Prey watched as the bottle, still gripped in Lilly's telekinesis, quickly closed the distance between itself and the scarecrow. It was hard to get a good aim with the golem's constant movement, but the bottle struck true. Lilly had slammed it against the right side of the scarecrow's torso, tinted glass shattering everywhere in a thousand twinkling, fire-lit shards. The spellfire caught the dirty, scorched cloth on the scarecrow's back, before immediately spreading towards the wicker limbs of the construct in a beautiful, terrifying inferno.
And yet, the scarecrow continued its relentless assault. The scarecrow, now covered almost entirely in spellfire, attempted another pounce, the *click* of tightening joints barely audible over the loud crackling of fire. Its limbs coiled, body lowered to the ground, and then, then-!
And then it wasn't. A bright flash blinded Prey even through his tightly shut eyes, and probably everyone else too. Prey couldn't hear the whirr-click of the scarecrow's movements anymore, nor the crackling of the loose spellfire. He waited one, two seconds before he slowly opened his eyes. The scarecrow was gone.
Not destroyed, not defeated, gone. Gone, vanished, disappeared.
Prey, still blinking spots out of his eyes, frantically searched for Crimson and Gloom, his ears slapping against his head from how fast he was turning. "Crimson!"
He ran toward Crimson, who had flown back to Gloom sometime when the scarecrow had caught fire, nearly tripping and getting a face full of pine needles and upturned dirt.
"Prey, what was that?" Crimson's gaze was now locked onto Prey, staring intently at him.
"I- The message bottle, Lilly- Lilly threw the message bottle at it," Prey got out between gasps of air.
Gloom's eyes looked back toward where the scarecrow had been. "The message bottle? Its pair is in the Captains office, right?"
The three of them realized half a second too late when there was a flash of bright light where the golem had been transported from. Prey, Gloom, and Crimson hurriedly shut their eyes, Gloom shielding his further with a hoof. The crackling of spellfire returned, adding to the sounds from the fire that Shimmer had summoned. A loud *thump-crack* sounded as something heavy and wooden fell to the forest's floor and splintered apart, accompanied by softer shuffling sounds.
Crimson opened his eyes first, then followed by Prey and Gloom. "Ah."
A large wooden desk lay split apart on the ground, dirty and burning paperwork scattered all around it. It took a second for Prey to register that it was Gloom who'd spoken. Captain Nighthawk's desk was now nothing more than firewood.
Prey stated the obvious, "Nighthawk's desk is here. The scarecrow is gone. We threw the message bottle at the scarecrow. The scarecrow is in Nighthawk's office.. Not our problem anymore," and he then finally looked away from the burning wreck and let his gaze wander to where Lilly and Scenic stood.
- - -
It was a simple thing.
It was made of complex theory, a blend of biological and mechanical components, and horrific black magic. But it was simple.
It could make decisions. It couldn't think. It was made. It wasn't alive.
It was a simple thing. It does what it's made to do. And now, what it was made to do was not attainable. Not in sight. So, it did what anything else would do. It flailed.
It did not roar, it could not roar. The only sound it made was the sound of metal bearings clicking and joints and gears turning.
Its sharpened limbs stabbed down into the polished wooden floor. Floorboards splintered under it, broken wood jutting outward. Cabinets turned over and spilled their contents, folders and paperwork scattering across the floor. The crystal lamp was already knocked over when the scarecrow arrived, the glass broken and the crystal shattered.
It, the scarecrow, stumbled toward the door. The full weight of the golem broke the comparatively flimsy wooden door quite easily. It burst outward into the hall, the few palace guards who had come to investigate the ruckus scrambling down the corridor and shouting for backup.
The burning pumpkin head of the scarecrow lit the hall in an eerie, flickering orange glow. Guards shouted down the hall, armored hooves beating on polished marble. The sharp points of the scarecrow's limbs scrabbling for purchase on the smooth stone.
"What is that-!" "Backup, we need backup-"
The huge construct jerked its 'head' toward the pair of earth pony guards, standing about four yards from it. The guards' armor clanked as they backed up, turned quickly, and galloped down the hall, shouting for help.
It saw its targets. It wouldn't give up its hunt.
Skittering across the polished floors, the scarecrow gave chase, Its scorched, still-burning cloak trailing behind it in a blur or dusty red cloth, the tips of its limbs clicking on the marble. The two guardponies couldn't outpace the monster, not even when they had the terrain advantage. They gave out shrill whinnies, the huge golem's scythe-like limbs barely missing one of the guards as he dodged to the right-!
*Ching-crunch*
The sound of crumpling metal and snapped ribs. The scarecrow had anticipated the dodge and quickly snapped its scythe-arm into the barrel of the guard on the righthoof side. The left guard screamed for help, but didn't stop running. That tortured, horrible scream, the scream of someone who's never before seen death until now.
The scarecrow didn't stop, either.
- - -
The right guard's body, skewered on the scarecrow's right limb, flopped around and knocked against the smooth floors with a horrible thump. Sickly orange light bathed the hall. Adrenaline fueled the remaining guard, but it wouldn't last forever. He kept shouting, crying for help, somepony will come eventually!
There was a turn coming up in the hall. If he could just reach it, maybe somepony would be behind it! He just had to keep running, one hoof after the other, the flickering light behind him spurring him onward. The guard couldn't afford to trip and fall now. Just keep ru-
His back felt tingly. Somepony was screaming. Who was it, had somepony else arrived to help him? The guard's back legs were numb, he'd been running so hard. But, then, why was the turn not coming any closer?
The familiar golden armor of the Royal guard appeared to his right. Had somepony come up from behind the golem? Why would-
Realization hit the guard all too late as he finally comprehended the excruciating pain across his spine that ran through to his hooves and skull. He had been impaled right through his spine. He was screaming already, he was the one who had been screaming. Nopony was here to save him.
He- his back slid down the length of the scythe from where the jutting spike on the inner blade had stopped him. Orange light filled his vision. He fell, limp, from the golem's scythe-arm, smacking his jaw on the floor. The smooth stone floor was sticky underneath him. Flickering orange, the scent of smoke.
*Cl-i-i-i-i-ck-SHNK*
- - -