Dissonance: A Hidden World

by Braininthejar

Chapter 34: The Battle

"Hey, it's time to wake up..."

The whisper caused Apple Bloom to open her eyes. She lifted her head from the ground, spitting out a bit of sand that had gathered in the corner of her mouth. She slowly got up, flexing her limbs one by one; she was all stiff from sleeping on the ground.

The sun was setting, the worst of the day’s heat ebbing away. Apple Bloom left the small outcropping, the only source of shade they had been able to find, and walked towards the stream. The water was warm, but it still put new energy into her. She looked at Sweetie Belle, who was nibbling on some yellowing grass.

“You know, I’m starting to have my doubts,” said Apple Bloom. “I mean, we’ve been walking for days. There is nothing here. Nopony will ever find us.”

“I think that was the point,” replied Sweetie Belle. “Besides, what could we do other than keep walking?”

Apple Bloom looked down on the bauble on her neck, then back at Sweetie Belle. “Good point.”

They resumed their walk along the stream. The air was still warm, and there was no wind blowing, the sky almost entirely clear, barring some very distant clouds far away over the mountains; this place would not see any rain anytime soon.

“So, what do you think happened?” asked Apple Bloom, when the dragging silence became unbearable.

“We’ve been over it a hundred of times,” replied Sweetie Belle with irritation. “We don’t know! All we know is that Canterlot was attacked, and that Enigma guy really wanted us to stay hidden…”

She paused, her expression vacant for a moment. “It’s very important,” she finally said.

“Yes, it is,” replied Apple Bloom. “It’s just that I’d like to know what’s going on! Was it the Obsidian guy? Or is there something wrong with Princess Celestia? Or my sister? It’s driving me nuts just hiding here for days, knowing nothing!”

“Me too, okay?” said Sweetie Belle. “It’s just that… wait, did you hear that?”

Both fillies perked up, their ears moving. There was definitely something moving nearby. As the fillies wondered what it could be, their interest suddenly gave way to worry, then fear.

“Do you think…” asked Sweetie Belle in a hesitant whisper.

“I hope not,” replied Apple Bloom. “I don’t even have a chair on me…”

It was then, when her ears caught another sound. There was something else in the grass on the other side of the stream too. Applebloom turned frantically.

“They’re around us!” she called in a scared voice, no longer trying to stay silent. Both filles looked around, trying to pick a way to run. There was no time to climb out, even if the danger weren’t in the grass above - that left only running along the stream, up or down the current. Apple Bloom’s and Sweetie Belle’s eyes met. Downstream it was.

They started galloping, just as the source of the rustling noise showed itself. But it was not what they had expected. Sweetie Belle skidded to a halt, causing a cloud of dust with her hooves.

“A zebra?”

The one looking down on her from her right was a young stallion, dressed in a harness of pouches, adorned with feathers that complemented his striped coat. He looked like a kind of colorful foreigner one could see in a travel agency brochure, if not for his expression. The zebra didn’t look like he was there to impress tourists, more like give a kicking to intruders. He said something Apple Bloom didn’t understand.

On the other bank, a mare emerged. She was similarly equipped, and similarly stern-faced. Apple Bloom saw a spear hanging on the harness at her side.

“We don’t want any trouble…” started Sweetie Belle, looking up at the stallion. “We were just lost, and…”

The stallion jumped down, landing in front of Sweetie. She flinched away with a yelp, expecting a kick, but the zebra just gave her a closer look. He started talking. Apple Bloom could guess these were questions, but didn’t understand a word of it.

Meanwhile, the mare slid down to their level, jumping over the stream, and approaching them from behind. She too said something foreign, but she was clearly talking to the stallion, not to them.

“I’m sorry,” started Apple Bloom, “but I don’t understand what you’re saying. I have a zebra friend named Zecora, but she didn’t teach me your language.”

That did get the zebras’ reaction. The two exchanged some words over the fillies’ heads.

Finally, the stallion said, “Uchongo.”

“Uchongo,” replied the mare.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other. “What’s going on?” asked Sweetie, “Do you think they know Zecora?’

“I don’t know,” replied Apple Bloom. “But she told me about her home, and it didn’t look anything like this.”

Meanwhile the two zebras turned away from the river, gesturing to the fillies to start walking. Apple Bloom hesitated, but followed, She struggled on the edge of the ditch for a moment, trying to climb up. The female zebra sighed, before propping her rump up with her head.

***

They walked for about half an hour. The zebras directed the fillies calmly, but Apple Bloom could tell that they were watching them warily, ready to react if either of them did anything suspicious.

“Where do you think they’re taking us?” said Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom considered the question. “To their home, I guess. I think they must have a village here somewhere.”

Ten minutes later, she was proven right. A circle of round adobe cottages appeared in the distance. From between the houses, curious faces poked out. As the four entered the village, they were surrounded by a small crowd of zebras, about two dozen of them.

They were a mix of stallions and mares of all ages, eyeing the newcomers with suspicion, abuzz with whispers. Apple Bloom watched them curiously. This was the first time she had seen zebra foals. She smiled at one, a small colt looking at her from behind his father’s legs. After a moment the colt returned her smile shyly.

Sweetie Belle didn’t feel so optimistic. She was looking around nervously, and Apple Bloom realized that her friend was counting the spear tips visible in the crowd.

The mare who had brought them to the village cleared her throat loudly, and spoke. It had an immediate effect of silencing the whispers of the gathered zebras. For a moment everypony was listening to her in silence. Apple Bloom caught the word “uchongo” again. It sounds like a name, she thought. I wish I could speak zebra.

As the mare finished speaking, the crowd parted. There was now a path through the middle of the village, leading to a small cottage.

“I think they want us to go there,” said Apple Bloom, walking forward. Sweetie Belle stayed behind, before quickly catching up to her friend when one of the zebras nudged her forward unexpectedly.

The inside of the cottage was dark, and smelled funny, a sour-sweet smell that made Apple Bloom think of overripe fruit.

She stuck her head through the bead curtain in the entrance. “Um… hello?” she said, “Anypony home?”

There was no answer.

Slowly, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle entered the cottage. It was small, clearly intended for just one pony, and cramped, a clutter of strange objects taking every available space. There were bundles of herbs, some of which Apple Bloom recognized. There were pots of colorful powders, dreamcatchers, bones on strings. There was a softly bubbling contraption of glass pipes, jars, and bottles, bizarrely out of place in a village such as this, which Apple Bloom instantly identified as the source of the offensive smell. There was…

Apple Bloom shivered.

There was a stretch of spotted fur covering one of the walls. Apple Bloom knew what it was. A leopard skin. She had seen one before, in Zecora’s house, and listened to a story of how some fierce warriors would keep trophies of their greatest victories to make others afraid of them. But the skin serving as a bed blanket in Zecora’s house was an imitation, carefully made with wool, and some well-applied dyes. This one, though old and dusty, was definitely real.

“Apple Bloom?” called Sweetie Belle softly. “I don’t like the look of this place. Maybe we should just go before we-”

Her hoof bumped against a long stick propped against the wall between the shelves. It was a wooden-tipped spear, made from a single piece of dark hardwood, adorned with feathers, and covered with intricate carvings of foreign writing and skull-shaped sigils. As the filly touched it, the weapon came to life, flashes of sickly green light dancing along the shaft, briefly illuminating the designs.

Sweetie Belle flinched away from it with a scared yelp, her rump colliding with an old zebra standing behind her.

Apple Bloom had no idea where he had come from. There was clearly not enough space within the cottage for him to hide, and yet, there he was, staring down at the two fillies.

It was the oldest stallion Apple Bloom had ever seen. In his youth he must have been tall and slim. Now he was so thin, he looked almost malnourished, and his limbs were bent and wrinkled, as if he got compressed by age. His head, devoid of a single mane hair, looked like a used matchstick. He was wearing an eyepatch, and the remaining eye was glaring with frightening intensity.

The fillies backed away instinctively, but there was no more space for them to back into.

“Sir?” started Apple Bloom, “We didn’t mean to intrude. We just…”

“Did,” said the stallion sternly. His voice was raspy, as worn out as his body. “Though you meant no such thing. And the zebras will weep at the doom that you bring.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Eh?”

“Doom?” asked Sweetie Belle. “ But we didn’t do anything, mister…”

The old zebra spat at the floor in front of her. His glare didn’t soften a bit. “Uchongo they call me, though it is no name. Malicious or not, the fate’s still the same. Too late it is now to drive you away. Death trots in your hoofsteps, all spirits so say.”

***

"They're ready," said Shining Armor, looking towards the barrier.

The Elements, now gathered around him, followed his gaze.

A formation of armored ponies approached the border of the protected area. There was a large device at the back, an oblong metal object on wheels, almost twice a pony’s height, being pushed forward by earth ponies marching behind it.

“Is it some kind of a battering ram?” asked Applejack.

“No, it looks more like another one of those anti-magic devices,” said Twilight. “Okay, girls, be ready.”

As they watched, the machine was slowly lifted, aiming over the ranks of the waiting soldiers.

“They’re going to try to punch a gap through the barrier,” said Shining Armor. “If this thing is as powerful as you say, they might actually succeed. We must meet them there.”

“They’ll just blast your ponies if you do,” said Obsidian. “It might be better to hold our current positions, and focus fire on the gap.”

Shining Armor sighed. “It would. But these ponies have been tricked into fighting us. I don’t want to prove them right.”

Obsidian rolled his eyes. “With you being the former captain of the guard… It might be right to assume, that you are familiar with the notion of ‘war’, yes?”

Shining Armor turned to face him. “I am. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Guys,” said Rainbow Dash. “We don’t exactly have a lot of time to plan this.”

“We do have a plan,” reassured her Twilight. “When the gap opens, we’ll use Applejack’s power to tell the truth to the Equestrian army. If that doesn’t work, we’ll use the Elements to blow up that machine. Shining Armor and Obsidian will help us keep them from getting in.”

“Sounds solid to me,” said Aurora, stretching her wings.

Applejack looked at her with doubt in her eyes. “You sure you wanna do this, sugarcube? You no longer have your Element, and all.”

Aurora gave her a smug smile. “I’ve told you all already, haven’t I? I may not be an Element anymore, but I still got all my skill. And my pegasi magic. My soul was Celestia’s power source for a thousand years, wasn’t it? Don’t worry, I still have it.”

“If you say so,” said Shining Armor. “All the better for us, if you’re right.”

“It’s starting!” shouted Pinkie Pie, pulling a pair of protective goggles from inside her helmet onto her eyes.

Everypony looked towards the enemy lines. The barrier muted the sound of the machine coming to life; all they got to hear was a low buzz, as the white energy beam struck its target. Ripples moved across the surface of the barrier. Then it rapidly faded - the beam wasn’t getting inside the city, but a translucent circle grew in the barrier around the point of impact. As the edge of the circle touched the ground, the Equestrian army moved, soldiers walking cautiously forward.

“Pinkie!” called Twilight Sparkle.

Pinkie Pie’s necklace glowed bright blue. She reached inside her helmet, pulled out a loudspeaker larger than herself, and planted it in front of Applejack. Rarity focused her own Element, purple strands of power flowing into the device.

Applejack took a deep breath, her eyes lighting up with an orange aura that matched her Element.

“YOU ALL HAVE BEEN TRICKED!” she bellowed. “YOU’RE FIGHTING FOR THE WRONG SIDE!”

The air shook from her voice, and the grass in the fields seemed to ripple in waves as the sound washed over it. But the soldiers merely braced themselves for the shockwave. Dozens of angry eyes turned towards Applejack.

Obsidian launched his staff forward. It hit the ground in front of the first rank, a discharge of magic causing a rampart of jagged rock to burst from the earth. This stopped the intruders from building momentum, but did not prevent them from getting in.

“Plan B!” shouted Twilight.

She stepped forward, lighting up Magic. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stood at her sides, providing the final two Elements.

The light show attracted instant enemy attention, unicorn horns sending blast after blast at their position - a curved wall of force sprang into existence in front of them, blocking the barrage. “Keep going!” shouted Shining Armor, sending a pulse of force that reinforced his shield against the next salvo.

Twilight looked towards the hole in the barrier, just in time to catch a glimpse of a starry blue mane behind the enemy device. Luna is there, she realized. Then the Elements fired, a wide beam of rainbow light, with the orange color strongly pronounced. It hit the same spot as the emitter beam, and the hole in the barrier instantly shrunk by one third, so rapidly, that some ponies were sent flying into each other, as the edges caught them. Those in the middle were instead thrown to the ground, the opposing forces above them colliding in a violent explosion.

“Push it!” shouted Obsidian, “You’re the Elements of Harmony! This is just a machine!”

“Not just,” said Aurora beside him, “Envy’s giving it power. See?” She pointed her hoof towards the enemy lines.

Obsidian gritted his teeth when he saw what she was pointing at. Then he smiled. The beam of the Elements had pushed through the barrier, so that the point of explosion was now outside the Empire and moving towards the emitter. He could see the Equestrian soldiers start to panic as the hole shrunk rapidly behind them. From the Imperial positions, a salvo of arrows was loosed; the projectiles were crystal-tipped, exploding into balls of icicles when they hit their target. It seemed Glitterdust was doing his part coordinating the defense.

“Just a bit further,” said Twilight Sparkle, “We’re almost there!”

It was then that a group of pegasi flew into the battlefield. They approached the hole in the barrier at different angles, barely avoiding the colliding beams before making a coordinated turn that made them a coherent formation.

Dash chanced a look up. Her eyes widened. She couldn’t get a closer look to compare the armors to the uniforms she’d recognize, but she would never mistake that flight formation for anything else.

“It’s them…”

Aurora looked at Dash, gave her a nod, and took to the air.

Meanwhile, the attackers swerved away from the Elements’ position, and to their right over the Imperial archers, a blanket of thick fog dragging behind them as they flew, too fast for the ground-bound bows to take a proper aim at them.

Obsidian looked at the cloud, and his smile disappeared completely. “It’s Arrogance!” he shouted, but it was too late. There was a brief flash, and the cloud turned into a giant fireball, several houses disappearing in the conflagration. The Elements swayed on their hooves, more from the shock than from the blast itself - Shining Armor managed to reshape his barrier at the last moment.

As the shock wave passed, the Elements looked at the destruction in horror, their beam dissipating along with their concentration. Through the clearing smoke they could still see the Wonderbolts flying away, somehow riding the blast wave of their own attack.

“They’re after the Heart!” shouted Twilight Sparkle.

“Cadence!” gasped Shining Armor.

Obsidian ground his teeth. “They’re forcing us to split. We need to stop them at both spots, or we lose. Twilight, teleport with Kindness and Loyalty to the tower. We go smash that machine." He pointed his staff at the enemy line, where the gap in the barrier started growing again, the Equestrian soldiers cheering loudly at the explosion and redoubling their efforts in breaking through Obsidian’s improvised rampart.

“I’ll hold the line here,” said Shining Armor, new determination in his eyes. “You!” he shouted towards some startled adjutant, “Find Glitterdust. I want all the bows we have left shooting on that approach. Make an ice field there.”

Twilight swallowed, and closed her eyes, Magic lighting up on her forehead. In a flash, both her and her two pegasi friends disappeared.

“You know what to do,” said Obsidian. The remaining Elements nodded, though there was a moment of fearful hesitation in both Applejack and Rarity.

“Then follow me!” shouted Obsidian. He leapt out of cover, driving his staff into the ground. The earth underneath him bulged and flowed, sending him forward, riding atop a miniature mudslide.

“After him!” shouted Applejack, leaping after Obsidian and running forward, sparks of orange light dancing around her hooves as she accelerated.

They were two thirds to the enemy line, incoming bolts of magic bouncing harmlessly off their protections, when Pinkie Pie overtook them. She was rolling downhill at a terrifying speed, a blur of her blue magic mixed with Rarity’s purple forming a ball-shaped aura around her. She hit the enemy line ahead of her friends, ponies flying in all directions with the sound of falling bowling pins; the strike didn’t cause its targets visible injuries, but left them scattered on the ground in odd positions, their bodies strangely stiff, and their faces frozen in comically shocked expressions.

Pinkie Pie ended her roll with a somersault that landed her on her feet, right in the middle of the Equestrian ranks. Immediately half a dozen ponies pounced at her, but their hooves and weapons only hit air. She was dodging left and right, her armor momentarily replaced with baggy trousers and a pair of sunglasses, each blow missing her by an inch, until her attackers’ momentum carried them into each other, their colliding limbs somehow tangling them into a helpless ball of struggling bodies.

Half way down the slope, Rarity kept feeding Pinkie extra energy. A bunch of armored pegasi flew in her direction, but a salvo of arrows from the imperial positions intercepted them mid-charge, causing them to crash from the sudden weight of the ice covering their armor and wings. The last one managed to dodge the projectiles with a roll, and then turned to sweep at Rarity from her right; just as she was about to defend herself, a pink barrier sprung to existence in front of her, the attacking pegasus slamming into it muzzle-first, going cross-eyed, and slowly sliding down onto the ground. Rarity turned just in time to see Shining Armor saluting her from behind cover.

In return, she sent a strand of her power up, towards another salvo his soldiers had just loosed into the air. The glowing arrows hit the ground in a line, their empowered tips exploding into a layer of ice, forming a five foot wide line in front of the Equestrians.

A spell flew towards Rarity. This time she conjured her own shield, to supplement Shining Armor’s, but the projectile didn’t strike her at all, instead exploding like a firework, the glowing particles forming an image of an arrow pointing down at her. Suddenly there were many more projectile incoming…

Meanwhile, Obsidian got past Pinkie, sliding between the incapacitated soldiers into the lines of ponies behind. Unlike Pinkie, he pulled no punches - his staff swung in a wide arc in front of him, knocking everypony out of his way. Applejack cringed as she heard the sound of shattering armor and breaking bone.

“Out of our way!” she shouted a warning, but she didn’t see any ponies react to it in any way; those who did move out of the way clearly did it out of fear of Obsidian’s display of power.

The three ponies broke through the enemy line, and crossed through the hole in the barrier - it was already as wide as a barn, and just as tall. The device was clearly in sight, shielded by the last line of defenders.

Obsidian aimed his staff like a javelin, directing it underneath the silvery beam the emitter was still sending, but then swung it in front of himself instead, stabbing the ground with the tip. A blinding lightning bolt that had been aimed at him hit the staff instead, striking down the shaft as if sucked in.

Luna flew out from behind the beam, bolts of lightning striking down at the three ponies.

Obsidian calmly let his staff redirect the power of the attack, keeping him safe in the eye of the storm. Pinkie Pie danced and twisted as the lightning bolts struck around her, seemingly unharmed, until suddenly her hair stood on end, puffing up into a fuzzy ball.
Applejack had no fancy tricks. Her aura expanded to protect her, a ball of thick, amber light. She still felt her muscles cramping, and smelled ozone and singed fur. “You!” she shouted, the power of Honesty filling her. “What have you done to these ponies!?”

Without breaking her attack, Luna gave Applejack a condescending smile. “Oh. I’ve just made sure they wouldn’t listen to you. Ignorance is bliss, and I want my subjects happy!”

Applejack bared her teeth. A bolt of orange light shot from her her Element, but missed its mark. “You’re a monster!”

Luna’s smile disappeared. “I believe you,” she said coldly. “And you know what? To keep order in Equestria, I’m ready to cull every single pony you’ve set against me with your words. You’ll see it soon enough.”

A bolt of blue magic flew at Luna. She deflected it with a half-sphere of force.

“Go, get the machine!” barked Obsidian, “We’ll keep her busy.”

“Like I’d let you,” said Luna. The air around her seemed to fold into itself, then her image was reflected all around her, like a piece of colored glass in a kaleidoscope. Within a second there were a wall of Lunas blocking Applejack’s path.

Without even stopping to think, Obsidian fired another bolt of magic. The Luna he was aiming at summoned a barrier to deflect the blast.

“Tricks of light?” he said, sneering, “When I can smell your blackened soul?”

Applejack didn’t want to wait and see what would happen next; she ran straight through the wall of mirages, reinforcing her protective powers as she went - the aura covering her body thickened around vital spots, until she was clad in a suit of spectral plate armor, ready to take the inevitable attack that would come her way.

Obsidian launched his staff. It pierced through Luna’s barrier, forcing her to dodge just as she was about to send a beam of light into Applejack’s back. She swerved, and fired at him instead.

Obsidian’s staff hadn’t come back yet, limiting his options for defense; he dodged, blurring from the speed as the magic flowed through the runes covering his body, propelling him sideways, but he wasn’t quick enough, the beam burning a gash across his shoulder.

Luna teleported, emerging from a nimbus of darkness on his other side, ready to land a decisive hit while he was distracted with pain

“Moon attack!” she heard a yell to her left. She caught a glimpse of pink in the corner of her eye, but it was too late to turn, the attacker already within her personal space. The time seemed to slow down as her pattern-enhanced senses calmly registered every detail of the pink pony rump about to collide with her face…

***

“OUT OF MY WAY” shouted Applejack, magic amplifying her voice. The armored earth ponies standing in her way didn’t listen, instead planting the back ends of their spears in the ground, ready to receive the charge. Groaning internally, Applejack stomped both front hooves hard as she ran, the magic imbued into the impact causing the earth to move in a parting wave, splitting the defensive line with a wedge of loose soil, and sending the ponies tumbling to the sides. I’m getting the hang of this, thought Applejack. She kept running, straight at the enemy device.

She was underneath the great beam, so close that she felt a cold shiver down her spine, and her magic waned for a second. Then a needle flew at her face. It pierced through the outside layer of the barrier, slowed to a crawl, but kept going, the magic propelling it compensating for the lost momentum. Applejack kept staring at it moving straight at her eye, her defense instincts causing her mask to reshape, forming a protective visor. As the tip finally stopped, touching the ‘glass’ over her eyes, Applejack felt several more impacts. There were five needles in her barrier now, each slowly moving towards some point that neither the metal nor the aura armor covered.

“Hey, what gives?” Applejack turned, so that now the needles were aimed at obviously armored spots. She looked around, eyes glowing orange, until she found what she was looking for - a slate grey unicorn hiding behind what she could only guess was an illusion spell; there was a small cloud of dust there, but Applejack could see through it as if it were a sheet of glass.

“Pierce!” she shouted.

In reply, he fired another salvo of needles. Applejack ducked, and focused her magic close to her body - she felt the needles ricochet from the metal of her helmet. “Stop that!” she shouted, firing a beam of orange light from her gem. Pierce rolled aside, avoiding the shot, and dropped a smoke bomb. This was no illusion; Applejack lost sight of him for a moment. She didn’t wait for him to strike again, instead moving aside to get behind cover of the emitter, ready to finally smash it.

There was somepony standing on the other side.

“Step away from it!” said an angry voice. It was distorted by the mask of the armored hazmat suit the pony was wearing, but still recognisably female.

Applejack prepared for a fight, but then saw something that made her reconsider and step away. There was a heavy harness around the mare’s body, pieces of metal hanging from it where the saddle bags would be. The left half looked like an oblong canister, pipes and cables going from it over the mare’s back. The right side piece Applejack recognised instantly. The anti-magic gun. There was a thick cord extending from the trigger system, attached to the side of the mare’s mask.

She speaks, thought Applejack. Her Honesty was already active, she just needed to channel a bit of power into her voice. It was worth a try.

“I don’t want to fight you,” she said. She then watched her opponent’s reaction, looking for an opportunity to get out of the weapon’s arc of fire. She knew she could move fast, but she remembered the beam to be surprisingly wide - the gun did not require much skill to hit its target.

“Well, you shouldn’t have started then,” said the mare bitterly, advancing. Her head was leaning to the left, pulling the cord taut, the right eye fixed on Applejack.

“So, you can understand me?” asked Applejack. “Nopony else could.”

“I do,” replied the mare. “Dr Stone spent weeks proofing my brain against intrusion after the changelings mess. If only she’d done the same for my daughter…”

Applejack didn’t understand at first. “Your… daughter? Wait… Bluebonnet?”

“Tourmaline died because of you!” shouted Bluebonnet, her voice now clearly recognisable even through the mask.

Applejack stepped backwards. “I didn’t do anything!” she snapped back, “It was her gizmo that blew up!”

“They don’t ‘blow up',” snarled Bluebonnet.

“I know,” said Applejack. For a moment she lost her focus on the gun still aimed at her, instead putting all of her mind in the conversation. She could feel Bluebonnet’s sincerity, and the pain in her words. Her eyes glowed soft orange as she spoke. “Scootaloo told me that too. But we hadn’t even touched the thing. We didn’t know it existed.”

Bluebonnet was trembling, so badly that she was at risk of firing the gun by accident. The muzzle was swaying from side to side, but always keeping Applejack in the line of fire. “She was... my only daughter,” stuttered Bluebonnet, “She was just a child! And you dragged her into your stupid war!”

Applejack looked her in the eyes. “I never even spoke to your daughter. She…” Applejack paused. “She was at the palace earlier, wasn’t she? You think she might have overheard something…”

Applejack stood transfixed, her mind trying to comprehend the situation. Then lightning flashed, and thunder rolled behind her; the battle between Luna, Obsidian and Pinkie was still going.

The sudden realisation shook Applejack awake, making her mind race instead. I… I can’t just stand here talking! There are ponies dying! And I can’t leave this as it is either! And she’s still aiming that gun at me… What do I do?

Applejack took a lower stance, wisps of orange appearing underneath her hooves. She kept looking Bluebonnet in the eyes. “Now I understand what she said.”

Bluebonnet froze, her head, about to pull the trigger, jerking back. “What?” she stuttered, staring back at Applejack. “What did she say?”

Applejack pounced, not aside, but straight forward, clearing the distance between the two in a split second. She almost collided with Bluebonnet, their muzzles brushing past each other as the engineer pulled to the left. Applejack reached forward and snapped with her teeth, her magically enhanced strength cutting the exposed metal cord. She then pushed with her front hooves, sending the engineer tumbling backwards.

“She said she’d put an end to this,” said Applejack, “So you’all could be free.”

She turned, and bucked the giant emitter. The metal shell reverberated from the force, with a discordant sound, like a badly cast bell, then something burst inside, and the beam shorted out. The device fell on its side, steam hissing from inside the shell, After a couple seconds, the steam was replaced with smoke.

Applejack didn’t wait to see more. She turned and galloped away, back towards her friends.

Bluebonnet sat up, and watched her go in silence, After a while, she registered somepony else standing beside her.

“You… didn’t shoot her,” she finally said to Pierce.

Pierce gazed into the distance, where Applejack had disappeared, and then at Bluebonnet. “And you didn’t retreat as ordered.”

“My job was to protect you, not the emitter,” continued Pierce. “You let her get close to you, and by the time I was in a position for a clean shot, it would have put you in danger. She didn’t want to fight you, but if I hit her and failed…”

Bluebonnet finally rose to her hooves. “Take me back to the tent,” she said. She walked with him at her side, neither looking into the other’s eyes. Behind them trumpets sounded for retreat, the hole in the barrier closing rapidly.

***

Rainbow Dash appeared on the balcony of the Crystal Tower, right next to the surprised Cadence. Being the fastest to reorient herself after the teleportation, she put her front hooves on the bannister, ready to jump out and into the air.

In the distance, she saw six familiar shapes approaching, the primary lineup of the Wonderbolts. I’m really going to have to fight them.

Then it hit her. Arrogance is among them. But they’re all on the team… That means... Rainbow’s blood ran cold. She’s already killed one of them, She’s wearing the body like a suit!

“Come on!” called Twilight behind her, “We need to stop them!”

“What’s going on?” asked Cadence, following Rainbow’s gaze over the city until she too noticed the approaching shapes.

“They’re after the Heart,” said Rainbow Dash. “Arrogance is among them.”

“Then we better move down there,” said Bling, entering the balcony. “Can you teleport us down, miss Sparkle?”

“No need to,” replied Cadence. Grabbing both Twilight and Bling with her telekinesis, she spread her wings, and jumped off the balcony, gliding down towards the plaza.

Rainbow Dash was already in the air, climbing up to get into a better position, trying to get a good look at the approaching Wonderbolts. “Aurora… where are you?” she whispered under her breath.

“So… what should I do?” asked Fluttershy behind her.

“Their plan is probably to split up and attack the Heart from many sides at once,” said Dash. “I’ll try to keep them split. You pick one that isn’t Arrogance, and keep her out of the fight.”

Fluttershy looked fearfully towards the approaching enemies. “Is that all?” she asked.

Dash nodded, but mentally slapped herself. She should have stayed at the breach. She’d be more useful there. She doesn’t know anything about aerial combat. Why did Obsidian put her here?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she caught movement in the distance. “Wait, what's that?”

There were more pegasi in the air now, the Empire’s meagre air force. The first line of defence had failed, surprised and scattered by the initial explosion, and then tied up in combat by the Equestria pegasi who followed the Wonderbolts through the breach. The few that managed to give pursuit weren’t quite fast enough to catch up with the intruders.

The second line, six pegasi protecting the tower, had flown below Dash and were now right in the path of the approaching Wonderbolts.

“No! Don’t stand in their way like that” shouted Dash, but even as she did, she knew she was too far away, her voice not loud enough to serve as an adequate warning.

The Wonderbolts split up, right before the two forces would meet. The defenders did too, trying to intercept them. This was a fatal mistake; the more maneuverable Equestrian ace fliers managed to turn what would have been a head-on collision into a series of small clashes, at angles that they were able to dictate.

A part of Dash’s mind, one she was pretty sure was not really hers, told her that the Wonderbolts weren’t really that great. But they were much better than their opponents, and that was enough. The air was filled with sprays of blood, and flying feathers, the acrobatic fly-by attacks striking at exposed wings and necks.

One pony was an exception to the rule: Spitfire. She did not swerve aside, but went straight at the pony trying to stop her. She hit him with her front hooves, the enameled metal breastplate shattering like glass under her touch, the impact driving sharp edges into the surprised soldier’s chest. He fell backwards towards the ground, spinning in the air, a trail of red droplets in his wake. Then the air behind Spitfire exploded, the pegasi sent spinning by the other Wonderbolts’ attacks instantly engulfed by the flames.

It’s her realized Dash, Arrogance has killed Spitfire!

She chanced a look behind. Cadence had reached the ground, and was now fortifying her position, her spells growing spiked ridges of crystal on the tower walls, while the guards prepared their bows. Twilight had taken position in front of the Heart - there were now lines of energy swirling around her, power gathering at her forehead.

That’s a start, thought Dash, better than me charging them head-on. She flew higher, still undecided who to aim at.

Silver Zoom, Misty Fly, Soarin, Blaze, Fire Streak… Arrogance. Do I hit a Wonderbolt, or do I go one on one with Her? It took all of us last time…

Then Twilight’s spell fired, and the time for thinking was over. Arrogance noticed the attack coming, and fell to the right, a barrel roll that let her keep her direction without losing momentum. The whole formation split, and then swooped down, flying just over the rooftops.

Dash swooped down too. She’s no longer a princess, is she? There’s six of them and six of us. I can take her.

Another beam fired, missing Soarin and hitting a chimney instead, the spell covering the whole roof in a foot thick layer of crystal.

Dash was falling down, heading for Spitfire. She pointed one hoof forward, aiming with the tip of the blade attached to her foreleg.

The ground rushed to meet her. She registered the air shifting in front of her, but it was too late to stop. She projected her magic to protect her, an armor of red light complete with a full face mask - that probably saved her eyes. The thick cloud of vapor that the air above Spitfire had suddenly turned into was frighteningly cold, enough that the sudden shock knocked the breath out of Rainbow. She could feel tiny ice crystals growing on her feathers.

Spitfire didn’t even look in her direction, but as Rainbow flew past her, she saw the roof below get reshaped, transforming into a bunch of long spikes.

There was no time to stop anymore - Instead Dash transferred all her power to her hoof - she struck the spike she was about to be impaled on, swiping past the tip, shattering it, and landing inside the house in a shower of debris; the impact collapsed most of the weakened roof, leaving Rainbow bruised and disoriented on the floor.

She shook her head, spat out a crystal shard that had ended up in her mouth, and jumped back into the air, just in time to see one of Twilight’s shots finally connect, sending Fire Streak flying towards the ground, encased in a solid block of crystal.

She also saw Fluttershy fly right into Silver Zoom’s path, shouting something urgently. Kindness was glowing on her chest, and the speeding stallion didn’t strike her, instead swerving to avoid the collision, a move that took him further away from his teammates, spoiling the coordination of the attack.

The Wonderbolts were already above the central plaza. They split, with Silver Zoom and Misty Fly on the left, while the rest approached from the right, using the corners of the tower as cover from the ponies shooting from underneath it. Dash shot after them, but she knew she wouldn’t get there fast enough to contribute to the first clash.

Spitfire was spearheading the attack, clouds forming in front of her as fast as she was flying, absorbing the guards' crystal arrows, and falling down as spiky clumps of ice.

Something pink and blue fell out of the sky, striking Spitfire’s formation from the right. It exploded with the force that made Cadence’s improvised defences crack and splinter, a spreading ring of opalescent colors blowing away Spitfire’s next attack away before it could fully form, sending the mare herself tumbling through the air, barely avoiding a direct hit; the streak of color flew past her, and hit Soarin instead, a leg blade piercing his side armor just below the wing with a force that sent him flying like a thrown ragdoll, all the way across the plaza, and landing in somepony’s garden on the other side.

That’s crazy! thought Rainbow Dash, hitting moving things at this speed, but she herself accelerated, a red contrail of Loyalty replacing her usual rainbow one.

“Aurora!” shouted Spitfire, regaining control, and flying aside around one of the corners of the tower before anypony could exploit the opening.

“Missed me!?” shouted back Aurora, finally losing the momentum of her charge, but making sure to stay on the move. She flew under the tower, and almost right into Spitfire’s path, only swerving at the last moment, when the Shattered tried to put an explosion in her way.

“That’s a brave pony you killed!” called Spitfire, flying out of the flames, avoiding shots from Twilight and Cadence. She didn’t seem to raise her voice - instead it sounded as if she was using a loudspeaker.

A line of flame streaked from her and underneath the tower. Cadence and Twilight were able to shield themselves, and the Heart was now surrounded by a round shell of crystal, but several palace guards weren’t that lucky, the explosion reaching them even behind their improvised battlements.

“No!” shouted Aurora, “You did!” She kept looking for an opening, but kept her distance from Spitfire for the moment, “You use ponies as tools, and then get upset when they break!”

Silver Zoom and Misty Fly made a flying charge at Cadence. She caused a spiked rampart to burst from the floor in front of her, forcing them to split, and fly around her, but Misty Fly still managed to hit a guard, a flying kick knocking the helmet off his head and sending him sliding along the ground. Dash intercepted Misty on her way out; the two mares collided, exchanging blows until finally Dash flipped herself over backwards, kicking off with both hind legs - the point of impact flashed red with Loyalty’s power, and Misty Fly was sent flying away, two hoofprints burning hot on her armor.

Dash recovered her balance just in time to see Spitfire take another turn underneath the tower - Twilight and Cadence took shots at her, but missed, leaving them a split second to shield themselves when her contrail exploded again. Once again a muffled scream announced that somepony else wasn’t that lucky.

Then Spitfire spun the air around herself, using it to make a seemingly impossible turn, flying out of the smoke right behind Cadence.

A shot of green magic flew at her, turning what would be a deadly attack into a desperate dodge. Cadence ducked, a half-sphere of force appearing above her head.

“You traitor!” shouted Spitfire at Bling. The stallion replied with a series of shots, two of them grazing her armor, forcing her to seek cover again.

Dash tried to intercept her on her way out, but another explosion forced her to back down. As she recovered, she noticed Fluttershy on the other side - apparently she was trying to keep up with Silver Zoom, but despite matching him with speed, she couldn’t quite match his maneuverability.
Dash turned the corner and returned underneath, just in time to see Blaze fly in from her right - the mare dove at the last remaining guard, decapitating him with a fly-by before making a strike at the crystal protecting the heart. Flying on the opposite side to Cadence and Twilight, she blindsided them long enough to take a strong swing, cracks spreading across the surface from the long cut she made.

Dash flew after her, speeding up on the low pass. As she was flying by, a part of her mind registered the guard’s head on the crystal pavement; the blank look of surprise in the dead eye made Rainbow’s stomach turn.

She caught up with Blaze, and the Wonderbolt turned. For a moment, she was flying upside down, staring into Dash, two faces that mirrored each other, full of outrage and determination. Dash did not strike. The Wonderbolt did, but her blade was stopped by Loyalty’s magic. Then they fell away from each other, each taking her own turn to return to the crystal.

There was another explosion. Aurora flew in Dash’s peripheral vision, trying to hit one of the remaining Wonderbolts while clearly avoiding direct fight with Spitfire - after using her trump card, she wasn’t eager to get close to her.

Why isn’t Arrogance diving in the floor like the last time? thought Dash. Then she understood. The Heart’s magic must be messing with her powers, just like her machines did with ours. She moved crystals against me, but so close to the Heart it must be hard. She won’t risk getting trapped underground. She’ll just try to blow us up until it sticks.

Blaze fell, a shot from Bling piercing her wing, leaving her helpless against Cadence’s spell, which enveloped her in a cocoon of crystal - she crashed to the floor, and then slid along, finally coming to a stop at the corner of the tower.

Then there was another explosion, and another; it seemed Spitfire set up two of them in a row to create confusion. The last blast shattered the barrier around the Crystal Heart, leaving it exposed from the side opposite to Cadence. Dash saw Spitfire fly out of the haze, feathers singed by her own attack, trying to surprise the princess of love once again. At the same time, Silver Zoom flew in from the opposite side, aiming at the Heart.

Bling shot at Spitfire, but she forced a small pillar of crystal to shoot out of the floor and shield her. Cadence started turning, but not quickly enough.

Dash and Aurora flew in from the opposing directions - Dash struck at Spitfire, forcing her to block, red sparks flying as the blades collided. Aurora dove underneath, flooring Cadence, and pushing her out of the way of the attack.

In a flash, Fluttershy teleported in, shielding the exposed Crystal Heart with her chest. “No,” she said, softly but sternly, looking the charging Wonderbolt straight in the eyes.

It was a moment that seemed frozen in time, blades clashing, shots flying, multiple mouths opened to shout. Then time reasserted itself, both Spitfire and Silver Zoom swerving away and retreating, the Shattered leaving the last pocket of explosive gas to cover her escape.

Dash watched them go as the haze cleared; they were flying back to the main battle, Silver Zoom a bit unevenly, his side injured by a glancing hit from Bling on the way out. Misty Fly joined the two, and then Spitfire made something on the ground explode, leaving a thick smokescreen behind them.

“Did we win?” Dash asked Aurora.

Aurora nodded. “Yea. It was three against five, and it looks like they’ve run out of time.” She pointed towards the edge of the city where the silvery white light had faded. “See, the hole is closing. Obsidian must have succeeded.”

“Do we chase her?” asked Dash.

“No,” replied Aurora.”We can’t leave the Heart. This would be a great moment for the Shattered to pull off something sinister. We can’t let our guard down.”

Breathing heavily, Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight, doing her best not to look at the mangled bodies sprawled on the ground. She instead turned towards Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, how did you do that? I didn’t know you could teleport.”

Fluttershy blushed. “Well, I couldn’t get here in time, and we’ve sort of all done it before…”

Rainbow Dash lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “Am I the only one who can’t do magic here?”

“You can do the armor thing,” said Aurora. “That’s really useful.”

Cadence looked sadly at the battlefield. “Let’s secure the Heart.” Her magic flowed from her horn, growing extra layers of crystal to fill the gap. “Then we’ll find out how the… battle… went.”

***

They met twenty minutes later, on the balcony of the palace, all except Bling, who took over the command of the border. Nearly everypony was wounded in some way, most just dusty, and covered in superficial burns and scratches, but Glitterdust was limping from a hind leg wound, and Obsidian had several burns from Luna’s light beams, deep enough that they would probably incapacitate a normal pony. Dash was watching in morbid fascination as the stallion’s wounds slowly closed, his internal magic accelerating the healing process. Pinkie looked relatively unharmed, except for being left with a mullet, after an energy beam cut off the top of her mane. Tellingly, Rarity seemed too exhausted to care.

Spike was walking in and out of the balcony, bringing a tray of hot tea. He kept looking from one pony to another with growing concern, before finally abandoning his task altogether, leaving an empty tray propped against the door frame, and resting his head on Twilight’s side. Twilight used her magic to ruffle his head frill absent-mindedly.

“I was really worried for you,” said Spike. “This isn’t like your normal adventures.”

“I know,” said Twilight. “All of this is horrible. But as long as we stick together, we’ll find a way to win. We’ll save Equestria as we always have.”

Beside her, Pinkie Pie was trying to get her mane fixed, finally putting her hoof in her mouth, and blowing hard, until hair popped out of her head, expanding into an afro before regaining its regular shape. Suddenly, she shuddered, looked down on her body, and then gave everypony around a strange look.

“What was it, Pinkie?” asked Twilight.

Pinkie looked around. “I don’t know. But I don't like it.”

Spike looked around too. “Well, that’s not worrisome at all,” he said fearfully.

“We’ve lost twenty four ponies,” recounted Shining Armor. "We killed about as much in return, including one Wonderbolt, and captured two others.”

“The binding crystal spell will keep them unharmed, but immobile,” said Cadence. "We should use the occasion to figure out what the Shattered had done to them.”

“We’ve also wrecked their machine,” added Shining. “How easily do you think they can fix it?”

“If Arrogance could conjure one with her powers,” said Obsidian, “she’d likely mass produce them for this battle. So either they’re somehow too complex even for her, or they require some rare material she cannot duplicate.”

“Let’s hope it’s the former,” said Glitterdust. “We really need the time to rest.”

“What we need is a clear shot at either Envy or Arrogance,” said Aurora. “I don’t know why the other Shattered haven’t shown up, and it worries me, but so far these two seem to be the key to the siege. If we could seal at least one of them, it could be enough to stop them at least for now.”

“We need a more permanent solution,” said Twilight Sparkle. “We can’t keep dragging this pointless battle on. It’s getting… ponies killed.”

“The Equestrian high command agrees with your assessment,” said Luna’s voice beside her.

Everypony froze. It was Luna’s voice, but it came from Spike’s mouth. The ponies spread out, forming a circle around the little dragon, who was staring in horrified surprise at his own snout.

Shining Armour stepped in front of Cadence, shielding her. “Envy? How did you get in here?”

There was no reply. Instead, Spike’s eyes widened as his throat bulged. He tried to cover his mouth with his claws, but in vain. In the corner of her eye Twilight saw Obsidian and Glitterdust bolting towards the door. Dash and Aurora were quick to react too, flying away and down, Dash grabbing Fluttershy as she went, pulling her over the railing. Shining Armour, already protecting Cadence, powered up his shield. Twilight followed suit, conjuring a force bubble that encompassed her, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. As the flame forced its way out of the dragon’s mouth, if formed a single object – a metal ball the size of a grapefruit. As it hit the ground, falling between Twilight and Spike, it came to life with a loud whirr and immediately Twilight felt a familiar tension building up.

Pattern! The shield won’t be enough!

With only a split second to do anything, she changed her spell. In a flash, the four ponies inside the bubble disappeared. They popped back into existence in the adjacent room, just as the floor shook with a loud explosion.

As soon as she recovered her senses, Twilight ran back into the throne room and onto the balcony. Everything was hidden in a cloud of dust. Behind the crystal door frame, Obsidian was rising to his hooves. The frame itself was cracked, and as she passed it by, Twilight noticed an object lodged in the crystal – a thick metal flechette. She ran outside, nearly tripping over the broken body of Glitterdust. The limp had slowed him down a precious second; the blast had hit him from behind, with one flechette striking the back of his head, splitting the helmet.

Twilight turned away from the gore, holding her breath. She caught something purple in the corner of her eye. Spike was sitting with his back on the wall, apparently thrown there by the explosion. He was clutching his chest, blood oozing from between his fingers. Seeing Twilight, he tried to smile despite the pain.
“Thick scales... can’t feel a thing...” and then suddenly went limp.

The unicorn rushed to his side, pulling his claws away from his chest with her magic. Underneath there was a mess of red, a glint of metal marking the back end of the deadly dart. She looked around frantically for something, anything that might help. What she saw instead was something even worse.

Princess Cadence was sitting on the floor, her mouth half open, staring down at the inert form in front of her. Shining Armour was in a heap on the ground, three irregular holes torn in the chest piece of his armour. Another flechette seemed to have grazed his head, ripping the cheek, but that could hardly make matters worse. The blankness of his opened eyes proclaimed his condition with all finality. Twilight froze, incapable of deciding what to do. She could hear her friends running past her towards the princess. Cadence herself wasn’t injured, she wasn’t even splattered with blood. However, she wouldn’t move from her spot, still staring down at her husband’s body, her eyes growing unfocused even as the others around her started shouting to get her attention.

With a reverberating sound, like a thousand wine glasses breaking, the barrier around the city shattered and disappeared.

Author's Note:

As always, comments very appreciated.

Also, there is a literary reference hidden in this chapter - a virtual cookie for whoever finds it.

Comments

[Rakdar]

Won every battle but the one that matters eh

[Braininthejar]

9923439
That is the problem with fighting to protect something - you only need to fail once.