A Shimmering Intellect

by DungeonMiner

Chapter 23

They managed to climb to the cave’s mouth. The platoon of weary and wounded soldiers finished climbing, thankful they didn’t have another golem to fight on the way up.

“The cave is going to have more of them inside,” Flash said. “The fighting in there’s going to be rough. If they come at us right, we won’t be able to maneuver around them. They’ll hit us like a truck if we’re not careful.”

“What’s a truck?” One of the crystal guards whispered from the campfire thirty feet away.

“No idea,” one of the Equestrians whispered back.

Flash ignored them, focusing on Night and looking for an answer. They needed a plan if they were going to get to the Crystal and get out alive. They already had too many losses just getting up here; they couldn’t afford anymore.

“We can try sending in a small force to try and steal the Crystal. Everyone else could try and make a distraction while I’m in there.”

“While you’re in there?” Flash asked.

“Rank of Spymaster’s gotta count for something, right?” Night said with a chuckle. “The truth is I can get it quickly, and you’ll have a harder time following me in. I’ll just have to go and try and get the thing out.”

“If you go in there, though, and you get caught, we won’t be able to help you.”

“That’s never been a problem before. It’s how I normally operate, anyway.”

Flash sighed. “We can’t afford you dying on us, Night. We need to be careful about this.”

“I know,” Night said. “This is the thing I’m the best at. I have a lot of experience sneaking; it puts the fewest ponies in danger and has the highest chance of success. This is the best plan I have.”

Flash sighed.

This wasn’t going to work. The human-turned-pegasus had no idea how any of them were supposed to make this work. He turned away to face the open sky behind them. The situation was terrible. They didn’t have the ponies, the equipment, or the magic to make this work. They were in so much trouble here and had no way out.

Flash sighed. “I don’t like this,” he said, “but I guess we don’t have much choice.”

“It’s not a great situation,” Night agreed, “but it won’t get better. We’ll have to make the best of it.”

“I hate that you’re right, for the record.”

“Honestly, I feel the same.”

“So we have no other choice, huh?”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

Flash shook his head. “Alright, so when do we move in?”

“Give me thirty minutes. I need to figure out how to sneak past them when they can see magic.”

Flash nodded before he began going over to the rest of the platoon.

“Hey, Flash.”

He turned to face the Spymaster once more.

“If I don’t make it out, it was great to know you.”

Flash smiled. “Likewise, Spymaster.”

With that last, grim farewell, Flash left the old stallion behind to talk to the last of the platoon. Since he knew so much of the golems, he’d become something of a leading voice. The sergeants and lieutenants all listened to him, which felt a little weird since he wasn’t in the military and somehow had fit in as Night’s second.

If Night died, these ponies would be looking to him.

No pressure.

---♦---

Night watched as Flash walked over to the campfire and the remains of the platoon of ponies sitting around it.

Surprisingly enough, the pegasus wasn’t so bad. Despite his attitude, he knew what he was talking about, and Night had to respect that. The stallion could lead if he wanted to. Night wouldn’t be surprised if Flash was in his world’s guard.

Maybe it was because he looked like the Crystal Guard’s captain that caused the guard ponies to look to him for leadership. Perhaps it was something else. Night wasn’t sure, but the ponies respected him, and the Spymaster knew that if he didn’t make it out of the cave, the guards would look to Flash for some kind of lead.

Poor sod.

The kid was sharp, but Night felt like Flash knew what responsibility carried with that. Night hoped it didn’t strangle the kid.

He stood and glanced over at the cave’s mouth.

Flash told him that the golems saw the world around them through magic if he remembered correctly. This meant that any attempt to transpose his Image as he usually did would not only highlight his body to their sight but also show the tether between his body and the transposed Image. Using his normal spell would be more conspicuous than usual, which did not help.

The first thought that came to mind was using Images to flood the space with illusions. He’d be able to hide amongst the illusions perfectly well, and if Night was right about how the golem’s perception worked, it would create an incredible smoke screen to hide in. The problem was that it would tip his hoof too early, and the golems would know he was there.

He needed a way of cloaking himself that wouldn’t alert the golems, but he was unsure how to do that.

The second thought Night had fell into the category of absolutely crazy, but if the golems could see magic, then the solution might be not to rely on magic at all. As dangerous as it was, Night might have had to try to sneak in without using any spells to hide him. He’d have to do something to hide his innate magic, but if he could manage that, he could sneak in fine.

What he wouldn’t do for a pebble of Thronestone.

Just a small piece would be able to block his magical signal from being seen by the golems, and he’d be able to waltz right up next to one, and it’d be none the wiser. Unfortunately, the entire supply of the magic-blocking rocks was being held in Canterlot to create anti-magic pockets in case of a security risk, deployable with lead containers that could open at the press of a button. They were too critical to the Castle’s safety for Night to bring with him.

He still had to come up with something, though.

He could try covering himself in the snow. A deep enough blanket might hide his magic. There could be a powerful Leyline that he could run along to get there. Or, more likely, he’d be crushed the moment he went into the cave.

He could try tunneling into the mountain if he had weeks. He knew a spell that could do it, but he didn’t have the energy to push through soon enough. The golems would find them before that.

No, Night would have to come up with something all on his own, and the timeline he gave Flash was already running out.

He sighed. He’d have to rely on too many illusions. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the only thing he could do.

The platoon of ponies started to approach, looking for one last sign that this mission would go well.

“Alright, ponies,” Night said. “Here’s the deal. The situation isn’t ideal. I’m going in with a dozen illusions. Hopefully, those illusions will give me enough of a smokescreen to get in and find the doctor. You’ll have to follow behind to distract the golems further. Chances are, they’ll try and run me down once I find the doctor. You’ll have to do whatever you can to keep them off me while I extract the Crystal. Are you ready?”

The Crystal Guards stared on with grim determination and pulled their white-furred cloaks close. The Equestrians adjusted their grip on their weapons. Flash shook off the snow, gathering on his wings.

They were as ready as they could be.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

He turned, facing the open cave, and began to Create Images of ponies around him. They didn’t have a lot of detail. Most were simply pony-shaped blobs that wouldn’t trick a 4-year-old, but it’s what energy Night was willing to spare. Luckily, they’d do what they needed to.

“Give me two minutes,” Night said before charging forward. The herd of illusions followed after him, keeping in a tight formation with Night slightly to the front and left side, avoiding the middle, the back, and the edges.

As he turned around the corner, his positioning immediately proved the best course of action, as a golem leaped from the ceiling and slammed into the middle of the group. The golem passed through the illusions, and Night kept running. He didn’t dare stop as the golem made a sweeping attack that would have sent Night flying across the room, but he kept his head down and ran.

He began to shuffle the illusions around him, jumping over each other and trading spots as they ran and reformed a new herd. Night now stood in the middle, teeth clenched as he moved.

He dived for the back of the cave, and four other golems appeared in his way.

They rushed him, and the golem he passed was closing in from behind. They closed in, swinging at all of the illusions. Night threw them around, dancing at crazy angles while he did his best to dodge.

A war cry sounded behind him, and he looked back to see the platoon rushing into the cave. They ran into the cave, weapons brandished as they covered the ground. The golem behind Night moved to intercept, rolling its arm up into a shield that met the spears without budging.

The illusions scattered in all directions, running through whatever spaces the golems left, and Night went with them, cutting to the left until he wasn’t surrounded by golems anymore. Once he and his illusions were out, Night gathered them all together and rushed for the door of the tiny home the doctor made for himself.

His peripheral vision caught that the golems were ignoring a handful of illusions. They were narrowing the field down. They’d find him soon.

When he got to the door, the handle twisted quickly, but the second he opened it, a smaller golem slammed into him, throwing Night onto his back into the cave. He stared at Prototype, who wielded a kitchen knife in one dexterous, stony hand.

It stabbed him.

He roared in agony and kicked, trying to throw Prototype off him, but it twisted its body at an unnatural angle and brought the knife down again.

Another two quick stabs came down before Night finally got his hoof underneath the small golem’s weapon hand. The golem brought more force down, trying to overwhelm Night’s desperate defense.

“YOU TIRE,” the voice felt deep, as though the entire ocean of magic lay behind it. It carried none of the warmth of living things, holding only the chill of stone. It spoke fact, an unbiased truth, simply because there was no personality in it at all. “IT WILL ONLY TAKE TIME.”

The golem’s hand continued to press down, a constant weight that Night had to hold, bleeding as he was.

“Help,” he cried, his voice hoarse and weak in his own ears as he looked around.

The platoon was scattered. Night hadn’t kept his concentration on the illusions, and the golems all turned their attention to the guards. Flash tried to use whatever airspace he could scrape by and use his spear to pry golem heads off bodies.

There was no one to help him.

The small golem continued to press down.

And then there was the pop of teleportation.

---♦---

Sunset appeared, standing next to Twilight as they appeared in the cave. She moved first, throwing the eight lead-line cases around the room and opening the spring-loaded latches. The Thronestone worked immediately, catching three golems and freezing them in place as the magic animating them was cut off.

Twilight moved next. With the ring of telekinesis, she grabbed the golem that had climbed onto Night and tore its limbs off. Still holding the body, Twilight pulled it closed and looked directly into the boulder that passed for its head.

“Do not touch my ponies,” were the only words she said before crushing the golem into gravel.

“Flash!” Sunset called before finding him about to be crushed by another golem but saved by the anit-magic Thronestone. She ran beside the frozen golem and saw that the fighting left Flash with a broken wing. “Flash, are you alright?”

“Sunset?” Flash said, his eyes unfocused as he tried to look at her through what had to be a concussion. “What are you doing here?”

Sunset just smiled. “The right thing.”

Flash smiled back. “I was hoping you’d figure that out.”

Sunset nodded. “Everypony! Get the wounded outside the cave. The golems can’t cross the box!”

The guards began to move, dragging the wounded out, and Sunset helped Flash to his hooves so he could do the same.

“Wait!” Flash said before pulling away. “We’ve got to get Night.”

Sunset looked back at the unicorn, limping after them.

She grimaced, reached out with her magic, and pulled him close. “Come on!” she yelled before setting him on her back and carrying the two outside. Twilight covered the retreat, heating the golems until the pressure building in the geodes caused them to crack and burst open.

She clearly had no more patience for the golems.

“Princess!” Sunset called, and the alicorn looked back over her shoulder at her. “I’ll take it from here. Tend to the wounded!”

Twilight nodded before she gave one more contemptible snort toward the golems. Retreating, she tossed one aside and crossed the Thronestone threshold they’d set up. Sunset stepped into that space and began to unleash her own magic.

Mind spells began to slam into the golems, changing their orders even as they received them, and whatever remained of the golems turned on each other with the same passionless determination they always brought.

Sunset went further as they fought each other, using magic she felt she hadn’t used in centuries. She poured her strength into a single golem, puppeting it and dominating whatever passed for a will. As her victim brought both arms down, it pushed another into the dead-magic aura of the Thronestone.

The Intellect Crystal saw her and tried to push her out, but Sunset was already moving, making the golem jump into the radius of another shard of changeling throne. She then focused on another, rewriting every action so that its arm bent backward as it tried to step forward. It tried to compensate but twisted its body instead.

A third golem tried to stop her, barreling toward it, and Sunset merely reached out and snuffed out whatever intelligence sat in the amethysts.

Sunset grimaced after Destroying the Mind. That one felt wrong. She pushed it a little far with that one.

She went back to Transforming and Controlling the minds of the golems around her, throwing the golems into confusion.

“Sunset!” a voice called behind her.

She didn’t turn to face the voice right away. Instead, she slipped past the Thronestone chokepoint, leaving herself safe. Finally, she turned and saw Flash, his wing healed. Behind him, Twilight was working on the other guards.

Night was standing, starting to draw out a plan in the snow.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“We heard something down the mountain. We think the other golems have been called in. We need to end this quick.”

Sunset nodded. “Then let’s make a plan.”

Flash nodded and waved Sunset over to the others.

“And Sunset?”

She looked over at him.

“I am so glad you’re back.”

She smiled. “Honestly, Flash, so am I.”

Comments

[Thyrrnatf]

woop woop Badass Twilight and Sunset