foliage. Applejack and Shining Armor drew their pistols, ready to put down whatever monster came their way. But what they found was a pack of glowing yellow eyes, sets of razor-sharp teeth, and a series of blood-thirsty snarls.
Captain Light could still hear Applejack and Shining Armor trade comments when he reached the opposite side of the Chariot. He stood outside Twilight’s door, his hand grasped firmly on the handle. After the biometric scanners confirmed his identity, he flung the door open as hard as he could. What he saw inside made his gut sink. “Twilight?”
The man tossed everything in his mind aside as he clambered feverishly inside the cabin. The warm lights and bright aura were gone. The cabin was black, cold, still, and lifeless. Twilight sat upon the throne, but she did not move when called for. Captain Light wrapped his hands around the girl’s shoulders, shaking them with nervous urgency. He shouted her name, his face merely inches away from hers, yet her eyes refused to open.
The stalwart captain shook in his shoes as he stared at her. His mouth was agape, but no words could fill it with how he described. Shock and anguish compelled him to fall to his knees, and his eyes began to lose their focus as his tears began to well. But his devotion demanded that he keep trying.
Captain Light closed his eyes as he put his arms beneath Twilight’s body, ignoring the limpness of her limbs as he moved her out of the broken throne. Ducking his head as he stepped outside, he was greeted by the sour-smelling air and the rapidly-approaching fog. His training began to kick in, and Light placed her gently upon the dirt to begin CPR. With an audible waver in his authoritative voice, the man counted with each chest compression, “One, Two, Three, Four- come on, Twilight, stay with us…“
Twilight remained lifeless. In that moment, Captain Light chose to shut out everything else in the world. He couldn’t hear calling Rainbow Dash for Applejack, a hint of distress in her raspy tone. Nor did he see the fog that overwhelmed the group, causing Rarity and her car to disappear behind a wall of slate-grey haze. There were bursts of gunfire coming from within the fog, followed by the incoherent shouts of the unseen combatants, but Light paid no attention to them. None of that mattered to the devoted captain. All he could hear was the counting in his head.
“…nine, ten, eleven, twelve…”
He turned his head upwards, desperation ripe in his voice, “Knight Armor! Abandon the Chariot. It’s done for. I need you over here now!”
“…twenty three, twenty four, twenty five, twenty six…”
“Shining Armor, get over here!”
He continued with the compressions as if he would never stop, but each successive pump became harder to do. The feel of his trembling hands upon her lifeless body, pressing forcefully against her delicate chest as if it were a broken toy, was beginning to wear on him. He closed his eyes, throwing everything he had into the motions, but his efforts were slowing down. The grown man, vetted by years of experience, felt weak both physically and spiritually. He tried his best to continue CPR, but he felt his hands fall apart beneath him. He only stopped once he felt something upon his shoulder, the cold embrace of a distinctly feminine hand.
“Here we are again, Light,” the deep, familiar voice said. “Another position, another assignment. Another woman you couldn’t protect. I think I’m beginning to notice a pattern with you.”
The captain remained as still as a statue, looking straight into the nothingness that lie ahead of him. He refused to look at the woman standing over his shoulder, even as her black dress billowed in the wind. “If you expect me to beg for forgiveness, you will be sorely disappointed. You should leave, whilst you still can.”
A turquoise glow appeared suddenly around Captain Light’s neck, a magic collar strapped tightly against his skin. With a single tug of her balled fist against the collar’s chain, the choker tightened like a trap, strangling the air out of the man’s throat as he was forced onto his hands and knees. “Dogs do not give orders to their masters. You may have served the Umbra well for many years, but you are still a dog for turning your back on us when we needed you most.” The heels of her shoes clacked proudly against the asphalt road as she walked in front of her victim. “Fortunately, I am nothing if not a merciful master. The only reason you are still alive is because you are still useful to me.”
Captain Light could feel the collar disappear, his throat once again filling with breath. He tried to avert his gaze, but the woman would have none of that. Like a parent disciplining a stubborn child, the woman’s feminine fingers firmly grasped his chin and pulled him towards her. Midnight stared into the captain’s eyes with a level of intensity that was impossible to ignore.
”I will make you the same offer I give to all those who may still serve a purpose in my grand design. But do not foolish, for I will only offer you this one chance to redeem yourself. So, Captain Light, what do you value more: your loyalty, for your life?”
The very sight of Midnight’s face made the veteran guardsman’s blood run cold. Her eyes had changed into something unnatural. The round pupils had narrowed into vertical, catlike slits. The white sclera around the iris was tainted with a sickly sapphire tint. And the irises themselves shimmered with a cold cyan glow. This woman may have once been human, but all that Light could see was the monster that remained.
Captain Light had faced down many monsters in his time, and he was victorious every time. But a guardsman’s duty is not to kill, but to protect. He swore to protect Cell, the Network, and the values that the Illuminatus stood for. Even as he accepted his certain death, he knew that he would be victorious. “I make no qualms with what you plan to do. But I will not take innocent lives in order to preserve my own. I would rather die than swear loyalty to you. Any true guardsman would.”
A devilish scowl furrowed Midnight’s brow. She was disappointed, but hardly surprised at the man’s foolish pride. “As you so wish. Clearly, you will not beg to save your own life. But perhaps you will beg… to save hers.”
Captain Light found himself restrained by Nightmare’s magic, chains of light wound tightly around his arms and legs. He was trapped, forced to watch as Nightmare kneeled beside the unconscious girl. The woman delicately laid her free hand over Twilight’s heart. “Her vitals may be weak, but I can still feel her teeming with magical power. Allow me to demonstrate.”
The woman’s hands surged with her magical energies, resulting in a cascade of untapped energy transfer like an electric current. As her hand coursed with the magical energy, Twilight’s magical currents resonated as well. Bodies of fuchsia light emanated around her body, floating and twirling freely around its owner’s body. Twilight’s magic swirled and mixed with the violet glow, seemingly aware of its presence and probing the foreign current with an unbridled curiosity. Nightmare’s magic made its intentions clear as it suddenly smashed through the fuchsia bodies, smothering them into nothing. As the violet light wrapped around Twilight’s body, Nightmare’s corruption began to take control. The girl’s body began to shake violently as if to reject the invading energy. Shaking from her seizure, the unconscious girl let out an agonizing scream.
“Stop it! Let her go, Midnight!” Light demanded, every fiber of his being sickened by the sight. He struggled to slip free from the magical restraints, but it was impossible to physically overpower such magical power.
The woman chided as she watched the man struggle in vain. “Has the great Captain Light lost his strength? Does he no longer remember our ways?”
Light could not allow the procedure unfolding in front of him to continue, but he felt powerless to stop it. “I rejected magic when I rejected the Umbra. Your abuse of such power has made you this way. “
“And your neglect of your power has made you weak. But if you wish to save her, you must embrace the magic which courses through your veins. Her life rests in your hands.”
What Light saw next made his heart stop. Everything had stopped. The shaking. The magic. The screaming. All of it stopped. And in that moment, everything was dead still.
Light could bear no more. He closed his eyes. With a deep sigh, he reached deep within himself, and resigned himself to what he was about to do. His parting thought: “Celestia, forgive me.”
It had been years since Cell had banned the practice of magic within the Network, but Light had always been well versed in his own abilities. He felt a hint of power deep within him, a well untapped for quite some time. The captain focused his mind on that power, and he could feel it growing within. As it reached its peak, he could feel electricity in his fingertips, a glow in his mind, and a light in his soul. This was the power he had kept locked away for so long, the magic he had turned his back on. But no longer.
Nightmare’s chains proved to be no match, her magical restraints shattering under Light’s power. Light’s magic welled around his wrists with a cobalt glow, engulfing his hands as he readied his next strike. He shot to his feet, took aim with a raised fist, and prepared to meet his target. His magic burned with rage, a blue fireball engulfing his fist it shot towards Nightmare. But the dark woman’s cat-slit eyes noticed the man’s intentions. A moment before Light’s rage could deliver its blow, Nightmare’s figure disappeared into a turquoise mist that withdrew with a chilling breeze.
Light was standing alone in the street, completely surrounded by a sheet of impenetrable fog. He pulled his sidearm from his holster as his magic began to subside. He scanned his surroundings for any hint of Nightmare’s form. But all he saw was the misty grey haze that surrounded him. He knew he was alone, but the woman’s baritone voice left an ominous cackle in the wind.
And as he looked upon the helpless girl in front of him, he knew he was too late.
The weight of the realization brought the grown man to his knees, collapsing under the weight of his failure. The sight of Twilight’s body, her skin cold and pale, was too much for him to take. Every fiber of his being cried out in a scream of mixed emotions, sadness and rage mixed with guilt and remorse. Loss was something a guardsman becomes accustomed to, but nothing could have prepared him for a loss such as this. Light could not stop the tears as they poured from his eyes. He had locked his emotions away long ago, but now the weight of the years were overwhelming him. Years of sorrow. Years of anger. Years of secrets. Years of truths she would never know.
Light knelt over Twilight, struggling to look at her one last time. The pulses of corrupting magic had taken their toll on the young girl’s body. Her magical energy was all but smothered. Her black hair had faded to grey as if she had aged decades in mere moments. The surge of magic had forced her eyes open. Her brilliant violet irises were bleached to bone white, and a bloody tear streaked down her face. The man delicately wiped the crimson smear off of her cheek, the warm touch of his skin brushing against hers.
Then he found something that nearly made his heart burst from within his chest. He saw something in her eyes: a sparkle of light, feint but unmistakable. With a desperate hope, Light felt for a pulse. He felt one, weak and fading with every moment, but definitely there. But he also felt something else: Nightmare’s corruption.
A guardsman’s career is made up of many moments, decisions that would change the lives of those around them. While instinct relies on self-preservation, a guardsman’s training must reject that. The most important decision that a guardsman must make is their last: when he realizes that he must give his life in order to save another’s. For Light, captain of the Illuminatus Royal Guard, that moment was now.
Instinct guided Light’s hands towards Twilight’s heart, placing his hands upon her chest just as Nightmare had moments ago. Once more, the man focused within himself, reaching for the power within him. His hands began to rush with an ethereal glow, and his magic began to tap into Twilight’s magical current. Cobalt and fuchsia light emanated around her body once more, the girl’s magic notably weaker than before. But as her magic welcomed Light’s presence, another form made its presence known. Midnight’s turquoise magic began to appear as well, its corruption made evident by the blackened tendrils that infected it.
Light was sweating, his eyes losing focus on the mystical glows that surrounded him. Magic was taxing both physically and mentally, and the good captain was out of practice. But he had to press on. He doubled his efforts, causing his magic to surge through Twilight’s body. He opened his mind and body to the magical current, letting every bit of energy flow through him. He felt the power coursing through his veins, an electric storm that welled within his body that resonated within her as well. And more and more, he could feel the corruption coming closer and closer towards him. Just as he needed it to.
He could feel the corrupted form crawling around his hands like a mass of unearthed worms as he pulled the blackened energy away out of Twilight’s body. Sensing his presence, the corruption began to set into him. Light could feel his strong heartbeat wavering as a set of blackened fingers wrapped around his soul. But his plan was working, as signs began to return to the unconscious girl. As his skin began to pale, hers became healthy, magically restoring its color and mending her wounds. As his hair began to grey, hers became renewed with youth and color, boasting a different shine than before. And as his eyes grew tired from his exertion, hers did shut with a peaceful blessing of sleep. The last sliver of darkness had been cleaned.
Light felt a powerful presence overtake his mind. Inhuman screams echoed endlessly in his mind, and he was powerless to silence them. His heart was felt foreign as if it were a parasite beating endlessly in his chest. He clutched his head in agony, fearing it would split in two. He could feel magic surging through his fingers, but it was not by his doing. It was only a matter of time before the corruption took him too.
There was nothing more that could be done. Nothing except wait for his time to end. He held her close, cradling her in his arms amidst the haze that encapsulated them. Light could feel Twilight’s heart beating, innocent and pure, and he relished in every proud thump. Combing his fingers through her soft, straight hair, Twilight’s eyelids fluttered open for a moment before returning the girl her to peaceful slumber. Her violet eyes were vibrant and beautiful as her mothers’. Holding her close, the man found solace with himself.
Light reflected on his life. For everything that he had done, he found pride in serving a purpose. For a lifetime of neglect, he took comfort in his moment of redemption. And for a life that he will miss, he closed his hazel eyes, shedding a single, blood-red tear.
“I’m sorry, Sarah,” he whispered into her ear, “I’m so sorry.”
“Captain Light!”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Captain Light!”
The kid started shouting for his commanding officer since the attack first began. Ten minutes and two magazines later, he hadn’t stopped shouting. His voice sounded as hoarse as it did desperate, but that didn’t stop him. At least he could shoot and shout at the same time.
Spent .357 casings spilled out of their cylinders as Rarity reloaded her revolver. As she reached for additional rounds, she saw something nearby. A faint yellow glow peered back at her from the fog, and the sound of a hungry growl was heard through the air. “One over here!” she said, scrambling to load her weapon in time.
Shining Armor reacted with speed and precision. He spotted the pair of faint yellow specks in the corner of his eye, and the rest was a series of fluid movements. His feet pivoted and planted themselves firmly against the ground. His eyes centered on their target. His arms rose to bring his pistol to bear at just the right angle. And his fingers squeezed the trigger. It was a kinetic process that he had honed over months of training and tested several times that day.
The guardsman sent two rounds downrange with practiced ease, and the pair of yellow eyes disappeared. Rarity thanked him for the assistance, but he said nothing in return. The team might know next to nothing about him, but they had to admit: he could most definitely shoot.
With a flick of her wrist, the cylinders of Rarity’s revolver swung back into place with a satisfying snap. She looked around for other targets before catching up with the rest of the group. Shining Armor was searching for the others, leading MANE 3 on a walk down the cold, lonesome road. The team had long since left the safety of their cars, but it was too far to turn back now.
“Are you sure they’re this way?” Applejack asked.
An eerily thick fog rolled in as quickly as the convoy had, making it nearly impossible to see more than ten feet in any direction. It was hard to guarantee anything with such low visibility, but Armor had to trust his gut. “Yeah, they have to be. Those creatures didn’t drive us too far from the Chariot, so the captain and Twilight are bound to be-“
“Hey, I see something! Dead ahead!”
The team looked to the figure that was lying on the road. Rainbow Dash in particular expected another pair of hostile eyes to suddenly turn towards them. After a few close calls, she had learned that the creatures loved to leap at their prey from the fog. The finger on her trigger tensed as she moved in front of the group, anticipating jagged teeth and sharp claws. But as she drew close, she lowered her weapon with a sigh of relief. Applejack rushed in behind her, pistol drawn and at the ready; Rainbow carefully lowered Applejack’s aim, lest she accidentally put a bullet in the sleeping girl in front of them.
Shining Armor was the first to reach Twilight’s side, throwing caution to the wind. Seeing her lying motionless, he feared the worst. He called name and shaking her gently to no avail, but checking her pulse confirmed her heart was still beating. He was thankful for that before turning his attention to the team behind him. “Twilight’s fine, just unconscious, but we can’t afford to keep her around here for long. We should get her out of here as soon as we can.”
Rainbow Dash observed the wreckage of the Chariot nearby, its body damaged but intact. “She rode with you guys, right?”
The guardsman answered, “Yeah, why?”
“Because that means someone moved here.”
Shining Armor followed Rainbow’s eyeline, taking notice of the open side door. It hadn’t been too long, Twilight must have been moved recently. There was still a chance. The man stood up, emptying his pistol’s magazine and slapping in a fresh one. “Team, stay here and watch over Twilight. If I’m not back in five minutes, take her and move on without me.”
He turned his back to the group and started to march towards the fog, pistol in hand, when Applejack caught him by the arm. “And just where the heck do you think you’re going?”
“I’m looking for my commanding officer. If Captain Light still alive, he’ll be nearby, and I’ll find him.”
Applejack protested, “Armor, you gotta be either real brave or real stupid to head out there alone. You saw those wolves, those things weren’t natural.”
“Hey, I can handle myself. But Captain Light came looking for me; I won’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do the same for him right now. Besides, you said your mission is to her, not me. Guess that means I’m expendable.”
‘Expendable’ was a word that Applejack didn’t like hearing, especially not in this context. She did not want to buy into Armor’s suggestion nor did she like the idea of putting him needlessly in harm’s way, but she knew she couldn’t stop him either. Besides, she understood that plight better than anyone. “Five minutes. Then we’re driving on out of here, with or without you.”
Armor nodded. “Thank you”, he said before bolting off to begin his search.
After Shining Armor disappeared behind a curtain of fog, Applejack walked back to her team. Rarity was providing overwatch while Rainbow Dash kneeled besides Twilight. The athlete waved to join her. “Hey AJ,” she said, “come look at this.”
The others shuffled in quickly, and she continued, “I was waiting for the hot shot to leave before bringing this up. Tell me, what’s wrong with this picture?” She motioned towards Twilight.
Applejack looked down at the unconscious girl. The answers were clear, but nonetheless baffling. She rubbed her eyes free of any illusions, but there was no denying what was in front of her. She slowly inched away from Twilight, taking a few steps back for good measure. “Whoa. When did that happen?”
“Recently. As in, after-we-started-driving-here recently.”
“The corruption of the forest and her being like this probably ain’t a coincidence, either.”
“Exactly. You think she’s a UNI?”
Applejack looked at her friend incredulously. “You’re actually suggesting she’s a witch?”
“Three out of the three signs match up. The unnatural hair color, unnatural eye color, mysterious occurrences… seems like textbook witchcraft to me.”
“Maybe. But then again, I’m talking to someone with rainbow hair and red eyes. And I’m sure hair dye doesn’t come in a color like Rarity’s. But I sure don’t see any of you two turnin’ people into frogs.”
“Yeah, but we’re different. We’re as human as you are. You can trust us. But the likes of her? We’ve all heard the stories. Who knows what she’s capable of?”
”You’re right, I have heard the stories. And they’re just that: stories. I don’t want to burn an innocent girl at the stake just because you think she’s a witch.”
“Hey, if you really don’t believe me, fine. But can you at least tell me what you plan to do about her?”
“About her? Nothin'. That girl ain't hurting anyone, and no one's gonna hurt her. She's the mission, simple as that.”
“That... that’s the plan? Seriously? What about Shining Armor? How do you know we can trust him? How do you know he hasn’t just run off without us?”
An answer came hurling at them from deep within the fog. The young man was tossed through the air like a ragdoll, his body landed gracelessly against the pavement before rolling to the side of the road nearby. A sudden attack had left their mark on him, his suit torn and his face red with blood and bruising. Despite his wounds, Armor was attempting to pick himself back up when a cackle could be heard on the wind.
A woman in a flowing black dress approached in an arrogant stride, the clack of her high-heeled shoes piercing through the fog. Her determined eyes set on her target, she had hoped to drive her foot into the back of the defeated guardsman. Crushing the last ounce of resistance from the young man would be an act she would revel every moment of. But as she stepped forward, the haze rolling back in her presence, she was greeted by three drawn pistols.
“Hold it right there,” Rainbow Dash ordered. “If you move it, you lose it.”
Nightmare’s curiosity was piqued with the introduction of the three unfamiliar faces. However, in the face of such a thread, she could only laugh. “And who might they be, Shining Armor? Friends of yours? More of Cell’s lackeys? Or just more scum to be washed away?”
“You’re one to talk, ain’t yah”, Applejack answered. “Introducing yourself by throwing a man across the room isn’t a great way of making friends.”
“Save your breath, peasant. I am only interested in what I have to gain, and I care not how I must acquire it. Give me the girl who lies at your feet, or you shall give up your lives as I take her by force.”
Applejack looked to the imposing form in front of them, the broken shell of a guardsman, and the unconscious girl at her feet. The pieces were starting to come together, and a desperate plan was beginning to form in her mind. “Rainbow, Rarity. How many rounds do you have left?”
“More than enough, dear,” Rarity said, trying her best to feign a confident grin to the threatening woman.
“Good,” Applejack said as she inched towards Twilight, “because we’re getting out of here after all. Cover me.”
The smug look on Nightmare’s face disappeared as she saw Applejack begin to carry Twilight away in her arms. Her cat-like eyes narrowed, and she aimed an accusing finger towards Applejack. “You fools wouldn’t dare...”
A single shot rang out. Nightmare’s pointed hand recoiled from the impact. As she clutched it in surprise, Dash could be heard chuckling to herself. “I warned yah.”
But this only served to anger the black-clad woman. Anger flashed upon her face, and her veins began to flow with focused magic. Rainbow jaw dropped as a violet glow suddenly flared from Nightmare’s hands. “What the he-“
Her words were cut short as a chain of light whipped forward from between Nightmare’s fingers, wrapping around her neck and strangling the breath right out of her. She was pulled from the group and into the waiting hands of the hostile woman. Standing just outside the periphery of the fog, Nightmare grabbed the athlete by the neck and lifted her off her feet with a single hand. And just as quickly as she had been pulled backwards, the Rainbow Dash was thrown forwards with enough force to nearly knock her out.
Rarity didn’t hesitate to attack. Her pistol rang out in a continuous stream of accurate fire. That volume of.357 magnum rounds would have been enough to take down a grizzly bear. But after her cylinders were spent and the gun smoke dissipated from her gun barrel, the woman was still standing seemingly unharmed. The bullets seemed to deflect off a violet glow that emanated from the woman’s hand. Such a feat should have been impossible, yet she could not deny what was standing in front of her.
Rarity’s surprise left her open to attack, and Nightmare quickly seized the opportunity. The seamstress was quick on the reload, but her opponent was quicker on the approach. As quickly as a storming wind, Nightmare darted to the lady’s position. She knocked the pistol to the ground with a single chop of her hands, following it up with a punch to the gut. Her magically-charged fist struck with the strength of a mule, knocking her opponent off balance long enough for Nightmare to grab her by her arms. And with an effortless toss of her arm, she flipped the grown woman over her shoulder as easily as one would throw away a piece of trash.
Applejack barely got to her feet with Twilight in hand before Nightmare had finished with her team. Within a few seconds, they were the only two left standing.
Magic flared once more, a glowing chain appearing suddenly in Nightmare’s hands. The chain launched towards Applejack, an open collar appearing at its front. The feel of heavy metal wrapped around Applejack’s neck, and the tightening clamp strangled the breath right out of her. Nightmare gave a sudden tug at the chain to throw her target off balance, and then slowly began to pull it all in. Applejack tried to fight back, her boots scraping gravel off the road as they struggled for traction, but there was no escape. “Your brazenness is matched only by your weakness. Once more, humanity has proven itself to be powerless against the likes of me.”
As the chain drew closer, Nightmare savored every inch between her and her prey. ”Do not think of this as a defeat; think of it as a lesson. Your world is changing beyond your control, and you are too weak to stop it. Instinct tells you to rebel, to maintain a world that no longer exists. But instinct is a primitive flaw, a folly of man. I embrace the change, the storm that will wipe away the weak and leave only the worthy. I will take my rightful place as the ruler of this world, and none will be able to challenge my power. “
Applejack could feel Nightmare’s wicked presence lingering over her, a shadowy tingling of pins and needles. With a final jerk of the magical chain, the cowgirl turned around, her neck falling into the grasp of Nightmare’s waiting hand. The magical chain and collar disappeared as the Umbra leader lifted her victim off her feet. Nightmare’s fingers tightened like a vice around Applejack’s throat, and a dark vignette was closing in around the weakened woman.
“My grand design is nearing completion, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Your deaths will mean nothing, for I always finish what I start.”
A brave voice replied, “Then you should have finished me first.”
Nightmare turned to find the source of the voice, but she only met the enraged fist of a young, cobalt-haired guardsman. Shining Armor let out a war cry as the blow connected against her skull, sending the woman stumbling backwards. The magical chain reappeared in Nightmare’s hands, whipping it menacingly against the pavement before heaving her hand back to strike. But Armor reacted instinctively, bringing his HK45 pistol to bear and putting two rounds into her up-raised arm. The bullets struck her skin like a metal plate, pushing her back and interrupting her magical charge. But much to Armor’s dismay, the woman refused to fall. Nightmare was physically unfazed by the assault, but the look in her eyes regarded the young man’s presence as a challenge. A strong violet glow began to swirl aggressively around the Umbra leader as she began to approach her target. But the Illuminatus Knight refused to be intimidated. He dug his heels into the rain-wet ground, reloaded his pistol, and aimed down the sights once more.
Applejack was thrown to safety after Shining Armor landed his initial blow. She struggled for air as consciousness returned to her, but clarity came when she saw the guardsman in front of her, his pistol drawn on the menacing woman. He may have been beaten and bruised, but the fire in his eyes and a spark in his soul forced him back from the brink. He would not run from this fight.
In spite of how little they knew of each other and how little trust they shared, there was no hesitation in his voice when Shining Armor gave the order. “I’ll try to buy you some time. Take Twilight and get out of here! Move!”
Applejack was about to call out to him, but a curtain of fog closed between them. Even after stepping through it, the young man was gone. All that remained of his presence was the percussive sound of his pistol in the distance.
Rarity rolled off her back and onto her knees, gritting her teeth as she regained her composure. Rainbow Dash felt like she had been hit by a semi-truck, and her aching groans the only proof that she was still alive. The team was thankful to be alive, but there would be no time to lick their wounds. It was only a matter of time before the gunfire would fall silent, the distraction would end, and the nightmare would come hunting them once again.
She didn’t know if it was the best call she had made all day, or the worst. But given the circumstances, Applejack didn’t have a choice. “Girls! Get to your feet! We’re getting the heck outta dodge!”
Running, limping, retreating as fast as they could. Burdened with more questions than answers, MANE 3 made their way down the lonesome road. Cold air filled their tired lungs as they made their way back to their only change for escape. Their legs trembled with weakness and pain, but they forced themselves forward.
“We’re almost out of here,” Rainbow said, “just a little bit more!”
A furious storm had brewed in a matter of moments. The fog had been blown away by winds that lashed like a whip against any skin it washed over. Electricity filled the blackened sky, and claps of thunder rattled the eardrums of those nearby. The weather turned from mysterious to miserable in only a minute, and the women was caught in the middle of it all.
Hope appeared dimly through the fog, sets of red and white lights. The smell of exhaust had never been so satisfying, and the hum of the truck engine was music to their ears. Rainbow may have hated its color, but she was definitely glad to see the vibrant orange of Applejack’s truck. Rarity, on the other hand, always enjoyed the sight of her Mercedes.
Applejack closed with the rest of her team, still holding Twilight in her arms. Shouting over the sound of the wind and thunder, she said, “Rainbow, you’re with me. We’ll put Twilight here in the back seat then get out of here. Rarity, I might need help with the door. But afterwards, you take your car and you be right on our tail, y’hear?”
Rarity was holding her exposed arms, severely regretting her improvised alteration. “I presume that you wouldn’t be callous enough leave me behind were our circumstances switched, would you?”
Applejack was pretty sure that was a, “Yes”.
As the three approached the waiting truck, the plan went into action immediately. Rainbow was first, dashing ahead to take her place beside the passenger side door, watching for any signs of hostile movement. Rarity was next, maintaining as much grace as she in spite of the chaos that surrounded her. She opened the truck’s rear door for her friend, letting the warm, fruit-scented air from the cabin waft over her. Applejack carried up the rear, hefting Twilight the last few feet to the side of the rear doors. Just as her arms began to burn with exertion, the cowgirl placed the unconscious girl in the back seat as delicately as she could, hoping her guest wouldn’t wake up and notice the rifle lying on the floor.
The rear door closed, securing their precious cargo inside. Applejack turned to Rarity, “Thank you much. Now, let’s get out of here.”
Doors opened and closed in unison as Applejack and Rainbow Dash entered the truck. Rarity’s car was only a stone’s throw away, twenty or thirty feet behind them. It would only take a few seconds for her to get back to her car, and they would be home free. Applejack vigilantly watched her friend through the rear view mirror, her fingers wringing the grips of the steering wheel. The engine idled patiently while Rainbow Dash counted the seconds of stillness that passed. One second. Two seconds. Three…
And then, in the distance, she saw something. As the wind whipped around her, Rarity stopped in her tracks as an angelic blue light could be seen. Flickering like a firefly, the luminous sprite hung brightly in the air, cutting through the darkness like no other light had. The stylish woman couldn’t tear herself away from the heavenly display.
Through the truck’s rearview mirror, Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s view of the captivating light was blocked by their friend’s body. All they could see was the peripheral glow of the ominous light silhouetting Rarity’s curvy form. But more importantly, they saw that she wasn’t moving, seemingly hypnotized by its beauty.
“What in the name of-“
“Something’s wrong. I’m going for her!”
Applejack’s protests were drowned out by the rushing winds as Rainbow Dash opened the car door and jumped outside. The world had turned into a wind tunnel, and taking a simple step forward felt like pushing through a constant wave of rushing water. The athletic woman was strong enough to push forward, but were the winds any stronger they would have blown her off her feet. She cried out for her friend, but the thunder drowned out her voice every time. Rainbow kept pushing forward, one step at a time, keeping the awestruck Rarity in her sight.
Suddenly, the light began to shimmer with renewed vigor. A spark had ignited a massive blaze from the heart of the fog, and the light grew exponentially in both size and intensity. The bright light was expanding out of control, its sheer brightness forcing the three to shield their eyes.
Rainbow was the first to feel the faint shaking in the ground, and she realized what was going to happen next. Her priorities switched from steadiness in an instant, and she bolted as quickly as she could to her friend. The experience could only be described as sprinting through an ocean: gusts so strong they made breathing impossible, light so bright it forced your eyes closed, waves of wind so strong you had to force yourself through them. But to Rainbow Dash would not be deterred, throwing everything she could into the twenty five foot sprint. Speed was a lifestyle, and she was well versed.
Blinding blue light overwhelmed them as the approaching shockwave shook the ground beneath their feet. Time seemed to slow as Rainbow came within arm’s reach of her friend. Leaping the remaining distance, she wrapped her arms around Rarity’s shoulders, forcing them both to the ground. As they landed, Dash positioned her back towards the light, shielding her friend from the oncoming blast.
Rainbow held onto Rarity. Rarity hugged her friend tightly. And Applejack secured her seatbelt and prayed her truck would hold. All three women closed their eyes and braced themselves.
The shock wave struck only a heartbeat afterwards. Even with their eyes closed, light bled through and left their eyes blind with cleansing white light. The shockwave struck everything like a sledgehammer, sending their cars lurching forward several feet. The earth trembled for what felt like minutes afterwards, a constant shaking that seemed to never stop. There was a duet of sound both high and slow: a deep bass of the earth shaking paired with an angelic soprano note that rang in their ears from an unearthly source, playing within earshot before rising in pitch to outside their spectrum. And to the ones who were outside, a most unusual sensation: a warm, radiant glow paired with an electric tingle seemed to resonate from within their very soul. Was that an explosion? If it was, it was a blast unlike anything they had ever seen.
When the team opened their eyes, it was like they had entered an entirely different world. Everything seemed… normal. The skies were peaceful, and the storm had all but disappeared. The fog that had plagued them for so long was gone, leaving a clear view of the world around them. The twisted forest had changed back into an innocuous stretch of thick woodland, lush with greenery and life. There was no hint of Shining Armor, Captain Light, or the woman in black; they were all alone.
In the reverent silence that followed, no one said a word. They looked to each other, finding an expression- equal parts confusion and awe- that matched their own, and knew that they were all at a loss for words. And as they gathered their wits and piled back into their cars, they knew that something miraculous had occurred.
The storm had been beaten back, leaving behind a hint of the world as it was supposed to be. The darkened clouds had been burned away, leaving behind a flawless cobalt sky. The day was dusky and late, but the night would be dark and beautiful. The sun had already set, and there was no moon to replace it. But in their stead, the twilight of stars would light the path home.
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OH MY GOSH
! IT UPDATED
!!!
*comence reading*
EDIT: BTW, glad to see you feel better
2nd Edit: Wow! that was one heck of a wham. Evil atmosphere, eldritch plants and monsters, near death experience for our MC, forsaken magic legacies, familial regrets (this one pains me that won't be resolved or adressed anytime soon) and that last thing that restored the forest to normal. What an amazing comeback.
So, Nightmare does need Twilight back. Would it have anything to do with her being a UNI(corn)? And MANE 3 seem very surpised for that reason, meaning they haven't dealt with one before, though AJ admits that Rares and Dash have something odd about them (read, Rarity is a UNI too).
Too bad about the hiatus, since the story is getting back on its tracks like you wanted (clever way to put aside the problem). If anything, I can tell you that I'll patiently wait for the next chapter, whenever it may come.
Wow. This is good. I just saw it in the feature box and read the entire thing through. It's kind of sad though that it likely won't be finished.
YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111 YAY!
the car was a complete write off when the Airbags Deployed!
Glad my current readers are enjoying the chapter. And hello to all the new readers too!
I hear I was put on the Featured Box, however short that may have been. I'm honored to have been one of the few authors who can claim to have had their moment of fame within the Box. Does anyone perhaps have a picture of that? I like to memorialize little mementos of accomplishments like that.
5524315
Regarding Light's familial regrets, I actually spent quite a bit of time fleshing out his backstory, despite the fact that he doesn't actually have much of a presence in this story. Part of it was the fact that only 3 chapters elapsed between me thinking his presence was a good idea (and thus introducing him), and me realizing that his presence was a difficulty (and thus removing him). However, since he basically is a full character in my plotted universe, I think of this as Act 3 of his unwritten story.
Will Light return? I dunno, probably not. But I liked him while he lasted.
5524834
I'm glad you found and enjoyed the story. I'm surprised that my story was featured, since I did not think that it was popular enough to warrant such attention. Still, I can't complain. Just wish I had that image of it in the Feature box...
5525236
Now that you mention it, the airbags didn't even go off in that thing. The Chariot is a deathtrap!
(And totally not because of author oversight)
Though if you want to talk about diminishing car values, a previous version of the concluding scene involved Applejack shooting five holes point blank into her truck door with her M4A1. I even planned for her to patch up the holes with duct tape in a later chapter. Ultimately the scene was changed enough that that act was no longer required, but I really liked that idea and the rest of the fight that would have followed.
5527077
Yeah, I mean, Captain Light is obviously Night Light, Twilight/Sarah's and Shining's dad, and he was about to reveal that fact when they got ambushed, and now he's dead/brainwashed beyond salvation, meaning that there's no way that neither Twilight nor shining are learning that true. It's tragic. Why do I love it so much!?
Anyway, I also wanted to tell you, that if you ever feel like bouncing ideas with someone, I'd gladly help with that.
5527077
the main reason I said the Chariot was a Write off is because Airbags are EXTREMELY Expensive. For an example, we will use my personal car for the Calculations; a 4 Year Old American Subcompact car equipped with both Front, and Side Impact Airbags. if I were to walk into my Service Dealerships' Parts department, the Driver's Airbag ALONE is $966.67 the Passenger Airbag is $750.00. just for the Front Two Airbags ALONE, we are Approacing TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS. and that's Not even COUNTING the Side Impact Airbags! and With The Side Impact Airbags at $416.67 A PIECE, we are Approaching HALF of the Car's Blue Book Value of $6,100! and then you count in the cost of the Collision Repairs to the body, the Insurance company would pretty much consider the car a total write off. (DEAR GOD, if Rarity EVER gets in an accident in her Merc, She WILL Be Car Shopping; the Driver's Airbag ALONE for an S65 AMG is OVER TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS!)
5529540
... I wonder if I can incorporate that into the story...
Probably not. But I, for one, have a newfound respect for airbags.
How do we even get onto these topics?
5530906
now you know why the Takata Airbag Recall was such a big deal; Airbags are Expensive, and Nobody wants Metal Shrapnel flying towards them instead of a rapidly inflating Canvas Bag.