The one good thing about being trapped underground with two monsters that could kill her just by being in the same room for long enough was, Velvet thought, that it wasn’t three monsters. Even so, she was starting to miss the sweltering heat of the volcano.
“When my sister suggested we work together, I almost said no,” Coldplay said, laughing. “But here we are, surrounded by servants and with the thing we wanted most coming right to us while we wait in comfort!”
“I was… inspired by the teamwork you all showed me,” Breathless sighed. “It let you win even though I was… and am… superior to you in every way.”
“And you’ve even replaced the pony you lost in Veneighs!” Coldplay grinned. “I hope the alicorn is as skilled as your batpony friend.”
“I came here to save the ponies you enslaved, not to fight,” Cadance said.
“You’ll have to do both,” Coldplay said. The pooka waved a hoof, and Velvet grabbed for Cadance with her magic, pulling the alicorn back, only strong enough to move her an inch, but it was an important inch.
A throwing knife flew past Cadance’s face, hitting the wall hard enough to stick in the coal.
“No way,” Night Light gasped.
A pony stepped out of the darkness behind the thrones. A batpony, in ragged clothing and blank white eyes.
“Clearwater?” Sunset asked. “I thought she died in Veneighs! You two told me she was dead!”
“I thought she was dead,” Velvet said, backing away.
“I have a feeling that this isn’t gonna be a really happy reunion,” Night Light said, backing away until his flank hit the back wall.
“You left her behind, and I’m not too proud to eat leftovers,” Coldplay said, with a cruelly fanged smile. “Be a dear and show your former friends how you feel about that, my pet.”
Clearwater roared and charged, throwing herself at Twilight Velvet.
Velvet was still holding a shovel. Without thinking, she held it up, trying to ward off the attack. She closed her eyes. There was a deep, heavy impact.
Twilight Velvet opened her eyes. Just out of hoof’s reach, the batpony was hissing and grabbing for her, the sharp edge of the shovel impaled deep in her chest and apparently not causing her any difficulties. It definitely didn’t seem to be hurting her, since she continued to press forwards onto it, the shovel sliding deeper into her chest cavity.
“It’s worse than I thought it would be!” Velvet yelled. Ice crawled up the handle of the shovel towards her hooves, the wood turning brittle.
“Maybe we just need to heat things up!” Sunset yelled, her horn blazing.
“Sunset, think about what you’re doing!” Cadance shouted. It was too late to stop her, but in all fairness even if they’d had an hour to have a meeting complete with a powerpoint presentation on the many reasons why Sunset shouldn’t set everything on fire, she’d still have done it, especially if Cadance was the one telling her not to.
She launched a fireball at the pookas, a wall of ice snapping into place between them.
The spell exploded on the ice, the barrier blocking it before shattering under the impact, flames splashing onto the walls and floor. If it had been a normal castle made out of granite or marble, it wouldn’t have immediately set everything in the room on fire. Unfortunately, everything was made of coal, so everything was now on fire.
“Why would you do that?” Cadance yelled.
“It seemed like a good idea, okay?!” Sunset snapped. “It’s freezing cold, so you fight it with fire! What else am I supposed to do?!”
The frost was already starting to retreat, the flames spreading through the stone like they were finding veins of tinder hidden in the coal.
“I could use some help here!” Velvet yelled, letting go of the shovel and ducking to the side. Clearwater stumbled past her into the wall, the shovel all the way through her chest now. She grabbed for the handle, and the brittle wood shattered in the batpony’s hooves, leaving the tool impaled through her ribs.
“It’s getting a little too warm for comfort,” Coldplay said. The pooka waved a hoof, trying to extinguish the flames. The coal cooled for a moment, then the flame came roaring back, the temperature climbing. “A little help, sister?”
“Hm?” Breathless tilted her head, sounding like she was smiling behind the veil of her mane. “Help with what? I rather like the... ambiance.”
“I can’t put it out myself,” Coldplay hissed through his teeth. “It’s fire and earth together!”
“A pity,” Breathless shrugged. “I didn’t think you were so weak.”
“I am not weak!” Coldplay yelled. The ice pooka redoubled its efforts, the air around it twisting and shimmering. The castle shook as the temperature difference started cracking rock, a fissure opening up in the ceiling.
“Brother, you completely lack subtlety,” Breathless sighed. “You’re going to destroy our new home before it’s even finished.”
“You could try helping,” Coldplay growled.
“I suppose I must,” Breathless sighed. Her long, shaggy coat rippled, and the smoke rising from the burning coal redoubled, starting to fill the room. “I was looking forward to watching your servant fight for us.”
“It’s poison gas!” Sunset warned. “She did this before!”
“And you don’t have a way to just blow it away this time,” Breathless said.
“I thought this might happen,” Night Light said. He pulled something out of the rags he’d been wearing to disguise himself as one of the enslaved townsponies. “They had a crate full of breath masks for the miners when they were working around gas pockets!”
He pulled the mask over his muzzle and tossed others to Velvet, Cadance, and Sunset.
“I remembered to bring enough for everypony,” he added.
“Annoying,” Breathless muttered. “I thought you were the useless one.”
Night Light winked at Velvet. “I can’t see the future but I do learn from my mistakes.”
Cadance helped Sunset with her mask before putting her own on, the masks immediately making it easier to breathe, the burning feeling from each breath turning into nothing more than a sharp, acidic smell.
“You’re a lifesaver, Nighty,” Velvet sighed.
Clearwater used her wings to grab the shovel by the blade protruding from her back and pull it the rest of the way through her body, tossing it aside and hissing in pain.
Around Coldplay, a half-dozen spears of ice formed in the air. The pooka launched them rapid-fire at the group, and each one was blasted out of the air with a precise bolt of fire from Sunset.
“I’m not that impressed,” Sunset said. “No wonder Princess Celestia was able to beat all of you so easily.”
“I’ll show you!” Coldplay yelled. The temperature plunged, the castle rumbling again, the cracks in the foundation widening.
Clearwater lunged at Velvet again, swiping at her face. Velvet’s mask was torn away, noxious gas filling her lungs and sending her into a coughing fit.
“You fool, you’re going to--” Breathless hissed. Unfortunately, Coldplay was just as stubborn as Sunset. Half of the floor dropped an inch, Velvet and Night Light on one side, Cadance and Sunset on the other.
There was a stillness for just a moment, then the half with Velvet and Night Light dropped like a rock. A very large rock, with a few rooms carved into it and several ponies screaming in fear trapped within.
“No!” Cadance shouted, reaching for them as they fell out of sight, watching helplessly as Coldplay jumped after them.
Velvet grabbed onto Night Light, trying to levitate both of them. Their fall slowed but didn’t stop. Night Light closed his eyes and forced as much energy as he could into a shield around them.
The broken part of the castle hit the water below, throwing up a huge splash that froze in place before the waves could break against the walls of the chamber, forming a deep crater of ice all the way down to the lakebed, the black castle nestled at the center.
Velvet and Night Light bounced, his shield less like a steel wall and more like rubber. They bounded three times before coming to a stop, Night Light’s shield collapsing and dumping them on top of the rubble. Velvet gasped for breath, her eyes bleary and chest still burning from her exposure to the gas.
“That’s better,” Coldplay said, sighing, stepping lightly on the rubble. “Hopefully by the time I finish killing you, my sister will have managed to finish off that annoying filly.”
“What, you couldn’t handle her yourself?” Velvet asked, her voice rough.
“I’d just rather take care of you two,” Coldplay said.
“I don’t suppose you have any ideas?” Night Light whispered.
Clearwater dragged herself out of the rubble, scattering hot coals. She growled at Velvet and Night Light, blind eyes turning to them.
“You monsters sure have a talent for causing a lot of collateral damage,” Sunset said, her voice muffled by her mask. “You’re even breaking all my records.”
“Unlike my brother, none of the damage I cause is collateral,” Breathless corrected. “What I do is intentional.”
Sunset fired a spell at Breathless, the magic launching right through the pooka, not even touching her.
“Without the Sun’s Heart, you’re going to have a little more trouble dealing with me,” Breathless said. “Maybe when I’m done… I’ll leave you alive, and put you in a burlap bag… and throw you into the ocean. I’ll let you see how it feels.”
“No thanks,” Sunset said. “After I beat you, Princess Celestia is finally gonna realize I deserve more.”
“Is that what this is all about?” Breathless asked, shaking her head. “You are an impressive mortal, but you are only a mortal.”
Breathless reared up like a cobra and exhaled a cone of gas, Sunset’s mask immediately starting to degrade, her exposed skin breaking out into hives and starting to blister. The filly cried out in pain, backing away.
A spray of fine crystals hit Breathless, the pooka’s cone of gas cutting off as she backed up, shrieking in pain, her body letting off gas.
Cadance panted, hovering above the layer of dense gas on the floor, holding her mask and Velvet’s. She’d broken open the filters, revealing layers of crushed, glittering minerals.
“These filters use special chemicals to turn smoke and gas into clean air,” Cadance said. “I don’t think they’re very good for you.”
Breathless backed away as Cadance threw the rest, the chemicals in the filter crackling and reacting with the noxious gas.
“So annoying,” Breathless growled.
“I have a plan,” Velvet nodded. “You remember the prophecy I had back in Cadance’s town, with the broken castle and all the destruction?”
“Oh no,” Night Light groaned.
“Are you two muttering last words to each other?” Coldplay asked. “Touching, really.”
Clearwater circled them like a predatory cat, hissing and apparently not feeling any of the wounds across her body, every cut bloodless, frozen in her veins.
“When we fought last, I’d just woken up and I was still starving. Now, I’ve nearly had my fill.” Coldplay grinned. “What you faced before was just a brisk chill compared to this.”
The air became heavy and still, like the quiet of a winter night.
“I can freeze the air itself,” Coldplay said. Dry ice started forming around its hooves as it stepped towards them, voice quieting and air rushing towards the pooka, the atmosphere beginning to precipitate out around it, liquid oxygen dripping from it like pale blue sweatdrops.
There was a flash like glass for a moment, and Velvet ducked to the side, pulling Night Light with her. Invisible blades of ice became visible as they hit the ground and cracked, Velvet dodging one after another, having to trust entirely to her precognition, totally unable to see them in midair.
The pooka tried to anticipate her movement, and Velvet slid on the ice at just the right moment, dropping down to the ground.
Transparent ice blades soared over her and hit the prowling batpony that had been preparing to lunge at them from their blind spot. Coldplay recoiling in surprise.
“The frozen air is blinding her sonar,” Velvet explained, as she stood, brushing herself off. “Not that you care. See, you already made a fatal mistake.”
“And what mistake is that?” Coldplay asked, the voice seeming to come from a great distance.
“You can’t smell it because you’re freezing the air, but when the castle crashed into the lakebed, it broke open a pocket of natural gas.” Velvet waved her hoof in front of her face. Night Light removed his mask and coughed at the smell. “And the thing about natural gas is, it’s highly flammable. Especially when it liquifies.”
Coldplay looked down to his hooves. The liquid oxygen pouring down his body dripped onto the burning magical coal, almost extinguished. Almost. The flame flared up and caught the natural gas hanging in the air.
Everything exploded.