• Published 3rd May 2013
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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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Operation - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Do you think that was a good idea?” Dawn asked Steel as they watched Mint exit the building. “Trusting her to go alone?”

Steel looked over at her and shook his head. “No, it wasn’t a good idea,” he said, feeling a twinge as the door shut behind the poor mare. “I’d rather have somepony go with her, just to guard her if nothing else, but you heard what she said.” He looked back at the rest of the team, clustered around one of the doorways that lead to the basement levels of the huge building.

“We have no idea how many golems are waiting for us down there,” Steel said, looking back at Dawn and seeing the worry in her eyes. “I know you want to do what you can to help, but right now—”

“I understand,” Dawn said. There was neither anger nor bitterness in her voice. Steel looked out through the glass doors, watching the bedraggled mare that had once been the proud head of the Eastern ERS hobble away with her head hanging low. He couldn’t see the horn-lock that he’d put on her from this angle but it was there, suppressing her magic on the odd chance she tried to use it. Her legs had been tied as well, using cord they’d found in a nearby supply closet. Not enough that she couldn’t move, but enough to make traveling far difficult if she did decide to run.

“We need everypony we can get right now,” Steel said, turning away from the window. “She’ll be fine waiting in one of the empty carriages. It’s summer.”

“I know,” Dawn said, stepping alongside him as he began to walk back across the open lobby, his hoofsteps making dull thumps against the marble. “I just don’t like it.”

Steel came to a halt, turning his head to look at her. “I don’t either Dawn,” he said. “But like-it-or-not, we don’t have a lot of options at the moment. She’s a victim, just like everypony else, but we can’t forget that she started this.”

“I know, Steel,” Dawn said, her voice quiet. “And I understand. I may not like it, but—” she looked back towards the doors, her voice faltering slightly. “I know I’d do the same thing in your place.” Her brow lowered, her expression angry. “Besides, the true blame for this lies with Radiant.”

“Yes,” Steel said, stepping forward once more. “It does.” Ahead of him, Nova stepped back from the door that led to the R&D labs, a smug smile on his face as he gave it a light tap with his hoof.

“And it’s open!” he said, winking at the group. “Told you a high security lock and spell wouldn’t be much trouble.” He gave a little cough, putting an innocent look on his face. “And in under two minutes. I believe somepony owes me fifteen bits.” His eyes settled on Sky Bolt, who gave an irritated huff.

“I’ll pay you later,” she said, rolling her eyes as Steel walked up.

“It's open then?” he asked, looking at the group. “Any traps?” Nova shook his head, and Steel gave him a nod. “Good. Then lets get down there and finish this!” He turned and charged through the doorway, heading down the stairs at a full gallop.

“What about noise?” Hunter asked, flying up alongside him. Steel shook his head. Not after the ruckus we made upstairs.

“No, she has to know we’re coming now,” he said as they ran past bare metal doors, each identical save for a painted number. “All that noise, and the lights. No, in fact, I’d expect she was expecting us to make it down here all along,”

“What makes you say that?” Sky Bolt asked, flying along his other side. Steel didn’t reply as they rounded a corner, heading down another flight of stairs.

“It’s obvious!” Nova called from behind them, his words broken up slightly as he took in breaths. “The lights are on, there’s no resistance to speak of, she only sent the basic golems to guard her sister—”

“To be fair,” Sky Bolt said, dropping back out of Steel’s view as they team rounded another staircase. Seven levels to go. “I think they could’ve had a chance, at least with Blade around.”

“True,” Nova called back. “But between the lights, the trap, the fact that Mint didn’t want to fight or even try to resist, I don’t think any of it was meant to stop us.”

“Then what would be the point?” Dawn called. Another staircase. They were circling, rotating around some sort of center as they went down.

“To slow us down?” Nova asked. “To buy time? I don’t know! Look, all I can tell you is that when we went upstairs we went to check out that light we saw from the outside. Now, the door I unlocked to get down here? Locked, but not sealed. And yet I didn’t see any light. Which means these lights here only came on after we’d gone upstairs. Radiant wanted us to go upstairs from the very beginning.”

“That’s—” Steel said, slowing his gate in surprise, “—surprisingly well thought out, Nova.”

“Yeah, well … I’m a thief, aren’t I?” There was a pause in the unicorn’s words, and for a moment Steel wondered if he was supposed to answer or if Nova’s question had been rhetorical. “I’m supposed to think all twisty.” Nova said, answering. They started down another staircase. Five floors left until they reached the bottom.

The wall to their right opened up into a long floor-to-ceiling window running the length of the hall. Steel looked over and slowed his pace. Through the window he could make out the tip of the massive stone counterweight responsible for the building floating above them, its dark grey stone jagged and haphazard. And occupied.

“Oh, Tartarus,” Nova said from behind him, evidently spotting what had caught Steel’s own attention.

“Alright everypony,” Steel said, speeding back up as the golem jumped down out of sight. “If she didn’t already expect us, now she knows. Look alive!” He put his head down, hooves thundering as he charged forward and down the next set of stairs. The passed another window, the golem again watching as they passed, leaping down almost as soon as they were out of sight.

“Boss, I can see down there,” Hunter said as they started down another set of stairs. “There’s about five of those wooden golems, and four that look like they’re made of metal.”

Six wood, four metal? Steel thought, his hooves beating a drum tempo on the metal stairs. I don’t know about the metal ones but armored, prepared, and armed, we can take six of the basic ones. “What about crystal golems?” he asked. “Do you see any of them?” They swept past another window, Hunter craning his head as he flew past the glass.

“One. In the back,” he said. “No sign of Radiant though, I don’t see her anywhere.”

“She’s down here,” Nova said. “There’s nowhere else for her to be!”

“But why?” Sabra asked, his melodic voice almost blending with the timing of the team's hoofbeats. “What would be so important that she wouldn’t just flee?”

“I don’t know,” Steel said, leaping and clearing the next stairway entirely. Once again, the golem was watching them through the window, hanging on the side of the counterweight like something from a foal’s nightmares. He could see the counterweight cables now, thick braids of steel cable that must have cost a fortune to procure, extending down from just above the window as they headed for the base of the counterweight. “Whatever it is, it must be important. There isn’t any other way out of here is there?”

“There’s a freight elevator on the side, at the end of a hallway,” Hunter said. “It connects with each of the labs so they can lift stuff out of the lab, even big stuff like train carriages.”

“So she could already be riding it out!” Steel said, putting on a burst of speed. “Alright, here’s the plan,” he said, his mind running almost as fast as his body. “We’ll tackle the ones with wood first. Nova,” he looked in Nova’s direction, catching the unicorns determined nod. “Use your ice to freeze them. Sabra, Sky Bolt,” he shifted his gaze to the pair. “Focus on golems that Nova’s iced, go for the joints. Hunter, you use that weather magic of yours on the metal golems. Something tells me they’ll have trouble with lightning bolt or two. Dawn?” The pink unicorn nodded as they descended the final set of stairs. “You assist where you think you’ll do the most good. I’ll occupy the crystal golem until the rest of you can help me out.”

“You really think we can do this?” Nova asked as they rounded a corner. Ahead of them, set into the wall, was a massive door that presumably led to the chamber containing the counterweight.

“Either way, we have to try!” Steel said, turning and slamming his shoulder into the door. He barely felt the impact through his armor, the door flying open before him.

Almost immediately a wooden hand reached for him. He ducked under it, giving it a satisfying kick with his hind leg as he passed. The center of the room was dominated by the craggy pillar that was the top the of the bedrock counterweight, a monolith that the entire room rotated around. The braided steel cables stretched across the room, connecting to the counterweight at its base, where it merged seamlessly with the smooth rock underhoof.

Steel ducked under another grasping hand as the rest of the Dusk Guard swept into the room behind him. He heard the crunch of wood followed by a battlecry, although from whom he wasn’t sure. He pushed out with his hind legs, clearing the cable where it met the base of the pillar and kicking off of the counterweight for good measure, throwing himself further into the air and sailing over one of the metal golems.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up!” Steel looked up as he landed. Radiant was standing at the far end of the room, behind a heavy sheet of glass interlaced with wire, her voice coming from a loudspeaker sitting just above it. “I’d expected you to be here long ago. You kept me waiting.”

“Radiant!” Steel yelled, darting past another golem and heading for the glass. A crystalline fist slammed down in front of him and he skidded to a halt, juking left as the crystal golem stepped towards him. “Give it up!”

“What? Give this up?! Now?” The mare let out a long cackle. “When I’m so close to finishing my masterpiece? Why would I do that? I have an army! Once I’m done squashing you insects, I’ll take them wherever I want! Do whatever I want! I could have a nation! An empire!”

"With just eleven golems?” Steel said, ducking out of the way and flipping his saddlebags from his back. Should have put these on before I entered the room. He slid under a blow from the golem, wincing as the fist cracked against the pillar. Don’t let him catch you between him and the pillar, he thought as he slid one of the gauntlets on, locking it into his armor. “You can’t take on the world with eleven golems, Radiant! I’m not even sure you can take on us!”

He rolled forward, underneath another swing from the crystal golem, the second gauntlet sliding over his hoof. “As a matter of fact,” he said as came to his hooves, lashing out and sending chips flying from the golem's leg. “Make that I’m pretty sure!” Hunter was darting around the room, a dark grey thundercloud forming overhead, already sending out faint tendrils of flickering electrical energy. Past that he could see flashes of blue light as Nova sent beam after beam of freezing energy crashing into his opponents. Sabra was dancing around the golems like they were barely moving as Sky Bolt swept down from above. One of the constructs was already lying in a corner, unmoving.

“You’re not going to be able to beat us!” Steel said, backing up against the glass that separated him from Radiant. “Give it up now!” He ducked as the golem's fist swung towards him, and Radiant let out a yell of surprise as it smashed into the space where Steel had just been, spiderwebs shooting through the thick glass as it cracked. “Because as soon as we finish wiping out your little project, we’re coming in there after you!”

He reared up on his hind hooves and reached deep inside of himself, summoning forth the earth pony magic within him, pushing it into his forelegs as his hooves came down. Move, he said, pushing his innate magic into the rock below him. Now.

The crystal golem rocked back as a craggy spike of rock erupted from the ground, slamming into its exposed chest. Steel let out a whoop as the golem’s chest cracked, a long, zig-zagging across its surface. “Not so tough when I’m on the ground, are you?” he yelled, whipping around and bucking the golem in the chest. It let out a pained warble as it stumbled back into the counterweight.

“You can’t beat us, Radiant!” He called as the golem’s warble switched to a low pitch, the construct pushing itself from the pillar with a cry, its hands coming forward. Overhead a bolt of lightning arced out with a crack that nearly made his ears ring. One of the metal golems fell to the floor, convulsing.

“And you aren’t listening, captain!” Radiant called back as he stepped past another blow. He reached inside himself as the golem came in fast and low, checking his own reserves. Earth pony magic was closely tied to his stamina, he didn’t want to use it all too quickly.

“I said I had an army!” Radiant said behind him, laughing. “What makes you think I count eleven golems as an army?” She paused, and Steel saw her out of the corner of his eye as he jumped over the crystal golems leg. A pit opened up in his stomach as he saw the grin on her face.

“Command order!” Her voice boomed around the room as she yelled through the loudspeaker. “All golems activate! Kill everypony!”

“What does she mean ‘all golems?’” Hunter called, kicking his cloud and sending another bolt of lightning into the melee. “Are there—” his voice cut off with a yell as one of the nearby windows looking in on the hallway exploded inward, showering him with glass. “Oh crikey!” the pegasus yelled, juking to the side as a metal golem leapt through the glass, its fingers barely missing the tip of Hunter’s wing.

Steel looked up in shock. All around them, on every floor, golems were emerging from the lab doors they’d passed, smashing through them with minimal effort and leaping into the room, glass shards raining all around them.

Ten, twenty, thirty— he counted, his eyes wide even as he rolled away from the crystal golem. Radiant’s laugh filled the room, mixing with the sounds of smashing glass and the thuds of heavy footsteps as golem after golem landed around them.

“I told you,” Radiant said, her voice sing-song. “I’ve. Got. An army!” She drew the last word out, striking a little pose through the glass.

We can’t win, Steel realized, looking at the sea of golems around him. There have to be at least fifty golems here, maybe more!

“Wondering how many golems you can beat, captain?” Radiant asked. “Well,” she said, taunting. “If you each destroy ten of my golems, it still won’t be enough! I’ve had months to make these things. I’m so glad I get to share them with you. You know, before you die!” The last word was an almost indecipherable shriek of rage.

We’ve got to find some way to stop these things, Steel thought, leaping underneath one of the support cables. Three different fists, two of them crystal, slammed into the steel cable above him. We can’t let them get out, especially with whatever she’s planning. He rolled left, leaping as he came up and kicking out with his front hooves, cracking a wooden golem’s crystal in half. The golem fell to the ground, two more stepping up behind it.

“Anyone have any ideas?” Hunter called, kicking his cloud and sending an entire barrage of lightning bolts down towards the ground. One of the golems detonated as the lightning breached its battery crystal, scattering the nearby golems. “My cloud is running out, and I don’t think I’ll get the chance to make anoth—crikey!” A shard of glass shot by his face, thrown by a golem. Another shattered against the armor on his flank.

“I’m open to suggestions!” Steel called. A wooden fist slammed into his side, sending him tumbling. He rolled to his hooves, thankful for his armor. “Anypony have any ideas?”

“Yes!” Radiant’s voice crackled over the loudspeaker. “Give up and die! Or get smashed and die! Or just die!” She laughed, a high pitched squeal that sent a shiver down Steel’s spine.

“I’ve got one, but I don’t think anypony's going to like it!” Dawn called from somewhere nearby. There was a bright orange flash and several golems stumbled back, her pink frame darting between their legs.

“Well, let’s hear it!” Steel called, punching another golem in the chest and then ducking just in time for one of the larger crystal golems behind him to smash its fist into it, crushing the chest.

“Yes, let’s!” Sabra’s voice rang out, intermixed with the nearly constant ring of his staff hitting golem after golem. The zebra was dancing from golem to golem, his hooves never touching the floor, his limbs and staff a blur of constant motion. “I cannot keep this up forever!” Steel’s eyes left the colt as he rolled away from another attack, his gaze turning upward instead.

“What’s the idea, Dawn?” he called, his eyes taking in the sight of golem after golem still erupting from the doors to the labs. There’s no way we can face this many, no way at all.

“Alright, here it is!” Dawn yelled, leaping from the mass of golems chasing her and landing on one of the steel support cables. “Ever seen Phantom of the Opera?”

“You’re right!” Nova called from the end of the room, blue bolts flying fast and furious. “I hate your idea already!”

“Cut the cables?” Steel yelled. “Are you serious?”

“Yes!” Dawn yelled, leaping back up the cable as golems grabbed at her hooves. “And smash every one of these plotheaded abominations!” She lowered her horn, a dull orange glow building at it’s tip. “We should only need to cut one or two on the same side!”

“You’re insane!” Nova cried as a thin, bright bolt of magic erupted from the tip of Dawn’s horn, heating one of the braided cables with a faint wisp of smoke.

“Nova, shut it and help her!” Steel called, ducking himself past another clumsy golem strike. “The rest of you, protect them while they cut that cable!” He lashed out with both hooves, knocking two golems back and wincing as a third grazed his back with another blow. The hits were coming more often now, his sides slowly numbing to the pain under his armor.

“I’ll get the other cable!” Sky Bolt called, flipping into the air and flying for the next closest cable to Nova’s position. “Sabra! Keep them off me!” The zebra flipped his staff onto his back, running and leaping from golem to golem in the most intense display of acrobatics that Steel had ever witnessed, kicking off of swinging arms, shoulders, anything in his path. But even the agile zebra hadn’t made it through the fight unscathed, Steel could see cracks in the armor along his sides.

“Get back!” There was an eruption of blue light from the far corner, a dome of vivid blue that shot out, knocking the golems back and leaving Nova standing in the middle of a empty circle, his horn glowing like a beacon. One of the wooden golems lifted into the air, wrapped in a blue glow, and then bent back. Nova let out a wordless yell as it folded over backwards, whatever gears and supports it had in its back cracked and warped under the force of the unicorn’s magic. He rushed towards Steel, using the golem as a battering ram, smashing it left and right against every golem in his path.

“A little tense there, Nova?” Hunter asked as the unicorn leapt onto the cable, giving his impromptu weapon one last shove, knocking one of the crystal golems to the counterweight. Nova didn’t reply, just let out another yell as he blasted a golem square in the chest with a blue bolt, sending it skidding back.

“Cover him!” Steel called, bucking one of the metal golems and feeling its surface buckle under the impact of his hooves. Up on the cable, Nova had reached Dawn and was lowering his own horn.

“Wait a minute! What are you doing?” Radiant asked, her voice echoing through the chamber. “You maniacs! What do you think you’re doing?” There was a groan as a steel cable gave way, the remaining braid creaking as it took up the slack. “Get away from that!”

“It’s like you said, Radiant!” Steel called, smashing his hooves into a golems arm once, then twice. He grinned as the arm snapped off under his blows and he kicked it, launching the arm at and approaching crystal golem which batted it from the air. “We can’t beat this many golems!” There was another snap, and the room rumbled underfoot. “But gravity sure might!”

“No! You—I—” Radiant was backing away from the glass now, deeper into the facility.

“Give it up Radiant!” Steel called, Hunter darting down from above and knocking aside an arm that had been coming for Steel’s head. The golem spun away as Hunter’s momentum carried it to one side. “Turn yourself in, or we’ll bring this whole building down on top of us!”

Radiant stared at him for a moment, her face seesawing between hatred and shock. “You won’t have me!” she screamed, her face holding a strange mixture of the two. “You won’t!” She turned and bolted, vanishing deeper into the facility.

There was screech, as if a guitar string had been stretched too far. “Not much longer now!” Dawn called.

“Hunter!” Steel called, backing up as the tide of golems pressed in. “Find us an exit!” The pegasus nodded, darting off through the air as a Steel pushed back golem after golem. They were getting too close … any minute now and—he pushed a jolt of earth pony magic through his hooves, a wall of stone erupting in front of him sending one golem flying into the air. That should buy me some time, he thought as he glanced over at the other cable. Sky Bolt was wrapping cord around it as quickly as she could, Sabra a blur as the zebra leapt around her, his staff smashing away any hand that came to close.

“I’ve got one!” Steel looked up as Hunter swooped down, riding a golem into the ground and shattering its crystal against the floor. “The elevator!” He pointed at a large door, flush with the wall, and then leapt up as another golem crashed towards him. More were coming, climbing down the counterweight now.

“This one’s ready to go!” Sky Bolt yelled, taking to the air and leaving the cable behind. Sabra leapt from his latest victim, wrapping his forelegs around Sky Bolt’s as she flew towards the rest of the group.

“What is it?” Steel yelled, another blow glancing from his shoulders.

“About ten feet of enchanted cutcord!” Sky Bolt called out. “All I need is somepony to light it and it’ll cut right through!”

Steel nodded and pointing a hoof at the elevator door. “Clear that area, get the elevator door open!” Sky Bolt gave a nod, dropping Sabra, who spun in mid air, driving his staff point first into a golem's crystal and riding it to the ground. Steel turned away, just catching the zebra using the momentum to springboard into another golem as he lashed out at his own opponent, crippling its leg.

“Almost there!” Dawn cried from the cable. There was a sickening sound, sharp and reverberating. “Got it!” Dawn called, leaping to the ground, Nova close behind. Behind them the uncut half of the cable was beginning to stretch and twist as it succumbed to the forces pulling it. The room shook and Steel could only wonder what the building looked like from the outside now that the supports were failing.

“Hit the cutcord!” Sky Bolt yelled, and Dawn obliged, a thin beam of energy cutting across the room and hitting the wrapped cord. It burst into brilliant, white light, eating through the braids.

“Door’s open!” Hunter called as the large metal door swung open with a slam, revealing a long dimly lit hallway that stretched back some fifty feet.

“Go!” Steel yelled, shoving a golem out of the way to give himself an opening. “Go!” The team complied, bolting through the opening at a gallop, Steel close behind. Behind them, he could hear rapid fire snaps as the cutcord sliced through the cable like a hot knife through butter. The hallway groaned around them, and from somewhere far above there was a faint creaking sound that seemed to echo inside Steel’s bones.

A support beam crashed down in front of Steel and he leapt over it as the shaking intensified. Metal ceiling panels began to crash down around them, the entire structure complaining. There was a loud crack behind them, followed by a massive jolt that almost threw Steel to the ground.

“That was the first cable going!” Sky Bolt yelled as the team thundered onto the elevator, their hooves echoing on the wooden platform. Steel turned back just in time to see the hallway they’d been running down collapse, crushing a pursuing golem under tons of metal and debris.

“We’re all here!” He yelled, looking back at Sky Bolt. She nodded, throwing a lever up. The elevator began to rise, slowly, but then faster and faster, Sky Bolt cranking the lever well past whatever safety lock it had been built with.

“Look out!” Nova crashed into Steel’s side, shoving him away from where he’d been standing as a support beam crashed down from above, smashing through the thick wooden planks and tearing away part of the platform. Steel’s jaw dropped as he got to his hooves, staring at the hole where he’d been standing.

“Thanks,” he said, heart pounding. The building shook again, the elevator rattling against the sides of the shaft, and he looked up, wary of more debris crashing down.

“Top floor!” Sky Bolt yelled as the elevator came to a sudden halt, throwing the team into the air. Steel twisted, landing with his hooves under him as he looked around.

“It’s the indoor rail yard!” Hunter yelled, flying off. “This way!” Steel bolted after him, his heart pounding in his chest. The whole building was shaking now, dust raining down all around them as the building approached its final moments. Hunter landed by a massive door, grabbing a circular valve in his hooves and straining his body against it.

Steel slammed into the valve, adding his weight and muscle to the wheel, and it spun, slowly at first, but then faster, the nearby door slowly rolling back.

“That's enough of a gap, lets go!” Steel yelled as Nova bolted through the gap, followed by Sky Bolt. The two ponies galloped for the opening as Sabra and Dawn shot through it.

The night sky had never looked so good, Steel decided as he shot out into the night, feeling the cool summer air rush through his mane. He kept running, metal groans shrieking behind him as he galloped to the very edge of the rail yard. Up ahead, Sky Bolt reached the wall and turned, her jaw falling open in shock, the rest of the team following suit. Steel slowed, turned, and gaped.

The top portion of the building was tilting, leaning over as the cables they’d damaged slipped through their supports. Steel watched in awe as a glass window blew outward, a desk tumbling free and falling towards the building below. Then, with a loud series of snaps that echoed across the rail yard, the remaining cables snapped.

The building seemed to hang in the air for a moment, suspended in time. Then it dropped. The lobby skylight shattered, a titanic rumble of breaking glass as the base of the building plowed through it. The building continued downward, smashing through the marble floor and ripping through the lower floors. The ground began to shake underhoof, an almost agonizing cacophony filling the air as glass shattered and beams broke, the building caving in on itself like a deflating balloon. There was a final, crushing rumble as the descending building met the counterweight at the bottom, its descent earthward coming to a halt as two connected. The top few floors continued to cave in with a series of smaller, less impactful crashes, while the six support arms, no longer balanced against what they had held for so long, began to fall to the ground with faint booms, some of them taking out trees as they collapsed. Then at last, with a final rumble, everything was still.

“And that, I think,” Sky Bolt said, letting out a tired laugh, “is why they must have called it The Chandelier.” She let out a weary laugh, dropping to the ground with a thump, and Steel followed suit, his own hind legs giving out underneath him. “By Celestia and Luna both,” she said, “I hope I never have to do something like that again.”

“I’m with you there,” Nova said, his breaths rapid but deep. “That was an experience I’d rather not repeat.” The rest of the group began to mutter various affirmatives.

“It’s funny how the lights are still on,” Hunter said after a moment. Steel looked up and blinked in surprise. Sure enough, most of the ground lights were still on, illuminating the wreckage. “Durable little things.”

“It’s a shame we couldn’t save Radiant,” Dawn said after a moment.

“I know,” Steel said, gathering enough strength to push his back legs up. “We tried though, and that’s what matters.”

“And will that help me sleep at night?” Dawn asked. “Knowing we crushed her under that—”

“Guys? Hang on ...” Sky Bolt said, raising her hoof. “You feel that?”

“Feel what?” Nova asked. Steel felt something drop inside his stomach.

“I feel it,” Sabra said, as Nova’s eyes went wide. Then Steel felt it too, a faint tremor underhoof.

“Alright guys,” Nova said, stepping back with one hoof raised, worry on his face. “What’s doing this?”

“Oh crikey,” Hunter said, his eyes going wide as a crash echoed from the direction of what had once been the ERS Eastern headquarters. “Look at that!”

Steel spun around as a massive chunk of debris shot into the air from the center of the wreckage, a huge—no, he corrected himself—massive two-fingered hand made of clear crystal shoving the wreckage upward. The debris shifted and another hand burst through the wreckage, scattering steel beams like tiny sticks. Each of the hands was at least the size of two ponies, maybe larger. Both hands slammed down and the ruin erupted, debris of all kind flying back as a truly massive golem, comprised entirely of the same clear crystal, pulled itself free, shaking detritus from its shoulders.

“By the moon above,” Steel said in shock as he spied the pale green unicorn encased inside the thing's chest. “Radiant?”

A laugh echoed across the wreckage as the golem turned left, then right. “So!” Radiant said, her voice booming from the huge golem as she spotted them. Steel could see her staring through the clear crystal, her horn aglow as she manipulated the massive construct. “You made it out alive after all!” The golem's fists cracked together with a sound like two boulders colliding. “That’s great,” Radiant said, letting out a mad chuckle, her head rocking back before snapping forward, eyes narrowing, fixing on the team as her voice grew low. “Because I really, really wanted to kill you.” Her shoulder dropped, the colossus charging towards the team like an oncoming train, Radiant’s laughter ringing out alongside the crash of its steps.

“Scatter!” Steel yelled, throwing himself to one side as the golem skidded to a halt, its outstretched hands sweeping through the space where the team had just been, sending dirt and gravel flying. “Go for the legs!” There was a flash of blue light as Nova opened fire, his blue magic splashing across the golem's feet.

“Insect!” Radiant roared, her voice distorted through whatever spell she was using to speak jumping and dropping in pitch. A backhand swept out towards Nova, crashing through a nearby empty carriage as Nova ducked under it. “You just dropped a building on me, and I survived!”

A bolt of orange magic shot out of the shadows, striking the golem square in the chest and bouncing into the sky. “It’s reflective!” Dawn yelled, bolting as Radiant turned her attention towards her, a fist smashing down. “I can’t sedate her.”

“Then we’ll have to smash it down!” Steel yelled, ducking between the legs and giving one of them the hardest buck he could manage. The impact resonated up his legs, and he grimaced in pain. The golem hadn’t moved an inch, the tough crystal unmarked by the impact.

“You can’t smash me!” Radiant cried, her voice triumphant as the golem continued to lash out at random targets, trying to smash the team. “You’d need the Princesses themselves to smash me!”

She’s right, Steel thought, his gauntlets sliding off of the thick crystal. We’re like flies against a manticore, we don’t have a hope of smashing this thing. He leapt back as the golem bent, grabbing a nearby rail carriage and lifting it into the air with with a scream of metal. If she was actually focusing on one of us instead of attacking us at random, we’d already be dead.

“I’m Radiant!” she cried as she lifted the rail car above herself. “And you! Are! Nothing!” Nova and Sabra dove out of the way as the carriage smashed into the ground where they had been standing, tumbling end over end, glass sparkling in the moonlight as it shattered.

She thinks she’s toying with us, Steel thought as Radiant let out another laugh, this one somewhere between a mad cackle and psychotic giggle. A lightning bolt cracked off of one shoulder, disintegrating into sparks. The golem lumbered on heedless of the impact, one arm swinging out at a dodging Nova, who managed to duck under the blow. Sky Bolt darted past Steel, swinging her wrench into the golem's leg with a sharp crack that did little more than his own kick had done.

She’s too massive to take on head on! Steel thought, backing up. Radiant was laughing, the thick crystal of the golem shrugging off every attack the team made at it. We’re small enough to stay out of range, but we can’t focus long enough to do any real damage. It’s like we’re foals at play and she’s the— His thoughts came to a jarring halt as a memory surfaced, Jammer and Sparkle both standing on him, his legs tightly tied. That might actually work! he thought, looking up at the crystalline construct.

“Dusk Guard!” he called, looking back at the wreckage of The Chandelier. “Break off, regroup at the wreckage! Let’s go!” I hope this works! Steel thought, looking over his shoulder at the gargantuan crystal golem as he galloped towards the remains of the ERS building. Although if it doesn’t, I doubt I’ll worry about it for long.

* * *

Nova tossed himself to one side as Radiant made another grasp for him, one of the huge fingers scraping against his flank and pushing him further away. He grunted under the impact as the crystalline armor cracked. He stumbled, firing off another bolt of magic at the golem, this time aiming for the cockpit area that the mare was enshrined in. There was a gasp of surprise as a thin layer of ice spread across it.

Perfect! Nova thought, ducking away as the golem made another blind grab for him. It’s just like the stuff in the lab. It’s resistant. Not immune. All I need is to pour enough magic into it and— he could hear the captain calling for a regroup over at the wreckage. “Sorry lady, gotta run!” he said, giving the cockpit another blast for good measure and hardening the ice. Radiant let out an unladylike curse, one hand coming up to wipe the crystal clean.

I hope he’s got some sort of plan, Nova thought, galloping past the temporarily blind golem. I can’t keep this up much longer. His shoulder was burning, a gash cut in his suit and the crystal plating gone, having broken off sometime during the fight below. He could feel bruises up and down his body from the beating the golems had given him. But worse yet was his horn. It wasn’t just tingling like it had that morning, it was burning now, the heavy use of magic having long since gone past a comfortable level. It felt like a hot spike was being driven into his skull every time he used it, a bolt of pain that went deeper with every spell.

Sky Bolt swept past overhead, one wing flapping erratically as she landed up ahead. Nova ducked around a low wall that had been torn free in the collapse, and his eyes widened as he got his first good look at the team. It wasn’t just his own body that was nearing its limits, the battle was written on all of them. Hunter looked like he was about to pass out. Sabra was leaning on his staff, his armor chipped and cracked where lucky blows had made it past his guard. Dawn had bags under her eyes from constant magic use, her mane in complete disarray. And the captain—well, he looked as if he’d been through a war.

“Alright, everypony, listen up, we’re only going to get one shot to pull this off!” The captain’s armor was cracked in so many places it looked almost as if it would shatter at any moment, falling to the ground in so many pieces. Behind Nova there was a wordless roar of anger, the ground shaking underhoof. He took a quick glance back, peering around the wall. Radiant had almost cleared the cockpit of ice.

“Dawn, do you have enough left in you to levitate something?” Steel asked. Dawn nodded. “Good,” he said. “We’re going to distract her for a bit. Use some of the cabling that held the building up to make a snare. The kind that uses her own movement against her. Can you do that?”

“Ye—yes,” the mare said, although her expression was hesitant. There was a rumble as the golem began to turn towards them, one foot grinding gravel beneath its toes.

“Alright, Hunter, Sky Bolt, Sabra,” Steel said, looking at each of them in turn as the golem began to lumber towards them, picking up speed. “We’re going to distract her, lure her into the trap. As soon as it springs, we need to push her over, get her down on the ground, let the snare take its course. Go, now!” Steel waved a hoof and the two pegasi shot off, rushing towards Radiant. She skidded to a halt, hands swiping at the air as the two pegasi darted around her. Dawn darted off in the opposite direction, weaving into the wreckage of the building, her horn glowing.

“Nova?” Steel asked, and Nova snapped his eyes back to the Captain. “Can you still use magic?”

“I … I can,” Nova said, tapping his horn with one hoof and grimacing as as stab of pain shot down it. That was a bad sign. “But not for much longer.” The ground shook with a nearby impact, and Nova felt a stab of fear shoot through his system. If she sees us standing back here, she could squish us in a second.

“Good,” Steel said, setting a hoof on his shoulder. “Hide nearby and get ready, because as soon as she’s down and you have a clear shot, I want you to blast her.”

“Blast her?” Nova said, looking at Steel in confusion. “With what?”

“The same spell that got you that cutie mark,” Steel said. Nova felt his eyes widen.

“I don’t know if I can—”

“Look, Nova,” Steel said, tilting his head down, his forehead making contact with Nova’s. This close Nova could see the bruises spreading across the older stallion's face, the swellings that were just beginning.

He’s at the end of his rope, just like the rest of us, Nova thought as the stallion took a deep breath.

“You got your cutie mark by doing something with your magic so powerful it froze a whole building so it wouldn’t fall.” Steel said.

“But I—”

“If you can do that, then you can freeze this golem solid.” Steel said. There was a roar from behind them, the sound of glass shattering as another railcar met its end. “That’s all I need you to do,” Steel said, his eyes looking right into Nova’s. “Can you do that, just once?”

“I ...” Nova’s eyes spotted Dawn off on the other side of the wreckage, her orange magic threading strands of steel cable together. Behind him he could hear the panicked shouts of the rest of the Guard as they distracted the rogue unicorn. His horn burned against his skull, a throbbing mass of heat. Can I? Use that kind of magic again?

“Nova, I need to know if you can do this,” Steel said, as Nova’s thoughts raced. “If we stall that golem for long enough, can you hit it?”

“I’ll—I’ll try,” Nova said, shaking his head. “That’s the best I can promise.”

“Well,” Steel said, clapping him on the shoulder. “For all our sakes I hope you can. Get over to Dawn and wait by that snare!” The Captain pushed away from Nova,, bounding around the wall. “For Equestria!” Nova closed his eyes for a second, shaking his head to fight off the pain from his horn.

You can do this, he thought as he galloped forward into the wreckage of the Chandelier. Just one more big spell.

“I’m getting tired of this!” Radiant said, her voice bouncing through the wreckage as Nova ran for the far side. “And you can’t last forever.” He stumbled, catching himself at the last moment as a several story drop opened up in front of him, a jagged gap stretching down into darkness.

Come on, come on! He leapt forward, landing on a thin beam, uttering a silent thanks in memory of all the times he’d practiced climbing around construction sites as a thief. Dawn was closer now, he could see steel cables shining as she whipped them through the air with her magic.

A massive crash behind him made him turn. Radiant was in the wreckage now, Sabra and Steel running before her as she tried to catch them. “Just give up already. I know all about each of you. I know you can’t win.” Something gave out with a shriek, the golem stumbling as the wreckage shifted underneath it.

“I’m done!” Dawn called as he ran past her, the last loops of cable coming down around them. “Get on the other side!” Nova tucked his head down, follower her command and bolting across the circle of cable. He could still hear crashing behind him as Radiant smashed her way through the remains of the Chandelier.

“The bodyguard, old and retired, with nopony but himself in his one-room shack,” Radiant said. “The monk, friendless and wandering for an answer he’ll never find!” Nova ducked behind a lump of debris, poking his head out as he summoned his magic and trying to ignore the red hot spike of pain that shot through his skull.

“The young pegasus engineer, too smart for anyone to ever understand her!” Radiant was just steps away from the snare now, Sabra and Steel rushing past Nova’s hiding place, their hoofsteps churning up dirt. “The ranger who couldn’t save his marefriend when she needed him most.”

Nova began to concentrate, tears welling in his eyes as the pain in his horn increased. His head was burning now, the red hot spike driving itself into his mind. But he could feel his magic as well, a swelling inside himself, and a faint feel of something else too, something unfamiliar. His eyes turned towards the moon, shining down almost directly overhead. Past the pain, past the flame, there was something there he could feel.

“The doctor who can’t even decide what to do with herself,” Radiant said, one foot in the snare now.

I—I can’t do this! Nova thought as the pain swept out of his horn and across his body. It’s too much, too soon! He felt as if his coat was going to burst into flames, heat and pain erupting out of every pore.

“And there’s the last member of your team, the cowardly thief, who hides from his past and his future—” There was a sharp twang as Dawn yanked the cable tight, the snare snapping up around Radiant’s legs with a dull orange glow. Radiant let out a surprised shriek, her tirade cutting off as the golem tumbled forward, crashing into the ground. More loops sprung up, wrapping around the golem’s arms and legs as it twisted, rolling onto it’s back.

“Nova!” Steel called, his voice faint. “Now! Hit her now!” His voice was faint, echoing, difficult to hear over the rushing in his skull. Nova shut his eyes, trying to hold the pain at bay as it swept through his body like a maelstrom.

“He won’t help you,” Radiant said. Her voice had an odd, ringing tone to it. Everything did now, as if a bell was being run right next to his head. “He hides from his past, from his future.” There was a snapping noise, like one of the steel cables had broken.

“Now!” It was getting harder to hear the voices over the raging inferno in his head.

“He won’t help.” The voice was floating in his mind, drifting in and out of the flames. “He cares for nopony. What would you expect?”

A thought tried to push its way through the inferno raging inside his mind, a single point pushing against a wall of pain. I’m not ...

“After all—”

I’m more—

“—he’s nothing more—”

I’m more than a—

“—than a thief.”

“No!” His eyes snapped open, narrowing on the golem in front of him. Radiant was glaring at him, so close he could see the bloodshot red in her eyes, the strange twist in her horn as it switched directions. A single thought shot through his mind, sweeping up all the pain, all the heat, everything as it burst from his horn.

“I am more than a thief!” Magic exploded from him in a torrent, rushing around his body as it shot out of his horn. He felt a faint sense of surprise at his own words. His tone wasn’t angry, or sarcastic. It was proud.

“I am a Dusk Guard,” Nova said, stepping forward, his magic swirling around him and then launching up, extending high into the sky in a rush of power he’d only ever felt once before. A pillar of blue light shot down from the sky, Radiant letting out a faint scream as it swept over her golem. The ground underfoot began to shake, the beam burning brighter and brighter, a brilliant whitish-blue light. There was a roaring noise mixed with a crackling, although he couldn’t tell if the noise was in his head or coming from the world.

The beam vanished as quickly as it had come, and Nova felt his legs give out underneath him, his body collapsing as waves of pain swept over him. There was a rushing in his ears, and he turned his head in confusion, looking for the source of the noise. The world began to shift around him, stretching and distorting. The last thing he saw as his vision began to go dark was the golem, frozen and unmoving under a foot or more of ice. He let his head fall, everything growing dim as the world—and the pain—faded away into nothingness.