My Life on a Cassette Tape

Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie slinked up the hill outside of town. Twilight focused as hard as she could in the dying light for any sign of an entrance into the likely subterranean facility. It only made sense, she thought, that they'd hold up underground. With a perfectly serviceable hill, they would be safe from prying eyes once they finished building - they'd only have to have illusions for the initial construction phase, and then natural camouflage would take over. Beyond all that, though, the fact this all took place in her backyard, in the Sister's backyard, was at the forefront of her mind. How could these ponies and otherwise somehow function as they did.

Sure, they had artifacts of great power, but how would that translate to them being able to accomplish what they had without being caught for this long? The summary of the incident report Applejack gave her helped understand it slightly, being able to manipulate the facts against the guard. They might even have ponies in the guard! All these thoughts and more swirled around Twilight's head as they continued their search.

Pushing aside a bush, Twilight brushed some soil away to see if she found anything, but there was nothing. Applejack kicked a pile of leaves to the side, but found nothing but an inconvenient rock to stub her toe on - she barely kept quiet with that one. Pinkie... well she was being herself, with was welcomed in this case. She ran, somehow, with her head touching the ground, and ear ever pressed against the soil as she repeatedly jabbed the dirt with a stick, until she abruptly stopped, poking an area a few more times with her stick.

"Found it!" She said in a loud whisper as she stood up, half her frizzy mane coated in sticks, leaves, and twigs. She grabbed something in the dirt and pulled, opening up a hatch in the side of the hill. If a home had been built here at one point, Twilight would've assumed this was the storm shelter, but knowing this land had always been free of pony settlement, she knew this unassuming hatch was exactly what they were looking for.

"My my, you certainly found us quickly." A snide voice Twilight knew all to well, despite being entranced at the time, said in its usual haughty tone. With a surge of energy, she shot into the sky, casting a quick invisibility spell on herself and the others.With that, and a pop of purple sparkles, three ponies disappeared from view. From the hatch appeared the form of Gunther and some mare in military dress.

"I'm activating my piece, if you find them, take them quickly. You likely only have five minutes in my vicinity before it gets bad for you." The mare said, moving to the top of the stairs with the griffon. Twilight did her best to appraise the new threat in the short time she had, taking in as much detail as possible.

Height: Two and a Half Meters, roughly

Color: Bronze

Mane: Yellow, short buzz

Body type: Mesomorph

Notes: Well Muscled, likely proficient in combat. Artifact user, matching description of one of those present at the house when Cress was captured. Power unknown.

Nodding to herself, she zipped to the side, thinking up a plan. Suddenly, a wave of disorientation hit her. Falling from the sky, she landed in a heap. Struggling up to her feet, she jumped back, watching as Gunther appeared suddenly before her, standing in a crouch where she had been a second ago, and where he had not been.

"One of them is a flier." Gunther called over his shoulder as his hawk-like eyes focused on the world before him, gleaming in the pale twilight's light. Twilight Sparkle was in deep. She knew she needed to take his pendant, but her brain was feeling addled. It was becoming harder to think. She needed to restrain these two before they could do any harm, but firing off the spell for both of them would take one point seven eight nine two seconds. Based on the common reaction speed of... what was it again?

Her eyes widened, as she understood. The mare's field, it must be a neu-... nuer-... brain dampening thing! She was losing intelligence every second! 'You have five minutes in my vicinity before it gets bad for you.' Based on how intelligent Gunther seemed, Twilight might hope for five as well, but she wasn't sure if the timing held true for her.

She circled around behind the griffon, and found a rock on the ground. Looking up at the form of the griffon, now hunched over like a beast tracking prey, sniffing the air as his head swayed to and fro, Twilight formed a plan. Grabbing the rock, she threw it with her best hoofball pass over his head and deeper into the field. Gunther jerked towards it and disappeared, reappearing right where it had landed. Twilight's eyes opened wider. What was he?

Not taking too much time to wonder at that, she moved stealthily towards the earth pony mare that simply stood there, swirling an ornate looking glass made of gold, silver, and gemstones. That must be the artifact! Between the gaudy look and the wine-red mist that flowed lethargically into it, there was little doubt in Twilight's mind, even as it clouded slightly.

Standing a ways behind her, she began to cast the spell, only to find it leaving her in the last moment. She would've cursed if she knew any. She couldn't cast the freezing spell, but she could do one better, or at least she hoped she could. Charging her horn, she aimed with her tongue sticking out her mouth for concentration. Delicately aiming it, she let loose, only to watch as Gunther appeared in front of her with not so much as a flash. She crumpled into a heap of pleasure as she fired it off - straight into his face.

The mare turned around, even as Twilight rolled to the side, lept, and glided a short distance away from her previous position. Twilight adjusted her clothes, finding them askew from whatever Gunther had done - and thinking on the griffon, she noticed him still on the ground. Perfect!

Twilight reached out with her magic and pulled at everything that was around his neck, bringing it to her with lightning speed. Grabbing the items out of the air, she looked over her prize as she moved away from the position the items had flown to. She had the ripped collar of Gunther's shirt, which she discarded quickly, and a talisman and the pendant. She grimaced at the talisman, and then got a devilish idea, an idea she might have to execute on if things turned truly sour.

Gunther rose up, grasping at his collar, and screeched, finding it all gone, with nothing left behind as his tank top fell open over his well muscled torso. She felt a sort of attraction to him, but Twilight shook her head and lowered herself, even though she was still invisible, as the imposing griffon scanned the area. She needed time, but he wasn't going to give it to her, but with one artifact down already, she had hope.

Looping the artifact over her head and holding onto the talisman for dear life, she bolted to where Pinkie and AJ had been. She stumbled over an invisible form and turned back, looking to see if there was any sign of dampness, and sighed in relief, not finding any. They had moved from their spot, which was good, but now whoever was here was huddled in a ball, likely rocking back and forth if the persistent shifting was any sign. This wasn't good. AJ was brave to a dangerous degree, and Pinkie was only fearful of loneliness it seemed, but now one of them was huddled in a ball.

She had wanted their help, but she wasn't going to be getting it. Peaking her head over the grass towards the two who hunted them, she saw Gunther raging, tearing up the ground as the mare walked over to him, still swirling the cup in one hand as she looked him over.

"Do you have them? Can I stop to help you?" The mare asked, not even showing concern in her voice, more acting like these were simple concerns on par with whether or not there was ice cream in the freezer. She was distracted, and that gave Twilight an opening. Charging up another blast, she aimed it at the center of mass, not wanting to miss this time. But as she charged it, a firm swirl was given to the cup, and she jerked forward as something left her. She looked up, and would've screamed if she didn't still have her good sense. She felt just as helpless as when Starlight had taken her cutie mark, her magic torn from her. She was becoming duller and duller, she could feel it, but worse yet, she didn't know if she could stop it.

Looking to where the talisman was, she knew she had a plan, and now, it was the only plan left to her. Dashing out of the grass, she stayed low, her wings spread to give her stability as she ran. Reaching the two, she shoulder checked the pony with all her might before pushing off of her and taking to the skies. She wasn't as strong as Applejack, nor was she as fast as Rainbow; but she was generally larger, and had about equivalent mass. Running at such a speed was bound to knock her opponent over, much as it did. With a start, twilight realized she wasn't dull anymore. Looking to the cup, it had been flung from the pony's hand. Using her magic, relieved it had come back to her, she brought the cup to her hand. She was imminently pleased she hadn't had to resort to that plan.

The mare rose, none too pleased with this as she grabbed Gunther by the neck, lifting him up with her as she scanned for a sign of her attacker. Twilight smiled, having disarmed them before they had been actually restrained. Charging her spell, she launched it down at the two, freezing them in place. Landing with a thump before them, she stowed away the cup in her bag as she looked over the two of them briefly, still shielded in her invisibility.

When she had had to stop six ponies and their associated objects who had been moving quickly through the castle, it had been a challenge. When she had stopped two whole clans and their food based weapons, that had been beyond taxing, but it had taught her how to best measure her arcane output. Now that she was stopping two figures with no other material considerations, she could feasibly hold it for the rest of the evening if she stayed still - and could at least manage half an hour while physically exerting herself.

She quickly removed their clothes, stowing their talismans in her pack - not wanting either font of knowledge to go up in flames. She had won, and better yet, had protected her friends from serious harm. Tying the two of them up was a pleasure, and as she let the invisibility drop, she blushed. Over in the corner of the field where she had thought a singular pony was curled up in a ball, were two ponies... eating each other out - even now that the effect of the goblet had worn off. This certainly was not what Twilight considered a good scenario, even if she was reminded of her own romp with Starlight in the library.

She had just been so cute - so sexy - under her complete control. Twilight had felt something she hadn't known before, and had made Starlight debase herself before her. It was... exhilarating. The sense of power, of domination - it felt wonderful. She had power over this pony, and no pony would stop her. She was broken from her thoughts by the sounds of steps on hard concrete emanating from the hatch.

"Master Gunther, is everything alright?" A voice called out, a pony charging up the stairs in very rough, very plain clothes. The pegasus stallion stopped, seeing his Master tied up beside the Master's friend. "A-attack! We're under attack!"