Cleaning Darkness
Chapter 12: Trouble With Dealing With Monsters

By: Major Frostwing

"Do you think this is really a good idea?" Tender asked as I only rolled my eyes.

"For the last time Tender. Nova asked us to go to the Chasm and gather the crystals." Aura said as they continued to move through the dangerous terrain. "Plus with all of us I'm sure we can handle whatever the chasm can throw at us." Aura said flashing Tender a smile.

"No doubt anything that comes at us is gonna get one hell of an ass whooping." I said as I flexed my arm. Ever since I ask Jon for some tips on work outs he has been training me in some exercises to increase my strength and stamina. I think I have been making real progress.

"Now calm down there Dash we aren't here to start any fights we just need to gather the crystals and be on our way." Ruby said looking at the depressing granite walls that flanked them.

"Come on girls this should be fun and when we get back I can throw us all a party." Party said skipping her way through the terrain without a single care.

It took us hours just to get to the chasm and we each knew that we would have to camp here after we found the gems. We were gonna be here for a few days at minimum due to the rarity of the crystals we were looking for. We were now just trying to find a good spot for us to set up the tents and get a fire going.

"At least it isn't getting to dark down here." I muttered out adjusting my backpack slightly.

"We should prepare camp soon so we can see what we are doing." Aura said as we found a large rock that was very flat. We each set up our tents and with the help of an anchor spell courtesy of Ruby our tents were secured.

"What are we going to do for a fire?" Party asked as she began pulling out our food for the evening.

"I got that." Lasso said as she pulled out a small bag reaching her arm into the small bag she pulled out a fer stick and logs. "Jon passed me this bag just before we left. He said it should have enough wood to last the Journey and then some. Now all we need is a small fire spell to get it started." Lasso set the wood up into a fire pit as Aura ignited the wood.

"I'll get started on dinner." Party said with a smile.

It had been a little while after dinner that all of us sat around the fire idly chatting and discussing other matters. I for some reason couldn't bother to even chat something was eating away at my attention. My thoughts were filled with Jon and that day he saved me. I know his reasoning now as to why he did that but it still filled my heart with uncertainty. Just what goes through that guy's head?

"Dash are you okay?" Ruby asked as my attention was shattered as I looked away from the fire to see everyone looking at me worriedly.

"Yea I'm fine just thinking is all." I said looking back at the fire maybe it would be ok to tell them what I'm thinking about. They are my friends after all I should not keep secrets from them. "Just thinking about that day." I said pulling my knees up to my chest.

A hand rested on my shoulder and I looked over to see Tender smiling down at me but she was still worried for me. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked as I looked back to the fire.

"I was scared..." I said glaring at the fire. "I was so scared I didn't know what to do. It felt as if my wings were tied to me and my legs were stuck in rock. I couldn't even scream I was so scared." I felt another hand on my shoulder. "But Jon without so much as a second thought jumped in the way. I know why he did it and it makes sense but still... That courage to just jump in the way of something that could easily kill... I want that kind of courage." I buried my head in my knees not wanting them to see how scared I really was of that day.

"It gives you nightmares doesn't it?" Aura asked as I nodded. "Is Princess Luna helping you with them?" Aura asked as I nodded again.

"It's not just that, that scares me. Jon was able to do what he did that day with almost no trouble. I am scared of what would happen if he didn't care if he killed them." I said as I felt Calm wrap me in a hug. "I respect him but he scares the hell out of me. If he has trouble because he was holding back what would happen if he didn't care? Could we even stop him? Hell could the Princesses stop him?" I asked as I looked up to see the unsure faces but the one who look scared was Aura.

"There is one account of Jon doing just that." Aura said as I looked at her with surprise but she looked uneasy about it. There was an account of a General who wrote what he saw before the battle... and then an account from Princess Twilight when she arrived shortly after. It was recalled by Twilight as "The Day of No Mercy." A day that was removed from the history books along with all history of the war due to... What happened that day." Aura shivered slightly just thinking about that book.

"Tell me. I need to know what happened that day." I told Aura as she continued to look away. "Please Aura I need to know." I said as Aura finally let out a sigh looking to us.

"The war was known as "The War of Betrayal." A Minotaur rose up an army and attacked Equestria. The Minotaur was named General Heavy Hammer. They attacked a small coastal town by the name of Runway Reef. From the documents it was a beautiful town that was perfect for a vacation. One day without warning the General attacked the town he slaughtered the entire town and posed their bodies like trophies..." Aura took a sip from her canteen she looked very upset over talking about this but I needed answers.

"Jon was of course informed about this war but he was just starting his retirement. It had only been a year since the death of his wife. He was still mourning the death. Celestia dispatched the 112th battalion to handle the invasion under the command of their Captain. Captain Bright Heart. From his file he was a glorious fighter and had a big heart for his soldiers under his command. Captain Heart lead a campaign against the General pushing him all the way back to Runway Reef. He challenged the General to a duel..." Aura went quiet as she rubbed her eyes.

"What happened? Did Captain Heart beat that big meanie General?" Party asked throwing mock punches but when Aura didn't answer she lost her smile.

"Captain Bright was killed... The General sent his head to Canterlot..." Aura looked down at the fire sadness in her eyes. "Jon was there when it arrived. In a fit of rage that Princess Luna was quoted on saying. "I never thought the power of a god could pale in comparison at the rage I had witness coming from our protector." Not many know this but Jon had a son."

My eyes widened in horror. "They didn't... He wasn't..." I said as my heart seemed to freeze.

"Captain Bright Heart was Jon's only son and he was just delivered his head." Aura said as we all felt a weight fall over us. "Jon disappeared in a flash of magic and before anyone could stop him he went down to Runway Reef... And slaughtered everything."

"He avenged his son." Lasso said tipping her hat over her eyes. "But at what cost?"

"30,000 lives The General had called in reinforcements and they arrived on the day that Jon attacked." Aura took another drink of water sighing. "The quote of General Heavy Hammer goes as such."

"A man came to us... No army at his back, no artillery, and no soldiers... Just one man strode over the land of no man. He walked with determination and a hate burning in his eyes none had seen before. The Fist of Equestria had come to our steps. He did not come to negotiate he came to slaughter. This lone man was not Just Celestia's Right Fist no... he was a God. He was the God of Slaughter. Minos whisper his names. "Tyrant's Executioner." "Queen Slayer." "Nightmare Harbinger." "God of Blood." "Unyielding Slaughter." "Angel of Celestia's Fury." "Luna's Meteor." These names were not far from the truth and on that day we were shown the error of our ways. We were shown what happened when you angered a God." Aura said as she shivered once again.

"His last words were documented in a war journal. When Twilight arrived to try and stop what was going to happen she was already to late. The deed was done and blood was spilt on that day. Twilight wrote down her own quote at what she came upon."

"Death. The town of Runway Reef that was once known for it's beauty was now filled with a miasma over death and blood. It was as if you could taste the blood in the air. The ships that the army arrived in were in splinters burning in the waters of the reef. A mountain of what could only be loosely be called bodies filled the center of the town. I could hear the soldiers that I had brought with me cough and gag in disgust. This was not that new to me but this level of carnage and complete disregard for life was very new. Nothing was spared. Even the animals that were brought along were slaughtered. Everything that dared to be associated with the general were killed.

We carefully entered the town seeing only piles of gore lining the street. The building were all painted red with spatter and death. When we reached the center of the town Jon was standing in front of the mountain of bodies but the air around him suggested not to approach under any circumstance. I noticed my guards reaching for their swords only for me to stop them with a wave of my hand. When I looked back up at Jon he was staring right back at me. His eyes a sinister green burning with malice and rage. I knew this man before me was Jon yet at the same time... He was not a man he had ascended to a power most would call a god. Suddenly he looked to his right and my eyes followed only to see the general's head resting on a spear a look of absolute fear on his face. I looked back to Jon to see that the rage was gone as he strode forward towards me. I could feel my fear rise up almost like a vice on my heart. He only said one thing to me as he walked past me and my guards." Aura paused taking a deep breath once more she looked exhausted just telling the story.

"May I never have to do this again." We each looked to each other before looking at Aura confused.

"Princess Twilight continued to say that Jon teleported back to Canterlot to report what he did but the records were destroyed. Celestia wrote the book detailing everything that lead up to the battle including the Quote of General Heavy Hammer and that of Princess Twilight. She wrote in her own words a theory about what Jon meant by those words. She says that Jon refused to let anyone else into his heart so he would never do what he did again. It seems to be the only thing that Jon regrets ever doing. There isn't even a date for when Jon attacked but The Princesses leave Jon alone for that one day so he may mourn." Aura said as the weight that surrounded us seemed to disappear.

"Jon truly is terrifying isn't he?" I said as I tightened my grip around my knees.

"If Jon is that powerful then why does he fight for the Princesses?" Ruby asked as I thought back on what Jon told me.

"Without the elements the world falls to darkness and that makes everyone fall into that same darkness. There has to be some form of light in this world. Without it and the world will never recover. I saved you because the world needs that little ray of light. I fought for the light by being the bigger shadow. The shadow on shadows so to speak. So dark that I caused the real monsters in the dark to shudder in fear. A shadow protecting the last bits of light in this world from harm. I would gladly die for that little light to live on. No matter how hard you all fight you will never eradicate the darkness because no matter what. I will always be right here." I said as the girls looked to me as I let out a weak laugh. "Jon said that to me when I asked him why he saved me. I see what he meant by being the bigger shadow." I looked up at Aura she looked so tired.

"Thank you Aura. I'm sorry it made you so uncomfortable to talk about it." She smiled at me shaking her head.

"No problem Dash I am always willing to talk with you about anything. You are my friend after all." I smiled back to her as Ruby cleared her throat.

"I would like to move on to a lighter subject if possible." Ruby suggested as we all agreed to the change in subject matter.

The next two days of searching yielded no results of the rare crystals. Why the hell were we searching for these crystals anyway? "Aura does this Crystal even exist?" I asked as I floated next to the girls lazily.

"It was a crystal that was planted by Jon thousands of years ago. We need to gather it otherwise who knows what will happen." Aura said as she climbed over a rock that was in her way.

"I know exactly what will happen." A voice said catching all of our attention. I looked about trying to see where that voice came from. "That crystal known in the underground as "Hate's Heart." is a dark relic created by Jon said to harness the very essence of his hate." A flash of light erupted behind us as we all turned around to see Iron Shackle standing there holding a fist sized crystal in his hand it was black as pitch swirling with dark purple light. "And I hold that very crystal in my hand." I landed getting ready to fight only for Iron to chuckle at us. "I hold one of the most powerful artifacts of dark magic and you think you can take me?" Iron raised his hand a bolt of magic flying forth as a bubble shield was raised in front of us shattering from the bolt.

I heard Aura scream in pain behind me as I took off flying as fast as I could in such a short distance swinging with all my might only for my fist to be caught. I saw Lasso next to me her own fist outstretched and caught all the same.

"Pathetic." Iron muttered as I felt myself being swung right into a rock wall. Pain exploded in my head and back. I looked up to see Iron straight kick Lasso into the girls her turned his attention to me looking down at me with a smile on his face. "So much power from such a small crystal I can feel it's power coursing into me even now." He grabbed me once again this time in his magic I felt a crushing pain all around me I tried to break out of the grip only to hear something break. "Oops looks like I broke one of your wings. I will have to just break the other one just to balance it out." I felt more pressure on my wings as I let out a scream.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" A voice boomed through the cannon. I saw a blur slam in the side of Iron throwing him into the other wall of the canyon. I dropped out of the air only to be caught by someone.

"Worry not Dash. We shall deal with this trash." I looked up to see Luna had caught me. I looked forward to see Princess Celestia standing there her hands clenched into fists. She flicked her wrist as a glaive appeared in her hand without warning the glaive ignited into brilliant flames lighting up the shadows around us.

"Iron Shackle under decree of one of the Princess' of Equestria I sentence you to death." Celestia raised the glaive ready for combat only for Iron to let out a bout of insane laughter.

"I think not Celestia I will not die here there is more work to be done before our final battle." Iron threw a giant bolt of magic only for it to be deflected by Celestia's blade. Iron Shackle was gone and with it the crystal.

"Coward." Celestia spat out dispelling her weapon turning back to us. "Are you girls alright." Celestia came up to us.

"I'll be alright Princess Just a small burn out nothing to be worried about but Dash is hurt pretty badly." Aura said as Celestia looked to me.

"I'm ok Princess we have to get that maniac." I tried to get out of Luna's grip only for a haze to fill my mind.

"Sleep young Dash that fight will come soon enough." I tried to fight off the sleep spell only to feel my grip on the waking world slip away. "We shall... to Pon-... -pital..." I closed my eyes as sleep claimed me.

I awoke with a start panic gripping me only for a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Hold still I'm trying to fix your wings and it is a very delicate process." I was breathing heavily as the nightmare of that day once more ran through my mind. "Calm down you are in good hands. Just be happy I know how to do this so quickly. Otherwise this would take months to fix." I slowly calmed down looking over my shoulder to see Jon there. A blue magic surrounding his hand as he ran it over my right wing. "Glad to see you calmed down finally. Be very happy it was a small fracture and not a shatter." I saw Jon raise a crystal in his hand shattering it as the blue glow became even more powerful.

"How long have I been out?" I asked as he only shrugged.

"I heard what happened to you and came down here to do this. I would have to say maybe a day if that. They wanted to put you in that stupid healing pod thing but again that would have taken way to long." Jon shrugged as he continued to work on my wing. "Should only take me a few hours to finish this up correctly. I also dealt with that concussion you had. I get that you want to be a badass like your's truly but you are not immortal. You die you stay dead so pick your battles wisely and remember that you have a destiny to protecting the light just like me." Jon scolded but I know he was worried I could hear it in his voice.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as he patted my shoulder lightly.

"Don't worry about it. You get hurt I can fix you up no trouble Just try not to break these wings of yours. They are special and need to be cared for just like any other part of the body." Jon let out a chuckle as I felt my wing shift.

"What about you? There are stories of you getting an arm cut off and just putting it back on like it was nothing." Jon let out another chuckle.

"Think of it like this. Everyone has a special kind of magical signature which make traditional healing so slow since you are trying to use your magic to force things back together. For me I don't need to force my magic on another magic source to heal my arm. I just use a standard healing spell and my magic resonates with it's self speeding up the process. But right now I am basically forcing my magic to adapt to yours so I can speed up the healing of your wing. Problem is it drains on my more than normal since I am again. Forcing my magic to be something it isn't." I felt him shrug. "That makes sense?" He asked as I shook my head.

"Not even a little." I heard him sigh.

"I'm doing magical shit that I'm not used to to help your wing heal." He said sounding slightly annoyed. "I brought you a book to read cuz this will take a while." I saw a book wrapped in purple mist float in front of me. "101 Ways to Kick The Teeth Out of a Skull. A book by your's truly. It's quite a good read if I do say so myself. I also brought an adventure book if that isn't your cup of tea." I saw another book float before me as I seized it opening it up. It was gonna be a long few hours.

Author's Note

By the way I will be writing up The battle report of the Day of No Mercy as a bonus chapter because for some reason I like you people. Hope you enjoy the long chapter.