//------------------------------// // Chapter 41: The Chaos // Story: Dissonance: A Hidden World // by Braininthejar //------------------------------// ”What are we dealing with?” asked Obsidian. He had just run up the stairs, accompanied by Aurora who had gone to the ruins to fetch him. The ponies gathered around the mirror looked back at him. “It’s day AND night,” said Applejack. “Something’s badly wrong here,” added Twilight Sparkle. Obsidian walked to the mirror and examined the image within – the sky split in half between powder blue and velvety black, with a thin line of indigo through the middle, and both the sun and the moon hanging in the sky at the opposite ends. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” he finally stated the obvious. “But what IS happening?” asked Fluttershy. “It looks like the sun and the moon have lost their way,” said Obsidian, “which most likely means they got some confusing signals. It seems their path has been influenced by mortals for so long, they actually got used to waiting for their cue to rise or set…”  Obsidian leaned forward, pressing his head against the mirror. Then, to everypony’s surprise, he snickered.  “Busara would be speechless at the blasphemy, if he heard it,” he said. “Such an abuse of the voice of Gaia.” “Now, what that means,” he continued, straightening and turning towards the Elements, “is that Envy must have lost control of the situation. She would never do something like this on purpose, not when struggling to maintain the façade of order. We need to find out what’s going on.” They ate a quick breakfast, and armored up. In the meantime Obsidian activated Chrysalis’ mirror. She appeared in a flash of green fire, her face once again disguised by the visage of Bling. “I don’t know what’s going on either,” she said when Obsidian explained the situation. “We’re underground, so I only learned about it when my scouts reported in.  Whatever this is, it must be centered near Canterlot. There is some magical interference, and I have problems receiving reports from my agents there. Also, from the reports that did get through, the magic-sapping vines we had been using to hide our presence in Everfree have started growing rapidly, and are now encroaching upon Ponyville. We stopped suppressing their growth when we left, but they’d never been so aggressive before. They might be a part of the problem, perhaps the reason behind the interference. Although I can’t imagine how they could be the reason behind what’s happening with the sky.” “Anything that is bad news for the Shattered might be a good moment for us to strike,” said Obsidian. “If you learn more, give us a call. Better yet, if you have any agents that could aid us in the field, we’ll be going to Canterlot shortly.” “I’ll see what I can do,” replied Bling. “It’s getting harder and harder to contact Canterlot, but I should have an expert available. “ The mirror stopped glowing. Obsidian moved towards the stairs. “I’ll prepare a circle,” he said. “We’re going to Canterlot?” asked Rarity. “What about Ponyville?” asked Applejack. Obsidian stopped, and raised an eyebrow at her. “What about it? There are still no ponies in Ponyville.” “No, but my farm is,” replied Applejack. “Irrelevant,” huffed Obsidian. “There’s so much more at stake here than an orchard. Now follow me. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get the full picture of the situation. And take your sealing crystals with you. The chaos could give us some unique opportunities if we know when to act.” Reluctantly, the ponies started leaving the room, following Obsidian down the stairs. “What about us?” asked Scootaloo as Fluttershy, the last of the adults, was about to leave. “Are we staying with Aurora, or what?” “Wait a moment, Darling,” said Rarity over Fluttershy’s back. “We’ll decide that in a moment.” Obsidian went all the way into the ruins, almost to the spot where their presence had activated a crystal guardian the previous night. The rubble and shards had been swept towards the walls, and here and there glowing lines had been traced into the stone floor. “You’ve been busy,” noticed Rainbow Dash. “I don’t really need sleep,” said Obsidian. “I didn’t want to tackle any defense spells in your absence, but I used that time to do some cleaning, and to mark off the unchecked or dangerous areas. It is safe to move as long as you stay inside the lines,” he explained. “So, what do we do with the children?” asked Fluttershy. “Honestly,” said Aurora, “I’d rather go with you.” “They should be safe here,” said Obsidian over his shoulder, as he started to draw a circle, “as long as they don’t cross any lines. But you, Aurora… For all your bravado, you aren’t strong enough to fight the Shattered.” “She did help a lot last time,” said Twilight, “Even if she couldn’t land a hit on Hate.” “I think I know how to help too,” said Rainbow Dash.  “Since she used to be the bearer of Loyalty, there’s something I thought we might try.” “Oh?” asked Obsidian, “You were never big on magical theory before. What do you have in mind?” Aurora stood next to Rainbow Dash. “We’ve actually thought of it together,” she said. “The power of Loyalty is to inspire others. But if I used to be attuned…” They struck an identical stance, one hoof in the air, and closed their eyes. Loyalty flashed brightly, and when the light cleared, there was a point of intense red light on Aurora’s chest. The two pegasi looked at each other, their mouths curling into identical smiles. “Is it working?” asked Aurora. “It was your idea,” said Rainbow Dash. “Try it.” Aurora inhaled deeply, then swung her wing, splaying the pinions. There was a soft buzz of magic, and a second set of pinions, made of red light, spread out from the wing. “You’re using her latent connection… to spread your power over two ponies,” said Obsidian with disapproval. “This thing has more power than I know what to do with,” said Rainbow. “If I were some great master with it, like Fluttershy, it would be better to just focus. But if we can get both of us powered, it’s better if we work as a team.” “That’s… very unorthodox,” said Obsidian. “I hope you won’t find yourself starved for power at just the wrong moment.” “You said Aurora is still connected,” said Twilight. “We might as well use it. What I’m more amazed by is how they managed to get it to work so quickly. You didn’t really have the time to practice, did you?” “Well, “ said Rainbow Dash, scratching her head. “To be honest, we did get some help. That Verba guy dropped into my dream, to make sure I’m sane.” “As I told him to,” confirmed Obsidian. “That explains a lot, though I haven’t seen him so active in ages.” “He used to be the Element of Magic, “ continued Dash, “So I asked him for help. He worked on it and gave us a working formula  last night.” “So, what do we do?” asked Pinkie Pie. “Does Aurora get to come with us?” “It’s not like you would listen if I said no,” replied Obsidian. “But I think it’s a bad idea.” “I’m tempted to agree with them just because of that,” said Rarity. “The bad thing is,” said Twilight Sparkle, “That we don’t really have the time to test it.” “I know we need to stay close,” said Aurora. “So if anything happens, we’ll fight as a team. I won’t get as much power as she does, but I’m more experienced with it.”    “In that case,” said Obsidian, “I have nothing left to do but hope it works.” “In that case,” said Rarity, “I’ll go tell the children that they’ll need to stay under the protection of the sanctuary for a while.” “I’ll be done with the circle soon,” said Obsidian. “I only need to focus it enough to get us past our own wards. Beyond that, the Elements can power the jump with little trouble.” *** “You know, I know how Laughter’s supposed to work, but I feel you could have picked better disguises,” said Aurora from behind her huge fake moustache. The bespectacled bale of hay shrugged. “Hey, I’m doing what I can. It was Obsidian who decided I should practice. He could’ve just transformed us again.” “He won’t always be with us to help,” said Twilight behind her, “But I must say I’m concerned with how effective this is. A two-pony dragon costume might not be what what I'd have chosen to avoid attention.” “It’s working so far, isn’t it?” said Applejack from under a large cardboard box. “Only because everypony is too busy panicking, I think,” said Rarity’s voice from inside the dragon. The street in front of Canterlot castle was filled with the sound of running hooves. There were no panicked screams, at least yet, but everywhere one looked there was frantic activity, ponies trying to get food and other supplies, rushing to get everything ready before barricading themselves in their houses while others seemed ready to pack up and escape the city. The panic was quiet, almost eerily so, a city full of ponies trying not to show how they were scared out of their wits. Obsidian slowly turned his rock disguise, to point its eye holes towards the gate. There were two guards stationed there, still and disciplined as always. But once one took a moment to have a better look at them, their eyes weren’t as still as usual - the two were nervously watching the situation unfold, the outside stillness failing to hide their growing worry. “Unless there’s an official proclamation, we’re unlikely to learn more just sitting here and watching,” he finally said. “So, what do we do?” said Applejack, twisting uncomfortably in her black suit, the sunglasses already pushed off her eyes up onto the forehead. “We could start with tweaking the disguises, just a bit,” said Rarity. “Then I guess we’ll move around and try to learn more.” “Wait,” said Rainbow Dash. “Are you going to transform us again in the middle of the street?” “Yup,” said Pinkie Pie. “Trust me. I have a good feeling about this.” “Then start with me please,” said Rainbow, “I don’t think pink is my color.” The bale of hay ruffled in a way that was clearly a pout. “You don’t like it that much? But it is a good disguise. Nopony will recognize you.” “A ball gown, no matter how breathtaking, is definitely not the right choice of attire for a covert mission,” said Rarity. Let’s just give it a bit of a tweak... “ There was a brief flash of purple. Rainbow Dash found herself wearing shorts and a flowered shirt, a wide white hat hiding most of her mane, and a pair of sunglasses hiding her magenta eyes. There was now a camera around her neck too; she could feel the familiar power emanating from the object, and knew the lens at the front of the device would be red. “There,” said Rarity. “It’s still… unusual enough for Pinkie’s charm to work, but no longer quite so… challenging to move around in.” “And it seems nopony noticed,” said Twilight. “So, who’s next?” asked Rarity. “I can wait,” said Fluttershy. “I kind of like being a cat.” “Alright then,” said Rainbow. “You guys finish getting dressed, and I’ll take into the air and…” She looked down at her clothes. “Do tourist stuff. Be back in a minute.” “Wait, we shouldn’t split up,” said Twilight behind her. “You’ll have to grow wings then,” said Aurora to her. Rainbow Dash was already soaring above the city towers. She made sure to stop every once in a while, pretending to take photos with her camera. What she was really doing though was taking in her surroundings. From what she could see, the mood they had seen near the castle was prevalent in the whole city. Everywhere there were nervous ponies running down the streets, carrying supplies, some even boarding up their windows. What was happening in the sky was much more alarming. The sun and moon were still both in the sky, the uneven distribution of heat wreaking havoc on the intricately planned weather patterns. But as Dash turned to look around, she could see that it was getting much worse. There were anomalies, clouds of sinister shapes, or moving upwind, as if all of nature went mad along with the celestial bodies. Here and there Dash could spot pegasi far in the distance, trying in vain to bring things under control. And just like she had seen for a brief moment after her arrival, before the group went down to street level and disguised, the worst situation was in the direction of Ponyville; the sky there looked like it was boiling, and even from there Dash could see the Everfree forest move like a living creature. There was a flash and a distant boom, and a mushroom of flame rose above the forest. “You just missed them,” said Guilt. “They’re trying to get Envy free from the vines.” Dash nearly missed a flap, descending good free inches before her inherited combat instincts kicked in. She whirred around, a blade of red energy extending from the wing she swung at Guilt’s neck level. The unicorn was not there though, already standing on the other side, several feet away. “Don’t waste your time,” he said as Dash launched herself towards him, the camera on her neck glowing red. He was just an after-image when another blow went through him. “You’ll blow your cover if you use anything strong enough to actually hit,” he continued, and this time, Dash hesitated. “Ah, right, I need enough magic to slow your ability,” she said, as a foreign memory helpfully surfaced. She remained in the air facing Guilt, and flapping her wings angrily, ready to continue fighting. “What does it matter if I blow my cover? Aren’t we going to fight?” “No,” said Guilt matter-of-factly. “I’m just a spectator today,” he continued, looking down towards the palace. Dash followed his gaze. “Seriously?”  “Yes,” said Guilt. “I’m tired of this war. I’ve been for millennia. And today is not a day for me to fight in it.” “Then why did you... wait...” Rainbow’s train of thought got sidetracked. “How are you standing on air?” Guilt shrugged. “Constant shifting. Long story short, I’m not here long enough to start falling.” “Neat,” said Rainbow Dash. “Do all the Shattered have tricks like that?” Guilt shrugged again. “Air control, magnetism, momentum control, bio modification… flying is too essential to do without.” “So, you’re saying the other Shattered are in Everfree, trying to save Envy from those… magic-eating vines?” said Dash. “How did that happen?” “They tunneled under the castle and got her by surprise,” explained Guilt. “It’s a major disaster actually.” “And you’re not doing anything about it?” said Dash. “Hate and Arrogance are enough to handle the problem, I think,” said Guilt. “My powers are not well suited for the task, and I won’t get pulled into their games again. I get blamed for enough already.” He didn’t mention Deception, noticed Rainbow Dash. Does it mean she’s still in that lab of hers? “How did you see through my disguise?" she asked aloud instead. “Experience,” replied Guilt. “Increased intelligence and attention to detail that comes with my condition. Resistance to mind magic. Those disguises wouldn’t even fool Hate. Your illusionist needs some practice.” I wish Applejack was here with Honesty, though Dash. She squinted at Guilt. “Whose side are you on, really?” she asked. “I like to think ‘ponies’ side'," he replied. “But all too often it turns out I’m a side of one when the dust clears. Now…” And he was gone. Dash looked around, but only saw a pair of delivery pegasi emerging from behind a nearby cloud, pulling a cart. A few seconds of frantic flying later, Dash was sure she had lost Guilt. Wherever he went, he didn’t want to be seen. Another explosion echoed from the direction of Everfree, and Dash was reminded that she couldn’t afford to waste time. “Time to go back,” she said to herself.  She flew back where she started, but found no sign of her friends. Frustrated, she started flying around from pony to pony, nearly colliding with a group of tourists moving slowly along the street.  Who goes sight-seeing at a time like this? she thought angrily. Wait… “Is it you guys?” she asked, making a 180 degree turn, and stopping at face level. A short, fat pony lifted the thick glasses off his face. “It’s me, Pinkie Pie,” she said in a conspiratory tone. Dash quickly landed inside the group. “I’ve done some looking around,” she said. “It seems Envy got kidnapped by whatever has emerged in the Everfree. Hate and Arrogance are there, trying to put it down.” “How do you know that?” said Obsidian. “Eh… rumors,” said Dash. “But Arrogance must be there, because I can see the explosions all the way from here. It’s like she’s trying to level the forest.” “We need to stop them,” gasped Applejack, staring at Dash over her sunglasses. “Our orchard is right outside the forest.” “And the poor animals,” added Fluttershy. “They must be so scared.” “It will be worse if we fight them there,” said Twilight. “You’ve seen what Hate could do. If they’re trying to bring those… plants under control, we’d only make matters worse trying to stop them.” “Well, Envy being out of commission explains the sun,” said Aurora. “You think… something might be wrong with the Crystal Tree?”  “If so,” said Obsidian, “then it’s surprising it hadn’t backfired earlier. Now the question is, what do we do with this?” “From what we know, Guilt still hasn’t re-joined his siblings,” said a thin, green unicorn passing by. “And there’s no indication of Deception leaving Canterlot.” He then walked away, disappearing behind a moving cart before anypony got past the initial surprise. The ponies looked at each other. “What was that?” asked Dash. “I… think that was one of ‘Bling’s’ underlings,” said Pinkie Pie. “ I may have seen him before.” “Well, good to know she can get things done even in this chaos,” said Obsidian under his breath, looking in the direction the unicorn had disappeared. “And the implication is clear too. Looks like our allies have just pointed us at today’s target.” “So, while what is left of our home is threatened by a magical disaster,” said Twilight Sparkle, “we let the Shattered play the heroes, while we wreck their lab?” *** The lab was full of frantic activity. Dr. Stone was standing over the biggest table, a thicket of glass tubes growing in front of her. Four other ponies, three emotionless assistants and Dr Bluebonnet, moved around her as she went, bringing in extra components, or taking vials of colorful liquids to be heated, cooled, or put in the centrifuge. Pierce walked through the door, a box of glass tubes in his telekinetic grasp. “I’ve got it,” he said. "Where do you need me to connect these?” “In a moment,” said Dr. Stone, “I’ll need to test this batch on the samples we’ve managed to capture before I know for sure how to proceed.” She pointed her hoof at a table to her right, where a set of vials was already prepared. “Take those to lab 2, and hit each specimen with one, in order. I’ll be there in a moment to check the results.” There was a low rumble, and the floor vibrated slightly. Pierce, Stone and Bluebonnet looked around with worry. “It’s back,” said Pierce. “Why?” “It’s looking for magic,” said Dr. Stone. It started in Everfree, around the Crystal Tree, then dug all the way here, ignoring everything else, to get to Princess Luna.” The rumble repeated, louder, culminating in the sound of stone shattering, and a loud whine of alarm. Now even the assistants looked in the direction of the noise. “What else is here that could be so magical?” asked Pierce. Dr. Stone stared at him. There was a sound of metal ripping in the distance. “It’s going for the artifacts in the containment chambers,” she said. "They were screened well enough to get overlooked last time, but now-” “If they get there…” started Dr. Bluebonnet, her sentence trailing away as her mouth hung open, her thought process grinding to a halt at the ramifications. “Pierce!” said Dr Stone, “Take samples 6 through 10 and hit this thing! I’ll go with you! Bluebonnet, take over where I’ve stopped. Make the other variations as we discussed!” “And you!” she shouted towards one of the assistants, turning in the door, “Shut off that alarm.” Pierce looked over the box of samples, pulling out the middle row of vials, and attaching them to syringe-like darts he pulled from his bandolier. He then followed Dr. Stone out of the lab, and left into the corridor.  They turned the next corner just in time to see one a vine thick as a pony’s leg lash out of the corridor, grab one of the guardian armors, and smash it against a wall, sending pieces flying over the stone floor. Without stopping, Pierce threw the first dart, hitting the vine before it could retract. It coiled to strike at him, but before it could lash out, the vine bulged around the point of injection, before bursting with black slime. The rest of the plant withdrew, the five foot section left behind decomposing rapidly. “Too rapid,” commented Dr. Stone. “It bypasses immunities too well, and doesn’t leave itself the time to spread.” She continued running. “Skip number 7.”   They took another turn before meeting any further trouble. Meanwhile the alarm went silent, giving them better opportunity to hear the approaching vines.  Then the alarm started again, different in pitch.  Pierce looked up. “That’s the upper levels intruder alert,” he said. “There’s nothing there these vines would be after. What’s going on?” *** Obsidian swung his staff, knocking an armored guard out of his way, before diving into another staircase leading down. The rest of the group tried their best to follow him, their disguises reverting back to armor the second they weren’t needed. Dash looked towards the downed guard with a cringe. “Sorry,” she said as she ran by. “You broke his shoulder!” shouted Twilight at Obsidian’s back.  He didn’t slow down. “We’re in a hurry!” he shouted back over the sound of the alarm. “I won’t take the time to hypnotize them all now! It’s pointless. You can heal them if we conquer the castle.” They were already in the dungeons. Obsidian kept galloping, skidding on the stone floors when he took turns, led by whatever supernatural senses guided him towards the lab level. Two more guards emerged from an adjacent corridor to bar their way, unicorns bearing spears with their power. “You’ll only get hurt if you fight us!” shouted Applejack. The guards hesitated, and then ducked aside as Obsidian ran towards them, dodging away as the whole group ran between them and down another flight of stairs. “We’re here!” exclaimed Twilight, stopping next to Obsidian as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Now what?” “You should know this place better than me,” said Obsidian. “Where would you go first?” They were interrupted by a loud noise, like an echo of a very heavy metal door getting ripped out of the frame. Twilight turned in that direction. “We’ll start by learning what that was,” she decided, taking the lead of the group. She ran down the corridor, and as she got past the first intersection, the group found the first signs of combat; there were chunks of stone ripped out of the floors and the walls, and pieces of what looked like discarded plate armor scattered around.  Then Rarity winced as her horn sparked painfully. The floor rumbled, and a vine as thick as a pony’s neck burst through the stone, right in the middle of the group, trying to wrap around the unicorn. “Whoah! Let go!” shouted Rarity as she struggled. She lit up in a purple aura that pushed the plant away before it could fully wrap around her barrel, but her barrier was uneven and spiky, causing her own mane to get fuzzy with static. Obsidian’s staff lashed out, piercing through the vine and pinning it to the floor before it could try to grab anypony else. Applejack stomped on the vine so hard it burst, spraying disgusting juice over the floor. “Rarity, you okay?” Rarity shook her head. “I don’t know. These things really do disrupt magic.” “Let’s hurry!” called Twilight, resuming her gallop. They ran into two more vines before they encountered lab security, a duo of animated armors. Applejack and Rainbow Dash rammed through them, breaking them against the edges of the holes the plants had left. Then Obsidian flung his staff in front of Applejack, the enchanted wood deflecting a dart that flew out of the door in a side corridor straight at Applejack’s right eye.  Applejack skidded to a halt, her barrier expanding in a half-sphere in front of her. Rainbow Dash flew by behind her, a blast from her Element flying through the doorway, turning the door itself into a cloud of splinters. A small ball flew out of the doorway, hit the opposite wall and exploded in blinding light. Twilight instinctively expanded her own barrier. covering all of her friends at the front. She still couldn’t see a thing, but she felt multiple small impacts against her shield.  Obsidian’s staff flew forward, blowing off a large chunk of the door frame. There was a grunt of pain and a sound of a body falling. Then another vine, much thicker than the previous ones, emerged from a wall, littering the entire floor with rubble. A venus flytrap mouth opened menacingly at the end of it. “Twilight, your barrier!” shouted Pinkie Pie before hitting the ground, pulling her helmet down and somehow fitting entirely inside it.  Twilight looked around, just in time to see her shield start to fluctuate. “Everypony, watch out!” she shouted. struggling to keep the spell under control.  The bubble exploded outwards. The plant was torn to shreds, nearby doors flew off their hinges, and the corridor filled with swirling dust. Twilight stumbled in a daze, trying to recover her senses and look around. “Everypony okay?” she tried. “I think so…” grunted Applejack from the floor.  “No… but I will be. Give me a second.” said Rainbow Dash, righting herself after hitting a wall, and straightening her wings. More affirmations and painful grunts followed. As Twilight’s focus returned, she realised, to her relief, that everypony had managed to avoid serious injury, if only barely. “There!” shouted Obsidian suddenly. At the end of the corridor, visible through the swirling dust, there was Dr. Stone, standing in the doorway. She reared and ran aside, disappearing behind the doorframe just before a blast of force from Twilight went through the space she had occupied. “After her!” shouted Rainbow Dash, springing into action, Aurora close behind. Finally with a clear goal in sight, everypony galloped forward, redoubling their efforts. As Pinkie, the last in the group, was passing through the doorway, a dart flew at the back of her neck, just beneath the rim of the helmet. Pinkie’s head turned 180 degrees, catching the dart with her teeth, and spitting it out. Pinkie threw a custard pie in the direction the attack had come from. “ You stay put there!” she barked threateningly before running off after her friends. Meanwhile, Twilight passed another corner in her chase. Dr. Stone proved a surprisingly fast runner, but seeing another black vine in the corner of her eye, Twilight didn’t dare teleport after her. She was brave enough to shoot though; when a white stallion in a lab coat charged at her at an intersection, she blasted him without thinking, the force of the spell pushing him off his hooves and into the wall. He hit it without even a grunt of pain, his facial expression completely blank. In front of Twilight, Aurora and Dash made another sharp turn in the air to continue their pursuit. Twilight was doing her best to keep up when she heard a scream from Fluttershy - the downed assistant fell off the wall and into a low, inequine stance, legs bending at weird angles. The thing pounced like a leaping spider, but before it could reach Twilight, Obsidian’s staff hit it like a baseball bat, sending it flying back into the wall.  As the rest of the ponies ran ahead, Obsidian stopped next to the stunned creature, briefly looking into its eyes. “Not Deception,” he proclaimed coldly. His staff stabbed, piercing through the assistant’s barrel and pinning the body to the stone. Twilight continued on. Her pursuit had taken her into a large lab, Deception disappearing behind a heavy metal double door at the other side of the room. Some of the lab equipment had already been smashed, Dash and Aurora were trading blows with two assistants. Dr. Bluebonnet was there too, doing her best to get out of the way while avoiding the broken glass on the floor, and whatever chemicals it had contained. Twilight didn’t waste any time. She grabbed one of the ponies with her telekinesis - only to turn pale in the face when Aurora used the occasion to take the assistant’s head clean off. Dash dodged over a table bucked at her, flying over a mass of flying vials, and finishing with a spin, landing a hoof on the other assistant’s temple, sending him flying across the room. “They’re no ponies!” she shouted at Twilight. As if to confirm her words, the white stallion sprang back to his hooves, seemingly unaffected by a blow to the head that would land an ordinary pony in a hospital. Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy ran into the lab just in time to see the end of the fight: Aurora and Dash flying together around the disoriented assistant, knocking him off balance, and then kicking his barrel simultaneously from both sides. There was a crunch, and the creature collapsed, its face still emotionless as before. “That should do it,” said Dash, but Aurora did not stop. She formed a spike of force at the tip of her hoof, and drove it through the creature’s head. Dash opened her mouth to speak up, then looked at Aurora’s face, and backed away in silence. Applejack skidded to a halt in front of Bluebonnet. Looking around the room, she addressed the engineer: “What are you doing here?” “I work here,” replied Bluebonnet reflexively, her eyes darting left and right, absorbing all the destruction around her. Applejack groaned. “Not what I was asking. Get out of here, now!” Bluebonnet looked around one last time, then skipped over the broken glass, and dashed towards the exit without another word. As she was about to run out, she stopped, a wooden staff aiming at the center of her chest. Obsidian walked into the room, with Pinkie Pie close behind. “That was thoughtless,” he said, before pushing close, staring Bluebonnet in the eyes. He inhaled, and for a moment the mare swayed, her gaze losing focus. A faint image of her face separated from her and disappeared in Obsidian’s mouth.  “Not Deception,” he declared. The staff swung, causing Applejack and Fluttershy to cry in alarm, but it only struck the ground next to Bluebonnet. “Run,” said Obsidian. He then pushed past her before she could oblige, running up to Twilight. “Which way did she go?” he asked. Twilight pointed at the heavy door. “This way,” she said.  The ground trembled, and there was a sound of more stone cracking. “These plants are getting more aggressive,” said Obsidian. “Let’s hurry.” He sent his staff at the door, striking it with an echoing clang, but despite deforming from the impact, they remained shut. Twilight took a deep breath. She focused, but her horn sparked painfully. She exhaled, took another breath, and focused at her tiara directly. The purple light fluctuated for a moment, but she finally managed to turn it into two tendrils of force. She grabbed the double door, and pulled them open, and out of their hinges. Inside there was a long room, much larger than the lab, filled with lines of glass pods. In the middle, there was Dr. Stone, standing next to Dr. Stone. And another Dr. Stone. And over a dozen others. The identical ponies pounced as one, much farther than they seemed capable of, clearing the distance in a second, their bodies bending and deforming, claws and spikes emerging from under their skin. “Fight!” shouted Obsidian, but nopony needed telling. The room became utter chaos. ponies and ponylike creatures mixed in a messy battle, almost impossible to keep track of. Twilight prepared to cast another spell, when one of the Stone’s opened her mouth, a long tendril wrapping around her tiara. Rather than be separated from her Element, Twilight held to it with her power, allowing herself to be pulled in; the two crashed into each other and rolled on the floor. Around them, Obsidian, Applejack, Dash and Aurora took the brunt of the attack; Obsidian cleared the space in front of him with a wide swing, while the others fought one of one, doing their best to not let the other monsters surround them. Rainbow Dash projected a triangular shield in front of her face, an instinct of some past bearer, just in time to save her eyes when one of the Stones spat a spray of acid at her. She kicked away, and the monster went flying, but another jumped into its place like a cat, her hooves splitting to reveal sharp claws. Beside her Applejack was swarmed by four creatures, barely keeping their poisoned spikes from reaching her flesh. She was turning around, stomping, and bucking, the monsters clinging to the outside of her force field until she finally screamed, throwing them all away as her armor expanded into a bubble.  Rarity and Fluttershy stayed behind at the first moment, but when Obsidian and Pinkie rushed in to prevent Twilight from getting swarmed, the two found themselves exposed. Soon, two Stones, thrown through the lab by the other Elements, rose from the ground, and approached them from both sides.  “A… a little help?” called Fluttershy, but the others were too busy fighting for their lives, utterly wrecking the lab in the process. As the first of the monsters pounced, Rarity projected a large, flat shield, then another, when the beast grabbed the edge of the first one and launched her body over it. Fluttershy tried to fire a beam, but the other Stone sidestepped it easily. “You’re no fighter,” she said matter-of-factly, before her jaw unhinged, showing extra rows of sharp teeth. She ran towards the yellow pegasus, preparing to bite through her neck. “No, I’m not,” said Fluttershy calmly. A silent wave spread from her chest. The monster froze, inches from her face. So did everypony else, all suddenly surprised by their drive to violence ebbing away. Fluttershy turned around, watching as her friends disentangled themselves from their enemies, forming a circle around her, with the Stones surrounding them.  “So, you’ve broken up the fight,” said one of the Stones, her envenomed mandibles retracting back inside the skull to let her mouth move properly. “What are you going to do now? This place is warded against teleportation, and we’ve learned a lot since last time.” “Chrysalis made me phase through the rock last time,” said Twilight. A Stone closest to her nodded. “We learned from that too.” “Why do you think we’d run?” said Obsidian. “We’re on the offense here.” “If so, you’re running out of time,” said another Stone. All of the orange mares smirked at that. “So, what do we do?” said Aurora. “Give me a moment to check something,” said Obsidian. He planted his staff in the ground, and then closed his eyes, the runes from his weapon casting streams of light all over the room.  “You can’t harm us while Kindness is in effect,” said a Stone. “This is… a scanning spell, isn’t it? What are you looking for?” Obsidian kept the effect up for five more seconds before opening his eyes. “Abnormalities. Pattern or magic. But there are none. Your spirit presence is all identical… just enough emotion to maintain activity, and programmed behaviour. I’ve seen chimeras more pony than you.” “Then what’s the point in insulting us?” asked one of the mares. “None,” said Obsidian. “Just informing my companions that they don’t need to hold back. Now, we start again, but this time, you have no element of surprise.” Twilight was the first to cast, before Fluttershy’s spell even fell, projecting a bubble of magic around all of her friends. The constructs pounced at it, their claws piercing through the barrier, but Twilight expanded the shield just enough to keep them from reaching anypony inside. Her friends were already charging up, adding their powers to hers. A second later, the barrier exploded, a flash of white that swept all the creatures off their hooves, tossing them against the walls.  Silence fell. As the Elements looked around, ready for a fight, not a single opponent moved to oppose them.  “So, they’re all out. What now?” asked Applejack. Obsidian lifted his staff above his head. It flashed bright blue when he slammed it into the ground, a ring of magic expanding from the point of impact a foot above the ground. It passed harmlessly through Twilight and her friends, but everything else it touched, it cut right through, until it left a deep, horizontal line in the walls. There was silence again, this time one of shock. “Why… did you…” started Rainbow Dash. “I told you not to hold back,” said Obsidian. “They were just constructs.” “Even I don’t buy that,” said Aurora, looking at the growing pools of blood around the room. Rarity turned around and retched, emptying the contents of her stomach over the broken lab equipment. Then a rain of confetti fell. “What in tarnation?” asked Applejack. She was answered by a loud yawn. Discord strolled into the room, stretching himself, loose bits of stone dust falling off his fur.