Fear Thy Rulers

by Theblondeknight

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Sad, Other
Length: 5831

Equestria was once a happy place, a land of prosperity and peace. How did it happen then, that 1,000 years later, it has fallen into the darkness of The Elder Beings?

Equestria is the darkest nation in existence...it is also the only one. Stories are told in hushed whispers to young fillies of a time when Pony Princesses ruled Equestria, unlike the current "benevolent" rule of the Elder Things.

While most ponies fall into line and work towards the goals of the extra-terrestrial gods, some dare to fight back. Some believe in an Equestria ruled by ponies. Some, like Twilight Sparkle, dare not to fear the rulers, but cross them.

Set in Twilight's POV.

A fusion type crossover of MLP and (the generic workings of) The Cthulhu Mythos. The plot itself takes heavy inspiration from A Study in Emerald, a crossover between Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulhu Mythos.

Published 2014-10-11 22:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-10-11 22:10:02 UTC

A Dark Day

Author's Note

Just a side project I'm doing, but I don't plan for it to be very long. I've long held an expression of awe for Lovecraft and his mythos, and I finally got down to making a fic. If you haven't heard of or read "A Study in Emerald" please, check it out, especially if you're into Sherlock Holmes. :) (But...you know...AFTER you read my fic! :P)

Anyways, please enjoy, and I always love to see those likes, favs, and comments!
-TBK

A Dark Day

Sometimes I wonder what it must have been like, to live in a land where the sun could shine freely. The sun never shines anymore. It's always blocked out by the darkest of clouds, no matter how many pegasi wish to change it. The Elder Things don't let the sun shine anymore...it was once a symbol of pony rule. Most things that so much as suggests pony rule have been eradicated or covered up long ago.

As a result of the sunless environment we live in, it's almost always cold. Plants seldom grow as we want them to, and basic life is totally dependent on our godlike rulers and their immense power. The funny thing is that a majority of average ponies have no idea what they look like, what they sound like, or even where they are. Most of that information lies with the pony delegates who act under the "divine orders" of the Elder Ones.

I don't know exactly why they chose to come here, or why they stay. The world only has so much to offer...it has limits and despite their proclaimed wisdom, our Rulers don't seem to notice. Or maybe they just don't care. We're slaves to them anyways.

Anyways, the common knowledge is that the Elder Ones, stricken with an intense lust for power and absolute dominion, have been ravaging planet after plant for longer than any living thing can possibly remember. They came to Equestria and possessed key figures in our past. We don't know how many they possessed, but they got a lot of our best back then, most notably, Starswirl the Bearded and his student, Clover the Clever. These possessed infiltration agents created subtle but extremely effective cracks in our government and economic systems, as well as general pony society. By the time they decided to act, we had no hope at all of repelling them.

This next part doesn't get out to some ponies, but I've learned about it through a few of the brightest of the contemporary day. Upon conquering our world, many of the same agents travelled to far off lands to unite the world under one Elder Being rule. Their methods were replicated to great effect. The Gryphons fell, soon afterwards the Buffalo Tribes, and one by one, in a cruel and unstoppable systematic plot, every free nation on the planet was taken over.

The genocide of the great beasts such as Dragons and Hydras followed. As predators of ponykind, the massive yet majestic beings were killed without regard to the ecosystem or the future. Why would the Elder Beings care? They have enough power to resurrect every single being that has ever died on this planet.

With the entire world under their rule, and conditions more suited for their plans, the Elder Beings themselves came to live among us, at least some of them did. Chief among them is known to us as Cthulhu. Many of our extraterrestrial overlords keep themselves hidden and entirely unknown to us, but Cthulhu has long ago planted the seeds of his utter dominion here.

He flooded the land and submerged over 80% of the planet in water, and he rests in his Capitol City, supposedly in an endless slumber until he is awoken. I have yet to figure out what can awaken him, but even asleep his name alone is enough to maintain order in most areas. R'lyeh is a place nopony has ever dared go, so far as I know.

With leadership of the planet resting solely with the Elder Beings, pony society has adapted, but playing out in the theory that it can never be wholly uniform, ponykind has splintered into a few groups.

Many are Loyalists, ponies who have either succumbed to the propaganda of a Cthulhu run world or who firmly believe that this is as good as life will ever get, and serve the Elder Beings in fear that our lives can always get worse. It's always (or rather almost always) possible to change their mindset, but it rarely happens so easily as one, two, three. Fear is usually stronger than desire.

Others are Revolutionaries, or Restorationists, those, like me, who seek to send these alien masters back out of our planet. We are few in number but strong of spirit. It brings hope to my heart that maybe other beings like me exist in planets in other galaxies, resisting Elder Beings in a similar battle.

Another group is are the cultists, ponies with very, very serious problems. They act out of a delusional love for the Elder Beings, even though many of them break laws and rules established by their gods. Nopony, Loyalist or Restorationist, wants to be anywhere near the cultist groups. They can be innocent enough, but every single one of them is a murderer in some fashion.

And so life goes on for the ponies unlucky enough to be born after the ascension of The Elder Beings. We toil away like life is normal and as was intended upon the birth of our species, but deep inside everypony can feel the unnatural violation of some sacred, genetic emotion. It tears away at our souls each day, and each day we flash a smile or a nod of the head, hoping that we live on into the next day to do it all over again. And working to overthrow our tyrannical gods too...it's a fate not fit for many, but we need so many more to help us.

The boat is about to dock and let me off in a town called Ponyville. It's a small, overwhelmed town surrounded by the impossible boundaries of one of Cthulhu's great seas, and its denizens are mostly of the poor or weak sort. The rich still hold position, and of course the delegates and loyalist agents have some kind of presence everywhere, but almost everypony is a poor refugee from another town where they were displaced for some cruel reason.

The fogs are heavy, as always, and the dim and hollow lights of the town glimmer through the white haze, small, insignificant beacons of hope to so many, so many who sadly don't know what true hope is. The passengers on the boat have a melancholy air about them as they fuddle with coins or 'private' messages or some tattered thing in their worn-out wardrobes. I booked passage on a refugee ship, and I've long since regretted it. Some restorationists find inspiration from this kind of thing, but I find an empty feeling in myself that is caused by some illusionary guilt I hold. I don't even know why I feel this way, but is as inescapable to me as the flood of sickly ponies who come here every week to find a place where existing isn't so hard.

"All passengers prepare to dock," The captain calls out, his voice as broken and stiff as an ancient corpse in a sepulcher, much like the sepulcher I'm about to find myself in.

The mumbling and murmuring of the citizens of Ponyville become clearer and absorb us in as we step off the boat and into the controlled madness of the town. The world is not devoid of all happiness, but there are many, many happier places than this poor establishment. Ponies walk alone and their eyes scavenge around the floor, not daring to cross the eye lines of others. Few smiles exist here. The sick are left to cough and suffer in small, designated areas for the unclean a good distance from the town square. Evidently the Ponyville Hospital has been out of order for some time.

Of all the dark places in the world, this is one the darkest. I've never been to Ponyville before, but I have travelled around quite a bit in my day, especially after joining up with the restorationist movement. Only a few minutes inside the town and I've witnessed slick but not unnoticed theft, extortion, and the crime scene of a gruesome murder. Benevolence is an impossible dream anywhere in Equestria, most of all here.

Of all places to be hurt by Cthulhu and the Elder Being's rise to absolute power, this town got hurt in one of the worst ways. It used to be predominantly farmland, but the great flood ruined almost all of the agriculturally ripe land. As a result, the town has to import a lot of food and ingredients, which in turn keeps a lot of people in poverty. The Elder Things don't care all that much about how high or low tax rates are between settlements; their massive eyes remain fixed on the bigger picture.

My reason for coming is a small gathering of like minded individuals; hopefully we can communicate far enough away from the gaze of the ever vigilant eyes of the Elder Things and their agents. I don't know any of these restorationists, nor have I ever heard of their names. I suppose that is testament enough of the lack of unity and coordination within the revolutionary movement. All I know is that we are due to meet in the town library. I imagine it was a place of great knowledge and learning once, if it was around before the takeover, but nowadays it has no doubt fallen under the censorship of the contemporary day.

"Excuse me," I greet a still mare in a low but clear voice, "can you point me towards Sugar Cube Corner?"

We are not to ask for directions to the library itself, as that would spell our immediate suspicion if the agents of Cthulhu catch on to us. We have been informed that Sugar Cube Corner, however, is close by the library.

She nods and does not speak with the tone of pleasant greeting one could find in a place like Las Pegasus, "down this direction a ways more until you reach the intersection of Cherry and Hay. Turn left and walk a little ways more. You'll see it."

She leaves me as soon as she has finished speaking to me. Her figure and appearance match that of the rest of the town, and she fades into it well, vanishing in the river of ponies hidden behind a curtain of mist. I don't pay much attention to her once she begins to walk off, but keep my head down and match the zombie walk of the others.

The streets themselves are tattered and scathed and littered with trash and dirt and destitution. There is nowhere one can look that is not a horrid reflection of the town's miserable soul. The air around me has a dusty tint to it and though lunch was not very long ago, reading without the aid of a candle or, if fortunate enough, a lamp, would be unhealthy.

I've read that you used to be able to read well into the afternoon and evening long ago. I think a lot of the time before our disaster, probably in case I don't get to see the time after. I want nothing more, but I've learned that we seldom get what we want, not without a hitch or a catch.

The bakery of Sugar Cube Corner is right where it was said to be, but I had somehow imagined it to be a brighter place. The walls of the building are a faded pink and a dark brown, both of which melt into the dusty air and give strength to the destitution of the land. The treats in the window seem hollow and unreal, a figment, a trick of the cruel bakers to water the tongues of those who pass, only to swap the delectable treats with the stale products behind the counter.

I pass with no hesitation and avoid a small patch of those designated as unclean as they stand weakly and beg for any ingredients of life they can get. I cannot give them money or shelter or food, but I can give them the hope that life will ascend into better things. I intend to give what I can.

The library does not look any better than Sugar Cube Corner to the eye that lacks visions of hope and faith. To me, it shines through the dust, decimates the mists, and outshines any lantern on the island settlement. Though it is just in my head, I cannot help but admire the institution for a moment. A quick hoof guides me in from the door, but nopony on the streets took notice of my staring nor of the quick pull inside.

"You're Twilight Sparkle," A confident male voice from the shadows of the ill-lit library comments as the mare that pulled me inside guides me to a table. She has a golden mane, no doubt once a shimmering set of hair, but the poor life of this town has corroded it and poisoned it with dust and pollution. Her coat is a similarly dirty orange, and her bright emerald eyes are her best feature. The stetson hat atop her head blends in completely with the rest of her appearance.

The others are still in the shadows, and nothing much can be learned of them by their appearance.

"You are the last one of us to arrive," A more elegant but equally masculine voice tells me and I nod accordingly.

"Now that we have all arrived we can begin our operation," A third voice, this one also a mare, proclaims with hidden excitement.

Suddenly many candles flash to life via unicorn magic and the others are fully revealed to me.

"I'm Applejack," the faded mare of gold complexion announced, "the insurgent agent here in Ponyville."

"There are no more of you?" I ask, unable to stop the words from coming out.

"The others are all dead," she answers, not looking at me, but rather at the floor, her voice riddled with distant fear.

"I am Fancypants, a restorationist from Canterlot," the stallion with the elegant voice announces and changes the tone of the meeting immediately.

"I'm Do...Daring Do, a runaway insurgent from a small town the Elder Beings erased from all maps long ago," The mare with hidden glee tells us.

"You can call me Spitfire," the other pegasus pony announces, her expression grimmer than anypony's.

Finally, the male voice that called out my name reveals himself fully and joins us as a collective, "My name is Shining Armor."

Shining Armor holds a sense of familiarity. He holds a manner about him, a presence that everypony has felt, yet he displays them constantly and his body manifests his surety and pride in his actions. He's almost like family.

"Why have we been called here?" I ask them, Shining in particular, seemingly one of the only if not the only one that is not yet aware of our intentions.

The room goes quiet and candles flicker. It seems that The Elder Beings mere presence on the planet disrupts all talk and thought of rebellion, no matter its shape or form. The others turn towards Shining Armor, obviously the unofficial leader amongst us and the most experienced agent.

"We have a chance to be rid of them."

The statement is concise, clear, and absolutely overwhelming. The mere thought seems to make the candles fight to stay alive and gives at least me a shivering sensation. To be rid of them. To win back freedom. It seems so impossible that he might as well have spoken in a long dead language.

"You do mean that we'll get them off our planet, don't you? That it'll all be over," Spitfire asks in clarification, no less taken aback than I am by the bold proclamation.

"That's right," Shining Armor answers with a sleek smile, "We've found a way to beat them in one fell swoop. We lost quite a few agents to retrieve this information, many of them close friends of mine, but our ultimate goal is just within reach. It's almost too good to be true, but believe me...it is."

"How? What do we do?" Daring asks, the high tension growing with every passing second as we all wonder what the secret is.

"Success can only be achieved in one way, and will be in two stages. Firstly, we have to travel to a nearby sight of ruins, a place that has long been guarded by the agents of the Elder Beings for unknown reasons. Well...now we know," Shining explains, but Applejack takes away the lead for a moment.

"They're guarding something, right?"

"You bet they are. You see one such friend of mine who died getting us this information infiltrated the body of those agents and figured out the secret of the place called D'kat'a. It used to be a forest land called Everfree. A magical atmosphere haunts the place for some reason, and it was exactly that reason that the Elder Beings chose to store The Key there."

"The Key?" Fancypants parrots back, but we'd all like more context.

"The Key is exactly what it is. A key..a key that opens the gates of R'lyeh."

"How can we be sure of this information?" Spitfire questions, with an approving nod coming from Applejack.

"The infiltrators were pros. The best of the best. I trust their information completely."

"So we know where R'lyeh is too, then?" I ask, but am not quite sure why.

"They were some of the best, after all," He affirms with a proud nod, "Anyways, the good news is that because they didn't want ponies to get suspicious, The Elder Things left minimal security around the place, making it seem less important than it really is. The bad news is, they know we're coming, after all, they did catch onto our agents."

"And once we get The Key and head to R'lyeh, they'll be all over us, won't they?" Spitfire asks, despite knowing the answer. The mere shock value of this news is enough to make us question everything, to attain complete certainty that this is real, and not some cruel illusion cast on us out of hatred.

"Interestingly, we've already got a decoy group waiting to take the attention away from us. We'll almost certainly meet some resistance, but a lot of the heat will be running in the opposite direction."

"So this brings up the biggest question of all...how do we end this occupation once and for all when we get to R'lyeh?" I press when nopony else has the heart or will to do so.

"Another tip from our reliable sources: The Elder Beings sent several of their kind here, but if the leader is killed, then they will be forced away by some foul compulsion, bitter with the memory of loss and unable to return...we only need to kill their leader, Cthulhu."

Shining Armor's statement hits less like a brick wall and more like a castle. Nopony dares speak, especially not him. To kill an Elder Thing...to destroy an alien with more power than any single pony in all of our world's known history has ever accumulated...it is the work of true heroes. More than that really, it is the work of gods.

"Have you worked out a way to do this?" Daring Do asks quietly but clearly.

"I know what you're thinking, but it won't be very hard...probably."

"Probably?" Fancypants parrots back once more, this time with horror and a startled impatience.

"This information is...less reliable, but it comes from the same agents and it makes sense...I trust this too. The Elder Beings are immensely powerful and hard to kill, that's obvious and all too clear to us. So how do we do it? We use their own resources against them."

"The key..." I mumble and look up to find an approving and confident grin.

"The key can kill Cthulhu. All we have to do is get to him and use it to destroy him. Then, our world will be rid of them and return to normal...return to the way it was meant to be."

"We have all dedicated our lives to the restorationist movement, and we've been given a chance that so very many agents would have given an arm and a leg for. We could become the greatest heroes of all time and take back our freedom, our natural and well deserved rights. What do you say?"

Shining Armor's words are as energetic and proud as ever, and his air has not changed, but we have all been deeply affected by the news he has brought us. We can achieve so much, but nopony is willing to take the step, to openly go to the capitol city of our greatest oppressor, face him down, and destroy him. Who can blame us? Who is brave enough to jump into the maw of the beast, knowing that coming back out may be impossible?

"I'll go with you until the end," Applejack declares boldly, and breaks all silent doubts around us in the process. The candles flicker on and off again and a unique chill, a dare, an open challenge to succeed in our plan meets us. Lesser ponies would be scared back into silence, but we are not lesser ponies...or perhaps we are not greater, but foolish.

"I will follow this path too," I tell them, a smile flashing on my face.

"I'll follow you to the deepest, darkest tombs of R'lyeh," Daring Do agrees.

"Count me in," Spitfire adds almost immediately.

"I'm in as well," Fancypants concludes.

The mission is set and the stakes are higher than ever before. We go into the dark unknown and do not know if light will ever shine upon us...real or artificial. A saying from a long forgotten era went something along the lines of 'Sweet Celestia', in honor of the last, and first, Pony Princess, Princess of the Sun, Celestia. May her spirit watch over us as we venture down into the abyss.

There is a startling contrast between the land known as Ponyville and the land that used to be called The Everfree Forest. Like Ponyville, this ancient place is trapped in the endless realm of Cthulhu, the dark seas. The water here is also far murkier and the life of Ponyville, however sickly and sad it was, is a noticeable absence. Unlike the residence of Ponyville, the dark storm clouds bear down darker here, and the the mists are not so pure as to be white, but are a twisted and vile green.

The Loyalist Agents remain hidden and, according to Shining Armor, guard mostly within the confines of some long ruined fortress, which is where The Key is stored. We have yet to find them through the fog; our small, creaky boat toils in these harsh waters. Strange cries of creatures that may not even be meant to exist on our planet call out from within the shades of the mist and below the shield of the dim sea.

All remain quiet and still, as just by being here we have placed immense danger on ourselves and everypony we have close relations with. All the more reason to succeed, I suppose.

We have just passed through the section of open sea, and now we must contend with several blackened trees and rotting vines as vegetation begins to overwhelm us. The fog is still heavy and mixes in with the still flora, doubling the efforts to keep us away from The Key. Shining Armor quietly warns us to be on guard.

Chunks of stone, once pieces of a mighty structure, I suspect, are the next sign that illustrates our impending discovery of The Key of Cthulhu's Gates. Soon enough a stone foundation covered in black moss peaks out of the wet blanket and bids us enter into its shadows. Shining Armor leads the way, with Spitfire and Applejack close behind, followed by Daring Do, Fancypants, and myself in the rear.

Our leader commands us in a voice that is almost overtaken by the brisk wind of the dead fortress, "We don't have a definite map, but The Key should be in the center of the old castle, below the surface. It won't be too far to get to the center, but I can't say how long we'll be descending. Keep your guards up."

We meet narrow hall after narrow hall, and while they are short, they are also chilling and intimidating. There is no safe guard, no watchful eye that is friendly. One wrong step and we could end up dead or worse, captured for the enjoyment of Cthulhu and his agents. Still, no contact or suspicion of the enemy yet is more favorable than I had imagined.

I spoke too soon. Many strange voices call out to us. They come from the nothingness.

"You shouldn't be here..."

"Flee..."

"Fear thy rulers..."

Shining Armor seems too concentrated on the voices to give orders, but Spitfire shoots us all a look to cast away fear, and to push on with the others. I have never seen magic like this before, and everypony has tensed up immensely. We push on nevertheless and run through another hallway, only to be lead into a large, expansive, room with two levels. We are on the lower level, and the shadows on the first stalk us eagerly.

We don't manage to get halfway through the dark, empty room before magical blasts begin to rain down upon us. Spitfire is immediately hit in the side and falls with a cry of anguish, her wing sustaining great damage. Shining Armor and I combine our magic to create a forcefield while Fancypants attends to her. Applejack and Daring Do scout out the nearest exit and where the most enemies are...and yet our foes remain nothing more than shadow.

"This isn't good!" Fancypants shouts as Spitfire's wing is being eaten alive by the shadow magic. He does his best to save her, but she is already condemned to die in Cthulhu's darkness.

"Here!" Daring Do calls out and begins to attack a cracked piece of the floor, with Applejack aiding her.

The blasts come down harder and more menacingly, and our shield begins to waver as sweat falls from my forehead and my legs begin to wobble. Fancypants aids us after attending to Spitfire as best he can, while AJ and Daring Do continue to break away at the old and dusty floor, the chinks and cracks giving way under the pressure of their strength.

Before our escape route is made one of the shadows jumps down and charges at us. It manages to make it past the shield through some dark magic, and nearly gets to Fancypants, only for Shining Armor to knock him down with a swift magical blast. The shadows all follow suite and charge us as the floor gives way and swallows Daring and Applejack, then opening its maw towards Fancypants and Spitfire, taking them in with black greed.

The shield wavers and falls as the shadows continue their charge and Shining Armor falls with the others. I cannot see the bottom but I know this is the only way as the ground falls from beneath me and I too am sucked into the jaws of the old fortress. The shadows fall with us, but they seem to absorbed by the bigger darkness and consumed within the black stomach, destroyed by invisible devices.

I hear a distant thud and then a splash, and then once more, and again, and again until I hit a hard piece of rock, which breaks from the cliff upon impact and falls with me into the waters below.

I raise my head swiftly and inhale as much as I can as our group wades to the stone shore not far from us. It appears that this floor was once a library or served some function of storing many items. It has since been flooded by Cthulhu's waters and left to drown in the darkness of his reign.

Spitfire's wing has been almost completely eaten away, and a thin source of black magic continues to consume her body; her face tells of the unspeakable pain that everypony fears and nopony can bear to see.

"Hey, hey listen to me," Shining Armor speaks with her, trying to force her to see him, but she is now blind to all things that so much as resemble comfort or pleasure. She does not look at any of us, but stares into the shadows on the wall and cries out at the illusionary monsters within it.

None of us is quite sure what to do, but she is clearly no more than a loss now, and we are deep within the confines of a prison with no knowledge of the exit or the prize which we seek. Her cries are the only sound as we wait, lost and cold and doubting in our hopes for success and life.

"....help me.............please!....save.........." Her moans are louder than ever but her words are quieter than I have ever heard her speak, and she continues to stare into the nothingness of the prison walls. Tears run down her face and she forgets the ability to speak, and murmurs an unknown tongue to us, likely not even aware that we are still beside her.

"Let's go."

Shining Armor's command runs through our minds but our bodies are reluctant to leave our comrade. Daring Do is the first to move on, followed closely by Fanycpants, Applejack, and finally myself. Shining Armor waits for us to disappear into the darkness before whispering something to Spitfire, but I could only gather the phrases "proud to serve", "I'm sorry" and "to ease the pain".

He joins us soon afterwards and we navigate through the darkness, with only our unicorn magic for light. These halls are more claimed by the water than the others, and the stains of moss and kelp and unnatural things from planets beyond us fill the interior.

"How far would you say we fell?" Fancypants asks, breaking the quiet command of silence after a time of wandering.

"It was at least a few stories," Daring Do answered, "I think we're getting close."

"Yeah...we're not too far off, I recognize some of these symbols from the intelligence my friends gathered. The Key is very close by."

We continue on, moving through the silhouettes of shadows defying the order of the Elder Beings with every step. We find an old, battered staircase and follow it down; the smell of some foul force is heavy in the air. The passageway here is darker than the rest of the forgotten fortress, and a single celestial light, brighter than almost everypony in this day and age will ever see, shines down upon a pedestal with an artifact of mystic splendor atop it.

As we fill into the room, we realize that is empty of everything except the pedestal and the light, which musters itself into an odd, cubic shape upon our entrance.

"This...is The Key?" I wonder aloud, turning to face the others. Shining Armor has a look of estranged shock on his face, and the others are less than amused.

"It has to be it," Shining Armor tells us and rushes forward, seizing the light with his hoof eagerly. Though apprehensive about it as I am, nothing happens, and the light seems to twist around his limb, joining him in a peculiar symbiotic bond that illuminates his entire body and evolves him on a level we can only imagine.

"Are you okay?" Daring Do asks as Fancypants nudges him on the shoulder. No response makes my heart ache, but then he inhales suddenly and deeply and smiles with the widest and brightest smile I have ever witnessed.

"This is The Key...we'll be rid of them all soon!"

Rejuvenated, we trek back across the paths we strode before to finish our mission once and for all, but seizing The Key has alerted the enemy to our presence and they once more swarm around us as we flee. We dodge, run past as much danger as we can, and put as many obstacles behind us as possible, but the enemy is great. This will turn out well or horribly, depending on one variable that is out of our control.

We turn corners swiftly and run low to the ground, always moving around and shifting our positions. Once in a while I blast the wall or the ceiling behind us to slow the pursuers down, but it does not accomplish what I hope. We are each nearly hit several times and our stamina is fixed into its highest caliber.

"Go on!" Daring Do shouts at us after a sharp turn around, "I'll stall them!"

I feel as though I am not the only who wants to protest this act, but I know that I must let her make this sacrifice, as do we all. She gives Shining Armor a look that is all too clear and concise to miss, and as she wished it, he brought the ceiling down behind her. Her bravery was more than most, and I hope her fighting ability is equally as great.

The shadows pursue us still harder and faster, and before long we run into more ahead of us. We erect our shield as fast as we can, and look for any sign of hope. It is now or never. At least we made it farther than any have before us...I only hope our acts inspire far more than they tear down any hope that still burns within the ponies of Equestria.

But we are saved as an explosion rocks the floor and bursts through the wall. Most of the shadows flee from the light, and those that do not are beaten back by the restorationist unicorn standing by a friend of Shining Armor's whom he thanks and calls "Soarin" as we rush out hastily.

The restorationists have brought us a boat and let us flee as they handle the foes that swarm the swamps to retrieve the precious Key. With all luck they will follow the decoys and let us descend to R'lyeh in as much peace as can be expected. Shining Armor is already checking his intelligence report for the exact location of the capitol city of Cthulhu. It seems that Celestia has been kind to us.

We have lost two of our party, and four of us remain to finish the quest, and I have a lot of hope that we will yet see the sun for the first time.