Obsolete
The second hallway was in far worse condition than the first. Large portions of the ceiling had collapsed and shattered against the stone floor, covering most of the room in piles of rubble. The left wall was similarly decayed. The columns in the room still stood, for the most part, but the regalia, flags, and banners that had hung against them had long since worn away, leaving only a few sharp metal poles sticking out into the room. Except for one figure, the room was utterly deserted.
That figure was a very familiar pink-coated alicorn.
"Princess?" gasped Octavia. "Princess, how did you get here? Are you alright? What happened?"
Cadance said nothing. She did not move. She did not even blink. She simply gazed steadily ahead of her, looking somewhere just above Octavia's head. Her face betrayed absolutely no expression.
"Princess, please, say something!" begged Octavia. Thoughts filled her head of the various horrible things that the tyrants' magical spells could do to her beloved teacher. She began to race towards the alicorn. "I'm coming!"
"Octavia, wait!" yelled Vinyl. "I don't think that's Cadance!"
"I know what my teacher looks like!" called Octavia, pushing further into the room.
The cellist leapt over a small pile of rubble, horns clattering against the floor as she raced to cross the vast hall. She felt a tug on her barrel, one of the unicorns trying to drag her backwards, but she strained forwards and burst free. She didn't care about the danger. Her teacher was there, and--
As she passed a column with three tattered, moth-eaten flags hanging down, Cadance's entire demeanor changed. Her wings snapped open and she reared back, as if preparing to run the cellist down. The creature opened her eyes, revealing pupils the color of fire set in a bloody red. When her horn glowed, it almost burst into flame.
"Princess?" whispered Octavia, skidding to a halt.
The creature's horn flamed up and blasted a pinkish-red beam at Octavia. The cellist, stopped, had no time to dodge, but she felt a tug around her barrel again and this time did not resist. She was hurled sideways, stumbling against a column, but the beam missed her. She had just enough time to get to her hooves and jump before a second blast hit where she had been standing a moment ago. "What's going on?" she cried.
"Octavia, get back here!" yelled Vinyl. "That isn't Cadance!"
Octavia turned to run back towards the door, but the creature's horn flared again and blasted, cutting Octavia off. She was barely able to duck around a column. "Help!"
"Right, give me a -- Lyra, stop it!" screamed Vinyl. "What are you doing?"
Uh oh, thought Octavia, poking her head out.
Lyra was trotting into the big hall, horn glowing brightly. "How dare you take the image of our beloved princess!" she cried. "And how dare you try to scratch so much as a hair on Octavia's coat? Knights and heroes like us won't let that stand!" She reared back on her hind hooves and pointed at the Cadance lookalike. "Surrender, monster, or taste our fury!"
The creature ignored her completely, instead opting to start trotting around to get at Octavia. Octavia gulped and began moving so as to keep the column between her and the alicorn.
"Hey, did you hear me?" yelled Lyra, trotting every closer. Her horn flashed thrice. "If you so much as scratch Octavia, you'll regret it! We'd all fight demons from the depths of Tartarus to save each other! You--"
As she moved past the same pile of rubble that Octavia had reached before the monster had attacked her, the creature turned to look at Lyra. It's horn glowed.
"Now, just let my friend go, and--"
The monster began shooting blasts of magic at her.
Lyra's barrel was enveloped in the glow of Vinyl's magic, presumably the DJ trying to drag her away, but Lyra twisted away both from Vinyl's grasp and the monster's beams. Her horn glowed and she grabbed her toy lyre out of her bag. "Alright! You asked for it!" she roared.
"Octavia!"
Octavia turned to see Medley, who had apparently flown into the room while Lyra was distracting everypony with her chatter. The pegasus soared over Octavia's head. "Get ready to run!"
"It has me pinned down--"
"I can fly faster than you can run over all this rubble. I'll dodge and distract, you scoot, okay?"
Octavia nodded.
"GO!"
Medley took off at a sprint, zipping out from behind the column and flying in circles around the monster. "Hey, ugly! Over here!"
Cadance isn't ugly! thought Octavia as she began to run. ...granted, this might not be the best moment to start an argument over it...
"Octavia! Grab Lyra and get back to the door!" yelled Vinyl. She was just inside the room, with a worried expression on her face. "We don't know what this thing can do; we need a plan to beat it!"
"I'm fine!" yelled Lyra, skipping away from another blast. She continued playing, her horn glowing. The monster glowed a dull yellow in response. "I'll weaken this thing! My music--"
Her hoof slipped on a loose stone on the floor and she fell over, hooves flailing. The monster turned away from Medley and fired a blast that struck Lyra full on in the barrel.
Octavia's heart fell. "LYRA!"
Medley cursed. "No!"
"Medley, grab Lyra and fly her out! Octavia, book it!" yelled Vinyl.
Octavia wanted to protest, but held her tongue -- with all the rubble in the room, Medley would be able to fly Lyra out a lot faster than she, Octavia, could drag her away. "Understood!"
Her next few moments were a blur of running. She jumped over the smaller piles of rubble and dodged around the larger ones. A few blasts came close to her, but not many; she figured that the monster was targeting Medley instead. She stumbled on a large rock, yelping as she bashed her front left shin on the ground, but then she was up again and almost at the door.
"Gotcha!" called Medley. "Girls, Lyra's waking up! We're gonna be okay!"
Octavia, smiling, glanced quickly over her shoulder. Indeed, Medley was now flying out of the room, with a stirring Lyra on her back. Lyra rose unsteadily, as if she wasn't sure what was going on.
Then the monster boomed, in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "SEIZE HER! STOP HER!"
Lyra's reaction was instantaneous. She grabbed Medley around the neck and began to squeeze.
Medley's cry of confusion was immediate as the pegasus lost altitude and crashed into the ground. Lyra was almost thrown off of her, and she scraped a leg badly against a sharp flagpole as they skidded by, but she didn't even seem to notice. She just kept hanging on, systematically choking Medley.
Then the monster fired a blast of energy into Medley's unconscious form. Medley collapsed, perfectly still. The creature said, "RELEASE HER."
Octavia was still frozen in shock when she felt a tug again. Vinyl yanked her out of the room and slammed the doors shut, gasping a little at the exertion. For a moment, nopony spoke.
And then Vinyl said, "So, next time, mind if we try it with a plan first?"
***
"Now what?" whispered Fluttershy.
The four remaining ponies had hidden behind columns in the first hallway, waiting for the monster or Lyra to pursue them. Ten minutes had passed, however, and nothing had come after them. They had thus slowly left cover and gathered by the door again.
"How should I know?" asked Octavia. "Even neglecting that Cadance imposter, we have to get past Lyra, and probably Medley too, now." She shook her head. "Medley's one of the best fighters in the group, and with Lyra's magic spells..."
"Stay calm," urged Bluenote, though even she had lost her smile. "We'll figure it out. We'll get through this."
"How?" demanded the cellist. "We do not even know what we're fighting!"
"I think I do," said Vinyl.
The other three ponies turned to the DJ, who was leaning against a wall with a serious look on her face. "What?" asked Octavia.
"Remember how the tyrants said Cadance is some kind of golem? A construct? No reason they couldn't make more than one. You know, prototypes and stuff." Vinyl nodded. "That's probably it. This thing is a golem. That room is supposed to have Burning Sun's trap, right? She got one of the Cadance prototypes out of storage, or just built another one, and left it here to guard her back."
"Then why hasn't it chased us?" whispered Fluttershy, who was standing with Bluenote between herself and the door.
"Hmm." Vinyl thought for a few more moments. "Well, remember what Burning Sun said back in Ponyville? Nightmare Moon possessed ponies and messed with their minds to make them join her. If that golem guard chased whomever it saw, Nightmare Moon could lure it away from the room by sending a few of her minions after it, then slip past. So instead it stays there and doesn't leave."
"Knowing what it is is good," said Bluenote. "Now we can start figuring out how to beat it."
"Wait. Beat it?" Octavia frowned. "Princess Cadance is an alicorn. She moves the sun and moon and holds more power than any mortal pony. If that golem has her abilities--"
It doesn't." Vinyl smirked, clapping her forehooves together. "Cadance, our Cadance, has been out and about for the past millenia. So she knows all the latest magical developments, right? That thing's been cooped up for the last thousand years. It's obsolete."
"So? She was built by the greatest mage in history! The Burning Sun--"
"Bah. I could beat the greatest composer in history if I had a thousand year advantage in instruments and theory," said Vinyl. "Anypony could. Sure, she's strong, and she'll take a little strategy to wear down, but I've got this."
"But... Vinyl, we're just musicians. She's an alicorn," whispered Fluttershy.
"We do not know anything about her--" began Octavia.
"You forget who you're talking to? This is DJ-PON3, who draws ponies from miles around to her shows." Vinyl took her sunglasses out of her saddlebag and began cleaning them with a cloth. "I do all my own stunts, and that's both musical and magical. My speakers, sound setup, even my rockin' shades, all my own design." Vinyl's horn glowed, and the sunglasses glowed slightly in response. "There's nothing I can't figure out about craft magic, and that's all a golem is. One big spell wrapped around a pile of parts. If I can get close to her, maybe distract her with my tunes, I can take her apart."
Octavia was still skeptical. "So what's your plan?"
"Working on it. Give me a minute."
It was closer to five before Vinyl spoke again. She nodded once, then turned to look at the other three ponies. "There were a couple doors on the right wall of that hallway. Octavia, if this castle's built like the one in Canterlot, where do those go?"
"Nowhere. Just to some storage closets."
"Perfect. If you three can grab Lyra and Medley and get them into one of those rooms, I think I know how to deal with the Cadance. Or at least, I can work it out." She nodded. "We all ready?"
"I am," said Bluenote. "I think we can do this. There's four of us and only one of it, and we're fighting for our friends... it's just a golem. It can't match our passion." She chuckled. "Or our heart."
"I'm ready," whimpered Fluttershy.
Octavia looked at the others, still not liking the plan but not having any better ideas. "What do you need from us?"
Vinyl explained. "...once you're done with that, I'm going to tear that golem limb from limb." She grinned. "And I'll look absolutely awesome doing it."
***
Octavla carefully stepped into the room and began to approach the golem. Vinyl says that they probably won't attack until I pass that same threshold as last time. I should be safe up until that one pile of rubble I passed before. But despite these thoughts, she could not ignore the cold, clammy feeling in her gut.
The golem stood perfectly still, just like the last time Octavia had seen it. In front of it knelt Lyra and Medley, faces shining with something that looked close to adoration. Lyra's leg was bleeding freely, and Medley front was all banged up from crashing to the stone floor, but neither seemed to notice.
Vinyl observed that the Cadance didn't tell Lyra to strangle Medley, only stop her. Lyra figured out how on her own. So they have at least some autonomy, so maybe I can talk them into doing something stupid. I just need to distract them while the others get into position... "Lyra!"
"Octavia," said Lyra. Her voice was unusually calm and tranquil. "Come closer. Bathe in the love of our master."
"Master?" Octavia stopped just shy of the pile of rubble that Vinyl had mentioned.
"We do as Cadance commands," said Medley. "She is the only pony worthy of our loyalty."
"Our service," said Lyra.
"Our efforts."
"Our... love." Lyra did smile a little. "You should come closer, Tavi. Cadance will show you what true love is."
"What service does she want you to render?" asked Octavia. She wanted to turn and see if the others were ready, but Lyra, Medley, and even the Cadance would probably notice.
"To guard this room," said Medley, simply. "Forever."
"But then you may starve to death."
Lyra shook her head. "So? We don't care. Cadance has taken us into her service. We love her. A thousand deaths would not requit the smallest amount of the debt we owe her."
Octavia heard something in her ears: a short, sharp drumbeat. Vinyl's signal. Time to move. Medley and Lyra didn't seem to notice, although the Cadance did turn so it was looking just to Octavia's left. The cellist, though, focused on her two enthralled friends. "I will rescue you," she announced.
"We don't need rescue," was Medley's immediate response.
"Be that as it may--"
And then Octavia charged at the two ponies.
***
Things seemed to happen in slow motion.
Medley took to the air immediately, soaring up and swooping around. It looked to Octavia like she was going to try a diving attack, like she had used on the kelpies. Octavia felt herself tensing and preparing for Medley's heavy hooves. No. Ignore her. Lyra's my focus for now. Come on...
Lyra grabbed her toy lyre from her saddlebag and brandished it in front of her. "We'll bring her down, master!" she cried as she began to play. "We'll bring her into your service!"
Her music sounded heavy and dissonant, a stressful work that was somehow grating to listen to. Octavia tried to ignore it, but it seemed to force its way into her ears regardless. Her hoof began to drag, and she yelped as it caught in a crack in the floor and almost wrenched her leg out of its socket. Only her strength let her yank it free before she was crippled. Oww!
Lyra didn't seem to notice. Her horn just glowed all the brighter and she play louder and faster.
Despair tore at Octavia's heart, and she was tempted for a moment to simply lie down and let the Cadance brainwash her. The battle was futile, after all. But she looked at Lyra, and she saw the pony who had found her when she was at her lowest, who had given her a blanket and hot chocolate and a warm ear. No... however hopeless it seems. I'm not losing my friend to this monster.
She was very near Lyra. The bard lowered her head, as if preparing to gore Octavia. Above them, wings flapped as Medley began to dive down. Octavia took a quick breath as she continued to near Lyra, preparing herself for pain--
And then Bluenote bullrushed the bard.
"Hey!" cried Lyra, but Bluenote was bigger than her and rushed her towards a door on the side of the room. "Stop!"
"Freeze!" yelled Medley, beginning to dive after them.
The Cadance did nothing.
Octavia dropped her speed a little to allow Medley to swoop in frotn of her. She watched as Bluenote rushed Lyra into the side room, little more than a small closet with an open stone door. Medley flew in after the tubist, and after a brief scuffle, Bluenote went flying out and skidded across the floor.
And then Fluttershy, who had slipped over by the door without anypony noticing, shoved it shut.
"Now!" yelled Octavia, grabbing the heaviest rock she could find from the nearest pile of rubble and hurling it in front of the closet. "Keep it shut! Bluenote, help me get something to barracade it!" Indeed, the door was beginning to shake as Lyra and Medley attacked it from the other side. "Vinyl, go!"
"You got it!" called the DJ.
Octavia reached the door along with Bluenote and put her strength into holding it shut just as the two ponies trapped within gave it a titanic shove. It was difficult, but both Octavia and Bluenote were earth ponies, and they were able to keep the door closed. Meanwhile, the cellist heard a faint two-tone percussive sequence behind her.
Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa ...
Octavia turned to see Vinyl trotting towards the pile of rubble that marked the point when the Cadance would begin attacked. Her horn was glowing, and music seemed to be flowing from it. The DJ waved a hoof at the monster and sped up. "Ugly! Let's go!"
Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa Thump-pa thump-pa... BAM
With the last beat, Vinyl's horn flared up and sparks began to fill the air. As the music continued, gaining in speed, strength, and complexity. The DJ began to fill the room with blazing, pulsating lights which reminded Octavia of the wubstep concert Vinyl had performed in Ponyville for her party. A few more strong beats sounded before the initial thumping resumed -- this time with a strong, steady, and powerful beat beneath it.
"How is she doing that?" asked Octavia. With all the lights and sounds, she couldn't see how Vinyl had the strength left to trot, let alone gallop like she was doing.
"She does this stuff at concerts all the time," said Bluenote. "Even without her gear, she's really good at playing music with magic."
Octavia felt a pang of envy.
Meanwhile, Vinyl was beginning to run back and forth in front of the golem, moving faster than Octavia would have predicted she could run. The music kept building, Vinyl kept running, and then, suddenly, the white mare darted into the danger zone at top speed.
The golem attacked, firing blasts of energy at the dodging unicorn.
And Vinyl began to sing:
Risin' up back in the groove
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance now I'm back on my hooves
Just a mare and her will to survive
Vinyl's horn flared like a torch, firing blasts of light directly at the golem's eyes. The creature continued to try to shoot Vinyl, but its blasts went wide as the lights flashed and obscurred its vision. The golem paused, then began shooting at the lights themselves, apparently trying to dispell them, but it didn't seem to be effective. Vinyl laughed and continued to run circles around the golem.
So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive
The golem paused, then shut its eyes and cocked its head, as if listening for Vinyl. Vinyl smirked and cast another spell, and suddenly the magical backing seemed to be playing directly next to the golem's ears. The golem tried to dodge away, but the music and lights followed it, effectively blinding and deafening the enemy. When it began to run after Vinyl, it tripped over a pile of rocks that it couldn't see; when it flew into the air, it clipped a column and spiraled downwards. Meanwhile, Vinyl continued to sing:
It's the Eye of the Pony
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival...
The volume of the song swelled and the golem reared, hooves clapping over its ears. Vinyl levitated one of the fallen flag poles, held it like a spear, then darted in and stabbed the golem in the neck. Her horn flared as the DJ funneled magic along the spear into the construct.
"Go Vinyl!" yelled Bluenote. "Unmake that thing!"
"Yay!" said Fluttershy, albeit in a small voice.
Octavia could only watch in awe.
And the last known survivor
Stalks her prey in the night
And she's watching us all ...
With the Eye of the Pony!
The construct and Vinyl's horn began to flash with magic at the same rate, and then, with a sound of shattering glass, something around the golem's neck flared and then shattered into dust. The golem's head popped off and rolled away, faint light bleeding from both of its neck stumps. The golem took two more steps, then fell over and was still.
Vinyl grinned and raised a hoof to cheer.
Then the golem got up.
Its horn glowed, and its head levitated into the air, settling back onto its neck with a soft crunch. A few seconds later, the golem shook its head, which now stuck fast on its neck. Its horn glowed, and the backing music vanished. Vinyl blinked. "Hmm. This thing's got some reconstruction spells too..."
"Can you beat it?" asked Octavia.
"Yeah! Just got a few more spells to break!" said Vinyl. She tilted her head and cracked her neck. "Let's go!"
She began to spring from pile of rubble to pile of rubble, clambering over the fallen rocks and ruined columns and dodging about. The golem had once again shut its eyes, and was again bringing its horn to bear on the DJ. Vinyl began to sing again:
Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds till' we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive
The golem cocked an ear as Vinyl ran about, then began to shoot at the DJ again. Vinyl didn't seem to even notice, staying one step ahead of the blasts. She rolled down a big pile of rubble, leapt to her hooves at the bottom, and sprang behind another just as the monster fired more blasts at her. The DJ's horn glowed, and she sang a few more lines:
It's the Eye of the Pony
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
But her voice sounded different now, and Octavia realized that she was magically throwing it to a position a few feet away from her. The golem wheeled about, aiming at that spot, and Vinyl had a chance to turn and race right for the monster. She levitated another fallen stake to her side. "YEE HAW!" she yelled, the sound coming from ten feet to her right.
The golem charged up a massive blast and fired it, then feet to Vinyl's left.
And Vinyl leapt up and impaled the golem in the back with the spear.
And the last known survivor
Stalks her prey in the night
And she's watching us all ...
With the Eye of the Pony!
Vinyl's horn again glowed as she channeled some dispelling magic at the golem, while the golem writhed and tried to throw the unicorn off. Vinyl won; the golem's back crackled and smoked, and then the alicorn golem abruptly split into two pieces that tumbled down. Vinyl fell to her hooves and rolled away, face flushed with exertion. "Think that did it!"
Then the golem's halves floated into the air and stitched themselves back together.
"... or not," Vinyl admitted. "Come on, now it's just being a sore loser."
Octavia took a step forward to try and offer help, but the door behind her shuddered, and she realized that Lyra and Medley were still trying to break loose. She put her back against the door once again, joining Fluttershy and Bluenote. "Come on, Vinyl!" she yelled, not knowing what else to do. "You can do it!"
"Go Vinyl!" yelled Bluenote.
"Yay!" whispered Fluttershy.
Vinyl gave them a quick wave, then began to run just as the alicorn began to blast at her again.
Risin' up straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a mare and her will to survive!
She suddenly stopped and wheeled about, her horn glowing until it was almost blinding to look at. Pyrotechnics spun into existence and swept at the golem, which summoned a shield to intercept... but the spells, with a flash, were suddenly a step ahead of where they had seemed to be, and they moved into the empty space the golem's shield had vacated. They struck the golem's coat and began to burn.
"Syncopated magic," whispered Octavia, awed in spite of herself. Syncopation was a term for techniques involving moving the beats of a musical work ahead or behind where they would normally be played. By treating her spells like a musical 'beat', she could use the syncopation that she was already familiar with, as a percussionist and DJ, to shift her magic unexpectedly. A remarkable application of musicological theory to magic...
Vinyl's voice rose as she charged at the golem, which was now trying to put out the fires all over her coat:
It's the Eye of the Pony
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks her prey in the night
And she's watching us all ...
With the Eye of the Pony!
She levitated a pole and stabbed the golem again, this time in the heart. The golem writhed wildly as magic flowed into it.
"Come on, come on," muttered Vinyl as she continued to pour on the magic. "Break..."
And then the creature shattered into millions of pieces, with metal shards, gem fragments, and dust cascading to the floor. Bright yellow light -- magic, Octavia guessed -- poured out from the collapsing body and dispersed into the air. Within seconds, all that remained was a large pile of debris and the golem's horn.
The room fell completely silent for a moment, the ponies only staring at the fallen pile of junk.
And then Vinyl laughed. "Told ya I could do it. And that I'd look awesome too." She winked. "DJ PON3 is in the house."
***
Lyra and Medley seemed back to normal as soon as the golem was destroyed, but Fluttershy refused to proceed without checking them out, and also before redressing Octavia's back -- her wounds had opened during the fight without her even noticing it.
"Excuse me," said the cellist, approaching Vinyl once Fluttershy's ministrations were complete. She winced at the stinging in her wound; the pegasus was starting to run short on painkilllers. "I need to say something."
"Autographs later," said the DJ, checking over the golem's 'body.' "You know, if this thing wasn't totally evil, I'd want one. Can you imagine how awesome a golem would be?" She grinned. "Golem, do the dishes! Golem, carry the luggage! Golem--"
Octavia coughed. "I wanted to apologize to you in particular. It was my charging into this room against your advice that caused all the problems, and you had to go to all that effort because--"
"Hey, we all do dumb things," said Vinyl, waving a hoof airily. "If it were up to me, we'd still be wandering around in the leshy's maze. Let's just accept that I'm not the brain-dead metalhead you thought I was, and you're not the representative of the snobby-idiot class I thought you were, and we're both pretty awesome in our own ways."
Octavia could not help but smile. "Snobby-idiot?"
"Yeah, you know. The nobles who don't have a thought in their heads except what their advisors and friends put there. No offense, Tavi, but some nobles are some of the most ridiculous ponies on the planet."
"None taken. I do know a few nobles like that. Remind me to tell you about House Lulamoon's heir, sometime."
Vinyl's eyes twinkled. "Finally think we might get out of this alive?"
Octavia realized that, for the first time since entering the forest, she had spoken of future events without any sort of qualifier. "Well, we are doing a lot better than I had feared."
"Great. So--"
"We're all ready over here," called Bluenote. "All doctored up!"
"Be careful," Octavia heard Fluttershy saying as she walked back to the rest of the group. "I don't have many medicines left."
"I will," said Medley.
"You're awesome," chirped Lyra. "I feel good as new!"
Fluttershy blushed.
"Hey," said Medley to the others. "Thanks for bailing us out back there."
"What are friends for?" said Bluenote.
As the ponies talked, they moved to the doors at the far end of the hallway. "This should be the throne room," said Octavia. "We are here."
Bluenote stretched out a hoof and touched the door.
A faint hum sounded from behind them, and all six ponies turned.
The golem's horn had levitated, a faint bit of remaining magic triggering at last. Before any of the sextet could do anything, it floated to the nearest hole in the wall and unleashed a blinding pillar of light into the sky. It crumbled to dust after a few seconds, but the light remained there, immobile, for several seconds afterwards.
"A beacon," managed Vinyl.
"To warn the Burning Sun somepony got this far," said Medley.
The six looked at each other, and Octavia couldn't deny a jolt of fear. Traps were one thing, but to have the tyrant herself--
No. They had to continue. They had no choice.
"We must continue," said Octavia, clapping her hooves briskly. "Hurry. We just need to get into the next room and pick up the Elements. We cannot stop now. Not with the whole world depending on us." She took a breath. "We have come this far. We can do this. Now we must go just a little further."
And then, projecting as much confidence as she could, she opened the door to the throne room of the monarchs of Equestria.
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I love this part.
2689133: I did debate going into that a little more -- originally, this story did have hints that Fluttershy's life was perhaps a little more problematic than she herself knows. (In particular, there's that bit where she mentions to Tavi about how her dad taught her that she must serve others with all she has; originally, there were a few lines indicating that, if he thought she wasn't really serving with 'all she had', he'd make very sure to let her know). I removed most of the direct insinuations along those lines, not because i don't think that'd be an interesting thing to examine in Fluttershy's character, but because this story is already pretty full of stuff and I thought that adding a 'Fluttershy has trouble being happy because she always wants to do more, more, more for others' bit would be too much.
It is something that I'll perhaps return to in a future Cadanceverse story, though. :-)
Wel, that was a suitable final trap and test for somepony worthy of the Element of Magic. Vinyl is pretty powerful. And clever that it summons Burning Sun too. That'll up the stakes considerably.
More magical music..MUGIC!! This is Brilliant work!
Also, later, Vinyl should build a golem servant and name it Wubsy.
Um, in this context, shouldn't it be deafened? I-I mean if you really meant 'defined'...then that's fine.
^_^
2690704: Fixed, thank you!
Interesting idea with the prototype Cadence.
And Vinyl nope not the Element of Magic, she's the element of AWSOME!
It'll be very interesting to see the main character and center piece not the Element of Magic. Was never a fan of the Dashverse so I haven't seen that done yet. It'll be interesting to see how you explore it. Very nicely done so far.
That was pretty awesome and magical, nice job Vinyl!
I confess hearing it stripped down I agree with the stuff you cut, but then again it could've worked. I think the chapter feels very solid as is n_n
2687455: According to the wiki, she's a green-ish foal with a lyre cutie mark and wings, so I think it works.
Okay, one of my favorite songs of all time, and Vinyl Scratch was badass!
Now that's what I call staying alive!
Good choice of song! I think I would have altered the lyrics a bit more, though. Ponies aren't known for stalking their prey in the night, more... running away in the night. I still have it in my head, mind you.
I really like this demonstration of Vinyl Scratch's magical ability. She doesn't have the sheer power of Twilight Sparkle, or the versatility of Lunaverse!Trixie, but she has a certain finesse and knowledge that translates into an impressive offense. The syncopation trick was marvellous.
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Entering the hexcode for her coat into the same site the mlpwiki uses for ponies with full articles suggests Beebop could be more accurately described as grayish cyan.
*Comes back from a short break, nose bleeding* sorry, but Vynl kicking buttt with the power of music caused me to collapse from the sheer awesome of it all
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*comes back with an entirely bandaged nose* not to mention she did it with a pony version of "eye of the tiger" which is my ABSOLUTE FAVE SONG!!!!
I'm suddenly picturing Cadence throwing real organic hearts at Lyra and Medley. I actually find it funny instead of disgusting, though that might be because of my medical education.
"It doesn't," Vinyl smirked, clapping her forehooves together,
3813919 Not necessarily. Since 'smirked' isn't a direct... saying word, like said or barked or whispered, it can (and generally should, although it can go either way) be the start of a new sentence.
Anyway, I'm reading this story out of order (wanted to see what it was like in the thick of things before starting it), so I don't have anything to say yet. :P
It doesn't." Vinyl smirked
to swoop in frotn of her
The golem charged up a massive blast and fired it, then feet to Vinyl's left
1. Mentioned 5 weeks ago (again) but forgot your opening quotation mark.
2. Front.
3. Ten.
I sniff a Shale reference to DA
Wow, When Vinyl says she'll do something and look awesome while doing it she does not dissapoint, add it to the Eye of the Tiger and treating her magic like music and Octavia's little jab at the heir of Trixie's house and this was perfect!
You know, its hard to do a serious anylasis of a work when I am laying here passed out from the sheer awesomeness of that whole entire scene. I just, wow...I have to say, it is probably the most unique of the magic tests. Mainly because it came at the end of the whole story, but also because it wasn't Tavi who did it. It was Vinyl, and I am glad it wa kind of nicely foreshadowed throughout the piece. With mentions being given of Vinyl's magical talent, and how she studies magic ect. Magic, most of the time, comes from a realization on the point of the main character and is rarely, very rarely, used a part of the test. Not so here, but we still see magic's other meaning (friendship) appear here. Vinyl is doing this for her firneds, she is using friendship as her guide, and she is using her bonds of learning to beat the golem. It is quite an interesting change of pace
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Yeah, it's really cool.
Yeah she is very ridiculous