Golden Dusk and Scarlet Gem slipped through a small opening by the ceiling. They entered a separate room, leaving Mythic Moon and Emerald Melody to deal with their numbers. The last words they uttered still echoed in their minds bringing a chill down their spine.
The opposite room had less crates and ponies. A small round table was in the center, and a room for overseeing workers was opposite to them. They recognized Lotus Mist and the other two ponies they saw at the Lunar Park, but not the unicorn.
Dusk continued to walk on the ceiling, sticking to the shadows. Scarlet following closely behind, flapping her wings silently.
“What do we do?” Scarlet asked in a whisper.
He settled onto one spot, still upside down. “Wait a moment…”
She nodded. Dusk was always the one who knew when to strike.
Lotus Mist indignantly rubbed a hoof on her temple, bothered by the noise in the opposite section of the warehouse.
“Quick, check on it.”
The khaki pegasus nodded. He flapped his wings to gently fly towards the door.
“On my signal, knockout Rock Steady,” Dusk said.
Scarlet started gathering wind on her hooves, preparing a small amount of it to quickly build up into a large one.
Quick neared the door, and held a hoof to open it.
“Now!”
Dusk’s horn flared and a spell fired and hit Quick Clean. The pegasus dropped onto the ground, groaning, trying to stay conscious. Alarmed, the other three ponies stood up as well.
Scarlet’s eyes glowed as she sent the wind using her wings. A tornado formed under Rock Steady, and he was lifted off the ground and tossed to a nearby crate. The box shattered as he struggled to get up. He groaned before falling limp.
Lotus Mist flared her wings in aggression. Close Ward’s horn readied a spell. She fired it where she saw the gold blast of magic come from, and the spell exploded. Dusk and Scarlet landed a fair distance from them, unharmed.
Dusk looked up to where they were and found a large hole in the ceiling.
“Yeah, that isn’t natural,” he muttered. She used way too little magic in that spell.
“We’re giving you one chance to turn yourselves in,” Scarlet stated calmly. “Resistance will result in conflict.”
Close Ward laughed. “You think you can beat us?”
“We aren’t sloppy fighters,” Lotus added with a smirk.
Dusk shook his head. “I don’t doubt that.”
Scarlet’s eyes glowed once more. “But can you handle us?” she asked confidently.
Close Ward snorted. “I guess we’ll get to see how powerful the potion really is then.”
“It would seem that way,” Lotus agreed.
“Anyway,” Close Ward smiled as she held Scarlet in her magic. “You’re dancing with me.”
Scarlet was tossed into one side of the warehouse, separating her from Dusk. Once she was released from the magic, she landed roughly on her hooves. she immediately had to dodge a blast of magic sent her way.
Golden Dusk turned to face Lotus Mist who held knives in her wings. Her azure eyes had a faint glow as she licked on one of the blades. She seemed less… threatening at the park. Where was her confidence coming from?
“This’ll be fun…”
“I politely disagree with you,” Dusk replied, horn glowing gold.
Lotus threw two daggers in his direction. They hit his armor but couldn’t pierce it. The blades dropped comically to the ground.
“What?” Dusk asked.
“What?” Lotus replied, looking innocent.
He then noticed the faint light the daggers gave off. Immediately, they exploded, smoke filling the surrounding area of the guard. Lotus smirked, thinking she had won. Suddenly, gold flashed behind her.
“Not bad,” Dusk commended as he delivered a punch.
Lotus blocked it with two hooves but she was still pushed back. A trail of dust was left as she skidded through the floor. She looked up to see Dusk preparing another spell.
She drew her knives, opting for closing the distance. She kicked off the ground with her hind leg while flapping her wings. She flew closer to Dusk with a knife pointed straight at his throat. Dusk made a move to block and counter, but she threw the knife as she flapped her wings hard enough to bring her behind him.
Dusk caught the knife and tried to strike Lotus with it. She caught his hoof, and she attempted to stab him through his chest. When that failed, she left both knives in close proximity to him and they exploded once more. His armor was tough!
“Six left,” she muttered in a volume only she could hear. She drew two more knives.
Dusk’s ears couldn’t help but twitch at that. Wait, his ears could twitch?! He wiggled his ears a little just to be sure. Setting aside his excitement for now, he faced Lotus once more.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.
Lotus stretched her forelegs. “I’m sure you’ve already done that.”
He sighed. “Well… I gave you a chance…”
His eyes glowed a bright gold. Slowly, he seemed to just fade from existence! Lotus looked around, knives held in her hooves. All she could hear in the background was the fight between Close Ward and the pegasus guard.
Scarlet Gem was in the air. She glanced to where Dusk and Lotus were fighting and saw that her teammate had disappeared. Oh, he was taking her seriously now!
“Eyes here!”
Her eyes focused back on her opponent who launched a barrage of spells at her. She dodged left, and maneuvered around the projectiles. Once the attack had died down, she held her hooves out in front of her, holding them up as if she were casting something. She gathered wind on her hooves; it swirled around at high speeds. It spun faster and faster until it’s usually dull color turned into a bright scarlet.
Scarlet wore a smirk only she could see. Close Ward had prepared another round of spells already.
She threw the wind at Close Ward. The unicorn cast a thick barrier, and the wind diverged into two directions.
“Wind is so easy to deal with,” she laughed.
Scarlet’s eyes glowed brightly, and the wind she had thrown started to gather around the bubble, the scarlet color unwavering. Then, the wind shaped itself into arcs and launched at the shield. Close Ward’s arrogance took a dip when each gust exploded onto her shield. She groaned as she amplified the bubble.
“Magic and wind equals that,” Scarlet said to herself. “If she can still take that… lets take it even further.”
Multiple gusts of wind still attacked Close Ward’s shield. Scarlet flew the farthest distance she could from the bubble. Using the wall as a launchpad, she kicked off of it sending her rocketing towards the shield. The unicorn braced herself for the impact, adding more magic to her already crumbling defense.
Scarlet suddenly stopped half-way and gave her wings one hard flap. A large gust of wind that was dense with magic sped right for Close Ward. Her shield slowly developed cracks, and she screamed once it gave in.
Lotus’ gaze found her ally after hearing her cry. She still couldn’t find the unicorn she was fighting! Seeing Scarlet tower over her comrade made her bolt to attack the guard. Once she crossed a large crate, it exploded, sending her flying back.
The pegasus coughed and stood up. She recalled the she saw a gold glow right before the crate exploded. Scarlet bound Close Ward and placed an anti-magic ring on her horn.
Lotus Mist looked around and narrowly dodged a bolt of magic sent her way. She looked up and saw a gold light power down. She threw a knife at the spot, and it exploded. Suddenly, a bolt of magic hit her from another direction. Magic was shot at her consecutively, but the locations were always different. If one was on the right, the next could be anywhere.
Scarlet couldn’t help but feel even a little bad. When Dusk got going… only an overwhelming force or an equal could stop him. Well, that went for all the Guardians.
Lotus cried when she was shot with another spell, the effects of the potion dying down. Desperately, she flew in one direction with her knife drawn. She was met with another explosion that sent her straight back to the ground.
“It’s over, Lotus Mist,” Dusk’s voice echoed from one side of the warehouse.
“Give up,” he somehow said on the opposite side.
Scarlet glanced both directions. She hadn’t seen this trick before…
“Like Tartarus it is,” Lotus spat.
She reached for something in her coat. She pulled out a potion that glowed a dangerously dark purple. Close Ward slowly woke up and panicked when she saw what she was holding.
“Lotus! Don’t!” she cried. “That one’s way too dangerous!”
Scarlet glanced back to the bound unicorn and back to Lotus. She opened the potion and was about to drink it down in one gulp.
“Hunter!” she called out as she flew towards Lotus.
Two bolts of magic shot at Lotus. One was aimed at her, and the other at the potion she held. She shielded the potion with her wings and took the hit from the other.
“Why aren’t my paralysis spells working?” Dusk mentally cursed from the shadows.
Scarlet neared the other pegasus, hooves carrying scarlet-colored wind. Once she was close enough, she delivered a blow that sent the other pegasus flying into a group of crates. She sighed, thinking that was it. She glanced to the ground and found the potion bottle empty. Her gaze made its way to the collection of broken wood, and saw Lotus Mist standing there, perfectly fine.
“No…” Dusk heard Close Ward murmur.
The two Specialists shielded themselves when lightning somehow found its way into the warehouse. The light blinded them for a moment, and once their eyes were open, they saw something that made them nervous.
Lotus Mist, blue lightning covering her entire body, eyes aglow.
Close Ward tried to get up, but found herself unable to. Her mouth opened and closed, eyes showing nothing but fear.
~~~
“Well… this was unexpected…”
Mythic Moon had a barrier around her and her teammate. They were being bombarded with spells from the powered-up unicorns, earthponies banged against her shield, and the pegasi hovered above them, ready to strike once the shield breaks.
Like they’d be capable of that…
“Why are we in here again?” Mythic asked Mel. Multiple spells hitting the barrier.
“Because I don’t want to have you blowing everything up,” Mel deadpanned.
“But it would be so easy!”
“Just…” She pawed at the ground. “Give me a moment…”
Mythic sighed and sat down impatiently. The unicorns were still relentlessly firing spells at her shield. It was an annoying feeling, really. She glanced at Mel again, she was still pawing at a concrete floor!
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Patience.”
Mel moved her hoof and revealed that she broke through the concrete and into the dirt. Emerald streams of magic flowed from where her bracer was as some rock-looking things fell into the hole. She quickly began covering it up once more.
“I get that you’re an earthpony, but shouldn’t you be farming elsewhere?”
Maestro glared at her. A bright green glow emanating from her helmet.
“Think you can disable all of their magic?” she asked, rather irate.
Mythic scoffed. “The fact that you even asked offends me.”
“Can you?”
“Yes!”
“Then get ready.”
Mythic stood up with her eyes glowing purple instead of white. She was granted with the ability to disable a creature’s magic, no matter their race and origins. The purple glow was a result of her using it.
Mel’s eyes glowed and so did her right hoof. She raised it up before slamming it onto the hole. No cracks formed, but magic definitely flowed into the ground. She looked up to face the Purifiers outside the shield. Cracks formed from different parts of the warehouse, and beneath them sprouted her plan.
“Now!” Mel cried.
Mythic dropped her shield and her eyes illuminated with a purple light. It was much brighter than usual; it was nearly blinding.
The unicorns spell-casting stopped, and the pegasi and earthponies felt weaker, Mel excluded. The cracks broke into holes, and vines sprouted from them. One managed to grab all the unicorns in the back line, binding them in smaller ribbons. Two more sprouted around the Guardians, either picking up ponies in bindings or pushing them away.
The pegasi tried to out-maneuver the plants, but they got caught either way. They were grabbed and bound to the ground.
Mythic grew tired of using her eyes for so long, she needed to blink!
Mel injected a last amount of magic, strengthening the vines before nodding to her teammate.
She finally blinked, letting the Purifiers’ magic flow again. They struggled against their bindings, and the unicorns tried casting whatever spells they could muster. All of their attempts were unfruitful.
Mythic was thankful for the interior of her armor… Mel wouldn’t see her sweat. Her gift was powerful, but it still took a lot out of her.
“What now?” she asked.
Mel tapped one of the vines, ignoring the curses the Purifiers spat. “This should hold them. Let’s check on Hunter and Valkyrie.”
She nodded, and the two made their way to the large door separating the two sections. They heard the sound of thunder, startling both of them. Mythic’s eyes shot wide, and she blasted the door open.
They were met with the sight of Scarlet on the defensive, and another pegasus who had blue lightning surrounding her body. Golden Dusk’s magic was faint, but he was definitely there.
Two other Purifiers were trying to stand, one an earthpony and another a pegasus. Though, they seemed to struggle. Their bodies quivered from both their loss of strength and the fear of what Lotus Mist could do.
Dusk and Scarlet should be able to keep her busy for the time being. They had to ensure the other Purifiers weren’t going to get caught in the crossfire.
Mel approached the earthpony. “What’s happening?”
“I… don’t know…” he answered weakly. “I… was slammed into the wall… I can’t remember what happened after that…”
So, this was Scarlet’s doing. “Will you continue to fight?”
The Purifier tried to stand up. When he found himself unable, he laughed. “No… I know when I’ve lost…”
“Then no extra harm will come to you.” Mel nodded. She weaved magic ribbons with her hooves and tied him up.
“Keep… Quick Clean safe too…” he pleaded.
Mel glanced at Mythic who nodded. Their jobs may need them to be ruthless, determined, and unstoppable… but they weren’t heartless.
Mythic stood over Quick Clean’s weak form. She was able to recognize Dusk’s paralysis spell.
She picked him up with her magic. “No more fighting… you’ve lost already.”
Quick Clean managed a small glare that lasted only a few seconds. He managed a sigh, the paralysis spell started to lose it’s effects.
He was placed beside Rock Steady, bound as well. The two stallions were left near a pile of crates. They didn’t have the time to bring them to the other section. Close Ward had an anti-magic ring on her horn as she struggled to get up. She was dangerously close to the fight.
Scarlet was getting overwhelmed with quick, consecutive attacks. Lotus’ knives were charged with lightning, and her speed increased ten-fold!
Dusk struggled to get a good shot in. He fired magic whenever the two would have intervals long enough for him to hit her. Yet, his spells weren’t doing anything. Would he have to go lethal?
Mythic Moon approached Close Ward and levitated her with magic. She briskly brought her beside the other two Purifiers. Emerald Melody went to help Valkyrie.
“Close Ward,” Mythic said coolly. “What did you make?”
Close Ward gulped. She knew Guardians were powerful. “I made an updated version of my magic potion… it’s supposed to give power above alicorn level.”
Scarlet dodged another strike from Lotus. Mel tried to use a levitation spell but found that it had no effects. Lotus’s gaze found her’s, and she charged at the earthpony. Mel dodged and retreated while Scarlet got her attention back.
“And how did you make it?”
“I used the previous recipe but added…” she trailed off nervously.
“Added what?”
“... stolen magic from the Crystal Heart,” she admitted.
Mythic actually paused to process that. “You mixed magic from the Crystal Heart with…” She rubbed her temple.
“It was unstable! I didn’t even give her the ‘go’ signal to drink it!”
“And yet here we are.” Mythic glanced at Lotus Mist who managed to shoot lightning. “How did it come to lightning specifically?”
“I… have no idea,” she admitted. “Maybe it’s because of the volatility of the magic of creatures mixed with the ancient magic of the Crystal Heart?”
“But the Crystal Heart is a constant stream of magic. Not to mention, Love Magic.”
Golden Dusk dodged a lightning bolt that was fired his way. The metal rafters conducted the electricity. Scarlet was a good distance away from his target, so he sent out a barrage of spells. The blasts made Lotus stagger and aggravated her further.
Close Ward sighed. “Look, Warlock, I don’t know why and how because it’s a prototype.”
“You are going to have to answer for a lot of charges.”
“Right now? I’d take that over trying to bring Lotus back to her senses,” she said. “I may be willing to take risks other ponies wouldn’t… but even I know not to drink unstable potions of magic.”
Mythic Moon nodded and left Close Ward to join the fight of her teammates. Scarlet was struggling against the lightning, her wind control useless against it. All she could do was boost herself and redirect Lotus Mist’s flight path.
Elsewhere, Mythic could feel Dusk’s magic. He was prepared to attack, but he couldn’t find an opening. Mel was in a similar situation. She could see the attempts to grow vines to bind her, but they were all burnt to a crisp.
Mythic approached a frustrated Maestro. “Do you think it’s time?”
Mel nodded indignantly. “It would seem so…”
At the thought of getting out their toys, Mythic smiled.
“Let’s try one more time, though.”
Mythic frowned a little.
“Try blocking her magic.”
She nodded and her eyes glowed purple once more. Lotus Mist’s lightning abilities were toned down, but it still crackled around her body. Scarlet took the opportunity to strike her with a hoof. The pegasus was sent tumbling out of the air, and onto the floor. Dusk and Mel fired a barrage of ailment and binding spells.
Gold ribbons of magic formed around Lotus and so did vines. The lightning sparked once more and both were undone. Mythic recoiled as her purple eyes shifted back to white. Those were the effects of a potion?!
Emerald Melody sighed, and Golden Dusk dropped from the ceiling to stand behind the two.
“What do we do?” he asked. “Valkyrie’s our only CQC fighter right now.”
Mythic grinned. “Not if Maestro let’s us use them.”
He slowly turned his head to face Mel. She nodded and her eyes glowed green, a magic link forming between all Guardians.
If she gives the go, Golden Dusk may have to switch with Scarlet in close-quarters.
“Guardians.”
Emerald Melody’s voice resounded in their minds. Scarlet glanced at Mel as she dodged another lightning strike. She and Mythic grinned softly… she was using a tone they were too familiar with. Golden Dusk couldn’t help but feel excitement well up as well. They were about to take it…
“Lethal force is now authorized.”
One step further.