Heart of Stone
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Five: Struggle, loose, Rinse, Repeat
Written by TheCrimsonDM
It had taken ten minutes of riding along Pinkie’s back before Trixie finally managed to pull herself back together.
“So the windigo are pretty much, like you know, swarming the city,” Pinkie Pie said. “So far Twilight’s using diversionary tactics to keep them busy. We’ve received confirmation that the sun is safe. Wink, wink.”
“You’re not supposed to say wink, wink,” Maud said flatly.
“You don’t pick up on subtle clues like that very easily, so I’m helping you,” Pinkie Pie said, her tone as happy as ever.
They passed by a section of the castle where the sounds of fighting were heard like a vengeful storm just outside. Everypony got really quiet for awhile. At one point, Trixie felt a few muscles move on Pinkie’s back twitch and her head flinched to one side as though she’d been hit by a rock. She stopped and whispered, “Not that way. There’s an ambush up that way.” She spun around in a steady circle until her rear leg kicked out straight and her head leaned forward. “That-a-way.”
No pony questioned her logic. Really at this point in time, Trixie fully believed that whatever psychic powers that Pinkie had, and no matter how weird they were, all went to make her the most useful pony in the field. If she said there was an ambush and that only one way was safe, she’d trust it with her life. Even if Pinkie Pie did look like some kind of circus freak while doing it.
They were very quiet, but even so the few times they had passed by signs of battle, frost covered patches of building, scratches, scorch marks and such, the entire party became silent as ghosts. The trip took longer than Trixie wanted, and so she eventually retreated into her own thoughts.
When I saved Maud from that windigo, even if it did hurt her first, I did something. I completely stopped it, dead in its tracks with my mind. But, how?
They finally reached a barricaded hallway, where several guards stood post with careful and fearful eyes. Much to Trixie’s surprise she saw among them an alicorn stallion! She couldn’t help but to stare at him while the guards let them pass.
Trixie couldn’t waste this chance. “Who are you?”
Everypony gave her a quick and odd look. He smiled and shook his head. “Just a guard my princess.”
“No you’re not, you are an alicorn,” Trixie said. “Now tell me who are you?”
He let out a sigh. “Copper Plate, and I’ve been an alicorn for a couple of years now. Celestia asked me to become a prince, I turned her down and told her that my place was to serve her, not to lead a nation. She helped turn me back into a unicorn for awhile.”
“Then why are you like this now?” Trixie asked.
“When that city appeared up in the sky, some kind of green light covered me and I turned back into an alicorn. I wasn’t the only one,” He said.
Pinkie Pie looked at Trixie. “That city somehow made all the alicorns that ever refused Celestia’s offer for princesshood, or uh, princehood, turn back into alicorns. Poor Lemon Heart’s dress was ripped when her wings came out. Actually that was one of the reasons we all came running to find Princess Celestia…. You know the rest.”
Trixie nodded in half understanding. So when the alicorns returned, it also made the alicorns hidden in plain sight return as well. I bet there are a lot of ponies who are very confused and possibly scared right now.
Trixie looked back at the alicorn guard. “You have my word as Princess, if you don’t want to become a prince, you don’t have too. We accept any and all help that you are willing to offer and are more than grateful for it.”
The stallion let out a deep breath and his muscles relaxed. It was almost like seeing years wash away from him as he closed his eyes and nodded. “Thank you my princess.”
“Hurry, Pinkie Pie,” Trixie said. “We have to stop this current threat before we can get to fixing the other problems we have.”
Pinkie Pie put a bounce into her step and the group sped along. Trixie knew that this was going to suck, but she didn’t imagine that anything like this could happen. Perhaps having a bunch more alicorns on their side would be good; maybe it wouldn’t do a darn thing. Either way, Trixie was sure this was going to lead to all kinds of havoc.
The section of the castle that held the study hall was well defended. Trixie spotted at least a dozen guards, strong, albeit improvised barricades made from furniture, barrels and whatever else was readily at hoof. This place wouldn’t hold long under a concentrated attack, but it would hold just long enough to escape.
Inside the study hall itself, Trixie saw one of the elongated tables covered in different maps. Twilight Sparkle stood at it, her eyes studying them intently. Besides her Trixie saw her old school buddies. Moondancer was healing a nasty looking cut on somepony’s leg and Candle Light was helping Twilight study. Maybe she didn’t have magic, but she was always a smart pony. It never hurt to be smart.
Trixie was disheartened to not see any of her other friends here though.
The guard who was staying with them waited back by the door. Apparently he felt like he had no business in interfering with the princess at this time. Pinkie Pie and the others didn’t have the same reservations.
“Where’s the others?” Pinkie Pie asked.
Twilight gave her a soft smile. “I just received the report that they managed to escape into the mines with everypony else.”
“Good, because you were right. The windigo blocked off the escape route in the west wing, they also… the guards are gone,” Pinkie Pie said.
Twilight barely blinked. “It wasn’t my idea, you were the one who realized they might try and cut off our escapes. Thanks for trying to give me the credit though.” Twilight looked at Pinkie and her eyes were soft, tender and caring. For a moment Twilight simply stared at Pinkie, she looked a little lost in thought as though old memories were playing in her mind.
“Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked.
Twilight snapped to attention, coughed a few times and looked away. Her cheeks were beginning to turn pink. “S-sorry, I just… sometimes I remember why I used to date you. I um… look;” Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, but their eyes didn’t meet, “I know how you feel about Fluttershy, and I know you deserve happiness. You… know why I couldn’t be with you now anyway.”
“Royal duties,” Pinkie Pie said with a wink. “You’re doing a lot of work with Princess Luna and don’t have time for a silly filly like me.” Even if she sounded happy, there was an unmistakable hint of sadness in her voice. “I understand, and I don’t blame you either. You’re one lucky princess.”
“I…” Twilight swallowed hard. “I still love you, Pinkie. I know it didn’t work out between us, but that doesn’t mean I don’t… value the time we spent together.” Twilight closed her eyes. “If you were dumber, than we could have been together.”
That sounded like a horrible insult if Trixie ever heard one. She opened her mouth before she could think. “Twilight, you arrogant pig! Just because Pinkie isn’t as smart as you… why do you want her to be stupid? Do you think Luna is dumber than you too?”
Twilight’s eyes shot wide and she quickly replied, “No, what I mean is I’m… I’m not as smart as Pinkie Pie…” She looked away shyly. “I want somepony who’s my equal, not my superior. Pinkie Pie tried to pretend to be dumb for me, and that was wrong. She’s smart, and shouldn’t have to pretend to be anything else…”
Trixie blinked. Did Twilight really just tell me that somepony was smarter than her…
Pinkie Pie giggled a little. “I’m sorry, Trixie, but can I ask you to stay out of this one? I know that you have to stay on my back, but can you pretend like its private, pretty please with frosting on top?”
Trixie nodded, and then lowered her head. She felt a bit guilty.
“Thank you,” Pinkie Pie said. She refocused on Twilight. “I still love you too. I really wish it had worked out for us. I probably pushed you away when I started pretending to be dumb. I’m insane, not inane. Anyway… um… the plan.”
Twilight blinked a few times, looking very confused. Then she reeled back and said, “OH CRAP! Wait, you just told me the windigo blocked off the escapes! That means they know the layout of the castle! How could they know that? These plans might be a thousand years old, but they are super secret.”
“Maybe they broke into the castle or something?” Pinkie Pie said.
“The layout is located in the royal archive, and Luna and Celestia are both signaled whenever somepony enters it. It’s one of the magical wards protecting it. If you’ll recall I borrowed the same concept for my Starswirl collection. So… if somepony had taken something they would know,” Twilight said.
“Hmm, what if this pony is so old they helped build the castle!” Pinkie Pie said. “Like some super old nemesis of Princess Celestia’s, oh wait, better yet, an old friend gone horrible evil, or a one time servant out for revenge! It’s the plot of the evil housemaid!”
“No, I don’t think that’s what’s going on,” Twilight said. She paused, her frown deepened. “I really hope that’s not the case. Because then the entire tunnel system is in danger. Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Spike, all of them are in trouble.”
Trixie let out a sigh. “Can I stop pretending to not exist now?” Pinkie Pie nodded. “These windigo may have gotten access to the plans sure, but here is the question; what do they want?”
Twilight pouted out her lip. “That’s… a very good question.”
“And I’m not as smart as you,” Trixie mumbled under her breath.
“What do they want?” Twilight asked. “They need our anger and hatred to become powerful. So taking the capital would anger the entire country, but that’s too simple. They have demonstrated an intellect that tells me it’s not so simple. What do they want?”
“Killing the evacuees would be a bad move if they want power. It’s going to be the Canterlot refugees that feed them the most, right. So is it possible that they just want to kill as many as they can on the surface, take over the capital, and spit on our pride?” Trixie suggested.
Pinkie Pie shivered, her ear flopped, and she bounced into the air. When she landed Trixie bounced up a little, and the slight movement caused her to scream in pain. Pinkie Pie didn’t apologize, her eyes went wide and she stared off into the distance as though she wasn’t really there.
“Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said, her voice was quiet, weak.
Twilight’s lower lip began to quiver. “Y-yes?”
“Don’t charge any super powered baddies,” Pinkie Pie said, a tear rolled down the side of her face. “Promise me that you will not charge any super powered baddies.”
Twilight stood there, silent.
“Promise me,” Pinkie Pie asked one last time.
Twilight jerked her in a nod. “I won’t do that.”
“Good… I love you,” Pinkie Pie said. She trotted up to Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Twilight and whispered, just loud enough for Trixie to hear. “Oh sweet Celestia, do I love you. You’re one of my best friends, if not the best. Don’t you dare break your promise to me.”
Twilight nodded. “Cross my hooves, hope to fly,” She grabbed Pinkie’s hoof and raised it to her own eye. “Stick a cupcake in my eye. I won’t charge any really powerful villains.”
Trixie felt the air grow tense for a second, and then relax. Pinkie Pie let out a deep breath and said, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, we still need to escape. The evacuees are safe now, but we need another escape route. The city is absolutely riddled with windigo,” Twilight said.
The doors to the study opened and Rainbow Dash flew in. The red stains on her fur and armor clearly didn’t belong to her, and so this didn’t bode well. Windigo don’t bleed.
“Twilight we got trouble. The clouds are over the entire city, we are seeing groups of lightning falling over the city, and even worse,” Rainbow Dash said. “The ursa ma-“
She didn’t have to finish her sentence. The noise started as a low earth shaking rumble, but slowly grew into a fearsome and horrid roar that filled the study hall. Every single pony seemed to have dropped whatever it was they were doing and looked up expectantly. Silence passed.
Rainbow Dash tried to whisper, but her voice, quiet as it was echoed across the entire study. “It’s in the front courtyard.”
Nopony moved, spoke, or even coughed. It was utterly silent in the study hall. Wouldn’t the librarians be proud?
“O-okay, we uh, we need to um… I had the wounded placed in the east wing under heavy guard. There are healers there and… we need to get them and-“ Twilight said.
“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. Her eyes glistened, they were wide, and her pupils were the size of pinpricks. “I was stationed there… I got out, but the ursa was… he was feeding.”
Twilight’s took another look at the stains across her friend. Twilight’s face went green, she pushed herself away from the table walked a few paces back and out came her lunch. If Trixie had anything left inside of her, she might have done the same. Rainbow Dash simply hovered in the air, the breeze coming from her wings were a small comfort.
When Twilight was done, she spun around and faced Rainbow Dash. “There is no rear entrance; this is Canterlot for Celestia’s sake!”
Rainbow Dash looked around. “We have, what maybe… forty ponies here?” she lifted up her hooves and moved them around while counting to herself. “That’s um… two thousand pounds?”
Twilight shook with nervous fear. “It’s um… three hundred times uh, forty and um…”
“Actually it’s more like four hundred times forty,” Pinkie Pie said. “Stallions are heavy, and armor more so. It’s at least sixteen thousand pounds.” Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “Oh I know, overfeed the ursa, than it will get a tummy ache, that’s how we’ll beat it!”
Rainbow Dash cringed. “Pinkie, shut the Tartarus up!” She looked back at Twilight. “Sixteen thousand pounds… we’re going to be sinking, but I think we can do this.”
“Do what?” Twilight asked nervously.
Trixie looked up at Rainbow Dash, and remembered who was in her team of Shadowbolts. “Are you suggesting that we are going to fit on that thing of Lightning Dust’s?”
Rainbow Dash gave her a half grin. “Got any other ideas? No, that’s what I thought. Everypony to rear of the castle, we’re flying outta here.”
***
The plan was simple; get to the rear most of the castle, the statue garden, and break a giant hole in the wall and signal the Lightning Runner. Once that was done, they could jump on and fly away. The issues only came up after the plan was put into motion, and several groups of soldiers, friends, and servants were split up to be escorted out of the castle.
Trixie of course stayed with her family, Maud, Valiant, and Applejack. They followed Twilight, Candle Light, and Moondancer were all in one group with a dozen guards around them. One of the guards was the same stallion, his yellow eyes looked around for danger but he never spoke a word.
Rainbow Dash was leading a separate group, one with quite a number of guards. They were going to be able to take on most anything that came their way.
The further they moved, the more worried Trixie became. “Twilight,” Trixie asked. “Where are Fluttershy and Luna?”
“They took a contingent out to scout the castle and get any stragglers back to our position, they’ll be fine,” Twilight said.
“So… they're going to return, to the place we just abandoned?” Trixie asked.
“No,” Twilight said. “I’m going to signal Luna once we enter the courtyard. They’ll meet us.”
They entered the statue garden, and Trixie realized that garden was a very poor choice of word. This place was as large as any park and completely open, filled with statues, plants, thin trees, and empty of any real cover. Pinkie Pie literally froze underneath Trixie’s weight, again, her body went through some odd movements and she looked at Twilight.
“We have only once chance for a clean getaway, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said. “Running, lots of running, plus signaling our friends. Any pony that’s left behind is not going to make it.”
Twilight’s face went pale. Even Trixie felt the blood run away from her cheeks. This was probably one of the worst prophecies that Pinkie had ever laid at their hooves. Scratch that, it was the worst.
Twilight gulped. “Then we’ll just have to run really, really fast.”
Applejack waddled up to them. “Uh, fillies, how fast are we talking about here?”
Pinkie Pie shot a look back at Applejack. “Oh… no… no… NO!” a sling of curses escaped Pinkie’s lips, the kind of which could get you banished from town. She looked back at Twilight. “You! Carry her! With magic!”
Twilight nodded.
“DROP HER AND DIE!” Pinkie Pie shouted. And Trixie saw a trail of red running down Pinkie’s nose.
“Are you okay?” Trixie asked.
“Never had to use so much of my Pinkie Sense on purpose before. It’s… it’s really hard,” Pinkie Pie said. “I shouldn’t be able to control it like this, but I am, and it’s… it’s bad.”
Twilight looked at the courtyard. It was a long way to the southern wall. “Okay,” a pinkish red aura surrounded Applejack and the pregnant mare was lifted off the ground with a squeal. “On the count of three. One, Two, Three… RUN FOR IT!”
The great gallop began. For a few seconds, everything looked clear, it looked safe. There weren’t any windigo out here, no ice, not even snowfall. They galloped though, at Pinkie’s warning of danger they galloped like there was no tomorrow. Twilight shot up a purple flair from her horn; it flew high and true and arched over the top of the castle behind them.
Trixie’s eyes widened in horror as she saw what was up there; countless windigo were sitting on top of the castle, of the knight verity. Sharp draconic wings affixed to their shoulders, hatful blue eyes focused down upon them, and all of them were crouched, ready to take flight.
The scream that escaped Trixie’s lips only made Pinkie Pie, gallop faster. Maud was a little slower than Pinkie Pie, but she kept up, and little Valiant was holding onto her back for dear life. Twilight was behind the both of them, dragging Applejack along at an equal measure. The guards were all falling behind, save for the brown one with the yellow eyes.
The group hadn’t even gotten a third of the way to the wall before the windigo knights leapt from the castle’s roof and swooped down. They were fast, and made straight for the stragglers, which meant the guards with the too heavy armor. Trixie watched in horror as one guard went down with a windigo biting at his neck. Another guard was kicked to the ground by a passing windigo. Trixie watched as his horn lit up, but too late as three windigo piled on top of him.
The other guards had already begun stripping their armor mid run. They sped up, and only two more fell before the others were able to outrun the windigo. It wasn’t over yet.
Rainbow Dash, sword in mouth flew like a blade of death, dancing in-between the windigo her blade flashed brilliantly. The windigo fell, shattering before they could even hit the ground wherever she went. She wasn’t alone. Wind Rider was flying at her side, old as he might be; his hooves did some massive damage wherever they landed on his opponents. A sword clenched between his teeth was used in blinding speeds to cut the wings of any windigo he didn’t feel like kicking.
A dozen more pegasi and even an alicorn guard showed up to help out. the windigo knights may have dangerously outnumbered the fleeing ponies, but the reinforcements caused enough confusion that they were tied up simply trying to figure out what to do rather than mercilessly hunting their prey.
Just about halfway to the wall, Luna showed up her horn ablaze with fury as her magic cut swaths of enemies down. A blinding yellow flash flew around her, leaving a pink streak and crushed windigo behind. It took a moment, but Trixie finally saw it stop moving just long enough to see something that nearly gave her a heart attack.
The yellow flash was Fluttershy, her eyes were red as blood, and her hooves were covered in frost from all the windigo she had crushed with them. The worst part came from the fact that Fluttershy was no longer a pegasus, somehow, someway she had become a batpony, fangs and all. Her cutie mark even seemed different.
They were two thirds of the way to the wall. It was looking good. Pinkie Pie was looking determined to reach her destination no matter the cost. Behind them, Maud followed along with Twilight. The brown guard was close by as well.
Then it all went straight to Tartarus.
An explosion of noise followed by a huge section of the castle falling down as though it were a house of cards made everypony look back for a brief moment of pure unrestrained terror. The cause was a giant purple bear, one that stood as tall as the castle when on all fours. Its legs were white with blue lines of magic energy running up like blood veins toward its heart and head. Atop it sat both the cloaked unicorn, his gray fur and silver beard were all Trixie could make out. Next to him sat Frailty, she wore a vicious grin.
Luna changed heading and flew toward the ursa major. Trixie screamed out for her to stop. Twilight followed Trixie’s eyes. The ursa opened its mouth, and it didn’t simply roar at her. No. It roared a breath of air so cold that Trixie watched ice crystals form along Trixie’s limbs, most importantly her wings. Luna closed her eyes and fell.
Before she could hit the ground, the ursa raised a paw and as if Luna was simply a pesky fly, it batted the princess back. Trixie cringed at the knowledge of what a simple blow like that, from a paw so big would do to Luna. She didn’t have to imagine too hard, she heard the crunch that was Luna as she went sailing over the southern rampart and off into the distance out of sight.
Things got worse, they always got worse.
Twilight stopped and screamed, rage, so pure and simple covered her eyes. Bright white light emitted from her eyes. Her eyes were so bright that Trixie could no longer see the iris, or pupil. Purple and pink and black flames erupted from Twilight’s mane and tail.
Pinkie didn’t stop running, but she looked back and shouted, “TWILIGHT! RUN!”
Five or six free windigo changed course and flew straight at her. Twilight dropped Applejack onto the ground; the mare landed on her side and let out a sharp cry. Trixie’s heart sunk. The transformed Twilight looked up at the incoming windigo and… smiled. Flames erupted around her body, and quickly solidified into an armored dress of dark purple.
The windigo got within hooves reach of Twilight and her horn flashed. Purple flames reached out like snakes and bit into the windigo. They didn’t shatter, nor explode; they lit on fire and fell to the ground screaming. Within seconds they had melted.
Trixie had never heard a windigo scream in pain before, no matter how many she had killed or with what means, she’d never heard them scream. It was something between a baby’s cry and a piece of chalk scratching a chalkboard. Trixie never wanted to hear it again.
Twilight flew up into the air. And pinkie’s words repeated in her mind. Don’t charge any super baddies.
A shout of warning escaped Trixie’s lips, but twilight wasn’t listening. Her teeth flashed, sharp, deadly and full of rage. Her horn lit up once and Frailty lifted into the air, before being tossed like a rag doll toward the southern wall. She slammed into it with such force that Trixie saw the wall crack.
“This is bad,” Trixie cried. “We have to stop her!”
“It’s too late,” Pinkie called back.
Trixie could only watch as Twilight charged toward the ursa major or more rather, the unicorn standing on top of it. A scream filled with both pain and madness escaped her lips. The stallion faced her, his expression flat, and his horn began to glow a dark green. Above him a ball of fire grew, green and black swirls mixed within it.
The brown guard called to Trixie, and Babble’s voice came from his lips. “You brought that sword for a reason! Use it before he kills us all!”
Trixie didn’t have time to question why the stallion sounded like Babble or why his yellow eyes stared with intense rage at the stallion. She gripped her father’s blade in her mouth and slid it free. She swiped once, and did her best to put her will in into it. To channel the trickster magic toward the stallion.
She saw it, a blue ripple in the air flew true and at the stallion. It wrapped around his legs, and he suddenly lost his footing. She also watched it go around Twilight’s right wing and a sudden gust of wind knocked her off balance.
Helplessness filled Trixie as she watched the ball of flames fly forward. They got near Twilight Sparkle, and the princess still struggling with her balance rolled into it. The right side of Twilight’s body crashed into the ball as it flew past her and just over the ramparts. Whatever dark magic had been in Twilight suddenly left, and Trixie watched Twilight, return to normal as she fell limply to the ground. Her right wing was nothing but a stump, melted near the shoulder, while half of her body was covered in green-black flames.
This is it, there’s no escaping this one. We’re all going to die.