It hadn’t seen her.
Twilight stood stock frozen, pressed up against the wall, as the Shadow Unicorn leapt off into the darkness. It was gone before she could think of trying to track it. That’s not good at all. And Rose and Daring would soon require her total concentration. Her plan was looking more and more foolish with each moment, but aborting in the middle of the ride was even more dangerous.
I’ll just . . . keep an eye out. For the Shadow Unicorn. That probably wants to kill us all.
On the other side of the dam, already slick with water, was a staircase that led from the archway down to the ritual chamber. It wasn’t long enough for Daring and Rose to have an exciting river rapids section, but Twilight had planned on making it seem longer with a combination of distractions, drag spells, and the occasional warp back to the top. Unfortunately, she needed a drain for all of the water, which meant either side of the staircase was a drop into the chasm around the city. The stairs were more like a very steeply slanted bridge.
And managing all of that simultaneously would stretch her to the limit. Too little drag, or a missed warp, and they could smash into the landing at the bottom and be seriously injured. Too much drag could push them off the side. And too much debris could knock them unconscious, leaving them to drown.
Deep breath. Focus on success. Ignore the chance that they could tumble off into the distance, hit something hard and snap their necks, or drown. Oh, Celestia . . . here we go!
Several key supports behind the dam snapped and spun into the darkness, while sprays of water shot out of small holes in the wreckage. A boulder the size of a small carriage shifted a couple centimeters lower, leaving an empty volume for water to fill. A low pressure wave shot out behind it, branching out through the city all the way back to the lake and pulling all that water forward. Pressure increased on the dam, pushing back more debris, which pulled in more water, until all at once the whole pile gave way, splitting down the middle and exploding outward.
From her hiding spot above the adventurers Twilight watched the water in front of the dam sink slightly but speed up tremendously. Rose yelped in surprise and dropped to the deck, while Daring spread her hooves and wings for maximum balance. Their raft accelerated faster than Twilight could hold it, and passed into the breach.
Go go go! Twilight teleported from her hiding place to a small ledge just inside the chasm, just in time to see the raft shoot out from the archway, leading a waterfall. They landed on the staircase, already going far faster than was strictly necessary. She applied drag and lift to the raft, letting the waterfall slide underneath them to give her a friction-free surface to work with, and to keep the raft from yawing too much. She didn’t have to bother spraying them with water: nature was doing enough of that already.
Soon they were shooting past her, and downwards. She teleported again, this time to a platform suspended below a stalactite. The adventurers were still on their raft, even if they were getting tossed around.
Something crashed up behind the adventurers. Twilight spotted a large boulder tumbling down the staircase faster than their raft. She projected a slanted barrier that knocked it sideways, but it pushed back against her barrier, which pushed back against her horn and knocked her off her hooves.
“Ahh!” she yelped, tumbling from her perch. She spread her wings, lofting into a glide, then spied her final teleport destination. She clenched her eyes shut, then she was skidding to a stop on solid ground. She looked up. A wall of water was rushing towards her. She was off to the side, mostly out of sight, but it was still a gamble: behind her was the end of the staircase, the final landing, and the wall of the chasm. When the water hit the end it would spray out in all directions, but quickly fall down the sides—hopefully not hitting her.
Riding atop the wave was Daring Do, in a heroic pose, and Rose Gambit, crouched below her and trying to keep as close to the center of mass as she could. Twilight had expected terror, maybe even excitement on their faces, but the two of them had looks of such intense concentration that Twilight almost laughed.
Hope bubbled up. C’mon, guys! You can do it! Her smile shrunk a little. Only two more laps to go. . . This was a terrible idea. It was dark enough that they wouldn’t be able to see the landing or notice Twilight picking them up and moving them, so long as she did it fast enough.
She concentrated on the top of the staircase, only just visible high above, and on the raft, approaching at breakneck speeds. With a flash, they disappeared. She could already tell they’d landed properly, even if her senses were a little warped at such a distance.
Twilight teleported back to the start and felt the telltale tingle of teleporting too quickly. She opened her eyes just as the raft hit the staircase at an angle, rolling dangerously even as Daring fought to stay upright. If the leading edge of the raft caught even one step they would be thrown free and fall into the abyss. Behind them more and more debris was collapsing out of the way of the rushing water.
And towering over her was the Shadow Unicorn.
It blinked, tilted its head, then shot a bolt of magic at her face. Deep rooted Unicorn instincts shunted the magic to the side with a slanted barrier, throwing her off the edge in the other direction. Her nascent Pegasus instincts had her flapping hard for altitude, tilting just so to avoid another bolt. Her powerful Earth Pony magic dumped a ton of adrenaline into her blood. A third bolt cut through the air above her head and between her wings. Twilight smelled burnt mane as she flew zigzags through the air.
“No! No! No!” Twilight yelled. “Not now!” She looked down the staircase. Daring and Rose were yelling, their raft yawing dangerously to the side, even with Daring’s wings doing their best to keep them steady.
Abort!
A checklist appeared in her mind’s eye:
Goals: A) Get to safety.
Twilight closed her eyes and squeezed through the space between spaces, teleporting to the second landing near the middle of the staircase. As soon as her hooves touched solid ground she jumped back into the air in case another spell was heading her way, but she couldn’t see the Shadow Unicorn anywhere. Good. It can’t teleport. Ha!
B) Secure the raft.
Daring and Rose were racing down the staircase, and Twilight needed them stopped, now. She visualized and conjured drag vectors around the raft, managing at least to stop their spin. Another quick glance for threats, but no Shadow Unicorn. She briefly considered whether it was audacious enough to grow wings as well, but discounted that notion; they’d all be dead now—and Equestria in serious jeopardy—if a Shadow Pony had bootstrapped itself all the way into an Alicorn. Distance would keep them safe until she could hunt it down and eliminate it.
The raft shot past her lookout and down into the depths. Once Twilight appeared at the bottom she would have to quickly catch the raft, safely set it down near the door, and hopefully avoid being seen—she still had a chance to salvage the situation, and Daring and Rose would have no sympathy for her, even if she tried to help them at the end.
Another quick teleport, to the end of the course. They were getting harder, especially when she went so frequently. It took her a couple extra moments to dispel the dizziness and tingling when she landed at the bottom. She felt like her lunch was about to crawl up her throat, except that she hadn’t eaten in some time now. There was precious little light, even with her keen eyes and strong night vision, and at first she couldn’t even tell where she was supposed to go.
She took a step, then staggered, lofting her wings for balance. The Shadow Unicorn had already done its damage, unsettling her and stressing her body. Her hunger was starting to get to her, and the teleport had been too far. Her limbs felt like she’d been sitting on them—
Her stomach jerked, like she’d been tossed in the air—
“You!” she cried, flaring her wings and spinning in place. The dizziness faded and the tingling ceased as she fought the Shadow Unicorn from her mind. She landed softly, hooves spread wide, facing the beast.
It could teleport.
The Shadow Unicorn stood across the landing, eyes and horn glowing bright, and despite the mist fuzzing the air Twilight could finally get a good view of it. It was a stallion, taller than she was but lankier, too. Its horn ended in a needle-sharp tip, surrounded by a mane made of smoke that was slowly wafting in the humid breeze. It was panting; its breath was harsh and labored.
C) Eliminate the Shadow Unicorn.
Her ears flicked forward, and her lips pulled back into a growl.
The Shadow Unicorn ducked its head slightly. A barrier thicker than a stone wall slammed into Twilight and pushed her backwards. She yelped and leapt to the side, digging her hooves into the ground and slicing through the barrier with her horn. When she looked up the Shadow Unicorn was gone.
Smoke billowed around her hooves, and she jumped into the air, blowing away the smoke with the wash from her wings. The smoke piled high and solidified into pony form, lunging at her. Twilight teleported behind it, rotating through a half turn, and shot a full-spectrum sunbeam at it. Direct hit, right in the thigh, as bright as burning magnesium, even as it was turning to face her. The Shadow Unicorn stumbled and bellowed, shaking the ground and dazing Twilight.
Good. It was still mortal.
C) Eliminate the Shadow Unicorn.
She felt a tingle around her neck. With a flick of its horn Twilight was lifted into the air. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe. She reached for her neck, frantically trying to grab whatever was choking her, but there was nothing to remove. As she fought for breath she conjured a barrier on either side of the Shadow Unicorn, trying to squeeze it into submission. The Shadow Pony teleported out from between them, releasing its hold on Twilight’s neck. Twilight stumbled to the ground, coughing. The Shadow Unicorn appeared in front of her. Twilight desperately threw up barrier after barrier to slow it down. Its razor horn cut through each like they were paper.
Twilight electrified one of the barriers. When the Shadow Unicorn’s horn made contact a brilliant actinic flash arced between it and the barrier. The Shadow Unicorn was thrown backwards with a loud bang, rolling once before skidding to a stop on its hooves. Twilight was ready for the equal-yet-opposite force, leaning forward into her horn and sliding back only a meter or so. She felt her mane stand on end.
Twilight wiped a line of spit from her chin and panted. The Shadow Unicorn stepped towards her, then paused, ear cocked to the side. Twilight tensed, expecting some sort of trick, but then she heard it too—Daring Do cursing up a storm. Twilight chanced a look in their direction. The raft was approaching.
“Can’t you wait?! I’m busy!” Twilight hollered.
The Shadow Unicorn looked back and forth between the adventurers and Twilight, before turning and shooting a bolt of purple energy right at the raft. Twilight conjured a spray of water under the raft, propelling it upward and above the bolt. It exploded behind the adventurers with a hiss of steam, unheard under the roar of the river.
A barrier slammed into Twilight, knocking her sideways. She fought to keep control of the raft as the Shadow Pony took advantage of her distraction, flicking barriers at her from all directions. Twilight was knocked back and forth, desperately trying to keep her balance while protecting the raft.
Twilight had to land them safely, but she couldn’t do so with the Shadow Unicorn nearby. No time to second guess herself. She teleported the raft and its passengers back to the top. She’d bought herself a minute, maybe less—the raft was travelling faster and faster with each lap. This was her only chance.
C) Eliminate the Shadow Unicorn!
Frantically dodging the Shadow Unicorn’s attacks, she focused and cast a basic dispel charm, aimed perfectly at the Shadow Unicorn. She wasn’t too surprised when it didn’t work, but her stronger magic seemed equally useless. Regent’s Reversal, The Dynamo, and Much Maligned Millicent’s Muddle all failed—Millicent never failed!—even though their increasingly draining, painful side-effects proved that they were working. The Shadow Unicorn ignored them and the damage they caused like they were well-wishes, and lunged at Twilight.
“Come on!” she protested, rolling out of the way. “That was a textbook Inversion-of-Control!” Her spells were getting her nowhere, and she was running out of time. The Shadow Unicorn wasn’t affected like a regular conjuration, or even a normal creature. “Why can’t I erase you?! I created you, you’re not even real—”
She stumbled as her mind made several connections at once, and she ignored the bolt that scorched the ground in front of her. The Shadow Unicorn was just a Shadow Pony that had tapped into her power, and she’d created the Shadow Ponies in an act of improvisation and fiction. If real magic isn’t working, maybe fictional magic will!
Twilight had skipped desperate and gone straight to crazy—it wasn’t even a real spell. She was going to die.
At least she might go out with a bang.
Twilight levitated the copy of Daring Do and the Legend of the Metalsmith from her saddlebags, and began frantically skimming through the pages, searching for a particular block of text. When the Shadow Unicorn leapt at her she teleported behind it, still nose-deep in the book.
“Aha!” she yelled. The Shadow Unicorn skidded to a stop, expecting some spell to fly out of nowhere at it. Twilight explained, “I found it. Hold on.”
The Shadow Unicorn’s eyes narrowed. Twilight wondered how much of her personality it had absorbed to be suspicious. Holding the book in view, she cleared her throat, eyed the beast, and read:
“The fires of the metalsmith, now lost in ancient night—Ack!” Twilight lunged to the side, avoiding a spell aimed her way. When she regained her balance she focused on the next lines:
“Be found, again, though broken, weak, and empty of your light;
I summon thee, in direst need, and powerless from fright;
Ascend, above the shadows, shattered metals, and eternal ash.”
The Shadow Unicorn dove for her, evaporating through Twilight’s barrier and appearing on the other side. Twilight spun and shot a full-spectrum sunbeam, singeing the beast’s smoky mane. She started the second verse, reciting quickly but carefully, as pieces of the spell fell into place:
“Though torn free from your furnaces, with fuel spent to dust;
I give to thee my final spark: hold precious close, in trust;
Combust! ignite and burn! inside that stolen hearth of rust—Ah!”
Pain bloomed through her shoulder. Twilight screamed, was knocked back, the book torn from her hooves and sent flying. The Shadow Unicorn loomed over her. Twilight clenched her eyes shut, covered her head, knew she was about to die, yelled:
“And realize the Holy Forge’s dying flare: Infernal Blast!”
The chamber blinked white, visible even through her eyelids. Twilight was picked up and thrown backwards. For a second the cavern was dead-silent—she’d finally gone too far—then a wave of sound crashed over her. She landed, rolling across the landing almost to the edge. Ringing in her ears. Hoofsteps walking up to her. The Shadow Unicorn could just give her one solid kick, and Twilight, as afraid of her wings as she was, wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
Nothing. She opened one eye, then the other. No Shadow Unicorn looming over her. No sign of it anywhere around her. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the stuck thought processes, and started tapping the back of her neck just below her skull to silence the ringing.
“Okay,” she wheezed. “That was unexpected.”
She clambered to her hooves, coughing harsh smoke and the smell of burnt mane from her lungs. The darkness of the cave had been replaced with the brilliant orange glow of several small, smoldering fires. Glowing cinders fell like snow, quickly fading to ash. Finally she spotted it. All that was left was an inky-black painting on the far wall, so warped and distorted by the blast that its body had sheared in half, never again to gain a solid form.
Without anything combustible to burn, the fires quickly snuffed themselves out, leaving the darkened cave with a lingering smell of ash and oily smoke, lit only by the faint bioluminescence from far above and Twilight’s constantly illuminated horn. Twilight gathered the book, staggered up to the remains of the Shadow Unicorn, and smirked.
“Try to steal my magic, will you?” she snarled, and spat on the shadow like a total badass.
The sounds of screaming and swearing slammed into her. The raft was right above her, flying straight for her so fast that Twilight barely had time to jump out of the way before it crashed into the rock and shattered. Bits of wreckage flew in all directions, and the chamber filled with the echoes of snapping wood.
Two lumps tumbled out, rolling to a stop even as wreckage rained down around them. Twilight gasped and raced towards them.
“No, no, no! Please be okay. Please be okay. Please . . . ”
She cleared the sticks of wood from them, blasting debris out of the way without a second thought. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were breathing. Twilight exhaled, nearly collapsing with relief. They were unconscious—maybe even with concussions. She could fix that. She focused and flicked her horn just so, the practiced movements stirring familiar magical energies around Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
Applejack groaned and rolled onto her side, but her breathing quickly settled. Dash winced, her eyes clenched shut. She looked uncomfortable. She looked in pain. She looked—
A long, deep belch echoed through the cavern, fading into the roar of the waterfall that was slowly dying.
Twilight barked out a laugh, feeling a rush of tears on her cheeks. “Oh, thank the Sun. Oh . . . ” Dash had simply swallowed a lot of air and water on her way down, and now looked much calmer. Twilight couldn’t help but grin as she gently warmed and dried Dash’s wings.
For a few moments Twilight basked in the knowledge that her friends were alright, then blurted out, “I’m sorry!”
The adventurers lay silent.
“I’m so sorry. I was going to catch you, I swear! But there was this Shadow Unicorn, and it was gonna blow you both up, and I couldn’t pay attention to you guys and keep it back. It’s not my fault! They weren’t supposed to get that strong. They weren’t supposed to be dangerous!”
She paused, then hung her head. “No, that—that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have made them in the first place. So many simple personalities . . . I should’ve guessed something like this would happen. Too risky.”
She smiled. “But you guys—I had no idea you two were so—so—so awesome!” she gushed. “You raced right past them. You just blew them up and kept going. And climbing those ladders and zooming up like that—and the way you got past Magnet the Mighty? Wow! Every time I built something huge, every time I put something in your path, you kept going without even slowing down. I built a whole city!” she said in a rush. “I’ve never built a whole city before! Did you see how big it was? I even—”
Applejack and Dash ignored her. Twilight nodded, biting her lip.
“I’m gonna get you out. Ok? Just—We can’t go back. It’s too far. The caves have all been filled in, and I don’t think I have the strength to dig them back out.” The words came faster and faster. “I got carried away and we delved too greedily, and now I’ve gotten you stuck at the bottom of a chasm. But don’t worry!” she insisted, desperate for them to understand, to trust her. “The rest of the church is ready, and there’s a way out. Nice and safe.” She’d spent a long time obsessing over the ritual chamber, where the final showdown would occur—where it would’ve occurred. “The climb’s a little tedious, since we’re a fair ways down, but I’ll help you guys out.”
She sniffled and wiped at her eyes.
“I’ll help you out and . . . and I can be the most pathetic villain you’ve ever faced, Daring Do.” That was the worst. They were injured, and they were exhausted, and they were drained, but Twilight could fix all of those. Waking up and realizing that Twilight had done all of this, and let it go so out-of-hoof—they might forgive her for that, after a little time apart.
But knowing that their last memories of an unforgettable experience were of Twilight confessing her inadequacy? She couldn’t fix that.
Quit stalling.
She reached deep within herself for the subtle magics that would revive them, and for an instant she saw sparkles behind their eyelids. The spell would take a few seconds to work, and then—
Nothing. Twilight frowned, reached forward, and prodded Applejack on the hip.
Applejack rolled onto her back and groaned. “Wuzzat? Who’s—Huh?”
Twilight squeaked and teleported out of sight. Her horn glowed like a beacon and she frantically tried to cover it with her hooves, then ducked her head behind a large rock and whimpered. Would Applejack see her? Would she yell at her? Beat her up? Twilight would go willingly, she wouldn’t fight, she’d—
“Daring. Daring! Wake up!” Applejack was silent for a moment, then said, “Whoa! Easy there.”
And they’d been roleplaying for so long they could slip into character right from waking. Wonderful.
“Rose? What happened?”
“We crashed.”
“Uh . . . yeah. I got that.” Twilight could hear Dash rolling her eyes. “Are you hurt?”
“After everything else this place has thrown at us? Ah’m pretty much unkillable.”
Twilight winced.
“How long was I out?” Dash asked.
“’Bout a minute more than Ah was,” Applejack admitted. “Can you stand?”
Twilight peered over the top of her hiding rock. Dash and Applejack slowly stood and tried to figure out what was going on. Twilight didn’t want to interrupt them while they weren’t actually in any danger; why not let them play pretend a little more? They could—
Twilight sighed. She knew she was being foalish. She needed to end this, immediately. With a gulp, Twilight hung her head and crawled out from her hiding place.
“We gotta save Midnight.”
Twilight paused, mouth open, their names on the tip of her tongue. She could see Applejack and Dash, but they were looking away from her, at the massive stone doors that led onwards.
“Well, duh! Can you walk?”
“Can Ah—Of course Ah can walk! Ah am an experienced tomb raider. Just ’cause Ah was knocked out?” She laughed. “Ah’ll have ya know Ah’ve had plenty of concussions. Earth Ponies are tougher than ya think, featherbrain.”
“Ohh, concussions. Whoo.” Dash twirled a hoof. “I’ve been struck by lightning. Real lightning.”
“Couldn’t count the number of times Ah’ve been bucked in the face. Ah’m surprised Ah have all mah teeth.” She turned to face Dash and grinned a toothy grin.
“Once, I slammed into the ground at terminal velocity.”
“Had a barn collapse all ’round me.”
Twilight slapped a hoof to her face. They are delirious.
“Pshh. Anypony can be inside a collapsing building. It takes real guts to wrangle an actual tornado.” Dash tapped her chin. “Of course, you did ride a bucking bronco made of stone. That was dumb.”
“Guilty. Though not as stupid as you dive-bombing crazy magic shadows.”
Dash turned to face her. “Well you were right down there with them.”
Applejack nodded. “And Ah couldn’t’ve done it without yer help.”
“Well, yeah.” Dash reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. After a moment of Applejack smirking, Dash added, “And, you know, you were carrying Midnight the whole way.” She smiled. “Think you can carry her some more?”
Applejack laughed. “So now we just gotta get her, steal back the Tome from Cairo—without him catching us or using the Tome—and make it out alive.”
“Sounds right.”
They clasped hooves in what was undoubtedly a firm, heroic grip, and nodded.
Quite possibly euphoric, too. Twilight had to stop them.
“No way back,” Dash guessed.
“Eenope.”
Stop them.
“Probably a trap.”
“Eeyup.”
Say something!
“S’pose there’ll be minions?”
“He’s gotta keep them somewhere,” Dash nodded. “And he’ll have the Tome of Shadows, but he won’t know how to use it, so we’ve gotta move fast before he does something really stupid.”
“So . . . no problem?”
“No problem. Like rescuing a Princess in peril.”
They turned towards the door and hurried off.
Twilight watched them charge ahead into the darkness.
“Wait . . . guys?”
Her left eye twitched. Didn’t they realize—
“Fine!” She stomped her hoof. “Fine. You want minions? A trap? Dangerous magic? You want to barrel blindly into danger, face your darkest fears, and risk everything, all to save a lowly librarian—like knights rescuing some Princess in peril?”
Twilight felt an evil grin slide over her face. “I can do that. I can do anything.”
She closed her eyes and hummed. She felt good. Whorls of purple magic surrounded her until she vanished with a blink.