The Legend of the Six

A small campfire stirred to life as dusk faded to night. Four ponies, hardened now by constant struggle, sit around the small signal of life, striving to garner some warmth in spite of the cold, unforgiving night. One of the males, his mane of black shifting from the breeze, concentrated hard, as the faint pink bubble surrounding their encampment strengthened, and settled itself.

    “That should hold it for another few hours.” Dusk Fades sighed, weary and sleep deprived. “If the night demons fail to gather our combined scent from though the barrier, we should be able to sleep through the night.” With a stretch and a deep sigh, the purple unicorn retired to his tent. The other three looked on, concern etched into their faces.

Just a few weeks ago, the ragtag group would never have believed the tales of what lay outside the walls of the city. A grass-less wasteland inhabited only the strong, and the insane, what remains of Equestria is now infested with creatures made of pure darkness. The worst of it all is that they seem to be getting stronger. As if their strength during the night hours was bad enough, they now venture out into broad daylight with little regard for the sun’s steely gaze.

They near the settlements, growing in size and number. Some even dare to try to cross the barrier. Those poor fools end up dead; regardless, they seem to be penetrating further and further with each passing month. There’s no telling how long the barriers will last, or what can be done to prepare. All the townsfolk can do is pray.

A dinged up helmet lay on the ground next to where a grizzled stallion sat, staring deep into the heart of the fire. Appointed defender of the group, the knight in dulled armor slowly stroked his sword, honing the edge. Plucking a brown, graying hair out of his mane, and testing it on the weapon, Barry, last name unspoken, sighed and returned to sharpening his blade some more. Though the creatures can be killed, and they have lasted this long, there’s only so much time to rest before the next fight begins. How they were ever going to reach their destination is a question that weighed on all their minds.

“Don’t worry guys!” A rather chipper mare chimed in, feeling the sombre mood settling in.  “I’m sure everything will be just fine. We just have to trust in the book, and ourselves.” Feron continued, trying to brighten the sphere.

Barry looked up from attending to his sword, and couldn’t help but smile and shake his head.“How do you do it?” He asked, surprised that he was smiling.

“Do what?” Feron replied, eyes full of curiosity and wonder.

“How do you keep so happy, and carefree?” Barry cleared, content with the edge of his blade. Returning it to its scabbard, the brown stallion, returned to face the blue mare. “You just sit there, and do your thing, and somehow, it makes me smile. It makes all of us smile. How do you do it?” he finished, before stepping out of his worn plate mail, and resting it inside his tent.

“I dunno,” she shrugged in response. “I just try my best to think of all the good we’re trying to do. I think of all the people I’m trying to protect, and somehow, it gives me the courage to keep on smiling.” She giggled a little, before settling down to munch on a cupcake.

“I suppose we all could use a smile now and then. Especially now.” Barry nodded in unison. Lately, he had noticed her solemn attitude, especially after a rough battle. If only you knew just how much we need that smile of yours to survive, haystack. Grabbing an apple from his knapsack, he sat next to the mare, and took a rather large bite out of his dinner. Eating together, the two stared up at the night sky, watching as a small asteroid passed by slowly overhead.

Morning came bright and early. Dusk shook out his mane, before sleepily stepping out into the sunlight. The suns’ rays felt great, even if no actual warmth was carried by them. With a confident nod to himself, the pony packed his things, and grabbed his trusty, if somewhat tattered hat, gently setting it to rest between his ears.

By this time, the others had also arisen from their slumber, though less thrilled than their leader. Each pony began to pack up their tents and supplies as Soren alighted down from his sleeping cloud, a little sore from the way he (hadn’t) slept. Barry settled carefully into his armor, ready to cover the rear as Feron slipped into her robe, ready to proceed with their journey.

“So…Where exactly are we heading again?” Soren wondered aloud, still unsure about the protective barrier. He rubbed his neck, still hurting from his nightly vigil.

“Did you stay up again all night, Soren?” Feron accused, noting his pain and weariness. “I thought I told you that the barrier will-“

“We’re going to the Temple of Laughter.” Dusk interjected, cutting Feron off. He didn’t need her grinding on Soren, especially since his sleep wasn’t that great either. “Besides, I think having a night sentry is a rather brilliant idea, though we should all take turns with it. That way we can all have some sleep, right Soren?”  He continued, some authority touching the last part of his statement. Placing the book in front of where he sat, Dusk surveyed the cover once more. All the signs had vanished, save for a trio of balloons resting over a rather large waterfall to the northeast of Ponyville. It would seem the book was willing them to go here first.

With a sheepish grin, Soren nodded. “Y-yeah. That could work…” He added, muttering something else to himself. Dusk caught something about “bad sleep”, but he decided to leave the discussion at that. With a flick of light, the barrier dispelled and the group of intrepid adventurers continued their quest once more.

Several hours later, the four stopped, setting down their gear to rest. A small stream ran not a few yards from where they lay, a small trickle enough for a drink.

“All right, we’ll rest here for about 30 minutes, and then we’re on our way again.” Dusk ordered, levitating four canteens by himself. “Drink up while you can, and fill up every canteen we have, as much as possible. There’s no telling if we’ll find another source of water before we reach the temple, so we’ll have to make this count.”

After he was satisfied, the midnight colored equine returned to studying their map. "Ok, we appear to be here, by what’s left of the Neighagra River. The temple must be at the base of the falls." He pondered aloud to himself. I wonder why they put it there… His train of thought was interrupted by the touch of a metal hoof.  Dusk turned to find Barry giving him a rather stern look.

“Dusk, there’s something that’s been bothering me for a while.” The serious expression on his face belied a subtle hint of concern, and is that…fear?  “I feel like someone, or something, is following us. It doesn’t feel like the shadow beasts, however. They never travel alone. This feels different. I can’t quite place the feeling, but whatever it is, it’s intelligent.” Dusk solemnly nodded in response.

He never realized this entire journey would take such a toll, on all of them. It forced them to grow up so fast, faster than any pony should. Death was ever present, hovering just on the edge of their vision and minds. But things couldn’t remain like this forever, right? Well, whatever comes, we’ll be ready for it. I hope. With that, he left the book lying on the table, and ran over to grab a drink with his comrades.