Chapter 1: Freedom
Heartsflame was laying at the end of the tunnel, fast asleep. No light shone on her or the surrounding rock. There was no other sound but her steady breathing. She dreamed of the past
Heartsflame watched Blight Horn as he stuffed his bags with gems, bits and any other valuables he saw. He was laughing, letting out a rough, delighted cackle. Firelight shone on his sweaty, sickly green coat and coarse black mane. It was his dark eyes that she was focused on, however. They were bright with triumph, and when he turned his head the right way, she could see flames reflected in them.
"We good?" he asked. His mouth pulled down in a frown when she didn't answer. "Heartsflame."
"We're good." she replied, patting her bags, already filled with books, scrolls, and food.
They stepped out of the burning home and into the street of the town. Heartsflame sighed softly as she looked at all the flames rising from the nearby buildings. The two unicorns made their way out of the town. The streets were dark and deserted; nopony was willing to come out and face them. Soon they were out in the fields, heading for the ruined old fort they used for a base.
Blight Horn talked excitedly as they galloped, rattling on about the raid they just completed. She was only half-listening, but he was only half-speaking to her. The sound of his voice was more interesting than the words, filled with triumph, accomplishment, and a kind of steely joy. The rest of the night would probably pass the way it always did after a raid: Blight Horn making an uncomfortable pillow of treasure, adorning himself in jewelry, and thinking over his plans to use his wealth to hire an army and become a king somewhere. Meanwhile, she would be reading a book, and occasionally looking over at him to study the pure joy he took in accomplishing anything.
She pulled herself out of her musings as she realized Blight Horn had stopped. He was staring at something ahead. She looked forward, and saw, far off, many dark shapes obscuring the stars. And at their head....
A pearly white light, and a pair of large, white wings.
Heartsflame jolted awake, cursing and chiding herself for falling asleep. It would be too easy to run out of air down in the tunnel. Her horn lit up, flickering and orange. She snacked on a pair of tangerines, and continued her work.
The tunnel sloped downward behind her several yards, then sharpy rose and went down again. She hoped it would keep the whole tunnel from flooding if there was a mishap. She picked a spot in the wall ahead of her. Her horn lit up brighter, looking like it was on fire. She put a protective bubble around her head, keeping away any fumes or gasses. Then a tight beam of heat shot out, warming, then slowly melting the stone.
She silently counted the passing seconds to herself, then finally ceased her spell. A small hole, a few inches wide, was burned deep into the rock. Molten stone, hot and reddish, still slowly dribbled from it. The heat didn't pain her; heat hadn't hurt her in a long time. She waited for the hole to cool.
She noticed a strange gray spot on the floor. It was barely visible; she had only seen it because the tunnel was completely dark. She stepped forward and peered into the hole. There was little to see but a gray smudge at the other end. Grey, not black like other holes she had dug in these final months. Nor had any water started spraying out. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to not think about how close she was to the end. Thinking about the size or length of her task would have made it unbearable. Impossible.
Her magic shot out again, drawing a circle in the end of the tunnel around the hole, nearly as wide as the cavern. Glowing lines of magic started to dig into the rock, extending the circle deeper into the stone. The close walls amplified the sharp crack of stone breaking. More magic held the rock in place. The lines of magic slowly crept further, digging and breaking...
She could feel her magic beginning to fail. The strain of keeping up three spells, and the weight of the rock she was moving, was too much. This, like the rest of her task, was all part of the routine. She bit herself on the lip, where a lump of scar had formed. She stomped on her own foreleg, still tender from last time. Growling, she kicked the wall with her forelegs, building up her hate for it. The light from her horn brightened; the strain of her magic lessened. She thought about how the rock was keeping her from the one thing she wanted to see.
The cracking of the rock resumed. She shouted, striking at the wall, sparks flying off her hooves. Deeper still the magic went, until.... She felt the lines of force surge ahead as they suddenly met less resistance. She ceased cutting, focusing on the magic holding the stone, and willing it forward, outward. The rock shifted, barely moving. She allowed herself to feel the frustration of being so close. All those years of effort, now wasted at the end because of this damn plug, keeping her away from...
One last shout, one last surge, and the rock shout out from the tunnel, crumbling in mid flight. It shot out somewhere unseen, past the end of the now longer tunnel. There was a grey light, and a bit of yellowish grey around the end of the hole, which was settling into the tunnel.. She took a few tentative steps forward.
Water splashed down into the hole. Heartsflame screamed and bolted the other way, eyes shut tight. She could feel the water getting in her nose and mouth, going down in her throat and into her lungs, keeping her from breathing... Its wasn't until she was half-way up the sharp incline that she realized she didn't feel any water touching her. The was no roar of the tunnel rapidly flooding. Shaking, she walked back to the hole. Another splash of water came, and she jumped back. A few seconds later, another splash. After the next splash, she ran as hard as she could out of the tunnel.
She collapsed on the sand. Behind her was a long line of rubble. In front, the ocean beat its rhythm on the shore. Each wave deposited a bit more water in her tunnel.
"Free." She thought about what she went through to get here. The planning, the trail-and-error learning, the endless days of digging, going back for supplies, resting, until it was all a blur. All the times she nearly died from collapsed or flooding tunnels, bad air, angry creatures. Hunger, exhaustion, boredom.
She also thought of her victory. She was free of the prison Celestia made for her. Nothing could stop her from her heart's goal now. All the pain she went through was now vindicated.
She released herself, letting all her emotions out. Her eyes rolled back and her body thrashed. Mad laughter tore out of her throat. Nothing was held back; terror and triumph rode her for what seemed like hours. Finally, her outburst started to settle. Her raw, dry throat grew quiet; her aching body grew still. Blood seeped from cuts she suffered when she rolled onto the rubble. She immediately collapsed into an exhausted sleep. Her mind didn't get time to collect even one thought.
"Run!" Blight Horn bolted away from the approaching light. Heartsflame followed, shrugging off her saddlebags. Her horn ignited briefly, and Blight Horn's bags came off as well. He gasped, almost turning back, but saw the light gaining on them. With a curse, he kept galloping.
Heartsflame's eyes widened when she saw more dark shapes ahead. She swung her head around and saw they were in a rapidly shrinking circle, surrounded.
"Break through!" she yelled. Her horn lit up like a bonfire, illuminating the assembling pegasi ahead of them. Unicorns were leaping from chariots, joining their ranks. Blight Horn called on his power. Mottled green magic surround the weapons and armor of the troops, tarnishing, rusting, then disintegrating their armor and weapons. Heartsflame struck next, unleashing a fiery explosion that scattered the soldiers before they recovered from Blight's spell. They surged for the hole that opened up in the troops' ranks.
For all their power, they were still unicorns. More pegasi easily flew ahead of them, blocking their way. The renegades flared out blasts of magic, the pegasi closed in, unicorns raised magic barriers and prepared their own offensive spells...
"Enough." A globe of white encircled the two. Princess Celestia landed near them. "Let this be over." Her voice was soft and calm.
"The Princess herself." Blight Horn grinned. "I'm flattered."
Celestia smiled sadly. "All this power... And you use it for simple thievery."
Blight Horn leaned towards Heartsflame and whispered. "I don't think my magic can affect her."
She nodded. "Alright. I'll take her. You handle the soldiers."
He looked at her, eyebrow raised. Her teeth were clenched, and she was staring hard at the princess. He gave a sharp, quick laugh. "You're crazy."
Heartsflame screamed and stomped her forelegs. A blast from her horn shattered the globe like glass. She charged, still screaming, at Celestia, while the the princess flew backwards from her.
"Move in!" a voice shouted amongst the soldiers. They advanced on the unmoving green unicorn, warily eying his glowing horn. Their steps began to falter, then stopped. "Come on, there's only two!" the voice said again, this time shakily. No pony moved closer.
Another voice spoke. "He turned my spear to dust! We can't take them.... I don't want to die...."
Blight Horn grinned.
Celestia dodged blasts of fire as she flew. "Stay back!" she yelled to the troops who were chasing the unicorn attacking her. Away from the bulk of the troops, she stopped retreating, and unleashed her own pure white bolt of magic, against Heartflame's fiery one. The spells met, pushed on each other. Heartsflame poured all her anger into her spell. Every time Celestia's magic strengthened, she focused on the on the princess's kind, serene face, wanting nothing more than to stomp it into a bloody mess. Red lines began to glow on her face, looking like odd, alien writing. Similar symbols encircled her cutie mark: a book and quill.
Celestia shut her eyes, working on adjusting her spell, from opposing to deflecting. The bolt of fiery magic shot past her into the sky, searing away a bit of her mane on its way. "What have you done to yourselves?" Her face was again sad and calm. She watched the unicorn rear, scream, and flail her legs, for a moment overcome by her rage. Celestia looked over at Blight Horn, and saw how he had demoralized her troops. "Try to contain her!" she shouted to the few troops still unaffected. She glided down towards Blight Horn.
He saw her coming over his shoulder. He turned, focused his magic, and watched at slid harmlessly off of her. His power could not corrupt and corrode something eternal. Another white bubble formed around him, lifting him. His spell contained, the soldiers began to collect their morale. She landed next to him and spoke gently. "That's enough."
Several quick explosions cleared a path for Heartsflame to enter the circle, facing the princess. Her horn flared brightly as she readied a spell.
"You don't know what to do, eh Princess?" Blight grinned grimly in his prison. "Fight her and she gets angrier. And anger makes her stronger. I always wondered if there was a limit.... Got anything to fight that, Celestia?"
Celestia smiled and nodded. "Love."
Blight laughed, without any bitterness. "In that case, see you on the other side. That blast is going to catch us both. And I might just have company..."
Celestia looked at her troops. They still hadn't recovered from Blight's spell. Heartsflame's horn blazed like an inferno.
Heartsflame lowered her horn, staring at Celestia. Her eyes flicked over to Blight, seeing him beside her. She growled and circled around to get a better angle. Celestia looked at Blight, then back at Heartsflame, and moved the imprisoned stallion between them. Heartsflame screamed as she circled one way, then another, unable to get a clear shot. Her hooves beat the ground impotently.
"Stop, Heartsflame!" Celestia shouted. "I won't hurt him!" Heartsflame breathed heavily, staring at Celestia. "I won't hurt either of you." She fondly placed a hoof on Blight's prison. "I promise."
Heartsflame held still. The flame of her horn slowly cooled, then extinguished. The glowing writing on her face and body faded.
"I promise."
Blight Horn looked from one to another, mouth open. "Wh.... How?" Celestia smiled at him.
"I never said it had to be my love..."
Heartsflame opened her eyes. Night had fallen. There was no way to know how long she'd been out. She rolled in the wet sand to clean herself, not wanting to get any closer to the ocean. The rock dust and crusted blood were scrubbed away.
Finally, she stood, raw, stinging, and cleaned. She worked a hoof in her orange mane until she felt it: a bit of glass, with a lock of coarse, black mane in it, woven into her hair. She swung her head around until she felt her tracking spell orient on a direction.
That way. She calmly trotted from the shore, following the tug in her horn.