Less than a half hour later, there came a repetitious sound like the flexing of a sheet of metal. A light shockwave traveled around the surface of the magical shield like a ripple over a pond. Star Walker looked up fearfully from the book she was studying on battle magic, her ears perking up. She looked like a rabbit, glancing around in search of her predator.
"They're here," she said softly. Nearby, Applejack looked up from where she was tending Twilight.
"What're we gonna do?" Star Walker stood up, setting the book on a table.
"We will not be doing anything. I will go down alone."
"The hay you will! That's our friend down there! No offense, but I'd rather not trust Zecora's life to some strange pony from another universe." The metallic knocking sounded again.
"Very well," said Star Walker. There was a flash and the next thing Applejack knew, they were standing just outside the castle doors.
"Be wary," said Star Walker. They have many abilities granted them by technology, giving them an edge over many an opponent. I cannot imagine all the tricks they may have up their sleeves."
Star Walker and Applejack walked slowly up to the edge of the blue dome and the knocking sounded once more. Star Walker noticed now that it was rhythmic.
"Wait a minute," said Applejack. "That sounds like—" Star Walker's horn glowed and the shield became translucent, enabling them to see a pink mare standing before them on the other side.
"Hi guys!"
"Pinkie Pie?" they said in simultaneous confusion. Pinkie's voice was severely distorted through the thick shield, as if she were talking down a long metal pipe. The two mares could barely understand her, but she managed to get the point across.
"Boy, oh boy, do I have a story for you!" she said happily. Star Walker concentrated and willed a gap into the shield. She then quickly dragged Pinkie through with her telekinesis, closing the gap immediately behind her.
"It's not safe here," she said to Pinkie after setting her down. "There are criminals on the loose." Pinkie stared for a moment, snorted, then burst out laughing. Star Walker was dumbfounded and stared at her like she had grown a second head.
"Oh, silly," chuckled Pinkie, "I already knew that!"
"You did?"
"Sure! That was actually the story I wanted to tell you! So, I was outside Sugarcube Corner for some reason I can't remember I was just standing there and suddenly these two ponies came up behind me and asked about Zecora and my Pinkie Sense told me I had to stall them for some reason so I did and then I talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked..." She stopped and gulped down a huge mass of air, inflating her chest to hold it all, then continued at length.
"...and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked until finally I found out they both meanie-pantses and I had to tell them where to go to get to Zecora's or they would have killed me and so finally they took me to the reservoir and tied me up and weighed me down so I would sink and then dropped me in the water but I escaped and then I came here and told you 'hi guys' and you said 'Pinkie Pie?' and I said 'boy, oh boy—'"
"Pinkie!" Applejack interrupted. "We were here for all that!"
"Oh, of course, silly me!" Pinkie slapped her forehead with her hoof.
"Go in the castle," Star Walker told Pinkie. "Twilight requires your care."
"Okie dokie lokie!" The earth mare bounced away toward the castle.
"Wait," said Star Walker. Pinkie stopped and looked back. "How did you escape?"
"Oh, I just used my Pinkie ex Machina! I just so happened to have a handy-dandy... oxygen tank!" She pulled a large cylindrical tank and breathing tubes out of nowhere and showed them to Star Walker.
"Bu- wha...?" sputtered Star Walker. Pinkie just bounced back toward the castle, the tank having mysteriously disappeared once more. Star Walker hung her head in resignation. "Uunh," she groaned, and rubbed her temple with her right hoof. Star Walker looked up just in time to see the two mercenaries alight on the grass on the other side of the shield. She steeled herself for what was to come. She cleared her throat to get Applejack's attention, then led her to the edge.
The two alicorns were exceptionally fearsome-looking. Their bodies were bare, showing off their cutie marks and, most noticeably, their large wings. Both pairs of piercing reptilian eyes were proudly on display, gazing into the soul of whoever caught sight of them. Halberd grinned and showed his sharp teeth before speaking.
"Hello, Star Walker," he said, his voice muffled in a similar fashion to Pinkie. "You will be coming with us. You are under arrest for treason."
"And I think you are mistaken," she replied. "I will not be going anywhere. You know as well as I that it would take weeks to dismantle this shield enough to get through, and I am certain that you do not have that kind of time."
"Neither do you. You can only survive inside there as long as you have water, and I see no immediate source. You are cut off from the reservoir by the shield and have no access to the pipes. You also cannot summon objects through the barrier with this level of lockdown."
"I may have a supply of water or be able to find other ways of surviving the weeks, but if you do not bring me in within the time frame set for you, you will receive no remuneration from your employer, whoever they may be."
"It appears that we are at an impasse," said the alicorn. Then he smiled. "Surely this can be remedied." His horn flashed and Zecora appeared beside him. His sister leveled her own horn at the zebra, positioning it behind where the mare's heart would be.
"You come with us, or I gore this zebra bitch," she said simply. Zecora's eyes were like stone, clearly showing that she had come to terms with her fate, whatever it may be.
"That don't give much room for negotiatin'," said Applejack.
"Oh-ho, the earth pony bumpkin speaks," said Halberd in amusement. "What's the matter, are you upset because your brother got you pregnant again?" Applejack did not react.
"Ah've learned a lot about hagglin' prices, sellin' apples all day. And the number one rule in negotiations is never show all yer cards right outta the shoots, 'cause now ya got nowhere to go." Halberd grew angry.
"You think you can talk like that to an alicorn? I am superior to you! Just for that, your zebra friend here gets her leg broken!" He nodded to Javelin, who moved her hoof to rest against Zecora's hind leg. She pushed hard, and there was a sickening crunch that could be heard through the shield, making Applejack wince heavily. It was accompanied by a loud shout of pain from the zebra, but then she silenced herself, breathing heavily through her nose. The lower half of her left hind leg was now bent sideways at an unnatural angle. A single tear slid down her right cheek, catching on the corner of her mouth.
"Now," snarled the stallion, "try speaking to me again. And this time, give me the proper respect." But before anyone could speak, the red mare was suddenly knocked aside by a rainbow-colored blur.
"What was that?" she asked her brother angrily, rubbing her jaw. Halberd formed a small green shield around the two of them and a cerulean pegasus barely pulled up before impacting it on the rebound. She stopped a few yards away from them, hovering in the air.
"Nopony hurts Zecora!" she said with fiery confidence.
"Rainbow Dash!" said Applejack excitedly. "Where'd you come from?"
"I saw the shield pop up around the castle and I knew something was up. So I came over to investigate. And I see now that I might have to bump a few heads." The mercenaries both laughed.
"You think a featherbrain like you could actually take on two alicorns in close combat?" said Javelin, smiling.
"Well, I took you out, didn't I?" she said confidently. Javelin's horn glowed and Rainbow Dash was suddenly pulled to the ground by a green aura. She dropped out of the sky and landed with a loud thud on the grass. "Hey!" she said, struggling against the grip of the strong magic. "Let me go!"
Javelin walked over and placed a hoof on the side of Rainbow Dash's throat with obvious force, driving her face into the cold dirt. The pegasus gagged and started gasping for breath as her windpipe was slowly compressed under the unforgiving hoof.
"Lemme out there!" said Applejack to Star Walker. "She's chokin' her!"
"Your universe is so backward," said the red mare to the pegasus. "You have no respect for your alicorn masters! You should consider yourself lucky that I haven't vaporized you!"
Star Walker was unable to answer Applejack. She could not try to rescue them; she feared that the mercenaries would catch her, and the Empress would not let her off easy. But two mares were in immediate danger, something she could not ignore. She thought back to what Twilight had said to her earlier.
No pony left behind.
Too long had Star Walker taken care of only herself. She had never truly known anypony that she had felt driven to protect. But today, Star Walker knew; it was time to end the cycle.
Her horn flared, and the shield dropped layer by layer, shedding three layers of force until it was nonexistent. Before either of the alicorns could react, Star Walker jumped forward, grabbing Rainbow Dash and Applejack with her magic, and ran in the direction of town. As soon as Rainbow got her breath back, she was flying, and started yelling at the unicorn.
"Hey! What about Zecora?"
"And Twilight!" Applejack added.
"Too risky to move them!" shouted Star Walker. "Don't worry; they'll come after us!" Sure enough, Applejack looked back and saw that the two mercenaries had taken flight and were pursuing them.
"Where are we goin'?" asked the farm pony.
"Sweet Apple Acres!" the unicorn replied. "No time to explain!" She gathered her energy and focused her intent, performed the necessary calculations, and clenched her muscles, teleporting the three of them a total of approximately 100 yards in the direction of the farm. Not enough to escape the sight of the mercenaries, but enough to gain an advantage. Which was promptly eliminated when the alicorns performed the same spell, unhindered by passengers.
"Land sakes!" said Applejack. "What all c'n they do?" Star Walker ignored her and turned to look back, firing a bolt of magic at the mercenaries. She then focused and teleported them 200 yards to the right, trying to buy them time. They narrowly missed getting hit by a bolt from one of the alicorns and were now running west instead of south, taking them closer to the farm. Rainbow Dash gave a nauseous-sounding groan.
"I don't feel so good," she said unsteadily.
"I am sorry for the disorientation," replied Star Walker. "Teleporting is not my area of expertise." She dodged another bolt of green eldritch energy, jumping roughly to the left. She teleported once more, this time bringing them within sight of the barn. Star Walker jumped over a fence just as it was splintered by a flash of green. A green barrier then appeared before them, but it was hastily constructed and Star Walker's horn broke through it with relative ease.
She could feel herself fading now. Her concentration, and her magic, were beginning to falter. Applejack noticed and put her legs down, trying to run for herself after being dragged telekinetically for so long. Star Walker dropped her hold on the earth pony, who just barely avoided tumbling and breaking several bones. She then lowered Rainbow Dash onto her back in a graceful display of magical dexterity.
Applejack kept running with Rainbow Dash on her back while Star Walker slowed and turned to face the attackers, immediately firing off a shot at the stallion. He dodged, performing a quick barrel roll, and the two alicorns slowed to a hover and fired off simultaneous blasts, which Star Walker countered with a blast of her own.
The two streams of magical power vied for dominance, and eventually Star Walker jumped and teleported away, allowing the beam to shatter the ground where she had been standing.
It was at this point that a young filly, awoken by all the commotion, appeared in the doorway of the house, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Huh?" she said. "What's goin' on?" Star Walker noticed Apple Bloom quite suddenly.
"Get back inside!" she yelled to the filly.
"Ooh, who is this?" said Javelin, turning her attention to the earth filly.
"Leave her alone," said Star Walker as calmly as she could. "She has no part in this."
"Oh, I don't think we will," said Halberd. He then flew over to the filly's position. Apple Bloom tried to run back into the house, but was caught by his magical aura and screamed in fear. Star Walker moved to grab Apple Bloom back, but Halberd pulled her away.
"Ah-ah-ah. We wouldn't want the poor filly to get hurt, now would we?" Apple Bloom's eyes widened and began to leak tears. Her body shuddered, trying to hold them back. Star Walker was torn, but quickly made her decision.
"Fine. Let her go. You can have me instead." She heard a quiet gasp from where Applejack and Rainbow had presumably hidden. Halberd smiled, showing his sharp teeth.
"Excellent."
"Let her down first. Gently."
"As you wish." He brought Apple Bloom around and levitated her some distance away, and pulled out a set of hoofcuffs. He hooked them onto Star Walker's front hooves and dropped Apple Bloom rather roughly on the ground. She ran and took shelter behind a wagon, peeking out around the corner.
The alicorn stallion then levitated out a grayish cone with a strap; a horn guard. Horn guards were made of lead and were designed to block a unicorn's horn from interacting with the magical field. They were frequently used by law enforcement to restrain criminals or by masters to exert control over unicorn slaves.
Star Walker waited as the guard got closer, waiting for an opening. She made sure to keep her body language relaxed to throw them off. The guard got closer to her horn, closer and closer, until finally the stallion was slightly off balance, and she struck.
She twisted and kicked the guard away, firing off a shot with her horn and incapacitating the alicorn. She immediately fired another bolt at Javelin, then constructed a vertical shield between her and the mercenaries. She ran, shooting a portal spell at the nearest compatible coordinates, which were luckily right next to the barn.
A portal formed in the wooden wall, opening to a dense forest. She turned to cast a final spell at the two alicorns, tearing up the land between them and carving a ditch in the dirt. She leapt through the air, propelling herself through the portal at great speed. There came a shout tinged with a southern accent from behind her.
"Apple Bloom, no!" The little filly jumped from behind her hiding place and tried to jump through past Star Walker, the portal closing as she jumped. She was a quarter of the way through, halfway through. The blue ring of light constricted and just caught the tip of her hoof and the last quarter of her tail, leaving on the ground a sliver of hoof and a large clump of red hair.
The alicorns were immediately behind, and almost managed to catch the two. But the portal closed just before they reached them, causing them to tear loudly through the side of Applejack's barn.