The Land Unspoken

Fluttershy received another visit from Xerox, some ten minutes after the last. This time, having been outwitted by his son, the stallion was looking for a target.

“Fluttershy!” he called to her “where is my son? I wish to speak to him immediately.”

“I have no idea” she replied then, after a pause in which she considered the relative merits of irritating the stallion in his current mood, added “sir.”

Her courtesy had the opposite effect, however. Xerox picked up on the pause and misinterpreted it for sarcasm. Rage twisted his features. “You dare mock me?!” he shouted, “does nopony in this forsaken land appreciate my damn kindness?” Now his voice dropped in both pitch and volume, becoming deathly quiet. “You will show me the respect proper from a captive to her master!”

Fluttershy dropped her head, and Xerox nodded, approaching her. “Good. Now tell me, little pegasus; where. Is. My. SON?”

Fluttershy bowed her head further to hide the smile on her face and kept silent. Xerox completely misinterpreted both actions as submission and grunted, assuming her innocent. He changed tack.

“So how does it feel, little pegasus? So cold and alone. Are you afraid?”

“Not really” replied Fluttershy after some thought, head still bowed.

“What?” asked Xerox, surprise momentarily taking precedence over anger, “are you not afraid?”

“No.” Fluttershy raised her head. “I’m not afraid. Because I’m not alone!”

A faint cowboy call punctuated the sudden silence and Xerox reeled back. He glanced up furiously as Applejack smashed through the window, ripping away the shade. Sunlight followed her through, illuminating the shockwave of dust thrown up as she landed. She released the rope she had swung in on, and drew another as Xerox backed away nervously. The four Replicus at ground level rushed her and a pair on one of the balconies darted away, presumably to fetch help.

So far, so good, Applejack thought to herself.

Each of the Replicus carried a bag at their sides. From this they each drew a short handle and flicked their heads. Two long sticks extended from either side of the handle and locked in place with a loud click. They approached her without a sound.

“Alright” called Applejack, her voice loud in the eerie silence “who’s first?”

Before they could react, her rope whipped out. She looped it around the weapon of the nearest Replicus and wrenched it out of his mouth, dropping the rope and catching the staff as it flew towards her. She spun to catch the attacks of the second and third as they rushed in. As her staff connected with those of the Replicus, Applejack used the impact to launch herself backwards, delivering a thundering kick to the face of the fourth as he approached behind her. Having dropped her weapon, she spun to catch his as he vanished in the familiar puff of smoke, and turned back to face the others.

Thankfully, noted Fluttershy, whatever spell held the Replicus in thrall made them terrible fighters. In twenty seconds Applejack had finished the last of them, who vanished into smoke as he was knocked down. She stood facing Xerox, triumph in her face. Within seconds, however, the side doors burst open and dozens more guards rushed in. They formed a new, larger, circle around Applejack as the earth pony twisted back and forth, trying to keep them all in view.

Xerox stepped forward, his courage restored now that Replicus filled the room.

“Army of one?” he enquired mockingly. “Where’re your friends?”

“Right here!” called a singsong voice from an upper balcony, and Xerox spun. Of the four upper balconies, one was empty where the guards had run to fetch help. The other three were still occupied by guards, and now also sported an extra pony. Pinkie Pie, complete with party cannons, glanced downwards at the floor, then back up at the startled guards on her balcony.

“Oooooh, is this stuff marble?” she asked, wide eyed. They regarded her with confusion. “I love marble! I wanted to get some for Mrs Cake’s kitchen! But you know what she-”

“Get her!” called Xerox, at the same time as Rainbow Dash, on the opposite balcony, yelled “Pinkie!”

“Ooh, sorry!” the earth pony called. She twitched and her party cannons fired. A compressed blast of air hurled the guards off the balcony and towards the floor where they vanished on impact. Before she had time to take stock Pinkie was grabbed from above. Derpy had cleared her balcony already, and now carefully took hold of the earth pony, flying her towards the door. Rainbow Dash had already taken off and joined them.

Dash dropped to the ground to the right of the doors. Derpy dropped Pinkie to the left of the doors and landed beside her. With the attention briefly off her, Applejack leapt into the air, performed a graceful somersault and landed beside Rainbow Dash. They now flanked the doors, a pegasus and an earth pony on each side. All four tensed.

A huge blast of magic lifted the doors from their frame and hurled them across the room. The frame itself collapsed, taking much of the surrounding wall with it into a pile of dust and debris. Through the smoking ruins stepped the two unicorns, their horns glowing with a harsh brightness. After a moment, the glow in Twilight’s horn faded.

Dash, meanwhile, had launched herself towards Xerox with a battle cry, but was pulled up short.

“Woah there!” cried Applejack through a mouthful of tail. “Don’t force a fight!”

Dash subsided, glaring at Xerox viciously. No less fierce was Twilight’s gaze, and she was the first to address him.

“Xerox!” she called. “Release Fluttershy!”

“Or what, my dear? Actually,” he cocked his head, “what if I do? You’ll take me back to your little Canterlot for a trial? Perhaps a nice, civilised execution? Oh no, I’ve come far too far for that now.”

“Why’d you do it anyway?” piped up Pinkie Pie angrily “You’re bewitching innocent ponies to fight for you!”

“Bewitching? But is not equality something to be treasured? There ponies are all equal now. There will never be any bullying or hurtful comments. Nopony is better, or worse, than any other. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“But you’re not just making them equal, you’re just taking their personality away, replacing it with a… a machine!” cried Rainbow Dash. “And I notice you don’t include yourself in this ‘equality’”.

“Ahh, but even equals must have a leader, no? I decided I would make an excellent leader.” He turned to a guard beside him and said: “is that not so?”

“Yes, master” replied the guard, face and voice devoid of all expression.

“Equality?” Rarity spat, “this isn’t equality! This is slavery! Let them go!”

“Oh I don’t think so my dear. And look at you five. When deciding on an extra to bring with you, whom do you choose? Somepony with a mental deficiency. How... idiotic.”

“Just because I-” Derpy began but Xerox began laughing as soon as he heard her voice. She subsided into hurt silence.

If looks could kill, the gaze Rainbow Dash directed at Xerox wouldn’t leave enough for a burial. She snorted furiously.

“Applejack?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sugarcube”

Rainbow Dash took off like a rocket, and this time Applejack didn’t hold her back. She streaked through the air with all the unstoppable force of righteous fury and slammed into Xerox. The force of the impact hurled the stallion into the throne, shearing the great grey structure in two. The dislocated upper half ricochet off the back wall and rolled to a halt beside Xerox as the stallion bounced back upright. As Rainbow Dash circled round for another hit he spun and lashed out, horn glowing.

Derpy, meanwhile, had also taken flight. She rose into the air rather more slowly. “I think” she said quietly “communications are over.”

“I think,” replied Twilight, “you’re right.” Her horn began to glow with power, matching Rarity’s. To their left stood Pinkie Pie, body lowered to bring her cannons to bear, and to their right stood Applejack, slowly weaving her staff back and forth.

The guards attacked. Rainbow Dash was still battling Xerox, and the pegasus was easily dodging the furious blasts of magic, so Twilight and Rarity were free to put all their magical strength into offense.

Applejack had already dispatched one guard, but staggered and nearly fell to another as a wave of power washed over her. The wash knocked back the guards and she spun round in the sudden clear air. As her gaze fell on the two unicorns her eyes widened in shock.

Twilight and Rarity stood side by side, heads inclined and horns touching at the tip. Where they connected a purple sphere of magic hovered. It was this sphere that had thrown out the wave of power and, as Applejack looked on, it pulsed again. She threw herself to the ground, but this time the surge passed her harmlessly by, ghosting through her body to slam into the ranks of Replicus. A dozen fell and the rest staggered, but steadied soundlessly and resumed their charge. Applejack turned again and faced them, joining Pinkie Pie in protecting the two unicorns as a third surge hit the massed guards. Pinkie’s cannons fired once, and then Applejacks’ view of her was blocked as Replicus swarmed them. She ducked the swipe of a staff, threw a riposte that disarmed the wielder, then spun to block a vertical slash from another. A third guard aimed a slice at Applejacks’ side, but Derpy dive bombed him, catching the staff in her teeth and wrenching it away. Applejack turned again as the guards retreated under a particularly powerful blast from the unicorns. They had given the fighting earth ponies a moment of freedom, and with it Applejack took a single step forward. Beside her Pinkie Pie fired her cannons again, knocking the Replicus back, and matched her. The unicorns did likewise and, together, the four of them began to advance on Fluttershy’s cage; staff, cannons and magic keeping the guards at bay.

Fluttershy herself, watching from the relative comfort of her cage, looked on in amazement. The bravery and skill of the rescuers was incredible to behold, but for every guard killed another took their place, and soon the ponies began to tire. Less than halfway across the room, disaster struck.

Rainbow Dash’s cockiness let her down. She slowed, taunting Xerox, and the stallion seized his chance. He moved, far quicker than she anticipated, and his staff caught the pegasus on the wing, knocking her out of the air. Dash was hurled across the room, crashing through the line of guards and into Pinkie Pie. The resulting confusion meant Twilight’s flank was momentarily undefended. A staff slammed into her side and she instinctively spun to face the attacker, forgetting she was still connected to Rarity. The jerk pulled the other unicorn around, and then painfully broke the linkage between them. Both staggered, disorientated.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had already been overwhelmed and smothered under the mass of guards. Derpy dived in, seeking to save them, but was grabbed out of the air. Still reeling, and now under magical attack from Xerox, the two unicorns met the same fate. As she fell, Twilight felt something close in her mind. With alarm, she realised Xerox had cast a spell to block her from using magic, rendering hers and Rarity’s horns useless. In the confusion she had been unable to defend herself.

Now only Applejack stood alone, once again surrounded. The guards, at a nod from Xerox, backed off and allowed the stallion to approach her. Applejack was panting heavily but eyed him with contempt as he moved forward.

“Hmm? You again” said the stallion disinterestedly. “Fancy ourselves a bit of a fighter do we?” He drew his own staff as he spoke. The message was clear.

Unlike those of his guards, Xerox’s staff was much more ornate. It looked to be mahogany rather than plain oak and had gold leaf inlaid on complex patterns along its entire length. Overly flamboyant it may be, but deadly it certainly was as the stallion approached Applejack with murder in his eyes.

To Fluttershy, the scene was so unfair. Xerox was a coward; he had waited until Applejack was injured and exhausted before challenging her to a duel. His vanity meant he desperately wanted to look good in front of a crowd, and this was the perfect audience.

Xerox charged. Applejack dodged, turned and whipped her staff down. Xerox also spun, and caught the blow on his own staff. The staffs locked together and they faced each other down, both fighting to push the other backwards. But there could only be one winner, and after only a few seconds the exhausted Applejack was thrown to the ground. Xerox stood contemptuously over her.

“Pick it up” he mocked, indicating the staff she had dropped in the fall. Applejack gritted her teeth and did so, turning to face him again. It was clear the fall had been hard; she could barely stand. But stand she did, tall and proud as Xerox attacked again. This time Applejack lasted four hits before being disarmed. So followed a series of repetitions, and when Applejack had been downed and risen for the sixth time, Xerox spoke.

“Why won’t you stay down?” he snapped angrily. Clearly, he regarded it a fail on his part every time she returned to the fight, and considered it beneath him to restrain her. He wanted her beaten in combat, not held down like her friends. He wanted this victory for himself.

Applejack rose again, rushed him, and was knocked down immediately. She spat dust from her mouth as she stood.

“Pah! I ain’t never bowed to nopony, mister, and I ain’t startin’ with you.” She turned and, to the complete surprise of almost everyone, rushed the guards holding Rainbow Dash down.

The pegasus was ready for the attack and reacted far quicker than her guards. She rocketed upwards as they were pushed off her by the force of Applejacks charge. She hovered, watching as the Replicus overcame their surprise and forced Applejack to the ground. Xerox seemed to have forgotten his magic in a fit of blind rage, and Rainbow Dash easily dodged the furiously waving staff.

Twilight saw the freed pegasus and her hopes soared. If Dash could distract Xerox again, his spell would be broken and Twilight would be free to use magic. There was still hope!

But even as this thought passed through her head, she was astonished to see Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, flee, shooting out the shattered window and away. The brief candle of hope that had flared in Twilight’s heart was snuffed out.

“Dash…” she said, but the pegasus was way out of earshot. “Why…?”

Rarity, beside her on the ground, was likewise stunned. “Perhaps… she went to get help?” the unicorn said, the words sounding hollow and empty to Twilight’s ears. Even if she had, the help would never arrive in time.

Xerox laughed, his good humour restored. “Ahh, perhaps an Element of courage wouldn’t go amiss? No matter! I have five of the Elements now. Once you are under my command I can hunt the final one down at my will, and Equestria will be mine!” His horn began to glow and he closed his eyes, his face a mask of glee. Before he could finish the spell, however he was interrupted.

As soon as Applejack had swung through the window Ditto, still in his hiding hole at the base of the throne, had stuck his head out to watch. He saw the bravery of Fluttershy’s friends and watched in fascination as they confronted Xerox, then mounting horror as each was trapped under the swarm of guards.

I wish I could be as courageous as them, he thought to himself as Applejack duelled Xerox. But what would I do? I’m too small to make a difference…

He was in an agony of indecision. When Xerox began casting his spell, however, the little pony made up his mind. He shot out from under the throne and leapt at his father, furiously biting at the stallion’s face. Interrupted from the spell, Xerox roared and pulled his son away, holding the struggling youngster in the air. Ditto expected to be shouted at, perhaps be forced to listen to some gloating and mockery, but instead Xerox merely spun and hurled him at the wall.

Twilight gasped. The distraction had broken Xerox’s block on her magic, but there was no way she could react fast enough to catch the foal before he was killed by the impact. She desperately began a spell, knowing she would be too late.

For Ditto, the experience was rather slower. He saw the wall approaching and knew, in that moment, that he was about to die. But as he closed his eyes, he instead hit something soft and warm.

Fluttershy had unlocked her cage and had stepped out as Ditto had made his appearance. With the guards focused on Xerox she went completely unseen and had an unrivalled view of father hurling son to his death. Desperation gave her speed as she took flight and streaked after the airborne pony.

She reached him just in time, and positioned herself between Ditto and the wall, cushioning his impact with her body. The momentum still slammed her into the wall, hard, but although both of them fell dazed, neither was seriously hurt.

Xerox’s rage climbed, if possible, even higher. He came barrelling towards them, but then appeared to stop himself. A slow smile spread across his face.

“Oh no.” he said, almost to himself “I can think of a fate far worse for that one.”

Fluttershy was now covered by guards like the rest. Both her and Ditto had been stunned by the fall and were unable to resist. The foal was alive, however, and as Fluttershy turned to check, she met one of Derpy’s eyes. The pegasus looked terrified.

Then, unexpectedly, Fluttershy smiled.

“Why are you smiling?” Derpy whimpered, “we’re doomed!”

“I’m smiling” replied Fluttershy “because I saw where Rainbow Dash went.”

Across the room, Pinkie Pie’s tail began to twitch.

Clouds

So high… I can barely breathe…

But I need the height… A strong crosswind… Air thick with corruption…

A tiny speck of grey, far below me. Thousands of guards in that speck.

I need to hit them all at once.

And there’s only one thing that’ll do that.

  Xerox impatiently began his spell again, but in his anger he had forgotten about Twilight, and the unicorn’s magic was no longer blocked. She began a spell immediately; it was one to quicken her reactions in preparation to break free. The going was slow however, as she also needed to hide her magic from Xerox.

It was now a race to see who could cast their spell the fastest, and twenty tense, silent, seconds passed, before Twilight triumphantly completed hers. The room fell deathly silent and, to her heightened senses, everything now moved at a snail’s crawl. She saw Xerox’s eyes open in glee as his spell begin to take hold and prepared a counter spell, hoping desperately that she would be quick enough. Both Xerox and Twilight were interrupted, however, before either’s magic could take effect. Twilight’s enhanced senses meant she saw what happened next in extreme slow motion.

Rainbow Dash returned in spectacular style, blasting a hole in the ceiling with the all too familiar shockwave encasing her body. Twilight saw it tighten around the pegasus and a horizontal line appear in the centre. Suddenly the bubble snapped and the two halves pulled away from the centre. The line remained, however, and just as Dash reached the floor it suddenly blasted outwards in a multi-coloured spray, almost seeming to overtake the dancing shadows it threw upon the walls as it spread. Milliseconds later Twilight’s concentration was broken and she flinched, cowering down as the world returned to normal speed in a rush of sound and colour.

The Sonic Rainboom was perfectly timed. Twilight and the others had all been pushed to the ground by the Replicus, so the Rainboom passed over them. It was still low enough, however, that the guards standing over them were hit with the full force of the blast. Twilight’s entire body shook at the onslaught to her eyes and ears, and she covered her face with her hooves until the roaring died down.

Then something happened that none of them could have predicted.

Xerox’s castle didn’t only look like him. It mimicked its master in many ways, and one of these was the corruption that lay beneath the pristine exterior, courtesy of centuries of neglect. The fighting and destruction over the past hour had weakened the already unstable structure to the point of collapse.

There was a reason Rainbow Dash only ever performed her Sonic Rainbooms high in the air.  The sheer force of the blast dealt the already weakened walls a hammer blow and the entire structure began to shake. The balconies fell, the window shattered and the walls began to crumble.

Twilight glanced around, desperately seeking an exit. She was equidistant between doorway and window, but either might have been a mile away. And Pinkie Pie’s tail was still twitching.

Then, with a rumbling crash, the ceiling fell in.