Decretum

by BlackRoseRaven

Vinyl, Scratched

Chapter Fifty Nine: Vinyl, Scratched
~BlackRoseRaven

A week had passed since the incident with Avalon, and Engelhart and Ameliorate were moving out of Ponyville to return to Canterlot, where Engelhart would also resume his duties as a Pegasus Guard. Meadowlark was very quiet now, and very upset over what she saw as all her fault: she had upset her friends, which had led to Avalon getting hurt, which had led to Rainbow Dash beating up her father, which had led to him being examined by a doctor other than Ameliorate, which had finally led to it being discovered he didn't have curled wing syndrome at all. He had been riding a false diagnosis given to him by Ameliorate to allow him to coast along with his job, spending most of his time at home on sick leave instead of serving in the Guard, only maintaining the minimum necessary hours with his 'handicap.'

This was clearly something very frowned upon, and part of the reason they had to move back to Canterlot: while Engelhart was being tried by military court, they wanted him to start making up all the time he had missed. And there was quite a lot of it, and he was being demoted all the way back down the ladder to the dirt.

So for Meadowlark, life was pointedly miserable right now, made worse by the fact she was forbidden to see her friends. That, and Ameliorate was also in trouble: not just for treating a family member, but for fraud and knowingly giving a false diagnosis.

In a funny way, it did go to show how tight the family was: they wanted easy lives, and they gossiped, and thought they were better than everyone, but Ameliorate had done everything in her power to keep Engelhart safe, and Engelhart had still gone in for those minimum hours he needed to do without complaint, wanting to keep his job to continue to help provide for his family instead of getting himself discharged.

But now all that had come back to bite them in the flank, and all because parents had told their daughter simply too much, gossiping with her, answering her questions while forgetting to teach her about the feelings of others or what 'empathy' was because 'she was just so curious!' And now Meadowlark was miserable and alone and not even Antares wanted to sneak by to see her one last time, although Rustproof seemed to miss his inattentive babysitter.

Antares instead was visiting Avalon every day, bringing her little gifts, trying his best to make her smile and help her feel better. She had suffered a concussion and there were still cuts and bruises all over her body, but Scarlet Sage had thankfully healed the worst of the wounds and treated the rest while a doctor at the clinic had gone over what had happened and prescribed both pain pills and a muscle relaxant for her wings.

Avalon would only have one thin, visible scar: a stuttered line just at the outer edge of one eye, from scalp to cheek. It was almost invisible, at least, but it had been deep... the doctor had said it was fortunate she hadn't taken damage to the eye, or she would have lost it. The other damages, even her torn-up wings, hadn't been as bad: nothing else had been broken, even though she had rammed through heavy, inch-thick storm-proofed windows. She was tough.

Rainbow Dash had taken a few days to explain things to his daughter, and at the end of it all, she had concluded that Meadowlark was stupid and Rainbow would always be her dad, no matter what. The pale-blue Pegasus spent every night for that week sitting quietly in Avalon's room, watching over her as she went to sleep, wrapped in bandages still and not nearly as energetic as she'd once been... but he knew that would come back. Once she wrapped her head around things, and moreover once her head, wings, and body had all healed.

And Rainbow and Applejack both welcomed Antares any time he showed up, and more than once offered to let him sleep over so the boy could stay and help keep watch. But really, Rainbow thought it was selfish: he liked the colt's presence, and he distracted Avalon from the pain of both not being able to fly and from all her cuts and bruises, and... whether Antares knew it or not, he comforted both father and daughter.

Luna and Scrivener spent more than a few days themselves at Sweet Apple Acres; they even lent a hoof to the harvesting, so Rainbow could keep his vigil over Avalon and Applejack could be freer to check up on husband and daughter as well as run a few errands into town. Luna thought it counted as good exercise, although halfway through the first day they helped out she all but collapsed into a pile of raked leaves and refused to get up for a good twenty minutes, grumbling the whole time about 'infernal endless orchards of damnable apples.'

But thankfully, by now they were almost done with the harvesting: the sun was setting in the sky, but both Big Mac and Soarin' were happy to spend an extra bit of time out in the orchard to finish up the last of the late harvest of these far fields. The next day, they would be able to start preparations for winter... although during winter, they planned to devote as much time as possible to training and helping the Starlit Knights.

Scrivener Blooms wondered if the work would ever end, as he turned around and kicked both rear hooves hard into a tree, making it shudder before apples fell from the boughs... and tumbled almost everywhere except the baskets, making him curse under his breath and wonder for the umpteenth time how the hell Applejack and Big Mac managed to do it. Then he winced and stared as an enormous, boulder-sized apple fell out of the tree and landed in front of him with a thud, making the charcoal stallion gape in disbelief.

“ A wild metaphor appeared!” shouted a voice, and Scrivener groaned before Discombobulation popped out of thin air, jeans and a cloth jacket covering his body, a tiny backpack on his back and a red and white hat on his head. “Go, Scrivener Blooms!”

With that, he threw an odd, spherical object forwards that exploded in a burst of light, and Luna appeared in the flash, looking wildly back and forth before she stomped her hooves and yelled in frustration: “What madness is this?”

“Oh no, the wild metaphor used tackle!” Discombobulation narrated, grabbing at his hat before the giant apple rose suddenly up and shot forwards, smashing into Luna. She was knocked flat on her back with a squawk, and then she snarled and hopped to her hooves before Discombobulation pointed and posed, declaring: “Scrivener Blooms, use thunder!”

With that, Luna snapped her horn upwards, and there was a loud crackle before a blast of lightning hammered into Discombobulation. Immediately, his clothing and the enormous apple both disintegrated into ashes as he yelled in pain, flailing his arm and his prosthetic limb... and a moment later, he was left standing, covered in blackened ashes and smoldering slightly before he coughed loudly and rasped weakly: “It's super-effective... wild metaphor fainted.”

He toppled backwards, sending up a puff of smoke, and Luna huffed at him as Scrivener sighed and dropped his head forwards before he calmly began to gather up the apples, asking dryly: “Not that we're not glad to see you, Bob, but... where's the method to your madness this time? We're kind of busy.”

“Just a feeling, that's all.” Discombobulation sat up, becoming more serious as he brushed char and ash from his body, and Luna and Scrivener both frowned before the Draconequus smiled wryly, saying quietly: “Because you see, I can't fight this feeling anymore, I've forgotten what I started fighting for... but the one thing I can guarantee is that I don't feel like making love. Rather, I feel like something is going to... get down tonight. Get down, get down, get down, get down, get down tonight baby.”

He paused as Luna and Scrivener both frowned at him nervously, and then he cocked his head curiously, saying thoughtfully: “Lots of music metaphors today. Wonder if that's a sign?”

A minotaur was calmly smoking a cigarette, grumbling under his breath: he was enormous, statuesque, and wearing tight, itchy clothes that made him feel uncomfortable. They made him feel... naked, ironically. More naked than the simple kilts and loincloths of his homeland, which he knew probably wouldn't make sense to any of these ponies.

He sighed tiredly, looking up at the stars and the moon above and judging the time by them even as clouds rolled slowly past: he thought it was probably just before eleven at night. Behind him, the doors were wide open, and bright lights kept shining in jagged rhythms out of the archway as inside, music blared and ponies danced and threw themselves against each other, a lot of them young and rich and who thought there was nothing more hip than coming to this little village from Canterlot and Manehattan and all the other big cities to party together in this out-of-the-way nightclub run by one of Equestria's rising sensations.

That's why the nightclub was called 'Enigma.' Because it was a 'secret' that all the cool people knew, and only the coolest attended. Nevermind the enormous lineup behind the velvet rope of 'not-hip' ponies the minotaur wasn't supposed to let in, half-curled around the side of the large, ugly-looking building. Every now and then, one of Vinyl's Nibelung would come out with a clipboard and choose a few lucky ponies from the line to let inside, but the minotaur's job was simply to stand here, ignore the lights shooting past him like lasers and the blaring music giving him a headache, punch anypony that tried to cross the sacred line, and let in only the boss and the 'cool' people who were always pretty easy to identify.

Then he glanced up in surprise as Vinyl Scratch approached, dressed in some new fancy getup, and the crowd yelled and applauded excitedly as the minotaur hurried forwards to open the velvet ropes for the rising celebrity. Scratch grinned at him, and the minotaur frowned a bit even as he stepped politely aside: she wore what looked almost like a black cloak covering most of her body, and headphones were already pulled up over her ears, but... he supposed it was a cold night, as Vinyl strode inside and more cheers rose up from the nightclub.

The music pulsing out of the open doors grew louder after a few minutes, and the minotaur sighed tiredly: on top of the noise getting worse, the music had changed to some kind of... acid techno or whatever the fancy music terms were. He didn't know music. He hated these ponies' ideas of music because most of it sounded like drunken minotaurs repairing their armor... just with less harmony and more loud, pointless banging and swearing.

After another hour, however, the minotaur looked up dumbly to see Vinyl Scratch approaching, in frustrated conversation with one of her Nibelung bodyguards, and the minotaur stood dumbly for a moment before he hurried quickly down to open the rope when Vinyl glared at him, asking grouchily: “What's the problem, Ian?”

“Ivan.” the minotaur corrected, and when Vinyl flicked her head down to look moodily at him over her sunglasses, he shook his head and asked finally: “When did you leave, Miss Scratch? I did not see you go.”

“What are you talking about?” Vinyl Scratch frowned, leaning back as she looked quickly over at the Nibelung, who only shrugged in equal confusion. “I just got here, I've been out all day, scouting talent and trying to get in touch with Canterlot.”

“But... you are already here, then.” The minotaur leaned back in surprise, glancing towards the open door. “I let you in one hour ago, I am thinking. You were-”

“Oh come on! Who could be that good of an imposter to get past... dammit, come on, let's go take care of this.” Vinyl Scratch groaned in disbelief, then stormed forwards before snapping over her shoulder at the minotaur, when he turned to follow: “No, you stay out here, and you do your damn job, the job I hired you for! Keep the losers out, and let the good ones in, simple! God, Ian, like I don't have enough to worry about without some ditz pretending to be me strutting around my damn club like... like she owns the place!”

With that, Scratch strode quickly through the open doors and down the short hall leading to the open floor beyond, as the minotaur sighed and fumbled another cigarette out of his pocket, mumbling: “Is Ivan... idiot.”

Vinyl strode quickly through the club along the walkway that surrounded the open dance floor, glaring back and forth as spotlights flashed and strobe lights spun with the beat of the music... music, she now recognized, was much different from her usual tastes. At this, her eyes widened and she looked sharply up towards the DJ booth, and she ground her teeth loudly at the sight of the shape of a pony visible behind the green tinted glass, working her equipment, teasing her records, but using its own music. The Nibelung beside her started forwards, but Vinyl shook her head sharply, shouting over the beat of the music and the yells of nearby, dancing and excited ponies: “I'll go and deal with it myself! You go get security!”

The Nibelung saluted sharply to show he understood, and Vinyl grunted before turning, storming past the enormous, black bar: it was cheap concrete, but painted and polished to look like onyx, and the hipsters and snobs and other breeds of cool, connected, and privileged ponies couldn't tell the difference. And now, someone was up there in her booth, impersonating her, trying to either pretend to be her or worse, sabotage her with this tawdry crap they called 'music?' Her customers were obsessed with the latest sights and sounds, after all... and this garbage...

She strode quickly through a lounge area with armchairs and couches and big, comfy seats of faux leather, hurrying to an employees' only door. She frowned as her horn glowed, pulling it easily open, and she cursed under her breath: the magic lock had been forced open, meaning whoever up there was likely a unicorn...

For a moment, she had a moment of indecision: after all, if they were powerful enough to snap the magic lock, that pointed to someone who could very possibly hurt her. On the other hoof, she was a budding music mogul, her network of contacts getting better every day, and whoever was up there was not only messing up all the sets she had preset into the DJ booth, they were messing with all of her equipment, acting like they owned the place, and generally perverting everything that made this club her crowing achievement and flagship to greater glory.

Then she ground her teeth loudly together as a rapid percussion beat slammed through the speakers, and instead she ran forwards, charging down the stone hall beyond to a red security door that had also been pried open, and she cursed under her breath as she ran up the steel stairs beyond, following their curl around to the ajar security door leading into the booth, slamming into this with her shoulder to knock it wide, and she staggered through to snarl at...

The unicorn that had taken over her booth grinned at her widely, and Vinyl Scratch stared in horror, her jaw working disbelievingly as she slowly reached up and pulled her sunglasses off. The invader looked just like her, except for the sharp teeth, the way its eyes glowed, how its mane was even more jagged and spiky; it was standing easily on its rear legs, manipulating the controls of the DJ booth with effortless fluidity, apparently having no trouble reading all her codes and abbreviations taped here and there as she reached one hoof up to cover the microphone, saying kindly to the real Vinyl Scratch. “Gimme just two seconds, gonna finish up this set and then we'll get on down to business.”

Vinyl Scratch shook her head disbelievingly, beginning to step backwards... but the lookalike unicorn only winked at her before the tall horn standing out of her forehead gleamed and slammed the security door shut, which clanked and locked loudly. Vinyl looked over her shoulder in horror, and then she glanced ahead as the doppelganger casually uncovered the mic to lean forwards, gazing down over the crowd below as she exclaimed loudly: “Hey, let's really get this place rockin' and the blood flowin'! Lock-down, lock-out, close everything up tight and we'll really get the sound blasting!”

Cheers rang up from below, and without looking, the lookalike reached over and hammered several switches: immediately, massive, reflective glass tiles lowered from the ceiling here and there, spotlights shining onto these and through these to both refract and reflect the bright neon lights, mixing and spreading their glows as pony employees and Nibelung workers both hurried to the doors, shutting and locking them as raving ponies laughed and cheered excitedly at what they all likely thought was going to be some wild, semi-illegal stage-show.

“Oh god, what are you doing?” Vinyl Scratch asked weakly, and the lookalike glared over at the mare as she reached up and covered the mic, before Scratch stared out at the dance floor, at the flashing lights and the neon lasers and the glowsticks, as the sound blasted through the air around them... “What do you want?”

She almost screamed the question, and since the DJ booth was probably one of the quietest places in the club, her voice spilled through the microphone and over the loudspeakers, even with the sensitive mic covered... but the ponies below only thought it was part of the crash and howls of the jarring, violent music. Still, the doppelganger gritted her teeth, then she reached down and slammed a hoof into the button that controlled the mic, turning it off as she retorted: “What do I want? I want what I got right here... one big, mean trap for Luna Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms!”

“Are... I... I don't understand.” Vinyl said stupidly, looking surprised, and the lookalike grinned widely in her black cloak before she brushed a sleeve back, revealing some kind of metallic vambrace. Vinyl stared at this, watching as the lookalike unicorn tapped on the side of this, then her horn glowed, pulling a crystalline pin free that rose high into the air, then stabbed violently down into an 'input' jack on one of the central control terminals of the machine before the device sparked violently.

Electricity surged along the sensitive machinery, and the lookalike pony winked over at Vinyl as the DJ leaned forwards with a yell of horror, her red eyes going wide before a hoof shot out and smashed into her throat. She felt it curl up beneath her neck, seizing painfully into her and yanking her into the air as she shivered and swallowed, and the doppelganger grinned over its own large sunglasses at her before it said kindly: “You will.”

Then it turned and threw Vinyl hard, and she shattered through the tinted glass protecting her booth with a shriek, falling amidst a broken rain of twinkling emerald to the ground some thirty feet below. She smashed down hard on a walkway around the tiled dance floor, and ponies screamed and yelled and panicked at the sight of the DJ's prone body... which other ponies only took as a cue to howl to the roof themselves, not even aware of the panic and the violence that was going on as the Clockwork Pony grinned widely and rose the vambrace-covered hoof... and a moment later, electronic locks beeped and snapped closed on every shut exit and entrance, as the pony leaned forwards into the shattered window and shouted to the ponies staring in horror below, its voice echoing loudly through the speakers over the thrum of music: “Welcome, colts and fillies, to the greatest farewell party every thrown! I am your host, Breakbeat, and it is an honor to be here in Equestria, oh so far away from Decretum! Now, while we wait for our special guests, let's get this party started!”

Breakbeat threw her head back and laughed, as below, ponies shouted and yelled and became aware far too late of the danger they had just been thrown into, and Vinyl Scratch only lay on the ground, bleeding slowly out of her mouth and staring disbelievingly as everything she had achieved was shattered as easily as her bones had been by the fall to the cold club floor.

Around two in the morning, Scrivener Blooms and Luna arrived at the nightclub with Twilight Sparkle, the sheriff of Ponyville grimacing over his shoulder. He and other officers had surrounded the building... although personally, Scrivener was more reassured by the fact that also present were Sleipnir, Pinkamena, Ross and Cowlick, and other Starlit Knights. A letter had even been sent to Celestia to keep her informed, but it was unlikely she'd be able to do much of anything... she was in Canterlot, and there was only one Clockwork Pony inside. One that Luna and Scrivener had heard had given a specific set of instructions after taking the club by force.

“Glad to see you. Wish you'd gotten here sooner, though... the monster's tormenting the hostages.” the sheriff muttered, and then he sat up and whistled loudly, and Cowlick looked up sharply from where she was talking to another set of officers before grinning in relief and hurrying over towards them.

“Sorry, we weren't at home. We were over at Sweet Apple Acres, with Antares... we didn't hear about what was going on until Sleipnir sent a message out to the Starlit Knights.” Scrivener replied quietly, and Twilight nodded, looking at the blocky building with concern: but security shutters had been sealed over the windows, and the doors had not a scratch on them, sealed tightly shut but sparking strangely with electricity. “What's going on exactly?”

“Listen for yourself.” The sheriff replied with a slow shake of his head, as Cowlick reached down to turn on a radio. Immediately, all the ponies present winced at the sound that blared out of it... jagged beats, broken rhythms, heavy, rumbling bass.

It went on for a few seconds, Luna and Scrivener trading looks before a voice cut through the noise suddenly, saying mockingly: “What's wrong, are you guys out there scared of me or something? I'm still in here, still waiting for Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms... and only them, you remember? Okay colts and fillies, let's get started on another set!”

There were yells and shouts before the music began to blare again... but Cowlick reached down and turned the radio quickly off before it could grate on anypony's nerves, shaking her head in disgust and saying moodily: “Whatever the hell is in there, it hooked up a short-range transmitter. A really, really powerful one, at that, so the goddamn thing is overriding every other radio frequency and station in the area. Gotta admit, this Clockwork tech... it's getting better and better, and that kind of scares me at this point.”

Luna grimaced at this, then she growled at the doors and pawed a hoof at the ground, asking sharply: “So how shall we take this, then? By the short, direct route or should we pretend to be Celestia and attempt to take the creature by surprise by bringing the roof down upon its head?”

“Whoa there, Lady Luna, with all respect you're going to have to slow down.” the sheriff cautioned, and Luna looked moodily at the pony, even as she halted and pawed grumpily at the street, glowering towards the building. “There's hostages in there, and we don't have much choice but to play along with her demands right now. First and foremost, we have to save the lives of those ponies.”

“If there are any lives worth saving in that building.” Luna grumbled, but then she sighed and nodded after a moment, her starry mane swirling backwards slowly as she shook herself out. “So we must play to the monster's tune, is that what thou art saying?”

The sheriff smiled wryly, replying quietly: “Your colts don't want to listen to me, but all the same they've formed a cordon and they're holding the perimeter, and they promised to stay put while you and Scrivener Blooms do your thing. Obviously I'm not a hundred percent thrilled letting you march in there, but... I also don't feel like we got any choice in the matter.”

“That thing wants you to go in there, no gear, no weapons, right on through the front door. You two better watch yourselves.” Cowlick added with a grimace and a nod, and then she looked over her shoulder at where Ross was tinkering with something beside Greece, calling clearly: “Send out the message!”

“Hey, I'm still in charge here...” the sheriff frowned and started, straightening, and then he winced when Cowlick glared over at him.

“No, I don't think you are. Sleipnir's head turkey and he asked me to keep things running. Real nice to have you and some other cops keeping the crowds back and holding down the hatches but this ain't your rodeo. Ain't even ours. It's theirs.” Cowlick jerked her head towards Scrivener and Luna, and the charcoal stallion smiled a bit as Luna grinned slightly. “You two just do me a favor. Don't get your flanks kicked this time around, right?”

“Be careful. We'll be waiting outside... and if you need help, call us. We'll figure out some way to get in without anyone getting hurt.” Twilight added quietly. Cowlick grunted in agreement, and then the engineer held up a hoof, and Scrivener and Luna both tapped their own against it before the two nodded as Luna turned and quickly headed for the front doors with Scrivener following after her. A few calls of 'good luck' and other hopes rang out of the crowd, and the two ponies glanced back once before looking firmly ahead as the front double doors swung invitingly open, a thrum of music pouring out from the nightclub.

A battered Nibelung was standing in the open doorway, breathing hard and hugging himself around his wounded chest with one arm, and Luna frowned at the sight of the dwarf before he rasped as they approached: “Metal-corn has... has fancy-corn boss and others hostage. Many hurt. All scared.”

Luna and Scrivener both nodded slowly as they stood for a moment in the entrance, and then the dwarf closed his eyes as he waited for them to pass inside before a sharp, mocking voice echoed over the loudspeaker: “Now remember, bring them inside and close the doors behind you like a good little boy, or I start killing hostages.”

The dwarf mumbled to himself, but Luna didn't need to glance to check as the Nibelung stepped forwards, seizing the handles and carefully yanking the doors closed. There was a click before electricity zapped along the doors, and the dwarf staggered backwards with a yelp of pain as he hurriedly let go of the handles, a chortle ringing through the loudspeakers as the voice exclaimed: “Oh, I'm sorry, I must have overloaded the circuits again!'

Luna snarled at this as she and Scrivener stood for a moment in the short foyer, the locked entrance doors on one side of them, another set of doors in front of them, sealed up tight, but music rumbling all the same through these... and a moment later there was a distinct click before this inner pair of doors swung open by themselves, and both Luna and Scrivener winced at the sound of heavy, repetitive sharp beats that perverted the air around them, the patterning broken now and then by a sudden jagged rhythm and baseline.

The Nibelung simply let himself drop to one side of the foyer, sitting beneath a faded band poster, and Scrivener shared a look with Luna, feeling their mental link tightening before they both strode ahead and shoved through the double doors.

They stepped out onto a darker stone path that went around an enormous dance floor: huge girders of metal bordered this, with rounded metal railings filling the gaps between many of these pillars. White tiles covered the wide dance floor, with interspersed with thick glass plates out of which shone bright, patterned colors of light.

More spotlights shone down from above, and music blared out of speakers set up all over the club, both massive, obvious black squares and hidden and recessed everywhere from the floors to the walls. Enormous glass reflectors shuddered with the beat of the bass, gleaming overhead like dangerous mirrors; the heavy music, the flashing light, the way everything glowed and glinted made the atmosphere feel insane and blinding, Luna snarling as she looked back and forth and Scrivener shaking his head quickly out with a look of disgust.

They stepped down onto the dance floor, looking back and forth: hostages were tied up here and there with cut black cabling and power cords, many of them bleeding from the eyes and ears, others simply looking shell-shocked. They were scattered all over the dance-floor... and in the center of it, her back turned to them and a black cloak swaying around her, was a Clockwork Pony.

Her front hooves were moving in front of her, and she laughed as Luna and Scrivener both stepped forwards before she grinned widely over her shoulder, red eyes gleaming behind violet shades as she called easily: “There you are! You have any idea how long I've been waiting for you two to show up?”

With that, she turned around, shrugging her cloak open at the same time... and Luna and Scrivener both stared in surprise: in front of her, a translucent blue image of a soundboard was floating, her hooves moving over this and controlling the music somehow through the hologram. Her head rocked unconsciously with the music as her hooves played over illusionary switches and scratched against the image of a record, her glasses low over over her muzzle so she could continue to grin cockily at them as the music blared and rumbled around them.

Then she swept a hoof to the side, and the spotlights above all flared to life with glowing white light, making Scrivener and Luna both stumble backwards with curses at the way the floor tiles beneath their hooves seemed to glow. Then the Clockwork Pony laughed again, flicking its other hoof out, and the hologram in front of it vanished as it pulled the cloak free from its body and tossed it easily aside, revealing an upper body covered by a thick, gleaming silver vest. Metal braces glinted over both forelegs, large, rubberized tubing and cabling feeding out of their backs and around to the Clockwork Pony's spine, and the rear legs it stood so easily back on had been replaced from the knee down by metallic prostheses, glinting in the bright light as it held up a hoof to the air and declared clearly: “In the name of Beauty and the Prophet and the Clockwork King, time to mess you up, Brynhild!”

“Oh good, skipping the witty banter, I like this.” Luna gritted her teeth as she and Scrivener Blooms charged forwards, and then Luna's eyes narrowed when Breakbeat only grinned widely as it shoved back its sunglasses, sensing something was wrong a little too late before there was a sharp gleam-

She and Scrivener both smashed against what felt like a solid wall, and a translucent, rippling white barrier sprung to existence around Breakbeat, shielding the Clockwork Pony inside a sphere as it threw its head back and laughed mockingly. Then it reached up and waved a hoof almost teasingly before shoving its forelimb hard forwards as its horn glowed, and a blast of raw force slammed into both Scrivener and Luna, the concussive shockwave knocking them both flying backwards to crash and roll along the dance floor as Breakbeat said teasingly: “Let's check your score for that epic fail, shall we?”

She clicked her tongue, and another blue hologram sprung to life, floating beside her head and clearly displaying a number for a moment before it quickly decreased back to zero. “Two hundred! Not a bad hit, that probably would have hurt like hell... too bad there's no way you guys have way to smash my shield. But don't worry... they don't call me 'Breakbeat' for nothing.”

The Clockwork Pony's eyes glowed before it paused, looked up at the music, then cursed under its breath as Luna and Scrivener both picked themselves up, staring almost incredulously as the mechanical pony muttered and reached down to begin paging hurriedly through a large pack hanging from one hip: “Tunes, tunes, tunes... where the hell...”

As it looked down, distracted, Luna snarled, her horn glowing brightly before she flicked it forwards, sending a blue fireball rocketing across the dance floor. But it only smashed uselessly against the barrier, the explosion not even ruffling Breakbeat even though it knocked several nearby hostages flat, and Luna winced as Scrivener gritted his teeth with a curse before hurrying for the nearest group as Breakbeat shouted irritably: “I'll kill you in a minute, let me find my... here it is!”

Breakbeat grinned widely as it yanked a CD free from its pack, then she smacked a rounded protrusion on her other hip firmly, and this popped open before Breakbeat slipped the disc inside and slapped it closed. Then it flicked both hooves up and outwards, the holographic soundboard appearing in front of her before she grinned widely as the music over the speakers cut out, only to be replaced a moment later by a hard, booming beat that quickly began to pick up in speed and power, sharp, electrical melodies joining the heavy baseline as he hooves toggled the illusionary switches. “Yeah, yeah, there we go! Okay, let's rock!”

With that, Breakbeat flicked its front hooves to either side of her body, the soundboard vanishing again before she began to stomp a metallic rear hoof in rhythm with the music, grinning widely as she let her forelegs go limp at her sides. Scrivener and Luna stared, and then Breakbeat whooped as she began to stomp forwards, Luna leaping up into the air in shock as blasts of electricity ripped in short spirals along the floor tiles with short, concussive waves of force that emanated from the creature with every stomp. “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”

Scrivener shoved the group of hostages he had untied away from the dance floor, and Luna snarled, sending a mental message to Scrivy as she shot down to distract the Clockwork Pony; Breakbeat only grinned, however, leaping upwards and then slamming both metal hooves against the ground, and a massive shockwave tore across the dancefloor, knocking hostages flying and sprawling with yells of pain and agony as electricity shocked through the air around the Clockwork Pony. Luna snarled as she felt lightning rip painfully against her body before she slammed bodily into the forcefield around Breakbeat, who only laughed mockingly before she swung her forelegs around and dropped her head forwards, going into a violent, vicious dance that released concussive waves of sound and lightning in rhythm with her movements, battering Luna backwards with cries of pain as Scrivener cursed and Breakbeat mocked eagerly: “Come on come on come on, dance with me!”

Luna dropped back to the floor, and Breakbeat leaned forwards, shoving both hooves viciously outwards to send a concentrated wave of force shooting towards the winged unicorn, but she leapt to the side and the wave of raw power shot past in an almost-visible cylinder, smashing into a metal girder with enough force to shudder the support structure. Then Luna ran forwards, her front hooves smashing violently against the force-field... and seeing in the corner of her eye the floating hologram by Breakbeat's head escalating, the numbers increasing with every blow that Luna slammed against the shield and cursed at how it felt like a physical barrier...

The glow of the shield, the rippling of energies increased with every slam of her hooves against it, but Breakbeat only laughed before stomping a hoof hard down into the floor: Luna leapt quickly up, however, propelling herself higher with her wings to avoid the shockwave that rippled along the ground before she dropped down on top of the spherical shield with all four hooves.

It was like landing on top of metal instead of energy, and Luna stomped viciously up and down against it as Breakbeat looked up with a surprised snarl before Luna's eyes widened as she looked down and saw not only cracks forming in the shielding, but the hologram was beginning to flash violently as it turned from blue to red, the numbers rapidly increasing before Breakbeat threw her forelegs out and howled at the sky. A shockwave of force ripped from her the shield, and Luna was blasted backwards as the force of the concussive pulse's passage left ripples through the air, the winged unicorn snarling as she dropped back to the dancefloor and skidded backwards, blood dribbling from her mouth and her stomach feeling like she had just taken a double-kick from Sleipnir.

Still, she forced herself to straighten, gagging only once before anchoring herself and shuddering as she looked sharply over at Scrivener. The earth pony winced in response, but he nodded once as he ran quickly away from the hostages as Breakbeat shouted: “Not cool, but useless all the same! There's not a thing you useless crowbait can do to stop me, you hear me?”

As the Clockwork Pony spoke, her shield slowly faded from sight, the cracks vanishing and the numbers in the floating hologram beside her head diminishing again... and then Luna grinned slowly as she leaned forwards, saying sharply: “Thou desires a dance, is that not correct? Well, allow Scrivener Blooms and I to entertain thy wish!”

Breakbeat looked confused, and then Luna charged sharply, suddenly forwards, and the Clockwork Pony snarled before it swung a hoof up, sending out a blast of force that knocked Luna skidding backwards with a curse of pain... but then behind it, Scrivener Blooms plowed shoulder first into the forcefield, Breakbeat yelling in shock and looking over her shoulder in surprise before Scrivener rose up and began to slam his hooves violently against the shield, the numbers beginning to rapidly rise by the Clockwork Pony again before she snarled and spun around, swinging a hoof out and blasting Scrivener away with a cone of force. “Nice try!”

And then Luna slammed into the other side of the energy shield, ripping back and forth against it with her horn before she rose up to smash viciously into it with her hooves, and Breakbeat yelled and spun around, swinging her hooves up to try and blast Luna away with another volley of force. Luna was knocked sprawling on her back, spitting blood, but Scrivener was already at the other side of the shield again, hammering his hooves against it as the glow through the sphere increased and cracks began to spread through the protective orb, the numbers turning flashing red as Breakbeat looked wildly back and forth.

She swung both hooves up to try and blast Scrivener and Luna both away, but Scrivener ducked low, the sharp, concussive wind only blowing his mane back as Luna flew high, slamming all four hooves against the top of the shield before kicking off so she could then ram forwards, crashing viciously against it. And on Breakbeat's back, a large, dome-shaped node that the wires and cables from the creature's forelegs fed into began to spark and smoke, an alarm beeping loudly over the thrum of the music ripping through the club as the holographic numbers turned neon red and began to fizzle violently with static.

Both Luna and Scrivener reared back... and Breakbeat howled as she leapt up and stomped both rear hooves against the floor tiles, sending out a shockwave and a blast of lightning that knocked both of the ponies sprawling... but the shield surrounding the Clockwork Pony shattered with the blast of force as well, and Breakbeat screamed in agony as electricity violently ripped back and forth over her body as several loud pops went up from the dome on her back.

She lurched back and forth jaggedly, gargling as she managed to half-spin around... and then Scrivener Blooms, bleeding from the eyes and mouth but snarling in determination, charged forwards and smashed his head into her stomach, making her gag before she howled in agony as Luna's hooves slammed into her uncovered lower back before both ponies rose themselves in time and began to viciously pound their front hooves in fierce rhythm back and forth against either side of her body, the Clockwork Pony helplessly caught between them as she was knocked back and forth like a toy.

She flinched and cried out with every blow before Scrivener seized her by the shoulders and smashed his head cruelly into her face, her sunglasses shattering back into her red eyes as she shrieked before the earth pony dropped when she clawed a hoof at him desperately. As Scrivener ducked low, Luna leapt upwards, slamming all four hooves against her back and kicking off her like a springboard to throw herself towards the ceiling and force Breakbeat to bend forwards... just as Scrivener turned around and then slammed both rear hooves upwards as hard as he could.

Breakbeat screamed as she was launched high into the air, and Luna's wings spread as she spun around and shot upwards after her, slamming a follow-up kick into the Clockwork Pony's stomach that knocked her even higher before Breakbeat howled and swung both front hooves down, releasing a wild shockwave of force that slammed into Luna and sent her groundward, even as the raw recoil knocked Breakbeat higher into the air with a grin through her broken jaw... and then she stared in horror as Luna flipped her body gracefully as Scrivener Blooms ran beneath her, the winged unicorn slamming down against his back and shoulders, the charcoal stallion letting himself drop with a curse even as Luna winced at the feeling of rips forming on her own body... and then Scrivener leapt upwards with a roar as Luna kicked off him at the same time, using the earth pony like a spring-

Breakbeat's eyes widened in shock before Luna slammed into her like a guided missile, her horn tearing through the unicorn's chest and sending out a burst of black blood, carrying the gargling Clockwork Pony upwards towards the roof before Luna roared and unleashed a raw, savage blast of telekinetic rage. It was powerful enough that the recoil knocked Luna backwards, horn tearing free... but Breakbeat was sent flying upwards, crashing into the concrete ceiling above hard enough to send cracks spiraling through the stone. For a moment, she was stuck against the roof, her eyes staring in shock through her broken sunglasses, her jaw gaping as blood spilled from her bruised and broken body... and then she simply fell.

The Clockwork Pony crashed to the dancefloor with a loud, thunderous bang, and the music blaring through the club skipped once before cutting out and silence filled the air. Scrivener and Luna were both breathing hard as the winged unicorn dropped down beside the male, both bleeding and trembling, internal organs feeling like mush as they stared at the Clockwork Pony... but Breakbeat only gave one last, broken gargle, blood spreading in a steady pool around her before she whimpered weakly, and then simply died.

Scrivener winced, clenching his eyes shut and flinching away automatically as Luna looked towards him sharply... but then the earth pony slowly opened one eye and he looked awkwardly back and forth. The moment turned into seconds into almost a minute, as hostages began to call out to them for help, to cry in relief and terror, to babble amongst themselves, and then the charcoal stallion slowly looked up before striding carefully towards the Clockwork Pony as Luna asked slowly: “Nothing?”

“Nothing.” Scrivener said quietly, as he reached down and touched Breakbeat's neck... and then he shook his head and muttered: “Nothing here, either.” He stopped, looking at her open, staring, dulling eyes, and he shivered a bit: not a whole lot of things confirmed death clearer than that... that glazed look. “Not that I'm complaining...”

Luna nodded silently, and then she said softly, as Scrivener stepped back and looked nervously down at the corpse: “Go ahead, Scrivy. Fetch the others and bring them in to help us evacuate and take care of the hostages.”

Scrivener smiled his thanks over to Luna, knowing what she was really saying, and she nodded slowly to him, gazing at him softly. The stallion turned and hurried out, finding it easier to gather his thoughts and push away his worries once he was away from the corpse of the Clockwork Pony, and as Luna felt his emotions settling, her own began to settle enough that she was able to turn her concentration to the task at hand, drawing her eyes to the closest set of hostages and walking over to cut them free with a grimace.

When Scrivener returned, Cowlick and Greece headed immediately over to the Clockwork Pony as Ross nervously stayed back, breathing hard as he looked anxiously back and forth before Cowlick told him calmly to go find the disc-jockey's booth. He'd nodded hurriedly... but then yelled for help across the club when he'd come across bleeding, broken Vinyl Scratch, and scurried rapidly for the doors in a panic. Cowlick had groaned and abandoned her examination of Breakbeat's corpse to go after the unicorn stallion and take him safely home... but she returned some twenty minutes later, and by then the club had been evacuated, Greece had begun assessing things, and Vinyl Scratch had been tended to by a medical pony.

The DJ sat miserably at the bar, wrapped in a blanket and rasping quietly: her injuries were serious, but she was more stable than most of the Nibelung security team had been and a few of the hostages who'd tried stupidly to threaten Breakbeat. In total, she had two broken ribs, a broken rear leg, and a cracked skull, not to mention the bruises and cuts and internal injuries... but even if her thinking was a bit muddy, she was still thinking.

She looked groggily up as Scrivener strode over and let himself behind the bar, and she frowned over her shoulder at him blearily as the earth pony glanced at her, then smiled a bit. He picked up a fancy-looking glass from the shelf, then glanced through the high-end bottles before selecting one of vodka, whistling at the alcohol percentage as he muttered: “What, the flashing lights and music not enough to cause brain damage?”

“You a soldier?” Scratch asked moodily, and Scrivener shrugged before he half-filled the glass, then put the bottle back on the shelf before glancing around. He found what he was looking for after a moment: a bottle of carbonated water. “Yeah, sure, help yourself, whatever.”

“Isn't for me.” Scrivener said mildly as he diluted the vodka with the bubbly water, then he slid the glass across the counter in front of her. Scratch looked down at this tiredly, and Scrivener shrugged after a moment as he took a drink from the glass bottle of water, then looked at it moodily and said finally: “This stuff is like twenty bucks a bottle, you know that? And all it is, really, is water with some bubbles in it, put in what's probably reused wine bottles.”

“It sells.” Scratch muttered, picking up the glass in front of her and sipping it slowly. She opened her eyes when she heard a crack, looking tiredly up to see Scrivener helping himself to a cola before she watched as the stallion grabbed a second can as well, putting this onto the bar... and Scratch's eyes widened as they were joined by Luna, who smiled wryly at the sight of her husband behind the counter. “I... oh, you're... dammit, I can't think...”

She closed her eyes and shook her head out slowly as Luna snapped her own can open, and the winged unicorn paused meditatively before she said finally: “Thou shall be pleased to know that we shall be leaving shortly. Cowlick and Greece will be returning tomorrow to investigate this club with a few others, and the police desire to keep this nightclub locked down for a day... but it should be no longer. Then thou may lick thy wounds and put thy fancy club back together.”

“Yeah. Glad. Right. Lucky, lucky me.” Vinyl mumbled moodily, and she sighed before guzzling the rest of the vodka in front of her, then she simply shoved the glass off the bar. It shattered loudly, but Vinyl smiled wryly at the sound, saying dryly: “That, my friends? That is the sound of my life. Sploosh.”

“I'd say more that was more of a 'tinkle,' but I'm with you so far.” Scrivener replied dryly, and Vinyl slowly rose her head to glare at him as Luna grinned widely. “Look. You survived. Dealing with these monsters? That's big.”

Vinyl snorted, looking down and mumbling: “Yeah, but like I'll ever get the business back. This whole thing could ruin me. Everything I worked for, everything I dreamed...” She looked up bitterly. “Might as well go back to Canterlot, rejoin Octavia and her stupid stuck-up snotty band, admit I couldn't make it even after all these years...”

Scrivener frowned at this, as Luna cocked her head, and then Vinyl Scratch sighed tiredly as somepony called her name, spinning around to slip off the bar stool and mumbling: “Reinvented myself, dyed my mane, changed my style, started playing 'cool' music instead of dumb old dusty classics... and looks like even though I should be at the top it's time to fall to the bottom all over again... go back to playing the stupid accordion for the stupid Canterlot symphony...”

Luna and Scrivener both stared as Vinyl Scratch dragged herself away towards a pony in medical uniform that was heading towards her, likely to finally take her to the hospital... and then sapphire mare and husband traded a look before they stared after the unicorn, as Luna said finally: “I suppose we must all have secrets, must we not, Scrivener Blooms?”

“Some worse than others.” Scrivener replied mildly, and then he leaned across the bar towards her, but he was looking past Luna, watching as Vinyl Scratch was led away, pausing only to throw some comment into an argument the sheriff was having with Cowlick. “Well, tell you what, Luna. When we come back here in the morning, we can raid her office for embarrassing photos and evidence, what do you say?”

Luna nodded in agreement, then both ponies glanced up as Twilight approached with a small smile, saying quietly: “Come on. Everyone's pulling out of here for now... we can rest up at the library, and I think Sleipnir and Pinkamena are going to join us. I'm sure AJ and Rainbow are a little worried by now, too... we'll need to send them a letter.”

“Already have every little thing organized, don't you, Twilight?” Scrivener asked mildly, and Twilight gave him a flat look before the earth pony smiled despite himself. “Still. In cases like this it's a good thing.”

He paused, then drank down the rest of his cola in a few large gulps before dropping the can on the counter, and Luna grunted as she picked her own up with telekinesis, saying moodily: “Still, I do not know why we simply cannot just take the body and leave. We obviously know what happened here, after all.”

“Because the sheriff wants to treat this like a crime despite the fact the Starlit Knights have jurisdiction. But I think he's just doing it because of all the rich and well-connected ponies here... they're glad to see you saved them, but...” Twilight hesitated, and when Scrivener and Luna both frowned, she said slowly: “That Clockwork Pony – Breakbeat, right? – apparently talked to someone through a radio link or something. It was enough to make a lot of these kids paranoid that this whole thing was planned and they were meant to be ransomed off or something so a lot of them are calling for an investigation. So we'll all come back in the morning, play along like it's a crime scene and we're checking to find out if anyone is involved, and then he'll hand the ball over to us after the coroner gets a look at things.”

“Listen to thou talk, 'tis so cute when thou acts so professional and worldly.” Luna said kindly, and Twilight sighed tiredly and glowered at her before the sapphire mare grunted and shoved herself moodily out of her seat. “But aye, 'tis no different than the past. Politics make a mire of everything, and so do young, stupid ponies whom have not yet grasped the world does not revolve around them.”

Twilight smiled a little as Scrivener circled around the counter, and then Luna grumbled and sipped at her cola as it floated beside her, before he nodded firmly once, mumbling: “Very well. Let us retire from here.”

They left after a short conversation with the sheriff, Sleipnir and Pinkamena joining them and the vine-maned stallion wasting no time in poking every detail he could out of Luna about the fight. Luna finally outlined the story in lavish detail when they reached the library, and Sleipnir giggled like a child even as he looked jealously at them at the same time, making Scrivy smile despite himself. But what he was truly glad for was the lack of injuries this time: they were tired, and they had used up quite a bit of energy fighting off the Clockwork Pony, but apart from some electrical burns and their innards feeling battered and bludgeoned, they were in surprisingly good condition. Sure, they would hurt like hell for a while, but the internal damage had been minimal, little more than bruising and aches.

They made sure to send a letter off to Sweet Apple Acres to let them know what was going on as well: it would probably be a bit of a shock for Antares to discover in the morning what had happened and that his parents were gone, but he at least had Rainbow Dash and Applejack to look after him, ponies they could trust with their life to keep an eye on their child and make sure nothing happened to him.

The night was short and spent in good company, passing into a morning that all the same felt tense. Pinkamena had grumbled that she needed to go back to Sugar Cube Corners, but Sleipnir decided to follow along with Luna, and they were surprised when they ran into not just Cowlick, Apple Bloom and Greece outside the locked, police-taped doors of the nightclub, but also Rarity, Spike, and Applejack.

The dragon smiled a bit and nodded to them; he was proudly dressed in a lightweight, armored vest, and one claw rested on the short sword sheathed at his side, hanging from a belt around his waist. Rarity, meanwhile, had only a satchel, and Apple Bloom had a bag of her own as well as grease-stained coveralls on. But it was Applejack to whom Luna gave a curious look first, asking after a moment: “Shouldn't thou be foal-sitting Antares and Avalon? Not to mention thy husband, of course. And Rarity, this is not thy usual business.”

“Hey, Rainbow's finally gotten pretty damn dependable. At least when it comes to the kids.” Applejack smiled after a moment, then she shook her head and said in a softer voice: “Guess... I was curious, that's all. Wanted to see what this one looked like and... if I could help out at all.”

“And Spike and I are here because of the gemstone components that both Greece and Cowlick found last night... they asked me to help examine them, their quality and if they have any flaws or modifications.” Rarity said with a small smile, then she glanced at the satchel bag on her side, adding quietly: “I threw together what I could... I only hope that I prove to be of some use to you all here, but from what Cowlick's told me so far... this is very different from anything I've ever seen done with crystals before.”

Luna nodded thoughtfully, then she glanced over at Apple Bloom and asked kindly: “And what about thee, daughter-in-law?”

Apple Bloom blushed a little at this as she always did, and Applejack grinned despite herself, looking with amusement and exasperation at Luna before the young mare said finally: “Cowlick wanted to bring me in to cover for Ross and see about those mechanical legs this thing has. If we can maybe figure out what makes these things run, maybe we can make something better for that Bob fella.”

“Hello!” Discombobulation's head poked out of Luna's mane, and the winged unicorn squawked as the currently-tiny Draconequus peered back and forth before he wiggled himself quickly out of Luna's locks and hopped to the ground, perhaps only half a foot tall as the sapphire winged unicorn glared down at him and Scrivener and Twilight traded amused looks. “I heard my name. Whenever I hear my name, I feel compelled to make a nuisance of myself. Especially since... well, you know.”

He slowly reached up and pointed at his missing limb, then he snapped his fingers, and a pillar of smoke burst up through the air around him before the chimerical creature waved this away, once more at his normal size as he rubbed absently at his shoulder. “I also wish to acknowledge that I lost my prosthetic again, but it doesn't sound like that's going to be entirely a problem in the near future.”

“Oh goddammit, I am not making you another one. You can go glue some sticks together or something.” Cowlick said disgustedly, and Discombobulation gave her a hurt look before the engineer grumbled and turned her eyes to the sheriff as he warily approached. “Finally. Been freezing my flank off here for an hour or so. Let's get moving.”

“Let's go over some ground rules first.” the sheriff began, and then Discombobulation cleared his throat loudly before he rose his hand and snapped his fingers, and a pair of security officers both stared in surprise as the police tape tore itself free before the doors of the nightclub slowly swung open.

“I don't like rules.” Discombobulation said delicately, and then he looked pointedly over at Cowlick as the engineer grinned widely and turned to cheerfully stride towards the building, followed by the other ponies as Sleipnir laughed and the sheriff looked flabbergasted. “Do I get a new arm now?”

“Maybe I'll rig up one from a mannequin for you or something if you keep this up.” Cowlick said comfortably, brushing past an officer that half-stepped in front of her and adding flatly: “Here's the real rules, you guys stay the hell out of my way and let the professionals do their job, sheriff. You and I both know this ain't nothing for your cops to handle.”

The sheriff grimaced as he hurried forwards, saying flatly: “You know, it's not like we're incompetent, just because you happen to be from-”

“Oh, hey now, I never said that, did I?” Cowlick retorted over her shoulder as she strode towards Breakbeat's sheet-covered corpse, and she grimaced in disgust as she added: “Shouldn't've put this off, by the way, body reeks like it's already starting to rot. We're gonna have to break it down and move it to cold storage fast... yeah, yeah, after we examine the crime scene and all that nonsense so you can make your political friends happy... anyway, this ain't your business. Not unless you and your pals think you can take down a giant monster or two.”

The sheriff sighed tiredly, then he shook his head and looked moodily over his shoulder at his officers. “Go on, guard the doors. I'll stay here with our... guests.”

The officers looked grouchily at one another, but then nodded and turned to leave, closing the doors behind them. Luna grimaced and glanced up at the spotlights shining down still from the ceiling, but before she could even ask, Greece shook his head and answered: “No idea how to shut anything down right now... we found some kind of transceiver in the booth, inserted into the electronics, but... we don't know how it works, and it seems to have completely fried the controls. We'll probably have to shut everything down later by cutting the power.”

“The monster, Breakbeat, seemed to be controlling the music and the lights from some... magical illusion, like a focal point.” Luna said thoughtfully, and when she glanced at Scrivener, he smiled a bit, sharing thoughts and information with her before she added: “My husband says that 'twas likely some kind of... magic-powered technology, but he does not seem to know the words for it, either.”

“It projected an image of what looked like a sound-table or whatever the hell you call that thing with all the dials and the... thingies. But it could touch the image, too, interact with it. That's how it seemed to control things.” Scrivener explained, and Cowlick looked up at this as she tossed the sheet aside from the corpse and Apple Bloom shivered in horror at the sight of it.

“Holograms? Even more, interactive holograms? That means pretty high-tier magic must be powering these things, mechanical as they look.” Cowlick muttered, and then she dropped down as the sheriff moodily paced and Sleipnir leaned forwards curiously, Rarity grimacing a bit as Spike rubbed her back despite his own visible anxieties. “Okay, Apple Bloom, uh... there, see that leg that's already torn loose? I want you to pry that free and examine it, I got enough of a look in there last time to see it had some kind of weird core goin' on...”

“Greece, you mentioned a conductor... why don't you show Spike and I those crystals you were talking about?” Rarity asked hurriedly, looking a little ill at the sight of Apple Bloom wincing as she pulled a tool kit out of a satchel at her side, and the Nibelung Architect nodded in agreement with a look of distaste on his own features.

He began to lead them away, Twilight turning to follow as well... and then there was a horrible banging that startled all present, all eyes looking up in sharp surprise. Silence... and then the banging came again, except this time it was followed by a hammering, crunching, smashing sound, and all sets of eyes looked up with shock as enormous cracks formed in the wall some twenty feet away, then spread wider and larger, chunks of stone and concrete falling out of place as something pounded viciously against the other side of the wall.

Sleipnir, Scrivener, and Applejack immediately ran forwards to form a battle line, and Cowlick cursed under her breath before she muttered: “Dammit, knew I should have brought a gun... things can never go right when you're around, Luna!”

In answer, Discombobulation snapped his fingers, and a puff of pink smoke burst through the air before a rifle fell out of this cloud, the Draconequus catching it and then lobbing it easily over to the earth pony, who grinned widely in response. “It's a good thing you go against all safety regulations and keep your personal guns loaded at all times.”

“Well, how the hell am I supposed to shoot an intruder in my home if my gun ain't loaded?” Cowlick retorted, reaching back to tear open her satchel bag with one hoof as she spun the rifle at her side, working the lever with an expert flick of her wrist to chamber a round into the weapon. “Sheriff, take Apple Bloom and-”

“Hell no, I'm staying with you and my big sister.” Apple Bloom replied sharply, and Applejack looked proud and frustrated and anxious all at once... but there was no time to argue, as the wall finally crumbled, and a massive steel thing rumbled slowly inside through the debris, followed by a shorter, sleeker shape. They were both bipedal, and at first, they both seemed completely alien... but then Rarity's eyes widened in horror as the smaller figure strode through the wreckage and smiled calmly, saying softly: “Always a pleasure, darling... to meet myself.”

Comments

[Icthelight]

her horn upwards, and there was a
You have my heartfelt gratitude for making me laugh so hard xD

[Koekelbag]

Slip-ups:

and a moment later the was a distinct click

"there"

Luna snarled as felt lightning rip painfully against her body

"as she felt"

The dragon smiled a bit and nodded to them; he was proudly dressed in a lightweight, armored vest, and on claw rested on the short sword sheathed at his side,

On his claw?
...
I got nothing.

I threw together what I could... I only help that I prove to be of some use to you all here, but from what Cowlick's told me so far... this is very different from anything I've ever seen done with crystals before.

I only hope?
I can't really imagine anyone would say this line like this...

Also:

Might as well go back to Canterlot, rejoin Octavia and her stupid stuck-up snotty band,