“And that’s where we’re at now,” I finished, glancing about the bustling town hall. “So is there anything you can do for us?”
“Zis… is definitely a problem,” Cogs said slowly, stroking his chin as he considered his response. “To sink zat fool Arcana shared my work wiz zees maniacs, and zat zey have weaponised it on top of everysing else.”
"But can you help us?” I pressed urgently.
“I will most certainly try,” he assured me. “I will talk to your friend Suffersorn regarding it. If I am going to build you somesing that can take on the Dreadnaught, I will need materials and workers.”
“Thank you,” I replied, with a sigh of relief. “She’ll give you whatever you need, I’m sure. Anyway, I have to rush here, but I’ll see you again…”
“At Cragsburg, yes,” Cogs finished. “But before you go, I sought you might be interested to hear what I discovered about your underwater boat.”
“Oh yes,” I remembered. “What can you tell me?”
“Well it is very old for a start,” he began. “Not as old Arclight itself, it was perhaps built around the time of the pony colonisation, but it most certainly uses the same technology as can be found in ze Tower there. If I could have seen zis undersea temple, I might be able to tell you more, but I’m afraid zat is all I could learn about its history.”
“That’s okay,” I told him. “If you want to keep hold of it, then be my guest, just don’t lose the keys.”
Cogs laughed along with me, before bidding farewell and leaving to find Sufferthorn. I made my way out of the town hall to look around the square, which was absolutely packed with ponies getting prepared for the march north to Cragsburg. I could see them loading carts with armour and weapons, while others were preparing tents and food for storage. A large number had already moved out that morning, Twilight Sparkle leaving with them, as no assault on Cragsburg could be made until she made contact with Applejack. Sufferthorn had stayed behind to manage the rest, considering they were still waiting on a large bulk of their army returning from Glean and Timber.
I was genuinely shocked at how many ponies had volunteered themselves, including some who had never fought in the war to begin with. Of course there were still plenty who wanted out, which we had expected. Sufferthorn was able to offer them a deal though, that they would no longer be classified as soldiers and didn’t have to go to battle, but they would stay in Pivot, Glean and Timber as guards, to help protect against bandits and marauders. Those who were staying behind were more than happy to put the restoration programme on hold and help provide support for the army; it definitely looked like the Rebellion could be ticked off our list of allies.
As such, I was pretty much ready to hit the road and go rendezvous with Pinkie Pie. So once I had my things gathered up, I made my way to the western exit, where the road that cut through the Tranquil Forest to Dolor began. Sufferthorn had arranged for transport, so I wouldn’t spend a week getting there. I didn’t expect her to show up again before I left, but I was pleasantly surprised to see her running down the street towards us as I was getting on board the cart.
“Oh, hey,” I greeted casually. “Cogs was looking for you.”
“Yeah I already spoke to him,” she replied as she stopped beside the cart. “He seems to know what he’s talking about, so I told him to go nuts, but I needed to speak to you before you left.”
“Is it about Stranglethorn?” I asked.
“Uh, yes,” she answered, sounding surprised. “How did you know?”
“Well it hasn’t escaped my notice that he wasn’t here all day yesterday,” I pointed out. “He would have been really helpful if he was.”
“Tell me about it,” Sufferthorn agreed. “But yes, I came to tell you that he’s in Arclight. Maverick had him sent away shortly after you all left to follow that crow, he ordered him to do what your friend Pinkie is supposed to be doing, but I bet he just wanted rid of him, because he knew Strangle wouldn’t allow him to imprison me.”
“Figures,” I muttered. “Well with him and Pinkie working together, they’ll probably have the Arcane Order taken care of by the time I get there.”
“Let’s hope so,” Sufferthorn agreed. “If you’re really going to try and gather everypony, you can’t afford to waste time.”
“A bit like what we’re doing right now?” I questioned with a smirk.
“Watch it,” she warned, suppressing her own smile. “I’m still your superior. Now hurry on, and I’ll meet you when you get to Cragsburg.”
I repressed the urge to chuckle at that, deciding it would be better not to push her buttons right before leaving. Saying goodbye, I told the pair of stallions latched to the cart that I was good to go, and they set off, Sufferthorn turning and marching back the way she came as they did. The stallions had been instructed to get me as far as Dolor; I would make my own way from there, and hopefully obtain transport to Mule once I was done. The trip itself was completely uneventful, but the pair of them were professionals when it came to transporting ponies and managed to complete what should have been a long trip in little under two days.
We had left early enough from Pivot, and they travelled at a pretty solid pace throughout the day, stopping only very occasionally for short periods of time to drink and snack. At night-time we slowed down a bit, as one hoped into the cart alongside me to catch a few hours’ sleep, while the other pulled the cart alone. They switched over sometime during the night, before they both took the cart again when morning came. It wasn’t until very late that evening, after the sun had set and the light was fading quickly, that we reached Dolor. Both of them appeared rather spooked by how desolate it was, neither having been there since before the war.
Once at the town, it was my turn to take the lead, instructing them to leave their cart behind as I led them through the abandoned village, coming to the same house Stranglethorn had taken me to when we came through there together. It was easy to find, being one of the more complete houses. I made sure to stop just short of pushing the door open, reaching up to close the almost hidden latch so I didn’t end up with a face full of metal when I entered. Indeed, as I walked through I saw that the pendulum remained, and quickly instructed the pair of stallions that under no circumstances should they open the door unless I say it’s safe to do so.
Once that grim business was out of the way, I welcomed them to get settled and rest, I knew they too would be setting off first thing in the morning, back to Pivot. While they chatted a little to one another and headed on upstairs to find the bed, I made my way over to the floorboard with Stranglethorn’s sigil carved in. After pulling it loose with my magic, I set it to the side and found my dress still inside. Although since I had left it there, somepony, I guessed Stranglethorn, had bagged it up so it wouldn’t get damaged. I frowned, remembering how I had only hired it for one night… around fifty-five days ago. While it wasn’t a pressing issue, I made a mental note to return it the next day if I found a free moment to go back to that shop.
After setting the dress over on the table, I came back for the lockbox, noticing the key was left inside for me. After taking it over to the table as well, I opened it up and found that there wasn’t much inside. Still the same maps that had been there before, but the photograph of Arcana was gone. There were a few additional documents, which I read over in case they contained anything of value, although for the most part they just told me stuff I already knew, like the formation of the council following Arcana’s death. One sheet of paper did catch my attention however; it was a letter sent to Arcana, pined to the front of it was a note with writing I recognised as Stranglethorn’s.
The note read ‘found in Arcana’s private chambers, it would seem he wasn’t responsible for what happened in Dolor after all’. Curious, I turned my attention to the letter and found that it was an apology, stating that the ‘experiments’ in Dolor had resulted in some permanent damage to the town. I remembered what Stranglethorn had told me, about how magic was responsible for the accelerated plant growth in the town. The letter went on to politely, but firmly, suggest that Arcana take the fall for it if he wished for their good relationship to continue. It was only when I reached the end, and saw it was signed with the letter C, that it all became clear.
The letter was sent by Crane during the war, the experiments it referenced must have been more of those ‘risky operations’ he had mentioned, but while Brine had been them looking into ways of conquering death, what did plants have to do with becoming an alicorn? Well I’m sure Crane had his reasons, but I knew exactly what the experiments at Dolor had resulted in, because I had seen them first hand at Pivot mere days before. I familiarised myself with the layout of the city and the Tower for good measure, I wasn’t sure what I was to expect going there the next morning, but I wanted to feel prepared.
After that, I found I still had too much energy considering I had done so little for two days while we travelled. Stepping outside, I began practicing the various techniques Applejack and Rainbow Dash had shown me with my rapier, as well as testing myself on how quickly I could turn, identify a target and throw a knife at it. By the time I decided to stop for the night, I was confident my friends would have been pleased with my progress. I also wondered if Twilight had seen any significant increase in my magic level since the last time we had discussed it.
Once I was finished, I returned to the house, checking the latch before letting myself in. Since I assumed the stallions had taken the bed, and rightly so since they had done all the hard work in getting me to Dolor, I just picked a relatively clean patch of wooden boards to lay down my coat and curl up on it for the rest of the night. Even after going to bed later, I still managed to get up earlier than my travelling companions and was forced to bustle them out the door along with me, refusing to leave them unattended, lest they end up the unfortunate victim of Stranglethorn’s booby trap.
They wished me luck with my mission, not that they had been told what I was doing and I hadn’t really filled them in, but before they left, they promised they would help in transporting goods from Pivot up north to help the Rebellion, even if they weren’t going to fight. Their words had put me in a good mood as I set off from Dolor, along the road that inclined gently up to Arclight. As was the case before, it didn’t take long to trek up the road to the city perched on the hill, overlooking the rest of the forest. I was able to walk at a brisk pace, breathing in the scented air of the woods flanking me on either side, while enjoying the sounds of chirping and rustling of leaves.
Since I was paying attention to it, I became very aware when the sounds stopped. Not immediately, but after a moment of walking in absolute silence, I began to slow my pace, a curious expression donning my face as I wondered where all the wildlife was suddenly hiding… or more accurately, what they were hiding from. It didn’t take long for the answer to become apparent, as I walked forward and heard a sudden, loud shifting of branches and brambles to my left. I gripped my sword and turned, expecting to see a timber wolf or some other predator getting ready to pounce.
What leapt from the undergrowth however, was far more horrific than I had been expecting, but that was probably because I was under the impression that giant spiders weren’t common… anywhere in Panchea let alone this particular section of the forest. It was lucky that I had been prepared for the attack, drawing my sword and swishing it through the air as the spider dove towards me. I took one of its thick, hairy legs off with a clean cut, before ducking to the side to avoid the rest of the body colliding with me. The leg itself dropped to the ground, where it continued to twitch in the most revolting fashion.
I quickly regained my balance and spun around to face my foe, almost dropping my guard as I saw it clearly for the first time. While the term ‘giant spider’ was accurate for the most part, what with it having the unmistakable eight long legs now reduced to seven, the large, bulbous abdomen with spinnerets, it was difficult to ignore the grotesque half pony growing out the front of it in place of its face. They looked awful, covered in thick black hair like the rest of the spider, while hanging limply like a ragdoll. Like it was barely aware of its own existence, while it stared slack jawed into space and the spider half acted as if it had a mind of its own.
My mind briefly flashed back to the Covenant cathedral, to the pen we had fallen into filled with large web sacs, the one that I had previously seen the large, twitching abdomen before they had presumably transported it to the Dreadnaught. My eyes flicked from the monster to the city of Arclight, nothing about it indicated it was under attack, but if this creature was here, then perhaps Blueblood had launched skirmishes on more than just Pivot. I quickly turned my attention back to the spider, it wouldn’t do to look away for too long and allow it to get the jump on me, but it appeared to be just standing there.
I stared in confusion at it, wondering if maybe I should move in to finish it off, and at the very least put the pony out of their misery, but then the pony’s dull eyes swivelled in their sockets to stare directly at me. The pony made a retching noise and opened their mouth, spiting a glob of some sticky substance right at me. I was completely taken by surprise by the creature’s sudden activity and was unable to dodge in time, ending up with the sickening stuff hitting me directly in the face and completely covering my eyes.
I stumbled back instinctively, my sword dropping to the ground as I reached up to try and peel the gunk off, only to end up with it sticking to my hooves as well, without actually getting rid of any of it. I heard the creature hiss before it scuttled forwards, I tossed myself to one side, hoping I could keep away from it long enough to regain visibility. I landed awkwardly and collapsed, quickly dragging myself along as I heard the spider approaching again. For a moment I thought I could feel the substance coming loose, but then I felt the weight of the spider land on top of me, knocking the breath out of me before it began lashing into me with its legs.
Since my forelegs were still stuck up near my face, they were able to protect it from the blows, but I still took quite a beating as I tried to wriggle free. Amidst the sounds of my struggle and the hissing of the monster, I heard rapidly approaching hoofsteps, and before I could think to cry out for help, I felt the weight lift off me as the spider shrieked in agony. The spider’s shrieks were quickly silenced, so suddenly that I could only assume my saviour had slain it. I continued to try and fight against the goo that refused to come unstuck, when I felt strong hooves pin me down.
“Who’s there?!” I demanded, receiving no reply. “I… if you’re an ally, then please help me, otherwise…”
I felt one of the hooves that had been pinning my struggling foreleg, lift up and place itself over my mouth, shutting me up. I had no idea who it was and if I could trust them, my heart was racing faster than it had been when the spider was attacking me, perhaps because of the unknown, but I forced myself to remain still, praying this pony was here to help me. I felt something cold press against my face, the blood draining from that very area when I recognised the feel as that of a knife. I lay very still, but I began to relax when I felt the knife peeling away the substance.
It wasn’t long before the thing I was most worried about, was if my coat would appear patchy after it had all been removed, but even that was forgotten when the last of the stuff was pulled off and allowed me to see my knight in shining armour.
“Stranglethorn!” I coughed, grinning stupidly up at him as he sheathed his hunting knife and reached out to help me up. “You came just in time.”
He nodded, glancing off to the side; I followed his gaze and saw the spider monster bisected up the middle, into two almost symmetrical parts.
“Please tell me this isn’t a common thing up in the city,” I said, not feeling very hopeful as I gestured up at Arclight.
The frown Stranglethorn gave me said it all, I just sighed in response before we both started walking along the road together.
“Have you seen Pinkie Pie yet?” I asked, Stranglethorn nodded, before reaching into his saddlebags and pulling out his notepad.
As we made our way up to the city wall, we were thankfully not assaulted by any more stray monsters, and Stranglethorn keyed me into the situation. Maverick had ordered him to gather intel on the council running the Arcane Order and report back, apparently he had been specifically looking for information regarding which members could be persuaded to abandon Arcana’s creed, and which members needed… disposed of and replaced in order to facilitate the dissolution of their faction. Blueblood’s forces didn’t attack until around midday of the previous day, although nopony knew what the deal was until Pinkie Pie arrived on scene last night.
The council were barricaded inside the Arcane University, along with a great number of citizens who had been in the area when the attack was launched. The rest of the city’s population had been instructed to remain indoors by the police force, who were working alongside the battlemages to try and clear out the invaders. The monsters did seem particularly focused on the University and the Tower, which meant the ponies living in the outer districts were relatively safe from attack. Finally, Pinkie Pie had explained to Stranglethorn that I should be on my way, so he moved to the city gates to wait for my arrival while Pinkie protected the council.
“If Blueblood’s minions are trying to get inside the University and the Tower,” I said thoughtfully as we closed the distance between us and the city walls. “Then I’d stake money on him being after some secret knowledge, and the last thing we need is him getting more power, so we need to stop him from entering either location at any cost.”
Stranglethorn nodded affirmatively as the we reached the great arches that led into the city. I noticed a group of police ponies gathered just beyond, they appeared to be forming a blockade.
“Uh, it might be a bit late to ask this…” I began awkwardly as we passed under the threshold. “But am I still a wanted fugitive.”
Stranglethorn didn’t have time to convey any sort of response before one of the masked police ponies turned their head and spotted us.
“There they are,” she announced to the others, and I immediately felt my stomach lurch.
“Now hold on a second!” I exclaimed, raising my hooves both as a gesture of goodwill and defensively. “I’m here to help; you don’t have to arrest me.”
“Arrest you?” another pony repeated in confusion. “Why would we arrest you?”
“Oh, uh, no reason,” I replied quickly, feeling my cheeks go red with embarrassment. “In all seriousness though, I am here to help.”
“Your friend told us he was going to get reinforcements,” the first pony informed me in a slightly irritated voice. “No offence, but we were expecting more than just one pony.”
“I understand, but I didn’t realise you were under attack until I was on the road here,” I replied apologetically. “My friend filled me in on the way here, but I need to know more specific details if I’m to help.”
“We’ve been ordered to hold this position in case the council calls for a city wide evacuation,” the mare explained. “If they do, we’ll hear about it through these gems in our masks, they allow the entire police force to remain connected and communicate through the Tower.”
I pondered that, it made perfect sense; it would certainly explain how the police ponies were able to coordinate their behaviour so succinctly, and how they all instantly recognised me during my escape following Arcana’s death.
“Although,” the mare went on. “If an evacuation is called for, we won’t be able to do an awful lot for the ponies trapped in the city centre. The monsters have completely blocked us off from the bulk of our forces, which are holding the two primary safe zones.”
“How many monsters are we talking about here?” I questioned. “I was attacked by one spider creature on my way up here.”
“Too many,” the mare replied. “There’s this huge… centipede thing, it flies over every few hours and drops down a fresh horde of the buggers. They usually hide in the sewer system and launch guerrilla assaults on our units; they’re surprisingly well coordinated for a bunch of bugs.”
“Do you think it would be possible to push through to the University?” I asked. “I need to see the council at once.”
“You can try,” the mare suggested. “Your friend managed to get here from there, so it’s certainly doable, but we can’t help you, we need to stay put.”
“I understand,” I told her. “We’ll carry on then.”
Stranglethorn led the way from the blockade, starting up the main street, but quickly turning off to the right and ascending a staircase to a higher level.
“Well at least they seem to have forgotten who I am,” I muttered to him, but he shook his head in response. “Wait, you mean they still remember me?”
Another nod, followed by a few seemingly random gestures that I was miraculously able to interpret.
“Pinkie Pie confessed?!” I exclaimed, quickening my pace, despite the fact that I didn’t know the route Stranglethorn was leading me along. “Is she alright? They haven’t hurt her have they?
Stranglethorn quickly assuaged any worries I had, assuring me she was fine, just that they were keeping a close eye on her.
“Let’s hurry,” I said. “Once I see this council for myself, we can decide what needs done.”
We traversed Arclight through the most circuitous route, in the distance I could hear the sounds of fighting, which I guessed Stranglethorn was intentionally steering us away from. It didn’t mean that we were able to avoid combat entirely, on two occasions during our brisk walk, manhole covers burst out of their places and a few monsters would crawl out and try to take us by surprise. While I was certainly startled the first time, less so the second time it happened, Stranglethorn kept his cool throughout both encounters.
Together we were able to quickly dispatch the first group of attackers, but the second time, despite there being twice as many, they chose to retreat after we had slain two of them. Not a single one of the monsters I had encountered in my adventures had ever made a strategic retreat like that, the police mare hadn’t been kidding when she said they were surprisingly well coordinated. She also hadn’t been wrong in calling them a bunch of bugs, as they all seemed to be based off some kind of insect or similar creature. One or two were like the spider in that they retained some of their original pony features, the rest however, I couldn’t imagine ever having been ponies. One particularly nasty creature resembled a large earwig, but had the addition of buzzing wings.
There was most certainly a theme developing, although I would have loved to know why Crane was experimenting with bugs as well as plants, neither seemed to carry any relevance to becoming an alicorn. We eventually arrived at the edge of a high level, overlooking a great plaza, where hordes of the insect monsters were charging forward in a full assault. Their objective was clear, as at the eastern end of the plaza was the entrance to the majestic Arcane University, currently encased in a magical dome of many different colours, while lines of battlemages were positioned around it, firing off multiple spells at the invaders before they got close.
I figured they were the battlemages I had heard about, their robes were similar in style to Twilights, only they were a uniform dark blue, rather than the various shades of purple Twilight wore. They even had the armour comprised of lames riveted together just visible beneath their robes as Twilight did, only they wore considerably less belts. It made sense to me, since the battlemage robes had probably been the same across the Equestrian Empire before the war. Either Twilight wore special ones, or the Arcane Order had a palette swap of their own mages' robes to better match the police force, perhaps both were true.
I was too busy watching the fight unfold, I didn’t notice Stranglethorn producing a rope and grappling hook, attaching it to the chest high, marble wall and allowing the rope to hang down. He gently tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention, offering me one of those metal gadgets for attaching to, and then sliding down the rope. It was a rather large drop, needless to say I wasn’t too eager to try this for the first time at such a height. Still, I knew time was of the essence, and I was sure Stranglethorn wouldn’t give me the option if he didn’t think I was capable.
He showed me how to attach it, then helped lower me over the wall, so I was hanging precariously with only the metal gadget to hang on to. I looked from the floor so dizzyingly far below to Stranglethorn, knowing I must have looked like a filly, but he gave me one of his awkward smirks and a wink, making a display out of holding onto the grapple hook to show he had my back. It wasn’t much, but it made me feel much better about it. So taking one deep breath, I released some of the pressure on the gadget and allowed myself to start sliding down.
It went a great deal smoother than I had expected, it was even a little fun as a zoomed down the line, so much that I even risked reducing the pressure even more so I went faster. As I neared the ground, I quickly reapplied the brakes, slowing myself down rapidly just before I reached the end and there was no more rope to hold on to, leaving me to drop the last couple of metres onto the plaza. Glancing up, I saw that Stranglethorn was already attaching his own gadget to the rope, before sliding down quickly and carelessly, managing to look much smoother at it than I had. Once at the bottom, he dropped down beside me, even managing to get his landing spot on, taking the gadget from me and stowing it away along with his own in his bags.
He left the rope where it was and led the way around the edge of the plaza towards the University, still avoiding the fighting that was going on. The police ponies standing guard just behind the battlemages’ line of defence, nodded at us to permit us entry. Together we walked through the barrier, feeling a slight tingly feeling as I pushed through the surprisingly thick aura. The Arcane University’s campus was quite spectacular, lush gardens of the most exotic varieties of plants, a large marble statue to commemorate Starswirl the Bearded, as well as several smaller ones dotted around the grounds.
The building itself resembled the rest of the city with regards to architecture, except with a little added flare from the stained glass windows, the spiral patterns atop the marble columns, and the decorative frieze running beneath the overhang of the brass roofs. It was all very beautiful, although I had to wonder if the ponies holding the shield were putting too much focus on preserving the beauty, considering their dome stretched right around the campus grounds, rather than just the buildings where the ponies were taking shelter in. As we trotted up the gradual steps, the large double doors opened automatically for us without the need for anypony to operate them.
As soon as the doors were cast open and we stepped through the threshold, the noise hit us like a set of drums. The foyer was absolutely packed with ponies, most of which were huddled together in fear and panic, occasionally I would see a blue robed police pony standing vigilant and watching over them. The sounds could be heard further than just the room we entered, the University must be thronged with citizens taking shelter. In the centre of the foyer, gathered directly beneath the chandelier, were a dozen ponies all sitting cross-legged in a circle, linked by their forehooves as they sat facing inwards, their eyes shut and their horns glowing.
I guessed these ponies were in charge of maintaining the shield spell, which would explain why it was made up of so many different colours. Stranglethorn gestured to the doors at the opposite end of the chamber, before leading the way through the thick crowd. Once at the other end, he went ahead and let himself on in, ignoring the pair of police ponies flanking the door who had just asked him for identification.
“Hold it right there!” one of them cried out, his horn lighting up.
“Pardon me,” I said casually as I pushed past the guard, knocking him into the wall where his horn struck off a marble bust of some famous pony.
The pony cried out as they were stunned, but I only quickened my pace as I followed Stranglethorn into the circular chamber. The room gave off the vibe of a courtroom, it was dominated by a ring table that had a large amount of floor space inside it. Within which stood a pony in a harlequin outfit, who was casually blowing a large pink bubble with her gum, two stern looking battlemages standing on either side of her, looking down on her from the corner of their eyes with clear disapproval.
“Pinkie Pie!” I exclaimed, delighted to see her looking well.
“Rarity!” Pinkie replied, sounding equally ecstatic.
She tried to run forward, but as she got further from the two battlemages, a yellow glow formed around her and she was pulled back as if on an elastic chord.
“Oh yeah, whoops,” she muttered, still sounding cheerful, even as she looked up at her captors from where she landed on her backside.
“So you’re Miss Rarity,” a wizened looking stallion addressed me, looking unimpressed over his spectacles.
It was only then that I realised most of the seats around the table were filled with a variety of unicorns, all wearing expensive looking robes, and the majority of them being quite well on in years.
“I take it you’re the new council of the Arcane Order,” I surmised.
“Indeed we are Miss Rarity,” a mare, much older than me replied. “Your friend has been telling us… some very tall tales.”
“I already filled them in on the situation,” Pinkie explained to me. “But some of them refuse to believe me, despite monsters being right outside their front door.”
“It is not the monsters we have difficulty believing in,” another stallion piped up. “But this idea that they’re being led by an alicorn obsessed with world domination.”
“Well I can assure you all, that it is true,” I said firmly. “The ex-Duke of Canterlot, Blueblood, aligned himself with a group called the Covenant. They were carrying out experiments on ponies to try and create a formula that would allow them all to become alicorns. We tried to stop them, but we were too late, they made the formula and Blueblood gave it to himself.”
“Absolute nonsense!” the first stallion gave off.
“How is it nonsense?” another mare asked. “We’ve now heard it from the mouth of a fellow unicorn, you continue to doubt it?”
“Now hold on there,” the first mare to speak cut in, narrowing her eyes at the younger mare. “Are you saying that just because this young lady is an earth pony, that we cannot trust a word she says, while anything a unicorn says, must be true? We should judge this on the merits of their argument, not on who or what these ponies are.”
“The Arcane Order must always place higher value on the words of our fellow unicorns,” the old stallion responded, bristling with indignation. “That is how Arcana ruled, and that is how we should…”
“Fiddlesticks!” the mare interrupted. “Arcana was a backwards loon and you all know it. For goodness sake, isn’t this why we placed such high restrictions on the police force’s use of mind reading?”
“We did that because our citizens were feeling uncomfortable with…” one of the other council ponies tried to say.
“Ponies!” a young stallion called out. “Ponies, please, we’re getting off topic. Although, for the record I am in agreement with Mistress Diaboli. After how this stallion risked his life to bring us here safely, I think it’s clear that this Order has been treating the other pony races unjustly.”
“Thank you Hex,” the mare, Diaboli replied warmly. “Now, you were saying my dear?”
“Yes, well,” I began, clearing my throat to supress my grin. “Now we were able to injure Blueblood before he escaped with his new army, so now he has retreated to the Ash Lands while he recovers and builds his strength. We realised that if we were to stand a chance of defeating him, we would need everypony to stand together when the time came, so my friends and I split up to try and convince each of the major factions to put aside their differences and band together for the good of the country.”
“If that is so,” one of the stallions began snidely. “Then why is Arclight under attack now? You can’t have injured this fellow too badly.”
“I agree,” the young mare added. “Also, while these opponents are certainly numerous, they hardly constitute the kind of threat you’re describing.”
“First of all,” I started, feeling a little peeved. “What you see outside is only a tiny fraction of what Blueblood has under his command; this is only a skirmish for him. As for why he’s attacking, well it’s likely he’s trying to cripple your force before you’re able to join up with us, he tried to do the same thing in Pivot but…”
“Wait, what?!” Pinkie interrupted in a horrified voice. “What happened?! Is Twilight okay?!”
“What?” I uttered, slightly confused, before I remembered that of course Pinkie hadn’t been aware of what happened. “Oh yeah, Twilight’s fine, don’t worry about her. As I was saying, he attacked Pivot in an attempt to break the Rebel army before we could rally them, but by working together we were able to overcome his attack. The Rebel army is already moving north to try and reclaim Cragsburg from the Children of the Earth, but we need your help. This city is home to some of the most powerful magic in Panchea, with your battlemages, we’ll stand an even greater chance of winning when Blueblood’s real army comes marching.”
“Of course you could say no,” Pinkie added coolly. “That way when we’re all killed; there will be nothing to stop Blueblood from coming down here with all his monsters, instead of just a handful, and wiping Arclight off the map.”
The council members were clearly left quite speechless after what we told them, I saw their eyes flickering between one another; clearly hoping somepony would take the lead so that they wouldn’t have to be the first to speak.
“Well don’t all speak up at once,” Diaboli said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “If any of you can’t see how important it is that we offer our support to this, then clearly you aren’t fit to be in charge of this city.”
“Have you all gone mad?!” a new mare demanded. “Why are we even listening to these ponies? Why are they even being allowed to walk free after what they did?!”
“I’m not,” Pinkie reminded her.
“Exactly Oculus,” Hex agreed. “This mare has confessed to committing the crime and we now have her in binds, Miss Rarity was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“And yet the two of them are friends,” Oculus pointed out. “What kind of self-respecting unicorn becomes friends with the earth pony who framed her for a crime she didn’t commit? It is so obvious that the both of them were partners in the crime, and yet you’re so readily overlooking her involvement. She did run from the scene of the crime, or did you all forget that as well?”
“This is not a trial for who murdered Arcana,” Diaboli stated firmly. “Right now we are here to decide what is best for this city and the ponies who look to us for guidance. Personally I would be inclined to help the Rebels, after all, it wasn’t so long ago we called ourselves allies, before Arcana himself tore us apart. Needless to say, we cannot spare any of our battlemages so long as the city is under peril. If however, Rarity and her friends can help us in bringing an end to this crisis, we will know they are serious about this alliance they are suggesting.”
“If you want our help, we’d be more than happy to give it,” I assured her. “We’ve had plenty of experience in fighting monsters already.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Diaboli replied, smiling at me. “If you travel to the Tower, you can find the Head Battlemage, Nefarious. He is leading the defence of the city; if you go to him, we will stay here and discuss your proposal in greater detail. Hopefully you will be able to help our city soon, and we will be able to give you a positive response.”
“Thank you Mistress,” I responded as respectfully as I could.
We were only held up for a little longer, as some ponies thought that allowing Pinkie to travel unescorted was crossing the line. Eventually they relented, and the three of us were allowed to walk freely from the University, stopping briefly outside the main doors to discuss what was going on.
“That went rather well,” I began. “We’re lucky to have that mare on our side.”
“Yeah, she was really sweet to me too,” Pinkie agreed. “So, to the Tower?”
“Yes, I want to meet this Nefarious,” I stated as we started forward. “I’ve had some thoughts on how we might be able to stop the monsters, but I also need to clarify some things with him.”
We left the protective dome around the campus and found, to our relief, the assault in the plaza had come to an end, grotesque, mutant bodies littering the area like… well, like flies.
“I hate this,” I heard one of the battlemages say as they surveyed the plaza. “It’s like they’re… testing the water, probing our defences.”
“Get it together,” another pony chastised him. “These things are monsters, they don’t think like us.”
“Excuse me,” I cut in, grabbing both their attentions and several other nearby ponies’. “We have to get to the Tower, how dangerous is the road there?”
“Reports came in not long ago,” the second battlemage replied. “All the monsters have retreated back into their holes, but you should keep your guard up none the less. Their attacks are sporadic and unpredictable, but they always come in harder, with greater numbers each time.”
“Thank you,” I told him, before setting off across the plaza with my friends in tow.
“If you hear a loud roar!” the first pony shouted after us. “Get inside a building immediately!”
I mentally stored that advice in the back of my mind, hoping whatever it was he was warning us against, wouldn’t be making any guest appearances. The route between the University and the Tower was relatively straightforward; being that they were the two most high profile buildings, and ponies who worked in one, often had dealings in the other. This time we were only ambushed once on the trip, but it consisted of two manhole covers on either side of our party bursting off, and over a dozen pony sized bluebottles to buzz out and begin swarming around us.
I began to draw my sword, but I quickly found that I didn’t need to. Together, Pinkie and Stranglethorn ripped through them in a flurry of blades, each moving so fast that my eyes were incapable of keeping track of them. On a few occasions they even helped each other, such as Stranglethorn giving Pinkie a boost into the air, or Pinkie spinning Strangle around before launching him at the enemies. It was all so expertly choreographed, that I was convinced they had rehearsed the routine in my absence.
Not a single one of the disgusting, fat flies survived the pair's synergy. The last two dropping and splatting on the ground while my friends returned to my sides, Pinkie nonchalantly spinning her daggers around her hoove,s while Stranglethorn sheathed his short swords without much care either. It was rather interesting to see for myself, I had always compared their fighting styles, but that had been the first time I’d seen it first-hand. It had definitely been spectacular, and more than a little frightening to see two such deadly ponies teaming up, and only appearing more competent than ever as a pair.
“Uh, Rarity?” Pinkie said curiously, waving her hoof before my dazed face. “Earth to Rarity, are you in there?”
“Huh, oh, yes,” I replied when I came back to the present. “Just… let’s all stay friends… please.”
Pinkie quirked an eyebrow at that rather benign statement, but shrugged and followed when I quickly moved on after Stranglethorn, who had already taken the lead. The Tower had been visible since the moment we entered the city, but now it was quite clear that we were drawing close, one more corner turned and we entered into the circular street that surrounded the base of it. The entire area was filled with platoons of Battlemages, what few police ponies there were, were secluded to the main entrance of the Tower just as they had been at the University.
We weren’t stopped by anypony as we ran up to the great doors, I wasn’t sure if it was because they had communicated ahead using their masks to say we were coming, or if anypony was welcome to take shelter in the Tower during the attack. Once at the doors, we only had to wait a brief moment while the unicorns opened them up for us and allowed us access. Like the foyer at the University, the entrance hall was filled with ponies taking refuge from the monsters, but there was also a large number of Battlemages standing next to the regulator device in the centre of the room.
As we approached them, I noticed how the marble pyramid and brass globe was acting up quite a lot, repeatedly spitting out flashes of electricity from the ground device to the identical one on the ceiling above. What struck me as particularly odd, was that the sparks were all travelling upwards, as opposed to any being sent down. The last time I had been in the Tower, there had been a fairly even mix. I made my way up to where they were all standing, one stallion in particular was talking, he was issuing orders to the rest.
“Nefarious, I presume?” I asked, announcing our presence.
The stallion stopped talking and looked over at us, unlike the rest, he had his hood drawn and peered out from under it with a look of bored indifference.
“You must be the Rebel agents we were told about,” he replied, levitating a police mask to indicate that they had indeed heard of our arrival over the communication system. “Well, I hope you’re not here to waste our time. You’ve fought these things before, what can you tell us about them?”
“Well they’re part of an army,” I began, trying to sound as professional and to the point as he did. “Under the command of…”
“This Blueblood fellow,” Nefarious cut in. “Yes, we’ve already been told, he’s attacking Arclight in an attempt to debilitate us so we can’t oppose him.”
“Well, yes, but I believe there’s more to it than that,” I began to explain. “I’ve heard the monsters are attacking both the University and the Tower, or to be more specific, that’s where they’re focusing their efforts. Now, the council is at the University, so it makes sense that Blueblood would want to eliminate them in order to disrupt the Arcane Order, but that doesn’t explain why he’s diverting his forces to attacking the Tower, unless there’s something else here that he wants. So please, put yourselves in the horseshoes of a megalomaniac with near unlimited power, what would you possibly want from the Tower that could help you in your conquest?”
Nefarious shared a worried look with his subordinates; I could tell my words had struck something with them.
“Well, there is something actually,” he replied after a moment. “Are you familiar with Starswirl the Bearded’s Magical Grimoire? Five tomes, within which Starswirl recorded every spell, ritual and charm created before and during his time. If it had magical applications, you could be sure Starswirl wrote about it in those books.”
“Oh yeah,” Pinkie uttered, recognition donning on her face. “I remember those, they’re locked away in Canterlot Castle. I tried to steal them as a dare, even I found it impossible.”
“Well I’d like to think so,” Nefarious responded, slightly snappy. “Those books can be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hooves, they contain spells that nopony should know of.”
“But if they’re in Canterlot,” I began, feeling like I missed a step. “Then what do they have to do with all this?”
“Because in the centuries since Starswirl’s death,” Nefarious explained. “There have only ever been one set of copies made, and they have been kept inside a vault high in the Tower for a long time.”
“That makes perfect sense!” Pinkie exclaimed triumphantly. “Blueblood might have the magical capacity of an alicorn, but he still needs to know spells if he wants to cast them. If he got those books, he’d be able to cast every single one of them, all at the same time if he wanted to!”
“Well he’s not going to get them,” I stated firmly. “What are the protections around the vault?”
“It’s funny you should ask that,” Nefarious muttered, glancing back briefly at the regulator, which was still firing off bolts of electricity towards the ceiling. “The vault is sealed by an incredibly complex code, but rather than requiring numbers or letters to be input, it requires specific behaviours to be exhibited by the Tower itself. These can be anything from one of the outer rings rotating a certain distance at a certain speed, or for a random device on a random floor to activate at a particular time; it’s all incredibly specific and far too complex for anypony to guess…”
“Except somepony has,” I finished. “They’re manipulating the conditions in the subsections of the city, in order to influence the behaviour of the upper floors via the regulator.”
“Exactly right,” Nefarious confirmed, sounding slightly impressed.
“And all the monsters are hiding in the sewers,” Pinkie reminded us. “Blueblood must be using them to do the thing to make the stuff happen through the thingamajig.”
“More or less,” I agreed. “Who would have had knowledge of the code for the vault? Would Arcana have known it?”
“Yes, he would have,” Nefarious confirmed. “But he’s been dead for ages, what does he have to do with this?”
“Because Arcana was secretly working with the same ponies who Blueblood got his army from,” I revealed. “He must have given Crane that information on top of everything else; he really was being strung along like a puppet.”
“So Blueblood wants these tomes,” Nefarious summarised. “And he’s using the monsters to break the lock on the vault, but how? They’re just monsters, how can they be so… coordinated?”
“I thought about that,” I began. “You see that mask you’re holding, the police force use it to keep in constant communication with each other, it allows them to see what others are seeing and behave as if they’re of one mind. They’re all linked to the Tower... almost like a hive mind, exactly like certain bugs use.”
“You mean…” Nefarious began as he joined the dots in his own head. “Do you think it’s in the sewers? The first monsters that landed were reported to have gone straight into the sewers, first thing.”
“I bet there’s some abominable creature down there that acts as a hive mind to all the creepy crawlies,” Pinkie said with a small shudder of disgust.
“If we can eliminate that,” I went on. “The monsters won’t be able to coordinate, they’ll be easy to defeat and Blueblood won’t be able to instruct them to break into the vault.”
“Sounds great, but it’s no use,” Nefarious stated bluntly. “We sent ponies down into the sewers to try and weed them out, but they were slaughtered. We even tried fumigating and burning them out, but those didn’t work either.”
“Don’t you worry about the hive mind,” Pinkie assured him. “We’ll go down there and sort this all out in a jiffy!”
“You should focus your efforts on protecting this place,” I told him. “I heard some other mages saying the monsters were probing your defences, and that they always came in greater numbers with every attack. They’re most likely winding up for one big assault, so I think it would be wise to get the citizens clear of this place before then. Either get them to the evacuation point or as far as the outer districts, Blueblood won’t care about who his soldiers eat so long as they get what he wants.”
“You’re sure you’ll be alright in the sewers on your own?” Nefarious asked in wary voice.
“Us three together? We’ll be A-Okay!” Pinkie declared, pulling Stranglethorn and I in with her forelegs.
“Alright then, I’m trusting you on this,” he said with a nod. “I’ll take my best ponies up to the vault itself, if the worst case scenario is made real and they get the vault open, we’ll lay down our lives to protect those books.”
After a quick farewell, we ran outside, while Nefarious started issuing new orders to the others to have the citizens escorted back to the city gates. Once outside, we saw several monsters attacking, nothing major, but it wouldn’t be long before they came in their hundreds. We navigated around the fighting to a side street, cantering down it until we arrived at a metal manhole cover. Even the Arclight sewers were spectacularly clean, it was like nopony in the city even went to the toilet, just from looking at the spacious arched tunnels of pale grey brick, lined with glass bulbs containing pale light, while a wide canal was constructed down the middle of the tunnel for water and waste to flow through.
Although it was clear that something had taken root within the sewers, the normally immaculate stonework was marred by scratch marks, and there was occasionally thick layers of phlegm like goo, not dissimilar to the stuff that the spider had spat in my face, plastered over the walls and ceiling, occasionally dripping down in large clumps to float lazily away in the water. We could hear the soft, but persistent chittering noise of the monsters, but I couldn’t place what direction they were coming from, it was like they were all around us. There weren’t even any in sight, although a few times I was convinced I saw shadows dancing briefly in the light of the bulbs, only to look again and see them vanish.
“Strangle,” I whispered. “Do you think you can track them, find out where they’re congregating?”
Stranglethorn gave a curt nod, stepping forward slowly, his ears pricked up. I followed a few paces behind him, while Pinkie took up the rear, her mask drawn. No doubt she was using her life detect enchantment to make sure nothing snuck up on us. For a while we managed to travel without any trouble, it wouldn’t be until later that we found out most of the monsters had vacated the sewers to begin their final assault on the Tower and the University, but as we drew nearer to their nest, we quickly found ourselves near overwhelmed.
They came in their dozens, huge flies and hornets buzzing through the air at us, darting about fast enough to keep both Pinkie and Stranglethorn on their hooves. Creeping millipedes and marching beetles, even large slugs and grub worms crawling out of the water up at us. We were never given a moments rest as we pushed onwards, but the more we fought the more I began to pick up on something. The closer we got to their nest, the less the monsters bore any pony features; in fact, they were generally less deformed. For the most part they were just giant bugs, it was like they were becoming… purer in their genetics.
It wasn’t until we rounded a corner and saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel, rushing towards it and spilling into a pumping station, that the truth hit me. I should have questioned it before, back at the undersea temple when we encountered the immature versions of the monster from Anchorage, they must have been the result of it reproducing, perhaps asexually. So if that monster had been able to reproduce, then it should have come as no surprise that others were capable of it as well, and that’s exactly what the bugs were doing in the pumping station, for it was a nest in the literal sense of being stuffed full of gelatinous, translucent eggs.
It was true that some insects could reproduce damn quickly, and that must have been what the monsters had done, reproduced repeatedly until the abominations the Covenant had created were outnumbered by the naturally formed ones. Not for the first time, I wondered what on earth Crane had been up to in researching bugs, but now I also wondered just how much control Blueblood could have over this type of behaviour. He wanted to rule the Equestrian Empire, surely he couldn’t be so insane that he would allow all of pony kind to be wiped out in place of this menace, and if that was the case, then was he even aware of what they were doing right under his muzzle?
I could see dozens more of the creatures tending to the nests, even some eggs that were bursting open to allow their vile offspring to wriggle out, but it was the thing attached to the central pump that caught my attention. It resembled a pony whose entire body had been moulded out of a pale green jelly. His form was relatively intact, but his frame was stretched and distorted, pulled out in long, elasticated strands, which reached out and clung all around the pumping station, leaving the pony to dangle and wobble in the middle of it all, a creepy grin and a faraway look etched into his face.
“That must be the hive mind,” I said, pointing up to it.
Stranglethorn nodded before reaching into his bag, he pulled out what looked like a small package with a clock taped to the front of it.
“Is that a bomb?” Pinkie asked, her eyes widening with curiosity as she lent in to examine it.
Stranglethorn nodded, before conveying some signals to me.
“Uh… didn’t quite catch that, Strangle my ol’ mate,” Pinkie told him, still beaming at him.
“He’s going to place the bomb up beside the hive mind,” I translated. “He wants us to cover him…”
He quickly added some more gestures.
“And then we have to run,” I finished. “This whole place will come down.”
“Well, it’s easier to rebuild one pumping station than a whole city,” Pinkie said with a small shrug, spinning her daggers around before spinning to face the angry bee that was swooping down upon us.
As I looked back, I saw that Stranglethorn was already gone, running, climbing and jumping off various pipes and pistons to get himself closer to the hive mind. I sheathed my sword and drew all three of my knives, throwing them at any bugs that tried to go after Strangle, while Pinkie took care of the ones coming after us, flashing and blinking around me, while slashing at such speed that I couldn’t have kept up with her, even if I wasn’t so focused on aiming. Stranglethorn reached the hive mind, the pony head turned slightly to look at him, its fixed features unmoving as it silently surveyed him while he strapped the bomb to the central pump directly behind it.
“Is it ready?!” I shouted desperately, noticing a swarm of hatchlings wriggling my way.
Stranglethorn quickly finished his preparations before nodding down at me. I responded by throwing all three of my knives skywards, each one embedding itself in the bodies of a spider, locust and ant, which were all attempting to dive bomb Strangle. While I retracted my blades, Stranglethorn dived off the pump, using the hive mind to push off of. As he neared the ground, he tucked and rolled, it probably still hurt considering the height, but he was able to walk it off as he re-joined us.
“Pinkie!” I called out, sheathing my daggers and drawing sword instead. “Let’s get clear of this place, now!”
“Follow me!” Pinkie shouted back, slicing a giant flea in half, before rushing down a tunnel that led away from the pumping station.
Stranglethorn and I galloped after her, glancing back only to assure ourselves that our pursuers were far enough behind that we didn’t need to stop and cut them down before carrying on. We just reached the end of the tunnel, arriving at a fork where two separate tunnels came in at angles to converge into the one we were currently in, when the bomb detonated. The force was far more devastating than I had expected, to put it simply, the ponies of Arclight were definitely going to have to rebuild more than just the pumping station.
The tunnel began caving in behind us, crushing the monsters that were hot on our tails, but it wouldn’t be long before we too were flattened by the mounds of brick and stone. Picking up speed, I leapt forward, throwing myself down one of the forked paths, splashing into the waterway without a care for what exactly I was wading in, other than water. Turning back, I saw the destruction settling, the way back completely sealed off by the boulders and lumps of cracked marble… but my friends were not standing with me in the tunnel. For a brief moment, I was terrified that they hadn’t been fast enough and had been buried alongwith the monsters, but I convicned myself that wasn’t possible, since both were considerably faster than I.
I splashed my way through the knee high stream until I reached the newly made barricade, I began trying to shift some of the rubble with my magic in a naïve attempt to get through to them. When I struggled against one piece in particular and heard an ominous rumbling noise whenever I tugged too hard, I packed the attempt in, resorting instead to shouting through the blockage.
“Pinkie Pie!” I cried out. “Stranglethorn! Can either of you hear me?! Please say something!”
I waited a moment, an awful, tense moment, where every second that passed only confirmed my fears, until I heard the muffled sound of somepony calling back.
“Rarity!” it seemed to say, although it was so hard to tell. “We’re okay; we went down the other tunnel!”
“Oh thank goodness,” I muttered to myself, before shouting out once more. “Can you find a way out through there?! I’ll look for my own way out and we’ll meet up at the Tower!”
Another second past before Pinkie shouted back some confirmation. Feeling relaxed and breathing calmly again, I climbed out of the stream, which would no doubt start to rise soon since it had nowhere to flow. Once I was on drier land, I set off down the tunnel to find an exit to the surface, so I could reunite with the others and we could see what else needed done. The hive mind was defeated, the monsters’ ranks should be in shambles now, which would give the Battlemages the advantage over them. Hopefully we would get back to the Tower and find them victorious, and our work would be done.
Reaching a ladder, I climbed up and through the manhole, placing the cover back behind me before surveying the street to figure out where I was. I wasn’t too far from where the pumping station had been, I could tell as there were thick clouds of dust visible just beyond the closest buildings. For a moment I worried that somepony had been caught in the blast, but took solace in the fact that I was in one of the central business districts, and ponies here should have been evacuated. Wasting no time, I began running in the opposite direction, to where I could still see the Tower looming not too far off.
My hopes were high as I jogged through the streets; only to be brought crashing back down as a mighty roar rent the heavens. I instantly forgot about the advice given to me by the battlemage after we left the University, and instead of seeking shelter, I stood paralysed, staring up at the sky as something dark blotted out the sunlight as it soared overhead. It sank through the cloud layer, its long, segmented body twisting as it moved in the direction of the Tower. I could make out the hundred, spindly legs, which twitched aimlessly while the two, scythe like pincers chopped inwards, like ravenous shearers.
I was a bit lost in my own thoughts as I watched the enormous monster soar through the air, that I was completely taken by surprise when I felt a pair of hooves grab me by the jacket, and pull me forcefully off the street and inside a cramped and dimly lit shop.
“Are you nuts?!” a mare’s voice exclaimed, while I tried to figure out what was going on. “Why on earth were you just standing there, do you have a death wi… wait, you?!”
I turned around and blinked in confusion at the mare, she was looking at me with a shocked expression, but I didn’t recognise her… not at first, but then I took in my new surroundings and realised we were in a small dress shop. Not just any dress shop, but the very one that Lyra took me to before the social function where I met Arcana. This mare was the one who sold me the dress… or more accurately, hired me the dress, which might explain why she didn’t seem happy to see me now.
“Oh, uh, hello there,” I greeted uncomfortably. “I have your dress with me.”
I opened up my bag and pulled out the tightly folded dress with my magic, holding it out for her, she just stared at me like I was insane.
“M… my dress?!” she repeated in disbelief. “Forget the dress, do you seriously not remember what you did the last time you were here?!”
“Um… excuse me?” I questioned, now feeling confused. “I hired a dress from you, I admit that I never brought it back and I’m sorry for that.”
“Wait, you really don’t remember,” the mare muttered, sounding less angry and bewildered now. “Well I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, considering the state you were in…”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, starting to get annoyed at how she was dancing around the subject.
“The night you hired that dress for,” she began, pointing at it, still hovering in my aura. “You were running away from the police, I was about to lock up for the night when you came running down the street. You were off your head on something, you begged me to hide you for a moment and I… and I did. I let you hide in this very shop until the police left the street, and you ran off without a word, high as a kite.”
I was left completely speechless at that; the morning I woke up, tied to the bed in Dolor, I had vague memories of what happened while I was under the effects of the mind fog, including a small shop filled with dresses.
“Oh… I’m terribly sorry about that,” I apologised, feeling genuinely guilty for putting her in that position. “You have to understand, I was being pursued for a crime I didn’t commit… and I don’t take drugs ordinarily.”
“Whatever,” the mare muttered, stepping forward and snatching the dress from my hold. “That’s twice now I’ve saved your neck… but I guess rational ponies like us need to stick together.”
“Pardon?” I uttered, curious at her sudden shift in tone to a much kinder one.
“You disapproved of your friend being involved in the Order,” the mare told me matter of factly. “I saw how you reacted when she told you, I knew you disapproved of what they were doing as well, you said as much when I first hid you… at least, what little I could understand said as much.”
“So you also dislike them,” I murmured, nodding slowly. “You’re an earth pony, aren’t you?”
The mare tensed up slightly, but then forced herself to relax.
“What gave it away?” she asked, most likely so she wouldn’t slip up in future.
“You don’t use magic,” I told her simply. “Even when you were measuring me, that’s a tricky task using only your hooves, although I must say you did it superbly. I’d never heard of a unicorn in Arclight who didn’t use their magic on a regular basis, I found it odd at the time, but I guess it makes sense now.”
“You won’t tell anypony will you?” the mare asked, trying to conceal her worry. “Things haven’t been as harsh for us since Arcana’s death, but I could still lose my shop and even my home if the police found out.”
“I promise I won’t,” I assured her, as I made my way to the door. “It’s like you said, rational ponies like us need to stick together.”
“Thank you,” she replied, before hesitating slightly. “Uh, you’re going back out there?”
“I have to go help my friends,” I told her. “But don’t worry, if today goes well, you may very well be seeing the end of the Arcane Order soon, or at the very least, it’s more racist policies.”
“Oh, so you weren’t talking rubbish when you said you were a super spy,” the mare commented, laughing slightly at my abashed double take. “Like I said, high as a kite.”
“Thank you,” I said slightly sarcastically, as I opened the door, before adding on a more serious note. “Sincerely.”
She waved farewell as I stepped into the streets and galloped towards the Tower. It wasn’t long before I was turning the final corner and skidding to a halt in the circular street, staring up in consternation at the colossal centipede that was coiled right up the full length of the Tower, the pressure of its body crushing several of the metal rings that usually rotated around it. The swollen tip at its tail end was near the spherical head of the Tower, while the centipede’s own head was close to the ground, where it was slashing and snapping at the crowds of Battlemages trying to fight it.
I ignored the fighting unicorns and the great beast for a moment, running around the street on the lookout for my friends, all the way I saw dozens of monster corpses, while there were only a few casualties on our side. It had clearly been a great victory here before the centipede showed up, but once it was vanquished, the day would be ours. I found my two friends around the front doors, which were blasted off their hinged; they too were in the middle of fighting, but not with the Centipede or even some stragglers from Blueblood’s army… they were fighting Blueblood himself.
Okay, it was another avatar, but when I saw the chitinous shell and the six, sharp legs that smashed into the ground like spears, my eyes were immediately drawn to the half pony sprouting from within it. Blueblood’s body was made from a shiny bronze exoskeleton, as opposed to leafy like the last one, and instead of normal forelegs, he had what resembled a crab claw in place of one, while the other was split apart into five long tendrils, each resembling centipedes with their bronze segments and spines running the full length of them. All five of the tendrils wriggled madly and wildly, lashing out at Pinkie and Stranglethorn, who were jumping, rolling, cartwheeling and flipping to avoid them.
While Pinkie was running underneath Blueblood’s legs, trying to poke him with her daggers, only to have them glance off the underside plates uselessly, Blueblood’s horn lit up and he wrenched up the ground slabs. Pinkie tripped right over the new obstacle and fell flat on her face. Blueblood spun around and raised his two front legs, getting ready to drive them down into her back. I reacted quickly, by grabbing hold of Pinkie’s outfit with my magic and dragging her out of harm’s way as the legs came piercing down. Blueblood turned his head towards me, his eyes furious before he saw who was responsible for denying him his kill, then a sinister grin crept onto his face.
In a flashed of blinding white light, Blueblood and the avatar vanished, reappearing almost instantly, directly in front of me, looming down over my much smaller form. I couldn’t have drawn my weapons fast enough, as Blueblood leant down and struck me hard in the side of the head, stunning my magic before he clamped his claw around my entire torso, raising me up so our eyes were level.
“I should have known it was you,” he said in a snide voice, still grinning wickedly. “Always interfering with my plans, aren’t you Rarity?”
I couldn’t respond, even if I had something witty or worthwhile to say, the increasing pressure of his claw was making it impossible to breathe, let alone make a sound.
“Well I’m afraid you failed this time,” he told me, squeezing even harder, so I felt myself growing dizzy. “My minions fulfilled their purpose, and once you and your annoying friends are dead, I’m going to walk right into that vault and…”
He didn’t get any further, as something bright flashed right between us. It was a short sword, sunlight reflecting off the blade as it spun through the air, carving right through Blueblood’s leg at the point where the pony limb changed into the claw. I felt myself falling, the pressure slackening around me as the claw was disembodied. As we fell to the floor, I felt a pair of hooves wrap around me before I was swept away, reappearing at the opposite end of the street. Taking large gulps of air, I looked up to see Pinkie’s mask grinning down at me, as she held me in her forelegs. Turning my attention from her, I looked for Blueblood and quickly found him.
While he was spinning on the spot, trying to find out where we had blinked to, not even acknowledging his missing limb, Stranglethorn sprinted straight for him. He had aimed his throw well, and he now clutched his second short sword tightly, ready to deliver the finishing blow to Blueblood’s avatar… only Blueblood pivoted around to face him, his tendrils shooting out as Stranglethorn leapt… and all five of them impaled themselves in his chest, exploding out his back in a shower of blood.
“No!” I screamed, trying to fight against Pinkie’s hold which had suddenly become quite tight.
Stranglethorn wore a look of mild surprise as the sword dropped from his grip and clattered to the floor, he glanced down at where the centipede like limbs were jutting into him, as if he couldn’t quite register what just happened. As his legs grew limp, Blueblood pulled him in close, smirking as he surveyed his defeated opponent.
“I remember you,” Blueblood said in a mocking tone. “You were at the beach that night, you helped ruin my plans. Seeing you then and seeing you now, I won’t deny you have skill… skill which could be of great use to me.”
Blueblood brought Stranglethorn even closer, his horn glowing bright, even as Strangle’s eyes began to droop closed. The glow from Blueblood’s horn spread to Stranglethorn, and he was enveloped in a pure white aura, his eyes widening slightly as Blueblood’s spell began to take hold in his mind. I knew immediately what he was doing; I just knew in my heart that Blueblood was casting the same spell on Stranglethorn, that he had cast on me when this whole thing began. I couldn’t allow that to happen, but neither it seemed, could Pinkie.
We both leapt to our hooves at the same time and rushed forward, Pinkie was much faster, but my desperation lent me speed, so I was able to keep up. Unfortunately for us, even while Blueblood was casting the spell, his avatar was active in defending him. Pinkie was the first to leap as Stranglethorn had done, and she was knocked clean out of the air by one of the legs snapping out. I managed to dodge the sweep of another, but when I threw all three of my knives at Blueblood, they deflected off a magical barrier I hadn’t even known was there. Before I could think to retrieve them or draw my sword, the leg swung back and finished the job, sending me flying back to where Pinkie had landed.
When I looked up, I saw we were already too late, Blueblood’s magic was fading from around Stranglethorn, and his tendrils were lowering him to the ground. Once on the ground, Stranglethorn stood firmly, his head hanging down while the tendrils yanked themselves from his body, more blood splashing from his chest as they did. Blueblood stepped back from Stranglethorn, glancing over at us with an evil smile, before he turned and started walking towards the open doors of the Tower.
“I’m going to collect some books,” he said clearly. “You be a good toy now and kill your friends for me.”
I snapped out of my funk and ran forward, Pinkie called out after me, before hurrying to catch up. I didn’t know whether I cared more about going after Blueblood or seeing to Stranglethorn, although my decision was made for me when we were less than ten metres from the latter, and his head snapped up to face us. It was the same Stranglethorn I remembered, there was nothing physically different about him, but the look in his eyes struck me deeper than any blade ever could… it wasn’t my friend looking out at me from them.
Stranglethorn darted towards me, even as I continued to run in his direction, I could never have veered out of the way or defended myself in all the time he gave me. Before I knew it, I felt a hoof connecting sharply with my muzzle, and my head snapped right back. As soon as I began to fall back, I felt my hooves swept out from under me before Stranglethorn kicked out with both hind legs, catching me in the stomach and launching me back the way I came. I hit the ground hard and skidded for several feet, left lying breathless and coughing up blood.
I crooked my head to see Pinkie Pie frozen, crouched low as Stranglethorn turned his attention to her. Even though my vision was blurry and tunnelled, I could see Stranglethorn’s wounds healing in seconds, until he was just covered in dry blood. Then he opened his mouth… only to frown when no sound came out. I tiny part of me wanted to laugh despite the circumstances, Blueblood clearly hadn’t tweaked onto the fact that Stranglethorn was incapable of talking, but then he just shrugged and closed his mouth, but spoke regardless.
“You’re not a real pony, are you?” Blueblood’s double toned voice asked Pinkie Pie, appearing to emanate from within Stranglethorn. “I could sense your magic the moment I arrived; it’s like nothing I’ve ever encountered before.”
Stranglethorn stamped down on the hilt of his fallen sword, the blade bouncing up into the air where he caught it and held it out, the point directed right at Pinkie.
“I’m more real than you Blueblood!” Pinkie spat at him. “You’re nothing but a monster, and I’m the pony who kills monsters.”
Stranglethorn leapt forward a second time, but Pinkie was ready, meeting his blade with one of her own, before slashing upwards with her second dagger. Stranglethorn rolled right over her and tried to bring his blade down on her back, but Pinkie twisted around and parried, managing to kick one of Stranglethorn’s legs out from under him. He recovered too quickly though, reaching out with one hoof, the air around it rippling as his second sword was drawn back to him. He sliced up with his second blade, and I saw blood as he managed to cut Pinkie’s hoof, forcing her to drop one of her daggers while also back flipping out of further harm’s way.
Once she landed at a safe distance, she started circling around Stranglethorn, massaging her hoof slightly before spinning her last dagger around her good hoof, never taking her eyes off him for a second. It was like watching the world’s most tense game of chicken, for a moment I was convinced Pinkie would maintain the defensive after taking that first hit, and it would be Stranglethorn to lash out once more, but surprisingly it was the other way around. Pinkie blinked mid-step, appeared directly behind Stranglethorn and jamming her spinning dagger directly behind his shoulder blade.
Unfortunately he didn’t seem capable of feeling pain while under Blueblood’s influence, and quickly spun around, the dagger still in his back, wrenching it free of Pinkie’s grip right before he slashed both his swords in opposite directions, trying to cleave her in half. Pinkie was able to blink away again, landing beside me, bundling me up and blinking us to safety on a higher level that overlooked the street we had just vacated. Pinkie collapsed against the low marble wall, trying to silence her heavy breathing, either all the blinking or trying to keep up with Stranglethorn was wearing her down.
“Running and hiding, are we?!” Blueblood called out. “You’re beginning to see now, aren’t you? You were both quite equal before, but now I am in the driver seat, I have made this body stronger and faster than ever before, now you cannot hope to match it.”
Blueblood wasn’t entirely right though, he may have had Stranglethorn’s body, but he didn’t know how to use Strangle’s senses to their fullest. He couldn’t track us as easily as Stranglethorn could have, and he certainly couldn’t cast any detection spells, an alicorn he may have been, but he was still new to earth pony magic and it would take him time to truly master it. Pinkie Pie pulled off her mask and dropped it between us before pulling down her cowl and clutching the sides of her head in a clear panic.
“Pinkie Pie,” I moaned weakly, my voice muffled from what I could only imagine was a broken nose. “You have to knock him out, Blueblood can’t control him if he’s unconscious, that’s how… that’s how Strangle saved me.”
“Rarity…” Pinkie began, her voice sounding hopeless. “I don’t think I can, if I see an opening to… to finish him off, I might have to take it, we might not have any other choice.”
“We can still save him,” I insisted, not keeping my voice as low as I should have. “Just… please! Knock him unconscious, we can get him to Twilight and she can…”
Pinkie placed her hoof over my mouth and looked at me sadly.
“I’m sorry Rarity,” she said, and I know she meant it. “But we can’t let Blueblood control Stranglethorn; if we can’t save him… we can at least set him free.”
“I thought you didn’t kill ponies who didn’t deserve it,” I responded, my eyes welling up with tears.
Pinkie glanced away from me, lowered her hoof… then blinked away. I quickly scrambled up, ignoring the pain I felt as I pulled myself up over the marble wall so I could see down. Pinkie had already set into Stranglethorn by the time I was able to get a clear view, she had blinked in behind him, pulling her dagger free, and she was now going at him with both daggers after having recovered the other at some point, as well as delivering kicks and head-butts. She didn’t hold back in the slightest, showed no mercy in her attacks, Stranglethorn tried to keep up, but Pinkie was blinking more rapidly now, more than that, her body twisted and stretched around him and out of his reach. Stranglethorn was starting to look worried, or more accurately Blueblood was starting to feel worried, as Pinkie began breaking through his defences and landing blow after blow.
Stranglethorn was down to just one sword after Pinkie cut the hoof holding the other one, so that it was no longer capable of holding the blade. The real Stranglethorn would have found a way to carry on fighting, even after his other sword fell, he would have remained calm and found a way around his opponent, no matter how impossible the odds seemed. As Blueblood said however, he was in the driver seat now, and while he might have had Stranglethorn’s body, he would never have his years of experience or his skills.
Stranglethorn was cast to the ground, his body bloody and broken once more, although the wounds were attempting to heal even as Pinkie stood over him, pinning his legs beneath her own. I wanted to cry out, to beg her to stop as she raised her dagger, ready to bring it down and end the fight once and for all, but I couldn’t form the words. Instead I stared on helplessly, as Pinkie stared coldly down at Stranglethorn while he attempted to smile back at her.
“I was right,” Blueblood’s voice said calmly, not affected at all by the damage suffered by Stranglethorn. “You are no pony… well go on, finish it, kill your dear friend.”
Pinkie’s dagger had been shaking slightly, but now it was steady as she took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the final blow. Then in one swift motion, she brought the dagger thundering down… jamming it in the stone slab directly next to Stranglethorn’s head. I let out a huge breath I didn’t even know I was holding in, as I watched Pinkie step off Stranglethorn and start backing up from him, tossing her other dagger to the side.
“No…” she murmured in a strange voice. “I can’t do it… I won’t do it. You’re a monster Blueblood, but Stranglethorn is my friend, I won’t kill a pony that doesn’t deserve it, and I certainly won’t hurt my friends. That’s what I believe in… and I always try to stay true to my beliefs.”
Blueblood laughed harshly as Stranglethorn sat up, reaching around and pulling out Pinkie’s dagger from the ground next to him, his wounds almost fully healed.
“You’re a fool!” he declared, standing up and readying himself. “And now you’re a dead fool!”
Stranglethorn sprung forward, dagger raised, ready to plunge it down into Pinkie’s head… but then there was an explosion of light from Pinkie Pie. I raised my foreleg instinctively to shield my eyes, but found that I was unable to look away, while Stranglethorn was hurled back, the dagger clattering off to one side as he landed hard on his back. The incredible white light enveloped Pinkie, obscuring her from view, but I was able to see her outline as it rose off the ground. Just like Twilight, the light burst out from Pinkie, hovering around her in a holy frame, while Pinkie had a new addition to her outfit.
Pinkie still wore the red and blue striped harlequin outfit, complete with knee high leather boots, but now her forelegs were encased in silver gauntlets that glittered in the sunlight. The armour formed around her whole legs, two sky blue gems on the front of the hooves, in the shape of balloons, with two stoic looking pauldrons that covered her shoulders. Pinkie descended to the ground, still brimming with divine light, while Stranglethorn stared in horror at her.
“What is this?!” Blueblood screamed, although the quaver in his voice gave away that he knew all too well after Pivot.
“This is what conviction looks like,” Pinkie replied simply.
She reared up on her hind legs, bringing her forelegs apart before punching her hooves together. The clash of her Element sent out an overwhelming shockwave that swept over the street, washing over both Stranglethorn and myself. While I felt nothing but a deep warmth in my chest, I heard Bluebloods voice scream out in fury before being eclipsed. When all was over, I found a way down to where Pinkie Pie stood, looking over the unconscious and perfectly healthy looking body of Stranglethorn.
“You… you did it,” I said, smiling at her.
“Not quite,” Pinkie replied solemnly. “Blueblood’s still in his head, we need Twilight to pull him out.”
“Surely any mage here could do it,” I reasoned, but Pinkie shook her head.
“Maybe before, but Blueblood’s too powerful now,” Pinkie stated firmly. “Only Twilight with her Element of Knowledge can purge him now.”
“Wait, how did you know about her Element?” I asked, bewildered.
“These told me,” Pinkie explained, nodding down at her own Elements of Unity. “I can feel Twilight now with her own Element, it’s like we’re… connected.”
I noticed her smiling, but oddly she tried to suppress it, as if she was embarrassed about it, and the day Pinkie is embarrassed to smile is the day the world ends.
“So we need to do something with him,” Pinkie said quickly, regaining composure as she indicated Stranglethorn. “If he wakes up for even a second, Blueblood can take control again.”
“So just don’t let him wake up until you reach Cragsburg, and Twilight can take care of him,” I said simply.
“It took a lot of power just to knock him out,” Pinkie replied in an almost stern voice, I was most put off with this new serious attitude of hers. “It will take too much power to keep him in this state.”
“So what do you suggest?” I asked, before I saw the look on her face and got what she was trying to get at. “Wait… are you thinking of using chaos magic?”
“There is something I can do,” Pinkie confirmed with a nod. “But it’s up to you, if you don’t think it’s safe, we’ll find something else.”
“Well tell me what you’re thinking,” I suggested, a little worried where she was going with this.
“Do you remember what I told you after I first revealed my true nature?” Pinkie asked, before outright telling me. “I said that to open a door to the chaos world, would require more power than I had… well, that was before I got these shiny new gauntlets.”
“You mean… now you would have enough power?” I questioned, to which she nodded. “But what use would that be?”
“Well…” Pinkie began carefully. “If we placed Stranglethorn inside the chaos world, it would sort of sever Blueblood’s connection with him, he wouldn’t be able to take direct control of Stranglethorn while he’s in there. Stranglethorn could stay in there as long as it would take to reach Twilight, but the part of Blueblood inside his mind should protect him from the damaging effects of exposure to chaos magic.”
“Right, so what’s the bad news?” I asked, knowing there had to be some bad news.
“Well, when the time came to purge him,” Pinkie explained. “Somepony would have to go in and bring him out, and the world of chaos can be… a very dangerous place.”
“And you can’t be the one to go in after him?” I asked, guessing the answer would be no.
“I… can’t go over to that world,” Pinkie said awkwardly. “It would have… undesirable consequences.”
“I see,” I replied, although I didn’t understand in the slightest what she could mean, but nor did I really want to find out. “In that case… do whatever you have to do, when the time comes to bring him back to us, I’ll do it myself if I have to.”
Pinkie opened her mouth briefly, as if about to ask if I was sure, but then she closed it when she saw the determination in my eyes.
“Alright,” she said calmly, turning to where the body of Stranglethorn lay. “Let’s make some chaos.”