How the Tables Turn

Cloudchaser stood outside the shack, staring at the door in deep thought. The entire search team had been there the previous day trying to open it, and none of them had any luck. The door remained firmly shut as ever.

It was clearly magic that had sealed the door shut. That much was obvious. But how were they supposed to open it? Cloudchaser had spoken to Twilight, and she said that there was no way to counter the magic. We simply had to wait it out.

Cloudchaser let out a sigh and stood up. She trotted to the door and opened it, trotting inside the shack to the door that had, for three days, refused to open. The entire search team followed her in, and Cloudchaser took point at the door.

Start simple. She reached up a hoof and turned the knob. The door swung open without a problem, revealing a metal set of stairs reminiscent of a fire escape.

“Okay, seriously? It couldn’t be that simple before?” Cloudchaser took one step over the threshold, and instantly it felt as if she had been hit on the head with a sledgehammer. A booming voice rung out in her head, taking her headache to new levels of pain she didn’t care to describe, not that she could if she tried.

YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS HERE. LEAVE.

As soon as it had come, it was gone - the pain, the voice, everything - leaving Cloudchaser dazed and swaying on her hooves. She collected herself, becoming steady once more, and turned to face the rest of the group.

“Did anypony else hear that?” Her question was met with wide eyes and slow head shakes. Flitter came forward, stepping over the threshold without any trouble.

“Maybe it only works once.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There are clearly defensive spells set up on the area. We should tread carefully if we want to get through them all.” A voice sounded out from the crowd.

“Are you insane?”

“No. We have to do this. For Rainbow, for Kicker, for anypony else that might be down there.”

“We don’t even know if she’s down there!”

“Well, we’ve looked everywhere else! Now let’s go. We don’t have all day.”

Cloudchaser and Flitter turned and continued their downward trot, Cloudchaser in the lead. Five steps were all it took.

Another headache. The same booming voice.

GET OUT!

After that, it was gone. Flitter came to her side.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Cloudchaser looked down the staircase. There were easily a hundred stairs. “This is gonna be a long day.”

They continued down the stairs. No voices pervaded Cloudchaser’s mind for a good forty steps. After about a minute, Cloudchaser felt another headache coming on.

“Heh. At least I have some warning now.”

This time was different. Instead of a headache, it was the last thing Cloudchaser had been expecting. A mist gathered around her as her mind became a haze. The same voice spoke, but in a softer tone.

“For your own good, this is your last warning. Go no further. Do no more harm than you have already done. If you continue, you will regret it. Turn back while you still can.”

The haze was gone, leaving Cloudchaser with a clear mind. “That was… different.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… Let’s go.” By this time, the rest of the search party had caught up, and they all continued on in silence. They were almost at the bottom of the staircase when Cloudchaser found herself in yet another haze.

“You have made your choice. You are persistent. Which means you can only be looking for a friend. I will no longer object; I know a lost cause when I see one. I will even help you now. At the bottom of the stairs you will find yourself in a room with a desk, not all that different from what you were in at the top of the stairs. Leave the room; the door is unguarded. You will find yourself in a dark hallway. Take a left and go straight. Keep going until you find yourself in an incredibly large room with many tables. Chances are, there is somepony there who can assist you further. I wish you luck. You will need it. Because once you are seen, there is no turning back. Here is my final gift to you.”

The voice faded away with the haze, and it left Cloudchaser more alert and focused than it had all day. In fact, this was the most focused Cloudchaser had been in her life. Her mind seemed to run at ten times its normal speed, taking in details and telling her what to make of them as quickly as the light reached her eyes. She reveled in this new focus, which was apparently the gift the voice had spoken of.

“Thank you, disembodied mare voice.”

“Wait, what?”

“She gave me directions and some kind of spell to increase my focus.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Don’t know. Less talking, more finding the girls.”

They moved down the last of the stairs, Cloudchaser taking the lead as normal, and found themselves inside the room the voice had described. Cloudchaser crossed the room and opened the door, and sure enough, outside was a dark hallway with nopony in it. Cloudchaser stepped out and turned to the left. She continued on, with everypony else in her wake.

She went straight, and eventually the hallway brightened substantially, revealing a world of white. Seriously, the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the doors in the hallways, everything was white. They continued forward for a while, going straight when other hallways intersected. Eventually, she began to hear things coming from up ahead. It sounded almost like…

“Is there a battle going on ahead?”

As she spoke, the hallway opened out to reveal a huge cafeteria. Sure enough, ponies on the ground were attacking ponies on a raised stage with throwing knives while pegasi armed with wingblades were attacking the unarmed ponies from the air.

To hell with battles, this was a bloodbath. Ponies on the stage fell to the ground left and right while the ponies on the ground remained untouched. Suddenly, Cloudchaser heard a voice from behind her. A certain voice that had been disembodied a few minutes ago…

“Ah yes, I thought I could feel somepony breaking through my defenses.” As she spoke, the armed unicorns turned around and prepared to attack the newcomers. “Wait. Stop the attack. I have an idea.” The unicorns traded glances of confusion among themselves. “Let’s have a little fun with this, shall we? Intercom.”

Two unicorns casted a spell together that caused the mare’s voice to echo across the room. “Attention, my ponies. It would appear you have new allies. I have decided to give you some time to reassemble. Collect your dead and pay your respects. Take care of your wounded to the best of your abilities. Create an attack plan, incorporate your new arrivals-“ As she spoke, unicorns strode around behind the search team and pushed them towards the stage. “-and you can even take the weapons that rest upon the stage. They are yours. They won’t do you much good anyway. You have one hour.” The mare put on a deadly smile and strode from the room, and the unicorns followed her. One of them turned to Cloudchaser and removed a pair of shades, revealing a pair of blood red eyes underneath. He wore a smile that would sicken Celestia herself.

“So, what do you think of Mistress?” He gave an evil cackle and left them behind, following his leader into the hallway they had just came from.