Celestia's Finest: House of the Setting Sun

[Miltonian]

Sniper comes to and finds himself dressed in a tux and standing at the front door to an old-world hotel of the finest caliber. The carpet is plush and red, the tile is marble, the desk real wood, and the luggage carts made from actual brass. Yet despite the plush decor that even Rarity would approve of, everything seems off. The lights are a shade too dim. Not a soul is in sight. A grandfather clock ticks away in the corner, the only sound in the oppressive silence. The windows, including those behind him, show nothing but inky black.

The bell rings, a pure and high note. Rem now stands behind the receptionist desk, dressed to the nines in an employee's outfit. "You must be the new reservation," she says with a playful tone, "Lt. Longshot now, is it?" She gestures to the empty lobby. "I was going to fill the place with every version of you inside your head, but it seems there's just one now. Congratulations on that."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot props a foreleg on the counter and quietly wills his bum wing back into its pristine state.

"Thank you. Although most of the credit goes to my counselor. Maybe you've heard of her? She's about yea high." He raises a hoof to Rem's present height. "has a good smile and a great heart. And a wicked sense of humor."

He draws the moment out before breaking away to look at his surroundings. Realization manifests as a frown.

"It was that bad." Statement, not question.

[Miltonian]

Rem giggles. "Well, I'll have to meet her someday. She sounds like a delight." Her eyes sparkle and a warm smile appears on her face, a nice one this time. With her mane pulled back and styled into some semblance of order and a mouth full of normal teeth, she looks quite pretty. The uniform suits her well too, accentuating without flaunting her chosen form.

"It was pretty bad," she admits with a frown, "But things are looking up now. I do still have plenty of material to work through. With that said..." She steps from behind the counter. "Would you care to follow me to your room for this evening?"

[D.KnightSpider]

The question was innocuously ominous enough to spark dread in the back of his mind. But there was nowhere to go but forward. Somewhat related to which was the question of whether the others knew how bad his mind was and kept him around anyway or were altogether unaware. Well, either way, had they not done so then he probably wouldn't have started a recovery so it was ending well. It wasn't worth further consideration.

There were also a whole new host of fears for Rem's enjoyment, one of the chief ones being his recent streak of failure. There was a growing worry that he'd have to revert back to his old ways to maintain his effectiveness on mission. But that was a discussion for another time and place.

"Of course." Longshot smiles. "Lead on."

He moves to follow Rem and asks: "Do you mind if I ask a question, Rem? What is it that you want out of life? Outside of the obvious like getting free of the pedestal, I mean. What are you after long term?"

[Miltonian]

“As you command,” Rem says with a small smile. She takes the lead, moving with long, graceful strides, almost supernaturally slow. Her hooves make no sound on the carpet, not even a swish.

She tilts her head to the side a bit. “I don’t know,” she says, “I suppose...acceptance? I never really thought about it in terms of goals. I have a few choice words for my mother if I ever see her again, if that counts.”

The walk to Longshot’s ‘room’ for the evening is not a long one. An old, ornate door, made of wood and beautifully lacquered, breaks up the patterned wallpaper, the number ‘13’ written in brass numbers at eye level. A brass handle in the shape of a roaring lion waits for the touch of his hoof. But despite the beauty, the light doesn't fall quite right on it. The shadows bend around each other and criss-cross at odd angles. A faint whisper fills Longshot's ears as he stares at it, voices beckoning him to enter. To 'come home'.

[D.KnightSpider]

The setting reminds him of something... A Hearth's Warming Carol? The only difference: this is much, much more unsettling.

"I think I can understand both desires." Longshot comments, but adds nothing else.

He surveys the door, working up the nerve to make a move. Then, he reaches out to open the door.

[Miltonian]

Longshot’s hoof alights on the door handle and darkness swallows him. The nightmare begins.

He stands in front of a raging crowd of ponies. They scream insults and abuse at the top of their lungs and wave signs written in fresh blood or red paint, Sniper’s eyes can’t decide. Every single one holds the same message, “Down with the Tyrant!” There anger is not directed at Longshot, but the pony behind him. Princess Celestia stands behind a podium, trying in vain to speak and being shouted down at every turn.

She looks far worse than Longshot has ever seen her. Her feathers are out of place, her mane has lost its shimmering colors, and her regal accoutrements are dented in places. Her wings are bunched up around the shoulders defensively and her eyes race across the crowd, looking for a friendly face. There are none.

Longshot’s mission is to protect her, if he can.

[D.KnightSpider]

This is... What? Longshot snaps into the moment, foregoing all preponderance of how they arrived at such a point. His eyes narrow as he takes in the immediate situation.

First: Assess. Build some situational awareness. His eyes dart over the area, taking in the size and equipment of the crowd. Ringleaders. Maybe they're not designated, but every mob has a few rabble-rousers at its core whipping up the frenzy. Where are they?

Second: Resources. What did they have on hoof to deal with this? Longshot checks his armanents as he orients himself and acclimates to the change of scenario.

Third: Immediate objectives. Protect the Princess. One Pegasus does not make a defensive line. He feels for his comm. "Lt. Longshot to EDF. Please respond."

[Miltonian]

The crowd is armed only with their signs and furious anger. Their faces are contorted into snarls. A few of them seem to be bleeding from the eyes, but they don't notice. Too engrossed are they in their own hate. They have no leaders. They are a mob in the purest sense, all brought together by a singular purpose.

Longshot's rifle is already in his hooves, though his armor is missing and he only has an ammo belt full of empty cartridges, his old trademark. There is no sign of his other gear.

Somepony tries to respond, but static garbles whatever she says. It sounds like Star. "Longshot...others...run...they got...and Rose...Hurry!" Behind him stands a firm, unbroken line of Royal Guards, rifles at the ready and pointed at the crowd. Celestia tries to say something, but her voice is lost in the screams of the crowd.

[D.KnightSpider]

Alright... The immediate concern was to prevent escalation. The crowd could yell and scream as much as they wanted, but if they turned violent it would be another matter.

Contingencies. If things did turn sour they needed an escape route. They'd need to get out of sight. Maybe through an alley or door--

His throat goes dry. His mind stops.

Doors.

He'd entered this dream through a door.

That was how...

But, surely, Rem wouldn't...

...

The blood drains from his face. Oooooh no.

[Miltonian]

As the crowd rages and screams in front of him while the faceless members of the Royal Guard brandish their weapons behind him, Sniper realizes one, key detail that he missed. Neither the sun nor the moon were in the sky. The world is trapped in a twilight-state, neither dark nor light. Teetering on the edge.

Off to the right, standing in the middle of the stage without a wall or anything else to accompany it, is a single door with the word 'ESCAPE' written above it.

The crowd begins to move forward, slowly, step by step, but forward all the same.

[D.KnightSpider]

This was getting a bit beyond disconcerting. No sun? No moon? No time to ponder this new development, because the crowd had just changed the status quo. Longshot ran through his options. Shooting into the crowd would escalate the situation and might turn them violent faster. From the look of things, that powder keg was nearing the end of its fuse anyway.

He retreats past the line of guards to approach the Princess.

"Your Highness," Longshot says alongside a respectful bow of his head. "may I recommend that we find a safer venue?"

A fearful buzz in the back of his neck is ignored.

[Miltonian]

The line of guards advances, looming and imposing, to block the onrush of protesters. Their weapons bristle and gleam with a hellish light, hungering for the moment they’ll be used. The mob’s eyes reflect that light back tenfold.

Celestia steps away from her lectern. “They won’t listen,” she says, “They’ve stopped listening to me. What did I...what did I do to make my little ponies desert me?” Her eyes are unfocused, distant. “Is there anyplace safe anymore?” she asks. But even so, she does not resist Longshot leading her away.

They gallop back through the gates of Canterlot’s palace, now overgrown and choked with plants run wild. The gates creak on their hinges, cobwebs hang like curtains, and even the gold is rusting away. Longshot takes the lead and sound fades away save for the clip-clop of Longshot and Celestia’s hooves on the stone below.

His heart-rate suddenly skyrockets. Above them, in a high window, he spots the gleam of a rifle scope looking down on them.

[D.KnightSpider]

Did he just hear snarky italics? Nah. Must have been his imagination.

"I don't know what happened, your highness. I don't understand any of this." Longshot says as he tries to guide her away from the impending bloodbath. How wrong he'd been to once interpret 'little ponies' in a diminutive light.

The castle was... He visually swept the area and felt his uneasiness increase. No sun, no moon, and a deserted castle? What had happened to cause all this? There was no time for questions. A burst of speed interposes himself between the rifle and its presumed target. He brings his own weapon into proper alignment to shoot, but momentarily holds his fire.

"Fall back! Potential hostile!"

[Miltonian]

"I don't...understand," Celestia mutters. She doesn't move, but the bullet, no, laser does. It passes right by Sniper's head. The world falls silent and, for a long, horrible moment, nothing happens. Then, he hears the sound of bubbling, boiling flesh and a single, pained gasp. When he glances behind him, Celestia stands there, a look of shock on her face, for ten, long seconds before she falls to the ground.

A dark shape takes to the air and flies away as fast as it can.

[D.KnightSpider]

His mind tries to comprehend the incomprehensible. No, it... No...

Not like this. It couldn't end from a random markspony's bullet. Being tricked or outsmarted by Polaris he can grasp, but failing in his core mission-- to have lost the Princess in such an anti-climactic fashion? His mind rebels at the notion.

The Princess. Dead. No, she couldn't be dead. Not that simply. Not that subtly. Celestia couldn't be dead. Not the one to have put so much trust in him. No.

There had to be something he could do. The assassin is forgotten. Longshot rocketed to her side and knelt over her fallen form. A chance. There has to be a chance. Come on...

Please don't be dead.

[Miltonian]

Celestia is not dead. Her eyes are wild, roving, scared. She gasps for breath, fighting for air. Her gaze falls on Sniper. She swallows. "I thought..." she says, "I thought I could...protect you...my little ponies." A shudder passes through her. "But I...I was wrong. You're no better than I am...than he is. You've grown...grown horrible and strong, so strong."

Her hoof reaches for Longshot's face. "Long...shot? Tell them...tell them that I...I still...love...them..." Her hoof falls down.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot checks the wound, attempting to assess the damage. His mind runs wild. No medical resources. No supplies. Think There had to be some way.

His hoof crashes against his comm.: "Celestia is down! I repeat, Celestia is down! Please respond!"

The comm. toggle falls away as he clutches at his Princess' hoof.

"Don't give up, your highness. We can beat this. Ponies still need you." He admits the truth. "I still need you."

Panic struggles to escape his grasp.

[Miltonian]

The comm crackles with static and dies. Longshot takes one look at the wound and knows that it is beyond his ability to treat, even with medicine. Precisely placed, just the way he would have done it.

Celestia lets out a rasping cough mixed with a laugh. "You all were always so...determined. You...you never wanted to listen to me. It...will carry you far...but you won't like...where you end up." Then, with a soft, weak voice, she sings one last song (https://youtu.be/ZtGhsNpk63Q?t=18).

"I thought that I could protect you.
But it seems I was wrong.
Building your determination,
You've grown horrid and strong.
Took advantage of my kindness
And conce-ealed the truth.
Curse this foolish mother's blindness,
And curse your bloodied hooves.

"I thought that you wouldn't fit in,
I thought that you'd be condemned!
But it seems the truth is written...
You're no better than them!"

"To think that I once believed,
That you'd ever be good.
But in my last breaths I will grieve,
For I now doubt you could..."
So goodbye child I loved.
There is blood on your hooves.
You are no better than him."

"So leave this place and leave it ruined.
Stay determined, my friends.
But don't forget the lives you've ruined.
Don't forget how this ends!
Leave me here behind in darkness,
As onward you go.
With your bold determination.
You won't be stopped, I know..."

"Follow blind determination...
Since you can't resist it's call.
Follow blind determination,
As downward we fall..."

"Follow blind determination,
Since you can't resist it's call.
I damn your determination,
As downward I fall..."

And then, her body goes limp. Celestia, queen of the heavens and princess of the sun, lies dead.

[D.KnightSpider]

There is no defense or justification against her accusation. There is only mounting panic as the inevitable plays out before him.

Celestia's passing removes the last remnants of goodness from this world. The panic gives way to grief. There is no rebelling against the reality of the situation. Longshot sits silent as he grieves. To have been so foolish for so long is to his shame. As is the failure.

And this was his failure. There was no correcting it. This was a situation he could not fix. There were but three tasks left to him now.

He strips off his comm. and hurls it to the distance. Then, as reverently as possible given the difficulty of the task, Longshot picks up his Princess' lifeless body and carries it into the castle.

[Miltonian]

Windows shattered, walls cracked, ceiling collapsed, the castle is in rough shape. Nonetheless, Sniper picks his way through the ruin and to the Court of the Sun and Moon, where Celestia and Luna have ruled since time immemorial. Their throne lies broken, the back sheered off, but the seat is still in place. The ragged remains of a red carpet lead up to it, showing Longshot the way.

A shadow snakes out from behind the throne, pony-shaped but adorned with wicked, devil wings and a mouth obscenely full or razor sharp teeth. With movements so slow they are almost contemptuous, it draws out a long-barreled laser rifle and begins to swing it towards Longshot's face.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot gently deposits his precious cargo upon the ground. Then, he turns to face this assassin-- his gaze hard and his heart stone.

Visually, he tracks the creature's subtle movements. Mentally, he counts the seconds until that creature fires thereby knowing when to sidestep/dodge. Physically, steady and measured steps carry him toward the throne.

[Miltonian]

The rifle comes up but never fires. The shadow’s eyes meet his and its smile fades. As Longshot walks towards it, he sees it turn away from him. The rifle clatters to the ground. Eyes on the remains of one of the stained glass windows, it speaks.

“Who am I, Longshot?”

[D.KnightSpider]

"You're the part of me that wanted to chase after the assassin and leave Princess Celestia to die alone. You're the part of me that wanted to go back to the city and start shooting up ponies after she died. You're the part of me that hates this world for cursing me with a knack for killing and despises the fact that I'm living on borrowed time. You're the part of me that wants to lash out this world.

"I'm you. You're me. Sniper Scope."

His words are resolved and straightforward, just as his approach to the throne.

[Miltonian]

"Close enough." The shadow's eyes turn back to him and regard his approach with cool disdain. When it speaks again, there are two voices there. One, Longshot knows all too well. It is his own voice. The second is a mare's, haughty and proud. "If you do this," it says, "You go on alone. My power will not be there to protect you, my chosen disciple. Will you really cast me off? Will you destroy me utterly? I, who gave you everything you are?"

[D.KnightSpider]

"Explain." Longshot commands, not asks.

[Miltonian]

“Right to the point then? Fine. From here on out, you’ve got nothing and no one left you can blame,” the shadow continues in that odd double-voice, “No more ‘if only my cutie-mark were different’. No more ‘it’s my personality’. No more ‘if only my mother had hugged me more’. And no more ‘everyone expects me to, so why not?’”

The shadow billows and moves out from behind the throne, wings dark as a starless night and growing taller with each step. “Now you know you can be good. You can be better. And there’s the sticking point, isn’t it? You can be, but you won’t. You’ll fail. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but you will. Someone will die because of you, someone you love. Didn’t I warn you that was a dangerous thing?”

The shadow comes to a stop, tall and proud. “The curtain’s been pulled back. I was your self-deception, Longshot. I deflected, gave you a convenient scapegoat. I allowed you not to feel. Once I am gone, you will be naked before the horrors you have wrought and will continue to wreak. Can you live in like that? You’ll have to, because you’re about to drive me away forever.”

[D.KnightSpider]

The foundations of his resolved crack beneath the weight of those words. He falls back as the shadow grows and looms over him. Fear begins to take hold the enormity of pending change is revealed.

He flounders, searching for something to save him. Duty? Expectation? Friendship? His mind clicks through contingencies, desperately trying to find some answer, some defense, to save him. Nothing does. Each has been tried in the past and each has failed... because he didn't allow them to succeed.

He resolutely plants, not strikes or slams, his hooves in the ground and rises-- rises to nevermore bow before this creature of shadows.

He stands there resolute.

"Out."

[Miltonian]

The shadow nods and spreads its wings. Longshot's voice disappears entirely, leaving only the shadow behind. Tall as an alicorn now, it turns towards a shattered window. "Then I'll leave you here with your failure." She glances over her shoulder and smiles. "Now, the real nightmare begins."

Silently, she glides off into the darkness and leaves only a slimmer of pale, sickly moonlight behind.

[D.KnightSpider]

Deep breath.

Rubicon: crossed.

Resolve in place.

That checklist complete, Longshot turns to retrieve the body. Hopefully, it hasn't disappeared in the interim. He needs to find some form of wrappings, do what little he can to make it presentable and bury it away from any ponies that would do it harm.

The entire situation had him on edge. Until he knew what was transpiring and what he'd done, he couldn't take any chances.

[Miltonian]

Celestia's body is still there. The shimmering mane and tail lie flat now, a pale pink quite unlike their normal coloration. She seems smaller, easier to carry, for which he is grateful. Was she always this fragile? This vulnerable? Did Equestria's future really depend on such a tenuous life all this time?

A fallen curtain in the corner will do for wrapping, but in order to bury her, Longshot needs to get out of Canterlot.

[D.KnightSpider]

Apparently, their entire existence was so tenuous. Longshot rips the curtain in two. The larger piece he uses as a makeshift burial shroud. The smaller as a makeshift saddle-bag. Removing Celestia's royal ornaments feels like blasphemy, but it's a necessary evil. Much like his whole life if you're feeling particularly snarky.

Celestia is so far removed from the warrior he'd glimpsed at the Castle of Friendship. To think that their entire world was so eminently fragile was dispiriting.

Upon rendering her as decent as possible, Longshot paces back and forth trying to make some sense of his options.

No resources or allies. Getting out of Canterlot requires transportation and supplies. The odds of getting in and out of Canterlot undetected were virtually nil so long as he carried Celestia with him. But leaving her behind was hardly an option.

Rock, meet hard place.

He looked at his shrouded lord and lady. She had given him one last task to carry out and he would. But... not yet. Not until he knew she was resting at peace.

He tried to remember anything about the surrounding area. This world was so different from the one he remembered, but it was a starting place. What was nearby? There had to be something he could use.

[Miltonian]

If Sniper were a unicorn or earth pony, things would be difficult indeed. The walls around the inner city alone would prove difficult to scale. Since he has wings, however, there is another option. The Royal Carriage, a vehicle meant to be pulled by pegasi and capable of carrying heavy loads with little trouble. If he could get to where it was stored, he could transport Celestia outside the city with relative ease.

[D.KnightSpider]

A plan begins to come together within his mind. It's dependent upon many factors outside his control, but, then, there wasn't anything new about that.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry that I have to disturb you again."

Longshot picks up her body and sets off in search of the carriage. He makes a check of the weather while he does so, hoping that the Pegasi had slacked enough for cloud cover to build.

Concern sets in as he traverses the ruined castle. What of the other Royals? The Elements? Why were they absent?

[Miltonian]

The questions running through Longshot's head are still unanswered and Celestia gives no reply from within her shroud. Longshot carries her, the heaviest thing he's ever carried, out of the throne room and towards, for lack of a better word, the royal garage. A few small creatures skitter in the darkness, but otherwise nothing leaps out and nothing attacks him.

Through a hole in the roof, he sees the sky, still black and oppressive as always. A rumble of thunder shakes the palace, dislodging bits of dust from the ceiling. It will rain soon. With that cheerful thought, he steps into the garage and finds it in ruins, the wrecks of carriages and cars scatted about. But he spies one in the corner that just might be operational, a cargo sled. Hardly a fitting hearse for a royal, but it will have to do.

[D.KnightSpider]

Any response from Celestia would have been cause for a grand scale panic attack. Which, to be honest, was a sight Brazen would have enjoyed. Wherever the lug was, anyway.

He gently deposits the body on the ground and checks over the cargo sled. Whether this thing can gain altitude or not is going to determine a lot of what transpires next. Does this thing even run?

Longshot spares a measure of concentration on regulating his breathing. The reality of their ruined situation is beginning to permeate his consciousness. No time to focus on it. He needs to stay on point and on task.

[Miltonian]

A bitter black wind howls, but no sign of Brazen or his laughter.

The sled will run. It will not run terribly well and will probably be bumpy, but it will run. Longshot thinks it would be a good idea to secure her to it carefully. The enclosed interior would ensure she doesn't fall off, but he wouldn't want her to be bumping around either. Rope and spare wires lie all around, so he is not short of materials. After that, the only thing left to do will be to hitch himself to the front and take off.

[D.KnightSpider]

And so he does. The task of securing Celestia's body to the sled sours his stomach. Such a great monarch should never be treated so crudely. But what choice did he have? Leave her at the castle for the wildlife? Return her to the city proper so that the masses could abuse her? His actions were fundamentally wrong on every level, yet it was the least wrong option available to him.

Everything is double-checked and nothing left to chance. Then he secures himself to the harness and takes off for the skies. The first order of business is to gather enough cloud for camouflage. Longshot forms a protective screen between himself, the sled and the lower world. That done, and for lack of a better option, he takes off for Ponyville. Without any idea of Princess Luna's whereabouts, Princess Twilight would most likely be the closest thing to a next of kin.

Not that he had high expectations for his arrival.

[Miltonian]

Clouds zip by and are easy to gather. Soon, Longshot looks like nothing more than a passing bank of cloud.

The city passes below him quickly, though it lies in ruins. Towers lie half-collapsed, houses burn, windows are boarded up, and doors are busted in. A few scavengers move down below, but the thriving population of Canterlot seems to be...missing.

He soars through the last skyscraper and reaches the outskirts.

[D.KnightSpider]

The more he saw, the less sense things made. What had happened to the crowds from earlier? Why was Canterlot borderline desolate? Had they lost the war-- was that it?

Too many questions and not enough answers. He didn't even know where to go, to be honest. So for lack of better option, Longshot continues his original course.

This was alien. Unnerving.

[Miltonian]

Alien and unnerving as it is, he must press on.

He exits the city and part of his questions are answered. On a high hill outside of Canterlot, a newly-built gallows looms over the countryside. From it, five forms of various colors hang. No sign of Twilight, but he found the other Elements of Harmony...

Whatever happened to the Tree?

[D.KnightSpider]

No. Stars above, no. Things were tense with the Elements but the situation couldn't have deteriorated to this point. For ponies to actually-- what chain of events could possibly result in this outcome?

It was hard to say. But judging from Self-Deception's words, he was most likely at the center of the chain. The thought conjures a fresh round of dread.

Longshot's hesitation guides him into a loose circling of the area. The Tree of Harmony would have to wait. He needs to see if there were any ponies lurking around the gallows.

[Miltonian]

As Longshot draws closer, details he missed at a distance become clearer. The forms hanging from the gallows aren't quite the Elements of Harmony. They look like them, but they are more like torn rags. No bones, no flesh is inside them and their hides, the only thing left, is torn, almost like seams. They look more like costumes that someone violently escaped from.

But around them, stacked in piles, lie corpses of real ponies. Some are crushed into massive craters, others turned to stone, some are just cut apart, some have been turned into a fine paste, and a few are encased in crystal, like bugs trapped in amber. Most of them look like the same sort of ponies that were in the rabid horde outside of Canterlot's palace, but a few have the bright coats of regular ponies. All, however, are very dead.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot's eyes widen. Seriously, what the buck?

Did they try to lynch the Elements and something go horrifically wrong? Or was this something else? It looked like the Elements were involved in this tussle, but he couldn't be sure. Either way, instinct was screaming to get away and get out while the getting is good. He didn't like this at all. Running would produce no answers.

If the area is deserted, Longshot will go in for a landing near the gallows. Maybe taking the... rag-doll... things... down and examining them will provide some more clues to the situation.

[Miltonian]

The area seems deserted as he comes in for a landing. Everything is still save for a few ravens fluttering overhead, trying to decide if the carrion would be a good meal or not. None of them approach the gallows. The morbid ‘ragdolls’ hang alone and unmolested.

Nothing stops him from taking them down, though he may not want to. Upon closer examination, they appear to be made of pelts. As he looks at them, he recalls a time back in school where a rumor went around that one of the changelings in the class below him shed his skin like certain species of bugs do when they outgrow it.

If he has the stomach for it, he can examine them closer.

Each front-facing part of Rainbow Dash’s is shredded. The wings, however, have two very neat and precise slices down the front edge of the wings.

Applejack’s is split all over the place, but especially around the joints.

Fluttershy’s has a crumbly edge wherever it splits, like old vellum.

Pinkie Pie’s looks half-melted in places.

Rarity’s is sliced apart and punctured with fine holes.

He finishes his examination and steps away.

The southern sky suddenly lights up in a rainbow of color, a beam of multi-colored light headed straight upwards. It builds and burns brighter and brighter until, with a scream of pain and grief, five of them burst away and leave only the purple one behind. The five lights shoot off into the distance, headed in random directions, while the purple one lingers. In another moment or so, they all fade away.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot darts back to the sled, checks it over and hitches himself to it. Chasing after that light might be a fool's errand, but it will get him far, far away from this morbid scene.

There's too many variables and not enough concrete data. His imagination runs wild creating scenarios to fit the evidence and each one is worse than the last.

He flies south and finds himself far past unnerved at this juncture.

[Miltonian]

Longshot’s rises into the air and scans for any signs of the light. The last, fading glow of it guides him towards the south, a little to the left of Ponyville and inside the Everfree Forest. If he means to go there, his destination is far away.

Yet that is what he wants, is it not? To get far away from here?

And so he sets out, flying at a steady, tireless pace. The miles pass beneath him, bleak and empty. No one is on the roads, no one dares use the roads today (if it can be called a day). The dangers of the Everfree do not seem to want to bother a passing cloud either. He flies and flies and flies until he comes to the ruins of a fort.

At one point, the Tree of Harmony had lain unprotected inside a cave. However, after one too many enemies discovered its location, the princesses had a fort built around it in and guards stationed there to keep it protected from anyone who’d seek to destroy it. None of them are present now. The towers are empty and landing pad unguarded.

Through the cracks in the side and broken-out windows, Sniper sees a faint purple glow creeping out into the wider darkness.

[D.KnightSpider]

Knowing that a fear was irrational did little to impede its existence. The notion that he could arrive just in time to witness Princess Twilight's death overwhelms him.

Abandoning all pretext of stealth or camouflage, Longshot banks into a fast dive and hurriedly lands at the designated place. He scans the area as he struggles to undo the harness.

"Hello!" Longshot calls out. "Can you hear me?"

Answers. He needs answers...

[Miltonian]

The harness slips off, freeing Longshot from its grasp. The purple light remains steady, filling the space inside the fort’s main structure. Nothing leaps out to attack. On the contrary, a sense of not-quite-calm washes over him. In this place, violence is akin to sacrilege.

The tremulous voice of Twilight answers him after a moment. “Y-yes! I hear you. I’m...I’m inside!”

[D.KnightSpider]

Far from providing reassurance, the answer sets him more on edge. At least he doesn't have to worry too much about ambush if the feeling in the air is any indication.

A moment slips away as Longshot debates his next move. The idea of walking up to Princess Twilight while carrying Celestia's body is unappealing, but the prospect of potentially losing it is even less so.

"Hold on, I'm on my way!" He calls back..

The time for hesitation ends. He goes to retrieve the body and then find Princess Twilight. And then... he'll deal with whatever comes next.

[Miltonian]

Longshot walks into the ruined fort with his heavy burden on his back. There, in the atrium, lies the Tree of Harmony itself, or rather, its trunk. The five branches, each for the Elements of Harmony other than Magic, lie shattered on the floor, their gleaming gemstones dull and lifeless in the middle. Only the center, where the Element of Magic lies, is intact. There, at its base, sits Twilight Sparkle, facing the tree. She looks ragged and worn, but her wounds are superficial. Those that Longshot can see, at least.

"Who is it?" she asks and turns her head. A bandage that just a hint of blood has managed to penetrate covers both her eyes. She won't be seeing much of anything.

[D.KnightSpider]

"Stars above." The expletive escapes him, although he's of no mind to stop it. "Princess Sparkle, what happened?"

Realization of her perspective occurs. A coughs buys him a moment to reset the conversation. He deposits the body on the ground, gently, of course.

"It's Longshot. Or maybe you still know me as Sniper Scope. I'm not sure what's going on around here. One moment we're getting ready to storm Ashtown and the next I'm standing in a world that's completely bucked."

[Miltonian]

Twilight tilts her head in his...general direction. "Lt. Longshot?" she repeats, "You don't remember what happened?" Her voice drops into a quieter tone and she begins muttering. "Could be a case of amnesia. Or he could be crazy. Well if he were here to kill us, he would have done it already, Spike. Not like I could see him coming. You might, but you know the rules about telling me things."

She turns around and reseats herself facing the door. "I think I can sum up our situation succinctly. We're bucked! It turns out the Elements don't like it when their Bearers are killed! The last thing I saw was them...them..." She chokes. "Well, hanging. Before they put out my eyes. Then there was a horrible sound and everypony started screaming, so I teleported right back here and tried to reach into the Tree. I...saw what they've become. And I will say one thing, they didn't stay dead."

[D.KnightSpider]

The floor drops out from under him.

"Those pelts-- they were actually--? Oh, sweet Celestia..."

The Elements are dead. Rainbow Dash, Applejack and the others were all gone. And he'd left them behind for the ravens. The world spins and his mind latches on to the first thing that it can find to stabilize itself: the need for a plan of action.

"I've got to go back for them and then get you to safety..." A look at Twilight brings Longshot back to a semblance of reality. "I'm sorry, I-- this is a lot to absorb at once."

[Miltonian]

"Pelts?" Twilight repeats, "Is that...oh. That would explain..."

"Wait!" Her hoof shoots forward, reaching blindly for him. "You can't go. Not...not unprepared. We need Celestia. Go to the Palace. She should still be there. The Horde can't have breached the walls that quickly. If she could just raise the sun one more time, we could...I could draw in some magic from the land and start...fixing things. We can restore the Tree of Harmony. We can still save them!"

[D.KnightSpider]

His throat closes. Longshot allows a moment of silence as he recovers the ability to speak.

Then he steps forward and catches her hoof in his own.

"I'm sorry, your highness. And I'm sorry that I have to tell you in this fashion.

"When I 'woke up' in this world I was standing on a podium in front of, what I assume you're referring to as, the horde. Princess Celestia was also there trying to reach them with words but they weren't having it. Comm.s were down and I couldn't get context. I didn't-- still-- don't know what happened to get us here. Moments before the situation turned into a bloodbath, I advised that we retreat for her own safety.

"We went back to the castle, but they were prepared for that. There was an enemy sniper hidden in a tower... and..." Actually saying it felt so final, like the situation truly was irrecoverable. "She took a hit. Your highness, I-- Princess Celestia is dead."

The situation was so perfectly bucked up, it required active effort not to bitterly laugh at the set-up.

[Miltonian]

When Longshot takes her hoof, she latches onto it with desperate energy, taking it with both of hers. She listens to his story with growing dread and gasps in horror when he delivers the bad news. "I...I see." She sniffs. "I...I can't cry right now. It stings."

Her hooves fall to the ground and she soon follows. She begins muttering to herself. "Is there any other way? Another way? Hmm, what way?" over and over until her head shoots up. "Bring the Elements," she says, "Bring the Elements to the tree! We need them here. Well, their spirits anyway. We need to get them here."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot moves to sit next to her.

He rubs at his forehead. He'd been running into ghosts left and right in the past year. What was another six to the total? Ghosts could be handled. That was the hope, anyway.


"The Elements turned into, what, ghosts? Is that what happened? I guess it would explain the rainbow light show earlier. We'll have to hurry. In three weeks my cybernetics are going to start breaking down and it'll impair my ability to function. You can explain what exactly happened on the way..." He falls silent as his gaze returns to the corpse in the corner. "... or while I bury Princess Celestia's body. That should-- that should be our first order of business."

[Miltonian]

"No. No, no, no. Not ghosts," Twilight mutters, "Something, though. Something's wrong with them. Their bodies revolted against their spirits. The Elements didn't want to die. Without study, I cannot say for certain what happened. I only have what the Tree showed me. They burst free of...well, themselves, and now they roam free. I think they want to destroy...or rule this new world. A world without light."

[D.KnightSpider]

"Un développement des plus merveilleux." Longshot mutters and gives into his gestural tic of rubbing his mane.

"Alright. Corrupted Elements. We can deal with that. It's not like we weren't before now." He rises. "Please rest, Princess. Once the grave is dug, we can move out in search of the Elements. I have a transport sled with me so I can handle navigation. We'll fix this. We have no choice."

Just to be sure, Longshot takes a hard look at Twilight, searching for any sign of Changelingness or deception. Then he'll begin his unfortunate tasks.

[Miltonian]

Twilight's ears flick and move at the slightest sound. She's unsteady on her hooves and shivers every so often. The closest thing Longshot can compare it to is a cat who's barely escaped drowning. She's showing signs of stress and probably a few mental fractures, but nothing that would indicate it's not her. She could be cracking under the pressure, but that's a different point.

"Right. Rest, yes, we should rest," she nods, "Spike and I will stay here. You...do what you need to." She shivers and her voice changes, becoming more desperate. "But please don't leave me alone again."

[D.KnightSpider]

Her reactions were justifiable all things considered. The only thing keeping Longshot going were the immediate and long term objectives. Without those, he'd probably be a thousand little pieces right now.

"In order to take care of the immediate task, I have to find a digging impliment. Now, your highness, please don't panic. I'm going to touch your hoof and guide you so that you can come with me. When we return, you can rest."

He gently does so and then guides her foreleg across his shoulders. It was a far cry from six months ago when the slightest contact would shut down his mental process. Necessity could do funny things to a pony.

"Now, I give you my word that as long as I'm physically able, I won't leave you alone. I'll be here to help you any way I can."

[Miltonian]

Twilight leans heavily on him, shivering and shaking uncontrollably. "Sorry," she says, "It's just I...I thought everyone else was dead and...seeing you, touching you, it's a bigger relief than you know."

"There should be a shovel in one of the outbuildings. Look for something that looks like a toolshed."

[D.KnightSpider]

"Alright. I'll see what we can find." He says in reference to a toolshed.

Longshot guides them outside and begins a search. It's going to be slow going, he understands that, but he can still hope to find something quickly.

"You don't have to apologize." He shakes his head, not that Twilight could see it. "You've been through a lot-- more than any pony should, so if you need to let the emotion out, I understand. Honestly, I feel like I'm two steps shy of panicking, myself. I keep wondering what happened to my parents or hoping that I've been pulled into one of those alternate dimensions Love mentioned and that things are better back home." He catches himself. "Sorry. I ramble when I'm-- I stop focusing on the mission. It's a bad habit."

[Miltonian]

Longshot's search is soon rewarded. One of the small buildings along the exterior wall looks very much like a toolshed. Smells like one too, when he draws near. Only the padlock prevents him from seeing inside and verifying his theory.

Twilight's trembling increases. "I don't mind the rambling. I...I should warn you. I might...I might start crying soon," she says, "I don't want to. The saline nature of tears will not do well with my injuries. Clinically, it's a horrible idea. I don't think..." She sniffs. "I don't think I'm going to have much say in the matter."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot pauses in his examination of the door (his lockpicks would be helpful right about now). He refocuses on Twilight as she has the greater need of his attention.

Weighing options doesn't provide any beneficial alternatives to her dilemma. So he shifts around to pull her into a hug. Ponies seemed to appreciate the gesture. He had back when he was attached to Rose, anyway.

"Go ahead." He tells her.

[Miltonian]

"No, no I can't! My eyes, Longshot. The...the salt will pool inside and I don't want to find out what happens when...when..." She sniffs. "I...need to...cast a..." Her horn lights up and a flash of magic appears under her bandages. Then, without further ado, she breaks down and begins to sob, clutching desperately to Longshot.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot does what he can for her, which admittedly isn't much but to be there. Sometimes, though, that's enough. He cradles Twilight as best he can and wraps his wings around her.

Twilight can have as long as she needs.

[Miltonian]

Longshot has no way of knowing how much time passed. He threw his comm away and there is no sun or moon to mark the passing minutes. However, Twilight eventually draws away with a sniffle and a nod. "Alright," she says, "I feel...better now. Let's...let's...get this over w-"

She pauses mid-sentence shakes her head. "No. No a thought just occurred to me. The Elements are, well, the greatest source of magic in the world. If we could gather and activate them one last time, it might be possible to...revive her."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot lets Twilight go. He turns his attention back to the task at hoof.

"I will admit that the thought also crossed my mind. Although, I don't know that performing Harmonic Resuscitation would be a wise course of action.

"Remember Octavia and Vinyl? If Princess Celestia has already entered the afterlife then she might not appreciate being brought back. She--" He hesitates. "she wasn't in the best frame of mind when she died. While she told me to inform the other ponies that she still loved them, she died cursing our stubbornness and refusal to listen to her.

"Trying to bring her back into a world that rejected her might not go well."

Longshot put his shoulder against the door and tests its resilience.

He adds: "Then again, failing to try may be what Deception wants."

[Miltonian]

Twilight steps back, ears flat against her head. "She cursed us?" she says, nervous, "What did she say? Are we doomed? Is the world permanently broken now?" She begins to panic. "What are we going to do? The world is going to spin out of--where's Luna?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Normally, Longshot would take a less certain tack. These weren't normal circumstances and so he took a more direct approach to try and stave off any incoming panic.

"It wasn't that sort of curse. Watch your ears." He spun about in place, dropped to his front legs and smashed his back hooves against the shed door. "It was a bitter lament that she couldn't staunch our darker natures and that we were too stubborn to listen to her guidance.

"I don't know where Princess Luna is. Or Harrier Squadron. Or any pony else for that matter. I did a flyover of Canterlot before we left. Both Canterlot and the Castle were all but abandoned except for some shadow-like creature that tried to tempt me to my base nature and hide behind excuses for our situation. I didn't even see the Royal Guard or the horde. Just a few looters."

[Miltonian]

"Watch my--?" Twilight winces and covers her ears after the kick. "Okay. Watch my ears. Got it." A few solid kicks are enough to clear the door out of the way and expose the tools inside. There are all sorts of shovels, any Longshot could desire, there for the taking.

Twilight's forehead wrinkles in confusion. "She might have...I hope at least that she went to the catacombs and took all the uninfected citizens with her. Sun and Moon help us if she...if she contracted the Infection."

"Oh! You asked about the Infection. It's...a disease of the soul, I guess. The mind and body remain intact, but the soul weakens. It becomes corrupted. I never had the chance to study it."

[D.KnightSpider]

Less interested was he in shovels than utility at the moment. If he could find anything that would serve as a makeshift set of lockpicks or items to make the search for resources easier.

Twilight's words do an excellent job of disrupting his search, however.

"A disease of the--" Longshot looks at her in complete astonishment. "Catacombs? What the buck has happened since Ashtown?"

[Miltonian]

"I think...I think you were in a coma for, well, at least a year," Twilight says, "Your attack on Ashtown failed. You won the battle, but it was too late. Hyper Thought activated the Anti-Elements and their power washed over Equestria. It caused...this. Which is why, if we're going to undo it, we're going to need the Elements. All of them."

Twilight gulps. "We sought for a different solution for so long. Too long, in hindsight. We need to gather them all and combine them. The resulting burst of power will purify the land, I hope, but I know it will...destroy their bearers."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot felt rocked to his core. A year since their failure? Since when did they fail? Sure, one of the squad might screw up in an amazing way but the others were always there to course correct.

"Let me make sure I have this right." He was having trouble wrapping his forelegs around the situation. "We were too slow at Ashtown, Hyper Thought activated the Anti-Elements and it caused some sort of soup sickness to spread across the land.

"The only known cure was to use the Elements but doing so would destroy their hosts. Which still trips me up. But the infected horde broke through and killed the Bearers, which corrupted the Elements and turned them into spirits or something.

"In the midst of all this, there's a new shadow creature running around that, I'm ninety percent sure, is responsible for killing Princess Celestia. This sounds completely... I don't know what."

Longshot hesitates. Then he finds himself unable to delay asking the question any longer. With everything that's been revealed, he now needs to know.

"What happened to the Crystal Empire? Did the plague reach that far?"

[Miltonian]

Twilight shifts and clears her throat. "That is about the long and short of it, yes. Except they aren't ghosts. The souls of...my friends are now trapped inside, well, some sort of monsters. Their bodies were taken over by the Elements themselves."

Twilight sighs. "Cadence took the Crystal Empire back into exile," she says, "It's, once again, hidden by the snows and storms that protected it for a thousand years. Everyone there is safe. They'll wake up after all this is over, one way or another."

[D.KnightSpider]

"At least Diamond is safe then." That was a relief for the moment.

Alright. Don't panic. Longshot reminded himself firmly that they could deal with this. 'This' being a cross between a bad zombie movie and a fantasy apocalypse.

"So the Elements left that display near the gallows after they... well, let's not revisit those details." Longshot draws a deep breath. "Let's break this down into a list. Our long-term goal is to bring the Elements back here so that we can revive Princess Celestia and cure the blight.

"In order to do that, we need a means of tracking the Elements and preserving Princess Celestia's body. This means research, resources and / or allies and a secure shelter."

He lets the list hang for a moment before concluding: "It looks like we need to find Princess Luna and the survivors. And we'll need to make contact without panicking them."

[Miltonian]

“That’s correct,” Twilight says, “Stasis. We need...I guess I could put together a crude stasis spell. I would need something to cast it on. Like a…” She hesitates. “A coffin.”

“They’re in the catacombs beneath Canterlot,” Twilight says, “Luna and the survivors, I mean. It’s an old system of caves, natural and pony-made, that the old Canterlot nobility used as their personal graveyard. Thus, it is very well defended and full of traps. If they got through unharmed, they will be quite secure.”

[D.KnightSpider]

"Then we have a direction and a destination." Longshot says.

He quickly inventories the shed for anything immediately useful. Weight is a consideration, as usual, and something he'll have to carefully consider.

"If you'll let me guide you, then we'll make a quick search. This is an outpost so there should be something we can use for the statis spell and there might be some supplies that we can bring back to the survivors. How much do you know about these Catacombs? Assuming that they made it through intact, if the traps have been reset, could you remember where they are?"

[Miltonian]

"Indeed we do," Twilight says gravely.

She extends a wing. "Please do guide me. It will be easiest if I use my legs for walking, though. I...understand if it makes you uncomfortable. Wing 'hugs' are a sign of intimacy among pegasi."

"Even a rough coffin would work, so long as it's sealed tight," she says, "And...been in the Catacombs a lot! But that was when I could see. I don't remember the layout well enough to guide you there without seeing the way."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot shrugs, not that Twilight would be able to see it. He steps over to her and slowly enters the hug-- although for the purposes of not startling Twilight instead of reluctance.

"I'm asexual, so it doesn't matter much." He explains. "As long as you can get us in the front door I'll try to get us the rest of the way. Sometimes, the best you can do is the best you can do."

He'll start guiding Twilight and performing a search of the area.

[Miltonian]

"Oh. This is much less awkward then."

It's a fairly large area to search and, by the end of it, Longshot feels very tired. Can you fall to sleep in a dream? He's about to find out.

The search turns up several bodybags and enough wood to assemble a coffin, either with magic or with tools. If by magic, Twilight will need his guidance pretty much every step of the way.

[D.KnightSpider]

Since Longshot has fully integrated into the dream, and views it as reality, the philosophical underpinnings of whether sleeping ponies can fall asleep is lost to him. He is, however, determined to put off sleep as long as physically possible.

After giving the matter consideration, Longshot decides to physically build a coffin from tools. While it may take more time, it seems safer than risking a miscommunication or a magical backfire. His work won't be fancy, but it should be serviceable since boxes aren't that difficult to build.

[Miltonian]

The box is crude and plain, but it will do. Once guided to it, Twilight places both forehooves on it and familiarizes herself with its dimensions. With a frown, she begins muttering about spells and mana and decaying matrix integrity over time. After what seems like far too long, she begins to work, weaving magic into the wood to preserve Celestia until she can (potentially) be revived.

At long last, she steps away with a sigh and a yawn. "Done," she says, "We should get her inside soon. Before necrosis really sets in."

[D.KnightSpider]

"Right." Longshot agrees. "This is where it gets interesting, as I'm going to have to guide you back to the Tree and carry the, er, coffin at the same time. Unless... we could get the transport and ferry it about that way, perhaps?"

He looks about the area, attempting to determine whether such a plan was feasible. It would be a lot easier were exhaustion not pecking at him.

"Once Princess Celestia is at rest, you had best get some rest."

[Miltonian]

Twilight's horn lights up and she lifts the coffin into the air, trailing behind her. "I can still do magic," she says with a smirk, "You'll just have to warn me if it's going to run into anything." She extends her wing again, offering it to him so he can guide her. "Ready when you are."

[D.KnightSpider]

"Ah. Right. Makes sense."

Longshot rubs at his mane. Right. He needs to start considering magic and it's applications.

"I'll forewarn you if necessary." Longshot slips into the embrace and begins guiding Twilight and the coffin toward the corpse. Along the way, he tries to ignore the building ache of exhaustion.

[Miltonian]

Between the two of them, they take the coffin and set it inside. Twilight places it gently before the Tree of Harmony and bows her head for a moment. It's a quiet, respectful moment. "Alright," she says softly, "We should--"

Her ears perk up. "Do you hear that?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot didn't reply. Ears alert, he strained to catch what Twilight had heard.

His rifle leaped to his hooves. Fear tried to build as his mind races through ever worsening probabilities.

[Miltonian]

It takes him a moment, but he hears it. Several 'it's. There's the pounding that shakes the air slightly, the sound of whistling wind, of crystals tinkling, and stone cracking. And all of them are getting closer and closer to the Tree.

Twilight's ears lay back flat. "I...Oh no...I think they found us. I should have known they would come here."

[D.KnightSpider]

There wasn't a strong enough euphemism in the world to cover the situation. 'Idiot' would have to suffice. Of course, others would have seen that rainbow lightshow.

He ran through options. There weren't any good ones. Escape with Twilight stood the greatest chance of success. Escaping with Twilight and Celestia was a more diminished chance of success-- they'd be slowed considerably. Either option left the Tree vulnerable to the horde. Making a last stand would most likely doom them all.

No matter how you slice it, he was going to fail somewhere. The question was, where?

"Grab the coffin." Longshot said. He strips off his belt, the one holding his shell casings, and presses one end to Twilight's hoof. "And hold on to this. I'll load the Princess and we'll make a break for it."

It wasn't the entirely rational choice, but the best he could do.

[Miltonian]

Twilight stumbles backwards, but takes the casing and nods. Celestia levitates alongside her again and they run for the carriage. Twilight flaps along behind him, not trusting herself to run on three hooves. It does not take but a moment for Sniper to lash the coffin down. He shoves himself back into the harness and prepares to take off when a pink...thing bounces over the walls and shatters the stones where it lands.

The thing looks as if someone took the concept of Pinkie Pie and reduced it to the barest bones before putting new flesh on it. She giggles madly, body and face swollen to massive proportions, overgrown with strange muscles and a pair of eyes that always seem to be looking right at you. Space seems to bend around her, bending to some unknown force that her body radiates. Each bounce shatters stone and shakes the ground.

She stops and turns toward Twilight. Her face splits into a giant grin.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot's eyes widen. Wrong 'they'. Wrong 'they'. Not the Horde, the Corrupted Elements and what the buck is that thing?!

Visions of the gallows fill his mind. The massacre was-- and if Laughter-- They. Plural.

His head snaps around to take in Twilight's situation.

"They're here! Hold on tight!"

He's ready to bolt as soon as Twilight is situated. Laughter wasn't his highest concern at this point. It was Loyalty. He needed a much of a head start as possible to get to cover before It got on their tail.

[Miltonian]

“Who’s her--WHOA!” Twilight grips the side of the carriage with all her might as the carriage soars away. Longshot glances back and, for one heart-stopping moment, finds himself staring right into Laughter’s manic grin. Then, gravity reasserts itself and pulls her back towards the ground, away from the apex of her bounce. She lands on a small shack and levels it.

He soars over the Everfree Forest and passes Honesty, transformed into a giant many times the size of a Minotaur. Each step shatters trees, which cluster around her legs like tall grass. She raises her head slowly and glares with burning eyes at the passing carriage. She reaches down and bites a tree out of the ground, tearing up a whole grove with it. With a slow whip of her head, the trees split and meld and wrap around each other, forming first a rope and then a lasso. It begins to spin around her head and she turns to track the carriage’s progress.

[D.KnightSpider]

That grin was going to give him nightmares. Panic created the double-edged sword of adrenaline. It's cut pushed him to fly harder and faster.

"The Corrupted Elements!" Longshot called over a shoulder. "What are the odds they only want to talk?"

Honesty appeared before him. A dry throat crushed his stomach. They could be smashed like insects and barely know it. Holy--

Don't panic. Get between the sun and-- right, no sun. Dive.

"Don't. Let. Go." Longshot grunted.

Dropping altitude, he heads toward the forest floor. A road, trail-- anything to prevent that lasso from snaring them.

[Miltonian]

"Very low!" Twilight replies. Her horn sparks to life and a shield surrounds the carriage and Longshot. "There. That should, should, give us some protection."

"Not letting go!" Twilight shouts as the carriage dives. A gap in the trees appears up ahead and Longshot goes for it. He zips through and hears the lasso crash through the trees behind him. But it missed!

He weaves through the trees, staying low as possible. A glow appears up ahead, made from a thousand glittering lights. A hail of gemstones shoots out from the trees and clatters against Twilight’s shield. She yelps in surprise, but Longshot, the princess, and the carriage are unharmed.

Generosity strides out, blocking the way forward. Her body is now a jagged mass of living crystal in the vague shape of a unicorn. Each step covers the ground beneath her with gemstones, which encrust and choke the life out of anything she touches. Her eyes glow a faint blue and she smirks. “Hello there, darlings,” she says in a voice like the tinkling of many bells.

[D.KnightSpider]

Get out, get out, get out!

Longshot wills Tartarus away. He needs to see, buck it! The flashback fades. The mind screams. His grin turns a little bit savage. A fragmented plan takes some of the edge off the fear.

The only way to go is up. His wings strain to the limit as he angles upward toward the sky. It feels like they're herding him somewhere, so he prepares for an ambush at any moment.

[Miltonian]

With the shield protecting him, Longshot hurtles through the branches and into the air and there confronts a demon of blades and flesh melded together. Loyalty waits for him, four wings holding her in mid air with a strange, x-like pattern. The lower pair are smaller, but no less deadly, for along the front of each is a razor-sharp blade that juts out of the flesh and runs the length of the limb. She stares at him as he appears.

"End of the line," she says emotionlessly.

[D.KnightSpider]

"Aerial dogfight!" Longshot calls back to Twilight.

For once, he doesn't immediately advert course. Situational awareness is regained with a glance about the area. Focus returns to Loyalty. The appearance made sense but was no less disturbing.

The hard part about playing chicken was knowing when to flinch. He tried to gauge when to break off his headlong charge so as to avoid the blades.

Don't give in to the fear.

[Miltonian]

Loyalty does not give Longshot time to flinch. The moment he makes it clear that he is going to barrel towards her, she shoots forward at full speed and slams against Twilight's magical shroud. It wavers, but holds steady.

"What was that?" Twilight demands, a bit of an edge to her voice.

[D.KnightSpider]

It's not so much 'flinch' as 'wince'. Longshot tries to stabilize his heartbeat following impact. Dang it. That mare was fast. And he was helpless before her. He hated being helpless.

"Loyalty hit us head on. I can't outmaneuver it."

He banks and drops back toward the tree line. No point in staying out in the open when they're this outmatched.

Wait a moment...

"Can you teleport us out of here?" He asks.

[Miltonian]

"If I know the destin--" Twilight begins.

Loyalty rams into the top of the shield, driving them towards the forest floor.

"One moment!" Twilight says. There is a flash of light and they are suddenly in a much smaller place: the entry hall to the Castle of Friendship. The carriage is still going full speed ahead.

[D.KnightSpider]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

The change in surrounding brings disorientation. Longshot tries to slow down before they plaster themselves across a stone pillar or wall. Easier said than done when inertia is working against you.

Come on, stop!

There's at least the presence of mind not to dig his hooves into the floor. That would end poorly.

[Miltonian]

Longshot’s efforts are not entirely in vain. The sudden deceleration snaps the harness off and throws him free, but leaves the cart to spin through the air. He hears Twilight scream before he feels a heavy impact and is lost to the world for an unknown length of time.

When he comes to, it is dark. He can barely make out the crash site a few meters away, one wrecked cart and a purple body sprawled out beside it. When he stirs, Twilight lifts her head weakly.

“It’s not...your fault,” she gasps out, “No one could have...stopped this.”

[D.KnightSpider]

Those sounded like dying words. Fear lanced his heart. No. Celestia had already died to his negligence. He wasn't about to lose another to basic incompetence.

"Let's worry about... blame later."

Longshot tests his limbs and tries to rise. Rifle. Where's his weapon?

"Are you hurt?"

[Miltonian]

His rifle lies a few meters off. The barrel broke during the fall and lies shattered a few feet away from it. It'd be a nice club now, but good for little else. On the bright side, his limbs work. His left rear knee is a little stiff, but he should be able to walk it off.

"One of the axles pierced my stomach," Twilight says with a wry chuckle that sounds like it hurts, "I...stopped the bleeding and mended the skin, but the internal damage is...I'm going to die pretty soon."

[D.KnightSpider]

His clenched jaw sets a barrier against his runaway emotions. There would be no breaking down now.

"No... No, I'm not going to accept that. Let me look at you."

Rifle forgotten, Longshot forces himself to his feet and moves to examine Twilight. He was through being a failure and making mistakes. He was Longshot, Sniper Scope, of the EDF. It was his bucking job to bend reality to mission objectives. There had to be a way to win-- it was only a matter of finding it.

"Do you think you can teleport us one more time? Maybe get us close to the Catacombs?"

[Miltonian]

Twilight shifts her upper body a bit and hisses in pain. "Everything from the waist down feels numb, so you're gonna have to move that. One wing was broken and I think my healing spell knit it together wrong." As she lists off her injuries one by one, Longshot comes to the realization that she should have already died. Alicorns, however, are made of tougher stuff. As he looks her over, he can tell that she is still in very rough shape. It does not look good.

"Teleportation is a risky business when injured," Twilight says with a wry chuckle, "Aaaand I don't have a clear picture of our destination. We could end up in a wall. I'm willing to try though."

[D.KnightSpider]

"Then we'll keep that option open. Not that we have many." Longshot pauses. "The carriage is wrecked, obviously. We'll have to find another in short order. It won't take long for the Elements to track us down."

He wanted to play the 'if only' game: 'if only' had hadn't panicked and decelerated so suddenly. There wasn't time for that waste of energy and he wasn't about to give Deception that sort of opening. Focus on what he could do, not what had been done.

A survey of the hall determines the state of things. What had become of the coffin and Celestia?

"What's the state of Ponyville? Is there any possibility of help being nearby or are they all at the Catacombs?" This gap in his memory was annoying.

[Miltonian]

The coffin is intact, but was thrown free and lies upside down along the side of the room. Celestia was knocked about, but remains secure.

"I had barred the gates of the castle," Twilight says, "To keep everypony outside. We'll find no help here unless Spike is still somewhere around. He...might be, though he was supposed to gather what he could and fly away to get help from the Free Changeling Hives."

Thorax's changelings. So they, at least, must be in somewhat decent shape.

[D.KnightSpider]

The more he realized their situation, the closer he came to terror. If he were two steps away from panic earlier, then he was down to two bits now. Keep a lid on it, Longshot. Twilight couldn't afford a meltdown.

"Alright, so we won't count on outside help."

Weigh the options. Movement had to be kept to a minimum otherwise he'd shorten the time to Twilight's bleeding to death. But he couldn't transport the coffin and Twilight at the same time... well, he could, but shoving the coffin around... Hmm...

"Question, if I place you on top of the coffin, would you still be able to levitate it? If so, then I might be able to steer the coffin like a cloud."

Relying on knowledge born of his previous patrols, he cast his mind back in an effort to remember where transportation garages would be.

[Miltonian]

“I could try,” Twilight says. And that’s the best she can offer at the moment.

Longshot’s memory does not fail him. The ‘garage’, so to speak, is a mere few rooms over. With Twilight on top of the box and it levitating a few inches off the ground, he makes for it. Down the hall he goes. Dust falls around him, more dust than seems possible unless no one cleaned this section for the past hundred years. But that can’t be right.

He sees the door to the garage up ahead. It’s right in sight, but it opens before he reaches it. The door handle turns to stone and crumbles into dust. A pale, yellow form steps out, eyes hidden behind her pink mane, and turns to look at them slowly.

Longshot suddenly finds his legs are no longer responding to his mental commands.

[D.KnightSpider]

"No." Equal parts terror and anger fill his voice.

Teeth grind together. Longshot orders his legs to respond. He'd beaten Flutterbat on Tartarus. Circumvent. Find a way-- just get away! Retreat! Get it away! Limbs don't work. Can't move. Can't fail. Can't.

Longshot throws every scrap of himself into getting Twilight away from Gentleness. He can't lose. Not here. Not now.

Not again.

He can't fail again.

[Miltonian]

No matter how Longshot struggles, he cannot escape. More and more of his body freezes as he begins to physically turn to stone. He feels it take his body, his wings, and begin crawling up his neck.

"This is kinder," Kindess says softly, "This is a gentle way. You won't be corrupted. You won't be squashed by Laughter or sliced by Loyalty. You'll just...be."

"Fluttershy?" Twilight asks.

"Magic," she replies in greeting.

[D.KnightSpider]

Think. Can't think. No feeling. No moving. Say something. Jaw moves. No sound. No breath. Breathe. BREATHE! No lungs. No breath.

Do something. Suffocating. Death can't die. Twilight. Thrash. Mission save twilight. Duty. Find way can't move. diamond tears fail regret. can't breathe move die twilight can't die move die failure tell them can't mom dad failed love enough fear tears sorry

stone

[Miltonian]

Stone. And yet still there. He cannot see. He cannot feel. He almost hear. The vibrations that travel through him are like sound, and so he hears. He hears Twilight’s last gasp and the birth of Magic. Hears her and Kindness talk in hushed tones to each other. And lastly, he hears Magic’s hoof come gently to rest on his face and her voice, like the rushing of a great wind, speak softly to him.

“Thank you for what you tried to do,” she says, “We will return for you when everything is set right.”

But they never do for nothing can be right ever again.

Geez, that post hit me in the gut.

[D.KnightSpider]

Tell me about it. It wasn't easy to write.

No sight. No feeling. An occasional sound visits. Imagination brings visions of the outside world. Terror serves as his only constant companion.

But even fear fades before the constant passage of time. Memory fails. Sense of self vanishes as sanity begins to fray.

Eventually, there is only an essence of existence stretched across eternity.

[Miltonian]

An eternity packed into a moment, for in the end, it's only a dream.

Longshot feels a hoof tap him on the shoulder. In the blink of an eye, he can blink his eyes. He breathes, he moves, and can see again, and Rem stands beside him, looking somber. "Are you alright?" she asks.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot gasps for breath, blinks and... his tongue feels funny; it moves around his mouth and slowly loosens. His joints resume their usual flexibility in time.

He takes his time responding with a nod.

"Yeah... I just... need a moment." Deep breath. Shallow chuckle. "So... are you in the mood for seconds?"

It's a joke. Or the attempt at one.

[Miltonian]

"Always," she says, "Haven't eaten this well, or much at all, in...decades. I only got scraps under Wire. But I, uh, know when to stop."

She sits beside him and waits calmly for him to come back to himself.

[D.KnightSpider]

"I guess I need to work on being more filling." Longshot says. "At least you're in a better place now."

If the others were here, some pony would make a wisecrack about suggestive questioning. Fortunately, there wasn't any other point around to witness the exchange. Banished ponies could read sex into anything.

Longshot hadn't yet tested the limits of will when Rem was present. But, he feels the need to do so now. Memories of a blue sky over rolling hills were projected into the dream space. A soft cloud beneath them... it was one of the last nice events before everything changed. He... wants to be back there for a few minutes.

[Miltonian]

Rem blinks as the scene changes around them. She stands up and looks around. "Well," she says, "This is...nice." She turns around in a tight circle and giggles. "I like it! Where are we?"

[D.KnightSpider]

"Cloudsdale," Longshot smiles as the tension breaks. "or a few hills overlooking Cloudsdale, to be precise. I used to hide up here as a colt because I liked the view."

For the first time in decades, Longshot takes a good, long look at the surrounding area. He takes in the colors, sounds and scents. It was such a contrast to the nightmare... there was so much taken for granted and unappreciated until it was lost. It was a nice reminder of the 'why' behind their fight-- of how much depended on them. And he'd nearly thrown it all away in grief and despair.

Stars, he was such an idiot.

[Miltonian]

Rem steps forward into the field and bends down, studying a flower with narrow eyes. Her mane settles and a normal mouth appears on her face, bent into a smile. “This is what you want to protect?” she asks, “Yes. I can tell it is.”

She turns back to him and nods. “You worry too much,” she says.

[D.KnightSpider]

"Yes... I worry because if we do the wrong thing then we lose this." Longshot nods at the surrounding vista. "If I do the wrong thing, then I could hurt Diamond, my parents... you. There are a lot of ponies I'm trying to protect." And failing at every turn.

His gaze moves onto a nearby forest. "Come on, let me show you something."

He'll lead the way if Rem doesn't object. This story has come up a few times during his stay at Down to the Wire. He might as well revisit it.

[Miltonian]

"You live like a minotaur in a china shop," Rem says with a light chuckle, "But is the world really so fragile? Do you truly believe it is within your power to destroy it?"

She will follow and wait for what he has to show.

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot imagines the two of them as nonexistent, so the local wildlife continues its routine as though they weren't present. Birds and squirrels make their presence known alongside an occasional deer.

Rem's question provoke memories of his old nightmares-- the ones about decimating the planet. The memory provokes a shudder.

"Perhaps not intentionally destroy it. But--" Longshot takes a deep breath. "Alright, it feels like it. Tartarus, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Down to the Wire... Everywhere we- I go it's life there's something balanced on a knife-edge. It's a choice. Do I do nothing and hope everything works out or try to push it one way or the other?

"Making that push means I'm responsible for the outcome. Don't nothing means I'm responsible for the outcome. If I pick wrong or give into my base nature, some pony gets hurt. I crippled a pony for life because I once lost my temper, for example... I hate that I did that but... I can't change it.

"I just... I feel like I can't afford any mistakes. Pick the wrong option, be evil or do nothing at the wrong time and there are dire consequences. If I mess up enough, it really could impact the fate of the world. That nightmare you have me hinged on it."

The sun begins to set.

[Miltonian]

Rem coos at the scene, putting her face close to a little bunny and smiling. Oddly enough, her tail wags a little, like a dog almost. She looks up at Sniper and says with a quiet smile, "There is one difference between the dream and real life: you are not alone. And the burden is not yours alone to bear."

[D.KnightSpider]

"And I can't make myself responsible for everything." Longshot admits. He could meet her far, at least.

Rem had no business being so cute. It made the inner conflict so much worse.

They arrive at a clearing. A controlled drop to his hind-quarters puts Longshot into a sit.

"I had a dream once. Not a sleeping dream, but a hope-for-the-future dream... I thought I could work outside of Equestria's moral system to save it. I thought that if I did everything just right, that I might be able to help the Princesses and the Elements: that I might be able to validate my existence and prove to be more than a murderer.

"For a while there, I thought I could do it. I was helping the Elements and the Crusaders. Then I fouled up and tried to have a relationship with Rose. It was one of my bigger mistakes. Not the worst thing I've done but it's on the list.

"After I wrecked Goodhope, nearly died and we broke up... I lost the confidence that I could change things. I moved the goal posts. I thought that if I died in a legitimate blaze of glory that I'd validate my existence. I'd prove to be something better. But it was all selfishness. I'd have condemned the future to save my pride."

It wasn't that he suddenly felt old. The confident veneer was cracking and peeling allowing the inner exhaustion to be seen. Longshot felt decades worth of exhaustion.

"Now... I'm getting my head on straight. I want to live and protect this world. I have parents, brother and some friends... And if I understand this right, you're telling me to rely on them a bit and stop doing everything on my own?"

A swath of fireflies emerge from their den and being flitting about the clearing. Longshot watches them go through their rituals.

[Miltonian]

"Yes," Rem says, "From the sound of things, you already learned this lesson. All that pressure will break you, sooner or later. So from a pure, logical perspective, you have to reduce that stress in order to continue functioning. From a...warmer and more pony perspective, you owe it to yourself and to those who...care about you to do so." She says those words very carefully, taking pains to avoid any hint of implication. Longshot cannot tell if she means anything by it or not.

[D.KnightSpider]

"I was just trying to put the puzzle pieces together." Longshot shrugs. "There's a difference between knowing something and enacting that lesson. So it's good you gave me a reminder."

Emotional exhaustion has long since manifested, making it harder to keep the old lies at bay. But determination rallies and pushes the old ways back into the past.

He didn't know if there was anything behind Rem's words, but he knows it would be flatly immoral to take things any further between them. Reading more into the comment wasn't optional.

"Thank you for all you've done, Rem. I... I appreciate you and I think you're a good friend. I'm glad I met you."

Longshot stops the memory from advancing and let the fireflies loop about in place. He'd already injured enough ponies. He couldn't injure Rem as well. Moral lines were moral lines and had to be observed.

[Miltonian]

She smiles for a moment. "I'm glad I met you."

She lets herself fall over and roll onto her side. With a contented sigh, she closes her eyes. "Oh this is nice," she says, "I could lay here for a long time. It's a very comfortable dream."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot returns the smile. "Likewise."

While Rem relaxes he turns his eyes back to the fireflies. Yeah. It was a nice dream. Granted, he'd caught, upon getting home, he'd caught Tartarus for letting Fashion wander off. But some things were a given. Otherwise, yeah. Good times.

"I'm in no hurry to leave. We can stay until the morning alarm goes sounds." Longshot replies. "There's a lot more to this world than the ugliness you've seen. I look forward to showing them to you."

[Miltonian]

"Hmm," she says, eyes closed and enjoying the dream sun. She opens her eyes and looks at Longshot with a suddenly serious look. "Listen. If you ever need me, just call out. If I can hear you, I will come."

She lays back again. "That's all."

[D.KnightSpider]

Longshot studies Rem and then, since Rem has relaxed again, decides not to press the issue. There will be fine enough to ask for clarification later. He nods, slowly.

"I'll remember. And if you ever want to stop by for dinner, you're welcome any time."

He leaves them to their respective silences and their momentary peace.

[Miltonian]

"And I'll," Rem replies, "Remember that very, very well."

[scene?]

[D.KnightSpider]

[I'm good with it being a scene.]