“Are you two ready?” Azure Flame hissed, glancing over his wither at his friends. Slim and Creepy both nodded, stern expressions on their faces.
Earlier that day, the trio had arrived in Nice, a rather large town on the banks of the winding Rein River, which flowed through Germaneigh as well, and acted as a dock for the smaller trading and travel crafts coming from or towards the ocean.
Three days ago, Azure Flame, or rather, Blueblood, burst into the Palace of Mare-sailles, demanding to speak with the Regent of Prance. Getting his way, he was granted access to the various files and claims of criminal activity, and quickly looked through them to find data on Black Phoenix. Unsurprisingly, they’d found very little on them, mostly post mortem reports on the corpses of suicide-squad members. Still, after a few hours of searching, they came across some interesting names.
Apparently, a stallion named Scarbone ran most of the criminal dealings in the Catacombs, and had tenuous relations with a mare, a one Gentle Mist, who was rumored to be a Black Phoenix operative, but had no proof on either.
It was Creepy who noticed that the mare called Gentle Mist had a rap sheet petty crimes, mostly of Anti-Nobility protests and the like. But, she also had membership to the White Dragon, a night club that he knew was a hangout for Black Phoenix agents. How he knew this, he would not say, but Azure and Slim trusted him. Thus, they decided to go after Scarbone first, to try and coerce some information out of him.
Now, they had plenty of data. Scarbone had provided them with the name of an infamous noble, as well as the time and place of a party for him. Scarbone wanted some merchandise back from the noble, and in exchange, he’d tell them anything they wanted to know. Plus, Black Phoenix was supposedly staging a raid on the party later in the evening. A good situation all around.
Currently, the three beings were sneaking down towards Count Frost Wines summer villa. It was Seven PM, and Blueblood wanted to be earlier so he could set up plans and traps. At the wall of the mansion, Azure carefully levitated Creepy over the top, who, once on the other side, quickly unlocked a nearby door, a servant’s entrance to the complex. Blueblood had returned to Mare-sailles, in disguise this time, to obtain all the information about the mansion as he could. Soon enough, the blueprints to Count Frost Wine’s manor were copied and memorized.
The gardens were well maintained, and topiaries shaped like ponies abounded in the yard. There was a small greenhouse by the west wing, which had a small door that led straight into the manor proper. From there, the trio would sneak up a flight of stairs, and past the ballroom, where he assumed the party would be held. They’d hide from the serving staff, and hopefully detain the Count before the party started. Simple and brilliant.
So far, the plan was working. They’d made it through the greenhouse, stopping only to deal with an allergy attack from Slim. Once the Minotaur was silenced and pollen-free, they’d gotten into the mansion, up the stairs, and were now at the ballroom. But, there was something wrong…
The ballroom was empty. Not only that, but there wasn’t a single servant to be seen, or any preparations for a party. Had they been given the wrong time? Had Scarbone swindled them?
“Well, this is a bust,” Creepy murmured, looking around.
“The party is either for ghosts or the invisible. That, or we got it all wrong,” Slim said, trying to inject some levity.
“No, this is wrong! I felt life signs in the mansion, I cast a spell to check! There should be ponies here!” Azure muttered, glancing about. Cautiously, he lit up his horn, and soon a flicker of magic pulsed outwards. He closed his eyes, waiting for something, before turning to the others.
“I don’t understand… There are ponies here, but also Diamond Dogs, Zebras, Griffons… a whole assortment of them…” Slim and Creepy exchanged glances. They’d researched the Count beforehoof, and he was a notorious speciest. Why then would he have other species in his home?
“Well, where are they?” Slim inquired.
“Further in the mansion, underground from the looks of it. A basement?” At Azure’s announcement, Slim and Creepy’s glances became a lot more concerned, and a knowing look seemed to pass between them. Azure Flame, with his eyes closed, missed the exchange.
“Let’s go. We still have a mission,” Azure declared.
Deeper in the mansion they crept, but the further they went, the more their unease grew. Where were the servants? Surely this place had a few, how else would it stay so clean?
The hallway they were currently in had sloped downwards, according to Slim, and was also not on the blueprints. A secret area, it seemed.
“Movement, approaching us!” Creepy, who was on point, hissed, and Blueblood quickly cast the Gaze Slider spell on them. Not even half a minute later, a pair of maids appeared, walking down the hallway towards their position.
“I don’t care how much you were offered to stay tonight, I refuse to allow you into that room!” The speaker, an older Earth Pony mare, scolded a younger Pegasus.
“But why not? Surely being a waitress to the Count and his guests would…”
“Would nothing! I will not let a young mare such as yourself within a Princess-damned inch of that stallion or his guests tonight!”
“I don’t understand…”
“And so it should be! There are things about the Count you should not have to know about. The less you know, the less he can hurt you.” The older maid stopped talking, her tone declaring the conversation over.
Soon, they rounded a corner, and were gone. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Azure lowered the spell.
“What was that about?” He mused. Slim and Creepy had a sinking feeling they already knew. Regardless, they’d know soon.
At the end of the hallway, around a single corner, was a door. It was large, it was made of stone, and there was a sound canceling spell on it and whatever was behind it. Azure frowned as he looked at the spell. It was simple, had no defenses, and he could break it easily. But, something about the configuration of the Silencing Matrix bothered him. After a moment, he realized what it was. A Magic Negation spell had been woven into it as well, effectively preventing anything other than a Unicorn from using magic.
A sense of dread settled onto the blonde Unicorn, and he felt a shiver go through his spine. Slowly, he reached out a trembling hoof to the door, and pushed it open.
It opened surprisingly easily, and soon, the interior was revealed.
Chains. Whips. Shackles. Torture equipment. Blood. Screams of pain, pleads of mercy, moans of pleasure, and overpowering it all, a stench of filth and suffering.
Inside, were a dozen or so Unicorns. Inside, were dozens more of Diamond Dogs, Griffons, and Zebras. Inside, the Nobles were torturing, beating, ravaging, ravishing, abusing, and doing whatever they wanted to the other creatures. Chains and collars hung on the non-ponies’ necks. Slaves.
Scarbone merchandise was slaves. This Count was slaver!
Azure Flame just stood there, in horrified shock at the scene before him. Slim and Creepy were no better, a loud growling coming from the Minotaur.
The door opening, as well as the rumbling of anger from Slim, was enough to catch the attention of a few of the “party-goers.”
“Who in Tartarus’ name are you?” A Pony demanded.
Azure Flame’s answer was an ear piercing scream. As his voice echoed, his horn began to burn with golden magical energy. It blazed brighter and brighter, a massive torrent of power starting to crackle and spark everywhere.
“Oh shit! Azure, snap out of it!” Creepy shouted, staring in terror at the magical build up that was occurring. He might not have been a Unicorn, but the Donkey had seen enough desperate and broken creatures before to see that he was experiencing a burst of uncontrollable magic, as a result from a shattered, disbelieving mind. Pegasi released powerful storms during their breakdowns, Earth Ponies caused earthquakes, and Unicorns made everything explode.
“Get down!” Slim cried, tackling the Donkey behind the stone door. A moment later, all of the magic Azure had gathered exploded outwards.
“Remember, the plan is to take Prince Blueblood and his companions’ hostage,” Gentle Mist said, reminding her various troops. “The other nobles are to be killed on sight.”
The slender Pegasus mare stood on a small bluff a few yards from the mansion’s entrance. There were few guards, and they were all either slacking off or drunk. Not much of a challenge.
“What of the slaves?” A Unicorn asked. He was one of several, a group of over a dozen ponies and other beings who were part of the frontal assault.
“Free them, of course. Some of them may be too far gone to help, however. In that case, put them out of their misery.” The beings with her nodded, some sadly at that. Gentle Mist turned back to the Unicorn.
“Are the other teams ready?”
“Yes, they’ve set up a cordon to prevent escape, and if need be, provide support.”
“Good.” Gentle Mist looked up at the moon. It was almost time. Just a few more minutes before eight…
Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep rumbling, the ground beneath her shifting and trembling.
“What in Vandal’s name?!” She cried, her shock and surprise mirrored by her troops.
Like a volcanic eruption spewing forth lava and ash, the west wing of the mansion disintegrated as a pillar of pure magical energy burst forth, tearing apart the building before them like tissue paper in a firestorm. The Unicorns in her group suddenly screamed in pain and fell to the ground, clutching their horns. Sparks crackled upon them, the intense Mana of the explosion creating a backlash that stunned them. Soon, everyone else felt the magic tear at them, their limbs growing numb as tingling sensations rippled through their bodies.
The pillar of magic soon faded, and all that was left was the Mana residue, still saturating the air.
“Move out now! Change of plans! Find the source of that blast! GO!” Gentle Mist shouted, and the Non-Unicorns who’d recovered enough to move took off running and flying towards the scene. The mansion’s guards were also scrambling towards the sizzling hole in the ground, and in the distance the back-up raiders were rushing forward to provide assistance.
“What the buck was that?!” Gentle Mist screamed at a Unicorn, who was staggering to her feet.
“Th, that was a Mana Burst! When a Pony suffers extreme emotional or physical pain, they sometimes vent all their Mana at once, creating small but destructive events!”
“That was small?! You’re shitting me!” Gentle Mist shouted, and the Unicorn shivered, and not just from her boss’s displeasure.
“I’ve never felt so much power before. Only a Unicorn with lots of latent power or potential could cause a blast that big! They’re usually only a few feet at most!”
“It was Blueblood,” another Unicorn croaked, still on the ground. “I could feel it. I, I know it was him, even though I’ve never met him…”
“BUCK!” Gentle Mist screeched, slamming her hooves on the dirt in anger.
A few minutes later, a Griffon flew towards them.
“Gentle Mist, ma’am! We’ve discovered the source of the blast!”
“I know! It was Blueblood!” Mist snapped. Surprised, the Griffon faltered, but recovered quickly.
“Er, yes, it was. He and his two comrades are unconscious, and we put in them in chains, ready to be transported.”
“Good, at least something’s gone right. What about the Nobles and slaves?”
“Um, well, the Nobles are, um… dead.”
“…What?” Mist and the other Unicorns just stared at him, not quite sure they’d heard right.
“They were all Unicorns, directly next to a Catastrophe-Class Mana Burst! Their horns overloaded and simply shattered, sending their own magic ricocheting through their bodies! Half are brain dead, the other half had their organs shut down! Tartarus, a few were even partially vaporized from the sheer potency of it!”
“…And the slaves?”
“Most of them are fine, and all are alive. None were Unicorns, so their inherent magic wasn’t hit as bad. Some of the mansion’s staff are down, though, either due to their horns cracking or the Mana knocking them out. One or two may have been killed by the Blast, but we’re unsure of that. No bodies to confirm or deny the assumption.”
Gentle Mist stood still, thoughts racing through her mind. Finally, she looked back at the Griffon.
“Throw the Prince and his ‘minions’ into a sky carriage. I want them in Toro ASAP!”
“Why Toro, ma’am?” The Griffon inquired.
“One of our bases there was designing a Magic Nullifier Ring that was supposed to be able to contain even an Alicorn’s prodigious magic levels. I want one on Blueblood before we send him to Vandal!” Gentle Mist was not going to take any chances. If this Prince was powerful enough to do that much damage unconsciously, who knew what he could do to their bases if he was actually trying!
“Yes, ma’am!” The Griffon said, saluting before flying off to arrange it.
“Well, at least the nobles are dead. Silver Lining, right?” Gentle Mist’s glare shut up the speaker. She shook her head in disgust.
‘This was not part of the plan … how much more will that ignorant Princeling surprise us ... and thwart us?’