//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 // Story: Hocus Pocus // by Pegasus Rescue Brigade //------------------------------// You’ve held a high position as an overseer, something that will be notable on your record and be incredibly useful in your future, I’m sure. It would be such a pity if, right before your graduation, you were accused of failure to properly follow the dean’s instructions and stripped of that title. Why, you’d leave the school after your graduation in absolute shame, and I think neither of us wants that to happen. We understand each other, right, Sparkler? Sparkler flung her textbook off her bed, not even glancing toward it as it collided with the wall, bending its spine on impact and sliding to the floor. I’m out of time, she thought, sulking. Dinky doesn’t deserve what the dean wants to do to her, but if I don’t get her into trouble by the end of tomorrow, I’ll be the one taking the fall. The young mare lay spread-eagled on her bed, burying her face in her pillow and sighing. What do I do now? In another brief tantrum, Sparkler grabbed another book in her aura and hurled it across the room. She cringed as the loud sound of shattering glass immediately followed. Cool night air blew in through the now broken window. Grumbling, she stood and stepped closer to inspect the damage. Much of the pane of glass had tumbled out, either into the grass outside or onto her carpet. She looked through the hole, up at the clear sky, and recognized a familiar set of stars. Oh, that’s right. It’s Scorpio’s Apex, she thought, frowning. I should probably go make sure that blasted filly’s not having trouble controlling that rogue magic of hers… Sparkler tacked a poster over the broken window to block some of the wind, and then made her way up the tower. If I just tell the dean that Dinky’s been having trouble keeping this under control, that would be enough, she thought for the millionth time. But can I really pass the dean’s wrath off of myself and onto Dinky if it’s not really her fault? The overseer swore under her breath. Just stop thinking about it, Sparkler. There’s no clear solution anyway. Sparkler reached the door to Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew’s dorm, and knocked softly. “Dinky?” she called. “Are you doing okay in there?” Silence. Sparkler knocked again, and received no reply. Miffed, she pushed open the door. The room was abandoned. The overseer thought perhaps the fillies were down at the castle, studying for their next exam. She hurried back down the stairs and out the front door of the tower, where a guard was stationed. “Have three fillies left here anytime in the last hour or two?” she asked. The guard shook his head. “Nopony’s come in or out since sunset,” he said Sparkler raised an eyebrow. “But then where did they go?” Leaving the guard without another word, she marched back into the tower, looking around in confusion. Her eyes fell on the dim passageway where a flight of stairs led lower. Could they have gone in the basement for some reason? Curious, she trotted down the steps into the dark room beneath the tower. As she stepped carefully between the debris, she bumped her hoof against something metal, which clattered loudly. Glancing down, she noticed the drain cover, which had curiously broken and been repaired earlier that same term, was only loosely set in its slot in the floor. Slowly, Sparkler lifted the heavy cover aside. The passage beneath it was much too small for her, but she supposed, now that she looked at it, a young filly might be able to fit through. Realization flooded her all at once. The young mare gritted her teeth. “For the love of Celestia, am I really that stupid?” she mumbled under her breath. “They’ve been using this damn drain to sneak out, and I didn’t even realize it until now…” She straightened up. “Well, I’ll fix that!” she announced loudly, as if addressing somepony in the empty cellar. “They may have gotten out, but they won’t get far!” Flicking her tail repeatedly with barely contained anger, the overseer stormed back up the stairs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Giving a huge yawn, Ditzy Doo blew out the candle beside her bed, folded her aching wings, and climbed beneath her sheets. She’d barely pulled the blankets up over herself when an incessant, frantic knocking began in the foyer a floor below. Startled, the pegasus fluttered back out of bed and hurried down the stairs, the combination of darkness and her bad eyes causing her to only barely manage to avoid obstacles. Sheesh, she thought as the knocking grew still louder and more frantic. What could be so urgent at this time of night, anyway? Ditzy reached the front door and pulled it open, revealing a panicked brown and white colt. “Pipsqueak?” she asked, confused. “Dinky won’t be home till this weekend, you know that. Is something wrong?” Pipsqueak tried to speak, but couldn’t quite catch his breath. The colt looked as if he had run miles to get there. “M-Mrs. Doo,” he managed finally. “Need to talk to you… it’s an emergency!” Furrowing her brow, Ditzy opened the door a bit wider and gestured for Pip to enter. “Why don’t you go sit down in the kitchen and calm down?” she suggested. “I have a bit of tea left from earlier. You can have it if you like.” Pipsqueak staggered inside and made his way to the kitchen. He finally managed to slow his breathing a bit once he sat down, but Ditzy still looked concerned as she passed him a mug of hot tea. “Mrs. Doo, there’s a problem,” he said urgently. “I think… I think Dinky’s in real danger.” Ditzy blinked. “Dinky’s at the academy, Pip,” she pointed out, briefly focusing both eyes on the colt. “I know they’re not perfect, but they’re keeping a close eye on Dinky to make sure she stays safe through all that dark magic business.” “Well… she, um… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain,” Pipsqueak mumbled, folding his ears back. “The pendant that Dinky gave me, it… it’s telling me she needs help.” “I thought that pendant only let you know when she’s thinking of you?” Ditzy asked, looking at the jewelry around Pipsqueak’s neck skeptically. “Mrs. Doo, please,” the colt pleaded, clutching at the pendant nervously. “I don’t know how, or why, but somehow, that’s what it’s telling me. You’ve got to listen to me; Dinky needs help!” Ditzy began to grow afraid when she realized how upset and scared the young pony was. If there was any chance some magic was really sending that message, her daughter needed her help, and soon. “Stay here, Pip,” she commanded, getting up and immediately making for the door. “If we’re going on an emergency rescue, we’re gonna need some help. I’ll be back in five minutes.” With grave determination on her face, Ditzy left the frightened colt in the kitchen, and took off into the sky, making her way to Ponyville for the only backup she knew she could trust. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A large drop of stagnant-smelling water fell from the rough stone ceiling onto Dinky’s brow. She wiped it away without a second thought and continued to lead her friends through the drainage tunnel. Although sunlight never reached this dank place, Dinky couldn’t help but feel it was darker and more oppressive than it had been in the past. The three fillies’ hoofsteps echoed loudly, and the light from their horns cast long shadows. “I hope Scuffle’s okay,” Honeydew said suddenly, her demure voice nearly lost among the echoes. “I’m sure he’s fine,” Clarity said, falling back a pace or two to walk beside Honeydew. “He’s waiting for us just up ahead, I’m sure.” Honeydew swallowed. “I hope so,” she mumbled. “I’d feel at least a little safer if he was around…” Dinky chuckled. “Funny how that happened, huh?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder. “Just a few months ago, there was nothing at this school you were more afraid of than Scuffle.” Honeydew shrugged the comment off. “He’s the only one of us who knows defensive spells,” she pointed out. “Since we’re probably going to be in danger, he might buy us all a little more time.” In spite of the mood, Clarity flashed Dinky a grin. “You should let Scuffle know you appreciate it, Honeydew. It might not seem like it, but it’ll probably mean a lot to him.” Honeydew cocked her head. “Why?” “Just a feeling,” the grey filly replied. Dinky spotted the end of the passageway just ahead. Stepping down into the few inches of water collected at the bottom, she carefully used her magic to move aside the boulder that separated the tunnel from the hideout. “Scuffle?” she called, climbing up into the earthen room beneath the tree. There was no reply. Her heart sank. “He’s not here?” Honeydew asked, glancing frantically around the chamber. “Alright, don’t panic,” Clarity said assertively. “Maybe he’s nearby.” “Even if he’s not, maybe he decided it was better to stay in the tower,” Dinky suggested. “I couldn’t really blame him if he decided not to do this after all.” “Hey!” called a male voice. “I hear voices! Dinks, is that you?” Dinky’s ears perked up. “Scuffle? Where are you?” she called. “Outside the hideout,” he called. “I can’t get in. There’s a… well, just come up the tunnel and see for yourself.” Curious, Dinky made her way up the tunnel. Scuffle came into view as she neared the exit, as well as Trouble, who sat at the colt’s side and yipped delightedly when she appeared. “What’s wrong?” she asked once she was just a few paces away. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything in the way.” Rather than respond, Scuffle reared up on his hind hooves. He leaned forward, and Dinky instinctively backed up, fearing the colt would fall into the tunnel and on top of her. However, his forehooves met something in midair, sending vague black and dark purple ripples across its surface. “There’s a barrier,” he said, watching the colored light fade away and rendering the magical wall invisible once again. “I’ve tried every trick I know to remove or break it, but it’s not like any shield spell I’ve ever seen.” “So does that mean we’re trapped in here?” Clarity asked. Dinky stepped up and knocked a hoof against the barrier, sending more ripples radiating out from the spot she touched. “We are until we can lower the barrier, anyway,” she confirmed. “What do we do?” Honeydew squeaked, pacing around the dark hideout as she tried to calm herself. “We can’t get back up the drain into our tower without Scuffle’s help, and he’s trapped out there!” Clarity backed up into the chamber and went to comfort Honeydew while Dinky examined the barrier more closely. She tried a magic cancelling wave and an enchantment removal spell, but neither had any effect. Frustrated, she stamped at the dirt, and was surprised to see the barrier flash purple once again as she did so. “What the…” “What did you do?” Scuffle asked curiously, looking at Dinky’s hooves. “I have no idea,” Dinky replied, curiously brushing away some of the dirt just inside the barrier. “I think… I think something’s here.” There was a thin groove in the rock beneath the shallow layer of soil. Dinky swept more of the loose dirt away, and a symbol began to appear. Once fully uncovered, the design carved into the stone looked a bit like the letter M, albeit with rounded tops on the two peaks of the letter. Stranger though, was the right side, where the line curved up once more before ending in a small triangle, like an arrow. “What’s that?” Scuffle asked, trying to see the symbol despite being unable to step past the invisible wall. “I’m not sure,” Dinky said, hesitantly tapping a hoof against the design and noting that it dully flashed the same color as the barrier itself. “I think it might be what’s causing the shield, though. Strange, it looks really familiar…” “Let me see,” Clarity said, appearing behind Dinky once again. Despite the narrow space, she squeezed up beside her friend and looked down at the symbol. She frowned. “If that’s what I think it is…” she began, retreating down into the hideout again. Dinky followed, and waited as Clarity dug through her saddlebag. The grey removed a small book, flipped it open, and almost immediately groaned and placed a hoof to her forehead. “I checked out a book from the library about the Zodiac, in case it had any useful information about Scorpio,” she explained to Dinky, showing her one of the pages in the small tome. “According to this, that thing carved into the rock up there is Scorpio’s mark. So basically, it’s a rune. A dark magic rune.” “Oh, good,” Honeydew said sarcastically, flopping down on the dirt floor. “So Sunbeam’s trying to stop us from getting to him. That means he knows we’re coming.” “Not necessarily,” Clarity reasoned. “Maybe he’s just putting up defenses like this in case we tried something. Taking precautions is a reasonable idea.” “Never mind if he knows or not,” Dinky said, giving one ear an agitated twitch. “How can we lower the barrier?” “Would damaging the rune help?” Scuffle called from above. “Even if it would, none of us know any spells powerful enough to break rock,” Clarity admitted. Dinky approached Scorpio’s mark again, watching the dark, angry purple and black ripple through both the rune and the barrier as she stepped on it. They flickered in unison each time she touched them. She chewed her lip as an unpleasant idea came to her. “I think I know how to lower it,” she said softly, staring at the floor rather than meeting the gaze of any of her friends. “If I draw the dark magic out of the rune, the shield will go away. It’d be… easy…” She choked on the end of the sentence. Her friends knew as well as she did what doing something like that could do to her. “Dinky…” Clarity began. “You shouldn’t. We can find another way, I’m sure we can.” “It’ll be alright,” Dinky said, trying to convince herself as much as her friends. “My magic’s still under control. Adding a little more won’t be good, but… it won’t push me over the edge either.” “Are you sure?” Honeydew asked, her eyes locked on Dinky’s horn as if it would burst into black light at any moment. “Maybe one of us should do it,” Scuffle called from outside. “Then you’d be corrupted too!” Dinky argued. “Please, don’t do it for my sake. It’s not worth making yourself suffer through this too.” Scuffle fell silent. Clarity walked up to Dinky, eyes full of concern, and nuzzled her. “If you really think it’s the only way, I guess you can give it a try. If there’s too much energy there though, stop, okay? You can’t let this stuff take over.” Dinky nodded and approached the rune on the floor. Scuffle took several steps back, dragging Trouble along with him, and the fillies moved to the back of the hideout, as far from her as possible. A black spark flew from Dinky’s horn, and then another and another. An aura of darkness surrounded her horn and eyes. Scorpio’s mark seemed to glow brighter, as if anticipating what was about to happen. Cautiously, Dinky reached out with the dark energy and very gently linked it to the power contained in the symbol. And then all hell broke loose. The light in the rune flared, the barrier pulsed and vibrated, and a ropelike strand of darkness connected Dinky’s horn to the rune. Completely unable to break the surprisingly intense connection, she cried out, staggering and finally tumbling backwards as all the energy contained within it was vented out through the link and into Dinky’s body. Utter blackness consumed Dinky’s vision, and her ears filled with swooshing and crackling that completely drowned out the shocked cries of her friends. She knew she had fallen down the tunnel, but didn’t feel like she was even in contact with the ground. Instead, she was falling through blackness, surrounded by wind and noise and more sensation than she could process. Horrific sounding voices cried out to her from somewhere. She couldn’t make out what they said, but they filled her with both fear and, surprisingly, rage. She screamed out incoherent threats at them, but her voice was lost in the uproar. Then, suddenly, it stopped. Dinky could tell she was lying on her side, and that there was dirt beneath her. The opened her eyes, and noticed the dim hideout was full of a smoky substance, yet not one that hung in the air and impeded breathing, like smoke from a fire. There was a more ethereal quality to this; it was as if darkness floated in the room, in the form of a gas. “D…Dinky?” Clarity’s voice sounded terrified. Dinky sat up and shook her head to clear away the purple clouds around her eyes. Once she did, Clarity and Honeydew became visible, even amongst the smoke. “Oh Celestia… Dinky…” Clarity whispered, trotting forward and bending down to hug her disoriented friend. “I knew that was a bad idea…” Honeydew made a sound that seemed to be an agreement, but it was hard to be sure. “What happened?” Dinky asked, rubbing her eyes again. “You drained the magic out of that barrier,” Scuffle explained as he trotted down the now-accessible tunnel into the hideout. “Only it looks like there was a little more to it than we were expecting. As soon as you started, it poured so much magic into you that you fell back here, and when you landed… well, I didn’t really see…” “I did,” said Clarity, still holding Dinky in an embrace. “When Dinky landed, darkness just went everywhere. It poured out from her horn while she was lying there, flailing and screaming about… er, well, screaming things…” Clarity finally let go as Dinky carefully stood. Her head had cleared enough that she began to feel somewhat normal. “I… think I’m okay…” she said slowly, looking herself over to see if anything was amiss. “What’s done is done. It was more dark magic than I was hoping, but there’s nothing to do except go on.” “M-maybe we shouldn’t,” Honeydew said, finally managing to speak. “Thank Celestia Dinky didn’t turn into a wraith right then and there. It might be better to just go, before something else goes wrong…” Dinky shook her head. “Honeydew, we can’t!” she replied. “We have to finish this. Besides, the barrier’s gone now; it’d be a shame to go through that to get rid of it, and then just give up. That whole incident would have been for nothing!” Honeydew sighed and nodded. “True…” Clarity sighed. “Are you sure you’re okay after that?” she asked. “That was a lot of dark magic…” “I’m fine,” Dinky said quickly, doing her best to ignore the increased pounding feeling in her horn. “We can’t waste any more time. Let’s go.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ditzy looked at the ponies gathered in her kitchen. To the average bystander, they probably looked like a mismatched bunch of amateurs. It was almost funny seeing such different ponies grouped together: a bookish purple unicorn, two pegasi, a strong one with a red coat and an older one with a white coat and green beret, a yellow earth pony, vibrating in place as usual, and an undersized pinto earth colt. “Twilight, Breeze, Cloudcover, Watt, I’m so glad the four of you could come to help,” she said gratefully. “I know it’s late, but this is an emergency!” “No trouble at all, Ditzy,” said Cloudcover politely. “Always happy to help a friend in a time of need.” “What exactly is wrong?” Breeze asked, stepping forward to comfort his clearly agitated marefriend. “You said something about Dinky?” Ditzy pointed to Pipsqueak. “Dinky’s friend Pip says she’s in danger. I can’t prove what he’s saying, but if there’s even a chance my little muffin’s in trouble, I have to do something right away!” “A rescue mission?” Watt asked excitedly, zipping forward so he was practically nose to nose with the mare. “Sounds like a ton of fun! I go on rescue missions with Pinkie Pie like every week!” Ignoring Watt’s levity, Ditzy turned to Pipsqueak. “Pip, I don’t suppose your pendant can tell you what’s happening to Dinky up there in Canterlot?” Pipqueak shook his head. “I have no idea, but I do know she needs help, and soon.” He shuddered. “The dread it’s causing is getting worse. Bad things are happening up there…” Ditzy began trotting in place, growing more frantic. “I don’t understand,” she squeaked. “What could have happened? Why would Dinky be in such danger if she’s still at school?” Twilight cleared her throat. “Err, Ditzy, I’d love to reassure you that it’s probably nothing,” she began, looking everywhere in the room except at Ditzy, “but, uh… tonight does happen to be Scorpio’s Apex.” Ditzy and all the others looked at her, bewildered. “What now?” the pegasus asked finally. “Scorpio’s Apex,” Twilight repeated. “If you look outside, you’ll notice the constellation Scorpio is right overhead. The stars are linked to magic, and Scorpio in particular is linked to, um, dark magic…” Ditzy’s expression changed as growing realization washed over her. “B-but… the princesses are making sure Dinky keeps that under control, right?” “They should be,” Twilight said, “but tonight is the night of the year where dark magic is most powerful. Nothing should go wrong, since Dinky wasn’t very corrupted, but if it is going to go wrong… well, tonight’s the night it will.” Ditzy nodded. “I’ve heard enough,” she said sternly, marching past her gathered comrades. “We’re going to Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A minute or two later, the six ponies had gathered on the front lawn of Ditzy’s cottage. “Hurry up, hurry up,” Ditzy urged, beginning to lose her patience. “The faster we get to Canterlot, the better.” “Err, Ditzy my girl, I hate to break this to you,” Cloudcover began, “but not all of us are pegasi. The train would take much too long, but I don’t see how our non-winged friends are going to be able to accompany us on this mission.” Watt dashed over, wedging himself between the two pegasi. “Don’t worry about me!” he assured them. “I’m as fast on land as any pegasus is in the air!” Ditzy looked at the silhouette of Canterlot in the distance. “Even up a mountain?” she asked. “Are you sure you can keep up? We should already be on our way. If Dinky’s in danger, I’m not slowing down to wait!” Watt chuckled. “Shouldn’t slow me down too much,” he admitted, trying to curb Ditzy’s rising anxiety. “I’m up for a bit of late-night mountain climbing.” “And we can just carry Pipsqueak,” Breeze pointed out. “You’re his uncle, Cloudcover. I’m sure you’re used to carting him around on your back.” Watt’s ears perked up. “Carting him around…” he repeated. “Cloudy, you just gave me an idea!” The earth pony blasted off down the path toward Ponyville before anypony could stop him, returning barely a minute later with a produce cart from the market. “Since Twilight Sparkle doesn’t have wings or super speed, I’ll just carry her along in this!” Twilight laughed nervously. “Err, thanks for the offer,” she said uncomfortably, “but I’m sure we can find a better way to—” “There’s no time!” Ditzy cried out, now growing panic-stricken. “Twilight, we need your help, especially if Dinky’s in some kind of magic-related danger. I know it’s not the best option, but please just ride along in Watt’s cart.” Twilight sighed. “Alright fine. But only because I’m as concerned for Dinky as you are.” “Let’s go already!” Pipsqueak urged, leaping onto his uncle’s back. “We have to get to Dinky before it’s too late!” “Righto!” said Cloudcover, taking to the air. “You guide us, Pip. Hopefully that little bauble Dinky gave you will lead you right to her.” The other pegasi took to the air, and Watt took off through the field at breakneck speed, with Twilight holding on for dear life in the wooden cart behind him. Together, the group made their way toward the distant towers of Canterlot. Hold on a little while longer, Dinky, Ditzy pleaded. We’re on our way. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Four foals trotted quietly along the outer edge of the valley, keeping as far from the castle as possible to avoid the guards lurking there. They walked in silence, save for an occasional quiet crackling, the sound of Dinky’s horn giving off black sparks. It had been doing so every minute or so for a quarter of an hour now. Dinky paid it no mind, determined to keep following her senses, certain that if she followed the faint signature of dark magic, it would lead her straight to Sunbeam. Her friends, she could tell, were holding back from saying something about it. She felt angry. She wasn’t quite sure at what, though. Perhaps she was angry at Sunbeam for setting the trap back at the hideout, which was no doubt going to only make things harder for her. Maybe she was angry at her friends for repeatedly suggesting they turn back and get her some aid; couldn’t they see she was still in control? A few sparks were nothing to worry about. “…Dinky,” Clarity said finally, breaking a long silence, “do you think your horn is going to keep doing that all night, or just until you recover from that, um, incident?” Dinky glared over her shoulder and gave an irritated snort. “You three are making too big of a deal out of this,” she grumbled. “Sure, dark magic’s bad stuff, but just cause I’m giving off a couple of sparks doesn’t mean I’m a monster.” The other foals watched as another shower of tiny lights erupted from Dinky’s horn, flickering in the air like black embers. She walked right through the cloud of them as they dimmed, seemingly unperturbed. Scuffle mumbled something Dinky didn’t catch. “What was that?” she asked, not turning around. Scuffle cleared his throat. “You’re, uh, making a big deal out of insisting this isn’t a big deal,” he said. “We’re just worried that maybe—” Dinky whirled around. “That maybe it’s taking over?” she growled. “Tell me, Scuffle, if I was sympathizing with the dark side, why are we still on our way to stop Sunbeam, huh?” Scuffle shrunk back a bit. “Alright, jeez…” he murmured, looking away. Dinky snorted again and kept walking. They all worry too much, she thought, barely even noticing the next flurry of sparks. I’m not even close to fully corrupted. They’re just a bunch of sissies. Soon, the four young ponies were behind the castle at the back of the valley. There were no entrances to the huge building from here, and therefore no patrolling guards. Dinky and her friends moved out into the open. Dinky realized she’d rarely come back here during the term; it was the side of the castle facing the drop-off down the rest of the mountainside the valley was carved into, rather than the sheer rock faces that made up the other three. A wooden fence, painted white and gold, prevented ponies from proceeding down the steep slope. But that was still a few hundred pony-lengths away. Between the castle and the fence was a circular courtyard, its floor layered with purplish brick and surrounded by well-kept shrubbery. Dinky paused, and determined the dark magic signature she was following was still somewhere ahead. She led the way through the courtyard toward the outer limit of the academy’s grounds. They were halfway across the brick circle when a curious tingle danced down the back of Dinky’s neck. “Do you feel that?” she asked, noticing her friends looking similarly surprised. “It’s somepony’s magic,” Honeydew whispered. “But… we’re alone, I think. Where is—” There was a dazzlingly bright violet flash just a few pony-lengths in front of the foals, immediately recognizable as a teleport spell. The light faded an instant later, leaving in its place an absolutely livid Sparkler. “What in the name of Celestia are you four doing!?”she roared. “It’s Scorpio’s Apex, and the four of you sneak out of the tower to roam the grounds after curfew? Is there any sense of self-preservation in those heads of yours!?” “Apparently not,” Honeydew mumbled darkly. “Sparkler, listen,” Dinky pleaded. “I know we’re breaking all kinds of rules, but we’re out here with a reason. It’s really important that we—” “I don’t care what your reason is!” the overseer snapped, stamping a forehoof. “Coming out here at all was stupidity of the highest degree. Celestia only knows what would have happened to you if I hadn’t found you when I did. Now, you and your friends get yourselves back inside the castle!” “So you can take us to the dean and get us expelled?” Dinky asked, rolling her eyes. “Forget it. You’re just her pawn, Sparkler. You don’t want to be anything else, and I’m tired of listening to you.” Dinky’s friends gave her a shocked glance, but Sparkler, surprisingly, softened slightly. “For once, your constant sass isn’t as infuriating, because this time I know you’re wrong,” she replied. Dinky cocked her head. “Oh?” Sparkler sighed. “Dinky, the dean is desperate to get rid of you. She’s looking for any infraction you make, so she can have an excuse to expel you. She even asked me to frame you, if that’s what it took. Why do you think I didn’t tell her about you keeping that fox in your room?” Dinky and her friends were all struck dumb by the news. “Wait—” Dinky began. “And that’s not all!” Sparkler continued loudly. “If I don’t turn you in, the dean’s gonna strip me of my title just before the graduation ceremony! I’m the one stuck making a sacrifice just so you don’t get your little purple rear kicked out of this place.” Dinky blinked, struggling to take all the news in. “You’ve been—” “Oh, but this… this changes everything,” Sparkler interrupted once again, very seriously. “Now I can report you for something actually worth expelling you over, so I don’t have to feel guilty about it, and I won’t lose my overseer status. It’s a shame; you’d started to become a little more tolerable. I was going to do the right thing and protect you, but I guess you’ve changed my mind. You four are busted.” Dinky glanced at her friends. “We’re not gonna give up now, are we?” she asked them. Scuffle and Clarity shook their heads. Honeydew looked uncertain and simply hid behind the others. Dinky turned back to Sparkler and shrugged. “Then go ahead. Report us,” she said calmly. “But we’re not going inside. We’ve got a job to do out here.” Sparkler twitched, and her triumphant pose vanished. “You have to,” she replied dully. “I’m the overseer.” Clarity tried to make what probably would have been an intelligent counterargument, but Dinky, still irritated, gave a snort and spoke first. “Make us.” “Suit yourself,” Sparkler growled. Her aura surrounded the tips of each of the foals’ tails, and she began to drag them along as she trotted toward the castle. This lasted all of five seconds or so, before Dinky’s magic cancelling shockwave quickly put an end to it. Sparkler wheeled around, glaring. “Oh, so you’re gonna play this game, huh? What do you expect me to do, use magic to force you into submission before I drag you inside?” the overseer yelled. Dinky shrugged again. “Sure, but if you try it, we’ll fight back,” she said matter-of-factly, “even if it has to escalate into a full duel.” Sparkler’s jaw dropped. “You four are first-term students,” she pointed out. “I, on the other hoof, am one of the most magically gifted ponies in the entire graduating class. There’s nothing you can do that I can’t counter, and there’s no defense you can mount that I can’t break through.” “Try us.” Sparkler shook her head and stamped her front hooves. “You know what? Fine!” she screamed back at them. “I’m sick of your mouthing off! If it’s a duel you want, it’s a duel you’ll get. You’ve got five minutes to prepare.” Furious, the young mare stormed off to the other end of the courtyard, leaving Dinky and her friends facing a battle with one of the strongest ponies they knew. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So wait, why are we doing this again?” Honeydew squeaked, sitting down and curling her tail around the base of her body as if to protect herself. “What choice do we have?” Dinky asked. “If we listen to Sparkler, you three will get detention, or worse, and I’ll be expelled for sure.” “I hate to break it to you, Dinky, but I’m pretty sure that’s all gonna happen anyway,” Clarity pointed out, shuffling a hoof on the brickwork. “I know, I know,” Dinky muttered. “But let’s just say we somehow manage to overpower Sparkler. We can continue trying to find Sunbeam, and maybe if we do foil his plans, everypony will be too caught up in the events that follow to worry about us sneaking out.” Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle all responded with doubtful looks. Dinky sighed in exasperation. “I know it’s a shot in the dark, but Equestria might be in grave danger if we give up,” she reminded them. “Stop being so cowardly. We’ve got to at least try.” “I guess Sparkler probably won’t hurt us,” Scuffle pointed out. “She’s breaking the rules by dueling us in the first place; if she injures us, the princesses will hear about it and strip her of her precious overseer title, even if the dean doesn’t.” “Are you sure?” Honeydew asked shakily. Scuffle smirked. “Believe me, she’d have done a number on my brothers by now if she was allowed to,” he chuckled. “This is still insane, though,” Honeydew argued. “Scorch and Frosty aren’t the brightest strategists — no offense, Scuffle — but Sparkler definitely is! Just because we beat the twins in a duel doesn’t mean we’re any match for her.” “Dewey’s got a point,” Scuffle admitted. “There’s a reason my brothers hate Sparkler so much; she consistently overpowers them in battle magic class.” There was a brief pause in the discussion. Dinky looked at each of her friends in turn. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’re way outmatched,” she admitted. “But I’m still going to try. After all, we do have a few factors helping us out. We each have a hoofful of spells that we’re good at, and Sparkler knows nothing about strategies any of us would employ in a duel, so she’ll be going in as blind as we are. Plus, there’s four of us and only one of her. That’ll help even the odds, right?” “Hey!” Sparkler called from the other end of the courtyard. “Are you ready, or not?” “It’s now or never,” Dinky said softly. She turned and made her way out onto the bricks, and was relieved when all three of her friends followed her. Sparkler approached the foals. Her earlier rage seemed to have been brought under control, replaced with a look of determination that put Dinky even more on edge. She presented her younger opponents with a familiar sheet of paper. “The contract for this duel is as follows,” the overseer began. “The fight will be conducted only with magic, not with physical contact. All combatants are confined to this courtyard until the duel has concluded. If I win, you will come quietly with me to the dean’s office. If you win, you’re free to continue wandering, since I literally cannot force you to do otherwise, but I’ll still be reporting this to the dean. Are those terms acceptable?” Dinky nodded and was the first to step forward and sign the duel contract. Each of her friends signed beneath her name in the left column, and Sparkler added her own name in the right column and set the paper aside. “You are now magically bound to follow the rules of the duel contract,” she announced. “Take your positions on the other end of the arena and make the first move.” It sounded rehearsed; Dinky assumed it was probably a standard dueling practice to confirm the rules in that manner. Sparkler trotted across the arena, and the foals backed off, not taking their eyes off her. “Okay, let’s stay together so we can cover each other,” Clarity suggested softly. “If Sparkler tries to corral us, we’ll split up and try to surround her and attack from different angles.” “Got it,” Scuffle said. “Who’s making the first move?” “You and Dinky are more experienced with combat spells,” Honeydew said. “Clarity and I will use supporting moves once things get started.” “Go on, Dinks,” Scuffle encouraged. “Start things off. Let’s see what happens.” Dinky hesitated a moment longer and then lit her horn. It felt surprisingly refreshing to conjure her own magic instead of black sparks. Her confidence boosted by the familiar pleasant sensation, she created a bright bolt of energy and shot it across the field. Sparkler didn’t move. She didn’t even blink. She didn’t seem to exert any effort at all, save for a brief flash from her horn. The bolt of energy changed course slightly and skipped harmlessly off the bricks near her hooves. “Undifferentiated energy bolt, class one,” she said, sounding rather bored. “Quite literally magic in its base form, thrown as a weapon. It’s the most standard attack there is.” The overseer’s horn glowed once more. “Sometimes simplicity is effective, though,” she admitted. “Increase the power a few classes and add a stunning spell, and you get something like this.” A purple bolt, larger and faster than Dinky’s, flew from Sparkler’s horn. Dinky had no idea how to deflect spells in the manner Sparkler had, so she simply scampered backwards, narrowly avoiding the strike. However, Sparkler wasted no time in continuing the assault, and sent a second bolt along before the first had even landed. The second spell met its target, colliding with Dinky’s foreleg. It did no visible damage, but immediately caused a nasty stinging sensation. Dinky sucked in her breath and waited out the superficial pain until it faded away. “Harmless in the long run, but they hurt, don’t they?” Sparkler asked. “Better find a counterstrategy; there’s a lot more where that came from.” Rapidly, Sparkler fired off three more bolts. Before any of the foals could make an attempt to get out of the way, a slate blue shield appeared in front of them, blocking each of the spells with ease. Looking more perplexed than anything, Sparkler allowed her horn to flare up and launched a much stronger version of her spell, but even the large bolt was absorbed by the shield. “Nice!” Scuffle said proudly, lowering the defense. “So they can be blocked.” “That’s an impressive shield charm for someone who hasn’t taken battle magic yet,” Sparkler commented, cocking her head and looking rather intrigued. “Of course, shields are rather easy to knock down…” Sparkler leapt forward, closing some of the distance between her and her opponents as a bright, circular shockwave burst outwards from her horn. Dinky didn’t flinch, knowing exactly what the spell was as it passed over her, but Scuffle’s shield dropped the instant it reached him. He tried to re-cast his defense, but Sparkler instantly bombarded the group with more bolts, forcing them to scatter to stay out of the way. The duel quickly became a game of cat and mouse after that. Sparkler was able to target the foals individually, and Scuffle wasn’t always able to provide a shield. Almost every attack Dinky and Scuffle threw, be it a bolt, a fireball, or some other basic attack, was diverted to the side or blocked by Sparkler’s own powerful shield spells. “Clarity!” Dinky called when she passed close enough to her friend. “Now would be an excellent time for some of those support spells!” Clarity nodded. She waited until Sparkler had turned away to fire in the direction of Honeydew and Scuffle, and then quickly concealed Dinky with a powerful invisibility spell. Totally hidden from view, Dinky crept to the perimeter of the courtyard. Sparkler didn’t seem aware of the disappearance of one of her foes. While Dinky and Clarity enacted their strategy, Scuffle remained relatively close to Honeydew, constantly protecting her with shield spells, and occasionally taking a hit himself to continue doing so. “Honeydew,” he asked frantically, shaking himself to try to stop the stinging sensation of another successful attack from Sparkler, “do you have any spells you can use here?” Honeydew shook her head. “I’ve never looked into any battle magic,” she admitted. “The only thing I can do is, well… you know…” “Then start doing that!” Scuffle urged, throwing up another shield around himself. “I’ll cover you until then.” Sparkler suddenly teleported right in front of Scuffle, cancelled out his shield with a quick shockwave, and then prepared to fire an attack bolt from nearly point-blank range. Scuffle, unable to protect himself, simply cringed and waited. A yellow bolt of light appeared from seemingly nowhere. Weak though it was, Sparkler wasn’t ready for it, and it struck her unprotected side. She yelped and staggered sideways, looking around. “Hidden from view? I didn’t expect that,” she called, loudly enough that Dinky would be able to hear, regardless of her position on the battlefield. There was no reply. The overseer turned slowly in place, warily eyeing the other foals, but not attacking as she tried to pinpoint Dinky’s hiding spot. Dinky watched her friends react as Sparkler prowled. Once he was out of the line of fire, Scuffle quietly sidestepped away. Upon reaching Honeydew, he whispered something in her ear. She looked at him, clearly a bit surprised, but nodded shakily. Once Sparkler turned away again, Dinky launched another bolt, once again hitting her target. Sparkler whirled around and fired a spell in her general direction, but it was easy to evade. “Try that again,” Sparkler hissed, searching for the hidden filly. “Go ahead. I dare you.” Dinky silently trotted out of Sparkler’s immediate line of vision and attacked again. Unfortunately, this time the young mare was ready, and the bolt of energy was caught in a field of magic, circling her like a satellite. “Now it doesn’t matter where you are!” Sparkler laughed. “All I have to do is return this to where it came from!” Dinky’s spell rocketed out of its orbit and made its way back toward its invisible caster. Dinky ran, but the bolt simply changed direction, pursuing her for a few seconds before finally colliding with her backside. She cried out, gritting her teeth at the stinging effect. Sparkler immediately teleported to the apparent point of the spell’s collision and released a shockwave, washing the invisibility off Dinky as it swept by. She followed it up with another bolt, which struck the temporarily defenseless filly in the chest. Pain spread through Dinky’s body, stinging in every extremity for a few moments and making it hard to move. She supposed this was the stunning effect Sparkler had added to her attack. Struggling to shake it off, she was positive she’d be subdued if Sparkler struck again. “Clarity, Scuffle, Honeydew! Help!” The filly cowered as Sparkler charged up another spell, fired… and missed completely, even from just a few pony lengths away. Dinky could only stare, confused, as the last of the stunning spell faded from her system. Sparkler growled and tried again, but her next attempt went even more off course. “How are you doing that?” she yelled. Still bewildered, Dinky put some distance between herself and Sparkler, the latter firing more and more bolts that didn’t seem to be aimed at anypony in particular. As she arrived at Clarity’s side, she noticed her friend’s horn was aglow. “Disorienting illusion,” Clarity whispered. “It’s a little something I came across by accident while studying. Sparkler’s view of the battlefield is all mixed up; she sees us at different locations than where we actually are.” Sparkler stopped flailing about. Crying out in rage, she teleported rapidly to several locations on the battlefield, releasing a shockwave at each one. The magic-cancelling energy covered every corner of the arena in seconds, ending the illusion plaguing her. “So, you like illusions, huh?” she asked her opponents, shaking her head as her perception returned to normal. “I’ve got just the thing for you, then!” Sparkler fired a bright blast of purple light into the air. It rose up some distance, then plummeted back down, engulfing her in a flash when it landed. As the glare faded, not one, but four Sparklers stared back at Dinky and her friends. Dinky’s pupils contracted. “Uh oh…” Chaos broke out. It was impossible, even for Clarity’s keen senses, to tell which Sparkler was real, and which ones were simply harmless, Sparkler-shaped light. The foals ran around the arena, each pursued by one of the Sparkler doubles. “What do we do?” Honeydew cried, diving between the legs of one Sparkler to avoid being caught by another. The Sparkler chasing Honeydew passed right through the one that had crossed their path to continue following her. “That’s it!” Dinky called. “Just jump right into them! We’ll pass right through the fakes, and the rules of the duel will magically prevent us from physically colliding with the real one!” All the Sparklers simultaneously skidded to a halt, but it was too late for them to change direction. Dinky threw herself at the pony behind her and passed right through it. Scuffle and Clarity each did the same a moment later. Honeydew squeaked. “But that means…” The doubles faded away as the real Sparkler closed in on Honeydew, preparing to strike. Scuffle, too far away to shield her, could only watch. “Gotcha,” Sparkler said, aiming her horn at the pink filly. There was a flash of purple, followed by a shimmer of green. Sparkler stepped back, surprised, as a shield spell, not nearly as solid-looking as Scuffle’s but still strong enough to absorb the attack, appeared between Honeydew and her. Honeydew cautiously opened an eye, glancing up at the shield she’d managed to create and looking massively relieved. Scuffle cheered from across the arena. “Told you you’d be able to do it, Dewey!” he called. Dinky quickly realized the information Scuffle had whispered to Honeydew a few minutes before was probably instructions to create a shield. Internally, she applauded the meek filly’s success at casting a new spell when it really mattered. Angrily, Sparkler used yet another shockwave to lower the shield, but Honeydew had already scampered away. She snorted. “There’s no reason for me to go after you yet, anyway,” she grumbled. “You don’t seem to have any attack magic.” Honeydew reached the safety of her group of friends. The four of them stood together once again, facing Sparkler. “Alright, this is getting dull,” the overseer said. "If you four think you can wear me out with shields and illusions, you’re in for a rude awakening.” A wide round disc of purple light appeared in the air, and Sparkler leapt up onto it. The moment her hooves touched down on it, another one appeared a bit higher up. The overseer repeated the process several times, and soon she was several pony lengths in the air, looking down on her opponents. “Well I can use shields too,” she continued, creating more circular platforms at the height of the one she was standing on. “Good luck fighting back from down there.” Gracefully, Sparkler leapt across to another of the platforms, putting her in the perfect position to send a spell down at Scuffle. The colt used a laser-like spell to try to strike first, but Sparkler simply backed up a few steps, and the laser harmlessly struck the underside of the disc. The moment Scuffle’s attack ceased, she darted forward and sent a stunning bolt at him, which met its target and left the poor colt staggering as he tried to shake off the pain. Sparkler hopped across several of the platforms, firing spells from each one and striking her opponents again and again, all the while remaining fully protected from their counterattacks. Dinky’s frustration quickly began to build up again. She growled as she sidestepped another attack and watched her own spell glance harmlessly off one of the suspended shields. “There’s gotta be some way to get her down from there,” she complained as she and Clarity ducked behind one of Scuffle’s shields. “None of us can penetrate the shields with magic,” Clarity admitted, watching Sparkler laugh as one of Scuffle’s spells failed to make the disc even waver. “There’s one way we can break through them,” Scuffle said quietly. “Honeydew’s secret weapon.” “Already working on it,” Honeydew said quietly, flinching a bit as one of Sparkler’s attacks hit Scuffle’s shield. “But I can’t shield myself while I’m doing this…” “Got it,” Clarity replied. “Dinky and I will keep her busy, and Scuffle will cover you. Just do your thing.” Honeydew nodded. “Good luck,” she whispered as her friends ran out from behind the shield. “Give up!” Sparkler called, raining purple bolts down on the fillies. “You can’t do anything to hit me, and you know it!” Dinky responded by pointing her horn directly at Sparkler and casting the most powerful illumination spell she could muster. Sparkler squinted, trying to attack but unable to see past the glare. “Make her move to the middle platform,” Honeydew said, just loudly enough for her friends to hear. Clarity lit her horn as well, doubling the intensity of the light Sparkler faced. Unable to aim through such a strong glow, Sparkler turned away and hopped to a further platform. Dinky and Clarity followed, forcing her to retreat until she was positioned right over the center of the battlefield. “Honeydew, now!” Dinky yelled. Both Honeydew’s horn and enchanted tail ring glowed, and a gargantuan root burst through the ground, scattering the bricks of the courtyard floor as if they were nothing more than loose debris. Still mostly blinded, Sparkler was caught completely off guard as the root smashed through the shield she was standing on like a pane of glass. Confused, she writhed as it quickly curled itself around her trunk, with smaller tendrils ensnaring her legs. Despite her struggles, she was rapidly immobilized. Scuffle leapt forward, applying a strong gravity spell as Honeydew lowered the root trap back to the ground. Sparkler screamed with rage as she was finally pinned against the bricks by both tightly wrapped roots and greatly increased personal gravity. “You got her!” Clarity cried gleefully, watching the overseer wiggle feebly in the trap. Honeydew blushed. “We wouldn’t have if you and Dinky hadn’t played your part. We all did it together.” Dinky said nothing. Instead, she watched warily as Sparkler stopped squirming. Purple light surrounded Sparkler’s horn, growing to a brightness Dinky hadn’t seen so far that night. “Um, guys… I don’t think it’s over…” Sparkler screamed with rage as the roots were suddenly ripped apart, as if hacked to shreds with an ax. She rose to her hooves, the glow from her horn spreading to her whole body, causing what was left of the roots to wither around her. “This joke isn’t going to go on a second longer!” she bellowed as the foals backed off in terror. “I’ll use the full extent of my power if that’s what it takes! The four of you will not stop me!” Sparkler rose to her hind hooves and slammed her forehooves back down as she finished her sentence, and the entire arena began to shake. The cone of magic around her horn grew much larger, a towering column of light upon her forehead. “W-w-what’s happening?” Scuffle asked, struggling to stay standing despite the shaking. Before any of the foals could harbor a guess, a tiny, bright object burst up from the earth destroying a brick as it appeared from below. It was followed by dozens more, appearing from every part of the arena and rendering the vast majority of the brickwork underhoof a mess of rubble. “They’re gemstones!” Clarity realized, staring at the shimmering objects as they floated toward Sparkler. “Dozens and dozens of gemstones!” The floating stones suddenly began to clump together as Sparkler fused them into several constructs. The shapes she was forming quickly became apparent; four boots, a chestplate, and a helmet, each made entirely of shimmering, multicolored crystal. “She’s making… armor?” Dinky asked, mesmerized. “Enchanted armor!” Sparkler declared, imbuing the crystal garments with a few quick spells. “I may not be able to defeat all four of you at once on my own, but with the help from this, you don’t stand any chance!” The armor floated into place, affixing itself to Sparkler’s body. Power radiated from the young mare once it was all in place. She grinned devilishly. “This should be over in about five seconds,” she chuckled. “En garde!” Sparkler practically flew across the battlefield; in barely an instant, she was right in front of the foals, her horn glowing menacingly. “There’s a speed boost enchantment on the boots,” she explained, relishing the ponies cowering in front of her. “You can’t outrun my attacks anymore.” “Scatter!” Clarity urged, fleeing across the battlefield. Dinky took the hint and ran in a different direction, and her friends did the same. She didn’t get very far, however. It had become particularly hard to run now that the even surface of the field had been damaged by all the gems bursting through it. She stumbled, struggling to keep her balance. Turning, she saw Sparkler closing in on Scuffle, whose repeated attacks were bouncing harmlessly off her armor. I can hit her where she’s not covered, though… Dinky thought, carefully aiming a spell. A yellow bolt flew from her horn, striking Sparkler right in the backside. However, the older filly didn’t so much as flinch. She did turn to face her attacker, though. “Sorry, Dinky,” she called tauntingly. “The armor may not be covering all of me, but the defense enchantment on the chestplate is strong enough to completely block weak spells like that!” Dinky’s jaw dropped. If Sparkler’s immune to our normal attacks, how can we even fight back? Her friends seemed to be coming to similar realizations. Honeydew groaned, Clarity looked bleak, and even Scuffle’s aggressive stance seemed to mellow out. Judging by Sparkler’s expression, it was clear she knew she’d gained the upper hoof. “The fun part of this armor, though, is the enchantment on the helmet,” she said, ceasing her assault and trotting slowly to the center of the battlefield. “The enchantment on it is a very powerful amplifier for earth magic.” She looked directly at Dinky. “Observe.” The ground began to rumble again, and for a moment, Dinky expected more gems to appear. Instead, the patch of earth heaved beneath her, causing her to pitch sideways. An uneven pillar of brick and soil rose up from the ground, with the filly perched atop it. Panicking, Dinky leapt off the growing spire of rock before it got too high, but before her hooves even reached the ground, another column began to rise up to meet her. Several more appeared around that, all rising at different speeds and with surfaces at different angles. She jumped from rock to rock in a desperate attempt to escape. Moments later, the same phenomenon began to occur beneath the hooves of the other foals, who had no choice but to start leaping from pillar to pillar like Dinky was. Honeydew was the first to make an error. With a sharp cry, she topped off one of the low mounds, landing on her side on the debris below. Sparkler acted instantly, creating a cage out of the loose rock that quickly encased her. “Honeydew!” Scuffle cried out, trying to make his way across the pillars in her direction. Sparkler spotted her opening and quickly lowered the next pillar in Scuffle’s path, causing him to topple into the indent. It only took a second for him to be encased in another earthen cage. “Two down, two to go!” Sparkler said gleefully, haughtily flicking her tail. “Good effort, but I told you from the start, the four of you never really stood a chance.” She’s… enjoying this! Dinky realized, outraged. Agreeing to the duel is one thing, but… but taking pleasure in capturing my friends? She gritted her teeth, rapidly becoming enraged once again. So much so, in fact, that she didn’t even notice her yellow aura fading away in favor of a few more flashes of black sparks. Desperately, while still navigating the undulating earth below her, she tried to think of a spell that could fight back against a pony protected by enchanted armor. Clarity was adept at keeping her balance despite Sparkler’s spell, so the latter simply increased the intensity. The pillars began to rise and fall so quickly that there was no safe way to jump between them. It only took a few moments for Clarity to topple. Sighing, the grey filly seemed to simply give in as another of Sparkler’s enclosures began to form. Seeing her friend close her eyes and admit defeat made Dinky’s blood boil. Positively seething, she widened her stance and lowered her head, her horn crackling threateningly. “How dare you!” she screamed, hardly able to control herself. A powerful spell forced its way to the tip of her horn, fighting to be set loose. Sparkler’s ears pricked up, noticing both the angry yell and the ominous crackling. She whirled around and gasped at the sphere of dark magic on the tip of Dinky’s horn. From their prisons, Dinky’s friends were similarly terrified. Clarity reached out from between the newly formed bars of her cage, trying to get through to her friend. “No, Dinky, wait!” It didn’t help. With a livid scream, Dinky hurled the spell at Sparkler. The overseer erected a shield, but it had all the effect of a piece of wet tissue paper trying to stop a bullet. The spell punched right through and collided squarely with Sparkler’s chest. There was a sound akin to an entire china shop worth of glass shattering simultaneously. Sparkler’s armor fragmented into thousands of razor-sharp shards, which were flung all around the arena. Dinky’s friends, fortunately, were protected from the shrapnel by the earthen cages. Sparkler, however, was knocked across the field by the massive bolt of darkness. Limp as a ragdoll, she careened through the air, and landed in a heap against the far rim of the courtyard. She did not move. Panting, Dinky stood staring at her victim, trying to process what had just happened. The raised pillars gradually sank back into the ground, and the cages around the other foals crumbled, allowing them to squirm free. Silently, the three of them made their way toward Dinky, whose rage had now been replaced with simple non-comprehension. “Did… did I do that?” Nopony responded right away. Clarity and Honeydew looked away. Scuffle cleared his throat and hesitantly spoke up. “Well, uh… if you weren’t gonna get expelled before, I’m pretty sure you are now.” Clarity smacked Scuffle, but Dinky didn’t seem to notice the comment. Almost in a trance, she walked carefully across the ruined courtyard, until she stood over Sparkler. The overseer was absolutely covered in cuts. Most of them didn’t look serious, but there were dozens of them: the resulting damage from the armor shattering, clearly. Then there was the effect of the dark magic itself; Dinky couldn’t be sure how badly Sparkler was hurt. Clarity placed a hoof on Sparkler’s side, and sighed with relief. “She’s got a pulse, and she’s breathing,” she reported, “but I don’t think she’s waking up anytime soon.” Dinky stared down at Sparkler’s broken body, the same words repeating in her head over and over. I did this. I did this. “You guys were right all along,” she mumbled, her eyes finally opened to the truth. “I’m not myself. The dark magic, it… it makes it so easy to get angry now. I tried to tell myself it was just the stress of our mission, but I…” She paused, choking back a sob. “I didn’t even think about doing this. It just happened…” Clarity placed a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder. “Try to relax,” she said soothingly. “Sparkler will… be okay…” She didn’t sound very sure. Dinky turned and hugged her friend, crying softly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being such a grouch for a while there. I’m sorry for what I did to Sparkler. I can’t let the dark magic do this to me…” The four ponies were quiet for a little while. Dinky remained standing with her face buried in Clarity’s shoulder until the sobs subsided. “…Now what?” Honeydew asked finally. “We still have to do something about Sparkler, but, theoretically, where would we go next?” Sniffling, Dinky left Clarity’s embrace and trotted out the north side of the courtyard and over to the fence at the edge of the academy grounds. Standing up on her hind hooves and resting her front ones against the railing, she peered off the edge of the cliff beyond. Dense woods, broken only by a thin river, lay below, uninterrupted as far as the eye could see, save for a tiny town a few miles away, with a couple lights still glowing in the windows. “There,” she said, pointing to the settlement. “Sunbeam’s gone there. I can feel it.” “We can’t possibly get down the cliff, though,” Scuffle pointed out. “It’s almost a vertical drop. If Sunbeam’s left the grounds altogether, I don’t see how we can follow.” There was a pause. A dawning realization crept across Clarity’s face. “Teleport,” she said softly. Dinky sighed. “It’d work, but… you’re the only one who’s ever successfully teleported.” Clarity nodded. “I know,” she admitted. “And it’d be impossible for me to teleport all of us. But maybe if I focus… I can get you and me down there safely. Maybe.” “What about us, then?” Scuffle asked, tilting his head. “We’ll stay here,” Honeydew announced. “Even if we get in trouble, we have to get Sparkler inside so she can be treated.” Dinky nodded. “That would be best at this point. I don’t know what I’d do if Sparkler doesn’t, uhh…” She trailed off, but trusted her friends knew what she meant. “But I wanna help you guys!” Scuffle argued. “How are you gonna kick Sunbeam’s butt without me?” Honeydew leaned over suddenly and nuzzled Scuffle, which had the somewhat comedic effect of freezing the colt’s entire body in place the moment she touched him. “Scuffle, they can’t take you anyway, and I need your help to get Sparkler to safety,” she said gently. “Please, stay and help me.” The wheels in Scuffle’s brain eventually were jarred back into motion. “A-alright,” he said finally. “You two go. Honeydew and I will stay here. But don’t you dare get killed out there!” Dinky forced a smile. “We’ll try our best.” “Good,” Scuffle replied, decisively stamping a forehoof. “Alright, Clarity, go on and teleport. We’ll stay here for a moment to see you off.” Honeydew stepped forward and briefly hugged her friends, and then backed off and stood next to Scuffle. Clarity lit her horn. “This is our last chance to go back,” she warned. “Even if I can get us down there safely, I don’t think I’ll be able to get us back up. Once we leave the academy, we’ve pretty much got to see this through.” Dinky’s horn sparked again. “I’m going,” she stated. “Maybe I’m dangerously corrupted, but at least there’s a good chance the next pony I attack like that will be Sunbeam. Dark magic or not, I need to stop him.” Clarity looked at Dinky for a long moment. “Okay,” she said finally, surrounding Dinky and herself with cinnamon-colored magic. “Prepare for teleport.” As the magic around her began to strengthen, Dinky cast one last look at the ponies staying behind. Something in the grass beyond them caught her eye. “Hey, is that—” A bright orange shape suddenly darted through the grass, dashing toward Dinky. It leapt into the air toward her just as Clarity’s spell kicked in, and both ponies – and the orange shape as well – vanished in a red flash. “Was that… Trouble?” Scuffle asked. “Maybe,” Honeydew said uncertainly. “Either way, he’s gone now. They’re all gone.” There was a moment of silence. Honeydew turned to Scuffle, her eyes brimming with tears. “What if we never see them again?” she squeaked. “Dinky and Clarity are crazy smart and really powerful for their age,” Scuffle replied, cautiously placing a foreleg over Honeydew’s back. “If anypony can get through this, it’s them.” Honeydew sniffled. “Are you sure?” Scuffle bit his lip. “C’mon,” he said finally. “We have to get Sparkler some medical attention. Help me levitate her.” Somberly, the pair of foals turned away from the cliff, wondering what was in store for their brave friends. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Dinky felt the ground drop out from beneath her hooves, she knew she had been successfully teleported. Unlike when she’s traveled with Presto, however, it didn’t replace itself firmly underhoof an instant later. Crying out, Dinky topped a short distance through the air and into the thick canopy of a big tree. She bounced off a few stiff branches before finally toppling out, landing softly in a large bush. A thunk next to her signaled the arrival of Clarity as well. “Ugh, Clarity,” Dinky mumbled, lying limply in the bush, “you really need to work on teleporting to ground level.” “Hey, at least we didn’t appear halfway down the cliff,” Clarity replied. “I’ve never teleported with a passenger. We could have gone way off course.” Something furry climbed onto Dinky’s stomach. She opened her eyes and found Trouble the fox staring back at her. “Trouble?” she asked. “What about him?” Clarity asked, still trying to free herself from the bush. “He’s… here,” Dinky deadpanned. “He hitched a ride in your teleport.” Clarity turned her head, giving the fox a surprised expression. “So he did,” she said. “I guess he’s coming along, then.” Dinky got to her hooves, and Trouble rubbed himself affectionately against her hind leg. “Looks like it,” she agreed. “Now that we’re nowhere near his home, he’ll probably stick by me.” “So… where are we?” Clarity asked. Dinky looked around. A rather dark and imposing forest surrounded them on all sides, save for behind them, where the cliff rose up a few hundred pony lengths to the edge of the academy grounds. “We’re at the bottom of the mountain,” she answered. “We just need to find our way to that town we saw before.” Clarity smiled sheepishly. “I hope you know the way, then, cause I sure don’t.” “I can still feel Sunbeam’s energy,” Dinky replied, moving her head slowly around to try to determine which way the trail led. “If we just keep following it, we’ll find him eventually.” “Well, ‘eventually’ had better be soon,” Clarity worried. “It’s after midnight. Sunbeam could be completing his big plan at any moment, if he hasn’t already.” “Well, no great cataclysm has spread over Equestria yet,” Dinky pointed out. “I’m pretty sure that means we’ve still got some time.” With that, she trotted off into the darkness ahead, with Clarity and Trouble following faithfully behind. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hollow Shades. The beaten, lopsided wooden sign creaked as it swung in the wind, hanging over the entrance to the village. Two fillies and a fox stood just outside the town. “Hollow Shades, huh?” Dinky asked aloud. “I’ve heard that name before.” “I think I have too,” Clarity realized. “I don’t have the faintest idea where, though. Maybe it got mentioned in one of our classes?” “I can’t remember,” Dinky admitted. “It’s not important. Come on, let’s take a look around.” As quietly as possible, the two fillies made their way down one of the uneven dirt roads into town. It struck Dinky how very unlike Ponyville or Whinnychester this place really was. She was no stranger to small town life, but in towns like Ponyville, well-kept cottages lined straight, clean streets, and moonlight kept the town somewhat lit, even at night. Hollow Shades, however, was oddly arranged; the houses were scattered about, and weren’t similar at all. Some of them looked like fairly nice cottages, while others were run down structures with broken windows that looked as if they could hardly stand on their own. The surrounding forest had also crept its way into the village. Huge, drooping trees were strewn throughout town, their branches often embracing the sides of some of the dwellings, and creating a dark and eerie nighttime atmosphere that felt quite forboding. “I don’t like this place,” Clarity commented, peering down each poorly-lit alleyway as if something was lurking just out of sight. “I guess that makes sense though. Sunbeam would come to a creepy place like this to do… whatever it is he’s doing.” The fillies turned a corner and found themselves on an even narrower and darker side street. On a nearby termite-damaged porch, an aging brown stallion sat in an old rocking chair, lit only by the light of a few half-melted candles. He turned his head slowly and noticed the fillies staring at him. “Evenin’” he grunted. “Awful late for fillies t’ be out and about, innit?” “Er, yes, I suppose,” Dinky replied apprehensively. “We’ve got something, uh, important to take care of, though.” The stallion rocked back and forth in his chair a few times. “Not from ’round here, are ya?” he asked finally. “Both of ya look like yer a little lost. Don’t suppose yer from the Princess’s unicorn school up yonder?” “Maybe,” Clarity replied warily. “Does it matter?” The stallion gave a wheezing chuckle. “Ya both act like I’m some sort o’ threat,” he laughed. “Hollow Shades is not the most invitin’ place, ‘specially at night, but its bark’s worse than its bite, so t’ speak. It’s just unusual to see a pair of youngsters out at this hour, but if ya don’t want me meddlin’, I’ll leave ya be.” The old pony leaned back and stared at the sky. Dinky and Clarity exchanged a momentary glance before Dinky piped up again. “Excuse me, sir?” “Yeah?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the heavens. “Can you tell us where this road goes?” “Keep followin’ it and it leads to the edge of town,” he said simply. “Not much past there ‘cept the graveyard, and more forest.” “Except the… graveyard…” Dinky repeated. Sunbeam is not a student, nor is he on the Academy grounds. Last time we checked, he was buried in a forgotten cemetery in Hollow Shades! Dinky’s eyes widened as the dean’s voice echoed in her head. “Thank you,” she said quickly. “Come on, Clarity. I think I know where we’re headed.” “Huh?” Clarity asked, but received no reply as Dinky had already started quickly down the path, with Trouble bounding along at her heels. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So the dean was the one who mentioned Hollow Shades?” “Yes! Don’t you remember?” “Not really, no.” Dinky and Clarity walked briskly past the darkened cottages. Other than the stallion they’d passed a few minutes earlier, there didn’t seem to be a soul around. Considering it was the middle of the night, that wasn’t all that surprising. Dinky was glad she had a destination in mind, however, because the “trail” of dark magic she had been following seemed to be becoming less of a trail and more of a cloud. Unnerving energy seemed to be all around her, making it hard to pinpoint the source. She did her best not to let it worry her any more than she already was. “Sunbeam’s got to be close,” she said. “Traces of dark magic are everywhere. This is the cemetery where he’s supposedly buried, so it makes perfect sense that somewhere important like that would be where he was headed.” “Is it, though?” Clarity asked. “We’ve both seen Sunbeam. I’m pretty sure he’s, you know, not dead. And if that’s the case, what use is the graveyard where he’s ‘supposedly’ buried?” “It’s the right place!” Dinky snapped. “Just shut up and trust me!” Clarity recoiled, looking hurt. Dinky’s frustration vanished instantly and she hung her head. “Sorry… it’s the dark magic. You know that, right?” Clarity nodded solemnly. “It’s okay,” she assured Dinky. “Look. We’re here.” Sure enough, before the fillies lay a small, overgrown cemetery, surrounded by a rusted iron railing. It didn’t look like there were even a hundred graves contained inside. Dinky stepped forward and looked around warily, but there was no sign of anypony around. She turned to Clarity uncertainly. “Let’s look around.” Half-expecting Sunbeam to leap from the shadows at any moment, the two fillies crept between the graves. The atmosphere had grown still more eerie, if that was even possible; the wind had quieted for a few minutes, creating a dramatic, complete silence broken only by the crunching of leaves beneath the ponies’ hooves and Trouble’s panting. After a few minutes, Dinky spotted a small, worn headstone nestled between two larger ones. It’s positioning and appearance were nothing out of the ordinary, but the name carved into it was unmistakable. Here lies Sunbeam. “Here’s the grave,” she said as Clarity trotted to her side. “But there’s no sign of the living Sunbeam, and no clear direction leading toward him. What do we do now?” Clarity groaned. “Don’t tell me this was all a wild goose chase…” she grumbled. “I guess we should have guessed Sunbeam would find a way to cover his tracks. He could be nearby, but if you can’t follow the dark magic signature, we’ll never know it.” “But we came this far!” Dinky yelled, stamping a hoof and causing a shower of black sparks to fly from her horn. “There’s got to be something else we can try. Maybe we—” Dinky was still speaking as the sparks touched the earth in front of the grave. She was interrupted as the ground suddenly shook, causing the headstone to lean at an odd angle. “Something’s happening!” Clarity gasped. “Get back! It’s some kind of reaction to your dark magic!” Both ponies moved several graves away, watching as the earth itself gave way, collapsing into a deep pit just in front of Sunbeam’s headstone. Eventually, the shaking stopped, and silence took over again. “…what happened?” Clarity whispered, after a long pause. “I don’t know,” Dinky answered. “Let’s take a look.” Leading the way, Dinky carefully moved to the edge of the pit. Peering down, she spotted exactly what one would expect to see within a grave; a simple, wooden coffin, about a pony-length below the surface. Both fillies stared at it for a long time. “I’m gonna open it,” Dinky said finally. “What? Why?” Clarity asked, looking alarmed. “Because,” Dinky replied, “we can finally prove whether or not the pony that’s been trying to corrupt me is the real Sunbeam. Even if it doesn’t change anything, I still want to know.” Clarity shrugged. “Well, alright. But be careful; we don’t want to cause another collapse or something.” Dinky lit her horn, making sure to use her own magic this time, and gently lifted the lid of the coffin. Clarity shined some light down into the pit for a better view. A tiny skeleton, no bigger than Dinky, rested in the interior. After forty years, no shred of skin or muscle remained. It was lying on its side, in a position that, before the body decomposed, had probably looked as if the colt was just peacefully sleeping. “Poor little colt,” Dinky whispered. “So Sunbeam really did die all those years ago. At least I didn’t end up like him…” “There’s one thing I don’t get, though,” Clarity said, furrowing her brow. “Why did the grave react to your dark magic in the first place?” Dinky blinked. “I’m not sure. Could it have something to do with the original Sunbeam down there?” Before Clarity could answer, Dinky gave off yet another involuntary burst of black sparks. Not wanting to get caught in another collapse, Clarity quickly backed off, but Dinky stood, transfixed, as the horn on the skeleton below feebly began to glow with a black aura of its own. “Clarity, come look.” Clarity fearfully approached, and peered at the skeleton apprehensively, and both fillies silently realized what it was that did Sunbeam in. “After all these years,” Clarity breathed, “it’s still got a hold on him. That’s… kinda scary.” “You’re telling me,” Dinky sighed. “I’d give anything to have not been wrapped up in all this in the first place.” “Hold that thought,” Clarity said suddenly. “Dinky, look!” On the wall of the grave, a few inches above the skeletal Sunbeam’s head, a familiar symbol appeared; a looping M with a point on the end. “Scorpio’s mark!” Dinky gasped. Another identical mark appeared, and another, and another. Soon, they’d reached the top of the pit, and began to appear on the path, showing up on random surfaces such as trees or other headstones. Each mark glowed with a dull purple light. One by one, they continued to appear, forging a clear trail of glowing symbols leading out of the cemetery and back into the forest. “What in Equestria?” Clarity asked, watching the symbols continue to appear, further and further from the grave. Dinky watched, awe-stricken. “I think the original Sunbeam’s magic did it,” she said. “He’s… he’s guiding us.” “Well what are we waiting for?” Clarity asked. “Let’s follow the symbols before they fade away! Maybe they’ll lead us straight to whoever or whatever is pretending to be Sunbeam!” Clarity ran ahead, and Dinky peered back into the open grave one more time. “Thank you,” she whispered to the skeleton below. “Rest in peace, Sunbeam. We’ll take it from here.” With a flicker of magic, she gently shut the coffin, and, with Trouble faithfully trailing behind, she leapt the low fence and sprinted into the gloomy forest after Clarity.