In Youth Eternal - A Dark Secret

Chapter 14: Surrender

Captain Strong Wing couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His eyes went wide with sock, although me maintained a serious looking scowl. His gaze shifted from place to place around almost frantically.

Cloud Runner, Sky Chaser, Thunderstorm, and Blaze Bolt...

All of them were dead.

He hadn’t spotted Sky Chaster immediately, but he noticed a hole in the wall that wasn’t there previously, with blood around it. He quickly concluded that must be where Sky Chaser’s corpse was.

Then, the pedestals in the center of the room where the Elements of Harmony once rested caught his attention. The Captain noticed the rest of the Mane 6, as well as the baby dragon, had gathered in front of it. They all looked at him with confident smirks staining their faces. Rainbow Dash jumped back to to stand by her friends.

His thoughts raced as to how something like this could happen. His troops, killed by a group of mares? In all his years, he had never seen anything like this.

“How could this happen?” he asked slightly less calmly than usual. Strong Wing was one for keeping a level head, but this was unprecedented. His body tensed up, trying to keep his composure. He knew he couldn’t win in a straight up fight against all of them.

“Those were some of my finest soldiers!” he spoke, raising his voice noticeably. “How could you have possibly beaten them!?” He gritted his teeth as his eyes narrowed, shooting glares at every one of them.

The Mane 6 all looked at each other before Twilight stepped forth.

“We may not look like it at first, but we can take care of ourselves,” said the lavender unicorn. “Especially when I have to look out for my friends! I couldn’t allow myself to be defeated,” she continued. “And I know my friends all feel the same way! We have determination! And we will not allow the Princesses to continue on with the murder of innocent ponies for their personal gain!”

They all nodded in agreement, confidence emanating from their smirks.

His thoughts continued to race in his head. Determination? How odd. Captain Strong Wing, despite his years of experience, never expected something like that to play such a large part in victory. Even if a weaker pony had determination, surely he or she could not stand up against trained soldiers.

He grunted with frustration. He too had determination, but in his mind, it wouldn’t be enough to save him in a skirmish against the whole group. Rainbow Dash was challenge enough, but all of them? That would be suicide.

“So, I’m sorry to say Captain, but you have lost,” Twilight Sparkle remarked, meeting his scowl with a confident smirk.

Captain Strong Wing had to think of something. He had two options: Fight or flight. On one hoof, he could die in the heat of battle, a fitting death for a warrior. But then the fugitives would escape for sure. Or, he could make a hasty retreat, recover, and chase down the mares with an entire army in tow rather than a squad.

He wasn’t normally the type to retreat, but the Captain concluded that it would be the smartest course of action. The Captain began to calm down, returning to his stoic demeanor.

It was then than idea struck him. The stallion had just thought of something even better than those two choices. Now, the Captain had something to say to the Mane 6.

“Allow me to leave you with you with something,” he began, giving a sweeping glance at the ponies and baby dragon. Twilight in particular arched a brow.

“If I should die here by your hooves, and you eventually overthrow the princesses,” he began calmly, “then tell me. Who would be left to rule in their place?” Twilight perked up a bit as the others looked on at the unraveling scene.

“Think about it, Twilight Sparkle. Nopony else is suited to rule Equestria in their stead.” he claimed.

This got Twilight thinking hard, bringing up a hoof to meet her chin. Her confident smirk was quickly fleeting, her eyes shifting, deep in thought. The mare honestly couldn’t find a retort to the Captain’s point.

“At a loss for words, are we?” said Strong Wing.

“Twi?” asked Applejack, approaching the unicorn. The features of her visage implied concern. “Twi, are you alri-”

“He’s right...” interrupted Twilight.

Captain Strong Wing couldn’t help but grin a little.

“Wait, what the hay?” replied the orange earth pony, arching a brow.

Twilight Sparkle lowered her head at the revelation. “He’s right. If we take down the princesses, nopony else would be able to take their place,” she said solemnly. Her friends became rather nervous.

“It was Princess Celestia’s leadership and policies that kept our lands at peace,” remarked Captain Strong Wing. “If she and her sister were to go down, so would all of Equestria. Riots will break out, chaos would ensue.”

Twilight Sparkle felt despair in her heart once more. In order to preserve the peace and harmony of Equestria, she would have to die. The Captain could tell what she was thinking.

“That’s right, Twilight Sparkle. Your sacrifice will be for the greater good,” he commented.

Twilight didn’t particularly want to die. She was a young mare with her whole life ahead of her still, but at what cost would it be at this point? Twilight didn’t want to be partly responsible for driving Equestria into ruin either. A tear ran down the unicorn’s cheek. She knew she would have to do the right thing.

“So, will you comply?” inquired the Captain, taking a step forward. Rainbow Dash and Applejack jumped forth, landing between Strong Wing and Twilight. They both shot a nasty glare at him. “I promise your friends will be spared if you go quietly,” he claimed

Captain Strong Wing knew that it was against his orders. He was supposed to have the mares, along with the baby dragon, killed, as to silence them. However, he did not want to pass up what probably was his last opportunity to capture the target. If he retreated empty handed, they would simply flee farther away. He couldn’t let that happen.

Meanwhile, the lavender unicorn processed his words; her brain’s gears grinding away to come to a conclusion. Twilight wanted to harm to come to her friends. She knew the Captain could just swiftly retreat, gather an army, and hunt them down again. But she didn’t want it to come to that. With that, Twilight Sparkle finally came to a decision.

“I’ll do it...” spoke the lavender unicorn, solemnly. All of her friends gave a surprised glance at Twilight.

Captain Strong Wing knew he had her. He managed to convince the mare to willingly go through with her sacrifice. All that was left was to escort her to the castle so she may sustain Princess Celestia’s immortality, as well as that of Luna’s. He was admittedly a little proud of this, as it reinforced his beliefs to keep a level head. Had he lost his composure at his squad being decimated by simple mares, he might not have been able to use his silver tongue to convince Twilight Sparkle.

An awkward beat of silence filled the room. The only thing to break that silence was a gust of wind that softly passed by, entering through the mostly non-existent ceiling. They all wanted to say something, yet couldn’t.

“I’m sorry, my friends...” choked Twilight. She slowly trotted over to the Captain, giving a glance at her friends. This was the last time she would seem them. “I’ll miss you all...”

Then, somepony spoke up.

“Wait!” a voice cried out.

Spike, the baby dragon, rushed at Twilight, tears flowing from his eyes. He latched onto one of the Twilight’s leg, and he didn’t want to let go. The baby dragon’s sorrowful eyes met Twilight’s.

“Please don’t go...” he pleaded.

Twilight shut her eyes, tears streaming down the sides of her cheeks. She regretted having to leave her friends on such a note, especially Spike. She was like a big sister, or even a mother to the baby dragon.

Once more, their eyes locked. “I’m sorry, Spike... But I have to do this.”

“But...”

“No buts, Spike.”

The baby dragon’s head sagged as he reluctantly let go of Twilight’s leg. The onlooking Mane 5 silently shed tears, with the exception of the very audible Pinkie Pie. Then, another pony stepped forward.

“Are ya’ sure, sugarcube?” asked the tearful orange mare.

“Yes, Applejack,” replied Twilight.

“Ah see...” murmured Applejack, her head drooping.

There was another beat of silence before the Captain spoke up again. “Now, are you finally ready to go, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yes. I am,” she stated. The sound of her voice implied an attempt to sound indifferent, as if she had come to acceptance of her fate, yet still audible was the sound of regret.

“Then we shall go. Get on my back and I will fly us back to base,” he ordered, lowering himself to allow the lavender unicorn to hoist herself onto his back side.

Twilight promptly situated herself onto Captain Strong Wing’s back as her friends watched on with tearful eyes. They wanted to stop Twilight, and yet they couldn’t. It was because the mare that brought them together did so of her own will. Or, at least that seemed to be the case.

The Captain’s wings began to flap, lifting the two of them into the air. Within moments, they had ascended above where the roof would be.

Twilight Sparkle, just before she disappeared into the night, gave one last sorrowful glance down at her friends. Not a word was spoken between anypony, but the message of Twilight’s visage spoke enough.

‘Goodbye, my friends.’

*     *     *

Stars dotted the night sky, the moon looming over, casting a dim and pale light on the canopy below. There were few sounds to interrupt the peaceful nighttime flight.

The flight back to the makeshift base had been rather uneventful. Neither the Captain nor Twilight had anything to say to one another. All the mare had done was think to herself as she gazed at the landscape under her. It was surprising to see how calm it seemed the Everfree Forest could be at night.

Twilight unmounted from Strong Wing as soon as they touched down at the base. Various lanterns were scattered around to illuminate the area. Several nighttime guards were on patrol. She felt a hoof suddenly touch her shoulder. She turned to face the Captain.

“We will leave tomorrow morning. For now, get some rest.” he calmly ordered. Twilight solemnly nodded in reply. The Captain then turned away, seeing a nearby pair of guards. “You two. Escort Miss Sparkle to a tent and guard her.”

The pair nodded before escorting Twilight to a tent for her to stay in. The Captain made his way to the Communication’s tent. He brushed away the flaps that acted as the door to the tent, finding Scarlet asleep at her desk, her head resting on a pile of paper work.

Strong Wing knocked on the desk a few times with a hoof, prompting Scarlet’s eyes to slowly creep open. The scarlet colored unicorn slowly lifted her head, rubbing her eyes with her hooves. Then, she noticed that it was the Captain who had woken her.

“Captain!” she exclaimed, letting out a gasp. She stumbled up to give him a salute. “I apologize for sleeping on the job, Sir!”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s been a long day,” he said, prompting her to be at ease with hoof gesture. “For now, just send Princess Celestia a message.”

Scarlet nodded as she lifted a quill and parchment in front of her with her magic. “What shall I say?” she inquired.

“Princess Celestia, we have captured the target: Twilight Sparkle. She will be delivered first thing in the morning.” he stated, with Scarlet quickly writing down what he said word for word, dragging the quill across the parchment. Her strokes were very fast.

The aura surrounding the parchment forced it to roll up, followed by a piece of cloth wrapping itself around the parchment to keep it rolled up. Then, the magic aura compressed itself as it twist and turned. The parchment containing the Captain’s message dematerialized before vanishing in a swirl of light. The spell worked very similarly to Spike’s flames.

“The message has been sent, sir,” the mare informed the Captain. Although, it wasn’t necessary. Strong Wing saw it happen before his very eyes. He thought it a little amusing however. Scarlet always was a bit of the obvious-stating type.

“Alright. Thank you, Scarlet,” he said, turning away as he began to approach the exit.

“Yes, Sir! Anytime, Sir!” she barked, saluting.

Strong Wing stopped, turning his head around to see his communication’s officer giving him a salute. He couldn’t help but find it a little cute how Scarlet was always trying to be so formal with him, and trying to impress him with her work. Indeed, she had a good work ethic.

“Remember, Scarlet. You don’t need to be so formal me,” he remarked calmly, as to not intimidate the mare.

“Okay... Thank you, sir,” she replied, in a more casual tone.

The Captain gave a nod before exiting the tent. Scarlet let out a sigh of relief before slumping down over her paperwork again. The tired mare peacefully drifted off to sleep.

The Captain strolled towards his tent, tired and ready for sleep. It had been a very long day, and a lot of fighting. He armored pony was still a bit troubled at how some of his finest troops fell to a group of mares, but he didn’t want to dwell on it.

Once he entered his tent, he promptly slid the remains of his armor off. He gave the metallic thud no though before settling into the simple mattress that was laid out on the ground. The Captain let out a sigh as his eyes shut, drifting off into a deep slumber, awaiting the dawn.

*     *     *

A peaceful dawn arrived; the sun not yet fully in view. It had barely peeked over the horizon, only just beginning to fill the sky with light. Spike, the baby dragon, and Mane 5 had managed to get some sleep and rest in for the night. It wasn’t comfortable, given the stone floor.

Applejack was used to getting up early to get started on farm work. Naturally, she was the first to awaken from her slumber. She wiped her eyes out with her hooves and let out a yawn. The orange mare proceeded to trot around the room and awaken her friends as well.

One by one, the rest of the Mane 5 and Spike were finally waking up. Various tired grumbles sounded, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who one awakened, was quickly filled with energy.

The group huddled around in front of the Elements of Harmony pedestals. to discuss their next move. Being best friends with Twilight Sparkle, they wanted nothing more than to save her life.

"Everypony, Ah feel that we outta go after Twilight," said Applejack. Her visage had a serious tone emanating from it.

"Are you sure? I feel the same way, but this is Twilight's wish," commented Rarity, cringing a little.

"I don't care if it's her wish! I wanna go save her!" shouted Rainbow Dash.

Applejack gave a nod towards the cyan pegasus. "Ah don't care what Twilight said. This ain't of 'er own will! That Captain fella' was just foolin' her!" she said, anger and frustration audible in her voice.

“Do you really think the Captain will keep his word and spare our lives?” inquired the timid Fluttershy.

“Ah’m sure he will. Ah have heard some stories ‘bout him around the market place when sellin’ apples. Ah’ve heard he is a stallion of his word,”  answered Applejack.

“Then, it’s probably at least safe to return to Ponyville,” concluded Rarity.

“I sure hope so,” commented Spike.

“Well, Ah think we outta head on back ta’ Ponyville. Then we can plan our next move,” the orange mare began, giving a serious sweeping glance at her friends. She began gesturing with a hoof. “Ah can tell ya’ll wanna go save Twilight as much as Ah do, even though she said she's willin’ ta’ do this.”

There was a beat of silence before each pony, and Spike, all nodded in acknowledgement. Applejack responded with a grin and a nod of her own.

With that, the group decided to hurry back to Ponyville, the lot of them dashing out the main entrance of ruined castle and quickly across the old bridge. To keep up, Spike rode on Applejack’s back.

Spike narrowed his eyes in thought. Twilight Sparkle was his only family. The lavender mare was like a mother to him.

Memories of his closest friend flash in his head as he closed his eyes. They were warm memories; pleasant memories. Fond memories. One memory in particular surfaced.

-Twilight Sparkle darted out of the Everfree Forest, trailing her new pet Owl, Owloysius. Relief overcame Spike as they had outran the pursuing Dragon that attempted to kill them.

The unicorn skidded to a stop, with Spike dismounting from her back. Twilight was panting from exhaustion before she spoke up. "Spike! We were so worried about you! *I* was so worried about you! Why did you run away?" she said, raising her voice.

"I thought you didn't need me anymore... And that you didn't love me anymore..." he replied, solemnly.

Twilight appeared rather saddened momentarily. "Spike... Sure I was disappointed, but you are my number one assistant and friend!" she told the baby dragon, now giving a warm smile "And you always will be." -

A tear ran down the baby dragon's cheek. It was one of his most heart warming memories of him and Twilight Sparkle. Even after he had acted, and ran away, Twilight came to him in his time of need. When it was his life that was on the line.  The baby dragon knew Twilight didn't want to have to die. No matter what, he was going to protect his closest friend.

‘Things will turn out okay, right? I know we can make them turn okay!’ thought the baby dragon. He was already thinking about how the whole dilemma could be resolved without Twilight having to perish. He was more determined than ever now, as was the Mane 5. After all, the mare that had brought them all together was on her way to her death.

‘Hang on, Twilight! We’re coming!’