The Realm of Beasts
She stared with intent at the setting sun disappearing under the line of the horizon. She stared at the reddened orb, and its grandening shadows, with only steel in her heart.
It was time.
Her horn lit up with a mystical blue aura as her consciousness linked to the manifestation of her will. Behind her, the moon rose and took its rightful place in the darkening skies. Soon, the night would fall completely; then her art, the constellations she had created so long ago, would oversee her subjects yet again.
A single bead of sweat rolling on her brow, the Alicorn of the Night sighed and relaxed her stance. Her eyes closed, her mind opened.
Night would fall in mere instants. Then, it would be time to purge the world of the imbalance as they had once done.
Memories of another age, a thousand years back, flowed through her head. When Equestria was young and it held within so many dangers. When her nights were the nest of monsters that would only hunt in the dark. When battles were the only reality that mattered. When they lead warriors in the hopes of a better chance at survival for those left behind. When she had first given death and cursed the Elders.
Ponies had suffered. By their Mother’s mane, their subjects had suffered into this new realm. Caelum’s fall had created abominations, and through a twisted cruelty, it had allowed one Elder being to claim a form onto their lands.
Failure. There had been no other word to express the disarray of seeing the newly formed nation fall prey to the draconequus. Their powers had been nothing in front of him.
She still despised him.
With every fiber of her body, she loathed Discord. He had laughed – laughed! – at their determination, at their misery, at their love.
During what would be their final confrontation, his aborrhant yellow eyes had not moved from his scroll. Casually, he had dismissed them, claiming a much more fascinating read required his attention. When they had not relented, his hilarity had exploded, and he carried that emotion into his frozen state.
Even his defeat had been bittersweet. For after the petrification, the realm at only returned to its natural state. Equestria had had to rise again from its ashes, and an empire up in the North awaited them for salvation…
It had truly felt without end.
No matter how many times…
A face came to haunt her. An old stallion, coat of olive green fur, whitening mane and eyes that spoke too little. Ragged breaths that came in clouds against the cold world. A tickling red flow from his hindleg.
There had been only one word.
“Please.”
Her blade had swung through the air.
Luna’s eyes shot open, and the peaceful realm below were laid bare once more. Winds moved the fields below as waves would a green sea that stretched beyond what anypony could see. From Canterlot to Ponyville, the tamed nature hid little in the ways of danger. The town stood silently, and no disaster had struck it.
…Recently, as far as the reports had said.
Slowly, her lips formed a smile. Your peace is truly a blessing to remember, Sister.
Mere instants later however, nostalgia and satisfaction vanished from the Princess of the Night’s expression. Instead, she gazed upon their destination with cold contempt, almost immobile.
She heard the steps behind her before her lieutenant had spoken.
“Princess Luna?” Leather Back trotted up to her form, his brows lowered with worry. “Is something the matter?”
“Tis the Everfree Forest, Lieutenant?” Her voice came out flat, void of any emotion whatsoever.
The question startled him, and his leathery wings clamped against his sides. He took a second to look back on the rest of the fleet, lingering on the leading ship before returning to her. “Yes, Princess. We are proceeding as schedule… Is there something to make you think otherwise?”
Yet Luna moved as if she hadn’t heard him. Her form hung before the railing, and her eyes shimmered with a hint of power.
“What is this trickery?” She whispered, her eyebrows lowering into a frown.
Her senses told her one, and one thing only, through sight or mystic arts.
Those were not woods of Chaos below.
--
The impact of hooves against the dirt echoed with clashes of metallic armors. Muscles rolled underneath those plates, and dozens of heart beat in a chaotic symphony. Those were not new sounds, but they were the strongest in this dark forest, below the foliage obscuring our paths and the shadows the night had brought.
My legs were moving in unison with those of the soldiers surrounding me. Instinctively, I had followed their military rhythm. It was much easier that way, even if the bulk of the troops were behind me. At the front of our formation, a single squad were trotting ahead, their eyes searching the canopy and the bushes for sudden threats to us.
A precaution, and a smart one at that, but I had little expectations it would be useful. At least at first. The plan was rather simple. We would start by trotting the distance back to Zecora’s hut. That ordeal had been cleared at least once by Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. It had given me a quiet little heartattack to learn that fact, but that was really my fault for not paying attention back then. In any case, once there, the unicorns would use the spell designed by Twilight.
The first half of this ingenious plot had yet to be completed, yet my sweet and slightly OCD marefriend’s zeal meant she was using the walk as an opportunity to debrief Officer Silver Plate’s lieutenants.
“-oking for evil aligned magical aura with a frequency between high-rates and extreme-rates. Traces are subtle. The best way to highlight them will be with a parallelly-ajusted aura of significant-”
It truly was a shame that I had little training in terms of unicorn magic. Twilight’s instructions had felt incredibly obscure to me, even if I could probably guess some of their meaning. Still, parts of me were bothered that I could not understand her well in these circumstances.
In the grand scheme of things however, it probably didn’t matter. I had been given my own tasks, all of them properly utilizing what my marefriend knew of me.
For starters, I was to stop our scent from spreading to anything that might detect it. In practical terms, it more or less meant that I had created a thin layer of air around our group and used it to imprison the particles responsible for olphactory signals.
Nothing too out there as far as requests go. And a little original to boot.
I had told her as much, in slightly more sophisticated terms, and had been quite pleased by the smile it pulled out of her.
Then, she had asked that I keep an ear open for any and all signs of life that would come too close to our formation. When asked, Twilight requested a few miles of margin.
Again, entirely reasonable.
In an environment such as this one, well, it wasn’t that difficult. However, now that I was doing so, I could not fight the crawling fear in my guts. The instant the realization had struck me had been the moment I knew with certainty that things had gone to Tartarus.
“I cannot believe I did not take a look at this before.” A harsh scoff forced its way out of my muzzle, and a scowl appeared on my face. The more obvious the problem became, the stronger the freezing self-loathing grew within me. “It is almost unprecedented.”
One guard took notice, ears prickling before his eyes had gone to me.
“My Prince?” Silver Plate instantly moved closer, a look of concern on his face. “What is it?”
“Worry not, Officer. It is no cause for alarm yet,” I said with a wave of my hoof. “I was simply acting as Twilight Sparkle requested of me. Advance scouting.”
His desire for information was not so easily placated. His patience seemed tested, and his tone was less referentious, as he repeated his question. “Have you heard anything?”
“Nothing,” I said, but the grim look in my eyes prevented him from feeling any relief.
At this point, he seemed hesitant to ask. A slight movement in his features hinted toward Twilight, behind of us. His guess, while reasonable, was far off for once, and I could believe that it showed on my face, for he spoke up again. “Then, might I ask why you seem so troubled?”
“I told you. I have not heard anything and this is precisely why it is so strange to me. The forest is silent. Silence reigns for miles, Officer.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Can you imagine such a thing in the wild? No leaves rustling, no little paws cracking branches, no growl or groan, no fruit falling off the foliage, no jaws breaking bones nor wings flapping up and down.” I stopped my tirade and spared a glance to the plants around us, almost to reassure myself that Life was not entirely gone from this place. “A dead silence has befallen the Everfree Forest.”
Ironically, my words created such a thing between us. For a moment, we both held each other’s gaze, until I went on and confirmed what he had likely implied from this new revelation.
“Most ponies could tell that a complete lack of noises in a living forest was unnatural, and they would be right.” My eyes went to my right, to the sight past Silver Plate. Dark leaves made a mask, a screen that would keep hidden more of this chaotic location. It might have been scary for others, but my ears told me it might as well have been a void. “This section of the forest is indeed completely silent now that I have stopped moving through the branches and leaves. For at least four or five miles around us, there seems to be nothing moving. Nothing at all.”
The news visibly made its way into Silver Plate’s mind. He pondered its implications for a moment, then spoke with a careful tone. “Could it simply be you missing something?”
That would be difficult…
“Well, my ‘hearing’ has a few flaws. I cannot hear what is said underwater, though I can tell if bubbles break the surface, especially in an environment as noise free as this one.” With a hoof, I designated our surroundings. “I can feel plants breathing, but that level of noise is too quiet to be noticeable unless I explicitly focus on it. So, yes, watching out for evil plants may be necessary.”
A mare a few strides behind him quickly glanced at the grass she was walking on. Her stare was hardened, but tainted with a hint of fear and stress. Likewise, albeit more controlled, Silver Plate looked warily at the crooked trees whose branches hung over our formation.
Quickly, he turned back to me. “And… how precise can you be then?”
“I can hear your heartbeat, your breath as controlled as it is, and those of every ponies in this formation, Officer Silver. And I am not trying very hard.”
He almost stopped trotting. In his gaze, there was another emotion directed at me: caution. It was unlikely he would doubt my senses now, not with the weight of my words starting to sink in. “That… is an interesting application of your powers, my Prince,” was his political answer.
I fought very hard not to snort loudly. For some reason, I would have no problem imagining him calling me a freak and a monster with the same breath.
Something petty crawled under my skin, and, for the life of me, I could not master the desire to fight it. With as much control as I could, letting but the faintest glipse of my actual sentiment, I gave him a benevolent smile.
“Every hoofstep is akin to a thunderclap in here.” My tone was as patient as I could picture Celly’s. “The few codewords that are shouted explode around me, and if it were not for the conversation the bearers are holding, it would feel worse still. I surmise these impressions may be the exact reason for my lack of awareness on this matter. I am much more used to focusing on actual sounds rather than their absence, on the words of others than their lack thereof.” My lips twisted into an uneasy grin. “For a living forest to be this silent, it is actually creeping me out.”
Silver Plate’s heartbeat grew faster after that statement.
--
Applejack could feel the tension clawing at her throat. The silence seemed just as unnatural the second time around. All she could hear was the sound of her group’s hooves hitting the dirt road or the neighboring grass. She wasn’t one to be jumping at shadows, usually, but there was a big fight coming and the anticipation was starting to make her imagine timberwolves and manticores behind every tree.
More than once, her stomach had churned when a bizarre shape had flickered between the bushes and the trees. Every time, only the passing light of another unicorn’s horn had stopped her from calling attention to her fears.
She had breathed a sigh of relief the last time, and, curiously, she had felt the prince’s eyes on her. They hadn’t stayed long, but he had appeared a little concerned.
The prince…
Now that she thought about it, it made for quite the orange tree in the apple orchard. And if she wanted to continue that analogy, she would have mentioned the library in a tree that it involved as well. A library-tree that was conspiculously trotting slightly ahead of the herd, somewhere between them and the orange tree way at the front.
Perhaps this could serve as an occasion to calm her silly fears and assuage her more mundane ones. She had seen the look on Rainbow Dash’s face when the two had hugged and she wasn’t sure if she really disagreed with it. Their time in Canterlot had left her with a mixed impression on the guy. He was probably a decent fellow, but he had come across as a bit condescending to her. Then again, noble, Canterlot… at this point, she would give credence to the rumor that a stick was inserted up a pony’s rump to make them more stiff when they reached a certain ‘level’ of nobility. Though, she could also admit that there was little restraints in his display of affection for her friend.
For a brief moment, Applejack’s brows furrowed together and the corners of her mouth stretched into a thin line. She glanced ahead, toward Twilight, then to the rest of her friends.
They weren’t paying attention to her. The upcoming challenges were the subject of their conversation, something which had Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie talking animatedly. Unsurprisingly, Fluttershy was trailing a little behind, occasionally sharing a few words with Rarity.
She observed them for a few more seconds, before her legs started moving faster and she got to Twilight’s level. That, in itself, was not a fact that her science-oriented friend noticed, at least until she drawled out the question on her mind.
“So… yew and the prince, huh?”
Twilight stumbled, caught at the last second by the combined effort of her friend and the nearest guard, the latter of which was thanked for his intervention.
“Is everypony going to ask?” She then asked miserably.
“Sorry, Sugarcube, but friends take interest in that,” Applejack chuckled, amused despite being sincerely apologetic. “The gig’s pretty simple, and we ain’t askin’ much. See if he’s a good stallion, if y’all need some help, an open ear, that sorta thing.”
During a short instant, Twilight’s features softened, but they quickly gained a hint of exasperation. “Please don’t start going on about breaking his face. Shining did that and it wasn’t even official back then.”
“So, it’s official now? Yer datin’ him?” Applejack asked once more for confirmation, a little smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Since when?”
Twilight’s answer was swift, with her deliberately refusing to look her friend in the eyes, lest she start blushing. “A few days.”
Applejack let out a low whistle at that. “Ain’t that the tiniest bit fast?”
She regretted opening her big mouth quickly, as she witnessed mortification settling in on her friend’s face.
“I-is it?” Twilight turned to her with a mortified squeak. “I haven’t quite managed to establish a general average for our age category, especially since his age completely falsifies all the data. Oh dear… we’re going too fast, aren’t we? That’s it! We’re going so fast we’ll have burned up any passion we have in the first month, then we’ll be an old married couple for the rest of our lives!”
It was only when she felt a strong hoof maintaining her to the ground that she registered that her wings were fully extended and flapping. Other ponies were staring, a few with cautious expressions. The treacherous appendages clamped against her sides, hard.
“Whoa there, calm down, Twi,” Applejack said slowly. “Ah was just asking. From what Ah get, it’s really up to the ponies themselves. Some take it slow, some don’t. It ain’t that big of a deal.”
But her destructive lines of thoughts could not be so easily diverted from an imminent disaster. Flustered and frowning, Twilight was coming up with as many justifications as possible for her lack of justifications.
“It’s just… everything, clicked so fast, after I… and he…”
“What? Kiss yew?” Applejack completed for her, allowing herself some indulgent teasing. “Is he that good?”
“No!” was her immediate response, and her whole face turned a darker shade of lavender as she realized what she was saying. And mostly, when she remembered a little detail about how acute his hearing was. “I mean, yes! Yes, yes, good, but I-! But that’s not the…”
Once more, Twilight got to taste the dust and dirt on her friend’s orange hoof. “Not the point, Ah getcha, Twi. Calm down, yer gonna explode at this rate.”
With a still shaking nod, the panicking mare agreed to what she knew was the most reasonable course of action. Her foalsitter’s example had to be followed. She closed her eyes, her hoof held before her chest for an inspiration, then away with the exhalation of the air in her lungs. His image almost came to her, flickering in that breath, and suddenly the Everfree was not so tormentful of a place. Ventus was with her.
Her steps became lighter as she resumed the trot to their first checkpoint. With optimism, the thought crossed her mind that nothing could be quite so scary as of that moment.
She didn’t see it coming, six simple words that made her wish for a rematch with Discord.
“So, what is the point then?”
Just as quickly as it had come, the lightness deserted her. She didn’t stop, surprisingly. She moved slower, but in no way did she stop. Her gaze flickered between her best friend and her coltfriend, eyebrows imperceptibly lowered, and her mouth closed. It could have appeared thoughtful, to an outsider.
But the way she remained silent seemed off. It didn’t quite fit with the attitude of a shy mare… It was a different hesitation that held her tongue this time. Applejack’s guts told her her shot in the dark hadn’t hit the intended target. Instead, it was a whole other can of worms.
“Twi?”
“N-nothing, I’m just… new to this, alright,” she hastily said, but even to her own ears, it came out hollow.
No elaboration followed. Twilight, cheeks burning dark purple, found herself with something urgent to communicate with one of the squad leaders and blinked away.
The thought then crossed Applejack’s mind that, perhaps, Rarity had been right. Maybe this did require more digging…
--
We had reached Zecora’s hutt without incident. Preparations for the second part of the plan were well on their way.
The soldiers remained stationary, still for the most part. The only exception was their eyes, that glided over our surroundings. Anticipation made their breathing faster, something that was only exarcerbated by our current stop. The unicorns in each squad had been gathered by Twilight, and were currently listening intently to her every word.
Humorously, I wasn’t. It would have been mostly pointless for me to try and master a new form of magic on the fly like this. Looks of interrogation were sent my way as I sat down near the end of the clearing and closed my eyes. Perhaps they expected more from me, because, as one of the two alicorns on duty, I should have been blowing them away by the sheer depth of my knowledge and what’snot. Yeah, right.
Biting back an annoyed grunt, I stretched my wings, flexed them into extension, and focused on my own breathing, for once.
Calx’s safe in Ponyville, there’s no immediate threat around, at least not one that is living or moving.
My thoughts turned inward. There were many emotions spreading through me with each passing moment. Fear, of course, at the prospect of facing down a being in my own mystic class, and likely tailored-made to invalidate my intrusion into this world. There were many images flowing and blinking behind my eyes. Magister’s teaching had been thorough, and I felt my resentment for him grow for it.
Yet, that was not all I did feel. There was, underlying it all, the words of my father were echoing back. We were forbidden to return, but only until we had restored the balance we had upset… Maybe… once this was done… we could return and leave this world behind.
Leave Twilight behind, a treacherous part of me added.
And she was not even out of sight while I was thinking that. Just about done with the instructions, the unicorns returning to their respective squads while she turned around with an air of worry.
My gaze fell downward. I am a cruel stallion, aren’t I?
“Ventus…?”, came her careful call.
Taking my cue, I jumped to my hooves, quickly wiping away the traces of guilt and turning toward my marefriend and the officer in charge of this expedition following behind. Her expression was marred by a hint of a frown. And as she reached the spot before me, I noticed a few more signs of stress, in the subtle swish of her tail, the imperceptibly quiet grating of her hooves against the ground and the rustle of her feathers.
“Yes, Twilight?” I asked, leaning forward in concern.
She only seemed more sorry for it, her gaze avoiding mine. “…Officer Silver Plate and I agreed that we need a better idea of what we might face. The tracking spell I developed has been working well, but we cannot afford to stumble over the entity we need to defeat.”
My brows furrowed together. I could understand the sentiment, but there was something else they had yet to say.
“I am hesitant to send our pegasi soldiers ahead, knowing that there is a very dangerous enemy roaming about,” Silver Plate explained, his voice firm.
At that moment, I glanced between the two. So that’s what this is about…?
“That goal is certainly honorable, Officer, but how can I be of help?” I asked, all the while steadfastly refusing to look at Twilight. There was something deeply embarrassing in being unable to contribute when she needed me. I… damn it, I wanted her to be impressed! My next words then understandably came out tainted with regret. “I do not possess the knowledge necessary to master Twilight’s tracking spell. A manual search of the Everfree would be a long delay. Longer than what you would deem acceptable, I am certain.”
“How long?” Silver Plate demanded to know, almost challengingly.
“For an intent such as this one, I need a concentration not unlike that of any mortal pony. There is no guarantee the threat we are looking for will breath at all, thus I must have enough focus to examine each spot. The scope I could scan this way would be that of a normal pegasus. ”
That declaration had them fall into a sober silence. It was not what they had hoped to hear, clearly. Silver Plate’s expression had darkened, and it would not have surprised me if he had chosen to let out a few expletives. His eyes went to the troops assembled, concern lighting them up. Around us, the soldiers were still awaiting further instructions with febrility, which was something none of us could quite give at the moment, not without regretting it first.
“Ventus, what if you took me with you?” Twilight suddenly spoke up. “You’ve already done that before. In Canterlot, remember? This way, I could show you the traces of evil magic as we search.”
“Well…” I glanced downward, hesitant to face her directly. “The last time had me as the sole conscious soul… For a mortal to come with me and try to retain their consciousness…” I looked up, I had to; it would be almost a betrayal not to express it as clearly as possible. “It would be difficult. And any mistake could have dire consequences.”
Quickly, the information made its way in her brain, as I saw the gears turning behind her eyes. And even so, it only served to bring a faint flush to her face, when she leaned closer and whispered: “I trust you, Ventus.”.
My wings fluttered, and a shiver went down my spine. Cold assaulted my chest, as the guilt screeched whispers of my unworthiness to my ears. On the outside, I projected only a smile of fondness, regardless of my inner thoughts.
How…? I pondered sourly. How could I have ever managed to inspire such a thing in you, Twilight?
Before I could delve too deeply into it however, a cyan blue form landed swiftly right next to us. Four other mares almost instaneously followed.
“Hey, what was that I heard about Twi risking her life?! Wherever she’s going, we’re following with her!” Dash’s annoyance was unsurprisingly directed toward me, in the form of a glare and an accusating hoof. “Don’t think you can just spirit her away on your own or something when we ain’t looking!”
“Ahem, yes,” Rarity coughed in her hoof, alternating looks between Twilight, myself and Rainbow Dash. “While this isn’t quite the point I wished to make, I agree with the general sentiment. Twilight shouldn’t have to risk her safety on her own in this way.”
“Whatever yer plannin’, Ah want in.” Applejack nodded.
“Me too!” Pinkie shot in the air.
“Twilight can count on us,” Fluttershy added firmly, eyes shining with more determination than I had yet witnessed from her.
Yet, before this display of solidarity, I could only feel my stomach sink. No… This would be really bad…
“Twilight,” I whispered to her ears, grimacing and frowning. “This will be hard enough with a single passenger. I fear the dangers that could arise if we try this with all your friends. O-one of them might…”
One look in her eyes was enough to tell me her choice right there, before she had distanced herself from me to face them. The pain was visible, for me as it was for her friends, but Twilight carried on nonetheless with a buding majesty.
“Girls, this… this is okay.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “I have to try alone, for the sake of everypony. It’s a responsibility I accept.”
“But…” Rainbow Dash moved forward, one hoof raised.
To her regret, Twilight simply shook her head. The words did not come out easily, but they were without ambiguity. “Just, please, give us some breathing space.”
They looked ready to protest further, as the sound already erupted from Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s mouths, but Fluttershy cut it all short with one sentence.
“It’s not what she wants…” she said quietly.
They murmured wishes of good luck, with a heavy heart and I resolutely ignored the pangs of guilt in my chest.
“Ready, Twilight?” I asked as my wings closed on her.
Her response was to hug me tighter.
With one breath, we faded into air. The other bearers’ expressions looked quite comical in that moment, but already the difficulty of the task ahead captured my attention. Twilight was a strong, vibrant mind, and a brighter soul still. The process was stimulating her senses in ways she had never experienced before. As a purple light, she was spreading unevenly, far away and thinly into one direction or another. Holes were appearing were she could not remind constant, and I tried desperately to call back to her.
“Twilight! You have to focus! You’re not one with the air! STAY WITH ME!”
To my unending relief, she froze into place. Possessively, I moved around her, shaped her back, and once her form pulsed with light. It almost made me sigh with relief. While before I had carried others, she could now exist at my side as a partner.
We stood above the troops, and below them, to their left and to their right. To the tiniest cracks where only a faint breeze could slip through to the uproarious storms in the East, we were as one.
I knew she could see it, that she could feel it. Her mind opened as mine did in front of the vastness of this world’s atmosphere. But a fraction of it was a scope too large for her to comprehend, still I knew that an instinctual understanding of it was dawning on her. Currents, ascendants or descendants, storms and breezes, what carried flyers or sent them quarelling to their demises, the father of many lives blooming, the uncaring mother that snatch away all on her path. The world swirled before us.
She remained silent for a long time until...
“This…” Her voice echoed in my mind. “This is what an alicorn is? This is you?”
“To the core,” I said without arrogance or shame.
She was rendered silent once more. Her presence, once very bright with enthusiasm, grew contained, reserved. The thought struck me that she was faltering again, and it sent a spike of worry through my heart, but, as I moved to pull her back, her voice echoed.
“You… you trust me this much?”
Absurdly, I was reminded of my own hesitations. It felt like a mirror of myself, and the impulse went through me to comfort her. “Twilight, I-”
Other sounds interrupted us, sounds that were otherworldly, that came from the remnaints of another age. An ache tugged at my being, demanding that I turned the entirety of my attention to them, that I forget up to my very name if it was what it took to have them…
His fragments…
Screeching winds thundered away above the mountains of the East. Cold winds weighted down on the air, dragging it closer to the ground as a waterfall did a river. Darker winds gathered. Beings that should not have been neighed almost tauntingly at the world below.
And I wanted nothing more than to hide that darkness away. From Twilight, Calx, Celestia, Luna… the world.
“Don’t look,” I said, with the only explanation I could give being the lack of one.
There was no protest, barely any curiosity from her. She simply turned to me and nodded in understanding. Elders, I loved that mare.
“Guide us, Twilight,” I coaxed her, closing the distance between us.
She picked up a trace, something of her that was little and fading. Sparks, scattered across my hide, some faint hints of another’s presence before. They glittered, shadows in the light, and Twilight moved forward after them.
Our path was clear, uninterrupted, through miles in this sea of trees; her spell created a beacon for us to reach. And when we reached it, a wave of repulsion shook us to the core.
We both finally understood why the Everfree had appeared dead before. Its life wasn’t gone, it had been gathered.
Still, it was in this place where most life had gathered, that Twilight and I discovered the most deaths. Bones littered the ground by the dozens, on every side. Small bones, none of which I was intimately familiar with, but I recognized amongst them beaks and wings. Little skulls, long ribcages, rodents’ teeths, short claws, even a much bigger skeleton akin to a bear’s laid on the grass, anything that could have belonged to a non-useful servant could be found.
Well… I thought grimly. At least we know where most of the small critters went.
Twilight stayed silent, but I felt her shivering.
She hadn’t lost focus. She was still examining the large clearing and its inhabitants.
Had they been asleep, eyes closed, the creatures might have been mistaken for simple branches, lying in heaps on the forest’s ground. And trees had fallen in this place, laying rotten and decaying amonst many others. But they were not the concern, they were here. Their features were lupine, with thin muzzles, and fangs of sharpened wood. Leaves hinted at eyebrows, but the pale green-yellow light of their gaze appeared darker than I could remember, losing itself into small wisps of mist.
A regular pack should have been up to eight timberwolves at most. They were ten times that numerous, pacing and growling low at one another.
One timberwolf blinked, its movement slowing down to an almost sluggish extent, as it rose its head toward the sky. The tip of his muzzle contracted through the bark, and air entered its nostrils.
Something felt terribly wrong then.
I could only notice now, but the wolves breathed strangely. Not ragged or deep, simply… forced. As if the movements to induce such a natural thing were not. The gears of a machine turning, not the impulse of life perpetuating life.
At my sides, my marefriend flinched, sensing the disgust that spiked through me.
“Terrible magic is at play here,” I thought, and I felt her nod.
Even then, her attention was on the small army discovered. The wolves weren’t alone. The Everfree was certainly more diverse than that.
Bigger shadows hid not far from this clearing. Predators greater than the golem-like lupines rested and stood guard. They would be far more powerful enemies. All too suddenly, the knowledge of the reinforcements at our disposable seemed a very real necessity.
But in the middle of this gathering, there was still a stronger signature, that of the source Twilight was tracking. Floating in between the creatures, a single line led straight into the hills, into a patch of darkness hidden behind vines and roots. We slipped unnoticed, not a single hair displaced by our passage.
Light slowly became faint, nonexistent, and only our senses allowed to us continue so much deeper into the earth until, at last, we reached a great opening and spread throughout. There were corpses, once more, but none of which as recent as those outsides. This lair had known a change of owner, likely wrestled away by the magic at play.
Unease held me back, as the being inside was opposite to my brother and me, and its sheer presence had me sickened. Perhaps that impression was transmitted to Twilight, as she intensified her search, and with a gasp pointed me in the direction of our opponent, far away on the walls. It could not be seen so easily. It was its nature.
Hidden was a shadow. Unliving as are objects without the spark of Vitam Mortem, but not unmoving it was.
It slithered, it crawled, from the darkness and into darkness, always to escape notice.
Our notice, I realized with horror.
Within the caves, the shadow swirled, flew through the air and stood, a mass of miasma unable to take shape. Purple mist slipped from it near the top, and sparks of green ran in twin circles, fast, too quickly for us to understand. The next second, a pair of crimson eyes looked back straight at us.
I pulled back before either of us could think.
We were within our circle of friends, as made of flesh as we had been before this scouting attempt. Twilight staggered on her hooves, eyes wide and wings fluttering. Not only the encounter with him, but the sheer experience of being part of me had drained her as well. My right wing stretched over her back.
Already, her friends were at her sides, trying to help her on her hooves, asking her if she was okay, what had happened, what was wrong. Yet, the only voice she paid attention to was my own.
“You… understand, don’t you?”
For sole answer, Twilight’s eyes went downward, and her wings twitched.
Gently, I leaned in to nuzzle her, a contact she herself deepened subconsciously. She was shaken.
“I’ll tell them, Twilight,” I whispered. “Don’t worry.”
“Tell us what?” Rainbow Dash demanded hotly, her gaze turning into a suspicious glare.
“Well, I have good news and terrible news,” I said, and they turned toward me at once.
Their full attention was on me. Even the sentinels seemed to be slightly distracted by the sheer interest shown by all those important ponies. It would not cause much problem, in my opinion, as truly the troops to face were still a good distance away.
We would be coming to them, and not the opposite. The enemy was one to lay traps, not to chase in pursuit. It had least gave us the opportunity to talk.
Taking a deep breath, I looked at them all in the eyes. “The good news is that we did find out who we will likely be facing. The terrible news is that the monster in question is rather scary.”
The wisps of black smoke flashed in my mind, and I felt them dance somewhere beneath my skin. Not for the first time I cursed that my body was the host to such dark entities. If I concentrated, I could almost reach them, those swirling masses of corruption…
A shiver shook me and ruffled my wings. The others saw it, but they had yet to understand. Twilight did, and she had barely caught a glimpse of what he was capable of.
Once, he had not appeared so scary, with only his bestial intelligence. That simple memory felt so distant, just an image lost in the fog. What I remembered clearly was my teacher’s lessons, the long list of atrocities, the clever traps he had laid and the frightening lengths to which he had gone to protect his reign. While his newer form had appeared powerful enough on its own, it paled, paled, in comparison to the spellcasting he had been able to do at his full power. He had brought an empire on its knees, with his power and cunning alone.
Keeping my voice under control, I faced them with the utmost serious as I announced the reality of our next fight. “From the Age of Chaos, in the blank decade of unknown time, arose the second-coming of the pinnacle of unicorn abilities. I present you our opponent: the Archmage of Shadows, known through history for the crimes against ponykind he would later commit as King Sombra.”
--
As did the others before her, the mare entering the court room looked with hesitation at the throne. Her stride continued uninterrupted, each one of her decorated horseshoes creating a resounding noise in the otherwise empty room. The echoes carried over to the painted windows, which let in a filtered moonlight to depict champions of ponykind onto the royal red carpet.
Celestia observed patiently the figures of her faithful student and her friends, in their various exploits, while one of her subjects trotted up to her. Fondness mixed with worry at those images. It should have been her. Every time. Her subjects should not have to face threats such as those the Elements’ bearers had to.
Briefly, her expression showed but a glimpse of her frustration. Had the poor mare coming to her noticed, she would have fled begging for forgiveness. As a small mercy, the mare had been focusing on the steps leading to her dais. The audience could thus begin as scheduled, and Celestia answered to the requests calmly, despite feeling weighted down by chains.
She did as she always had.
She waited, fear in her heart, serenity in her eyes and in her smile, and placed her faith within those around her.
And cursed silently the laws that restricted her interventions.
--
They moved as silently as possible, becoming little more than shadows between the trees. They were close now. Enough that the subtle wind barrier was the only thing preventing the beasts from catching their scents. But they could. The smell of dried blood and the putrid breath of the timberwolves made them nauseous. It was not enough to affect their movements though. They had their orders, there was a plan. They could all picture it quite easily.
Words of warning were at the front of their minds.
“King Sombra’s most dangerous spells revolve around inducing fear. He uses them to break his enemies’ will and subjugate them to his own.”
A few soldiers glanced back at the center of the formation, toward their leader and the two alicorns. Princess Twilight had been the most adamant about it; her eyes had briefly glazed over with memories at the time.
“Consider it incapacipating. While it may not cause physical or even lasting psychological damage, the spell completely takes over the senses of the victim until it is broken. Any pony hit will be rendered immobile and unresponsive until rescued.”
It was difficult to ignore the visible shudder she had done her best to suppress.
“King Sombra is skilled in the art of traps. Caution is imperative.”
The last squad quickly took its place, melting in the shadows outside of view.
“He is not to be engaged face-to-face. He has shown himself capable of making a unicorn unable to cast spells once he got his hooves on them. Our strategy will need to account for that.”
Eyes closed, Ventus Vinco gave a slow nod, and mouthed a word under his breath. Even those closed to his position heard nothing, yet some distance away, three squads leaders confirmed the state of their group.
“All squads are in position, Officer,” the alicorn declared simply.
The word of gratitude was quickly given, and the military commander moved slightly closer to the front, amongst his soldiers. His progression was followed by a few pairs of eyes, one of which was a cold mixture of blue and green. Yet, that gaze showed worry, as the tension in the air rose and it became obvious battle was imminent.
“Stay behind me,” he whispered to the ones at his sides, his wings spreading in front of them while he took a step forward. “I will ensure that nothing reaches you until you’re ready.”
The six heroines looked resigned, determination crossing with the inevitable fight that was to come. Shadows stretched across their faces, as light swirled around Twilight’s horn. In the dark, it was uncomfortabley close to a beacon. Of the six, she seemed the most focused; even as beads of sweat rolled down her coat, even as her muscles twitched, her eyes remained transfixed on the goal ahead.
When she nodded, Silver Plate’s gaze went to his squads briefly, before he silently motioned with one hoof.
On the spot, Rainbow Dash reared, and, as she had done before, roared like a beast. It echoed wide and strong, but more importantly, it carried up to the monsters waiting.
As one, the wolves stood and turned. There was no hesitation, no such thing as doubt, while they started running as a collective entity. The ground shook, rumbling with the impact of hundreds of paws hitting it in unison. The wave of wood and flesh rippled in its progression toward the ponies’ position, and in the darkness, the image struck fear in their preys’ hearts.
“Earth ponies, at the front!” Silver Plate shouted. “Intercept the enemy!”
With a loud cry, the bulkiest soldiers spread into a wall and locked themselves into place. Muscles hardened, hooves digging into the ground, they seemed of stone. It was their very intent to prove it true.
“Unicorns, pegasi!” The order came again as a whiplash.
From the shadows, the ponies jumped and started their assault. Bolts of light and lightning alike flew from their ranks into the charge of wolves. Every flash was blinding, and as they struck their targets, they grew into a cacophony of blasts and pained cries.
The spectacle sent the bearers’ blood pumping at high speed.
“Get ready to run, girls!” Twilight warned them, to which they responded with quick nods.
Their shadows stretched on the ground, the purple light intensified. It was almost time. They were to wait until the exact… right… moment…
The wolves crashed into the line of soldiers.
Then, in one large flash, the bearers were behind the enemy lines, standing right before the entrance of the cave. The teleportation had not startled them, though its caster felt a spike of pain go through her horn. Teeth clenched together, she sent a sweeping glance to her friends.
“Quick, we have little time before something notices o-”
Twilight’s irises shrunk into dots at the sight of a wooden jaw inches away from her.
--
The burst of magic behind me had almost been enough to throw me off balance.
The horde had not stopped. The fighting had truly started, with spears and fangs. More than one cry of pain echoed in the night, and not all of them belonged to mindless animals…
Necessary, this is necessary…
The unicorns collectively sent the beacon spells, launching bullets of light into the darkened sky, and projecting the equivalent of many large spotlights over the forest. At that moment, the Mane Six’s characteristic coats briefly came into view, as did many lumbering bodies of wood heading backward.
“What the…?” rose from my left, and the recognition sent a spike of panic in my brain.
“Applejack…?” I muttered in disbelief, as I glanced to her very real, orange, stetson-wearing form.
The farmer looked just as surprised as we did, checking herself almost as if expecting to disappear at any second.
I wasted no time.
“Officer Silver, the teleportation failed to move all of the Elements’ bearers!” I shouted as loudly and as quickly as possible. “Applejack has been left behind!”
In that instant, I could see Silver Plate’s face pale, and in his eyes, the same question I wondered.
…Why?
In an instant, memories of my last date flashed before my eyes. I saw Twilight standing a few steps away from Calx, words were coming out of her mouths. Calx’s ears flattened, his mouth twisted into a pout, and he left disheartened.
The answer hit me all too suddenly.
I turned, eyes wide, to the place Twilight had teleported to, with only a panicked thought piercing through.
Something got in the way!
Despite my powers, despite the darkness that had befallen those woods, my first and foremost instinct was to frantically hope to see through the distance separating us and see her alright. It was futile, for I did not see anything. I was only saved from my fear by a refined alliterative yell.
“Not Twilight, you rotten rooted ruffian!”
I had never been so glad to hear Rarity’s voice.
But somepony cut through that single moment of relief. “Take her to them!” Silver Plate yelled, even as he tried to recoordinate his troops.
I didn’t take the time to observe their work. My hooves were already carrying me to Applejack. Magic channeled into my horn, I was focusing on the ragged breathing of the others, on their quick whispers of confusion.
“Where’s AJ?!”
“Still with us!” I told them.
“Can you bring her to us?” Twilight’s voice reached my ears, with a hint of desperation.
“On it!” I nodded, stopping right in front of Applejack. “Get ready.”
There was no hesitation, no pause. Applejack’s leg closed over my own. We were ready to move. Our bodies became lighter, and took shades of transparency. However, right as my wings turned to air, an explosive noise threw me off my hooves.
What the hay? I thought, getting back up, ears still ringing. My vision blurred, though not enough that I could not see an orange mare getting up as well. What just ha-?
“Hydra!” the closest soldiers shouted.
With horror, I felt the deep exhalation of five heads, moving more air together than three platoons of ponies together. Liquid ran off the scales, falling back into the ground and a pond with splashing noises. Twice, a low rumble shook the ground, as it unsteadily climbed over the muddy shores. Its claws dug into the wet soil, cutting through it with a small squish. The moment it was steady however, a growl rose from the pit of its entrails, and it charged, quickly, faster than a member of its species waking up would. Nothing else was needed to know where it was headed. That creature had been a trap hidden underwater. In the back of my mind, a part of me blamed my stupidity for completely overlooking that possibility. But, even over the loud roar it let out, something else racked my nerves.
The hydra’s appearance had disrupted my concentration at precisely the right moment. That couldn’t have been a coincidence. The timing of that one had been too perfect to be simple bad luck.
There! Through the foliage, a faint green light pierced through, in twins orbs. My blood curdled as I realized he had been more than prepared for our arrival.
“Begone!” I growled, and a blast of air hit the shadow dead center. Its form grew faint, dissolving into nothing. Still, its elimination gave me little gratification, as still I felt the faint nausea.
The disturbance had truly thrown me off my game.
I felt a warm pair of hooves against my shoulders, shaking me roughly. The familiar accented voice followed suit. “Quick! Yew have to take me there! Before this gets any worse!”
“Y-yes… Miss Applejack,” I grunted, frowning and trying to see through this fog. “L-let me just…”
Officer Silver Plate chose that moment to yell at the top of his lungs, at a volume that could seriously impress me, for the countermeasure at work.
I did not know if she had suddenly seen an opening, if the attention-grabbing events had cleared a path for her or if the fate of her friends had unnerved her so much she could not bear to wait any longer. But, just as I regained my senses, Applejack had started running forward. In an instant, she had circled around the line of soldiers and wolves and galloped through. Two pegasi immediately broke through and flew afterward.
There was no time for another reaction, as the hydra roared for attention. And its massive presence hung over the rest of us.
As one, the unicorns had turned, heads half-lowered, and magic had illuminated the tip of their horns. Unflinchingly, trusting their partners to protect them from any other oncoming assault, they fired. Two dozens beams of light flew at once, as one unavoidable wall of power.
Even that was not enough, for the hydra faltered on its feet but did not yield.
There was a one word order and they fired again.
With a great cry of pain, the beast fell back, tilted on its scaly feet. Its fall was akin to that of a mountain, as its awe-inspiring size evoked.
The earth shook one last time from the hydra’s actions, and with all its weight behind it, this time was the most powerful.
I felt before I saw that the assault had been successful. Yet, even with the creature down and knocked out, something shifted underneath its skin. Though unconscious, there was more activity in its lungs than there should be. Whatever it was, it made me sick. It should not be part of the air.
From its jaws, dark smoke leaked out.
In a flash, I saw Twilight, still a unicorn, sitting in a dark cave with her eyes reflecting only that same malevolent green light. The outside world had disappeared for her during that time, until she had been saved by her faithful assistant.
Grimly, I could imagine what such a spell would do to the troops assembled, were they to be hit in the middle of the battle. The tides would turn in an instant. Those brave ponies would die, en masse, without ever realizing what had happened to them.
My jaw clenched so hard they hurt. This was a tactical decision. This was a choice from the Dark King himself.
This wasn’t right!
There was thus but one thought going through my mind while the winds picked up in strength, and circled the fallen beast. There was one sentiment I let echo in my head when the air accelerated and formed a barrier between the darkness and us. Not on my watch.
--
Things had gone by in a blur. One moment, they had been standing at the ready, waiting for the signal to start running toward the cave. The next, they were in the dark, stumbling around with growls and tripping. And then the light had come and she had bitten on a timberwolf’s tail to stop it from reaching Pinkie Pie. The pull had almost dragged her forth, but she had hold on just enough, and a vengeful Rainbow Dash had taken care of that threat. Even then, there had been no time to breath. Shifting noise had come from behind her. As fast as her fear could carry her, she’d spun.
Fluttershy now stood very still, frozen in place, her muzzle inches away from the shimmering wall of light. Her gaze was transfixed upon the sliding jaw and teeth and drools and… and… oh my…
She was fighting very, very hard not to feel faint, but she still felt her herself grow a little dizzy.
“Quickly, dear.” A gentle hoof pulled her away from the barrier.
Without a fuss, Fluttershy let herself be led to the center of their formation by Rarity. They stopped just next to Twilight, whose horn was channeling the power necessary for the barrier surrounding them.
The prince’s deep voice floated in the air, in quick words she did not catch. She only knew that Twilight and Rainbow Dash had looked relieved, and they had relaxed right afterward.
But there soon was the awakening of a much greater beast than the timberwolves. Like the others, they had been shocked and intimidated. Pinkie had been the one to take care not to let Rainbow Dash fly in the face of danger, a wise move considering the barrage of spell that had been hurled toward the creature.
While the others weren’t looking, Fluttershy had gazed downward, closing her eyes and mouth. She could not help feel a pang of sadness in her heart at the hydra’s downfall. It just seemed… avoidable…
Others were not nearly as touched by the events.
“Why aren’t they here yet?!” Rainbow asked, her voice more hoarse than she remembered, wings shaking. “We’ll have to fight through a pack if this goes on much longer!”
Beyond the conjured up shield, the timberwolves circled their position, growling. Their green eyes fixed them with an abnormal intensity, and one could easily see the wisps of purple smoke escaping from the side of their heads. They seemed to have a slight preference to the western side of the barrier, to which Fluttershy and Rarity were the closest to.
The fashionista spoke with a hint of fear. “Am I only imagining this or are they-?”
The sound of rushing air stopped her. Before her widening eyes and that of her companions, half of the pack was lifted in the air, howling in pain. Branches showered the ground in the next moment of heavy silence. It lasted barely an instant. Three more wolves broke apart, dismantled and dispersed at once, as if struck by the swipe of an invisible paw. There was only one wolf left.
Its orders were frantically forgotten, for it pawed at the ground as best as it could, searching desperately for a better hold against the wind. A tug shook its whole wooden body, snatching up pieces of its hind legs. Its claws slid, slowly, then a little faster. In the closest trees, all too suddenly, the leaves shook with much greater intensity and, with one last pitiful yelp, the wolf was sucked up in the air.
The five mares stared in awe or horror at the figure disappearing into a column of wind. There were no clouds, no storm, the tornado remained a solitary figure as if it’d been artificially triggered. It had but one distinguishing trait in comparison to those somepony like Rainbow Dash could create: it was pitch black. Even the beacons could do nothing to brighten it up. The tornado seemed nothing more than a pillar of darkness.
“I think he’s busy with that!” Pinkie pointed, a flashing sign helpfully illustrating the phenomenom.
“You don’t say, darling!” Rarity’s voice was laced with enough sarcasm to shame a noble.
Naturally, it easily flew over Pinkie’s head, who amicably nodded and repeated her affirmation.
Grumbling, one hoof hitting her forehead in annoyance, Rainbow shot a critical look to the battlefield. “Well, if he’s busy, then I’m going!”
Twilight’s eyes widened in panic. “Wait!”
But Rainbow had already left in a multicolored blur, going straight through the barrier as if it didn’t exist. They were left to gap as the assistant weather manager zipped through the storm-like winds as if they were nothing more than summer breezes.
“Dashie will need assistance!” Pinkie solemnly declared, placing a hoof to her forehead in a salute. “And I have just the thing to help.”
Before Rarity could even blink, her pink friend was inside a pastel blue canon, wearing a, thankfully fashionable, fuschia helmet. The one thing she was truly wondering was when she had started holding the trigger for said contraption.
Too dazed to notice Twilight running toward her, Rarity only gave a blank look to her friend in her party canon.
“Do it!” Pinkie yelled just as they collided.
Neither Rarity nor Twilight could later recall which of the two had ended up causing Pinkie Pie to soar through the air, the only thing they could vividly remember was how much confettis were scattered through the battlefield with the growing gusts of air rattling it.
--
Rainbow Dash really didn’t see why her egghead friend had been so worried when she’d decided to go look for them. This? Dodging the manticores, following the crazy air currents her coltfriend had made and the occasional stray shot? Easy! She ate harder obstacle course for breakfast.
Diving, she suddenly straightened up, making a fast loop and barreling hooves first at the back of a manticore’s head that had been much too slow to keep up.
Easy as pie, Pinkie would say.
Things were really starting to get hectic.
Or so she thought when her body darkened under a much larger shadow. She barely needed to look, she could hear them and she knew what they were. The spinning of their propellers caused wooshes after wooshes of air, their long fins directed them in the sky, the sight had something humbling.
She’d seen them in Cloudsdale before, though not quite the same model. Whereas the ships she had seen before were all size and transportation, those were all about air superiority. With the beacons’ light cast unto them, their every edges came out sharper. Their canons were aimed down, ponies ran on the decks, pegasi were already raining down from them to join in the fray.
They were war ships.
Maybe the poor suckers King Sombrero had recruited would really need the therapy. Too bad she wasn’t going to pay for it. Ah!
She stretched her wings, ready for a reprise of her previous performances, when a flash of green caused her to pause. Turning, she noticed, rightly above her brethrens, some sort of shadow with eyes.
She might have ignored it, left the task for somepony without a vital mission on hooves. But she still remembered something, when they’d come back from the Empire, they’d spoken in hushed whispers about the stairs, the traps. If there had been one thing, one thing that had truly struck her, it was the way Twilight was hugging herself mentioning the sickly and malevolent green light!
Nopony did that to her friends.
She shot forward like a cannonball.
A shiver went through the thing, when it noticed a bearer of an Element of Harmony. Its gaze bore into her, and in its silent glare, there was an invitation, a taunt.
Her wings beat faster. She accelerated, the air flowing right around her as she reached incredible speeds. Her body ripped through the sky, straight toward the spy.
Then, just as they were about to collide, Rainbow Dash broke into a large grin.
The green eyes widened, attempted to move away, but was much too slow. At the very last moment, she had taken a turn to the right, dodging it by the smallest margin. The sheer force of air moved by her pulled at the shadow’s form. The next second, it was pulled from the opposite side, as a multicolored blur sped away, brushing past it. There was no time to move, nor to react, as the shadow’s form was stretched and pulled from all side, each time feeling its senses grow duller.
In silence, with the final beat of its enemy’s wings, it disappeared, torn apart.
“Ah! You thought I had forgotten their warnings?!” She taunted the empty spot the shadow had occupied. “Too bad for you, Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash never forgets a thing while flying!”
Below her, the sound of the fighting was intensifying.
Forcing herself to forget about her own moment of glory, Rainbow turned her eyes back to the ground, scanning for any trace of Applejack.
--
Something must have provoked him. I did not know what. Perhaps he was simply bored, perhaps he was worried, but Sombra’s next move was easily felt.
The command resonated across his servants. For an instant, they all froze in succession, one after another, as if Sombra’s mental probing went from one creature to another. To my disarray, it carried even beyond the slaves assembled, and I sensed a gathering of magic power beyond the clearing.
“Something’s coming, Officer!” I shouted.
He reacted at an admirable speed. “Squad two! Scout for an additional threat!”
Three more pegasi took to the sky on the spot, one of them heading straight for an airship. It was fast, but not fast enough.
A long and almost lazy growl reached my ears, as the sudden displacement of so much air struck fear in my heart. The hydra hadn’t been big. This was the real nightmare to come.
Oh no, oh nooo, that’s a bucking joke!
“URSAS!” I screamed, for the first time feeling something akin to blind panic.
My shout carried over the air, rippling through the battlefield as both a warning and a call for help. The fighters flinched or fought harder when it reached them, and Officer Silver Plate’s commands became more frantic.
Three very large shapes walked slowly outside of the beacons’ range, which could only serve to highlight their sharp contrast with the forest. For two of them, hints of their heads and their shoulders could be seen. For the third… I almost staggered on my hooves when I saw that mountain-wide torso, the gigantic pillars that were its legs, the form eclipsing the moon that was its face… Elders strike me down, no mortal creature could be that big! And they had appeared without our notice, from nowhere, so quickly I could not help think they had been summoned.
One starry muzzle slowly extirpated itself from the darkness, with a single moment of waiting in puzzlement. The tip of the muzzle scrunched up together, as the stellar beast sniffed the air several times. Whatever enticed it was unknown, but soon the ursa moved forward, and its titanic body shone with stars and moonlight.
Tensing, I saw the mother stand on her hind legs, lifting one paw high above her head, so high above the canopy and the hills.
NO!
A scream of pain tore through my throat as the wind barrier fell in one fell swipe of the mother’s paw.
My head felt like it was swimming in water. Dizziness made me unsteady, with each of my thoughts slowed down. The heat was still channeled through my horn, the shimmering light still wrapped up around it. It was just a matter of will… of will… to pierce through this fog… to summon back the strength necessary.
Flames ate at my temples, beads of sweat started to roll on the side of my face, I staggered, but the smoke was imprisoned once more.
“Reinforcements!” I said weakly, hoping it carried over to the right mare. “We need reinforcements!”
A solid hoof held me in place, and through the heavy blinks, I recognized Silver Plate, looking much less disheveled than I, but no less worried.
“T-thank yo-” I started to say.
“Have at thee!”
We looked. Not only us two, but the soldiers and even our enemies looked up at once, all guided by the resounding warcry. The green eyes of Sombra’s slaves reflected a cautious curiosity. This was a voice he doubtlessly remembered, and he must have wanted to gauge the power at play here, the very same spiraling spark that shone through the night, twisting around my cousin’s body.
The spell was cast. There was nothing but a whistling noise to accompany it. A single ray of blue light sprung from her horn and cut through the air, unstopped, unstoppable.
In but the brief moment I had taken to blink, the light was already fading. Then, from the other side of the clearing, a thunderous explosion sent a shockwave over the battlefield.
The ursa roared in pain, half of its face still smoking from the hit.
I stared, slack-jawed at the spectacle before us.
Luna was akin to a fly in comparison, almost unnoticeable next to the mother stellar beast. Almost. Streams of incandescent blue flames wrapped around the ursa’s torso, struck at it, pushed it back, all emerging from the same fast moving source. Every hit was calculated, almost cold with precision, in how the ursa constantly staggered back, stopping its cub from ever entering the fray. All she could do was throw wild and desperate attacks, swiping at the air with her titanic legs, but even that, Luna could dodge.
One such attack I saw, without the power to intervene, go straight for the barrier I had put up.
My knees buckled as the tornado broke apart from the sheer power thrown against it. A ragged breath left my mouth, one of my eyes half-closed from the exertion this monster was forcing me through. I didn’t have the time to rest. Not even when Luna did her absolute best to contain one of two very dangerous threats to the operation. I still had my part to play.
The shadows once again threatened to overwhelm our forces.
Not again! This is… this is insane! I have to…
At that moment, my heart turned to ice with fear, as I realized how close the breach was to Twilight.
My wings spread of their own accord.
Cold washed over my fur even before I had taken off, lightness took me over, while my limbs became see through. With a gust of wind, I was no longer flesh, and my path was set. I flew.
Straight into the heart of the corruption.
--
An heavy breath came out of her mouth as she jumped over a fallen log. On reflex, she pulled at the chord attaching her Stetson to her head, just to make sure...
With all the things unfolding around her, it would be no surprise if it flew off her head, especially since that tornado had started on one side of the battlefield.
She’d become aware of her guardian pegasi some time ago, when the wolves’ first attempt had been cut short by spears piercing their guts. In many ways, she was grateful. It certainly made her progress faster, and Celestia knew she needed to hurry. The failed teleportation worried her sick. Putting two and two together hadn’t been hard when the lil’ prince had looked pale as a ghost.
The big critters that had shown up just afterward had truly proved her right. Her legs had started moving faster, the burn of exertion crawling on her, in her limbs and her lungs. Twice already, she’d have to turn sharply to avoid either a few wolves that had broken the ranks or just the plain madness that were the monsters fighting the princess.
With so much noise everywhere, it was starting to get hard to dodge the really dangerous parts. Everything just came from every direction, to the point her heart was going into frenzy with adrenaline. She could harldy make anything out of all that screaming, yelling, howling, roaring, growling, squawking…
Squawking? She almost stopped short, if only for the absurdity of such a thought going through her mind. What was she imagining? They weren’t on her farm. And she’d be damned if it ever ended up looking like that.
Glancing in direction of the sound, she let her jaw drop. There was a chicken. A chicken. Running around on her right. She could only see its head, but that was a doggone chicken! Again, it squawked, looking around.
Her bafflement, however, faded away in a fraction of second. On the glitter of the moonlight and that of the shining beacons, she’d seen reflecting from the chicken’s beak. It had… fangs?! And no sooner had the thought crossed her mind did Applejack witness the creature slither over a rock on its long scaly tail. Celestia, that thing’s body couldn’t look like less of a chicken’s if it tried. All of scales and spines, bat wings, bloody red eyes… crimson… red… eyes…
“Look away!” She heard, and her body responded before she could even realize the meaning of it.
Applejack turned, only now realizing the abnormal stiffness in her legs, and looked at her savior with blinking eyes.
“A cockatrice turns its victim into statues through eye contact!” A gray pegasus in armor yelled, wrestling away with a timberwolf that had a particularly tenacious streak.
Already, the cockatrice’s squawking was getting closer, making them tense up.
“Ain’t that just a fine thing?” She asked with sarcasm seeping through her every word, her heart pumping faster than ever.
Seconds later, glimpses of white feathers appeared in her vision. Applejack’s eyes went shut.
Her ears caught the movement of its wings on her right. She spun, but already its putrid breath was on her side, and she felt some air brush against her back’s fur. The squawking came from her left, and at the moment the scales teased at her coat, she buckled.
Hit nothing.
She was dimly aware of the growls and howls around. Her two guardians might be fighting, but if something slipped by, she’d be a sitting duck with her eyes closed like that. The frustration was enough to make her grind her teeth together.
Focused, she had to be focused. If she could only give the creature a good buck to the head, she’d be fine. Ruffling came from behind her, alongside the sounds of droplets. She could visualize its position.
In a second, her front legs tensed, her hind legs hitches to spring.
But it was wrong. It moved with too much weight, too much slumbering. It was too big!
She sidestepped on reflex. Large jaws of stone snapped inches away from her hooves.
“Whoa nelly!” She jumped back, backing away as quickly as she could from the emerging threat.
Previously immobile, the cragodile had been well-hidden amongst the overturned stuff and the muddied water from which the hydra had also came out. Now, it half-loomed over her, eying her with hunger and malice.
“Right…” She sniffed with contempt, while feeling cold sweat roll over her spine. “Ah couldn’t trot through this place with mah eyes closed. Ain’t smart to think Ah could with these critters around.”
This wasn’t going to work. The cragodile’s breath still reached her, and that was a smell she didn’t appreciate one bit, while the cockactrice’s cries were not far behind. Either the critter had a tooth against her or it’d been sicced on her.
Slowly, her breathing completely stabilized, Applejack opened her eyes.
She saw the gaping maw headed straight for her.
Immediately, she jumped to the side, taking the high ground on some fallen trunk. Her hooves scrambled against the rotting surface, and she barely kept herself from slipping down. With a push of her legs, she slid off the side of the trunk, while the cragodile’s stone jaw pulverized the trunk. Splinters flew off, luckily avoiding her eyes.
Rolling, she jumped back to her hooves, galloping away from the rampaging beast. The ground shook with its thundering steps closing in. In desperation, she kicked a piece of wood, hoping to distract or blind it, but she missed. The projectile flew to the cragodile’s right, and a cry of indignation reached her.
Thunderstruck, Applejack accelerated and turned around. There was no time to stop, the monster was upon her. With three agile jumps, she passed it by, certain of what she had to do. She heard the noise again, not even a pony’s length away, and already she could feel the movement of its scales. Her hoof shot off without her turning, in one wide motion to catch it at the neck. A squawk of surprise came out, when her second front hoof held its head in place.
The jaws of stone came one more time, and she bounced off the broken trunk onto the cragodile’s head, and shoved the cockatrice’s into its face.
The beast froze, its beady eyes transfixed and away from Applejack herself. Gray started to cover its body, melding it solid in an unmoveable piece. The curse moved swiftly. It did not cry. It stopped moving completely without even one last sound.
Applejack thought for a moment that the relief would make her legs buckle.
More screeches rose from the cockatrice’s throat. It struggled, its scales dug a little deeper into her flesh, but she did not drop the creature. Her grip tightening, she slammed it down against the statue, hard. Just to be sure, or so she figured, a spear ended up finishing the job.
She did not flinch when droplets of red splashed her face.
With a breathless turn, she scanned her surroundings and glanced back at the guards, both of whom were already closing on her for her protection. Feeling perhaps a bit too cocky, the adrenaline still pumping blood rapidly through her veins, she drawled.
“Next!”
--
I was struggling, feeling my head ready to break apart at the slightest touch, with lances of cold piercing me through. I was struggling, with my wings as gusts of wind and my heart, a seal. I was struggling and failing, as the barrier faltered in its own pedestal.
There had been something so foolishly obvious about it. That I did not see it coming was a fairly strong indicator of my arrogance.
I was the air.
And his corruption took the form of a darkened smoke.
The darkness was gone. I’d taken it all in.
A voice had slithered through my mental defense. Deep and suave, it rolled off the pitch black mass crawling in my mind and asked a single question.
“What do you fear?”
A crowd of ponies, white, purple, blue, black or brown, screaming in anger and disgust.
A claw that tore apart my eyesight with three lines of nothing, holding up a mask of gold. It resembled my face, it was my face.
They saw beneath it, and they demanded my death. Without exception.
Thousands of faceless beings broke through the Veil to oblige.
“What do you fear?”
Two lone figures in a featureless home. Two lone figures that broke apart and, in a whisper, called my name and that of another.
“What do you fear?”
A blue colt, lost in shadows, calling for help, calling for his family, for the one that could not come. Streams of tears fell off his eyes, sobs choked him, and he curled up on himself with pitiful cries.
Monsters circled him, smiling through their fangs, and taunted him with the knowledge that he had been abandoned.
And in his last moments, he would believe it.
I saw nothing but green. Nothing but green. Nothingbutgreen.
Nothing but green, and the knowledge that could break me.
Their deaths.
A savage scream broke through the illusion, and it was only when the rage had become a maëlstrom within the knot of winds that I realized it was mine.
I was struck down. Swatted away like an annoying insect by the paw of a giant.
Hot liquid trickled down into my eyes, blurring it with red. A line of burning pain split my forehead in two, blood leaked from the gash. My hooves were unsteady; my legs, folding. Jagged breath came out of my mouth harshly in burst of cold, and the heaving of my chest grew with the anger that pulsed deeper every second.
It would not come to pass! No matter the cost, it would not become the truth! On the Elders of Order and Chaos together, on Those Beyond, I swore, those visions would never be more than images of a future that was not to be!
I stomped, ice spreading beneath my hooves, but I registered no cold. It felt perfectly normal… right. Half of my limbs were already translucids, pale, icy, with no shade of their usual color. There were feathers on the ground, probably mine, if I listened to the mute pain lancing in my wings. They were already just remnants, crystals of snow.
A large shadow suddenly darknened that sight.
Surprised, I looked up.
And I was made aware of a terrible sight.
Green scales shone with moonlight above us. Great flaps from two enormous wings created small hurricanes. Grand was the shadow it cast underneath, onto me and the rest of the troops; that of a reptilian beast with unequaled greed.
Its claws swept at an airship, and cut through. Splinters flew, sails were blown away by the impact alone, as a long tearing noise rang over the battlefield. Two large pieces of a once proud airship fell, and overboard the flailing forms desperately reached for those of them that could fly.
A stream of flame erupted from its mouth, toward the sky, as if defying the will of those above to stop it. For a brief second, its roar mixed in with the lightening breath of destruction; I saw every shade over its skin, felt every contraction of its ribcage, as it turned an almost mocking glance downward.
But its path of destruction did not lead toward our troups. No, each flap of its wings carried it further, placed more distance between us.
The green dragon of the Everfree Forest was flying away from the battlefield. And I realized, with blood freezing in my veins, that it could only have one possible destination.
…Toward Ponyville?
--
Right in the middle of the clearing, under the shadows of a dragon, while the shouts and the cries mingled, there was a simple shift in the air.
The first to notice had been the commanding officer Silver Plate, when his shout for a new formation had rang to no ears, not even his own.
At that moment, he had looked down at his muzzle, with a moment of uncertainty, in time for a blistering cold to lick his left hooves. The second the information had reached his brain, the cold had already griped his right side, and he saw, under his ponies, an icy breath spread in a white veil.
Gradually, all sounds died out, and as they did, the fighters slowed down as well, puzzled by this oddity. The beasts were unsure, their gazes flickering between each other, as if to know what to do next, when no order could be heard at all. Their master had become cautious.
The silence was growing closer to them, more oppressive. Air was lesser, almost solid around them and the assaults of panic started to triumph over them. Their limbs were trapped, ensnarled within invisible strings; their back gave out, pushed down by the force of a single cloven hoof.
And strident neighs cut through the thick void trapping them, so unlike the living that their echoes curdled their blood. Blasts of freezing air suddenly blew over their hides, as ghostly equines made the battlefield their feeding ground in the rebirth of a thousand-year-old nightmare.
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4699170 your license to run brain.exe has expired, would you like a new one for $9000.1?
You're BACK!
What a mess this is...
So, the Mane Six are separated, Sombra is the big bad of the Everfree, a dragon is on its way to do who-knows-what to Ponyville, and Ventus has summoned many, many more wendigos, quite possibly becoming a nightmare (once more). Oh, and Luna is in the forest near Ventus, very likely seeing him becoming nightmare-ish.
Well you finally did it, Ventus is broken. Can't say it's not necessary, but hopefully he can regain his wits before it goes much further south....
Worth the wait!
Keep going! ;)
The chaos... Discord would be proud.
Now we can understand why sombra was the counter balance to ventus, but there is still hope in saving him hopefully xD
Very epic scene. Well done!
But one thing is still bothering me.
Where is Eric?!
4767825 Oh so many things could have gone better for our brave heroes. They had such a simple plan too. Teleport past all the enemies, blitz into the cave, zap with Elements of Harmony. Then again, when you attempt a mass teleportation spell against one who used to be an archmage...
You know what they say about domino effects, right? One thing lead to another...
Eh, well, we'll have to see how that turns out next chapter. In the meantime, wanna predict what's going to happen next while you hang on to that cliff?
4768541 Now, now, 'broken' is a big word. 'Murderous', 'enraged', 'channeling maybe a previous incarnation' are all much more fitting.
As for regaining his wits, well, I wonder howt a Ventus-seeing-visions-of-warring-ponies-on-a-battlefield will act like.
4768768 ... Must resist urges... to say... spoiler-y things!
4769109 Hmmmmm, I'm not quite sure if I get what you mean by "Now we can understand why sombra was the counter balance to ventus". However, I can tell you that Sombra did not appear because of Sam. He's not the only alicorn around, now, is he?
4770563 Thanks, worked so long on it... I'm sorry it showed in terms of updating schedule.
About Eric though, now, that's a good question, isn't it? Well, if he's not here, where could he be?
4767825
So he released the Windigoes I didn't noticed that until I read your comment, thank you for that. I was actually getting lost here about what's going on other than the fact that Tom is now in danger now that Sombra knows Sam's weakness.
4773305
Hm... I think, he's turned up in Ponyville by now, so he's just strolling about, while everypony else who is important is off fighting Sombra in the Everfree!
4773305
You know...speaking of Discord...
You wondered? :discord:
...You know, the ice freezing my hands to the cliff face were bad enough. I could do without the cats and dogs making figurative language literal.
Ahem. So far, the only key players we know of that are not currently shown being somewhere in the last chapter are: Discord, Eric, and Blueblood. You've shown Blueblood in the last chapter as part of a force heading to Ponyville...then nothing. Discord has not appeared since the quick greet at the Canterlot library (that has been explictly shown, anyway). Eric...is in transition. Supposedly.
I suspect that Blueblood will be playing a part in defending Ponyville from the dragon inbound there. DIscord...I'm going to throw a total shot in the dark (with the one candle of yours that states Eric will be a force of Chaos) and say that he's the one who will be introducing Eric/whatever-his-name-will-be to Equestria, the Mane Six, the Princesses, and, of course, our misbehaving pair of brothers.
Of those mentioned, our true wild cards are Discord and Eric. Sombra wants to rule the world (of course!), Sam/Ventus wants to get him and Tom/Calx home as well as fix himself up (when life doesn't get in the way :troll:), the Mane Six just want things fixed, and Luna wants to stop Sombra AND make sure Ventus is kept under control. What do Discord and Eric want? Eric MAY want to get Sam and Tom home...but who's to say that his Chaos twin will let that happen? And no, I don't meant Discord, although his motives are also murky. All I'm aware of is that he won't want Fluttershy hurt; only friend, right?
...I think the ice is creeping up my arm.
So...any chance someone has some fire or a large heat source they can get over here quickly?
No, no it was not. I'm quite frankly, disappointed.
You have to stop writing for others, this shouldn't be a thing you write for Us, this should be a thing You want to write for yourself or because of yourself.
If it already, however, is, count me doubly disappointed.
Try to write with less action and drama.
4778884 ...okay, so you're disappointed, which is fine. How did this chapter disappoint then? What were you expecting in its stead?
For the rest though, I have no idea what you're trying to say here. So I can't write the way I want, I have to write with less action and drama, but I should not be writing to your specifications, only mine. Not to mention, if I did write this chapter the way I wanted, then you're even more disappointed that this is the result. Did I get that all correctly?
4780505
Basically, this chapter doesn't feel as high-quality as your previous chapters, this feels(I daresay) rushed.
I can't really explain what I've felt when I've read your previous chapters, but its missing this time.
Also, the quality of attention to detail is very... floaty in this chapter - one moment your describing something in-depth and the other you are just glancing over things.
Also, literally, too much action and drama.
4795071 I see.
Well, my beta mentioned a similar feeling. It is indeed rushed, though that was actually intentional on my part. I wanted things to settle in a fast rhythm. For all their heroism, no member of the Mane Six had really been on a battlefield before. Even more so for Sam, whose alicorn status is even a bit of a detriment to his reaction time. The idea that he is intangible and above has been getting a bit to his head. Thus he's far more surprised than he should be when he can't keep up.
That being said, I think my lack of experience and my frustration with the writing also showed up in the end, which can explain why this feels of lesser quality to you. I do apologize for that. Please bear with me; once this arc is done, you'll get a proper return to form, promise.
4800227
I'll take your word on it.
4810035 Hmmmm, since that is unlikely to be explored in as great details as Sam's powers were, I will answer that by explaining more about alicorns in general. In this story, alicorns represents Laws of nature/physics/magic, whichever you prefer. However, they also exist in tiers. You've seen the three Elders of Order and the one Outer being, Renascentia Ignis. Those are the strongest beings on their side of this scale and Discord is one of their opposite, just like his sister Pandora and his two half-siblings, Styx and Acheron. Harmony exists above them. All of them are eons old, and are the basis of the universe Equestria is in. If there are any beings that could be considered gods in this universe, they are IT.
alongside a few other creatures likely to never be seen hereThe second tier would be powerful spirits and alicorns in their own rights. Celestia and Luna belong to that category, as do Magnus, Atonie, Dominus, Saltus, etc. etc. They are all rather old by mortal standards, having lived at least a few thousand years. I've not decided how old they are, especially the Princesses, but do know that they were already adults by the time Caelum was sent to try and stop the War of Hearth's Warming Eve.
Finally, you have the lesser spirits. Amongst them are the alicorns that have just been reborned. Ventus Vinco is one such alicorn, as he would be considered at most a rebellious adolescent at his age. In this respect, alicorns are like dragons, they get stronger with age. Ventus is a bit of a special case with the whole "reincarnation of a fallen alicorn" and all. Given enough time, his powers would broaden to include other aspects of himself. For examples, scents are also only possible because they are particles flying through the air and hitting the right receptors in creatures' noses. This development is also dependant on maturity, as alicorns only grow when they grow emotionally and mentally. It's less chronology than symbolic growth with them.
And we now get to the part you actually wanted to know. Calx Iugum is the Alicorn of Earth. He's a child. He has all the maturity of a eight/nine years old, and he's got the magic an average adult pony would have. Even with Magnus' cape, he only had real control over chunks of earth and rocks. He was about as strong as Alicorn Amulet Trixie, but he had little understanding of what he is, so it's not that much. As he stands, he's the Earth itself, meaning that ponies are walking on his back, the plants are his fur, digging is pecking at his flesh. He doesn't really feel it though, not like Sam feels sounds. One of the recent chapters involved a bit of emotional growth for him, and he was shown looking at growing plants with a new eye. That's because his domains include Growth (of plant life, mostly), Fertilty (of the soil), minerals and rocks, and sort of Earth Pony Magic. If he were about Sam's age, you could not truly hide from him as long as you are not airborn or afloat.
[youtube=http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cbeR6uYxU50]
4908558
Oh, good. I was worried he was going to be one of those brat kid characters I'm supposed to like but usually just find myself wishing to punch. Bit of a pet peeve on my part.
4861026
That should be
Where's eric!?
(Not at the end yet)
That’s funny because she mentioned that Sam and Twilight’s relationship was like a tree.