play this song

Aries charged over to me, but I rolled out of the way just in time to make it run into a wall, making the entire room tremble. I needed to be careful with that, or else the entire room would cave in.

I also needed to remember that there were two of them. I received a reminder when a magical blast hit me in the side knocking me into a wall. I ran around the room around Capricorn, dodging its magical attacks as best as I could, but Aries was also chasing me, making it hard to process what was going on.

Damn it. I was not getting out of here alive.

I took cover behind a boulder and called Luna. She needed to know what was happening here.

“Luna, the Heart Breaker here just activated what look like two golems!” I said.

“Golems?! Those went into disuse over two centuries ago!”

“I didn't even know they were ever in use!” I shouted.

“My student may know something,” Luna said, “Also, Fluttershy knows more about the Heart Breakers than I do. Perhaps there's something there that can help you.”

Fluttershy did know a lot about the Heart Breakers. At least she knew enough to help me deal with White Plague. I thanked Luna and decided to call Fluttershy first. As I called her I ran behind another boulder as the one I was hiding behind was destroyed.

“Octavia! Are you okay?!” Fluttershy asked frantically.

“I'm fine,” I said, “Scared out of my mind, but fine. What do you know about Gemstone?”

“Gemstone of the Heart Breakers? You're fighting her now?”

“More like I'm fighting some of her constructs,” I explained, “She activated two golems here, and they're kicking my ass!”

“Gemstone specializes in crystal magic,” Fluttershy explained, “During the War of 1972, she was conducting research on the magical fields of certain gemstones, and their effects on objects. She and White Plague worked together a lot during the war, as neither one liked getting their hooves dirty.”

How did Fluttershy know so much about them? It was like she was there.

“Crystal magic?” I asked, “Could that be used to reanimate a golem?”

“Oh yes, definitely,” Fluttershy said, “But I'd ask someone who knows more about magical artifacts to know for certain.”

I thanked Fluttershy and quickly moved away as Aries charged at the boulder I was hiding behind. Thankfully I found a small ditch and hid inside there. None of them could get me in there, but I'd have to hurry and end this before the entire cavern caved in on me.

I tuned my Codex to Beatrix's frequency, happy that she picked up so quickly.

“Octavia, Trixie's teacher told her of the situation!” Beatrix said frantically.

“That saves a lot of time. What can you tell me?” I asked her.

“Look at the golems. Do you see gemstones on them?”

“Yeah,” I said quickly getting a peek at them, “They both have red gems on their chest.”

“Okay, good. Obviously those golems are very old. Rubies are used to reanimate golems that have fallen to disuse because their magical field is very hot but loose. It's like magical fire. Because of that those golems will have energy for weeks. Months even, depending on the size.”

“I don't exactly have months, Beatrix,” I said, “I need to kill these things now so I can get to the castle.”

“Ahh, but remember, rubies have a very loose field. They're extremely unstable thus easy to damage with a strong enough weapon. Golems rely solely on their power source, so if you destroy the rubies...”

“I'll render the golems useless. Perfect,” I said, suddenly wondering if I had a weapon that could do enough damage. Sure, I had a plan now, but unless I had something strong enough to break a crystal...

I looked right next to me, and saw another present. I remembered Sprinkles saying that he left weapons for me to use against the Heart Breaker, so I opened the box to see what was inside.

Powder Bombs. That was unexpected.

“Beatrix, I think I found something I can use,” I told Beatrix, telling her about the Powder Bombs.

“You know, that might work,” Beatrix said, “If you hit the rubies the those, they should break after a few times. You're good at moving on your hind legs, right?”

“Ugh... that's going to be a hassle, but yeah, I see why I'd have to do that,” I didn't have extra appendages like pegasus wings, nor did I have telekinesis like a unicorn. I would have to get on my hind legs, use my forelegs to carry and throw the powder bombs at the rubies. It was exhausting, but if I was to get out of here...

I thanked Beatrix for her help and hung up, getting a powder bomb ready. These things were designed to explode right on impact, so I didn't have to spend too much time on my hind legs. I just had to be up long enough to throw the damn things.

I jumped out of the ditch and first ran over to Aries, as it was closer. It stomped the ground preparing to charge at me, but I threw the powder bomb at its chest before it could do anything of the sort. The bomb exploded on the crystal, making Aries fall to the ground as if its power failed it briefly.

I took that as my chance to run over to Capricorn, dodging its magical attacks as it fired continuously at me. I jumped into the air, pulled out another powder bomb and threw it at Capricorn's gem. Just like Aries, it seemed like its power failed it and it fell.

Around that time, Aries stood back up. Okay, now I saw a pattern.

I landed back onto the ground, but Aries charged at me, forcing me to roll to the side. I looked back at Aries as it stomped on the ground preparing to charge again. It looked like Capricorn was about to stand back up too. I had to hit Aries fast before I had to deal with both of them again.

I gathered up all my courage and ran over to Aries, carrying a powder bomb with me. At the same time, Aries charged at me, but I ducked underneath the large beast throwing the powder bomb straight up, causing Aries to run right into it. Its power failed it again, right before Capricorn recovered completely. I was really close to Capricorn, so I threw a powder bomb at Capricorn damaging his gem.

I thought I would have time to breathe, but both golems began charging up energy in their gemstones. I tried to run away, but I was too late. Both of them fired an electric blast right at me. I screamed before I fell to the floor. It took a second, but I was able to force myself up, but so were Aries and Capricorn.

Damn it. Now I had to deal with both of them again.

Aries charged at me, this time faster than last time as I almost didn't dodge it in time. Capricorn started firing magic at me at a faster frequency, thus also leading to more close calls.

I ran through the cavern, completely aware that Aries was tackling all the walls, just missing me. It was like they were becoming careless. Maybe I could use that to my advantage.

I started guiding Aries, careful to avoid Capricorn's blasts. I led Aries to Capricorn, and waited for it to charge. At the last minute, I rolled to the side making Aries hit Capricorn. Both of them fell to the floor, their gems close to each other.

I ran over to them and threw a powder bomb at them, destroying both of their gemstones at the same time.

end song

The golems eyes stopped glowing, and they became lifeless. I heard clapping from somewhere, but I couldn't see who it was.

“Very good, Great Shadow!” Gemstone's voice echoed in the room.

“Where are you, Gemstone!” I called out, “I've got some for you too!”

“Oh, how bold of you! How brazen! You're such a brute, Great Shadow,” Gemstone laughed, “I love it! Mmm... I'm so excited! We'll have our fight later, Great Shadow. I want to see more of that monster inside of you. Until next time, tootles!”

With that, I assumed that Gemstone had left. Her civilian name was Sparkler? I wondered if anyone knew her.

I sat down on the ground to rest, and decided to call Rainbow Dash. I had told myself that I would record my record after leaving the cavern, but that was before I knew a Heart Breaker was waiting for me.

“Octi, are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked me.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” I breathed out, “Could you make a record of the last hour or so?”

“Got the computer open already,” Rainbow Dash said, “Tell me everything.”

I started with my meeting with Twilight, which gave Rainbow Dash a good laugh. It was actually nice to have someone I could talk to about my mission. I had thought it would be boring telling someone everything that happened to me, but Rainbow Dash was so animated and into it, I enjoyed telling her.

“Rainbow Dash, did you know a unicorn named Sparkler?” I asked her after I was done.

“I don't know her personally, but I've seen her,” Rainbow Dash said, “There's this little kid in Ponyville named Dinky, and she sometimes helps her mother Derpy take care of her.”

I wondered if she was referring to the same Derpy I worked with during the War of 1972. She sustained a serious head wound, and suffered from extreme brain damage. If it was the same one, I hoped she was okay.

“Poor kid,” Rainbow Dash continued, “She really liked Sparkler as far as I knew. With her being a changeling... Hey, do you think that...”

“That there ever was a Sparkler?” I finished for Rainbow Dash, who nodded, “Honestly, I don't know. I doubt it though. From what Fluttershy said, the Heart Breakers made their own pony identities. Sparkler was nothing but a construct for the changelings to use as a spy.”

“I wonder if it's really that black and white.”

“Nothing is black and white in war, Dash. Ponies may like to think otherwise, but there are no good guys or bad guys. Everyone is fighting for what they believe in, and to that pony, everyone who stands in their way is the enemy.

“As a soldier, it's up to you to decide how you deal with that. Maybe you're the type that tries to see your opponents as objects, so you don't feel bad for having to take their lives. Or maybe you're a sentimental type, looking at everyone as a living creature and trying to appreciate their struggle.”

“Which one is better?” Rainbow Dash asked me slowly.

“Neither, actually,” I explained, “The ones who train themselves to see their opponents as objects fall into the trap of losing their humanity. However, the ones who retain their humane side often find themselves hesitating to pull the trigger. In the end, a common middle is probably best, but that depends on the individual.”

“So, if there are no good guys or bad guys, what does that say about Braveheart? What was she?”

“They're aren't bad guys in war,” I said darkly, “but monsters exist everywhere.”

With that said, Rainbow Dash and I said our good byes for now. I wondered what her perspective on war was, now that she had a real life soldier telling her the true horrors of it. Did she still want to be a soldier? A Wonderbolt? I'd sit down and talk to her about it when I got the chance.

It didn't take much longer to get out of the catacombs. After maybe another hour of searching, I found myself walking out of a secret wall, entering the castle grounds. It was still nighttime, which was good, but I could tell that the sun would be coming out soon, assuming that Celestia could afford to raise the sun from where she was or Luna had dominion of the sun. I wasn't sure.

I stepped out just enough to get a signal, and called Twilight.

“Octavia, you made it out,” Twilight said, sounding relieved.

“Just barely,” I said, “I ran into another Heart Breaker inside.”

“I'm sorry,” Twilight looked down, “I had heard that the changelings were waiting for you in there, but you had already gotten too far in. I couldn't connect so...”

“It's alright,” I said, though I was curious as to how they even knew I was going to be there.

“Anyway, I found out where Vinyl Scratch is being held,” Twilight said.

“Held? You make it sound like she's a prisoner too,” I said.

“I think she is,” Twilight said, “The guards were saying that they locked her in the Gemini Lab under the castle. There's a way there from the courtyard. Head toward the hall to your left, and then go into the back tower. There's a staircase that will take you to the basement. You'll have to go past the dungeons, but beyond that you'll find the labs.”

“Is anyone being kept in the dungeons?” I asked Twilight, who looked down seriously.

“Up until recently, Princess Celestia was,” Twilight said, “Right now, the only pony I know of who's a prisoner is Cadance.”

“Cadance? As in Mi Amore Cadenza? She's one of the ponies I've been tasked to save,” I explained.

“You're not going to be able to get Cadance out,” Twilight said, “Not until we kill Chrysalis.”

“I get the feeling I'm not going to like what I see when I get there,” I said, more so to myself than to Twilight, “Thanks Twilight. Now stay out of trouble. I don't want to have to save you along with everyone else.”

“I'll be careful,” Twilight said, “Let me know when you've found Vinyl Scratch. We can meet up and figure out how we're going to destroy Metal Gear TALOS.”

“Alright, I'll call you then.”

We hung up, and I made my way to the dungeons. I was glad that I saved a bit of vodka in my flask, because I had a feeling I was going to need a drink before this was all over.

Author's Notes:

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