The minotaur now stood blocking the passageway back to the surface. Octavia and Vinyl lie unconscious against a wall, battered and bruised. Things were looking worse for them with every passing moment, and infinitely worse for Equestria now that the monster had laid his master’s scheme bare for them.
Redheart watched her foe like a hawk, taking careful notice that he was not putting full pressure on his legs, meaning Bon Bon’s attack had caused some real tendon damage. His pupils kept refocusing in the dimly lit tunnel; Octavia’s blow to the head had hurt his accuracy as well. ‘He’s way out of our league at his best, but in his current condition, and with a bit of strategy, just maybe....’
“Listen up,” the nurse commanded. “Bon Bon, I need you hold his attention while I get the other two back up. His mobility and accuracy have been crippled and your dexterous fighting style should allow you to evade him for awhile. Lyra, boost her mobility with your song to ensure this.”
Bon Bon looked to her with uncertainty for a moment before nodding and drawing her daggers. Lyra started strumming as her marefriend nervously stepped toward battle with the beast. ‘I hope Red knows what she’s doing,’ Lyra thought as she lost herself in the music.
The minotaur wasted no time in swinging his massive fists at the timid rogue, who ducked and dodged each blow with expert finesse. After a few close calls, she found that he was attacking in a pattern, most likely to preserve his balance. A swing from one hand was followed by the other, matched by slow hoofwork. She continued her back-and-forth dance with him, occasionally taking a swing of her own to keep from being backed into a wall, though her limited range meant she had to go all-in to actually make contact.
Redheart quickly began healing Octavia to give Bon Bon the flanking element she needed to start dishing out the damage, glancing up every now and then to make sure the rogue could handle her task. ‘Amazing,’ she thought. ‘She’s taken to it with such confidence and fervor. These ponies are definitely tougher than they first appear.’
With her song complete and its effects lingering, Lyra made her way over to Vinyl and started a healing spell of her own. Redheart glanced up and smiled, glad to see her team taking charge of the situation rather than just following her every order like cadets in training.
It didn’t take long before Octavia regained consciousness under Red’s care. She stood and shook off a bit of the haziness clouding her vision. In a moment's time she took everything in and, upon seeing Bon Bon in battle, she quickly grabbed her cello. She was stopped before she could charge in by a white hoof on her shoulder and a glare from Red. “She’s doing fine, but your wounds are nowhere close to being healed,” the nurse scolded her like a schoolfilly too eager to get to recess. Octavia lowered her weapon with a frown and let the healer continue her work.
The fact that she was now up did not escape their adversary, and he quickly put two and two together, now setting his sights on the nurse. After a light swing at Bon Bon, he turned and charged with all the speed he had left.
Octavia reached for her cello as she saw the beast now heading straight for her. Time itself seemed to slow down as he quickly closed the gap and she knew she would never be able to defend herself in time. She instinctively thought about rolling out of the way, but that would mean putting Red in danger. So she braced herself for impact and closed her eyes tightly, awaiting the now familiar feelings of gravity and pain.
A thunderous boom was followed by a scream of pain, but neither of them belonged to the grey mare. She looked up to see the minotaur on his knees, clasping his groin with a look of untold horror in his eyes. “That’s what you get when you mess with my Tavi!” Vinyl’s voice could be heard just behind her. Turning, she saw some residual magic smoking from her horn.
The minotaur rose once more, this time his eyes blood red and his body visibly shaking with rage. He took one step forward before noting that Vinyl’s horn was charging a familiar spell and immediately shielded himself. With his hands occupied, Bon Bon leapt up on his back and crossed each blade across his throat. His mind worked as quick as it could for options, but it seemed as though he had been bested this time.
He sighed and dropped to his knees, raising his hands up slowly. “You win this round, ponies,” he said with a guttural growl. “So, what are you going to do now, kill me?” He smirked a bit, knowing that most ponies would never even consider the idea unless their very lives depended on it.
The two healers finished their work and Red motioned Octavia over away from their prisoner. “So, what do we do with him?” she asked the paladin, not really sure herself what to do here. While they discussed, the other three used some of the very ropes that had been previously binding them to tie up the minotaur.
Octavia thought for a moment before voicing her concerns. “Well, if we let him live, there’s no doubt he’ll be back later to try and stop us again. But, even though he’s evil and tried to kill us in several different ways, I can’t bring myself to condemn him to death. Being a paladin should make it easy to kill an evil creature such as this, but the pony in me tells me it’s wrong.” She hung her head, tears threatening her eyes. ‘We came here to stop them from hurting anypony else, but I don’t suppose I ever considered what exactly that meant. But, if I let him go here and he came back and killed one of us, I’d regret it forever.’
Red put a hoof on her shoulder. “I know what you mean. If this was just a game, it would be easy to just do it and move on, but now this world feels just as real as our own. It’s no secret that I don’t like death, probably more-so than normal ponies, but now Equestria is depending on us. If we fail here, many more may end up dying because of it.”
Vinyl trotted up, having heard most of the conversation from where she stood. “I realize how much is at stake here, but not like this guys. He surrendered. If we kill him like this, we’re no better than he is.”
“Vinyl,” Octavia started, but couldn’t finish her thought. She wanted to convince her that it had to be done, but she herself was still unsure.
The trio walked back to where Bon Bon still held the creature at her mercy. The rogue looked to her friends, secretly hoping they weren’t about to ask her to do the unthinkable. She knew that she couldn’t do it, but stayed steady and confident to avoid showing her adversary any weakness.
“Alright, we want some answers before we decide what to do with you, so you better start talking if you know what’s good for you!” Vinyl stared directly into the monster’s bloodshot eyes as she began shouting her interrogation. “First off, who is this mistress you keep speaking of who’s supposedly behind this grand scheme?” Sarcasm oozed off her every word.
“You think you can intimidate me, little pony? Don’t make me laugh. I am General Ironhoof and I’ll tell you what you want to know, because even if you could do something about it, it is far too late. Your Luna may control the dreamworld for now, but she is not the only being who can enter at will. There exists an ancient order in the Zebra lands dedicated wholly to this place, and it is now one of their oldest members who has put your precious princess in her current state.”
“A zebra, really?” Bon Bon was the first to speak up. “I know a zebra by the name of Zecora that lives in the Everfree forest. She’s a bit odd, I’ll admit, but really kind at heart.”
“You don’t think it was her, do you?” Vinyl asked, ignoring the pained look on the minotaur’s face.
“Her name is Misira, and she once led an ancient group known as the dreamwalkers long ago, before she was exiled. She has been waiting for an opportunity like this for far too long, and now the only missing piece she needs will soon be hers.” He laughed as he lowered his head, taking in the looks of disbelief on their faces. “And the best part about all of this? This Zecora you spoke of is the one who brought the missing piece to this world in the first place!” He tossed his head back again, laughing even harder this time.
“Just what is this ‘missing piece’ you keep going on about?” Octavia looked at him incredulously. The other four joined her in staring him down until he finished his fit of laughter.
“The only known artifact powerful enough to challenge the might of an alicorn, of course!” he stated, hoping to rile the ponies up as much as possible. Vinyl was already charging another spell as his laughing fit continued, but hearing Lyra’s meek voice say something next to her made her stop.
“What was that, Lyra?” Vinyl turned to her, only to see absolute terror plastered on not only her face, but also Bon Bon and Red’s as well. She looked to Octavia, who seemed to be just as confused as she was, then back to her other friends. “What gives, guys?”
“The Alicorn Amulet.” Lyra’s voice trembled upon speaking the words. Vinyl and Octavia shared another bewildered glance at the name.
“Care to explain just what that is and why it has reduced the three of you to scared little fillies?” Octavia asked, now becoming slightly perturbed at being left out of the loop for so long.
Redheart stepped forward and took a deep breath. “Not long ago, an arrogant showmare returned to Ponyville looking for revenge against the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle. Somehow, she came into the possession of the Alicorn Amulet and used its terrible power to banish Twilight from Ponyville. She then basically enslaved the town and made life miserable for all of us.” She shuddered a bit at the memory.
“It’s not really fair to say she used the amulet, so much as the amulet used her. It seemed to have a will of its own and made her act much more malevolent than she had intended,” Bon Bon added.
“Yeah,” Lyra chimed in, “But more importantly, it gave a mare with little magical prowess the ability to take on and defeat the Element of Magic herself! There’s no telling how powerful this Misira is right now, but if she was able to put Luna into some kind of a trance....” She wasn’t able to finish her sentence. She couldn’t. Trixie hadn’t been the nicest mare, but it was a far cry to call her evil. This new threat seeking the amulet was inherently evil.
Vinyl found it difficult to believe such a powerful artifact existed outside of the royal treasury’s well-guarded chambers, but now was not the time for such inquiries. “So where is the amulet now?” She turned her attention back to her captive.
“It is hidden deep within the Everfree Forest of this realm, hundreds of miles from here.” He laughed again upon seeing their expressions. “And my Mistress is likely already halfway there by now!” He tore into a laughing fit again, his sides actually starting to hurt.
“Then we’d better get moving.” There was no humor in her voice. No doubt. The others looked much more uncertain, but were happy to be leaving this place for any reason.
Ironhoof considered giving chase after they turned to exit, but thought better of it. ‘They may be weak individually, but I cannot take them all at once right now. There will be many more opportunities on the way to the Everfree. We will meet again, ponies.’