The Lord of the Ponies: The Friendship of Equestria

Ch.17 The Palace Void

Rainbow Dash led Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders west of Baltimare towards Ponyville. The troop faced adverse environments: rugged countryside occupied by mile high hills, neck-deep swamp waters which swarmed with carnivorous parasprites and dense forests which teemed with monstrous beasts, ranging from the mongrel Manticore and the petrifying Cockatrice. Eventually, the intrepid group found themselves at the ruins of the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

"I remember my first trip here. I wonder if those Shadow Bolts still want me to be their Captain?" remarked Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow turned back to her companions, and noticed the weariness which anguished their every motion.

"We shall rest here for the night. But tomorrow, we head straight for Zecora's." Hearing no compliance or complaining from Spike or the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rainbow Dash gestured for her friends to follow. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Spike collapsed within the arched entrance to the ruined castle.

"Thank Celestia. I thought I'd never be able to drop this bag," wheezed Apple Bloom. The Earth pony dropped her cumbersome saddlebag, and like her friends, retired to the stone floor, exhausted from a long day's journey.

Rainbow Dash retreated from the party, but before she left the palace, she gave a single instruction, "Stay here. I'm going to look around." And with that, Rainbow Dash departed by winged flight, leaving the defenseless ponies and Spike to whatever fate had in store for them.

"Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm going to go to sleep," announced Apple Bloom. She strode over to the other end of the entrance hall, and collapsed, unconscious, against the stonework floor.

***

Apple Bloom stirred in her sleep. Tonight her dreams were strange: instead of visions of her family, she imagined a great feast placed out before her. She smelt apple tarts, Zap Apple jam, and numerous other alluring apple treats. But her subconscious knew better: the amazing feast was her latent mind registering the tantalizing smells emanating from the campfire behind her sleeping equine body.

Apple Bloom's eyelids fluttered open, and she heard the voice of Spike, "My apple's bruised." Apple Bloom turned to her friends, and found them huddled by a brilliant fire.

"Oh, hello Apple Bloom." Sweetie Belle cheerfully greeted the awakened Earth pony. The alabaster Unicorn's optimism was not returned, as shock drained the cherry-colored blood from Apple Bloom's complexion.

"What are you doing?!" screamed Apple Bloom, panic set in her tone.

"We got a nice fire to keep us warm for the night. And we rummaged through your bag, and found some treats," responded Scootaloo.

"We saved some for you, Apple Bloom," said Spike, offering his bruised apple to the alarmed filly.

Apple Bloom rushed to the fire, and started to stomp the glowing flame into a dying array of flickering embers.

"Put it out, you fools! Put it out!" The fire drew unwanted attention in the dark forest, and Apple Bloom hoped the Nazgul hadn't seen it.

Apple Bloom's answer came in the form of a shriek, which originated from the other side of the fogged bridge they had crossed earlier that night. The group recognized the intolerable noise, and looked out to the bridge. From the fog came five of the unstoppable Ringwraiths; they approached slowly, so sure of the inevitable, they chose to savor the impending chase.

"Go!" yelled Apple Bloom. She equipped her saddlebag, and with her friends, they clambered deeper into the castle, with no door to impede the Nazgul's methodical progress. The four companions ascended the spire, and met a dead end: the throne room.

The party stared at the throne room's entrance, and awaited the arrival of their pursuers, but the Nazgul never came through the stone portal. Instead, each Ringwraith attained entry through one of the five windows spanned along the walls of the throne room. Through unrelenting shadow the wraiths strode into the chamber, cloaks of pitch darkness wavering in the slight breeze of the night. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Spike were forced back-to-back, and formed a circle to face their foes. But the ponies were at a disadvantage. The Nazgul outnumbered them, and possessed superior weapons from Minas Morgul's blasphemous foundry.

"Back, you devils!" screamed Spike. He jumped at the demons, claws ready to rip and tear at their shadowy cloaks, and whatever lay beneath. However, the Nazgul were trained assassins, and the front Ringwraith backhanded Spike into the wall, knocking the dragon unconscious.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hugged each other, prepared for the sharp sting of the blades that were ready to pierce their fragile forms. Instead, two dedicated Nazgul grabbed the filly's manes and tossed the tiny ponies aside, ripping out chunks of bloodstained hair. The five Ringwraiths now stood unopposed before the filly they sought, the Apple who possessed their master's most precious artifact.

Apple Bloom collapsed to the floor; the pedestal blocked her retreat from the approaching demons. Suddenly, she heard The Ring speak in the cacophony language of its origin. She pulled it from her saddle bag, the golden band now in plain sight of the Nazgul. The front Ringwraith approached the frightened filly; his other companions stood back. The approaching Ringwraith unsheathed a dagger, even more cruel compared to the sword which threatened her earlier.

The creature raised its blade, ready to plunge it into Apple Bloom's breast. In response, Apple Bloom did the last thing she thought to do to escape her terrible fate: she put on The Ring.

The world darkened around her, the landscape encompassed by the shadow of the Void. Before her, she saw the five Nazgul in their true forms: ghoulish ponies clothed in white light. Their faces were pallid, and distorted in agony, taking on impossible shapes to represent the perpetual torture of their current state. The front Ringwraith reached out a haggard hoof towards The Ring. The Ring glowed a fiery red, and forced Apple Bloom's hoof towards the awaiting Ringwraith.

Apple Bloom mustered her strength, and pulled back before the white hoof grasped hers. The Nazgul, surprised, sent its dagger through her shoulder. Apple Bloom felt a searing heat course through her arm, the Morgul poison spreading throughout her system. The Ringwraith reached again for The Ring, but was stopped by a powerful buck delivered to its chest.

Rainbow Dash flew into the crowd of Nazgul, forcing them back from the invisible presence of Apple Bloom. The injured Earth pony pulled off The Ring, and felt reality grip her again; she screamed, finally able to use her voice. Rainbow Dash dodged the sword swings from the scattered Ringwraiths, for not even a scratch could she could receive without being poisoned herself. Her speed made her almost untouchable to the slow Nazgul, but she tired, and she slowed, much to the appreciation of the Ringwraiths.

Spike regained consciousness, his revitalized vision still groggy from being thrown into a wall. He was able to discern black figures: 'the Nazgul,' he remembered. But he also saw a dashing rainbow, which wove through the scattered ranks of the Ringwraiths. He knew it was Rainbow Dash, and as his vision recovered, he confirmed it. But with his vision returned, he noticed the decaying speed of the cyan Pegasus, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Morgul blades tore Rainbow Dash's body asunder.

Mustering what strength remained in him, Spike inhaled his lung capacity in oxygen, and sustained it. He felt the fire build-up in his lungs, the inner warmth becoming almost unbearable. He let out a burp, accompanied by a flame which set the Nazgul's cloaks ablaze. Rainbow Dash noticed the fire approach, and dashed up, escaping the burning grasp of Spike's green fire.

The Ringwraiths screeched horribly, and flew from the room, out windows and down stairs, escaping any further harm from the baby dragon's fire. Spike stood up, rubbing the scales atop his head.

"Good thing my scales can take a good pounding," remarked Spike. He looked around, and noticed his friends gathered around the fallen Apple Bloom, who still screamed bloody murder.

Rainbow Dash picked up the wounding weapon, and stared gravely at the short, cruel blade; the dagger soon turned to dust in her hooves.

"She's been stabbed by a Morgul blade," Rainbow lifted Apple Bloom onto her back, greeted by groans of agony from the Earth pony, "She needs Zecora's medicine."

***

The troop galloped through the forest, Rainbow Dash grounded for the first time as she was forced to carry the ailing Apple Bloom. A shriek penetrated the night's stillness; the Nazgul were not far off.

"Hurry!" ordered Rainbow, quickening her pace to outrun the pursuing Ringwraiths.

"We're still a day from Zecora's! She'll never make it!" declared Spike.

"Hold on, Apple Bloom," requested Rainbow, an immediate counter to Spike's pessimism.

Apple Bloom felt the poison course through her body, the corrupting chemical slowly contaminating her spirit.

"Twilight!" screamed Apple Bloom, before falling unconscious.