My Little Pony: Warfare is Tragic
Chapter 2: Nightfall
-The Everfree Forest-
Moonlight streamed down through the tangled mass of branches onto the five young mares, who were silently picking their way through the undergrowth, and Pinkie Pie, who was not. Her excited babbling about the landmarks from their previous trip to the ruins nearly a year before would've been enough to give away the group, even without the cacophonic thrashing of tree limbs as she zipped about.
Rarity had finally had enough, "If we're going to let her carry on like that, can we at least just walk on the path?"
"What's th' matter, you gettin' your hair tousled?"
"Mangled is the word I'd use, and I really don't see the point of sneaking about through this… shrubbery… if Pinkie won't be quiet!"
"For the last time, if Nightmare really has agents waiting for us, then the path is the most likely spot for an ambush." Twilight wasn't exactly enjoying the trudge either, but if Celestia offered advice, it was always a good idea to heed it.
Rainbow Dash fluttered up from the rear of the group as they entered a small clearing, "I dunno, Twilight. It seems like that racket would draw them right to us."
Twilight sighed heavily, "Look, I'm going to stick to the Princess' plan, but you don't…"
"Speaking of that, if the threat of these Cava-whatevers is so pressing, why didn't we just leave right away instead of waiting for nighttime?"
"I'm sure she has her reasons, now can we please keep mov-"
A suddenly flurry of motion in the bushes to her left cut off Twilight's admonishment as she leapt a good foot into the air, scrambling to face whatever had just announced its presence. The air hung deathly still for a painful moment as the herd braced themselves, utterly fixated on the offending plant.
Applejack hesitantly stepped forward, caution rote large all over her; even without the looming shadow of Nightmare Moon's minions, the forest was fraught with dangers, many of which could kill or consume an unwary pony in seconds. Another eternal moment passed: only a light breeze dared to stir the air, as though nature itself held its breath in anticipation. She took another step, afforded a modicum of confidence from her continued presence in the realm of the living. Her lips parted as she prepared to call out into the darkness.
The shadows of the treetops shifted slightly, dancing across the almost impenetrable surface of the bush, revealing a tiny sliver of color in its depths…
With an immense crack, the bush split in two as a pink blur erupted forth, scattering leaves and ponies with a resounding "BOO!" The girls fell atop themselves in their terror, desperate for any means of escaping from their now cackling pursuer, as Pinkie Pie's mirth echoed amongst the trees.
"Hah! Your faces were great! Hee-hee-hee, I didn't think eyes could get that large!"
Nervous chuckles indicated that her sentiment was not a popular one amongst her friends, particularly with the almost catatonic Fluttershy. Applejack, recuperating from a first-hoof lesson in heart attacks, stalked up to her with a grin that desperately wanted to be anything but.
"Kinda bad time for that sorta horseplay, dontcha think?"
"Aw, c'mon, a little jump now and then is good for you! Besides, if we loosen up a little, it'll make the trip that much faster!"
Twilight simply brushed past the two of them, frustrated at how this day really had it in for anything resembling a cohesive plan. "We can argue about this once we're there, but we're getting really behind schedule, girls." The others quickly fell in behind her; quietly, too, she noted. Perhaps she'd finally gotten through to them.
Almost immediately, though, conversation began to float through the air again, so perhaps not.
"Seriously, why wait until dark?"
"Maybe they're really tired from walking all that way, so maybe they'll be sleeping tonight?"
"Or maybe they've evolved into reverse mole-ponies! They love being in bright lights, but darkness hurts them!"
"…Um, I don't think that's how evolving works… or light, for that matter."
The girls continued to debate the merits of their nighttime journey as they pressed deeper into the forest. High above them, a Pegasus dropped from its hiding place in the twisting maze of shadows, gliding silently into the fog.
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"How was I supposed to know that a squirrel could make noises like that? And I was just startled. Wasn't scared." Rainbow Dash was having a very hard time concealing her embarrassment.
Rarity giggled, "Well, I'm pretty sure that your screaming leap convinced it of your fearlessness."
The girls departed the old castle ruins in a much better mood than when they had arrived. Apprehension had given way to relief upon finding the Elements of Harmony utterly undisturbed, and the ruins themselves devoid of anything even remotely ambush-like. Even Twilight's paranoia had faded as the night wore on; not even the vaguest hint that something was amiss could be found.
That was before they had entered the Ghostly Gove, and an unmistakable pang of dread had shot up her spine. Something about it was utterly wrong. It wasn't the spooky looking trees: those had ceased to impress anypony older than the Cutie Mark Crusaders a while ago, nor was it the eerie echoing of Pinkie's jaunty humming amongst the trees. It was something illusive, just beyond the edge of her senses.
"Twilight, are you feeling okay?" She was snapped back to the conversation by a concerned looking Fluttershy. "You slowed down all of a sudden."
"Oh, yeah. Of course. Just got lost in thought for a moment there." A quick grin did little to dispel the other's concerns, but they let the issue drop for the sake of keeping this already long night as brief as they could. As the others returned to their previous bout of persiflage, Twilight found herself scanning the tree line. It's just your nerves, she thought, It's been a long night, and you're just letting your drowsiness get to you. Her interminable study sessions in Canterlot had taught her exactly what sleep deprivation could bring on: shadowy figures, phantom voices, trees bending inward inexplicably…
Wait, what? She'd never seen that before…
With a horrifying tearing sound, the tree ripped free from the ground and slammed down mere inches in front of the group.
Okay, definitely not just nerves. "Quick! We've got to get out of here before… before…" Twilight's blood turned to ice as she spun away from the obstruction, only to find another patiently watching them. Barely twenty feet behind them stood a large, armor-clad mare, with a cruel grin playing on her features.
"Not before you pay your dues, I'm afraid. Don't know if you got the notice or not, but this is a toll road now." Her eyes narrowed slightly as the girls turned to face her, "One powerful, ancient artifact per pony, preferably of a harmonious nature."
"And what makes you think we'd have something like that on us?" Rarity was having a bit of trouble mustering up a combative tone after almost being pancaked.
The mare chuckled slightly at this; a hollow, joyless sound that chilled the girls to their cores, "Cute. Really. I've been following you since you left the ruins, so unless you enjoy traipsing through dangerous forests at odd hours, I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you've got in those saddlebags."
Applejack pawed at the ground and snorted defiantly, "Then why don't you come and get 'em from us?"
"Don't tempt me. But if you think you've got what it takes, then just try and get past me, filly."
"…what did you call me?"
"Huh. I guess you're as deaf and as dumb as a post."
While she'd never placed much pride in her intellect, her ego had a habit of bruising fairly easily, and Applejack charged before anypony could stop her. She was going to enjoy shutting this arrogant mare up. Violently. Then her quarry spun on her hoof, cocked one leg back, and kicked.
Applejack had never been hit by a train before, but as her vision exploded into a furious storm of stars, she was willing to bet she had a pretty good idea of what it was like. Moments later, a hoof cracked down onto her throat, and through her ringing ears, she made out the vaguely amused chuckling of her tormentor.
"Really? Is that seriously all you can take?"
"Applejack!" Rainbow lunged to her friend's rescue, "You let her go this instan-hurk!"
An orange streak rocketed out of the trees and slammed her to the ground, struggling to no avail as the wind was knocked from her lungs. The armored Pegasus smiled down at her condescendingly, "How 'bout, 'no.'"
Before the others could properly react, a wall of flame erupted around them, discouraging them from any interference they may be considering. Just beyond the burning veil, a unicorn, also attired in armored, trotted onto the fallen tree, regarding the trapped girls with a predatory smirk.
The girls shocked expressions elicited another burst of amusement from the mare, who wasn't giving any sign of releasing Applejack's trachea anytime soon. "Did I say 'I' was tailing you? Sorry, I meant, 'we'."
"Even without Pinkie's racket, you losers were just impossibly easy to follow out there."
"I knew it, we- wait, how do you know her name?"
"That's rule number one of warfare, isn't it? Learn everything you can about your opponents." The unicorn rumbled from on high, just before he leapt down into the burning ring and began circling the girls. "And I'm certain there's a lot you girls are in the dark about. Not to worry though, I'll have plenty of time to teach you." His horn shimmered as the flames parted, granting his compatriots entrance to the infernal prison. Dash and Applejack were lobbed unceremoniously back into the group, still recuperating from their beatings.
"Maybe we started off on the wrong hoof here. After all, you didn't even give us a chance to introduce ourselves." The trio snickered as the herd glared at them impotently. The mare motioned at herself, "I'll start it off: I'm Aegis Storm."
"Gale Force!" The Pegasus flashed her wings proudly, nightmarishly silhouetted against the glowing walls.
"Crossbow Bolt." The unicorn flicked his mane as a pulse of energy ran through the fire, creating a menacing glint in his eyes.
"Pax Tenebrae Team 15, at your opposition and dominance." The trio bowed momentarily, only adding to how utterly surreal this all seemed to the girls.
Pinkie hopped forward and grabbed Aegis' hoof, giving it a very genial shaking, "Well, it was really wonderful to meet you all, but we really have to be going, since it's late and all, but we should definitely do this again sometime! How does next Monday sound?"
For a few awkward seconds, the Tenebrae stood utterly bewildered, confused glances flying between each other. Her grin seemed quite genuine, but was she seriously acting like this was some kind of new friendship? Aegis smiled nervously back, "Uh… sure?"
"Great!" Without warning, she let Aegis go, seemingly oblivious to the crash that immediately followed as the unbalanced pony toppled to the ground. "Now, sorry to run, but we kinda need to get back to Ponyville."
Gale landed in front of her, shaking off her confusion about Pinkies behavior long enough to be indignant about it. "Not so fast. I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but I think it's high time you handed over those elements. That is…" her eyes flicked down to Rainbow Dash, "…unless you want to try again."
The flames flickered ominously as the girls weighed their rapidly dwindling options. Could it really be that it was hopeless? They'd overcome so much in the past that it seemed insulting to admit defeat now, and yet the Tenebrae had them cornered here. Twilight closed her eyes as she solemnly pulled forth the Element of Magic, much to the bewilderment of her comrades.
"Twilight…"
Aegis grinned approvingly, "Good girl, now the rest of you, do the same before we have to…" She was cut off as the crystalline tiara began to glow.
Twilights eyes flicked open, and the ring of fire was snuffed out as the radiant light from her eyes shone forth into the darkness. "Oh, clop me…" Bolt took a nervous step backwards; this was not something he'd been briefed about.
"We will never give in." As the light intensified, the other's saddlebags shone forth with radiant power, awakened by their comrade's need. The Elements of Harmony manifested themselves unbidden upon their bearers, now levitating from the raw power that coursed through them.
"You want the Elements of Harmony? Here."
A blinding pillar of light engulfed the Cavalonians, drowning out their cries of fear in a brilliant pulse of pure harmonious splendor.
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The night closed back in around the group as the corona of harmony dissipated. Before them, the Tenebrae were groggily picking themselves up off the ground, still disoriented from having their brains fried with pure friendship. Twilight let out a sigh of relief as the girls relaxed, glad to finally have that over with.
"Um… are they alright?"
"Well, maybe that'll teach them to accost a lady for her belongings."
"Does this mean we're not on for Monday anymore?"
Gale made a noise that was half-hacking cough, half-insane cackle, instantly setting the herd on edge. "You think… that's it? Just… one and done?" Her eyes were wild, as though something had been snapped inside her. "Good shot… not good… enough…"
"Come ON!" Rainbow growled in exasperation as the Tenebrae began to adopt fighting stances, which was a little hard to do with their sudden onslaught of muscle spasms.
"Round two… c'mon, show us what you-AIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" Bolt's evil snarl turned into a startled squeak as he and his companions were hoisted up in a great black cloud and lobbed off into the depths of the forest. A splash echoed through the trees a moment later, followed by several choice epithets.
"…what?"
"I figured they could use some cooling off." Princess Luna glided in to land next to the girls, who immediately mobbed her in a group hug.
"What're you doing out here?"
She smiled warmly at her friends, "Spike was starting to get worried about you, so I volunteered to come out here and check on you."
Rarity started to giggle at the dragon's concern, but ended up with a yawn, which rippled through her friends. Stress has a habit of wearing ponies out, after all, and that little encounter hadn't exactly been relaxing.
Luna stifled a giggle of her own, "Come on, let's get you all home."
"Am I glad that's over with, those guys were really getting on my nerves."
Over? Luna glanced over the scene as the herd clambered over the tree, eager to make up for lost time. Your trials have only started, my friends.
A flicker of movement on the ground caught her eye. Barely visible, but all too clear to her sight, were the silhouettes of the three Cavalonians. One might've thought they were simply seared into the ground from the girl's attack if they weren't writhing in mute agony. For a few seconds, their soundless suffering continued before they seemed to burn away, leaving no trace of their presence. A small smile tugged at the Princess' lips as she slowly turned to follow the group. Perhaps more has started than you know…
AN: A thousand apologies for how long this took to get up! School can be downright murderous sometimes, but hopefully it was worth the wait.
Reviews are always welcomed, so please R&R!