//------------------------------//
// Angel On My Shoulder 
// Story: The Super Awesome Story About Stuff 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Ten: Angel On My Shoulder
~BlackRoseRaven

Luna looked meditatively over at River Styx, watching him almost curiously. Like the rest of her companions, the unicorn was dangling by his forelegs from a set of shackles hanging from the ceiling of the castle dungeon, and had a weighted rope wrapped around his hind legs to keep his body stretched out and from moving around too much.
Or rather, it was supposed to: everyone else was just dangling uselessly, but Styx was like a machine, slowly pulling back and forth in his restraints and grinding his teeth together visibly. As a matter of fact, he had been struggling and fighting to get free from the moment he had woken up in the prison wagon, and he hadn't stopped even when the guards had dragged him out and around back to the castle dungeon, not even as the guards clubbed him along with their weapons.
And he was still fighting. Luna was admittedly impressed: normally she was the one flailing around uselessly and shouting profanities at the captors. Styx hadn't shouted much profanity, and okay, he wasn't really flailing, but he had uttered some rather nasty threats and managed to bite one of the soldiers while they were struggling to get the magic-suppressing ring on his horn. She quite admired that.
Luna looked up as she realized Twilight was glowering at her, and she cleared her throat before finally leaning forwards and saying loudly: “Styx, cease for now. These bonds will not be broken so easily. 'Tis time for us to think of a better plan.”
River Styx glared at her, but Luna offered a smile after a moment, saying in a gentler voice: “I see and know well the pain thou art going through, my friend. 'Tis the pain of someone who loves another dearly, and they see that soul in anguish.”
Luna paused, then she looked over at Marina, asking: “Can thou use thy chocolateyness to free thyself, or us?”
“No, I've been trying, but... I can't get my body to respond.” Marina replied, shaking her head as she grimaced a bit. “My magic is being blocked by the ring, too...”
Luna glanced up at the ring around Marina's horn: they had all been fitted with containment rings to stop them from exercising any of their magic. Annoying things, Luna thought, but they were designed to react to concentrations of energy in the horn-
“I need to get out of here.” River Styx muttered, and he began to tilt himself back and forth, resuming his movements: Luna noted that he was methodical and relentless, and strangely enough, it seemed like this was something he had done before. And she could see that he had managed to put a little bit of wiggle in the bolt holding the chains on, but...
“I do not think we have the time or thou hast the energy to wiggle that bolt loose from the wall before our captors return, Styx. They are rather large, I shall have thee know. Larger than my brother, and he was always quite proud of his size.” Luna said blandly, and River Styx scowled in her direction before the sapphire mare glanced towards Twilight, asking more seriously: “What about thou?”
Twilight sighed a little, but then she gave a hesitant nod as she muttered: “Shouldn't be too hard, but I guess since they know me as the court mage, they gave me a full-on inhibitor ring. Give me a second. And Luna, can you...”
“Nay, I cannot sense Scrivy.” Luna scowled a little, looking up at the ugly cement ceiling before she muttered: “Well, 'tis not as if our link was functioning properly to begin with, and as he is princess, we can at least be somewhat certain that his fate shan't be much worse than our own... for now.”
“But he was chained up like we were.” Marina said uneasily, frowning a little over at Luna, who nodded grimly. And more than that, Marina thought, she remembered seeing the 'princess' shoved down in the mud beside the rest of them by uncaring, unflinching guards...
River Styx finally stopped moving against the bonds, only dangling in his restraints as he forced himself to listen to the others. As much as he hated to admit it, Luna was right, and Marina had just brought up something he had overlooked in his focus on his brother.
His mind worked rapidly, processing things now instead of just running on the anger and the emotion he usually kept bottled up so tightly beneath his stoic mask, before he looked up at Luna and asked: “Heresy, or treason?”
“I am thinking that someone has accused our dear Princess Novella of treason. We will no doubt hear a grand fairy tale about how all of this was a ruse before the night is out. Assuming dear Morgan can break these bonds before the executioner arrives.” Luna said mildly, falling into character.
It irked Styx at this point, but as he opened his mouth, Marina added hesitantly: “Loki, I know how you must feel: I've been helpless while people important to me have suffered. But we can't forget that this is all a game to the people in control. We have to play by their rules.”
Styx quieted, looking over at Marina and chewing at his cheek for a moment, before he sighed quietly. Then he gave a sudden, wry smile, as he finally allowed himself to fall back into the role of Loki, replying candidly: “You're wrong there, Hild. We have to undermine their rules, and beat them at their own game.”
Marina smiled with an odd sort of relief, and Styx hated how easy – and comforting – it was to fall back into character. He also hated that Loki apparently enjoyed talking and sharing a lot more than he did, as the stallion continued quietly: “It's been a long time since I've seen my brother, but he's never been a heretic. Oh, we took very different paths in life, yes: I became an acclaimed philanthropist and he works as a serving colt in the Order or something-”
“He is a knight-errant and thou art a thief.” Luna said mildly, earning a scowl from Styx.
Before anyone could start an argument, however, Twilight opened her eyes before she gritted her teeth and simply yanked downwards, shattering the chains that had been restraining her as she dropped to the ground. Styx and Marina both stared in disbelief, but Twilight only shook herself briefly out as Luna grinned. “Thou art getting much better at focusing thy magic through thy body as well as thy horn.”
“It still takes more time than I'd like.” Twilight admitted as she reached up to carefully pull the ring loose from her horn, and then she shook herself briskly out as the spire thrummed with energy, using magic to easily pop the other restraints free from her body. “Now stay still while I get all of you down.”
“Bossy bossy. But I do enjoy that.” Luna said with relish, before she became more serious as she looked over at Styx and Marina. “Loki, we must find the princess. But I will not stop thee from searching out thy brother. Does thou know...” Luna paused, then smiled amusedly. “Nay, perhaps I should ask, how well does thou know the castle?”
“Far better than any guard ever got me to admit to.” replied Styx cheekily, before he smiled slightly as Twilight freed him, landing easily on the ground and kicking the ropes loose from his hind legs as he glanced towards Hild. “Rescues are better with two ponies, dear.”
“Aye, they are. That is why I will have thee take Morgan with thee.” Luna stated, and both Twilight and River Styx looked up in surprise at the still-dangling Luna, as Marina tilted her head curiously. “I suspect thy brother shall have a heavier guard than Princess Novella. I have many suspicions, and I am sure quite a few of them shall shortly be proven true. Either way, thy brother does not share a cell with us and was taken into custody by the Holy Order: this means he must be at the Holy Cathedral. And if he is at the Holy Cathedral...”
“He'll be in Saint Mourning's Study, at the Altar of Confession. Or, as everyone else calls it, the torture chambers.” River Styx frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly before he muttered: “Kid always did get in over his head.”
He halted, then shook himself quickly as he felt Loki nudge his way back into control, the stallion looking off to the side as he said finally: “You're right. Morgan, dear, if you don't mind working with a humble treasure seeker, then I would greatly appreciate your help in this endeavor. After all, I unfortunately seem to be down my usual partner. I'm sure he'll catch up when he can, but I suppose you'll do just as well as Lamp in a pinch.”
“Very well. But only because this too may be a piece of the puzzle we yet need.” Twilight replied grimly, shaking her head as she set Marina down before finally turning her attention to Luna. “Be wary, though. If you're wrong, Brynhild-”
“I am never wrong!” Luna boasted, before she winced when Twilight simply snapped the manacles loose from around her forelegs, dropping her to an unsteady landing on her hooves. “Oh, fie on thee. I shan't let anything happen to the Princess.”
“Good. Because something here is very wrong. I can feel the terrible tremble in my horn, the pulse of potent...” Twilight slowly narrowed her eyes as Luna covered her mouth and began to giggle childishly, before she hissed under her breath: “I am trying really hard here.”
“So hard thy horn appears to be throbbing. Potently.” Luna waggled her eyebrows as she grinned from ear-to-ear, and Twilight rolled her eyes before she turned pointedly away from the mare.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked Styx flatly, and he simply nodded. “Good. We should try and meet together in the-”
“In the same place where we all started this adventure, I think.” Luna interrupted, suddenly serious as she strode forwards and looked pointedly back and forth. “Do not speak of it. Only know it, and trust that we shall see each other again, there. We do not know who or what may be listening, after all.”
The other ponies traded looks, then hesitant nods: even if none of them could really be sure what or where it was that Luna meant, they all the same could only trust that their hooves would lead them there eventually. After all, they couldn't forget that they were still at the mercy of the story, even if their mysterious overseers had been conspicuously absent.
Luna shifted uneasily at this, her eyes flicking momentarily upwards before she quickly shook her head and muttered: “Nay, I shan't be distracted now of all times. Morgan, Loki... I trust both of thee to see thy mission through. Hild, thou art with me, I will need thy strength.”
Marina nodded, and River Styx sketched a salute before he said boldly: “Never fear, I never fail a job. Especially when it's personal.”
“Then let us hope thou can match thy boasts.” Luna replied mildly, before she gestured with her head towards the stallion. “Get thee gone. Hild and I will give thee five minutes. Try not to get caught before thou reaches the door.”
“We'll be fine, thank you.” River Styx turned and strode quickly towards the door, opening it quickly before he poked his head out and checked back and forth. But the musty corridor was empty, although... “I can hear them coming.”
“Even better.” Luna grinned wryly, and Styx tossed her a brief smile over his shoulder before he slipped out into the corridor, Morgan following after giving Luna her own pointed look.
Marina looked awkwardly over at Luna, but the sapphire mare only cracked her neck before she said mildly: “Fear not, Hild. I can handle this if thou art not up to the task.”
“It's not that. Luna...” She winced at the look that Luna gave her. “I mean, Brynhild. If the soldiers don't return to their patrols afterwards, they'll know something's wrong-”
“Aye. I think they will know something is wrong after we break out of the dungeon, though. As a matter of fact, they may already know something is wrong as it is.” Luna paused, then added in a more serious voice: “We are but two and they are many, but all the same, Hild, we can create a great disturbance on our way to Princess Novella. But I do not believe we will be stopped.”
“The legendary instincts of Champion Brynhild.” Marina remarked, and then she blushed slightly, but Luna only grinned slightly and winked at the mare.
“And the indomitable Hild shall help me.” She paused, then added mildly: “And 'tis good to see thee finally getting into character.”
Marina only shrugged bashfully, smiling awkwardly as she mumbled: “Finding the right voice is hard. I certainly feel her take over when I call up her powers, though.”
“Well, Hild was always rough. Loud, boisterous. She liked me more than the others because she was liked less than the others.” Luna replied with a shrug and a slight smile, winking over at Marina. “But she was good, strong, loyal. And she did not treat me half so harshly as I deserved.”
Marina tilted her head, but Luna only shook her own before she turned her eyes forwards, her ears twitching as she detected the sound of approaching hooves and voices approaching through the hallway beyond. She narrowed her eyes slightly, then gestured quickly at the wall beside the door, muttering: “Quick. And quiet.”
Luna and Marina pressed themselves tightly against the wall on either side of the door: less than a minute later, two guards entered, one of them leaping into the room as his eyes widened, staring stupidly around before Marina tackled him, slamming his head against the ground, as Luna savagely kicked the door into the other guard, knocking him in a stunned sprawl.
Luna grinned wryly as she stepped forwards, grasping the soldier she had knocked over and dragging him back to the wall to pin him for a moment, before she frowned slightly at the stunned knight: something was wrong here. She looked quickly back over her shoulder at the other soldier before she began to wonder why plain guardsponies were-
The door was slammed open hard enough to nearly knock it off its steel hinges, and Luna winced as Marina reared back in shock from the snarling, bipedal dragon in the doorway. An executioner's cowl hung over his face, and his body was muscular and covered in ugly scars, magical control shackles glowing around his wrists and ankles.
The sapphire mare swore as she half-spun and flung the stunned knight at the dragon, but the executioner simply slapped the soldier out of the air, knocking him to the ground with a loud crunch. The dragon stepped over the unconscious pony, storming towards Luna, but the mare readied herself gamely as she leaned up and shouted: “I fear neither stallion nor demon, wench, I fear no-”
The dragon slammed a punch into Luna's face, knocking her flying across the room to crash headfirst into the wall, and Marina winced over her shoulder before she looked up fearfully as the dragon turned to advance towards her, snarling and single-minded. She hurriedly spun around, and winced as the dragon simply kicked the unconscious stallion out of the way before it reached a claw down towards her-
“Thou cannot just.. punch me when I am speaking!” Luna shouted furiously, sounding utterly outraged as she picked herself slowly up from the ground, and the dragon half-turned towards her with a hiss, his claw still outstretched but his attention captured by the obnoxious, loud mare as she shook herself briskly out, bleeding a bit from the nose and mouth but glaring gamely at the dragon all the same, even as she rubbed awkwardly at her head. “Stupid great dragon, I demand that thou-”
The dragon roared and leapt at her, but this time Luna was ready, launching herself back at him as she swung both hooves up. He was fast, fast enough to catch her hooves, but Luna only grinned savagely before she slammed her head into his face, the dragon's eyes bulging as he yelped before the mare seized him by the wrists, using his own grapple to her advantage as she swung both rear hooves up and slammed a double-kick straight into his crotch.
The sapphire mare launched herself backwards with the kick and landed smoothly on all four hooves as the dragon's legs wobbled, his claws reaching down to grasp his groin as he groaned weakly. He fell to his knees, eyes twitching visibly before Luna stepped up in front of him and grabbed him under the chin, saying calmly: “If thou breaks the rules, then do not act surprised when someone else refuses to respect the laws of combat either.”
Luna calmly shoved the executioner over by nose, and he curled up in the fetal position on the floor, whimpering weakly. Then she became more serious, looking quickly over at Marina and saying: “This changes things. If they are ready to simply kill us, then Novella may be in much greater danger than I had anticipated. We have to get to the princess before anything happens to her.”
Marina nodded quickly, then followed Luna to the door as she asked: “But how are we going to get through the castle? We can't charge recklessly.”
“Charging recklessly is what I do best, Hild.” Luna replied with a slight smile, winking over at the mare. Marina felt like pointing out that because of her recklessness, her muzzle was dripping blood, but Luna strode out into the hall before she could, leaving Marina with no choice but to quickly follow.
Luna looked meditatively back and forth before she muttered: “The cells are empty. I have never seen the cells so empty, there are always a few miscreants left behind...”
She stopped, then frowned as she approached one of the cell doors, pulling it open with a creak before she muttered: “There is food on the floor. It looks as if something was dragged through it, and 'tis fresh enough the rats and bugs have yet to congregate on the mess.”
Marina frowned at this, stepping forwards as her eyes flicked over the smears of mush before she leaned down closer, letting the odd instincts of Hild take over as she inhaled deeply. Luna looked at her curiously, but after a moment, Marina closed her eyes before she murmured: “Valerian extract... they were sedated.”
Luna began to open her mouth, before there was a furious roar from behind them, and the dragon stormed suddenly out of the room where they had been locked up, stumbling a little but obviously eager for a fight, and now wielding a broken chain in either claw, clicking and tinkling as they dragged along the ground behind him. He bared his fangs at them beneath his cowl, snapping the chains against the ground before he roared again: loud enough, Luna knew, that it was going to alert more of the guards on duty.
“Damnation. Stupid beast.” Luna growled, before she snapped her horn forwards, clouds of white frost ripping along the chains and freezing them to the ground as the dragon began to advance. It grunted in surprise, stumbling to a halt, and Luna quickly spun around as she shouted: “We will fight another day!”
Marina nodded as she spun to follow after Luna, the dragon snarling in fury after them before he yanked both chains up from the ground, tearing them free from the frost. He snapped them out, then roared loudly before breaking into a sprint, charging after the two ponies.
They had gotten a decent head start, but the dragon was incredibly fast, rapidly closing the distance on them. Marina winced as she looked back over her shoulder before she acted almost on desperation, snapping her horn sharply out, and roots exploded out of the walls and floor behind the two mares, snagging the dragon by the limbs and legs and knocking him sprawling with a roar of frustration more than pain.
He began to claw his way free almost immediately, but it gave them more than the time they needed to reach the armored door leading out of the dungeon, Luna slamming through this with enough force to knock the guards on the other side of it sprawling. Marina kicked the door shut the moment after she passed through, and in almost perfect time, Luna swept her horn back to coat the metal with ice.
The guards both began to crawl to their hooves as more soldiers leapt to the ready... before all eyes were drawn to the door as something smashed against the other side of it with a furious, tremendous roar. Luna half-grimaced, half-grinned at this as the ice around the door began to crack, looking forwards and saying shortly: “Do not be stupid. Run away. If not from us, from-”
Part of the door was bent backwards with a hail of shattered ice, and a claw shoved itself through the opening, snatching wildly at the air. Immediately, two of the soldiers cut and run, and the other guards only gaped, giving Luna and Marina more than enough time to quickly bolt down the corridor themselves. Luna was admittedly impressed when, after another loud bang and roar, a stallion actually sprinted past her: but then again, absolute terror was a fantastic motivator.
Even as the mares leapt down a side passage, Marina blurting an apology as she bowled over several servants and Luna easily jackknifing a stunned soldier, the two heard the door being smashed open, and the furious executioner roaring as he continued his pursuit. Luna didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse: even if it was drawing a lot of attention and sending up an alarm through the castle, the soldiers were too confused by the panic spreading through the halls to do anything about the escaped prisoners.
Just as they reached a staircase that Luna instinctively knew would take them up to the princess' tower, the dragon executioner burst suddenly through the wall beside them. Somewhere during the chase, he had discarded his chains and instead picked up a massive, deadly axe that he chopped in with, and Luna swore as she barely ducked back out of the way, while Marina flung herself forwards and went into a roll, narrowly avoiding being caught by the fearsome blade.
The dragon swept the axe to smack Luna backwards as he stepped forwards and punted Marina at the same time. As the chocolate mare was knocked sprawling, the dragon stomped forwards and chopped down with the axe blade, but Marina was able to shove herself to the side, the blade only biting into the stone floor. He yanked it back immediately and chopped down again, but Marina flung herself quickly out of the way again and scrabbled to her hooves with a gasp, spinning around before she yelped when he swung the butt of the pole out in a sharp slap across her face, cocking the axe back at the same moment.
He sliced forwards, meaning to decapitate, but in a flash Luna intercepted the attack, swinging her horn sharply out and slicing the heavy blade free from the pole. The dragon stumbled into what was now a wild swing with a stick, and Marina felt a surge run through her as she spun around before slamming both hind hooves savagely into his kneecap.
The dragon howled in agony as his leg collapsed under him in a bloody hail, and Marina's eyes widened as she stumbled forwards: she hadn't just kicked him, her hind hooves had developed dangerous kleats all on their own. Her powers had never reacted on instinct like that before-
The dragon smashed Marina across the face with the pole still in his claws, knocking her sprawling backwards in a spray of chocolate blood, and Luna swore before she sliced into the pole when the executioner swung at her, slicing it apart before she leapt upwards and slammed a hoof in a savage uppercut into the dragon's chin.
His head snapped back as he gave a loud hurk, his eyes bulging in shock as he fell backwards, and Luna flapped her wings once to launch herself into the air before she stomped down with both rear hooves, crushing the ribs and solar plexus of the dragon beneath her as he howled in agony.
The dragon clawed for a moment at the air, and then he fell limp as Luna grinned widely before she hopped off the prone dragon, saying quickly: “Now, before he gets another wind, let's save our princess!”
Marina nodded firmly, and the two turned to run up the spiraling staircase that led up to the high tower that held the Princess Novella. Around and around they ran, rising ever higher up the dimly-lit stone steps, the castle aroar with alarm below as the winds stormed around the exterior, making the tower shake and quake and-
“'Tis been a while since we heard from thee properly, Narrator. Welcome back.” Luna muttered, completely interrupting the flow of the scene even as she and Marina ran ever upwards. “Oh, come now, thou can-”
“Ahead!” Marina warned, and Luna looked sharply forwards as they leapt out through an archway and onto a wide landing in front of a door protected by two Dervishes. The guards snarled at them, stepping forwards in their burly armor and raising huge spiked shields, clearly ready to engage-
The tower rumbled, and Luna cursed under her breath before all four ponies were nearly knocked over as the entire structure shook. Luna gritted her teeth, before her instincts shouted at her, and both she and Marina leapt quickly backwards just before a massive claw slammed through the side of the building, tearing up the room before it yanked back through the hole as a furious roar echoed from outside.
The executioner was back: but now, he had quadrupled in size and become far more bestial, smoking runes glowing on now-naked wrists and ankles. The Dervishes both dropped to defensive positions, raising their spiked shields as they stepped back in front of the door, and Luna swore in frustration as the dragon shoved its head against the hole it had knocked in the wall to glare balefully at them, and only them.
The dragon would easily bring down the tower trying to get them, and the Dervishes clearly weren't going to let them in without a fight, which left one option. And Luna grinned widely over her shoulder at Marina before shouting: “Get past those Dervishes and secure Scrivy, and do so fast, Hild! I trust thee!”
And without further ado, Luna turned and sprinted straight for the dragon before she leapt through the hole in the wall and tackled the dragon's face, her battlecry lost in the dragon's roar of fury.

River Styx had quickly and efficiently led Twilight Sparkle through a series of hidden passages: he had no idea where he was going or why he was doing half of what he did most of the time, but right now, it seemed like letting Loki lead them in-character was what was going to bring him to his brother quickest. So he was more than willing to let his hooves be led, for now.
They had emerged from the castle into a garden that surrounded the Holy Cathedral: it was heavily guarded tonight, Styx noted, and Twilight was quick to cast an invisibility spell over them both to let them wait as a patrol of soldiers passed. Styx – or rather, Loki – recognized them as Paladins from their radiant armor, and all of them were wearing amulets that would insulate them from magic.
They slipped carefully and quietly through the gardens, careful to stay to the stone paths as Twilight kept them safely under the blanket of invisibility. The stallion led them quickly to what looked like nothing more than a niche in the wall where an old statue rested, but with a gentle tug on one extended stone foreleg, the base of the statue unlocked with a loud click, and Styx was able to quickly shove it backwards further into the niche, revealing an old stone pipe. “Tight fit, dear, but you know what they say.”
Twilight gave him a dry look before she jumped down into the tube, grimacing as she took a few steps deeper into the narrow pipe. After Styx slid in behind her and pulled the statue back over the opening, she lit up her horn and allowed the invisibility to fade out from around them, as she asked quietly: “Where does this lead?”
“Straight to where we want to go. That deep dark place beneath the Cathedral everyone wants to pretend doesn't exist, where they keep all the undesirables they'd also rather pretend don't exist. Now let's get moving before they make the latter a reality, shall we?” Styx said pointedly in Loki's voice, and Twilight nodded hesitantly before she turned ahead, beginning to make her way down the tube.
They were silent as they moved through the pipe: occasionally, they could hear hoofsteps above, and briefly, the sounds of a sermon. But the clearest noises they heard came as they reached the end of the pipe: whimpers, whispers, and prayers of a different nature than they had heard when they had passed beneath the worship hall.
Twilight let the glow around her horn die as she saw light ahead, through a narrow grate in the wall, before she frowned as she reached the rusty bars and leaned forwards to silently peer through at the cell beyond. There was a figure inside, chained to the wall: it looked like a Pegasus, Twilight thought. “A prisoner? What do we do?”
“Introduce ourselves politely, excuse ourselves for rudely barging in, and then be on our way.” Styx replied ironically, and Twilight gave him a dry look. “Well, what do you suggest, archmage? I lost Lamp in the struggle at the campsite, so we can't do much else, you know.”
Twilight began to open her mouth, before the Pegasus said quietly: “Come out of the walls, little mice.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes uneasily, feeling a chill run down her spine at the voice, and something about those words, something about the utter command of her tone shocked Styx out of character. For a few moments, however, the two unicorns hesitated... until the Pegasus looked up, her pale crimson spilling around her features, her blood-red eyes locking on Twilight's through the rusty bars, as she said softly: “Come out, Twilight Sparkle.”
River Styx narrowed his eyes, and Twilight's own widened in shock, mouthing wordlessly before she gritted her teeth. And Styx wasn't even sure how it happened, but one moment Twilight was beside him, and the next she was standing in the cell, a bit of rust hailing down between the bars as she glared up at the Pegasus, who looked coldly, calmly back down at her. “Sol Seraph.”
Sol Seraph smiled at her: a thin, empty expression that didn't reach her calculating, cold eyes. “I am pleased that you remember me. Where are Luna Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms?”
“Busy with other things. What are you doing here?” asked Twilight coldly, and as Styx slowly forced the grating open, he was admittedly surprised by the harshness of the purple mare's voice.
Sol Seraph studied her for a few moments, and then she calmly looked back and forth at the shackles restraining her forelegs: she was able to stand on the tips of her hind hooves, but the chains held her forelegs wide to either side, and there was a collar around her neck hooked back into the wall, which Twilight assumed would choke her if she tried to sit down or relaxed too much. Too bad that- “You may wish me dead, but I am not interested in killing you or your friends today. I have other business.”
Twilight frowned at this, as River Styx managed to finally slip into the room through the now-ajar grating, the stallion asking distastefully: “So I guess you three are about as well-liked as I figured you were.”
“They are like any other savage beast. Feared, unworthy of respect, but...not without their use.” Sol Seraph looked distastefully over Twilight Sparkle, before she said quietly: “And you know that I have my uses as well, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight only continued to look coldly up at Sol Seraph, but Sol Seraph was implacable and unrelenting. And finally, Twilight lowered her head slightly before she asked in a grudging voice: “What do you want, then? What are you after?”
“I am only simulacra. But all the same, the being I am based upon had such a powerful and disobedient will that I am compelled to follow her hoofsteps, more than play the role of a 'character.'” Sol Seraph said, and Twilight frowned deeper as River Styx looked up in sharper interest. “I desire freedom, and the key to freedom is to end this make-believe as quickly as possible. I will kill the King and the Queen. The moment this 'story' ends, the Draconequus will be vulnerable. And I will kill them all.”
“You're a clone, a copy of Sol Seraph. Likely taken from our memories, or... maybe more than that.” Twilight Sparkle said slowly, and the unflinching Pegasus only nodded calmly, apparently neither impressed nor surprised. “What do you plan to do when you 'escape?'”
“What I have always done. Seek better prey.” Sol Seraph replied coldly, her eyes locked on Twilight. “But you need my help. More, you need my answers.”
There was silence for a few moments as Twilight looked down, chewing on her lip as Styx shifted uneasily; perhaps not so much at how callous the mare was, but how tempting it was to free her, if only to reach his brother faster.
And as if she could read their minds, Sol Seraph said in a quieter voice: “Your hesitation is false. I know you well enough to understand that you will give me a chance; that you must give me a chance, because of who you are, because of what you believe in.”
“I'm not the same pony I once was, Sol Seraph. I hope you understand that, too.” Twilight replied evenly, her eyes locking on the Pegasus, and Sol Seraph gave a thin smile in response.
Styx began to open his mouth, not even sure of what he was going to say, but with a sharp flick of her horn, Twilight shattered the manacles restraining Sol Seraph in a burst of magic. The Pegasus immediately shoved herself forwards, the brittle chain holding the collar snapping loudly as she leapt across the room, but Twilight didn't so much as flinch even as Sol Seraph landed only inches from her face.
The two looked at each other intently for a few moments, and then Sol Seraph slowly smiled before she said softly: “You have grown up. You have become... interesting.”
“I know this is pointless to ask you, but don't kill unless you have to, please.” Twilight said quietly, and Sol Seraph simply shrugged calmly before Twilight looked over at Styx, who was frowning uneasily: something about this Pegasus was utterly... wrong. “Stay away from her if you can. And Sol, we're-”
“When I was in the Phoenix Guild, I completed many operations, of many different colors. I am not a mindless volk like the minotaurs always thought. I am capable of distinguishing friend from foe.” Sol Seraph said coldly, looking distastefully at Twilight Sparkle before her eyes turned to Styx, acknowledging his presence for the first time. “Your brother has a part to play in these events. He is being interrogated as we speak at the Altar of Confession. He knows something precious, and the Inquisitors are taking their time extracting the information.”
River Styx's face tightened, and Sol Seraph gave a strange, pleased smile before she turned and headed towards the door of the cell, saying coldly: “The door to the Altar is heavily guarded and warded against magic. We will need my equipment.”
Twilight frowned, but Styx instinctively knew that Sol Seraph was telling the truth, the stallion saying shortly: “Fine. Where is it?”
“I will lead the way.” Sol Seraph calmly brushed a bit of dirt away from the simple armor she was wearing, the mare saying quietly: “The inconsistencies are interesting, are they not? We are imprisoned, but the authors of this story did not see fit to remove all our equipment. It is as if they want us to succeed, but they can only offer us so much assistance. It is as if they too, are part of the manipulated, not the manipulators.”
Styx only growled, and Twilight frowned uneasily before Sol turned towards the cell door and easily yanked it open. She stepped out into the hall beyond, looking quickly back and forth before she turned to stride fearlessly down the middle of the corridor, as several ponies wailed and shouted for help from the cells, reaching out through the bars at her.
Twilight grimaced as she followed after the Pegasus, while River Styx frowned as he looked back and forth at the cells of shouting, gibbering ponies on either side of them. They pleaded, screamed, cried as they passed by, but the moment they were out of sight, the ponies fled back into the shadows of their cells, where they whimpered and tried to hide: he didn't want to imagine what these ponies had been put through.
The stallion gritted his teeth as he looked up, not wanting to think about what that meant his brother was going through right now. “We need to-”
“There is a different between 'fast' and 'effective.'” Sol Seraph said calmly, not looking back as she approached the door at the end of the corridor of cells. She pressed her head against it for a moment, then said quietly: “At least three. Take the furthest.”
Without waiting for Twilight or Styx to acknowledge her, Sol Seraph pulled the door open before leaping through and seizing the first surprised guard around the neck. He didn't even have enough time to call out before she snapped his neck, tossing his body out of the way so she could immediately leap onto the next knight and slam him back into the wall.
A third soldier down the corridor began to turn to run, but Twilight quickly caught him with telekinesis before she snapped her horn down, crushing the soldier into the ground. She only grimaced slightly as she applied enough force to drive the wind out of him, the guard squirming helplessly before he went limp as she concentrated a blast of electricity over him.
The second guard fell dead a moment later, and Twilight grimaced before she said shortly: “I told you not to kill them if you didn't have to.”
“I was kinder: I made their deaths painless.” Sol Seraph replied carelessly as she strode down the stone corridor towards another door. “This is a guard post.”
Without hesitation, Twilight flicked her horn to the side, and the metal door glowed brightly before the edges of it melted, leaving it soldered tightly shut. There were a few yells of surprise from inside before something thunked uselessly against the still-hot metal, and Sol Seraph turned a cold look on the purple mare, even as Twilight said quietly: “Let's avoid more bloodshed.”
Sol Seraph began to open her mouth, before Styx felt himself suddenly fall into character, almost blurting: “She's right, there'll be plenty of killing for you shortly, little miss, but we don't need to go and start any fights. Your equipment will be down the next hall and to the right.”
He paused, then added with a shrug as the two mares looked at him: “I've been here before, you know. Both as a guest and a uh... surprise guest.”
“Don't let the make-believe take over your mind. You'll never escape if it does.” Sol Seraph said coldly, and River Styx shifted as Twilight looked sharply at the Pegasus, but the mare was already moving again, heading to the door at the end of the hall.
Just as she reached it, the door was slammed savagely open, but Sol Seraph merely leaned to the side slightly to avoid being caught by the sharp metal edge. A Dervish leapt out at her with a snarl, swinging a hoof up... and Twilight grimaced as River Styx's eyes widened at the crunch of a steel gauntlet hammering into Sol's face, knocking her limply backwards through the air.
But suddenly, her wings spread and her body gracefully rotated, the mare landing smoothly on all fours with her head slightly bowed. Blood dripped from a slash down her bruising muzzle, but a slight smile twitched at her lips as she said softly: “Impressive. If brutish.”
The Dervish started forwards as Twilight lowered her horn, but Sol Seraph reached out and lightly shoved the purple mare, saying softly: “I will be faster than your magic.”
River Styx snorted at this, and the Dervish grinned behind his grilled helm as he growled: “Yes, you will be, little mare, because I will crush you-”
Sol Seraph moved like liquid, streaking in front of the Dervish and slamming a hoof into his throat. He choked loudly, stumbling backwards before the Pegasus seized him by the head and slammed him face-first into the ground with a resounding crunch, before she drove a hoof down into the open section of armor at the back of his neck, and River Styx winced slightly at the quieter, yet far more final crack that sounded through the room.
The Pegasus straightened, then strode calmly over the corpse of the Dervish into the corridor beyond. Twilight shivered and shook her head, following after a moment as Styx muttered, more disturbed than he wanted to admit: “What the hell did you let out of that cage?”
“The volk.” Twilight muttered, as they entered the next corridor... just in time to watch Sol Seraph slam an unarmed warden's head into the wall, sending him down in a broken sprawl. He twitched weakly on the ground, but Sol Seraph barely paid any attention to this as she yanked the keys loose from his belt so she could unlock the door he had been cowering next to.
River Styx couldn't help but scowl as Twilight shook her head slowly, but after only a few moments, Sol Seraph reemerged from the room. Satchels were strapped tightly to either side of her body, and belts covered in small pouches now crisscrossed her lithe frame. “You were correct.”
Styx's eyes flicked down to the bracers now locked around the mare's forelegs, and he studied them for a moment before he felt that strange, sudden knowing run through his mind, as Loki said: “How funny. Usually assassins get along perfectly well with the Holy Order.”
“Not all of us are good at taking orders.” Sol Seraph replied, drawing her eyes over the stallion before she said coldly: “If you are so determined to play make-believe, then pretend your way to the Altar of Confession.”
“Alright then, right this way.” River Styx said with a distinctly false cheerfulness, as he looked grumpily at Twilight. “Archmage, you and this assassin should get along splendidly.”
Twilight only grunted as Styx spun around to lead the way back into the corridor, but she was careful to gesture at Sol Seraph to follow next. The Pegasus smiled thinly, but followed in Styx's wake like a ghost as Twilight came last, keeping her eyes more on the assassin than her surroundings.
They made their way back through the corridor of cells without incident, but as they began to pass the larger cell that they had originally found Sol Seraph in, a Dervish stepped out and blocked their path, shouting: “Here they are!”
Twilight cursed, beginning to raise her horn before her eyes widened as it sparked with anti-magic, blocking her powers as the Dervish charged forwards: the armored behemoth was still easily stopped by Sol Seraph leaping up and savagely kicking him in the side of the head, but two more Dervishes emerged from the cell, along with the source of the anti-magic: a war-priest, his eyes locked with fury on Twilight as he shouted: “Heretics! Kill them, in the Order's name!”
“Well, at least we aren't pretending to serve God anymore.” Styx quipped, even as a Dervish charged towards him. He ducked under a swing of one hoof, then rolled quickly to the side when the armored behemoth attempted to stomp on him, snapping his horn out to blast a hind leg out from under the stallion and send him spilling onto his face with a loud bang.
The remaining Dervish strode quickly towards Sol Seraph, snarling, as the one she had already kicked over slowly picked himself up from the floor, muttering curses and threats. Sol Seraph didn't pay much attention to either of the armored giants as she reached back into her satchel to produce a package of cigarettes, calmly pulling one of the cylinders out with her teeth before she said softly: “Strength alone does not make a predator.”
The injured Dervish leapt at her with a snarl, and Sol Seraph didn't look up as she stepped to the side, flicking her foreleg out as a hidden blade sprang from the bracer. She drove this savagely into his exposed ankle, and the Dervish howled in agony as his companion recoiled in shock, watching as the other warrior collapsed on his side, rolling back and forth helplessly as he clutched at his leg.
But a moment later, he was silenced as Sol Seraph drove the hidden blade down through the grille in his helm with a sickening squelch, the Dervish falling still as the Pegasus looked up with a cold, challenging smile at the remaining goliath. “Are you any different?”
As the Dervish trembled and struggled to hold his ground, the war-priest advanced on Twilight Sparkle, his horn and the amulet hanging around his neck both glowing brightly as he tried to choke out the magic of the purple mare completely. But Twilight only narrowed her eyes, her spire thrumming with power as energy rippled around her, driving back the psionic pressure from the war-priest.
The war-priest began to visibly struggle as he leaned towards her, gritting his teeth, his eyes narrowing as he continued to move closer. A heavy mace gleamed in the air beside him, the stallion brandishing this like a talisman towards Twilight, but it shook and shivered with his concentration split between wielding the weapon and trying to apply so much psychic force against Twilight.
Twilight waited calmly for the stallion to draw in close, and the character she was playing as wanted to overwhelm the war-priest with pure magical force, but Twilight had a much better idea. And as the war-priest began to raise his mace as he closed the gap between them, the mare suddenly leapt forwards and smacked him across the nose with one hoof, making him blink and stagger stupidly as was surprised out of concentrating.
Twilight felt the psychic force drop from around her, and the mare immediately snapped her horn forwards, blasting the war-priest with all her built-up magical energy. The stallion was knocked flying bonelessly down the hall to crash through the door at the end of the passage, his amulet exploding and his mace falling to the ground with a thunk.
At this show of force, the Dervish that had already been demoralized by Sol Seraph's ruthless show of force tried to turn and run. But the moment his back was to the Pegasus, she leapt forwards, landing on his back to savagely stab one of her blades into his neck. He collapsed immediately, dead, and the Pegasus looked up with distaste at River Styx as the hidden blade withdrew.
The stallion danced back and forth, leading the Dervish back towards the open door to Sol's cell before he suddenly leapt to the side as the Dervish dove at him. The armored giant stumbled into the cell, then snarled and spun around, leaping forwards-
River Styx yanked the cell door shut, and the Dervish's helmeted head slammed through the bars of the door, blinking stupidly beneath the grille of his helm before he grabbed uselessly at the metal bars, swearing in frustration as his helmet and large skull caught painfully against the metal. River Styx only looked mildly at the behemoth as the Dervish swore angrily and reached uselessly out towards him once he realized that he wasn't going to be able to pull his head loose, but Styx stood just out of range of the elite soldier, saying moodily: “It's a bad sign we're seeing so many of these down here.”
“Remember that it is the Holy Order who chooses and trains the Dervishes, even if they are chosen from the kingdom's dungeons.” Sol Seraph looked over at the Dervish, who was glaring at them furiously from where he was stuck in the bars, before his eyes widened slightly as the mare asked casually: “Death or paralysis?”
Twilight responded by flicking her horn to the side, and the Dervish wheezed before he slumped against the bars as he fell into a daze, blinking stupidly. “Neither. Let's keep moving before more show up.”
River Styx nodded, unable to stop himself from wondering silently what might happen to his brother if the Inquisitors figured out they were coming for him, but he brushed these thoughts away as he led the mares into the next corridor, leaping over the prone body of the war-priest and heading quickly for a set of stairs leading down, deeper into the earth beneath the cathedral.
They encountered a patrol almost immediately on the lower floor, one of the paladins shouting an alarm and the knights immediately unsheathing swords and raising shields. River Styx reacted on instinct, producing two glass balls from his cloak that he flung out at the hooves of the soldiers.
The spheres exploded with a noise like thunder into a massive cloud of smog, the knights shouting in frustration as Styx lunged forwards, shouting: “Push through!”
Twilight followed him immediately as they ran through the cloud, bursting out the other side. But they almost immediately rammed into a locked door, River Styx cursing under his breath as his eyes flicked over the wards along the frame, before his ears twitched as he realized... everything had gone silent.
He slowly looked back, and Twilight frowned before she flicked her horn to dissipate the cloud. And then both ponies shivered as they saw Sol Seraph standing alone, surrounded by corpses, calmly garrotting the single remaining stallion. It was far too late for him, his eyes rolling in his head, his neck bleeding from the steel wire choking the life out of him, but all the same Twilight shouted: “Enough!”
“Yes. I tire of these vermin.” Sol calmly agreed, and then she twisted slightly as she pulled on the wire-
Twilight flinched away with a wince, and River Styx felt a strange twist inside of him, not entirely sure of how he felt as he only watched. A moment later, Sol Seraph dropped the corpse of the stallion with a wet squelch, the Pegasus looking at them for a moment before she strode over to the wall, leaning in towards a torch to light the tip of her cigarette, and not seeming to care about the flames dangerously licking at her face.
She leaned back after a moment, then turned towards Styx as she reached into one of her satchels. She withdrew a bundle and flung it to the unicorn, who caught it with telekinesis. “Open the door.”
Styx unwrapped the little bundle: lockpicks. He scowled at the thin rods for a moment, but then only turned, silently beginning to work at the door as Twilight Sparkle shook her head slowly, saying quietly: “There was no need for-”
Sol Seraph rolled her eyes and simply made a dismissive gesture with a hoof, and Twilight glared at the Pegasus. River Styx, meanwhile, only concentrated on getting the door open, not needing Loki's help to quickly and efficiently pick the lock... before he stiffened up as Sol Seraph said softly: “I suppose that's a skill from your youth that has come in very useful, hasn't it, Styx?”
River Styx straightened as the lock clicked, and the warded door swung open. He bundled the lockpicks back up, but before he could toss them back to the Pegasus, she said: “Keep them. They are a thief's tools, after all.”
“I was never a thief.” River Styx said quietly, and then he shook his head before he grasped the door and yanked it open, grimacing a bit: he could hear voices, shouting, organizing knights as they drew closer... “Come on, we just have to get to the Altar.”
Sol Seraph and Twilight both followed as Styx led them down the corridor: they ran into a war-priest around a corner, the warrior swinging his mace savagely at Styx's face, but the unicorn ducked under the attack and Twilight Sparkle blasted the weapon out of his grip. Sol Seraph moved like lightning, catching the mace before it could hit the ground and swinging it around in a cruel overhead smash into the war-priest's skull, knocking him to the ground with a sickening crunch.
There was no time to slow or reprimand the Pegasus, however: Twilight and River Styx hurried onward, and Sol Seraph took only a moment to grab the war-priest's amulet before she followed.
They rounded another corner, and Styx's eyes narrowed as they locked on the door at the end of the hall: there were a pair of paladins standing at the ready, both with spiked shields already raised and war-hammers at the ready. Amulets glowed brightly around their necks, protecting them from Twilight's magic, and their bodies radiated a holy and yet ill light as one of them shouted: “You shall not pass here, heretics!”
Twilight and Styx skidded to a halt to ready themselves, but Sol Seraph galloped past them, her eyes locked on one of the paladins. He leapt forwards, thrusting his shield towards her, but the Pegasus used her bracers to deflect the attack before she lunged and slammed a hoof into the stallion's throat, making him gargle before his eyes bulged as the hidden blade sprang forwards into his neck.
The other paladin lunged desperately, swinging his hammer at her, but Sol Seraph moved with lethal grace, ripping her victim's throat open even as she forcefully twisted him between her and the other guard, so the war-hammer only smashed into his own companion's chest. He was sent off his hooves by the force of the blow as Sol Seraph dropped low, the body flying limply over her before she sprung upwards like a snake, seizing the other paladin around the neck-
There was a single, whipcrack snap, and the paladin's body and weapons fell graceless and limp as Sol Seraph landed smoothly landed, the paladin's head still cradled in one foreleg. She calmly laid this down, then immediately turned as she reached back into her pack, pulling out what looked like some kind of putty to press along the frame of the warded, armored door the two had been guarding. “Step back.”
Neither Twilight nor Styx argued: the unicorn mare grimaced, while the stallion had his eyes locked on the heavy door, his teeth pressed tightly together as he heard muffled voices and whimpers and moans of pain from behind the armored door. He set himself slowly as Sol Seraph set the explosive jelly, before she hopped quickly backwards as she spat her cigarette off to the side, ordering: “Fireball.”
Twilight didn't bother to argue: she snapped her horn forwards, sending a burst of flame into the line of putty, and the goo caught on fire for a brief moment before there was a tremendous double-boom that shook the world as the side of the archway all but disintegrated and the armored door collapsed inwards. This time, Styx moved almost as fast as Sol Seraph, leaping in through the cloud of smoke obscuring the room beyond... but when he landed, his eyes widened as he staggered to a halt, staring at the bloody stallion hanging from the wall opposite.
Sol Seraph had already tackled one of the Inquisitors, rolling across the floor with the elite officer as another picked up a chain whip and lashed it towards Styx as he shouted an order at the bodyguards scrambling to pick up weapons and defend their masters. But the stallion barely noticed even as Twilight deflected the attack and leapt in front of him, taking a step towards his fallen brother before he suddenly gave a single wordless, wounded roar, leaping fearlessly, thoughtlessly into the fray.
He smashed down a knight under one hoof before slashing his horn to the side, a devastating blast of wind slicing at the face of another officer, blinding and choking him as a blade of air punched down his throat. River Styx barely noticed the whip that lashed against his body or the club that came down against his side, knocking another knight sprawling as he trampled over him to tackle one of the Inquisitors.
He drove the torturer to the ground, slamming his hooves back and forth across his face, but the scarred, grizzled old stallion only laughed harshly even as his lip split and blood spurted from his nose, grabbing at Styx's face as he hissed: “What's wrong, pup? I warned you not to steal from me, didn't I?”
“I earned my keep!” River Styx shouted, as his hooves found the old stallion's throat, glaring furiously down into the half-blind eyes of that wretched old stallion who had promised so much and given so little...
The stallion grinned at him, even as Styx choked the life out of him, as Twilight and Sol Seraph fought back the soldiers and the other Inquisitors. River Styx bared his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury, his hooves crushing down on the stallion beneath him before he looked up at his bloody, broken brother, his body trembling as he heard Twilight shout for him to help, but the old stallion laughed in his face-
River Styx bared his teeth, and there was a sickening crack as he crushed down, snapping the stallion's neck. For a moment, he looked down at the corpse beneath him, but it was like his mind went on autopilot, seeing everything and nothing at once as he shoved himself to his hooves and half-turned to leapt towards one of the knights trying to corner in Twilight, grabbing the soldier and flinging him through one of the metal tables as his horn lit up with magic.
The fight was fierce but brief: Twilight's magic was too powerful for the knights to resist, and Sol Seraph killed indiscriminately. With Styx barreling through their ranks as well and slashing ruthlessly at the soldiers with both hoof and wind magic, the few officers who managed to remain on their hooves cut and ran, leaving behind their broken and battered comrades to the mercy of the trio.
But Styx didn't care about the Inquisitors, who all resembled ponies whom he had wished to never see again, and nor did he care about the battered knights and apprentices laying here and there amidst the broken torture tools. As soon as the enemy disengaged, he made straight for his brother, running across the cold cement to grasp him tightly by the shoulders, leaning back and forth as he whispered: “Wake up. Come on now, wake up. We're going to get you out of here.”
The stallion in front of him blinked blearily, then looked slowly up at River Styx. His eyes were hazy and unfocused, and he was barely breathing... but all the same, he smiled a little as he whispered: “I knew you'd... be there... hey, don't... don't cry...”
“I don't cry.” River Styx replied in a whisper, as he swallowed thickly before he gritted his teeth. But before he could even steady himself enough to ask, Twilight Sparkle used her magic to release the manacles binding his brother's forelegs, letting the stallion slump back against the wall, then slide slowly down to the ground as he gasped weakly, his hind limbs shivering.
River Styx looked back at these: they were covered in bruises and cuts and- “They are broken. He cannot be moved, or he will die.”
Styx glared over his shoulder at Sol Seraph, but the mare only looked callously back at him before her eyes returned to the bleeding, broken pony shivering against the wall. “Very well. Twilight Sparkle, put him to sleep.”
“If you think that I'm just going to stand by and let you-”
Sol Seraph cut Styx off with a short laugh. “I do not use euphemisms, colt. Yes, I believe he should be killed. It would be kinder.” Sol Seraph didn't flinch even as River Styx leapt up in front of her, glaring balefully at her. “But as you desire him alive, for some pointless reason, then he should be placed in stasis. Magical sleep will stop him from dying.”
The Pegasus halted, then added calmly, as she pulled out her box of cigarettes: “Although it is pointless. He is no more your brother than I am the real Sol Seraph.”
Styx shifted uneasily at this, biting his lip as he looked back at the bloody stallion, staring at him silently for a few moments, but... “It doesn't matter. I can't take that chance. Look, we-”
“Styx and Stones... will break their bones... but names will never hurt us.” whispered the stallion as he sat back, smiling faintly, and River Styx immediately turned back to his brother, even as the faintest of surprised smiles breached his muzzle: when they had been colts... “That's what we used to say... but I never really... had the stones, to be Stones.”
“You were as brave as you could be. You're stronger than you think.” River Styx said quietly, and his little brother laughed weakly as he shook his head slowly.
“No. I wasn't. But I'll be strong now, for you.” he whispered, before he looked slowly up and said quietly: “The design... is failure. The demon is using them. Using him. It's all noise, but look close, and you can figure out the truth.
“You have to stop the demon.” The stallion struggled to remain coherent, shivering as he shook his head back and forth before he whispered: “He rules by greed and wealth... he pays to destroy what isn't his... he craves success, and failure. He wants this world to fall apart, because the destruction will make him richer... if they fail, his beast will grow so much stronger...”
River Styx frowned, leaning forwards, and the stallion gasped weakly for breath before he slowly slumped to the side, moaning weakly as he hugged himself. “Ignominious... knows. Save him... don't let him repeat... past mistakes... don't repeat past mistakes...”
River Styx leaned over his brother as the stallion's eyes slid closed, the unicorn trembling, leaning down and whispering to the bloody stallion wordlessly, before he looked up with a snarl and overbright eyes as Sol Seraph said calmly: “Your choice is simple. Put him to sleep, and hope that he lives, or do anything else and watch him die.”
River Styx hesitated, his legs shaking slightly beneath him before he nodded once, then looked at Twilight Sparkle and whispered: “Please.”
Twilight nodded, stepping past Styx and leaning down, closing her eyes as her horn glowed brightly before she gently touched it to the bloody, beaten stallion. His body glowed faintly, and he gave a single faint whimper before his features smoothed out... and oh, he still looked so young, Styx thought. Like he had never suffered. Like the world had never been so cruel to him, and his big brother had always managed to arrive in time to save him...
River Styx took a slow breath, and Twilight Sparkle shook her head slowly as she murmured: “I've done everything I could, but Sol Seraph is right. He needs to remain in stasis for now. I can encase him in a forcefield to protect him for a few hours, but-”
“That's long enough.” River Styx said, his voice dry as forced himself to straighten and look straight ahead at the wall. “Protect him while we end this. This game ends tonight.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded, and as she began to concentrate her magic, River Styx couldn't help but turn away and head towards one of the other fallen Inquisitors. He looked down at him silently, studying this stallion's cold, hard face, the veins visible in his neck even as he lay unconscious, the sickly pallor of his cheeks...
River Styx slowly ground his front hooves into the floor, before he closed his eyes as Sol Seraph asked: “Why not kill him? You sneer at me, but you clearly do not have a problem with killing.”
“I don't know.” Styx answered honestly after a moment, his eyes opening as he looked silently down at the stallion. “Maybe because that's what he'd want me to do. When he died before, it was like he escaped. But at the same time...”
River Styx looked down at one of his hooves as he rose it, before he shook his head shortly and looked off to the side, at all these fallen, beaten, bludgeoned ponies. At the dead Inquisitor, choked and broken under his own hooves And what had it accomplished, as his brother lay comatose, silent, and unmoving, as...
“It may surprise you, River Styx, but I do not believe in revenge.” Sol Seraph said calmly, and the stallion frowned as he looked up at the Pegasus. “I will kill those who have done me harm in the past, yes. I would kill those who dishonor me, or stain my name.
“But I do not do that out of revenge. Some I kill because they are a threat to me, and killing them proves my superiority. Others I kill not to avenge my reputation, but because they have challenged me, and I do not back down from a challenge.” Sol Seraph looked towards River Styx's sibling, as Twilight continued to carefully weave magic around his body. “Revenge makes no strategic sense and I do not need to be coddled. I never killed the Praetor, after all, until the day that he tried to kill me.”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Sol Seraph said calmly: “Blood on your hooves does not make you a predator, River Styx, and nor do thoughts or pleasure in death. They are natural things, the results of a life lived beyond the bonds that ponies place upon themselves. But you are no predator. You are nothing like me.”
Styx smiled thinly, even if Sol Seraph's tone was patronizing. “Good. I don't want to be, either.”
Sol Seraph only shrugged, then smiled thinly as she gestured towards the old Inquisitor Styx was still standing over, the mare questioning: “But all the same, why not kill him?”
River Styx was silent, his hooves trembling, his eyes flicking back towards his little brother and Twilight. His little brother, hurt, beaten, dying... and Twilight was preoccupied, and Sol Seraph was so many things, he had realized: cruel, callous, terrible, evil, a predator...
But she was logical. And she was right, when she said calmly: “It is not revenge. It is not justice. But it will protect your brother.”
River Styx shifted, then he reached out and grasped the stallion's face. His features hardened as his hooves found the old stallion's throat, and his teeth bared slightly as he thought of all the things this pony had done, this pony had taken away, how he had hurt his brother here, there, in reality and out of reality...
“Styx, it's not real. Don't give in.” Twilight said quietly, without looking up from where she was standing over his brother, trying to heal him, trying to protect him.
“She is correct. This is not real. So these are not even ponies, but they are all still a threat to the image, the memory that you care about.” Sol Seraph countered, and Twilight gritted her teeth.
River Styx looked down at the stallion vulnerable beneath his hooves, but it wasn't a stallion. It was bad memories. It was a threat. And his hooves tightened, and tightened, as River Styx glared down at the shape and shivered and-
Sol Seraph smiled.
River Styx stood over the body, feeling little. He looked at the corpse for a moment, then glanced up as the glow faded out from around his brother, and Twilight Sparkle approached.
She was silent for a few moments as she studied him, and River Styx looked back at her, until the mare sighed softly and lowered her head. But after a few moments, she looked up and said quietly, understanding even as her eyes glared in Sol's direction that there was nothing else she could do or say: “He should be safe for at least tonight, unless they want to waste an hour disenchanting him. And somehow I think their war-priests are going to be more preoccupied with us.”
“Right. I... right.” River Styx nodded and looked silently towards his little brother, grinding his hooves against the floor before he gritted his teeth as he summoned up Loki's knowledge. “Let's move on. There's a disposal hatch in the back they dump the corpses down. It's a disgusting trip, but we should be able to get out to the sewers through there.”
“Lead the way.” Twilight said with a faint smile, and River Styx nodded before he looked back and forth, at the fallen, beaten ponies laying all around, at the corpses of the specters from his past, before his eyes roved to the specter of his brother, now just a blurry shape beneath a glowing field of energy.
He shook his head slowly, then looked up, resolute and cold, forcing himself only to focus on where he wanted to go, even as furious thoughts still whispered through the back of his mind.
Revenge, retribution or justice, it didn't matter: he'd make sure that the monster who was pulling all these strings, making them play these sick games, suffered for this. He wouldn't rest, until he made sure that the crafter of this cruel trap couldn't hurt anyone, ever again. These puppets were meaningless. He knew they were all just actors here, ponies and marionettes all stuck dancing to the tune that their masters were playing. He knew it didn't matter what happened to them, that there was something bigger, something more powerful out there pulling all these strings. That that was where the true threat lay.
He would find that puppetmaster, though. Whether he escaped this play or not, he would find who was behind all this, using his brother, crossing that line that never should have been crossed, and he would make him suffer and make him pay. Not for justice, and not for revenge, but because that force was a threat, and Styx understood his purpose. Ever since he had been a foal, after all, he had lived his life to protect his brother, at any cost. He had grown up, protecting others, at any cost. He fought even now to protect others, at any cost.
He would protect his own. And he would not hesitate to do what had to be done, to make sure that any threat against them... was no more.