The Crystal Caves of Confuzzlation (Iota Force Issue #6)

Chapters

Chapter One: New City, New Problems
Chapter Two: Slippery Slopes
Chapter Three: A Crystal Darkly
Chapter Four: Cells and Cellmates
Chapter Five: A Game of Find the Lady
Chapter Six: Can't Beat the Classics... But We Can Try!
Chapter Seven: Fire and Thunder
Chapter Eight: The Ultimate Illusion
Chapter Nine: Turning Tails and Tables (Part One)
Chapter Ten: Turning Tails and Tables (Part Two)
Epilogue: True Illusions
NEXT TIME ON IOTA FORCE
Prologue: A Nice Change of Scenery

Chapter One: New City, New Problems

“...and just through here is the balcony overlooking the palace gardens.”

Icy was near the back of the group touring the palace, though she could still just about see their guide through the massive throng of young bodies. Still, the door that apparently led to the balcony was only so big, so the group was filtering through it very slowly.

It was the second day of their trip, not counting the day they'd arrived. The first day had been taken up almost entirely by a quick trip around the city. Quick, that was, in terms of their movement, not in terms of how long the trip took. Surprisingly enough, a city that was referred to as an empire was kind of big, so the tour had been somewhat cursory, rarely lingering long in any one place. They had been assured that there would be plenty more chances to go to any of the places that interested them, but it seemed the purpose of the tour was more to familiarize the children with the city as a whole than anything else. This was helped by the class splitting into smaller groups with a chaperone each, allowing the adults leading them around to interact more personally with their charges and answer any questions as best they could.

Today, however, they were having a more focused tour around the Crystal Palace. This was the only other event on the tour that was mandatory for the entire class, not that anyone minded. As such, both they and the class from Manehattan were taking the tour and, as the palace hadn't expected such an influx of onlookers and had only one tour guide, they were all taking it together. This, naturally, lead to some very crowded hallways, but at least made it very hard for anyone to lose the group.

Eventually, Icy was able to get through the doors. Fortunately, the balcony was more than large enough to house the massive crowd, even as they lined up along the edge to look over the gardens.

“Now, unfortunately, we won't be able to go down to the gardens ourselves today, as they are... not exactly equipped to handle such a large and... vigorous group,” the tour guide explained, the volume of her voice doing reasonably well at disguising the worried tone in it. “However, in the coming week, smaller groups will be able to have a look around and, failing that, this balcony has an excellent view of the entire area. In fact, our Prince and Princess themselves often come here to enjoy the vista. I'll give you a few minutes to take pictures.”

Before she had even finished, the group erupted into noise, a combination of the shutters of those with cameras and the calls of those who didn't, asking to borrow them – that is, sometimes to borrow the cameras and sometimes to borrow the ponies as well.

Icy remembered when Featherweight had offered to take pictures for anyone who wanted him to. At the time, she had thought he'd signed his own death warrant, being willing to do that for the entire class, and that he should have been thankful the Manehattan class wasn't there at the time. However, looking at his flitting around from pony to pony, snapping pictures from all sorts of angles, he seemed to be having the time of his life.

Of course, it was helped by the fact that the gardens were indeed breathtaking. Icy strolled up to the balcony's railing and looked over them, her eyes tracing along the paths running through them, her mind mostly in awe at the beautiful arrangements of greenery and flowers. Only a small part of her was imagining the massive hoard of children trying and failing to contain themselves along the thin pathways without spilling out and trampling the carefully crafted display. Still, it was enough for her to giggle quietly.

Around her, it seemed everyone else was similarly impressed.

“Whoa, look at that spiralling... thing!”

“Are those moonflowers? They gotta be... how'd they get them to grow like that?”

“Hey, under that bush... wonder what that panel's for...”

“Wow, love that topiary. Like, I gotta get Randolph to cut me some stuff like that when we get back.”

So impressed was Icy that even Diamond Tiara's voice raising slightly to flaunt her wealth didn't impact her mood significantly. She hadn't brought a camera with her – she herself had a fairly good visual memory and her mother didn't care much for photos of other places, preferring to just go there herself. However, the sight of the gardens almost made her regret that decision. Although, it wasn't so much an urge to just take a picture that she was feeling, but...

She looked over to the tour guide, who was over by the doors, sitting in a chair and looking fairly exhausted. That's good, thought Icy before shaking her head of the thought, well, it's not good for her, so maybe it's not good exactly, but it's kind of good for me since it means I've got plenty of time for this.

She turned her head as she opened her saddlebags with a wing. She riffled through the various comics she had in there until she came to a small pad of paper. Pulling it out, she walked over to a nearby table and sat down, pulling a pencil out of the bag's flap. Looking out once again over the gardens, she began to draw.

She knew she wasn't exactly great at it and she would hardly call drawing her primary hobby – it certainly wasn't her special talent, that was for certain – but she did enjoy it and occasionally felt the itch to just get something down on paper. And the sight of the royal gardens was certainly enough to make her itch.

Well, okay, she doubted it would literally make her itch, since the kinds of plants that did that weren't the kind you usually found in a decorative garden and probably weren't safe to have around a lot of ponies anyway. That said, it might be interesting to have a small section with various dangerous and deadly plants behind glass for those who were interested in that kind of thing. Could be a whole different attraction for visitors. You would just have to be careful that you only included plants that were dangerous because a pony might touch or eat them. In Equestria, you didn't just have to worry about biting into the wrong plant, but also the plants that bit back.

“Oh, I didn't know you drew, Icy.”

Icy blinked as her state of focus was broken by the gentle voice of Dinky Doo. She looked up to see the tiny filly looking up at her, smiling in cheerful curiosity. After a moment, she climbed up onto a chair and looked at Icy's paper.

Icy blushed, but didn't move to cover the paper – she had an impulse to, but she knew that Dinky wouldn't judge her or laugh at her, so it wasn't especially strong. Still, she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

“I mean, it's not that great, I know, I just like doing it, even though I...”

“Oh, I don't think it's too bad,” Dinky said, turning the paper around with her magic to get a better look at it.

Icy raised an eyebrow at her, but Dinky just smiled back, not an ounce of insincerity or sarcasm on her face.

“I mean, no, it's not perfect, there's some things even I can see you need to work on, but there's a lot of good things about as well, and I think if you work at it, you could really make something of this. It looks like you've got a good idea what to get down from real life and what to make a bit more eye-catching.”

Icy blushed harder at the praise. From anyone else, she might be tempted to dismiss it as hollow flattery, but if there was one word to describe Dinky... well, admittedly, there were many words that described Dinky – kind, gentle, would-be-horrified-at-the-idea-of-her-even-considering-hurting-a-fly and, if you asked any adult, the word “cute” would entirely smother any others. However, one of the best words to describe Dinky was 'sincere'. Even though you knew she would never say anything to insult or demean you, you also knew that she wouldn't praise you unless she truly meant it. If she couldn't say anything nice, she'd say nothing at all. Well, that or something entirely irrelevant to distract you – she was by no means stupid.

Icy chuckled awkwardly. “Well, I mean... I know it's not my special talent or anything...”

“Doesn't mean it's not a talent,” Dinky chirped back. “And, as talents go, I'd say it's pretty special.”

Icy felt the corners of her mouth being irresistibly pulled up into a smile. “Thanks, Dinky. Still, like you said, I need to work on it.”

Dinky nodded. “Yeah, but probably not right now – we're all about to leave.”

Icy looked up, blinking in surprise as she saw that, indeed, the group was filing back into the palace proper. Shaking her head, she began hurriedly packing up her stuff before a golden glow encompassed her vision.

Looking up, she saw Dinky's horn glowing and the movement around them slowing down.

A brief laugh escaped Icy as she resumed packing, though a little more leisurely. “Wow, thanks, Dinky. You really don't have to...”

“No, but I want to,” Dinky replied, her voice only a little strained. “Speeding us up for a little while isn't too hard.”

Icy giggled gratefully at the little chonomancer's seemingly-endless kindness as she finished packing up her stuff. That done, she nodded and the bubble of sped-up time opened up and faded away.

“That must be really useful for when you're doing homework,” Icy said as she and Dinky followed after the rest of the group.

“A little, but it does take a bit of concentration if I'm speeding up anything except my mind and senses,” Dinky explained, her steps a little quicker than Icy's to make up for her shorter legs. “Still, if you ever need a bit more time for drawing...”

“No, I don't think that'd work.” Icy shook her head, smiling at the idea and the good will behind it. “It'd give me more time, but it'd make whatever I was drawing look all yellow which, um... probably wouldn't be that good for the drawing.” She didn't say exactly why for reasons of good taste, but she was sure that a drawing that was all in yellow would look as if someone had peed on it. Probably wouldn't give much in the way of artistic merit.

Dinky giggled, though Icy doubted it was because of the same place her mind went to. “Okay, got it!”

The two caught up to the group as it had stopped outside another set of double doors. “Now, in this next room, I am going to have to insist everyone stay inside the lines on the floor. This is very important and I will ask the adults present to make sure of it. This,” she opened the doors to a room filled with all manner of artworks – statues, sculptures, pottery, tapestries and a lot of paintings that made Icy suddenly very self-conscious about her own meagre drawings, “is the gallery.”

She led the group into the huge space. “Now, this area is not technically owned by the palace. During the Siege of the Sodalite Swarm seventy-five... er, my apologies, over one thousand years ago,” the guide's voice dimmed at that, staying silent for a moment before raising again, “it was determined that this was the safest place to store such treasures of our people. As such, the ruling body at the time allowed the owners of the gallery to use this space... provided they paid them a considerable rent for it. However, our wonderful Princess Cadance has since donated the space entirely to their control. As you can imagine, this was... keep inside the line please! Don't...”

The guide then took a short break from her lectures to join the other adults in keeping the children from getting too close to any of the exhibits. None were more diligent or effective at it than Cheerilee, though – once again, her experience dealing with the Crusaders had taught her much.

However, this gave Icy plenty of time to wander around the gallery and take in the incredible artworks around it, getting lost in their intricacies. So lost, in fact, that she almost missed the group leaving, only realizing it when Truffle clapped her on the back, nearly sending her sprawling over the line.

“Come along, Icy, my girl! We're moving.”

Icy shook her head. “Oh, sorry, I'll try and be more careful.” She gave a smile that Truffle returned, albeit a little less exuberantly than usual. Still, Icy didn't have time to ponder that as he hurried to catch up to the group, his considerable bulk not slowing him down as he rejoined Twist.

Icy followed behind, a good deal more leisurely. It seemed that it would indeed be hard to lose the group, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to unintentionally try.

The group was led down a long staircase and through several corridors, past pillars and paintings that the guide occasionally pointed out as notable, but not so much as to stop moving. Occasionally, Icy and a few others would linger for a second to look at them before they hurried to catch up. They were all very pretty, of course, but there was a reason they were put into hallways where most would pass them without a second glance. Really, it was more notable for how much the guide knew about the palace than for their own prominence.

Which is what made it so odd when she passed by something extremely prominent without a single word.

The group passed a T-junction, going straight on without the guide even looking down the perpendicular corridor. However, a short way down the corridor was a massive, imposing set of iron doors. At least, they were probably iron, but they were so black it took a moment to even identify them as metal. They were covered in vicious looking spikes and had a set of chains, locks and bars sealing them shut that probably weighed as much as a pony. Two guards were stationed in front of them, neither one a crystal pony but instead looking like royal Canterlot guards, their stances firm and their faces fearsome. Despite this, there were also several strips of yellow-and-black caution tape stretched across the doors, just in case someone were to miss the guards and the barricades and not realize that they were not supposed to pass.

Naturally, given this, it didn't take long for someone to point it out.

“Excuse! Please explain what is large door!” Said a voice Icy didn't recognize, presumably from one of the Manehattanites. Although, while the other class was a very cosmopolitan lot, with a couple of griffons, a zebra and even a minotaur, she had not seen any yaks amongst them despite the distinct Yakyakistani accent of the question.

However, she didn't have time to ponder this as the guide turned around, looking hesitant and uncomfortable but not surprised. After a sigh, she answered, “That, children, is the entrance to the Caves of Sombra. Now, if we could please...” She wasn't able to continue as a deluge of questions erupted from the assembled children, heedless of the increasing look of panic on her face.

Fortunately, Cheerilee stepped in. “That is enough!” she said in a rare instance of her needing to raise her voice. She gave a sympathetic nod to the guide and gestured with her head for her to go on a short distance.

As the guide backed away, returning the nod gratefully, Cheerilee turned to the group. “Allow me to explain. As you are no doubt aware, King Sombra was one of the most evil ponies... the most evil beings in history. However, you may not be aware that that evil did not stop at merely conquering, enslaving, torturing and mentally breaking his victims. He was also known to perform horrible experiments on his victims, using them both as test subjects for his own research into dark and terrible magic, but also twisting their minds and bodies into... things too awful to mention. The Caves of Sombra were, in effect, his laboratory – a vast and tangled complex of caves as twisted as the pony himself. It was there that he performed these experiments and there that he stored the results, along with many of his most terrible secrets.”

There was a long pause as this all sunk in for the assembled children.

Then, inevitably, someone piped up with, “Sounds cool, whaddaya say we take a look?”

A small wave of commotion ran through the children, with some agreeing with the sentiment while others spoke up against it, with several points where the two points of view met and began rubbing against each other worryingly.

Fortunately, by this time, the guide had returned, presumably having heard the brief period of silence. “I'm afraid that will not be possible, children,” she said firmly. “Aside from the fact that the things that went on down there were not suitable for young min-”

“Or anyone.” Cheerilee cut in, no doubt aware that there was nothing that roused a child's interest more than being told something was only for older eyes. “I have it on good authority that Princess Celestia herself felt sick when she saw some of the things he did. Besides that, however, because of Sombra's history with the crystal ponies, few of them have been able to bring themselves to go near those doors, let alone into the caves themselves. Aside from meaning that much of it is unexplored and could be very dangerous, it also means that I would not want anypony from the empire to have to go into that den of nightmares simply to show us around. Would you?”

No one answered – whether or not some or many of the children would be willing to do that to a pony, none of them were both amoral and stupid enough to say that they would.

Their guide nodded. “And besides that, many of... Sombra's,” she shuddered as she said the name, “most well-kept secrets are down there – records, plans, spells... we cannot allow anyone unauthorized to go down there for security reasons. If anyone were to get their hooves on some of the things down there...” another shudder ran through her. “Well, anyway, we cannot allow anyone but those specifically authorized by the crown down there until they have been fully explored, mapped out, made safe and emptied of dangerous materials. Which, as you can no doubt imagine, will take a very, very long time. Now, if we're quite finished,” she turned around, making it clear that they were finished, whether they liked it or not, “we can continue. Just down here is the castle library. Come along.”

The group followed, some looking back for a moment but none thinking it was worth it to stick around. The group went down a short way until they came to another set of double doors leading, indeed, into a huge library.

Well, it was certainly huge from an objective standpoint – two floors, both filled with thick bookshelves and yet still large enough to take the entire two classes without any of them having to filter into the many shelf-corridors around the room. If nothing else, it certainly seemed to impress the Manehattan kids and drew a fair few gasps from the Ponyvillians as well.

Icy, on the other hand, was friends with Spike, who lived with Princess Twilight. And for Princess Twilight, living in a huge crystal castle was a downgrade from living in a library until she realized she now had even more space for books. So Icy had a bit of a skewed perspective.

“Now, of course, unlike many libraries, we can't really take any books out and we haven't the time now to start reading any of them,” the guide explained, lowering her voice as they came to the centre of the room. “However, feel free to take a look around and see what books they have. I'm sure a longer visit can be arranged later in the week.”

And, indeed, most of the children did break off to look around the many bookshelves with only a few sitting down to talk with their friends and wait until the period of encouraged learning was over, quite contrary to many ponies' stereotypes of schoolchildren. That said, Icy really wasn't sure how much the ones looking around were actually interested in the books and how much of it was because the semi-labyrinthine complex of corridors seemed like fun to explore. If nothing else, for her it was a combination of both.

Regardless, she started wandering around, looking at the many imposing-looking tomes on offer. There was little that jumped out at her – most of the titles she could see were either in a language she was unfamiliar with, written in fonts she couldn't even begin to decipher or simply used words she had never encountered before. In fact, in many cases, she wasn't sure which one of those three possibilities applied to a given book. Still, they were interesting to look at, if not to read.

However, having almost missed the group's leaving twice already, she did make sure to keep an ear open for anything said loud enough for the group to hear. Well, she tried to keep an ear open – she had a somewhat spotty track record with maintaining concentration on such things.

However, on this occasion, she was able to keep listening long enough to hear something.

“Hey, Miss Guide Lady? What's this hatch thingy?”

Icy blinked as she looked up from the spine she was squinting at. She wasn't sure what could prompt someone to say that in the middle of a library, but now someone had, she was immensely curious about it.

The call had come from a couple of rows away, so she trotted over just as their guide arrived.

“Young lady, my name is Guiding Star and I'll thank you not to refer to me like that.”

“Oh, sorry, Miss Guiding Lady,” replied a young unicorn, not looking over her shoulder. She was facing along the row of shelves to the crystal wall at the end of it. However, Icy wasn't sure how well she could see it, as the filly was wearing a pair of dark glasses that wrapped around her head. Admittedly, that didn't strike Icy as the worst idea – crystal walls did sometimes have a tendency to reflect light into your eyes at the worst times – but she couldn’t imagine they did much for your observational skills. Still, her horn was glowing slightly, so maybe that helped.

“Anyway,” the unicorn continued, “so what's with that hatch right there?” She pointed at the wall.

Icy and Guiding Star tilted their heads in unison.

“Er, what hatch?” Icy asked after a moment.

The unicorn raised an eyebrow over her glasses, still not turning her head. “Y’know, the hatch that's right there.”

Guiding Star sighed. “Listen, young filly, much as I appreciate a good joke, this really isn't the time, nor is it a particularly good joke. I can see that wall perfectly well and I can see that there is nothing but a wall.”

The filly shrugged. “Then you're seeing it wrong, dude. The hatch is there.”

The guide scowled. “Now listen here, young lady, I...”

“No, she's right.” A steady voice said from behind them. Looking to the side, Icy saw Alula trotting up to join them. “There's something there – part of that wall's an illusion.”

“An illusion? Really?” Guiding Star asked, her voice skeptical but a hint of genuine interest edging its way onto her face.

“That's right.” Alula pointed at the lower section of the wall. “See the way the light reflects along the lower section compared to the upper section? It's slightly different despite the material seeming consistent.”

Icy trotted up a little closer, looking intently to see that, indeed, there was a subtle difference in the reflections and a distinct point where the reflection changed. It was hard to see even now it had been pointed out, but it was definitely there.

“Okay, I do see what you mean, but I hardly see how that equates to an illusion.” Star said, though her voice was beginning to lose its edge. “It could simply be a variance in materials.”

Alula shook her head. “Without a seam? There's clearly a seam where the reflection changes, but no visible one in the materials.” She approached the wall carefully, her own horn starting to glow. “However, since that's where the illusion starts, I should be able to...” She trailed off as her magic's aura swept slowly over the area, subtly shifting and changing until... “There!”

As she said that, the lower section of the wall faded until it was almost totally invisible – still there, but no longer blocking the view of what was behind it. And, sure enough, behind it was a hatch, made of dull grey metal and just big enough for an adult pony to squeeze through with considerable difficulty. A handle and a lock were on the left of it, but other than that, there were no distinguishing marks on it at all. If not for that and the seam between door and frame, it would seem like just a sheet of metal. It was firmly attached to the wall behind it, despite no visible screws or nails. However, looking closer at the edge, one could see it merged into the crystal below it, presumably through magic. Such self-sealing fixtures were not unknown in Equestria, though they tended to be prohibitively expensive.

Icy blinked as she trotted up next to Alula. “Wow, I didn't know you could do that.”

Alula shrugged. “Well, I'm no alicorn,” she said, semi-accurately, “but I do know a little bit about how magic works.” She turned towards the hatch, blocking her mouth movements from the sight of the others. “Particularly in regards to illusion and deception.” She muttered quiet enough that only Icy would hear.

Icy gave a silent “Ah!” and turned back to see Guiding Star approaching the hatch.

“Well, it seems you were right about the illusion, but it's clear there's nothing to worry about. Look here.” She placed a hoof on the wall just above the hatch, where there was the edge of a crack just visible. “Clearly, this wall got damaged and this is just a temporary measure while it's repaired – the hatch to block it and the illusion so it doesn't bother anypony.” She nodded to herself, opening her mouth to speak before she was cut off.

“Yeah, that's all totally wrong.” The filly said cheerfully as she too came up to the hatch.

Miss Star whirled around. “I beg your pardon?!”

The filly stopped, keeping her eyes forward. “Well, see, this whole hole dealy's had someone going through it loads of times over, like, the last couple of weeks. They were pretty small, too, waaay smaller than any worker I've ever seen. The hatch sure isn't just a patch, you know?”

Miss Star raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? And may I ask exactly how you came to that conclusion, young lady?” Her patience with both this filly and this whole matter was clearly runnning out.

The filly shrugged. “Well, like, I mean... you can ask, sure. Just can't really get an answer – I just know it. Kind of a feeling I got, you know?”

Alula turned away from the filly to hide the roll of her eyes. “Riiiiight. Well, as much credence as I'm sure we can give to your... gut feelings, I prefer something a little more empirical. If you look at-”

“If you look at this whole thing,” the guide interrupted, “you'll see it's nothing to worry about.”

Alula shrugged. “As you say, Miss Star.”

Guiding Star stood a little taller at being addressed as such. “Indeed. Now, if everyone can assemble!” She said, raising her voice a little, though not so much as to destroy the library's atmosphere. “We can move on. Come along, children!”

The class groups all made their way back towards their guide, who sighed when they were all assembled and led the group out of the library. However, as they were leaving, Icy noticed Alula tap Dinky on the shoulder and hang back slightly. Curious, she also slowed herself down a little, allowing the crowd to pass by and, after a few seconds, leave her behind.

Once this had happened, the other two were already on their way to the hatch, so she hurried a little to catch up.

Alula's eyes flicked up briefly, only to return once she saw it was Icy joining them. “Did you believe that story of hers?” she asked after a moment. “That it was just to patch over the hole while it's repaired?”

Icy thought for a moment. “Well, I mean... it made sense, I guess. Why, did you think she was lying?”

“No,” Alula replied instantly. “I've not got Dinky's ability to read ponies, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't actually lying. I think she was just complacent and ignorant.”

“Alula!” Dinky admonished gently. “That's not a nice thing to say!”

“I'm aware of that.” Alula replied as they turned into the shelf-corridor where the hatch was fixed. “Besides, she had good reason to be. But I know for a fact that what she said wasn't true. This isn't designed to block off the hole, but to allow someone to access it securely.”

Dinky tilted her head at the hatch. “How can you tell?”

“Well, there are a couple of things that make me suspicious,” Alula replied as they approached it. “For one thing, a self-sealing hatch would be immensely expensive for something that's just meant as a patch, compared to bolting or gluing it in place.”

“Well, maybe they just wanted to do the best job they could,” Dinky pointed out, though she didn't sound especially convinced.

Alula raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever met a government employee?”

Dinky, however, just raised one back. “My mommy's one.”

Alula's eyes widened briefly as she remembered exactly who she was talking about. “Fair point. But then there's the question of why put a hatch there rather than a plate? If the sole purpose was to block off the hole until it was repaired, why would you need to open such a hatch.”

Icy thought for a moment. “Maybe the idea was to repair it while the hatch was on there – open it to work on the hole, then close it if the job's not done. It'd be a bit tricky, but it'd make sense.”

Alula nodded. “Yes, I'd thought of that, but then I noticed that that couldn't be the case. In fact, that made it certain that it wasn't for repairing the hole.”

“How?” Icy asked, trying as hard as she could to see Alula's logic.

Alula pointed at the right side of the hatch. “Look there, where the doorway meets the aperture. What do you see?”

Icy lowered her head closer to the edge in question, squinting a little. After a few seconds, however, she shook her head. “Nothing.”

Alula nodded. “Exactly, nothing at all. Which means that the hinges are on the other side. Which in turn means that it opens outwards from this side. Now tell me, how are you supposed to fix a hole if there's a door sticking through it?”

Dinky and Icy inhaled in unison, seeing what she meant. “So, someone’s been going through it?” Icy asked.

“Quite a lot, I think.” Alula added. “Look at the lock. Do you see how many small scratches there are around the keyhole?

Icy put her eye right up against the keyhole, just about seeing what Alula meant. “Er, yeah?”

“Those are often a good indicator. That sort of scratch tends to be made by the front of a key as it finds the keyhole. The more scratches, the more used the keyhole and there are fair few scratches there. Furthermore, though I'll need Dinky's confirmation, they look fairly recent.”

A golden glow encompassed the keyhole, matching the one Icy saw when she stepped back from the keyhole, around Dinky's horn.

“They are.” Dinky replied as the glow faded, her short, vague reading of the lock's history complete after only a second.

Icy smiled. “That is a really useful trick, that... chrono-met-try,” she said, taking time to get the word right.

As Dinky smiled back, Alula piped up. “Indeed it is. Now, do you think you could extend it past the hatch to the wall behind – see if anything's interacted with it a lot recently?”

Dinky nodded. “I think so, it'll take a moment, but...” She trailed off as she concentrated, a second corona quickly flaring up around her horn. She strained for a moment before suddenly cutting off her magic. “That's weird, there's barely anything. A few touches, but not many.”

Alula nodded. “I thought as much.”

“You did?” Dinky asked after a moment of catching her breath. “Why?”

“Well, the wall is made of crystal,” Alula said, putting a hoof to the crack visible above the hatchway. “Making a hole in it's not too difficult, but making a safe one? That's trickier. Inside that hole, there are going to be jagged edges that could scratch or maybe even cut skin. So, while a full-sized pony could slip through such a hole, they likely couldn't do so unscathed. To get through without scratching yourself – without touching those points, you'd have to be a lot smaller. Say...” She paused, turning to the others, “our size?”

Icy's eyes widened as the implications sunk in. “You mean, it's someone we'd need to... So that filly was right.”

Alula sighed. “In a sense, but not really. We figured out what was happening through careful observation, experimentation and logic, while she just “felt” it. I don't see that I should give her credence simply because she made a guess and happened to be right.”

Icy raised an eyebrow, a little doubtful of Alula's reasoning and very doubtful of her objectivity, but chose not to bring it up, instead asking, “Well, we don't know it's anything sinister, do we?”

“Hmm...” Alula closed her eyes for a second. “Well, not for absolute certain, but I'd be astonished if it wasn't – think about where that hole leads. The place we passed just before we came to the library.”

Icy too closed her eyes for a moment, understanding Alula's implication instantly but still taking a moment to orient herself and the room in relation to their route. After a moment, however, she saw that she was right. “The Caves of...”

“Exactly,” Alula said, tapping a hoof lightly on the ground in slight agitation. “And I can't really think of any good reason someone of our age could be going in there, can you?”

There was a moment of silence before Dinky spoke up. “So, what are we going to do?”

Another pause, and then Alula touched her horn to the illusion, making it fade back into seeming solidity. “Well, first, we're going to catch up with the group. I believe the dining hall was next and I don't know about you, but I'm getting a bit hungry.” She said, turning and walking off without waiting for them to catch up.

“And then?” Icy asked, speeding up a little faster than she was comfortable with to keep up.

“Then we are going to do our duty.” Alula said firmly. “We are going to do that which we are obliged to do... and alert the proper authorities.”

Icy slowed down a little, falling back due to being underwhelmed at her words. “Really?”

“Of course. Even if we knew everything about what's going on, which we don't, we're out of our jurisdiction,” Alula explained. “Should the authorities of the empire choose to ask for our help, we will of course give it, but otherwise we'll let them handle it.”

Icy's mouth shifted to the side and she considered Alula's words, a heavy undercurrent of doubt in her thoughts. “You're sure they'll be able to?”

Alula nodded. “Positive. This could be a matter of the utmost seriousness, after all. I'll have a word with them after this tour is over.”

Icy started as the door to the palace guards’ barracks slammed shut, Alula walking through it looking as if she'd just swallowed an entire lemon tree whole. “Well,” Icy asked, “what did they say?”

Alula huffed. “That those were “some big words for a little filly”, that I had “an incredibly vivid imagination” and that they would give this matter “all the attention it deserved.” As if I wouldn't be able to tell what he meant by that.” She snorted, seemingly more offended by that than the guards' inaction.

“Don't we have some kind of official identification?” Icy asked, eliciting a snort from Alula.

“We do and I showed it. Unfortunately, it seems these guards are not familiar with the seal of the night guard, at least not enough to tell the real one from a fictitious one, and assumed it was some kind of toy badge.”

Icy shook her head, opening her mouth before Alula cut her off. “If the next words out of your mouth are “I told you so”, Icy...”

“Well, I didn't, really.” Icy pointed out. “But I don't think we should be surprised. Remember Princess Luna's little speech about how much trouble adults have taking colts and fillies seriously.”

“I suppose,” Alula sighed, the irritation bleeding out of her expression. “Still, I knew it applied to our enemies, but I never considered it could apply to us.”

Icy shrugged. “Well, it doesn't most of the time because we're talking to ponies who know about us. Or at least, about groups like us. But these ponies are from a thousand years ago – they're probably not up on this whole thing yet. So, does this mean we're going to have to investigate ourselves?”

Alula tapped her chin. “Well, we can gather the team to talk about it, but even if we do, we'll just look into it until we can get some incontrovertible evidence.”

“In... contra...?” Icy began.

“Evidence the guards can't dismiss or deny.” Alula explained. “Once we get that, we can leave things to them until and unless they ask for our help. I don't know about you,” she gave Icy a serious look, “but I'm not giving up my vacation that easily.”

Chapter Two: Slippery Slopes

“I still don't like this,” Alula's voice came out of the team's communication badges, so quietly that only the fact that there were six of them in close proximity made it possible to understand her.

To her side, she saw Scootaloo press a hoof against her badge, the chaotic purple and blue of her costume making the movement hard to pin down in the minimal light. “Yeah, I think we got that by now, Princess.”

“Obviously,” the reply came instantly, “but as you've yet to agree with my position, I maintain that I have the right to continue making my case.”

“We understood it fine,” Archer pointed out, the deep blue of her costume making her movements almost invisible. “but we agreed to disagree...”

“You agreed to that,” Alula interjected before Icy continued.

“...and we outvoted you.”

A quiet fzt fzt came from the badges as Lance tapped his twice, indicating the word “no”.

“We outvoted you and Lance,” Archer amended. “Somepony's gotta look into this and if the guards won't do it, that leaves it up to us. Besides, we agreed we'd just do a quick bit of scouting out until we could find some evidence they couldn't dismiss and we agreed we'd do things according to your direction, what more do you want?”

“Not having to sneak around a royal palace in the dead of night and risk getting arrested might be a good start,” Alula sighed. “Besides, that last part can't really be counted as a concession – I am supposed to the expert on covert operations.”

Icy hummed quietly for a moment before she put a hoof on her own badge, taking a moment to appreciate the cool, smooth feeling of her own recently-acquired suit on her fur. “Is that why you've been having us hide in a broom closet for the last hour?” She asked.

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly a broom closet, more a general storeroom for janitorial supplies. Which, given that said supplies were needed for cleaning a large portion of a palace, meant it was big enough to fit all six other members of the team with plenty of elbow room. Still, the fact that the only light was coming from Dinky's horn made it feel a little more claustrophobic and, besides, Icy thought it was spiritually a broom closet, even if not a literal one.

Icy was brought out of her thoughts on the exact teleological nature of architectural features by Alula's voice. “It's only been fifteen minutes and yes. Because I need to know how often the guard patrols pass within eyesight of the library door so I know how much time we have to get in there. We... wait, quiet!” She whispered, then the badge went dead.

Icy looked to the others, but only Dinky moved, the light from her horn making the movement visible despite the deep red of her suit. After about thirty seconds, Alula spoke again.

“Okay, speak of Discord, the second of the patrols that came into view just passed again. That means we've got...” she paused and Icy could imagine her closing her eyes briefly as she worked out the numbers, “seven minutes to get in there. Get over here if you're coming.”

Almost before she was finished speaking, Archer cracked the door open and looked intensely at the corridor outside. After a moment, she nodded and signalled for the others to follow her.

They all slipped outside into the crystal corridors of the palace. Archer zipped silently over to the corner to their right, peering round it before again indicating for them to follow her.

The team crept silently forward and around the corner, moving extremely slowly despite Scootaloo's minor agitation at that fact. However, it was obvious that Truffle at least had difficulty keeping his steps quiet, so it was understood that it was necessary. Of course, this was part of the reason Truffle didn't often come on stealth missions, in addition to his bright red, yellow and orange protective suit. However, for a mission like this, where stealth was necessary to get to the part of the mission he was useful for, he was happy to come.

After about a minute, the group reached Alula. Well, they reached the T-junction at the end of the corridor where they knew Alula to be – they certainly couldn't see her until she stepped out of the shadows.

“Right,” she whispered, “Archer, with me, I'll need you to watch my back while I get us in. Everyone else, wait here.”

Archer nodded and the two slipped out into the corridor, darting over to the door to the library while Alula slowly shifted from a pegasus into a unicorn, the green distortion to the air around her muted and dark. Once they reached the door, she lit her horn, creating an aurora that moved slowly from the lock and handle onto a circuit of the door and frame itself.

Once that was done, she nodded and the aura ceased, her check for alarms presumably coming up empty. As she reached into a pocket of her deep green suit, the distortion swept over her again, transforming her into an earth pony. As it faded, she took the set of lockpicks in her hooves and set to work on the lock.

The work was silent for Icy, her group far away enough that they couldn't hear the minute tinkling and scratching of the picks. After about a minute and a half, though, there was a barely audible noiseand Alula quietly pushed the door open, gesturing for the others to join her.

After another silent minute, the team was all in the library and there was a collective sigh of relief.

As the group moved through the library, they kept an eye out for any other alarms or traps – it was unlikely, they all knew, as any such things were probably on individual books or shelves rather than spaces on the library floor, but it was as well to be careful.

Still, it didn't stop a thought from occurring to Icy. “Hey, Alula?” She whispered as the group turned the corner towards where the hatch lay hidden. Alula flicked an ear, but otherwise didn't respond, prompting her to continue. “Why'd you change to an earth pony to pick the lock? Wouldn't unicorn magic be better to do that – it seems a lot better for fiddly things.”

“It is more dexterous,” Alula replied as she approached the end of the row, “but unfortunately it lacks a far more important quality – sensitivity. Picking a lock requires that you pay very careful attention to tactile sensations and while telekinesis does have something of a sense of touch, it's a lot less precise.” She touched a horn to the spot where they knew the hatch was, focusing as she continued. “Unicorns can train their magic until it has as much tactile sensitivity, but it takes a long time. Time which, I'd say, would be better spent as an earth pony training my natural sense of touch.”

As the illusion faded, Icy nodded. However, after a moment, another thought occurred. “But, hold on, if your magic doesn't have much of a sense of touch, how are you able to scan for alarms and traps?” she asked as Alula did just that on the hatch.

Alula paused in getting her picks out again. “Oh, that's just to scan for magic traps. For physical things, me and Archer have our own specialist tools.”

“Oh?” Icy tilted her head, not remembering them using anything like that. “What are they?”

Alula smirked. “Eyes.” And with that, she started on the hatch's lock.

Icy pouted, but said nothing. She had kind of walked into that one.

After a minute or so, the small click of the lock opening was again heard and the hatch swung inwards, allowing them to see past it to the hole and beyond.

The hole itself was a bit more regular than Icy had expected. As Alula had suggested that afternoon, there were jagged edges all along it, but they didn't extend particularly far towards the centre and their pattern wasn't the irregular star she'd assumed it was. Instead, the hole was more of a roughly carved square, with each side being behind the frame of the hatchway such that the door could open into it freely. If nothing else, it made it clear the hole was made deliberately, most likely by someone chiselling it out rather than smashing through the wall. Of course, that was hardly surprising – since something strong enough to smash through a solid crystal wall would probably have gotten some attention.

However, the area beyond the hole was a great deal more surprising. That is to say, it appeared to be a completely normal passageway. It was clear that it wasn't the same as the hallways of the Crystal Palace – though the corridor went straight forward, the walls were carved in sharp, polyhedral shapes with numerous jutting peaks, shallow craters and oddly-placed angles. It was impossible to tell whether the walls had been carved out in specific patterns or had simply existed as natural cave walls and been smoothed out.

However, the colour scheme, surfaces and the sense of stillness were entirely the same. The corridor was fully lit up even at night, with glowing panels in the ceiling at irregular intervals, giving it an overall mundane feeling.

“Huh,” Scootaloo said after a moment. “Weird – looks kinda boring.”

“What were you expecting?” Alula asked, putting away her picks. “Some sort of stone dungeon with blood caking the walls?”

Scootaloo paused before shrugging. “Well, yeah. When you're dealing with Sombra's stuff, can you blame me?”

“I was kind of expecting that too,” Archer interjected. “Except, in my version, the blood spelled out the words “Evil McBad-Guy's nefarious lair of villainy. Brackets: family pricing available.”

Icy's brow furrowed as she turned to Archer. “Were you really expecting that?” She asked. Archer's perpetual relaxation sometimes made it difficult to detect sarcasm.

Archer chuckled and shook her head. “No, but I might have been hoping a little. I mean, can you imagine how it'd be to see that. Besides, I wouldn't put it past Sombra to put that up just to mess with ponies.”

Icy's brow stayed thoroughly lowered, unable to see the humour in the idea, but not wishing to step on Archer's idea of fun.

Fortunately, Alula spoke up before it could get awkward. “Yes, well, perhaps we could get started before going into what we all hoped to find in here. I don't especially want to hear wishes for banquets, antique comics or Rainbow Dash shrines.”

“Hey!” Scootaloo and Icy said in unison as Alula slipped through the hole. Truffle remained silent and looked entirely comfortable.

The group filed into the hole one by one, with Lance taking up the rear. No doubt behind his fencing mask, his eyes were intensely focused on the area behind them, ready to leap into action if anyone were to try and come at them from there. No one did.

“Now,” Alula said once they were all through, “I'm pretty sure that lock won't engage automatically when we close it, but it's as well to be safe. Dinky, would you mind?”

Dinky turned her horn towards the lock before pausing. “Wait, are you sure? If I'm holding this spell, I won't be able to cast anything else without losing it.”

Alula didn't look back at her, instead looking down the corridor warily. “I'm sure. If necessary, you can drop the spell to help us, but you may not need to. And, to be frank, once we find something good or bad, I want us to be able to leave as fast as possible. I do not want to be surprised by a locked door.”

Dinky hummed but said nothing. Still, she acquiesced, lowering her horn to the lock and expanding a glow around it for a fraction of a second before the glow retreated back into her horn, hovering around there dimly.

Had Icy not seen it before, she'd have assumed Dinky had frozen the lock in time, even though she knew that wouldn't be feasible at her skill level and would be immensely taxing even if she could do it. What she was instead doing was taking a sort of temporal snapshot of the lock in its open state and holding it within her magic. If they needed to open the lock again, she could then revert it to that state in an instant. It wasn't exactly her most frequently used skill, since doing it for anything larger than a tennis ball put notable strain on her, but it was very useful for locks.

Shrugging after a moment, Icy turned and started stepping down the corridor, only to walk into Alula's outstretched hoof firmly barring her way.

“What do you think you'r-” Alula cut herself off, screwing her eyes shut for a second and exhaling heavily. “I apologize, you startled me. I take it you were planning to simply walk down this hallway.

Icy tilted her head, having stepped back in surprise at Alula's tone. “Er, was that... should I not be... was I being stupid?”

Alula shook her head. “No, it wasn't stupid, but it wasn't the best move. There could be any number of traps and hidden dangers waiting down there. We need to proceed with the utmost caution.”

Icy nodded. “Okay, got it.” She looked down the hallway, squinting a little to try and see if she could find anything. After a second, she turned back to Alula. “How do we do that?”

At this Archer piped up. “Well, first off, Alula scans for anything magical for the next little bit,” she said, sounding as though she accepted Alula's level of caution, but thought it was kind of excessive. Looking around, Icy could see varying levels of this in the faces of the others, from Dinky's slightly creased brow suggesting she was questioning it to Truffle's gentle but faintly amused smile to Scootaloo opening tapping her hoof and rolling her eyes, occasionally looking longingly at the scooter folded onto her back.

Still, Alula either didn't notice or didn't care about this skepticism as she nodded. “Indeed. One moment.” She closed her eyes once again as the green distortion enveloped her again, fading out to reveal her unicorn form. Keeping her eyes closed, she summoned a green corona around her horn, out of which flowed a wave of green magic. The field washed over the ground in front of her, spreading forward rapidly before tapering to a stop around ten metres from her.

Nothing major seemed to appear, but it seemed Alula wasn't done. Taking a deep breath, she pushed more energy around her horn, creating a second corona as the field in front of her spread up the walls and across the ceiling of the corridor.

However, the instant the two ends of it converged, the coronas vanished and the fields washed away.

“No magic there.” Alula said, breathing a little heavily but not seeming too drained. “Now we just need to eliminate the possibility of physical danger. Archer, would you...”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm looking.” Archer replied, her eyes focused and moving slowly over the area in front of them. She stepped sideways along the corridor, moving her head to look from as many different angles as she could and occasionally tapping the ground or wall, looking at and listening to the impact.

After about a minute, she nodded. “Nothing I can find for the next five or so.”

Icy lifted a hoof to step forward, only to pause. “So, does that mean we can go now?”

“Not quite,” Alula replied, still looking down the corridor. “It's still possible one of us missed something, so we need someone to go down that length and draw any possible fire.”

“And that's where I come in.” Truffle finished, rolling his neck and looking very pleased at being able to make himself useful. “My suit should be able to take most harm there could be and if it can't, I can.”

He stepped forward, crossing the metaphorical line that Alula's precautions had drawn. However, he didn't go forward straight away, instead moving to the side, to one wall and then the other, repeating this until he had gone about five metres.

Icy breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, now we...”

“Now you stay here.” Alula interjected, quietly forceful. “If there is something in the next three metres we trigger, I want you out of the area of effect so you can remain free to aid us, should we need it.” She pointed a hoof forward, where Archer went after shooting Icy a sympathetic look.

Icy pouted, only for Scootaloo to put a hoof on her shoulder. “Yeah, I know, but trust me – when Princess gets like this, we kinda have to humour her,” she whispered. “I don't like it either.”

“Don't worry,” Archer said back to the group. “Ten more metres and she'll let you come to where we are now.”

“Of course I will, but eight metres,” Alula said, still not acknowledging the general feeling of annoyance. “Unfortunately, there aren't enough distinguishing marks in this passage to accurately keep track of where my field ended and I want to be absolutely safe.”

“You don't say,” Icy mumbled before a thought occurred to her. “Hey, I could mark it for you! Make a little ice cube where your field ends?”

Alula opened her mouth, her expression seemingly ready to point out the problems with that idea, but after a moment her eyes opened. “That... might actually be a good idea. Okay, Icy, when I join them, you come with me.”

“Oh, come on!” She heard Scootaloo mutter, but no more was said. The group by the hatch waited another minute until Archer and Truffle had moved another few metres, after which Alula nodded to Icy and they started moving to join them.

They had just about reached them when Archer held a hoof out. “Hold up!” She stared intently at a point a couple of metres down the corridor before smiling. “Pit trap, looks like, just down there.”

Icy followed Archer's hoof and looked hard. After a few seconds of staring, she could just about make out an incredibly faint seam on the ground. “Huh,” she said after a moment, thankful for Archer's sharp eyes. “So what do we do?”

“Well, first...” Alula lit her horn again and magically scanned down the corridor just up to where the seam was. This time, it was both quicker and obviously more easy for her, as it wasn't extending nearly as far. After a moment, she let the scan go and nodded. “Now, you two should go and examine it.” She indicated to Archer and Truffle, who nodded.

Archer was over there first, naturally, and began prodding at the ground covering the pit. “Hmm, seems like a basic thing – got a latch here that'll drop the floor away when enough weight's on it. Don't know how much pressure it'll take, but...”

At this point, Truffle had strolled up next to her, whereupon he gave the latch a heavy push, making the floor swing down to reveal a hole going down in front of them at a sharp angle.

“If I had to guess, I'd say about that much!” he called back.

Archer chuckled and pulled an arrow out of her quiver, a thin but strong-looking rope tied around its shaft.

Icy thought for a moment. “So, how do we get across? I mean, I could glide across, but...” she looked at her wings for a moment before a thought occurred, “hey, wait, could I make us an ice bridge across? I think I could, but I don't know if it'd be...” she trailed off, a little worried she'd made a fool of herself again.

However, Alula just nodded as they heard Archer's bow fire. “Good idea, but probably wait until they've pulled the covering up first – that'll give you a base for your bridge and give us something to use for balance – make sure we don't slip off. Meantime, maybe you can help them get it up.” She indicated in front of them, where Archer and Truffle had taken the rope and were pulling up the trap door by the arrow now lodged in its mechanism.

Icy nodded, almost-but-not-quite missing how Alula subtly stepped further away from the pit's edge. She trotted up behind the other two and went for the end of the rope behind them.

That's when things started happening very fast.

The instant she stepped up behind them, there was a quiet chnk beneath them as the ground lowered ever so slightly. Archer whirled around and looked behind and beneath them, her mouth just getting out the “P” of a word – though whether she was going to say “pit”, “pressure plate” or “perfect, just frigging perfect!”, Icy couldn't say – before the floor dropped from under them.

However, unlike the trap door in front of them, it didn't fall completely away. Instead, it dropped down to a forty-five degree angle, causing the three ponies on it to slide down towards the edge of the pit. Icy and Truffle tried in vain to grasp the slope, but its crystal surface gave them no hoofholds to go for and Truffle's weight and Icy's less-than-lightning-quick reflexes meant they sailed quickly over the edge and slid down the steep sides of the trap.

Archer almost fared better – she'd managed to get her fall under just enough control to pull another rope arrow out of her quiver and get it to her bow's shaft before she reached the edge, but once she did, the change sent her tumbling again, upsetting her balance and making the arrow fly out of her hooves.

As they fell, they could hear Alula's hoofsteps rush up towards them and, from further back down the hallway, the sound of more hoofsteps, Scootaloo's buzzing wings and Dinky dismissing her spell and calling up her magic. However, none of them were even close to being able to get there in time, no matter how fast they were. Alula almost managed to grab the arrow, but her dive was a couple of seconds late and she slid to a halt in front of the slope just in time to see the arrow land next to the three ponies sprawled at the bottom of the pit.

Truffle glared up at the top of the pit from his position beneath both Icy and Archer. “Well, Princess, I have some thoughts on your method. Couldn't have had the others close enough to help, eh?”

Alula rolled her eyes heavily as the others reached the edge. “No, as it happens, we couldn't. After all, if they'd been too close, we might all have been caught in that trap, then we'd all be stuck.”

Archer blinked heavily, trying to reassert her balance. “She's got a point, Truff. Devious little trick – set up an obvious pit trap to draw attention and put the second drop's edge right in the middle between two bulbs where the lighting'll be worst.”

Truffle sighed. “I suppose. Though good luck pulling me up easily – I'm guessing it was designed for adults and I'm the reason it took only three of us to set it off,” he said, a touch of his normal humour returning.

“Oh, I'm sure we'll manage,” Alula replied. “But, yes, that's why it was important to keep some of us safe, so that we could come and help you if something were to...”

Without warning, a portal flashed into existence beneath the three ponies' bodies. It expanded out of nothing in an instant, covering the whole floor of the pit. It lasted for only a couple of seconds – easily long enough for the three to fall in with a collective yelp, but not enough to get any idea where they were going beyond “somewhere crystal” – and then vanished just as quickly.

There was a pause before Alula finished her sentence. “...happen that is not that because that's thing can't help with and just happened and... and...” she stuttered, beginning to panic before Lance grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her roughly.

She put a hoof to her head and screwed her eyes closed for a moment. “Okay, okay, sorry, I...” She trailed off as she opened her eyes to see that Lance had lifted his mask and was giving her a very disappointed expression.

After a moment, she shook her head. “Was the right call! Couldn't know that was going to happen. All of us could have been just trapped in pit... or trapped wherever they are...”

“And gotten out of it together!” Scootaloo finished, scowling at Alula. “Whatever happened, we would have stood a better chance getting out of it together. Now they're alone and they gotta figure out how to escape – good going, there, Princess!”

“It... it was the right...” Alula stammered before shaking her head. “I... maybe it was but... I mean... I really messed up, didn't I?” Her normal emotionless tone and adult vocabulary deserted her for the moment and it became clear to all observing that, no matter how smart she was or how mature she acted, she was still very much a filly.

Fortunately, at least one of their number had already seen that as Dinky put a hoof on her shoulder in a half-hug. “Yeah, you did, but that's okay. We all screw up sometimes. The important thing is that you try and make it right. They're still okay and they've got to be somewhere in these caves, right? I know you, Alula. I know you can find them and I know you will.”

Alula swallowed, Dinky's soulful gaze pushing down her fear and drawing out her resolve. “You're... you're right, Dinky! I can find... we can find them!”

Dinky nodded and the other two's expressions softened, slightly disarmed by Dinky's aura of encouragement. However, they set again when they heard a relaxed voice behind them.

“Well, hey there, guys! Looking for something? Or someone?”

The group turned, weapons and magic ready.

Chapter Three: A Crystal Darkly

Icy groaned as she tried to lift her head, a task made more difficult by the fact it was currently upside down, her back above it and bent over the thing beneath her. It was a little painful, but not as much as she would have thought, though that was likely because it wasn't curved back so much as to hurt her spine.

She shook her head as a thought occurred to her – ponies always talked about bending over backwards to do something, but what do you do when you're trying to unbend over backwards?

Twisting her head, she saw what exactly she was sprawled across, though she already had a fair idea. Pinned beneath her was the left side of Archer and beneath Archer was the entirety of Truffle.

“Ugh,” Archer moaned, succinctly summing up her own, Icy's and, Icy suspected, Truffle's general feeling on the present situation. “Could you maybe get off me, Icy. The soft landing helped, but I'm getting kinda sandwiched here.”

“Soft landing. That would have been nice,” Truffle sighed from the floor, more perturbed than annoyed.

After a couple of attempts at pulling herself up, Icy shrugged and rolled off to the side, tumbling off the pony pile and a short way across the floor. As she picked herself up, she saw Archer hop off Truffle with an annoying amount of grace. Grunting to herself, she looked around at where they had ended up.

It was a roughly semi-circular room made, of course, of crystal. However, the walls didn't shine with nearly the same brightness as most of the areas in the empire they had seen so far, including the entrance corridor they'd just been in. The colours were similarly varied here, but they all seemed a little muted. Of course, this might have been exacerbated by the amount of dust coating the floor and walls. Whatever this place was, it hadn't seen use for a very long time.

The one exception was the straight wall of the room. The edge that curved around, the floor and even the ceiling were all those same darkened colours, but the straight wall where the circular part ended was bright, shiny and looked almost brand new.

Icy blinked, trying to square the two aesthetics in her head. “Where do you think we are?”

“No idea,” Truffle replied as he rolled himself to his feet. “If I had to guess, probably somewhere in those caves still – if he wanted to transport us anywhere else, it'd either be a dungeon in the empire on the surface or right into some kind of death. Other than that, though, no idea.”

“Holding area, I'd say,” Archer added. “Drop us in here to stew until we can be dealt with personally.”

“Hmm,” Truffle thought for a moment before he pressed a hoof to his badge. “Hello? Alula, Dinky, Scoots? Are you receiving me?”

The message came out loud and clear over Icy and Archer's badges but, after a good ten seconds of silence, Truffle shook his head. “No good – the walls or the stuff in them must be blocking the signal.”

Icy nodded and turned to Archer. “So do you think we could talk to whoever set that trap.”

“Not unless you can talk to the dead,” Archer replied, looking around and pulling out her bow, though seemingly more out of habit and comfort than need. “That trap'll have been one of Sombra's – opening a portal like that's a pretty tricky thing, but it makes sense he'd trap this place like that. Whoever's been down to these caves probably doesn't know or care that we're down here.”

“Greetings!” A voice came from the walls around them.

Archer's mouth squeezed into a thin line. “Course, I could be wrong.” She said as the others readied themselves for battle.

“I do apologize for not being there myself to greet you, but I hope this will do.” The voice continued, a strange distortion in its sound, as an image faded into being on the flat wall.

The image was of a large pony, but only because the image itself was large – from the proportions of the body, it was very clearly a child – a filly, probably, but it was hard to tell due to the fact its face wasn't visible. Instead, over the entire area of the head was a big, crystalline orb, completely covered in small, pyramidal protrusions. Around the figure's neck was tied a white cloak that flowed over its back and around its side and hindquarters, masking its tail from view. The body that was visible shimmered with the distinctive lustre of a crystal pony, but so did the inside of the cloak, making it unclear whether it was the cloak or the pony had that effect. Overall, the figure looked imposing, certainly, but not particularly threatening.

“Did you send us here?” Icy asked, though she didn't expect an affirmative answer – a foal this old would probably lack the power and experience to create such a portal.

“I'm terribly sorry for the poor accommodations,” the pony continued, totally ignoring Icy, “but, as you've probably guessed, I'm doing some very important things down here and I really can't have you three messing things up for me. Fortunately, old King Sombra helped me out with his teleport traps.”

There was no indication from the tone that this was in answer to Icy's question. However, after listening carefully to the distorted voice, she could just about make out that it was a filly's voice, though any other details were impossible to determine.

“Okay, you got us down here, good start,” Icy smiled up at the image, “but now you've gotta...”

“Of course, there's no way out of this cell – Sombra saw to that. I'm probably safe just leaving you in here. Trouble for you is, I'm not a big believer in ‘probably’. Luckily, Sombra saw to that, too. Stallions and gentlemares, may I introduce you to your new cellmates?”

With that, a slight glow could be seen coming out of the top of the dome, emblematic of a unicorn's magic. A moment later, the image faded, as did the wall, revealing a larger, roughly circular room. However, there wasn't much time to appreciate that due to what was waiting for them on the other side of said room.

There were three of them, each around the size of a colt, but that was where the similarities to Icy's group ended. On the right of the three was a bipedal, hairless creature covered in grey, rough-looking hide. It tottered slightly on its short, strangely bent legs and held its arms out. One ended in an ordinary hand, though it was clenched firmly into a fist, while attached to the other arm was one, long, wickedly sharp-looking claw, easily as long as one of Lance's swords and much wider.

On the left was a strange, unnaturally thin, furless panther-like creature. Its four legs looked roughly equivalent to a pony's, but they weren't its only limbs. Extending out of its back were two short tentacles, both ending in a large, clawed hand that clasped a large, metal disc.

And in the centre was a sort of equinoid bird – bipedal, but with the proportions and limbs of a pony. It remained totally still and stable, its feathered arms held out in front of it in a strange position. One was bent in front of its torso, the other lowered and held out diagonally from it, like it was waltzing with an extremely strange looking dance partner.

“I'll leave you to get acquainted,” the voice said before cutting out.

There was a moment of silence while the two groups looked at each other. It seemed unnaturally still as the six gazes scanned the new arrivals, unsure about what threat had come up and what they needed to do.

Then, without warning, the massive-clawed creature leapt forward, its blade out in front and aimed straight at Archer, who was thankfully on-the-ball enough to hop out of the way.

The next instant, the two groups scattered. Truffle dashed to the side, only for the tentacled creature to hurl one of its discs at him, hitting him in the stomach and knocking him back, though not damaging him overly much. Meanwhile, the disc ricocheted off the wall and bounced right back into the waiting creature's claws.

With a “Hmph!”, Truffle started towards the creature, only for it to throw its other disc. This time, however, Truffle was ready for it and dodged to the side, using the opening to leap at the creature. “Banzai!” He cried, but the creature was quick enough to intercept him with its remaining disc. He impacted it and knocked the creature back considerably, but with a guttural grunt of intense effort, it was able to lift Truffle and throw him off its disc, holding its other tentacle out to catch the thrown one.

Meanwhile, Archer was mostly focused on dodging the swinging claw of the bladed creature. “Icy, slide!” She called as she hopped up onto the wall, waiting a moment before leaping over the creature's head the next time it swung.

Shaking her head, Icy just about managed to flap her wings and send a thin icy gust in a line along the ground, creating a long slick for Archer to land on and slide away from the creature. As she slid, she whirled around and fired a short stream of arrows behind her, shattering the ice and preventing the creature from following her as fast.

“Hah!” Archer cried as she hopped to her feet and readied an impact arrow. “Not so scary where you're out of range, are you, chopper?”

The creature tilted its head and raised its claw. After a moment, a massive spark of electricity surged down the claw's length and fired out in a bolt of lightning at Archer.

Fortunately, the buildup allowed Archer to dodge out of the way without getting fried, but it still shook her up a little. “On second thought, maybe not. Icy, a little help with this one?”

Icy shook her head again, cursing her tendency to get distracted observing. She flared her wings only for an unexpected sound to start up.

The bird-thing, still in its strange posture, had opened its mouth and begun singing. At first, it didn't seem threatening – it was a very lively and pleasant song, though the timbre of the notes was strange, wholly unlike any singing Icy had ever heard from ponies or animals. However, after a moment, a faint green energy started emerging from it and washed over the area, pooling around the other two creatures.

“Actually, third thought, that can't be good, take care of that!” Archer called, weaving from side to side to avoid the suddenly-quicker movements of the bladed creature.

Icy nodded, thinking for a moment about what to do about this. She wasn't sure how to deal with whatever energy this bird-thing was producing, but it seemed to be related to its singing. So hopefully, she just needed to shut it up.

As soon as she thought that, she smiled as she realized she could do so literally. Waiting for a moment until the bird had paused in its song briefly, she flapped her wings again and sent a freezing gust over it, encasing its beak in ice and clamping it firmly shut.

However, much to her confusion, the song didn't change. It was slightly more muffled to her ears, but it hadn't paused for an instant. That was impossible – if it was singing, then even if it could keep the song going when its mouth was sealed, it should have at least paused.

She squinted slightly, staring more intently at the creature as the song shifted in pitch and the ice started cracking. However, the cracking was starting on the right side of the ice chunk, where the creature's arms were pointed. In fact, now that she was truly focused on it, she could hear that the song was coming from around its arms, even though she was positive it had been coming from its beak only a moment ago. And what's more, it seemed like its arms were moving weirdly even though they were staying still as well and that didn't... it wasn't...

Something seemed to shatter around her as her eyes lost focus for a split second. Blinking her sight back, she saw something completely different.

Instead of a bizarre bird creature, standing in front of her was a filly, about her age. She was dressed in a black and white suit that fit her form well, yet still gave off a similar feeling to a tuxedo. Where the lapel of the suit would have been was a badge, similar to the ones Icy and her friends wore except that, whereas theirs had an iota symbol on it, this badge had a stylized number 6. The filly was standing on her hind hooves with a violin tucked under her chin, playing an energetic tune. Along with the music, that green energy was flowing out from the strings and into her allies.

Instantly, Icy's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. “Guys, it's an illusion!” She called out.

In response, she heard Truffle grunt as another disc impacted his stomach. “Feels pretty real to me!”

Icy shook her head, keeping her eye on the filly in case she had any surprises for her. “No, I mean this is a pony. She had an illusion over her to make her look like a monster! Listen, the music's coming from a violin!”

“Wait, what?!” Archer asked. After a moment, she loaded a hoof-snare arrow and shot the bladed creature, if that's what it truly was, in its clawed arm, pinning it to the wall. Turning, she focused on the filly. From the other side, Truffle looked up from the tentacled creature, having managed to catch one of its discs.

Remembering how she'd seen through it, Icy sent a smaller wave of cold over the filly's muzzle. It didn't last a second before she flexed her jaw out of it, but it would hopefully be enough to break the illusion for the others.

For a couple of seconds, they stared intensely and listened. Then Archer blinked and shook her head, followed by Truffle.

“Oh. Well then, I suppo- Whoa!” Truffle cried as the disc slipped out of his hooves, rushing back into the claws of the tentacled beast. “Well, I guess they're still attacking.”

The clawed beast rammed its free hand into the snare arrow, sending a bolt of force through it and shattering the bonds.

“Guess so, but how do we get rid of these illusions?” she asked.

“That's assuming they're all tricks,” Truffle pointed out. “Don't know any ponies with back limbs. Unless you count.. wait, of course. Which means...”

The tentacled creature threw one of its discs again, but Truffle dodged to the side and rushed at it again. However, at the last moment, he darted away from its body and grasped at its free tentacle.

“...you don't really have claws!” And, indeed, when he tried to grab at the digits on the end of the tentacle, his hoof passed straight through. Another moment of sensory dissonance later, it turned out his hoof was wrapped around... a tentacle.

At least, that's what it looked like at first. It took Icy a moment to see the shape of it and how the joints were spaced throughout it before she realized what it was – a wing. The filly Truffle had grabbed, dressed in a red and blue bodysuit with another badge, had a pair of wings on her back, but absolutely no feathers on them.

“Huh,” Truffle said, a little taken aback by this. “Wasn't really expecti- Oof!” For the second time in as many minutes, Truffle was interrupted mid-speech, this time by a kick to the stomach. It surprised more than hurt him, but it was enough for the filly to break away and gesture with the wing, a metal tip on the end of it glowing and apparently summoning her disc – a circular shield, like the one on her other wing, back to her.

The twang of a bowstring brought Icy back into the room, and she turned around just in time to see Archer's arrow knock the remaining, presumably illusionary creature's claw to the side, sending its next bolt flying wildly.

“I see how this works,” she said after a moment, pulling another hoof-snare arrow out. “And nopony I know's got a claw like that. Only thing that big a pony can hold's a sword.” She dashed to the side, sprinting around the thing as it tried to get a bead on her. However, she was able to get to the side enough to fire the arrow at the claw, knocking it off the creature's arm and pinning it to the wall.

“And claws don't detach!” Archer said proudly as the feeling of the illusion shattering overcame them once again. This time, however, it was not a pony that they saw when their vision cleared, but a zebra. He was also black and white, in his suit as well as his fur, though the pattern on his clothing was far more chaotic – reminiscent of energy surging randomly across his skin. His own badge was kept on his belt, near an ornate scabbard.

The zebra dashed over to his trapped sword, putting a hoof on its hilt and smashing down on its back with his other hoof, slicing through the snare.

“You think that you can scare me with your spines?
Alas, I've dealt with bigger porcupines!”

“Spines?!” Archer said before it hit her what he meant. “Oh, for... they're seeing us as monsters too.” An angry sneer came across her face and she gave a low growl – a great difference from the confident calm she’d had just a few seconds ago when she thought a monster was after her. “I am gonna murder that crystal-faced creep!” She snarled as she hopped out of the way of another bolt.

“Zat, you need a hand with that one?” The sort-of-winged filly asked, clearly not hearing Archer as she kept her eyes focused on Truffle, waiting for his next move.

“I thank you, Wing, but I need no defence.
Instead, I'd deal with your foe's corpulence!”

“Well,” Truffle said, smiling a little but not making any sudden movements, “they know I'm fat, so the illusions must not be too extensive.”

“Okay,” Archer called back as she rushed towards the Zebra, presumably thinking that a slash was both easier to dodge and slightly less damaging than an electrical bolt, “but how do we break these ones. Doubt they'll listen to us if we tell 'em.” She ducked under a sword swing. “They can't hear us!”

Icy thought for a moment, the music still being played by the violinist speeding up her thoughts a little. If they couldn't hear them, then how could they understand anything. If she couldn't hear, she'd...

Clopping a hoof as she realized, she turned around. “Guys, you think you can hold them off for about thirty seconds?”

“No...” There was a whoosh of air indicative of a sword stroke missing Archer. “...problem...” Another whoosh. “...Icy!”

Nodding, Icy hopped up onto her hind hooves, put her front hoof against the wall and called more freezing energy to her wings. However, this time, she didn't flap it into a gust, but instead held it in her wingtip and placed it against the wall, causing a small lump of ice to start forming.

Scowling in concentration, she moved her wing along the wall in movements that it wasn't exactly designed for. Still, she just about managed and, after about twenty seconds, she lowered herself down again.

The violinist was the first to notice, his playing slowing to a stop as his eyes caught what Icy had done.

“Huh? What's wrong?” This shield-bearing filly asked. “Why'd you stop... oh. Huh!” She said as she and the Zebra followed her eyeline and saw what she was looking at.

On the wall above Icy was a crude arrow, drawn in ice, pointing down at her. Written above, also in ice, was, in shaky wingwriting, the word “PONY”.

There was a moment of silence as the three tried to parse this new development.

After a few seconds, the shield-wielder spoke up. “Er, maybe it's just my eyes, but that doesn't look much like a pony to me.” The other nodded, still tensed for a fight.

Icy thought rapidly, squeezing her eyes shut. She'd stopped the fight for a short while, at least, but she needed to break the illusion and to do that, it seemed she needed to show something that conflicted with what she appeared to be. Unfortunately, she had no idea what she looked like to them, so the only thing she had to work with was what she did look like, but how...

She was briefly distracted as a slight shiver in her wing reminded her that she still had a small amount of energy in her wings. She looked around for a place to deposit it – she didn't want to send it flying out in case that caused the fight to start again – before she looked down at her hooves.

She was about to deposit it into the ground beneath them when a thought occurred to her. A smile rocketed onto her face as she placed her wings on the front of her torso and sent out the energy in a stream, calling up more to flow out after it.

After a few seconds of this, she let up and stepped back, out of the thin block of ice that, on her side, now held an inverted ice sculpture of the front of her body and her face.

There was a moment of confusion on their faces as their eyes lost focus, as Icy assumed had happened to her when she broke through the deception. Taking advantage of the distraction, she sent a small gust over the fronts of Archer and Truffle.

“Hey!” Truffle called as he stepped back, thankfully not breaking the ice mold she'd made. “Okay, I see what you were doing there, but warn a pony next time!”

“Yeah,” Archer said, wiping some water from her face, “not cool, Icy! Well,” she looked at the likeness she'd formed of her, “well, I mean, kinda cool, I guess. And if we're talking literally, very cool, but you know what I mean!”

Icy gave a sheepish grin. “Yeah, sorry about that. Got a bit caught up with the idea.”

“Huh,” the featherless pegasus said after a moment. “Looks like they are poni- Wha?!”

The peaceful moment was shattered when the zebra swung his sword again, missing Archer by millimetres only thanks to her quick reflexes.

“What the hell, dude?” Archer cried. “I'm a-”

“A pony's guise – a very cunning plan!” The zebra smirked.
“But you'll need more to fool old Zatrathan!”

“Er, Zat?” The shield-filly said, keeping her tone reasonable. “I don't think this is a trick.”

“Yeah, I'm really a pony!” Archer said as she dodged the wild swings. “There's gotta be something I can do for you to prove it.” Her eyes scanned over him. “Or maybe to you, I- Ah!” She flinched back as his sword nicked her hoof, her suit thankfully strong enough to prevent too deep a cut.

The zebra stepped back slightly, his sword pointed in front of him.

“You may think so, but let me say this plain:
I was not fooled... and won't get fooled again!”

He rushed forward, swinging again, though this time Archer was able to duck well under the strike.

“Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you. You asked for this. I swear I'm a pony!”

“Of course, you swear and plead and twist and vow!
But you'll not trick me!” The zebra swung again, making Archer dodge to the side.

“That...” he swung low and Archer jumped over the blade.

“I'll not...” he swung high again, allowing Archer to dip well under the blade and rush her head towards him. He opened his mouth to speak again.

And then Archer kissed him, fully on the lips.

The contact lasted less than a second, but it was enough to make the zebra's eyes widen and his sword drop from his hoof. “Oh, wow!” He finished as she pulled away.

Once that was done, Archer retreated with a mischievous smirk. “Still think I'm a monster?”

The zebra's mouth flapped up and down. “Buh... wha... this... kiss... I... Why...” He stammered.

Archer gave a firm nod. “That's what I thought!” She stepped back, only to hiss in surprise and pain as she moved the leg he had previously cut. She rolled up her sleeve to see that the cut had been a little deeper than it had first appeared.

Icy opened her mouth to speak again – about which of the many things she'd just seen, she wasn't sure, but she knew she had to say something – only to be cut off when the sound of beautiful music made itself known.

Looking up, she saw the violinist approaching Archer, her bipedal motion not disrupting her playing. Icy was about to ask what she was doing when she saw more energy flowing from her instrument. However, while the previous energy was a bold, solid looking field of pure green, this was a bluer green, lighter and gentler. It flowed down over Archer's leg, encasing it for a moment before the filly drew the tune to a smooth halt.

When the energy faded, the wound didn't look nearly so bad. It was still clearly visible, but it had stopped bleeding and didn't look nearly as deep.

Archer wiggled her hoof, showing no obvious sign of pain as she did. “Huh. Neat trick, that,” she said quietly, too astonished for anything more.

Icy looked to the violinist, who she realized had so far remained silent, presumably to concentrate on her music. Understandable, as that had been some of the most beautiful playing Icy had heard in a long time.

The filly gave a small smile. Then she stuck her hoof out suddenly, grabbed Archer's and shook.

“Hey, how ye doin'? Sorry 'bout that – things got real ugly there,” She said in the single thickest Manehattan accent Icy had ever heard. “That little 'llusion was a real doozy, know what I mean?”

Icy shook her head. It seemed said illusion wouldn't be the only source of sensory dissonance she'd encounter today.

The filly stepped back next to her friends. “Anyway, name's Caprice! This is Moonwing,” she indicated the other filly, who had put her shields down and was stretching her featherless wings, “and Zatrathan.” She indicated the still frozen zebra. “And we're from... Look, Zat, I get that weren't too expected, but close yer damn yap already. An' by the way, if that's what it takes to get the obvious through yer thick skull, I'd get real used to stayin' ignorant, know what I'm sayin'? I ain't kissin' yez an' I ain't thinkin' Wing, Aura or Griz'll be too eager, neither.” She chuckled. “An' you can always ask Runt, but...”

Zatrathan's hoof shot over her mouth as his eyes regained focus to glare at her.

Caprice just smiled and backed off a step, turning back to the others. “Anyways, we're from Manehattan. School trip. Whaddabout you guys?”

Truffle walked up behind Archer, clapping her and Icy on the back and nearly giving them new wounds. “Well, we're from Ponyville, also on a trip. I'm Truffle Shuffle!” He gave his belly a slap as if to emphasize this. “This is Archer and Icy Flight.”

Icy tilted her head. “Huh, I mean, I thought it was a bit of a coincidence both classes were heading here, but this is just weird.”

Zatrathan shook his head, a touch of his previous confidence returning.

“It may seem so... and be so, I suppose,
and yet, it's quite a common thing to find.
I guess it shows that, as the adage goes:
Where heroes travel, trouble walks behind.”

Icy sighed as she nodded. She'd heard a variant of that saying herself and, given her situation, she couldn't really argue with it.

There was an awkward pause.

“So, whaddaya think we should do now?” Caprice asked.

Archer raised an eyebrow. “Well, I don't know about anyone else, but my vote is for finding that filly and filling her with arrows until she looks like a toilet brush. Who's with me?”

There was another awkwardly silent moment as everyone stared at Archer, agreeing with her general sentiment of dealing with the filly but a little unnerved by the image she painted. Well, all seemed to feel that way except Zatrathan, who just nodded in agreement. Archer, for her part, didn't look especially surprised at the looks.

After a moment, the silence was broken by Moonwing. “How?”

Everyone looked at the room around them. There was little to see – the crystal walls, floor and ceiling, but that was it. There were no distinguishing marks, no indications of the room's location and, most pertinently, no doors.

Archer sighed. “Good question.”

Author's Note

Okay, few things to get out of the way here.

First off, like with Magic Eye, no prizes for guessing who our villain here is somewhat based on, at least in look and ability. I'd apologize, but I like the character too much to care.

Secondly, rest assured that I'm not introducing the equivalent to Iota Force from Manehatten as either full-on recurring supporting cast nor as a backdoor pilot. They're simply guest stars in an attempt to fill out the worldbuilding, since Luna did say back in the first story there were similar groups around Equestria, and to pay tribute to crossover storylines in comics (though hopefully the good ones, rather than the many, many bad ones out there).

And finally, and most importantly, I am aware that the comics have just come out with a storyline... *ahem* exploring Zecora's backstory and homeland. And in that, it completely nixed the idea that rhyming was a cultural thing for Zebras. And, while I don't know exactly who was responsible for that between writers, artists, editors, executives, etc..., the fact remains that the council responsible for the comics have stated that Zebras, as a species, don't generally rhyme. And, despite the fact that this story was written long before those comics came out, so wouldn't be changed anyway, and that, while the comics' canonicity are hotly debated, I am firmly of the opinion that they're optional canon at best, I still feel I need to address the matter. After all, like it or not, the council had made a decision.

...

So, Nick Fury, do you want to tell the nice people my thoughts on the matter?

...yeah, that about sums it up. If you like that storyline or the worldbuilding in it, that's fine and I'm sorry, but I thought it was pretty abysmal and, while I'm open to the idea of Zecora's rhyming being unique to her and/or her choice, not only did the reason given feel pretty lame, but it, plus the fact she apparently "got over" it at the end, just felt phenomenally insulting to the character. So I am going to be aggressively ignoring that storyline and any consequences of it in my works. I apologize if this is a problem, but it's not one I'm budging on.

Chapter Four: Cells and Cellmates

The group continued looking around, as if there could have been an exit to the room that they'd all just missed somehow. However, after a short while, Truffle spoke up. “Well, I don't suppose any of you can walk through walls, can you?”

There was a general shaking of heads among the Manehattanites. “I mean, maybe it ain't impossible,” Caprice said after a moment, “but I ain't never seen nopony do that one.”

Truffle nodded. “I thought as much, but couldn't hurt to ask.”

Archer smirked. “Heh, can you imagine how stupid we'd look if one of us could do that and we just didn't think to ask or try it.”

Caprice chuckled. “Yeah, I guess. But since that ain't... Zat, what are you doin'?”

Zatrathan looked up from his apparent attempts to poke his sword into the ground and shrugged.

“To phase through solid matter's quite a feat:
A sword could pass through armour, shield and hide.
I didn't think I'd solve it quite so neat,
but hey, it couldn't hurt me if I tried.”

Archer smiled and gave a small chuckle. “Well, I'm sure you'll get it one day,” she said, causing Zatrathan to look up in surprise and, Icy could have sworn, get a very faint blush on his face. Seemingly not noticing this, Archer continued. “For right now, though, maybe it'd be a good idea if we shared what we can do so we know what we have to work with.” There was a murmur of agreement before Archer spoke again. “I can hit a bullseye upside down and blindfolded. Icy?” She spoke entirely matter-of-factly, not sounding particularly smug about this claim, just that it was the case and there was nothing more that needed to be said on the matter.

Icy shook her head, a little unprepared for the subject moving on to her so quickly. “Oh, um, well you probably saw, but I can freeze things and make ice.” She called up a small amount of energy into her wings, turned to the wall and flapped, sending a freezing gust that formed a block of ice on the wall.

“Yeah, felt that,” Caprice said, rubbing a hoof against her jaw in recollection of it being briefly frozen. “Gotta say, would not have called you bein' a pony under that illusion – I ain't never heard o' no magic like that, 'specially not from a pegasus.” She looked to Zatrathan, who simply shook his head and shrugged. “How's that work, anyway?”

Icy shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Actually,” she thought for a moment, “you were obviously using some kinda magic during the fight, so you probably know a bit about how magic works. So, your guess is probably a lot better than mine.”

Caprice chuckled. “Maybe if I had one, but I got nothin'. Still, seems like a real useful trick.”

Icy looked to the side, a little embarrassed. “Well, I only found out I could do it a few months ago and I'm probably not as good as I could be with it yet. Sorry if that's a problem – I'm still learning.”

Caprice shrugged. “Hey, we's all still learnin'. That's what bein' a kid's all about, ain't it?”

“Speak for yourself,” Archer replied. “Not sure how much better I want to be.”

“Well, it can't hurt, can it?” Truffle asked cheerily. Archer looked like she was about to reply before he cut her off. “and as for me, I think it's less a matter of learning and more of growing. Sure, my gut may be magnificent, but I think I could still bulk up a bit more.” He gave another slap to his belly. “For the moment, though, it's enough for me – I've got a suit to protect my skin and fat to protect the rest of me. If you need someone to take a hit, I'm your colt!”

Caprice smirked. “Well, guess that'll give Wing a break. Speakin' of, Wing, you wanna... Wing!” she called to the filly, who had sat herself down, rested her shields against her sides and closed her eyes.

Rolling her eyes, Caprice rapped a hoof against a shield, sending a ringing sound through the area and jerking Moonwing into action. “Sorry, sorry, I'm here.”

Icy tilted her head. “Were you asleep?”

Moonwing shook her head. “Nah, I got all o' that. Sharpshooter, freezer, wall.” She pointed to Archer, Icy and Truffle in turn. “I just figured since we weren't going anywhere, I'd rest up a little.”

“O... kay?” Icy said, still a little unnerved. Sure, she was used to Archer and her perpetual relaxation, but when she was fighting, Moonwing had been incredibly active and energetic, but now she moved and talked as if she was half-asleep and falling.

“Anyway,” Moonwing continued languidly, “I'm sure you've noticed the wings.”

There was an awkward murmuring from the members of Iota force. They'd all noticed them, of course, but weren't sure how to bring them up without putting their hoofs in their mouths.

After a moment, though, Moonwing waved a hoof. “Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it, I'm used to the stares and the explanations. I've got a condition – Plumal Alopecia. Translation: my feathers all fell out. Happened when I was a lot younger, so I figured, hey, might as well use 'em for something.”

“You lost your feathers, so your next thought was to become Captain Equestria?” Icy asked, considering that thought process for a moment before smiling. “Nifty idea, good for you.”

Moonwing gave a slow, gentle laugh. “Well, I'm nowhere near that good yet. Like Caprice said, we're all learning. I've got the first few ricochets down pat, but I'm not able to make it come back to me yet. That's what the recall beam's for.”

The instant she finished speaking, Moonwing leapt suddenly to her feet, looking so alert and active Icy could scarcely imagine it was the same filly as a moment ago. Particularly since there had been absolutely no transition – one millisecond she seemed half-dead, the next she was more alive than seemed possible.

Once she was on her feet, she picked up a shield in one of her bare wings and hurled it at a wall. The shield spun through the air, bounced off the wall and hit another two before it started flying back through the room, though not towards its wielder.

However, Moonwing simply pointed a wing at the wall, a near-invisible beam of blue light shooting out from the metal covering on the tip of it. The beam bounced off the wall it was aimed at, crossing the area where the shield was about to be and bouncing off a second wall before fading into nothing. As soon as the shield crossed the beam, though, it altered its trajectory to follow it, bouncing off the same wall the beam was before returning to Moonwing, who jabbed her wing forward into the handles, taking hold of it again.

That done, Moonwing sat down again, rested the shield against her side once more and resumed her state of near-torpor. “So, yeah, that's my thing. Caprice?”

Icy shook her head, trying to parse the bizarre spectacle she'd just seen, but quickly gave up as she looked to Caprice, who was giving her a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, that's Moonwing. On or off, nothin' in between.” She said before shrugging and picking up her violin. Plucking the strings a couple of times, she began tuning it as she spoke. “As for me, I'm just a musician.”

Zatrathan raised an eyebrow.

“A music mare, first class, one cannot doubt it.
But we both know there's nothing “just” about it.”

Caprice rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know, Zat, I was tryin' to be all subtle an' dramatic an' stuff!”

“Well, we did see that energy of yours when you were playing,” Icy pointed out. “So, I guess you can cast spells through your music. Although, I thought spells were a unicorn thing – was it a spell?”

Caprice rocked her hoof sideways. “Eh, kinda-sorta-but-no-but-kinda. It was magic, yeah, but you might or might not call it a spell. Spell usually means somethin' real specific – a focused, constructed dose o' magic you usually need a horn for.”

Icy frowned, a little confused. “So, that wasn't focused or constructed?”

Caprice grimaced awkwardly for a moment. “Again, kinda, but not in the same way. See, it all comes down to how the various tribes' magic works,” she explained, though Icy was briefly confused when she pronounced the last word as ‘woiks’, but she got a handle on it before Caprice continued. “Way it's generally explained, unicorn magic is the magic o' change. It's about shifting things around, makin' or alterin' things, so ye need to get real specific about how ye cast it an' what yer tryin' to do.”

Icy's brow remained creased as she tried to parse this. “But... I've seen loads of unicorns do stuff that doesn't really change things. I've seen them detect stuff, hide stuff, teleport... I mean, telekinesis isn't really changing anything, is it?”

Caprice smirked. “Kinda, though it ain't as simple as that. It ain't just changin' one thing into another, it can be about changin' how the world works – bending space so's ye can 'port, bendin' light around an object to hide it or makin' light outta nothin' to show what ain't there, sendin' out pulses and sensors to find things. And telekinesis is just makin' yerself somethin' outta energy to pick up or push somethin'.”

She lowered her violin, leaning back as she got into the explanation. “Now, pegasus magic, that's the magic o' movement an' force. Course, they don't got the range of a unicorn, what wit' no horn an' all, but your magic's all about movin' stuff or puttin' force into it – weather, yerselves, ye even put a little force into clouds to make 'em solid enough to stand on. Course, I'm guessin' you already know this, since that's what ye've been doin' wit' those gust of yers, but I figured I'd go over it anyway – refresher-course, like.”

Icy looked at her wings, not mentioning that she wasn't actually aware that was how she could make her gusts – she had been doing them instinctively and just assumed they were part of her ice magic. Still, it did make sense that they were from her pegasus magic and served as a conduit for her cold energy.

Still, she didn't dwell on it long, as she was curious about the next part of the explanation. “So what about earth ponies? I know their magic can make them strong, agile, let them grow stuff and live longer, so what's their magic about?”

Caprice grinned, a twinkle in her eye that Icy recognized from many ponies, as well as Spike – they were getting onto her favourite subject.

“Life,” she said, plucking a string on her violin and creating a spark of green energy. “It's all about life – enhancin' it, channellin' it, usin' it. We can get a whole lot more life in us, pumpin' us up physical-like, or we can send it out. We can grow, we can heal, pump up our friends. Think ‘bout it: how many pegasus and unicorn nurses you seen?”

Icy thought for a moment. “Well, there are unicorn doctors at our hospital…”

Caprice nodded. “Oh, yeah, unicorns are great for scannin’ an’ surgery an’ all. And it ain’t like any tribe’d have trouble wit’ learnin’ the theory and doin’ diagnosis an’ all that. But when it comes to the day-to-day healin’ an’ carin’? Earth pony, every time. Course, most of us can only do it by touchin' things or maybe sendin' it through the ground, but if yer good enough, there are...”

She put her violin to her chin for a moment and played a single, resounding note. As she did, a faint wave of green energy flew out and over the assembled ponies and, just for a moment, Icy felt a surge of strength and power in her. Her eyes widened at the sensation as Caprice smirked.

“...other ways o' doin' it,” she finished.

Icy shook her head, the surge of feeling taking a moment to get past. Fortunately, it seemed Truffle was more on the ball. This may have been due to his own earth pony heritage, as Archer also didn't seem as taken aback by it.

“And what about you, Zatrathan?” he asked. “I was familiar with the three kinds of pony magic, but I confess, I don't know much about how zebras do things.”

“Yeah, we only know one zebra,” Archer added, “and she's a real expert on potions, but we don't know much beyond that.” Zatrathan opened his mouth to answer before Archer's mouth again quirked up into a mischievous smirk. “Though, I gotta say, shooting lightning outta your sword? Way cooler.”

At that, Zatrathan seemed to choke on his words, a faint blush reasserting itself on his fur. After a second, though, he shook his head and began.

“Perhaps, but... well, allow me to explain:
though sword and potions use two different schools,
they're both a zebra's use of the arcane.
Our magic works through objects, crafts and tools.
For magic runs through more than living souls,
but dwells in every speck of stone and steel.
And though these things have not a being's goals,
they can be shaped, refined and brought to heel.
At times we bring an object's magic out.
At times we channel our own magic through it.
We oft imbue our power if there's a drought,
until, whate'er we want, the thing can do it.
And as for me, my sword is one such thing.”
He rapped a hoof against his sword, causing a surge of white energy to flow through it, sending out a ringing chime. He smiled as he finished:
“In short, while in my hooves, a sword can sing!”

Icy hummed as the rhyming explanation came to an end. “So, you're saying that what she can do with potions, you can do with a sword?”

Zatrathan shook his head, smiling.

“Alas, besides that, now, I am no master,
her craft can put most spells into a vial,
while I'm a much more focused kind of caster.
A blade-enchanter's not so versatile.
But still, for our most common group-objective,”
He tapped the sword again, a spark of black-and-white lightning shooting from his hoof onto the metal.
“I often find my magic most effective.”

Archer nodded. “Okay, so we've got a... blade-enchanter, you said?”

“We just call him a Swordcerer.” Caprice replied, earning a bashful smile from Zatrathan.

“Well, what they call it matters not to me,
it's blade-enchantment or it's swordcery,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck and shooting Archer an apologetic and embarrassed look.

Archer, however, just took it in stride, giving him an easy smile. “Cool. So, a swordcerer, a life channeller, a shield-thrower, a sharpshooter, an ice-maker and a fatso,” she summed up.

“That's about the size of it,” Truffle added proudly.

Archer nodded. “Well, with all that, I'm thinking we can probably figure out some way out of here.”

There was a lengthy pause as everyone looked around the room, which remained thoroughly featureless, with utterly empty walls, floor and ceiling.

Caprice sighed. “Well, I got nothin'. What about you guys?”

Icy opened her mouth to reply when another voice interrupted.

“Well, are we having fun yet?” the distorted voice of the mystery filly echoed from the room around. On one of the larger flat surfaces, the image of her started fading into existence. “By the way, I should point out that these beasts... aren't...” She trailed off as the image fully clarified, her domed head tilting at the sight before her.

“What are you just sitting around for?!” she asked, the imperious tone to her voice gone. “Don't you know what danger you're in? These are hideous, inequine creatures from the deepest pit of Sombra's dark experiments and they absolutely will not stop until you. Are. De- you've seen through the illusion, haven't you?”

Archer smirked briefly. “No, we were just sitting down to have tea and a chat with these monsters – what do you think?”

The filly groaned, a hoof coming up to the dome and passing through the presumably-illusory crystal, the foreleg's motion suggesting the hoof was pressing gently against her forehead. “Great, just great! You couldn't just do what you were supposed to for five minutes, could you?”

Icy opened her mouth again to inform her that they had been fooled for at least that long when Archer pre-empted her, her smirk dropping. “Oh, I'm so sorry. Tell you what, when we find you, I'll put a few things in your mind so you can ignore 'em.” She held a sharpened arrow up to her forehead menacingly, a growl coming into her voice. “Mine are a little more direct, though. Good luck!”

The filly scoffed, her head-dome tilting up as she was no doubt holding her nose in the air, and spoke again, trying to regain some of the authority she'd had a moment ago. “You're the one who needs luck! It's not like it matters that you saw through the spell. Even together, you're not getting out of here. This place was designed to keep whole groups of grown-ups contained, I think it can hold you.” She giggled, the distortion on her voice giving it an odd tone. “Isn't it amazing? There's all kinds of locks, bars and traps that a prison can have and none of them are quite as effective as a simple room without a door.”

Icy frowned as she thought. She waited a moment to make sure she wouldn't get interrupted again before asking, “Well, in that case, why did you make us fight each other in the first place?” Not that she didn't understand why that could happen – when two hero teams met, odds were that some villain would force them to fight each other. It's just that there was usually a reason for it – the villain wanted them to destroy or weaken each other. If their prison was indeed inescapable, what was the point.

The filly shrugged. “Well, no sense taking chances. I can't see how you could escape, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't keep you busy so you don't have a chance to find a way. Still, no need to be worried. King Sombra knew how to build a prison, so it's not like you losers'd find a way out that I couldn't see.”

Icy thought for a moment. “Well, I mean, it probably wasn't him who built it. He may have designed it, but he probably made his slaves build it.” It was a point of pedantry, but Icy still felt compelled to point it out.

Archer snorted. “Yeah, too bad you don't have any slaves and you're not going to. Ooh, I've got an idea!” Her mouth rose into a nasty smile that looked positively surreal on her normally laid back face. “Why don't you make yourself some illusions of slaves. Insert 'em into your own mind instead, cause that's the only way you'd ever convince anyone you'd have ponies willing to work for someone like you. Who'd wanna work for...” She paused, the uncharacteristic hatred fading briefly as she thought about something. “Hey, what are we supposed to call you, anyway?”

The filly giggled again. “Do you really think I'm so stupid that I'd give you my real name?”

“Crossed our minds, yeah,” Moonwing interjected briefly.

“Hmph!” the filly huffed before drawing herself up. “Well, it doesn't matter anyway. You're never gonna get a chance to face me and use it, so you can call me whatever you like!”

There was a brief pause before Caprice shot off an ironic salute. “Can do, Cap'n Fartypants!”

The filly's posture slumped and, though Icy couldn't see her face, she just knew that it was levelling an unamused glare at Caprice, who looked singularly unfazed by the ensuing silence.

After a few seconds, the filly sighed. “Dammit!”

Caprice shrugged. “What, you don't like that one? How about Transparent Mare? Glassface? Ooh, ooh, I got it! The Crystal Dome!”

The filly groaned. “Couldn't you just call me the Mystery Mare or something?”

Caprice tilted her head from one side to the other, as if weighing the name. “Mmm, nah, don't really roll off the tongue.”

“Grah!” The filly held her hooves out from her head in exasperation. “I should have just come up with a fake name!”

“Don't worry,” Icy assured her, partially out of sympathy and partially because now she was thinking about possible names for her, “we could maybe make something from “Mystery Mare”. Like, how about... Miss Terry?”

Everyone turned to look flatly at Icy, who just shrunk a little and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

“Aheh, well, um, how about we just change a word a little to make something like that. Like Mystera or Enigmia or... Conundra or...”

“Oh, for crying out loud, would you sto-” The filly paused, a hoof passing through her helmet and going to her chin. “Actually, that last one's not too bad. Yeah, let's go with that. But anyway, it doesn't matter!” Conundra threw a hoof out haughtily. “It will do you no good while you're stuck in here. Oh, don't worry,” she added, her tone forcefully patronizing, “once I've got what I came for, I'll make sure the guards know you're down here. But by then, it'll be far too late to stop me.”

“What are you after, anyways?” Caprice asked, her face scrunched in thought. “Wouldn'ta thought Sombra'd have anythin' that'd interest you.” She looked up at the image of Conundra and put a hoof up to her chin, appearing genuinely baffled.

Conundra flicked her head-dome up. “Hmph! Shows what you know! He was famous for his skill with magic. Everyone knows he had dozens of powerful spells and this is where he figured them out and recorded them.”

Archer snorted. “Figures you'd be interested in dark magic. What, you wanna use it to try and force people to like you cause you can't manage it on your own?”

“Dark, Schmark!” Conundra responded, seeming unbothered by Archer's snipes. “I only want one spell, the adults can have the rest for all I care.”

Looking up at the image, Icy's attention was briefly drawn to Caprice, as she noticed a tiny little smile that came onto the corner of her mouth for a fraction of a second before it dropped. Had she been in front of her, like the image of Conundra was, it would have been blocked by the hoof resting on her chin. Still, she did notice it, so had it on her mind when Caprice asked, “Really? Don't remember him havin' any illusion spells in his arsenal.”

Conundra gave a single sneering laugh and answered just as Icy was opening her mouth. “Don't you know anything? He had loads of illusions. Of course, most of them are public, but this one's stayed secret: his Dream of Dread Despair!”

Icy shut her mouth halfway through the explanation, thankful that Conundra had answered so quickly. Caprice's question had been a brilliant move – if Conundra had been after an illusion, she'd feel motivated to rub her superior knowledge in Caprice's face. If she hadn't been after one, she'd be insulted by the assumption she was a one-trick mare and feel motivated to defend herself with what she was really after. It was an excellent way of getting information... and Icy had been just about to congratulate Caprice on it and thus ruin the whole thing.

Fortunately, she was distracted from her self-recriminations by Truffle's response. “Sounds pleasant.” He said, giving the image a concerned look.

The filly giggled. “Oh, it was one of his most powerful, most dangerous spells. It went down inside you, searched through your soul to find the one thing that scares you more than anything else, the thing that you'd do anything to stop happening, the thing that would destroy you. And then it doesn't just show it to you, it puts you right in the middle of it. You can't run from it, you can't escape it, you can't tell yourself it's not real. As long as you remain in it, you are stuck! Think of it – think of the one thing you're most afraid of seeing... and think of somepony who could show it to you whenever she likes!”

There was a pause, during which an image flashed into Icy's mind of herself, floating on a tiny platform in the middle of an ocean that covered the whole horizon and that she couldn't see the bottom of if she tried. She imagined the surface she was on shrinking rapidly, forcing her hooves together more and more until...

She was brought out of the image by Archer's growling voice. “You sick little bi-”

“Hey, relax!” Conundra put a hoof up placatingly, though her voice still carried a sense of superiority as she said it. “It's not like I wanna use it on anyone. I'd never cast it unless I had to. I just wanna have it. Besides,” she chuckled haughtily, “it's not like I'll have the chance to use it on you. By the time the guard comes for you, I'll be long gone. Anyway, I should probably go – Sombra's Inner Sanctum isn't gonna open itself. Toodles!” And, with that, the image started fading, returning to a blank wall.

No sooner had that happened than Archer let loose an arrow, hitting the wall exactly where the Conundra's head had been only a moment ago.

There was a moment of pause before Truffle spoke up. “We've got to get out of here. We've got to stop her.”

Archer sneered. “Stop, kill, these are words.”

Icy frowned, unused to seeing Archer like this. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Throughout their previous adventures, Archer had had scarcely a moment where she wasn't completely relaxed and confident, bordering on detached at times. Yet, now, something about this situation had clearly gotten to her.

“I'm fine,” Archer snapped before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “Sorry, I just... I hate it when ponies manipulate me. Or anypony. You should always be your own pony, and if someone tries to control you...” she trailed off with a grunt.

Icy briefly considered pointing out that Conundra had done more than try to control them, but thought better of it.

Truffle nodded. “Yeah, Archer's got a bit of a thing about mind manipulation. I mean, more than we all do.”

Icy nodded – almost everypony knew that mind control was one of the most horrible things one could do to another pony, but it wasn't exactly a prospect that most spent a lot of time worrying about. Archer, though, was clearly different as she thrust a hoof forward.

“Nobody bucks with my mind. Nobody!”

Icy gulped at the venom behind her words, thankful that no adults – or Dinky – were here to hear Archer's language.

After a moment, Zatrathan stepped forward and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“For what small consolation you may find,
that spell controlled your senses, not your mind.”

Archer looked up at him, still frowning. “Yeah, I know and that really doesn't help much,” her face softened and she put a hoof on his, smiling wanly, “but thanks for trying.”

The moment her hoof touched his, Zatrathan blushed once more and, after a second, withdrew the hoof, looking intensely awkward.

Fortunately, the moment was broken when Icy asked, “Wait, that's how that illusion worked? I thought illusions were just images you put in the air.”

Zatrathan sputtered for a moment before Archer patted him on the shoulder. “Don't worry, I got this one.” The pat seemed to only increase Zatrathan's stammering, but she paid it no mind.

“See, there are two kinds of illusions: mirages and phantasms. Mirages are like you said – pictures of things you craft out of magic light that anyone can see... or hear or smell or whatever. Phantasms are pictures you put directly into the senses of whoever you're trying to trick. You don't put it in the air, you put it in their eyes... or put it in a place where it gets transmitted into their eyes, at least.”

Icy nodded. “Okay, I get it, so you use a mirage if you want everypony to see it and a phantasm if you only want a few ponies to. Like how she wanted both sides of the fight to see the other as monsters, but not their own side.”

Archer tilted a hoof back and forth. “Yeah, that's part of it, but there's more to it than that. See, the thing about mirages is that they're not that flexible. You can control them and give them a bit of programming, sure, but they're still pretty limited in what they can do, so they're often not great if you're trying something complex. They can't shift and change depending on what's happening that well. Phantasms are a lot more adaptive, cause a pony's mind'll usually fill in the smaller gaps in what they're seeing.” Archer did not sound happy at that prospect, but continued nonetheless. “Course, the problem with phantasms is that, since they're more in your mind, if you can spot the lie and believe that it's not real strong enough, you can break through the illusions. With mirages, even if you know it's not real, you're still gonna be seeing it.

Icy thought for a moment. “Okay, I think I get it. So, phantasms are more convincing than mirages, but mirages don't have a risk of getting shaken off.”

Archer nodded. “That's about the size of it. Course, often mirages'll do the job if it's simple enough. I mean, technically invisibility counts as a mirage.”

Icy tilted her head. “Huh. You know, I'm kinda surprised you know so much about this kinda thing, Archer, if you're that... you know...”

Archer smirked, her normal confidence now mostly returned. “Hey, just cause I hate it doesn't mean I'm stupid about it.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, I work with Alula – you learn a thing or two about tricking ponies.”

Icy giggled briefly before turning away and looking around the room, seeing the others either already looking around or beginning to after listening to Archer's explanation.

“It's good to know our foe – her magic's shape.
But for right now, let's focus on escape.” Zatrathan said after a moment.

Archer looked over at him. “You got anything yet?”

“Nothin' so far,” Caprice answered as she wandered the room. “But keep lookin' – bound to be somethin'.”

Icy nodded – no matter what Conundra had said, there had to be some way out of the cell. After a moment, she sat down and closed her eyes, trying to think.

The way they'd got there was from a teleportation trap that Sombra must have laid. It made sense that it would send them somewhere without doors, since teleportation would give him a way to take things in and out, but would prevent the prisoners from doing so – even if the victims could teleport themselves, they'd have no idea where they were and couldn't risk teleporting blind, lest they wind up in a wall.

Of course, teleporting ponies remotely was also immensely impractical, but the room clearly had some kind of connection to wherever Conundra was transmitting from, so that presumably allowed for easy transporting.

It briefly occurred to Icy that this room might not be designed for teleporting things out of it at all – just to keep any intruders prisoner until they starved. However, she quickly dismissed that thought – there had been no previous prisoners or remains when they'd been sent here, so there must have been a way to remove them.

Fortunately, her train of thought was moving fast enough that she didn't dwell on how macabre that thought was.

Still, if ponies didn't die here, there must have been some way to send them food and water. However, teleportation solved that problem as well – sure, it was a lot of effort to go to, but it made sense that Sombra would do so in order to ensure ponies didn't escape. That said, it probably wasn't him who did it – he was the emperor and the one doing the experiments these caves were infamous for, so he presumably got his servants to do the duty of keeping the prisoners alive. Besides, he couldn't be down here all the time, so they must have been the ones teleporting things...

Her eyes shot open and she stood up. “There is a door! There has to be!”

Moonwing opened her eyes as well, though far more languidly and without rising. “How d'you figure?”

Icy smiled. “Well, if it was just Sombra who was dealing with whoever got sent here, he could do it all through teleportation but his servants couldn't. And since they were the ones who must have been in charge of taking care of prisoners at least some of the time, there must be some other way out of here. That probably means a door, since any teleportation portals out of here could be used to escape easily.”

There was a pause as everyone considered this. After a moment, Zatrathan spoke up.

“Perhaps, but other means could be achieved.
Suppose things got sent in, but not retrieved?”

Icy hummed, considering this. That may have been possible. However, after a moment of looking around, she shook the thought off. If that were the case, where was all the stuff that had been sent in. Or at least the mess that they made. In fact...

Icy smiled as she shook her head. “No, they'd still be here. Plus, even if they did get retrieved, who was cleaning the cell afterwards? I don't think Sombra himself would wanna spend his time worrying about that.”

There was a slightly longer pause before Caprice nodded. “Okay, so if there is a door, hows come we can't see i-” Her hoof impacted her forehead with a resounding smack. “Don't answer that, realized the moment I said it.”

“Friggin' illusions.” Archer grunted.

As if synchonized, Archer and Caprice began scanning the walls in opposite directions. Of course, their methods were very different – Caprice began tapping the wall as she moved along it, her ears turned towards the wall and twitching as they heard the sounds she was making, while Archer simply began looking intently at the walls, her eyes moving quickly but minutely as she scanned for anything suspicious.

After a couple of minutes, Caprice called out, “Got it! Should be right here!” She pointed at what, at first glance, appeared to be a perfectly ordinary section of wall. And, worryingly enough, it appeared to be that on second, third and fourth glance as well. In fact, as Icy trotted up to where Caprice was pointing, she wasn't even sure that she could see anything wrong with it at all. There was a slight bit of incongruity with the reflections, but it wasn't nearly as much as the illusion that had hidden the hatch and Icy was almost inclined to think that she was imagining it.

“Yeah, that's a fake bit alright,” Archer said from behind her, as if answering her thoughts. Icy wilted slightly before Archer continued. “Good one, though. Almost didn't see it myself.” Unfortunately, even if that had been said that to address Icy's embarrassment, she was too disturbed by the idea that Archer was responding to her thoughts to feel relieved.

Fortunately, Caprice spoke before she could be more worried about the matter. “Yeah, even the sound and echo was almost right. Dunno why this one was so much better, but at least there was some way o' seein' it. Or hearin' it, at least.”

Archer rolled her eyes. “Who cares, as long as we can get outta here. Don't suppose any of you can get rid of the illusion.”

Zatrathan smirked, rolling his neck as he drew his sword.

“Allow me to dispel this false blockade.
Such trickery shall break before my blade!”

He leapt forward, his sword outstretched before him as black energy ran along it. It slammed into the wall, only for the energy to surge out in a circle, seeming to unpeel the image of the wall as it went to reveal a thick wooden door.

However, the instant the image had almost faded, the remaining image of the wall glowed brightly and the energy receded, the illusion reasserting itself. Zatrathan grunted as he poured more energy into it, but the image kept forcing it back.

“Let it go, I'll mark it!” Archer called, managing to fire three arrows in the time it took her to say that, one going into the crack between the door and the wall and one into each of the two locks. Zatrathan didn't appear to let up, but after a moment, the illusion rushed back towards the centre and closed around his blade, knocking him away a little and making him blink rapidly, trying to recentre himself.

“This glamour's power, if that did not suffice,
is more than any child could exercise.
I failed,” he blushed and looked to Archer, “and didn't heed your wise advice.
And so, for that, I do apologize.”

Archer clapped him on the back. “Hey, no worries. Least I got a good enough look to mark it. Speaking of, don't suppose anyone's good with locks?”

Caprice rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, we're city ponies. You think we don't know our way around locks?”

There was a pause as Moonwing and Zatrathan looked at her.

“Actually, I think that's just you,” Moonwing said after a moment.

Caprice rolled her eyes, pulling a set of picks out of her pocket and approaching the door. “Guess we're lucky this don't need eyesight, else we'd be screwed.” She pulled out the arrow that had been sent into the lower lock and set to work, taking a moment to get the picks into it.

After a few seconds, she looked up. “Okay, looks like this is a good lock... and an old an' heavy one, too, so this may take a little while. And I'm pretty sure I can feel there's a bolt on the other side too – talk amongst yerselves about what to do 'bout that.” And with that, she turned back and focused intently on the invisible keyhole.

The others thought about that.

“Don't suppose we could just ram it until the bolt comes off – the door did look pretty old,” Icy suggested

Archer shook her head. “It is, but the hinges are on this side, so it opens in. We'd need to pull it open somehow. Mind you, the gap between the door and the frame was large enough we might be able to squeeze something into it.”

Zatrathan looked at her, impressed.

“In mere seconds, seeing how it narrows?
Your eyes are even sharper than your arrows.”

Archer smirked. “Oh, they can be. Depends how much I wanna see what I'm looking at.” She caught his eye and raised her eyebrows briefly, sending him into another fit of blushing and stuttering.

Icy frowned, unsure how to feel about what she was seeing. “Um, Archer, could I have a word?” She jerked her head towards the empty end of the room before trotting over there, Archer following.

Once she was as far as she could get from them, she lowered her voice and asked, “Are you okay with him? You seem like you're... well, I don't know, really, but you seem kind of off.”

Archer smiled pleasantly. “Oh, relax, I'm just teasing him a little. I figured, after how I had to convince him I was real, it'd be kinda funny. I'm sure he's fine with it.”

Icy looked back at the group, seeing Zatrathan just about manage to get his blushing under control while discussing something with Moonwing. “Are you sure about that?” she asked.

Archer nodded. “Totally. I mean, maybe he's getting a little flustered, but it's all in good fun.”

Icy nodded, not entirely getting it but familiar enough with hearing about such things to have a vague idea of what was going on. “Okay. But, well... you don't actually feel anything like that. Do you?”

Archer's smile dropped as she thought about this. “Well, to be honest, hadn't really thought about it. But, well...” She turned to look at him. After a moment, her smile reappeared. “Actually, you know what? Why not? He's kinda cute!” And with that, she trotted cheerily back to the group, with Icy following, even more confused than when she'd left.

Still, when they arrived back, Moonwing spoke to her, helping her forget it for the moment. “Icy, when Caprice is done, you think you could freeze the door around where the bolt is?”

Icy looked over at the area the door had been visible in, seeing that Caprice had finished with the first lock and was moving onto the second.

“I guess so,” she said after a moment, “but I don't see how that'll help – it'll still be there, just frozen.”

Zatrathan smiled. “The temperatures and ice crystals you make
should make it brittle, helping it to break.”

Icy tilted her head – she had no reason to disbelieve him, even if she didn't quite understand. “Okay, I guess, but then how do we get it open?”

Truffle stood up. “Just let me and Miss Moonwing handle that.” He trotted away from the group, heading towards one side of the cell.

Icy didn't have much time to dwell on this as Moonwing stood up slowly, picking up her shields and indicating for Icy to follow her to the door.

It took Caprice another minute or so to finish with the second lock, but eventually they heard a heavy clunk as she turned one of her tools around, the lock audibly sliding open.

Moonwing gave the invisible door a few experimental pushes up and down its height until she apparently found what she was looking for.

“Feels like the bolt's here, Icy. You wanna...” She trailed off as she felt around the area the final arrow had been lodged in, indicating the door's edge.

Nodding, Icy placed her wing against the area she'd pointed to. It was somewhat surreal to feel wood where her eyes were telling her there was crystal and that sense only increased as she started pouring her energy into that area, making her feel the cold and the ice forming even as the crystal she was seeing stayed constant.

While she was doing that, Moonwing had picked up one of her shields and was wedging the edge of it between the door and the frame, pushing it hard until, once Icy had finished, she'd got it in there firmly enough for it to remain free-standing.

After a few more seconds of pushing, she nodded to herself and backed off a couple of steps. “Okay, Truffle, looks like we're ready.”

Icy turned to Moonwing, unsure what she meant for a moment before something moved in her peripheral vision. Turning, she saw Truffle running at a dead sprint towards the door from the side. Her eyes widened as she understood what was happening... and then, a split second later, understood that she probably shouldn't be in the way of it.

“CANNONBALL!” she yelled as she dived out of the way, rolling to a stop just in time to see Truffle impact the shield with a colossal clang!

The shield turned along the fulcrum the frame provided, not even bending a little. The illusory wall, on the other hand, seemed to give an almighty groan before shards of wood sprayed out of it and the door behind it flew open through it.

Truffle groaned as he picked himself up. “Wait,” he said, shaking his head to get his bearings back, “isn't “cannonball” supposed to be for diving, not running?”

Icy shrugged as she too got to her hooves. “Well, yeah, but that never made sense to me – who drops a cannonball into a pool? Cannonballs are supposed to be fired, not dropped.”

Truffle looked to the side in thought for a second before shrugged. “Well, I guess I can see that. In any case,” he waved a hoof through the false wall, sending it far past the area the door would have allowed it, “after you!”

Icy smiled as the group filed towards the open, if invisible, door, Archer cautiously poking an eye through to see what was beyond. Whatever was there was apparently safe enough for her to poke the rest of her head through, followed by the rest of her.

Icy's smile grew. They had a chance.

“When's the next train to the Crystal Empire?” the cloaked figure asked, its voice a rasping growl.

The pony in the ticket booth blinked at the image in front of him. “Er, in about three hours.”

The figure nodded, the hood covering its face not revealing a millimetre of its flesh. It dropped a small pile of bits onto the counter. “One ticket there, please.”

As the pony in the booth printed out the ticket, the figure looked down the train tracks. “I'm coming for you, Icy Flight. Believe me, I'm coming.”

Author's Note

Any day where I'm able to give a full explanation of a scientific, or in this case magical, phenomenon in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, I think, is a good day.

Chapter Five: A Game of Find the Lady

The group piled out of the cell door into a crystal corridor, nearly indistinguishable from the one at the entrance that Archer, Icy and Truffle had been initially teleported from. The corridor went a short way forward before splitting off into a four-way junction.

Icy opened her mouth when a voice echoed out from the room they had just left. “What in Equestria was... where have you gone... oh.” There was the sound of a magical bolt being fired and, as they turned around, they saw the illusory wall behind them disappear and, behind it, the image of Conundra on the wall of the cell.

“So, you figured it out. Bet you think you're really smart, don't you?” she asked, though she spoke again before anyone had a chance to answer. “Well, too bad for you I'm still connected to this room. That means I can still talk to you and I can still do thi-”

Archer slammed the door shut, cutting off what she was about to say and do to them. “What was that?” she called over the sound of the lock engaging before turning away with a smirk. “Couldn't quite hear it over how predictable you were.”

The group turned away from the door, only to see a faint beam of blue light crossing the corridor a short distance in front of them. They hesitated, not knowing exactly what it was or what would happen if they broke it. Looking up, Icy saw that it bounced off a number of walls before going off, or possibly coming from, around a corner on the other side of the next junction.

After a moment, there was a faint sound of something travelling rapidly down the corridors towards them. The group backed up warily, only to see a bolt of magic travelling along the path of the beam, hitting the wall a second or two later and causing the image of Conundra to appear on it.

“Cute. Real cute,” She said and Icy could tell she was scowling behind her helmet. “Only trouble is, I didn't need to use that connection to mess with you, it was just a little more convenient.”

Zatrathan snorted. “You'll “mess with us” with tricks we won't believe?
Annoying us is all you can achieve.”

At that, Conundra gave a long, nasty chuckle. “Oh, I can do a lot more than that, dumbass. Didn't you think it was a little weird that someone as young as me could cast such powerful illusion spells?”

Caprice nodded. “Actually, yeah, we knew that was weird, figured there must be someth-”

“In these caves,” Conundra continued, not seeming to have noticed Caprice was talking, “I'm more powerful than you can imagine. See, Sombra designed these caves to make himself, and whoever was in the centre of them, way more powerful. The crystal in the walls reflects, empowers and concentrates unicorn magic, so any spell I cast gets amplified, like, a million times, like this.”

Icy frowned, a little confused at how the filly's imperious bearing kept briefly fading to something a lot more real and somewhat familiar.

However, she didn't have much time to contemplate this, as another faint beam appeared, pointing right into the centre of the group. As one, they looked behind them, seeing only the locked door behind them cutting off any movement back. Meanwhile, moving forward would just put them into the path of the spell they could just about hear coming towards them.

“Get ready,” Moonwing called, raising her shields in preparation for whatever was about to come.

The group collectively prepared themselves, both to defend themselves from real attacks and to deal with illusory ones. The magical bolt fired from round the corner rushed towards them, impacted the ground beneath them... and then the world exploded.

At least, that's how it seemed to Icy and she was too overwhelmed to consider it much. All around her were blinding, dizzying colours that stabbed into her eyes and seared her brain, while her ears were in agony from a hideous, discordant screeching so loud she felt it shaking her insides. She slammed her eyes shut, only to find little respite as the lights invaded the minuscule space between her eyelids and her eyes, still blasting her eyes with pain. She screamed, only to find that she couldn't even hear herself over the noise all around her. She tried to move forward, only to trip over her own hooves, both from being unable to see them and from having her concentration and thoughts shredded by the sensory assault.

She held a leg over her eyes, trying to press her eyes and remove as much space for the lights to invade as possible. It worked somewhat, so now her eyes merely hurt, but it left only one hoof to try and block her ears from the sounds, which she wasn't sure she could do with both. She could feel herself beginning to fade, the relentless sensory overload causing her thoughts to lose coherence and edge into the nothing of unconsciousness. And she didn't know how long she could stop herself from...

Another sound, this one far more pleasant, rose up from next to her, gradually gaining strength over the course of a few seconds. As it did, the sounds seemed to diminish in their hideousness, as if the new noise was somehow harmonizing the dissonance. Icy wasn't sure if that made any sense, but wasn't in much of a position to analyze it. However, she did manage to pin down the sound as that of a violin.

“Okay, I think I got a handle on a counter-magic melody,” she heard Caprice call, raising her voice massively to be heard, “but I don't know how long I can keep it up with these lights in my eyes.”

“Try pressing your hoof against them!” Icy yelled, realizing a little too late the problem with that.

“I'm usin' 'em both, genius!” Caprice replied testily, either not knowing or not caring that Icy had already realized that. “I mean, if you want me to stop, I can let-”

“Don't worry,” Truffle interjected, only having to raise his voice a little more than usual, “I've got you covered. Literally!”

There was a swooshing noise before Icy heard Caprice give a muffled “Thmnk ymm!”, leading Icy to conclude that he had wrapped his cape around her head.

“Ooh, how clever!” Conundra's voice called over the maelstrom, dripping with sarcastic adulation. “Trouble is, I can keep this going for as long as I need to. And even if you can too, I'm not being messed up by my illusion. So, hmm...” she pretended to think for a moment, “yeah, I'm pretty sure I can go longer that you can.”

“That's what you think,” Moonwing replied before lowering her voice a little, so that the others could just about hear, but Conundra wouldn't be able to. “Guys, I've got an idea, but I'll need your help. Zat, can you take my shield?”

“A moment, let me find it through this blitz.” There was a pause before Zatrathan continued.
“I have it! Now, I hope your plan's th-” he stopped himself short, pausing before rephrasing himself, “...it fits,” he finished lamely.

Icy wasn't sure what he was originally going to say, but didn't have much time to think about it before Moonwing replied. “I need you to use your magic to polish the front of it. Icy, when he's done, do you think you can make clear ice over it. Like, as totally transparent as possible.”

Icy frowned as much as she could with her hoof over her eyes. “I... I don't know. I can try, maybe. Why?”

Despite the pain, Icy could almost hear Moonwing smirk. “She can go longer because she's not getting her senses blasted by this spell. I'm planning to change that. Archer, don't suppose you got a good enough look at where that beam was pointing?”

“Course I did, but... ooh, nice!” Archer replied, the pain in her voice not seeming to create any strain in it. “You wanna send it right back at her! I like it and I can do it!”

“Brilliant!” Moonwing replied, waiting a moment before continuing, “Icy! Zat's done, can you find my shield?”

“Yeah, hold on!” Icy called, fumbling around with a wing. It took a few seconds for it to find the cold, flat metal of the shield's centre, during which she heard Conundra's taunting voice call out to them.

“Had enough, losers? Please yell if you have – can't quite see you for some reason!”

“Then you won't see this coming,” Moonwing replied, still maintaining a volume only the ponies close to her would hear. “Icy, you got it?”

“Yeah, hold on a bit,” Icy said as she focused, trying to call up her freezing energy as carefully as she could. She'd never really considered how to create different types of ice, but fortunately she knew that you got clearer ice for things freezing from the inside out rather than the outside in and also that it had something to do with trapped air and other stuff. So, as she gradually poured her energy onto the surface of the shield, she tried to keep it slow and even enough that the ice would be as clear as she could make it. It was hard to tell how well she was doing, but as she moved her wing over the surface, it certainly felt smooth enough, though she had no idea if that meant anything.

After a short while, she nodded to herself, as she knew no one else could see it. “Okay, I think I've got it!”

“Awesome!” Moonwing called back, now not bothering with whether Conundra could hear her. “Archer, would you do the honours?”

“My pleasure!” Archer replied as Icy felt the shield being taken away from her wing.

“What are you talking about?” Conundra called, her confusion mirroring Icy's. “What are you idiots planning to... huh?”

In an instant, the flicks of colours and the harmonized sounds of the attack vanished. Icy's eyes flew open, the sudden lack of stimulus knocking her briefly off balance. However, she was able to see what Archer was doing and what Moonwing's plan was. In fact, she felt a little embarrassed she hadn't figured it out earlier.

Archer was holding the shield in the path of the beam that was projecting the illusion. This normally might not have done much, but with clear ice covering the polished surface of the shield's centre, it was now forming a makeshift mirror that reflected the beam carrying the illusion right back along the path it came.

Unfortunately for Conundra, it seemed she wasn't quite as quick on the uptake. “What the...? How did yo- GAH!” She screamed as those same lights and sounds overtook the image being projected to them, though extremely dampened by the connection. However, from the sounds of things, Conundra herself had no such protection.

After a few seconds, the beam cut off, the attack on Conundra lasting about as long again before it faded.

The group shared a chuckle as Conundra put a hoof to her forehead through the illusionary helmet and wobbled. After a moment, though, she growled. “Oh, you think you're clever, do you?”

Moonwing hummed for a moment before nodding. “Well, we did just figure out a way to turn your whole attack around that'd work if you ever tried that again so... yeah, kinda do.”

“Well, you're not!” Conundra screamed, momentarily losing all composure before she cleared her throat. “It doesn't matter, you'll never reach me. I've got all kinds of tricks and traps to stop you. In fact,” the area of her helmet around her horn lit up, “why don't I show you?”

The group heard a stomping sound from further down the corridor, coming from one of the offshoots of the junction. Fortunately, they had just about recovered enough from the sensory attack to ready themselves for whatever came.

Around the corner came three figures, each the size and shape of an adult pony. However, that was where the similarities ended, because each one was made entirely out of wood. Each looked nearly identical to the others - their faces and haunches were completely blank and only the tiny variations in the grain of the wood set them apart from one another. Their movements were jerky, almost entirely robotic, and though they didn't move in the exact same way, each one of their motions was completely synchronized with the others to create a very definite rhythm.

They stopped about five metres away from the group, lining up to bar their path.

“A cool little defense, huh?” Conundra said, the glow around her horn-area fading. “They may not look like much now, but... wait, what are you doing?”

Looking back, Icy saw that Zatrathan was striding up to the figures, a smirk on his face and his hooves not even near his scabbard.

“You think us all so dim and cowardly
we'll cower at any mention of a foe?” He walked right up the three figures.
“We know illusions are your specialty
and so, we've naught to fear, as this should...” He flicked a hoof out towards the image, clearly expecting it to pass through. However, instead it impacted with the solid thunk of a hoof on wood.

Zatrathan looked up, his eyes widening. He started reaching for his sword as he opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance to do either. Seemingly in reaction to the strike, the figure lashed a hoof out, impacting him solidly in the ribs and sending him flying back towards the rest of the group. He landed a short distance in front of them and skidded to a halt at their hooves.

“Ooooooh.” He said woozily, before passing out.

Icy looked to the others, only to see that Caprice and Moonwing didn't seem especially shocked by this occurrence, Moonwing gently moving him to the side.

She backed off a couple of steps and whispered, “Does he do that kinda thing a lot?”

Caprice rolled her eyes. “Like you wouldn't believe. It'd be almost adorable if it didn't get him into so much trouble”

Archer chuckled as she drew her bow. “You say that like both can't be true.”

“As you can see,” Conundra announced smugly, not hearing their quiet conversation, “not everything down here is an illusion. King Sombra left all kinds of traps and defences in these caves for if someone got out.”

“Well, if this is the best you've got, I'm not impressed,” Truffle called out, his volume reverberating around the crystal walls. “They'll be tough, sure, but if you think the six...” he looked down at Zatrathan's prone form, “the five of us'll have problems taking down three golems.”

“Yeah,” Icy added, buoyed up by Truffle's confidence... and a little bit by Zatrathan's, despite what had happened. “If everything we'll find is an illusion or a few guards, we won't have any trouble.”

At this, Conundra gave a high, genuine-sounding laugh, unnerving Icy and making her doubt her confidence of a moment ago.

“Ooohehehe, my dear little dimbulbs,” Her horn-area lit up again and another guidance beam shot out of it, “who said anything about “or”?”

A fraction of a second later, the beam came flying around the far corner and down the corridor. The group readied themselves, Moonwing bringing her shield up to deflect it. However, it quickly became clear that it wasn't aimed directly at them, instead pointing at the ground in the centre of the three constructs.

The actual spell came around the corner and hit a moment after that, making a bright white light envelop the whole area and forcing Icy and the others to squint a little from its brightness. However, she was able to keep her eyes open enough to see Conundra light her horn-area again a second before the light started to fade. She refocused herself on where she'd seen the three automatons, only to now have to catch her breath at the huge crowd of them that were in front of her.

Intellectually, of course, she knew that only three were real, but the sheer number of images was enough to startle her a little. There must have been around twenty of them, though she couldn't tell an exact number, as they were all moving around to the side – trotting around and through each other like an ridiculously complex, ethereal Three-Card Monte. This not only made it hard to count how many there were, it also made it quite impossible for her to tell who had been the original three. She doubted even Archer could and, glancing to her side, she indeed saw the young sharpshooter's eyes darting around the roiling mass of ponies, trying to find some kind of clue. The distinct, regimented rhythm of the three lone figures had completely vanished, replaced by a chaotic clamor of movements and hoofsteps.

“Now,” Conundra said after she had given the group a few seconds to appreciate her efforts, “are you gonna be good little colts and fillies and stay where you are or are we gonna have to get violent?”

Truffle harrumphed as he rolled his shoulders, preparing himself. “Why not? There are only three real ones, aren't there?”

Conundra shook her head. “That's not the point, fatty. Sure, the real ones are the dangerous ones... but you don't know which ones they ar-are~!” she sing-songed, waving a hoof at the horde as she lit her horn, bringing them to a halt before they all turned towards the group. “That means even if you find them, you won't be able to keep track of them all and you won't know where the attacks are coming from, so good luck stopping them.” She laughed in self-satisfaction. “Illusions and traps are great on their own, but together? They're unbeatable.”

Truffle and Moonwing both stepped forward, catching each other's eye, momentarily surprised someone was joining them. However, after a moment, they nodded to each other and continued, coming out well in front of the group.

Moonwing snorted, raising her shields. “Yeah? Bring it!”

Conundra lit her horn behind her helmet again and the golems surged forward, several of them throwing punches as soon as they got there while others worked on surrounding the pair. It quickly became near-impossible to keep track of how many attacks seemed to be coming at them and where they were coming from.

For Truffle, this was undoubtedly a problem, but he was still doing alright – his suit and bulk provided mostly full coverage of his body, protecting him from the worst of the strikes. It helped that he kept moving, avoiding many of the blows. He obviously knew he couldn't avoid all of them, so he didn't try to, but he was able to reduce the number that hit him, and particularly any that were aimed at his head. Not that his head was lacking in protective padding either, but it was best to be careful.

Sadly, Moonwing didn't fare quite so well. This was through no fault of hers, as she was making an excellent showing for herself, darting nimbly around and keeping her shields in constant motion, blocking many of the attacks that came for her, either resulting in the hoof passing through or a clonk of a successful block. However, her shields weren't able to cover her all the way around and a lot of the strikes thrown were able to come from a direction she wasn't blocking. For the most part, these strikes would pass through her, but occasionally she would grunt as one of the real enemies scored a hit.

It didn't help that the two, though both clearly skilled in their own right, didn't have much of a sense of each other's fighting styles. They weren't getting in each other's ways, but neither were they able to fully work together as a whole, remaining merely the sum of their parts.

Fortunately, after a few seconds, Caprice began playing a lively tune and her energy started flowing out towards the battle, washing over the pair of them and invigorating their movements, making them quicker, stronger and more precise. This helped them synchronize their timing, if not their actions. Meanwhile, Archer was firing a steady stream of arrows into the melee, though most of them never impacted anything solid and those that did usually did so through being intercepted on their way to their destination.

Icy shook her head, trying to shake off the disorientation the group of illusory opponents was filling her with. She opened her wings, only to hesitate – she couldn't send a freezing gust over the whole area without hitting Moonwing and Truffle, and freezing only part of the area would just hinder their movements. She tried sending a few focused gusts at select enemies, such that they would either freeze those specific golems or just come out the other side of the melee, but like Archer, they all failed to have any noticeable effect.

A stifled yelp drew her attention as one of Moonwing's shields nearly dropped from her grasp, one of the golems having managed to strike her under the wing that was holding it.

“Moonwing, get back!” Truffle called. “They might try and ng! get to the others!” It was a transparent cover for the fact that the nature of the fight made her less effective as a fighter, but it was theoretically true, even if Conundra didn't seem to think it was worth her time.

Still, Moonwing shook her head. “I'm not leaving you to fight this all by yourself!”

Truffle laughed, clearly forcing himself to but just as clearly able to. “Relax, I've got this nmph! covered! You'll be more use over there.”

Moonwing grunted, but after ducking under a strike that visibly skimmed her hair, she sighed and threw her shield towards the back of the fight, waiting for it to pass out of the brawl before following it, thrusting a wing forward and activating her retrieval beam to pull it back towards her. She met it on the way, leaping over a strike that may or may not have been real and landing outside the fight.

She whirled around, throwing her other shield into the melee. The shield passed through several of the illusions before audibly hitting one. However, it was impossible to tell which one as the general chaos of the fight blocked the sight of the hit and the shield quickly ricocheted off before Moonwing sent a beam to retrieve it.

“This is stupid!” Icy called out. “How are we supposed to take them down if we don't know which ones they are?”

“Exactly,” Conundra replied cheerfully. “You can't find them and, sooner or later, they'll wear you down, husky.”

“Okay, one, I'm not mph! husky, I'm fat!” Truffle bellowed. “And two, good luck with that, I'm fine. Actually, Caprice, could you stop with the music?”

Caprice's playing did indeed come to a sudden halt, but it seemed less out of obedience and more out of surprise and mild offence. “Wait, what? You don't want my...”

“It's not that!” Truffle called as he hopped over three strikes. “But there's a rhythm to these attacks... the real ones I think ng! I've almost got.” There was a pause before he seemed to realize the obvious. “Wait, hold a moment, Caprice! I'll get you the rhythm, see if you can...”

“Course I can!” Caprice interrupted, a grin coming onto her muzzle. “You reckon you can take it?”

“With pleasure!” Truffle answered as he slammed his hooves to the ground with massive thumps, planting them firmly and tensing his muscles for the incoming attacks.

It seemed to take a second for the golems to register what had happened, but after that, the strikes started coming in thick and fast.

“There!” Truffle called out as an impact was heard. A second and a half later, “There!” it happened again. Then, after less than a second, “There!” Another, slightly longer pause. “There!”

At this point, Icy was beginning to doubt that there actually was a rhythm to it, as it seemed totally irregular. However, by the look on Caprice's face, there might have been something to it, as her hoof was beginning to move quickly and sharply to a rhythm she was apparently seeing. The next time Truffle called out, it was indeed at the same time as one of her beats and, though the next strike took a different amount of time to come, it too landed on a beat.

After that, Caprice put her bow to the strings and began playing again, a slightly slower tune but one that perfectly fit the given rhythm, each strike landing on one of the beats. Again, her energy washed over Truffle but, this time, Icy could feel it permeating her own muscles as well, making her feel stronger and more energetic than she could remember feeling for a long time.

“Now, look for one o' them that's followin' the rhythm!” Caprice said, raising her voice a little.

Conundra scoffed, the amplification and distortion to her voice giving the vocalization an odd tone. “Yeah, right! As if you'd be able t-”

“Got one!” Archer called. “Lemme mark it for you!” She drew out an arrow with a bold blue tip and fired. It flew through the horde of illusions before exploding over the head of an evidently-solid golem, covering it in blue dye.

“There you are!” Truffle bellowed as he leapt over one of the dye-covered pony's strikes and latched onto its neck.

“What?! But that...” Conundra shook her head. “It doesn't matter, I'll just give my illusions blue heads as well!”

“Go ahead!” Archer grinned as she fired an impact arrow at the marked one's hooves, keeping it off-balance enough for Truffle to start clambering up it. “Then we can go for the ones that don't!”

“Well, I'll...” Conundra growled, clearly not used to being out-tricked. “I'll hit the real ones with a blue-head image!”

“Okay!” Caprice called, smirking. “Which ones were those again?”

“Well... they're...” Conundra stared at the fight for a few seconds – it seemed even she couldn't tell which of the other ponies were real. After a moment, she stamped her hoof. “Shut up! One of you... some of you... get the others!” She commanded as her helmet lit up once again.

After a moment, five of the golems broke off and began charging towards the group, forming a line across the corridor's width as they did.

“Oh no, you don't!” Moonwing said, darting to the side and winding up for a throw. After a moment, she flicked her wing out, sending her shield out at the other side of the corridor. The disc bounced off the wall, flying back across the front of the line before ricocheting again. This time, however, it went right through the line, passing through the rightmost three and impacting the fourth one, knocking it to the side, through the final image and into the wall.

Not wasting a second now she had a clear target, Icy flapped her wings, sending a massive bolt of energy over the golem and freezing it to the wall. It started struggling against its icy bonds, tiny cracking sounds just about audible. However, Icy kept flapping, thickening the ice and keeping it firmly in place.

“Nice one, Icy!” Archer said, scampering forward towards the fight. “Truffle, I've got eyes on the last one, I'll keep him off you!” She fired another arrow out into the scuffle, hitting the hoof of one that was about to strike at Truffle and knocking it aside. It quickly became lost among the moving images to all but Archer, whose eyes kept tracking it and whose hoof was already readying another arrow.

“Excellent!” Truffle said as he managed to steady himself on the back of the marked golem. “So I guess,” he smashed a hoof into the back of its head, “that means,” he pulled his hoof back before raising it again, “it's just a matter,” he slammed his hoof over its scalp, “of whittling them,” he pulled himself firmly down onto his unwilling mount's back, throwing his hoof downwards against its head, “down!”

Meanwhile, Icy had encased nearly the entire lower half of her target in ice, totally immobilizing it. Resting her wings, she saw Moonwing dart to the side once again. Turning to look, she saw her rush to the right side of the corridor before throwing a shield at the trapped golem. However, this time she followed close behind it, so that when it impacted the golem's neck and carved a shallow gash into it, she was able to thrust her other shield in front of it and keep the thrown one within that gash. The shield's edge wasn't especially sharp, but it was narrow enough that the force behind her throw had penetrated the wood's surface slightly.

With her shield now having a rut to stay in, Moonwing slammed her back hooves into the ground and pushed against her held shield, driving the other one deeper and deeper into the golem's neck. Its wooden limbs twitched as it tried to break free and stop her, but Icy's snare was too strong and, after about ten seconds of struggling, Moonwing finally broke through the neck with a colossal snap and the golem fell still.

“Well, who'da thunk it?” Caprice called over her music. “That's their weakness – you take off the head an' they die!” She laughed as she kept playing.

“Good! To! Know!” Truffle cried in sync with his strikes. The marked golem's head was nearly flattened by now and its movements had slowed to a crawl.

Truffle reared up on his hind hooves, bringing his forehooves together for one final strike. “That means down... you... go!” He brought his hooves slamming down, totally caving in the golem's head and making its knees buckle inwards.

“Last one's got an arrow in him!” Archer called out, firing a sharp arrow that, indeed, lodged in the head of the last solid golem.

“Got it!” Truffle leapt off the now-inanimate marked golem just as it began to fall, landing with his forehooves on the back of the last one and scrabbling to climb up fully.

As he got his hooves under him, Moonwing turned and called out, “Go for a slam!” Not waiting for an answer, she hurled her shield at this last enemy's hooves, the shield skimming along the ground before slamming into them, knocking it to the floor just as Truffle leapt up off its back.

The golem's body came to the floor, but it instantly began moving to try and right itself. However, it never got a chance as with a “Banzai!”, Truffle fell right down onto its head. His elbows landed firmly on its scalp, allowing his considerable weight to drive it down into the floor hard, shattering its blank face into splinters and bringing its movements to a halt.

The instant it stopped moving, the illusory enemies stopped, fading away over a couple of seconds.

Icy frowned, a little confused. “Huh? Why'd they all vanish?”

“She prob'ly anchored the mirage to the real golems,” Caprice said as she brought her tune to a halt. “Meant they could follow 'em a little better, same reason a bunch of 'em came when one broke off. Course, that means no more golems, no more mirages, no more worries, know what I mean?” She grinned as she started trotting towards Truffle.

“Grrrragh!” Conundra growled from her image on the wall. “You kids got lucky this time, but even when you're all better from your beating, you'll still never reach me! This place is a maze with more traps than you've got feathers! By the time you get out, I'll be long gone. Have fun with your bruises, losers!” And, with that, her image faded away.

Moonwing paused, looking at her featherless wings. “Huh, you think she was being ableist on purpose or was she just being stupid?”

Archer shrugged. “Again, you say that like both ain't an option.”

Icy opened her mouth to speak when another guidance beam shot back at the wall, a spell following a moment later to bring her image back.

“Crap! I was talking to the ice-filly, not… I didn’t think… I wasn’t making a joke about your wings, I was just… gah!” And with that, her image vanished again.

Icy hummed, her eyes still fixed on where Conundra had appeared. “You know, she seems kinda... I dunno, feels kinda familiar. Like something I know and wish I didn't.”

“I know what you mean,” Truffle said as he rejoined the main group. “Still, she was right about one thing – I did get a couple of bruises back there. Those things were not pulling their punches.”

Caprice rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I get the message. Just gimme a moment, need to call up the energy.”

Truffle blinked, confused for a moment before he remembered what he'd seen back in the cell. “Well, I wasn't actually thinking of that; certainly wasn't demanding it, but if you can soothe things a bit, I'd appreciate it.”

“Yeah, we both took a couple of hits,” Moonwing added, sitting down and lowering her shields. She flexed a wing, getting a slight grimace for a second before fidgeting into a more comfortable resting position. “And that's not even mentioning...” She jerked her head behind her towards the still-slumped figure of Zatrathan.

Caprice sighed and nodded as she plucked her strings, adjusting the tuning pegs. “Guess I better make it an area-healin'. T'riffic, that's always so fun!”

Icy winced in sympathy. “Do you want me and Archer to back away, then? Will us being here make it harder... or be dangerous to us?” she added after a moment's thought – who knew what over-exposure to this healing energy could do to a healthy body.

Caprice shook her head, a breathy chuckle escaping her. “Nah, it's a size thing, not a number o' targets one. Should be fine... long as you don't mind a few tumors.”

Icy reared back in surprise. “T-tumors?! Why didn't you...” she trailed off as she noticed Archer remaining where she was, giving her a look of incredulity that went weirdly well with Caprice's stifled laughter.

She relaxed into a slight pout. “Very funny!”

“I sure thought so,” Caprice grinned before she began to play. As she did, the blue-green energy that had previously healed Archer started drifting off of her, much lighter and more gradual than the last time. In a few seconds, it expanded like a gas over the small area around Caprice, washing over the other five present.

It was a very strange feeling to Icy. It was a little tingly, but not in a jarring way. Instead, it was like a low, gentle rumble was passing through her body. It reminded her of the moment after a shiver passed through her body – after the sharp, unpleasant judder, there was usually a moment when the vibration slowed down as it faded, becoming rather pleasant for a fraction of a second before the feeling disappeared entirely. It was like that, but extended and without the surrounding shiver. More than just being pleasant, it was also relaxing – she could feel the tension of the previous battle leaving her, her muscles loosening slightly. It was, overall, an immensely enjoyable feeling.

Briefly, Icy wondered, if it felt this nice to someone who hadn't been hurt and, in general, wasn't especially used to pain, how great must it feel to Truffle? Or maybe it would feel worse since it was actually trying to heal his wounds. Either way, Icy wasn't exactly eager to get hurt so she could find out.

After about thirty seconds, the song faded. There was a second of silence before a groan was heard.

Zatrathan rose to his feet, blinking rapidly as his eyes focused before squeezing them shut. He pressed a hoof to his temple, exhaling slowly. After a second, though, his eyes flew open and he whipped his sword out.

“I'll draw your wooden hides from neck to croup!
Iaaaaaahhh!” he trailed off as he looked around, seeing the others gathered around him and, a short distance away, the splintered remains of the three golems.

He lowered his sword with a sigh. “The battle's over, isn't it?”

Everyone gave a slow nod. Zatrathan sheathed his sword with frustrated growl.

“Well, poop!”

There was a long, awkward silence.

“No matter, we must cease to linger here.” Zatrathan eventually began, turning down the corridor.
We have a filly's dark desires to sink.
We can't allow her Sombra's spell of fear.
Such power, in hooves like hers... one dreads to think.”

Truffle's eyes widened as he too turned to hurry off. “You're right, we can't let her... let's go!”

He started down the corridor and Icy took a moment to find her feet before following. However, she was brought to a halt when she heard a throat-clearing from behind them.

“Oh, sure, yeah, no problem!” Caprice huffed as she sat down. “I only just used a massive load of energy healin' ye after keepin' ye boosted through a whole fight, course I'm okay to just go runnin' off after that!”

Truffle paused, looking briefly torn between rushing off and hanging back before he relaxed with a sigh. “I... suppose you're right. Sorry, I just...”

Caprice's frown softened. “Hey, don't worry 'bout it, I get it. I wanna stop her as much as you do, y'know.”

Icy's ears twitched as she just about heard Truffle say something under his breath– she couldn't say for certain, but she could have sworn he'd said, “I doubt it.”

“I ain't no wuss,” Caprice continued, neither she nor any of the others having heard or noticed Truffle's muttering, “I just need a couple o' minutes to catch my breath, know what I'm sayin'?”

Truffle wilted slightly as he trotted back to the group. “Well, if you're sure.”

“Relax, she just needs a little recharge,” Moonwing assured him as she closed her eyes contentedly. “Actually, I think we could all use one.”

Zatrathan nodded. “Caprice needs little time to rest her hooves
and to renew her music's magic source.
For every day I've seen her play, she proves
she's tough as leather boots,” he grinned, “and twice as coarse.”

Caprice smirked. “All the better for when I stick the boot up-”

“I get the point!” Truffle interrupted with an amused eye roll.

“By the way,” Archer spoke up, “Zatrathan... actually, can I call you Zat?”

Zatrathan smiled at her, bowing his head slightly. “We're comrades now, so how could I refuse?
I think that you can call me what you choose.”

Caprice snorted in amusement. “Cos that worked out so well for Cap'n Fartypants.”

Zatrathan paused, his hoof raised. He thought for a second before opening his mouth to speak, but Archer pre-empted him.

“Relax, Zat's fine by me. I just wanted to ask about your...” she vaguely indicated her mouth, “the whole rhyming thing.”

“A zebra thing – it's how our words arrange.
To me, your random speech is just as strange.”

Archer shook her head. “No, I get that – we've got a zebra living in... well, near Ponyville and we're all used to her rhyming. It's just that the way she does it is... different. Hard to really say how, but it's to do with the lines, I think?”

Zatrathan tilted his head slightly. “That's not enough to really get the gist.
Perhaps a small example would assist?”

Archer put a hoof to her chin as she thought. “Okay, well, I remember she said to me one time...” she trailed off for a moment before sighing, “And I'm not gonna try and imitate her voice, that'd probably be... not okay. Anyway, she said: ‘I thank you for your offer, child, but I'm no slouch against the wild,’ after I suggested I protect her one time.”

Zatrathan nodded as understanding dawned on his face. “Our speeches both have different rhythmic veins,
for she, from Southern Zebricana, hails,
while I'm from Zebricana's eastern plains
and have the verbal difference that entails.”

“Well, there is one big difference,” Archer added. “Zecora doesn't even have four-line rhyming... set... things...” she frowned slightly, perturbed at lacking the vocabulary to describe it. “But it's more than that – the actual lines are different. It's... kinda hard to pin down how, though.”

Zatrathan chuckled. “No doubt it is, to one with speech so terse,
whereas, to me, the variance is clear.
For her speech forms in tetrametric verse,
while mine is pentametric, as you hear.
Of course, both forms are equally correct.” He shrugged.
“In all, it's just a different dialect.”

Archer thought for a little while, clearly not quite getting the details of what he was saying before shrugging it off. “Well, if you say so. Though, if I'm honest, I think yours is a little cuter,” she finished with an impish grin.

Zatrathan's next words caught in his throat as another blush rose to his cheeks. Fortunately, he was saved from further embarrassment by Caprice getting to her feet.

“Not that I'm keen on stoppin' ye before Zat explodes, but I'm all rested up, so I think we oughta be goin'.”

Truffle nodded and began leading the way down the corridor, the others all following a moment later.

All, that is, except for Zatrathan, who remained frozen for a good five seconds before shaking his head and sprinting to catch up with the others.

“Tickets please!” the train conductor called as he walked down the carriage.

The moment he reached the cloaked figure, he began talking, only for the figure to flash its hooves out, depositing the ticket in his hooves so fast he couldn't even see the colour of their coat.

As he looked at the ticket, the figure looked out of the window.

“Get ready, Icy Flight. I'm coming.”

Chapter Six: Can't Beat the Classics... But We Can Try!

The group made their way down the corridor, passing by the four-way junction to where they had seen Conundra's beam originate from. Still, they did not move hastily, constantly scanning the walls, floor and ceiling ahead of them for any more traps or surprises that Sombra may have left and he or Conundra may have hidden.

Still, they soon turned to the corner at the end of the corridor, only to find a rough Y-junction a short distance away.

“So which way do we-” Icy began before being cut off.

“Right. That beam would have come from the right,” Archer declared, not even pausing as she continued.

Icy turned to her, her hooves already moving; it seemed her body trusted Archer's eye implicitly even as her mind and mouth questioned her. “How did you... oh, right, you saw how the beam bounced, right?”

Archer nodded. “Yeah, but I didn't get a good look at it, 'fraid. It's pretty obvious it must have gone right, but after that, I can't really say.”

“Your skill continues beggaring belief,
so one great marvel less is not a pity,” Zatrathan assured her.
You saw a path amid a glance so brief.
Your eyes are quite prodigious...” he paused, turning his head away before muttering, “and quite pretty.”

“What was that?” Archer said, her ears twitching as she tried to pick up what Zatrathan had said under his breath. It was hard to tell whether she had genuinely missed it or was being coy, having either heard him or figured it out from the rhyme. However, though Icy could have imagined it, she thought she could just make out a faint blush on Archer's dark fur.

“We still have need to figure out directions,” Zatrathan blurted out, not even trying to disguise his attempt to distract from what he was saying,
“in navigating further intersections!”

“Well, I've got an idea about that,” Moonwing said after a moment, her voice slow but confident. “As long as all these corridors stay this rough, it shouldn't be a problem.”

Icy tilted her head, but said nothing. It was certainly true that none of the corridors were particularly straight – if Icy had to guess, she'd say that the cave system was natural and Sombra simply built the crystal walls into it – but she couldn't see what relevance that could have. Still, she followed along, hoping that either Moonwing's idea would work or that it would fail in a way that was obvious rather than leading them the wrong way.

It didn't take long before they came to a place where it would need to be tested – another four way junction. They were coming onto it at an acute angle that roughly continued on the other side, while two relatively straight corridors went out to their left and right.

“Right, give me a minute or two,” Moonwing declared as she let her shields drop to the ground with a loud, metallic clunk. She walked forward towards the intersection and spread out her featherless wings.

For any other pegasus, it would look as if she was about to take flight. However, even if it wasn't already obvious that that wasn't an option for Moonwing, the lack of the flat-ish surface that most wings formed meant it looked nothing like a take-off position. Instead, it was similar to if she was holding her hooves out to balance on her hindlegs. As she walked forward, slowly and carefully, she held them steady, as if balancing on a tightrope.

She walked out into the centre of the junction and stopped, closing her eyes, becoming completely still. She stayed like this for nearly a minute, to the point that Icy genuinely wondered if she had fallen asleep. It was unlikely, admittedly, that she'd have done so while standing up and holding out her wings, but considering how sedate she tended to act whenever they stopped moving, Icy wouldn't have put it past her. However, eventually she opened her eyes again and trotted down the left path before stopping again. Icy looked down that path, but could see nothing distinctive.

Her head turned as she scanned around the junction. Assuming the direction they were facing was north – which Icy had no reason to suspect or assume, nor did she particularly care about which way was north beyond it being a handy reference point for other directions – the corridor Moonwing was standing in came in fairly straight to the west and continued to the east before turning south. Meanwhile, the corridor they had come down jutted down to the south-west and the opposite path went off to the north east. This gave further credence to Icy's assumption that the caves were naturally formed before being crystallized. Icy opened her mouth to speak before she heard a scratching sound.

Turning, she saw Caprice rubbing the metal tip of her violin bow on the wall, just before the junction. Looking closer, Icy saw she was scratching a rough arrow into the crystal. The purpose was obvious – a marker in case they got turned around – but she still gave Caprice a mildly disapproving look. She wasn't sure whether it was because of her lacking faith in her teammate's plan, whatever it was, or because she was kind of defacing a historic, if macabre, monument.

Looking up, Caprice caught her look and just gave her a disdainful shrug.

After another minute or so, Moonwing turned around and trotted down the eastern path, pausing there but relaxing a little less, as if she didn't expect to stay as long there.

Indeed, after only thirty seconds, she turned again and headed back to the junction, turning around sharply and heading up the north-eastern path. She waited about ten seconds before nodding and returning to the group.

“Well, assuming that she's between us and the exit...” she began as she picked up her shields.

“She is,” Caprice interrupted. “She'd wanna have a quick escape if she needed it. 'Sides, Sombra'd wanna make sure anyone who wanted to escape had to get past him, so I figure his control room'd be where the ways out meet the ways further in, sound about right?”

Moonwing nodded. “Makes sense. In that case, we go left – that's the way to the way out.”

The group turned and made their way to the left, the assurance in Moonwing's tone the only incentive their hooves apparently needed to start moving.

Still, Icy did feel the need to ask, “How could you tell?”

“Yeah, I was thinkin' the same thing,” Caprice added.

Moonwing looked to the side, a touch of worry on her face. “Well, I'd tell you but...” she scanned along the cystalline walls that stretched out before them, “I don't want a certain somepony to overhear it.”

Icy raised an eyebrow, her curiosity only further piqued, but didn't have a chance to say anything before Caprice scoffed.

“Okay, so here's an idea: just whisper it to us. One at a time, if you gotta. We know the pony behind the curtain ain't all-seein'. Or, least, all-hearin'.”

“Fair enough,” Moonwing nodded and turned her movements towards Icy, eliciting a sigh from Caprice.

After a moment, Moonwing was close enough to whisper in Icy's ear, “Where there's a wind, there's a way.”

Icy turned, opening her mouth and weighing whether to ask Moonwing what she meant. She could tell that she was proud of the phrase, but Icy still didn't really understand. “Huh?”

To her credit, Moonwing didn't seem annoyed at having to explain further. “I just felt how the wind was flowing down the corridors. It was strongest down this one, pretty strong down the right one, a little down the top one and there was barely any down the one we came from. So, since it'd come from the exit eventually, that means it's coming from here and going back and forth to the right ones, you see?”

Icy hummed for a moment – her own abilities meant she knew a fair bit about how wind worked, so she understood what she was saying. However, she held out her own wing for a moment before pointing out, “Well, I didn't feel any real wind.”

Moonwing snickered as she began to trot towards Caprice. Still, she managed to whisper to her, “I'm not surprised, with all those feathers in the way.”

Icy ruffled her wings, a little surprised at how much that made sense. It wasn't exactly a moment of ‘mind blown’, but it did give her a new appreciation of her own wings – their construction, their advantages and, now, their slight disadvantages.

That said, she didn't exactly dwell on it long. And while she did wish that was because she was reminded of how serious a situation she and the rest of the group was in, it was actually because she was now consciously aware of her own feathers. It was like being aware of her own breathing – surreal and, now that she'd thought of it, she couldn't really dismiss the feeling.

Fortunately, she was brought out of it a moment later when the group came to another junction, this time a Y-junction that they were coming at from one of the split paths.

Again, Moonwing dropped her shields and trotted out into the junction. However, this time she didn't stay still, instead moving slowly but erratically around the area for about a minute and a half before returning and pointing down the other split in the fork.

Icy nodded – if the exit was down the (from them) more northern path, it'd split down both other paths, but if it didn't, it must be coming from the other path.

As they moved down that path, she held her wing out again and paused for a second. She tried to focus on the feeling of the wind moving across and between her feathers, but could barely feel anything and certainly couldn't feel any difference from the area they'd just come from.

She sighed as she moved on, thankful that at least one of them was able to tell where they were supposed to be going. Still, she was a little worried about what would happen if something happened, either in general that stopped her being able to navigate via air currents or specifically to Moonwing.

This worry only increased when she began hearing a strange noise from around the corner they were approaching.

At first, it was difficult to tell exactly what the noise was or, at least, what it was composed of, because it was a chaotic pile of sounds so clustered and thick as to form one formless mass. However, as the group got closer to the source of it, Icy was able to just about tell that it was composed of one sound repeated and overlapped upon itself – a deep, long whooshing noise.

The group came up to a corner and gathered around it. They could all clearly hear that, whatever was making the sounds, it was around that corner and, though it could well have been a trick, it seemed they were all experienced enough to halt and prepare themselves before they faced it.

Well, admittedly Zatrathan did require a hoof in front of him to stop him leaping around the corner but, to his credit, he didn't require any particular convincing.

The makeshift team quickly arranged themselves in the best order of advancement. Truffle and Moonwing were in the vanguard, ready to take any hits and block any attempts to get past them to the others, with Zatrathan following closely behind and Archer a short way behind him so they could both attack at their respective ideal distances. Meanwhile, Icy and Caprice were in the rear, ready to lend whatever support they could.

After a short, silent countdown from Truffle, the frontmost ponies whirled around the corner, only to relax somewhat immediately afterwards. They didn't look especially relieved, though, so the others soon joined them to see what was in front of them.

A short distance in front of them was a curious sight. Stretching out through the corridor was a series of massive pendulums swinging back and forth along the width of the corridors, going into deep grooves in the walls at the end of each swing. At the top of each wooden pole was the lower half of what looked like a large cog and at the bottom was a massive, wickedly sharp-looking axe blade.

Now, while this on its own would be an intimidating sight, it would not, Icy suspected, be that surprising. They'd all read enough Daring Do to recognize this style of trap and, though her mother insisted that it was not an especially effective obstacle, it had at least some historical basis, as this seemed to show.

However, making things a lot more complicated was the fact that the pendulums were not alone in their arcs – each one had nearly a dozen copies swinging in the same area, the many blades continually swinging through each other in a chaotic, desynchronized jumble of wood and steel. The fact that all but one of these copies were obviously illusions did little to diminish the imposing sight, as there was no obvious way to tell which were real and which were false by looking at or listening to them.

Conundra's image looked down at the group from one of the walls in front of the first pendulum. “What the- How'd you get here so f-” she spluttered before cutting herself off. “Well, I guess even a blind squirrel can find a nut. Doesn't matter anyway – how do you like my little blade barricades?” she asked with a smirk Icy could practically hear.

Caprice looked over the gauntlet in front of her with a slightly pursed mouth. “Hmm... six outta ten, if you ask me... which you did.”

Conundra snorted. “Yeah, right. You just keep telling yourself that, little filly.”

Caprice shrugged. “Hey, the illusions are a nice touch, I'll give ye that, but it don't change the fact that swingin' blades're ain't too effective at killin' ponies, since, y'know, we can just slip between 'em.”

“Hmph!” Conundra flinched back slightly, as if offended by Caprice's words. “Who said anything about killing you? I don't want you dead.” She gave a haughty chuckle. “Even if I was that bloodthirsty, which I'm not, by the way, but even if I was, what makes you think I'd care enough about you jumped-up noponies to want you dead. No, no, no,” she waggled a hoof to the side to emphasize her denial, “I don't want to kill you, I just want to stop you. And I think even you'll be smart enough to know not to try and go through these blades if it could get you killed.”

Icy tilted her head at the giant image of the helmeted filly. “But if you don't wanna kill us... you sent those golems after us...”

“And they weren't gonna kill you either, just knock you out or keep you occupied for a while,” Conundra interjected dismissively, having clearly thought out that answer ahead of time.

“Yeah, but you also made us all think the other group were monsters who were trying to kill us,” Icy pointed out. “You sure seemed like you were trying to make us kill each other.”

“No I... see, I...” Conundra started speaking rapidly, tripping over her words before collecting herself. “I knew you wouldn't kill anyon- anything, you'd just take them down, which suited me just fine.

There was a pause as everyone looked at each other. After a moment, Zatrathan spoke up.

“You'd think a mare adept at fooling eyes
would be a lot more skilled at telling lies.”

Caprice smirked up at Conundra. “You just hadn't thought that one through, had you?”

“Shut up!” Conundra barked. “You still can't get past this one. And I wasn't the one who made this trap either, I'm just using it and improving it.”

“Yeah, about that,” Archer spoke up, glancing briefly at Conundra before returning her gaze to the pendulums, “I woulda thought Sombra'd have some way more effective deathtraps than this one. Like, from everything I've read about the guy, he was pretty efficient when it came to getting what he wants.”

“Pft, don't you know anything?” Conundra shook her covered head at Archer.

“Hey, we're not crystal ponies,” Archer shrugged, not seeming bothered by the insult, “we didn't live through his reign, what do you expect?”

Conundra scoffed again. “So what? All you need to do is read up a bit on your history like Iiiiiii lived through,” she amended quickly.

Another knowing glance went around the group at her having outed herself as not being a crystal pony. Not that it was that likely – crystal unicorns were extremely rare – but it was useful to have confirmation, as it would narrow down the search for her identity if they didn't catch her before she escaped.

Still, no one said anything this time, so Conundra soon continued. “If Sombra wanted to kill someone, he didn't need traps to do it. Heck, he'd probably think them getting killed without him watching would be a waste of a good show.” To her credit, Conundra sounded just as unnerved by the sadism she was describing as Icy was. “If he wanted you dead, he'd just blast you himself or, if he wasn't there, just send in some of his... slaves to do it.” Again, she sounded quite disturbed at having to say that.

Icy thought for a moment. “But then, why make traps that could kill you if he didn't want to?”

At this, however, Conundra seemed to lighten up a little. “To scare you. He got his power from fear, and I mean both how he ruled and his magic. At least, I think that's how it worked.” She put a hoof through her helmet to her chin before waving the question off. “Anyway, the point was to make anyone trying to get through these tunnels as scared as he could before he... did whatever he did to them. And if they got a few wounds, then that'd just be a bonus for him.” She sighed before drawing herself up. “Of course, I'm not that horrible. I'm not interested in scaring you, just in stopping you.”

Icy opened her mouth to inform her that she was trying to stop them by making them afraid to continue, but was pre-empted by Truffle. “Yes, I'm sure that the filly who's going through all this trouble to get a spell to show ponies their greatest fear,” Icy noticed a slight shudder going through him, though he hid it well and didn't pause in his speech, “doesn't want to scare anypony at all.”

Conundra gave a slightly growling sigh. “Look, I told you, I don't want the spell so I can cast it. I mean, it's a pretty nasty spell, I wouldn't want to use it on anypony, would I? I just wanna learn it.”

“But...” Icy trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to figure out Conundra's logic. “But then why do you want it? What's the point in knowing a spell if you don't ever want to use it?”

“Because shut up, that's why!” Conundra snapped. “I just want it, okay, and you can't stop me from having it!”

Icy raised an eyebrow, beginning to get a clearer picture of who Conundra reminded her of, but said nothing.

After a moment, Conundra once again drew herself up. “So, are you gonna be good little colts and fillies, sit down and not get sliced into thin little strips?

“Yeah, that's not how this'd work,” Moonwing spoke up. While everyone else had been busy talking to Conundra, she had walked up the first set of swinging blades and was standing there, holding a wing out near them.

She turned her head back towards the group, pulling her wing back a little. “Not all of these... groups? Like most of the points where stuff looks like it's swinging don't actually have any real blades in them. Most of the sets are all illusions.”

“Wh- Are you so sure?” Conundra asked, almost but not quite masking her initial surprise at Moonwing figuring it out.

Moonwing just nodded. “Yep, I'm sure. You can fool me but,” she swished a wing in front of her, “you can't fool the air.”

“What are you...” Conundra tilted her head, causing her illusory helmet to briefly be set at a strange angle. “Well, it doesn't matter anyway if you can't tell which ones are the real ones, does it?”

Caprice sighed. “Yeah, how'll we ever tell if there's somethin' in front of us or not. Truly, an impossible challenge, your deviosity is staggerin'.” As she was talking, she shoved a hoof into Archer's quiver, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the fellow earth pony. After a moment, she pulled out an arrow and strolled up to the first pendulum. “It's not as if we can, I dunno, just throwin' ideas out here...” she stuck the arrow into the path of the pendulum and held it there for a couple of seconds until one of the blades connected to it physically and smashed it, “test it or nothin'!”

Conundra growled a little, but kept her tone mostly steady. “Okay, so you can tell which are real when you're right next to them. Congratulations, but that won't help you if you're in the middle of it, will it?”

Caprice turned around, looking up at Conundra. “You always assume ponies yer up against are stupid or do ye just wanna put us down to tell yerself y'ain't scared?”

Conundra gave a chuckling harrumph. “I guess you're jus-”

“Rhetorical question!” Caprice interrupted cheerfully, eliciting a splutter from Conundra that she totally ignored. She looked over her group for a few moments before her eyes settled on Icy.

“Hey, you reckon you could freeze us, like, an ice column along here?” She gestured in a straight line towards the area in front of them.

Icy trotted up to her, her wings whipping out and beginning to gather energy even as she asked, “I think so, but it won't be strong enough to hold any of the blades, I don't think.”

“Ddin't think it would,” Caprice clapped her on the back as she joined her, nearly startling Icy into sending the energy out prematurely. “but what it'll do is tell us which sets have real blades in 'em. All we's gotta do is look where the ice gets smashed.”

Icy nodded as she saw what Caprice meant. After another moment of gathering energy, Icy flapped her wings hard, keeping the angle tight to focus the resulting gust into a thin column in front of her.

As the gust swept along the ground, Icy once again silently gave thanks for the Guard hiring À La Mode and her amazing skill with clothes and costumes. A couple of months ago, she would have had to flap hard and repeatedly to get the long, thick pillar of ice that formed before her. However, thanks to her suit focusing her energy and stopping it diffusing into the air, it only took three flaps to get a column that rose up to the height of her belly.

Of course, she didn't have long to appreciate this as, less than a second later, a series of massive cracking noises sprang out down the corridor as the blades of the real pendulums smashed through the ice.

“Looks like there are... eleven of 'em,” Archer said from her position on the floor, her head pressed into the corner of the wall and floor so she could get a clear view all the way along the gauntlet. “Space between 'em too. It'd be tight for a grown up, but we could fit in there fine.”

“Oh, for...” Conundra piped up again, having briefly turned away from the group, facing something that presumably wasn't being transmitted in the image. “I'm trying to concentrate on getting through the last bits of security, could you please not distract me with your fantasies? You'd have to get through without risking getting yourselves cut in half first.” She nodded firmly and began turning away again.

Icy briefly considered pointing out the irony in an illusionist complaining about fantasies, but didn't get the chance before Zatrathan stomped out towards the pendulums, an angry sneer on his face as he drew his sword.

“Then maybe if we break your trap instead,
it might convince your mouth, at last, to shut.” He glared up at Conundra's image for a second before holding his sword, edge down, in the path of the pendulums' poles. After a second, the real one knocked it aside, making him lock his eyes on it.
“A wooden shaft, though fine to hold a head,
is nothing for a magic blade to cut!”

He swung his sword to meet the pole, white energy flashing along the metal an instant before it made contact. However, rather than the sound of splintering metal that Icy expected, there was a sound somewhere between that of wood being hit but not broken and that of an expulsion of magic similar to a blast spell. At the same time, there was a flash of light from the meeting point, briefly blinding Icy. However, through it, she could just about make out Zatrathan's blade flying up and out of his hooves, landing a short way down the corridor, past many of the swinging blades.

Conundra snorted. “Oh, yeah, probably should have mentioned – most of the stuff down here has got loads of protection spells on them. Except the golems – would have interfered with the stuff animating them – but everything else got protected by Sombra. And I could be wrong, but I'm guessing his magic is a little stronger than yours, blade-for-brains. But if you want me to stop talking, that's fine – I'll leave you to stew in your failure.” And, with that, she turned away again, her horn-area lighting up as the sound of her hoofsteps abruptly cut off.

“Huh, looks like she cut the sound,” Icy observed.

“Well, one way to find out,” Caprice smirked. “Hey, poor mare's Jack Pot! You wearin' that crystal golf ball helmet to hide yer ugly mug, to stop yerself signallin' every lie ye tell like a siren or do ya just like lookin' like a cheap souvenir snow globe somepony dropped?”

There was a lengthy pause before Caprice nodded. “Yep, she ain't hearin' us.”

Zatrathan stomped a hoof on the ground.

“That filly's really getting on my nerves.” He sighed, the annoyance dropping from his expression.
“And, yet, it's only she my rashness serves.”

Icy, Truffle and Caprice all opened their mouths to reply, but Archer held a hoof up sharply, cutting them off. She mouthed quickly for a few seconds as she approached Zatrathan before smiling.

She bumped him in the shoulder and said, “Don't worry, she'll soon get what she deserves.”

Despite the rhythm of her line sounding a little off, even to Icy, Zatrathan smiled back at her, a small chuckle escaping him as he nodded.

“Yeah,” Caprice said as she looked up at the torrent of blades before her, “least this time you didn't get cut off mid-rhyme. I know you hate that.”

Zatrathan sighed. “You're right, of course – that helps a tiny bit.
But still...”

“Yeah, no interruptions this time!” Caprice shot out with an impudent smirk.

Zatrathan glared at her. “I think it best for you to quit,” he finished, unamused by the joke.

Caprice held her hooves up. “Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist.”

Truffle sighed loudly, though with a hint of a smile on his face. “Well, in any case, we need to figure out how to tell where the real blade is for all the ones that have them.”

Caprice turned to him, a little confused. “Huh? We just stick somethin' in to test 'em – I just showed how...”

“Yes, I saw,” Truffle replied, his eyebrow sharply raised at the idea that he hadn't thought of that, “but not all of us as sharp eyed as Archer or a sharp... rhythmed as you. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd prefer not to have to rely on touch and timing alone to avoid getting killed.

“I could maybe freeze it,” Icy suggested, spreading her wings for emphasis. “So we could keep track of the one with ice on it?”

Caprice shook her head. “Nah, if these things are protected, the magic'd either bounce off or get absorbed. Still, markin' the real one ain't a bad idea. Say, Archer, ye got any more o' those dye arrows o' yours?”

“A few,” Archer replied, reaching in and pulling out a green-tipped arrow. “Got a couple in a few different colours, but not a whole quiver. I mean, I try to be prepared and all, but there aren't too many situations where I need to make a target blue, green or yellow, so I don't have a whole crayon-box's worth or anything.”

She nocked the arrow and began to pull back on the string, but relaxed after a moment. “Actually, probably better not to shoot the real one when we find it – I know I don't have enough for all of 'em, let alone anything else we could need 'em for.”

“Wasn't thinkin' ye would,” Caprice informed her as she snatched the arrow out of the bow, not seeming to notice Archer's reflexive movement towards pulling out another arrow and shooting her. Instead, she simply trotted up to the first set of blade images and shoved the arrow's tip just into the illusions.

For a few seconds, nothing happened but, just as Icy was understanding her reasoning, the real blade swung through the arrow's tip, bursting it open and smearing green dye along its surface. Caprice quickly pulled the arrow back and tipped it up so some of the dye stayed in the remains of the bulb and looked up, watching the now-marked physical blade swing away.

She turned back towards the others, her eyes briefly flicking to the hoof holding the arrow, also now covered in green dye.

“Well, my hoof's gonna look like I was painting while gettin' electrocuted by the time we're done, but we got our answer. Let's go!”

She turned back to the blades and waited a moment for the marked one to pass by before stepping through, quickly followed by Truffle and Archer. The other three followed a moment later, after the marked blade swung by once more.

Once she was through, Icy kept an eye on the column of Ice she'd created, looking for where the next real blade had broken through and trying to ignore the many, many false blades that were passing in front of, behind and through her. It was an intensely surreal feeling – both her senses of sight and hearing told her she was about to get sliced into tiny pieces and, no matter how much she told herself that it wasn't real, the reflex to duck when you see anything flying towards you, let alone a deadly weapon, was incredibly hard to suppress.

However, even weirder was how it continued – when her instinctive responses told her both that she was about to die and that she had already been killed. On the one hoof, the disconnect and the continual nature of it made it easier to stop herself reacting physically to it, but on the other, the discomfort was only exacerbated by the apparent danger not coming to an end when it should. It was like the sensory equivalent of running a fever – feeling hot and cold at the same time despite knowing perfectly well that the room is neither.

Fortunately, the one thing this feeling did that was beneficial was to keep her alert and aware of her surroundings, something Icy knew she sometimes had trouble with, and she soon found the next point in the corridor where a real pendulum had passed through her ice. Looking up, she saw through the illusions passing in front of her that Caprice was already holding the arrow up for the next blade to pass through.

A moment later, a slight scraping sound let them all know that the blade had been marked. However, this time the green smear was somewhat fainter, a problem made worse by the fact that the set of holographic blades in front of it made keeping track of the marked blade more difficult.

“Looks like we can get two blades per arrow,” Caprice said, tossing the now-spent arrow aside and holding a hoof out to Archer for the next one. It took only a split second, as Archer had already retrieved one, and after a moment to let the real blade pass by, they stepped through.

Icy gulped as she put her head through the arc of illusory blades, unable to dismiss the image of getting her head chopped off. This wasn't helped by the fact that there was only about half a metre between that set and the one containing the real blade, making it difficult to see it as it swung off to the side. The faintness of the marking didn't help, making it difficult to tell apart from the mirages until it got uncomfortably close.

However, soon enough, the green streak passed in front of her face and she dashed through, just about keeping in a whimper as she passed through.

A moment later, she closed her eyes and exhaled, taking a second to centre herself before she opened them again and continued forward. It probably wasn't good for her stress levels, but it seemed they had found a way through.

The process continued for another three blades, using two more dye arrows and, by her estimation, giving Icy ten different heart attacks. Admittedly, two of them were from when Zatrathan went aside to retrieve his sword, but that didn't make her feel much better. However, as they were coming up to the sixth area of smashed ice, they heard something behind them.

“-tria's going on down there?!” Conundra's voice rang out down the corridor, the start sounding unnaturally cut off – presumably, she'd started the sentence a moment before she turned the sound in the projection spell back on. “Can't I leave you alone for...” she trailed off. Icy knew she wouldn't be able to get a clear picture of her if she looked behind her and wasn't inclined to try, but she guessed she was looking at the markings they'd left in their trail.

After a moment, though, Conundra stopped. “Well, look at the big brain on you. Too bad for you,” the sound of her horn lighting up could be heard over her voice and the swinging of the pendulums, “you're not just dealing with a trap. You've got a pony with their own brain to contend with. And ponies can adapt. For example...”

“Quickly, get over here!” Truffle called out from the other side of the sixth blade. Icy didn't need any more encouragement as she and Moonwing hopped through, following close behind the others as they moved to the next one. However, through the chaotic mass of images, Icy could just make out the targeting beam that proceeded a spell being sent towards them. A few seconds later, just as before Caprice could retrieve another arrow, the coloured beam of a spell came flying around the corner towards them. Moonwing dashed to the front of the group, her shield raised in readiness, only to lower it when the spell impacted the very front of the section of blades, once again creating a blinding flash.

Fortunately, it seemed they were all used to this, enough to close their eyes when the spell hit. Opening hers, Icy saw a shifting mass of bright colours mixed into the swinging blades. It took a moment to parse what she was seeing, but after a couple of heavy blinks, she managed to resolve things enough to make out the streaks of colour that now adorned all of the illusory blades. They were in a wealth of different colours, all as bright and eye-catching as the marks that Archer's arrows had made. Looking closely, Icy suspected that each of these streaks had the same pattern, but it was nearly impossible to say for certain because of how they were moving and intersecting one another and it would be actually impossible to use that to judge which was real.

Fortunately, that wasn't immediately necessary, as there was one blade that conspicuously lacked a marking – presumably the real one. As an earlier conversation with Conundra had seemed to imply, the spell to alter an existing, free-standing illusion was obviously different from the spell to add one to an object.

“Quick, everyone, the blank one's real!” Truffle barked out as he hopped past the blade in question. “We can use that.”

It seemed everyone else was just as quick on the uptake as they followed, all in the time between his speaking and the real blade swinging back down. They ran forwards, Icy presuming that they too had anticipated that Conundra would soon nullify that method.

Indeed, they had barely started running before she called out, “Not for long you can't, fatso!”

Icy's head twisted slightly, her eyes flicking behind her for a moment before she realized that the plethora of blades behind them made that pointless. She was just turning back when another white flash edged onto her peripheral vision, briefly making her close one eye before she fully looked forward again.

However, by the time she did, she had run into Truffle's thick, outstretched hoof and come to a stop, jerking her head down for a moment from the momentum. Looking, she tried to find the next blank blade, only to see that, as she had suspected, Conundra had added streaks of colour to the real blades too.

“Dangit!” Caprice scuffed the ground in irritation. “Did anyone get a good look at the real one?”

“I think so.” Archer took out an ordinary arrow and jabbed it into the blades in front of them. “Should be this one... now!” There was a pause, before she lowered her shoulders. “Guess no-” The arrow was shattered, making her head whip round in an attempt to keep the blade that had done it in sight. However, after a second, she shook her head. “Nope!”

“I could maybe get the rhythm if we keep puttin' stuff in there!” Caprice called over the cacophony of whooshes. “Though might take a while, these other noises are kinda messin' wit' me! 'Part from that, maybe if we had somethin' she couldn’t just make a knock-off of?”

Truffle stomped, the sound loud enough to be heard over the ambient noise – an impressive feat in itself. “Like what? If she can just make an image of something, we'd need something she can't see or can't... predict...” he trailed off for a moment before a familiar grin poked its way onto his face. “Something or...”

Whirling around to his side, he hopped onto his hind legs and brought his hooves down hard onto the short block of ice they'd used to test where the real blades were. The impact chipped away a small pair of craters in the ice, which he then used as stepping-stones to try and pull himself up on top of it. “Little boost, anyone?” he called out as his rear hooves scrabbled for purchase on the slippery surface.

As Moonwing and Zatrahan rushed over to push him up, Icy looked over from the other side of the block. “I could come over and make a step if you want.”

“Not here, we're done, but at the next array,” Zatrathan said as he and Moonwing managed to get Truffle fully onto the block before exhaling heavily.
“I might avoid a hernia that way!”

“Sorry, being heavy's sort of my thing!” Truffle shrugged as he stomped a few stable hoofholds into the ice beneath him. Once he was sure of his grounding, he carefully put a hoof out towards where the poles of the pendulums were swinging past.

“What are you doing?!” Icy's eyes widened – his hoof was above the area that the blade would pass through, but not by much.

“Just testing which direction it's... there!” Truffle nodded as his hoof was knocked aside for a moment. “Get ready!” He called out before darting forwards.

At first, it looked like he was going to simply run past that section – it was certainly one way to tell when to go, but didn't help the rest of them much – they'd need to get up onto the ice simply to get the height needed to test without getting their hooves sliced off. However, he suddenly stopped halfway through, rearing up slightly and twisting his body to the left.

Icy cocked her head to the side, her mouth already opening to ask what exactly he was doing. However, before she had even thought the first word of her question, he was knocked to the right, straight off of the ice.

Or, at least, it seemed that that was what was happening for a moment, before it became clear that he was actually swinging up along the arc of the blade, his hooves wrapped around the pole of the real one.

A smile blossomed onto Icy's face as he reached the top of the pendulum's arc and started swinging down again and she realized what he was doing – using himself as the marker for the others to use.

It seemed she was among the last to realize this as, by the time she’d coiled herself up to leap past him when he next swung by, most of the others had already hopped through. Only Moonwing remained behind with her, looking as if she'd just finished the split-second transformation from near-inanimate to hyper-kinetic.

As soon as Truffle went past them, the pair darted through, quickly followed by Truffle leaping off the blade and landing with a slight bounce on the crystal floor, the momentum carrying him forward into a run.

As Icy flapped her wings to send a gust forward, freezing a short step next to the next area of smashed ice, she heard Conundra sputtering a little behind her.

“That... you... I can just make copies of you, moron! See how well you can show the way when I fill the room with an army of you!”

“Go right ahead!” Truffle called back as he hopped up the step and onto the larger ice block, sticking his hoof up again and getting it immediately pushed to the right. “That just means they can look for the one holding his hoof up.” As he leapt into the swinging pole, he indeed kept one of his hoof pointed straight up. “Or maybe down?” He lowered his forehoof and dangled a rear hoof down along the flat of the blade. “Oh, or how about...” Pulling his hoof back up, he hooked one forehoof around the pole before pointing them both diagonally up, “doing the YMCA? Can your mirages copy everything I do?”

As Icy jumped past Truffle again, she briefly considered how the Young Mare's Celestial Association felt about their main claim to fame being that song and dance before Truffle landing beside her and Conundra calling from behind her refocused her mind.

“Maybe, maybe not, but even they can't, that doesn't mean you're safe.”

“Er, yeah,” Caprice called out, her face and tone making clear how obvious she thought that was, “we're in the middle of a mincin' machine, ain't nobody thinkin' we're safe.” As Icy froze another step and Truffle hopped on, Caprice sent a smirk back at Conundra, even though it was clear she wouldn't be able to see it. “But that don't mean we ain't got a way through.”

Conundra gave a nasty, smug little chuckle. “Only as long as you can see it. Sorry to do this to you, Fatty!”

A blue guidance beam shot through the pendulums, bouncing around the top corners of the corridor, where the subsequent blades didn't reach, before intersecting the path Truffle and the blade was moving along. A second after he passed by it, a ray of spell energy shot past him before holding in place. However, rather than the coloured beams her illusions had been carried along before, this one consisted of a heavy distortion in the air – entirely transparent, but still clearly visible, like thick glass.

For a moment, Icy wasn't sure what to make of it, but fortunately, it seemed the others were a bit quicker in their understanding, at least that it wasn't something they wanted to hit Truffle.

“Oh no you don't!” Moonwing cried, rushing forward as Truffle was swinging towards the beam. For a split second, Icy was sure she was going to get hit by the blade, but she pulled her hindlegs in towards her just as the slicing edge came within an inch of her. Not resting for a moment, she threw her shield into the air, spinning it so it hovered for a moment and caught the beam while Truffle crossed the area it had been a moment ago.

As soon as the shield cut through the beam, the area struck began to disappear from sight. However, once it reached the still-polished area in the centre, the beam was immediately bounced off the reflective surface. Without the ice that had coated it before, it didn't act as a complete mirror, bouncing the ray back along the path it had come from, but instead diffused it into a wide, weak area of slight wibbliness before it dissolved completely a short distance from the shield.

“Good work!” Truffle yelled down as passed Moonwing by, thankfully bringing Icy out of her impressed reverie. “Everyone through!”

Icy's hooves, as they often did, proved more attentive than her mind as she leapt with Caprice and Archer across the threshold. A moment later, Truffle hopped down from the pendulum a moment before it intersected with the invisibility spell once again.

“Wassa matter, ya glass goon?” Caprice shouted out as the group raced for the final blade. “Can't hide us as easy as you can yer own ugly mug?”

“You little... gah!” Conundra roared as Moonwing gave Truffle her now-partially-invisible shield while Icy froze him a final step. “Fine, enjoy your tiny little victory while you can! There are still plenty of twists and turns and traps before you even get close to me. And I'm making good time on the last of Sombra's security, even with you distracting me, so good luck getting to me before I'm gone.” She swept a hoof to the side, her image fading in the same direction until she was totally gone.

A moment later, the beam of the spell cut off, just as Moonwing was preparing to throw her shield to deflect it once again. Before she had a chance to lower her wing, however, Archer suddenly leapt on top of the raised shield, planting her hooves firmly before jumping off and over the short ice wall.

“Sorry!” she shouted down to Moonwing as she sailed over the ice, a rear hoof catching the edge of it and propelling herself up a little further, whereupon she fired an arrow past the final set of blades. Icy couldn't see what happened to it past then, nor could she hear its impact, but she had faith that Archer had achieved... whatever she was trying to.

“No problem... I guess?” Moonwing replied, shrugging.

Shaking her head to refocus herself after whatever that was, Icy looked up just in time to see Truffle swing by. Waiting a moment until he was fully past, she hopped through, letting her momentum carry her into a short little dance of happiness. Regardless of the intent behind it, she was going to take Conundra's advice to enjoy their victory entirely sincerely.

It seemed most of the others were of the same mind, as they were all looking varying degrees of pleased with themselves and, for that matter, each other. Moonwing was settling down for a short, satisfied rest, Archer was rolling her neck casually as she looked back through the mass of coloured blades with a smirk and Zatrathan was pressing a hoof against Moonwing's shield, dismissing the invisibility effect with contemptuous ease.

The only one who looked in any way uneasy was Caprice, who was looking up at the final blade with a concerned expression. However, when her gaze lowered at the exact time that a heavy thud came from behind them, it was clear what, or rather who, she was looking at.

“Right, now that's over, let's head on, shall we?” Truffle said as he strode forward past Icy, only to be stopped by Caprice's outstretched hoof.

“Not till we deal with them hits you just took, we ain't,” she declared, her voice making it clear that she would brook no argument.

Not that that stopped Truffle from trying. “What are you talking about?” He scoffed, looking both puzzled and a little offended. “I didn't touch the blades' edges once, I'm-”

“Yeah, you stayed on the blunt bits,” Caprice interrupted him, rolling her eyes, “which means you only got whacked in the gut by a wooden pole the size of a small lamp post. Four times. You're gettin' a healin'!”

“Look, I'm feeling perfectly fine,” Truffle strode past her, his face hard and determined, “so let's just get on wit- ng!” He groaned and winced as Caprice flicked his belly with a hoof, his reaction saying far more that his protestations ever could.

After a moment of everyone staring at him, he sat down with a scowl. “We really don't have time to wait around,” he said, a touch petulantly.

“Y’ain't wrong, but this won't take more than half a minute, tops.” Caprice shook her head as she raised her violin and began playing a gentle tune, her blue waves of healing flowing out over Truffle's side.

While this was happening, Icy took a moment to study his face. Considering how hard it was to read the emotions of some of her teammates, one would think someone like Truffle Shuffle, who rarely seemed to have a thought or reaction he wasn't happy to give his foghorn of a voice to, would be far easier to understand. However, as she watched his expression shift, his eyes occasionally darting up towards the corridor ahead of them, she got the distinct impression there was more going on in his head than he was letting on. His usual bluster was still entirely genuine, but there was something going on behind it. She couldn't say for sure, but it certainly felt like he was a little rattled.

As Caprice's song came to an end and everyone picked themselves up to continue down the corridor, she hung back a little. Admittedly, this was far from an uncommon occurrence if she was off on one of her trademark mental tangents – Can you trademark the way your mind works? she briefly wondered before shaking the thought off – but this time, her delaying was intentional.

She strolled up to Truffle, offering her hoof to help him get to his hooves. As he took it and nearly pulled her down with him, she spoke, “So, Truffle, are you okay?”

“Perfectly!” Truffle assured her as he stood up. “Was fine before and after that bit of melodic medicine, I'm double fine!”

“Well, I believe you, but...” Icy trailed off, lowering her voice a little so the others wouldn't overhear. “I know your body's all okay, but are you feeling okay?”

Truffle cocked an eyebrow as the two began following the others. “What makes you think there's a problem?”

Icy shrugged. “I don't know, you just seem a little... bothered by this whole thing is all.”

Truffle smirked. “And what do you suppose Dinky would say if she knew you were trying to take over her position as our resident pony-reader?”

Icy didn't even have to think before she replied. “She'd be happy to have the help, thank me a whole bunch and give me a great big hug and you know it. Don't change the subject.”

Truffle chuckled, his smile spreading into something more sincere. “Touché! I... I'm sorry if I've been causing problems...”

“You haven't,” Icy assured him. “I was just... I thought I could help, maybe.”

Truffle nodded. “Appreciated. I just... you remember what this filly's after?”

Icy nodded. “Sombra's fear-illusion spell.”

Truffle swallowed noisily. “Yes, well, I'm afraid when she described it to us, I sort of... got ahead of it. I saw t...” He inhaled sharply as he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I just have a horrible feeling I know exactly what that spell would show me. And once I'd thought of it, I... I couldn't get it out of my mind.”

Icy sighed in realization, her head nodding slowly. “Ah, right. Well, if it helps, you weren't the only one – I kind of imagined my own phobia too.” She gave Truffle a weak smile.

However, this only seemed to make Truffle grimace, a tiny, frustrated growl coming from his mouth. “Actually, that... really doesn't help. Kind of makes it worse, but that's not your fault. It could have worked, it's just... it's all to do with what the thing I imagined was.”

Icy gulped, unable to stop a little guilt worming its way into her mind despite believing Truffle's assurances. “Well, would it help if you told me? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to but... well, I think you know what mine was and that does help me a little.” She'd never made a secret of her aquaphobia and her teammates had all been extremely understanding about it, which she'd always appreciated.

Truffle gave a mirthless laugh. “Oh, I'm sure it would, but the trouble is... well, a big part of it's... not really my place to tell you.” He raised his head, a trace of his normal confidence returning. “Tell you what, once this is all over, I'll talk with h- I'll talk it over and hopefully I'll be able to tell you.”

“Only if you want to,” Icy said, though she couldn't keep a gentle smile off her face at the trust he was showing.

“I think it'll help. Both of us, as a matter of fact.” Cracking his neck a couple of times, he increased his pace, beginning to catch up to the others. “In the meantime, I'll be happy to work through my issues by smashing the schemes of a certain shifty someone!”

Icy grinned as she sped up to join the group. “Amen to that!”

“Which way to the Tourmaline Hotel?” the cloaked figure asked a nearby guard as they walked down the platform of the station.

As the guard pointed the way to their quarry, they smiled. Soon, they and Icy Flight would meet once more.

Chapter Seven: Fire and Thunder

As Icy and Truffle caught up to the group, Moonwing spoke up. “So, er... I hate to say it, guys, but we may have a problem.”

Truffle's face fell a little from the confidence he had displayed a moment ago at the idea of catching Conundra. “Oh?”

Moonwing nodded slowly as they were coming to the end of the corridor. “Yeah, we need another plan on how to tell which way to go. I don't think following the wind'll work with those swinging blades messing it all up.”

“Heh,” Archer increased her pace, pulling out to the front of the group, “is that all? Well, ask and ye shall receive. Look at this.”

Coming to a halt at the point where the passage turned a sharp corner, she waved a hoof above her to point out the arrow that she had fired from amid the pendulums.

At first, it looked like she had buried it into the wall. However, as she got closer, Icy could see that there weren't any cracks around it, like would happen if she had penetrated the crystal. Furthermore, once she was nearly caught up with Archer, she could see that the arrow in question didn't even have a sharpened head, nor the thin, faintly glowing head of an impact arrow.

Instead, attached to the head was a small, flat disc. It didn't look particularly solid or strong; in fact it looked like the sucker heads one would normally find on toy arrows. However, this one was attached to the arrow at an unusual angle, meaning that the arrow was held in place at a slant. Of course, it was always going to be at a slant to the general direction of the corridor, given how the walls consisted of so many angled surfaces, but this was held at an angle to the straight section of wall it was attached to.

After a moment, Moonwing said what Icy, and she assumed everyone else, was thinking. “So, how does that help?”

“One word,” Archer replied as she looked up at the arrows, her hoof tracing an invisible path from it, “trajectory!”

There was a pause as everyone looked to each other, hoping that someone else knew what she meant.

Archer sighed, looking back at them with a smile. “Okay, few more words. All the illusions that get sent our way go along beams, right? In straight lines that bounce off the walls. Which means, if I could get an arrow to match the trajectory hers came from – and I can and did – then... hey, Truffle, could I get a boost up?”

As Truffle came up to Archer, Icy heard a tap on the floor and turned around to see Zatrathan clopping a hoof on the ground as he realized what Archer meant.

“By seeing how the beam has ricocheted,
we follow how it came, toward its source.
That said, there can be zero errors made,” He gave Archer a sincere smile.
“But I have utmost faith in you, of course.”

“Heh, thanks, knew you had a brain on you,” Archer replied with a smirk. That said, Icy had known Archer long enough to know that that sort of brag wasn't entirely like her. However, looking closer, Icy thought she could just make out a slight smile at the Zebra’s praise.

Still, whatever she was feeling, she evidently didn't allow it to interfere with her actions as she nocked an arrow and hopped onto Truffle's hooves. Now that she was watching Archer, Icy could see that the arrow had a similar, sucker-like head, but one that was attached to the arrow straight on, the circular surface perpendicular to the shaft.

However, she didn't get a chance to dwell on this as Archer leapt up and fire the arrow down the corridor and out of sight. A loud, dull impact sound could be heard and, though Icy had nowhere the aiming skills of Archer, it did seem like she'd sent the arrow at the angle a beam would have bounced, given the placement of her initial arrow.

As she fell, Archer grabbed hold of said arrow and yanked, a dull light briefly flickering into existence on the arrow and the end of her costume's sleeve. As it did, the arrow detached and, as she came to earth, the head of the arrow shifted, returning to a straight position.

“Huh?” Icy looked at the arrow, a little confused.

“Marking arrow,” Archer explained. “Designed to stick to a target and only come off if I'm the one pulling.” As she explained, she started trotting around the corner, leaving the others to scramble a little to catch up. “The head shifts to stick to whatever it hits, otherwise it'd bounce off before it does. Anyway, come on guys, we've got us a trail to follow.”

“Well, I guess that works,” Moonwing observed as she came to the front of the group. “So, you thought of that as a backup to the wind method.”

“Nah, I was gonna use it as soon as I had a beam I could follow,” Archer shrugged. “Figured it'd be way faster.”

Moonwing huffed slightly, but said nothing.

The group proceeded on for a short distance before coming to the point Archer's last arrow had stuck.

“Well, it ain't exactly what I'd call a simple way o' findin' our way,” Caprice concluded as she watched Archer calculate her next shot, “but I guess I can't argue with results. Still, wish Aura was down here wit' us.”

“Aura?” Icy asked as Archer fired her next arrow, sending it flying far forward and impacting on the just-visible wall around a corner. “Is she another one of your group?”

“Yep,” Moonwing nodded languidly as she got up, apparently having taken the seconds-long period of Archer aiming and firing as the perfect opportunity for a quick rest. “She's our resident diviner and lookout. If something's there, chances are she can sense it somehow. She'd be able to tell the way out.”

“Really?” Archer asked as the group began moving again. “How's that?”

Moonwing shrugged. “I dunno and neither would she. She just knows these things – ask her how and she'll just explain the feeling she got.”

Caprice snorted a short laugh. “Either that or she'll just look at you... well, she'll give you a look like you've just asked what's the capital o' broccoli. Still, usually better to take 'er word for it. Even if some of us,” she gave a sharp look to Zatrathan, “could maybe stand to learn that a bit better.”

Zatrathan raised an eyebrow.

“You must admit, she's not the best at quite
convincing you her hunch is not a guess.
She courts your doubt, regardless if she's right.” He sighed as he looked around.
“And yet, it isn't she who's in this mess.”

Caprice nodded. “Got a point there – technically we coulda listened to her an' avoided this whole thing, but she didn't exactly give us much to go on.”

“How did you get sent down here, anyway?” Truffle asked. “I mean, we didn't see any signs that anyone else had gone through that hatch in the library, and you'd have seen us if you came in after.”

“Oh yeah,” Moonwing said after a moment. “Aura did say she found another panel there. Still, we figured it'd be easier to take the one she saw in the gardens – a little less sneaking around that way. Guess this filly made a few doors in here.”

“That makes sense – she'd probably want to have backups in case she couldn't get to some of them,” Icy pointed out.

“Ain't sure it mattered, though,” Caprice said, a slight sigh in her tone. “Ol' Smoke Eyes was pretty dang devious with his traps on the way in.”

“Tell me about it,” Archer said as they reached the next arrow. “We got sent down thanks to a double pit trap.” She turned around, only to see the three who hadn't been there at the time looking a little confused.

Sighing, Archer reared up onto her hind hooves. “See the main pit,” she held up a hoof vertically to represent it, “was obvious, so we gathered round it to figure out a way over.” She placed an arrow perpendicular to the top of her hoof, just touching it with the tip. “Now, the bit in front of it that dropped away – that was pretty much invisible.” She swung the arrow down to illustrate what happened before turning around to prepare for her next shot.

“Ooh, nasty.” Caprice said, a touch more appreciative than Icy would have liked, but understanding. “We got caught out by a kinda energy cage. See, we'd just come through a doorway when we saw...”

“Well, first off, Aura said something was off about that corridor,” Moonwing interjected.

“And that's all she said – nothin' specific, so I'm with Zat,” Caprice replied, rolling her eyes a little. “Couldn'ta known to stay out from that. Anyways, we saw a whole row o' thin red beams blockin' off the way forward.”

“Kinda like the beams Conundra guides her spells along?” Icy asked as the group set off again.

Caprice nodded. “That kinda thing, yeah, but they was bein' projected from little holes in the floor. 'Course, Griz was in favour o' just smashin' the floor up and hopin' that got rid of 'em.”

“Grizelda – Griz for short – is a Griffon,” Moonwing added. “A very big Griffon... for her age, at least.”

Truffle lowered his eyebrows, thumping the ground beneath his hooves experimentally. “Doesn't seem that fragile to me. You think she could do that?”

Moonwing shook her head. “I don't know, but I don't think I'd want to tell her that – she'd probably take it as a challenge. Plus, she's got a very big hammer. Anyway, I convinced her it'd be better to test what they did to my shield first – throw and retrieve, that whole thing.”

“Gettin' in the way o' danger's kinda the whole point of 'em, after all,” Caprice noted with a smirk. “Still, didn't help.”

“It did a little,” Moonwing said, not putting much offence into her contradiction. “It means we triggered them from a distance and didn't get hit when the force beams came down... and were close enough to the beams that came down behind us to do something about it.

“Well, you, Aura and Runt were, the rest of us ain't as flash-quick as you guys,” Caprice said, sounding a touch annoyed at this fact.

However, Icy's attention was drawn to a single word in that sentence. “Runt?” She asked, hoping it was a nickname and that a pony wasn't cruel enough to name their child that.

However, Zatrathan soon assuaged her fears.

“A minotaur with pistols fueled by air,
a quick-draw deadshot... almost close to you.” He looked at Archer respectfully, his face making clear just how high a compliment that was.
“And though his name's well chosen, have a care:
One glance from him, that fact won't seem so true.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Icy certainly believed that such a gun-minotaur could be a part of their team, but she wasn't sure she understood what that last bit meant.

“Just hope you never have to find out,” Caprice said, her tone entirely sincere. After a moment, though, she shook her head. “Anyways, he was quick enough to dodge under the beams behind us and Aura saw 'em just before they fired, so they got out. An' Wing was able block the beams for long enough for Griz to slip under 'em.”

Moonwing gulped. “Well, I don't know if I can really take credit for that – I only held them off for a second. She was the one quick enough to get under the shield... and considering how much she had to squeeze, I think she deserves the kudos for that one.”

“Well, in any case, we got trapped in and hit wit' a teleport beam,” Caprice finished, shaking her head. “Guess it just goes to show – don't mess wit' bright red magic beams if ya can help it.”

“Er, yeah, about that,” Archer said as she turned a corner. “Those beams? That wouldn't happen to have looked anything like that, would they?” She pointed forward down the corridor.

Sure enough, about twenty metres in front of them was a thin red beam of magical light, stretching across the corridor in a horizontal line at about a filly's chest height. It was somewhat faint, or at least translucent, and it didn't look particularly dangerous on its own, but there was a slightly ominous sense to it. Of course, Icy thought, that was probably due to the fact that they knew such beams to be precursors or triggers to more dangerous effects.

However, it was exacerbated by the fact that it was the only such beam in the entire space before them. Had it been in any way hidden, it might have been simple to accept it as something meant to take intruders by surprise, so it would have been understandable. Similarly, if they were dealing with a lair designed by someone completely incompetent – as opposed to just being operated by someone like that, Icy could practically hear Archer add in her head, even if she didn't agree – it might not have seemed so incongruous.

However, this was, presumably, one of Sombra's traps and, even if they were designed primarily to scare ponies rather than kill them, they had so far been far more impressive. For that matter, they'd also been a lot more scary and imposing – this was only worrying because it was obvious there should have been more to it.

Icy pondered that for a moment. It was possible that that was the point – a sort of intimidation double-bluff designed to get intruders frightened of what else might be there by putting conspicuously little into this area, but that seemed a touch too convoluted and intellectual for Sombra's brand of terror. Besides, even if that were the case, she was sure that Conundra would have added something to it – she seemed like the sort of pony who would insist on being involved in each measure she took against her opponents, refusing to allow someone else's efforts to do all the work and take all the credit.

Whatever the case, there was a tangible hesitation in the air as the group waited for the other shoe to drop.

After about ten seconds, however, Truffle spoke up. “Another one of those sensors, do you think?”

“Indeed, though who knows what it brings about
when triggered? Well,” Zatrathan pulled out his sword, “I can, at least, find out!”

He started forward before Moonwing's hoof stopped him. “Yeah, that didn't work out too well last time we saw one of these did it?”

“Or didja forget what happened in the story we just finished tellin'?” Caprice added with a smirk.

Zatrathan withered a little as she stopped, opening his mouth to speak before Archer interrupted him, nocking an arrow.

“Hey, no worries, you had the right idea. We just need to trigger it from back here,” she said, aiming for a split second before firing and retreating around the corner – able to see the edge of the beam but out of the line of fire of anything coming down the corridor. Not that she needed to – one didn't need to look at the result directly to know what happened next.

With a roar that echoed down the tunnels behind them, fire burst into being in the area just beyond the beam. Peeking around along with the others, Icy could see that it was coming from nozzles embedded into the walls, but that was really only a technical detail – they were powerful and numerous enough that, after each jet got only an inch or two from the wall, it mixed with the others to create one continuous wall of flame.

From the distance they were at, it was difficult to tell the exact temperature of the flames, but Icy had her doubts that it mattered. If nothing else, the amount of distortion that came over the air in front of it suggested that it was considerable.

“Ah, sounds like you've found the next barrier,” Conundra's voice came down the corridor as her image faded into view on the wall just before the beam. “And maybe you've been progressing faster than I thought, but you won't... huh?” She stopped as she saw that the group wasn't in front of her.

She looked up and down the corridor for a moment before catching sight of them around the corner. “Oh, there you are! Well, come on, come on, you can get closer,” she told them with a condescendingly reassuring tone, “it won't bite. It might burn, but it won't bite. And it won't do that unless you try and get past it.

Despite an instinctive desire to defy her sarcastic encouragement, Icy looked to the others, who all nodded. Turning back down the corridor, they proceeded cautiously down towards the beam, their eyes darting around in search of any other hidden beams or nozzles. Eventually, they got to around three metres from the start of the trap, with nothing either found or triggered.

“Theeeere we are!” Conundra clapped her hooves together like a pre-school teacher watching a child use paints without eating them. “Now we can talk like big ponies do.”

“Ain't much reason to talk, way I see it,” Caprice said, looking at the beam. “I mean, sure the whole wall o' fire thing's a great jump scare, but if it's just got the one trigger, it ain't too much of an obstacle, know what I'm sayin'?” She smiled up at Conundra, just a little too wide considering how cautious she'd been only a moment ago. It was pretty clear to Icy that she was playing dumb to get information; she just hoped it wasn't that clear to Conundra.

Fortunately, it seemed the masked filly was far too assured of her superiority to question things. “Hah, as if I'd rely on just that, even against such pitiful opposition as you. Please observe!” She pointed down towards the area beyond the beam as a thin blue beam emerged from the top of her crystal helmet.

As Icy turned towards the corridor in front of them, she saw the beam come around the corner and expected, as before, for it to stop for a moment before the spell Conundra was sending along it could be heard.

However, she was caught totally off-guard when, the moment the beam passed a certain point near the ceiling, the flames sprang to life again. Icy stepped back in shock as the heat washed over her, making her hooves and head uncomfortably warm, even at that distance. She silently thanked À La Mode once again for her costume's heat-resistant qualities.

“You made the beams invisible. Of course!” Zatrathan said as his eyes widened.
“To break our stride through caution, not by force.”

“They're not just invisible,” Archer added, pointing to where Conundra's ray had hit the trigger. “It vanished a moment before the flames got turned on. There must be a small stealth field around them.” Icy hadn't seen that herself, but she trusted Archer enough to believe her eyes on that.

“Top of the class, both of you!” Even through the magical connection, Icy could almost feel the smarm dripping off Conundra. “Not that it matters. As you can see, I'm in a whole different class altogether. There's a whole web of sensors along this corridor and, if you can't see them, you can't avoid them, so you can't risk going past them. An elegant solution, don't you think?”

“Yeah, woulda been,” Caprice nodded, feigning being impressed for a moment before smiling up at the image, “except for you tellin' us that. Cause now we know there is a way through it and it's just a question o' finding it. Nice goin', class president!” She gave a mocking bow.

Conundra jerked back, spluttering for a second; all the smug self-assurance she'd displayed a moment ago was gone from her tone and posture. “What... I didn't... you don't know... shut up!” she snarled. “Even if there is, it's not like you losers'll find it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got more important things to deal with.”

She turned away, the sound of her hoofsteps getting cut off suddenly, suggesting that she had muted the connection again.

After a second, Icy gave voice to the thought that had been percolating for a while. “Is it just me or is anyone else getting some serious Diamond Tiara vibes from this filly.”

“Little bit, yeah,” Archer replied before noticing the confusion on the faces of Caprice, Zatrathan and Moonwing. “Rich jerk from school, you know the type.”

There was a collective “Ah!” from the three Manehattanites – evidently, such classmates were a common feature of schools.

“Well, that's certainly somethin' to lift the spirits – not that a filly who wears a glass lampshade over her head ain't a gold mine o' joke material already, but it don't hurt. Still, don't really help us wit' this little problem.” She turned back down the corridor, her eyes darting around as if to find the beams they couldn't see.

“Well, first thing's first,” Archer said before promptly turning and walking back the way they came.

Icy blinked for a moment in confusion – it wasn't like Archer to just give up like that. She thought about turning and following her, but shook herself out of the thought – it wasn't like they had much of a choice in which way to go. Even if there was another way out of the labyrinthine complex, it would be impossible to distinguish from passages that went deeper or went nowhere.

That left the invisible gauntlet before them. She stared intently down the corridor, hoping she might be able to see something – a slight distortion in the air, a marking on the wall where a beam started or ended, even just a hint that the illusion was a phantasm she could penetrate with her own disbelief. However, there were absolutely no signs of anything but empty air. She might have almost doubted there was anything if she couldn't still feel the last remnants of the heat that had rolled off the flames.

Of course, it was theoretically possible that the second gout of flames was another illusion – she didn’t think the first batch could have been triggered in the same way. However, she had her doubts. For one thing, while it might have been possible to create such heat in an illusion, it was almost certainly incredibly difficult. It would also take a lot of power, even with the amplification of the cave walls, due to the second fact – unless the feeling of the temperature was entirely in their minds, which it couldn't be without them being targeted directly by a beam, then heat created for an illusion... was still heat. As such, even if the flames weren't real, they might as well be and would incinerate them just as surely.

Plus, she could still smell the sharp, oily after-scent of the flames. Even she knew that the more senses an illusion had to fool, the more difficult it was to create. This wasn't just because you had to create each individual sensation, but because each one interacted with each other in complex ways. For the most part, illusionists stuck to sight and sound, though even those two things could interfere with each other if you weren't careful.

Icy's eyes shot open as she thought of something: Or maybe if you were.

“Hey, Caprice?” she asked. “Do you think-”

She was cut off when an arrow flew past her face, making her jerk back, stumbling over onto her haunch as if it had struck her a glancing blow. It hadn't, but she had felt the wind of it rushing by uncomfortably sharply.

She didn't have much of a chance to get her bearing either, as the flamethrowers roared to life a moment later, sending her scurrying to the side, startled but thankful that she hadn't been sent towards the flames by the arrow.

“Huh, wouldja look at that?” Archer called from the other end of the corridor. “Guess her magic musta set 'em off every time she sent a spell at us before.” She began trotting back towards the group.

“I'm sorry!” Icy called back. “Maybe you can do something once we figure out a way through it.”

Archer shrugged as she approached. “Why are you sorry and why'd you need to?” she asked, though her smirk suggested that she knew why Icy had said that, but also knew something she didn't. “Take a look!” She pointed past the lasers.

Turning her head, Icy had to suppress a slight gasp as she saw what Archer meant. As it turned out, the arrow Archer had fired wasn't made of wood, so hadn't been incinerated as Icy had assumed. Instead, it had come out the other side of the flames and embedded itself in the wall, cracking the crystal around it.

“Well, congrats, Archer,” Caprice waved a hoof in the direction of the arrow, “ya damaged a historic site – sure yer folks'll love payin' fer that.” She smirked, clearly remembering how she'd done something similar earlier.

Archer raised an eyebrow, looking happy to play along. “Kinda making an assumption about my ‘folks’ there, aren't you? But, yeah, you're right. I mean, it's not like ponies in the Crystal Empire'll know how to repair crystal, right?”

Caprice shrugged. “Fair point, I guess. Plus, least we'll be outta here so's ya can pay. Anyways, what was that you was sayin', Icy?”

Icy shrugged the conversation off. “Your music... sound... magic energy thing. Could it, like, mess with the invisibility fields or something?”

Caprice hummed for a second, her mouth going to the side in thought. “Hmm... Well, technically, maybe, but not enough to really solve anythin'.”

Icy deflated slightly. “Oh, I see.”

Caprice shrugged. “Hey, it ain't a bad idea and it could help a little. Heck, if this place wasn't givin' ol' shardface's magic a boost, mighta been able to show 'em all a little. But, well, given what we're dealin' with...” She put her violin to her chin and played a few notes experimentally. As she did, a slight energy washed out over the corridor beyond them. This particular effect didn't have the distinct colours Icy had seen previously, instead being just visible as a rippling in the air.

The magic flowed along the corridor, spreading out thinly and going entirely unimpeded, as far as Icy could see. After a few seconds, she heard Caprice hum slightly over the music, which then shifted to a higher key. As it did, the wave of energy narrowed, the distortion in the air becoming more pronounced as it did.

At first, it didn't seem to help. However, after a few seconds, Icy could just about make out a few points where the distortion seemed to change. It was hard to tell, given the entire effect was transparent, but it seemed like those were points where it conspicuously stopped. However, at this point, the beam had become extremely narrow, so it was difficult to tell both where those points were and what, if anything, each one meant.

Of course it didn't help that Icy only got a fraction of a second to look as, once the effect had narrowed a little more, the flame jets burst into action, startling her again.

“Well, looks like I can do somethin' but it's real delicate and don't help much.” Caprice concluded.

“Hey, it's something,” Archer added, unfazed by the flames as they died down. “Plus, we know there is a way through.”

“Indeed,” Truffle said, looking skeptically at her, “but I'd rather not go in there searching for it – I could maybe keep the worst of it off me,” he picked up his cape and held it up to his head, indicating that he could wrap it around himself to protect the exposed areas of his face, “but I don't know if I want to try and that doesn't help the rest of you. So, if there is a way through, how do we find it?”

“Simple,” Archer replied, smirking a little, “we look for it!”

Icy turned to Archer, tilting her head sharply at her statement. “But... it's kind of... it's all invisible.”

Archer shook her head. “No, the sensors are surrounded by invisibility.”

“And that makes a difference?” Moonwing asked, leaning against the wall.

“Well, makes 'em easier to see if ye can show 'em,” Caprice pointed out as she moved her bow lightly against her violin's strings, practising playing the precise notes she could use to reveal the fields. “Trouble is, we ain't got a good way o' doin' that yet.”

“Oh, I wouldn't say that,” Archer replied. “There's a way to reveal 'em all, it's just not one you'd wanna rely on.”

“What you mea-” Icy began as she turned to Archer, just in time for an arrow to fly in front of her face, zipping into the danger area and setting off the flames again.

Icy leapt back, whirling around on Archer. “What the... What did you do that for?!” She asked, searching Archer's unbothered expression for answers she doubted she would find.

Archer smiled good-naturedly at her. “Like I said, to reveal where the sensors are. Look!” She indicated forward with her head as she loaded and fired another shot.

Raising an eyebrow, Icy kept her eyes trained on the corridor before them as the fire engulfed it. For a second, she didn't see what Archer meant. However, as she looked it up and down, she saw it – a couple of areas where the flames didn't seem to go. These gaps in the flame were in thin cylinders that stretched across the corridor and, though she couldn't see much beyond the very front of the inferno, she thought she could maybe see some more gaps within it.

As the jets died down again, she turned to Archer. “How...”

Archer shrugged. “Didn't you see 'em before? Think about it, the fields around the beams hide everything inside 'em...”

Icy's eyes widened as she understood what Archer was getting at. “...including the fire!”

Caprice sighed as she rested her bow. “Well, that's neat 'n' all, but from what I saw, the fire we could see blocked most o' the bits we couldn't. I ain't seein' how it helps too much.”

Archer rolled her eyes. “Maybe not, but it's something. Plus, that was just the first thing we could see. We look a bit closer, we can probably find a heck of a lot more.”

“Indeed, forgive Caprice's dour view,” Zatrathan assured her, glaring at Caprice for a moment.
She doesn't like to see the brighter side.
But pessimism has its uses, too.
I've faith she won't affect your skill or pride.”

“Hey, relax,” Archer waved off the whole thing, “I work with Alula – that's a filly who can see everything in the world and not be happy with any of it. Trust me, I'm used to negative nags. Of course, Dinky being around kinda helps with that.”

“Alula's a shape-shifter and Dinky's a time wizard and can kinda...” Icy wiggled her hoof in vague explanation, “cute ponies into doing stuff.”

Caprice sighed and nodded. “Yeah, okay, I get it. Just tryin' to think things through. So, we know we can show up the front ones, what now?”

“Now? We keep looking,” Archer stated before putting a hoof to her chin. “Still, turning 'em on for a couple of seconds'll make it pretty hard to notice anything. Hey, Zat?” She turned to the pondering zebra and indicated his sword. “You reckon you could hold that in the beam for a while, give us longer to look?”

Zatrathan shook his head slightly as he refocused on the situation.

“Oh, huh? Of course I can, if that is all.
The flames will rise until I bid them fall!”

With a dramatic wind-up, he thrust his sword into the one visible beam, bringing the flames to life once again.

Chuckling at his over-dramatics, Archer trained her eyes on the gaps in the fire, with Icy and the rest following a moment afterwards.

The group stared for a few seconds, no one saying anything until Archer pointed at one of the gaps. “Hey, look at that!”

Truffle raised an eyebrow as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. “I assure you, we are. What about it?”

Archer raised a hoof and indicated the height of the gap. “Look at the way the fire's flickering around the edges of the field. Like it's interacting with something.”

Frowning a little in concentration, Icy narrowed her eyes a little to focus on the small area. Now that it had been pointed out, she could just about make out the way the fires beat against the gap, lightly lapping around it as if there was an object there.

“I see what you mean,” Caprice said after a moment, “but that don't make sense – an invisibility field ain't a physical thing. It'd just make any fire that goes into it invisible, there'd just be a gap, it wouldn't be interactin' with nothin'.”

Icy thought for a moment. “Maybe there's a barrier around it as well?”

“No, that'd have stopped half the things we've seen set it off,” Caprice pointed out as she put a hoof on Zatrathan's, lowering his sword and stopping the flames.

Icy hummed, her eyes lowering briefly as she thought. “Well, maybe it's designed to only block fire from... hey, wait a minute!” She clopped a hoof on the ground in realization. “If your energy is enough to set them off, how come the fire isn't?” She indicated Zatrathan's sword, still just below the frontmost beam. “Once the fire starts, then it should cross the beams and keep the jet going. There must be something to stop the fire and only the fire from crossing the beams.”

Zatrathan nodded for a second. “Indeed, there must be something in the way
of such a self-perpetuating storm.” However, he then shook his head.
“Alas, to keep the fire alone at bay
is something no one spell could so perform.
For fire is not any form of matter,
but merely a release of heat and light.
So blocking off the former and the latter
would be the only way to thwart its bite.”

“Well, the invisibility field could deal with the light,” Archer concluded after a moment's thought. “So, you think there's also something around them to block off heat?”

A smile blossomed onto Zatrathan's face. “A possibility – I am impressed –
and one there is a simple way to test!”

He darted forward, ducking under the beam and placing a hoof against his sword.

“Hey, what in Equestria do you think you're doing?!” Truffle roared, ducking down to go after him before he stopped a short distance from where the flames would come out.

“Relax, I'll keep outside the fire's flow.” He ran his hoof along the flat of his blade, flashing white energy through it that made it start to extend. After a couple of seconds, he took his hoof of the now-much-longer sword.
“There is no danger testing it like so!”

He thrust his blade up, catching one of the sensors and making the tip of his blade vanish. Of course, it didn't matter since much of the rest of it was soon engulfed by fire.

After a couple of seconds, he withdrew it once more and slipped back under the visible beam, holding the tip of the sword close to his hoof. After a moment, he nodded and, with a smile, placed his hoof against the tip.

“You see,” he grinned at the group, “the tip did not the fire feel
and so, right here, the metal stayed quite cool.
S- AH!”

He jerked his hoof away and let go of the sword, sending it clattering across the floor. With a pained hiss, he shook his hoof hard.

“Until the heat conducts throughout the steel.” He sighed, his eyes briefly flicking to Archer before lowering in shame.
“It seems, today, I am an utter fool.”

“Today?” Caprice rolled her eyes as she began playing, a faint pulse of healing energy flowing over his hoof.

“Hey, don't worry about it,” Archer said, an amused smile tugging at her mouth. “At least now we know for sure. And that means we have a way through!”

“We do?” Truffle asked, still wincing in sympathy for Zatrathan's pain.

Archer nodded. “Think about it. If there's something around the beams that's blocking out heat, what else'll it be blocking out?” She looked directly at Icy as she spoke.

“Um,” Icy hesitated, assuming that Archer was expecting her to answer, “er... uh!” She shrugged, not quite getting at it.

Archer raised an eyebrow. “Well, if it blocks off heat, chances are it'll block off any change in temperature, meaning it'll block off cold as well. Now, do you know anypony who might be good with cold?”

Icy looked around for who Archer meant for a moment before what she said fully registered. “Oh! Right! Yeah, I can...” She flared her wings before trailing off. “Wait, how does that help?”

Archer grinned at her. “Well, if you can freeze everything around the beams, but not the beams themselves...” She rolled a hoof in the air, encouraging the others to make the connection.

“I can show where the beams are!” She smiled as she saw the logic of it.

Truffle thumped a hoof against the ground, his own grin growing. “For that matter, you could block them off entirely!”

“Neat idea,” Caprice spoke up as her song faded, “but how exactly do we do it? Just makin' an ice block around 'em ain't gonna do much 'cept make 'em fall through the beams and set 'em off.”

Icy nodded, her smile dimming slightly as she looked at the beam in front of them. She stared at it for a moment, looking above it, looking below it...

Wait, that's it!

She snapped her wings out as she realized what she could do.

Turning to her left, she flapped lightly, aiming her wings at the ground, about a foot from the wall. A thin stream of freezing energy flowed down and created a block of ice about a foot tall. Smiling, Icy flapped again, angling her wings up to build upon the block, making the ice rise up until it reached just under the beam.

Swallowing hard and bracing herself, Icy sent one more burst of energy at the top of the pillar. She knew she was in no danger, but if this didn't work, it would still set off the flamethrowers, which she'd already found could be incredibly startling.

However, as the energy reached the pillar, the ice that formed quickly split into two forks as it rose up, the space in the centre moving apart in a circle before, as they rose past the sensor beam, they moved together again. After a second, they joined up once more, resulting in a pillar of ice with a circular hole in the top, through which the sensor passed without coming within a centimetre of the sides.

Turning back to the others, Icy gave them a smile. “How's that?

Caprice gave her a genuine smile. “Lookin' good, Ice-Mare.”

Archer nodded. “Yeah. Think you could do that for a whole lot more of those?”

Icy shrugged. “Without my suit, that'd be a hard no, but that didn't take up all that much energy, so... yeah, I should be fine unless I need to freeze the whole corridor.”

“Ah, well... I don't think the whole corridor will be needed,” Truffle said, sounding a little uncomfortable. As Icy turned to him, he gave a slightly wan smile and waved a hoof down the corridor. “I just thought... It might be an idea to freeze the walls as far as you can. That'd tell us where all the beams start and, if you do it thick enough, show us where they're pointed.”

Icy nodded, looking along the walls and sizing them up. She flexed a wing experimentally, thinking about if and how she could do that.

“That's all well and good,” Archer said, tearing Icy away from her calculations, “but what if there are beams coming from the floor? We'd need to find them and I don't much like the idea of freezing the floor before we have to go through it without slipping and getting roasted.

Caprice chuckled once, a little harshly. “Now who's bein' a negative nag? If it's goin' along the floor, I reckon I can make 'em show up. Pressin' the flow o' music against the floor'll widen it out enough that we should be able to see anythin' weird down there. Providin', course,” she shot Archer a smirk, “we got someone wit' eyes sharp enough to catch it.”

Archer returned her smirk in full force. “Let's do it, then!”

Caprice nodded, rearing up and bringing her bow to her violin once again. As she began playing a gentle tune, keeping the melody within a very narrow range of notes, Icy closed her eyes. She knew that this music didn't have the same strengthening or healing effect Caprice had put in her music before, but she still felt a little comforted and loosened up by it. She called up her energy and, though she was fairly sure it was just her perceptions being shaped by the music, it still felt as though it came a lot more smoothly than normal.

Opening her eyes, she started flapping her wings, spreading the freezing energy out in a thin haze through the wind. It took a moment for anything to happen, but soon ice began to form in a thin layer over the left wall, spreading up and forward as she kept flapping.

Soon, it had reached almost to the ceiling, whereupon Icy turned and sent her gusts further down the corridor, flapping her wings harder to send the gusts further. As she did, she saw that there were large, perfectly circular holes in the ice at seemingly random points on the wall. Nodding to herself that the plan seemed like it would work, she kept turning the gusts, flapping harder and spreading the ice further until the gaps stopped appearing for a couple of metres.

She relaxed her wings, breathing a little heavily. In terms of her cold energy, she had, as she had predicted, not been massively drained. However, keeping her wings flapping for as long as she had had used up plenty of physical energy and she panted for a few moments, trying to get as much oxygen into her as she could.

Meanwhile, Caprice's music came to an end with a slight flourish.

“Floor's all clear!” Archer declared, not a trace of doubt in her voice. “Looks like it's all coming from the walls and it looks like you got that covered, Icy.” She gave a quiet chuckle. “Literally.”

Icy nodded. “Yeah, I, er...” She screwed her eyes shut for a moment as she breathed. “Just give me a minute and I'll do the other one.”

“Pft, yeah, sure,” Caprice snorted as Icy heard her bow make contact with her strings once more. Icy opened her eyes to see what she was doing, only to hear her begin a livelier tune and see green energy flowing towards her. However, this energy was brighter than the strengthening energy Icy had previously seen, bright white mixed into the green.

As the energy washed over her, Icy not only felt her fatigue totally melt away, but a surge of energy flow through her body. It wasn't nearly the same energy as the kind she normally wielded, but it certainly brought that energy to life and made it feel all the more pressurized.

Icy flapped her wings and felt the energy rush out as if from a shaken-up bottle. After a moment, she got a handle on the flow of it and spread it out once more, making a much thicker sheet of ice form over the right wall and forcing her to turn the beam all the faster.

After only ten seconds or so, the ice had reached the end of the gauntlet. Thinking quickly, however, Icy halted her wings for a second before whirling around, back to the left wall. Flapping once more, she sent more energy over it, thickening it until it came out a good few inches from the wall.

That done, she folded her wings up again sharply, visibly declaring that she was finished.

Seeing this, Caprice brought her tune to a halt and, while Icy did almost immediately miss the feeling of strength, she was just happy that she wasn't feeling that same level of fatigue.

“Thanks, Caprice,” she said, looking along the two frozen walls. “Now I should be able to block off anything in our way.”

“Only if it's low enough we can't go under it,” Archer replied, indicating the gaps in the ice. “Better not to have to climb over a big, slippy block of ice if we can avoid it.”

Icy nodded, beginning to turn her head back down the corridor before Truffle's voice interrupted her. “By the way, Icy, can I borrow one of your feathers?”

Icy blinked, nonplussed by the apparent non-sequitur. “Huh? Why?”

“And some of those dye arrows, Archer.” He brought out a small bottle of water from his suit as he continued. “Even from here, I can see a few sensor beams going along the floor, but there are a lot more that are slanted and go from low on one wall to high on another. Freezing them'd be difficult, so I thought it'd be better to mark the point where we could walk through them – paint a line at the point where we shouldn't get too close to the wall.”

“Well, I've only got a few left, but sure,” Archer said as she pulled out several such arrows from her quiver and tossed them to Truffle, who caught them in one hoof as the other held the bottle to his mouth as he guzzled it.

Meanwhile, Icy turned to her wings, looking for a loose feather even as she said, “Well, okay, I guess that makes sense, but it'll take me a while if I have to freeze and mark the floor.”

Truffle swallowed the last of the water before giving a massive belch. “Oh, of course. That's why you won't be. You just focus on blocking off the horizontal beams, I'll find and mark the slanted ones.”

Icy turned to him in surprise, pulling out the feather she'd been grasping a little harsher than she'd intended. It wasn't a problem – every pegasus learned to preen at an early age and part of that was removing any broken feathers – but it did startle her. “You're coming in with me?”

Truffle nodded, giving her a hard look as he jammed the arrows into the bottle, bursting their tips and making the colours mix together into a dark, muddy brown. “I am indeed,” he said, his tone making it clear he wouldn't be persuaded. “If something happens in there, then I don't know if I'll be able to protect you, but I'll be damned if I don't try!”

Icy gulped at the intensity in his expression, but passed him the feather anyway. “Well... okay then. Let's go!” She finished, trying to infuse her voice with enthusiasm she didn't feel.

Truffle took the lead, ducking down beneath the one visible beam and scooting slowly underneath it. Once he was safely on the other side, he turned to Icy, silently encouraging her to join him.

Nodding, Icy took a deep breath and dived down, hoping that enough motion might counteract or dispel her nervousness. It didn't, but it did allow her to use the motivational momentum to crawl under the beam.

Once she was past that beam, she got to her hooves and looked forward along the walls. The first gap in the ice she could see was a foot in front of them on the right, just above floor level. However, the hole in the ice was at an angle, so she took a step to the left and looked further, seeing another hole about half a foot beyond that, running along the ground.

Taking a slightly shaking step forward, she was momentarily surprised to see, in her peripheral vision, that Truffle wasn't moving. She halted totally before turning her head – going through this passage without looking where she was going was the last thing she wanted to do and, for that matter, would probably be the last thing she did.

Fortunately, it seemed that Truffle was simply preparing to mark the slanted beam, dipping Icy's feather into the dye as a makeshift paintbrush. After a moment, he caught Icy looking at him and looked up, giving her a silent smile.

Icy's mouth began rising in a mirror, only faltering when it got halfway to full and requiring her to ram the corners of her mouth up sharply. Turning back, she took another small step forward before focusing inwards, calling up her energy to her wingtips. Once they were charged up, she flapped once, putting more force into her left wing than her right, making the resulting wind come in at an angle. As she did, she let loose the energy in a thin stream and moved it to the side, freezing a line along the ground that coated the invisible beam, enclosing it completely for a several-feet-wide area in the centre of the corridor.

Taking a moment to look over the ice block, she saw that there was enough room behind it for her to stand without triggering the next beam... just.

Not wanting to take chances, she stepped her front hooves over the low block and stood astride it as she prepared another blast. This next horizontal beam was higher, coming up to just below her belly. As such, rather than sending the ice out in a line, she simply sent a single freezing gust at a section to the middle-left of the corridor, angling her wings down to make sure the resulting ice would be much taller than it was deep.

Once the energy hit the ground, it formed a block of ice over about a foot of the beam's length, short and shallow enough that a young pony would be able to step over it without too much trouble. Once that was done, Icy took a step to her right and repeated the process, lengthening the block another foot.

After two more extensions, Icy was satisfied that it was safe to cross and stepped forward, poking her head carefully past the block to see past it.

As she did, she gulped. There was another horizontal beam a short distance beyond it, but the height it was at made things tricky. It came up to her upper chest, meaning it would be tricky to step over it and, while she was fairly confident she could slip underneath it, it would be a much more delicate prospect than she was entirely comfortable with.

She gulped as she pulled her wings close to her sides and stepped over the block, twisting to her side so she'd have room to stand between the two beams. She felt as if she was aware of every feather she had – how they lay along her wings, how far they extended out and how close they came to brushing up against the next beam.

As she pulled her final hoof over the last block, she whipped her head round slowly, careful not to send her hair flying into the beam. As she locked her eyes on the hole in the ice on the wall, she let out a small sigh of relief that it wasn't quite as fur-raisingly close she'd worried it was... which was good, since if it was, that raising fur could have triggered the flames.

Still, she didn't relax. Instead, she started lowering herself down, pressing herself lightly against the ice she'd just crossed to keep her balance. She was briefly caught off guard by not being able to feel the cold of the block before remembering her suit's temperature-proof properties and then, a moment later, remembering to be thankful for the fact this meant her body heat was in no danger of melting or cracking the ice.

After a couple of seconds, she had lowered herself fully onto her belly. Looking up to where she knew the beam above and to her side ran, she extended a hoof out to the side before jerking it back again, horrified by having forgotten to look at what lay past it.

Looking just beyond the nearest beam and then twisting her head to look at the wall behind her, she allowed herself to relax a little – there was enough room past it to stand fully. She wouldn't like to take her chances doing the pony pokey in the space provided, but at least she would be able to catch her breath a little.

Chuckling to herself a little over the imagery she'd just conjured up, she put her right hooves out to the side again, pressing them against the ground as she dragged her body to the side. It was an odd-feeling movement. In fact, now that Icy thought of it, it was an odd movement in general – more akin to a crab than a pony. Then again, even crabs kept their bodies lifted off the ground when they moved, so maybe a small spider or some sort of sideways moving lobster? Icy wasn't sure and, as she passed under the invisible beam, she felt the thought thankfully vanish from her head.

It took a good twenty seconds for her to sidle past the beam – she knew she could have done it more quickly if she was willing to take a chance, but she wasn't exactly feeling in a gambling mood. Still, once she was fully past it, she stood up, happy to have the room to do so quickly, and shook her hooves out to get them feeling natural again.

She turned back to the beam, one eye pointed behind her to make sure her tail didn't accidentally back into the next one. She raised a hoof in front of the area she had just passed, silently sizing up the beam to be avoided. Looking closer, its height wasn't as hard to deal with as she'd thought, but it was still tricky. She was sure that any one of them could pass beneath it, but it would need to be a slow, careful process since they couldn't see the beam in question. Nor could they feel it, a fact that had caused Icy no end of terror as she had gone underneath it, never knowing whether or not she'd just triggered it despite her care and whether she was just about to get roasted. If there was something she could have simply felt to give her an idea of where it was...

A slight smile, more genuine that any she'd felt since she'd come into the field of sensors, came onto her face as she understood what she could do.

She called up her energy once again, but this time she didn't flap. Instead, she crouched down a little and placed her wing against the ground beneath the beam, letting the energy flow directly onto the crystal floor and form a thick, round patch of ice.

Moving slowly, Icy moved her wing up along the side of the patch, forming more ice as she did and making it extend upward. She moved slowly, careful to make sure each new growth upwards was neither too narrow to build further upon nor too wide for the underlying ice to support it.

It took a short while, but she soon had a thick, slightly conical pillar of ice reaching up to just below the beam. Once she reached this point, she slowed down even further, mindful not to let her wing stray too near the trigger that would ruin all of her hard work, as well as her everything else. Still, she pushed the energy out into the area the beam intersected, forming a block around it.

Nodding to herself, she then began the next phase of her plan by placing a wing on the side of the pillar, below the beam, and slowly drawing it out, creating a jutting section of ice parallel to the sensor. After getting the section a few inches out from the pillar, she placed her other wing beneath it and drew it back and forth along the length of the protrusion, thickening the ice beneath it to form a sort of solid scaffold.

After a short while, she was confident that the extension was stable and began once again moving her wing upwards, forming an icy tube around the beam. She was, she admitted to herself, a little unsure this was a good idea, as it did add more ice to potentially set off the trigger, but she figured it would be more risky to forgo the addition, given how she planned to use it.

Eventually, she pulled her wing away, satisfied with what she'd made.

“Ah, I see what you're doing!” Truffle spoke up, making Icy start slightly as she looked and realized he had been waiting patiently throughout her entire impromptu ice-sculpting demonstration. “Making a limbo pole so we know where to keep below.”

Icy nodded. “Kinda, yeah. I figured it'd be easier to go under the beam if you could feel if you were about to break it.”

“Good thought!” Truffle replied, a touch of humour in his smile. “Especially when I'm your travelling companion.”

Icy tilted her head as she moved to the side, ready to let him through. “What do you mean?”

Truffle chuckled as he climbed carefully over the ice block previous to the one Icy had just made. He hopped over it slightly, making sure his weight was always supported by his hooves on one side or the other rather than by the ice. Once there, he put his bottle and paint-feather on the ground just in front of the beam, in the corner of the room opposite to the side Icy had made the boundary.

“Well, that's the other reason I wanted to be one of the first through – I'm the ultimate test subject!” He lowered himself to the ground and began moving slowly beneath the enclosed beam, careful to keep both his senses of sight and touch focused on the ice above him. “If I can get under or over a beam, anypony can.”

Icy giggled slightly. “Well, anypony our age.”

Truffle smirked. “At least.”

Icy's giggles tapered off gently as she focused on Truffle's progress; he'd managed to get the front of his barrel through without issue but, as he'd be the first to admit, his stomach was where the issue would be. It did come up to a fair height, even from the ground, so she wasn't sure...

His stomach bumped up gently against the bottom of the protrusion, cutting off Icy's thoughts and sending a panicking tension through her legs, priming them to sprint off if things kicked off. The ice shook slightly, making her hooves shake as if synchronized to it. There was a moment of silence as the vibrations slowed... before finally coming to a stop.

Icy relaxed, thankful that the temperature-blocking field wasn't closer to the actual sensor, else things might have gotten very bad very quickly.

Truffle let out a sigh, evidently also relieved by the lack of fire. That said, he was either less scared or simply better at hiding it – Icy couldn't say which. Looking down over himself, he let out a further breath and sucked in his stomach. It... didn't really reduce in volume that much, but it did just about lower enough that he could fit himself underneath the beam and the ice.

He scooted forward quickly, holding his breath to make sure that his stomach didn't move any more than necessary. The increased speed did give Icy a couple more heart palpitations, but they were blessedly short lived as his stomach cleared the beam. That just left his legs to pass through and, unless Truffle decided to do a cartwheel out of nowhere, it was unlikely that they would be in danger of setting off the flamethrowers.

Admittedly, in any other circumstances, Icy wouldn't have put it past Truffle to do some minor acrobatics – such as he was able – just because he felt like it, but she was pretty certain that his self-preservation instincts were strong enough to suppress any such impulses.

After a few more seconds, Truffle was able to rise to his feet, giving a little hop as he did so as if to prove Icy's thought accurate. “Right, I'd say that's a success. Shall we continue?”

Icy turned to face forward again, already flaring her wings and gathering her energy for the next beam. “Fine by me!” She said cheerfully as she froze a line over the low beam in front of her.

The two continued on through the corridor. Thankfully, there weren't any more beams at that particularly awkward height – there was one that was close to it, but a few inches higher, meaning Icy and Truffle agreed another barrier wasn't necessary, just a pillar to show the height to be avoided.

It was just as they were passing this pillar that a voice rang out from behind them. “What the...? What are you...?”

“Oh, just out for a little stroll,” Truffle called back, not looking up from marking one of the last areas to avoid. “Don't mind us!”

“Ooh, real clever,” Conundra sneered, her voice carrying across the crystal corridor. “I see what you're doing.”

“Then why'd you ask?” Moonwing said, a lethargic tone in her voice as she rose to her feet.

Conundra let out something between a sigh and a growl. “I was just surprised, that's all. Surprised you'd use ice to show the way through a gauntlet of fire. Seems to me like you didn't think this through.”

“Well, the whole point of this thing is to stop us from setting the fire off,” Icy pointed out, raising her voice a little to be heard. “If we don't set it off, the ice won't melt. And if we do, well...” she gave a macabre chuckle as she froze over the next low beam, “I think we'll have other things to worry about.”

Conundra burst into a haughty chuckle. “Oh, please! Who said I was talking about you setting it off. All I have to do is send one bolt of magic through there and your precious ice goes bye-bye. And if you're in there, so do you.”

She continued laughing for a second before a second laugh joined her, making her trail off.

Zatrathan shook his head as he chuckled at her.

“A bluff that would be dangerous to call,
had you not stated you don't want us dead.
So tell me, do you really have the gall
to have our deaths directly on your head?

There was a moment of tense silence. Despite not facing them, Icy could imagine the staredown between the confident smirk of Zatrathan, shared by at least Caprice and Archer, opposed by Conundra's expressionless helmet.

As Icy finished icing over the last of the ground-based beams, the silence broke. “Well, maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't,” Conundra said, irritation heavy in her tone.

“Ye wouldn't,” Caprice interjected. “Ain't got the ladyballs!”

“But it doesn't matter,” Conundra finished sharply. “Cause it looks like you're through, and that means...”

Icy's eyes widened as she came to a stop past the last beam and whirled around, just in time to see Conundra turn away from whatever was projecting her image and sending a thick, slow bolt of magic out from her horn.

“...I can do that, and I know you're not dumb enough to... what are you doing?!” she cried out, not bothering to hide the blind panic in her voice as she looked down.

Icy followed her eyeline, shifting her focus from the filly's massive image to something far more impressive: Moonwing was dashing down the corridor, leaping over the ice barriers Icy had made and darting around the lines Truffle had painted with blinding speed and precision, her shields shifting rapidly around her back to prevent them from getting too close to the sensor beams.

“What does it look like?” she called back as she leapt over the second barrier. She tossed her shields over the first tall pillar, making the spin in the air for a moment as she ducked down and tumbled under the beam enclosed by a suspended tube, before leaping up and plucking the shields out of the air.

“Get out of there, idiot!” Conundra cried, both out of terror and surprise that her bluff could have been unintentionally true. “You'll get roasted!” Icy could hear the magic of her spell bouncing round a corner behind her.

“Not if I can help it!” Moonwing said as she threw one of her shields forward, flicking her wing to give it a heavy spin as it flew.

The disc sailed forward, the angular momentum carrying it over the beams in front of Moonwing before curving downwards towards the ground. It ricocheted off the lower part of the left wall before bouncing off the ground, the impacts knocking it into a more vertical alignment.

Icy's head followed the shield up as it bounced up, almost reaching the ceiling before gravity halted its momentum, making it hang in the air for a second.

However, a second was all it needed as Icy saw the spell come streaming towards it. It impacted the surface of the shield, bouncing off it and back down the corridor while knocking the shield back down.

“Catch it catch it catch it!” Moonwing yelled as she neared Icy and Truffle.

Icy was just about registering the command when she felt Truffle's hooves wrap around her, barely giving her time to understand what was going on before she was hurled up into the air into the path of the flying disc.

Fortunately, as was often the case, her body was quicker to understand the situation than her mind as her hooves wrapped around the disc and her wings spread out, arresting the momentum given by the shield and allowing her to glide into a curve, narrowly avoiding the area filled with the sensor beams.

As she skidded to a halt, she looked up at Moonwing, her mouth dropping open as the featherless filly took her shield back. “Are you sure you're not Captain Equestria?” she asked.

Moonwing thought for a moment, apparently giving the idea serious consideration before shaking her head. “Pretty sure, yeah. If nothing else, well...” she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “I... wasn't actually sure that would work. I mean, I thought it probably would, but... yeah.”

“You... you know what?” Conundra shrugged, forcefully injecting relaxation into her tone. “I'm not even mad. So you got through all the traps so far. Doesn't matter – the best's saved for last. The next trap's only a short way away and, well...” she chuckled nastily, “that one's just straight impossible to get past. I know you won't believe it until you see it, but yeah,” Icy could just picture the smug grin beneath her helmet, “your two-bit tour of the caves ends there.”

“Now, I ain't sayin' that ain't possible,” Caprice replied as she started moving carefully through the gauntlet, just behind Archer and ahead of Zatrathan, “but, well, let's just say I'm waitin' to be convinced. An' if it's anythin' like these other traps, then I gotta say: Bring it on, pane-brain!”

Conundra tilted her head a little. “What does that even mean? Oh, doesn't matter! See you in a minute, morons!” She flicked a hoof forward as she scoffed, dismissing the image.

Icy thought for a moment, also trying to understand Caprice's insult. “Pain-brain? Pain... like her feeling pain or giving it? Cause I don't think she really does either, unless you count...”

“No, Pane!” Caprice corrected as she approached the end of the hazardous area. “P-A-N-E, like glass pane, window pane... cause she wears that helmet over her...” She sighed and shook her head. “I'm runnin' outta ways to say she looks stupid,” she muttered, just loudly enough for Icy to hear.

“Well, anyway,” Archer interjected as, at the rear of the group, Zatrathan hopped over the final ice barrier, “we heading off? Dunno about you guys, but I'm curious what this “impossible” trap's all about.”

“Indeed,” Zatrathan began, not stopping as he came out of the beams but continuing on and making everyone scramble to catch up with him, “we'll see what final trap we meet –
what apparition we, she thinks, can't beat!”

The group galloped onward, stopping only for Archer to retrieve her arrow and send the next one along the path they needed to follow.

They turned the corner, Archer heading slightly ahead to where her arrow had adhered itself, such that she had fired the next one by the time the group had caught up. The process then repeated a number of times, taking the group on a chaotic, winding journey through the confusing crystal passageways.

Eventually, though, Icy started to hear something – a continual crackling coming from the end of the corridor they were in, around the corner. The group slowed a little, Icy presuming that they heard it too, and they approached the bend carefully, the sound increasing to a considerable volume as they did. Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor and halted for a second, curious what trap, real or imagined, would be waiting for them.

As it turned out, they didn't need to actually turn the corner to get a clearer sense of what was there, as bright light spilled out along the walls at seemingly random intervals and intensities. Archer carefully stuck an arrow around the corner, holding it still for a second before nodding and gradually poking her head around the corner to see what was going on. Her eyes widened a little, but she nevertheless stepped around the corner and beckoned for the others to join her, her eyes never leaving whatever she was looking at.

The group filed out into the intersection. Icy, being among the last through, saw all of their expressions shift slightly as they caught sight of whatever it was, until she joined them. Turning down the corridor, she saw what was so arresting their attention and couldn't help a nervous swallow herself.

Floating in midair, suspended by an almost-invisible field of magic, was a row of small, metal coils. There seemed to be absolutely nothing else to the physical objects – they were simply vertical spirals of metal, like springs except that the metal they were made from was thick and looked stiff and solid. They were all connected to each other through rods of metal coming off the top and bottom of each coil, all ending quite a distance from the floor, walls and ceiling. However, what was so intimidating about the sight were the bolts of white lightning continually running through the metal and hopping across the air within the coils. There didn't seem to be a single fraction of a second that didn't have several sparks leaping from point to point, making clear even getting near the apparatus, let alone touching it, would be the last thing one would ever do.

And on the wall just before it was the image of Conundra, looking down on the group with a tremendous amount of smugness in her posture. “Well, look who finally decided to show up!” she jeered, despite the fact that Icy knew they had come here almost as fast as they could have and she was pretty sure Conundra knew that too. “Unfortunately for you, I'm almost through the final barrier to Sombra's inner sanctum. I only need a few more minutes and I think you'll agree this will hold you up a lot longer than that.”

“Let me guess,” Archer said after a moment, sounding more interested than worried, “we gotta figure out if this is an illusion or not?”

Conundra laughed. “Oh, but that's the beauty of this final trap – it doesn't matter. The coils are real, but the lightning? Maybe it's real, maybe it's not but the only way to find out... is to risk getting killed by it! You can do what you like – shoot it, freeze it, play music at it... it won't make a scrap of difference to the electricity. The only thing to do is either avoid getting near it... or get zapped by it. Maybe it is all a trick. But would you bet your life on that?”

There was a pause as the group looked intently at the sparking coils, trying to see some way around what she was saying.

Conundra let loose a single, harrumphing laugh. “Didn't think s-”

“The magic there,” Zatrathan interrupted her, indicating the field holding it in place, “must make the lightning, true?
If so, there may be something we can do!”

Conundra scoffed. “Shows what you know – the magic's just holding it all up, the lightning's all contained in the coils. You can get rid of the magic if you like, but all it'll do is bring it down to the ground and make it even more impossible to get past without being zapped.” She began turning away from the group.

Zatrathan shot her a genuinely friendly smile. “We could, yes, bring it down, but there's no need.
There's other ways electrons can be freed!”

Conundra stopped before turning back. “Electrons? What are you talking ab- huh?” She aborted her question as she saw Zatrathan draw his sword and whirl it round a couple of times, his magic flowing through it to lengthen it again. Before anyone, friend or foe, could ask what he was doing, he twirled it so that he was holding it in the middle of the shaft. He pulled his hoof back for a second before hurling it forward like a javelin.

The sword sailed through the air before flying through two turns of one of the central spirals, its hilt catching on the solid metal. Once this happened, the blade turned downwards, the lightning now flowing through it as well, until it touched the ground.

“Well, least now we know it's probably real,” Archer observed, turning to Zatrathan with a smile. However, Zatrathan's eyes remained fixed on the blade.

“Oh, yeah, real helpful,” Conundra snorted as she swept her head up, looking down on the group. “Too bad you still can't...get... past...” she trailed off, her posture slouching again as she looked at what was happening to the coils.

The electricity that had been coursing through the metal and leaping through the air at every opportunity had already been reduced to a few small sparks and was still diminishing. It was hard to tell with the chaotic nature of the lightning, but Icy could have sworn it was being drained out through the sword.

“Wha... how...? GAH!” Conundra shouted, whirling around in both anger and panic and shutting off the image.

Smiling, Zatrathan strolled casually up to the area beneath the coils, soon followed by Archer, who drew her bow and fired her next trajectory arrow without taking her eyes off him. “Okay, Zat,” she said after a few seconds of astonished silence from everyone, “that was awesome, but I'm with her – how?”

Zatrathan hovered a hoof just over the surface of his sword's metal for a moment, checking for any remaining electricity before picking it up and sheathing it once more. He indicated the coils with a hoof.

“With no electric source to fuel its thunder,
the coils must work by holding in a charge.
And such a trap is quite a snap to sunder,
just drain the lightning into something large.” He jerked his head forward and started moving on, leading the group past the coils as he continued explaining.
“A conduit, like what my sword creates,
would draw excess electrons to the floor.
The path now opened, physics then dictates,
the charge will equalize and zap no more.” He turned to Archer with a smirk.
“A little 'lectric knowledge, I would say,
can go a truly monumental way!”

Archer smiled back at him for a moment before sprinting ahead to the next arrow. However, Icy did notice her flick her tail along Zatrathan's side as she did, though she wasn't sure if Archer was aware and why she would do that if she was.

Still, it didn't seem to bother either of them and, after a moment of consideration, Icy shrugged it off too. There were, after all, more important things to worry about - they were on the home stretch now and a reckoning with a certain young illusionist seemed imminent.

The cloaked figure walked into the lobby of the Tourmaline Hotel. Not even glancing at the staff or the odd looks they were receiving as a grown pony in a hotel mostly full of kids, they walked over to a small lounge area and sat down.

“Soon, Icy Flight. Soon!”

Chapter Eight: The Ultimate Illusion

The group dashed down the winding tunnels, Archer the only one who stopped to check their direction and even then, she only did so after a brief sprint to pull ahead.

As it turned out, however, she needn't have bothered, as there were no more split junctions and, after only a couple more corners, they saw the corridor lead into a much larger room.

The assembled colts and fillies came to a halt just before the end of the corridor – though their opponent had told them they'd passed the final trap between them and her, none of them were exactly keen on taking a chance by trusting the filly whose entire interactions with them consisted of trickery, illusion, deception and confusion.

However, after a few moments scanning the exit, both visually and, from Zatrathan and Caprice, magically, there was a general nodding amongst them before Truffle charged over the threshold, tensing himself to bear the brunt of whatever they may have missed. However, nothing happened and the others followed him soon afterwards, looking around the massive cavern.

The size of the room was nearly staggering after spending so much time in the admittedly wide but still enclosed corridors of the main labyrinth. It was easily as big as Ponyville's town hall, possibly a little larger, and, though the ceiling was still relatively low, it nevertheless felt a lot more open. Unlike the sharp, seemingly random angles, protrusions and craters that made up the walls of the tunnels, all the surfaces in this hall were smooth and pristine, the walls curving round in a gentle arc, both around the edge of the room and into a domed ceiling. A lot more exits were spread around the room, with the only large section that didn't have a tunnel leading off from it being to their immediate right, where a huge apparatus lay.

At first glance, it looked like a cross between a crystal sculpture, a work desk and the controls of a starship from one of Icy's sci-fi comics – a long, curved surface, its top slanted down to make it easier to look at the many glowing panels and coloured, button-like bulges. None of these sections looked like they could be physically moved or altered, but the glow suggested that they interacted with a pony's magic; possibly only a unicorn's, given who had created it and who had been recently using it.

The bank of controls curved around the wall for a short distance before coming to an end, leaving a wide gap after it before a second array began, its controls in a very different arrangement. Between the two was the only flat surface anywhere on the room's walls – a large sheet of crystal that dully reflected the light, much less intensely than any of the crystal walls the group had seen thus far. It reminded Icy a lot of a switched-off screen for a video game machine and she guessed that it was the screen that Conundra had been using to communicate with them.

“Which way did sh- ah!” Icy heard Archer say, the slight whooshing of wind indicating that she was whipping her head around, searching for their adversary. Turning to Archer, Icy opened her mouth to ask what she'd found, only to see what she meant.

The various exits to this central hub were laid out in a regular pattern throughout the room, further suggesting that this cavern was artificially made rather than adapted from something natural. Including the tunnel they'd come through, there were seven exits by Icy's counting and, if this complex had been built or used by someone who understood the concept of subtlety, it might have been difficult to ascertain which of these passages led to the “inner sanctum” and, thus, which one Conundra had gone into.

However, this was a structure created by King Sombra, so the huge, shiny black doors covered in rubies, amethysts and obsidian was a bit of a giveaway, as was the massive dome atop a crystalline body that now turned to them.

“Gotcha!” Archer smiled, raising her bow and pulling out an arrow.

Icy couldn't see Conundra's expression past the illusionary crystal bubble, but she got the distinct impression from her posture that there was a touch of panic in it as the horn-area of the helmet lit up, sending out a beam of bright magical energy.

The blast bounced off the angular walls of the tunnel, almost instantly forming a chain of ricochets that went in a rough circle around the walls before impacting the ground just beyond the open door, bringing up the image of a brick wall.

Snorting in annoyed amusement, Zatrathan rushed forward, his hoof going to his scabbard to draw his sword.

Archer smiled, shaking her head slightly as she nocked the arrow, firing it just as Zatrathan began speaking.

“Enough!” he roared at Conundra. “Whate'er illusions you may make,
you rest assured, we'l-”

He stopped as he saw Archer's arrow impact the wall, splintering and bouncing off it as if it were, in fact, a real barrier.

His eyes widening, Zatrathan brought his hooves to halt, skidding along the crystal floor and almost, but not quite, arresting his movement before he too impacted the wall with an extremely solid-sounding smack.

“Oh, for goodness' sake!”

“Oh, yeah, should have mentioned that!” Conundra's voice called back to them with affected surprise and contrition. “In the inner sanctum, the walls' effect is increased massively. With the power boost from that, I can actually make my images solid! Have fun out there!”

“So, you're saying,” Truffle said as he approached Zatrathan's position, speaking just as her sentence finished, “that this is basically a real brick wall.”

“You bet your fat flank it is,” Conundra called back, making Truffle smile – Icy guessed his immediate question was at least partially an attempt to delay her a little. “Good luck getting through it any time soon!”

“Oh, I think we'll manage.” Truffle walked up the wall before turning around, his back to it. “You see, there's one thing you seem to be forgetting.”

“And what's that?” Conundra's sneer was clear even behind two opaque surfaces.

Truffle whirled around and raised his back legs before giving the wall a powerful buck. A massive, deep sound rang out from the collision, nothing like brick being struck but just as loud, and Icy could feel the vibrations from the impact running through the ground. Furthermore, a slightly liquid shudder ran through the wall, rippling out from Truffle's hooves.

Truffle grunted, a smile on his face. “Even brick can crumble!”

It seemed no one in the vicinity needed any further cause to act, as Icy heard Conundra's hooves running deeper into the tunnels as the group lined up in front of the wall. With a sweeping note and a wave of energy from Caprice's violin, they began their assault upon the wall in earnest.

Rather than continue bucking it, Truffle had turned to face the wall and was pummelling it with his front hooves, for the most part treating it like a punching bag while occasionally bringing both his hooves down in an overhead strike or ramming into it with his shoulder. Meanwhile, Moonwing was pounding it with her shields, alternating between hitting it with the rim of the discs and slamming their surfaces against the barrier, putting her full weight behind them.

Zatrathan, on the other hand, didn't strike it multiple times, instead rearing up on his hindhooves and plunging his sword down against the wall, trying to use his weight, his strength and the magic flowing along the blade to push it through. Just above him, a rapid stream of arrows was being fired into the wall, Archer's fire being concentrated into one precise spot.

In the face of this assault, the rippling in the walls surface was increasing and the barrier was quickly becoming unstable. However, it struck Icy that her previous evaluation wasn't quite accurate – there was one pony present who wasn't doing anything and it was the one who had just thought that.

That said, she didn't see that there was much she could do – freezing the wall wouldn't really accomplish anything and she didn't think she had any means at her disposal to directly damage it. Still, she frowned in thought as she tried to come up with something. Characters like Icemare or Misty Freeze made it look so easy, they could both freeze things and shoot ice, but she didn't see how...

Actually, now that she thought of it, it may have been possible for her to shoot solid ice as well, she just wasn't sure how. She knew that she could use her energy to form ice on solid surfaces, but making it in the air? That was trickier.

After a moment of flexing her wings, she decided to try it out, sending a pair of freezing gusts out at a sharp angle, bringing the two streams of energy together just in front of her so they impacted one another. To her elation, the instant they did, they formed a solid, sharp lump of ice in the air in front of her.

To her disappointment, however, the wind from her wings pushed the lump about a foot before it plummeted to the ground, fracturing as it landed.

Huffing to herself, Icy picked the block of ice up. Well, guess I'll just have to work on that... as well as on freezing actual stuff, general fitness, ice skating, if I can even bring myself to go out on a frozen lake again... Sighing, Icy chucked the block at the wall, where it shattered on impact.

Fortunately, Icy was saved from listing the truly gargantuan list of ways she felt she needed to improve in order to be an effective hero when the wall, with a final magical groan, at last shattered, the pieces immediately dissolving into multicoloured ether before fading out of existence.

The group's vanguard didn't waste a second, rushing forward as soon as the barricade was gone and the others didn't wait much longer, stowing their tools quickly before following.

They weren't running long, however, before they skidded to a halt before the next obstacle – a small formation of grey, blank-faced ponies, standing to attention and blocking their path.

“Like them?” Conundra's voice called back, magically amplified to carry all the way back from her position well ahead of them. “Can't just walk through these ones – they're solid enough to take you down.” A beam of magic sped down the corridor towards them before impacting the centre of the group, making them all start walking forward in unison, their eyeless faces locked onto the group in front of them.

There was a moment of silence from the group before Archer gave a small chuckle.

“Oh, no, what are we gonna do? We've never had to take down actual ponies before. Oh wait!”

She raised her bow and fired an arrow into the head of the pony at the head of the herd, burying the arrow in its featureless head and knocking it to the side, breaking the formation and sending the other effigies scattering slightly.

With a smirk, Caprice raised her violin. She swept her bow down, sending out a pulse of energy and signalling for the others to advance. “Let's do this!”

They started doing this.

As usual, Truffle took the lead, with Moonwing and Zatrathan close behind him. However, spurred on by Caprice's introduction, Icy found herself moving to act much quicker than normal, sending a wave of energy over the arrow-marked construct, encasing his legs in thick ice. This not only had the effect of halting him in place, it also made the figures behind him collide with his backside. They didn't fall on their haunches as Icy had hoped they might, instead just continuing to walk forward against him until their angle pushed them around him, like a video game sprite walking against a wall.

However, Icy didn't get much of a chance to appreciate this as Truffle made contact with the horde, leaping into a punch to one of the frontmost enemies and drawing Icy's attention. The impact was loud and sent a ripple through the blank-faced ponies, larger than the one that went through the image of the brick wall. This seemed to suggest that these illusions, if one could call them that when they were solid, weren't as tough as the barrier they'd just faced, though they were obviously more mobile and numerous.

Still, the strike didn't disperse the recipient, though it did knock it back quite a distance, allowing two more to approach Truffle and take a synchronized swing at him. Fortunately, the movement was telegraphed well in advance, allowing him to slip underneath one and brace himself for the other, taking the hit with little more than a quiet grunt.

Meanwhile, Moonwing was wading into the fray on the other side of the frozen pony. Icy didn't know if this was a conscious choice for her and Truffle, since they didn't know each other's fighting styles as well as they did for their own teammates and didn't want to get in each other's way, or just good sense to cover more ground. Either way, though, Moonwing seemed to be just fine on her own, dashing, ducking and whirling around to intercept any strikes around her with her shields. She was focusing her movements much more on defense than Truffle was, but was still able to get in quite a few slams with one or both shields.

It helped that these solid illusions were all moving in such unison and broadcasting their strikes seconds before making them, allowing her to keep her movements and deflections finely synchronized to the attacks. Also helping was the fact that, unlike the previous fight with the golems and their incorporeal duplicates, the various opponents weren't moving through each other and obscuring which one was where, nor was there any doubt that any given attack was real and would need to be avoided.

A crackle of electricity and a bright light drew Icy's attention to the centre of the fight, where Zatrathan's sword was crackling with white lightning as he thrust it forward into the chest of the frozen pony. There was a moment's pause as the blade collided with the construct's chest, the tip gradually pushing down into its heart-area even as the electricity went ahead and coursed through its body. Then, all at once, the image exploded into a fading, diffused light.

To his credit, Zatrathan didn't quite topple forward when this happened, managing to put a hoof on the now-empty block of ice and push himself back into a reared-up position. He drew his sword back, twirling it around before vaulting over the ice at two of the forms behind it.

Seeing this got Icy to shake her head and refocus on her own role in the fight. She flapped her wings against the ground in front of her, sending a low wave of energy along the ground. She had to keep it tightly focused so it wouldn't accidentally catch Truffle by accident, but it seemed he was attentive enough to move to the side, just in case. The energy coursed along the ground, creating a thin sheet of ice that reached the hooves of the two Zatrathan was going for, coming to an end just before Zatrathan landed.

Landing on the ice, Zatrathan surged forward, slamming his sword into the neck of one of the rear constructs, a white energy flashing along the edge and into the pony, blowing a chunk out of its neck and allowing Zatrathan's blade to penetrate all the way through, detaching its head completely and making it too vanish a moment later.

However, it seemed the momentum behind Zatrathan's thrust wasn't entirely under his control, as he continued forward once the illusion was gone, sliding forward on the ice and onto his belly.

He quickly leapt to his hooves and turned around, only to see the other rear image pulling one of its front hooves free from the ice, bringing it up to either smash the remainder of the ice or smack the still off-balance zebra.

Before it could, though, an arrow thudded into its hoof, wrenching it off to the side and around the construct's other hooves, tangling them up and bringing it to a twisted halt.

While that was happening, Truffle looked up from the pony he was focusing on, who was now looking extremely unstable. Smiling, he leapt up, grabbing hold of the false pony's chest and clambering up its body. A second enemy thrust a hoof at him, evidently not caring about the possibility of hitting an ally, but Truffle saw this and angled his haunch towards the strike, taking the brunt of it but allowing it to push him up to his perch's head.

Turning to catch Zatrathan's eye, he jerked his head towards the frozen, off-balance construct. For his part, Zatrathan may or may not have noticed, as he was busy getting his own balance back, but either way, he was soon pulling his sword up for another strike.

Smiling, Truffle hopped off the blank pony's head, twisting around for a second before ramming his hooves out behind him, impacting the construct's lack-of-a-face with what should have been a sickening crunch, but instead was a deep magical chime and, a moment later, the sound of an illusion dissipating.

There wasn't much time to appreciate this, however, as Truffle's strike also propelled him forward, flying towards the pony who was only now getting into a position to break the rest of the ice at its hooves. Seeing this, Zatrathan swung his sword at the pony's side, not seeming to bother to put more than a tiny bit of magic into the strike. However, it was fairly obvious it wasn't needed, as Truffle impacted its other side and pushed it into the sword's edge, driving it deep into the pony's body and carving it nearly in two. In fact, it looked like the only reason it wasn't completely bisected was because it exploded before it could be.

“Nice one,” Moonwing called out as she threw a shield into the side of one of her opponents, which proved the final impact needed to disperse it. “Looks like we're getting in sync!” She sent out her recall beam, drawing the shield back just in time to block another attack against her.

Icy couldn't help but agree, as they had now taken out half of the illusory enemies – they weren't even outnumbered anymore. “Only five left!” she called out.

“Four in a second,” Archer added as she fired another shot. Darting her eyes along the arrow's path, Icy saw that, while the hoof-to-hoof fighters had been drawing her attention, Icy had been quietly filling one of the constructs on the periphery with arrows, with half a dozen sticking out of various points on its featureless hide.

The latest arrow impacted it right in the temple, penetrating deep into its holographic flesh. For a moment, it looked like, had the thing been capable of feeling pain, it would have hurt horribly. However, while the theoretical pain didn't vanish by itself after a second, the construct did, exploding into light and making the arrows embedded in it fall to the ground. Icy wasn't sure whether this was because of the position of the arrow, how deep it had gone into it or simply the result of the repeated impacts. That said, there was another question that felt a little more pressing.

“How did you know that would be the last one?” she asked Archer, who simply shrugged.

“I didn't, just figured it probably would be. They were going deeper every time and the temple's a weak spot anyway.”

Icy turned back to the fray, absent-mindedly sending a blast to freeze the legs of one going for Zatrathan. “So, you think we need to pierce them deeply to take them out?”

“Maybe,” Archer smirked, loading a metal arrow into her bow. “How about we find out. Hey, Wing!” she called out as she fired the arrow into the side of the nearest enemy. “Try driving that one in!”

Moonwing nodded as Icy focused on that image, flapping her wings to freeze its hooves to the ground, allowing Moonwing to dart around it and ram her shield into the metallic shaft of the arrow, planting her hooves against the ground and pushing it deeper.

Seeing the ice starting to crack a little from the force, Icy flapped again, thickening the construct’s bonds, hopefully enough to keep it contained.

It was probably a good thing she did so as soon as she noticed, too, as a moment later Zatrathan darted across her field of vision, scampering up the paralyzed foe and running along its back before leaping off, bringing his sword down as he fell and striking the image Icy had frozen previously. The blade sunk deep into the false pony's head, splitting it in two before the image dispersed.

Icy shook her head, refocusing on the pony Moonwing was dealing with, just in time to see her give one final shove, driving the arrow much deeper into the mirage's form before pulling away slightly, ready to ram it again. However, a split second later, the arrow fell away as that pony too exploded into fading light.

“'Kay, looks like we just need to pierce 'em to take 'em out,” Archer concluded, raising her voice a little so everyone could hear her.

“Good... to... know!” Truffle replied, clearly struggling with something. Looking over to his side of the corridor, Icy saw that he had clambered onto the back of one of the two remaining enemies and wrapped his hooves around its neck and chin, trying his hardest to pull its head off completely. The other illusory pony was swatting at him as best it could with its inelegant, clunky movements, but couldn't get the height necessary to get much force behind the blows.

Still, Icy thought it was probably best to make sure it didn't get the chance, so she sent a wave of energy over it, encasing its entire lower half in ice and hopefully giving Truffle enough respite to finish his current opponent off.

It seemed that he was getting somewhere, too, as his hooves jerked upwards, a crack appearing in the featureless pony's neck that was steadily growing wider as he pulled.

Icy wasn't sure how long it would take him to completely remove the head, but, as it turned out, it didn't matter as Zatrathan ran over and leapt towards the larger enemy, driving his sword into the crack Truffle had made and nearly completely splitting the head from the body.

Fortunately, Truffle was alert enough to let go and leap off the pony's back before it vanished, landing right beside Zatrathan.

Zatrathan gave him an awkward smile. “I'm sorry, I just saw that he was still.
I really didn't mean to steal your kill.”

“Don't be ridiculous!” Truffle replied, slapping the zebra on the back nearly hard enough to knock him to the floor. “Beating these things is what really matters and teamwork's a pretty good way to do it. Speaking of which,” he turned to the final construct, which was still struggling to escape its icy bonds, “Moonwing, why don't we make ourselves a sword-and-arrow sandwich?”

He ran around the back of the enemy and grabbed hold of its amorphous tail. Yanking hard, he leapt up, climbing the grey mass until he was on the pony's back.

Moonwing nodded as she understood what he meant, waving a hoof to direct Zatrathan to its right side, opposite to the side Icy was looking at it from. As he did, Moonwing held a shield before her and started running at the immobilized enemy, her shoulder against the shield to strengthen the impact.

Truffle, meanwhile, hopped across the pony's back until he was next to the back of its head, whereupon he leapt up and, with a “Banzai!”, he slammed his belly onto its scalp, driving its head down into Moonwing's charge.

The two ponies smashed into the illusions head from either side with a low, unnerving magical ring sharply ringing out before settling into a continual tone as the pressure kept being applied. However, this sound didn't last long as Zatrathan rammed his sword into the side of the pony's head, its edge turned down towards Moonwing's shield, using the pressure to increasing the cutting power.

Just as the blade was getting deep into the image, two arrows, both fired simultaneously, thudded into the opposite side, knocking the head into the sword slightly.

The tableau stayed still for a moment before this final enemy disintegrated too, making Zatrathan stumble forward a little and Truffle fall down, though thankfully the two didn't meet in the middle. Nor did they seem especially bothered as Zatrathan quickly regained his balance and Truffle simply bounced on his belly high enough to get his hooves under him.

The group looked among each other for a moment, checking that everyone was okay before turning back down the corridor. However, before they could start moving again, they heard a clapping sound from in front of them.

“Oh, very good, very good, well done you!” Conundra's patronizing voice came from in front of them. Icy looked around, seeing nothing in front of them despite the voice seeming to come from there. “Too bad for you, you're too late, I've got the spell!”

Icy's ears swivelled as she listened. It was fairly obvious that Conundra was invisible, so she tried to pinpoint her location using the sound of her voice. Unfortunately, the echo of the corridor made that nearly impossible. She flared her wings to freeze the floor before them before reconsidering – that might just get her to blast them with the illusion spell sooner and wouldn't immobilize her for long enough for them to break out of it, even if they could.

Of course, she could simply stroll right past them right now without being spotted unless there was something...

Icy's eyes widened for a moment before she schooled her expression, lest she give away that she had an idea. “Keep her talking,” she muttered to the others before she started gathering energy to her wings.

She saw Truffle nod in her peripheral vision. “So... so you expect us to believe you could have mastered the spell in the minute since you found it?” he asked, a near-imperceptible hitch in his voice suggesting to Icy that he was more worried about that possibility than he was willing to let on.

“Oh, of course not,” Conundra replied, her voice brimming with smug confidence, “but I don't need to. See, old Sombra was kinda big on backup plans, so he made sure the spell was usable even if he was taken out and his slaves had to do it. Made a gem that held it that any unicorn can use. Like s-”

“So,” Caprice interrupted, “yer gonna blast us wit' it in a room where you just said ye can make yer illusions solid... so they'll block your way out too?”

“I... don't be dumb!” Conundra said, clearly stumbling over a comeback for a moment before clearing her throat. “I know it's hard for you, but try. I don't have to make solid images and the spell makes phantasms, so I couldn't anyway. All I need to do is blast you like thi-”

“Probably a good thing for you you can't,” Archer replied with a smirk, eliciting a growl from Conundra. “Dunno if you'd noticed, but you were doing a heck of a lot better with tricks and illusions than you were making things real. Took us, what, a quarter of the time to get through those goons than, say, the flamethrowers or the swinging blades, if that? What do you call it when somepony's better with making you think stuff's there than actually using stuff that is?”

“A special talent?” Conundra replied without even pausing. “But it doesn't matter anyway with this spell. Now, are you going to let me through without a fuss or am I going to have to get nasty and get past you while you're scared out of your feeble wits?”

Icy gave the empty-looking corridor in front of her a pleasant smile. “Actually, neither.” Not leaving a second for Conundra to think or ask for clarification, she whirled around and flapped her wings, sending a gust sweeping across the corridor behind them and making a thick, high wall of ice behind them, blocking it off completely. Turning back around, she saw Truffle standing in front of her protectively, giving her an encouraging grin over her shoulder.

Conundra snorted. “Oh, very clever, congratulations, you've delayed me a little. Unfortunately for you, this little hocus pocus'll be delaying you for a lot longer.” She gave a heavy sigh. “I'm sorry – I really didn't want to do this,” she continued, suddenly sounding quite genuine in her contrition. “You've been annoying, sure, but I didn't wanna do something this nasty to you. Still, looks like it's you or me, so...”

The air in front of them started wibbling rapidly as the crystal-masked filly faded into view, the horn area of her helmet glowing in a coruscating rainbow of colours.

No sooner had this happened than an arrow and a small bolt of lightning flew from Archer and Zatrathan towards the filly. However, both attacks flew straight through the filly a fraction of a second before another one appeared just beside it, this one's horn-area glowing too, though this time a deep green.

“Sorry!” the presumably real Conundra said, her voice a combination of her usual smug superiority and genuine regret. Before Icy could think further on this or Archer could reload, however, a ray of energy shot from her helmet, coloured that same dark, sickly green with flickering streaks of dark grey and the deep red of congealed blood.

Icy squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself as the spell impacted. She felt its energy wash over her, making her skin feel like it was being coated in wriggling filth. After a second, she felt a force ram itself between her eyelids and expand, levering her eyes open against her will. Clearly, the spell would not be deterred by such countermeasures.

For a moment, nothing happened. Icy might have almost been tempted to let her guard down had she not thought so much about this spell. Still, it was hard to keep braced for something if you didn't know if it had already happened.

Then, there was an almighty crash and the sound of rushing waves, sending Icy's wings flaring and limbs juddering in terror. From behind Conundra, cracks started appearing in the crystal floor and wall, growing rapidly before falling away to reveal deep, roiling water. Icy flicked her eyes behind her as she heard the cracking coming from behind her as well, seeing more water at the edge of her peripheral vision.

The disintegration of the floor quickly rushed past Conundra, whereupon she tumbled down into the water and out of sight. Icy backed up a couple of steps, stopped only by the knowledge that it was coming from behind her as well.

It's not real, it's not real, she screamed in her mind, trying desperately to get her eyes and body to believe it. It's not real, it's not real, it's not reeeeeeeEEEEEEEEE! Her thoughts lost all coherence, surrendering to blind panic.

Around her, her friends and teammates quickly fell, one by one, into the dark, whirling depths of the water that was swallowing up the room. Only a small platform remained solid and that was rapidly shrinking.

She turned to Truffle, the closest to her and the last ally she could still see, desperately hoping he could say or do something to stop what was happening or bring her out of her terror. However, before he could, the cracks reached him and he too began plummeting. Icy tried to close her eyes, but whatever had forced them open remained, making sure she saw every second of her nightmare.

Icy saw Truffle's mouth open as he fell and braced herself for his scream. However, instead he started speaking. There was only a moment for him to do so, but he got out four words before he did:

“Wait, is that it?”

Icy jerked back slightly, the sheer incongruity of Truffle's question doing a fair job of pulling her out of her spiralling panic, even if it didn't do anything to disrupt what she was seeing. It was natural to instinctively disbelieve that anyone could see what she was seeing, let alone succumb to it as he had appeared to, and be unmoved. Furthermore, while she just as instinctively corrected herself a moment later, reminding herself that her phobia was hers and hers alone, it took only another moment to remember that he would be seeing something just as terrifying to him.

Still, the fact that she was capable of having thoughts as coherent as that was a good sign, as was the fact that she recognized that. Swallowing hard, she looked around at the endless expanse of water that stretched from horizon to horizon and the small platform beneath her – still shrinking, but slower than it had been, presumably to draw out the terror. Icy wished she could say it was no longer working, but the ramrod-stiff tension in her legs and juddering shivers wracking her body suggested otherwise.

Nevertheless, she flared her wings out, trying to calm herself, hoping that she could get herself to focus enough to gather her energy. If she could freeze herself a platform, that might either disrupt the fantasy or, at the very least, give her enough of a visible lifeline to reduce the terror and give her an opportunity to figure some other way out. Still, it was hard to think her way past the horrifying images that were being forced into her eyes and she wasn't sure if...

“ICY!”

Icy blinked as she heard Truffle's voice from just next to her. She shook her head, turning her head to where she'd heard it, only to see nothing but the watery expanse. Still, she knew she couldn't have imagined it, so what...

She jumped as she felt a hoof land heavily on her shoulder. Looking down, her eyes briefly hurt as she blinked, a hoof in yellow fabric coming into focus.

Following the hoof up to its owner, Icy saw Truffle standing there, giving her a smile. “Come on, Icy, you can break out of it!”

Looking down, Icy saw that Truffle was standing on the surface of the water, not seeming bothered by the impossibility of that. Furthermore, the water beneath him was flowing normally under and around his hooves, so he couldn't be...

Her eyes lost focus for a second as she blinked heavily, the image of the water losing coherence as the reality of the crystal corridor reasserted itself into her senses.

Icy shook her head, continuing to blink as her mind tried to adjust to the sensory dissonance. “Oh, wow, that was... okay, I think I'm good now, thanks for...” she trailed off, looking at Truffle confused. “Hey, how did you break out of... whatever you were seeing so quick? Are you... Did you just shrug off your greatest fear?”

Truffle gave a roaring laugh. “Of course not, cause that's not what it showed me!”

Icy frowned, both in puzzlement and in annoyance that Truffle had apparently got off easy somehow. “It didn't?”

Truffle shrugged. “Well, I mean – I really don't like enclosed spaces – comes with being the size I am,” he gave a slap to his belly, “but I wouldn't say they're my “greatest fear” or anything. Plus, it's pretty simple to dispel – just needed to push past the fake enclosure and boom!”

“Indeed, it seems this spell's a minor threat,” Zatrathan piped up, his voice measured and slightly quavering as he looked over his body.
“Though being steeped in snakes makes me afraid,
I'm not so numbed with fear that I'd forget,” he slashed his sword across his left side, then changed hooves to sweep his right before finally falling to all fours, breathing a sigh of relief,
“that in a contest, fang will lose to blade.”

“Yeah, and I mean... Really?” Moonwing added, slamming her shield into the ground in front of her. “I mean, don't get me wrong, clowns are all kinds of creepy and being surrounded made my skin crawl, but it's not like I'm gonna have a panic attack and forget where I am. Looks like the spell's kind of a dud – just shows a fear, not one that you can't get past.”

“Speak for yourself!” Archer called up from the floor. She was lying on her belly with her legs splayed limply around her. Her eyes were far different from Archer's normal light plum, instead being a deep red with slitted pupils and glowing green sclerae. “Losing all my limbs's a pretty big no-no for me! Could someone give me a whack on the hoof, maybe that'd...”

She was cut off when Zatrathan brought a hoof sharply down on hers, making her shake her head and seemingly blink her eyes back to normal. “Thanks! Anyone else still...”

“Caprice is!” Truffle called over, not taking his eyes off the frozen filly. “Talk to me, Caprice, what are you seeing?”

“Bees.” Caprice grunted through her teeth, clearly trying to open and move her mouth as little as possible. “All over me... all over you... can't...”

Truffle thought for a moment. “Right, how do we show the bees aren't real. What's something that could happen if... something we could... Ah!” he clopped a hoof on the ground in realization. “Got it!”

Without further warning, he leapt at Caprice, his mouth wide open. Icy was about to run forward, worried that he might still be under some kind of spell or, at the very least, messed up by one, when he came to a stop and gave a massive chomp to the air in front of Caprice's face.

He chewed the empty air, obviously and noisily, before swallowing hard and giving another slap to his stomach. “Mmm, tastes like not being stung!”

Caprice blinked, the glow to her eyes fading as her eyes lost focus for a second. Shaking her head, Caprice grunted. “Well, if the inconsistency o' that didn't snap me out of it, the stupidity would have.”

“Nice to have you back with us,” Truffle smirked before turning to the others. “Right, now that's all done with, we can go afte-”

“You have got to be KIDDING ME!” A scream from behind the group rang out. Turning towards it, Icy saw that Conundra was standing there, seemingly as frozen as they had been while under her illusion. She was standing on top of a small staircase made of grey, featureless material – presumably having been conjured up by the chamber's boosting of her illusions – with one hoof on the ice wall and, though Icy couldn't see her face, she got the impression that she'd been standing there with her mouth hanging open in sheer disbelief.

“Months of planning!” the helmeted filly screeched in outrage. “Weeks of work! Two groups of pests to deal with! And all for a spell that doesn't even do the one thing it was supposed to!” She smacked a hoof on the ice, chipping a small amount of and eliciting a yelp of pain. “Typical – how stupid was Sombra if he couldn't even get one of his most famous spells right?”

“Oh, I dunno,” Archer replied, a sinister grin spreading onto her face as she pulled out her bow. “About as stupid as standing around saying that?”

Conundra's posture stiffened as she realized how long she'd lingered, making Archer's smile widen as she drew back an impact arrow.

“I'd start running now.”

Evidently not needing the encouragement, Conundra scrambled to her feet, though not fast enough to avoid the arrow thumping right into her rear end and knocking her tumbling over the ice wall.

“Let's go!” Caprice barked as she led the charge, the group piling up the staircase and over the ice.

Icy was one of the first over, having used her wings to give her a boost up, leaping down just in time to see Conundra light up her helmet's horn-area and landing just in time to see a bolt from Zatrathan hit the glowing spot and knock out her magic.

The group raced after the whimpering filly, who was rapidly nearing the doorway back into the caverns proper.

“Well, it was nice seeing you in person!” Conundra called back to them, trying and failing to regain the smarmy confidence she'd had only a few minutes previously. “But I've got some caverns to get lost in. Have fun with thaAAAAH!”

She lurched forward, tripping over something before skidding out into the hub room and tumbling to a stop, her eyes spinning and her legs twisted around each other.

The group came to a stop in the doorway, taking a moment to both appreciate the undignified pose and examine what had caused it: a thin wire that was now tangled around her legs, presumably having been stretched across the entryway.

“What the... where in Equestria did this come from?!” Conundra screamed, giving voice to the question Icy had been wondering, though admittedly with a lot more disapproval.

The question was almost immediately answered as a small, green-coloured form strolled out from behind the open door, walking over to Conundra's prone form with a neutral expression.

“Oh, please!” Alula said as she stood over the immobilized filly. “You're not the only one who appreciates a good trap!”

Chapter Nine: Turning Tails and Tables (Part One)

“Alula!” Icy exclaimed, beaming at the new arrival. “What are you doing here?”

“Coming to help you,” Alula replied, looking down at the entangely Conundra. “Not that I suspect you needed it, but I thought you wouldn't object to a helping hoof.”

“Friend o' yers, Icy?” Caprice asked before shrugging. “'Preciate the assist an' all, but you don't think you coulda made your way down here sooner?”

“Nice to see you too, Caprice,” a new voice came from behind the other door, sounding quite genuine despite it feeling like something that should have been said ironically.

“Aura?” Moonwing turned towards the other newcomer's voice. “Good to see you, but Caprice’s got a point – musta been a long journey if you're only now finding us.”

As Moonwing spoke, Icy turned her head to regard the new figure, only to see that it was, in fact, the same filly who had pointed out the hatch back in the library that afternoon. Icy blinked for a moment, realizing just how long ago that felt despite being the same day before shaking her head, looking over the filly.

She was an off-white colour with a pale blue mane and tail, giving her a slightly ethereal look. This was aided by her outfit – a light grey bodysuit covered in intricate embroidery in a multitude of colours coming down in columns along the body of the suit and down the legs. The embroidery contained a number of strange symbols, a few geometric shapes and, repeated quite a lot, simplified images of eyes.

“Nah, we'd have been down sooner,” the filly said as she walked forward, her voice relaxed and a little dopey-sounding, “but we had to take care of a few things first. See, we figured th- whoa!” Even her exclamation of surprise sounded laid-back and nonchalant as she nearly tripped over Conundra's prone form.

The filly turned her head down to the masked filly, drawing Icy's attention to her face, where it solidly stayed.

“Sorry about that, didn't notice you there!” The filly – Aura, apparently – said with a slightly embarrassed shrug.

“What do you mean you didn't notice me?!” Conundra sneered, looking up at the filly's face. “What are you, blind?! I... oh.”

Unlike when she'd spoken up in the library, Aura wasn't wearing dark glasses, meaning that Icy could see her eyes. However, it seemed the reverse could not be said, as her irises were a pale blue around the edges and a milky white covered the rest of her inner eye – the filly was, indeed, blind.

There was an extraordinarily awkward pause before Conundra coughed. “I... dangit, I'm sorry, I didn't realize... Ngh!” Her shoulders slumped as she growled, annoyed by having unintentionally made such an inappropriate comment.

Aura, however, just shrugged. “Hey, it's not biggie – you didn't know. Besides, I can see you, I just didn't notice you – was talking to my friends, you know how it is.”

“You can see?” Icy asked before she could stop herself. When Aura's seemingly sightless gaze turned to her, she sighed at her own curiosity before continuing. “I, um... I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you, well...?”

The filly waved Icy's concern off. “It's fine – see's the wrong word anyway.” She pointed to her horn, which had a faint glow around it that, Icy now realized, had been active all the time she'd seen this filly. “It's all magic, baby. Kind of a sonar thing, you know? Lets me see pretty well without seeing. Oh, yeah, shoulda said,” she turned back to Conundra, “that whole see-your-greatest-fear dealie ain't gonna work on me. I mean, it didn't work anyway, but you know, figured I oughta say.”

Conundra huffed as the slight glow around her horn faded. “Yes, thank you so much, I... wait, how did you know about that?”

Alula rolled her eyes, her own horn glowing. “It's really quite obvious – the lingering aura of dark magic around your horn matches that of the item in the pocket of your cloak, however the item's aura is stronger, meaning you used it to get the dark spell you cast and this is the first time you yourself have wielded it. And you have no other magical items on your body, meaning the spell source was the first and only thing you took, meaning you must have been after one of Sombra's spells.”

“But he had dozens of secret spells,” Conundra said, her horn-area glowing slightly as she examined her own aura, “how did you-”

“Getting to that!” Alula interrupted, rolling her eyes. “Now the illusion that covered the hatch in library was both well-crafted and permanent, meaning that whoever made it was very talented, however the size of the hole showed they were around our age, meaning the caster must have had a talent for either magic in general or specifically illusions and, if your talent was for magic, you would have used your magic instinctively when you felt something around your hooves. As such, we can deduce that your special talent is illusion and it therefore follows that you were after Sombra's most powerful illusion spell.”

There was a moment of silence to make sure Alula was finished before Truffle spoke up.

“How absurdly simple!” he said, a good-natured sarcasm suffusing his tone.

“Of course,” Alula replied, as expressionless as ever. “Every problem is absurdly simple when it is explained to you.”

Conundra sighed heavily, looking up at Aura. “And you really figured all that out?”

“Oh, no, not any of it!” Aura replied cheerily before waving a hoof towards Alula. “Figuring stuff out's her thing, seems like. I didn't know any of that cool detective-y stuff before she said it.”

“Then how did you know what had happened?” Archer spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

Aura shrugged. “Just had a feeling, y'know. Seemed like what had happened.”

“Ms Gaze, how many times must I tell you,” Alula said, glaring a little at the blind filly, who seemed either unknowing of or unbothered by the glower, “your ‘intuition’ cannot ascertain such intimate details of a situation without understanding the causes and logic behind it. On some level, you do know these things, even if you don't realize it.”

“Whatever you say, dude – you're the genius, after all,” Aura replied, not bothering to pretend to give Alula's assertion any consideration.

Caprice gave Alula a sympathetic look. “Just give in and accept it. Trust me, ain't no way it's worth yer time an' headaches tryin' to figure her hunches out.”

Archer shook her head. “No, I'm with Alula on this, there's gotta be a better explanation, but that can wait. How'd you get down here, anyway?” Archer asked, not giving away whether her topic shift was because she didn't care about the previous subject or wanted to move on from it quickly.

Alula sighed. “It's a long story.” She gave Aura another slight frown. “A long, irritating story...”

“Well, hey there, guys! Looking for something? Or someone?”

The group turned, weapons and magic ready. After losing three of their number to the pit-and-teleport trap, they were determined not to be caught off-guard again.

“Whoa, chill dudes!” the filly said, raising her hooves placatingly. The glow around her horn intensified for a moment, making the group tense for action before it faded and the filly gave an awkward smile. “Er, dude and dudettes. Dudoids?” She thought for a second before shrugging. “Anyway, I'm not here to hurt you.”

“Weird way of greeting us, then,” Scootaloo said, her wings moving slowly in readiness for a fight. “Sure sounded like you were the one responsible for us losing our- whoever you thought we lost.”

The filly's brow furrowed as she silently mouthed out the words she'd opened the conversation with. After a couple of seconds, she gave a breathy chuckle. “Oh yeah, guess I can see that. My bad. Reason I said that is we're in the same boat. We lost three of our guys too in another one of these tunnels.”

“We?” Alula asked, looking behind the filly and seeing no one.

“The two still with me... aren't exactly... well, when I saw someone else had used this entrance before us, I figured I should be the one to talk to you. They'd come charging in if you were 'gainst us, but no need – you lost three guys, we lost three guys, that makes us automatic buddies, right?

“How'd you know we lost three?” Scootaloo asked, not even giving acknowledgement to the last part of the filly's statement.

Alula rolled her eyes. “Because of the three distinct trails in the dust on the slope leading to the remnant aura of teleportation magic, obviously!”

“Huh?” The constant glow around the filly's horn intensified again for a second, though this time there was far less tension in the group. “Oh yeah, I see what you mean. Didn't see that – that makes a load of sense,” she said after a moment, giving a genuine smile to Alula.

“Then how did you know?” Dinky asked, tilting her head at this odd filly.

The filly shrugged. “Just kinda felt like that was how many you lost, you know?”

There was a pause before Alula responded.

“Riiight. Well, putting aside for the moment how ridiculous that statement was, I think we can deal with any suspicion – or confirm it, if needed – very simply. Your badge. It should have the seal of the night guard on it like ours.”

“Oh, yeah!” The filly reached for the badge on her chest, taking it off before Alula continued sharply.

“However, given that we have so far dealt with both illusions and traps, I'm going to have to ask you to place it on the floor in front of you and back away.”

“Can do!” the filly replied cheerfully, detaching the badge and tossing it casually onto the ground in front of her.

Alula's magic washed over it for a moment before solidifying and pulling it slowly and cautiously into the air.

It took a few seconds for the badge to reach Alula, who looked over it carefully. Sure enough, the seal of the night guard was printed around the badge's pin, though Alula didn't seem to pay it much attention as she probed the thing with her eyes and magic.

After nearly fifteen seconds of examination, she nodded firmly. “Okay, this seems to check out.” She floated the badge back to the filly, who took it in her own magic and reattached it to her chest.

“Cool,” she said, apparently having never been concerned with the suspicions of the other group. “I'm Aura Gaze, by the way, from Manehattan.”

Alula nodded. “Alula.” She then pointed to each of her teammates in turn. “This is Dinky, Scootaloo and Lance.”

Aura smiled. “From Ponyville, got it!”

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed. “Okay, how'd you know-”

“Because we had to be.” Alula raised an eyebrow as she cut Scootaloo off. “Ponyville's the only other town with a field trip here, so we must be from there, since the Crystal Empire wouldn't have their own such team yet.”

Aura's sightless eyes widened as she considered this. “Oh, yeah, they wouldn't, would they? Guess I didn't need to say it, huh?”

“You mean you didn't-” Alula cut herself off with a sigh. “Of course you didn't, you just ‘knew’ it.” It was hard to tell whether that was outright sarcasm or just resigned acknowledgement. Either way, it was clear she didn't think much of the idea. “I don't suppose you ‘just know’ how we might be able to help our teammates, do you?”

Aura thought for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, not a clue.” She shrugged, only to hold a hoof up as she thought, her horn's aura brightening a little. “But you do!” She said, pointing to Scootaloo, who jerked back in shock as she was thrust into the strategic spotlight.

“Oh... well, I don't think I do. I mean, yeah, I had an idea, but I don't think it'd work.” She said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. As much as Scootaloo liked putting on a show, it was clear that she wasn't comfortable being looked to for ideas rather than action.

“Oh, it would.” Aura gave her an encouraging smile.

“You don't even know what it is,” Scootaloo responded, still very skeptical.

Aura shook her head, her smile gaining a slightly enigmatic quality. “Nope. But I've got a real good feeling about it.”

“...but we can discuss that later.” Alula said as she relaxed her expression a little.

“So, are the others down here too?” Icy asked.

“Sure are – yours and mine.” Aura replied. “As you'll be seeing in just a moment.”

“What do you mean?” Alula turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

Aura shrugged. “Well, now that the little illusionist's worked her way free, sh- Ah!” She was interrupted when a weak bolt of magic struck her horn, knocking out the glow for the first time since Aura had arrived. Everyone else turned to Conundra just in time to be blinded by a flash.

“Nice try, losers, but I'll see you never!” the filly's voice echoed back from one of the corridors.

Icy blinked heavily, trying to get the spots out of her eyes as she heard Aura mutter to herself with a sigh. “Shoulda seen that coming.”

Icy frowned as she looked to Aura, taking a moment to focus her eyes on her. “It sounded like you did.”

Aura shook her head. “The freeing, yeah, not the zap and flash. Real dirty pool there.”

“Shouldn't we get after 'em, then?” Archer asked, tensing to sprint down the corridor they'd heard Conundra flee down.

“Not necessary,” Alula replied, putting a hoof on Archer's shoulder. “While it might have been better to intercept her before she ran,” she shot Aura a dirty look, “we did see an escape coming and planned for that. Scootaloo!” She pressed her badge as she called the name. “She's coming your way.” She released the badge and gave a thin smile. “There. We won't be able to see it, but...”

“Actually, we can!” Aura said as she approached the bank of crystal controls on the other side of the room. “Just need to figure out how this... ah, here we go!” With no further explanation of how she was divining the board's functions, her aura extended across it, focusing around a few of the glowing panels.

To Icy's astonishment, the reflective screen lit up a moment later, showing a view of another one of the crystal tunnels. Aura's magic flicked back and forth across one of the panels, making the screen change viewpoints about a dozen times before it found something different, showing Conundra running down towards the viewpoint.

“There we go!” Aura leant onto the panel casually as she waved the group over. “Let's watch!”

Conundra raced forward, her head down and her eyes squinting behind her illusory helmet. The beginnings of tears in her eyes – from the wind as she ran, of course, definitely not because she'd spent countless hours and resources, nearly gotten arrested and made her disguise known, all for a spell that had turned out to be completely useless – made the short distance she could see in front of her somewhat blurry. Fortunately, she didn't really need to see where she was going – she'd spent enough time exploring these caves that she could practically navigate them blindfolded and avoid the various traps while she did so.

She sniffed and shook the moisture out of her eyes at that comforting thought – this whole enterprise may have been a bust, but at least she knew she could lose her opponents in the tunnels without a problem, so she didn't need to worry about being caught.

A moment after she had that thought, however, her ears pricked up as she heard a strange buzzing noise from the tunnel in front of her. That was odd – she knew there weren't any traps nearby and she hadn't even come to a junction yet, so she couldn't have turned the wrong way. What's more, the buzzing didn't sound like any kind of trap she'd ever heard before and it seemed to be getting... louder...

Conundra raised her head just in time as a blur of orange, purple and blue zipped past her and something rammed her along her side. It didn't hurt her especially, but the glancing blow did knock her aside, whirling her around like a very uncoordinated spinning top.

After a few seconds, she managed to stumble to a halt, though she fell off her hooves in the process. She put a hoof to her head, shaking it hard to try and stop both the room and her eyes from spinning. After another ten seconds or so, she blinked heavily, regaining just enough of her senses to stand up again. As she heard the buzzing again, she swiped a hoof across her eyes to wipe off any remaining moisture, hoping that would make whatever hit her significantly less blurry.

As it turned out, it didn't in any noticeable way – before she'd even managed to turn around fully, the speeding mass was upon her again, this time sweeping something under her hooves to knock her onto her rump.

She heard a slight screeching to her side and a cessation to the buzzing, so she looked up to see an orange filly in a chaotic bodysuit of purples and blues standing over her, leaning on the handlebars of a sleek scooter and smirking at her. A strange pole was under her arm and her tiny wings were just coming to a halt.

“Can I help you?” Conundra grumbled, not bothering to inject her usual mocking smugness into her voice.

The filly grinned. “Yeah, you can, but since what I'm after is you getting taken in, I don't think you're going to.”

“You're right!” Conundra growled as she fired a bolt of light from her horn at the filly.

However, the filly immediately slammed a hindhoof against the ground next to her wheel, scooting herself back a foot and out of the spell's path. The bolt zipped past her before exploding on the wall behind her into a flash that would have blinded her had it hit.

Conundra didn't pause, however, using the filly's momentary distraction to leap to her hooves, dash to the left and cast another spell, this one creating two duplicates of her in the corridor, one in the place she'd just been and one to the right of it. With luck, the filly would attack the wrong one and give her time to create a few more images.

Indeed, the instant she turned back, the filly was almost on the centre image, ramming her pole into it and dashing past the evaporating image. However, Conundra didn't have time to cast anything before the filly slammed her pole into the ground, using it as a pivot to whirl around towards Conundra, sweeping her scooter into her hooves and knocking her down once more.

“There you are!” The filly said as she reversed into the other image, making it disintegrate too.

With an enraged grunt, Conundra lit her horn once more, but this time the magic didn't shoot off in a distinct bolt, but flew out of her horn in a rapidly expanding wave of black that enveloped the area, cutting off all light in a lengthy section of corridor.

Conundra smiled when she heard the filly's buzzing backing off out of the miasma, giving her a moment of breathing room. However, her smile soon faded when the buzzing didn't cease, instead staying constant and moving around, though the echoing of the tunnels meant she couldn't pin down exactly how.

Still, it scarcely seemed to matter as Conundra lit her horn – not that she could see it in the darkness – and created five more images of herself in the area around her. That done, she charged out of the darkness, trusting her duplicates to draw the filly's fire long enough to get past her.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, the way the filly was moving did matter, as she was doing donuts along the width of the corridor just beyond the field of darkness, meaning that, by the time Conundra had stepped her second hoof out of the field, the filly had already swept through the images and was colliding with her, knocking back into the miasma and off her hooves.

“You okay in there?” the filly called, obviously aware of the inconvenience and pain she'd just caused. “Cause I can do this all day!”

“Fine!” Conundra snapped, rising to her hooves with a groan. “So you can block me off here, good for you. But you'll have to stay here to do it. And did you really think this was the only way out?”

She sprinted back down the corridor, not looking behind her but using her ears to tell that the filly was continuing her patrol in that area.

“No, but good luck with that!” She heard the filly call.

“Wow,” Caprice said as the image of the confrontation faded from the screen. “Real little dynamo, ain't she?”

“That she is,” Truffle said with a smile. “Quick as a whip in a lot of ways.”

“Well, if nothing else,” Alula added, her face neutral, “she's excellent at getting from A to B directly...”

“I hope you know what you're doing,” Alula said, her head twitching to look around as the group ran through the corridors of the Crystal Palace. “Because we seem to be moving away from the tunnels we need to go deeper into.”

“Not a clue,” Scootaloo said, shrugging as her wings buzzed slowly, moving casually as quick as Alula could at a sprint. “But we can't go any further if both the entrances we know about are blocked, right? I mean, yeah, you and me-”

“You and I,” Alula corrected.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Right, I and you could get over it,” she said with a straight face, not letting on if that mistake was deliberate or not – not that it mattered in terms of irritating Alula, “and maybe a couple of others, but the rest?”

“We could have figured something out,” Alula pointed out.

“And what about the next trap?” Aura asked with a gentle smile. “And the next one?”

“Right, so it'd probably be quicker to get someone who knows the tunnels better,” Scootaloo finished before grimacing slightly. “Don't get me wrong – I don't like running away to get help any more than you do, but...”

“Oh, I like the idea perfectly well,” Alula replied, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Scootaloo. “I just don't see how it's going to go any differently from when I went to get the guards last time.”

At that, Scootaloo gave a smile. “Simple: we're not getting the guards. We're going right to the top, filly – Princess Cadence herself.”

Ever the straight line thinker, Alula thought to herself before responding, “Well, I can't fault your ambition, but I hope you have more to your logic than simply wanting to tick another box in your princess-spotter's guide.”

“Wait, is that a thing?” Aura asked, tilting her head in an earnestly curious manner.

There was a pause before Alula sighed and growled out a quiet “No.”

“Besides, I've already met her,” Scootaloo replied with a smirk. “I was a flower filly at her wedding, don't you remember?”

“As it happens, no – I had very different things on my mind when I heard about that,” Alula gave Scootaloo a withering stare as she flexed the area on her back where her wings sometimes were meaningfully.

“It's okay,” Dinky said, placating Alula with a gentle smile, even as she was breathing heavily as she hurried to keep up with the others. “So, why did you decide to go to her, Scootaloo?”

“Well, the reason the guard didn't listen to you was cause they didn't know the seal of the Night Guard, right?” Scootaloo asked, not pausing before answering herself. “Right. So what we need's someone from Equestria and she and her coltfriend,” another eye roll suggested that Scootaloo either didn't understand the difference between coltfriend and husband or didn't care, “are the only ones I can think of who spent most of their lives in Equestria. Plus, she's the mare in charge, so she'll be able to get whatever we need to rescue the others and she'll probably be okay to come down if we need someone – she wasn't around when Sombra was... you know...” she trailed off, looking distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of Sombra's actions as emperor.

Alula hummed as she thought about what Scootaloo was suggesting. “Well, I can see the logic, certainly, but I'm not convinced it's watertight. Suppose she knows the seal, but doesn't believe that beings our age would be in legitimate possession of it.”

“Well, she might have heard about groups like ours,” Dinky replied, looking down to her badge. “Plus she could look at the magic on our badges and in our clothes, so she'll probably think it's possible.”

“Yeah, plus she'll probably have a direct line to Princess Luna or something, so she can run a check on us,” Scootaloo added.

“That was one “might” and two “probably”s,” Alula pointed out, her skeptical look not decreasing. “We don't know that she'll believe us and that's assuming we can even get in to see her. Suppose the guards refuse to let us in – as they almost certainly will – and simply haul us away to the guard station?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Then we'll explain the trouble we're in to the guards and we won't have lost anything we'd have if we'd just gone to the guards in the first place.”

Alula sighed as she realized she didn't have an immediate counter to that argument.

“Don't worry so much, 'Lula!” Aura said, not asking or appearing to think before giving her that nickname. “We'll get in to see her, just you wait.”

Lance gave a look to the blind filly, with a distinct implication of I'll believe it when I see it.

Alula sighed. I won't, she thought bitterly to herself, there's no way you know that, even if you are right simply by coincidence.

Before she could say anything more, Aura's horn flared and created an arrow pointing down one corridor off an upcoming junction. “This way!” She said, turning down that corridor.

Alula nodded, perfectly happy to believe Aura's ability to tell something so simple as which direction to go in order to get to the Princess's chambers and avoid any guard patrols. That was a simple matter of getting detailed divinatory data from her sensing magic and analysing it, even if the process was largely subconscious. The ability to reliably tell the future, however – that was something she had an altogether harder time believing.

Still, she followed the filly's guidance for immediate matters – she had enough faith in Princess Luna to know that she wouldn't have allowed Aura to join the Manehattan team if her abilities were worthless or unreliable. She just hoped Princess Cadance was as worthy of faith.

“...and she's certainly rather effective when she's got her scooter beneath her.” Alula finished.

“No kiddin',” Carpice nodded. “She sorted the Crystal Creep real good.”

“Eh,” Archer shrugged, “I'd have preferred if she'd gotten smacked a couple more times, but that's just me.”

Icy opened her mouth to respond when the room suddenly flashed into complete darkness. Starting at the sudden shift, Icy looked around, hoping to find some small point of light to focus on, only to see absolutely nothing.

She did, however, hear something – hoofsteps galloping across the room. They lasted for only a few seconds, the pony they belonged to running at a dead sprint down another corridor.

A moment later, the darkness washed away on a wave of magic. Turning, Icy saw Alula's horn lit up, dispelling the illusion.

Aura, meanwhile, was smiling. “You might get your wish, Archer.” She pressed a hoof against her own badge. “Griz, she's heading your way now.”

Conundra dashed through the tunnel, her head turned over her shoulder to make absolutely sure nopony was following her.

It was unlikely, she knew, but she wasn't about to take chances. The ponies in the hub room wouldn't know which corridor she'd fled down, that was certain, but they could conceivably have split up, meaning she needed to be on guard for any pursuers.

Of course, I wouldn't need to worry about them if that scooter filly hadn't intercepted me, she thought bitterly to herself. Oh well, at least there are other escape routes t- “Ooph!”

Her thoughts were cut off as she ran into something massive and solid, knocking her down onto her rump. She shook her head, confused – she knew there wasn't a wall for another hundred metres at least.

Blinking the confusion out of her eyes, she looked in front of her and up... and up and up and up...

Standing in front of her was a very large griffon. Large, that was, compared to Conundra and, indeed, to the age this griffon looked. The general body proportions were that of a griffon about her age but the overall size was much, much bigger.

Unlike all the enemies Conundra had encountered thus far, the griffon wasn't wearing any kind of costume, the white, striped fur of its tiger body and the grey-brown feathers of its condor-like head making it look distinctive enough, even without considering its size. The only other thing it had with it other than its own body was an enormous hammer resting on its shoulder, the head covered in small, blunt spikes.

The griffon looked down at Conundra and gave a grim smile. “Hello, small pony.” She said, the timbre of her voice only just giving away her gender, even past the thick Yakyakistani accent that coated her words.

Conundra took a moment to find her voice when faced with this living, prepubescent wall. “H-h-hi.”

The griffon narrowed her large, dark yellow eyes. “You are pony who has been creating trouble for Griz friends?” She flicked the hammer off her shoulder, taking it in both her front talons and effortlessly balancing on her rear legs.

Conundra opened her mouth, only to find that her normal bravado had entirely deserted her. Instead, she could only stammer out a feeble denial. “Er, n-no, must be someone else!”

There was a long pause as the griffon stared at the crystal covered filly, her gaze searching. Conundra found herself entirely paralysed as the silence stretched on, her muscles clenching so hard she started vibrating a little.

After nearly twenty seconds of stillness, the griffon nodded. “Good.”

Conundra breathed a massive sigh of relief, the tension beginning to flow out of her body. However, the flow abruptly stopped when she noticed that the massive griffon had not relaxed her stance or lowered her hammer.

“U-um, so,” she began before shaking her head – clearly this “Griz” was not a hard opponent to fool. “So, what were you planning to do when you found this pony?”

Griz scowled. “When pony who hurt Griz friends come? GRIZ HAMMER!” Without warning, she suddenly went into a scream and slammed the hammer down in front of her, making a colossal noise and making Conundra jump back.

Then, with a smile, Griz picked the hammer up again and resumed her ready stance. “But you are not bad pony, so Griz not hammer.”

Conundra swallowed. “Right. Well, now we've got that settled, can I just get past?” She made to walk around Griz – not a short journey, by any means - when the huge griffon moved to block her.

“Is not allowed. Bad pony coming this way. Until does, none shall pass Griz!”

“O-oh...” Conundra trailed off, her head lowering for a moment before shaking it. What was she thinking? She was Conundra, the mare who'd mastered Sombra's maze, the mistress of illusion and plenty of other titles she hadn't thought of prior to being given a code name, but that now seemed only natural. She had nothing to fear from this lummox.

“Well,” she said, her normal smug tone beginning to return, “that's a shame. Still, you should be careful – you never know what tricks a bad pony might have up their tail.” Her horn lit up as her body began to fade from sight.

However, before her invisibility spell could even cover a third of her body, Griz lashed her hammer out with a speed that seemed surreal from her massive form and slammed it into Conundra's body, sending it flying back.

Conundra barely had time to think about what had just happened before she slammed back into the wall of the tunnel, sliding down a moment later with a pained groan. After that impact, she barely had the wherewithal to notice that it had knocked the spell out of her horn, interrupting her vanishing act and returning her to full visibility.

“You have tricks?” Griz growled, a sinister smile coming onto her beak. “Griz have tricks too. You want to fool Griz?” She stepped forward, looming over Conundra with her hammer raised. “Must also fool Griz hammer. Can fool Griz hammer, small pony?”

Conundra's eyes flared at the mockery, her rage briefly overpowering her pain and fear as her horn lit up, readying a blast of blinding light.

Unfortunately for her, both her magic and her determination were quickly disrupted as Griz's hammer swung at her. She ducked down with an “Eep!”, the huge head of the weapon grazing her horn and totally destroying her concentration.

“No?” Griz grinned. “Then GRIZ HAMMER!”

She slammed the weapon down in front of her once again, making Conundra scoot backwards before tumbling over her hooves into a run, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor and that there had to be far, far better escape routes than this one.

Griz watched her go, waiting until she was well out of earshot before she chuckled. “Should perhaps be concerned how easy is to convince ponies I am stupid.” She thought for a second before shrugging. “Will start worrying when becomes problem.”

“Is it ever a problem?” Archer asked as the picture faded from the screen.

Moonwing shrugged. “Well, makes things a little tricky sometimes if she needs to convince somepony of something if they think she's just a brute, but it's never proved dangerous or anything.”

Caprice laughed. “Plus, even if it was, I'd say the looks on the bad guys' faces're more than worth it. An' hey, she grew up in Yakyakistan, so it's not like it's a stretch for her.”

Alula nodded. “And besides that, there are situations where such directness and simplicity can prove beneficial.

“Look, I don't care where you kids came from or why you're running around the castle at night, but you're coming with me to the guard station and that's the end of it,” the guard outside the royal chambers informed the group, his face in a rigid scowl.

“But we need to get in to see the Princess!” Dinky said, training her most powerful puppydog eyes on the guard. “It's an emergency!”

The guard's stare softened at Dinky's expression, but he didn't waver. “Well, okay, but we can sort it out at the guard station, can't we?”

“We understand that you want to see the Princess,” the other guard said, standing a little further behind his larger comrade. “I'm sure that you think only she can help and even if you don't, you just want to see her, but we really can't let anyone into her chambers without exceptional cause even during the daytime. Letting you in while she's asleep? Yeah, that's not happening.”

The larger guard sighed, closing his eyes for a moment both in annoyance and, Alula suspected, to avoid Dinky's powerful gaze. “Look, tell you what – once we hear what the emergency is at the station, we'll decide whether it's worth involving the Princess. If it is, then we'll get her help – make it official, eh?”

“It already is official,” Alula said, taking off her badge and turning it around to show the seal on the back of it. “We're here as part of the Night Guard of Equestria and we require urgent help with a problem encountered during our investigation.

The larger guard snorted. “Okay, so one: we have no reason to think that seal is actually the seal of the Night Guard...”

“I think it is,” the smaller guard said before his bigger friend cut him off with a glare.

“Two: do you really expect us to believe it's more likely for Equestria's guard to hire a bunch of little kids in weird costumes than it is for said kids to get their hooves on their seal somehow and pretend to be part of it, and three: even if you're telling the truth, the Equestria Guard have no jurisdiction in the Crystal Empire – any “investigations” you're doing should be done through and subordinated to the Crystal Guard.”

Alula rolled her eyes. “Well, before anything else, I'd like it on the record that we tried to get your guards to look into the problem we found, but they didn't listen...”

“I wonder why,” the smaller guard interjected.

“So,” Alula continued, a little testily, “we were forced to take matters into our own hooves.”

“ARGH!” Griz, who had remained silent thus far, stomped a rear paw on the ground, making a slight vibration run through it. “We are getting to nowhere very fast! You!” She turned to Alula. “The game of blame is not being helping to our friends. And you!” She jabbed a talon at the larger guard who, to his credit, didn't even flinch. “You say Princess is in room, but to be not disturbed?”

The guard nodded, smiling a little. “Exactly, we're not going to wake her just because some children want to see her.”

Griz frowned, but nodded nonetheless. “Then solution is obvious, yes?” She took a deep breath in.

The smaller guard raised an eyebrow. “Well, I'm glad it's obvious to someone, but I don-”

“PRINCESS CADANCE!” Griz suddenly yelled at a volume loud enough to make Alula's ears hurt from several metres away and make both the guards ram their hooves over their helmets – not that that would help especially, but it was an instinctual thing. “THERE IS EMERGENCY THAT IS REQUIRING YOUR HELP!

Once Griz had finished her bellow, the larger guard let his hooves drop for a moment before taking the spear held in the crook of his knee and holding out towards Griz. “Right, little lady, I've had just about enough of this. This whole thing was cute at first, but you just pushed things too far."

Griz's talons briefly went towards the hammer strapped across her back before dropping. “At other time, would be happy to fight, would ask for you to be bringing it. But we have other problem to be worrying about.”

The larger guard was about to answer when the sound of the door opening behind him made the group turn.

“What's going on?” Princess Cadance asked, her head poking out of the door looking as thoroughly dishevelled as anypony who'd just been pulled out of bed.

Griz nodded firmly, satisfied with the results of her stratagem.

“In any case,” Alula said, turning to one of the corridors out of the hub room, “she should be coming through in a moment, so be ready t-”

She was cut off by a bolt of magic impacting the ground in front of the group and conjuring up the image of a huge brick wall, reaching from one side of the massive room to the other and cutting off a significant portion of it.

Alula sighed and lit her horn, extending her magic over the wall just as the group heard footsteps dashing across the room.

A few moments later, the wall disappeared, just in time for the group to see Conundra's tail retreating down another corridor.

“Ain't got much of a learnin' curve, does she?” Caprice asked with a smirk.

“She probably has hidden exits down most of these tunnels and she doesn't know how many reinforcements we have,” Alula pointed out. “Speaking of the first, Icy, perhaps you could block off the tunnel you initially came from and speaking of the second,” as Icy turned to start creating an ice wall to block off the one tunnel they knew went deeper into the caverns, she saw Alula press her badge, “Dinky, she's heading for you now.”

Conundra ran down the tunnel, though at less of a dead sprint than before – while it was improbable that there'd be someone waiting down every escape route, she didn't want to be caught unawares if there was someone here to block off her escape.

Sure enough, as she turned down a small bend in the corridor, she saw a truly tiny little filly standing in the centre of the tunnel, a short way ahead of her.

Smiling to herself, Conundra put on a burst of speed, intending to simply barge past her, not anticipating any trouble from such a physically unimposing pony. She locked gazes with the filly, calling up a quick flash from her eyes to show them through the helmet and intimidate her.

However, the filly didn't flinch. Instead, her big eyes met her glowing gaze and a tiny frown just edged itself onto the very top of them. She stood a little taller and planted her feet, declaring her intent to stop Conundra even if her size suggested she had no way of backing up that intent. It was, in all honesty, one of the most adorable things Conundra had ever seen.

In fact, before she even had time to register that she was doing so, she found her hooves slowing down, bringing her cantering to a stop. She blinked, a little confused at why she was doing so before the filly drew her attention back by relaxing.

There was a long, awkward silence as Conundra and the filly stood there, neither making any movement.

After a while, Conundra cleared her throat. “Er, aren't you going to... you know... try and stop me or... hold me or something?

The filly looked down, a touch abashed as she traced circles on the ground with a front hoof, drawing a slight endeared chuckle from Conundra. “Um...”

Conundra tilted her head sharply at the filly. “You... are here to stop me from escaping, right?”

The filly sighed. “Well, yes, if I have to,” she answered in a voice that tugged up at the corners of Conundra's mouth. “But I was hoping we could just talk, maybe?”

Conundra raised an eyebrow, not caring that the filly couldn't see it. “Talk?”

The filly nodded, a little more enthused at the idea. “Uh huh! I'm Dinky Doo, by the way!” She put a hoof forward to shake.

Conundra's hoof started moving to meet it. “Persi-” She jerked her outstretched hoof to the side, swinging it around to come clamping over her mouth to prevent her from unthinkingly giving her real name. Shaking her head, hoping that would dispel whatever was making her act like this, she lowered her hoof and straightened her posture. “You can call me Conundra!”

Dinky smiled, not seeming bothered by either the self-silencing or the pseudonym. “Okay, Conundra!”

There was another short silence before Conundra spoke again. “So, what did you want to... “talk” about?”

Dinky's gaze lowered again. “Well, I just wanted to ask why you were doing this?”

Conundra raised an eyebrow. “To... get Sombra's magic? Well, one of his spells, the illusion that...” she trailed off as Dinky shook her head.

“I know, but why would you want to learn such awful spells?” Dinky asked, the beginnings of tears in her eyes, apparently merely at the thought of such malice.

Conundra cleared her throat again, trying to dispel the slight lump she felt forming. “Why does everyone assume I want to use the spell – I don't, I just want to have it!”

Dinky flinched back, as if physically struck by the accusation, sending a sharp twinge of guilt slashing through Conundra's chest.

“I didn't think you wanted to use it – you don't seem like that kind of a horrible pony. But you must have a reason for wanting to have something so horrible!”

“I... uh...” Conundra stuttered as she thought about it, coming up with very little in the way of concrete explanation. “I... I just do! I just want it, isn't that enough?”

Dinky shook her head firmly. “No, it's not enough! You're a pony – a living, thinking, feeling being. You have a mind and you have a will – you must have a reason for wanting what you want. Everypony... everyone has a reason they do what they do – good reason, bad reason, logical reason, emotional reason... there's always a reason, so what's your reaso-”

“I DON'T KNOW!” Conundra yelled, squeezing her eyes shut both in anguish and to stop herself seeing Dinky react to her yell. “I just want it, so I'm going to have it and no one can tell me I can't – not you, not those other kids and definitely not my mo-”

Her eyes opened sharply as she clamped her mouth shut, realizing exactly what she had been about to say. For her part, Dinky didn't seem to be judging her with her gaze, just nodding in understanding.

Conundra blinked nearly hard enough to hurt. What was she doing? She was Conundra! She was the one who tricked ponies; why was she letting some little filly who seemed incapable of hurting a fly get into her head.

“Look, it doesn't matter!” She said, shaking her head and lighting her horn. “I'll be going now!” She dashed to the side and sent off two bolts of illusion magic that would, in a moment, form duplicates of her, allowing her to do a Three-Card Monte manoeuvre and, with any luck, get past the filly without hurting her.

However, the moment she started moving, the Dinky lit her horn too and things got weird – a golden sheen completely encompassed Conundra's vision and the other filly started moving ridiculously fast... or rather, not-moving, as she wasn't really doing anything physically, but the tiny movements of her chest as she breathed, her legs as she shifted around and the corona around her horn accelerated massively.

Still, Conundra didn't have time to consider this before her illusions came into being and she started moving amongst them, hoping to confuse Dinky.

However, after a few seconds, Dinky just sent off a couple of bolts from her horn. The bolt raced forward for most of the distance between the two, so fast that Conundra couldn't even register them fully, before suddenly stopping once they approached her.

Or, rather, the two duplicates of her. Once the bolts had slowed down, Conundra could see that they weren't really attacks – they were so small and weak that, if they hit her, they would barely amount to a light poke. However, they didn't hit her, but rather the two false images of her and, despite how small the force behind the bolts was, they were enough to fly through the illusions and disperse them.

Given what she'd just seen, Conundra was forced to conclude that the filly had known exactly which of the three was real and which ones weren't. But that was even more confusing to Conundra – her Multiplicity Manoeuvrer, as she had named it, was one of her favourite tricks and one she had gotten extremely good at. For anypony to be able to follow it and keep track of the real her, she'd have to be moving incredibly... slowly...

Conundra came to a stop and, a couple of seconds later – from her perspective, at least – the glow around her faded, bringing the slightly panting Dinky back to a regular speed.

“What the... what was that?” Conundra asked.

“Sorry, that's kind of my thing,” Dinky replied, looking sincerely apologetic. “I can kind of fiddle around with time a little. I'm still learning but...” she swallowed hard and straightened up, standing as tall as she was ever going to, as literally low a bar as that was, “but I think I can stop you... if I have to.”

Conundra frowned as she brought her magic to her horn, taking a moment beforehand to conceal the glow – if this filly could slow her down or speed herself up, the best hope Conundra had was to take her by surprise with a spell. Hiding herself wouldn't work – the filly could simply do as the scooter rider had and block off the whole corridor, so she'd need to blast her with a direct sensory assault.

“But I don't want to have to stop you!” Dinky interjected, seeming almost like she had sensed Conundra's intent. “I'm sure you're not a really evil pony, so please! You don't have to do this!” She stared at Conundra, her eyes somehow becoming even bigger and more soulful, captivating Conundra's gaze.

This was stupid – Conundra knew that. She needed to get away, this filly was in the way and it wouldn't be any kind of problem to get her out of the way. All she needed to do was blast her and run past her... as the filly squealed and whimpered... desperately trying to cover her eyes and ears from the painful lights and noises... squirming pitifully on the floor... begging Conundra to make them stop... or simply for her to think twice about her actions... the tears falling daintily to the floor, not for her own pain, but for the filly who had attacked her... she... she couldn't...

With a frustrated groan, Conundra let go of the spell and turned, dashing back down the corridor. Whatever was or wasn't waiting in the other tunnels, it had to be far less troublesome than this!

“Wow!” Caprice said, her gaze locked on the screen until the moment the image had fully disappeared. “Think I got a few cavities an' heart attacks jus' watchin' that!”

Archer nodded. “Yeah, Dinky'll do that to you.”

Truffle nodded before suddenly sniffing the air. “Can... can anyone else smell popcorn?”

Archer sighed. “Getting hungry already, Truff? Well, I...” she paused, taking a deep breath in herself. “Huh. You know, I think I can... weird. Must be some effect of the magic on the screen.” She smirked at her large friend. “That or Dinky was so cute there she gave us both brain damage. Wouldn't be surprised – she can have a heck of an the effect on ponies.”

Alula nodded. “That's putting it extremely mildly...”

“Princess!” The guards outside her door saluted sharply. “These children were trespassing and asking to see you! We were just about to take them back to the guard station!”

Princess Cadance blinked tiredly. “I... see. Well, I suppose...” She shook her head as she recognized one of the ponies present. “Scootaloo? Is that you?”

“Hey, how're you doing, Cadance?” Scootaloo said, giving a cheerful wave while leaning on her scooter's front handles.

The larger of the two guards glared at her. “Show some respect before Her Majesty!” he spat out with a sneer.

Scootaloo thought for a moment before shrugging. “Hey, how're you doing, Princess?”

The guard started taking a step towards the filly before Cadance gave a tired giggle. “You haven't changed a bit. Unfortunately, much as I'd love to talk, it's very late and I'd really rather do so in the morning. So, good nigh-”

“But we need your help – it's an emergency.” Dinky said, sounding immensely abashed to both say that and to interrupt the Princess.

Cadance turned to her. “Well, whatever it is, I'm sure that the guards... can... handle...” she trailed off, her restrained and humoring expression lasting approximately one tenth of a nanosecond against the force of Dinky's beseeching gaze.

The Princess swallowed. “What's the problem, little filly?” she asked, looking as if she was having to hold her hooves down to contain the sudden urge to rush forward, gather Dinky up in her forelegs and hug and stroke her until everything was right with the world again.

Dinky's horn lit up, floating her badge off her chest and towards Cadance, turning it around to show the seal on the back of it as she did.

“Well, earlier today we found this really suspicious hatch in the library and the gardens and we figured out someone our age had been going through it to the Caves of... Sombra,” she shuddered at the name, sending a sympathetic shiver through Cadance and, indeed, most of those present, “but when we told the guards, they didn't believe us, so we had to investigate ourselves, except there was this trap and our friends got teleported away and we didn't know what to do and...” She trailed off with a sniff, wiping a couple of stray tears from her eye.

This time, Cadance did rush forward and gather Dinky up in a hug. “Okay, okay, don't worry, it's fine – I'm here now and I'll do everything I can to help,” she cooed, comforting the little filly as both the Princess of Love and a former professional babysitter.

“Princess, you can't possibly believe...” the smaller guard began, raising an eyebrow at the slight moistness in his larger comrade's eye, “even if the seal on that badge is real, they could have got it anywhere!”

Cadance raised an eyebrow sharply at the guard, who flinched back at the mild reproach from his sovereign. “And even if they were lying about their authority, they still need our help – their friends are in danger and whether they have the authority to be in that danger or not, I still intend to get them out of it. Besides, the seal is genuine and, while the physical insignia could be replicated,” she levitated the badge up and back to Dinky, “the enchantments on it can't.”

“But...” the larger guard seemed to be coming out of his mild Dinky-induced haze, “but you can't seriously believe that the Royal Guard of Equestria would employ little kids as agents, can you?”

Cadance gave the guard a knowing smirk. “Well, no, as it happens, I don't believe it.” She looked over the group with a much more genuine smile. “I know it for a fact. Auntie Luna is very proud of her various specialist groups and has regaled me a number of times of her youngest operatives and how competent and effective they have proved themselves. In fact,” she turned back to the guards, raising a sardonic eyebrow, “if you did indeed disregard their warnings simply because of the age of those giving them, it may be prudent to form such a team for ourselves.”

“Well... I mean... I don't think...” the larger guard sputtered before stopping with a heavy sigh. “As you say, your majesty.”

Cadance nodded imperiously. “Right, well, now that that's settled, I suggest we address the problem these colts and fillies have and do our duties as we always should have.”

Looking down, she gave Dinky one final squeeze before releasing her. “Don't worry, we'll save your friends.”

Dinky looked down, visibly debating whether to speak up before looking Cadance in the eye. “Well, I'm sure they'll be alright without us, they're really good, but still... thank you!” She finished, giving her own hug to Cadance's leg before backing off. “You're really kind.”

Cadance beamed, the sheer sincerity behind Dinky's praise practically making her glow with pride.

“...and the strangest part,” Alula mused as she considered Dinky, “is that I'm ninety-nine percent sure it is completely unintentional and she has no idea she's doing it.”

Moonwing raised an eyebrow. “And the other one percent?”

“Terrifies me.”

“A horrifying prospect, there's no doubt,” Zatrathan said as he readied his blade, looking to the tunnel Conundra had gone down,
“but steel yourselves, she'll soon be coming out!”

Everyone turned to look at Zatrathan, just in time for the spell to impact the ground before him, creating a blinding flash of light. Unfortunately, the impetuous zebra had done a little too good a job getting everyone's attention, making them unprepared for the flare and giving Conundra time to dash down another tunnel while they were blinded.

All, that is, except for Aura, who gave a mellow laugh before saying, “Well, get ready for some mood whiplash.” Icy's sight was just beginning to come back by then, allowing her to see the blind filly press her badge. “Runt, you're up!”

Chapter Ten: Turning Tails and Tables (Part Two)

Conundra ran down the tunnel, no longer sprinting and with her eyes firmly locked on the tunnel in front of her. While it was unlikely that there was someone ready to block her in every escape route, there was no reason not to be prepared. As such, she was fully prepared to come to a stop when someone showed themselves. Of course, she knew that such a halt would be temporary, lasting only until she figured out a way past them, but she was still ready.

Sure enough, a figure stepped around a slight corner, making her canter instinctively to a stop. However, as she did, she briefly considered simply continuing, as it suddenly seemed a viable alternative.

The figure was clearly a minotaur and, while that fact would normally be daunting, this particular minotaur was... not exactly what the stereotype of their race would suggest. In fact, he stood only slightly taller than Conundra herself and, lacking the length and width of a pony, seemed a ridiculously small figure.

He was wearing a long (for him), battered brown coat, beneath which he wore no shirt, letting Conundra see his well-defined, but nonetheless small muscles. Hanging around this waist was a thick leather belt, two straps going down to the sides of his legs, though the coat blocked her from seeing any further. On his head was a well-worn hat, two holes poked in the wide brim for his tiny, nub-like horns to fit through.

Overall, he was not an especially imposing figure and Conundra couldn't help but scoff as he strolled nearer to her, raising his head to look at her, his hat-brim covering his eyes for a moment.

Conundra rolled her eyes. “And just who are you supposed to b-”

His eyes locked with hers and her sentence cut itself off with a strangled gasp, all her words fleeing, panicked, off her tongue and taking with them all the thoughts in her head and most of the stability in her legs.

It was hard to say exactly what was so petrifying about the glare that was now pummelling its way into her senses. Part of it was the slight squint to his eyes and the narrowness of his pupils that told her that every single scrap of his attention was laser-focused on her. Part of it was the surrounding expression on his face that showed no trace of humour or enjoyment or respect, giving the impression that, to him, she was nothing more than a target. And probably the largest part was just how... hard his eyes seemed – they seemed to have little reflection and she wouldn't have been surprised if they were as physically unyielding as stone. As she looked, transfixed, at those eyes, she couldn't imagine them looking less intense than they were now. They seemed to lack even a capacity for pity or hesitation.

Conundra swallowed hard, her suddenly-dry mouth working silently for something to say.

The minotaur, however, just continued to glare for a moment before slowly opening his mouth, speaking in a voice like an Appleloosan had gargled for an hour with gravel and broken glass.

“Call me Runt!”

Conundra nodded, unable to think of any other response to the command. “O-okay, Runt, are you... I mean... are we...?”

Runt hummed for a moment, his rough face unmoving. “Ain't my decision, is it?”

He swept his hands down, blowing his coat away from his hips and revealing a pair of holsters, each containing a dull metal revolver.

Conundra jerked back as she saw them, just about managing to stop herself from simply fleeing from this clearly unbalanced, gun-toting minotaur.

“Are those...” she shook her head, trying in vain to distract herself from Runt's stare. “Are those... actually... you know... real?”

Runt's head shifted to the side slightly as he rested his hands on the grips of his guns. “Ain't no powder in 'em, if that's what yer askin'.” The corner of his mouth twitched, as if to imply that that was the closest he'd ever get to a smile. “Ain't found I needed any. Air pistols do me just fine!”

Conundra blinked, the fact she'd just learned almost, but not quite, breaking her out of her terror. “Air pistols? But they're just... t-toys.” Her brief surge of confidence rapidly subsided as his expression didn't move, giving her the distinct impression that he knew this and had no reason to care.

Still, she managed to get her next sentence out, even if it lacked the self-assurance the words needed. “Y-you're threatening to kill me with... toys?” she finished with a squeak.

Runt hummed again, his fingers drumming on the handles of the guns.

“Dunno,” he said after a moment. “Ain't decided yet.”

Before Conundra could even consider that, his hands had already clasped the revolvers and whipped them out, bringing them towards her in a fraction of a second and firing off three shots.

The first impacted on her chest, knocking the wind out of her and making her wince as she fell back. However, she didn't even have time to put a hoof on the impacted area or move back from the force before the second shot hit her horn, sending a horrible ringing sensation through her head and knocking out any possibility of magic for the next couple of minutes. Her head was knocked a little back from the blow, but it hadn't got far before the final shot glanced off the side of her head, forcing her left eye closed as the skin just to the side of it was pressed in painfully.

A moment later, as the sounds of the shots faded, it occurred to her exactly what might have happened if that final shot had been aimed just slightly to the right. And, looking back at Runt, she knew for a fact that that realization was exactly what he'd intended.

“See, that's the good thing about these “toys”, ain't it?” He said, not sounding angry or mocking at the term, simply using it to show how wrong she'd been. “Can hurt,” one pistol pointed at her chest, “can disable,” the other pointed at her horn, “can maim,” the first pointed at her left eye, soon followed by the other being pointed at her right, “can even kill.”

His mouth widened, showing that he was, in fact, capable of smiling, but making Conundra wish he wasn't – his eyes remained hard and focused, letting her know exactly what that grim smile was anticipating.

“You got the choice! So,” he pulled the pistols' hammers back with a loud, imposing click, forcing her to look squarely down the barrels, “what's yours?”

With a whinny and a stumble, Conundra silently answered him that her choice was to run away. Very, very fast.

“Holy...” Icy pressed a hoof against her chest, making sure that her heart was, in fact, still beating despite all sensation to the contrary. “Is he... is he always like that?”

“Yeah, that's Runt, alright,” Aura replied, her easy smile just a little smaller than before. “His whole mental field’s, like, all kinds of off and he can put it right out there, you know?”

Caprice sighed. “That's Aura-speak for “he's a scary little thing”, not that you was needin' a reminder.”

Alula nodded. “Indeed, he certainly is... memorable.”

“Well,” the smaller of Cadance's guard began, having been further back and, thus, less directly exposed to Dinky's entreatment, “we'll rescue your friends, but in the meantime, I suggest you come with me to the guard station.”

“I'm sorry, what?” Scootaloo asked, narrowing her eyes at the suggestion they be taken out of the action.

Cadance nodded. “Please don't feel insulted, we have... well, I have no doubt about your capabilities in your own field, but the Caves of Sombra are incredibly dangerous and I cannot in good conscience ask you to accompany us down there.”

“You aren't asking us,” Alula pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “We're telling you we're coming.”

The larger guard, just about coming out of the heart-swelling Dinky had caused, gave her a patronizing smile. “Look, we appreciate the offer, kid, but don't worry – we'll be fine down there.”

“That a fact?” A new voice piped up, Runt striding his way to the front of the group.

“Course it...” the guard trailed off as he caught Runt's intense stare. “Course it is!”

Runt continued to look in his eyes, his gaze firm and unwavering. “You ain't scared o' the Caves of Sombra!” he asked, putting a hard emphasis on the final word.

An almost-impercepible shudder went through the guard before he blinked, seemingly confused about how unnerved this minuscule minotaur was making him. “Well... yeah, we... we have a duty and we are fully capable of carrying it out.”

“So yer sayin,” Runt drew a hand out of his coat, one of Griz's feathers tucked into his palm, out of sight of the guard, “you ain't scared of Sombra an' his sick surprises. The guy who took over yer empire wit’ barely a fight,” he stepped closer to the guard, his other hand going to his holster, “the guy who slithered his way into yer mind and held yer thoughts in fear for years... the guy who yanked y'all into his escape from this world wit' barely a thought and pulled y'all thousand years outta yer time... then covered the whole o' yer empire with his thick, black, chokin' self...” he drew out each world, maximising the repulsion in each action and adjective. “You ain't scared o' that?”

The guard, to his credit, managed to just about keep a neutral expression, even if it was twitching and jittering so much it looked like he was on the verge of an epileptic fit. However, the sweat pouring down his brow gave away just how hard Runt's words were hitting him, as did the quaver in his voice as he replied. “Of c... course we're not.”

Runt nodded slowly, seeming for a moment to accept his assurance before, all at once, he was moving. With a flurry of motion from his arms and coat, he flashed his hand out, the muzzle of his pistol an inch from the guard's muzzle.

The guard, however, didn't flinch. A tension came to his legs, making them shake slightly for a moment, but it seemed as if the sudden, overtly-aggressive motion had actually strengthened his resolve. It made sense, Alula supposed, that he would be far less intimidated by a simple weapon pointing at him than the magic that Runt had alluded to.

“See, kid,” the guard said, the beginnings of a shaky smile coming onto his face, “nothing to worry about.” However, above him, Alula could see the feather Runt had been holding, thrown up in the confusion of his motion, now fluttering down towards the guard's back. “We won't be needing y- AH!”

The feather brushed up against his side, making the guard literally jump with fright, whipping his head and forehooves around to see what had just touched him. His hooves clamped themselves around the area the feather had fallen against, as if to knock away whatever magic had caressed his skin and protect his flank from further intrusion. Of course, a moment later, gravity reasserted itself, making him fall to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

He glared up – though, even from the floor, it wasn't that far up – at Runt, who just looked disdainfully at him.

“Sure you won't,” he said, a faint, unpleasant smile edging onto his lips.

Cadance sighed at the scene. “I think you've made your point.” She looked at Runt with a hint of disapproval as he holstered his weapon.

“Y'don't say,” Runt said, not a hint of apology in his voice.

“I can only say I'm glad he's on our side and on your team,” Alula concluded.

Icy could only nod before the sound of hoofbeats drew her attention down one of the tunnels.

A moment later, Conundra came charging through, the terror still fading from her face. However, she lit her horn and suddenly six different versions of her raced out of her form, each one going down a different tunnel. One even ran ethereally through Icy's wall, the sight making her blink with its surreality.

There was a pause before Moonwing spoke up. “So, Aura, you think we should tell her you can see through her illusions?” She asked, leaning against the console with a relaxed posture.

Aura shook her head. “Nah, let her have her fun.”

“Well, she won't for much longer,” Alula said, looking down the tunnel that, Icy assumed, the real Conundra had gone down – had Icy been fully paying attention as Alula so often did, she could have probably worked out which of the Conundras had been real from the motion and trajectory of her running.

Alula pressed her hoof against her badge. “Lance, she's on her way to you.”

A quick fzt of response came over her badge.

Conundra scampered down the corridor, at this point totally expecting someone to be waiting for her. She hadn't kept an exact track of how many tunnels she'd gone down – that last encounter had really thrown off her analytical abilities and she was only just beginning to recover her full faculties – but she knew she was rapidly running out of escape routes. As such, she resolved that, whoever or whatever she encountered, she would simply blast them with a blinding bolt before they could speak or do anything.

Sure enough, she heard hoofbeats coming up the tunnel towards her and, as she looked up, she saw a colt in white dashing towards her, a wire mask over his face. The wide, feathered hat and billowing scarf suggested somepony showy and yet, Conundra couldn't help but notice, he wasn't slowing down or saying anything.

Still, whether he preferred showmanship or practicality, she could respect him either way. It didn't make a difference to her anyway as she fired off a bolt of illusion magic at his face, already turning her hooves to run past him.

However, to her surprise, he neither stopped nor even slowed down much. Instead, he rose to his hindhooves and, in one fluid motion, drew the sword at his hip and slashed it through the magical bolt, carving it cleanly in two and sending the halves flying to the side, where they soon dissipated. That done, he continued the motion, spinning around as he flashed the blade around before ramming it back into its scabbard and falling back to all four hooves, not having lost much speed in the process.

At this point, it occurred to Conundra that being impressive and being practical were not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Still, she scowled at the colt and fired off another blast, this time aiming a little higher to hopefully make it difficult for him to parry it as easily. However, this time he simply ducked down into a slide, the ray sailing cleanly over his head as he skated along the ground.

Conundra hopped to the side, hoping to pass him by, but in a flurry of motion, he pulled his scarf from around his neck and whipped it to the side, slamming the thick material into her leg. For a split second, she felt as if this wouldn't be a problem, as the scarf wrapped around her leg once, very lightly. Then, a moment later, the colt grabbed the other end of the scarf as he slid by, using her leg as a pivot point as he flew around her, wrapping the scarf around her legs and sending her crashing to the ground.

Conundra grunted as she toppled over, her horn lighting instinctively to try and stop herself, only to find that the colt had done a full circuit around her and was right by her head. He kicked off the ground as he moved, flying over her head – through her illusory helmet, she briefly realized – and slammed a hoof down, driving her horn into the ground and knocking the magic out of it.

With a slightly woozy groan, Conundra looked to the side at the colt, who was continuing his slide into the wall. As he impacted it, however, he bent his legs before springing off the wall and onto his feet, rushing at her head.

She tried to call up a spell, but the lingering impact with the floor made it impossible to focus any energy into her horn. After a moment, the colt was on her, grabbing her head and slamming a hoof towards her, something black grasped in it. She didn't have time to ascertain any more details of the thing before it was out of sight, though she felt it fall lightly around her horn. As it did, she felt a horrible pressure suddenly come into existence around it, as if something was clamping down over her magic and preventing it from even ambiently diffusing into the air around it.

Still, the thing didn't seem to be on especially tight, so she was confident she'd be able to shake it off.

However, she had barely started that thought when the colt leapt up from his run, swinging up around her head and pulling her neck up immensely painfully. A brief spike of panic surged through her at the thought that he might snap her neck, but was soon subsumed by other thoughts as he sailed over her head and rammed his sword down along her horn, wedging the tip into the ring hanging around it and firmly, painfully pressing the two together.

The colt let go of her head and spun around to land on his hooves, sliding along the ground for a second before, for the first time since Conundra had seen him, he stopped moving.

Conundra snorted, determined not to let on how impressive the whole sequence of actions had been. “You done?”

The colt nodded firmly before strolling up and grabbing the scarf still wrapped around her hooves. Without pausing, he continued on, confusing Conundra for a moment before she felt him give a slight yank and began being dragged along the smooth crystal floor like a very sullen sack of flour.

He glanced behind her and, though she couldn't see his face past his mask, she got a very distinct sense of his sentiment:

Even if I'm not, you are.

“Well, that was sure... somethin'!” Caprice said as Aura deactivated the screen fully.

“Quite something,” Alula replied. “That's certainly a good way to describe Lance.”

“Well, even if we are...” the smaller guard trailed off before shaking his head. “I don't see that we can fully trust the Princess's safety in your hooves.”

Alula was about to question whether an Alicorn capable of fending off the real King Sombra for days on end really needed their protection, but was saved from having to challenge the guards' career choices by Lance rising to his hindhooves, thrusting his sword out in a definite challenge.

The guard rolled his eyes as he strolled up, lowering his spear towards Lance. “Look, kid, I'm sure you're real good with that thing, but I don't think-”

He was cut off when Lance drove his rapier down, pushing the spear to the ground. Frowning, the guard put both hooves around the spear and yanked it upwards, easily overpowering Lance's downward pressure.

However, that was evidently what Lance had been counting on, as he pulled his sword away and stepped onto the spear's head, riding it up before using the force to augment his leap over the guard's head. The guard barely had time to react to this before Lance landed on his back, both hooves on his sword as it pointed down, pressing gently against the fur of his upper back, just before the area covered by his armor.

The guard gulped before his larger friend gave a slightly uncomfortable chuckle.”Okay, you've made your point.”

“But in any case, it seems the danger of both her and her escaping has passed.” Alula concluded before pressing her hoof to her badge. “Okay, we have her, you can rejoin us if you like.”

“It certainly sounds like Lance is,” Truffle said as everyone turned to the appropriate exit, also beginning to hear the sounds of walking, dragging and complaining.

“...if I hadn't been merciful enough t- ow! Look,” Conundra's voice came into clarity as they approached, “could you maybe be a little more gentle – this sword's painful enough as it is, but getting it jolted like that's just...” She trailed off as Lance pulled her into the room proper, prompting everyone to fix their eyes on her.

“My most sincere apologies,” Alula said in the most disinterested, insincere tone Icy had heard from her. “We couldn't get any horncuffs in your size, so we had to make do.”

Archer nodded. “Yeah, and also, you... kind of put us through Tartarus so...” she swayed her head from side to side in mock consideration for a moment before shrugging, “yeah, bite me, you crystal craphead.”

Caprice smiled, seeming genuinely respectful of Archer's words. “Not bad, but I'da gone with “shiny shi-””

“She's not a crystal pony,” Aura interjected, lighting her horn and yanking the cloak off Conundra's prone form.

The moment she did, the dome that had covered her head instantly receded into the hem of the cloak and her skin shifted, the reflective crystal fading into more mundane green fur. Once the helmet was gone, the filly's face was revealed, along with her short, deep purple mane and her golden eyes, locked into an intense scowl at the surrounding ponies. On her haunch was a picture of a cloud of pale pink, sparkly smoke, with a pony's ear emerging from its upper left side, the wing of a bat coming from its upper right and a staring eye in the middle of it – a very clear indication of a Special Talent for illusions.

“Well, congratulations,” the filly sneered, sounding as if she was only just restraining herself from spitting on them, “you managed to catch me and all it took was having ridiculous numbers on your side. You must be so proud.” She gave them a mocking smile, her eyes still glaring at them as if to set them all on fire.

Archer just returned the smile, though a little more happily. “Nah, just satisfied. Besides, we haven't turned you in yet – that'll be the real treat.”

Oddly enough, Conundra's smile became a little more genuine and smug at that. “Oh, yeah, about that! What exactly were you planning to tell the guard?”

Icy narrowed her eyes, a little more confused than annoyed. “Er, that you were down here and we came down to stop you, but you used traps and illusions against us...”

“Ooh, yeah, great plan!” Conundra interrupted, the smugness now radiating off her. “One small problem – you've got no evidence and, let's not forget that you were the ones trespassing down here. It's your word against mine and I think I've got more of a case that you do. It's not like there's a record of what happened down here and I don't think the grown ups are going to buy a kid like me being in control of this whole place.”

Alula raised an eyebrow. “So, you break into these highly secure caves to steal Sombra's secrets...”

“And you use your illusions to make us attack each other,” Icy picked up Alula's sentence the moment she trailed off, “then you make the traps down here even more deadly when you use them against us and you attack us with golems and solid illusions and then you try to use Sombra's ultimate fear illusion on us... and you expect nothing to happen to you because of it?!”

Conundra shrugged as best as she could while still bound. “Why not? You know that's what's happened and I know, but no one else does. All they know is that you came down here and came back up with me captured. Maybe I was another prisoner who you decided to pin this all on so you didn't have to admit you got caught by Sombra's traps. Maybe I heard you sneak down here and followed you down only to get caught and used as a scapegoat. Ooh, maybe you took me down here so you'd have someone to take the fall if you couldn't find Sombra's secrets.”

Zatrathan raised an eyebrow, a touch unnerved by Conundra's confidence but still clearly skeptical.
“We're representatives of Luna's guard
I think convincing them will not be hard.”

Conundra snorted. “That's what you think but I happen to be the daughter of the eq- of some very important ponies too and they happen to actually have some real authority here. Not to mention, I live here while you're all obviously visiting. Even if the guard doesn't just dismiss you, I can drag this out for a long time. Are you ready to stay here for weeks just to oppose me?”

There was a short pause before Alula spoke up. “Not perfect logic, by any stretch, but it doesn't make a difference. All we need to do is have someone with real authority hear what happened from your own mouth and the whole dilemma is moot.”

Conundra's smile reached peak punchability as she beamed at Alula. “And just how are you losers planning on making me do that?”

“Oh, I'm sure they'll find a way,” an entirely new voice spoke up, making Conundra's smile drop so fast Icy could almost feel the pain of her mouth being wrenched down.

“No...” Conundra turned her head towards where the voice had come from. “No, it can't be...”

“Oh, I'm afraid it is,” the voice replied as a pink form began shimmering out of the air.

“And quite a point you've made,” Cadance said as Lance flipped off the guard's back. “Well, children, we've no time to lose if we're going to get down to the caves, rescue your friends and deal with whoever has been going down there.”

Cadance began trotting off, her guards preparing to follow before Alula's voice stopped them. “Well, while we're obviously grateful for your help, it shouldn't be necessary for you to confront the perpetrator yourself.”

Cadance turned to Alula, an innocently condescending smile on her face. “Oh, don't worry, kids – I may be a princess, but I know how to handle myself. Trust me, I think I can handle somepony still young.”

“I don't doubt it,” Alula assured her, almost entirely truthfully – while an alicorn like Cadance would obviously have the power to take on most opponents, regardless of age, her tone of voice suggested that, as with most adults, she wasn't taking the threat of such a foe seriously. How much of a disadvantage this would be, Alula couldn't say, but it was still a consideration. Fortunately, it was neither the only nor the primary reason for her suggestion. “That is, in fact, why I suggest you conceal yourself while we take down whoever is responsible for the situation – keeping our strongest asset in reserve until and unless we need it.”

Scootaloo cast a disbelieving look at Alula, mirroring the one on Cadance. “Are you kidding... you really want a friggin' Princess to come with us just so she can stand around and let us handle things?”

Alula shrugged. “Only if we can handle things. If we can't...”

“We can,” Aura interrupted with a gentle smile.

“If we can't,” Alula continued forcefully, “Cadance can come in as our trump card. Otherwise, there's no reason to put forward additional assets if the basic ones will work perfectly well.”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes a little. “Not even to keep them close by in case, say, the “basic assets” fall down a pit and the “additional” ones have gotta catch 'em?”

Alula opened her mouth to reply, only to stumble and stammer for a few seconds, caught totally off-guard by Scootaloo's not-inaccurate criticism. “I... well... She'll still be available if we do need her but...”

“But the kid's got a point,” Runt finished for her, his stern gaze handily seeming to make Scootaloo ignore he was one of the smallest beings present. “Pappy always used to say: never play an ace if a two'll do.”

“Well, I can see your point,” Cadance said, her smile speaking of infinite patience. “However, I can't help but think you might be overthinking this a little bit. It shouldn't be any problem for me to simply catch whoever is down there, so...”

“Well, maybe, but you'll also probably scare them,” Dinky pointed out, focusing her puppydog eyes on Cadance like a laser. “I know if I saw a big, powerful princess, I'd want to run away too. If they think we're the only ones there, we might be able to convince her not to run, but if they know you're there, we probably won’t.”

Cadance's mouth hung open as she obviously tried to come up with a response. After a few seconds, however, she closed it with an endeared sigh. “Well, I suppose I can see your point, but I'm not sure about hiding myself. I am, after all, fairly distinctive.” She flared her wings out for emphasis.

Alula nodded. “True, but I would be very surprised if our opponent was the only one in the castle who knew a bit of illusion magic. Surely, you know some variety of invisibility spell.”

Cadance nodded. “Well, yes, but those aren't the hardest things to detect. You'd have to be able to keep her from magically scanning the area – do you think you can do that?”

Alula allowed herself a small smile. “Oh, I'm sure we'll manage it somehow.”

Aura shook her head. “Won't be hard, we'll do it.”

Alula nodded, silently wishing that vote of confidence had come from anybody else so she could pretend it had some basis in logic.

Meanwhile, Cadance shook her head. “I can see why Auntie Luna talks so much about ponies like you. Okay, if you insist, I'll just be there and watch. Although...” she trailed off into thought for a second before a cheeky smile came onto her face, “I would like to stop by the kitchens first.”

“P-P-P-Princess Cadance?!” Conundra spluttered, her hooves trying to scramble back despite the long scarf tangled around them. “I... I can explain!”

“I doubt it,” Cadance replied, striding up to the filly with the confidence of a monarch, “but I'm very interested to hear you try.”

Icy trotted up to join her, both because she figured it would be a good idea to be nearby to ice up Conundra's hooves if she somehow managed to get free and because standing next to a triumphant princess was just awesome. On Cadance's other side, she could see Scootaloo and Archer also joining them, presumably for the latter reason.

“I... er...” Conundra began babbling, her eyes locked on Cadance as her mouth worked rapidly, seemingly without any input from her brain, “they made me... I was just... I thought they were going to... they set me up to... well... you see...” she trailed off into silent mouth movements before thumping her head against the ground with a loud, self-pitying moan. “It's not fair!”

“It's perfectly fair,” Cadance said as she lit her horn and pulled Lance's sword out from the ring around Conundra's horn. Conundra looked up, the beginnings of gratitude and hope peeking their way onto her face for a split second. After that, however, they vanished as Cadance's magic grasped the shiny metal handles attached to the outer edge of the black ring and tilted it hard, fixing the magical dampener onto her horn.

A moment later, Conundra was enveloped in a blue magical field and lifted off the ground, held firmly in place as she unwove the scarf from her hooves and handed it and the sword back to Lance.

“If there's one thing I've learned from my sister-in-law,” Cadance continued as she hovered the sulking filly in front of her face, “it's that Friendship, being one of the most powerful forces in the universe, always pays dividends. If you hurt someone with friends, those friends will stop at nothing to help them. And no matter how powerful and skilled you think you are, Friendship is mightier.”

It was a good speech, to be certain, but Icy couldn't help but be distracted as, once Cadance started speaking, she detected the distinct smell of butter and popcorn on her breath.

Nevertheless, Conundra sneered, clearly not convinced by the speech but saying nothing.

Cadance smiled. “Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to think about it soon.” And, having said that, she started walking down one of the many exits to the hub room, the morosely-floating filly trailing behind her.

Icy followed along with the rest of the two groups, noting that this was the tunnel Dinky had been stationed in. And since Cadance was exiting it, that presumably meant it led to the main entrance to the caves. However, Icy wasn't sure whether this meant it would be the tunnel most in need of guarding, since it was the most direct and obvious route of escape, or the least, since it would most likely have guards on the other end. Thus, she wasn't sure if the others had the least faith in Dinky to stop Conundra or the most. For that matter, she wasn't sure which she'd have thought in that situation.

Nevertheless, she trotted close behind Cadance, her wings a little tense and ready to move in case, through some miracle, Conundra both tried and managed to pull something from her seemingly-helpless position.

However, that tension fled in favour of awe as the group turned around a bend in the corridor and saw what had clearly once been a deadly trap for intruders and escapees.

Littered across the floor, walls and ceiling were dozens upon dozens of long, thin, metallic spikes, their tips looking so sharp Icy could almost feel them jabbing her eyes, and their heads glistening with something wet. Icy couldn't say what kind of liquid or chemical was on them, but she knew for a fact it wouldn't be a good idea to get pricked by one.

However, that wasn't really a danger any more, as every single one of the spikes had been twisted into a tight knot, their tips now pointing back down along their shafts, replaced by the curled sides of the tangles.

Icy was about to ask what had happened when the question was pre-emptively answered by Cadance's satisfied tone and gait as she trotted through the spikes, not even bothering to use her wings to replace or augment her confident stride. “Be careful, kids – they're designed to ram up if someone disturbs them. We wouldn't want you getting shoved by them, would we – you might get a slight bruise.”

“Also, there's the poison to consider,” Alula said, sounding genuinely cautious and utterly unamused by Cadance's cavalier attitude. “It has a particularly nasty effect if ingested, so don't eat anything until you get a chance to wash your hooves thoroughly.” Taking a moment to make sure Cadance wasn't looking, she shifted herself a pair of wings and took off, flying carefully through the field. “Still, it shouldn't be an immediate danger unless someone decides to lick the spikes."

“Spoilsport!” Truffle said with a smirk as he began to warily step through the field.

The group began making their way across, only for their care to turn to be unnecessary as, once Cadance had reached the end, she turned around began levitating the group, one or two at a time, over to her position.

“You know, Princess,” Truffle said as he and Griz, by far the two heaviest members of the two groups, were casually floated across and around the array, “I can't help but get the feeling you might be showing off a little.”

“I've no idea what you mean,” Cadance replied with the pleasant, blank face of an experienced politician.

Truffle laughed a little as he was deposited down. “I didn't say I disapproved. It must be nice to let loose a little after however long of just governing, eh?”

Cadance gave a single, quiet chuckle, but said nothing. As she focused on the next children to be aided, Truffle gave a look to Dinky, who silently nodded twice, prompting a mirroring nod of satisfaction from Truffle.

Once everyone was across, the group continued down the tunnel. However, they weren't walking long before Cadance flared a wing out to stop them and pointed down at the ground in front of them.

Looking down, Icy saw a slightly raised section of the ground just next to Cadance's hooves, stretching out along the long corridor in front of them.

“Hmm, pressure plate, looks like,” Caprice said quietly, more to herself than anyone else. “Wonder what it...”

She was cut off when Cadance put a hoof on the plate and pressed down, with more weight, Icy noticed, than a single filly like Conundra would have put on it. The plate moved down and, just a moment before Icy could fully brace herself, a long sea of circular saw blades dropped down rapidly from the roof and spun to life, making her stumble back in shock and bumping into the unmoving form of Lance.

Looking up, she saw two things. Firstly, she noticed that only those who had been captured with her were surprised and, secondly, she saw Lance giving Cadance a disapproving glare. From this, Icy concluded that Cadance had done the same thing to the other group when they had first come down this section and, further, that Truffle and Dinky were entirely correct about her showing off.

This thought was only compounded when, a moment after the saws retreated back into the ceiling, Cadance lit her horn and conjured up an energy construct of a massive bridge, extending over the whole of the pressure plate and covering the entirety of the ground in that area, from wall to wall.

The group made their way over, only those who had not been in this section before worried about the weight capacity of the bridge.

As she carefully made her way across, however, a thought occurred to Icy. “Wow, there must be loads of traps this way if these ones are so close together.”

Alula turned, raising an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

Icy tilted her head slightly. “Well, I mean, I thought because of how long this entrance must be, there'd have to be...”

“Oh, don't worry, little filly,” Cadance said cheerfully. “We don't have long to go at all – the exit's just around this next bend.”

Icy blinked in surprise. “Wait, what?!”

She raced forward past Cadance, turning around the curve to see, indeed, the ornate double doors she had seen when on the initial tour of the castle, closed behind a powerful magical barrier.

“Why did you think we had a long way to go?” Dinky asked as she trotted up to join her. “It doesn't make sense that Sombra would make it take a long time to get from the entrance to the control room, does it?”

“Well, from what I've heard, he had kind of a thing for pointlessly complex stuff,” Archer pointed out, “but you've got a point.”

“Well, yeah,” Icy said, looking at the rest of the group. “But I figured it had to be a really long way from here to there, otherwise how come it took you guys so long to come down here an-” she cut herself off, giving a groan before saying, “okay, wow, sorry – that sounded way less ungrateful in my head. I just assumed it must have taken you a long time to come down to help... no, that's not much better... I...”

Fortunately, Dinky interrupted her. “It's okay, Icy.” Even more fortunately, she drew Icy's eyes away from the rest of the group, as she could see Alula and Griz at least giving her a sardonically sharp look and, in the corner of her eye, she could feel Runt's gaze on her – something she had no desire to see fully.

Dinky just gave a melancholy smile. “We... didn't exactly come straight down here.”

Icy's puzzled expression didn't abate as she turned back to the front of the group, just in time to see Cadance put her horn against the magical barrier, dissipating it instantly.

“Okay, but...” Icy stopped herself thinking hard about how to phrase her next question as the group approached the doors. “what were you doing before that?”

“Oh, we had a few things to take care of,” Alula said with a small, cryptic smirk. “Just to set things up for this moment.”

At this, Conundra perked back up a little, having spent the rest of the journey sulking. However, her expression suggested she did not appreciate the change as she asked, “S-set things up? How?” with the caution of one who did not want to know the answer to what they'd just asked. She looked up at the opening doors.

Following her gaze, Icy saw what Alula had meant – in front of the doors was a small crowd of ponies – mostly guards, but a couple of others as well. And standing in front of them all...

“Persistant Vision!” the tall unicorn snapped, his furious gaze locked firmly on the floating filly. His mane and suit were immaculate and, even with his face contorted into rage and his horn faintly glowing, he managed to look refined. To his side, a unicorn mare was also looking at Conundra – or Persistant Vision, it seemed – with a look of burning cold anger and disappointment.

“M-mother? Father?” Vision squeaked out, every ounce of dignity and poise drained away, leaving only undisguised terror in their wake. “How... How did...?”

“Oh, we have our ways,” Alula said, her smile unusually and unnervingly wide.

“The kitch-” Scootaloo sputtered for a moment before shaking her head. “Do we really have time for that, Princess? We need to get down there as fast as we can!”

“Actually, no,” Alula said calmly, “we have quite a few stops to make before we do so anyway, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.”

“We do?” Aura asked, her sightless eyes gaining a confused frown for the first time since Alula had first seen her.

Alula smiled, gaining, she knew, far more satisfaction than she should have from Aura not simply “knowing” something Alula had worked out. It was petty, Alula was perfectly aware, but given the stress she'd just been under, she was willing to take it.

“Of course – we know that, whoever the perpetrator of this whole business is, they live in the palace, yes?”

“Howd'ya figure?” Runt asked, a tentatively curious tone edging onto his growl.

“Well, at least two, almost certainly more, of the entrances they made are within the palace grounds. However, the caves of Sombra extend far beyond the boundaries of the palace. And, given that getting into and sneaking around the palace would, in itself, be tricky and dangerous, why would they make their entrances inside the palace...”

“...unless they were already being inside.” Griz finished, nodding as she saw Alula's logic.

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense,” Aura said, her normal smile returning. That was fine, of course – Alula would have preferred her to seem surprised, but she'd take her victories against Aura's 'abilities' where she could get them. “So, what? Do we do a headcount of the whole castle to figure out who it is?”

Alula's mouth went to the side in thought. “If necessary, but it's most likely we're dealing with a unicorn, given the illusion spells we've encountered, so that narrow things down considerably.”

“It does indeed,” Cadence added, already starting to move down the corridor. “Come on, we'll check in the living quarters. Though, what are you planning to do once we find out who our mysterious trespasser is?”

Alula smiled. “Why, arrange a proper welcoming committee, of course!”

Scootaloo grunted, even as her wings began propelling her slowly along. “And you're thinking we just leave the others... wherever they are while we go chasing this pony's identity?”

Alula hesitated for a fraction of a second, her stepping hoof almost stumbling before she managed to push through it. “They can take care of themselves, I am certain. Besides which, simply rushing down there without a plan or preparation is as likely as not to fail to help them much. We must trust in their ability to keep safe, which I do.”

She felt a hard push to her side – somewhere between a nudge and a shove – and turned to see Lance giving her a harsh, skeptical look. It took a moment to see past the wire of his mask, but his face had a very clear message: You better be right about this.

Alula nodded. “I am. I know I am.”

Vision's mouth worked silently for a moment, panic-stricken at the sight of her parents. Eventually, she managed to squeak out, “W-what are you doing here?”

“That's the question we should be asking you!” the stallion replied, glaring daggers at his daughter. “What in the world were you doing sneaking into the Caves of Sombra?”

Before Conundra could even begin to think up an answer, Alula swooped in with an explanation. “She was after one of his spells, his “Dream of Dread Despair”,” she explained, rolling her eyes at the overdramatic name Sombra had given the effect.

“Dream of Dre- that illusion spell you asked to...” the stallion stuttered, his face a picture of confusion and disapproval with a tiny hint of disgust. “We told you why you weren't allowed to learn that spell – it's dangerous, repulsive and evil! Why would you go to all this trouble just to-”

“Because I wanted it!” Vision snapped, trying to stamp her hoof while being levitated and only succeeding in throwing herself off-balance. “I figured it must be really powerful if you didn't... it doesn't matter anyway – it turns out the stupid thing's a dud.”

“And you think that makes it okay?!” her mother asked, her jaw hanging open at her daughter's words. “You... wait, you actually tried using the spell... how could you...?”

“Um,” Dinky piped up, looking intensely uncomfortable at both the exchange happening in front of her and the words she was about to say, “if it helps, I... I don't think she'd have wanted it so much if you... if you hadn't told her she couldn't have it.” She squeezed her eyes shut, as if in terror of being punched. Or, for that matter, of witnessing the result of her assessment.

However, the two unicorns simply sighed, looking almost heartbroken at the conclusion Dinky had reached.

“I see,” Vision's father said while her mother turned to Princess Cadence.

“Your highness,” she said, bowing low, “please accept my deepest, most sincere apologies for the actions of my daughter. Rest assured, she will be submitted to your country's judgment and will accept whatever punitive measures you see fit to impose.”

Conundra opened her mouth to object, but her Father's horn lit up and clamped her mouth shut before she could.

“Furthermore,” the mother continued, “our family will accept whatever decision you make about whether and how we should be penalized, including my removal from my post and our expulsion from your country, should you desire it. I only ask that you do not hold Equestria to blame for the actions of one rogue filly.”

Cadance gave a gentle smile to the still-bowing mare. “That shouldn't be necessary, Ambassador. Your daughter will need to be punished, but I see no reason to expel you... provided you pledge to aid her in her reformation,” she said, leaving the addition of and improve your parenting implied.

The ambassador nodded, rising to her hooves. “Understood, your highness. Now, I believe your guards said they have requisitioned an appropriately-sized magical inhibitor and locking brace.” She looked to the side, receiving a nod from one of the guards present, before turning back to Cadance. “We shall see to the fixing of this inhibitor and then place her under house arrest until such time as you are ready to try her.”

“H-house arrest?” Vision asked as she was passed from Cadance's magic to her Father's. “Y-you mean...?”

“That's right, young lady,” her father said with an angry sigh as he began walking away, followed by his wife and the crowd. “You are grounded!”

Vision's eyes widened in both horror and shock – clearly this was an entirely new experience for her. Icy knew it wasn't exactly noble, but she did take quite a bit of satisfaction in “Conundra's” expression as the filly was dragged through the air, down the corridor and out of sight.

“No!” she snarled, her voice raising as she kept talking. “No, you can't do this to me! You can't! IT'S NOT FAIR!”

Her voice faded as Icy turned back to the others. “Well, I guess that's one conundrum... cracked!”

Princess Cadence giggled at her declaration, though Icy got the distinct impression that it was because she thought it was cute that a filly had said it, as the expressions on the others indicated the quip was passable at best.

Still, Icy smiled – she thought she was improving, at least. As with everyone else on the two teams, she was still learning.

After a moment, though, Griz chuckled. "Most impressive was victory for combination of..." she paused, looking over the Ponyvillians. "What is name of group, anyway? Ponyville Seven?"

Archer shook her head. "Nah, we're Iota Force. Got a way better ring to it, if you ask me."

Icy looked around, seeing that her team had bunched together, before looking back when Caprice said, "Guess 'Ponyville' don't lend itself to much in the way o' wordplay, does it?"

Icy tilted her head. "So what's your group called."

Caprice smiled as she, Moonwing, Aura Gaze, Griz, Zatrathan and Runt all gathered together. "Us? Well, we are... the Mane Six!"

Icy's head flinched back a little in surprise. "I... really?"

Moonwing raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what's the problem. There's six of us, we're from Manehattan, so why not that name?"

Icy hummed for a moment. "I dunno, just feels... feels like some other group should be called that."

Aura shrugged. "Well, I don't know anypony else with that name. Have you ever heard any group called that?"

Icy thought hard for a moment before shrugging. "I guess not. Okay then, it's good to work with you, Mane Six."

Author's Note

Well, except for being so long winded I had to split this chapter into two. But other than that? Not sorry at all!

Epilogue: True Illusions

There was a short silence as everyone stood in the corridor, taking a moment to calm down after all the excitement.

The silence was not technically broken by Lance tilting his head and pointing in the direction Conundra had been taken, but it effectively was as those who were attuned to his gestures understood his meaning and those that weren't saw that others had.

“What'll happen to her?” Archer asked, translating Lance's curiosity into an actual question.

Cadence sighed. “Well, she'll obviously have to be tried in some capacity – I'm not sure if it would be a full court trial or not, we'll have to figure out exactly how to proceed.”

“You don't?” Icy asked, though she almost immediately caught the unintentional incredulity in her voice and soon amended it with, “I mean... sorry, I didn't know...”

Cadence giggled gently, assuring Icy that her words had not offended her. “It's quite alright – we're still catching up to modern times in many respects here in the empire. We lack both experience with such... unintuitive threats and the infrastructure to automatically deal with them. But rest assured, she will face the consequences of her actions.”

Archer sighed. “Probably less than she deserves though,” she said, lowering her head and kicking a hoof against the ground lightly. Her head raised, again, when Zatrathan put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Take heart, dear Archer – we have won our war,
and she can't trick or hurt us any more.”

Archer exhaled slowly, holding onto her annoyance for a second before putting a hoof on his. “Thanks, Zat.”

Icy was about to add something when a light in the corner of her eye drew her attention. Looking up at Cadence, she saw her horn faintly glowing and, though she could have been imagining it, she thought she saw a few tiny stars in the Princess's eyes.

However, the alicorn soon cleared her throat, dispelling the expression and getting everyone's attention.

“In any case, rest assured that we will take whatever actions we deem appropriate. While it is true that her parents are powerful and important ponies, who I would... prefer to keep on friendly terms, they are also reasonable enough to recognize the severity of the crimes their daughter has committed – not only breaking into a forbidden area and stealing a powerful spell and artefact, but actively using one of the most cruel spells ever created on innocent ponies...” Cadence shuddered a little at the mention of that spell, “no, we may not have the procedures or facilities Equestria does, but she will be punished, believe me.”

“Hey, that reminds me,” Aura said after a moment, not seeming especially motivated by the reminder. “There's one thing I still don't understand.”

Alula snorted. “I dearly hope you mean in relation to this event. If you were claiming there was only one thing in the universe you didn't understand, you would be either a liar, extraordinarily deluded or the envy of all lifekind.”

“So, if that filly used Sombra's fear-illusions-thingy spell,” Aura began, not seeming to have noticed Alula's snark, “how come it was so, like, ineffective and... well, lame.” She shrugged, also not seeming to notice the glares being levelled at her. “I mean, yeah, it worked and it showed things they didn't like, but shouldn't it have been, like, stuff that'd totally destroy them, make them scream or whimper or... just take 'em out of action? I mean, they were able to break out of it pretty easy, so... what was up with that?”

“Um, it wasn't...” Icy began, taking a moment to push past the fear of the memory, “it wasn't like that for all of us,” she pointed out, her voice lowering into almost a squeak before she shook her head and spoke a little louder. “I don't think I could have broken out of it without help.”

Aura thought for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, you could have. Trust me.”

Icy frowned, a little confused and unnerved by the certainty in Aura's voice. “I... I don't think...”

“No, I'm with her on this one,” Alula interrupted, though she still gave a somewhat sour look to Aura. “You would have.”

Aura raised an eyebrow, though her smile didn't diminish. “You've been with me on most of the stuff we’ve seen so far, you know.”

Alula shook her head. “Your conclusions, yes, your reasonings, less so, but that's irrelevant. Icy,” she continued without a pause, “while playing to your phobia did, I assume, make it more frightening, it was still simply a physical scenario and you would have been able to power through it sooner or later.” She gave a glance to Dinky, who responded with a firm nod.

Icy gulped loudly, entirely unconvinced by their words, but didn't have time to question them before Cadence spoke up again.

“Indeed you would, but the reason why requires an explanation. In short, it has to do with the nature of dark magic.”

“Oh, are we...” Dinky began, pausing to let everyone look at her before continuing. “Are we allowed to know this then?”

“Dunno 'bout the rest o' you,” Runt growled out, “but I know I am.”

“In any case,” Cadence said before anyone had the chance to think on and be disturbed by Runt's declaration, “the knowledge isn't forbidden or illegal, it's simply... not talked about much, for obvious reasons. However, there's no need to stay around here while I tell you – let's walk, shall we?” she asked, though she began moving before anyone could answer – she was a Princess, after all, so she was evidently used to ponies doing what she suggested.

“You see, the usual way ponies think about dark magic is that it's inherently more powerful than the regular kind, but it automatically corrupts whoever uses it,” Cadance explained as the large group moved. “However, neither of those assumptions is really right. You see, dark magic isn't necessarily as powerful, let alone more so, than any other kind. The reason it has a lot of potential power is that, well,” she looked around, evidently a little hesitant to continue in front of children, but nevertheless kept talking after a moment, “it's powered by a pony's negative emotions – their anger, hatred, revulsion, spite... some spells are even powered by the user's sadness or fear. The more of those emotions a pony has and channels into the spell, the more intense the dark magic will be. And since there's not much limit to how dark a pony's thoughts can be, such spells can be incredibly powerful.”

“That makes sense,” Alula chimed in, nodding to herself, “perhaps in a similar way to how certain powerful magicians can channel positive emotions such as friendship and love.”

Cadance raised an amused eyebrow. “Indeed, if only I knew of such a pony to ask.” She smiled and continued talking as Alula blinked, having been too busy analyzing to remember who she was talking to. “Anyway, that's why dark magic is so dangerous and why it so often corrupts its users – there's nothing inherently mind-altering about it, it simply encourages ponies to indulge and give in to their darkest aspects in order to enhance it, which in turn makes even darker aspects and tempts them with even more power if they give in to them too.”

“So,” Dinky said, speaking after Cadance a fraction of a second too early to sound entirely comfortable with the topic, “it doesn't corrupt them, it just gives them a reason to corrupt themselves.” She finished quietly, her big eyes quivering at the prospect.

To her credit, Cadance didn't look that much happier with the idea. “Essentially, yes. Of course, it’s probably possible to use it in the long term without succumbing to temptation, but there's been understandable hesitation to research it. Besides which, most ponies virtuous enough to remain uncorrupted by it tend to also be humble enough not to believe they are. In any case,” she shook her head hard, as if to help everyone else shake off the depressing topic as much as to help herself, “that's why young Vision's use of the spell wasn't nearly as powerful as intended.”

“Hmm, I'm not sure I'd describe it like that,” Truffle said, thinking hard about his experience without any notable hesitation. “The illusion itself was pretty much perfect – seemed entirely real with zero indication of if it was fake. It just... wasn't all that frightening. Certainly wasn't what I was expecting.” He cleared his throat sharply, turning away a little to hide his expression.

Cadance didn't seem to notice as she smiled gently at the group. “Perhaps, but that's not quite what I meant. The illusion itself may have been well-made – I'm sure Vision's Talent for illusions helped with that – but that was only part of the spell, and not the part that requires the dark magic's power. No, that part was the part that searched your minds to find what you were afraid of. Without the power of true malice behind it, it could only scan your minds on a very surface level and find things that scared you in a shallow way. Even when it got lucky and found a phobia, it was still appealing to an instinctive fear and,” she turned to regard Icy specifically, though with a glance to Caprice to make sure she knew she was included as well, “as your friends said, you could and would have overcome it.

“Hmm,” Archer piped up, again a little too early to sound entirely natural, though Icy got the feeling it was to help her not dwell on the memory of the incident – something she was thankful for, “so you're saying the reason her spell didn't hurt us as bad as it should have... was cause she didn't really want to hurt us?”

Cadance nodded. “Essentially, though it was more that she didn't have any direct desire to hurt you, she just thought it was necessary to escape. Had she been more sadistic... or had someone like Sombra cast it, you would have been...” she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, swallowing hard before pushing forward. “it would have found the one thing, the one scenario that would hurt you and make you despair more than any other, one that struck at the very core of your being, your own personal nightmare and put you right in there with no way to escape on your own. It wouldn't creep you out or spook you or startle you or even paralyse you... it would scare you.”

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as the gravity of what Cadance was describing truly sunk in. For her part, Cadance just looked sad at having said that, even though there was no shame or regret at informing them of the danger they had potentially faced and may one day face again. It was the face of one, appropriately enough, who had done something terrible but necessary.

After a little while of quiet walking, however, Zatrathan spoke up.

“This helps to make the situation clear,
as little as the topic suits us foals.
Conundra showed us what our bodies fear,
while Sombra's spell would share what scares our souls.” He gave a shudder at that, seeming to give an uncharacteristic amount of thought to that scenario.

However, Archer soon bumped him gently, giving him a smile as he looked at her. “Well, guess we should just be happy we were up against someone too wussy to do that, huh?”

A quiet, tentative chuckle went through the group at that, helping to dispel the general malaise that had fallen over them due to the topic. Still, there was a slight discomfort that still permeated the assembled beings.

All, that is, except for Cadance, who was looking at Archer and Zatrathan with that same, slightly starry expression and glowing horn. And, though Icy was probably imagining it, she swore she had heard a sound uncannily similar to a rubber duck.

Still, she soon dismissed it as the group reached one of the exits to the palace. Icy turned to Cadance to say goodbye, only to see that she wasn't slowing down, instead walking to the door with the clear intent to accompany them outside.

She wasn't the only one to notice this, either, as Alula quirked an eyebrow at the Princess. “Are you intending to accompany us back to our hotel, Princess? I'm sure you're aware it's not necessary and, if it is, one of your guards can escort us.”

Cadance smiled pleasantly at her. “That's quite alright, I have a little... errand I need to take care of anyway, so I might as well come with.”

Alula's eyebrow remained thoroughly quirked. “I see. It is, I presume in the direction of the hotel... except you almost certainly don't know which one it is, so...”

“No, it's at our hotel,” Aura said, not seeming to be bothered by pre-empting royalty. “Because it's our hotel.”

At this, Alula's eyebrow did lower, along with the rest of her expression in order to give Aura a dirty look. “I wasn't asking you.”

“Well, she is right,” Dinky piped up from Cadance's other side. “The Princess wants to do something to do with us.”

Alula sighed. “I see. Thank you, Dinky.”

“What, so you don't mind when she tells you things she just feels, but when I do it, you get all pouty and cross?” Aura asked, sounding more puzzled than offended at the contradiction.

Alula resumed her glare. “Because she doesn't “just feel” things. She comes to her conclusions based on direct observation and examination of a pony's mannerisms, language and personality – something I cannot do myself, but I nevertheless accept as a valid cognitive skill.”

“Well, to be fair, I don't really... think about it too hard,” Dinky pointed out, sounding a little awkward at being used in a criticism like this. “I just kind of... watch ponies and see what they're like. I'm pretty sure anypony could do it if they tried.”

“Exactly,” Alula nodded, not seeming to register the intent of Dinky's words to modify her statement, “it's largely reflexive, but it is nevertheless a result of empirical perception. She doesn't pretend that it's some vague, oracular mysticism that tells her these things.”

“Um, Alula,” Icy spoke up, beginning to feel rather uncomfortable at the tone the conversation was taking, “shouldn't we just be... happy she knows things that can help us?”

“No, she's right,” Archer said, tilting her head a little at Aura. “There's gotta be some kinda rational explanation for it.”

Zatrathan gave a slightly sardonic smirk, though with a touch of melancholy to it.

“Indeed, but good luck finding out just what,
For we have searched for years and we've found squat.”

“Regardless,” Alula said, still somewhat testily, “the problem isn't so much the lack of explanation for her insights. It's that her insights don't make sense! You can't figure out these things just because you get “feelings”.”

Icy frowned for a moment, hesitating before bringing up the obvious counter-example. “But Pinkie Pie...”

“...is not an example of something that makes sense!” Alula finished for her in a growl. She exhaled sharply before taking a deep breath in, calming herself. “Besides, that's not quite the same thing – Pinkie's premonitions are, at least, limited to imminent and concrete events – it is possible, if far-fetched, for one to subconsciously predict such things.

“But the things Ms. Gaze “feels” are deep, far-reaching or complex facts about a person or situation. Figuring such things out is a matter of careful observation, analysis and logic, not just “kinda knowing them,” as she claims,” she said, a faint, momentary flicker of green around her throat suggesting she had to actively stop herself directly mimicking Aura's voice to quote her. “As such, she must be performing such reasoning on some level, even subconsciously, and I resent the implication that she is not.”

“Well, I mean, I might be,” Aura pointed out, not sounding bothered at being talked about like she wasn't standing right next to Alula. “I mean, like, if it's all subconscious, then I don't know it's happening, right? So, if you wanna tell me it's happening, that's fine – you do you. But if I can't see it, I don't really see why I should worry about whether it's happening, right?”

Alula sighed. “Ms. Gaze. I do want you to know that I appreciate your help, be it successful, unsuccessful or accidentally successful. As such, I hope you will not be offended when I say that I hope I don't spend any significant time with you for the rest of this trip.”

Aura shrugged. “It's all good, buddy. Guess we'll just hope we're not on any of the same tours.”

“Oh?” Alula raised an eyebrow. “Don't you “just know” whether we will be or not?”

Aura chuckled. “I dunno. You tell me whether I can know that.”

There was a long, tense silence as Alula frowned and pouted at the possibly-a-gentle-jab. Silent, that was, because no one was making any real noise, and tense because everyone was trying to hold in their laughter.

The next short while was a bit of a blur for Icy, partly due to the recent inactivity reminding her how tired she was. Still, soon enough, they had arrived back at the hotel and the organizers of the two school trips had been woken. However, it had been collectively and silently agreed that the assembled children didn't want to be around to hear what was discussed, as it might prove somewhat disheartening. After all, regardless of how justified they thought their actions were, they did technically go out without an escort and trespass on secure government property. Icy got the distinct impression there might be a bit of detention in her future.

Still, that was at least a week in said future and that was far further than Icy was willing to imagine at that point. As such, she simply left along with many of the others, less than half staying behind - Alula, Archer, Aura, Griz and Zatrathan. Icy considered considering why, but didn't particularly feel like it.

Instead, she focused on walking towards her room, with Dinky, Truffle and Caprice coming with her – Scootaloo and Runt had rooms on the other side of the building.

Dinky's was the first room they came to and they politely paused while she swiped her magically-attuned card over the lock, opening the door and revealing Pip strolling up and down, a little agitated.

He whirled around when he heard the door open, his face lighting up as he saw Dinky rushing up to him, opening his hooves to receive her hug.

“You're back. Is everything okay – you were gone a while and I thought you might have...”

“We're okay, Pip,” Dinky assured him, sinking into the hug a little more. “If you were worried, you should have contacted me – you do have a badge after all.”

Pip blushed as he looked away – quite a feat, given that the pony he was talking to was still hugging him and didn't seem likely to stop any time soon. “Well, yeah, but I thought you might be busy or concentrating and I didn't want to bother you and...”

Dinky shook her head against his chest. “Don't be silly – I'll always make time for you, Pip.”

Pip's blush intensified. It was extremely noticeable, too, given that Icy saw it while her eyes were focused on another part of the room.

“Hey, why are your beds pushed together?” she asked when the conversation between the two lulled for a moment.

Pip's eyes widened as he and Dinky hastily disengaged the hug and stood apart, looking suddenly awkward.

“Well, you see, it's because we like to, um...” Pip began before Dinky took over the sentence.

“We like to read together – the same book, that kind of thing – and it made it easier to...”

“...to sleep afterwards,” Pip resumed talking, “we could both fit on the same bed or just read on the floor, but we figured this'd be...”

“...be better than having to walk across the room all the time!” Dinky finished with a slightly brittle grin.

Icy tilted her head a little at their expressions, but shrugged her acceptance.

Caprice, on the other hoof, just scoffed with a smirk. “Yeah, sure you are. Come on, guys, let's leave these two “bookworms” to their “readin'”.”

She strolled off, soon followed by Icy and Truffle to the sounds of Dinky and Pip stammering.

“What was that about?” Icy asked, prompting a chuckle from Caprice.

“If you don't know, I ain't gonna be the one to tell ye's,” she said as she turned down a short side corridor. “That's fer yer folks to do. All I'll say is good night and that I hope I don't see ye's in costume again.”

Icy blinked in place for a moment, even more confused than before, before shaking her head and catching up with Truffle.

She was just opening her mouth to ask him what had just happened when she noticed her own room down another side corridor and began turning down towards it.

“You're leaving?” Truffle asked, prompting Icy to freeze in place and look over her shoulder at him, her tired brain not quite comprehending what he was asking.

“Er, yeah...” she said, trailing off in the hopes Truffle would fill in the conversational gap. After a second, though, she continued. “Is... is that a problem?”

“Oh, no, not at all, if you want to,” Truffle replied, looking a touch nervous. “It's simply that I thought we were going to... well, I said I'd tell you about... my little... the thing I imagined when... my, um...” he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and swallowed before finishing with an unusually quiet tone. “my own nightmare.”

Icy's eyes narrowed in confusion, thinking for a moment that he meant what Conundra had shown him with her failed spell, before his nervous tone twigged something in her memory. After a second, her eyes widened as she remembered what they had talked about a while before that – the image he'd imagined when he heard about the spell; the nightmare he'd thought he was going to see.

Icy blinked heavily, the fog around her brain rapidly draining as both the memory and the severity of it flooded back into her brain. “Oh, right, yeah, sorry, I forgot...” She shook her head, cutting off that sentence to hopefully stop him thinking she didn't care. “After everything, I didn't... anyway, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

Truffle shook his head. “No, no, I'm a stallion of my word. Besides, I think it might... help a little to get it off my chest in front of both of y-” he cut himself off with a slight grunt before continuing. “But, like I said, it's not entirely my decision, so let's get to my room, shall we?”

Icy raised an eyebrow, unsure what to make of that statement, but followed him anyway. Fortunately, his room wasn't that much further and they were soon at his door.

“Would you mind waiting out here while I ask about this?” Truffle asked as he swiped his own key over the lock. Icy nodded, seeing no issue with that.

Smiling thinly, Truffle strode through the door as if it wasn't there, throwing it open to reveal Twist sitting on her own bed.

Looking up, Twist barely had time to open her mouth before Truffle enveloped her in his own hug, the door swinging closed a moment later.

“Er, hi, Truffle,” Icy heard Twist say a little wheezingly, suggesting that Truffle was squeezing her fairly hard. By most ponies' standards, that was – if Truffle squeezed her as hard as he could, she'd probably be crushed to the width of a bamboo shoot, but it was still clear that he was holding her tight. Not that Twist seemed to mind.

“Um, I'm not complaining or anything, but ith there a reathon...” she trailed off as Truffle spoke, too quiet for Icy to make out any words. She knew she could probably hear clearer if she put her ear against the door, but she didn't want to intrude – it seemed as if their conversation was extremely personal.

This feeling was intensified by the occasional snatches of noise she did manage to overhear – not enough even to make out any individual words, but just about enough to get a sense of Twist's emotions – surprise, nervousness and hesitation, but no anger or offence.

After a couple of minutes, the door opened to reveal Twist, looking as she had sounded. Still, she beckoned Icy inside.

“Okay, I... come in, Ithy, I... I think Truffle'th right about thith.” She said as she stood aside, allowing Icy to stroll into the room.

The moment she did, she noticed something.

“Hey,” she asked as Twist joined Truffle on the bed that, Icy now saw, wasn't alone. “How come your beds are pushed together too? Do you read together too?” she asked.

Truffle shook his head. “Occasionally, but no. This is so we can snuggle, but that's not important right now.” Twist blushed brightly, but said nothing, a wobbly smile on her face showing that she did appreciate Truffle's candour.

Shrugging, Icy sat down on the floor in front of the bed.

Truffle swallowed hard, recognizing his cue to start talking. “Right. Well, as I said, when that filly told us the spell she was after I sort of... got ahead of myself and I... imagined what it would... what I thought it would show me. Though I suppose a part of the reason I did was because I already think about it sometimes. But what it is requires... a bit of explanation.” He turned to Twist, a sympathetic look on his face. “Do you want to explain it or...”

Twist shook her head, looking extremely uncomfortable for a moment before pressing her head against Truffle's side firmly, clearly finding it a comforting presence.

Truffle nodded. “Right. Well, it all goes back to the incident with the Mane-iac.”

“Miniac,” Icy corrected instinctively, the nickname for the child version of the character they'd fought helping to soften the impact of what it had done. And it was needed, considering exactly what had happened – a disembodied spirit of the Mane-iac, escaped from an enchanted comic, had possessed Twist and used her body to rob and terrorize ponies and try to kill them. And while Twist wasn't able to consciously remember those actions until after the spirit had been pulled out of her, she had understandably been traumatized by the experience.

Truffle nodded. “Of course. Well, you remember what happened afterwards?”

Icy nodded. “You both went to the Mane Coast for a while to recover.” That she remembered because it meant that Truffle hadn't been there for Icy's first encounter with Magic Eye. Not that she blamed him for it, she was simply a touch jealous that he didn't have to deal with that whole business.

“Yes, but...” Truffle hesitated, turning to Twist and gently nuzzling her for a moment, clearly as much as a comfort to himself as to her. Still, he turned back to Icy and continued, “what I didn't tell you was what happened the first night we were there. Me and Twist were sleeping in the same room... well, we were when I went to sleep. But when I woke up in the middle of the night, she wasn't in her bed. And what's more... well, the reason I woke up was because I heard something from the door.”

Truffle took a deep breath, pressing a hoof against the mattress below him as he prepared to say more. “Well, naturally I rushed out to see what was going on and I... I found her in the kitchen... with a pair of scissors wrapped around her beautiful mane.”

“It’th not...” Twist blurted out, her head leaping away from Truffle's side before she stopped herself, taking a breath. “It didn't feel beautiful. It felt... it felt horrible – that wath the thing I'd... that thing had uthed to try and kill you all and I jutht wanted... I didn't... I never wanted it to be able to hurt anypony ever again!”

Truffle wrapped a hoof around his marefriend and squeezed her gently, allowing her shaking to gradually subside without erupting into tears. “It's okay, gumdrop, it's okay.” He said, his voice gentle but firm.

Nodding, Twist inhaled slowly. “I know... thankth. Anyway,” she looked at Icy again, “Truffle wath able to talk me down...”

“Thank Celestia for that,” Truffle added, nuzzling her frizzy mane gently, eliciting a melancholy giggle from Twist.

“And we thort of thpent the night on the kitchen floor, crying and then thleeping,” she finished.

Truffle laughed a little himself. “Had a heck of a job explaining it to her parents the next morning.”

Icy couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape before she schooled her expression to once again reflect the seriousness of the conversation. “So, you thought you were going to see Twist with her... after she'd...” she rolled a hoof to finish her sentence, not wishing to say it herself. It would certainly explain why Truffle had been so disturbed by the idea, though Icy wasn't sure why he had decided to tell her about it – surely just talking to Twist about it would be enough.

Truffle nodded with a slight hum. “Well, yes, that... that was half of it. I thought I would see Twist with... with her head shaved and covered in cuts and blood, her tail a fleshy stump and even her coat and cutie mark mostly gone...” he grimaced, his face compressing tightly before Twist nuzzled into his side gently, which seemed to help, “but that wasn't all. She would be sitting there, looking so hurt... and she'd be holding a body.”

Icy's head jerked back as the sudden, unexpected wrinkle was introduced to the description. “What... a body? Whose?”

Truffle straightened his head and looked Icy dead in the eye, his expression apologizing for what his mouth was about to say. “Yours.”

Icy blinked for a moment, too confused to do anything more. “M-me? Why would I...?”

“Because you were... you would have obviously been drowned.” Truffle explained, his voice clearly being pushed past the lump in his throat. “You'd have been... wet, ragged and bloated. Like you... you almost...”

“I remember,” Icy said, cutting him off. Not that she thought he needed the reminder – falling into a pool, being pulled through pipes and dumped under a frozen lake and nearly dying was not the sort of thing one should be expected to forget. “But why... why would that... why would you see...?”

“Because it was my fault!” Truffle blurted out at nearly a yell. “Don't you remember? I was the one who came crashing in without thinking while you were teetering on the edge. I was the one who knocked you off balance because I couldn't... because I didn't think to crash into the ground with less than all my force. I was the one who was too busy picking myself up to notice or catch you in time. You almost died and you did get a massive phobia... because of me.”

“You didn't mean to...” Icy began before Truffle cut her off.

“I still did.”

There was a long silence after that, only avoiding seeming awkward because that aspect was overwhelmed by the impact of what had been said.

After a while, Truffle cleared his throat. “So... that's what I saw. I don't expect comfort and I'm not going to ask for forgiveness, I just... I felt like you had a right to know since you played such a big part in my potential nightmare... and since I'm responsible for yours.”

Icy's lips squeezed together as she held her head rigid, preventing it from nodding – while she did understand and Truffle may have been factually correct, she didn't want to seem like she was validating his self-reproach.

I guess Princess Luna was right, she thought to herself, there really is nothing “only” about being a child. We can be just as powerful and smart as an adult... and have just as much guilt and pain.

Still, she dismissed the thought quickly – Truffle was still her friend and just because he didn't expect comfort didn't mean he wasn't going to get it.

However, she hesitated, unsure exactly what to say. For a second, she wished she had Alula's analytical skill or Dinky's gentle charisma – she was sure either of them would know a way to put things to help Truffle. For that matter, Scootaloo's directness, Archer's breezy serenity and Lance's meaningful silence would probably be useful to this conversation. Even Truffle himself would be better at it if he wasn't the target – his bluster and joie de vivre could be immensely comforting. Mind you, direct comfort wasn't the only way to handle things, as Alula would no doubt prove. She'd find some way of looking at things that would help, but it would be direct and she wouldn't hold back. Unless there was something she wanted to keep in reserve, like...

The sides of Icy's mouth twitched up as she thought of something, a way of looking at things that might help.

“Well,” she began, drawing attention back to her, “yeah, I'm not gonna lie. You screwed up a lot that time but...” she added quickly, hoping to mollify the hurt look on Truffle's face and the death glare on Twist's, “but you're... well, that doesn't really make you special does it – it happens to everypony.”

Truffle snorted slightly. “Everyone makes mistakes, you mean?” he asked, clearly not finding the cliché that compelling.

Icy shrugged. “Well, yeah, I know, it sounds kinda silly and hack when we're talking about this kind of thing but... it is true. We all mess up sometimes. I mean, even Alula did earlier tonight – if she hadn't insisted on keeping everyone else back, we probably wouldn't have been teleported into Conundra's hooves. I understand why she did it, but it was still a mistake, right?”

A smirk briefly poked its way onto Truffle's face. “I suppose so. No wonder she was so grumpy when she found us.”

Icy nodded, seeing the logic behind her attitude. “Yeah, I guess we all have different ways of dealing with that kind of thing.”

“It's still not the same, though,” Truffle said, his face falling again. “Yes, she helped put us in danger, but I did more than that... I almost killed you and I did hurt you. Badly.”

Icy kept her expression firm once more, preventing herself from raising an eyebrow – exactly how much danger they'd been in from Conundra and the caves was debatable and she wasn't sure the risk of death was that much less than hers had been under the ice, but she didn't feel like that was a worthwhile avenue to pursue.

Still, she wasn't sure what, if anything, she could say to help his guilt over what had happened to her. For that matter, she almost certainly couldn’t say anything to help his pain over Twist, that would be up to her. In fact, now that she thought about it, she didn't know exactly why he felt guilty over that – there was no way for him to know what had been happening to her before they found out and she doubted there was much he could have done. He probably simply blamed himself for not finding out and being able to overcome the possessing spirit sooner.

Of course, that wasn't his fault at all. The only real time they could have done anything was when they first confronted her with the full team, and that had ended when...

Her hoof pressed in the ground as she realized what she could say. “Well, even if we say you did hurt me... it wasn't that much worse than how I hurt Twist.”

Both their heads whipped up in confusion at her words.

“What are you talking about?” Twist asked. “When did... how did you...?”

“Well, remember when we... all of us first met her in that barn? We were all ready for a fight, ready to take her down... until I accidentally gave her the idea to use the stuff she stole for a laser.”

Twist's eyes widened behind her glasses as she remembered. “You didn't mean to...”

“But I did,” Icy interjected, consciously echoing Truffle's earlier words. “If I hadn't done that, we could probably have defeated her there and gotten her out of Twist much earlier. She wouldn't have had to be possessed and... go through all that for as long if I'd just been paying attention and thinking about what I was saying.”

“You... you don't know that,” Truffle pointed out, though his expression clearly showed that he was beginning to see her point.

Icy shrugged. “Well, no, but we could have and I definitely screwed up. It'd make sense if Twist hated me for that.”

“I don't,” Twist said, still a little confused at the direction the conversation was taking.

Icy nodded. “I know and I'm really happy you don't, but...” she paused for a second, gathering her thoughts before the final push. “We all mess up sometimes. We shouldn't pretend we don't or we haven't and we shouldn't tell ourselves it isn't bad when we do. But we also shouldn't spend all our time worrying about them. We should focus on making up for them. Because we can make up for them, if we try and get better from them. That doesn't make the mistake okay, but... but it can make us okay.”

She locked eyes with Truffle, pulling his steadily falling gaze towards her. “We shouldn't forget our mistakes, but we can't...” she searched for the right word for a moment before she hit on it, “we can't define ourselves by our mistakes either, but on how we make up for them. How we improve on them.”

She smirked a little at Truffle, bringing his own mouth up a little in sympathy. “And, well, you've been helping and protecting me... all of us before and after your mistake. So, as far as I can tell, you're making up for it just fine. And even if you didn't ask me to, I forgive you.”

Truffle sighed, the tension in his face gradually fading. It was clear the guilt wasn't completely gone – that would take a lot longer if it happened at all – but it had been lightened considerably. He relaxed into Twist's side, a thin but genuine smile coming onto his face.

Twist, however, just got a slightly more devilish smirk. “And if that doethn't work, all we need to is find a way for me to hurt you and we'll have completed the thircuit!”

The instant she said that, all remaining tension in the room was washed away in the tidal wave of her remark. A sharp, barking laugh escaped Truffle, seemingly as much out of surprise at the remark as what was actually said. “Well, aren't we sassy today, gumdrop?”

Twist shrugged into him. “I learned from the betht.”

Truffle turned his head towards her, a mischievous smile spreading across his own face.

Icy, meanwhile, was suddenly feeling intensely awkward – the fact they had seemingly forgotten she was in the room meant the whole force of her third-wheeldom had slammed onto her shoulders all at once.

“Well, I'm happy I could help, I'll just... leave you two alone,” she said awkwardly as she nudged the door open and slipped through as quickly and quietly as she could.

“Bye, Ithy, thankth fo- eep!”

Icy didn't see what had caused Twist to give off that particular delighted squeak and, as she scampered back to her own room, she was immensely glad of that.

Seeing her door was ajar, Icy pushed it open. “Hey, Archer, how ar-” she cut herself off with a strangled gasp as she saw who was in the room.

Standing by the bed and placing her hammer down, its handle leaning next to the pillow, was the massive form of Grizelda the Griffon.

Turning around, Griz waved her thick talons at Icy. “Ah, you are new roommate, yes?”

“Er,” Icy hesitated as she walked calmly and non-threateningly over to her bed, getting perspective on exactly how much bigger Griz was than her, “well, this is my... er, the room I'm sleeping in, but... I thought Archer was my, erm...” she trailed off, swallowing nervously.

Griz nodded. “Correct, was roommate, as Zatrathan was mine. However, Princess Cadance asked that we change places so Zatrathan and Archer can be in room together.”

Icy's brow lowered as she tried to parse this new information. “Why?”

Griz's beak pursed a little as she too thought about the request. “Do not know, was not clear. Something about ‘cute’ and... a boat, I think. Did not make sense.” She shrugged. “Ponies weird. Royals weird. Therefore royal ponies? Very weird.”

Icy sighed – there was a slight impulse to object her assessment, but she couldn't really come up with any counterarguments.

Still, she did tilt her head at the griffon. “Well, I mean, I guess most things are. I mean, you're...” she paused, thinking hard on how to phrase her next sentence so as not to offend the big griffon with the big hammer, “your whole “Griz smash” thing is... I guess it really is just an act, right?”

Griz gave an affirmative hum, not seeming bothered by the question or the slight hint of surprise in Icy's tone. “Indeed, yes, is pretending. And, yes, is little weird but very useful. Does wonderful things to bad guys’ morale.” She looked at Icy with something between a smirk of confidence and a grin of genuine enjoyment. “If think enemy is smart, can trust enemy to do what normal ponies will do. If think enemy is stupid brute, cannot predict what stupid will be done.”

Icy nodded, seeing the logic in it. “Okay, that makes sense. Oh, does that mean Runt's whole “scary intense” thing,” she narrowed her eyes at Griz in a pale imitation of Runt's glare, “is all an act too?”

Griz swallowed hard, a touch of nervousness coming onto her face for the first time since Icy had first seen her. “Sure, let us be going with that.”

Icy's eyes widened a little, her face falling slightly before she looked away and cleared her throat. “So, is there anything I should know about being roommates with you,” she asked, forcefully changing the subject.

Fortunately, Griz willingly took the change and ran with it. “No, nothing can think of. Have been told I am good roommate...” she paused, thinking for a moment, “by ponies bigger than me, so would not be lying because are scared. Do not snore, do not talk, do not walk. Only thing to know: sleep with hammer next to me, in case I am woken suddenly.” She looked at Icy seriously. “Do not wake me suddenly.”

Icy nodded, getting Griz's implication instantly. “Or, if I need to, do it from a distance?”

Griz smiled at her. “You are having it!” She turned back to the bed, beginning to climb atop it. “Of course, will not be in room much outside sleeping times – is big empire out there, do not intend to waste holiday sitting in room.”

Icy smiled as she walked over to her own bed. “Well, I can understand that, but I guess we're kinda different – I'm probably going to be spending most of my evenings in here.” She looked up, seeing Griz give her a puzzled glance, so she continued. “I mean, I'm gonna be going on all the tours and stuff during the day, but once that's done, I'll probably just want to relax in here with a few comics.”

Griz's head bobbed to the side for a moment considering this. “As you wish, but you are welcome to join me in after school times if you like.”

Icy shot her a grateful smile, but still shook her head. “Thanks, but I think I'll be okay spending my evenings here.”

“I don't think so,” a new voice growled.

Icy and Griz whipped their heads around to the door, where a figure clad in a thick brown cloak stood, the door closing behind them. A hood was drawn over its face, masking even the tip of its muzzle, and the hem of the cloak trailed across the ground.

Griz slowly slipped a hand around her hammer's handle. “Who are you being? Friend or Foe?”

The figure gave a rasping chuckle. “Oh, have no fear, I'm definitely a friend and I'm here for you, Icy Flight!”

Icy's head jerked back a little in surprise. “Me?” She shot a worried glance at Griz, thankfully seeing her pick up her hammer fully, just in case. “What do you want from me?”

“Oh, many things,” the figure replied, “but first of all, I want you to answer me one question!”

The figure drew their legs into themselves a little and a palpable sense of tension came into the air as Icy tensed her wings and Griz hefted her hammer.

The figure exhaled, letting the moment hang before their legs, mane and tail seemed to explode outward with a bang and the sound of a kazoo, sending wings and hammer flying over faces to protect them. Through her feathers, however, Icy saw an incredible amount of pink burst into view. Lowering her wings, she squinted, trying to comprehend what she was seeing.

“Pinkie Pie?”

“Were you surprised?” Pinkie asked with a massive, expectant grin on her face – apparently that was the question she wanted answered. “Were you? Wer- Ahem!” she cleared her throat, seemingly to banish the last of the rasp she'd used to disguise her voice. “Were you? Huh? Huh?”

“Er, yeah,” Icy nodded, surreptitiously waving at Griz to lower her hammer. She didn't know that this wasn't a threat, but it was definitely a friend. “Yeah, I was surprised, alright. What, er, what was with the cloak and the voice and everything?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Oh, that's just what you're supposed to do when you're a traveller, Icy.”

Icy raised an eyebrow but let it slide. “Okay, so what are, um... what are you doing here, Pinkie?” She asked, hoping to keep as much of her apprehension out of her question as possible. As much as she liked Pinkie, what she needed right now was to relax and regain a sense of concrete reality and Pinkie Pie was good for neither of those things.

Griz nodded. “I was understanding school was going to empire because adults busy with wrapping up of winter. Are you not being involved?”

Pinkie waved a hoof. “Pft, of course I am, but I don't need to spend all that time preparing.”

Griz tilted her head. “You do not need to prepare.”

“Of course not,” Pinkie said with a proud grin. “I'm always prepared. Preparation is my middle name – Pinkamena Diane H. Pie! Also, skating over the ice doesn't need that much preparation anyway. And that,” she thrust a hoof out for emphasis towards Icy, “is what I'm doing here.”

“Skating?” Icy asked, still completely lost.

Pinkie flicked her eyebrows up at Icy. “No, helping you to skate. You remember how you started learning how?”

Icy nodded, as if she could forget. They had had one lesson before the business with Skrik happened and after that whole incident, including her near-drowning, the idea of skating on a frozen lake suddenly didn't seem so appealing.

“Well, I know you couldn't keep up with the lessons after what happened,” Pinkie continued, with a level of tact that might have surprised those who didn't know Pinkie that well, but those who did knew she... usually exhibited, “but you still want to learn how to ice skate, right? Right!” she said, not waiting for Icy's confirmation. “So I had to ask myself how you could keep learning without going out onto the water and getting all scared. But all I could say was 'That's an excellent question, myself, but I don't know. However, if I think of something, I'll definitely let myself know!' And then, when I heard you'd gone up to the Crystal Empire, I did think of something!” She finished, punctuating her sentence with a cheerful hop.

Icy blinked hard, managing to hang onto the conversation by her wingtips. “So, you came to teach me ice skating? But how? I don't think there are any ponds or lakes in the Empire and even if there are, they wouldn't be frozen. Plus, well...” she trailed off, leaving unspoken the fact that she would have the same problem as in Ponyville.

Pinkie just smiled blankly, however. “Where are we?”

Icy raised an eyebrow – as always with Pinkie, it was hard to tell what was a point, what was a joke and what was a lapse in her sense of reality. “We're... in a hotel room?”

Pinkie nodded, her smile widening a little. “And where's the hotel?”

“In the Crystal Empire?” Icy asked, hoping desperately to find some solid point to hang onto in this new tangent the conversation had gone into.

Pinkie's smile widened a little further, into something that looked a little more knowing and in control. “And where's that?”

“Um, out there?” Icy replied, waving a hoof out of the window.

Pinkie closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. On anypony else, it would have been a sigh, but her smile stayed put and remained genuine – Pinkie rarely sighed. “Yes, but where is the Crystal Empire? In the world?”

Icy, however, did sigh. “In the frozen nor-” she cut herself as she realized what was being alluded to. She looked up to see Pinkie's smile blossom into a victorious grin. “You don't mean you're...?”

“I do mean I'm!” Pinkie replied. “We could go out of the city and skate until our blades get blunt and we won't find a single drop of water beneath us!”

Icy nodded, the possibility crystallizing in her mind. “Wow, that's... that could work. Although,” she turned away from Pinkie a little, uncomfortable at having spotted a flaw in the plan, “I was hoping to see the empire with the rest of the classes and go on the tours we have scheduled.”

Pinkie giggled. “Well, fear not, Icyrella, you shall go to the ball. Er, tours!” She waved a hoof as if it contained a magic wand. “You can go around and see the empire in the day and then, after school-time's done, you can come out with me and learn to skate!”

Icy swallowed, a little daunted at the prospect. “That won't give us much time. Are you sure you'll be able to teach me much in a week like that?”

Pinkie thought for a moment before nodding firmly. “I'm sure. It'll be hard, sure, but I can do it. Get ready for the crashiest crash course you ever crashed into!”

Icy winced. “Um, do you mean crashiest as in the fastest and most effective or as in the one where I crash the most?”

Pinkie scoffed. “Oh, please! What makes you think there's an “or” there?”

Icy sighed, though it was soon interrupted by a chuckle at Pinkie's phrasing and tone.

She thought about it. It would certainly be a challenge and she'd be incredibly tired out by it. But then, she had been wanting to learn to skate, make herself more of an asset to the team and work on her physical fitness. And, while it had been comforting to imagine, she was never under any illusions that that would be easy. Plus, as intense as it was, it was only for a week and she hoped that she could take such a trial for a week. Plus, if she couldn't, it'd be good to know that and try to rectify it in case she ever needed to.

She looked sidelong at Pinkie, looking for any hint of doubt or dubiousness. “You're sure you can teach me in a week?”

Pinkie's smile dimmed a little into something a lot more gentle. “Trust me, I can.” It then intensified once more into a grin as she held a hoof out to shake. “By the end of this week, you'll be an Equestria Games skater! What do you say?”

Icy giggled at the idea – it was a nice image and an impressive boast, but she knew for a fact it was an exaggeration. At most, by the end of her training week, she'd be somewhat competent. The idea she could become an expert after a week, or even a month or six, was just silly. Like many such lofty goals, it was just an illusion.

But, she thought as she put a hoof out and shook Pinkie's, I think this one is one illusion worth chasing.

NEXT TIME ON IOTA FORCE

The River Freeser wasn't something that many geographers or potamologists gave much thought to. It wasn't especially large, long or special as rivers went and was only really a consideration to the small town of Ponyville, through which it wound. There weren't even any other towns along its length as, only a few miles past Ponyville, it joined up with the much larger River Bronco.

The only potentially interesting aspect of it was that, as its name suggests, it originated in the Everfree Forest, at the top of a small mountain there. And even then, if one were feeling both curious and brave enough to study rivers in the Everfree, there were larger, more impressive and more interesting ones within its borders.

No, the Freeser wasn't much of a river. But it was a river. That was an undeniable fact.

A long distance away from said river, a train chugged its way along the tracks towards Ponyville, though not with any plans to stop there. The train contained no passengers, instead being entirely filled with freight bound for the Crystal Empire.

Among the many assorted items being taken there were a few large crates, each one looking far heavier than they actually were. To look at them, one would think they would need to be hauled along by two or more burly earth ponies or heaved onto large carts when, in fact, they had been loaded onto the train two at a time by a rather slight pegasus, who hadn't even strained his wings to keep himself aloft as he did.

The reason for this was that the massive amounts of rockets contained in each one weren't simply filled with propellant, but also with concentrated pegasus magic, making them weigh almost exactly the same as air. The rockets weren't anything special – merely a means to alter the weather if one lacked a full force of pegasi to do so. In theory, one could use them to create powerful, dangerous changes to the weather, but it was very unlikely – the reason they weren't used more often than weather teams was that they were imprecise and lacked the fine control a living pegasus could exert. This not only meant they couldn't feasibly be used to create precise weather conditions, it also meant that, due to the wild and chaotic nature of weather magic, the changes they created tended to be rather minor, as the contained weather clashed with the existing weather and largely cancelled each other out. It would take an expert weatherpony to use them to make massive changes to the weather and, if such a pony were around, they could just make such changes directly.

So, the rockets were difficult to use to make massive changes to the weather. However, they could theoretically do it. This was also an undeniable fact.

There was a pegasus filly perched on a tree branch above the tracks the train would be passing over. This was, once again, an undeniable fact, as any observer, of which there were none, could attest, as could the filly herself.

However, she could also attest to something that no observer could – that these three facts were intimately connected.

Admittedly, this made them in no way special, as the nature of the world meant that everything was, in some way, connected to everything else and, most notably, everything in the world interacted with everything around it in infinitesimally intricate patterns. The filly knew this for a fact – she couldn't stop herself knowing it no matter how hard she tried and she never understood how no other being could see these patterns.

However, the three facts in question, she knew, were connected in a way that was both less direct and larger at the same time. They weren't interacting yet, but they soon would be:

Devices capable of creating huge amounts of rain, a river running through a town of ponies... and a mind capable of combining the two.

Prologue: A Nice Change of Scenery

Icy sighed contentedly as she watched the scenery rocket past the train's window. She knew that simply watching the world go by would lose its novelty long before her journey ended, but for the moment, she was content with the view. Icy loved trains – the rocking motion beneath her hooves, the freedom of movement within them and the wonderful feeling of being chauffeured, even if it wasn't exclusive to her.

The experience wasn't even marred by the time a few weeks ago when she and her teammates had to stop a runaway train from crashing and were... sort of successful. The train had been stopped, at least, and no one had gotten hurt, so it made sense that it hadn't traumatized her, unlike certain other incidents.

As if to underscore that point, a flash of blue came into her peripheral vision and she suddenly swung her head away from the window, only thinking about why a moment later.

She sighed, a little depressed at how quickly she'd learned to instinctively avoid looking at any body of water. It had only been a couple of months since the incident that had given her her little aversion – phobia, she corrected herself in her head, not wanting to diminish how irrational she knew it to be – and yet she had adapted to it with distressing efficiency, far more so than with the therapy helping her overcome it. It was getting a bit better, as she often had to remind herself. She could now spend almost ten minutes in the bath without a panic attack. Still, it was a little disheartening.

Shaking her head a little, as if to shake off the thoughts, she looked around the carriage and a smile began edging its way onto her lips. If nothing else, both the previous incidents had been when she was operating in her official capacity, as a member of Iota Force, Ponyville's resident team of kid crime-fighters. Today, however, while she was still technically operating in an official capacity, it was a very different one – that of a student going on a school trip.

It was near the end of February and the children of the Ponyville Schoolhouse were being taken on a week-long trip to the Crystal Empire. It was supposed to be a learning experience and Icy was sure she would learn something but, like most of the other students, she regarded it much more as a vacation. As such, there was a huge undercurrent of excitement running through the colts and fillies in the carriage. And, though it could have been her imagination, she got the impression that Miss Cheerilee and the other adults accompanying them as chaperones were also looking forward to the break.

She wondered how much that would be changed, if at all, if the rumour was true – that the reason for this trip was to get the kids and some adults of Ponyville out of the way during preparations for winter wrap-up.

Shrugging off the question, she looked around. Fortunately, no matter her level of excitement, Miss Cheerilee was excellent at keeping order among her students – when a class contained the Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Truffle Shuffle, that was a skill a teacher needed to develop quickly and extensively. Nevertheless, there was a lot of eager conversation among the various ponies around her.

That said, there was a buffer between her and the noise, which she appreciated. Sitting next to her was Archer, who was leaning back as far as she could in the rigid seat and watching the activity around her with an easy smile. Across from her, over the table that separated the two sets of seats facing each other, were Alula and Lance. Alula was in the window seat, reading a book on some topic Icy was sure she couldn't understand and probably wouldn't want to, and Lance was... as relaxed as Lance ever got. That is to say, he looked like, if some monster literally popped out of nowhere and attacked, it might take him a full three seconds to pull out his sword and interpose himself between it and any bystanders. This might have been more reasonable if not for the fact that said sword was currently in a securely locked case in the overhead bin above the seats, an arrangement that Miss Cheerilee had insisted on over Lance's gestured objections.

Archer looked over, noticing Icy's eyes looking over the carriage, even as Icy's mind was visibly wandering, as it tended to do. Archer gave her a nod to bring her back down to reality. “Huh, gotta say Icy, I'm surprised – we've been travelling five minutes and you haven't brought out any comics yet. Woulda thought you'd be reading from here to the empire, at least. Probably miss our stop if we weren't here to remind you and be in Yakyakistan before you noticed.”

Icy giggled at the gentle jab. “Well, I have some in my saddlebags, but most of the ones I'm bringing are in my luggage.” She nodded to the compartment above them and the end of the carriage respectively. “Probably better not to open that and start rummaging on the train. I mean, I've got a far bit in my saddlebags – two six-issue trades and an Exhibit Presents...,” she added quickly, as if slightly worried Archer may think less of her for lacking comics to read, “plus a book, but I still want to ration them out – we're gonna be travelling all day, plus the time before bed, after all.”

She remembered how excited Princess Twilight had been when she and a bunch of other fillies had come to borrow books from the library – so much so that, as Spike had told her, she wasn't even bothered by how many of them would forget or misplace them. Kids were reading, so she was ecstatic.

Archer nodded. “Ah, gotcha. By the way, have you signed up for a room yet? Or at least decided on a roommate?”

Icy thought for a moment. “Um, no, I figured I could decide on that later.”

Archer sighed. “Well, you could, but it looks like spaces are filling up kinda fast, so may wanna get on that. Still, I've not decided either, so we can room together if you like.”

Icy nodded. “Okay, that sounds good. I guess it'd have to be another filly, so it works out.”

Archer chuckled. “Usually, yeah, that'd be a thing, but apparently it's not really okay to force colts and fillies to be separate in the Empire. Something to do with being ruled by the Princess of Love, I think, though I got no idea why that'd be important.”

Icy shrugged – just another one of the strangenesses of adults, she supposed.

“Anyway, that's why Truffle and Twist are sharing a room. Same with Pip and Dinky. Oh, and I guess Lance and Alula, but they'd be in the same room anyway.

Icy began nodding – she'd been informed that Alula was the only one who could sleep through Lance's snoring, but had thankfully not experienced that for herself – before what was said fully registered with her. “Wait, they'd be paired even if colts and fillies weren't allowed to?”

A small flash of green from behind Alula's hoof drew her attention. “So who's a filly?” The now-male Alula said before covering his muzzle again and reverting. She hadn't even looked up from her book.

“Ah, right.” Icy nodded, before turning back to Archer. “What about Scootaloo? Is she with the rest of the Crusaders? Are there any three-bed rooms?”

Archer shrugged. “If there are, we haven't heard about 'em. Still, Scoot ain't too happy about it – they'll have to split up and have one of them on their own.”

As if on cue, the door to the carriage opened and Apple Bloom rushed in, quickly followed by one of their chaperones, Berry Punch.

“Hey, hey, guys, guess what?” Apple Bloom rushed up to her two fellow crusaders with a manic grin. “You know how this train came from Manehattan? Well,” she continued, not pausing to give them a chance to answer, “you'll never guess who I just ran into?”

There was a gasp from Sweetie Belle and a smirk for Scootaloo. “No way!” Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom nodded hard enough that Icy could feel her own brain rattling around in sympathy. “That's right, Babs an' her class are goin' up to the Empire too. This is so great – all four crusaders together again!”

The collective dread that came over the crowd was dampened somewhat when Sweetie Belle asked, “But doesn't she have her mark now? Is she still a crusader?”

Apple Bloom paused, a hoof going to her chin. “Well, I'm still not sure. Maybe she is, maybe she ain't, but whatever – she's still our friend and we can talk about where we go from here. Miss Cheerilee?” She whirled around to her teacher, barely even pausing in her speech. “I know I said I'd be fine roomin' with whoever, but could me an' Babs share a room? We are cousins an' everythin', please?”

Cheerilee gave the eager filly a smile that was equal parts endeared and resigned. “I doubt I could stop you – go right ahead.”

Apple Bloom beamed, hopping up and down a little before turning back to her friends. “Come on, girls, let's go say hi!”

As the three rushed out of the cabin, Cheerilee gave a look to Berry, who simply nodded and followed, giving a quick look to the flask on her hip.

Icy chuckled. “Well, that's gonna be interesting. Hope we don't have to go into action to deal with whatever happens there.”

Alula looked up from her book. “It's possible, but Icy? Do you remember what I said when we went to Canterlot?”

Icy nodded, her spirits a little dampened. “Yeah, that it wasn't a vacation.”

Alula nodded. “Indeed. Now, and I want you to listen very carefully to this... you need to completely forget that now.” She gave Icy a small smile. “This is a vacation, officially or not, and I don't know about you, but I intend to enjoy it.”

Icy sighed in contentment as she closed the book, taking a moment to stretch the kinks out of her neck. Though a bed was her preferred venue for reading comics, it wasn't always the most well-suited to a pony's body. She did have a stand at home that held the comics up in a more comfortable position, but it had been a little too bulky for her luggage.

She looked around the crystal walls of the hotel room, thinking how, really, hotels should come with their own reading stands for just this situation. After all, they came with beds to help you sleep, chairs to help you sit and coffee to help you drink disgusting things, why shouldn't they have a stand to help you read? Furthermore, she was sure that Princess Twilight would agree, which basically made it law anyway. Then again, this was Princess Cadance's empire, maybe it was a territory thing. Though if Princess Twilight decided to...

Icy was just about to start imagining how things might go in a conflict about books and reading – something she would later dub “the First Word War” – when Archer came into their room, cutting off her latest flight of fantasy.

“Hey, Icy. Gotta say, this city's quite a sight, even at night. You shoulda come with.”

Icy shrugged. After they had arrived in the Crystal Empire, they were brought to the hotel they would be staying at and several adults had offered to give the children a quick walk around the city before the main tour the next morning. Archer had decided to go, wanting to get the lay of the land, while Icy had declined, wanting to get unpacked and situated as soon as possible.

The fact that the train journey had ended when she was halfway through the first issue of one of her trade paperbacks may also have had something to do with it.

“Well, at least one of us knows their way around a little,” Icy said, looking out of the window. “If I miss or forget anything on the tour tomorrow, I hope you can help me out.”

Archer nodded, hopping onto the other bed in the room. “Sure thing. Didn't exactly go down every street, but I reckon I can find my way around if I need to.”

“Well, if you can't maybe one of the other ponies in your group can,” Icy mused as she put her book on the bedside table.

Archer rolled her eyes. “Oh, I wasn't in a group – didn't want to get tied down in one place or anything, so I slipped away and went on my own.”

Icy looked up, a little concerned. “On your own? You didn't bring an adult?”

Archer snorted a little, smirking. “Yeah. There's like sixty kids out there.” She jerked a hoof towards the door of the room. “You think they can keep all of them in sight at once. I coulda been away for a week and they probably wouldn't notice.”

Icy wasn't sure what worried her more: the possibility that Archer thought that was the case when it wasn't or the possibility that she was right. Or, for that matter, the fact that she'd taken Icy's question as wondering about how she had gone off on her own, rather than why or whether it was a good idea.

Still, she shook her head, confident that Archer knew what she was doing. “Well, I hope you got a lot out of it.”

“That I did.” Archer replied before pulling something out of her saddlebag. “Even got a few brochures, so if I get bored with the prepared schedule, I can see what else is going on in the Empire.”

Icy raised an eyebrow, beginning to question her earlier assessment. “Really?”

Archer shrugged, a little defensive. “Hey, it's not like I'm planning to – I know Miss Cheerilee, it's probably not gonna get boring, this is just in case. Besides, we've got four Crusaders in one city now – might not be a bad idea to figure out where to hide if things get crazy.” She said as she took her bow out of her pack and started checking it over for scratches gained in transit.

Icy paused, her hoof raised to make a point before she started to consider Archer's logic. After a moment, she lowered her hoof again. “So where's the best bolthole, do you think?”

Archer thought for a moment as she took out her quiver and checked it over. “Hmm, depends. If I could get on top of the central tower of the palace, the vantage point'd make it a good candidate. Otherwise, probably the hippodrome – good strong walls, can be open-air or closed, depending on what's needed, plenty of room to move and hide. Course, the best thing would be if there were caves around, but the only ones I could find anything about were “the Caves of Sombra” and... yeah, I'm thinking that's not exactly the safest place you can go.”

Icy tilted her head. “The Caves of... they have a brochure for that?”

Archer scoffed gently. “Nah, it was just mentioned in the one for the palace. Didn't say much, just said you could “see the entrance” and showed a big door with guards on either side. Seemed off-limits. Good thing, too, I would not want to go down there if what I've heard about the guy is true.”

Icy started nodding before stopping. “Way to jinx it, Archer. What do you think the odds are that we'll be heading down there before the trip's over?”

Archer hummed, tapping an arrow against her chin. “Depends, what do you think the odds were before? About one in a thousand?” She resumed testing the bow's motion.

Icy nodded. “Sure, let's go with that.”

Archer smirked. “In that case, I'd say the odds now are around... one in a thousand – exactly the same. ‘Jinxing it’ isn't a thing in the real world, Icy. You really gotta be less superstitious,” said the magical talking pony as she practised manipulating an arrow and pulling a bowstring with her hooves.

Icy shrugged. “If you say so. Just don't say I didn't warn you.”

“I won't,” Archer replied cheerfully. “I'll say you didn't give me a legit warning. Long odds can still happen, remember. Anyway, should probably get some sleep.” She said as she climbed onto her bed.

Icy nodded as she started preparing as well before a thought occurred to her. “Hey, you don't have any weird sleep stuff, do you – snoring, talking, walking, that kinda thing?”

Archer shrugged. “I sleep with my bow and three arrows under my pillow, does that count?” she replied as, indeed, she slid them into the bed with her.

Icy shook her head. “I don't think so, as long as you only use them while you're awake. Although, I hope you don't have to shoot three things when you wake up.”

Archer sighed. “Okay, one: I might need to shoot one thing more than once; two: impact arrows, I'm not gonna kill anything anyway; and three: only two of them are, one's a flashbang.”

“Ah,” Icy said after a moment, “so you can stun them and raise the alarm?”

Archer shook her head. “Well, that'll help, but it's mostly to help me wake up fully before I get any more arrows out.”

Icy was silent for a moment before asking, “You... you don't think being half-asleep would mess up your aim?”

Archer gave a single, small, snorting chuckle. “If only.” She sighed before catching Icy's questioning look. “Well, I mean... if nothing else, I'd have given Miss Herder a couple less bruises.”

This only made Icy more confused. “Why was... Why did you shoot her just after you woke... why was she in your room when...”

Archer gave a more sincere chuckle at that. “Well, let's just say that, after that night, she explained the real deal with the Tooth Breezie real quick.”

Having no rejoinder to that, Icy continued preparing for bed without conversation. If nothing else, she both hoped and expected that the next day would make a lot more sense.