Chapters Chapter 2: I Don't Believe You
Chapter 2
Twilight opened her eyes. Her head was pounding with pain and her limbs and back ached. She looked around. She was lying on a hammock made of some sort of industrial fishing net. Whale, maybe? No, it wasn't thick enough. It didn't really matter. She was in a dim lit room with a wooden table in the middle, a few dressers along the stone brick walls, and no windows. She looked to her right. Standing there, facing away from her, was another pony. He had a light gray coat and a deep, but slightly faded, navy blue mane. He was digging through a drawer for something. She was about to open her mouth to say something when he turned around. The pegasus's, wait no, batpony's emerald eyes widened as they starred into her own.
There was silence for a moment, and then Twilight spoke. "Uh, hello." She said in a nervous tone. "Where am I? Who are you?"
The stallion opened his mouth to speak, but the words never came. His eyes looked down and moved side to side rapidly. He shook his head as if trying to rid himself of the momentary inability to talk. He looked back at Twilight, who was still waiting for an answer. Finally, he spoke. "You're in the old castle of the two sister." He paused. He looked down again, trying to compile his thoughts, and then back at Twilight. "I'm Nightfall." He stepped forward and began to walk toward her. When he reached her, he sat down and placed what he had taken from the drawer onto the short table. A bandage, a small white cloth, and a small glass flask containing some sort of liquid that she did not recognize.
"So what's your name?" Nightfall asked calmly. He was surprised that he was able to talk straight. He had so many question. How did you get turned into crystal? Why were you below Canterlot? Are you a princess?
"Twilight. I'm Twilight Sparkle," she said. "What happened?"
Nightfall wasn't sure how to answer, but that name, Twilight Sparkle. He knew that name. Then he remembered what he was originally going to do before the alicorn awoke. He pointed to the top of her head with his hoof. "From the looks of it, you took a nasty spill."
Twilight reached up and rubbed the spot that Nightfall had pointed to and felt a bandage. It hurt slightly when she applied pressure. She looked at Nightfall who was pouring some of the liquid from the flask onto the cloth. It was most likely some kind of wound cleaning solution.
"Here," he said. "I wasn't able to disinfect it when I found you. It would be a good idea to do so now."
Twilight leaned forward and let Nightfall peel off the bandage. The cut wasn't bleeding as much anymore, just a little bit.
"You said you found me?" Twilight asked. She looked more confused than she did when she woke up.
"Yes," Nightfall responded. "You were in the caves under Canterlot. You... um, you were incased in crystal. At first I just thought you were at statue." He started dabbing the wet cloth on Twilight's head. She flinched slightly. "Sorry," Nightfall said.
"Its okay," replied Twilight. "So how did I get here? And how did I end up as a statue under Canterlot?"
Nightfall finished cleaning Twilight's wound. "I carried you here on my back," he said, putting the cloth back on the table and replacing it with the new bandage. "As for being a statue, I was hoping that you would be able to shed a little light on that."
Before Twilight could say anything, the door to the room swung open. Two unicorns walked in. One was young and smiling. The other was a little older and frowned as he walked through the door. He had a pale brown coat, and a white mane that had a few streaks of yellow. Also, he looked like he hadn't slept in a while. His light blue eyes were only halfway open. "This better be something good, Nightfall," he said in a tired voice. Nightfall pointed at Twilight. "Better than good," he said.
The exhausted stallion's eyes shot open and his mouth nearly hit the floor. He rubbed his eyes and blinked. Twilight was still laying on the hammock, looking at the group of three. "Where did you find her?"
"In those stupid caves you sent me into. Interesting enough for you?"
"Yes, but," he paused and looked back at Nightfall. "We can't keep her here. If the king finds out about her..."
"He won't find out," Nightfall interrupted. "I'll make sure of it."
Twilight was getting more confused with every word that the two stallions spoke. And apparently, it was quite obvious.
"You don't understand at all what is going on, do you?" Twilight turned her head towards the voice. It was the young unicorn who had walked in earlier.
"No, I'm so confused. Why are you all being so secretive? What's this about a king?"
Nightfall turned to Twilight. "I'll try my best to explain, but first, I need you tell me something."
"Alright, what do you need to know?"
"What's the last thing you remember before waking up in this room?"
Twilight thought for second, doing her best to remember. "Well I was in Canterlot. Princess Celestia had sent me a letter the day before requesting my presence in her court. So I packed my bags and went. When I got to the castle, I immediately went to the throne room to greet her, but nopony was there."
"Anything else?" the older unicorn asked.
"No, nothing," she replied. "After that, everything just goes fuzzy until I woke up here."
"You are Princess Twilight Sparkle, former bearer of the Element of Magic, correct?" Nightfall asked, but he already knew the answer.
Twilight nodded.
"According to the history books, you and Princess Celestia became oppressive rulers who were overthrown by Celestia's younger sister, Princess Luna. After becoming crazed with power, she was later overthrown by the current regime of Equestria."
Twilight stood up and interrupted Nightfall before he could say anymore. "That doesn't make any sense. I don't even remember falling asleep."
"It doesn't make sense because its all a bunch of lies," the stallion next to Nightfall said. "All of it is just what they want us to believe so that they can control us."
"So what really happened?" Twilight asked.
Nightfall continued with his history lesson. "You and Celestia went missing about one hundred years ago. After you were never found, Luna replaced Celestia as the monarch. She was progressive and took many risks, but due to her inexperience, relatively speaking, there were times she was wrong. She always willingly took the blame though, even when it wasn't entirely her fault. No matter what, she would always take it upon herself to fix any mistakes she made, just like any good leader should." He shot a dirty look at the older unicorn who was now struggling to stay awake. "She made a lot of enemies because of these mistakes. And now, they have all the power."
Twilight wasn't sure how to respond to what she had just been told. It all seemed so... so... crazy to her. "So that makes you some sort of resistance?"
"Yes," the younger unicorn spoke after remaining silent for some time. "Wait no, not yet? Sort of? We haven't come out of the shadows yet. So to speak. We don't have enough ponies or support to actually go out and take on the Imperial forces of evil... yet." He smiled. "By the way, I'm Paper Cut. The most spectacularly handsome lookout in any organization, of any country, anywhere." He held out a hoof to Twilight who returned the gesture.
"Its a pleasure to meet you Paper Cut," she said as they shook hooves.
Nightfall grinned slightly. "Yeah, and this is our "glorious" leader." Nightfall pointed to the stallion next to him who was now on the floor asleep with his hooves in the air and tongue hanging out. "His name is Solar Spark. He can be hard to get along with and he doesn't always make the best decisions, but his heart is in the right place and he was the one who started this little rebellion. So I follow his leadership, for now." The last part of that sentence had a slightly sinister tone to it that disturbed Twilight a little. "Anyway, its late and you probably need to clear your head. We can talk some more in the morning."
Twilight nodded. "Alright that sounds good. A good night's sleep would do me some good anyway."
Nightfall looked at Paper Cut. He was still smiling at Twilight, quite creepily. "Alright Paper, its time to hit the hay." He shook Solar Spark with a hoof. "Hey wake up."
He opened his eyes. "What? Oh, sorry. What did I miss?"
"Nothing really," Nightfall replied to the sleepy unicorn. "We're going to talk more in the morning."
"Okay great. I'm going to bed before anything else that could possibly dictate the future of all pony kind shows up asking to borrow some flour." He started walking for the door and motioned for Paper Cut to follow him. He stopped when he reached the door and turned around. "Twilight, welcome back." With that, he and Paper Cut left the room, closing the door behind them.
Nightfall walked across the room and lied down in a hammock a few yards from Twilight. He closed his eye and dosed off. Twilight on the other hoof, didn't even make an effort to fall asleep, she just pretended to. She was now thinking about what she had been told. Was any of it true? Was everything alright and these were just crazy ponies who kidnapped her? Of course they were, they had to be. Everything she had been told was ridiculous. They probably weren't even using their real names.
Twilight had played it safe. She listened to them, nodding and pretending that she wasn't actually terrified of what was happening to her. She waited for awhile, around an hour. It was time to get out now. She needed to get to Canterlot and talk to Princess Celestia, tell her about all this.
She looked to her side, toward where the batpony that called himself Nightfall had gone to sleep at. She couldn't see him, all the lights were off and it was very dark. She would have to take a chance. Slowly and carefully, she made her way out of the hammock and across the floor. She had to take very light steps to keep her hooves from making noise against the hard, stone floor.
When she finally reached the door, she looked back over her shoulder. Nothing seemed different as far as she could tell. She started opening the door slowly. It made a soft creaking noise. Twilight stopped. She looked back again. Same as before. The door in front of her was open just enough for her to squeeze through. She took a step forward, but out of nowhere Nightfall appeared upside down in front of her.
"AHHH!" Twilight yelled as she fell back.
"Where are you going?" he asked as he hung from a hole in the ceiling.
"Bathroom," Twilight replied, trying not to sound like she was lying.
Nightfall dropped to the floor and landed on his hooves. "You're very good at acting. You may have fooled Paper and Solar, but I'm not that easy. You can't go outside."
"What do you want with me?" Twilight asked as she backed up.
Nightfall stepped forward and sat down. "Nothing," he said. "I know it seems like we're crazy. I know you don't believe anything I've told you, but it's all true. We want to help you."
"You can help me by letting me go!" Twilight said angrily. "What kind of twisted game is this?!"
"I can't let you go. You'll jeopardize everything."
Twilight had had enough. She wasn't going to sit here and listen to this psycho anymore. "Just try and stop me," she said. Before Nightfall could even blink, Twilight's horn lit up. There was a flash and she was gone.
Nightfall sighed heavily. "Shit," he said under his breath as he rushed to the door. As he quickly exited the room, he looked both ways only to see Twilight on his left. She had teleported around him and was now running off down the hall. Nightfall sighed again. She was going the wrong way.
He spread his wings and took off after Twilight as fast as they could carry him. "Will you please just listen to me?" he called out as he began to catch up with her. She kept running, not even turning her head to acknowledge him. "Fine!" he said. He passed Twilight, quickly landed only a few feet in front of her and spread his wings out.
Twilight ran straight into him, full force. They both tumbled to the ground. Nightfall landed on his back and Twilight landed on top of him. He rapidly rolled over, switching their positions where he was then able to pin Twilight's forelegs to the floor.
"Let me go!" she yelled. "Somepony help!"
Nightfall backed off of Twilight and sat down, holding his hooves in the air. "There, you see? I'm not restraining you. Now, can we just talk about this?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Twilight said as she sat up. She was now panting heavily, trying to catch her breath. "I want to go home."
Nightfall thought about what was happening for a second. He had told her everything and she didn't believe him. She thought that he was crazy and really he couldn't blame her. He couldn't let her go, though. She was Equestria's last hope for a good future. "How about I prove it to you that what I'm saying is true?"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Proof? What makes you think that you can prove that these absurd claims are true?"
"Well, why don't you follow me and find out?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Twilight shot back.
"Oh come on, aren't you at least curious?"
"No."
"If this doesn't convince you, then I'll let you go and never bother you again," Nightfall said in a monotone voice.
Twilight was now standing outside the castle with Nightfall who was leading her, well she really didn't know. The only reason she agreed to follow him was so that he would leave her alone. The last thing she wanted was for him to show up at a really inconvenient moment. Like the Grand Galloping Gala. That would just ruin the entire night.
"Come on, this way," Nightfall said as he lead Twilight down into the canyon that ran along side the castle.
Twilight didn't like this. She readied herself to run incase this was some sort of trick. She also began to try and recall any kind of offensive spells. She hoped that it wouldn't come down to it, but if she had to, she would defend herself.
When the two reached the bottom of the canyon, Nightfall walked forward up to a large concrete wall that was embedded into the cliff face. "I'm sure you're familiar with the tree of harmony. Say hello to the several hundred tons of concrete that prevent anypony from ever seeing it again."
Twilight walked up to the giant wall in shock. "No, this can't be right," she said out loud. She was staring at the entrance to the cave that housed the tree of harmony, at least that's what it used to be. Instead, the entire opening was covered in a massive grey wall with a large seal of some sort. Twilight didn't recognize it from anywhere.
"That there is the royal seal of shitting on everything that Equestria once stood for," Nightfall said from behind Twilight.
"How did... how..." Twilight was at a loss of words. All she could do was stare at he behemoth before her. "What happened?" she finally managed to say.
"The king," Nightfall replied. "I don't really know which one though. We've had several since Luna fell."
"No, no, no!" Twilight said in frustration. She began to claw at the wall. "This isn't right! This can't be happening."
"It already did happen," Nightfall replied. "He came and stole the elements and then filled the entire cavern up with concrete. I guess he didn't want there to be any symbols of the old Equestria left for ponies to rally behind."
Twilight sat down and folded her ears back on the head that now hung low to the ground. "No," she whispered in a depressed tone.
"I'm sorry Princess," Nightfall said. "I know it must be a lot to take in. Why don't we head back up and start over. I'll even forget that you tackled me while trying to get away. Sound fair?"
Even with the dire situation at hoof, Twilight was still able to smile just a little at Nightfall's joke. "You didn't exactly give me enough room to stop," she responded.
"We can forget that too if you want," Nightfall said with one of those smiles that said sorry that things are the way they are. "Are you ready to go back?"
Twilight looked at the royal seal one last time. How could this happen? She looked back at the batpony that she no longer thought of as an absolute lunatic. "Yeah, I'm ready," she said sadly.
They went back to the room in the castle where Twilight had woken up. Everything was as they left it. Twilight lied on down on the hammock and tried to go to sleep. Nightfall did the same, but after a few minutes of silence, Twilight found herself unable to dose off. She sat up and sighed.
She really didn't want to believe it. She wished she could go back not believing Nightfall, just so she wouldn't feel as terrible as she now did, even if it was just for a few more minutes. But how could she not believe him, after what she saw. Even if he was lying about what had really happened, there was no doubt in her mind that Celestia and Luna were no longer in charge of Equestria. This new ruler had buried the tree of harmony. How could somepony do that?
For now, Twilight needed to rest, but in the morning, she would need to find out as much as she could about the state of Equestria and if these rebels were really worth helping. Or if possibly, there was another solution.
Chapter 3: Getting Started
Chapter 3
Morning came and Twilight woke up to the sound of Paper Cut's voice. "Rise and shine," he said enthusiastically as he smiled. "Its time for breakfast and Solar had the cook make something special for the occasion."
Twilight followed the energetic unicorn out of the room into the hall and to a large open area that she immediately recognized. It was where her and her friends had first found the Elements of Harmony and defeated Nightmare Moon. It was now occupied by several tables and around fifteen ponies. All of whom were happily eating breakfast. The air smelled of waffles, pancakes, and maple syrup. It wasn't until then that she realized how hungry she was.
"Well go ahead and get something to eat," Paper Cut said.
Twilight didn't know where to start. She walked towards the table where all the food was. There were a few stallions patiently waiting in line to get some of the delicious food. Then they saw her. All of their eyes widened and then they bowed. This kind of thing still made Twilight feel uncomfortable. She had never really gotten used to being treated like royalty, even though that's exactly what she was now. After rising each stallion backed up a few steps and allowed her to go ahead of them.
When she had gotten her food, she went and sat down near the end of one of the tables in a seat across from Solar Spark and Paper Cut who were both diving into their own stacks of pancakes.
"Its good to see you up and about," said Solar. "I hope you like the breakfast we've prepared."
"It smells amazing," Twilight replied as she levitated a fork. She took a bite of the food, and swallowed. "And it tastes just as good."
"I'm glad that you li..." Solar was cut off by somepony yelling across the room.
"Hey, Butter Knife! She just said that your cooking is amazing! Yeah bro! She totally likes it!"
Solar and Twilight both looked in the direction of the voice, only to find that everypony in the room was looking at them. Silence had filled the room. Twilight wasn't sure how to handle this.
"Go back to your meals guys," Solar said finally. "You can all ask her your questions later." He looked back at Twilight and asked in a quieter voice. "You don't mind do you?"
Twilight shook her head. "Of course not. I'd be happy to answer any questions they have."
Paper Cut returned to the table with a second plate of food. Somehow he had snuck away to get seconds without anypony noticing. "Hey Solar. Do you have any idea what this thing is?" He held up a large spiky fruit that smelled sort of funny.
"Nope. I think its something that Nightfall got from..." he paused to think. "Actually I don't know where he gets these things. You know how he is. Always bringing back the strangest fruits from Celestia knows where."
"Its a durian," Twilight said as she finished her stack of pancakes. "They smell funny, but I've heard that they're delicious. Hey, speaking of Nightfall, where is he?"
"Beats me," Paper Cut said as he tried to eat the durian, only to poke himself with one of the many spikes. "How are you supposed to eat this thing?"
Twilight let out a small laugh. "I'm pretty sure you have to cut it open first."
"Nightfall is out on patrol," said Solar. "At least, I think he is. Every now and then, he disappears in the morning and comes back around noon. Sometimes with more exotic fruit." He looked over at the durian. Paper was doing everything he could do to get it open. Stabbing it with a butter knife, chewing on it, even slamming it down on the table a few times causing all the plates and silverware to shake. It was all in vain. The stubborn fruit wouldn't crack.
"You're doing it wrong," Nightfall said as he walked into the room with his saddle bags on his back.
Defeated, Paper held the durian out to Nightfall for him to open. He took the fruit in his hooves and set it on the table. He held it upright and stabbed it with a dagger that he pulled out of his saddle bags. After making the incision at the top, he grabbed it and pulled it apart, splitting it right down the center. "Dig in, there's plenty to go around."
Any appetite that Paper or Solar still had vanished as a strange odor, unlike anything they had smelled before, radiated from the two halves. Twilight was the only one to levitate a fork into the durian.
"I think its gone bad," Solar said as he covered his nose.
"Its supposed to smell like that.
Nightfall's explanation was good enough for Twilight. She took a small bite. It was gooey. It was kind of cold. It was unlike anything Twilight had ever tasted. It was delicious!
"This is really good," she said as she took another bite.
"Don't eat to much," Nightfall warned. "The first time can wreak havoc on your insides."
"How so?"
"You don't want to know. By the way, I got you something." He pulled something out of one of his saddle bags and placed it on the table. It was a book. A thick hardback book titled, "The History of Equestria." "The point in which you and Celestia go missing starts at around page two thousand. Should answer any questions you have."
Twilight opened the book and started flipping through the pages. Inside were all sorts of documents, photos, masterful illustrations, memoirs on historic events, personal journals, and other things of the sort. It was if she was holding an entire library in her hands. "This is incredible!" The thing that excited her the most was not even inside. Her heart had nearly skipped a beat or maybe even two when she noticed "Vol. 13" written on the spine.
"More than you know," Solar said as Twilight began to light up like a tree on Hearths Warming Eve. "Its crazy that that thing is even in your hooves. Where in Tartarus did you even find that, Nightfall?"
"I called in a few favors," he answered.
"I thought you cut all your ties with your fences along time ago," said Paper Cut, he was actually trying the durian. He never was able to resist curiosity. "That's what you told me a while back." He looked at the durian again. "Not bad."
"Just the dangerous ones. And I got this one from somewhere else. Ever heard of the Archivists?"
"Yeah. They're those old dudes who go around documenting everything that happens so that its preserved when the king starts rewriting history books to keep ponies ignorant."
"Hold on a second," Twilight interrupted. "Fence? As in selling stolen items, fence? What exactly did you do before you were part of... this?"
Nightfall didn't speak. He looked around the room as he tried to think of a way to explain things to Twilight without her freaking out. After some time, he found his voice. "I was a thief. Stole a lot of valuable things from a lot of important ponies."
Twilight looked at him for a second and then at Solar, who was nodding slightly. Then she looked back at Nightfall. "You were a criminal?"
"Yes, and I was good at it. Stealing stuff is kind of like my special talent. Pretty sad, huh?"
Twilight didn't know how to react. In every book she had ever read, the princess was always rescued by a young, handsome stallion who always fought for the greater good. Not Equestria's most wanted.
"Don't worry," Paper spoke up after swallowing another piece of durian. "Nightfall here is a great guy and he's changed since then."
"Besides, its not like I stole bits from beggers or candy from babies. Only a real cold hearted bastard would do that. I stopped stealing things a few years before joining this little rebellion we got going on here."
Twilight looked back at Nightfall. "So what made you decide to give it up? What inspired you to come fight for this supposed righteous cause? If you don't mind me asking."
"I don't remember." His voice was barely audible and he had said it without thinking as if trying to dodge the question.
"So you just decided to stop for no reason?" Twilight was confused. "Surely something had to have happened to make you just give it up."
Now it was him who looked troubled. He was silent. He must have sat there thinking longer than he realized, because next thing he knew, Paper was waving a hoof in front of his face. "Hey, you in there?" he said in a concerned tone. Nightfall shook himself back to reality. "Sorry. That's a wound that hasn't exactly healed yet." He wished it would though.
There were nights when he would go to sleep and see them. Those young eyes. Those young panicked eyes, full of fear. He couldn't help but blame himself. How could he have just stood there? Why didn't he try to stop it? Why didn't he do something? Anything! What was wrong with him!? Why didn't he...
"Nightfall. Nightfall." He looked up. Twilight, Solar, and Paper were all looking at him with concerned expressions on their faces. "Dude, are you alright?" Paper asked. "You've blacked out like that twice within the last two minutes."
He stood up to leave the table. "I'm going to go get some air." He walked off down the hall that connected to the large room and disappeared around the corner.
Twilight looked at the two remaining unicorns. "Oh no. This is all my fault."
Solar looked at her. "No, he's just a little sensitive. That's all."
"I should have just left it alone when he answered me the first time. I'm going to go apologize." She got up and left the table. She began to walk toward where Nightfall had disappeared. When she too rounded the corner, she saw him. He was sitting in the atrium that no longer had its roof. She walked forward and sat down next to him.
"I'm sorry," she said after a brief moment of silence. "I shouldn't have pushed for an answer like that. You obviously didn't want to talk about it."
"It's alright, Twilight. Had to happen sooner or later." He looked down at his hoof which was holding something. Twilight saw this and also looked at the item. It was a photograph. In was a pegasus mare, a young foal wrapped in a blanker, and a batpony stallion. It took her a second to realize it, but when she did, she began to feel even worse about what she had done. It was him and his family. Nightfall looked a bit younger. His coat and mane were both darker and more saturated. His eyes seemed more full of life. There was a smile on his face. He put the photo away and stood up. "Alright, enough moping around. We have work to do."
After walking back to the place where everypony was eating, they found Solar and Paper and sat back down. Twilight levitated the book and started looking over it some more. Some time later, Solar motioned for Nightfall to follow him as he got out of his seat. "We need to talk," he said. They walked out of the room and into the hall.
"What's up?" Nightfall asked, not knowing what this was about.
"We need more support, we both know this. Twilight could cause us to get it." He sounded unsure.
"So you think we should take her out and like... campaign? Won't that attract attention?"
"I think it's a risk worth taking. I'm just not sure if we should take it now or later."
Nightfall took a deep breath. This was tricky. Showing ponies Twilight would gain them support and turn the populace against the king, but this would also make her a target. "It has to happen eventually."
Solar looked at Nightfall. "I want you to be her personal guard."
"Alright. If I'm going to be in charge of her security though, I am going to need you to trust me on some things."
"What kind things?" Solar now seemed worried.
"Mostly how we make her known. It's going to require us being known about too."
"Alright, what did you have in mind?"
"Back in my earlier years of being a successful thief, I wasn't widely known. It wasn't until about four months of rumors of some ghost or ring of master criminals that the government began to actually get aggressive in their search for me. By that time I had built up enough reputation with local gangs and guilds to be pretty much impossible to find."
Solar was beginning to understand where Nightfall was going with this. "So basically we shouldn't just go out and say, "Hey, here she is. Viva la revolution!" but instead let here be slowly revealed."
"Exactly. If only a small percent of ponies actually know the truth, we may be able to double the size of our force and actually have something close to a large enough rebellion for when the guards come knocking." Nightfall smiled. He was glad that he was actually getting to do something that stood for something. Sure, gathering intel was important, but you eventually have to act on it. Even if it isn't always right.
Solar looked back at Twilight again. She was still talking to Paper. Several other ponies had joined in on the conversation. They were all smiling. Hope, that was the one word that ran through Solar's mind. All she was doing was sitting there and talking to them. Just her presence alone gave them all hope. "I guess we should tell her."
"I guess so," Nightfall replied.
"By the way, we're also going to need an identity. Like a street name or something." Solar said.
Nightfall looked at Solar with one of those "Really?" kind of looks. "A street name?" he replied.
"Yeah, something that everypony can know to join. Didn't you have one back when you were breaking into places for a living?"
"Yeah, but it wasn't a very good one. Everypony just called me "The Shadow." Kind of disappointing when you think about it. So generic."
"Wait, that was you?"
Nightfall ignored the question. He didn't want to tell him to much. "What did you have in mind? What do you want us to call ourselves?"
"I have no idea. I was thinking that maybe we could just come up with something at a meeting. Also, I'm going to have Paper Cut draw us a symbol. He's pretty good at that kind of thing."
"Alright then. Let's go tell them."
Solar and Nightfall walked back to the table. Everypony was having what seemed like a pretty good time. Twilight was explaining her battle with some evil being call Tirek. She had everyone's complete attention. Even Nightfall had admit that hearing about one hundred year old history from someone who was actually there was interesting. "So is that where that large crystal castle in Ponyville came from?" some random pegasus asked. "I always thought it was just was a gift from the Crystal Empire or something."
Twilight looked at the pony who had asked the question. "What has become of the Crystal Empire and the crystal ponies?" Everypony's eyes widened as they all realized what had been asked. They all looked away, not sure how to break the news. Twilight noticed this and began to worry. "Wait, what's happened? What haven't you told me?"
Solar interrupted the conversation before it could roll further down a hill and into a Manticore lair. "Twilight," he smiled nervously. "Nightfall and I have been thinking and we've come up with some ideas on how to get you back on the throne." Everypony leaned in closer around the table. They had all been waiting for this.
Solar looked around. Not including Twilight, there were eighteen of them. Everypony was here. "This group was organized almost a year ago now. Ever since then, we have been making slow progress. But now, we are ready to make our first major leap." Everyone knew where this was headed. Because of Twilight, they had been given an opportunity. A fighting chance. It was time to act on it.
"We're going to go out there and make ourselves known, but first, we need a name. Something to be called when we come out in force. Second, we need a symbol. A banner to rally under. Paper Cut." Paper Cut looked up at Solar smiling. "You're in charge of designing that. Have some others help you. As for the name, well who wants to suggest something first?"
For the next hour, ponies argued and debated on what they should call their group. There were a few that everypony liked, such as Equestrian Restoration which they all agreed sounded like a good TV show, but not a good rebel group, so it was tossed out. Eventually they all agreed that it should have something to do with reclaiming the nation. Equestria was free once. More names were tossed around. Sons of Reclamation, The Reclaiming Fire, Give Us Back Our Country! The last one was simply made for comedic purposes and everypony laughed a little when they thought about how the king would respond to that. Of course the answer would be no. Finally, after much discussion, it was settled. They decided to ditch the reclamation idea and replace it with a direct hint to Twilight. They would call themselves "Then New Age Monarchy." Now all that had to be done was putting it on a flag.
A few days passed and Twilight had made some friends. She really liked all the ponies she had met. They were all so nice. She had started to get used to the routine of getting up in the morning and reading from the book that Nightfall had given her. She still couldn't get over how much information was in it. She now very much wanted to meet these Archivists. Because of it, she was now sure that this king that was in charge needed to be overthrown. The things she read about his "methods," she didn't really want to think about them.
In the afternoon she would walk down to a small room that was now being used for the production of the flag to help Paper Cut, the first pony that she considered a friend, with its design. That is exactly what she was doing now.
Paper Cut showed Twilight a piece of paper. It had a drawing of the skeleton of a pony wearing a crown. The skeleton was being dragged down toward the blackened bottom of the page by thorny vines that wrapped tightly around its bones and twisted through its ribcage.
"I don't know," Twilight said. "It kind of looks like a death threat." She did have to admit that it looked pretty good for a quick sketch.
"Yeah," Paper Cut sounded a little disappointed. "That's what Solar and a few others said, but Nightfall liked it, so it really can't be that bad." He took a second look at the morbid drawing. "Okay, maybe it is that bad. What else do we got?"
Twilight levitated a small stack of papers and spread them out on a table. Some of the drawings were the same as the last. Skeleton ponies being burned or drowning with a crown that represented the tyrannical government. "I don't think we should use anymore skeletons with crowns."
"Why not?" Paper asked as he looked up from another stack of potential designs.
"If we're going to call ourselves The New Age Monarchy, it doesn't feel right to have something that represents royalty being destroyed."
"Good point." Paper crumbled up a few more pages and threw them into an overflowing trash can. "You have to admit though. They do look pretty cool."
A few more hours passed and they were back to square one. "Alright, so we need to reflect how we feel. It needs to stand out." Paper was now pacing around the room as he talked. "We're trying to restore Equestria back to its old values, back to what we love. What symbolizes this?"
"A heart, maybe. That's what I think about when I hear love and values."
Paper started to write on a notepad that was almost out of paper. "Okay. So we have a heart. That makes sense, but how do we connect that to a monarchy?"
"We could literally connect it." Twilight used her magic to draw on her notepad, also almost out of paper. She held it up. There was a picture of a heart with lines stretching out from the center. "We could draw something else to represent the monarchy part and connect it to the heart."
"Yeah, I like it." Paper thought for a second. "Here's an idea. What do you call those tube thingies that connect to the top of a real heart?"
"Well, there's the Superior Vena Cava, the Aorta, Pulmonary Artery, Pulmonary Veins..." Twilight said all this as if she was on automatic. Like she new it by... heart. There were a few other things that she named, but to Paper it just sounded like gibberish.
"Right," said Paper Cut in voice that expressed his confusion. "So how about we draw a real heart and connect those, um... arteries to something that symbolizes the monarchy."
"So that's all we need then, but lets not use a crown."
"Agreed. We need something that differentiates us from the king. Something that he doesn't have." As he looked at Twilight, Paper's eyes lit up. "That's it!"
"What?" Twilight was now smiling as well as Paper, although she didn't really know why. She guested she just liked seeing him all happy like this.
"You're an alicorn. We should work that into the design." Paper drew a few more lines on his drawing and held it up for Twilight to see. On either side of the oval that didn't really look like a heart at all, were two wings. A horn hovered above everything else. They were all connected to the heart in the middle.
"This is brilliant," Twilight said with excitement. The sketch was rough, but she knew what was being aimed for.
"Just like you," Paper was still smiling.
"Wow, thanks. Nopony has ever really said that before. Except for my family and teachers back when I was in school, but that's expected." Twilight blushed a little.
"Really?" Paper was stunned. "How has nopony ever told you that before? Twilight, I've known you for less than a week and you've already proven to be the smartest pony I know. And that's impressive with all the stuff Nightfall has taught me about the world in general."
Twilight turned a little redder. "Well, my friend Rainbow Dash used to call me an egghead. It was mostly just harmless teasing, but it may have been her way of complimenting me on my knowledge."
"So you know anything about transferring ink onto paper, or in this case fabric?
"No, I've never had anyone ever teach me that kind of thing." Twilight looked over at some stacks of paint cans and sheets of fabric. "You know how to though, don't you?"
"Yep, worked at a printing press in Manehattan a few years ago. Paid pretty well. Probably because my dad was the boss."
"So what made you decide to run away from that?" Twilight asked. "Seems like you had a pretty good deal going."
"I did, but you can only go so long printing out lies for a king that didn't give a rat's behind about the ponies that he ruled. Just wanted to control them. All us. Keep us scared, ignorant, and blind. So I went to my dad one day and told him. I told him that I didn't want to work there forever. That what we were doing wasn't as much of an honest living as he thought."
"And that angered him? Or was he more understanding?"
"Oh no, he understood. He told me that the world had changed. This was now what they had to do, but he was glad that I recognized the evil in the work that we did. He didn't want me to go though. Tried to convince me that this was for the best and all that. Then we got into a fight and things got heated, so I left. I wish it would have been on happier terms though. I don't know why, but I kept a copy of each newspaper I printed. I guess they reminded me of home. I show them to you later if you like. About a month later, when I was just starting to struggle to make ends meet, I met Nightfall."
Twilight thought about this for a few moments. She had never really been put through those kinds of challenges before. Sure she had some stories about struggles with all sorts of villains, but for your last memory of your family to be in anger. Her thoughts were interrupted.
"Anyways, I'll show you how to make the stamps for the flag." Paper walked over to a box and pulled out some wood blocks and a couple of carving knives. "Alright," he said as he placed the materials on the table next to a stack of drawings.
For the next few hours, he and Twilight carved shapes into the blocks and practiced stamping ink onto paper. Eventually, when they were confident that the stamps would be adequate, they began to transfer ink onto the fabric for the flag. Twilight went to work creating the heart, being careful to put all the sections in the right places, while Paper gently stamped feather shapes to form the wings. Nightfall walked in a few minutes after the wings were complete.
"Hey, that looks pretty good," Nightfall said as he watched the two work. They were covered in spots of red and black ink. "I like the way that the heart is the only thing that's been colored. Really makes it stand out."
"Thanks," Twilight said. "It was Paper's idea to use the realistic heart over the simple shape."
"Yeah, but if it weren't for Twilight, I don't think we would have nearly as much progress done. How much she knows about anatomy is nuts."
Nightfall held up a hoof. "I'm sure it's all very interesting, but you'll have to tell me some other time. Twilight, you and I are going to Ponyville next week. Paper, I want you to come with us."
Twilight looked away from the half finished flag that was now hanging on the wall. "What are we going to be doing in Ponyville?"
"Gaining support for the cause." Nightfall's attention was caught by the abnormally huge smile on Paper Cut's face. "Are you going to be alright?"
Paper nodded, at least that's what he thought he did. He actually more or less shook his entire body. Then he jumped into the air. "Yes! Its finally time to get out of this crumbling pit." He was now very excited.
"Yes, yes. It is a big step, but there is one thing that we need to do first." Nightfall pointed to a sword on his back. "This isn't going to cut it."
"I see what you did there." Paper was glad that his friend's sense of humor had remained intact over the hard times. "So are you actually saying what I think you're saying?"
"If things go sideways, I don't want to be surrounded with nothing but a sharp piece of metal. We're going to break into the Ponyville armory."
Paper's eyes lit up again. He had never actually gotten to go with Nightfall on any of his jobs. This would be the first. "This is great. When do we take off?"
"Tomorrow night. Don't tell Solar though. He strictly ordered me not do this."
Twilight looked at Nightfall and then at Paper Cut. "Are you sure this is a good idea? If Solar doesn't want you to go, then..." She was cut off.
"Solar doesn't know when to act. He's to nervous that he'll screw something up to lead. That's why I'm taking advantage of this opportunity." Nightfall knew what he had said, but he couldn't have ever known how much of an impact it would have on Twilight.
She knew that one day that she was going to have to lead Equestria, that is if they were successful. She was also scared. She had given orders to two guards when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna went missing as a result of Discord's vines that nearly consumed all of Equestria, once. That was the only time that she had ever actually been in a place of authority. If she was that nervous giving orders to only two guards, how would she do when an entire nation was looking to her for leadership? This question scared her. Would she be able to handle it? Would she just one day snap under pressure? Twilight forced these thoughts from her head. No, she would be strong now. She had to. There would be many trials in the weeks to come. "So how do you plan on getting in and out?" she asked. "Surely it will be heavily guarded and sneaking in will be no easy task."
"Every security system has its faults, Twilight," Nightfall replied. "All we have to do is expose them."
Twilight had a bad feeling about this. She was still uncomfortable about going against what Solar had said. Paper Cut on the other hoof, was one hundred percent sold on the idea. He didn't know any of the details about what they were doing and he was still eager to go along with it. "He must trust Nightfall completely," Twilight thought. She didn't know exactly what they were going to do, but she knew she would find out soon. She just hoped that this wouldn't end up being a mistake.
Chapter 4
Breaking into a government building was something Nightfall hadn't done in years. Stealing weapons was a first for him. Before his life fell apart, anything he stole was usually made of jewels or precious metals. Not always, but most of the time that was the case. Consequently, he didn't know what to expect for security. Ponyville was relatively small and unimportant compared to the bigger cities, such as Canterlot and Manehattan. This meant less guards.
The armory was built into an old wine cellar under a large house that was now being used as a small outpost. It had large green lawns on all sides of it, and the whole property was surrounded by a steel bar fence with a brick base. From what Nightfall had observed in days previous to planning this small heist, he now knew that two guards watched over the outside cellar door at all times. There were also always two more guards guarding the front door to the house and two sentries that sat in small watch towers constructed from wooden planks in the front yard on the right side of the path that led to the front door and one in the opposite corner of the outpost. These positions remained during the night as well, with the addition of two more guards that patrolled the house perimeter in a random pattern. This brought the count up to nine guards.
Nightfall looked up from a small sketched out map on the table. Paper Cut was across from him staring into space, obviously not sure what he was supposed to be doing. "This setup is pretty normal," Nightfall said. "About what you'd expect for a place this size." He pointed to the towers on the map. "We're going to have to be careful with these guys. The one up front has an entire view of the both the north and east lawn. Keep an eye on him when we get to the door. The other one will make it hard to sneak in through the rear.
"How exactly do we get to the door?" asked Paper Cut. "The only entrance to the whole place is guarded."
"We're going to need something to lure them away then. A distraction. That or we'll need to convince them that we have business with the base commander, which is unlikely."
"Wouldn't it be much easier to buy what we need on the black market?" Paper asked. "You still have connections there don't you?
"Yes, I do," Nightfall answered." But they never really went that deep. That and I don't trust weapons dealers."
"Why not?"
"They're like rats. They see an opportunity and take it no matter what. Also they're ruthless and will stab you in the back as just as easily as they would look at you. If the guards start asking questions about who they've sold to, we'll start popping up on wanted posters all over Equestria."
"So I take it that corruption runs pretty deep in the government."
"All the way to the core." Nightfall looked back at the map. "So let's see. Unless we can figure out a way to get over the wall without being seen by a guard, we only have two other possible options. The front gate we were talking about or an escape tunnel that may or may not actually exist."
Paper Cut now seemed a little confused. "What makes you think there may be an escape tunnel?" he asked.
"Back when Luna had just been over thrown, the king had some trouble keeping ponies in line. Apparently, there were some pretty bad riots. So government officials and nobles that supported the king started putting escape routes under their houses just encase an angry mob came knocking on their door. I've used a few of them before to get into places that were to heavily guarded on the surface."
"So how exactly do we find the entrance to this tunnel, that is, if it even exists?"
"Well, we're going to need some luck. The building is around one hundred years old, so we should be able to find some architectural plans in the library somewhere. They often store them there to preserve the town's history or something like that. The only problem is that when the house was converted to a military installation, the guards more than likely came and collected those plans to keep them out of the hooves of ponies like us."
"I'm guessing you have a way around this." Paper Cut said. Nightfall always had a way around these kind of set backs.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, but..." Nightfall paused, sighed and then continued. "I'm going to have to get in contact with an old associate." He frowned as he looked back at the map on the table.
"What's wrong Nightfall? You don't seem to excited about this."
"His name is Border Sketch, and he's not exactly what you would call mentally stable. He helped supply me with plans in the past and we became pretty well acquainted, but I haven't talked to him in years and he probably thinks that I'm dead. So I don't know how he may react when he sees me for the first time in ten years. If we're lucky he'll have a copy of what we need."
Before Nightfall could even close his mouth, Paper was already up from his seat and putting his saddle bags on his back. "What are we waiting for then? Lets go find this Sketch guy and get those plans." He started walking in the direction of the door and then stopped to wait for Nightfall who was unenthusiastically dragging his hooves across the floor.
"We're checking the library first," he said in an unhappy tone that almost seemed a little tired.
"To the library then!" Paper said in his best adventurer voice as he stood on his hind legs and extended one hoof into the air.
The library wasn't much to look at. It shared the same architectural design that most of the town was built in. According to a plaque near a large oak tree that grew in front of the building that was larger than the houses and shops that surrounded it, its only distinguishing feature, the library was built to replace the original after it was destroyed in a magic battle between the evil Tirek and Equestria's "great" king Cobalt, who ruled over one hundred years ago. "Liars," Nightfall said in his head as they passed by the misleading sign.
It didn't take long for them to find out that what they were looking for wasn't there. All the contents of the shelves were arranged by where each building was located. They searched in the residential plans and in the commercial plans just to make sure. The plans were nowhere to be found.
"Yes!" exclaimed Paper as he placed a rolled up document in a cubby hole in the wall. A pony sitting in a desk not far from him immediately shushed him. "That's the last one," he said in a much quieter voice. "Does this mean that we get to go meet your friend now?"
Nightfall frowned as he accepted the inevitable. "Damn it," he said softly. "Lets go. Hopefully he still lives in Ponyville. I'd much prefer it if I didn't have to track him down."
The two stallion walked out of the library and into the streets. Paper was smiling excitedly as he hopped alongside his friend. They only had to walk for a few minutes before they came to building with a small neon sign that said 'open.' The window were heavily tented and another small sign hung above the door that said 'Buy something or go away.'
"This is the place." said Nightfall as he started towards the door.
When they entered, they were immediately overwhelmed with the smell of rotting wood and whiskey. The inside of the building was much more interesting than the outside, which looked just like all the other buildings on the block. It was also very messy. Random scraps of torn paper littered the floor and a dead rat was lying in the corner. There were several rows of dusty shelves that held ink wells, rolls of parchment, they all looked a little water damaged, magical charms that no longer glowed with magic, some antique furniture that had a severe case of wood rot, and a bunch of empty bottles. It looked like a dump to Paper Cut. "Are you sure we're in the right place?" he asked Nightfall.
"All this junk is just a cover up. Anything worth buying, stealing, or fencing is behind the counter." Nightfall started walking to the front of the shop and motioned Paper to follow. Behind the counter there was a single pony with a dark sage green coat and grey main. He was fiddling with something on a shelf and was rambling something about a legless chicken and fifty pounds of axle grease and how it would look so much better on a dolphin, quietly to himself. When Nightfall approached, he spoke up without turning his focus away from his ship in a bottle.
"What can I get you?" His voice was very ragged and old sounding.
"I need the blueprints for the garrison here in Ponyville. Do you have a copy?" Nightfall spoke as if he didn't know or care to know the creepy stallion.
"Maybe. That really defends on how much you need them." He finally turned around. His yellow eyes met Nightfall's and he let out a small smile. "Aren't you supposed to be dead or something? Hey, kid." He moved his attention to Paper Cut who was standing a few steps back and to the left of Nightfall. "Do you see a batpony standing here, or is it just me?"
"I'm really here, Sketch."
"For buck sake, Nightfall. You're supposed to let the kid answer." He pointed a hoof to the empty space to the right of Nightfall. When his eyes shifted to look there, he corrected himself and pointed the left where Paper still stood.
"I'm Paper Cut. I..." He didn't get to finish his sentence before being rudely cut off.
"That's great kid. Really something special. Take my advice and ditch this plothole before he ditches you." Border Sketch looked back at Nightfall who stood there unamused by the show he was putting on. "Where the buck have you been all these years?!" His voice, although rigid and rusty, was still capable of expressing anger. "No warning, no goodbye, no nothing! Just a massive 'Up Yours' and then, whoosh! You're gone. Like that hot mare at the diner last week."
"Listen, Sketch, I'm sorry. But I had to move on into the next stage of my life." Nightfall actually sounded somewhat sincere.
"And what would that be? Swimming in the riches that you DIDN'T earn while the rest of us rot down here with the rats."
"No, I truly am sorry, about everything." He was doing his best to apologize, but he knew it would take some convincing.
Sketch stood there for a minute. He didn't blink. He just stared into Nightfall's eyes, as if trying to pierce his soul. "I don't believe you," he said as he shook his head. "I lost a lot of money after you left. Do you really think that an apology is going to fix that?"
Nightfall reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a long bottle of alcohol. It was a fancy brand that he had been saving. "No, but this should." He placed it on the counter with a thud.
Border Sketch immediately diverted his attention to the tall glass bottle. "Forget you," he said, not taking his eyes off the bottle. "I think I just found me a new lady to court." He ran a hoof through his dirty mane. "Hey there good lookin."
Nightfall slid the bottle away from Sketch. "My blueprints," he said with a slight grin on his face.
"Alright Nightfall. You win. I still don't like you after what you did." He pointed an accusing hoof at Nightfall, and his voice still sounded a little angry. "I'll do business with you, but only because you're willing to pay. There's just one thing. I'm going to need a little more than that. One bottle doesn't exactly seem like a fair trade. Not that I'm actually in the business of making fair trades."
"What do you want?" Nightfall was eager to get this over with.
"I'm glad you asked." Border Sketch pulled a piece of paper out from nowhere in particular. "I want all these ponies dead and the hit pony is a bit to expensive right now. There should be some pikes out back for when you're done cutting off their heads."
"I'm not committing murder for you Sketch."
"I don't see why not. You killed one pony already, might as well do it..."
"I said no!" The anger was now in Nightfall's voice. "I'll triple my original offer."
"I don't know..."
"I'll give you ten bottles," Nightfall quickly shot back.
"Deal." He put the rolled up plans on the counter.
"I need to go get the rest of it. I'll be back soon."
Sketch grabbed the bottle of fancy wine and clutched it close to his chest. "I'm keeping this as a little insurance." He bit the top of the cork and pulled it out of the top of the bottle and took a long drink.
A sinister smile spread across Nightfall's face. "Oh sure. Go ahead. I'm sure it will be quite pleasing to your tastes."
Sketch hardly understood the last words that came out of Nightfall's voice. Everything sounded so weird and distorted. His vision began to blur into one large color that slowly turned black as he lost his hoofing and fell to the floor. He couldn't feel his legs. He couldn't feel his face. He couldn't feel anything! "Nightfall what have you done to me!?!" That's what he tried to say. What actually came out of his mouth was more of a slurred tongue twister. Then he passed out completely.
By this point, Paper Cut couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Nightfall, what did you do?!" he exclaimed, clearly panicking.
"Relax Paper. He's just knocked out," Nightfall reassured his unicorn friend. "When he wakes up, he won't remember us at all. It's better this way. Trust me." Nightfall knew all this for a fact. He had worked hard to cut his ties with most of the criminal underground. He wasn't about to let some drunken fool screw all that up.
Paper still couldn't believe what he had just seen. Nightfall didn't seem like the kind of guy who would poison somepony else. "You're sure he'll be alright?" He was genuinely concerned. Even though Border Sketch gave him the creeps, he still didn't want to see him get drugged like that.
Nightfall nodded back to Paper. "I made extra sure to get all the lethal stuff out before I filled it with the memory loss potion." He put a hoof to his chin and looked up toward the ceiling. "Then again, I do have a few other bottles that look exactly like that one."
Paper's face turned pale and his eyes widened. He looked as if he was about to freak out. "I'm just joking," Nightfall said before he did.
Paper seemed to relax a little. "So I guess we should get going, huh?" He pointed in the direction of the door.
"Yeah, this place is a dump."
Twilight's day was going pretty well. She got a good sleep the night before. She spent some time with Paper Cut and helped with the flag, and now she was getting to spend some time alone so she could read her new book. There was so much on every page that it was taking her longer to read than anything before. So far she had learned that she and Celestia disappeared exactly 107 years ago. Princess Luna took charge of the government in place of her sister. A search was conducted and it lasted over two years. Luna, grief stricken by her sister's disappearance, struggled to hold a panicking Equestria together.
Twilight wished she could have been there, to help somehow. She felt that if she had been there, maybe things could be better. The nobles that lived in Canterlot who were later found to be allied with changelings saw Luna's weaknesses and tried to stage a coup that failed miserably. Their leader, a unicorn named Longsword, was tried and executed for treason and conspiring with the enemy. His motives are still unknown to this day, although many believe that he may have simply been a pawn for queen Chrysalis. Slowly, things went back to normal. New security laws were passed that temporarily limited the influence that many higher class ponies had on government decisions as a precaution.
Twenty six years after what was referred to as "The Alicorn Vanishing" and three years after the attempted coup, Luna was overthrown by a much more prepared coup that had united large gangs of thugs from all over Equestria and beyond, against Luna. A pony named Cobalt took over the thrown and proclaimed himself king. He used violence and aggressive tactics to keep the citizens in line and afraid. Over the next several months, Equestria went through several changes in its government. The councils that once helped represent the populace in royal court, were dissolved and all former members were executed to prevent any kind of rebel groups forming under them. The king took full control and never let go.
That was all Twilight had managed to read. Every little detail was broken down into even more details. There was almost to much. Twilight was halfway through a paragraph talking about the unknown fate of the last alicorn when the door opened, and two ponies walked in.
"Hey Twilight. How's it going?" Paper asked in his usual cheerful voice.
"Great," Twilight replied with a smile. "This book is absolutely fascinating. It gets to me a little though." She sounded a little sadder now. "It's just that all this happened while I was gone and I can't help but feel like I should have been here."
Paper sat down next to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey it's alright." He was trying to be as comforting as possible. "You don't even know how you ended up gone. It's not like you can blame yourself."
"He's right," Nightfall spoke up from across the room as he placed his saddle bags down in their corner. "You can't blame yourself for things that happen when you aren't around."
Twilight looked up from the floor at the two stallions with her. "Thanks," she said. "Having somepony say that helps."
"If you ever need to talk we're always around," Paper said. "Most of the time at least."
Nightfall motioned for Paper Cut and Twilight to come to the table that he was standing at. The blueprints for the house were spread out on top. "Alright," he said as he picked up a marker. "This is our target." He circled the room that was now used as a makeshift weapons cache. "Inside there should be all sorts of things. From basic swords and shields, to what we're after. Guns. There's an entrance to the former wine cellar where they should be kept, on the outside, but it's always guarded. There's another entrance inside the building. That will be our best bet."
"How do we get inside?" Paper asked. "I don't see any escape tunnels."
Twilight pointed to a spot on the map where several walls converged on a loadbearing column. "There," she said. "If you're looking for some kind of secret tunnel, then it won't be on that side of the house." She picked up a marker of her own with her magic and circled the top and right walls of the cellar. "Those are your most likely spots where the tunnels connect to the house. They can't run under the house or else they would weaken these three support beams." She circled three spots on the map. "The tunnel would either have to run toward the Everfree forest or toward the stone bridge that extends over the creek." Satisfied with her work, Twilight smiled and put the cap back on the marker.
Paper looked at Nightfall. "I told you she was smart."
"Good work, Twilight." Nightfall looked at the clock on the wall. There were only a few hours left in the day. "We can search around tomorrow morning for an entrance. Until then, go ahead and relax. Catch some sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow."
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked Nightfall, as he started for the door.
"Bridge," he replied. "If the entrance isn't there, then we can search the Everfree tomorrow."
"Can I come?"
"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" asked Paper. "What happens if you get spotted?"
Nightfall walked over and grabbed a large brown hooded cloak out of chest under his hammock. He threw it to Twilight who caught it with her magic. "Paper, stay here and cover for us if Solar gets curious." Nightfall walked over to the door, followed by Twilight who was now wearing the cloak with the hood down. It covered her entire body and her hooves could barely be seen. As they left, Paper Cut waved goodbye.
"Good luck, guys," he said.
When Nightfall and Twilight got to the front door of the castle, Nightfall stopped and turned to Twilight. "There are a few rules," he said in a tone of voice that was kind, but stressed importance. "First, stay close at all, and I mean all, times. No matter what you see or hear." Twilight nodded. "Second, your name is not Twilight Sparkle. If a guard approaches you for any reason at all, act completely natural. You're just another harmless commoner."
"I'm ready, Nightfall" Twilight assured him.
"Another thing before we head out, don't call me Nightfall around any guards."
"Got it."
After walking through the Everfree in silence for a few minutes, Ponyville came into view through the tree line. It was exactly as Twilight remembered it, almost. The only difference was that it was bigger. There were a few more buildings that weren't there when Twilight left for Canterlot 107 years ago. But for the most part, it was the same. The small town still had its old architectural design throughout and it was still dwarfed by the bigger cities of Equestria.
The two ponies walked into town to find that all was relatively normal. A few ponies walked through the streets on their way back from work and the children played outside as the sun was beginning to set. As they walked down the road, they would come across a guard every now and then. After passing by each time, Nightfall would begin to walk a bit closer to Twilight, who strangely felt nervous when they looked at her. It was an odd feeling for her. When she was a little filly, the guards always made her feel safe. It was an odd feeling indeed.
The armor that the guards wore was different than she remembered. Instead of gold plating and insignias that represented the sun or other important royal symbols, the armor was a shiny steel color with red straps. The blue star in the middle of the chest piece was replaced with a red gem in the shape of a diamond. There was more plating on the legs and the helmet covered the sides of the head more. The armor was more rigid. Instead of the sleek and smooth original design, the guards looked more like they were ready for war. Besides the new color scheme and extra protection, the rest of the armor was mostly the same. Another thing that Twilight noticed, was that none of the guards held swords or spears. They all held long pieces of metal that had what looked like wooden paddles on the ends. There was something about the way they were held that made them more menacing. As Twilight became lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice that they were already at the bridge.
"Here we are," said Nightfall as he stepped of the road and onto the grass. He looked at Twilight and pointed a hoof down towards the area under the bridge. "Right this way."
They slide down the steep slope leading down into the creek. Under the bridge there was a lot of algae and moss, but the only thing that was interesting was a door directly under the spot where the bridge met the ground. If they hadn't come down here, they would have never seen it from the road.
Nightfall grabbed the doors rusted handle and opened it. The room was small and dark. There wasn't much inside either. A pile of stones rested in a corner and several shelves of mortar and tools lined the walls. It looked just like an ordinary maintenance shed.
"Stop right there!" a firm voice yelled before either Twilight or Nightfall could step into the room. "You two can't go in there. It's government property." A unicorn decked out in the royal armor slid down the slope that lead under the bridge.
"I'm sorry sir," Nightfall said in a calm, neutral tone. "My hearing isn't to good. You said that we can't go in there?" He pointed a hoof towards the open door.
"That's right! You are in direct violation of the law! I could arrest you both for trespassing and tampering with federal equipment right now!"
"Sure you will." Nightfall was still talking in a monotone voice, but it had a defiance to it. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Then I'll just have to arrest both of you. It's time you damn bats learn your place. All you do is come out at a late hour and cause trouble. Your kind is nothing, but scum!" He pointed his weapon at Nightfall. "Now move!"
Nightfall stepped into the room and disappeared inside the darkness.
"Hey!" The guard walked into the room with his weapon drawn, nearly knocking Twilight, who was standing there not sure what to do, over. "Where are you?!" the guard yelled in the dark. Just as his horn was starting to glow so that he could see, Nightfall came down from above and tackled him. The guard was knocked clean off his hooves. The unicorn was only on the floor for a second before he sprang back to a standing position, only to take another strike into the jaw upward. Nightfall grabbed him by the throat and shoved him up against the wall.
"Get the door," Nightfall demanded. Twilight jumped a little at the sound of his voice. It was rough sounding. It still sounded like him, but at the same time, didn't. Twilight closed the door and the darkness consumed them. "Light," Nightfall said in the same angry voice. Twilight's horn lit up and the room was instantly illuminated by its bright purple glow. Nightfall was holding the guard against the wall by the throat with one hoof. His other hoof was holding the gun under the guard's chin.
The unicorn was now breathing heavily, at least that's what he was trying to do. He sounded more like he was choking because of Nightfall's hoof placement. "Look buddy," he barely managed to cough out the words. "When I... uh... said scum," he was clearly shaking now. "I didn't... really..." Nightfall began to press harder against the guards throat. He choked and gagged as he began to panic. "Help," he managed to say as he felt the batpony crushing his wind pipe.
Nightfall let go of the guard, who then dropped to the floor. The guard took in a massive breath and coughed violently as he put his hooves to his neck. He laid on the floor for a few more seconds before sitting up and staring into the barrel of his own gun. He thought death would come next, a loud bang and then silence, but instead there was only a voice. It was Nightfall's. His real voice. Much more calm now. "Is this where the entrance to the tunnel under the outpost is?"
"I don't know what you're..." the guard took another deep breath, "...talking about."
"I think you do."
"There is a tunnel, but I don't know where the entrance is. We bricked it off a few years ago."
"Good enough for me. I'll find it later." Nightfall lowered the weapon and handed a bottle, about the size of a wine bottle, to the guard. "Drink this."
"What is it?"
"Just drink it!" Some, but not all of the anger was back in Nightfall's voice.
The guard took the bottle in his hooves and looked at it. He looked up at Nightfall again and decided that it couldn't be poison. Being shot would just be easier and make more sense. Why waste whatever was in the bottle when all that had to be done was a single trigger pull. He pulled the cork out with his magic and took a sip. It tasted bitter.
"More," Nightfall said, still aiming the rifle.
The guard closed his eyes and took a few big gulps of the distasteful fluid. He stopped drinking and placed the bottle down. He felt funny. And then he felt nothing at all, right before collapsing to the floor.
Nightfall dropped the weapon to the floor and looked back at Twilight. She looked at him with a "Oh crap what do I do? What do I do?" sort of look. "Memory loss potion," he said. "When he wakes up in a few hours, he won't remember us."
"That was a little much, don't you think?" Twilight's voice was shaky. She was still trying to process what had just happened. "Were you really going to shoot him if he didn't comply?"
"I did what I had to, and no, I wouldn't have shot him. I can't tell you how glad I am that he did what I told him to do."
Nightfall and Twilight searched the dark room for a decent amount of time. They scooted shelves around and looked under every bag of mortar. The only place they didn't look was under the pile of large rocks that were used to repair the stone bridge above. They began to dig through the pile fairly quickly thanks to Twilight being able to levitate large amounts of the rocks out of the way all at once. Each rock was moved to a corner until there were none left to move. All that was left was a whole in the floor with a few steps leading farther underground. Nightfall looked up at Twilight. "This is it."
After dragging the unconscious pony outside and covering the hole in the floor up with a waterproof tarp to hide it, the two ponies began their walk home.
"Listen, Twilight," Nightfall said in a sincere and almost sad tone. "I just want you to know, that what I did back there was just my job. I have to keep you safe. I know it wasn't nice or perhaps even right, but I couldn't take any chances."
"I understand," she said. "Sometimes good ponies have to do bad things for a greater cause." She paused and thought for a second and then looked back up. "Be careful. There are so many who have tried to do the right thing and only ended up making things worse. I think you're a good pony, so please. Be careful."
"Thank you, Twilight."
They continued back to the castle from there without any further interruptions. The sun had set and the moon was now rising. The stars began to show up one by one until the entire sky was adorned by them. It all reminded Twilight of Luna. "I hope she's okay," she thought to herself. It scared her when she thought about the possibilities. All she could do was hope she wasn't to late.
Chapter 5
All was quiet in the dark room that Nightfall now found himself in. There was something strange about the place though, wherever it was. The darkness was thick like a shroud and engulfed all light. He couldn't even see through it, and any attempts to survey the surroundings with sound, failed. There was no echo, no response, only silence. It was if the room went on forever and he was completely alone.
Nightfall began to walk forward into the black abyss. His hoof steps were the only sound to keep him company for a few minutes, until he heard more. There was another set, coming from behind him. He turned around and stared into the darkness, almost straining his eyes as he tried to pierce its veil.
Another pony stepped forward into view, its face completely covered by shadow. All color was absent from the rest of his body. He wore the standard royal guard uniform. The armor gave off no reflections. It was just a dull grey. As he walked, a tired, angry sounding voice sounded from seemingly nowhere.
"Hello Nightfall," the voice echoed. "Are you done running away?"
Nightfall took a step back as the shadowy figure advanced toward him. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" he asked in a voice that had become ragged with panic. The pony continued to march. And then, it opened its eyes. Nightfall knew those eyes. They stood out like stars in the sky.
"No, it can't be." He took several more steps back. "Get away from me. I'm warning you! I'll... I'll"
"What?" the pony replied. "Kill me again?"
Nightfall's eyes widened as he began to breath so heavy he thought he was going to hyperventilate. "I... I didn't do that! It's not my fault!"
The pony kept advancing, and just when he was about to reach Nightfall... "BANG!" A loud shot rang out and echoed through the oblivion. The pony's head fractured and shattered like glass. Red hot blood exploded from the cavity and splattered onto the darkness as if it were a canvas for an artist of death. As the body went limp and hit the ground, it evaporated into a mist that washed over Nightfall like rain. Only seconds later, another voice sounded. This time from behind.
"Why didn't you save me?" the feminine voice asked in a ghostly tone.
Nightfall froze. He knew that voice. It was a voice that he would have done anything to hear again. "Shade? Is that you?" he turned around to see a pegasus, just as gloomy and shadowy as the last pony standing there.
Shade's voice was barely a whisper. "Why weren't you there?" The mare had tears running down her blackened face. The tears seemed to come out of nowhere as her eyes were where hidden by a dark shadow that hid any expression.
"Shady, I am so sorry," Nightfall said in a trembling voice. The mare didn't respond. She just stood there silently as tears dripped onto the floor. "Shady, please talk to me." Nightfall could now feel his own tears building up in his eyes, but she still didn't move. After seconds of silence, a spark ignited in Shade and she burned away into ashes. The mare let out a long screech of pain. "No!" Nightfall yelled out as he ran to her. He was to late though. She was already gone.
Nightfall fell back on his haunches. It was all to much for him, but it wasn't over yet. The torture continued with one last voice, his own.
"Remember Paper, all the rules are important, but the one you should always remember is to never let your guard down. Never let your guard down. Never let your guard down." It was like it was stuck on repeat. The words stung like venom at Nightfall's heart as he heard his own advice spoken. A reminder of what he should have done.
Another pony stepped forward from the darkness. Nightfall looked up at it through teary eyes. He was staring into a mirror as the pony stopped in front of him. The clone looked tired and worn out. "This is the price we pay, fool," it said in a taunting tone. All of a sudden, the duplicate was hanging from a noose. The terrible noise of choking and gagging filled the void.
Nightfall, the real one, choked on his own breath. He felt like he was being strangled and fell over onto his side as he suffocated. The pain roared inside his lungs like a storm of knives, and he felt something rough cutting into his throat. "I... made... huh... a... guuhh... mistake," he barely managed to cough out. He reached out to grab his neck, but he couldn't get his hooves to it. It was like they were being restrained. He was forced to look at his hooves with his now failing vision. They were covered in blood. That was the last thing he saw before everything went black.
Nightfall gasped for air as he shot out of his hammock and onto the floor. He looked up and looked around at the empty room as he coughed violently. Twilight had been given her own room and no longer slept with him at night. He was alone again. The hard floor was comforting. Being able to feel something real and knowing that he would not slip back into the nightmare relieved him.
He stood up, walked to the door, and stepped into the hall. It was mostly silent, with the exception of a few quiet voices coming from the large room where group meetings were held. Nightfall walked down the hall and around a corner where he came to another door. He stepped into the bathroom and walked over to the sink.
"Get ahold of yourself Nightfall," he said to his reflection in the mirror. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face. "Don't let it get to you. You have a job to do tomorrow and you can't let your fear get in the way."
After returning to his room and laying back down in his hammock, Nightfall stared at the ceiling for hours. He had woken at around one in the morning and the clock now read "5:57." He wasn't going to get anymore sleep. He knew this. Once he had that dream, that one dream that popped into his mind every so often, there would be no more rest.
He sat up and got up out of bed. He decided it would be best to go for a early morning fly through the forest. He also had a couple of stops to make as well.
As the sun was beginning to rise, the beams of light illuminated the layer of white clouds below. For Nightfall, being at extremely high altitudes was the best way to relax. It was peaceful and made one feel as if they were disconnected from the rest of the world. Each layer of clouds below and the endless sky above helped to add to that effect. Nightfall stopped and hovered in place for a moment before diving straight down at high speeds. The air rushed past him like an upside down waterfall. Most would have forgotten their troubles and worries at that moment as they enjoyed the feeling of freedom. Nightfall was not most ponies. His thoughts that had swallowed him whole still lingered in his head.
As Ponyville came into view, Nightfall fanned out his wings and reduced his speed. He landed in the middle of a street that was just starting to become occupied by the early bird ponies that enjoyed the morning.
Earlier
Solar and a few other ponies were sitting in the meeting area when Nightfall walked by. He looked tired, but at the same time, wide awake. It was as if he just had enough energy to force himself to be so alert. It didn't really make sense to Solar, but he supposed that that is just what happens when a batpony has to adjust from sleeping in the day to sleeping at night like the rest of them.
"Where are going at such an early hour?" asked Solar to the his worn associate.
"Out," Nightfall replied. "Sleep isn't exactly agreeing with me right now."
"Again?"
"Yes, again."
Solar sighed. "You should really get some sleep while you still can. The next few days are going to be busy ones," he said.
Nightfall obviously wasn't listening as he walked off half way through Solar's sentence. "I'll be fine," he said tiredly. "I just need to get out for a while. Besides, all you ever have me do is go get pointless intel." Before Solar could protest any further, he walked out the door and let it close behind him with a faint thud.
Solar let out an irritated sigh again. He stared at the door that Nightfall had left out of for a few more seconds before looking over at a light blue pegasus. "Follow him."
The stallion looked up from the book he was reading. "What?"
"Nightfall is constantly leaving early in the morning or late at night and coming back whenever he wants." Solar's eyes narrowed. "He's up to something."
"Are you sure about that?" asked the pegasus who had some doubts of his own.
"We are guarding a freaking alicorn princess. I can't take any risks. For all we know he isn't who he says he is. He could be a royal spy and he's going to report to his authorities right now."
"Didn't you put him in charge of keeping Twilight safe? That doesn't seem like a smart move if you don't trust him."
"Come on Foxtrot, you know I'm smarter than that. Giving Nightfall a purpose was just a means of making him think that I trust him. He isn't really going to be in charge of her security. I already have ponies I actually do trust working on that."
"Alright. I'll see what he's up to, but I still don't think you have anything to worry about." Foxtrot stood up out of his chair and started walking toward the door. "If I get caught, I'll cover for you, but you owe me." He opened the door and stepped outside. Taking off into the sky, he flew low above the canopy of the Everfree forest until he was just outside of Ponyville. After gaining some altitude he scanned the area in search of Nightfall, who he spotted diving down from above the clouds. Nightfall slowed and landed in the mostly empty street.
For the next hour, Foxtrot shadowed the batpony through town, being careful not to be noticed. In that time, Nightfall didn't really do anything interesting. He kept to himself and never walked down any dark alleys or some place secluded. There was no private meeting. Instead, Nightfall walked around the market for a while as if in search of something.
The market was never very active early in the morning. Only a few stands were open. Nightfall walked up to one of them just like any other normal pony would and started looking at the produce that was spread out on the tables. All fruit. Apples, pears, pineapple, and oranges.
"That's it?" Foxtrot thought to himself as he sat on a cloud above. "He's just getting fruit? Solar really isn't as smart as he thinks he is." He sat patiently for a few more minutes, carefully watching. Nothing happened. Nightfall got a bag of something from behind the counter and walked off. "That can't be it, can it?" Foxtrot asked himself again. Nightfall didn't even steal the fruit. He paid for it as if he had been an honest pony all his life.
Foxtrot reluctantly followed Nightfall to his next destination. The Cemetery. Surely he was going to meet someone there. Few ponies ever went there early in the morning, unless there was a funeral. There was also plenty of cover. This made it a perfect rendezvous for ponies who wanted to be away from the public eye.
"Finally," Foxtrot thought to himself. "Solar may have actually been right." A more morbid thought came to mind just then. He didn't know which one the hope for. He would know soon enough.
Nightfall didn't know how to feel about graveyards. Part of him hated them and what they represented, a place of sadness, death, and grief for those who still walked the earth. A place where only the dead slept quietly. Another part of him liked graveyards and their purpose. A nice place for the dead. A way of respecting their bodies and their souls. He hoped they were comfortable.
After walking among the tombstones for some time, he stopped at one small, granite stone, engraved with the name "Shade Frost." Nightfall sat down in front of it. "Hey there honey," he said quietly to the small rock. "Sorry I wasn't able to visit sooner. Things have been a little hectic back at the castle. We found somepony who could help us make things right." Nightfall sat there for a few seconds listening to the silence. Silence, always silence. He would give anything to hear her voice outside of his nightmares. "I miss you so much," he said lowering his head towards the ground in front of the small tombstone.
Foxtrot now understood why Nightfall would take off alone so often and he began to feel extremely uncomfortable. He felt like he shouldn't be there, like it was wrong for him to spy on Nightfall when he was in so much pain. Foxtrot thought about walking out from behind the large stone spire he was hiding behind to try and help, but he had no idea how to handle this kind of situation. He didn't know what it felt like to lose someone close. He never had to go through that kind of pain.
Foxtrot didn't stay any longer. It was obvious that Nightfall needed some time alone. He didn't want to anger him since he had just spied on him for Solar. He took off into the sky once he had left the graveyard and headed for home.
Foxtrot landed at the castle doors where he was met by an anxious Solar Spark. He could tell that he was ready to hear all about how Nightfall was a dirty traitor who needed to be hanged for his crimes against ponykind. He almost seemed a little to excited.
"So what did you find out? What has Nightfall been hiding?" Solar asked.
"Nothing," replied Foxtrot. "He's clean."
All excitement that was in Solar immediately vanished and a confused look showed on his face. "What? Really?" He sounded just as disappointed as he did confused."
"If buying fruit and taking a walk around town is a crime, then he's the worst of the worst. Other than that, he's completely clean." Foxtrot walked off leaving the dumbfounded stallion standing there looking like an idiot.
Solar couldn't believe what he had just heard. This was good right? No! It couldn't be! He was so sure. "If Nightfall isn't a spy, then that means he's exactly what he says he is, or at least was at one point," Solar thought to himself. "A good for nothing thief." He could still use that, right? "Surely he has something he's hiding."
When Nightfall did return to the castle about an hour later, Foxtrot calmly walked up to him. "Hey Nightfall," he called out as he approached. "Are you okay," he said when he got to him. "I saw you at the cemetery and... well, you looked like you were having a tough time." He knew it was probably a bad idea to let Nightfall know that he was at the cemetery, but he wasn't just going to ignore the fact that Nightfall probably needed some help. Besides, he was more than capable of covering his tracks.
"I'm fine, thanks." Nightfall replied. "What were you doing at cemetery? I've never seen you there before."
Foxtrot nervously looked around before coming up with the best lie he could think of. "Oh you know," he said. He managed to stay calm and not look nervous. "Just paying my respects."
"Old guard buddy, or someone else?" Nightfall asked.
"Just a friend," Foxtrot replied. "I didn't really have many friends when I was in the guard. Mostly because I hated the way they always did things. I'm glad I go out when I did."
"Yeah, I'm going to make those bastards pay for what they did."
"What would that be?" Foxtrot knew Nightfall didn't like the guards with him pretty much still being a wanted criminal in Canterlot, but something about the way he had said it, the anger in his eyes, gave him the impression that his disdain went deeper than just being on the lamb.
Nightfall hesitated for a second before answering Foxtrot's question. It was now his turn to lie. "Well the king wouldn't be much if he didn't have his own little private army. The fact that they can actually serve him and keep clear consciences disgusts me." Nightfall did an equally good job of making no sign that he wasn't telling the truth. "I'm also getting sick of Solar," he said abruptly.
"What do you mean by that?"
"He doesn't trust me for some reason. I don't know if he doesn't like the fact that I used to be a thief or if he thinks I did something wrong. Also I know he only put me in charge of Twilight's safety so I would think he trusted me."
"How do you know that?"
"I saw him assembling a security team for Twilight a few days after he appointed me as her personal guard."
Before the conversation could continue any further, an earth pony ran up to Foxtrot. "Hey, they need you in the planning room for some kind of mission later in the week. Something about intel recovery."
"Of course, always with the intel. I'll see if I can convince Solar to trust you a little more," Foxtrot said to Nightfall as he began to follow the earth pony. "I think you at least deserve a chance."
"Thanks." Nightfall walked off down the hall toward his room, leaving Foxtrot to his own business. After entering, he put the small sack that he had gotten from the market on the table in the middle of the room. He opened it up and pulled out a small green fruit the size of an apple. He didn't eat it. He just starred at it for a minute before setting it back on the table. He wasn't hungry.
After laying around for some time, Nightfall decided that it would be best if he went over a few things with Paper Cut before the
break-in later that night. As he sat up in his net hammock, he looked back at the small fruit on the table. He put it back in the bag and tied it shut. Taking it with him, he walked back out into the hall and started walking toward Paper Cut's room.
Nightfall liked the castle. It was crumbling and had vines growing on some of the walls, but there were enough rooms for everypony to get their own. Some ponies shared rooms so that they would have someone to talk to or just liked having a roommate. Paper had a few roommates, but they were usually out doing something "important" during the day. This meant that Nightfall and Paper would be able to talk in private.
Nightfall walked into the dim room to find Paper Cut still fast asleep in a bed. "Rise and shine," Nightfall said as he put a hoof on Paper's shoulder and shook him.
Paper swatted Nightfall's hoof away and rolled over. "Guh... five more minutes, mom." Paper pulled the sheets up and over his head.
Nightfall responded to this by grabbing the covers in his teeth and pulling them all off the bed. "I'm not your mother Paper. If I was, you would be used to waking up much earlier."
Paper sat up in the bed and rubbed his eyes as he yawned. "What time is it?" he asked in a tired voice as he got out of his bed.
"About eight thirty," Nightfall answered.
"Alright, so what's up?" Paper walked to the wall opposite of his bed and grabbed a coffee mug, some ingredients, and a small red crystal out of a drawer.
"We need to go over a few things for tonight. This is your first time so I would prefer it if things went smoothly."
"Okay. What do we need to go over?" Paper asked as he put the crystal into the side of coffee maker. The small stone began to glow as the coffee maker powered up. "Oh and how do you like your coffee?"
"I don't drink coffee."
If the coffee had already been made and Paper was drinking it, he would have spit it out in a cliché fashion. "What?! How do you go without coffee? It's like the most important part of the morning!"
"Don't need it," Nightfall said plainly. "Never have."
"Are you telling me that you've never had coffee?" Yet again, if he had been drinking some, Paper would have spit it out.
"Like I said, never needed it."
"You my friend are missing out, big time," he said as he pointed a hoof at Nightfall. "I'm going to make you a cup and your going to try it. I promise it will make all your problems go away. At least for a little while."
"Okay, I'll try some, but I pretty sure that it's going to take way more than some hot drink with caffeine in it to make my problems go away."
Paper pulled another mug out of the drawer and placed it on the table next to the other. The coffee maker made a soft "ding" noise and the crystal, which was now grey and cold, stopped glowing.
"Oh good. It's ready," said Paper excitedly. He poured the hot brown beverage which he liked to call "The Juice of Life" into the two mugs. After putting the pot back in the small machine, he picked up his mug and blew to cool it down. Nightfall also picked up his mug and eyed it curiously. "This isn't going to send me bouncing off the wall, is it?" he asked. Paper shook his head and took a small sip of his "Life Juice." "Oh that is some good life juice," he said as he felt himself wake up a little.
Nightfall hesitated before taking a sip. "This is actually pretty good." He took another sip. "I might actually have to start drinking this." Before he drank anymore, he placed his still steamy cup back on the table. "Now, back to business."
"So we just need to go over getting in, getting out, and not getting caught, right?" asked Paper as he took another drink.
"Yeah, something like that," Nightfall replied. "Twilight and I found the entrance to the tunnel last night. We ran into some trouble, but I managed to keep under control. Had to use the same memory loss potion I used on Border Sketch. The guard said that the tunnel had been bricked off years ago so we'll need to bring something to get through some brick walls."
"Something tells me that a sledgehammer is going to make to much noise."
"Have you ever heard of runic magic?"
"Those are those magic engravings right?"
"Yes," Nightfall said simply. "I've never written one and I'm sure you haven't either, but you said Twilight was really smart, right?"
Twilight had just woken up when she decided it would be a good idea to go out and socialize some more with the rest of the ponies that she currently lived with. She had met most of them, but wanted to get to know them better. Twilight happily hopped out of bed and headed to the door of the room when a few knocks sounded from the other side.
"Come in," said Twilight from across the room.
The door slowly swung open and Nightfall and Paper Cut walked in. "Hey Twilight," Nightfall said as he approached. "Do you know how to make runes?"
"A few," she replied. "What kind do you need?"
"Something that can get us through a brick wall. Or a few preferably. Also, can you put it on paper so we can take it into that tunnel we found last night."
"Sure," said Twilight cheerfully. "I'll see what I can come up with."
"Can I help?" asked Paper. "I've always wanted to expand my knowledge of magic."
"Of course, Paper." Twilight smiled and grabbed a pen out of a cup on a small desk she had set up against a wall. "I'd be glad to teach you how to draw some basic runes."
Paper smiled. "Awesome!"
Nightfall walked over to the side of the two unicorns who were now sitting on the floor with several pieces of paper spread on a low table. "I might as well watch," he said as he sat down. "I always bought these things from merchants on the black market back in my days of breaking and entering. Actually knowing how to make them may come in useful some day."
Twilight made a confused face before asking Nightfall a question. "Why the black market? Couldn't you just get these at a regular magic store?"
"Not with the laws that the king has in place," Nightfall replied. "He's so paranoid that somepony will try and over throw him that he has bans on any potentially dangerous items. Guns, swords, bows, spell books that teach combat magic, , almost anything you could think of. All the swords you've seen around here were found in the castle's armory."
"So all of Equestria's citizens are powerless against the oppressive royal forces," Twilight said.
"I once printed an article about a riot in Hosston back when I worked for that newspaper," Paper spoke up. "The participants tried to storm town hall with nothing but pitchforks and torches like it was medieval times. Let's just say there's a reason they call it the Hosston massacre."
"You don't mean..." Twilight's eyes widened as a horrified look took over her face.
Paper sighed in despair. "Twenty five dead, fourteen wounded, and four of the five ponies who organized the event were executed for treason. I'll never forget the day I had to print that."
"That's terrible!" Twilight exclaimed.
"All the more reason for us to fight," Nightfall said as he looked over the blank sheets of paper on the table. "So how do we make these runes? It's probably best if we get these made as soon as possible."
"Right. Of course," said Twilight as she tried to regain her composure. She levitated a marker up to the paper and drew a large circle. As she drew, she began to explain how the circle made up the body and how each symbol that she was writing did different things. Some had elemental effects, others had more passive effects that just helped support the others. It was mostly over Nightfall's head on how a bunch of lines on a piece of paper could make magic, but he found it interesting none the less.
"So since you guys need to get through a wall," Twilight continued her lesson. "You'll probably want something that can burn them away so... there." Twilight made a few more symbols on the drawing that was now starting to take shape. "Fire."
"Is there a way you can make it work without an activation crystal?" asked Nightfall.
"Activation crystal?" Twilight had never heard of such a thing. Usually she just used her magic to activate them.
"Small device that allows non-unicorn ponies to activate runes. I had one a while back, but I lost it in a house fire."
"House fire?" Paper wasn't familiar with this story. "I didn't know you had a house fire."
"Lost my house and a bunch of my stuff. The rest is a story for another time," Nightfall dismissed Paper's curiosity. "You can make it like, touch activated or something, right Twilight."
"I could," Twilight looked back down at the almost complete rune and thought for a second. "But it would probably burn your hoof off. Alternatively, I could teach Paper here an activation spell."
Paper's eyes lit up. "Really. That would be great!"
"Alright then," Twilight said with a smile. "Nightfall, there's some more materials that I need in order to complete the rune. Could you go get those for me while I teach Paper the spell?"
"Of course. What do you need?"
"I'll need some finely ground fire crystal. Normally, a pony could activate the rune using their own magic in order to get the desired effect, in this case reducing brick and mortar to ash, but since Paper has never performed an activation spell, it would be best to lace the rune with something to assist in setting it off."
"I'll get you what you need." Nightfall got up from where he sat and headed towards the door. He turned around before leaving. "If Solar asks what you're doing, don't let him know I had anything to do with this."
"Don't worry Nightfall," Paper assured him. "I've got your back."
Magic stores were known for selling all kinds of things. Crystals, spells, runes, enchantments, and amulets. Most had been shutdown after the king came to power after his father died. The current monarch was so certain that his father had been poisoned, that he passed laws that outlawed anything potentially dangerous. Long story short, paranoia out ways logic. All Nightfall needed was some fire crystal that had been reduced to powder. Shouldn't be to hard.
There were plenty of stores open in Ponyville that had items with magical attributes and most of the owners still sold contrabands to keep business flowing. Nightfall found it sort of funny. The second something becomes illegal, its value sky rockets. As he walked to the corner of a rode he noticed a sign that said "Astral's Arcane Shop." A good start.
When Nightfall walked into the store, he looked around the store shelves for what he needed for a few minutes to see what was available. As expected, there were many things that would help any magic scholar in any projects they may have. After not being able to find any crystals that were in a powder state, he walked up to the front of the store to see what was being kept behind the counter.
"Are you Astral?" Nightfall asked the pony behind the counter.
"Indeed I am," the young unicorn replied with a business stallion smile. "What can I get you? I just got a new supply of spell books and there's a sale on luck charms."
"I'm looking for some finely ground fire crystal. You selling any?"
Astral leaned in close to Nightfall over the freshly polished counter top. "Who told you about that?" he whispered after looking both ways and checking the door. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I could get in if word gets out?"
"Don't worry. I'm just looking for them and this just happened to be the first store I checked." Nightfall noticed Astral relax a little. "So you're selling right?"
"I am, but it won't be cheap. These are a high grade material. You can't just take any fire crystal and grind it up. If it isn't done correctly and by an expert, which I just happen to be, they'll lose their magic abilities."
"How expensive are we talking?"
Astral smiled. "Two hundred bits. Non-negotiable." He pulled out a small glass phial that contained a red powdery substance that glowed and shimmered ever so slightly. "This is the last container I have, so what do you say?"
"Are you sure it isn't negotiable?" Nightfall asked.
"One hundred percent certain," Astral replied. "It isn't easy getting your hooves on this stuff."
Nightfall let out a sigh. The last thing he wanted was to have to spend all his money on one item, but he needed it to much to look somewhere else and risk somepony else buying them when he couldn't find what he needed anywhere else. "Alright," he said as he put a large pouch of bits on the table.
Astral picked up the coin purse with the yellow glow of his magic and untied the top. He levitated all the coins out and placed them in stacks of twenty on the counter. He counted each stack out loud and then levitated the phial to Nightfall. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you. If you get caught with that, I've never seen you in my life."
"Oh, I'm sorry sir," Nightfall said with a smile. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. You must have me mixed up with somepony else."
"Ha. I like you."
Nightfall turned and headed for the door. "I'll come by if I ever need anything else." He opened the door and walked outside. The sun was now halfway to its noon position. The morning wasn't even over, and he had everything he needed for that night. Now all there was left to do was to get back to the castle and finish the rune.
When Nightfall got back to the castle, he found Paper and Twilight fooling around in the room that he had left them in. Twilight was standing on top of the bed laughing as Paper danced around doing an impersonation of his favorite stand up comedian. It would have been a perfectly normal sight if his mane wasn't on fire.
"Did I miss something?" asked Nightfall as he stared at Paper who was completely calm about the fact that he was on fire. Or at least it appeared that way. The only thing keeping Nightfall from freaking out was that he had seen the spell before.
"Hey Nightfall!" said Paper as he danced around the table in the middle of the room. "Check out this awesome spell Twilight showed me! It totally looks like I'm burning alive! I could walk into town right now and be all like "Somepony help me! Aaaagh!" ha ha. The best part is they wouldn't be able to put me out because it's magic!"
"I'm sure it would have made one heck of a distraction if we had to go with that option." Nightfall switched his attention to Twilight who was now working on putting the fire on Paper's head out. "I got what we needed. Does Paper have the activation spell down?"
"I showed him everything he needed to know. Now all we need is to test it."
Twilight infused some of the powder into one of the five runes that they had drawn while Nightfall and Paper waited patiently. When she was done they placed the rune up on a table that they had set on its side. It was time for the moment of truth. Paper took his position in front of Twilight and Nightfall and pointed his horn at the table.
A few moments went by and nothing happened. Paper was still standing there trying to cast his spell when Nightfall spoke up. "Having trouble there Paper?"
"Hang on," he replied. "I think I almost have it." His horn began to glow and the symbols on the rune started floating in a circular motion as they leaped right off the paper, a small spark began to form in the small cluster of magic swirling in the air. Next thing they all knew, the table was being disintegrated right before their eyes. Soon, there was nothing left but a pile of ash on the floor. Paper jumped up in the air with excitement. "That was amazing! Let's do it again. Except this time, we need to get something bigger!"
"I'll tell you what," said Nightfall. "If we have any of that powder left after the job tonight, we'll celebrate by burning some more useless junk."
"I'm glad to see that it worked," said Twilight. "I'll start infusing the other runes. Do you guys want me to show you how to do it?"
"Heck yes," Paper said enthusiastically.
"I just realized I haven't eaten anything today. You guys want anything?" asked Nightfall.
The two both said that they ate while he was gone, so Nightfall stepped out into the hall and headed to the makeshift mess hall while Twilight showed Paper how to finish the runes. All that remained to do was to go over the heist plan a few more times and wait for night. And just like that, they would be ready.
Nightfall sighed as he thought about this. "Alright Nightfall," he said to himself. "Looks like you're back in the game. Try not to screw it up this time."
Chapter 6
For Paper Cut, the day had gone by relatively quick. He had spent most of it going over what to do once inside the armory and what to do if things went sideways. He had been waiting almost two days for this heist, and the moment was finally here. He was full of excitement but at the same time, nervous out of his mind. He had never done anything like this ever before. "What if I screw up? What if I forget something? What if I get us killed?!" he thought to himself as he paced around the room frantically while waiting to meet Nightfall. "No. Don't think of such things. Keep your cool. Nightfall will be there every step of the way and he knows exactly what he's doing." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning his head when he heard the sound of a door opening.
"I got some of my old stuff out," said Nightfall as he entered the room. "Should come in handy." He dropped a pair of old tattered saddle bags in the middle of the floor. They looked like they had been ripped, thrown, at one point buried, and repaired with improvised patches.
Nightfall wiped some of the dirt off the top of the bags and opened one up. "Hey Paper, can you bring my saddle bags over here?" he said as he pointed to the corner where they were usually deposited.
Paper levitated the bags up, placed them next to Nightfall and then sat down next to them.
"Thanks."
"What is this stuff?" Paper asked curiously as he looked into the older torn up bags.
"Mostly old junk that I don't need anymore," answered Nightfall as he sifted through the contents. "I held onto it just in case, though." He pulled out a few half empty bottles, a small utility knife, some rope, and a large piece of triangular fabric. He held it up in his hooves and inspected it. It was grey with a long row of sharp jagged teeth running its full length.
"Wow that is really cool!" said Paper. "What is it?"
Nightfall responded simply by putting it up to his mouth and tying the two ends together behind his head. He looked like a menacing predator that could tare a pony apart. "Got to hide your identity somehow. Just in case you get seen," he said from behind the mask.
"Cool," said Paper. "Do I get one?"
Nightfall untied the bandana and held it out to Paper. "Here, take this one," he said. "You've got more to lose from getting seen than I do. Besides, I bet it will look good on you."
"Thanks."
Nightfall transferred a few more items from his old saddle bags to his new ones and then stood up. He walked over to a table and grabbed the five runes that they had made earlier that day along with a few other things and placed them into the bags. He walked over to the door and motioned for Paper to follow.
When the two reached the now open air main room of the castle, they were greeted by Twilight. It was almost midnight so Paper almost didn't see her, but there was just enough light being produced by a few torches and the moon for her to be visible.
"Hey Twilight," Paper said softly as not to alert anypony else that they were sneaking out. "What are you doing up this late?"
"I thought I'd wish you guys luck," she replied. "Be careful."
"Don't worry Twilight. I've got Nightfall here to make sure everything goes to plan."
"I know. Just... be careful," she said. "I just... I don't want to lose another friend." The darkness didn't do a very good job of hiding her sad smile. Before Paper could go, she kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck," she finally said after a moment of silence.
"Yeah... uh... thanks," he said as he blushed uncontrollably. "I'll... um... see you soon."
The walk through the Everfree forest was mostly quiet because there wasn't much to talk about, that and Paper couldn't get his mind off of what just happened.
"Hey Paper," Nightfall called from behind. He had noticed that Paper wasn't entirely "in it" a while ago and had stopped walking. Without even thinking, Paper had continued on with out him. This proved Nightfall's suspicions.
"What?" Paper said as he snapped back to reality. He looked back to notice Nightfall walking up to him from behind. "Oh, sorry. My mind was kind of wandering there for a second."
"No problem," Nightfall said in the dark. "Not yet at least. Listen, when we're at our target, I need you alert."
"Right," replied Paper. "Alert."
The two walked through the forest in silence for about five more minutes before that silence was broken by a question from Paper.
"So Nightfall," he began. "Do you think that may have been... I don't know... a sign?"
"What?"
"You know. Didn't you see what happened when we left? Twilight. Me. I mean... It's definitely a maybe. Right?"
"You and Twilight. I think you've got as good a shot as anypony else. So yeah. It's definitely a maybe."
"Awesome!" exclaimed Paper. Only half of the word was very loud as he realized he should probably keep his voice down. "I really think I feel a connection or something between us. It's like this feeling that I can't really explain, but it's awesome." Paper was now smiling with glee as they walked through the moon lit forest. He looked over at Nightfall to ask another question. "Have you ever felt something like that before?"
Nightfall was caught slightly off guard by the question. It took him a second, but he soon answered it. "Yes," he said. "But it was a long time ago." He continued with one final, almost inaudible whisper after letting out a faint sigh. "Almost to long."
Before Paper could ask anymore questions about the subject, they stepped out from the darkness of the forest and into the slightly less dark open space outside of Ponyville which had just come into view. It was time to get to work. Nightfall wanted nothing more than to get this all over with, but he and Paper took their time as they walked into town as to not raise suspicion from any guards. As they made their way toward the small stone bridge, Paper noticed Nightfall continually looking over his shoulder. He seemed a little stressed.
"You all right, Nightfall?" Paper asked as they walked through the dark streets.
"Yeah," replied Nightfall through slightly heavy breathing. "It's just been a while since I last did anything like this. There are some old memories that... well... forget I said anything. We need to focus on the task at hoof."
When they reached their intended destination, Nightfall and Paper checked to make sure nopony was watching and then slid down the creek bank. Nightfall opened the wooden door and peeked into the small dark room, checking to make sure it was clear. After scanning the surroundings, he opened the door all the way and stepped inside. Paper followed close behind into the small room. When they were both inside, Nightfall closed the door. It was now completely pitch black.
"I can't see a thing," said Paper.
"I'm working on it," said Nightfall as he dug around in his saddle bags. He pulled out a flare and set it a light. The entire room was lit up by the bright red light causing shadows to dance and shimmer across the stone walls. "Now then, let's get this tarp up." He grabbed a corner of the dark blue tarp that was still laying where he and Twilight had left it. He pulled it to the side and revealed the hole in the floor that led to the tunnels.
Paper stepped down into the hole and walked forward into the dark passage using the brick wall to guide him. Nightfall followed close behind with his flare held in his teeth and stepped up in front to take the lead.
"Alright, into the unknown," said Nightfall as he continued forward.
The ground was soft and the brick walls were sort of slimy with water and mold. The air was noticeably much cooler and humid than on the surface. There were many cobwebs and spider webs hanging from the ceiling and on the old wooden supports on the walls that smelled of fungus and wood rot. The flare that Nightfall held was very effective at burning these away.
They walked for only a minute before coming to a dead end. The end of the tunnel was much newer than the rest of the walls. It looked more solid and better constructed. The bricks didn't have nearly as much mold growing on them.
"Your time to shine," said Nightfall. He took one of the runes out from his saddle bags and handed it to Paper who took it in his magic. Paper spread the rune open onto the wall. He pinned it in place with a few small magic anchors, a good substitute for the push pins that couldn't be pushed into the brick and concrete. The half inch wide anchors glowed slightly before turning back to normal. The rune was now firmly in place. Paper took a few steps back and pointed his horn at the wall.
"Here goes nothing," he said.
Paper's horn lit up faintly for a second as the rune also glowed faintly. When his magic got stronger and brighter so did the rune. In just a few seconds, the symbols where floating and spinning around brightly as a small flame ignited in the center. The flame grew and grew and soon engulfed the entire wall which fell to pieces like tissue paper.
Paper looked up and admired his handy work as Nightfall walked past him. "Good work," the batpony said as he passed.
The two ponies walked on for a few second more when all of a sudden Paper seemingly fell through the floor. There was a loud splashing noise as disgusting green water flew up into the air along with brown sludge. Nightfall jumped back and looked at his friend who was now standing in dirty ground water up to his belly. Paper had an unamused look on his face. "You got to be kidding me," he said.
Nightfall held out a hoof to help Paper out of the small underground pond. "You okay?" he asked as he helped him out.
"Yeah, I think so," replied Paper. "Just a little cold, is all."
When Paper was out of the water, they walked on through the muddy cave until coming across yet another wall. This one was the same as the last. Nightfall tossed Paper another rune who took it and set it up on the wall in the same manner as before. He performed his spell again and the wall fell apart. When the bricks and ash fell and the small cloud of smoke cleared this time, instead of revealing more tunnels, the hole opened up into a well lit room full of exactly what they wanted. Guns. Lots of them.
"Just like we rehearsed, Paper," said Nightfall in a whisper. "Grab what you can. Fast."
After tying his bandana, which he had managed to keep dry, around his head, Paper started placing as many small boxes of ammo into his bags as he could. At the same time, Nightfall went to work taking as many rifles as he could at once and leaning them into the corner right next to the hole they had created in the wall.
It was all just about what Nightfall expected. Around one hundred rifles stood up on racks. One row along the wall opposite to their improvised entrance, another row that ran the length of the room in the middle, and one more on the wall they had entered through. There was a large stack of boxes full of ammunition on the left side of the room. Paper was currently stuffing his saddle bags and an even larger burlap sack that he had brought with him with the boxes. Next to that were several large barrels, no doubt that they were filled with gun powder, but what really got Nightfall's attention was something on the right side of the room. It was something covered by a white sheet and stood on a tripod. It wasn't any longer than a normal rifle, but it appeared to be much thicker. He pulled the white sheet off and gazed at the beautiful piece of deadly firepower. It was a cylindrical weapon with a hoof crank on the side of the body.
"That looks useful," said Paper from across the room. "That's some sort of machine gun, right?"
"Yes, yes it is," Nightfall frowned a little. He didn't want to touch it. Something that could kill so many in such a short time shouldn't even exist to him. He wanted to destroy it, but a part of him was urging him to take it with him. "This is probably worth a ton," he thought to himself. "I could easily sell this thing for quite a large amount of bits." Nightfall forced the thought out of his head. No. He wasn't that pony anymore. He was Nightfall. The good version of him, at least he hoped so.
Nightfall turned away from the angel of death and started stacking more rifles in the corner. After clearing out all the racks, he looked over to Paper who was just finishing with the ammo and horns of gun powder. He looked around at everything they had collected and immediately noticed a problem. There was too much. Fortunately, he had anticipated this.
"Um... Nightfall?" said Paper frantically while trying to remain quiet.
"What is it?"
"I hear hoof steps. They're coming closer I think."
The two stood still for what felt like an eternity. They listened carefully. A set, no, several sets of footsteps could be heard from outside the door that connected the armory to the rest of the compound. Nightfall rushed to the door doing his best to keep his steps as light as possible. "Grab all you can and get out," he said to Paper in a firm tone.
Paper obeyed Nightfall and took all he could. His saddle bags were filled with ammo and the bag he levitated was filled with gunpowder. In addition to that, he grabbed ten rifles and flung them onto his back along with a few more horns of powder. He ran to the large hole in the wall and stopped. "What are you going to do?"
Nightfall had already propped several rifles up against the door to keep it closed. "Making sure they don't get through. Go!" He pulled one of he gun racks up against the door. Only seconds after, the door handle turned.
"What the hay?" a voice said from the other side of the door. "Is somepony in there? Open up!"
For Nightfall, this was just one big alarm that told him that it was time to go. He had over stayed his welcome. He rushed over to the corner where he had stacked all the rifles. On his way he kicked the machine gun over onto its side. He pulled twenty rifles onto his back and left the others in the scattered pile. While putting the guns on his back, the guards outside started banging on the door. Nightfall tipped over a barrel letting the gun powder spill onto the floor.
There was a loud knock on the door and Nightfall looked up to see it open a little. Another knock came and a single guard poked his head through. "Stop!" he yelled when he saw Nightfall. Nightfall responded to this by grabbing a lantern that was hanging on the wall. He dropped his saddle bags on the ground and then threw the lantern to the ground, letting it smash and shatter on the stone floor. Fire engulfed the barrels. Nightfall ran through the hole in the wall after Paper.
Paper was running as fast as he could with all the gear he was carrying. He heard somepony yell stop which made him run a little faster and before he knew it, Nightfall was right next to him with a load of rifles, but his saddle bags were missing. As they ran, Nightfall grabbed the rifles off of Paper's back which made it easier for him to run.
"KEEP GOING!!!" yelled Nightfall. "GO GO GO!!!!"
When they reached the room where the tunnel entrance entered, Nightfall climbed out of the hole and helped Paper up before running and crashing right through the door, almost knocking it off its hinges. The two ponies ran right into the night where it was way to dark for Paper to see.
"This way," said Nightfall. "Follow my voice."
The two ran along the creek toward the Everfree forest for only a few seconds when a loud "BOOM!" erupted from behind them. Paper stopped and looked back to notice smoke and fire shoot out of the doorway they had just exited. The night was illuminated just enough for him to see the stone and mortar of the bridge crack and crumble as the structure collapsed in on itself.
"Damn!" exclaimed Paper. He was only able to stand and admire the destruction for a few seconds before feeling a hoof tug on his shoulder.
"Come on," Nightfall said. "We have to get out of here."
Nightfall led them through the creek for several more minutes, not stopping until they were well within the Everfree forest and far out of the visual range of anypony who was in Ponyville. "I think I might have woken up the neighbors," he said jokingly through heavy breaths.
"How in Equestria did that happen?!" Paper frantically asked. "We almost completely cleaned out that place, no way there was enough gunpowder left to cause that big of an explosion." There was just enough moonlight shining on them for Paper to notice that Nightfall wasn't wearing his saddle bags. "What did you do."
"I may have left them a little present," he said calmly.
"You planted a bomb?!"
"No, I dropped it and let it get set off by the fire. I didn't have time to properly plant it."
"Why?"
Nightfall looked like he wasn't completely aware of what he had just done. It was if every action of his was being controlled by complete instinct. "We had to cover out escape and destroying any evidence we may have left. What else was I supposed to do?"
"Setting the fire was enough. You didn't have to blow the tunnel to oblivion."
"Well it's to late now. Let's get back to the castle."
Solar was awake in his bed thinking about the days to come. All the plans, the timing, the execution had to be perfect. There was to much on the line to fail. He looked over the plans that laid in front of him. He started making marks on a map and writing a few words when he heard something that sounded like distant thunder from outside his window. He got up and walked over to it and looked out into the night. Above the horizon, he could barely make out a pillar of smoke rising into the sky from the direction of Ponyville. Without hesitation, he ran out to the main entry hall where a few other ponies had gathered. "What's going on?" he asked.
"No one knows," a random voice answered.
The group moved outside onto the main steps where they watched the smoke and argued about what they all thought it meant.
"Are bucking dragons attacking?!"
"No, can't be. Not enough smoke."
"Maybe it's just a fire."
"Yeah, but that doesn't explain the boom."
"Could have been an underground gas line explosion."
Their questions were all answered about half an hour later when Nightfall and Paper walked up from out of the trees. Their coats were matted and soaked with sweat. They both dragged their exhausted, mud covered hooves as they approached. Nightfall looked like he was prepared for war with how many rifles he had on his back. Paper looked equally ready with his over stuffed saddle bags.
Solar ran toward the two. "What did you two do?!" he yelled angrily. "Is that..." he pointed in the direction of the smoke which was now starting to fade away, "...because of you?"
Nightfall shoved a rifle into Solar hooves. "You're welcome." He walked past him and toward the small crowd that had now gathered, dropping the large bundle of guns on the ground. "So who wants a gun?"
The ponies all erupted in shouts of joy and huzzahs. Any doubt or distrust in Nightfall had instantly vanished from existence within the band of rebels. He was a hero to them now. Nightfall looked back and shot Solar a confident smile that conveyed the word "Checkmate." It took him a second to contemplate this, but Solar realized what Nightfall had just done only seconds later. Some how Nightfall had found out that he didn't trust him, so he carried out a mission to gain the trust of every last pony around them and worst of all, it had worked.
"All he's done is painted a big target on us!" Solar yelled. It fell on deaf ears. They were all to busy celebrating. Even Twilight was up joining in on the excitement. "We're all bucked!" he yelled. Yet again, deaf ears.
Paper and Nightfall, along with a few other ponies, were busy clearing out an old room that wasn't being used. This would be their new armory. The room was about the size of the average bedroom. Like the storage room that Nightfall had claimed as his bat cave, it had no windows. There were several tables that had been collecting dust for quite some time, they would now be used for the first time in the sun knows how long. Foxtrot walked in with a on rifle his back and carried it over to Nightfall.
"This is quite the beauty you've brought us," he said as he clutched the rifle in his hooves. "Type Five Fast Action Combat Rifle. Hoof crafted stock, military grade mechanism guards to keep the dirt out, enchanted shock buffers to make it durable, and mass produced by the finest gunsmiths right here in Equestria. Nothing says "We mean business" like one of these babies."
"So you like it?" asked Nightfall with a worried a smile.
"Heck yeah I do," Foxtrot replied. "When I was in the guard, the best thing I was ever issued was a Type Three. Solid firearm, but more range, and power combined with the light weight design of the Type Five makes it look like a toy some kid got for Hearths Warming."
"Well I'm glad you like it." Nightfall said. "You can repay me and Paper here with a little favor."
"He can?" Paper said confused.
"Alright, I knew there would be a catch to this. What can I do for you?"
Any happiness that was once displayed on Nightfall's face had long disappeared and been replaced by a worried, almost troubled look. "I need you to go back to the royal armory in the morning. Paper and I can't go because we'll have to lay low for a while."
"Why do you need me to go to the place that you just blew up so badly?" Foxtrot didn't understand.
"That's just it," Nightfall replied. "I didn't mean to blow the place up."
"Then why did you plant a bomb?" asked Paper Cut. "You aren't exactly making sense."
"It wasn't that big of a bomb. Just big enough to destroy what we couldn't carry," Nightfall explained. "That's all I wanted to do, but... for some reason the entire place went up in flames. Even with the barrels of gunpowder, there shouldn't have been big enough of a blast to knock out the entire bridge. What did I miss? What details did I not pay attention to? How did I manage to screw it up? I have to know!"
"Whoa whoa whoa," Paper said quickly. "I think you're taking this a little to seriously. We got the guns and got out without any problems. Don't let one little miscalculation bother you. Even if it really wasn't that little."
"I still have to know what went wrong."
"I'll take care of it," Foxtrot assured him. "It's the least I can do."
Twilight walked into the room followed by a few other ponies at that moment. "Paper, Nightfall!" she said happily with a drowsy smile. "It's good to see..." She interrupted herself with a yawn before resuming. "...to see you made it out okay." Twilight looked like she hadn't slept in a while, almost like something was keeping her up.
"Hey Twilight," Paper said to the sleepy alicorn. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine," she said before yawning again. "Thanks. It looks like you guys were successful in your mission. I'm glad to see that." She sounded just as tired as she looked.
"Um... Twilight," Nightfall began. "You might want to get some sleep. You look more tired than Paper and I and we were the ones running for our lives.
"I'm just a little tired, that's all."
"Riiiiiiiiight," said Nightfall before letting out a small suppressed yawn of his own. "Anyways, I'm going to go ahead and hit the sack myself. No doubt Solar is going to be all over me in the morning."
"Same," said Foxtrot. "I'll investigate the outpost for you in the morning, Nightfall. See if I can find out anything relevant to your situation."
The two left the room after wishing Paper and Twilight a good night and leaving them by themselves. Twilight was barely standing and began to lean on the wall as one more minute passed.
"Why don't I walk you to your room," Paper suggested. "I'd be more than happy to help you out."
"What? Oh... sure," Twilight said now half asleep. "I guess I..." she yawned yet again. "...could use some help." She obviously had something going on that kept her from getting any rest. Surely she couldn't have just gotten so tired so fast.
The walk through the hallways of the castle was slow and mostly quiet. There was the sound of the crickets chirping from somewhere outside, but besides that, it was completely peaceful. Twilight had to lean up against Paper as she stumbled tiredly with him. The two didn't get very far each minute, but Paper really didn't mind. He was more than happy to let Twilight use him as a mobile support. He felt comfortable when he was around her.
After several long minutes, they finally made it to Twilight's room. Paper opened the door into the dim room and helped Twilight in. The bed wasn't very far away from the door which made things a bit easier. Twilight was now almost fully relying on Paper for support as her legs gave out on her one by one. Paper managed to walk her over to her bed and then set her down in it. After pulling a blanket over her, he turned around to leave when something on the floor caught his attention.
The book. Ever since Nightfall had visited the Archivists and gotten it, Twilight had been unable to pull herself away from it. It was laying in the middle of the floor open to about the first quarter mark. There were a few photos, seven to be exact, scattered around next to the large historical documentation. Paper walked over to them to pick them up, but before he could neatly tuck them back into the small envelope that was attached to one of the pages, he noticed that one of the photos was of Twilight. She wasn't an alicorn. She was a normal unicorn like him. This presented him with so many questions. How is possible that she was at one point a unicorn? How did she become an alicorn? Paper would have to ask Twilight later. He looked at the other pictures curiously. "Who are these ponies?" he wondered to himself.
One photo was of a pink earth pony with balloons for a cutie mark. Another was of a light blue pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail. The third was of an orange earth pony with a cowboy hat. Next was a white unicorn with a dark purple mane and after that one was a photo of a shy looking pegasus with a long pink mane and yellow coat. The final picture was of all six mares in a group, all smiling and looking as happy as possible. Twilight was in the middle of all of them.
It didn't take long for the realization to hit Paper Cut. These were her friends, but why were they in a big, dusty history book? Paper looked down to read the title of the chapter that was printed in bold letters on the old page.
The text read, "The Fall of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony."
Chapter 8
A few hours had passed since Twilight broke down in grief that morning. She was now calmed down and enjoying, or at least trying to enjoy the morning with Paper Cut and Nightfall who had arrived a few minutes after she pulled herself together. Twilight didn't want to burden anypony with her problems. She hated feeling like an emotional anchor. She wasn't the only one having problems though. While Paper sat next to Twilight still, Nightfall sat across from the two uncomfortably. He seemed troubled by something. Twilight saw this as an opportunity to help Nightfall like he had helped her.
"Are you alright, Nightfall?" Twilight asked, trying to control her still shaky voice.
"I honestly don't know," he replied. "This morning has just been one big mess of emotion." He laid his head on the table tiredly.
"Is there anything you want to talk about?"
Nightfall sighed and looked at Paper who was fiddling with his hooves nervously. "You didn't tell her, did you?" he asked after a few silent seconds.
"I didn't think it was necessary," Paper replied. "Your own problems are your own. If you wanted somepony to know then I figured you'd tell them."
Twilight was now a little confused. Had something happened that she was not aware of? "Did something happen?" she asked in a concerned tone.
"You really want to know?" Nightfall asked.
Twilight nodded.
"Remember when I asked Foxtrot to go back and assess the damage on that base we robbed?" he began. "Well, as it turns out, the explosion that I created killed four guards. I know this is war and all, but... I just..." He put his head in his hooves on the table. "I can't do it," he said, muffled.
"That's terrible!" Twilight said suddenly.
"Yeah, I know," Nightfall said, still muffled. He then lifted his head up and looked at Twilight with a sad expression that almost looked angry. "Thanks for reminding me."
"Oh, sorry," Twilight said as her ears folded back. "I didn't..." she stuttered. Then she took a deep breath, regained her composure, and continued. "I know that's a huge burden to carry and you probably need somepony to comfort you so..." She didn't get to finish her sentence before Nightfall held up a hoof to stop her.
"Why do you want to help me?" Nightfall asked.
"Well, you and Paper have helped me so much already. Everything you're doing makes me more grateful than you could ever know. I want to help you now."
"So you're just returning the favor, huh?"
Twilight hesitated for a bit. She didn't know how to respond to this. She didn't ever think of it as returning a favor, just her helping a friend. That's all she had ever thought. "No, I just want to help you," she said as she found her voice. "Isn't that what friends do? Help each other in their time of need."
Nightfall was the one to hesitate now. Twilight thought of him as friend. How could this be? Sure he had saved her, talked to her a few times, and they had done each other a few favors, but did that really make them friends? "Why would she want to be friends with a pony like me?" he thought. "Even after what I did, she wants to be my friend." That sure was a confusing one. "Really... friend?" he asked. "You really consider me..." he put his hoof up to his chest. "...your friend."
"Of course," Twilight responded in a slightly confused tone.
It was almost like she had automatically become friends with everypony she met in her entire life and not being friends with someone was completely new to her. At least this was what it seemed like to Nightfall. Friendship was an idea that for him had always been laced with some sort of catch. Sure he had had friends before. He had plenty of friends when he was in the guilds of Manehattan and Canterlot. He had friends here in the castle. Paper was one of them, but all these friends were ponies that he knew. Ponies that he had been around for months and in the cases of the thieves he used to work with, years. There was usually a catch when somepony wanted to be your friend within two weeks of meeting them. They wanted something, like being business partners, not that that couldn't lead to real friendship. What did Twilight want? Nightfall shook the thought from his head. He realized that he was slipping into that thief mind set. The paranoid one that thought everypony was out to get him or something he had. "No," he thought. "Twilight just wants to be friends. She's a normal pony who doesn't worry about how much gold she can make through illegal activity."
"Hey guys," Paper said abruptly, catching everypony's attention. "Check it out." Somehow, he had managed to balance a fork on its blunt end perfectly upright. "Pretty great, huh?"
Twilight let out a small giggle as she covered her mouth with a hoof. Nightfall also let out a smile. "You're just trying to lighten the depressing mood, aren't you?"
"That," Paper said. "And I got bored." He levitated a spoon up on top of the fork and placed it down gently. The spoon teetered slightly, almost falling over with the fork, but then stopped all movement and balanced perfectly on the spoon. "Ha ha!" Paper said excitedly. "Success!"
"You're using some sort of spell," Nightfall said. "Aren't you?"
"Dang it, dude. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess. That and I'm pretty sure that this," Nightfall flicked the fork with his hoof causing it to scoot across the table a short distance, remaining upright with the spoon on top. "is physically impossible."
"I'm just happy that I took the initiative to actually try and learn a fixed object spell."
Twilight looked at Paper and then at another fork that laid flat in front of her. She levitated it into an upright position and then placed her hoof on top of the four pointy spikes. "Hey guys, you want to see something just a cool?" she asked with a playfully wicked smile that seemed a little uncharacteristic for her.
"Heck yes!" Paper said excitedly, not being able to wait for what Twilight had in store. That excitement soon turned into utter horror as Twilight pressed down on the fork.
Twilight pushed down on the fork with a shaky hoof that made it look like she was struggling slightly just before the pikes poked through the back of her hoof and foreleg. Nightfall's jaw dropped and all color had disappeared from Paper's face. Twilight pushed even more until the fork was halfway through, three fourths of the way through, now all the way through. Twilights hoof was now firmly planted on the table with the silver utensil poking through it. Twilight looked at the two horrified stallions with a smile and pulled her hoof off the table. She held it up and revealed that it was completely unharmed. "Ta da!" she said happily. "Phase magic. Isn't it great?"
All color had now returned to Paper's face as he smiled. "That... was... awesome!" he exclaimed. "You have to show me how to do that some time."
"I'll admit," said Nightfall who no longer let his mouth hang open in disbelief. "You got me good." He let out a laugh of amusement. Soon, everypony at the table was laughing. Even a few ponies at other tables who had sat by, watching, trying not to lose their breakfasts were now laughing. For some reason, the fact that it had been Twilight, a kind, gentle, and polite princess who had done the trick, made the joke a hundred times funnier.
The excitement eventually died down and Paper wiped a small tear from his eye. "Woo, good one," he said, still smiling.
Nightfall looked at the fork Twilight had held in place, curiously. It was still in an upright position with the four spikes pointing upward toward the ceiling. He poked at it with a hoof only to find that it went right through. He pulled his hoof back and tried again. Then he waved it right through the fork. Still, the fork remained standing. "Huh," Nightfall said after staring at it for a few seconds. "That would have been useful for when we were breaking into the outpost."
"Yeah, but it's a pretty high level spell. Even on small objects like these utensils it's pretty challenging," Twilight replied. "I didn't really think Paper would be capable of pulling it off yet."
After goofing around with magic, and making jokes about whatever was relevant, Nightfall decided it was time for him to retire back to his room to get some more sleep. Ever since he had joined the rebellion, which wasn't really a rebellion yet, about a year ago, his sleep time table had been all messed up. Before, he usually either stayed awake all night and slept during the day like most batponies or he would stay awake during the day and sleep at night like everypony else. It all depended on the circumstances of what was going on at the time. When he was preparing for a heist or just decided to see what he could steal from where ever, he would sleep during the day, which was most of the time.
As he walked down the old decaying halls, his mind began to wonder. "Day, night. I really need to decide on one or the other," he thought. "Day, night, day, night. Most ponies are up during the day and it will probably be less boring. That night life though. Something exciting is always going on in the big cities during the night. Too bad I'm having to lie low." If there was one thing that Nightfall didn't like about being a thief, it was definitely the boredom that came with lying low. He liked being active. Going out and doing things, especially illegal things, is what made life interesting for him. Of course he had a perfectly good reason for giving it all up. He couldn't put them in danger like he had before. At least, he couldn't put her in danger. He had already failed once. The only reason he could do it now was because she was somewhere safe. It hurt to know that she was better off away from him.
Five days passed. The excitement around Ponyville had died down, which meant that it was almost time to stop lying low, and initiate the first parts of his plans. He had a few ideas on what he and Paper could steal first. He had even placed large pieces of paper over one of the walls in his room, writing lists of potential targets, marking on maps, and putting up several drafts of entry and escape plans. He was getting back in the game.
It felt different this time around. Not because he was doing this all for a good cause, to an extent, but because he had something to lose. He was risking something that he really, with every fiber of his being, didn't want to risk, but it had to be done. He couldn't die. He had to be there for her and the only way to guarantee that was to avoid the war by carrying things out behind the scenes. It wouldn't be easy. It would take hard work and dedication, careful planning and the will to go on.
He was now walking through the hall. Thinking. Heists were his best shot, he knew this and it was almost time. There was one thing he wanted to do before he began though. "I need to visit sometime soon," he thought as he entered the storage room that he had claimed as his own. He walked over to the wall and looked at a small calendar. "One, two, three, four, five, crap. Has it already been six weeks?"
He wanted to visit her. Talk to her. Share a laugh or two. He'd kill to see her smile. He hoped he wouldn't have to though. Could he do it? Would going out and seeing her be the right decision? It had been so long. Lie low or take a risk and go out. He groaned in frustration as he contemplated the possible consequences. "If they see me and find out about her, then I'll never forgive myself, but I need to see her. She needs to see me. The pain that grows inside me needs to be numbed. Yes, I will go. I just have to be careful. First thing tonight, when the sun goes down, I'll go visit her."
"Visit who," a familiar feminine voice asked from behind Nightfall who just realized that he had been speaking to himself out loud. Twilight was standing in the door way. She had heard Nightfall because she was passing by and he forgot to close the door.
"Oh, no one," Nightfall replied with a nervousness that gave away the fact that he was lying; something he was usually good at.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked in a concerned voice. "She didn't sound like no one. Nightfall, are you alright. It's becoming obvious that something besides the deaths of those guards is bothering you."
"You heard everything I said, didn't you?"
Twilight nodded. "It sounds to me like you're trying to protect somepony and that... well... makes a lot of sense to me.
"How do you figure that?"
"It was that photo," Twilight responded carefully. Judging by the way everypony acted, she had inferred that no one else knew about it. It must have been very personal for Nightfall for him to keep it a secret and she didn't want to upset him by pushing for an answer like she had before. "The morning after you found me, I saw you looking at a photo that had you and two other ponies in it. Are they who I think they are?"
Nightfall remained silent for a few seconds. He didn't have anything to say. He didn't know how to say it. He had been hiding among rebels for his own personal gain for so long that every instinct told him to change the subject, but he remembered once again; he could trust Twilight. It didn't make it any easier though. Then he had an idea. "Why don't I just show you?" he said suddenly, breaking the silence.
"Show me? That would be great." Twilight really wasn't expecting him to open up to her like that. Did he trust her more than the others? There had to be a reason for this.
"I've been hiding it for to long, Twilight," he said. "I don't know why. I guess I'm just scared. Scared something will go wrong. I've been weaving this web of lies for so long that I feel like nothing is real anymore."
"Why don't you try to explain it all the best you can?" Twilight said as she approached slowly, being careful not to provoke any feelings with her word choice. "I'd be glad to listen." She sat down next to him.
Nightfall sighed heavily and shook his head. "I'm going to regret this," he said wearily. "Somehow, I just know that this is going to blow up in my face." He looked at Twilight. She looked a little disappointed.
"You say that like you think I plan on doing something devious."
"I know," he said, obviously frustrated with himself. "I just can't get rid of these instincts, these feelings of quilt, like I need to keep my guard up." He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and sighed again.
"Guilt?" Twilight thought to herself, slightly confused. "Why do you feel guilty? What you used to do was bad, but... you... you're a good pony and you have a good heart. I think you do at least. You need to pick yourself up from that and..."
Nightfall chuckled a little. "Guilty because I stole stuff from ponies. That's a good one, princess," he said as he looked back at her with a slight smile. "No disrespect, but if all... this," he waved both hooves in the air. "...had never happened. If I had never made the best mistake of my life! If I had never fallen in love!" he was now standing. "I would have probably stolen from you when you come to power." His ears folded back, he sat back down, and looked back down at the ground.
This small... testimony, intrigued Twilight. He was talking about his past, letting some emotions that had been locked up, for Celestia knows how long, out. It was a little weird though. He sounded less sad and more like he was angry at life. "It's alright Nightfall. What I don't understand is, how does your past life as a thief relate to you being here now, in this castle helping me get to where everypony seems to think I belong?"
"I'm not," Nightfall said simply. There was something about the way he said it that made it seem more sorrowful than anything else. "You probably think I'm a greedy bastard who is just here for my own gain and... I'm not going to lie. You would be partially right."
"So why are you here? What is it that you want?" Twilight was still being careful with how she spoke. Tone, word choice, everything was selected carefully. Nightfall basically just told her that he was using them, but there was something bothering him that told Twilight that things weren't exactly the way they seemed. She was right.
"The only reason I'm here is because I'm hiding," Nightfall began, hoping he wouldn't sound to much like a thief that just wanted to take advantage of everyone around him. "The only reason I am hiding here, is because I wanted... no I needed to be close by. Not for my sake, but for hers."
"And who is this mare that your referring to? A friend? A... lover?"
Nightfall looked away for a moment to think. He sighed, yet again, and looked back at Twilight who sat patiently, waiting for an answer. "Her name is Snowy. Snow Gloom actually. I just call her Snowy. She's..." Nightfall hesitated. "She's my daughter. I have to be here for her. To protect her, but I can't. I could potentially get her killed and it's best if I stay away, but I just can't do it!" He was now yelling at Twilight who flinched slightly.
Twilight was sort of understanding what was going on. From what she could tell, Nightfall had a daughter and he was afraid that his past would cause harm to come to her. He also wanted to be close because he feared that something bad would happen to her. She thought about this for a moment, trying to figure out one thing that he had neglected to mention. "What about her mother? Where is she at?" she asked. "I hope you don't mind me asking. It's okay if you need a moment or a brake."
Nightfall held up a hoof. Motioning for Twilight to just give him a second. He closed his eyes tightly and inhaled deeply. He exhaled a long, shaky, but calm breath. "She's... not... she's gone."
"What do you mean by gone?" Twilight asked slowly. She was hoping what she feared wasn't a reality.
"Dead."
The word rang through Twilight's head like a bell in a clock tower. Dead. Possibilities raced through her... Dead ...her mind. Dead. What happened? Dead. Is this why Nightfall was so afraid for his daughter? Dead. For Snowy. She now understood it all. Dead. She shook her head to rid it of the awful word that just wouldn't stop bouncing around inside her skull. "I'm so sorry, Nightfall," she said sadly. "I... I am so sorry."
Nightfall held up his hoof again. "It's alright, Twilight. It isn't your fault." He paused for a moment to collect a few more thoughts. "Thank you, Twilight... for listening," he said. "I've been needing to open up for a while now."
Twilight nodded. "If there's anything you want to, you know, let out, I'll still be here."
"No," said Nightfall. "No, that's alright. I think... I think I'm good for now. Thanks."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm going to go back to bed. I didn't really sleep well last night." Nightfall walked over to the fishing net hammock that he usually slept in.
"I hope you rest well, Nightfall," Twilight said, sort of uncomfortably. "I'll see you later tonight?"
"Yeah," he replied. "Sure, I'll come get you when it's time."
Twilight exited the room, letting the door close gently behind her. "Wow," she thought in slight disbelief. "He really is hurting on the inside. There has to be something I can do, but what?" Twilight continued down the hallway toward her own room. She really had nothing to do. She felt like the right thing would be to write some sort of letter to Princess Celestia on what her experiences with a rebel group have been like. Of course, she couldn't do that. And the experiences haven't exactly been the most exiting. There were a few things that were completely new to her though. Problems that she never expected to face. Interrogation, assisted robbery, figuring out how to use the advanced coffee maker technology. Fortunately, somepony left the instructions conveniently folded under the machine.
There truly was nothing to do. Nightfall was sleeping, Paper had told her that it was his week to stand guard on the outer perimeter of the castle, which explained why she saw ponies that she had never seen before from time to time. Solar was holding a meeting with most of the remaining ponies, which meant that anyone she could socialize with was busy. The castle was, for the most part, empty.
"Come on, Twilight," she thought to herself. "There has to be something interesting to do around here. You're in a castle. What is there in a castle. Long hallways, open corridors, library, ballrooms... wait, that's it!" A large smile spread across her face. "Library." She never got many chances to visit the castle's library before. Of the times she did, she only got to explore parts of the library due to how big it was. Now she had all the time in the world to study whatever she wanted.
Twilight diverted her course from her room, to the library. Her walking developed into a fast trot quickly. It had been so long since she had been in a library. Soon, she was in a full gallop. She felt like she couldn't get there soon enough, so she opened her wings to launch herself through the hall even faster. Pain and sore feeling shot through her wings and back causing her to fall to the floor and tumble a few meters. "Ouch," she moaned as she stumbled to her hooves. She then realized, that had been the first time she had spread her wings since waking up. It made since that she would be sore after a hundred years of not using them. "Ok, maybe I'll take it slow for now."
When she finally reached the large double doors that lead to the library that she so desperately craved, she put a hoof on one and pushed in. It didn't budge. "Oh come on." She pushed again. Still nothing. It felt like there was something blocking the door from the inside. She didn't need this. She had been kept away for to long. She would not be denied this. Her horn glowed purple with aura and so did the door. With one forceful push of magic, the door slowly swung open, pushing a bookshelf out of the way and causing it to tip over and fall to the ground with a loud crash that sent dust flying up in all directions.
Twilight coughed as the ancient particles stung in her nostrils. She waved a hoof to clear the air in front of her face. She kept that hoof over her muzzle as she entered the room, coughing into it again. She looked around. Rows upon rows of book shelves stood before her, each holding hundreds of books just waiting to be rediscovered. The echo of the crash and her coughs could still be faintly heard as they bounced off the walls. The only light that illuminated the room came from a large crack in the ceiling. Dust coated everything like a blanket and it was even hard for Twilight to breath.
When Twilight had first been to the castle all those years ago to confront Nightmare Moon and claim the Elements of Harmony, any dust left from the hundreds of years of abandonment, had no doubt been cast out when the elements had been used to free Luna from the darkness that consumed her. Twilight's study visits and occasional activity in the castle had more than likely kept enough dust away to allow her to access the library unhindered and freely. But now, now it had been a hundred years since anypony had done anything in this place. The dust was so intense that the cloud made it to where Twilight would have to retreat from whatever she was interested in just to breath. "Great," she thought.
The dust that hung in the air was thick enough that it made everything in the distance hazy. If Twilight was going to get through, she would need a spell, something to keep the fog at bay. She thought for a second, then looked up toward the large opening in the ceiling. Maybe she could use her magic to create enough of a wind to cast the dust out through the crack. She lit up her horn and was just about to cast the spell when a sudden realization struck her. They were hiding. A large column of dust coming from the Everfree forest would no doubt bring attention. So what was she supposed to do? She didn't want to burn it away, because the books were old and frail enough that they might be destroyed as well. She would have to create a ward. Start small and then expand it around her to push the dust away.
She ignited her horn again, creating a small bubble of hard light in front of her. As her horn glowed brighter, the bubble got larger, until it encompassed her. She was now standing in the middle of a large energy bubble that was just big enough for her to stand in. Twilight cast another spell causing the ward to curve and warp. It now fit around her like a suit of armor, hovering only an inch away from her coat. "There," she thought as she smiled, satisfied with her clever thinking and ability to cast such a spell. She was now free to explore.
"Okay, now we need a seven letter word for tough and unbreaking," Paper Cut said to the garnet red earth pony sitting on a log across from him.
"How about... um... durable?" the large pony replied. He was much bigger than Paper. As a matter of fact he was much bigger than most ponies, much stronger too. He had hazel brown eyes and a dark black main and tail.
"Let's see, D, U, R... um, yeah, that fits," Paper said as he levitated a pencil away from his crossword puzzle. "One down, fifty-nine to go."
"So Paper, tell me. Why is it that you and I are the ones out here doing the small jobs that don't really have much purpose?"
Paper looked up from the piece of paper and back at the earth pony who was now drinking a cup of coffee. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it," he replied. "You and I are important. Maybe even more important than some of the ponies who are at Solar's meeting right now. I do all the heavy lifting around here and I'm the most physically fit to fight guards. And you, you broke into a military base, stole a bunch of rifles, and then blew the damn place up. Yet we're sitting out here waiting for nothing." He seemed quite annoyed.
"I have to admit, you have a point."
"Damn right I do. Solar is really starting to get on my nerves."
Paper looked back at the crossword puzzle and wrote down a few more words to fill in the empty spaces. During look out duty for the out perimeter, there usually wasn't much to do but talk to whoever got posted with you and sit at the camp, which was set up to look like a normal, unsuspicious camp site for a couple of campers. He brought the puzzle to make things more interesting and so far it was doing a pretty good job. He read another hint and looked up at the earth pony. "Hey Bastion, you'll love this one. Five letter word for unintelligent, unwitty, and dull that starts with the letter S."
Bastion smiled and let out a faint chuckle. "Solar," he said, laughing again.
"Ha, exactly what I was thinking," Paper laughed with Bastion for a second and then returned to the puzzle. "I think they were looking for stupid though."
Bastion looked at Paper a little confused. "Isn't that six letters?"
Now Paper looked confused. Actually, he looked completely befuddled. "What?" He looked back at the puzzle and counted the five empty spaces and then the S that came before them. "Oh," he said as he realized what he had done wrong. "I counted the empty spaces, but forgot to count the S that was already written down." He and Bastion laughed about it for a second before falling silent. "Oh the irony."
As the morning passed, and noon turned to afternoon, the two stallions finished the crossword puzzle and two sandwiches. Only a few minutes after that, boredom began to sink in and Paper began to think he was going to die because of it. He wished Nightfall was there. He always had an interesting story to tell. Whether it be a daring heist that he had undertaken with his outlaw buddies or a fast escape from the guards after a job gone sideways, Nightfall's stories never failed to entertain. For now though, he would have to make it through the rest of the day without them.
Nightfall was lying in bed only half asleep. He had been asleep for a few hours and he was almost ready to get up and find Twilight to get her ready for that night's visit. His subconscious, though had decided five more minutes of blissful peace couldn't hurt. He was comfortable, everything was quiet, and there were no guards around. But then there was a muffled noise. A gentle, carefully placed armored hoof step. That of a pony trying to sneak up on Nightfall. They had forgotten, even after he had proved it time and time again. You can't sneak up on him, nopony ever could.
He opened his eyes. Waited. Slowed his breathing so he was completely silent, as if he was still asleep. He didn't dare look over his shoulder in the direction of where the noise had originated. It would mean death... or pain. Lots of pain. They always did try to take him alive. He didn't want to test any theories on them changing tactics. He waited, and waited. For what felt like hours. Then, when he could feel that the guard was close, he struck.
He leaped as fast as he could. Flipping over from his position on the hammock, using it as a slingshot as he tackled the pony next to him. Slamming him hard in the face with his hoof. The two fell to the ground with a thud. Nightfall raised his hoof up to come back down on the guard with a final knock out blow, but... he couldn't. The guard was gone and a different pony lied below him. It was a pale diamond blue pegasus mare. Her white mane was frayed and messy as she lied under Nightfall, crying silently with her face in her hooves.
"Ni-Nightf-f-fa-fall?" she choked out, looking up at him with her yellow eyes. One of her nostrils bled, and she had a black eye on the same side of her face.
Nightfall froze in utter shock. "Shady?" he said.
The mare curled up into a ball and began crying silently to herself again. "P-please. Don't h-hurt m-m-me, anymore."
"No, no, no," Nightfall responded with heavy breath. He leaned down, trying to put his hoof on her shoulder. "Shady, I'm so sorry. I-I..."
"Go away," she said softly. "Go away. Leave me alone."
"Please Shade, I'm so sorry."
"GET LOST!" the mare yelled angrily as she jumped at him. Her coat was now a deep black, and her mane and eyes burned red with fire. "I HATE YOU!"
Nightfall woke up, sitting up faster than should have been equinly possible. He drew in fast, heavy, and short breaths. Sweat burned his eyes and drenched his mane and coat. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and forehead and then massaged the headache from his temples. He sighed. Another damn nightmare. He looked over to the spot where he had landed in the dream. Nothing. The space was empty. No guards trying to get the drop on him, no Shady, just emptiness. He looked over at the clock that hung on the wall. 2:47, it read. As good a time to get up as any. Twilight was probably waiting eagerly for him.
As he left the room, he noticed something strange. The air seemed... thicker, no, dustier. "Well that's strange," he thought as he looked down the hallway. The torches that lit these long, stone paths, revealed small strings and particles of dust floating freely through the air. "Oh what the heck," Nightfall thought, deciding he might as well try and find the source of the cloud.
He walked for a few minutes. The dust got thicker and thicker. Not by much, but enough to be somewhat noticeable. Then he came to a set of double doors, one of which was open. There was a small word etched into the stone above them. Library. There was a library? How had he not known about this? Surely Twilight must have ventured inside in a quest to find something to do. Sitting around the castle could get boring at times.
Nightfall stepped through the door into the library. The dust was even thicker than before, even so that it was hard to breath. He coughed before putting his hoof over his face. "Twilight? You in here?" he called out.
"Over here," Twilight's voice called out from behind a bookcase as a purple blur stepped into the open. "Hold still. This will help you."
A small light came from the top of the purple blur with the voice of the princess. Then, there was a flash, and Nightfall found himself inside some sort of magical casing. He could now breath normal and see slightly better. Twilight was still just a little cloudy, but dust bunnies no longer threatened to fly into his eyeball.
"Hey Twilight. We need to go over a few things for tonight."
"Sure," Twilight replied happily. There are a few chairs over this way where we can sit down." She waved him over toward her.
Nightfall hesitated. "Don't you think it would be best if we got out of all this dust? This spell is great and all, but it's still kind of hard to see. Speaking of which, where did all this come from?"
"Well, it has been over a hundred years since anypony had been in here," she replied. "Judging by the way the door was blocked when I got here, I'd say that this room has been inactive for so long, dust just built up over time. The crack in the ceiling..." she pointed to the large hole that acted as a light source, "...probably let in just enough of the weather to kick up this cloud without pushing it out. That's just theory though."
"Okay, that's great and all, but don't you think it would be best if we got out of this and into some breathable air?"
"Yeah, sure. Just let me grab a few books real quick."
After getting a small stack of dusty, old books off a dusty, old table, Twilight rejoined Nightfall in the hall and deactivated her spell. The two then headed for the large room that housed the mess hall. Twilight still hadn't figured out what the room's purpose was originally. Maybe it was a ball room? Perhaps, but surely it had to be more important than that. The large stand that once held the Elements of Harmony was still proudly sitting in its normal spot. Maybe that's all the room was meant for, to house the elements. When the two reached the room, they sat down at one of the tables.
"So what did you want to go over?" Twilight asked as she levitated her stack of books onto the table.
"I just wanted to make sure that you remembered the rules for when we're out in Ponyville."
"Stay quiet, stay close, keep my cloak on at all times, no flying, and if we come across anypony, my name isn't Twilight Sparkle. Right?"
"Wow," Nightfall said in minor amazement. "You're really good at remembering things."
Twilight smiled. "I kind of have everything organized into files in my head. Makes things easier."
Nightfall blinked. "Okay then. That was a lot faster than I expected. I'll come find you when it's time."
Twilight nodded. "Okay," she said happily.
The two went their separate ways then. Twilight no doubt was heading back to the library to get more books to read. Nightfall on the other hoof, needed some fresh air. For once, the shadows that he clung to like a shroud offered him no comfort. He didn't want to hide anymore. Waiting for the sun to set was killing him on the inside. He had to see her. He had to see Snowy. Be cautious, avoid open areas, don't cause a fuss. Three simple rules. It was all he would need. He didn't have to worry about Twilight. She was smart and knew to obey him. Be careful, and nothing would go wrong.
Chapter 9
He was a fool. Nightfall new this. Taking Twilight with him was a move that many would consider questionable. He was putting her and the fate of all of Equestria at risk, but it didn't matter to him. He needed someone that he could trust. Someone who could help him. Who else would he be able to count on? It had to be Twilight. She was smart and she held a position of importance. She was an asset. Nightfall just wished that he could stop seeing her as that. She tried so hard to be his friend, to help him. She was there when he needed her. That should have been all that mattered, but Nightfall couldn't give up on this opportunity. Not yet.
Paper would be next. Nightfall wasn't lying when he said that Paper was like a son to him. They had known each other for over a year now and their friendship was real. The only thing wrong with Paper was that he wasn't ready. It would be some time before he was. Nightfall just had to prepare him the best that he could. Then it would be time.
Nightfall looked around. They were now standing in the middle of Ponyville. Twilight stood behind him, wearing her dark brown cloak that hid her wings. She also wore the hood up just as a precautionary measure. Better safe than sorry. They were completely alone. That's how it appeared, but Nightfall wouldn't accept that as a reality. "Never assume that you are alone," he thought to himself as he and Twilight walked through the quiet little town. His eyes wandered aimlessly, scanning, watching, waiting for something, anything at all that could spell trouble. His ears twitched slightly as a faint, cool breeze blew by. He listened carefully. Trying to use his biological abilities to his advantage. There was nothing at first. All was quiet still, but as the wind passed his ears, he picked up one faint sound. Armored hooves.
He stopped and put his hoof out to stop Twilight as well. Twilight stopped right next to him. "What is it?" she asked in a whisper. "Why are we stopping?"
Nightfall was still, he didn't reply. He didn't make a sound. Then he saw them. Two guards rounding the corner in front of them. His mind threw up warning signs. Highlighting the two in red in his mind. Nightfall turned around and looked at Twilight. Any serious that was once expressed on his face had vanished as if it was never there. He smiled slightly in a happy, casual manner. "That was a great movie," he said, just loud enough for any passing ponies to here. "We should really do this again."
Twilight wasn't sure what was happening for a second. She didn't know what he was doing or talking about at first, but then she saw the two guards and immediately realized what he was doing. She followed his lead. "Yeah, that was fun. I liked the part where they found the lost treasure map in that cave."
"Yeah, and those skeletons in those tombs were super creepy. I almost spilled my popcorn when that one popped out at that one pegasus guy. Good jump scare." He looked over slightly to his right. The two guards had passed right by without paying them any attention. To them, they were just another pair of random ponies.
Twilight sighed as she noticed the two guards rounding another corner, disappearing into the night. "Thank Celestia they're gone. I didn't really know where to go with that."
"Don't worry about it," Nightfall replied. "The important thing is that they didn't suspect a thing. We can practice improv later if you want. I've been meaning to do it with Paper for a while. Anyways, we're almost to where we need to be. Just a few more block now."
The two walked on some more. Ponyville had grown. The streets, which had snaked and zig zagged the last time Twilight saw them, were now organized into more uniform blocks. There were much more building, each sharing the familiar Ponyville architectural style that Twilight had come to love. Houses still mixed in with areas more suited for shops. Shops still mixed in with areas more suited for houses. The roads may have been straighter, but Ponyville was still its disorganized self. Surprisingly, it was much nicer that way. The whole town had a layback, calm, and relaxing mood to it. Unlike the hustle and bustle of the financial, business, factory, and residential districts of cities like Manehattan. Here, the town felt like one big, friendly community. That was the nice thing about smaller towns.
"We're here," Nightfall said as they walked up to a two story house. It wasn't much different than the rest of the houses. Same design, same front door, different flowers in the garden, but same overall layout. The small mailbox on the door had three gold letters on it. 309.
Nightfall knocked on the door two times, paused, knocked once more, paused again, and then finally knocked two more times. They waited for a few second before hearing a couple of locks being slid out of place. The door opened slowly to reveal the pony on the other side. He was a batpony like Nightfall. Same webbed wings, same slitted eyes, with the exception of being light blue instead of green, and more than likely, probably the same fangs that showed when talking.
The batpony looked at Nightfall, and then at Twilight. "Who's this?" he asked looking back at Nightfall.
"A friend," he replied. "May we come in?"
"Yeah, come on in," the host said in a welcoming tone. "Snowy will want to see you right away."
Nightfall and Twilight stepped into the warmth of the house and out of the chill of the night. It was quite comfortable looking. Two soft couches, carpet floors, and even a TV. Something told Twilight that TVs, which were usually only owned by the rich and highly positioned, were now much more obtainable. This one looked especially interesting as the screen took up most of the surface area and it was much thinner. She made a mental note to ask about what kind of technological advancements had been made while she was absent. Her thinking was interrupted by a young sounding exclamation of joy.
"Daddy!" the voice sounded as a small, white coated filly, with a pale diamond blue mane ran forward in excitement. She looked kind of like a batpony. She had the wings of one, but they weren't exactly the same. They had feathers that matched her coat. They weren't as thick as a normal pegasus and they left a few parts bare to reveal the leathery webbing that batponies had. Her mother must have been a pegasus. Twilight remembered seeing this in the photo. Besides this abnormality, she looked just like a normal pegasus everywhere else.
Twilight smiled as she watched the little filly jump up and give Nightfall a hug. They remained that way for awhile. Twilight didn't even notice as the other batpony, obviously a friend of Nightfall's, tried to hand her a hot cup of something good smelling.
"Tea?" he asked her, holding out the cup.
"Oh, yes, thank you," Twilight said as she flipped back her hood with her head and took the cup in her magic.
"I'm Specter," the batpony said. "That's Snowy, but something tells me you already know that. Your one of Nightfall's comrades I take it?"
"Yes, I live over in the old castle of the two sisters with the rest of the rebel crew. My name is..." She stopped. What was her name? Was it Twilight Sparkle? Or was her name something else? Did she have to make something up in order to protect herself? She looked over at Nightfall who now lied on his back. His legs were held straight up, and on top of his hooves Snowy stood, balancing as she laughed and smiled. Nightfall also laughed and smiled. Twilight had seen him laugh, and she had seen him smile before, but this time it was different. This time, Nightfall seemed truly happy, unlike before where his happiness seemed hollow and meaningless. This time, Nightfall seemed truly alive. The whole seen reminded Twilight of when she was a filly and she would play with Shining Armor. "Um... Nightfall," she called out to him.
Nightfall turned his head and looked back at Twilight, still wearing an expression of complete joy on his face. "What's up?"
Twilight turned her head toward Specter and then looked back at Nightfall, indicating that she didn't know what to do.
"Go ahead," Nightfall said as he placed Snowy down and shifted into a sitting position. "Introduce yourself, but name only."
"I'm Twilight Sparkle," she said, turning back to face Specter. "It's nice to meet you."
Specter motioned for the three to follow. "Likewise," he said as they walked toward the couches in the living room. "Feel free to sit, we can talk about whatever."
"Daddy?" Snowy asked as she sat down on the couch next to Nightfall. "Are we freaks?"
Nightfall looked down at his daughter worriedly. "No, we're not freaks," he said. "What would make you think that?"
Snowy was silent for a moment, looking down toward the ground. "I don't know," she mumbled sadly.
"Did somepony at school say something to you?"
"Maybe," she mumbled again.
Nightfall looked over at Specter, who replied with a shrug. "I tried to tell her," he said. "But she wouldn't listen."
He sighed and jumped off the couch and sat on the floor in front of Snowy. Nightfall was now eye level with the sad little filly. "Snowy, look at me," he said as he put a hoof under her chin. "Do you really think that just because some bully at school says something that it makes it true?"
"No," she said quietly.
"See, Snowy? We're just different. That doesn't make us bad."
"They said other things too, though," she said. She rubbed her eyes as tears began to flow out. She began to cry.
Nightfall pulled her close to him and held her in a hug. "Ssssh, ssssh, don't cry," he said sadly. "It's alright. What did they say?"
Snowy choked back a few tears before answering. "They said that I just made you up... t-that... that I didn't really have a daddy." She coughed, try her hardest to hold in her tears. "Then they said that Mommy was never coming back, and... and that soon Uncle Specter would leave soon." Her crying became more intense as she wept on Nightfall's shoulder. A few minutes of sadness passed, Snowy remained in the sorrowful hug, and just as the last of her tears began to dry up, she spoke again. "Then they called us all freaks."
"Snowy, listen," Nightfall said sadly. He now had a visible tear rolling down his own cheek. "I don't know who these kids are, but they sound like a bunch of jerks to me. Don't listen to them. I love you more than anything in the world, and so does Mom. One day, I promise, you'll be with her, we both will. And then we can all be a family again. For now, though, I need you to be strong. Don't let those jerks get to you, because they are more wrong than they could ever know."
"You promise?" she said, looking back at Nightfall through teary eyes.
Nightfall leaned in and kissed Snowy's forehead. "I promise."
Twilight sat as patiently as she could on the couch as she watched this all unfold. She could even feel a tear of her own. For her, it was like she was looking at a completely different pony. Nightfall, the pony that she had once thought as just a thief, and then as a poor lost soul, appeared to have real purity to his heart. Twilight never knew what it was that she saw in him that made her want to help him, she never knew why she gave him a chance before, but now she did know. Nightfall wasn't as bad as he had originally seemed. He was actually...
Twilight froze as a word returned to her mind. She had shaken free of it and its terrible meaning earlier that day, but it returned to haunt her mind. As if it had been flung around the world only to land right back in the same place. Dead. "Oh no," she whispered in horror as she put a hoof over her muzzle. Another tear made its way from the corner of her eye. She looked upon Nightfall and Snowy, who now sat in a warm embrace. "How could he..."
Specter held out his hoof in front of Twilight. "Just give them a second," he said as he sipped his tea. Twilight hadn't even touched hers. How could she? This wasn't a time for tea. This was terrible. How could Nightfall lie to her like that?
Paper and Bastion sat on their logs at the camp site in absolute boredom. The only thing keeping them awake at that moment was the extra coffee that they had packed. Not that it was actually helping them in anyway. Staying awake just meant that time would crawl by even slower.
"Paper," a voice called out from behind.
Paper turned around to see Solar walking towards them. He didn't look happy. "Oh, hey Solar," Paper said in a voice that reflected just how tired he was.
"Where are Nightfall and Twilight?" he asked angrily.
"What makes you think I know?" Paper replied. "I'm just a humble lookout for the New Age Monarchy. No sir, no useful intel here, sir." He gave a mocking salute.
"Ha ha, very funny. Where are they?"
"He said he didn't know," Bastion spoke up. "What else do you want from him?"
"You're lying! Where are they?" Solar now seemed even angrier than before.
"Okay, okay, sheesh. Don't twist your horn off. Last time I talked to Nightfall, he said that he and Twilight were going to be doing some important things in the library. Let me guess, you neglected to look for them there."
Solar left. He was mumbling something to himself when he did and from what Paper could tell, the word profanity would have pretty much summed everything up.
When Bastion was certain that Solar was gone, he looked at Paper and gave a tired laugh. "I find it quite funny how Twilight is willingly going out with Nightfall to help him set up for later heists. When Solar finds out, he is going to blow a fuse."
Solar stood in front of the double doors to the library in anger. "You got to be shitting me." There had to be enough dust to kill somepony, and Twilight and Nightfall had gone right into it all. "Twilight?" he called out. "Nightfall? Don't make me come in there and look for you." There was no reply. "Come on guys, this isn't funny!" Still, no reply. "Balls."
Solar left and returned only moments later. He was now wearing goggles and a towel from the kitchen around his muzzle. "I'm coming in," he called out. He stepped forward and vanished into the dust cloud. He would not find what he was looking for.
Twilight sat on the soft couch listening to Snowy talk all about her day. She had calmed down now and was now carrying on as if nothing bad had ever happened. According to her, it had been a week since she had been bullied, so there were plenty of good memories to talk about that would block out the bad ones. It was the first time that Twilight had felt fully relaxed since waking up in a time that wasn't her own, and judging by the happy expression on Nightfall's face, he was much more relaxed as well.
"We got to learn about the seasons today," Snowy said as she recalled the events at her school. "Mrs. Ink Pen says that creating the seasons takes everypony working together, or else there wouldn't be any snow in the winter and the flowers wouldn't grow in the spring."
Snowy talked on and on about everything that happened. From what she had for lunch at school to everything that the teacher talked about. There were even times she would talk to Twilight, asking questions about her, who she was, what her favorite color was, if she liked daisies or tulips more. Twilight tried to answer the first question the best she could without giving away the fact that she was an alicorn princess who could possibly throw all of Equestria into a tail spin. She wanted to tell Snowy, she really did, but Nightfall had told her not to before they arrived. Snowy would no doubt be over come with excitement and tell every kid at school and then that would lead to problems. Twilight had to keep her cloak on for now.
Time progressed at a relatively normal rate for everypony that night. Time seemingly crawled slowly at the castle just because of boredom, but here, in the presence of Nightfall's only family, time seemed like it flowed smoothly and for once, Twilight was happy letting moments last.
"Snowy," Specter said. "Wasn't there something you wanted to show Nightfall?"
Snowy's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah," she exclaimed in excitement as she jumped up and glided off the couch. When she landed, she took off running toward the kitchen area.
"She's going to make a great flyer one day," said Nightfall after watching his daughter perform her small areal maneuver.
"I just hope she doesn't run from the guards for practice," Specter said, looking back at Nightfall. "That was always fun and all, but... you know, we actually had the skills needed to pick a prison lock and sneak out in the back of an out going carriage. Of course, those were just juvenile centers. I'm sure it's nothing compared to the real thing."
"The lock was a bit harder, and I had to get some assistance from a few friends I had made, but for the most part, it was a cake walk."
Twilight looked at Nightfall. "You broke out of a prison?"
Snowy returned with a small piece of paper tucked under one of her wings. She hopped up next to Nightfall and pulled her drawing out. She handed it to Nightfall, who replied to Twilight with a simple smile, indicating that he would tell her about his prison break later.
"Oh, wow," Nightfall said. "This is really good. You get better and better at drawing every time I see you. And this time you drew the whole family. Keep this up and you just might get a cutie mark before you turn six."
"Wow, really?" Snowy asked in excitement that could only be expressed by a little filly thinking about a cutie mark.
"Of course, you just have to believe in yourself," Nightfall replied in equal enthusiasm.
Snowy giggled happily as she fantasized over what her cutie mark might look like. She looked back at her drawing and then at Twilight and back at Nightfall again. "Can I show Twilight my drawing?"
"Why don't you ask her."
Snowy hopped off the couch and onto the other one that ran adjacent to the one Nightfall sat on. "Want to see my drawing?" she asked to Twilight. She was all to excited, she loved meeting new ponies and Twilight was so friendly and kind to her thus far.
"Sure," Twilight replied.
Snowy sat down next to her new friend and gave her the drawing to look at. "This is Nightfall and Uncle Specter," she said pointing at two of the four figures that stood on what looked like a grassy patch. The drawing was nothing like what Twilight had expected. Instead of stick ponies, each individual was drawn out in detail with crayon. The colors matched the real ponies almost perfectly. Not only did she color within the lines like a pro, but the lines themselves where arranged almost perfectly as well. Snowy drew like she had done it for longer than she was alive. To the left of Nightfall stood Specter and in front of them was Snowy. To Nightfall's right, there was another pony.
"Who's this?" Twilight asked, pointing at the mystery mare. She was a pegasus, very light blue with a white mane and yellow eyes. Above her head, a small gold ring hovered. "Why is there a halo over her head?"
"That's my mommy," Snowy replied with a smile. "Daddy says that she had to become an angel so that she could watch over us. She's off doing angel things right now." The little filly looked a little sad at first before cheering up. "But she'll come back one day when her angel work is done. I know she will. Then we can do all sorts of fun things!"
Twilight stopped upon hearing this. She looked up and stared at Nightfall. He gave her a sad frown in reply. The silence was interrupted before it could hang in the air for long.
"Can I draw you next?" Snowy asked as she looked up to Twilight.
"Oh," Twilight said as she brought herself back to reality from the depths of her mind. "Of course, that would be wonderful."
"Awesome! I'll go get my crayons."
"Actually, Snowy, I think it's time you went to bed," Nightfall said before she could run off.
"Oh come on," Snowy whined disappointedly. "I don't even have school tomorrow. Can't I stay up late tonight?"
"It's almost midnight, Snowy. I think you've stayed up long enough."
Snowy looked up toward a clock on the wall and stared at it for a moment. She read it out loud as she tried to make sense of the positions of the hooves of the cartoon pony who sat in the middle of the face. "Eleven... one, two, three. Eleven fifty seven?" she said to herself. "Oh, okay."
"Why don't you head upstairs to your room? I'll come put you to bed," Nightfall said as he stood up from his seat.
"Race you, ready set go!" Snowy yelled as she ran to and up the stairs on the other side of the room.
"Hey, no fair," Nightfall exclaimed, smiling as he ran after her.
"Come on slow poke," Snowy called back.
The two disappeared to the upper floor, leaving Twilight alone with Specter.
"So," Specter said, putting an empty cup on the coffee table. "Why exactly did you come here? What's so special about you that Nightfall would bring you along?"
Twilight still didn't know where exactly she stood with this batpony that sat before her. Nightfall had given her the okay to tell him her name, and just that. Snowy had called him uncle, which meant that Specter was Nightfall's brother or a really close friend that the filly looked up to as an uncle figure. There was a reason that she wasn't supposed to tell him who exactly who she was, though. She would have to wear this façade for just a while longer, until she could make sure. "Oh, I'm just a friend," she answered after some quick thinking. "Nightfall actually invited me here."
Specter gave her a puzzled look. "Wait a minute. He invited you? I think that makes you more than a friend."
"What do you mean?"
"Nightfall has almost lost Snowy in the past... multiple times. If he's willing to let somepony go near her, it means that pony has something either he absolutely needs, or is part of the family. And last time I checked, I was it. I think there's something you're not telling me."
Twilight expressed her own puzzled look, before realizing what Specter may be suggesting. She tried her best to deny it without sounding like a liar. "No, no. It's just like I said. I'm just a friend." She couldn't help but blush a little.
"That may be how you see it," he said before asking something that truly shocked Twilight with revelation. "But how do you think Nightfall sees it?"
Twilight stopped. She hadn't thought to look at it from that point of view. How did Nightfall view their relationship? That was a real doozy, as Pinkie would have more than likely put it.
Snowy settled in under her blanket as Nightfall sat down next to the bed. "Can you tell me a story?" she asked.
"Alright," Nightfall began. "Once there was a beautiful princess, who somehow got..." he thought for a moment before continuing. "Lost. Not the normal kind of lost though. She found herself in a completely different world from her own. One that she didn't understand. This world was filled with evil soldiers that were led by an evil king. Everypony who lived in this kingdom was poor and was forced to live under the tyranny of the kings rule. The princess saw this and decided it had to come to an end."
"What's tyranny?" Snowy asked.
"It's when a pony is mean to those around them so that they can control everypony," Nightfall answered, trying to put it in terms she would understand. "Anyways," he continued. "One day, while hiding from the evil guards, the princess met a group of ponies who hated the evils of their world, and offered the princess the opportunity to make things right. So, being the righteous princess that she was, she accepted their offer, and they soon began to push back against the evil king and the bullies that worked for him."
"Did they win?" Snowy asked excitedly, sitting up in her bed. "They overthrew him and restored harmony, didn't they?"
"Well, I don't really know yet, but they did their best. They threw everything they had at the king and his minions."
"So they have a," Snowy yawned, before continuing, "good chance, right?
"I sure hope so," Nightfall whispered as he rubbed her head. "I sure hope so."
Snowy laid her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes. She let out another yawn. "Good night, daddy."
"Good night, Snowy." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead one last time. He remained there for a few minutes, sitting by her bed side before finally leaving the darkened room. He didn't go back down stairs. He looked back at his daughter as he sat in the hallway outside Snowy's bedroom for awhile. Thinking. Trying times were ahead, times that would test him. "I promise I'll always be there for you," he whispered. He carefully closed the door and turned to head downstairs.
Nightfall made his way back into the living room and sat down on the couch where he was previously. "Down to business," he said after a sigh. "Twilight, it's time for you to tell Specter who you really are. I didn't want you to say anything around Snowy because I didn't want to risk her telling somepony at school, but you can trust my brother here."
Twilight nodded to Nightfall before turning to face Specter, who now sat upright, waiting for whatever Twilight had to say. "I don't really know how to say this, so I'll just show you." She raised her hooves up to the collar of her cloak, and pulled it off. She then lit up her horn and placed it folded on the table. She then spread her wings so they were completely outstretched and visible.
Specter, like many ponies before him, sat in complete awe with his mouth hanging open. Then he smiled a little. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" he asked. "This is some kind of joke."
"Nope, she's an alicorn," Nightfall answered plainly, "and an princess too, if you can believe that."
Specter stared at Twilight in total astonishment, unsure what to say. For a moment, his brain almost completely stopped working. After a few minutes of silent befuddlement, he looked back at Nightfall. "Why did you bring her here?" he asked.
"I'm helping Nightfall relieve some stress," Twilight answered. "He thought it would be a good idea for me to see his family so I could better understand..."
"Actually, Twilight," Nightfall interrupted. "I haven't been entirely truthful with you."
"Oh really," she replied. "How so?"
"I brought you here, not because I need help with my..." he waved a hoof around in a circular motion, "emotions, but because I need help with something else. I need somepony that I can trust. I, well, Paper and I, need your help to convince Solar to let us stay. If we have you on our side, then..."
"Hang on!" Twilight said somewhat angrily. "Are you saying that this whole time you've just been using me to gain some kind of... of..." Her anger grew slightly as she tried to find the right words, "advantage?"
Specter looked away to try and distract himself from what could easily turn into one big mess if not handled properly. He noticed the empty cup in front of him, then he looked to the kitchen. "I'm going to go get some more tea, while you two... talk." He got up and left.
"Twilight, please listen to me before you shoot me down." He looked her in the eyes with a seriousness that was almost... disturbing. "You've seen first hoof how Solar and I get along. Sure, we seemed fine when you first saw us together that night when I brought you back to the castle, but that was because I didn't want to put stress on you the moment you woke up. The truth is that Solar really doesn't like me. If it hadn't been for the ponies who I've made friends with and the ponies that I've used, I would probably have been kicked out a long time ago, because all Solar sees is some dirty, rotten thief who could jeopardize his grand plan of overthrowing the king. I need you on my side, Twilight. Hey, I am actually telling you what I am trying to do. Take that as a compliment. The only one else who knows anything is Paper."
Twilight sat back, and thought about what Nightfall had just said. "And what does Paper think about this? It seems to me that you're trying to create some sort of rift."
"Paper... knows... about this." Nightfall replied. "He doesn't know everything, but he knows far more than any other pony at the castle. And no, I'm not trying to create a rift. Solar comes from a background of what we call Twisted Loyalists . Wealthy ponies that seem unimportant, like just another royal flank kisser. Then, they turn around and plot against the king. Solar lost his wealth when guards seized everything he had or something along those lines. The point is that Solar has credibility. Now, Twilight, tell me what I have." He went silent and waited.
Twilight didn't expect this. She had just learned that Solar's name carried actual weight and that what he wanted could possibly sway the opinions of those around him. She never paid much attention to these sorts of things, but she was now realizing what was really going on. At first, she thought that this was leading up to a power struggle, but it wasn't that. Nightfall was struggling not to gain power, but just to be able to stay. "You really just want to be close to your daughter, that's what this is about?"
Nightfall nodded in response, never breaking eye contact.
"You have me then," Twilight said after a moment of thought. "I'm with you."
Nightfall sighed in relief. "Thank you so much, Twilight. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"What is it exactly that you plan on doing with my support?"
"Heists, mostly," Nightfall replied. "I have a few plans already in place to hit some noble royalist houses. We can use the loot from those jobs to help fund future operations. Then I'll move on to military installations, starting small and then working my way up. Also, I'm going to be taking Paper with me. He can learn a few things and maybe even start going in solo one day."
"You mean, you want to take him on as an apprentice?"
"I guess you could say that. The houses will mostly be for practice. He's going to need it if we want to get into the bigger places, in Manehattan and other larger cities. Maybe with a little luck, we'll even get a shot at Canterlot."
"I thought you said you wanted to be close by to Snowy? That way you can keep an eye on her."
Nightfall sighed. "I do want to be close by. At the same time though, I have to contribute in some way, and this is all I know how to do. Besides, I'll only be gone every now and then. I have to lay low in between jobs, so I'll still be around."
"Are you sure that's the best course of action though? What if something goes wrong? Are you sure Paper is ready for something like this?" Twilight asked worriedly. It was obvious that her concerns were more than just about them getting caught.
"Don't worry, Twilight," Nightfall said, assuring her that everything would be alright. "He did fine last time, and I'll be there with him from the very beginning until he's ready to go out on his own. If you just let me and him sit around all day without contributing, it just makes you look bad, and we can't have Equestria's last hope for freedom looking weak."
"Okay, I understand. Just be careful."
Just as the words left Twilight's mouth Specter reentered the room with a fresh cup of tea. He sat down in the place where he sat earlier. "I take it that things are going pretty good now?" he asked, hoping that any tension that was once present had disappeared.
"Yeah, we're good," Nightfall answered. "We actually need to get going, but before we do, I need to borrow some old gear. Do you mind if I take that back with me?"
"Go ahead," Specter said. "I'm more than happy to let you take it off my hooves. Let it be your problem." He got up again and headed for the other side of the room, toward the TV and the cabinet that it rested on. He waved the two over. "Come on. Give me a hoof with this," he said as he started pushing it aside.
Nightfall was already off the couch and pulling the stand from the opposite side by the time Twilight realized what they were doing. As the TV and its stand slid to the side, a barely visible series of cracks in the carpet that formed a small square came into view. It was mostly covered in the same carpet that covered the rest of the floor, so it was somewhat hidden. Specter lifted the hatch open with his hoof and took a step down into the hole. "Been awhile since we've been down here," he said as he walked further down into the dark room below, followed by Nightfall.
Twilight followed close behind Nightfall, unsure of exactly what the two were doing. As she entered, she noticed that the room was slightly cooler than the room above, but not as much as the night outside. It was also pitch black, that is until Specter pulled a string that dangled from the ceiling to turn on a light bulb.
The room lit up, revealing its entirety. It was small, smelled a little weird, and was obviously not an original part of the house. The walls were bricked, with the exception of one that was mostly made of wood. Along the walls, on two sides, the one to the right of stairs that led in and the wall that ran adjacent to it, there were a few rectangular tables that were mostly clear of any contents. Below each, there were a few duffle bags. On the walls, some tools hung on hooks, the most notable of which were a large bolt cutter, a couple of gas masks, Twilight didn't even want to know what those would have been used for, and multiple grappling hook launchers that looked like they would be a hassle to carry around.
As Twilight walked closer to inspect the, no doubt expensive gadgets, Nightfall grabbed one and laid it down on the floor. "You don't plan on carrying that heavy thing all the way back to the castle, do you?" she asked.
"Of course not," Nightfall answered. He hit a small release switch on the side of the launcher. It opened up from the side to reveal about fifty meters of black, coiled rope. He pulled the hook and rope out and held them up. "I just need this." He placed the rope and hook into a duffle bag and placed the launcher back in its place after reattaching the cover.
After five minutes of rummaging around through old boxes and carefully placing many different items in his bag, Nightfall looked around to scan the room one final time. He nodded, deciding that he had everything he would need, which wasn't much. For the most part, he had only grabbed a bunch of rope, two gas masks, and what appeared to be basic alchemy components to Twilight, as well as several small tubes of premixed solutions.
"Got everything?" Specter asked from his spot, leaning against the wall.
"Yeah," Nightfall replied. "I have enough supplies to last me for awhile, thanks."
The three headed back up into the living room, out of the cool, damp, underground room. Nightfall and Specter then pushed the TV stand back in place and plugged the fancy electronic back into the wall.
"That should do it," Nightfall announced as he backed away from the electrical outlet. He walked over to Specter and Twilight, who stood in the middle of the room. "It's time for us to leave."
"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night?" Specter asked. "It's late and I'm sure neither one of you want to walk back in the dark.
"No, thanks," Nightfall replied. "Just do me a favor and do your best to help Snowy with these bully issues. She's to young to go through that kind of thing."
"I'll take care of her, don't worry."
The two locked hooves and pulled each other into a brotherly hug.
"Take care brother," Specter said.
"You too," Nightfall replied. "Brother."
As the batpony and alicorn left, Twilight turned to face Specter. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"Your welcome back anytime."
Twilight and Nightfall made their way through Ponyville as quick as possible. They didn't want to be out for too long, because it was long passed most ponies' curfews and being out at this time could definitely be considered suspicious in a small town where almost nopony was up past midnight.
The two entered the Everfree forest immediately after taking a left off the main road that lead out of town. Nightfall looked over his shoulder several times before exiting the road, though. He wanted to make sure they weren't being followed. After walking for awhile through the dense trees, the castle eventually came into view, but not before a small campfire did.
"Oh, hey guys," Paper called out to the two as they walked into the light of the fire. "How did the preparations go?"
Twilight wasn't sure what Paper meant by preparations, but before she could ask, she was cut off. "Pretty good," Nightfall said. He put the duffle bag that he had been lugging around down on the ground. "I got something for you and Bastion," he said as he dug around in his bag. "Where is Bastion anyways?"
Paper pointed to his left at a small tent that was set up. "We're taking shifts." He frowned. "Mine just started."
Nightfall tossed Paper a small jar that contained some sort of bright green liquid. "Heads up," he said as the jar flew through the air.
Paper caught the small container in his hooves, but fumbled it before quickly switching on his magic to keep it from crashing to the ground. He let out a sigh of relief before eyeing it curiously. "What's this?" he asked.
"Special blend of fruit juices. Should give you enough energy to survive the night."
"Thanks," Paper said as he took the top off the jar. He sniffed it and took a short swig. "Oh yeah, that is good." He took another drink, and then another.
"Careful there Paper," Nightfall warned. "Drink it to fast, and all that citrus will cause your heart to stop."
Paper looked at Nightfall unamused. "Ha ha," he said in a monotone voice. "Nice try. Everypony knows citrus can't actually stop your heart." He leaned over to Twilight, who was now sitting to his right. "Citrus can't actually cause your heart to stop, right?" he asked nervously as he freaked out a little on the inside.
Twilight let out a discreet chuckle before answering. "No, of course not. Not in fruit juice at least."
Paper sighed in relief again. Then a thought came to his head. "Oh, Nightfall," he blurted out all of a sudden. "Solar came by and he didn't look happy. He was wanting to know where you and Twilight were, so I directed him to the library like you said. He hasn't come back since."
"Good," Nightfall smiled. "That should keep him busy for awhile, and with some luck, maybe he got lost."
"Wow, is the library really that big?" Paper asked, slightly confused on what Nightfall was talking about.
"No, it's just full of dust. Would probably cause some real damage if you tried to take a deep breath. Also impairs your vision pretty badly. Speaking of the castle, Twilight, why don't you head back. I'm going to hang out here for awhile."
"Actually, I thing I'm going to stay here as well," Twilight replied. "It's actually quite nice out."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Nightfall asked. "It isn't exactly safe."
"I'll be fine." She stretched the collar of her cloak. "As long as I have this on, there shouldn't be much risk."
Nightfall shrugged after seeing no problem with letting Twilight have her way. It wasn't like there was a Manticore on the loose, they were practically extinct thanks to the aggressive tactics used by the king after one was spotted several years ago.
"So where exactly did you guys go?" Paper asked after a few silent, campfire lit moments. "Where did get all this stuff?" He pointed to the duffle bag that sat next to Nightfall, who sat on a log that ran adjacent to the one he and Twilight sat on to their left.
"We stopped by Specter's place," Nightfall answered. "He's been holding on to some of our old heist gear ever since we left the whole thief game. I figured it would be best for us to have it for the future."
"Good thinking," Paper replied after taking another drink of the fruit juice. "How is he and your niece, Snowy, doing?" He didn't know yet. Nightfall had lied to him just like he lied to everypony he met. It was time though. If he was going to be successful in keeping her safe, he would need Paper to fully understand.
"Their both doing great," he replied. "There is something you need to know about them, though."
"Like what?"
Nightfall began to explain. He told Paper everything. He told him that Snowy was actually his daughter and not Specter's. He told him how he was only staying in the castle so that he could be close by while he hid. He told him about his confliction with Solar and why they would be going on these heists. He even told him about Shade Frost.
After listening for awhile, Paper sat back and let out a deep breath. "Wow," he said. "That's really something to think about."
"Don't," Nightfall replied. "Don't think about it. Just know that I need you on this, and I'm putting a lot of faith in you." He looked over at Twilight. "You too."
"Alright," Paper said after a moment of thinking. "I won't let you down, I promise. Oh, and I'm really sorry about Shade. She sounded like a wonderful mare."
"She was," Nightfall whispered to himself, under his breath.
A couple of hours passed. There wasn't much to talk about during that time, but nopony cared. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the company of those around them. Tensions had been a little high lately and the silence in the dark was comforting. First it had been the disagreements with Solar, then it was the heist and the nervousness that came with and after it. Finally, it had been the emotions of that day and night, especially for Nightfall. But now, now was a time for relaxing. All the worries just melted away at that moment, and all was peaceful once again.
Twilight had fallen asleep, leaning up against Paper's shoulder. After the first hour had passed, with minimal short conversations, Twilight had begun to sleepily rest against the stallion next to her. Paper was more than happy to let her do this. By the time the second hour passed, she was soundly sleeping, using him as a pillow.
Paper knew how he felt towards Twilight, and right now was more perfect than he could have imagined. She was beautiful when she was illuminated by the flickers of the campfire. He just wished he knew how she felt towards him. Did she like him? Was this Twilights way of telling him without actually saying it? Or was she just too tired to sit up, and this was just an accident. Paper didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy what was happening. Everything was perfect.
He looked over at Nightfall who was, unsurprising for a batpony, still awake. There was something off about his nocturnal friend though. He didn't exactly seem all there. He was awake physically, but it was like his mind was asleep, dreaming about something, remembering something. Nightfall stared into the flames of the campfire with an absent minded concentration that would worry anypony. Even Paper could tell. Something wasn't right.
Chapter 10: Flashed Back Into Fire
Chapter 10
"Shady!" Nightfall screamed desperately through the burning house that was filling with smoke by the second. "Snowy!" he yelled into the black haze that now clawed at his throat and lungs. He coughed violently before diving to the floor to take in the only available air. He tried to control his breathing, his heart rate, the shaking of his limbs. This was bad, very, very bad. He looked around to try and scan his surroundings. He was in the living room, but it no longer looked like one. Everything was burning. The walls, the furniture, the ceiling. The intense glow of the flames did very little to show Nightfall what was around him. There was so much smoke. It seemed almost dark. It consumed everything and left him blind. It was a darkness that even he could not see through.
"Nightfall!" Specter's voice called from somewhere in the abyss. "Are you over there?!"
Nightfall looked in the direction of where he thought the muffled voice was coming from. The flames roared so loudly that it made his sensitive bat ears cry out in pain in the form of a massive headache. He looked around again, but he still couldn't see anything. "Where are you?" he yelled.
A door, or maybe a window, for buck sake, who even cares? Something opened that let in a little more light. "Over here!" Specter called from the other room.
Nightfall ran as fast as he could across the inferno that was once his home, keeping his head as close to the ground as possible. Fiery pieces of wood fell all around him from up above as he jumped through the burning doorway. Specter had already kicked down the door. He landed in the middle of the kitchen. Two of the walls were completely in blaze, but the ones opposite of them were untouched by the fire. Nightfall coughed several times as he sat on the floor, covered in soot.
"Daddy!" Snowy yelled frantically as she ran to Nightfall.
He held her in his forelegs for only a second. "Oh thank the moon you're alright." He turned to his brother. "Where's Shady?!"
"I have no idea," he responded in a panicked tone. "Upstairs maybe?"
"CRASH!!!" Another torch flew through the only intact window in the house and landed on a nearby table, instantly setting it ablaze as the small fiery crystal at the top shot flames out in all directions.
Nightfall quickly wrapped his wings around Snowy, turning his back to the torch bomb to shield her from the blast. The flames rushed toward him but dissipated before they could hit him full force. They did singe his fur, but no major harm was done. He tucked his wings back to his side and looked to Specter who was shielding his face with one of his own. "Get her out of here," he said, pointing to Snowy. "I have to go back for Shady."
"I'll take care of her," Specter responded. "Be careful."
Nightfall took off as fast as he could back into the burning living room. He held his head low, close to the floor to keep out of the smoke. A lot of the thick, black cloud had moved into the kitchen, where Specter was now helping Snowy into an escape tunnel that they had dug long ago. "Shady!" Nightfall yelled as he ran through the room. He could just barely make out a set of stairs at the other end of the room. He needed to get to the second floor to find her.
The stairs were burning just as badly as the walls around him, but this didn't matter to Nightfall. He opened his wings and flew up the incline to the second floor where he landed. He looked around frantically. Either he could take a left or right. Right, definitely right; that's where their bedroom was. Shady was surely in there.
Nightfall took a single step in the direction where he thought she could be, but his hoof fell through the floor. The sharp, splintery end of the broken wood scrapped along the side of his leg, puncturing the skin on his leg. "Gah!" he yelled as pain shot through his leg. He slowly pulled it out of the hole. Several large, jagged pieces of wood were still lodged in him. He pulled the biggest out first, then the others. More pain came as he did.
He breathed heavily as blood soaked his fur and ran to the floor. "Damn it, I really don't need this!" he thought. He tried to take a step, but the pain coursed through his leg like venom. He was able to hobble on three legs, but it slowed him down to much. He needed to get to Shady, quick. He didn't have time to deal with this.
He opened his wings again, he would have to fly, which was actually faster, but going any higher than he was would make it almost impossible to breath. "Shady!" he yelled again through the smoke that attacked his lungs. He coughed. He couldn't walk, it was to slow, and he couldn't fly through all this. The toxins could kill him. He flew anyways, holding his breath for as long as he could.
"Shade Frost, are you in here?!" he yelled once more as he entered the bedroom, before coughing again. He landed on three hooves, trying to gather enough air to call out again without suffocating. "Shady!" he yelled. He looked around. Everything was burning here, just like downstairs. Then, he saw her. She was lying on the floor, under several large wooden beams that had fallen from where the ceiling had collapsed.
"Shady!" he yelled to her as he ran on all fours. More pain shot through his leg, but it did little to slow him down. He grabbed one of the still burning planks and threw it to the side. Then he grabbed the one that pinned her down, it was much longer than the others and weighed much more as well.
"Hang on," he yelled, "I'm going to get you out of this. He struggled to remove the beam. It was stuck on another that ran vertical and extended from the floor to the ceiling. He turned around and bucked it as hard as he could, causing it to fall over, taking the one that covered Shady with it. He then frantically grabbed her, and dragged her to the side right before more shrapnel crashed to the ground from above.
Nightfall looked over to Shady, who still lied still on the floor. She had a long, black burn mark that ran diagonally across her chest and she was covered in soot. She was unconscious, not dead. This was good, but she was barely breathing. She had no doubt been stuck long enough that she inhaled too much smoke.
Nightfall let out another violent cough as he gasped for air, a resource that was becoming more and more scarce by the second. He had to think fast. He had to get Shady out if there was going to be any chance of her surviving. They needed to find air. Outside, that's where they would have to go, but the so called guards were waiting for them. This is what they wanted, to either burn them out so that they could arrest them, or let them die with any evidence that they even existed.
He picked her up and held Shady close, covering her muzzle with his foreleg in a protective manner. "Just hang in there," Nightfall said worriedly. "Don't give up!" He hoisted her onto his back and made a break for the door, crawling as fast as he could. All of a sudden, the roof gave in right in front of them, blocking their only exit.
"Damn it!" Nightfall exclaimed as the debris came crashing down. They were now surrounded by fire. He needed to find another way out. There was a window, maybe he could stick his and Shady's heads out of it and grab a few breaths without getting spotted.
Nightfall decided he would try this. Anything to give him more time to figure out an escape plan. He kicked out the wooden muntin bar that was somehow still intact. He then peeked his head out to make sure it was clear. Bad idea.
"There he is!" somepony called out from below.
Nightfall dove back into the house as several shots rang out, lead causing already burning wood to splinter. He held Shady down on the floor, covering her with his own body.
As soon as they had begun, the shots ceased. "Did we get him?" a voice called out. "I don't know, be ready just in case," another answered.
They were now one hundred percent trapped and the smoke wasn't billowing out the roof fast enough to clear the room. If they didn't get out soon, they would surely die of smoke inhalation.
Nightfall looked around again, desperate. The only option left was the escape tunnel down stairs, but how was he supposed to get there? He looked to his right, at Shady who was lying next to him. He pulled her closer to him. More pain shot through his leg. He couldn't control his heavy breathing, which only caused him to take in more smoke and cough. He couldn't die like this! He wasn't ready! If he did die though, at least he would die here, with her, the one he loved.
Nightfall closed his eyes, waiting to black out and never wake up again. It never came. Instead, he heard... snoring? He looked over again to see not Shady, but a sleeping Twilight and a Paper Cut who wrapped his leg around her as she leaned against him. He was back at their campsite.
Paper wore a concerned look on his face. "Dude, are you alright?" he asked in a hushed tone. "You had, like, one of those hardcore concentration stares going on for a moment and then you seemed startled or something."
Nightfall looked back at the campfire and then at Paper. "Yeah, I'm fine," he finally answered.
A few quiet moments passed. Paper tried to think of something to say, but he drew a blank. Then, out of nowhere, he was interrupted by Nightfall furiously throwing a jar of his special fruit juice mix into the campfire, extinguishing it. The sudden noise of glass shattering caused Twilight to wake up with a jump. She looked over at Nightfall, who was breathing heavily through his nostrils as if he was angry at the embers that he now stared at.
"Are you sure that you're okay?" Paper asked.
Before getting up and walking off in the direction of the castle, Nightfall turned to the two ponies to his right. "I'm fine," he snapped back. "I just don't like fires."
Chapter 11: Welcome to Manehattan
Chapter 11
"How could you lie to her like that, Nightfall?" Twilight asked angrily.
"Why does it matter to you?" Nightfall snapped back. "I'm doing the best I can."
"Why does it matter to me?" Twilight repeated the question. "How am I supposed to trust you if you cant even be honest with your own daughter?!" Twilight stomped, emphasizing just how serious this was.
"I've never lied to her, Twilight!" Nightfall argued. "I told Snowy that her mother was gone, but she's the one who assumed that Shady would be back."
"And that just means you don't have a responsibility to tell her?"
"Oh, so you think it's easy, huh?" Nightfall replied. "How do I tell her? How do I tell her that her own mother that she knew and loved more than anything, is dead and never coming back? How... huh? How dammit?" He sat back on his haunches and fell quiet.
Twilight also fell quiet. She didn't know what to say. This entire time, she had been so concerned about trust, she forgot just how much pain Nightfall was in. "I'm sorry," she said as she sat down next to him. "That was really selfish of me."
"I love her so much," Nightfall whispered. "Does not wanting to tell her just to save her the heartache make me a bad father?" He hung his head low in despair. He didn't know what to do. He never knew what to do. Ever since Shady died, he would second guess himself on everything. Maybe that's why those four guards were dead. Maybe that's why he didn't find out all the details. Maybe that's why he couldn't sleep at night. He sighed.
"How did she die?" Twilight asked.
"What, you think talking about it will make me feel better?" Nightfall replied. "I feel like I'm in some cliché movie."
"Talking helps me, sometimes," Twilight said carefully. She didn't want to set him off again.
"Fine," Nightfall surrendered for the first time. "There was a fire. The guards came and decided it would be best to burn down our house with us inside. I almost gave up trying to save her, but we managed to escape after the floor collapsed, giving us access to an escape tunnel."
"Wait, if you made it out, then how did she die?"
Nightfall continued his story. "I managed to get her to a hospital, but I had to leave to keep the guards from tracking me down. Believe me, I wanted to stay with her, but the best thing I could do was keep them away from her and focused on me. When I did return though, the doctors said that it was too late. Some burning debris fell on her and apparently that opened some old wounds. They tried everything they could, but her injuries couldn't be treated until they got the smoke out of her lungs and by the time that happened, she was already gone."
"Old wounds?" Twilight asked concerned. "What happened to her before?"
"Shady was a victim of some pretty bad stuff," Nightfall said. "She saw the deepest parts of the criminal underground. Parts that even I wouldn't dare to go to." Nightfall paused before continuing. "Pony trafficking," he clarified.
Before the conversation could continue any farther, there was a knock on the door and Foxtrot stuck his head into the room. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.
Nightfall waved him in, not wanting to talk about the past anymore. "What's up?" he asked his pegasus friend.
"Twilight, Solar needs to talk to you," Foxtrot said. "And Nightfall, I need your help with something important."
Nightfall sighed. "No rest for the wicked."
Twilight opened the door in front of her half way and stuck her head in the room. "Solar? Are you in here?"
"Over here," Solar said from the other side of the room. He was standing at a table that was covered in stacks of papers.
Twilight let the door open all the way before closing it behind her as she stepped into the room. "I was told that you wanted to talk to me."
"Yeah, I do." Solar sighed and then turned around. He looked tired, as if he hadn't slept in a while. In reality he had slept, but only for one to two hours every night. "I want to let you know some things."
Twilight knew what was coming. It was time for her to go out and rally ponies for the cause. To inspire a revolution. Twilight had thought about all this, but she was troubled. The way they were going would surely lead to some kind of war. She hated the thought of ponies laying down their lives for her. Surely there was another way.
"Before we begin," Solar started. "What do you know about the regime that controls Equestria? Why do you want to help us?"
Twilight thought back to everything she had learned since waking up on that hammock. "Well," she said. "When I first woke up that night, I didn't really believe anything that I was being told. I thought that you were just crazy kidnappers. I even tried to run away, but then Nightfall showed me the Tree of Harmony, or at least what was left of it. That's when all doubt in mind was erased. The next morning, he brought me that book and... well... I learned things. So many horrible things."
"And you just believed everything in the book?"
"How could I not?" Twilight replied, slightly surprised that Solar would even suggest that it was false. "Whoever these Archivist ponies are, their masters of gathering and documenting information. There were newspaper articles, photos, memoirs, personal journals of witnesses that had been donated. The amount of evidence was so overwhelmingly undeniable. It's the most impressive thing that I've ever seen."
"So what have you learned? What was it that made you decide to help us?"
"I don't think I can just point out one thing. Canterlot had to be one of the worst. The upper tiers of the city using the lowers as slaves. All the corporations in Manehattan are now controlled by the king so that the rich can get richer while keeping the poor in a state of poverty. The buffalo nearly went extinct when they tried to rise up so that they could reclaim the land that they lost when the apple fields of Appleloosa were expanded passed the borders that had been set by now broken treaties. There is no longer any kind of freedom of speech. The courts don't take petitions or listen to the pleas of the citizens. Mass hangings to keep everypony in line! Peaceful demonstrations turn into massacres when they are met with armed resistance!" Twilight was now shouting as her mind raced through all the things that she had read.
"So you do understand," Solar said.
"There were..." Twilight closed her eyes and sighed heavily. She shook slightly as she did this. "There were a lot of graphic pictures and if those weren't enough proof then the spells that allowed me to witness the event through the eyes of another were. I even dissected the runes that allowed me to do this with my own magic. There were no hidden symbols or effects. I actually saw real, not made up or altered versions of history. It was all real. Something has to be done."
"I'm glad you think so," Solar said "Something will be done, soon." He smiled. "Very soon."
"What are we going to do?" Twilight asked.
"You are headed to Ponyville. There, you will reveal who you are to a small amount of ponies. You need to let them know that help is coming. Tell them to spread the word to everypony that they know they can trust and to prepare. They'll know when the time is right strike. Once you're done in Ponyville we'll need to get you to a neighboring town as soon as possible. Once the seeds of rebellion have been planted, we'll hit royal targets, forcing the guards to come running."
"You've planned passed that point, right?" Twilight asked. "I don't really see how bringing more royal forces to us helps."
"That's where things will get complicated. Foxtrot is going to lead a team to find another rebel group that recently came out in force in Manehattan. Once we have them on board, we'll start initiating assaults in larger cities, spread the royal forces out as much as possible. If we play our cards right, we might be able to get to Canterlot. The tricky part is keeping you safe. The king will eventually learn about you and start looking everywhere to find you."
Twilight looked worried. She knew that they would only get one shot and she didn't want to lose the friends she had made here. Not again. She didn't want them to end up like Apple Jack, or even worse, like Rainbow Dash. "Are you sure this will work, Solar?"
"Twilight, you're here, right now," Solar said. He had a hopeful look in his eyes. "That means that the prayers of Equestria have been answered. Once we give these ponies a reason to believe and show them that the king isn't invincible, they'll be ready to rise up."
"I just hope that we don't lose to much in this process," Twilight said worriedly. "Are you sure that there isn't a way to do this without inspiring violence?"
"I really wish there was Twilight, but we've both seen what is happening out there," Solar replied. "It's your call though. When your ready, let me know."
Twilight nodded. She really didn't want to have to do this. Why couldn't there be another way? It wasn't fair. But she had to do it. If she didn't, she would be going against everything she ever believed in. "Alright," she said. "I'm ready to start.
"No," Nightfall said angrily. "I'm not going to Manehattan with you Foxtrot."
"Oh come on," Foxtrot pleaded. "You know the streets of that place more than any other pony here. I need a guide."
"I already told you once before, I have other plans for here." Nightfall never liked it when he had to postpone things. Even if he didn't want to do those things. Best to just get it over with. Now Foxtrot was trying to convince him to go to Manehattan with him in an effort to find another group of rebels. For all they knew, they weren't even rebels, just terrorists.
"Yeah, yeah. You want to lead a series of heists against nobles to help fund the cause. That's all well and good, but we need allies as well," Foxtrot argued.
Nightfall couldn't deny that he had a point, but he had a gift for doing what he did. It would be foolish to waste it on something that another pony was capable of doing. "I'm good at this. So I'm going to do it whether you like it or not."
"You know, it's not like you can't do all this while we're in Manehattan," Foxtrot said, pressing ever harder for him to tag along. "There are plenty of high end apartments on the menu. Robbing them would probably piss the king off way more than robbing houses in Ponyville and smaller towns."
"You say that like I can just walk in and start taking things," Nightfall said plainly. "I need time to plan for stuff like that and I've already got plans drawn out for houses in Ponyville."
"Come on, Nightfall," Foxtrot whined. "You know you owe me for the times I've covered for you. Besides, I already got Paper and Bastion to come with me."
Nightfall glanced unamusingly up from a sheet of paper that had some sort of list on it. He placed it down and faced Foxtrot. "Are you trying to pull my in-house assets out from under me?" he asked.
"Maybe," Foxtrot replied with a smirk.
"You're playing a game that you can't win," Nightfall said. "You know this right?"
"Oh relax," Foxtrot said. "I'm just screwing with you. I'm bringing them because I need ponies who aren't going to do absolutely everything Solar says. I need to be as flexible as possible in field as I can possibly be. That means not being bound to rules and orders."
Nightfall thought about this for a second. He needed to stay in Ponyville, Foxtrot needed him to come to Manehattan with him. He couldn't leave, he just... He sighed. He wasn't a pony of his word, never was. A promise upon his honor had never meant anything to him before, but this was something that he couldn't cheat his way through, not when his daughter's life was at steak. He refused to gamble with that. He would just have to go along with the plan for now. After screwing up everything in that outpost, he didn't yet have the confidence to be somewhat rogue. It was probably best if he went with Foxtrot anyways, get back into the swing of things.
"I'll get you connected with some contacts, ponies who can help find these rebels," Nightfall said. "I'll guide you through until you locate them, but that's as far as I'm going. Once that's done, I'm heading back here and doing what I originally planned, with or without Paper Cut.
24 Hours Later
The train to Manehattan sped down the tracks as fast as the engine could carry it. Ever since the railroad companies switched from steam power to diesel, the trains have been able to carry larger loads for farther distances far more efficiently. None of this was anything that Nightfall cared about. All he could do at the moment was continuously go over details in his head.
After a few more minutes of thought, with only the sound of the rattling train car to keep him company, Nightfall looked up at Paper who sat across from him. He was fidgeting with some origami. He had made it not because he was board, but because he needed something to calm his nerves. There were two royal guards on the train with them after all.
Paper glanced at one of the guards, who noticed and returned the look. Paper did his best to pretend that he was just looking around to stretch his neck, but he looked a little suspicious.
"Relax," Nightfall said to Paper from across the aisle. "You're going to do fine. It doesn't matter that you haven't seen her in a few months. It's not like she's changed."
Paper knew this queue, he had been practicing the previous afternoon. "Yeah, I know," he responded. "I guess I just have some stress left over from working in the orchard non-stop. I just hope she still wants to see me after so long."
"Hey, she said she'd wait for you, didn't she?" Nightfall acted.
"Yeah, you're right," Paper replied. "I should stop worrying."
One of the guards, who had been staring Paper down, waiting for him to break, went back to watching the trees pass by outside the window. He no longer paid the young unicorn any mind.
Nightfall winked at Paper indicating a job well done.
The rest of the train ride went by relatively smoothly, thanks to the fact that the guards got off at the next stop. Now that they were gone, there was really nothing left to be worried about. All they were doing was acting as representatives for their cause to a group with the same goal. Indeed, nothing could go wrong, nothing to worry about here.
This is all what Paper wanted to believe, but he knew that Manehattan was not some place one simply walked into. After exiting the train, they would no doubt be searched, asked to show ID, that sort of thing.
I horrifying thought rammed its way into Paper's head that instant. "ID," he thought to himself. "I have mine, Bastion has his, Foxtrot has his, but what about Nightfall?"
Nightfall was a wanted criminal and the second a guard realized who he was, there was bound to be some trouble.
"Hey, Nightfall," Paper whispered across the aisle. "How do you plan on getting past the guards? If they figure out who you are when we get off..."
"Relax," Nightfall interrupted. "I've got it all taken care of."
Nightfall held up a small ID card and flung it into the air to Paper, who caught it in his magic. He inspected it carefully. There was a picture of Nightfall and some other info. Eyes color: green, coat color: grey, mane color: blue, gender: male, age: 29, species: bat. Everything seemed to line up, except one major detail. The name was different. Night Glider, it said at the very top.
"Night Glider, huh? Where did you come up that name?" Paper asked curiously.
"Saw it on a tombstone in some small town in the middle of nowhere," Nightfall explained. "They had a mining operation and a few friends and I decided to break into the vaults." Besides Foxtrot and Bastion, Paper and him were the only ones left on the car, so they were free to talk about whatever they wanted. Most ponies wanted to stay away from larger cities due to the amount of royal guards.
Paper looked back at the fake ID and compared it to his own. Besides the information being different, it was a complete match. "Wow, this is really well made. I wouldn't even know that it was a fake if I didn't know you."
"Let me see it," Foxtrot said. He was sitting to Paper's right and had been staring out the window most of the trip, but had taken interest in the conversation when fake IDs became the topic.
Paper passed the small rectangular piece of plastic to Foxtrot who looked it over. "Impressive," he said. "Usually you can tell if it's legit just by looking at the back. You would not believe how many forgers accidentally put the seal on upside down or backwards. It's really kind of funny." He tossed it back to Nightfall.
"So what's the craziest thing you've seen on a fake ID?" Nightfall asked, trying to make conversation.
Foxtrot thought back to his days in the royal guard. Thinking back, he did distinctly remember being posted at a train station for awhile in Manehattan. "Well," he began. "There was this one time that some guy tried to pass a potato off as an ID."
"What?" Paper said with a snicker. "No way."
Nightfall simply raised an eye brow. "A potato?" he said questionably. That was definitely a first.
"Honest to the stars. He had his name and all his other info written on it, even drew, or at least tried to draw a picture of himself on the other side."
"What did you do with him?" Paper asked, still smiling.
"It was my first day on the job, so I just took him in and let my higher ups take care of it. Being new, I had no idea what to do besides that."
"Quite the introduction. Anything else?" Nightfall asked.
"Yeah," Foxtrot continued. "A year or two before I left the guard, I caught a guy with a fake. Strangest forgery I've ever seen."
"Besides the potato, I'm guessing." Paper said.
"I don't really know if I'd consider that an actual forgery, but yeah," Foxtrot replied.
"Every last detail on it was perfect, just as good as Nightfall's. The only problem was that the back didn't have any of the right markings. It was part was made of the back of a cereal box. Almost like he wanted to get caught."
"Might have been a plant," Nightfall responded. "Sometimes thieves have to get rid of somepony for awhile for a job. I did it a few times."
The conversation continued on for another hour before the train finally passed over a large bridge revealing all of Manehattan for them to see. The streets were relatively crowded compared to Ponyville. Large banners displaying royal symbols hung from every building in site. They made it quite clear who was in control of Equestria.
"Finally, we're here," Bastion said in an annoyed tone as he looked out the window. He really didn't like long train rides.
The train pulled into a massive station. The glass roof curved one hundred eighty degrees high above, before dropping down straight to the ground with large semi neoclassical pillars. Large metal rafters stretched from end to end and hanging from each was, of course, a white banner with black and gold trims. The whole place had a very bright vibe to it, but it wasn't a happy one. The sheer amount of guards prevented that from becoming a reality. It was a nice station though. All the bits that the upper classes that supported the king brought in at the expense of the poor helped make it a shining symbol of the royal power. It all made Nightfall really uncomfortable.
The thing that bothered Paper, were all the ponies sitting against one of the far walls just beyond the platform. There were full armored guards hanging out around them, as if keeping them in line. Each pony looked like they were poor and had little to bring with them as they attempted to leave the city.
The doors to their own train opened and ponies began boarding and leaving the train. Paper stepped out, following Foxtrot who wanted to get out of the way as fast as possible. Before he could even stretch after the long journey, a slightly muffled, almost electronically generated sounding voice came from the his left, accompanied by an armored hoof on his shoulder.
"Identification," the guard ordered from under his helmet. Unlike the standard opened face helmets that the guards at Ponyville wore, these guards were adorned by helmets that fully covered their faces, making them much more intimidating. Their overall armor also didn't show any gaps. The new design was much more modern than the old fashioned plate armor that Paper was used to seeing.
Paper Cut gave his card to the pony in front of him, before looking over at his friends who were all having their IDs checked as well. Nightfall was holding open his cargo jacket that he had worn on their heist as he sat back on his haunches, allowing a guard to rub his hooves through the inside lining. "He's clean," the guard said to another.
After being given back his ID card, Paper continued on with the others. He was glad that they were here. He didn't like not being able to see the guards' eyes. It made him nervous because he couldn't tell if they were looking at him or not. He could tell that nopony else liked it either. Especially Bastion who looked seriously annoyed.
As the four stallions made their way toward the exit, every so often they would notice some disturbance. Either a guard restraining somepony or an argument. The most notable of which was a group of three guards harassing a single pony. "My coat is green," he complained. "It says it right there on the card. Let me go."
"I don't know," one of the guards said. "You kind of look blue to me."
"Maybe it's turquois," another suggested.
"Eh, I left my contacts at home," the third said, not caring about the civilian that they were pestering.
"This card really could say anything while it's in my hooves, you know."
"Yeah, maybe it says you're a pegasus and I don't see any wings on you."
"Yep, definitely a forgery."
Each guard kept passing it around, trying to decide what to do with it. They got bonuses for every fake that they discovered, so it was beneficial for them to single out those who were alone and bring them in for questioning. This poor earth pony just happened to be the days victim.
After walking down some stairs, the group came across a security checkpoint with magic scanners that could detect certain contrabands and guards with large black spears. Although Paper really had nothing to worry about, he couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness. Nightfall on the other hoof, looked completely relaxed and full of confidence. Foxtrot seemed indifferent, and Bastion still looked irritated by all the guards.
After another check of their IDs and four quick scans, they were all waved through.
"Finally," Paper thought, letting himself relax a little. They had made it through the crowded train station and into the streets where they could blend right in without worry. Now all they had to do was find this other rebel group that was supposedly hiding out somewhere in this star forsaken city.
"So," Foxtrot began. "Have any ideas on where we could find this faction that we're looking for?" he asked Nightfall. "Manehattan is an awfully big city and I really don't know what rocks to look under."
Nightfall rolled his eyes at the stupid joke. "I think I know where we can start looking," Nightfall said, taking off down the street. "Come on."
The three stallions followed their batpony friend down the street a few blocks before stopping in front of a building with a wooden façade that had peeling paint and splintery corners. It matched the surrounding area nicely as they were now in what appeared to be an old factory district that had fallen into poverty. Everything was really worn here. Even the hard, stone street seemed depressing.
"Really, Nightfall?" Foxtrot said in confusion. "A bar? This place looks like just another sad little establishment for drunks."
"Just another sad bar?" Nightfall said, sounding somewhat offended. "This is not just any bar, my feather winged friend. This is the most luxurious bar in the entire district."
"The place is called 'The Salted Wound.' That doesn't exactly sound luxurious." Foxtrot replied in a monotone voice. "Sounds more like a place with a bad rep and a bunch of fights."
"I used to come here all the time. They have some of the best drinks in town," Nightfall assured.
"Good. I need a drink to get rid of this train lag," Bastion said as he pushed his way passed everypony else.
The others followed him in. Both Paper and Foxtrot had both expected to hear the sound of shattering glass, punches being exchanged, and the creaking of floor boards. Instead, they were welcomed by a much more cozy site. Polished counter and table tops, intact bar stools that didn't match in color, clean shiny glasses, and some kind of smell that could make any pony's mouth water.
"Wow," Foxtrot said as he stepped inside. "This was not what I was expecting at all."
"Gentlecolts," Nightfall addressed the three surprised stallions. "Welcome to the thief HQ of the world... or Manehattan, same difference."
"HQ?" Paper repeated, unsure. "This looks more like a more like a legitimate business than a den of thieves."
"Well, it isn't. Everything you see here was paid with by bits that were obtained by means that were far from legitimate. I even paid for a few of the bar stools." Nightfall explained. Before he could say anything else though, a voice called out from behind the bar.
"Nightfall?!" The voice belonged to another batpony. He had an distinctive accent that was sort of fitting for a bar.
Nightfall turned to face the bartender. "Hey Scotchy," he said in a voice that said they hadn't seen each other in forever.
The batpony, who went by the name Scotchy, stepped out from behind the bar and approached the group of four. "Where have you been all these years?" he asked as a smile slowly crept across his face.
"Around... places," Nightfall replied, staring at the floor. "I had to get away for a while I guess."
"Finally found a place to settle down with Shade and Snow, huh? Good to hear it. How are they doing these days?"
Nightfall took a seat at an empty table and sighed heavily, staring at the floor as he did. "Snowy is fine, but..." He hesitated. "Shady didn't make it. The guards came and I wasn't able to save her."
Scotchy's eyes widened in shock. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," he said apologetically. "She was a fine lass." He paused to think for a second. "I take it you be ready to get back in the game, eh lad?"
"Actually I'm here as favor for Foxtrot here." He motioned to the pegasus beside him.
"Hey," Foxtrot greeted. "I'm guessing that you could help us find what we're looking for."
"Well, that depends," Scotchy said. "What is it that you're wanting me to do you for?"
"We can start with drinks," Nightfall answered. "For me and my friends. This is Foxtrot, that's Paper Cut." He pointed to his unicorn would be apprentice. "And the big guy over there who's already half way through a pint is Bastion. Slow down before you drown," he called out.
Bastion simply rolled his eyes and went back to his drink.
"Alright, can do," Scotchy smiled as he walked back behind the bar. "Something tells me that drinks aren't the only thing you're looking for."
"Actually we don't need drinks," Foxtrot interrupted. "We need to get straight to business."
"Relax," Nightfall replied. "You may not agree, but Bastion has the right idea. It was a long train ride and it would be best to just enjoy the next few hours."
Foxtrot sighed. "Okay, you're right." He turned to the brown coated batpony behind the bar. "I'll just have whatever you recommend."
"So," Scotchy began after sliding three mugs across the bar top to each stallion who were sitting at the bar now. "What is it that brings you here? Surely there must be a pretty big prize out there for you to want to come back here after all this time."
"You could say that," Nighttide said. "It isn't as much of a prize as it is a long term goal."
"Well of course. You always were the one who took on the jobs that took a long time," Scotchy reminded. "What is this time? Bank heist in the middle of the day, Fort Bronx?" He smiled widely as his imagination took off. "Canterlot Castle's Royal Vaults?!"
"This job is bigger than anything like that. Think about changing the course of history," Nightfall replied.
Scotchy's eyes widened larger than should have been possible. "How many bits are we talking about. Millions? Billions?!"
Nightfall shook his head. "This isn't about bits anymore Scotchy. This is so much bigger than that. Imagine a future where the guards aren't as relentless as they are now, where there is order and stability everywhere, and thieves like us will be given opportunities that we could never have imagined without the fear of a death sentence or life in prison."
Scotchy seemed confused at hearing this. "That isn't possible, Nightfall. The methods that the guards use are completely supported by the king and because of this, there will never be stability in Equestria, only fear, power, and control. Unless..." He stopped and stared at his friend in disbelief.
Nightfall nodded. "We're going to overthrow the government."
"But," Scotchy hesitated to think. "How? You cant expect to be able to just take control. Who will lead? A ruler who was once a thief wont be welcomed and then overthrown before anything could be established."
"We have somepony credible. We're already working on getting her out there."
"We?" Scotchy asked. "Are you saying that you've joined some kind of resistance movement?"
"I'm kind of like an intel gathering officer, if you want to call it that. Foxtrot is one of the lieutenants. Bastion is the muscle just about all the time. Paper here is my apprentice."
Paper Cut looked up from his drink. "Apprentice?" he said questionably. "Cool."
"And who is this credible mare that you plan on putting on the thrown?" Scotchy asked.
Nightfall took another sip of his drink. "An alicorn princess," he said simply.
Scotchy looked at him with a plain expression. "Riiiiight," he said. "Next thing you'll tell me is that you tamed a dragon and will be riding it into battle."
"That's actually not a bad idea," Paper said.
Nightfall held out a hoof to Paper who tossed him the origami bird from the train. He caught it while still looking at Scotchy. He took the small bird in his hooves and started to unfold it before getting stuck. He looked over at Paper Cut. "A little help." How embarrassing.
Paper levitated the bird up and finished unfolding it in his magic aura before setting it flat on the counter. On the unfolded sheet of paper was a picture of three ponies. From left to right, stood Nightfall, Twilight, who's wings were fully extended, and Paper. They had to make the picture into origami in order to smuggle it passed security. Very clever.
Scotchy inspected the picture carefully. There was no way this was real. It couldn't be. Could it? "What do you need me for?" he said looking up at Nightfall.
"I need to know where I can find the rebel group that attacked the garrison here last week." Nightfall answered. "Have any of them come here?"
"No," Scotchy said. "Nopony new has come here for a while. As a matter of fact, the number of ponies we get here everyday is beginning to dwindle. I think the king may be paranoid more than usual about something. Might have to do something with these rebels you're looking for."
"What do you mean, dwindling?" Nightfall asked in a concerned tone. "What's going on?"
"More and more thieves are getting caught. Nobles are upgrading their defenses. I'd guess they know something."
"Well," Nightfall said. "If you help me, we wont have to worry about the king and his noble supporters anymore."
Scotchy smiled. "I think I know a few places you could start looking."
Chapter 12: Around Every Corner
Chapter 12
The old factory district of Manehattan was one of the oldest and most rundown places in any city of Equestria. No building was spared from the creeper vines that grew up and around their walls as if trying to squeeze blood from the very bricks themselves. The roads were also brick, instead of the smooth asphalt that now paved the roads of the other more grand districts.
It may have looked like a bad and unhealthy place, but at a second glance, one would find that it was full of life. They just had to look in the right places. Large makeshift markets and neighborhoods stretched through many of the alleys in between old shops and textile mills that now lay empty, waiting for somepony to either make it their home or base of operations.
This is where the poor lived. This is where the thieves lived. This is where the forgotten lived. This is where decent ponies, who have been given no other choice go to seek hope. Not all were fortunate enough to find that hope though. There were still those who chose this lifestyle, not because they had to, but because it put them in an environment where they could blend in effortlessly.
The factory district was split into many subdistricts. There were those that were controlled by one gang or another, ones that resembled the commercial districts toward the center of the city, where all the rich went and spent their bits as if they grew on trees. The only difference was that you wouldn't find high end items here.
This subdistrict that Nightfall, Paper Cut, Bastion, and Foxtrot now found themselves in was a bit more active than where they had just come from. This is where they would find what, or who, they were looking for.
"You really thing we'll find the rebel base in one of these old factories?" Paper asked.
"No," Nightfall replied. "This is too big of a city for them to have a central base. If they know what they're doing, then their leaders will be nomadic, moving from place to place, setting up when they need to. They'll then coordinate with their followers from there before moving on. Anypony here could potentially be a member. We just have to find which ones."
"How do you plan on getting to them?" Foxtrot asked. "If they have eyes all over, walking in on one of their meetings will be impossible. And we cant just start asking ponies, that would bring way too much attention. Besides, do you really think they would just tell us if they were part of a resistance?"
"Of course not," Nightfall answered. "That's why we make them come to us."
"How do you plan on doing that?" Paper asked, curious to see what tricks Nightfall had up his sleeve.
"Easy." Nightfall smiled one of those confident smiles that told Paper that this was going to be fun. "We become very interesting."
"What do you mean by interesting?" Foxtrot asked. He didn't like where this was going. He didn't like it one bit, but he was confident that Nightfall knew what he was doing. And if he didn't, well he was sure that improvising was something Nightfall was also good at.
"We need to grab their attention somehow," Nightfall began to explain. "We could become valuable, make them want us to join them. We could also start a little trouble."
"I fail to see how causing trouble helps us," Foxtrot criticized. "The last thing we need is to antagonize these ponies. We're here to make allies, remember?"
"I said a little trouble," Nightfall reminded. "Appear to be a rat or mole who could jeopardize everything they've worked for and they'll come running after you... big time."
"I don't like this idea," Foxtrot said nervously.
"Don't worry, they wont shoot you in open daylight," Nightfall assured the uneasy pegasus. "Doing that would only bring more suspicion their way. No, they would probably want to capture you, see what you know and what you've been reporting to the guards."
"That doesn't sound like a little trouble," Foxtrot pointed out. "More like a lot."
"That's why we aren't going that route," Nightfall replied. "If we weren't trying to ally ourselves with them, I would do it, but not with you guys. I would take someone more..." he thought for a second. He didn't want to offend anypony with his word choice. "...experienced," he finally settled on. "Besides, we need to prove that we're on their side. In a place like this, nopony is as good as their word."
"So what do we do?" Paper asked.
"Scotchy said that there's a fence in one of the small markets in this district. They may have done business with a pony or two who are in the resistance. If we can find out who, we'll have a better chance at getting their attention."
"And you think that they'll just tell us?" Foxtrot replied to Nightfall's explanation.
"Of course not," Nightfall answered. "We'll have to do business with them first. It's all about what we can do for each other and whether or not we see value in each other's positions."
"You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours," Bastion said.
"Precisely," Nightfall confirmed.
"So then," Foxtrot said. "Where is this fence?"
Nightfall stopped walking and turned to look down an alley way that seemed relatively inactive. There were a few ponies sitting around minding their own business. Some looked homeless, some looked worn and tired, and some just looked plain drunk.
"There," Nightfall said as he pointed to the end of the alley where a pony sat with a blanket spread out in front of him. On the dirty and stain covered blanket was all sorts of junk and trash. The pony with it didn't look much better. His mane and coat frizzed and looked as if it hadn't felt water in months. He also wore an eye patch that looked homemade.
"All the best goods here!" the crazy pony announced as the group of four approached. His voice was scratchy and rugged. He kind of reminded Paper of Border Sketch. "Perhaps you gentlecolts would be interested in some rusty tin cans! Or a rotten apple core! The seeds are still in it!" He held up an apple core that had turned completely brown. "I've even got a special on this tooth brush!"
The tooth brush that he was talking about was an old wooden one. It was also broken in the middle and the actual brush only held on to its handle by a few splinters.
"How much for the apple?" Nightfall asked.
"Thirty bits."
"Deal." And just like that Nightfall and the crazy pony made their exchange.
"Um, what are you doing?" Paper asked, obviously confused by what was going on.
"Just go with it," Nightfall answered. He turned back to the crazy pony and held out the rotten apple core that he had just purchased. "How much to decode it?" he asked. This confused everypony even more.
The crazy pony smiled a little. "Ten extra," he said in a much different voice this time. It had lost all scratchiness and actually sounded like something one would expect from a Canterlot noble with the exception of being just a bit more rough and tumble.
Nightfall tossed the apple to him and he caught it in his magic. "Do it," he said putting down ten more bits.
The pony that had once appeared to be little more than a drunk hobo trying to sell junk, stood up and motioned for the four to follow him. He knocked twice on a metal door and it opened into a room, the size of which only Nightfall could see due to the shroud of darkness that made it seem as if it were a void. The black veil was pierced though by a green light coming from the unknown pony's horn. He then removed his eye patch to reveal, not a blind eye or empty socket, but a full healthy green eye.
He placed the eye patch on the ground with the interior padding facing up. Everypony gathered around, curious to see what was happening. As the pony cast another spell, a design that covered the entire patch's surface, a rune, began to glow, before igniting a small green flame that matched the magic of its caster. The apple was then placed just above the flame, where it hovered without the assistance of further magic. From the flame, a thin green beam of light shot up into the apple core causing a transparent orb to form around it. There were several flashes within the orb. Each flash caused the apple core to visibly change, until after the fifth. The orb disintegrated and a small green flame fell from the center.
Nightfall caught this flame, staring at for a few seconds as it burned and flickered in his hoof, before finally dying out to reveal a small coin. It was bigger than a bit, but also much thinner. It was silver with gold engravings and trim. In the middle was a small clear gemstone that quickly turned green.
"By excepting this coin, you except a binding contract with us," the mysterious pony said as he retrieved his eye patch from the floor. "259 Sierra Avenue. Take it there immediately. It will grant you entrance and get your name on a list. If this coin falls into the hooves of the enemy before then, you will be held responsible and expected to face the consequences."
"I understand," Nightfall said.
"Good. Do me a favor and make sure you're not followed."
Nightfall pocketed the coin into one of the many pouches on his jacket, before leaving without any kind of farewell. He was closely followed by Foxtrot and Paper with Bastion still lagging behind.
"Well, that was..."
"Awesome!" Paper exclaimed excitedly, cutting Foxtrot off.
"I would have said, interesting, but that works too I guess." Foxtrot looked back to Nightfall. "So, where is this Sierra Avenue?"
"If I remember correctly," Nightfall answered, placing a hoof under his chin. "Then it should be three or four blocks down that way." He pointed down the street, deeper into the old district.
"What are we waiting for then?" Bastion said grumpily. "Let's go. We don't have all day." He pushed passed the others and began heading down the side walk in the direction of the street they were looking for.
"What's his problem?" Foxtrot asked
Paper simply shrugged, not knowing how to answer.
"I don't know, but something is definitely up." Nightfall could tell when something was getting to somepony. It was something he had learned from experience. There was always the weight of so many things that got to him hanging over his head and after having a daughter for five years, nearly six, he had quickly picked up how to recognize when somepony was stressed by something. He knew he would have to resolve this situation soon. Stress was bad for group cohesion. Back in his days of thieving, he would often have to solve these sorts of things during collaborations with other criminals. Most turned out better than others.
Nightfall quickly rid himself of the thought. He didn't need that ghost coming back to haunt him. Not right now. He would deal with that later. Right now, he needed to confront Bastion.
"Hold up," Nightfall called out as he glided in front of Bastion, staring the much larger pony in the eyes. "What is it?"
"What is what?" Bastion asked shrewdly as he glared back down at the smaller batpony.
"Ever since we got off the train, you've been moping around acting like you would rather be swimming in a shark tank." Nightfall spoke very firmly without coming off as pushy. It was an element of him that neither Paper nor Foxtrot had ever seen in him before. "So what is it? What's bothering you?"
Bastion remained silent before looking away, being the first to break eye contact. "Nothing."
Bastion tried to walk away, but Nightfall placed a hoof out that was even firmer than his voice and stopped him cold. "No it's not nothing," Nightfall said. "Listen. You don't have to tell me exactly what "it" is if you don't feel like it, but you need to get your shit together. We cant have these kinds of things jeopardizing what we're here to do."
Bastion sighed. "Yeah. Okay. I'll keep it to myself... sorry."
"Hey," Nightfall stopped Bastion again before he could leave. "If you ever want to talk about it, just say something."
Bastion nodded in compliance. "Thanks," he mumbled.
It was a very strange feeling for Nightfall. A strange feeling indeed, doing what he had just done. Ever since losing Shady in that terrible fire, Nightfall had sunk into not wanting to talk about anything, always keeping his feelings bottled up. But now he found himself offering to talk to somepony else about their problem. There was something about being here in this city though. It was almost like he was a puzzle piece finally fitting back into the hole where it belonged. Or maybe it was Twilight. Nopony ever really pushed him to share his feelings like she had. She was also in a unique position to get him to do so. Or perhaps, it was both. Nightfall didn't think about this too long. They still had a job to do.
"This is it," Nightfall said, stopping at a door after walking a few blocks in silence. "Let's see if anypony is home." He knocked on the wooden door and waited. The door never opened.
"Maybe they went out for dinner?" Paper suggested.
"Or maybe..." Nightfall removed the coin from the pouch on his jacket and pushed it into the mail slot.
The sound of several locks coming undone was fully audible before the door slowly swung open, creaking as it did. "Get inside," a pony said, waving the four in.
Upon entering, everypony immediately noticed that the place was basically just an abandoned apartment building. The lobby that they now found themselves in was nice, at least it probably was ten years ago. The wallpaper was now pealing, the hardwood floor had boards missing, and the ceiling had large brown spots from water damage. The only thing it didn't have was dust and cobwebs, which meant that the place was probably used often. It had still obviously seen better days though.
"You can take care of any business you have down in the sub-basement," the door pony said. "Make it quick though. We prefer it if the place didn't get too crowded." He pointed to his left. "You can take the elevator."
Nightfall nodded before looking back and motioning for his accomplices to follow.
"Sub-basement?" Paper said in a confused tone as they all stepped onto the elevator.
The elevator descended down slowly and loudly. A terrible shrieking could be heard as the rusted mechanisms moved the car downward. Nightfall seemed to be the only one not bothered by this. "This will lead us down to a level below the basement," Nightfall said loudly above the machinery. "We dig these sub-basements under the main one as a way of concealing our operations. They have direct access to the city sewer system and the elevator shaft can be cut off so the car wont come down here. Hidden, easy to safe guard, and provides several escape routes. Perfect place for a large fence to hide."
"We? Our?" Foxtrot asked after realizing Nightfall's word choice.
"It's all organized crime," Nightfall answered. "Different groups tend to band together. Most thieves within certain groups tend to feel a sense of brotherhood after joining. I guess I still consider myself a part of it, even though I cut most of my ties."
The elevator came to a stop and everypony got out as the doors opened. The sub-basement was actually quite big. More so than what one would expect. There were crates everywhere and at least twenty ponies roaming around, going about their daily illegal activities.
"So who do we talk to?" Foxtrot asked.
"I am going to talk to the pony over by those crates," Foxtrot said, pointing at somepony who was counting several large stacks of bits. "If we all go up, it might seem like we're threatening him. You guys just mingle or something. Don't say anything stupid okay." Without waiting for a reply, he walked off.
Nightfall approached the older earth pony casually, as to not spook him. "What do you have for me?" the stallion asked as he looked up from his several coin purses.
"I was actually hoping you could help me with something," Nightfall replied. "You see, I'm looking for some information."
"What kind of information?"
Nightfall leaned in close. "I'm looking for a certain group of ponies," he said in a hushed tone. "My sources say that they may have done business here in the past. They may or may not be trying to cause a little damage to the system that currently runs the country. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"I might be able to get you in contact with somepony," the earth pony said. "It's going to cost you though. I cant just go giving this information out to anypony who asks for it."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Two things. First, there's this jewelry store in the high end district. The place is loaded with all kinds of things worth stealing, but that's not what I want you to do. You see, it has a rival. A threat to their business. They're right to be worried too. This other place has a ring that every other diamond in Equestria pales to in comparison to. The owners aren't friendly competitors either."
"I think I see where this is going," Nightfall interrupted. "Steal the ring, put it in the other stores display case, make the owners go at each other's throats, and let the guards clean up mess."
"Bingo," the other pony confirmed. "Once that's done, I'll be in the perfect position to execute my master plan."
As far as Nightfall was concerned, there was only one true master plan, and that was get some friends and do what work you can. Do that and you're set for a simple life, but also a happy one. Just make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew. That was rule number twelve. Or was it rule number twenty one? Nightfall had stopped keeping them in any kind of specific order long ago. "What's part two?" he asked.
"This is the fun part. You're going to need to prove that you're really invested in this so called cause of theirs. Bringing down a certain statue of a certain monarch may do just that."
"Alright, shouldn't be too tough," Nightfall said calmly, hiding the fact that he really didn't know how he was going to bring down this statue. He knew what statue this pony was referring to. It was in a large, open plaza. There was an outpost near by which meant that there would also be guards nearby as well.
The earth pony sifted through a few small boxes for a moment before pulling out a blank piece of paper and a pen. "This is everything you'll need to know about the jewelry stores, the owners names, and some possible entry points," he said as he wrote. He gave the piece of paper to Nightfall. "Don't lose it."
Nightfall nodded in response. "I'll get it done."
"Preferably by the end of the week," the earth pony said before picking up all his bits and walking off. "Good luck," he added after looking back.
It was Thursday, so that gave Nightfall the rest of the day, which wasn't much time at all, it was almost 10pm, and it also gave him an additional two days to do recon, plan, and actually perform the break ins. After the first, the guard presence in the area would be increased, just like it had for an entire week in one part of town after he and Paper broke into the Ponyville outpost. This brought a troubling complication. He would have to do both break ins in one night.
Nightfall sighed. "Great," he thought. "Just wonderful. These places always have a bazillion security features that I'll have to get passed, and now I have to do it twice in a single night." He wasn't going to worry about it right now. When he got back to the Salted Wound, he would get some sleep and then get everything planned tomorrow. Trying to plan a heist while tired was like trying to do calculus without a calculator.
As he turned around to find Paper, Foxtrot, and Bastion, he noticed that everypony was huddled around in a large group. Something was happening. Nightfall just hoped that Bastion hadn't gotten in a fight. He quickly flew up to the ceiling and inspected the scene from just above everypony's heads.
It wasn't a fight, thank the stars and moon, but it was a competition. Bastion was engaged in a fierce hoof wrestling tournament, one that he appeared to be winning. Judging by how many bits were being exchanged, not everypony had bet on him, but those who did were quickly striking it rich.
Bastion stood up after forcing yet another pony's hoof to hit the table. "Is there anyone else?" he asked with a confident smile.
Nopony said anything. The answer to his question was yes. No one dared challenge him now.
Nightfall landed as everypony dispersed and went back to business. He walked passed a few ponies and then to Bastion. "That was quite the display," he said as he approached.
"I'm still the champion," Bastion said as he smiled proudly.
Paper and Foxtrot were each holding several coin pouches. They both knew better than to bet against Bastion, which in the end earned them a solid chunk if change.
"So, did you get what you needed?" Foxtrot asked.
"Yeah," Nightfall answered as they all started walking toward the elevator. "I need to break into two jewelry stores first, though. Also, there are some things I need you guys to take care of for me."
"What do got for us?" Foxtrot opened his saddle bags and had Paper levitate their money into them. The last thing they needed was to get jumped on the street. Not that they wouldn't be able to handle a mugger with both Nightfall and Bastion with them. It was better to be safe than sorry though.
"There's a statue in a plaza in one of the more wealthy districts," Nightfall explained. "We have to prove that we're on their side by bringing it down."
"Shouldn't be too hard," Paper said. "You're pretty good at making things go boom."
Nightfall shot him an unamused look. He was still a little shaky around that subject.
"Oh, sorry," Paper apologized.
"It's fine. I have to get over it eventually. Anyways, the complicated part is that there's an outpost only a block away, so you'll have to do it fast."
"You're not helping?" Paper asked in surprise.
"I still need to figure out a way to break into two jewelry stores in a single night without leaving any trace that I was at one of them. I think that statue just might be the distraction I need."
"So you want us to take down the statue so that the guards' attention will be on us and not you, right?" Foxtrot asked.
"Don't worry. I'll figure out a way for you guys to escape without getting seen. I just need some time."
The elevator came to a stop and the old doors slid open with a squealing noise as the worn out parts rubbed against each other. They all then stepped out into the lobby and exited the way they came. The sun was now beginning to set and night would come in a few hours.
"Let's get back to the Salted Wound," Nightfall instructed. "We can stay there for the night and start making a game plan in the morning. I'll explain things in further detail once we're all rested."
"Sounds good to me," Foxtrot agreed. "I still feel like shit from that damn train ride. I think there was something in that seat." He rubbed his back.
They all began walking back when Nightfall noticed everything around him in a different way. The old buildings, the low light, the shining city center that could be seen just over the rooftops. It all gave him a feeling of dejavu. He felt like this is where he belonged, but he also had a bad feeling about this place, as if he shouldn't be here. He would just have to do his best to make sure he kept a low profile, while getting done what needed to be done.
Nightfall breathed lightly, making no noise as he carefully scanned his environment. Faint whistling came to his ears as they twitched slightly to the current of the air. From what he could tell, there was only one pony in the hallway ahead. He looked back and motioned for the ponies following him to move up to the shadows just to his left.
They followed his commands without question. He didn't know the names of any of these ponies. In this line of business though, he rarely worked with names. He knew them as clients and they knew him as the shadow thief that they hired to get them into this mansion. He wasn't exactly sure what they were after, but they were paying him well to get them into the master bedroom. The owner was away on vacation so they only had to worry about the staff and guards that the noble hired to keep watch over the estate.
Nightfall closed his eyes and concentrated on the sounds around him. The three ponies he was leading were holding position just across from him, where the hall connected to a much larger office. They had managed to sneak in through a window after getting through the front yard undetected. The first floor wasn't much trouble, and now they were on the second where their target was.
The target in question, was actually several things, mostly documents that these ponies, who had never done anything illegal in their lives as far as he knew, didn't trust him to find on his own. Nightfall hated having to drag others around when he worked so much better alone or with somepony experienced, but they were paying him well, too well.
Once the guard down the hall left, Nightfall lead the three ponies down the darkened corridor before stopping at the corner. He looked around. The guard stood there, lighting a cigarette with his a lighter he held in his hooves.
"I'd stop that if I were you," a voice sounded from an unknown source.
The guard turned to his right. "Hey, I've gone the whole night without one of these. One wont hurt anything."
"Even with just one, that smell is going to linger for days," the voice replied from the other side of an open doorway. The other guard finally stepped out into the hall where Nightfall could see him. He took the cigarette out of the other guards mouth. "No smoking. If our pay gets docked then everyone is going to be pissed off at you."
"Fine." The guard took his cigarette back and placed it in his box. "I'll take it outside. Be right back." He took off around another corner and vanished.
"Stay here," Nightfall whispered softly to his clients. They all nodded. He slowly walked down the hall toward the open door way, where one of the guards had disappeared. He walked slowly, listening for hoof steps and the sound of door knobs clicking. He didn't need any surprises.
When he was at the doorway, he peeked inside the room. The only guard stood in the dark, staring out the window at some distant object with only a candle to light his surroundings. He was completely unaware of Nightfall. This would be a piece of cake. Slowly, he crept up from behind. The floor was carpet, so he was able to move faster than in the hall where the floors were hard wood. Nightfall didn't want to take any risk of somepony outside seeing him take this guard out, so he blew out the candle.
"Damn it," the guard said as the darkness engulfed the room in an instant. "Cant you just stay lit you stupid ca-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence before Nightfall grabbed him around the neck with one hoof while covering his mouth with the other. Nightfall pulled back as hard as he could, but the guard fought like an angry minotaur just to break free. It wasn't enough though. After several seconds, the guard blacked out and his body went limp.
Nightfall dragged the now unconscious guard around the bed in the room and let him down where he wasn't visible from the doorway. He stuck his head out of the room and looked both ways down the hall. Still nothing. This was good. He could go back and get his clients. He was alarmed though, when he heard the sound of a struggle just before he got to the corner. He quickened his pace into a run and as the ponies that he had left alone for less than two minutes came into view.
One was on the ground leaning against the ground holding a hoof against his jaw. He was dazed but he would be fine. The other two were trying to bring down a guard that they had somehow managed to alert. One of them landed a punch square in the snout while the other gave a solid kick in the gut. Nightfall then delivered a flying punch to the side of the guards head, knocking him down.
Nightfall landed on the other side of the group and turned to finish off the guard. One of the other ponies leapt on top of him and held his shoulder, before raising his hoof to deliver a final knock out blow.
Nightfall had said something before this job about him being better off alone and these "proper gentlecolts" not being able to fight worth a damn, so he was happy to let one of them finish this fight and actually prove that they were worth the bits that they were paying him to drag them around. Then he noticed the knife in the pony's hoof. He froze as the piece of metal was thrust down into the guards stomach and back up, ready for another stab.
Nightfall lunged forward and caught the pony's wrist and twisted it behind its owner's back before slamming him down into the ground and flinging the knife across the hall with a single swat. Nightfall quickly let go and ran to the guard instinctively placed a hoof under his head and lifted him upright while placing his other hoof on the stab wound and pressing down.
The guard shook as his breaths grew ragged and desperate. This close, Nightfall could see that he was young, much younger than he was, nineteen at the most. He stared into Nightfall's eyes in fear. "P-p-please," he pleaded as blood began to flow from his mouth. "N-no."
"Keep breathing. Deep, in and out," Nightfall instructed in a normal voice. "What the buck was that!?" he nearly yelled in anger at the pony behind him that was recovering from his takedown.
"I did what was necessary," the pony whispered, still not wanting to be heard.
"This isn't how we do things!!!" Nightfall actually yelled this time. He didn't care at this point. He looked back down at the guard who was silently crying to himself as he still shook in fear of what was happening to him. "He's just a kid you son of bitch!!!" Nightfall shouted in even more anger than before. He looked back down at the dying guard in his hooves, still pressing on his wound.
"I-I don't want to die," the guard said before coughing out more blood before he stopped shaking and breathing.
Nightfall's eyes widened and he slapped the guard in the face a few times, trying to wake him up. "No, no, no," he panicked under his breath. He sighed in defeat when the guard didn't wake up. He gently set him down and placed a hoof over his eyes and closed them. He looked back up at the three ponies that he had been leading. "We're done here."
Nightfall opened his eyes. The room around him was just beginning to be saturated with the light of morning that was beginning to leak through the upside down windows. Everything was upside down to him right now, as he hung by his back hooves from a metal bar that was nailed to the ceiling. Sleeping upside down was something he hadn't done in a long time. Despite reliving one of his worst experiences in his dreams, he slept decently because of this. It was always easier to relax when suspended like he was now. The nightmare only acted as a reminder of what he was getting himself back into.
He stretched his hooves while still hanging before looking to his right. There were a few darts sticking into the ceiling next to him, so he grabbed one and threw it across the room at a small target that hung on the wall. He didn't pay attention to where it hit, he didn't care. He just dropped to the floor head first, before spreading his wings to twirl himself upright and then landed on his hooves.
The clock on the wall had just turned a few minutes passed six o'clock. Looking over, he noticed that Paper and Bastion were still asleep, each of them lying in old beds that were kept in the upstairs room. Foxtrot was gone though. He was more of an early bird, a habit he never dropped after leaving the royal guard.
Nightfall walked over and grabbed his cargo jacket, that he used on most of his heists, off the back of a nearby chair and opened one of the pockets. He pulled out the piece of paper that the pony from the fence had given him and unfolded it. All the details were written down in a short list. The locations of each of the jewelry stores were at spots number one and two with the names of each owner next to them. The location of the statue was written below that. At the very bottom was a picture of the ring he was after.
Nightfall refolded the paper and threw his jacket over the back of the chair, before heading downstairs into the bar. Scotchy was behind the bar as usual and Foxtrot sat on one of the stools.
"Foxtrot," Nightfall called out as he approached.
Foxtrot turned around and gave him a tired look. He hadn't woken up all the way, but the coffee he was drinking would change that soon enough. "Ready to get started?" he asked before taking another sip of his coffee.
"Foxtrot told me about your next heist," Scotchy said. "Says you need to hit two places in one night."
"Yeah," Nightfall confirmed, taking a seat next to Foxtrot. "Two jewelry stores. The owners are competitors so I'm guessing the security is going to be tight." He unfolded the piece of paper he brought with him and spread it out on the counter. "I need to get into the first place, steal some oh so coveted ring, place it in the other store and leave."
"Doesn't sound too hard," Foxtrot said. "Get in get out, right?"
"I don't really know what these places are like yet so I cant really say. The thing that makes these kind of jobs hard is that I cant leave any trace at the second store. The first store can have a sign or two of a break in, but if the store I'm trying to frame has any sign that it's been broken into, then it would be to suspicious."
"Why is that a problem?" Foxtrot asked. "You're Nightfall, the Shadow. Isn't leaving no trace your specialty?"
"First of all," Nightfall began. "Never call me the Shadow. That's just a name that some newspaper gave me and it stuck. Second, the whole leaving no trace thing is absolute myth. There will always be some sort of evidence. The trick is leaving as little as possible."
"What do you mean?"
"If you look hard enough, you'll notice little out of place details. A master of his craft can usually make them small enough that nopony will notice until he's long gone. An open window, a broken lock, things like that."
"Makes sense," Foxtrot agreed. "What do you plan on doing then?"
"First comes recon," Nightfall said. "Then we can formulate a plan."
"When are we going to do that?" Foxtrot asked.
"How about now?"
"Yeah, I could do now."
"Alright then, lets go."
Scotchy wished the two luck as they got up to leave. It wasn't like they would need any luck though. This was just recon. Go see what the places look like, gather information, and nothing illegal... yet. Recon rarely went wrong, but he knew more than anypony left that Nightfall liked to get as many details as possible, which meant sometimes getting closer than what was healthy. He still remembered a time when Nightfall had gotten in a fight with a security guard in order to steal his keys. It was completely planned. He walked up pretending to be drunk, Scotchy broke it up before things went too side ways. It still resulted in Nightfall getting a black eye, but in the end their take was worth a little physical pain.
Scotchy was stirred from his thoughts by the sound of bits hitting the counter. A hooded pony was sitting in front of him looking at him with two orange eyes.
"Can I help you?" Scotchy asked. He didn't recognize this pony. It wasn't uncommon for randoms to walk in for a drink every now and then, but something seemed off about him.
"Something strong," the mystery pony answered as he removed his hood.
"Rough night?" Scotchy asked as he began to fill a tankard from a keg behind him.
The pony sighed. "Try several years," he replied in irritation. "I just got out of bucking prison. I was only there because some stupid bucker screwed me over. Left me and my friends to die in some damn mansion we broke into."
"Well," Scotchy replied after remaining quiet for some time. "You're out now, so if you're looking for work I could point you in the right direction."
"Thanks, but I've already got that figured out," he said after taking a drink. "If you want to help me though, then you can start by telling me where I can find a certain pony. He's a bat like you. Has green eyes, a blue mane, and a grey coat. I heard he may be around here somewhere. You know him?"
Scotchy stalled for a second and pretended to think back. "No sorry," he said. "Cant say I know who you're talking about."
"That's alright. When I get my hooves on this guy though, I'm going to make him wish he was never born."
Scotchy stayed silent. This was bad, very bad. He didn't know exactly who this pony was, but he did know that he needed to find Nightfall, and fast. The last thing they needed was a revenge crazed pony going after them and yet, one had shown up anyways. This was going to be a problem.
Chapter 1: The Beginning of Something
Chapter 1
Nightfall was really starting to hate his job. But he had to do it. It was for a greater good, a cause that was bigger than he was. That's what he kept telling himself as he slowly walked through the crystal cavern. It was very quiet. The only noise that could be heard was the faint sound of his hooves carefully making contact with the hard, surprisingly cold, crystal floor.
"What am I even looking for?" Nightfall thought to himself as he continued into the darkness. His eyes had adjusted to the dark and he was now able to see fairly well. He still had to watch out for the occasional rock or crack in the ground that would cause him to trip and fall though.
"This is so stupid," he thought to himself. "Look for something interesting, what the buck is that supposed to mean?" Another thing that Nightfall hated was not being told exactly what he was supposed to do when he was sent out. Sure he was experienced in sneaking around and making things up as he went along when he was in uncharted territory, but this was ridiculous. His "superiors," as they liked to call themselves, sent him into the crystal caves below Canterlot alone and with no clear objective.
Nightfall continued onward. He had been walking for at least an hour. The caves seemed to go on forever, twisting and turning. At some points, he would come across areas where the only way to proceed was either straight up, or straight down. "Its a good thing I have wings," he thought to himself in the darkness as he walked along. Coming to an intersection where the tunnel split into four separate smaller tunnels, he stopped. He now hated intersections in caves. Another thing to add to the list that was now becoming longer by the minute. This was the fifth one he had come across. Looking around he noticed that much like the others, all the tunnels looked the same.
This was not as much of a bad thing for Nightfall as it may have been for a normal pony, except maybe a unicorn. They have all those spells and tricks that allow them to do things that others could only dream of. Fortunately, he had a few talents of his own. One was that he could see just a bit better in the dark than others, but his favorite was something that was truly special. Something that only his species could do. It made him proud of what he was, a batpony.
Long ago, when he was little, Nightfall's grandfather showed him a trick that would help him keep the monsters away at night while he slept. It would make the dark not seem so dark and scary. It was sort of ironic, really. He was a batpony. And he was afraid of the dark. Not anymore of course, that fear had been conquered long ago. The only thing he had to be afraid of now were the royal guards that would no doubt have his head if they caught him down here.
Looking at the first tunnel, he closed his eyes and drew in a calm breath of air through his nostrils. After holding it for no more than three seconds, he let out a smooth, high pitched, but faint whistle. He held the note for another three seconds. When he let go, he kept his eyes closed and listened. He soon heard the same faint tone return to him from inside the tunnel. "Dead end," he thought as he shifted to look at the second tunnel. He repeated this process three more times. From how long it took the sound to return, he could tell that the second tunnel went on much further than the others. The third was another dead end. The sound did not return from the last tunnel. Instead a dim light flickered off in the distance, as if responding to his song like noise. "Well that's interesting," he thought as he began to walk in the direction of the glow. "Mission complete. Time to go home." Nightfall quietly chuckled to himself. He knew that he couldn't just leave without investigating this strange occurrence. He was more disciplined than that, and smarter.
The caves were prettier, and a bit less creepy, when they were lighten up slightly. The light danced and sparkled on the crystal formations elegantly. As much as he would have enjoyed to watch the beautiful display, Nightfall decided it was best to keep moving. The last thing he needed was for somepony else to notice the light. He was pretty sure that he was alone and that there were no other ponies in the cave, but he knew he had been proven wrong before. There was a time when he was caught trying to steal an expensive necklace from a rich noble. He thought the maid had gone home for the night. He soon learned that there were actually three young mares who acted as maids for the family who lived in that mansion. "Rule fifteen, never assume you are alone," he whispered as he reached the source of the light.
What he saw disturbed him just as much as it confused him. He was standing before an alicorn. Not a real one, just a statue made from solid crystal. The craftsmanship was incredible. It almost seemed as if it had once been alive, as if it was formed by the masterful hooves of nature. Everything about it was perfectly to scale. From the wings, to the head, to the tail. Nightfall knew all to well that scaling was harder than it looked. He had once had to pose as a sculptor for a heist he pulled ten years ago. Sculpting was not his special talent. Not by a long shot. The only things he couldn't figure out were why it was down here, and who it was supposed to be. Depictions of the royal sisters that he had seen showed them as much larger than the average pony, but this one was about the size of your everyday mare. Just a few inches shorter than he was. The cutie mark and mane style were all wrong too. Also there was no stand or anything that gave the name of the artist or the alicorn. He finally looked at the horn. It was now only faintly radiating its pink glow. Curiosity compelled him to touch it. He knew this was a bad idea. It had to be, but Nightfall couldn't resist. He just had a feeling like he needed to touch it. He reached out and put his hoof up to it and slowly placed it on the tip of the horn.
Light filled the room. It was very sudden, and Nightfall jumped back from the surprise. The crystal melted away from the form of the pony. Small sparks of purple magic flowed upward from the statue like bubbles underwater. This revealed the statue wasn't at all a statue. It was the real deal. A real alicorn! Nightfall was awestruck. He didn't have any idea of what to say or do, but then he noticed something. Something red leaking down the ponies face. Blood. The purple alicorn began to fall sideways, but was caught at the last moment by the astonished batpony. She was unconscious. His questions would have to wait.
Nightfall pulled off his saddle bags that he had been carrying and placed them on the floor next to him. He then reached inside and pulled out a box of bandages and a clean rag. "Rule number six," he said out loud. "Always come prepared." When he had made his list of rules, he never thought that being prepared would mean giving an alicorn treatment for an injury. He began to wipe the blood off of the mystery mare's face. She had a large cut that ran vertically between her right ear and her mane. It wasn't very deep. This was good for more than just the obvious reasons. Nightfall still had to carry this poor mare out of these caves and a major head injury would only complicate things.
As he began to apply the bandage to her head, he started to wonder more and more what could have possibly happened. When the blood had stopped seeping out of the alicorn's head and the bandage had been put in place, Nightfall put his saddle bags on over the jacket he was wearing and then hoisted the unconscious mare onto his back. It was time to get out of here. He began to walk slowly and cautiously at first so that his eyes could adjust to the darkness again, but soon found himself in a speedy gallop only moments later. He was deep in the caves. He had placed small wooden planks with arrows on them on the ground every so often to prevent him from getting lost. The last thing he needed was to not know where the exit was. What had taken a good hour to walk was taking no time at all now. He was able to run faster and faster as his adrenaline levels rose. "A real life alicorn, no way," he thought. "This is crazy." He was determined to get her out of these caves. To somewhere safe. Somewhere that she would be away from the evils that lured in the castle above. He wondered if the crown even knew about these caves under Canterlot. As he ran, he took a left at the first intersection, then a right at the next. He slowed down and stopped again. Before him was a large cliff that led downward into a different part of the caves. Jumping from the elevated position, Nightfall slowly glided down. He landed as best as he could, being extra careful not to drop his passenger. He ran for about five more minutes before reaching another intersection. Looking at the wooden sign he had previously placed down, he saw it point straight ahead, and so he kept running straight. He had to round a few more corners before he hit one last intersection where he took a left.
Reaching the final stretch out of the cave system, Nightfall saw the dim light of the moon shine through the exit. It was small enough for a single pony to fit through if they laid down and crawled, but just barely. When he came to a stop, he gently placed the young alicorn down. He took off his saddle bags first and then his jacket. First he slid his bags through the exit. Then he lifted the young mare and carefully placed her down on top of his jacket that was now lying on the floor. He slid himself through the hole rear legs first. He then grabbed the coat with the mare that he was now bent on saving in his teeth and slowly pulled them through the hole, being careful not to drag her to hard or across any kind of sharp rocks. When she was out, he put his gear on and then her back on his back and began to run across the field at the base of the mountain just under the royal fortress city. He knew exactly where to go.
After running from the field to a nearby tree line, Nightfall placed the alicorn down on the soft grass. It was probably the softest thing she had touched in what Nightfall believed had to be at least one hundred years. Give or take. She was quite pretty. Purple coat, a darker purple mane and tail, both of which had a lighter streak of pinkish purple. After wiping the sweat from his forehead, Nightfall leaned down and put his head down closer to her. She was still breathing. He was a little paranoid that she would just give out while he was carrying her. He was trying to be as gentle as possible, while also being quick. He didn't want to get caught out in the open with what could possibly be the last alicorn in all of existence. Pulling her onto his back again, Nightfall took off.
"I can get to the Everfree forest much faster if I fly there, but do I want to risk it. What if she falls? I've never flown with a passenger before." Nightfall hesitated, but decided he would fly low and slower until he got used to having her on his back. For the next twenty minutes, he carefully flew low between the trees. The moon was just reaching its midnight position, giving him enough light to see in front of him. Then, he was full speed flying above the trees and fields. It was a nice night. The stars and moon were beautiful. A few hours of flying later and the Everfree forest was insight. All that remained was getting through Ponyville. This did not prove difficult at all, because nopony was ever awake at this time of night. That and there was no large royal presence in the small town. He flew through the streets with ease. He knew them like the back of his hoof. He had grown up here. Reaching the edge of town, he looked over his shoulder to make sure that the alicorn was still there. She was. Still unconscious.
As the batpony and his very special passenger soared through the forest, a large crumbling structure appeared on the horizon. The old castle of the two alicorn sisters that had peacefully guided Equestria long ago. Nightfall landed in the forest just outside the castle. He began to walk. A voice called out to him. "Cow," the voice sounded. Nightfall stopped and placed a hoof on his face. "Really Paper Cut, Cow?" he called back.
A young stallion with a light tan coat, cherry red eyes, and short, messy, orange mane stepped out from behind a bush. "Call back sign. What is the call back sign?"
"There isn't one, you just made that up," Nightfall replied with a smile. "Stop goofing off and help me with this." He pointed to the purple mare on his back.
Paper Cut looked at Nightfall as he walked closer. At first all he saw were the wings, but then he saw the horn and froze. "Is she really a..." The unicorn couldn't think. He had never seen an alicorn in real life before. And now he was watching one sleep on his friend's back.
Nightfall looked at the young stallion and nodded. "Come on, we have a lot of work to do." With that he began to walk toward the steps to the old castle and then up them toward the door, which was flanked by a guard on either side. Each looked amazed at what they were seeing. Paper Cut quickly ran up the stairs after Nightfall, who was telling each guard something. "Please keep this as quiet as possible. The crown still thinks that we aren't a threat," He said to the two earth ponies. "If word gets out, we may have a problem." The pony on the left ran a hoof across his mouth indicating that it was sealed, while the other nodded and said, "Don't worry about it. This secret is as safe as possible with us." Nightfall walked through the door, followed by Paper Cut.
"I'll let the commander know that you are back, and that... Paper Cut was cut off.
"Just tell him that I have something to show him," Nightfall said calmly. "I'd prefer it if news didn't spread like a wild fire of what we have."
The young pony raised his hoof to his forehead. "Yes, sir." Paper Cut then ran off toward a hallway and then vanished around the corner. Nightfall smiled and then started off down a hallway opposite of the one that Paper had run down. When he rounded the corner, he stopped and walked into a medium sized room that was dimly lit. There was a single wooden table in the middle of the floor and few rope hammocks that hung from stone supports. He walked over to the closest one and gently set the mare into it. He then dropped his saddle bags in a corner and opened a drawer next to him. After pulling out some medicines to clean the alicorn's wound, and a fresh bandage, he turned around to head back to her. His eyes met hers. Nightfall nearly dropped what he was carrying. She was awake.
Chapter 7
The morning was mostly like any other in Ponyville. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, the birds were chirping as they emerged from the trees, and ponies were waking up to begin their daily routines. Everything was fine, except for one small thing. There was a huge freakin' pile of rubble and a huge freakin' whole in the ground to go along with it. Foxtrot noticed this as he walked into town and couldn't help but just stand there and look at the carnage in awe. "Holy crap," he said to himself under his breath.
Some other ponies, less civilized ones of course, would have used much stronger word choice, but Foxtrot's words did a pretty good job of summing the scene up. Leading from the small military installation was a giant sink whole around six feet wide that ran all the way to where the old stone bridge had once proudly stood. It was now a broken heap of stone and mortar that was scattered throughout the creek bed. The house, which acted as the outpost, was half collapsed on one of its sides as well.
"Yeah," Foxtrot thought. "I think you got it, Nightfall." There had been times when he was in the guard when he saw damage from attacks by small bands of protesters, but none of it compared to this.
The number of guards patrolling the area had easily tripled. There were several walking in the street out front, one posted on each of the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, and even more working to clean up the mess that had been left. There was even a large escort guarding a pony that Foxtrot recognized as a Grand Captain. His armor was gold and had much more intricate insignia than the other guards. His helmet's crest was made of red horse hair instead of the metal that the other guards wore and his armor's overall design was much more sleek and shiny.
The Captain walked along the brick path with what had to be at least fifty guards before stopping in front of what appeared to be another officer. The Captain gave a signal with his right hoof and all but three of his guards dispersed to secure the area. The officer gave a quick solute to his superior. "Permission to report the situation sir," he said in a firm, official sounding voice.
"Permission granted," the Captain replied in a just as official tone. "What happened here?"
"Well sir," the officer started." It's not good. Somepony broke in last night and as you can see, blew up almost half the base. We have at least four dead, six wounded, and two more missing. We are currently in the process of clearing the rubble now. From the looks of it, they used an old escape tunnel to sneak in and plant explosives in the armory underground. The detonation caused the ground to collapse, bringing half the place down with it."
"Was the tunnel guarded at all times?"
"Yes sir. The tunnel had been bricked off years before I became in charge of this installation. To be sure that it was secure, a single guard was always posted on the bridge above the entrance."
The Captain looked at the base commander questioningly. "Only one guard?" he asked sternly. "Why weren't more posted at the biggest defensive weakness?"
"Sir. No civilians were aware of the existence of the tunnel." The officer was now visibly sweating under his silver armor. "I only posted one guard on the bridge so that no attention was brought to it. If you post guards on something that seems unimportant, then ponies will begin to wonder why someone would go through all the trouble of guarding it. That's the way I figure it. Sir."
"I suppose this strategy makes since, but if a guard was always posted, then how is it that these attackers made their way into the tunnel undetected?"
"The guard responsible of the night shift failed to show up, sir. He is currently being held for questioning. I talked to him myself to see what I could find out, but he claims to not remember ever having guard duty on the bridge."
"Then let me go talk to him. Perhaps I can make him remember." Without waiting for the officer, the Captain walked off toward a cluster of guards standing watch over a pony who sat between them, shackled to the ground.
As the Captain's Lieutenant, who wore a silver with blue crest version of his armor, and two standard guards, who both held large halberds, walked passed the base commander, he sighed a little in relief that it wasn't his head that would be on the chopping block for this disaster.
As they all approached, the guards in charge of the prisoner all saluted their higher ups. The ex-guard, now a prisoner who had been stripped of his armor looked up with a sad, guilty expression. "What's the matter," the Captain began after a brief moment of silence. "Did you not like your position? Was it not prestigious enough for you?"
The young white coated stallion remained silent.
"Well, don't you have anything to say for yourself?"
"I'm sorry sir, but I really have no idea what you're talking about." he said. "I honestly don't remember ever having the bridge as a posting at night."
"Enough!" the Captain said loudly and angrily. "Your excuses will not work on me. Because of you, four of your comrades are dead. Your disregard for your duty will not go unpunished." Before continuing, the Captain noticed another guard passing by. "You there, Private," he called out. "Did you know any of the ponies killed in this attack?"
"Yes sir," the Private replied in a sad voice. "One of them..." He stuttered. "One of them was my brother."
"My condolences to you and your family," the Captain said. "I hope you can find comfort in knowing that he died while honorably doing his duty to defend Equestria."
"Thank you sir. With your permission, I would like to go and inform my family of his death."
"Your wish is granted," the Captain said sincerely. "And again, I am sorry for your loss." He looked back at the prisoner, who now held his head down low, letting his mane cover his face. "This is your fault. Now tell me why you weren't at your post!" he yelled angrily.
"I told you. I have no idea what you're talking about. I can't remember anything about being assigned to the bridge."
"Enough of your lies! Perhaps you were the one who let these terrorists in. Yes, you are a traitor to us all."
"No sir! I..."
The Captain interrupted before he could even begin. "Liar! You are nothing but a traitor! Where is your loyalty?! Where is your honor?!" He motioned to his Lieutenant who levitated a sword into his hooves. "This is what you deserve for your crimes."
The prisoner looked up. He looked as if the guilt and fear were literally eating him alive on the inside. "Please don't kill me sir," he said through deep, ragged breaths.
"I'm not going to kill you." He dropped the sword at the young stallion's trembling hooves. "If you still have any honor left, you'll do it yourself."
The prisoner looked down at the sword in total fear. He couldn't bear this any longer. He hated himself for what he had done, or at least left undone. "I'm so sorry," he said quietly as his tears began to drip and pool on the blade that laid before him.
"Then make it up to us," the Captain demanded angrily before turning around and leaving the prisoner with what could possibly be the final choice he would ever make.
The prisoner remained looking down for several long seconds. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I remember? Why?" he whispered to himself as he collapsed. He continued crying in shame.
The base commander stood there for several moments as the Captain and his guards walked past him. He looked back and made sure that his superior wasn't looking and then kicked the sword away, out of the reach of the grief stricken pony. "Stay here and keep an eye on him," he said to the prisoners guards. They both nodded and saluted as their commander took off to rejoin the Captain.
"Poor guy," Foxtrot thought to himself as he watched all this unfold from the top of a tree. He knew that the ex-guard was innocent. He had to be. There was no way in Tartarus that Nightfall would ally himself with a royal guard, even if they were crooked. He looked around again at the scene. The Captain and base commander had moved inside, no doubt to further discuss the details of the attack. He would have to gather further information from another source. Another quick look revealed a single guard standing alone outside of the fence. This was good. He could start small and work his way up.
"Excuse me sir," Foxtrot said politely as he approached after leaving his spot in the tree. "What's happened here? My family and I heard a loud bang last night."
The guard replied with what Foxtrot had expected. "Move along citizen, there is nothing to see here. This is Royal Guard business." The official response to any questions ever asked by civilians.
"Please sir," Foxtrot replied. "My children are terrified. Could you just tell me what happened so that I can assure them that everything is alright?"
The guard rolled his eyes before responding in the same deep, official guard's voice. "There was an attack by a small group of rebels. The Royal Guard is currently looking into it. I assure you that you and your family will be safe."
"Well, he's good at his job. I'll give him that," Foxtrot thought to himself. He then responded out loud. "An attack! What kind of attack? It was a bombing wasn't it? Oh no, if rebels have bombs powerful enough to cause all this, then surely nopony is safe!" He exaggerated his breathing and sped up his talking as he went to give the illusion that he was panicking. He knew that if one thing guards couldn't ignore, it was panic.
"Sir, I need you to calm down and take a deep breath," the guard said. "I don't know all the details at the moment, but I promise you that everything is going to be fine."
"Fine! No! Nothing is fine! How could rebels possibly create something that could cause this much damage. What if these terrorists go after civilians?"
"Sir, please remain calm. There are no bombs capable of doing this. We believe there may have been something in the ground that contributed to the explosion. These rebels only got lucky, that is it. Now if you could please move along I have to get back to my patrol."
Foxtrot nodded, satisfied with the guards answers and walked away letting him go back to his duties. He had to admit, that guard had handled the situation extremely well, but without even realizing it, he had given Foxtrot all the information that he needed. There was something in the ground. This meant that it wasn't Nightfall's fault that the entire place had almost gone up in flames. He just wish he knew what it was that ignited to cause so much destruction in the first place. What Foxtrot did find out would have to be enough.
The small, dark, enclosed space that the shamed guard now found himself in did little to comfort him. Each brick, each iron bar, made him feel more and more distant from the world. It was like the sun and moon had forsaken him just because they found it amusing. He lied on the floor, not moving, to alone and grieved to muster up the strength to even walk over to the hard, cold bed that sat in the corner. Four of his friends were dead and it was all his fault. How could he ever forgive himself? He wished that he had taken his own life when he had the chance. The thought faded away when he heard the sound of hoof steps approaching him.
"Alright Private," a familiar voice said from behind. "We'll start from the beginning. Why weren't you at your assigned post during the attack?"
Turning around, the caged pony recognized the other guard as Sgt. Steadfast. He looked troubled. "I don't know what you mean, sir."
Sgt. Steadfast raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Why not? You were assigned to that bridge only a couple of nights ago. Surely you didn't just forget, Private Striker."
"No sir, I would never forget my duty," Striker responded quickly. "I've always done my best to carry out the orders of those above me."
"That may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that you let everypony down. Many believe that you were fully aware that the attack would be occurring and intentionally left your post, but I want to hear your side." Sgt. Steadfast opened the bared door and stepped back. There was a table set up in the middle of the room just outside the cell with two chairs facing each other. After taking a seat, he motioned for Private Striker to sit as well. "So tell me what happened."
Striker walked out of the cell that he had been confined to for the last several hours reluctantly. His legs were still wobbly from hearing about the deaths of his comrades. Eventually, he found his bearings and took a seat at the table across from the Sargent. "I don't know exactly why," he began with a shaky, nervous voice. "But I can't remember the last several days before the attack. First I was doing my usual rounds at the base and next thing I know, I'm being dragged off."
"So you claim to be suffering from memory loss then," Steadfast said calmly. "What's the first thing you remember after losing your memory?"
"Well sir, I remember being under the bridge lying on my side next to my rifle. The sun was just coming over the horizon."
"Why do you think you may have been under that bridge?"
"I honestly don't know sir. I was so confused when I woke up that I just went back to base to stand guard at the front door like usual, but Private Thrust was already there. When I asked what he was doing there, he told me that he would be at that position from now on. He said that it may have something to do with the new recruits and the posts getting changed around."
"So you thought that your position had been given to someone else?"
"Yes sir. I've always guarded that one position so I didn't even know that a guard was ever posted on the bridge. After seeing that all the other positions were filled, I figured that I would be reassigned in the next day or two. That was the case with a few others."
"This all seems to mostly add up. Correct me if I'm wrong. You were assigned to the bridge night shift, but because you lost your memory, you didn't remember being put in that position. Also you didn't know that the bridge was a post so when you saw that all the other positions were occupied and that there were several excess personnel, you assumed you were also an extra. Therefore, the bridge was left unguarded."
"I suppose so, sir."
When exactly did you wake up with memory loss?"
"Yesterday morning, sir."
"Well then," Sgt. Steadfast put his hooves on the table and leaned in close. "I think I see how you may have lost your memory, but first, I need you to give me one small detail. Did you experience any headaches after waking up that morning?"
"Yes sir. It felt like somepony had banged me up pretty badly on the top of my head. Also I have a bruise there if you would like to see it."
"Then your story might actually check out." He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I didn't ever think you were a traitor, Striker. I've seen your dedication to duty first hoof. And now, I think you can prove that you aren't a traitor."
"How do you figure, sir?"
"Think about it. Head injury. Memory loss. Waking up under the bridge. According to the base commander, you were on that bridge the night before the attack, but not the night of the attack. So do you think it may be at all possible that you fell off the bridge and hit your head and that that's why you can't remember anything?"
Striker's eyes lit up and he took his head off the table for the first time. He was so relieved at what he was hearing. "You mean, it's not my fault? It's not my fault. It's not my fault!" He smiled the biggest smile he had ever smiled as he almost leapt out of his chair.
"Yes, I think you may be completely innocent. Everything lines up to me."
"So does that mean I can get out of here?"
"Not quite. I'll present this information to my higher ups, but it may be awhile before you're a free stallion again. Also, you'll have to stand a trial, but I'm confident that the jury will rule you innocent."
"I... I understand sir. Thank you for listening to me."
Steadfast grabbed a few papers in his hooves and then stood up. "I hope you're comfortable staying in this cell for the next few days. I'll see if I can pull a few strings to get you something to read."
"I think I'll be just fine knowing that everything is going to be alright, sir," Striker said as he walked back through the bared door, letting it close behind him. "Thanks again."
Steadfast nodded and then left. Striker was alone again. It didn't matter to him though. Soon he would appear in front of a jury, and then this nightmare would be over. Everything was going to be fine.
Everything was no fine. When Foxtrot returned to the castle, he found Nightfall lying under the table in his room looking more exhausted than he had when he showed up with the rifles. He was clenching one of the small, green fruits that he had bought at the market the other day close to his chest. The peelings of a few other fruits were scattered around on the floor.
"Nightfall," Foxtrot said. "Are you okay?"
Nightfall didn't move. He just laid there, like he hadn't heard Foxtrot at all.
"Nightfall!" Foxtrot said again, this time much louder.
Nightfall turned his head to look at his friend and then lifted it up from the floor only to hit it on the bottom of the table. "Ouch," he moaned quietly as he crawled out from under the table. He sat on the floor and slouched slightly. "So what did you find out? Did I not know something or am I just another low life murdering bastard?"
"Are you alright? You don't look so good," Foxtrot said as looked at the depressed batpony.
"I'm fine," Nightfall snapped back. "What did you find out? How many dead are there?"
"Four, but..." Foxtrot didn't even get to finish before Nightfall turned around and began to crawl back under the table. "Nightfall," he continued. "It's not..."
"SHIT!" Nightfall yelled as he slammed his hooves into the ground and then buried his head in them. He lied silent for a few moments after that. Foxtrot wasn't sure what to do about this.
"Nightfall, it's not your fault," he said as he walked forward and put his head down toward the ground to talk to Nightfall, who wouldn't even look at him.
"How do you figure?" Nightfall finally said after remaining silent for a few moments.
"There was something in the ground."
Nightfall shifted his head and laid it on its side against the floor. "Something in the ground? That's it?" He didn't sound like he was very happy, quite the opposite actually. "So what? The fact that there was something in the tunnel I used to sneak in just makes the deaths of those ponies okay? Is that what your saying?"
"We're at war, Nightfall," Foxtrot replied. "We're all going to have to fight and kill before this is all over."
"Go ahead then, but leave me out of it."
"What?" Foxtrot was now confused by what Nightfall was saying. "Don't you want to fight for what you believe in? Think about the opportunity that we're being given here."
There was a prolonged silence. Neither stallion spoke, as if waiting for the other to say something. Nightfall was the one to break the silence. "Fight for what I believe in. Fight for what I believe in. Tell me Foxtrot, what do you think it is that I believe in?"
"What are you trying to say?" Foxtrot asked.
"Nothing, it's just that, I don't know if I'm ready to take life like this. The commitment that would be required, it just seems like to much."
"Hang on," Foxtrot said as he put his front hooves on the table and pushed. It slid to the side, fully exposing Nightfall. "This doesn't sound like the Nightfall I know. What ever happened to never giving up on anything, hating the king and all he stood for?"
Nightfall stood up and faced Foxtrot for the first time since crawling under the table again. "To be honest, I've always kind of thought that Solar and his ideas were one big joke. Don't get me wrong, I want to do something to help put Twilight on the throne, but at the same time... I just don't know."
"Is it the death?" Foxtrot asked.
"Partially," Nightfall answered.
"What's the other part?"
Nightfall stood there and yet another moment of silence consumed the room. He knew exactly why he didn't want to fight. He hated that he had to lie to Foxtrot. To Paper. To all the friends he had made in the last year. Yes, the death was one of the main things that bothered him, that part was true. The other part was simple, but he didn't know if he could let out his secrets yet. "Keep your guard up!" one part of his mind screamed at him. "Tell him. He can help," another part said. After thinking for some more time, he came to his decision. "Keep your guard up," he thought. "A lowered guard only results in a pile of bodies."
Foxtrot sighed. "Listen, if you don't want to tell me, then just say so."
"Oh," Nightfall said quickly looking back up at Foxtrot. "Sorry. My mind was somewhere else."
"I hope you're thinking about what all this means. Twilight has given us a chance at making the world a better place. We'll still need your help though."
"Yeah, I'll think about what you said. Right now I'm just going to go give Paper a follow up on the job last night. He did well you know."
"Do you think he may be ready to take on some missions on his own?"
"No," said Nightfall. "He has a long ways to go, but he shows promise."
"Try to keep him out of trouble. He's a good kid."
Nightfall nodded. "I'll do my best." It was the only promise he could make. He would have to be vigilant and watch his back. Nightfall had found out long ago, as much he wish he hadn't, that the unexpected can show up at anytime and ruin your life. He knew this all to well. He exited the room and entered the hall where he walked for a few minutes before entering Paper's room. Sure enough, Paper was still asleep. Nightfall would have to train him to wake up at a decent hour. "Paper," he called out from across the room.
Paper shot up like a rake that had been stepped on. "Don't shoot! I surrender!" He looked around the room and sighed. "Oh good. It was just a dream."
"Nightmare?" Nightfall asked plainly.
"Yeah. The guards had just caught me and were about to kill me. I never thought I'd say this, but thanks for waking me up when you did."
"That's just classic paranoia," explained Nightfall. "It will go away after a day or two. Until then, just try to keep your mind off it. Come on. Let's get some breakfast and I'll give you a follow up on the heist last night."
Paper rolled out of bed and followed Nightfall out of the room and into the hall. "Follow up?" he asked as they walked. "What do we need to follow up on? As far as I can tell, everything went smoothly. Except for that explosion though. I wasn't really expecting that."
"About that," Nightfall began. "That's what I wanted to follow up on." He hung his head as he continued. "It killed four guards. I thought you should know since you were there when it happened."
"Oh... um... that's good? Right?" Paper said questioningly. "I mean, that's what we're building up to or something so I guess it's good that we got an early start?" He sounded even more unsure now.
"I understand where you're coming from, Paper," Nightfall replied. "You're being told that war is war and that this is all normal. It has to be done." Nightfall stopped and turned to face Paper. "You're like a son to me. Did you know that?"
"Wait, really?" Paper wasn't genuinely surprised by this. He had always viewed Nightfall as both a friend and in a way, a kind of mentor.
"Yes. That's why I want to show you something." Nightfall took a right at the next intersection. It wasn't the way to the mess hall. Paper knew this had to be important. The tone of Nightfall's voice was sincere which told him that he needed to see whatever it was that he was being taken to.
Nightfall stopped in front of a boring wooden door that was more plain than the others. It was also suffering from wood rot, but that was normal for most of the original wood objects that had survived the years. When they walked in, Paper was surprised to see that the room was just a normal storage area. Something that a janitor would store his mops in with the exception that it was bigger than a simple closet. Nothing interesting.
"Catch," Nightfall said.
Paper caught whatever it was that Nightfall tossed to him in his magic. He looked at it carefully. "A rusty old, guard helmet? What's so special about it?"
Nightfall pointed to his left. There was a tall mirror with a long crack that ran its full length standing in the corner. "Put it on and look in the mirror," Nightfall commanded.
Paper did what he was instructed. "I don't get it. What am I supposed to be seeing exactly?"
"Tell me what you already see."
"I see me wearing a really old helmet. It's kind of uncomfortable you know."
"Take it off then. Look in the mirror again. What do you see now?"
Paper took off the heavy plated helmet and set it down beside him before looking into mirror again. "I see me," he said.
"Now put the helmet back on. Put this on too." Nightfall slid a large plated chest piece across the floor to Paper who reluctantly put the helmet back on.
Paper put the cuirass on and looked back into the mirror. "I look like a really old guard," he said as he looked back at Nightfall who stood there calmly.
"Now stand at attention. You look almost identical to a soldier guarding the castle, don't you?"
Paper nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do."
"Now take it back off again. Tell me what you see in the mirror."
Paper sighed, but complied. He levitated the helmet off his head and set it on the floor again and then undid all the straps on his armor with his magic. He let it drop to the floor wit a clang and looked back into the mirror one last time. "I see me. What does this have to do with anything?"
"Every day after a guard's shift ends, they go home, take off their armor, and wash the white dye out of their coats," Nightfall said in an almost sad tone. "Would you be able to recognize them as guards without all that gear? What would they look like to you?"
"Well, wouldn't they just look like..." Paper paused, leaving his mouth half open as he stared at Nightfall. After a moment, he found his voice. "Normal ponies."
"That's all the guards are, Paper. Normal ponies doing a job. And because of me. Because of my actions, four of them are dead. Gone forever."
"I don't know what to say," Paper said. "I feel... terrible."
"I don't want to see you do a bunch of things that you'll regret later in life. That's why I want you to come with me."
Paper looked at Nightfall in total surprise. "You're leaving?"
"No," Nightfall responded. "I thought about it last night and I almost went through with it, but I realized that I couldn't just abandon all this. There's still a chance to make things right."
"So what are you suggesting?"
"We're going to run a series of jobs against military installations, houses of nobles that support the king, anything we can to help support this rebellion. If this comes to open warfare, then we need to be in a position that allows us to skip out on the bloodbaths that are no doubt on their way."
"That seems kind of cowardly, Nightfall."
"No it's strategic," Nightfall said. "If you come with me, I can guarantee that you'll have a better chance of survival and the best part is that you won't ever have to kill anypony."
Paper thought for a second. He had just been made what was probably the most convincing offer in his life. It didn't feel right to run away from the big fights, but at the same time, after what Nightfall had just showed him, he didn't want to fight anymore. He still wanted to contribute though.
"You don't have to give me an answer right now if you need more time to think. Just know that you did really well last night at that outpost, and I could really use a partner in all this."
"I'm in," Paper said as Nightfall began to turn to leave. "I'll help."
"Glad to hear it," Nightfall said. "Go get some breakfast. We can talk some more later. Oh, and don't tell anyone about this yet."
Nightfall and Paper exited the small room together, but took off in different directions down the hall. While Nightfall was no doubt walking back to his room to do whatever it was that batponies usually did during the day, probably sleep, Paper walked into the makeshift mess hall that was set up in one of the castle's largest rooms. Everything was arranged like it had always been with four tables in the middle of the room and two more where one would get food at the back. Paper walked up to these two and looked at what was available.
"Good morning, Paper Cut," a middle aged stallion said from behind the first table.
"Oh hey, Butter Knife," Paper replied. "You wouldn't happen to have anymore pancakes would you? I love pancakes."
"Sorry buddy, but that was kind of a one time deal. We do have plenty of cereal. Also, Nightfall brought me some... well... whatever this thing is," he said holding up a small green fruit. "I think he said it was a gauka or yauga or something."
"I think it's pronounced guava. Those are actually pretty good."
Butter Knife held up the small fruit close to his face, eyeing it curiously. Then he sniffed it. "I don't know," he said after a silent moment. "Last time he brought me something, it smelled weird."
"You mean the durians?" Paper asked. "Those are pretty good too... despite the smell."
"Anyway, there's plenty to eat, so feel free to grab whatever you want."
"Yeah, thanks," Paper said happily as he levitated a bowl of cereal into the air along with a cup of orange juice. After saying goodbye and being wished a happy rest of the morning by his cook friend, Paper walked over to a mostly empty table. There was only one other pony sitting there. Twilight. She had here head rested on what appeared to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Paper sat down across from her. "Twilight," he said. "You awake?"
Twilight lifted her head up slightly and then dropped it back down. This time resting her chin instead of the side of her head on the sandwich. "Wha?" she said in a moan. "What time is it?" She yawned and then closed her eyes again.
"Around seven or eight I think," Paper responded. "Did you not sleep well last night? You don't look to good."
"I've just had a lot," she interrupted herself with another yawn. "On my mind."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
Twilight didn't respond. She lifted her head and looked down at her now flattened sandwich. "Maybe," she said finally as she levitated her breakfast off the plate. "I don't really know how to talk about it."
Paper Cut swallowed and put his spoon back in its bowl. "Is it your friends?" he asked trying not to sound to sudden. He didn't want to make things worse than they already were for Twilight, but something told him that it was best if he helped her get her emotions out.
Again, Twilight didn't respond for a few long seconds. She just sat there. A noticeable, deep sadness appeared to take over her. Paper saw this and also remained quiet. He would wait as long as he had to. Then something happened that he had half expected. A tear rolled down Twilights face. Then another one from her other eye.
"Are you alright?" Paper asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," Twilight replied in a sad tone. "I just... I..." She wasn't able to finish her sentence before more tears began to build up. She laid her head down again, this time burying it in her hooves. She let out quiet sobs from underneath her main that now hung over her face, hiding her from anypony that may have been passing by.
Paper gently put his hoof on Twilight's head and slowly stroked back and forth. "Sssshhhhh," he said quietly. "Everything's okay."
Twilight lied weeping for a few more seconds until she found the strength to respond. "All my friends are dead," she said softly without lifting her head. "I'm all alone now."
"Whoa!" Paper exclaimed suddenly. "No. You are not alone." He stood up from his seat and then hopped on top of the table, causing some silver wear to rattle on the table top and then jumped back down on the opposite end. He now sat right next to Twilight who was too grieved to notice. Paper put his hoof under Twilight's chin and pulled her gaze up to his. "Twilight, what made you think that you were ever alone to begin with? You have me, Nightfall, Solar, even though he can be a pain in the flank, don't tell him a said that, and just about every pony here looks up to you. If there is one thing you aren't, it's alone."
Twilight looked back down at the table for a second, wiped away her tears with her hoof and looked back at Paper who still sat there beside her. He was right; she wasn't alone. She smiled slightly. Paper returned the gesture. Then Twilight leaned in and gave him a hug. "Thank you," she said, still crying.
Paper wasn't caught completely off guard, but it was still a surprise. He wasn't exactly sure how to handle this as he had never had a mare give him a hug like this before. Then he spotted Nightfall sitting in the corner watching them as if they were performing in theater. He waved his hooves forward in a way that conveyed the message "Go on."
After seeing this, Paper Cut looked back down at Twilight and then placed his hoof around her in return. He stroked the back of her neck and back. Twilight let out a few more sorrowful sobs, but that was to be expected and Paper had absolutely no problem with the tears that he felt run off of Twilight's cheeks and onto his own coat. He now felt fully relaxed, the first time since escaping the guard outpost. All he wanted to do now was remain there with here in his hooves to comfort her. His body against hers. It would have been perfect if she wasn't so sad. If he could have wished for anything at that moment, it would have been for her to be happy.
