Fine didn’t run. He didn’t speak. He walked, keeping to the shadows and listening intently. The crystal walls shimmered in the darkness, and he could hear his quarry’s swift hoofsteps somewhere ahead. There were no torches. No lights at all, save for the occasional glowing crystal half-buried among its less-magical cousins.
The darkness kept the place in an eerie atmosphere, punctuated by the occasional giggle of Pinkamina. But Fine was cautious.
Fine was always cautious.
The path split in two directions before him. He eyed his left, then his right. Playful laughter echoed through the dark, and Pinkamina’s voice taunted him. “Which way? Which way?”
He glanced up, barely spotting a flash of pink in the reflection of the ceiling. It suggested he should go left, but his instincts said to go right, so that’s what he did.
“Aww, you’re no fun,” Pinkamina’s ghostly voice declared in mock distress.
He went on for a ways, paying very close attention to every minute detail. The hoofsteps, his own and hers; the irregular flash of pink in a reflection; his own cool, focused face peering back at him. He paused, noticing how she’d gone silent, and examined his surroundings. He spotted the tiniest of cracks in the wall on his left and, taking a deliberate step back, banged the side of his hoof against it.
The thin wall shattered like glass, revealing a startled Pinkamina on the other side. Her surprise swiftly changed to frustration as she swung the axe she was holding at him, but he ducked and her aim went high. The blade clanged against the crystal wall with a spark. He lunged, but Pinkamina released the axe and fled down the hidden passage with a frustrated snarl.
He gave chase, summoning up a collection of glowing red knives as he did. The blades flew through the air after her, but she dodged and managed to turn a corner unharmed, the weapons sticking into the crystal walls with a series of audible cracks before popping out of existence. Fine saw her blurry reflection and slid to a stop just as a crossbow bolt flashed by the corner.
The pink image disappeared, and he turned the corner to find her fleeing into a large cavern. He followed, noting how she came to an abrupt stop when she reached a deep ledge. For just a moment he thought he had her… then he felt something tiny snap against his legs and, letting out a curse, scrambled to stop. He pulled it off just before the end of the tunnel, where a massive spiked gate swung down to smash against the opening. He sucked in a relieved breath, staring at the tipped point less than an inch from his muzzle.
Pinkie glared at him through the bars from her spot near the ledge. “Holy Horseshoes, why won’t you die?!” she shouted before dropping over the edge.
Fine grimaced and focused his magic, black clouds covering him. He teleported beyond the bars and into the cavern, making his way to the ledge cautiously. What was she-
“Hah!” He jerked around, startled to find Pinkie dropping down on him from above. She slammed into him, knocking him onto his side, then reared back to pull a sledgehammer seemingly from nowhere! He rolled, just barely escaping having his head crushed like a melon, and jerked to his hooves. As he turned to face her he was alarmed to see she was already swinging the weapon in a wide, spinning arc, and jumped back to avoid a hit. His back hoof slipped; he was at the ledge.
The swing unbalanced her, and her recovery gave him enough time to respond; when she swung again he caught the hammer with his magic. She snarled and fought to free the weapon from his magical grip, during which time he lowered his head and fired a single, thick beam of energy. It hit her in the chest, hard, and sent her sprawling.
He came after her, sledgehammer held aloft and focusing on her legs. The weapon smashed down, but she dodged and got up at the same time. He swung again, and again, and some more, always aiming for the legs. She danced about, gritting her teeth and struggling to keep up with the attacks. He noticed her drop something; it was a cupcake.
He released the hammer and leapt away just in time to avoid an explosion. He landed on his belly, but was up quickly and facing her again. He let out a shout and dropped once more, though, when she threw a half-dozen kitchen knives at him in a single toss! The blades flew over his head harmlessly, but when he looked up again he was startled to see her aiming a cannon his way!
“Party cannon!” she cried with a wicked grin, pulling the firing cord. He focused and was covered in black clouds just as a mass of something green and sizzling reached him.
He teleported to a spot in the air above her, but as he came down to hit her he was shocked to see her jump backwards and actually go into the reflective wall of the cavern!
He landed and stared. What the…?
She grinned from beyond the wall, waved, the leapt straight up.
“Hi!” He looked back with wide eyes as she suddenly appeared behind him with a knife in each hoof, as if she’d just bounced up from under the floor. The blades came down, but his instincts kicked in and he bucked, sending her sprawling before they could do more than scratch his flanks.
He turned to face her, taking a moment to catch his breath. She was good!
Pinkamina slowly climbed to her hooves with a groan. For a moment they glared at one another, neither willing to attack just yet. She reared back a little and pulled yet another pair of knives out of nowhere; he responded by summoning up his red sword from before. Save for their heavy breathing, the world was encased in silence.
Then she let out a demented giggle, eyes wicked and eager from under her long mane. “You’re a lot more fun than I thought,” she confessed. “I’ll be very sad when this is over.”
He sucked in a deep breath to get his breathing under control before answering. “I know you will, because I know you don’t want to kill me.”
“Of course I do,” she whispered, waving her weapons playfully. “And you want to kill me. We’re Bloodmanes, after all.”
“We were Bloodmanes,” he corrected knowingly, “and I don’t think you’re so eager to go back to being one.”
“I do what Silma says,” Pinkamina countered, anger in her voice. Her eyes lost their eagerness in favor of menace and hate. “If she says to kill, then I kill.”
He tilted his head away from her with a bored expression. “Well, you’ll try.” He punctuated the sentence with a sudden attack, firing a small beam from his horn even as he charged.
Pinkamina dodged the beam, but just barely, and raised her knives to block his sword. For several seconds the two exchanged attacks, but neither could break through to land a blow. They twisted and turned in the shadows, blades dancing wildly as they struggled. Pinkamina seemed to be out of special tricks, for she kept with her knives and didn’t try any of the weird methods she’d been using.
Or so he thought. Their battle brought them to the edge of the cliff, and just when he managed to knock her blades away with a powerful swing she jumped backwards, falling over the ledge. He stepped to the edge in alarm, and saw that they were above the original prison. Pinkie twisted, turning to face the floor below… and sailed right through it with a scream.
Suddenly that scream was coming from overhead. Fine jerked about just in time to see her falling on top of him, and had no time to prepare; when she hit they both went sailing over the side. A fall like that wouldn’t kill, but he knew what it could do. Thinking frantically, he grabbed her just as she tried to kick off of him and tugged her into a hug.
“Hey!” She struggled, front legs locked under his. “What are you doing?! Let me go!” He ignored her protests and twisted in midair, holding on tight.
They hit the solid crystal floor with a loud whack. There was also a loud snapping sound, and Pinkamina let out a scream of agony that drowned out Fine’s mere grunt. The air had been knocked from his lungs, and all he could do was lay on top of her. Pinkamina let out a pained wail before shoving him off; he rolled onto his back and fought to regain his breath.
She sat up, clutching one of her lower legs with tears in her eyes. She didn’t linger on the broken bone, though, instead crawling on top of him and pulling out another knife. “For Silma…” she whispered through gritted teeth, raising the blade high over him.
He was out of breath, but he wasn’t beaten. His horn glowed, and suddenly his unicorn knife, lost amongst the debris of the abandoned guillotine, came flying through the air to sink into her back between the shoulder blades.
She gasped, eyes going wide with pain. Before she could respond he snatched the knife from her hooves using his magic and stabbed into her front-left foreleg, eliciting another pained shout from her lips. Not willing to take any chances, he conjured up his smoke and disappeared, reappearing above and behind her. Before he even started to fall he summoned up a weapon: a long, red spear.
Pinkamina turned, red eyes wide with fear as she desperately tried to dodge the weapon, but his aim went true; the spear stabbed through her hip and into the crystal below, pinning her. She let out a wail of agony, tears spilling down her cheeks as she clutched at the shaft and feebly attempted to pull it away.
Fine landed on four hooves, breathing heavily as he watched her squirm. She tried to use both front legs to tug on the spear, but flinched away at the pain. She fell onto her back and, biting her lip so hard it bled, jerked the knife from her foreleg. It clattered to the floor beyond her reach as she lay there, sobbing and bleeding all over the crystal floor.
He glanced about, expression brooding. The three prisoners had escaped during the fight, so they were alone. Good, that’s how he preferred it.
“Go ahead,” Pinkamina called, raising her head from the floor just a little. “Kill me! That’s what you came here to do, isn’t it?”
He walked past her to one of the tables, where there sat the vial of potion he’d quietly placed down before the fight. “I told you, we’re not Bloodmanes anymore.”
“I don’t care!” She tried to sit up, but couldn’t conjure up the strength and fell back again. “She wants me to interrogate, to kill. I don’t want to kill!”
“You won’t have to,” he claimed, approaching her with the potion hovering before him. “We’re fixing things, Pinkamina.”
“You’re trying,” she whispered, holding her injured leg tenderly and not looking up at him when he stood over her. “You want to cure me with that. You want to save Equestria. You can’t guarantee the plan will work, Fine.”
He knelt so just above her head, looking down at her solemnly. “It’ll work.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
He caught her face in his hooves and forced her to look him in the eye. “It’ll work, Pinkamina.”
For a long time she stared up at him, eyes moist and lip quivering. “Maybe,” she admitted at last, but she didn’t sound at all comforted. “Even if it does… look at what I’ve done. What if I’m a Bloodmane again? The potion won’t fix that. I’d rather die than go through the horror a second time.”
Fine sighed and carefully set the vial down beside her head. “Pinkie, no good would come of you dying.”
“Mm-hmm,” she whispered. “I’ll finally see my mom and dad again, and my sisters. That’s good, isn’t it?”
He gave her a serious, gloomy look. “I don’t think they’d want to see you like this.” He took her hoof in his and carefully placed the vial in it. “You’ve got a chance to go back to spreading joy and happiness across Equestria. And believe me, Pinkie, after tonight the ponies are going to need it. Now I don’t have time to stand here and debate with you on the merits of living over dying, but I will take the time to say this: anything that you go through, I will help. Your life is worth far more than you know, no matter what you might have done in the past, and besides that we need you, Pinkie Pie.
“If you’re going to die,” he concluded as he stood, “do it in a way that would make your family proud. This isn’t it.”
The spear faded and disappeared, freeing her at last. She stared up at him, doubt and grief and worry mixed all over her features. “Fine… can you promise me everything will be alright?”
He shook his head. “No, Pinkie. Not without you.”
She looked down at the vial in her hoof, considering his answer long and hard. At last, with a despondent sigh, she uncorked it and drank.
Fine was already gone by the time she finished it.
Octavia met Applejack’s fierce gaze, standing firm before her opponent. Applejack lowered her head to offer a threatening glare. “Yer insultin mah integrity? Yer walkin a fine line, little miss big shot.”
“Am I?” Octavia tossed her mane back in a proud gesture. “You abandoned Equestria and your friends.”
“Mah friends are here, fightin fer Silma an' Celestia,” Applejack countered viciously, taking up an aggressive stance.
Octavia wasn’t intimidated. She stared down at Applejack with a withering gaze. “And what about your family? Do you really think Granny Smith, Bic Mac or Apple Bloom would understand? Do you think they would approve?”
At those words Applejack hesitated. “Maybe not… not yet. But in time they’ll understand!”
Octavia glowered, but she had the answer she’d been seeking; Applejack wasn’t going to budge without a fight. She removed the small bag tied around her neck and set it on a nearby shelf, keeping her steady gaze upon her opponent the entire time. “So be it,” she declared regally. “If you won’t see reason, I’ll have to force you.”
Applejack flashed a confident grin and regained her combat-ready stance. “You, force me? Ah think ya’ve forgotten who yer dealin with.”
“As have you,” she countered quietly. “Or did Silma mix your head up so much that you can’t remember the Crystal Empire?”
Applejack let out a vicious snarl. “Ah am not Silma’s slave!” She charged, but Octavia was ready; she dodged sideways and delivered a hit to Applejack’s jaw just as she passed. Applejack recovered very quickly, though, and made to buck Octavia.
Octavia knew one thing; avoid getting bucked! She dodged to the center of the room just in time, Applejack’s legs smashing the shelf behind her to splinters. Dust flew up, briefly covering the Element Bearer, and Octavia took the opportunity to rush in and deliver a rising head-butt against her chin. Applejack reeled back from the blow, and Octavia caught her and used a tripping maneuver to send her sprawling back to the center of the room.
Applejack picked herself up, rubbing blood from her lip as she did. “Alrigh, maybe yer not the pushover ah thought ya’d be,” she confessed with a sneer. “But there’s no way some two-timin, high-brow musician’s gonna beat this country pony!” She came forward again, this time rearing back once she was close enough to strike with her front hooves. Octavia did the same, and for several seconds they exchanged attacks.
They both got some hits in as they circled around the room, kicking, biting and bucking for dominance. Dust flew, shelves shattered, curses were flung. Octavia was holding her own, but she could tell that Applejack was far more powerful than she was. She would need to use her special tactic, but there was no chance to do so while she was frantically trying to keep up with her more experienced opponent.
At last it was Octavia who made the mistake, attempting a buck at the wrong moment as Applejack dodged and came forward. She bit down on Octavia’s mane from behind and, in a shocking showing of strength, literally tossed her across the room! Octavia smashed painfully into an old wine rack that shattered on impact, and for a second she could only lay on her belly in the debris, dazed.
A second was all Applejack needed; she came forward and stood firmly and painfully atop Octavia’s front legs and back, effectively pinning her. “There,” she declared in a smug tone despite how she was huffing from exertion, “that autta settle things.”
Octavia coughed from the dust and squirmed, but it was no use; Applejack had her. “This isn’t over,” she breathed.
“Ah can’t believe ya actually thought ya could win this!” her opponent declared. “But tha’s jus like you ponies under Luna; ya keep tryin ta be heroes. If ya’d learn ta actually fight like a team ya might have amounted ta somethin.”
“We never wanted to be heroes,” Octavia corrected angrily, turning her head to glare. “We just wanted to help!”
“Help?” Applejack looked as if she’d just heard a bad joke. “How's fightin us supposed ta help? That makes no sense.”
“About as much sense as you serving Silma,” Octavia countered.
“Stop tryin ta get me ta betray Silma! It’s not gonna happen.” Applejack leaned down so she was just over Octavia’s head. “Now yer gonna tell me how ta get outta here so ah can help mah real friends! Ya better pray Silma decides not ta-”
By leaning forward, Applejack had set most of her weight on her front hooves. It meant Octavia’s legs hurt more… but it also meant she could breath properly. She sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let out a long, musical tone, her soprano voice filling the dank air.
Applejack reared back with a cry, clutching at her ears in pain. Octavia shifted, and her opponent fell off of her. She jumped to her hooves and turned to see Applejack shaking her head and rubbing her ears.
Applejack looked up at her with an alarmed expression. “What the hay was that?!”
“A little something Luna gave me to help,” she declared. She sucked in another deep breath before belting out a series of notes that made Applejack squirm on the floor in agony.
“Stop!” Applejack clutched at her head, fighting to drown out the singing. “For the love o'Celestia, stop!”
Octavia came forward and stood over the trembling mare, only pausing in her singing when she was certain Applejack couldn’t move. Applejack reeled in the silence, eyes closed and breath coming in short, hard gasps. “This…. this isn’… over…” she whispered.
“Funny,” Octavia noted calmly, “I said the same thing a few seconds ago.”
“Somepony… will hear ya,” Applejack noted ominously. “They’ll… They’ll come an'… stop ya…”
Octavia smiled. “There’s a reason Fine put us down here in the abandoned basement of the castle; nopony ever comes down here. So I can sing to my heart’s desire.” She sucked in another breath.
Applejack’s eyes went wide. “No, don-!”
The pitch was much higher this time, Octavia exercising the phenomenal range granted by her little-known special talent. Applejack covered her ears and gritted her teeth, eyes rolling back into her head as she arched her back at the pain. “P-please! Oct-t-ta… vi…”
Octavia went silent, observing her captive as tears ran down Applejack’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Applejack, but unless you give up…”
“N… N-no…” Applejack shook her head slowly, still clutching at her ears. “Ah won’t… Ah won’t be-betray…”
Octavia sighed and left the defeated pony were she lay, approaching one of the very few shelves that hadn’t been destroyed in their fight. “You were wrong about us; we have learned how to be a team. Every pony on Luna’s team is here, supporting her.” She found the bag and pulled out the potion from within. She turned back to find that Applejack hadn’t moved; the enchanted song had stunned her.
“My keeping you busy is just one small part of a bigger plan,” she explained as she went back to Applejack. “I’ll admit, when things started off I was skeptical, but now I believe in them, every single one. We’re going to beat Silma Ril, Applejack.”
Applejack saw the potion and tried to crawl away, eyes widening with fear. “No… N-no, ya can’t make me!” She slipped and fell on her back once more, still suffering from the paralyzing effects of the spell. “What is that? Ah won't drink it!”
Octavia stood over her, a rigid frown on her lips. “We were formed to support you, Applejack. If that means facing you down and making you see the light, so be it. Drink.”
“No!” Applejack began to rise, glaring in defiance as her strength began to come back at last. “Ah will noAAUGH!”
Octavia let out another high tone, and Applejack collapsed. She stepped over the prone mare and offered the potion. Her voice was commanding. “Drink!”
“Ah… Ah won’t!” Applejack tried to swat the vial away, but didn’t have enough strength. “Y-ya… Ya can’t make me!”
Another deep breath, and Octavia belted out a tune from one of her favorite concerts. Applejack opened her mouth to scream, and she promptly shoved the opened vial into her victim’s mouth. She kept singing, and Applejack was so busy covering her ears and responding to the pain that she couldn’t fight back. Octavia rubbed Applejack’s throat as she sang, keeping the vial firmly in her mouth, until she saw her swallow.
Her work finally done, she stepped back and waited.
Nye and Jet Set hovered under the stairs, where they knew they wouldn’t be seen. Just one floor above them, Mane Archon was busy working on the Tau Cannon. Fluttershy stood nearby on the stairs, eagerly awaiting the chance to do what Silma had originally assigned her. At the bottom of the steps was a magical shield put up to keep unwanted guests from interfering.
So all Nye and Jet could do was wait. There was no way they could defeat Archon on their own. It was Jet’s job to bring down the barrier, but if he tried to do that now they’d surely be caught and killed. Archon had to leave before either of them could do anything… and they were both getting impatient.
Jet was hovering just outside of Fluttershy’s visual range, studying the shield anxiously. Nye, keeping more to the shadows, kept glancing up at the pegasus and hoping she wouldn’t end up spotting either of them, despite their precautions. But she was far enough away, and Archon was making enough noise, that he was at least confident they wouldn’t be overheard if they were cautious.
He leaned over to Jet and whispered, “So, you think you can get through it?”
Jet gave him a nervous look. “It’s not as complex as Mr. Crime was expecting,” he confessed, “but it’s not a simple spell, either. I’m guessing… three minutes, without distractions.”
“Not bad,” Nye confessed. “I guess practicing on your dad’s vault as a kid is really paying off, huh?”
Jet gave him a weak smile, ducking fearfully when a particularly loud bang came from above. “By Celestia, this is terrifying.” As if looking for something to distract from his fears, he asked, “Do you really think it was wise to leave your brother down there alone?”
But Nye was unconcerned. “Jimmy’s more than capable of taking care of himself,” he replied, casting a nervous glance at Fluttershy once again. “Besides, that’s a conversation those two have been needing to have for a long time now.”
“I don’t think she’s going to want to just talk,” Jet whispered, sneaking closer to the stairs to be better hidden.
“Don’t blame her,” Nye chuckled under his breath. “After making her wait so long, he deserves to get raked over the coals. He’ll be fine, trust me.”
Jet frowned and did not answer. He sat and drooped, ears tucking down as he stared out the nearest window. Nye followed his gaze, and outside they could see the castle’s outer wall and just a little bit of the horizon. But the window was facing the wrong way; they had no view of the light show being put on by Celestia and Luna.
“Do you think Uppity will be okay?” Jet asked, worry blatant in his voice.
Nye observed him, considering his answer. It was clear that Jet couldn’t possibly be comforted, and he didn’t blame him one bit. Still, he had to come up with some sort of answer. “I think Fine wouldn’t have given her the task if she wasn’t ready for it.”
Jet frowned and glanced away. “But she’s fighting Celestia’s prized pupil. That’s… a big task.”
Nye had his own doubts, but he didn’t dare voice them. Instead he set a hoof to Jet’s shoulder and offered as comforting a smile as he could muster under the circumstances. “Hey, Fine Crime’s a pro, a real genius at this kind of thing. If he thinks your wife can handle Twilight, then she can. Trust me on this.”
But Jet only sighed in a forlorn manner. “I wish I could, Mr. Stone. I really-“
Jet suddenly cringed, his horn flickering with a dark blue glow. “W-wow…”
“It’s here!” Archon’s voice rang clear to them through the ceiling. “Fluttershy, bring down that pegasus!”
Nye, helping Jet to keep from falling, heard Fluttershy call out some kind of response, and then there came a high-speed, repeating sound. The weapon must have been finished! Jet leaned sideways and let out a gasp as the glow on his horn faded. “Jet, what happened?”
“Power,” Jet whispered, straightening up and rubbing his head as if it ached. “Real, intense magical power.”
They were out of time. Nye cursed and ran, daring to come out into the open to look up the stairs. Archon was gone entirely, and he could just barely see Fluttershy sitting on some sort of turret, firing off shots at something in the sky. He had to assume Archon had teleported. “Jet!” He gestured to his ally. “Come on, the barrier!”
“Oh… right!” Jet ran up to the front of the stairs and lowered his horn to just barely touch the magical shield, which seemed to pulsate and flex when he began to pour a blue stream of energy into it. Nye ran to a nearby window to view the northern wall where Silma had been watching the Princesses duel, and cursed when he saw the self-styled Empress flying rapidly down into the castle courtyard beyond his vision.
“They’re closing in on it,” he noted, casting a worried glance at Jet. “We've got to get up there, now!” Shouting could be heard, and when he glanced out again he saw the pegasi and griffons guarding the walls rising up to face attackers. The Archons had sneaked in soldiers, just as Fine had planned.
But how long could the distraction keep Silma’s guards busy?
He shot another glance at Jet, who was visibly sweating as he struggled with the barrier. The wall was shifting hues and shapes, almost as if it were actively fightling to keep the unicorn from breaking through. Nye bounced from hoof to hoof, wishing Jet could go faster! They were losing precious time, they should have been done with this already!
Suddenly the barrier flashed, and there was a spark of electricity that surged into Jet’s horn. The unicorn let out a startled, pained cry as he was forcibly flung from the stairs, smashing into the wall. Nye jumped at the sight and ran to him, carefully lifting him into a sitting position against the wall. “Jet! Jet, talk to me. Don’t you dare be dead, Upper Crust will kill me if I let you die!”
Jet was in bad shape; his horn was cracked, and there were bad looking burns on his forehead and various parts of his body, all of which were smoking and emitting sizzling sounds. He let out a long moan and slowly looked up at Nye with weary, pain-filed eyes. “If I live to see the morning, I will be feeling that.”
Nye couldn’t resist a small smile. “Hey, I’m the one who gets wry in bad situations,” he noted. “What happened?”
“Booby trap,” Jet muttered. He raised a shaky leg to gesture at the stairs behind Nye. “But I brought down the barrier.” There was a tiny note of triumph in his voice.
Nye glanced over his shoulder; sure enough, the shield was gone. “Good. You did good, Jet. Can you move?”
Jet shifted to give himself room and experimented with his legs for a second. “Y-yeah… I think so.”
Nye nodded, casting another nervous glance back at the stairs. “Alright, good. Look, I still have a job to do, and there’s no time left. Try and get back to the castle, and keep hidden. Can you do that for me?”
Jet slowly climbed to his hooves. “Are you sure? I might-“ He sucked in a pained breath as he tried to apply pressure to one of his front legs, nearly collapsing from the effort.
“You’ve done your part,” Nye told him, carefully helping him stand properly. “Now it’s my turn. Go, and be safe.”
“A-alright,” Jet whispered, limping his way to the stairs leading down. “Good luck, Mr. Stone.”
Nye only waited long enough to be sure that Jet could go down the stairs under his own power before turning to head for the second floor. He kept low as he climbed, listening to the sporadic firing from Fluttershy’s weapon. When he was close enough he was able to get a good look at it; she was sitting on a tall seat, the gun emplaced before her. The weapon was surprisingly small, but turned on its own as Fluttershy controlled it with some sort of mechanical instrument set before her.
Nye ducked as Fluttershy unleashed a series of energy-like bullets into the air, the gun swirling around as Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust flashed by in a blur. It was clear that Fluttershy was trying to hit Lightning. Nye’s heart leaped into his throat; her aim was so poor she was just as likely to hit Rainbow! On the one hoof, Rainbow needed to be defeated. On the other, that was his mare-friend, and he had absolutely no interest in her getting killed by an errant shot!
He climbed to the top of the stairs and eyed the weapon. It was a good thing he knew a lot about engineering, else he might not have recognized the cables as important. He followed their path to a large device at his side, which was humming loudly and vibrating like it was some sort of engine. Perhaps it was the power source?
He studied it carefully for a moment, fighting not to be distracted by another pass of the dog-fighting pegasi. What to do, what to do? There were so many cylinders and wires and parts, and one of them could be vital. Then again, remove the wrong one and the thing might explode! It was a technology like nothing he’d ever seen before, and that meant he was clueless.
As Fluttershy let off another series of shots, he realized there was nothing for it but to guess; he reached in and grabbed a large cylinder. Grateful that it wasn’t too hot, he gave it a few firm tugs until it finally broke off the machine with an audible snap, sending him flailing on his back.
The machine rumbled on for several seconds as he sat up, but then it began to whine and make some frightening sounds. Nye prepared for the worst, bracing for some sort of explosion or other horrible effect, but after a while the thing just died with an piercing whine.
Good. Good, now for the next task; he went over to Fluttershy, who was struggling with the controls in frustration. As he got close he could hear her muttering in her quiet voice. “Oh, what’s wrong? I was just starting to get the hang of it!”
Despite the situation he leaned against her seat and smiled his most charming smile. “Hey there, beautiful.”
She let out a startled squeak, turning to him with a frightened expression. Her fear was rapidly replaced by confusion as she recognized him. “Nye? What are you doing here?”
He gestured with his head towards the machine behind them. “Toying with things I probably shouldn’t.” He showed her the cylinder he’d removed, tossing it up I the air playfully. “Looks like this is a pretty important part.” Her eyes went wide with realization, but before she could respond he caught it and tossed it over the tower’s edge.
“No!” She made to fly after it, but he caught her as she passed him and forced her to the ground on her stomach. “Nye, what are you doing?!”
He reached into his pack and pulled out the potion. “You know,” he joked to her as he worked to uncork it, “there was a time when I’d have given anything to be in this kind of position.”
She spotted the potion and let out a horrified cry. “What is that?!” Her wings began to flap wildly, buffeting him and making it hard to keep his balance.
“Dammit, Fluttershy, I’m trying to help you!” He covered his face against the strikes, falling from his hooves. “The potion will make things better!”
She clawed at the stone floor, struggling to get out from under him. “I don’t believe you! Please, let me go!”
There was no way he could open the vial like this, he’d spill the potion! He had to find some way to pin her, but how was he supposed to do that without hurting her?
He recalled Fine’s request from before about not hurting her. Somehow he’d known that it would be him in this situation! He had to be cautious; Fine was trusting him to take care of his little guardian angel, and he was not about to let either of them down.
He leaned forward to press down on her shoulders, pinning her. “Fluttershy, calm down! Fine sent me, do you think he’d ask me to do anything that might hurt you?”
She set her hooves firmly against the floor. “You’re lying,” she declared fearfully. “Fine wouldn’t send somepony else to help me. He’d do it himself! Now get off!”
He let out a surprised shout as she abruptly pushed up with her hind legs, sending him flipping head-over-hooves to smack his back on the floor. Fluttershy leapt to her hooves and ran for the edge, wings opening wide, but Nye reacted with a speed that surprised even him and caught her long pink tail in his teeth. She tried to lift off, sailing over the edge and jerking him forward. He locked his hooves to the floor and was dragged forward a few inches before he came to a halt just at the edge.
“Let me go!” she cried, wings flapping wildly as she struggled to fly out of his grasp. “Nye, you can’t stop us!”
He struggled to hold on, eyes set fearfully at the ground far below, and fought to pull her back into the tower. For several seconds they struggled in a fierce tug-of-war, and for a time he wondered if he would be able to hold on. Just as his jaw began to grow sore, though, her wing power weakened, and he was able to pull her back an inch at a time.
“N-no!” She let out a horrified shout as he finally started to drag her back. “Somepony, help me! I finally had a chance! I can’t lose now! Archon, Silma, Rainbow, anypony!”
He gave a final tug, bringing her down to the ground and catching her in his hooves. She struggled and screamed, but after a few seconds of wrestling he managed to push her onto her back and sit on her chest. She squirmed and kicked, tears streaming down her face. “Nye, please, don’t hurt me!”
“Hurt you?!” He looked around, frustration filling him as she kicked with her forehooves. “I’m not trying to hurt you! I just want… aha!” He found the vial lying on the floor nearby and snatched it up. “Alright, Fluttershy, open wide!”
She shook her head, opened her mouth to scream, and he forced the vial into her mouth. “Come on, drink it!” She pushed at his legs, trying to pry the vial from her throat, but he held it firmly in place. She wouldn’t drink, though; she refused! She gargled the liquid, tried to shake her head to get rid of it. Finally he pressed a hoof atop her muzzle, restricting her breathing. She continued to squirm and kick, but after what seemed like an eternity she was finally forced to drink.
“Thank you!” he cried, relieved that was finally over.
Then the world erupted in an explosion of color and light, and the entire tower began to shift. “What the-?!”
He fell off of her as the tower tilted sideways, the sound of snapping wood and falling rocks loud in his ears. He looked up and realized, to his terror, that the entire tower was falling! He tried to stand, slipped and fell on his side. “No no, crap no!”
He was startled to see Fluttershy, screaming and clutching her head as she began to slide past him for the edge. He recognized that behavior; the spell was working. But that also meant she wouldn’t be able to fly! They were screwed… but he would be damned if she died because of this!
He dove for her just as they started to go weightless from the tower’s collapse, catching her up in his hooves. She wreathed and wailed, mind lost in the tumultuous struggle for self-identiy and completely unaware of their coming doom. He, on the other hand, was very much aware of the solid stone hundreds of feet below!
There was nothing else to do; he held her close and fought to turn them, until he was between her and the ground. The least he could do was try to cushion her fall and give her the best possible chance at survival! He closed his eyes, tears rising in the air as he prepared for impact.
He hoped his brother would be proud.
“Ingrate!”
Zap.
“Brainless!”
Zap.
“Simpleton!”
Zap.
“Traitor!!”
Zap zap zap.
Jimmy choked down the lump in his throat as a gem-shaped burst of magic shot into the room through the doorway. He kept himself pressed against the wall, not daring to move lest Rarity should get an opening to blast him. “C-can’t we talk about this?”
“Talk?!” Zap. “That’s all you ever want to do. I’m sick and tired of talking to you!” Zap.
He was in trouble. All that time he’d been worried about Archon, but it seemed like he should have been afraid of her, instead! He wanted to go upstairs, but to do so he’d have to cross the doorway, and there was no way he was daring that. Besides, his first obligation was clearly to keep Rarity busy while Nye and Jet sabotaged the cannon. Funny, he would have expected Nye to be in this position.
“Come out, you coward,” Rarity cried. He heard her suck in a deep breath, and after a pause a big blue orb drifted slowly into the room. Jimmy didn’t know what it was, but he had an idea what it was going to do; he dropped to the floor and covered his head as the orb erupted in a shower of sparks, a circular shockwave spreading wide just over his head. “You can’t hide in there forever!”
And she wasn’t going to wait outside forever. He needed a plan! “Rarity, I’m sorry!”
“Sorry?” Her voice took on that high-pitch tone of fury usually reserved for her sister. “That’s what you have to say to me, sorry?!” A stream of small beams blasted into the room.
The barrage ended, and after a anxious second he peered past the door. She stood a dozen feet away, huffing in visible fury and horn smoking. “I had no idea you were interested! What do you want me to say?”
“How could you have no idea?” she shouted, firing off another gem that made him duck for cover. “Did all that peering over the drafting table make you go blind?! I went out of my way, I sacrificed orders, I dropped hints whenever I could!”
Had she? Was he so socially inept that he never saw the indications? What were the indications? “I… I…”
“You come out here right now and get what you deserve, or I swear to Silma…!”
Suddenly, he remembered Fine’s words. “Rarity.”
Zap.
“Rarity!”
Zap zap.
He cringed, preparing himself for the pain, and stood in the doorway to face her. “Rarity!”
Three gems smashed into his chest, popping like glass and fading away upon impact. Each hit was like being whacked with a hammer… but he fought to keep on his hooves and held his ground. He winced in pain before giving her a solid, determined frown.
She glared at him for a second or two, but then blinked and raised her head with an uncertain frown. Clearly his sudden willingness to face her had her wondering.
He sucked in a deep breath to buy time to consider his words. “I’m listening, Rarity,” he told her. “I won’t hide. Just… tell me what you’re feeling, right now. I’ll listen.”
She hesitated, horn glowing threateningly. “No… you’re trying to distract me!”
“You say I’m missing the obvious,” he declared with force. “I won’t miss it this time. Tell me! I want to make it right.”
“Make it right?” she repeated, astounded. “How can you ‘make it right’? After all this time?”
“I don’t know,” he confessed, anxiety and determination mixing in his voice. “But I can’t do it at all if you won’t let me try. Please Rarity, what am I missing?”
Uncertainty clouded her eyes as she considered him, and after a few seconds her anger faded to anguish. “Me. You’re missing me, Jimmy. When you first moved to Ponyville I didn’t even notice you, but then there was the whole Crystal Empire thing and… and suddenly I saw you.” She let out a frustrated cry. “Why won’t you see me?!”
She looked away, covering her face as if in shame. “When you first asked to join me for tea I was so excited; I thought you were sending me some kind of message. Imagine my disappointment when I realized you were just interesting in ‘talking’ and ‘being friends.’ Then I learned you spent a lot of time with Octavia, and I thought you were with her!”
He stared at her, amazed to realize that she was on the verge of tears. He’d really had no idea, and now he felt… foolish. “But… B-but what could you possibly see in me?”
“What’s not to see?” she asked. “You’re smart, you’re rich, you’re rugged! You’re a gentlecolt, hard working and oh-so kind. And until now I thought you were loyal.” She added that last part with a regal, lecturing tone as she turned her head away and her nose up, punctuating her meaning with a ‘hmmph!’ sound.
Jimmy couldn’t believe his ears. He lowered his head and thought, eyes shifting as a maze of ideas and concepts and theories swam about his head. She was serious, absolutely serious! But more importantly, so was he.
For the first time in his life, he was able to connect the dots on his own. He had an epiphany, and all at once he knew what to do about her… and for her. He raised his head just slightly, gazing at her through his bangs as she struggled to hold back tears. It was now or never.
“None of it matters,” Rarity whispered, her horn glowing brightly. “You betrayed Silma, so now I have to... h-have to…”
He raised his head. “Alright, Rarity. You win.”
She blinked, her sadness combining with her sudden confusion. “W-what?”
He took a step closer. “You win.”
She took a step back, horn flashing dangerously but face worried. “S-stay back! I have to take you to Silma! D-don’t make me hurt you…”
“You already did,” he reminded her seriously, tapping his bruised chest. He took another step. “I’m ready to try, Rarity.”
She shook her head and leveled her horn at him, but her voice was shaky. “Y-you don’t m-mean that! You’re just t-trying to distract me!”
He sighed, ready to let the truth out. “I thought I wanted a legacy,” he announced sadly, “but I realized it was pointless. Luna-“ Another step. “-Luna showed me the truth; I was never looking for a legacy. I was looking to affection, for love.” Her head jerked up at that word, the glow of her horn fading almost instantly in her disbelief and astonishment.
Another step.
“I grew closer to my brother. I thought he could help me, and he did. I thought that was all I needed. But now?”
And another.
“Now he has Rainbow. His life revolves around her, Rarity. No more room for me. What’s a guy to do?”
“J-Jim…” She shook her head and aimed her horn once more… but she didn’t fire.
Another step, and the tip of her horn was pressed against his chest. “I have to get my love from somewhere else. I should have been looking all along. I’m looking now, Rarity.”
There was a long, tense pause as they stood there, her horn set against him, him staring down at her. Seconds passed. Maybe a whole minute. He wasn’t nervous. To his surprise, he wasn’t even afraid, just calm.
Jimmy reached up and touched her chin. She resisted his push, but only a little, and when he brought her head up to look at him she was crying.
“I’m looking now.”
And he kissed her.
Her horn flashed brightly, and she tensed, grabbing him up in a tight embrace as she made strange mumblings he couldn’t make sense of. The sound of the cannon’s fire hit his ears, the shouts and noise of the soldiers attacking the walls began to reach them, but he hardly noted any of it. For a moment, just one tender eternity, all he knew was that this was his first kiss, and it felt… amazing.
He had no idea how long it lasted, but when he finally pulled away, he had no breath.
She stared at him, eyes half closed and lips parted in a dazed expression. He heard her take a long, shaky breath…
Then set the vial in her mouth.
She blinked, caught between the heat of the moment and total confusion, and swallowed the potion before she could muster up the thought to question what he was giving her.
She stared at him for a second longer, then shook off her daze. She promptly spit the vial out and coughed, clutching her throat. “Jim,” she asked in a lost manner, “what was that nasty stuff?”
He opened his mouth, closed it, glanced away to consider his answer, tried again. “Umm…”
His fumbled response was interrupted by a resounding crash and a spectacular flash of colors! The two of them turned away from the brightness that made the darkness like day. A second later the flash was gone, replaced by the sounds of falling stone and shattering glass. The both let out a surprised shout as a brick the size of a pony’s head smashed into the ground between them.
The tower was falling! Jimmy looked up in alarm to see the tower leaning towards them, the midsection of it crumbling to pieces. He heard a scream and saw Nye and Fluttershy fall over the edge of the tower’s parapet.
Another scream, and he turned to see Rarity dropping to her knees and clutching her head in visible pain as the potion began to affect her.
For an instant panic filled him; how was he supposed to save all three of them at once?! He hesitated, but only for a second, before grabbing Rarity by the shoulders and throwing her as hard as he could, sending her sprawling through the open door of the tower. As soon as he was sure she was in, he leapt and opened his wings, flying for his brother. Nye was clutching Fluttershy close, clearly trying to protect her from the fall.
Jimmy hit them. Their weight was far too much for him, though, and he struggled just to stay aloft! He looked up in terror to see the tower coming down on them. He ducked his head and held the two ponies close, ready for the hit…
Nothing.
He blinked, looked down at Nye and Fluttershy in confusion. Fluttershy was shivering, grinding her teeth and pressing her forehead against Nye’s shoulder with tears in her eyes. Nye, on the other hand, was looking up at Jimmy with a startled expression of his own.
At last Jimmy looked up. The tower was encased in a dark glow, hovering just inches above his head. They were saved… but wouldn’t be for long if they didn’t get out from under it! He struggled to control his descent, making for the tower entrance where he could guarantee everypony’s safety.
“Am I glad to see you,” Nye noted fearfully, adjusting his hold on Fluttershy. “Rarity?”
“She drank it,” Jimmy declared between breathless huffs, the effort to maintain a safe descent wearing him down quickly.
“Fluttershy, too,” Nye declared. “With a little convincing.”