and
along with
Quarrel was preparing for supporting Mother’s attack. He look around in his bags and found the peytral and crupper he had stored for this moment and hastily put them on, fastening the straps and making sure everything was secure. Once he had finished with his armor, he put on a cloak that obscured his armor, making sure nopony would be suspicious on how a traveler would have military grade armor.
He checked his cloak pockets, making sure his concealed weapon was there. He made a mental checklist on what he was to do, and he had done most of what he needed to do. The last thing he had to do for sure, was to make sure Flamberge... or whoever was leading their army was out of the picture. He turned around, put on his saddlebags and began towards the barracks, hoping he could find Flamberge easily.
Prodd stepped out of the barracks fully equiped, he had the graveyard shift again. Sighing he looked at the cloaked figure approaching the barracks. He thought he saw a glimpse of armor, but he could have been wrong. Prodd sighed again remembering Lightning’s disappearance, he saw him run off into the night from his post. He should have done something that night, but he couldn’t change the past. Prodd looked the traveler up and down and readied his guard voice. “Halt traveler.” He said, “State your business...”
Quarrel stopped and let out a small sigh. “I am... Finding somewhere safe. I heard the barracks has an underground portion and I assumed that would be able to be defended easily.”
“...You heard right.” Prodd responded. “‘Course the underground portion was only known by us soldiers... one having left recently into the night and having never been seen again.” He was obviously suspicious now. “...What’s your name traveler?” He shifted a little to block the main entrance with his body.
Quarrel was getting annoyed, but he kept quiet, as this would get him caught. “Quarrel of Runner Clan”
“Runner?” Prodd asked. “Remove that cloak, now!” Lightning would be dumb enough to use his own last name if he was going to come back. Or this could be his murderer...
“Getting a bit antsy aren’t you. You haven’t even treated me to dinner” Quarrel joked around, hoping to distract Prodd from his questions. “Sir, I have came here to mourn the loss of my brother.”
“Yeah, how do you know he’s dead? And I said remove the hood.” Prodd said, his voice moderately intimidating. He backed his tone with a loaded crossbow pointed at this Quarrel.
Quarrel’s eyes widened in fear... feigned fear, but a little fear was still in his stance. “Whoah whoah... I’ll comply, don’t shoot” He raised a hoof to his hood and pull it back, revealing his face for all to see. “Anything else? You want me to dance for ya-” He began in a joking tone of voice before being cut off by Prodd
“Shut up.” He said flatly. “The only Runner here was named Lightning... and you look just like him, albeit faded. You twins?” He kept his crossbow at the ready, however pointing it to the ground.
Quarrel’s stance went back into a neutral stance, and began to take a moment to think. “Y-Yes... Yes we are. Now have I answered your questionnaire to receive a shipment of cake? If so, can I please go and hide in this bunker type thing so I don’t get killed or maimed or whatever by this force.”
“I would... but Lightning told me he was an only foal.” Prodd said. “And considering what’s coming and all this foul magic in the air... I’d wager some thief got corrupted by those vile forces of darkness...” He explained. His crossbow was right back up. “You have two choices, either you come with me and I lock you up... or I make you come with me.” He was ready to fire in a hair of a second, and he knew how to make his shots non-lethal.
Quarrel sighed. “I really didn’t want anypony to find out... Alright you found me out. Now what are you going to do?” He took a short step towards Prodd. “Send me to Case Study? Lock me up? Kill me?”
Prodd gestured to where he stepped as the recently primed trap sprung under ‘Quarrel’s’ hoof. He then shot his old friend square in the left wing, flying away would be pretty hard for him now.
Quarrel held back a scream, however it was getting hard as the sudden pain was a bit much for him. “F-F-Fuck... Wh-Why... A-All I did...” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence.
“Let’s go Lightning.” Prodd said. He hauled the crippled pegasus onto his back and made his way to the prison cells. He’d get his dulled trap out of his friend’s leg once he got back to normal. Prodd was glad he was a guard here, nopony questioned what he was doing; although his methods turned a few heads. Once they reached the cell, Lightning was immediately restrained to a bed.
Quarrel mentally swore as now even as a surprise, his dagger was out of reach and even then, his hooves are strapped to the bed. “Wh-What now?” He drew a breath. “Y-You... going ta... kill me? M-Mother will destroy you... Duskfields will p-perish...” He rambled, hoping it would save him.
Prodd raised an eyebrow at this. He got his gear out of the injured pegasus and quietly bandaged him up. The next problem was getting his friend back to normal. Prodd sighed once more, this whole fiasco has been nothing but worrying. “Lightning... tell me what happened...” He should have about two hours before anypony comes down here to investigate.
“I-I found... I h-have a place in the w-world...” Quarrel began. “Mother cares for me... N-None of you do...”
Prodd smacked him upside the head. “Lightning... listen to me.” He paused, making sure his friend was paying attention. “You were a good friend Lightning, albeit a bit dim, but that’s not what’s important. You have a family Lightning. Sweet Potato. Mist. Yam. They love you, and care about you.” He sighed. “But most importantly... they goddamn need you Lightning! Your family needs you!” Prodd calmed himself. “And working with the enemy won’t help them... the discordians want us all dead for whatever we did... that includes mares and foals.”
“My family is.... Th...They are....” Quarrel took a breath. “My f-family is... out there.... waiting.....” Prodd was getting through, however Quarrel was trying his best to not fall for Prodd’s trickery.
“DAMNIT LIGHTNING!!!” Prodd uncharacteristically shouted. “Think about your foals. They need their father! Especially considering Sweet Potato’s condition! And what about Sweet Potato?! Are you just going to abandon her for some mind-possessing bitch?!” He wasn’t sure about the last part, but Lightning kept rambling on about some mother, and he doubted it was his true parent.
“I...I...They...” Quarrel began to see the fault in his ways. “Sweet P-Potato...” His eyes began to tear up. “Oh Amug what have I done...” He said to himself.
“Lightning we all need you. Please stop this madness... come back to us...” Prodd sighed. He sensed the bad magic waning off of his friend, the color to his coat and mane began to come back, albeit barely considering it was still faded. “I’m sorry Lightning...”
“I-I’m sorry... I...I’m sorry” Lightning looked at the wall. “I don’t want them to see... I... They won’t trust me...”
“...They will Lightning, they’ll trust you.” Prodd said, “After all... you haven’t betrayed us yet... and you can still help too...” He paused, “If you want to help us...”
“Y-Yes I... I will... help... anything to make up for... what I did” His vision was still blurred by tears, however he could see well enough to notice his restraints still being tied. “P-Prodd... c-can you undo these?”
Prodd was wary about releasing him. Even though he was his friend, Prodd still sensed some evil magic lingering inside Lightning. “...Not yet.” He sighed. “I’ll... I’ll need to alert Flamberge... you’re technically an enemy.” He got up to leave and tell his superior what transpired. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you... friend.” Prodd’s heart said Lightning was his friend again, his brain was suspicious as always. It’d be in the best interest of Duskfields to alert the acting leader about this.
Flamberge finishes writing the general guidelines for the civilian militia at his desk when he receives a knock on his office door. “Come in.” he said casually.
Prodd opened the door and saluted. “Sir... Lightning Runner came back, he is- er was... corrupted by the Discordant magic. He’s being held in the prison, I felt I should alert you of this...”
Flamberge smiled. “See? And you all thought all the extra security was obstructive. Excellent. Let us poke around his brain, see what this corruption does.” Flamberge trots to the front of his desk.
“Sir!” Prodd interrupted. “We... we don’t have to do that... it’s the work of dark magic... a lobotomy wouldn’t solve anything.” He sighed. “I thought that he could give us information about the Discordants, maybe he knew a few weaknesses from when he was getting possessed...”
“Sure, that works too.” Max laughs at Prodd implying he was going to lobotomize the pony. “Lead on, Prodd.”
“Yes sir...” Prodd responded to the order and led the way to the prison. “Lightning should be stable- emotionally... and I did restrain him earlier...” He sighed again. “He wants to help... but I’m still wary of him, I... can still sense some dark magic off of him...”
Flamberge keeps pace and inquires further. “So, where was he when he was contaminated by the red mist?”
“I... I don’t know, you should ask him yourself...” Prodd opened the door to the prison and went over to his restrained friend. “Lightning, Flamberge’s here... if there’s anything you need to tell us, now would be the best time...”
Lightning looks up to see Flamberge and Prodd enter the room. “H-Hello... Flamberge.” He said, his voice shaky. “Y-Yes... b-but can I can g-get out of these restraints... that would be nice”
“Well,” Flam struts up to the cell bars. “That depends, how nice you want to be is directly proportional to how nice I want to be. Were you going to be nice? Or is Prodd going to have to use his crossbow?”
“I promise not to hurt you... even if I wanted to... It’d be two on one. Now please can I get out of these restraints”
“Flamberge... it’s your call. I still sense a dark presence within Lightning...” Prodd stepped back from his friend. “I’d recommend restraining him and locking the cell door... just in case this feeling is right...” He looked to his captain for the final decision.
“Eeh, sure.” He looks down to his sword. “I’ll take that risk. Stand guard by the door, Prodd. In case.” Flamberge takes out his master set of prison keys and moves to unchain Lighting Runner.
Prodd nodded and took up position outside the cell door, poking his crossbow between the bars. Just in case.
Lightning softly mutters. “Thank you” as Flamberge undoes his chains
Flamberge kneels and gets on Lightning’s level. “Tell me, what happened to you?” He asked in a stern but concerned tone.
Thoughts went through Lightning’s head. Thoughts telling him to kill Flamberge. Others telling him to tell the truth. He tried to mentally shrug off the thoughts to kill Flamberge, but they remained. “I....I went into... my- their homeland”
“Whose homeland? The Discordants? What did you see? Can you give me their numbers? Even just a rough count?”
“Y-yes... Discordants... ponies. I saw... a big clearing. Tents as far as I could see... there were” He paused for a moment and took a moment to remember that day. “I saw.... hundreds...”
Prodd listened to the conversation, he’d intervene when he saw a reason to.
“Alright. Why? Why did they want you? Why did they not just kill you immediately? Like everypony else?” Flam questions further.
“Th-Their leader... M-mothe- I mean... erm...” He stopped. He never got this... thing’s name. “I’m s-sorry... but I never g-got her name... If it helps... she looked like a serpant with h-hooves and h-hands. L-Like a monkey... but different... maybe claws... I don’t know... she looked like she had been dead for weeks and decided to g-go for a walk”
Flam grimaces “Did it start with an ‘E’ ?”
“I didn’t get a name... I’m sorry...”
“Her name was Entropy. Princess of decay. Go on.”
“A-Alright... Sh-She did something and this red shroud.... it surrounded her claws and she put it on my forehead... and... I became that bastard of a pony.”
Flam looks around the room, emphasizing to Lightning he didn’t know the bastard pony referenced. “Is this bastard of a pony still in this room?” Flam asks, slowly reaching to his sword.
“N-no” Lightning said, not noticing Flamberge reaching for his sword. “I-Is there anything else F-Flamberge?”
“Flamberge?” Prodd asked from behind the bars. His crossbow was loaded, and anyone in that cell could be a target.
Flamberge’s eyes turned to slits.”She sent you to kill me. Clever Girl.”
Lightning’s eyes widened in panic. “W-What are you going to d-do?”
Prodd’s crossbow was swapping between Lightning and Flamberge. He needed to pick a target, and soon. Or... maybe he could solve this nonviolently... with magic?
Flam smiles and unsheathes his sword. “It’s simple.” He raises his sword and cuts off a piece of his own mane. “You are going to go back to her, and tell her you have succeeded. Or we will put a bolt through you.”
“Wh-What if she doesn’t call off the attack? What i-if she w-wants proof?” Lightning asks, eyes fixated on the sword.
“Here’s your proof.” He lifts the long gold and grey dreadlock. “If she expected you leaving here with my head, past the gate, well I’m afraid she sent you on a suicide mission anyway.” He hoofs the Lightning imitator the strand. “I don’t expect her to call off the attack even on my death. The stories .... I was a fool!”
Lightning still stood in place, afraid to move, for Flamberge might just call of his peacefulness in no time. “Wh-What if she senses I-I’m not the s-same...” He said, hoping to stall his leave as much as possible.
“That, my good pony is not my problem. Prodd. Re-cuff him. Then lead him to the gate. Then shoot him in the wing. Make it look like there was a struggle getting to me. Let him walk back home and send a pony to follow him. I want numbers!” He shouts.
Something Lightning screamed for him to speak up and he was thinking of doing just that. “No. I’m
not letting you hurt them. True they are ‘enemies’, but that doesn’t mean they can change. Their minds are just clouded by this thing’s magic! C-Can’t you see that!” Lightning shouted, his fear suddenly melting away.
Flam quirks a brow. “That is some interesting information. So you suddenly care about the ponies overtaken by the dark magic. Then why didn't you slit the throat of the source of the magic when you had the chance,
assassin?” Flamberge inquired. “Who am I even talking to?”
Prodd had lowered his crossbow and just stared blankly at what was transpiring.
“You are talking to somepony who thinks that once we take care of this thing, these ponies who will, inevitably, collapse can instead reintegrate” Lightning realized what he had just done and took his tone back to normal levels. “I apologize for my outburst... but I have heard the lies this thing says... I want to stop this war... this ‘army’ I saw was nothing more than a simple militia scaled up ten times and there were foals in this place I saw.
Foals that will lose parents or parental figures if this war continues” He forcibly stops himself, as it seemed Flamberge was fed up with his ranting.
Flamberge shrugs. “And what am I supposed to do? Against brainwashed masses vying to kill me, ready to assault us at a moments notice? Sorry, Mister Lightning. My foals take priority over theirs. Prodd you have your orders.”
Prodd spoke up. “Flamberge what the hell? If we have the chance to end this war with minimal bloodshed, we should take it in a second!” He sighed. “This is just like Carnith... you impulsively and recklessly charged into the fray without thought, just because your opponent isn’t like you. Imagine if Carnith was here now, imagine if he decided to fight with us...”
Flamberge took that in for a long while. “Prodd. Find me a peaceful solution and I will follow it to the letter. In the meantime. I believe I gave you orders, and you are talking up to a superior. And Carnith? I will make sure to not make the same mistake twice. I guarantee you that.”
“Sorry sir, but it needed to be said...” Prodd saluted. “And if what Lightning said is true... we might have a shot at this.” He turned to face his friend. “Is there anything else you can tell us?”
“No... I’m sorry Prodd. I have told you all I know” Lightning said, looking towards the ground.
“It’s alright friend... I’m glad to have you back.” Prodd smiled slightly and looked back to Flamberge. “So... how can we win this Commander?”
“If I may interrupt...” Lightning came up with an idea, mainly one that could help. “If we are lucky, Moth- Entropy won’t detect my change with her magic. I could in theory have a chance to convince her to call off her troops... and maybe our peaceful solution can be commenced.”
“Is there even a chance that could work? Can we convince Entropy?” Prodd asked. He was willingly to try, regardless of how low the odds of success were.
“There will never be any chance if we don’t try. From what she used to attack my former way of thinking, it was mainly ‘They don’t love you, however I love you’ and if I can somehow twist that...” He stopped, and began to think the plan out.
“This is all hinging on the fact she does not just kill you the second you get back. Or worse, just flip back to the “other’ pony.” Flamberge scoffed. “Listen, Lightning. If you wish to go back to that dark place, I commend you for bravery; but don’t waste such an opportunity on diplomacy -” Flamberge brandishes a knife. “Try it your way if you wish. Or, take this, and plunge it deep into her heart while you still have the element of surprise. The thing about a suicide mission is you can’t buck it up. She will kill you when she realizes i’m alive. End this for Duskfields once and for all, and your family name will be legend. I don’t see many good outcomes for you now, so why not go out with a bang?”
“I know she’ll kill me if I buck up... but... even if I attempt to do as you say, she’ll see it coming a mile away.” He reached into his cloak and pulled a dagger out. “And Flamberge my good sir, I have my own.”
Flam looks terribly surprised. “Prodd. Whatever happened to checking prisoners for weapons?”
“Oh I knew it was there... And besides,” Prodd tapped on the bars. “The potential threat’s contained.”
“You still do not trust me?” Lightning said in confusion. “I just gave you vital information. And you do not trust me. If I was a spy, I’d have given little to no information, and even then it’d be stuff that didn’t matter”
“...No offense Lightning, but for an ex-thief you are the most uncoordinated pony with a melee weapon I have ever seen.” Prodd chuckled, trying to raise the mood slightly and cheer up his friend.
“Ha.Ha. Now please Prodd, can I get out of this cell?” Lightning said, annoyance prominent in his voice.
Flamberge nods at Prodd. “Let him go. Let him walk there. If he flies? shoot him out of the air.”
“Oh yeah... sorry about the bolt Lightning... and the trap...” Prodd winced as he apologized. He then opened the cell and released the veteran criminal of Duskfields.
“Thank you... and I forgive you” He held up a hoof towards Prodd.
Prodd lightly pounded his hoof against his friend’s. “Take care of yourself out there...” He paused . “...hypothetically speaking, if you didn’t make it back... I’ll help take care of your family... I mean, if there was even a chance of you dying...”
He kept himself from tearing up. “Thanks. I’ll stay safe. I expect you to stay safe as well” He smiled for the first time that day
Flamberge quirks a smile. “And Prodd goes in for the rebound. Bow Chicka Bow wow.”
Prodd rolled his eye and left the two for the archery range. It’d make sense he’d use the targets one last time before their darkest hour.
“I guess this is time for me to go?” Lightning asks rhetorically.
Flamberge gives him a solid hoof shake. “Let the hope of Duskfields be at the wings of your back, Lightning. Godspeed.”
Lightning nods. “And don’t take it too hard, but” He cloak falls and his armor clad body is seen. “This stuff was on me the whole time.” Lightning chuckles before getting a more serious tone. “Seriously though, If I fail, I pray you will be able to defend Duskfields.”
“I
will have my revenge Lightning. Nothing, pony or god, Draconequus will stand in it’s way. I. AM. NOT. BUDGING. TO HER.” Flamberge storms away to prepare.
“Yes.” He trotted into the empty cell and picked up the lock of hair and his dagger. “I now take my leave. May Nirmek shine his Mercy on us today.” He said to nopony in particular.
