//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 – Calamity // Story: Beneath the Surface // by Racingwolf //------------------------------// Beneath the Surface Chapter 12 – Calamity Twilight had barely registered what was happening when Shining Armor was thrown back through the doorway with a powerful force, sliding across the throne room floor in front of a group of horrified ponies. Cadance turned her head toward him, momentarily distracted as the doors to the throne room burst fully open. Pale unicorns streamed into the room, firing spells at the group of watching ponies, who cried out as they tried to run and leap out of the way. Twilight was about to race toward them when she suddenly thought of Flurry Heart and turned. She was relieved to see several guards standing around her, and Sunburst standing over her protectively. Other guards had already taken flight toward the oncoming threat. Twilight tried to shake off her own shock and raced after them, the hoofbeats of her friends quickly following. She glanced toward Shining, who was already on his hooves again, looking more dazed than hurt. As she and her friends raced to the doors and the unicorns who had invaded the throne room, Rarity gave a sudden cry of fright as a spell struck right in front of her, nearly off balancing her. Applejack pulled her aside as another spell hit the floor where she’d been standing, creating a nasty scorch mark. Twilight lit her horn to form a shield in front of her group and the ponies behind them. She and her friends reached the enemy at about the same time the guards did, watching most of the crystal ponies run back toward the throne. Trapped… she realized. The pale unicorns were blocking their only exit from the room. She fired a spell at a unicorn that was taking aim at a group of crystal ponies with foals, and the cave pony fell to the ground, stunned. But only momentarily. Twilight readied another spell as the unicorn got to his hooves, staring at her. His red eyes narrowed as he fired a spell back at her, which Twilight blocked with one of her own. Instead of backing down, the unicorn doubled his efforts, sending a pulsing wave of energy at Twilight’s shield. Twilight stood her ground, but two other pale unicorns aided the first, and there were now three separate beams of magic bearing down on her shield. Twilight felt her spell weakening, and she gritted her teeth, hoping she could find a way to fight back, but the shield was taking all her concentration… Without warning, Twilight’s magical shield shattered, throwing her back a few paces. She managed to right herself using her wings just as the ponies began aiming more spells at her. The enemy unicorns were suddenly launched backward, some of them nearly colliding with the wall. Twilight glimpsed Cadance rushing into the fray, her horn alight and her eyes narrowed. Behind her was Shining Armor and a group of guards with their spears pointed at the intruders. The cave unicorns looked at their opposition – namely Cadance – and for a moment, they seemed to falter, to hesitate. “Leave my subjects alone,” Cadance commanded, her head held high. One of the cave unicorns snorted at her and reared on his hind legs. A spell emitted from his horn traveled across the room and back toward the waiting group of terrified ponies. Twilight turned her head toward them as they shrieked and dove out of the way. In the chaos, she suddenly realized that she had no idea where Spike and Thorax were. Cadance formed a magical shield of her own around the ponies trying to hide, several spells glancing off it. She turned her gaze toward the unicorn who had first attacked them. She and Shining Armor lit their horns, but as their spells fired, they hit another translucent barrier that shimmered in the air in front of them. And then, striding into the throne room confidently, as if it were his own palace, a large stallion arrived. He looked at Cadance with something like disdain. Twilight recognized him. He’d tried to chase her down in the caves along with Scarlet, and he’d appeared to be her second-in-command. Golden Comet. That’s what Thorax had said his name was. Twilight narrowed her eyes as she watched the intimidating stallion, waiting for him to make a move. Shining sent a beam of magical energy at the newcomer, but Comet simply stared impassively as it hit the barrier and faded out. “Is this any way to treat a guest?” Comet laughed. “We could avoid any bloodshed if you weren’t so stubborn!” “I know it’s me you want,” Cadance said, a furious edge to her voice as she stepped closer to the hostile unicorns. “Leave my subjects be and I will agree to speak with you to-” Comet hit her with a spell before she could finish speaking, breaking through her smaller barrier. Cadance had managed to block the worst of its effects, but it still knocked her backward several paces, her hooves skidding along the floor. “You’re in no position to try to negotiate,” Comet growled. “We will be taking you with us. Along with that one.” He made a gesture with his head toward Twilight. Twilight felt her friends gather closely around her, standing protectively. She could feel Rarity and Fluttershy’s coats against hers, and they were all staring defiantly back at Comet. At once, the cave unicorns banded together behind Scarlet’s second-in-command, launching off spells at the opposing group. Shining set up another shield as the castle guards swerved through the air to attack their foes at different angles. Cadance charged forward, her lit horn breaking through Comet’s barrier before she locked horns with Comet himself. The unicorn snarled, his twisted horn sparking with magic as he fought against the alicorn, pushing back against her with both bodily strength and magic. Around them, the room erupted into chaos. “I’d bet they ain’t had much practice fighting a big group,” Applejack hissed to her friends. “They can’t aim at all of us at once!” Twilight nodded. “We’ll split up. And don’t worry. I’ll be okay.” If she could keep the attention off of the more vulnerable ponies and foals, she could buy them some time and hopefully allow them to escape. “Let’s do this, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said with a determined cry, darting off into the fray. Even Fluttershy, who was trembling with fright, gave a nod. Twilight’s friends split off, and that’s when Twilight noticed something. Back at the far end of the room, all the strong and healthy ponies had formed a sort of protective ring around the weak, and many of them were charging toward the attacking unicorns. She watched in astonishment as several of the cave unicorns had to divert their attention from Shining, Cadance, and the guards to stop the new oncoming threat. Twilight figured that was also where she could be most useful – aiding the crystal ponies and her friends. Teleporting herself in front of the charging group of crystal ponies - and visitors from elsewhere in Equestria - Twilight blocked off a group of spells coming their way, managing to divert one back at the unicorn who’d fired it. She watched as he gave a frightened cry and dove out of the way, the spell scorching the wall. As she ran with the group of ponies toward their foes, she noticed Cadance and Comet circling each other, each trying to outmatch the other with their magic. Nearby, a guard managed to stun a cave unicorn with a blow to the head, and he staggered backward, the light of his horn flickering out as he tried to regain his bearings. Twilight felt hope bloom in her. They could do this… Then, as the guard swooped back toward the dazed unicorn, he was struck in the chest with a spell from another – a new foe who had just entered the room. The guard fumbled to stay airborne, forced to circle away as the new unicorn and a few of her friends fired off spells that barely missed him, striking the ceiling instead. Twilight couldn’t afford to watch anymore, as she was almost upon a group of cave unicorns. With a burst of energy, Twilight released a spell that sent several of them staggering backward, unable to regain their concentration before the rest of the ponies were upon them, attacking with hooves or any improvised weapon they had managed to grab. While earth ponies and pegasi didn’t have unicorn magic, they had maneuverability and hard kicks, and they also had numbers on their side. Twilight glimpsed Rainbow Dash swoop down on a unicorn who was distracted, knocking him off his hooves and sending his spell into the wall. Nearby, Rarity and Applejack teamed up to give a strong kick to one of the newcomers, knocking the wind from her. Pinkie Pie had even grabbed a glitter cannon that she’d used during the party celebration, firing it at a group of unicorns to cloud their vision. A short ways away, Fluttershy was helping an injured pony make his way back to the protected group in the back of the room. Twilight realized that, through sheer numbers, the ponies were at least beginning to tire the cave unicorns out, and had managed to separate them so that they couldn’t bunch into a large group. It appeared as if most of their foes were in this room, and she hoped the rest of the castle was faring all right. For a moment, though, it seemed like they had a good chance of driving the unicorns from the building. Then there was a scream. Twilight realized that a few of the unicorns had broken through to the back of the room and were facing the guards protecting Flurry Heart and the other foals near the crystal throne. However, before Twilight could even blink, Starlight was there in a flash of teleportation magic. Starlight fired off spells that struck each unicorn, sending them flying back. Twilight’s attention was turned as Cadance let out of a cry of pain, her body flung away from Comet as he threw her to the ground with a powerful spell. Twilight couldn’t tell if she was injured, but there was no time to see. She ran toward the other alicorn but was intercepted by a spell from another unicorn that hit near her hooves, singing the coat on her legs. The unicorn focused his attention on her, but lost his concentration with a cry of pain as Rainbow tackled him from the side, toppling him over. The unicorn thrashed for a moment, sending Rainbow flying off him, and fired a spell at her. Rainbow couldn’t dodge in time. She let out a cry as the magical beam hit her wing, making it jerk in uncontrollable motions as she lost control and plummeted toward the floor. She struck it hard, writhing in pain as her wing hung limply at her side. “Rainbo-” Twilight began, but was cut off as another spell hit her from a direction she couldn’t register. Her world spun as she was sent toppling over and over along the floor, coming to a painful halt against the wall. She lifted her head, her ears ringing, and tried lighting her horn. It felt harder than normal, like her mind was muddled. Trying to use magic felt off, almost like a feeling of slogging through thick mud. Through the haze, she knew she ought to be doing something – getting up, helping – but she couldn’t clear her thoughts. Some part of her mind realized this wasn’t due to her tumble or collide with the wall, the confusion felt…magical in origin. Even as she watched the battle, the images in front of her began to distort. Not far from where Twilight lay, Comet approached the stunned form of Cadance. He was under orders – as were the rest of them – to keep the alicorns in as good a condition as he could. This one was proving difficult though, and if he had to hurt her more, so be it. As Cadance lit her horn once again, Comet lit his own, his magic shining far brighter than hers. A powerful blast cut Comet off, and he reared up just in time to avoid it. Turning toward the source, he saw the form of the white unicorn with the blue mane standing not far away, exhausted but still standing. Shining Armor, that was what the orange earth pony had apparently said his name was. This stallion was more powerful than most unicorns, even without any artifacts. Comet ground his teeth. Maybe he couldn’t harm the alicorns much, but the others… His horn lit up with a bluish-purple glow and heat radiated from it, crackling in the cold air. Comet’s eyes locked onto the now charging white stallion as he focused his magical energy. Shining saw the spell coming as it shot from Comet’s horn toward him. He put up a shield and leaped to the side, but even that wasn’t enough. The spell blasted through his small barrier and struck his right foreleg. Shining bit back a cry of agony as his leg buckled, the smell of singed flesh filling the air. From her position against the wall, Twilight could see painful burns along the right side of his leg – looking disturbingly similar to Thorax’s. Twilight struggled to her feet, her vision swimming again. She figured the only reason she hadn’t yet been captured was because of all the others fighting, distracting, protecting her. She had to help them, help her brother… She focused her energy, reaching within herself for her magic. She felt it flicker, then start to burn away the haze clouding her mind. But not enough, not quickly… She saw Comet readying another spell. This one felt…worse somehow. The energy radiating from his horn felt bad, something that made her coat stand on end. Shining on the other hoof looked dazed, trying to regain his bearings on three legs. On the floor near Comet, Cadance’s horn gave off a weak glow. Twilight could barely see it from where she was standing, fighting off her disorientation. Cadance pushed herself to her feet and lunged at Comet, not even bothering with a spell. She threw herself into Comet’s side, knocking him off balance as his spell fired. The beam of magical energy slashed across the ground in front of Shining, then hit the wall, cracking the crystal as it tore a gash through it that reached the ceiling. Twilight felt her magical power surge, and suddenly things were clearer. Shining Armor was staring in horror at the smoking gouge the spell had made in the crystal, then at Cadance, who was back to fighting with a furious Comet. Twilight raced over toward him, using her wings to leap into the air over most of the fighting ponies. As she did so, she saw to her horror that several of the unicorns were fighting against the guards at the back of the room, the ones helping to protect Flurry Heart and the other foals. Shining swayed on his feet, his eyes narrowed as he took deep breaths. He held his injured leg upright, unable to put weight on it. “Twily, help Flurry,” he gasped. Twilight glanced at Comet, once again preoccupied by a furious Cadance, then nodded to Shining. Saving her breath for a fight, she took to the air again, heading for the back of the room where Sunburst and a group of guards were trying desperately to protect the foals. Twilight swooped downward, launching a spell at the group of unicorns harassing the guards. She wasn’t at full strength, and her spell was easily blocked, but it got their attention. They paused for a moment, their red eyes all staring at her. Twilight didn’t give them another moment to prepare. Finding her focus, she fired a second, stronger spell that sent a few of them skidding backward with cries of shock. The others were startled enough to give the guards a brief opening to strike back. Twilight readied another spell, but suddenly Comet himself was in front of her, horn alight. Before she could react, she found herself in his magical grip, her spell dying. But then Cadance was there as well, and with a spell of her own. Comet turned in a rage toward the other princess as Twilight dropped to the floor. Twilight looked over to where she could see Sunburst, a weak shield around himself as he used his body to protect Flurry from harm, guards around them fighting off unicorns that were targeting the baby alicorn. Everything else was in chaos around her, and it was hard to tell where anyone was. She couldn’t see her friends, or even most of the others. Hadn’t Starlight been over here? Was she hurt, or had she gone to help somepony else? There was no way to tell. She moved toward Flurry, who looked scared, Sunburst even more frightened while trying to protect her. “Flurry…” The little alicorn filly began to glow. Then, without much warning, a blast of magical energy radiated out from her and into the unicorns surrounding her and Sunburst. They were thrown backward across the room, skidding across the floor much like they had with Cadance’s spell. When the unicorns righted themselves, they looked mostly unhurt, but the blast had startled them, and they paused. Comet, however, hadn’t seemed to notice, as he was still facing off against Cadance, trying to find a weakness in her magic spells while attacking with his own. It seemed like they were almost evenly matched, but Comet seemed to have the upper hoof. Twilight wasn’t about to let him hurt her sister in law. When Comet saw Twilight speeding toward him, he changed tactics, dodging around Twilight and heading straight for Sunburst, Flurry, and the other foals huddled among a group of ponies behind them. Cadance whirled around, seeing where he was heading and teleporting in front of the foals. Comet still had plenty of places to aim, and he kicked a guard aside as he fired a beam of energy at a group of foals trying to hide behind the throne. Twilight realized that Cadance would be far more distracted trying to protect her child and her subjects, she wouldn’t be able to focus as much on offensive moves. It was a dirty way for Comet to fight, and she found herself furious. Before she could reach him, though, a unicorn appeared from behind, slamming his hooves into her and knocking her to the ground. She rolled out of the way of a closely-fired spell and kicked out with her hooves, missing him as he backed off. More cave unicorns were concentrating around the throne now, having fought through much of the tide of crystal ponies to targeting the vulnerable. Twilight exerted all her magical energy into fighting them off, but more kept coming. When she was sure she would be overwhelmed, suddenly Starlight was at her side, as was Rainbow Dash – although one of her wings was limp and damaged. Applejack, looking scraped up but still ready, ran up to them next, and suddenly Twilight no longer felt so exhausted. Starlight sent a few of the unicorns flying backward, while another aimed at Twilight but was stopped by Rainbow and Applejack, who teamed up to bring her down to the floor with harsh kicks. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed Comet backing away from the throne with a smirk. She could see Cadance standing over her foal, a bigger group of unicorns hemming them in against the wall. Twilight gritted her teeth; of course Comet wasn’t going to fight fair. Then she realized something horrifying; Comet was holding a crystal pony foal in his magical energy, holding the colt aloft in an attempt – Twilight realized – to get Cadance’s attention. Before he could, however, something else happened. Twilight could barely see, just before her attention was taken by the unicorns attacking her group, that Spike had appeared behind Comet, sinking his teeth into his leg. Spike watched the foal drop toward the ground as Comet cried out, not expecting an attack from someone smaller than a pony. He kicked out at Spike and the colt dropped to the ground, a bit stunned but still able to dart back toward the throne and the other terrified foals. Spike then froze as Comet turned his attention to him. A guard swerved toward Comet, but the unicorn struck him with a spell that looked somewhat like a bolt of lightning. Spike stared at the stallion in horror as he collapsed to the floor, his wings splayed out. His eyes rolled back and his legs made twitching movements, his teeth gritted in pain. Comet fired another spell at the helpless guard before turning again toward the dragon. Spike scrambled backward, trying to summon a flame of dragonfire. To his relief, he managed to launch a plume of flame at the approaching unicorn. Comet walked right through the flames as if they weren’t there, a grin forming on his face. Spike, astonished, realized he was defenseless. The element of surprise was all he’d had, and that was gone. “Stop!” cried a voice as a black form appeared in front of him. Somehow, in the chaos, Spike had missed him moving from his place, missed him limping over to Spike and standing in front of him protectively. Thorax was standing on three legs, his sides heaving as he panted for breath. Spike could see his legs trembling, but the changeling stared down Comet in defiance. Then Thorax’s horn began to glow and his legs stopped shaking. He lifted his head to meet Comet’s gaze, his own eyes showing courage. “I won’t let you hurt him!” Thorax yelled, the glow of his horn intensifying. And for a moment, Comet actually paused. He looked down at the changeling in front of him, standing boldly despite his injured state. Then the look in Comet’s eyes went from confusion to wariness…to amusement. Comet smirked. “You have got to be kidding me,” he said. Then, gripping Thorax in his magic, he slammed the changeling to the ground and dragged him across the floor and into the opposite wall in one swift movement. “Thorax!” Spike cried in alarm, but before he could make a move, he found himself frozen in Comet’s magical energy. The unicorn brought him up toward his face, and Spike wanted to breathe fire – for all the good it would do – but the spell left him unable to move. Only his eyes could dart to and fro, taking in turmoil of the fighting ponies. Suddenly Spike felt himself thrust upward by the magic, held above Comet’s head and most of the battle. “Princess…” Comet hissed, his magically-magnified voice echoing over the crowd. From where he was held aloft, Spike could see Twilight turn towards him, her eyes wide with terror. Comet let out a cry of pain, stumbling as something struck him in the side. Spike felt the unicorn’s magical grip loosen for a moment, enough for him to regain some movement but not to break free. Spike could see now that the one who’d fired the spell was Starlight, and before Spike had a chance to fully register what had happened, she struck a second time, nearly taking Comet off guard again. This time, however, he blocked her spell with one of his own, sending a wave of energy pulsing back toward her. Starlight gritted her teeth, holding her ground. Spike realized that he’d been dropped down level with Comet’s chest, still suspended in the magical energy. But he found he could move a bit, and at the moment, Comet was distracted. Yet with his firepower apparently useless, Spike felt helpless. While he could move, his limbs felt like they were moving through thick syrup. The amulet hanging from Comet’s neck caught his eye. He wasn’t sure what good it would do – or if it would even do anything – but he reached out for it. If these amulets somehow connected them to the cursed artifact, Spike thought, maybe removing them would remove their ability to use its power, even if just temporarily. It felt like a stretch, but he wanted to believe it. Spike grabbed at the amulet, missing as Comet reared up to fire a spell at Starlight. When the stallion’s hooves met the ground again, Spike reached out once again, and this time his claws closed around the gem. Digging his claws into the cord holding it around Comet’s neck, he yanked backward with as much force as he could muster, feeling the material snap. Then, without thinking, and in an act of desperation, he simply flung the amulet into the chaotic fray of ponies, as far from himself as he could. Comet let out a scream of agony as if he had been dropped into boiling oil. At once he released Spike, Starlight forgotten as he thrashed his forehooves. His cries even made a few of the fighters pause. Spike looked up with mixed feelings of astonishment and horror as Comet whipped around, his teeth gritted tightly together. Comet’s eyes moved over the battlefield, searching for the amulet as he bit back another scream. He focused on a particular spot, his horn lighting again. Over by the throne, Spike could see Applejack suddenly turn to an object on the ground that was being moved by Comet’s magic. But his pain, it seemed, was making it hard to concentrate on moving it. Applejack reared up and smashed her hooves down on the gem, shattering it. Comet gave a cry of rage and pain, and then in an instant, teleported from the room. Several of the remaining cave ponies suddenly stopped what they were doing. A few even backed away from the main fight, looking suddenly afraid. With Comet gone, the tide of the battle began to turn again. Cadance was able to seize an opening and cast a spell on the unicorns around her that dampened their offensive magic. They put up less resistance than before, looking wary as they faced the alicorn princess. One cave unicorn mare grabbed a crystal pony in her magic and pulled him in front of her as if to use him as a shield. Then she backed toward the throne room’s exit, slinking between fighting ponies. This did not go unnoticed by Starlight. Gritting her teeth, Starlight sped after her as the mare made her way toward the doors. “If you’re so cowardly,” Starlight muttered to herself, “why don’t you just teleport out?” Just as the mare made it out of the room, Starlight herself teleported onto the other side of the door, right in the pony’s path. “Let him go,” she demanded. The mare paused in shock, then threw the crystal pony to the side. She took off down the hallway, lighting her horn. She didn’t teleport, however. Starlight figured she still wanted something in the castle, something she was potentially looking for… Well, whatever it was, she wasn’t going to have it. Starlight shot a beam of energy at the pony, who countered with one of her own. For a moment the two forces collided, sending sparks scattering across the floor. Then Starlight’s began to overpower the mare’s, pushing it back. The mare let out a cry as her spell suddenly rebounded on her, sending her skidding across the floor. Her legs wavered and her head slumped down and she fell, unconscious, in the middle of the hall. Starlight froze, half expecting it to be a trick, but when the pony made no move, even when Starlight approached, she let herself relax. A sound from some guards, rushing toward the throne room, reassured her, and she briefly checked the crystal pony – who was dazed but okay - then raced back into the throne room herself, where she knew she was most needed. Back in the middle of the fray, Twilight could see that they were winning. Several of the cave unicorns had already teleported away, leaving a dwindling number of them still fighting. Once Spike had taken Comet’s amulet, their bravado had faded, and now the remaining ones were realizing they were becoming outmatched. Then, with a final blast of power from herself, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Starlight, the last of the cave unicorns faltered and then teleported from the castle. An eerie silence settled in the aftermath of the battle. Twilight fought to catch her breath as she looked around the room, unable to spot her friends at a glance amid the shocked and battered ponies. She was dimly aware that the flickering light of a protection spell had appeared once again beyond the window, but a large part of her was afraid to let her guard down. Were they really gone? Or was it another trick? Were some still lurking in the castle? She wanted to think that any remaining unicorns would have teleported away once Cadance’s barrier went up again, that they had been forced out somehow, but her anxiety wouldn’t let her cling to that hope. Not yet. As Twilight’s eyes scanned the room again, a cry broke out – a small, terrified foal. A stallion called out in response as he rushed over to a trembling filly, and then it was as if the spell of silence had suddenly broken. Ponies called out to one another, some in fear, others in pain. Twilight noticed Cadance standing shakily nearby, looking exhausted. Nearly all her energy was flowing into the spell that once again surrounded the castle. Twilight opened her mouth to call out, but found her words caught in her throat. As guards – those who were left standing – hurried through the room to console and help the ponies, Twilight noticed Shining Armor limping toward his daughter, who was huddled next to a dazed Sunburst. Twilight’s eyes followed her brother as he passed, and she saw the nasty-looking burns on his foreleg, matching the ones Thorax had. Like the changeling, Shining put no weight on his injured leg, holding it just barely off the ground as he raced toward Flurry Heart. Shining reached the filly and sat next to her, bringing her close with his good foreleg as he nuzzled her mane. A nearby guard watched, waiting to speak, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he nodded to another pair of guards. “Find out how the others in the castle are doing,” he instructed the first. To the second, he said, “Gather all the injured here in the center of the room. I’ll go find the doctors. At least it seems like…” he paused, taking in the damaged throne room. “…As if the worst of it happened here. I’ll be back soon.” With another sad look at the ponies in the room, he spread his wings and flew out the door into the hallway. The other guards immediately leapt to their tasks. Twilight felt her wings droop as exhaustion took hold of her again. She didn’t think she had any strength for another spell. If there were still hostile unicorns lurking in the castle… “Twilight?” She turned to see Starlight walking up to her. The unicorn looked as exhausted as Twilight felt, but she had no serious injuries. “I…I think they really left. If there was ever a time to attack Equestrian royalty, well…” She glanced toward Cadance, then at Shining. “…Now would be the time to do it. But they’re gone.” Twilight forced her numb mind to respond. “I…I need to think of something,” she said. “Something to make sure they don’t break in again. I don’t know how they did this time, but…” She trailed off, watching as ponies were herded by guards and a few volunteers to the center of the room. Many of them bore marks that scorched their coats, and others showed signs of being affected by a bad spell, but she couldn’t see any others that had wounds like Shining Armor and Thorax did. She glanced over to the wall, where a spell Comet aimed at her brother had torn a gash in the crystal wall. Whatever spell that had been, Comet had meant it to kill Shining Armor. She hadn’t seen any of the other unicorns fire a spell like that. She turned away with a shudder. She saw Shining Armor limping past, led by a battered but still determined Rarity. His head hung low, and he moved without saying anything as he went to join the rest of the injured. Twilight wasn’t used to seeing him so…down…demoralized. She then noticed Starlight give her a worried glance, then angle her head toward the worryingly large group of injured ponies. Twilight gave a nod and the two of them ran over, hoping there would be a least some small thing they could do to help. As they reached the group, Twilight could see the familiar rainbow mane of Dash, who was sitting on a blanket at the edge of the group. Her injured wing was tucked at her side. Next to her, she could see Fluttershy, tears in her eyes as she huddled down against her blanket. There was a gash in her left hind leg. As Twilight moved toward her, she caught sight of Spike. Apart from some scrapes, there were no wounds she could see on the dragon’s hide, and it took her a second to realize he was there on behalf of somepony else. Thorax was lying on his uninjured side, and some of his bandages were torn, revealing parts of the wounds she remembered seeing all too well. His eyes were wide and unfocused, and he was shaking. Seeing that he at least had Spike for the moment, Twilight ran over to Fluttershy, running a hoof gently through her mane. Starlight approached too, focusing her attention on Rainbow and Thorax. Twilight then saw Applejack and Rarity talking worriedly as they looked over the injured. Then, from amongst the crowd of ponies moving through the room, she saw Pinkie Pie step toward the group. Pinkie slowly looked around at the room, taking in the damage, the wrecked party decorations, the shattered crystal covering parts of the floor. Then she turned her attention to the group of injured ponies. And tears welled in her eyes. Pinkie ran over to Fluttershy, giving her a gentle hug. “It’ll be all right, Fluttershy,” she said, sniffling. “We’ll…we’ll fix this. We can…” She tried to give her friend a smile, but no smile came. Instead, Pinkie sank to the ground, no longer holding back tears. She gave an anguished cry, covering her face with her hooves. Fluttershy, through her own tears, reached out to Pinkie and laid a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Rarity and Applejack made their way over, leading a few more wounded ponies with them. “This is just awful,” Applejack said, glancing at Thorax. “Curse or no curse, there’s no reason to go doin’ these sorts of things to anypony, let alone those who ain’t done any harm.” Twilight looked over the group of wounded ponies, a mixture of guards, crystal ponies, and visitors. Ponies of all ages, most of them terrified and in pain. She pushed back her fear and tried to summon determination instead. “I won’t let them do anything like this again,” she said resolutely. She wasn’t sure she sounded confident, and she didn’t feel very confident either. But she had to try to be. Before Applejack could reply, the doors to the throne room opened again. Two pegasus guards, one with his left wing at an awkward angle, led in a pale unicorn with the black, goopy-looking mane and red eyes of the cave ponies. Twilight tensed, ready to defend the citizens of the empire who never should have had to go through any of this, but she realized a moment later that the guards seemed to have the situation under control. The unicorn was making no move to fight back, and there was a defeated look in her eyes. Her breaths were heavy and her sides heaved; she was exhausted. As she looked around at those in the room, particularly Cadance, she backed up in fear, moving closer to the guards who had captured her. Something Starlight had said came to Twilight’s mind, and she felt a small twinge of hope as she realized that, one way or another, this unicorn’s companions had left her behind before she could teleport out. And in her exhausted state, she didn’t seem fit for strong spells. ‘This could be a chance to talk to one of them…’ “We found this one unconscious out in the hall,” one of the guards said. “The castle’s still being searched, but there’s no sign of anypony else.” Cadance stepped closer, and the cave unicorn tensed. Cadance’s horn lit up and the pale unicorn cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. A translucent barrier appeared around the unicorn, and she remained in her prone position until she dared to open her eyes, realizing that the barrier wasn’t hurting her. After a few moments, some of her bravado began to return. “What is this?” the unicorn demanded, lifting her head to meet Cadance’s gaze. But when the princess spoke, she looked away. “We don’t want to hurt you,” Cadance said, her voice surprisingly calm. “But I can’t allow you to harm anypony else. Please cooperate with us. All we really want is for you to tell us what you know, what is really going on.” “Not likely,” snarled the unicorn. The two guards beside her tensed, but their captive didn’t try any spells, and they relaxed, putting their faith in the abilities of Cadance’s magic. “There’s no need to look at me like that,” the unicorn snapped. “I’m outmatched here; you can clearly see that.” Her voice dripped bitterness as she turned her gaze to the floor. “Are you injured?” Cadance asked calmly. A few of the watching ponies looked a bit irritated at the concern, but if Cadance noticed, she didn’t react. “No,” said the unicorn. Starlight slipped through the crowd, getting a closer look at the captive unicorn. She looked worried. “Look,” Cadance said, “we have wanted to work something out for both sides from the beginning. If we can come together, maybe talk with your leaders, then it’s possible-” “I’m important!” the unicorn shouted, ignoring the alicorn’s words. Her gaze was fixed on the guards and then the crowd. “Scarlet will be very angry that I haven’t come back. If she finds out that you’re holding me captive, she’ll make sure you all pay for it in blood. Every last one of you. She’ll be furious.” “Like she wasn’t already?” Spike said, quietly coming up beside Twilight. “What should we do?” one of the guards asked Cadance, taking a wary step closer to the angry unicorn. The waiting crowd of ponies, those who were focused on the captive, began to mutter to each other, some even calling out suggestions. “Let her go,” Starlight said. “Just let her teleport back to the others.” Many of the watching ponies looked at her strangely. “Starlight…” Spike began, “…she’ll only try to hurt us again if she joins back up with the others.” Starlight hesitated, and looked back at the trapped pony. Then she sighed and gave an affirming nod. “You’re right,” she said quietly. Cadance walked closer until she was right in front of the magical sphere blocking any spells from the unicorn. “What is your name?” the princess asked. “Why would you want to know?” the unicorn spat. Cadance looked about to move on to another question, when Twilight noticed Pinkie Pie, her eyes still tearful, looking up toward the captive. Pinkie froze, focusing on the pale greenish unicorn, and a look of recognition came over her face. “Wait a minute…” Pinkie began, “…I know you!” The unicorn’s head snapped toward her, but Pinkie continued. “Me and Fluttershy saw you down in the caves! You came out of that big shed thing! And somepony else called you…Jade! I remember! I never forget anypony’s name.” The unicorn’s red eyes seemed to bore into Pinkie’s, but then she sighed and lowered her head. “Jade River,” she said in a small voice. “Well, Jade River,” Cadance began, clearly hiding the anger that was underneath her voice, “I’m afraid we can’t let you go free until we are sure you won’t harm us. But I promise you, we will not do you any harm as long as you do not threaten any of us.” Jade River didn’t respond; clearly she had expected nothing else. She just followed the curious crowd gathering around with her deep red eyes. “We’ll keep watch over you,” one of the guards said, “and if you don’t cause trouble, it will be easy for both of us.” Twilight watched as the unicorn glared at the guard who had spoken, but once again said nothing. For a moment she found herself feeling sorry for the pony, but then she remembered the wounded ponies and changeling around her, and she found the feeling difficult to grasp again. Shining Armor made his way to the front of the wary crowd of ponies, looking determined despite his injury. No, not just determined. Angry. His kingdom, its subjects, his friends, and his family had all been threatened in the attack. “We’ll clear out a small room and put a spell around it,” he announced, more for the watching ponies than anyone else. He turned to Jade. “And if you do try to hurt anypony in this castle again-” He paused as Cadance spoke again. “We will do whatever necessary to protect ourselves and those we love,” she said. “However, we don’t want to be enemies, and we never did. If there is a way you could-” Jade snorted. “Accept the curse? Never.” She still wouldn’t meet Cadance’s eyes. “There is one way out. I thought that was clear.” “I see,” Cadance said with a hint of sadness. “If you wish to discuss this further, simply alert one of the guards.” Shining Armor stepped forward toward the prisoner, and as his horn let off a faint glow, Jade’s amulet lifted up from her neck. The cursed unicorn’s eyes flew wide open. “NO!” she shouted, reaching out with her forehooves and clutching the gem against her chest. Shining paused, a look of suspicion crossing his face. The guards tensed, clearly thinking the same thing. Twilight, however, didn’t sense any sort of hostility from the unicorn, who now looked desperate, and even scared. Jade looked up at Shining, shaking a bit. “If you’re thinking it’s some sort of power source, you’re wrong. I need it to…” She left the sentence unfinished. “I just need it.” “Now hold on,” one guard said, lifting a wing for attention, “if we don’t know what it does-” “Wait,” Twilight interrupted. She was immediately aware that nearly all eyes were on her. She took a few shallow breaths. “Let her keep it. Something happened to Comet when his amulet was removed and…and that’s why we were able to drive them out. We don’t need to do her any harm now that she’s here alone. We all know she can’t possibly stop us by herself.” Beside her, Spike nodded, and she knew they were both remembering the cry of agony Comet had given. Shining looked conflicted, but as he glanced to Cadance, who gave him a nod, he relaxed and backed away, letting the amulet drop from his magical grip. Jade visibly relaxed, the look of panic melting away from her face. Starlight stepped forward. “Please,” she said to Jade. “Just…talk to us. Or tell us how to talk to the others.” Jade’s ears flattened and her defeated look returned. “You already know what’s going on. What we want. But neither side is going to budge, so I guess we’re stuck here.” Cadance motioned with her wing to the guards to follow her, and they led Jade out of the throne room and into the crystal hallway. Shining and the remaining guards were left in charge of the battered group of ponies clustered in the throne room. Once the prisoner had gone, Shining suddenly looked exhausted, his head drooping. He slowly made his way back over to the group of injured ponies. Sunburst, approaching the group with Flurry Heart and some other foals waiting to be checked over, watched him in dismay. Starlight and Spike glumly sat back down among their wounded friends. Twilight could see Pinkie looking sadly at the doorway where Jade had left, then she turned and lay down next to Fluttershy again, seeming so very sad and so unlike her usual self. -ooo- Jade’s makeshift prison was hardly what could be called a prison at all. The guards had brought in pillows and a few blankets, though Jade didn’t seem to need the warmth. Twilight had even suggested they lend her a few books on Crystal Empire history, to help pass the time and maybe help her emphasize with them…but the books lay untouched. Jade sat in a corner of the room, a barrier of magical energy shimmering around the walls, preventing her from using her own magic to escape. Shining Armor, who was powering it alongside helping with Cadance’s spell around the castle, watched her with a mixture of interest and suspicion. His right leg was in a sling and he was still exhausted, but he was focused on keeping watch, even against the advice of the crystal pony nurses. Guards flanked him in the hallway outside Jade’s room, watching the unicorn for any suspicious movements. Twilight fluttered over to her brother, Spike clinging to her back. She landed awkwardly, still tired, and Spike slid to the floor, shivering as he pulled his blanket tighter around himself. She pulled another blanket out of her saddlebag and set it over Shining. “I thought you might be colder out here,” she said in a distracted tone, her attention drawn to the strange unicorn huddled in the corner of a small room. It was already evening, but the day had gone by – confusingly - both very slow and very fast. There had been a thorough search of every inch of the castle; no enemy unicorns but Jade had been left behind. Twilight levitated a mug of hot tea over to her brother. Shining picked it up gratefully with a bit of magic and sipped at its contents. “Thanks, Twi,” he said, still looking at the curled-up unicorn in the room. “Well, she…hasn’t tried to hurt anypony, or escape,” Spike said hopefully. If the unicorn heard him, she didn’t react. “Starlight’s right,” Twilight said after a moment. “It shouldn’t have to be this way. If we knew more, we might be able to fix this for both sides. But if they won’t tell us anything…” She paused; she suddenly had an idea. Walking up to the barrier in the room’s doorway, she cleared her throat and said, “Jade? Look, I’m the alicorn you and the others were after. If you want to, you can talk to me…even without the guards. I’m not afraid. I just want to understand.” At first there was no response, and Twilight even wondered if Jade was asleep. But then she heard a firm “No.” The response was so harsh, so full of resentment and anger, that Twilight felt it was a bad idea to press further. At least for now. She was mentally and physically exhausted, too, and she knew she could try again tomorrow. There was much to be done in the castle, anyway. “If you change your mind,” she said to Jade as she turned to leave, “just let Shining or one of the guards know.” Two more guards walked into the hallway to relieve the others of their shift. Twilight listened as they talked in hushed voices to Shining Armor, reporting damage to parts of the castle, mainly the throne room, but at least there was nothing that would endanger the ponies inside. For now, it seemed like they were once again secure. But Twilight was troubled; their foes had so quickly found their way to the throne room, like they’d known where the alicorns were. Twilight had thought they could protect the crystal ponies, that they’d be safer with her and the others. Now, it seemed like that had been a horrible mistake. “I…I think I might have led them there,” she whispered as she and Spike began to walk back. “What do you mean?” Spike asked. “To the throne room,” Twilight said. “It’s like they knew we were there.” Spike shook his head. “I don’t think it was you or Cadance. I think they would have attacked the largest group they could find anyway, to…draw out the alicorns. It’s…I don’t think there was any way we could have done more. It’s probably the fact that you and Cadance were so close by that ponies didn’t get injured worse than they did.” Twilight paused, realizing that what Spike was saying did make sense. And she recalled that most of the ponies in the throne room had insisted on staying there after the fight, with Twilight’s friends. Clearly they saw them as a source of strength. “I hope you’re right,” she said, but she did feel less worried. Twilight and Spike returned to the throne room, to where their friends were gathered in their new makeshift sleeping area. Rainbow awkwardly flexed her injured wing, looking concerned. “It’s not broken,” said Rarity as she watched. “That’s a good sign.” “Ugh, this is just great,” Rainbow grumbled. “And now we’re back to where we started. Waiting, waiting, waiting.” “Actually, I wouldn’t mind a bit o’ waiting at this point,” Applejack said, moving closer to the shivering Fluttershy. “This mornin’ was enough excitement for…well, for quite a long time.” Spike looked over to where a crystal pony nurse was treating Thorax’s wounds. She had removed the bandages and was preparing to apply new ones, and Spike couldn’t really tell if the injuries had worsened or not. After all, he remembered, the worst of the damage was internal. “You don’t think Comet made it worse…do you?” Spike asked his friend. Thorax was sitting there, shivering, trying to ignore the discomfort of having raw wounds exposed to the frigid open air. “I…don’t think it’s too much worse, no,” he said after a moment, but his voice was listless. Rainbow noticed Spike’s worried look. “He seems okay,” she said hopefully. “Define ‘okay,’” Spike said. “I’m sorry, everypony,” Fluttershy said softly, but loud enough to break the silence. “I wasn’t much help.” “What are you talking about?” Rainbow asked. “I…didn’t do much of anything,” Fluttershy said. “I just couldn’t…” “I saw you helping some of the crystal ponies,” Thorax said, turning his head toward her. “You helped injured ones get out of the way of the fight. That means a lot.” “Really?” asked Fluttershy. “I mean, maybe…I suppose. But I think I mostly got in the way.” “I understand that,” Thorax sighed. “You’ve all done more than enough, trust me,” Applejack said, setting a lantern down near the group. Pinkie Pie trudged over to them, still looking downtrodden. Instead of one of her usual cheery greetings, she slumped down on her blankets and stared at the ceiling. Sunburst arrived next, looking stressed. “So…” he said to Twilight, “those books you gave that unicorn…Jade…you think that helped?” “I don’t know anymore,” Twilight said. “I just…it’s me they’re after, I should be-” “Twilight, no!” Pinkie cried, startling her. The pink pony was suddenly sitting upright, looking at Twilight with a firm expression. “How many times do we have to tell you this? It’s not your fault. You’re not the one who did all…this!” She gestured around the throne room, to the gouges in the wall and ceiling, the broken crystal shards and the wounded ponies. “Defending you and everypony here is what we’re here to do!” Sunburst gave a small smile. “She is right, you know. For many reasons.” “Absolutely, darling,” Rarity said. “I don’t care what that Jade has been saying, there’s a way out of this mess. Even if it does end up meaning we wait them out until this ‘time limit’ of theirs is up. They won’t find attacking the castle so easy a second time.” “You’re right, you all are,” Twilight said. “I guess I just…wish there was something more I could do. Before anything worse happens.” She looked toward the windows, the sky even darker than before now that night had fallen. She found herself wondering yet again if there really was no reasoning with the cave unicorns. She wished she knew why they wouldn’t tell them any more than they already had. Or did they really think there was nothing else to tell? …Meanwhile, the blizzard raged outside. -ooo- Comet paced outside the ramshackle workshop, the light of the glowing orbs on the structure barely enough to light his way as his hooves stomped across the cave floor. “Why is it taking so long?” he barked at a unicorn wearing a protective helmet. “It won’t be much longer, I promise,” the unicorn said nervously. “The amulet is almost ready. It just…it took a while to source another ice topaz.” Comet didn’t grace her with a reply, but instead continued his pacing. Scarlet wasn’t happy. Of course she wasn’t. The artifact she’d given Mist Morning had been a one-use item; it brought down the shield around the crystal palace, but used up its power in one large burst. That was all they had needed at the time, but things had gone horribly wrong. The young alicorns were more powerful than he’d thought, and now he was back at square one. He should have had the presence of mind to take the little dragon back to the caves with him. The dragon was close to one of the princesses. Maybe a hostage would have changed their minds. Then again, with how stubborn they’d turned out to be, maybe not. It was not something worth worrying about now, anyway. And as much as he hated to be reminded of it, they couldn’t afford another standstill now. He had to come up with another plan of action, to take an alicorn directly before their window of opportunity closed. It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.