Determined to break free, Cadance fired her horn again at the barrier. Kühn had brought the fight to them, but with all the thrashing, muffled grunts, and sounds of suffering, mixed with the blood coating the exterior, they had no idea who was winning. Kühn's bleeding head wound only served to create further panic.

That is until Shining felt the modified border of the barrier spell trying to realign itself in a way defensive spells never do.

"I got it!" Shining shouted. "Hit it again, but this time, try hitting it like you were using a disarming spell."

Boom!

The small adjustment made at Shining's request had defeated the shield, causing Kühn to fall forward through the broken barrier. With him, Sword's back hit the mud, freeing him.

Not knowing where the stalemate had laid, Shining noticed too late that their actions had cost Kühn the advantage, as a close-range discharge of magic to the chest ejected Kühn, skidding to a halt far from where he was struck.

Danger was all around them. Cadance could plainly see the bare, bruised chest on Kühn's unconscious body. However, behind them, a yelp from Cerb in pain and a horrifying shriek from Rarity gave rise to a new threat.

The owlbear was up and fighting its way closer to the humans. Becky was having difficulty, but Cadance knew Shining wouldn't let her down. There was also the fact that both sides needed a fresh body to step in, and Shining was rested enough to take on this challenge alone. The fact that Cerb was carrying Fluttershy meant he needed backup.

"Cadance! Go help Cerb!"

Cadance nodded, “Right,” and took off, flying towards the next threat.

Flying over, she overheard Trixie arguing. What the argument was over was of little concern. Same for Big Mac and Seaspray, who were being tended to by Queen Abyssinian and Kelly putting small red and green cylinders in Benny’s shotgun.

Then there was the brawl taking place with the rest. Doubles were bunched in together. Some targeting the royals, others lashing out at the likes of Lumberman and Chris, some focused on keeping up shields in a futile attempt to funnel their foes into a kill zone… or were they simply keeping them at bay?

Beyond them was the real danger. The owlbear, bloody, furious, and looking far more lively than she thought possible.

Sadly, she couldn’t focus on that as a Celestia double teleported in front of her, causing Cadance to rear back. No sooner did she start to redirect herself, a lasso caught the back hoof of the double, ending what was her escape.

At the other end of the lasso, Applejack hollered up with a dire message.

“We're cut off! Fluttershy’s hurt! They need help!”

A blast of aqua-colored magic hit the Celestia double, rendering her left wing and foreleg from the shoulder down to rubble. Damaged, the fleeing double was yanked back to the ground.

Below Cadance, Novo was still in the fight, but stuck in the melee.

“Target the Celestias! One of them is keeping the beast alive!”

Looking back up at the owlbear, it was bound in magic binding chains, pulling Helix through the dirt who tried to reign the beast in. Seven copies of King Abyssinian armed with Kelly’s butcher knife jumped around the beast, trying to draw its attention. Gruff was flying in, back and forth, dodging pop shots from two more Celestia doubles behind the owlbear he couldn’t land a hit on.

She caught sight of Cerb again, shielded by Rarity’s small diamond-reflective barrier, laying Fluttershy down with Ember’s help and Thunder standing guard for them.

“Cadance! Look out!” Luna’s voice rang out from Cadance’s left.

Cadance folded her wings against her and ducked, missing a dive bomb attack from a crystal double of Luna, then Luna herself yelling out the same demand with a little more info.

“The first wave was cannon fodder! We can’t break away from the stronger Echoes! Get to Fluttershy!”

A flash of light brought Starlight under Cadance, raising a shield to block three solid beams projecting from three more Twilights.

“Becky gave up her knife and Chris is getting too tired to fight! We need Cerb!”

Pooling together another spell, Starlight brought Cadance into her bubble shield before it burst out in all directions. The super-charged barrier expanded, knocking every enemy out of the air in its way, giving Starlight only a moment to explain and catch her breath.

“They started swarming us with magic. We can’t fight them off without hitting each other, and the owlbear is too big for Cerb to take on.” She panted, looking desperate. “Two Celestias are blocking our magic attacks while another can heal it.”

Cadance went to open her mouth but was sealed in another bubble shield and blasted off by Starlight towards Cerb as Starlight shouted one last warning.

"Stay on the ground, or they'll shoot you down!"

Starlight instantly teleported away after those final words, avoiding a flurry of beams that would have connected.

Cadance herself was riddled with blasts, taking shots all the way down until she hit the ground, shattering the shield completely.

She quickly put up her own barrier, taking more fire as she ran behind cover with Cerb.

Cerb drew his ax up as soon as he saw her, making her scream as she hit the dirt, covering her head.

"Stop! It's me!"

Taking a moment to confirm the truth, Cerb dropped his ax and went back to pulling Fluttershy's dented helmet off, prompting Cadance to ask the obvious.

"What happened?"

Fluttershy moaned, not opening her eyes, even as Cerb held her as if she had turned to porcelain.

"The dopples,” Fluttershy groaned, her words having a slight slur due to the concussion. “They got stronger the farther we fought. Then the owlbear-oww"

From there, Cerb caressed his hand down the swollen side of her face, glad to see she was alright.

"She tried to use her stare to make the fucker stop, but one of the doubles did something, and it went berserk. It took a swipe at her, and I pulled her back. It got both of us, but Fluttershy… I almost lost you."

Cadance could now see the rip in Cerb’s left sleeve over his bicep. The fabric was shredded, and the skin underneath held a deep abrasion that looked worse than any laceration would have left him with.

"They brought it back to life but didn't give it all its claws back, thank god."

Taking a moment away from keeping watch, Rarity slipped in, softly nuzzling cheek to cheek with Fluttershy.

"You gave me such a fright, dear."

Suddenly, Thunder started to step back, calling out the alarm.

"Two more incoming!"

Thunder dodged quickly to the right, missing a bolt of purple magic, and countered with a heavy swing of her halberd.

Ting!

The Twilight double had locked her horn with the blade of Thunder’s halberd, holding her up long enough for the second double to line up a shot.

Bzzt!

The short burst of the beam hit Thunder's chest plate, knocking her off her hooves and slamming her into the dirt. That also cleared a path for Ember to lean forward and spit a stream of her fire breath to engulf the two Echoes.

Ignoring the heat and Thunder after she was taken down, the two doubles marched through the flames, looking for their targets. Instead, their silhouettes found two spinning blades in the flames, which separated their heads from their necks.

The spinning blades circled back, flying over Thunder who ducked behind cover with them. The blades returned to Rarity, sounding frustrated and distraught, expelling the new complications they'd run into.

"Only Justin, Fluttershy, and I can do any significant damage to these dopples—Echoes." She shook her head slightly over the complications of her own words. "They won't target anypony else not in the way of Justin, but he only negates magic attacks. Just like the owlbear, anything physical will still hurt him, and Justin can’t get close enough to put the brute down."

To that note, Smolder angrily raised her right claw, holding up her talons.

"Don't forget that I can scratch them up pretty good. I'm still good for that. Let me get in there."

Unexpectedly, Fluttershy sat up, grabbed her helmet in her wings, and started to put it back on.

"I'm okay now. Just a little woozy."

She finished putting on her helmet, now a tighter fit from the swelling. Adding to the pain, she looked to Cerb, conflicted, unsure of how to feel about what she was about to say.

"We're out of time, and even without those other Celestias... The owlbear knew what it was doing. It doesn’t care who it hurts. It wants to do more than just eat. It wants to kill and if we don’t do something, who knows how many others it’ll hurt."

Fluttershy didn't say it, but they all understood what had to be done, and even Cerb was hesitant to say yes. At the same time, knowing the kind of moral sacrifice she was making, the danger was too great to keep himself from the fight.

"Whatever we gotta do, now's the time,” Cerb coldly stated without his usual strong determination. “Everyone stay close, protect each other. Me and Rarity will lead the offensive. We take out the owlbear, the rest will be easy."

Ember quickly took point, ready to jump back into action, only for Cerb to pull her back with a stern reminder, putting her next to Cadance.

"You're support. They can hit harder than anything either of you can dish out. Cover the rear with Thunder when we pull Gruff and the King out. These four are too much for any of you. Rarity, you distract him long enough for me to get close. Fluttershy, stay behind me this time."

As Cerb stepped up to take point, Cadance extended her wings to stop Smolder and Thunder from taking their places. Fluttershy was stepping back to join them as Cerb crept further around their hiding rock to assess his next attack, allowing her to secretly confide to those designated as Cerb’s support.

"Look."

Their eyes instinctively followed hers, despite them wanting to shove her aside. However, they froze at what they saw.

Cerb’s hand, holding his ax, trembled. However, it wasn’t from pain or even excitement. No, they could feel it. Cadance, more than the others, recognized what Cerb was fighting.

… he was afraid.

"He knows he can't do this,” Fluttershy whispered, herself stunned by the idea. “We have to help him."

Fearing the worst, Cadance pushed her way up, her horn already glowing.

“I have an idea. Get ready to fight.”

Helix wrestled to hold his chains as the owlbear screeched and extended its talons. In their path, the talons caught King Abyssinia across the chest.

"Gah!"

Bright lights burst from the wounds, and the King burst like a balloon, showering glittering lights around the other copies.

The real King dove in from the beast’s blind side, slashing the creature's foreleg from shoulder to under its knee, sending blood all across the floor.

He followed through the attack, quickly bounding behind two of his copies that split in different directions while the angry beast directed it’s rage at him.

“I’m running out of my Nine Lives, here!”

Helix rolled to avoid another blast at his hooves, ducking behind his ever-shrinking shield. The harsh conditions they had fallen in not escaping him.

“At least you had nine! I can’t even make a single copy!”

A glow behind the owlbear circled round to the front, closing the wound, leaving only the blood behind. Such a familiar sight was growing all the more insulting to watch for Helix.

“And why does he get so many?! This is bullshit!”

A blue beam shot out from the rear, striking the beast in his chest. The owlbear howled again, jolted back, its skin and burning, but the glowing light returned, refreshing the beast who immediately resumed his assault.

Like a living shield, Cerb jumped in front of Cadance, angrily blocking another beam from one of the Celestias.

"Damnit! What are you doing?!" He demanded.

Cadance jumped back, struggling to start another more complicated spell.

"Helping!" She barked, yet never taking her eyes off her enemies. "You said one is healing it, right?"

Rarity brought out her blades, hurling them towards the beast, but again, both found themselves stuck in a shield.

"Yes! We just don't know which-"

"It's the one in the center!" Cadance rudely answered, her horn pointing at the mentioned target. "She's the only one with magic attached to it!"

It was after giving the message that Cadance’s vision started to fade in and out. It was weak and blurry at best, but the source was unmistakable for her.

"I'm not used to detecting this type of magic, but it's not much different than what I saw on the conductor."

Cadance’s answer was heard by the three, causing a stir between them, emotionless and flat as they delivered their responses to one another.

“Their Cadance-”

“She knows of the sight-”

“This changes nothing-”

“But Justin-”

“He’s never been this brave-”

“Or Strong-”

“Nor the others-”

“They are tainted-”

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Three shotgun blasts rang out. One buckshot cracked the shield surrounding the Celestias, making the remaining King Abyssinias dive for cover. A slug followed through, striking the furthest Celestia in the throat, as Thunder picked up the King, forcing her halberd into his free hand from one wing as she pulled the knife out of his paws with her other wing. With the shield weakened, another buckshot broke through, hitting the owlbear just behind its eye.

The owlbear roared and threw itself to the ground. It clawed and snapped its beak around the wound, not knowing the source of injury.

Despite it’s now vulnerable state, the beast was too frantic for Gruff to dive into action, and he skirted back to safety.

The quick turnover of the advantage threw Cadance into action, charging towards the beast.

“Now!”

Ember and Thunder dove to either side of Cadance. Then, in a flash, they teleported behind the beast, each rushing one of the Celestia doubles.

Before Cerb knew what was happening, Fluttershy was back at his side. Hunkered down, glaring at the beast as it rose again, she instigated the change of tactics.

“We’re not standing back and letting you fight this thing alone!”

The owlbear rolled back up, blood still streaming down from the head wound that was only partially healed. Stuck with half a dozen pellets lodged in its skull, it lashed out at a King Abyssinian, digging its claws in before popping it in a puff of glittering lights. By now it’s rage boiling over at being repeatedly tricked, only further aggravated by the intense pain.

Behind Cerb, the other battle raged on. Everyone was fighting over each other. Original pairings folded into each other, Starlight backing Lumberman, Pinkie duking it out alongside Luna, and Chris taking down another double held by Vinyl. Even Rutherford, bloodied and cut up, took a strong defense to allow Benny to fall back.

Another pop of magic behind Cerb caught his attention. A quick turn to his rear showed the bloodied and broken Shining double fading into the pillar of light.

The fight was drawing near to the end, but this owlbear still stood the biggest challenge, and Rarity was right there with Cerb, her blades raised up, ready to give her support.

"Now's our chance! What do we do?!"

Falling back behind his doubles, King Abyssinian stood with Thunder's halberd, unsure what the new plan was.

"My Nine Lives are about to give out. Where do you need me?"

Another of King Abyssinian's doubles flipped through the air to dodge the owlbear. In mid-spin, the owlbear's beak snapped through it, showering the ground with more glittering lights as the double was destroyed.

Another shotgun round blasted off, accompanied with another three rounds of .45 from Becky trying to thin the remaining forces trying to take their flank.

War cries, gun smoke, screams, explosions, blood, and shouting of where the next attack was coming from began to overwhelm Cerb. He held tight to his ax, yet the trembling in his hand only worsened. His eyes searched left and right, unable to process what to focus on.

"We need... Push... Cover forwa- Cover. Cover fire."

Cerb wasn't making any sense or moving. He was leaving them all open like sitting ducks.

"Look out!"

The owlbear rose up, snapping the constructed chains Helix once bound to it. As the chains went down, Helix dove and tucked into a roll to join Cerb's side, quickly erecting a barrier wall to shield them from a slew of pop-shots and the rampaging owlbear.

"I couldn't hold the bindings," he panted. "What's the plan?"

All eyes were on Cerb and his incoherent mumbling. It was as if he were under a spell.

Slap!

A yellow blur crossed Cerb's face with an audible smack, finally snapping him out of his trance.

"I'm sorry!"

For a moment, Cerb thought he had just woken up while sleepwalking, but Fluttershy gripping his collar in her wings to pull him down eye-to-eye dashed that theory.

"Justin, snap out of it! This isn't one of your bad dreams! We need you to lead us! I can’t... "

Her words hung in the air. He knew what she meant, and the throbbing in his arm was a painful reminder. Almost as painful as the sight of her eye swelling shut, knowing the risks he was taking with them.

Another of King Abyssinian’s doubles leaped from behind, stabbing its knife between the creature’s shoulder blades.

It jumped back, rolling onto its back, crushing the double with a spray of sparkles. There was no time between its recovery to its feet before it was on top of the shield again. The raw power it exuded was uncanny. Something Cerb didn’t know how to counter considering the level of durability it displayed even before they knew it was being healed.

Still, he had to do something.

“Helix… Can you make those chains again?”

KABOOM!

An explosion shook the cave, sending smoke and debris in all directions from behind the owlbear. The pitter-patter of stones sprinkled along the ground, carrying Ember’s staff into view, all by itself, setting off a new fear for Cerb.

“EMBER!”

The quick turnover of the advantage threw Cadance into action, charging towards the beast.

“Now!”

Ember, sliding to the left side of Cadance. Then, in a flash, they teleported behind the beast, and Ember rushed the untouched, shielding Celestia double.

She tackled the double into the dirt, rolling and clawing for any limb to hold the copy down with.

Losing her momentum, she couldn’t stop the double from digging her hooves in to take the mounted position.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Ember rocked and swayed her head from side to side, dodging the heavy crystal hooves that crushed the Earth next to her head. Each crash getting closer until her free hand came to catch the last hoof retreating.

“My turn!”

Crack!

Countering with a powerful swing, Ember bashed her staff against the double’s face, riding her over onto her back, and raised her staff again.

She swung down with both arms, the giant ruby of her staff meeting a torrential outpour of alicorn magic. The growing whirling of magic roared like a waterfall crashing up to challenge her physical strength.

“Just… Give up already! I still gotta… Help Justin with that stupid… Bird-Monster!”

The double tried to push Ember off with her forehooves, groaning as she strained her body’s limits against the Dragon Lord.

“You have no right to resist us,” She coldly lectured. “Your barbaric race will know peace under Harmony. You simply need to submit. Only you alone can harbor the future for your hoard.”

Insulted, adrenalin spiked Ember’s resistance, pushing down with increased vigor.

“What if I… Don’t! Want to dooo eeet… a… lone?!”

As if remembering her own past, the reaction of the double to the question was putting more effort behind her attack and an even colder tone.

“You sit alone on your throne, Ember. You don’t have THE HEART FOR IT!”

Dumping the rest of her reserves into her horn, the buildup hit critical, erupting in a violent explosion.

Dust and smoke filled the immediate area where the Celestia double slowly rose to her legs. Creaks and cracks riddled her body as she stood, her wings in shambles, much like her split and fractured forehooves.

The sensation of damage was everywhere. Too widespread to properly mentally process, and so she lowered her gaze to examine herself, her horn tumbling down from her forehead landing in a pile of more broken pieces.

All to herself, the view seemed fitting.

“Poor Ember… What foolish thoughts will Harmony need to rid you of so that you may know happiness in solitude to your-”

SHINK!

A blur of blue and red struck the double in the cheek through the settling dust. The double's point of view was slapped to her left from a blow on the right, leaving three gouges in the wake of the phantom strike.

SHINK!

Another blur of blue and red peaked into her line of sight, cutting across from the left. Ripping up from under her jaw, three more grooves were dug out of her face, leaving a trail of blood dripping from her muzzle. Regaining focus, her eyes settled on Ember standing in front of her.

She was hunched over slightly, favoring her left leg. Her torn and missing scales were left bleeding up and down her body, along with her claws dripping red from the ripped phalanx connective tissue. Slightly trembling, she refused to yield as she stammered closer.

"Don't have the heart?" Ember rhetorically asked, her voice tired and battered. "What'd you expect!"

She took another swipe of her left claws against the double's right cheek, ripping it up and dragging out across her eye.

"Didn't you notice I was a dragon," she mockingly stated, delivering her words with spiteful venom. “Being heartless is what we are. Then again, I’m not just a dragon.”

Two more swipes of her claws dashed against the defenseless Echo. One across her lips and another down her neck that Ember stumbled down to one knee on.

Left panting, Ember realized how much strength she lost from the blast. Her whole body hurt. Her skin ripped open, torn back around her claws… She was a mess, but those words stung worse than her wounds.

"I'm a Dragon Lord."

The Echo bumped against the wall, finding no safety.

Shink!

Ember's claws drove up into the Echo's chest. Digging deeper, she clenched her fist.

Crack!

With a fist full of the crystal, Ember extracted the remains, holding them up in the Echo's one good eye to see.

"Seems you don't have the heart either… but I'll take what I can get."

In a final show of defiance, Ember brought the chunk of crystal to her maw and bit down, crunching a mouthful of what should have been a heart.

The light of the Echo's eyes went dim, her life force fading.

Both collapsed to the dirt.

Ember, now looking pathetically weak, her rage only mildly satiated, turned her back to the wall with the Echo’s neck limply laying over her lap. To be this worn out in the middle of a fight, regardless of how long she’d been dishing out the pain, she found it kind of funny. There was with nowhere she could look and not see combat.

Stuck, she tilted the fading Echo’s head to allow her to watch Cerb in action.

“Heh,” she half-laughed, letting crumbs of her unwilling companion slip out from her lips. “You see that…? I don’t know what human parts were put in us, but that human is more pony than his mares and more dragon than me… Who couldn’t grow a heart for a creature like that?”

Knowing it was over, the Echo sighed awkwardly as she went limp. Almost as if she was only now remembering both how to breathe, if not, then it was from watching Cerb.

Either way, she surrendered to a long-forgotten sadness.

“Such a shame… It’s forbidden… Yet, every Celestia regretted listening to us… Do what you will. This world will fail and fade. Die without regret.”

All the light was gone, and Ember could feel the presence leave the Echo’s lifeless construct. Her victory was complete.

…partially.

“Die without regret? Heh… You first.”

Stuck watching Cerb lead his team, Ember licked her lips clean. A little blood mixed with what was left of her last bite.

"Hmph… You taste good… Just not Justin's hands good."

I slept in, so sorry for the late post.

Anyway, Cadance has been thrown into the mix, and it's getting all the more difficult for everyone. These last Echoes are apparently stronger than the first wave, Ember is now down for the count. Makes you wonder how Thunder and Cadance will hold up in their fight.

Also, just like I had stated before with the first fight with the owlbear, bears are incredibly tough, and taking a round of buckshot to the skull wouldn't put one down.

Guess you'll have to find out in the next installment with: