A Harsh Cure

A Harsh Cure

Chapter 1: Picking Up the Pieces

"Drive them back!" Shining Armor shouted above the clamorous din. Around him, the Crystal Guard replied with fierce neighs. They locked their shields together, and pushed gamely forward with their spears.

Like an onrushing current, another wave of...creatures crashed into their line. The frontal ones appeared as vaguely pony-shaped creatures so thickly encrusted with smoky white crystals that they appeared as walking statues. They behaved like rabid animals, charging the line en masse and flailing wildly away with spiky front legs. Jagged crystals struck metal shields, filling the air with a cacophony of loud bangs and crunches.

An energy bolt erupted from Shining Armor's horn, striking three of these creatures at once. Their crystalline outer shells shattered, revealing traces of something organic beneath. They made no sound, even as one of them squirmed helplessly after the bolt had shattered two of its legs. The rest of the Crystal Guard moved in for the kill. Their spear strikes found gaps between the jutting crystal formations, stabbing deep into the flesh beneath. Their shield slams shattered the same crystal formations, knocking their attackers back, and allowing the line to move ever onward.

Shining Armor eyed the advance grimly. He and his Crystal Guard had been fighting these things for days now. The initial onrush that began yet another attack was the easiest part. The hardened looks among his soldiers showed that they understood too.

On cue, the next wave flowed out with a barrage of hideous shrieks. They flowed out seemingly from every dark corner of the blasted wasteland that now marred the northern portion of Equestria's landscape. Like the first ones, they were also vaguely pony-shaped. But these weren't creatures of flesh and minerals. No, they looked like hazy images of ponies, made from glowing, purplish-pink smoke. Their features were sharp and fierce, as if something was pulling back their skin, narrowing their eyes and forcibly baring their teeth. The weapons of the Crystal Guard passed through them as if they were mere smoke. When they struck with their jagged, pointed hooves, however, they left bleeding wounds the same way all too solid weapons would. As these monstrosities advanced, the line of pegasi and earth ponies fell back, revealing a line of unicorn guards with spells at the ready. A barrage of energy bolts greeted these monsters, throwing them back in shrieking agony.

Shining Armor fired spell after spell along with the rest of the unicorns. Every muscle in his body ached. The constant spell casting left him drained and dizzy. No matter how valiant his troops were, they couldn't contain this attack for much longer. Whatever these things pouring out of Equestria was, their numbers appeared endless. The Crystal Guard, still reforming and retraining under their new prince, was far from prepared to take on such a massive threat. And for it to come from Equestria, the one border they never dreamed they had to guard...

How had all of this happened? It's been days, but Shining Armor was still reeling. Past events swirled around him like a whirlwind of one development after another.

It all came apart in a single morning. As he stood on his bedroom's balcony, taking in the first rays of the sun, an ominous flash spread across the southern horizon. He had his barding on in a matter of minutes. The urgent knocks on his door followed afterwards, along with news that made his blood run cold.

Equestria was in ruins.

He led the first investigation party while Cadence arranged rescue and relief efforts. The sight of the blasted land froze him and his Crystal Guard in place. Where there was once the lush grassy plains and verdant woodlands, as far as the eye could see, there was now only a barren, rocky waste. The air stank of ozone, the sky appeared as if they were looking at it through purple glass. Worst of all were the cracks, from enormous fissures to small hairline fractures across the earth. It was as if Equestria was one great ceramic plate that had been struck hard. The cracks pulsed with lingering magic; the tell-tale signs of a magical disaster. Though he was careful to hide it, the sight of this terrified Shining Armor most of all. He had spent years knowing the presence of this particular magic. He could recognize it even in minute quantities. There was no mistaking the presence of his sister's power.

Questions flooded his mind. How had this happened? Why? Where were the princesses? What of his sister? No answers greeted him as he and his guards made their way through ruptured landscape. What did greet them was a horde of these monsters, crawling out of the broken rocks and fallen trees. The party fell back, and what started out as an investigative foray turned into a desperate stand to keep these monsters from spreading into the Crystal Empire.

The shrieking, incorporeal creatures, "Spell Furies" as the Crystal Guard had taken to calling them, did not hesitate for a moment even as several of them faded into nothing from direct hits. "Fall back to the fortifications!" Shining Armor called out. He gritted his teeth. The few attempts he made to break the enemy advance had all been stopped cold. There were too many of these things while his own troops were few, under-equipped, and under-trained. It was still too soon after the Crystal Empire's restoration. They were barely prepared for minor monster incursions, let alone this!

A spell fury weaved past Shining Armor's energy bolts until it hovered but a foot away. With a deafening shriek, it swung its ghostly hooves in a wide arc, catching him with a glancing blow across the cheek. The incorporeal hooves phased through his metal barding, and scratched the flesh beneath, leaving shallow, but jagged gashes. With blood streaming from his face, Shining Armor had to back away while the unicorns behind him blasted the thing into nothingness.

"Your highness!"

A yellow-coated pegasus in the Crystal Guard's barding landed next to Shining Armor and fended off the crytalline shamblers that had rejoined the fray.

"Sentry," Shining Armor grunted. "How did the flying incursion go?"

Flash Sentry shook his head. "We barely got a few miles in when the furies caught sight of us. We had to fall back."

Shining Armor swore silently, and gestured for his troops to fall back. So his distracting assault had done little to cover Flash Sentry's incursion. He glanced at the bloodied, shredded remains of several crystal guards. Each move cost him lives. Soon, he would not have enough ponies to protect the Empire's borders, let alone try to find out what had happened. He looked southward. As more days of this frustrating standstill continued, the hope of getting to Twilight, and whoever else survived this nightmare grew dimmer.

The Crystal Guard fell back to the makeshift fortifications, where the stationed unicorns immediately fired on the spell furies. Raised, sharpened stakes, and trenches stopped the shamblers, but the furies had to be destroyed right away. Shining Armor added his own energy bolts to the barrage. To his right, Flash Sentry swatted a shambler's face with the butt of his spear, sending shards flying while the shambler fell back. A second one made a clumsy swipe at him, but he ducked, and jabbed the spear point between the gaps of the crystals around its neck.

"Highness!" One of the lookouts from the fortifications shouted. "We've got more coming from the east!"

Shining Armor nodded, and gestured for the guards with him to regroup with the fortifications' defenders. "Destroy these ones quickly!" he called out. "Then turn your horns east!"

Another pegasus landed next to Shining Armor. "Your highness," he said. "The southwestern fortifications are under heavy attack, and need reinforcements."

"I haven't the ponies to spare!" Shining Armor grunted. His troops were still struggling with the ones coming from the south. That an attack was coming from the east could mean that the southeastern fortifications had been overrun. They couldn't hold this border any more. They had to fall back to the Crystal Empire proper. He hated the thought of having to expose the Empire's citizen's to these monstrosities. 'Cadence,' he thought. 'Any time now.'

Flash Sentry pulled out his spear from the jaws of another shambler, and pointed to the distance. "Highness, over there!"

Past the approaching horde from the south, the looming figure of something was moving towards them. Shining Armor squinted at the sight. "Looks like they're getting tired of being stopped here," he said. "That's a leader of some sort, I suppose." He fired a few more energy bolts at the spell furies. The unicorn defenders were thinning out the swarm, but that was a small respite in the face of what was coming.

"We're barely holding as it is," Flash Sentry said between pants. He pulled out a few crystal fragments from his bleeding forelegs. "Highness, we need to retreat to the Empire!"

Shining Armor bit his lip. No...he couldn't. If he backed off to hide behind the walls of the Crystal Empire, it would be as if he had abandoned Equestria to save himself. Twilight and her friends had to be in there somewhere; holding off these monsters, and trying to set things right. He needed to push through to help them, not leave them to their fates. He looked to his troops. The Crystal Guard was being pushed back. Soon, the decision to retreat won't even be left to him.

To the far south, the distant sight of Canterlot's broken towers beckoned. So far away, and about to become even farther. Shining Armor was about call for a retreat, when a volley of arrows flew above him, and towards the massing shamblers. He recognized the barbed arrowheads and the black feather fletching. 'About time, Cadence!' he thought.

The volley passed through the spell furies, and crashed into the horde of shamblers. The Crystal Guard earth ponies and pegasi plunged into the gap. With their line temporarily safe, the unicorns were able to focus on driving the furies back. Shining Armor allowed himself a moment of respite, then looked back to the source of the timely volley. A squadron of hawk griffons, their longbows already drawn for a second volley, hovered above the fortifications. Another squadron, this time of eagle griffons, flew from the west, winging past their hawk brethren, and diving into the fray with their great spears.

"Reinforcements from the Aeries!" Flash Sentry cried out joyously. "We're saved!"

"Don't stand around waiting to be saved, soldier!" Shining Armor said. He fired off more energy bolts. He didn't hide his own smile however. Arrows and spears did well against shamblers, but he and the rest of the Crystal Guard's unicorns will have to do the bulk of the work with the spell furies.

The United Griffon Aeries were not completely helpless in terms of magic, however. Bolts of lightning streaked through the air along with blasts of icy wind. A few crow griffons, easily identifiable by their elaborate robes, and their gaudy bone necklaces, were interspersed among the hawk griffons. They weren't Shining Armor's main concern however. If reinforcements had arrived, she should be here as well. His grin widened further when a lone, pink pony flew past the griffons, and towards him.

In the first time for days, Shining Armor fell back from the front lines so he could get to Cadence. A dazzling array of light beams erupted from her horn as soon as she landed, driving back a converging swarm of spell furies. Cadence's fierce glare softened when she turned towards Shining Armor, she put a hoof against his cheek to wipe away some of the blood. "You're hurt," she said.

"A scratch," Shining Armor said. He looked to the many fallen Crystal Guards around him. "Far better than most."

Cadence's voice trembled slightly when she followed Shining Armor's gaze. "I'm sorry for the delay," she said. "The Taurus Empire was eager enough, but the Aeries took a while to get their act together."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Shining Armor said. He closed his eyes briefly as a surge of healing flowed from his wife's horn to close the scratches and scrapes he had accumulated. "What's important is that we can push forward now."

With aid from the UGA, the front lines were moving ahead now. Shining Armor remained in place to catch his breath along with several of the Crystal Guards. Aldric, a high-ranking eagle griffon knight, led the charge, driving the shamblers ever back. Shining Armor recognized the lordly brows, particularly impressive even among eagle griffons, even at a distance.

A loud clamor, followed by mighty bellows, erupted from the east. It was a good thing the Taurus Empire agreed to send aid quickly. Their slower moving troops arrived nearly at the exact same time as the UGA's despite the griffons normally taking forever to get past their bickering to do anything. The massive, lumbering silhouettes of minotaur shock troops, three times the size of a typical earth pony guard. They held massive hammers and axes, each big even for them to need both hands to swing. All it took was a single two-handed blow to knock down even several shamblers, which the minotaurs waded through with impunity. The problem became apparent when one fury swooped past a minotaur, easily slipping through its massive swing, then going through its body. The minotaur crashed to the ground, and lay still.

There was little time to observe their allies' fighting prowess and problems, however. Shining Armor had to react to the change in the tide.

"Highnesses," Flash Sentry said. He bowed low before Cadence, who dismissed his gesture with a wave of her hoof. "Orders?"

Shining Armor focused on the large, ominous figure still at the rear lines of the enemy horde. "Sentry, gather our pegasi and join up with the hawk griffons. I want eyes on that thing. Harass it if you can and try to lead it between the UGA, and the Taurus troops.

Flash Sentry saluted, and flew off while Shining Armor directed the Crystal Guard's unicorns to finish off the last of the advancing spell furies.

"Prince Shining Armor!" Aldric called out. He flew back from the still charging line, and landed next to Shining Armor, a fierce grin on his face. "I had thought your wife was exaggerating to grease up the wheels that turn our bureaucrats," he said. The grin flattened into a grim frown. "The landscape alone tells me that she was on point. The UGA will see to it that this threat is neutralized."

"Thank you, Knight Aldric," Shining Armor said. "I'm sure the Aerie Lords are happy to keep the fighting here, and away from UGA territory."

The grin flashed again. Though Knight Aldric respected the gravity of the situation enough, it was clear that he looked happy to be able to stretch his wings in a combat situation. The overlapping armor plates around his lion torso looked newly-forged. The metal, light enough to let him stay in flight, gleamed white under the late sun's rays. His talons were tipped with hardened, razor-sharp blades, a bejeweled sheath held the long sword by his side. Even his great spear's shaft had markings delicately carved into it. All his equipment looked too raw to Shining Armor. The UGA may have a strong military tradition, but, like Equestria, its army hadn't been in a major conflict in a long time. It soldiers were eager to test themselves, but, with such a dire situation before them, Shining Armor wished he had hardened veterans to fall back on.

"Oh, you know my leaders well, Shining Armor," Aldric said. He looked to the front lines. "I see these monsters are still holding back something interesting in the rear lines," he said. "I'm all too keen to find out. You're coming, aren't you?"

Shining Armor nodded. "I am." He looked to Cadence, about to ask her to get to a safe point. At the sight of her determined look, he turned towards Aldric. "We both are."

With the shamblers and furies around it dwindling in number, the looming figure started moving. Above it, Flash Sentry and his pegasi circled around. With Aldric and Cadence by his side, Shining Armor galloped to the forefront to meet the thing. He squinted at the sight, trying to catch a good look despite all the fighting still going on around him.

The looming figure, as it turned out, was actually two beings. Most noticeable was the monstrous beast before them. Standing nearly ten feet, it resembled a wolf with its fur made up of pale-pink, crystalline spines. Its jaws hung open. No saliva dripped down, but its gem-like fangs glistened nonetheless. As it walked forward, its long claws scraped against the rocky ground.

Shining Armor knew better than to let intimidation distract him, however. Menacing as this beast was, its rider deserved as much focus. If not more. His eyes narrowed at the pony-shaped thing riding this monstrosity.

A long, long time ago, Shining Armor once fashioned a little pony doll for his sister using nothing more than a very long piece of string. The "rider" resembled such a thing: a pony seemingly made from coiled rope, about the size and build of an adult mare. Its head moved to stare back at him, its eyeless face showing no pity. It tapped its left front hoof against the beast once. In that single motion, the still creature burst into a flurry of snarling, savage movement. It lunged so fast that one eagle griffon, caught in the middle of a dive towards a shambler, could not move out of the way. The monster closed its jaws with an audible crunch, the poor griffon not even getting to scream before his body buckled in two. The beast did not eat, however. It tossed its first victim aside, and continued charging. The others had already dispersed from its path however. The pegasi and all the griffons flew out of reach, while the unicorns and earth ponies moved to its sides.

The rope-pony reared up, and spread its forelegs apart. The coils around its torso and forelegs convulsed like the vines of some magical plant. They flew out, coiling themselves in mid-air to form lassos. Shining Armor could only watch as the lassos caught a pegasus and an eagle griffon. The speed and accuracy of the attack would have made any rodeo champion gape in awe. The distance only made it more stupendous. After those few moments of surprise, he tried casting a spell to help the entangled ponies, but the beast was now charging towards his direction.

"Shining!" Cadence called out. She grabbed a hold of him, and flew out of the way. The movement jarred his concentration long enough for the rope-pony to yank at its victims. It hurled the pegasus into the jaws of the beast, which promptly crunched him up, and tossed him away. The eagle griffon crashed to the ground. The beast's claws dug deep, punching a hole in the griffon's chest plates, and stabbing his heart. At once, the extended ropes retracted into the rider's body as the beast made a swift turn.

"Interesting pattern!" Aldric yelled. He set his great spear low, and prepared to dive. About a dozen feet away, Flash Sentry swooped in with his sword out. His squad of pegasi was right behind him. The objective was clear: get the rope pony first. Without its entangling attacks, the ground-bound beast should be easier to deal with. Several eagle griffons followed suit. A veritable cage of swords and spears that swiftly closed in on this monstrous duo.

The rope-pony did seemed perturbed. Its mount stop halfway through its turn. A barrage of ropes exploded from its body, swirling around it in a whirling web of coils. Its attackers hesitated at the frantic display. A few continued to their charge, including Flash Sentry and Aldric. A coil of rope slapped into Flash Sentry's face, knocking him to the side, and slowing his dive. Aldric flew past the first whipping blows, only to encounter a dozen more. Shining Armor cast his spells. He struggled to grab a telekinetic hold of the ropes. Even with his best efforts, he couldn't hold on to them. Instead, he focused on shielding Aldric and Flash Sentry.

"Normal weapons may not harm that rider," Cadence said. "It looks to be made entirely of enchanted rope."

"Got something in mind, dear?" Shining Armor asked. He winced as several whipping strikes met his shields. This rider hit hard. Flash's sword cut down several of the ropes, but they merely extended again. One rope lassoed a pegasus, spherical shield and all, and hurled him to the ground. The beast swiftly savaged the sphere, its fangs biting with tremendous force. Shining Armor struggled against the assault, silently and urgently willing the fallen pony to get out of the beast's range before the need to conserve his strength forced him to drop some shields.

Flash Sentry shifted his course at this. He winged his way past the whirling ropes, and slammed into the beast's face. His blade ran down from its brow to its cheek bone, raising sparks as the metal ground against crystal. The cut missed the eye quite possibly by an inch. The beast snarled, and reared up, swatting at Flash Sentry with its front paws. He swooped in low, narrowly avoiding those claws, and picked up his fallen comrade.

"Cadence!" Shining Armor said. He didn't need to prompt his wife though. A blast of pink magic struck the beast in the face, allowing Flash to pull the fallen crystal guard to safety. Several pieces of crystal clattered to the ground.

With an eager cry, Aldric slipped past the whirling ropes, and plunged his great spear into the rope-pony's back. The point plunged deep, but provoked no reaction. Seeing all the ropes now converging on him, Aldric left his great spear behind and flew up. He whipped his sword out, slashing several of the ropes about to wrap around him.

"Told you," Cadence said.

"It's all well and good that we know what doesn't work, dear," Shining Armor said. "It would be better if we found out what does."

Cadence circled the still staggered beast, staying just out of reach of those whirling ropes. Aldric joined them in the air while a few pegasi and eagle griffons turned their attention to chopping down the ropes.

The rope-pony reared up again. This time, instead of a storm of flailing ropes, it let out a fierce neigh. Two points of green light burst from its skull, finally giving its face some features. At the sound of its call, another swarm of spell furies rose up from the south, and joined the fray.

Shining Armor lent his magic to the offense as well. As the battle dragged on, the Crystal Guard struggled to keep up with the constantly reinforced enemy troops. Unicorns dropped on the spot, every bit of magic squeezed out of them. With fewer energy bolts covering them, the spell furies were slowly driving the pegasi and griffons from the air.

"That rider is what's bringing more and more monsters," Shining Armor said. "If we take it down, we might take the field." He looked to Cadence in time to see several beads of sweat drop from her chin.

"A pile of magic rope can't just come to life," Cadence said. She grunted as she swerved in time to avoid a spell fury's swoop. "There has to be something moving it. Something like a heart, or a spirit of some sort we haven't seen."

With one more pull on his straps, Shining Armor tossed aside most of his barding, letting the purple plates fall to the ground below. "We'll have to separate them," he said. "Toss me on that beast's back."

"Are you crazy?" Cadence asked aghast. "What if I miss? That beast will eventually shred your shield!"

Shining Armor smiled with assurance. "Don't worry," he said.

Cadence nuzzled Shining Armor briefly. "You come back to me, Shiney," she said softly. She dove into the wildly whipping mass, spinning past the ones that struck close. Her grip around Shining Armor's torso tightened as the rope-pony's figure came closer, and the lassos converged. With a grunt, Cadence tossed Shining Armor towards the rope-pony as hard as she could.

The aim was off. Shining Armor would have ended up sliding down the beast's side, but he was close enough for a simple short-range teleport not to drain him. "Sorry!" Cadence yelled out from a distance, just as she flew out of the rope-pony's reach. Shining Armor reappeared directly in front of the rope-pony, giving him a good look at last.

At first glance, it really did look like a pile of magical rope had animated, and taken the shape of a pony. But Cadence was right, there had to be some kind of controlling device or an animating spirit. As some of the rope composing it had extended to great lengths, a portion of of the rope-pony's insides were left exposed, like a string doll being unraveled. The great light that flared from where its eyes were also glimmered through the spaces where some of the binding ropes were looser. Perhaps there was something buried under all that rope; the source of that green light itself. Shining Armor only needed to work out this knot and he might just secure a foothold into Equestria's blasted ruins.

He let out his spell. By now, the pegasi had all flown to safety, allowing him to redirect the magic he was using to shield them onto himself. A purple dome materialized in around him and then exploded outward as he channeled a great portion of his remaining strength into a shield. The ropes converging on him bounced off briefly. They tried to wrap around the sphere, but it grew in size so quickly that they stretched and snapped.

The explosive growth of his shield worked as Shining Armor hoped it would. The rope-pony couldn't react fast enough and the physical barrier smashed into it with the force of a catapult strike. It flew off its monstrous mount, taking its whirling ropes with it.

"Now!" Shining Armor yelled out.

Without the ropes to entangle them, Sentry's pegasi, and Aldric's griffons swiftly closed in on the beast with their weapons. They tempered their rapid, opportunistic advance with caution, however. Flash led the way with swooping, but shallow cuts, his blade finding purchase despite the stiff, crystalline fur that armored the beast. More chunks of crystal fell to the floor, covered partially with purple goop that appeared to serve as the beast's blood. The eagle griffon's jabbed at the thing with their spears, never thrusting too deeply to get stuck. Hawk griffons peppered the beast with arrows, forcing it to fall back to get to its rider.

Shining Armor was faster, however. He cast another teleportation spell, wincing as more of his flagging strength leaked out into the spell. He put himself between the beast and its rider, unmindful of just how risky this move was.

The rope-pony's extended body parts retracted completing its body once more, and hiding the exposed spaces that leaked green light. Its "eyes" flared. Shining Armor didn't know if that was supposed to indicate some sort of emotion. If it did, he liked to think that he was starting to anger or frighten it. Hopefully both.

The ropes extended again. They didn't form lassos this time, however. They lashed out at Shining Armor with vicious force, strong enough to leave gouges along the hard, cracked ground they stood on. A force field would be useful now, as was that barding he had cast aside to help Cadence keep him aloft. However, Shining Armor had dismissed his spell in order to conserve his magic. He had, at best, a couple more spells to throw before going dry. His head was pounding from the strain, and it was getting harder and harder to focus. The rest of his body wasn't doing as great. He was panting, almost gasping for air. His legs burned along with his lungs, and sweat drenched nearly every inch of his fur. He looked briefly behind him, desperately hoping for incoming reinforcements, though expecting none whatsoever. The beast kept Sentry and Aldric busy enough.

Cadence was probably on her way. She was the fresher caster between the two of them, and possessed more latent magical power. She was, however, a notoriously poor flyer, known for running out of stamina very quickly. That she had lifted him, barding and all, for an extended period of time was more proof of her indomitable will than her physical conditioning. He could really use her magic at the moment, but he settled into dealing with this problem for a while before she could get here, even with teleportation spells.

Now, what exactly to throw at this monster before it could reunite with its mount, or overwhelm him with even more reinforcements? He had lost his spear much earlier in the battle, but still had his sword strapped. It could probably serve to cut down some of his opponent's attacks, but it was going to take magic to break this monster down.

Several coils of rope dropped to the ground and slithered towards Shining Armor. A few more rose up from the rope-pony's back like angry scorpion stingers. Their ends knotted into heavy balls. As they untangled from the main body, the same green light seeped out from the openings again. Shining Armor found his target. He charged in so quickly that several ropes overreached, and flew past him. One knotted end smashed into the ground so hard that the hard earth cracked. That blow would have broken bones if it landed. The temptation to shield up tugged at Shining Armor, but he didn't want to waste too much energy just to save himself.

As soon as he got in range for a sword cut, Shining Armor suddenly stopped, his hooves skidding as he forced a turn to the right. He drew his sword and sheathed it in magical energy. 'That's one,' Shining Armor thought.

At the sight of this, the rope-pony's eyes flared even brighter. More of its body unwound, and Shining Armor confirmed what he suspected. Underneath the rope exterior was a nebulous, pony-shaped, green glow. His instincts screamed target, but Shining Armor didn't rush in just yet. Partly because the swarm of ropes coming at him spelled death by strangling, whipping, or being torn apart, at the slightest mistake, and partly because there was something else past that glow. A small dark speck was floating past the ropes and the light. He just had to get a better look...

The moment Shining felt something brush against his back hoof, he knew he was in trouble. In a fraction of a second, he was dangling in mid air, a lone rope wound around his fetlock. His sword cut through it, but several more caught him before he could even fall a foot. Again, his shield spell flashed in his mind. He grunted as the ropes started to pull his limbs apart. He glanced at his enemy, then at his surroundings. He had knocked the rope-pony farther into the enemy lines. Some of his troops and the reinforcements were trying to reach him, but they clashed with enemy reinforcements. The best they could do was keep things at a stalemate so he could fight this creature one-on-one.

"One last!" Shining Armor grunted. He bid his time just a bit longer, waiting for the rope-pony to show some kind of overconfidence. It was a bit of a gamble, thinking that these monsters were prone to lapses of bad judgment, but it paid off. More ropes unwound from the monster, revealing a large enough section of that nebulous green glow. That small speck was a bit more visible now. It appeared to be a piece of metal attached to a short length of chain, like a piece of jewelry. That looked about as much a focus as it could get. Shining Armor cast his spell, disappearing from the grasping ropes and reappearing in front of the rope-pony. His enchanted blade cut through the last ropes it could muster in defense even, plunging deep into its glow. His sword point drove into the light as if it were tough, resistant flesh. Shining Armor pushed with all his remaining telekinetic might, but the point stopped a mere fraction of an inch short.

The sudden, high-pitched "cry", sent vibrations across Shining Armor's blade. He nearly dropped it telekinetically from the surprise. It wasn't the suddenness of the outburst, strange as it was, that gripped him. The voice that emerged...it sounded kind of familiar. It was a pony's cry he heard. Not only that, he knew this specific pony. He just needed to attach a name...

The knotted end of a rope smashed into the side of Shining Armor's face with the dull crack of his jaw fracturing. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, with several ropes already circling his torso and legs. The rope-pony was still shrieking, and his sword remained fastened to that green glow. The ropes twisted and turned as the rope-pony writhed in agony, dragging Shining Armor against the ground. Sharp rocks and the unyielding ground scraped painfully against his hide.

Shining Armor tugged at the ropes around him, desperately trying to loosen them before the rope-pony's agonized thrashings killed him. It was all in vain. His vision was still swimming from that vicious knock to the face. His muscles burned, his many scrapes bled profusely, and all the wild motion made it impossible to get a good view of his bindings.

Several pink beams cut through the bindings, followed by a quick flash of magic. In an instant, Cadence was standing next to Shining Armor and helping him up. "Sorry, I took so long," Cadence said. Each word left left her mouth accompanied by a pant. "Furies everywhere...ponies needed help." She looked at his banged up body, and prepared to cast another spell. "You're hurt. I can..."

Shining Armor put a hoof against her lips. "Not on me," he said. "I'll be fine." He looked towards the thrashing rope-pony, and pointed at his still impaled sword. Some of his magic still lingered around the blade. "Channel your magic into that," he said.

Cadence nodded, and pointed her horn at the rope-pony. Magic surged, bathing her in a nimbus of crackling pink arcs. She shut her eyes tightly for a second and grunted, sweat pouring from her brow. 'Come on, Cadence,' he thought.

A blast of magic finally exploded. For all its...pink, Cadence's magic was as devastating as she needed to be. Several beams of light converged on his sword, and poured into the rope-pony's center. It shrieked even louder as light built up within it. Shining Armor winced. The pained cry sounded so familiar, it felt as if he was hearing a friend getting hurt. An explosion followed, forcing Shining Armor to duck, and cover his face. Cadence's wing draped over him when she ducked, and covered as well.

The massive blast send large chunks of the blasted earth flying over them. To make matters worse, the still-surviving spell furies shrieked as well. Eventually, all the noise faded away, allowing both of them to stand and survey the field. The first thing that came to Shining Armor's mind was to check on the giant beast this creature was riding on. He turned around, hoping to find his allies victorious, but already expecting to do some more fighting. It was just in time as well. At the sight of the rope-pony's destruction, the beast howled forlornly, and charged towards his direction. Shining Armor braced himself.

Before the beast could cross the distance, however, an armored minotaur, almost as tall as the beast was, slammed into it horns-first. Shards of crystal flew from the already badly-injured beast as it fell to the side. More minotaurs charged into fray. With enormous axes and hammers, they beat on the thing. For a second, it appeared as if the beast was about to rise and fight to its dying breath. However, it glanced towards the remains of the rope-pony and let out a whimper before laying still.

With the beast down, the minotaurs let out a victorious bellow. The griffons echoed it with their own cries. Even Flash Sentry and his exhausted pegasi let themselves cheer. Shining would have joined them too, but even shouting felt too hard. He stumbled onto his hooves and limped towards the fallen enemy leader. With the rope-pony destroyed, the charging shamblers and furies swiftly dwindled.

"Shining..." Cadence trotted after him, offering her shoulder for support. When she caught sight of the broken remains of the rope-pony, however, she let out a gasp, and put a hoof over her mouth.

Surrounded by a great number of broken, burnt rope was the fallen, limp body of an orange-coated mare. Her corn-yellow mane had fallen across her face, and her tail partly covered the apples adorning her flank. Shining Armor's blade, the steel partly melted, was still impaled in her chest. He had seen this pony before. Beside him, Cadence mouthed a name, but her soft, confused murmur was lost to the loud victory cries. He looked towards the fallen beast. Where there was once a vicious, crystalline hound, their now lay a small, brown and white dog. The minotaurs and griffons nearby scratched their heads at the sight before moving on to join the Crystal Guard in their camp.