//------------------------------// // Walls Fall Down // Story: Wired // by canonkiller //------------------------------// The first thing that Spiderwick realized was that his head was ringing. The second was that what he had assumed to be the concrete ceiling of the underground was the sky itself, dark and churning with heavy smoke. The ground moved beneath him, and Spiderwick soon found himself rolling to the side as what he had been lying on slowly got to its feet. "Whitewall and Shadowslice are here." A third pony muttered, placing something cold over his eyes. Her tone sounded motherly, and from the way the Changeling he had rolled off of didn't flee, he assumed it was another Rainstreak. "They're helping." "Pumpernickel." Spider hissed, trying to sit up. "Is fine," the Changeling replied, gently pushing him back down. "If you think you're ready to see, I'll take of the gauze. If you need it back, just tell me." His vision slowly returned, blurred a bit around the edges, and he scanned the area. He seemed to be lying on a towel, with at least two dozen Changelings patrolling the area. Many other towels were lined up, cycling through ponies. A dim glow caught his eye, and he turned his head, vision going dark for a moment as the ringing returned. When he squinted them open, he was happily greeted by the ground dropping straight down into a gaping pit of fiery hell. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. Flames danced over huge chunks of rubble, leaving black trails over their surfaces. The sides of the pit shone with embers, illuminating small, flitting silhouettes through the flames. One of the black shapes dropped suddenly, consuming itself in a green bubble before vanishing into the flames. A few others dipped down towards it, and within moments they had hauled something out of the wreckage, darting back over the edge to deposit their catch. Spider saw a glimpse of blackened hide dappled with blood, and he realized exactly what the ponies were doing. They were retrieving the dead. He watched in horror at the sheer numbers of bodies that were dragged out as the swarms grew, new Changelings and Pegasi flying in from every direction to help. A small group of Unicorns stood together with a small Changeling pack, sorting through what looked like records. Every so often, one of the Unicorns would wave a hoof between one of the papers and a body, and another would shoot a crackling beam of magic up into the night. "They're counting the dead." The Changeling beside him muttered. He turned, finally recognizing Eclpse sitting beside his makeshift cot, wringing a red-stained towel dry above a bucket of water. "The vigil will be tonight, should you choose to stay." "Eclipse? I-I don't understand. What happened?" "In these times, just call me Crescent." Crescent sighed, wringing out the towel again, despite the fact it was already dry. "They knew about it, the underground markets, and they didn't want anyone trading goods they could sell for more. The turned their retribution on us." Loud shouts erupted from the surveying ponies as they hauled something huge and shining up from the rubble, pieces glowing orange from the heat. As the other groups swarmed to aid them, Crescent got to her hooves. "They've found a drone!" "A what?" "One of the robots they use to attack us. They can't risk using real ponies, we can identify their dead Normally the robots burn up, this one must have been made of tougher stuff." Excitement slid into her voice, and she grinned down at Spiderwick. "I'll get one of my pack to bring the kid over here, I need to go check that thing out." She darted off towards the shimmering machine, leaving Spiderwick on his cot. He turned his head, looking at the fallen around him. Directly beside him, a white-coated Pegasus curled up on her towel, gauze wrapped around her eyes and head while her ears gently turned. "Hello?" She lifted her head, teeth gritting as the reddish smear above where her eyes were hidden growing slightly. "Hello?" "Over here." Spiderwick clarified, tapping a hoof on the concrete. Her ears turned towards the noise, followed by her head, and he was suddenly unnerved at how well she had located him without her eyes. One of her wings slid down her side, soft blue bruising showing through her feathers. "Oh, hi. Were you down there too?" "Uh, yeah. I'm not really sure what happened to me, though. Eclipse," he paused, "Crescent got me and my foal out of the worst of it, though." "Oh, you have a foal?" She smiled gently, her tail sliding across the bloodstained towel to lay up against her side. Spiderwick blushed, dipping his head. "W-well, she's more like a sister, but I-" "You stole a baby!?" Spiderwick turned towards the yell, hearing the soft hiss of pain as the mare did the same. He noticed Crescent some distance away, half-hovering as she glared at her pack-mate. A small, white foal hid between the others' front hooves. "I didn't steal a baby!" He whined, ducking under her glare. "I-" "Kidnapped a baby?" She interrupted, glaring at the foal. It backed up between the second Changeling's legs, and he stood up to match Crescent's height. His voice dropped, ending the eavesdropping. "What was that about?" The mare asked, ears pushed so far forward they seemed about to fall off her head. "I can't see that far." "Oh, Crescent's yelling at somepony." Spiderwick halted, turning to the mare's half-bandaged face. "'See'? You've got stuff on your eyes." She tapped a hoof to her ears. "I'm blind, it doesn't matter. I can half-see the stuff closest to me when noise bounces off of it, but that's too small and too distant." "You're blind?" He repeated, stunned. "Yeah. Crescent helped me out of the underground before she went back to help the others. She may be one of the greater powers in the black market, but she's got a good heart." Spiderwick watched as Crescent lead her pack-mate a few steps away from the foal, muttered to him, and then fluidly flipped him onto his back, muttering at him while prodding his chest with a hoof. "Yeah. Good." "I don't think I caught your name, Mr...?" "Spiderwick." He smiled, extending a hoof and gently tapping it on her towel so she knew where it was. "And you?" She slowly extended her hoof, careful not to kick him. Her tail fell away from her bare flank. "Anastasia Redheart." ----- "-and I swear, if you hide something like this from me again, I will personally rip your throat out of your neck and stick it-" "Lady Crescent?" She lifted her muzzle from Torch's terrified eyes, standing up to face the newcomer. As Torch scrambled to his hooves, the younger Changeling pinned his ears and flashed single yellow bands under each of his eyes. "Yes, Shadowslice...?" "Dusk Shadowslice, Miss." "Grand. Torch, take your kidnapped baby over to the Rainstreak tents, okay? And bring Redback his kid." Torch trotted away, carrying the foal on his back. The Shadowslice peered after him for a moment, snapping to attention as Crescent stomped a hoof. "Who sent you?" "Phoenix Shadowslice. Our leader." "Of course. Why?" "He thinks we've found a way into the Enterprise building, but he doesn't want to try it first unless he's discovered and it's closed off." "I'll meet him tomorrow, here. Tell him the vigil will be tonight if he wishes to mourn with us." The young Changeling nodded, bowing gently before turning and loping back across the concrete. She sighed, turning back to the impromptu bonfire before her. Her horn lit with green fire, drawing the heat out of the flame and directing it into the clouds. A bright orange streak tore into the sky as it met the smoke, her magic flaring wildly to control the flame. Her teeth ground together as she sent the flare up through the layer of smoke, spreading out the tendrils of flame until she could feel their weaving heat against the cool hum of her magic. With a last push, she knew the flame had completed it's task; she could see the dim glow of a sketched insignia through the smoke. A sun with eight beams, half-filled by a moon's gentle curve. The flame glowed for a few more moments before is diminished, vanishing into the smoke. Crescent watched where it had been, forehead burning with the residual energy. She released it in a few waves of disguises, changing rapidly between forms to burn it off. "Entropy Enterprises," she hissed, her breath steaming slightly from her spiked temperature, "we're ready to end this." Her hoof ground into the concrete, darkening it with soot as the last of her disguises burned away. "Once and for all." ----- Anastasia sighed, fluffing her wings up against the fading heat. She could hear the rain around her, but the Pegasi, having deemed the fire safe to soak, were controlling the blaze surprisingly well. Waves of hot and cold rolled from the clustered storm as steam and smoke mixed with drizzle, spitting and spiraling away from the blaze itself. "S-S-Spida... I thought you'd..." "I'm fine," the colt muttered, shifting to pull the young filly closer. "I'm right here for you." Anastasia had her back turned to them, but her ears wouldn't filter out their noise alone. She sighed and pinned her ears back, the little she could see of the world dimming dangerously. She could still see the two hugging in her mind, Spiderwick's hooves wrapped around her as she sobbed, bandages wrapped around her hoof for a small cut. She didn't really know why, but she was jealous. No, I know why, she corrected herself, because they care for each other. Because they love each other like... like family. She sighed, wings shuffling around again as she tried to get comfortable on the hard ground. She was sure to cover her flanks this time; she had felt his gaze hover over the blank spot, like everypony else's did. It's not my fault I never got to try my talents, she thought to herself, not even mother wanted to let me out of the house for such a silly reason. She jumped as a small hoof touched her back. Her ears flicked up and she growled, blindly searching for the intruder. "Pumpernickel!" Spiderwick shouted angrily. The foal was suddenly defined in a silver halo, blinking fearfully at the mare she had disturbed. Her hoof was still-half raised, forgotten in her terror. "I'm so sorry, Anastasia, she didn't know-" "It's alright." She interrupted, wiping the frown from her muzzle and relaxing her bunched muscles. "Just shocked me, is all. Is this your sister?" "Yeah." He flattened his ears and looked away, hooking her with a forehoof and pulling her back. "I'm so sorry she scared you, she's kind of bullheaded sometimes, and-" Anastasia lifted a hoof, silencing him. "I told you, it's fine. So, little one, what happened to your foot?" "Oh, ah banged it off'a the ground when I was runnin' over to see Spida. It's not that bad, but Miss Crescent wanted me to bandage it up right away. It kinda hurts when I do this." She stretched her leg out as far as it could go, wincing slightly. "Just don't do that." Anastasia advised. "That's what Spida' said!" Pumpernickel chirped happily, "didn'cha, Spida?" Anastasia turned her focus to him, noticing he had been staring at her. He quickly looked down at Spiderwick, smiling. "Yes, I did." "Spida, why's ya face all red?" His ears pinned back, and he quickly swept the filly over to his other side, smiling awkwardly. The filly's head popped up over his back, and she leaned over his spine. "You like her, don'cha?" She teased. "She's right pretty." "Shh!" Spiderwick hissed, rolling over and tipping her back onto the towel. He turned back to Anastasia, smile shaking and ears pinned back in embarrassment. "Uh... she says the weirdest things, doesn't she?" ----- "Here!" Crystal shouted, skidding past a wide doorway as her front hooves lost traction. Nox darted past, hoisting her backwards by her armpits and setting her down back on track. Lone trotted to a stop, panting. "How... can you two... run that fast?" "I wasn't running." Nox shrugged, landing and flapping his wings for emphasis. Crystal nodded. "I was mostly sliding." "Great." Lone rolled his eyes, sides still heaving as he turned to the door Crystal had indicated. The large door stood out with inlaid designs, the pale blue crystal backing patterned with small ponies and wondrous illustrations of monsters he had never seen before. "Nox, report?" "Mostly made of of lapis lazuli, accented with large amounts of topaz, tiger's eye and ruby. Hints of opal, diamond and amethyst, with detectable trace amounts of malachite and chrysocolla." He leaned forward, licking the gemstones. "Also covered in a thin layer of chalk dust." "Estimated value?" "Nearly priceless, at this size." He tilted his head, licking access dust from his muzzle. "Nearly priceless with about twenty bits if we don't clean it." "Not unnecessary." Lone pointed out. "And before you ask, if you're hungry, eat something that's not pretty." "Eat something that's not pretty." Nox repeated mockingly, kicking the ground and sending a small blue shard into the air, which he caught and chewed pensively. "I'll make sure to remind you of that next time I find you out drinking." Lone blushed, scowling. "You were the one out drinking, I came and found you!" His Kirin companion grinned, holding a thin sliver of crystal between his fangs. "Says the one who we found on the roof the next morning." Lone sputtered angrily as Nox smiled, swallowing the last bit of stone. "C-Crystal! What do we do about the door?" "Looks like it's shut by some kind of enchantment." She ran her hooves over the delicate designs, squinting up at engraved scrawl. "For those in the Princess's stead." "Wasn't this made after the Princesses vanished?" Lone questioned. Crystal rolled her eyes. "Of course not. This was how the Empire protected itself. In an emergency, it connected the Empire to another teleporter somewhere in Central Equestria. It closed when the Princess left, and nopony's been able to open it since." "So how're we supposed to use it?" Nox questioned. "It'd be near-sinful to destroy it." "It's enchanted." Crystal stated, sliding over to a different patch of text. "Those who are born to protect the Empire and the Heart shall be allowed entry when they are ready." "The Heart? Could they mean the Crystal Heart?" Lone tilted his head, trying to decipher the foreign scrawl. Crystal sighed. "Nopony could find the Crystal Heart when it was needed. It's like it vanished too. Even I don't know where it is, and I explored the whole city when everyone was gone." "Crystal, do you remember how you were born?" Nox interrupted, not taking his eyes from the door's design. "Uh... well, not really, now that I think about it. I remember... I remember these brilliant wings, shimmering pink crystal, and a gentle voice. I remember being in the fountain, in water, and her being with me, and then the sky burned with fire and she was lifted from the water. I-I heard yelling," Crystal's voice rose in panic as she stared up at the blue crystal inlaid in the top of the door, "a-and she looked at me as she was being pulled away, and she said..." "Yes?" Nox prompted as the seapony trailed off. "What did she say?" Crystal swallowed, her gaze drifting down the shimmering blue crystal band from the heart down to a small, inconspicuous fountain below, hidden in small pony designs. "She said 'do not fret, my Crystal Heart, they will not find you here.'" A haunting silence hung between all of them as Crystal took in a second, shuddering breath. "S-she said 'never lose hope, because hope is everything... is everything you are.'" The crystal in the top of the door shone brilliantly, light dripping down the center to fill the fountain's pool with rippling blue glow. A small, crystal seapony shimmered dark against the shine. The door swung open, small pools of liquid light weaving spiderwebs on the walls. Nox gently lifted Crystal onto his back, Lone trailing behind. The shadows loomed between each pool, draping an eerie, surreal darkness over the ponies. Crystal yelped as she dropped off of Nox's back. "We have to get out of here!" "Why?" Lone turned, ears swiveling as he heard a strange clicking noise behind him. "Crystal, what's going on?!" "It's the last defense of the Crystal Empire." She whimpered, curling her tail around her belly as she cowered before the looming darkness. "Dammit, spit it out!" Nox shouted, snarling as something brushed against his hooves. A two pairs of jet-black talons crunched into the stone on either side of Crystal's cowering form. A set of blue eyes opened on one side, countered by a pair of red on the other. They paced around Crystal, hissing with off-white mouths at the two foreigners. "The Crystal Ponies used to call them 'felis condimentum dicax'." She reached out to touch one of their shoulders, muttering softly. The cat flinched as she touched it, but stopped prowling. "They're cottonmouth cats." "Are they dangerous?" Nox whimpered, glancing at the large felines. "They're venomous, potent enough to kill six ponies with a single bite. The claws help." She reached up, touching one of their heads. "It's alright. They're with me." The two cats glowered at Nox and Lone, one yawning widely to display two sharp fangs among dozens of smaller teeth. "They aren't going to eat us?" The Kirin questioned. Crystal gently pressed down on the cat's forehead, pushing it until it lay down. The other followed suit, purring and rubbing it's wide, shimmering head against her hooves. "Not any more." "Why didn't you run?" Lone asked, taking a cautious step closer. Crystal tilted her head. "I'm not sure. I'd never heard of them attacking somepony, even after I read all the books left behind by the Crystal Ponies. They'd always been gentle protectors of the Empire." She smiled faintly, "maybe they just needed the same kindness you'd treated me with." "Uh..." Lone glanced over to Nox, who had suddenly decided the best place for him to be was further down the tunnel. "I think we'd best be going." "Of course." Crystal gently rubbed the cat's head, slithering over. "The teleporter's just up ahead, if I remember correctly." "It'll be good to be back." Nox rumbled from behind Lone. The Earth Pony jumped forward, skidding harshly on the crystal floor. "Hey! When did you-?!" "I flew over here while you were distracted." Nox grinned, fangs shining crescents in the dim light. "Damn Kirin?" Lone frowned. "Damn Kirin."