The screams were the first warning as we left the caves.
I glanced at Twilight before breaking into a run, coming onto a scene of madness. Soldiers were holding back advances of Manticores, Ursas, and a very angry looking Wyvern. Though the beasts would normally be no problem for trained soldiers and mages, they all held the shimmer purple haze that marked the presence of Umbrum. They worked in tandem and several ponies were being pulled back with severe injuries.
"Shore up the left flank!" Gleaming called out, her horn blazing with energy as she held one particularly large Ursa at bay. "We need to retake the exit!"
I threw myself into the air and sent a lance of fire forward into a Manticore's face, Twilight following suit with one of her bursts of magic and a crackling bolt of lightning from the Archmage. As I landed, I ground my hooves into the dusty floor for traction and glared at the monsters as they all halted and stared at us.
"Princess," they all hissed in one voice. "So good to see you again."
Twilight's ears pinned back as she recognized the voice and I felt my blood freeze.
Slowly, from the darkness of the stairwell, stalked out a large figure, chitinous body glimmering in the light and a shark toothed smile. There was an ephemeral quality to the image of Chrysalis, revealed to be a projection as she walked right through a rocky outcropping.
"So tell me," she cooed. "Have you enjoyed your little vacation? Your magic strained, no friends or Elements to help you this time?" She chuckled, no trace of her former madness evident. "While I keep you running around here looking for a way home, I have great plans for a mutual friend of ours back home."
"Show me your face and I'll give you a great plan," I snarled.
The Changeling Queen tilted her head and smiled again, showing every last one of her teeth.
"I think not, but please keep that spirit. It may be the only thing that survives this."
She shimmered out of existence and the fight surged on again.
The Kirin suddenly surged forward, galloping along. Wallflower blinked as she also felt a sudden need to run, a tug in her heart pulling her along stronger than any other time before. She soon caught up with the other creature and looked at her from the corner of her eye.
"Autumn, why are we running?" she panted.
The Kirin shook her head.
"I don't know," she responded. "It just feels like I need to be somewhere really quickly."
Wallflower chewed on her bottom lip. "Me too," she said, hopping over a fallen log. As they ran, she could faintly hear the roaring of a bear.
The train slid to a stop, Juniper already hovering by the door, suddenly impatient. Something inside was calling to her, a pounding need to get somewhere to the west. Coco came up next to her, calmer but showing a similar restlessness.
“Are you ok?” She asked the Pegasus.
“No. Yes. I don’t know!” Juniper flicked her mane back as she landed, frustration abating as the doors slid open and she darted out. “I just feel... I don’t know, like a wind current is pulling me along.”
Coco nodded. “I feel it too.”
“As do I, “ a voice added from behind them.
Turning, they saw a blue mare with a light blue mane draped over her shoulder and the horn that graced her head. She wore a dignified suit with a bow tied at the collar, giving her a scholarly air.
“And you are?” Juniper asked.
“Oh, please forgive my poor manners.” The Unicorn gave a brief bow. “My name is Trixie, assistant headmare of the School for Gifted Unicorns. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Coco responded politely. “You said you could feel that pull too?”
“It’s less a pull and more a magical summoning. “ Trixie said, heading for the end of the platform. “I’m not the best at seeing the mana flow, but I can see the streamers coming off of the two of you as surely as I see the ones on me.”
“Who would summon us?” Juniper asked. “I’m just a secretary!”
“And I’m just a seamstress,” Coco added meekly.
Only one way to find out,” Trixie said, her horn sparking. A few feet in front of her a swirling circle of mist appeared. “Shall we?”
“Fall back!” Gleaming Shield bellowed. “Condense ranks!”
The assault just seemed to go on, and even I was beginning to tire. I had being going for days without adequate rest, as had Twilight. I began skipping back, using my recovered wings to lift myself over the sudden push of the Guard phalanx. As I landed, I saw the Archmage grind her hooves into the ground, eyes closed and head bowed.
Slowly, blue light began to filter its way up her legs, twining and spreading across her body as her horn began to spark. The runes carved into the ring on her horn began to flare and she began to lift into the air.
I watched as lighting began to flash in the sky before racing towards the ground, spearing through an Ursa before arcing around the area surrounding it, tying a manticore and a Chimera into the web of electricity as well.
The way the light filtered up reminded me of the way the deerkin had used their magic, especially the Heartmender. I closed my eyes and tried to sense the flow of magic in the earth. My own reserves were starting to run low and any edge would help.
Faintly, I could feel the pulsing of the earth, but I wasn’t able to tap into it. My concentration was broken as a guard nearby screamed in pain, falling back as the barbed tail of the Wyvern pulled itself back. It faced me and gave out a rumbling hiss, it’s tail whipping back and forth behind it.
I glared back, holding my ground as the soldiers to either side of the wounded pony began hauling him back to safety.
“Come on, scaly,” I said, feeding power to my horn again. “You want me? Gotta work for it!”
I dodged it’s first flick of the tail, glancing back to see the barbed tail shatter a stone where I had been standing. I countered with a lance of fire across its wings, but it was noticeably weaker than my usual attacks.
I hopped and glided to the side, trying to keep the beasts attention when my pet trap started to shake, the gem imbedded in it flashing and the familiar feeling of my cutie mark flashing as though the map table was summoning me. I heard a gasp of surprise and saw Archmage Twilight staring at hers in shock as it flashed.
Just then, a shape dove over the edge of the cliff, it’s ivory coat slowly being covered in azure flames, landing on the Wyvern and spinning in a circle.
The mysterious being’s steps left a ring of flames dancing along the back of the giant reptile, and it was not happy. It screamed and dropped down to roll onto its back, but the flames just continued to burn.
The mystery being strode forward, and it seemed as though she were made entirely of arcane flames.
“A Kirin,” I heard Twilight breathe.
“Howdy!” A cheery voice came from the frightening face of the... Kirin?
The flames died, revealing the smiling face beneath a curly mane. “Names Autumn!”
“Sunset,” I responded automatically. Kirin weren’t unheard of in my Equestria, but they weren’t overly social with other races.
A cry from across the clearing made me turn, seeing that Gleaming had been tossed aside by a particularly annoyed chimera. It grinned as it snuck up on the winded Unicorn, but then a green pony with a messy mop for a mane slowly stepped between the two.
I started to charge my horn, but before I could fire I saw a small glow around her neck grow brighter and the chimera get confused. The purple trails around its eyes flickered and it turned from what had been it’s prey and wander away from the battle, seemingly lost.
I made it to Gleaming’s side as she stood back up. “You ok?”
Gleaming nodded, glancing around at the battle. It was still touchy, but with a Kirin setting fire to anything that got near her, things were less chaotic.
Well, if beasts running around on fire was less chaotic. The smell of burning fur made my eyes burn.
“How did you get that Chimera to back off?” I heard Gleaming ask the pony. She blushed and ducked her head for a moment before brushing a hoof across her necklace, a bit of stone wrapped in a wire harness.
“I used this,” she said. “I can kind of make others forget I’m there for a few seconds if I want. It’s not always a good thing, but I think in this instance it helped.”
I felt my blood chill as I got a good view of the stone. It wasn’t fully intact but the part she held had very distinct markings; it was a fragment of one of the Cervid Memory Stones.
“Well, I appreciate it and won’t forget you so easily,” Gleaming said, patting the other pony on the back. “What’s your name?”
“Wallflower,” the shy pony said. “Wallflower Blush.”
Gleaming nodded and was about to say something when the far side of the ravine suddenly erupted in pyrotechnics,
“Now what?” She muttered.