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           The Red Zodiac: In the Darkness I See           
                       -by ratedoni-                       
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                         Eulogy 01                         
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Eulogy 01
You know what’s funny?
That they think there is nothing to fear in the day.
As if the only monsters are those that appear at night.
As if monsters would take horrendous forms.
As if their own brothers and sisters will be saints and saviors.
As if their gods will lend a hand… or hoof.
As if someone will be safe simply by closing their eyes.
Creatures fear the night, not because of the darkness, but what exist inside it.
They fear the dark… because I’m there
Elegy 01: Wake up
For Silver Seashell the very idea of finding a treasure was an everyday thing, after all the day he got his cutiemark was the day he found out a bit inside a seashell in the beach close to his home. The Seashell family had never been very rich; bits were a little scarce growing up due to the prices and demand of mollusk, since the only ones that bought them were either pegasi from a town not too far away from their small and quiet beach village, or griffins in search of something else to eat beyond their jerky.
Silver knew what it meant to work for something he wanted, how even one day of rest could make you go hungry for several, that’s why when the opportunity rose to be able to put his special talent in more than just searching for clams or other mollusks he practically jumped upon it, That he felt bad for doing this to his family? Of course he did, but he was encouraged by the fact that his family had send him on his way with their blessings, knowing that he was searching for a brighter future, that’s what family was there for.
Still with his heart heavy from his decision, Silver Seashell accompanied a group of ponies in their job of recollecting relics of the past, useful books, information, treasure, everything a young colt dreamed to find… and apparently more than one academic by the words of his new boss Golden Crown, who apparently got his cutiemark, a coin emblazoned with Celestia’s sun, when he dug a hole on his backyard (apparently he wanted to hide a broken vase) and there he found out a small fortune left behind by his great grandfather, once his mother admonished him for both opening a hole in their yard and the broken vase they celebrated the occasion.
Seashell and Crown had found a certain camaraderie between them due to their shared past, the way they both talked about their family and of course, how similar their cutiemark stories were, but apparently to another member of their small group, a certain Canterlot doctor by the name of Open Eye, the best friendships and associations were easier to create to ponies when cutiemarks matched according to a new article she had read.
They weren’t many in their small group, only 6, but they did their job well and fast; Prospectors they called themselves, a nice name for a bunch of treasure hunters and scavengers, but they were proud of what they did, even if sometimes he thought that both Snake Oil and Blind Bag were a little too fast to react when gold was blinking in front of them. It wasn’t their fault; all of them were the same since gold was the one thing that played with their heartstring, they wouldn’t be in the business if it wasn’t because of that; besides, Snake Oil must have had a rough past with that name, it wasn’t her fault, who named their kid like that?
After several weeks of small jobs and trying to find a new contract they were on the road to success once again. Apparently, a certain noble of Canterlot had it on their mind to recover anything valuable that they could find inside the old castle of the two Sisters, the abandoned center of Equestria and their government. Seems that with the return of Princess Luna many academics and philanthropist were in search of more fragments of the past, after all, if Nightmare Moon have been real then a lot more could be discovered.
This certain noble had it on their head that finding all these ancestral pieces could mean a rise on their popularity and power in the court; heck, the Diarchy of Equestria could be so impressed that they could knight him. Sometimes nobles were so stupid and naïve, but that was their main source of income and they played them for all the bits they had in them and if they were especially annoying, they squeezed them of every single bit. One less noble with money meant more for the everyday pony in the streets.
So with no more time to waste and all the preparations complete the six ponies quickly started their new mission and began their travel to the middle of the Everfree Forest, and boy, was it creepy. The six of them were used to the same old jungle and desert, but this place put them on alert, it was quite the unnatural place to be.
Trees that survived without earth pony magic, clouds and weather that changed by themselves and animals that were not seen outside of the dense forest foliage, although all the different plants reminded Silver more of a jungle, an untamed jungle that at any minute would bring their death. Silver quickly dispelled that idea, really, that was way too dark; maybe he had been reading too many of Thick Tome’s books. That was one weird pegasus, always having her muzzle stuck in a page instead of the clouds as the others, but he wasn’t one to complain, Silver was tired of dealing with the stereotypical purely athletic pegasus, besides, Thick always knew the books one would like to read.
“The Castle of the Sisters” It didn’t hurt that she was the one that always found the information they needed “for centuries the home of Equestria’s government, books that will mention the existence of this castle are few and between, mostly those found in the royal archives or owned by very few ponies… like Princess Twilight Sparkle for example” and there it was, her usual words when it came to books, everypony in the group were pretty sure Thick had a little crush on the newly ascended princess, although it wasn't hard to see why, after all those two could spend hours talking about books if they ever met each other, but with the alicorn’s new status it was way beyond Thick Tome’s possibilities.
The castle had seen better days obviously, but the architecture was still something to be awed of, that it had survived for more than a millennia abandoned in the middle of the Everfree, sure, the castle walls had taken a beating but they were standing and they seemed to be strong enough to survive another millennia by themselves.
With six awed ponies finally getting their fill of the outstanding view they put all their efforts into analyzing everything inside the castle, from the old pony paintings, the statues, tapestries and broken glass windows, they all felt the power still residing inside. The lanterns adorning the walls barely did anything to fight back the darkness of the night creeping upon them as the hours flew by inside the castle.
Each member of their happy little prospector group felt fascinated by what they had found, Thick Tome basically had a nerdgasm once she put a hoof inside the library, Snake oil and Blind Bag spoke largely about the paintings and the ponies they could recognize, mainly by their names on a plaque or certain clothes they were wearing, Open Eye checked the main room where two thrones sat alone, left behind by the actions their owners and their consequences. It was sad in a certain way that all this was left behind after the Nightmare was send into the moon, but that was ancient history and they made profit of it, so with the attentive detail of their group they finally hit the jackpot.
Who is it?
They weren’t surprised, after all, places as old as this must have had secret passages, trap doors and the rest, so with care and attentive eye they found some of them close to the library even though Thick Tome swore that there must have been something hidden inside it.
Is it calling me?
Pulling out a brick, that at first sight had nothing abnormal on it until one looked at the corners how eroded it was in comparison with the rest, they found a small lever bit enough for a pony hoof to pull and then, they found it, the masterpieces that were the Orion Bracers and the Aurora Amulet, ancient… beyond ancient artifacts, not even Blind Bag had an stupid comment or joke once they found inside the small alcove?
Is someone there?
These two precious artifacts predated the birth of Ponykind as they knew it; they had been forged alongside their sun when Equus was nothing more than a barren rock. The Orion bracers were made of the purest adamantine and titanium, only 13 kilograms of that last metal had been found in all the history of their planet, that’s how rare it was, it was the most gorgeous black and if one stared they could see small sparkles of light as if the whole night sky had been trapped inside. The old bracers were a huge part in the history and literature of their kind, countless heroes had been rumored to have wear those bracers, it had been thought that they had been destroyed when Orion, The Father Creator had left the mortal realm but here they were.
A quick strike of Gold Crown’s short sword quickly showed them that they were in fact the real deal; the sword almost broke when it made contact with one of the bracers much to their delight.
Are you holding my chains?
The other incredible find was the amulet, a solid gold, almost a 100% pure, having on the front the winged six pointed star that had been said the first cutiemark on this world, the one that was seen on the mortal pony that had stolen the heart of the Father Creator and had ascended to be with him, the first alicorn; in comparison with many modern pieces it looked almost laughable, but it was the historical value that made it cost even more than all the Canterlot jewels put together; and the magic, oh, the magic irradiating from the amulet.
Silver Seashell was a simple earth pony, never on his life will he be able to do anything more complex than maybe break open a huge rock thanks to the inherent thaumaturgical energies inside his body, but this amulet was expelling so much energy that he could feel his body resonating alongside it, just the kind of mana nexus that had been inscribed in the design and construction of the Aurora Amulet could leave behind artifacts like the ill spoken Alicorn Amulet or the Winged Boots of Quick Silver, they could feel the pure and raw energy practically oozing out of it making all of the smile, it was definitely the best day of their lives.
Are you going to break them?
It was the worst day of their lives.
He should have known that something was going on when their client, a noble by the name of Pristine Line, have been waiting for them by the doors of the castle, as if he had been expecting them there all this time. He was sitting there, slowly clapping with his hooves while his personal guards, more like mercenaries, quickly surrounded them.
Will you set me free?
“I must say, when I found out about your little group I didn’t thought you would be lucky enough to find anything more than rotten wood or worthless rocks in this hideous place, but now, color me impressed my little ponies” Pristine said while saying those last words as derisive as he could “never would have thought that plebeians like you could find the perfect instrument for me”
“Yeah, we did, I think you truly own us a huge bonus for this mister Line” Gold said looking at their surroundings, almost smelling a setup, on his part, poor Silver was practically shaking, this was wrong, he could see the hardness and avarice on the guards, he had a bad feeling about this.
“You may call me my lord; you see, those little things you found? Well… they will be much more useful to me than in those pathetic and dirty hooves of yours, after all, they were made for the most illustrious beings in this universe, just like me. Guards, give them their… bonus” he said with a flourish and that’s when Silver knew everything have went to Tartarus.
Are you afraid of me?
Thick reacted first among them but it was too late; a bolt coming from one of the guards’ crossbow hit her right in her left wing sending her into a spiral before crashing into the floor. Open Eye found herself with a sword inserted right between the first and second rib while Snake Oil and Blind Bag were overwhelmed by the guards.
Why would you keep me here? Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me? Don’t you want me to have fun?
Silver didn’t want to see what happened, he just ran, he ran deeper into the castle but one spell from a unicorn guard sent him face first into the cold stone floor, the burning spell made him scream in agony as the smell of flesh and fur permeated the entrance hall. From his position Silver saw how a guard sliced Gold’s neck, the blood flying through the air.
Are you afraid of me? You should be.
The pain on his back and the sounds of his comrades being put down made him cry thick rivulets; he could do nothing while Pristine took the old artifacts in his hooves and inspected them with a huge smile on his face, his eyes showing an almost maniac glee before a guard got close.
“Your orders now my lord?” Pristine quickly went out of wherever his mind had sent him and without even sparing a glance at the band of prospectors he gave his orders.
“You can have your… fun with the mares if you want, after that, dispose of them, Equestria has no need of their insignificant existences, not when I can create a better world with these beauties, now I can clean this parasite infected land” the guards had stopped listening to him while he was gone in whatever dream he usually had, they only licked their lips while one pushed Snake Oil to the floor and quickly pinned her with his whole body.
“You hear that baby? We don’t have to kill you yet, guess who has the first ride” he said grinding his crotch against the weeping mare while the other guards laughed at the antics of their comrade.
Do you see the darkness?
“Please” Silver whispered while he felt his vision get blurred due to the pain and shock of what had happened.
Break these chains.
“Somepony, please”
Break them.
“Please… help”
Is time.
As he felt into the welcoming arms of the darkness every single light inside the castle went out, as if sharing the destiny of poor Silver Seashell. Every single candle and torch, all of them extinguished themselves in a second leaving everypony in the entrance hall, at least those alive, amidst the darkness, even the windows had joined.
The only source of light that could be found was a pair of dark bracers that were pulsing with energy much to the confusion of Pristine. The light framing his confused face while he watched the bracers pulse, a constant pulse, as if the bracers had their own life, their own… heartbeat.
And that’s when they hear it, the sounds coming from the castle and the darkness, something getting closer to them, a tantalizing presence and yet they all felt the fur on their bodies stand up in attention, every single nerve completely frozen at the feeling of dread and darkness approaching.
It felt dark, all encompassing, as if the darkness itself was silently judging them,  measuring them, dissecting each and every one of them, as if they were an open book in front of a judge… and the darkness found them wanting.
The steps, they were maddening.
Slow, oh so slow, but wrong at the same time, they felt off, too few, as if the legs were not the correct number, they could only hear step by step, not four legs but two and just when they couldn’t wait more the torches and candles came back, just for a blink of the eye before constantly coming and going as if an unruly colt or filly had been playing with the switch light.
And that’s when they saw… HIM, there was no other way to describe what was there, a figure imposing over them, there and not, as if he himself was everywhere in the hall, one blink here another there, his body tall and erect, only two legs serving as his base, his face was wrong, it was not like a pony or creature they had seen, a short muzzle and small nose, his eyes shadowed by what they could call a red hoodie and then he was gone alongside the lights.
Pristine wanted to scream, this was not in his plans, all of them gone, only primal fear where once where ego, only leaving the scared prey after seeing the predator ready to pounce, he wanted to scream but found his muzzle closed by the hand of that abomination. The bracers showing enough light to see the creature put a finger on his lips and doing a quiet ‘shhh’ sound.
“Don’t scream in panic… only do it because of pain” he said in a quiet and serene voice before the most terrifying grin appeared on that monster’s face as the bracers light went out leaving only darkness behind.
And scream they did. All Everfree heard it, a cry of anguish and death.
Even a lonely zebra in her hut hear the piercing wail sending shivers upon her back and wondering what had woken in the forest of the Everfree to have that welcoming.
After minutes, days or years, Silver had no idea how long it had been, he finally woke up. The only thing waiting for him was the red hood while this one sat in front of Silver with his legs crossed as if waiting for something.
He was looking at Silver; he could feel the hidden eyes focused on the pony, searching while this one fought between life and death. Around them, the remnants of what once had been fighters and lowlifes spread amongst the floor like modern art. Silver’s eyelids were so heavy, he wanted to rest, he wanted to leave this night behind but a hand from the creature stopped him.
“Tell me… do you want life?” strength flowed through Silver’s veins once again.
“What?”
“Tell me… do you want life?”
“I… I…”
“Give me an answer pony” he said never losing that serene voice that almost lulled Silver back into dreams.
“I don’t want to live alone… I don’t want to live while they don’t…”
“They’ll be there… alongside us… so answer… do you want life?”
“I… yes…” Silver said finally closing his eyes not knowing what he had done.
“hahaha…hahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” the laughter of the creature echoed across the empty halls as six ponies in Ponyville slept the sleep of the innocent, not knowing the terror that had woken up so close to them. Only one Alicorn sat upon her throne and cried knowing well what was going on.
The Red Zodiac was finally free.