Semper Pie

by deathtap

Mission 7, Part 16: Tipping Point

The lunch bell rang, jerking Rainbow awake. She had, predictably, fallen asleep in class after the flight theory lesson was over. Mathematics was not exactly Rainbow’s forte. Probably if she happened to apply herself, she could have been good, but straight-forward academics were not her interest—she had a clear and constant dream. That was, to be the best flyer in Equestria and to earn her right to fly with the best of the best. The Wonderbolts. She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and stretched, twisting her head around till she spotted Fluttershy sitting at her desk looking at her with concern in her eyes.

“What’s up, Shyshy?”

“Oh nothing. It’s just… you don’t have to, you know, do that.”

“That? Oh, you mean race?” Rainbow chuckled to herself. “Of course I do, Shy. I can’t back down now! If I do, they won’t stop. This is why they constantly pick on you. You need to buck up! Stand your ground!”

“But… it could be dangerous!”

“Dangerous? What? Standing up to them?”

Fluttershy shook her head.

“Flying?” Rainbow tilted her head at an angle. “How can flying be dangerous, Shy?”

“You might get hurt.”

Rainbow placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Fluttershy, I am going to be racing up here in the sky. As long as I don’t do anything stupid, there’s no danger to me, kay? Even if I go too fast, the worst that can happen is I spin outta control. There’s nothing to be scared about. Clouds are soft!”

“O-o-okay,” Fluttershy lowered her eyes and sighed. “If you say so.”

“I do! Now, c’mon! Let’s get going and show those punks a thing or two.”

---

Providence reached the end of the hall. The ‘doorway’ that she saw indeed looked like an entrance to something, but it was smooth to the touch, made of some stone-like material, or perhaps metal. It was hard to tell in the darkness. The lightning thrumming seemed to pulse through the door and beyond. Whatever magic powered this, it was strong and ancient.

Taking out the map, she looked at it. The newcomers that had come had brought it to her before they had entered too deeply into the hallway. Tessa, the Thestral, was hanging back with Pani's daughter, Samidra. The two camels were talking quietly—it was clear that the poor girl had gone through some trauma with the Watu and the struggles outside. She shouldn't be here. She should’ve been home, worrying about what to wear to school, or perhaps how to impress her friends, or even shyly accepting a date from a boy. Not here, hugging her father, weeping, trying to block the horrors she had witnessed the past few days from her mind.

At least she still had that ability—to cry and weep for the dead. Providence stared down at her hooves and wondered how long it had been since she had wept like that. It had felt like a lifetime now, and she wondered deep inside over how long she had been wandering with the Watu. It had gotten to the point where she kept seeing death, and now she felt nothing.

Taking a breath, she spoke aloud to clear her head. “Why would they make a map with a single hallway? The passage, I understand…”

“Ma’am, perhaps the passage entrance wasn’t where we entered, but instead was made afterwards? Perhaps the entrance was further away but lost to time?” The Watu to her left said, and traced her hoof down until it reached the end of the page. “Maybe we were supposed to enter somewhere far from here and walk this way?”

At that, Providence nodded. She did recall seeing the hallway going both ways when she entered. Instinctively, they had all followed the magic flow and innately knew that it was the right way to go because it headed towards the centre of the Caldera.

Still, was it really a map? Or perhaps something more. She looked back at the entrance and narrowed her eyes. She looked left and right. The hallway to the left stopped at a wall where the strange throbbing light of the magical energy made different shapes. To the right, the hallway seemed to extend back into oblivion. She knew that a few of the Watu had already headed that way as well. Perhaps the other camels that were on the Caldera had headed that way but she doubted it. The flow of the magical energy was coming from the hallway towards where she was, and both halls stopped at the doorway she stood in front of.

“What do I need to do now?” Providence asked herself and sighed. She needed to figure this out, and time was not on their side.

---

The pain was unbearable and she jolted awake. Again, she reached for a weapon that wasn’t there and only paused when she saw Torment looking down on her, a near-empty vial of what was some light-blue liquid in his hoof. She relaxed and sighed. She threw caution to the wind. The relief from the pain of the wounds had dulled her response and if Torment had any intention to harm her, she wouldn’t be capable of stopping him anyway.

“How bad?”

The silent Watu nodded and shrugged. Raze understood. He thought she was fine, but he was not completely sure.

“You saved me?”

Torment nodded.

“Then thank you. Where is… where’s Sonic?”

At that, the Watu shrugged and vaguely gestured to the horizon beyond to where she saw a group of Children milling around. She tried to sit up, but Torment stopped her with a firm hoof and pushed her back down. He shook his head, and put his hoof to his lips. It was clear that he wanted her to remain quiet, and she nodded in understanding. She looked around and noted that they were not very well hidden, but well enough as to not be spotted at a glance. Still, one careless movement and the Children would definitely find them. Torment must have carried her as close to the camp as possible before hiding her and finding some healing salve. The magic-imbued water helped to heal the wounds that she had but she would still need to rest — a luxury that they couldn’t afford.

She noted the way he looked at the enemy. “Are you going to leave me here?”

Torment turned his head slightly towards her. She could see his eyes through the mask peering at her and his steely gaze ebbed just a tiny bit to show a little sadness before it vanished, once again returning to the familiar look all the Watu carried—that cold determination to do what needed to be done.

Torment gave one firm nod.

“You’re going to head into the Children and try to take out as many as you can, right?”

Again, Torment nodded.

“Why? You could just wait here and we could find a way to get better,” Raze stated. “We could find a way to get better and survive this!”

He shook his head. He pointed to his chest, then to his head. She understood what he meant. He was losing his sanity and he knew it was only a matter of time before he would go on a berserker rampage. His heart was starting to flutter, a feeling that all Watu who had withdrawals felt and understood. The agonising feeling of the heart beating faster and faster until it could no longer be bearable driving one beyond sanity. Better to do that in the midst of those they were fighting against than with someone that had been saved.

“When?”

He looked down and shook his head. It was time. He then took one step towards the edge of the copse of stones and stopped. He looked at Raze.

“You… must… live…”

The sound did not come from his mouth, but from something deep inside his throat, like the rasping noise of a metallic brush grinding on the inside of a rusty bucket in a deep well. It was faint, but despite the terrifying sound Raze felt strangely comforted. How long had it been since he had last spoken out loud? Despite everything, Torment had given everything to help her survive.

“Die well, friend.” And with that, she watched as he surged forwards. She crept slowly and peered over the small boulder that had hid them from sight. She watched as Torment melted into the shadows of the boulders. “Good bye.”

---

“Hold here.”

Ghost looked and gritted her teeth. “They are breaking through!”

The pegasus turned to Ghost, “You must stay here under cover. We cannot run through them and inside. We would be cut down immediately. We have vowed to your father to ensure your safe arrival to Providence.”

“We cannot progress any further,” Malice stated. “The way is blocked and it looks like our peers inside are hard pressed to keep this force at bay. It is only a matter of time before they breach their positions inside as well.”

“Then what do we do?” Ghost asked.

The two pegasi looked at each other. “We will create a decoy, delay them as long as possible, then you must go in and bypass their frontline and slip inside to meet with the others.”

“That is suicide.”

“That is required to satisfy our orders, and death is not a concern for us. At least for me. I am fading. My mind will break soon.”

“Mayhem?”

“Yes?”

“Do you agree with this?”

“Agree? Is that relevant? There is little choice. You must get to Providence, otherwise we will be unable to face your father or The Guard. Or Providence herself. We must fulfil our oath and obligation.”

Ghost looked down at her hooves. “Will my father be alright?”

The navy blue pegasus looked at her then he did something he found strange, even to himself. He lied.

“Of course. Your father is a battle-hardened Elite. There is nothing that these cultists can throw at him that will kill him. I doubt anything would stop him from coming back to you.”

Ghost nodded and forced a smile. She knew he was lying, but it felt nice.

“I will die here,” Malice intoned. “And that will be a worthy death. At least it would have meaning to die here for something good. Even if it is just a little. The poison is corrupting me. It won’t be much longer now for me anyway. Might as well use that to my advantage.”

She looked up at Malice, then at Mayhem. With the amount of blood pooling beneath him, it was amazing that the Watu still stood.

“How do we get you into the tunnels, past the forces and inside without the Children noticing you?”

Ghost smiled. “I will do it with ease… if you provide a satisfactory distraction.”

The two pegasi stared at each other, then smiled. “She is Ghost after all.”

“Indeed. Very well, little one. We will do what is needed. And I have just the perfect distraction that will work without question.”

She nodded to the pegasi, and watched them as they began to move away. They moved quickly and efficiently as they closed the gap between themselves and what looked to be a clump of Children surrounding someone barking orders.

In one moment Malice suddenly dashed forward, firing a single bolt towards the white unicorn. The unicorn, surprised with the sudden attack, still managed to summon a protective shield just in time, but he didn’t notice that Mayhem had swung around from behind, a short broadaxe aimed for his body. A unicorn traitor-Guard lept in front of the swing, taking the brunt of the axe’s blade, stopping a lethal blow on the commander. The momentum shoved the dead unicorn aside, making him crash into a group of other ponies trying to form a defensive perimeter around the commander.

Without missing a beat, Mayhem grabbed a polearm and swung around just as three bolts narrowly missed him as he deftly skimmed away, hovering dangerously around the large boulders, zipping between the small gaps with blinding speed before stopping and galloping away as quickly as he could.

Malice fired another bolt at the commander’s back, but was stopped by a stolid earth pony with a large shield. She easily blocked the shot with a loud ‘thunk’ as it struck the wood. The Watu narrowed his eyes as the earth pony slammed the shield into the ground, before the heavily armoured pony taunted the pegasus with a large hammer. Knowing fully that it was a trap, the Watu slunk away.

But all that had been done according to their intention. The Children had not noticed, and it was clear to the Watu as to why they had called her Ghost.

---

“...Strange that they would try to kill me like that.” The white unicorn muttered and looked as the two groups started to converge together as the pegasi met and began to fire bolts into the newly formed line, backing away slowly. It was close. If he hadn’t activated his sensing shield, a shield that he used to detect changes in the wind, a useful trick he learned when he was much younger, then they would have succeeded in assassinating him. He had just barely enough time to realise what it was and form a barrier strong enough to stop the bolt from hitting him.

Then he looked at his bodyguards, the two haughty ponies, a couple that had tagged along with him when they too saw the truth about the False Princess and abandoned their village to serve the Night Queen. This was not the first time that they saved his life and he watched them in amusement as they put their bodies and shields between himself and the Watu now retreating from the line that had successfully formed.

“Thank you, Rook and Castle. You were magnificent. That axe nearly had my name on it.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Despite Rook’s huge size, her voice was soft and quite sweet. “You ought to cast another one of those detection spell circles just in case another spy is nearby.”

At that, Enamel could only nod. He focused for a moment and started to push the light-blue circle, stretching it as far as he could until it was thinner than a hair’s width, making it nearly invisible and undetectable. It didn’t reach as far as it did before but he didn’t need to try as hard. The threat was moving away and he had enough troops around him to prevent another surprise.

“Castle, tell the others to stand still.”

Castle nodded, then bellowed: “Oi! You gits better stand still before I smash your heads in with me hooves!”

The ponies near the entrance turned and stood stock-still.

Except one.

“There’s a pony that isn’t listening, Castle. I can’t cast this if that pony is moving whichever way they want.”

Castled shouted again and took some threatening strides towards the entrance of the cave system. He got a few more steps before he stopped and looked at Enamel, the unasked question being that if the movement was still happening. At this, Enamel shook his head. Whomever it was wasn’t holding still.

“Right! I’m gonna pound yer heads in!”

He got two steps before he stopped and tilted his head to one side. Then he tilted his head to the other side. He made a couple more steps forward before galloping to the source. He pushed past two mares that were standing at attention and walked over to a pony that was standing strangely. Castle shouted at the pony’s face before reaching out, then suddenly stopping and shoving said pony with the back of his maul. He then walked around the pony until he was standing behind her and stopped.

He then gently pushed the pony, who fell over like a statue.

“He’s dead!” Castle shouted then spun around and looked. “Where is he? Who did this?”

“Hold still,” Enamel called out.

Every pony did the same and waited.

Enamel cast the spell again and this time he stretched it towards the cave. There he felt it. It was slight, very light, like the kiss of a butterfly’s leg on a flower’s petal, but it was there and it was undeniable. And it went straight through the Watu’s guarding the cave and inside where he lost whomever it was due to how weak the spell had become.

“No! One of them slipped by us and went in!” Enamel roared. It was so obvious. The two pegasi were just decoys. They pulled his attention from the front by attacking him so deliberately and unrelentingly that he had forgotten to cast another detection spell. In that chaos, with everyone being distracted, someone was able to slip past him, his guards, and his forces. But why would they risk something like that unless that person was of value to the Watu inside the cave.

But before he could react, Rook yelled in pain. Enamel turned around to see a Watu removing his sword from the earth pony’s chest, the shield dropping with a thunderous thump as it hit the ground in front of him. The Watu had no mask, he didn’t need one. All Enamel saw was a skull with barely any skin on it. As Enamel stared, the Watu growled at him, the sound deep and primal like a dragon or a wolf, not a pony.

Before he could scream, a blade sliced through his throat. He stumbled back as a fountain of blood sprayed forwards, covering the Watu’s face. Their eyes never wavered as he stepped forward for another strike. Just as the tip of his blade was about to cut again, a large shield soared over his head and the Watu moved aside, easily avoiding it.

He tried to shout an order but all that he could do was blurt out a gurgling sound, his lungs filling with his blood and saliva. He stumbled before being caught by somepony. He heard the shouting, but he could not focus. The pain was unbearable. He wanted to scream for a healer, but he knew that one was already too far away.

The Watu was just a few dozen feet away, his sword flashing brilliantly in the high desert sun. But no matter how skilled one was, it was inevitable. Three bolts struck the Watu in the chest but still the warrior refused to go down and lurched forward again, Castle moving past Enamel and putting herself in front of the charging Watu. She braced for impact, but the Watu slid down between Castle’s legs. The moment the warrior skidded past the mare’s hindlegs, he leapt up and propelled himself at Enamel one more time.

A unicorn sealed the Watu in ice in mid-air, the spike of ice piercing through his chest bathing the spikes in blood. The Watu gasped and seemed to reach out to something in the sky far above him. Was it… smiling? But it was over. Enamel would have sighed in relief if he wasn’t in so much pain. But just before he could fully relax, the Watu threw something at him. Out of reflex, Enamel flinched and looked down – only to see that it was three magically-infused bolt tips. He wanted to laugh. Wanted to shout, or even cry. But all that happened was a blinding light followed by the sweet release of nothingness.

---

Ghost stopped and turned back the way she came—the explosion was close that time. She wondered if the two pegasi had escaped, or if perhaps they had died trying to get her past the Children that guarded the entryway. She didn’t know, but now wasn’t the time.

She had to get to Providence, fast.

The other Watu had very nearly cut her head off when she entered their view, but she quickly managed to convince them of who she was. They let her pass once she pressed that she needed to deliver a message to Providence, which was partially true. She had to obey what the Guard had told her to do, so in a way it was as per orders. Who was she to defy The Guard and embarrass herself, but most of all, to bring shame to her father?

Without any care she sprinted as quickly as she could towards where the other Watu had told her to go, but her body was exhausted and the pain of remembering what happened to her was still fresh in her mind. She replayed the painful scenes in her head over and over again as she ran, making sure she could remember them.

“Halt!” A Watu shouted when she reached the end of the hallway

“Please! I need to see Providence! I have to tell her something important!” Ghost replied in a single breath, then tried to stifle her heaving panting while waiting for a response.

“You are too late. She has gone inside that door. We cannot enter even if you wanted to.”

“B-b-but I must!” Ghost replied. “I can remember…”

“What do you mean you remember?” The Watu mare asked, narrowing her eyes.

Ghost fell to the ground and covered her eyes with her hooves. “I remember what happened to me. My father saved me and tried to save my mother, but we were no match… why did this happen to us? Thistle? Why were we born if we had to live this kind of life? For what reason? I don’t understand.”

The mare looked at Ghost, and something stirred in her. Thistle gently put her hooves under Ghost’s chin and lifted her up gently. “You poor child. To have gone through something so terrible, I wish that you did not have to recall such painful memories, but that is beyond our control. The fact that you can remember means that you still haven’t given up on the one thing most of us have.”

Ghost looked up, confused.

“You still want to live. You still believe, somewhere, deep inside you that things can go back to the way they were. You and I know that it’s impossible. Not for us. But, maybe we can help Providence. And with that, perhaps we can redeem ourselves a little for what we have done. We are monsters. We need to go. This is the only thing that matters.”

“No!” Ghost screamed and pulled her head away. “That’s not fair! I want my dad! I want to live and have breakfast with him! I want to come home from school! I want to hug my family! I want to live! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to–”

Just then the door faded and inside Thistle and Ghost looked in.

“What?”

“I think it’s calling you,” Thistle said gently. “Go. Tell Providence what you’ve told me.”

“Come with me!”

“No. I must stay here and make sure that nothing happens. Don’t worry, I’ll hold them off for as long as I can. You just tell her what you told me. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Ghost walked forwards, then stopped. “I can’t remember my dad’s face anymore. But I know that I love him. And I know that he loves me. He saved me and chose to stay back so I could give this message to Providence. But if you see him, and I don’t, please tell him. That I love him. And that I wish that we could have stayed together more.”

Thistle smiled behind her mask, and nodded. “I’ll be sure to.”

Ghost nodded, and walked into the room. The doors slamming shut behind as soon as the mare crossed the threshold. No. Not a mare. A young foal. Barely older than a filly. What a tragic life that little girl had lived before this.

“Tell her everything you want, little one. We will be here behind you.”

“They’re coming!” a call came from down the hallway. “Defensive positions! Don’t let them through here!”

“Make sure that the way up to the room above is heavily defended so they cannot pursue us,” Thistle ordered, heading towards the sounds of the melee down the hall. “My time is coming to its end. I will use what’s left to delay them for as long as possible.”

With that, the mare charged forwards knowing full well she could never fulfil the promise to the young mare she was leaving behind. But that did not matter because she remembered, and if she could remember perhaps she could remember her daughter, who lived somewhere far away. Wait. Was she alive? Did she recall? And her name? Yes. A little pretty thing, with pink wings that sparkled in the morning sun. That she had helped escape with her father when she distracted them when they came for her.

She charged forward and smiled. She understood. Just before the drug would crush their minds into that unbearable madness of pain and agony, they would remember. And, as the spears from the Children found their marks, Thistle had one clear and final thought in her mind. Her daughter’s name. And she whispered it on her lips, and how lovely and pure that sound was. She wanted to say it again, but no air formed. And as she lay on the ground, surrounded by the dead, she could not help but shed a tear.

How right that little filly was. Why was this life so unfair? What did she do to deserve such a cruel hand? But not anymore. She only regretted that she would never be able to whisper that precious name from her lips again. Why had she forgotten it? It now seemed so obvious. How could she forget such a precious thing?

---

How long had it been since they were left alone? Hours? They had been given life-water, but it wasn’t good enough. They needed to get out of the sun’s direct light. Their wings were not made for the harsh desert environment. The winged pony had shown them kindness, but they all had left them behind. Headed into the middle of the storm. Headed to a place where they smelled the clear scent of blood.

“What are we to do, Sunbreeze?” Wellwind asked. “We are the last of our brood. If we do not find a portal home soon, or go to a place where we can recover our magic, we will die.”

“The one who saved us said we need to wait here. Even if we try to cross this wasteland on our own, we would not get far. We are to stay with this ship until they return to us. I trust in his words.”

“But how can we trust him?”

“Because he brought us with him without pause. And he also offered us drink and sugar-water for our sustenance. He had no need for that. The others would have left us to fend for ourselves, and we are not the type that can survive this realm without assistance of the ponies. This is why our pact with the pony-kind is strong.”

“You forget that it was also the ones of the pony-kind that took us from our route and imprisoned us. To be kept as pets! Not all of them have won my trust, Sunbreeze. If needed, we must strike out on our own.”

“With the resources here, we can survive for an ample amount of time without others interference. To them, this is but a small amount of supplies, but for us it will last many generations to come,” Sunbreeze stated. “If we venture from here, we will not find our way home. We will die under the sun, or to the predators and prowl. You saw those creatures. This is not Equestria.”

“I hope that ‘generations’ is not going to be how long we wait for your friends, Sunbreeze. Lest we become forgotten by the ponies and by our own kind alike.”

Sunbreeze did not say anything in response, but watched the winds and hoped. Hoped that it would end soon. Hoped that they could go home.

---

Twilight returned from the bathroom and returned to her place at the front of the classroom.

“It’s almost time, dear,” her father stated and laughed nervously. “L-l-let’s all be calm now. Can’t let the stress get to you!”

“That’s right! And remember, Twilight, to smile. No matter what, smile at the professors when they are doing the test, no matter what!”

Twilight nodded, but she wasn’t super confident that was appropriate. Still, it was something she could cling onto. Something she hoped that she could use to calm herself with. But what if they didn’t like her smile? Did she brush her teeth? Was if there was something in her teeth from breakfast! What if her breath smelled bad? What if–

She cut herself off when she heard the door open.

Four unicorns walked in and sat at the back of the small classroom she was in. She watched them as they made themselves comfortable. Nervously, she stole a glance at her mother and father, who were looking at one another unsure what to do. Should they leave? Stay? She wanted to tell them that they could stay, but who was she to say that to them? They would think her rude, and maybe expel her from the school! Or worse! Banish her forever!

“Twilight Sparkle?” one of the professors suddenly spoke.

Twilight meeped, her throat catching for a moment and making her cough. “Y-yes!”

The professors were writing on their sheets of paper, and Twilight looked at her parents again. This time they were looking at her, and they made the ‘smile for them’ sign, running the tips of their hooves across their lips and flashing their best grins. For some reason her father was zipping his mouth shut as well.

Still, Twilight complied. Right now she couldn’t even begin to think straight. Everything was falling apart even before it started and she was feeling very conscious of that fact.

“Bring the item inside,” one of the professors stated.

Suddenly the door slammed open and in walked an orange stallion pushing something on an oddly shaped cart into the room. It was an egg. Not just any ordinary egg, but a huge one at that. She stared at it as the newcomer rolled it into the room and stopped near Twilight, then he bowed and walked backwards out the door, closing it gently as he did so.

“Well, Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight laughed nervously. She had spent hours studying everything she could. From cascading formulae, to multiple threaded casting, to even more and radical concepts that she had garnered from the libraries of books she read. Despite all that, she had no idea what to do with this egg. What even was it?

On the side she saw a drawing of the egg splitting into two with a dragon inside. Was this a dragon egg? If so, what was she supposed to do with it? She knew nothing about dragons or dragon eggs. She didn’t even know anything about normal eggs either! What was this test about? What was she to do?

She let out a feeble, panicked sigh.

The next thing she knew was that the professors were all scribbling on their notepads and staring at her.

The pressure felt unbearable and she was at a loss. The only thing she felt that she could do was turn and hide or run away from here.

Gritting her teeth, she looked at the egg and decided that the most she could do was perhaps lift the egg from the nest. Perhaps. Maybe. It was worth a shot. How much would an egg that size weigh, anyway?

---

Staring out her window seemed like the only thing she wanted to do. She watched the sun rise over the horizon once again muttered a “cock-a-doodle-doo” under her breath as she was reminded that she was in the big city and not back home on her family’s farm.

“I wonder what Granny Smith and Big Macintosh are up to. I bet they’re apple-buckin’ their way through the Red Delicious.” She sighed and crossed her little hooves. “What I wouldn’t give for just one bite.”

She felt her eyes water as she peered up at the cloudless sky and waited. Waited for something, anything to happen.

---

Providence looked at the door, then back at the map.

“No! It’s not a map!” She placed the ‘map’ against the door and put the hallway in the middle. It was a perfect fit. She then slid it down until she noticed that the patterns aligned perfectly. When she did, she noticed that there was one stray, thin, sliver of magic that the creator of the paper had highlighted slightly in a red hue. She followed it and then realised that it went up the corridor one of the Watu ventured.

Instinctively, she traced it up and up, being very careful not to lose it, lest she would have to start again. She followed it diligently up the stairwell, as it spiralled along the outside, then across one of the steps, then up the middle. She continued to follow it until, at last, it stopped at a small smooth wall. She stared at it, and marked it with a piece of a sticky leaf that she habitually carried with her on her expeditions.

“What is it?”

She turned to see Pani looking over her shoulder. The moment she took her eye off the rock, she knew that if she hadn’t marked it, she would have lost it. The entire room was made up of the same shape, colour, with small threads leading to each one. It was a maze of little threads of magic, little wires of power, that ended at what could only be a button.

“The way in. I don’t know what will happen if I push this, but if my hunch is right, it will open the doorway downstairs.”

Pani nodded. “Then we must first get you there.”

“What if we pressed the wrong one?”

A Watu grabbed Pani’s arm and shook her head. “You’ll die. We assume that is how that camel passed.”

Everyone turned to see the Watu who spoke, who then gestured to the far corner. A body was there, burned beyond recognition and charred to coal.

“There is a passageway through there, and two of ours have already headed inside, but I think that this and that are two different things now. The camels that were here are trying to escape from the battle and flee the Caldera, so we can assume that at the end of that tunnel you will come out somewhere behind the cliffs on the far side.”

“We could have just come in from there,” Providence said angrily.

“Maybe you can only get in from inside. Like a one-way door,” Pani pointed out. “I’ve seen those built into mirrors.”

“I will stay with the button, and will press it when told,” the Watu replied in the silence that followed. “If I pass, then it was a pleasure serving you. I hope that you find your way back home to your child.”

Providence had heard that so many times in the past, but it still hit her hard each time. Just how many of these Watu were willing to die for her for the mere fact that she could still remember her child? How had her hope been cemented as their own?

“Come, Providence. We must hurry. We might not have that much time,” Pani stated, grabbing her front leg to emphasise the urgency of the situation.

“Thank you,” Providence said, and took out her notebook. “What is it they call you?”

“They call me Bandit,” the Watu said with a smile, her voice soft and clear. Like the way a mother’s voice should be when talking to their child. Perhaps she had been a mother, once, a long time ago. “Thank you for allowing my name be in your book.”

Providence nodded, put the notebook away, then disappeared down the stairwell.

Once she arrived at the door, she took a deep breath.

“Okay, go–”

The explosion shook the hall.

“They’ve breached the wall cavern. We don’t have time. We need to go now!”

Providence nodded and Pani’s words and nodded. The order was relayed up the stairwell and a thin line of gold shot towards the door along the vine she had meticulously followed minutes before. It hit the door exactly where it had to and a spiderweb of light exploded around the door. The mysterious metallic substance suddenly vanished and in its place was a gaping maw of darkness.

“What now?”

“We go in!” and Providence stepped inside.

And as soon as she did, the door reformed behind her bathing her in darkness.

---

The Watu that had tried to follow Providence were blown back a good dozen or so feet, sliding across the ground to a halt. Although they had been fast, something definitely did not allow anybody, pony or not, inside with Providence.

The sounds of armoured ponies piling inside echoed throughout the hallway, and it was all Samidra could do to stop herself from screaming in fear. Her father held her close.

Bandit came down. “The door button isn’t working anymore.”

The Watu looked at each other. Before there was a clear line of command, but without Providence, they had to decide for themselves what to do.

Pani spoke. “We can escape behind the other camels, follow them through the gap you saw.”

“You would have us abandon Providence?”

“No, but I think she’s safe where she is. We haven’t tried to break that door open, so our best bet is to trick them into following us and leading them away from the door. The only way to do that is to lure them and ensure that they follow us. We have that key, as long as we have it, they won’t be able to unlock this door.”

At that, Bandit took the key itself and shoved it into her mouth and chewed it a couple times before swallowing. Pani nodded in approval.

“I was going to say burn it, but okay.”

“No, that will give them a clue as to us destroying some evidence,” another Watu pointed out.

“We will hit them hard and fade away. The others can go ahead.” Bandit looked at the camels, and at Tessa. “They are not like us.”

“Her idea is sound. We will delay them and protect the doorway for as long as possible, but you should flee while you still can. We cannot hold them off for very long in a place like this with no cover,” another Watu stated.

“Go!” Pani shoved his daughter ahead of him. “Go, now!”

---

“I’m surprised that you’d show yourself here, Rainbow Crash!”

“Don’t be! You know I’d never back down!” Rainbow retorted and started to do small hops to warm up. “You’re going down!”

A fairly sizable number of pegasi had come to watch the race, even going as far as to fill the stands near the starting cloud. Fluttershy stood nearby and awkwardly looked over at the two colts. A part of her wanted to tell them that this was going too far but she also knew that they were just as stubborn as Rainbow when it came to these things.

“You’re cramping my style, Shy!” Rainbow said. “Why don’t you grab the starting flag and go ahead and stand over there.”

Rainbow gestured to the cloud near the starting line.

“Alright,” Fluttershy said nervously.

She fluttered over to the PE equipment shed and spotted the barrel with the flags and grabbed the chequered one from it. When she came out, the two colts sniggered at her and shook their heads.

“Wrong flag, Kultzershy,” Dumb-Bell stated. “You need the starting flag!”

“Why does it matter?” Rainbow replied. “It’s not like you’re going to be the first one to cross the line anyway.”

“Oh yeah! Just for that, I’m racing too!”

“Go ahead! The more, the merrier. Beating two of you goofs will give me twice the amount of winning!” Rainbow stretched her wings and grinned. “So, bring. It. On.”

“Oh yeah!” a big colt roared from the stands.

---

Using her strength, she started to cast the spell. But as she did it felt like the magic was being pulled away from her, slipping away into the direction of the egg. It was actively fighting her and she knew it. Twilight felt the gazes of the teachers on her and she knew deep down that she could not fail this test. She refused to do so. Taking a different approach, the young unicorn focused on holding the spell in her horn for as long as possible and to keep it away from the egg until it was the most opportune time to release her magic.

But now that she had done that, the spell in her horn refused to come out. She could feel it inside, but try as she could, the spell simply refused to manifest itself near the egg. It was as if there was something protecting the egg from her magic.

She heard a yawn coming from the teachers.

“We don’t have all day,” the strict mare stated.

The others held stoic expressions on their faces, but it was clear that Twilight could not summon her powers in the traditional sense. She tried everything she could think of to try to make her magic come up from the murky depths of the ether, but she just couldn’t pull it out with her will.

Then she managed to find a way. Two threads that she wove in a axial pattern around a central thread to make it come out of her horn. She adjusted the leylines to accommodate for the fluctuating resistance that the egg seemed to naturally produce and for all that effort, she was rewarded with a few sparks and nothing more.

“I’m sorry I wasted your time,” Twilight sighed, and looked down in defeat.

The professors all raised their clipboards at the same time and began to rapidly scribble notes.

---

Arpeggio was ecstatic. A pony of this pure talent was extremely rare and he was honoured to witness such a feat. Not only did the filly use her own internal power to almost override the magical defences of the dragon’s shell but she actually managed to weave two threads and create a form of solving the puzzle that would take more advanced students weeks to conure themselves.

“This filly is incredible!” The blue unicorn noted to himself. A part of him wanted to explore the spell that was just cast in deeper detail, but that would have to wait until the formal test was over. But to create a levitation spell with the first thread, then surround it with a defensive spell to pull the magic along a specific line so that the young mare could utilise it to cast a binding spell to grab the egg was beyond something she should have been able to do on her own at that age.

Yet she had done it.

Just as he was about to say something, to congratulate the filly on a job well done, something in the air began to change. He felt it. Like the air suddenly became a whole lot cooler. And something drew his attention to the window behind the filly and beyond the palace in the distance. Something was happening. Something huge.

It looked like… a rainbow?

Comments

[lunarstallion]

It is a beautiful day to see this getting an update.

[Artillery]

11651405
Understandable

[Auta5tic]

I do like the mission summaries, but I wish that you explored the relationship between Semper and Pinkie a lot more than you did.

[deathtap]

11651900
Sure, I'll take it onboard. Always nice to see critique.

[Alitaher003]

All caught up. And this looks like the tipping point alright.

[Luna MacArthur]

Sad this ended.

[deathtap]

11832476
Who says? I'm just lazy. I'm working on it.