Running the Gauntlet
Chapter 30: Running the Gauntlet
Rainbow's conviction was firm. She had to put an end to Flash Spark, that much was clear.
But how? Her hooves couldn't make a dent in that Dark Matter armor. From what Dawn had told her and what she'd seen of the aftermath of his last attack on Ponyville, simply trying to touch him was dangerous. Only Dawn or Firefly had ever been able to actually break through that defense...
That was it then...If she could use the technique Firefly had used, the technique Firefly had been teaching her, Rainbow could hurt Flash Spark. She could smash through that armor. But she'd had no success in using it. Firefly had told her to look for her Wings of the Heart, the image that existed in the depths of her being that embodied her love of the sky. Suddenly, her mind went back to the previous evening, where she and Soarin' were lounging on a cloud, quietly talking. She remembered his words. "When you're out there flying, you practically shine."
That was right. It wasn't about anger. It was about doing what she loved most. And what Rainbow Dash loved most was flying. She loved the feeling of the wind flowing over her feathers, ruffling through her mane. She loved that sense of fear and elation that accompanied a challenging stunt, the sense of accomplishment that accompanied her performing one of her Sonic Rainbooms, the feeling of punching through the essence of the sky itself until it broke around her with a crash of thunder and the world was washed away by colored light...
The anger was still there, but it was sidelined by a much more powerful feeling that hummed through Rainbow's veins. She felt, rather than saw Flash Spark launching another sonic lance at her. Without thinking, Rainbow gracefully rolled out of the way. She barely noticed when Dawn moved in, bombarding Flash Spark with hammer-blasts of air that burst against the shield of shaped vibrations that Flash Spark held between them. She barely sensed the two of them enter into a pitched battle, tangling fiercely as they danced across the sky, exchanging blasts of lightning and shrieking beams of yellow light freely. Instead, Rainbow sank deep within herself, letting her body go slack as she focused on the feeling Soarin's words had stirred in her.
Firefly had once told her that this technique's true power was born of love, love of the sky, love of flying. Rainbow latched onto that love. In her mind, she saw a picture taking form, an image of a pair of wings that were not the ones she was familiar with, but yet still unquestionably hers. They were there before her mind's eye, ruffling, flexing, stretching, eager to break out of the confines of her mind and greet the sky.
But how do I get them out? she wondered. She thought back to her earliest lessons with Firefly and what Firefly had told her. The wings were an image formed from her love for the sky. Projecting that image out was what unicorns did. She had to project that image out through her pegasus magic they way a unicorn might cast a very basic spell. But that wasn't all she needed.
That's right, a medium! Just like with earth pony magic, the wings needed a medium to bring them out into the world. There was only one medium Rainbow could ever think to use, the perfect medium for a pegasus, the one that had been with her since the day she was born...or rather, the two. Her wings, her flesh and blood wings would serve as the medium to bring the Wings of the Heart out into the world and make that image into reality.
Reflexively, Rainbow extended her wings out as far as she could reach. She fixed the image into her mind and focused on sending it out through her wings, reaching with her magic as Firefly had taught her, extending the image of those wings before her mind's eye as she did so.
There was a clap of thunder and a blaze of varicolored light washing across the sky like a miniature Sonic Rainboom. The battle ground to a halt as everypony, even those attacking under the control of Wight Shade's Dark Matter, froze in place and turned to stare at the spectacle. Even Firefly, busy as she was carving the horns off of the armored ponies she was attacking, paused to examine Rainbow's actions.
"Well...I'll be..." she said, grinning triumphantly at what she saw, "I never thought she'd do it under these circumstances. That's my girl!"
Rainbow's wings were transfigured. Their span had easily increased by five times. Like Firefly's, they were detached, hovering in the air a scant few inches from her shoulders, where they'd been fixed before in their previous state. However, they moved as though they were still attached to her body. Having expanded in size, her wings still perfectly resembled those of a regular pegasus' in shape, with each primary, secondary, and even the coverts all rendered faithfully. However, each feather looked as though it had been shaped out of solid light. Their glowing colors matched those in Rainbow's mane, starting with the dark-violet along each wing's leading edge, with each successive line of feathers behind it a different color and terminating with a line of bright-red along her primaries and secondaries.
Panting for breath, Rainbow looked at her handiwork. Her wings were glorious, shining brightly. She could feel them, even though they no longer seemed to be flesh and blood, or even physically connected to her body for that matter. In fact, she felt them even more clearly than she'd felt her normal wings, felt every feather of hardened light as though it was a pure extension of her will. She could feel and move them in ways that she'd never been able to with her normal wings. More importantly, she felt incredibly light, as though her body weighed nothing.
Narrowing her eyes, she turned and favored Flash Spark with a triumphant smirk. It's time to show you what these babies can do... She paused even as she thought that. ....Um...hang on...what can these babies do?
Flash Spark, it seemed, was not willing to give Rainbow the time she needed to figure it out. Instead, he surged towards her, rushing past Dawn, whose attention had been stolen by Rainbow's new wings. It took the colt a second to realize that he'd allowed Flash Spark to slip past him and he took up pursuit, launching a blast of compressed air at Flash Spark to try and knock him off course. However, Flash Spark nimbly bounced out of the attack's way, spinning about, even as he came around. From one of his wings, that disruptive vibration, shaped like a broad blade, stretched out at Dawn, aiming for the air under his wings. Dawn responded by kicking down with all four hooves and shooting up over the arc of Flash Spark's swing. Shooting forward, Dawn positioned himself above Flash Spark and snapped both his wings straight down, launching twin spears of lightning off of his extended primaries.
Both bolts erupted into sparks against Flash Spark's armor, jolting him slightly and disrupting his flight, giving Dawn the chance to follow up with another blast of compressed air, this one slamming Flash Spark straight down.
Rainbow watched the fight, her will to attack wavering as she realized she had no idea what to do. She'd gotten a few glimpses of what Firefly could do with her wings, but had never thought about how to actually do any of that herself. All of her training had been mostly focused on simply reaching this point. How she could put her wings to use was something Rainbow had always known would be taught to her later.
"You had to pick the worst time for us to start your next lessons," said Firefly in a wry tone as she drifted down, her wings once again in their normal state, so that she could hover directly above and behind Rainbow. Reaching down, she gently rested a hoof between Rainbow's shoulders, the gentle pressure giving the younger mare a feeling of relief.
"What do I do?" asked Rainbow, not looking away from Dawn and Flash Spark's fight. All around them, the other ponies that Wight Shade had essentially enslaved buzzed about. But Firefly's attacks had allowed her to thin their numbers, allowing the Wonderbolts and Royal Guards to keep them away.
"You can feel them clearly, right?" asked Firefly, "Like they're a perfect extension of your will. That's because they are. Those wings come from your heart and mind, a pure manifestation of your magic."
"What do I do to get them to work like yours?" asked Rainbow.
"You can't," said Firefly, "Each pair of wings is different. Yours will work differently from mine. But, like I said, they come from within you. If you listen, they will tell you what they can do."
Rainbow frowned. Firefly's words seemed like more philosophical mumbo-jumbo. But, then again, it had been similar philosophical mumbo-jumbo that Rainbow had had to understand in order to get her wings in the first place. She supposed that was more than enough reason to listen to Firefly now.
"Close your eyes," said Firefly, "Take a deep breath. Feel your wings. Think about how they feel and what they do. You'll find the answer."
Closing her eyes, Rainbow did as Firefly bid her, relaxing her body and mind, giving herself up entirely to the sensation of those wings. She felt the power humming through them, building every time she flexed them, almost feeling like massive springs coiling. She knew that, with but a thought, those wings could send her shooting through the skies, hitting the speed necessary to produce a Sonic Rainboom with hardly any effort.
The Rainboom! That's it! The revelation hit Rainbow's mind like a runaway train. The power of her wings felt almost literally explosive. If she could use their power, maybe she could make her enemies feel what it was like to be hit with the full power of a Sonic Rainboom explosion. Rainbow had never before considered using the Sonic Rainboom as a weapon. It was a stunt she performed through tremendous effort. Of course, there was almost no way to finely control when and where the Rainboom was produced, or how the energy it unleashed was directed...at least, not the way Rainbow Dash normally did it.
Let's give it a try, she thought. "Dawn!" she shouted, her voice prompting Dawn to look at her, even as he skipped out of the way of a sonic lance, "Switch with me."
The colt met her eyes for a second. She saw hesitation there. However, Dawn relented and nodded his agreement to her strategy, skipping aside and leaving Rainbow with a clear path to Flash Spark.
Almost immediately, the insectile stallion noticed her and began to turn towards her. But to Rainbow, he might as well have not been moving at all. An explosive clap rocked the sky and she covered the distance between them in an instant, moving so quickly that, with her wings on either side of her, she seemed like a streak of light. Before Flash Spark could even react, she was right in front of him, scant inches separating the two of them.
"Try this one for size," said Rainbow. She turned her body and thrust one of her great, shining wings straight at him.
The wing seemed to dissolve into a torrent of feathers, the blazing swirl of color reminding Rainbow of a blast from the Elements of Harmony. There was a low boom, followed by a second one and two shockwaves of coruscating color burst out in succession as the attack seemed to produce two Sonic Rainbooms, one right after the other, before it slammed right into Flash Spark's chest. He hadn't even gotten the chance to react. Rainbow's wing impacted with a force that rocked the sky around her, releasing a third shockwave that sent everypony in the vicinity tumbling. Through the her contact with him, Rainbow could feel Flash Spark's armor buckle, but not break before he was launched backwards through the sky tumbling end over end as he tried to regain control of his flight.
It didn't break, thought Rainbow as she pulled her wing back. She'd felt Flash Spark's armor give a little from the sheer force of her impact. But she didn't feel it break the way it did when Firefly or Dawn, when he was using one of his most powerful techniques, hit him.
When she had first learned martial arts, Rainbow had always been taught to never attack with her wings. Using them as weapons threatened them with injury if they hit something the wrong way or clashed against something too hard. On top of that, it made them targets. Unless the wings were armed with weapons, like wingblades, the primary strategy of an unarmed pegasus was to keep them clear of the fight and out of danger so that a pegasus could use her mobility to its fullest effect.
Using her wings now went against years of martial arts training. An attack like that went against the grain for her. Just as learning the Wings of Light had required Rainbow to essentially unlearn the way she'd normally flown, it seemed that learning how to use them in battle would require her to unlearn many of the basic principles of fighting she'd been taught since she was a filly.
Once again, she felt Firefly's hoof come to rest between her shoulder blades. "Not bad for your first try," said the older mare, "But you're still green when it comes to fighting like this."
"What do I do?" asked Rainbow, "He didn't break when I hit him and I hit him pretty hard."
"It takes more than just force," replied Firefly, "It's about letting everything go and putting it all into your strike. You have to put your heart and soul into it."
"Ugh," grumbled Rainbow, "That sounds like another one of those 'simple but hard' things you keep telling me about."
She could practically hear the grin in Firefly's voice. "That's because it is," she said, "It's one of the most potent principles in martial arts and one of the most difficult to master. Dawn can do it, but not easily. He's only just begun how to really figure it out. It took me a lot of time to master. I'd been through countless battles by that point and had come to close to death nearly a dozen times. You want to do the same thing, but don't have the experience to truly feel how to put yourself into a battle."
"So I should just give up?" asked Rainbow.
Firefly sighed behind her, the older mare's breath stirring the strands of Rainbow's mane against her back. "There might be a way," she said, "But we've only got one chance at this. This is your first time using the Wings of Light, you're not gonna last much longer and, once you run out of juice, it's going to be a few hours before you can even get off the ground again. Let's make it count.
Grimacing, Rainbow nodded. In the distance, she could see Flash Spark's tumble come to a halt as he finally managed to regain control of his flight. A second later, he was charging straight back in.
"Remember the exercise we did back when you first started?" asked Firefly.
"You mean using just my magic to get off the ground?" asked Rainbow.
"That's the one. We're going to do something similar to that," said Firefly, "Right now, I want you to stop worrying about anything else and listen to my voice. Don't bother with anything else around you. Don't even think about Flash Spark."
Rainbow slowly inhaled, holding her breath for a little before letting it out, sending all of her stray thoughts and worries out along with it. "Okay."
"Good," said Firefly, "Now I want you to relax your body and just breathe." Her voice took on a strong, steady cadence, its gentle sound lulling Rainbow into a relaxed state. "Now, feel your power gathering at the core of your body. Let it gather in your gut with every breath you take. Build it up further and further. Feel the energy build inside you..."
Flash Spark continued to charge in. As he approached, the tone of the buzz produced by his right wing began to climb sharply in pitch as light began to gather at the front of his wing. With an earsplitting shriek, he launched a sonic lance straight at Rainbow's chest. Rainbow didn't even consciously feel it as Firefly shifted the pressure she applied with her hoof, guiding Rainbow to one side just enough that the lance missed them by inches.
"When I tell you to strike, I want you to guide the power in your core out through your wing. You're going to put your entire body into it, just as you would when you're punching. Let the flow of power guide the movement of your body so that you can release it all. Put everything into this attack..."
Flash Spark closed in again. Firefly could see the faint blurring in the air produced by his left wing that marked those strange disruptive vibrations that could somehow be shaped as though they were a solid object. At the same time, she heard the shriek of his right wing as he prepared another sonic lance. It seemed that he was going to make another go at that that sonic shrapnel attack that had nearly killed Soarin' earlier. Gently, she leaned forward, putting a little extra pressure against Rainbow's back. The slight cue urged the two of them forward, bringing Rainbow into striking range.
"Now strike!" snapped Firefly abruptly.
Rainbow's body moved automatically, as though the movement had been ingrained in her on an instinctual level. She twisted, swinging her right wing with her entire body, using her spine as a fulcrum as she threw all her weight into the attack. Once again, her wing seemed melt into a torrent of rainbow-colored feathers that charged straight for Flash Spark. However, instead of producing miniature Rainbooms, a single point of light seemed to gather at the very tip of her wing as it lanced straight for her target. It glowed with the ferocity of a miniature prismatic star, shining brighter as it surged forward until it made contact with Rainbow's target. She couldn't quite put into words how she knew exactly where it was, but she knew precisely where she needed to aim.
That miniature star slammed into the base of Flash Spark's horn.
Then the Rainboom came. A thunderous crash and a ring of color burst out at the very point of impact. Through her wing, Rainbow could feel Flash Spark's horn crack, then shatter entirely. The Dark Matter encasing his head fragmented and scattered. The blow snapped his neck to one side with a sickening crack and sent his body spinning away like a rag-doll. For the first time since the fight had started, a shriek of pure agony escaped Flash Spark as he once again tumbled through the sky.
"Nice," said Firefly grimly, "I think you got him."
Rainbow panted hard, sweat slicking down her mane. Her body had felt so light before. But now it felt like lead. A fog clouded her mind, making her feel like closing her eyes and lying down for a little.
"Time for you to head back down and join your friends," said Firefly, "You're not in any shape to keep fighting and they're going to need you more now."
"O...okay," said Rainbow, slumping. A few armored ponies swarmed down towards them, trying to take advantage of Rainbow's exhaustion. However, Dawn arrived, slamming them off course with blasts of wind.
"I'll take her down," said Dawn, moving to support Rainbow and guiding her back towards the ground.
"Fine by me," said Firefly with a chuckle as she turned to survey the battle. The Wonderbolts were doing a good job keeping the enemy occupied and the Royal Guards were still mostly in good order. Spitfire flashed across the upper reaches of the fight, hitting enemies with fiery punches. Unfortunately, it seemed there wasn't anything she could do to actually damage that armor. It fell to Firefly to bring their enemies down.
Putting her hooves to her lips, Firefly blew a piercing whistle that carried over the omnipresent buzz of so many insectile wings. Recognizing the signal from below, Spitfire saw Firefly waving her down and quickly swooped down, dodging several swings from bladed hooves and bucking away an attacker who tried to come up behind her.
"What's up?" she asked, coming to hover in front of Firefly.
"We've figured out how to take these fools down," said Firefly, "I can break their horns and that seems to destroy their armor. Shining Armor and the Royal Guard are set to catch anypony who falls down after we do it." She gestured down at the Royal Guard formation below. "I think you know what we need to do."
Spitfire gave her friend and former mentor a confident smile. "I think I do," she said. Looking up, she roared in her best parade ground voice, "WONDERBOLTS!!! ROUND 'EM UP!!!"
It only took a few additional signals with her wings and feathers for Spitfire to indicate where she wanted the enemy ponies to be herded. However, once they got the message, they moved quickly, using their agility and speed to knock their armored attackers in the direction of the sky that Spitfire was indicating. As they did, Firefly took deep breaths, gathering her strength to make one last push and bring this fight to an end. There were stiill countless ponies in the sky who needed to be dealt with. It was a daunting task, even for a Celestial Knight. But Firefly had absolute faith in her ability to get the job done.
Supported by Dawn, Rainbow Dash drifted in for a landing next to her friends, who swarmed her with excitement and concern.
"That was super awesome!" exclaimed Pinkie, bouncing in wide circles around Rainbow and Dawn as the colt propped the cerulean mare up, "That's gotta be the best stunt you've ever pulled. I can't wait to see you use it in your next Wonderbolts show!"
Rainbow let out a small, faint snort of laughter. "Thanks Pinkie," she said. Her wings flickered, then vanished in a burst of glittering motes, leaving behind her flesh and blood wings once more.
"Ah gotta say, that's one 'o the best things Ah've seen ya do, sugarcube," said Applejack as she moved to take Dawn's place holding Rainbow up, "But ya look plum tuckered out. Are ya gonna be up to stormin' the castle with us?"
"I kinda have to be," said Rainbow weakly, "We need all the Elements there, after all."
"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" asked Fluttershy as she came over to stand next to Dawn, absently rubbing one of her wings across his back, as though trying to confirm that he was there and unharmed.
"I'll manage," said Rainbow, "I'm not going to be getting off the ground anytime soon, but I can stick with you girls."
"If you're sure," said Rarity, "I have to say, that was one of the most spectacular things I've seen in my lifetime. It certainly trumps your Sonic Rainboom. And you managed to give that Flash Spark cad what for by the look of things."
"I don't feel all that good about it," said Rainbow dourly, "It doesn't really feel like I did it."
"But you did do it," said Pinkie, grinning and bouncing, "You hit him with your wing and he went 'boom!'"
"Well yeah," agreed Rainbow, "But I wouldn't have been able to do it if Firefly hadn't been helping me. It almost felt as though she was using me to fight, like she was steering my body or something."
"I think she used a sort of suggestion with you," said Dawn, "She put you in the proper frame of mind to carry out your attack, but you don't have the experience to do that and actually attack, so Firefly guided you into action. It says a great deal that you were able to do it at all, even with her help, and on your first time no less. I believe that's an accomplishment you can take pride in."
Rainbow blushed and looked away from Dawn. Coming from a colt who'd studied the martial arts much more deeply than Rainbow ever had, that was quite the compliment indeed. "Thanks kiddo."
A crackling and sparking noise, accompanied by a violet flash called Rainbow's attention to the one pony who hadn't come over to talk to her. Twilight Sparkle stood resolutely before the Palace gates, the entirety of her attention focused on the task at hoof. Her horn sparked and shimmered and faint flares of her magic blossomed amongst the thorny vines of unnatural material that crossed in front of the gates.
"How's it going?" asked Rainbow.
"I honestly couldn't tell you," said Rarity with a shrug, "She hasn't said a word since she started. I don't think the fact a small war started above us even made her blink."
"She's really working hard," added Fluttershy softly.
Seeing the sweat matting Twilight's coat, Rainbow had to agree with Twilight's assessment. "So...how much longer is this gonna take?"
"As I said, we have no i-" Rarity's voice was cut off by a creaking groan from the Palace gates, accompanied by an unearthly jingle that made their bones rattle. Twilight's magical aura, looking a little more pale, sickly almost, seemed to merge with the vines and twist. Abruptly, the vines crossing over the center of the gates began to twist in on themselves, their forms running like paint that had been splashed with water and swirling around a drain. The effect spread until it affected the vines over the entirety of the gates, all of them swirling in towards the center and disappearing at a single point. Finally, they were gone. Twilight's magic, its normal color now, pressed up against the gates and pushed them inwards, revealing the way inside the Palace.
"Ah guess she's done now," said Applejack flatly.
Relaxing, Twilight sighed in relief and wiped her brow before turning to regard her friends. "I'm sorry that took so long. The materials those vines were made out of was harder to figure out than I thought." She paused, taking in Rainbow's exhausted state, "What in Equestria happened to you?"
Giving Twilight a deadpan stare, Rainbow simply pointed a hoof up at the battle that was still raging overhead.
"Oh..." said Twilight, grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of her head.
"Well, there ain't anythin' to be gained by settin' here and coolin' our hooves," said Applejack, hoisting Rainbow Dash onto her back with only a faint sound of protest from the tired pegasus, "Let's get this thing done so we can scamper on home."
"Quite," agreed Rarity with a nod, a gesture Pinkie and Fluttershy emulated, the former with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face.
"Wait!" said Dawn, holding up a hoof, his body tensing. He could sense something from within the Palace, something familiar. Now that he could use his wind-sense to expand his awareness into the Palace itself, he could feel the faint traces of another pony up ahead.
"What is it?" asked Fluttershy, looking at her son in confusion.
"There's-" Dawn's mouth clamped shut and the others joined him, yelling in pain, desperately covering their ears as a piercing buzz washed over them and everyponny in their vicinity.
"What the hay?" snapped Rainbow, less affected than the others, thanks to the earplugs she was wearing. Despite that, she could still feel the buzz rattling the all the bones in her body. She knew this sound all too well. Only Flash Spark could do this, but the sound was much more intense than it usually was. She looked in the direction that Flash Spark had been knocked and her eyes widened. There he was, speeding in on the attack.
His movements were different though. Flash Spark's flight was erratic, looping and turning back on itself on several occasions, reminding Rainbow of an actual insect. As he got closer, she was able to notice a few details about him that were different than before. Her attack had done more than simply break off his horn. It had stripped off the armor around his face. However, unlike the armor of the trapped ponies that formed the bulk of Wight Shade's defense force, Flash Spark's armor had either bonded with or replaced his skin. As a consequence, the left side of his face looked completely burned away. Even from this distance, she could clearly see his one exposed eye, which had previously been hidden behind a compound lens, rolling in it socket without any lids. Whatever flesh had been beneath his cheek and jaw had been stripped away, leaving stark, white bone. The hideous sight made Rainbow want to heave.
Flash Spark's exposed eye finally fixed on her, which made a terrified shudder run down Rainbow's spine. "RAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIINBOOOOOOOW!!!" His voice was a hoarse scream as he bore down on her. As he did, the buzzing of his wings rose sharply in pitch as he plunged through the outer fringes of the aerial battle still taking place. Light gathered around both his wings. However, rather than two sonic lances aiming for her, Flash Spark's wings seemed to burst with lances of yellow light in all directions, swinging about erratically and cutting through anything in their path. At least one pony of the Royal Guard wasn't quick enough at getting out of the way and went tumbling away, streaming blood and nursing an amputated foreleg.
"Get inside!" said Dawn, tensing and spreading his wings, preparing to launch himself upwards to meet Flash Spark.
"Dawn!" exclaimed Fluttershy, reaching for her son.
Before Dawn could even leave the ground, a blue and gold streak, wreathed by orange and yellow flames cut across Flash Spark's path. Spitfire whipped around and punched with her right forehoof, catching the unarmored section of Flash Spark's face with a punch that exploded, drawing an agonized scream from the twisted former pegasus and knocking him away.
"Go!" shouted Spitfire, "Dawn, go with them!"
Dawn hesitated, but Fluttershy gently brushed her wing over his back, which seemed to be all the prompting that Dawn needed to join them. Keeping next to his mother, he joined Twilight and the others as they rushed inside. Following behind them came what remained of the Royal Guard's ground forces. Most of the unicorns were occupied either catching the falling ponies knocked out of the sky by Firefly, or as medics attending the wounded. The majority of the ponies following behind Twilight's group were earth ponies. As they streamed through the gate, two squads took up a guard position in the rear, making sure that nopony or nothing followed them through the gates.
Twilight and her group, charging headlong into the Palace interior, barely made it halfway through the entry hall before the figure of a pony dropped down from above to land soundlessly on the red carpet that ran down the middle of the entryway.
"Hello," said Perlin Bluestreak with a polite smile as he half-spread his grayish-blue wings, the light from above glinting off their faintly metallic-looking surfaces, "I've been asked to keep you from going any farther. I suggest you stop right there."
"I thought you were planning to renegotiate the terms of your contract," observed Dawn as he stepped to the front of the group, his own wings spreading slightly.
"I planned on it," said Perlin, "But, as it turns out, my contract is nearly at its end in any case. I decided to simply see things through to their logical conclusion."
"Even if it means the end of the world?" asked Dawn, "Even when it could result in Coco's death?"
Perlin flinched visibly, his wings faltering. Then Dawn was directly in front of him, scant inches away, his wings blurring as he launched the Forward Wing Strike from point-blank range, slamming Perlin with a powerful burst of compressed air that tore up the carpet and ground the marble tiles beneath it into dust. Perlin barely managed to interpose his wings between himself and the attack in time. Dawn had adjusted his aim slightly so that the attack was aimed upwards at an angle, taking advantage of his shorter stature to get Perlin off the floor and out of the way.
"Go!" shouted Dawn, "I'll hold him here!"
Twilight and her friends, joined by Arkenstone, sprinted on ahead, their hearts pounding as they passed beneath Perlin. Dawn was already shooting up to meet the young stallion head on. Behind the girls and the Knight, the ponies of the Royal Guard surged forward to join them, but were brought up short when Perlin swung one wing. The feathers of his wing seemed to detach, then vanish into thin air. Dawn felt those same, barely perceptible, seams that the feathers cut into the air itself before vanishing into them. Immediately, he spread out his awareness, looking for the feathers' exit points. He expected at least some of them to appear in his immediate vicinity. But instead, all of the feathers emerged in the air directly above the floor, right in front of where the Royal Guards were heading. Moving faster than the eye could track, those feathers sliced deep gouges in the marble floor, throwing up chunks of stone and strips of carpet before withdrawing back through the seams they arrived through and returning to Perlin's wing.
"Sorry," said Perlin, with no hint of an actual apology in his tone, "But it's bad enough that I let those seven through. My employer has always been flexible with my actions, but I think having those girls stumble in to interrupt him would be bad enough. Even a pony as gracious as he is would probably have my hide if I let the Royal Guard burst in on him."
I wonder if that's really the case, thought Dawn, his eyes narrowing. He was no expert on deceit, but he could tell that there was something off about what Perlin had both said and done. After all, if he could send his feathers to any point without having to move them through the intervening space, then why not have them emerge in front of Twilight and the others and cut them off as well? It either spoke to limitations in Perlin's abilities that Dawn was unaware of...which, given the rather unknown scope of the capabilities of Perlin's wings was well within the realm of possibility, or Perlin had opted not to stop Twilight and the others and let them through. The question regarding the latter was...why?
Still, such questions were a secondary concern. Dawn would have to trust Arkenstone to look after Twilight, Fluttershy, and the rest of the girls. Right now, it would take all of Dawn's attention, dedication, and skill to fight Perlin, who now sported wings formed from Dark Matter. Dawn was sure that the abilities that Perlin had already shown with those wings was merely the beginning of what they were capable of. Certainly, they were most likely even more durable than the mithril wings he had sported before, given how easily Perlin had used them to deflect Flash Spark's sonic lances the previous night. Assuming it could be done at all, it would take the highest level of Dawn's skill to break through Perlin's defense.
Steeling himself, Dawn prepared for what was likely to be the most difficult fight of his life.
"What happened?" asked Twilight, her head beginning to turn as she risked a glance back.
"Keep going," said Arkenstone firmly, "Perlin cut off the Royal Guard. I think we're on our own for the time being."
Glancing sideways at her friend, Pinkie did her best to give Fluttershy an encouraging grin. "It'll be okay," she said, "I'm sure Dawn will be okay. Perlin's not a bad pony...well...he is a bad pony...but he's not a bad bad pony."
"What in tarnation are ya talkin' 'bout?" asked Applejack, raising an eyebrow and giving Pinkie a dubious look.
"I think I get what she's talking about," said Rainbow, her voice wavering a little as Applejack's gallop jostled her slightly, "I mean...Perlin's...crazy...there's no two ways about it. But he's never really given me a bad feeling like some of the really bad ponies we've dealt with lately."
Rainbow considered herself rather experienced in that respect. She recalled the utter hate and loathing that filled her whenever she thought about Meadowlark, the overprivileged mare who had spearheaded the tribalist takeover of Cloudsdale and had gleefully arranged for Rainbow's "execution" over Rainbow defying and attacking her during their school years and for Rainbow's "crime" of siding with earth ponies and unicorns by deciding to live in Ponyville. Meadowlark and the ponies who'd supported her had been the absolute worst scum Rainbow had ever dealt with. Perlin had been their lackey, but had never been invested in their rhetoric. To him, a fight to the death was a game, something for him to indulge in. He didn't seem to mind whether it was his life or his opponent's that was taken in the end. While she couldn't accept the extremes that Perlin took it to, she could understand the competitive spirit that seemed to drive him, a warped variant of her own.
"Well...I can admit that I certainly don't appreciate him, but he's nice enough for a pony as dangerous as he is," said Rarity, thinking back to her encounter with Perlin, when she had inadvertently brought him back to her boutique after running into him in town. Ironically, he had been trying to avoid confrontation at that time, merely passing through Ponyville on his way to Canterlot. Rarity had ended up making him the black coat that had become his trademark to help hide his mithril wings. While Perlin had been quite firm in making sure that she made no attempt to hinder him or summon help, he had also avoided any undue violence, not even threatening her to make him the garment, but merely requesting politely. He had left a strange and unsettling impression, but not an utterly hateful one. Rarity knew that she would much rather have Perlin's business again before she entertained the likes of Camellia, Flaxseed's ex-fillyfriend.
I suppose it must also count for something that Coco seems to have fallen for him, Rarity thought, deciding to keep her mouth shut about that particular detail.
"Thank you," said Fluttershy, the smile on her face equal parts grateful and wry as she noted that, in their attempt to encourage her about Dawn's prospects, they had inadvertently steered the conversation in the direction of Dawn's opponent, "I'm sure that Dawn will be fine."
"He's gotten much stronger since I first met him," said Arkenstone softly, "You aren't wrong to believe in him."
Fluttershy's smile grew a little.
"All right," said Twilight, "Just a little further-urk!" Her voice terminated in a grunt as Arkenstone, who'd been running shoulder-to-shoulder with her, abruptly lurched to the side and shoved Twilight up against the wall. Twilight hit the unyielding stone surface with a pained grunt and an impact she was sure would leave bruises later. She turned her head to scold her coltfriend, but froze when she saw a small, black object falling right where she had been standing.
The small cylinder hit the ground and exploded in a burst of smoke that filled the hallway. In the same instant, Arkenstone's tail lashed and something blurred through the air in front of him. The cloud of smoke split in two, opening up the space in front of them. The blade Arkenstone had wielded cleaved through the marble in front of him and created a gust that moved the smoke cloud down the hallway and away from the group before it could even fully disperse.
As the smoke rolled out of the way, it revealed a black-garbed earth pony, standing just barely off to the side of where Arkenstone's blade had bitten into the floor.
"Phew," said Swift Stride, grinning impishly as he wiped his forehead in mock relief, "Just missed me."
"You!" snarled Arkenstone, stepping forward to interpose himself between Swift and the girls, "What are you doing here?"
"You really have to ask?" said Swift skeptically, "I'm here to kill your fillyfriend. I told you before, she's a threat. Now she's heading right for the center of Morning Star's operation. She might as well be gift-wrapping herself for him." His smile faded and his eyes opened wide enough for his audience to see the icy-blue orbs hidden behind his almost perpetual squint. "Don't you get it? This is what he wants. This is the mother of all traps and you're actually walking her right into it."
"Even if you're right," said Twilight, "The only thing that can stop him is the Elements of Harmony. We've already seen that even Celestia's power can't stop him."
"And you think he'll just sit back and let you use the Elements?" demanded Swift, "You'll never get the chance to use them."
"This is not up for debate," said Arkenstone, his voice emerging as a rumble that everypony felt through their hooves. The stones of the Palace itself seemed to quiver, then grate against each other as Arkenstone inhaled deeply. Abruptly, everypony in the vicinity felt a strange sensation of the world shifting, as though it were tilting in the direction of the beige stallion.
"Either stand aside or I will cut you down," said Arkenstone.
"Not happening," said Swift, his tone of voice just as determined as Arkenstone's was.
"So be it," said Arkenstone.
No more words were exchanged. Instead, his tail lashed again and over a dozen blades seemed to materialize directly in front of him, slashing in all directions, carving up the walls, floor, and ceiling of the hallway as they sliced their way towards Swift Stride. As they slashed, the rubble from the Palace scattered around them was kicked up into the air and also became blades, filling the entire space between Arkenstone and Swift with black and gold as a veritable wall of swords rushed towards Swift, leaving him with no space to slip through.
Swift produced another cylinder and idly tossed it into the air, where it exploded, the shockwave of its release shattering the advancing blades and blowing out the walls on either side. Arkenstone surged forward, the dust thrown up by the explosion swirling around him and merging together to form plates of black armor, more of the dust forming into swords, which launched themselves at Swift with blinding speed.
"Whoops!" exclaimed Swift, falling back from the onslaught. He reached into his sleeve and produced a small orb, which he tossed casually in Arkenstone's direction. Arkenstone didn't even flinch. Instead, one of his blades sliced the orb in half. Something that appeared to be smoke came from each half of the orb, but that was split as well, all of it flowing around Arkenstone without touching his body.
Arkenstone surged forward, his armor completing itself as he advanced on Swift.
Behind them, Twilight watched the exchange with a nervous expression. She didn't like the idea of Arkenstone fighting Swift again, especially considering how Swift had defeated Arkenstone the first time. She shivered and silently begged her coltfriend not to die. She wished she could watch over him, but there was still too much to do.
"We need to move," she said, looking over her shoulder at her friends.
"Um...Darling..." said Rarity, "I'm afraid the path ahead is well and truly blocked.
Twilight smirked at her friend. "It's time to show you one of the benefits of growing up in the Palace. This way!" With that, she turned and led her friends back along the hall a short distance, retracing their steps.
Twilight stopped at a rather unremarkable door, or as unremarkable as a door in the Royal Palace could look at least. Pushing it open, she led the group into a janitor's closet. At the back of the closet was another door, this one leading to a servants' corridor that ran mostly parallel to the ones outside.
Her friends were silent as Twilight led them through. On several occasions, they passed intersections leading to different sections of the Palace. The hallways were well-lit, with lights spaced out every few meters. However, the corridor shared none of the royal aesthetic that the more public sections of the Palace did, being devoid of decorations, leaving nothing but a plain expanse of white stone on all sides, unmarked, save for the lights and the unassuming doors at regular intervals.
"My word," said Rarity, "I had no idea all this was here."
"Princess Celestia showed them to me a long time ago," said Twilight, "This is how the maids, butlers, and other servants get around. Nobles, dignitaries, and the upper crust would get twitchy if they saw ponies carrying cleaning supplies out where anypony could see them. This is so the servants can get their work done quickly and easily."
"Oooh! It's like having a bunch of secret passageways," squealed Pinkie as she hopped along behind Twilight, "Imagine all the surprise parties and pranking you could do."
Her friends could only chuckle, though Twilight had a premonition of the disaster that would someday result from showing the secret network of passageways that ran throughout the Palace to Pinkie Pie. All the same, she continued to lead them down, taking the occasional turn to reach a different hallway until they arrived at a particular door, this one at the very end of the hallway.
"This door opens up into the throne room," said Twilight, lowering her voice to a whisper, "Wight Shade should be expecting an attack from the front, but this door opens up at the back of the room. We can take him by surprise."
Pinkie grinned and opened her mouth wide, but froze before she could utter a sound as her friends all directed angry stares at her. "Right," she whispered sheepishly, "Sorry...but I love surprises."
"Well..." said Rainbow, sliding carefully off of Applejack's back and testing her leg strength, carefully shifting on her hooves, "...let's give that jerk one hay of a surprise to remember us by."
"Darn tootin'," agreed Applejack.
Twilight nodded. Her horn sparkled and the saddlebags she was wearing opened up. Out floated the Elements of Harmony, which she quickly levitated to their respective bearers before setting the golden tiara and its purple starburst jewel onto her head. "Okay...we're all set. Let's do this."
Her horn flared and she launched a telekinetic bolt, blasting the door off its hinges and sending it smashing to the floor. Immediately, she broke into a gallop, charging into the room, rushing past the ruined remains of Celestia's throne and right to the edge of the dais. There was the central focus of the array, hanging from the air beneath the ceiling like a strange stalactite, its form shimmering with myriad colors and patterns. Standing on the floor directly beneath it was Wight Shade, staring calmly at the doors.
Twilight's friends came up to stand next to her, flanking her on either side, their eyes stern and focused upon the stallion in front of them. The Elements began to glow as the group prepared to unleash their power.
Wight blinked and slowly turned around to look at the group, apparently only just realizing they were there. "Oh..." he said, "I wasn't expecting you to come in that way. Silly me."
"Wight Shade," said Twilight in a firm, commanding tone, "This is the end. You've lost."
"Have I now?" asked Wight, smiling and raising an eyebrow, "What do I have to fear from the Elements of Harmony?"
"You're about to find out," said Twilight, her eyes narrowing.
Wight tilted his head, looking slightly bemused. "If you say so. By all means, you are welcome to try." What looked like white pustules flared up on his shoulders before bursting into six wings of white feathers, shining in the light streaming in through the shattered window. The light seemed to enter those feathers before being refracted and exiting in a riot of strange colors that scattered around the room.
The alien sight made Twilight's stomach lurch. However, she swallowed down her nausea and squared her shoulders. This was it. The light from the Elements rose to block out nearly everything else, bursting forth in a swirling rainbow of power that arched above them like a rearing serpent before striking down towards Wight Shade. Wight waited for the attack patiently, his wings unmoving.
The Royal Palace was rocked to its very foundations by the released power, the light of the Elements washing out the throne room in its entirety.
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Even if Swift is right(and it's beginning to look like that he is), what choice do Twilight and company have other than using the Elements. They can't just sit back and let Wight Shade destroy the world.
Also Flash Spark has more lives than a cat.
6867035
Unless he's lying
6867042
Oh yeah, I keep forgetting his main tactics are lies and deception.
Swift, you are a moron. Even if your right about a trap, Killing Twilight is not the answer. Celestia would execute you on the spot. Instead of killing her, work with her and do something Star won't expect.
6867081
Who says he isn't working for her?
6867048 Bah, I'll spoil it. Read the chapter with Swift attacking Twilight again. He knew about Wight was the Fly that was flying around, listening in on Twilight. He spewed that bullshit to give Wight the idea.
The entire thing is a lie, the biggest lie. It's why Celestia wouldn't like it, because Swift couldn't hold back too much. to convince Wight, he would have to convince everyone, and he can't do that by holding back. So had to 'attack' Twilight, or at least look like he was to everyone. But outside, after taking out Arken, he noticed Wight wasn't watching anymore, so stop fighting Dawn and ran.
Celestia knows the plan, or most of it. But no one else knows. I am betting this ends with Swift sacrificing himself to kill Wight, his apprentice, and take out all the dark matter.
I'm getting the feeling that Wight is pulling a "use the super weapon the heroes are obviously going to use by his goading to power his machine."
While I'm not sure that is a trope, I've seen it in enough TV and games to call it that.
I'm really wondering how this isn't the last story in this series. All of the plot lines from previous stories are either wrapped up or being wrapped up so I can't imagine what will come in the next story.
On another note, if what moguera said in October is still true, then there are only three chapters left.
6867081 Eh, all is not as it seems. The Liar is living up to his name. Just you wait and see.
6867081 Don't be ridiculous. Swift isn't trying to kill Twilight, and we know this because Twilight isn't currently dead. This is very clearly the lie that it was established that he would be using in an earlier chapter.
Twilight_sparkle just buck up , you just help complete it
6867186 Well, my thinking is that Wight succeeds, because the villain often succeeds before they're defeated. The elements are whatevered, Wight rules the world, and maybe reality cracks. I dunno specifically, obviously. Then the protagonists have to figure out a way to defeat Wight, with Swift's plan presumably coming into play at some point where it makes an unmanageable situation manageable. There's a big showdown, Wight is defeated, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Of course, during all of this, the story will probably clean up some of its hanging threads. Dawn will get his cutie mark, Rainbow will figure out the deal with her cool heart wings, Perlin will finish his heel face turn and hang out with Coco, possibly paying off the element of kindness thing, Trixie will do something cool with her super magic, maybe the last of the relatively unused celestial knights will come into play, Sentry might possibly get an opportunity to do something with his new position (with Shining stepping down to something of interest), and Rumble could close out his welfare plotline. Add in an epilogue, some arbitrary fluff, and resolve some plotlines I haven't listed and/or introduce some new ones, and you've got enough length to fill a story. Either way, given most of the above plotlines would go unresolved (especially with the timing of the refreshing of Rainbow's wings going on), it seems unlikely that the story would close out with this book.
Wasn't Terra locked up in the dungeons too? All in favour of nuking from orbit say aye.
6867452 aye
6867081 except I remember what he said after she escaped the first time...he seems to know about morning stars little 'bugs' and seemed to be putting on a show for him. To what end though, I do not know.
6867135 Celestia would never want Twilight dead.
6867727
But what if it's just a ruse... remember when Swift spoke to Celestia about the idea he had to change the rules Morning Star/Wight Shade was playing with (and she wouldn't like it)... what if it's this, what if it's to fool Twilight into thinking Swift really wants to kill her (Arkenstone believes this too and the other knights too, drawing them all to Ponyville since she is an Element of Harmony and the death of her would shatter the balance)...
6867081 (additional: though one hole in this being a trick by swift...why not send non verbal signals to arken and twilight that its just a trick? from what I have read (but I might have missed) mornings bugs can only listen.
6867257 ... Shouldn't someone be... stopping them?
I can't help but feel that there is going to be this big plot twist where we discover that the project is actually not that bad.
Just can't help it.
BTW, is this the last book before we start going into the prequels?
This... is very... very... bad.
:Dons Mettaur helmet: TACTICLE END OF THE WORLD INCOMING!!!
Seeing the sweat matting Twilight's coat, Rainbow had to agree with
TwilightFlutterhy's assessment.Well... things are coming to a head... I wonder what ground breaking revelation Morning Star has that was worth all this chaos and death...
PLEASE don't let the Elements do Wight's work for him.
Rainbow has transcended "awesome" and broken into some entirely new levels. Someone get a linguist, we need new, better words.
Swift is still a jerk, though probably with a reason. And if he's right, he probably just fucked up. I think Wight Shade's plan is to power the array with the Elements, somehow. Here's hoping we get a surprise flat ending and he just turns to stone.
6867880
Or better yet, fails so completely that nothing happens at all. Because sometimes science just ends with a fizzle and ponies scratching their heads.
6867081
Multiple characters have realized Swift isn't actually trying to kill Twilight. The only reason Arkenstone hasn't is because he's going full-on hyper protective boyfriend, and the only reason Twilight hasn't is because he scared her out of her mind. If the tussle with the griffons is any indication, Swift could probably just have spiked the floor through Twi's chest from across the room or something if he really wanted her dead. He sure as hell wouldn't have announced his presence with gas bombs and stuff.
The question of course is, why bait Wight into considering possessing Twilight? Here's my guess: he wants Twilight to fix the experiment.
Think about it. For all his elaborate planning and SCIENCE, Wight is ultimately a reckless gambler who constantly misses details and obvious things. How many times throughout the story has Wight outright admitted that he took a huge chance, or overlooked something obvious? How about when he set up his own downfall, and apparently expected to be exiled with a stern threat and little else? Even when Wight knew Swift's loyalties, Swift was able to repeatedly sabotage him right out from under his nose. He's so bad about it that Swift knows the experiment has so many gambles and oversights baked into it that it probably is going to break reality.
But Swift also knows it's too far along to plausibly stop in time. So now, he wants Twilight to get possessed just long enough to check Wight's math and make sure he doesn't accidentally the universe in the process.
Needs end " marks.
__________________________
6867880
I hope it's not the last book. And we get an epilogue type story rather than a massive time jump at the last chapter. I mean through most of the later half of the story Dawn's been scouted by, helped by, and is being guided to be a Knight. By not one, but three Knights.
Scootaloo's got a Gale King Special Talent, we need to see where that goes and if she ends up being Knight material. Or what she does with her martial arts powers.
We can pretty much guess that Sweets goes into music-based healing and her colt friend into Social Services. Don't know if he ends up taking apprentices to share his teacher's fighting style.
Red River and Storm Front have an unknown future at the moment.
Then of course there's Trixie. She was played up as going to learn both The Way, and Stage Magic [even going as far as introducing the magic sealer]. Moguera is much better than to do a What Happened to the Mouse trope. So a What Happened to the Mouse with that plot thread would be a bit jarring if it did happen.
And a whole bunch of other plot threads, and stories that exist along side this, or would be needed for closure. After the whole Main Saga.
Here's hoping that like the Drizzt Do'Urden series. This doesn't end with one Saga, and that Moduera ends up being like the RA Salvatore of Fimfiction.
6868543 And then book 10 is all about Discord.
Because who doesn't love a little John De Lancie.
He became a brony.
He did not intend to.
Bt he did.
6868942 Tis a pity HASBO are dicks about copyright.
Imagine this as an anime.
THEN NOBODY COULD CRITIQUE BRONIES! MWAHAHAHA!
And the only way he could do that would be if another major antagonist pops up.
The only thing I see happening is ponies meeting some alternate dimension being whom they fight for the last book.
Or it could be Discord.
Just wondering. What would you feel if the concept of ponies and humans fighting together was to pop up?
6868977
Well this is Dark Matter we're talking about, and he is made of the stuff. Who's to say he's not the series Aizen-sama after he got remade by the Wish Granting, Hollowfication, orb dealie.
That and we don't really need an antagonist right off the bat for them. After all as Knights problems will be drawn to them, and while maybe not a "tear a whole open in reality" villain. There's what's been hinted at as those who achieve the Way, but are evil / consumed with bloodlust [and was said that those are rare, but are terrifying].
So Black Knights; Knights of the Black Hoof; League of Assassins; or the like with a group of Knight Level villains would be a good one. And as with any group / secret society, there could be apprentices / mob squads to toss at the main characters.
You also have a the SoL path for a few stories. Give some down time, while introducing the concept of a Dark Society coming up. After all with the Princess getting rid of the Noble Court, and the Cult Solar going out of business [and with them, a lot of income for murders, abductions, and more darker deeds], there's both to be a massive power vacuum as well as lots of lost revenue for very dangerous people.
Basically Celestia willfully broke the Devil You Know trope and got rid of the big bads. Now there's going to be a whole new set of bads to tak there place that goes beyond what Celestia could have planned.
That and Moguera stated that a Knight's life is filled with battles. So there's no shortage of invasions, wars, battles, or problems to face. Especially not if the Knights are always busy. So many, many stories to be had.
On a related yet separate note: I WAS RIGHT!!!! The Pie family are Mountain Root Masters. Not only did their family's cannon history admit to it [their father took a several ton rock from a dragon, and built the farm around it when he brought it back], but everyone of them in the Dark Timelines were Knight level ponies, and they all eat rocks as if the rocks were normal food. Nopony else can do that in the show so far. Not to mention their higher than normal pony strength and fighting style. I wanted to say that for a few chapters now but kept forgetting till now.
Fuck! I didn't realize this was the last chapter! I need more!
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O1zp4l9yWbQ/VqVf8ibakCI/AAAAAAAAMlw/P_Q0W7uVhSE/s2000/WithMySoulonDisplayCommbysheandog2087953444.png
6869086 Good point. I think that frankness and truth would go a long way, but what do I know?
that ain't gonna work like they thought it would
excellent work with this chapter every thing is way above the normal you really did a super job with this hole story to this point.
*Supported by Dawn, Rainbow Dash drifted in for a landing next to her friends, who swarmed her with excitement and concern.*
Pinkie: "That was super awesome! That's gotta be the best stunt you've ever pulled. I can't wait to see you use it in your next Wonderbolts show!"
Dawn: "Morning Star let us go. It was the only reason for the ease of our escape."
Rainbow Dash: "Easy? You call that easy?"
Dawn: "He's tracking us."
Rainbow Dash: "Not this shipping, sister--er--bro."
Dawn: *sighs* "You know, Rainbow, I sometimes wonder about you. At least the information in Twilight is still intact."
Rainbow Dash: "What's so important? What's he--er--she carrying?"
Dawn *pauses to glare at Rainbow Dash*: "The technical readouts of that Dark Matter. I only hope that when the data's analyzed a weakness can be found. It's not over yet."
Rainbow Dash: "It is for me, sis--er--dude!"
Dawn: "Oh, just shut up!"
and nothing happened
I haven't seen anyone else ask, so I'm gonna ask. Are you a fan of Baten Kaitos by any chance? Because honestly I thought I was the only one who remembered that game existed.
At last! The Elements of Harmony will be used to power up my array and finally open up the gate to
Kingdom Heartsthe other realms!Stride apparently really needed to not have Arky be in the room, otherwise he'd immediately try to sword
XehanortMorning Star.Swift isn't wrong, Twilight and co are walking into a trap. But he's a little off too..