We assembled in the passenger car, gathering in the open space before the door.
"Alright, everypony, circle up!" I clapped my hands, and the Elements gathered round. I gave Twilight an encouraging smile; I knew Celestia had talked to her about leadership as well. She took a deep breath, and stepped up.
"We all know why we're here." Nods went around the circle. "We're on a rescue mission. We need to reach the Crystal Heart, which was on the highest tower of the Crystal Castle. If things haven't changed, we're up against glass golems and windigos, but we're safe for now." She gestured to the thick purple shield encasing the train. "Celestia supplied me with aetheric batteries to power our defense; I need to set it up, but this train is equipped as our base, and fortress if need be. We have forty-eight hours from noon, forty-five hours from now, to charge the Crystal Heart with the Elements. After that, the injunction field goes down, and we head home - one way or another. Now, how are we going to start?"
"We'd better make sure the Heart is in the same place." Rainbow volunteered.
"Could he even move it? Do we know how much influence Sombra has in here?" Rarity asked.
"Um, where is the Crystal Castle?" Fluttershy asked.
"Right." Twilight held up a hoof. "That's enough to begin with. Rainbow, we're going to need some scouting. Wesley, would you please explain what we know about this place to the others? I didn't even consider doing a proper summary on the train...can you manage?"
"Probably." I sat down, and the four Elements who hadn't accompanied us last time gathered near. "Well, we didn't explore the whole thing, and I know you've all heard parts of this, but here's what we saw last time-"
"-and that's about it." The four ponies around me nodded, and the group broke up. I stood, and looked around.
While we talked, Twilight had been busy. The purple shield, the standard guard spell she learned from Shining, had been replaced by a much thinner blue shell, a variable-output warding emplacement that was fueled on stored magic. She was working her way through a list of supplies and muttering to herself, but left off when she noticed we were done.
"Twilight!" Rainbow gave a yell, as she swooped into the car, shaking the camouflage spell off. The ward irised neatly to let her in; she gave an appreciative glance, and landed before us.
"What did you find, Rainbow?" Twilight tucked her list away, and we all gathered around.
"It's...um, well..." Rainbow looked back nervously. "You'd better come see."
We all followed curiously as she led us off the train and around the back, staying inside the shield. As we went, her concern became immediately obvious.
We were surrounded.
We hadn't been concerned about secrecy since both the golems and windigos were frankly stupid. Last time, it had taken direct and obvious action before they began a concerted effort against us. Even if we'd wanted to be sneaky, our transportation made stealth hopeless; the portal simply wasn't quiet or calm. Taking the whole train had been decided when somepony pointed out that, as long as we were making a splash, it should at least be a big one.
Despite that, we hadn't been expecting this sort of response, or at any rate, not quickly.
"There." I pointed ahead as we rounded the caboose. The street was packed with golems pushed up against our shield, their hard angular features blankly menacing. Ahead, however, was an open corridor. The golems edging it were arranged in neat lines, and the two nearest even carried flags, blank purple with green eyes on them. A live pony stood in the center.
"Izzat Sombra?" Applejack asked.
"No." Twilight answered. "Sombra's black."
Though this pony was a unicorn, he wasn't Sombra. He was tall and menacing, with hard, cruel eyes and a coat the color of dried blood. He wore black horseshoes with a short cape and had an ocher mane.
"Could be his brother, though." I pulled up short, as Twilight stopped in front of me. "Has the same look in his eyes."
"A very nasty customer." Rarity gave him a look of revulsion.
"Greetings, Elements!" His voice boomed, and I twitched in surprise.
"Rainbow, was he here before?" I mumbled, low enough it wouldn't carry past the group.
"Yeah, just standing there. I was honestly surprised when you hadn't seen him. I did a full sweep; things look mostly the same, besides this joker, but the Crystal Heart's been moved. I bet he knows where."
"Right." Twilight stepped forwards, and raised her voice. "You seem to have us at a disadvantage, stranger. Who are you?"
"Call me Shadow Glory." He tapped the shield. "Mind letting me in?" Seven heads shook in response. "Very well." He straightened his cape, obviously put out. Awkward silence commenced.
"Well Mister Glory, what do you hope to accomplish with this barbaric display?" Rarity swept a hoof, encompassing the surrounding golems.
"Ah. Well. You see, Miss Rarity, your... invasion, has left me at an impasse. My lord, the great and powerful Sombra, tasked me with protecting this demesne and working his will here. I've been trying to defend his sovereign territory against the depredation of that tyrant, Celestia, but your arrival shows I failed in some measure." He heaved a dramatic sigh, a hoof pressed to his chest.
"Surely I don't look that foolish... do I?" Rarity asked quietly. No answer came, and she stamped a hoof in frustration.
"So, I assembled this august entourage, in an attempt to honor you and convince you that we can work this out without fighting. Bloodshed," the dark pony gave a shudder, 'is absolutely the last thing I desire."
Twilight turned back to us, and we circled up.
"Well, he's obviously a huge jerk," Rainbow said. "Any chance he really means what he's saying?"
"Not a bit of it." Applejack shook her head. "He's a liar to the core, and just hopes we'll cave under a show of force."
"Indeed." Rarity nodded. "It's an old negotiating tactic; claim the high ground. The carrot and the stick."
"But," I put in, "maybe he's partly sincere. If Celestia's right, he may be in danger from the Anomaly too. Maybe that can force some cooperation?"
"I don't like his smile." Pinkie shot an angry glance over her shoulder. "He's not nice at all."
"Um, I agree." Fluttershy added meekly. "He's not the sort of pony we should trust."
"Hmm." Twilight thought for a second. "Wes, give me your tactical analysis."
"Sure." I thought for a minute, and then presented my thoughts. "As I see it, we have three options. First," I ticked them off on my fingers, to looks of surprise, "is the option he offers; cooperation and negotiation, whatever that means. Talking costs little, but time is on his side. Though hopefully he doesn't know that. Second is the option he's blocked." I nodded subtly to golems. "He feels threatened, or this group is overkill. Unfortunately, it's an uphill battle. We need absolutely superior firepower, and need to be very careful of the surrounding buildings." I shrugged. "There are crystal ponies here; a pitched battle is a risk to them, so precision and power are equally necessary, which is tricky."
"And third?"
"Third, we surprise him." I scratched my head. "No idea how, but if we do the unexpected, we could regain the initiative. Risky, but rewarding."
"Thoughts? Anypony?" Twilight canvassed the group; shrugs and shaken heads were returned.
"He covered it." Rainbow flitted into the air for a glance behind us. "Look, we shouldn't loiter here; let's at least get into the train if we're ignoring this joker."
"Before that," Twilight called, drawing attention back. "We have three options; we're working on them all. Rarity and Applejack, you negotiate. Fish for info and stall for time. Focus on the Crystal Heart and Sombra. You can promise help if it won't hurt us; we trust you. Wesley, you're with me; we're scrounging for weapons. Let's see what we can whip up. If these golems have a competent commander, they'll be trouble. Pinkie and Fluttershy, you're on option three. I know you've got surprises up your sleeves, Pinkie, but if your ideas scare Fluttershy, try and re-think them."
"And me?" Rainbow asked.
"You're going scouting with a scanner. We need to find the Crystal Heart."
"Oh, fine. But when I get back, I'm joining flank-kicking party."
"Just be thorough. Don't leave yet; Hopefully, Shadow didn't notice you earlier. I'd like to keep you secret as long as we can. Remember!" She locked eyes with us, one at a time. "We are a team. Ask for help if you need it; we are stronger together. Let's do this."
"Shall we, Applejack?" Rarity turned to the barrier.
"Darn tootin'. Let's see if this stallion haggles better than Granny." The rest of us started back towards the train. Twilight fell behind a step, and I saw her sigh.
"You're doing fine." I smiled encouragingly.
"Thanks." She returned my grin weakly. "It's just so intense, you know? It's all resting on me, and there's no guide, no plan. I make the decisions as they come up, one at a time; if I make the wrong one, it'll all come tumbling down. It's like building a house of cards." She shot a dark glance at the golems. "While somepony kicks the table."
"I know how you feel." She shot me a dour glare, and I raised my hands defensively. "No, I do! Last time it was me." She sighed, and some of her frustration left. "Anyway," I added, "Celestia manages an entire country. You've learned from the best." A tense look crossed her face as she contemplated that. "So what were your thoughts on weapons? We're not really set up for fighting."
"I know. And we don't need to be; we should avoid strife as we can. But we've got some interesting supplies; we can surely make something useful. And there's trick I've been dying to try."
I raised an eyebrow at that; we were under siege, but still had time for experiments.
Yup, that was Twilight.
"So, this is your idea?" I touched the case on the table.
"Yeah." Off to one side, Pinkie and Fluttershy's heads were bent over a notebook full of multicolored scribbles. I cracked the lid, and whistled.
"Are you serious?"
"You said we need overwhelming firepower, and matching precision to win."
"It's not that. I'm surprised Celestia sent these; you broke the last set. They're not cheap."
"I didn't ask for them. They were on the manifest. I swear, Wes, boxes appear and disappear every time I turn around.."
"Tell me about it. Still can't believe we have these." I let the lid drop open, revealing a half-dozen vortex crystals, set in velvet. They were the operative component from the tac cannon Twilight had dismantled and used to such devastating effect on the changelings.
"Come on, Wes, aren't you curious? Think what we could make!"
"That again. How? This isn't like last time; you had a built gun. We've no tools, plans, or anything."
"Look, Wes." She gave me a serious stare, and I fell silent. "Do you remember last time I cast a really big spell?"
"Yeah." I nodded, thinking back to the top of the tower, when she'd wrenched reality apart and gotten us home.
"Remember how you had trouble keeping your thought process separate from mine?"
"You're not suggesting..."
"Actually, I am. We will see those effects if our synchronicity rises above seventy percent." She tapped her horn. "Both the amount of magic I draw, and my patterns of concentration affect the link. You've noticed it barely takes magic to start?"
"Sure." I dropped my head to my hands, trying to accept her suggestion.
"When we started researching the link, I discovered the magical patterns that activate it. Since they appear naturally if I draw enough power, starting the link is a side effect of big spells. I think, if we try, we can get those effects with much less magic. Also, next time I cast a big spell I can block you a bit now I know the patterns."
"So, if I'm guessing right...you want to intentionally mind meld, my knowledge of physics with your knowledge of magic, deep as we can go, and build a big honking gun?"
"Well, maybe." She shook her head slowly, a distant look in her eyes. "It doesn't need to be a gun, just destroy golems; there's no point in limiting ourselves to the obvious. But yes, a big honking gun was my first thought. I'm sure it'll be at least twenty percent more awesome than my last one." I snorted.
"Alright." I sighed. "Are you sure there's no side effects to this?"
"Very." She gave a puzzled smile. "I can't find any, and you know that's worrying me. What you can't see coming-"
"Hurts the most." I finished "Right. Well, I guess it's a bit late to complain about having you in my mind. Let 'er rip; let's see if two heads really are better than one."
This structure is best for the forces involved.
On the table before us, glowing lines of force took shape. They were smoother than the normal fuzz of telekinesis, and shone a cheerful cherry color, somewhere between magenta and orange.
We need a module here to compensate for the size changes.
It was difficult to tell which thoughts were mine, and which were Twilight's. We thought of ourself as 'we'. We slotted the module in, using our enhanced spatial awareness to reshuffle the spellwork, and our practiced thaumaturgy instincts to resolve possible conflicts.
This will kick like Luna's left leg.
We decided on a gun after all, since we didn't know what our obstacles were. We couldn't use an area effect without risking damage to the crystal imprisoning, but also possibly supporting, the crystal ponies. Incautiously awakening them could cause untold damage.
But the target will feel it sevenfold.
It was shaping up smoothly. This was purpose built, with much more thought invested than the last gun, and it showed.
If we raise the firing temperature with a choke, energy conversion will be more efficient, and power will go up.
Basically, the gun transformed raw magic into a kinetic blast using the vortex crystal's natural properties. Twilight was intimately familiar with the magical principles involved; I focused on the physical. Twenty percent awesomer was an understatement. Tac cannon barely did it justice; this would nearly be a pocket-sized battleship gun.
Let's add a capacitor to smooth operative load.
We were editing spells as needed, coding into the crystals on the fly. This sort of wizardry was normally impractical, but we managed by splitting our concentration. The gun structure updated as we committed a round of changes to the control matrix. It looked something like a sideways Eiffel Tower, though obviously smaller. Energy gathered in the splayed end, arranged into a bottle-and-choke mechanism for storing and focusing power.
What if we fire a physical projectile? It would have several advantages.
That began another round of revisions. We boosted efficiency again, although it cost accuracy slightly. The gun could now collect moisture for bullets, freezing and targeting them with a self-propagating helical field. Vents appeared on the sleek shape, pointing backwards.
We should make it deploy and retract automatically.
The shape of the gun was modified shield stuff, a hexagonal hive of force planes interlocked for strength and rigidity. It was a physical construct of magical power. By splicing a variable-output module into the controls, it could be collapsed. The capacitor, combined with the feedback control we'd developed for the anti-gravity spell, allowed power to be added now and used whenever. We charged it up.
Since we're already writing custom routines for the crystals, targeting should be assisted. This will let us reach our goals for precision.
One strength of magic was it's pseudo-narrative structure, which let us write spells that responded to their surroundings. This automation meant we could embed sophisticated assistance programs in our weapon.
This is looking good; now we need-
"WOAH!" Both our heads snapped around, catching Rainbow Dash as she returned. "What's this? It's super cool! Is it a gun? Did Celestia send it? Can I try?"
"It's a gun." We spoke simultaneously. Rainbow glanced between us nervously. "We built it. It nears completion, after sixteen iterations. Celestia sent the parts. We haven't decided who will wield it, but our current thought is Rarity."
"You two are being creepy." The pegasus took a step back. "Did you know both your eyes have gone white?"
We shrugged in unison. Of course our eyes were white; both of us were drawing heavily.
-need a physical substrate for the control mechanism.
We extracted a lump of metal from the raw materials we'd gathered. An entropology spell heated it; a kinesthetic spell molded it. We deactivated the gun, setting the crystals in the metal and placing it to cool after carefully writing the last lines of code to interface the physical controls.
Purpose accomplished, the link faded.
"Ow." Both of us said simultaneously. I clapped a hand to my temple, where a throbbing headache was forming.
"That answer some questions?" I asked Twilight.
"No." She was already scribbling in a notebook. "But it raised some fascinating new ones."
"Great." I sighed, and touched the completed canon gingerly; it was still warm, but not enough to burn. It resembled an armored horseshoe, with six crystals set around the edge. If you didn't know better, it might simply be ornamental. "Here." I passed it to Rainbow. "Attempt one at a decent weapon for fighting the army outside."
"How's it work?" She slipped it on.
"Stamp to activate it." Rainbow complied, and her eyes widened as the crystals flew from their settings, and the gun formed beside her. It was four feet long, and held its cherry color.
"Should it look like that?"
"Not a problem." Twilight barely glanced up. "That's how the crystals were written."
"It's on half-auto targeting. It'll follow your gaze, and lock onto likely targets." I winced as Rainbow trained her eyes, and the gun, on me. She glanced at it, and I was glad to note the feedback squelch I'd implemented kept it from spinning wildly in place. She aimed it away from me. It hovered just above and to the right of her shoulder. "The safety is on. Please keep it that way. Stamp to turn targeting off, and I'll explain firing." She complied, and gun froze. "To arm it, use the password, arglefraster."
"Arglefraster." Her eyes widened as the gun pulsed along it's length, briefly outlining the instilled runes. The structure brightened as the frame powered up. A barely audible whine started as the containment bottle warmed, and choke pressure increased. The vents flared, air whooshing as moisture was gathered for bullets, tiny cones of ice spiraled in the barrel.
"Safety!" I yelped.
"Arglefraster!" She squealed. The gun powered down, hissing angrily as the bullets were vented as steam and unused potential was forced back into storage.
"Ok." I took a deep breath. "Firing. There should be a stud in the bottom of the horseshoe. That's the trigger. If you press it with the safety on, the gun should beep and flash." Rainbow gingerly complied, and the gun blinked brighter, chiming gently.
"There's a three-way switch opposite the trigger. It switches targeting, between manual, half-auto, and full-auto. Stamp to turn targeting back on." I watched as Rainbow cycled the options. Manual seemed fine. She pointed her hoof, and the gun followed. Half-auto we'd already tested; I was curious if it was 'sticky' enough, but that would probably need live testing. She triggered full auto, and gave a questioning glance when the gun froze.
"It only target's golems in full auto. It fires automatically, and that seemed the best way to avoid friendly fire. It's good for fifty shots full charged, but a unicorn can 'feed' it. Slip the shoe off to power down." Rainbow lifted her hoof, and the gun dissolved, the crystals returning to their places.
"This thing is wicked. I bet even the guard doesn't have guns like this." She lifted her hoof, inspecting it from every angle. "You and Twilight put this together in only four hours?"
"How long?" Two startled cries rang out.
"Rarity, Applejack, are you two doing OK?" I held out earpieces, which they accepted.
"Yes, darling." Rarity screwed the communicator into her ear. "Testing, testing?"
"Hey, mares." Twilight came clearly across the comm. "Finally got the short-range set up. Sorry about the delay, Wes and I were distracted."
"No problem." Applejack tapped her comm. "Hey, these are pretty nifty."
"No kidding!" Pinkie chimed in. "Now you can't escape by leaving the room!"
"But we can mute you," Rainbow drawled. "Anyways, teams, gather in. I'm back with the word, and we need to rock."
"Right, sound off." Twilight's muffling ward rippled like heat-haze just outside the circle. She pointed to Rainbow. "Circle right."
"Well, I quartered the whole island with your scanner." She retrieved the instrument from her saddlebags, and lay it on the floor. "The magical readings are wild, nothing like last time. I picked up two hot spots, one just behind us and the other at the Castle."
"I thought you said the Crystal Heart wasn't there anymore?" I interjected.
"I said it wasn't on the tower. But I'm coming to that." She pushed the scanner to Twilight, who returned it to the toolbox. "I checked the near hotspot first. It's where the portal dumped us; train tracks and everything. It's gotta be an after-effect, or part of the Anomaly." Twilight nodded thoughtfully at that. "After, I headed to the Castle. That was tricky; the defenses were boosted since last time. Now, the entrances are patrolled by windigos and golems both, and the whole place is covered by a glowing thing." She stood, flaring her wings.
"But I knew we needed answers. No way some crummy spoilsports could keep Rainbow out! So in I went, stealthy as Batmane. I swooped, I dived, I dodged!" She raised a hoof to her chest and preened. "I obviously succeeded. Going slow to hide my magnificent aura, I moved with delicate grace, like a leaf floating on the wind. I quickly got close and looked in the windows." She pulled out a piece of parchment, and lay it on the floor.
"The Heart's been lowered straight off the roof. It's suspended in the main hall, just below the ceiling." She traced the setup on her map. "If we remember the path to the main hall, it should be even easier than last time." She frowned. "But it's got defenses; what looked like mirrors, maybe five, circled it. And a magic clock."
"Magic clock?" Twilight turned from her scrutiny of the map.
"Yeah, I think. Like the hands of a clock, spinning underneath it."
"Interesting..." She scribbled a few notes, and turned to the next team. "Fluttershy, Pinkie, what have you got?"
"Well..." Fluttershy laid a much-defaced paper on the floor. "We thought of ways to sneak out, and wondered if maybe Twilight could teleport us?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie pointed to the paper. "And maybe we could distract him with something. Like when you're planning a surprise, you need to know where the target is during set up, so they don't surprise you! Maybe if some of us stayed, the others could sneak to the heart?"
"Hmm." Twilight tried to decipher Pinkie's diagram, but gave up. "A diversion. That might work." She turned to the third team. "Rarity, Applejack, what have you found out?"
"Shadow is a bore." Rarity dramatically sighed. "His ego is ludicrous. I could hardly listen to three words without laughing."
"Right." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Despite his silly pride, we found some useful facts. He called himself part of 'Lord Sombra's Inner Circle'."
"Dang." I must have sounded about as annoyed as I felt, because everypony looked at me. "Sorry!" I raised my hands defensively. "I'm just ticked off the villains finally started getting smart, using proper minions and all. With our luck, they've even read the Evil Overlord List. Let me guess; Sombra has promised him power?"
"Darn tootin. He talks big about this being 'Lord Sombra's land' and other nonsense, but what it comes down to is, he thinks whatever he does is Ok because Sombra's the meanest pony around. A real nasty customer."
"Does he realize the Anomaly is as much trouble for him as it is for the Crystal Ponies?" Twilight asked.
"Nah, he doesn't seem worried." Applejack gazed off reflectively. "Ah don't know if Sombra gave him a way out or what."
"Yuck." I'd been hoping to bring at least some pressure to bear.
"Any idea what he wants?" Twilight asked.
"Sorry, no." Rarity shrugged. "Best guess, us. He kept asking to come through the field, and got pretty annoyed when we wouldn't let him. I wouldn't put it past him to try breaking in, if he thought he could get away with it. He eventually got bored, and left an emissary in case we changed our minds. Pfft." She waved to us. "So, what have you two done? Hopefully, it will be useful if he tries to force his way."
I passed her the horseshoe. "We hope so. Like to test it?"
"Well." She scrutinized the vortex gems. "It definitely looks like something I might enjoy."
"Rarity?" Twilight waved a hoof in front of her friend's face. The fashionista was giggling gently, and caressing the gun.
"Oh, yes darling?" Rarity shook her head, and snapped out of her trance.
"I've set the plan." She lay out a diagram, drawing on everypony's research. "We're splitting into two teams. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and I are sneaking out and trying for the Heart. If I get near, I believe I can activate the elements. It's at the edge of our range, but should be Ok. You, Rainbow, Wesley and Applejack will hold the fort. You'll need to be sure Shadow Glory is busy enough that he can't interfere when we hit the wards. It'll draw his attention, so you four need to be more distracting." She rolled the parchment up, and yawned. "Could you please talk to the emissary and set up a meeting for tomorrow? Then we'll know when to start the operation. After that, we're making camp."
Nods moved around the circle. Rarity saluted, and Applejack joined her as they left the train.
Dinner was egg salad sandwiches. We had hard rations, but also a store of tastier, more perishable food. I sat on my bedroll, spread on the train seat, and inspected my meal.
"What are you thinking of?" Twilight asked.
<"Bacon.">
"Oh, eew." She swallowed convulsively, and put her sandwich down.
"Hey, you asked."
"I know, but-"
"What's this?" Applejack leaned over. "What are you two talking about?"
<"Bacon.">
"Yuck, stop!"
"That's...English, right? What's he saying?"
"Trust me, you do not want to to know. Humans eat meat."
"But it makes egg salad so much better...." I wistfully took another bite.
"That's part of the problem." Twilight pushed her plate further. "I remember. <And I sorta agree, which is really squicking me out.> I can't eat this."
"Oh."
"Because you share memories?" Applejack passed her a bowl of green salad, which she accepted gratefully.
"Right. But more, too. We're about seven percent synchronized, so parts of our personalities mesh very tightly. I don't just remember eating bacon, I feel the same Wes does. And that's really, really weird." Applejack eyed her doubtfully.
"You remember eating meat? From Wes' point of view?"
"No...more like, I have Wes' feelings about it, because we synch. Other memories are just facts."
"I like my coffee with sugar now." I shrugged. "It goes both ways." I tapped the gem in my chest. "That should decrease as I heal, till we can get rid of this." I sighed. "Then I just need a way home."
"So, Wes, if you have Twilight's memories," Applejack smirked. "Can you tell us what stallions she likes?"
"Hey!"
"Hah, no; it doesn't work like that." I popped the top off a bottle and sipped. Strawberry lemonade? Awesome! "The biggest problem with sharing memories is not knowing what we know."
"Come again?"
"Memories work by association. When you remember something, you have specific patterns to recall it. Those are habitual, and don't carry over."
"Like to remember the next rainfall, I think of the calendar?"
"Right." I gestured with my juice. "So, to remember Twilight's dream stallion, I'd need that memory's handles. Like a cutie mark. Or coat color."
"Sometimes words are enough." Twilight gestured to her half-eaten sandwich. "Bacon is a very distinctive type of meat. Just the name recalls smell and taste." She shuddered. "And both are disturbing."
"So, that's why you play your game?"
"Partly. The association game does let us re-connect to memories. But it's also a way to test just how far synchronization goes." I yawned, suddenly tired of the discussion. "Anyways, I'm for bed." I curled up, pulling the blankets over me. It had been a long day, and tomorrow started early. But despite my exhaustion, I found sleep difficult. My mind whirled around our discussion and what we accomplished with the gun. While linking deeply was fascinating, it both drew and repelled me.
Twilight and I were using it innocently, but the mind-link held enormous potential for harm. The first time we faced Sombra, he tried destroying me to occupy my body. What if he succeeded next time? Could Twilight resist him, or might she be dominated across the link? Was that what Sombra designed the gems for, an army of mind-slaves? No wonder numancy was restricted!
When I finally slept, I dreamed uneasily of an enemy who devoured souls, controlling his subjects so tightly rebellion was unthinkable. Sombra laughed from a hundred mouths and when I killed him, Twilight stared back reproachfully. Morning was a relief.