Chapter 13
“Just golems, Blade?” Hunter asked, watching as the last of the shadowed figures finished unfolding. “You’re not going to join in? What kind of friend sits out and lets somepony else do all the work?”
There was a flash as the atrium's lights came on and Hunter covered his eyes, blinking rapidly as tears welled up. “I’m not sitting this one out,” came Blade’s voice from above. He pulled his hoof away, still blinking, his vision blurry from the sudden shift. Up above, far past the motionless golems, a reddish shape leapt from balcony to balcony, spreading blurry wings as it made its way down.
“As much as I’d rather, Hunter,” Blade said growing more clear as Hunter’s vision cleared. “Even after that little tussle today ...” Her voice grew soft as she landed atop a golem on the third level, her long talons digging grooves in the wood as she came to a stop. “Even after that, I’d still rather be your friend.” She was wearing armor now, Hunter realized as his vision cleared. A metal cap with a wicked point on it covered her head, and reddish chainmail hung across her body. A hauberk.
“Looks like you got yourself fixed up,” Hunter said, his eyes running over Blade’s straight plumage and outstretched wings.
“Yeah, well,” Blade said, flexing her wings. “It’s amazing what a little money and some medical unicorns can get you, although there was a little hang-up thanks to the leftovers of that boom you made. You’re looking a bit better too.” She cocked her head to one side. “So, seriously though, I really don’t want to have to sic these guys on you,” she said, tapping a talon against the wooden exterior of the golem.
“Then do the right thing and surrender already!” Hunter said, stamping his hoof for emphasis. “You know you’re on the wrong side here!”
“I can’t do that,” Blade said, shaking her head. “I signed a contract. I have to finish what I start. That’s the way it is.” She gave him a sad shrug. “I really wish I didn’t have to, you know. I’ve at least got the leeway of doing this my way. Radiant wanted me to kill all of you, but I’d rather you surrender. Same as before.”
Hunter shook his head at her, anger welling up in his chest. “If you’d rather this not end in somepony getting hurt, then you should just step down.” He could see the rest of the team watching, easing into positions he recognized as combat readiness. “End this.”
“There’s only one way I can do that, Hunter,” Blade said, giving him another shake of her head and tapping two of her talons together. “I can’t back away from a contract,” she said, her voice growing harsh. “So surrender before I do what I’m supposed to be doing!”
Hunter opened his mouth, about to let loose with an angry retort, but Steel put a hoof to his shoulder, shaking his head. Hunter looked at him, tempted to turn his anger on his Captain, but bit back.
“She can’t back down, Hunter,” Steel said, giving him a stern gaze. “It’s not how a griffon honor contract works.” Steel turned towards Blade. “You don’t want to do this anymore than he does, do you?”
Blade scoffed, leaping from the golem and spreading her wings. “Of course I don’t!” she said, swooping down to land on the other side of the atrium. “I may not care much ‘bout the rest of you, but Hunter’s one of my oldest friends.”
"You’ve got a funny way of showing it,” Hunter growled.
“Hunter, can it,” Steel said, his voice harsh. “You don’t understand. It’s an honor contract. It’s how griffon warriors live. Once signed, by ancient law a griffon warrior is obligated to carry out the contract, even if they no longer agree with the cause. Order of … King Tallcliff the first I think?”
Blade nodded. “Sounds like at least you know a bit about us.”
“I do,” Steel said, stepping past the planters and into the atrium's central ring, his attention fixed on the griffon standing across from him. “It was a set of laws set down over a thousand years ago, laws of contractual honor. As a griffon warrior, your contract is everything. You’re only allowed to back out under certain circumstances, to do otherwise is a mark of shame that takes from you your honor and your recognition as a warrior. If she backs out,” Steel said, looking back at Hunter, “she’ll lose her place among her people. She’ll become a pariah, an outcast.
“That’s insane!” The outburst came from Sky Bolt. “She can’t just say that it wasn’t what she signed up for?”
“It sounds strange to you,” Steel said, giving the armor-clad mare a quick glance. “But to the griffons it’s their way of life, set down long ago to ensure that the peace between the various tribes lasted and endured. To be a warrior among the griffons means living by your contract, and by a strict set of rules. Their society respects that, lives by it. And nothing that either Radiant or Mint have done has broken those rules, although I would guess that they’ve come close.”
Blade tilted her head to one side, giving the captain a wry grin. “Sounds like you’ve done your homework.”
“I spent five years in the Griffon Empire,” Steel said, giving the griffon a polite nod. “It was an experience I look back on fondly, and I still treasure the friendships I made among your people. But, to the matter at hoof,” he said, waving a hoof at the golems ringing them. “There are only two clauses by which you are allowed to surrender or withdraw.” The captain gave Blade an expectant look, but when she stayed silent, he continued.
“The first is when faced with such an overwhelming force that the commander,” he tapped a hoof in Blade’s direction, “in this case you, decides that resistance would only lead to a completely needless loss of life, with nothing to be gained for it. In that circumstance, a commanding warrior may withdraw and release forces under their command, and those forces must remit the remainder of the engagement, as is honorable.”
“I’m impressed,” Blade said, nodding. “You really do know a lot about the code of the warrior. Are you sure you’re not a griffon?”
Come on Steel, what are you playing at here? Hunter looked up at the ring of golems as the captain chuckled at Blade’s question. Get her to back down already. He swallowed as he looked at the golems, their impassive crystal gazes beaming down at them from the balconies. If this goes south, we’re in for one heck of a rumble. We’ve got plenty of space, but I’m not sure we could win it without some problems. Not with Blade leading them.
“I’m not,” Steel said. “And I must compliment you on your accent. Your Equestrian is much smoother than my friend Primetail’s.”
The look of wry amusement on Blade’s face vanished. “Wait,” she said, her expression serious. “You know Blademaster Primetail?”
“The other way that a combat can be avoided,” Steel said, ignoring the griffon’s question. “Is for a bıçakların ustası—a Blademaster—to issue a challenge to the leader of the opposing forces. A Blademaster’s challenge cannot be denied, and once combat has concluded, the victorious party is assumed to have won the victory for his entire side.”
“Neither of which will happen here,” Blade said, although her expression looked curious to Hunter’s eyes. He’d seen that look before, long ago when Blade had made a statement she wasn’t quite sure she would be able to keep. “I’m not a bıçak ustası yet, and I certainly don’t see you fielding an overwhelming advantage.” She looked more confident now. “You can surrender of course, but I don’t think I will.”
Steel shook his head. “To be honest, I’m confident that my team could take these golems and you and still walk away,” he said, taking another step forward. Blade’s eyes narrowed and she hunched her shoulder, getting ready to pounce. “But,” Steel said, “I’d rather keep my team in top shape if at all possible and so—” He stamped one hoof hard against the ground, the marble underneath cracking with a noise like a gunshot. “I, Steel Song, bıçaklarin ustası, challenge you to ritual combat.”
For a moment the entire room was silent, the only sound the faint echoes of the cracked marble. Hunter stared at Steel in shock. A Blademaster!? Steel!?
Blade found her voice first, closing her open beak with a sharp clack. “You can’t be serious,” she stammered, taking a step back. “You? Blademaster?” Her eyes narrowed. “There’s only—”
“Only one non-griffon bıçak ustası alive today,” Steel said, cutting Blade off. Hunter knew he was staring, and he could see the rest of the team giving the captain looks of amazement or blank confusion. “That individual is me,” Steel said, giving Blade a polite nod.
“Impossible,” Blade said, her voice shaking. “You’re—you’re lying. You have to be!” She stepped back, her eyes wide with shock. “It’s not—”
“Bıçak ustası Primetail, bıçak ustası Skythunder, and bıçak ustası Redthrush,” Steel said, stepping forward. “So I name my three comrades, defeated in combat, earning for myself the title of Blademaster.” He took another step forward. “Do you deny the challenge?” There was a moment’s pause as the two stared at one another. “You know I can’t be lying,” Steel said after a moment. “Nopony impersonates a Blademaster and lives long, none of us would stand for it.”
“I—” For a moment Blade almost looked panicked, her crest feathers extended and neck feathers fluffed, but then she sat back, smoothing them with one paw, a grim expression crossing her face. “I will not,” she said, her eyes narrow.
“Hey, Boss,” Hunter said, stepping forward. "This doesn’t have to be your fight—”
“Hunter, sit back and stay out of this,” the captain said, his voice firm. He didn’t even look back. “None of you are to interfere with this, understood?” He waited for a moment and then looked back at his team. “Understood?”
There was a chorus of “yes, sir” from the team. Steel looked at Hunter last, and he swallowed.
“I didn’t hear anything, Hunter,” Steel said. “You cannot interfere with this fight. Am I clear?”
Hunter looked at Blade, whose eyes were on Steel, a look of hunger shining in them. “Clear. Captain,” he said at last, giving his head a small shake. “Clear.”
“If I lose,” Steel said, addressing the entire group. “Then you are to surrender. No exceptions!” He said the last part with firmness, drowning out a protest from Nova. “Now then,” he said, turning back towards Blade and shrugging his cloth saddlebags from his back. They landed on the floor with a heavy thump. “Standard agreement. Five mortal or wounding blows, on your honor.” He flipped his saddlebags over, his gauntlets hitting the marble with a sharp clack.
“I ... agree,” Blade said, taking deep breaths between her words. “I, Blade Sunchaser, meet your challenge. Five blows, mortal or wounding.” She gave her own talons a flex, the sharpened tips scraping across the marble floor with a rasp that made Hunter’s skin crawl. “Bıçak ustası Silverbeak, bıçak ustası Sternshadow. I name my two challenges,” Blade said, stepping forward. Five blows, mortal or wounding.”
“Sternshadow?” Steel said, his tone light as he slid his gauntlets over his hooves, the thick metal spikes on the ends extending with a snap. “That old grouch actually let you challenge him?” He tilted his head from one side to the other, sharp pops sounding from his shoulders. “I’m impressed.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Blade said, settling into a low crouch. “He’s a real sore loser too, in case you wondered.”
“Oh I know,” Steel said, taking a few steps back and settling into a familiar looking Stone Wall stance, one hoof raised. “I fought him once, and he whined about it for days afterwards.” Blade’s eyebrows rose at the statement, but she said nothing.
“Well,” Steel said, tapping his raised hoof against the marble. “Ready?”
Blade licked her beak, her eyes fixed on Steel. Hunter could see a hungry gleam in her gaze, the gleam of a starving predator that has found a possible meal. “Ready,” she said, settling low on her haunches.
“Then begin!” Steel called, and Blade leapt forward, snarling, with her claws outstretched. Steel rose to meet her, the two meeting in the center of the atrium with a crash. Blade’s paws flashed down, only to catch on Steel’s gauntlets. The two pushed at each other for a moment, Blade pushing down, her wings flapping to give her extra strength and Steel pushing up, his muscles standing out under even under his armor. He gave a grunt, heaving his body upward and tossing Blade back, but she recovered by using her wings to spin in midair, lashing out with a talon as she came back around.
Steel went on the defensive, one gauntlet blocking the outstretched talons with a bone-chilling shriek as metal fought against claw. Blade pressed her advantage, darting forward and lashing out with rapid strikes. Hunter could see the fire of an eager gleam in her eyes. She wanted to win. She’d already told him why all those weeks back when they’d met on the train. If she defeated one more Blademaster, she’d be worthy of the title herself. She wanted to win. Badly.
Steel reared back, blocking both of Blade’s paws with one gauntlet, lashing out with the other. Blade gave a surprised squawk as the gauntlet's claws sparked against her hauberk, catching the chain and pulling her hard to one side. Her wings flared out as she tried to regain her balance, and Steel’s other hoof, no longer holding back her talons, smashed into her side. Hunter winced as the attack hit home. Blade let out a cry of pain, stumbling back and grabbing her side with one paw.
“One,” she grunted, glaring at Steel. Her paw left her side and she dove forward with ferocious speed, this time keeping her body low to the ground. She came up underneath Steel’s guard, her shoulder colliding with the inside of his raised hoof and throwing his foreleg to one side. Steel twisted away as Blade’s other paw swept towards his face. There was a screech as her talons hit the armor around his shoulder, and then three red tracks traced their way up the side of Steel’s head, stopping just short of his ear as the stallion pushed himself way.
Blade dropped to all fours, dashing forward with a grin on her face. Steel ignored the blood running down the side of his head. “One,” he said, and leapt forward, meeting Blade’s charge head on. There was a crack as he brought one of his gauntlets down on top of Blade’s right paw, and the griffon let out a shriek of pain, snapping her wings around and battering Steel’s head and shoulders with them.
The fight became a brutal melee as the two combatants attacked one another. Hunter lost track of the back and forth between the pair as they crashed back and forth in tight, close combat. Steel’s hooves connecting with Blade’s vulnerable rear legs. Blade’s beak nearly catching the Dusk Guard Captain in the eye. It was brutal, dirty. Scrapes and yells filled the atrium as the two grappled with one another.
Hunter winced as Steel’s elbow crashed into Blade’s head, snapping it back. She let out a shriek, her rear legs crashing into Steel’s gut. Hunter heard the stallion's breath rush out with a wheeze. His gauntlets slammed into her side, and there was a series of pings as the chainmail links of her hauberk gave out.
Then with a grunt, the two leapt back, putting space between themselves and glaring at one another. Steel’s visage was stern but determined, blood seeping from small cuts across his face and running down his neck. Scratches were all across his armor, sharp lines against the matte green. He was limping, his chest and shoulders heaving with each breath.
Blade looked no better. Her helmet was gone, lost in the melee. A clump of feathers was missing from the back of her head, and another clump was heavily matted with what was probably blood. One of her wings was hanging limp by her side, and she too was breathing hard. But her eyes still held that hungry gleam. It was easy for Hunter to see how the two species had distrusted each other for so long. The gleam of a predator was unsettling.
“Four,” Blade said, shaking her head and causing a few stray feathers to break free and flutter to the ground. One of her eyes was beginning to swell shut. “And you have?”
“Four,” Steel said, drawing in a heavy breath. Blade blinked in surprise, her swollen eye twitching.
“Really? I counted three,” she said, her eyes still holding onto that hungry gleam.
Steel shook his head. “Four,” he said, tapping his side with one hoof. “Without the armor that would have been a near-fatal blow. I’m calling it four.”
“Suit yourself then,” Blade said, grinning. “Next hit wins it then.”
“It does,” Steel said, lowering his head and letting out a snort. A drop of blood dripped from his chin, a splash of crimson against the white marble floor. “Why wait?”
Blade let out a sudden shriek so ear splitting that Hunter winced, one eye almost squeezing shut, his ears folding flat against his head at the shrill noise. Blade dove forward, her good wing flapping madly as she rushed at Steel. He had shrunk back at the noise, eyes closed in pain, his ears down. Blade leapt into the air, both paws reaching out towards the wounded stallion, victory etched across her face.
Steel’s eyes snapped open, fixing her with a confident glare. Blade’s shriek cut off in a startled squeak as Steel reared up on his hind legs, throwing his front legs out and knocking her own paws wide even as he pulled his head back.
Then, with a crack that reverberated around the atrium, his head snapped forward, headbutting the griffon. Blade's body folded under her, going limp as her head snapped back, and she hit the floor like a rag doll, out cold.
Steel let out a breath and abruptly dropped to his haunches, one gauntleted hoof rubbing at his head. “Five,” he said, his voice echoing through the still of the atrium.
Dawn was the first to react as she rushed towards Steel, her horn already glowing orange as she pulled medical supplies from her saddlebags. Hunter galloped forward, rushing towards the limp bedraggled form of Blade.
“Her first,” he heard Steel say, the stallion pushing Dawn’s hoof from his shoulder as Hunter rushed past. “She needs it more than I do.” Hunter skidded to a stop, trying to fight back tears in his eyes. Is she breathing? His breath began to catch as he saw a small streak of blood left on the floor from her tumble, a red arrow pointing towards her motionless form.
“Out of the way,” Dawn said, kneeling by Blade's limp body and running her horn over the griffon's comatose form. Her horn pulsed, orange light trailing down from its tip and sinking into Blade’s body as Dawn moved her head back and forth, her eyes shut and brow wrinkled with concentration.
“Is she going to be okay?” Hunter asked, unable to keep the panic out of his voice. Dawn opened one eye, the blue pupil staring right at him.
“She was willing to kill us, and you worry about her?” she asked, her voice neutral. “Why?”
“Because she’s … she’s still my friend,” Hunter said.
Dawn’s lips turned upwards. “Ever the loyal friend, Hunter,” she said, closing her eyes again. “And yes, she’ll be fine. She’s wounded, and has what is looking like a fairly admirable concussion, but it’s nothing I can’t help alleviate with a few moments of careful work.”
Hunter let out a relieved sigh as he backed away. “She’ll be okay, she’ll be okay,” he muttered, his body trembling as the adrenaline faded. There was a an amused grunt behind him.
“Of course she’ll be okay,” Steel said, limping up next to him, impervious or indifferent to the blood still running down his muzzle. “You didn’t think I’d kill her, did you?”
“I—I didn’t—” Hunter stammered, almost at a loss for words. “That last hit looked pretty hard.” To his surprise, Steel laughed.
“What?” Steel asked as soon as his laugh had subsided. “That? That was a love tap, Hunter. The thing you have to understand about griffons is that they play rough,” he said, tapping his head with one hoof. He’d already removed his gauntlets, Hunter noticed. “That’s why the wars with them back in the day were so tough. Griffons can take a lot of punishment and still keep going.” He let out another wry chuckle. “Ponyfeathers, you should have seen the hit I used to put Primetail down—knocked him out cold for three whole days. Everything was over and packed up when he woke up.” The stallion shook his head, still grinning, as drops of his blood fell to the floor. “Boy, did that ever rile his feathers. Still, it was a good thing I won. He was on the wrong side there too, and he knew it.”
“And you were ok with that?” Hunter asked, looking askew at Steel so he could keep his eyes on Blade’s limp form.
“At first? No,” the old veteran said with a laugh. “But I saw how the system worked after a while. It’s kept the Griffon Empire relatively stable for the last fifteen-hundred years.”
“Stable?” Nova asked as he entered the conversation. “Haven’t they switched rulers and governments twice in the last twenty years?”
“Rulers yes,” Steel said. “Governments no. They stick to the pattern set up by King Tallcliff. I was there for one of those switches.” His eyes took on a faraway look.
“Huh,” Nova said, looking down at Blade. “Well, what about the golems?”
“Don’t mess with them,” Hunter ordered, his skin crawling as he looked up at the double ring of wooden forms staring down at them. “They might need specific orders to stand down, or they might not like being provoked. Don’t touch them.” Beside him Steel gave a nod.
There was a groan from the floor and Dawn sat back, a satisfied smile on her face. “She’ll have a splitting headache for a day or so,” she said as the rust-feathered griffon began to stir. “But I was able to reduce the swelling in time.”
There was another groan from the floor and Blade’s eyes began to flutter. “Ne-ne?” she asked, pushing herself up on her side and letting out a little yelp of pain. “Hatırladığım—” her voice cut off as her eyes ran up the forelegs of the ponies standing in front of her. “Ah,” she said, switching to Equestrian as she saw Steel and Hunter standing over her. “I lost.”
“You did,” Dawn said, tilting her horn in close towards Blade’s shoulder and tapping her side with one hoof when she flinched away. “And don’t move please, I’ve already fixed your concussion, and I really don’t feel like knocking you out to work on you and giving you another one. This is difficult work enough as it is. Your own body was a little hesitant to accept the healing at first.” Her horn flashed once, then twice, and then glowed as she pulled a few medical supplies over, her hooves folding the bloodied feathers back.
“Not to be pressing,” Steel said, pointing one hoof towards the golems above them. “But those things are making my troops nervous.”
Blade grinned. “Sorry,” she said, and then tilted her head back. “Command order! Stand down, repack!” The effect on the golems was instant, the glowing lights in their crystals going out as each one of them began to fold back into a crate. Sky Bolt flew up, a fascinated look on her face as she watched the golems fold and compress themselves.
“Now then,” Steel said as the last golem snapped back into an unassuming wooden crate. “I know you’re not bound to tell us anything, but—”
“Sorry,” Blade said with a shake of her head. “I can’t tell you anything.” She winced as Dawn poured something onto her side.
“I understand,” Steel said with a nod. “As soon as Dawn finishes patching you up, consider yourself under arrest. The laws are clear in this case in regards to a griffon warrior operating in Equestria. You’ll be treated as an accessory, exiled from Equestria with a banishment term based on your sentence, but otherwise you’ll be free to go.”
“I know,” Blade said, nodding. She gave a soft yelp as Dawn pulled her wing back around, the bone settling into it’s socket with a pop. “I’ll fly—scratch that,” she said with a glance at her wing, “walk to Baltimare proper and find myself a Royal Guard contingent.”
"Don’t bother,” Steel said, shaking his head as Dawn moved her attention to Blade’s swollen eye, performing another scan spell with her horn. “Our airship is parked a quarter-mile to the west in a clearing. Wait for us there.” Blade gave him a nod and the stallion returned it, satisfied.
“Alright, Steel,” Dawn said, rising to her hooves. “Your turn.” The stallion stepped back, Dawn following as he moved towards a bench on the far side of the atrium, leaving Hunter and Blade alone. They stared at one another in an awkward silence.
“Sorry about all this, Hunter,” Blade said, breaking the silence first. “Believe me, if I’d known that this job was going to put me up against you—” she paused.
“You wouldn’t have taken it?” Hunter suggested.
Blade smirked and shook her head. “Well, I don’t know,” she said. “Honestly I had a lot of fun seeing if you’d catch on once the whole thing was underway. I never did want to kill you though,” she said, her expression a bit more serious. “You’re my friend, and I wasn’t about to kill you just because some nutty pony ordered me to.”
“Remorse?” Hunter said.
“That and it wasn’t anywhere in the contract.” Blade’s eyes darted around the room for a moment. “Look, I probably shouldn’t be doing this, but just so you know, Radiant’s gone a little loopy.”
‘We kinda figured that after her spectacle earlier today,” Hunter said, sitting back. “She was pretty out of it.”
“That isn’t half as bad as she can be,” Blade said, grimacing as she pulled herself to her feet. “She’s gone sky-crazy. Completely nutty. Just … Be careful, okay?”
“Alright,” Hunter said, holding his face impassive.
“And for what it’s worth,” Blade said, dropping her voice low and cocking her head to one side, a grin on her face. “Since I’m definitely going to be exiled for a while, sorry I won’t be able to meet your new marefriend.”
“Hey, how did you—she’s not my marefriend!” Hunter said, leaning forward. “How did you even—”
“Hunter,” Blade said with a chuckle. “You tweak just as easy about that now as you did in Junior Speedsters. And to answer your question,” she said, taking a few steps past him towards the stairway landing. “I didn’t know, but apparently you’ve been thinking it.”
“I—you—darn—starkers—” His protests were cut short as she put a bandaged paw on his shoulder.
“Relax, Hunter,” she said. “You can just come see me for once. After all, I made this trip.” She let out a laugh and limped towards the stairs.
Hunter watched her go, limping as she made her way down the steps. He turned as the tip of her tail vanished around the landing, frowning as he saw everypony staring at him.
‘What?” he asked, pent up frustration seeping out.
“Marefriend?” Nova asked, a grin creeping onto his face.
“Oh, shut it,” Hunter said, stalking over towards the staircase. “She’s just a—” he let out a frustrated yell. “Why am I even explaining myself you all of you? Come on.” He stopped on the landing, reared up on his front hooves, and gave the stacked blockade of furniture the biggest buck he could manage.
A jolt rolled through his body, like he’d built up a charge in a thundercloud and stuck his tongue into it. A curtain of magical energy rolled over his armor, sparking and jumping, but failing to penetrate the tough crystal. The blockade broke apart, desks and chairs tumbling onto the landing around him as the last of the magical booby trap snapped out of existence against his side.
“There,” he said, looking at the rest of the group. “Now let’s get up there and see who thinks it’s such a good idea to try and send one griffon against the Dusk Guard.”
“Whoever they are,” Nova said, “they know we’re coming now.”
“Good,” Hunter said, taking wing. “I want them to know.” He flew up the steps, the rest of the team close behind.
* * *
“Alright,” Hunter said, staring at the large and ornately carved wooden doors set before him. “Check it.” Nova stepped up beside him, his horn glowing a soft blue as he panned his head back and forth. A small metal plaque proclaiming the doors to be the office of Mint Tam took on a bluish tint as Nova’s magic swept over it. Hunter fixed his eyes on the name.
“It’s clear,” Nova said, stepping back. “No traps.”
“Alright,” Steel said, stepping past both of them. “Standard breach. Ready?” Hunter nodded at him, his wings out and at the ready, the rest of the team nodding around him. Nova and Dawn lit their horns, a firm magic glow against the overhead lights. Sabra’s staff made a small hiss as it unfolded, and Sky Bolt pulled a wrench from her saddlebags, her own wings spread wide.
“Alright,” Steel said, spinning around on his front hooves. “Breach!” Steel’s hind legs snapped out, meeting the thick wood with a heavy crash that ripped the wooden doors from their hinges. They blew forward, launched several feet into the room, and Hunter shot after them, pushing his wings back to give himself the extra thrust he needed. By the time to two doors began to fall, Hunter was already in the air, wings pumping as he searched the room for threats or points of interest, the rest of the team fanning in behind him.
The room was clearly an office, but a large one. Massive even, with plenty of open floor space and a raised ceiling would give him plenty of room to maneuver. A gargantuan desk, carved from some dark, rich-textured wood, sat at the far end of the office in front of a wall-to-wall window that gave a grand view of the moonlit landscape. Paintings hung on the walls. The floor was heavily carpeted with a thick, plush carpet that muffled the heavy thump of the doors as they fell over, and further muffled the hoofsteps of the Guard as they spread into the room behind him, their eyes searching for threats. One by one, finding nothing else, they fixing on the room’s sole occupant.
“Knock, knock,” Hunter said as Mint turned away from the window to face them. Then his brow furrowed. She didn’t look like her sister had at all. Her sister had been triumphant, maybe even psychotic. Mint, on the other hoof, looked sad. Her pale blue mane was limp and bedraggled, and her eyes were red and puffy. Gone was the poise and grace she’d had held herself with at the dinner. The mare in her place now looked worn and tired.
“I was wondering when you would arrive,” Mint said, dropping into the chair behind the desk. “I told her we should just give it up, but she wouldn’t listen!” She twitched her head to one side as she spoke, shaking it back and forth, sniffling.
“Mint Tam?” Steel said, taking a step forward. “We’re here because—”
“I know why you’re here!” Mint snapped, looking up and glaring at the team with red eyes. “You’re here for me and my sister, because of this whole stupid railway takeover idea!” She sat back, shoulder slumping, eyes wet with what looked like hot, angry tears. “I never should have gone along with it,” she said, her voice growing soft. “I never should have let her get so into things.”
Hunter fluttered to the ground, turning his head back to give Nova a quick glance, his eyebrow raised. Nova shook his head. No traps that he could see then. Sky Bolt gave him a similar shake, her wrench lowered.
“So your sister was the one behind this?” Steel asked, taking another step forward. Mint wasn’t even looking at them now. Her eyes seemed unfocused, she looked like a mare who’d been drawn out, stretched.
“No, the inception was mine,” Mint said, still not looking at any of them. “I wanted to take Golden down after the deal he made with our father. I wanted him to lose everything, but he was so cautious!” Her hoof lashed out, upsetting an inkwell and spilling it over the side of her desk. “So I came up with Mimo Mining.” She let out a bitter laugh.
“Then my sister said she had a better idea. She’d had this idea to make these constructs, these—well, you’ve seen them by now. She wanted to capitalize on the unrest in the board. Steal from our own customers, get a vote of no confidence in the Princesses—the plan was perfect.” She sniffed again. We’d get revenge on Golden and gain controlling interest in the company.”
“But your sister couldn’t stop, could she?” Dawn said, stepping forward. “She made a few golems, but it wasn’t enough anymore was it?” Mint gave a deep nod, part of her mane falling over her face. She didn’t remove it.
“At first it was just more of the wooden golems, but then she wanted more crystal, and we were doing this on the sly, trying to keep as much of it off the books as we could. I was worried, but she was so sure of herself and—and she’s my sister. Then, right after the changeling invasion she got the idea to break into the Crystal Caverns after reading about them in the papers, and well you know she did.”
“And you never went forward and told anyone?” Steel asked, stepping up to her desk, his voice harsh. Dawn shot him an annoyed look as Mint shrank back.
“I … I—she’s my sister!” Mint said, her voice desperate. “I kept hoping that she’d be satisfied, but she kept wanting more and more, her plans growing. She kept making more golems, even when I said we had more than enough!”
“And what about the museum robbery?” Hunter asked, dropping to the floor next to Steel. “What about Blade?” he asked, his eyes narrow with anger. “Was it you who told her to kill her friend when I got too close to the truth?” Mint shrank back even further, flinching with every word. ‘Well?” Hunter asked, slamming a hoof down on the desk. “Was it? What about the injuries? The conductor who your golem attacked?”
“I wasn’t the one who hired Blade,” Mint said, her voice faltering. “That was Radiant‘s idea. I never told her to kill anyone!” she said, a shocked expression on her face. Hunter felt his anger soften slightly at her words. This was Mint, the mare he’d spoken to at the dinner … she didn’t have the look of a killer to her.
“And the museum? The conductor?” he asked, letting his voice soften just a little, but not enough to take the edge off.
“The conductor was an accident,” Mint said. “The golem acted in self defense. The museum was another bad idea. Radiant wanted to see if she could steal some high quality crystal samples, but we didn’t know the museum as well as we’d thought and the crate was sent to the wrong department. That was an accident, you have to believe me!” She looked almost desperate now. Her face reminded him of somepony who knew they were drowning and were clutching at a rope.
“And what about the stuff you stole?” Steel asked, his voice still holding onto the same hard edge.
“We sold it,” Mint said. “As fast as we could. It was worthless to us, so Radiant didn’t want to have it around. Why?”
“And where is Radiant now?” Steel asked, ignoring Mint’s question.
“She’s down in her lab,” Mint said. “Where she was doing all the crystal enchanting. I tried to get her to leave, but she wouldn’t have any of it. All the crystal enchanting—” she paused, her eyes growing wet again. “She’s not herself anymore. She kept going on about the proper way of things and the new future—I can’t make sense of it! I tried to get her to leave, but she had her golems throw me out, sent me up here to wait and set a trap with Blade and a bunch of the basic models—” Hunter’s ears perked up.
“Basic models? What do you mean, basic models?” he asked. Dawn blinked for a moment, looking up at him like she’d forgotten he was there.
“The basic models,” she said, as if everypony knew. “The ones that fold into crates?”
“How many other models are there?” Steel asked. Hunter’s eyes darted back to the rest of the team, whose eyes were now scanning the nearby environment.
“A couple,” Mint said, a faint tone of pride coming into her voice. “There are the mark IIs, which are just a bit better than the basic models. Then there are the mark IIIs, the all-metal ones, but those were too slow, so then she made the Crystal golems, like the one we switched places with this morning.”
Steel looked at Hunter, worry written across his face. “You said ‘golems,’” he said, turning his head slightly. “How many were there?”
Mint shrugged. “I don’t know. More than one I suppose.”
“And are these golems here? In this building?” Hunter asked, and Mint nodded. “Down with Radiant?” Another nod. Great. Hunter stepped back.
"Alright,” Steel said. “Anything else you can tell us?” Mint sat still for a moment, her head hanging low, and then she looked up, tears in her eyes.
“Please,” she said, tears running down her cheeks. “Save my sister. I want her back.”