//------------------------------//
// The Game Is Always Changing 
// Story: Urohringr 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	"Look, Ah enjoy a guid roon ay 'guess th' rainbaw pony's genealogy' as much as th' next stallion," Prowse rambled.  "But woods ye kindly fancy lettin' it drap fur a moment an' insteid tak' a gander at these words engraved reit haur?"  He pointed a metal hoof at the carvings just beneath Hurricane's effigy.

"For once, I'd say Beardo's making perfect sense," Josho said.  "Rainbow?"

"Uhm... right..."  Rainbow Dash touched down, squinting at the chiseled characters.  "Just gimme a sec.  This stuff is pretty archaic..."

"Assuming that all of this speculation about Commander Hurricane is correct," Elma Boreal spoke, "Then what kind of implication does it have about what brought her from Equestria to here?"

"Undoubtedly she had the best interests of her kingdom in mind," Pilate said.  "Although, if it stands to reason that what drew her this far east is the same as what's driven Rainbow Dash this far east..."

Props finished the thought.  "It couldn't be a total coinkydinky that Dashie's here!"

"Precisely."

"Unnngh..."  Boreal rubbed her scaled head.  "And here I thought it was the fluctuating barometric pressure getting to my skull..."

"Hmmm..."  Rainbow Dash hummed, her brow furrowing.

Pilate tilted his head about with twitching ears.  "What is it, Rainbow?"

"Lemme see if I can break it down to ya guys..."  Rainbow took a deep breath, then spoke while scanning the carved lines with her ruby eyes.  "'Here doth lie the Wings of the Three Tribes, brandishing the Sword of Solstice, Her Majesty's burning gift of righteousness, that the vile phantoms of the sky may forever be vanquished.  Commander Hurricane liveth forever in spirit, while her body and her children's children remaineth faithful to her cause, dwelling within this forsaken city's...'"  She blinked hard.  "The last word's kind of hard to make out."

"How do you mean?"

"Wait, I got it.  'Hold,'" Rainbow Dash said.  "'This forsaken city's hold.'"

"What made it so hard to read?" Props asked.

Rainbow shuddered, leaned back, and pointed at the last word.  "Take a look for yourself."

Props leaned in, blinking through her thick goggles.  "Is that... red stuff...?"

"It's blood, alright," Josho said with a nod.

"Yoo've gotta be pullin' mah leg!" Prowse exhaled.  "What's left ay them!"

"I'm no stranger to evisceration, buddy," Josho muttered.  "I've seen my fair share.  And not only is that blood..."  He pointed, speaking in a low tone.  "But that stuff is pretty fresh."

"Fresh?!" Pilate remarked.

"At least a damn sight fresher than hundreds of years, or whatever the Hell we're dealing with when it comes to Rainbow's ancestor here."

"She's not my ancestor," Rainbow grumbled.

"Ya sure about that, bright eyes?"

Rainbow said nothing.

"Whit in th' nam ay hay stalks coods hae leaked bluid oan th' ootwith ay thes tomb?!" Prowse exclaimed.

"I've got an even better question," Josho said.  "What would have bled on only one word and one word in particular?"

'You're certain of that, Josho?" Pilate asked.

"I wish you could see it for yourself, buddy," Josho grunted.  "It's that last word—'hold.'  The thing's practically soaking in it, almost as if it's highlighted."

"Perhaps..."  Elma fidgeted as she thought aloud, "Perhaps there's a purpose to that."

"Like what?" Props asked.

Rainbow Dash was already hovering higher from the tomb, rubbing her chin.  Blinking, she pivoted about and faced the center of the large, round room.  The floor was covered in wavering light from the refracting rainwater against the glass dome above.  In the very center was the round stone, surrounded by the many vertical rods with black shards on their ends.

Narrowing her eyes, Rainbow flew over, staring straight down at the round stone.

Elma shuffled past Pilate and stood beneath Rainbow.  "It's... it's the same shape as this building," the turtle said.  "The stone, that is."

"Right... Which makes sense," Rainbow said.  "'Cuz all of the rods around it control the obeslisks floating throughout Stratopolis."

"But... why is this so important at the moment?"

Suddenly, Rainbow smirked.  She pointed at one spot on top of the circular stone.  "That's why."

Elma Boreal squinted.  She blinked in surprise.  Meanwhile, Josho shuffled over, staring at the same spot.  "Blood," the old stallion said.  "Just as bright as the stain on Hurricane's tomb."

"Ew, really?" Props remarked, squirming.

"Whit dae ye suppose 'at means?" Prowse asked.

Rainbow glanced at the others.  She smirked.  "Wanna bet that's where a certain pegasus 'hold' is located?"

Everyone exchanged glances, save Pilate, of course.

"What are you suggesting, Dashie?" Props asked.

Rainbow Dash was already counting the number of rods between the stained part of the circular stone and the staff that had been pulled all the way towards the center of the room.  "I'm suggesting..."  She flapped her wings harder and flew towards the corresponding corridor leading out of the chamber.  "...that we go see what happened to Hurricane's 'children's children...'"





The trip through the heart of the building took a great deal longer than Rainbow Dash had anticipated.  The temple suddenly felt ten times larger on the inside than it looked on the outside, and with each twist and turn that the group made, their ears constantly popped from the varying pockets of pressurized air being funneled in and out by the turbulent weather outside.

"Forgive me for voicing my pessimism," Elma murmured.  "But is there even a point to this venture?"  She fidgeted, her shell rattling.  "This place departed Rainbow's homeland eons ago.  What are the chances that any of her pegasus forebearers would still be alive, guarding this place?"

"You saw the blood on the tomb and the rock," Josho said, walking at the head of the group with his shining horn.  "Whatever left that marker for us had to have been here recently."

"How recently would you estimate?"

"Recently enough to make me believe we're not the only ones holed up in here," Josho said.  "Wouldn't you agree, Pilate?"

"To be honest, Mr. Josho, I'm rather lost."  The zebra gulped and leaned on the obese stallion in mid-stride.  "Rainbow?  What are you thinking of this moment?"

"I'm thinking that whatever's in this 'Hold,' alive or dead, it's the next best way to getting answers about this place."  Rainbow took a deep breath.  "If Commander Hurricane chose to die here, it had to have been for a darn good reason.  She likely brought a bunch of important secrets to her grave.  Such as what she was truly guarding.  And—more importantly—how to get rid of this place once and for all."

"'Get rid of this place?'" Pilate stammered.  "Why, whatever for, Rainbow?"

"I know you can't see this place with your own eyes, Stripsey, but trust me.  It's bad news.  All of it.  Between all of the crashed zeppelins and the creepy murals and the plain deadness of each and every hallway..."  Rainbow Dash shuddered, her teeth showing.

"Something the matter, Dashie?" Props asked.

"Yeah..."  Rainbow muttered.  "I haven't felt this creeped out about a place since Silvadel."  She gulped as she down the tight hallway.  "Hurricane's stone isn't the only burial site.  I think this whole city is one giant floating tomb, and we all flew right into the heart of it.  I wanna get us out of here.  But, more importantly, I wanna make sure that I make it so that no more ponies—or even Lounge—get stuck here ever again."

"How do you intend to do that?" Elma asked.

"I'm not sure.  One thing at a time, Myrtle."

"Ah keep thinkin' an' thinkin'," Prowse muttered.  "Whit dae ye suppose 'at 'Sword ay Solstice' is 'at th' grave's words spoke abit?"

"Beats the heck out of me," Rainbow said.

"Yoo're th' a body pony 'at knows anythin' abit commander hurricane," Prowse remarked.  "Yoo're tellin' me yoo've nae scooby abit thes bludy 'gift ay righteoosness' naf?"

Rainbow squinted aside.  "Why's it a big deal all of the sudden?"

"Everypony, head's up!"  Josho exclaimed, holding a hoof out as he stopped in his racks.  "Something's in front of us!"

"Wh-what is it?" Pilate remarked.

Rainbow Dash hovered in place, squinting ahead.  She brought a hoof up to her pendant and gave it a circular stroke.  A ruby spotlight formed in front of her, illuminating the jagged edges of a thick barricade constructed out several random zeppelin parts and metal engine chunks.

"Holy sprockets..."  Props exhaled out loud.  "Take a look at that, Unky Prowsy!"  She glanced aside, smiling a dumb smile.  "It's like an airship vomited all over the place!"

"Mair loch a dizzen different airships, Propsicle," Prowse remarked.  "An' gantin ones, tae bit."

"I..."  Josho blinked, wincing in confusion.  "I-I don't think pegasi did this."

"Me neither," Rainbow Dash said.  She flew towards the wall of junk and gave it a light shove... then a strong, budging shoulder.  "Nnnngh..."  She leaned back, panting.  "The stuff is packed dense.  Whoever did this, they wanted to keep us out."

"Us?" Pilate asked.  "Or something else entirely?"

Silence.

"Well, what now?" Elma asked.

"I don't know about you guys, but I didn't come down all the way here just to bump my head against a wall of turds."  Josho cracked the joints in his neck and glowed his horn brighter.  "I say we make ourselves at home."

"Ponies, please..."  Pilate shifted nervously.  "There's gotta be another solution."

"Just what, exactly?" Rainbow Dash smirked.  "I'm not a fan of being stuck here forever, Stripsey.  If there're answers to this place in that 'Hold,' then I'm all for kicking the door down.  Whatever it takes to get us out of here."

"Remember..."  Elma gulped.  "We've got the Lounge on our tails."

"Perhaps, but—"  Pilate began.

"No more horsing around."  Josho gently pushed the zebra back so that he had a clear view of the barrier.  "Let's get this over with."

"Fancy tearin' 'at wall doon oan yer lonesome, buddy?" Prowse asked.

"I could certainly use a hand, if you catch my drift."

"Consider it caught, locked, an' loaded."  Clak-clak-clak!  Prowse converted his left metal prosthetic into a cannon and aimed at the barricade.  "Oan yer mark."

Josho's horn glowed brighter and brighter as he braced himself beside the bearded stallion.  "Three... two... one... Shoot!"

KAPOW!  A fiery salvo was launched at the barricade, a projectile accelerated by Josho's thunderously powerful telekinesis.  In a bright burst, the discharge utterly obliterated the thick layer of metal bits in front of the group.  Josho's telekinesis switched on, sheltering the group from flying bits of shrapnel.

At last, as the dust and thunder cleared, Rainbow Dash flew ahead, shining beams of ruby light through the settling haze.  Not far beyond the blasted chunk in the metal wall, the thin corridor opened into a wide chamber with a low ceiling.  It felt as if they had descended into the basement of the round structure, and the marble walls were suddenly replaced with craggy brick and ancient mortar.  What's more...

"Light..."  Props murmured allowed.  "I see torchlight!"

"Torchlight?"  Pilate remarked, hobbling after Josho.

"What in heaven's name is this place?" Elma asked.

Rainbow gulped, flying slowly, cautiously ahead of the group.  "Uhm... h-hello?"  Her voice echoed ahead of their trotting limbs.  "Hello?!  Is anypony there?"  She fidgeted in midair, feeling her heartbeat in her neck and mouth muscles.  "Any... fly-flying ponies, perhaps?"

"Rainbow..."  Pilate breathily murmured.

"Don't..."  Elma winced, reptilian eyes darting back and forth against the brick walls.  "D-don't like this..."

"Rainbow, I-I think maybe we should—"

"There!"  Josho rasped.

Rainbow turned to look.  A shadow had darted in the torchlight from around the corner.  It was swiftly followed by two more shadows, then the sound of limbs splashing in shallow puddles.  Then silence.

Rainbow Dash hovered in place, holding her breath.  She held a hoof out, signaling mutely for Josho to hold his position.

He nodded, levitating his shotgun by his side.  He kept it trained on the corner while Rainbow Dash hovered slowly around, eyes locked on the turn in the mortar-constructed partition.  At last, she entered an adjacent temple, eyes squinting.

Several metal barrels were lit with continuously flickering flames.  What's more, tattered canvas tarps hung over rusted aluminum lean-tos.  There were metal chests spilling over with moldy rations, engine pieces, and blunt weapons.  In a far corner—smelling with a rank stench—was a makeshift lavatory.

Rainbow's lips pursed.  She turned and looked towards another part of the chamber.  She saw several sleeping mats lying back to back.  "Just... h-how many ponies are holed up in here—?!"

P-Pow!  A crossbolt ricocheted off the wall to her side.

She spun, dove low, and skidded to a stop on grinding hooves.  Less than a second later, several bright beams were being projected across her muzzle.  She gritted her teeth, squinting into a series of bright lights.

"Hold it right there, monster!"

"Rekkha mensruhmmen trenna drawlt!"

"Hranna thiul drenna dien!"

"That's as far as you go!"

Rainbow became vaguely aware of equine shapes pouring out of the darkness with every manner of weapon trained on her petite figure.

"Look!"  Rainbow's voice cracked.  "We got stuck here!  We just came to figure out what's going on in this place—"

A metal weapon cocked loudly.  "A likely story!  Back to the shadows, shape-shifter!"

Rainbow blinked into the blinding light.  "Shape-shifter?!"

"You heard me!"  One shadow moved closer, the blinding light staring Rainbow down.  "If you came here hauling more victims in, you'd best toss them into the Wastes!  It'd be doing them a favor!"

"The heck are you even talking about—"

Bl-Blam!  A blast rang out from behind Rainbow Dash, followed by two more successive shots.

One by one, the bright beams broke off from Rainbow as Josho charged in, expertly blasting the weapons out of the ponies' grips.  Rainbow saw haggard stallions and mares stumbling in the muzzle flash.  Two squatted low, firing levitating crossbows in a return volley.

Josho ducked, rolled to the side, and fired at a metal shack besides the pair.  The structure shattered, spilling over the gasping duo as they succumbed to the weight.

Three tattooed ponies galloped up with levitating scimitars.

"Uh uh!"  Josho swiveled, cocking his shotgun with a menacing glare.  "Any closer and you'll be drowning in mana!"

The warriors skidded to a stop, gritting their teeth and hyperventilating.  Their limbs were thin, their faces pale and emaciated beneath their swirling coat patterns.

"Friggin' Xonans..."  Josho sneered, stepping closer to Rainbow Dash's side while keeping his weapon trained on the mysterious group.  "Why does it always have to be Xonans?"

"Thanks for the save, big buddy," Rainbow muttered as he flapped her wings and hovered again.  "But let's take a moment to survey the situation..."

"What's to survey?"  Josho grumbled.  "It's a den of snakes.  Plain and simple."

"Look, will you friggin' put your testosterone on the shelf for a single Celestia-bucking moment?!"

"Mehkshuul thiul rannadren, Ledomulien trenna tanne!" one warrior spat.

"Rainbow?!  Josho?!"  Pilate hobbled in with Props and Elma.  "What's going on here?!  And..."  He gulped.  "...did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

"How many are in this place?" Elma murmured.

"I..."  Rainbow stammered, her eyes widening as more and more bodies shuffled out of the shadows.  "I-I can't tell.  Dozens?  A hundred?"

"Everypony, just calm down," a stallion's voice said from where he trotted into the torchlight, helping ponies up to their hooves—tattooed and not.  "Look, they can't all be shape-shifters!  Look, one of them's using telekinesis!"

"Hey!"  Josho shouted at the pony in question.  "I'm the one with the shotgun here!  Stop moving, dammit!"

"Don't you get it?!"  the stallion shouted back.  "We're on the same side!"

"How do you know that?!" sputtered a shivering mare from the shadows.  "It's a trick!  Just like before!"

"They're trying to ensnare us!" another stammered.

"Menna'sethulienna masta'ranna drenna'dennu trenna'sien," spoke a rather large Xonan in the center of the group, frowning.  "Feluusen mara'ttan clennu Lasairfion Xon-Nagu'n."

"Will you relax, Arcshod?!  They're not here for her!  Can't you see they're just as confused as we are?!"

Rainbow's head jerked at that.  Her mouth hung agape as she stared at the tall Xonan currently scowling at her.  "I've... I've seen him before... but..."  Blinking, she glanced towards the very rear of the room.  A tall, slender mare with a pronounced horn and a flowing mane peered out from the shadows.  As soon as Rainbow's eyes made contact, a thick line of tattooed ponies formed a tight, protective circle around her.  "No friggin' way..."

"Please, everypony just calm down..."  The stallion stepped away from Arcshod, waving his forelimbs.  He was an earth pony with a shaved mane and a dirty blue coat covered in several places with dark spots.  "There's no need for all the gun-waving.  Let's just have a talk and—"  He froze in place, gawking at Rainbow Dash's wings.  "A... fly-flying pony?"

Several ponies murmured in the distance.

"Rekkha seniul brenna surumm threatta!"

"She's one of th-them!  She has to b-be!"

"The storm brought her to finish us all off!"

"I didn't come to finish anypony off!" Rainbow shouted.

"For Ledo's sake!"  Josho hissed, staring down his shotgun.  "Will somepony just tell us what you're all doing here?!"

"That's a very good question, old friend."

Josho twitched, his pupils shrinking at the very sound of the voice.  His head cocked to the side.

A frail figure limped out of the shadows.  "Just what are you doing here?"  An old stallion stood, his thin face squinting under a fine mane of silken gray hairs.  "Of all the places for you to show up after all these years—a forsaken city of floating death traps in the middle of the frozen wastes?"  He slowly shook his head.  "It's far too great a coincidence.  Arcshod's right to be paranoid.  You're nothing but imposters."

Josho's mouth hung agape.  "Secchy...?!"

Seclorum breathed melancholically.  "If only it were truly you, old friend."

"This is bullshit..."  Josho snarled, then shouted, "I watched you die!"

"How dare you."  Seclorum's eyes narrowed over a frowning muzzle.  "You've used fascimiles of my very own soldiers against me.  But this?"  He shook his head.  "This is simply pathetic."  He glanced aside at the other ponies.  "Go ahead and shoot them."

"No!"  The blue stallion shouted at his cohorts before they could scramble for their makeshift crossbows.  "No more blood!  Let's try to make sense of this!"

"Enough talk, Aatxe!" Seclorum growled.  "You're a nice kid, but not a very bright one!  Can't you see they're spitting in our faces!"

"We're not trying to spit at anypony!"  Props exclaimed, stepping ahead of Elma.  "Honest!  Trust a mare who's worked alongside a handsome elk!  We're totally and utterly spit free!"

"Pr-Propsicle...?"

Props gasped sharply.  Her goggled eyes blurred towards the side.

A frail shape hobbled out of the shadows.  Coming into the light, a stallion with a pale coat and scarlet stubble stood before her, leaning on a crutch.  "Is... is that you, m-my niece?"

Rainbow Dash blinked, then glanced down at Props.

The blonde mare peeled her goggles up, staring wide-eyed.  "Unky Prowsy...?"

The stallion blinked blearily at her across the torchlight, his eyes glistening.

Gaping, Props mewled, "But... but..."  She spun around, shivering.

Elma, Josho, and Rainbow spun with her.

"... ... ..."  Professor Prowse stared back at the group.  He was silent and still... until a wicked grin flashed across his face.  "Hnnngh!"  With a flash of green fire, he jumped backwards, tossing his metal prosthetic like a club.  It rattled on the floor in between everypony, where it proceeded to emit a high-pitched whine beneath the sound of retreating dragonfly wings.

Before Props could shout, Seclorum was dashing forward, grabbing her in two forelimbs and tossing the two of them behind a stack of metal crates.  "Everypony, get down—!"

"Crud—!"  Josho plowed into Pilate's and Elma's sides.

The chamber filled with flame and shrapnel.  Ponies screamed in various tongues, diving out of the way of the concussive force of the exploding prosthetic.  Rainbow Dash's wings caught the full brunt of the vaporously heated air.  She flew backwards, breathless, and slammed hard into a brick wall.  When she collapsed, layers upon layers of stone crumbled along with her, utterly blocking the hallway they used to get there and filling the entire interior with soot and dust.

Then all was blackness.