“You will find a rebel cell at the location marked on the enclosed map. My slave attempted to join them. After I beat the information out of her, I had her strung up. I send this information without my name for fear of bringing the wrath of the noble Earth Guard down for my slave’s mistake. I can assure you that not only is the location accurate, but my slave has been dealt with. I trust the noble Earth Guard will do the right thing.”
—An unsigned letter, sent to Earth’s city guard
“Who?” Vinyl refused to touch the drink in front of her despite the fact that her new acquaintance was already working on his second cup. She watched him carefully, still fighting the urge to bite his throat out or run him through with her sword. The stallion that had ruined her life was sitting right in front of her. All it would take would be one quick movement, and he’d never ruin Vinyl’s life again.
But the Unicorn knew better. The thief had looked terrified in the street, enough to give Vinyl pause, and when he had practically dragged her to this tavern, he had made sure that they were sitting in a far corner and he was facing the door. His hazel eyes only seemed to see Vinyl every few minutes, as the rest of the time they remained fixated on the entrance.
It hadn’t been until a haggard Unicorn had come over to take their orders, causing the thief to jump like a rabbit, that he had finally spoke, although just a name hadn’t really been helpful.
“She’s the pony that hired me,” the thief said as he set the cup down. His eyes shifted to Vinyl for a brief moment, but then went back to the door. “Tracked me down, told me she needed me for a job. I don’t usually take requests from strangers, but she paid upfront, three times what I would have asked for, and it was simple enough.”
“Stealing that bow?”
“Yes.” Surprisingly, the thief turned around and rummaged under the cloak he was wearing. A moment later, he pulled out a long tube and rolled it across the table to Vinyl. “That’s it.”
Vinyl stared at the tube in front of her. She made a face, but didn’t move to touch it.
“Don’t believe me? Go ahead, open it.”
“And if it’s a trap?” Vinyl asked darkly. Her magic was already closing around the hilt of her sword.
“If I wanted you harmed, or dead, Vinyl Scratch, I would have left you to those guards. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that your kind isn’t treated very well around here.”
Vinyl couldn’t argue with that. Unicorns seemed to be second-class citizens here, if that. Whatever this thief was up to, it didn’t seem to like he was trying to harm Vinyl—any more than he already had, anyway.
A thought popped into the Unicorn’s head as she began to levitate the tube. She stopped and looked directly at the thief. She waited until he was looking at her and not the door before she spoke.
“What’s your name?”
“Hm?”
“You want me to open this? What’s your name? I need it so I can tell Octavia whose face she can stomp in.”
Vinyl expected the Pegasus the dodge the question, or insist that his name wasn’t important, but to her surprised, he answered without missing a beat.
“Shadow Walker.”
Vinyl’s entire train of thought derailed at the name. She had been ready for some sort of fight, but Shadow Walker’s complete willingness threw her off track. At a loss for words, she slowly popped off the edge of the tube and dumped its contents on the table.
There it was; Octavia’s precious bow. The strings glistened in the light, and as Vinyl stared at them, she could see them shimmering. It really was made from Princess Celestia’s and Princess Luna’s hair.
Vinyl blinked away tears she didn’t realize had formed as she carefully put the bow back in the case. Finally, it was over. She could take the bow back to Octavia and they could go home. They could go back to being happy and—
“We can…call Spitfire. You…you can have both of us at once. You would like that, right?”
Octavia’s words shredded Vinyl’s happiness in a second. Yes, she had the bow back, but she knew it wasn’t enough. She doubted they could go back to being happy. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to.
“Take it,” Shadow Walker said, snapping Vinyl back from the abyss.
“What?”
“Take it. I’m giving it back.”
Vinyl sneered. “As if I’d let you walk out of here with it.” She took the tube and stuck it under her winter coat. “But…why are you giving it back? After all the effort to steal it, you’re just going to let me have it? What’s your game, Shadow Walker?”
The hazel eyes focused so hard on Vinyl that the Unicorn winced. “Because I need you to trust me.”
“After everything you’ve done?” Vinyl let out a loud laugh. “You have a better chance of this place thawing out than that happening.”
“If you won’t trust me after this, then trust me for your marefriend. For Octavia.”
Vinyl froze for a moment. That was right; Shadow Walker had no idea what he had done, what had happened because of his actions. “Octavia’s…not my marefriend.”
“You’re lying,” Shadow Walker replied instantly. “And even if you’re not, I can tell you still care about her. A pony doesn’t glaze over like that for just anypony. So you need to trust me when I tell you that she’s in danger. All of Equestria might be in danger.”
A primal rage swelled in Vinyl and she leaned across the table. Her fury at Octavia was forgotten as she slammed her forehead against the thief’s. “If you’re threatening her, I will cut you open right here!”
“It’s not me, Vinyl!” Shadow Walker said. “It was never me. It was just a job. Get in, steal that bow, and get out. That was all I was told to do—at first!”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought it was just a quick theft. If I’d known what this was really about, I never would have—oh no…”
Vinyl watched the blood drain from Shadow Walker’s face. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. He was no longer looking at Vinyl, but instead he was transfixed on a spot behind her.
Slowly, Vinyl turned her head and followed his gaze.
Five Unicorns had just walked into the tavern, and all ten eyes were focused squarely on Vinyl and Shadow Walker.
* * *
Ice Air sat quietly in the corner, head bowed as she stared at the floor. Octavia, Bon Bon, Lyra, and their new “property”, as everypony seemed to called Ice Air, had returned to the room they were staying. When it was clear that Vinyl had not returned, Bon Bon had left immediately. Lyra had wanted to go too, but Bon Bon had refused, saying that somepony needed to stay behind to make sure Ice Air did not try anything.
Under normal circumstances, Octavia would have protested, saying that she was more that capable of dealing with the Unicorn, but right now she knew she was not at her best. Her injuries, although mostly healed, combined with her mental state in regards to Vinyl, were doing her no favors. Even though Ice Air looked like less of a threat than a small kitten, everypony agreed that it was not worth the risk leaving her alone with Octavia.
The Unicorn had been given a hot bath, something that was apparently a luxury according to her, and when she had been given food, she had wolfed it down, huddled over her plate with one green eye trained on Lyra and Octavia. Lyra had returned the glare the entire time, practically daring the Unicorn to try something stupid. Octavia, for her part, had not touched her food much. She was not very hungry.
Now, after cleaning Ice Air up as best they could and dressing her wounds, the three ponies sat in silence. Lyra refused to look away from Ice Air, who just sat in the corner like a beaten puppy, and Octavia’s mind wandered as she sat on the bed.
The silence seemed to go on forever, until Lyra finally broke it.
“Start talking,” the green Unicorn said darkly.
“About what?” Ice Air whispered. She looked up, and for a brief moment, a small spark of her old rage blazed in her eye, but Lyra growled and the flame died.
“Who is Keket?” Octavia asked. She had so many questions for this Unicorn. Her mind felt like it was tearing at the seams, so she decided to start with the newest one.
“Of course, Master.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“I’m afraid I can’t, Master. It’s the law here. I am nothing more than your slave, a piece of—”
“Answer your Master’s question then!” Lyra snapped as she stomped her hoof.
Ice Air looked at Lyra the way a pony looked at her hoof after stepping in something, but then she turned back to Octavia and hung her head. “She is—was, our leader.” A bitterness filled the Unicorn’s voice as she spoke and she bit her lip. “Not anymore though. All the others are dead, I had to pretend to be Chill’s slave when the Guard came, and now I’m nothing more than your property. She’s probably laughing at me. Thinks this is a just punishment for failing her.”
“What do you mean?” Octavia asked. She remembered how odd Ice Air had been behaving back when their roles were reversed. The Unicorn had seemed to be acting separate from the rest of her companions. She had wanted to spirit Octavia away without letting the others know. Had she been planning to bring her to this Keket?
She also remembered Lady Chill, and a shiver ran through her body.
“She sold us out,” Ice Air spat. “She sold me out! They’re all dead because she couldn’t wait a few days!” Ice Air looked up, a twisted smile on her face. “You know, I bet that was her plan from the beginning. Why risk having me drag you to her by myself, when she could just have the Guard ‘rescue’ you and then send some ponies in to capture you here?”
Lyra looked over at Octavia, breaking her gaze with Ice Air for the first time. “What is she talking about?”
“Did any of you tell the Guard where we were?” Ice Air asked.
“No,” Octavia said. “We ran into two of them when we first arrived, but that was all.”
“Not the most pleasant of ponies,” Lyra added.
“Probably not to a Unicorn,” Ice Air said, a smug look on her face. “But to you, Master, I’m sure they were all polite and helpful.”
Octavia was not sure she would use that word, but the two officers had seemed to treat Bon Bon and Octavia slightly better than Lyra and Vinyl. “As I said, we told no pony about you or your location. Yet.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that the Guard just happened to show almost immediately after we captured you, even though we'd been there for months without being found?” Ice Air asked. Without waiting for either mare to answer, she continued. “I saw the note one of them was carrying. I recognized Keket’s writing, and that’s what saved me life. That, and the fact that you left me beaten in the cell. Those idiots thought I was Chill’s slave, which is why they didn’t cut me in half right away. I threw myself at their hooves, saying they had killed my master and were trying to make me join them, but I had refused.”
“Quick thinking,” Lyra said. “So why were they about to execute you here?”
Ice Air laughed. It was a cold laugh, the type a pony let out when they were at the end of their rope. “You two really don’t know anything, do you? Where have you been?”
“We are not from around here,” Octavia said.
“I gathered that,” Ice Air snapped, a twisted gleam in her eye. “I figured you were from some outlying settlement, but you two clearly have no idea how this world works! So where are you from? That mythical Crystal Empire?”
“Equestria,” Octavia answered.
“Never heard of it. Sounds made up.”
“You’ve never heard of Equestria, but you’ve heard of the Crystal Empire?” Lyra asked. “How’s that possible?”
Ice Air sneered at Lyra. “Every Unicorn knows the story about the Crystal Empire and its founder, the Good King Sombra.” Octavia tensed at the name, but Ice Air continued speaking. “Parents tell it to their children as a fairytale. A place where Unicorns rule, rightfully and without oppression, and the Earth ponies are where they belong.”
“And where is that?” Octavia asked.
“In the ground, or working it until they are.” Ice Air’s green eyes tried to bore holes through Octavia, but the cellist chose to ignore the remark.
“What about Pegasus ponies?” Lyra asked.
“What is wrong with you?” Ice Air asked, turning her head toward Lyra. Her face was a mess of disgust and curiosity. “Did your parents not raise you right? Did you not pay attention is school or something?”
“Answer the question, please,” Octavia said.
Ice Air blinked in surprised at Octavia’s last word. “You two…you’re really not from around here, are you?”
“As I said, we are from Equestria,” Octavia said calmly.
“It still sounds fake, but…” the Unicorn looked between the two mares facing her and sighed. “But I guess this will go a lot faster if I just assume you two are telling the truth. That, or you’re both idiots. Actually, I think I prefer that one.”
“Watch it,” Lyra warned.
“There haven’t been any Pegasus ponies since The Freezing War. They were wiped out. Completely.” Ice Air stated the fact as if she was reciting the answer to a math problem, but the feeling of terror in Octavia’s soul matched the look on Lyra’s face. “They refused to surrender, and like the stubborn ponies that led them, they fought to the last. Except the fillies and colts. Those were just executed.”
Octavia was glad she was on the bed otherwise she would have collapsed. Lyra, for her part, sat down on the floor, her eyes wide.
“H…How…?” Octavia asked.
“Do you know the history of the Three Tribes? Do they at least teach that in your Equestria?”
“It’s part of Equestria’s founding,” Lyra whispered. “The leaders of the Tribes found Equestria, learned about friendship, and built a new civilization where they all became one Tribe.”
“Well, we tell a different story,” Ice Air said. “Those leaders? They died, or were lost. Same with all the ponies that went with them—which were a lot. They were never seen again, so it’s believed they all wandered into the frozen wasteland and died. Those that stayed, well…relationships were already strained. The only thing keeping the balance was that each Tribe had something to keep the others in check. Earth ponies had the food, Pegasus ponies sort of kept the weather in check, and Unicorns raised the sun and the moon.”
“That matches with our story,” Octavia said.
“Well, what do you think happens when one of those groups looses its only bargaining chip?”
“Which group?” Lyra asked, although Octavia suspected she already knew the answer.
“One day, the Unicorns could no longer control the sun or the moon. No matter how hard they tried, or how many tried, they just couldn’t. The sun and moon no longer answered to them.”
“The Princesses took over that duty,” Octavia said. “Celestia and Luna.”
“Yeah, well, your Princesses bucked the rest of us Unicorns. Without the ability to control the sun, they had nothing to bargain with. The Earth ponies came down hard. They started withholding food. Any Unicorn caught stealing was beaten, sometimes killed, and the food that was given to us was reduced. Finally, barely able to stand, our new leaders were forced to sign our Tribe into slavery. If we wanted to eat, we had to serve the Earth ponies.”
“That’s terrible,” Octavia whispered.
“Damn,” Lyra added.
“For a short while, it was okay. Or as okay as it things get around here. The Unicorns had food in their bellies, and while they weren’t fans of the arrangement, they figured they would just have to use their magic to help Earth ponies with simple tasks.”
“But it did not last, did it?”
“With the Unicorns firmly under their hoof, the Earth ponies turned their attention to the Pegasus ponies. And, in all honesty, a lot of the Unicorns agree with it.”
“Why?” Octavia asked. The clouded look on Ice Air’s face was no longer one of pure contempt and hatred. There was despair mixed in now, and a sense of loss.
“The Earth and Unicorn Tribes had been grumbling for a long time about the Pegasus Tribe. Generations even, from what I learned. I mean, have you two looked outside? Everything is ice. A frozen wasteland no matter where you go. So they figured, what good was the Pegasus Tribe? They weren’t controlling the weather. They were barely keeping it in check. So why should the Earth ponies, and now their servants, have to share what precious little food there was with them? Plus, it wasn’t like the Pegasus Tribe helped the Unicorns, or even stood up for them, when the Earth ponies signed them into slavery.”
“Bet the Pegasus ponies didn’t take too kindly to that idea,” Lyra said as she narrowed her eyes. “Our stories say they were warriors.”
“They were,” Ice Air confirmed. “I think that’s why the Earth ponies waited until they had the Unicorns. Two Tribes versus one? No matter how fierce the Pegasus Tribe was, it was no match for the combined strength of the other two. They didn’t go down without a fight though. The Freezing War lasted for over ten years. At first, the Unicorn Tribe was for it. They fought side-by-side with the Earth ponies, but when it became clear that the Pegasus ponies were beaten and were just fighting out of stubborn pride, some of the Unicorns pressed for peace.”
“What happened?”
“They were used as pony shields in the final siege. Those that refused to fight were executed, their families thrown out on the streets and left to starve. And so, the Unicorns were forced to make a choice. Help the Earth ponies eradicate every last Pegasus—and I mean every last one—or die. I’m guessing you two are smart enough to figure out which option they picked.”
Octavia and Lyra were silent for a while. Eventually, the cellist spoke from the bed.
“That is when it started, is it not?” she asked.
“What?”
“The biting cold that surrounds this city.”
“I don’t know,” Ice Air said. “This happened over a thousand years ago. As far as I know, it’s always been like this here.”
Octavia nodded. She had had her suspicions that the bone-biting cold that had hit them when they had arrived had not been natural. Now she was certain of it. “It is the Windigos,” she said.
“The what?”
“Magical ice spirits,” Lyra put in. “They’re what was causing the blizzard that was slowly destroying the Three Tribes’ land. They feed off of hatred and fighting. A war was probably a buffet for them.”
“Not war,” Octavia said quietly. “Genocide. The sheer amount of hatred…it must have been unlike anything a Windigo has ever felt. It probably twisted them into something much worse. How they have not destroyed this entire city is beyond me.”
“Each year, fifty Unicorns are sacrificed to keep the cold in check,” Ice Air said. “Their blood is spilt and scattered around the edge of the city, and their magic is used to fuel the protection spell.”
“That’s…horrible,” Lyra said. She touched her horn for a moment and looked at Ice Air with pity for the first time.
“A trade then,” Octavia concluded. “The Windigos keep the city on the brink, feasting on the hatred, and once a year they relish on the wrath that those sacrifices bring.”
“And you Earth ponies wonder why we rebels exist,” Ice Air said as she glared at Octavia, but before Lyra could threaten her, the Unicorn hung her head and a tear fell down her cheek. “But what’s the point? Even my own kind tried to kill me. I trusted Keket. I believed in her, in her goal. I believed she’d make my life better, so I followed her. She was the first rebel to have a plan besides ‘Kill Earth ponies’, and she got other leaders to follow her.” Tears were streaming down Ice Air’s purple face now as she stared at the floor. “She made me feel important. Made me feel like I meant something. That’s why I volunteered to spend all those nights in the wilderness, waiting for you. She told me I would change the world, that I would make life for every Unicorn better. But then, she just tossed me aside.” Ice Air looked up and Octavia caught her breath. Gone was the hard-bitten mare that had attacked her in the snow. She had been replaced by a broken pony, with the eyes of a filly that wanted to know why the world was such a cruel place.
“Ice Air, I—” Octavia started.
“Why?” Ice Air wailed, slamming her hooves on the floor as she collapsed. “WHY? I did everything for her! There wasn’t an order I wouldn’t follow, so tell me! Tell me why she threw me away? She promised me that I’d be part of it! That once I brought you to her, I’d be at her side! But she never wanted me there! Despite everything I did, all she cared about was you! WHY?”
Ice Air could take it no longer. She collapsed on the floor in a sobbing mess. She covered her face with her front hooves and wailed into them. Her tail, ripped and tattered from the abuse of her “rescuers”, curled around her body as sobs racked her body. She looked pitiful.
Octavia and Lyra stared at each other for a long time, the only sound being Ice Air’s muffled howling. Then, unable to stand the broken pony any longer, Octavia slid off the bed and walked over to the crumpled Unicorn. She stood in front of her for a lifetime until she finally heard a small voice from beneath the hooves.
“What?”
Octavia did not answer. Instead, she knelt down and rubbed Ice Air’s mane. The Unicorn tensed immediately, and when she tried to pull away, Octavia wrapped her forelegs around the pony’s neck. She expected the Unicorn to resist, and for a few moments she did, but she had no energy left to fight, so she simply hung in Octavia’s embrace, sobbing on her shoulder.
“Ice Air, you can come back to Equestria with us,” Octavia whispered as she rubbed the mare’s neck. “The journey will not be easy, and I suspect you will have difficulty adjusting to it, but it is a far better place than this.”
“You…” Ice Air sniffled and remained silent for a few seconds before she continued. “You expect me to believe in your little fantasy world?”
“It’s rather large, actually,” Lyra said. She had moved closer, but she made no effort to join the hug.
“And, you are technically my property while we are still in these lands, so I am insisting that you return with me.”
Ice Air said nothing, but she seemed to squeeze Octavia’s shoulder with her chin at the offer.
“But first, I need you to tell me a few more things,” the cellist said as she continued to hold the broken Unicorn. “How does Keket know who I am, and what does she want with me?”
“You two aren’t the only ones with imaginary dreamlands,” Ice Air said. Octavia expected her to pull away from the hug, but the Unicorn made no effort to do so. “Keket wants to make the myth of the Crystal Empire into a reality, and she needs you to do it.”
“Why does she need Octavia?” Lyra asked.
“It is a long story, Lyra, but my guess is that it is because I am related to King Sombra.” The look of shock on Lyra’s face was almost comical, but Octavia held up a hoof to stop any questions. “For another time.”
“Well, you’re right,” Ice Air whispered, still refusing to wiggle out of Octavia’s embrace. “It’s why I called you that when we first met.”
“You mean when you attacked me.”
“I wanted to see if it was really you, if you were the one I was looking for. Your reaction said it all. As for how Keket knew who you were, that’s a bit more complicated. She—”
Without warning, the door to the room flew open.
* * *
For a brief moment, Vinyl wondered if Shadow Walker was worried about nothing. Maybe the five Unicorns had just happened to glance in their direction, or maybe they were looking because they had noticed the thief staring at them first.
That hope vanished as soon as a rather large stallion walked up to the group. “Hey. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but it says outside that your kind isn’t allowed without your—”
Vinyl wasn’t sure what happened, but the stallion was suddenly on the ground, howling in pain. His front left leg was bleeding, and the hilt of a dagger was sticking out of the wound. He howled, but the five Unicorns paid him no mind as they walked calmly into the tavern.
No pony else moved as the five closed on Vinyl and Shadow Walker. The silence, save for the agony of the stallion, was painful as all eyes watched the attackers cross the room. When they reached the edge of the table, they stopped.
“Where is it?” one of them asked.
Vinyl couldn’t get a great look at their faces because they all had hoods, but she did notice that all of their eyes seemed to be glowing green. She almost dismissed it as a trick of the poor lighting, but no matter who she looked at, all of their eyes remained the exact same.
Also, the one that had just spoken sounded off, his voice cracking and clinking, like the sound of a crystal breaking.
There was something definitely weird about these Unicorns. They weren’t like the ones that had attacked her and Octavia out in the wilderness. Those ponies, while crazy, had at least still seemed like ponies. These ones brought to mind memories of Changelings, but not quite.
Vinyl turned to look at Shadow Walker, waiting to see how the thief would react. She didn’t need to wait very long.
No sooner had Vinyl looked his way than the stallion flipped the table up, sending their drinks flying. The move stunned Vinyl and the Unicorns, but Shadow Walker didn’t stop. He charged full force into the table and used it as a battering ram, plowing through the group before letting it land on top of one of the ponies who had been knocked down.
“Move!” Shadow Walker yelled. One of the Unicorns was already getting back up on her hooves, so the thief jumped at her and kicked her in the face. She crumpled to the floor once more. “NOW!”
Vinyl stumbled out of her seat, tripping over the body of one of the ponies, and began to follow Shadow Walker toward the front exit. The thief looked back to make sure she was following, but then he lunged at her and tackled her to the ground.
A second later, a shard of crystal flew threw the air, right where Vinyl’s head had been. It slammed into the doorframe, and that was the spark that started the fire.
The entire tavern erupted in a flurry of motion. Half the ponies dove under tables and pressed themselves against the walls, hoping to make themselves smaller. Others screamed as they rushed for the exits. A few—all Earth ponies—rushed the Unicorns and for a moment, Vinyl thought that the fight was over.
The first Earth pony to reach the Unicorns slammed into one of them with his shoulder. He carried her across the room and crushed her against a wall with enough force that Vinyl worried he had killed her. She gasped as the air was forced from her body, but the stallion didn’t relent. Still pinning her to the wall with his shoulder, he pulled back his left front hoof and punched the Unicorn in the face several times. When he finally pulled away, her face was a bloody mess. She sank to the floor, and the stallion stood over her, pride practically oozing from his body.
A second later, a long spear of crystal was plunged into his side. The tip emerged from the other side, covered in dark blood. The stallion turned his head to look at the wound, his face already going pale, and then he fell to the ground.
Vinyl remembered what she and Octavia had found when they came across the remains of the expedition and her blood ran cold.
“Get up!” Shadow Walker hissed and he put his hoof under Vinyl’s neck and yanked her up. “We have to get out of here!”
“But…but what about them?” Vinyl asked, pointing to the other Earth ponies. Two more of them had already been killed, while another one was pinned underhoof by one of the Unicorns. She kicked and screamed, but her captor paid her no mind as she materialized another chunk of crystal and sank it into her chest, pinning her to the floor like a piece of art. She then took her hoof off the corpse and looked toward Vinyl and Shadow Walker again.
“They’re already dead,” Shadow Walker said as the last stallion, currently being levitated into the air by two of the Unicorns, was suddenly turned into a pincushion as three spears emerged from his back. “And we will be too if you don’t move!”
Some of the ponies had managed to make out of the tavern, but there was now a jam at the front exit as the remaining ones struggled to get out. Just as Vinyl was starting to wonder how they were going to get through that mess, the floor under her hooves started to shake.
A moment later, the crowd of ponies struggling to get out the door exploded in a shower of blood, wood, bodies, and crystal. A giant chunk of pale green crystal, big enough to block the door, had sprung up from the tavern floor, sealing the exit. Thankfully, neither Vinyl nor Shadow Walker had been standing close enough to be harmed, but not everypony was so lucky.
“We will not ask again, thief,” the same Unicorn said. He was standing in the middle of a pool of blood, completely oblivious to the death that surrounded him and his three remaining companions. None of them seemed to even notice the ruined form of the fifth one, still struggling to stand after the savage beating the stallion had given her.
“Forget it,” Shadow Walker hissed. “I sent it away. You’re all insane! I tried to tell you what really happened, and what you’d get if Keket went through with her plan, but—”
“Then there is no reason to keep you alive.”
As soon as those words left the Unicorn’s mouth, a dozen crystal spears appeared in the air and raced directly toward Shadow Walker. The thief ducked most of them, but on managed to scrape his back, shredding his cloak. The tattered garment fell away, revealing the thief’s wings, his pony-shadow cutie mark, and a bandolier, stuffed with what appeared to be bottles.
Shadow Walker popped one of the bottles out of its compartment and threw it at the Unicorns. They reacted instantly, putting up a magical shield to protect themselves from whatever the bottle meant to do, but that was apparently what the thief had expected, because when the bottle hit the shield, he grinned.
There was a loud pop and smoke filled the room, so thick that Vinyl instantly started coughing. She felt a hoof wrap around her foreleg and she allowed herself to be dragged through the room.
“Out the window, girl!” she heard Shadow Walker say, and a moment later she felt hooves half lifting, half shoving her out what she could only assume was a window. Cold bit into her face, but the air cleared instantly and she dropped down onto the frozen ground, Shadow Walker right behind her.
The two ponies had landed in an alley next to the tavern. Smoke was still bellowing out of the window behind them, and the screams and coughs of the ponies inside echoed fiercely in the narrow space, but at least they were alone for the moment.
“What…?” Vinyl asked as she hacked for breath. “What…do they want?”
“That bow,” Shadow Walker said. He took off running down the alley, and Vinyl had to struggle to catch up, their hooves echoing as they ran.
“Why?”
“Because they think it’s the only way to draw Octavia here!” Shadow Walker said. “If they lose it, they lose her, because they think she’ll have no reason to stay here. She’ll just head home—which is what I was hoping for. That’s why I gave it to you. Of course, if they find out who you are, then we’re in real trouble.”
“What do you mean?” Vinyl was struggling to keep up. It felt like everypony else in the world was playing chess and she was still trying to figure out checkers.
“Bait, Vinyl,” Shadow Walker said. “That’s what this whole thing was about. Bait to get Octavia out here. I mean, I’m the best thief in Equestria. Do you honestly think that you getting a good look at me was an accident?”
Vinyl’s body froze as everything started to fall into place. Lefty’s comment back in Hollow Shades about expecting a pony asking about a bow, the big, easy-to-follow expedition from the Crystal Empire, and the crystalized feathers in the snow at the scene of massacre.
“This…it was all a trap?” Vinyl asked as she stood stock-still in the alley.
“Just figuring that out, huh?” Shadow Walker said as he turned around to face Vinyl, his face twisted with contempt and worry. “I let you get a good look at me because I was told to. Keket wanted you to tell Octavia what I looked like. Meanwhile, that freak back there, Crystalize, went to Hollow Shades thinking that that was where Octavia would look first. I met up with him in the Crystal Empire, but Keket had already gone on ahead. We joined that expedition, but then her right-hoof stallion slaughtered the lot of them. That’s when I made up my mind that I had to get away, but I couldn’t when it was just the two of us. So I waited, playing along until we joined back up with Keket and her followers, and then slipped away. I was gathering supplies for the trip home when I saw you.”
“I have to tell Octy,” Vinyl whispered. “We have to get out of here!”
“That’s what I’ve been saying! Now stop standing around and—get down!”
Once again, Shadow Walker tackled Vinyl to the ground as a bolt of magic sizzled through the air. The two ponies looked back down the alley and saw two of the Unicorns standing there, with a third making her way out of the window. Once she was out, the pony Shadow Walker had called Crystalize emerged and took his position at the front of the group.
There was no sign of the fifth Unicorn. Had they really just left her in there?
“Out of respect for your abilities, thief, I will go back on my word,” Crystalize said. “One. Chance. Where is it?”
“I told—”
“You’re not getting it!” Vinyl shouted. She stood up and drew her sword with her magic. She held it in front of her, more as a symbolic threat than a real one since the distance was so great, and placed herself between Shadow Walker and the Unicorns.
“Move, slave,” Crystalize said. “We prefer not to hurt our own kind, but we will.
“Not going to let this one go, are you?” Shadow Walker called as he picked himself up. “Fine. Just so you know, Crystalize, I never liked you.”
“Pegasus,” the Unicorn spat.
Vinyl bit her lip. The pony standing beside her, stretching his wings and preparing to attack, may have been responsible for casting her life into this nightmare, but the Unicorn in front of her was the one behind it. One of them, anyway. After she dealt with him, she’d be going after this Keket. The DJ might hate Octavia’s guts, but she still cared about her, and would thrash anypony that threatened her.
“All of you, FREEZE!”
Vinyl jumped at the new voice coming from behind her and Shadow Walker. While the thief didn’t turn around, Vinyl did, and she couldn’t decide if she should be relieved or worried.
Two of the city’s guards were at other end of the alley. They started walking toward Vinyl and Shadow Wing, and the looks on their faces were not encouraging.
“You again?” one of them said as she drew closer. Vinyl recognized her as one of the guards that she had run into before meeting Shadow Walker. The mare narrowed her eyes as she looked Vinyl up and down. “Why do you seem to turn up wherever there’s trouble?”
“Look, lady, we’re in some serious—” Vinyl started, but then the other guard spoke up.
“She’s armed!” the stallion shouted as his eyes jumped out of his head. He stepped back and so did his partner.
“I knew there was something off about you!” the mare hissed. “You’re a rebel! Everypony knows that Unicorns aren’t allowed to carry weapons. You!” The mare turned her gaze to Shadow Walker, who still hadn’t turned to face them. “You’re her master, aren’t you? I’m placing you both…under…”
The mare trailed off as she saw what were attached to Shadow Walker’s body. Her mouth fell open and all she could do was stare, her breath coming out in small white puffs from her mouth.
“You want the rebels, girl?” Shadow Walker asked darkly. “Four of them, right there. They’ve already killed half a dozen inside that tavern, and if you don’t help us stop them, they’re going to kill a lot more.”
“How…?” the guard asked. “But…your kind is…how is there a Pegasus? Here?”
“Enough,” Crystalize said. Vinyl turned to face him just in time to see one of his crystal spears flying straight for her. Without thinking, she swung her sword toward the rock. The blade caught the attack and shattered it, but the shockwave caused Vinyl’s head to shake.
“What the buck is—”
The other guard’s question was cut short as another spear dove into his neck. He sank to the ground, dead before his face hit the stone. His partner stared at his body in shock, but Vinyl no longer had time to deal with her. All of her focus shifted to the four Unicorns trying to end her and Shadow Walker’s lives.
Shadow Walker moved first. Vinyl had known he was fast, but before she had been on the receiving end of his speed so she hadn’t been able to see it completely. But now, even as her life was in danger, she couldn’t help but be in awe.
The Pegasus covered the gap in less time than it took to blink. He went low, aiming for the Unicorn on the far right of the group. He swept the Unicorn’s front hooves out from under him, and as he fell forward, Shadow Walker spun around and delivered a massive hind leg kick to the Unicorn’s face, sending him flying backward. The blow wasn’t enough to knock the Unicorn out, but it left him dazed.
Crystalize was the first to react. He turned his head toward Shadow Walker and sent a rain of razor-sharp crystals flying toward him. The Pegasus rolled out of the way and then sprang into the air, avoiding the attack. Shadow Walker then went into a dive, aiming for Crystalize. The lead Unicorn ducked, but Shadow Walker simply changed his approached and tackled another Unicorn instead.
Vinyl finally snapped out of her awe and charged forward, her sword drawn. All four of the Unicorns were focused on Shadow Walker, so if she was careful, she could get one, maybe even two of them before they realized what had happened.
Vinyl closed the distance and raised her sword, ready to sink it into the flank of the nearest Unicorn. But before the blade could find its target, a large chunk of crystal blocked its path. Horrified that Crystalize had noticed her, she turned to look at who had blocked her strike.
But it wasn’t Crystalize. It was the fourth Unicorn, and her eyes glowed green as she stared at Vinyl.
“How many of you can use that spell?” Vinyl asked as she swatted the crystal weapon aside. She had thought that this weird crystal-forming spell was something unique to Crystalize, but then she remembered that one of the mares in the tavern had used the spell to kill a pony.
Could all of these Unicorns use this type of magic?
“By order of Earth Guard, I command you all to—ugh!” The mare guard, who had finally come to her senses, had rushed toward the fray, but the pony that Vinyl had almost cut down saw her coming. He, too, formed a crystal spear and sent it flying toward the guard and impaled against the alley’s wall. She screamed as the crystal dug into her shoulder.
At least she’s still alive, Vinyl thought, but a moment later another chunk of crystal was jammed into her stomach and she fell silent.
The mare had been beyond nasty to Vinyl, but the DJ couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
Vinyl managed to push the thought of the dead mare from her mind as two of the rebels began to attack her in earnest. She ducked and blocked as best she could, lashing out with both her sword and her magic, but she was slowly being overwhelmed.
“Shadow!” she yelled as one of the rebels managed slice her front leg open.
As soon as the word left Vinyl’s mouth, something smashed against the head of one of her attackers. A second later, the rebel’s head was covered in white smoke that seemed to cling to it, no mater what she tried to do to clear it.
“Vinyl!” a new voice cried above the furry, and Vinyl’s ears perked up. She blocked the remaining Unicorn’s crystal attack with her sword, and then slammed her hoof into the stallion’s face. It was enough to break his concentration, and as he staggered, Vinyl fired a blast of magic into his chest. It slammed him against the alley’s wall with enough force that cracks formed in the building’s ice.
“Bon Bon?” the DJ asked as she took a moment to catch her breath. She looked past Shadow Walker and his scuffled and saw her friend dashing down the alley.
Bon Bon crashed full force into Crystalize and practically bowled him over. She reached into her winter cloak, pulled out a small bottle, and threw it at his face as she ran. It shattered and, just like the Unicorn that had been attacking Vinyl, Crystalize’s head was instantly covered in white smoke.
“Thanks,” Vinyl said, grinning as her friend ran up to her. “We were in serious—”
“You idiot!” Bon Bon shouted as she slapped Vinyl across the face. “What type of moron goes off in a hostile city by herself? Octavia must really love you to put up with this level of crap!”
“NO!” Shadow Walker yelled, and both ponies turned to look at him. He had pulled a dagger during his fight and had just stabbed one of the rebels in the neck. “Stupid mare! Vinyl! Get out of here, NOW!”
“I think not,” Crystalize said darkly. Vinyl and Bon Bon turned to face him, but he was no longer thrashing about, trying to clear the smoke from his face.
Everything happened in a heartbeat.
Bon Bon jumped toward Crystalize, but before she reached him, a blast of magic slammed into her side and sent her skidding down the alley back toward Shadow Walker.
Vinyl turned to face the attacker and saw that the first Unicorn Bon Bon had hit had managed to clear her head of the smoke. Vinyl started to turn and face her, but something wrapped around her neck and lifted her into the air. She crashed against the wall, and immediately felt crystal bindings form around her legs and stomach, pinning her.
“Interesting,” Crystalize said as the last of the smoke cleared from his face.
“Get away from her!” Shadow Walker yelled. He started to charge toward the rebel, but Crystalize was ready this time.
“There truly is no reason to keep you alive now, thief.”
Crystalize’s eyes flashed bright green, and it was as if the entire alley exploded. Countless spires of crystal erupted from the ground and walls, too many for even a pony of Shadow Walker’s speed to dodge. In less than a second, he was skewered from several angels. The life left his eyes instantly and he hung there, his red blood flowing down the crystal and pooling beneath him.
“Crystalize, what do we do with the other mare?” the mare rebel asked as she walked over and helped the pony Vinyl had blasted into the wall stand up.
“Kill her,” Crystalize coldly, never breaking eye contact with Vinyl.
“No!” Vinyl screamed. “No! Let her go! Please!” Vinyl’s red eyes turned to Bon Bon’s crumpled form. Why they had hit her with magic and not their crystal spell, Vinyl didn’t know, but she couldn’t let them kill her. She had to do something!
“I have it!” the DJ said quickly. “I have the bow! It’s right here!” Vinyl gestured with her head to where she had placed the bow. “Now leave her alone!”
“Perfect.” Crystalize used his magic to open Vinyl’s coat and pulled out the tube containing the bow. He pulled the bow out and looked it over for a few seconds before his gaze returned to Vinyl.
Without saying a work, he snapped it in half and then tossed its broken form over to Bon Bon.
“What the buck are you doing?” Vinyl screamed. She struggled against her crystal shackles with so much rage that the one pinning her neck broke. “You bastard! Do you have any idea how much trouble I’ve gone through to get that thing back?!”
“We are taking her to Keket,” Crystalize said. “Fracture, silence her.”
“As you say,” the mare said. She stood in front of Vinyl and her horn began to glow, but Vinyl didn’t care. All she could do was look at the broken bow near her wounded friend.
Something gleamed behind Fracture’s head as her magic grew brighter. Vinyl turned to see what is was and a twisted smile crossed her lips.
“Crystalize!” the DJ yelled as she reached out with her magic. She felt the familiar sensation in her mind as she gripped the object and lifted it into the air. She turned her head so that Fracture’s light wasn’t completely blinding her now.
The lead rebel stopped and turned to look back at Vinyl, an unconcerned look on his face.
Vinyl said nothing. She only grinned as she swung her sword as hard as she could toward the stallion’s neck. The blade bit into the Unicorn’s neck, and Vinyl had the brief satisfaction of seeing the stallion’s eyes go wide before Fracture blasted her with enough magic to make her insides burns.
* * *
As the room’s door slammed against the wall, Octavia readied herself. While she doubted Ice Air had laid a trap for her, she could not discount the possibility. If some of Ice Air’s rebel allies came in, Octavia was going to need to keep the fight close, less they gain enough distance to use their magic.
A Unicorn did come through the door, but not in the way Octavia had been expecting. Instead of charging in, she came in draped over the backside of another pony, her face a mess of bruises and cuts that made Ice Air’s injuries look tame by comparison.
The pony carrying her looked better, although she was limping and the right side of her cloak showed signs of a magic attack.
“Bon Bon?” Lyra’s voice cracked with worry as she rushed to her wife’s side. “What happened? Are…are you okay?”
“I’ve been through worse,” Bon Bon said. She took a brief moment to kiss Lyra on the cheek—Octavia felt a twinge of jealousy at the scene—but then her face hardened as she turned her blue eyes toward Octavia and Ice Air. She practically threw the wounded pony off of her back, and stomped over to Octavia.
“Bon Bon, is everything—”
Octavia was cut short as Bon Bon shoved her aside. Ice Air managed to let out a small yelp before the Earth pony slammed her against the wall. Bon Bon pressed her front hooves against the Unicorn’s throat and lifted her up until not even her hind legs were able to touch the ground.
“One chance!” Bon Bon yelled. “Try to lie, and I will break you in ways not even these ponies here have thought of!”
“Bon Bon…” Lyra whispered. The green Unicorn looked horrified at the sight of her wife, but she was too terrified to say more.
Octavia was not.
“Bon Bon, I do not know what you are doing, but—”
“She’s gone, Octavia!” Bon Bon snapped. She whipped her head around to Octavia and the cellist took a step back in surprise. She had never seen Bon Bon this angry before. “They took her!”
Ice Air was kicking her hind legs now as Bon Bon held her against the wall. She tugged at the Earth pony’s cream-colored hooves, but she was no match for the enraged pony’s strength.
“Who?” Octavia asked, dread swelling in her stomach.
“Vinyl! This bitch’s friends took her!” Bon Bon turned back to Ice Air. “Where? Where is she?”
“I…I…” Ice Air could not get out anything more than weak stammering. Her breathing was becoming shallow, and Octavia could see the strength leaving the pony’s body.
“I know they’re part of your little group!” Bon Bon shouted. “They mentioned Keket. So where did they take her?”
Ice Air’s horn began to glow with magic. Bon Bon saw it, pulled one of her hooves away from the mare’s neck, and slammed it into the Unicorn’s stomach. The glowing horn faded instantly.
“You’re not pulling any of that!” Bon Bon warned. She pressed harder with her remaining hoof, to the point where Octavia thought she could hear Ice Air’s bones beginning to crack.
“Bon Bon, stop!” Octavia said. “You are killing her!” She stepped forward and placed a hoof on Bon Bon’s foreleg. She was prepared to remove the mare by force if she had to, but the touch seemed to be enough to bring her back. She released Ice Air and the Unicorn fell to the floor, hacking and gasping for air.
“They…they killed so many,” Bon Bon said as she looked at Ice Air in disgust. “I was searching the city, checking the bars and such, when I heard an explosion. When I got there, the place was…I’ve never seen so many bodies. These rebels are dangerous, Octavia. She’s dangerous.”
“Who’s this?” Lyra asked, gesturing to the badly beaten Unicorn Bon Bon had dumped on the floor. Her hooves were tied together, although Octavia was not sure how much good that would do against a Unicorn and her magic.
“One of the rebels. I grabbed her once the fight was over in all the confusion. Two others were killed, but two more took Vinyl somewhere.” Bon Bon reached into her cloak and rummaged around until she pulled out what she was looking for. “And they left this by me.”
Octavia carefully took the broken remains of her family’s bow. Tears swelled in her violet eyes, but they were not due to the loss of the item.
Vinyl, I am so sorry…
“Ice Air,” Octavia said as she placed the broken bow on the bed. “Please. Vinyl is…she is my entire world. Please.” Her voice broke as she spoke and tears ran down her cheeks, but she refused to break eye contact with the mare.
“You’re…joking, right?” Ice Air asked, a hint of disbelief and contempt in her voice. Bon Bon lunged at her, but Octavia put her hoof out to stop her.
“Please,” the cellist whispered.
“You…you actually care about her?” the Unicorn asked, and this time her voice was filled with shock. “I thought you only cared about her because she belongs to you. She’s a Unicorn, and you…you’re an Earth pony!”
“That does not matter where we come from,” Octavia said quietly. “And even if it did, it would not matter to me.”
Ice Air blinked, her eyes darting between Octavia, Lyra, and Bon Bon for several painful seconds before she closed them and sighed. “I can only guess where they took her. I don’t know for sure.”
“Where?” Octavia asked.
“The old Unicorn castle, back when our kind were still considered royalty.” Ice Air looked up at Bon Bon for a moment, and then she huddled against the wall, trying to make herself smaller. “I…don’t know if they’ll keep her alive though.”
“They…will,” new voice strained, and all four heads turned to look. The rebel Bon Bon had brought back with her was struggling to sit up. She pulled her face away from the floor, her bloodied fur making a smacking sound as it separated from the wood.
“How do you know?” Bon Bon growled.
The Unicorn looked straight at Octavia. “Because she is The Chosen One. Keket needs you to come to her. That is why that was taken.” The Unicorn nodded toward the broken bow. “But is appears that she now has something much more valuable.”
“Great,” Lyra said as she rolled her eyes. “We’re walking into a trap.”
“We have been walking into it since the beginning,” Octavia whispered. If only she had made Vinyl listen to her. But no, she had refused to tell Vinyl everything from the beginning, and now the D.J. was caught up in her mess.
Octavia narrowed her eyes and walked over to the wounded Unicorn. She drew herself up to her full height, raising her chin so that she was looking down at the rebel with an upturned face.
“You have two choices,” the cellist said. “You may either be of assistance to my friends and I, as your former companion has chosen, or we give you to the local authorities and this city has another public mutilation and execution today. I will wager a fair amount of bits that this city will be more than happy to make you the scapegoat for all those deaths.”
“I didn’t kill anyone!” the mare protested. She tried to scoot back, but Octavia placed her front hoof on her bindings and held her in place. “I was knocked out before all of that!”
“I doubt the city guard will care. So,” The cellist leaned in so close that she could have kissed the mare if she wanted to and lowered her voice to barely above a whisper, “you may want to start thinking how you can be of use to us. Because if we arrive too late, if Vinyl has come to any harm, I will not cut off your horn like they do.” Octavia reached out and put her other hoof on the Unicorn’s horn. “I will rip it from your head.”