Button Mash sucked in a breath as Ahuizotl disappeared into an open window. “He’s making his move!”
“Give me the dragonfire!” Caballeron reached into the saddlebags between them before Button could move. “Never mind. What floor is this?”
“Uh…” Button eased them closer to the castle. The flock of dragoncopters closed in, their weapons priming. “Twelfth from the top? I think?” He jerked the yoke to the side and flew through the window. A burning tapestry fluttered in his vision before he sped past. “Yeah. This is probably the most direct route to the crypt.”
“What makes you say that?”
“That tapestry had the Wyrmslayers on it.”
“Wyrm… slayers…” Caballeron scribbled as fast as he could on a small notepad. He glanced up, let out a dissatisfied grunt, and resumed writing directions. “The bogies aren’t following us.”
Button Mash looked back to verify that, yes, they were alone in the wide corridor. Ahead, he could see the massive doors blocking the way to the catacombs. The ancient relief of a lion and eagle remained where they were, dripping blood into the sepulcher at their feet. “Wh—where’s Ahui—?”
The mad god swung in through a window on the far side of the hall, crashing into their ship feet-first. Their wings scraped against the wall, their thin hexagon-dotted membrane being shredded by the force of the blow and the friction of the stone. Button lost control. The ship spiraled down the hallway, smashing against both walls. They flipped, rolled, and came to a rest at the base of the double-doors.
One of the Wyrmslayer blades sliced through the center of their dragoncopter, severing it clean in two. Button unlashed himself and stumbled out of the wreckage. He wasn’t able to move far before he found himself fully enclosed by the shadow of Ahuizotl. The mad god swung the Wyrmslayer close to Button’s face. The young stallion felt the heat of the blade singe his whiskers.
“Now then,” Ahuizotl said. “Finished playing the hero?”
Button looked over Ahuizotl’s shoulder. Sweetie clung there, wrapped up in the coils of Ahuizotl’s tail. She was gagged by the clawed, hand-like end. She stared wide-eyed.
“I could have killed you any time.” Ahuizotl laughed to himself. He rolled the Wyrmslayer with a flourish. “It’s not hard to knock one of these Strutters out of the sky.”
Caballeron pulled himself from the twisted mess of metal. He rolled his body so that Ahuizotl couldn’t see him light the notepad with a small vial of dragonfire. The smoke swept through the corridor, unnoticed among the general carnage.
“But I find myself in need of your special skills.” Ahuizotl pointed the blade at Caballeron’s chest. “The both of you.”
Ahuizotl picked up the two halves of the dragoncopter and flung them from the door. He pulled the lion’s half open, then kicked the eagle’s portion aside. He slapped Button lightly, which was enough to sent the stallion to his knees. “Get in.”
When Button hesitated at the top of the staircase leading into the catacombs, he was pushed forward by Ahuizotl’s booming voice. “Move!”
The mad god breathed heavily as he looked back down the corridor. No one could be seen. He followed Button and Caballeron as they crawled down the stairs and past the countless bodies of griffon kings. The glowing Wyrmslayer blade lit the way, and served as a constant reminder of the fragility of life. Button Mash gritted his teeth. “Could you at least let Sweetie Belle breathe?”
“And allow her to sing? Even a note?” Ahuizotl chuckled, though his laughter was humorless. “You think me a fool, boy? I’ve been paying attention.”
Their trek was all too short. They found the Sunspear’s control room lying before them. It glowed from within, the mountain’s core of magical gemstones emanating pure, white light. The light was discolored by the honey-tinted hexagonal panels enclosing the tunnel into the depths of the unfathomable geode. On the walls, tales of Cicada’s atrocities lay bare, alongside a dreadful mirror of Ahuizotl’s smug grin.
The mad god set Sweetie on the ground, her mouth still covered by his hind claw. He rested the Wyrmslayer’s blade against her throat. “Your next actions will decide Sweetie Belle’s life.”
Every muscle in Button’s body tensed. “If you kill her—!”
“There are others with her skills. None nearly as strong…” Ahuizotl ground his teeth together. “Acceptable losses, considering the gains I’ve made today. Merely a setback. Speak again, and I’ll remove her head.”
Button’s mouth snapped shut. Caballeron stood beside him, his jaw firm.
“Now then.” Ahuizotl leaned forward, putting weight on Sweetie’s back. “Button… Mash, was it? Yes. That was your name. The boy without enough magic in his fairy strings to even power a Strutter.” The monster looked behind Button and pointed a claw at the control center. “The less magic you have within your body, the longer you can survive in there…”
Chills ran all throughout Button’s body. There was enough power running through that thing to power the entirety of Equestria. Possibly for several years. The controls had lain untouched for millennia, but were still so ready, so eager to scour the world with fire.
“Caballeron,” Ahuizotl boomed, “you will instruct Button Mash on how to operate the Sunspear. You will direct its target to be the center of Roc, and you will fire it. Do this, or Sweetie Belle will die. Then you shall die. Then everything you love will die. Is that motivation enough?”
Button sucked in a deep breath. He met Sweetie’s eyes, full of tears.
Ahuizotl grimaced. “Five… four…”
“I’ll do it!” Button Mash trotted towards the control center, his chest heaving. “Just give me time.” He looked Caballeron in the eye. “We just need enough time.”
Caballeron nodded his understanding. He followed Button to the enclosed space. He opened the first of two sets of doors, spaced to keep the magic surge from escaping. “The instant you step into that, the pain will be nearly unbearable. We’ll have to work quickly to get it running before you pass out.”
The doctor flicked his eyes upwards. “Once the magic has somewhere to go, there’ll be less chance of you spontaneously combusting. Got it?”
Button pulled the doors closed and nodded. He approached the second set with trembling limbs. He rested his hoof on the handle.
Ahuizotl swung his Wyrmslayer and sliced the latch off the first set of doors, trapping Button completely. Caballeron leapt back, swearing at the top of his lungs.
The fiend growled. “No backing out, Button Mash! You see this through to the end!” Sweetie struggled in his clawgrip, her horn shimmering. Ahuizotl squeezed until the light went out.
“I’m doing what you asked, you freak!” Button pushed the doors open. He was instantly met with a blast of force to the face. Was it heat? Was it pressure? Was it life itself? Perhaps all of these and more. Pure magic paraded through his limbs, into his head, through his heart. He screamed, gripping his sinuses as every semblance of reason and rational thought dribbled out of his mind.
His eyes fluttered open. He heard a voice, gruff and insistent, at the edge of his perception. Caballeron pounded against the amber-colored hexagons. The doctor shouted the same words, over and over.
“Get up! Get up, Button!”
His head throbbing, Button Mash gathered his legs beneath himself and pushed. He tottered upright, His vision doubling. He forced himself to focus on Caballeron.
“—evers at the points of the compass!” Caballeron motioned for Button to go around the tubular room. “Pull the four levers at the points of the compass!”
Button nodded. He looked around for any sign of the levers. He nearly lost his footing when he saw what lay right in front of him; an endless pit leading into the center of the mountain. Magic poured forth unabated—perhaps no force could hold it back entirely. A sharp pain entered his leg—the fairy strings within began to glow with overflowing power. A quick glance brought four levers into view. He rushed for the closest, keeping one hoof on the wall to keep himself from plummeting. A strong, smooth tug jolted the lever into place.
Mechanical devices hidden within the walls clanked with the movement of gearwork. The same held true for the other three levers. Caballeron followed him from the outside, speaking as they worked. “When the levers are pulled, find the dials etched with changeling script. There are several, but we want the one with a… a triangle-looking… thing with a dangly bit coming out the bottom.”
Button couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. He found the dial in question as a burning sensation crept up through his hind legs.
“Turn it three times. Clockwise.” Poni Caballeron’s breath became short. He tapped the amber hexagon. “Quickly.”
The sensation etched its way across Button’s muzzle. He could see the magic blazing its way across his face. He stumbled forwards, rotating the dial by feel.
“Push the button!” Poni Caballeron smacked the hexagon right beside Button’s face. “To the right! Push the button!”
Button peered over. A red dot swam in and out of his vision. He reached for it, but it dodged away.
“It’s right there!” Poni pounded the transparent material with all his might. “Higher! Just a little higher!”
Button’s hoof met a solid object. The gears overhead rattled and rumbled. Magic shot upwards into the castle, headed on a direct course to the Sunspear. The pressure in Button’s head eased, though did not go away completely. He found himself able to stand, to meet Dr. Caballeron face-to-face. Ahuizotl’s howling laughter rattled the hexagons, while Poni gnashed his teeth together.
“You’ve bought yourself a few minutes.” Poni directed Button to follow him around to the far side of the room. “Let’s hope that’s all Martial needs.”
***
Corona moved quickly through the corridors, hidden by Luna’s wings. The airship seemed bereft of life, yet something still drove the thing onward. The feathers on her neck stood up. The fur on her flanks itched. She gripped the spear tighter and tighter until her knuckles turned white.
Luna was a ghost. A shadow on the wall. The darkness enveloped her until it became her. Was she immaterial, or was it just an illusion? Corona suspected now was not the time to ask.
Blinking light appeared ahead. Control panels. Targeting reticules. Altimeters. Maps. All of Felaccia appeared in midair at the center of the bridge, with Roc highlighted in brilliant red. A voice spoke in an unknown language, sounding for all the world like a countdown.
A metallic figure stood silhouetted by the map. It was equine, but not quite. Two antlers spread out from the head. Two hexagon-faceted wings sprouted from the back. Cloven hooves kicked at the ground. A sinister green glow shimmered through the seams in the armor.
“Princess Luna,” the mechanical creature said. “It seems fated that we should meet.”
Luna materialized, but only from the neck-up. Even that was transparent. “To whom do I owe the beating?”
“Your predecessor.” The automaton spread its wings. It eyes took on a brighter hue. “I am Queen River Cicada, first Bearer of the Element of Magic.”
Luna spread a glimmering wing to conceal Corona from view. She strode forward, her hoofsteps trailing stardust. “A bearer, capable of committing such atrocities?”
“Says the once-famed Nightmare Moon?” Cicada tilted her head as the map dissolved into nothingness. “Princess, I have done great and terrible things, but attempting to cause global extinction is not one of them.”
Corona leaned against the wall. Though no one could see into Luna’s spell, the griffon princess still had full view of the ship’s bridge. She spotted the main control panel, with a large wheel decorating the front. Levers meant to control the eight legs lay beside it. All of these were moving on their own, untouched by a single living creature.
The ship drove itself?
Perhaps Cicada’s consciousness was the ship’s?
Green magic coursing through the floors, walls and ceilings lent a clue as to the validity of the thought. The magic seen before had been a kaleidoscope of colors, many hearts beating to the same tune. This, though? A single, solitary soul.
Luna narrowed her eyes at the mechanoid. “If you dwell on the past, it’s all you’ll ever be.”
“And here you are, clinging to the status quo of a thousand years.” Cicada walked over to the window to observe the battle. She placed a cloven hoof on the amber material. She gazed at the sun overhead. “I have watched you ponies hold a sword to the world’s collective neck for all this time. Squelching rebellions. Deposing foreign powers. Imprisoning some monsters while lauding others.” She lit her horns with green fire. “It makes no difference to anyone which superpower holds the reigns to the sun, save for me and you.”
“It matters to the lives you have destroyed,” Luna said. “I am the one who raises the sun each morning, and I am the one who sets it each night. The Celestial Objects are no longer your responsibility.”
A spell went from Cicada’s horns skyward. “Then take them from me.”
Corona squinted into the distance. They had turned to face the castle. A light glinted atop the tallest parapet, where the Sunspear lay. Magic poured from it, lancing skyward.
Luna eyes and horn both glowed bright white as she reached for the sun.
Corona burst out of magical concealment with a high-pitched twitter. “Luna, stop! It’s a tra—!”
Luna’s spell hit the sun at the same moment the Sunspear’s unleashed power gripped it tight. A jolt of sheer unrelenting force crashed through Luna’s head and rattled throughout her fairy strings. Her enchantments came undone. Her body returned to the corporeal plane. Smoke and ashes billowed from around her as she collapsed.
Corona lay in the open, gaping in horror at Luna’s sizzling pain. The Princess of the Night’s chest heaved as she fought to suck in breath after breath. Corona flipped her spear to throw it at the Changeling Queen, but a blast of crackling energy clobbered her in the chest. Her back hit the bulkhead and her spear clattered uselessly to the floor.
The world vanished into blackness. The last thing to go was the bronze-colored metal of Cicada’s armor. “Acting Queen of Felaccia, it’s time we had a talk.”
Corona covered her head, but no further attack came. She opened her eyes and found herself in the halls of the mountain castle. The sweet smell of baked good tickled her nose. Tapestries hung from every wall, depicting the great feats of griffon heroes.
The warm sun shining through stained-crystal windows, the gentle breeze flowing through open doors, the light mumble of conversation in the distance… it was home at its most peaceful and comforting.
“Your ideal is beautiful, Corona.”
Corona spread her red-feathered wings. She backed away from the newcomer; a changeling slightly shorter than her. This creature had wafting, silky turquoise locks. Intelligent pale-green eyes. A soft face. A weak frown.
“You have so much to fight for,” the changeling said. Her voice came in clear, unmarred by its usual electronic distortion. “Surely you can understand how I feel.”
“Cicada?” Corona reached for her spear, but no such weapon lay within reach. “What is this?”
“It is my opportunity to tell you why I do the things I do.” River held out a cloven hoof. “And why you must aid me.”
“Corona!” The sweet song of her little sister’s voice touched Corona’s ears. “Papa and I made scones! Come eat with us.”
As Corona turned to face Stella, the sun faded to deepest, darkest night. Not even stars shone through the overbearing clouds. Stella skidded to a halt, her eyes wide.
“You see, Corona,” Cicada said, “we fight for the same purpose. We fight to protect what we love from what is to come.”
Corona shut her eyes as a bitter chill frosted the edges of her wings. “And what is to come?”
“The Fae.” Cicada gritted her teeth. “The Unseelie Court approaches.”
The windows crumbled inward as a shower of broken glass. Living shadows swirled around her feet, grasping at her with cold claws and gnawing teeth. Stella screeched as she was tackled to the ground.
Corona reached forward, but was halted by a gibbering blob of ooze. “No! Leave her alone!”
“The Fae are all-powerful. They cannot be killed. The cannot be bought.” Cicada walked through the morass like it wasn’t even there. “Our only hope is to prevent them from gaining control of the sun.”
An explosion rocked the castle. Andean Ursagryph battled a massive creature, whose form defied logic or reason. Grasping claws pulled Euroclydon from his talons and dragged him into the emptiness at the base of the mountain.
“Papa!” Corona struggled. She fought. She raked her talons across the face of the nearest phantom. Her arms went right through. Nothing even touched them.
“I’ve tried to warn King Ursagryph for years.” Cicada shook her head as the king screamed his last. “Nightly dreams, detailing the threat of the Unseelie. But when the moment came, he was too weak to accept my help. You can be different, Corona.”
“You?” Corona flapped her wings to gain a modicum of personal space. But the fairy creatures flocked to her in even greater numbers. “You’ve been giving my father nightmares? How?”
“You live above an ancient changeling city.” Cicada folded her wings. A hail of arrows sped past her. “Where my empire lies, so too goes my influence.”
The arrows struck Stella with the force of a freight train. The little griffon chick collapsed with a gasp.
“Stella! No!” Corona pushed towards her sister. She cradled the tiny form, tears pouring from her eyes. “Get up! You’re okay! Come on!”
“This is the future that awaits you, Corona!” River Cicada lit her horn. A war broke out around the castle. Griffons fell as more and more fairies swarmed the mountainside. “Join me, and we can prevent it!”
“Prevent it?” Corona whirled on Cicada with her beak snapping. “This is happening right now! Right in the middle of Roc! You started a whole freaking war because you can’t stand the thought of somebody else having the sun! You’re kidnapping hearts, and you think you’re the good guy?”
She looked down at the image of Stella that lay in her arms. The arrows stuck out at odd angles. The blood soaked into Corona’s coat; red to match the edges of her feathers. It wasn’t real, she told herself. It couldn’t be real. She put the griffon chick down, where the mass of Fae swallowed her up.
“Disappointing.” River Cicada tilted her head back. “What would your mother say?”
“My wha—?” The floor fell out from beneath Corona. She tumbled headfirst into unyielding stone. She pushed herself upright, her claws ready to fight off anything.
Instead of a foe, she face a hospital bed. In the bed lay a griffon female, gaunt and gray of face. Her plumage had long fallen out due to the harshness of her medicine. Her wings were wrapped in protective cushions. She reached for Corona and spoke, but could barely put two sounds together.
Cicada strode up beside Corona. “You know what it is like to lose something you love so very dearly.”
Corona approached the bed, but stopped at a makeshift barrier; a meager measure to prevent diseases from attacking the ailing griffon. “Mama?”
“You will see this scene repeated,” Cicada said through clenched teeth. “Time and time again. As everything you love is dragged screaming into the abyss.”
Corona felt young again. So very, very young and helpless. A child of nine, watching her mother melt away. A weeping little sister. An inconsolable father. An unfightable illness, whose cure would not be found for half a decade.
River Cicada rested a hoof on Corona’s shoulder. “You don’t have to face this again.”
Corona grabbed River’s hoof in a vice, one crafted from talons and sinew. She twisted the changeling’s foreleg and faced her head-on. River gaped at the griffon princess as she was lowered to her knees.
“My mother would not wish to be remembered like this,” Corona hissed. She gave Cicada’s leg another twist, her talons scraping against the chitin. “She was a strong warrior, whether her foe was a creature or an illness. She was beautiful, and kind, and wise. And now that she’s left her mortal coil, she is so much more alive.”
The bed vanished in a puff of smoke. A griffon queen stood before them, her muscles strong, her plumage brilliant, her fur silky. A circlet of silver sat atop her head, illuminated with magic that did not come from Cicada’s horn, but from Corona’s wings.
Embers flew from the tips of Corona’s reddish feathers. Flames licked at her wings and back, but did not consume her. They came from within. Powered by her heart. Guided by her soul. “That is my mother; Fayr Ursagryph. Proud. Strong. The Queen of Felaccia. You will honor her memory.”
She released River with a shove. Andean Ursagryph stepped out of the shadows to stand beside his wife. An uninjured Stella alighted her mother’s back, brandishing her rapier.
Corona’s talon bumped against a rod. She grasped it and lifted it out of the mist, revealing it to be her spear. She twirled it between her talons and took a stand with her family. “We are the Ursagryphs. Guardians of Felaccia. Warrior griffons all. We will not bow to you. We will not condone your actions. We will not lay silent as you raze the world to suit your own twisted sense of justice.”
Corona’s heart raced. Magic pumped from her heart to her limbs. The red edges of her feathers shimmered, then ignited with blinding fire. The blaze burst out from the core of her being, incinerating the darkness of the dream. Cicada screamed as she was torn apart and reformed as the fleshless automaton she had transformed herself into. The Hesperus Mactan’s bridge returned to Corona’s view. Luna’s unconscious body lay before her. The Changeling Queen stood at the window, unsteady on its four legs.
The phantoms of her family vanished, one by one, but their presence was still felt in Corona’s chest. She gave her mother a final glance, and was rewarded with a proud smile.
Queen Corona stretched her spear arm towards Queen Cicada. “Now, draw your weapon and face your superior.”
***
“There!” Martial Paw hung from the rigging of the Vanishing Point, pointing at the castle with his uncle’s sword. “That’s the floor!”
Care spun the ships wheel to avoid a burning husk of a Strutter. “How can you tell?”
“Honestly?” Martial furrowed his brow and sheathed Euroclydon. “It’s the point where the ant-looking doohickeys are converging.”
Hundreds of the automatons were scaling the walls of the castle, drawing to a singular point. It was just as Button and Caballeron had described: The hallway led straight to the catacombs. Martial had only been in them a couple of times, and then only briefly. He had no idea there was a room beyond the hall of griffon kings.
“You can’t fight all of them off.” Care tightened her helmet strap after wiping sweat from her forehead. “Not even with that sword. I’ll have to hold them off while you go after Ahuizotl.”
“If I cannot defeat them on my own,” Martial said, “surely you cannot.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Care grinned, throwing him a wink. “I’ll send up a flare and hope help comes. There’s gotta be somebody the flyder hasn’t killed yet.”
Martial landed beside the ship’s wheel. He prevented her from turning it with a talon between the spokes. “This conversation is ridiculous.”
“We both know the kid ain’t gonna be the one to take Ahuizotl out.” Care gave him a halfhearted mockery of a smile, throwing her forelegs out in a shrug. “Got a better idea?”
Martial rolled his eyes up and to the left. “Of course not.” He spread his wings and allowed the wind to carry him to the bombed out windows. Fire and magic swirled in his wake as Care’s horn went to work creating barriers to slow the approach of the automatons.
“Alright, you worthless junkyard trash!” She slung a rope to the castle and tied the airship to an outcropping. A gust of wind maneuvered the ship to block off the window with its main bulk. If the Strutters wanted to get into the castle on that floor, they had to tear their way through the Vanishing Point. “Step right up and see just what a Knight of Harmony can do!”
Martial’s wings beat at a fever pitch as he threw himself down the hall. The carpet and tapestries near the window burned, most of the artifacts already naught but cinders in the wake of the Hesperus Mactans’ attack. Still visible was the one that depicted an ancient griffon king slaying his draconic foe with the accursed Wyrmslayer blades.
The catacombs—the crypt—lay open and ready for him. He folded his wings and moved at a run, so as not to disturb the sleeping kings therein. He drew the Turner volleygun and checked it; all four barrels held a slug.
As he neared the more recent griffon kings, laughter echoed off the walls. A hum buzzed in his ears as a massive amount of power channeled its way through the mountain. Ahuizotl’s voice spoke, and the shriek of metal being torn accompanied it. Martial broke through, and found himself behind the mad god.
Button lay within a cylinder of amber-colored panels. Caballeron watched him closely from the outside. Sweetie Belle lay in Ahuizotl’s grip, squirming but unable to break free.
Martial leveled the volleygun and opened fire.
Ahuizotl screamed. The claw at the tip of his tail released Sweetie’s face. He swatted at his back where the shot had hit.
Martial twisted the four barrels of the Turner. The second shot hit Ahuizotl in the shoulder. The third struck his chest as he spun. The fourth hit the monster just above his left eye.
With his shots depleted, the Turner made its way back into Martial’s belt. He drew Euroclydon and held it tight with both talons. He spread his wings and launched himself at Ahuizotl. “For Daring!”
Ahuizotl drew a Wyrmslayer and swung it in the same motion. He struck Martial’s sword with enough force to send him across the room in a tailspin. Martial corrected himself and flew to the left just before the sword was able to annihilate him. He jabbed at the mad god and was deflected.
Sparks flew as Ahuizotl’s sword dug into the wall, scarring the changeling reliefs. The beast’s rage made itself evident in a horrific roar that thundered through Martial’s heart. “For every foe I quash, a dozen more slither from the woodwork!”
Both Wyrmslayer blades sung through the air. Martial flew through the deadly maze of fire and wootz. Euroclydon found its mark and bit into Ahuizotl’s leg. A lick of fire scarred Martial’s flank. Lightning raked across Ahuizotl’s eyes. The mad god’s bulk tackled Martial to the ground with a shrug of his bleeding shoulder.
Martial scrambled back, each kick of his hind legs dodging a swipe of a Wyrmslayer. He raised Euroclydon, only for the legendary sword to be struck from his grasp. It spiraled across the floor to clatter against the far wall. A handspring brought Martial to his feet, and a flap of his wings took him out of Ahuizotl’s reach.
The mad god stood between him and the sword. Ahuizotl scraped the Wyrmslayers together, heating the room. “I’ll send you back to Equestria in pieces! You’ll be worm food alongside your precious Daring Do!”
Martial tensed up. He had to go around Ahuizotl. He had one chance. Too far to the left or right, and he’d be incinerated. He sucked in a breath as the swords began to swing.
Sweetie Belle’s voice broke through the struggle, loud and clear, like silver bells in the night. “Ahuizotl!”
Ahuizotl snarled as he glanced at her. His eyes widened with the horror of realization. “No—!”
Sweetie shut her eyes, squared her legs, and sucked in a deep breath.
“The mad god provides
Testimony and lies
That he fights for the noblest cause
But ages of time
Cannot cover his crime
He has gallons of blood on his paws!”
Each sung word and each varied note drove shuddering jolts of tension through Ahuizotl’s body. He surged towards Sweetie with the intent to smite her from the mountainside. Martial dove for the center of his chest and dug his talons into the mad god’s wounds. Between Sweetie’s weakening effect and his own strength, the two of them pushed Ahuizotl back step by step.
“He claims to connect
In both body and soul
To the Elements of Harmony
But if he was so full
Of joy and good will
He’d set all his prisoners free!”
Ahuizotl’s teeth gnashed, and Martial jerked his head away from the bite. He flew up and over Ahuizotl to land beside Euroclydon. He grasped the sword’s hilt tight and swung it up and around. The mad god’s Wyrmslayer scorched a trail through the atmosphere towards Martial’s head.
Martial thrust the sword upwards and struck Ahuizotl through the wrist. The monster howled as the Wyrmslayer fell from his limp left claw. Lightning surged through Ahuizotl’s bones until Martial finally pulled the sword away.
Ahuizotl stumbled back, gazing slack-jawed at the charred hole in his arm. Words failed him completely. He drew the Spade of Hearts with the claw at the end of his tail. He thrust the dagger at Martial’s chest, ready to rip the heart right out of his body.
“His maniac army bows at the knee
And considers his commands sublime
But he’s not divine, lacking rhythm and rhyme
“What
Is the price
Of a god?”
Ahuizotl covered his rightmost ear with the hilt of his remaining Wyrmslayer, spraying flecks of spittle with his screams of agony. He regained enough presence of mind to deflect a swipe from Martial. His dagger sought the griffon warrior’s throat, but met naught but thin air. “I hate you!”
His superheated sword struck deep into the stone floor. Shards of molten minerals rained towards Martial. He raised his arm to protect his face, but thousands of burns and cuts appeared in his skin. The searing pain caused him to cry out and fly away.
The mad god turned wild eyes on Sweetie Belle, who stared up at him with stark terror. “I’ll rip you apart,” he growled, “with my bare hands!”
***
Apple Bloom skidded to a halt as they reached the heart of the flyder, the centermost part of the ship. Her heart sank, even as two-hundred hearts shone back at her. They beat in synch, each pulse expertly timed. Each heart equally fragile. Each heart equally alive. “This is nuts.”
“Come on!” Stella flew past, dragging a sizable saddlebag behind her. “We don’t have a lot of time!”
“Wait!” Mellori clutched the small volleygun Crested had given him. The captain of the guard grasped the barrel to keep it away from his face. “If we remove the power source of the airship, what’ll happen to us?”
Crested Barbary nodded his head. “The chamberlain has a point. If we remove the hearts, we’re more likely to drown in the lake than save anybody.”
Apple Bloom tapped her lip. “But if’n we remove the hearts a little bit at a time, we might just slow the ship down some. Make it sluggish. Keep it from fightin’ as hard.”
Stella rolled her eyes and swung her sword in an intricate little dance. “The whole point is to shut down the ship. We just gotta pull the plug and run to the control room to get Corona and Princess Luna. Easy. It’s not gonna fall all at once. Probably.”
Apple Bloom opened her saddlebags and dumped the potions out. Carefully. The colorful vials rolled across the floor, collecting in the lowest corner of the room. She waved Stella upward. “Go’wan, Princess! Grab some hearts from the top.”
Stella sheathed her rapier and grasped a heart with both talons. She teased it out of its receptacle, bit by bit, until it came away with a hum of energy. The precious life lay glimmering in her palm, sparkling with a silent “thank you.”
Apple Bloom laughed. Maybe the end was in sight. Maybe they’d win this battle after all. Maybe the danger was passed.
Maybe the mechanical clatter behind her wasn’t an army of Strutters out for blood.
Crested Barbary’s talon pushed her head down. “Get back!”
A bolt of energy lanced through the doorway. Crested leaned against the bulkhead and returned fire. “Get the hearts! We’ll hold them back!”
His shots reflected off the metal armor of an ant-shaped automaton. The monstrosity reeled back, but was quickly replaced by two others. More of the machines churned in the dim light of the Hesperus Mactans, each waiting for their turn in the firing line.
Mellori Corvus squawked and opened fire with his own volleygun. He and Crested kept their shots sparing and accurate, limited ammo being their biggest concern.
Apple Bloom stayed out of the line of fire, moving to the far side of the ship’s core. Stella pulled another heart out of its prison. She looked at the two hearts in hand and let out a tweet of exasperation. “We can’t carry all these hearts! It’d take a dozen bags, not four! Isn’t there another way—?”
Apple Bloom flicked her eyes at the collection of potions. Piranha plants could tangle the hearts up, but might also try to eat them. An explosion would be exactly zero use—“Hold up.”
She rolled the combustible potions towards Crested. “Here! Toss these at the robots!”
Crested hefted a vial at their attackers. A violent bang brought a smile to his beak. “Got any more of those?”
“Only a couple. Kinda dangerous to lug around, y’know?” She sent the last two on their way towards the gunfight. The rest of the potions were equally unhelpful. Invisibility potions. Stamina potions. About a gallon of balloon juice…
“I was watching the fight earlier,” Stella said, “and the ponies had a potion that made the robots float in midair.” She shrugged. “Do you have anything like that? Would that work on the hearts, too?”
“In theory. The potions modify magic to become lighter than air.” Apple Bloom picked up a vial of balloon juice and let a drop fall on one of the hearts. A flicker, a shine, and the heart rose into the air of its own accord. “Ha! Empirical evidence!”
Apple Bloom passed a vial to Stella. “Sprinkle a little o’ this on each heart. When the time comes, we’re gonna use the saddlebags as a net. Got it?”
Stella pumped a fist. “Gawrock!”
***
Corona never stopped moving. She struck with her spear each time she flew past Cicada. The queen of the changelings fired spell after spell, but they were either avoided or swallowed up by the fire engulfing Corona’s body.
Cicada changed tactics. She aimed her horns at Luna’s unconscious body and conjured a spell powerful enough to put a hole in the princess’ chest. Corona landed and thrust her spear between the horns. She jerked her haft around, twisting Cicada’s head downward. Another twist and a pull, and Cicada’s head came clean off.
The automaton’s body flew towards the rear of the bridge. The head spewed magic and fire, striking Corona’s feet with jolts of changeling power. Flashes of memories raced unbidden through Corona’s mind, of her mother lying sick, of her father crumbling beneath the Hesperus Mactans’ onslaught, of Stella falling beneath a hail of arrows. “Get out of my head!”
She kicked River’s helmet away. It zipped to the body with a magnetic pull, connecting to the neck with a click. Blades unfolded from Cicada’s forelegs and menaced her. They met Corona’s spear with a resounding clash of fire both red and green.
Acting Queen Corona jabbed and struck, but there was no part of the automaton that was vulnerable. Every piece that she chipped away flew back into place. Every vital organ had long since become dust. Even the abomination’s heart was nowhere to be found. She raised the spear horizontally to block both of Cicada’s curved blades.
River Cicada pulled down and launched a spell of hellfire. Every touch of changeling magic brought more memories to the forefront, more emotional pain to bear. She pulled back and rolled, sending River head-over-tail. Corona landed in a ready, alert stance, while her foe tumbled to the floor.
Cicada was unyielding, unaffected by the ferocity of the battle. Corona was energized by her fury, overflowing with the magic her family possessed. Even as they clashed, Corona knew that eventually she would run out of vigor. Eventually, the unfeeling machine would overpower her. She had to end it. Decisively.
Corona ran to the center of the room, leaving Luna wide open for the moment. She stood beside the control console, with its blinking lights and sparkling readouts. “River Cicada!”
The automaton froze. She tilted her head, her green eyes flashing.
Corona raised her weapon. She let her fiery power flow through the haft of the spear to its wootz head. The metal glowed, the rivers of darker material within taking on a magmalike gleam. “You are not sovereign in Felaccia!”
She plunged the spear headfirst into the console.
The Hesperus Mactans squealed and listed to the side. Fire poured from the console as wires melted within. Cicada’s scream of “No!” was garbled and stuttering. Lights turned on and off. Cannons exploded on the surface of the airship as they were overloaded.
Corona wrenched the spear from the console. She leaped into the air and threw it right at Cicada. With the help of her magic, it went into the automaton’s head, through its back, and pinned the deposed queen to the floor.
Corona rushed up to Luna as the flames on her wings died down. The princess was much too big to carry. Corona levered her forelegs beneath Luna’s shoulders and dragged her across the floor.
Cicada struggled from her place in the center of the bridge, her body melted and twisted into a mishappen heap. “You will die!”
Queen Corona furrowed her brow as she surveyed the rapidly-burning bridge. “Not on the agenda, but I could schedule you in for… never…” Her eyes lit up when she noticed the observational windows. “Yeah, not ever would work for me.”
She wrenched her spear from the floor and tossed it through the nearest window. The amber-colored material shattered instantly. The rocky shores of the Felaccian capital city approached far too quickly for Corona’s liking.
The lights in the bridge went off. Cicada rose to her feet as much as she could with her head hanging loose from her neck. The giant hole in her chest also made movement difficult. “You’ll not leave. We shall die together.”
The clatter of running footsteps hailed from the hall. Stella burst onto the bridge at the head of a strange procession. Apple Bloom, Crested, and Mellori pulled a netful of floating hearts, all shimmering with an endless variety of colors. Stella jumped onto her sister’s back and began tweeting immediately. “Corona! We were gonna pull the hearts out one by one, but the whole dang ship is going down, so we wanted to find you as fast as we could, and all the ant-bots are dead and—”
She gave the deteriorated body of Cicada a double-take. She drew her rapier and lunged at the automaton. “Have at you, mechanical demon of mayhem!”
Corona smiled, rolled her eyes, and grabbed Stella by the foreleg. “Everybody out the window! Crested, help me carry Luna!”
The hum in the ship grew quieter by the moment as the last of the magic drained from the Hesperus Mactans. Apple Bloom chugged one of her potions and passed the rest of the bottle to Corona. “Here! Make her drink this!”
The ship rocked to the side as one of its legs met the surface of the water.
Cicada limped towards them, the molten metal at the center of her chest nearly pulling her torso apart. “You can’t leave, foals! Those hearts belong to me!”
Stella jabbed the automaton’s knee, sending it crashing to the ground. Still it clawed its way towards them. “Don’t leave me! I’m the savior of the world!”
Corona massaged Luna’s neck, forcing the potion down her throat. After a moment, the magic did its work and caused her body to float. Apple Bloom rose into the air as well, and Crested grasped her foreleg to keep her from flying away.
The griffons and ponies gathered at the edge of the window with their prize of two-hundred hearts. They let out a shout of effort as they jumped from the bridge.
Cicada raised a limp hoof. “Don’t leave me here alone…”
The bridge of the Hesperus Mactans crashed into a boulder on the shore of Roc. The head of the flyder collapsed beneath the weight of the rest of the airship. The Strutter lay still, devoid of life or magic, as the surf swallowed it piece by piece.
A cheer rose from the griffon and pony soldiers around them. They battled on, harder than ever, as victory became all the more real and all the more close. The Strutters and their Painted One pilots scrambled this way and that, no longer guided by a controlling intelligence.
Apple Bloom hung upside-down, a bundle of hearts tied to her hind leg. She gasped and pointed, indicating the top of the castle. “The sun device! It’s active!”
Corona followed the Sunspear’s beam with her eyes, until it met the light of the sun and grew too bright to view. “Chamberlain Corvus, take Stella, Luna, and the hearts to the Equestrian Fleet. Crested, you and I will see to it that the sun device is deactivated.”
Apple Bloom waved a foreleg. “And me, Your Highness?”
“You seem extraordinarily scientifically inclined.” Crested Barbary held her foreleg tight as Mellori untied the hearts. “Perhaps you’ll be able to shed some light on the subject?”
“If’n you think it’ll help.” Apple Bloom flashed him a faux salute. “I’d be happy to.”
Corona held a talon towards Mellori Corvus. “May I borrow your sword? I… um… threw my spear out the window.”
Mellori drew a basket-hilt saber and passed it over. “Mm. Try to keep a hold on this one, Your Highness.”
***
Button Mash leaned against the control panel and clutched his heart. Another pulse of magic nearly sent him into unconsciousness. He’d spent the last few minutes tilting the Sunspear’s aim back and forth, never going anywhere close to Roc. Caballeron’s instructions had been that the switch to the left would unleash the sun’s power. Button filed that away on the “Do not touch ever” list.
He raised his head to see out of the room. Martial’s duel with Ahuizotl had grown bloody. Both combatants were stumbling, bleeding from multiple wounds. Ahuizotl still had the height, weight, strength and everything else advantage… but Martial was faster. Still, the Spade of Hearts grew closer and closer to his chest.
Poni hefted a rock and threw it at the amber-colored material. Hairline fractures appeared. “Just hold on a moment longer!”
Button coughed as the worst case of heartburn he’d ever experienced tore through his esophagus. He could see the fairy strings tracing their way through his chest. Every beat of his heart caused his body to pulse with pain. He looked to make sure Sweetie was still okay. Martial’s constant flurry of attacks was just enough to distract the mad god from his vengeance. She hid behind a crumpled changeling relief, one depicting Ahuizotl’s triumphant murder of the other five Bearers of the Elements.
Poni Caballeron slammed the rock against the window a second time, sweat pouring down his neck. “I’ve got you!”
The doctor held the rock between his forelegs and slammed it repeatedly into the transparent material. His strikes reached a fever pitch. Pain and desperation contorted his face into a frustrated grimace. “Just. Hold. On!”
With a final, titanic throw, he shattered the amber material. Magic escaped through the hole, blasting forth in waves. Poni leaned in, reaching for Button and ignoring the razor-sharp shards. “Grab my hoof!” Magic laced its way into the doctor’s body, just as it had soaked into Button’s. Poni’s fairy strings shimmered just beneath his tan coat. “Hurry up, Button!”
With his last ounce of strength, Button reached up. He clasped forelegs with the doctor and allowed himself to be hauled bodily out of a river of magic. The doctor and the storyteller tumbled to the ground, breathless but alive.
Button pressed his hoof against the control room and eased himself upright. Ahuizotl and Martial’s duel flashed before him, blades clashing, and magic bursting out. Martial was everywhere at once, jabbing, slicing, spinning, parrying. A swipe of Ahuizotl’s Wyrmslayer nicked his wing, sending him to the ground once more. The mad god grinned as he loomed over the griffon, ready to strike the killing blow.
Button stomped a hoof and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Ahuizotl! You forgot about me!”
Ahuizotl looked towards Button and away from Martial. Just for an instant. Just long enough for Martial to make a move. The griffon warrior flapped his wings to launch himself towards the ceiling. He drew magic to Euroclydon, slicing it in a wide arc. The sword met Ahuizotl’s tail just before he could stab the dagger into Martial’s heart.
The claw at the end of Ahuizotl’s tail flew away from the mad god and hit the wall with a sickening thud, the Spade of Hearts clutched firmly between its fingers.
Ahuizotl flinched, pain exploding from his body in the form of an unearthly animal call. He swung his sword arm backward; the pommel stone of the Wyrmslayer blade hit Martial smack in the middle of his forehead. Martial impacted the wall. The air left him in a whoosh of breath. Euroclydon clattered to the ground as he lay quiet and still.
Foam billowed around Ahuizotl’s mouth as he writhed on the ground. His yellow eyes burned daggers of hatred at Button and Caballeron.
Button Mash ran to the severed hand. He grabbed the fingers and attempted to pry them apart. The death grip seemed more than he could handle, but he needed to get the dagger. He needed to destroy the thing that had hurt so many people, and caused so much pain. He needed to stop Ahuizotl from ever using the evil, wicked thing on anyone ever again. One finger pulled away, but it wasn’t enough. The blood had already clotted. The joints had already hardened.
Poni Caballeron stood to the side, his teeth clamped firmly shut. “Button! Button, leave it!”
“No!” A second finger moved; two more to go. The gemstone pommel of the dagger glowed with contact to Button’s over-magicked hoof. “This needs to end right now!”
Sweetie Belle covered her mouth, squeaking with fear. “Button!”
Button felt the hair on his neck rise. He turned and beheld Ahuizotl standing over him with his one remaining good claw bared. The mad god laughed joylessly as he pulled his arm back. The claw raced downward, hungry for Button’s flesh.
Poni threw himself at Button and knocked him aside. The claw dug into his torso and lifted him into the air. He flew through the cracked panels of the control room, shattering them and disappearing from sight.
“Doctor!” Button’s heart broke at the sight. He picked himself up with a shout of defiance. He wrenched the Spade of Hearts from the dead hand and held it close. Ahuizotl’s claw wrapped around him, squeezing the breath from his lungs.
Ahuizotl’s laughter stunk of fish and blood. The bleeding bullet wound in his head had already nearly blinded him. He drew Button close, his teeth gnashing. “Even with all your tricks, and your friends, and your armies, you cannot hope… to defy… a god!”
Button Mash lifted his forelegs high, with the Spade of Hearts clutched tight. “A god without a prayer!”
With a cry of exertion, he plunged the dagger into Ahuizotl’s chest.
Magic tore its way out of the resulting hole. Ahuizotl’s paw released Button out of shock and pain. The mad god clawed at his chest with his one good claw, unable to see out of one eye, trying and failing to reach the Spade of Hearts. “No! Get it out! Get it ooout!”
Button pulled himself away from Ahuizotl. He looked up to see Sweetie Belle running towards him. She lit her horn and grasped something. Looking back, Button saw her telekinetic bubble wrap itself around Ahuizotl’s heart.
She cried out as her horn, weak after so long without proper medicine, struggled to wrench the source of Ahuizotl’s magic from his body. She shut her eyes, her final step ending in a stumble. Button caught her before she could hit her head against the ground. He held her tight, propping her head up with a hoof. “You got this, Sweetie!”
With a jerk of her head and a flare of her horn, Ahuizotl’s red-lined, blackened heart flew from his chest. He grasped for it, his voice high-pitched and strained. “No! Give it back! Somebody help me!”
She caught it in her hooves and immediately smashed it against the stony ground. Cracks appeared on its surface. Her breath grew short as she brought it down again. Chips fractured off. The red-glowing magic within radiated out, burning her skin at the touch. She slammed it against the cold floor again and again, each strike more furious than before. Ahuizotl lunged.
Martial thrust Euroclydon forward and released a bolt of lightning that lit up the catacombs. The power of the blast threw Ahuizotl against the Sunspear’s control room. The magic within the room weaved itself into the magic of his body. His fairy strings blazed a blindingly-hot white. He reached for Button and Sweetie, all sense of intelligence having vanished from his voice.
Martial snatched the heart from her grasp and tossed it away. He stabbed Euroclydon into the floor and covered Button and Sweetie with his wings.
Ahuizotl’s heart crumbled with a deafening crash of power. His body blew apart and burned to cinders from the force of the mountain’s magic. The Spade of Hearts clattered to the ground, its blade darkened by the ash of a shattered god.
Sweetie Belle leaned against Button, tears pouring from her eyes. Button held her gently, rubbing her back, holding in tears of his own. He looked up at Martial, who slowly, achingly folded his wings. “Is it over?”
Martial pulled Euroclydon from the ground. He slid it into its scabbard and locked it into place. He surveyed the now-empty room, spying nothing but soot and scattered stones. “Yes. He’s gone.” He sat down hard. He shut his eyes and allowed his muscles to finally relax. “Ahuizotl’s gone.”
Button smiled. He chuckled. Relief washed over him in buckets. A pressure that had been on the back of his mind vanished. The tension left his shoulders. He allowed himself to rest there, with Sweetie Belle cozied up beside him.
His heart sank. Poni. The doctor. “Wait. Where’s Caballeron?”
Martial opened one eye. He jerked his thumb towards the control room. “With any luck, he’s long gone, too.”
Button stood up. Sweetie watched him walk towards the control room, her face a frown. “Button? What are you doing?”
Button quickened his pace. He shook his head, already feeling the magic return to his fairy strings as he got closer. “I gotta help him.”
“Button!” Sweetie stumbled to her feet and chased after him. She grabbed his shoulder. “Wait! No, you don’t! It’s too dangerous.”
“What do you think you’re doing?” Martial stood between Button and the controls. “You’ll be killed in minutes! The battle’s over. You can go home.”
“Caballeron saved my life.” He looked around Martial’s shoulder. He couldn’t see Poni in the room, but maybe he just wasn’t close enough. “Multiple times now. I owe it to him to see if I even can help.”
“Button, please.” Sweetie Belle turned Button Mash until he was facing her. She laid her hooves on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. Her green eyes glimmered, the most precious gemstones Button had ever seen. “I don’t want to lose you. Please don’t go, Button. Please.”
“Sweetie…” Button sighed deep within his chest. He touched a hoof to her cheek and gave her a small, sincere smile. “Please, let me go in. I need this. To do whatever I can, whatever that is.”
He leaned close, bringing his lips near her ear. He whispered, almost unheard. “Let me go.”
She took in a shuddering breath, her legs trembling. “Okay.”
Martial didn’t move. Button nudged him aside and crawled into the control room. As he entered, he heard Martial speaking with Sweetie.
“I don’t believe this,” Martial said. “How can you of all people be willing to let him risk his fool neck like this?”
Sweetie’s reply was soft, just at the edge of Button’s ears. “If you love something… set it free.”
His ears burned. His face flushed. Part of it might have been the magic pumping itself into his fairy strings. Part of it. He turned around and waved out the window. “I’ll come back. I promise.”
Before he went any further, he pressed a particular button and pulled a particular lever. High above, on the tallest tower of Castle Roc, the Sunspear released its grip on the sun.
***
Poni Caballeron gripped the wall as tight as his rapidly-numbing hooves could hold. He opened his eyes and looked down. The core of the mountain lay below him, visible through the tunnel cut into the mountain by changelings millennia ago. The magic radiating upwards strained his fairy strings to the limit. He wasn’t sure whether he’d lose his grip first, or if he would simply explode.
He had done it, though. He had tied up his loose ends. He had revealed the truth to Kiln. He had severed ties with Ahuizotl. He had finally done something good with his life and saved Button.
But his wife… he could never face her again. There was nothing worthwhile either of them could say. She was lost. As lost as he’d ever been.
“Doctor!”
Caballeron lifted his eyes upward. Button Mash appeared at the lip of the tunnel, a few meters above his head. The young stallion cupped a hoof to his mouth. “Hold on! I’ll get you out of there!”
The doctor’s heart raced. Maybe there was hope after all. Maybe he would have a chance to make amends. Maybe his life could be worth more than the baubles he stole…
Pain flashed through his torso. The wounds Ahuizotl had inflicted, the jagged fragments of amber-colored material, all bled freely. Harsh reality hit Caballeron like a cold bucket to the face. He would not live to see tomorrow. There was nothing to be done. No amount of ambrosia would change that.
Button climbed into the tunnel, slowly but surely. His hooves gripped the craggy walls cleanly. There was just enough of a bevel in the cut to keep the drop from being sheer. But it was still treacherous. One wrong step would kill the both of them.
“Turn back.” Caballeron rested his cheek against the wall. “It’s too late for me.”
“Don’t say that!” Button eased himself closer. His foreleg stretched out, nearly close enough for Caballeron to grasp. “I promised I’d help you find your heart. I’m keeping that promise!”
Button’s hind leg slipped. He clutched the wall with all his strength, shutting his eyes as his hackles rose. He took several long, steadying breaths. The fairy strings beneath his skin bulged with the magic that threatened to tear him apart.
Caballeron ran a quick calculation. Button couldn’t hold their combined weight. If Caballeron grabbed ahold, they’d both tumble into the unyielding light of the mountain. “Button. Please, listen to me. I don’t have much time.”
“You’ve got plenty of time.” Button reached again, his foreleg shaking. “Come on. Your heart has to be—”
“My heart… I lost my heart years ago, Button.” Caballeron sighed, and the breath ended in a wet cough. “When Ahuizotl tore the thing out of my chest, it was just a physical representation of what had already happened. When my son died, I lost myself. I turned to crime. I made money my only motivation.” His hoof scraped against the wall until he caught himself again. “And it killed me. Slowly but surely.”
“Your story doesn’t have to end like that!” Button shifted his legs to balance himself out. “You’ve changed your mind. It’s right there in front of your face.”
“Because of you, Button.” His entire body was numb now. He only held onto the rock through sheer willpower. “In you, I found something far rarer and more important than a hero.” He smiled at Button, even through he was sure it looked more like a grimace. “You’re a good stallion.”
Fire started on his back; his fairy strings had finally burst. “You are the stallion I’d always hoped… that my son would grow up to be.”
Poni released the wall. He ignored Button’s shout. He could barely hear it in the first place. Light filled his vision, blurring out details as he fell. A whirling geode of crystal rose up to greet him, full of warmth and comfort. Pain vanished in an instant. Stress fell away. He opened his eyes and saw a full-grown stallion reaching for him, even though he was still so far away. The stallion wept aloud.
The stallion wept for him, of all people.
There was a flash of living color, and Poni Caballeron was finally at peace.