//------------------------------//
// PiT 15: TALOS 
// Story: Ponies in Tartarus 
// by ff0000 
//------------------------------//





Five ponies stood in shock, separated from their dear friend by a gap in a giant stone bridge. The distance was too far to be leapt over, and falling would result in getting sucked into frothing whirlpools far below. Standing along, on the other side, was Rarity. She stared down the guardian of the river without her friends’ support.

“Rarity, what are you doing?” Twilight asked.

“Stopping her.” The way Rarity said her was full of sardonic anger. “Dealing with all of the bronze monstrosities and this brute at the same time will prove troublesome. I’ll keep her busy while you focus on reaching the princess.”

“If anyone’s staying behind, I would make a much better choice,” Applejack called out. It was too late for her to get back over though. The distance between the bridges was further than even her long jump distance.

“Or me,” Rainbow Dash added. When she tried to fly over, a wall of mechanical birdcages blocked her way. Her worried face shifted from side to side, peering through the cage bars.

Rarity forcefully extended her foreleg out to quiet them down. “You two are much more helpful breaking forward. Do not worry about me. I will be fine assuming you stop distracting me and let me focus.” Her powerful tone gave way to a more high pitched, quivering voice. “I’m not telling you to leave me here. I’m telling you to hurry up to the princess and tell her to save me.”

With great reluctance, Twilight said, “Okay.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash and Applejack cried out. Their bad feelings were clearly displayed on their frowning faces.

“Trust Rarity. She’s good at taking care of herself.”

“Yeah, but-” Rainbow Dash started to protest.

A meek cry of, “Help please, if you aren’t too busy,” came from Fluttershy.

Both her and Pinkie had been swarmed by the mechanical spiders and were being dragged towards the bridge. The hyper earth pony was flailing wildly. She shook off any spider limbs on her body with the sound of hooves thumping against metal. The meek pegasus had remained completely still and carried along on top of two spiders. They were getting dangerously close to the edge, where a birdcage was waiting down below with beaks open wide.

A streak of rainbow flew through the group of spiders, sending them flying over the bridge and into the water while at the same time snatching Fluttershy away.

“Let’s go,” Twilight said.

“Yeehaw!” Applejack reared up, cycling her front legs. When she landed, the powerful work pony charged forward. Her strong legs burst through the bronze spiders in the way allowing the others to follow.

Back on the bridge segment rotated out of orientation, Rarity and Sticks were still standing there. Sticks was dully looking at something on the ankle of her foreleg, usually the place where a watch would be if she wore one. Her other foreleg tapped on the ground.

“You waited for us to finish talking,” Rarity said. “You’re surprisingly polite for a brute.”

Sticks shrugged. “I’m not worried about them anyway. TALOS will take care of them easily.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate them, or me.”

The dark purple guardian prowled back and forth along the bridge. “I am giving you my full attention. It’s been awhile since anypony has challenged me to a fight.” She suddenly stopped and turned to face the white unicorn. Sticks growled, “You had better make this interesting!”

With great force, Sticks leapt forward, her body twisting back to ready a blow.

Rarity slipped out of the way. Her hooves were held up to deflected pieces of tile that had shattered from the blow. While the guardian was recovering, she grabbed onto the good sized rock on the bridge with unicorn magic and shot it forward.

The attack merely travelled harmlessly over a pool of shadow on the floor. Sticks reformed to start her assault again.

Of the two, it was clear that the guardian was the better fighter. By mixing martial arts with her ability to glide over the ground as a shadow, she easily gained the upper hoof. The largest difference between them was just how much more aggressive and willing to use violence Sticks was.

Rarity was doing everything she could just to not get hit. Her magic grabbed onto every nearby piece of shattered tile or loose rocks. After controlling everything from scissors to sewing needles, often many at the same time in very precise situations, this was nothing to her. The loose debris swarmed around, acting as long range strikes. Still, she was being pushed back, and the end of the bridge segment was coming up soon.

Their hooves stamped on the ground as they zigged and zagged around the bridge. Loose rocks were kicked off the side from their rapid movements. Magical glows and shadowy forms swirled around, clashing with each other. Heavy rocks flew forward and then were pulled back by magic.

After shuffling back several more steps, Rarity felt one of her hind legs slip off the edge of the bridge. She clenched her teeth nervously. A magic glow surrounded every loose thing in the immediate area. Her horn shined like a lighthouse in the night from all the energy it was giving off.

While her opponent was busy avoiding the mass of stuff she launched, Rarity looked around. The only escape route she could see was a natural formed pillar sticking out from the whirling waters below. Nothing else was around for her, and Sticks was stomping forward again.

Rarity even tried using magic directly on the river guardian. Of course, the energies were broken with just a step forward. Manipulating living things weren’t easy. Manipulating living things that were actively resisting was even harder. Now, manipulating a living pony as strong as Sticks, that was so far out of her magic that to even try was laughable. It was only pure desperation that made Rarity give it a shot, but her magic was always more suited for fine movements.

With nowhere else to go, Rarity jumped to the pillar. Only the front half of her body made it. Both forelegs held on tightly as her hind legs pushed off on whatever was available. She let out a small sigh as she managed to climb onto the pillar.

Now what though? Rarity merely traded a not-so-dead end for a full dead end.

Sticks made the leap to the pillar easily. Her bright eyes and grin revealed just how much she was really enjoying this. Even though her mane was ruffled and fur spiked out wildly from combat, this was fun.

The guardian’s heavy breathing slowed as she moved forward. “No more places to run.”

Rarity’s horn suddenly lit up. This light came all on its own, without the unicorn meaning to. Her head was pulled back so she was staring straight up. Several giant gems were stuck into giant stalactite. That wasn’t what the light on her horn was pointing to though.

A thin ray of light shot forth, bouncing between the gemstones. It landed on a pair of swords that looked well cared for, unlike the scraps of metal in the river channel. They had a monstrous design with the guard being furious horned faces spitting the blade out from their fanged mouths. The blades had several jagged edges, perfect for cutting, ripping and tearing. A chain linked the two blades together.

Using magic, Rarity pulled down one of the blades. The swing arc would pass directly through Sticks. The guardian followed her opponents eyes and saw the sharp sword heading directly for her. She immediately stepped to the side, but the force of the swing severed a few strands of her mane. That only made her happier about the entire situation.

Rarity caught onto the handle of the swinging blade, and with a shriek, she swung away. Her hind legs left the platform and were dangling over the empty air. Falling would result in getting sucked down and eventual drowning.

As she swung, the blades proved their sharpness. The one still lodged up in the stalactite had cut through it, sending the entire spike falling down. Rarity let out another cry when she realized that nothing was holding her up anymore. Quickly, she used her magic to shoot the other blade into a nearby wall and wrapped the chain around a jutting out rock structure for the actual support.

There was a loud thud as the white unicorn slammed into the wall. She just barely managed to keep ahold of the blade. Her eyes spun around on her slack face as she gently swung from side to side.

Once she came back from the dizziness, Rarity felt a strange surge of power. She took a deep breath that seemed to reinvigorate her aching body. It did absolutely nothing for the dirt on her fur, however. With the newfound energy flowing through her, she managed to climb up to small rock formation that the chains were wrapped around. A look of awe was on Rarity’s face as she let the power flow through her. It was definitely coming from these mysterious blades, she was sure of that. Once again, the horn had led her to a great treasure.

The unicorn wrapped the chain around her arms, going around her back. They were vile tools of combat, but in this situation, they had to be used. With a leap that would have been impossible for her a moment ago, Rarity sailed through the air as if she could fly. Magic powers pushed on of the blades out, letting her swing from a stalactite. She landed back on the bridge. Heavy breaths of excitement welled up within the unicorn.

With a growl, Sticks jumped back to the bridge as well.

When the clash between the two ponies resumed, Rarity found that she could move better. The opponent felt sluggish compared to her lithe and graceful spinning. She could easily dance around the guardian all day, though she was reluctant to actually attack. The blades around her forelegs had proven to be extremely sharp.

“Don’t you think it would be wise to stop?” Rarity asked. “Somepony is going to get seriously hurt, and it will likely be you.”

Sticks scoffed at the notion of stopping. A maddening look swirled around her eyes. “Getting hurt is part of the excitement.”

What was not exciting to the guardian was the prospect of losing. She was no longer able to even keep up with the unicorn. Whenever she attempted an attack, her hoof merely smashed into empty space. After getting driven back into the corner of the bridge, Sticks let out a frustrated howl. It wasn’t all the weapon’s doing, the unicorn had some genuine skill.

Sticks prowled around the bridge while breathing heavily. Her gaze flickered to far away ledge. It was time to kick things up a bit.

Even though she could have used a flying birdcage to get her there, Sticks refused to use outside help in their one on one match. Instead, she bounces off several smaller spires sticking out from the water. Her legs turned into shadow, keeping her from sliding down. While her movements were not nearly as graceful as fellow guardian, Fleckle Sun, she got to her destination all the same.

Sitting precariously on the edge was a shattered lion statue. Behind it stood another one, though this statue was just missing its head. Both heads were located on the ground nearby. Their grand manes looked slicked back into a pointed tip. The neck part was reinforced by banded steel, and there was a slot where somepony could stick their hooves in.

That was just what Sticks did. Both of the heavy stone lion heads were equipped onto the end of her forelegs as punching weapons. She extended a leg towards unicorn, showing off the teeth filled maw of the lion. Her grin grew even wider, and if it was possible, her teeth grew sharper. The power of the stone lion punchers filled Sticks up.

On her way back to the bridge, every spire she landed on shattered from the force of the lions’ impact. Her arrival was signaled by two heavy thuds as the stone weapons landed.

“Alright,” Sticks said. She rolled her shoulders. The eyes of her lion punchers glowed menacingly. “Now it’s on.”





Further ahead, Twilight and the others were doing their best to get through the swarms of mechanical spiders and birdcage birds. There were a lot more metal beasts than readily visible as a majority of them nested in alcoves and chambers underneath the great bridge. The clicking of metal legs came up from both sides of the bridge.

Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were trying to keep from getting overwhelmed while Rainbow Dash charged through the birdcages to reach the next separated bridge segment. Poor Fluttershy could only watch and tremble as the roaring metal clashed against pony hooves. The best she could hope for was not to be a burden to the others.

“Gyaaah!” Pinkie cried. The cheery pink pony had been watching the rear by herself. A surprise spider leg sticking out from the side of the bridge tripped her, causing her to roll into a group of spider machines.

“Pinkie!” Fluttershy gasped. “Twilight, they got Pinkie Pie.”

“I’m coming,” the weary purple unicorn said. She shook off the pained expression from battling through the bridge’s defense system. They were almost there. It was no time to fall now.

Pinkie Pie frantically waved her hoof. “No. Don’t worry about me. Keep going.”

The next bridge had just slid into place, meaning that all the resting bronze guards on that segment could now reach them. If they remained, they would be overwhelmed from all angles.

“But-” Twilight started to say.

“Negatory on the objections missy! You have got to save Spike so we can have the best party ever!” Pinkie cried as she was dragged under the bridge by the spiders.

Twilight clenched her teeth and looked away. Even though the situation seemed dire, those clockwork animals were still not trying to harm them, just capture them. Pinkie would be fine. “Come on, Fluttershy.”

“Mmhmm,” the yellow pegasus squeaked.

Up ahead, Rainbow Dash was starting to feel the fatigue from constant weaving, dodging and muscling through metal flying menaces. The ends of her wings drooped slightly and her movements slowed. After trying to push through two birdcages, the blue pegasus was bounced back.

“Duck, Rainbow!” a voice drawled from the bridge below.

Rainbow Dash did so just as a metal spider flew past her, crashing through the birdcages.

“Get going,” Applejack said. She had just launched a one of the spiders with her powerful hind legs.

Applejack was sweating profusely, and was also starting to tire from the constant onslaught. Her muscles ached with every movement and her legs felt numb from the stream of contact against bronze plating. She hadn’t felt this pained since trying to harvest the entire orchard alone.

Because of the delay, Rainbow Dash had just started to rotate the next bridge segment into place. Applejack, Fluttershy and Twilight were trapped on the edge as a small army of spiders crawled over.

The bridge wasn’t going to make it in time.

“Go, you two,” Applejack said.

“What?” Twilight gasped.

“Come on, Twi, I know you can just teleport there. And Fluttershy, you can fly remember? Y’all get going. I’ll be fine.” Applejack gave a sad but honest smile. “I’ll make another hole in the those bird things.”

“We can’t,” Fluttershy said.

Though Twilight wanted to agree with her shy friend, she knew they had to go on. It felt horrible leaving her friends behind, but if they were all captured here, the entire journey would have been a waste.

She placed a hoof on Fluttershy. “Come on.”

Fluttershy couldn’t find the strength to argue against the dark expression on Twilight’s face.

When the first of the spider contraptions reached them, Applejack flipped it into the air with her head and followed that with a strong hind kick, making a small gap between two birdcages.

“Come on, Sugarcube,” she said to Fluttershy.

Despite how the pegasus tried, her wings didn’t work as well as she wanted.

With a sigh, Applejack burrowed underneath the pegasus. With a hard fling of her hind half, Fluttershy was tossed, screaming through the air, until she was caught by Rainbow Dash.

Twilight gave the farm pony one last appreciative look before teleporting away in a puff of magic.

The good news was, they were nearing the end of the River of Hate. Only two more bridge segments to go before the grand gate that presumably led to the central administration chamber. The bad news was, that with only Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle fighting, getting close enough to the next segment was even harder.

Fluttershy looked at her two friends in front, getting battered and bruised. She then looked behind, where she saw Ferry Merry, Pinkie Pie and Applejack trapped within the caged torsos of the flying bronze birds. If only she wasn’t such a burden. Shiny tears trembled in her eyes.

Spike was her friend as well, yet would she be so useless in trying to save him? Fluttershy’s mouth quivered. And then, they stopped, forming a strong, straight line. Her eyes angled down in determination.

“Come on, girls,” Fluttershy said with her wings open wide.

“Alright!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

With both pegasus flying, the spiders on the bridge could no longer reach them. Because of their simple minded rush mentality, they left large gaps behind them that Twilight could teleport to.

On their way over to the next bridge though, one of the birdcages managed to slam into Rainbow Dash from above, sending her into the open beaks of another one. The pegasus was swallowed into stomach cage.

Twilight and Fluttershy could only spare a glance back as they reached the next bridge segment. Up ahead loomed a giant door with an arch of gold. The door was made of heavy banded metal and decorated with intricate filigree that resembled the shape of a flower.

A strange dreadful feeling came over the two. It was oddly quiet. Sure, the sounds of gears whirring, propellers spinning and spiders clacking were still there, but they were distinctly behind them. None of the mechanical creations had followed.

Twilight tried to activate the bridge switch, to rotate it back into place, only to find that there was none on this segment. Not that it was much of an issue for them. That was, until something happening in the waters below.

Two massive hooves of bronze, large enough to crush small houses, burst forth from under the waters. They landed on either end of the bridge segment. The structure felt like it was about to collapse from all the shaking and buckling, but somehow, it remained upright.

Pulling itself up from the water was a giant mechanical pony. It was a stallions from the shape of him. He was made of bronze. His frame didn’t cover all parts of his body. A complicated series of gears and mechanical parts could be seen churning away within. His mane was like a mohawk, giving the appearance of ancient helmet styles. Two blue eyes flared to life.

“TOTAL ARMORED LARGE OBSTRUCTION SYSTEM, INITIATING WELCOME PROTOCOLS,” the giant mechanical pony said in a hollow, reverberating voice.

Twilight and Fluttershy couldn’t find any words as they stared up at the mechanical bronze pony  that was at least the size of an adult dragon.





Far in the back, Rarity and Sticks were still going at it, their battle now more dangerous than ever. Usually, one would need to train for years to master a weapon attached to a chain, but by using her unicorn magic, Rarity was able to easily manipulate the blades to wherever she wanted. She found that the weapons had magical powers of their own beyond just making her feel stronger. When she really put her effort into an attack, the blades would catch on fire, dealing tremendous damage to anything they touched.

The bridge they had been fighting on had long since been reduced to rubble and swallowed up by the many whirlpools in the water. They now fought across precarious ledges or outcropping on the wall. Several deep gashes were in the rock from where Rarity had landed her attacks. More miniature craters were around from where Stick had struck her blows.

Rarity used magic to send out a blade, swiping horizontally in a wide arc. Sticks raised both hooves and blocked the burning weapon with her stone lion punchers. In one quick move, she grabbed onto chain, or rather, the lion head bit down on it.

Sticks pulled back on the chain with a loud grunt, drawing her opponent in. When the unicorn was close enough, Sticks lashed out with her free foreleg, smashing the other pony away again. Like a bouncing paddle ball, she pulled back on the chain once more.

The sword wrapped around Rarity’s foreleg took the brunt of the blow. It was surprisingly durable, not even showing any signs of cracks even though she thought her leg was going to break after another strike. If the sword wasn’t wrapped around by the chain, she would have dropped it already from her foreleg going numb.

As she was pulled in again, her grimacing face recieved a vicious tint. With the help of telekinesis, she caused the free blade to snake forward. It whipped left, right, up and down, making defending against it difficult.

Sticks widened her eyes as the sharp blade came zooming for her head. She barely aborted the punch and shifted her head to the side. A flash of blood sprayed through the air as her cheeks were nicked by one of the jagged fangs on the sword.

Rarity wasn’t finished just yet. Using the momentum from being pulled in, she rushed past Sticks with the chain lagging behind. As it waved through the air, the links clanged against each other. The height it was dragging at was perfectly neck height for ponies. When the chain was caught under Sticks’ chin, Rarity pulled back, flinging the guardian through the air. Sticks crashed into the rough stone wall, sending out a cloud of debris and knocking several gemstones into the waters.

As the chain returned to Rarity, she watched the crumbling wall with surprise in her eyes. Light twinkled off her wide pupils. She didn’t even notice that after all the fighting, her mane and tail was no longer in their proper curls. Her mind was focused on the blades wrapped around her forelegs. They were brimming with an amazing power, but they also had a dark brutality. Such unladylike behavior just wasn’t her at all. The swords seemed to be injecting its own violent tendencies into her.

Rarity wanted to be rid of the angry weapons, drop them into the water. Until her friends were safe though, she couldn’t do that. She watched on with a broad frown as Sticks emerged from the wall. The under pony was hurt, but she could still fight. Rarity was prepared to give up anything to make sure her friends were safe and Spike was recovered. Determination burned in her eyes as she headed back into combat.

Chains cut through the air. Sparks erupted when they clashed against snarling stone lion heads. Sticks continued executing her strategy of rushing in. It was a rather effective one given the powerful defense and offense of the lion punchers. They continued their evading and chasing along the precarious ledges and pillars. While a misstep wouldn’t be trouble for either of them, thoughts of falling into the mass of whirlpools below still kept them cautious.

Rarity landed on a small pillar. Her face grimaced from the impact. In a reckless attempt to buy some more breathing space, she threw out both swords. When the chained blades came whipping over, she punched them aside. Even with the unicorn magic, the blades wouldn’t return in time. Sticks landed directly in front of the white unicorn. Both lion heads roared forward, landing solid blows right in Rarity’s chest.

The white unicorn sailed through the air, back towards the great bridge. She bounced off the stone tiles several times before finally skidding to a halt. There was a noticeable trail of cracks where she had landed on the bridge.

A satisfied smirk appeared on Sticks face as she wiped the blood from her cheek. She traversed across the ceiling with legs melded to the rock as shadow. Once the bridge was below, she released from the roof. Sticks landed on the bridge with two loud thuds when the stone lions struck against the bridge.

Now to deal with the other ponies. Looking ahead, Sticks saw a few of them had already been captured. A few was not all however. Four birdcages swirled around in the air, holding Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Ferry Merry. Far off in the distance, a massive mechanical pony overshadowed the doorway to the central administration chamber.

“Rarity!” Applejack called out. She pushed furiously against the bars. “What did you do to her?”

Sticks had a sideways sneer. “We just had a tussle.”

Rarity was in a heap on the ground. Her feeble attempts to move only went so far as lifting her head.

Applejack grunted furiously as she kicked the cage. The metal bird swayed side to side, nearly tipping over, but it managed to right itself. Two of the bars were bent, but not enough for a pony to fit through.

Rarity’s half open eyes looked among the cages. “Where are Twilight and Fluttershy?” she gasped out.

“They’re still free,” Rainbow Dash said energetically. “I know they’ll get to the end.”

The guardian let out a snort. As she looked around at the captured ponies, her confidence faltered a bit. All of them still had an absolute belief that their friends would make it. Her mouth curled into a snarl. Though she felt that TALOS could handle them, backup never hurt.

“I’ll go put an end to this right now,” Sticks said.

Her heavy hoofsteps thudded across the bridge. With a wave, one of the flying birdcages came over. Now that the match was over, she had no qualms about accepting outside help. Sticks jumped on top of the mechanical creature, ready to take off.

Rarity wrapped the chained blades around her forelegs tightly. Using the swords for support, she pushed off the ground to a kneeling position. As she summoned her magical powers, her face strained with pain. Both blades launched forward. Their jagged edge clipped into the platform with propellers that the birdcages used to fly. Rarity pulled back, sending the contraption crashing back to the bridge.

“Stop right there, you brute,” she commanded.

Sticks landed on the bridge, a bit stiffer than she would have liked. She turned back with mouth slightly agape. “You want to go again, Prissy Missy? I’ve already beat you. Just stay down and go to sleep.”

“That’s right, Rarity,” Pinkie Pie called out. “You don’t need to push yourself so hard.”

“Yeah, pick on someone your own size,” Rainbow Dash challenged as she pressed up uselessly against the bars.

The white unicorn staunchly swiped a sword horizontally, leaving it pointing out towards the side. Her sharpened eyes were focused on the guardian. “Beaten? Hardly. I don’t need to defeat you to win. All I need is to stop you from interfering with Twilight and Fluttershy. They will make it to the end, I know it. So I won’t let you get in their way!”

She swept upwards, sending both swords towards the ceiling. The two weapons spiraled around each other, trailing their chains behind. At the very top, they snapped together. Flames erupted over the swords.

WIth an intense, focused gaze, Rarity leapt into the air and simultaneously swung downwards. An arc of flame sliced through the air, towards Sticks. The impact sent rubble flying everywhere, and a cloud of dust covered where exactly the strike had landed. Chunks of stone and metal gears fell into the waters as the bridge segment they were on had started to collapse.





Within throwing distance of the exit, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy had been stopped by a veritable bronze wall. Total Armored Large Obstruction System looked down at the ponies with glowing blue eyes.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “go on without me. You can just teleport through, can’t you?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t. I’m not familiar enough with this place, so I need to see where I’m teleporting.”

Both of them had a nervous tick in their speech. They hadn’t taken their eyes off the mechanical bronze pony that completely blocked the view of the double door.

A terrifying metal whirring echoed through the chambers as TALOS raised one of its massive legs. A shadow fell across the unicorn and pegasus as a massive hoof moved over them. It came falling down, intending to trap them within the cup like shape formed by a horseshoe.

Both ponies dodged to the side, just getting out of the way before the gigantic crash.

“Come on, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, trying to sound tough. Her legs were trembling hard, though.

She burrowed under the unicorn and took flight. Fluttershy tried to go up and over the bronze leg in order to get clear line of sight of what was behind TALOS. 

A metal hoof raised up, much faster than someone of TALOS’ size would appear to be capable of, and much faster than a pegasus that was carrying somepony else. Fluttershy bounced off the bronze armor. She quickly righted herself while heading towards the other direction. TALOS raised its other hoof, blocking her flight path.

An audible noise of metal snapping open could be heard. All along TALOS’ shoulder, hatches opened up revealing cannons. “GIVING OUT BALLS AND NETS,” TALOS said, monotonically.

Concussive force vented out the backside of the giant bronze pony’s shoulder as the cannons fired. What came out was not fun and games.

Nets of iron chains, dragged along by iron balls sailing through the air, came for the two ponies. Fluttershy watched in horror as they came toward her. Having nerves of hardened jelly, her wings froze up. Dropping straight down actually allowed them to dodge part of the barrage. They were going to fall right into the whirlpools below however.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight yelled as she grasped the pegasus’ pink mane. She didn’t want to do this, but she used the mane as a sort of steering device.

The tugging was enough to pull Fluttershy out of a freefall. She swooped up, avoiding more nets with the help of Twilight’s steering. As they got close to TALOS, its chest plate slid down, revealing a complex series of rotating weaponry. Staring at them currently were two giant iron claws.

A deep noise rumbled through the cave as the claws shot forth. Dragged behind them were hundreds of clinking chains. Each link was larger than a regular sized pony’s head.

With eyes wide and teeth clenched, Twilight pulled to the left. The claws missed them by only a few hoofs, and went crashing into the bridge. The following air wave caused Fluttershy to spin wildly. The two ponies crashed onto the giant bronze foreleg of TALOS.

They bounced to a stop on one of its grilled exhaust ports.

“Are you okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“Yes.” The meek pegasus was rubbing her head with one eye closed.

“How’s your mane?”

“I’m alright. We have to hurry.”

Twilight looked up and saw that TALOS was bringing its other hoof over. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

The two of them ran up the side of TALOS’ arm.

“INTRODUCING LEG EXERCISES,” TALOS said mechanically.

Several hatches and ports sprung open in an attempt to stop the two ponies, but they weaved through all obstacles. Their hooves struck furiously against the metal plating as they raced forward. If Twilight could make it to the shoulder, she would be able to see behind the bronze giant.

Twilight’s heart fell as the back wall suddenly got further away. TALOS had twisted sideways and leaned its right shoulder forward. The two ponies were quickly being brought back towards the bridge. The second massive foreleg was already in place to sweep them off.

They continued running forward for lack of a better plan. Twilight despondently reached out towards the retreating doorway, but it was no use. The area was moving too much for her to try a teleport. What was once an empty space might be filled by something the next moment.

That was when Fluttershy picked up the unicorn again. They flitted off to the side, away from the main barrage of TALOS.

The mechanical pony had reacted quickly, spinning around in a great splash of water. It’s left hoof came rocketing towards the pegasus.

“SYNCHRONIZING HOOF TO WALL,” TALOS announced.

Fluttershy knew better than anypony that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the strike. Instead, she threw Twilight forward, out of harms way and into line of sight for the doorway.

As soon as Twilight could see the path leading up to the door, she teleported over. Upon arriving, a loud crash boomed through the cavern. Twilight looked back with a look of utmost horror to see TALOS with its hoof pressed tightly against the wall. Chunks of rock were still breaking off from the impact. The yellow pegasus was nowhere in sight.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight called out. “Fluttershy!”

“I’m okay, Twilight,” a quiet voice floated through the air. Fluttershy spoke from within TALOS’ hoof. She was nestled in the gap left by the horseshoe. “Don’t worry about me.”

Twilight gritted her teeth and turned away. She had to hurry as TALOS had started to turn around, still with hoof pressed against the wall.

Up ahead of her was a large set of double doors with a frame of stone. The doors themselves were made of charred wood. In the center of the two doors was a pony’s skull. The skull was as large as Twilight’s entire body and split down the middle. It was hard to tell if the decoration was fake or if there really was such giant pony at one point. Two ruby eyes looked outward to the bridge.

There didn’t seem to be a way of opening the door, no mechanisms, switches or anything of the sort. The door was massive and old however, and that meant a lot of cracks. Twilight found one large enough for her to look through. That was all the information she needed.

When TALOS had finished turning around, the unicorn had vanished, teleported through the gap in the door. Twilight had made it to the central administration chamber.