//------------------------------//
// Mission 7, Part 8: They'll Sound The Thunder 
// Story: Semper Pie 
// by deathtap 
//------------------------------//

To Providence, everything about this just felt natural. To puzzle out the situation she was in and to comprehend the next best step to solve the hidden riddle of what to do was something she found herself actually enjoying. Before, all she would do was write about all this. She would picture the problem and understand how the protagonist, a daring adventurer, would study the environment and formulate a plan. She was finding that her abilities as a writer were actually helping her in real life. Through this power of deductive reasoning, she realized as she studied the walls of the tunnels with the help of a nearby unicorn’s horn-glow, that the ground and walls were speaking to her. Even the rocks that were telling her something plainer the more she focused in on it.
 
“These tunnels are frequently used, Pani. It’s not obvious, but there is definitely quite a bit of hoof traffic through here. Sorry, toe traffic.”
 
The old camel nodded slowly. “I suspected as much. Remember those nomads I spoke of? After we started coming here, I started asking questions in my mind. From where do they come from? From whence do their attacks originate? For years, as far back as one can go, other tribes have attempted to find their home, but none could ever locate it. It was always said that it was because of their nomadic ways. Their constant moving through the expansive deserts had given them secret knowledge of different oasis deep in the heart of the sands was the reason they could never be caught. They just knew where to go. The sands here are much like the tides of the oceans, moving and shifting, ever changing. That, despite it defying logic, these secret watering holes would appear and disappear with the temperament of the winds and sands. An oasis here today was gone tomorrow, and that these nomads would just know.” He sighed and shifted his weight and sat heavily on a smooth boulder. “That gave rise to tales of immense wealth, such as cities of untold wealth. Cities hidden deep in the deserts that are lit by crystals so pure, their own essence was enough to shine throughout the nights.”
 
“I have heard of stories like that before.”
 
“Not surprising. But, even after all this time, with so many eyes on every oasis and many venturing out far into the sands, as far as our forefather’s memories could recall, none have ever seen these nomads apart from their raiding war parties. Indeed, if they are from here, from the Caldera itself, then we have found their home and at least we can begin to understand more about them. And knowing about your foe is a valuable thing.”
 
“Foe?”
 
“Oh yes. Many of my brethren, and myself included, have some cause for revenge against these of our kind. My great grandfather was slain by a raiding party. While it is possible it wasn’t from these camels themselves, there are many here who have lost loved ones in more recent years. So yes, foe is correct.”
 
“Knowledge is power?”
 
Pani nodded again. “That is why your kingdom is as strong as it is. It is your reigning monarch’s longevity has helped deliver your kingdom into the paradise it is. Before her, your kind was in many respects akin to ours. Without her as a guide, it would have taken much longer to achieve your united strength of power – if at all. Of course, not many appreciate that kind of help, and some believe that such power comes at a terrible cost and that your Princess is nothing more than a blight on this world.”
 
At this, Providence furrowed her brow and turned her attention away from the wall of the tunnel and looked at the seated camel. “You’re referring to the Griffons? You think that they’re the ones out there using that lightning thingy? Griffons?”
 
“It would seem reasonable to assume that, yes.”
 
Providence stroked her chin. “But there were ponies that came up the ramp.”
 
“Mercenaries comes in many shapes and sizes. In a foreign land, with a simple mission as this, a mercenary army, cheap to hire after the fall of a certain annexed area, would not be that difficult to find.”
 
“I guess…” Providence shrugged. “But why?”
 
“The Stone. If it does have the kind of power you say it has, it is something many would desperately try to seek, particularly those with much to gain. Regardless, whoever they are will keep assaulting the camp as long as they believe that we have defenses stationed there. So, we left them a souvenir.”
 
“You mean the doppelgangers?”
 
“Yes. It will last till morning. But I must question the thought behind taking all the Elites with us. Was it wise?” Pani asked.
 
“Yes. We’re going through this… labyrinth of tunnels faster than before. Sending small teams in was a mistake. We’ve even found the other party of Elites that had managed to get themselves lost in here. I can understand, being underground can be disorienting if you’re not used to it.”
 
Pani nodded. “True, but I have observed the earth ponies seem to have it a lot better than the others.”
 
“I guess,” Providence said half paying attention to the camel and staring back at the wall. “That would make sense…”
 
She found herself surrounded by Elites, three of whom had planted themselves to her left that faced further down the tunnels. The others were at her side with their shields up and their spears ready seconds later. Behind them all came the sound of crossbows being locked into place, the pull-strings drawn over their latches. Rows of crossbows glinted to life as quarrels of various magical properties slowly glowed in the deep dark of the tunnels, their power screaming to be unleashed.
 
All this had happened so fast that it took a moment for Providence’s mouth to catch up with her brain. “W-what’s going on?”
 
“Camels. Lots of them,” one of the unicorn Elites, named Defiler, stated and signed for Providence to lower herself behind a row of raised shields.
 
But Pani walked around to the front of the line of shields and stood there a moment peering into the dark. He then said something in his native tongue, which Providence could only catch snippets of. To her, it was as if he were speaking into the darkness. He talked on, mentioned the Stone, about how they were here under the guidance of their own beliefs, and that they were here with no intention to harm them.
 
A camel, dressed from head to hoof – or toe – in black appeared from the shadows. A long piece of cloth was wrapped around his face and head. He pulled down his mask to reveal a long deep scar in a downward slash across his left eye that was glassy white. Around his eyes, he wore dark eyeliner, or something akin to it. Everything that he wore seemed to help him melt into the shadows around them.
 
The newcomer walked right up Pani and began to speak very heatedly. Again, Providence could only follow along in some parts, but she caught some. Something about how the Stone must remain hidden and kept aside for the good of all, that if it were to be disturbed then it would endanger the world. And that Pani and his group, along with the ponies, should not be there for it endangered everything and everyone. Perhaps, in his anger, the camel did not realize what he was saying because he had essentially confessed that they were close to the Stone. Or perhaps he genuinely did not consider them a threat to be worried about giving that secret away.
 
Pani began to respond but was cut off when the newcomer struck him across the face with the end of his long staff. All that did was make the situation worse. Pani was a leader. A very respected and admired one.
 
Even before she or Pani could say anything, all of their camels began to charge their spells, their wands glowing as magic pulsated through them. This was quickly followed by the camels that were hidden in the shadows, the ones that had come with the antagonist, responded in kind. And these camels outnumbered Providence’s magic casters by a large margin, and that were the ones she could see. In response, the Elite unicorns began to charge their own spells as the tunnels became illuminated in an odious glow.
 
No. She could not allow any more of the Elites to die. She had enough.
 
“You don’t understand!” Providence shouted in half-camel, half-Equestrian speech. “I have to get to the Stone!”
 
The camel peered around Pani to stare at the mare who just spoke. Providence trotted past Defiler, who did not stop her but stayed close with the shield at the ready. The sounds of more and more crossbows latched into place and the lights of magic powering up began to glow stronger and stronger as additional Elites and camels prepared for what could potentially become a bloodbath.
 
The camel walked right up to Providence and pushed the shield away to get a good look at her. Only Pani stood between the two using his body as a barrier.
 
“Why?” The camel asked in heavily accented Equestrian. “You do not understand what the Stone is. If it is touched, you would risk everything. Are lives of all in your entire kingdom a price you are looking to pay?”
 
“Yes.”
 
The camel laughed. “You would sacrifice the entire kingdom for your own ends?”
 
“Yes,” Providence said again without any hesitation. “But not for me. For us. For all of us.”
 
“Even if it will end with the destruction of everything?” The camel asked with his eyebrow raised. “You understand what I am telling you? Everything. Nothing will remain.”
 
At that, Providence hesitated. “I don’t believe that is what the Stone is for.”
 
“Then you know nothing of it.” The camel turned away. “Go. Leave. This is not the place for you. Find something else or you will all die here.”
 
“Wait! Please! Wouldn’t you do anything in your power for your children?”
 
The camel stopped and turned.
 
“I know it’s selfish, but I don’t know where else to turn. I’ve tried everything. Everything! Do you think I’d come to the middle of the desert for no reason to find something that is nothing more than ancient story that I don’t even know is true if I didn’t have a choice?” Providence took a step towards the camel in question, but Pani blocked her path with a hoof. “I’ve tried everything! I’ve gone everywhere! I don’t know what else to do! I need to get back to her!”
 
The camel narrowed his eyes, not understanding about whom she was talking about. “The Stone will demand sacrifices. And it will have it. A sacrifice of great import. Of great significance. You will abide by this law of absolutes? It might even ask for the lives of all your race. Then what of this loved one?”
 
“It won’t.”
 
“And you know this how?”
 
“Because I have to believe it won’t. I have to believe that if it wants something, it has to take something I can give. I cannot give it the lives of any because I don’t have that power. None have that power, and the Princess will protect our kind. She will.”
 
“But it will ask for something. Will you abide by this?”
 
“If I have to, yes.”
 
“And why would you risk everything? Wealth? Fame? Love?”
 
“Because I’m a mother.”
 
There was a sudden and subtle change in the expression of the camel. He seemed to actually smile, but not with his lips, but there was indeed a glimmer of one in the eyes. “That is not a satisfactory reason. We have, for centuries and perhaps longer, even before your queen ruled, watched over the Stone. We are not about to allow some foolish notion of selfish greed undo the work that had cost the lives of so, so, so many. And for such an insignificant reason. You will die here, along with us if need be, to ensure that the temple remains untouched. Understand this.”
 
Suddenly Defiler growled and stepped right up to the camel. “Know this. We are not Guards. If you hurt so much as one hair on her mane, we will find your homes and we will slaughter every last living being there. Every. Single. One. We have no qualms in purging your entire bloodline to the last. You touch her and we will do this, I swear it. We will dig through the mountain with our teeth, we will bring it down stone by stone, but we will find your homes and your families, and we will bathe in their blood. Do you understand this!”
 
Providence looked at the unicorn who spoke. “Y-you can’t–”
 
“Excuse me, ma’am, but if they kill you, nobody, camel, pony, dragon or deity will be able to stop us. Not even Semper Sir. You are the only thing holding us back.” He impossibly narrowed the already narrow gap between himself at the camel. “So you use that ancient camel wisdom of yours and you think about what will happen to your precious reasons when there will be none left to remember what it was in the first place!” Despair growled and shoved the camel back with his shield.
 
There was a moment where every single crossbow and spell felt like it would fly.
 
Then the camel spoke. “You’re willing to go that far for her own reason? You do not wish for conquest.”
 
“No.”
 
“Revenge?”
 
“Against who? You? We are our own worst enemy, not you.”
 
“Then what? Her only desire is to return to her child. Surely you can just go there now.”
 
“Why would we bother coming here if it were that simple?” Defiler growled. “We are cursed. Poisoned. Robbed of everything except our ability to kill. She is the only key in saving us all for our sins. Take her life, and there is nothing that will stop us from burning this world to ash. And I guarantee that however powerful your stupid Stone is, it’s got nothing on an army of Elites.”
 
“Why?” the camel asked, bewildered to hear such a statement. “Who are you?”
 
“You’ve heard of us. They call us the Watu Wakali. But we are the best of them. We are the ones that have no faces. The ones that are walking death. We are here of our own will to followed her and see her through all this. She is our whole world. Everything we do is for her. So, if you touch her then we will kill you all!” He pulled down his mask and lowered his body and raised his shield as he shoved the camel back a dozen steps with a mighty push.
 
“To bend the will of faceless demons…” the camel whispered in his native tongue and took another step back realizing what he had just said. He backed away and stared at Providence in shock, as if the words themselves had cast a spell on him.
 
But Pani stared at the camel who just spoke with his eyes wide open as well, shock and a mixture of adoration, pity, and fear flittered across his face. Every camel seemed to do the same and a few even took a physical step back away from the mare.
 
“Perhaps… perhaps there is more to you. I must consult with our magi. We will return to you once we’ve… talked,” the stranger said slowly. With that, he replaced his black hood, his face disappearing into the blackness as he slipped into the shadows and was gone.
 
“We won’t stop looking for a way!” Providence shouted into the darkness.
 
“As you please,” the voice replied from far away, yet it also sounded quite close. Then there was silence.
 
Providence peered hard at where she had last seen the camel, but she didn’t see anything after he took a few steps back. She noticed that many of the Elites relaxed their vigil and some replaced their crossbows on their backs.
 
“How can you see them?” Providence asked, desperate to diffuse the tense situation.
 
An earth pony that had been one that had formed the front shield wall around her looked around. “Um… are you talking to me, ma’am?”
 
“Hm? No. I just was asking out loud.”
 
“Oh.” The pony seemed sad, but it was impossible to see her because of the mask.
 
“But since we are talking, what is your name?” Providence winced. She knew better than to ask that.
 
The mare lifted up her mask and smiled. Her face looked wrong, the skin seemed to be falling off making her lower jaw look like it was hanging. “I can’t remember, but I know you know that. I am known as Breaker.”
 
“Is this the first time we’ve spoke?”
 
“Yes, ma’am.” The dark purple pony smiled, half the teeth in her mouth were missing.
 
“Hello, Breaker. So, how can you see them? The ones in the shadows, I mean. Even with the magic glow, I can’t see very far into the tunnels.”
 
“Some of the unicorns use magic. A nocturnal vision spell, I suppose.”
 
“But you’re not a unicorn.”
 
“Yes. Well, I can feel them touching the ground. I don’t know how else to describe it. But only the ones on the ground. I can sense them.”
 
“And this nocturnal vision, how does it work?”
 
“I don’t know. Maybe it narrows the eye part where you see, makes it like a slit. Like a dragon’s or a thestral’s. You should ask a unicorn. I think it’s easy to do if you know how. If you want, I can ask a unicorn to cast it on you. You can ask Defiler; he’s using it right now.”
 
Providence turned to Defiler. “Can you cast it?”
 
“Yes, ma’am.”
 
“And how long will it last?”
 
“Depends on how strong. A few hours at the most. But I can just recast it, so it should be okay. But it does take a lot out of me, so I can’t do it often.”
 
“Can you cast it on me now?”
 
The unicorn nodded. “Of course, ma’am,” and his horn glowed orange for a moment before Providence found herself looking inside the darkness with much better clarity than before. It was like a darker form of the twilight light. It was not perfectly clear, but it was much clearer than before. It was useful, but there still needed to be a light source. At least, for her she needed one.
 
“Do you all use this?”
 
“No. Some of us have… experience with dealing with the darkness and night and can fight well without this spell. There are things far worse than camels out there. Plus, I think a few of us were Night Guards at one point. I think.”
 
Providence understood and did not press it. “Well, this is too useful not to share. Make sure everypony gets this spell so they can be better off, particularly ones that are doing the exploring. Don’t want anypony to fall into holes or something. We gotta take care of each other.”
 
“As you wish, ma’am,” both Breaker and Defiler replied, a small smile on their lips.
 



 
Don’t think, just follow.
 
That was what the voice inside my head was telling me as I galloped onward.
 
Don’t pause, just move.
 
I kept going, but The Guard moved like the wind. Like water through a ravine. Like a ghost. Like me.
 
Don’t lose sight, just open your eyes.
 
He moved between two rocks that looked impossible until I approached and spotted the gap. With a slight pause, I threw myself into small opening and came out the other side into a small alcove hidden behind a large flat boulder that formed a natural wall. It stuck up like a tower from the ground and kept us hidden. We had stopped. I was thankful. We had galloped far from the desert. We had to keep moving. This was the first time we stopped, and my body hurt all over.
 
Don’t think, just remain numb.
 
I saw The Guard walk towards the rock and peered around it. He paused for a moment and then raised his binoculars and peered across the sands towards the tower in the distance. We had just run for so long, dodging through the rocks and keeping out of sight for so long. We had not stopped moving, and I was tired, beyond exhausted, yet The Guard seemed as if he had been waiting there for hours. He did not look tired at all, despite the sweat soaking his mane. He turned towards us and remained silent in thought.
 
I knew what he was thinking. That we needed to find a way back up to the peninsula, to get back to her. She needed us. All of us. But most of all, she needed him. I’d make sure that he’d get to her. Make sure that he’d be by her side. Next to my mother-not-mother. She needed us, but she needed him most.
 
But we could not climb up. As soon as we exposed ourselves the wyrms had struck. Twice there had been near misses as smaller wyrms leapt towards myself when I had slipped trying to keep up with the others. The Guard had pushed me to safety. The other time a pegasus slipped and fell, the wyrm attacked, but the winged-one managed to recover and dodge in time. It was a miracle that all of us made it.
 
The Guard raised his hoof and we all sat down to catch our breaths. But not him. No. Not him. He stood there and watched the ones in the sand with their lightning tower and waited.
 
Don’t speak, just listen.
 
The Guard made a gesture with his hoof and I approached without hesitation excited that he would call on me. I was wrong. He hadn’t called for me. He had summoned another. I backed away and sat down. My eagerness is a nuisance. I had to remember my place. I always forget my place. I should listen. Should only listen. Listen, and obey.
 
“Status?”
 
“All accounted for, sir,” He replied. He. The one that was always around me. I looked at him, and He looked at me and nodded. Why was He always around me? I hated him for that, yet I also did not like him not being around me. It was always so confusing. I must clear my thoughts. I must not think about that. I must only think on the mission. I must listen. Always listen. And obey.
 
“Any hurt?”
 
“Nothing much, sir, just a few scrapes and bruises.”
 
The words as sounded so familiar. Distant. Normal. Perhaps I used to say these types of things before. Or maybe I used to hear them. Scrapes and bruises, He had said. Yes. That was familiar. Strange, but familiar. Did he always say it? I think so. But no, I mustn’t think. I must listen. I must keep silent and listen. Always listen. And obey.
 
“There were two others severely wounded. Wouldn’t have made it,” He said.
 
The Guard looked at He and nodded. “We have to return to the peninsula.”
 
“Yes, Semper Sir, but there is no way up,” I said aloud.
 
I wanted to kick myself. I wanted to smack myself in the head, but wanted so much to speak. Now I would be punished. I knew he knew. I knew they all knew, but I wanted to speak. I wanted to talk. To tell him everything. I wanted him to speak to me. It felt strangely good to be there next to him.
 
But then again, did I want to talk to The Guard, or to He?
 
I felt the others staring at me. I looked down and tried to hide. I hadn’t listened. I spoke out. I hadn’t obeyed. I was going to be punished. Punished for speaking out of turn.
 
Why should they listen to me? I was a weak Watu. The weakest of all. My place was at the back, the bottom, the frontline, but not near The Guard, and especially not near Providence. No, my place was last for I am the weakest Watu. The lack of scars I wore across my face symbolized my weakness. I am lucky to be here. On so many missions, I relied too much on the others. Especially He. He, who was there. I looked at him, his eyes staring at me.
 
“I know,” The Guard replied.
 
My eyes opened in shock and I looked up at him, but he had turned away. He looked at me and, was that a smile? It was. Why was He smiling? Perhaps it’s because of how lucky I am. To be talked to by The Guard. I am so lucky to be alive for this moment. Perhaps one day I could talk to Providence too.
 
He, not the Guard, but He walked over to me and patted my head, then turned away. It felt good. I wanted him to do that again. To pet me. To make me feel wanted. I smiled and felt a strange feeling, but knew that I could not press my luck. I would remain silent and listen. Listen. And obey.
 
“Who are they?” He asked staring at the large group of ponies and the other creatures with them. I wanted to look too, but I couldn’t. I wanted to see, but I remained where I was. He placed his binoculars in my hooves. “Take a look.”
 
I nodded. I looked.
 
“What do you see?” He asked.
 
“M-minotaurs, wolves, and griffons too, I think.”
 
“I see.” He took back his binoculars and looked. He had spoken to me. He. He was strong, a leader. A powerful Watu. He could talk to The Guard without permission. He had earned that. Not like me. I was weak. I am weak. I had to only listen. Listen, and obey.
 
“Cultists.” The Guard said without emotion and turned to He.
 
“Cultists have that strong of a force? No wonder Guards never interfered with us during Lost Hope.”
 
“Freeport,” I muttered.
 
“Apologies. Freeport.”
 
I felt my heart skip a beat. I looked up at He, but his attention was on The Guard, and I could not help but smile.
 
“How could they bother with us when they have to contend with that?” He licked his lips with his forked tongue tracing his thin lips.
 
I remembered how he had got that. Remembered how he had been punished for talking back. It had been Blood. I remembered. He was so angry at Blood. I have never seen since, apart from The Guard, stand up to Blood. But He did. And that was a big mistake. For his defiance, He needed to be punished. I remember the way the others held him down. How they pulled his tongue from his mouth with plyers. I remembered him shouting, cursing, struggling. Why was he struggling? He had orders. He had to obey, but He did not.
 
Why hadn’t he just obeyed? He shouted some more, but they pulled out his tongue more instead. That was when they gave me the hammer. Then another Watu held a nail over the extended tongue.
 
Blood had ordered me to. Hit the nail. Hit it hard. I had to obey. I had to listen. I had to obey. I had to listen. I struck. It down. I struck again. It went through. I remembered his eyes, full of tears as he watched me. But those tears, they did not seem from the pain. I remembered He looked at me with those eyes. I remembered that. Tears not for him, but for me.
 
Then Blood ordered me to strike him in the face. I refused. I think. But Blood shouted in my face. I had to obey. To listen. If I didn’t I wouldn’t get more. The nectar, he said. I had to obey. I had to listen. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t get more. I had to get more. I had to. I had to.
 
I remember the feeling of his muzzle breaking as I struck him. Repeatedly. I felt his tongue give way as I smashed his face in. I saw his tongue stretch out until it started to cut through the muscle. I saw it pull. Each time. Each strike. The cut grew. It grew and grew and grew. Because I had to listen. I had to obey.
 
But He did not shout at me in anger. I always admired He for that. He is a strong Watu. He understood that what He did was wrong. He hadn’t listened to Blood. He had to be punished. He did not resist. I kept going until the nail got free as the tip of his tongue parted.
 
I remembered it all. And it always brought tears to my eyes.
 
And when He was strong again, after being repaired, I thought he would come after me. To kill me for what I did. But He did not. That’s how I knew that He understood his punishment, as I did mine. How I would listen, and obey. No matter what. Even when Blood wanted me at night in his room, I had to obey. Listen, and obey. Obey. Obey. Obey.
 
He is a strong Watu. Not like me.
 
He placed a hoof on my head. “Wipe your tears.”
 
I did. I listened, and I obeyed.
 
“Cultists are experts at hiding. And they have strong sympathizers within Equestria’s borders. There are some groups who have similar beliefs to the Cultists’ cause, but while some are more docile, others are not.”
 
“You are referring to The Night Brigade, and other similar groups?”
 
“Correct. But most almost always get assimilated into Cultists ranks and status.”
 
He nodded. “I understand. They pretend to ally themselves with the peaceful cause and corrupt it from within.”
 
The Guard nodded.
 
He laughed silently. “Like us, I suppose. The poison in our blood changes us into something else. Something terrible.” He shrugged. “You should just kill them all.”
 
The Guard said nothing. There was nothing to be said. Guards like him did not operate like the Watu. Not like us. They didn’t go house to house and killing their inhabitants until one eventually made a confession out of fear. Equestria had rules. Laws. Laws that The Guard and the others followed.
 
But I how I knew this, I did not know. The others speak of forgotten memories. Lost to the poison inside us. Perhaps I had many forgotten memories too. Perhaps. Maybe. But I sometimes awake with tears. The others did not like me. They said I cried in my sleep. They did not like it because it did not let them sleep. Or was it because I could sleep and they could or would not. I don’t understand it.
 
“Sir,” one of the other Elites spoke, the one we called Gnasher, “wouldn’t it be better if we just waited? Eventually the Cultists will try to destroy the blockage themselves. I mean, after they’ve killed enough of us.”
 
“Providence cares for all of you. She will not allow you to die if she can help it. She would have ordered a complete retreat into the tunnels to get away from the lightning.”
 
At those words, I felt a strange sense of pride towards her. She became our leader by our own choice, and none of us regretted that. Unlike with Blood, we wanted to follow Providence and we wanted to serve her. Like how the Guards served their Princess. Every single one of us wanted to please her, to show her that we meant only the best. She was our whole world.
 
I would not be alone in saying that it is love. Perhaps a love out of desperation, but love it is. After a void of being unloved, it felt good to love some another even if it was not returned. I loved her because she was one of us, yet she was more. She remembered her life and she shared it with us in her stories. And we were there with her in hers too. Her stories. The fallen were remembered in her books. Characters in her wonderful world. She is a beautiful, unique flower and had to be protected. As long as Semper Sir did that, I would follow him to the bitter end, no matter what may come. But for her. Only for her.
 
He smiled and shook his head. I looked at He and felt his hoof ruffle my mane again. “Providence is rather foolish in that regard. If she tells all of us to retreat into the tunnels, then these Cultsist will grow bolder and will press their way through one way or another. Waiting is our best option.” He’s smile diminished and was replaced by a look of concern. He licked his lips again. “We’ve just become the frontline, haven’t we?”
 
“Indeed.” They all waited quietly as the Guard kept his vigil for a long moment. Then he nodded and sat down placing his binoculars into his saddlebag. “We wait.”
 



 
Raze led the way. Close behind her, keeping up quite nicely, was Samidra. The camel’s wide feet giving her a distinct advantage over the sandy terrain. Following behind her was Onslaught with the breezies in his large saddlebags, then Tessa and Torment bringing up the rear.
 
Sonic and Static had gone off. The Guards were adamant that the two of them were all that they needed to distract the Cultists citing their animosity towards anything that represented the Princess was enough of an incentive to keep them busy. Everything seemed to be agreed, with the exception of Tessa and the breezies. This was an unexpected anomaly and that none knew what to really do with. As a result, Tessa ended up with the group heading for the Caldera with the map for Providence, despite her apparent skills as a medic.
 
Tessa had argued for staying with the Guards due to her medical abilities, but despite their time together, Static still didn’t trust the Elites to protect Samidra. They were certain to accomplish their duties, of that the Guard was certain, but should they get caught up in something he did not doubt they would leave Samidra to her fate in order to complete the mission. Something that was perhaps the right thing to do despite it being the wrong thing. That meant Samidra was in danger of not having sufficient protection, yet accompanying the Guard was worse. Between a rock and a hard place.
 
Raze gestured for them to lower themselves. They crawled forwards a bit until they were at the top of a fairly large dune peering over the top at the Cultists. They were close enough now for them to differentiate individuals. Their numbers were a lot larger than they thought with more than a few other creatures in their ranks.
 
“Fog?” Raze asked.
 
“This close to the Caldera it is commonplace,” Samidra replied quietly.
 
“Strange. You usually need water for there to be fog,” Raze pointed out. “What now?”
 
“The Guards will do what they need to.” Onslaught looked harder at the camp. “We’re just going to have to wait.”
 
“I hate waiting,” Raze muttered.
 
“Do you see him?” Onslaught asked.
 
“Who?”
 
“The Cultist leader that the Guards were so upset about,” the large stallion replied.
 
“You mean that Night Terror? I don’t know what he looks like,” Raze peered hard into the night and looked for signs of a large group of well-armored bodyguards surrounding an ornately dressed pony, but there was nothing like that.
 
“He’ll look like a mare,” Tessa said quietly. “If they’re talking about the leader. When they had attacked, he was one of the first onto the ship.”
 
“A stallion that looks like a mare.” Raze glanced around. “Anything else?”
 
“He’s a large unicorn. Really big.”
 
“Bigger than me?” Onslaught asked.
 
“Yes. And he wore simple dark armor.”
 
Raze peered at the camp again, but saw no trace of this so-called pony. But from their perspective, they could only see a limited part of the entire group.
 
They waited on in silence, but they did not have to wait for very long. Dawn was breaking.
 
“Those fools!” Raze intoned as she saw something that made her stomach tight.
 
Through foggy mist they came, cutting through the rear of the Cultists’ defenses as the rising sun seemed to pave a road of light in their path. The light shone behind them, as if guided by Celestia herself. The two Guards charged through the camp, one in each of the two skimmers. Static at the rear, Sonic leading the charge.
 
The Cultists were caught completely by surprise and chaos ensued as they two plunged towards the heart of the camp. All the heavy weapons were facing towards the peninsula with no thought about a surprise attack from their rear. Sonic, using his shield, protected his body while, in the next moment, Static shot a beam of light at a large number of boxes.
 
Raze felt the ground shake from where she lay from the resulting explosion. It had the desired effect. Immediately after the explosion, there was complete disarray as the fog and sand mixed together. Some had thought that an army of Guards had swarmed over them and a few started fighting with fellow Cultists in the ensuing chaos, confused, afraid, and lacking of discipline. They lashed out in their panic and anger, especially towards those that seemed to wear Guard armor.
 
But it was what happened next that changed everything. Raze could scarcely believe her eyes when the front skimmer launched itself into the air as Sonic used his wing power to blow a strong squall into the sail sending the craft right into one of the cables they had seen holding the massive tower. The way the small vessel crumpled at the initial impact made it clear that those lines were made of some strong material. Steel, most likely.
 
The vessel, made out of wood, did not have enough resistance or an edge sharp enough to cut through the steel cable, but it had enough momentum to uproot the shoddy anchor-like foundation the Cultists had attempted to established in the weak sand. They hadn’t dug deep enough.
 
The grappling hook shaped anchor erupted from below from the sudden addition of a new weight and pulled it out enough to start the chain-reaction. It shifted slightly to the side, crushing the remains of the skimmer into the ground and turning over once before come to a halt.
 
The sudden halt of the toppling tower’s momentum twisted it with a loud groan that could be heard for miles around. From where Raze and the other lay, they could see the twisting momentum pull and shift all the other anchors that had tried with great futility to straighten out the collapsing tower.
 
Sonic burst through the sands, as if pushing through a waterfall, and immediately engaged one of the Cultists that had been standing nearby. Raze saw him come and go from view as the scattered sand billowed around him as he threw himself into battle near the base of the tower.
 
Then she spotted as Static expertly maneuvered around the uprooted anchor in his skimmer, heading straight at the second anchor and fired an explosive quarrel towards where the beginning of the metallic cable. Ice burst and surrounded the chain, but almost within seconds a second quarrel of fire cut through the ice smothering the area in steam. The rapid change from cold to hot, coupled with the shift of weight must have caused too much strain. A sudden crack echoed in the dawn as the cable snapped, the cable lashing out like whip slamming into the sand, stirring it up once again as it cut around the tower. Even from where they were, they could hear it swish across the ground. Those that could dove out of the way. An unlucky pegasi did not move quick enough as it past right through its torso, the two halves of its body disappearing in the explosion of disturbed sand.
 
Then a terrific groan echoed into the sky. All of them thing froze to turn towards the source of the noise. All, save for Sonic who, using the sand as cover, flew as low and as fast as he could towards Static avoiding the cable still swinging around in a chaotic ballet.
 
Raze watched as the Cultists, suddenly realizing what was happening, tried their very best to scramble out of the way as the large attenuation tower started to bend where the two remaining cables held. If shifted, warbled slightly as the joints groaned from the strain, then the top half twisted around pulling the other two anchors up out of the sand. A loud bang echoed throughout the skies as two large chunks of metal catapulted themselves, one straight down into the ground, and the other way up into the sky.
 
“Timber!” Raze whispered with malicious delight as the crudely held device swayed dangerously across the encampment, sweeping over it as the last of the anchors held before the entire swung around slamming into the ground like a large, long stick, sweeping the sand along with it as it ground to a halt.
 
A tidal wave of sand erupted from the downed tower which pushed towards the peninsula and crashed into it like the waves of the ocean. The tower now lay along, almost parallel to the peninsula, the newly kicked up granules of sand soaring high into the sky and bathing the area in a sudden sandstorm.
 
But Raze’s eyes were on the other end of the camp and she had to hold her excitement down when she spotted a solitary skimmer and two distinct ponies aboard. It was their armor, and the way they carried themselves, as if they were glistening in the morning light. Raze felt her heart pound in her chest as she saw Sonic standing on the bow, his wings spread out and a crossbow in his forehooves.
 
He looked majestic. It was all for show, she knew, but she could not help her cheeks as she felt her face grow hotter as she watched him racing away.
 
“Come on, Raze, snap out of it. It’s game-time,” She muttered to herself and gently slapped her cheeks. She looked at Onslaught who was staring at her with a look of concern. “Shall we go?”
 
“No, not yet,” Onslaught replied, putting a hoof on her shoulder and looking out across the sands. “Wait for it.”
 
And then they saw it. Like bees from a disturbed hive, the Cultists swarmed out on their own skimmers, bursting through the sandy maelstrom in pursuit of the Guards. Most were firing with futile purpose into the distance hoping to hit the guards, but they were giving chase. In a way, it seemed quite comical.
 
“Now?” Raze asked.
 
“Now. Stay low, and stay close. We’ll use the sand as cover. Head for the base of the tower and follow it as close as you can,” Onslaught instructed the others. “Where’s Torment?”
 
The all quickly looked around, but the earth pony in question had disappeared.