Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 54: Ascend the Depths
"It's a cello."
Twilight tensed for an all out attack from Black Rose’s Thorns. If they had wanted to, the Thorns would have waited for an ambush at the base of this tower, attacking once the transport was complete. They would have known that the princesses couldn't come along. The brief disorientation from the teleportation spell would have left their targets defenseless. Longstride would be high above them, picking them off with shots from nigh-impossible distances. With them glowing in what would should be total darkness, he would have had an easy time of it. Octavia would be near Longstride, wearing them down with her ominous music while Sablesteel and Lion Court charged in. It would have been a desperate fight.
“Do you recognize that music, Rarity?” Twilight asked. “It might clue us in on what it might do to us.”
Rarity placed a hoof against her lips. “Hold on...I've heard this before during a trip to Canterlot’s Opera Hall.” Her eyes lit up. “I remember! It’s the opening to ‘Skysong and Nightpiercer’!”
“It sounds pretty gloomy,” Pinkie Pie said. “Why would anything open with something so sad?”
“Well, darling, ‘Skysong and Nightpiercer’ is a tragedy: the story of star-crossed-!”
“No time for a lecture on fancy singing and dancing,” Applejack said. She looked to Pinkie. “Is it hurting you like it did the last time?”
Pinkie Pie shook her head. “No. It’s making me a little sad, but it’s nowhere near like the last time she played. This one just sounds like music.”
Applejack snorted. “Let’s keep going then,” she said. “There’s stairs to climb and Thorns to fight!”
Rarity turned up her nose. “Honestly! There’s nothing lost in spending a few moments to learn some culture!”
Twilight had to agree with Applejack in this case. It was impossible to tell how far they had to climb with everything being so dark. She couldn't even see the stairs that should be across her in this circular tower. With so little visibility and no rails, this was going to be dangerous even without any fighting involved.
No attack had come. The Thorns had purposely ignored a golden opportunity, instead choosing the herald their presence and allow Twilight and her friends to prepare. Relief, indignation, and a measure of curiosity warred within Twilight as they made their way up the spiraling staircase. They had defeated an alicorn soldier! Only one and it had been a desperate battle, but they had won. The Thorns better not be underestimating them. If that wasn't the case, then what was? Why exactly were the Thorns waiting for them above if not to fight?
Given the narrowness of the stairs, they ascended by twos. Twilight took the lead with Applejack. Rainbow and Fluttershy followed while Rarity and Pinkie Pie brought up the rear. There may have been no ambush, but this was still a bad place to get caught in a fight. They had no room to maneuver. A lone fireball would incinerate them all. Who knew what spells Lion Court had at his disposal? And that wasn't even counting the poison gas bombs Sablesteel was known for.
Twilight put her left foreleg down only to find no resistance. It took less than a second to realize that she had gone too far to the left. She gasped as she tipped over, her own weight about to send her plunging into the darkness. Instead, a hoof grabbed a hold of her shoulder, righting her and holding her steady until she found the floor again.
“Easy now, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Less thinking about stuff and more watching where you’re stepping. She looked warily to the side. "Not that it's getting any easier to look."
“Just how high are these stairs going to go?” Rainbow Dash asked. She had taken to walking close to the rest of them. Twilight guessed that it was for comfort and warmth. The cold musty air, if it was even air around them, gave her the occasional shiver. “Or is it how low? Are we going to-?”
“Rainbow,” Applejack said. “Don’t overthink it. We've got enough stuff going on here to drive us crazy.”
Twilight had to agree. Whatever semblance of a base “floor” they had started out with had disappeared. The walls were nearly indistinguishable from the darkness, as were the stairs they were climbing. She had no idea how high or low they had come or how much farther they had to go. The darkness just seemed to go on forever, tugging at her like ocean waves, threatening to just carry her away...
Twilight shook her head. She had nearly veered off the stairs again. ‘Focus on your hooves,’ she thought. She looked down and concentrated on putting one leg in front of the other. The lack of any other visible thing was making her head hurt.
And the silence...even their hoof-steps sounded muffled. They sounded as if they were constantly whispering to each other even when their faces told otherwise. The silence was torture. Her wandering thoughts were too loud in comparison, distracting to near lethal levels as she had just found out. She may have lost track of how far they've gone, but it was more than enough for falling down to be fatal. Or was it falling up? ‘Focus,’ she told herself. She searched for something to grab a hold of mentally, something to focus on in this slow ascent to an endless void.
The music helped in a way. The same music she had considered a prelude to an ambush now helped guide her upwards. It was faint and distant, but it kept reminding her of where she and her friends should be going. She looked to the others. The strain on their faces showed the burgeoning effect of the slow, monotonous climb. Their ears were pricked and alert, catching every note of that solemn melody. Octavia wasn't trying to scare them off; she was subtly bringing them to a place of meeting. The music must be woven with powerful magic just to pierce the oppressive silence around them.
Oddly enough, it felt as if they weren't coming any closer to that sound. Like Rainbow, Twilight was starting to wonder just how far they had to go to get anywhere.
“Pinkie,” Rainbow said. It wasn't lost on Twilight that it was Rainbow Dash who was talking the most. “What can you see with your weird stone-table thingy? Are we getting anywhere?”
“I don’t wanna check,” Pinkie mumbled. She kept her head low and focused on her front hooves. “This place is making me sick already. If I look at the ley lines, I might go crazy.”
“That bad, huh?” Rainbow muttered. She flexed her wings and flapped them a few times. “Well, not like I trust this air either. Why did the those Six Companions or whoever insist on building this weird upside down place anyway?”
“Come now, darling,” Rarity said. “You should pay more attention. We’re already going beyond the machinations of the Six Companions here.” She tapped the wall next to her. “Haven’t you noticed? It’s not just getting darker, nor are our lights dimming. These walls are slowly stopping from being walls.”
At that, Twilight stopped and looked at the walls. Rarity was right, it was nearly impossible to distinguish the dark gray stone from the darkness of the surroundings. She had left it to merely the effect of shadows, but...
“By the time we near our destination, I suspect that the last traces of anything pony-made would be gone,” Rarity added.
“Gone?” Applejack asked. “Then what in tarnation would we be climbing on?”
“This is the abyss we’re talking about, Applejack,” Rarity said. “I have a feeling that won’t even matter the farther we go along.”
They continued their climb, filling the silence with vague guesses about what they’d find in the abyss. Twilight felt the urge to shush them. This climb just felt too somber...too final to fill with idle talk. She didn't, however. The talking helped her friends push away the crushing sense of emptiness as the music did. Nevertheless, she found herself looking to the other pony who wasn't inclined to join in the conversation.
While Pinkie Pie eventually managed to rouse herself enough to join in half-heartedly, Fluttershy remained focused just ahead of her. Normally, Fluttershy would prefer to hang behind the group whenever they traveled together. For this occasion, she was closer up front, next to Rainbow and behind Applejack. Twilight had thought that it was an innocuous choice of position, but she was starting to think that there was another reason why Fluttershy placed herself ahead of Rarity. Her ruined eye was giving off a faint green glow underneath its handkerchief. Twilight had only noticed it now since she had focused on Fluttershy. She was sure that it had something to do with the power of abyss. “Fluttershy,” she said. The pegasus looked at her blankly. “What do you see in this place?”
“A horrible death,” Fluttershy said. The others looked to her in shock. “This light coming from us isn't just letting us see. If it goes out, we’ll all be slaves to Oceanus in an instant.”
Rarity looked to her chest and swallowed. “That’s not very reassuring, Fluttershy,” she said.
“Sorry,” Fluttershy said. She glanced at Twilight. “But you asked what I was seeing.”
“You mean with that glowing ruined eye?” Rarity asked. Her voice lowered. “I’m sorry, darling, I noticed, I just didn't want to bring it up.”
“How do you even see something that might happen?” Rainbow asked. “Do you have fortune-telling powers now?”
“Not really,” Fluttershy said. “I just...know. This darkness is very familiar. Once you agree to serve Oceanus, it’s very, very hard to change your mind.” She focused on Rainbow. “You asked where all the ponies of the Old Kingdom went. They’re here. They’re all waiting for his arrival.” She pressed her ruined eye softly. "Also...I think I'm starting to understand..."
Twilight and the others stopped. "Understand what?" she asked.
"This...other me, this pony I freed to be able to use the Stare so openly...I can't find her. She said she was going to be out and she'd always be 'out', but I can't find her."
"Fluttershy..." Twilight reached for the pegasus with a hoof.
Fluttershy shrank back. "I think...she is me. Or I'm her. That's why I'm remembering these things. I think...I think I am Lok'horus. Or...or some kind of thing that was left of him. I just stuffed her...or me, in that place. I think...I think-!"
"Hush now, dear," Rarity said. The snap in her tone nearly made Twilight jump. "You're barely making sense! You...other you...Lok'horus or some such thing. We can't take it all in!" She smiled. "Nor should we even need to. She draped a hoof over Fluttershy and held her close. "It wouldn't matter one bit if you're the 'remains' or whatever of this Lok'horus. You are our friend and you've chosen to deal with this stranger aspect of you for all our sake. That is well and good enough."
The others nodded and a few tears trickled down Fluttershy's remaining good eye. "Thank you," she said. "I'll deal with her...or me as best I can."
"One more thing," Twilight said. Her friends looked to her. "Can we expect the Six Companions here?" Fluttershy nodded. That was the only answer Twilight needed to push on harder. Underneath the sense of oppressive dread and the rising inevitability of finally confronting Black Rose, Twilight also nursed the hope of encountering the Six Companions, to see with her own eyes the fate they brought upon themselves.
More time passed. With nothing to consult, Twilight wasn't sure just how much. It must be hours now. Even trying to maintain conversation was as difficult as holding one's breath. They had to stop at some point as they ran out of things to talk about or the strength to distribute between talking, thinking of things to talk about, watching their step, and keeping an eye out for surprises. Twilight shivered again, more violently this time. Was it getting colder? She let out a long exhale. Her breath didn't form any visible vapor, but that could simply mean that it was too dark to see. Would her breath be luminous as the rest of her body was at the moment or-
A dull crash from behind brought Twilight’s thoughts and her breath up short. She looked behind her, expecting the worst. Were they already under attack? She found Pinkie collapsed on her belly and breathing heavily.
“You okay?” Rainbow asked. She nudged Pinkie’s side with her snout.
“I can’t do this anymore!” Pinkie wailed. “It’s so dark! And quiet! I hate it here! I wanna go back!”
“Pinkie Pie...” Rarity tried to say something, but Pinkie’s sobs stifled her. Twilight was silent as well. In truth, Pinkie Pie was just saying what they must be all feeling. This place was so wretched and oppressive that each step was a trial. She missed Golden Oaks, Ponyville, Canterlot...she missed just being out in the light. Perhaps...perhaps she could turn them around just yet. She could feel the powerful ritual that kept them in this place and knew without a doubt that she could cast something that would signal the princesses to pull them out of this miserable hole. She looked to the others. They didn't have to say a thing. The trembling in their limbs, their inability to protest against Pinkie’s crying...they already agreed.
“Come on, Pinkie, get up.”
That was Rainbow. It wasn't reckless cockiness that showed on her face. Not even a desperate desire to mask her fear by pushing others. A strange calm kept her features firm in sharp contrast to the downcast looks around her. Pinkie whimpered and refused to budge. “Just go on ahead,” she said.
“Come on, Pinkie,” Rainbow said, her tone even firmer. "Nopony’s staying behind. I’ll push and drag you the rest of the way if I have to.” She smiled slightly. “It won’t be the first time you made me.”
Twilight finally found the strength to walk over as well. “We can do this, Pinkie,” she said. “One step at a time and we’ll put this behind us for good!”
Applejack nodded vigorously and offered her back. “Hop on if you’re tired,” she said. “Cause we sure ain’t budging until you do!”
It turned out that Pinkie didn't need the ride. She stood up, still burdened by the atmosphere, but with a renewed look of determination. “Let’s go,” she said quietly.
The smile stayed on Rainbow’s face as she took her place back in their formation. The one on Twilight’s stayed as well. As they continued their climb, she took one more glance at Rainbow. Something odd was emanating from her friend, more than just that infectious persistence. There was a different glint around where the Element of Loyalty would be hanging. The light from it felt warm, strong, sustaining. While the music gave direction, this light flowed through their limbs and gave them the will to press on.
The scholar in Twilight wanted to ask questions, to take notes and perform studies. She ignored that part for now. Better to hold on to this light and press on.
The thoughts flew out of her mind when Twilight’s next hoof-step touched nothing. All she could manage was a startled gasp, barely even that before she started to fall. Instead of a saving grasp from Applejack, she heard the earth pony gasp as well. What had happened? Did the stairs fall apart under them?
“Help!” Pinkie Pie yelled.
A cry from Fluttershy, a shriek from Rarity, and a swift curse from Rainbow Dash confirmed that all of them had started falling.
Or were they?
Twilight didn't notice any stair disappearing or wall going from her sight. She looked to her friends and saw all of them flailing their legs. Rainbow flapped her wings desperately to no avail. Pinkie looked like she was trying to climb back up despite being upside down. Their drawn out screams faded when their lungs finally emptied. Still, no sudden, horrible stop. Twilight clutched her head and looked around again. Wait...was Pinkie Pie upside down? Or was she? Just what direction were they “falling” to? How fast were they even going? Twilight’s grip on her head tightened. She needed something to hold on to, something to compare to. The nothingness gripped at her senses and stretched them mercilessly towards every direction. Her brain was starting to feel as if it was caught in a clamp.
Once more, the sound of cello music flowed towards and through them. For a moment, Twilight even forgot that she was in motion. That sound. It was still above them. More importantly, the cello’s music was getting louder. Pinkie Pie opened her mouth, but Rarity made a swift gesture with a foreleg. “Shush!” Rarity said. “Has anypony noticed that? We’re falling closer to the sound!”
“But the music was coming above us and we’re falling!” Rainbow said. “How are we falling up?” She grasped her head tightly. “Or...wait, we’re actually falling now? But how is that-?”
“We’re at the edges of the abyss,” Fluttershy said. Her soft-spoken words cut through the harsh protests with ease. Even Rainbow, who obviously didn't like such a high-hoofed answer was silent. Being so close to the abyss was all the answer there needed to be. They had been caught in an impossible situation at the very beginning after all.
“But we’re still falling somewhere,” Rainbow said. “I can’t even get any lift!”
“Maybe we’re not,” Twilight said. Everypony looked to her. “Remember what Rarity said? Sooner or later we’d be running out of tower, but we’d still be going on.”
“Falling, flying, I don’t care anymore!” Rainbow yelled. “I just want to stop!” She raised her forelegs. “Stop!”
And Rainbow did stop.
Twilight’s eyes widened. For a second, she expected Rainbow to immediately crumple into a broken heap of crushed bones and muscle as expected of somepony crashing from so far a fall. No such thing happened. Rainbow merely stopped moving, as if the entire world decided that she wasn't falling after all.
A newer problem showed itself. Rainbow was quickly turning into a distant glowing figure in the vast darkness. That she was lagging beneath them confirmed that they were indeed going up. They needed to stop or she might be lost to them for good.
“Girls, stop!” Rainbow shouted after them. “Just make yourself stop!”
Stop. Twilight shut her eyes tightly and willed her body to stop. She squelched the urge to hold herself with telekinesis. That wasn't going to be the answer here. Rainbow was no unicorn, but she stopped herself. The answer was simpler, one easily used by anypony. She just needed to will it.
When Twilight opened her eyes again, she was staring at all her friends caught in various positions. She didn't know who was upside down or not, not that it mattered. She looked beneath her, fearing the worst. To her relief, Rainbow Dash was still there. ‘We stopped,’ she thought. ‘But how? Did we catch against something? Some kind of invisible net...’ Twilight set her hooves down hesitantly. To her surprise, her hooves met some kind of solidity. It felt slightly yielding and firm, like flesh. She held out her forelegs to feel for some kind of wall. Again, she met a similar form of resistance. Around her, her friends were trying out the same thing.
“Guess we all hit something,” Applejack said. She tapped a hoof against the darkness beneath her.
“That makes no sense, Applejack,” Rarity said. She tapped the space above her. “I stopped directly beneath you. If we actually hit something, you should have been stopped by whatever’s keeping me in place.” She looked at Pinkie Pie, who was looking more and more as the one who was upside-down. “And that shouldn't be making any sense.”
“Let’s not count on sense anymore, girls,” Twilight said. She gave the darkness in front of her one more tap. To her front hooves, it felt as if there was a solid vertical wall blocking her. She swallowed, placed her forelegs flat against the “wall”, and started walking vertically upward. The others gasped at this. To round out her theory, Twilight walked a complete circle and back to where she was standing a while ago. “This is the abyss,” she said. “Up, down, forward and backwards all depend on where we want them to be.”
For the first time since she arrived in this dark place, Pinkie Pie’s eyes brightened. “You mean I can do even this?” she asked. She hopped from her upside-down spot to a vertical one, and then hopped to the opposite side. “This is kinda neat!” she said. “Finally, something neat in this horrible, depressing place!”
Upon seeing what they were doing, it only took Rainbow Dash a couple of seconds to gallop over to them. The rest followed until they were all on a relatively level plane with each other and facing the same direction.
“Glad to see that’s been straightened out,” Rarity said. She flicked the front curl of her mane with a hoof. “All that confusion was giving me a headache.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Twilight said. “We’re just back to following that music.”
Rarity looked up, her ears perking. “We’re at the final act. Skysong’s swallowed poison at this point and Nightpiercer’s off to challenge his seven brothers. I must say, Octavia’s playing has done us more good than harm so far,” she said. Her eyes narrowed. “I must also admit that it is very good. Perfect even.”
Twilight’s first response was to cast a spell. A shimmering, pale purple shield surrounded all of them. She wasn't taking any chances. They stood out like beacons in this darkness. Even if the Thorns were a long, long way away, she had to pre-emptively protect them or Longstride would start picking them off. She tested her footing one more time. No matter how many times she explained to herself, she couldn't shake off the uneasiness of being able to just walk anywhere in anyway. And this soft sensation...it was starting to become disgusting. She was starting to wish for cold hard stone. With the cold, the darkness, and this disturbing fleshiness, it was like she was walking the innards of a long dead creature.
They followed a straight route to where the sound was coming from. From their perspective it appeared straight, but it still tugged at Twilight that they were, in fact, walking up like spiders. Time itself seemed to stretch out like the void around them. The small talk had dried up. Twilight tried to say something just to keep her friends talking, to try to anchor their possibly straying minds. She opened her mouth, but the void sucked the words away before she could even form them. More than that, it was the music. As Rarity had said, the music was reaching its last strains, building into long, powerful sobs.
Despite her long stays in Canterlot, Twilight had never seen “Skysong and Nightpiercer”, or any opera for that matter, but this solo performance was enough to stir up some vague ache inside her. What would it be like to hear this as it was mean to? With the actors, singing, and a full orchestra...perhaps she had been missing out on a lot more than she had thought.
The time for pondering gave way to a new rising panic. The music was coming to an end. What were they going to do when everything fell completely silent? Do they just keep going straight? How would they even make sure of that? A wrong turn, a slight veering off and they would wander this wretched abyss forever! She thought of breaking into a gallop, but would that help or make things worse?
And the music did stop. For a second, Twilight felt as if her heart had done the same. A quick look to the others showed that they too harbored similar fears as she did. No piece followed that last song, leaving them stranded in the dark.
“Um...what now?” Applejack asked. “Do we just keep walking?”
“Hold on...” Rarity squinted at the far distance. “I see,” she said. “Don’t worry, girls, I can see some very faint lights. I think we've made it in time.”
Twilight squinted as well and sighed when she spotted the same things. She never imagined that she would be glad to find signs of the Thorns.
“What are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked. “Let’s go get them!”
Twilight was already thinking of the first few spells to use, but she wasn't as eager to attack. First things first, they needed to make sure as to which Thorn was where, a hard thing to accomplish when their opponents were barely dots at a distance.
They walked closer, weapons drawn and eyes squinting to catch the smallest movements. Octavia had not bothered to play anything else. That made it clear that either the Thorns already knew they were close, or had bothered to lead them near only to not mind when they got lost in the end. Twilight preferred to bank on the former.
The dots grew into brighter, more detailed figures. That there were were four meant that all of them were all there: Octavia stood at the center while Lion Court, Longstride and Sablesteel surrounded her like a small audience. To highlight that point, Lion Court started clapping once the last strains of Octavia’s performance came to a stop. In return, Octavia bowed before turning her attention towards Twilight. “Finally,” she said. “We can dispense with warm-ups and get on with the main performance.”
The sight of Octavia alone left them stunned for a few seconds. They were now close enough to see finer details and the sight of the blood running down in thin rivulets from Octavia’s face, neck and forelegs was a sight straight from a nightmare. Even more astonishing was that Octavia didn't seem to notice. When the blood dripped down on her cello, the crimson liquid disappeared in an instant, as if the wood was drinking it greedily.
“What’s going on?” Rarity asked. Like Twilight, she was also staring pointedly at the bleeding cello-player. “Have you Thorns been fighting each other?”
Octavia turned her nose up with a flick of her head. A few drops of blood flew from the motion and landed on Lion Court’s beard and lips. “I just played all three acts of ‘Skysong and Nightpiercer’ and not even a hint of applause.” She snorted. “Barbarians, the lot of you...”
Lion Court stopped clapping. “Well, I think it was nothing short of a virtuoso performance, my dear Octavia. I wouldn't mind an encore.” His tongue flicked out, taking in the blood that had spattered near his lips. “Not at all.” He offered her a handkerchief, which she started dabbing her face with. Lion Court focused his gaze on Twilight. “Lovely as that Heartland piece was, it’s time we get to more important matters. Now-!”
“Where’s Black Rose?” Twilight asked. Her horn glowed brightly, standing out among their illuminated forms with a menacing aura of hostile magic. She was tired from traversing this insanity and she was in no mood for long-winded, “formal” talks. “Take us to her.”
Lion Court’s unflinching smile was beyond irritating. Twilight considered the pleasantries the worst part of fighting Black Rose and her Thorns. Whatever happened to evil gloating and sadistic threats? “We will,” he said. When Twilight raised an eyebrow, the smile only grew wider. “What were you expecting, Twilight Sparkle? An encounter straight out of literature? The band of stalwart heroes must first face the sorceress’s evil minions before the final encounter!”
“More like a barbarian horde beating down the last gates of civilization,” Octavia said.
“You will meet with Black Rose,” Lion Court said. “You will have your final bit of business. That much is inevitable. We couldn't stop it even if that was why we’re here.” And then he did glance sideways, not at Octavia, who was still cleaning herself up as best she could, but at Sablesteel. “No matter how much some of us want to.”
“I think you’ll find that none of us are interested in running your little circles anymore, Lion Court,” Rarity said. Her blades spun above her head swiftly. “Especially after that little ‘surprise’ you left me!”
“Oh, but we’re done with little circles,” Lion Court said. “No more little games, no more arrows to the cutie mark, and no more ineffectual threats against kin.”
Twilight glanced at her friends. None of them had lowered their guards. Rainbow had her crossbow aimed at Longstride, who looked so unconcerned that she may as well have threatened to pelt him with twigs. While Pinkie had her tablet out, but she wasn't as aggressively focused when she looked at Sable, who was not even looking at her in return.
“Now,” Lion Court went on. “I think the mistress has been more than accommodating on her part.” His tone lowered and the smile disappeared. “Too accommodating as I see it. The barrier has been destroyed, the power of sunlight restored, and the scheming Gravitas brought to his knees. It would not be a stretch of your own good graces to hear her out one more time.”
Twilight didn't look to her friends again, but she felt their gazes on her. Part of her didn't want to hear Black Rose out for one more time. Black Rose loved to talk and negotiate. Things always worked out to her plan whenever she did so. What if they decided to refuse now? A sudden attack could throw the Thorns off balance. Longstride was in range and it looked like he was still recovering from some kind of beating. Octavia was clearly hurting from all the playing she had been doing. Only Lion Court and Sablesteel looked ready to respond.
“I must also add that it will fall to all of us to see the prince out of this alive,” Lion Court added.
Prince Terrato. That’s torn it.
Twilight didn't like the prince. No, that was mildly putting it. Nothing he did that ever sat completely fine with her. It was always compromise, always “this will have to do for now”, always a two-edged solution. He was a bully who loved to make himself scary and got angry when ponies got scared. He was completely uninterested in making others happy, comfortable, or anything that remotely resembled a pleasant mood.
Of course they would help him. It wasn't even a matter of gaining one more ally in this blackness, or because his sisters loved him dearly. He needed their help. Despite some part of her protesting, Twilight knew that they were going to listen. “What is this ‘final bit of business’?” she asked. “And where is the prince?”
“Our mistress has taken a lot of one way trips in this gamble of hers,” Lion Court said. “You may be surprised as to how we've even gotten here when traversing this wretched abyss necessitated the powers of Harmony. Powers which I see having been ignited further. As the mistress had hoped, fighting off the presence of the abyss has taken those meager sparks we've tried to start into an inner radiance.” He tilted his head slightly, now staring pointedly at Twilight. "Most of you anyway. No matter, we still have a few more tricks left to finish the job.
Twilight didn't set her spells aside, but she had to admit that she had to listen for now. There was a truth in those words. The light she felt off her friends was different from this plain glow that the Thorns had. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, even Fluttershy glowed with a warmth to stave off even the abyss. What about her? Did she glow the same? She shook her head. "How did you get here so easily?" she asked.
“We rode on the back of a wave you might say,” Lion Court said. “The wave of the miserable, fanatical souls of the Old Kingdom’s residents carrying the son of Dominus to his rightful place.” The smile was back. “It was a good thing that Black Rose got rid of the power of sunlight. They would have recognized it and gotten furious. As it was, she knew enough necromancy and illusion to convince them that we were all servants of Oceanus.”
“Congratulations,” Twilight said flatly. “Your mistress is the greatest liar in all of Equestria. What does it have to do with the prince?”
Lion Court shook his head. “You’re too kind,” he said. “But she’s only second greatest in this regard. You would know well who the first is.” Twilight clenched her jaw, but she bit back a retort. “As for what it has to do with us now, it’s time to set things right. The prince is not Oceanus and should not be condemned to being smothered by fanatics in this darkness until the real thing shows up. It broke the mistress’s heart to use this and she trusts us to set him free and take care of this sleeper threat to our beloved Equestria.”
“Lion Court,” Longstride suddenly said. He was looking above them, his strange golden eyes bright and focused. “Hurry it up, they’re stirring. It won’t be long until they get here.”
“Ah, it’s already starting then. Given Longstride’s remarkable acuity, we still have a few minutes to prepare for the attack your presence here has brought.”
“What?” Twilight looked around her. “Attack? What do you mean? What’s attacking us?”
“As I was saying,” Lion Court said. “The Old Kingdom’s ghosts have the prince in their grasp and we’re here because they think we’re one of them. The arrangement worked until a new presence arrived to trigger their rage.”
“The Elements of Harmony,” Twilight whispered.
“Exactly. In their twisted vision, a foreign power from the same place as Lexarius the invader has arrived and we Thorns, the advance troops, have engaged. I doubt they’ll be bothering with small fry. Far from it, we can expect their leaders to show up to kill you all.”
“The Six Companions!” Twilight said. She looked back to Lion Court in an instant. “If we defeat them, we’ll rescue the prince and put an end to their threat! Oceanus won’t have ready troops from the Old Kingdom when he shows up!”
“Excellent!” Lion Court said. His blades spun around him just a bit faster, the only reflection of the battle-ready mood his pleasantries wouldn't let the rest of him show. “We’re on the same page at last!”
“Lion Court!” Longstride said, more urgently this time. His unconcerned look gave way to a grim stare as he finally readied his bow. Sablesteel’s blades emerged as well. Twilight briefly pondered how this pegasus was planning on poisoning ghosts.
“And I just got cleaned!” Octavia said with a huff. She placed her bow in position and closed her eyes.
“What in tarnation are we waiting for exactly?” Applejack asked. She squinted as hard as she could above them. “I can’t see a thing!”
“I think I see it!” Pinkie Pie yelled. “It’s a pony! I think!”
Twilight joined her friends. It did look like a pony, the glowing, distant figure of a pony was galloping towards them. This was the “main force” of the Old Kingdom? It looked more like a low-ranking messenger...
Seconds passed, as they did so, a dread realization began to slowly creep up on Twilight. That “pony” was taking a while. More glowing dots, probably more of its fellows, had appeared. The central one was getting bigger but the speed that it took to change was starting to make something clear. This “pony” was big, likely bigger than even Ridentem Malleorum.
“Incoming!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
The pony figure loomed above them with a harsh white glare that highlighted every horrid detail on it. The pony, if this gargantuan thing could still be called that, wore the tattered remains of what would have been a luxurious, fur-trimmed cape. The fragments of spectral gems still hung loosely from both cape and gown. Despite the terrible condition, the clothes were more than just fancy, they bore the trappings of royalty. Its mane, a tangled mess of curls and ornaments tumbled from its head and neck like strewn ribbons. Its flesh was an alien sight, torn and rotted to reveal portions of the skull and other bones, yet seemingly glazed over by some kind of liquid substance, as if it was a mangled corpse dipped in preservative ooze. From the attire and the horn, Twilight could guess who this was. It didn't matter that its eyes were nothing more than dark purple orbs of light within its badly torn skull. This had to be Princess Platinum, one of the Six Companions. That meant those other lights were-!
“Watch out!”
Applejack’s cry spurred Twilight into her first spell. She boosted the shields around her friends. Now, she didn't just need enough to stop a lone arrow from Longstride, she had to prepare for whatever the Six Companions could throw at them. The precise movements of magic in her mind jumbled into a panicked mess when Princess Platinum flew past them with an ear-splitting wail and a burst of purple magic.
The others cried out. Whether in pain or fright, Twilight couldn't tell. She instinctively galloped away from Princess Platinum as she looked to her friends. The wave of purple energy struck her shield with a nigh-palpable rage. She could feel her enchantments waver and saw the purple sphere shake with the strain. Their shields had held up as well, but Twilight knew a second wave would break through her protection. They needed to deal with this first companion before-
A neigh of rage quickly followed suit as a pair of gigantic, spectral pegasi descended upon them. Behind, two more glowing figures were also starting to close in.