The Steadfast Sky : Overcast Run
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com/

A oily purple fog seeped around every dark corner, down every street. We were caught in its dim glow, breathing its hot, damp fumes. It was the stallion, I knew it. This was his doing, but it probably wasn’t poison. That would be too deadly, too many losses. Then what? My mind spun through a dozen possibilities. I felt like there were too many. He could do anything. And here we were, just sitting ducks.

Stones were mushy and muddy with something. The water splashed up my legs, chilling them to the bone. Unbelievably, unspeakably cold. It was hard to move my toes. They were going numb. I tucked my paw in my armpit, would’ve done it with both if my hind leg wasn’t throbbing like crazy. I could walk, but I wasn’t about to test it now. Not out here…

A Draconequus roared in the distance. I used to ignore those calls, just an idiot announcing he caught something. Or won a fight, or was frustrated. But now I found myself focusing on the sound. How far was it? Why was he roaring? Was he covering up closer sounds?

A pebble rattled somewhere and I dove against the wall, heart beating like crazy. No, stop that, pull yourself together Discord. You knew, all this time, this would be deadly. Stupid and suicidal. Well, now you’re allowed to go. You’re allowed to actually save your friends, get them out of here for the second time. You can do this. You know this city. You can do this.

So.

Why weren’t we hiding in the shadows already?

Celestia was shivering like a leaf, hooves wavering back and forth, thankfully only making small splashing sounds. Luna’s proud grin had long since left her. She was wavering now, looked like she needed to sit down.

“Luna.” I hissed, worried. “Shadows?”

“Mm…” She nodded, stumbled left. Her eyes closed. A few jolts of light shot up her horn, and her face curled up. “Ow… um… lemme try…” There was a small burst of light, and she cried out, gripping her forehead. “Um, gimmie a sec.”

“Luna please!” Celestia squealed, “Luna, you’ve got to do this, keep trying!”

I winced as there was another pop of light. We’ve been demanding far too much of Luna. I felt like a jerk even asking her to cast now. My turn. I grabbed the shadows and yanked them up. Even now, even in these dire straits, it was a struggle to pull them. Even more of a struggle than usual. I barely managed to yank them over Luna’s head. And when I waved Celestia in, the shadows snapped and retreated in spots. Our cloak was now patchy, faded. We were only mildly obscured at best.

Luna collapsed under the tension of the cloak, shadows pushing down on her head and back. She whimpered, horn still sparking… It was like something sharp had jammed itself in my heart, watching her.

I threw my arms around Luna’s shoulders. “Luna. Stop. It’s okay. You can stop now.”

“Nuh-uh,” she responsed, “We need a bubble.”

“We’ll just keep quiet. We can do that until…”

“Oh Luna…” Celestia moans, and another wave of guilt curls in me. “Your Element…”

“Later,” I hiss.

Yet, even my mind couldn’t leave it for later. The gemstone had been shattered, most of the pieces fallen out of its socket. The metal itself was bent horribly. The only stone left was caught in that folded crevice, broken sliver curving like the wicked edge of a sickle. I felt, so easily, that the stone could jiggle loose. Could dig into my friend’s hoof when it did fall…

I looked away. At Celestia.

“What we need to do is find a way out of the city,” I said. “Run up a tower and skirt the walls if we have to. We’re done here.”

“No,” Celestia whispered. “This isn’t the end.”

I bit my lip. It was all I could do to stop myself from shouting. “Yes, it is! We lost!”

She stared away, almost forgetting to meet my eyes. “We’re still alive. The Shadow Stallion doesn’t know where we are.” She frowned. “There has to be something we can do for the people. There has to be.”

Luna tried to stand up, struggling against the tightly pulling shadows.

“Luna, just stay down…”

“Don’t wanna. My tummy’s gone all numb.”

Mine had as well… The cold was already inching its way up my wings. With a few shaded glances, Celestia and I both stood.

“We can’t stay here,” Celestia said. “We’ve got to find somewhere to hide. Wait until morning, when the Draconequus leave…”

“They’re not going to go back underground,” I replied. “If The Shadow Stallion wills them to stay during the day, then they’ll stay. And they’ll find us.”

“We can find an empty house…”

“They’ll send the smaller ones inside to get us. Then they’ll find us…”

“What can we do?”

“Leave.”

Celestia snorted, “Then, by your logic, he’ll just send the Draconequus out there to find us.”

“No. He’ll send the griffins. He can’t risk a Draconequus escaping into the countryside.”

Celestia make a small choking sound. For a moment, she couldn’t look me in the eye. I didn’t want to think about it either. I shook out my feet instead, trying to fling the water off them.

“We can’t just leave, Discord…” Celestia continued. “All these ponies here, trapped in the city, waiting to die. We can’t just leave them. I won’t just leave them.”

“For life’s sake, Celestia. You wanna die trying to save them now, or come back another day and actually help them?”

The scrap of claws on stone. Celestia and I froze. I don’t know about her, but my ears were strainging to hear every tiny little sound. They didn’t need to try so hard. A heavy flap of wings, a massive gust of air. Loudly dislodging a number of tiles, a Draconequus scraped down the side of the tower before us, landing right beside us. Just to our left. Too close. Too close.

I refused to blink. I refused to look away from the creature, entire body tense. He was tall, not a full adult. Head low. Ears flicking. Growling as he looked up and down the street. Couldn’t see us, just heard us. Why did we talk, why did I let us talk for so long?

Another hole snapped open in our cloak. Dead silent, I tore at the shadows. Waved my claws over the ground. Had to be more around, had to be… It’s night out! Glowing fog or no, why was this so hard?!

Luna fell back to the ground with a soft splash. The Draconequus turned, eyes narrowing in our direction. Three steps and his neck passed by us, staring right past us, down the street. He snorted. I stopped scrambling for shadows.

He cocked his head, snorted again. His snout wrinkled. Jaws parted, grumble rising in his throat…

“Feesh?” he grumbled. “Dead feesh?”

I slapped a hand over my mouth, trying to suppress a cry. Threw myself over Luna’s back, yanked open Celestia’s saddlebags. On top of the sheet, squished between the bag material and the bottle of rubbing alcohol. It smelled, rank and rotting, why didn’t I notice how bad the smell was before?! Stupid!

I yanked it out and tossed it, hoping the sound, the smell would drag the Draconequus across the alleyway…!

Didn’t aim right. It splattered right into his knee, spilling to the ground.

He looked down at the gooey mess, dumbfounded. Looked right up, right at us…

“Harmony blast!” Celestia squealed.

I didn’t think. Just did.

Two colors shot forward, Gold and Silver. They washed over the Draconequus’ head, making the ground at his feet splash white with radiance. The temperature around us grew to almost comfortable levels, cloud pushed away by our Element’s light.

But a sick wave of déjà vu hit me. The Draconequus blinked stupidly and stepped through the light.

I swore.

And with an almighty SMACK, the Draconequus’ massive head slammed down just yards from our feet. He yowled in pain, hot breath rolling over us. Was he struck down, by what, where? I tried to look. Celestia shoved me, hissing panic in my ear. I ran. Luna at my heels as Celestia drove us both forward. But she couldn’t stop me from glancing backwards.

Where the rainbow had hit the ground, where the Draconequus’ foot was. A chunk of stones were missing. I watched as another stone slipped down, black mortar slick and gooey, as if it had melted in the blast.

But the Draconequus wasn’t done with us. Briefly, a thought spun through my head. Captured quarry like us, any ponies on the street. We’re valuable. Not worth letting slip away.

And all Draconequus on patrol have shadow magic of their own.

Magic sparked between my fingertips. I heaved up an illusion. An old favorite, especially for a situation like this… The Draconequus tried to yank his foot from the hole, eyes only for us. But then, another group, a direct copy ran right past his nose. He snapped his jaws at the illusive heels. But by then, two, three, four more sprouted from the spot. They all ran, blurred, as my toes aches from the effort of my creations.

The Draconequus waved his free paw. Under three groups, the shadows swelled into a black well. A familiar well. A shadow teleport. The Draconequus snorted as all three kept running. Failed to be caught. And, as the real us exited the street, he snarled a single word.

“Deescord!?”

“I told you,” I hissed to Celestia, “Shout my name like a swearword, it sounds fantastic!”

“Don’t joke like that!” She cried back, “We almost got caught! How many of them can do that spell, anyway?!”

“All of them! RUN!”

The thrill of the minor victory wore off so much quicker than I wanted it to. The sound of the Draconequus’ shouts will draw so many more to us… And with Luna barely able to run, barely able to keep up with us without help, The reality was so much closer to me now. A horrible, sick image creeping in my brain. Celestia and Luna, horns cut off, sitting in those cells and just waiting to die. I forced away what came next, not wanting to even think, even imagine what came after. I beat it back, beat it all away.

There was no way I was going to let that happen to them. I pushed myself harder, ignoring the pain and the numb feelings. No way I’d let that happen! No way in hell!

Focus on escape, Discord. Focus on it!

My focus paid off. A black well slowly boiled to life in front of us. I threw up a solid wall, bounced off it, and shoved the girls down another alleyway. There was an angry snap of jaws. And… above that, a frightened whiney. Another punch to the gut. The trap wasn’t meant for just us.

I looked to Celestia and, maybe for a second, with the image of the cells in my mind… I think I understood her.

“When we find a way to leave,” I shouted over the sounds of our gallop, “We’ll find a way to help!”

Celestia nodded heavily, eyes forward.

I let my element flare. A risk, could be seen, but it forced the numbing purple cloud away. I dug a hand under the shadows as I ran, glow banishing and pronouncing them in certain places. My claws stuck in the cracks between the mucky cobble and dredged up shadowy strings. We dove under them as we spun around a corner. Just a little obscured. Footsteps muffled by the mud.

I heard a Draconequus soar above us, wings cracking as they snapped up and down. Did he see us, did he not? We kept running, and the beats faded. There was a roar in the distance, two roars. One closer.

“Haou,” Luna gasped. “A house. Get to the house…”

“I—“ I fumbled, staring back at my exhausted friend, “I said that won’t stop them.”

“Too… Can we stop a bit…?”

“Um…” I thoughtlessly slowed, watching Luna as she trotted past. Thoughtlessly? No. No, we needed a break. She gasped for a bit, trying to catch her breath. Then…

“We’re two streets from our house.”

“Goodness!” Celestia cried, “So we are!”

Celestia galloped ahead. I couldn’t hold the shadows around her. It wasn’t long until she pushed herself right out of the cloak.

“What would we even gain from there?“ I called after her. I couldn’t repair her abrupt exit, and the cloak dropped away from my own shoulders. I tried to follow, and there were roars. In the distance, always in the distance. The Draconequus can’t be everywhere at once… Nobody ever talked about ponies that escaped, but they’re had to be some? Right? Some?

We turned another corner. She was waiting, and the street was empty. Thankfully…

“Even if it’s just a little break…” Luna said, “I’d like to stop by our house. Just for a little bit…”

“And what? Gut a place that’s already been gutted? Find the storybook Celestia’s always been railing on about?”

Suddenly, Celestia laughed. An inappropriately loud, high-pitched titter. She slapped a hoof over her mouth soon after, face flushing red.

“This, um, street!” she exclaimed, “I ran into you on this street… The first night you came into our home. That was you, hiding and scaring me in the street. Wasn’t it?”

I stared down the row. The shape of the walls, the few carts and stacked barrels slightly shifted. But…

“Huh. Yeah, it was.”

“And look!” Down the street was her house. It was still standing. Still standing and pitch dark. “No one’s in! It’s still empty! Let’s—!”

She trotted a few feet forward, and screamed.

Black tendrils shot up from the ground. Celestia’s legs were grabbed, branchlike hands snapping down on her back. She squealed as the nails dug into her back. Froze there. Solid.

I shouted as well. Not scared, definitely not. It was a warcry, dangit! A dense illusion, a rock, a knife. I solidified it in one paw and slammed it against the briar. Luna was right behind me, jamming her horn into the arm, horn sparking. What did we think that would do? My illusion crumbled, blunted. A few flecks of hard glass peeled off the arm from our blows.

“Get it off!” Celestia screamed, “GET IT OFF ME!”

“I’m trying!” I shouted back, staring at the little glass shards. They seemed to vanish as they fell, disappearing into nothing.

Luna gasped. “Beneath us…”

I was already looking, but what I was seeing snapped to my attention. The shadows were condensing at my feet. Bubbling…

“Celestia,” I cried. “Light!”

I didn’t need to ask twice. A glare as bright as the sun filled the alleyway, banishing all shadows.

All of them.

The well beneath us was instantly banished. The shadows peeled away from every surface. And a Draconequus hiding in the shadows suddenly had nowhere else to hide. Massive, a reedy adult stepped out of the middle of the street. Face calm, back straight, eyes sharp in the light. Intelligent. Gaze directed right at me, slitted pupils narrowing in recognition.

Head furred black. Body strangely uneven for a lack of a wing…

The second to last Draconequus I’d want to see right now. The only Draconequus I knew I couldn’t outsmart. Ruin. I did the only thing I thought I could do. The only thing I knew he wouldn’t foresee. I slapped my Element into my palm and—!

“Ah. Pardon, little one.” Ruin said, waving his claw as casually as he spoke. Celestia dropped to the ground, illusionary glass fragments vanishing all around her, her face in confused shock.

“Wh-wuh?”

“You desire to take these two in, don’t you?” The Draconequus stated, more matter of factly then a question. He moved forward slightly.

“Uh…”

“Your first catch,” he waved a claw at the girls, his eyes never leaving me. “Forgive me for intruding, I did not realize they were your quarry.”

“O-oh yes. Um. Thanks for uh, letting me uh… catch ‘em.”

He watched me silently for a moment. Face cold and calculating. It was always cold, as far back as I could remember it.

“So uh,” I stammered, rolling with my lie. “Yeah. You... You can go now.”

“You do know the proper spell, don’t you?” he growled, “You have not been neglecting your studies? Your shadow magic?”

“‘Course I know the spell.” I answered quickly, feeling a quick flash of indignation at the question.

“Discord?” Celestia mumbled with worry. Her light spell was still glowing around her, slightly dimmer now. “What’s going on?”

I snapped a hand over her mouth. She stared at me. We stood there for a moment, silent. With a wave of my claw, I summoned my own illusions around their legs, binding both the girls in place. Ruin watched my movements closely. My technique.

“Discord?” The deep voice inquired again.

“Yeah, uh…” I glanced back at the Draconequus. “I’ve got this.”

“Have you? Are you very sure?”

“Yep. You can um, go now.”

He stared down at me. Please just leave, please just leave…

“Fine.” He eased himself backwards. “If you are in no need of assistance…” He kept his eyes on me as he walked, before slowly turning back into the alleyway. “I do believe that our brothers have, for the most part, cleared the streets. Perhaps I shall retire for the night…”

“Um. Right. Yeah.”

He walked casually into the little square, plucked easily at the shadows, and vanished silently into them. I watched him go, confused. Thoughts spinning around my head.

“What just happened?” Luna asked.

“I have no idea,” I replied. I really, really didn’t.

“Can you free our feet now?”

I turned to Celestia, banishing the spell. “Uh, yeah. Can you turn off that light?”

“Oh! Well…” Her glow was replaced by the cold purple haze all around us.

“Now um… there’s no way others didn’t see that, so uh… your house! I guess we could…” I stepped forward. There was a quiet scraping sound. The stone shifted a little under my foot. Slipped down…

“Crap.”

“What? What is it?”

A roar pierced the air. Not a victorious roar. A roar of pain. We didn’t have to wonder what it was long. A gigantic body tumbled from a tower, an unfamiliar Draconequus smacking the ground with a sick crunch and another pained roar. The ground beneath us shuttered, stones shifting from the blow. Celestia shoved herself into me, pushing me and dragging her sister towards our house.

But on our other side, another Draconequus dropped. In control of himself. Massive, wings spread wide, still hitting the ground with an earth-shaking force.

Of course some other Draconequus would see that light. Already in the distance I could hear more wings, more roars and claws on stone scrambling to get us. But why in dear, sweet Equestria did it have to be that massive lion of a Draconequus.

Why did it have to be Ferrous who got here first? Why did he have to be grinning? Advancing on us with his teeth bared. Capture? No. Murder on his mind. A casual killer. He’d tear through us. Break… Sick memories shot through all the bones he had broken in me, all those years ago. Does it matter now? So many people hurt me in that place. But he—

I screamed at myself in my own head.

Not the time!

Just run!

“Harmony Blast!” I shouted, grabbing my Element.

“But that doesn’t—!”

“Down!”

I blasted the ground with my silver beam. Celestia’s light bloomed beside me. Even Luna’s element flickered with the vague spark of hope. The purple fog curled away, and in a single cold blast I could see, actually see the stone itself melting.

And feel as it gave away beneath us.

Luna squealed beside me as the black underground opened up. But only briefly. We hit the lower floor in barely a second, not even long enough for me to open my wings. Landed in an ice-cold puddle of semi-solid rock. Cold instantly numbing. Cold causing me to barely be able to control my limbs…

But there was no time to wait for them to respond. Celestia was already pushing her sister down the corridor, and I splashed right after them. I found my own hands and feet awkward to run on, but like the wound on my leg, I ignored it. We only had a small escape window. We took it. We took it and ran.

Because it was only moments later that Ferrous’ head shot down the hole. Shoulders heaving and body writhing. Trying to fit in the cramped space. He wouldn’t lose his quarry, not this easily.

“He’s right behind us he’s right behind us—!”

“Save your breath! I know…” I whirled around a corner, slapping the ground, making it slick. Another brief delay. “I know a place where he can’t follow!”

I knew these tunnels like the back of my hand. All the places to avoid. All the places that I knew would protect me. Protect any being my size and unable to fight… A fleeting hiding place, but one vital to surviving in this pit. I took only a minute to get my bearings…

Then I pushed my friends into a tunnel. A small thing with a sideways roof and a dirt floor. They bounced off the walls and stumbled into the dark corridor as Ferrous blasted past, massive claws scraping on the solid stone. I watched the entrance, watched as Ferrous’ paw wormed through the hole. His yellow eyes, rimmed in iron raw, glared at us in the hole…

“Light, Celestia. He could still teleport us…” Wordlessly, light filled the tunnel. My own shadow became elongated, started to bubble… but with a flash of my own Element, even that shadow vanished.

Ferrous snorted. Barked something over his shoulder. Returned to staring, glaring at us.

And a little idea struck me.

“What are you doing in my saddlebags?” Celestia asked.

I pulled out the rubbing alcohol. “Need this.”

“For your leg?”

“For worse wounds than that,” I hissed.

I spun on Ferrous. He watched as I approached, trying to see me through one eye, then both again. Curious? Or just stupid? I think I’ll go for stupid.

I tore out that cork. He didn’t react. Before he could think, before he could realize what I was doing, I threw that bottle in his face. I made sure it shattered. The burning liquid exploded over his eyes.

He roared, body writhing, slamming into the entrance. The whole tunnel shook.

“That’s what you get!” I screamed, “YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME?!”

I swore at him until my lungs hurt. Swore and swore with the clasp of my Element curling up in my mane, tangled in my hair. Swore until Celestia bit my arm.

“What the heck is wrong with you?” she squealed. “We’ve got to keep running!”

“You don’t—!” I hissed in a breath. What this must look like from an outsiders perspective… What it must look like to the ponies. What I’d think of myself later, for that matter… But right now? Ferrous deserved that. And I knew no amount of explaining would ever justify why. “It’s a long story,” I admitted. “A long, painful story. Believe me. He deserved it.” I forced my way past her, deeper into the cramped gap. His screams still echoed past me. Probably dragging more Draconequus his way. But none would be able to fit, none but those I know I could take…

“What a horrible… horrible day…”