The Princess's Captain
by Present Perfect
Part 4
The next day saw the arrival of the Orb of Sacanas at the Castle of Friendship. The chariot carrying it was pulled by two of Royal Guards, while two more, from Celestia's own private force, personally carried the Orb into the castle. Tempest had arrived downstairs shortly thereafter, and as Twilight made the final arrangements for their journey, she stepped outside to where the charioteers were standing guard.
"Whoa," said the one nearest her as she appeared on the castle steps. He elbowed his partner, speaking none too softly. "Isn't she the one who tried to invade Canterlot during the picnic? What's she doing here?"
"Can it, rookie," said the other, maintaining his stoicism. He did not make eye contact with Tempest as she approached them.
"Good morning, sirs," she said casually. "Might you have a moment for conversation?"
"What about?" asked the first.
The other made a guttural noise in his throat. "Rookie..."
"I wondered if you might know why it is one of Equestria's Princesses has no guard contingent of her own." She stopped before them, inspecting them as if on parade. "Does it not seem strange to you?"
The rookie shrugged. "I dunno. The Princess of Friendship does what she wants, I guess?"
His partner sighed and closed his eyes. "Princess Twilight Sparkle has not yet commissioned a guard regiment. Should she wish to, she need only petition the Palace for volunteers, or start a volunteer drive of her own."
Tempest nodded. "I see. Would you mind telling me what it is you do, as Royal Guards?"
The rookie grinned. "All kinds of things! Me and Spearwind pull chariots, for instance!"
Spearwind groaned.
"But there's guards who guard the hallways and outer areas of the castle, guards who patrol Canterlot city... Oh, there's the throne room guards! Those guys are pretty badflank, if you know what I mean."
"No defending? No combat?"
The rookie shrugged. "I mean, we get trained in stuff like that, sure. But there's rarely a need for fighting or anything."
One of Tempest's eyebrows raised. "So you are all much more suited to going on picnics, is that it?"
The rookie snorted. "Hey! The Annual All-Guard Picnic is a time-honored tradition!"
Tempest stood straight and tall, looking down her nose at him. "A tradition that could not be broken off to help repel an invading force in the heart of your own capital."
The rookie strained at his harness, which kept him just out of reach. "You just got lucky you invaded on the right date, or so help me, we woulda--"
"Rookie!"
"Tempest!"
The second shout came from the castle entrance, and all three ponies turned to see Twilight, looking ever so slightly put out. Tempest cleared her throat and backed away from the guards as Twilight trotted down to meet them.
"My apologies, sirs," she said, and then to Tempest, whispered, "Remember when I said, 'don't do anything rash'?"
Tempest looked away.
"Anyway," Twilight continued, brightening, "now that I've got the Orb, it's time to go find a Relic! My friends will be here shortly. Are you coming, Tempest?"
"Of course, Princess," was the immediate reply.
"Begging your pardon, Princess Twilight," said Spearwind, "but isn't she supposed to stay in Friendship Castle?"
Twilight waved a hoof. "Don't you worry about that, sirs. She'll be with me! That's the important part."
The guards exchanged a glance.
Tempest suddenly found herself thinking back to Starlight's words. Trust Twilight. She really does have your best interests at heart, even if she doesn't always show it.
She wasn't so sure how easily that trust would come.
"I have heard many a tale of the Everfree Forest."
Tempest fell back behind the seven other ponies as the shady forest edge came into view. She scanned the treetops. Her muscles were tense, her ears on a swivel, and her voice low and somber.
"It is said to be a place filled with monsters and other dangers. The trees move, vague mists obscure the distance. Even far outside Equestria, the name 'Everfree' is synonymous with madness and death."
A snicker ran through those gathered.
Starlight joined in with a high-pitched laugh. "So I'm not the only one nervous about going into the legendarily dreaded and dangerous Everfree Forest then? All right, good to know! No wonder Trixie didn't want to come!"
"It's not so bad once you get used to it," said Twilight, rolling her eyes.
Pinkie pronked alongside them. "It's like visiting a weird old friend you don't visit all the time, because sometimes they bite!"
"Yeah!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "We've been in here like, literally dozens of times. The monsters are afraid of us by now."
"They cannot be serious." Tempest exchanged a look with Starlight. "Are you saying all the tales of this forest are wrong?"
"Oh, it's mighty dangerous." Applejack kicked up her heels as they passed into the trees' shadow. Twilight, Rarity and Starlight lit their horns. "It's just that, well, we ain't scared by it no more."
"Don't get us wrong," said Pinkie Pie quickly, "we were super-duper scared the first couple times we came in here!"
Rarity chuckled. "It really does lose its malicious charm after the first few forays, I suppose. And when you add in that Fluttershy has lived on the Everfree's doorstep since she moved to Ponyville..."
"Oh yeah." Starlight nodded slowly. "I guess it can't be that bad, then..."
"Just don't take it lightly," Twilight said, an edge of warning in her voice. "We'll take whatever challenges it throws at us and make our way to the Amulet. We're not on any kind of time limit, so there's no need to rush."
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Says you, slowpoke! Gimme that Orb thingy and we'll be out of here before lunch!"
"Pretty sure you'll need some backup there, RD," said Applejack.
Twilight shook her head, holding back a laugh. "Anyway, the Orb is pointing us south-by-southwest. There's no indicator of distance, just direction, so it could take anywhere from a few minutes to a solid day's walk before we reach our destination."
"That'd take us all the way to Ghastly Gorge," said Dash, neither amazed nor complaining.
"We'd pass through Froggy Bottom Bogg first." Fluttershy let out a little giggle. "Oh, I would just love to see my little frog friends again, hydra or no hydra!"
Starlight mouthed the word 'Hydra?' at Tempest, who could only give her a wide-eyed head-shake in return. She picked up the pace a bit until she was walking side-by-side with Twilight.
"Twilight," she began, "I feel I must note that none of you seems to be treating this journey with the proper amount of caution. We are in danger every moment we are in this forest, are we not?"
"Well, yes," said Twilight, "but..."
"C'mon, Fizzy-Wizzy!" shouted Pinkie Pie, springing up right next to Tempest and startling her. "Don't be a stick in the Everfree mud!"
"Do not call me Fizzy," Tempest said acidly. "My name is Tempest. You and I are going to have a talk about that later."
Rainbow snorted. "So, what kind of a name is 'Tempest Shadow', anyway? Isn't it, like, really, I dunno... dark?"
"It is a name I gave myself," Tempest said, fire simmering under her words. "I earned it through hardship, sacrifice, and rigorous dedication to self-empowerment. A better question is, what kind of name is 'Rainbow Dash'? Flashy, pompous, ridiculous--"
"Hey!" Rainbow flew up to hover nose-to-nose with Tempest. "I'm not about to be insulted by some weird, edgy chicken who's afraid of a few trees!"
Tempest gave her a glare that could cut steel. "I will end you."
"And I thought things were bad when you and Dash went at it," Rarity stage-whispered at Applejack.
Starlight trotted up in front of Twilight, who had her eyes glued to the Orb.
"Twilight?" She waved her hoof. "Shouldn't you maybe do something about the fight brewing behind you?"
"Hmm? Oh, right!" Twilight didn't shift her gaze as she said, "Rainbow, be nice. Tempest, no ending anypony today."
Rainbow and Tempest gave each other one last glare, then pointedly moved to opposite sides of the group.
"Wow," Twilight continued, still absorbed in the artifact floating in front of her. "The more I study the mechanism of this relic, the more I realize what a mad genius Sacanas must have b--Whoa!"
Twilight's words, and her forward momentum, were interrupted as several serpentine vines, covered in black thorns, emerged from the undergrowth and caught her by both forelegs. The other ponies let out yelps. Rarity, Starlight, Pinkie and Applejack were likewise caught up. Rainbow and Tempest shared a glance before wordlessly jumping in to attack the vines with teeth and hooves. Even Fluttershy tried her best to nudge vines away from Pinkie. But bite and kick as they could, none of them could hurt the vines.
Large, hungry mouths coiled up from in between the vines. Green tongues slid out, licking at lips covered in spines and dripping with digestive sap. Rarity screamed, and a vine wrapped around her mouth, silencing her.
Sparks gathered at the severed end of Tempest's horn. "Rainbow Dash," she cried, "get ready to dodge my--"
Any further commands were cut off by a piercing shriek. The three free ponies had to shield their eyes against the flare of purple light that followed immediately thereafter.
When they could see again, the ponies were all free and the clearing was devoid of writhing vines. A quintet of small clay pots sat in a ring around them. Each held a tiny black vine with a small chomping mouth on the end. Applejack gave the one nearest her a glare, and it shrank back, whimpering.
"There we go," said Twilight, dusting her hooves off. "Nothing a little magic can't fix." She cleared her throat. "Good work, Rainbow, Tempest!"
"Fluttershy too!" shouted Pinkie, waving her hooves in the air.
Fluttershy ducked her head, smiling demurely. "I helped."
"You too, Fluttershy," Twilight said with a grin. "Now, come on, no time to let a little hiccup like marauding plants stop us!"
The others trotted after Twilight, who once again followed the Orb. Tempest gave Rainbow Dash a quizzical look. Dash smirked and flew ahead, languidly floating on her back.
"Told ya you had no idea who you were dealing with."
Tempest shook her head and trotted to catch up with the group.
"Feel like I'd remember this here mountain from all the times we done been this-a-way before," said Applejack, scratching her head. The others were watching Twilight as she paced back and forth, nose buried in the Orb.
It had been around an hour since they'd encountered the plants, and any further wildlife incursions had been so trivial as to be unworthy of mention. The problem facing them all now was whether to scale the mountain or try skirting around it. Unfortunately, they had no way to find out how long either would take, as a quick aerial reconnaissance from Rainbow Dash had revealed nothing but "lots more mountains and clouds up there".
"Let me try something." Starlight, stepping forward, pointed to the Orb. "May I, Twilight?"
Twilight nodded, passing it to her. Starlight took a series of deep breaths, then shut her eyes. Magic flared in her horn. Her form shimmered, then blurred, and after a couple of moments, three identical Starlight Glimmers, holding three identical Orbs of Sacanas, stood at the foot of the mountain. Tempest gasped.
"Starlight!" cried Twilight. "That's ama--"
"Shh!" said all three Starlights in strained and stuttered unison. "Concen... trating..."
Two more spells fired off from two of the Starlights' horns, winking them out of sight. The third studied the Orb, her eyes shifting across its surface far faster than it seemed was necessary to understand what it was telling her.
The spell lasted five seconds in total, as everypony else held their breaths. They let them out only when the other two Starlights snapped back into the third, and she collapsed to the ground, dropping the Orb. Rarity snatched it up in her magic and passed it to Twilight as the others gathered around, crying Starlight's name.
Starlight coughed. "Triangulated..." She groaned. "It's in... mountain..." She coughed again, and Fluttershy cooed at her, telling her to stay still. "Remind me... never do... that... again..." Starlight's eyes closed.
"She's still breathing," said Fluttershy, stroking Starlight's mane. "That must have taken a lot out of her, poor dear."
"That was brilliant, is what it was," said Twilight with a pained smile. "I'll need to tell her how proud I am of her once she wakes up." She began casting a spell of her own, eyes closed.
"So how do we get inside the mountain?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Is it hollow or something?"
After a moment, Twilight's spell ended. "As a matter of fact, Rainbow, it is. There's a complex in and underneath it. I sensed a lot of magical wards, however. Getting inside will be tricky."
Applejack chuckled. "If magic's blockin' yer way, Twi, I can think of two other ways to get us into that there hollow rock."
Everypony looked blankly at her for a few moments.
"My legs," Applejack said at length. "I'm talkin' 'bout my two back legs."
"Oh wow!" cried Pinkie, bounding up to the nearest spot on the mountain. "That sounds super-neato, Applejack! May I?"
Applejack scratched her head. "Uh, be my guest?"
Nodding, Pinkie put her ear to the mountainside and tapped against it with her hoof. Tap tap, tap tap, up and down the surface of the rock, her tongue sticking out one side of her mouth. With a gasp, she marked a tiny X with the tip of her hoof and stepped back.
"Right there!"
Applejack smiled. "Much obliged, Pinkie Pie. Now stand back, y'all. Rainbow, get ready t' grab me, in case I trigger an avalanche."
"You got it!" Dash crouched, flaring her wings.
Snorting, Applejack backed up to the mark Pinkie had made on the wall. She dug her forehooves into the dirt and scraped with her rear hooves. Once, twice, she crouched low, then pushed herself back up. The others carefully backed away.
"Hyah!"
Applejack lashed out with her rear hooves, impacting the mountainside. There was no effect, save for a dull thud that seemed to echo through the very land itself.
"Heyah!"
She bucked the mountain a second time. The thud intensified to a boom the others could feel beneath their hooves.
Face scrunched up, steam pouring from her nostrils in long gouts, Applejack gathered herself, leaning forward. Then she gave a mighty kick that wouldn't have just felled the largest apple tree in her orchard, but obliterated it.
The mountain split in half.
At least, that was what it seemed like to the gathered ponies. Their mouths fell open as the front part of the mountain buckled and sundered. Rainbow Dash was in and out of the cloud of rock dust in a flash, Applejack in her hooves, before the two halves even hit the ground. Applejack, for her part, fanned herself with her hat and whooped triumphantly.
"Hoo-ee! Now that's what I call an applebuck!"
"That was amazing, Applejack!" cheered Fluttershy. "You're so strong!"
The others gathered around, cheering and patting Applejack on the back. She endured it for a few moments before waving them off.
"Thank ya kindly, but if'n y'all keep it up, my hat won't fit no more."
"Not to burst your bubble," said Twilight with a chuckle, "but that wouldn't have worked if this rock formation hadn't been fused with magic. Note how clean the split is." She drew her hoof along the stone's edge, which was, indeed, quite straight. "Still, that rock was otherwise solid. I can't think of a better way to undo a stone-shaping spell. Bravo, AJ!"
"Thank ya kindly." Applejack returned her hat to her head, hiding her blush.
"Isn't this exciting?" cried Pinkie, hopping into the cleft as the dust cleared. "And really familiar, too!"
"Familiar?" asked Tempest, taking Starlight onto her back at Fluttershy's behest. "What do you mean?"
Pinkie giggled. "Oh, right, newbie! Weeeeeell, the first time we came into the Everfree Forest, we each had to pass a test that required us to exemplify the virtues of honesty, loyalty, laughter, generosity, kindness and magic! And now here we are again, with an obstacle that was passed with Twilight's powerful magic, and another one that was passed with Starlight's complicated magic, and another one that was passed with AJ's super-duperly awesome strength!" She laughed and snorted. "I can't wait to see what mine is!"
Tempest could think of nothing to say to that.
The shattered rock face led them into an obviously pony-made tunnel that sloped down below the foot of the mountain. Twilight and Rarity led the way, as there was no lighting, pony-made or otherwise. Despite the jubilation shared at Applejack's spectacular feat, a quiet sense of foreboding crept over the company the deeper they traveled.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Twi?" Dash asked at length.
"That whoever made this tunnel also had access to the Amulet of Sacanas and possibly untold magical potential?"
"Ugh." Rainbow flew ahead of her, arms crossed. "No. I mean that this is like the part of a Daring Do book where she's about to reach a hall filled with deadly traps, but she has no idea that's what's coming. I'm just waiting for somepony to stumble into one." She shivered.
As the corridor began to spiral ever so slightly clockwise, the group's fear mounted, in no small thanks to Rainbow's supposition. Eyes scanned every crack in the walls, for all that they could barely see beyond the horn lights.
When the tunnel had completed an entire turn, the hallway opened out into an antechamber, its walls wet with condensation and moss.
"Twilight, shine that light over this way," said Dash as the others stopped. "Yeah, yup, see that there?" Dash pointed to the floor. "Pressure plate. Betting you this whole hallway's filled with 'em."
Tempest cleared her throat. "If we were to utilize a series of weights, we could trigger the plates early and get an idea of what sort of traps we are looking at. Pieces of my armor could be used to--"
"Hold it, TS," said Dash, waving a hoof in front of her face. She laughed. "I've totally seen this before. It's just like in Daring Do and the Lost Temple of Tlaloc."
Tempest recoiled from the hoof. "Daring... Do?"
Dash poked her in the chest. "Who is completely real, before you say anything." She flashed a grin. "I got this. A little more light, girls, if you please!"
Twilight and Rarity poured more magic into their horns, illuminating the corridor stretching out before them. Rainbow Dash swung her head side to side, nodded, and took off like a shot.
"Wait!" cried Tempest, too late.
Rainbow Dash flew down the hallway at breakneck speed, yet she didn't travel straight through it. Instead, she caromed off the floor, walls and ceiling like a pool ball, seemingly at random. Every time she impacted with a surface, a giant ax would swing out of the ceiling, a jet of fire would shoot from the wall, or a set of spikes would jut up from the floor. From enormous mallets to swarms of arrows to two sections of wall that smashed against each other in the middle of the hallway, not a single trap that Dash triggered came anywhere close to catching her. In less than a minute, she was at the far end, waving back at her friends.
"Yeah, it's full of death traps, guys!" she shouted. "One sec!"
At the very edge of the light given off by Twilight's horn, they could see Dash step forward and press a plate next to the door at the end of the hallway. She immediately backflipped away, hopping over the pit of spikes revealed as the floor fell away. A second later, the ceiling released a giant boulder, which smashed down into the spikes with an echoing crash.
"Okay, I got 'em all!" Dash yelled.
As the other ponies began making their way carefully through the corridor, Tempest hung back yet again.
"There's no way..." she murmured to herself.
"So," said Rainbow, appearing in front of her, "what'd you think?"
Tempest scowled and began picking her way across the floor. "Effective or not, that was insanely reckless."
"You mean it was insanely awesome." Dash floated along beside her, polishing a hoof on her barrel.
"More like insanely stupid."
"More like you wouldn't know awesome if it bit you in the flank!" Laughing, Dash landed and trotted up to join the group.
Tempest huffed, adjusting Starlight on her back as she stepped over a spiked weight embedded in the floor at the end of a limp chain.
"Awesome couldn't bite me. My armor is too thick."
Tempest couldn't help but feel a little miffed.
The Orb had gotten them through the labyrinth that lay beyond the corridor of traps. That had been no surprise. It was the fight with the stone golems that rankled her.
Yes, she'd taken one out single-hoofedly, but so had Rainbow Dash and Starlight. Applejack and Twilight had taken two each. She wasn't expecting much from Pinkie Pie, Rarity or Fluttershy by this point, but even they had collectively felled the final golem. Pinkie's words still rang in her ears.
I wonder what my test will be?
Even Starlight, who hadn't been present during their first trip into the Everfree, had overcome an obstacle with her talents. If a display of martial prowess hadn't been meant to prove Tempest's worth, what was?
Speaking of Starlight, the battle had awoken her. Tempest was relieved to no longer be needed as a gurney, for all that it had seemed her only use thus far.
"Am I the only one feeling like somepony doesn't want us here?" asked Rarity as Twilight first checked the giant double doors for any lingering traps, then started unweaving the wards that held them shut. "I'm just saying, there have been an awful lot of traps and monsters and whatnot down here."
"The Amulet of Sacanas is a powerful artifact," Tempest said. "In all likelihood, the last person who held it didn't want it being stolen."
With a click, the doors finally opened, revealing a massive stone antechamber.
It shone like gold.
As they made their way to the center of the room, torches in the walls lit of their own accord. The solid gold walls sent the torchlight flickering and scattering around the room in strange, chaotic patterns. Across the floor were pile after pile of coins, gemstones, works of art, scepters, crowns, and jewelry.
"So much treasure!" squeaked Rainbow, hooves pressed against her lips. "This has gotta be it, right?"
"Control yourself, Rainbow," said Twilight, an edge of caution in her voice. "There's every chance this was left here as yet another trap. Hey!"
She flinched as the Orb sailed out of her grasp, unable to pull it back with her magic. The doors slammed shut behind them. Tempest gritted her teeth and snarled.
"A trap indeed!"
The Orb hovered into the middle of the room, above the center of an ornate series of concentric patterns etched into the gilded stonework of the floor. A column of light shot up to meet it, where it was projected against the far end of the room. The light coalesced into the form of a pony wearing a luxurious robe, with eyes faceted like the gems in the treasure piles. Once the projection had fully formed, the Orb fell to the ground, dim and lifeless.
"Seeker of the Amulet!" cried the pony projection, turning to face them. "You have found your prize! But know this: you have also found your doom!"
"Oh, come on!" Dash pulled at her face. "We passed your traps and beat your monsters. Just give us the Amulet already!"
"You have found the Amulet you seek," the projection intoned gravely. "The question is, can you truly attain it?"
Twilight gasped. "I recognize you! You're Fizzy Gem-Eyes! You were an archmage over a thousand years ago! You helped Gusty the Great defeat Grogar the Terrible!"
The projection blinked. Then it sagged, gaze turning toward the floor.
"Yes," she said, much quieter than before. "Fizzy Gem-Eyes, that is I. Gusty was my greatest friend, my greatest..."
She closed her eyes. When they reopened, they sparkled with pain, determination, and something akin to rage.
"Know that what I say is the absolute truth! Gusty was the greatest wizard of our time, yet even she succumbed to the madness of Sacanas. An innocent who sought only knowledge, she was yet consumed by insanity and a lust for power! I created this labyrinth so that all who sought the Amulet would perish." Her face hardened. "'Tis better you be dead, seeker, than risk the corruption that lies within the Amulet."
"Okay, okay, okay," said Pinkie, striding forward, "I've got twooooo questions for ya, Miss Gem-Eyes!"
The ghost of the archmage regarded Pinkie coolly. "Ask."
"First, where's the Amulet?"
Fizzy bowed her head. A series of torches flared to life, revealing an alcove behind her that had been completely shrouded in darkness until that moment. Seven pedestals sat on a dais. Upon each lay a velvet cushion that bore a golden amulet. All seven amulets were identical in design.
"The Amulet lies before you," said Fizzy, turning her gaze to the ceiling. "Determine its nature, and it is yours. Fail, and the false amulets shall rend the very life from your--"
"Third from the right, darling," Rarity said breezily.
Everyone turned to see magic on her horn. Six of the seven amulets glowed with the same magic. The one left out was indeed third from the right.
"What?" asked Rarity, indignant. "You don't put precious gemstones into artifacts of ridiculous power. They interfere with the harmonics. Everypony knows that!"
Twilight picked her jaw up from the ground. "Th-that's right!"
Fizzy, too, was agape. "How did... Never mind, then. The Amulet is yours." With a sigh, she turned back to Pinkie. "And your second question?"
Pinkie's smile had never wavered since they entered the room, but now just the slightest hint of melancholy pity colored her visage as she asked, "Do you want to go see your friend again?"
The gem eyes blinked. "Do I... what?"
Pinkie's smile grew just a little brighter. "You said Gusty the Great was your best friend. She must've passed on long, long ago, and you've been here all this time, alone, protecting this Amulet so nopony else would meet her fate. Well, we've passed your tests, and it's safe in our hooves now. So don't you think you've earned some rest?"
"I..." Fizzy's face grew downcast. "But, the corruption..."
"Trust me," Pinkie said quietly as she fished around in her mane, "you couldn't ask for a better group of ponies to guard it from now on. I Pinkie Promise."
"But how?" Fizzy shook her head. "I wove my very soul into this catacomb, so that the enchantments would never fade. If what you say is true, they have held for centuries."
From her mane, Pinkie produced a tiny bottle full of what looked like water. She pulled out the stopper, in the shape of an intertwined sun and moon, and shook her head, casting a few droplets of the water onto the ghost, where they stuck fast.
"In the names of Celestia, Sol Invicta, and Luna, Mare Tranquilitatis, I bid thee, spirit, leave this plane for thy rest eternal in the great beyond!"
Fizzy's image shivered, then seemed to pop loose from some invisible bond. Her robe fluttered in an ethereal wind and tears wet her cheeks as she rose to the ceiling. The pillar of light reappeared in the center of the room, lifting the Orb of Sacanas once more and restoring it to life.
"Thank you," Fizzy said, and was gone.
"Say hi to Gusty the Great for us!" Pinkie cried as she corked the bottle and tucked it back into her mane. When she turned around, everyone else was staring, open-mouthed, at her.
"What?" She shrugged. "I've been an ordained cleric for like, three years now!"
"Well," said Tempest at length, "it would seem we have succeeded in attaining the Amulet, Your Highness. Well done."
Twilight nodded, smiling. "Yes indeed. Now, everypony stay vigilant while I grab it. I wouldn't be surprised if Fizzy left one more surprise for us..."
But as she climbed the steps of the dais and scooped up the Amulet from its perch, nothing stirred. The doors to the chamber actually opened, slowly, with the grinding of metal on metal.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. "So, we can totally take some of this sweet loot back with us, right? I'm just asking. For science."
"I'm afraid this 'loot', as you put it, is not quite as 'sweet' as you might think." Rarity lifted a scepter in her magic. With a grunt, her magic flared, and the scepter bent in half.
Starlight frowned. "It's all fake? Why even bother?"
"I suspect it was another of Fizzy's tests," Rarity said, tossing the bent scepter away. "I wouldn't be surprised if the walls were just painted gold, either. A shame, really, they do carry the light just so."
Rainbow groaned. "Fine. Guess we're just getting out of here with the Amulet then. Right, Twi?"
Tempest turned to regard Twilight and was greeted with a shock. Twilight had not moved since picking up the Amulet. She faced away from them, hunched over, not even twitching.
"Your Highness?" she asked, approaching the dais, her body tense. "Twilight?"
"You go."
The words had been quiet yet unmistakable. Everypony turned, ears erect, to stare at Twilight in disbelief.
"All of you, go," she said, an edge in her voice. "We've found the real treasure. The only treasure that was here, all along. I just need to stay and study it a little, that's all."
"Twilight," said Fluttershy, "what are you saying?"
Rainbow Dash frowned. "You can study the dumb thing back at Ponyville."
Applejack snorted. "I ain't too afeared o' these woods no more--" her voice grew steadily quieter-- "but, ah, best we don't spend more time here than needed, don'tcha think?"
Pinkie approached the dais. "Come on, Twilight, quit kidding around. Let's take the treasure back home and--"
Pinkie's mouth dropped open when Twilight whipped around to face her.
Twilight clutched the Amulet to her chest with both forehooves. On her face was a crazed grimace, along with a multitude of blood-red runes. The runes covered every square inch of her flesh, and as her friends watched in horrified fascination, more etched themselves into the skin of her chest and forelegs.
"Back!" she shouted, firing a blast of magic.
The bolt would have hit Pinkie square in the chest if not for her quick reflexes. She leapt out of the way, but the impact of the magic nearby threw her aim off, and she landed hard on her side.
"Pinkie!" was the cry from multiple voices. Fluttershy dashed to Pinkie's side. Tempest, Rainbow and Applejack charged the dais. All three rebounded off a shimmering hemisphere of purple energy. Tempest was able to recover and keep her hooves, but the other two went skittering across the floor.
Twilight snarled. "It's mine!"
"She's succumbed to the corruption!" Tempest hissed between her teeth.
"Stop this, Twilight!" shouted Starlight, erecting a magical barrier in front of Fluttershy, Pinkie and herself.
"This is not a good look for you!" cried Rarity, retreating behind the dome. "You are far too adorable for villainy, Twilight Sparkle!"
"We have to get it away from her!" Tempest shouted. Over her shoulder, she called, "Rarity, can you reinforce that shield spell?"
After a moment's hesitation, Rarity nodded and poured more magical energy into the dome.
"Rainbow Dash, Applejack, behind it!"
Applejack and Rainbow exchanged looks as they pulled themselves to their hooves.
"What about you?"
"If Twilight's in danger..."
"Trust me," Tempest said, lowering her head and charging her horn, "I know now what I have to do, and you do not want to be exposed when I do it."
Rainbow and Applejack nodded to each other and scurried behind the shield, which closed around them.
The sparks danced and grew across the surface of Tempest's horn. She grit her teeth against the familiar sting of pain. She loosed the spell, and fireworks crackled along the outside of Twilight's shield, reduplicating off one another, a haphazard ballet of destructive light and sound.
Twilight sneered, her eyes flicking back and forth in time with the sparks. "Just give up and go home with the others. I'll only be here a while. Your little breakhorn fireworks aren't going to get through this shield, anyway."
Tempest was already rushing the dais before Twilight had finished speaking, teeth gritted against the slur. "They won't need to."
She hurled herself at the shield. Twilight backed away, but wherever she moved, Tempest was behind her, everywhere at once, punching, kicking, twirling in time with the spaces between her chaotic spell sparks. It didn't matter how much energy Twilight poured into the shield to keep it active: every blow from a hoof was planted in a very specific place, spaced around the hemisphere in a perfect five-pointed star.
The final blow was a powerful headbutt. The moment Tempest's horn impacted it, the shield collapsed, sending shards of magic skittering across the floor before they dissipated. Her momentum carried her directly into Twilight before Twilight's horn was even lit for a second spell. Tempest flipped over her and latched on: one foreleg in her own, a hoof against Twilight's throat, alicorn wings pinned against her barrel, and hind legs around Twilight's.
In the back of her mind, Tempest was vaguely aware of somebody, maybe numerous somebodies, shouting Twilight's name.
Twilight cried out and struggled, but Tempest had moved too quickly for her to put up any real resistance. Pulling up on Twilight's chin, Tempest bit down on the ear nearest her mouth.
"Let it go," she growled through her teeth. She didn't have to. The combination of sudden movement and pain caused Twilight's magic to wink out, and the Amulet went skidding across the floor.
"Don't touch it!" Tempest bellowed. "Don't even use magic!"
Rarity, who had rushed out as soon as Starlight's shield fell, dropped the Amulet. She had only held it for a moment, but already runes were snaking down her horn.
"Rarity, your face!" cried Applejack.
Rarity conjured a mirror from her saddlebag and shrieked the moment she looked into it.
"Tacky! Tattoos are not in this season!" Thankfully, the runes were already receding.
"I've got it!" Fluttershy said, scooping the amulet up with her wings.
"No!" Tempest shouted. She couldn't say more, as she had to clamp down on Twilight's ear again to keep her from casting.
"It's okay," said Fluttershy, smiling as she carefully walked over to Rarity. "Feathers aren't living tissue. I'm perfectly safe!" And indeed, she suffered no ill effect as she deposited the Amulet in Rarity's saddlebag.
Rainbow Dash gave her a high-wing. The rest of the group relaxed. Tempest couldn't help the tiniest smile, but her attention remained on the alicorn writhing in her grasp.
"Fight it, Princess," she hissed in Twilight's ear. "You can do amazing things, I've seen it! Don't let this Amulet get the better of you. You're too good for it!"
Twilight lit her horn. Tempest bit her again, and she shrieked.
"If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for your friends!" Her voice climbed until it was audible around the chamber. "Fast Rainbow Dash, strong Applejack, smart Starlight, keen-eyed Rarity, irrepressible Pinkie Pie." Her eyes flicked over to the group. "Even Fluttershy, so weak and frightened, gave everything she could. They all did, for your sake!"
"And..." Her voice quieted. "You were right. You're not weak, the Amulet is using your power against you. You saved my life and gave me a second chance when the Storm King was ready to throw me away. Well, I'm not throwing you away!" She drew a breath in through her teeth. "I said I would always be there to protect you, and I will, even if it's from yourself."
Then she cried, "You're supposed to be unstoppable, Twilight, so snap out of it!"
The room grew quiet. All eyes were on Twilight. Tempest was giving her only enough slack to breathe.
"T-Tempest?" Twilight's voice was weak and hesitant. She sounded on the verge of tears. "My ear..."
Tempest took only long enough to ascertain that the runes on Twilight's face were unraveling themselves, albeit slower than Rarity's. Releasing Twilight, she rolled to face away from her and let out a long sigh as Twilight's friends rushed up the dais.
She closed her eyes. It was over, and they'd won.