Guiding Light

Guiding Light:

CHAPTER V -

After Hours

* * *

All around me, spirits were battered, bruised, and broken.

I found myself lying awake in my uncomfortable bunk each and every night, unable to get sleep over the sniffing, sobbing, wheezing, and coughing from everypony around me. Nopony slept, and nopony said a word. If the guards, who were just outside the door, heard you, they’d drag you off to who-knows-where. I didn’t want to think about it.

Mornings were the worst. The guards would stampede into the complex, and literally push you out of bed. If you didn’t get up off the cold, metal floor fast enough, they’d give you fresh wounds from the business ends of their batons, followed by dragging you away. It chilled me to the bone to hear the screams of a fellow prisoner like myself, bloodied and broken, being hauled off down a sealed corridor, and not ever being seen again. Just visualizing the scenario was frightening and utterly traumatizing.

After you’d risen to your shaky hooves, the guards clipped you to the cable leading down to the mineshaft, and shoved you along. No breakfast, no words, no emotion.

We were stopped at the same jagged wall down the same cramped tunnel we had been working our hooves to the bone at each and every passing day. It was hard to breathe down there. If you started to choke, the guards would drag you back up the shaft. I was ever so careful not to get myself dragged to my slaughter. I avoided the gaze of the spiteful guards at every moment. I reasoned that even so much as looking at a guard the wrong way or for too long would bring you the death penalty. Blackhoof was far from the paradise I expected, and the mindless murder of so many just made me sick to my stomach and filled my thoughts with fury. I wanted to flee this place and watch whoever was responsible be dragged away themselves. But, our spirits crushed, I realized that day might never come.

Pickaxes were passed down the row, and carefully tallied, so that each tool was accounted for. The rest of the day was filled with the mind-numbing clank of metal striking stone. If you so much as stopped to rest for more than five seconds, the baton would come out, and you wouldn’t be given a second chance.

The only relief was available when the guards would stop to talk with one another, and we, in the row of captives, would converse amongst ourselves in hushed whispers and careful tones. It was our only chance to talk the entire day, and our only source of what might be called happiness in this hellish compound.

After hours of nonstop gruelling work, the cave had only been extended that much further, and we were once again clipped to the cable, with our pickaxes collected, and marched back up to the bunk area of the building.

For three days, I could not ever figure out what exactly the brown, bubbly, putrid slop that we were fed was. We were just so hungry and worn out by the end of the day, we didn’t care. We all downed our only meal for the day in a mere few seconds. The smarter of the group drank it more slowly and savoured the half-flanked meal. Nopony wasted a drop.

After the ‘meal,’ we assumed our regular few-hour rest, chained to our beds, barely able to get to sleep. Everything carried on in a carefully scheduled pattern for three days, and I could tell why my fellow prisoners often had given up hope.

The exact same thing happened every day. Nothing changed, not the food, not our conversations, not the mood of the guards. During those silent hours at night, we were alone with our thoughts, and only then did we realize we’d die here, with no hope of rescue. We were a lost cause. Not even Elusive had the willpower or the interest to talk to me during the cold night. We all lay quietly, save the sobs of those who hadn’t yet accepted their fate. The quiet jingle of our restraints reminded us of what we were to do here. We were cuffed and chained against the bed. We couldn’t roll over, we couldn’t shift ourselves. We were given a rock-hard mattress and a series of chains. Forget pillows, forget blankets; those were luxuries we couldn’t have dreamed of having in this wretched place. We were miserable, and our lives weren’t about to change for the better, so everypony thought.

But on that third night, a single tink sound, that quietly reverberated off the compound walls brought more hope than the thought of rebels saving us. Everypony immediately went completely silent, and turned their heads to listen.

I heard muffled shouting, and the stomping of hooves against the ground outside.

Only when a thud and a muffled grunt of pain was heard did we all start nervously whispering. My mind itself was racing. Were the rebels here? Were they liberating us?

Everypony immediately felt silent again when we heard the outer door of the complex open. I swallowed, my throat dry.

The second, inner door to the bunk room opened, and everypony held their breath.

Slowly passing through the metal bulkhead was a young pegasus mare; purple coat, blue mane, yellow-green eyes, and what looked like a lightning bolt-arrow as a Cutie Mark.

I could tell everypony in the room was a bit thrown and anxious by the entrance of this young mare, and only this young mare - nopony else followed her inside. Was she with a party of rebels? If so where were they? Had she taken on all the guards by herself?

When none of us would talk, she cleared her throat to speak up.

Her words were like a smack across my face.

“Which one of you is named Steel Tempest?”

I was a bit flustered for a moment. I looked over to find Elusive giving me a questioning glare. I returned it with a confused expression of my own and a slight shrug.

When I didn’t answer right away, the pegasus mare spoke again.

“None of you are Steel Tempest?” She had a calming, but sturdy voice.

I tried to raise my hoof. She craned her neck over to get a better look at me. “I-I’m Steel Tempest. You’re only looking for me?”

Nodding, the mare quickly trotted over to where I was laying. I could feel the gaze of everypony in the room on me.

“But... Why only me? Aren’t you here to liberate all of us?” I asked.

“No, I’m only here for you. I was sent here, and my boss wouldn’t say why.” She reached into a satchel strapped on her leg and withdrew a small, cylindrical device with a thin point on one end. It looked like some sort of crude syringe with a stubby needle and no plunger. I didn’t like the look of it. The last time I had been subject to an injection, I had woken up in chains.

“Your boss?” I inquired, eyeing the strange device with cautious eyes.

“Eahh,” she said, with the device clenched between her teeth. “Ehm wit th’hrblls. Hnn iff thh lhhrdrrs ehs I ohss, oohk.”

Not understanding that, I just raised my eyebrow as she held up one of my cuffed hooves and jammed the pointed end of the device into the lock. Immediately, the lock released and my hoof was free. She released my other three hooves, and I was able to lift myself out of the bed, rubbing my chafed hooves where the cuffs had held in place for three days.

“Whai,” said the mare. “Ohld s’hill.”

Craning her neck, she shoved the pointed end of the unlocking device into some part of the ring around my horn. I watched as it unclasped and clattered to the ground in front of me. I immediately tried to call magic to my horn, and was relieved to feel the energy coursing around me, and lighting up my horn for the first time in what felt like ages.

Stowing the cylinder in the satchel, the mare spoke again.

“Sorry. What I meant to say is that I’m with the rebels, and my boss, Rook, is one of their leaders. He sent me here to come break you out. Wouldn’t say why.”

Rubbing my hooves, I looked around to my fellow prisoners, each giving me a look of either envy or disappointment. I turned back to the mare, my good will taking a hold of me.

“Thanks for saving me and all, but what about everypony else? We can’t just leave them.”

The mare looked uneasy. “I’m afraid we’ll have to. Come on, we don’t have time.”

“No,” I said firmly. “Give me that device, whatever it is, I’m freeing everypony here.”

“There’s no time! We have to go now!”

I was getting impatient. “Look, we’re just going to waste more time by arguing. Either we free everybody else, or I’m not coming with you.”

Everypony was looking at the mare now. She looked torn herself, but lowered her head and breathed out a sigh.

“I have an extra Key. Just jam the pointy end into the locks.”

Nodding, I levitated one of what she called a ‘Key’ out of her satchel and got to work, as she did the same. Within a few minutes, everypony was either flexing their wings, stretching their hooves or testing their magic. Pegasi bracers, earth pony hoof-locks, and unicorn rings littered the floor of the compound.

The mare poked me in the shoulder, and ushered me closer to the door. I looked back one final time to see Elusive giving me a half smile. He raised his hoof. I returned his smile, and raised my own hoof in a final good-bye. I hoped we’d see each other again.

I followed the mare through the door into a short hallway separating the inner and outer doors. Using a ‘Key,’ she unlocked a large metal crate resting to the side of the corridor.

She then started to try to push back the lid of the crate.

Using my own magic to help her, the lid fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Pulling myself up over the lip of the crate, I peered inside. I could see a pile of personal belongings, mixed in with a plethora of saddlebags.

I looked back over my shoulder. Without words, the mare silently waited by the outer door for me, tapping her hoof against the ground in anxiety. She opened the outer door a crack, and immediately shut it after taking a look through the gap. She looked at me and nodded. Her eyes had that knack of saying exactly what was on her mind. I got the message. I quickly rummaged around the pile of personal items, trying to find any of my stuff that might be of potential use. After a few seconds of excavation, I found exactly what I was looking for: My candle. I bit my lip and decided to skip the rest of my belongings. My legal documents wouldn’t be any use, and the guards had probably taken my bits away. Grabbing a random saddlebag, I stuffed the candle into it, lowered myself back down on all four hooves, and nodded at the mare.

“Okay,” she started, her tone emanating command and strength. “I want you to run as fast as you can when we get past this door. Follow me at all times, and don’t look back. If I tell you to do something, I want you to do it.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, let’s get out of here.”

She nodded. “On the count of three, we run. One... two...”

She bucked open the door.

“Three!”

I galloped harder than I ever had. I ran even faster than I did when I was in the Everfree forest. Except this time, my mind was crystal clear, and instead of a forest of trees, standing in a strategic line two hundred metres before us was an impenetrable wall of Blackhoof guards wielding swords. The purple mare did not stop, however, lowering her head in an aggressive charge. Even though she was galloping on her hooves, she had her wings splayed out and flapping slowly, kicking up a massive cloud of dust behind her. She gritted her teeth and barked an order at me.

“Knock them down! Distract them! Do something!” She yelled.

My mind raced along with my hooves, formulating scenarios at a lightning-fast pace. How was I to distract a few dozen heavily armoured, huge, heavyweight ponies dripping hatred from their muzzles and pointing a metre of sharpened steel at me, whilst racing towards said ponies at a rapid pace?

I could hear the mare’s wings flapping, and that huge cloud of opaque dust gave me an idea.

Concentrating hard as I galloped, I brought my magic around the dust and dirt in front of me, pushing it up and outward, like a wave, into the row of guards, who coughed and sputtered. Some tried to cover their faces, but it was to no avail. They clutched their muzzles as they struggled for air.

And then, without warning, I watched in awe as the purple mare leaped up, flipped in midair, and landed on her back, sliding into the guards with a controlled upward buck, and sending a couple sprawling. She reared up on her hind hooves and flipped back over into a gallop.

She had just made an opening.

Throwing up more dust, it was my turn to break past the barrier of ponies. As one disoriented guard stumbled straight into my path, I lowered my head and I rammed the guard full-front, toppling him. I stumbled a bit, but righted myself and took off at top speed once again, right on past the wall of guards and through the opening the mare had so thoughtfully and awesomely provided.

I caught up with and was now running alongside the purple mare, who was still kicking up dust. We ran and ran for what seemed like a mile, and soon, the mare slowed down, and we were both sure we had lost any who attempted to follow us.

Panting and sweating, I took in my surroundings. We were in the middle of a rocky desert. Mesas, mountains and massive boulders lined the area around us. It was the middle of the night, and it was freezing, causing my rapid breaths to form small clouds of vapour when I exhaled. The skies were clear, and moonlight illuminated us. The stars were bright and crisp, only dulled slightly by the proximity of the main city of Blackhoof, which I spotted near a mountain a couple miles behind us.

After I had caught my breath, I looked over to see the mare looking down at a map, occasionally glancing up to look at something in the distance. She noticed me looking at her and waiting with an impatient expression, but she simply dismissed my confusion and thirst for knowledge.

Instead, she simply said, “Hey, do you mind giving me some light over here?”

Sighing deeply, I trundled over and lit up my horn, glancing at the map. According to the location of the town and a series of mesas not too far away, I could pinpoint that we were about two or three miles north of Blackhoof. The mare was looking for something that was to the west of where we were standing. After a minute or two, she rolled up the map and stowed it in her satchel, and started walking west, like I predicted.

“Do you mind telling me what this is all about? For Celestia’s sake, you haven’t even told me your name,” I pressed.

The mare rolled her eyes. “My name’s Agile Bolt. I’m with the rebels, and I was sent here by one of the top stallions at our stronghold, the Hollow, to find you at that labour camp and break you out. As I stated before, I don’t know why I was sent to specifically find you, nor do I know why I had to go alone. Where we’re going is a meeting spot we usually use. I’m ordered to drop you off there, where you’ll be better informed of the situation. Got all that?”

I nodded dryly. That both did and did not answer my questions. I did my best to mull over my situation. So, this ‘Agile Bolt’ was taking me to the local rebellion for reasons unknown. That absolutely had to be some sort of connection to my amnesia. Everything was just too coincidental. Plus, there was that orange pony back at the station who told me to ‘listen to the voice of knowledge,’ whatever that meant. If Agile Bolt truly did not know anything about me, I’d just have to ask this ‘Rook’ that she had stated who had sent her to break me out. Perhaps he’d be holding the answers I’d been looking for.

Breathing a sigh, I trotted up alongside Bolt, who was treading gingerly across the rocky desert, rather than using her wings to float along like a true pegasus. We walked in silence for some time before I started to get bored.

“One of the other ponies back at the compound told me about Iniquitous Lore,” I piped up, trying to start a conversation. “He told me that there’s some sort of ‘barrier’ surrounding the area?”

Bolt’s expression shifted to that of a grim one, and she gave a slight nod.

“It’s true,” she said. “The Barrier is a morbid reality. You probably don’t know the size of the area around Blackhoof, so I’ll give you a rundown. Blackhoof itself is about a mile in diameter. Those black walls extend all the way around the city, cutting off the desert from the lush area within. There are dozens of similar compounds ringing the area at least a half mile away from the walls. The Barrier is quite large. All we know is that it’s a huge, invisible dome that spans about ten miles in diameter. The edge of the Barrier is located around three miles from each compound, leaving a large ring of open desert for us rebels to hide.

“Currently, we’re north-northwest of Blackhoof, and about three-and-a-half miles from the edge of the barrier. We’re heading a quarter mile west from here, to Mason’s Mesa, a common meeting place for the rebels. The Hollow is just half a mile south of it, hidden away inside a mountain. There’s somepony waiting for us at Mason’s Mesa, and I’m to drop you off before heading east again, to Arrowpoint Rock, for another mission.”

“I see,” I said. Well, at least now I knew the basic layout of the area. I was sure the rebels would have more detailed maps. As I had discovered in my days in Ponyville, maps were always useful.

However, my gut urged me to ask this steadfast rebel about my situation, even though I was sure it would bring no answers.

“Um, Bolt, could I ask you about me?”

She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I woke up in Ponyville a week ago, for the first time in my new, confusing life. I woke up with amnesia, and had a set of misleading documents. I even discovered that I was delivered there, unconscious, by the same Blackhoof guards that you fight against. My previous life had been covered up, and I have no idea why. I just wanted to know is you knew anything.”

Bolt looked down at the dusty ground, biting her lip.

“No, I can’t say I know anything. If I knew, I’d tell you. But your story confuses me more than it does spark a memory. Nopony, and I mean nopony, has ever escaped Blackhoof. The only way in or out is the trainstation, and that’s heavily guarded, second only to the Shadowcrown - Lore’s castle - in terms of security. But even so, you’d still have to pass through the Barrier. However, you said you’d been carried out by Blackhoof guards. Nothing living or magical can pass through the Barrier without dying or being reflected back. The only way you could have left is if Lore opened the Barrier somewhere for a short time. If he actually did that, you must’ve been somepony special over here, for him to get rid of you without you knowing who you once were.”

She paused for a moment.

“I hate to say it, but you might have been one of the scientists that Lore forced to invent the new technology here, living in peace within the walls. If you might have started going rogue on him, it’s possible he could have had your memory magically erased somehow and shipped you out of here. But there’s something not right. Lore’s clinically insane. He’s a cold-blooded murderer. He could’ve just had you killed and that would’ve been the end of it. Deporting you in such a manner seems risky... Anyway, my answer is still no. I’m sorry I can’t really help you, but hopefully Rook will have some answers to your questions.”

That seemed to satisfy my mind’s questions for now. If Agile Bolt really didn’t know anything, there was no sense in prying further.

Continuing west for half an hour or so, we entered into a crescent of mountains, surrounding a huge mesa at the far end. This must’ve been Mason’s Mesa. We were almost to our destination, and I was a step closer to finding out who I really was. As we crossed the flat land in the centre of the crescent, we drew closer to the mesa, and I could clearly see a dark cave leading into the natural stone structure at the base.

Finally, we stopped at the mouth of the cave. Agile Bolt turned to me.

“Alright, one or two of my fellow rebels will just be inside. Follow me and don’t make a sound or move an inch unless I tell you to.”

I nodded in acknowledgement. We entered the cave.

For a few minutes, we trotted through the dark, damp interior, making our way around the twisting walls of the claustrophobic space.

Without warning, Bolt stopped dead in her tracks, and held a hoof up to her muzzle, her ears twitching.

Putting her hoof back down, she turned to me and mouthed ‘stay here.’ I only gave her a quizzical look in return. It was only when Bolt unsheathed her dagger and started to hug the wall as she made her way deeper into the cave did I realize something was wrong.

Bolt disappeared around a bend, and I was alone in this shadowy cave, and I could hear everything. Coughing, what sounded like magic flowing from a horn, and voices. Remorseless voices. Voices that belonged to Blackhoof guards. Hearing another noise behind me, I disobeyed Bolt’s orders and continued on deeper into the cave, hugging the wall as she had done, concerned for her safety.

After rounding another bend, I could see a dim glow against the wall in front of me. Pressing my body against the cold stone of the cave wall, I slowly peeked my head around the corner.

The next cave ‘corridor’ led into a larger chamber, but what caught my eye first was Bolt, with her dagger clenched tightly between her teeth and her back pressed against the wall just outside of the room. She caught sight of me and waved her hoof slightly, staring at me with worried, but commanding eyes. Her expression read, go, run, just leave. Not about to follow her orders, I took a glance into the room.

At the very centre was a jar of fireflies, which had been the source of the glow. The dim light also illuminated three Blackhoof guards, magically holding their swords down, pointed towards the ground, at a couple of dim figures. After my eyes adjusted further, I could then see the figures were ponies - stallions, just like me - laying there motionless, their dead eyes staring at their own swords, laying a short distance away from them, sitting in a pool of their owner’s own blood.

I was shocked, stunned, frozen. When you hear somepony talk of death and murder, you shudder in disgust. However, when you actually witness that same murder with your own eyes, it becomes your reality. I stood there, frozen, unable to look away from the cold, lifeless eyes of the dead rebel who was to deliver to me to my future. An innocent pony who had died for my sake. When I was able to break the gaze, I shut my eyes tight and gritted my teeth, the anger welling up inside me. In my boiling fury, I stamped my hoof against the ground, and opened my eyes, seething with rage. I wouldn’t let these murderers go without seeing me, and I was about to make them aware I was here to avenge he who had died trying to find me.

They turned their heads in surprise, and raised their swords as I felt a new, powerful magic welling up, coursing through my being and lashing out of my horn at lightning speed. The spell leapt forth, just as the guards made their charge, running straight into my magic. It hit them full force, and the unprepared, bulky guards were sent clattering across the room, slamming into the back wall. I was about to walk into the room and finish them off with the dead rebel’s sword, but I nearly tumbled over myself as Bolt flung herself at me, pushing me out of the room. I met the gaze of the dead pony again, and I shook my head, clearing myself of my daze and shrugging off the red mist. Sense and morality returned, and Bolt and I turned and galloped out of the cave as fast as we could.

Once again, we were running alongside each other, at an extremely high speed, crossing the crescent in a matter of seconds. Bolt abruptly changed direction, heading south now. I followed her without refusal. We ran without stopping once, kicking up dirt and hurling ourselves out of the way of giant boulders. Time ceased to be as gallop as fast as you can embedded itself in my mind as we took off south, and got as far away as we could from the guards. We ran straight up a mountain, slowing down only as Bolt turned once again and dived into a cave. I followed without question. We crawled through the narrow passages, the rough stone scraping at my skin. We stopped completely in a small room, just barely able to hold the both of us side by side, and I shivered, bathed in a cold sweat. Bolt was shaking too, albeit grunting, rather than panting. After my other senses had returned to me after a couple minutes, I looked over to see Bolt rubbing and fussing over her leg. Leaning down, I gingerly lifted the hoof up to my eyes, with Bolt wincing in pain. Inspecting the injured appendage, I could see a deep gash along the side, near the hoof, bleeding badly.

Instructing bolt to lie down, she did so, with her injured leg spread out across the dusty ground of the cave. Removing her satchel, I rummaged around though its contents until I found what I was looking for. I removed a ragged cloth, a bottle of disinfectant, and some gauze. Tearing the cloth in half, I balled up one piece and put it in Bolt’s mouth. I poured some of the disinfectant on the other piece, setting the gauze aside on top of a rock.

“This is gonna sting a bit,” I said, but from Bolt’s expression, she already knew.

I carefully applied the dampened cloth to the gash, cleaning off most of the blood around it.

Bolt shut her eyes tight and bit down hard on the cloth, desperately trying not to let any sound escape from her mouth, but it was no use. Her muffled screams of pain carried down and echoed to a blood-chilling extent as I cleaned her wound with the potent disinfectant.

After most of the blood had been cleaned, I set the cloth down, and picked up the gauze. Stretching out a reasonable amount, I bit off the piece and wrapped it tightly around Bolt’s leg wound, causing her to grunt in pain. I could only imagine how much discomfort she was going through.

There was no medical tape to secure the dressing, so my best bet was to tie the gauze tightly in place. After I had done so and made sure the bandage was tight enough, I wrung out the dampened cloth and replaced everything in the satchel.

I turned back around to see Bolt laying there, just on the tipping point of consciousness. She mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ before falling off into a deep, much needed sleep.

I was about to do the same, but I then realized just how thirsty and hungry I really was. I had only eaten and drank a few hours ago, but all the running just took it out of me. The only thing around us was dirt and rock, and I was certain I couldn’t eat those. Besides, I thought, Bolt is probably worse off anyway. She was probably just as hungry and just a thirsty, and pretty badly injured as well. My stomach grumbled, and I sighed, laying down next to Bolt in the narrow space, and drifting off into a deep sleep of my own. Just before I passed out, my brain had time to think one final thought before I was out like a light.

My entire life had just been full of turnarounds, and I wondered what kind of discovery would come next.

Iniquitous Lore stood on his castle balcony, observing the land before him.

He gazed out past the cobblestone roads of the grand city he had constructed from nothing, past the shining, black walls that protected all who thrived within.

He gazed into the expansive desert, the mountains and the mesas looming like ancient, weathered guardians of whatever secrets it held.

He knew the rebels were out there, and he knew where they were hiding. Nopony would escape his grasp.

Not even the intriguing mare who had liberated a labour camp for only one pony in particular. He would soon find out why this single pony was so important. But most of all, he would soon drive the rebels into the dust and discover what secrets they’d been keeping.

Lore smiled, feeling the moonlight on his face. He looked down at the shiny, black balcony of the top spire of the Shadowcrown.

His reflection glowed, and not because of the moonlight. It was a curse that caused magic to dance along his coat, to surge in every nerve and every muscle in his body, causing him immense pain every waking moment of his day. It was this curse that kept him from rest. It was this curse that whirled outrageous power around him. The magic poured out of him in vast quantities.

But as much of a curse it as it was, he found he could control it to the smallest fraction. After all, he had wrapped whatever magic he could get a grip on into the deadly barrier that stopped ponies from leaving his glorious city. It was this magical power that made him the leader of this land. It was this power that allowed him to keep the biggest secret from the rest of Equestria.

And that, he thought, was only a small fraction of the power. That was why he had them dig. He had them tunnel into the desert, trying desperately to find the knowledge that would make him all-powerful, to use this ‘curse’ the way he intended, and not the way the Spirit did. He would become godlike.

Lore was so caught up in his revelations that he barely heard the hoofsteps approaching him from behind. Barely.

“Father,” said a calm, but deadly voice.

Lore turned, to find his teenaged unicorn son standing there, just inside the threshold of the spire.

“Ah, Midnight, finally. You’re earlier than I expected.”

Midnight Spectre, son of the infamous Iniquitous Lore, stood firm, his green irises gleaming like poison in the night, and his burgundy coat, coupled with his ash-grey mane reflected the fire within him. The dark star-and-eye Cutie Mark on his flank recognized his best talent.

“What is it you want? Don’t spare me a lecture,” Midnight seethed.

“That pony we’ve taken an interest in, Agile Bolt, has shown up once again. She liberated a single pony from Camp 109-B.”

“Oh, don’t tell me. Not this again. I told you I’m done with that.”

“This is the last time, I promise. Just follow her wherever she goes, and eliminate her if necessary. It’s simple, Midnight.”

“That’s what you said last time, and I said ‘I’m done.’ Now goodbye.”

“What if I told you I was willing to share the information you’ve been seeking for so long with you? Once you’ve completed this task, of course.”

Midnight stopped dead in his tracks.

“You’re serious about that?” he asked, his voice deadpan.

Lore smiled. “Yes, I’m serious. It has been bugging you for quite some years now, has it not?”

Midnight looked down at his hooves, weighing his options. Finally, he looked back up and stared into his father’s dark green eyes.

“If you cross me, I swear I’ll kill you myself. We have a deal. But this is the last time.”

Without a word, Midnight walked away, disappearing into the shadows.

Once again, Lore smiled.

The rebels would soon be gone, and Lore would rise to unimaginable power.