//------------------------------//
// 21 - Medic 4: Return of the Medic 
// Story: Cataclysm 
// by Meep the Changeling 
//------------------------------//

Alter Ego - 23rd of Megan, 17 EoH

Ponyville Ruins - Equestria

First rule of being a telepath, suppress emotion’s influence over your decisions. If you don’t, other people’s emotions will cloud your judgment.

Second rule of being a telepath, never let others know that you intentionally repress emotional influences. If you fail to fake emotions properly, you’ll creep people out, and they will never understand that the anger of a random busdriver within range can make you snap at the store clerk even though you are not mad at them.

Third rule of being a telepath. You’re going to fail at this many times, no matter how hard you try. Learn to deal with it.

Fourth Rule of being a telepath. Your friends are always going to be an exception to your emotional shields, don’t bother trying to keep them out, it is futile. Don’t get mad at them.

I was having just a bit of a hard time with rule four right now. I’d always had a soft spot for Dash. Nothing romantic, but it’s extremely hard to not find a tiny blue winged pony person absolutely adorable. She reminded me of a kesed, or a puppy. Which meant that I stood absolutely no chance in even minimizing the pain she felt when looking at AJ.

Dash’s agony, was my agony. Going back into Ponyville was the single stupidest thing we could do. We’d just infiltrated. We’d just blown cover. I’d barely managed to fight off twenty of them over the course of maybe fifteen seconds. Any longer and I’d have been seriously wounded, maybe even killed.

Going back right now, while their leader was certain to have raised security because he’d lost a fight in front of his men, and thus lost face… This was suicide.

Yet here we were. Because of AJ. She was lying comatose and dismembered, responding to absolutely nothing, but definitely alive. There was one doctor Dash trusted, and his house was in Ponyville. Still standing somehow. So we went.

Because Dash was bleeding enough despair to drown me in. If this is what an average pony felt for their mate, I needed to find one to date. I’d never felt any emotional bond more intense than this. This was more than enough pain to override my sense of self preservation. I HAD to help.

And yet, I still could tell that I was being influenced. This wasn’t a decision of my own making. Hence, I was just a bit upset. I was going to die because my friend couldn’t take her wife to any other hospital on the planet.

But then there was the reason why I couldn’t just explode at her. I knew why Dash had chosen this doctor. Lily was a healer on part with mythological figures. He’d literally made the blind see and the grounded fly. I couldn’t blame Dash for wanting to go see him, it was the best option.

Or at least it would be if he wasn’t in the middle of the ruins… Which I’d have to walk through. And were swarming with demons. Demons who were much stronger than those of my own home universe. Three, maybe four times.

At least Dash was flying look out for me. Not that she could do too much with her injured leg. Sorry Dash… Kinda hard to aim a spell while also parrying five different attacks with different limbs. I’ll pay you back some how. But in the meantime…

I ducked behind a small stack of wooden boxes, knowing that my chameleon cloak wasn’t going to prevent someone from hearing me. Holding a conversation in the open would be dumb.

<Dash… I’m lost,> I reported, embarrassment clinging to my mental tone. <I can’t remember the rest of the way to the clinic. I’m right beside the innermost, south west corner tent.>

<Uh… Hang on,> Dash replied. <Okay, facing the north, go left past six tents. Then turn right and go five more tents forwards. That will take you right to the clin… Ponyfeathers… Um, Alter?>

I sighed audibly. There was only one thing she could be seeing.

<They’re doing something to the clinic, aren't they?> I asked, already knowing the answer.

<Yeah. Looks like they are trying to break in. That will take them a while. The place was built to contain windigos,> Dash remarked. <But um, I don’t know how you’ll get past them. Or get in with them there.>

<I can’t. Too many people moving about means someone will bump into me. I can’t go in invisible,> I groaned. <Dash, we should go back and just take her to a normal hospital.>

<I couldn’t get a hold of anypony at the Emerald Hive, or call Sky,> Dash snapped in reply. <I don’t know of any other doctors who can get her healed TODAY, and we kind of need the Elements of Harmony right now. We don’t have time to wait months for healing potions, drugs, and normal spells to make her better.>

I closed my eyes tightly, knowing she was right. <I’m out of ideas, Dash. I could probably break into a place as secure as you claim that clinic is, you know, given time and being allowed to work openly. Under the condition of remaining unseen? Maybe. I agreed to help here because I knew there was a slim chance…

<But doing it while the place is swarming with hostile creatures? Not a chance! Maybe if there were only a few and I could kill them one by one but there’s a whole army here. I don’t know what to do.>

Dash remained quiet for a few minutes. I remained hidden between the crates and the tent wall. Moving about was risky now. They likely knew I could turn invisible, or at least would assume I masked my position with illusions. They’d be using arcane detection.

They probably already knew I was here and we're just waiting for me to be lulled into a false sense of security… Maybe I should start preparing a teleport spell. Goddesses, I hope they can’t block teleports. I’d teleported away last time.

<What if you shape change to look like one of them, and then get to work breaking in? They’ll probably assume you’ve been ordered to help,> Dash proposed.

<Uh, well… That’s not a bad idea,> I mused.

<See?> Dash asked smugly. <There’s still a way.>

<Of course, that would mean they would also have access. I highly doubt I could selectively move myself into the clinic. Most likely I could force open a door, or breach a wall,> I further mused.

<Oh…> Dash said dejectedly. <Maybe there’s a back entrance? Twilight said the underground part is pretty big. I’d have a back entrance if I had an underground complex.>

I blinked in surprise. <Underground complex? What clinic needs a complex under it?>

<I thought I told you that it used to be an evil science lab,> Dash remarked.

<You did, but, are we talking full blown Star Labs complex, or is this more of a Black Mesa situation?> I asked curiously. 

If there was an extensive complex beneath it, maybe they wouldn’t have though to shield the below ground walls and I could just phase through the ground and make my way inside.

<No idea. Twi didn’t tell me and I never went in myself,> Dash admitted. <Sorry.>

I paused, taking a deep breath again as I realized that even though the idea was flawed, it was still worth a look at the very least.

<Hey… I’m going to check it out anyways. Even if we can’t break in right now, maybe I can work out how to do it and we can actually get inside later on much more quickly. If we wait a few more hours, your leg should be good enough to carry me in and out and we could just reach the clinic with a drive. Sound good?> I asked hopefully.

<... It’s better than nothing,> Dash decided with a sigh.

<I know. But at least she’s stable right now. We have some time to play with,> I soothed while looking through the somewhat thin crowd of demons for a suitable candidate.

Dash had told me about changelings once. She’d assumed I was one for a while, and right now I wished that I was. While quite similar our species, our shape shifting is quite different. Most any changeling can copy any pony-like creature they can see with little to no effort. We’re the opposite of that. I had to put far more effort in to achieve anything so precise as a ‘clone’ of someone else.

The best I could do without a LOT of practice at that specific form was to approximate something close to the original, and since I had next to no practice with a pony shape to begin with, well… I needed something simple. Or something close to the form I’d made up earlier.

It’s a good thing I’d spent months practicing Dash in the event I ever came to visit her homeworld. Otherwise I’d have to use an animal or something. I highly doubted that any sparrow would be hanging around here…

My eyes fixed on one of the imps which was occupied carrying a crate of semi-solid gunk. They were very pony-like. The main difference being the wings. I could probably manage that.

I locked my gaze onto the imp carrying the box. I thought about it, picturing its sandy-tan fur, the little spines jutting from its wing’s elbows, the little spiraled grooves in its horns. I was mutable, I was clay, those features were my features. I felt my skin crawl and slide, reshaping itself to my will.

The slight ripping sound as my wings emerged from my back made me wince, the visceral sound would definitely have not gone unnoticed…

The moment the transformation stopped, I stopped concentrating on remaining cloaked, and checked what little of myself I could see. I thought I’d gotten close to my target, but I’d given myself a mossy green fur instead. Was that a color they could have? I hadn’t seen any green ones.

I quickly reunited myself a slate gray, and then stepped out from behind the crates, following Dash’s directions.

<I’m on my way. I’ve transformed into an imp. I’m slate gray with a… Light peach mane and… toxic yellow wing membranes,> I reported while checking the rest of my body over.

<I see you. You don’t stand out too much, but those wings are really distinct,> Dash warned.

<Well aware,> I acknowledged.

Their wing membranes tended to be more…bland colors. See, this is why you practiced specific forms. At least I was better than when i was a kid. I’d probably have turned into an organic jumpsuit by mistake. Like I had while trying to imitate a house plant to pass third year studies.

It would suck to die while embarrassed beyond reason.

<Hey, Alter, you’re heading right into a group of imps. They look to be going in the right direction. Maybe you should stick with them?> Dash suggested.

I looked through the crowd, quickly finding a group of a dozen or so imps amid the much less densely packed camp.

<Good plan,> I replied as I casually walked into the group, taking a spot at the rear.

I’d seen imps moving around solo, but now I had a chance to probe them for information, to see how they normally behaved, acted, and moved. A proper disguise is more than an appearance, after all. What if I had to speak to someone? I had no idea what these demons used for ranks and titles, much less who should be called what.

Of course… No matter my form, if I used my telepathy actively, my eyes would glow. That would be a dead give away. Best try and skim passive information first.

I relaxed my defences, opening myself up to whatever thoughts and feelings the imps ahead of me were broadcasting. And immediately regretted it, there was absolutely nothing to their thoughts other than the vile glee of creatures designed to cause suffering.

I stumbled over my forehooves while trying not to visibly gag as one particularly strong thought involving making sausage with the ‘casing’ still attached to a living person, using bits of that living person blasted me right in the forefront of my mind.

I turned my mind away from the group, unable to continue the stealthy approach when every last one of their thoughts was so completely horrific, that it made me want to throw every last destructive spell I had at the things on the spot to spare the world their hostility.

As my mind turned away I picked up one simple thought, one which ordinarily I wouldn’t have noticed, but the sheer contrast from the sea of evil made to stand out.

<Did that one just trip? I didn’t know they could trip,> it mused.

I frowned, stopping in my tracks. That was not a demon's thought. Where did it come from?

Gritting my teeth in preparation for the tidal wave of horror, I quickly probed around the area, risking my eyes being seen for the brief second that I would need to search for-

A thought containing a picture of myself with my teeth grit as if enraged, and eyes glowing red entered my mind, I was being.<Oh that can’t be good!> The mystery person squeaked to themselves, a spark of fear drifting along with the thought.

Fear? Interesting. Based on the direction the image had come from… They were in the tent to my left!

I turned and walked towards the tent, looking slowly down to try and hide my eyes from the taller demons. That was at least one advantage of being this small. Hopefully it would be enough.

Come on frightened, non-daemon. Where are you? Also what? An ally could be really useful.

<Oh no! It’s coming closer! Maybe they noticed the missing slaves after that battle this morning. They must be on high alert! I should have known that transmuting on some wings wouldn’t be enough to hide here forever,> the person thought, a growing terror filling their mind.

WOW! That wasn’t passive, that was stream of consciousness. This guy had absolutely no mental shielding. Weren't changelings telepaths too? Why wouldn’t you practice shielding your thoughts? It’s easy! Sure you’d never resist and active probe but all I was doing was ‘scanning the local airwaves’, I shouldn’t be getting a full blown stream of consciousness like this.

I should say something.

<Relax,> I said as soothingly as I could manage while pushing some of my own emotions down the link he’d inadvertently formed to show I was also worried, but curious. <I’m not with them, much like you. I’m a shapeshifter… What’s this about missing slaves? Are you freeing people?>

The dark interior of the tent provided plenty of places for someone to hide. Where was he? Behind those crates? Behind the… Was that a forge? Ah, a weapons tent. Or an armory tent. Either or. Plenty of large bulky things to hide behind either way.

<Wait, are you a changeling?> The voice asked.

<Who the heck is that?> Dash asked, making me realize I’d accidently added this unknown person to our ongoing telepathic link.

I facepalmed, uh, face hooved. Of course I had… Because I could only have one active channel open at a time. Derp.

<Wait, Rainbow Dash?> The voice asked surprised and excited. <How are you using telepathy? You’re not a changeling, I’ve seen your genome.>

<Doc?!> Dash asked half surprised half elated. <Thank Celestia! Alter and I are here to pick you up, we thought we’d need to break into your clinic.>

<Who is Alter?> Lily asked.

<That would be me, the ‘imp’ who spooked you. I’m routing your thoughts between myself and Dash. Why aren't you in your super secure bunker?> I asked curiously.

A white furred, small, very effeminate stallion peaked out from behind a box of red flecked coal. I waved in a friendly manner.

<Hello!> I said just to confirm that he was looking at me.

I frowned suddenly, realizing that as a mage and a pony, he should be a unicorn. But I didn’t see a horn behind his blond mane.

<Wait… Dash said you’re a unicorn,> I said accusingly.

The doctor nodded and brushed his mane away from his forehead, revealing a very very small horn. <I shrunk it and gave myself some draconic wings to look like an imp,> he explained quickly. <It’s worked so far. I um… I saw they had slaves and I had to do something. I’ve been smuggling them into my clinic for the last week.

<I came out to get another group, but I think they’re onto me. There’s a whole bunch of them trying to get inside the clinic right now. I don’t think they will, and if they do, everyone’s safe behind the lab’s doors still, and my assistant Ember is there to guard them, but I’m currently trapped outside.>

<Well, at least that makes things easy for us,> I said smiling in relief.

<Lily, AJ’s hurt bad, we need-> Dash began only for Lily to interrupt.

<I’m aware. Their leader’s been possessing her. I know she’s been dismembered, and while I’d love to help, she’s sort of under the direct control of someone who would kill me if I tried,> he said with an honest sympathetic frown.

<Actually, we freed her this morning,> I informed. <She’s currently stable but unconscious.>

<And we should have all the parts needed for the Elements to be fixed gathered up by now! With Ponyville gone, Twilight and everypony else will have gone to Canterlot. The sooner we can get AJ on her hooves the sooner we can send these monsters back to Tartarus!> Dash added triumphantly.

<Oh! Well in that case, let’s go. Everyone in my clinic will be safe for at least a few more hours. I won't need more time than that, and if the elements are back->

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

<Dash, how would he have known the Elements were damaged?> I asked.

Lily rolled his mismatched eyes. <I’ve been in this camp for the entire invasion. I’ve heard a lot of things. Their officers love to boast about their achievements.>

Oh. Yes, that did make sense.

<I overheard their leader mentioning the Elements were broken in addition to him controlling Applejack, boasting about the two layers of security,> he added. <But if she’s free and you have a way to repair the Elements, then this crisis is over. If we all head south no one will question our moving away from the camp. The Imps are housed in the remains of Sweet Apple Acres, they’ll think we’re going back to our ‘bunk’..>

<R-remains?> Dash asked. <Was it leveled too?>

<Yeah… I- I’m sorry,> Lily apologised his ears drooping sadly.

I was about to agree to his plan when the tent’s flap was suddenly thrown aside. The bright sunlight was mostly obscured by a large bulky shadow as something stood in the entrance.

“Ah good!” A large bulky, minotaur-like demon with a scorpion’s tail and armor plating proclaimed as he saw the two of us.

My wings flared in alarm, I knew it! I’d fallen into a content state and-

The demon tossed a large ebony breastplate onto the forge’s anvil

“Our Lord demands this armor be resized for his current host before the battle begins,” the demon informed as he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and dropped me beside the forge bellows. “You, work these bellows, and you cut some leather straps. Three one and a quarter cubits, and seventeen short tabs for harnice attachments.”

Oh thank god! He’d assumed we were forge assist-

The demon made a gesture with his left hand. The forge roared to life. A pillar of flickering yellow evil erupted from the coals, soaring into the air mere inches from my nose.

EVIL! DANGER! RUN!

I felt my heart seized. This body couldn’t sweat, but it tried to anyways.

THE GREAT ENEMY IS HERE! RUN!

I fell to my knees, chest heaving as I gasped for breath even though my lungs were full.

IT WILL KILL US ALL, YOU FOOL! RUN!

My adoptive parents were always so supportive. They’d been so proud when I chose to become a priestess to keep our people’s ancient traditions alive. Even though the job wasn’t really of any prestige or even paid well. I’d wanted to do it, and so it made them happy to help me achieve that goal. I would miss them so much...

IT WILL CONSUME YOU! WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE!?

The flames twisted and churned, reaching out hungrily, needily. A true monster, unfeeling, without mercy, existing only to devour everything it touched. I remembered it’s bite far more vividly than I otherwise could as I stared into the flames. I couldn’t let it get me again!

EXACTLY! YOU’RE DYING! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

I turned to flee as fast as I could, the moment of terror having held me in place for as long as it could. Something pulled itself tight around my throat, yanking me away from the eldritch horror which blazed before me.

“Zum Scheiße's Sake!” Lily shouted out loud as he pulled me out of the tent at a full run. “Of course I meet a pyrophobic changeling in a forge! I’m going to have to ask Dusk who's in charge of luck und punch them in the teeth!”

A heartbeat later, an angry roar exploded from the tent. “SPIES! Everyone, to me!” The forge-master bellowed.

Still not as scary as fire… Thank goodness our camp wasn’t near any flame spouts…

“Snap out of it und run!” Lily demanded, still dragging me along with one leg.

Oh. Yes. Running. Running’s good.

I twisted in his grip, managing to get my hooves under myself and lurched into a blind run. My head was still pretty locked up from the face full of fire. Where were we going? I didn’t know. Just follow the white stall… I blinked as I got a look at his hindquarters. Or was that her hindquarters?

No, no. Definitely a his. Everything was just tucked away by decorative piercings. Or was he deluded? Did ponies do gelding? I could see a transgender pony doing it.

Yes. This is extremely preferential to thinking about fire. Let’s focus on this.

Assuming that ponies also experienced gender dysphoria, like humans, but unlike my people, it would make sense for surgical modifications to exist, assuming their magic didn’t have a solution. Which seems unlikely and-

I ran face-first into Lily’s rear end as he came to a dead stop that I hadn’t noticed. The impact snapped me out of the shock, allowing me to notice the ring of a dozen three pony-tall hulking monstrosities which formed a semicircle in front of us. Trapped! Maybe if we went back...

I spun to run the other way. Lily turned with me.

We were blocked on that side too. And that side of the ring had the big minotaur-scorpion in it.

“They gray one is terrified of fire,” he chuckled. “Why don’t we burn them alive?”

Two score hands flexed evilly, conjuring blazing orbs of fire. I shut down. This was the end. It was over.

I could only stand breathless as death itself sped towards me from a dozen different angles. No way to dodge. No way to block. Flesh bubbling death had arrived, as I always knew it would.

The firebolts detonated below me in a blast of heat and light which left a small crater in the ground. Wait, what? I was in the air! How, when, why?

“Guh! How are you two so heavy?” Dash groaned as the ground fell away beneath us.

I looked up, Dash had grabbed me!

“I owe you my life,” I said half to her and half to myself, my voice quavering in terror.

“Not yet you don’t…” She groaned through clenched teeth. “Rear leg still hurts like Tartarus, and you guys are pretty heavy, forelegs burning too. Too much pain to super speed. Subsonic is manageable, just keep still.”

Oh yeah. Her abilities required concentration.

“Before you ask, I don't know how to fly,” Lily said with a worried frown as he looked behind us.

I decided it wasn’t best to look.

“Alter, please… I know you can move yourself with telekinesis. I can’t carry everyone. You need to fly on your own,” Dash begged.

I nodded. “O-okay…”

“Just focus on me. Ignore everything else. You can do it,” Dash insisted. “Ready?”

“No,” I answered truthfully.

“Well, we’re kinda bucked if you don’t,” Dash said urgently. “Because-”

“They can fly faster than Dash can right now!” Lily yelped.

“What he said,” Dash confirmed with a snort nod.

I closed my eyes tight, gathering what mental strength I could. Would it be enough? It had to be.

“Drop me,” I said hesitantly.

Dash let go, I fell a short distance, unable to vocalize a flight spell for several seconds. Then I saw the twenty demons rapidly catching up to us.

“Flauga!” I yelped, crudely forcing the spell along.

I lurched to a halt, suspended in the air by a very poorly controlled aura, its lavender glowing mass sort of bubbling and shimmering. It shouldn’t be doing that. It should be a solid glow with no movement. Like a bodysuit.

I was REALLY out of it. I hadn’t brute forced a spell in decades. Come on, focus damnit! Do you want to die? No! It’s just a little fire…

Better take them out before they use more.

Could I even focus enough to cast a spell right now? Normally yes, but maintaining levitation like this was taxing with my shaken state and-

“Alter! Hurry!” Dash called worriedly.

I turned to follow her, and saw how little of a distance she had covered. She’d wrapped her forelegs under Lily’s shoulders, giving herself a better grip, but she was still pretty much tapped out. Her injury, the actions this morning, lifting the two of us out of danger seconds ago… She needed rest.

The daemons on the other hand, were fresh. Speeding along quickly, and about to catch up with a second wave already on the way.

I had no choice. I had to try something. It had to be crude, effective, and simple. No finess. The opposite of my prefered methods.

Wobbling in the air, I gathered what energy I could muster, and concentrated it into one of my people’s ancient spells. Ancient as in, ‘used by our cave dwelling ancestors’. The arcane equivalent of a big stick.

“Anglát, freohr, dauth!” I intoned, releasing the magic I’d collected in a single pulse.

The wave of energy blasted outwards from my outstretched hoof in a cone of lavender light. It slammed into the oncoming demons, ripping wing membranes, treating scraps of hide and chitin away, abrading their bodies away like soft stone under a sandblaster.

But not for long. And not very much.

A few of them dropped from the sky, unable to keep flying. I plummeted a short distance myself, my flight spell disrupted by the attack thanks to being a crude piece of junk.

I was too shaken to be effective… But fortunately the remaining demons hesitated. They were worried I could kill them. Good! Use the fear to… to…

To just leg it! You’re in no condition to fight anymore today.

I turned, and tucked my legs against my sides, speeding off as quickly as the spell would allow me, which unfortunately was both slow and allowed me to catch up with Dash.

“We’re moving too slow,” I warned as I drew along side her and gave her a worried frown.

She nodded. “I know… We’ll make the camp before they catch us, but-”

“But we won't be able to get away,” I sighed.

Dash nodded. “Not unless you can teleport us. Or if Lily can teleport. Can you?” She asked looking down at the white girly-stallion in her forelegs grip.

“No. But I have the watch my brother gave me, und it has access to the teleport grid. So I could transport myself und one other person at a time,” Lily said with a hopeful simile.

“I tried that earlier,” Dash sighed. “Well, not yours… Mine’s jammed, or broken, or something. Is yours better? Like a custom model or something?”

“I doubt it’s any different from one he gave to his wife’s friends,” Lily mused before reaching down to his side. “I left it in my saddlebags because none of the imps wear anything und I wanted to blend in. Let me just get… it… out… Verdammt!”

Dash and I didn’t bother to say anything. It was clear enough to him that he’d left his bags behind. There didn’t need to be any insults thrown his way.

“We all make mistakes,” I said comfortingly, even though my words rang hollow thanks to knowing we were likely about to die.

“How long until you can teleport us?” Dash asked me desperately.

“Um… Five minutes? It usually takes me that long to get back to a stable state after.. After… You know,” I muttered.

“So, too long,” Dash said bitterly.

I nodded. “Unless Lotus can hold them off for five minutes.”

“Probably not,” I remarked.

“Especially since they now know to use fire on you,” Dash added.

“Yeah… It’s a weakness that’s way less easily exploited when you’re not fighting hellspawn,” I grumbled.

“Um, Dash’s problem is from one of her leg’s being hurt, ja?” Lily asked, his tone carrying a thoughtful sound to it.

“Yeah. Rear left’s got a hole through it,” Dash answered. “I’m exhausted, but I’d have a bit more left if that wasn’t- Oh wow I’m dumb today! Could you fix that, please?”

“Ja,” Lily giggled. “Glad too see I’m not the only pony who can be a bit of an idiot sometimes.”

A heartbeat later a half dozen slim tendrils of light leapt from Lily’s horn and linked to various places across Dash’s body. The spell itself looked rather interesting. I couldn't tell too much about it thanks to the energy being so precisely tuned. There wasn’t anything to grip on to and start an inspection.

That was some top level wizardry.

“Nice!” I complimented, smiling even before I saw Dash’s leg simply knit itself back together as if her body’s own healing sped up to near-instant speeds, and the spell stopped.

Suddenly ‘nice’ didn’t seem sufficient.

“That’s way better,” Dash sighed in relief. “We can run into the swamp, I’ll hold them off while you two take AJ and Lotus and run.”

There was just one problem with that plan…

“Um, yeah, our camp is fire spout free but um…” I pointed out with a worried frown.

“Oh.. yeah…” Dash groaned. “Maybe Lotus and I can hold them off while you charge a teleport.”

“Fireballs,” I pointed out with a wince.

Normally I could deal with a few fireballs. But… Yeah, that blaze right in my face kinda took down my mental defenses for the day.

“Buck! Um, we can.. Um…” Dash cursed in desperation, searching for any answer to the dire situation.

“I am okay with shield spells. I can protect her for a short time,” Lily offered.

“For the whole five minutes?” I asked hopefully.

“Depends on how much they throw at us,” he replied with an embarrassed droop of his ears.

We were out of time to think. The camp was below us. And a glance behind us showed the remains of the first wave of demons were mere meters behind us, talons outstretched to seize us and rip us to pieces.

Thank goodness hurting them pissed them off too much to want to use ranged attacks…

“Screw it! Shield plan it is!” I declared, twisting myself so I’d slam hoof first into the ground and flying down as fast as I dared to drop.

The ground rushed towards me. I saw Lotus, still sitting next to Applejack. To my surprise she’d gotten one of the camp stoves lit and had made a pot of some kind of soup. And made a little leaf pillow to prop her head up. And had gotten her an actual homemade looking fleece blanket from god knows where!

She’d spent the entire time we’d been gone nursing AJ back to health like a caring mom.

Why the hell did she think she was evil again?

Seeing us coming, Lotus yelped and doused the camp stove, clearly remembering I didn’t deal well with fire, but forgetting that a little controlled flame was okay. Then she froze, turned back to the sky, her eyes locking on our pursuers. I touched down just as Lotus had time to react. The succubi reached down, scooped up a rock and threw it at one of the Demons chasing us.

The rock whistled as it shot through the air, reminding me of the sound a fastball makes when pitched by someone who had been chucking rocks their whole life. The rock struck the demon squarely in the head, producing a sound like a sledgehammer hitting a wet paper bag full of mayonnaise.

That demon dropped from the sky, plowing into the dirt second later.

Unfortunately, there were six more in this first wave. And more on the way.

Dash landed, dropping Lily off before taking back to the air and vanishing in a blue blur as she spun to punch one of the remaining attackers.

“Lotus! Help hold them off!” Dash ordered completely unnecessarily.

“It’s fine! We’ve got plenty of rocks!” Lotus snapped as she let another ‘fastball’ fly.

It seemed odd that you could kill a demon by beaning it with a rock.

Lotus’s rock seemed to smoulder as it shot through the air, leaving behind a visible trail of smoke for a brief moment.

Oh. Those were super sonic rocks. Seems legit.

Also don’t piss her off while within line of rock. Er, sight.

A blue dome suddenly enveloped AJ, Lily, and I as the german accented doctor closed his eyes in concentration.

“I can’t hold this long, be quick,” he warned.

I nodded and closed my eyes. Trying to find my center. Or at least, get calm enough where I felt confident I could teleport us without landing someone inside a wall… Because I wasn’t going to recover with this chaos going on right now.

I heard an explosion as something struck the shield, the dull wumph accompanied by a sharp crack, like someone had slapped a glass tabletop too hard.

“Oh…” Lily eeped.

I kept my eyes closed, doing my best to try and remain in a calming state. “How many more can you take?” I asked.

“Three, tops. Those are VERY powerful fireballs,” Lily hissed nervously.

There wasn’t time then. But screw it, I was going to try anyways.

A second fireball exploded against the shield, the cracking sound repeated itself, this time accompanied by a sharp pop.

I had the one ace up my sleeve… Maybe I should use it. Take as many of them with me as I could. Did I have enough clarity to successfully call his name? Would the imbuing of power even work across dimensions?

I took a deep breath, readying my plea. “Ammon’R-”

A blazing lavender light erupted over the top of the shield. Huh, normally it was gold. And centered on me. And-

Oh. Someone had teleported in. I squinted through the shield, only to be confused as I saw the pony who had teleported through had wings. She was just hovering in the air. But… Pegasi didn’t do spells, right?

“Twilight! How the hay did- Nevermind, just get us out of here! Now!” Dash begged. “The whole camp is after us!”

Twilight nodded, turning enough for me to see a horn on her forehead as she cast a spell powerful enough for me to actually feel, which sent a volley of lavender rays into the demons encasing them in a thick sheet of ice.

“Good thing I decided to get you first,” Twilight said with a nervous laugh. “Okay, so there’s you, and Lotus of all ponies, and… Um, is the imp with you?”

“I’m not an imp,” I said as quickly as I could.

“Alter’s a shapeshifter we were in the camp to get Lily,” Dash explained. “More are on their way! Hurry!”

Twilight nodded, her horn blazing again. I felt her spell take hold of me, it was crude and unpolished, but the sheer power put behind it mean that didn’t matter. This was a pony so powerful that she could basically will her spells to work instead of weave the elaborate matrices needed for precision and fine control.

Magic simply obeyed her requests. Lucky girl...

I wondered what she could do with the control boost a normal person would get from the proper methods?

The world flashed lavender for a moment, and the swamp was gone, replaced by a rather pleasant sandstone tiled plaza with four marble fountains, ringed by a hedge maze formed from rose bushes, with a towering white-gold palace stretching up into the sky all around us.

The tonal whiplash that provided was enough for me to miss the fact that there were about a dozen ponies in the plaza besides our group, clustered around a light blue portal which was totally a moongate from the Ultima series.

Why was it a moongate from the Ultima series!? No, no, calm down. It’s not. It’s just a blue rectangle. A simple shape and a common color. A lot of portals probably look like that.

I turned to my left to look around this new place, familiarize myself with the lay out, just incase demons could come after use somehow, like via a teleport tracer. And found myself standing face to face with a gorgeous tall white winged unicorn in kick ass gold armor who had bent down to look me in the eyes while giving me a suspicious death glare.

“Twilight, did you intend to teleport this creature with you?” She asked uneasily.

My eyes widened with fright “Oh! Right!” I yelped, quickly shape shifting back into the pony form I’d made before, including adding my modified costume to myself. “I’m not an imp! I was just shape changed to sneak into their camp! I’m on your side, old friend of Dash’s!”

The white mare blinked several times.

“H-hey!” Twilight exclaimed. “You sound just like me!”

I giggled. In the chaos, I’d forgotten that Dash said I sounded just like her friend.

“Yeah. Dash told me that I do. Weird little coincidence,” I said to her just before my heart suddenly overtook my brain and made me turn back to the white mare. “You’re very pretty!”

“Thank you,” she replied in a very dignified manner, thankfully not making it awkward. “Dash, do you vouch for her? I just want to hear it from you.”

“I do,” Dash said firmly. “I’ll tell you all about her in just a minute. I gotta make sure AJ’s okay first. Lily, do you have enough magic to heal her after that shield spell? I know you have a low reserve.”

Lily nodded professionally. “Ja, I’m ready to go. I’ll need your help holding her down while I work. If she rolls over in reflex or from pain, und the regenerating limb is crimped, it will grow back wrong.”

Dash nodded and trotted over to AJ’s limp form, gently holding her down with her forelegs. “Like this?”

“Ja,” the german accented pony confirmed, a gleam twinkling in his green eye. “Now, let us practice medicine.”