Blake advanced into the tunnel. Heat still burned in his chest, demanding to be released. It was a little like lighting off a spectacular fireworks display, but giving up halfway through and dousing the whole thing instead. They were close, far closer than he had dared to hope. Somewhere in this building was the last member of his team—once he found her, that would be it. They could rendezvous with Earth, get the film crew here, and he would never leave another team-member on their own again. Certainly not one whose species was so rare she'd be a target for kidnapping...
Maybe it was a mercy he'd burned everything he brought. The watch, his makeshift gun—that stupid thing hadn't even made a noise when his satchel burned off his body. It would probably just have blown up in his magical fingers.
There were more signs of the attack as he walked inside—bits of discarded clothing still smoldered, tossed aside in haste as ponies fled to try to keep themselves from burning alive. He didn't see any collapsed corpses smoldering away, so he could only assume that they'd all made it.
"I don't want to have to do that again, Vesper," he whispered. "Can you give me something better?"
She followed beside him, but a little further away than she usually did. She was afraid of him, obviously. Considering what he'd just done, he could hardly object to someone wanting to keep their distance. Her magic was powerful, but it wouldn't stop her from burning.
"Hmm." She tilted her head to the side, then held out one hoof. Something metal rested there, black with a plastic grip. A tiny handgun, one of the smaller Glock models by the look of it.
He took it in his magic, drawing back the receiver the way he would've done with his hands. "This looks lethal. We might have to kill someone."
"They were shooting at us first," she replied. "Thank god none of those crossbow bolts got you in the face. The first time I went to a shooting range, it was so loud I almost pissed myself. I don't think you'll need to hit anyone."
Something banged from just ahead, loud enough that the two of them fell silent, listening. Metal clattered on stone, and muffled voices echoed through a nearby door. Blake dropped low, levitating the handgun beside him. He could practically feel his fingers on the plastic grip, though of course he didn't have them.
They made it to the end of the hall, past a door still hanging open. The soldiers who stayed to fight were the brave ones—most of them had fled. They didn't even bother to lock the door behind them.
Blake peeked around the corner, and saw what was making all the noise. He also saw Kaelynn, smashed up against a wall along with... a twin? A second seapony shape, though the colors on that one were different and their body was bigger. They both had legs, and a bag of fallen tools lay on the ground in front of them.
A unicorn had her back to him, horn glowing so brightly green it overpowered the lights above her. She advanced slowly on the two helpless creatures, not even glancing behind her.
"It was most illustrative of you to show your magic like this," she said. Kaelynn struggled, but the force holding her there was apparently irresistible. How strong is this pony, anyway?
Blake's instincts kicked in. He slid slightly to the side, picking an angle that wouldn't put either of the fish in his line of fire. It was only a 9mm, that was the best protection his friend would get.
"This means reevaluating your captivity... the water is already being prepared. Once I put you back where you belong, you won't have the wit to think about this again. Look at you, corrupting the poor child. Tellin didn't deserve to get dragged along for this."
"I... told her..." said another voice. He strained, barely able to talk over the force of magic holding him down. "That you were just... keeping us safe. We weren't prisoners."
She clicked her tongue absently. "You weren't before, perhaps. But look at what you did, ruining my trust. Taking part in this exercise... If you'd remained where you belonged, this would not have happened. Your whole life you owe to me, Tellin. I expected so much better."
If she can hold two of them like that, she can do the same to me. I won't even get to fight.
Blake held his breath, took careful aim, and fired. The gun barked, bucking against the magic he used to hold it. There was no flesh involved, no way to absorb through sinew and muscle. Instead the force was like a kick to his skull, threatening to tear completely out of his control. Blake resisted it, the same he would any battlefield injury. Smoke billowed around him, brass clattered to the floor, and he emptied all nine rounds into the pony.
He tried, anyway. He fired so quickly, he almost didn't notice at first—but the bullets didn't make it. The unicorn twitched, then spun around to face the two of them. The air around her shimmered, a small sphere of light that reached to the ground.
There were no bullets, just a faint dusting of mist in the air.
Poor Vesper slumped against the wall, moaning in pain and rubbing one ear with one hoof. Blake was ready for it. His ears still rang with pain, but he fought through it. He had years of practice.
He could still hear her, muffled and slightly out of focus. She wasn't even dirty. "You're the ones Kaelynn spoke of? Her brave rescuers, yet so dull you're using magical weapons inside my own house?"
Fire wouldn't work, not with his friends trapped against the wall just behind her. Kaelynn was more sensitive to heat than any ordinary pony, particularly out of the water. She'd bake like a cracker.
Blake didn't reply. He charged her, extending one hoof to smack into one gangly limb.
He didn't reach her. The air grew thicker by the second, until he was trying to push through steel. He came to a struggling stop, a few inches away.
Her horn glowed even brighter, matched with a similar light from her eyes. "You have no idea who I am, creature. This manse was hewn from the ancient stone after the fall of Luna. Before that, my family sat on the Solar Council, and raised the sun. Do you know how much a star weighs?"
Something threw him, so sharp that his vision went bright red. He smacked into the wall, stumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The pain was so overwhelming he lost focus completely. Someone was... Vesper tried something. More magic flashed through the air, though his ears were still ringing. He barely heard the words, but a few seconds later someone smacked against the wall beside him.
Blake struggled to his hooves, ignoring the pain. Where was the strength of his anger now?
This wasn't anger anymore—it was terror.
"Powerful dream walking. I can see why you were so confident in your friends, Kaelynn. If only they were wise enough to realize whose house they fought in. Trust to steel and iron when magic threatens—they will not deceive. But this opportunity will illustrate, I think."
Blake felt something moving him—magic again. It moved slowly, yet the pressure was irresistible. It lifted him into a sitting position, Vesper beside him. His vision was still blurry, a fountain of pain and confusion. But Kaelynn spun around in the air, facing the two of them.
"See the faces of the ones who came to 'save' you. Know what fate will come to any who fight my work."
"No," Kaelynn whispered. "P-please, no." She was so frail, her voice was barely audible anymore. "Whatever you want, you can have it. I won't fight anymore. I'll... cooperate. Just let them go."
She turned, looking away down the hall. "Guards! Sturdy Anvil, get in here! I know I saw you out there. Somepony didn't flee like a coward."
A pony walked in. He wasn't wearing the armor of a guard, not exactly. But under that orange and yellow uniform were clear signs of metal armor plates. He also had a sword already drawn, levitating in his unicorn magic. "Yes, mistress?"
Blake wasn't struggling anymore. He wasn't completely out of strength, but struggling against this unicorn's holding power was obviously futile. She could just strangle him if she wanted, and what could he do about it?
"The others didn't have the stomach for it, but obviously you do. These two ponies just made an attempt on my life. You know what kind of justice we can expect if we took the matter to the princess. Groveling, sniveling, and some backward attempt to 'reform'. Not tonight. The seaponies need to see."
She gestured for Vesper first. "Kill her. Then whatever this thing is. I don't see scales around his neck, so do it that way."
"No!" Kaelynn screamed. Her pain and confusion was forgotten now, overpowered by fear. "Stop, Morningtide! You made your point! If you do that to my friends, you'll have to kill me too! I'll never do a fucking thing you want! I'll kill you!"
The unicorn barely blinked. Was she even listening to a word they said? She gestured at Vesper again, more urgently. "Come on, Sturdy Anvil. We both know you're capable of doing this again. Make this demonstration, so we can begin to clean the detritus of this awful night away."
The pony approached, brandishing his sword. Vesper struggled, but it made no difference. But if ever Blake was going to get a chance—he started straining too, bucking up against the sourceless force with everything he had. He kicked and struggled, so hard his muscles screamed. Yet still he fought, with every last drop of strength he had.
The unicorn's face twitched, and she gritted her teeth, focusing on him. The force pushing on him shoved down again, crushing his shoulders. He grunted, struggling with everything he had. It still wasn't enough. Skin split, and blood dribbled down his limbs. But his strength wasn't infinite. Soon enough it gave out, and he dropped, panting. "Do it, bitch," he hissed. "We'll be missed. See how that goes."
A feeble protest. Aerial knew they were here, probably. But what could she do, without alerting Equestria to changeling involvement? With all of them dead, it wouldn't matter. Maybe the bugs could rescue Kaelynn.
The soldier lifted his sword, towering over Vesper. Then he swung. He brought the blade down in a wide, curving arc, without actually watching it. He wasn't aiming at the bat at all.
He slammed it down towards Morningtide, cutting straight towards her with unicorn levitation.
Blake watched, mouth agape, as the blade came straight for her neck, in a blur of silvery light.