//------------------------------// // Chapter 44: Changes 7 // Story: Piece by Piece // by Eltirions //------------------------------// 14 December 1008 ‘’We duelled,’’ Nightmare said, as if the wounds on her body didn’t make that blindingly obvious. ‘’She is strong. She is somewhere in the city.’’ Aside from the group she’d dined with, there was already a doctor seeing to her wounds. They stung like Tartarus, but she’d live. The doctor looked up from dressing the wounds on her side. ‘’Your majesty,’’ he said in a clear, soft voice, ‘’you are badly hurt, and in no condition to go out. Going after another alicorn in your state would, frankly speaking, be suicide.’’ ‘’I don’t care!’’ she hissed. ‘’My niece must be saved.’’ ‘’Your majesty,’’ Rarity spoke up from the side of the bed. ‘’With all due respect, we cannot risk losing you to Twilight. I have faith that Rainbow and Captain Darkheart can retrieve Flurry.’’ Fuck. She didn’t want to send them out. She didn’t even know where to send them. And they were horribly outmatched against Twilight. But she would also be wounded. Nightmare had no idea how her wounds had carried over from the Dream World into the real world - that shouldn’t have been possible - but if it had happened to her, logically it should have happened to Twilight as well. Wait. Her horn lit up green. ‘’The tracking spell still works.’’ ‘’Great,’’ Sunset said after a moment, before casting a diagnostic spell at it. A moment later, her horn lit up green too. ‘’I copied it over. We can find Twilight.’’ ‘’Go,’’ Nightmare ordered. ‘’Save my niece.’’ Sunset hesitated. ‘’You’re not coming?’’ ‘’It is unhealthy in the extreme for the Empress to do anything strenuous right now,’’ the doctor snapped. Sunset shot him a glare, but Nightmare nodded. ‘’Very well. Go. Find her.’’ ‘’As you wish.’’ And with that said, Sunset, Darkheart and Rainbow practically galloped out of the room. |-x-X-x-| 14 December 1008 The column of trucks they were using was headed by a police car, sirens blaring, to make sure people got out of the way. All of the trucks were filled with Night Guard, weapons at the ready. Sunset, due to being the guide, had the privilege of sitting in the aforementioned police car. There was no time for conversation; all she did was give the driver next to her instructions on which directions they had to go. Thankfully, there wasn’t much traffic on the streets at this hour; rush hour had passed, and by now most had surely returned home, enjoying their dinners and evenings. Perhaps she should have eaten more too. She hadn’t been hungry then, but now… Focus. ‘’Take a right here,’’ Sunset instructed. Obediently, the driver took a right - and in the mirror, Sunset saw the rest of the column follow suit. As they drove on, Sunset spotted a snowflake slowly falling down. Then another, and another, and another, and within minutes it was softly snowing. ‘’About as bad as it can get, inside the Heart,’’ the driver remarked. ‘’Thank Amore for small mercies.’’ Sunset didn’t bother to respond to that. In fact, she didn’t say anything except for a few more directions until they finally reached their destination. ‘’This is it.’’ ‘’Alright.’’ Sunset got out of the car as soon as it came to a halt, watching the building across the street. It looked abandoned, and that plus its location on the edge of town was probably the reason Twilight was using it as her hideout. Sunset might have done the same. ‘’Alright, listen up!’’ Darkheart called out as the soldiers assembled around him. ‘’You all know what’s at stake here. We have two goals: rescuing Princess Flurry Heart and detaining Twilight Sparkle. The Princess takes priority. Twilight Sparkle is highly dangerous, be on your guard. We have no intel on what is inside the building.’’ ‘’I will keep Twilight occupied,’’ Sunset spoke up. ‘’ ‘’Surround the building,’’ Darkheart instructed. ‘’Keep an eye on the exits, make sure she doesn’t get out. If you see her…’’ ‘’Shoot her,’’ Sunset supplied. All eyes turned to her. ‘’We cannot risk her escaping. Try to take her alive if possible, but if not…’’ She let her sentence trail off. ‘’And be careful,’’ Darkheart added a moment later. ‘’Do not harm Princess Flurry Heart.’’ ‘’The Empress shall be supremely displeased if you do.’’ ‘’Me too,’’ Rainbow growled.  Protective much? ‘’Copy that,’’ one of the Night Guard said. ‘’Watch the exits, alive but shoot-to-kill is allowed, do not harm the Princess. Should be easy.’’ ‘’Should being the key word there,’’ another Guard chimed in. ‘’Don’t worry, sir. We’ve got this.’’ ‘’Good. Take positions.’’ It took a moment, but then they were ready, and so Darkheart bucked the door in. ‘’On me!’’ They headed in. |-x-X-x-| Those fools! They had dared to come here, to try and steal her niece away from her! Damn Nightmare Moon and all her servants to the depths of Tartarus! ‘’Auntie, what’s that noise?’’ Twilight shook her head as she rose from the floor. ‘’Don’t worry about that, Flurry. I’ll deal with it.’’ ‘’But-’’ ‘’Stay here,’’ Twilight instructed. ‘’I’ll be back soon.’’ She was already out of the room before Flurry could respond, trotting down the hallway. The sting of her wounds from the fight with the Nightmare made the short walk more arduous than it should be. Damn that devil and her dark magic. The idiots attacking her hideout were Night Guards. Nightmare’s loyal hounds, but no match for her. However, their two companions could prove irritating. Twilight leapt into the room, horn aglow already.  ‘’Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash.’’ With a flick of her horn, everyone except for Sunset and Rainbow flew back into the wall. She would deal with those two herself. ‘’I’ll deal with you two alone.’’ Sunset gritted her teeth. ‘’Alright then. Let’s finish this.’’ Rainbow didn’t have a witty quip, instead she just opened fire at Twilight. She got maybe five shots out, all of which bounced off Twilight’s shield spell, before the alicorn tore the rifle from her grasp and tossed it aside. With a snarl, Rainbow charged forward through the air. Twilight dodged the attack, but Rainbow turned mid-air and hit her anyway, landing a kick right under her right wing. Twilight snarled and with a simple telekinesis spell, she grabbed Rainbow and tossed her towards the wall. Only for her spell to break as she had to redirect her attention to Sunset, shielding just in time to catch the half-dozen energy bolts headed for her. Sunset didn’t let up, however. Her next attack was a torrent of flame that tore through the shield and almost scorched her face off, but Twilight simply grabbed the spell and threw it back at Sunset. ‘’A Unicorn and a Pegasi,’’ she said as Sunset leapt out of the path of her countered spell. ‘’Is this the best Nightmare Moon can send to me? A reject and a traitor.’’ ‘’I’ll show you traitor!’’ That was the only warning she had before Rainbow’s hind legs landed against the back of her head with force. Pain seared through her head as Rainbow’s assault on her back continued, a series of kicks and bites at such speeds that even her own Alicorn speed struggled to keep up. She tried to tear Rainbow off with magic, but at that moment Sunset attacked again, throwing a spear of light forwards that would hurt. Twilight leapt back, spreading her wings and ramming her backside straight into the wall. The spear flew past and shot a hole through the wall it was heading towards. After a moment, she pushed away from the wall, spinning in the air to get a look at Rainbow. The Pegasus fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Twilight took that moment and leapt at Sunset. Sunset was a powerful mage, for sure, but she did not have Twilight’s power or Rainbow’s speed. She tried to shield, but Twilight was faster, landing a kick straight in her jaw and another on her right foreleg. Sunset’s horn lit up with a spell, but Twilight kicked her again, with such force that she flew into a wall as well. This time, she was ready for Rainbow’s attack, turning just in time to hit the Pegasus before she could reach Twilight. The force she put behind this kick knocked Rainbow into the floor. ‘’Pitiful,’’ Twilight snarled, looming over her traitorous friend. ‘’You disappoint me, Rainbow.’’ ‘’Good,’’ the Pegasus spat back. Twilight shook her head. ‘’You’ll regret this,’’ was all the warning she gave, before grabbing Rainbow’s wings with her telekinesis and bending them until she heard bones break. Rainbow let out a pained cry, and then a whimper. Twilight pushed the mare on her back, and then pressed her legs against her ribcage. ‘’You should have never betrayed Equestria, Rainbow.’’ ‘’Fuck you!’’ The insult did not even faze her. A groan from the other side of the room. The Night Guard were all still out cold, so that meant only one thing. Twilight spun her head to where Sunset was slowly trying to rise from the floor again. Without a word, she sent a blast of magic at the Unicorn that threw her through the wall, then turned her head back to Rainbow. ‘’I,’’ she said as she glared down at her former friend, ‘’will make you suffer. All that I have felt shall be done doubly onto you, until I am satisfied that you understand the cost of betrayal. You will die, Rainbow Dash, but it shall not be quick.’’ And she slammed both of her forehooves straight into Rainbow’s ribcage, breaking the bones with a delightful crunch. Someone screamed. That was the last thing Twilight heard before the world exploded. |-x-X-x-| 14 December 1008 When Shrouded came to, he awoke to a scene of carnage. The room they were was practically destroyed, with holes and cracks everywhere he could see. Around him, his fellow Night Guard were waking up as well. Shrouded was the first to rise, quickly surveying the situation. No Twilight Sparkle. Commander Dash on the floor, looking heavily wounded. A pony-shaped hole in the wall - someone had been thrown through it? And Princess Flurry Heart on the floor in a doorway. He checked himself for injuries, and only then did his brain catch up to the fact that he was sparkling. Like a Crystal Pony. ‘’What the Tartarus?’’ ‘’Shrouded.’’ That was the Captain. ‘’Report.’’ ‘’Twilight Sparkle is gone, sir. Commander Dash looks wounded. It looks like someone was thrown through a wall there. The Princess is in the doorway.’’ ‘’Thank you.’’ Darkheart, Shrouded noted, was sparkling too. All of them were sparkling, and their manes looked different too. ‘’What’s with the sparkling?’’ Darkheart paused, halfway through the room. ‘’I don’t know,’’ he answered after a moment, ‘’but considering that the Crystal Ponies do just fine like this, I’m not going to question it. We have bigger fish to fry. Shrouded, Misty, secure the Princess and get her outside. Blade, you up?’’ ‘’Working on it, sir!’’ ‘’Get up. Commander Dash has multiple broken bones.’’ ‘’Getting up.’’ A groan sounded from the hole in the wall, and then Sunset Shimmer appeared, looking incredibly dishevelled even with a sparkling appearance. ‘’Where’s Twilight?’’ ‘’Gone when we woke up. The Princess is over there.’’ Sunset closed her eyes for a moment. ‘’She’s gone.’’ ‘’Who?’’ ‘’Twilight.’’ ‘’How do you know?’’ ‘’The crystal effect,’’ Sunset explained. ‘’It can only have appeared due to the Crystal Heart pulsing its magic. It’s been documented to do that, but never without cause. And the last thing I heard before everything went white was Flurry screaming.’’ ‘’And you think that triggered the Heart?’’ Sunset shrugged. ‘’It’s a theory. But it’s the only explanation I have for us being crystally and for Twilight being gone. Considering what happened to Sombra when it was activated, it’s possible the magic of the Heart destroyed her.’’ Shrouded was not going to think about being somewhat complicit in the death of an Alicorn. Even Twilight Sparkle. Instead, he and Misty headed over to the Princess and gently lifted her off the floor. She was breathing, and appeared unharmed, if a little dirty. Good. ‘’Get her to the Palace,’’ Darkheart instructed. ‘’We’ll clean up here.’’ ‘’I’ll stay here too,’’ Sunset spoke up. ‘’Might I borrow some of your soldiers? I’m going to check if Twilight’s left any surprises behind.’’ ‘’Of course.’’ ‘’Great.’’