Caverns & Cutie Marks

by TheColtTrio

Chapter 81: Rarely Does a Rainbow Appear at Twilight

“Elemental Infusion and Focus,” Rainbow Dash said, her voice flat.

“Needle Storm and Summon Greater Ponnequin,” Rarity sighed.

“Lock Talents and…” Twilight frowned. “What is this one?”

“Friendshot Blast,” Discord supplied, hovering semi-transparent a few feet above them. “It makes the ponies fall down.” He flipped over onto his back. “I must say, you three don’t seem nearly as enthused as I expected when I took the time to help you three level up personally.”

“Didn’t ask for it…” Dash grumbled.

Discord shook his head. “You three don’t have the colts- well, the boys to help you level up. I’m just giving you three the advantage of my expe-”

“Don’t you have a town to work on?” Twilight cut in. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I’m astrally projecting part of myself while I-”

“Booooored!” Rainbow Dash groaned.

Discord frowned, dropping to the ground. “Fine. If you insist, I’m trying to get these townsponies to help me perform a ritual to regain some of my powers. If I have them, those three villains don’t. You’re welcome.” He glanced off to one side. “Whoops. Sounds like Tasty Jams has finished my sandwich. Do you know how hard it is to get a PB&J when the first part of that hasn’t been invented yet? Anyway, toodles!” The apparition vanished into thin air with the faint sound of a sad balloon having the air let out of it.

Rarity sighed. “Finally. I thought he would never leave.”

“The level up was nice though,” Rainbow Dash commented idly. “Gives us more of a chance against the...villains, I guess you could call them.”

“Yeah, it seems like the best term for them,” Twilight agreed. “At least they’re honest with their actions.”

Rarity groaned and rubbed her face with a hoof. “Please, Twilight dear, can we not discuss them right now? I had just gotten used to being with just mares again.”

“And isn’t Applejack supposed to be more antsy about them lying?” Rainbow Dash mused. “I mean, she is the Element of Honesty.”

“Applejack is making sure one of them doesn’t lie any more,” Twilight grumbled.

Rarity frowned. “Darling, please-”

“No. As long as we’re walking, we’re going to talk about this.” Twilight turned around, trotting backwards down the dirt path to face the other two mares. “Those three lied to us for this whole time! Not once did they even try to tell us, to even give us a hint that they were anything but ponies! How do we know what else they might be hiding.”

“You know,” Rainbow Dash mused, “it’s kinda ironic that you—the one pony to go see humans—is the one that’s making a big deal about this.”

“I’m making such a big deal out of it because they could have been anything and we wouldn’t have known! They could have been changelings! Also, for the record, they aren’t even the same set of humans I’ve seen!” Twilight replied defensively.

“It seems to me,” Rarity mused as she tapped her muzzle in thought, “that the question we might want to ask is ‘why didn’t they try to tell us’?”

“What makes you say that, Rarity?” Rainbow inquired.

“For starters, it would give us some insight into their own inner thought processes. Sometimes a pon… a being’s reason for not saying something can be just as important as a reason to say it.”

Twilight shook her head. “The reason they didn’t say anything is because they’re still hiding things. Who knows what else they’re hiding? Who knows wha-”

“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “You might wanna turn around.”

“Huh?” the purple alicorn grunted, brow furrowed at Rainbow Dash. Her gaze followed the blue pegasus’ pointed hoof and she gasped at the sight she saw.

“Sweet Celestia,” Rarity swore, eyes wide with awe and surprise.

Gallopilli’s wall stood further down the path. Its massive gate was smashed, leaving all free to enter as they wished. Plumes of grey smoke furled from behind the stone wall, twisting up into the sky. The sound of metal scraping against metal could be heard faintly in the distance, heralding the marching of armored troops that were moving through the city.

“I think we have a problem,” Rainbow Dash stated. The three ponies immediately broke into a run, hurrying their way towards the remnants of the once proud and massive gate. Upon reaching the entrance, they edged cautiously past the dilapidated pieces of wood and into the city, fearful of what they might find.

“Rainbow Dash, go fly up and see what state the rest of the city is in,” Twilight ordered, falling into princess mode. Nodding silently to acknowledge the command, Rainbow Dash soared higher into the air, moving swiftly over the ruined city blocks.

“Do you suppose we are too late to find Queen Amber Glitter?” Rarity asked as they hid in a side alley.

“I hope not,” Twilight murmured. “Our job just got a whole lot harder.” The purple alicorn looked skyward, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rainbow Dash returning from her brief reconnaissance. Her wishes were granted when she saw a blue blur whiz overhead towards the street. Twilight and Rarity ran out to wave her down. When Rainbow Dash landed, her face was a mask of horror and fear.

“Pretty much the entire city has fallen under attack,” she panted. “Only the castle itself remains standing, but it’s being sieged as we speak.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. They could still get to Amber Glitter, but it would be difficult.

“Who is the aggressor?” she asked.

“I couldn’t find who was leading the army,” Rainbow Dash said. “But so far, I’ve just seen armored ponies that all look alike. They’re all wearing the same armor.”

“Who wants to bet that one of the villains is in charge of those ponies?” Rarity wondered tiredly, eliciting a sigh from Twilight.

“Even when the colts aren’t here, they’re causing trouble for us,” she muttered

“That's not exactly fair to the colts, dear. This is as much their fault as the Cutie Mark Crusaders adventures are the fault of me or Applejack or Scootaloo’s parents,” Rarity counseled.

“So, what’s the plan?” Rainbow Dash piped up, interrupting the growing argument. “Are we still going to get Amber Glitter?”

Twilight nodded, tamping down her irritation with the colts. “We have to find a way into the castle that avoids any of the troops from the invading army.”

Rainbow Dash pointed down one of the streets. “This way seems clear. One turn, then we can take this straight to the castle.”

“Let’s go, then,” Twilight said. “The longer we wait, the more danger Amber Glitter is in.”

The three mares dashed down the street, reaching the corner in no time flat. As they rounded the turn, they found themselves face-to-helmet with five suits of armor. “Rainbow…” Rarity growled.

“They weren’t there when I was flying!” Rainbow Dash shot back, drawing her bow and hastily firing an arrow at the lead armored pony. The arrow planted itself neatly in the eyeslit of the pony’s helmet. It staggered backwards, turned its head slightly to face the cyan pegasus, and took up a fighting stance.
“Looks like Holdfast has more of these empty suits,” Twilight grumbled

“More?” Rarity questioned, moving back to prepare to fend off the suits. Recognition dawned on her face “You’re talking about the suits of armor Wits fought back when we just escaped from underground.”

“Yes,” Twilight confirmed. “Lightning Bolt!” Lightning arced from her horn and struck the lead suit of armor. Electricity cascaded across the metal surface and leapt to the other members of the patrol. As one, the suits shuddered under the sparking attack. Two fell to their knees, but looked relatively unharmed. No apparent damage had been done at all.

“Okay, I’m going to punch the colts when we see them again,” Twilight growled, glaring at the suits of armor.

“Why, pray tell?” Rarity asked, using her Puppetry ability to halt the suits’ forward progress as the mares backed away.

“For one, I’ve never seen this kind of magic before,” the alicorn said, “so it probably came from one of their heads. Two, all of us are support classes with no real bludgeoning attacks. Piercing attacks are well and good, but only if there’s something under the armor, which there isn’t. So yeah, I’m getting more annoyed.”

“Well, at least there are, ” Rainbow ducked under the sword of a suit before kicking it away, “plenty of objects to take some of that annoyance out on.”

“If it helps dear, you could pretend the colts faces are on the suits. I sometimes do that when working with dresses on Ponnequins for particul-” she was interrupted by a couple of the suits attacking her, “ for particularly difficult clients,” she finished quickly, using her magic to throw one of the fallen armors into the ones closest to her.

Twilight faced down one of the last of the suits. “Huh. I guess I’ll try that.” Her magic enveloped the armor, lifting it off the ground. With a shout, she slammed it into the ground. Again and again, she bashed the armor against the cobblestone; the armor denting and contorting each time. Finally, she let out a roar and flung the armor into the sky, sending it flying over the buildings. “You’re right,” she said sweetly, turning back to the two mares. “That does help.”

Rarity pursed her lips. “Glad to have… helped?”

Rainbow Dash crowed happily and streaked from the sky, hitting the helmet off one of the suits with a well placed kick. The armor stood their for a moment as if confused. An armored hoof lifted up and pawed at the open air above its body. Another kick sent the armor to pieces as it flew after the one that Twilight had tossed.

“Thanks, Rarity.” Rainbow Dash grinned maniacally. “It makes you feel much better. Try it.”

“Ehm, right,” the fashionista coughed. Her magic stretched out to grasp one of the remaining whole suits and she lifted it into the air gently. For a moment, she hesitated, not truly committing to taking such a barbaric course of action. Then she shrugged and the suit of armor was bashed through a wall. Her magic dissipated, leaving the armor embedded in the stone, leaving its armored hindquarters jerking feebly above the ground.

“Alright, I admit it,” she sighed. “It does feel nice.”

The two remaining suits of armor turned their helmets towards each other, as if communicating in silence. After a moment, they nodded, pointed their weapons at the mares, and then turned 180 degrees and ran away, their metallic hoof falls echoing in the distance.

Twilight stared where the armor had ran. “That was… surprisingly non-construct-like of them.” She frowned. “They must be going to tell whoever’s in charge of them that we’re here. Let’s get to the castle, and fast.”

* * *

“I still think we are wasting our time here. We should be hunting down the fake god or the colts,” Just Duty said, watching the various suits go about whatever they were up to. “We can force them to find a way for us to continue to exist beyond this alleged fake realm.”

Holdfast was comparing several bottles of fine wine, retrieved from the mansions of nobles ousted from their homes. “The false god will still be there once we’ve finished,” he said without looking away from the label of a well aged red wine. “For now, we need to cement our strength in the world we’re standing in. There’s nothing to be gained from rushing after a pointless battle.”

“With pointless beings in a pointless town and kingdom all a part of a pointless world in the pointless game of a few ponies and the fake god,” Just Duty growled as he glared at the castle. Without hesitation, he reached out and snatched the bottle from Holdfast before guzzling most of it and spilling the rest, leaving him glaring at the now empty bottle.

“What a blasphemous act for a paladin,” Holdfast mused, watching Just Duty. “Guzzling wine like a common criminal, let alone even tasting it to begin with.”

“I have always wondered what alcohol tastes like. And besides, if I’m as fake as you and Bael and everypony else insists I am, what does it matter if I uphold proper Paladin traits or not?” he replied, tossing the bottle away before wiping his face. “I could be anything; a criminal or even a god in my own right. You just change the stories you tell about my past. Maybe we could trade this fake wine for real lives.” He laughed bitterly before chugging another bottle and throwing its empty husk away.

Holdfast smirked. “And to think, last time we were in this city, you lectured me on being virtuous.” He took the remaining bottle and passed it to a suit of armor, which took it and carried it away to be placed with the rest of the spoilers. “Well, with those two bottles, you now owe Lord Bronze Bit over five-thousand false bits.”

“As if the bit-grubbing fool needs anymore,” Just Duty said with a sigh before turning to face Holdfast. “Why are we here sieging the capital when we could be following up on finishing off the false god and that group of colts and mares? Surely they represent the greatest threat and source of lies?”

“Because this will hurt them,” Holdfast said simply. “Perhaps you weren’t watching them when last we were here. Those nine have an affection for the queen.” He tapped his cracked hoof against the ground. “I intend to make them suffer. He-” He paused, forcing a smile. “They need to appreciate how real this ‘fake’ world is. Then… Well, we shall see where this goes from there.”

* * *

The three mares looked up at the castle walls from the ditch they’d been sneaking through. “You’re sure this will get us into the castle, darling?” Rarity asked, looking away from the castle to the entrance they’d gotten to.

“Amber asked me to look into some of the information about the catacombs and see if anything else interesting was in there. I kind of remember a map?” Twilight explained with a lame smile.

“Well, if this does come across the path Pinkie, Amber and-” Rainbow paused before finishing her sentence. “Light Patch took to find the thing to heal Purple Heart...” She tried to keep a smile from crossing her face as she remembered everything that’d happened to Light Patch.

“You mean after he got hit by that massive pony in the Coliseum?” Twilight inquired.

“Yeah,” the blue pegasus agreed. “Light Patch sure was popular among the slimes down there. But yeah, if this crosses that path, then I should be able to get us back to the castle,” Rainbow Dash finished.

“So, you know of a way to get into the castle?” Rarity asked Twilight. “In case we don’t find the path Rainbow Dash took with the others?”

The purple alicorn nodded. “It’s secret and unused and possibly structurally unsound,” she replied, “but I’d rather we didn’t get all tangled up in the sieging army.”

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed.

“What’s the entrance supposed to look like?” Rainbow asked from her vantage point above the other two mares.

“The doorway is hidden,” Twilight answered, her eyes scanning the rough stone of the castle’s bricks. “The ‘handle’ is behind a brick.”

Rarity blinked critically at the base of the tower. “That’s rather specific,” she sniffed.

“This particular brick is at eye level and faces directly east,” Twilight said, glaring at Rarity over her sarcasm.

“Right, I got it,” Rainbow Dash said before finding the right row of bricks and quickly began checking every single one. “It wouldn’t happen to be marked with something specific, would it?”

Twilight shook her head, still searching.“The pony who built this wanted the entrance to be truly secret,” she answered. “So the directions were purposefully vague.”

“I’ll say,” Rarity commented. “Eye-level and facing east isn’t much to go on. Especially if the pony who commissioned the entrance was of a different height compared to us.”

“Crazy idea,” Rainbow Dash said, running a hoof along the bricks. “Maybe we could just make our own door with a small controlled and totally awesome lightning bolt?” She leaned against the wall. “Just sayin’. It’d make it a lot easie-” With mechanical woosh, the wall behind her slid away, leaving her to blink in surprise and, a moment later, fall backwards. “Never mind!”

“That’s one way to do it,” Rarity mused.

“You okay in there, Rainbow?” Twilight asked looking through the door. “See any traps or anything?”

“Nope, it’s just a room with a door at the other end,” the pegasus replied from inside.

“Right. Come on, Rarity. Let’s get in before we get spotted and close it up behind us.” Twilight said, motioning for Rarity to follow her. The pair walked through the opening into the darkness.

“Is it too early to ask for a light?” Rainbow Dash asked, “what with the door still being open?”

“We need to see the latch that shuts the door,” Twilight mused. Seconds later, a small ball of light appeared, illuminating the antechamber and the corridor beyond. “There, that should shut the door.” She gestured at a lever just inside the door and Rarity promptly pulled the latch, which in turn shut the door.

“How far do we have to walk before we reach the main part of the castle?” Rainbow Dash asked as they made their way into the corridor.

“Not long,” Twilight replied. “We should reach a cellar pretty quickly.”

“Then we’ll have to find Amber Glitter, get her out of the castle through the entrance, out of the city, and back to Roads Crossed,” Rainbow Dash said. “No problem.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that, dear,” Rarity warned. “The situation here may be worse than we first thought.”

“How can it be worse?” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “The city is under attack, only the castle remains, and it’s highly likely that the citizens are probably hiding in the now besieged castle. What could be worse?”

Twilight cleared her throat. “Maybe we shouldn’t answer that out loud. Given how things have gone so far, that might cause us more trouble.”

“Sounds like you’ve learned something from the Colts after all,” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.

The purple alicorn frowned. “It’s not like they’re going to show up and make this worse.” She paused after a few seconds of silence and looked around nervously. “Are they here?”

“Relax, darling.” Rarity patted Twilight on the head. “I’m sure they are having their own troubles right about now. Speaking of troubles,” she frowned, “we still need to figure out how to get Princess Amber out of here. I doubt those suits of armor will just let us go without a fight.”

Twilight came to a stop. “Wait a minute… Do you two remember that story Wits End keeps going on about? Foalmetal Al-” The look of exasperation on the two mare’s faces was all the answer she needed. “Yeah, every time we’re walking somewhere, we must talk about the Colts. Anyway there’s this character he was talking about named Alprance Elquine. Wits said Alprance was an empty suit of armor with a soul bonded to it.”

“So?” Rainbow Dash prompted.

“So, the villains were created to challenge the Colts. And Holdfast was the one who had those two suits of armor back in Ade.” Twilight came to a stop, holding her chin with one hoof. “So we can assume Holdfast is the originator of the suits and take into account Wits’ obsession with Foalmetal Alchemist… What if there’s more in common between the Colts and villains than just some of their particular brand of crazy?”

Rarity frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It seems unlikely that Holdfast would just happen to have lackeys that match a main character from Wits End’s favorite story,” Twilight continued. She hesitated in thought before deciding on a course of action “I’m gonna call them. I have a theory.”

“So you forgive them then?” Rainbow Dash asked. She flinched away at the glare she got in return. “Guess not…”

“If any more of those suits show up, let me know.” Twilight closed her eyes, reaching out to the three colts. “Quick question, and don’t mess around right now.”

“Quick answer” the colts replied.

“Not. The. TIME!” Twilight growled back. “Wits? First thing you think of when I say ‘animated suit of armor with no-pony inside’. Go.”

“Alphonse Elric.” Wits End’s response was immediate. “Woah, it’s weird not to have that ponified. Anyway, that’s the Alprance guy I was tell you abo-”

“Yeah, great. Just wanted to confirm I was on the right track.” Twilight turned her mental attention to all three colts. “The three villains, Bael, Just Duty, and Holdfast. Do they remind you of anything from your world? Or anypony?”

“Well, if I gotta be honest I- STALACTITE!” Silence reigned through the link for a few confused seconds after Light Patch’s outburst. “What did I tell you about getting so close to the ceiling! Vine-swing lower, you over ripe barnacle! Sorry about that. Pro Tip: never take the highroad in the caverns.” Light Patch mentally cleared his throat. “Anyway, if I’ve gotta be honest, I can’t think of a whole lot. Story wise, he makes me think of Handsome Jack with the whole ‘fallen hero’ arc, but...that fight we had with him back when Discord had just had his power stolen, it reminded me of a couple of videos by Extra Credits about the differences between mechanics villains and narrative villains,” Light Patch finished with a mental shrug.

“Huh,” Twilight hummed. “What about you, Purple Heart? Anypony Bael remind you of?”

“Um...” He was silent for a moment. “I’d say his appearance reminds me most of Cherubael from the Eisenhorn Omnibus. Similar basic color scheme and the like. In terms of power, Whitebeard is a good analogy. Classified as ‘the Strongest Man in the World,’ he could give a power-juiced Tirek a run for his money. He’s definitely got the smarts and cruelty to be Don Quixote Doflamingo, minus the excessive grinning, ruler of a country, kinkiller, and feather-wearing aficionado. So yeah: a daemonhost, a Yonko, and a Shichibukai. One part Grim Dark, two parts One Piece. KAIZOKU-O NI ORE WA NARU!!!” He fell silent for several seconds before speaking again. “Ow! My head! Note to self, do NOT disturb Fluttershy while she’s with animals. Particularly ones that are napping.”

Twilight considered asking for elaboration, but decided that in the interest of time, she would not. “Guess that leaves you, Wits. Knowing you, I’m sure you’ve got plenty of options on the matter.”

“You know me so well. I mean, he is basically the ‘Evil Chancellor’ trope incarnate, but off the top of my head I’d say… Hmm. Jafar is probably too easy a target, as are most of the Disney villains. A little Father, a dash of Palpatine, and a healthy dose of The Master, I’d say. He’s got the whole secret plot thing going on, but honestly, I think if it came down to it-” He went silent for a moment, a quiet ringing like a dial tone in his place. “Sorry about that. Babysitting an elder god is harder than it sounds. If it came down to it, I’ve no doubt he’d take matters into his own hooves.” Wits paused a second. “Why do you ask? Are you at Gallopilli yet?”

“Yes. The city is under attack. It looks like there’s more of those suits of armor Holdfast had with him. A lot more.”

“That’s not good. You gotta find Amber, and fast. If Holdfast is going after the capital, he’s gonna want two things: the throne under his rear, and the Queen’s head on a platter.”

“Or possibly onna pike on the castle walls to show what happens to those who fight him, like good old Vlad. Good luck and Godspeed.” Light Patch chimed in.

“Stay safe and watch out for Shou Tucker,” Purple Heart warned. “If you see a chimera, run in the other direction.”

Twilight sighed. “Thanks. Good luck with your… stalactites and animals and elder gods.” She closed the connection and turned back to Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “Based on what those three said, I think it’s very likely that the villains have some of the knowledge the Colts have. At least at some level.”

“Great,” Rainbow Dash sighed. “So, now what?”

“Now we go save Amber Glitter before anything else goes wrong.” Twilight started off at a trot down the corridor. “We’ve spent enough time on this already.”

“I’ve checked through a couple of the rooms while you were busy and the good news is it doesn’t look like those armors know of this potential way into the castle. We should be clear, well, beyond whatever monsters lurk in the catacombs that is.” Rarity said trotting back into the room.

“Right. Well, standing around talking isn’t gonna get us closer to saving Amber, so let's go.” Rainbow said, starting to trot away.

“We should be getting closer to the castle proper,” Twilight said. “The next door will lead into one of the storage cellars.”

“Do you think anypony will be in there?” Rarity inquired.

“Probably not,” the purple alicorn replied. “If anything, we might run into some civilians who are hiding, but that’s all. The soldiers and Amber Glitter will be up near the gates and windows to defend.”

“Most likely the gates,” Rainbow commented. “Arrows do nothing against the suits. I should know.”

Rarity put her hoof on the door to push it open but froze and suddenly put her ear to the door. “Oh dear. It appears the armors may have been not as clueless to the catacombs as we’d thought. I hear something clanking around on the other side.”

“Right. Get ready, girls, I’ll go first. If there are a lot of armors, we’ll have to fall back and either find another way into the castle or another way through the catacombs.” Twilight put her hoof on the door, ready to push it open. She glanced at Rarity and Rainbow Dash, nodding to each of them in readiness. After a return nod from both, Twilight shoved the door and bolted through to see a small group of the armors skirmishing with a larger group of militia ponies.”Cone of Cold!”

The armored pony-forms turned just in time to catch a helmetful of frozen magic, forming ice in the joints of their armor. One tried to raise a crossbow, only to find its range of motion seriously hampered by ice. “Let me help ya out!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Elemental Infusion: Ice!” Her arrow glowed light blue as it flew forward, striking the armor and encasing it in solid ice.

“I do believe this little warehouse could use some reorganizing,” Rarity declared, using her magic to destabilize a stack of boxes and causing them to fall on the final armors. “There. That looks much better, no?” she asked, walking over to the militia ponies.

“Thanks for your help. We were hoping we’d get in here before they’d found a way in,” one of them said, stepping forward. “My name is Shureshod. I’m temporarily leading this little group of ponies. We were hoping to board up any ways out. I’m pretty quick with a hammer, you know.”

“I remember! I watched you reshod one of my friends!” Rainbow Dash realized, looking at the mare.

“I thought you looked familiar. How’s your friend and how’re his shoes holding up?” Shureshod asked.

“Now isn’t quite the time for this,” Twilight said. She was about to continue but got cut off by the blacksmith mare.

“Oh right! I should do the job I was sent here to do, huh? Just a minute and I’ll have this door all boarded up!” Shureshod said. She hefted a sledge hammer and set about gathering up scrap wood. Twilight and Rarity watched in amazement as the mare proceeded to reinforce and board up the door they’d entered through in a minute flat. “Well, I guess we’ll lead you three back up to the castle now. I ran outta nails anyway.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said gratefully. “Do you know if somepony could lead us to where Queen Amber Glitter is?”

“Once we get to the entrance hall you can speak to her yourself,” Shureshod replied. “She’s helping with the injured ponies as well as coordinating the defenses of the castle.”

“Seems like she doesn’t care about getting dirty,” Rainbow Dash mused. “Wonder what brought that on.”

“I heard that she’s hoping the Purple Barbarian will come back,” Shureshod whispered conspiratorially. “Rumor has it that they had a falling out and he left for some reason. Most think he didn’t like her high and mighty behavior.”

“Really,” Rarity sniffed, sharing a look with Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “What do you think?”

“It’s just a hunch,” Shureshod whispered, “but I think that the Purple Barbarian left because he can’t commit to such a relationship.” Once more, the three mares shared a look. The blacksmith didn’t know how right she was.

“Here we are,” Shureshod declared, pushing open the door to the entrance hall.

The door opened onto a familiar sight. A familiar hall once lined with silk and carpeted with fine rugs; now lined with torn tapestries and dirtied with brown and red splatters. Tired guards and worried-looking peasants sat in scattered groups. One corner of the hall was dedicated to taking care of the injured. Amongst the ponies walking about applying bandages and healing injuries was Amber Glitter. Her mane was put up into a bob to keep it out of her face as she worked and her clothes were simple, like those of her subjects.

“I’ll leave you to your own doings,” Shureshod said. “I need to outfit some more volunteers.” With that, she trotted away, leaving the three mares to themselves.

“How much are you betting that she’ll want to stay here instead of running?” Rainbow Dash asked. The pegasus’ question was met with uncomfortable silence as they made their way through the sitting ponies towards the Queen.

“Amber?” Twilight said, tapping the monarch on the shoulder. The unicorn turned to them. Her tired eyes widened in surprise and then teared up with happiness.

“You’re here!” she cried, embracing a startled Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity stared in surprise at the queen’s reaction to their presence.

“Amber, we need to get you out of here,” Twilight urged.

Instantly, Amber’s joy and tears ceased. She pulled away, frowning at Twilight. The three mares blinked at the sudden change in Amber’s demeanor.

“What?” she asked, her voice sharp, “did you say?”

Twilight gulped. She felt like she had just done something wrong in front of Celestia. “We need to get you out of here.”

“We’re preparing defenses at Roads Crossed,” Rainbow put in. “We can make a stand there.”

“Who will lead them?” Rarity tried.

Amber looked at them, her eyes narrowed. “No. I can’t leave my subjects.”

“I don’t mean to be crass, but why?” Twilight asked. They’re only NPCs.

“Do you know why Gallopilli is under siege?” Amber asked.

“Because it’s a final sanctuary against evil?” Rainbow Dash said.

Amber shook her head. “Because Holdfast has a grudge and he wants the throne. If I leave, he gets the throne.”

“But if you stay, you’ll surely die,” Rarity pointed out.

“Then I shall die taking as many of his constructs with me!” Amber Glitter declared. She stood tall, looking every inch the queen she was despite her ragged wear. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have ponies to heal and business to attend to.” She turned, leaving the three mares staring at her as she strode away. After a few moments, Rarity glared at Rainbow Dash.

“Now it’s worse.”

Author's Note:

Authors: Wits End, Purple Heart, Light Patch

Comments

[Dravkwn]

I think I enjoy it more when the "colts" are the main story action.

[Seeking Dusk]

First off, your formatting is off. Last section of the chapter is centred, likely from the missing close on the break.

On to story comments: Twilight. Get over it. No, I'm not saying you can't be mad at them, but for Celestia's sake get your head out your ass and stop being self-interested in your outlook. Even Rarity and Rainbow, the two I'd more readily expect to hold a grudge, hold a benefit of a doubt alongside their irritation with the group. The fact remains they had a spirit of chaos messing with their heads and pulling things out of it, tweaking things and affecting the very way they think and speak, and yet you are pissed off with him like you are with them...

Continuing with story comments: Just Duty is having a major existential crisis. Don't blame him. I've met people who freaked out over the Simulated Reality theory when they heard about it.

[TheColtTrio]

7400772 Thank you for pointing that out :) Props to you. [PH]