Amethyst's Adventures #3: The Forest of Despair
By Amethyst, Defender of Dreams
Defender's Note: This story takes place sometime after MLP, the Movie. (Don't ask me where the Defender was during Escape from Catrina or The Movie; I'm not really sure myself! I was probably off on a diplomatic mission to one of the other islands in the Endless Ocean. Either that or I was visiting the Sundogs. Anyway . . .) This adventure is the one in which the Defender gains her title and meets the human heroine Firefly is always talking about. There I go again, talking about myself in third person, er, pony. Oh well . . . on with the story!
Defender's note #2: Warning...this chapter gets a bit dark later. I tried to keep it from being TOO bad...but...
It was a hot day in Prisma. (Not surprising, considering our island's climate is tropical. Now, where was I? . . .Oh, yeah . . .) I was resting, sleeping away the heat of the day, on the branch of a tall apple tree. Well, trying to sleep, anyway. Applejack kept waking me up with requests for me to throw her down an apple or two.
"Hey, Amethyst, could you please get me another one? I'm still hungry."
I sighed, rolling my eyes and kicking a nearby branch half-heartedly. "Here, take half a dozen." I said as ripe apples fell from the branch I had kicked.
"Thanks!"
"No problem." What was I saying? Of course it was a problem! I wanted to sleep, but my friend's constant badgering was starting to really get on my nerves. You just HAD to pick an apple tree to nap in, didn't you? I thought to myself sarcastically.
I fervently wished for some diversion that would make Applejack stop pestering me. Just as I thought this, it started raining. That works, I thought as the other ponies headed for the shelter of the castle. I stayed in the tree, thinking, Finally! Now I can get some rest without Applejack butting in every two seconds. The rainstorm was one of those gentle tropical drizzles that seemed to emit a restful feeling. I sighed and lay back down on the branch. Listening to the rain gently falling on the leaves of the apple tree, I closed my eyes and was soon sleeping soundly.
I awoke to the soft swaying of the tree branch beneath me. Without opening my eyes, I stretched and sat up. As I did so, my head hit something hard. That's odd, I thought, there weren't any branches that close to my head when I went to sleep. Hmm . . .
"All right," I said, rubbing my head and opening my eyes, "Who's the practical jok-" I stopped. Something wasn't right. I was no longer on the branch of an apple tree in Dream Valley. I was in a cage! The swaying motion came from the fact that my cage was hanging from the branch of a very tall pine tree.
"Where am I?" I shouted. I spun around the cage in a panic, making it sway dizzyingly.
"Amethyst, calm down!" came a familiar voice. "You're acting just like Shady!" exclaimed Applejack from a nearby cage on my right.
"Hey! I heard that!" protested a hot pink earth pony in a cage directly beneath Applejack.
I forced myself to calm down. I didn't want my friend to think I was quick to panic.
I looked around. Everywhere I looked, there were trees laden with caged ponies. Winding between the giant pines were wooden pathways, covered with roofs of thatch. I looked down, and was amazed at the fact that I could hardly see the forest floor for the mist that swirled around the tree trunks. However, I did see that the columns of cages continued down the length of the trees almost to the ground. Some cages were empty, but most held one pony each. Babies were placed two to a cage.
"How did I get here?" I asked.
"No one knows. The last thing I can remember is heading into the castle when it started raining. Everyone started falling asleep, including myself, and the next thing any of us remember is waking up here." I turned at the familiar voice of Firefly. She was in a cage slightly above and to the left of me.
"Does anyone know who our captors are?" I asked.
"They're coming this way right now." replied Moondancer from another cage on my left. She pointed to a group of creatures approaching on one of the wooden walkways. As they got closer, we could see that they were transporting an unconscious blue pegasus. Her light pink mane and tail fluttered limply in the chilly breeze that had suddenly picked up. The creatures, definitely troll-like in appearance, not-so-gently placed the senseless peg in the cage beneath mine. As soon as she was in, they slammed the door. My friends and I stared in shock.
"How could they? What did we do to deserve this?" I heard Applejack whisper to herself.
"Who are you, and why are you holding us?" I asked the nearest troll, sounding much braver than I felt.
"None of your business!" snapped the troll.
"Excuse me, troll," said Firefly, her voice low and dangerous, "but since we're the ones in the cages, I think it is very much our business!" she growled, glaring at the troll.
"Humph!" was all the surly creature would say. He turned and walked away huffily.
Suddenly, a new voice was heard, that of the blue peg below me. Her voice was small and weak from the magical sleep she had just awoken from. Nonetheless, the new arrival's voice sounded incredibly well educated, and held a high degree of self-importance.
"I demand to know the rationale behind my unforeseen incarceration!"
"That's Wind Whistler." Firefly said in answer to my puzzled expression.
"Does she always talk like that?"
"Yeah, and quite frankly, some of us are getting tired of it!" said a masculine voice from above Applejack. I looked up to see a steel blue unicorn with a rainbow mane looking down at me. His eyes portrayed weariness and his voice was resigned, as if he was used to living a captive life. I had seen that look before, on the faces of the Chaoticals' slaves.
"Oh, lighten up, Moonstone! You always find something wrong with everybody!" said Applejack, sounding annoyed.
"I can't help it! I've been here so long, I've forgotten what happiness is. Besides, living life in a cage is so depressing!"
"I don't understand," I said, puzzled, "If you've been here your whole life, how can you already be tired of the way Wind Whistler talks, when she was obviously just captured?" I asked Moonstone.
"I haven't been here my whole life. When I was younger, I was a slave in a gloomy cavern where the sun never shines. Maybe you've heard of it, it was run by a bunch of weird, shape-shifting creatures. . ."
"Chaoticals!"
"Yup, that's them," Moonstone's eyes opened wide in surprise. "How did you know?"
"I, myself, was born into their dark world of slavery."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"Understandable. Anyway, Whistler here was chained next to me for a time, and I grew bored of listening to her prattle."
"HEY! I do not appreciate the implication you have attached to my mode of conversing!" Wind Whistler protested.
"Ahem. Yes, well. . . Anyway, after several years of slavery, Whistler decided to escape. I don't know whether she was successful, because shortly after that, the Chaoticals decided to sell me. I've lived here ever since."
My friends and I looked sadly at the rainbow-maned stallion. "You mean you've never known freedom?" I asked, thinking of my own past (which I wanted to forget, but couldn't).
"Oh I was free once," Moonstone said wistfully, "I can't remember much of my free life, though. I was very young when I was captured, not even one year old. Listen, I really don't feel like talking about it anymore, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, the unicorn turned around and went to sleep.
Poor guy, I thought, and I thought I had it rough!
The next morning, I awoke hungry. I hadn't had anything to eat since I was captured.
I looked around, and remembered where I was. Most of the other prisoners were still asleep in their cages. I explored my tiny cage, searching for something edible. I was expecting a bowl full of gruel. What I found was a little different.
"HEY!" I exclaimed, dismayed.
"Huh? . . ."said Firefly sleepily, "Amethyst, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting up.
"They want us to eat hay? What do those trolls take us for, livestock?"
"Precisely."
"YIE!" I shouted as I leapt into the air. Big mistake. I sat down, rubbing my injured head and glaring at the troll, who was smirking at me.
"Hay is the only thing you're gong to eat for a long time, pony. Oh, wait . . . it's the only thing you're going to eat for the rest of your life! Ha, ha! And, considering you ponies live forever, that will be a very long time, indeed! Hee, hee!"
"Oh stop gloating and tell us what you were sent here to tell us!" Firefly said exasperatedly.
"Tell? I wasn't sent here to tell you anything." said the troll haughtily, "I was sent to bring the royals three samples of our stock."
I didn't like the way he said that. Just then, there was movement from Moonstone's cage.
"What's going on?" he asked sleepily.
"Oh nothing. This annoying troll just decided to come here and start pestering us." said Firefly irritably.
"Ah, good. Now I don't have to wake any more prisoners. I'll just take you three!" said the troll, as he threw a chain around my neck.
A few minutes later, the troll led Firefly, Moonstone, and me out of a wooden elevator. I looked around. We were walking on a cold cement pathway on the forest floor. All around me, I saw the gigantic trunks of the cage-bearing pines. However, that's all I could see, since the heavy morning mist obscured all else. Suddenly, a huge palace materialized out of the mist. I had no idea how the trolls had built a palace of such an enormous size in the middle of that forest. The troll led us into the palace and toward a set of colossal double doors. Firefly tugged and struggled against her chains the whole way, protesting loudly.
"You monster! What do you hope to gain by this? I refuse to be a slave!"
"Firefly," I said softly, "I think we should see what these "royals" are like before we jump to any conclusions. We don't even know what they want of us!"
"Amethyst, they put us in cages and called us livestock! What more proof do you need?" she cried. "I refuse to be a slave!" she shouted again.
"Good point." I said to myself.
"You will do whatever our royals say you will." said the troll simply.
"I will not!" Firefly stated adamantly, stamping her hoof angrily.
"Firefly, is that you?" I was startled by a voice from beneath us. Looking around, I discovered that I was standing on a metal grate in the palace floor. I carefully stepped off and looked back up at Firefly curiously. With a mighty yank, she pulled the chain (which we were all attached to) out of the troll's grasp before he could take us any farther down the hallway. With a well-placed kick from her hind legs, she was able to knock him senseless.
"Firefly, HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY? That stunt is likely to get us all thrown into solitary confinement!" said Moonstone angrily.
"Oh hush! Danger is my life, and you know it!" Firefly said loudly as we turned back to the floor grate. She knelt before the steel grate, tears welling up in her eyes. "No. No, no, no, no, no!" she whimpered.
I looked down. Through the bars of the grate, I could just barely see a slender figure inside a tiny, concrete cell. So that's what a human looks like…! I thought to myself absently.
She had long, straight blond hair, and - as far as I could tell in the dim light of her cell - was wearing a grimy white T-shirt and jeans. Her clothes were torn and riddled with holes. From Firefly's reaction, I figured that this must be the human she had told me about, Megan.
"No, it can't be . . . You were our last hope! What happened?" Firefly spoke into the grate, her voice filled with despair.
"When Whistler landed in the field near my home, I could see the worried expression in her eyes, and I knew something wasn't right. Throughout our flight, she had a hard time staying awake. It was all the two of us put together could do to keep her from falling asleep and crashing to the ground. Almost as soon as we were back on solid ground, she had collapsed, and was soon fast asleep. I knew something fishy was going on when I, too, began to fall asleep. I tried to stay awake to protect her from the mysterious magic, but I couldn't. The last thing I remember is waking up here." said the girl, indicating the cell she was in.
"Amethyst, we've got to get her out of here!" cried Firefly, turning to me.
"I'll be fine, but I think you should hide before that troll wakes up." said Megan.
Instinctively, we turned. We were just in time to see the burly troll come to. He stood, putting a hairy hand on his head. He looked up, glaring at Firefly.
"Uh oh . . ." started Moonstone.
"RUN!" Firefly screamed. She and I took off down the hall, heading for the doors that would lead us out of the palace. We didn't get very far, however. We were brought to a jarring halt as we reached the end of the chain. Picking ourselves up, we looked back to see what had halted our mad dash for freedom. Moonstone stood there with his head bowed; his eyes held a sad, hopeless expression.
"Moonstone, come on!" shouted Firefly as she looked nervously at the advancing troll.
No response.
"Moonstone! Come on! We have to get out of here!" I shouted, looking at the despondent blue-gray unicorn.
Still no response.
"MOONSTONE!" Firefly and I yelled in unison. We both eyed the angry troll fearfully. He was getting closer by the minute.
"What's the use? They're just gonna catch us again. Why fight it? It'll just make the punishment that much harder." mumbled the rainbow-haired uni as he stared despairingly at the floor.
"MOONSTONE! COME ON!" Despite our pleading and tugging at the chain, the unicorn stallion wouldn't budge. The troll was almost upon us, and he was MAD!
"It's no use! Why must you make it so difficult? Why can't you just accept your fate, like I have?"
"MOONSTONE! RUN! We have to get away, NOW!" Too late. Growling, the troll snatched our chains, and roughly yanked on them, hard. Firefly and I fell, sprawling, to the ground.
"Get up!" the brute snarled, kicking Firefly hard in the ribs.
Immediately, she jumped up, bristling. "Oww! Watch it, buster!" she shouted, glowering.
I could tell she was about to do something rash and foolish. "Come on, Firefly," I said quietly, "give it a rest. He's not worth it."
"You're right, Amethyst. That troll isn't worth the effort it would take to fight him."
Not to mention, he'd probably knock you silly. I thought, but said nothing.
"I guess we'll just have to wait to escape, huh?" Firefly whispered to me as we were once again led toward the double doors at the end of the hallway.
I nodded. I knew that rushing the palace doors had been a bad idea, but it had seemed an easy shot at freedom at the time. Oh well . . . live and learn.
The massive wooden doors opened slowly, revealing a dimly-lit throne room. Nervously, we followed the troll inside. Firefly and I exchanged glances, wondering the same thing: who were these 'royals,' and what did they have planned for us? We found out soon enough. I began to wish we hadn't.
"Bring them here." huffed a snooty female voice.
I gulped visibly and looked at my friends. Firefly, who had so recently been full of spunk and fighting spirit, was now trembling fretfully beside me. Moonstone simply hung his head defeatedly.
"They're gonna eat us, you know." His voice was flat and emotionless, as if the statement was a fact of life no one could do anything about. He apparently couldn't care less either way.
Firefly and I looked at him in horror. "Don't say that!"
"Well, it's true," he said, scuffing his hoof despondently along the marble floor, "When I was younger-"
"Silence in the throne room!" Moonstone's statement was cut short as a troll herald bellowed out in a loud, officious voice, "Bring the specimens forward!"
I did NOT like the way he said that. Firefly and I both balked when our troll guard tugged on the chain.
"I don't know why you insist on fighting," Moonstone said glumly, walking forward placidly. "It'll just make it that much harder in the end."
"I don't like your attitude, Moonstone." grumbled Firefly irritably.
I had to agree with her. The blue-gray stallion's hopelessness was starting to get on my nerves as well.
We soon found ourselves standing before the troll royals - very powerful-looking creatures who each wore extremely scornful looks on their hard, knarled, heavily-horned faces.
"May I present their royal majesties, Queen Gleila and her three sons, Prince Darkmoor, Prince Moonblood, and Prince Wraithwisp, high rulers of Nightmare Island and all who dwell within, and soon to be rulers of Prisma..." droned the herald.
"Or rather, Troll Realm..." commented Prince Moonblood, deliberately loud enough for us to hear.
Beside me, I felt Firefly quivering with held-back rage. "Over my dead body..." she growled. Then, turning to me, "I don't know why that herald even bothers," she snorted, "Prisoners don't need introductions..." she whispered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Silence!" yelled the herald ineffectually as Firefly and I whispered amongst ourselves.
"Uh, girls..." started Moonstone apprehensively, "I don't think that's wise..." he trailed off as Firefly made some snide remark about the royals that made me nicker.
"Silence!"
"That word's not gonna subdue us," Firefly quipped quietly to me. "Tirak tried that, and look where it got him!"
"Hee hee. Firefly, I don't think this is - giggle - a good idea!" I whispered back, indicating the darkening looks on the royals' faces. The herald was beginning to get flustered as he shouted for silence a third time. We continued to giggle disrespectfully. Heck, these trolls aren't treating us like anything more than mere livestock, so why should we respect them? I thought, trying unsuccessfully to justify our actions.
"Silence!"
Our laughter only got louder. I knew this would probably get us in big trouble, but...
"Firefly, Amethyst...I think you should stop."
"Oh would you relax, Moonstone?" Firefly blurted out, "Get a life!"
"I have one, and if you value yours, I think you'd better stop your silliness!" the unicorn stallion whispered urgently.
"Silence!" By this time, the troll herald sounded quite peeved. I looked at the royals nervously. The queen looked positively livid, as did two of her sons. The other prince just looked bored.
I turned to Firefly. "This time I agree with Moonstone. I think we should stop before we get in more trouble than we already are in."
"Okay, okay. You're probably right, Amethyst. I trust your judgment. After all, you were the one who got us out of that cave of slavery." Firefly relented as I blushed.
"ENOUGH! Insubordinance will not be tolerated! You will stop this nonsense immediately, or you will both go into the PEAS!" the queen screeched angrily.
Firefly and I exchanged apprehensive glances. I knew I would regret asking, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me. "The PEAS?" I repeated, quirking an eyebrow, trying not to nicker at the ridiculous-sounding acronym.
"The Pit of Eternal Agonizing Screams. I'm sure you'd enjoy it immensely...Not!" Prince Wraithwisp said, that bored expression still on his face.
"Okay, you royal pain in the ponyfeathers-"
"Firefly..." I warned.
"-what's the deal? Why'd you drag us here? And why are you holding our friend Megan prisoner? I want answers!
"It's not right," she said, taking on a more pleading tone, "What'd she do to you? What'd WE do, for that matter?"
"Nothing."
"Then why the heck are we prisoners?" the pink peg exclaimed exasperatedly.
"You really want to know?" asked Wraithwisp.
"YES!" Firefly and I exclaimed in unison.
"The human will make an excellent slave." Queen Gleila explained, her voice a self-satisfied snooty whine, "We intend to take our rightful place on the island you have called home for many years, using your young ones as slaves to till the useless meadows, turning them into miles of cropland on which we can grow our sorrowort and slaveweed plants. Then we shall cut down your forests and use them as timber and fuel for the fortress we will build on the razed ground where your 'Dream Castle' is standing now. If any escape our evil empire, they will be mercilessly hunted down and-" Gleila stopped, and looked pointedly at us. "Well, you pacifists probably don't want to know the gory details."
"You are…so…EVIL!" I exclaimed, lamely, momentarily unable to find any more eloquent words.
"Why thank you!" she said, a little too sweetly, an extremely unpleasant smile plastered on her twisted face. "However, flattery will get you nowhere. Yes, we shall, in your worthless views, 'ruin' your homeland. But it will be for the betterment of all the trolls from Nightmare Island. As for you and your two friends..." she trailed off.
"Ask your friend Moonstone here." interjected Prince Darkmoor sinisterly, "He knows."
Firefly and I both looked at the dejected stallion expectantly.
"You don't want to know."
"Yeah we do!" exclaimed the pink peg beside me.
"Well, okay. But not here. I'll tell you back in the cages."
"Put them away." the queen told our guard. "These two aren't ready yet. The stallion, on the other claw, is almost ready, but there is one thing left for him to do."
With those cryptic words, we were dismissed and led back to our cages to learn the secret of our imprisonment.
Firefly ruffled her carnation-colored wings impatiently. "Come on, you exasperating unicorn, spit it out!"
"I, um...You really don't want to know." replied Moonstone, shifting uneasily in his cage, avoiding the issue.
"Yes we do!" countered my impatient friend.
"Firefly please!" I admonished. "It's obviously something he's having real trouble bringing himself to talk about." To the rainbow-maned stallion I soothingly said, "It can't be that bad. Just say it. You'll probably feel better afterward."
"You obviously have no idea how bad it really is. I-"
"You in there! Out with it!" came the troll guard's gruff voice as he prodded Moonstone unkindly with his spear. "The Darkmoon Ceremony is only two weeks away, and we need to have you prepared by then."
I glanced apprehensively at the troll. I didn't like the sound of that one little bit! I turned my gaze back to Moonstone, who was visibly shaking. By now, all eyes were on the steel-blue stallion as he cowered in his tiny cage.
"Amethyst, what's going on?" asked Applejack, her eyes wide and frightened.
"It seems the answer shall be revealed to us before too much more time elapses." Wind Whistler, of course. As frightened as he was, Moonstone still managed to roll his eyes at her verbose comment. After several minutes of tense silence, I heard Moondancer's voice in my mind.
-Darkmoon Ceremony? I've heard about that...Moonstone's involved in it?- Her mind-voice sounded extremely agitated.
-Is that bad? - I thought-asked back. I was only mildly surprised I could do this. (Moondancer had once told me many unicorns could do this without much practice.)
-Very bad...- The maroon-maned unicorn trailed off. The mind-link severed as we both turned our attention back to the rainbow-maned stallion who had begun to speak, albeit haltingly.
"You see, I- Well I- The Darkmoon Ceremony is- What I mean is-"
The troll prodded him with his spear, this time drawing blood. "We're waiting, pony!" he growled, "Git on with it!"
Moonstone sighed, wincing at the pain. "I guess I can't avoid it anymore. You see- Are you really sure you want to hear this?" he asked again, interrupting himself in what I could only interpret as a time-stalling effort.
"YES!" came a chorus of replies from the surrounding cages. Everypony in earshot now had their faces turned toward the gray-blue unicorn stallion, anxiously anticipating whatever it was he was about to say. (Except for those who had been there longer than the rest of us, and had, doubtless, heard it all before. These individuals simply turned away, disinterested.)
Moonstone flinched noticeably at the troll's latest jab, which this time had produced a sizeable cut in the unicorn's rump, dangerously close to his planetary symbol. He sighed, hanging his dusky gray-blue head, as he blurted out, "They're going to sacrifice me."
My friends and I started at this. "What? What do you mean?"
"Just what I said: They. Are. Going. To. Sacrifice. Me. Two weeks from now, I will be nothing more than a haunch in their smokehouse. I've known about this for months now…that's why I can't 'lighten up,' as you put it, Applejack. I KNOW what lies ahead for me…for everybody."
He sighed again and continued at the troll guard's prodding, "The Darkmoon Ceremony…will spread clouds of darkness over the entire world…that will blot out the sun so that these trolls can venture past their forests and not have to worry about becoming—OWW! Sorry…" He turned to lick his wound, which had by now doubled in size when the troll viciously jabbed him.
"Moonstone! Are you alright?" I asked in concern.
"No…but it doesn't matter anyway. I'm dead meat as it is, so I shouldn't care if they impale me now."
"But…" I tried to interject.
Moonstone shook his head and continued. "The Darkmoon Ceremony will spread dark clouds over the entire world of Aquea'na, letting the trolls spread their empire to the other realms as well. Prisma is just their first target."
Firefly snorted. "Ha! So they're going to cover the world in darkness, are they? Little good it'll do them…Tirak already tried that! Look where it got him!" She tossed her sapphire mane proudly. "Not that creative if you ask me."
"Firefly…." I warned.
Moonstone took no notice, his garnet eyes troubled. "I don't know exactly what they have planned for me between now and the Ceremony, but…It's supposed to take two weeks, apparently, and I'm sure it won't be pleasant…But…Such is my lot in life…"
"Then we have two whole weeks to stop it!" Firefly said, unfazed by the troll who heard every word she said.
Moonstone shook his head. "You can't stop it. Enjoy what life you have left…once the Ceremony is complete…Well…they'll work you to the ground, and then slay you and hang your carcass in the smokehouse…next to mine if there's anything left of me…"
Moondancer cut in, "But…You're a Rainbowmane! One of the Blessed! They can't do that to you! The Great Rainbow protects all of its Blessed!"
Moonstone sighed and stood up, blindly accepting the chain the troll threw over his neck. "That is precisely why they picked me…because I am one of the so-called "Blessed" ones…Since I have a connection by birth to the Great Rainbow, my sacrifice in the Ceremony is supposed to destroy the Great Rainbow itself."
We all gasped at this as the troll lead the light blue-grey stallion out of his cage and down the boardwalk. -Moonstone! Fight! Fight against that troll! He's only one; you can DO it! Don't let your fear and despair overpower you! You've GOT to fight! Don't let them destroy the Great Rainbow! If they do, we're all DOOMED! More than the trolls themselves know…They'll bring on their own destruction as well as ours…Our entire home is in jeopardy of destruction if this Darkmoon Ceremony comes to pass!- Though Moondancer's mind-voice was directed toward Moonstone, I heard it perfectly well. I gasped audibly. We couldn't let this happen!
Moonstone just shook his head sadly and followed the troll. -There's nothing I can do. -
My friends and I exchanged glances. There was no way we could allow this Darkmoon Ceremony to happen! From the tone of Moondancer's mind-voice, I could tell that it would amount to the end of the world.
We had two weeks to stop it.
And there we were, stuck in cages.
Great Rainbow…We're doomed…
Several days later, I was STILL in my cage, and we STILL had no idea how to stop the Darkmoon Ceremony. I was supposed to be some great "Marked One"…but…I had no clue what to do. I closed my eyes and pointed my horn to the ceiling of the cage, and, beyond, to the sky and the stars and the Rainbow I knew was out there somewhere. Please…Great Rainbow….Guide me…I am but Your faithful servant…I want to save our Prisma and Aquea'na, and You, but I don't know how...I sighed, wondering how I was ever to complete this impossible task.
Moonstone was returned to his cage after dark that day. He looked HORRIBLE. He was even more tired and dejected than usual, and on top of that, he had multiple bruises showing through his coat in various places, and...macabre looking designs etched into his skin that were bleeding. He looked to be in a great deal of pain.
"Moonstone!" I gasped. "Are you okay?" Stupid question.
He flopped down on his belly, splaying out his legs and letting his chin fall heavily to the floor of the cage with a thud. I winced. He sighed. "….No, Amethyst, I'm not alright. And I never will be, so stop asking." He said defeatedly, his eyes falling shut.
I gave a little gasp. Whoever had scored the horrible, bloody designs on his sides had also seen fit to put them on his eyelids.
Moonstone was taken away again in the morning, after being forced to drink some foul-smelling glop. We didn't see him for another couple of days, but I was sure I heard his mind-voice screaming for mercy in my head. I winced. So did Moondancer.
The unfortunate blue-gray stallion was returned several days later. I noted that a week had already passed with not one clue about how we were going to get out of this. Time was running short, and spirits were sinking lower and lower with each day that passed.
The unlucky stallion looked even worse than he had before. His hooves were cracked and bleeding. His mane and tail had been shaven off and sealed from their characteristic spontaneous re-growth with black pine-pitch; his beautiful rainbow mane and tail were gone. The small spark of life he'd had before had all but died to embers in his eyes as he collapsed, whimpering pitifully, to his cage floor.
The next morning, he was again force-fed the foul goop and then taken away. I wondered how long he would stay in whatever torture chamber they had him in this time.
More days passed. Despair had all but taken over my once fighting spirit. I began to wonder if the piteous stallion had even survived his latest torment when he was returned to us again, limping and bleeding even more. It was two days before the Darkmoon Ceremony was to take place, and I had all but given up hope as well. The forest we were now living in itself seemed to exude depression.
I looked over at the unicorn, now more of a dingy gray with red and brown streaks of blood intermingled within than of blue. I was mortified to see a large chunk of flesh taken out of the center of his upper lip, his right knee, and in various places along his neck. His left ear looked as though some large beast had chewed upon it. I winced. It looked extremely painful. But Moonstone took the pain and disfigurement in resigned silence. "Moonstone…." I started. "How can you just let them do this to you? Don't you want your freedom? Don't you want to live free of pain?"
He just looked at me. "You've had freedom…at least you know what it's like. I will have died hardly knowing it at all. It doesn't matter. I don't matter."
"Yes you do! You have to fight it!"
"Don't you see? I. Just. Can't." With that he gingerly laid his bleeding face down on a cracked hoof. "I only want to die and leave this misery behind." He then closed his eyes and tried to sleep, though I could see his pelt quivering in fear even in slumber. The poor guy…what he went through must have caused horrible nightmares.
Looking at him, a new sense of desperation overtook me. I WILL stop this! I did everything I could to escape my cage. The edge of the plank pathway was so tantalizingly close – there was a small platform underneath each cage that led to the main boardwalks between them – if only I could get rid of the wooden bars between it and me…
I tried kicking out the bars…it didn't work. I tried ramming, and then sawing and drilling at them with my horn…no use. However, I was determined. The bars were wood, right? I tried chewing them off. That made SOME progress, but made my teeth hurt and gave me splinters in my tongue. I impatiently spat out the chunks of wood. I'd have to think of something better.
Suddenly, it hit me. Teleporting! I could just disappear and reappear outside-
-Forget it, Amethyst. We can't teleport THROUGH things.- Moondancer's mindvoice cut into my concentration.
-Why not?-
-Unicorns can only transport their molecular structure though empty space. If we tried to go through objects, we might encounter resistance, and then the teleportation would be interrupted, and we would appear INSIDE the object, and that could be fatal…-
-Oh.- Now I understood. Scratch THAT plan. Something nagged at me, though. "But…What about that time in the caves…with the Crystal Ring?" I said, switching to verbal conversation. I still wasn't completely used to mindspeach, and it was starting to give me a headache.
"That was a special case. Your horn was sticking through the Crystal Wall, and thus the structure was breached and unstable …It was about to collapse anyway. In any other situation, it wouldn't have worked." I had come to rely on Moondancer for answers to my questions about all things magical, as she knew a lot about the subject. "Besides, I sense that your power relates to crystalline things and aspects, which also made it easier in that situation."
That made sense. My symbol and my name WAS Amethyst, after all; a type of crystal. That STILL didn't solve my problem. I pondered the bars in front of me. I sighed and began gnawing again.
Moondancer pondered for a while. "I think I may know someone who can help… Buttons, are you anywhere nearby?" she called out.
"Hmm?" came a sleepy voice from directly above me. Curious, I stuck my head through the bars and craned my neck, tilting my head upwards in an effort to see who the new voice came from. Another unicorn stuck her pinkish-purple head through the bars of her cage and looked down first at me, then at Moondancer. She had a blue mane with red stripes in it, and kindly blue eyes.
"This is Amethyst," Moondancer said, introducing me, "Amethyst, this is Buttons. Her magic consists of moving things telekinetically. She may be able to help us. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner."
"Hi." I said, awkwardly, before being forced to pull my head back into my cage to alleviate the pain resulting from my uncomfortable position. "Owww…sorry, but I think I'll have to talk to you through the roof of my cage…that position hurts."
Buttons laughed softly. "I understand."
Moondancer spoke again, "Buttons, do you think you could open the lock on Amethyst's cage? It may be our only chance!"
"Of course! I can try, at least!"
My heart leapt when the lock on my door started to rattle as Buttons applied her power to it. Suddenly I saw movement on the boardwalks. "Stop! They're coming! They'll see what we're trying to do!" I whispered urgently. Abruptly, the lock on my door stopped moving. We watched anxiously as the trolls approached. Again, they took Moonstone away for more torture, leaving one of their number behind to guard the empty cage. The escape would have to wait.
We were running out of time, but at least this time we had the beginnings of a plan…
The day of the Darkmoon Ceremony dawned, misty and gloomy as ever. I was beginning to worry that the trolls wouldn't even bring Moonstone back at all this time; that everything would be over before we even got a chance to try to stop it. Fortunately, I was mistaken.
At first it looked like nothing more had been done to the blue-gray unicorn stallion. His wounds were the same; nothing new caught my attention as he was shoved back into his cage. The trolls fed him more disgusting goop, and then departed down the wooden pathway, laughing cruelly. I turned back to the beleaguered unicorn at his stifled whimper…and gasped. Aside from his previous injuries, he looked worse than ever, though I still couldn't place what had been done to him this time. He swayed unsteadily on his feet, head hung low. He looked ill. Then I noticed his horn…A chunk of the tip was missing! That explained his apparent vertigo. Moondancer had once explained that if a unicorn suffered a horn injury, that they would experience a disruption of equilibrium for a number of days afterward…at the very least. Add that onto the previous damage Moonstone had endured, and he was in a sorry state indeed!
"Moonstone…" I started, though I had no idea how I might console or help him.
"I…need to be sick…" he muttered, staggering to the side of his cage.
My friends and I conscientiously looked away in order to spare him any remaining dignity he might have. Several of the ponies in cages below called out in dismay at the unpleasant surprise they found raining down on them.
The mood remained somber as we sat there…waiting for the inevitable. All the while Buttons worked - more carefully and quietly this time - to free me from my cage. Subtlety was the key, as the trolls still patrolled the area from time to time, keeping tabs on their intended sacrificial victim. They wanted to make sure he didn't die before they intended him to, they told us sadistically.
Throughout the day, Moonstone periodically moved to the side of his prison to wretch again. "Too much sorrowart puree." He said sardonically between bouts of nausea.
"Is that the stuff they were…?" I started.
"Yeah." He said, turning around and settling himself carefully on the floor of his cage. "Now lemme be to suffer 'lone." He slowly lowered his head to his uninjured knee and slipped into a fretful sleep.
Though I knew there really was no practical use for it, I again found myself pitying him.
The subtle rattling of the lock on my door was like a clock ticking down the seconds until doom. I stared longingly at it…trying to will it to cooperate with Buttons' efforts. Suddenly there was a click, and the lock fell away. It landed with a thud on the forest floor. I tensed, worried that our captors might have heard it. But the trolls were currently occupied with other things…like prodding cruelly at their intended victim with their spears. I glared at them briefly, before turning my attention back to my now-open door. I grabbed the bar with my teeth, and held it closed so that I wouldn't be discovered as I waited for the trolls to tire of their despicable game and move off. However, it seemed they had preparations to make, as a higher-ranked troll so loudly pointed out to them before herding them off on some errand. I whickered softly, "Serves you right…" I muttered, returning my attention to the door when they were out of sight. Tentatively, I nudged the bars with my nose. Sure enough, the door to the cage swung open. I stepped cautiously out onto the platform, stretching my cramped wings. I looked back toward my friends. Unfortunately, the trolls had taken poor Moonstone with them again. Time was running out. I got the sinking feeling that they would not be bringing him back this time.
"Good luck, 'Thyst!" Firefly whispered, and winked at me, trying to put on a brave face, though I sensed her unease as well. I forced a return grin and nudged the cage door shut again with my nose to be safe. I wished that I was invisible…as it would make things easier. Oh well. Sighing, I turned back to the path and spread my wings…
I headed first to a group of cages the others had told me about, kicking the locks off of each one in turn. I held a whispered conference with the recently-freed occupants – a group of slightly smaller ponies with membranous wings…flutter ponies, I think they called themselves – informing them of the plan, before continuing on my way as they headed back in the direction of the others. Apparently they had some special ability that would be able to free the others faster than Buttons could alone. I was slightly curious about that, but…well…there were more important things to deal with right now.
I winged quietly over to where Firefly, Moonstone and I had first met Firefly's imprisoned human friend, Megan. I still didn't know how I was going to get her out of that pit-cell, but I'd deal with that when I got there. Again I wished I was invisible. I landed softly by the grate, glancing around nervously for troll-pursuit. The hallway was strangely deserted. They must all be preparing for the Darkmoon Ceremony…I thought, turning my attention back to the human in the cell below me. She paced nervously in and out of the dim light cast by the grate. "Psst!...Megan, was it?...I'm here to get you out! We have a plan!"
She looked up abruptly. "Who's there?" She looked confused…and a little frightened. Odd. She was acting as if she couldn't see me…But I was standing right above the grate! I shook my head. No time for confusion now, I had a rescue to perform. I glanced around, looking for something that might open that grate. There was a lever placed conveniently on a nearby wall. I was a little suspicious of this, but…time was short. I grabbed it with my teeth and pulled down.
SCREEEEECH!
I winced, and half-spread my wings, ready to flee at any sign of discovery. There was none. I refolded my wings and got back to the task at hand. The grate was now open, and the human inside was moving what meager furnishings were in the room around in an effort to reach it. Tensely, I stood over the grate, alert for any sign of trouble as she climbed out. She stood there, looking bewildered. Any other time I might have been curious about this strange, two-legged creature, but desperation made me accept things as they were without much hesitation. I was confused as to why SHE was confused though. "Uh…." I said, and she jumped. "What's the matter?"
"…Who are you? WHERE are you?"
Was she blind? Funny, Firefly never told me she was…
"Uh…I'm the one that just saved you…My name's Amethyst. Firefly calls me Thyst. And uh…I'm standing right next to you…C-can't you see me?"
"…No…" She put a hand out tentatively. It brushed my wing. I could see the gears moving in her expression. "…No wonder you weren't discovered! You're invisible!"
"What?" I said, glancing around, "N-no I'm not!...Am I?" I lifted a hoof and looked at it. Or I would have if I'd been able to SEE it. With a frightened whinny, I leapt into the air.
"Oh…NOW I can see you!" The young human exclaimed. "…But now we're vulnerable…" She glanced around again, nervous. There were still no trolls in the vicinity but…
I landed. Though I was a little hesitant to allow any creature on my back, this one DID seem harmless, and Firefly had let her sit on HER back, so…I spread my wings. "C'mon. Let's get back to the others…hopefully the…flutters?...were able to get them out." She seemed to get the message, and jumped on my back. It felt…strange…to have someone sitting on you. I spooked slightly, though I tried to control it.
"…You okay? I can get off if you're uncomfortable…"
"N-no…I'm ok. Just never had a rider before." I stammered, still slightly uneasy about this. "It's…instinct. This goes against it. Don't worry I'll be fine…"
"Well…okay…I don't want to make you uncomfortable though…"
"It's really not a problem, I'm over it. Hold on." I spread my wings wide and headed back to the others…
I landed with a soft 'Thump!' back on the boardwalks between the cage-bearing trees and glanced around. The flutter ponies were still working at freeing the cages' occupants, but many were already free, and disappearing into the misty shadows towards freedom, foals protected at the center of the fleeing herds.
Those of us that had stayed behind would attempt to halt the Darkmoon Ceremony and save Moonstone, though I still had no idea HOW. So few of us had remained for the upcoming battle; we ponies were, for the most part, peaceful creatures. My three friends were there of course: Firefly ("No way you're leaving ME out of this!" She had said after she and the human Megan had broken from their initial reunion-embrace.) Applejack, and Moondancer. Wind Whistler had also stayed, insisting that we'd need someone with superior intellect such as her. Somehow, I didn't doubt that. I had come up with this plan, but I'm the first one to admit I didn't know anything at all of what I was doing. I didn't even know where Moonstone had been taken. Buttons had stayed as well. She had helped to free me, and besides, we might need someone with what Whistler termed 'telekinetic aptitude.' And then we had the human Megan and myself of course. Several of the fairy-winged flutters would go along as well. No telling when we might need what they called 'Utter Flutter' again.
We were at last ready to begin the rescue mission. Only problem is, I still had no idea where to go. I exchanged glances with each of my companions, stamping a hoof in irritation at my ineptitude.
"When all else fails…Rush right into the fray!"
I grabbed Firefly by the tail before she could get too far ahead. "Are you infane?" I said around a mouthful of electric blue tail-strands. "Vat'll never vork!"
"Amethyst here is correct. We require a modus operandi before adequate enactment is undertaken."
There was a collective silence, broken finally by AJ voicing what we were all thinking. "…What?"
The blue pegasus sighed. "…We need a plan." she reworded. There was instant comprehension on the faces of my friends.
"…That WAS a plan!" Firefly muttered sulkily.
"Not a successful one. Suppose that—"
"Not right now…Moonstone needs our help!" Before the two pegs could get further into their argument, Megan was delegating. She appointed the fastest of the flutter pony escort as a scout and sent her to try and find the location of the intended sacrifice while the rest of us tried to dredge up a plan of action. I could see why everybody liked the strange two-legged off-world creature who was still seated on my back. She was good at problem-solving and diffusing potential conflicts.
Before long, the scout had returned, a look of agitation on her face. "I found them." she said, a hint of panic in her voice, "There isn't much time. Follow me." And she darted off, the rest of us following and sticking to the shadows.
We paused for a brief rest in the shadow of one of the immense pine trees, preparing ourselves to dart to another hiding spot.
"And just where do you think you're going, hmm?" A voice spoke up from the gloom in front of us. I stiffened. Great Rainbow, no… I'd heard that voice before…in the troll royals' throne room. From out of the darkness, stepped none other than Prince Wraithwisp, sneering contemptuously at us.
"You!" Firefly spat eloquently.
Before my excitable pink-pelted friend could say anything foolish, Moondancer 'accidentally' swatted her in the face with her tail. "C'mon…we don't have time for this!"
Mustering up what bravery I could, I stared the troll in the face. "We WILL defeat you and save our friend, you can't stop us!"
Wraithwisp, oddly, made no move…either for or against us. He waved onward dismissively. "I'm not gonna stop ya. But I have to tell you…yer goin the wrong way." He sneered at us again.
"You're just trying to trick us and stall us! Don't listen to him! We'll be too late!" Firefly pushed past him angrily.
"…Wait…he's right. I…I took a wrong turn I think." The flutter pony scout hung her head. "I was so agitated; I didn't remember the way…we…We have to trust him…"
Wraithwisp chuckled. "If you want to save yer friend, follow me." Apprehensively, we followed him, until he stopped at the mouth of a cavern.
I snorted and tossed my head. "A cave…why is it always caves with you villains?"
Firefly broke in, "…And why are you helping us? You're one of THEM."
"Firefly…hear him out." I said, remembering my adventure on the Skyland, and the ogre that had helped me there, Darpayo. "Sometimes allies come where you least expect them."
The troll sneered again. "Oh I'm no ally. I'm not helping you for the sake of your friend or to save the world." He grinned unpleasantly before continuing, "It's just so…so BORING when everything goes according to plan. Mother plans things out too much. By helping you now, I throw some uncertainty into things."
None of us could really believe what we were hearing. He was helping us…purely for his twisted amusement? "Yer crazy." Applejack snorted in disgust.
"Thank you." He grinned again. "Now…If you wish to save that 'Blessed Rainbowmane' stallion of yours…I suggest you proceed on in. Beyond the mouth of this cave lies the Temple of Darkmoon Rising, and, within that, the dreaded Pit of Eternal Agonizing Screams."
I gasped, "The PEAS? The place the queen threatened to send us when we were defying her?"
He nodded. "The very same. A more fitting place for a sacrifice I've never seen…if I do say so myself." He smiled unpleasantly. "If you'll excuse me, I must go rejoin my brethren now in order to begin the ritual. I suggest you hurry. Not that it will help you any. You'll all end up in the smokehouse at the end for defying Her Majesty of course." He glanced at Megan. "Except for you…You probably wouldn't taste very good. Too stringy." I could feel the human's grip on my mane tighten in anger at that remark. The troll prince finished with one final jibe, "But I'm sure Mother will find SOME use for you. Until we meet again on the battlefield, farewell." He finished sarcastically, that aggravating sneer still on his face as he vanished into the darkness.
I stamped my hoof. I wanted to race after him and impale him on my horn. I almost did, but Megan spoke then. As angry as she was, she still provided the voice of reason, calming all of us down. "No! We have to save Moonstone first! If we don't…"
Moondancer finished the thought, "We're ALL doomed."
We raced off into the cavern that would lead to the PEAS and the imperiled Moonstone.
We picked our way as quickly and as carefully down the slick stone pathways, avoiding the pitfalls along the way. It would have been a lot harder for me if I had not been born in a cave, and therefore knew how to traverse them, but…some of the others were having trouble. Whistler had to quickly grab Buttons by the mane to stop her from falling into a shaft that we saw had many sharp stones protruding from the bottom. Sighing in relief, she was more careful from then on.
Rounding a bend, I gasped and stopped short. There was the temple, in all its twisted, horrifying glory. Torches of green flame illuminated stone that had been carved into the shape of a twisted and pitted trollesque skull. I snorted. These guys sure liked to build according to stereotypical villain architectural lines. We couldn't just stand there apprehensively eyeing the structure though. Even now, I could hear the sound of drums emanating from beyond. With a lump in my throat I closed my eyes and walked into the skull's gaping maw, which formed the temple's doorway.
Within, the décor consisted of more bones and torches. There was a steep stairway directly in the center, leading downward. I grimaced. Hooves weren't very useful on narrow steps. Oh well. What had to be done, had to be done. I started down those steps, but then noticed another pathway, this one consisting of a ramp. That would definitely be easier to use. We continued down its twisting and turning length, which spiraled around the pit's circumference. I chanced a glance out into the depths beyond the bars that periodically separated the ramp from a steep drop into the bottom of the pit. Directly across the immense hole, the stairway wound in a parallel spiral. I could see trolls on that stairway, carrying items that I couldn't – and probably didn't want to – make out. I was glad we had taken the ramp, although the question of WHY it was there nagged unpleasantly at the back of my mind.
Soon we came to the bottom of the pit, and the end of the ramp. Unfortunately, it was barred by a wooden portcullis. Oh great. Great Rainbow, we're doomed…I thought for the millionth time. Suddenly, the grate began to slide upward inexplicably. Glancing behind me, I could see someone coming. I panicked, and dove for cover behind a railing.
"Am…where'd you go?" One of my friends whispered. "For that matter, where's Megan?"
"We're right here!"
"We can't see you!"
"Amethyst, you're invisible again! And so am I!" Megan's voice came from my back. I felt her dismount, and she was visible again.
"Extrordinary. Your lack of visibility is dispersed to encompass any who are in contact with you." Wind Whistler mused.
Amazing…She's right… "Ok, Megan, get back on. Everybody else, take a bit of my tail in your mouth…we're going through…as soon as that gate is open enough…NOW!" I darted through, the human on my back and everybody else hanging onto my tail. As soon as we were through we hid beneath a…something. I didn't even want to look at the hideous device, which had clearly been designed to deliver pain to diminutive equines.
"What…is this thing…? Is this a…UGH. Great Rainbow, no!" I gulped. Firefly wasn't the type to get horrified like that.
"It appears to be a device for the forceful detachment of wings…" Even Whistler sounded aghast.
I grimaced. I specifically had NOT wanted to know.
"Thanks, Whistler, we can see what it is…you don't have to explain it." I had to agree with Firefly on this one. All the same…
Nervously I refolded my wings. "Look…if you have a better hiding place…I can't keep this invisibility thing up. I just discovered it myself today. The main thing is that we help Moonstone and stop this sacrifice…"
"Look, there he is…he looks TERRIBLE."
The grey-blue unicorn stallion was led, stumbling and limping, from the very edifice we had just emerged from. His hide was covered in even more festering wounds, his hooves were still cracked and bleeding, even more so than before, and his horn was missing even more chunks, causing him to sway and lurch about even more. Small, twisted reptiles leapt and bit at his sides as he was pushed and prodded toward an altar in the center of the pit. One of the ugly little beasts made a mighty leap and latched onto his as-until-now undamaged ear, chewing and gnawing on it viciously. The troll guards smacked at it and it released the unicorn's ear and retreated to the shadows, but the damage was done. Now both of Moonstone's ears were ripped to shreds. He had a strange metal bar between his teeth.
One of my companions called to him, "Psst, Moonstone! We're going to get you out of here! Hang on!"
"Shh!" I whispered urgently.
Luckily, only Moonstone had heard the remark. He glanced briefly in our direction, and I could see that the bar he held in his mouth was covered in a strange bloodstained cloth. It was also SEWN to his lips. He couldn't even open his mouth. I had no idea what it was for, but I was horrified and had to look away. The Chaoticals had never been THIS brutal. I would have preferred that to our current situation. To the Chaoticals we were merely overly-willful livestock. To these trolls, we were livestock, food, AND potential sacrifices. I WILL stop this…My eyes narrowed as I watched the stallion lead to the altar, beside which stood all four troll royals. Prince Darkmoor and Prince Moonblood held the same malevolently expectant expressions. Prince Wraithwisp still looked bored, but at the same time slightly devious. Queen Gleila grinned sinisterly, cradling a wavy-bladed dagger lovingly.
The drums increased in tempo as the intended victim was lead to the altar. Moonstone was prodded to place his front hooves on the stone block, as the trolls lifted his face with the aid of the bar sewn to the unicorn's mouth. The protruding ends of the bar were placed in stone slots in two pillars to either side of the altar, so that Moonstone could not move his head and his neck was exposed. He did not resist any of this, though I'm sure that position was painful. I saw him close his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. The queen flipped the dagger and caught it by the hilt. "Where is the shaman? I want to get this done!" The green light from the multiple torches flickered eerily.
"Patience, Mother, he is coming." Moonblood said, pointing to the staircase; an old, grizzled troll wearing a complicated headdress approached, bowing before Gleila as he took the knife from her hands and started muttering strange words that none of us could understand.
I felt all my color draining away…literally. Alarmed, I looked at my companions. They, too looked paler than usual.
"Am, we have to do something!"
"I know!" Unfortunately, I currently didn't really have a plan. But time was running out.
"Megan, do you still have the locket?" Firefly asked.
"Yes…" I could practically hear the gears turning in the human's mind.
"Then USE it!" Firefly exclaimed urgently.
At the altar, the dagger was poised near Moonstone's exposed neck. I'd had enough. Megan was just opening the locket as I reared, whinnying the phrase that seemed to have become my battle cry. "I am Amethyyyyyyst! I am the Defenderrrrrrr!" With that I charged the queen, horn lowered. Nimbly, she stepped aside. The human on my back tightened her grip on my mane, trying desperately to stay on.
"Thyst! The shaman!" One of my friends shouted. By now the rest of them were also fighting the swarming trolls. I caught a glance at Wraithwisp's insane grin before whirling and aiming a double-hind-leg kick at the shaman as the knife continued toward the intended sacrificial victim. The shaman went sprawling, and the knife flew out of his hands. In horror I saw the red line on Moonstone's neck. Were we too late? I looked again. He was still alive, but bleeding. It seems the dagger had missed its mark, but still scored on the stallion's neck.
The queen was screaming, I glanced that way and my head went up, shocked. The dagger's misplaced flight had buried it in her side, but she was still alive. Crazed with pain and anger, she pulled it out of her side and lunged for Moonstone…
"NO!" I screamed, but it was too late. The dagger, while it had again missed its mark, was stuck in the stallion's shoulder, up to the hilt.
The troll queen, bleeding and enraged, leaped at me, and again I reared. However, this time the human on my back was ready, hanging on and compensating for the fact that I was no longer on all fours. She opened the heart-shaped pendant at her neck… Suddenly there was a flash of colors and the Rainbow had picked us up and headed skyward, and I was suddenly inexplicably drilling a hole in the rock ceiling with my horn. I would never have been able to do this normally, but the Rainbow was lending me strength. I went crashing through the hole in the roof, and then the Rainbow deposited me on the ground of the pit again so that I could continue the fight. I wasn't sure what the use in punching a hole in the ceiling was, but…now was not the time to question it. The Rainbow swirled around me momentarily before heading skyward again, where it was lost to view.
We were still losing. The trolls had corralled most of my friends, and somebody had bandaged Gleila's wound and she was lunging for the dagger that was in Moonstone's shoulder.
"Noooo!" I whinnied in horror as she stabbed him again. Had she completely lost her mind? "Someone get moonstone loose!" I shouted before I realized I was the one carrying the only one of us with thumbs. I clapped a hoof to my forehead momentarily and then flew toward the bar that held Moonstone captive. Megan lifted it out of its brackets, and Moonstone was free. However, he was loosing blood. The human dismounted again and tore off her pant leg to wrap on his wounds. I doubted it would be enough, but…I had other things to deal with at the moment…like the troll thugs that were approaching us. I prepared myself to go down fighting.
Suddenly, the Rainbow was back, and behind it…
The room filled with sunlight, and I heard trolls screaming. I stared as they all were incased in stone as the light hit them. Suddenly I understood. The mist enveloping the island…their plan to permanently blot out the sun…it all made sense. The sun turned them to stone on contact, so they could only conquer the world when it was gone. And the Rainbow…Facilitated the return of the sun. If they had destroyed that…the blotting clouds would have been ever-present.
However…Moonstone was still bleeding. The Rainbow swirled around me, and moved into my horn, and I got the distinct impression of what it wanted me to do. I knelt and placed my horn to each wound, which closed up and stopped bleeding. I couldn't knit it completely however, and I couldn't heal the old wounds from the days leading up to this sacrifice…and…I wasn't sure…the stallion might have already lost too much blood. It was all I could do however.
Megan picked up the hideous dagger and carefully severed the stitches that had been holding Moonstone's mouth closed. We then stood up and glanced around. All the trolls were now grotesque statues, including the ones imprisoning the rest of my friends. Firefly gave a disgusted snort, and kicked one over. That stone troll hit the one beside it and caused it to fall as well, and soon all the stone trolls encircling them had toppled over and they were free as well. They joined us around the stallion. The Rainbow emerged from my horn and passed over all my friends, and I saw their color return to them. Then it circled me again, and I had the sensation of being hugged, before it retreated back into its home in the locket.
We emerged from the PEAS, assisting the weakened stallion as he limped beside us. He was silent as we rejoined the others in the glade they had escaped to.
"The seaponies are waiting at the beach just beyond these trees to transport us back to Prisma—" The speaker broke off abruptly, dropping onto folded forelegs before me, followed soon after by the others…and then even my friends.
I exchanged glances with the human, Megan, who shrugged, as perplexed as I was. I turned back toward the others. "Uh…what are you doing…?"
"You have been Touched."
"W-what?" I took a step backward.
Moonstone spoke for the first time since we rescued him, though his voice was still weak. "You have been Touched by the Rainbow. It has chosen you. You may not have been born a Rainbowmane, but The Great Rainbow has given you a great Gift. We of the Blessed are chosen to serve It, but we may only do so peacefully. You…You have been chosen for a different purpose."
I was starting to get freaked out. "N-now come on…what are you saying?" I had known that I was different, since I had both a horn and wings, but…they were acting as if I was some sort of deity.
Someone pointed to a nearby pond. "Take a look at yourself. You are changed."
Bewildered, I made my way to the water's edge and stared at my changed reflection, half-expecting to have been somehow changed into a Rainbowmane. I was half-right. The reflection that stared back at me was the same as it had ever been…but for one small difference. My mane and tail had not entirely been turned rainbow colors, but…My forelock…the part of my mane around my horn – and I suddenly remembered how the Rainbow had moved into my horn briefly - was now clothed in rainbow colors. Overwhelmed, my rump hit the ground suddenly, as I sat there staring. I muttered, "So…what does this mean?"
Moonstone spoke again, though I could tell his voice was weaker. "I…believe the Rainbow chose you…not as a Rainbowmane exactly, but…as…our…protector."
I thought back. What was it I was always saying, 'I am the Defender!' or something? "So…I…really AM the Defender?"
Megan interjected…"So…whereas the Rainbowmanes are like priests, you are a paladin?" The human had to go on to explain that where she came from, a paladin was a type of warrior backed by a deity.
"It seems that way…" Moonstone's voice was still fading.
"Moonstone, quit talking. We need to get you medical attention. Another Rainbowmane can discuss this with her!" Someone admonished and began directing him toward the beach so they could get him home.
"No…She…needs to hear this. I'm dying anyway… I…have lost too much blood…still bleeding…inside…"
"Don't SAY that! We'll get you help."
"But…what am I to do? And…you can't die! Didn't you say that if you died…the world would end?" I exclaimed. It was all happening too fast…There I was, some kind of…Rainbow-supported fighter…and Moonstone was still dying.
"That was only…if I died as a…sacrifice…the way those trolls…intended me to. Now that the…ritual was interrupted…I can…go with the…Rainbow…in peace…" He collapsed onto the ground.
"Stop talking like that! You…you're scaring me! What…What do I do now that I am this 'Defender?'"
"You…will have to discover…that for yourself…Amethyst…Defender…of Dreams…" And he closed his eyes. And I was alone…along with all of my friends. We were all alone that morning…I had gained a title…and lost a friend…all at once.
Author's note: Poor Moonstone. I'm sorry. I feel like such a heel for doing that right now...