A day and a half of freezing their rumps off and wading through chest-high snow later, the two unicorns, one hippogriff, one satyr, one griffon, one alicorn, and one dreamling queen got close enough to see the first wooden barricades of the Everfree portal garrison. Straw was praying quietly to any good force listening that his reporting this operation to princess Luna had not been a terrible mistake. He had written to the princess that Blaze would use his status as an unsuccessful regicide to lure the guards away so that the others could sneak in. What he was bothered now was the note that had appeared in his talons a moment later.
I will make sure the guards react "with proper severity".
And a smiley face... from princess Luna.
Straw shivered, and not due to the frost.
"Alright, as soon as the guards move out, you go in," ordered Blaze, "I'm gonna fly up to show the pegasi what's going on."
When everypony nodded, he took up to the clear, grey sky. Yells pierced the air as his fire wings flashed, clearly visible from afar.
"Uh oh," Cromach looked through the tree branches. He had dyed his coat and feathers brown, much to Fortune and Connie's displeasure.
"That is strange, and incredibly foolish," Guiding Light, who looked downright silly with her armor moss-green and a red mane, nodded.
All of them stared as wave after wave of guards stationed at the makeshift bastion flew upwards and converged on the burning beacon that was Blaze.
"Yeah, let's go before Blaze actually has to hurt them," Cromach waved at Guiding, and both disappeared in the trees.
I sincerely hope princess Luna warned the guards not to overdo it.
It's raining burned corpses, halelujah, it's raining dead, oh oooh!
Straw shrugged, at least Nightmare seemed in good mood. It likely wasn't a good thing, but he wasn't going to dwell on it with the now completely empty guard post in front of them. An empty guard post with walls three times as high as an average pony, and a sturdy, barred gate.
"I can carry you over," Straw offered.
"Get Leo first, we're gonna make it faster," Connie smiled. Straw didn't like females smiling like that. They were never up to anything good.
Still, he obeyed, and sat Leo down on the frozen ground cleaned from snow.
"READY?" they heard Connie.
"YEAH, I'M COMING FOR Y-"
"The hay you think you're do-" they heard Fortune complain.
*POOF!*
"CATCH!" Connie yelled happily.
A brown satyr wearing a furry coat came flying from over the barricade.
"I'mgonnakillyouuuuuuu!"
"Got you!" Leo reacted instantly.
"Phew!" Fortune stood up and glared at the barricade with such an angry gaze that the wooden logs nearly burst into flames.
They heard some incomprehensible talking from behind, and-
*POOF!*
One explosion of snow, and a unicorn flying on a ballistic curve flailing her legs in panic later, they were all inside. It was clear that if there was anypony inside the fortifications, they were in one of the three 'complete' buildings. Barracks, a storehouse, and a command post, Straw took a guess.
They didn't care, though. On a raised platform, in the middle of the triangle formed by the buildings, a wide, shimmering square hovered between two pillars.
An explosion followed by angry screams from above the trees made them forget the cautious approach, and they just ran.
Unspotted, maybe, unstopped, certainly, successful, eeehm...
"Stay where you are!"
The other side of the portal was not as makeshift as the previous one.
They stood inside a well-lit, enormous room suitable for a transfer of an army. The walls were of stone so solid this place screamed FORTRESS so hard it made the other side of the portal look like a crumbling shack.
The ten earthponies armed to the teeth right in front of them, the griffon snipers on the balconies with their talons on the triggers aiming at them, and the unicorns with horns crackling with power spread around ensured Straw that while princess Luna may have given them a chance on their side of the portal, she hadn't gotten to informing the mirror garrison of the unexpected visit.
After a rigorous training, the Hoof of Fate's members might have outclassed the soldiers in a one-on-one combat, or even in a small-scale skirmish, but now they were clearly outmatched, and outgunned, very specifically outgunned. The long-range weapons looked similar in design to griffon pistols Straw and Fortune had, and the satyr's combat rifle, but much sleeker and probably deadlier. Why deadlier? Because as the group were escorted to the interrogation room they got accompanied by a bunch of completely mechanical ponies similar to Bucket from Canterlot Royal Guard. If such technology was used here on daily basis, then Straw had no doubt the weapons would be a bit over the Equestrian norm as well.
"Alright, state your business!" said an important-looking unicorn when they were all sat down, disarmed, and shackled to the floor in a well-guarded room.
"We come on behalf of the Order of the Silver Sun, Blazing Light the alicorn, and ambassador Cromach. We need to talk to Twilight Sparkle about the Blades of Balance."
The interrogator shattered their hope quite quickly.
"No clue about anything you've just said, aside from Twilight Sparkle, of course. However, I am not going to bother the supreme leader with some foals jumping through the portal."
"Alright," Connie gathered herself surprisingly quickly, "In this case we were told to ask for Rainbow Dash or Applejack. They should be more familiar with our reason for being here."
The military unicorn didn't look convinced, but obviously wasn't too keen on starting an interdimensional incident. In the end he just shrugged.
"Alright, so some foals are here to ask about some bright light from silver sun ambassador and some swords."
Well, at least he was willing to listen, even if he wasn't paying too much attention.
"Just mention Blazing Light the alicorn. It should be enough to at least make them talk to us."
He nodded.
"Ten minutes," he called a soldier and instructed him to 'get the overseers on the line'.
"Whoa!" Straw's eyes went wide, "Aren't we in the middle of the Everfree Forest?"
"Oh, right. Your world is a bit on the hippie side, isn't it? We can communicate over long distances without using magic. Although unicorns can still do it without any pre-built infrastructure."
"That's so cool!" Straw completely forgot he was shackled and tried to wave his talons excitedly, "What about the machine ponies? We have one in Canterlot, but he looks different."
"The husks? They are a death row prisoners stripped of everything that made them pony, their organs just control the power armor and are controlled through a crystal in the head."
The hippogriff paled.
"Bucket isn't like that," Fortune calmed Straw down, "He's really a thinking machine. Princess Twilight and I were doing some maintenance to him a while ago and she explained it."
"So you guys are finally getting out of the stone age?" the interrogator smirked.
"Hey!" Fortune argued, "We have guns and machines too."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we got something from you," he flexed kicked his hind leg in the air, "I wouldn't still have this if we didn't get some recipes for herbal mixes from you. I mean, a mech prosthesis isn't bad, but a leg is a leg."
A blue, rainbow-maned pegasus mare with enough piercings to double as a maracas opened the door and entered. The interrogator bowed.
"Leave us alone," ordered her crackly voice. Shockingly, despite the world-weariness and scars crisscrossing her coat, she was about the age of the Hoof of Fate members. When they were left alone she went straight to business, "What went horribly wrong this time?"
That single sentence assured everypony that she really knew Blaze.
"The world is going to end, so Blaze sent us to find some Blades of Balance and tell you not to use the Elements of Harmony in case our princesses ask you to. He said Twilight Sparkle might know where the Blades are."
"Yeah, they're safely in the Crystal Empire. One question, though. Why didn't Blazing come himself?"
"He said he couldn't pass through the portal anymore without ruining it, so he and sir Cromach caused a distraction on our side so we could slip through."
"The griffon guy? They're banging, right?" she asked casually.
"They are. Wait, you know him?"
"Met him once, tried to shag him but he wouldn't budge. He was in a bit of a hurry, so I assume that was the reason."
"The one and only reason," Leo agreed diplomatically, "I hate to stop the conversation, but we were explicitly asked to get the Blades as fast as possible and return them to Blaze."
"That's up to Twi, not me," she banged on the door, "GUARDS, CALL A.J. AND TELL HER TO GET TWILIGHT HERE!"
A very nervous "Yes, ma'am!" and running hoofsteps were heard from outside.
"So, this world is supposed to be under one ruler, right?" Straw couldn't handle his curiosity.
"Mostly, yeah," Rainbow nodded, "Twilight is responsible for the big picture while local officials make sure laws are obeyed."
"That must be really difficult to control. I mean, the communication alone."
"It's not that bad," she shrugged, "Right, you don't have telephones."
"The thing that got you here so fast after we came?" Straw's head tried to make connections, unsuccessfully.
"What? No, that's due to these," she spread her wings and pointed at a necklace with her cutie mark around her neck, "I've always been excellent at flying, and the Element of Betrayal only amplified it. The distance between here and Ponyville is nothing. Speaking of which, we should stop sitting here and do something useful. GUARDS! OPEN THE DOOR AND GET A CARRIAGE READY!"
"Yes'm!" more hooves rushed away.
"Can you tell us more about this place?" Straw's eyes hadn't left Rainbow for a second. A unified world. What miracles they must have achieved that were unknown to his Equestria!
"Sure, It takes you scrubs about an hour to get to Ponyville. Plenty of time to chat."
Straw's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw what admittedly was an armored prisoner carriage, but one pulled by husks. It had to weigh a lot more than normal carriages, yet the husks pulled it faster than any experienced Manehattan street pony. As they settled in, Straw's hunger demanded to be satisfied.
Rainbow Dash wasn't a good storyteller. She jumped from topic to topic, didn't know anything in much detail, but even the vague descriptions of cities one had to take the train to cross filled Straw with wonder, and infinitely more questions. After all, they made Manehattan look like a tribal village. The rest of the group didn't interfere, they knew their hippogriff.
The carriage entered a strangely rustic town, at least compared to the tales Rainbow had told them, and Rainbow explained it was because this used to be Twilight Sparkle's home, and she wanted it to remain the way she remembered it. That didn't mean the place was like in Straw's Equestria, however it meant all the technology advancement was well-hidden. Also, it was the site of the most ridiculously guarded library in all of the united world.
The major difference from 'normal' Ponyville was a large circular amphitheatre, the residence of Applejack, the Element of Destruction, and the town's beloved tourist attraction. Under king Sombra's rule, all prisoners were hauled off here to fight to the death for the amusement of ponies. These days only the volunteers fighting for fame and money, and prisoners sentenced to death or life imprisonment were sent in, but the Apple family arena still remained the heart of Ponyville.
An orange earthpony with two mechanical arms in the place of front legs was waiting for them at the arena entrance. As the carriage stopped, Rainbow immediately shot outside and kissed the other mare. From a necklace similar to Rainbow Dash's the group guessed that was Applejack. Well, Fortune didn't have to guess much, because she knew about the Element bearers in her world due to working at Canterlot on behalf of the Order, and not being dumb as a brick.
"Hold yer horses, RD, we got a business to sort out first," drawled Applejack.
Contradiction once again explained their business on this side of the mirror portal, and recieved the same answer of having to wait for Twilight's decision.
"So, what are ya'll s'pposed to be?" AJ still wasn't too convinced about their story, but reserved her judgement, "Some ghostbusters or such?"
"We're a unit specifically trained to fight against users of divine power and dark magic," Connie explained, "We don't have the best track record, but we're getting better."
"Are ya'll? Care to show me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ah'm an Element of Destruction. How often do ya'll get a chance to practice without yer head on the line? Plus, a special showin' oughtta make ponies 'round happy. The reignin' champion against some otherworld special unit. How 'bout it?"
Connie looked at the others, who shrugged.
"It looks like we've got some time to kill," Fortune gave their common answer, "Got some practice weapons and stuff?"
"Ah think ya'll need to take the filly horseshoes off for this one. Besides, Blazing wouldn't need the Blades to fight some nopony. If ya'll are to be of any help then some hooves-on experience oughtta be useful."
"We agree then. Thanks for the help."
"Give me 'bout half an hour to inform the townsfolk 'bout the special showing and tell the pegasi to clear the sky."
"Of course. We'll need some time to get ready as well."
"You're not doing it just to boost sales, are you?" Fortune gave AJ a smug smirk.
The Element bearer returned the grin, unphased.
"Nothin' in the world's for free, gal."
Fortune knew the Element bearers were younger than she was, but the experience difference, the carbon dating of a soul measured in survived suffering told a way different tale.
Applejack ordered a husk to show the group around the arena and to lead them to a room where they could get ready for the upcoming practice. Connie planned and planned, but without knowing literally anything about AJ's power and skill she couldn't come up with any reasonable tactic. Settling for a generally cautious approach, she ordered the others to warm up and rest.
In a surprisingly short time, they were led out by another mechanical pony and ushered into the center of the arena, a wide, sand-filled circle under a grey but clear sky. The ponies sitting on the tribunes around weren't numerous, but they still looked happy at the cheap amusement they were about to recieve.
"ON ONE SIDE, THE MYSTERIOUS VISITORS FROM BEYOND THE DIMENSIONAL VEIL! CAN THEY STAND THE MIGHT OF OUR REIGNING CHAMPION? OF COURSE NOT! CAN THEY PROVIDE US WITH ENTERTAINMENT? SURE THEY CAN! WELCOME THE HOOF OF FATE!" a booming voice deafened the group trying to figure out where it was coming from and what the point of it was.
"Loooooooud," grunted Connie in utter annoyance.
"AND AGAINST THEM, OUR BELOVED CHAMPION! UNBREAKABLE, DEFEATED ONLY ONCE BY ANOTHER INTERDIMENSIONAL VISITOR AND THIRSTING FOR REVENGE, AAAAAAPLEJAAAACK!"
The augmented earthpony entered the combat area from the entrance on the opposite side, and waved her taloned appendages to the growing crowd.
Having no idea what to expect, Straw and Connie took to the front line while Leo and Fortune stayed back, magical shields and totally mundane guns at the ready.
However, before the fight could begin, the sand of the arena whirled and a glowing rift in space appeared. From there, a purple unicorn mare in a simple brown robe stepped out, followed by four husks. A heavy, metal crate hovered behind her. She looked coldly at the ponies ready to fight.
"AJ," Twilight ordered, "Capture the Nightmare's host for research, kill the others!"
Between the shocked gasps from the Hoof of Fate and curious expression of Applejack, the husks did not hesitate and each charged straight at the marked targets.
"Wait, we're not-" Straw's plea fell on deaf ears, and he had to avoid the precise slashes of a husk's bladed legs.
The machine attacking him suddenly stopped and its legs bent in abnormal angles.
He looked around and saw three heaps of scrap metal, the exclusive club which the husk sent after him joined instantly. It looked like Connie, Fortune, and Leo had not been so taken aback by the attack, and dealt with the attackers almost instantly.
Everything blurred as Straw got charged at by Applejack and thrown at Fortune. The Element hadn't counted on Leo, though, who used his barriers to create a slide bent in such way that Straw ended on all fours, only slightly disoriented.
There was no time to waste. Connie's large blade blocked AJ's vicious strikes, but the onslaught of blows was pushing the unicorn back.
Seems like the alicorn traitor misjudged the ponies he calls friends. How about you let me out to clean house.
Straw wasn't the type to get angry, he liked ponies way too much for that, but right now he wanted to listen to Nightmare so much it hurt. However, if Twilight just listened to why they were here then he was sure she would wait with the research or whatever. He wasn't sure about the precise nature of Twilight's hostility, but he was sure it had something to do with him and Nightmare.
No, we're not here to cause violence. Just protect me as best as you can. We can make them listen.
Feeling the power of Nightmare course through him, Straw returned AJ the favor she had given him a moment before. The gladiator was much more used to fighting, though, and swept him away mid-step with her powerful appendages. Still, it gave Connie time to recuperate.
"Aah!" they heard Twilight scream, and saw the archmage looking at a deep gash in her side. She recovered quickly, too quickly, "Magic piercing bullets?"
Fortune wordlessly reloaded he rifle, Leo standing by her side with his horn glowing.
"YAAAAAAAAH!" Connie's roar came as Straw gathered himself up, spitting out sand, and a shower of sparks came from her striking AJ trying to block with her arms.
Her blade glowed, charged with so much magic its edges dripped molten steel from AJ's augments. The earthpony stared in utter disbelief at her prosthesis cut in half. She still had the other one, but now her threat diminished greatly. There was only Twilight left now.
Or so Straw thought.
AJ's remaining prosthesis dug into the concrete under the sand, and the Element bearer kicked the ground so hard her entire body made an arc around it with steel hooves meeting Connie's head at breakneck speed.
Literally.
Connie was dead before she hit the ground.
"Stop toying with them, I have a god to dissect," Twilight rolled her eyes, leisurely shooting a beam of light towards Fortune. It got blocked by Leo's barrier.
Let me at them! Death for death!
NO, she just needs to listen! I have to MAKE her listen.
A bolt of force aimed at Straw dissipated harmlessly, much to Twilight's disappointment. Before she had to deal with a hippogriff clawing angrily at her face, however, Straw once again collided with an earthpony wall called Applejack.
He heard gunshots, he heard screams, but most of all he heard the slamming of metal on metal as his Nightmare-empowered talons beat against AJ's remaining prosthesis, sure that its destruction would completely remove one threat without killing.
Sadly, Twilight was out of patience.
A thick book appeared out of nowhere next to her, opened, and glowed.
Leo screamed and began throwing up blood as the magic of all of his protective barriers turned against him. After a moment of writhing on the sand he was no longer moving.
"Aaaand finally you-"
Fortune peppered Twilight with bullets which melted mid-air.
"If I can't reflect them, I can just destroy them, you foolish satyr."
A single telekinetic strike and a splatter of blood later, Fortune's lower body went missing. A soft thud as her remains dropped on the sand finally made Straw lose it.
Nightmare emerged from his body as a black cloud, forming a fanged wolf mouth. It pushed Straw aside, bit into AJ's remaining arm, and threw her all over the arena into the thick wall leading up to the audience seats. The deity just laughed at the cracking of bones.
Terrified screams of the audience were just a mirror of the physical panic the pushing and punching ponies trying to get out felt.
The protective spells of the most powerful magician of the mirror world stopped a single bite from the apparition before shattering.
Twilight focused and disappeared.
Black tendrils of smoke shot out from Nightmare into the empty air...
...and pulled something back.
Inch by inch, Twilight got dragged out of her teleportation, struggling pointlessly against the god's power.
Nightmare's mouth full of sharp teeth opened wide.
Blood for blood.
Chains of fire shot out from Straw and pulled the Nightmare back towards him.
No.
WHY? She killed all of them!
It is my fault... again. She is just terrified of you, all of us are... were. I suppose she just wanted you contained so you wouldn't threaten her world.
Twilight was cowering as the Nightmare lunged at her over and over, always stopped at the last second by Straw's chains. With the audience all gone, it was now just Straw, Nightmare's manifestation, and Twilight.
"RIP HER APART, DESECRATE HER CORPSE, AND AVENGE YOUR FRIENDS!" Nightmare screamed for the whole Ponyville to hear.
"No. I am not a bad pony. I can understand them. I am not a bad pony. They are just scared. It's all my fault, but I am not a bad pony..."
The adrenaline finally faded, and Straw's body gave out. Sitting and repeating 'I am not a bad pony' inbetween quiet sobs, the loss finally hit him hard.
Nightmare tried over and over to set itself free, but if there was a wish that still remained within its host it was one to not cause any more pain. The god, still growling at Twilight, finally realized the futility and its ghastly avatar dissipated into nothing.
Straw didn't know how long he sat there and cried.
When a hoof under his muzzle forced him to look up, he saw a concerned face of Twilight smiling at him.
A white pony leg punched the archmage so hard she stumbled backwards.
"Mhmmm-" Straw tried to say something, but seeing alive, although seriously battered, Leo Goldhorn only made him wail more, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... for Fortune... I'm so sorry..."
A mechanical click made his heart stop. He knew of only one thing which made such a distinct sound - the safety of a gun.
"We fell for this AGAIN?!" the angry voice of Connie made the cogs of his mind work again.
"What?" he asked weakly.
"THAT FREAKING HURT!" the unicorn yelled again.
"The days of fighting to the bitter end went away with Sombra's death. Unless the death row prisoners are fighting here, there are no casualties," explained Twilight calmly, although slowly as Leo's punch apparently did some damage.
"THIS WAS JUST A TEST?!" Fortune joined Connie, trigger finger of her rifle aimed at Twilight twitching.
"Applejack told me why you were here. A Nightmare's host comes here to take away the only weapon at least marginally effective against divine power, AND tells us NOT to use the Elements in case we are asked? A trap if ever I saw one, at least that's what I thought at first," she looked back at still sniffling Straw, "You remained in control, though. This wasn't a ploy of a god playing on our loyalties. You are the real deal."
The hippogriff just stared at his friends, ignoring every word.
Connie levitated him on her back and gasped as his legs wrapped around everything they could reach. Holding a clump of her mane in his teeth, Straw kept sobbing.
Several more husks carried Applejack away. It looked like the arena safeguard spell saved ponies, but not anything mechanical, and the earthpony couldn't leave on her own with just her hind legs left.
Finally, Straw's paralyzed mind came to the conclusion that they had succeeded, and he passed out.