• Published 3rd May 2013
  • 12,927 Views, 946 Comments

The Dusk Guard Saga: Rise - Viking ZX



Steel Song is a lot of things. Earth pony. Uncle. Professional bodyguard. Retired. So when he receives a mysterious package from Princess Luna, he's understandably apprehensive. Things are never as they seem in Equestria...

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Training - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“By Celestia’s Beard this is heavy!” Counter said, grunting as he slid the crate across the floor towards the dolly. “Hey, Cooper!” he called, waving across the warehouse at his co-worker. “Give me a hoof with this thing will you?”

“Again?” the white coated unicorn called back. “You’ve got another heavy one?”

“Yeah,” Counter said, tapping the box with one hoof and letting out a little laugh. “Thing weighs a ton.”

“Alright, alright,” Cooper said, making on last check on his clipboard and wandering over. “Which one is this anyway?”

“It's the—uh—shipment of crystals that’s going to Los Pegasus,” Counter said, checking the label on the side of the box.

“Are crystals usually this heavy?” Cooper asked, tapping the side of the crate. “Maybe it’s mislabeled.”

Counter shrugged. “Royal Guard already checked it out, we’re not allowed to open it now.” He gave the side of the crate another kick. “Anyway, same as before, we lift and flip it onto the dolly?”

“Well, it does say ‘this side up’ on it.” Cooper pointed out, tapping the stenciled note with his horn.

“Relax,” Counter said, bracing himself against the side of the box. “It’ll only be for a minute. Besides, they pack these things really well. Trust me, I’ve seen the amount of packing material they put in these things.”

“Well,” Cooper said, his horn lighting up with a brownish light. “If its so full of packing material, why’s it so heavy?”

“Oh relax,” Counter said, the last word coming out as a grunt as he threw his shoulder into the side of the crate. “It didn’t hurt that other box earlier, and it’s not going to hurt this one. Now get pushing!”

“Whatever you say, boss,” the unicorn replied, his magic wrapping the box in a brown field. He pushed the dolly against the base of the crate and then began to back up, horn glowing brighter. For a moment the box stood firm, both ponies straining against it, but then with an abrupt heavy thump, the box tilted over and landed on its side on the dolly.

“You say something?” Counter asked, poking his head around the dolly.

Cooper shook his head. “Nope.”

“Eh, whatever,” Counter said. “Alright, mark this one off on that list of yours and let’s get this in the cargo car.” Cooper made a small check on the list and then shook his head as he ran his eyes down the list. “What’s up?” Counter asked, hooves up on the dolly’s hoofrail. “Did we miss something?”

“No,” Cooper said. “We’ve just got one more. It’s weird seeing the cars so empty.”

“Hey, I’m not going to complain,” Counter said, pushing the dolly towards the track exit, “I wanted to get out of work today early anyway. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s terrible that they’ve got all these thefts going on, but how long can they last?” The dolly rattled as it bounced over the gap between the cargo car and the station deck. “They’ll catch the thief eventually and everything will go back to normal.”

“I hope so,” the unicorn grunted as the pair wrestled the box off of the dolly and onto the floor of the cargo car with another thump. “I like having work.”

“Well,” Counter responded as he shouldered the box against the rest of the cargo. “You could always go south, a lot of those smaller towns have work out there. 'Sides, it’d match your cutie mark.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Cooper said, looking down at the barrel on his flank. “Still, I enjoy working on the railroad. It’s not my talent, but, you know, I like it.”

“Hey, whatever floats your boat,” Counter said, giving the crate one last kick to knock it into position. “Any more for this car?”

Cooper looked down at his list and shook his head. “Nope, we can close up this car now. That’s the last one.”

“Good,” Counter said, walking out of the cargo car, Cooper close behind him. The two ponies grabbed the door and slid it shut with a large bang. Cooper clicked the lock shut with a quick burst of his magic.

“Alright,” Counter said. “What’s next?”

“Lets see,” Cooper said, checking the list as the two ponies walked away. “That was Manehatten to Los Pegasus, so the next car should be … Yep, Manehatten to Canterlot.”

The two ponies wandered away from the closed car. Inside the lights were off, leaving mostly empty space in darkness. For a while, the car sat in silence, the only sounds the muted thumps of the railyard around it. Then a voice split the quiet.

“You know,” the melodic voice said. “I know the captain told us to be friends, but personally I find this to be a little too friendly.”

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” a second voice said dryly. “Of all the times for your sense of humor to show.”

“I am just making light of a compromising situation,” came the reply. “I’m not enjoying this either.”

“Compromising is right,” the second voice responded. “Speaking of which, is there anywhere else you can stick that hoof of yours?”

Samahani.” There was a muted thump from inside the box. “My apologies.”

“Yeah, yeah, lets just not make this any more uncomfortable than it already is. I swear I can’t feel my legs.”

“Well, at least your nose isn’t sore.”

“Sorry, but that wasn’t my fault, alright? The stupid box only says ‘this side up’ for a reason. ‘It’ll be ok for a minute’ my plot.”

“What?”

“Figure of speech.”

“Oh.”

* * *

"So, you really think this is going to work?” Dawn asked in a low tone as she sat down across from Steel, doing her best to look like she was simply making small talk with her “husband.”

“Yes.” Steel said, looking out the window as if they were discussing something no more simple than what to have for dinner. “We’ve got everything in place.” There was a tap on the window of the compartment and Steel looked up just in time to see the back of Hunter’s hat as he passed the window.

Perfect. That meant that he was getting into place near the cargo cars and Sky Bolt was set up in the caboose, pretending to be an engineer for the railroad. They each had been given a small bit that Dawn had enchanted to glow when Sabra and Nova, both of whom were bait, snapped a small stick. The moment they had anything, the rest of the team would be able to get into position.

“What about the Royal Guard guarding the cargo cars?” Dawn asked.

“Hunter has ID, so does Sky Bolt,” Steel said. He’d left the Royal Guard uninformed on Hunter's suggestion. The Guard had already tried to catch the thief and failed, so there might have been information that they had leaked. The only Guard he’d informed were the pair that had inspected the cargo, and even then he hadn’t let them see inside of the box, but had convinced them to pass it off with vague whisperings of “state secrets.” The duty-bound Guard hadn’t even questioned a parchment with Luna’s royal seal on it.

“The moment the stick snaps ...” Steel said, turning back towards the window and making a show of looking like he was already missing the city. His muzzle twitched. Apparently his fake beard was still itching. “Both of them will flash the Guard their IDs, and the Guard should stay out of our way while we corral whoever this is.”

“I hope so,” Dawn said, adjusting her hat. It was a fairly nice hat, purchased on budget along with the soft purple dress she was wearing. Just nice enough that she looked like a respectable mare, but not nice enough that she would regret leaving it behind if needed. And it was voluminous enough to hide the tightly bound saddlebags along her sides. “I’d hate to think we’d stuffed Sabra and Nova into that box and sent them on an overnight express from Manhatten to Los Pegasus for nothing.”

“Yeah, I had to push back a surprise for my nephews until next week,” Steel said. “I was supposed to be finding out why my sister was so furious with me tonight.”

Dawn gave him an unamused look. “You’re not at all concerned about Sabra and Nova being stuck in that box?”

Steel laughed. “Those two? No, they’ll be fine as long as Nova doesn’t get too smart while they’re stuck in there. They’ll be sore, sure, but it’s not going to kill them.”

“Hm, I suppose so,” Dawn said, turning to watch the scenery slide past. “I shouldn’t complain, I haven’t been to Manehatten in years, although,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “I would have liked to have visited the hospital while I was here.”

“You know why we couldn’t do that,” Steel said. “Same reason I ordered Nova to avoid his old haunts.”

“I know, somepony could have recognized us,” Dawn said, pulling a book from her shoulder bag. “Always on the safe side.”

“Not taking any chances is the best way to stay safe.” Steel said. A whistled sounded, then a faint jerk ran through the train car, shaking the compartment. Outside the window the platform began to slide past as the train started forward.

“That sounds like something Sabra would say,” Dawn remarked settling herself on her seat, her book open beside her. “Been listening to his thoughts on life?”

“Actually, I asked him about them,” Steel said, nodding. “I figured I’d see how he responded to his own question.”

“Oh?” Dawn said, turning to look at him. “And what did he say?”

Steel laughed. “Nothing that answered any of my questions.”

“But what did he say?” Dawn pressed.

“Something along the lines of ‘I do not know, which is why I ask.’ Then he asked me again.”

“Hmm,” Dawn said. “And what did you tell him?”

“Same thing I said last time,” Steel said. “Life for me is protecting ponies. Why?”

Dawn said nothing for a moment, her lips pursed. “No special reason,” she said at last, turning back to her book. “But if you don’t have anything else to do on this trip, you might want to think more on it. Maybe when we reach Los Pegasus you can have a different answer for him.”

Steel’s mouth opened, but he shut it again a few seconds later without saying anything. She could almost read his thoughts in the stoic stallion's face. Maybe she just wanted him to think over things? What was his life if it wasn’t protecting those around him. What else was there? Steel had a remarkable poker face when he felt he needed it, but apparently this evening wasn’t an evening where he felt he needed it. Or he’d already used up all of his skill at subterfuge pretending to be her husband over the last day.

She left him to his thoughts, turning back to her book. Maybe he would find an answer, she considered. After all, it was a long, two-day trip. Outside, the scenery flew by as the train picked up speed on its journey towards Los Pegasus.

* * *

Hunter checked the door to the cargo area for what felt like the hundredth time, his eyes sliding over the two Royal Guard stationed in front of it. His hat was sitting low on his head, covering the upper half of his vision and cropping the Guard’s heads, making them look like something from a foal’s campfire story. In turn though, neither of the Guard could see what he was looking at. With his relaxed positioning and slow breathing, he’d simply look to them like any other passenger sleeping away the trip.

He fought a yawn. Come to think if it, I could go for a quick nap. He shifted his head ever so slightly, just enough that he could look out of the window. The sun had gone down hours ago, the moon rising and lighting the plains outside Canterlot with a faint glow. It wouldn’t be long now until the train made its scheduled stop in Canterlot.

He shifted his head back, making sure that the motion was a little staggered, like he was adjusting himself in his sleep. At least Sky Bolt was probably having fun back in the caboose pretending to be a trainee engineer. Then again, he thought as the image of the grey mare flitting around her workshop came to mind, she might be having fun, but if she is, the engineer is probably wondering what sort of prodigy they have on their hooves. His eyes darted down to the bit he’d left lying next to him on the seat. Nothing yet.

He went back to staring at the wall, letting his thoughts run jumble around from subject to subject. Manehatten hadn’t been half bad, even if he hadn’t been allowed to make contact with anyone that he knew. He’d still been able to make his way around to see the sights, and some of them had been pretty impressive, even all these years later.

Some of them still hurt too. It wasn’t a sharp hurt, he’d moved past that years ago. But it had been a dull pang that had echoed inside his chest whenever he’d thought of her. The last time he’d been in Manehatten had been with her. They’d spent a vacation together, seeing the sights, enjoying each other's company as they took in the city. That had been the week he’d bought the ring.

And one week later had been the accident. And then she was gone, cut from his life as quickly as she had been cut from her own. He still remembered the hurt he’d felt at her funeral, the pained expressions on her family's faces. That hurt was still sharp from time to time. It was likely it always would be. But she was gone, through no fault of anypony, and there wasn’t anything he could do to change that.

He let out a sigh, doing his best to disguise it as a long exhale. He still missed her. Wherever you are, Swift Wing, he thought, for a moment closing his eyes, know I still miss you.

The thought gave him a sense of closure for a moment and he shifted his weight. Visiting Manehatten hadn’t been as difficult as he’d worried it was going to be, so there was that. Neither had walking through some of the same scenic places he’d seen with Swift Wing. It had hurt a little, but it was dulled. He smirked slightly under his hat. Some of them hadn’t been nearly as fun with only himself around to enjoy the scene. Maybe he could go again sometime. Maybe with Thistle.

Hunter almost sat up in shock as the thought jumped into his head, managing to turn the movement into a sideways shuffle that made it look like he’d just shifted to his side in his sleep. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but now he was stuck with it. Where had that thought come from? Sure, she was nice. And fun. And cute. She had a great set of wings. But no, she was a friend, right?

Right? he asked himself. Derpy probably thought otherwise, but then that was the whole reason she’d set them up in the first place. Besides, Thistle had a coltfriend.

His neck started to twinge under the influence of the odd angle he’d placed it at and he tried to shift it without looking too awake. It gave another spasm of discomfort. Great. Now he was going to have to fake waking up for a bit in order to keep his cover. He shifted, trying to make the movement look natural … and his eyes caught the bit sitting on his seat just as it started to glow.

Hunter exploded into motion, sweeping the bit into his saddlebags as he leapt to his feet. The two Guard jerked in surprise at his sudden movement, eyes narrowing as he rushed down the narrow aisle at them. One of the guards grabbed his spear, lowering it as he approached.

“Halt! This area is off limits!” Hunter rolled his eyes as he skidded to a halt, ducking his head back to grab his ID from his saddlebags.

“I’m First Lieutenant Hunter of the Dusk Guard,” he said, pulling the ID from his bags and holding it in front of the guards. “And I need to get inside this cargo car now!”

The Guard with the spear turned a sarcastic eye to the paper, then snapped to attention as his eyes saw the royal seals, his hoof coming up in a salute. The second Guard followed suit a moment, later, stepping aside as his hoof came up so that Hunter could enter the door.

“Orders, sir?” The first guard asked.

“Yeah, let me through,” Hunter said, sliding his identification back into his bags. “My captain will be here in a moment. Don’t let anypony out of this door until we give you the all clear? Clear?” He waited for the two guards to respond. If Sky Bolt was doing her job, she’d be giving the exact same orders to the Guard on the other end of the train's cargo cars.

“Clear sir!” The first Guard barked after a bare moment's consideration.

“Good!” Hunter darted past the pair and yanked the door open. He bolted into the vestibule, pulling the door to the first of the three cargo doors open before the second even closed. Sabra and Nova were in the middle cargo car. Of course. He flapped his wings, giving him an extra burst of speed. No time to waste.

* * *

Nova was almost asleep when Sabra’s tapping jolted him back to his senses. He turned his head in what he hoped was the direction of the zebra, only to have the zebra’s hoof cover his mouth. Then he heard it: A slow, faint rasp. He frowned for a moment. Wood on wood? Was the cargo shifting? It almost sounded like the noise two boards made when you rubbed them together.

The noise stopped and for a moment all was quiet save for the clacking of the railway tracks underneath the train. Then there was a soft thump, followed by second, then a third. If he hadn’t been listening as carefully as he could, he would have missed it.

There was a much louder thump as something connected with the side of their crate. Nova felt his body jerk to one side as the crate slid out of position. There was a faint, muted snap from beside him. Sabra had broken the stick Dawn had enchanted.

There was a loud thump as something connected with the lid of the box. Nova could hear the nails scraping in protest as the lid began to wrench free. Finally, he thought as a faint outline appeared around the rim of the box. A chance to meet this mysterious thief. With a final, sickening screech, the lid ripped free.

A single, unblinking eye stared down at them, glowing in the soft moonlight. Nova felt his jaw drop as the creature—he couldn’t really think of another name for it—halted in what Nova guessed was surprise. Why are the lights off? he wondered. He lit a spark of magic in his horn, something to give the room some faint light.

The creature reacted almost immediately, a massive paw rising into the the fading darkness as the thing prepared to bring it down on Nova’s head. He pushed back and up, leaping free of the confining crate and trying to hold back a yelp of pain when his rear leg immediately cramped. The floor crashed against his back, knocking the wind from him, but he pushed himself up on his forelegs, struggling to push himself back as the wooden crate he’d spent the majority of his day hiding in cracked apart, a deafening noise in the train car. The faint moonlight coming through the cars few windows wasn’t enough for him to see what had attacked them or whether or not Sabra had escaped the crate in time.

He pushed himself up on all his limbs, ignoring the sharp pang of protest from his rear leg. He flared his magic again, casting a basic light spell. A ball of pale blue light floated out of his horn and up towards the ceiling, glowing brighter as it ascended. And then, Nova got his first look at his opponent, his jaw dropping in shock. It was a machine.

No, he realized, that wasn’t the right word for it. The majority of its body, if he could call it that, seemed to be composed of wooden paneling, attached to the other bits by rods and gears of metal. It reminded him of a diamond dog, with a bipedal stance—although these knees bent forward, not back—and two long, angled arms with massive three-fingered hands at the end of each. What he’d taken for a glowing eye was instead some sort of long narrow crystal set deep into its chest. The … golem, he guessed would be closest to call it, stepped back as his magic lit the room, raising one of its hands as if in confusion.

Then it lashed out with one of its legs. The foot—three large toes forward toes and one toe facing backward, almost like a chicken—smashed into the remains of the crate Nova and Sabra had been hiding in, sending it skidding across the floor at him. Nova rolled to one side, silently thanking Steel for all the training he’d put him through as the splintered remains of the crate smashed into the cargo he’d been standing in front of. He got his hooves under him just as the golem dove forward, its hand pulling back in a fist that would smash him into the deck.

Sabra flew out of the darkness, Fimbo in hoof, and landed on the golem's shoulder, his staff crashing down against the raised arm with a sharp crack. The golem stumbled as Sabra’s added weight threw it off, its punch swinging past Nova’s body and crushing a crate a foot from his head. Nova stumbled back, willing his leg to stop aching and start working. He had to get out of range before a single blow from the construct’s fist put him out of the game.

Sabra leapt from its shoulder as the golem swung its arm up, tucking and landing on three hooves, staff still spinning around his upraised hoof. The golem turned, swinging one of its arms fast and low. Sabra leapt up, pushing away from the ground with his staff and snapping it out of the way just before the construct's colossal hand swept it aside.

Msaada itakuwa nzuri!” Sabra yelled out in his native tongue as he flipped through the air, apparently forgetting that Nova didn’t speak Zebra. Given the situation he made a quick guess and fired off several rapid beams of blue magic from his horn, striking the golem across its arm. The golem reacted by swinging back at him in a misjudged backhand that came up a foot short. Nova grinned as the open hand swept by, only to dive out of the way in a backpedaling panic as the golem stepped forward, almost crushing him with a returning swing.

Focus, Nova! he thought, berating himself as he jumped back. His leg was finally acting like normal, now he just needed to start thinking. All the training he’d been doing had to have done more than given him reflexes and muscle. Think about the art of combat. That was what Steel and Hunter had called it. A movement, a flow to fighting that was intricate. Like Sabra, sliding all across the cargo floor in perfect precision as the golem moved to try and engage the quick-hooved zebra.

Except at the moment the golem was engaging him. Nova jumped forward, rolling between the thing’s legs as its hands came down in a crushing overhead blow that shook the compartment. He came up from his roll with his horn lit, pencil-thin beams of pale blue magic tracing their way across the golem’s back, leaving small trails of frost in their wake. The construct turned, lashing out with a leg that came so close to his face Nova felt the air move from its passing.

Sabra landed on the creature’s back once more, his staff striking the thing’s shoulders with rapid-fire cracks so close together they were almost one sound. The golem shrugged off the blows, tossing its shoulders and sending Sabra rolling across the deck.

“This isn’t working!” Nova yelled. “We need to hit it harder!” He focused his magic, allowing himself to draw more energy than he normally would. Hit. It. Harder! A beam of blue light jabbed out, thick as his horn rather than the pencil-thin beams he’d used earlier, striking the construct in the back of the shoulder.

The construct staggered as the beam hit it, stumbling forward and catching itself against a wall. A large patch of ice formed around its shoulder, glimmering in the pale light. It turned, then stopped as if puzzled by the sudden lack of motion in its right shoulder. A series of sharp cracks rent the air as the shoulder rolled, snapping the encasing ice.

“Well, that was less helpful than I’d hoped,” Nova said as he dove aside to avoid the golem's fist. It crashed into some of the cargo behind him, splintering the packaging. He turned his magic elsewhere, grabbing several of the crates and swinging them into the air. The golem raised its arms, batting one of the crates aside, but the other two smashed into its chest, spilling their cargo over the floor as they shattered and sending the golem staggering back. Sabra leapt out of the shadows, lashing out with a double-hoofed kick that caught the golem square in the center of its chest, knocking it back. As soon as Sabra fell from his view, Nova fired another beam, striking the golem directly below its glowing crystal eye.

As if as one, the doors at both ends of the cargo car slid open, Sky Bolt and Hunter entering the room just in time to see the golem fall, slamming into a stack of luggage and bringing it crashing down on top of its body.

“What the hay is that?” Hunter asked, rushing over towards Nova and Sabra. Nova looked over at Hunter, shaking his head and trying to keep his body from shaking.

“I have no id—” His words were cut off as a fist smashed up out of the pile, slamming down with enough force to crack one of the boxes open and spill its contents. The golem pulled itself from the pile, shaking off bits and pieces of ponies' luggage from itself.

“You know what,” Hunter said, a shocked expression on his face. “I don’t care what it is. Let’s just smash it.” He darted forward, his wings snapping back as they propelled his body forward, his front hooves slamming into the golem's leg. Sabra leapt forward, whipping his staff into the opposite leg, Nova firing bolts of blue magic and trying to recall some of the battle magic he’d been practicing that hadn’t been for using against ponies. Or that wouldn’t cause massive collateral damage.

Sky Bolt flew past, ducked around the golem's fist, and slammed her wrench into the construct's shoulder joint, driving it in with a quick kick. “Go for the joints!” she yelled. “They’re the weak—” Her voice cut off in a startled yelp as a luggage pile slammed into her, smashing her into the wall of the cargo car.

“Sky Bolt!” Nova called out, grabbing the golem’s next missile with his own telekinetic magic and sending it back at the creature.

“I’ll get her!” Hunter yelled. “You two focus on the joints!” He darted between the construct's legs, avoiding a quick stomp that nearly clipped one of his wings and made for the downed pegasus.

“Sabra!” Nova yelled, tossing more luggage at the golem in an attempt to keep it focused on him. “Pick a joint and go for it! I’ll freeze it!”

Ndiyo!” Sabra slid back from the leg and leapt at the golem, kicking off of its chest and landing on its outstretched arm. “Hapa!” he called, bringing his staff down on the arm’s elbow joint. The golem's opposing arm swept up, Sabra raising his Fimbo just in time to cushion the blow that swept him from its arm. The striped zebra tucked and rolled in the air, landing in a ball and flipping backwards. There was a loud crack, the wood in the golem's shoulder splintering as it fought against the wrench that Sky Bolt had wedged into it.

Hunter darted back into the fray, kicking at the golem's knee joints. Nova took advantage of the distraction to fire a beam of blue magic, larger than any he’d dared fire in years, right at the arm joint Sabra had indicated. The golem twisted in surprise as its arm spun under the impact, the entire elbow joint encased in clear ice.

“Sabra, now!” Nova called, grabbing the golem's arm with his magic and holding it tightly in place. Sabra was already in the air, arcing over the construct, his staff gripped overhead. He brought it down like a spike, driving it deep into the ice with a crack that split the room. Standing on the golem's arm as it fought to pull its arm free of Nova’s magic grasp, Sabra drove his Fimbo deeper and deeper into the joint, pounding his hooves on the tip. With a muted crack, the end of the staff broke through the other side, and Sabra threw his body against it, twisting the staff against the joint. It flexed, bending as Sabra braced his body against it.

“I’m losing my hold on him!” Nova called as the construct began to throw its entire weight into breaking free of his grip, thrashing its body and grabbing its own wrist, anything in an attempt to pull its arm free. Sabra gave his staff one last push—and the thin bamboo snapped with a crack. Sabra tumbled from the arm, rolling as he impacted the deck and coming up on his hooves several feet away.

Nova released his grip, letting the construct’s arm go. It stumbled backward as the pressure vanished, almost falling as it lost its balance. Hunter took the initiative, delivering a flying kick to the shoulder that spun the golem around and sent it to its knees in front of the forward cargo door.

Two hooves shot through the door, Captain Song delivering a buck powerful enough to lift the golem to its feet, dual cracks echoing through the room as its chest collapsed on itself under the force of the attack. The golem staggered backward, its arms windmilling in confusion. The powerful earth pony stepped forward, making dull thumps through the heavy steel gauntlets he was wearing on his front hooves. Nova recognized them from the sparring sessions he’d had with Captain Song as the captain’s personal weapon of choice.

Captain Song attacked again, this time stepping forward and driving one of his heavy gauntlets up into where the golem's stomach would have been had it had one. The golem shuddered as its body caved in, and it fell backwards, crashing down across the luggage, twitching sporadically. Behind the Captain, Nova saw Dawn peer into the room, spot Sky Bolt laying at the other end of the car, and rush towards her, medical bag floating at her side.

“Anyone have any idea what on Luna’s moon this thing is?” Steel asked, tapping a still twitching foot with one of his gauntlets. His voice cut through the sudden quiet, almost shockingly loud.

One by one the still standing members of the team shook their heads. “No idea boss,” Hunter said. “But it’s got to be one of the freakier things I’ve ever seen.”

Sabra walked up to the elbow he’d attacked and looked down at the broken remains of his Fimbo. “I’ve had this staff since I joined the monastery,” he said, shaking his head from side to side. “It was a gift from my first teacher.”

“Sorry, buddy,” Nova said as he walked up, putting a hoof on Sabra’s shoulder. “Maybe we can get you a new one.”

Sabra nodded. “It was valued for what it meant, not what it was. Even broken, it still carries meaning. More of it, perhaps.” He looked at the rest of the group.

“So keep a piece of it,” Nova said, stepping back as the golem gave another strange twitch. It wouldn’t stop moving. “When you see your teacher again, you can tell him about how you broke it taking down this ...” he paused for a moment, trying to think of a good word for the monstrosity laying twitching on the floor in front of them. “Golem would be the best word for it, I guess.”

“Golem?” Captain Steel asked, putting both hooves on the things chest and examining the faintly glowing crystal “eye.” “Why a golem?”

“Kind of looks like one,” Nova said, trying to think of an explanation that wouldn’t sound too revealing.

Hunter saved him. “Yeah, like in the Daring Do novels,” he said, winking at Nova. “The Mad Tinker built a couple of them. Magically animated constructs.” He looked down at the still twitching mechanoid.

“Hey, come to think of it,” he said, looking around. “The lights are normally out in all the reports. How come—” Nova pointed upwards at his small orb, prompting a simple “oh” from Hunter.

Sabra stepped up to the golem’s arm, grasping the broken half of his Fimbo in his teeth. His neck muscles grew taut as he tried to pull it out.

An unearthly screech filled the car, an eerie wail unlike anything that Nova had ever heard. He stepped back involuntarily, his ears pressing down tight against his skull, eyes watering. Sabra was flung to one side as the golem’s arm came up, sweeping Captain Song from its chest. Letting out another terrifying screech that seemed to be a mix of several different sounds, the golem leapt to its feet and charged through the open door into the vestibule.

“After it!” Captain Song cried, struggling to his hooves and shaking his head. Blood matted his grey mane. “Don’t let it get to the passengers!”

The captain’s words shook Nova from his stupor and he bolted forward, following the golem into the next cargo, Sabra and Hunter close behind. There was a crash up ahead, and Nova heard one of the Guard give a yell of panic. He darted through the door to the next vestibule, only to be greeted by rushing air and two members of the Royal Guard who were looking up at the missing ceiling with their jaws hanging open.

“It’s on the roof!” Nova called over his shoulder, leaping for the ragged edge and ignoring the flash of pain as the sharp wood scraped into his fetlocks. He kicked out against the wall with his rear legs, pushing himself up over the lip and onto the roof of the train care. Wind tore at his mane, cold and sharp, making his eyes water.

He shielded his face with one hoof, looking ahead. The train was just entering the outskirts of Canterlot, speeding along between the warehouses of the industrial sector on its way towards the downtown. Up ahead he could see the ungainly shape of the golem as it crawled spider-like along the top of the train. Nova wasn’t sure if it’d gone to the roof to avoid the rest of the train's passengers or if it just wanted to make the pursuit more difficult.

He darted forward, not waiting to see which members of the team had followed him up onto the roof of the train. The wind plucked at his coat, biting into his cuts and forcing him to hunch down as he moved forward. The train was slowing now as it moved towards more populated areas of Canterlot, but not enough that the onrushing wind was light enough for him to sprint. He rushed along the length of the train as best as he could, grabbing onto convenient holds with his magic and using his telekinesis to help pull himself forward.

He stopped as he drew closer to the fleeing golem, firing a bolt of his magic and scoring a hit on one of its feet. The golem stumbled, sliding towards the edge of the train before its massive fingers dug into the roof of the car. Nova could hear faint screams coming from the cars below. He didn’t blame them.

The golem twisted, the glowing crystal in its chest facing directly at him. Nova lit his horn, stepping forward as he considered the best place to target the construct. Without warning the golem whirled, taking large lumbering steps towards to the edge of the train. Nova fired, but the golem’s maneuver had caught him by surprise and his magic went wild. The construct leaped, sailing from the edge of the train and into Canterlot.

He didn’t even stop to consider his options. He threw his body from the train, surrounding it in the best magic bubble he could conjure as he flew through the air.

This is probably going to hurt! he thought, squinting his eyes as he tumbled through the air. Ahead of him he could see the golem’s tucked figure and just past it, a quickly approaching building. At lot, he thought as the golem struck.

* * *

“Alright you ponies!” the blue-maned DJ shouted. “Are you ready to pump! It! Up?” The crowd roared their approval and Vinyl Scratch laughed into the mic, throwing her head back.

“Alright then all you crazy movers out there,” she said, giving the crowd a wide grin, cheers rolling over her like a blanket. “Lets see some moves when I drop this!” She slid the next record into position and dropped the needle, her hooves on the sliders. “Are you ready?” she called out to the crowd. They gave a resounding cheer as she slid the needles into their proper places. It wasn’t anywhere near loud enough. “I said ...” she repeated. “Are. You—”

The massive tinted glass wall that made up one side of the club exploded inward, ponies scattering in every direction as something crashed through it into the ground, digging grooves in the dance floor before coming to a stop. Moments later a second figure, this one a pony wrapped in a pale blue glow, sailed through the open space and crashed into the floor. The blue glow winked out and the stallion tumbled across the dance floor behind the massive thing, scattering broken glass with his body.

Overhead the clubs magilights began to fade in and out, as if something was wrong with the power. Vinyl's attention turned to her control board, concern for her equipment overriding even the club's newest arrivals. Thankfully whatever was interfering with the lights apparently wasn’t on a frequency that could mess with her gear. She directed her glasses back towards the club's newest occupants, distorted color coming into sharp relief as her enchanted lenses settled on them.

She had the presence of mind to pull the needles from her records, bringing the music to a halt. Ponies were closing back in now, and Vinyl could hear many of them asking what was going on, if it was some kind of stunt, or if somepony should call the Guard.

Then the strange thing that had crashed through the window shifted and rose up on two legs, letting loose a mournful wail that made Vinyl's coat stand on end. Ponies began to back away in panic as the lumbering creature took a single step, letting loose another wail.

“Everypony get out! Now!” Vinyl’s ears shot up as she heard the voice. She recognized it. It belonged to the strange stallion that had tumbled through the window. He was standing now, and she could see that his body was almost nothing but cut, whipcord muscle. One eye of his eyes was squeezed tightly shut, and he was clearly favoring one front leg. His body was bleeding from dozens of small cuts and gashes, probably from his sliding over a glass covered floor. But his horn—yes, he was a unicorn—was glowing bright as his voice amplified. “Everyone get out now!”

The crowd complied, running in a panic as the strange wooden creature took another lumbering step and then a swipe at one of the fleeing ponies, who managed to duck under its outstretched fingers with a scream before bolting for the door. Vinyl puller her headphones from her head as the thing took another lumbering step forward, tossing them on the board. Every situation had a rhythm, a beat. And as much as she wanted to yell at the stallion right then and there, the beat was telling her it was time to move in a different direction.

“You! Vinyl!” She stopped in her tracks as her name rang out, glasses threatening to slide from her face, the room turning to muted colors past the edges of the frames. It was definitely him. “Before you leave ... give me a beat to beat down to.”

Vinyl grinned and grabbed one of her favorite records. She tossed it on the tables without even needing to look, cranking the volume and hitting the play button as she ran for the stage exit. It wasn’t the strangest request she’d ever had. Well, she thought as she shot out the door, thumping bass notes erupting behind her, at least he’s got style!

* * *

Nova watched out of the corner of his one good eye as Vinyl left the stage, a familiar beat pumping through the club's speakers. “All right, freak,” he said, taking a limp step forward as the golem spun to face him. “Now it’s just you and me, and I’m really not in the mood for this anymore.” He grimaced as he took another step forward, his horn starting to glow. His left front leg felt broken, dangling at an odd angle when he didn’t have pressure on it, and he’d lost count of the places he hurt. He wasn’t even certain he’d be able to find anyplace where he didn’t hurt. Only one thing was on his mind now.

The golem apparently had the same idea. Its “eye” turned to look at the doors, which had closed as the last of the club-goers had stampeded out, and then back to Nova. It raised its hands, limping as it stepped towards Nova.

Nova reached out with his telekinetic magic, barely caring how much power he used anymore. A massive set of speakers hanging overhead tore free from its housing as Nova tugged down, the entire mass of magnets and wood crashing down on the golem. Speakers blew out, showering the area with sparks as the golem crashed back against the floor. Then it lashed out with one leg, and Nova hopped to one side, trying to avoid the sparking mass of broken electronics that skidded across the floor at him. The mass clipped his rear leg, and he fell to the ground, new wounds opening on the cut glass.

He let loose a scream of pain, firing a bolt of magic from his horn that tore into the golem's shoulder. It let loose a mournful cry as its shoulder gave out, its arm falling to the ground with a bang. Nova tried to push himself back to his hooves as the golem stepped towards him, remaining hand raised high to crush him, but his good hoof slipped in the glass and he fell on his broken leg, letting out a cry of pain. He looked up as the golem stopped in front of him, its fist held high.

A striped blur slammed into the golem, sending it stumbling backwards. Sabra flipped away from the tumbling construct, grabbing Nova by the tail and pulling him backwards, hard. Nova slid across the floor, glass biting into his flanks. He didn’t care about the pain.

“Thanks for the save!” he yelled through the haze of agony that was his side. He sent a quick bolt after the golem, catching it in its crystal eye before it could recover. It let out another mournful wail. “Got a plan for stopping this thing?”

Sabra pointed upwards and Nova followed his hoof, blinking away blood from his eye. Hunter was above them, perched on the side of the blackest, nastiest thundercloud Nova had ever seen.

“Hey buddy!” Hunter shouted, pushing himself into a forward hoofstand. “How’d you like a light?” His rear hooves came down hard on the cloud, the room filled with a blinding white glare and deafening crack as a bolt of lightning struck the golem square in the center of its chest, hurling it across the room, where it smashed into the bar, smoking.

For a moment the club was eerily silent, the only sound the occasional crack of sparks from the destroyed speakers. Then, as the three ponies watched, the crystal set in the golem's chest flickered and went dim, its white glow fading to a dull grey. Overhead, the lights came back on, leaving the three staring at the smoking, charred wreck, the fingers of one hand still twitching slowly before coming to a stop.

End of Part Two

Author's Note:

Dun dun DUNN! And thus ends Part 2...