CRISIS: New World Order

by GanonFLCL

Chapter Four: Extrication

Things were supposed to be different this time. That was one of the many, many panicked thoughts racing through Rarity’s head as she galloped along with Apple Bloom and Bluebolt, using the best healing magic she could muster to keep Symphony from bleeding to death on Bloom’s back. There wasn’t supposed to be any needless violence and bloodshed this time. There wasn’t supposed to be any danger this time. There wasn’t supposed to be any panic or fear this time.

This time was supposed to be different. And yet here she was, and it was all still the same. Maybe this world just didn’t want to be different?

Rarity had to give Bloom a lot of credit for maintaining a straight face and a fierce determination in spite of having a bleeding young unicorn draped over her back. She was so much like Applejack that it was amazing, but more than that, she had a strength to her that Rarity was thankful to have along for the journey. She wasn’t sure if she could make it through all this without somepony like that by her side.

Bluebolt, meanwhile, was in a sort of fugue state, galloping along Bloom’s side opposite of Rarity, holding Symphony’s hoof with her wing and muttering assurances both to Symphony and to herself. The poor mare’s face was streaked with tears, her face practically frozen in panic. Rarity had seen this sort of thing before last time around between Fluttershy and Lockwood, and later between Lockwood and Blackburn.

The group moved through the mountainous tunnels for what seemed like hours, and Rarity was growing more and more anxious by the minute. Had Sundial and Flurry gotten away? Were they going to be able to catch up? Were those two dreadful kirins right behind them? Worse, did she herself even know where she was going? Would she just loop back around and run straight into Kauldron and Krystal again? These tunnels twisted and turned so often that she was losing track of which direction was which, going off of memory as best she could and not even sure if each turn she took was the right one.

Things couldn’t get much worse, she thought.

It was a stupid thought, and she hated herself the moment she even considered it. Things could always get worse, and just when you think they couldn’t, they invariably would. It was seemingly the foremost concept of this world’s fundamental essence.

So naturally, of course, things got worse. An earth pony wearing a full-body uniform melted out of the shadows of the wall, stepping out and blocking the upcoming path.

Rarity narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. Bloom had told her a little about this “Two-eighteen” or whatever he was called, and he definitely wasn’t on their side. She didn’t say anything, though, not yet. She didn’t want to risk antagonizing him and making the situation worse for no reason. It was best just to see what he wanted for now.

Bluebolt apparently lacked Rarity’s tact. “Get out of here!” she snapped, stepping forward and gesturing angrily with her hoof. “We’ve got enough to deal with without dealing with you!” She looked about half-ready to just lunge at him right then and there, even without her weapon.

Two-eighteen said nothing yet. He just looked amongst the four mares, his expression impossible to read under those tinted goggles. After a moment, he tilted his head slightly. “She isn’t with you.” His voice was calm and quiet, a chilling monotone that lacked any semblance of life or heart.

“Huh?”

“The Chronomancer isn’t with you.”

Bluebolt grit her teeth and took another step forward. “No, Sundial’s not with us right now. So just... buzz off! Get the hell out of our way! Or I’ll make you.”

“Bluebolt, darling, don’t antagonize him,” Rarity said, keeping her voice low while she watched the earth pony for any movements. She was no fighter, but without Sundial here, she felt it was her duty to watch over the others. “We can’t afford to have him attack us if you make him angry, so please, just keep calm.”

Bloom snorted, also keeping her eyes on Two-eighteen. “I ain’t afraid o’ him, Rarity. I’ll protect us if it comes ta fightin’, just you watch.”

“Not with Symphony on your back you’re not,” Rarity muttered, putting her hoof on Bloom’s shoulder to hold her steady.

Bloom ignored her and stepped forward alongside Bluebolt. “If y’all’re after our friend Sundial, then you’re gonna have ta go through us first, y’hear?”

Rarity bit her lip. “Just like your sister…” she sighed.

She lit her horn brighter, then carefully lifted Symphony off of Bloom’s back and set her down. There was no sense in risking her well-being if Bloom was going to “go all Applejack” on this stallion, as Pinkie would say.

Two-eighteen gave a low grunt. “Orders: locate Chronomancer. None of you are her. Fight isn’t with you.”

“So you are still looking to fight with her?” Bluebolt snorted, scuffing her hoof on the floor. “What did she ever do to you?”

“Yeah, why are ya even tryin’ to come after her, anyway, 'specially now?” Bloom added. “She saved yer life the other day, pullin’ y’all out o’ that cave. An’ I helped, in case ya forgot. Y’all would’ve been crushed ta death if it weren’t fer us.”

This gave the other earth pony a brief, brief moment of pause. “Irrelevant. Orders: locate Chronomancer. Where is she?”

“We ain’t tellin’ you squat,” Bloom grunted, rolling her shoulders.

“Yeah!” Bluebolt added, moving one more step forward, ready to fight. “So get out of our way, or you’re gonna get hurt!”

Two-eighteen tilted his head as he looked between them again, seemingly pondering the situation carefully. “You’ve become separated. You don’t know where she is. You know where she’s going. Where?”

“I ain’t tellin’—” Bloom started.

“The kirin settlement,” Rarity interjected, sensing an opportunity to put an end to this whole situation right here and now. “She’s heading to the kirin settlement due west of… wherever. I don’t even know where we are in relation to it.”

Bloom and Bluebolt shot Rarity a terse, accusing glare. “Rarity!” they said together.

“We’re supposed to go there to get help for our friend here, who was injured fighting some rather uncouth ruffians earlier,” Rarity continued, gesturing toward Symphony and completely unfazed by the younger mares giving her death glares, “and Sundial is set to meet us there at her earliest opportunity. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost our way. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?”

Two-eighteen paused, tilting his head as he looked between Rarity and Symphony. “She is to meet you there?”

“Yes, like I said, at her earliest opportunity. We don’t know where she is at the moment, but she’ll be heading there as soon as she’s able because that’s where we’re supposed to be. And I can assure you, sir, if we’re not there when she arrives, she’ll likely go searching for us. Far and wide, to parts unknown, perhaps?” Rarity gave him a small grin. “But, if we were there…”

“Then she would be found there.” Two-eighteen nodded in understanding and acceptance. “Pragmatic.” He gestured toward the cave behind him. “Follow tunnels to surface: left, left, right, left, right. Settlement twenty miles due west, at the base of the west side of the tallest mountain.”

Rarity nodded and smiled. “Thank you, my good sir.” She turned to Bluebolt and Apple Bloom. “Come on girls, let’s go. We’ll have Symphony there in no time, but we need to get moving.”

Bloom and Bluebolt eyed Two-eighteen suspiciously, then gave Rarity a small nod and followed her as she walked around the mysterious earth pony. Rarity returned Symphony to her position on Bloom’s back in the process.

Two-eighteen didn’t move his head or neck to follow them as they moved, and Rarity couldn’t tell if his eyes were following them behind those goggles, but she could still practically feel him watching them, as if making sure they were following the end of whatever bargain had just been made.

As soon as they were clear, the mysterious earth pony started off down the path they’d just come from.

“Hey! Where d’ya think you’re goin’?” Bloom grunted, turning to face him with an accusing glare.

“Still have orders: locate Chronomancer,” Two-eighteen said, not turning to face her.

Bluebolt sneered and moved towards him. “Oh no you—”

He vanished into the shadows of the cavern.

“—don’t. Dammit!” Bluebolt wheeled on Rarity, livid. “Why’d you do that?! You just handed him Sundial and Flurry on a silver platter!”

Rarity kept her expression flat, her tone calm. “I don’t like it much either, darling, but we are lost and we have injured. Besides that, we have no idea which direction is west while we’re in these tunnels, or where exactly the settlement is if we ever make it out. He gave us all of that information and I only needed to tell him a simple piece in return.”

“So that’s your plan? Risk our friends being put in more danger if he finds them? What if he hurts Sundial? Or Flurry?”

“What about Symphony?” Rarity fired back. “She’s injured, and badly I might add. Or doesn’t that matter to you?

Bluebolt narrowed her eyes. “Of course it matters—”

“Then I did what needed to be done to ensure she gets help,” Rarity continued. “I don’t know if my magic can keep up with this treatment, so we need to get her to proper healers and soon. Sundial is convinced these other kirin can help, so that’s what we’re doing!”

She set her hoof on Bluebolt’s shoulder, firmly. “Believe me, darling, I don’t like the thought of throwing that ruffian at Sundial right now any more than you do, but if I didn’t do anything, we might not make it in time to help your songbird. We’d be wasting time here fighting a pony that doesn’t actually want anything to do with us.”

Bluebolt glanced at Symphony, then back to Rarity, grim realization apparently setting in. She nodded, then took Symphony’s hoof in her wing again. “Alright… alright, fine…”

Rarity let out a breath. “Come on then. We have a heading now, so we’d best not waste any more time than need be arguing about whether what I did was right. We can argue about it later.”

With that, the trio, Symphony in tow, made their way through the tunnels.

*****

Sundial woke up right at the crack of dawn, hard as that was to tell underground. After a little rest, her internal clock was perfectly capable of telling time again without issue, and she’d gotten so used to waking up at the same time every day for more than ten years that even an awful situation like the one she was in wasn’t about to change her strict schedule.

When she woke up, she saw that Flurry was still asleep, lying in the most comfortable position she could manage with all the chains on her. Sundial swore silently, cursing herself for blindly trusting a couple of psychotic kirin so easily, but she knew there wasn’t really any reason not to trust them. The kirins were still less than twenty years old as far as their world’s history was concerned—though there were kirin older than that, which made things complicated—and the kirin of the settlement were generally as kind and helpful as those in the actual Canon.

Sure, she knew there were bad apples in every bunch, but she didn’t think the kirin race had had the time to develop evil kirin, let alone complete psychopaths. Whatever these dreams were that Kauldron had claimed to have were likely to blame for his behavior, that was the only explanation. A she-kirin with flaming wings and a magma horn, he’d said. Sundial pondered this. Wings and a horn usually meant only one thing: alicorns. Was that why he was so obsessed with Flurry? Was there a kirin alicorn or something that she didn’t know about?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the gate into the cell loudly unlocked and swung open. Kauldron and Krystal—the latter wearing Sundial’s balmoral—strode into the room with an air of politeness that one would expect of the host at a party. It was disturbing seeing Kauldron’s friendly, pleasant smile now that Sundial knew what violent insanity lay beneath that false demeanor.

“Well, would you look at that,” Kauldron chuckled, noticing Sundial looking right at him with the fiercest of glares. “You’re up early, aren’t you? I was hoping to wake you up myself, but I suppose you just have to continue to ruin my fun, don’t you?”

“Kiss my arse, ye shite-brained twat,” Sundial spat, struggling against the chains. She knew it was fruitless, but she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing her look defeated.

He ignored her comments. “Oh well, I guess at least I have the pleasure of waking my lovely pet.” He gently knelt by Flurry’s side and stroked her wings. “Wakey wakey, sunshine.”

“I told ye ta keep yer bloody hooves off o’ her, arseface!” Sundial snapped.

Krystal sneered and walked over to Sundial, fire glowing in her eyes. “You can’t talk to my mate that way, you pony bitch.” She slammed her hoof into Sundial’s temple. “Learn your place!”

Sundial glared up at her; she was sure if she got out of this without a cracked skull or brain damage it would be a miracle. “When I get out o’ here, ye stupid slag, ye’re gonna wish ye’d been a wee bit nicer ta me, I promise ye that.”

“You’re just mad I’m wearing your stupid hat, aren’t you?” Krystal chortled.

“Aye, because ye look like a bloody muppet in it,” Sundial snorted.

Flurry stirred a little, her eyes fluttering open. She seemed to have forgotten where she was, because she went into a panic the moment she opened her eyes. “Wh-where—”

“Shhh, it’s okay, sweetheat,” Kauldron cooed, stroking her back like she was a cat. “Just relax, okay? It won’t do you any good to get all worked up so early in the morning. Just take deep breaths: in, and out.” He even demonstrated for her before giving her a loving smile.

Flurry glared at Kauldron and tried to light up her horn, but the ring around the base absorbed the magic without fail, just like before. “What do you want from us?” she demanded. “Why are you doing this?”

“I already told your tenacious little friend over there a little bit about me, but… well, none of that matters quite so much anymore, my sweet. Something wonderful has happened,” Kauldron said, running a hoof through her mane. “Something truly, truly wonderful.”

“Leave her alone!” Sundial growled, pulling as hard as she could against the chains. “She’s just a kid, ye stupid—”

Krystal pushed Sundial’s face hard into the floor. “Keep that big mouth of yours shut already.”

Kauldron stood up and walked just outside the cell, then returned with Sundial’s water canteen and a couple of pieces of her rations. He walked back over to Flurry and offered her the canteen first, kneeling by her side.

“Go on, gorgeous,” he said. “Drink. You must be thirsty, and I’m truly, truly sorry that I haven’t tended to your needs. You must think I have dreadful manners.”

Flurry eyed the canteen suspiciously. “Wh-what’s in that?”

“Just water, love, just water,” Kauldron said with a creepily-sincere smile. “There was already plenty inside, so I’m sure it’s still fresh even if it’s a little warm.” He gently stroked her mane. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you, my pet.”

Flurry paused, then shook her head. “You drink it first,” she said, with a nervous gulp.

Sundial was glad to see the mare wasn’t gullible enough to buy his story right away, no matter how thirsty she was. There might be a chance out of this yet.

Kauldron smiled. “You’re worried I’ve done something to it or put something in it, aren’t you? I understand. I probably seem like the sort of guy that would do that sort of thing just for kicks, don’t I? Because, and let’s be honest, I am.”

“More than a few little ponies drank some tainted water,” Krystal tittered. “Or sometimes not water at all, but blood or urine. The faces they make as they spit it all out are so cute.”

Kauldron smiled and nodded. “That’s all well and true, but I can assure you, my sweet, that I haven’t done anything of the sort. Here.” He took a brief swig of the water from the canteen, then wiped his lips, none the worse for wear. The liquid was as clear as water should be. “See?”

Flurry eyed the canteen again, then closed her eyes and leaned forward. Kauldron gently put the canteen to her lips, tilted her neck up so she could get a good drink from it, then pulled it away just as quickly, only enough to give her a little taste. Clean water, it seemed, since Flurry wasn’t reacting negatively.

“There’s a good girl,” he cooed, rubbing the back of her head. “Oh dear, I almost forgot. I'm terribly sorry, but you must be so uncomfortable. Here, let me help you with that.”

He quickly unlatched the shackle around her neck and tossed it aside, then slightly loosened the chains that kept the shackles around her hooves, giving her a lot more freedom of movement. She could almost stand up, but not quite.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, nervous. Her hooves could move well enough that she could bring them to her throat to make sure she wasn’t injured, though they still kept her from getting far from the wall. “Why are you doing this?”

“Making you more comfortable, beautiful,” Kauldron said, as if it was obvious, a pleasant smile on his face. “You’re a treasure, and you deserve better. I wish I could unlatch you from the wall entirely and give you the freedom you deserve, but I just can’t.” He actually seemed genuinely sad about that. “I can’t do that, my sweet. I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve to be locked up like this, but I must. I must.”

Flurry’s gaze moved briefly over to Sundial. “What about my friend?”

Kauldron smiled. “Oh, of course. Where are my manners?” He turned to Krystal, tossing the canteen over to her. “Go on, Krystal, give her what she wants.”

Krystal smirked, bending down to put the canteen close to Sundial’s lips, just out of reach. “You want some water, pony? Here, take a little drinky-drink. Come on.”

Sundial clenched her teeth, trying to lean forward to take a drink now that she knew it was safe. She was horribly thirsty, and not too proud to take a drink when offered, at least not yet. However, the chains were so tight around her neck that she couldn’t quite reach the offered canteen.

“Aww, is it too far?” Krystal giggled. “Here, let me help.”

With a sadistic smile, Krystal lifted the canteen up and poured the contents all over Sundial’s mane, purposefully avoiding getting any near Sundial’s mouth. When the canteen was empty, she tousled her hoof through Sundial’s mane, spreading the water about so that Sundial’s head was effectively soaked. Very little had splashed on the floor.

“Whoops! I’m such a butterhooves,” Krystal snickered, casually tossing the empty canteen aside. “Oh well, all out of water. Too bad.”

Sundial sneered. “I see yer game here, aye? Ye think ye’re funny, giving me shite while making sure she’s able ta eat and drink? Ha bucking ha, ye stupid slag.”

“Please, let her drink!” Flurry pleaded, turning to Kauldron, clearly hoping to play off of his apparent obsession with her. “She’s my friend, please. Please don’t do this to her.”

Kauldron frowned and put his hoof on Flurry’s cheek. “Oh, but I must, my sweetheart, I must. It’s all part of the dream I had last night. It’s what I know I must do. It’s what my gods want from me. They’ve chosen me for this task.”

“What dream? What are you talking about?”

“I am but a humble servant of the gods of fire,” Kauldron said, a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eyes. “I feed the weak and helpless to the volcano, feeding my gods the kindling they need to rise once more to bathe the world in fire and ash. For years, that has been my one and only goal in life, my true purpose as their chosen one.”

“Ye’re bloody loony, is what ye are!” Sundial spat.

Krystal pressed her hoof against the back of Sundial’s neck. “You’ll shut your filthy mouth when the chosen one is speaking, pony.”

“That was my purpose… until today.” Kauldron’s grin grew wider, and he kissed Flurry on the forehead. “Until you arrived, my sweet. My gift from the gods.”

Flurry pulled away from him in fear and revulsion. “M-me? What do you want with me?”

“As I said, last night I had a dream,” he said, his expression wistful and proud. “The gods’ messenger spoke to me once more, more clearly than I’ve ever heard her voice before. She told me that you are the key to bringing about my vision. You will help me drown this world in flames.”

Flurry narrowed her eyes. “I would never help you do anything like that, you sicko.”

He seemed genuinely hurt by her words, hoof over his heart. “I know, I know. You do not have the heart that I have; you don’t have the fire. But the gods’ messenger told me all that I needed to know to make my vision come true. And though it pains me to do it, though it makes my heart ache to see you suffer, suffer you must. I must break you.”

Flurry’s eyes went wide. “You… you don’t have to hurt me, please—”

“Hurt you? Oh, my dear, my sweet, sweet treasure, I could and would never hurt you,” Kauldron said, taking her hoof in his like a lover. “Your form is too pure, and the messenger said that your body must remain untarnished. It is your will I must break, my love. Your spirit.” He smiled and gestured towards Sundial. “It’s her body that will serve as kindling for the fires that are coming.”

Krystal punctuated this point by smashing her hoof hard against Sundial’s jaw. Sundial took a deep breath, spitting blood on the floor.

“Sundial!” Flurry cried. She turned to Kauldron, near tears. “Please, don’t hurt her!”

“Don’t ye worry about me, lass,” Sundial said, staring at Kauldron with a proud, defiant smirk on her face. “I’ll be fine.”

Kauldron smirked right back. “We’ll just see about that.”

*****

It was late in the afternoon, and Sundial could barely see straight at this point, and her body ached with some of the worst pain she’d ever felt in her life, but she didn’t let that bother her. She hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast the day before and was terribly hungry, but she didn’t let that bother her. The only thing she’d had to quench her thirst after a full day without water was her own blood and saliva, but she didn’t let that bother her.

The only thing that would bother her is if Flurry Heart saw her break. So she kept up a strong front, even though every nerve in her body was telling her to cry, scream, whimper, and beg. Flurry had to watch every second of the ordeal. Every strike, lash, and denial of basic needs was on full display for the alicorn, but Sundial refused to let her see her break.

She was Sundial, Chronomancer of Equestria-V, and she would not break.

And through it all, she took advantage of one thing: Kauldron, clearly both the brains and brawn of this psychopathic little outfit, was so completely focused on Flurry and so lost in his fixation over her beauty and trying to snuff out her hope that he wasn’t paying much attention to Sundial. He left the torturing to Krystal, and Krystal was, thankfully, an inattentive idiot. A violent inattentive idiot, but still an inattentive idiot.

And Krystal was a jealous bitch, too. Sundial could see how angry that Krystal was that Kauldron was doting on Flurry, calling her “beautiful” and stroking her wings while hardly paying any attention to his supposed “mate”. Krystal took out these frustrations on Sundial, of course, as Sundial knew she would, and it was obvious that Kauldron was doing it on purpose to make Krystal angrier so that she’d hit harder. But still, it made the female kirin an easy mark for anything Sundial might think of.

Now, Sundial was starting to get the chains that kept the brace around her neck to loosen just enough that if she was given the opportunity, she could put in all of the strength she had into one blow. It was a stupid plan, and she knew it was, but she hoped it would keep Flurry’s spirits up to have a friend with such resolve. She hoped that Flurry would see that Sundial’s spirit was far, far from broken, giving her hope for the best. And with that little glimmer of hope, Sundial felt that maybe, just maybe, Flurry might have the courage to try something herself. They needed to work together, but Sundial knew the poor mare was terribly frightened and inexperienced, so she just needed a little push.

The opportunity presented itself when Kauldron and Krystal returned from dinner: Kauldron resumed his place by Flurry to dote on her while forcing her to watch when Krystal harshly beat Sundial.

Krystal, of course, wasted little time in kicking Sundial hard in the ribs. Sundial figured the kirin hadn’t had a pleasant dinner conversation. “Don’t get comfortable, little pony! We’ve still got the rest of the day ahead of us.”

Sundial grunted as the wind was knocked out of her, but she did not show her pain. “Hard ta get comfortable when I’ve got ta smell yer unwashed arse every time ye enter the room, aye?”

Krystal’s eyebrow twitched. “What was that, bitch?”

“Ye heard me. Yer arse smells like ye haven’t washed it since the last time ye went ta the bog, and I can smell it from across the room. Or wait, is that yer breath?” Sundial sniffed the air—hard to do with a bloody nose—and grimaced. She couldn’t actually smell anything but blood, but whatever. “Och, aye, that’s yer breath. Did ye eat shite for lunch, or is just that yer normal stench?”

Krystal slammed her hoof into Sundial’s jaw. “Shut up!”

Sundial adjusted her jaw, then looked right back at Krystal without missing a beat. “No wonder yer ‘mate’ latched onta the first pretty mare he saw. He’s probably sick of kissing ye with yer shite breath.”

“Shut! Up!” Krystal grabbed Sundial by the throat and lifted her up off the floor, enough that Sundial’s rear hooves had a fair amount of leverage now. “Keep that mouth of yours shut, you stupid pony bitch!”

Sundial carefully judged how much leverage she had, and how well she could pull her neck back, without being noticed by Krystal. She wasn’t sure if Kauldron noticed, since he was more observant, but Flurry was serving as a useful distraction. A distraction for Krystal would be necessary if this was going to work, though. But that would be easy enough to do.

Sundial shifted her eyes over towards Kauldron. “Look at him over there, aye? I’m not exactly an expert on love or lust or anything like that, but it looks ta me like he’s forgotten all about ye and yer shite-smelling breath, and yer arse-looking face, and yer empty little head.” She smirked. “Face it, ye’ve been replaced, ye rotten slag.”

Krystal sneered and turned her head to face Kauldron, who was watching the display with a bemused smile. “My love, tell her she’s wrong.”

Kauldron wordlessly stroked his hoof along Flurry’s wing, just watching, waiting, almost expectantly, with a small grin on his face.

“Kauldron, love,” Krystal hissed. “Tell the pony bitch she’s—”

Sundial reared her head back and slammed it with all of the force she could into Krystal’s temple. Krystal fell over, losing her balance and smacking her face into the floor, hard. Sundial smirked. She was absolutely sure she saw a tooth bounce across the room.

Kauldron let out a loud, jolly laugh, slapping his leg and shaking, barely able to contain himself. “Amazing! Simply amazing.”

Krystal, dazed, tried to get to her hooves. “You… bitch!” she spat, glaring at Sundial.

Before she could get up, though, Kauldron got up and walked over to her, and he pressed her face back down onto the floor, perhaps a little too roughly. “Stay where you are, Krystal my dear, you look hurt. And by such a soft pony, too. Tsk tsk.”

Krystal looked up at him with a pleading, desperate expression. “Kauldron, love, I—”

Kauldron shushed her, putting his hoof to her lips. He purposefully pushed her lip up so he could see the new gap in her teeth. One tooth had been chipped, another knocked out completely. “Oh dear, look at what she did to your teeth. You really are simply worthless, aren’t you? And now you’re ugly, too.”

Krystal’s eyes went wide. “K-Kauldron, don’t say that, please. I—”

“Shhh, shhh. Don’t worry, sweetness,” Kauldron said, running his hoof through her mane playfully. “I’m not going to kill you. Maybe. I’ll have to decide what to do with you. Hopefully you can prove you still have some use to me. Not like your sister… not like your mother…”

She grabbed onto his foreleg. “Yes! Yes, my love, I can—”

“Let go of me,” he said, a coy grin on his face.

“Wh-what?”

“Let go of me,” he repeated, still giving her a polite smile. “You’ve proven you don’t deserve to touch me. Just like all the others before you.”

She weakly loosened her grip. “But… but—”

Kauldron ignored her and walked over to Sundial, his smile not wavering on bit. “You, though. You might be worth more to me than just kindling,” he said as he pushed her back onto her position on the floor. He adjusted her shackles so that they were tight and taut again. “You’ve got a real fire in you, don’t you? You really aren’t like other ponies. More like a kirin. Full of fire and spirit and anger.”

Sundial spat blood up into his face. She’d bitten her tongue when delivering the headbutt so she had a good supply of the stuff. “How’s that fer fire then, aye? Ye ain’t breaking me, ye twat-faced shitestain.”

Kauldron didn’t wipe the blood spit off his face, merely smiled, a sick gleam in his eyes. “Maybe not with pain, little one. You’re a tough rock to crack. It’s getting me rather excited, actually, thinking about how I’ve changed my mind on how to break you.” He stroked her cheek gently. “Especially seeing as my mate has proven to be of poorer stock than I thought.”

Sundial paused, confused. This conversation just took a weird turn. “What?”

“I know winter’s only just started, my dear, but it won’t be winter forever. In a few months, spring will roll around again, bringing with it all of that disgusting green to the fields outside of the mountains.” His grin widened. “Amongst other things.”

Sundial clenched her teeth. She didn’t like where this was going. “Ye’re talking like a loony again, arse-lips. Start talking some bloody sense.”

Kauldron ran his hoof through her mane softly. “My clan is so small these days. Just me and Krystal, really. And despite all of the ample effort that I put into her, she’s proven useless to me year after year.” He looked down at Krystal and clicked his tongue. “Isn’t that right, you worthless cow?”

Krystal gulped and nodded nervously. “I’m trying so hard, my love. I’m sorry that my body hasn’t taken—”

Kauldron ignored her blubbering and turned back to Sundial. “You though, little kindling, you have more fire in your soul than any kirin mare I’ve ever met. You’re the perfect choice to provide new life to my clan.”

Sundial paled slightly. “W-wait, what?”

“I know it’s a few months away, but when the spring finally comes and you’re in ‘season’, so to say, well, I know I’m looking forward to it. My clan will rise again to see the world bathed in fire and ash.”

Krystal abruptly rose up off the floor. “Kauldron, you can’t be serious! She doesn’t deserve your seed! She’s just a filthy pony!”

“And you’re a weak, stupid cow that hasn’t provided me with a foal in seven years!” Kauldron snapped back, baring his teeth. “She might be a filthy pony, but she’s better stock than you.” He stepped over to Krystal and grabbed her by the mane. “Do you have a problem with that, Krystal?”

Krystal squirmed in his grip. “N-no, my love, b-but, what about me? I love you. You promised me I would be the one to bear—”

“Until you prove yourself useful again you are nothing to me,” Kauldron breathed. “You will not lay with me, you will not share in my meals, and you will not touch me. You do not even have the privilege to touch these two. They are mine now.”

She clenched her teeth. “You can’t do this to me—”

He slapped her hard across the face. “Speak to me again like that, cow, and I’ll snap your horn off and use you for kindling, like all the other weak, pathetic kirin in our clan.” He abruptly dropped her to the floor, then gestured towards the cell door. “Get out. Go forage for food and water, if you can even do that without being a worthless waste of air.”

Krystal, tears running down her face, nodded and limped towards the cell door.

“Wait.”

Krystal stopped and turned, almost hopeful, towards him. He walked to her slowly, and gently placed his hooves on the sides of her face.

Then he abruptly took Sundial’s balmoral off of Krystal’s head.

“There. That’s better. You don’t deserve to wear it.” When she didn’t move right away, just stared into his eyes with hurt and sorrow, he gestured out of the cell. “Well? Get going. You haven’t got all day.”

She gulped, then nodded and walked out of the cell without another word.

Kauldron turned back to Sundial, a bright smile on his face as he walked over and placed the balmoral on its proper owner’s head, tugging it a little too hard over her ears. “So hard to find good help these days, isn’t it?”

Sundial just snorted, disgusted completely by this kirin-shaped psychopath, but she said nothing.

He shrugged. “I think we’re done for today then, pets,” he said, addressing the two mares. “As soon as my useless servant returns with something worthwhile, I’ll make sure you have food and drink. Can’t have anything happening to my beautiful treasure,” he continued, looking at Flurry first; then he looked back to Sundial, “or the future mother of my clan. Ta ta!”

And with that, he left the cell, locking it loudly behind him.

Flurry looked to Sundial, horrified. “Sundial… are you okay?”

Sundial flicked her tongue along her teeth, making sure she hadn’t knocked anything loose. “Aye, I’ll be fine, lass.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, lass,” Sundial repeated, giving Flurry a terse look. “Nothing that nutter says is gonna get ta me, so don’t let it get ta you either, aye? Keep yer chin up and don’t let him see ye get down. That’s just what he wants, so don’t give him the satisfaction.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts’, lass. This is a good development, aye?” Sundial said with a knowing smirk. “It worked a lot better than I thought it would.”

Flurry blinked, lost. “What?”

“Och, I figured if I made that mare look like a bloody buffoon right in front o’ him, he’d do something drastic ta her. He treats her like dirt, aye? So now he won’t let her touch me, and he already wouldn’t let her touch you. I’d say that’s a good development.”

“But… why? Why would you risk him doing something to you?"

“Well ta be fair, I was sort o’ expecting—hoping, maybe—that he’d just take it upon himself ta start beating me instead o’ letting the other one do it. That way he wouldn’t be touching all over ye, aye? Maybe with him being distracted, ye could figure a way out o’ that ring on yer horn.”

Flurry tilted her eyes up towards the ring, even though she couldn’t see it. “That’s… either the bravest or the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard, Sundial. Either way, you’re crazy.”

“Aye, ye’ll find there’s a pretty fine line between the two, lass, and ye have ta be a little bit crazy ta do my job. But now, that nutter wants ta make me his broodmare or something like that, so he won’t be beating me anymore either, aye? Might actually start giving me food and water if he wants me ta bear healthy foals.”

“Sundial…”

Sundial snorted. “Och, I ain’t bearing him shite, lass. I’ll break his knob right off before I let him get even a taste o’ me, I promise ye that.”

Flurry closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Sundial… I’m scared. What if he… what if he doesn’t want to wait for spring to come?”

“I know ye’re scared, lass, but ye just have ta trust me. Spring isn’t due fer another two months and twenty days, y’know? I bought me all the time I need ta either think o’ how ta get us out o’ this, or fer the others ta arrange a rescue, aye? They’re probably already at the settlement by now.”

Flurry stayed silent for a long moment, then nodded. “I hope you’re right, Sundial. I really hope you’re right…”

*****

It was late at night, and Sundial was still keeping herself just the bare minimum of awake she could be while sleeping. It had taken years of training her body to get some semblance of sleep while still maintaining partial awareness of her surroundings, but it was a necessary part of her job. She didn’t have the luxury Tick Tock had had in her tenure of living in a semi-cushy apartment at first, then later in a palatial house with her husband.

No, Sundial slept out in the wilderness most of the year with nothing more than a tent and a sleeping bag or a blanket, so she needed to always be aware of what was going on around her. There was constantly a danger of some freak rainstorm starting up in the middle of the summer or fall, not to mention that the winter storms would sometimes pick up and threaten to blow away her tent without warning.

Tonight, she was able to stay aware of the goings-on in the little dungeon she and Flurry were in. Despite being asleep, she could still just barely make out the sounds around them and notice the flickering of the dimmed lantern keeping the room just barely lit on one side. The room was otherwise quiet and still, the only movement at all coming from Flurry Heart’s chest as she breathed: in, out; up, down. It was calming, really, that Flurry was able to sleep well enough, if only because Sundial gave everything she had to keep the other mare’s spirits up.

But then came the sound of hoofsteps. Not from down the hall, but from within the room. It didn’t take long for Sundial’s eyes to adjust as she stared into the darkness, where she saw a figure walking towards her. And, as soon as the figure entered the light enough that she could see, she clenched her teeth and sighed, annoyed.

“Well well well, if it isn’t the shadowy twat,” she grunted. “Great, now I gotta deal with you too?”

Two-eighteen stepped out of the shadows and into the light. He stood directly in front of her, dominating her field of view almost completely. He didn’t say anything, just stared down at her, and with those damned goggles over his eyes Sundial couldn’t tell what his expression was supposed to be. She didn’t know if that even mattered.

“Ye think ye’re intimidating me or something with all this, don’t ye? Well ye’re not, aye? I’m not afraid o’ ye, or yer stupid goggles, or yer stupid shadow powers. Ye’re just following me around like… heh, like my shadow.” She managed to give him a cocky grin. “Why are ye here?”

“Overseer’s orders: locate and deal with you,” he said, voice flat and monotone.

Her mouth curled into a small grin. “Och, aye? Well go on then. Deal with me. Just make it quick-like. Probably better than what that kirin bastard’s got planned fer my arse… huh, that’s more literal than I intended it ta sound.”

Two-eighteen paused, as if considering this, then wordlessly moved his hooves to the sides of her head. Sundial closed her eyes and waited for him to twist and snap her neck: quick, as asked. Her only regret was that she’d been just a little too slow the one time it mattered most back in that damned cavern. Just one second faster and she and Flurry would’ve been out of there, no problem.

“Stop!”

Their attention was diverted to Flurry, who was wide awake and wide-eyed. The panic in her eyes was palpable. Sundial immediately regretted even considering a quick-and-painless option here. That was just her trying to avoid whatever Kauldron had planned for her and only thinking of herself, not of Flurry.

Sundial swore under her breath. The younger mare wasn’t supposed to be awake right now. Had they been talking too loudly? “Just go back ta sleep, lass. Ye don’t need ta see this, aye?”

“Please,” Flurry pleaded, looking to Two-eighteen with the most sincere, heart-wrenching desperation in her eyes that Sundial had ever seen on a pony. “Please don’t hurt her…”

Two-eighteen tilted his head slightly. “Snapping the neck: quick and painless. Wouldn’t hurt her.”

“That’s not what she meant, wisearse,” Sundial snorted.

“You don’t have to kill her!” Flurry cried, tears in her eyes. “Please!”

“Orders: locate and deal with Chronomancer, retrieve alicorn, kill anything that gets in the way. Must carry out Overseer Pedigree’s orders.”

Sundial noted the Overseer’s name, Pedigree. What a pretentious name for a pretentious jackass. She also noted the word “alicorn” in those orders, which seemed impossible. Nopony but her group and these two kirin knew what Flurry was, or should’ve known for that matter. She also noted that he wasn’t snapping her neck right now when he had the chance. Was he actually listening to Flurry?

“Your orders don’t say to kill her though,” Flurry said, struggling against her chains. “Please, you don’t have to hurt her or kill her or anything like that. Please… just stop…”

“Lass, ye ain’t gonna be able ta get through ta him like that,” Sundial muttered, though she did notice his grip loosening on her head just a little. This pathetic puppy dog display wasn’t really working on him, was it?

Flurry paused a moment, then her eyes widened. “She… she saved your life! She dragged you out of that cave when she could’ve left you to die. She told me! Apple Bloom told me!”

Two-eighteen tilted his head again. “Irrelevant.”

“It’s not. She saved your life, so you owe her that much in return. If you spare her now, then that debt is repaid. Right?”

Sundial briefly glanced between the two, honestly surprised that the earth pony was hesitating, even for an instant. Flurry’s words didn’t seem to resonate any better on her than any other mare’s would’ve, so why were they on this earth pony?

“Please,” Flurry continued, sniffing back tears. “Please don’t kill her. If… if you spare her life, and if you help her escape from here… then I’ll go with you willingly.”

Sundial swore under her breath again. She was afraid that line was coming next. “Flurry, lass, don’t go doing stupid things like that for me, aye?”

“Stay out of this, Sundial, this is between me and our friend here,” Flurry said, keeping her gaze focused on Two-eighteen and clearly trying to remain focused and resolute. “Right?

He shook his head. “Incorrect. Not friends.”

“See, lass? Classic mathematician’s answer bullshite, ye don’t need ta negotiate—”

“However,” he continued, “pragmatic solution. Correct, orders do not specify to kill Chronomancer. If you come willingly, sparing her is expedient.” He immediately let go of Sundial’s head. “Terms accepted.”

Flurry let out a breath of relief. “Thank you…”

“Lass, ye’re making a big mistake here,” Sundial blurted, eyes wide as she realized what had just happened. “I’m not worth it, no matter what ye might think about me. HQ will just find another agent ta replace me and everything’ll be rainbows, aye?”

“You should know by now from dealing with Apple Bloom that letting ponies die isn’t something we do where we’re from,” Flurry said, giving Sundial a sad smile. “Your life is worth it, at least to me, no matter how much you try to convince me otherwise.”

Sundial groaned. “Bloody hell, lass, the ponies from yer neck o’ the woods are loonier than I thought…”

Two-eighteen glanced around the room briefly. “Terms were to free Chronomancer. No keys present. Will locate and return.”

“Wait!” Flurry interjected.

“Terms were accepted,” Two-eighteen said, tilting his head in what Sundial guessed was confusion. “Cannot alter arrangement.”

“I’m not altering anything, I’m just… clarifying what I meant,” Flurry said, clearing her throat. “She’ll need her belongings brought to her as well: her clothes, her supplies, and anything else that might belong to her or her friends for when she returns to them. Naturally, I will need clothes too for when we leave, so you should collect mine as well.”

“Clothes not part of arrangement—”

“Listen, if she goes out in that rainstorm naked, without anything to protect her from all that wet and cold, she… might catch pneumonia or something! And then she’ll die, only at a later time, and that’s just the same as you killing her right now, which you agreed not to do.”

Two-eighteen paused, seeming to mull it over. “Acceptable.”

“And you know which ones are ours?”

“Yes.”

“Also—”

He didn’t let her continue trying to make demands, merely vanishing into the shadows again without a sound.

“Shoot. Guess he catches on fast.”

Sundial scoffed, honestly amazed that it had even gotten this far along. Just who the hell was this mare? “Lass… I know that I think this plan o’ yers is bloody loony, but can I just say I’m impressed? Where’d ye learn how ta negotiate like that?”

Flurry gave Sundial a small, confident grin. “I’ve been mentored by Princess Twilight Sparkle for most of my life, even before she became the ruler of Equestria. Not to mention that my parents have been the rulers of the Crystal Empire since before I was born. And what with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and all of Twilight’s friends, and—”

“Aye, aye, I get it, lass...”

The two then waited, and waited, and waited for Two-eighteen to return. Sundial was beginning to wonder what was taking so long if he just needed to gather their things and collect the… keys.

Kauldron had the keys. Right?

The pair then went silent when they heard hoofsteps coming from down the hall.

“That’s not our new friend,” Sundial muttered, knowing full well who it was. “He doesn’t need ta walk down the hall.”

She was, unfortunately, completely correct. It was Kauldron. Alone, oddly. He opened the cell door loudly, a bright smile on his face as he walked inside. Sundial noticed blood covering some of his chest and face.

“Well now would you look at this?” he chuckled. “You’re both awake, and so late at night? You really should be getting your sleep, you know? It’s not healthy to stay up so late.”

Sundial growled. “Aye, and that’d be easier ta do if ye weren’t stomping them fat hooves o’ yers down the hall like ye’re trying to wake the dead or something.”

He gave her an apologetic grin. “Oh, forgive me my dear, I didn’t realize I was being so loud. Still, I would have woken you two up when I got in here anyway, so at least you should be thankful that I didn’t have to get rough to do it.”

He approached Sundial, a twinkle in his eyes, and stepped right in front of her. She hadn’t noticed before, but he was carrying something in one of his hooves, which he abruptly dropped in front of Sundial’s face so she could get a clear look at it. It was fairly easy to recognize, actually, and Sundial couldn’t help but recoil at the sight.

It was Krystal’s horn.

“What the bloody hell…” Sundial muttered, completely baffled.

Once she saw it, Flurry looked nauseous and had to avert her eyes, likely to avoid throwing up.

“I always knew Krystal was a stupid cow,” Kauldron sighed, shaking his head, almost as if he was sad. His tone and words said otherwise. “I knew it for years. The only reason I ever tolerated her was because she was sometimes useful, and because she was a good lay. Other than that she was fairly useless.”

“You… ye killed her?”

Sundial shook her head in disbelief. She’d planned out her little scheme earlier with the intent on driving a wedge between the two, but this was far beyond what she expected. Not that she had even the slightest trace of sympathy for the dead kirin—she deserved to rot as far as Sundial was concerned—but it was just a little sickening.

“Yeah, see, I told that stupid sow she wasn’t allowed to touch me again, not until she proved herself,” he said, clicking his tongue. He pointed between Flurry and Sundial. “You both saw what happened and heard me say those words, right? Of course you did, you were right here.

“Well, that stupid, stupid weakling came into my room earlier, like she always does when she’s feeling a certain hunger between her legs, but I guess she forgot what I’d said to her earlier.” He shook his head again. “A real shame that she was so stupid to think I’d consider wasting my chosen seed on such poor stock as her.

“But, well, I guess it was about time I rid myself of one last point of weakness in my clan. Now I’m all that’s left, at least for now,” he added, licking his lips and looking Sundial in the eyes.

“Ye ripped her horn out o’ her skull because she loved ye?” Sundial blurted, shocked. “What the bloody hell, mate?”

“No!” he snapped, grabbing Sundial’s chin and forcing her to look at him. “I took her horn because she was useless, and stupid, and careless, and because no matter how good of a lay she was, she couldn’t provide me with foals. At least her horn is useful for something.”

“Ye ever think it might be ye that’s the problem there? Maybe yer little psycho swimmers aren’t up ta the task?” Sundial suggested with a smug grin.

“I am the chosen one, my pet,” he huffed. “The gods wouldn’t chose one who couldn’t keep their dream alive.”

Sundial sneered. “So what, ye came here ta gloat about all o’ this then? Ye think I’m scared o’ ye because ye killed that stupid slag and because ye threw her horn in front o’ my face like some sort o’ trophy?”

Kauldron chuckled and ran his hoof along her chin. "See? This is why you're perfect for me, little one. You've got such fire in you—"

Without a sound, Two-eighteen’s hoof collided with Kauldron’s jaw, knocking the kirin clear away from Sundial and into the shadows of the room.

“Who in the hell—” Kauldron started.

Sundial couldn’t see much of what was happening in the shadows of the room, just two bodies wrestling and writhing. She could just about pick out which was one was Two-eighteen because he moved fluidly in the darkness, but that was only her best guess. She hoped she was right, because he seemed to have the upper hoof.

Kauldron seethed when the earth pony vanished into the shadows, leaving only his shape visible. “You’ve made a big mista—”

Sundial could just barely see the other figure—Two-eighteen—reappear behind the kirin. In one swift motion, he snapped Kauldron’s neck. The crack resounded throughout the room, and Kauldron’s body fell limp to the floor, just barely in the light enough for Sundial to see his lifeless eyes.

Flurry puked. Sundial guessed she’d never seen a creature die right in front of her like that.

Sundial wasn’t bothered. Just surprised.

And then, after another moment, and still without a single word, the earth pony walked out of the shadows carrying all of the things that Flurry had requested: clothes, supplies, even Symphony’s longsword that the kirin had apparently taken as a trophy. He then picked up the keys that Kauldron had dropped and set about unlocking Sundial’s shackles and chains.

“The bloody hell just happened?” Sundial muttered, eyeing Two-eighteen as he unfastened the shackle around her neck. She noticed that he was walking with a slight limp.

Two-eighteen’s voice was still calm and monotone. “He was in the way. Orders: kill anything that gets in the way. Alicorn arranged Chronomancer’s well-being and freedom in exchange for her own. Kirin male: obstacle to that arrangement.”

Flurry, who’d opened her eyes now that she didn’t hear anything but the two of them talking, cleared her throat. She was clearly trying her best not to look at Kauldron’s corpse. “Thank you, Two-eighteen.”

He tilted his head, seemingly confused by the thanks. “Following your terms.”

It took a few minutes for him to get all of Sundial’s chains unlocked, then Flurry’s, including removing the ring from her horn. The two mares were then allowed to dress, drink, and eat. He provided them with what water and food he could find in the kirins’ stores, which wasn’t much but was better than nothing.

Sundial checked to make sure everything else that they needed was here. Symphony’s longsword was now awkwardly strapped to her side, nearly dragging on the floor; her own pocket watch had, luckily, been in her coat pocket, and was unharmed; her tent had been torn to shreds, so she left it behind, but her sleeping bag and blanket were still in good shape. Apart from food and water, nothing was missing, and those could be replaced at the settlement.

Also, when nopony else was looking, Sundial grabbed Krystal's horn and slid into her saddlebag.

“So, now what?” Sundial asked, glaring at the earth pony as if daring him to say or do anything. “Ye think I’m just gonna let ye take her then? Just like that?”

“Do as you wish. Arrangement: spare your life and set you free in exchange for willing surrender of the alicorn,” Two-eighteen stated, still calm. “Other companions proceeded to kirin settlement, claimed to wait for you.” He then turned to Flurry. “You have surrendered yourself.”

Flurry paused, then nodded, despite the look Sundial was giving her. “That was our deal, yes.”

He then turned and started for the cell door. “Follow—”

Two-eighteen stopped mid-step as his leg nearly gave out under him. It was plain to see now that he was bleeding rather badly from a wound on his shoulder above the left foreleg, right where Kauldron’s horn had apparently impacted.

“You’re injured!” Flurry exclaimed, rushing to his side before he collapsed to the floor.

Two-eighteen glanced at the wound. “Yes. Irrelevant.”

“You can’t walk like this,” Flurry said, shaking her head. “You need to patch that wound up—”

Sundial hissed. “Flurry! What are ye doing? Have ye gone mental?”

“He’s hurt, Sundial,” Flurry insisted. “We have to—”

“We don’t have ta do shite,” Sundial snorted. “Not fer him, o’ all ponies.”

“He saved us, Sundial,” Flurry noted, narrowing her eyes.

“Only because ye negotiated with him. If ye hadn’t, he was seconds away from killing me, ye know that!”

“And he only was going to do that because you told him to!” Flurry retorted. “You can take your death wish somewhere else, if you’d like?”

“Injury irrelevant, health inconsequential.” Two-eighteen tried to walk again, but again nearly collapsed as his leg gave out. The wound looked pretty bad.

“You’re in no shape to go anywhere,” Flurry said. “You need to get a bandage on that and let it heal.”

“Impossible. Orders: retrieve alicorn. Injury delays retrieval.”

Sundial looked between the two for a moment, then smiled as an idea came to her. A wonderful, brilliant, crazy idea. Those ones were the best because they usually worked. “Y’know, I could always just take her out o’ here myself, aye? Save ye the trouble, give ye time to recover?”

Two-eighteen glanced at her, head tilted. “Impossible. Orders: retrieve—”

She brushed off his words with a hoof. “Aye, aye, I heard ye the first dozen bloody times, ye damn parrot. But, if ye were ta let me leave with her, ye know fer absolute certain that I’m heading ta the kirin settlement. Ye can just catch up with us later then, aye?”

Two-eighteen paused, seeming to mull this over carefully. “Location would be known. Your injuries dictate extended stay. Could resume mission after recovery.” He paused again, then nodded. “Terms accepted. Exit to tunnels: down hallway. Route to surface: take every left, five total. Kirin settlement: ten miles northwest of exit.”

Flurry looked between Sundial and Two-eighteen, now on the backhoof. “I… what? What just—”

Sundial grabbed her and started leading her out of the cell as quickly as her limp would take her. “No time ta question it lass, the deal’s been made.” She paused, then laughed as they made their way out of the cell, leaving Two-eighteen behind. “And his orders were ta ‘deal’ with me, aye? Funny that.”

Comments

[Turquoise pony]

Flurry heart taught by all the luminaries of Harmony, just can't help herself, can she?

[GMBlackjack]

Things couldn’t get much worse, she thought.

It was a stupid thought,

Any fictional character who lives long enough will figure this out.

As mentioned elsewhere, I appreciate 2-18’s practicality and ease of being twisted with “logic”

Still of the opinion that Kauldron is a BIT too over the top with the advances. It’s a bit… much.

-GM, master of knives.

[RoboRed]

Man, that was one twisted kirin. Thank god he's out of the way.

Also, it's fortunate that Two-Eighteen is hyper-logical to the point of being relatively easily manipulated.

[Teraunce]

Well that's one way to screw with a mental robot.

[My name is R]

A she-kirin with flaming wings and a magma horn, he’d said. Sundial pondered this. Wings and a horn usually meant only one thing: alicorns. Was that why he was so obsessed with Flurry? Was there a kirin alicorn or something that she didn’t know about?

I thought perhaps Nihilia was pretending ta be a kirin to manipulate 'em. I know she died, but I don’t know how dead she is now.

“You’re just mad I’m wearing your stupid hat, aren’t you?” Krystal chortled.
“Aye, because ye look like a bloody muppet in it,” Sundial snorted.

1) Oh, a balmoral is a hat, is it? My web search told me it was a castle.
2) They have Muppets here?

Well. I expected tha Kauldron Kult ta last a bit longer. I expect 2-18 will expect Flurry to still honor their deal when he catches back up, and I don't know what she will do. Of course, if Symphony and Sundial are both up ta strength it may not matter...

I like 2-18.