//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 - Change Of Priorities // Story: Denuo Fortuna // by Firecaller //------------------------------// Chapter 29 - Change of Priorities Twilight rolled the map back up. “Okay girls, Greywing, I think we’re ready to go now.” “Finally!” Rainbow jumped off her cloud, gliding down and landing next to Twilight. “I think somepony is eager to go.” She nodded towards Sunbeam. Sunbeam had seated herself a little way from the rest, to a point where she had a clear view of the road out of town. A single ear turning to face Rainbow was the only movement from the mare. Sunbeam’s gaze didn’t leave the road. “Yes! I am eager to leave as soon possible. I find myself uneasy being around ponies who are currently still celebrating the killing of Icefang. What’s more...” Twilight and Rainbow could see her tense up, a glow forming around her horn. “Two contacts, moving quickly, heading along the road towards us.” Twilight’s eyes widened at Sunbeam’s sudden monotone voice. Sunbeam watched them calmly, ignoring whatever Twilight was saying to her now. ‘Two escaping? Or merely the ones out front, leading the rest towards us? Just aim for the moment. If the rest follow I’ll be ready. May slow the others down seeing those two being retired in front of their eyes.’ Sunbeam’s head lowered. Still seated, her fore legs spread a little wider. Twilight was still speaking to her. ‘Aim at centre of mass. Lead first target to the right to account for it’s apparent lateral movement. No atmospheric conditions I need to compensate for. Steady the breathing, slow the heart rate...’ Pinkie jumped onto Sunbeam’s back, wrapping her hooves around her neck. A strangled scream came from the mare as Pinkie looked over her head. “Ooo, are they racing each other?” - - - - - - - - “Tell me Rainbow. What do you see?” Applejack pointed at Sunbeam. “Umm, she’s sitting there, looking at Twilight and Greywing talking to those two?” “Like?” “Like? Like what AJ?” “Like a guard dog, waiting for the order to attack. Look at her RD, her attention is focused on those two, all coiled springs and the like. I’ll bet if one raised a hoof against them, it’ll be the last thing they ever did.” “Umm. Actually, now you mention it…” Rainbow rubbed her chin for a moment before she turned and pointed a hoof at Applejack. “Actually, AJ, how the hay did you come up with that idea?” Applejack’s shoulders slumped. “This sounds so bad. Granny has been going on and on about Sunbeam as you know. Recently though, she’s started going on about how we need a guard dog. Trouble is she always seems to end up talking about Sunbeam afterwards. Darned if I’m not starting to associate the two.” Rainbow gave Applejack a confused look. “Is this about Winona? Is she okay? She looked fine to me last time I saw her.” “She’s fine sugar, thanks for askin’, but we all know she’s getting on in years. At least Granny has never mentioned her directly. But that’s what I think Granny’s been on about. Replacing her when…” Applejack cleared her throat. Rainbow put a foreleg around Applejack’s shoulders. Try as she might she couldn’t find anything to say. Twilight walking over got their attention. “Okay girls, this here is Sleepy Skies,” the pegasus nodded, “and Lucky Roll.” The unicorn waved. “They were in town when… something unpleasant happened that nopony wants to talk about it appears.” Sleepy Skies, Lucky Roll, and Sunbeam all looked uncomfortable. Lucky Roll shivered. “I’ve never seen… it was… ugh! What the hay did Icefang do to them to warrant that? It must have been...” She shook her head. “Anyway, as I said to Twilight here, we left town in a hurry and left most of our supplies behind. Neither of us is particularly keen to go back into town right now so we wondered if we could travel with you for a bit. Strength in numbers kinda thing. We’re heading in the same direction for a while. Once we reach the crossroads we’ll be close to home, then we’ll be on different paths.” Twilight glanced at Applejack, who gave the slightest of nods back. “Well girls, I said I’d ask you to see what you all think.” Rarity spoke up. “If I may, it is only a short distance to the crossroads and we are heading that way anyway. Expecting these two to go all alone along these dangerous roads… I simply wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror if anything happened.” A round of nods and sounds of agreements with Rarity’s statement followed. Greywind simply shrugged. Sunbeam just kept her gaze locked onto the two newcomers. - - - - - - - - - The track wound it’s way up the side of the mountain. To the left, far below was an almost solid canopy of green trees, broken up only by small patches of the deep blue of lakes. Rainbow, well aware of mountain cross-winds and sudden downbursts, had forgone flying and was walking next to Applejack, deep in thought. “AJ, I’ve been thinking…” “Ooh, that’s never good Rainbow.” A playful slap on her shoulder made Applejack smile. “I’m being serious here. If Greywing is right about Sunbeam being… well, you know…” Applejack nodded. “When she rescued the Crusaders, would any other pony have been able to save them? I mean from Ponyville. Think about it, if she is… and has… and still got hurt doing it. What chance would any other pony have had? I mean apart for me of course.” This time Rainbow got the slap. They both turned to look at Sunbeam. At the back of the group, she was walking next to Greywing. Applejack had noted that every so often, at irregular intervals, she’d suddenly look over her shoulder. Applejack shook her head. ‘Darn it Granny! You’ve gone and put the thought in my head now. Besides, would we want a guard that can… that has...’ Her mental response came back in Granny’s voice. ‘You’ve seen what critters from the Everfree can do. You’ve had to clean up the mess when they get in more than once. You really want a guard that couldn’t stop them? You need a guard that can do what is necessary to protect others. One that -can- kill.’ Applejack nodded to herself. ‘I suppose thats right…’ Her eyes widened. "Hey AJ, you okay?” Applejack turned to look at a concerned looking Rainbow. “You look like you’re gonna throw up.” “Rainbow… I think I’m a bad pony.” - - - - - - - - - Walking back towards the office from lunch, Lieutenant Broom immediately noted a lack of work-related noise coming from the office. ‘I told them they need to be working constantly while in the office.’ His thoughts derailed though at the sight of the empty office. The two rows of desks sat vacant, the door to his office hung open. A white unicorn sat at his desk, a levitated quill writing away. Marching into his office, his eyes fixed on the unicorn, he pointed a hoof at the interloper. “Who do you think… Captain Armour!” Pulling himself to attention, he saluted the Captain-of-the-Guard. Seconds passed, the Lieutenant holding the salute while Captain Armour continued writing, the scratching of the quill the only sound in the office. Finally looking up at the Lieutenant, Shining gave him the briefest of nods and looked back down at the report he was writing. Dropping the salute, the Lieutenant stood at attention, waiting for Shining to address him. The scratching of the quill continued. His attention switched to Short Notice as he stood behind the desk with the Captain. “Sir?” Without looking up Shining gestured to a nervous looking Corporal behind the Lieutenant on his left. The same Corporal that had brought the deployment orders to Lieutenant Broom’s attention. Shining’s voice made the Lieutenant jump. “You know Lieutenant, I was given a task. A task I was expecting to take weeks. A task I was expecting to uncover conspiracies and enemy agents. Imagine my surprise that the first line of inquiry provides an answer so quickly. All I had to do was follow the trail to the end.” Shining looked at the Lieutenant, then pointedly at the waste paper bin next to the desk. Lieutenant Broom glared at the Corporal, who shrunk back at the look. Leaning back, Shining watched the Lieutenant intently. “Corporal, you are dismissed.” “Sir!” Saluting the Corporal turned left the office in a brisk march. “Close the door on the way out Corporal.” “Sir.” Closing the door, Corporal Mayner placed a hoof on his chest and let out a deep sigh. ‘The horseapples is going to hit the fan on this one. I just hope...’ “Corporal… Mayner?” Jumping, the Corporal looked up. Pulling himself together, he belatedly saluted the pegasus Lieutenant holding a clipboard in front of him. The Lieutenant smiled at the Corporal, which did nothing to improve the Corporal’s nerves. “Don’t worry Corporal, you are not in any trouble. In fact certain ponies are very impressed at your efforts. That you were able to identify all those separate orders, then put them together into a single coherent pattern, impressive. Especially considering the time and effort put into trying to bury them. Those same ponies feel that your talents are not being fully utilized in this office.” The Lieutenant turned to leave. “Walk with me Corporal.” - - - - - - - - - Shining let the silence stretch out uncomfortably long before addressing the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant…?” “Broom, Broom Handle. Sir.” Shining nodded. “Ahh, would you be related to the ‘Handle’ line of military officers?” Lifting his head up in pride, the Lieutenant nodded before answering. “Sir, yes sir. I am the son of Colonel Sword Handle.” Short Notice leaned in and whispered into Shining’s ear. “The Colonel was one of the many senior officers that resigned at the formation of the Lunar Guard. Stating that Princess Luna would… well, you know. Their departure assisted your rapid ascent up the ranks and enabled your restructuring of the guard.” Shining nodded, momentarily distracted. He still had so much to do in that regard. He leaned sideways to get a better look at the Lieutenant’s cutie mark. “Tell me Lieutenant, did your father have anything to do with your being in the guard?” “Sir, he said that all ‘Handles’ go into the guard. And all become officers, sir.” Shining nodded, still staring at the Lieutenant's cutie mark. A broom sweeping dust into a dustpan. “I see.” Shining sat up straight again, looking the Lieutenant in the eye. “Tell me, in your own words, why you thought it best to dispose of those written orders.” “Sir, they weren't signed.” The silence continued. “I see… is that the only reason?” “Sir, any good officer needs to show initiative. My father drummed that into me. The fact they were going to the Lunar Guard and had no Solar Guard stipulated to escort them, I considered to be too dangerous a situation sir. Any orders regarding the Lunar Guard need to be strictly enforced and regulated sir. Last thing anypony needs is a bunch of Lunar guards on the loose, without some Solar guards holding their leash... I mean supervising them sir. Due to them being… well you know.” Shining glanced behind him. Short Notice winced A voice behind him whispered into his right ear. “Being what?” Lieutenant Broom jumped as his head shot round. A youngish looking thestral mare stood behind him with an eyebrow cocked. He would have thought her attractive if she hadn’t been what she was. She’d been leaning on the wall behind him when he’d stormed into the office and hadn’t noticed her. She pulled on her collar of her uniform, pushing the markings of a major towards him. “Don’t I get a salute… Lieutenant?” Eyes wide in fear, he snapped off a text-book salute. “M-m-ma’am. No disrespect.” She smiled at him… displaying her fangs. “I believe the major asked you a question, Lieutenant,” Shining stated. Broom stood there, opening and closing his mouth, but no sound coming out. Her smile continued, showing her fangs to full effect. “Perhaps you think we’re all vamponies? Humm.” She tapped her chin. “Or perhaps its to do with the fact we swear fealty to Princess Luna, then to Celestia?” She tilted her head to one side. Both her ears fell to the sides, her face becoming sad. “Or is it simply because we are the ponies that failed the ‘Dangerous Ponies Test’? That small percentage of ponies considered too dangerous to stay in Equestria. The ones considered to be foal-eaters… Unfit to stay in Equestria. The ones that Princess Luna herself gave another chance so we could stay in Equestria. The only group that is truly combat effective. The one group that gets do all of Equestria's dirty work. And even then we have to look like this….” She spread a bat like wing. “So ponies can tell us apart from… normal… ponies.” She stared at the wing for moment. “Personally, I quite like the look.” “Sir, I must request that the major respects my personal space, as stated in limitations of Lunar Guard, regulations concerning....” Shining’s hoof slamming down on the table silenced the Lieutenant. The major walked back to the wall where she had been, a smirk growing on her face. “Of course, if you want, I could leave.” “You are to stay Major.” Shining snapped. Standing up, he walked around the desk and up the Lieutenant, a piece of paper floating next to him. “Lieutenant Broom, let me inform you of the personnel your initiative has affected. The following personnel are now operating without escort, outside our sphere of influence, and now all contact has been lost with them.” Shining looked down at the sheet of paper. “A Miss Sunbeam. Any idea who that is?” The Lieutenant shook his head. “A sergeant Greywing… still no? How about a Miss… Applejack?” The Lieutenant gave him a puzzled look. “A Miss Rarity, a Miss Fluttershy, a Miss Pinkie Pie…” The Lieutenant’s eyes had grown larger, his pupils shrinking, as the list continued. “Wonderbolt Cadet Flight-Leader Rainbow Dash… A Miss Twilight…” Shining looked down at the sheet of paper. “Oh, I’m sorry I misread that. Princess Twilight….” Shining leaned in close to Lieutenant Broom’s ear, not even looking at the sheet this time. “I’m sorry, I misread that again. I of course mean... My! Little! Sister!” Whatever colour Lieutenant Broom had left on his face, left. Shining leaned back, his eyes burning. “The major is here at my request Lieutenant. She is here to ensure you even get to the court-marshall. She is here to protect you from me.” - - - - - - - - - Walking into the campsite, Sleepy Skies smiled when he saw a pink rock by the treeline. Nudging Lucky Roll, he nodded towards it. She smiled too when she saw it. Any of the others who had seen it gave it little thought. ‘Good, our message got through. The others should be magically hidden close by.’ He looked around at the others as they made their tents and cooking fire. Twilight was talking to Applejack, Rarity hiding an unladylike snigger behind a hoof at some comment Pinkie-Pie had made. Fluttershy and Rainbow were tending to the fire while Greywing and Sunbeam were putting up tents. ‘Tomorrow they will wake up as magical assets and initiates. The grey pegasus will make a good guard. No idea what we’re going to do with Small-Fry though. She looks like guard potential, but with that low reserve of magic… I hope for her sake she doesn’t end up as just a plaything for the guards. Mind you, after indoctrination she’d do anything willingly if told so.’ - - - - - - - - - The group sat around the campfire, the dried food bought in town had been made more palatable by some herbs Fluttershy had found around the campsite. Levitating a cup of coffee up, Sunbeam noted Twilight sitting down next to her. “How are you? I mean about the...” Twilight gestured at Sunbeam’s horn. “Most ponies would be a little...” Twilight pondered her choice of words. “‘Freaked out’ I believe would be the most relevant terminology.” Sunbeam gave Twilight a half smile. “I’m fine. I feel I have settled the matter.” Reaching up, she ran a hoof tip down the horn on the side without the notch. “Doesn’t affect my casting, Can’t even tell its there. So how long are you going to be staying a unicorn?” Blinking at the sudden change of direction in the conversation, Twilight stammered out a response. “For the rest of the mission I suppose. Keeps things simple. Ummm… And how’s your back?” Sunbeam’s smile faltered for a second. “Oh, the dye… It’ll last for a bit longer.” Her head spun round, eyeing her back. “Trouble is the damn stuff bleaches out so quick I’ve giving up trying to keep it dyed a long time ago. Most dyes are meant for normal fur...” Sunbeam suddenly stood up. “Well, I’m tired now, gonna turn in, cya all in the morning.” With that, Sunbeam headed off to her bedroll. Twilight stared curiously after her. ‘Humm… ‘Normal fur’.’ - - - - - - - - Sunbeam stared up at the night sky. Most of the others had turned in, just Greywing and Lucky Roll were still up, seated next to the campfire. Her eyes wouldn’t close, not that she was even trying. She reached her hoof and slid it’s tip down the length of her horn. On the side with the notch this time. Click. A jolt ran through her body at the sound. Click. Another jolt. Click. Her mouth opened and closed as she stared upwards, but no sound came out. Click. Click. Click. - - - - - - - - - The minister levitated the book over his desk toward him. Doctor Inquisitive shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “And where did you find this?” “As you requested, we were going through all the old paperwork and files we could when a junior technician found it. It was behind some old accounting records. I recognised the name on the inside.” “Ahh, yes, Doctor Far Sight. His death was unfortunate. Such a waste of potential.” The minister flipped through the book. “This appears to be a journal. Has anypony else looked through it?” “No. As soon as I saw the name I brought it straight to you. He must have been using the accounting records office for some peace and quiet. I seem to recall he did stuff like that.” “You are to be commended for doing so Doctor. Any of his work is considered vital to The Clan. Ahh, good, the dates in here correspond to the dates when he started his investigation into why the Dagger of Rites stopped working. Let's see.” The minister knew the relevant dates off by heart and flipped through the journal. ‘Nothing unusual on the date itself… let's try a few days later… ahh yes.’ ‘...Called into the minister’s office...’ “Ah, must be referring to my predecessor.” He continued reading. ‘...Why hasn’t anypony else been notified? The entire Clan should be made aware of this. The Dagger of Rites has stopped working… Without a steady supply of Amulets, we will eventually be left defenseless against the Day and Night Princesses. I must throw myself fully into this, the safety of the Clan is at stake.’ The minister skipped forward a few entries, making a mental note to read the journal in full later. ‘...This is most odd. The last functional Amulet shows no sign of deterioration or corruption. The first one to fail shows a total failure. Usually, there is an intervening event...’ The minister skipped forward to a new date he knew well. ‘...How could? The mind boggles. What was Listed Scrolls thinking? Icefang had passed the Rite, she was a full member of the Clan… How could he do such a thing? The Clan is in uproar, the clamor for him to be dishonourably retired is huge…’ The minister scanned a few more entries. “Aha.” ‘...I’ve noticed a discrepancy in the dates. Icefang could not have passed the Rite on the date given. Working backwards, her attempt on the Rite would fall right in between the last working amulet and the first failure. Could hers be the cross-over event? I will visit her in hospital and attempt to scan her amulet to get an image of its spell matrix...’ The minister started on the next entry. ‘...I saw Icefang today. On a side note, the hospital staff are confident she will recover, physically at least. It has been decreed that Listed Scrolls is to be held indefinitely, to be retired at Icefang’s pleasure. Regardless, I scanned her amulet. I will begin testing on the results tomorrow...’ “Come on doctor, let's hear what you found.” The minster flipped the page over. ‘...Icefang went missing last night! The orderlies found her bed empty this morning. The doctors in charge have stated concerns about her health. As they have repaired most of the physical damage at this point, I feel they are not referring to corporeal injuries. Emotions aside, Icefang’s departure is more of a disaster to the Clan than others might realize. I have completed a preliminary set of tests on the images of Icefang’s amulet. It -is- the cross-over event.’ The minister smiled. “Don’t leave in suspense Doctor. Let us hear what went wrong, give us a clue to what we can do to get the damned dagger working again.” ‘...Without a doubt, Icefang’s amulet was a magically pre-charged item when the Dagger was used on it. Which resulted in a several random and unfortunate events. First off, as far as I can see, Icefang’s Amulet has all the necessary spell matrices on it. BUT with the pre-existing (and conflicting school of,) magical charge on it, it is being prevented from initializing properly. (See lab notes. Ref: IF - A/2) Second, part of the spell matrix from the Dagger itself jumped over TO Icefang’s Amulet in the process. While this should have little-to-no effect on the operation of Icefang’s Amulet, if it was working that is, the effect on the Dagger’s operation is total-failure. (Lab note ref: IF - D/1) The question remains would it be possible to transplant the missing matrix back onto the Dagger? (See lab note: Amulet - 1) Probably I feel. However, this does give rise to several questions. Why wasn’t Icefang’s selection of amulet checked before the dagger was used on it? This is a known (if unlikely) event. Not only is the equipment available to scan and prevent such a thing, it is actually required to be used! Of course such equipment logs each time it is used and on what… If somepony didn’t want there to be records... The fact that the Rite was performed and not recorded properly; that the usual safety protocols were bypassed… It is a common suspicion that Scrolls was not working alone. That he could NOT have covered up all this by himself. All this, but towards what end? l will go see the minister himself tomorrow. Present my findings, show him how critical it is to get Icefang back, to show him that Icefang’s Amulet is the cross-over event. It can also prove that it wasn’t created when the record shows. It supports the idea that the records must have been altered to hide the actual date of Icefang’s attempt on the rite. Only somepony high up could do that. With the current feeling in the Clan is such as it is, it would easily see whoever the pony(ies) are, dishonourably retired. Hopefully, these facts should be enough for him to order a Clan wide investigation.’ The minister flipped the page over… then several more. There were no further entries. He closed his eyes before addressing the Doctor before him. A slight tremble in the voice was the only indication of the fury inside. “I believe the Doctor Far Sight died in a laboratory fire, is that correct? Can I also take it all his laboratory notes were lost as well?” “Yes to both, that was why it was such a loss. The minister ordered that any notes in his home be brought before him. To see if there was anything he could recover from them, personally. It was inspiring, the time and effort he put in going through them, all by himself. Unfortunately, all records were lost. The minster even gave Doctor Far Sight an honourable mention in the records.” The minister stood up. “Thank you Doctor, I shall be personally commending you and all involved. The information in here is indeed vital to the Clan. There is now a lot of work to do, so if you would be so kind…” “Of course minister.” As the doctor turned to leave he gestured for his secretary to come in and close the door behind the Doctor. As the door closed, he stood up and stormed back and forth behind his desk. “How could he? He put himself above the good of the Clan! He endangered the Clan!” He pointed a hoof at his secretary. “I retired my predecessor myself… I should have made it dishonorable. I want him to be retrospectively dishonoured on all counts! Is that clear?” “Y-yes minister.” Sitting he calmed himself down. “I apologise for my outburst. We need to send quite a few messages. Cancel all other non-critical appointments for the foreseeable future. And please schedule an emergency meeting of all ministerial heads as soon as possible.” - - - - - - - - To: Hidden Strike ( 2 I.C. Mission Ice-Breaker ) From: ACORN Mission update: New information has resulted in a change of mission priorities. Return of Icefang, while still High Priority, is now SECONDARY mission objective. Retrieval of Icefang’s Amulet-of-Passage is now PRIMARY mission objective. Its retrieval is considered to be of CRITICAL importance to Clan. High probability that current mission leader will be emotionally compromised if Primary and Secondary objectives come into conflict. You are authorized to assume full control of mission if so. All Clan, non-critical, standing orders are rescinded for duration of mission. You are to act as you see fit to enable retrieval of Amulet back to Clan. - - - - - - - - Opening her eyes, Sunbeam found herself on her back, gazing quizzically up at the stone ceiling. Lifting her head off the floor she looked around. “Horseapples.” She whispered and let her head fall back onto the stone floor. A large stone room, with one central pillar and one very sturdy looking wooden door. Greywing was sitting down next to her, head held low, his ear flat out sideways. Several other ponies were in the room, some sitting in silence, most crying in small groups She reached up to her horn and sighed. ‘Dungeon. Yep, there it is, one inhibitor ring, unusually, it’s sitting halfway down on my horn. Huh, when did I become a connoisseur of where inhibitor rings sit on my horn? Must...’ A low-pitched warbling scream echoed through the dungeon before tailing off. The noise of Sunbeam scrambling to her feet made Greywing look around at her. “Hi Sunbeam.” He said in a flat, defeated, tone. “What the hay Greywing?” She demanded, her eyes wide, pointing at the door. “It was the unicorn. When you were all sleeping, she threw something onto the fire. Pink smoke… and then I…” He swallowed. “I woke up here a while ago. No sign of the others, just you, me and them.” He pointed to the other ponies in the dungeon. “There used to be more of them.” Tilting her head, Sunbeam made a backwards circular motion with a hoof. “They’ve been taking ponies, one at a time, for a while now. A few minutes later, a scream, then they come back for another.” “Can’t we…” “Two unicorns, and the pegasus, whatshisname, turn up every time. The pegasus picks one, one unicorn picks them up, the other holds everypony else back. They know what they are doing. I failed to protect her, them...” “Buck!” Sunbeam rubbed her face, no longer listening to Greywing. ‘I shouldn’t be here! I’m trapped again! Keep calm, panic doesn’t help. Calm… calm…’ ‘I want to go home...’ Her hoof traced down the length of her horn. Going over the inhibitor ring, over the notch. Click Greywing looked around at the loud hoof stamp. Sunbeam, head low and feet wide, was glaring at him, her lips pulled back. “This is all your bucking fault!” “What?” “You heard me! This. Is. All. Your. Fault.” Sunbeam punctuated each word with a stab of the hoof at Greywing. “I could be in bed still… Back in Ponyville. With pizza and beer. With an intact horn! But oh no. I had to be volunteered for this bucked up mission!” Already shouting, her voice grew even louder. “I’ve been hospitalized by a pony pretending to be me, find myself running in terror from a bunch of townsfolk doing unspeakable things to a body they also think is me! And to cap it off, I nearly had my bucking horn amputated by some buck-wit with a grudge against me! I feel freaking out is the proper response at this point!” Sunbeam took a deep breath, her voice suddenly calm. “I have been on post-op bar crawls that were better organized than this grade-A, royal approved, buck up!” Her voice started to rise in volume again, to the point where she was screaming at Greywing. “Now I find myself stuck in a bucking dungeon… again. With an inhibitor ring… again! Awaiting a fate that includes me bucking screaming…again!” A puzzled expression formed on her face as she repeated the word quietly. “Again?” Her expression became distant as old memories flashed by, none of them fully forming. All just ghosts and suggestions of memories. Her head suddenly tilting, baring her teeth as if she was in pain, a single memory formed. ‘...P-Please stop. P-Please…’ A stuttering sob. ‘No more… Please, no more… ‘I’ll do it, I’ll do whatever you say. Just no more… Please… No more. I’ll be a good little…’ The memory faded into darkness. The feelings remained: The anger and helplessness; the rage and self-loathing; the fear and the hate. All coalescing into a single word. Sunbeam slowly opened her eyes, but her view was of the past. Her lips curled back even further as her entire body started to tremble in fury. She pointed a hoof at Greywing. She hissed a single word out. “Scrolls.” Greywing took a step back. Her head lowered, pointing her horn at him. Greywing backed into the central pillar. Her eyes never left him. Even with the inhibitor ring, her horn glowed for a second. Sunbeam gave out a single scream and fell to the floor, clutching her horn. A burnt metal smell filled the air. Greywing tried to get his breathing back under control as he watched Sunbeam roll around in agony on the floor. Hesitantly he took a step towards the whimpering mare. The door slamming open made everypony, apart from Sunbeam, jump. Standing in the doorway Sleepy Skies scanned the room, stopping on Sunbeam as she rolled on the floor. He pointed to her. “Small Fry’s awake, she’s next.” An orange glow surrounded her and she was lifted off the floor. Still holding her horn, Sunbeam didn’t even notice that she was being levitated out of the dungeon. Greywing stood and watched as Sunbeam was levitated out of the door and out of sight. Sleepy Skies smiled at him. “You’ll be next soldier boy.” Turning he left the dungeon. The door slamming shut behind him. Moments later, Greywing sank to the floor, staring at the door. Lifting his hooves up, he tried to push them into his ears as hard as possible. - - - - - - - - “Twilight, hey c'mon egghead, wake up.” Twilight’s ears twitched as the words started to register. Lifting her head with a grunt of effort. Her neck twinged in pain as she did so. “Finally egghead. Been calling your name for the last ten minutes.” After several attempts Twilight was able to open her eyes, the brightness making it difficult to see as her eyes adjusted. Blinking, Twilight looked around as things started to swim into focus. She was in an alcove, just big enough her her and a pony to walk around her. Trying to get up, she found she couldn’t move. She was tied to a stone bench, lengthways. She focused on what she could see out of the alcove. It appeared to be a stone circular room. She could see seven alcoves, all set back into the wall, from her position. The analytical part of her mind swung into action. ‘If the regularity continued, that would make for twelve in total. That makes for five alcoves I can’t see into. Each alcove appears to have a bench with what looks like straps. Straps that I can assume are on my own bench, currently tying me down.’ She could see Rainbow tied to a bench in an alcove almost opposite her, with Applejack in the alcove next to her. Being set back she could only hope that the others were in the alcoves she couldn’t see into. “The others?” She croaked. Her throat was feeling so dry. “Apart from Sunbeam and Greywing, we are all here darling.” Rarity called out. “We just can’t see each other. You’ve been out the longest. Don’t try any magic! Rainbow assures us that you have a substantial inhibitor ring on your horn. I do wish somepony had told me that before I tried.” She added darkly. “What happened?” “No idea sugar.” Applejack replied. “We went to sleep at the campsite, woke up here.” “What can you all see? All I can see is the alcoves opposite me.” “I can see a door.” Rainbow called out. “It’s next to your hole-in-the-wall.” “Alcove.” Twilight corrected automatically. She didn’t need to look to know that Rainbow was rolling her eyes. “Whatever. We’ve worked out that there are twelve ‘alcoves’. Six empty, six filled with us. The middle of the floor looks like a trapdoor.” Squinting, Twilight could make out a wooden trapdoor that opened in two parts in the middle of the floor. Minutes passed as they tried to work out where they were and what was happening. The heavy door slamming open next to her alcove, made Twilight jump. A blue unicorn with a deep crimson robe trotted into the centre of the room. A yellow earth pony in a white robe followed behind him. Three other ponies followed behind the other two. Their red robes covered most of their bodies and their hoods were pulled way down over the top of their heads. Hiding their faces in the shadows. They stopped in unison, a few paces behind the other two, they all remained motionless after that. The unicorn in the crimson robe seated himself down, next to the trapdoor, and swept his gaze over the ponies in the alcoves. “Welcome. I am Brother Adeptus.” He gestured to the white robed pony. “This here is Brother Speaker…” A low warbling scream coming in through the open doorway made Twilight cringe back in the straps. The scream petered out and the pony continued as if nothing had happened. “He shall be in charge of your needs while you are here. Don’t worry about being disturbed, once the door is closed no pony will hear anything, in or out, of this chamber.” Twilight wanted to call out, but found she couldn’t speak. ‘Nopony is saying anything, not Rainbow, not Applejack. Wait, his horn is glowing, must be a silencing spell.’ He clapped his hooves together. “Oh my! I can just feel all the magic coming off you all. More magic is simply leaking out of you than we could rip from a whole room of unicorns. Several rooms in fact.” He smiled pleasantly at them. “Oh Brother Sleepy Skies and Sister Lucky Roll did well. Even if they did miss out on collecting the asset Icefang. Well nevermind, you six alone are going to put us years ahead of schedule. So much magic…” The glow around his horn grew and the trapdoor opened. A stone plinth rose out of it. On it; a two foot high; jagged; vaguely tulip shaped pink crystal. Almost immediately Twilight could feel a tug on her magic. “Look at that Brother,” Adeptus cooed. “The crystal is set to maximum absorption, yet, by the lack of screams, they are hardly feeling it.” The white robed pony nodded. “Indeed Brother, a normal unicorn would have all their magic ripped from them by now. Quite inefficiently I might add. First time we’ve had pegasus and earth ponies in here though.” He added, mostly to himself. Starting with Rainbow, Brother Adeptus walked in front of each of them, examining them intently, smiling brightly at each as he did so. Still nopony was able to make a sound. After finishing with Twilight, he walked back to the centre of the room, next to the crystal. “I leave you in the capable hooves of Brother Speaker here. Oh, and Brother…” Brother Speaker turned to look at Brother Adeptus. “I hold you responsible for them. They are the single biggest set of magical assets ever encountered. I would be… displeased if anything happened to them.” He gestured to the three hooded ponies. All three hoods turned to look at Brother Speaker in unison. Brother Speaker took a step back, his face paling. “O-Of course Brother. Nothing will happen to them.” “Right, I need to go check on the processing of new initiates and...” A mare’s scream sounded through the open doorway.