Though it took time, Adagio was getting used to her new leg. It still felt weird, sometimes hanging behind like it was too heavy for her and other times flinging forward quicker than she expected as if all its mass temporarily vanished. It made her gait awkward and hobbling, but every day was an improvement, getting closer to walking without even the slightest limp.
It stopped getting in the way of her daily activities, at least. Adagio had given herself little chores to keep her mind engaged. Biding her time until she could head out with the others, Adagio wanted to be sure her leg would no longer be an impediment when it counted the most.
On reflection, she could have insisted on leaving with Aria and Sunset earlier that day, but there were already a few things on her checklist that she wanted to do more than go shopping.
Most of those things involved continuing her little renovation project. Despite the years of dirt and wear at its edges, the lovely lilac banner Sonata brought as a makeshift bandage had found its way to being used as curtains. She'd cut them into strips, though the threads still frayed a little and were nailed into the walls around the windows. Others were stapled around the bed as an ineffective draping, though it improved the room's colour, softening the sun's light as it shone through and bathing it in a faint pink glow.
Adagio wasn't content to just stop there, not at all. She'd explored the little storage space above the lab--the attic, as Adagio called it--and discovered some old, frayed brushes. While she could not find any paint upstairs, she figured that using some of the product from the dye works Sunset had set up might actually do the job. Using a pail, she'd gathered up some of the pasteurised sludge, and after some test layers on an orphaned plank of wood, Adagio was sure her idea would work.
So there she was, using the brush in her mouth to paint lines of thin, streaky paint up and down one of the shack's interior walls. It looked rough at that moment, but a few layers in, she was confident it would be beautifully smooth, a deep, rich purple to compliment the curtains.
It was also rather meditative. A feeling of zen washed over Adagio like a wave of contentedness, with all her focus on the wall and the brush and none of it on the world beyond her and the wall. She hummed a melody she didn't know, slow and meandering, as if trying to find what sort of tune it was supposed to be. Each measure was similar but not quite the same, as if whatever drove Adagio to hum was trying to find a particular song through her voice.
Her brush fell to the floor when the shack's door flung open, slamming into the counters beside it. Sunset barged in, her eyes wide, and Adagio spun around to meet Sunset's gaze. The wild look on Sunset's face calmed somewhat, with her shoulders falling an inch or two.
"Oh, thank Celestia, they haven't figured out where we are yet," Sunset said, her voice hoarse and breathy.
One of Sunset's front legs held a lump under one edge of her dirty lab coat, and a black metal protrusion stuck out, pinned to her chest. Before Adagio could ask about it, Aria staggered in after Sunset and closed the door behind her. The way she moved was uneven, and the moment she stopped, leaning against the wall, she held a hoof to her head.
"What's wrong?" Adagio asked. She strode past Sunset, sparing her a quick visual check along her side. The coat was a little scuffed--a little more than its usual, anyway--but Sunset was none the worse for wear on the outside.
"Your friend found us," Aria answered, and Adagio brought a hoof to her mouth.
Aria's cloak shadowed the damage, but her chest and front legs were covered in minor cuts. Little pieces of rubber flesh were carved out, a series of small gouges. Some were clean-cut, but others looked ragged, having been torn away.
And that wasn't to mention her neck, a ragged seam that intercepted the bolts at either side of her throat. None of the fake flesh sat right, and some small pieces were even hanging off, threatening to fall with just a little more friction. The gaps in the flesh exposed some of the metal within, with at least one narrow rod having snapped, digging further into the rubber.
Adagio whirled around, and she shoved a foreleg into Sunset's shoulder. "What. Happened."
Blinking a few times, Sunset glanced between Aria and Adagio. "I was distracted by something else," Sunset explained. "Another problem, though in hindsight, it's all the same."
"And in your distraction, you let Aria get hurt?" Adagio growled, bunching up her shoulders to give her a little more height and size.
Sunset tucked her head in and shrank back. "I tried to help. She was fine, but she came back for me. It was stupid--"
"But it helped," Aria barked over Adagio's shoulder. With a glance back at her sister, Adagio knew what was said was meant for her as much as it was meant for Sunset. "You weren't going anywhere fast, and I couldn't wait on 'Dagi and 'Nata to just get better."
Adagio shifted her glare to Aria. It figured she wouldn't give Adagio the same shrinking violet act that Sunset had perfected. She wasn't cute enough for it anyway.
"I would have figured something out." Sunset stamped a hoof down. "You should have come back here to keep them safe, and I would've found a way to escape without breaking anypony's bones."
"They're still breathing, ain't they? Besides, now we're both back, safe and sound. I think I deserve that thank you now."
"Fu--"
Rolling her eyes, Adagio stepped between the two, a hoof on Sunset's mouth and her broken eye focused on Aria. "What I'm hearing is you're both idiots?" she asked, tilting her head. Then she shut her eyes, pitching her head forward. "There's no point in arguing over it now. I care about what it means next and who to blame." She then drew her hoof off Sunset's mouth. "Continue."
Sunset's eyes darted side to side, trying to find the thread of her thoughts again. "Her name is Twilight, and she has allies. Royal guards. I kind of figured they'd be arriving for the festival at some point, but we'd have been able to ignore them."
Another glare went Aria's way. "I'm impressed by your stupidity and capability, Aria. Broken bones, you said?"
Aria nodded. "I'm not sure I could go up against the rest, but it was enough."
"So we're all in trouble, then?" Adagio asked Sunset.
"They're resourceful, and Twilight is important. 'Trouble' is just the start." She started for the stairs, but Adagio stepped in front of her, stopping Sunset dead in her tracks. "I need to get to work. Please."
"You better be planning on fixing them up."
With a sigh, Sunset shook her head. "Not immediately. Mixing up and moulding your skin takes time, and besides that, you're not tough enough. I didn't make you to fight. I don't want you to fight." Sunset drew out the thing from her coat as if by way of explanation. It looked like a giant, bulbous insect, lacking its middle pair of legs, balanced on its back in the frog of Sunset's hoof. "I've got an idea, and this is part of it. Trust me."
"She's been doing her weirdo muttering all the way back here," said Aria. "Can't hurt. I'm sure if trouble comes back, you and I can deal with it."
Adagio held her stare for a few moments more, then stepped aside. Sunset nodded and trotted up the stairs.
"Were you followed?" Adagio asked
"Eh. I don't think so, but some have got wings. I can spot timberwolves, but not birds."
With a hum, Adagio pointed back at the door. "Keep watch. Let us know if you see anyone." She didn't wait to see if Aria acknowledged her and climbed the stairs to the lab.
Sunset was already at work. The little robot had been laid on its back on the middle table, having been moved away from Sonata since the night before. There, Sunset tried to pry some of its plates apart by hoof, pinning one to the table and leveraging the other up and forward.
It took Adagio a few moments to figure out why the way Sunset worked was odd, but it did eventually click. Sunset wasn't using her magic.
Was Sunset that shaken up? She was easy to mess with and break down, but when she wasn't being made to mewl, she was quick-witted and clever. Sunset tackled her problems with confidence.
Just when Adagio wanted to ask the question, she paused, spotting the golden accessory atop Sunset's horn. Adagio had glossed over it in her anger, she realised, missing the fact that Sunset hadn't left with it earlier that day.
Adagio sidled up to Sunset and gave her a little push with her flank. It was but a slight nudge, but her mass and size ensured Sunset stepped aside, and Adagio took over, one hoof pinning a panel and the other pushing one away. Both panels bent, and she flattened them against the table.
"Thank you," Sunset muttered. "Do the same for the legs, out at even angles. Seize up the joints, but don't damage the crystals." She then trotted over to her desk, pulling open a few more drawers and leaving Adagio to follow the instructions she gave. It was simple enough, borderline destructive.
"Is this like a mini version of us?" Adagio asked. One of the joints squished, the outer ring cracking in places, though when Adagaio nudged it, the entire leg moved as one solid object.
"It's a golem, yes," Sunset answered. She brought a small contraption back to the table made of coiled wires and connectors and slid it up against the little robot's back from behind. She hummed, then looked over at Sonata, who had been dutifully quiet up to that point. "I can't weld this on. You got any ideas?"
Tapping her chin, Sonata thought for a few seconds. "You could use wire! It won't be too firm, but at least it would connect it."
Sunset shook her head. "No, not for this part. Maybe the joints, those can be flexible." Humming Sunset paced around the table. "Unless..."
She hurried back to the desk, yanking one of the draws clean out and onto the floor. She nosed inside, nudging the various materials and knickknacks with her snout, before approaching the table again with a spool of shiny, brown wire.
"Unroll that and wrap it around loose parts a few times," Sunset explained. "I think I have some peridot we can put in."
"Peridot?" Adagio tilted her head.
"She has to match the colours," Sonata explained. "The gems are different colours, but she has to use ones that match; otherwise, nothing will connect properly."
Adagio squinted. "That's how it works?"
With an awkward chuckle, Sunset shrugged. "She's right, actually. The exact chemical properties aren't as important." Another drawer flew out, full of roughly cut crystals of various colours. Some gems clattered across the floor, though Sunset's attention was on the drawer. "I wish I had more of these prepped, but they'll have to do. Though, maybe the excess heat from uncut crystals will work to our advantage..."
"What are we making?" Adagio asked, and Sunset jumped a little. "Because if you're going to fumble around, I want to know how broken this little experiment is going to be."
"I'm hijacking a golem to make my own," Sunset said. "This one is simple-minded, easy to control. It's like a windup toy, but one that can respond to magic commands. If we add a few crystals to the right places, we can switch to verbal commands, hopefully." She hummed. "Though I'd need to instil it with the understanding, somehow. What can I do to accomplish that?" Sunset started pacing again, her eyes downcast and locked to the floor.
Sonata rose a hoof, and her back creaked. "Could we take something from 'Dagi or me?" she asked.
Sunset stopped and faced Sonata, her eyes wide. "That... that might just actually work."
"No." Adagio banged a hoof on the table, producing a dull metallic thud. "We are not taking parts out of Sonata for this. This is a crazy idea."
"No, it's not. We're not taking anything physical out. I can't risk messing with your circuits, especially since all three of you are broken now." Sunset blanched when she caught Sonata's expression. "Aria's mostly fine," she added.
"So what are you going to do?" Adagio moved to place herself between Sunset and Sonata. "Because taking something implies removing something, right?"
Sunset waved a hoof in a so-so gesture, frog down. "In a sense, though, it's more like copying. We already did it with you, though there wasn't anything to copy over; we just had to run some power through you." Sunset walked over to the great machine, still mostly busted, but there were still intact cables for Sunset to drag back over to Sonata. "Unprogrammed gems can copy over information if tuned right. The issue is we'll need more power, and I'm not sure we have time to wait for a storm."
"I'm taking it with that doohicky on your head; you can't just magic in some power?"
With a chuckle and a shrug, Sunset shook her head. "Probably not even then. I like to think my magic is pretty strong, but unicorns are incredibly inefficient aetheric conductors. We'd need a lot of unicorns or just one or two naturally powerful ones." She hummed. "Maybe we can make a loop using two of you, fiddle with your cores' limiters..." As Sunset's inner monologue began to pour out, turning into muttered syllables that Adagio hadn't a hope of following, she made her way upstairs to the attic.
At the same time, Aria's head poked up from the other winding stairwell. "We got company," she said.
Adagio's ears perked, though it seemed Sunset hadn't noticed. Rather than interrupt the egg-head mid though, Adagio rushed down with Aria to the shack.
The curtains had since been drawn shut, except for a tiny sliver of unfiltered light that came through the middle and sides. Somehow, unheard by anypony in the lab, Aria shoved some of the furniture closer to the tower wall, leaving her space to move around and peer through the windows. The exception was with the bed, which she'd pushed up against the front door.
Softly, Aria spoke. "No one's come out of the forest, but I spotted a few bodies moving around." She snorted. "That armour is a joke; it's too shiny and easy to see."
She stepped back and pointed to the window, allowing Adagio to peer out. Light overwhelmed the fractured eye, forcing Adagio to shut it and squint with the other, sliding mechanical lids down. It only took a few moments to find the golden glint reflected through branches and bushes. Once she knew what to look for, the rest of the wearer came into focus, helmet to leg.
When Adagio turned to Aria, she was pointing at another window. Peering out of that one, it took Adagio just as quick before she spotted another pony.
Neither of the spies had horns or wings, but that wasn't to say there weren't others out there who did. Adagio had seen first hoof what those with magic could do, and while she'd yet to see a pegasus fly, she wasn't sure it was beyond them, either.
"Reckon, you could take two?" Adagio asked as she peered out a few more gaps, though she failed to spot any further wannabe intruders.
"Probably, but I don't like my chances of coming back."
With a smirk and a monosyllabic laugh, Adagio nodded. "Things are about to get much more interesting. I wonder if Sunset can get her new toy together in the next few minutes."
"If anypony can..." Aria took place by one of the other windows, her snout a millimetre away from disturbing the curtains. "I think we're going to need to come up with a different plan than fighting them, though. I'm pretty sure I came out so well because I caught them by surprise. They're going to be expecting us this time."
"And if that Twilight pony is with them..." Adagio tsked. "What do you think we should do?"
Aria shrugged. "Sacrifice one of us; give the others time to run. It worked earlier today. I give myself fifty-fifty odds of not being cut open and just being stuck in a cell, as long as we don't kill anything."
"I'm not sure I like that option. I'd really prefer not to lose any of you, including Sunset." Adagio huffed. "They're biding their time, waiting for others to arrive. I bet they'd have rushed in by now otherwise."
Aria said nothing more, ending the conversation, and Adagio climbed back to the lab.
Sunset had hauled a mass of parts that piled around the base of the table, and she was rifling through them. Plenty were twisted or poorly made, pockmarked with poor welds and rust. Some even had holes where she figured there ought to be none, not at all shaped right to socket a crystal.
Whatever state most of those parts were in, Sunset was making do with what few weren't as badly damaged. Bigger, thicker parts with fewer bends, laid out flat on top of the table. Even if Sunset had her magic, Adagio would be surprised if she could actually work with the pieces.
She only had to take a few steps closer to see that the parts were arranged in a vaguely pony-like shape. At a glance it seemed big, bigger than even Adagio and her sisters, though she thought it may be a trick of perspective caused by everything laid out so loosely, and so many curved panels filling the empty spaces between everything.
None of the parts matched exactly, made of different metals of different shades. Some were different lengths, and it would take some convincing to get Adagio to believe they would properly fit to each other. Between half the loose parts was a gem, loosely tied to each metallic bone with more copper wire, and Sunset was busy filling the rest of the metal canvas with more pieces, more winds of wire, more gems.
"I'll be honest, Sunny, this is looking like shoddy work." Adagio stood on the opposite side of the table to Sunset, examining what she assumed was a foreleg. "I have a feeling we didn't start out like this."
"You'd be surprised," Sunset said. "I'm working with scraps and pieces of older prototypes, when I was going for durability over form. Plus, half your joints aren't as secure as you like to think. It's the silicone and gems holding you together more than the metal." She then huffed, puffing up her cheeks. "Though this golem is going to be about as unsecure as it gets. If we get time, I can reinforce things with the right tools--"
"Speaking of time...," Adagio said, interrupting Sunset. "They found us. Aria spotted a couple in the forest."
Sunset's ears planed out, and the colour drained from her face. She started toward the stairs, but Aria shoved out a leg, stopping Sunset in her tracks.
"Sunset, what are we going to do?" The tone was level, the words loud and clear. Aria's solution couldn't be the only one, and the one pony with more wisdom in this world ought to be able to come up with something, even if Adagio may have to disregard it.
Swallowing, Sunset glanced between Adagio and the stairs. "If they really are here, it's just a matter of time before Twilight gets here too. Without my magic, we may as well give up."
Adagio hmphed and reached up a hoof to tap at the golden device wrapped around Sunset's horn. "I'm taking it that has something to do with it? I'm assuming it doesn't come off easily, or it would be gone already."
Sunset nodded. "Only another unicorn can take it off safely. Unicorns are dangerously dexterous, and most prisoners tend to be fitted with them. There are more cruel versions out there, but I think Twilight just wanted to ensure I wouldn't try anything funny." Tapping her chin, Sunset turned back to the skeleton, staring at its bare ribs. "I could actually weld parts if I could remove it. Reshape pieces, ensure they are properly treated and ready..." Trailing off, Sunset slumped, resting her chin on the table with a thunk.
"I think we're screwed," she added after a long pause. "Using your cores will take time we don't have." Sunset blinked, her eyes rising up to her forehead. "But... If we could tap into the power of a bunch of unicorns, then maybe..."
She hopped to her feet, spinning around to Adagio. "All we need is ten minutes."
Reaching out a hoof, Adagio ruffled Sunset's mane to her visible chagrin. "Atta girl."
The lack of clouds struck Adagio as strange. She was born into a world dark and overcast with them, but since then, they had been pushed out, replaced with increasingly warm days and sunny skies.
Sunset explained that it was by design. The magic of pegasi was harnessed to regulate the weather, and big storms could ensure weeks of sunny weather. Adagio wasn't sure she liked the thought too much. It was unnatural, putting too much power into the hands of a single group, though if she were part of the said group, she might not complain so much.
That was all she could really think about as she stood on the top of the tower. She wasn't exactly hidden by the parapets, as she could see over their lower sections into the forest, catching glimpses of gold filigree. At least a few pegasi were patrolling around, their circles long and lazy, but their eyes were on Adagio.
The fact they hadn't landed just yet indicated they either weren't confident in their abilities--likely the gift Aria gave them--or weren't sure how many more ponies and golems were in the tower.
Their caution meant Adagio was able to work unimpeded. Minutes before, she'd wrapped the lightning rod that juts from the top of the tower in sheets ripped from Sunset's bed, with painted purple sigils soaking into the cloth. They were similar to the sigils on the device on Sunset's horn, but nothing indicated anything particularly magical about them in this instance.
Copper wiring hastily woven into the cloth kept it from unwinding, but the stronger breeze this high up tugged at threads, slowly pulling the cotton apart. It would hold for a few days, at the very least, more than long enough to serve its purpose. A few unicorns stood at the edge of the treeline, and at least a few of them wielded ethereal blades they held out at the ready, pointed to the tower.
Stepping out of the tree line, Twilight looked up and around at the tower. She turned and spoke to a guard sidling up beside her, another one of the winged ones with a yellow coat, and he gestured to the top where Adagio stood.
Adagio waved down at Twilight with a smirk, only to receive a glare in return. They'd just think she was a lookout, reporting what she could see and ensuring anypony that tried to make their way in from the top would have to contend with her, even if it was only for a few moments.
All technically accurate assumptions, Adagio supposed.
"Come on out," Twilight shouted. Her voice echoed, bouncing off the valley walls, leaving Adagio to assume it had been magically enhanced. "I'm not gonna play with you this time. If you resist, you're just delaying the inevitable."
"We'll take our chances." Compared to Twilight's voice, Sunset's came across as meek, having none of the benefits of magic or technology to help carry it. Adagio could only hear it at all because her voice echoed up the stairs behind her. "I have some unfinished work I need to wrap up. I can't leave it as is. You understand, as a scientist, right?"
Rolling her eyes, Twilight made a series of gestures to the stallion beside her. He nodded and disappeared back into the forest. Adagio's eyes followed him briefly before the thicket below obscured his path too much.
Given he had wings, he could be a messenger, ready to deliver tasks to the other ponies at a moment's notice. Given Twilight's ability to project her voice, though, Adagio wasn't entirely sure that was the purpose. She'd just have to keep a closer eye on the pegasi above to be sure they didn't interfere.
Sunset's plan was straightforward enough, though it was a gamble. The jury-rigged rod was tightly secured to the tower's edge, but after a bit of fiddling, it had been loosened up so that a good kick or two could send it careening over the edge. All Adagio needed to wait for was several unicorns to stick their noses out and approach the tower, and she'd send it down to land in front or between them. Sunset gave about a fifty-fifty chance that it would sap out the energy from any active spells, drawing them in through the rod and back into the tower, through Aria and Sonata and into the new golem she'd made. Adagio hadn't seen it since Sunset had devised the plan, so she was dubious that it could do much. She liked Aria's plan more by the minute, though, especially since the bait was likely to become somepony Adagio didn't know.
There was the possibility it didn't work. The tower fell, but it didn't siphon enough power, though Sunset explained that if that happened, it would likely still drain some of the unicorns, evening the fight just a little.
It would still be an incredibly uneven playing field.
As time passed, no unicorns stepped forward, with no command given. Twilight examined the castle, slowly trotting around to one side while maintaining her distance, her horn aglow. Adagio couldn't comprehend what Twilight was doing, and as she watched, an odd distortion flickered through the fractured image in Adagio's left eye.
Little shockwaves emanated from Twilight's horn. Nothing Adagio could feel, nothing that disturbed even the grass around Twilight's hooves, but they were there. They bounced off the wall back to Twilight, and she adjusted her position again every few moments.
Eventually, Twilight made her way back to where she initially stood, and that smug, muck-eating grin split her face. "You really ought to have set up some passive wards," Twilight shouted. "I'm coming in."
Adagio raised her eyebrow but didn't get a second to question what was happening. "Adagio, now!" Sunset yelled up the stairs, and that was all she needed.
Adagio spun and kicked the lightning rod, the metal snapping away. It fell, taking a cable along with it, strapped to the outside wall of the tower. Every few feet, it ripped out a fastening, a series of eerie twangs matched with every snap.
Adagio managed to peer over the parapet just in time to see Twilight vanish from sight right as the rod pierced the ground a few feet ahead of where she was standing. It buzzed, then glowed, the rags burning away with a bright, pink heat. It zipped along the cable and through one of the narrow murder holes that served as windows halfway up the tower and into Sunset's lab.
She had to shut her eyes. The rod's shine was so intense that it overloaded her vision, blurring out everything around it. She couldn't see the forest or even the parapets she stood beside.
Their ears twitched when the sound of crashing and shouting came up to meet her from the stairs. Looking away from the tower's edge, she glanced skyward, catching glimpses at the pegasi in the distance. Despite the afterimage burned into her vision, she could tell they were far off.
However, it was only a matter of time before they dove down to get involved with the oncoming commotion.
Adagio darted down the stairs, pulling the hatch over with a hoof. It would buy them a few seconds, nothing more. She heard more shouting, a loud clang. She recognised Sonata's voice in the commotion, screaming her name.
She barrelled down the stairs to the lab, hoping to make sense of the scene before she acted. Smoke floated at the ceiling, like an overcast sky meant for the lab and lab alone, much of it pouring out of the great machine. Twilight and Sunset tussled in the middle of the room, not with spells but with jaw and hoof. Sunset appeared to be on the defensive, twirling around to ensure she was between Twilight and Sonata.
Sonata's table was upturned, some hinge connecting the base having snapped. Sonata herself stumbled for the stairs in a jittering, reversed gait. Wires still jut out from her neck, glowing hot and leaving ruddy black marks on the floor.
Adagio wrapped a leg around Sonata's chest and pushed her up the stairs. She fell, her chin smacking on the floor, but being low likely meant she was less of a target. Putting herself between Sonata and the others ensured there were two layers between danger and her sister.
Off to one side, Aria stood by the stairs leading down, blocking off the exit for the wheezing, panting unicorn. Twilight held her chest, glaring at all four of them.
"What have you done?" Twilight's horn glowed, and for a second, she shimmered, her image flickering about a few inches from side to side. In a blink, She jolted a foot to the right, slamming into the table occupied by an entity not entirely different to the skeleton that lay there only minutes before. Pieces had snapped into place, a tremendous black carapace surrounding its frame like unyielding metal skin.
It grunted, and every eye turned to it as it lifted its head and shoulders off the table. Emerald eyes set into black, charred-looking metal squinted at the scene before it.
It leapt, and in a flash of green fire, it and Twilight vanished.