//------------------------------// // Chapter 2. Setting the Stage // Story: Resuscitatio Artium Magicarum // by Xomniac //------------------------------// Cerberus’s heads snored loudly as he slept at his post in front of Tartarus. While most might consider this to be horrifying, considering the critical importance of the duty he had been assigned, it was hard to fault the hound. When Tartarus was initially created, there were many interlopers who came to there, trying desperately to breach the mighty prison and unleash what lay inside. They had all failed. They all fell to Cerberus’ fangs, one after another. However, over the course of the many, many, many years Cerberus had stood watch, the number of those who came to Tartarus dwindled. Fewer and fewer attempted to challenge Cerberus until finally, the watchdog saw only an adventurer or a treasure-hunter pop their delectable head in every decade or so. If he was lucky. The cause for this was that, over time, Tartarus’s location had all but faded from public memory. It had dwindled away until the only ones who knew the prison’s location were the good Princesses and those closest to them. Still, even if some outsider discovered where Tartarus was located, there was still the nigh impossible task of reaching it. Separating Tartarus from the rest of the world was an arcane labyrinth. Extensive and near impossible in design, the massive feat of magic and architecture was both deadly and perplexing. Traps lay around every corner, and the passages within shifted and altered with no rhyme or reason. To navigate it would be a grueling endeavor. To survive it would be a test of all. Both at once? Nigh impossible. The only way to successfully pass through the maze without getting irrevocably lost or dying a most gruesome and painful death was another secret held exclusively by the Princesses and Cerberus himself. Anything else could only be defined as sheer luck. With next to no unwanted visitors and nothing else to do, Cerberus was pretty much left to laze about and relax undist- Cerberus’s leftmost nose twitched. Then it did again, and again, his other two noses joining in. The hound’s eyes snapped open, glaring into the darkness as all three heads simultaneously bared their fangs and snarled. He smelled something. A scent. A very familiar, greatly unwelcome scent. Magic. There was magic being used somewhere nearby. Someone was here, intruding upon his domain, and they would pay most dearly. He got to his paws and began padding forwards, trying to sniff out the location of the owner of the magic. The results made his heads whine and glance at each other in confusion. The trace on the magic was...muddled. He knew that the foreign magic’s caster was nearby, but he couldn’t pinpoint said caster’s exact location. FWOOSH! The heads snapped up at the noise and stared in confusion. Floating before them...was a rolled up newspaper. No tricks, no gimmicks, not even the telltale aura of a unicorn. It was just...a newspaper. That was floating. The heads glanced at each other again. What on Equus was this? Cerberus had seen a lot of strange attempts over the years, but this took the- THWACK! “YIP!” Cerberus reeled back in shock, heads blinking as they tried to process what had happened. Because there was no way under Celestia’s blistering sun that that newspaper had just- THWACK! THWACK! Yes, yes it had just hit one of his heads. And it had just done it two more times. Cerberus growled but didn’t move. This was a trick. He had seen countless tricks over the years. Numerous adventurers had tried varying forms of subterfuge to distract and bypass him. All had failed. Whoever was trying to bait him could try and try, but he hadn’t given in before, and he certainly wasn’t going to now. THWACK! Then again, first time for everything. Hook, line, and sinker it was. “WOOF!” His middle head snapped forwards, trying to grab the newspaper in his jaws. The tube of paper swept to the side, avoiding the gnashing teeth and landing another blow on his snout. The left head lunged and received same treatment for it’s troubles. And so it went, a war-dance of fangs and paper. For the longest time, neither made any progress against the other. But it couldn’t last. Something had to give. And finally, something did. A single slip up. A moment where the newspaper was just a second too slow. Where the middle head was just a second faster. CHOMP! And that’s all she wrote. The middle mouth growled as it gripped the struggling newspaper in it’s jaws. The left and right snapped at the ends poking out and helped reduce the paper to shreds. Cerberus panted as he glared at the remains. Whoever had done this...they were going to pay. He leaned into the papers and sniffed, trying to capture whatever scents he could find. The hound’s lips drew back into a trio of canine smirks. There was definitely a scent, and unlike the magic, he could actually trace it. Cerberus stuck his noses into the air and began inhaling vigorously. The smirks were dropped, replaced by scowls and growling. The scent...it led out of Tartarus. Out past the labyrinth and into the world at large. Cerberus snorted and turned around, walking back to where it had been sleeping. Did the caster seriously expect that to work? Cerberus might have lost his temper, but by no means was he going to simply abandon his post and rush off just because he got hit on the snout by some two-bit tabloid! FWOOSH! THWACK! “WOOF!” CHOMP! On the other hand, it couldn’t hurt to leave for just a little bit of time, could it? Just long enough to find the caster and teach the person a lesson. Cerberus snarled as its middle head chewed on the paper.          No, no harm at all. Letting out a trio of howls, Cerberus shot out of his domain for the first time in ages. -o- For several minutes, the chamber was frozen in time. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound. However, the silence didn’t last for long. “All right, it’s gone. Drop the illusion.” “The Great and Powerful Trixie did not hear you ask please.” “Drop it or I’ll rip your trachea out.” “Close enough.” The air around the voices shimmered, like water in a pool, before finally clearing up into the forms of three figures. One of the figures snorted in disdain. She was a griffin, proud and strong, with powerful wings and razor sharp talons. She was clad in varying pieces of bright gold armor. A breastplate, clawed gauntlets, a pointed protector on her tail, knee armor, and sharpened covers guarding the leading edges of her wings. Perched on top of her head were a pair of aviator goggles with golden lenses. On her left shoulder, she wore a pauldron, in which lay a circle of gold that had glowing writing on it. “Are you seriously such a pompous dweeb that you need to tack that stupid title on every time you say your name?” The second figure, a unicorn, huffed indignantly. Her coat was a light sky-blue, and her mane was even lighter, nearly white. She was wearing a purple witches hat and cloak, both covered in blue and yellow stars. She was also wearing armor, though hers was silver. It covered her flank and barrel and guarded her forelegs. Adorned on the armor over her flank was the image of a wavy crescent moon crossed by a star-topped wand. She had a pauldron on her left shoulder that resembled the griffin’s, a silver medallion shining out of it. “Trixie believes that she deserves her title after all the hard work she did.” She leveled a glare at the griffin. “And she would appreciate a little bit more respect. The avian-mammal hybrid scoffed and rolled her eyes. “‘Hard work’? All you did was hit that overgrown mutt with a newspaper! Anybody could have done that, I could have done that!” Trixie’s eyes snapped wide in shock before narrowing menacingly. Her body was covered by a shimmering silver aura, her own eyes becoming small white suns. “Does the Great and Powerful Trixie detect a challenge from you, Gilda?” She hissed, her voice beginning to gain a slight echo. Gilda glared right back, rearing up on her hind legs and flexing her talons in their gauntlets. She took a menacing step forwards, runes lighting up on her gloves as lightning began to dance across her armor. “Maybe Gilda is challenging you, oh Great and Powerful Dweeb! What are you gonna do about it?” “Pompous chicken!” “Magic mule!” “Cockatrice sp-!” “ENOUGH!” A pair of large hands caught the two by the backs of their armor and yanked them off their feet, forcing them to dismiss their magic. They both whipped their heads around and glared at the third member of their group. He was a minotaur, large and blue. He too wore armor, his bronze, but unlike the other two his was heavy. It covered his arms, torso, and legs completely, turning him into a juggernaut of brass and muscle. He also had the same pauldron as his companions, the same amulet impressed within. Trixie and Gilda both pointed at each other. “She started it!” “And Iron Will will end it.” The minotaur stated calmly. “Now unless you want your skulls bashed together, Iron Will suggests that you make nice.” Gilda and Trixie eyed each other before simultaneously turning their heads away defiantly. Iron Will made good on his promise. SLAM! “OW!” “Are you two done acting like little cubs and fillies yet?” The  two growled angrily at him before finally giving each other the evil eye. “The Sad and... Regretful Trixie is...sorry for demanding recognition.” Trixie grit out. “Yeah yeah, and I’m sorry for calling you useless.” Gilda bit out. She looked up at Iron Will. “Now will you let me go already? I have a job to do, damn it!” Iron will opened his hands and let them fall back to the ground. Trixie glared up at Gilda. “You had better not screw this up, Gilda.” She said menacingly. The griffin scoffed dismissively. “Whatever.” She lowered the goggles over her eyes and spread her wings. “Later, dweebs.” With those parting words, she beat her wings and took to the air, soaring up towards the doors. Coming up to the structures, she paused before a particular section of runes. Beating her wing faster to keep her hovering, she examined the wall attentively, searching for something. Finally, she slowly reached forwards with one of her talons to poke a seemingly random crack in the wall- ZAP! -only to hiss in pain and withdraw the claw when a magical spark leapt out to greet her. “Everything alright, Gilda?” Iron Will called up. “I’m fine! Get off my back would ya!?” She hollered back. Gilda took a deep breath and tried to slow her heart rate. “Keep it together, Behertz...” She whispered. She slowly opened her eyes and searched the wall again. She reached towards another crack... ...and smirked in satisfaction as her claw safely touched the wall and found purchase. Acting quickly, she gripped the area with her claw and stopped flapping her wings, letting her body swing into the doors. Her paws landed on two other parts of the wall, leaving her hanging by three of her limbs. She quickly scanned the runes arrayed before her. Finally, she found the correct area she was looking for: A small, nigh minuscule array of runes carved into the door, separate from the larger ones that were originally part of the gates. Different parts of the array ranged in age and design, some ancient and sleek, others centuries more recent and of a rougher style, but all were younger than the door’s original runes. “All right, now we’re in business” Gilda muttered. She began snapping her free talons together. The first two times, the gauntlets gave off a flurry of sparks. The third, however, produced more dramatic results. Runes lit up her gauntlet again as lightning encased the fingers, dancing around and between them. Slowly, carefully, Gilda raised her hands to the runes before finally touching the tip of her talon to the stone. The effect was instantaneous: Sparks and chips of stone began flying around Gilda as she quickly and calmly moved her fingers, adding her own runes to the set already present. Down below, Trixie and Iron Will silently watched as Gilda performed her duty. Trixie had her head bowed and was chewing hesitantly on her lip before finally raising her head to look at the minotaur. “The...the Sincere and Honest Trixie truly is sorry about what she said earlier.” She said softly. Iron Will raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you want to talk about it?” Trixie was silent for a moment before lowering her head and pulling down her hat to cover her eyes. “It’s just...what Gilda said truly hurt. Manipulating Cerberus, convincing it to leave... You have no idea how lucky Trixie feels. Trixie realizes that the Guides and Scribes have had their fair share of woes over the years, learning how to bypass their own dangers. But in the end, the labyrinth and the gates are merely objects. They are not alive. Cerberus...” Trixie shuddered. “Cerberus is a monster. One that has signified the doom of every Guard for generations.” She swallowed heavily. “The Guides often leave Tatarus, and more often than not a Scribe manages to escape with their progress as well, but the Guards?” She let out a dry chuckle. “Our job is to fight that creature and protect the others. We have to fight a three headed Discord-dog that is several times our size, that can not only smell magic, but nullify it! It wasn’t until Trixie’s grandparents that we discovered how to circumvent Cerberus’s aura, but even then the results were not definitive! If something had gone wrong, then the illusion...” Trixie shuddered. “Being a Guard is dangerous in and of itself. But a Guard that is a unicorn? By all means, Trixie shouldn’t have won. Trixie shouldn’t have been the victor, but she was! And to have that, that chicken! Belittle the culmination of generations of work and sacrifice? To spit upon the fact that our curse has finally been lifted?” Trixie shook her head. “Unforgivable...” Iron will was silent as he listened to her. “...you didn’t expect to survive, did you?” Trixie shook her head. “No... Trixie fully expected to give her life to protect you two, like many Guards have over the centuries. It is why Trixie has always tried being so popular and well known, so that she would be remembered. So that Trixie would live on in their memories...” Iron Will grunted in understanding. For several minutes, he was silent before finally, “The truth is that Iron Will didn’t think he’d make it through the maze either.” Trixie snapped her head up. “What? Really?!” Iron Will nodded solemnly. “Yup. Iron Will was afraid he would miss a sign, or overlook a trap the entire time. Iron Will was worried he might forget part of his training, and then, well,” He drew a finger across his throat. Trixie stared up at him in awe. “But-” She stuttered. “But you were so calm! So steady and brave! Absolutely nothing fazed you!” Iron Will nodded. “That’s because Iron Will remembered.” “Remembered what?” The minotaur gave her a thumbs up and smiled encouragingly. “If fear is looking you in the eye, just steel your back and walk on by!” Trixie stared at him for a moment before chuckling. “You still haven’t forgotten that seminar in Ponyville, have you?” Iron Will shuddered and slapped his forehead. “Please don’t remind Iron Will. Iron Will wishes to never have to do that again! Bodies were not meant to flex the way Iron WIll flexed, and it took ages to train the goats!” Trixie shrugged. “Still, in the end you managed to get the scent Trixie needed. Plus...” She giggled at the memory. “Trixie thought that in her professional opinion, you put on quite the performance!” “Urgh...” His skin turned purple with his blush. “A-anyways... the point is that we’re all scared. This is something that we’ve all prepared for our entire lives.” He nodded up at the working griffin. “Even Gilda.” Trixie gazed curiously at her companion as she part climbed and part flew to another section of the gates, etching in her various runes and signets. “But why? After all, Cerberus is gone-” “But that doesn’t mean the gates can’t defend themselves!” Trixie jerked back in surprise as Gilda peeled off of the stone expanse and glided down to the two. “Ah, Gilda! Trixie was just-” “Stow it, dweeb.” Gilda said casually as she landed and pulled the goggles off. “I’m just taking a break. Need to wait for the runes to take effect, clear up a whole new patch of wall.” She held her talons out to Iron Will. “Got anything to drink?” The minotaur dropped a flask in her claws. “Thanks.” Gilda popped the top off and greedily guzzled the water. “Ah, that’s the stuff. Anyways, as I was saying, the gates do a damn good job of defending themselves. Times were that Scribes couldn’t get within ten feet of them, much less touch them!” “Why not?” Trixie asked, mildly dreading the answer. Gilda’s expression didn’t change, remaining neutral. She merely scratched her talon on the floor, leaving a trail in the dust that coated the chamber. Trixie stared at her claws for a second before her eyes widened in horror. She swallowed heavily, doing everything she could not to think about what she was standing in. Or rather, who. “T-then, what changed?” Trixie asked, trying to change the subject. Gilda shrugged. “As I said: time. These gates haven’t had any maintenance done on them in millenia, so more than a few of the arrays have faded and are now either dead, dying, or crippled.” Gilda smirked proudly. “Several generations of rune-crackers who literally trained their entire lives for this didn’t help things either.” Trixie nodded, obviously impressed. “Incredible...” “Yeah yeah. Anyways, about how long would you say we have?” “Hmm...” Trixie tapped her hoof as she ran the numbers. “About one hour for Cerberus to leave the maze, three to reach Ponyville, an hour where it rampages searching for the cowardly pony whose scent Iron Will acquired, another hour after the Guard arrives to subdue the beast, about four hours to get back, soooo... approximately ten hours, give or take. Will that be long enough to unlock the gates?” Gilda nodded. “Yeah, just enough. But...” Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “But?” Gilda looked him in the eye. “I’m not unlocking the gates.” Iron Will and Trixies jaws dropped open in shock before their faces twisted into looks of abject fury. Gilda quickly whipped her claws up and waved them. “B-but that doesn’t mean I’m not getting him out, I am! I...I just can’t do it by directly unlocking the gates.” “Explain.” Trixie hissed. Gilda swallowed heavily. “Look, as much as I want to unlock the gates, I can’t. Like I said, a lot of arrays have failed over the years, but some are still functional. The nastier self-defense wards are down, true, but the arcane defenses, the stuff that guards the lock itself? It’s impregnable. The Scribes could go with twenty generations of progress and we still wouldn’t be anywhere close to cracking it!” “Then what are you trying to do?” Iron Will needled. “Alright, alright. See, normally Tartarus keeps it’s prisoners’ magic sealed up tight, locked away within himself where he can’t reach it. He can’t use his magic, can’t move, no escape attempt.” Trixie frowned and brought her hoof up to her pauldron. “But... our amulets. He gave the signal, you know he did!” Gilda nodded. “Yeah, because the ward keeping his magic sealed up and inside him and his cell? It recently went kaput, dead as a doornail. He has his magic back, and that’s good, but there’s still a problem. There’s another ward protecting the prison itself from his magic. He can’t even begin to touch it. It probably took a lot of concentration and energy just to send the signal out, but even with that much energy, he still can’t undo the prison because he can’t get any traction. But!” She stuck her claw up. “Because he’s not even supposed to be conscious, that’s the only internal defense! All others are focused outwards!” “So what you’re trying to say,” Iron Will said slowly. “Is that the only way to break out of Tartarus-” “-Is from the inside, right.” Gilda said with a smirk. “And how would that work?” Trixie inquired. Gilda jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. “Even with all the disuse and lack of fine-tuning, those slabs of stone still have a metric manure-ton of magic flowing through them. What I’m trying to do is get ahold of a strong enough current and redirect it inwards to the cell.” “Essentially wiring him into Tartarus’s system and letting him wreak as much havoc as he needs to get out, genius!” Trixie exclaimed. Gilda nodded proudly. “Of course it is. After all, I came up with the plan myself. Well...” She scratched the back of her neck. “Actually, one of my ancestors came up with it, b-but I fine tuned it!” Suddenly, there was a flash of light from the gates. Gilda looked back up at them. “Runes are done. If you’ll ‘scuse me...” She took off again, returning to her work. Trixie watched admiringly her as she flew up and went back to carving into the stone. “Incredible...” “It’s like Iron Will said,” The minotaur interjected. “We’re all putting our lives on the line here. We might be scared, but we just have to move on.” Trixie nodded and smiled. “Trixie understands. So!” She clopped her hooves together. “We have ten hours to kill! What should we do now?” Iron Will shrugged before sitting on the floor and laying flat on his back. “Iron Will suggests that Trixie gets some sleep. There’s little else to do.” Trixie snorted. “Maybe. But the Alert and Attentive Trixie is so wired that she doubts she could get any sleep if she tried!” -Four Hours Later- Trixie snored and kicked lightly as she dreamt. Slowly, her face twisted in fear as she began to toss and turn. “No, no, no! Get away!” Until finally... “WHEELS!” She exclaimed as she snapped up, breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide and wild for a few seconds before she finally let out a laugh and collapsed onto her back. “Oh thank Hecate.” “Bad dream?” “The worst.” She responded. “Trixie dreamt that she was on a suicide mission with an overgrown barnyard fowl and had to face down Cerberus of all things! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, she was in a chamber that was absolutely covered in the disintegrated remains of previous Scribes and other beings. Ugh! The mere thought makes Trixie shudder.” “I’m sure it does.” Trixie was silent as she laid comfortably on her back for several minutes. Finally, her eyes slowly re-opened open, staring at the darkness above her. Slowly, she raised one of her hooves and watched as the dust trickled back down to the floor. She laid the hoof back down and continued to stare. “Gilda.” “Yeah, dweeb?” “That wasn’t a dream, was it.” “Nope.” “Ah. Very well then. If you’ll  excuse Trixie...” Trixie shot ten feet into the air. “YEEEEAAAAAARGH!” she began flailing around, trying to dislodge the dust from her being. “EWEWEWEWEW! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!” Gilda cackled at her misfortune. “Hahahahaha! Hey, I think I can see some of my third cousin on your ass!” THWACK! “OUCH! What the hell, Iron Will?!” “Gilda, don’t make fun of her. Trixie, calm down.” “WHY THE HELL SHOULD TRIXIE!? TRIXIE IS COVERED IN REMAINS!” “Because if you don’t calm down, Iron Will will go over there and make you calm down.” Trixie immediately froze, a painfully fake smile plastered on her face. “Calm? Trixie is calm, Trixie is the epitome of calm, she is the Calm and Serene Trixie, of course she’s calm. Completely, utterly, calm!” she grit out. Iron Will nodded. “Better. Now, it’s been four hours, we should be getting the signal right about-gragh!”  “Ack!” “Ow!” The trio winced in pain and gripped their heads. It felt as though something was scratching at the insides of their skulls. Finally, the pain receded to a dull throb. Replacing it was a scratchy, echoey voice that seemed to reverberate behind their eyes. “Cerberus has reached Ponyville.” “Urgh, good.” Trixie said, wincing as she gingerly rubbed her throbbing cranium. “That means that we have about-” “Four hours.” Trixie blinked, her pain forgotten. “Wait, what? No, we have six hours, the Guard still needs an hour to get there!” “The Guard is not coming.” “Wh-why!?” “Cerberus has already been dealt with and is on his way back.” Trixie’s mouth ran dry and her pupils shrank. “....how.” She whispered. “The Element of Kindness. She gave him a belly rub and he rolled over like a puppy. The Element of Magic is leading him back to Tartarus as we speak.” Trixie began to breath faster. “Four hours. Four hours isn’t enough time, there isn’t enough time, we need two extra hours! WE NEED THEM!” “There’s nothing I can do. Work fast.” And with that, the presence receded from their minds. Trixie’s panic, however, did not. “This...this can’t be happening. All those years. All that time, all that work, we had finally won. And now...now we’re beaten by a pony who is afraid of her own shadow, who just rubbed that monster’s belly!? IT’S NOT FAIR, DAMN IT! WE WORKED FOR THIS! WE...we worked for this...” She trailed off, her voice filling with tears. She felt a gauntlet land on her shoulder. She raised her tear-stained face to meet Gilda’s emotionless gaze. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t mean anything. That dweeb? She’s one of the Elements of minotaur-shit. They always get a free pass, they always get an easy way out. They’re cheaters, you got me? Cheaters.” Trixie stared up at her for a moment before swallowing heavily and nodding. Iron Will grunted. “Touching. Iron WIll would join in, but we have bigger problems. Gilda, the door?” The griffon shook her head. “Not enough time. At the least I’d need five hours, six to double-check everything.” “Then do you have anything you can do in four?” Gilda chewed on her talon for a second, eyes darting back and forth in thought before finally nodding determinedly. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve got something. I’ll need to rush it, and then there’ll be a problem afterwards...” “But will it get him out?” “I DON’T KNOW!” she shouted. She breathed heavily for a moment before continuing. “I don’t know. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But it’s our best shot. That’s all I can say.” The three were quiet for a moment before Trixie broke the silence. “...do it.” She said quietly. Gilda nodded and spread her wings. “On it.” “Is there anything we can do to help?” Iron Will asked. “Yeah.” She lowered her goggles. “Pick a god and pray. Actually, better make it several. We’re gonna need them.” With those parting words, both her gauntlets ignited in lightning as she took off once more for her age-old task. She went to work with both hands, carving and gouging in ways that made sense only to her and her ancestors. All Trixie and Iron Will could do was watch as Gilda worked against the clock. “Please,” Trixie whispered reverently, “Please, if there is anyone listening, anyone at all, then have pity on us. Let this work.” Iron Will snorted. “Look’s like there’s nothing more we can do but wait.” She didn’t turn her eyes away from the spectacle. “Trixie wishes there was something more we could do.” The minotaur shook his head. “Iron Will and Trixie have both done their parts. Even Chrysalis helped us where she could. Now, all our hopes...” he gazed up silently at the determined griffin. “Lie on her.” --Four Hours Later- Trixie tapped her hoof repeatedly as she glanced between Gilda and the entrance to the maze. Iron Will had re-entered the labyrinth about five minutes ago to keep watch for the Element of Magic and Cerberus. “Hurry, Gilda!” she shouted. “They’ll be here any second!” “I know, I know!” Gilda bellowed back as she carved furiously. “I’m almost done, just a bit more time!” Unfortunately, time was not a luxury they possessed. This fact was made apparent when Iron WIll charged back into the chamber. “They’re right behind Iron Will.” He gasped. “Trixie, get the illusion back up, Gilda, get down here!” “Almost done!” The griffin shouted back. Trixie’s horn lit up and her armor began to shine as the air around herself and Iron Will began to ripple and shimmer. “Gilda! Now!” The griffin growled furiously and slashed her claw through the stone one final time. “Done!” She shot off the wall and half-fell half-flew to her companions. But would she make it? Already, voices could be heard. “Calm down Cerberus, you’re just imagining things! I mean...” -o- “Look!” Twilight Sparkle turned the corner and gestured with her hoof. “There’s nobody here!” And indeed there wasn’t. The chamber was as empty as it had been when Cerberus had left, with absolutely everything remaining unchanged. Cerberus snorted and padded back into it’s age-old home. He was thoroughly annoyed at the waste of time, and was looking forwards to getting back to his nap. Twilight, meanwhile, was gazing up at the gates in awe. “Wow,” she breathed. “This is incredible! Such craftsmanship, such style...I’d love to study them!” Cerberus stopped in his tracks and whipped his heads around, hackles raised as he snarled furiously. Twilight flinched back from the threatening motion. “O-or not! Sorry! I-I just remembered, I have somewhere t-to be! B-bye!” She whipped around and took a few steps towards the door before a noise made her stop. The sound of a dog sniffing. Twilight slowly turned her head to look at the dog again. “C-cerberus?” she asked quietly. The massive canine ignored her, keeping his noses to the ground as he walked forwards, seemed to search for something. Twilight swallowed heavily and tried again. “Cerberus? W-what are you doing? Is something wrong?” Suddenly, the hound stopped in his tracks. His heads raised, glaring at the area of space directly in front of them. The middle head continued sniffing while the side heads both bore their fangs. Slowly, hesitantly, Twilight walked up the the great beast. “I-is everything alright Cerberus?” she asked. She eyed the place Cerberus was growling at worriedly. -o- “I-is there something there?” ‘No buck there’s something here! TRIXIE IS!’ Trixie mentally screamed. Trixie’s entire being was glowing brightly as she maintained the illusion that hid her and her companions from Cerberus. Iron Will and Gilda were frozen stiff, staring at the demon that was trying to locate them. Trixie was breathing heavily as beads of sweat rolled down her body. A single slip-up, the merest loss of concentration... There was a reason why the remains of Gilda’s ancestors were present but Trixie’s weren’t. The unicorn that was the bane of Trixie’s life spoke up again. “M-maybe I can help,” She said. Trixie’s eyes widened in horror as her horn slowly lit up. “H-here, let me check.” ‘Oh buck me, not good not good not good!’ Trixie swore vigorously. She was having a hard enough time keeping up the illusion as it was thanks to Cerberus being so close, if Celestia’s lapdog added on to it... ‘No!’ Trixie grit her teeth as the light covering her intensified, ‘That is not happening!’ Gilda and Iron Will were forced to look away as Trixie shone brighter and brighter, light even coming out of her eyes as she imitated a supernova. Trixie’s body was shaking from all the energy she was channeling as she looked Cerberus dead in the eyes and spoke haltingly, her voice laden with power. “Go. Away.” The moment stretched on for what seemed to be an eternity, before finally... ...a flash of silver passed over the eyes on all three of Cerberus’s heads. The dog ceased growling and snorted. He turned away and began walking back to where he’d been napping. Twilight’s horn extinguished itself as she looked at Cerberus in confusion. “Huh? Cerberus? What happened?” The dog ignored her, settling down and laying his heads on the floor. Twilight blinked in surprise. “Huh. Must have been a false alarm.” Gilda and Iron Will breathed a sigh of relief as Trixie panted from exertion. “Still though...” The purple unicorn looked up at the doors ponderously. “I should probably check the seals, just in case.” The trio froze and stared at her in horror. That is, until Cerberus let out a low growl from where he was sitting. Twilight paled and took a few steps back. “Or, um... maybe not, e-everything seems to be in hoof, PAW! In paw here, so, uh...SORRYGOTTAGOBYE!” And with that she wheeled around and galloped out of the chamber. Iron Will snapped to attention. “Follow her, quickly!” The trio immediately gave chase. Behind them, Cerberus shifted a bit, until finally he found a position he was comfortable in and promptly fell asleep. There might have been a slight hiccup, but in the end? It was just an average day in Tartarus. -o- Twilight flinched as she walked out of the cave. “Yeesh, that’s bright! Still though, nice to be out of there.” Unseen, the trio couldn’t agree more. Iron Will had his hands on his knees and Gilda was sprawled on the grass, both trying to catch their breath. Trixie was panting, barely keeping her illusion up. Luckily, skilled as she was, Twilight was no Cerberus. This meant Trixie didn’t have to hemorrhage as much magic to keep them from being noticed. The purple unicorn tilted her head up and smiled at the clear skies. “Wow, the weather sure is great today! The local pegasi must be really good!” Still invisible, Gilda glared at the back of Twilight’s head. Slowly, she got to her paws and prowled up behind the unicorn. She held her talons just behind her head and silently activated her gauntlets. A single, thin strand of lighting ran silently between her spread talons. Twilight blinked and sniffed in confusion. “Is that...ozone?” she scanned the sky more thoroughly. “But there’s not a cloud in the sky!” Gilda grit her beak furiously. Just one touch. All it took would be a single scratch and so many problems would just...go away! Just. One. Touch. A heavy hand fell on her shoulder. She whipped around and was met with Iron Will’s steely gaze. He stared down at her silently. She stared at him furiously for a few seconds before finally  turning her head away snapping her claws into a fist, dispelling the lightning. Twilight shrugged. “Must have just been my imagination. Oh well, I still need to figure out what that threat is! Time to head back to Ponyville!” And with that, her horn flashed purple and she teleported away. Trixie sighed in relief as she dispelled her illusion. The she jumped in shock when Gilda screamed in anger and flung her arm out, disintegrating a nearby tree with a full blast of lightning. “DAMN IT, IRON WILL! I HAD HER!” Iron Will remained unphased. “It would have been more trouble than she’s worth.” “MORE TROUBLE!?” she roared. “SHE WAS ONE OF THE ELEMENTS YOU STUPID COW! IF I HAD KILLED HER-GACK!” Gilda was cut off by a minotaur hand clutching her throat and cutting off her windpipe. “If you killed her,” Iron Will said quietly. “The Alicorns would have been on us in seconds. They would have known something was wrong in Tartarus. They would have caught us and gutted us. All of our work, our ancestors work would have been for nothing. All because of one stupid, impulsive griffin. Do you understand Iron WiIl?” Gilda gagged and nodded jerkily. She took a deep gasp of breath and hacked and wheezed when she was released. “I-I get it. I...I know that, damn it,” her eyes were locked on the ground, “I...I just want to make them pay, to hurt them so bad, for everything they’ve done.” Iron Will nodded. “Iron Will understands. Iron Will understands all too well,” he slapped his hand on her shoulder and made her look up at him, “But that is not the way. If we want to win, if we ever want to be free, we need to keep our hand hidden. We can’t even let them know that they’re playing. We need to bide our time. We need to get him out. That’s how we win, that’s how we hurt them.” Gilda was silent for a second before sighing and nodding her head. “...yeah, yeah alright. I got it. I got it.” “Well, that’s all well and nice!” the two turned to look at Trixie. “But now Trixie has to ask: what the hell do we do now!?” Iron Will nodded. “Iron Will agrees. The runes are set, what next? Do we activate them?” Gilda shook her head. “No, no we can’t. Not yet.” Trixie groaned in disappointment while Iron WIll merely frowned. “Why not?” He inquired. Gilda turned around and gestured while she began walking away. “Come on. I’ll explain while we make our way back to base.” Trixie and Iron Will nodded and silently began following her. Meanwhile, Gilda kept talking. “See, I can set the runes off whenever I want, but because of the time problem, I needed to make a few last-minute adjustments. They’ll crack Tartarus wide, but for this to work, we’re going to need one thing first.” -o- “A distraction!?” Chrysalis demanded. Gilda sighed and nodded tiredly. “Yeah. And a pretty damn big one to boot.” Chrysalis growled furiously. “Why the hell-cough! Hack!” the changeling queen cut herself off as a bout of coughing racked her body. She raised her eyes back up and continued to glare at the griffin. “Why the hell do you need a distraction!?” she wheezed. Gilda rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and averted her eyes. She gazed around their hideout tiredly. It was an average room with next to no furnishings. Just a table, a few chairs, and some cots to sleep in. It was cramped enough with Iron Will and Chrysalis, so the piles of sleeping Changelings did little to help matters. Gilda swallowed heavily. “Because I had to rush things, the arcane current I managed to get my hands on was significantly smaller than what I anticipated.” “What. Does that. Mean.” Chrysalis demanded. To Gilda’s alarm, several changelings slowly opened their eyes and began glaring at her. “What it means,” she continued hastily, “Is that while I can channel the magic into the cell at a moment’s notice, there won’t be a lot for him to work with. It’ll take him too long to bust out. Several alarms will sound on the door and the high and mighty Princesses will shut him and us down. Hard.” “Hence the distraction,” Iron Will interjected, “We draw their attention away, focus it somewhere and keep it there. Anywhere that isn’t Tartarus. Long enough for him to break out” Chrysalis squeezed her eyes and breathed slowly, trying to calm down. Considering how several changelings in the room imitated her, the effect was...disturbing, to say the least. “Fine. Fine!” She exclaimed croakily. “So. How long do we need to hold their focus? Ten minutes? Fifteen?” Gilda and Iron Will glanced at each other nervously before looking back at the Queen. “A-an hour.” Gilda stuttered. The room flooded with green light as all of the eyes present snapped open and focused on Gilda. “An hour!?” Gilda shivered in fear as several dozen voices echoed around her simultaneously. “You want to try and pose a significant threat to two of the strongest entities conscious for an hour!?” Gilda nodded shakily. “At the least.” She squeaked. Chrysalis bared her fangs and snarled venomously at the terrified griffin. “Before I tear you to pieces for your incompetence, I have one question. Where is that miserable excuse of a unicorn so that I can let her join in on the fun?!” The door to the room slammed open. “The Fortuitous and Prosperous Trixie has returned!” Chrysalis and her children turned their heads to grin maliciously at her. “Trixie. How nice of you to join us. We were just talking about you.” Trixie smiled triumphantly as she trotted in, kicking the door closed behind her. “Then Trixie is sorry to say that we must change the subject! For you see,” She withdrew three scrolls of parchment from her cape with a flourish. “She has found the perfect opportunity! Behold!” She tossed the scrolls onto the table, each in front of one of her co-conspirators. Gilda, Chrysalis and Iron Will took ahold of the scrolls and rolled them open. Their reactions were varied. Gilda’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit!” Iron Will’s eyes widened. “Well Iron Will will be damned...” Chrysalis, meanwhile, had calmed down and was quiet as she read what was written. “Well?” Trixie inquired. “What do you think?” “It’s perfect!” Gilda exclaimed enthusiastically. Iron Will nodded in agreement. “It definitely seems like it would do the trick.” Chrysalis, however, remained silent. Trixie lost her smile as she looked at the insectoid monarch. “Chrysalis?” She asked worriedly. Chrysalis was silent for a moment longer before finally... “It will take a lot of time. We’ll need to plan, investigate, prepare...” “But can we do it?” Iron Will insisted. Chrysalis glanced at the scroll a final time before nodding. “It’s feasible.” The other three cheered joyously. “Alright alri-cough! Hack! Hurk!” Chrysalis collapsed into another coughing fit. Her compatriots quieted down as she regained her breath. “E-enough. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.” Her allies nodded in agreement. “She’s right,” Gilda said. She stood up from her chair. “Come on. “ She grinned viciously at the others, which was mirrored back at her. “Let’s get started.” -One Month Later- Midnight on the Salt Lick Flats. High up on a shelf of rock, seven figures overlooked the famous desert. Far below them ran the tracks for the tracks for the even more renowned Equestria Express. Trixie, Iron Will, Gilda and Chrysalis were four of the figures. Common changelings composed the rest. Chrysalis turned her head towards Iron Will. “You’re sure this is the right way? This is  when they’re coming?” The minotaur nodded. “Positive. This is the only rail that runs directly from Los Pegasus to Canterlot. If they want to make it on time, they’ll be going this way tonight.” Chrysalis nodded silently before coughing furiously. Her changelings silently slid up to her and supported her as she shook violently. The others watched her worriedly. The attacks had been growing more frequent and violent, and many of her changelings were becoming groggier and sleepier. Unless something was done soon... Trixie’s head perked up at a sound in the distance. She whipped her head around, squinted, and jumped for joy. “Look! There!” She pointed off into the distance. The others turned and grinned in relief at what they saw. A light in the distance on the rails. The Express. “Finally.” Chrysalis muttered. Iron Will nodded and clapped his hands. “Alright people, let’s move!” His compatriots sprang into action. Gilda flapped up and latched on to Iron Will’s shoulders. One of the changelings buzzed up and landed on Trixie’s back, while the other two both took ahold of their Queen’s sides as she hung between them. Iron Will looked between them all determinedly. “We have one shot at this. One chance. Iron Will will say this once, and only once. Don’t. Screw. Up.” Everyone nodded silently. Their eyes were filled with determination. “Now,” Iron Will grinned enthusiastically. “Let’s go. We have a train to catch.” “DAMN STRAIGHT!” Gilda cried out. And with that, she flapped her wings and flew over the edge, carrying Iron Will with her, Trixie and Chrysalis following close behind, carried by their Changelings. Behind them, a piece of parchment silently fluttered onto the rocks. Had anyone been present to see it, they would have been able to make out the words written in a fancy bold print: Attention Citizens of our glorious Equestria! In one months time, our very own Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza are to be joined in the bliss of holy matrimony by our wondrous and fair ruler her Highness Princess Celestia! To Be Continued...