The gear squeaked beneath Button’s hooves as he slid across its surface. He gave another tug at the rope around his midsection, then peered back at the source. Rumble hovered over the gear it’d been tied to, making sure it was secure. Button got the nod, and was then waved forward.
It was a perilous trek down the gear system to whatever destination might lie below. One false step spelled disaster, and his legs provided the opportunity for at least four false steps. The gears were polished to an impossible degree, and greased to boot. They were made to slide smoothly. To turn easily. To kill, decidedly.
But they weren’t moving. That was a boon. If they were moving, it would have been a simple thing to get somebody’s tail caught and drag them between the teeth. Just like in—
“Daring Do and the Abhorred Shears?” Rumble said, sweat running down his coat.
“I was thinking the same thing.” Button Mash’s hoof slipped, but his movement was halted by Fire Brigade-class knots. “Of course, if anybody finds the Shears of Fate down here, please, don’t keep it to yourself.”
Rumble swallowed hard as Apple Bloom took her turn in the descent. He offered her a hoof for leverage, then cinched her harness tight. “Now that I think of it… Are they actually real? I mean, Daring Do is real. Like, to a ridiculous degree. Are any of the stories true? All of them? Most of them?”
“After hearin’ a name like Ahuizotl said with a straight face,” Apple Bloom said, “I’ll believe anythin’.”
Rumble helped her take her first step down, and then she was on her own. He moved to the side to allow Spike access to the gear system. “What about you, Spike? What do you know about it?”
Spike tapped a clawtip against metal as Rumble secured him. “I’m not gonna say they’re totally truthful autobiographies, necessarily.”
Button reached out to touch the wall. It appeared to be made of a different material than the gears. It wasn’t stone, either. It was a translucent, amber-like plate, embedded into the wall. A few more could be seen, dotted around the gearbox. If he pointed his lantern downward, he could see that the entire floor was built out of a hexagonal pattern of these plates. A pinprick of light glowed a faint yellow beyond them.
“Check it out,” he said. “Looks like there’s a light behind those plates.”
“What sorta light?” Apple Bloom leaned over the edge of the gear above his. “Magic? Torches?”
“Can’t tell. Almost looks like a horn.” Button looked up and over his shoulder. “Might be Captain Carrot.”
“Might be something else.” Rumble flew down easily, flapping his wings gently so as not to smack a gear or the wall. He hovered over the plates and gave them a gentle tap. “Looks like these aren’t anchored with cement or anything. Maybe we can pry them aside?”
Spike gripped the edge of a gear tight as he lowered himself to the next level. “Depends on how heavy they are. Gimme a sec. It might be our only way down.”
Button, Apple Bloom, and Spike reached the floor in short order. Rumble tested his weight against one of the plates and found it to be sturdy enough. They all lowered themselves to different surfaces, still roped to the gear shaft and safety.
Spike ran his claws between the edges of the plates. “You’re right. No cement or glue. It doesn’t look too heavy. At least not as heavy as the trapdoor. Just need to get a grip.”
He positioned himself to one side and gripped with his claws. Rumble levered the tip of his spear into the small gap and leaned against the shaft. Spike lifted, Rumble pulled. Apple Bloom and Button glanced at each other, then took a few steps back as the ground shifted.
It came away. Not easily, but quickly enough. On closer inspection, Button could see etched lines making their way through the crystal—probably channels to allow magic to flow through them. The panel was hoisted to the side and allowed to rest against its brethren.
Without the discoloration of the amber tile, the light came clear in Button’s vision. It was a soft, pale green, emanating sparks and magic ambiance from a spiraled horn. The horn rested among locks of curled mane, its light accompanied by the shine of two glistening green eyes.
A clear, strong voice came from the light. “Who’s there?”
“Oh my gosh! Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom nearly tumbled through the opening in her rush to speak. “Sweetie, it’s really you! You’re okay!”
“Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle stood up and paced around the floor of the dark room. “What are you doing here?”
“We came to rescue you!” Spike motioned for Rumble to jump through the opening. “Scope out the room. Make sure we’re safe.”
Rumble opened his wings and glided around, the light from his armor illuminating a small diameter around him. Two cages, their wooden bars spanning from the floor to the ceiling. A pool of water. Stalactites hanging down and dripping minerals. A door made from blocks of metal.
“There’s nopony here.” Rumble landed beside Sweetie’s cage and waved for them to drop a rope. “Where’s Scootaloo?”
Sweetie ran up to the bars and leaned against them. Her voice hitched, then raised. “They took her and—oh—Listen, you just have to trust me when I say this. Ahuizotl took her heart! He has this dagger—”
Rumble bumped his head against the wood, his eyes shut tight. “No, no, no, no…”
“We know about the dagger, Sweetie.” Button Mash slid down a half-meter at a time, his knees knocking with each passing moment. “D-Daring Do filled us in.”
“Daring Do?” Sweetie cantered his way, rubbing her temple. “Scootaloo was right! She really is real!”
“Is there any way to restore her to normal?” Apple Bloom started her downward climb the instant Button’s hoof touched stone. “There’s gotta be, right? Do you know where they’ve taken her heart?”
“It’s with Ahuizotl!” Sweetie Belle extinguished her horn as the lantern light filled the room. “And her body is with the other ponies they’ve enslaved. It’s so awful.”
Button stopped a step away from Sweetie Belle, his heart racing. His knees still knocked, even though the climb was long over. She looked so tired. Worn out and sorrowful. Bags lay beneath her eyes. Her coat was matted. Her mane and tail limp.
She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to have this happen to her.
She looked at him, and their eyes locked. He felt warmth in his chest, and twisting in his stomach.
“W—” She swallowed and tried again, with a slightly stronger voice. “We have to save them. They need us.”
He nodded, taking the last step needed to bring them face-to-face. “We will. I promise.”
He turned away and shuffled through his saddlebags. He brushed the remains of River aside to reach his bandages. “Are you hurt? I’ve got lots of medical supplies.”
“I’m low on… on ambrosia.” Sweetie blushed and ran a hoof over her foreleg. “I’m getting headaches without it.”
“I’ve got a couple emergency doses.” He plucked a silvery canister from the depths of his supplies and held it out to her. She unscrewed it with a quick spell and sipped the medicine, taking a deep breath afterwards. “I think there’s three more, if we need it.”
“This’ll do for now.” Sweetie Belle shifted to the side to let a rushing Apple Bloom reach her. They hugged each other tight through the bars.
Apple Bloom choked back a sob. “I shoulda been there.”
“You’d’ve been taken, too. Or worse.” Sweetie brushed a tear away and giggled. “I much prefer you coming to the rescue now.”
Spike’s feet hit the floor with a decisive thud. He waddled his way over on his hind legs, looking the cage up and down. “So what’s the deal with this thing? How do we get you out?”
Sweetie Belle broke off the hug and tapped a bar. “They use some sort of earth pony magic to make the wood come alive. Got any ideas, Apple Bloom? Button?”
“I know how to grow apples,” Apple Bloom said. “Not imprison ponies.”
Button Mash shrugged, giving the wood a close inspection. “I dunno. It’s not like anything I’ve ever heard of. I mean, unicorn magic has a ‘come to life’ spell, but this seems different.”
“It’s simple.” Spike dug his claws into the wood, squeezing tight and tearing away splinters. “This is wood. I’ve got fire. It’s a wash.”
Button nudged Rumble in the shoulder. “Now he’s what I call an OP party member.”
Rumble glanced up from staring into space. He clicked the butt of his spear against the ground. “Hurry up, then. We need to get moving.”
He narrowed his eyes at the one entrance to the room: The mechanical device that looked more like a puzzle than a door. “Button and I’ll figure out how to get that thing open. Maybe we’ll run into the others.”
Button Mash sucked in air to steel his nerves. “Maybe we’ll run into Ahuizotl.”
“Hay, come on.” Rumble patted him on the shoulder with a wing. “What’re the odds? Chances are, Daring Do and the others are already tearing up—”
The door folded open, and the two of them ground to a halt. Caballeron and the young, blue-maned pegasus halted gap-jawed on the other side.
The pegasus grinned and flicked a wing forward.
“Down!” Rumble shouted, pushing Button to the ground. Three glints of metal sailed over their heads like bees on the warpath.
Spike gasped and pulled Apple Bloom behind him. He stood in front of the two mares and braced himself. The three wingblades embedded themselves in the scales of his chest, nowhere near penetrating his hide.
“Rhombus! Hold!” Caballeron flicked the brace on his right foreleg. A blade slid out, attached to a swivel that locked into place. He pointed it at the younger ponies, his face a grim snarl. “Who are you and wha—” He caught sight of Button Mash, and his expression changed. Puzzlement, realization, and annoyance all flickered across in short order. “Well. The hero returns.”
Button shook. He’d been a hair away from dying. Again. Any lower—and if Rumble’d been any slower—those blades would have gone through his head. “Oh gosh. Caballeron.”
Spike growled and crawled towards the newcomers, shifting to all fours to move a bit faster. Rhombus held up a small bag wrapped around his fetlock. “Careful where you step, dragon. None of us want to see Scootaloo hurt.”
Spike halted. He dug his clawtips into the solid stone. “What do you want?”
Rumble leveled his spear at Rhombus, his teeth grinding together. “I swear if you don’t hand over Scootaloo right now, I’ll run you through from your nose to your dock!”
“Aha!” Rhombus dangled the bag back and forth. “You hear that, Doctor? That’s the sound of passion.”
“Now,” Caballeron said, “is not the time.”
“It almost sounds like this colt—” Rhombus spat the word. “—thinks Scootaloo belongs to him.”
“Now is not the time!” Caballeron’s shout sent Rhombus’ ears flat against his head. The doctor took a step forward, lowering his blade, but keeping it ready. “It seems we both have something the other wants. We have Scootaloo—half of her.” He eyed Rumble carefully. “And you have found a way out.”
“You have a game.” Button edged himself back and behind Rumble, praying that the riot gear would be enough to stop a speeding wingblade. For some reason, he doubted that was the case. “Caballeron always has a game.”
Caballeron once again turned his attention to Button, his lip turning up. He shook his head slowly and clicked his tongue, his ears twitching. “You sound like somebody who’s just seen a storybook character come to life, don’t you?” His eyebrows lowered as his forehead creased. “Daring Do is here, isn’t she?”
Button heard the heavy breathing of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle behind him. Spike remained between them and Caballeron, his muscles poised for a pounce. Rumble looked ready to charge screaming. His spear shook so hard its point seemed to drift on and off its intended target.
“If you’re so ready to leave,” Button said, “why were you here in the first place?”
Caballeron smirked, his eyes remaining as dark and murderous as ever. “Ahuizotl took something from me: A heart I find most precious. I cannot leave until I’ve gotten it. And you, it seems, cannot leave without a little liberation of your own.”
His eyes drifted over the other ponies in the room, lingering on the resident dragon. “A proposition for you; let us pass and take Sweetie Belle to Ahuizotl. She shall come to no harm. In turn, I shall allow you to pass through Ahuizotl’s headquarters unhindered. My only request is that in your quest to free your friends, that you also find the heart I seek.”
“None of us,” Spike growled, “are willing to let you take Sweetie again.”
“She is literally vital to Ahuizotl’s plan.” Caballeron exchanged a glance with Rhombus, who shifted his wings to reveal tens of blades hidden beneath his feathers. “Therefore, he will not allow her to come to harm. It is perhaps the safest place she can be under the circumstances.” He lifted his eyes to Sweetie Belle herself. “It is the best chance you have to save everyone.”
Rhombus sent Rumble a smile like the edge of a knife. “And you can start with Scootaloo.”
Sweetie Belle gripped the bars of her cell. “If I don’t go, Ahuizotl will be looking for me, won’t he?”
Caballeron nodded lightly. “The entire complex will be up in arms. They will be after you, your friends, and my own hide as well. I would respectfully request that not be the case.”
Button twisted around to look square at Sweetie. She couldn’t be considering it, could she? There’s no way. They came to save her. Letting her go for even a second—
“I need to go.” Sweetie Belle pressed her forehead against the wood. “If only to buy you guys more time.”
Button threw a hoof out. “There’s no way we can trust Caballeron!”
“As a peace offering,” Caballeron said, his voice gravelly and strained, “we’ll hand over Scootaloo’s heart.”
Rhombus reared back, his teeth bared at the older stallion. “What?”
“If we’re caught with it, we’re dead.” Caballeron folded the blade back against his brace. “It will be safer with them. She will be safer with them.”
Apple Bloom snapped her gaze between Caballeron and Sweetie, her jaw agape. “But—b-but—”
“You didn’t feel it,” Sweetie Belle said quietly. “You didn’t feel how scared the prisoners are. How lost they feel. You don’t know what it’s like.” She blinked up at Apple Bloom and heaved a sigh. “I have to help them in every way I can.”
Spike scoured the rock ground with his claws. He sat up and crossed his arms with a low grumble. “I don’t trust you. I don’t think you can do anything to make me trust you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to trust me… Spike.” Caballeron matched Spike’s pose and leaned against the doorway. “You just have to do the right thing.”
Rhombus stepped back into the portal, Scootaloo’s bag clutched tight to his chest. He kept his wings flared, ready to attack at any given moment. “We can’t.”
Caballeron tilted his head forward, lowering the brim of his hat to the edge of his eyes. “Give them the sack, Rhombus.”
Rhombus snorted steam at Rumble. Rumble snorted in kind.
“Give them Scootaloo,” Caballeron said, “or we all die.”
Apple Bloom cantered closer. “Set the heart on the ground.”
Spike reached for her, but she waved him off. “It’s all good,” she said. “We got this.”
“Wait.” Button put his foreleg out to stop her. He kept his eyes on Rhombus, watching the stallion’s muscles twitch with energy. “Let him set it down first.”
Rhombus chuckled, cheerless and dangerous. He folded his wings in and set the bag gently in the dirt. He flicked an ear at Rumble. “I’m not giving her to you. I’m giving her to the oversized haystack over there.”
Something vile boiled up in Button Mash’s chest. Red threatened to tinge the edges of his vision. How dare he say that to Apple Bloom? He forced the pressure back and focused on the deal Caballeron had set before them. Scootaloo’s safety for Sweetie’s. In his opinion, it wasn’t even worth considering. They had come to save them both. They’d come to stop Caballeron and rescue all the ponies he’d kidnapped.
“Please,” Sweetie said. “You need to get Scootaloo out of here.”
Button’s eyes caught hers. They locked gazes for a brief moment. And that’s when he saw it; she’d already made her decision.
“If you love something,” he muttered.
“If we’re going to save everybody—” He sent Caballeron a hot glare. “—including you, we’d better hurry up.”
Spike’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”
Caballeron pushed off the wall and waltzed past Rumble’s spear. “There’s a boy. Come now, we can’t waste time.”
Apple Bloom scooped up Scootaloo’s heart without a second thought. She held it close to the chest, her eyes never leaving Rhombus’ wings for a moment.
Rumble shook his head, lowering the tip of his spear ever so slightly. He swallowed hard, casting a glance at the bag holding the lifeforce of his friend. His shoulders hunched as he let out a pained sigh.
Caballeron tipped his hat to Spike. “Now I’d rather you start trusting me, if only because my life is in your claws.” He drew a yellow stone from his shirt pocket and pressed it against the wooden bar. It glowed with earth pony magic, sending Caballeron’s strength into the root. The wood riggled and roiled as life returned to it, and Caballeron directed it to shift to the side.
Sweetie Belle exited her cell with slow, steady hoofsteps. She pushed her glasses up her nose and stood still, looking over the friends that had come to her rescue. She paused at Button, opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated. She shook her head and cantered a path to the doorway, where Rhombus waited.
Caballeron stood tall as he followed his captive. “Ahuizotl’s Painted Ones are occupied with preparations below and in the antechamber at the end of the tunnel. The prisoners should be relatively unguarded, and the hearts likewise. Beware, though. Once you are discovered, you will have a hundred bloodthirsty heathens to contend with.”
“O-only a hundred?” Apple Bloom said, her voice as shaky as her hooves. “Th-that’s nothin’.”
Caballeron ignored her, instead opting to lead Sweetie Belle forward with a hoof on her shoulder. He heard Spike growl, but the dragon kept his silence. Rhombus sent them a cheery grin, his jaw tightening when he waved at Apple Bloom. They entered the corridor beyond, and Button raced to the portal to watch them go.
He turned his head to find himself with a face-full of dragon smoke. Button’s eyes stung as Spike hissed in his ear. “What was that?”
Button yanked himself back and cleared the air with a hoof. “I was getting us through a sticky situation—”
“You were bargaining with Sweetie’s life!” Spike pointed a claw at Button’s chest. “We should have just stopped them cold then and there.”
Button took another step back, but stopped short of entering the corridor. “And risked Scootaloo’s life for it? And maybe gotten killed ourselves? Those blades—”
“Are stuck in my chest.” Spike reached up to pluck a wingblade from his scales. “I think we’d be fine.”
“What were you gonna do?” Button asked. “Barbecue them? Hold them still while Rumble skewers them? How were you going to keep Scootaloo and Sweetie safe?”
Spike held his hands out, gritting his teeth. He clenched his fists and took in a deep breath. “We would have figured something out.”
Apple Bloom stomped a hoof between the two. “We got half of Scootaloo back. Can we just frickin’ stop fightin’ ourselves an’ work with what we have? Ponies are counting on us.”
Spike opened his fist and let a mangled, twisted wingblade fall to the cavern floor. “Alright. Let’s go. They’ve got enough of a head start by now.”
Rumble kicked the tiny bit of metal, sucking in a cheek. “Yknow, the first thing they teach the new recruits is that our armor doesn’t stop these things. The air force doesn’t even use them because you’re more likely to cut off your own wings than use them right. You’re lucky you’re thick-skinned.”
He took a step towards Apple Bloom and reached out a wing. “Attach her bag to my armor. The forcefield should keep it cushioned.”
Button eyed the bag as Rumble and Apple Bloom exchanged it. Something felt strange about it. It was clearly Scootaloo’s heart; he could feel the familiar glow of her magic even from several steps away. But something Caballeron said—
“Uh oh.”
Spike swung his tail, narrowly avoiding scouring the wall with it. “What is it now?”
“If Caballeron is telling the truth—” Button gulped. “—then he just foisted off the only incriminating evidence he had onto us.”
This time, Spike cut a deep furrow in the stone with a flick of his tail. “How do you feel about trusting the known criminal now, Button?”
***
Daring Do peered down over a ledge and idly picked her teeth with a hoof. Their tunnel had led them through dark twists and turns, always echoing the sounds of ponies carrying metal objects. The trail had led them to a newly-busted opening in the wall, which had crumbled in the face of an energy weapon of some kind. Just below, she could see the intentional damage, where Ahuizotl’s typical Painted Ones were doing their mad god’s work.
The antechamber was large, enough to fit a good-sized galleon with room to spare. It seemed bare, though, at least as far as the Painted One’s torches could cast light. Just sheer rock walls on all sides.
That said, the floor held some interest. It was made up of rings that swirled outward, all forged from that same bronze-colored metal that reacted so strangely to changelings. Writing was etched along each ring, which was impossible to make out from their height. In the center of the rounded room, a bowl was sunk into the floor, which contained several receptacles for what could only be hearts.
And hearts there were. Around fifty of them, all nestled into the bow and awaiting “The Whim of Ahuizotl.” That seemed to mean that at least fifty ponies had survived Ahuizotl’s idiocy. They’d have to seek out wherever the bodies were imprisoned.
Hopefully, that didn’t mean splitting up any more than they already were.
“Ten Painted Ones in the room,” Martial breathed. “Six armed with spears, four unarmed. More down the corridor. I don’t see Caballeron or Ahuizotl.”
“Me either. That bugs me.” She pushed him back as another sound came to light, that of Ahuizotl’s voice. “Back. Here comes the big guy himself.”
Ahuizotl entered the room in all his glory, draped with finery that Daring surmised was some new sort of battle armor. Gemstones glistened against his chest, channeling dark magic. Two curved blades with red pommel stones crossed his back, with the Spade of Hearts nestled between them.
Daring glanced at Blankety. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head towards the ceiling. He nodded and crawled his way up the wall, his cloven hooves gripping tightly to the stone.
“My Painted Ones!” Ahuizotl crowed, and everybody in the room stopped to listen. “Today marks a new beginning for the forgotten children of the world! As a family we have planted these seeds, and as a family we shall reap the harvest of the sun!”
Care Carrot leaned in with narrow eyes. “A fireball through the skull would shut him up.”
“Don’t think so, Cap,” Daring whispered. “Ahuizotl always wears armor that absorbs magic from the sun. Your little firecracker might not do the trick.”
“Noted.”
Ahuizotl extended a claw towards the entryway. “Sweetie Belle, come forth.”
Martial’s talon gripped the hilt of his rapier. “One mystery solved. What is this, a sacrifice to some vengeful deity?”
“Ahuizotl’s the only god Ahuizotl cares about.” Daring scratched beneath her helmet. “Get ready to dive if it looks like she’s gonna get hurt.”
Sweetie Belle trotted in swiftly and assuredly, Caballeron at her side. Daring couldn’t see any of Caballeron’s thugs, Kiln or Rhombus, so she made a note to keep them in mind. Sweetie halted a short distance away from the hearts and called to Ahuizotl. “Where are the other hearts? There’s only fifty here!”
“The others shall serve their own purpose,” Ahuizotl said, looming over her. “By which I mean they shall serve my purpose.”
“Cuss.” Daring Do leaned against the ledge and pressed her mouth against her foreleg. “Couldn’t keep all your eggs in one basket just this once, could yah?”
Ahuizotl drew the Spade of Hearts with his tail’s hand. He swung it overhead, grinning from ear to grotesque ear. “Sing, Sweetie Belle! Sing for these scattered hearts! Unite them to one purpose! Sing for me!”
Sweetie Belle spun around, her head swinging as she took in every corner of the room. Finding nothing but darkness, she turned to the lights at the center, glowing with discordant heartbeats. She pressed a hoof against her chest. Her lips trembled.
Care pressed a hoof against Daring’s back. “I don’t think we wanna know what happens when he activates that thing.”
“I don’t think we have a choice. Not with these odds.” Daring leaned over just far enough to reassure herself she’d counted all the Painted Ones in the room. “Marty, you swoop in and grab Sweetie, but only after Care and I get you an opening. I’m not gonna watch you go down to a stray spear—those things are enchanted to heck and back. Fire, ice, energy blasts, the works. Care, you and I gotta catch those two bozos off guard. Get them disarmed and conked out before they know what hit them. The other four will take a few seconds to reach us, and by then Marty’ll be on his way out the tunnel.”
Martial drew his rapier and held it loosely in one talon. “And Ahuizotl?”
“That’s what Blankety’s for.” Daring peered at the ceiling, where only the slightest of movements could be seen among the shadows. “Capital grade-A distraction.”
Sweetie Belle squared her hooves and faced the hearts. Her eyes closed as she shut out Ahuizotl, the Painted Ones, and the darkness that surrounded her. Her breath slowed and her horn glowed a faint green.
Martial tilted his head to one side to get a better look. “What is she—?”
“Shh!” Daring waved him back. “Something’s about to happen. Get yourself ready.”
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, and the sweetest, strongest voice Daring had ever heard struck her to the very core.
“Help is coming
Time is wasting
We are ready
At last to see a victory
“Climb for the light
Fight for what’s right
With all your might
Because the dangers are growing
“Stand together
Here forever
We will never
Become an evil thing’s treasure
“Gather power
Darkest hour
Never cower
Magic unleashing its shower!”
With one thunderous pulse, the hearts united in a single beat. Magic flowed through the bronze-colored metal, snaking its way between the rings and around the room. Tumblers and gearwork too massive to comprehend clattered behind the walls. Ahuizotl and his Painted Ones stumbled in the face of a sudden tremor.
The rings rotated, one layer clockwise, the next counterclockwise, and so forth until it reached the epicenter. The rings moved as smooth as butter, unmarred or slowed by their years of disuse. Sweetie Belle scrambled to get all four feet onto one ring, her song stalled into silence.
“Keep singing, Sweetie Belle!” Ahuizotl commanded. “Sings to the hearts’ content!”
Caballeron stumbled his way towards the edge, slipping and sliding. He craned his neck in an effort to keep his balance. A hoof found a rock wall at the edge of the torchlight, lending stability.
He raised his eyes to the ceiling. Daring Do ducked out of view.
“Caballeron’s up to something,” Daring said.
Martial steadied himself against the wall and spread a wing. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s not nearly as scared out of his mind as he ought to be.”
Ahuizotl’s booming voice overtook the thoughts jumbling themselves up in Daring’s head. “Sing louder! Sing stronger! Sing my eternal reign to life!”
“So…” Care Carrot leveled her horn at the gathered Painted Ones. “About that plan…”
Several of the spear users were riding the rings back and forth, under Ahuizotl’s direction. Their position changed rapidly, chaotically, defying even Daring Do’s ability to craft a killer strategy. “I don’t feel like waiting around for either Caballeron or Ahuizotl to make their next move.”
Martial rested the rapier blade in his palm. “And?”
“And I got a score to settle.” Daring gritted her teeth and pressed her pith helmet firmly against her mane. “Wait until he’s on the far side of the room, then take out whatever Painted Ones are in your way.”
***
Button Mash moved his legs as fast as they would go. Keeping up with the long strides of Apple Bloom, the hurried scurry of Spike, and the swift wingbeats of Rumble was no easy task.
Trusting Caballeron at all was stupid. That was easy enough to see. But what else could they have done? There was no way to win the fight without losing something irreplaceable. But giving Caballeron any sort of leverage without a real backup plan of their own…
Button’s ears perked up, and his eyes raised just in the nick of time. He dug his hooves in to slow himself down, hissing at his friends. “Wait—!”
Voices. Lots of them. Familiar and otherwise.
Some short distance down the corridor, the wall fell away into a yawning abyss of a chasm. Nothing but inky blackness waited to swallow up any who dared descry its depths. But unfortunately, that was not the most dangerous thing in their path.
No, the most dangerous thing was the wall of painted warriors standing at the ready, spears in hoof.
Button’s first thought was that they’d been sold out, just like Spike feared. Closer inspection caught sight of Rhombus standing before the hunting party, his wings slack and comfortable at his sides. Another pony stood beside him, a tall earth pony with a too-small hat. Button recognized him as the third pony who had kidnapped Sweetie and Scootaloo; the massive bruiser.
A Painted One wearing a purple cloak spoke in a small, razor-edged voice. “Your claims mean little. We are still missing four of our acolytes, and I’m certain Ahuizotl’s adornments are quite valuable on the collectors market.”
Rhombus brushed a hoof across his chest in what Button supposed was mock surprise. “Listen, Confuse-o—”
“It’s Confuto.”
“Confuse-o, I haven’t seen a single glint of gold this entire time. Any value I’ll find on this venture is more on the intrinsic side.”
The big pony shook his head. “Sure an’ we’ll help ye find yer kinfolk, assumin’ ye need the help.”
Button slide beside Apple Bloom, unsure of what their next step was. There was no way of getting past the Painted Ones, and Caballeron’s goons sure wouldn’t rush to their aid. No way around them for those without wings. Would Spike charge? Rumble throw his spear? Would they be cut down before they could think?
Apple Bloom touched Spike’s shoulder and nudged him to the side. She pulled a round jar from her saddlebags, one containing a single seed. She showed the device to Spike, got a nod, and reeled her foreleg back. She sent it flying towards the Painted Ones in a gentle arc.
The Painted Ones’ leader saw the approach and slipped to the side with ease. The bottle hit the floor with a wet plop. “Trespassers! You defy the whim of Ahuizotl with water balloons?”
“Ain’t water,” Apple Bloom yelped from around the corner. “It’s a quick-grow formula.”
The Painted Ones—alongside Rhombus and the bruiser—looked up at her with nothing less than utter bewilderment.
“All I’m sayin’,” Apple Bloom said, “is don’t touch the buds.”
The seed split with an ear-shattering pop. Green vines snaked their way through the crowd of Painted Ones, entangling them or tripping them up. Red buds covered in white polka dots appeared, which soon opened up to reveal not a flower, but row upon row of razor-sharp teeth.
“Piranha Plant!” A Painted One dove away, its spear lost to the vicious, carnivorous plant. “Run for your lives!”
Rumble thrust his spear forward, indicating the center of the melee. The main mass of the Piranha Plant kept the Painted Ones occupied at the edges, leaving a small, precious space to slip through. “Now’s our chance! Move it!”
Button found himself harried forward by Apple Bloom’s brusque strides. She brought her mouth close to his ear and hissed. “Seriously, don’t touch the buds if you wanna keep your hooves.”
Rumble took point, stepping carefully around the thorny vines even as they grasped for flesh. Spike and Apple Bloom joined him, Apple Bloom leaping over most of the mess and Spike batting away stray spearheads. Button took the rear, and found himself victim of a thousand tiny scratches from the thorns. Thankfully, Piranha Plants were not poisonous, but still quite irritating.
Rhombus landed beside him and gripped him in a tight over-the-shoulder hug. “Not a bad plan! Not bad at all! A little warning would have been nice.”
Sweat beaded up on Button’s nose. He would have been a physical match for the pegasus, if not for the wingblades hidden amongst the feathers. There was also the fact that Rhombus had a deep history with murder. “I—uh—sorry, I guess.”
Rhombus’ eyes danced around Button’s saddlebags. Not finding what he was looking for, he released him. “Haven’t left Scoot-to-the-lee behind, have you?”
The Painted Ones strained behind the vines of the plant. A few unlucky souls tried to climb down into the pit, but were quickly snatched up by grasping vines. Button’s discomfort grew as a toothy bud turned their way, digestive fluids dripping from its mouth. “We oughta get moving—”
Rhombus was already hovering overhead. “Hurry up, Kiln. We have a schedule to keep.”
Kiln hauled himself out of a tangle of vines, suffering various small cuts and bruises. “Don’t get yer feathers in a flurry.”
Rumble and Spike made it safely to the far side of the brambles, followed closely by Apple Bloom and Rhombus. Button crossed over next, with Kiln practically breathing down his neck. Most of the Painted Ones were trapped or injured, the fight completely knocked out of them.
The Painted Ones’ leader fought to free one foreleg from the tangle. “Your will learn to fear Confuto! High Priest of Ahuizotl! Successor to Dissero!”
Rumble spread his wings to pat the bag attached to his side, reassuring himself it was still there. “If we’re not gonna try to kill each other, we should probably run.”
Rhombus grinned as he caught sight of the protective sack. “Ah! So you carry Scootaloo’s heart with you after all! Isn’t it precious?”
Kiln looked at each of them in turn, his forehead furrowing. “Who are all these?”
“Allies at the moment.” Rhombus glanced over his shoulder, even as he walked down the corridor. “Trust me whe—”
Apple Bloom’s shriek broke through the conversation to strike right at the heart. “Oh my gosh, no!”
Button Mash heard the crackle of magic behind him an instant before the flames licked at his tail. A shock of explosive force knocked him to the ground, chin-first. The shield generated by his riot gear flickered and faded.
Button rolled onto his back as Rumble leaped over his head. The full armor of a Royal Guardspony was far better able to take the next fireball thrown from the brambles. Button craned his neck to see the high priest, half bound by the Piranha Plant, raising a ruby-red orb in one hoof. A spattering of speech from the priest, a glimmer of magic in the orb, and another projectile shot forth.
Rumble took it full in the chest with barely a flinch. “I’ll deal with this! You guys keep going!”
He hesitated before also addressing Button: “Take Scootaloo. Put her back together for me.”
Button was about to object when he saw other Painted Ones pulling free of the plant. Time was of the essence, and if anypony was prepared to deal with it, it was either the resident dragon or the soldier-at-large. Button slipped his hoof beneath Rumble’s wing and detached the bag. Spike and Apple Bloom had already charged down the tunnel. He turned to bolt for it.
He ran neck-first into the joint of Rhombus’ wing. He crumpled to the ground, his windpipe feeling like it was clogged with burning paper. Rhombus picked up Scootaloo’s heart gently, caressing it with a wingtip.
Kiln gaped at his companion. “Are we on their side or nae?”
Rumble turned on Rhombus, his lips pulled back in a sneer. “What the heck!”
The next fireball from the High Priest threw him against the wall. He pressed the butt of his spear against the ground to haul himself back to his hooves.
Rhombus grinned down at the choking Button Mash. “Relax. Scootaloo’s in safe hooves now. You needn’t worry ’bout a thing.”
“Horseapples!” Rumble swung his spear at Rhombus, but the other pegasus danced nimbly out of the way. Rumble turned back to the growing crowd of Painted Ones and gritted his teeth. “Button! Get up! You gotta move!”
Button’s legs felt like jelly. His chest, tight. His face, fuming. He pressed against a ground that refused to move, with legs that refused to stand.
“C’mon, Kiln,” Rhombus said. “Let’s leave them to their fate.”
Kiln scowled, but ran into the darkness all the same. Rhombus paused at the edge. He looked back at Rumble, an eyebrow raised. A slow, sinister smile trickled across his teeth like a stream of blood.
A blade gleamed among his feathers as he raised a wing.
With a scream torn from the darkest depths of his soul, Button Mash charged. His forehead struck Rhombus’ chin with a deafening crack! The blade flew free, but several inches off course.
The wingblade sizzled its way through the air to embed itself deep into the shoulder of the high priest. Confuto howled, clutching the wound with his free hoof. Rumble took the opening and jabbed forward, his blade aimed right for the priests’ throat.
Confuto saw the attack and raised the orb out of sheer animal reflex. The gemstone and the spearhead connected, and deflected each other. A sharp snap caused the priest to stagger back, and Rumble to scramble to regain control of his spearhead.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of the gemstone. Fierce magic boiled from within, seeking an exit. Confuto’s eyes widened. He tossed the orb past Rumble, letting it skitter up to Button Mash’s side.
Rhombus kicked Button back with his hind legs and stumbled down the corridor as fast as he could. He left the sack behind, out in the open, right next to the overloading magic device.
Button scooped Scootaloo’s heart against his chest. He jumped a measly couple meters away from the orb and covered her with his body.
The orb detonated in a blast of heat and magic. The shockwave picked Button up and dropped him right over the edge of the pit. He reached a foreleg out to snag the edge, but the stone crumbled beneath his hoof.
Rumble reached out and grasped the hoof tight. He held fast for a critical moment, his muscles straining with the weight. He leaned back with all his might. “C’mon, work with me here!”
Button got a view over Rumble’s shoulder. Confuto approached, spear in hoof, its blade glowing with a menacing purple light. Button got time for one gasp before the spear plunged into Rumble’s armor. The blade pinned his wing against his side. Rumble screamed.
Button grasped his friend tightly as they slowly fell over into the pit. Confuto levered them in, a wide grin on his muzzle. “So fall all the enemies of the Almighty Ahui—”
Rumble’s legs failed him completely. The sudden movement twisted the spear out of Confuto’s grip, where the butt smacked him across the eyes. He fell back against the stone. Rumble and Button fell into the pit.
Every muscle in Button’s body twitched in unison as he gazed into the dark depths. He had only the mind for a throaty shout, a tight grip on Rumble, and keen grasp on Scootaloo’s heart. Dead. That was it. They were all dead. Super-duper dead!
Rumble grunted and spread his free wing. It caught the air and spun them into a loop. He gave it a powerful flap which sent them careening against the wall. The blow nearly jostled Scootaloo out of Button’s hooves. The spear hit the wall next, snapping the shaft clean off. Rumble tried again and caught enough air to slow them down. He leaned into his good wing, putting all their weight on it, pumping as much magic as he could into it.
Their downward spiral turned into a downward slope. Sweat poured from beneath Rumble’s helmet. “We’re gonna make it! We—”
He hit the far wall headfirst. They dropped the remaining five meters to the floor.
Button lay on his back, Scootaloo’s gemstone heart beating against his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief, then promptly succumbed to unconsciousness.
***
Spike fell to his knees as they reached a fork in the road. Apple Bloom bent down to pick him up, looping her foreleg beneath his armpit.
He looked up as Kiln appeared out of the darkness. “Where’s Rumble? Where’s Button?”
“The others?” Kiln pulled his lips back, obviously mulling over his answer. “They stayed tae stop the Painted Ones from followin’. Rhombus, too. We might wanna make the most of the opportunity.”
Apple Bloom hitched her saddlebags tighter. Not because they were loose, but just out of nervous habit. She looked down each of the corridors open to them. One left, one right. “Which way d’we go?”
Kiln furrowed his brow and pointe down the left path. “That way lies the prisoners.” He pointed right. “That way’s where we took Sweetie Belle.”
Spike stared the way they’d came. Rumble and Button couldn’t hold out forever, if at all. But until they could find Aunt Yearling, this was it.
“Apple Bloom…” He looked up at the mare, who gave him her attention immediately. “If you go rescue the prisoners, I can get Sweetie back.”
Apple Bloom shook her head. “No! I ain’t leavin’ you!”
“You might be the best chance we have.” He took her hoof gently between his hands. “Ahuizotl’s gonna be in there. And the rest of his Painted Ones. You’ll be able to keep the prisoners safe. And me?” He tapped a claw against the scar on his scaly chest. “There’s nothing that’s gonna hurt me.”
Apple Bloom’s eyes jumped around willy-nilly, never focusing on one thing for more than a second.
“Apple Bloom, look at me.” Spike smiled. “Do you trust me?”
She met his eyes, but Spike found no warmth. No reassurance. No understanding. “I guess.”
“Then go.” Spike released her and started his way towards the antechamber. He glared at Kiln. “If you betray us—if you hurt her—I’ll remember you.”
“Nae harm’ll come her way.” Kiln was just a bit taller than Apple Bloom, and easily looked her in the eye. “Come, lass. If we’re tae work t’gether, best we get a move on.”
Apple Bloom said nothing, keeping her head down as she followed Kiln.
Spike stood at the mouth of his chosen path. He tensed his muscles, dropped to all fours, and sped along his way.
It was a quick walk to the entrance to a massive antechamber. The floor was a series of spinning rings, each alternating their rotation. At the center, he could see Sweetie Belle singing, several Painted Ones guarding her. Caballeron was off to the side, looking on in apprehension. Then, near the wall, there was Ahuizotl.
Garbed in golden armor studded with gemstones. Armed with two curved sabers on his back, each capped by a red magical pommel stone. Bristling with confidence and rolling with muscle. His yellow eyes scanned the room constantly, like he was waiting for something to happen. His long, thin tail slithered this way and that, its four fingers moving as though he was directing Sweetie Belle’s song.
“Stand together here until
Life is drawn up from the well
Magic rumble, thunder course
Hearts are blazing at the source”
Spike stood tall, his fists clenched, as he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Ahuizotl!”
Ahuizotl’s head snapped his way. His triumphant grin faltered, replaced with annoyance. Sweetie’s song halted mid-word—her terrified expression suggesting to Spike that she expected more than just him to show up.
“Keep singing,” Ahuizotl said. “I shall deal with this interloper.”
He stalked towards Spike, stepping over the interlocking rings as though he were walking across solid ground. He lowered his head to Spike’s level, his breath revolting—smelling of fish and death. “Who are you to her, that you would come so far to die?”
“I’m a friend.” Spike crossed his arms over his chest. He narrowed his eyes at Ahuizotl. “That’s good enough for me.”
Ahuizotl barked with laughter. He brought a paw to his chest to stifle the spasms. “I—ha ha!—I suppose that is the pony thing to say. Spike. The famous Spike the Dragon, who chose to remain with the ponies rather than join his own kind.”
Please, Spike thought. That’s a pretty narrow viewpoint. He had dragon friends, like Ember and Shardscale. Just like he had friends in lots of different cultures. “If you let Sweetie go, then Celestia will probably just capture you instead of utterly demolishing you.”
Ahuizotl’s laughter quieted, but his smile did not diminish. “If she were capable of such a feat, would she have not done so sooner? No. No, she has failed. She, and Daring Do, and all others who would challenge me.”
Spike sent a glance at the others in the room. Caballeron looked on with a dour, defeated grimace. The Painted Ones remained where they were, watching the spectacle. “And if you were capable of controlling the sun, you would’ve already done it.”
The claws appeared out of Ahuizotl’s paws. He raised his right foreleg. “A shame you’ll not live to see the festivities!”
He brought the almighty paw down, and Spike caught it. They stood locked in a test of strength, Ahuizotl pressing with considerable might, Spike gripping the claws in his own, snorting smoke.
Spike put one foot back. He twisted his weight to swing Ahuizotl’s claw around. He knocked the appendage aside, took in a deep breath, and bellowed fire for all he was worth. Green flame showered Ahuizotl, coating every inch of his lithe, muscular form.
The gemstones on Ahuizotl’s breastplate shimmered. The flames swirled and collected, being drawn to each of the stones. The armor glowed with magical power. The blades on his back shone to match.
Ahuizotl reached over his shoulders to draw his sabers. He grinned at Spike, unmarred in any way by the young dragon’s attack. He threw a wide swing at Spike.
Spike jumped away, but the tip of the blade nicked his arm. Pain shot through his skin. He looked down. A small gash had been torn in the scales. The boiling blood of a dragon collected and dripped to the floor, sparkling with a magical green.
Spike’s stomach twisted. His heart plummeted. He’d never bled before. Not in his entire life. His hide was supposed to be too thick to pierce!
The booming laughter of Ahuizotl chilled his bones. He walked slowly away from the hulking beast as the swords twirled.
The blades hissed as they boiled moisture from the air. Ahuizotl grinned at Spike. “I’m going to enjoy this. It has been some time since I slew a dragon!”