Rhythm and Rhyme

by MyHobby

The Knights of Harmony

Button Mash’s saddlebags stirred, while the young stallion lay unconscious. The darkness lay unbroken around him, but from within the bags came a steady, sinister glow. Green spilled forth, touching the air with licks of heatless fire. A clatter came from within the bags.

The puppet of River—ancient hero of pony legend—stepped forth, an unnatural green tinging the magical material between its wooden joints. It walked slowly, carefully, making its way across the ground. Its head turned as it took in its surroundings, tasting the air, getting a sense of the emotion. Familiarity touched its core. It had been here before, many thousands of years ago.

At least, the power driving it had been there.

Changeling magic pulled River closer to the familiar feeling. A large construct, several stories high, made from the bronze-colored material changelings called Golemium. A living metal that could be commanded by the changelings that forged it.

Queen Cicada, cloistered within the puppet, peered upwards at the construct. A Strutter, as the ancient changelings had called it. A machine that walks. A vehicle to carry changelings to and fro, to haul their goods, to fight their battles, all powered by pony hearts.

Today, it was Queen Cicada’s key to… influencing the changelings once more. To bring glory back into their consciousness. To bring victory back into their lives.

All she needed was the assistance of Ahuizotl.

Cicada touched the puppet’s hoof to the Golemium, and a spark of changeling magic tore its way through the River puppet. The wood was blasted to charred pieces and scattered across the floor. Cicada’s magic, her essence, her very soul, etched itself into the core of the Strutter.

Inside, she found enough power to activate the Strutter. Dozens of hearts, all arranged so that the strong voice of Sweetie Belle could make its way down into the pit to unite them. Power surged at Queen Cicada’s metaphysical horn tip.

All she needed to do was wait for Ahuizotl to issue the command to rise.

***

Spike gripped the bleeding limb and shuffled back, lowering his stance to maintain his balance. It didn’t hurt much, but that was the problem. He could feel shock setting in on the edge of his senses. Shock from the wound, shock from the revelation that he could be hurt. Shock that this monster, this thing, had killed dragons before and intended to continue doing so. That he made light of killing dragons.

Ahuizotl chortled merrily. “You dragons, you always have the trade-mark ‘Of Fairie’ written about you. So long-lived and invincible that the sight of your own mortality sends you into vapors.”

Spike’s claw skipped a step, and he fell to one knee. Ahuizotl’s hulking form swam in his vision, the colors swirling together, as the edges of his vision faded to white. Ahuizotl lunged, and there was nothing he could do.

The sword’s tip buried into Spike’s shoulder. A kick from Ahuizotl’s hind leg knocked the wind out from him, like a shot from a volleygun. He curled up, covering his eyes and his belly. He sucked in a desperate breath as Ahuizotl raised the swords for a dual-bladed, downward killing stroke.

A bolt of mustardy-yellow shot through the air to impact the side of Ahuizotl’s head with four hooves. The crack against his skull echoed as loudly as his enraged scream. The mighty monster tumbled to the side. He failed to catch himself and landed with a clatter of armor and bruised pride.

Daring Do landed squarely on all fours. “Pick on someone your own size, hairball!”

Rage discolored Ahizotl’s face a violent purple. “Wench! You dare assail me in my moment of ascension?”

“I dare a lot, lint-wad!” Daring Do shuffled nimbly away from a hasty sword-swing. The heated blade scoured the stone beneath her hooves. “I dare to bring this whole stinkin’ operation down on your head!”

Ahuizotl picked himself up. He held the swords at the ready, his tail-hand grasping the air in anticipation. “Then I dare you to die.”

Daring rolled her eyes and sidestepped a thrust. “Is that the best you can come up with? Come on, Ahuizotl. We’ve done this—” She ducked a misaimed swing. “—this dance a dozen times. Bring up some new steps!”

Spike gripped the stone wall, attempting to sit up. He hissed out as loud as his woozy mind would allow. “Aunt Yearling! Look out!”

***

Daring Do swung her head around. Several of the Painted Ones had surrounded her, spears and hooves at the ready. Her jump had been ill-timed, but necessary to save Spike. As it was, she was in it deep. She counted six, three with spears. The weapons had too much reach for her to get around. The ponies themselves were hopped up on their weird enchanted paint. Behind her was the inexorable approach of the Exhausting Ahuizotl.

Luckily, she just needed to play her ace. “Now, Blank!”

The changeling dropped from the ceiling onto Ahuizotl’s back. His razor-fangs bit deep into the monster’s flesh. Ahuizotl’s screech reached a new, shrill pitch as the magic in his body, his weapons, and his armor was drawn into the attacking changeling. Blankety Blank held fast, his body glowing green beneath his plated chitin.

A fireball smacked dead-center into the back of a spear-welding foe, sending him nose-first into the floor. Care Carrot leaped from crag to crag from her perch, aiming additional spells as she went. Most of the shots went wild, but the damage was already done.

Daring leaped into the opening and slugged the foremost Painted One with a right-hook. Another hook and a left uppercut sent blood spurting from his broken nose. A headbutt knocked him out cold, and she turned her attention to the next unarmed goon in line. The other two spear-less freaks ganged up on her, and more’s the pity. Whether she blocked with her forelegs or danced nimbly around them, there was no way for them to land a solid hit on the seasoned boxer.

One spearmaster aimed his weapon at Care, and the blade glowed blue. Ice collected, ready to be unleashed on in a highly ironic attack. A rapier blade batted the spearhead aside just as the spell launched, sending it uselessly into the floor. Martial Paw jabbed and sliced, his keen blade flashing in the low light. The spearmaster had no choice but to back up, the haft held high in defense. The other joined him and menaced Martial with his spear, but the light of fear flickered in his eyes.

Ahuizotl rolled, finally casting Blankety Blank off. He gripped his limbs and let out a low whine. He gritted his fangs in impotent rage, grasping for a discarded sword with his tail-hand. He opened his eyes and swiveled his head, but the changeling was nowhere to be seen. “Changeling fool! If you would but join me, you would be a king!”

Care paused in her charge. Three Painted Ones with spears stood near Sweetie Belle, while the final unarmed goon gripped her tight. The song had stopped for now, the young mare looking on with hope. Care charged her horn, but did not cast a spell; a stray shot could hurt Sweetie. Instead she marched purposefully across the rotating ringed floor, careful to keep her balance on the ever-shifting obstacle.

Ahuizotl grimaced when he saw that his second curved sword had been carried away on a ring. He handed his remaining sword to one of his forelimbs and approached Daring Do’s boxing match. “I’ll slay yet one enemy today!”

Daring Do spread a wing and caught a Painted One’s neck with the joint. The pony collapsed, choking. She grabbed the ears of the other and smashed his face into the ground. She glanced over her shoulder and grinned at the approaching monster. “Only one, Ahuizotl? You are getting old!”

She ran as fast as her legs would take her, and Ahuizotl matched her speed as best he could with weakened legs. He swung the blade with all the finesse and accuracy of a bull being shot out of a cannon. Daring hopped onto the rings, dodging from layer to layer to keep her distance from the mad god.

***

Martial Paw lunged and missed, opening himself to a stab from the spearmaster on the right. It grazed his shoulder, but he flapped away from the worst of the attack. He sighed as he measured the odds in his head. The spears were too long for him to get inside their guard. With two opponents, there was little chance for progressing the fight.

Blankety Blank leaped from the shadows and grasped a spear in his fanged jaw. He ripped it out of the pony’s hooves and snapped its thick haft with a solid bite. The other Painted One jabbed—as much out of fear as with a calculated attack plan. The blade dug into Blankety’s chest… but only a centimeter deep.

Blankety’s mouth opened wide, revealing the glow of green magic pouring from his mouth. Fangs framed a yawing abyss, glistening multifaceted eyes peered greedily, flames licked at the tips of his wings as the power drained from Ahuizotl made itself known. A howl like that from the deepest, darkest nightmare poured forth from the changeling, freezing all who heard it.

Martial took one look at the situation, decided he should become uninvolved, and backed away from the ensuing one-sided melee.

His ear twitched at the sound of rocks scattering. He turned to see Caballeron exiting the room, a scowl on his face, his ears plastered against the top of his head. Martial closed the distance in one wing-assisted leap and blocked the way out. He leveled his rapier at Caballeron. “Going somewhere?”

Caballeron flicked the spur out from his leg-brace. “Get out of the way. I’ve no time for this.”

“You’re facing justice this time, Doctor.” Martial narrowed his eyes. “Whether it be by gavel or blade.”

Martial sent a smooth jab towards Caballeron’s heart, and the doctor batted it away with his much-shorter blade. Caballeron hissed as he readied another deflection. “There’s more at stake here, you fool! I’m trying to—”

Martial feinted to the left and right, finally landing a cut on Caballeron’s cheek.

“I’m trying to help you!” Caballeron screeched. He juked away from a fatal thrust, his eyes widening. “If you don’t go help Sweetie Belle, more than she will die!”

Martial Paw caught sight of Care and Daring in his peripheral vision. They’d converged on Sweetie Belle and were fighting her captors. Ahuizotl was preoccupied fending off Blankety, who had finished off his combatants with what could only be described as “excessive force.”

Martial Paw clicked his beak as he twirled his rapier. “Do you remember what happened the last time I trusted you?”

Caballeron frowned, lowering his eyebrows. “When did—?”

Martial Paw’s blade stabbed deep into Caballeron’s chest, nearly up to the hilt. He turned his head to stare the doctor in the eye. “It never happened, because I’m not that stupid.”

Martial’s fist clocked Caballeron in the side of the head. The doctor slumped against the edge of the tunnel, the strength gone from his limbs. He stared numbly, mutely up at Martial Paw as the griffon drew the rapier from his chest.

“Let that sink in,” Martial said. He flapped away to rejoin Daring, leaving Caballeron to bleed out at the edge of the antechamber.

***

Sweetie Belle found herself gripped in the tail-hand of Ahuizotl. The beast pressed her head closer to the fifty assembled hearts and growled. “Sing! I command you!”

Care turned to menace Ahuizotl with her horn. A painted one hefted his spear at her, but was soon downed with a pounce from Blankety. Daring focused on the other Painted Ones, one of which had lost his spear to a fiery blast.

Martial Paw lanced the last spear-bearer with a killing slice through the throat. Between him, Care, Daring, and Blankety, the other Painted Ones were dispatched in short order. They stood united against Ahuizotl, spells, weapons, and sharp hooves at the ready.

Ahuizotl twisted around. He dug his tail’s fingers into Sweetie’s mane and held the burning blade over her throat. “Stay back, or she never sings again!”

“You’re done, Ahuizotl!” Daring Do snarled. “We’ve busted up your guards and the whole Equestrian military is about to bust down your front door! You’re out of space to run! Put down the stupid sword and let her go, or we’re gonna shove it where the sun don’t shine!”

Ahuizotl glared at them for a long moment. Too long, in Sweetie’s opinion. The blade’s heat could be felt through the air, singing her white coat. A smile as wide as a highway curled across Ahuizotl’s toothy maw. A chuckle, then a guffaw rang all the warning bells in Sweetie’s head. Whatever song was in her heart was overpowered with fear, panic, and the certainty that death was close enough to touch.

He let Sweetie go and sheathed the sword across his back. He spread his paws wide, even holding his tail-hand up for all to see. “You foals. You utter children. Think. Do you really believe this is all I had at my disposal? Do you really consider me unprepared for your interference?”

The lot of them stood on a single ring, two out from the center, spinning slowly as the moments ticked on. Ahuizotl shook his head and sighed. “I’ll admit, the changeling surprised me. But I was not unable to fend him off. You have been so focused on me and Sweetie Belle, that you have not considered the rumble down the halls. The rattle of machinery and mechanisms. The beat of hearts, echoing throughout the entire complex.”

Sweetie Belle looked behind the warriors as the entrance to the antechamber loomed into view. Spike still lay slumped against the wall, clutching his shoulder in a half-awake stupor. The collapsed form of Caballeron twitched on the far side of the opening. The darkened hall between them… it lit up.

Steady, almost rhythmic tapping echoed across the stone. The clang of metal on stone. The chitter of mechanical parts meshing together. The whirr of motors processing power.

The mechanical monstrosity—the one that had once been High Priest Dissero—marched at the helm of an army of similar ant-like automatons. The first row lowered their heads and opened their back, revealing energy-spewing cannons. They took aim at the small party of adventurers.

Sweetie Belle covered her head with her hooves. “Look out!”

Daring spun just in time to dodge out of the way of a flash of pure magic. It ricocheted off of the bronze-colored ring and shot into the ceiling. Martial, Care, and Blankety scattered. Ahuizotl stood tall behind Sweetie, his arms raised to the heavens, as blasts impacted toothlessly against his invincible armor. His laughter filled her ears with its venomous sting. His voice radiated wicked pleasure across the entire antechamber. Sweetie could only watch in horror as the automatons continued their unstoppable march of destruction.

She stared at the hearts powering whatever mad device Ahuizotl had uncovered. They beat in rhythm, but weakly. They didn’t have the punch to drive the mechanism onward. They didn’t have the unity, the rhyme, to accomplish anything.

“Do what you were made to do,” Ahuizotl said in her ear, just audible over the cacophony of the battle. “Sing. For. Me!”

Sweetie Belle shut her eyes tight. She laid her ears against her skull. She was made to song for him? Rubbish! Trash! She was made for more than that. She was born for greater things that to be his broken music box!

Ahuizotl slammed his fist against the rings, rattling the room. Daring Do attempted to race at him, but a volley of magic kept her at bay. He opened his mouth wide as a victorious song burst forth.

“I’ll rise and set each morning and night
Awash with your thunderous applause!
With a sword in my left hand, the sun in my right

“That!
Is the price—!”

Sweetie kicked his shin with all her might. Her hooves reflected off the armor in a useless gesture, but it got his attention nonetheless. Her clear, powerful voice grasped the hearts of all who heard, and would not let go.

“Shut up!
Monster!
I will not be your slave!

“Back away!
You cur!
Or face a shallow grave!”

The hearts heard the song, and responded at once.

A single, solid heartbeat shook the cavern. The rings leaped from the ground in spiraling tiers. Ahuizotl was cast aside like an unwanted apple core. The warriors scrambled for purchase, but found themselves unable to resist the same fate as the mad god. Sweetie gripped the hearts as their reliquary was hoisted into the air on a current of magic and gearwork.

The rings tilted, clicked, and split into a mechanical, clockwork jigsaw puzzle of thousands and thousands of pieces. They spiraled and spun, connecting and snaking and meshing and snapping. Their destination was as unknowable as their purpose, and as uncontrolled as the magic pulsating from the hearts.

Sweetie Belle held on for dear life and screamed.

***

Chrysalis II stood in the midst of the castle, completely overwhelmed by the activity surrounding her. Soldiers marched to airships. Armor rattled as latches were connected and weapons were readied. Chrysalis kept her hooves together and her wings pressed firm against her sides. All she wanted at this point was to be unobtrusive and invisible.

High Princess Luna’s hooves clomped as she pursued High Princess Celestia. “Are you daffy?” Luna shouted. “Andean is right inside, and his airships are armed to the teeth. The griffons have defended Equestria before—”

“Luna!” Celestia swung on her younger sister, her wings outstretched. She leaned closer to whisper, but overhearing was far too simple a task for a changeling. “Now is not the time for this conversation. We don’t need Andean for this. The Equestrian army is sufficient.”

“Why be sufficient,” Luna hissed, “when you can crush utterly, finally, and decisively? Ahuizotl has caused too much pain to be allowed to escape yet again, Celestia.”

Celestia raised a hoof to point deeper into the castle. The scent of bitter herbs tickled Chrysalis’ nose. “If you expect me to march in there on my knees and beg the griffon king to help me—”

“It will not take begging, Celestia!” Luna pushed a hoof against Celestia’s chest. She hesitated above the scar before lowering her foreleg back to the ground. “He is a friend, a dear friend, who has fought and suffered at Equestria’s side. At my side, sister, when nobody else could.”

Celestia turned her eyes away. She pressed her lips together and let a small sigh escape her nose. “We don’t need him.” She about-faced and trotted for the airship harbor, leaving Luna gaping at the sight. Luna walked the other direction, fuming, her emotions somewhere between cayenne and death pepper for sheer heat.

Her warpath aimed her straight in line to Andean’s guest room.

Chrysalis swallowed the uncomfortable lump in her throat and pattered after her. With a subtle shift of her cloven hooves and her frogs, the sound of hoofsteps vanished. Outwardly, she projected a mask of confidence and purpose, but inwardly, she was a jumble of thoughts and confusion.

Ponies had built their kingdom on the ruins of the changeling empire. That was obvious. Was it intentional? Perhaps. Perhaps the location was merely prime real estate. At least, before the Everfree Forest had made the land all but unlivable.

But in the end, it revealed that Queen Cicada was right.

What else was she right about?

Changelings were creatures hiding in the dark, hoping nobody squished them. But could they be more? With the Spade of Hearts found once more by Ahuizotl, perhaps—No! No, she would never use the dagger. Not in the way the changelings of old did. Not the way her mother would have.

But… was that why the changelings were dying out? Was that how Celestia would control them? Threat of a boot hovering overhead? Wasn’t that how she controlled everybody?

She could stand to be a mere vassal. But her changelings deserved better, didn’t they?

She needed another conversation with Andean—the world leader least controlled by Celestia, while still allied to her. She could ask him how he made it work.

She hid around the corner as Luna knocked on Andean’s door. The conversation was quiet, but Chrysalis II heard it well enough. Luna relayed Celestia’s decision, but maintained that he should have his troops at the ready. Andean spoke of defying her wishes, and Luna seemed to have no answer to that. She muttered again about being ready and shuffled off.

Chrysalis crept up to the door and tapped the wood. The middling piff of force didn’t carry to her ears, let alone the person inside the room. She sighed and rested her forehead against the door. Her heart just wasn’t in it.

Her ear twitched. She heard voices from within the room. Three distinct ones. The loudest, closest voice was Andean’s. The other two were distorted, as if spoken through glass or over a long distance. Maybe both. A small voice, warbling and high-pitched, with an accent that was hard to understand. A large voice, booming and confident, with a much subtler twang.

She pressed her ear against the door. She could only pick up on the occasional full word. “Ahuizotl.” “Celestia.” “Flerdefurten.”

She lowered her eyebrows. “Flerdefurten?” The heck?

The hallway was empty around her. A window sat a few meters down, open to the air. She skittered up to the opening and slid through, flapping her wings to carry her around. There, on the wall, a balcony led into Andean’s room. Curtains were drawn across the glass doors, and still no one was there to spot her.

She pressed her ear against the glass, and the three voices came clear.

“This is way too beefy, Andean,” the large voice said. “Why don’t you just show up unannounced? Launch the airships and blow him to smithereens?”

Andean’s domineering countenance was palpable even without a line of sight. “And risk my forces rushing into a situation with no reconnoitering? With no idea what we are up against? Risk the wrath of Princess Celestia at such a delicate time? She is diminished, Mangle, not powerless.”

“Vhat you are suggesting,” the small voice piped up, “is far worse! An alliance with sooch a creature is staggeringly stoopid!”

Andean clicked his beak together. “He has evaded capture and death for several centuries. The entire world has failed to reign him in—only Daring Do has come close. This time, he reached out to us.”

Chrysalis pressed a hoof against her mouth. Her blood ran cold.

“If Celestia continues to be obstinate,” Andean said, “our only recourse is to accept Ahuizotl’s request.”

Chrysalis leaped off the balcony, her eyes wide and her ears laid back against her skull. Andean allied with Ahuizotl? The very thought of it was a horror. Ahuizotl was a villain. Evil! Mad with power! As horrible and controlling as her mother…

She had to tell Celestia. Or Luna. Or somebody! Now!

She had to tell them before it was too late.

***

“Hay.”

Button Mash nuzzled the gray-colored coat of hair he was resting upon. Wakefulness was slow-coming, and he didn’t quite register the voice speaking to him. In the back of his mind, he reasoned that it was a dreamed sensation.

“Hay, dude. Wake up.”

Button pulled a feathery something-or-other over his ears to blot out the invading voice. It didn’t help.

“Button! Up!”

He blinked owlishly as he eased himself upright, rubbing his mussed mane with a hoof. In his other hoof, something pulsed a brilliant purple.

“That’s better.”

“Yeah, but wha—” Button’s ears shot upright. He wasn’t hearing the voice. He was thinking it. Or maybe feeling it. He looked down at the heart in his hooves, belonging to one Scootaloo of Ponyville. “Scootaloo?”

“Yah-huh.”

Button’s mouth fell open. The tingle of pegasus magic played along his hooves, flittering up his fairy strings to his heart. The heart beat merrily, like a Hearths Warming Eve lantern. “Y-you can talk?”

“No duh, Clopcrates.” The heart’s pulse slowed a touch. “But… I can’t hear or see. Not you, at least. I just feel your magic, if that makes sense.”

Button shifted his hindquarters to get more comfortable atop the soft mass he’d landed on. “But you’re okay! Apple Bloom and Spike just need to find your body, and then we’ll be able to put two-and-two together! Or one-and-one! I can’t math right now!”

“Cool it, dude.” Scootaloo’s heart flashed a brighter light than before. “We’ve gotta get out of this pit, first. And I don’t think any of us are clear to fly.”

“Any of—” Button glanced around the dimly lit pit, only finding rock, darkness, and the light sheen of metal. “Where’s Rumble?”

The mass beneath him shifted and muttered something unintelligible.

Button hopped off Rumble’s body and clutched Scootaloo’s heart close to the chest. “Sorry. I didn’t hear what you said.”

“I said get your dock out of my nose.” Rumble rubbed his muzzle and checked the connection in his helmet. “My armor’s busted. Not really useful for anyth—Yeek!”

Rumble’s hoof found the spearhead piercing his wing. The weapon was embedded into the side of his armor, unable to be removed without further damaging the wing itself. He stared at it for a solid minute before sighing and letting his leg drop. “Armor’s busted, but I can’t take it off. I guess it’s still better armor than being buck-nude.” One of his ears tilted down as his head tilted the other direction. “Who were you talking to?”

Button held the heart up. “Didn’t you hear us?”

“You butt’s a better ear plug than headphone, bro.”

“It’s Scootaloo!” Button held the heart up to Rumble, gesturing for him to touch it. “Look, look, she can talk to us with magic.”

“Scootaloo?” Rumble smiled ear-to-ear, his eyes lighting up like Button hadn’t seen for a long time. He gently took the heart from Button, who was happy to let him hold it. “Scootaloo, can you hear me?”

Rumble stared at the heart. For too long. Much too long. As the seconds ticked onward, his ears gradually fell more and more. “Hay, bro… She isn’t saying anything.”

“What?” Button took the heart and held it next to his head. The instant he touched it, the feel of Scootaloo’s voice rattled his mind’s ear.

“—mean I’m not saying anything!” Scootaloo’s heart spritzed and sparked. “Clean out your ears, Rumble! Hellooooooo!”

“Whoa, slow down, Scootaloo!” Button Mash held the heart away from his head, not that it did much good, once he thought about it. “Easy. He said he can’t hear you.”

Rumble lowered his eyebrows. “Is this a prank? Cuz this ain’t really the time.”

“You think I would prank you about something like this?” Button Mash held the heart in one hoof and held it between them. “You touch it, I’ll touch it, and we’ll both try to listen. With our hearts. Sounds good?”

“Sure.” Rumble reached out and shut his eyes, his hoof resting lightly on Scootaloo’s heart. “Can you hear me, Scootaloo?”

“For the dozenth time, yeah!” Scootaloo sighed, somewhere between a giggle and an exasperated grunt. “I’m right here. I’m alright!”

Button opened his eyes and grinned at Rumble. The gray guard’s expression never changed. He only shook his head and lowered his hoof. “I’m getting nothing.”

“I’m sorry,” Button said. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Oh for—” Scootaloo zapped Button’s hoof with what felt like a miniscule lightning bolt. “Button! Tell the musclebound muttonhead I love him, too!”

Button stared cross-eyed at Scootaloo. “I… don’t think it’ll mean the same coming from me.”

“Say it, doofus!”

“Aaahhh…” Button grinned at Rumble, who perked his ears up. “Scootaloo says ‘Tell the musclebound muttonhead that I love him, too.’”

Rumble’s eyes widened. His mouth popped open. He raised his head to get a closer look at the heart. “Really? She really said that?”

Button’s grin turned sideways. “You think I’d say any of those words without a direct order?”

A silly smile curled its way across Rumble’s face. “Heh. Hee hee… She said—”

A mechanical clatter caused a jolt to run down their spines. Button turned his body to hide Scootaloo’s glow from view, while Rumble stepped in front of him. For the first time, Button was able to get a good look at Rumble’s wound.

It didn’t look good. Days of recovery at the least, and probably a good amount of therapy after that. He really shouldn’t have been walking around. “Dude—”

“Shh!” Rumble covered Button’s mouth with a hoof. He eased himself forward, stepping around a pile of burnt pieces of wood. A wall of metal stood between them and whoever was moving around. He slid along the side, en route to getting a peak at the new arrivals. “Stay here.”

“My armor still works!” Button hissed. “I should get—”

“Stay.”

Rumble leaned around the edge of the metal, watched for a long moment, and then came back. “Two of the Painted Ones. They’re fiddling with some sort of machine. I… don’t think we can take them.”

“I’m not much help.” Button looked down at Scootaloo. “And she’s—”

A pop shocked the air like a thunderbolt. A trilling sound came from the far side of the metal, like large insect wings. The sound grew quieter, until it finally faded into the distance.

Rumble snuck another peek and motioned Button forward. “They’re gone. The machine musta been a vehicle.”

Button joined his friend in the open. The room was still dark, but he could see clar enough in the light provided by a few flood lamps scattered throughout the pit. Mechanical constructs, most in the shape of insects, scattered the floor. Some had the squat, sturdy appearance of beetles, while a couple had the long spear-shaped body of a dragonfly.

“I think they flew one out,” Rumble mumbled. “Maybe we can, too.”

“Get closer!” Scootaloo said. “I wanna get a feel for this thing.”

Rumble trotted softly, his head on a swivel. Button followed close behind. It was a short walk to the closest dragonfly thing. The whole thing seemed to be made of the same bronze-colored metal as the rest of the cavern’s machinery. A changeling device, then? Four wings jutted out from the sides of the thickest part of the machine, all transparent, all lined with magical etchings.

The body itself was wide enough for a pony to sit in, and tapered the further back it went. Two bulbous protrusions acted as windbreakers, and six legs acted as a balancing stand. Two seats sat back-to-back, one facing forward. A red crystal stood center on the front of the craft, and another like it sat aft.

Rumble got into the pilot seat and pushed at the controls. Nothing happened. “How do you give this thing power?”

“I was worried about this,” Scootaloo said. “These things all need hearts.”

Button twisted his mouth to the side. “What? Like, pony hearts?”

“It’s kinda Ahuizotl’s whole operation, yeah.”

Rumble snorted. “We are not using Scootaloo’s heart!”

“I didn’t say we were.” Button Mash peered over the side of the craft and got a look at the innards. Two directional pads—well-suited for hooves—were mounted to either side of a heart-shaped receptacle. The seat was arranged so that a pony, or changeling, would be able to rest on their stomach, easily able to look forward. A foot pedal lay near the rear hoof, and the wire led towards the gemstone on the front. “Is that thing some kinda weapon?”

“I don’t really wanna find out.” Rumble climbed out of the vehicle with a grunt. “Come on. Maybe there’s another way ouuuu—” His ears snapped up as he half-turned his head. “Ooooh horseapples.”

The trilling wingbeats returned. In the distance, Button could see the glint of magic that drove the Painted Ones’ flying machine. “We gotta go!”

Rumble started to run, but the jostle of his armor against his wing slowed him to a halt. He looked up with a wince, gritting his teeth at the oncoming flyer. “We’re not gonna make it.”

Button glanced back at the controls. They looked familiar enough—almost like a precursor to video game controls. Or… or his puppet control crosses. He kicked himself as the buzz grew louder. If only they had another way to power it!

“Put me in.”

Button gave the heart a double-take. “You can’t be serious.”

“You think there’s another way out of this?” Scootaloo shone brighter than ever before. “Put me in, coach! I’m gonna show them what the most powerful pegasus mage in existence is capable of!”

Button Mash took a deep breath in. He looked over his shoulder at Rumble. Their eyes met. “She wants to do it.”

Rumble’s eyes bugged out of his head as a vein bulged out of his neck. “Don’t you dare—!”

A bolt of magic struck the ground beside his hooves. He leapt away, crying out as the spearhead dug at his wing. The Painted Ones flew by overhead.

Another bolt shot out the back of the machine and reflected off the metallic hide of their chosen vehicle. Button jumped into the seat and buckled himself in. “Get in, now!”

With only a second’s hesitation, Rumble jumped into the copilot’s seat. He situated his hooves in range of the weapon pedals. “They’re coming around for another pass!”

“We won’t be here!” Button held Scootaloo gently, sucking in a breath through his teeth. “Let’s hope this is our day for bad ideas working out.”

He jammed the heart into the receptacle.

The vehicle sprang to life. The wings beat automatically, lifting them ever-so-slightly above the ground. They glowed with purple magic, which lanced throughout the etchings and billowed magic towards the stone floor. Button Mash rested his hooves on the control pads. “You ready?”

“Not really!” Rumble screamed.

“Go, dummy!” Scootaloo shouted.

Button Mash pressed forward on the pads. They shot off like an arrow from a bow.

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

Well, this is the chapter where all the bad stuff happens, huh. And not just bad stuff, stuff specifically where all the characters I wanna do good stuff disappoint me.

I'm disappointed in Spike, who basically just kinda... shuts down as soon as it's dangerous for him. When everyone else is also risking being hurt by these enemies, Spike shuts down when he is cut, just in time for the real heroes to come in and save him... it reflects really badly on him. And the fact that the real heroes come in also sorta rubs in his heroic uselessness. There are real heroes there and Spike cannot be counted among their number...

And then Martial Paw is disappointing in he doesn't take the help we know is honest from Caballeron...

Of course, I'm also disappointed in Celestia, showing her mistrust for the Griffins, and reinforcing her mistrust of the Changelings while doing it.

And new Chrysalis is tempted and wonders how right the ancient queen of the changelings was... right in the same chapter we are learning exactly how awful the old changeling empire really was, in enslaving pony hearts to power their machines.

And then I'm also really disappointed in Andean and the challenge Celestia club in even considering an alliance with Auhizotal as there really is nothing good that can come from it, and he really is just an egotistical wannabe tyrant.

However, at the end, we do have that ray of hope, with Button showing he's got some magic sense in him, and the event I saw from the very beginning coming true, of him operating one of the changeling devices...

[howard035]

I'm not that worried about Cicada. You know why? When the heroes are outnumbered, it's generally good to see a whole new bunch of villains show up, they are more likely to fight amongst themselves.

Surprised that changlings can absorb magic as well as love, but maybe Blankety is special that way. I love that after Ahuizotl taunts Spike for being so reliant on his dragon heritage, Ahuiozotl's actually a kind of sucky melee combatant without magic enhancing his speed and accuracy.

Last chapter we saw the JV Knights of Harmony getting beaten by Ahuizotl's forces, good to see the Varsity team has things better in hand.

Martial Paw’s blade stabbed deep into Caballeron’s chest, nearly up to the hilt.

Ok, Martial is definitely not Batman then.

I'm very curious to see just what the robots will do. Will they follow Ahuizotl, Sweetie, or Cicada?

C'mon Andean, it's like you're still listening to Corvus! Politics can be a nasty business, so I could understand and even support Andean and friends meeting with Ahuizotl, hearing him out, then imprisoning/killing him (as were were reminded this chapter, Griffons have no problem killing) and seizing whatever magical process he's working on to raise the sun. It's the lives of everyone on the planet, back-up systems are needed. But actually trusting that nut-job, even just enough to allying with him temporarily? Booooo.

On the other hand, Celestia and her pride aren't making the best case for ponies. Sending in "sufficient" force rather than "overwhelming" force probably means the Equestrian military would take more casualties, so Celestia doesn't have to feel any more insecure now that she only has a unicorn heart in her.

Glad to see Button's puppetry skills coming in handy! Feels a bit like The Last Starfighter. My guess is that earth pony magic is what lets Button communicate with Scoots. If only that bot had water launchers!

[Flynt Coal]

Welp, I applaud Sweetie Belle's attempt at defying Ahuizotl. It's too bad she just couldn't stop herself from doing what he wanted anyway.

i.imgur.com/2De77ZM.gif

It's times like these where living in a world in which people can involuntarily burst into song is more of a curse than a gift.

[MyHobby]

9248206

Well, this is the chapter where all the bad stuff happens, huh. And not just bad stuff, stuff specifically where all the characters I wanna do good stuff disappoint me.

Yeeeeaaaahhhhh... this is the part of the story that's hardest to get through, reader-wise. This and the next chapter. All the stuff you mentioned is totally planned, though. You're supposed to be disappointed at Martial and Celestia and Andean and and and--

Well, I'd give Spike a little grace, here. He is going into shock, possibly from loss of blood. That thing where he's not feeling pain? It's not because nothing's wrong. It's because something's super-duper wrong.

But yeah, you're reacting how I'd expect. Dunno if that's good or not.

However, at the end, we do have that ray of hope, with Button showing he's got some magic sense in him, and the event I saw from the very beginning coming true, of him operating one of the changeling devices...

I've gotta give you some sort of reason to keep reading!

Also, the "Challenge Celestia Club" is a far better name than any I've been able to think up.

9248905

I'm not that worried about Cicada. You know why? When the heroes are outnumbered, it's generally good to see a whole new bunch of villains show up, they are more likely to fight amongst themselves.

Yeah, it sure would be nice if she wanted to fight against Ahuizotl!

Really nice!

Surprised that changlings can absorb magic as well as love, but maybe Blankety is special that way.

He's been using it since DayBreak. Ever since Scuttlebutt told him to fight like a changeling instead of a pony.

Ok, Martial is definitely not Batman then.

Maybe Tim Burton's Batman? Or Zach Snyder's?

back-up systems are needed. But actually trusting that nut-job, even just enough to allying with him temporarily? Booooo.

Well, Andean's a smart guy. Do you or do you not expect him to make the right choice?

This chapter could really be called "DayBreak is the worst" due to how many things were set up way-back-when...

On the other hand, Celestia and her pride aren't making the best case for ponies. Sending in "sufficient" force rather than "overwhelming" force probably means the Equestrian military would take more casualties, so Celestia doesn't have to feel any more insecure now that she only has a unicorn heart in her.

Well... keep in mind that "sufficient" to Celestia has a few differences from "sufficient" to most world leaders...

Glad to see Button's puppetry skills coming in handy! Feels a bit like The Last Starfighter. My guess is that earth pony magic is what lets Button communicate with Scoots. If only that bot had water launchers!

Ha! I can just see the dragoncopter flying down the hallway, surrounded by razor-sharp spirals of water, Rumble perched majestically on the prow.

9254525

It's times like these where living in a world in which people can involuntarily burst into song is more of a curse than a gift.

She just can't win. Darned if she do, darned if she don't.