The Unchosen One

by MagnetBolt


Insanity And Genius

The Unchosen One
Chapter 9: Insanity And Genius
by MagnetBolt

“Oh wow! It's extra-spooky!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing enough to make their borrowed transportation shake violently, as if the storm circling the castle wasn't enough for that. A bolt of black lightning crashed past them, almost hitting the pegasai that were flying them into the Everfree Forest towards the castle.

“We have to put down!” Dash said, pulling up alongside the rest of them. She'd flown ahead to look. “The storm isn't normal! Every time I get near the clouds they attack me! Even if I kick them they just reform right away! There's no way you guys will be able to fly in there if I can't!”

Rarity gasped as she almost lost her hat to a gust of wind. “I have to agree! This wind is just destroying my mane! I'll have to spend hours fixing my curls.”

“I found a clear spot in the forest! You guys just follow me!” Dash flew ahead of the Night Guard and took a sharp turn down towards the forest. The guards followed, the dive almost throwing everypony out of the cart. When they landed in the clearing, Applejack jumped out of the cart and kissed the dirt.

“Remind me next time not to go flyin' when anything else would work better,” she said, composing herself. “We had to land pretty far away, so we gotta hurry if we wanna mosey on in there before somethin' awful happens.”

“Have you seen the state of my hat? Something awful has already happened!” Rarity sighed. “There's just no saving this one. It's a good thing I have a spare hat for emergencies.” She pulled a folded hat out of her bags and flicked it, the brim snapping into shape.

“She brought an emergency hat?” Trixie asked in disbelief.

Applejack sighed. “Jes be thankful she didn't bring an entire emergency outfit or we'd be stuck here fer ten minutes while she changed.”

“Emergency outfits?” Pinkie Pie asked, perking up. “That's a great idea! What if we all dress up like we're going to a party and then we'll go to the castle and Twilight will think she's supposed to be hosting a party instead of destroying Equestria! Then I'll help her get decorations and cake and we can have a real party!”

“That's certainly a plan,” Fluttershy said. “But, um, we don't have outfits for that and... I think we should try talking to her instead of confusing her.”

“How far is the castle from here?” Trixie asked. “I've never been there before.”

“It's gonna take all night to get there if you guys don't get moving,” Dash said. “What's the hold up? We already have a plan. Swoop in, tell her to stop being stupid, and then kick her flank if she doesn't listen. It's a great plan.”

“Except for the part about kicking her flank,” Applejack noted. “Even asssumin' we could do that, I doubt it'd help her come back to normal.”

“We'll figure it out. We always end up just winging it.”

“I get it! Winging it!” Pinkie bounced. “Because you're a pegasus!”

***

“Was it always this ominous?” Trixie asked, whispering. Black lightning crashed down around the castle, leaving ultraviolet tracers in the sky that made everything glow with an unearthly light. Rarity, at least, seemed pleased at that. The stitching in her hat was glowing brightly, making the outline visible even in the semi-darkness.

“Nah,” Applejack said. “This seems t' be a special occasion. I expect Luna was right about Twilight not bein' one for subtle displays.”

“Of course not,” Rarity said. “You said it was the Element of Dominance, yes? Isn't that what real dominance is about? It's not just about defeating your enemy, but about cowing them, making them see that it was foolish to oppose you in the first place, to force them to acknowledge your greatness.”

“That is... quite a detailed insight,” Trixie noted. “Not that Trixie disagrees. She wanted to do exactly the same thing after she lost to Twilight...”

Rarity sighed, thinking back on unpleasant memories. “Well, I was host to a rather distasteful monster myself for a short time. I have some insight on these matters.”

“You were?” Trixie frowned.

Pinkie bounced in front of them. “There's a comic about it!”

“Come on, y'all. Ain't no point stopping here to gam.” Applejack walked up to the doors and bucked them, knocking them open with one solid blow. The foyer stretched on in front of them, the roof partly collapsed and letting in a small amount of light from outside.

Rarity created a small floating light to guide their path. “This castle is certainly more gloomy than the last time I came here.”

“The throne room's this way,” Dash said, taking the lead.

“Should we really go right for it?” Trixie asked. “Maybe we shouldn't take the most direct way.”

“We don't have time for that!” Dash rolled her eyes. “Look, Trixie, I know you want to help Twilight or whatever, but we have to do this fast!” She flapped her wings and gained some altitude. “I'm gonna scout ahead and circle back to tell you what's going on.”

Trixie stumbled ahead and “Wait! What if there are traps?!”

“Then I'll warn you about them!” Dash flew ahead and vanished around a corner.

“There are definitely traps,” Pinkie Pie noted, helpfully. “But we should be fine as long as we don't hear spooky organ music.”

“Spooky organ music?” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Let's just follow Dash afore she gets herself in more trouble than she can handle.” Applejack sighed. They picked up the pace, Trixie taking another fuzzmint seed to dull the pain in her shoulder as they walked. The castle shook from somewhere deep within as they walked into a corridor lined with worn and dusty busts.

“The throne room should be just ahead,” Rarity said. “The last time we were here, Fluttershy and I took a rather circuitous route to get there.”

“Is the throne room the best place to look?” Fluttershy asked. “Maybe we should try to find the library. Twilight likes libraries.”

Trixie held up a hoof to her heart dramatically. “If Trixie was an evil being bent on destroying Equestria she would be waiting in the throne room to greet her intruders. It's only appropriate.”

Rarity nodded. “Oh yes, I have to agree. It wouldn't do to just show up in a corridor or jump out of some closet. One must have a certain sense of drama.”

“The both of y'all seem to miss the point that this is Twilight. Unless she put 'dramatic entrance' on her to-do list we're gonna show up and she's gonna make us wait ten minutes while she finds some kinda instruction manual on how to give an evil monologue before droppin' yer enemies in vats of lava sharks.” Applejack paused to consider. “That said, the way that girl is, it wouldn't surprise me if she actually did have 'villain speech' on her list of things to do today, so maybe y'all got a point.”

“There you are!” Rainbow Dash zipped back towards them out of the darkness. “There's a big rock in front of the doors to the throne room and I can't pull them open. Give me a hoof with this.” Indeed, the rock in front of the doors was twice the size of any of the ponies, and, oddly, Trixie found it familiar-looking for some reason.

“Hmmm...” Pinkie Pie loudly considered the rock. “That looks like Western Red Gneiss.”

Trixie clicked her tongue. “You're right. I thought it looked familiar. But that kind of stone isn't natural to this area. At the rock farm they had to import it before they could grow them.”

“...Grow them?” Applejack turned to look.

“Don't ask,” Trixie said, with a sigh. “It's complicated. The point is, that rock didn't just fall here, and the walls aren't made of it. Not that you'd want to make walls out of it.”

“Is it an important rock?” Fluttershy asked.

“For rubies and sapphires,” Pinkie Pie said authoritatively.

“We can ask Twilight why this rock is here later,” Applejack said with a sigh. She wrapped a rope around the rock. “Y'all help us pull!” With six ponies working at it, even if most of them were weak or injured, the boulder was quickly dragged away from the doors.

Dash smirked. “If that's the best Twilight has, then this isn't going to be as hard as I thought.” She pulled open the doors. The throne room was pitch black. Unnaturally so. It was like a fog of ink was filling the room.

“It wasn't supposed to stop you. It was foreshadowing,” Twilight said, from somewhere in the darkness.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Dash asked with a frown.

Twilight laughed. “It means you'll find out what it means later.”

“I don't like the sound of this,” Applejack muttered.

“Well? What are you all waiting for? Come in. If you're afraid of the dark I'm sure Pinkie can sing a song or two about it.” The six ponies walked in, Rarity's light spell fizzling out as she approached the pitch blackness. “So this is the part where I'm going to make you an offer. I know you're going to want to dismiss it right away, but you're my best friends and so I want you to at least consider it. Join with me. We've saved Equestria so many times already, and this time it won't be any different, except we're saving it for good instead of just covering up a problem.”

Trixie squinted, trying to see through the darkness. She couldn't even make out her hoof in front of her face. “Twilight, you need to take off that amulet. It's making you make even worse choices than Trixie makes, and that's pretty awful.”

“Honestly I didn't even expect you to come, Trixie. I thought you'd had enough adventuring and being beaten today. I give you an A+ for tenacity, though. You really do impress me more and more as I get to know you better.” Trixie blushed slightly at that.

“Look, just stop being evil and we can all go home!” Dash said, from somewhere above.

“Evil? Rainbow Dash, I'm disappointed. I'm not evil. I'm a hero. Equestria has deep problems, but there is no problem that cannot be solved by a disciplined, ordered mind.”

“And that's you,” Applejack said. “Twi, if half of what I heard is true then this ain't a problem you can just solve, and crackin' this thing open's just gonna hurt a lot of people.”

“So you don't trust me either? At least I know you're being honest. Come on, I want to hear from the rest of you. What next, is Rarity going to tell me that ancient artifacts are out of style? I know you care more about what people tell you is the next big thing than you do about anything else.”

Rarity made a wounded sound. “Already resorting to insults? Twilight, this behavior is simply awful. What would Celestia say?”

“I'm sure I'll hear a big speech from her later too. In a few hours she'll probably fight off that spell I used on her. In case you're curious, it's adapted from what Sombra did to my brother. Celestia herself showed me how to use that style of magic, and I've continued studying it. I probably know more about it than anypony else by now.”

“T-Twilight I know you probably aren't in the mood for jokes, or a party, or anything else like that...” The hesitation in Pinkie's voice was strange to hear. “But this really isn't funny. I think I know where you got that rock from now, and... please don't do anything bad.”

“Pinkie, you're smarter than I give you credit for.”

“What's are you two talking about?” Applejack asked.

“Now now. Wait until we hear from the last and most quiet member of our little circle. Fluttershy? Do you want to tell me about all the cute little bunnies I'll be hurting when I crack open the Black Archive?”

“I don't think you care much about that,” Fluttershy said, quietly. “There's definitely something wrong with you, Twilight. I care about you as a friend, and I'm going to do what's right to help you, even if that means stopping you.”

“Very nice,” Twilight noted. She started clapping. “So, let's get this little drama started. As Pinkie Pie has already figured out, I've made a few stops before I came here. I knew Celestia would send the five of you-”

“Six,” Trixie noted.

“-the Six of you,” Twilight conceded. “Since she and Luna would rather watch Equestria burn than lift a hoof themselves to do anything. I decided to make some special arrangements. I knew you wouldn't just do the smart thing and join me. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are too stubborn to listen to reason and the rest of you would rather keep in line and follow their lead than disagree. So I'm going to start by sweetening the pot.”

A light flashed on, illuminating a cage. Inside were a collection of ponies and a cute little rabbit. The assembled group gasped in surprise. Pinkie's family, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Angel were all locked inside the hanging frame of steel. They blinked at the sudden light and shook the bars, screaming. Well, Angel wasn't screaming. That rabbit looked like he was plotting revenge.

“I managed to find something for everypony!” Twilight said. “Remember when I said that the rock was foreshadowing?”

“It was from the Pie rock farm,” Trixie whispered.

“Correct! Maybe you did pay attention in school after all. But just having them in a cage isn't much of a threat. That's why I have another friend here to greet you. Thanks to my magic he's a little bigger than you might remember him. Spike!”

Reptilian eyes opened in the darkness as a massive purple and green form uncoiled. Pillars of green flame erupted around the room, illuminating the fully-grown dragon that had squeezed into the throne room.

“Oh no,” Rarity said. Trixie looked around the room. Despite the voice, there was no actual sign of Twilight.

“She's not even here,” Trixie said. “She never was. She's scrying on us and using spells to hear us and send her voice into the room.”

“You really are on the crystal ball today,” Twilight noted, her voice coming from all around them. “The Black Archive doesn't open right into the throne room, but I knew you'd be along there soon enough and I didn't want you to be too disappointed.”

Red sparks crackled around Spike, and the now-huge dragon reared up, roaring. A massive tail swept across the floor, sending everypony except Rainbow Dash flying. It was followed up with a wave of greenish-purple fire, Rarity saving the day with a quick magical shield, holding it by herself long enough for Trixie to assist and push the flames away.

“Trixie knows he wasn't this big before!” Trixie said.

“Fluttershy, you're good with dragons!” Dash said, ducking behind the shield as she avoided a crashing wave of heat. “Go ask him to stop being a giant monster!”

“Oh no, when this happened last time, it was Rarity who stopped Spike, remember?”

Tixie looked at the giant dragon, then at the ponies. “This happened before?!”

“It's a long story,” Rarity said. “But it doesn't matter. Last time, he grew because his greed went out of control. This is because of some kind of magic! I can't just kiss him and make him stop!”

“You don't know that until you try!” Applejack said.

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Dash grabbed Rarity and flew up, doing maneuvers in the tight space that made Trixie feel sick just watching. Spike tried to follow them, rearing up and smacking his head into the crumbling roof. Tiles fell down, smashing on the floor. He roared in frustration and lashed out, turning to face Dash and Rarity and swiping at Trixie and the others with his tail again. The four ponies ran through a doorway to avoid being crushed, poking their heads out to watch and see if Rarity was successful.

“Pucker up!” Dash yelled, diving towards Spike, turning at the last second to aim for his cheek. Rarity screamed as they pulled up to a stop only inches from iron-hard scales. She opened her eyes again to find herself staring a dragon in the face.

“S-Spike, it's me! Please come to your senses!” She sheepishly tried kissing his cheek. Spike's eyes cleared for a moment from the haze over them, then a wave of red sparks crawled over his scales, causing him to shrink back in pain as his eyes clouded again with rage. He spat out a stream of fire, Dash pulling Rarity away at the last moment. They zoomed down and into the same corridor the other ponies were hiding in.

“Okay, that was plan A,” Dash said.

“My mane is on fire!” Rarity screamed, rolling around to put it out. A splash of seltzer water quickly doused the flames. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie. I suppose.” Rarity looked at her drenched and scorched mane and sighed.

Pinkie beamed, putting the canister away from wherever she had procured it. “You're welcome, Miss Suppose!”

“What's plan B?” Trixie asked. “Trixie didn't bring her dragon-slaying lance and she doubts you'd want to use it anyway.”

“We need to rescue everypony,” Applejack said. “If we can't do nothin' about Spike, maybe we can just leave him there for now. Ain't like he can do that much damage to a castle that's already in ruins. Once we deal with Twilight we can just have her undo whatever magic she used to make him big. But I ain't leavin' Apple Bloom there for him to snack on in the meantime!”

“I have to concur,” Rarity said, trying to use magic to fix her mane and failing. “Spike is only a danger to others. Even if he escapes into the forest, he's a full-sized dragon and can take care of himself for a few moments.”

“But he could get hurt if he runs into another dragon, or a roc, or a jabberwock...” Fluttershy said, worried.

“One thing at a time,” Dash interjected. “I gotta agree with saving everypony. They're already roasting in that cage. The fire is heating it up like a pan on a stove.”

“Well a kiss didn't work. What next?” Trixie asked.

“We can't just grab the cage and run. It looks too heavy even for Applejack,” Dash said.

“Trixie could use her magic... but given what ah saw at the orchard it'd prolly end up with the ponies being turned into jelly when she loses control and throws them into the wall.” Applejack considered. “Guess we're back to the original plan B. Fluttershy, ah hope you're not as afraid of dragons you already know.”

“Trixie isn't that clumsy,” the mare grumbled.

“I could try talking to him but, um, I don't know if it would work if Rarity's kiss didn't get through to him.” She looked at the white unicorn.

“Ah didn't mean to talk to him. Just give him the Stare while we get that cage open and get everypony out.”

“But- the last time I used the Stare I got turned into a vampire!”

Trixie's jaw dropped. “Wait, what? What is it with you mares and having constant disasters in your lives? Even Trixie didn't get in this much trouble!”

“And this is all stuff we did to each other!” Pinkie Pie said. “But we all apologize and stuff, so there aren't any hard feelings.”

“Trixie supposes this explains why you were all so easily persuaded to forgive her...”

Rarity put a comforting hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. “Fluttershy, dear. No one is going to be casting strange spells on the dragon. Using the Stare should be perfectly safe. You just need to keep his attention and make him hold still for a few minutes while the rest of us rescue everypony from the cage.”

“I suppose... and if we don't hurry Angel will be really upset at me...” Fluttershy nervously folded and refolded her wings.

“Right!” Dash slapped her on the back. “Now get out there and show that dragon who's boss!” Fluttershy meeped and flew out, circling around towards the dragon's head. Spike watched her closely, smoke pouring from between his teeth.

Once in position, Fluttershy released the Stare. Trixie could feel it from all the way down on the ground. She hesitated for a moment, the followed the others as they quickly and quietly made their way to the iron cage.

“You gotta get us out of here!” Scootaloo yelled. Dash held up a hoof to her lips.

“Just hold on and be quiet,” Applejack whispered. “We'll have you outta there in two shakes of a hog's tail. Dash, help me with this door.” The two grabbed the door and pulled, only to find that the sturdy lock was stronger than they were.

“Now what?” Rarity asked.

“Ah can try to buck the lock off,” Applejack suggested.

“It's solid iron!” Trixie said, rolling her eyes. “You'll never kick it off.”

“Well unless you happen to have a better suggestion we have to try somethin!'”

“Trixie has lots of suggestions.” She walked up to the lock and examined it, then took two slim metal tools out of her saddlebags. “Trixie used to do an escape artist routine before she almost drowned trying to get out of a straightjacket while underwater. She learned to pick locks like this while literally blindfolded and upside-down.”

“Yeah but can you do it quickly?” Dash asked, looking back. “I don't know how long Fluttershy is gonna be able to keep this up without blinking.”

“Trixie is certainly going to try.” Unfortunately, picking locks required delicate touches, precise movements, and concentration. The first two were almost beyond her thanks to the condition of her magic. The last one wasn't being helped by all the fuzzmind seeds she'd been taking to ward off the pain in her shoulder. She swore under her breath as she felt a pin in the lock slip back to where it had been. Behind her, she heard grumbling as the dragon started to move again.

“Any time now, sugar!” Applejack said.

“Don't try to hurry Trixie!” the Unicorn snapped. A third tool joined the ones she already had as she felt around inside. Then, everything abruptly fell into place, clicking as her tools held the lock together long enough for her to turn it, the bolt sliding. “Yes!” She yelled.

Spike roared. Trixie froze. She'd been significantly louder than she'd intended.

“Run!” Dash said, as Applejack opened the cage and urged the ponies into movement.

“Hi mom! Hi dad! Hi sis! Hi sis!” Pinkie bounced along with the fleeing ponies. A wave of flame licked at their heels as they got out the door and around a corner.

“Where's Fluttershy?” Dash asked, as she held a scared Scootaloo.

She was answered by a high-pitched scream as Fluttershy flew past them, just barely escaping another wash of dragonfire herself. Angel hopped after her as she cowered behind a toppled table.

“There she is!” Pinkie pointed, being helpful.

“That's everypony,” Applejack said. “Ah just hope Spike can hold on until we get Twilight to change him back. I didn't like the look of those sparks.”

“He seems like he's in pain,” Rarity said, looking back towards the way they'd come. “I can't believe Twilight would do that to Spike. She's always been like a mother to him.”

“Sis, why is Twilight being so mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“She's just confused, dear.” Rarity patted Sweetie Belle's head. “We're going to have a little chat with her. Are you and your friends okay?” She nodded.

“Ya should have seen it! Twilight came outta nowhere and she had a big shiny amulet and then she started castin' all these spells!” Apple Bloom danced around and tried to mime the action. “Ah knew she was strong but I didn't think she was that strong!”

“She appeared in the middle of us trying to earn our cutie marks in temporal dynamics,” Scootaloo said. “Our wagon almost hit her but she stopped it was magic and used some kind of spell to catch us.”

Apple Bloom looked guilty. “Th' flux capacitor was totally fried, though. Mister Turner is gonna be upset about that. We didn't tell him we were borrowing it.”

“It wouldn't work anyway,” Sweetie Belle said. “I tried to tell you but you didn't listen. The Canterlot Thamuturgy Directorate determined that-”

“And ah told you that Twilight used a time travel spell already, so we know it's possible!”

“Girls!” Rarity shouted, quieting them. “This isn't the time for that. Mister and Misses Pie, could you lead these fillies outside? There are a number of Night Guards down the path outside of the storm. They can get all of you to safety.”

The two nodded. Pinkie hugged them and her sisters. Mister Pie pushed the Crusaders a bit to get them moving. “Come along, then. And stay close.”

“They'll be safe?” Trixie asked.

“My dad will take care of them,” Pinkie said, with a smile.

“He managed to raise Pinkie Pie, so ah think he'll manage to wrangle those three into line,” Applejack said. “We should worry more about how we're gonna find Twilight.”

“Trixie wishes Luna had actually told us where the Black Archive was located.”

“Twilight was usually th' one to figure out where these things were,” Applejack said. “Since she ain't here that means yer gonna have to fill in for her, Trixie. Unless you fancy that you ain't Great or Powerful enough to puzzle it out.”

“Trixie isn't particularly great or powerful, but she does her best work when she's trying to be clever.” Trixie considered for a moment. “Logically, with such a dangerous thing, Luna and Celestia would want to keep the archive somewhere it would be difficult to reach, even if the conditions were correct. But not too difficult, since they would need to access it quickly if the danger was too great.”

Trixie started pacing, limping a little on her bad leg. “They wouldn't keep it near anything else that was dangerous or valuable. It also wouldn't be out in the open, because they would want to control access to it. It would be somewhere they wouldn't be likely to go every day. They'd also want to keep most ponies out of it so they would want to disguise it as something boring but important.”

“Don't forget about symbolism, dear,” Rarity said. “Trust me, I've noticed this whole place is dripping with symbolism. It's something a designer sees.”

“You're right!” Trixie stopped. “And the Princesses wouldn't hide it away deep in either wing. This whole castle is built on duality, half for Luna and half for Celestia. It would have to be right in the middle, something they both shared, because the method to open it is also representative of both of them, in the form of the Eclipse, the Sun and the Moon sharing the sky.”

“What, something in the middle of the castle?” Dash considered. “I donno. I mean wouldn't that just be the throne room?”

“That's too exposed,” Applejack said. “I think I get what Trixie is tryin' to get at. She wouldn't put it somewhere that just anypony'd walk into. Even the throne room, a lot of people go in and out of there. Or at least they did.”

“Yeah, but there aren't a lot of rooms that are just in the middle like that,” Dash said. “We didn't explore a lot but we've been through here. There's that place near the front doors where the Elements were hidden-”

“It's called a foyer, dear,” Rarity said.

“Whatever. Four-er. Point is, there's that, the throne room, I think there's a big dining room type of thing, kitchens, that round room with the holes in it.”

“A round room with... holes in it.” Trixie frowned.

Dash shrugged. “Yeah. I don't get it either. It was just basically a big empty room and there were little holes in the roof to let light in. But they weren't regular or anything. They were all over the place like somepony drilled them at random, and a big one right in the middle of the roof.”

Trixie rubbed her chin. “It almost sounds like a planetarium.”

“It would be appropriate and dramatic...” Rarity put in.

“And allow for easy observation of the eclipse,” Trixie gasped. “That has to be it!”

“It's right on the other side of the throne... room...” Dash trailed off. “The throne room with Giant Crazy Spike in it. Great.”

“There's another way,” Trixie said. “But you're not going to like it.”

***

“You were right!” Dash shouted to be heard over the wind. “I don't like this!” The ponies were carefully making their way across the roof, using Applejack's rope as a safety line to tie them together. The raging storm above sent gusts of wind and blasts of thunder that threatened to knock them free of the tiled surface, already slick with rain.

“The planetarium is right over there!” Trixie pointed, the dome visible even through the murk. “Since there are holes in the roof to plot the position of stars, and the annulus in the center of the roof for the sun, it had to be on the uppermost level! And this way we'll avoid any traps Twilight has planned for us!”

“No offense, hon, but I think this here storm is counting as a trap!” Applejack jumped as a bolt of black lighting struck a spire next to her. “We're gonna end up as crispy as hayfries if we stay out here!”

Trixie shielded her eyes and looked back. “Trixie is surprised that you can't handle a little storm! Aren't you five supposed to be heroes?”

“They're just jealous they didn't think to bring an umbrella,” Rarity said, twirling her parasol. As if to spite her, a gust of wind caught it and tore it from her magical grip, the yellow and white umbrella tumbling away, the storm strong enough to actually carry it up and out of sight. Rarity's mane was almost immediately drenched, again. “...Never mind.” She sighed.

“Ooh! Tail twitch! Hoof itch! Crossed eyes!” Pinkie said in alarm.

Trixie frowned. “What?”

“It's my Pinkie Sense! We're about to have to run away from a big fire!”

“In case you haven't noticed, it's raining too hard to even start a fire with magic!” Trixie shouted. “Princess Celestia herself couldn't start a campfire out here!”

“Uh, Trixie,” Applejack said, as the roof shook. “Maybe Celestia couldn't, but what about a dragon?” Across from them, on the other side of the roof's peak on this wing of the castle, the roof exploded outwards. A huge purple claw gripped the roof, and Spike started pulling himself out of the throne room where they'd left him, fire leaking from his maw.

“Haystacks,” Trixie said, quietly.

“Run for it! He's gonna toast us!” Pinkie yelled. While Trixie froze in place, the other five were Ponyville ponies, and well-versed in the art of running around in circles when danger appeared. Unfortunately, they weren't terribly coordinated at it and they were also tied together. After about two seconds they all fell as the rope pulled them in six directions at once.

Spike loomed over them, and a wave of dragonflame rushed towards them. Trixie screamed and covered her face. She lost her footing on the roof as the rope pulled at her, Applejack and Rainbow Dash managing to drag everypony out of the way. The rain boiled, a steam cloud rising in the wake of the unnatural blaze.

“Come on, you lazy ponies! Move it!” Dash yelled. “Just keep running!” Spike got completely onto the roof, the structure cracking and groaning as the dragon's weight settled on it. He roared and bounded after them.

“I always knew I'd be eaten by a dragon!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Yer gonna have to find a different one to get eaten by!” Applejack said. Trixie stumbled as she tried to get to her feet, unable to keep up with the pace they were setting. Another wave of flame surged for them like a flood of cinders. Trixie stopped and focused. She knew a spell that would keep her cool in even great heat. If she just put all of her strength behind it...

A wave of cold flashed away from her, turning the rain into snow for a few moments. The flames met the chill and slowed, petering out and buying them a little more time. The rain started again as the spell collapsed under the strain.

“Nice one!” Dash yelled back. Trixie smiled and stumbled again as she was yanked forwards. Spike's heavy steps carried him closer, a claw punching right through the roof as he ran for them. The entire castle seemed to quake.

“This castle wasn't built to take a beating like this!” Rarity said. “It's a capital building, not a real fortress!”

“She cannae take the strain!” Pinkie yelled, in a strange accent. Was that supposed to be a Hooflander accent? “Much more o' this and she'll fall apart, cap'n!”

“Good!” Applejack yelled.

“Good? We're on the roof!” Trixie yelled.

“Yeah, but so is he!” They suddenly veered to the left, going serpentine. Spike followed doggedly, stomping left and right and making the walls shiver. Finally, they failed, something load-bearing under them finally giving up the ghost and crumbling. A cloud of dust exploded out as Spike fell through the collapsing roof to the ground below.

Rarity looked back in fear. “Spike!” She tried to stop, but the structural failure was cascading towards them, the roof falling in on itself.

“Fluttershy, pull up! We need to get to that part of the roof over there!” Dash pointed. Fluttershy nodded and the two flew up, dragging the other four ponies along with them as the roof fell out from under their feet. “You guys could lose a little weight!” Dash complained, straining to keep in the air long enough. They almost crashed down on the next part of the roof.

“They weren't that heavy,” Fluttershy said, barely audible over the storm. She hadn't strained at all. But she also sometimes wrestled bears. “Do you think Spike's okay? That was a long fall...”

There was a groaning from below them. Applejack adjusted her hat as a gust tried to take it. “Ah think he's fine. He's always been a tough little guy and a fall like that wouldn't hurt a big dragon like him. Probably knocked him silly though.”

“Let's worry about him after we take care of Twilight,” Dash said. “How are we even gonna get in?”

“We'll drop down through the annulus on top,” Trixie said. “Fluttershy will carry me, and Trixie will put a feather-fall spell on the rest of you. We'll just jump down. Twilight won't be expecting us to enter that way.”

“Unless she heard the racket from out there. Or she's listenin' in again. Or she's better at predictin' us than you think. Or-”

“Alright yes, there are many ways Twilight might be expecting us, but it's still the fastest way.” Trixie sighed. The ponies carefully made their way up the dome to the top, where a yawning hole reached into the darkness below. Trixie looked up. The eclipse was almost total now. They didn't have much time to stop Twilight.

She carefully cast the feather-fall spell and they leapt into the planetarium. The swallowing darkness surrounded as they landed in what was almost like a dim spotlight, the small amount of light from outside leaving them in a circle of dim illumination, surrounded by shadows.

“Well, that took you long enough.” The voice wasn't Twilight's. Not quite. It was like two ponies were speaking at once, somepony speaking over Twilight, her voice only faintly audible, like an echo.

“Next time we'll try to get through your death-trap a little faster,” Trixie said, eyes scanning the darkness. The round room made it difficult to figure out where she was.

“I thought you'd try and fight Spike, not just pick the lock on the cage and go around him. I guess Trixie's cowardice is rubbing off on you guys.” Twilight laughed. “ Not to mention her ability to cause property damage. That roof held up for a thousand years, but then Trixie comes along and bam, down it goes!”

“Come out here and talk face-to-face,” Applejack said. “Y'all gotta stop this, Twilight!”

“Oh yes, it is time for a dramatic entrance, isn't it?” Fire erupted in a ring around the room, the flames flickering between ruby-red and magenta. Twilight stood above them on a raised platform overlooking the floor they stood on, which had been cleared of dust and debris to show intricate carvings and symbols.

The six ponies gasped at the sight. Twilight was the size of Celestia, her coat almost black. Fangs and slitted eyes like a dragon. Hair that flowed in an unseen wind.

“You look like-”

“Yes, Dash, I look like Nightmare Moon. Thanks. Spike already pointed that out. You're all very observant.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “This form is far better at using the almost unlimited magic at my command. Maybe when I'm done and I've conquered Equestria I'll write a thesis on alicorn size as related to magical ability.”

“Excuse me,” Fluttershy asked. “Could you... stop being evil and scary?”

Twilight laughed. “Wow! So direct! I didn't think you'd be so forceful. Now here's the deal. You can all kneel, right now, and you can rule by my side once this is over. I know you'd do a good job and you deserve it after everything you've done. Celestia never cared enough to reward you, but I can do it myself now.”

“And if we don't feel like takin' knee in yer evil glory?”

Twilight smiled. “Oh well, that's easy. I'll kill you.”