//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 - Upon Ground Zero 
// Story: Tartarus Infernum 
// by Sunderbraze 
//------------------------------//



**********

“A convincing trap,” Celestia said angrily, baring her teeth at the changeling who once was Antonidas.

“Probably the best kind of spy imaginable,” Starswirl agreed cautiously—all across the ship, the Elite began to assume battle stances, preparing for the worst.

“I knew something was wrong, I just knew it!” Twilight shouted. “Hold on to your hooves, everypony!”

Powering up the Element of Magic once again, Twilight locked on to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spitfire, and Soarin’, and immediately teleported them out of the clinic. Surprised and disoriented, the four pegasi, along with Dusky, materialized in the cabin by Twilight's side.

Twilight shifted her focus to the middle deck, teleporting Rarity and the six Elite in the armory to safety—they all materialized to her right, still holding the weapons they had taken.

“What now?!” Ragehoof yelled in confusion, raising his cutlass. 

Breathless from the sudden teleportation spree, Twilight scrunched her face once more and recalled Pinkie from the outside deck, fully assembling the Elite in the cabin.

“Aw," Pinkie pouted, frowning as she rematerialized. "I hadn’t gotten his name yet!”

Celestia stepped forward angrily. “What were you planning, changelings?!” she shouted at the jet-black creatures, who were still recovering from Twilight’s disguise-breaking shockwave.

Four of the five changelings in the cabin recovered and backed away, but one of them—the one who had taken the form of Antonidas—stepped forward.

“…What did you think we were planning, your majesty?” he asked, slightly annoyed. “We were planning on bringing you to Tartarus, just like we said!” Though he still sounded like the headmaster of Canterbury, his ancient voice was now overlapped with a squeakier one. 

"Likely story!” Dash interjected, zooming to Celestia's side. “I'd oughta toss you shifty little jerks overboard! We’ll keep the fancy ship for ourselves!”

“If you deem that absolutely necessary…” the sighed curtly. “You are the potentials, therefore that is your prerogative-”

“You can drop the whole potentials-are-our-destiny act,” Armor interrupted, raising his silver polearm. “You've gotta be pretty thick to think we’d fall for it now!”

“It is no act,” the changeling replied defensively. “Yes, we are changelings… Nearly half of those who become Brothers are such! Had you asked, I would have gladly told you...”

“He really thinks we’re gonna fall for it,” Ragehoof scoffed, sheathing his sword and walking past Dash and Celestia. “The only thing falling now is gonna be bugs!” He suddenly charged at the changeling and bashed a hoof into his face, knocking him to the floor.

The Elite prepared for a swift retaliation from the other changelings, but they only continued to back away defensively.

“I assure you, that’s… not… necessary!” the injured changeling below Ragehoof cried out. “Let us finish helping you, and we shall leave you alone if you so desire!”

“Helpin’ us?!” Applejack shouted at him. “You just went'n trapped us on this crazy ‘lil ship’a yers!”

“We have not trapped-“

“WHERE ARE YOU, SPARK?!” Ragehoof bellowed, drowning out the changeling’s voice. “WHERE IS HE!?" He scanned the other changelings in the cabin fiercely. "...WHICH ONE OF YOU DISGUSTING BUGS WAS ANVIL SPARK?!”

Two of the changelings parted to make a clear path from Ragehoof to the veneer stairwell—a single changeling, indistinguishable from the others, flew up the stairs and spoke to him. "Right here, Rage,” he said, pausing. “...What’s wrong?”

“WHAT’S… WRONG!?” Ragehoof roared, lowering his head. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH SPARK?!" 

The changeling's eyes widened, and he started hovering backwards, stuttering nervously. "H-h-he's b-back i-in..."

"Hold up a minute, partner," Ashton said, trotting away from the Elite and placing a hoof on Ragehoof's shoulder. "He ain't hurt nopony, there ain't no need to-"

Visibly trembling with fury, Ragehoof shoved Ashton away. "You're going to tell me... Where he is... Right now..."

"B-back in Gry-yphus, r-running h-his shop," the changeling continued, unable to back away any further. "H-he c-couldn't leave, s-so he-"

"...Looks like I have to BEAT IT OUT OF YOU!" Ragehoof exploded into a gallop, charged across the room, and dove at the hovering changeling—before he could reach him, a flying lasso caught his hind leg, restraining him in midair and forcing him to collapse before reaching his target over the stairwell.

“WHAT THE-“

“Ah said HOLD IT!” Ashton shouted, interrupting Ragehoof before he could yell anything else. "Ah ain't gonna sit here an' watch ya beat up somepony that ain't raised a hoof against us!"

Ragehoof tried to get up, but Ashton jerked the rope again, causing him to fall back down. 

"Jus' listen to me!" Ashton shouted again. “All’a y’all, jus' listen!" As soon as he had the attention of the Elite, he continued. "Look here... Ah heard ‘bout what happened at the Royal Weddin’! Ah bet most of y’all were in Cannerlot at the time, am Ah right?”

Unsure where he was going with his interruption, most of the team slowly nodded their heads. Although Ragehoof said nothing in reply, he had been as well. 

“I was not, but my daughter has spoken of their treachery!” Terra hissed. "The disgusting creatures dared to-"

“I watched from above, but all the same,” Starswirl interrupted her quickly, “please continue.”

Still cautiously holding the rope attached to Ragehoof's hind leg, Ashton walked over to the injured changeling who was once Antonidas, and helped him off of the ground.

**********

“Lookit,” Ashton said, turning and facing the Elite once again. “Ah wasn't at the Royal Weddin', so Ah don't know jus' what happened with the changelin's there… But whatever it was, was it really enough to justify attackin’ a critter that ain’t lifted a single hoof against us?”

“Ashton,” Celestia seethed, trying to appear calm. “Changelings take the form of somepony you love and feed off of your feelings for them... That's their sustenance. That’s what they eat! How can we possibly trust something that feeds off of such deception?”

Ashton cringed. “…Alright, yer highness, that’s a little creepy, Ah agree…” he admitted. “But still, they’re livin’ things just like you an’ Ah. Can we at least talk to ‘em, without beatin’ ‘em senseless just ‘cause they’re changelin’s? That jus’ don’t feel right… Don't feel right at all…”

“…Ashton has a point, everypony... Stand down,” Celestia ordered, looking angrily at the impersonator of Antonidas. “Speak, changeling. Explain your actions.”

The Equestrian Elite abandoned their battle stances—though Ragehoof no longer attempted to charge at the changeling in the stairwell, he still trembled with fury. 

All eyes fell on the injured changeling. “...Of course, princess,” he replied, wincing in pain. There was a large bruise on the side of his face—his jet-black cheek had swollen brown, and it seemed to be painful for him to speak. “Please allow me to apologize for… ah… OW!”

He was interrupted by a stream of pink magic flowing from somewhere among the Elite. It came from Fluttershy—she was healing his injury. “I’m sorry,” she squeaked, as several of the Elite stared at her. “...He was in a lot of pain…”

Celestia nodded to her understandingly before turning back to the changeling. “Continue,” she said curtly.

“Please allow me to apologize for the misunderstanding,” the changeling replied, rubbing the spot where his face had been healed. “...Though it may seem like we were intentionally deceiving you, we were only doing what we always do. The Chinobi Brotherhood has always included a caste of changelings..."

“Your kind tried to take over Equestria, and you ruined the biggest day of my life,” Cadance spoke up bitterly, jumping on the opportunity to speak as he paused. “Why would we ever trust you?”

"We do not associate ourselves with the Swarm of Queen Chrysalis. Not all changelings are comfortable with the idea of acquiring love through conquest... Some of us strive to be better."

Seeing that Cadance was struggling to form words, Twilight spoke for her. "What makes you any different?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "I read a book about changelings after the attack on Canterlot—it says it's impossible for you to consume anything but love that's been gained through deception!"

Gazing at the wooden floor of the cabin for a moment, the changeling took a deep breath. Looking up at Twilight, he asked, “Can you change what you eat, and how you eat it?”

Twilight thought about it for a second. "...What's your point?" she continued accusingly. "If you have to deceive to survive, there's no way we can possibly trust you, even if you're not lying to us now!"

"My point is," he continued, "we cannot change what and how we eat. But that does not mean we have no sense of honor." Pausing again for a moment, he looked over at Applejack, who still seemed suspicious of him. "We strive for symbiosis. You are symbiotic with your food sources, are you not?"

"...What's that mean?" Applejack replied, raising an eyebrow. "Yer gonna need more than fancy words, partner..."

"You work hard to maintain your orchard, and keep your apple trees healthy—in turn, they bear fruit," he offered.

"Darn right we do," Applejack told him. "We work for our food, we don't steal it!"

"In that, we are similar," the changeling continued, before she could argue. "Allow me to present myself as an example. I assume the form of Antonidas, the Headmaster of Canterbury, because he, as a longtime friend, has allowed me to do so..."

"The real Antonidas has allowed you to do this?" Celestia asked disbelievingly. 

The changeling nodded. "We symbiotically benefit one another. He has taught me to act in his likeness—I do so with such accuracy that even the fellow Brotherhood cannot tell us apart without using magic."

Aeon had remained silent since Twilight had unmasked the changelings, but he finally joined the conversation. "Symbiosis implies that Antonidas benefits from that relationship as well," he countered. "What, exactly, does he gain from somepony impersonating him? Even if the impersonation is flawless..."

"There are many ways he can benefit from it, professor," the changeling replied. "Antonidas often wishes to travel with the Brotherhood and assist us, but he is duty-bound to run the Canterbury Academy of Magic. Though I have learned much from him, I still cannot teach his more advanced classes... I can, however, perform administrative duties on his behalf."

"You allow him to be in two places at once!" Starswirl chimed in enthusiastically—the rest of the Elite gawked at him for sounding so upbeat. "I think I've found a suitable metaphor for you... You're vegetarian changelings! Fascinating!”

Sighing in relief, he continued, “Indeed. Like me, each of the changelings in the Brotherhood has a partner. Though you may not know many of them here..." He indicated the nervous changeling hovering at the end of the stairwell. "Anvil Spark was unable to leave Gryphus, so his partner here traveled in his place..." 

Ragehoof exhaled furiously upon hearing the name.

Applejack stepped through the Elite and approached the changeling. “Well then, what’s yer real name, mister?” she asked, extending her hoof.

“Ch’tar’do’brel,” he replied, clicking his tongue behind his teeth three times. He shook hooves with her—seeing that she was struggling to pronounce his name, he said, “My friend Antonidas simply encourages me to use his name, as do all of our partners…”

“Well then, Antonidas,” Applejack sighed. “Ah’m sorry ‘bout the misunderstandin’, partner. Ah can tell yer not lyin’ to us… Yer not so bad—for a changelin’, that is."

“Thank you for your understanding,” Antonidas replied graciously. Anvil Spark hissed several unintelligible noises at him, and he nodded back before turning to the Elite once again.  “...Do you still wish to accept your suits of armor? They have been completed…”

Applejack looked back at Celestia, who took a deep breath and paused for a moment. “Yes…” she decided. “Please forgive me, but I still do not trust you entirely. If you truly wish for us to put your work to good use, however, we will do so.”

Antonidas bowed his head for a few seconds. Looking over his shoulder, he hissed an unintelligible response to Anvil Spark and several of the other changelings in the room. They nodded and quickly fluttered down the stairwell—a cacophony of buzzing wings began to echo from the blacksmithing area below.

**********

“See, that wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Ashton asked, turning and addressing the Elite. 

Several of them shrugged, but Twilight smiled and stepped forward. "It wasn't," she admitted, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Thanks for stepping in... I won't lie, I thought we were gonna have to fight our way out of here."

“Ah darn near lost mah head when Ah saw'em turn into changelin's,” Applejack added, smiling at Ashton. "Ah think all of us did, 'cept you partner. Mighty good call, partner."

"Glad Ah could help," he smiled back, his cheeks reddening slightly. "Even if they were the bad changelin's, Ah jus' couldn't sit there an' watch 'em get beat up..."

Like many of the others, Luna had remained silently prepared for combat since the changelings had been unmasked, but she finally stood at ease and spoke up. "How we treat our enemies is important," she added quietly. "It says everything about us as a society, does it not?"

“Victory at the expense of empathy is a disguised defeat!” Aeon chimed in; Luna nodded at him.

“You're a bunch'a saps,” Ragehoof muttered, still trying to undo the impossibly tight knot on his hind leg. "...Weak, complacent, saps..."

“Yes sir, we are,” Ashton told him cheerfully, reaching over and untying the knot with ease. “You ought’a try it some time. It ain’t all that bad, y’know?” 

Ragehoof ignored Ashton's offer to help him up. "Get in my way again," he hissed, inaudible to the others. "And you will regret it."

Ashton sighed. "...Ah promise, it wasn't nothin' personal-" Ragehoof ignored him and walked out onto the deck, suspiciously eyeing each of the motionless changeling guards as he passed them.

“Do you see now, why I brought all of you together?” Celestia asked, looking at the Elite around her. “This team would have fallen apart long ago were it not for your spirit...”

“Got’em all ready for ya, Rage,” Daemon’s voice called out from the top of the stairwell. He was not a changeling—he was genuinely a griffon—but Ragehoof still turned and glared at him as he exited the cabin, carrying a large box.

"You knew," Ragehoof spat, as Daemon approached him on the deck. "You knew, and you never said anything..."

"I have a partner too," Daemon told him, sounding slightly bitter. "There's a changeling who walks, talks, and acts like me in Gryphus right now, living in my house... Waiting tables in Gustav's restaurant, wearing my nametag..."

"And you just let him...?"

"...I don't really like it either, but it's the only way I can leave home. That's just how the Brotherhood works, Rage..."

“Shut up,” Ragehoof told him furiously. “Give me my armor and don't speak to me again, you freak.”

Daemon rolled his eyes and placed the large box he was carrying on the deck between them. Ragehoof pulled the box towards himself and roughly shoved Daemon away.

While they were talking, sixteen changelings flew single-file from the stairwell, each of them carrying a box through the cabin and depositing it on the deck. The guard changelings, who hadn’t moved since before they were transformed, silently stepped back to allow room for the boxes.

"Equestrian Elite," Antonidas announced, raising his forelegs and indicating the boxes. "The Chinobi Brotherhood humbly presents some of the most powerful armor ever crafted."

Led by Celestia, the team exited the cabin and approached the boxes. 

“Upon each box is a cutie mark symbol,” Antonidas continued, indicating a small quill-drawn sketch on the boxes' tops. “Your armor has been designed and carefully fitted for each one of you, based on the measurements and details provided. Please, try them on... Tartarus is minutes away.”

As the Elite dispersed towards their respective boxes, Applejack paused next to Daemon, who was silently watching Ragehoof tear open his box. “Ah reckon y'all were friends,” she whispered. “Am Ah right?”

"Something like that," Daemon replied curtly, turning back towards the cabin.

"Jus' give'em some time," Applejack told him, following along. Daemon paused for a moment. "Ain't no talkin' to a colt when he gets like this. Believe me, Ah know."

Daemon shrugged at her indifferently and disappeared back into cabin. Anvil Spark sighed and followed him, trailed by the rest of the changelings that had come from below, leaving only Antonidas and the armored guards on the deck.

“Whoa, wait!” Pinkie cheered, bouncing over to her box. “Do you guys realize what this means?! We’re all getting presents at once! It's like Hearth's Warming Eve!”

“Pinkie, that’s not for another six months!” Twilight laughed, opening her box with an aura of magic and removing its contents carefully. She gasped in awe—it was a brilliant amethyst tunic with a detachable cape, both of which were just slightly darker than her pelt.

“Aw, fine,” Pinkie huffed, though her face quickly perked up again. “Hearth's Warming Eve in July, then!” Grinning, she jumped into her box, disappearing for a moment. When she emerged from it, she was clad in a bright magenta suit of armor, with golden plates on her shoulders, hooves, forelegs, and back. 

“Absolutely brilliant!” Rarity exclaimed, lifting her glistening white tunic into the air and adoring it. “Exact to specifications! I've always wanted to see if magically-forged alloys would dye with liquid pearl... Oh, Rarity… You are a genius!”

Her tunic, as well as the suits of the other white-pelted Elite—Shining Armor, Celestia, and Aeon—were all bright white, reflecting the sunlight with a vague cream-like tint, reminiscent of a pearl. The rest of the team's suits were just slightly darker than their wearer's pelts, and all of them were embossed with filigreed golden designs.

“Aw yeah, look at me now!” Shining Armor boasted. Though he was a unicorn, his suit had the same design as that of Pinkie and the other earth ponies, with thickly plated sections covering the chest, shoulders, back, neck, shins, and hooves. 

“Ah don’t believe this,” said Applejack, placing her hat back on her head. “It even goes with mah hat!”

Rarity bowed gracefully. “You would not believe just how dull the palettes of the original designs were! Nothing but black and gold, eugh!” She shuddered at the thought of it.

Ragehoof grumbled something under his breath in annoyance, donning his black and gold suit of armor. 

“Now this is a flight suit!” Dash cheered, already sporting hers—it was a medium shade of blue, and her cutie mark’s design was embroidered where it would be on her flank. Though a pair of goggles were included with the suit, Dash left them in the box.

The Element of Loyalty fit snugly over Dash's suit, as did Fluttershy's and Rarity's. Applejack's and Pinkie's were grooved along the neck, allowing theirs to clip over their plated armor. 

“Mithril-laced fibermesh,” Aeon exclaimed, zipping up his pearly suit and testing its uncanny flexibility. “You would not believe how much these are worth... Each suit must have an entire kilo!”

Twilight's jaw dropped open as she finished buttoning up her tunic. “That’s over a million bits each!” she calculated. "Princess Celestia, did you pay for all of this?"

"Ragehoof did," Celestia replied, to Twilight's surprise. "He and the Brotherhood have my deepest thanks." 

Ragehoof said nothing as the team stared at him, but Antonidas bowed politely. “Gratitude is recognition, and therefore unnecessary,” he replied humbly. “This is what the Brotherhood exists to do, and it is our honor.”

“Your purpose has been fulfilled, then,” Celestia told him respectfully. “Please bring the ship to a landing. We will continue the rest of the way on hoof.”

“Oh my gosh, you guys!” Pinkie cheered. “This means we gotta have a farewell party!” 

Though her armor appeared to weigh heavily, she was still as bouncy as ever, completely unrestricted by the large metal plates on her back and shoulders. Before any of the Elite had a chance to argue, she reached over her shoulder and produced a large white cannon with pink wheels.

**********

It fired an enormous blast of confetti, candy, party favors, balloons, and even plates of cake.

“Free cake, woohoo!” Ashton cheered, catching a plate and taking a bite out of it. Several of the Elite did the same—Soarin’ even dove from the edge of the airship, catching a slice before it reached the rapidly-approaching ground below.

The only ones who did not react to the party cannon, positively or negatively, were the changeling guards. They remained motionless, despite the confetti and occasional cake splatter riddling their grey armor.

“Not enough for ya, huh?” Pinkie asked determinedly, narrowing her eyes. “How ‘bout the Pinkie special?!”

“...The Pinkie special?” Twilight asked, firing a concerned glance at her friend. "What's that?"

Pinkie leaned forward and pressed her neck against the party cannon.

“Oh no,” Dash said quickly.

“This is going to be startling, isn’t it?” Fluttershy whimpered, hiding her eyes behind her hooves. Dusky squawked nervously and flew into the air, hiding behind the dirigible’s balloon.

"Is that even possible?" Starswirl asked, completely baffled. “Is she really doing what I think she’s doing?”

“She is,” Rarity said dully, ducking and covering her face. 

Pinkie’s toothy smile widened, and her eyes began to turn white. Charged with the Element of Laughter, the cannon exploded with a reverberating shockwave of azure magic. It flowed throughout the ship, sending a tingling sensation down the spines of everyone who felt it.

The tingling sensation turned into a tickling one, and within seconds, every living creature on the dirigible suddenly exploded into uncontrollable laughter. None were left standing—even the impossibly tougher personalities of the team—Luna, Terra, and Ironmane—were all rolling on the deck, laughing as hard as they possibly could.

“PINK-IE!” Twilight squealed, unable to control her laughter. “You...crazy...pony!”

“Nailed it!” Pinkie cheered, putting her party cannon away and starting to giggle as well. The outrageous and uncontrollable laughter continued for a minute and a half straight—some even began to feel lightheaded from so much laughing.

“Hah… Okay, everypony,” Celestia giggled, standing back up. “F-finish gearing up, and meet me outside the… ha! Outside the ship, heh, when you’re feeling ready…” Still having silent fits of giggles, the princess took wing and flew over the edge of the ship, landing on the grassy Dream Valley just a few yards below.

Only one of the party cannon's victims wasn't laughing. Twitching uncontrollably and collapsing to his knees, Ragehoof bared his teeth and stared at the floor for a few moments, trying to resist the urge to scream. He couldn't tell if the scream was going to be in laughter or in fury, but he didn't want to find out.

Trudging to the edge of the deck and stepping around his giggling teammates, Ragehoof pushed against a section of the deck's wooden railing, causing it to fall outwards and reveal a compartment in the upper side of the ship. The compartment concealed a rolled-up rope ladder, which quickly unfurled along the ship's outer hull, reaching the grass below with several yards to spare.

Still twitching, Ragehoof stepped onto the ladder. "C-c'mon..." he muttered to the others. "...G-get going..."

It was two whole minutes before the entire team made its way off of the ship and onto the Dream Valley. When the last of them arrived and assembled around Celestia, she took a deep breath and addressed them all.

“Alright, everypony,” Ceelstia said loudly, trying to sound inspirational once again. “Two foes remain—the Zentnor Collective, and Haakon’s armies.” 

Though an occasional snicker and giggle broke out from among the team, each of them listened to her intently.

**********

“I think we’ve all learned a valuable lesson from our experience with the Brotherhood just now,” she continued. “We need to remember to show our enemies the kindness that they fear to show themselves!”

Amidst an explosion of cheers from the Elite, Fluttershy nuzzled Dusky, who had flown to her side after exiting the ship. 

“Stick together, and keep a level head,” Celestia said, pausing for a moment. “Pace yourselves! Tartarus is a fortress, and if what Discord said is true, the structure itself is resistant to magic. That will not stop us, though. That will not even slow us! No longer will Tartarus threaten Equestria’s harmony!”

Another wave of hoof-stomping and excited cheers followed the princess's declaration—she gave them a moment to settle before continuing in a quieter voice.

“For four thousand, four hundred and fifty two years I have presided over Equestria… And I can say, right now, without a doubt, that I feel safer than I ever have before. When we are through, the rest of Equestria will feel the same way! I am absolutely certain of that!”

“AW, YEAH!” Dash yelled, being the first to resume cheering.

“Equestrian Elite,” Celestia boomed, doubling her volume once again. “FORM UP!”

Immediately taking wing, Celestia hovered just above the ground, turning to face the south. Luna, Terra, and Cadance flew to her side, and Shining Armor and Applejack stood in the center beneath them. To their right stood Ashton, Ironmane, and Ragehoof—to their left stood Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity. By Aeon's lead, the airborne team formed up above Celestia.. 

“Farewell, Equestrian Elite!” Antonidas called out from the bow of the dirigible. “The Chinobi Brotherhood wishes you the best of luck!” 

The Elite waved back at him as the ship lifted off of the ground. Gaining altitude surprisingly fast, it disappeared into the clouds. Turning back to Celestia, the team waited for her to give the word.

“...RIDE!!” she shouted, flying towards the south and setting the pace for the rest of the team. Galloping below and soaring above, the Equestrian Elite followed the princess towards the massive crater where the Gates of Tartarus once stood.




**********

From atop his throne in the citadel of Tartarus, Haakon’s flickering orange eyes watched the Chinobi dirigible fade into the northeastern horizon. Though the ship was a little more than a dot in the sky, he knew that it had just deposited his mortal enemies upon his doorstep.

To his left, two of his crimson, serpent-like guards were holding a gravely injured changeling between them. Green blood was dripping from multiple wounds on his chest, and he had brown bruises all over his body.

“The Blood Princsssse will not repeat himsssself,” Maelon hissed. “Sssspeak, sssspy!” He lifted his scaly hand and swiped the air—a streak of orange magic flew from each of his fingers and lashed the changeling's face.

“Silence, Maelon,” Haakon grunted—the guard immediately averted his eyes to the ground. 

The Blood Prince stood from his throne, and slowly approached the restrained changeling. “I have little patience for spies at this point,” he said contemplatively. “My own are telling me things I do not want to hear. If you have better news for me, I may yet allow you to survive... Speak."

“W-what do y-y-y-you want me to s-say?” the changeling sputtered, a stream of green blood running from his mouth. “I-I cannot r-reveal w-where I’m from… M-my loyalty i-isn't for s-s-sale...”

“Loyalty to whom?” Haakon pressed, fury rising in his voice. He looked like he could explode at any moment.

“I-If I say, m-my fate is w-worse than death!” 

“THEN EMBRACE THE MERCY OF THE BLOOD PRINCE!” 

Maelon and the other serpent guard released the changeling and immediately slithered away—Haakon’s left hand glowed bright orange, and an enormous silver mace materialized in his grasp with a quick CRACK. He struck the changeling fiercely, knocking him airborne. He crashed like a ragdoll on the opposite side of the citadel, lying motionless.

“Mah prince!” an out of breath voice said from behind Haakon. “Da pony be reachin’ da cratah!”

Haakon turned to glare at the velociraptor, Farclaw, standing at the crest of the citadel's staircase. The scout bowed, and continued to breathe heavily.

“Let them enter unopposed,” Haakon declared confidently, dematerializing his mace and returning to his throne. “A trap awaits them in the ruins of the outer gates... Should they survive it, WE WILL CRUSH THEM OURSELVES!”

“Da… Da dark one, mah prince,” Farclaw shuddered, approaching the throne slowly. “...D-dey defeated da dark’un… Dey be unstoppable!”

“He was but a pitiful necromancer,” Haakon scoffed, eyeing the raptor as he stepped onto his throne. “They will not fare so well when their powers are useless!”

“U-useless, mah prince?” Farclaw asked curiously. “W-will ya take dey powah away?”

“I have no need. The mercenaries we encountered in the courtyard have agreed to fight for us.”

“…Dey have, mah lord?” Farclaw grinned, looking towards the crater in the north.

“Yes, and they go forth with my blessing,” Haakon replied, sitting back upon his throne. He thought to himself for a few moments, watching Farclaw bow and leave the citadel.

“I care not whether the obnoxious fools succeed... Their toys, combined with my blessing, will give them great advantage, but those equines are as deviant as they are powerful...”

A sinister grin spread across Haakon's jet-black face.

"Whoever wins, they both lose. I will crush the victor myself!"




**********

“Stop,” Celestia’s voice boomed at the Elite—they had reached the edge of the Tartarus crater, which was a several-mile-wide pockmark between the Tarus Mountains—it was all that remained of the Gates.

Just over a mile away, in the center of the crater, twelve heavily armored figures were milling about. Though they were far away, the thinly scattered debris of the Gates did nothing to conceal them. Their armor was dark grey, and visible spikes protruded from their shoulders and helmets. 

“Oh, fantastic,” Starswirl groaned, narrowing his eyes at them.

“Who are they, princess?” Twilight asked. She stood below Celestia with her friends, and cautiously observed the twelve figures; they seemed to be chatting with each other casually.

“The Zentnor,” Celestia replied, landing by Twilight's side. "Everypony, listen up." She turned around and addressed the Elite as a whole. “The Zentnor Collective is a brutal mercenary team of six ponies and six pegasi... Starswirl, could you please brief us on their tactics?

“They’re a… colorful lot,” Starswirl began, floating next to Celestia. “Don't let all the grey fool you. They have an interesting taste in armor, particularly the kind that renders them immune to magic…”

“…Immune to magic?” Ragehoof asked curiously. “How do they pull that off?”

“By takin' a long walk on a short cloud,” Spitfire whispered to Dash—they giggled quietly. 

“Oh, I have theories,” Starswirl laughed. “The armor’s probably infused with a layer of enchanted alloy that emits a normalizing quantum field, disrupting the energy pattern of any magic within several feet.”

“Normalizing what field?” Ragehoof asked. Several of the team chuckled at his confusion.

“Let’s put it simply; break their armor and knock them out,” Starswirl chided, watching Ragehoof’s cheeks turn a lighter shade of red. “That’s where you come in, dear boy. You, and the rest of the ground team—airborne team too—this is your fight.”

“Can’t arcane magic get through their armor?” Twilight asked him. “What about the Elements?”

“I’ve tried arcane—no dice,” he explained, sounding slightly irritated. “As for the Elements, I can't be certain, but I’d rather we not waste a harmonic wave right away. If it doesn’t work, it'll leave you drained for the entire fight, just like when we faced Lagos...”

“Surely their armor must have vulnerabilities,” Rarity protested. “Eye holes, joint gaps? Could we not aim precisely with our spells?”

“Surprisingly not,” Starswirl huffed. “Any and all magical attacks disperse several inches before reaching them. In order to get them into Tartarus, it took hundreds of Celestia's guardsmen. Even after they were captured, it was impossible to detain them for long... Tartarus was the only answer."

"Their armor was impossible to remove without killing them,“ Celestia added. "And killing them is not the answer."

“Will this thing still make me tougher?” Dash broke the silence curiously, patting the crimson Element on her neck. 

“I’m pretty sure that their defensive and healing capabilities will be unaffected,” Starswirl continued, gazing at the ruby lightning bolt. “Despite their crazy armor, they’re still normal ponies underneath it. Bonk ‘em on the head hard enough, and hopefully you’ll knock them out!”

“That shall be the goal,” Celestia finished for him. “I will approach them, and offer them a chance to surrender. The ground and airborne teams will accompany me. If the Zentnor refuse to stand down, we will take them by force. Magic team, remain here and support us from afar. Understood?”

“Princess Celestia, I’d like to accompany the ground team,” Shining Armor said, standing at attention with his polearm. “I’m able and willing to fight without using magic, and I’d like to put this new weapon to work, your highness.” 

From the other side of the team, Ironmane grinned at the captain with subtle pride.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Celestia replied, nodding at him and turning towards Rarity. “Rarity, you will be able to channel your Element from here. Please keep the teams protected—Cadance, remain and heal her.”

“Surely their armor can be melted,” Terra interjected in annoyance. “Would you not have me fight them as well?”

“Collateral, Terra dear,” Starswirl interjected, before Celestia could reply. “Can you honestly hit them with magma and not strike a teammate in the process?”

“Then let me burn them myself!” she replied angrily. The ground started to shake as she glared at the center of the crater, and her eyes began to turn white. “I could do it from here… It would be easy, like pulling a tablecloth from beneath their hooves…”

“Stop, stop, stop, stop,” Starswirl said, floating over to Terra and placing a hoof on her shoulder. “There’s no need to jump the gun, the others can handle them.”

“I just said the goal is not to slay them,” Celestia added, as the ground continued to shake. “Remember what we learned on the ship… We must give them a chance!”

“They would attack a defenseless town,” Terra seethed. "And you would treat them fairly?!"

“They’ve stood trial for their attack on Detrot,” Starswirl reminded her. “Property damage and a few hundred injuries, but no deaths… Please, Terra, calm down… The others can handle this.”

Terra sighed, her eyes fading back to their regular cyan—the ground stopped shaking as well. “...Let’s get this over with,” Ragehoof called up to Celestia, his eyes curiously resting on Terra as he approached the crater.

“Very well,” Celestia replied, decreasing her altitude and landing next to him. “By my lead, everypony. On hoof.”

Dash rolled her eyes and landed behind the ground team. She and the other pegasi followed along as Celestia led them into the crater, but Fluttershy stayed behind for a moment. “Um, Twilight?” she asked quietly.

“Hey Fluttershy,” Twilight replied supportively. “Good luck out there!”

“Can… can you watch Dusky for me?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. “It’s probably better if she doesn’t come along…” Dusky descended from above and landed on her folded wing. 

“I’d love to,” Twilight smiled, extending her hoof and offering Dusky a new place to land.

“...I’ll be okay,” Fluttershy told Dusky. The phoenix looked back at her worriedly and chirped twice. “…Thank you, I will be…”

Dusky flew over and landed on Twilight’s forearm, waving a wing at Fluttershy as she galloped to catch up with the others.

“There they go again, leaving us behind,” Rarity huffed, walking up and standing next to Twilight. "This is becoming a habit, isn't it?"

“It’s probably better if we stay up here,” Twilight replied, smiling at Rarity; she rolled her eyes.

“Oh it doesn’t matter where you are," Starswirl chuckled. "You’ll always be a part of the fight.” He hovered to Twilight’s opposite side.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Rarity said, looking down at her outfit and sighing. “...Though I'd loathe to see it get dirty, it’s such a durable fabric! I must admit, I'd like to see it in action...”

“Steelweave is amazing cloth,” Twilight said proudly, tapping a hoof against her shoulder—a high-pitched clank resounded with each tap. “Strong as steel, flexible as fabric... You could probably make an armored dress out of it!”

“Shush!” Rarity hissed, trying to repress a smile. “Don’t give me ideas… You’ll distract me!”

“I just wish the armor would help your Element absorb damage,” Cadance added, landing next to Rarity. “...Not to worry, I’ll keep you together...” She trailed off, concernedly watching Armor as he walked by Celestia's side.

“It’s an honor, princess, as always,” Rarity replied politely. “Hopefully, there will be less to absorb now…”

“Hopefully,” Starswirl agreed, watching Celestia and the others carefully approach the Zentnor.




**********

“Well, well, well!” shouted one of the Zentnor. “Lookie what we got here, everypony! It's the royalness herself!”

Celestia stopped roughly a dozen yards away from the twelve armored mercenaries; they began sneering insults in her direction.

“Y’know, last time I saw her,"  a female voice shouted from the opposite side of their group. "I was bein' dropped in some big, purple, bubble to rot for the next billion years...”

Another Zentnor disagreed with her. “It wasn’t no billion, ya featherhead, it was just a few hundred! …Uh, wait... How much was it again? I forgot…” 

“Farclaw said it was like, four thousand somethin'…” A slower voice chimed in, from somewhere in the middle.

“Shut up, Hightail!" yelled a Zentnor from his right. "You can’t even count that high!”

“…Okay…” Hightail replied sadly, looking at the ground.

“Whatever it was, it was too many if ya ask me!”

“Yeah, let’s rip'er wings off!”

"Anypony callin' dibs?"

“Ohh, I'm callin' dibs! The orange one's mine!”

“…Dibs?!” Spitfire gagged, glaring at the pegasus stallion that was eyeballing her. Soarin’s face turned red—he looked like he was ready to explode.

“Watch out, Flatwing, yer makin’ her coltfriend mad!” laughed another mare; the Zentnor erupted into laughter.

“SHUT UP, WORMS,” an authoritative mare bellowed. A pegasus Zentnor with darker armor than the others pushed through the center of the group, and walked towards Celestia.

“When do we get to ice ‘em, ‘Mina?” a Zentnor from her left asked. “Ain’t it time we got a little payback?”

“Can it,” she called over her shoulder, pausing across from Celestia. “I’m doin’ the talkin’ here.”

“Nagamina,” Celestia said coolly. The ground team lined up behind her, and the airborne team stood ready to take flight. Soarin’ gritted his teeth angrily, his eyes fixed upon the Zentnor stallion called Flatwing.

“Celestia,” Nagamina replied. “Looks like our sentence is up.” Her dark blue eyes scanned the two teams behind the princess, evaluating their threat level.

“Your sentence is never up,” Celestia declared firmly. “Not until you remove that armor and surrender.”

“Hah! Ha, ha, ha!” Nagamina laughed, pounding one of her hooves against the ground.

“Aw, did I miss the punch line?” Pinkie asked in disappointment, looking at Nagamina sideways. “Don’t leave me hangin’, sister, tell the joke again!”

“Brought a comedian with ya, huh?” Nagamina snickered, looking at Pinkie and scoffing. “...Three guards, a couple’a dressed-up farmers, a bunch’a unarmored pegasi… You must’ve really gone downhill since we’ve been away, Celestia.”

“Oh, you did not just confuse me with a guard,” Ragehoof interrupted angrily. “You're gonna be a few feet shorter when I'm done with you, you noisy little locust!”

“Two comedians!” Nagamina laughed heartily, ignoring Ragehoof's increasingly vulgar threats.

“Only one,” Celestia corrected her calmly. “This is your last chance, Nagamina. Surrender, remove your armor, and this will not have to escalate to violence....”

“Whaddya say, boys and girls?” Nagamina asked, turning to the Zentnor behind her. “Think we oughta surrender?”

“Uh… I-if you say so, boss…” Hightail said dejectedly, lowering his head. Flatwing bonked him on the head with his armored hoof, leaving him dizzy for a second. “Uh, I mean… No! Nuh-uh!”

“Very well, then,” Celestia declared firmly, backing up. “Equestrian Elite, prepare for battle!”

Following Aeon’s lead, the five pegasi took formation above Celestia—Dash hovered on point in the center, with Spitfire and Soarin to her sides. Aeon and Fluttershy hovered behind them; the latter gulped nervously. 

“Let’s teach these ruffians some manners,” Shining Armor said, stepping forward with Applejack and the ground team. They passed Celestia, forming into a line in front of her.

“HA!” laughed Nagamina, spreading her armored wings and lifting off. The other Zentnor pegasi took wing as well. “Oh, Celestia, one last thing, before we destroy you…”

“What?” the princess asked, hovering between the airborne and ground teams.

“The Blood Prince says he doesn't take no for an answer! EN GARDE!”

**********

Celestia’s eyes widened in horror as the Zentnor suddenly charged with blazing fast speed.

Nagamina made a beeline for the princess—leaving a monochrome blur in her wake, she slammed into Celestia’s armored chest, knocking her upwards into the sky with tremendous force. None of the Elite was able to help her—the Zentnor were already upon them, attacking, dodging, and swooping around with impossible speed.

Before Celestia struck the ground, she dematerialized with a CRACK of blue magic, reappearing at the edge of the crater. Starswirl used his magic to cushion her impact as she crashed into the grass. 

“Sorry, dear,” he told her quickly, helping her up. “Couldn't let you stay—Nagamina would’ve torn you apart!”

“…Thank you,” Celestia breathed in shock. “...They are in the service of Haakon!”

“So it seems,” Starswirl replied nervously, observing the ensuing battle in the center of the crater. “He's given them some kind of magical enhancement, despite their armor's immunity! Just look at them—their speed and strength has doubled since we last encountered them... It's well-beyond what should be physically possible!”

“That…would…explain...all of the…URGH!" Rarity screeched, absorbing blow after blow from the ground team—Cadance was steadily healing her, but she was absorbing damage at an alarming pace.

Rainbow Dash and the rest of the airborne team scattered into the sky over the crater, leading their Zentnor pursuers to much higher altitudes—the battle was now being fought on two fronts. Rarity was able to breath a sigh of relief—with the airborne team having scattered, only the ground team was taking damage, but each blow still taxed her painfully.

Celestia bared her teeth angrily and turned from Rarity to Starswirl. "...Ideas?!"

“Luna!” Starswirl shouted, hurriedly conjuring a quill and paper. “Glyph! Now! Celeritate, increm!"

Luna nodded at him and conjured her own quill and paper—the pair began furiously inscribing a series of typographic symbols onto their respective sheets.

"That was ancient Equinn," Twilight thought, electing not to interrupt their intense concentration. "I've never heard it spoken out loud before! If that's the language glyphs are written in, that explains why they're so rare!"

"Whatever you're doing, please do it quickly!" Celestia said worriedly, interrupting Twilight's moment of realization. "They're not faring well out there!"





High in the sky over the crater, Dash broke her ascent and arced to the left, banking narrowly and trying to shake the Zentnor pegasi that was on her tail. He somehow kept up with every single maneuver she attempted, and only seemed to be getting closer to catching her. 

“How can they move like that?!” Dash thought wildly, ducking to avoid a sudden charge from her pursuer. "They're heavier than Tank, but they can keep up with ME?!"

“THREE WEAVE DESCENT!” Aeon shouted, breaking Dash's concentration. He repeated himself twice to ensure the team had heard him before returning to dodging his foe's attacks.

“Three weave what?” Dash thought, racking her brain to remember the tactic. Pulling into a nose dive to gain some much-needed distance from her attacker, she glanced over at Spitfire and Soarin’ to see what they were doing. 

They started spiraling downwards, leaving trails of blue and orange behind them—it started to resemble a double helix from Dash’s point of view. The Zentnor attackers followed them closely, keeping up with their foe’s spiraling. 

After spiraling for the third time, Spitfire and Soarin' broke their flight pattern and charged directly at each other, dodging at the last second and ramming into each other’s pursuers head-on. The collisions created shockwaves, sending their foes flipping backwards. 

Despite the attack's powerful effect, the Zentnor recovered in seconds, resuming their pursuit of the Wonderbolts. 

“They’re too freakin’ fast!” Soarin’ thought frantically, trying to dodge a second Zentnor pursuer that had taken interest in him. "This isn't fair!!"

At a higher altitude, Fluttershy was trying desperately to avoid the battle. Aeon had made it his job to keep her out of trouble, but he was locked in an intense dogfight to keep himself from getting pummeled, leaving her to fend for herself.

Spitfire evasively avoided her pursuer, keeping a watchful eye on Fluttershy as she hovered above. As soon the second Zentnor lost interest in Soarin' and started charging Fluttershy, Spitfire increased her speed, intercepting the attacker and bashing against his wing. 

“Got your back, kiddo!” she called out, though Fluttershy could barely hear her over the collisions around them.





In the crater below, the battle against the ground team was heavily leaning in favor of the Zentnor. Their superior speed made them impossible to retaliate against, forcing the Elite into a defensive circle.

Ragehoof extended his foreleg and tripped one of the Zentnor that zoomed past, causing him to fall flat on his face. Jumping at the opportunity, Ragehoof started viciously bashing at the Zentnor’s upper neck, but his assault was cut short—another Zentnor disengaged from Applejack and bucked Ragehoof away.

“GIT back here, you!” Applejack hollered, trying to pursue him. She was left in the dust as he sped away, turned, and attacked her from the side. 

"Our elementium armor is tougher than that trash they're wearing," Ragehoof thought, scrambling to get up and return to the defensive circle. "But if we can't even hit them... GAH!"

Shining Armor and Ironmane had stowed their weapons—the Zentnor were simply too fast to strike.





“…Can’t… …take… …much… …more… of…THIS!!” Rarity shrieked each word painfully, screaming as she absorbed a near-lethal impact from Aeon as he was thrown into the ground. 

Cadance's healing magic had gone from repairing Rarity's body to desperately keeping her alive.

“Isn’t there anything I can do to help them?!” Twilight asked helplessly, watching Fluttershy heal the professor and quickly zip away. "Something... Anything?!"

“You’d only get in their way at this point,” Celestia replied angrily. “It’s frustrating—believe me, I know…”

“I can assist them…” Terra mumbled, spreading her wings slowly. “…They need my help, sister…”

“Can you do so without needlessly endangering them?” Celestia asked rhetorically, narrowing her eyes at Terra.

“I might be able to,” Terra fumed. “Is it not worth a try?! They are being-”

"FINISHED!" Luna suddenly shouted, dematerializing the glyph in front of her. "TOP BELL! GO!"

“...GOT IT!” Starswirl replied seconds later, teleporting away. The wizard rematerialized in midair over the center of the crater, at the heart of the pegasi dogfight. 

His eyes darted across the glyph that he had finished drawing moments ago—his hat began to glow brightly as he read the words to himself. As soon as he finished, the aura around his hat exploded into a spherical blue shockwave, which washed over all of the pegasi swarming around him.

The Zentnor's armor dispelled the shockwave, but Spitfire, Soarin’, Aeon, and Dash felt their wings lighten as soon as it hit them. They began to fly faster—within seconds, they had gained enough speed to outmaneuver their attackers, effectively leveling the playing field.

"W-what just happened?" Fluttershy asked worriedly, looking back at her wings as they tingled. She yelped at the sight of a charging Zentnor, instinctively dodging in panic. The Zentnor only managed to charge through a cloud of dust—Fluttershy had zipped away faster than she had ever flown before.

"Enjoy the speed, fillies and gentlecolts!" Starswirl shouted cheerfully, teleporting away from the dogfighting pegasi. He rematerialized over the ground team, pausing for a second.

"Hrm, where'd she put it... Ah! Top bell!" The wizard materialized another glyph—it was the one Luna had drawn. As soon as he read it, his hat exploded with another shockwave of enhancing magic. The ground team’s speed increased as soon as the blue energy hit them, and so did their strength. 

When the next blow was struck—Ironmane pounding a Zentnor in the chest—the armored mare went flying backwards, crashing into the ground almost thirty yards away. 

“Huh, not bad,” Ironmane muttered, looking at his foreleg and flexing it. He charged at his recovering opponent with great speed and tackled her again, preventing her from getting up.

“That looks much better!” Starswirl exclaimed, noticing one of the pegasi Zentnor angrily swooping at him from above. He teleported out of the way at the last second, causing his attacker to crash into the ground.

"Puh!" spat the Zentnor called Flatwing, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. "...What the-?"

Ragehoof suddenly charged out of nowhere, plowing into Flatwing and knocking him airborne. He roared in pain and caught himself, hovering out of his opponent's reach.

"Scared?" Ragehoof bellowed mockingly. "Huh?! C'mon!"

Flatwing growled at him and flew away, rejoining the dogfight against the pegasi of the Elite. Ragehoof returned to the battle against the earth ponies of the Zentnor, looking for another target to take his anger out on.

“Didja lose a few hundred pounds, partner?” Ashton chuckled, bashing one of his hooves into his opponent’s chin and sending him flipping backwards like a ragdoll. 

Ashton pulled a coil of rope from his armor’s saddlebags and lassoed his opponent’s hind leg in midair—as soon as the Zentnor landed and tried to stand up, the rodeo champ yanked the rope and caused him to fall down again.

“Feisty one, ain’t ‘cha?” Ashton laughed, dragging the heavily armored stallion across the ground and trying to hogtie his legs together. 

The rope lasted only a few seconds before snapping in half—the Zentnor was simply too strong. 

“Waste'a perfectly good rope, partner!" Ashton scowled. "Looks like we’re doin’ this the hard way!” Before he could reengage, a blur of grey suddenly came flying from the left, crashing into his recovering foe. 

Shining Armor had struck his opponent so hard that he had knocked him into Ashton’s, leaving the two Zentnor rolling awkwardly through the dirt.

“They’re like bucking bags now!” Armor laughed, galloping past Ashton and diving at the pair. Ashton grinned and joined him in the attack—the ground team was quickly gaining the upper hand.





The airborne team, however, was still evenly-matched, despite Starswirl's enhancement.

Nagamina and Dash were locked in a fierce dogfight—Dash stalled downwards, and with a sudden burst of speed, she produced an earsplitting rainboom before crashing into her opponent’s chest.

“GAH!” Nagamina spat, skidding back and struggling to regain level flight. “...GET OUTTA THE AIR, FILLY!”

“The name’s Rainbow Dash,” Dash corrected her, grinning triumphantly at the recovering Zentnor leader.

Nagamina screamed in fury, trying to charge once again, but Dash zipped out of the way, giggling at her as she slowed and turned around.

“…Fine,” Nagamina muttered, hovering across from Dash. “Time to play dirty.”

“Dirty?” Dash looked at her curiously, but she had already swooped into a nose dive. 

Pulling up before reaching the ground, Nagamina shouted at the top of her lungs, “GET READY FOR STIM PACKS, YOU MAGGOTS!”

“Stim packs?” Dash thought, chasing after Nagamina. "What's she mean by..." From the corner of her eye, she saw that Soarin' was having trouble against his two opponents. Electing to come to his aid instead of pursuing the fleeing Zentnor leader, Dash broke abandoned her chase.

Realizing that she was no longer being pursued, Nagamina paused and reached into a small compartment in her armor, which was hidden between two spikes on her left shoulder. She withdrew a small black box, which had a simple red button in the center.

“Let’s kick things up a notch,” Nagamina seethed, driving her hoof into the remote control. A faint click was heard, and a slight hissing sound emanated from her neck. She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and feeling a rush of euphoria. 

The euphoria turned quickly to rage—Nagamina suddenly exploded into a sharp ascent. Her speed increased dramatically, and the whites of her eyes began to glow bright orange.

Screaming wildly, Nagamina broke the sound barrier, producing a sonic boom of bright orange energy. She made a beeline for Rainbow Dash, slamming into her shoulder and knocking her off balance. 

**********

The rest of the Zentnor felt the same rush of euphoria simultaneously. Their eyes began to glow like Nagamina’s, and their burning rage led them to wild and reckless tactics—they became unresponsive to pain, and strikes that had formerly left them reeling only made them angrier. 

The advantage the Elite had gained from Starswirl and Luna's enchantment was steadily being negated. 

Though the ground team was still able to send their opponents flying with a single hit, they recovered faster than ever, and counterattacked viciously. Above them, orange sonic booms began to explode across the sky—the five other Zentnor pegasi had gone supersonic.

Dash, Spitfire, and Soarin’ each broke the sound barrier as well—Aeon tried to join them, but he wasn’t nearly as athletic. Despite the assistance of Starswirl's glyph, he was unable to break the vapor cone, forcing him to stay on the defensive.

Ragehoof furiously assumed a defensive stance against his attacker, who ducked low and rammed her shoulder into his chest, knocking him straight upwards. Before he hit the ground, she turned and bucked him, sending him flying away. 

Struggling to get up, his foe charged him yet again, repeating the maneuver. Unable to stand back up, Ragehoof braced himself as the mare charged him again, but she was intercepted by a sudden SPLAT of something black on her face. Blinded, she galloped past Ragehoof and tripped.

“I figured it’s time for free cake,” Pinkie giggled, bouncing over to Ragehoof. She lifted him off of the ground with a stream of blue magic from her Element—rejuvenated and energized, he charged at the Zentnor mare.

Several yards to their right, Ironmane was furiously defending himself from an attacker—his flying hooves were becoming too rapid to dodge and block. The sergeant took several strikes to the face, and crumpled over.

Pinkie started healing him, causing each strike to do less and less damage, until he was able to counter his opponent again. Seeing this happen, Shining Armor’s foe disengaged him and charged at Pinkie, driving his shoulder into her stomach and knocking the wind out of her.

The battle had become an intense struggle for survival against the Zentnor’s onslaught.

In the sky, Dash was finding it harder and harder to stay ahead of the vengeful Nagamina. Catching up to her target, Nagamina seized Dash around the waist and pulled her into a nose dive, holding her out in front of herself. 

“Oh no, oh no, NO! NOT AGAIN!” Dash thought wildly, trying to squirm out of Nagamina’s iron grip. She gulped and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the rapidly approaching ground.

Producing a massive shockwave of orange energy, Nagamina drove Dash into the ground, creating a large crater. 

“And STAY down!” she spat furiously, abandoning her injured foe in the ground and heading towards the other pegasi.




**********

Rarity’s front legs crumpled. 

She kneeled forwards painfully, unable to bear all of the pain she was absorbing. Her body had completely exhausted its supply of painkilling endorphins, leaving her fully vulnerable to every strike she absorbed. 

“Hold on, Rarity!” Twilight said, lifting her back up with her magic. “Don’t give up now, you can do this!”

“Their leader is attacking Fluttershy!” Celestia said in horror, watching Nagamina break away from Aeon’s acrobatic dodging. She dove towards the Fluttershy, who had started trying to heal Dash from above. 

“SWIRLY, GET ME IN THERE!” Terra bellowed, unable to stand by any longer. “NOW!”

“…GAH!” Starswirl shouted in defeat. With a swift CRACK, he teleported Terra into the battlefield. As soon as she rematerialized, she lifted a massive stone pillar to out of the ground, blocking Nagamina’s advance before she could reach her next target—Fluttershy. 

In a flurry of shattered stone and fiery orange magic, Nagamina crashed through the pillar and struck Fluttershy with a reduced impact. She cried out in pain and lost her flight balance, spiraling towards the ground. 

“No!” Rarity gasped, watching Fluttershy fall. “This… I can’t… Somepony... AHHH!!”

The impact of Fluttershy crashing into the ground next to Dash caused Rarity to fall to her knees again. She bared her teeth and breathed heavily; tears of pain streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to stay alive.

“Stay with us, Rarity,” Cadance begged, pouring cyan magic into her failing body. “Please!”





Barely able to stand, Dash crawled out of the small crater, and dragged herself over to where Fluttershy had fallen. “C’mon Flutters,” she said softly, trying to lift her. “We’ve gotta… Get back up… Back up there…”

“M-my back… It really h-hurts,” Fluttershy cried, unable to stand on her own. “I-I don’t know if I can f-fly… I can’t… I can’t feel my wings…”

“C’mere,” Dash said, pulling her into a hug and holding her tightly, preventing her from collapsing. “I believe in you, Flutters… You can still fix us...”

Fluttershy gulped quietly and closed her eyes, calling on the Element of Kindness. Overwhelmed with despair, her Element only glowed for a moment before fading away.

“…It’s not working!” Fluttershy cried, her hind legs giving out. “I’m too weak… I can’t do it, Dashie… It hurts…”

“Listen to me,” Dash said forcefully, lifting her back up and staring into her eyes. “...You CAN do this! ...Take a deep breath, and try again...”

Fluttershy did as her friend asked, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes once again.





“It’s… it’s too much…” Rarity shuddered, starting to black out. “…Can’t…”

“Rarity, NO!” Twilight said, shaking her awake. “Don’t give in! We NEED you! RARITY! RARITY!”

“That’s it,” Rarity thought to herself, closing her eyes and forcing the last of the tears from them. 

“I no longer care if it kills me… they… will…. NOT… HURT… MY… FRIENDS!!”

**********

Rarity’s eyes shot open—their brightness dwarfed the sunlight, washing the blue from the sky and replacing it with pure whiteness. Her protective gaze swept through the battlefield like a floodlight, and each one of the Elite began to glow with a thick, fog-like aura.

The Element of Generosity shone as brightly as her eyes, and her injured body suddenly crystallized into a brilliant amethyst shell. The pain of each blow she absorbed began to hurt less and less, until a frenzied bash to the face felt like little more than a poke to the cheek—for Rarity and the victim.

“Rarity, you’ve done it!” Celestia exclaimed. “You’ve unlocked the full potential of Generosity!” She and the others stared in awe at Rarity’s crystal skin. 

“I told you, you could do it!” Twilight cheered. "I told you!"

Rarity did not break her concentration on the battlefield, but the corners of her crystallized lips curled into a smile.





“That’s it!” Dash cheered, as Fluttershy's magic coursed through them. “Good as new! …What the?!”

As they let go of each other, a bright flash of light shone from the edge of the crater in the north. Rarity’s power enveloped the pair, causing their bodies to steadily emit white, fog-like energy.

“That has to be Rarity,” Fluttershy breathed. “...It’s so beautiful…”

“She’s got us covered!” Dash cheered, pulling Fluttershy airborne. "Let's do this, Flutters!" She let go and charged at Nagamina, who was being assaulted constantly by Terra’s rocky projectiles. 

Fluttershy altered her course, channeling a stream of healing magic onto Aeon, who had taken a number of hits in their absence.

“WHAT?!” Nagamina shouted, as she felt a pair of hooves graze the side of her head—a flash of rainbow trails followed her attacker. “NO WAY! I KILLED YOU! BOTH OF YOU!”





The ground team, with Rarity’s strength flowing through them, quickly started to turn the tide. The Zentnor’s speed was still superior, but their attacks were almost entirely ineffective. Ashton even took a heavy buck to the chest, but instead of sending him flying backwards, it only faltered him for a moment.

Ironmane bashed his opponent on the side of the head, causing him to dizzily stagger backwards from the impact. The sergeant pulled his crossbow from his saddlebags and aimed it at the Zentnor’s chest, firing. The bolt shattered into several fragments, sending a shower of sparks in every direction.

"Ah-HAH!" Ironmane yelled, seeing a small crack in the Zentnor's armor where his bolt had shattered.

Not letting up for a second, he jammed another bolt into the firing chamber, pelting his foe’s chest yet again. The Zentnor stallion fell backwards from the impact’s force—Ironmane charged at him and flipped him over, burying the crossbow into his cracked chest armor and firing point-blank.

The bolt buried itself into the Zentnor’s chest. Ironmane tossed the crossbow aside, lifted his forelegs, and started viciously pounding the bolt. He it further and further into the armor like a nail, causing the Zentnor stallion to scream out in pain.

Suddenly, with a swift CRACK, Starswirl materialized behind the sergeant.

“Stop!” Starswirl shouted excitedly. “Move, I have an idea!”

Choosing not to second-guess the wizard, Ironmane dove out of the way. Starswirl fired a bolt of magic at the jet-black crossbow bolt sticking out of the Zentnor’s chest—he suddenly stopped screaming, and lay still.

"I thought you said they were immune to your hocus-pocus mumbo-jumbo?!" Ironmane yelled. "What the hay was that?!"

"Those bolts—they're made of pure elementium!" Starswirl gushed. "Not only is it stronger than their armor, it's a superconductor!"

Ignoring the wizard's explanation, Ironmane stood back up and reloaded his crossbow. “...Did you kill'em?” he asked, preparing to charge at another Zentnor.

“Just a paralysis spell,” Starswirl continued enthusiastically. "Keep doing what you just did!"

Ironmane nodded and tackle-charged Ashton’s opponent, taking him and the rodeo champ by surprise. The two armored stallions rolled on the ground a few times, bashing each other with their hooves until one of them buried his crossbow into the other’s chest. Firing point-blank yet again, Ironmane embedded another elementium bolt into the Zentnor’s armor.

As soon as it had been pounded through, the sergeant dove away, and Starswirl stunned their foe.

“An’ jus’ why didn’t y’all do that in the first place?!” Ashton laughed, watching the flailing Zentnor suddenly freeze up. He followed along with Ironmane and Starswirl as they searched for their next target.

“Ah’ve had just ‘bout enough of y’all,” Applejack hollered, angrily bucking her opponent. She galloped over to the downed mare, pausing a few yards away. “Git up, c’mon. Ah ain’t gonna strike ya while yer down… Ah’m better than that. Now GIT UP!”

“Spare me the act,” the Zentnor mare hissed, standing up. She had not been on her hooves for a full second before Applejack belted her again, knocking her back to the ground several yards away.

“Give up yet?” Applejack asked, towering over the mare—she scrambled to stand back up. 

Applejack’s eyes turned white, and her Element began to glow a bright shade of orange. Power coursed through her legs, and she turned around once more, furiously bucking the shoulder of the Zentnor in front of her.

Her armored hooves produced thousands of brilliant sparks when they collided with the mare’s heavy armor, leaving a small crack in it. The Zentnor stumbled backwards, disoriented—a section of her brown-pelted shoulder was exposed.

Applejack was about to continue her attack when a crossbow bolt whizzed past her ears, embedding into her foe’s exposed weakness. “What’n tarnation?” she gasped, turning to Ironmane and Starswirl—the latter fired a jet of blue magic at the black bolt, causing the Zentnor mare to seize up and lay motionless.

“Ironmane’s elementium bolts are our ticket in!” Starswirl explained excitedly, floating past the clueless Applejack. He followed along as Ironmane attacked Shining Armor's opponent.

“Heya partner, spare a rope?” Ashton asked, galloping over to Applejack. “Ah’ve got a idea!”





The airborne team was faring better than they had been, but were still outnumbered and unable to catch their speedier opponents. Aeon, Spitfire, and Soarin’ were each dogfighting, and Terra was using rocky projectiles to assault one of them as well. 

Dash, however, was under attack from both sides—Nagamina pursued her from behind, and another pegasus Zentnor was closing in on her from an adjacent angle. He collided with her shoulder and sent her spiraling off to the side—she struggled to recover before Nagamina could follow up her ally’s attack.

Fluttershy was nervously watching this from afar, until her concentration was broken by a familiar voice from below.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack called out. “’Ay Fluttershy!”

“Oh, hi Applejack,” Fluttershy replied quietly. “…What’s wrong?” Her voice didn't even come close to reaching.

“C’mere, sugarcube!” Applejack continued, seeing Fluttershy's lips move, but hearing nothing. “Ah got a plan!” 

Pausing worriedly to watch Dash evade another attack from Nagamina, Fluttershy swooped down towards her friend. “Oh no…” she gulped, listening to Applejack’s idea. “…Are you sure that will work?”

“Ah’d trust ‘em with mah life,” Applejack replied. “Don’t you worry, Fluttershy, just git down here as fast as ya can—we’ll take care’a the rest!”

Fluttershy hesitantly cringed once more before taking flight again. She approached the Zentnor that had struck Dash from the side—he was hovering in place, carefully watching his foe’s flight path and getting ready to charge her again.

“Um,” Fluttershy said quietly, tapping the Zentnor on the shoulder. “Excuse me… Um, I heard that your mother was a… Um… I mean… She was a… Uh…”

**********

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?” roared the Zentnor, turning and swinging at her. She ducked, grinning at him sheepishly before zipping away into a nose dive towards Applejack and Ashton. She pulled up just before reaching them, leading her pursuer directly over the two earth ponies’ heads. 

A rope coiled itself around one of the spikes in his armor—he ignored it and continued flying after Fluttershy. Reaching the end of the rope, the forceful Zentnor pulled Ashton off of the ground.

“Aaaahhhhh!” Ashton hollered, swinging freely behind the Zentnor as he pursued Fluttershy.. 

Realizing that Ashton’s plan hadn’t quite succeeded as described, Fluttershy panicked and zipped towards the rest of the ground team, who were just finishing up with their last foe. 

“W-what the?!” Ragehoof shouted, staring at Ashton as he was towed over his head. "...HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

Galloping at top speed and jumping high into the air, Ragehoof managed to grab Ashton’s hind leg. The Zentnor pegasus was weighed down even more, further slowing his flight speed. 

"Hold still!" Shining Armor yelled from below Ragehoof. "Quit movin' around!"

Using an aura of magic to steady Ragehoof's flailing hind legs, Armor jumped upwards as well, grabbing on and joining the chain of ponies weighing down the Zentnor.

“Hah!” Starswirl laughed, unable to contain himself. The three stallions had slowed him enough to allow Fluttershy to get away. He was now hovering furiously in place, trying to shake the rope off of his armor—Ashton's lasso knot wouldn't budge.

"Hoo-eee! Hang on, fellas!” Applejack yelled, catching up from behind and hopping into the air and grabbing Armor's hind leg.

“THIS… AIN’T… AHHHH!!” Ashton shouted in pain. Despite Rarity's power protecting him, he was starting to feel like the weight of the ponies would pull him apart. No longer having to jump very high, Ironmane hopped up and grabbed Applejack’s hind leg, pulling the entire chain downwards. 

“NO, NO, NO! DON’T PULL NO MORE, PLEASE! AAAAAAGGHHHH!”

“Oooh, look at that!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing towards them. “It’s like a pony balloon!” It was exactly as she described—Ironmane was on the ground, keeping the entire chain from floating away.

“DO SOMETHING!” Ragehoof yelled at her. "ANYTHING!"

The Zentnor pegasus roared furiously, doing everything he could to stay airborne. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, but he was unable to gain altitude.

Pinkie hopped onto Ironmane’s back, and bounced onto Applejack’s head. She climbed the chain of ponies until she reached the rope, which she hopped onto and began vertically scaling it like a tightrope.

“...I’m not sure that’s physically possible,” Fluttershy said quietly, watching Pinkie defy the laws of gravity.

“W-what the?!” the confused pegasus shouted, helplessly watching Pinkie hop onto his back. 

“Bonk!” she giggled, plopping into a sitting position onto his furiously beating wings—he immediately lost his ability to fly, causing everyone to plummet into a pile of ponies below.

“...Hold ‘em down,” Armor muttered, crawling out of the pile and stepping on the Zentnor's wing. Ironmane did as well, reaching into his saddlebag for the crossbow.

“That’s one way to do it,” Ragehoof grumbled, sitting up. Pinkie tripped over a protruding spike while trying to hop off of the Zentnor’s back, landing on Ragehoof's face.

“GET OFF OF ME!” shouted the Zentnor, while Armor and Ashton held his wings firmly against the ground, leaving his chest exposed. 

Ironmane buried the crossbow into his chest and fired—he tossed the crossbow aside and pounded the bolt further into the Zentnor’s chest, jerking away to give Starswirl a clear shot.

“…Wizard?” Ironmane asked, looking over his shoulder and raising an eyebrow—Starswirl was rolling on the ground laughing.

“Yes, yes, hah, sorry ‘bout that,” he replied hysterically, floating off of the ground and paralyzing the struggling pegasus. “Let’s hope the rest of ‘em go down just as easily! Hah!”

“Easily?!” Ashton cringed, feeling a shooting pain in his ribs while Pinkie healed him.





Terra lifted a large rock and held it in place, waiting for her Zentnor opponent to charge her again. The pegasus mare banked widely and charged at her, producing a sonic boom of crackling orange energy.

Terra quickly dodged to the right, causing her foe to smash through the rock instead.

“Looks like we’re going to need something harder,” Terra said angrily, clenching her hoof. The ground rumbled as she sensed its contents, searching for something stronger than the stones she had been ineffectively hurling. 

Finding a massive crystalline geode, she pulled it out of the ground and rapidly projected it at her foe. 

Having stalled out of supersonic speed from the previous attack, the Zentnor was unable to evade. Terra slammed  the stone square into her back—right where her wings connected. Screaming in pain, she spiraled out of control and plummeted towards the ground.

Terra started to crack open the ground beneath the Zentnor, preparing to cast her into a fissure, but she was distracted by a sudden shout from below.

“Wait!” Starswirl called out. "One moment!"

“What?!” Terra hissed. She watched as Ironmane came galloping towards the downed Zentnor pegasus, tackling the mare before she could take flight again.





Spitfire went into a steep vertical incline, her angry foe in hot pursuit. The two pegasi went to extreme heights, feeling the air thinning around them as they continued to climb at supersonic speeds. As the air continued to thin, their speed slowed rapidly—before long, they stalled out completely.

Floating in the freezing air for a moment, Spitfire grinned triumphantly at the Zentnor. “Fancy armor on your wings, bud,” she chattered, shivering in the intense cold. “W-wonder what happens when they freeze up? He-heh…”

“...YOU’RE INSANE!” the Zentnor called Flatwing roared, losing feeling in his wings. He turned and went into a nose dive, but Spitfire was already ahead of him—she caught him around the waist, preventing his wings from moving.

“Exactly!” Spitfire laughed wildly. “Still wanna call dibs on this!?" They began to plummet towards the ground.

“PULL UP!” Flatwing screamed desperately, flailing his legs. “YOU’RE GONNA GET US BOTH KILLED! PULL UP, YOU LUNATIC! AHHHHHH!”

“What’s the matter!?” Spitfire squealed. “Can’t handle me?!” She bit down on a few of the exposed feathers sticking out of his wingbone's armor and jerked her head sideways, ripping them out. 

Flatwing screamed hysterically as Spitfire let go of him, leaving him to plummet towards the ground with an inability to regain control of his flight. Jerking his unbalanced wings desperately, he slowed his fall enough to survive it, but after crashing into the ground, he did not move.

Ironmane and Starswirl materialized next to him, shrugging at each other—he was already out cold.





“Jeez, quit movin’ around!” Soarin’ laughed, dodging his opponent again. “What good’s all that speed if you can’t maneuver any more?! C'mon!”

Not hearing him, the attacking Zentnor mare swooped at him again, trying to graze his wings with her hooves. 

Soarin’ whistled at her mischievously as he lowered his altitude and dodged the attack. “Yoohoo!” he shouted from below, waving. “Over here!”

Frustrated with the lack of results from the dogfighting, the Zentnor slowed her speed and turned around, approaching him slowly and watching him carefully.

“Finally,” Soarin' laughed, charging at her and feint attacking—she lowered her altitude in an attempt to dodge his apparent attack from above, but instead got kneed in the chin as he juked downwards and increased his altitude rapidly. Having successfully disorientated her, he punched her in the chest a few times, knocking the wind out of her. 

Soarin’ rotated around and drove his elbow into her left wing, dislocating it entirely.

“Call me sometime, this was fun!” Soarin’ shouted at her, laughing. 

She desperately waved her right wing, spiraling towards the ground—Starswirl and Ironmane were already waiting below. 





Aeon was not faring well in attacking, but the same was true for the Zentnor he was dogfighting with. The professor didn’t have much of a chance to retaliate as he dodged, but he noticed something below him while flipping out of the way of an attack. 

He dove towards the ground, pulling up just before reaching it. The Zentnor pursued him, only to get lassoed by two ropes when reaching the ground.

Aeon had led him straight over Applejack and Ashton, and Armor and Ragehoof were each helping them pull their ropes downwards.

“CURSE YOU!” the Zentnor spat, being pulled closer and closer to the ground. 

“My pleasure,” Aeon smiled, bowing at him while Ironmane and Starswirl materialized below with a CRACK of blue magic. The four ponies wrangled the Zentnor to the ground, and Ironmane tackled him.




**********

Realizing that her entire Collective had been defeated, Nagamina skidded to a halt and hovered in midair, seething at what was happening on the ground below her. 

“It’s over!” Dash yelled triumphantly, hovering across from her. “Give up, featherbrain!”

“No…” Nagamina replied darkly, reaching over to her right shoulder guard with her left hoof. She flipped one of its spikes open, revealing a red button inside of it. 

“I don’t care if this kills me… IT’S WORTH IT… TO CRUSH YOU PATHETIC WORMS!!”

“Whoa, what’s that do?” Dash questioned, watching Nagamina jam the button and flip the spike back into place. She did not reply, but Dash was able to hear a faint tsst sound from behind her armor. 

Nagamina closed her glowing eyes and mumbled in a trancelike state. “…Heh,” she laughed ominously. “…Oh… oh, yes… yes… YES, YES! I WILL RIP YOUR WINGS OFF, CELESTIA! AHHHHAHAHAHA! GET READY TO DIE!!”

“…I’m not Celestia,” Dash said nervously, backing away. "...Name's Rainbow Dash, remember?" 

The feral Zentnor’s eyes shot open—the orange energy pouring from them turned deep red, and when she opened her mouth, a haze of red energy seeped from her throat as well.

“JUST AS SOON AS I TEAR YOU FROM THE SKIES!” Nagamina screamed. She exploded into a vertical incline, leaving a trail of brilliant red energy behind her. 

Dash nervously watched her rise into the sky—she readied herself for an incoming attack.

“Oh, this can’t be good,” Aeon commented, watching from below. He darted off to find Spitfire and Soarin’ while Nagamina rotated in midair, turning and preparing to charge at Dash.

Dash didn’t give her the first move—she soared upwards, her Element glowing brightly.

“FOOL!” Nagamina laughed, diving at her opponent with her hooves outstretched. They collided, sending a shockwave of red and rainbow-colored energy in every direction. 

Dash didn’t feel much from the collision, but she was forcefully knocked backwards, slamming into the ground below at supersonic speeds. Guarded by the full strength of her Element, Rarity's potential, and the mithril flight suit, even the impact with the ground felt like nothing. 

Leaving a trail of dirt and rainbow energy, Dash jumped off of the ground and took flight, banking to Nagamina’s right and starting to pick up speed. Nagamina chased at a narrow angle, intercepting her and crashing into her from the side. Nagamina pounded her from above and sent her spiraling out of control once again.

“GAH!” Dash thought, flailing her wings before colliding with the ground again. She stood back up, spat out a mouthful of dirt, and glared at Nagamina from the ground. “...Looks like it’s time to try something new!”

Dash looked down at the brilliant ruby lightning bolt on her neck, and her eyes began to glow white. Kicking off of the ground with explosive force, she blasted her way through the sound barrier in seconds, producing a rainboom just above the ground—the ears of everyone on the ground were left ringing.

Speeding right past Nagamina, Dash started flying towards the edge of the six-mile-wide crater, quickly leaving her opponent behind as she rapidly gained speed.

“SPEED IS NOTHING WITHOUT MANEUVERABILITY!” Nagamina screamed, halting in midair and staring at Dash. Her Element was glowing so brightly that she looked like a ball of red energy, leaving behind a rainbow-colored trail in its wake.

Though Dash couldn’t hear her hysterical screams, she already knew that her intense speed wasn’t allowing her to attack her opponent directly. That wasn’t what she was trying to do.

“Luna was right,” Dash thought, squinting her eyes furiously.  “WAS!”

“WELL?!” Nagamina shouted angrily. “ARE YOU GONNA ATTACK, OR WHAT?! BRING IT, FILLY!”

Dash continued to bank at an extremely wide angle, drawing deeply on the power of her Element and increasing her speed as high it would go. She began to supercharge the air as she soared through it, leaving white storm clouds in her wake—brilliant lightning of red, blue, and yellow forked from them.

“Look at what she’s doing!” Aeon shouted excitedly—he, Spitfire, and Soarin’ gaped in awe, watching Dash follow the circumference of the massive crater. Wind began to pick up immensely as she circled faster and faster.

“She’s forming a...tornado!?” Spitfire screamed, flapping her wings harder and harder to stay in place.

Starswirl suddenly materialized next to them in midair with a CRACK. “Time to go, fillies and gentlecolts!” he shouted hurriedly—with a series of head-spinning teleports, he blink-ported them out of the crater's airspace, rematerializing next to Rarity, Cadance, Twilight, and Celestia. 

The rest of the ground team had already been teleported out of the crater, which was starting to become engulfed by a massive funnel cloud, brilliantly illuminated by rainbow streaks.

Unable to fight the howling winds any longer, Nagamina started getting sucked into the glowing tornado. 

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Nagamina had completely lost control of her flight, despite the near-lethal amount of stimulant that was coursing through her body. She spun around violently, starting to get pelted by bolts of tricolored lightning. Her armor grounded the lightning, but it heated up rapidly, turning red-hot.

The eleven motionless Zentnor on the ground below were sucked into the tornado as well—Shining Armor had to raise a shield to keep the Elite from getting sucked in from the edge of the crater.

With the tornado now functioning by itself, Dash used a short burst of speed to exit in a tangential line, arcing upwards and flying high into the sky. Slowing and coming to a halt, Dash paused in midair, staring into the center of the tornado, where Nagamina spun around helplessly.

“Uh oh,” Starswirl shuddered worriedly, realizing what Dash was about to do. “This is going to sound strange, Rarity, I need a quick favor…”

“Predict this,” Dash said determinedly. She exploded into a direct nose-dive, exploding through the sound barrier and aiming straight for the incapacitated Nagamina.

Their collision created a shockwave of unmatched force—it completely dissipated the tornado, sent the eleven Zentnor flying in every direction, shattered Armor's shield spell, and knocked all of the Elite backwards.

Dash drove Nagamina into the ground, creating a massive sub-crater in the center of the Tartarus crater. Jumping away from her foe, Dash was surprised to see something burst out of the ground.

“AAAGGHH!” Nagamina screamed hysterically, limping towards her. “STUPID… FILLY… JUST… DIE!!”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Dash replied, staring at the completely feral pegasus in front of her. 

Nagamina’s armor had cracked open in several places, and her wings were clearly dislocated. Her left hind leg was also broken, but she still limped towards Dash, her eyes blazing, and her mouth frothing.

Without warning, Starswirl and Ironmane materialized by Dash’s side with a swift CRACK.

“What th-“

Dash’s surprise was cut off by a swift shot from Ironmane—the crossbow bolt whizzed past her, embedding itself in one of the cracks in Nagamina’s armor.

“AHHHH! NO! YOU… I HATE YOU!” Nagamina screamed. Starswirl fired a bolt of magic at the crossbow bolt, surging her body with paralyzing magic, but she powered through it and continued to trudge forward on her three usable legs. The burning stimulant in her veins was preventing the wizard's spell from knocking her out.

“WILL… NOT… STOP… MEEE!!” 

Ironmane fired another elementium bolt at her, striking a crack in her chest. Starswirl zapped the bolt again, but Nagamina continued to limp towards Dash furiously.

“I got this, guys!” Dash said determinedly, preparing to charge. "I can finish-" 

Starswirl raised a hoof at Dash to stop her—with a swift CRACK of blue magic, he teleported Twilight to his side.

“...Ya called?!” Twilight gasped in panic, scrambling away from Nagamina. "What d'you want me to do?!"

“Sorry about the rush!” Starswirl shouted. “Seems I don’t have enough juice to take her down! Use the Element to power a stunning spell! Aim for the crossbow bolt!”

“The crossbow bolt?” Twilight asked, preparing her spell—Starswirl pointed at the elementium bolt in her chest.

“ALL OF YOU… I’LL KILL… ALL OF YOU!” Nagamina wailed, several feet away from Dash. Twilight fired a powerful  paralysis spell at the Zentnor leader, causing her to crumple forward to her knees.

“RAAAAGH! NO! I HATE YOU!” she spat desperately, trying to crawl towards them. “I HATE YOU!!”

Twilight repeated the spell, striking the bolt in her shoulder—Nagamina collapsed for a moment, but let out a bloodcurdling scream and started jerking her head around violently. She flipped onto her back, kicking her legs spastically into the air—her mind was defeated, but her body was still fighting.

“In three!” Starswirl shouted, floating to Twilight’s side. “Two!”

“ONE!”

The two unicorns fired stunning spells at Nagamina simultaneously—Starswirl’s blue jet sunk into the bolt on her shoulder, and Twilight’s violet attack sunk into her chest. 

With a final ear-piercing scream, Nagamina’s legs went limp, and she finally lay still.