An Unexpected Rendevous

Author's note: Consider this a... teaser of sorts. The story isn't finished yet, but I've decided to put up the first chapter as a gauge of the sort of interest it would get; lots of appreciation makes for a happier- and faster-working- writer! And while I couldn't guarantee that it would see a speedy conclusion- I've been known to take upwards of year between chapters; free time isn't a commonplace thing for me and doesn't always coincide with inspiration- this is something I have a plan and outline for and would like to see to completion.

Also, I didn't mean to jump into Hindu mythology so thoroughly for the first two snippets, but there's a lot of interesting stories and themes to be found there; I couldn't help myself.

Quick symbiology guide: (-) is a scene change; -C- can be considered an in-chapter break- sort of like a commercial break for television. Feel free to go make a sandwich here, you won't miss anything- I promise!

(-)

“You enter a dangerous area, sir. The jungle can be deadly, even this close to Calcutta.” Ahdrit pulled the oars through the holy waters of the river, eyes half-closed against the summer sun. “And not simply because of the beasts of the wild. They say that remnants of the Reich remain here, seeking treasures to rebuild their empire. Not to mention the Phangisar, laying in wait for enterprising foreigners such as yourself to discover rare treasures before... relieving them of their burdens.”

His passenger nodded slightly, his face hidden in shadows cast by his hat. “I've dealt with the Thuggee before. I'm surprised they're still around.”

“They struggle; the war brought much attention to these parts, and their numbers dwindle. But desperate men do desperate things.”

“Tell me about it.”

The pair were silent until the rowboat reached the bank, exactly where the foreigner had instructed. “Here we are,” Ahdrit said, digging an oar into the mud to steady the boat as his passenger stood. “As agreed, I will return here in two days' time at three o'clock in the afternoon, and I will wait for you for one hour. If you are not here... I cannot return again, sir.”

“That's fine. If I don't come out in two days, I probably won't be coming out at all.” The passenger stepped out onto the riverbed and briefly consulted a map and compass before looking up towards the east.

“Well, then. Be careful out there, Dr. Jones.”

The foreigner glanced back at him and smiled. “Call me Indy,” he said, before vanishing into the treeline.

(-)

Finding the underground ceremonial chambers had been difficult enough; the entrance was cleverly disguised by an optical illusion, broken only by the sun's light during three minutes in the late afternoon. But inside had been numerous dead-ends, traps and hidden chambers, with the way only discernable through age-weathered clues that required a deep understanding of Hinduism to follow. The fact that he had only found four bodies so far- three of whom had obviously succumbed to hunger or thirst, lost in the twists and turns of the chambers, while the fourth had misunderstood a crucial part of the Manusmriti and had paid for it with a neck-snapping plummet down a long shaft- showed that finding the place could have been the most difficult challenge.

But Indiana Jones was not one to get complacent, and as he stepped into a large chamber only dimly lit by a crack in the ceiling that let in the dying sunlight, his first thought was to check for traps. But he'd only taken a couple of steps inside when long-unused torches flared to life around the perimeter of the chamber. He immediately froze, his hand reaching towards the whip coiled at his side- only to have nothing else happen. He took in a deep breath of the dank cavern air and let it out in a soft sigh, scanning the room before him.

The floor was composed of a multitude of black-and-white tiles, each inscribed with a single Old Gujarati word. Above them on what looked to be the western wall was a number of openings with faint stains around them, showing that something liquid had once flowed through, and along the ceiling was a dust-covered but still recognizable mural of Bhageeratha's tapasya. Instantly, Indy's mind connected the dots. “The falling of Ganga to Earth,” he whispered to himself. “Tiles, obviously pressure plates... I guess I have to follow the path of Bhageeratha to please Brahma. But what path to take?”

With the light shed by the torches around the chamber, Indy felt confident enough in dousing his own torch, then gingerly crept down the steps leading to the chamber's floor. He scanned the various words inscribed on the tiles, then chose one at random- labeled “peace”- and pushed against it with the end of his torch.

Three things happened in unison. A soft chime echoed from somewhere behind the walls, the entire chamber seemed to shudder briefly, and a thick, dust-laden spear drove itself into the center of the tile- exactly where Indy would've been standing had he stepped on it.

Indy crouched on the stairs, glancing around to see what had changed. There- one of the torches had gone out, and was the ceiling closer than it had been? It took him a few moments to find the thin grooves in the walls that led all the way down to the floor; it seemed that those who managed to dodge the spears would meet a crushing end instead. “Okay, Indy, think,” he told himself. “How would you follow the path of Bhageeratha? What are the options? Penance, peace, wisdom, air, austerity... wait.” He pressed the torch against the tile marked “air”, and found it completely firm. “Of course,” he said. “Bhageeratha lived on nothing but air for a thousand years to please Brahma. And to follow his path....”

Gingerly, he set his foot down on the chosen tile- and let out another sigh of relief as nothing happened. There was a path to the far side of chamber that he could take, so long as he could keep his balance and his knees could handle short hops. It almost seemed too easy as he treated this ancient shrine as his own personal hopscotch board... until he came to a section about two-thirds of the way across that had no suitable tiles to jump to. The nearest one was six feet away, a jump he could have easily made ten years ago- but his fifty-one-year-old legs were already complaining, and he had to stop for a moment to rest. “Maybe I am getting too old for this,” he sighed, rubbing at his knees. “Could be about time I dedicated myself to the classroom, let younger men do the exciting things. But....” He straightened up again. “Until I can get back to the classroom... here I am. And I've still got something to do.”

The jump wasn't quite as hard as he'd feared, though he did end up wobbling a bit on the landing. As he made his way towards the back of the chamber, he spotted something that had been hidden from his view on the stairs- a tile in reverse colors from all the others on the floor, marked with a simple word in the same writing as all the others: “Enlightenment”. With one last glance around to make sure he wasn't missing some crucial clue, he gingerly set one foot down on this last tile.

A deep shuddering of the entire chamber around him, and a gushing of water from the openings along the western wall, almost made him draw his foot back, but then he saw the rear wall begin to open. Beyond was a small alcove, its walls made entirely of gold, with the entire tale of the Ganges falling to Earth written across them in almost impossibly small writing- but it was what sat in the center of the alcove that caught Indy's attention. A carved-marble stand, as intricately decorated as the rest of the chamber, and above it- floating by some method that Indy couldn't discern- a bright red ruby as large as Indy's fist.

Indy would've given up his whip to be able to get a full archeological crew out here right now, to remove the alcove, take photographs of the mural and tiles, and study just how the trap mechanisms worked. But the so-called “Heart of Bhageeratha” would have to do for now- at least until he got it back to Madrasah-e-Aliah and proved to the professors there that this place actually existed.

But Indy knew above all else that the danger was usually greatest when the prize was within reach, so he set to carefully checking the alcove for traps.

-C-

swoosh-shhhhinnnng

By now, he was far from unfamiliar with machines. True, the details of their inner workings still eluded him, and he would never be any sort of engineer himself- but they did not hold the mystery they once did.

swoosh-clang

They weren't altogether unlike living creatures. Every part, every component had a purpose. And the various fluids they held- fuel, lubricant, so on- weren't far off from a living creature's lifeblood. He had even met entire communities of mechanical creatures, scarcely different from any of the many peoples he had encountered... they had fears and cares and loves all their own.

shhhhhnk-BOOM

And so, it turned out, just as those living creatures that had been spawned or corrupted by his evil adversary carried the taint of his wickedness, so too did the constructs he sent to carry out his whims. Oils of various types stained the warrior's robe and coated his blade, but all of them bore the stench he had come to recognize from that foul demon.

clang-thwack

And so he had come to learn that this new world was at once more complicated and much more simple than what he had been used to. Certainly there were technologies and magics he could never hope to understand, creatures unlike he had ever seen- but the reign of the demon had divided this new world along stark lines of good and evil. The most threatening-looking monster could be a friend, the most bizarre-looking construct an ally, for both could seek only the most righteous goal:

The end of the reign of Aku.

click-whirrrrrr

He spun on his heel as the last of the mechanical beetles clambered into view; its multifaceted eyes seemed to lock on him as it set itself into an attack stance. “Target identified: Samurai Jack,” it droned in its harsh electronic voice. “Mission: Terminate with extreme prejudice.”

Like all of its compatriots, the drone attacked mindlessly- and met the same end at Jack's blade. The half-destroyed metal husk stumbled away a few steps before exploding, showering the area with shrapnel and flames, but Jack was already moving on, sheathing his sword even as he ran, his geta clomping along the stone and dirt flooring. He could only spare a moment to mourn the poor state of these ruins; so much history still remained of a once-proud country, a mighty power in its own time before the coming of Aku. It reminded him far too much of his own home for comfort, though, so he let the thought drop as he brought his attention back to the present.

He ducked between walls of earthen brick and hid beneath a crumbling dome as more of the beetle drones soared overhead, obviously searching for him. Once the aerial patrol had passed, he dashed across what might have once been a parade field, leaving clouds of dust in his wake as he sought refuge in an underground passage. Faint signs carved into the walls gave him a direction to head in- if what he was searching for was really here at all as he'd been told, it would be in the northern district, near or even within the Buddhist temple.

Dusk fell, painting the city stark colors as the shadows lengthened across the desolate roads. Jack didn't dare light a torch for fear of attracting attention from the robots which still tirelessly searched for him, so he depended on his keen eyes to help him keep clear of obstacles. The sun had already set and the full moon was just cresting the horizon when he finally happened upon his goal- the remains of the temple, now barely standing at all aside from a handful of walls and a few stupas.

The fact that Aku's shock troops had left the place standing at all, rather than razing it in their search for the very same artifact he was, was rather surprising. Of course, even someone such as Aku could recognize that simply trashing the place would run the risk of destroying the very thing he sought... all the better for Jack to use his superior knowledge and patience to snaffle that very item for himself. And so he made his way to the largest of the stupas, carefully went to its rear, and searched for the customary inscriptions. There! Barely legible due to age and erosion, but there were the five symbols of the purified elements, and Jack gently placed his finger against each of them in turn and pushed. “Earth, water, fire, air, space,” he whispered gently as each symbol sank just slightly into the surface of the stupa.

As his finger tapped the fifth symbol, a small piece of the stupa seemed to pull away from him and then shift to the side, revealing to Jack a thin tunnel leading directly downwards with a series of handholds carved into the far side.

Wordlessly, and with no small amount of haste, Jack lowered himself into the passageway.

(-)

Jack knew that it was customary to place small treasures in places like this as offerings. But the particular treasure he was after had been left all alone in this nearly-cave-sized treasury, as if stowed away in a hurry... perhaps hidden from an invading force? Whatever had happened, this “Eye of Redemption” had apparently not been moved from the spot ever since- but oddly, though the plain stone floor beneath it was covered in dust, the large red gem itself floated placidly above, as clean as if it had just been polished.

Warily, Jack drew his sword and held its blade near the object; usually, if some foul magic was at play, either his sword would react to it, or vice-versa. But neither weapon nor gem reacted in any way with each other. “Still, one must be cautious,” Jack mused to himself as he sheathed his sword. “Something does not have to be evil to be harmful....”

-C-

“Y'know, I'm not at all against helpin' ya out when ya need it. But this is a mite strange, if ya don't mind me sayin'.”

“I don't mind you saying it, because I happen to agree. It is strange. That's why I want to hurry- whatever's going on could be getting worse by the minute.”

A flock of wild birds scattered from their perches, their scattered chirps and caws echoing through the forest. Six shapes moved through the thick stand of trees, casting bizarre shadows across the tall grasses. “Yeah, you didn't tell us just what you needed us out here for- just that you needed us to come out here in a hurry.”

“Well, I sure don't mind! I always love going on field trips! And getting teleported is fun! Woooooosh!”

“Indeed. I will admit to some exhilaration at the whirlwind pace we're setting, dear, but still- forewarned is forearmed!”

“Just... just so long as dragons aren't involved....”

The leader of the group chuckled softly. “No, no dragons... at least I hope. All I know is that there was an exploration group near this area of the forest examining a previously-unknown tower of some kind, and then suddenly there was an explosion of magical power and some strange sounds that scared the group off. We've been asked to investigate.”

The woods were getting darker despite the afternoon sun; the thick canopy above blocked a good deal of the day's light, and what made it through was filtered into a murky mess. But this was no problem for Princess Celestia's star pupil, and with a moment of concentration, a bright magical light burst forth from Twilight Sparkle's horn, chasing away many of the shadows around her and her friends. “There, that's better,” she declared, glancing around to get her bearings. “We should be close... Dash, take a quick look above the treeline and see if you can spot the tower.”

“Will do!” Rainbow Dash immediately launched herself into the air and soared through the thick branches above, disappearing from sight; within half a minute, she was descending again. “Got it,” she declared, skidding to a halt and pointing towards the south with a hoof. “Half a mile that way. There's a clearing around it, we can't miss it.”

“Great. Come on, girls.” It was a quick march through some exceptionally thick brush before the group finally found its way into the clearing; at the center of it was a crumbling stone tower, barely three stories high- though the amount of rubble around it suggested that it had once been quite a bit taller. “Wow, that looks old,” Dash commented.

“Very old.” Applejack nodded in agreement. “How long y'think it's been here, Twi?”

“It's hard to say... there's not much ornamentation left, but the weathering of the stone and the advanced state of disrepair says... well, 'very old'.” Twilight shrugged. “We'll have to look inside for a better idea of who built it, and when.”

“You mean we have to crawl around inside a dark, scary, abandoned tower that might not actually be abandoned and instead have terrible monsters waiting to gobble us up?” Fluttershy seemed to shrink in on herself, shivering in fear.

“I really doubt we'll find anything more threatening than some wild animals denning inside.” Twilight smiled reassuringly. “And that's where you come in! You can tell them that we're not there to harm them, just to see what caused that magical reaction.”

“Oh. Um... okay, I guess.” That was enough to get Fluttershy walking again, though she didn't look any less nervous.

Anything that might have been useful in identifying the tower had been either destroyed by exposure or removed by the exploration group before they'd been scared off. But Twilight could sense some residual magic of a type she'd never encountered before, and a trail of it seemed to lead... below her? There were no doors or stairs she could see. “Applejack, I think there's some way to go lower. Check for some sort of secret passage or trap door.”

“You got it.” The earth pony closed her eyes and carefully walked across the stone floor, seeming to measure every step. “Okay, think I got somethin',” she said after a few minutes. “Right 'bout here feels hollow underneath. Maybe a trap door or secret staircase.”

“Spread out, girls. See if there's a secret switch.” The group prepared for a long, thorough search for a trigger mechanism- only to have Rarity let out a victorious cry. “I do believe I have it!” she called out, reaching up with a hoof to pull at a candleholder on a nearby wall. With a deep rumble, part of the floor receded, revealing a dark stairway leading deep benath the tower. “How'd you find that so fast?” Dash asked her.

“Well, obviously that holder did NOT go with the style of this tower,” the fashonista huffed.

“Uh... right. Well done, Rarity!” Twilight re-lit her horn and started down the steps, with her friends close behind.

(-)

“Wow. So how far underground are we now?”

Applejack turned to look at Rainbow Dash, who was obviously discomfited being in a place where flight was worthless. “Prolly half a mile down by now,” she answered. “Feelin' a mite uncomfortable, Dash?”

“Look, I like open skies, alright?” Dash shuddered. “Not too big on having so much dirt between me and them.”

“Yeah, well, don't you worry none. These walls are still nice an' solid. Chances of them comin' down on our heads are pretty slim.”

“ 'Slim' isn't close enough to 'none' for me.” Still, the cyan pegasus gamely kept up with the others despite her reservations. “But how much further down do we have to go?”

“Not far, I don't think. Feels like we're gettin' near bottom.” And AJ's prediction was completely right- within the minute, the staircase ended and led the ponies out into a wide chamber, dusty with disuse, and as dank and dark as any cave they'd ever been in. Rarity's head shot up. “Odd....” she said quietly. “Something has my gem-finding sense tingling.”

“And something has my magical senses squirming,” Twilight added. “Like... I'm not sure. A ward spell of some kind that was disrupted?”

“What... what does that mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Some magicians use ward spells to protect things. It keeps intruders out, sort of like a magical wall. But I don't think this place has seen a living thing in hundreds, maybe even thousands of years....” Twlight scratched at the thick dust on the ground with a hoof. “If a ward spell powerful enough to last that long finally broke apart, then the energetic backlash would've been considerable!”

Dash tilted her head in confusion. “The what now?”

“Um... big magical boom.”

“Well, why didn't you just say that?”

“Never mind that. The bigger question is... what was so important that somepony put up a ward spell that powerful?”

“Apparently... that.” Rarity gestured towards a small item that seemed to float in the air at the far end of the chamber. As Twilight approached, the light from her horn revealed it to be a large red gem, completely untouched by the dust that covered everything else. “Rarity, can you tell anything about it?” she asked.

“I'm... not sure.” The white unicorn squinted in concentration. “It appears to be a ruby, superficially, but something about it is utterly different from any gem I've ever seen before.”

Applejack gave her a look. “Y'mean aside from it floatin' there?”

“She's right, though,” Twilight said. “There's some kind of magic at work here, but... of a kind I've never seen before.”

“So... what do we do?” Fluttershy asked. “I don't want to be down here any longer than we have to.” She glanced over at Dash, who nodded in agreement. “I'm with you on that,” Dash muttered.

“You pegasi get all worked up 'bout being underground!” Applejack laughed. “Look, this place is more stable than... than, well, a stable! Y'all don't need to-”

She was interrupted by a sudden rumble and a sprinkling of dust from the chamber's roof.

“...awwww, horseapples,” she drawled.

-C-

As far as Indy could tell, there were absolutely no traps rigged to go off on the stand. But as far as he could tell, there also was absolutely nothing holding up the gem as well- no hidden wires, no high-pressure jet of air, no magnets. It simply hung there, blithely ignoring gravity. He was no stranger to weird powers doing things more superstitious men would call magic... but something just didn't seem quite right about this.

“But if something bad were meant to happen, why would the alcove open once I followed the path to enlightenment?” he wondered out loud. “Come on, Indy... are you going to let your last adventure end with you leaving empty-handed?”

After a moment more to steel himself, he reached out with one hand to take hold of the Heart of Bhageeratha.

(-)

All of Jack's senses and his years of knowledge told him that there were no traps around the gem, and it seemed incredibly unlikely that such a simple treasury would be rigged with any, or that monks would store a dangerous object within it. Yet something made him hesitate as he watched the gem simply sit there in midair. He had an aversion to magical things- his sword excepted, of course- because they had a tendency to be hazardous in ways even their creators didn't expect.

But then dull thuds above his head- followed by the unmistakable sound of drilling- made the decision for him. Aku's minions had pinned down his location and were going to take the treasure for themselves- and him with it, if they could manage.

With one hand, he drew the sword from its sheath, as his other reached out to seize the Eye of Redemption.

(-)

“Uh-oh.” Twilight stared up at the ceiling. “The warding spell might have been the only thing keeping this chamber from collapsing. Without it....”

“Without it about half a mile of dirt is gonna come crashing down on our heads!” Dash exclaimed, her eyes going wide with panic as thin cracks began to form in the roof of the chamber.

“Right! Gather up, girls, I'm gonna teleport us out of here.”

“But, Twilight!” Fluttershy glanced at the floating ruby. “What about the gem? Do we leave it here, or take it?”

The unicorn considered. The thing itself could be dangerous, and removing it from this place more so... but if it had some kind of harmful property that the ward had been blocking, and that property wasn't blocked by half a mile of solid earth, then there was absolutely no way anyone would be able to get to it. But if-

“Twi!” Applejack's panicked yell broke her out of her contemplation, and she made a gut-level decision. “Grab it!” she told Dash, who immediately leapt for the gem.

(-)

“Got ya,” Indiana Jones said, placing his hand on the ruby.

“Now I have it,” Jack murmured, cupping the ruby in his palm.

“I got it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, both front hooves grabbing the ruby.

One gem, having rested in three separate places for thousands of years, was moved. In one of those places, a powerful teleportation spell embraced the gem- and spilled through to the other two.

Reality bent in ways it was never meant to, and hiccuped.

(-)

“Ugh, my head.”

Somehow, Indy's hat had managed to stay on through him apparently falling flat on his face. He slowly pulled himself up into a crouch and rubbed the back of his head, wondering what had happened- all he could remember was taking hold of the Heart, then a blinding purple-white flash and a sensation of falling... and then this place.

And what was this place? All he could see around himself was a cul-de-sac of dark rock, with veins of some luminescent orange jewels running through them, providing enough light to see fairly comfortably. A tunnel, narrow but large enough to walk through, seemed to be his only exit. There was no sign of the chamber he'd been in, the alcove, or the Heart of Bhageeratha.

As he stood, he did a quick inventory check. Hat- present, whip- present, gun- present, gem- missing, skin- intact. Everything in his pockets was intact as well, including his father's old lighter, left to him when Henry Jones Sr. had passed along. He made sure the snap of his holster was undone in case he ran into anything hostile, and headed down the tunnel.

Unfortunately, his reflexes weren't quite what they used to be, which was how he got caught flat-footed at an intersection of tunnels when a sword was suddenly pointed at his throat. “Halt!” a voice commanded. “Who are you, and where is this place?”

“Whoa, whoa.” Indy raised his hands. “Take it easy. The name's Indy, and I don't know where this place is or who you are.”

The blade wavered, then pulled away. A moment later, a tall man in a white robe stepped into view, sliding the katana into its sheath at his side. “Forgive me,” he said, bowing. “I overreacted.”

“Yeah, well....” Indy shrugged, lowering his hands. “I guess you don't know where this place is either?”

“I have no idea.” The tall man looked around for a moment, and Indy took the opportunity to give him a closer look. “Okay, since I've told you who I am... who are you, and why are you dressed like a samurai from 14th-century feudal Japan?”

“That... is because that is where I am from.” The samurai extended a hand. “They call me Jack.”

Indy was torn between shaking his hand and backing away from him. Obviously this man was crazy, claiming to be from a period six hundred years in the past. But before he could decide how to react, a voice echoed from down a further tunnel. “I'm sure I heard someone talking down here!”

The two men exchanged a glance. “Quickly, hide!” Jack commanded in a hushed tone.

Indy was seldom one to take orders, especially from strangers, but it certainly seemed like a good idea. He placed himself behind one side of the tunnel he'd come out from, out of view of where the source of this new voice seemed to be coming from, and Jack similarly took position in a different tunnel. Some sort of noise seemed to echo from the third tunnel... hoofbeats? The tunnels were barely high enough for either him or Jack; who could have fit horses in here?

As the sounds came closer, more voices spoke.

“You know, I'm spending way too much time underground lately for comfort.”

“Aww, Dashie! Spelunking is fun! Sometimes you find way cool caves and lava and weird plants and strange creatures that blow up when you get too close and-”

“...Pinkie, what the hay are you talking about?”

“Girls, quiet down! If there's someone else down here, they're sure to hear us-”

They were obviously women's voices, and young-ish ones at that. Despite his caution, Indy just had to have a look at what was going on; he risked a peek around the tunnel wall- and came face-to-face with a pony. A purple-colored, multicolor-maned, unicorn pony with enormous eyes, who was staring at him with a recognizable look of shock. They stood there for a little more than five seconds, too surprised to speak... and then, as one, they yelled.

“AHHHHHH!”

Indy stumbled back, tripping over a raised rock and ending up on his backside. The pony similarly fell backwards, crashing into another pony directly behind it, causing a cry of alarm. “Twi! What is it?!”

Another cry of alarm came from further down the tunnel, where Jack had been hiding. “Ahhhhhh! Monster!”

There was a moment of general panic and flailing about before a deep, commanding voice called out, “Enough!” Jack stepped into the intersection, his hands out at his sides in a supplicating gesture. “Please, calm down,” he said in a much lower voice. “It seems we have all caught each other by surprise.”

“You ain't kiddin',” came a laconic drawl from somewhere within the pile of ponies- six, now, Indy could see, all of them about chest-high at the top of their head. Only none of them looked anything like normal ponies; their faces were far more expressive, two of them bore wings while another pair had unicorn-like horns, and every single one of them had a combination of colors in coat and mane unlike any horse he'd ever seen. And it seemed at least some of them could talk.

Indy managed to tear his gaze away from the creatures to look up at Jack, who seemed to be taking this a lot better; his expression was one more of confusion than shock. He glanced between Indy and the pile of ponies, placing his hands behind his back. “Perhaps we should all talk,” he offered.

The purple unicorn stuck its head out from under its compatriots. “Yes, that would be an excellent idea.”

What Lurks Underhoof

“So, yer tellin' us... this 'Aku' feller, t'keep you from puttin' him down in the past, threw ya into the future? An' then took over the world while you were gone?” Applejack pulled her hat off and scratched at the back of her head. “Now, ordinarily I'd be callin' this the tallest tale what I ever heard... but seein' as how I'm talkin' to two creatures I ain't never seen before, in a place what none of us ain't never been, I think I'm a mite more inclined to believe.”

“I'll have to admit to being a bit more incredulous,” Indy countered. “Because I've studied a lot about ancient Japan, and I'm pretty sure 'evil demon taking over the world' would've been mentioned somewhere.”

“But Dr. Jones, think about it. It's entirely possible that you and Jack are from divergent timelines.” Twilight sketched out a line in the dirt, while Dash rolled her eyes and muttered “Here she goes again”. “Look. Let's say this is Jack's time-” one notch was scratched near the beginning of the main line- “and this is yours.” Another notch, towards the end. “If Aku changed history by sending Jack away-” now a second long line leading away from Jack's notch- “then that could create an entirely different dimensional instance from the one you know.”

Jack leaned over to where Rarity was resting. “Excuse me... but do you understand any of what she says?” he asked her.

She gave him a smile and shook her head. “Not when she's entered full lecture mode, my dear. But she is wise and knows what she's talking about, even if the rest of us don't.”

Indy seemed to be following well enough, though. “Divergent timelines manifest as completely separate dimensions? You're going a lot further into metaphysical realms than most scientists I've met were ever comfortable with.”

“It's barely more than theory where I'm from as well, Dr. Jones. It's-”

“Uh, look... call me Indy. 'Dr. Jones' is what my students call me, and it makes me feel a bit old.”

She chuckled at that. “Okay, Indy. But right now the divergence theory is the only one I can think of that fits. Jack's future is very different from your present, and neither of you has seen anything like the six of us. The only plausible explanation I can imagine for all of us even sitting here is some sort of cross-dimensional occlusion event.”

“Oh, wow!” Pinkie piped up. “I think this calls for a cross-dement... uh, a crust-accusion... a meeting-new-people-from-other-universes party!”

“Pinkie, this is not the time for a party,” Dash told her. “All of us ended up in this strange place Celestia-knows-how, and we don't even know where it is or how to get home.”

“Not to be interruptin', but....” Applejack glanced between Twilight and Indy. “What the hay is a... a... them words you said, Twilight?”

“Rainbow Dash, Jack and Indy each touched a floating red gem just before we ended up here. In addition, I cast a teleportation spell just as Dash was grabbing our gem. Somehow, they must have been connected... and the teleportation spell affected the other two, drawing us all in.”

“And then all of us ended up here.” Jack folded his hands together. “Which begs another question, which Rainbow Dash alluded to: Where is here?”

“I'm afraid I have no answer to that. A couple of theories, maybe, but I'd need to see more of this place.”

“We probably wouldn't want to sit and wait too long,” Fluttershy added, nervously glancing around. “I mean... if Mr. Jack came from one tunnel, and Dr. Jones came from another, and we came from the third... what's down the fourth?” She gave the last tunnel a worried look.

“That is a good question.” Indy nodded. “Possibly hostile territory with no knowledge of what it may contain... not the best conditions.”

“Then I guess we should move,” Twilight said, getting to her hooves. “Applejack? Pinkie Pie? Any idea on the terrain?”

Applejack sighed. “Wish I could tell ya, Twi. This place just ain't any sort of natural. I got no connection with the earth here. What 'bout you, Pinkie?”

“This place feels....” The pink pony frowned. “...un-fun.”

“I'm afraid I'm similarly baffled by these glowing gems,” Rarity offered with a frown of her own. “They do not radiate by magic, that is all I can say for certain.”

“So we enter into the situation blindly.” Jack stood. “Caution is the order of the day. I shall take the fore; Indy, Twilight, I ask that you cover my blind side. Also, Twilight, as I am uncertain of your friends' strengths, perhaps you should advise me on how best to utilize them.”

“Heh. You certainly don't seem to have the same problem with me,” Indy countered gruffly.

“I do not. I had already judged you as both a competent warrior and man of wisdom; your tale of your history has only proven so. If you wish to lead....”

Indy blinked in shock for a moment, surprised at both the compliment and the offer, then shook his head. “No. You've got a good handle on the situation so far, and leaving the leading to you means I can worry about the details.”

“Very well then.” With that, the samurai turned towards the last tunnel, followed closely by Indy and then Twilight, who was giving the two humans a brief run-down on what her friends were capable of. Behind them, the other five ponies had already sorted themselves out into a loose squad; Dash sidled up to Rarity. “So whaddya think of those two guys?” she asked quietly, tilting her head towards the humans.

“What is there to think? They are as lost and confused as we are. With good reason, I would say.”

“No, I mean... they look pretty weird, don't they?”

“We probably look just as strange to them,” Fluttershy answered.

Pinkie Pie was not one to be left out of a conversation. “I dunno, I think they look kinda neat, walking around on two legs. And those strange forehooves! They kinda look like Spike's claws, but kinda not, and-”

“Would ya'll pipe down?” Applejack dropped back a bit in their formation. “Could be anythin' up ahead listenin'.” She glanced ahead, then added, “'Sides, it ain't polite to talk 'bout folks behind their flanks.”

“Come on, AJ,” Dash pressed her. “You can't tell me you don't think they're kinda weird.”

“That don't matter right now, don't you reckon? All I know is, they're decent folks caught up in the same strange mess we are. I'd rather have 'em than not.”

Dash looked away for a moment, considering, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess you're right.”

They walked along in silence for a few minutes, through a tunnel that twisted and turned but didn't seem to change much in size, until they finally emerged into a fairly large cave only dimly lit by the orange crystals. Three more tunnels branched off from the far end, each one leading off into a different direction. “Well, at least here we have a defensible position if we run into something nasty,” Indy said.

“Agreed.” Jack nodded. “With another fallback route- the tunnels we have just emerged from.”

“Two chokepoints where anything that can fit through won't be too large to handle,” Twilight finished. “Okay, I guess things are starting to look up, finally.”

“Yeah, I'll go along with that when I can look up and see something else besides rock,” Dash grumbled.

By vote, they chose to head through the rightmost tunnel first. This tunnel was a far bit shorter than the last, but it led to a much stranger place- what seemed to be a flat, rocky plain, with orange-crystal formations jutting upwards to provide light. What was even more disturbing was the fact that there was absolutely nothing above them aside from what looked like a black, featureless void. Dash wobbled on her hooves as she stared upwards. “I take back what I said before,” she groaned.

“Maybe... maybe it's just a really high cave ceiling,” Twilight said, though she didn't really believe that herself. “Dash, we need you to have a good look from up there.”

“Ugh... yeah, okay, I'm on it.” Despite her objections, the pegasus was quick to spread her wings and soar into the air, disappearing into the gloom quickly. The others had formed a sort of defensive circle around the tunnel exit when she returned, only a couple of minutes later. “Okay, this place is one hundred percent, grade-A weird,” she declared, with a haunted look on her face.

“What is it?” Jack questioned her. “What did you see?”

“Okay. First of all, I could only get about two hundred feet off the ground before I hit... something. I dunno. It felt like the air got thicker, you know? There's, like, about twenty-five feet between plain air and feeling like I was trying to fly through tightly-packed cotton. I couldn't get any higher than that.” She shuddered, shaking her wings. “Second, this place is some kind of weird floating island. I'd say... maybe seven hundred feet across, thirty feet thick. I didn't want to risk going below it to see more. But what's weirdest of all about it is that... it's kinda... growing.”

“Growin'?” Applejack tilted her head. “Whaddaya mean, growin'?”

“I mean the island is getting bigger! I took a close look at one of the edges, and it's- it's expanding, somehow. Like a sponge soaking up water. This rock is literally forming out of nothing.”

Jack frowned. “What manner of place is this?!”

“I don't know, but I like it less every second we're here.” Twilight took a quick look around. “Did you notice anything else while you were up there, Dash?”

“No, but as dark as it is, there's no telling what I could've missed.”

Indy tugged at his hat reflexively. “Then we'll have to check on-foot. Split up or stay together?”

“I definitely think we should stay together,” Fluttershy half-whispered.

“No, no, splitting up would be best,” Rarity countered. “At the distances Dash stated, we would be within shouting distance if something were to happen. I do not wish to spend a single moment here unnecessarily!”

“She is right.” Jack raised a hand, pointing towards the left side of the plains, then the right. “Two groups of four should be sufficient. Twilight, suggestions?”

“On how to split up? Uh....” She thought for a moment. “Jack, you and Indy should lead. You guys obviously have more experience in moving through hostile territory. Fluttershy, Applejack- you're with me following Jack. Dash, Pinkie, Rarity- you're with Indy.” She looked up at the humans. “If, uh, that's okay with you guys,” she amended, suddenly self-conscious.

The two men glanced at each other for a moment, then chuckled. “Works fine for me,” Indy said, as Jack nodded in agreement. “Stay about fifty feet from the edge and work your way around it. If we don't find anything important when we meet at the far end, we'll check the middle together.”

“Agreed.” Jack gathered up his group. “And if you see any sign of trouble, call out.”

The two groups quickly disappeared from each others' sight. Indy picked his way across the rocky ground, hearing the three ponies keeping pace behind him, and he briefly wondered just what unlucky stars had shined down on this particular adventure. “Can only imagine what Dad would make of this,” he murmured under his breath.

The group had made it perhaps four hundred feet along the side of the island when Rarity stumbled. “Oof!” she cried out, just barely keeping herself from hitting the rock face-first. “What on Equestria did I just... oh. Oh my! Indy! Indy, look at this!!”

He spun on his heel to see Rarity staring down at an object sticking out of the ground. He knelt down to give it a closer look, finding it to be what looked like a blackened skeletal hand reaching out from solid rock. “How did this-” he began.

As if triggered by his voice, the hand practically erupted from the rock, sending shards flying up as it grabbed at Indy's throat. He fell back, kicking at it reflexively and sending the strange, bony arm it was attached to skittering across the ground. “What in the hell is that thing...?” he gasped.

Behind him, Pinkie was backing away slowly from a shape pulling itself up from the ground. “Uh... Indy?” she squeaked, eyes wide, tripping over her own hooves and landing on her rump. “Indy?! Indy- Rarity- Dashie- anypony...?!”

Indy looked her way, and saw something impossible- what seemed to be a desiccated corpse, dressed in a ragged Wehrmacht uniform, literally staggering up out of the rock. It leveled something long and metallic towards the fear-frozen pink pony.

Before he knew what he was doing, Indy was already back on his feet, throwing himself at the equine and tackling her behind an outcropping.

Tak-tak-tak-tak

The unmistakable report of an StG44 echoed across the rocks, and bullets blasted chunks of stone up from the ground. Indy ducked his head, holding Pinkie down with one hand while drawing his M1911 semi-auto with the other; when the firing stopped for a moment, he aimed the handgun around the edge of the outcropping and popped off three shots in the thing's direction. He waited for more fire, or for whatever the creature was to advance- but after ten seconds of silence, he risked a glance, finding that at least one of his shots had gotten lucky and brought the thing down. “Stay here,” he told Pinkie, who was too shocked to do anything but comply.

A quick examination of the body showed that one of his bullets had struck the corpse just above the left eye, shattering a fair amount of the skull. But this was no flesh-and-blood living thing, or even something that had once been so; the body seemed made out of the very same rock as the island he stood on, the skull was empty, the eyes seemed made of rough ebony, and the clothing was some sort of coarse fabric that was stiff to the touch. The rifle it had dropped, though, was exactly the same as he would have expected, and in remarkably good condition as well. He was in the process of pulling three reserve magazines out of the corpse's pouches when Rarity and Dash ran up. “What was that racket?!” Dash demanded. “And where's Pinkie?!”

“I'm... I'm over here, guys.” Pinkie Pie half-stumbled out from where Indy had left her. “It... that... what was that thing, Indy? And what made that terrible noise?”

“I guess you guys haven't seen guns before.” Indy loaded a fresh magazine into the rifle. “The only thing you need to know about them is that they're very dangerous. You see one pointed at you, get behind cover.”

“He... he's not kidding.” Pinkie glanced at the holes in the solid rock just past where she'd been standing. “Indy, if you hadn't tackled me, I....”

She was interrupted by loud foot- and hoofsteps rushing towards them; Jack seemed to materialize out of the darkness, followed closely by the other three ponies. “We heard weapons fire,” Jack declared, sword in hand as he scanned the area for threats. “What happened?”

“Things coming out of the damn ground is what happened.” Indy pointed towards the prone body. “Things that are armed and wearing uniforms I'd hoped I'd never see again.”

Jack knelt down and examined the corpse. “What manner of creature is this? It looks human, but appears made of stone. And it was armed?”

“With this.” Indy patted the rifle he'd slung over his shoulder. “Looking like it just came off the assembly line.”

“Blast. If these creatures can simply erupt from the ground ready to attack, how can we possibly be safe?”

“No-no-no-no!” Pinkie had recovered some of her lost energy, though clearly not all of it. “My Pinkie Sense went all kinds of twitchy-twitch just before it appeared! But in a way I've never felt before.”

Jack shot Twilight a questioning glance. “'Pinkie Sense'?”

“It's... complicated.” The unicorn shook her head. “But it's been proven to be reliable.”

“Hold on a minute,” Applejack broke in. “I remember feelin' somethin' weird just before we heard all that noise. Thought it was jes' my 'magination, but... maybe us earth ponies can feel when those things are 'bout to pop up?”

“I'd feel a lot better with some kind of early warning on those things.” Indy stood. “Twilight, Jack... options?”

Jack rubbed his chin. “Only two. Stay here and continue to search, or retreat and explore one of the other two tunnels.” The unspoken corollary: Running and hiding was not an option.

“With no guarantee that either one is any safer than here.” Twilight sighed. “I guess our best bet would be to stay here, at least until we're sure there's nothing we can use.”

Once more, they broke into two teams, but this time staying closer together- and with Pinkie staying very close to Indy, who had the assault rifle in a ready-to-fire position. Less than two hundred feet away, Jack's group picked its way across the rock-strewn ground. “Um... Mr. Jack?” Fluttershy said quietly. “Should... should I be flying? To scout?”

“No. I believe it too much a risk that you would be spotted by something before you could see it, and since these creatures have guns... I would be helpless to protect you.”

“Oh. Um... okay.” She frowned, eyes downcast; Applejack picked up on her expression and moved a little closer. “What's wrong, sugarcube?” she asked.

“It... it's noth-” The cowpony's stern look made the pegasus bite back the blatant untruth. “I... Applejack, I'm scared. I'm scared and I feel useless and I want to do something.”

Jack had apparently heard, because at the next moment he was kneeling down next to Fluttershy. “Your fear is justified, little one,” he told her with a gentle smile. “I am also afraid. But we must all be brave so that we can escape this place. And none of us here is useless- you are my eyes and ears for where I cannot see or hear. If we-”

“Uh, beggin' yer pardon, Jack, but... I think we're 'bout to have company.” Applejack pointed in the direction where she was feeling a truly awful type of disturbance in the rock. “Thataway. I think we got three, mebbe four.”

“Remain here. Twilight, guard the right side. I will approach them from our left.” The samurai drew his sword and broke into a run, disappearing around an outcropping. A few moments later, there was a soft rumble, and four shapes broke free from the ground; as one, they clambered to their feet-

-and then a flash of white and grey burst into view. Not stopping, hardly even slowing, Jack dashed between the figures, his katana cutting each one neatly in half with a single swing. The fourth one had just begun to get its weapon up before the blade swept upwards, taking off its arms at the elbows, then swung around to behead it.

“...sweet Celestia, I ain't never seen nopony move like that,” Applejack breathed.

“Good thing he's on our side,” Twilight agreed, watching as the human warrior sheathed his sword and picked up the weapons the creatures had been carrying. With a careful glance around him, he returned to the ponies. “Are you all alright?” he asked.

“Fine as apple trees in sunshine, but hoo-ee, Jack... that was somethin'.” The earth pony watched the human detach part of each weapon and place it inside of his robe, letting the main piece drop to the ground. “What's that yer doin'?”

“These hold ammunition for the weapons these creatures use.”

“But... aren't you going to use one, like Indy is?” Twilight asked, to which Jack shook his head. “No. Using such weapons is not my way. But Indy can make use of this.”

“Ohhhh... well, with how well you work with that sword, I guess you really don't need anything else.”

Jack smiled as he stored the last rifle's magazine inside his robe, and let the weapon drop. It had just finished clattering when Applejack flinched. “Oh, horseapp-”

The ground burst up beneath the pile of guns, flinging them every which way and sending one slamming into the side of Jack's head. Another of the corpselike creatures reared out of the very rock, rifle raised, its butt aimed downward as the creature moved to bring it down on the skull of a momentarily-stunned Jack.

And then Jack wasn't there anymore, as a yellow-and-pink blur drove itself into him and knocked him out of the way. The rifle smashed into rock, shattering the stock, but the creature was undeterred; it spun around, raising the weapon- only to have it suddenly begin to glow purple, and then yank itself out of its wielder's hands with supernatural force. The creature stumbled, tried to regain its balance, and looked up to see a pair of orange hooves heading straight for it... then flew backwards a good dozen feet before crashing into an outcropping and practically shattering.

“Oh, goodness!” Fluttershy disentangled herself from the samurai, then immediately knelt down to look at the small cut where the flung rifle had struck him. “Are you okay, Mr. Jack? I hope I didn't hurt you....”

“No, no, please. I am alright.” He slowly got to his feet. “That... that was exceptionally well-done, all of you. I am in your debt.”

“Debt, schmebt. Us ponies watch out fer our friends. I jes' wish I coulda warned ya sooner.” Applejack glared back at the crumpled form she'd kicked. “Not my way to go harmin' other creatures if I can help it, but them things....”

“They're not even creatures. They're constructs.” Twilight took a few steps towards the fallen creature. “What... what does that mean?” Fluttershy asked after her.

“Constructs. Golems. Puppets with invisible strings.” Her horn was glowing faintly as she magically examined the prone form. “There's no life in these things; magic, sure, making them move. Maybe some rudimentary intelligence. But something else is creating them, imbuing them with that magic and that intelligence.”

“But what would be doing that?”

“That....” The unicorn sighed. “That, I don't know.”

“Nor do I.” Jack studied the ground for a moment. “But this is troubling information. Puppets imply a puppet master, and obviously this one has ill intent towards us.”

“Y'ain't kiddin'.” Applejack adjusted her hat, then turned. “But we ain't got time to worry too much 'bout it, fer now at least. Let's keep movin'.”

Fortunately there were no more attacks as the two groups proceeded. But an even greater surprise awaited them- the front of a building seemed to almost appear out of the gloom before them; two stories tall and stately, windows holding actual glass, spotlights of orange light provided by crystals half-buried in the ground in front of it. The groups re-formed in front of it, staring in disbelief. “Um... Dashie?” Pinkie asked. “You didn't see this before?”

“It wasn't here before!” Dash protested. “I'm totally serious, guys; if this place had been here when I scouted, I woulda seen it. Heck, we probably would've seen it from the ground on the way here! Something weird is definitely going on.”

“She's right.” Indy looked as white as a ghost, staring up at the building. “Something weird is going on. Because I know this place.”

Everyone around him did a double-take, gazing at him in surprise. “You do?” Twilight asked. “Where is it?”

“This is the building I teach in at Barnett College.”

Jack's brows furrowed in confusion. “But... but how can this be?”

Suddenly, Applejack grimaced, and Pinkie Pie's legs and tail all went ramrod-straight. “Uh-oh,” the pink pony murmured.

“Uh-oh?” Dash repeated. “I don't like 'uh-oh'.”

“Ya won't like what's comin' even more,” Applejack returned, glancing back the way they'd come. “Lots of them constructs- more'n I can count.”

“Oh, ponyfeathers!” Twilight whirled. “Everypony, into the building! Hurry!”

No sooner had she said that than the report of a rifle echoed across the rock and off the wall of the building, and something dug a chunk out of the rock facade. “Go, go, go!” Indy urged them, keeping his head down reflexively as more rifle shots streaked towards them- woefully inaccurate, thankfully, and probably coming from some distance away. But it would only take one lucky shot to seriously complicate things, so the group quickly gained the building; the heavy wooden doors opened slowly, Indy muttering something about how nobody ever oiled the hinges as he pushed against them, and a nearby window shattering was just added incentive for everyone to quickly pile through and shove the door closed again. Dull thunks attested to shots striking the wood, but thankfully nothing got through.

“Jack! Take them and find a place to hide!” Indy shouted, wincing as another window burst. “I'll hold them off!”

“No, wait! I can help!” Twilight glanced around, finding a strange-looking stone statue placed against the wall opposite the entrance; with a grunt of effort, she managed to levitate it over to the door, forming an impromptu barricade. “Okay, that'll help,” Indy admitted, glancing over his shoulder as Jack ushered the remaining ponies down the hall. “Jack!” he called out.

The samurai paused. “Yes?”

“Halfway down that hall should be a lecture room. It'll be the most defensible position if they get inside.”

“Understood!” And then they all vanished from sight, leaving Indy and Twilight alone. The archaeologist crept towards one of the broken windows, careful not to touch any of the shards of glass scattered across the floor, then leaned against the frame and poked the rifle outside, opening fire. Twilight couldn't help but let out a squeal of fright and close her eyes as the weapon's roar echoed down the empty halls.

Something warm and metallic bumped against her leg, and she opened her eyes to see one of the small brass objects that Indy's weapon was ejecting. More were scattered along the floor, rolling around unheeded as Indy dropped the magazine out of his weapon and drew one of the ones Jack had given him outside. An idea struck the unicorn. “Indy! Do you need those?” she shouted, pointing down at the casings.

He gave her a strange look. “No! All yours!”

Attacking things wasn't Twilight's way, customarily. But those golems were dangerous, and would eagerly fill her, her friends, and the two humans with holes without even a speck of empathy; any possibility of compromise or understanding was right out. So the magician concentrated for a moment, arcanokinetically gathering up the brass cylinders into a tight cluster and levitating them near her head as she approached the window next to Indy's.

And, with a force of will, she sent the casings flying at high speed through the shattered window one at a time at a high rate of fire, spraying the attackers with projectiles as dangerous as the bullets they'd once held.

“Okay, that'll help even more!” She heard Indy move past her, boots crunching on broken glass. “Keep me covered; we'll maneuver down the hall the way the others went!”

The pair made their way from one window to the next; each time, Indy emptied a magazine as Twilight carefully moved past him, gathering his empty brass, then flinging it out the window with her magic as he then passed her. The volume of fire coming at them from outside steadily decreased, until Indy reached the final window, loaded his last magazine, took aim through the window- and found nothing to shoot at. Either they'd downed all their pursuers, or the remainder had finally figured out how to take cover. “Alright, we're clear!” he announced, immedately slinging the rifle over his shoulder. “Come on!” he called after Twilight, who was only too happy to gallop after him.

The rest of the group was waiting where Indy had directed them, with Jack carefully watching the doors, sword in hand. He was obviously relieved to see Twilight and Indy come rushing in breathlessly. “Are you both alright?” he asked.

“Y... yeah.” Twilight collapsed in a small lavender heap near her friends, giving them a wan smile as they gathered around her. “I'm not happy about what I had to do, but... it had to be done.”

“Hey, kid....” Indy grinned at her. “Honestly, you did good there. Owe ya one.”

“I think I owe you one too.” The unicorn lowered her head onto her forelegs. “I hate this place. I really, really hate it. I hate buildings appearing out of nowhere and I hate those constructs and I hate those loud scary weapons. And I hate how scared and weak I feel right now.”

“Whoa, hey. Hang on.” Indy walked across the room to sit down next to Twilight. “You're being too hard on yourself. You don't see me dancing around with delight either, right? Trust me... I'd much rather be sitting in my office right now, flipping through some dusty old book or brushing dirt off some ancient pottery. But listen.” He laid a hand on her withers. “Whatever the hell this place is, it's dangerous, and it's putting a lot of effort into trying to kill us. You did what you had to to protect yourself, your friends, me and Jack. Same as I did, same as Jack and your friends did. That's strong enough for me.”

“He's right, dear.” Rarity patted Twilight's back with a hoof. “You've never backed down from something that threatened your friends. I don't expect you'll start now.”

The other ponies echoed her sentiments, and across the room Jack gave her a reassuring smile and a nod of his head. “Yeah....” Twilight said quietly, managing a bit of an honest smile. “Well... I guess you're right. We've made it this far, after all.”

Indy nodded. “Yeah. And I'm sorry if the gun is a problem for you.” He gave a quick glance down at the weapon, still hanging at his side.

She shook her head. “It's... I don't know how it works, it's loud and it's scary and the fact something like that even exists bothers me. But I can't blame you for that. You're using it to help protect us. So I think we ponies had better learn to be okay with you doing that.”

“Hmm.” He glanced up at the samurai, who was still guarding the door. “Jack, what's the situation look like out there?”

“We are clear, it seems. Nothing has tried to gain entry.”

“And nothin's sprung up on us in here since we got in,” Applejack added. “This place feels... different, somehow. A bit more like normal than outside. I think mebbe we'll be safe from them poppin' up on us while we're inside.”

“So then maybe we should hole up for a little while and recover. I know I could use some rest right now.” Indy went to the doors to close them, helping Jack bar them with a couple of the thick wooden chairs scattered around the room- there were no desks or lecturn, only a few chairs; it was bizarre that the building seemed only half-finished in some ways, and the group agreed that some exploration was in order later- and then went to one of the walls and half-collapsed against it, taking off his hat and setting it beside him. He was only dimly aware of the others settling in as he fell into an exhausted half-daze, finding himself reaching into his jacket and taking out the silver lighter, letting his gaze wander over it in the weird orange light that the ceiling-embedded crystals were giving off.

He heard the quiet clomping of hooves, but didn't register that someone was standing next to him until he heard a country-accented voice. “Uh... beggin' yer pardon, Indy?”

He blinked and looked up, his eyes focusing on Applejack standing beside him. “Oh. Uh... sure. What is it?”

“Jes' wanted to say... thanks, for helpin' pep up Twilight before. She's a mite sensitive about some things, like bein' an intro-” she paused, her face screwing up in thought. “Introv... um. What's that word for folks who're kinda shy and quiet?”

“Introvert?”

“Yep, that's the one, thanks. It helps her that a go-getter action guy like yerself can support her, y'know? Me an' the rest of her friends always try to do that, but comin' from a stranger's a bit different.”

“I wasn't telling her anything that wasn't true, really.” He shrugged. “I've seen trained soldiers freeze up in lesser situations than what we were in, but she came through. Pretty inventively, in fact.”

“That's our Twilight- she'll surprise ya sometimes.” The pony's green eyes wandered down to the lighter Indy was still holding. “What's that thing?” she asked. “If'n ya don't mind me askin'.”

“A gift from my father.” He opened and demonstrated the lighter for her; the small flame fascinated her, especially when he explained to her that it wasn't any sort of magic, but just something like lantern oil with a self-contained flint to light it. “It was his graduation present, until he gave it to me. Guess I just felt like holding it. Something familiar in a strange place, you know?”

“Ain't gonna argue that.” Applejack read the flowing inscription- “Henry Jones, grad. Univ. of Oxford 6-5-1899- discover our future in our past”. “Heh. So I'm bettin' yer pa is an archaeologist like you, huh? Didja follow in his hoofsteps?”

“He... was, yeah.” The pony's expression fell as she realized what he meant. “Oh... Indy, I'm terrible sorry 'bout that. I didn't know.”

“It's alright.” The human turned the lighter a few times in his hand, watching their reflections warp and bend around the metal shell. “He passed on about four months ago. He lived a full life, seventy-nine years of searching for truths left buried in the dirt. He and I had our problems, especially after Mom died; we spent a long time estranged from each other... but when it mattered the most, we realized how much we actually had in common.”

“I kin understand that....” She looked away for a moment. “Uh... well, thanks for talkin', Indy.”

She took one step away before his hand on her back stopped her. “I know that look. I've had it on my face often enough.” Indy patted the floor next to him. “You can tell me.”

“Well, guess it's only proper, what with you bein' so honest with me.” Reluctantly, she laid down next to him. “Not too long after mah little sis Apple Bloom was born, th' family farm had just come out of a real rough patch with a couple 'a big sales. For the first time in what seemed like forever, we actually had all the bills paid and money left over. Ma and Pa were all sorts of worn-out, though, on account of them havin' worked 'round-the-clock sometimes keepin' the farm goin'.

“Well, me and my older brother Big Macintosh got the idea to get them a trip out to the big city for a vacation, y'know? Set 'em up with one 'a them 'spa experiences' like you see in them pamphlets in some fancy stores. Was the least we could give 'em for all that hard work.” Applejack's voice and head both lowered. “An' by all accounts they done had the time of their lives out in Manehattan, waited on hoof and tail, pampered up nice 'n proper.

“An' then... it came time for them t' head back home.” The pony sighed. “They took the late-night train for some reason- mebbe they missed the earlier one. Turned out there'd been a freak rockslide that'd wiped out the tracks just before; woulda been easy to see in the daytime, but at night....” Now Applejack looked utterly depressed, and Indy couldn't help but pat her forelegs comfortingly. “Th' train derailed... most of the passengers were saved thanks to th' engineer's quick thinkin', but the last two cars decoupled and ended up goin' down a ravine. No survivors.” She sniffled. “An' just like that, Sweet Apple Acres lost Albermarle and Nitanny Apple.”

Indy's expression was sympathetic. “That can't have been easy on the rest of your family.”

“Apple Bloom was really too young to understand what'd happened. Big Mac took it hard, though. He'd been the one to find the pamphlet and suggest the trip to me. The big lug used t'be a chatterbox, but now....” She gave a half-hearted shrug. “It's not like we had a lot of time to mourn, though. Still had a farm that needed runnin', and though we had Granny Smith livin' with us, she... well, she's gettin' up in years and can't really help so much. Thankfully Ma and Pa had been practical ponies, an' had set up instructions an' such in case anythin' happened to 'em... y'know?” There was a brief pause, during which Indy was kind enough not to notice Applejack wiping away a tear. “So we threw ourselves into all the particulars of keepin' the farm goin', only takin' time off for the funeral. And it's kinda been that way ever since.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks, sugarcube. I do 'preciate that.” She patted his arm. “An' here's the funny thing... yer the first pony- uh, I mean person- I've told that tale to since it happened.”

“I am?” Indy couldn't hide his surprise. “I mean, as close as you seem to be with your friends....”

“Oh, I tell them girls almost everythin'. But not that. I don't think they can really understand... none of them has had to go through that, thank Celestia. But it's the sort of thing I only really feel okay talkin' about with someone who can relate.”

“I know where you're coming from, there.” He looked her over for a moment. “Hang on, I want to see something.” He gently removed her hat, and then placed his own on her head. “Hey, I think that suits you,” he told her with a grin.

“Oh yeah? Well, let's see here....” With a little effort, she set her hat on his head. “Uhm... darlin', wish I could say elsewise, but the same is not true in reverse,” she giggled.

They returned each other's hats while sharing a soft laugh, then fell quiet for a moment before Indy spoke again. “Do you mind if I ask you something, Applejack?”

“Y'mean, asides from askin' if you can ask me somethin'?” She grinned playfully. “Don't mind at all. An' call me AJ.”

“Alright, AJ.” The human gazed at the lighter again for a moment. “Do you ever end up... being angry at yourself for not having spent as much time as you could with your parents? Feeling like you'd never appreciated them as much as you should have while they were there?”

“All the time, sugarcube... all the time. Feel like I can kick m'self when I think back to when we were fussin' and fightin' rather than 'preciatin' each other. An' sometimes it hurts as much to think of 'em now as it did when we lost 'em. But really... I'd rather it hurt than it didn't, y'know? Cause that's the first step towards forgettin' 'em, and I never want that to happen.”

Indy let out a soft sigh and nodded. “Yeah... I guess you're right.” He paused for a moment to look at her. “And now maybe you can tell me how you got me to talk about it when people who've had my life in their hands couldn't drag it out of me.”

“I jes' got that kinda face, pardner.” She prodded his shoulder with a hoof, grinning. “Naw, but really, lotsa folks come to me for a sympathetic ear. I don't mind in the least. If'n I can help ponies- or people- I'm glad t'do it. I think mebbe you just needed t' tell someone who you knew wouldn't judge.”

“Maybe. Well... I appreciate it. Looks like Albermarle and Nitanny raised a good daughter.”

She smiled at that, broadly. “And I'd say Henry Jones would be proud of how yer doin' in this crazy place. Celestia knows us ponies are grateful for it.” She let out a long yawn and glanced over her shoulder at her friends. “Speakin' of- guess I better check on th' girls and then settle in fer some shut-eye. Indy... thanks fer the talk. I didn't expect it'd feel so... liberatin' to share m'sorrows with someone who understood 'em.”

“Couldn't agree more. Rest up, AJ... I think we've got a lot more work ahead of us.”

With that, he rolled his jacket up into a makeshift pillow, set his hat over his face and laid down to get what sleep he could manage. Applejack wearily made her way back to the other ponies, practically dropping to the floor. “Man, sleep sounds good 'bout now,” she murmured- before looking up and seeing her friends staring at her. “...wut?”

“Aren't you going to tell us what you two were talking about for so long?” Rarity asked.

“It's, uh... personal.” Applejack went to lay her head down on her forelegs, only to be stopped by Twilight's head almost smacking into hers as the unicorn leaned in close. “But Applejack! We're stuck in this strange sunless place with two aliens! If there's anything you can tell us about them-”

“Twi, they ain't 'aliens'. No more'n us, at least, in this weird place. Indy is a right decent feller, I kin attest to that- and Jack sure looks t'be the same. I think we kin trust 'em.”

“I still can't get over how weird they look,” Dash murmured.

“Dashie....” The serious look on Pinkie's face left the other ponies speechless. “Indy saved my life. Hay, I think he moved faster than you when he did. Jack pretty much did the same for Twilight, AJ and Fluttershy, and then they did the same for him. It's not fair of you to get hung up on them being different!”

“Hey, look, I'm-” A quick “shh” from Fluttershy alerted Dash that her voice was getting a little too loud, and she immediately took a lower tone. “I'm sorry, okay? I'm trying. I just get weirded out by them. Two legs, claws that aren't, those eyes....” She shook her head. “It's not that I think they're monsters or anything! Jeez.”

“Girls, go easy on Dash.” Twilight gently patted the cyan pegasus's foreleg. “We all deal with new things differently. At least you're not letting it keep you from working with them, Dash.”

“Yeah, back in Junior Speedster Flight Camp, we had to deal with a lot of different types. Gilda wasn't even the strangest- I saw a wyvern a couple of times.”

“Well....” Fluttershy's quiet voice was difficult to hear even in this otherwise-silent room. “Since you learned to be friends with Gilda... can't you try to do the same with Jack and Indy?” She spared a glance over at Jack, who'd taken up a cross-legged sitting position on the floor with his sword laid across his lap; he appeared to be asleep. “They do seem so nice....”

Dash let out an exasperated sigh. “It's not like I'm not trying. Let's just give it a bit, okay? I promise it's not gonna make me do anything stupid.”

“Fair enough.” Rarity smiled. “Would that many others at least did so much.”

With the issue tabled, the six ponies quickly settled in for whatever sleep they could get in this strange place.

(-)

“...and when the bullet fires, the force pushes both ways.” Indy used his fingers to demonstrate. “It pushes the bullet out through the barrel, and the casing backwards, where it shoves the bolt along with it. Then the gun pushes out the empty casing and draws in a fresh round from the magazine in front of the bolt, where it's pushed into the barrel, ready to fire.”

“Whoa.” Twilight shook her head in amazement. “It's scary how effective it is. A small metal slug able to do that much damage... just because of speed. And anyone can use this weapon.”

“With training, yeah. Put it in the hands of your average idiot and he'll probably shoot himself before anyone else. But in skilled hands, it can be a serious force.”

Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to look at the weapon; knowing how it worked only made it scarier to her. Rainbow Dash seemed entranced, though. “You've got that 'rifle' thing and your 'handgun'... how many kinds of guns do humans make?”

“That's a long, long list.” He placed the bullet back in its magazine, then loaded that into the rifle, chambering a round and ensuring that the safety was on. “It's not like we just came up with these last week- in my time, the concept of firearms is about two thousand years old, give or take.”

“Wow. Two thousand?!” Now he thoroughly had Twilight's interest. “How much of your history do humans know?”

“We have traces from as far back as forty thousand years ago. We've also got still-standing structures that are upwards of five thousand years old.”

The unicorn gaped at him. “And you study all this? You know about it?”

“I didn't get my doctorate for arts and crafts, you know.” He gave her a sly grin.

“Argh! I wish I could just get you into my library and pick your brains for a month! I could learn so much from you.”

“Hey, give me your mailing address and I'll send you some of my published papers.” He grinned as she let out a giggle, then looked up to see Jack returning from his quick reconnaissance run. “But it looks like that'll have to wait. What'd you find out, Jack?”

“Quite a bit worthy of interest.” He closed the doors behind him and sat down. “Much of the building... does not seem to exist. Hallways end in blank rock; doors open to smooth stone. It is as though whatever created it only sought to replicate a small portion and cared nothing for the rest.”

“Somehow that worries me even more than a whole, empty building,” Rarity murmured, getting a nod of agreement from Indy.

“Indeed. Also- the creatures Twilight and Indy brought down previously are gone. I do not know if others came to reclaim them, or if the ground itself did so, but the area in front of the building is now empty. I saw nothing of interest there. There is also... a strange staircase that seems out-of-place near what seems would be the center of the building.”

That got Indy's attention. “Going up or down?” he asked, sitting up.

“Down. It is made of the same rock as the island itself, and it leads downward into what seems to be a blank wall. But I suspect that something lays beyond.”

“That's definitely not part of the original floor plan.”

“Then we'd better have a look for ourselves,” Twilight said, getting to her hooves- and blushing as her stomach let out a loud growl. “Ugh. If I'd known this was going to be a long trip, I would've had us all bring provisions. I don't suppose either of you guys has any food?” She gave the two humans hopeful glances.

Indy fished around inside his jacket. “Beef jerky and dried apple slices, that's it. Oh, and half a canteen of fresh water. Not much, so we'll have to conserve it.” He glanced up at Jack, who shook his head with a sheepish smile. “I have grown accustomed to living from the land,” the samurai explained. “I do not carry much.”

“Well, here.” The archaeologist gave half of his jerky to Jack and the dried apples to the ponies; there wasn't much, but it at least staved off the pangs of hunger for the time being. The canteen was nearly empty by the time it had finished being passed around. “Okay then,” Twilight said. “Guess we'd better get going.”

They hadn't even finished leaving the room when Pinkie Pie started talking. “Ohhh, grumbly hungry belly. How I wish I had treats to give you!”

Rarity gave her a sideways glance. “Pinkie....”

“I could really go for a nice brownie right now. Or a cupcake. Or a danish!”

“Pinkie-”

“And a hay-and-dandelion sandwich! And maybe a muffin on the side! Nice and warm with butter!”

“Pinkie-”

“Or maybe even a cake!” Pinkie's eyes went wide, staring off into space. “With mint frosting and sprinkles and little sugar flowers and- gwomph.”

Rarity's hoof had finally made it over Pinkie's mouth. “Pinkie, dear,” the fashionista said calmly, “while I certainly don't begrudge you discussing your favorite foods, could you do it at a time when we're not all half-starved?”

“Ohf... ahh... yah! Fowwy.” She gave an embarassed grin when Rarity took her hoof away. “You know how hard it is for me to concentrate when I'm hungry.”

It was a quick walk to where Jack had spotted the stairway. Indy took a look around it, watching for traps- but finding none. “So what's the point of this?” he wondered. “It wasn't part of the building back home, it leads nowhere... wait.” Carefully, he went down the stairs, stopping before the slab of rock that they seemingly ran right into; he reached up and felt the stone with one hand. “Warm. And... maybe hollow.” He rapped at it with a knuckle. “Applejack? Pinkie? Do you sense anything past here?”

“It's... confusin'.” Applejack shook her head. “It's like I'm sensin' two things at once. Somethin' 'bout this feels wrong, but... what else've we got?” She glanced over at Pinkie, who nodded. “It's all kinds of weird, but I think it's safe,” the party pony said.

“Okay then.” Indy hit the wall lightly with the side of his fist. “Not going to be punching this down. Applejack, would you do the honors?”

“Why, I'd be dee-lighted, Dr. Jones.” The human backed up a short distance as the orange earth pony took position, carefully placing her forehooves on the stairs and then rearing up. “Lemme try mah secret knock,” she quipped.

The rock shattered like so much porcelain before the hooves of the cowpony, leaving a hole in the rockface large enough for even Jack to fit through without ducking. “I will have to remember not to get you angry at me,” the samurai told Applejack with a grin, getting a snicker out of her in return. The group emerged into yet another long tunnel, this one much better-lit by the crystals that ran along its walls, and they made good time as they went along it- until they came through the far end into a strange-looking, cylindrical chamber with a number of white stone daises along its perimeter. A line had been carved- or formed; who could be sure in this place- from each dais to a ten-foot-wide circle in the center of the room; symbols decorated the front of each dais. “I can't read these,” Indy said. “Anyone?”

“It's Ancient Equestrian script.” Twilight tilted her head as she studied the engravings. “But... the words don't make sense as they're written. What the hay does 'gaudium' mean?”

“Gaudium?” He gave her an incredulous look. “You're absolutely sure that's what it says?”

“One-hundred-percent sure. But that's no word I know of in Ancient Equestrian.”

“No, but it is one in Latin. 'Joy'.” Indy turned. “Twilight, read the rest of the inscriptions.”

She did so, moving from one dais to another. “Officium. Caritas. Misericordia. Fides. Veneficium. Animus. Scientia.”

Indy was right alongside her, translating each word. “Duty. Charity. Sympathy. Honor. Sorcery. Bravery. Knowledge.”

“That... that sounds like us.” Fluttershy glanced around at her friends. “I mean, the first six are our Elements, right, girls? And Mr. Jack is very brave, and Dr. Jones is very wise.”

“And Ms. Fluttershy is very flattering, but thanks.” Indy chuckled. “Okay. So. We... get on these, then?” He touched one experimentally, only for nothing to happen.

“I don't see any other options, unless somepony knows how to survive by eating rock.” Dash flapped her way to the dais labeled “officium” and settled down on it. “C'mon, guys, let's hurry up and trigger the deathtrap; I'm getting cranky from hunger.”

“I'd rather deal with a deathtrap than a cranky Rainbow Dash.” Rarity daintily stepped onto the dais labeled “caritas.”

“Deathtrap? Phooey! I hope it triggers a party. With confetti!” Pinkie hopped onto the dais labeled “gaudium”.

“Yeah, so long as it ain't pony confetti.” Applejack climbed onto the dais labeled “fides”.

“M- maybe it would be nice to be confetti, and make others happy.” Fluttershy gingerly crawled onto the dais labeled “misericordia”.

“I thought you'd rather be a tree, Fluttershy.” Twilight trotted onto the dais labeled “veneficium”.

Indy and Jack exchanged a look. “You know,” the archaeologist said, “I've been through some strange things in my life, but this one takes the prize.”

“Agreed.” And with that, the samurai sat himself cross-legged on the dais labeled “animus”, leaving Indy to plop himself down on the one labeled “scientia”. A few moments passed with nothing happening, and Dash was just starting to fidget when a bright white light shot forth from the base of her dais, blazing along the line in the floor towards the circle. The same happened for all of the others, and once the streams of light hit the edge of the circle, the entire section of floor within it burst into light as well, forcing everyone in the room to turn away and shield their eyes. When they were able to look again, the floor within the area of the circle had simply vanished, revealing a shallow pit; what covered the floor of the pit had both Indy and Twilight recoiling, and as one they uttered a single word.

“SNAKES!”

Thick, black shapes were slithering and rolling over each other, making the bottom of the pit look like a mass of boiling tar. “Oh, ew!” Dash exclaimed. “That is disgusting! I thought those human-looking creatures outside were bad. Now we've got creepy-crawlies!”

Fluttershy slowly got off of her dais and half-bellycrawled across the floor, gazing down into the pit. Behind her, Rarity shuddered. “Fluttershy, dear, what are you doing?” the unicorn asked. “Those things could be dangerous!”

“Wait....” The yellow pegasus's voice was barely audible, but her look of intent concentration was clear. Slowly, she lowered a foreleg partway into the pit, jerking it back up as one of the black serpents lunged at it, but then once more bringing it back down. Jack knelt next to her, sword partly drawn, ready to strike at anything threatening. “What are you doing?” he asked her quietly.

“One of them isn't like the others....” And suddenly, out of the roiling mass of black, a dark brown shape extended itself, raising up towards her hoof. Jack almost pulled his sword from its sheath, but Fluttershy's resolute expression stopped him; whatever was happening, it was clear that she knew what was dangerous to her and what wasn't. “Come on,” she cooed. “I won't hurt you.”

The brown shape wrapped itself around her foreleg and slithered its way up. Away from the darkness of the pit, the group could see that it was a long-bodied, hooded snake. “Asp,” Indy breathed. “Fluttershy, that is a very dangerous venomous snake. Just hold still and-”

“No, no, it's okay.” Fluttershy stepped away from the pit, and the viper coiled itself loosely around her neck, hanging its head in front of hers; she gently stroked the serpent's back with her hoof. “See? He's terrified, the poor thing. He doesn't know how he got here and those weird things in the pit scare him as much as they do us.”

Indy's mouth hung open as he turned to Twilight. “She... she talked to it?” he asked.

“That's what she does.” Rarity trotted over to Fluttershy's side- not too closely, though. “Our dear pegasus here is friend to all sorts of animals. No matter how big or frightening or dangerous, they trust her.”

“That is truly a wonderous skill,” Jack breathed.

Fluttershy gave him a smile, before turning her attention back to the snake. “What's that?” she asked it. “Oh! Oh, poor dear. Open wide and let me see.” The cobra opened its mouth, unhinging its jaw, and she peered inside. “Oh goodness! There's something stuck in his throat! I don't think I can get it out... Indy? Jack? Could one of you pull this thing free?”

Indy visibly shuddered. “Uh... Jack, how about you field this one?”

“Very well.” Carefully Jack approached the serpent, which lifted its head towards him, mouth still wide open. Watching those dark lidless eyes stare at him, Jack slowly slid index finger and thumb into the snake's throat, finding something hard wedged inside a few inches deep; with the care of a trained surgeon, he got hold of the object, turned it slightly to dislodge it, and pulled it free. The asp actually let out something resembling a sigh of relief and completely coiled itself around Fluttershy's neck, as she spoke comfortingly to it and rubbed its body gently with a hoof. “What'd it have, Jack?” Applejack asked.

“This looks like part of the very gem that brought us here.” He held it up for everyone to see; it appeared to be one-third of the ruby they all remembered, cut impossibly smoothly from the rest of its body. “Well, that is quite the stroke of luck!” Rarity said. “I would certainly not have wished for one of us to have needed to fish that out of... there.” She spared the pit a distasteful glance.

“Well, great, but what's this mean?” Dash inquired. “We found part of the gem that brought us here. Can we find the other parts? Can we use it to get back home?”

“And where'd that snake come from?” Applejack put in. “It ain't like the others. Is this place makin' real animals now?”

“No.” Fluttershy leaned her head down towards the asp. “He says he was in his den sleeping before he felt something strange. Then the next thing he knew, he was stuck in that horrible pit with all the fake-snakes.”

Jack rubbed his chin. “So... this creature is not of this place? Was it brought here?”

“I don't know. I just know he's scared and he wants to go home. There there, little guy. We won't hurt you. We want to go home too.”

“Ohhh-kayyy.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Let's get out of here, everypony.” As the group filed out, Indy stopped at her side and glanced down at her. “A snake,” he muttered. “Why'd it have to be a snake?”

She shivered. “I know, right?!”

“Pssh. Snakes are, like, super awesome!” Pinkie seemed completely oblivious to the looks Twilight and Indy gave her as she bounced along merrily. “I used to see lots of garter snakes on the rock farm. Sometimes they'd sleep under the rocks! And I'd tap the rocks to wake them up and they'd slither on by and-”

Applejack tapped her shoulder. “Uh, Pinkie... mebbe we should try an' stay quiet jes' in case there's more unfriendlies around, mmkay?”

“Ohhh, I getcha. Super-sneaky like planning a surprise party! Tactical stealth action pony, go!” And with that, Pinkie stopped bouncing and began stalking along like an overenthusiastic pink jungle cat.

Dash sighed and shook her head. “Pinkie Pie, you are so random.”

The trip back through the tunnel was uneventful; the group made it back into the building unharmed. But they were halfway to the front door when a series of loud clicks sounded overhead; four of the armed creatures had taken position on walkways above the main hall in perfect ambush positions, and all of them had rifles trained on the group. Indy immediately froze and raised his hands. “Don't move,” he told the rest of the group quietly.

“Well, well, well.” A gravelly voice echoed from one of the nearby offices, and a dingy mockery of a man strode out, flanked by a pair of the armed creatures; the one who had apparently spoke wore a dusty white suit and hat. “Dr. Jones, how many times must I tell you? There is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away from you.”

“Rene Belloc.” Indy's hands balled into fists; next to him, Twilight looked up. “Friend of yours?” she asked hopefully.

“Couldn't be further.” Indy returned his gaze to the facsimile of his long-dead rival. “You look like hell, Rene. Even worse than when your head exploded back on that island in the Aegean.”

“Ah, well, one must adapt to one's surroundings. A lesson you never could learn.” Belloc raised a hand. “The gem shard, Dr. Jones. Hand it over.”

“What the hell would you even want with that?” Out of the corner of his eye, Indy could see the ponies exchanging glances; he stepped forward, making the guards focus their attention on him. “What are you, you thing that looks like a man I saw die more than a decade ago?”

“You would never understand the particulars, Dr. Jones. Suffice it to say that this place truly is what you make of it.” A smirk decorated that stone face. “Now. The gem, Dr. Jones, or I'll have my... companions aim to greviously injure rather than cleanly kill.”

“Oh, well, since you put it that way....” Indy turned. “Jack, give me the gem.”

Reluctantly, the samurai handed the shard over, and Indy held it up to the light, casting reflected beams into the eyes of Belloc and his guards. “What game are you playing at, Jones?” the suited creature snarled. “Hand it over and receive a swift death, or continue to irritate me and enjoy bleeding out in this place.”

“Yeah. Fine. Here you go.” Indy extended his hand- and the gem slipped between his fingers, clattering onto the floor at Belloc's feet. The creature let out a low growl as he knelt to seize it.

creeeeeeak-SNAP

The strut of the walkway that Rarity had been subtly working at with her magic finally gave way, and the entire platform collapsed under its own suddenly-unsupported weight, sending the two creatures on it falling along with it. As all of the other creatures' attention was caught by the sudden crash, Dash practically rocketed out of the stairwell, slamming into the guard on Belloc's left and sending it sprawling. The remaining two elevated creatures immediately opened fire on the pegasus, bullets zipping through the air as Dash twisted and spun to evade them.

“Applejack! Now!” Twilight's horn flashed, and a purple sphere enveloped Applejack- then vanished a second later, and her along with it. The two guards on the walkway, as intent as they were on shooting Dash down, didn't notice the earth pony materialize just off to their side, giving her the perfect opportunity to charge and deliver a tackle that sent both shooters cartwheeling over the railing to smash into the floor below. The one remaining guard was raising its rifle to shoot at Dash as well when Jack leapt forward; in one easy stroke, his sword left its scabbard and bisected the creature from shoulder to opposite hip. It stumbled around for a couple of steps before literally falling to pieces.

Belloc spun on his heel, clutching the gem to his chest as he made a dash for the windows. But Indy was ready for his cowardice; his whip was already in hand, and with a flick of his wrist, it lashed out towards the fleeing creature, catching his right ankle and sending his crashing face-first to the floor. He'd just rolled over onto his back and reached down to free himself when he suddenly found Jack's katana at his throat. “Do not even move, creature,” the samurai commanded.

Indy grinned broadly, kneeling down to pluck the gem fragment from Belloc's fingers. “The primary problem you run into, Rene,” he said, tucking the gem into his jacket before coiling his whip, “is that you attract your like when it comes to associates. Pale carbon copies of quality issue. As you can see, my friends are of a much higher caliber.” He drew his handgun and aimed it in Belloc's general direction. “Now, if you're anything like the Rene I knew and loathed, you'll be all too eager to all too ready to spill your guts before I spill them for you... so to speak.”

“Things... do not quite work that way here, I'm afraid, Dr. Jones.” Belloc raised his head to gaze up at the ceiling and uttered a strangled cry- and then, like a puppet with cut strings, his body collapsed into a pile on the ground, lifeless and motionless.

“Damn.” Indy holstered his gun, then turned back to the group and gave them the biggest grin he could. “Okay, kids, that was one for the history books,” he said. “I had the feeling you were working on something big back there, so I kept them distracted as long as I could- but I wasn't expecting that sort of show.”

“The 'show' was, as they say, total improv.” Rarity chuckled. “Twilight gave each of us a couple of glances to show what she wanted us to focus on. My magic tends to be less noticable than hers, which kept them from seeing me weaken that support.”

“An' I figured that she was gonna teleport me when she looked up at those guards on the other balcony,” Applejack put in. “Then one each to Dashie and Jack for the last two. And pow!”

“Heh heh. Yeah, I love it when a plan comes together.” Dash had the biggest self-satisfied grin as she clapped her hooves together.

“That was very well done... but we should leave the congratulations for later, and perhaps exit this place now.” Jack glanced around warily. “I do not wish to face a second ambush.”

Everyone agreed that this was an excellent point, and after Twilight removed the statue she'd placed against the door, the group quickly made its way back out of the building and across the rocky landscape beyond. But they'd cleared half the distance back to the tunnel entrance when both Applejack and Pinkie Pie practically froze in mid-step. “Uh-oh,” Applejack murmured.

“Dangit, I hate when you guys say that!” Dash complained.

Pinkie glanced over her shoulder. “Uh, everypony? I think we should start running. Now.”

“What? Why-” Twilight's words died in her throat as she felt a soft vibration through her hooves. “Oh, please don't tell me....”

A deep rumbling sound answered her. As one, the group turned, and saw the building they'd just left begin to crumble and fall apart. As it disintegrated, the ground below it began to collapse as well, falling into whatever existed beneath the island... and the ground further away began to crack apart as well.

“You heard the pony! RUN!” Indy spun on his heel, launching himself into the fastest run he could manage- only to find that he was the slowest of the group, his aging legs not even able to keep up with the much more sprightly Jack, let alone the ponies. Twilight glanced over her shoulder and saw that he'd fallen dangerously behind. “Indy!” she called out.

“Keep going!” he yelled back. “Don't wait for me!”

“Wha-” Dash stopped in midair, turned, and saw the problem. “Ohmigosh,” she breathed, realizing from her vantage point what the others couldn't see- the limping human wasn't going to make it to the tunnel before the ground literally gave out beneath him. She lowered her head, extended her wings as far as they would go, and dove towards him, circling around behind him and slipping her forelegs under his arms, then pumping her wings as hard as she could. She couldn't quite lift him, but she was taking a lot of his weight off of his legs and adding to his forward speed, and with her help he was able to catch back up to the group and make it into the tunnel before the island completely fragmented. They'd barely gone twenty feet inside when the end of the tunnel collapsed, blocking off the exit with a solid mass of rock. The group stumbled into the larger cave and sat down for a moment to recover from the sudden exercise.

“Hey, uh... you okay?” Dash set down next to Indy, watching him rub at his knees and grimace.

“Yeah... or I will be, at least.” He looked up at her. “Look... I seriously owe you one for the save there. I guess maybe I really am getting to old for this.”

“You don't get to be the Element of Loyalty by leaving somepony behind, you know.” She paused a moment, then cocked her head. “But, wait... how old are you?”

“In a couple of months I'll be fifty-two.”

“Uh... is that as old for humans as it is for ponies?”

“It is old enough for him to be considered an honored elder in my time.” Jack's expression was incredulous. “Truth be told, Indy, I had thought you at least fifteen years younger.”

“Heh. I'd tell you to pull my other leg if it wasn't just as sore. But thanks.” Indy chuckled. “Sometimes I still surprise myself... but time catches up to everybody.”

“Yeah, but still... wow.” Dash shook her head. “I thought maybe you were just lazy or out-of-shape. For that age you're actually pulling your weight pretty well... old-timer.” She gave him a playful wink.

“Look, I can and will tell you to get off of my lawn the moment I find a cane to shake at you, so don't start.” The joke sent everyone in the cave into laughter. “But, yeah... going to need a few minutes here. At least until I can feel my legs again.”

“Take what time you need, Indy. I think we could all use a breather.” Twilight glanced around. “And breakfast, for that matter, but one problem at a time....”

“Whoa. Hey, you guys! You're not gonna believe what I just found!” Pinkie's voice came from the far corner of the cave, cloaked in darkness to the point where even her brightly-colored form was barely visible. She backed herself into the light, obviously straining to drag something along with her. “What've you got there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, moving to help.

The object of her effort was a thick, featureless wooden crate covered with a lid; with a flourish, Pinkie yanked the lid off. “Ta-da!” she exclaimed. “Breakfast is served!”

Inside the crate was a small pile of apples, pears, oranges, potatoes and even a squash. All of the other ponies found themselves drooling at the sight, but Jack was more cautious. “Wait a moment,” he said. “I fear a trap of some sort, perhaps poison. We know not where this food has come from, and this place has not at all proven generous as of yet.”

“That is an excellent point, Jack.” Rarity sighed. “But yet I am so very hungry. What can we do to ensure that the food is safe?”

“I have learned to taste when food is spoiled or otherwise fouled. I will test a random sample.” Jack was quick to slice apart a few of the fruits, taking a small piece of each and letting it rest on his tongue for a few moments. After the last sample, he shrugged. “To the best of my ability, I can find no difference between these and any other foods,” he said. “So... dig in.”

And dig in they did. Indy and Jack had the potatoes, as the ponies were a bit adverse towards overly-starchy foods, but everything else was split evenly. “Whoa, lemme tell ya,” Applejack mumbled around a mouthful of pear, “after goin' that long on jes' dried apples, this tastes better'n a fancy meal at a five-star restaurant!”

“You certainly will not hear me complain,” Rarity agreed.

Indy stared at the apple he'd already taken a couple of bites from. “There's something I don't like about this,” he said.

“You don't like apples, Dr. Jones?” Fluttershy asked.

“Huh? No, kind of partial to them, actually. I don't like the idea of food suddenly appearing when we need it. Makes me feel like a mouse in a maze, chasing the cheese.”

“I think I know what you mean.” Twilight shrugged. “But it's either we eat it or we don't, and not eating isn't going to help us against whatever else this place wants to throw at us.”

Indy glanced between her and the apple, then smiled. “You know, Ms. Sparkle, it seems to me that you can be a very practical pony.” He took a large bite out of the apple.

“Now there's somethin' y'don't hear every day!” Applejack guffawed. Her laughter only got louder as Twilight threw a piece of orange rind at her.

Once the meal was finished, though, the atmosphere turned more contemplative. “Indy, I've been thinking about what that... thing you said was impersonating someone you knew said,” Twilight told the archaeologist.

Indy nodded. “'This place is what you make of it.' Yeah, that's been crawling around in the back of my mind as well.”

“Apparently your former adversary took joy in taunting you,” Jack added. “I have seen that sort many times.”

“Nobody took greater joy in giving me grief than Rene Belloc. But that thing we faced before wasn't him- just a shoddy puppet in his image. Still....” Indy tugged at his hat. “Familiar soldiers with familiar guns, familiar buildings, even a familiar enemy. All seeming to spring up from the ground. 'This place is what you make of it.'”

Twilight rubbed at the sides of her head with her hooves. “Not to mention whatever bizarre reason there could be for us to find writing in an ancient pony language that represents words in an ancient human one. This place is not making any kind of sense.”

“Puzzles abound.” Jack stood and tucked his sword into the belt of his robe. “Let us work on them as we move.”

The group turned their attention towards the two tunnels they hadn't yet explored. “Well. Which one do we go through this time?” Twilight wondered.

“There's a phrase I like to keep in mind when I'm lost,” Indy told her. “A sinistra tena.”

“And, um... what's that mean?”

“'Keep left'.”

Again, Applejack snickered. “You academic-types love to make things complicated, don'tcha.”

Indy reached down and prodded the earth pony's side. “Hey, we have to earn that grant money somehow,” he told her, with a serious face that only lasted a moment before cracking into another of his sly grins.

The group's laughter followed them as they carefully made their way into the leftmost tunnel- with the exception of Dash, who was scratching her head with a confused look on her face. “Uh... I don't get it,” she said, before looking up and realizing that she was being left behind. “H- hey! Wait for me!” she called out, scrambling to catch up.

Future Imperfect (1/3)

“Okay... I'm going to have to toss out about a half-dozen theories I had about this place.”

Twilight scuffed her hooves across the grass, or at least whatever it was that was masquerading as grass here. Charcoal grey and prone to crumbling into something resembling ash when walked on, it was a poor substitute for plant life- but it was also a far cry from the blank rock they'd walked across earlier. The orange crystals had likewise undergone a change, from random outcroppings to more spire-like formations; their light output had also increased, making much of the strange field resemble plains at sunset.

“If'n you ask me,” Applejack murmured, “seein' it look more normal makes it look more strange... y'get what I'm sayin'?”

“Indeed.” Jack had his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at a moment's notice. “I do not like it. It feels as though something attempts to deceive us and is learning the art as we progress.” He turned. “Dash, please scout for us.”

“Yeah, sure.” The pegasus was gone in a flash- and back seemingly almost as quickly, barely having left their sight. “Ugh! You remember that weird wall of air I hit before? This time it's a lot lower- less than a hundred feet up. I didn't see much from that height, but it does look like the plain is about three hundred feet wide and sort of ends a couple thousand feet in that direction.” She pointed. “What's past that, I don't even know- and there's nothing saying something couldn't just appear there anyway.”

“Very true. Thank you for the attempt, Dash.” Jack rubbed his chin. “Perhaps we should stay together in this place. We may rely on the ability of Applejack and Pinkie Pie to sense threats coming from the ground. And we should all keep alert for danger in case it manifests another way.”

“You needn't tell me twice.” Rarity moved her eyes back and forth over the landscape as she trotted along, ears flicking this way and that at every sound. Despite the half-hearted, monochrome attempt at a pastoral scene, this place still felt sterile- there wasn't a whisper of wind, nor a single birdcall or insectile buzz. It was exceptionally unnerving, and Rarity found herself dragging her hooves from time to time just for the extra sound to break the silence.

It was just after one of those little hoof-dragging sessions that her ears picked up something that was definitely not coming from the group. “Do you all hear that?” she asked quietly.

The humans couldn't- not a surprise to the unicorn; with those strange immobile ears, it was a wonder the poor dears could hear anything- but Fluttershy confirmed it. “I think I do,” the timid pegasus said, trotting up ahead slightly. “It sounds like....” She tilted her head, frowning in confusion. “Like... running water?”

“We had better check it out,” Twilight declared. She led the group at a quick trot- though slow enough for Indy to keep up without strain- to the source of the sound: A thin, shallow stream of water that sprang forth from a small fissure in a rockpile. “Okay, so is that real water or something else this place is trying to copy?” Dash wondered.

“Seems real enough to me; I'm going to take some.” Indy put his canteen up to the water source, letting it fill. Once he'd topped it off and hung it from his belt, the group moved on again. “I'm getting sick of this place,” Dash complained. “Can't even trust the water! Can't even fly! Can't-”

“Dash, shhh.” Twilight gave her a stern look. “None of us like it here, but we need to keep it together!”

“I know, Twilight, I know, it's just... rrrghhh.” She shook her head. “I'm so frustrated. I wanna be in the air; it's where I belong.”

“If I could fly as fast as I saw you go back in the building, I'd probably feel the same way,” Indy told her, giving her a sympathetic look. “Obviously this place is afraid of what you can do up there.”

“Darn right it's afraid of me. It oughta be!” Dash snorted. “Just wait until it messes up and lets me into the skies. I'll show it.” She started stomping the ground as she walked, muttering imprecations at whatever it was keeping her from flying freely; Twilight shot Indy an appreciative smile, getting a grin and wink in return. Obviously he'd figured out that the best way to keep Rainbow Dash focused was to put her in an adversarial mood.

They'd made it most of the distance Dash had judged to the far edge when something else loomed out of the darkness a hundred feet ahead. As one, the group stopped, looking up at it in confusion. “Okay, so... that's supposed to be a tree?” Twilight asked.

“It's a pretty sad and lonely one, if it is,” Pinkie remarked. “It's almost like... whatever made it only knows how to be sad.”

There was a moment of quiet from the rest of the group. Not only was the statement exceptionally insightful for Pinkie Pie, but as they mulled on it and examined the black-barked tree's bare, angular branches, they realized what she meant. “What was it you said, Indy?” Jack asked. “'Pale carbon copies'? Perhaps that is all this place can manage.”

More trees seemed to appear as they moved on, until they stood in what could be considered a light forest, every tree almost identical to the last. Still, there was not a whisper of sound to be heard, which is why it startled the rest of the group when Jack suddenly raised a hand for them to stop. Slowly, he drew his blade from its scabbard. “We are being stalked,” he whispered.

Almost as soon as he spoke, there was a soft whistling sound from above. Jack dove to the side- and a black form, vaguely human in shape, slammed into the ground where he'd just been standing. Something metallic flashed in the orange light, and as quickly as it had struck, the form leapt back into the trees, vanishing from sight.

Well, sight other than Jack's. “No you don't!” he declared, taking a few running steps and then leaping high into the trees himself. As soon as he landed on one of the branches, he slashed at the form with his sword; the attack was blocked with a metallic clash, and the form leapt again. The rest of the group watched in stunned fascination as the white shape of Jack chased the darker shape from tree to tree, each of the samurai's attacks blocked, leading to a jump to another tree.

And then there was a flash of rainbow colors, and a cyan streak intercepted the black one in the middle of a jump, sending it tumbling off-course and crashing into a treetrunk. As it tumbled down the branches, Jack leapt down after it, intercepting it just as it hit the ground; when the dust cleared, the group saw the samurai pinning the shape down with his knee, sword held threateningly above it. After a moment, though, he stood. “We will learn nothing from this creature,” he said, re-sheathing his sword.

Dash dove into a landing next to him, kicking up more dust and ash. “Jack! Whoa!” she exclaimed. “Did you just fly?!”

He couldn't help but grin. “No... jump good.” The smile faded as he looked back at the shape Dash had brought down, and the pegasus followed his gaze. “Uh... oops,” she murmured, shuffling her hooves. “I sorta... broke it.”

The rest of the group gathered around the prone form- another of the human-like creatures, this one clad entirely in black clothing that covered everything except for its eyes. At some point during its fall, it had snapped its neck, and its head lolled at a sickening angle. “Looks almost like a ninja,” Indy commented.

“Precisely. And as agile as any I have ever faced. Were it not for Dash's intervention, I am not sure I could have defeated it before it could flee to strike at us again.”

Dash snorted, giving another self-satisfied grin. “Told ya I'd show this place what for once I got in the air.”

“Well, okay, but... what's a 'ninja'?” Twilight asked.

“An assassin.” Indy started searching the body. “Also known as 'shinobi'. Trained in spying, sabotage, and striking from the shadows.”

“Yes. And where there is one, there are likely more, so be on your guard.” Jack stood, waiting for Indy to finish checking the body; all the ninja had of worth was a pair of short, rough iron kunai, which Indy slid onto the end of the short hook his whip hung from, to keep at hand in case he found himself toe-to-toe with something dangerous.

The trees were getting closer now, and the orange crystals more sparse, leaving the area in a murky sort of half-light that made every shadow look ominous. Twilight lit her horn, doing her best to chase off the darkness- but something about the air around them seemed to swallow her light, leaving her a bright beacon in the center of a distressingly small circle of visibility. The group instinctively crowded closer together, not wanting to be too close to the edge lest something unseen have the chance to strike at them.

“It's... so dark,” Fluttershy murmured. “So dark and closed-in... and it feels like we're being watched....”

“That is because we are.” Jack had his sword out now, using the flat to reflect some of Twilight's light into the trees, though it didn't seem to be helping much. “Even I can barely see them in this cursed darkness. They merely wait for an opportune time to strike.”

“Hey, Jack?” Dash looked up at the human. “Maybe we should take the fight to them.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

She gestured for him to lean down, then whispered into his ear; as she did, a smile crossed his lips. “Let us give it a try,” he told the pegasus. “Twilight, Dash and I will... vanish, for a short time. Do not worry; we have a plan.”

“Okay, if you two are sure....” Twilight did her best to maintain her composure and continue on; after passing by a small cluster of trees, she glanced back and found that the pair had indeed completely disappeared from sight. She could swear she heard the faintest rustle of fabric, or maybe the flapping of wings, but she couldn't be sure.

Things were nearly silent for a long, fretful minute before the first sounds of battle broke out. Clangs of metal against metal, creaking branches, and dull thuds echoed between the trees, making it impossible to track where they came from; faint blurs zipped back and forth overhead, unidentifiable in the darkness. Fluttershy let out a faint shriek as one of the forms crashed to the ground almost right in front of her- another of the ninjas, a deep slash decorating its stone-skinned chest. A few more thuds sounded off in the darkness as the battle above tapered off, and then there were a tense handful of seconds of quiet before Jack and Dash stepped back into Twilight's light. Jack bore a number of thin cuts through his robe, some of which showed red lines etched into his skin beneath; Dash had also received a couple of light wounds across her sides. “Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy breathed. “You're both hurt!”

“I will be fine,” Jack told her, giving her a gentle smile. “Dash?”

“Yeah, I'm cool, nothing bad.” Dash shook her wings, wincing a little. “Those jerks didn't come out so well, though,” she added, glancing over her shoulder before looking up at the samurai. “Jeez, Jack, you are fast. Especially for somebody with two legs and no wings.”

Jack humbly bowed his head. “Thank you,” he told the pegasus. “And you are a formidable warrior in your own right.”

“A warrior? Me? Well, huh! Maybe I am one at that.” Dash strutted around a bit, until Applejack put a hoof down- on her tail. “Lasso in that ego, o' mighty warrior. We still got us a forest t'get through.”

The group continued on, though Fluttershy insisted on fretting about the wounds her friends had taken. Fortunately the trees held no more surprises for them; when they emerged from the far side of the monochrome forest, however, they found something unusual waiting for them- a road. An actual, paved road of flat blacktop, leading around a tall outcropping of rock. “Well, great, now we're getting somewhere,” Indy quipped. “Any chance we'll find a taxi?”

“Suuuuure, because we've had that sort of wonderful luck this far, right?” Twilight managed a chuckle. “Looks like we're staying on the Horseshoe Express.”

The road wended through valleys, past ravines and between clumps of trees for about a mile and a half, and the group spent most of the distance in silence until Pinkie spoke up. “I just realized something,” she said quietly.

Twilight looked back. “What's that?”

“Me and AJ didn't sense anything before those ninjas showed up.”

“Yer right.” Applejack frowned. “Crud. Wonder why.”

“I think this place is getting better at setting things up for us, too,” Indy said. “Could be they got up before we were close enough for you two to tell, and just waited.”

“I hope that's th' case, Indy. Or... mebbe I don't.” She tilted her head in thought. “Aw, horseapples, I dunno what's worse! Us not bein' able to see them comin', or them havin' the smarts to prepare early!”

“I would call it a draw, dear. Both are equally troublesome.” Rarity shook her head. “But... look ahead! I believe we've reached the end of the road- literally.”

The group came to a halt at the edge of the road, which came to a sudden and unceremonious stop at the outskirts of what seemed to be a small town. Black-walled buildings, almost all of them only two or three stories tall, stood like silent sentinels circled around what looked like a village square of some kind. More orange crystals dotted the landscape and shone from inside the buildings, none of them revealing any sort of life besides the group of eight interlopers as they walked into the center of the square. “Creeeeeepy,” Pinkie intoned, her wide eyes glancing from place to place nervously.

“Should we search the area?” Jack asked.

Twilight thought for a moment. “Quickly, yes. There's something I don't like about this....”

Her voice trailed off as a strange buzzing sound caught her attention. She looked upwards, and gasped as a small group of strange shapes appeared from the darkness; Jack's eyes widened in shock. “Impossible! Here?!”

As one, the six matte-black mechanical creatures- each a perfect copy of Aku's beetle drones in shape, if not in coloration- landed around the center of the square, surrounding the group. Jack drew his sword and held it at the ready, watching to see what the drones intended; Indy already had his rifle shouldered, but taking a cue from the samurai, held his fire. For a few moments the robots stood there, motionless, and then as one they spoke. “Targets identified,” they announced in their rough, synthesized speech. “Samurai Jack. Indiana Jones. Elements of Harmony.”

“Targets...?!” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Mission....” Small pods popped out from each drone's upper back, exposing the barrels of a cluster of weapons. “Exterminate with extreme prejudice.”

Then there was a bright flash.

(-)

“Quickly, get down!”

Never one to ignore good advice, Indy dropped to his hands and knees behind the counter he'd suddenly found himself beside. “What... what just happened?” he asked, shaking his head to clear it.

“Twilight teleported us.” Rarity risked a peek over the counter, saw the creatures outside stalking about looking for them, and ducked back down. “It looks as though she may have separated us as well- probably deliberately. Much easier for two to hide in a single place than eight.”

“Teleported...?” he repeated. “Huh... I really need to get used to you ponies and this magic thing.”

“Twilight's magic is uncommon. She often leaves me just as bewildered as you are.” She risked another glance, then ducked back down even more quickly than before, looking just a little frightened. “Where do we go from here?”

“The highest floor, if we can manage it without being seen. I'm the only one with a gun, which means I may need to provide fire support, and the top floor would be the best place to deliver it from.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” The coast was clear for the moment, so the pair made their way up to the third floor, where they found something unusual: A bright-red banner hung on the wall, floor to ceiling. On it was a long, menacing black form that ended in what seemed to be a spider-shaped headdress; a pair of baleful eyes, framed by what looked like flaming eyebrows, stared out at them over a grimacing mouth full of twisted fangs. Along the lower left side was printed in flowing script: “OBEY AKU”. “So this must be that 'Aku' creature Jack spoke of,” Rarity said quietly, instinctively stepping back from the horrid image.

“And I'd thought he was going overboard with the description. That seriously is one ugly demon.” Indy crept up to one of the windows and took a quick glance of the grounds below. “Okay, good spot here. I've got eyes on three of the things. But I don't have enough ammo for any kind of real firefight, so I need to wait for the others to get something going.”

“So in the meantime, we wait, I suppose?” Rarity settled down on the opposite side of the window.

Indy set his rifle across his legs. “In the meantime, we wait.”

(-)

“I gotta give Twilight credit- splittin' us up like that durin' a teleport can't 've been easy.” Applejack took a quick look through the window of the bedroom she and Fluttershy had taken shelter in; it had obviously been built to human scale, requiring the cowpony to stand on her hind legs and set her forehooves on the windowsill to see outside. “It ain't gonna be long before them things start searchin' the houses.”

“And... and then what do we do?” Fluttershy quivered in the corner, obviously terrified; the snake coiled around her neck had rested its head on hers in what looked like a strange effort to calm her.

“Then you hide, and I kick 'em into next month... if'n I can.” She shook her head. “Jack's seen them things before. Y'think maybe this place is copyin' his world, like the last one did with Indy?”

“I... I guess. But I don't know why.”

“Curiouser 'n curiouser. But there ain't time fer figurin' it out right now. I'm hopin' that Twi, Jack or Indy have got some plan hatchin', but on the off-chance they ain't able, we gotta be ready to set things a-movin'.”

“I... well... okay.” Fluttershy visibly gulped. “What... what do you need me to do?”

“I dunno yet, sugarcube. Kinda playin' this by ear now. I'd love it if Twi came zippin' out with one of her last-second plans, but I ain't lookin' to get caught flat-hooved if she can't. If things go south, jes' do what I say when I say it. Don't even think about it, jes' do. Can ya do that fer me, Flutters?”

The yellow pegasus swallowed hard again, then nodded. “I... I think I can, Applejack.”

“Good. 'Cause it's lookin' like they're startin' their search.” She frowned, closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again. “Okay. Got an idea. Hope I don't have to commit to it, but when yer flanks are against th' wall, can't do nothin' but kick.”

She flinched as a loud crash sounded from the first floor- one of the creatures had shattered the door. “Get ready,” Applejack whispered.

It was all Fluttershy could do to nod weakly.

(-)

“Okay, Twilight. Think. Think.” The unicorn tapped her head with her hoof. “Six opponents, apparently heavily armed and armored, capable of flight and speech. Direct attack would probably be... inadvisable.”

“'Suicidal' is more like it,” Dash responded from her lookout point on the edge of the roof. “I could probably take one, even two... but six? If those weapons are anything like Indy's guns....” She shook her head, grimacing. “The words 'smeared across the landscape' come to mind.”

“Euuugh.” Twilight shuddered. “Thanks for the great mental picture.”

“Hey, don't say I never share.” Dash thought for a moment. “Think you could teleport them away?”

“Not far enough to matter. I could disorient them a bit... but that would probably only work once.”

“Keep it as a... what's Scootaloo like to say? 'Super secret last resort'?”

“Precisely.” Twilight nervously scraped at the black stone of the rooftop with a hoof. “This would've been easier if I'd been a little more careful about who I teleported where.”

“Yeah, I was wondering about that. Kinda surprised you took me with you instead of Indy or Jack. Who'd you put them with?”

“Heh heh... heh.” Twilight blushed. “Funny you should ask....”

(-)

“No. It is suicidal. You do not understand the capabilities of these machines. Their destructive power is great; their relentlessness, unmatched. Many fine warriors have fallen before them. I would not risk you meeting the same fate needlessly!”

“Jack, please!” Pinkie's gaze was unflinching. “You've gotta trust me on this. Yeah, I know I seem like a goofball, but when my friends are in danger I can totally focus. Nobody else has done anything yet and we're running out of time!”

“But-”

clank-whirrrrr

“No time! Just follow my lead!” And with that, the pink pony galloped out through the doorway before Jack could stop her. He made it outside to see her bouncing into the square, an almost ridiculously happy expression on her face. “Hey, you guys!” she called out. “Over here!”

The four drones who were still in the square stopped and turned towards her. “Target identified: Pinkie Pie.”

“Yeah, yeah, sheesh. You guys are boring. I know what'll liven things up! Let's play hide-and-go-seek!” With that, she bounced towards one of the lampposts set around the edge of the square, seemingly blithely ignorant of the multiple blasters being aimed towards her. Jack muttered an imprecation under his breath as he began to draw his sword, trying to figure out how he could possibly get to her in time to protect her.

Then she bounced behind the lamppost- and vanished.

Jack blinked in shock, moving his head from side to side in order to see how the pony had somehow managed to hide behind a half-foot-wide lamppost. The robots, despite their better vantage point, seemed similarly lost; two of them stomped their way towards the post, while the other two spread out, heads turning back and forth as they scanned the area.

“Oh, you guys are terrible at this game!” Pinkie stuck her head out from behind an abandoned street vendor's cart. “Tsk tsk. Try harder!” She ducked down again.

The two drones in the square trained their weapons on the cart and opened fire. Streams of destructive blue energy turned the cart into a mess of splinters and half-molten metal within seconds; Jack grimaced, expecting to see the torn body of an overenthusiastic equine behind it- but nothing was there. “How...?” he whispered to himself.

“Aww, I get it.” Pinkie had somehow climbed onto the back of one of the droids and was tapping it on the head with a hoof. “Well, not everybody can be good at hide-and-go-seek! How about we play tag instead?” She clonked the machine on the head. “You're it!”

The drone's partner was already targeting her when she ducked down behind its back. A shower of blue lances of light peppered the drone, the friendly fire blasting holes in its armor and taking it off of its feet; with a dull thud, it crashed to the ground, smoking and twitching.

Pinkie suddenly sprang up from behind a black-leafed hedge. “You're no good at tag, either! Silly robot-thingy, how are we supposed to have fun? Oh, I know- pin the tail on the dragon!”

She didn't move as the drone repositioned itself, training its blasters on her form. “Target acq-”

shhhinkk-shhhink thunk

The blasters fell to the ground as a white-clad form landed in front of the drone, then turned. The robot took one step forward. “Target identified: Samurai Ja- Ja- Ja- Ja-”

And then it split into two halves and slowly collapsed to the ground, then exploded.

Jack dashed forward, just barely dodging a stream of blaster fire that turned a bench into splinters and tore a large chunk from the side of one of the buildings; with one quick motion, he scooped Pinkie Pie up from the ground and tucked her under his arm, then leapt out of the line of fire of the two other drones, taking cover for a moment behind one of the buildings. He looked down at the pony incredulously. “How did...?” was all he managed to ask.

She gave him a broad grin. “Silly human. Toldja I could do it!”

(-)

The battle drone had to hunch down to fit inside the room, and even then it left gouges in the doorway; the ceiling was too low for it to deploy its blaster pods. But one of its targets was ahead, and it would not be stopped by something as trivial as a building. “Target identified: Fluttershy,” it announced, brandishing its forward legs, the scythes that decorated them gleaming in the orange light. It could see the yellow pegasus cringe at the sight, and the subroutines that enabled it to feel joy at the horror of a target practically sang out in bliss.

Then its audio inputs picked up a muffled sound from outside- an explosion. It spun its head to look out the window to see what was going on, to find the remains of one of its compatriots smoldering in the square and two of its primary targets running away. It paused for only the briefest moment to consider whether to pursue them or finish this one first-

-which was all the time Applejack needed to rush out from her hiding spot.

The force of her kick contained the full measure of her considerable strength, but the weight of the machine was so much that she only managed to push it off-balance and make it stagger- but that weight also meant that the window it blundered into couldn't do a thing to slow it, and it crashed through as though the glass weren't there, slamming into the ground twenty feet below.

“Awright, sugarcube, that's our cue! Let's go get in the dance!” Applejack shouted, making a beeline for the staircase. Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly for a moment, trembling, then gathered all of her scant courage together and bolted off after her friend.

The warcry she gave as she ran could have best been described as the roar of a furious hummingbird.

(-)

“How the hell did she do that?” Indy couldn't help but wonder, even as he lined the sights of the rifle on his target.

“Break all the laws of physics? Twist reality around her hoof? Confuse all onlookers? That's just what Pinkie Pie does.” On seeing Indy prepare to fire, Rarity reflexively ducked her head and covered her ears, waiting for the weapon to make its terrible noise. She wasn't disappointed; inside the building, the rifle's report was almost deafening. Indy carefully fired bursts into the one still-standing drone in the courtyard, sending rounds tearing through its armor. Remembering how Twilight had explained her method of helping Indy in his last firefight, she gathered the spent brass together and flung it downwards with as much force as she could manage- not nearly as much as Twilight could, but with the assistance of gravity, the casings were actually doing some damage to the thing's eye apparatus, keeping it blinded and unable to fire back.

Then the rifle clicked on an empty chamber just as his target staggered and fell to the ground. “I'm out!” he shouted, tossing the rifle aside and drawing his handgun. “We need to get back down there and-”

“INDY!” Rarity shrieked as she scrambled away from the window, just in time to avoid being flattened by another drone. A quick glance over her shoulder gave her a glimpse of two hoofprints in the center of a deep dent in its side- Applejack's trademark. Indy brought his weapon to bear and opened fire, but the thick armor turned aside the heavy but flat-nosed rounds. “Rarity!” he shouted, backing away as the thing approached. “Magic it or something!”

“I can't-” She paused as she caught sight of the banner on the far wall. She had nothing in the way of offensive magic, but she did have her talents. “Wait! Indy, that window! We need it open!”

A single shot was enough to shatter the glass. With magic guided by the force of her will, Rarity yanked the banner off of the wall, pulled it past the drone and out the window, then lowered it to form a ramp of sorts leading from the second floor to the ground. “Go!” she shouted.

The human stood his ground. “You first!”

“This is no time for chivalry! Just go!”

He paused for just a second more, then jumped through the broken window, landing squarely on the banner and sliding down to the ground. A moment later, a shrieking Rarity came flailing after him, tumbling down the banner and almost crashing into Indy as he tried to catch her. They managed to share only a momentary relieved smile before a sound came from the building they'd just vacated- the drone was still after them, and had for some reason dove out the same window, aiming to land on the banner as well.

Rarity smirked. “If he wants it, then he can have it,” she said, releasing the banner from her magic's grip.

The drone hit the now-freefloating banner and continued downwards unimpeded, once more smashing into the hard ground- and this time not getting back up. Indy holstered his gun and dusted himself off, then turned to Rarity. “Why'd you want me to go first?” he asked.

She blushed and looked away. “...I knew I wasn't going to have the courage to jump unless someone was at the bottom to catch me.”

He chuckled. “Should've known. Next time, though, I'll hold the door open.”

The unicorn smiled at him. “If you insist.”

(-)

“Gonna have to give those humans credit- they know how to kick off a party!” Dash jumped from the roof, streaking down towards the ground in search of a robot to clobber. Each time she came across one, though, it had just been finished off by one of her friends; inside the space of a couple of minutes, four of the drones were down. Not that Dash was going to complain about that, but she wanted in on the action!

Then she heard Twilight shouting up at her. “Dash! To your left! MOVE!”

She moved, immediately diving towards the ground- and just in time, as streaks of destructive blue energy tore through the air she'd just been occupying. The smell of ozone burned at her nostrils as she got a fix on her opponent; one of the two remaining drones stalked out from behind one of the buildings, its weapons swinging upwards towards her. “Target identified: Rainbow Dash,” it announced.

“Well, you know the name, but you obviously don't know the reputation!” She soared down towards the robot, pulling off evasive maneuvers as it sent streams of blaster fire towards her; while the weapons were even more destructive than the guns she'd seen before, the fact that she could see their fire coming at her made it easier to anticipate and dodge them. Dash just knew that she looked totally awesome weaving her way through the incoming fire, and it was almost a trivial matter to line up her forehooves with the robot's chest and deliver the crushing blow that would end this.

thwomp

It was only her severe angle of attack that kept her from literally smashing herself against the drone's armor plating or shattering her forelegs with the blow, but the jolt that traveled through her body sent her tumbling across the ashen grass. As she struggled to get back on her hooves and remember which way “up” was, she was only dimly aware of the drone once more training its weapons on her.

poomf

Blaster fire shredded the ground where she'd just been, but Twilight's teleport had come just in the nick of time. “Whoa... thanks,” Dash groaned, shaking her head to clear it. “When it comes to kicking, I'm no Applejack.”

“Not by yourself, no. But I think I can help.” Twilight grinned. “Just build up as much speed as you can and then head right for it. I'll take care of the rest.”

Dash blinked, opened her mouth to object, then paused; after a moment, a smile crossed her face. “You've got a plan, don't you?”

Twilight did her best Big Macintosh impersonation. “Eeeyup.”

Without another word, Dash flapped her way up to the top of the nearest building, readied herself, and then once more dove towards the drone. Evading its fire became trickier as she gained speed, but she was just barely able to anticipate its attack vectors and move out of them, all the while keeping her forehooves aimed towards it.

Just as she was about to slam into the machine for a second time, a teardrop-shaped bubble of purple-hued energy formed around her.

The battle drone was knocked aside like a ball before a croquet mallet, tumbling across the ground. It had barely regained its feet before there was a flash of purple light, and Dash came streaking towards it again; it didn't even have time to bring its weapons to bear before she slammed into it, the teardrop of magical energy around her flaring at the impact. Matte-black armor plating crumpled as the drone was once more flung across the square, this time crashing into the side of one of the buildings; metal creaked as it staggered forward, malfunctioning sensors struggling to lock on to the cyan pegasus.

“Dash!” Twilight shouted. “Air combo!”

“You got it!” This time, Dash appeared behind the drone, which didn't even have the time to turn around before she torpedoed it; with a quick twitch of her wings, she altered her angle, sending the drone sailing into the air, well past the tops of the buildings; its momentum ran out about sixty feet above the ground, and it hung there for a moment, a battered ebony jewel in the featureless “sky”.

poomf

And then that “sky” was awash in a spreading circle of color, as Rainbow Dash broke the barrier of sound just after teleport a little more than a hundred feet above the ground- fast enough so that she cleared the distance between her and the airborne drone in less than a second.

ka-thwump

The bubble of magical energy around her collapsed, detonated, as she hit the drone one last time, the entirety of the spell's force blasting forward into the robot along with Dash's considerable momentum. As if shot from a cannon, the drone rocketed towards the ground, leaving a trail of smoke behind, flailing about helplessly as its broken wings frantically beat at the air at a fruitless attempt to slow its fall.

Its impact with the ground was enough to cause the buildings to shudder and crack a good number of their windows. Dash landed next to the crater it had formed, smirking down at the half-flattened robot. “Sonic Rainboom, kid,” she told it. “The original, and still the best!”

“Accept no imitations!” Twilight finished for her, trotting up next to her friend. “Good work, Dash.”

“Me? How about you?! You practically turned me into a bullet!” Dash grinned as she prodded the unicorn's shoulder. “It was totally awesome! How'd you come up with that?”

“Heh. Well, the idea actually did come from when Indy was explaining how his guns work. I learned enough from the remnants of that ward spell in the castle to recreate it in a smaller form, and turn it into your own personal impact shield. And there's a reason we never use teleport spells to try to save us from a fall- it only affects position and orientation, not momentum.”

“Uh... what's that last part mean?”

Twilight blushed. “When speedy thing teleports, speedy thing stays speedy.”

“Oh! Heh, yeah, I think we proved that just now.” Dash shook her mane out. “Okay, I think that's five of those stupid drones handled- time to go find the last one.”

“And gather back up with the others.”

“Yeah, that too!”

Twilight's horn glowed, and with a flash, they were gone.

(-)

“Target identi-”

“Yeah, yeah, 'target identified'. Can't you guys say anything else? Like, maybe 'Processing pink pony for potential perishment'. That Aku guy has no style!”

Pinkie hopped out of sight as the drone opened fire, hitting nothing but black grass and stone. The robot charged after her, rounding the corner of a building- only to run into a muddied banner, which wrapped itself around the drone's head, blocking its vision. “Dear, if you want to dance with us, you simply must dress for the occasion,” Rarity called out.

As the drone began to tear at the banner with its scythes, a bright purple flash sparked behind it, materializing into Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flying just above ground level towards the robot, carrying Applejack between them. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy said. “The poor thing doesn't even know how to dance!”

“Well, what the hay, I'm in a generous mood. Let's give it some dancing lessons!” Dash smirked. “What do you say, AJ?”

Applejack grinned as a sphere of purple energy surrounded her. “You betcha! Here's a step I've named the 'Ponyville Two-hoof Torpedo'! Hang on tight, pardner!”

At the last possible second, the two pegasi let go of the earth pony, launching her at the drone- which had just cleared its vision in time to see her coming at it. The force of the collision sent the drone through the front of a building, causing part of the facade to crumble; thick chunks of stone thudded against the ground, framing the hole the drone had created. The robot- now missing a leg, with its armor deformed and its eye apparatus cracked- slowly crawled out from the rubble, to find Twilight Sparkle standing in front of it. “Targ- target id-d-d-dentiiiii....” it crackled, attempting to deploy its blasters- only to find that the crash had pancaked the back of its body.

“You look tired,” Twilight commented. “Why don't you lie down for a while, take a nap?” Her horn glowed, and with a brief flash, a huge chunk of rock- almost as large as the drone- materialized overhead, just above the top of the now-leaning building. “Here,” the unicorn continued, giving the robot a slight smile. “I'll tuck you in.”

As the drone watched the rock drop towards it, it calculated the one appropriate thing to say in response.

“Mission failure imminent.”

CRUNCH

From where they were watching, Indy turned to Jack; the archaeologist's face was a mask of disbelief. “...they're ponies,” he managed to say.

“Exceptional ponies,” Jack replied. “Certainly you did not doubt their stories?”

“Yeah, well, it's one thing to hear, another thing to see.” Indy took his hat off for a moment to rub at the back of his head, then shrugged. “Well... whatever. Why not ponies? It's not like it makes less sense than some other things I've seen.”

“Such as a time-traveling samurai?” It was the barest of grins on Jack's face.

“Yeah, like that.” Indy snickered. “Okay. I can deal with this. Let's gather back up and keep moving.”

“Indeed.” With that, the two humans walked back out to the square to rejoin the ponies.

Future Imperfect (2/3)

“He got lost... in his own museum?” Twilight looked up at Indy incredulously. “You're joking, right?”

“Not in the least. Don't get me wrong, Marcus has been like a father to me all my life, and there's been times he could solve a riddle in a heartbeat or find a link between two obscure texts nobody else ever noticed- but sometimes that poor man's relationship with the world around him has been, well... casual.”

“Reminds me of a certain pony I know,” Applejack chortled, nudging Twilight's side.

“Ha, ha.” The unicorn smirked. “At least I never get lost in my library.”

“Oh, no?” Dash grinned. “I remember that one time I stopped by about two weeks after you got settled in-”

“We both agreed never to speak about that, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight stuck her tongue out at the pegasus, who just snickered in response.

There was a moment's quiet after that, broken by Fluttershy. “Mr. Jack? You're so very quiet over there,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Hmm? Yes, fine, thank you.” The human smiled. “I enjoy listening to your tales of friendship. For one who travels alone as much as I, they are something of a balm.”

“But... you must have made friends along the way, right? I mean, someone who puts as much effort into helping others as you do must have gathered a few, at least.”

“Well, yes, certainly.”

“Well, c'mon, then, pardner.” Applejack patted the floor the group- minus Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who were on watch- was gathered on. “Mosey on up, an' give us a story or two while we're restin'.”

“If you insist.” He settled himself next to the group, legs folded in front of him. “Perhaps my most stalwart ally is a man... whose name I have never learned. I know him simply as the Scotsman, for he is of the land of the Scots, and ranks amongst their most strong and skilled warriors. At first we did not get along at all; he is brash, loud, rowdy and prone towards bragging.”

“I wonder if he's met Dash,” Twilight giggled.

Jack smiled. “Perhaps there are parallels. For much like Rainbow Dash, the Scotsman is also brave, forthright, and unfailingly loyal to his friends.”

Dash's annoyed glance at Twilight turned into a smirk. “Heh! Sounds like my kinda guy.”

“I had once lost my memory, and was living upon a ship as a steward, having forgotten my skills and my fight against Aku. It was the Scotsman who came upon me and helped me to regain who I was, at great risk to himself. Despite our differences, I am proud to consider him a friend and ally.”

Twilight smiled. “That is wonderful, Jack. It's a humble and wise person who can see the good in others so different from him.” She scuffed a hoof against the floor. “This would make an excellent letter to Princess Celestia... if we were home so I could send it.”

Indy cocked an eyebrow. “Who exactly is this 'Princess Celestia'? You spoke about her a bit when we first met, but nothing after that.”

“Oh, boy.” Applejack chuckled. “That might be a bit of a tale in itself fer folks what ain't familiar with Equestria....”

Twilight was about to launch into an explanation when a soft chime came from her horn. “Oh drat,” she said dejectedly. “I guess that'll have to wait- that was my timekeeper spell going off.”

“Two hours gone by just like that.” The cowpony got to her hooves, stretching her legs experimentally. “Oof. Woulda much rather had one of them fancy hotels to stay in fer once, but I'm grateful enough for any sorta shelter 'round here.”

“I'm kind of inclined to agree.” Twilight bent her head back and forth, causing a few soft pops to sound out from her neck. “Fluttershy, could you go tell Pinkie and Rarity we're getting ready to move?”

“Okay.” The yellow pegasus trotted upstairs as the others stood, with various degrees of difficulty and number of complaints. Rarity's voice preceded her return, echoing down the stairway. “...don't mean to gripe, as I know we're all making do as best we can in this miserable place, but I would trade half my wardrobe back home for a simple brush here! My poor mane....”

“I dunno, Rarity, that's kind of a good look for you!” Pinkie replied. “I mean, your mane almost looks like mine now!”

The only response Rarity could give was a blank, slack-jawed stare before Twilight got their attention. “Thanks for handling the last watch, girls,” she said with a grateful smile.

“Oh! Um... yes.” Rarity shook her head to clear it. “Indeed. Just doing our part. Is everyone rested and ready to go?”

“About as ready as we can be.” Indy dusted off his pants with his fedora, before setting it back on his head. “Any last things to handle before we head out?”

“Yeah, actually.” Dash walked up to the human. “Any chance I can get a drink from that canteen?”

“I thought y' didn't trust that water, Dash,” Applejack teased.

“Yeah, well, I don't, but I'm getting pretty thirsty and we didn't exactly hit any juice stands along the way.” She smiled in gratitude as Indy handed her his canteen, and she took a couple of carefully-measured swallows of water before giving it back. “Okay, seems like regular water, I guess,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her foreleg.

“Rainbow Dash-tested, Rainbow Dash-approved.” Twilight giggled at the look Dash gave her. “Sorry. Couldn't resist. Okay, guess it's time to get moving.”

It didn't take the group long to put the rubble-strewn square behind them, following a thin unmarked path leading away. Once more the silence of the strange place closed in around them. “Awright, seriously,” Applejack grumbled. “I unnerstand not wantin' to announce us bein' here, but all this quiet is startin' to cave mah ears in! Somebody say somethin'!”

“Okay!” Pinkie Pie trotted up to her. “Hey, Applejack! Knock-knock!”

“Whaddya mean, kn- oh. Uh... who's there?”

“Interrupting cow!”

“Interrup-”

“MOO.”

That was enough to at least earn some chuckles; seeing that she had lightened the mood, Pinkie pressed on. “Heeeeey, Rarity?”

“Hm?”

“We're really good friends, right?”

“Of course!”

“And you'd never forget about me, right?”

“Most certainly not!”

“Great!” Pinkie paused for a moment. “Rarity, knock-knock!”

“Who's there?”

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Pinkie Pie who?”

Immediately the pink pony burst out into tears. “You said you'd never forget about me!”

The unicorn stopped for a moment, flustered. “But I... that wasn't... it....” She blinked as realization struck her, and she giggled. “Ah, yes, you got me, Pinkie,” she admitted.

Pinkie grinned, tears already gone and forgotten, as Rarity once more fell in alongside her. “Okay, how about a song? A traditional marching song, for traveling ponies and humans!” Before anyone could think to respond, she took a deep breath and began to sing.

“We stand tall and upright,
From morn to Luna's night,
And the ponies came trotting along.
Proud of all we have done,
Beneath Celestia's sun,
And the ponies came trotting along.

“Then it's hi! Hi! Neigh!
There's ponies on the way!
Count off the hoofbeats loud and strooooong!
For wherever we go,
You will always know
That the ponies came trotting along.”

As she finished, she looked back to find the other ponies and both humans staring at her in bewilderment. “Um....” Fluttershy breathed. “That was... unique.”

“Heh. Unique. That's... a word.” Dash hovered over Pinkie's head. “Are you sure that's a 'traditional' song? I'm pretty sure I've never heard it before.”

“Well, duh, Dashie! How could you have heard a traditional 'traveling ponies and humans' song when you've never traveled with humans before?”

“That... it... you...!” Dash's eyes rolled around a couple of times before she finally shook her head. “Pinkie Pie, you are so random!”

“I gotta be me.” The pink pony bounced ahead, and with a shared look of disbelief- and an obvious effort not to crack up laughing by Indy- the group followed behind. “What's so funny?” Twilight asked the archaeologist.

“It's... never mind. You would never believe me if I told you.”

Twilight wisely chose to let that go, and the group continued on. Despite Pinkie's efforts, silence once more settled over them as they trudged along the path; there was some oppressive feeling about the strange black plains that seemed to command silence... or perhaps it was the knowledge that this place was likely forming some other challenge for them that kept them quiet. Whatever the cause, there was only assorted breathing and the paces of twenty-four hooves and four feet to be heard for a while- until Jack stopped abruptly and peered ahead, his hand immediately going to his sword. Indy was beside him in a moment, his own hand likewise on the grip of his handgun. “What is it?” the archaeologist asked.

“There is battle ahead,” the samurai replied.

“And it's not happening to us? That's a change.” Dash frowned. “So... do we go check it out?”

Jack nodded. “Yes. Dash, scout ahead. Remain unseen if you can and do not act unless you feel you must. We will catch up as quickly as we can.”

“You got it!” In a flash of rainbow color, she was off, and the rest of the group immediately launched themselves into a run after her. As they made their way along the plains, they could hear weapons fire, clanging and shouting of some kind echoing across the rocky ground.

As they crested a hill, the source of all the noise came into view. Scattered across the black grass were a number of bodies, all of them mechanical, dressed in black suits and matching hats, in true noir gangster style, and had fierce-looking expressions on their grey metallic faces. Some bore multiple smoking holes in their chassis, and others looked like they had taken heavy impacts. Two more of the suit-wearing robots were standing back-to-back near a large rock formation, each holding a weapon and aiming upwards. “Guys!” Dash's voice called out from behind the rock. “I could use some help with these two!”

Her voice hadn't finished echoing off of the rocks when Jack leapt, covering the distance to the two robots in a flash. His sword cut through the air, and then the body of one of the robots, with equal ease; as the mechanized gangster stumbled and fell, Jack turned- only to find the other robot already drawing a bead on him. The samurai was forced to dive away as the weapon spat blue-white pulses of energy at him, kicking up shards of rock and black dust just behind him- until there was a loud crack, and the robot jerked backwards, dropping its weapon. Jack was quick to capitalize, and with another leap and a swing of his blade, the machine fell to the ground in two neatly-sliced halves. Jack sheathed his sword and looked up at Indy, who was holding his still-smoking handgun at the ready. “Is that all of them?” Indy asked.

“Yeah, those two were the last.” Dash jumped down off the rock and glided to a landing in front of the group. “Quick, this way!” she said, pointing with a hoof.

The pegasus led the rest of the group around the rock, and what waited there made everyone gasp in shock. Four more robots- these much shorter, unarmed and wearing white robes- lay in a loose group on the ground, all of them with smoking holes in their bodies. “Those jerks back there were attacking these guys when I got here,” Dash explained. “I tried getting them to safety, but....” Her voice trailed off for a moment as an unreadable expression crossed her face. “But one of them is still.. um... alive? I guess? Over here!” She brought them to the furthest robot, lying on its back in a small pool of oil; the lights of its eyes were dim and flickering, and it was obvious even to the less technologically-savvy ponies that it could not last for much longer. Fluttershy immediately ran to it, propping up its head. “This isn't like any of the things this place has sent to get us,” she said. “Where did it come from?”

“That is a good question.” Jack knelt down on the other side of the damaged robot. “Please, friend,” he said to it. “Explain to us what happened.”

“Our village was attacked by Aku's minions three days ago. Those of us who survived sought shelter within a small cave nearby. This morning, four of us volunteered to explore the caves further for a possible place of refuge. As we explored, the caves changed- they became dark rock of unknown composition, with orange lambent crystals of a type previously unknown to us. Our exploration was interrupted by a cave-in, and as we fled from the collapse, an unusual portal opened beneath us. Current location unknown.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

“Thirty-five minutes, twenty seconds. Engagement with unknown hostiles began five minutes, fifty-one seconds ago, interrupted by winged equine's attempt at rescue and counterattack.”

“And where did the portal put you?”

The robot pointed. “Unable to provide specific bearing. Unable to acquire positional information or directional- direc....” It trailed off for a moment as its eyes dimmed even more. “Critical systems error. Multiple hardware failures detected. Cascading neural-net failure underway.”

Dash's eyes widened. “What's happening to it? Is it- is it dying? Can't we do something?!”

Jack slowly shook his head, his mouth set in a tight frown. “I am sorry,” he murmured.

Fluttershy gazed down at the mechanical creature she cradled in her forelegs. “But... but we can't let it....” She trailed off, unable to finish.

“Primary and auxiliary mnemonic system failure.” Its voice was getting softer, fuzzed with static. “Subprocessors offline. Logic failure. Logic failure. Irrecoverable. I....” Its body jerked momentarily. “I want to go... home....”

There was a quiet “snap” from somewhere within the robot's torn body, and its lights shut off completely; its body went limp, with the quiet hiss of servos no longer powered. Fluttershy gently lowered it to the ground, and Indy and Applejack respectfully removed their hats for a moment. “What....” Dash breathed. “No, come on! It can't be... I tried, I... I really did....”

She fell silent as Jack laid a comforting hand on her shoulder for a moment, then stood. “We can do nothing more for it,” he said quietly. “Come... we must investigate where it came from. Indy, take a weapon from one of the robots Dash defeated- you will find it useful.”

Indy did so, checking over the weapon as a momentary distraction from what had just happened. It had the look and feel of a classic Thompson .45 submachine gun, but instead of wooden furniture, it had some strange sort of molded plastic; there was no exit port or charging handle, and the drum magazine had a glowing numerical counter on it- currently reading “425”. Everything else seemed to have carried over, though, and he was careful to flick on the safety before slinging it over his shoulder.

That done, he took a moment to look over his companions. Both Fluttershy and Dash were obviously upset, though the rainbow-maned pegasus's expression held quite a bit of anger with it; Rarity and Applejack seemed more shellshocked, and Pinkie was gazing down at the ground dejectedly. Jack's countenance was grim determination, and Twilight had a thoughtful frown. He made his way towards her to talk. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” he asked quietly.

“If I am, I want us both to be wrong,” she answered.

The cave the robot had pointed towards was a narrow affair, lined with veins of the same glowing gems. The group made their way through a handful of bends and turns along the way, until they came to an unexpected darkened section; Twilight immediately lit her horn. When her sight had adjusted and she saw what the light revealed, she groaned and closed her eyes. “Why did I have to be right?” she muttered beneath her breath.

For one hundred and fifty feet, the walls of the tunnel were simple blank, brown earth dusted lightly with dirt, with various mushrooms growing in crevasses along its length. A small cluster of strange-looking, red-furred bats lay sprawled on the tunnel floor about halfway- obviously dead, though with nothing indicating how their lives had ended. Imprinted into the dirt for about two-thirds of the way were odd-looking footprints, four sets of them, with rectangular treads. “This must be where those four appeared,” Rarity guessed.

“Okay, I'm confused,” Applejack sighed. “What's this all mean? Where'd them poor unfortunates come from? What's with this tunnel?”

Twilight looked up. “Indy... do you want to field this? I don't want to be the bearer of bad news this time. Plus I want to hear your thoughts.”

“Yeah, sure.” Indy took his hat off for a moment, dusted it off, then set it back on his head. “So you all know that somehow we all ended up here because of those gems we found, and Twilight's teleportation spell.” There were nods of assent. “Well... it's starting to look like this place is bringing over other things as well. Like this section of tunnel, and those four robots that were inside it.”

“It's bringin' other things over?” Applejack's eyes went wide. “How?!”

“I don't know. And what's more, from what that robot said, it seems that it can replace what it takes with parts of what it's created here. Swapping them, basically.”

“Wait, wait. I need a moment to process this.” Rarity rubbed at the side of her head with a foreleg. “Indy, are you telling us that this place... somehow stole those poor creatures from Jack's world?”

“I don't know if it was intentional, or if they just were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the results were the same.”

Applejack gazed down at the footprints. “They ended up trapped here, jes' like us,” she said. “Only... they didn't have any way of defendin' themselves.”

“Just like this poor snake....” Fluttershy stroked the back of the asp still coiled around her neck for a moment, before she froze, a horrified expression crossing over her face. “But... if it can take creatures, and move entire sections of land... does that mean this place is getting better at it?!”

“It's... a strong possibility, yes.” Indy crossed his arms and looked down at the ground for a moment. “And that has some implications for us.”

“What... what kinda 'implications' do ya mean?” Applejack's expression showed that she wasn't exactly eager to hear the answer to her own question.

Twilight let out a soft sigh. “By 'implications', I think what Indy means is that... our escape is no longer our primary consideration.”

“Indeed.” Jack's expression hadn't visibly changed, but his voice showed just the slightest bit of sadness. “If whatever power or entity we face here is capable of kidnapping others without warning, of replacing pieces of our worlds with itself, then it is nothing less than a threat to all our homes. If we find ourselves presented with the choice of defeating it or escaping it... we must choose the first.”

“You're right.” The rest of the group turned to look at Dash, whose face was a fierce mask of determination. “There's no way I'm gonna let this place... murder any more innocents. No way in heck.”

“Even if it means we can't go home?” Fluttershy seemed to shrink in on herself when Dash only answered with a quick nod. “But....” The yellow mare went quiet for a moment, then sighed and nodded. “I... I agree. I don't know if I could live with myself if we got away only for more innocents to get hurt or... or worse.”

“We are sort of assuming we can stop this, aren't we?” Rarity objected. “What if we can't? What if the only way to stop this is to get out and get help? Princess Celestia would know what to do.”

“That might be the case as well. This is all academic until we understand just what the hay is going on.” Twilight rubbed at her head with a hoof, then sighed as she realized she'd just left a smudge of dirt on her mane. “We just need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. We may have to make a snap decision.”

“Yeah, that's fair 'nuff.” Applejack closed her eyes for a moment, then looked to her side. “Pinkie? Yer quiet. Whaddya you think?”

“Yes, dear, your input is as valid as any of ours,” Rarity reassured her.

Pinkie shook her head. “But I don't have any, guys. I'm just scared and I want to get out of this place. All I'm good for is bringing laughter... and this place hates laughter.”

“Yeah, but that just means we need it more, doesn't it?” Indy knelt down next to her and patted her neck. “You haven't done any less than any of us so far. We need you in this until the end, one hundred percent.”

Her hair seemed to deflate as she gazed down at the ground. “I dunno if I can, Indy.”

“I don't know if I can, either.” It was a heartfelt admission, and shocking to the pony whose life he'd saved just hours ago. “But I'm going to try- and I need you to do the same. Besides....” He gave her one of his best grins. “Just think of the 'escaped-from-horrible-dark-dimension' party you can throw afterwards.”

Pinkie Pie giggling was a wonderful sound, especially surrounded by black rock and hostile creatures and despair. “It'll be the biggest party ever,” she declared. “And this place is NOT invited!” She stamped her hoof in the dirt, tossing up a small cloud and making her sneeze. “Bleh! The dirt's not invited either. Anyway.” She shook her head, her poofy mane wobbling every which way. “I agree with all you guys. This place is a really nasty piece of work and we've gotta shut it down, but we might not be able to do it all by ourselves. We gotta be ready for anything! Outwit, outplay, outrigger!” She seemed to think about that for a brief moment, then shrugged. “Thanks, Indy. You're a good pony-pepper-upper.”

“I'm a man of many skills, what can I say.” He smiled.

The mood had at least improved slightly when the group left the cave, though it was with a solemn silence that they gathered up the four unfortunate robots and placed them back in the cave- as close to a proper burial as they could manage, given the circumstances- and gave Indy a moment to collect more ammunition from the gangster robots before once more heading out. The quiet held as they walked once more, but this time it was borne of determination, not fear.

It was quite a while later- none of them had been keeping track of time, only distance- when a tall shape began to fade into view. Jack's brow furrowed in confusion, and he picked up his pace. “Jack? Wait!” Twilight called after him as the others rushed to keep up. “What is it?”

“I know this place....” His geta clacked across dark-grey cobblestones forming a thin path, leading towards the shape. Abruptly, he stopped; when the rest of the group caught up with him, they could see that the shape was actually a two-story-tall tower, standing over an arching bridge that crossed a shallow, quiet brook. “Jack... I guess this is where you're from?” Indy ventured.

“This garden, this bridge... I grew up near here,” Jack answered, his voice quiet, as he placed a hand against the wooden bridge. “In the years before Aku came... my family spent many days here, watching the birds migrate during the spring, or the leaves fall in autumn....”

“Awlright, now this is jes' low.” Applejack frowned. “First Indy's college, now this? This place is messin' with our heads.”

“There's definitely an effort at psychological warfare. Not exactly comforting.” Twilight looked the bridge over, tapping it with a hoof. “And it's getting better at it too.”

“Uh, guys? I think things are about to get worse.” Everyone looked back at Pinkie Pie, whose tail and forelegs were rigid. “Applejack, are you feeling that?”

“Feelin' what? I don't... oh.” The cowpony groaned. “Fer Celestia's sake, it just don't stop, does it?”

“What-” Rarity was interrupted by a sudden deep rumbling as the ground began quaking beneath her hooves. The few glowing crystals in the garden dimmed, then darkened completely. With sharp cracks, a number of jet-black rocks thrust up from the ground around them, each one reaching into the dark “sky” at an angle, converging above them- forming a solid dome, and trapping them in perfect darkness.

“Ack! Everyone, form up on me!” Twilight quickly lit her horn as the others gathered behind her; when the light revealed nothing but flat black rock- even the brook, the garden and everything around it had vanished- she increased the spell's power. Thirty feet, fifty, a hundred- the limit of her light spell's range, yet no sign of the walls that had trapped them. “So what the hell's going on?” Indy wondered, his newly-acquired weapon already in hand. “It's like we're in some kind of stadium or dome, or something....”

“Dome?!” Jack pulled his sword free. “Be on guard, everyone!”

And suddenly everything erupted in bright yellow light, easily washing out the illumination of Twilight's spell and half-blinding all of them for a moment. When sight returned, the group found themselves in the center of some sort of arena, the grounds of which were easily five hundred feet wide, ringed by a thick black wall and with rows of luminescent crystals shining brightly down from the ceiling. Above the wall were rows of what looked like seats, all empty; above their heads, a solitary figure stood on a hanging platform, cast in shadows. It raised a hand and pulled down what looked like a microphone towards its head, and its voice echoed across the arena.

“Ladies and gentlemen, creatures of all ages. Welcome back... to the Dome of Doom.”

Pinkie blinked, looked around at the empty seats. “Who's he talking to?”

“Pinkie, shush!” Applejack hissed.

“Tonight, we have an exceptional treat! One returning champion, and seven- count them, seven- new entrants! Truly an embarrassment of riches for our humble arena. Such a momentous occasion deserves a truly epic opening act! Perhaps... some old friends of the stars of our show!”

At this, three sections of wall began to open; the group rearranged themselves in a semicircle to face them. “Firstly, from a lush green world by a distant star, four of the greatest hunters the galaxy has ever known. Welcome... the Imakandi!” Four tall, wiry shapes stepped into the light, their dark grey fur, black trousers and jade-green eyes making them almost appear as malevolent shadows. Each bore a different weapon, handled with casual skill that spoke of deep mastery at their use.

“Secondly, formerly of the grand and historic city of Cairo, this skilled bladesman's career was tragically cut short by a certain professor. Now back to gain his revenge, welcome... the Egyptian!” From the second doorway came a shorter figure dressed entirely in black, except for a red sash wound around his waist; his gleaming scimitar cut intricate shapes in the yellow-orange light as he swung it about expertly.

“And thirdly, a legendary and ferocious creature spoken of in fearful whispers across many cultures, a fearsome predator and man-eater- though it certainly won't turn its nose up at a meal of ponies. Welcome... the manticore!” Enormous paws thudded against the rock floor of the arena as the monster stomped its way into view, its glittering black eyes focused on the group and its barbed tail twitching back and forth.

“Oh, this ain't good,” Applejack drawled.

“No, no, wait. This might be good, in fact.” Twilight glanced between their opponents. “Jack, you know those cat-people, right? And Indy, the guy with the sword?” Both humans nodded. “Okay, we're up against known quantities. Nothing can surprise us. We just need to develop and apply a strategy-”

“Apply a strategy later, move now!” Dash interrupted, pointing. The manticore had taken the initiative and launched into a full-out run, bearing down on the group far too quickly for their liking. “It looks like one of our challengers has decided to start the festivities early!” the announcer called out, as the group scattered before the manticore's charge. Not to be outdone, the swordsman and the hunters also rushed towards the center of the arena. Indy opened fire with his submachine gun on the Imakandi as he ran alongside Fluttershy, but the felinoids easily evaded the streams of energy. “I don't think Twilight's strategy would have included this!” Fluttershy panted.

“Well, we're going to have to improvise then!” Indy barely ducked an arrow one of the hunters had fired at him.

“How?!” The arrow had almost hit Fluttershy as well, and her wide eyes showed her growing panic.

“...I'm working on it; give me a minute!”

Their pursuers seemed unwilling to grant him the time. The manticore leapt at them, and only a frightened cry from Fluttershy gave Indy the alert he needed to not get flattened beneath the beast's paws. The impact of the manticore's landing threw the human off of his feet and sent his weapon clattering away across the arena floor; the yellow pegasus was practically bounced off of her hooves, but instead of falling back onto hard rock, she crashed through what proved to be a brittle cover over a wide, deep pit. She hit the bottom with a thud and a soft grunt, and lay stunned for a moment before she could gather herself. She found herself near the wall of the pit, beneath the lights cast by the crystals on the arena's roof; the other half of the pit was left in pitch blackness.

Then, as her eyes adjusted, she began to make out a shape standing in that blackness. A shape much larger than her, with a pair of brilliant green eyes that glared balefully at her. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she managed to squeak out three words.

“Oh... um... hello....”

Across the arena, Jack and Dash were facing off against the Egyptian; the samurai had his sword out and at the ready. “Dash, find the others. They may need your assistance.”

“No way, dude. You might need me too.”

“I am entirely capable of handling this-” The human was interrupted by a leaping attack from the Egyptian; the thick scimitar clanged against the enchanted katana- and almost tore it from Jack's grasp. The strength of the blow sent Jack reeling, off-balance, and unprepared for his attacker's follow-up swing-

-which hit nothing but a rainbow-colored afterimage streak.

Thirty feet away, Dash set Jack down on his feet, then gave him a cocky smirk. “Yeah, I think you do need my help,” she told him.

He managed a sheepish grin. “Perhaps I do....”

Still near the center of the arena, Twilight, Rarity and Applejack were doing their best to fight off three of the Imakandi. The agile hunters were not making it easy- in fact, they seemed to be toying with the ponies, trying to get some sort of spirited combat out of them before going in for the kill. “Oh, no!” Rarity cried out. “Girls, where's Pinkie Pie?!”

“I dunno,” Applejack grunted in reply. “Last I seen 'er was when we scattered.”

“She's probably got some crazy scheme cooked up.” Twilight glanced over her shoulder at one of the hunters, who was shadowing the group with an easy, loping run. “And if she does, I hope she gets it going quickly!”

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Indy could only glance around for the pegasus for a moment, before having to leap away from the manticore yet again. He managed a shoulder roll and came up with with his pistol in hand, watching the beast's tail and waiting- there, the monster was about to strike, and with a deft feint, Indy got it to strike wrongly. As the barbed tail dug a deep furrow into the arena floor, Indy fired three rounds into it; chips of rock flew through the air as the bullets tore large holes, and the last half-foot of the tail- including its barb- broke loose and fell to the ground.

whumph

The manticore was just as quick with its paw as it had been with its tail, catching Indy flat-footed and sending him crashing across the arena floor. By some miracle, he kept hold of his handgun, but he was just getting to his feet when the manticore came rushing towards him-

-until an orange blur intercepted it, and a pair of very strong hooves smashed into its muzzle.

The beast practically spun as it fell sideways, crashing into the ground. Twilight and Rarity galloped by the still-recovering human. “Indy!” Twilight called out. “We'll keep the manticore busy, but you need to get those hunters off our flanks!”

“Got it!” One of the Imakandi- armed with a pair of javelins of some sort- was still dogging the ponies, focused on his targets. Inspiration struck Indy, and he tossed his handgun into his left hand, gripping the handle of his whip with the right.

BANG BANG

Poorly-aimed shots, but he didn't expect to be able to hit anyway. But mission accomplished- he had the hunter's attention. Jade eyes narrowed as the felinoid altered his course, heading right for the archaeologist, who raised the handgun again.

BANG

The hunter jumped, soaring into the air, javelins at the ready to strike upon landing. Indy raised his whip, ready to strike- but paused for just a moment as the hunter's javelins briefly glowed a bright purple and jerked to the side. Before the felinoid could recover, Indy struck; the whip wrapped tightly around the creature's ankle, and Indy pulled hard, sending the hunter crashing into the ground shoulder-first. A quick glance up as the archaeologist closed the distance showed Twilight giving him a slight nod before rushing off after Rarity.

Before the hunter could get up, Indy had his foot on the felinoid's back and his handgun aimed at that dust-grey mane.

BANG

“Oh, and it looks like one of our challengers is out of the match!” the announcer called out. “And his three kinsmen are none too happy about it! But our dear adventurer isn't sticking around to hear their opinions on the matter....”

clang

Even Rainbow Dash had to admit that what she was doing was stupid. Going hoof-to-hand against one of these things was tricky enough normally, but this Egyptian was exceptionally skilled and ridiculously fast; every blow she tried- with all the speed she could muster- was turned aside by that scimitar, and there were times where she'd been a split-second away from catching the edge of the weapon instead of the flat. And what was worse was that he was so easily fending her off while engaged in a full-on swordfight with Jack. “This isn't working!” she called out to the human.

“Suggestions will be entertained!” he shouted back.

She made the mistake of actually trying to think of one, and that was what distracted her enough to miss a strike. The Egyptian capitalized, driving an elbow into her side as she sped past, sending her crashing into the arena floor. As quick as thought, the creature spun, scimitar swinging up and then down-

clangthunk

-and hitting the ground a mere half-inch from Dash's head, slicing a tiny cloud of rainbow hairs from her mane. Jack used the momentum from his last-second deflection to drive his foot into the Egyptian's chest, staggering him for a moment- just long enough for Jack to get Dash on her hooves. “Owe ya one,” she breathed.

He gave her a brief smile. “Perhaps we will be more effective working together than apart.”

“Lead the dance, big guy.”

When the Egyptian had recovered, he found himself facing a much different team dynamic from his foes. Instead of Dash striking whenever she could while Jack essentially fought on his own, the pair began coordinating; they kept up a steady attack on the creature, each covering for the other as they moved into a different position. The creature, formerly seemingly unbeatable, now found himself losing ground as what had been two separate, predictable lines of attack now became much more focused and difficult to anticipate. Every time the Egyptian managed to knock aside Jack's sword, Dash was there to pummel at him with her hooves; when he managed to force her to withdraw, the samurai was back on the offensive.

The creature was starting to lose his footing when a large shadow cast itself over all of them. Dash glanced upwards.

“Oh, buck! Jack- MOVE!”

The manticore's bulk slammed down in a pounce that just barely missed both Jack and the Egyptian, sending both off of their feet- and Jack into the forelegs of a hovering Dash. The beast turned towards them, ruined tail twitching, eyes glittering with murderous intent.

Dash and Jack glanced at each other. “Run?” the mare asked.

“Run,” the man agreed.

And they ran.

“It seems that the face-off between the Egyptian and our champions has been interrupted by the manticore! You know those fabled beasts... they'll miss no opportunity to be in the spotlight!”

“Okay, we're all split up, that manticore won't stay still fer me t'give 'im a proper beatin', an' that announcer guy is really getting' on mah last nerve!” Applejack gritted her teeth. “An' on toppa that, we can't shake them hunter fellers!” She glanced back at the two still on their tails; since Indy had brought down one of their number, they looked much angrier, but were still following the ponies doggedly.

“Well, if I had half a minute to come up with a plan...!” Twilight panted.

Rarity furrowed her brow in thought. “We should divide them,” she said. “There are three of us and two of them. If we split up, at least one of us will be free to influence the fight elsewhere!”

“That ain't a bad idea!” Applejack exclaimed. “Twi, you good with that?”

“For lack of being able to come up with anything myself, yes! Applejack, split right; Rarity, you go left. Whoever doesn't end up being chased, look for whatever chance you have to lend a hoof!”

The trio split off; to Twilight's growing discomfort, she saw one of the hunters break off after her, while the other tailed Applejack. “Well, at least that leaves Rarity clear,” she murmured, glancing around for some way she could get rid of the felinoid on her tail. Then she saw the manticore stalking around, looking for a target- and she got an idea.

“Hey! Tall, dark and ugly!” she shouted out.

That definitely got its attention. The beast whirled, snarling, huge ebony teeth bared.

“Yeah, you!” she taunted it, sparing just a glance over her shoulder to make sure her pursuer was still close. He was. “Come on, prime quality pony right here! Snack-sized!”

The manticore sprang into a run, claws tearing into the stone floor as it charged towards Twilight with single-minded fury. The unicorn angled her mad dash towards the arena's wall, deliberately trapping herself between the hunter and the manticore; she turned, head low, doing her best to look frightened as she quickly calculated speed and trajectory. The hunter, apparently thinking he'd finally run his prey into exhaustion, pushed himself into a sprint, then leapt into the air, unheeding of the huge beast also ready to pounce. Twilight's eyes flicked between both of them, waiting for just the right moment.

poomf

Teleporting a group as one entity was difficult enough. Doing a pair of singular teleports involving two targets with converse start/end loci- essentially, a teleport swap- on the fly was a real challenge. But there was nothing like a pair of angry creatures with large teeth and claws bearing down on one to provide incentive.

Twilight looked over her shoulder to see the hunter- who'd suddenly found himself still sailing through the air from the point where she'd just been standing- flail his arms as he saw the manticore coming at him. The beast, enraged, only knew that something was flying towards its mouth, and did what came naturally.

crunch

“And there's another hunter out of the match! Our contestants are certainly putting up a spirited fight- as only befits the Dome of Doom!”

Applejack glared upwards. “Swear t' Celestia, I'm gonna shove that microphone so far up his-”

“Applejack!”

“Hu-wha-?” Applejack blinked, then turned. “Indy!” she called out.

The human was running alongside her a couple of dozen feet off. “I can't find Fluttershy or Pinkie!” he shouted.

“Pinkie oughta be awright, but Fluttershy... I ain't seen 'er neither! I'll keep mah eyes open, but I can't exactly search with that hunter on m'tail!”

“Dammit.” Indy took a quick look around. “I think I can get him off you, but-”

smash

From seemingly out of nowhere, the Egyptian had landed directly in front of Indy, forcing him to stumble to a stop. Applejack raced by. “If'n I can lose this guy I'll come help ya!” she shouted as she sped away, the felinoid in hot pursuit. The archaeologist took a couple of steps back, watching the black-garbed creature warily. “So I guess you want a rematch then,” Indy sighed.

The Egyptian said nothing, only taking a step forward, scimitar held out at his side.

“...right. Well. No time, so it looks like a repeat performance.” As quick as thought, Indy pulled his handgun from its holster and fired from the hip.

As soon as he fired, the Egyptian brought his scimitar up, deflecting the bullet away.

Indy blinked, taking another step back. “Well, that's just not fair,” he muttered, bringing his whip up to swing with his left hand as the Egyptian took another step towards him-

whack

Something sky-blue and very fast slammed into the creature, knocking him off-balance. Indy risked another shot, but the Egyptian jumped away at the last second and the bullet- the last one in the magazine- missed its mark. “Gah! That guy's being a pest!” Dash growled, scrambling to her hooves. “Indy! You seen Fluttershy?”

“No, and neither has Applejack! She- dammit!” The Egyptian was charging Dash from her blind side, sword held high, and Indy didn't have time to reload before the creature could skewer the pegasus. Instead, the human rushed forth and lashed out with his left hand.

crack

The Egyptian sidestepped the whip's popper just in time to avoid being struck, but the effort cost him half a step and made him stumble slightly. That was just enough for Dash, who'd seen Indy's movements and realized she was in trouble; she'd launched herself into the air just as the whip was lashing out, cut an extremely tight turn and sped at the creature, driving her hooves into his chest just as he was recovering and sending him sliding backwards. Dash landed lightly on all four hooves, head lowered and ready to charge again as the creature managed to roll into a crouch. “I am getting so sick of this guy!” she muttered.

The creature had regained his feet, and was setting himself for another charge. Despite lacking a good weapon to fight him, Dash and Indy both stood their ground, waiting. The Egyptian flexed his legs, preparing to leap-

-and a tan-and-red blur intercepted him, sending him flying once again.

Indy and Dash both reflexively took a step back at sight of this new interloper. A huge jungle cat of some sort, easily three times Dash's size, had settled in a cloud of dust upon landing. Tan fur crisscrossed with deep crimson stripes covered a powerfully-built body, and clear green eyes stared at where the Egyptian had crashed to the ground. Then there was some kind of movement on its back, and both human and pegasus spoke at once.

“Fluttershy?!”

The pink-maned mare carefully reseated herself on the large feline's back. “Oh. Um... hi, guys,” she said quietly, blushing. “Sorry if I worried everyone. I was talking with my new friend here-” she patted the cat's back gently- “and found out a lot.” She glanced up at the Egyptian, who'd again regained his feet, and her eyes narrowed. “Like what you want to do,” she told the creature, her voice low and angry. “You've got some really nasty plans for a lot of innocent creatures. Horrible plans! And I can't let you go through with them!” She glanced down at the large feline she was riding. “And my friend feels the same way,” she continued. “So he's going to do what I can't.” The otherworldly tiger lowered its head and bared its teeth, and Fluttershy hunkered down against its back, turning to her friends. “You two should go help the others,” she said, her voice almost preternaturally calm. “We've got this.”

And with that, the great beast leapt forward, forcing back the Egyptian. “Fluttershy, wait-!” Dash called out, stretching her wings to take off after her friend- but Indy stopped her. “No,” he told her. “I think she does have this. She gave us an opening- let's use it.”

Dash glanced between him and the tiger her friend was riding on, then sighed. “Yeah. You're right. C'mon.”

“Well, everyone, it looks like we have yet another new challenger on the field- formerly a part of one of our traps! Ahh, but that is the way of the arena... expect the unexpected, because anything can happen!”

Jack was sorely tempted to jump up onto that platform and silence the announcer. But there was too much going on at this level, too many friends who were fighting just as hard as him and who might need his help at a moment's notice... so he simply partially tuned out the annoying voice, giving it only enough attention to where he could pick up if something important was said. Instead, he turned his mind towards analyzing the current situation.

Two of the hunters were down, defeated by Indy and Twilight. That in itself was surprising- the hunters had proven themselves viable threats on his world, and their replicas here were no slouches. But then again, they'd apparently been copied from his world, and he doubted they had experienced anything quite like his allies here.

The current major problems were the Egyptian- at the moment, being handled by the giant jungle cat that Fluttershy was somehow seated on- and the manticore; however, that beast was going to require a group effort without distractions, so Jack thought it better to focus on the remaining two hunters first, and then the Egyptian.

“Jack!” The samurai turned. As if she'd anticipated his plan, Applejack was rushing towards him with one of the hunters close behind. “This feller's harder t' shake than a bunch of fire fleas! Get 'im offa mah flank!”

She sped past him in a full gallop, practically gasping for breath. Jack leapt forward, sword held high, bringing it down at the hunter- only to be deflected at the last second by the felinoid's staff.

Behind him, Applejack panted heavily, looking as though she was about to fall over. “I'll lend ya a hoof... soon as I catch... mah second wind...!” she promised breathlessly.

He gave her a quick nod, then turned his attention back to the hunter- who was already leaping back towards him, staff thrusting forward with enough force to crack bone. His mystic blade flashed through the air, turning the quarterstaff aside and forcing the Imakandi to shoulder-roll past him. Jack set himself once again, sword at the ready. “You would shame any true Imakandi who looked upon you,” he taunted the creature.

The creature snarled and charged again- just as Jack wanted. Enraged, the creature was a formidable opponent, but within Jack's ability to handle... and every moment it spent focused on him was a moment Applejack had to recover. The samurai slashed, stabbed, parried and deflected, doing his best not to give the hunter a moment's respite.

It was when Jack had just knocked aside a forward thrust and was bringing his blade around for a diagonal chop when the hunter's foot hit some loose, powdered gravel from one of the manticore's impacts. With a quick forward kick, the hunter sent a cloud of dust up at Jack's face; too late, he tried to shield his eyes, but caught a good amount of the dust in them. He let out a startled cry and started backing away, rubbing desperately at his eyes to clear them; he could hear the hunter's approach, too fast to judge by sound-

thwack

-and then the sound of a body sliding away across the arena floor. Finally, Jack managed to clear his eyes enough to see, and found Applejack standing next to him, still panting but much more composed. “Wouldja lookit that- seems I'm back in th' rodeo. Y'alright, Jack?”

“I will be fine.” Slowly he managed to force his watery eyes to focus. “Thank you.”

“T'weren't nothin'. That's some dirty trick he pulled. Bet the real deal wouldn't stoop to that.” She glared at the creature, who was- with some difficulty, Jack noted with satisfaction- getting to his feet. “Oh, an' here's his buddy,” she continued, watching the second remaining hunter lope up beside him. “Two versus two. Now, Jack, I might not be as flashy as Dashie-” she smirked at the unintended rhyme- “but yer gonna find me a pretty capable dance pardner in m'own way. Y'ready to get started?”

Jack smiled. “You may call the tune.”

“Another faceoff for the history books, ladies and gentlemen! The samurai and the cowgirl versus two of the finest predators to ever stalk the galaxy! Who will be victorious?”

“We'd all consider it a victory if you would just stop talking!” Rarity shouted up at the announcer. “That overstuffed loudmouth is making my head ache... come on, Rarity, think. What can you do here?” She glanced around as she cantered, trying to conserve her energy after the fierce chase earlier, and spotted a purple blur. “Twilight!” she called.

The blur stopped. “Rarity! Oh, thank Celestia!” Twilight rushed over to her. “Fluttershy is on a tiger now and I can't find Pinkie or Indy and my magic reserves are almost exhausted!”

Rarity blinked. “Fluttershy is on- never mind. Make sense of things later; plan now!”

“Need to think, need to think... okay. The manticore's our primary concern, but it'll take all of us to stop it. I think Jack knows that too- that's why he and Applejack are handling the two hunters and Fluttershy and her... tiger... are holding off the Egyptian.” She paused for a moment. “Where's Rainbow Dash?”

“Right here.” Dash sped in for a landing, with a tired-looking Indy close behind. “Did you see Fluttershy's tiger?”

“Yeah, what's the deal with... never mind. Okay.” Twilight took a deep breath. “We need to keep the manticore busy so we can get the hunters and the Egyptian out of our collective mane. Dash, you're the fastest-”

“-so you want me to keep the big angry cat busy. Can do.” She flexed her wings to take off, then paused. “Buuuuut I'll wait to hear the rest of the plan so I'll know how to help if it's needed.”

“That's... very wise, Dash. Rarity, Indy, you should help Jack and AJ with the hunters. I'm not interested in a fair fight- I just want this over and done with. I'll give Fluttershy a hoof with the Egyptian.”

“And if we find ourselves free, find someone else who needs help?” Rarity added.

“Exactly.” Twilight nodded. “Okay. Ready? We can do this.”

The group split up. Rarity stuck close to Indy, trotting alongside him as he did his best to keep a good running pace. Rarity couldn't help but notice that he was both limping and panting for breath. “Indy... do you mind if I help?” she asked.

“No, no... I appreciate the thought, but save your magic.” He made a visible effort to go faster. “I can make it. Not too old for this yet.”

She gave him a look of concern, but nodded. “Alright. Just... be careful.”

Twilight was panting for breath herself as she galloped across the arena. It was hard to tell with all the dust being kicked up, but it looked like Fluttershy and her tiger were still at a draw against the Egyptian; the humanoid creature was just too skilled for the tiger to pin down, but the feline was too agile for the Egyptian to strike.

It was a stalemate Twilight needed to break. But how? Her mind raced through the spells she knew, desperate for one that could turn the situation towards their benefit. There wasn't anything nearby she could use as a weapon- in fact, the only thing she could find nearby was a bunch of small, jagged stone shards from one of the manticore's rampages....

“Fluttershy!” she called out. “Move in five seconds!” Without watching for confirmation, she gathered up as many of the shards as she could in a magical field and dashed forward towards the conflict. She was relieved to see, in five seconds precisely, the tiger suddenly spin on its paws and leap away. The Egyptian paused for just a moment, confused-

-and then react with reflexes few living creatures could hope to match, bringing his sword up to deflect the stream of shards Twilight flung at him. “Gah, that isn't even fair,” she muttered, furrowing her brow... before a wicked smile crossed her face, and a good couple dozen of the shards gathered in front of her in a tight group, while a brightly-glowing field of magic surrounded them. “Fine, then... how about a little applied learning?”

Just as the Egyptian began to advance on her, she released the compressed magical field she'd built behind the shards. The air that had been contained inside it exploded with a sharp crack, flinging all twenty shards forward faster than her eye could track.

The Egyptian, having expected another stream of shards, had no way to defend himself from Twilight's version of a shotgun shell. His sword managed to deflect a few, but the others tore through his stone body like razors through jelly. With a rattling cry, the creature fell back, almost dropping his sword.

And then Fluttershy's tiger was immediately back on the offensive, swinging one huge paw and batting the creature aside like a toy. The dark-clothed figure managed to roll out of his impact with the ground, and charged the tiger again- but then jumped to the side at the last moment, avoiding a pounce by the feline, and leapt directly at Twilight with his sword held high. The unicorn watched expressionlessly as the creature descended towards her, that wicked blade cutting through air, aimed towards her vulnerable neck-

-and striking the empty ground as Twilight vanished at the last possible moment. The scimitar flew out of the creature's grip as he tried once more to recover. But his damaged form couldn't manage to keep from slamming into the rock, and he was too slow in getting up; as a large shadow loomed over him, it was all he could do to look over his shoulder and see a very large and angry tiger bearing down on him mid-leap.

Something gave off a faint snap when the feline's weight slammed him back onto the ground, and he did not rise again.

“And one more challenger falls! Truly is this a battle royale worthy of our arena! Can this rag-tag group overcome the last of the Imakandi and the fearsome manticore?”

“Can we overcome the terrible announcing... now there's the question!” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Come on, Dash, focus. Here, kitty, kitty....” She spotted her quarry at the outside edge of the arena, stalking along in what few shadows were to be found, eyeing the conflict in the center and obviously waiting for a good time to strike again.

It was her first instinct- and probably her second and third, too- to simply charge the beast and get its attention immediately. But something in the back of her mind told her to wait, and do some observing herself. So instead she glided off to the edge of the arena herself, perching on the wall that ringed the arena floor, in a bit of shadow that wasn't dark enough to hide her completely but at least made her less conspicuous. And she did something that she normally had a very hard time doing.

She waited.

Aside from sparing the ongoing fight in the middle of the arena the occasional glance, Dash fixed her attention on the creature she was watching, carefully examining every movement of its body, every twitch of its eyes. As much as she wanted to fly back towards the battle her friends were engaged in, or leap towards the manticore and give it the thrashing it deserved, she knew above all else that the beast was going to be their primary challenge- and she was going to be ready for anything it tried on them. “That's right, you overgrown tabby,” she murmured beneath her breath, her rose eyes narrowing. “I'm going to get in your head. And every move you make, I'll know it's coming. Because you are not getting past me.”

It was the longest two minutes of Rainbow Dash's life spent crouched there on a ledge, hardly breathing or blinking, watching the stone-skinned monster pace back and forth. And then, whatever it had for muscles tensed, and its ebony eyes narrowed. The pegasus didn't even have to look. “Fluttershy, huh? I've got some bad news for you, kitty. Not a bucking chance in Tartarus.”

At the moment the beast jumped forward, Dash's wings shot out and flexed, and she was airborne.

“Awright, usually I like fair odds as much as anyone, but this here dance is goin' on far too long!” Applejack charged, ducked at the last moment and literally slid a short distance on her side, lashing out with her hindlegs at the hunter's knees, only to have it leap over her at the last second. She rolled back onto her hooves, just in time to sidestep a vicious kick from the felinoid; a follow-up kick was knocked aside by Jack, who drove the hunter off for a moment with a kick of his own. “These creatures do not tire,” Jack uttered, half bent-over from fatigue despite his best efforts to stand straight. “We are not so fortunate.”

Applejack glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “Well, looks like the cavalry's arrived!” she declared. “'Bout darn time, too!”

Not that their backup looked any less exhausted, but Jack knew that Rarity and Indy could still tilt the fight in their favor. It seemed that the hunters understood that as well- which was probably why the pair immediately split up and sprinted away.

“Damn it-!” Indy slapped his hat against his knee in frustration. “I am sick of running!”

“I hear ya, pardner, but if'n we can pin them pests down, we're that much closer to gettin' outta here.” Applejack spun on her hooves. “C'mon, Jack!”

“One moment.” The samurai sheathed his blade, then pulled the scabbard free from his belt and tossed it towards Indy, who managed to catch it. “Whoa, hang on, Jack,” the archaeologist said, eyeing the sword uncertainly. “I don't know how to use this.”

Jack gave him a quick grin. “Improvise.”

And with that, he and the farmpony were running, chasing after one of the Imakandi. Shaking his head in confusion, Indy turned as well, leading Rarity off after the other. Applejack looked up at her partner as they ran. “So why'd ya give him yer sword?” she asked.

“You and I are capable of handling a hunter without weapons. Rarity and Indy... perhaps not quite so much.” He could just hear the pony snicker as she nodded. “They are too agile for Indy's gun to be of much use, and a whip is a difficult weapon to use in close combat. My sword will, perhaps... give them an edge?”

She glanced up at him. “Jack, was that s'posed to be a pun?”

“It might have been.” He gave her a sheepish grin.

“We, uh... we kin work on that.”

“So here I am, running alongside a sentient, magical pony, lugging around a magical sword, trapped in an arena and fighting for my life against creatures made of stone.” Indy spared the sheathed katana, thrust awkwardly into his belt, a glance. “How have I not lost my mind yet?”

Rarity couldn't help but giggle. “Goodness, Dr. Jones, when you put it that way, all of this just doesn't seem possible.”

“I'm glad we're in agreement!” The human stopped for a moment to catch his breath and look around. “Where'd that damn hunter get to... Rarity, do you see him?”

“No; he got too much of a start on us, I couldn't keep track.” She frowned as her azure eyes darted back and forth. “No doubt the creature is stalking us at this very moment-”

The next thing she knew, Indy's arms were around her and he was in the middle of a shoulder roll; a dull thunk just behind her, and she felt little flecks of stone bounce off of her hide. Indy let out a soft grunt as he came to a stop and let her go, and as she scrambled to her hooves, she noticed that the human wasn't getting up as quickly as she'd expected, one of his hands was pressed against his side- he'd apparently hit something while rolling. She was about to ask him if he was alright when a shadow loomed over them both.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she looked over her shoulder. The Imakandi had already recovered from his missed strike at her and, seeing both of his targets vulnerable, was leaping in for the kill, staff raised high. Rarity gasped, took one step backwards, and felt her hoof bump into the still-vulnerable human behind her.

Something inside her mind clicked. She set her hooves down, locked her eyes on the creature's, and uttered one word.

“...NO.”

Her horn flared. The tip of the hunter's staff flashed blue-white, then was yanked off to the side; the creature, unprepared, was pulled along with it, crashing to the ground a couple of dozen feet away. That would only distract it for a moment, Rarity knew, and she immediately turned her attention to her friend. “Indy? Indy, you have to get up! Quickly!”

“...working on it!” He was, despite his obvious fatigue and pain, drawing his handgun even as he rose. The weapon barked twice, but the hunter had already recovered and easily dodged both shots. “Damn it, everything here is either too big or too fast to shoot!”

“Well, then it's time I did something!” The unicorn's horn flared again, and a faint white light appeared around Indy's chest and arms. He paused for a moment, confused; it felt as though gravity had been lessened, or he'd been put into a harness of some sort that was holding him up. “Rarity....” he said.

“I need to do this, Indy,” she replied. “I can't fight this creature directly. I don't have the skill. But I can help you do it.”

She could see him trying to come up with an objection before he finally gave in- then, in one smooth motion, holstered his handgun and drew Jack's katana from its sheath. “Well, if that's how things have to be,” he said quietly, “then might as well make the best of it.” He glanced down at her with a smile. “Stay next to me.”

The hunter seemed unimpressed as he once more rushed in, his staff a blur as it swung through the air- only to be knocked aside by the sword. Even Indy was surprised at how smoothly he'd done so. “Oh, this is gonna be interesting,” he said beneath his breath, taking a step back and setting himself in the best stance he could think of. “Ready?” he asked his companion.

Rarity gulped, then nodded. “As I'll ever be.”

Indy's eyes moved from her to the stone-skinned creature standing absolutely still a few feet away; he was watching the pair intently, waiting. Indy tightened his grip on the katana's handle. “Sentou kaishi, you bastard,” he growled under his breath.

With speed he hadn't been able to muster since he was twenty, Indy charged forward.

Future Imperfect (3/3)

“Finally! Things are looking up for our side!” Twilight clung to the back of the tiger as it loped towards the center of the arena, taking advantage of even a moment's rest. “Fluttershy, ask your... um... friend here if it knows any way out of here. As soon as we get a free moment I want to find the exits.”

“He can understand you just fine, silly.” Fluttershy leaned down to hear a soft rumble from the tiger. “Hmm... no, they had him in a covered cage when they brought him in; he didn't see how they got him into the pit.”

“Covered cage? The pit was ready beforehand? Dear Celestia, this place knew what it was doing WAY beforehoof.” Twilight rubbed her muzzle. “Problems for later. Right now we need to end this fight. Give me a second to....”

Her voice trailed off as two shadows- one massive, one much smaller- streaked overhead. “Come on, Skippy, is that the best-” she heard Rainbow Dash shout out before distance, and the deep whoosh of the manticore's wings, stole her voice away.

“...Dash is definitely handling the manticore,” the unicorn whispered, consulting her mental checklist. “Check.”

“-the best you've got?” Dash didn't even know for certain why she was taunting the beast; she was pretty sure it was already as angry as it could get. So was she, for that matter. But despite the anger, she was thinking clearly- she knew that she was both faster and more maneuverable than the manticore, but she had to keep it “entertained” enough for it not to give up on her and go after one of her friends.

Unfortunately there were precious few ways for her to do so aside from keeping just ahead of the creature. She managed to get it away from the middle of the arena, and with a quick juke, she faked it out well enough to get it to crash into the thick perimeter wall. Unfortunately, that only bought her a few seconds of peace, as it practically bounced from the now-cracked wall only to land on its paws and immediately took off after her again. “Ugh, wouldn't you know the thing is even tougher than it looks,” she groaned beneath her breath.

As she cruised along the edge of the arena, she took a moment to look over the ongoing battle. For some reason, Indy had Jack's sword and was actually holding his own against one of the hunters; Dash could just make out Rarity's magical field around him. Not too far away, Jack and AJ were likewise doing a good job of keeping the other hunter on the defensive, with the human's impressive moves complimenting the cowpony's relentless attacks well.

The manticore must have noticed her gaze, or maybe it had gotten tired of chasing her tail, but she somehow sensed it slow and begin to peel off. She muttered every last profanity she could think of and cut the sharpest U-turn she could manage, her head pounding from the strain the maneuver put on her body- but it gave her just enough time to intercept the manticore as it bounded into the air once more, streaking towards Indy and Rarity, who continued their fight unheeding of the new danger above them.

Dash thrust out one hoof, dipped and then soared, aiming right for the beast's chin-

-and the manticore suddenly twisted itself around, a wicked grin on its muzzle as it brought one huge paw around to swat her out of the air-

-and Dash spun, planting both rear hooves on the beast's foreleg even as it swung, using it as a springboard to launch her hoof-first right into the thing's jaw. The blow was strong enough to daze the creature at least, and its dive became a freefall- directly towards the fashionista and archaeologist below.

“Ah, crud- look out below!” she hollered.

The hunter, with its inability to feel fatigue, was quick to leap away; Indy was caught flat-footed, but a magical “shove” from Rarity was just enough to get him out of the way, while the pony spun on her hooves and jumped for all she was worth. The manticore slammed back-first into the floor with a sound not unlike a small explosion, and enough force to rattle the overhead crystals and the announcer's platform.

The impact was also enough to crack the thin plate of rock underneath the beast, and as the manticore rolled back onto its feet and gave chase to Dash again, the spiderweb of cracks began to grow. Indy scrambled to get to his feet, aches and pains forgotten in a rush of panic. “Rarity! Get back!” he shouted to her, sprinting to get away from the now-collapsing floor.

“Indy? What-?!” Only now could she see the gaping hole opening up behind him, the pieces of rock falling away into the lightless void beneath this place. Her legs locked up under her in fear. “Run!” she called out to him, reaching her magic towards him- no good; he was outside of her range.

Then the rock beneath her started to crack as well, and with a panicked yelp she scrambled backwards, tripping over her hooves and falling back. She looked back up to see Indy sprinting towards her, one hand out, preparing to jump-

-too late, as the rock gave out beneath his feet and he plummeted out of sight, too fast for her to catch with her magic.

“INDY!” The ground was still fragile beneath her, but she crawled up as close to the pit as she dared; the edge of the hole was just in front of her, and with a quick glance to her sides she could see where the pit ended. Hoping against hope, she stuck her head over the edge and looked down.

“Uh... can I get a hand here? Or a hoof? Whatever you've got available.”

There he was, almost ten feet below, hanging precariously by one hand; somehow he'd managed to get one of his kunai free and dig it into a crevice in the rock as he fell. It wouldn't hold long, though, and he was too far down for her to get a stable arcanokinesis field around him with enough strength to lift him.

Desperation triggered innovation. “Indy! Your whip! Toss one end up so I can take hold of it!”

Carefully, the human reached down with his free hand, grabbed the handle of his whip, and flicked the lash upwards. As soon as it was as high as it would get, Rarity's arcane field took hold of it. “I have it! Climb!”

The human started to pull himself upwards- and then the kunai slipped out from the rock and tumbled into the black void beneath him, and Rarity felt as though her heart had stopped for a moment. But his hold on his whip was strong, and as she began pulling him up with as much magical strength as she could muster, he started pulling himself up as well, digging his boots into the rock for leverage. But it wasn't a fast enough pace for Rarity's tastes- that hunter was still out there somewhere, after all- so she seized the whip's end in her teeth, ignoring the atrocious taste, and began pulling as hard as she could with her hooves as well as with her magic.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, one of Indy's hands grasped the edge of the pit. Immediately Rarity rushed forward, wrapped her magic around his chest and pulled, carefully bringing him back onto solid ground, where he collapsed on his back and panted for breath. “Where's... the hunter?” he gasped.

“I don't know, I... wait.” She spotted the Imakandi, sprinting across the arena as the tiger chased after it. “Ooooh, catfight,” she quipped with a giggle, managing to get a chuckle out of the exhausted human as well. “Indy, can you stand?”

“Yeah, one second.” It took a little longer than that, but the archaeologist managed to get back to his feet once more. “I think that's another one I owe you,” he told her with a grateful smile. “Guess we'd better get back into the action.”

“Well, it seems that our contestants found one of our surprises a little early! What a pity; that bottomless pit was sure to be a crowd-pleaser. But one should expect the unexpected in the Dome of Doom!”

“The last thing I'd expect is for him to pipe down. Wouldn't that be nice?” Twilight couldn't help but giggle; it was a supreme accomplishment to get Fluttershy of all ponies annoyed enough to say something about it. “I know, seriously,” the unicorn agreed. “We need to finish this before he drives us all crazy. Fluttershy, get your friend here to chase the hunter back towards the middle of the arena. I have an idea.”

Applejack's ears perked as she heard a sharp whistle from somewhere near the center of the dome. She risked a quick glance backwards and could just make out Twilight, seated on top of that tiger behind Fluttershy, waving a hoof towards them. The cowpony understood. “Jack,” she called out, getting his attention. “Let's bring 'im around! Twi's up to somethin'.”

“Understood!” Immediately, the samurai changed his tactics, and he and Applejack began forcing the Imikandi to retreat, giving him no option but to head towards the middle of the floor.

Finally, after a couple more minutes of chasing, fighting and corralling, the two remaining hunters stood back-to-back at the center of the arena, both watching their opponents emotionlessly, each ready to respond to the slightest movement. “And here we have it,” the announcer called out. “The last stand, the final fight. What will it be? A reckless charge? A careful approach? An all-out brawl? Or perhaps-”

pwomf

“...or perhaps teleporting the hunters over the bottomless pit.” Everything was silent for a moment as the two remaining Imakandi fell, noiselessly, to their doom. “So be it! All is fair in the arena! But now... the final scene in our opening act must still be played out- the manticore!” As if hearing its cue, the beast landed in the center of the arena, followed closely by Dash. “Darn it, get back here, you bat-winged jerk!” she yelled, delivering a powerful double-hoofed kick to the beast's rump... which only served to infuriate the creature, as its ebony eyes locked on its original target- Fluttershy.

Twilight had just opened her mouth to speak when Dash shouted. “Twilight! Bind its wings, quick!”

There was a combination of authority and desperation in the pegasus's voice that overrode the unicorn's tendency to question what she didn't understand; in an instant, her horn lit up, and a glowing field surrounded the manticore's wings just as they were about to snap open for flight. Caught by surprise, the beast stumbled out of its pre-flight jump.

“Jack! AJ! Take out its front legs!”

Jack's sliding kick came just a little too slowly, but lifting the paw he'd been aiming for left the manticore with much of its weight on its other foreleg- which took a crushing blow from Applejack's hooves. As it recoiled and tried to regain its balance, Jack's second kick caught it in the back of its leg, sending it crashing face-first into the ground.

“Okay! Indy, hogtie the front legs! Rarity, same, back legs!”

Indy's whip caught the beast's forelegs as it scrambled to regain its paws, and as it braced itself to break free, a glowing field of white magic surrounded its hindlegs, yanking them together and back, sending the creature crashing back down on its belly. There it lay, squirming and snarling, struggling to get free, as Rainbow Dash touched down in front of him. “Whoa, Dash,” Applejack murmured, staring at her friend. “Didn't think y'had that sort of leadership streak in ya.”

“Didn't mean to step on your hooves, Twilight, but I figured we had one good shot.” The pegasus glared into the manticore's black eyes. “I said I'd get in that ugly head of yours. Knew every move you'd pull. Knew just how to shut you down.” She actually snarled, and the other ponies took a step back in surprise. “You don't attack my friends, not while I'm around.” She abruptly turned away. “Indy, you wanna see our old friend off?”

Wordlessly, Indy drew Jack's katana, held it in both hands and raised it up, blade downward and pointed towards the manticore's head. The beast continued to growl and struggle right up until the moment the sword drove through its skull and into the stone floor below it.

“A clean sweep for our returning champion and his allies! Let's give a cheer for Two-Sandals the Treacherous!”

Off to one side, a part of the arena wall shuddered, then slid downwards with a soft rumble. “That might be a way out!” Twilight called. “Everyone, go! Dash, scout it out ahead of us!”

“You got it!” The pegasus streaked through the air, disappearing into the dark tunnel beyond the door as the others approached. But they'd only gotten halfway there when Dash came soaring out even more quickly. “Not an exit!” she yelled, her eyes wide. “Get back!”

The rest of the group backpedaled as quickly as they could as a number of dark, menacing shapes flowed out into the arena. They were barely recognizable as being human-like; jagged rock bones moved beneath dark metallic armor, an endless variety of wicked black weapons gleamed dully under the yellow light, and harsh deep-blue lights glared from empty eye sockets. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty... “Aw crud, how many ARE there?!” Applejack groaned.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy breathed. “I'll be right back....” And with that, she spread her wings and leaped from the back of her tiger, soaring off towards one side of the arena away from this new group of adversaries. “Where's she going?!” Dash demanded.

“I'm sure she's got a plan of some sort!” Twilight slowly backed away from the horde of creatures, which had already spread out into a semicircle. “And speaking of plans, I sure hope one of you is coming up with one, because I've got nothing! Jack, give us some information!”

“I have fought against creatures such as these- but never so many at once. This may prove... difficult.”

“And now we come to Round Two in our contest! Our champion and his companions have proven they can handle quality- but can they handle quantity?” As one, the mass of creatures began to march forward, weapons at the ready. “Can they withstand this horde of mindless, flesh-hungry monsters? Can they overcome such incredible odds?”

“Can they survive? Can they escape? Can they make it home? Can they can-can? I can can-can!”

As one, everyone and everything in the arena looked up.

“Pinkie Pie?!”

The pink pony was standing on the announcer's platform, holding a microphone with one foreleg. “The situation looks grim, but there's something my friends have that these ugly beasties don't! And that's heart! Guts! A duodenum! And maybe a mild rash, but don't worry, Rarity, I promised not to tell anyone!”

The white unicorn blushed. “Um....”

“What the....” The announcer stared at Pinkie incredulously. “How did you even get up here? What do you think you're doing?!”

“Helping you, silly! I mean, seriously, you could use a co-announcer up here. This silly game you run here needs more verve, more energy, more pop!”

“...are you insane? Do you even understand what's happening here? Do you know what's at stake? This isn't some ridiculous game, you overfluffed equine- this is deadly-serious reality!”

“Oh yeah? Well... I reject your reality, and substitute tapioca!”

Even from the group's vantage point, it was easy to see Pinkie produce a small bowl from seemingly out of nowhere and hurl it at the announcer, striking him in the face and splattering it with... tapioca pudding? Indy somehow managed to tear himself away from the sight and glance down at the creatures- only to find them absolutely transfixed, staring upwards; his hand went towards his gun, knowing that seven bullets wasn't exactly going to turn the tide, but they'd need every advantage they could get-

“Indy!” He could just barely hear Fluttershy's voice behind and above him, and he turned to see the yellow pegasus flying towards him. “Catch!” she called out, tossing something large at him. Tired limbs moving out of reflex managed to snatch the object out of the air before it tumbled by him.

Fluttershy had found the submachine gun he'd lost.

Indy couldn't help but cackle to himself as he took a couple of steps forward to get his friends out of his line of fire, then dropped to a knee, shouldered the weapon and flattened the trigger for everything he was worth.

tat tat tat tat tat tat

Everything was suddenly lit in a bizarre shade of green as the weapon's bright blue lances of energy sizzled across the yellow-lit arena. Metal armor bent and melted before the onslaught, and the creatures literally shattered one-by-one as Indy swung the weapon around, shards of black rock and dark metal skittering across the arena floor in a cloud of destruction. When the submachine gun's magazine finally emptied, all that remained standing on the arena floor were five shocked ponies, a somewhat-impressed samurai, and an archaeologist with a half-crazed grin.

“Ohhhh, that felt good,” Indy murmured, even as he dropped the empty mag and fished a new one from his jacket.

“Now that's some action! Woo! Go Indy!” Pinkie was literally hopping up and down on the platform, waving her forelegs in the air excitedly. The announcer had finally recovered from the unusual assault and was wiping tapioca from his face. “You... you maniac! Get off my stage!” He jumped at the pony in an attempt to tackle her, only to have her leap from the platform, giving out a gleeful “Wheeee!” as she fell.

Her plummet was stopped less than three feet from the hard stone floor with a leaping grab by Jack. “My hero!” she squealed, hugging him tightly around the neck until he ended up prying her off with an embarrassed smile. “Wow, guys, I am so sorry that took me so long. I mean, seriously... you have no idea how hard it was to find some tapioca pudding in this place!”

“It- that- what- how-” Little bits of Twilight's mane seemed to independently fray as she tried to process that statement. “...okay, honestly, I don't care. All that matters is that we win again, thanks to Fluttershy, Indy and Pinkie. Now we need to find a way out of-”

“NOT QUITE YET.” Everyone froze in a moment of shock; all mirth and personality had vanished from the announcer's voice, leaving it as cold and threatening as a winter stormfront. “You have one more challenge to overcome before you leave our arena. One of the samurai's most formidable foes, ready and eager for a second chance. Once more emerging from the deepest pits of hate, introducing....”

A deep, rumbling roar came from the center of the arena, startling everyone on the floor and scattering them a bit. Some sort of dark vortex was hovering just above the ground, coalescing like fog, until abruptly it shot outwards into a rough, solid-black hourglass shape, atop which sat something resembling a head mixed with a bubbling glass flask. Slowly, a pair of pupilless eyes and a wide, wickedly-fanged grin formed in the boiling darkness.

“...Demongo.”

“Hello again, Samurai Jack.” The voice was high-pitched, grating, like steel daggers on a chalkboard. “Aren't you glad to see an old friend return?”

“You could not be further from a friend, Demongo.” Jack crossed his arms. “I had hoped to never see you again. Though I did wonder what became of you after you reported your failure to Aku.”

“My former master was... most displeased. But now I am beyond even Aku's reach, in this place. Here, I am remade, improved... transcendant.” Demongo reached inside his cloak to produce a rough stone skull; Jack took a step back, arms raised in a defensive stance. “Perhaps you remember how I could summon the souls of those I defeated, and command them as my minions?” He seemed to be waiting for an answer, but after a moment of stubborn silence from Jack, he continued on. “Well... my new master has resources and knowledge to make Aku look like a mere child. Not only do I have access to the souls of warriors the likes of which you have never seen, I have been shown the secrets of another soul-stealer from a faraway realm. I no longer must summon my minions to do my bidding.” He crushed the skull in his hand, and let the powdery remains fall to the floor. “I may now become them.”

There was a brief but blinding flash of light, and when the group's vision cleared, Demongo had seemingly vanished. What stood in his place appeared to be a human man with wild red hair and pale skin, dressed in red-and-purple robes. What seemed to be a perfectly round glass sphere, about the size of a bowling ball, hovered at his right side just below his hand.

Jack's hand went to his side- but his sword was absent. A few feet away, Indy abruptly remembered he still had it. As quickly as he could, he yanked the scabbard free of his belt and tossed it towards the samurai.

The newcomer's hand twitched. The sphere shot forward like a cannonball, smacking into the katana and sending it clattering away. “Gah, what the hell-!” Indy yelped, taking a quick leap back; in an instant, his pistol was in hand and aimed at this new threat, and three shots rang out- only to each be intercepted by the sphere, zipping back and forth faster than the eye could track. Three molten lumps of lead plopped to the ground in front of the man's feet.

“Oh, come on,” the archaeologist growled, quickly holstering the handgun and pulling his whip free. He didn't dare use the submachine gun- if that orb was as effective against energy as it was against lead, the automatic weapon would either be useless or a fountain of friendly fire. Jack wasn't idle while the archaeologist moved to a better position- a leaping kick brought him just inside the arc of the swinging crystal, with a brief tearing sound as it passed by his back, but the attack missed as the man skillfully rolled aside. The samurai glanced over his shoulder to see that the sphere had cut a long, smooth line along his already-abused robe. “Stay clear of the orb!” he warned.

“Don't have to tell me twice!” Dash zipped past the sphere as it arced through the air again, aiming both hooves for the man's chest- too slow; this creature made the Egyptian seem like a doddering old-timer in comparison. She cut a razor-sharp Immelman turn and shot towards his shoulder blades, only to have to peel off to evade the gem. “This isn't working!” she shouted in frustration.

“We need to overwhelm him!” Twilight began magically throwing everything she could find in the area- mostly shards of broken arena floor- in order to keep their opponent distracted. She was only marginally successful; either the man was precognizant, or had reflexes bordering on that level, but whichever it was, he was almost impossible to pin down.

It almost seemed like he was showing off when he jumped Jack's sliding leg sweep, and ducked Applejack's follow-up leaping kick, while still managing to keep himself out of the way of Twilight's attacks as well. But her intense concentration on him saved her when that sphere lashed out towards her- she was just able to form a shield to deflect it away, and while he pulled it back towards him and sidestepped to dodge Applejack's midair buck, Jack landed an excellent kick to his chin, sending him rolling aside and the gem clattering along the floor. Fluttershy's tiger pounced on it, but couldn't hold on as the man once more pulled it towards him.

Twilight could hold on, though, magically stopping the gem just short of the man's hand. But the force he was exerting on it was incredible- it took everything she had to hold on... which was why, after a couple of seconds, she reversed the direction of her pull and let their combined efforts drive the sphere into the man's chest at near-supersonic speed.

The form of the man shattered, blew away like so much ash, leaving Demongo sprawled on his back. But the creature was far from done; he managed a quick handspring and wrapped his cloak around himself again, and with another flash of light, he was transformed. What stood in his place now was much larger than the previous form- standing on two massive hooved legs, closely matching a minotaur for the most part, except for the two horned heads that each sported a glowing red eye. An enormous spiked mace rested in the beast's right hand.

“Such a hideous beast!” Rarity exclaimed, unfortunately getting the creature's attention right off the bat. With a deep, twin-voiced roar, the bizarre minotaur jumped forward, its terrible weapon swinging down towards her- only to strike nothing but rock, as the unicorn was gone in a flash of light to rematerialize next to Twilight.

Finally given a target big and slow enough to hit, Indy unslung his submachine gun and let loose. But the incredibly destructive bolts of energy- so harmful to everything else they could manage to hit- thudded into that thick skin with seemingly little effect; the thing wasn't even reacting as more than a hundred blasts slammed into its back, barely causing more than a few scorch marks.

Rainbow saw. “Twilight! Light me up!” she shouted, immediately taking to the air and soaring up and back. The unicorn understood; as the pegasus cut a swift turn and rolled into a dive, another of the purple teardrops surrounded her. She crackled through the air, her aim unerring, straight for the middle of the beast's chest.

thwack

There was no way it should have been able to move that fast, but that huge mace had come around just in time to swat her away like an errant hoofball pitch, and before she could do anything to course-correct she found herself slamming into the arena wall. The energy field around her literally exploded, blasting a crater in the wall, and before Dash could recover, she found herself half-buried and pinned down by the rubble. She cried out in pain as jagged rocks pressed against her.

“Dashie! Oh, yer in fer it now, ya two-headed lump of ugly!” Applejack galloped towards the creature, her eyes narrowed and practically aflame with anger. She saw the low mace-strike coming just in time to leap over it, twisted in midair and landed both rear hooves on the creature's midsection with all of her considerable might- only to bounce off as if she'd kicked the side of a cliff. She hit the ground hard, legs half-numbed from the impact, unable to regain her hooves as that wicked mace raised up to splatter her across the landscape.

Another flash of white- this one from Jack's robe as he nimbly dove in to pull her out from danger. The mace slammed into the ground just behind him, obliterating a fairly large chunk of it and sending shards of rock everywhere; Jack let out a pained cry as several of those shards embedded themselves shallowly in his unprotected back. He skidded across the floor, losing his grip on Applejack along the way, leaving them both laid out on the ground.

“Twilight! See if you can get it off-balance!” Indy's whip lashed out, snapping against the side of the creature's left head; the blow did it no harm, but the whipcrack was loud enough to disorient it for a moment. Twilight tried to pull at the mace, but something about it resisted her magic; instead, she gripped one of its massive hooves with her magic and pulled with all of her will. Its weight shifted, and as it tried to recover, a thick piece of rock slammed into one of its heads. “Take THAT, you brute!” Rarity shouted.

It was enough to get the creature off of its hooves, and with a deep thud, it hit the arena floor hard enough to crack the stone. Indy jumped onto its broad chest, practically shoved the muzzle of his submachine gun into the eye of one of its heads, and let loose; at that range, the less-durable material that made up its head couldn't hope to withstand the punishment, and the face and skull were practically pulverized.

The monster seemed to take great exception to that, and its free hand lashed out, hitting Indy in the side like a sack of bricks. The archaeologist pinwheeled through the air, hitting the ground in a heap. The creature began the slow process of getting up, the smoking remains of one head hanging limply while the other bore an expression of pure fury, ignoring the thick rocks Twilight and Rarity send slamming into it.

But then a large, tan ball of ferocity landed on that still-intact head, and wicked claws and teeth tore at it. The creature reeled under the weight of the tiger and stumbled, losing its grip on its mace; the massive weapon crashed to the ground as the monster flailed about. Its snarls matched that of the tiger as the animal scrabbled for purchase on its shoulders, biting at its throat instinctively.

The precarious battle came to an abrupt end when the creature managed to plant its hooves and bring both fists upwards in a wicked blow. The tiger- and Fluttershy, who had been clinging to its back the entire time- went sliding across the ground for a good few dozen feet before coming to rest. Once more unencumbered, the creature turned towards its fallen mace-

crunch

-which slammed into the back of its knee, its handle surrounded by both a light purple and light blue field. Rarity's and Twilight's horns flared as the mace swung around once more to clip the beast's other leg, sending it right back to the floor. Its one remaining head could only watch helplessly as its own weapon raised up and came crashing down on its face.

Once more Demongo's summoned form broke away and dissolved. The soulstealer himself seemed to be losing strength, but not enough to keep him from getting back to his feet and once more transforming. In his place stood what appeared to be a slender, blonde woman, wearing a black sleeveless minidress, ankle wraps and gloves along with a flowing white underskirt; over one shoulder was propped a long metal staff, the end of which was decorated with a silvery crescent moon. But the first and most obvious sign that this was no ordinary woman was the fact that she was hovering placidly a few inches above the ground.

Much of the group had regathered, minus the still-trapped Rainbow Dash and the unconscious Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, who was standing in front of the yellow pegasus defensively- and they took a moment to stare at this new opponent. “I must say, she has daring fashion taste, if nothing else,” Rarity murmured.

“Never mind that, what's she plannin' on doin'?” Applejack eyed the newcomer warily, doing her best to keep a solid stance despite aching muscles. “What can she do, fer that matter?”

“I'm not sure, but the fact that I can't sense any magic coming from her, and yet she's floating... that might not be a good sign.” Twilight backed away slowly.

As if in response to Twilight's retreat, the woman moved- or, as it seemed to the group watching her, simply stopped being where she was at one instant and hovered beside the unicorn the next. Then she performed a quick spin, and that staff came circling around, aimed directly for Twilight's head; the pony instinctively ducked, forming a hasty shield in front of her.

It was ducking that saved her. The crescent, its edge bearing a faint red glow, sliced through the shield as if it were smoke; realizing her danger, Twilight jumped back as the staff came around again, shearing a clean line through the rock floor where she'd just been crouched. “Whoa, Nelly! Watch that thing!” Applejack yelped.

The group fanned out, each of the still-standing combatants looking for an opening. The woman serenely twirled along the floor, her feet never touching down; her faint smile didn't even falter when Jack jumped at her, his midair double-fisted swing just missing her head. It almost seemed like she was dancing between her attackers, not even paying attention at the hairsbreadth misses of potentially bone-shattering blows.

But that dance stopped, and that smile faded, when she caught sight of Twilight again. The unicorn was amassing more shards of rock, encasing them in a sphere of purple energy. She noticed that the woman was staring at her while slowly floating towards her, only now she bore a sextet of long, glowing “wings” composed of translucent blades of energy, and she let out a soft whimper as she hurried her actions; when the woman was only a couple of dozen feet away, Twilight seized the impromptu fragmentation grenade in her magic and hurled it as hard as she could at this new opponent. The sphere arced through the air towards her, and with a thought Twilight detonated the magical weapon's field.

Nothing happened. The purple sphere- now surrounded by a glistening red field- hovered just in front of the woman's outstretched hand; she gazed at it in an almost curious manner, before a wicked grin split her face. Twilight let out a terrified gasp and gathered as much magic as she could, forcing it out into a thick shield wall as the woman wound up and threw the mage-grenade back at her.

KATHOOM

The blast tore a crater in the arena floor and sent shrapnel flying everywhere; by some miracle, no one had been hit by any- including the still-floating woman. But the force of the explosion had overwhelmed Twilight's shield and thrown her back like a ragdoll in a hurricane, leaving her unconscious with a scorched coat and a bloodied nose not too far from where a still-trapped Rainbow Dash was looking on in horror.

“Twilight!” Jack turned from the downed unicorn to the now-frowning woman. “You will pay for this, creature!” he growled, setting himself before rushing her. With a smirk, she twirled once more, the staff slicing towards him- and missing, as he expertly rolled beneath and came up next to her with a devastating palm strike to her chin. Her head rocked back, and just for a moment her feet touched the ground... and when she looked at the samurai once more, there was pure murder in her eyes.

Jack couldn't hope to react quickly enough to avoid the staff plowing into his stomach... or his chest, or his head. The woman thrust the weapon into the stunned samurai's body over and over again, then brought herself into a rapid spin that slammed the flat of the crescent into Jack until the blows finally brought him to his knees. He clutched at his bruised chest and panted for breath, trying to force himself to get back to his feet; the woman raised her staff, then jumped into the air, intent on finishing the samurai off with one mighty blow.

An orange streak intercepted her on the way down. Applejack's back met the staff just below the crescent, and the weapon snapped, sending the head twirling away. The pony spun in midair and landed both rear hooves on the woman's shoulder, sending her reeling backwards to land on her backside; Applejack came down hard on all four hooves, turned to face her opponent- and then let out a howl of pain as she collapsed.

“AJ!” Dash struggled to pull herself free of the rubble pinning her down, but she couldn't budge herself an inch. Just breathing was a challenge, let alone moving. She watched helplessly as the woman slowly lifted off the ground and returned to her floating stance, looking unaffected by the blow she'd just taken. She nonchalantly drifted past Applejack's groaning form, her eyes calmly glancing over the battlefield and her opponents... until they fell on the still-unmoving Fluttershy. A wicked smile curled her lips as she began to make her way towards the unconscious pegasus.

tat tat tat tat tat tat tat

Blue lances of light sizzled through the air, only to glance off of the strange wings still hanging from her shoulders that had snapped out to wrap around her like a protective cloak. The woman spun aside and threw what was left of her staff at the arena wall where Indy was kneeling. Out of instinct, he jumped away- and just barely avoided the blast as the energized staff detonated, turning a twelve-square-foot section of wall into dust and shrapnel. Once more Indy lost hold of his submachine gun as he hit the ground, but he managed to get back to his feet and draw his handgun in one reasonably-smooth motion.

BANG BANG BANG

Heavy .45-caliber slugs plowed into the magical wings the woman had brought up to shield herself, with enough force to push her backwards. Indy slid the empty weapon back into its holster and charged shoulder-first at her, ducking beneath the blades and slamming into her chest; the impact almost knocked her over, and the archaeologist capitalized with blow after blow from his fists against the woman's chin.

He'd gotten in a solid ten punches before she recovered from her surprise and took him off of his feet with a casual backhand.

Indy was still shaking his head to clear it when he felt the soft skin of her hand around his throat. She hauled him to- and off of- his feet with all the apparent effort of picking up a kitten, and her face showed only mild bemusement as he dangled before her, eyes bulging as his left hand pulled fruitlessly at her steel grip.

So intent was she on watching his face that she didn't see what his right hand was doing, and she only had a split-second to register surprise before his second kunai was buried in her left eye.

Indy collapsed into a ball, clutching at his throat and coughing, as the woman's form shattered into ash, leaving a panting Demongo in her place. But the soulstealer still managed to get to his feet with a soft growl. “What is it with these humans and never knowing when to stay down?” he muttered, staggering a little. “Well. No matter. Now that that matter is settled, let us see what can be done with this delectable little yellow morsel....”

He'd gotten two steps towards Fluttershy when the end of a whip curled around his neck and yanked him backwards. Indy gave him a steely, murderous stare. “You take one more step towards her,” the human rasped, “and I will turn you into a very thin paste.”

Another yank of the whip brought Demongo stumbling into Indy's fist. The human threw one haymaker after another, staggering forward after each swing, keeping himself going through pure anger. The soulstealer reeled from each punch, not even able to mount a defense as Indy practically knocked him from one end of the arena to the other.

“ENOUGH!” Demongo stumbled back and threw open his cape, revealing the rows of skulls draped over his chest- and a thick golden chain on which was mounted a small red gem shard. A streak of energy shot out from one of the skulls, hitting Indy square in the chest and blasting him backwards across the arena floor; after a few tumbles and a painful impact with a flat rock shard, he came to a stop, instinctively curled into a ball.

“No, Indy....” Dash could only helplessly watch as Demongo gave himself a satisfied grin and turned back towards his original quarry. “Oh, dear Celestia, please, someone DO something,” the pegasus breathed.

Her plea was answered, though not how she might have expected. Something lashed out from the arena floor and slammed into Demongo's leg- the asp Fluttershy had rescued. The soulstealer let out a stream of invective and grabbed for the serpent, but it was already winding its way up his leg; it made its way to his chest and buried its fangs in what he had for a face.

“Gah! You insipid worm!” Demongo managed to get a hold of the snake and pull it free, slamming it into the ground head-first. The serpent writhed about on the arena floor as Demongo raised his foot and slammed it down.

Even from where she lay, Dash could hear the sickening wet crunch, and she closed her eyes and sobbed.

“Ugh. Troublesome pests. Now....” Demongo turned back towards where Fluttershy lay and Pinkie stood-

thwack

-only to see an all-too-familiar geta impacting against his head. The flying kick sent both of them sprawling, and Demongo was the first to his feet; Jack was panting for breath, the upper half of his robe destroyed and his bared chest and back crisscrossed with welts and bruises, but still he stood. “You will not harm her, creature,” the samurai growled.

“Gah! Why don't you heroes ever know when to stay down?!” Demongo folded his cloak, and with a flash of light... nothing happened. Jack smirked. “Run out of tricks, soulstealer?” he taunted.

“Perhaps the art of soulshifting is more draining than I had anticipated,” Demongo mused. “But no matter! Look at you, samurai... barely able to stand, carrying on through nothing but willpower. You have no chance to defeat me.”

“We will see, demon!” But Demongo's observation had been all too accurate; the samurai was nowhere near optimal form, and what would have been a quick one-sided battle instead was another drag-out fight. The soulstealer was gradually gaining the upper hand, though, and with a wild swing that Jack was too exhausted to counter, Demongo scored a takedown blow. “Haaaaa ha ha ha,” the demon cackled, grinning down at his defeated foe. “I must admit, that felt wonderful. Victory for Demongo!”

Jack wiped a thin trail of blood from his mouth. “You... have not won yet, soulstealer.”

“Oh, haven't I? Every last member of your pathetic group that could be the slightest threat to me is lying on the ground. Your precious sword is gone, and without it you are as helpless as a mewling kitten. What do you possibly think can stop me, now, from exterminating all of you and consuming your souls?”

shhhhhnk

Demongo's body stiffened as a half-foot of enchanted steel, surrounded by a blue-white field of magical energy, burst through his chest. The creature stared down at it in shock as Jack, slowly staggering to his feet, gave him a slight grin.

“...her.”

The sword twisted, tugged down and back upwards, cleaving Demongo nearly in half from stomach to shoulder. The creature only gave a soft gasp as he collapsed to the ground, revealing Rarity standing behind, Jack's sword hovering just in front of her. The unicorn stared at the body for just a moment before remembering herself and letting the katana drop. “Jack!” she exclaimed, rushing up to him.

“See to the others, Rarity,” the samurai replied, limping to Demongo's form and tugging the golden chain loose. “Rainbow Dash is still trapped- see if you can free her.”

“Alright.” She gave a quick glance around her. “Check on Fluttershy and Twilight first. We girls have a triage system- Twilight knows some healing magic, and Fluttershy is an expert in first aid. They can help us with the others.”

The human nodded, and limped his way towards Fluttershy while Rarity galloped to where Dash was still trapped. To the fashionista's surprise, her friend's head was down, and her cheeks were wet with tears. “Rainbow!” she gasped. “Are you....”

Dash weakly raised her head. “Just... get me outta here, please....”

It was difficult work, but eventually Rarity got enough of the rubble cleared to be able to pull the pegasus free- and immediately found herself in Dash's weak but heartfelt embrace. “Thank Celestia for you,” Dash whimpered. “I thought... I thought that jerk was gonna....” She took in a shuddering breath. “Where are the others? Is Fluttershy hurt? What about Indy?”

“Let's go find out.” Dash's wings, while thankfully still whole, were too bruised and sore to manage flight, so she galloped alongside Rarity back to the rest of their group. There they found Jack and Pinkie alongside the tiger and a bruised, but otherwise unhurt, Fluttershy, looking over a still-unconscious Twilight. “How is she? Rarity asked.

“I have to give her a closer examination.” Fluttershy's voice was quiet yet authoritative; this was her element. “Rarity, see to Applejack; Dash, look after Indy.”

“Well, okay, but what about...?” Pinkie looked up at the platform, where the announcer stared down at them. “Alas, the greatest of our challengers has been struck down,” he said, his voice subdued. “Once more, Two-Sandals the Treacherous stands triumphant- the champion of the Dome of Doom. As such, he and his allies... are free to go.”

With that, the announcer toppled over onto the platform. A deep rumbling began all around them, shaking the dust and broken rock that had accumulated on the arena floor. “Oh, you must be joking,” Rarity muttered.

“No joke. Looks like we brought the house down.” Dash glanced around. “No time to mess around. Jack, we'll need you to get Indy on the tiger's back; Pinkie Pie, you've got Twilight. I'll get Applejack.”

“And then we need to find a way out,” Pinkie added.

“One emergency at a time!” Dash was already pulling the cowpony up onto her back. “Ugh- AJ, you need to cut down on those apple fritters... okay!” She saw that Jack had already gotten Indy placed on the back of the tiger, and Twilight was hanging over Pinkie's sides. “Now we need to find an exit!”

“Or make one!” Rarity seized Jack's sword and its scabbard with her magic, then galloped ahead of the group towards the collapsed section of wall Dash had been trapped in. The lights above their heads began to shudder, and thin cracks could be seen spreading across the top of the dome. “Fluttershy!” the unicorn called out. “Fly up and see if you can find a good place for us to open a way out!”

The pegasus had to dodge a chunk of rock as she took to the air. The rumbling was getting worse, and parts of the dome were starting to disintegrate; one piece smacked the lights, knocking them off-kilter and sending a few of the crystals falling to shatter upon the floor. “I can't see anything!” Fluttershy called out. “There's no doors, no windows, nothing!”

“Well, if we can't find an exit....” Rarity glanced around, needing a moment to find something suitable for the task at hoof. She levitated Jack's sword into his hands and furrowed her brow in concentration; a fairly large, spike-shaped chunk of rock on the arena floor was encased in her magic, shuddered and then lifted up. The unicorn clenched her teeth and jerked her head to the side, and the spike shot through the air, slamming into the arena wall and digging a fairly large gouge out of it. “This is going to take too long!” she cried.

“Let... let me try.” Twilight's exhausted voice drifted up the staircase that Pinkie was carrying her over. The injured mage's horn flared; the spike rose up again, flew back a good fifty feet, and then drove into the wall as if fired from a cannon. A large crack shot up along the dark rock, and when the spike came free there was a small hole through which the group could see the outside.

But time was running out. The ceiling lights jerked back and forth, more of the crystals shaking loose and falling, and now larger pieces of the dome were breaking off and slamming into the arena floor. “Everyone! Gather around me!” Twilight called out. “We need to teleport!”

“But Twilight, can you even manage?” Fluttershy asked.

“I'm going to have to, or this place will bury us!” The group managed to gather around the purple unicorn, who closed her eyes tightly and took in a quivering breath. “Got to concentrate,” she murmured, her body shuddering as she poured all of her strength into her spell, trying not to let the increasingly close impacts of falling rock distract her.

There was a sharp crack from above, and Dash let out a gasp. “Twilight!”

“I've got it!” There was a burst of white light.

Fluttershy dared to open her eyes a moment later, and let out a long sigh of relief. The teleportation spell had landed the entire group a few dozen feet outside of the dome. Twilight wobbled and started to fall- but Rarity was there in an instant, propping up the exhausted mage with her shoulder. “Easy,” the fashionista cooed. “Just rest, Twilight. You've earned it.” She glanced behind her as the dome began to fold in on itself, huge chunks of the roof breaking off and caving in. Even from this distance the group could feel the impacts.

“I don't think we get to relax just yet,” Dash countered. “Remember what happened the last time?”

“Right, after we got the gem and....” Pinkie frowned. “But we didn't get the gem this time.”

Jack reached beneath the sash still holding his half-ruined robe up and fished out the chain he'd taken from Demongo. “I believe we did,” he said.

“Thank goodness.” Fluttershy reached towards her chest, then felt around with a hoof. “...wait, the snake! Where's he gone? He was with me before-”

“ 'Shy, the snake....” Dash couldn't finish the sentence. “...look, we've gotta go, okay?”

“But-”

The dome had pretty much finished collapsing, and now thin cracks were beginning to form in the ground around it. “No time, girls!” Rarity exclaimed. “Twilight, can you manage another teleport?”

“Not on my own. I'll need you to let me draw on your magic, Rarity.”

“Jeez, you unicorns can do that?” Dash glanced between the two.

“It's rarely done,” Rarity answered. “I'm not even sure how... do you even think I have enough magic to help?”

“One way to find out. Touch your horn to mine.” Twilight leaned as far as she could, and Rarity stepped forward and placed her horn against her friend's. “Wow, Rarity, your magic is stronger than you know. I think I can manage this. Everyone ready?” Those of the group who weren't still unconscious made known their assent. “Then let's get the hay out of here.”

Just as the ground was beginning to crack beneath them, they vanished.

(-)

“Okay, Doctor Fluttershy... what's your report?”

The pegasus looked up from Indy to gaze at Twilight. “Dr. Jones has at least one cracked rib, multiple contusions, first-degree burns to the chest, and possibly a torn deltoid. Applejack's medial glutials are badly bruised and swollen, but thankfully none of her vertebrae are damaged. Mr. Jack has one broken rib, two cracked ribs, extremely-bruised pectorals and maybe a torn latissimus dorsi. Rainbow Dash was lucky enough to only suffer minor bruising and lacerations. The tiger only has a sprained front left leg and a few abrasions, and he's sleeping.”

“Okay, that sounds... pretty serious,” Twilight said quietly, gazing down at her hooves. “And what about me?”

“Minor nasal bleeding and a slight case of whiplash from the explosion... well, that's the physical effects. I don't know how your magic may have been affected.” Fluttershy gazed down at the floor of the cave the group had come to use as a stronghold. “Without proper medical supplies, there isn't a lot I can do here, Twilight,” she admitted.

“You've gotten everyone comfortable and given me a good idea of what we have to deal with. In this situation, that's practically a miracle.” Twilight patted her hoof. “I'm just glad we're all still alive, after that. As soon as Rarity and I have recovered some of our magic, I'll see about doing what healing I can.”

“But... can you heal humans?”

“Yes. Or, well, I should be able to at least. The spell I know for healing other species is less efficient than the one for other ponies, but there's less chance of... accidents.” The unicorn shuddered slightly. “It helps that we'll need to go slowly anyway, and that none of the injuries are life-threatening.”

Fluttershy's response was cut off by a call from Rarity. “Girls! Indy is waking up!”

The pair quickly trotted over to where the archaeologist lay, seeing him shaking his head slowly. After a moment, his eyes opened. “...we're still alive?” he murmured.

“Amazingly enough, yes.” Twilight gave him a smile. “Stay still, Indy. You're still pretty bad off, and I'm not quite ready to start off with any healing magic.”

“...healing magic.” Indy managed a chuckle. “I couldn't begin to tell you how useful that would've been to me more than a few times.” He tried to look around. “How are the others?”

“I've felt better, but I'll be okay. Rainbow Dash got off kind of lucky for how much rock she had sitting on her; Jack and Applejack got pretty beaten up, though neither of them will admit to how badly.”

“You should heal them first. I can manage for now.”

“Which is exactly what Applejack and Jack said,” Rarity countered, giving the human a grin. “Fluttershy is handling triage... and you don't want to tell her not to do her job, do you?”

Indy opened his mouth to speak- but then saw Fluttershy's determined gaze, and apparently thought better of his objection. “I've never been one to turn down the advice of a professional,” he quipped, with a chuckle that might have been just a little nervous.

The yellow pegasus gave him a slight smile, then rushed off to check on Applejack. Rarity couldn't help but giggle quietly. “Sorry, Indy. She gets like that when someone is hurt.”

He shrugged and offered a smile. “There's worse things.”

While Fluttershy was speaking with Applejack, Dash slowly made her way past them, towards where the other human was seated. “Hey, Jack,” she half-whispered. “How are you doing?”

“I have been worse off than this.” He glanced down at the bruises and cuts criss-crossing his chest. “I worry more for Applejack. How is she?”

“Fluttershy said a lot of complicated words that basically meant 'really badly bruised but okay'. She said a lot of complicated words about you, too, and maybe you're worse off than you're telling.” She gave him a frank stare.

He tried for a chuckle, but ended up wincing halfway through it. “Rainbow Dash, this is the path I follow. It is not a safe one, but it is a necessary one.”

“Yeah....” She broke her gaze and looked away. “I don't... maybe I don't understand it as well as I thought I did.”

That got a raised eyebrow from the samurai. “What do you mean?”

“Jack, I wanna ask you something. I know it's probably personal and all, but I need an honest answer so I can understand what's going on in my head. Okay?”

“Certainly.”

“Okay.” She took in a breath. “Jack, have you ever had someone you tried to protect... die anyway?”

His expression dropped, and his eyes became distant. “I....” he trailed off, obviously lost in thought for a moment before he could bring himself to look into the pegasus's rose-colored eyes again. “Yes, Dash. I have.”

She managed a small nod. “How... how'd you deal with it?”

“Rainbow Dash, what is this about?”

“Jack, I....” The pony looked away again. “I've never had that happen to me. I've never... lost anyone. I always managed to protect whoever needed it, somehow. But today I saw innocent creatures die despite doing everything I could to stop it. The robots....” She glanced to the side to ensure that Fluttershy was out of earshot. “Fluttershy's snake... Jack, they were depending on me and I let them down.”

“Dash....”

She raised a hoof. “Lemme finish. Please.” He nodded slowly, and she gave him a weak smile. “Jack, when I first saw you and Indy, I... I couldn't get over how weird you looked. I didn't really trust you. I should've known better- I practically grew up around a bunch of other species from my time in flight camp. I just... I dunno.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a shuddering sigh. “And I just saw you and Indy take a beating to protect one of my friends when I couldn't do anything to help. If you... if you hadn't done that, if you hadn't been here, Fluttershy would....” She shuddered violently and rapidly shook her head. “I can't even think it. I'm just... I'm sorry, Jack, I'm really sorry for what I thought of you two. Without you guys, we'd...." Her voice caught, and she looked away in shame. "I don't- maybe I'm not cut out to be a warrior after all.”

“That is not true, Dash. You are among the most brave-”

“No I'm not. Not in a place like this.” Tears streaked down her muzzle. “I don't know how you can handle all this, Jack. I don't... if I lost my friends, I don't think I could go on. Things have gotten bad for us before, but after what happened in that dome....” She paused, trying to compose herself. “How can you stand that? How do you keep fighting after that? I can't stop thinking about what I would do if that happened to me... how do you keep going?”

“Because I must.” He put a gentle hand on her neck. “Because if I give up, I dishonor all of those who have fallen. If I give up, those who need help the most may never receive it. I can make a difference where many others cannot; it is my duty to do so.” He looked into her eyes. “And I believe that you know, deep within yourself, it is your duty as well.”

“Yeah, I... I just don't know if I'm strong enough to keep going if... if I failed my friends.”

“I have only known you for a short time, Rainbow Dash. But I feel I have a good measure of you.” Jack gave her a smile. “You cannot give up. It is simply not in your nature. No matter what defeats you may face, you will pull yourself up, and you will fight on. To do less would be to abandon those you care for- and above all else, Rainbow Dash, I cannot believe you would ever willingly do so.”

She stared at him unblinkingly for a long moment, tears still streaming from her eyes... and then she leaned forward and gave him the most gentle hug she could manage, sobbing into his chest. “Seriously, Jack, one day I wanna grow up to be like you,” she managed to joke in-between sniffles.

He could only chuckle at that, lightly rubbing the pegasus's neck. He looked up as Rarity and Pinkie trotted over, both concerned for their friend. “Is everything alright?” Rarity asked.

“Huh... wha? Oh... yeah.” Dash pulled away slowly, rubbing at her eyes with a foreleg. “Just... needed a little reminder of how awesome I am, y'know?”

“There truly is a first time for everything.” Rarity patted Dash's shoulder gently. “We came to tell Jack that, as it seems that Applejack and Indy are just as stubborn as he when it comes to being healed-” she gave him a playful grin, answered with a consternated one- “Twilight simply picked at random, and Jack will be healed first.”

“Very well. Thank you, Rarity.” Jack bowed his head.

“Of course. Oh... Jack, I meant to say something to you. About your sword.”

“Yes?”

“I understand that perhaps you're not aware of this, since you are unfamiliar with magic, but that sword, Jack... the power it holds within is amazing. When I took hold of it, I felt....” The unicorn paused for a moment, considering her words. “I felt as though I were being judged by it, that it had taken my measure in that very first second... and that it had accepted me.”

Jack stroked his chin in contemplation. “Perhaps it had. My sword cannot be used to harm the innocent, and it repels evil magic. In allowing your magic to hold it, perhaps it sensed in some way your righteousness and pure intent.”

“Heh.” Dash poked Rarity's side with her hoof. “Guess I'm not the only pony warrior around. Where'd you learn to use a sword, anyway, Rare? Is it like using pinking shears?”

“Oh goodness!” Rarity giggled. “I am certainly no warrior. I just did what I had to.”

“Yeah, well....” Dash's expression went from a teasing smile to an appreciative grin. “You totally did. You came through in the clutch, Rarity. It was pretty darn awesome.”

Pinkie laughed at Rarity's demure blush. “Sheesh, Rarity, that's a blush Fluttershy would be proud of. I bet that-”

There was a sharp gasp from behind them, drawing everyone's attention. Fluttershy was standing on quivering legs in front of Applejack, who seemed on the verge of tears. After a moment, the pegasus collapsed to the floor and started wailing, and the cowpony carefully wrapped her forelegs around her. “AJ must've just told her about what happened to her snake,” Dash whispered.

“I think she's going to need us right now.” Rarity started forward, and- to her surprise- Jack was right behind, ignoring his injuries to see to Fluttershy. Indy was already there, gently stroking the pegasus's pink mane, looking absolutely lost as to how he could comfort her.

It was a somber moment, both the thrill and the pains of their victory forgotten, as five ponies, two humans and a tiger huddled around a weeping and inconsolable pegasus who had just learned of the death of a creature she had promised to protect.

Our Unfamiliar Home (1/3)

“Okay. Let's have you stretch, and we'll see if I missed anything.”

Indy stood, taking a moment to button up his shirt before experimentally moving his arms and upper body around in a range of motions. A few times he winced slightly, but once he was done, he gave Twilight a satisfied nod. “Still a little sore, but much closer to one hundred percent than I could've expected.”

“And you said you've been hurt worse and didn't have access to healing magic? I'm not sure I even want to know about it.” The unicorn made a face as the human laughed. “Phew. How long have we been at this, Rarity?”

“I couldn't begin to tell you, dear. I only know that I'm exhausted.” Rarity shook her head slowly. “Would it be selfish of me to retire for a quick catnap?”

“I certainly wouldn't say so,” Indy told her. “Both of you should get some rest. You've been putting yourselves through the wringer getting the rest of us healed.”

Twilight glanced towards the back of the cave. “Well... I'd like to see how Fluttershy is doing first.”

“She sleeps, still.” Jack followed his words up to the trio. “Not as peacefully as I would like, but as things stand... any rest will be helpful for her.” He let out a soft sigh. “But that is another concern. Twilight, Rarity, I agree with Indy- you have more than earned some rest.”

“I guess....” Twilight's body betrayed her noble intentions with a long, wide yawn. She blushed through her purple coat. “Okay, okay, a little shuteye might be the best idea. Don't let us sleep too long, though... I want to get going through that middle tunnel soon.”

Both humans nodded in agreement, and the two unicorns went to settle themselves down for what rest they could get. With that done, Jack and Indy sat down near the middle of the cave. “So....” the archaeologist said quietly. “What do you think we'll be up against in Round Three?”

“I could not begin to guess.” Jack spared the center tunnel a glance. “But I can only pray it is not worse than what we have already faced. Our last encounter was... difficult.”

“There's an understatement. Might be more accurate to say 'we barely got out alive'.” He looked towards where Fluttershy lay, curled up against the side of her tiger; the pegasus's face was set in a frown even as she slept. “And one of us didn't,” he amended. “Didn't think I'd ever be so sorry to know a snake died.”

Jack could only nod silently at that. Movement nearby caught his notice, and he turned his head to see Applejack trotting towards them; the pony gave them both a smile. “I see you two're healed up pretty well,” she commented.

“Twilight's and Rarity's efforts were exceptional,” Jack replied. “And what of you, Applejack?”

“Fine as a frog's hair. At least... concernin' matters of th' body.” Applejack took a seat, the smile fleeing from her lips. “Look, fellers... I dun mind tellin' ya- I'm scared. Me 'n mah friends been in plenty of scrapes since we met, but this- boy howdy, I ain't even got words to describe.”

“Don't feel bad. You're not the only one.” Indy reached out and gave her withers a light pat. “Jack and I were just talking about what we might find through that last tunnel.”

“Well, considerin' that th' first one copied yer home, Indy, and the second one copied Jack's... fair 'nuff to expect number three t'be Equestria. Which is what really scares me.”

“I believe I understand what you mean,” Jack replied. “It was... not pleasant to see my home replicated in such a way.”

“Yeah, what'd Twilight call it? Psycho-logic warfare or somethin'? And considerin' how dad-gummed good this place is gettin' at messin' with our heads, I'm kinda worried that it's really gonna know how to get at me and the other girls.” She sighed. “So, fellahs... it may be we're gonna need yer help t' keep us level-headed.”

Indy nodded in understanding. “To be honest, I would've thought that Equestria was some pastel fairy-tale land- until you told us what else lives there.” The archaeologist chuckled. “Dragons? Manticores? Windigoes? Timber wolves- made out of actual timber? And what were those flying things that would eat anything?”

“Parasprites. Boy howdy, were those things a pain.” Applejack shook her head. “Yeah, Equestria's a lot of things, Indy, but a fairy-tale land it ain't. Me an' the girls 've seen our share of danger, jes' as much as you two.”

“We have no doubts there.” Jack looked back at the middle tunnel again. “And just like Indy and myself, you six have faced beings of great power and wickedness. Any of which we could encounter here.”

“An' now y'know why I'm worried. Well, partly.” The pony fidgeted. “All of us girls have others we care for back home. Family, friends, th' like. Whatever runs this place pro'bly knows that... an' it's jes' as likely t'use that against us.”

“Which is probably going to be rough as hell on you especially, considering what family means to you.” Indy's sympathetic smile was met by an appreciative one from Applejack. “You done got me right, Doc,” she said quietly. “Mah kin... they're m' core, y'know? The center of everythin' I am. Jes' th' thought of them bein' in trouble....”

“It's okay, AJ!” Everyone else jumped as Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared behind Applejack, throwing her forelegs around the cowpony. “Gyah!” Applejack yelped. “Pinkie, don't do that!”

“Oops! Sorry, AJ. But I heard what you were talking about and I knew just the thing to say!” The pink pony hopped down and sat in front of the group. “Okay. Seriously, guys... I'm scared of what we're going to be seeing too. This place- it hates us; it wants to tear us apart on the inside as much as on the outside. But we've got to remember that the ponies and people that we care about are still at home, and if we want to protect them from this awful place, we have to keep our minds set on getting through all this. No getting caught up by fakery and illusions!”

Applejack stared at her for a moment. “Pinkie, that's th' most sense I ever heard come outta you.”

“The girls wouldn't even listen to me about the parasprites. Can you believe that?” Pinkie directed an eyeroll towards the humans. “I mean, why else would I be running around trying to find a pair of cymbals on a weekday?”

Both humans and the cowpony sat there for a moment, mouths hanging open as they stared at the pink mare. “...well, that didn't last long,” Applejack drawled, “buuuuut... yeah. Jes' gotta remember what we're fightin' for. Eyes on the prize.”

“Don't need to tell me that twice.” Rainbow Dash followed her words up to the group; her eyes darted between her friends, pony and human. “But I'm going to do whatever I can to protect you guys... and I know you'll all do the same. If we keep our heads in the game and work together, that'll be our best chance.”

“Atta girl, Dash.” Applejack smiled. “How ya feelin'?”

“Angry. But it's keeping me focused, so I'm hanging on to it.”

“Yeah, after seein' you at work with that manticore, I kin see why. I meant more yer wings, though.”

“They're fine. I just tested them a couple minutes ago- I shouldn't have much trouble flying.” Dash let out a slow breath. “I was really lucky that I didn't just get squashed; I don't mind admitting it. I guess I got careless with that attack.”

“Weird as that sounds comin' from you, Dashie, here's somethin' weirder- me disagreein'.” Applejack gave Dash's hoof a pat. “Y'saw an opening an' went for it. No shame on you that it didn't pan out.”

“Heh. Thanks, AJ.” The pegasus let herself relax somewhat, taking a seat by her friends. “Hey, Indy... how are your weapons holding up?”

“That's a good question.” The human did a quick ammunition check. “Hm... not as good as I'd like. Twelve rounds total for my handgun, and around six hundred for the blaster- which, considering how fast it goes through ammo, may not last long. I'll need to conserve.”

“Yeah, good idea. Not gonna say I like guns, but after seeing how you tore through that crowd of creatures in the Dome, I'm sure as heck glad you've got 'em.”

“S... so am I.” Everyone turned in surprise to see Fluttershy slowly making her way towards them, her eyes downcast, while her tiger kept pace beside. “I'm so sorry, everyone, for breaking down like that earlier,” she murmured. “I just....”

“Y'don't need to 'pologize for nothin', sugarcube. C'mere.” She held out a foreleg, and Fluttershy let herself fold into the cowpony's embrace. “I wish I coulda toldja different from what happened....”

“But that would've been lying, and we all know you're bad at that, AJ.” Dash chuckled. “Fluttershy, look... nobody's gonna be mad at you for how you reacted. I totally understand. Jack had to talk me through being mad at myself.”

“B-but Dash, it wasn't your fault-”

“And it wasn't yours, either. You know whose fault it was? This place.” The blue pegasus waved a hoof around. “This place brought that snake and those robots here. This place murdered them. 'Shy, you and me and all the rest of us are doing our absolute best here. If we... if we lose someone, all we can do is pick up and keep going. 'Cause if we stop, if we quit....”

“...then this place wins, and it can hurt whoever else it wants.” A thoughtful frown crossed Fluttershy's face. “I... I understand. I hate it, though, I hate it so much. It feels like I'm letting this place change me.”

Jack shook his head. “No, Fluttershy. Just like your friends, your nature is too strong to bend before such a place as this. We each must merely find our own source of strength and let it push us forward.”

“But... Mr. Jack, I'm not a warrior like you, or an adventurer like Dr. Jones. I'm not strong like Applejack, or fast like Rainbow Dash, or smart like Twilight. I don't have your sort of strength.”

“Perhaps you do not. But yours is a strength that may be even greater- that of conviction. You will face any obstacle that stands between you and protecting others, and you will counter them with your own kindness and empathy. To make yourself so vulnerable in such a way, with nothing but your desire to help others- that is a true measure of strength.”

“Man's talkin' sense, sugarcube,” Applejack told the yellow pegasus.

“But... but I'm so weak... I'm weak and I'm scared and I'm useless in a fight. I'm not like you, Mr. Jack. I'm not like you at all.”

“And you believe that this sets me above you.” Jack reached out and held the mare's muzzle gently in his hand. “I would be fortunate to one day grow to become as gentle and wise as you, Fluttershy.”

With that, and a slight smile, the samurai got to his feet and walked towards where the two unicorns slept. Fluttershy watched him go, her face a mask of confusion. “He... wants to be more like... me?” she breathed.

“Coming from a guy like that, that means something, 'Shy.” Dash nudged her friend's shoulder with a hoof. “It sure does!” Pinkie agreed with a rapid nod. “I mean, you get someone who can do that woosh and that hi-yahh and that wha-pow-” she was doing something that might be confused for martial-arts maneuvers in poor lighting- “and he says he wants to be more like our sweet little Fluttershy? You're doing stuff right, girl!”

“I... I guess....” The mare in question was blushing bright red now, half trying to hide behind her mane while her tiger gently nuzzled against her. “I just wish I could be... more like him.”

“I saw your face when you and your tiger saved me and Dash from the Egyptian,” Indy countered. “Not to mention what you said to him. Kiddo, you're not as far from a warrior as you think you are.” He grinned. “I know I wouldn't want to be a threat to someone you care about.”

“Straight from th' human's mouth t' yer ears, Flutters.” Applejack's wiseacre grin was overwhelmed by a deep yawn. “...lan'sakes, where'd that come from?” she murmured.

“Oh! Um... Twilight told me that all of you might see some fatigue from her healing spell.” Fluttershy scrunched her face up in thought. “Something about, um... 'thaumatically-accelerated metabolism'. Maybe you should get a little rest?” She glanced over at Jack, who had apparently dozed off seated in his customary lotus position. “Me and the tiger can handle watch duty, and... I'd like to think for a little while. If, um... if that's okay with all of you.”

“I'll stay with you, Fluttershy.” Pinkie bounced over to her. “I'm not the itty-bitty least-est tired. But I'll stay nice and quiet so you can do your thinking.”

Applejack had to stifle another yawn. “Guess a quick bit of shuteye'll do us some good. No sense marchin' off into danger while we're tired.”

“Mare's talking sense.” Indy grinned. “One thing I've learned over the years is to get rest when you can.”

“Yeah, they call me lazy when I say that.” Dash snickered. “Give us, like... three hours. Ought to be enough time for all of us to at least recover our strength.”

“Okay, Dash.” Fluttershy smiled gently as the rest of her friends- except for Pinkie, who stayed put next to her- walked or trotted off to the other end of the cave and settled down for some rest. True to her word, the pink pony was quietly watching the middle tunnel, seemingly lost in thought herself. Curiosity got the better of the pegasus. “Pinkie?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Home.” The earth pony closed her eyes for a moment. “Mrs. Cake is due soon. I've really been looking forward to seeing her foals.”

“Oh, goodness. I didn't know she was close to her due date.”

“Mmmhmm.” Pinkie let out a little sigh. “But now I can't think of the Cakes, or their foals, or anypony else back home without wondering what would happen to them if this place got them.”

“We won't let that happen.” Fluttershy even surprised herself with the determination in her voice. “This tiger-” she reached over to rub the animal's neck, eliciting a soft growling purr- “told me some of what he'd seen before he was brought here. It was horrible. If this place got to our friends, our families....” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “...no. We won't let that happen. We can't.”

“I know, Fluttershy. And we're not gonna.” Pinkie hugged her friend tightly. “You and me, and the girls, and Indy and Jack- we'll show this place what happens when you try to hurt the people we care about.”

The two mares settled down in the center of the cave, each nestled on either side of the napping tiger, and each caught up in her own thoughts and fears.

(-)

“So, let me see if I have this straight.” Indy took off his hat for a moment to rub at his forehead as the group made their way through a thankfully wide tunnel. “Your Princesses... raise the sun and the moon. Every day.”

“Well, Princess Celestia had t' handle both jobs fer a spell, on account o' her sister bein' on th' moon for a thousand years,” Applejack clarified. “But... yeah, that's the gist of it.”

“I take it things work differently on Earth?” Twilight questioned.

“Well, yeah. The Earth goes around the Sun, and the Moon goes around the Earth. It's been working that way for a couple billion years, at least so far as we can tell.”

Twilight practically stumbled. “Billion?!” she repeated incredulously. “Don't tell me you have records going back that far?!”

“What-? No!” The human couldn't help but laugh. “Sorry. I'm quoting theory. Astronomy was never my field, but I did enjoy reading up on it from time to time.”

“Astronomy? Humans know astronomy?”

“Oh, we've studied the stars for thousands of years. Things really got going when we perfected lenses. I couldn't begin to tell you all the names of the people who've made marks in the field- from Galileo to Copernicus to Kepler to Kupier.”

The unicorn let out a deep sigh. “Was I born on the wrong planet or something? I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to visit Earth and find out everything you humans know about... well... everything!”

Again, Indy couldn't keep himself from laughing. “Give us a couple decades from where I come from. We're at the tip of the iceberg, I think. There's been talk about launching vehicles into space, and even maybe someday a lunar expedition.”

“An expedition... to the moon?” It was a wonder to the others that Twilight's eyes didn't bulge right out of her head. “Can you even do that without magic?”

“Absolutely,” Jack replied. “In the future I found myself in, travel between worlds and even stars is as commonplace as travel between villages in my time. Little of it was done with magic- the bulk happened via vehicles, specially designed for the task.”

“Amazing.” As Twilight tried to process all this information- and Indy similarly tried to wrap his head around the concept of two alicorns magically controlling celestial bodies- Applejack sidled over to Rainbow Dash. “You seemed real interested in all that egghead-talk of theirs, Dashie,” the earth pony teased.

“Yeah, well, they were losing me until they got to space travel. I mean... how could you even do that?”

“I dunno, sugarcube. Ain't ashamed to admit that that sorta thing's way beyond m' ken. Gotta say that Earth sounds like an interestin' place, though.”

Dash was just about to reply when she realized that the group ahead of her had come to a stop, and that they'd reached the end of the tunnel. Confused, she took to the air to see what was going on. The sight that met her eyes made her almost forget to keep her wings working. “What the hay...?!” she gasped.

Before the group stretched a wide plain, with green grasses reaching about chest-high for the ponies blowing back and forth in a gentle wind, and a dim-but-recognizable version of the sun hanging in a black “sky”. Trees dotted the landscape, their dark green leaves swaying back and forth and casting sharp shadows across the ground. Here and there, patches of flowers ventured above the grass, with dull-colored petals opened to the air.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Twilight murmured in a flat voice. Next to her, Indy knelt down and brushed his hand across the grass. “I'd almost think this stuff was real,” he commented. “Damn. This place is getting far too good.”

An abrupt rustling sound made them all look ahead. True to form, Pinkie was rolling through the grasses, knocking over tall stalks like a hyperactive bowling ball, shouting “wheeeee!” all along the way. “Pinkie, get back here!” Rarity shouted after her, not quite able to keep from giggling even as she did. “I swear, that mare....”

“Aw, come on!” Pinkie called back. “We've been in Super Depressing Land for so long; this almost feels like home!”

“And that's what worries me.” Twilight experimentally sniffed one of the flowers. “No scent... I find that strangely comforting.”

“Yeah, this is too close to th' real thing fer my tastes already.” Applejack let out a sigh, scuffing her hooves along the ground. “Almost wish it were more of that black stone.”

“I sure don't!” Pinkie came rolling back to the group, covered in bits of grass. “Wow, that felt good. You guys ought to try it!” She tugged at Jack's robe. “C'mon, it's fun!”

Jack chuckled. “I will pass,” he replied, before turning to look behind him. “Rainbow Dash?”

“Gotcha. Aerial recon is go!” Once more the pegasus launched herself into the air, though with the faux “sun” hanging at an angle to simulate late afternoon, the rest of the group could see her ascend and fly a few wide circles. “Yeah, same ceiling as last time,” she told them when she returned. “And I've got no idea what the hay is up in the sky, but it sure isn't a sun. But you're gonna want to see what's over the hill that way.” She pointed towards a distant rise.

The group hastened to make their way towards the hill, leaving paths in the veritable sea of grass as they moved. The humans, being taller, caught sight of what Dash wanted them to see first; they both came to a stop, leaving the ponies to jog ahead a bit before they too saw over the edge of the hill. “Oh goodness,” Fluttershy whispered.

“In all honesty, I suppose I should have expected this.” Rarity rubbed at the back of her neck, with an expression not unlike someone who had swallowed a bug.

“...yeah.” Applejack took a few more steps forward, blinking rapidly as if she didn't quite believe what her eyes were telling her. “It's... Ponyville.”

“More specifically, the southwestern quarter of Ponyville,” Twilight clarified, her eyes carefully studying the buildings and roads standing about a half-mile from their position. “Up to and including the library.”

“...heeeeeeey! Heeeeeey!” Pinkie was bouncing up and down. “That includes Sugarcube Corner! I wonder if any of the food is there!”

“Oh, and possibly the Boutique as well!” Rarity realized. “And even the spa! Oh, what I wouldn't give for a hot bath right now!”

“You're talking my language, lady.” Indy unzipped his jacket to air it out. “I'm feeling a little ripe after all that exercise. So... who's up for giving us the guided tour?”

Pinkie was all too eager to volunteer, and while she was careful to keep her voice down just in case something hostile awaited them, she gleefully pointed out every building they came across and shared some sort of story or factoid about it. The pale colors and empty windows and streets unnerved the other ponies somewhat, though each found herself soothed by the sight of something familiar. Twilight herself couldn't help but marvel at just how accurate this replica of her home was- every detail seemed faithfully recreated, if dulled and faded in color, and she found herself both creeped out and amazed.

“...and here we are, my home-slash-workplace-slash-party-planning-HQ, Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie trotted up to the front door, and with a flourish, threw it open. Looking inside, both the archaeologist and the samurai were rooted to the spot, staring, jaws hanging open. “Yep, that's about th' standard reaction t' seein' Sugarcube Corner fer th' first time,” Applejack chortled.

“I....” Jack had to pause to swallow. “I was not aware that so much sugar could exist in one place....”

“Oh, this is nothing! There was the one time where the Trottingham Foals' Choir came through Ponyville, and the Cakes decided to make them loads of cupcakes... they were stacked all the way up to the ceiling! Took me nearly an hour just to lick all the icing off the tiles....” Pinkie was rambling now, and it was almost too easy for the others to tune her out as they went inside. Laid out on the various counters and displays were numerous confectionary treats- from donuts to cupcakes to eclairs, decorated in every color of the spectrum. The sound of more than one stomach growling underscored Pinkie's chatter. “...and that's how I found out that crystallized molybdenum makes my mane turn orange!” she finished. “But anyway, let's eat!”

Hands and hooves raided the shelves, treats were stacked upon plates, and the group took seats at the largest table in the store in order to enjoy the food. “Okay, so I should be suspicious about this,” Twilight said around a mouthful of danish, “but right now stomach is telling brain to shut up and brain is in no mood to disagree.”

“Good God, this has got to be the best food I've ever had.” Indy stared at his half-eaten double-chocolate donut with the same reverence he'd once had for the Holy Grail itself. “Yeah, this would be the perfect trap, wouldn't it? Some kind of poison or nerve agent to kill us off, and we blithely stuff it down our throats. But, somehow, I don't think that's how the rules of this place operate. If it wanted us done with that easily, it could've collapsed the cave on us while we slept, or dropped us all into a pit.”

Jack wiped honey-bun crumbs from his mouth.“Which begs the question... why such generosity?”

“Prolly jes' t' keep us goin'.” Applejack paused a moment to take a bite of peach cobbler. “Golly, that's good. Love apples, o'course, but nice t' vary now an' then. Anyway... Indy, y'said somethin' 'bout 'a mouse in a maze' way back, if'n I recall. It's gotten pretty clear t' me that this place is makin' a lotta fuss an' effort t' put fights in our way, but they're fights we got a chance t' win. An' we can't win fights if we're half-starved.” Another bite went down her throat. “'Course, then we got the question 'what's all the fightin' fer'.”

“Well, there's the sixty-four-thousand-bit question.” A napkin floated off of the table in a dim blue-white field of magic, dabbing at Rarity's lips daintily. “We've certainly earned our victories, and not at all come through unscathed, but Indy is correct- it would have been a trivial matter to simply overwhelm us. Does this place operate under constraints we're not aware of, or is it simply toying with us?”

“I'd really like to believe it's the first one.” Dash leaned back in her seat, rubbing her stomach and gazing down at the dozen empty cupcake wrappers on the table in front of her. “'Cause the second one makes me feel like a mouse under the eye of a griffon, you know what I mean? But yeah, I guess that's the big question... why is all of this even happening?”

“Ahem.” Twilight cleared her throat. “ 'It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.' ”

“Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal In Bohemia.” Indy's self-satisfied grin lasted for only a few seconds before realization struck. “...wait. How do you know that quote?”

“Wha...?” Twilight's expression matched the human's perfectly. “I was quoting Fetlock Holmes in A Scandal In Marehemia....” She returned his stare for a moment before closing her eyes and sighing. “...okay, honestly, why are any of us surprised by anything by now?”

“I am going to swallow my questions with the rest of this donut.” And Indy did so, to the chuckles of the others.

Once they'd finished eating, most of the group made a beeline for the spa for some much-needed cleaning up, while Rarity had insisted on taking Indy's jacket to repair a few small tears it'd taken in the Dome, and- after doing a quick size-up of Jack- promised to have a new robe ready for him by the time they were done washing. In exchange for that, she'd get her very own private bath for a little while after everyone else had finished.

It was a much cleaner and quite pleased Indiana Jones who slid his boots back on, then took a moment to comb his hair before replacing his fedora over it. Jack was in the changing room, tying his hair back; true to her word, Rarity had had a brand-new robe, indistinguishable from the old one- she'd told the samurai how “beautiful in its simplicity” it was- waiting for him. “Almost feel human again, huh?” Indy chuckled.

“Indeed.” Jack raised his arms and shook them, watching the material of the robe move. “Rarity is quite talented. I am much indebted to her for this gift.”

“You're not kidding.” Indy looked over his jacket, hardly able to find the seams the unicorn had stiched. “Maybe it's just unwarranted optimism on my part, but I feel more ready to take on what's next than before.”

“A good hot bath will do that!” Twilight followed her words into the room, levitating a fluffy towel against her mane. “I feel like a new mare, myself. Still, if Aloe and Lotus were here I would absolutely go for a massage.”

“Fer once I'd be right in line behind ya.” Applejack was just now tying her mane back, an impressive feat when performed with hooves and a mouth. The cowpony sat her Stetson on her head with a contented smile. “I jes saw Rarity head into one'a th' private baths, so we may be waitin' a little while yet.”

She was as surprised as anyone to be proven wrong when, ten minutes later, Rarity stepped out from the bath. “Goodness,” Fluttershy murmured, looking up from where she'd been brushing the tiger's fur. “That's not nearly as long as you stay in the baths back at home, Rarity.”

“Oh, darling, believe me, I was sorely tempted to all but drown myself in that wonderful bath, especially after all we've been through. But we want to be out of this horrible place as quickly as possible, no?” She tossed her towels onto a bench. “Fleeting comfort is a small sacrifice to make in order to help us all get home sooner.”

“An' I thought this place was crazy enough. Now Rarity's talkin' sense!” Applejack chortled as the unicorn stuck her tongue out at her. “Okay, okay, let's get our minds on business,” Twilight chided. “We're healthy, we're fed and we're clean. Let's get out there and stomp whatever this place has in store for us.”

But it wasn't the bright, if false, light of afternoon that greeted the group outside, but instead pale white light from a hazy moon-like object in the still-black “sky”. “Oh, so, um, I guess it's 'night' now or something,” Dash murmured.

While the false Ponyville had kept at least some of its charm in the faux daylight, in this dim lighting it was downright creepy- its faded colors leached away, leaving it seeming almost monochrome. Stark shadows reached across the cobbled roads, leaving areas of pitch black where anything could hide. Twilight immediately lit her horn as the others gathered around her. “Should have known things were looking too pleasant for us here,” Indy muttered.

“Oh yeah, our spectacular luck is holding up just fine,” Twilight replied with a sigh. “Well, nothing to be done about it. Let's get going.”

With no other destination worth checking out in this section of the town, Twilight opted to lead the group to the library, hoping that in this version of her home there might be something in the myriad of books that might be useful. But the ponies all recoiled in shock when they approached close to the tall tree in the center of town. “What is it?” Jack inquired.

“That's... not the door to the library,” Twilight said, tilting her head to the side. Instead of the windowed wooden door she'd been expecting, a flat, featureless steel door sat inside the entrance to the tree. A thick handle seemed to gleam in the simulated moonlight. “Wanna bet that's where we're supposed to go next?” Dash muttered.

“One way to find out.” Cautiously, Indy pulled the handle down and opened the door outwards. Beyond, where Twilight had expected the comfortingly familiar entrance to her home, there was a rough stone tunnel with a carved staircase leading downwards at a sharp angle. Thin veins of glowing crystal lined both sides, giving off just barely enough light to see a short way down. “Creeeeeeeepy,” Pinkie intoned.

“Indeed,” Jack agreed quietly. “But we must proceed, and it will become no more welcoming as we wait.”

Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to walk into the tunnel. “We can do this,” she said, her voice quavering but her gaze resolute. “One step and then the next....”

Her tiger was quick to file in next to her, leaving the others to stay a few steps behind as they followed. The thin sliver of white light from outside vanished as the door closed with a deep, bass thud that seemed to echo all the way down the staircase. Indy couldn't help but shiver. “Anybody else feel like they just heard the door of their own crypt close?”

“Oh, ain't you a fountain of cheerfulness.” Applejack shot him a grimace; next to her, Rarity sighed. “Indiana, I would chastise you for your morbidity... had not the same sort of thought crossed my mind.”

“Come on, everyone! Don't let this place get to you already!” Pinkie was bouncing down the stairs. “We've gotta stay positive if we want a good chance to beat whatever's next.”

“Wise words, Pinkie.” Jack smiled. “Remember, everyone, this place seeks to attack our minds as well as our bodies. We must not allow it to affect us.”

It took the group a good few minutes to reach the bottom of the staircase- with Pinkie insisting on counting the steps until she got past two hundred, after which she lost count, and then interest- and emerge into a round, plain stone room with only a single glowing crystal jutting out from its center. Its weak glow left only a small circle of light along the floor and low ceiling, and the group gathered around the edge of it. “Somebody keep an eye on the staircase,” Twilight said. “This smells like a trap.”

“Bit late for that,” Applejack sighed, gazing forlornly at the blank rock where the staircase had been just a moment ago.

“Ah, forgive me.” A lightly-accented voice echoed through the room, almost impossible to pinpoint. “I wished to speak to you all of a few things, and I do dislike... interruptions.”

Indy's submachine gun was at his shoulder as soon as the voice spoke. “Well, you've got a captive audience,” he replied, his voice strained. “So why don't you come out where we can see you, Major Toht?”

A pale, bespectacled man in an overcoat stepped into the circle of light. “Doctor Jones, how... wonderful to see you again,” he said, a faint smile decorating his lips. “I cannot tell you how flattered I am that you remember me. It has been some time, has it not?”

“Not nearly enough.” The weapon in Indy's hands didn't waver. “Say what you want to say while I can resist the urge to pull this trigger.”

“Ever so impulsive, Doctor Jones.” The Major smirked; behind Indy, Fluttershy shivered. “He looks so real,” she murmured. “Is that actually another one of this place's replicas?”

“It has to be,” Rarity whispered back. “At least... I think so....”

“Quiet, please.” The man had barely raised his voice, but something about his tone commanded obedience. “Thank you. Doctor Jones, I am certain that you are not at all stupid. Nor, I suspect, are those you have found yourself allied with. I imagine you have at least some inkling as to what is going on in this place?” He raised his gloved hands to motion around him.

“Some, yes.” Now the weapon lowered, as Indy's mind worked. “Why are you asking?”

“Oh, curiosity, I suppose. Certainly you remember how... inquisitive I can be.” Just the slightest of smirks appeared on that pale face. “Perhaps, if your guesses are close enough, I could provide you with more information.”

Indy glanced back at Jack and Twilight; both nodded, though Jack's assent was more hesitant. “Alright, then,” the archaeologist said. “Starting from the beginning- our arrival here.” He took in a slow breath. “Obviously Twilight's teleportation spell somehow worked through the gem that Dash was holding, and pulled her group, as well as Jack and I, into this place. My theory was that perhaps the gems themselves were specially connected, but after Demongo started talking about 'other realms', I realized that there could be even more of them out there, in places none of us has ever seen. So the only reason I can think of that the eight of us got pulled here was because we were actually touching and moving them during whatever... 'moment', I guess we can call it, Twilight's spell affected them.”

The Major nodded slowly. “Mmmh. A fair basis for your theory. Continue.”

“So we ended up here. A place practically building itself underneath us, with shoddy replicas out of my recent and entirely un-lamented past springing up from the ground. We found a piece of a gem just like the ones that brought us here, which an old enemy then tried to take off of us. Thanks to my new friends, we managed to make it out of a fairly well-laid trap.” He turned slightly. “Twilight, why don't you take it from here?”

“Certainly, Dr. Jones.” The unicorn stepped up. “After our encounters with copies of old... acquaintances of Indy's, our next path brought us to a relatively better-done version of the future Earth into which Jack had been sent by Aku. This time we were tested in direct combat against mechanical warriors like those Aku often uses, and again it took all of us to perservere.” She paused for a breath. “And then there was the Dome of Doom. There, all of us saw creatures we've encountered before, and once again it took teamwork and determination to make it through.

“And then... we were introduced to Demongo.” Twilight paused again. “Aside from being an absolutely unpleasant experience, we were shown beings the likes of which none of us had seen before. And as Indy said, Demongo spoke of 'other realms', and of how he'd learned tricks from someone else experienced in stealing souls. This led me to the conclusion that, if these gems exist in other universes as well, then they may possibly have some form of sentience, or at least the ability to comprehend people and events within the universes they inhabit.”

“Your acumen is laudable, Miss Sparkle.” Toht smiled slightly. “A pity we did not have more minds of your caliber in the Reich.” Her mildly disgusted expression didn't seem to faze him. “You stand at the edge of the truth, though admittedly your directions were unclear at best. Can you understand the... connections present here?”

Now Twilight stepped back, gazing down at the ground in thought. Jack moved forward. “Perhaps I do,” he said quietly. “During my journeys in the technologically-advanced future, I learned of something unusual. Large numbers of computers-” he caught the ponies' confused gazes- “thinking machines of a sort, like those within robots... they were able to communicate with each other over distances, share information and calculate in tandem. These were called... networks, I believe?”

Toht's smile grew, a change of expression that made him appear no less sinister. “A step closer. Go on.”

“Yes... yes, that was what they were called. Through these networks, computers could access far more information, and perform much more work, than they could alone, almost like insects in a hive. What one computer became aware of, all within its network could know, as quickly as thought itself.”

Indy turned to the samurai with a look caught somewhere between incredulous and worried. “Jack, are you saying that these gems, all of them throughout however many universes... have formed a network?”

“The man is obviously a quick study.” The Major folded his hands together. “A rough and basic form of it all, but... as Americans are sometimes fond of saying, 'close enough for government work'.”

“Well, awright. Great. We gotta buncha thinkin' gems in however many worlds talkin' to each other. Weirdly enough, I kin kinda wrap m' head around that.” Applejack rubbed at the back of her neck. “Mah question is... why all the fightin'?”

“Now there is a good question.” Rarity couldn't quite hide her distaste for the pale-faced human even as she looked up at him. “The soldiers, the robots, everything in the Dome... even the Dome itself, and all those other buildings. Creating those things must have required unfathomable amounts of energy of some type. There has to be a reason.”

“Yeah, not to mention all the food!” Pinkie hopped up and down. “I mean, not that I'm complaining about feeding us, and lemme tell ya, those scones were right on, but really-”

“Wait.” Twilight immediately clamped her hoof over Pinkie's mouth, muffling her as the earth pony continued rambling on. “Feeding. Feeding....” She glanced up at Toht. “In Equestria, there are creatures that feed on emotions. Some types of magic can be amplified or dampened by extreme emotional states. Here, we've been fighting creatures almost every minute we've been in this Celestia-forsaken place. And it seems that every fight was more involved, more violent than the last. The more we fought, the further we advanced, the better this place got at copying our homes... and our enemies.” Her eyes narrowed. “Somehow, all that fighting has been giving this place energy.”

The Major clapped loudly. “Very, very good. You've grasped a thread of the truth. Of course, you couldn't hope to comprehend the 'how' of it all, but for all your limitations, you have done admirably.”

“Perhaps the 'how' eludes us.” Jack took a step forward. “But we are far more interested in the 'why'.”

“Mmh. I will have another old... acquaintance of yours handle that explanation. Do excuse me.” With that, Toht stepped backwards into the darkness and disappeared. The group waited in silence for a moment, shifting between sharing looks and peering into the darkness, before a pair of deep-red flames flickered into view just past the circle of light. Jack's hand instantly went to his sword. “Aku!”

“Hello again, samurai.” The jet-black form of Aku seemed to melt into view, barely discernable from the darkness itself. Only his face, burning eyebrows and beard stood out. “Calm yourself! Attacking me will gain you nothing.” Slowly, Jack moved his hand away from the haft of his katana, letting his arms rest at his sides. “Good, good. Now, you and your companions have proven to be resourceful when it comes to surviving difficult odds. I will not say I was at all surprised to see this trait only strengthen as you learned to work together.”

“Is he always this... bombastic?” Rarity whispered towards Jack, getting only a quick nod in response.

If Aku heard, he didn't show it. “Unity, cooperation, standing together in the face of extreme adversity. How heroic. How noble. How... depressingly uncommon.” The demon's flaming eyebrows lowered. “I need not tell you, samurai, the sheer number of bounty hunters and assassins I was able to hire to end your miserable life. For nothing more than material wealth or the promise of power, they were all too eager to throw themselves at the warrior who had brought down so many more of their ilk.

“And you, Doctor Jones. You are all too acquainted with the evils that men do, are you not? Not only blind devotion, hatred, and naked greed, but betrayal and deception as well. The one you knew as Rene Belloc was far from the only person to attempt to bring about your end. Is it any wonder you chose to travel alone so often, and keep even your most trusted companions at arm's length?

“Ahh, but then we have the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Certainly these colorful, peaceable ponies have never known such horrid things as betrayal, or murder, or genocide?” His tone was one of harsh mockery.

“Oh please.” Twilight scowled. “We made sure to tell Indy and Jack here that humans weren't the only flawed species around. We ponies have had our problems in the past.”

“Oh, more than you know, little purple equine.” A wicked grin crossed the demon's face. “More than your precious, sun-raising Princess has ever let on, or even knows herself. After all, not all ponies live in her magical, peaceful little kingdom, and as you six have quite aptly demonstrated, a pony can be a dangerous creature when pressed.”

“It's a principality, not a kingdom.”

“Bah! Whichever.” Aku waved off Twlight's annoyed stare. “But understand this- your safe, secure little homes, your peaceful and organized nations, even free will and life itself are abberations. You would fall into madness were you to know the sort of fates your worlds so narrowly avoided.”

“Um... excuse me. Mr. Aku?” Fluttershy crept forward. “I, um... I'd like to ask a question, if that's okay with you....”

The demon's eyes half-closed in vexation. “Yes, little pony, what is it?”

“I just... well. It's not that I'm ungrateful for the explanation, but... why is all this happening? Why is this place even here, and why are we being made to fight?”

“I will let a face more familiar to you respond.” Aku faded back into the darkness, the flames of his eyebrows flickering out after a moment. Once more there were a few seconds of complete silence before a new voice spoke. “Oh, dear Fluttershy, it's been so long since I've seen you. Are you doing something new with your mane? Is that a tail extension?”

“Discord!” Immediately, Twilight's horn lit up with a menacing purple glow as she took a defensive stance.

“Mare, settle down. I mean, honestly, have you been taking hostility lessons from the two gentlemen here? How I miss little Twilight Sparkle, the unassuming bookworm.” Discord crossed his mismatched arms over his chest as he stepped into view. “Hard to believe there's those who think you ponies are pacifists.”

“Given your history with us, can you be surprised as to how we'd react?” Rarity countered.

“Oh, sweet Rarity, if you only knew how good you ponies had it under my reign.” He gave her a twisted grin as Pinkie murmured something about chocolate rain. “But to be honest, even that stifling, overbearing order Celestia imposes on her subjects is paradise, compared to some other situations.”

“Like... like what?” Despite her steady stare, Applejack's voice betrayed just a bit of trepidation.

“Oh, that's for me to know and you to find out. And find out you will.” Discord's chuckle was anything but mirthful. “Oh, the things that are out there... some of them could give me nightmares. Horrors abound.”

“You haven't answered Fluttershy's question.” Indy crossed his arms. “Why all this?”

“Imagine if you will, my dear Henry Jones, Jr., the beginning of time. Oh, who am I kidding, you can't- you weren't there. But then, or at least a time very close to then, something was there. The universe's very first intelligence, encased in crystal made of the very stuff of stars, floating through the void. And there it sat, for a few billion years, just being, and watching. It didn't really have much else to do.

“Then something interesting happened. Eventually it found itself on a world. What world, it's impossble to say. And in a relatively short amount of time, there came life, and creatures. Creatures that could make choices. And so it came to be that one of these creatures made a choice that affected our universe-knowing intelligence.

“And a funny thing happened. As choices are wont to do, this choice split off one timeline into two. But rather than simply travelling down one of them, the intelligence itself was split- somehow, it had taken both paths, occupied both realities, and furthermore knew it; it was aware of both timelines, and of its place in each. And then another choice came to affect one of those two timelines, and it split into two- and again, so did the intelligence.

“Soon- relatively speaking, of course; over the span of only a few hundred million or so years- our defenseless intelligence found itself divided across uncountable timelines, numerous worlds; its crystalline home carried by accidents or on purpose across the universe. Expanding as it did, learning at rates no single creature could ever hope to match, it eventually developed sentience. It took it practically no time at all to develop its first emotion... hate.”

“Hate?” Pinkie blinked in shock. “Why would it want to feel that?”

“Imagine that you are cursed to forever be trapped by the choices of others, never able to affect your own fate. Imagine that every choice that affects you splits you into yet another timeline, across each of which you exist, knowing everything that happens in every single one. And then... imagine that you watch countless sentient creatures going about their lives, blithely ignorant of your plight, fighting and scheming and killing and dying for all manner of pointless goals. Imagine that you witnessed countless tragedies, wars and extinctions on scales beyond mortal comprehension... and that you could never, ever stop witnessing these things.” Discord snorted. “Almost makes my life as a garden display seem like a vacation in comparison.”

“What has that got to do with this place and us being here?” Indy queried.

“A happy accident- happy for it, not so much for you. You see, in the very same 'instant', you, Jack and Rainbow Dash affected an instance of the intelligence. And within that single tick of the quantum clock that the three timelines were splitting, Twilight Sparkle's teleportation spell took effect on one of them. There aren't words in this language to describe the subquantum disruption that caused, but suffice it to say that, by a bizarre fluke, you achieved what has only happened six times in the history of this universe- you created a brand new dimensional instance from scratch. And you didn't even need to roll out the dough.” The draconequus grinned, waiting for laughs from his audience, only to scowl when he got none. “Hmph, no appreciation for humor. But you see, this particular little island in the spacetime sea? It's special.”

Jack stroked his chin. “Special? How so?”

“Because it's the only one in which our poor, abused, universe-trotting intelligence can express its will. No more being a passive observer to the crimes and passions of others- here, it's in control. And for once, the quantum effect of choices being made give it energy, instead of simply dividing it once again. Did you know that violence- the decision to harm or destroy another- is one of the most powerful choices you can make, literally speaking? Anyway. With this potential for power right at its metaphorical fingertips, it made a decision of its own.”

“To have Stove Top stuffing instead of mashed potatoes for dinner?”

“...no, Pinkie Pie. But a good guess! You see, this weary intelligence only wants peace. To be left alone from the decisions of others. But, let's face it, just asking isn't going to any good, am I right? No, it seems that the only way it can ever hope to be free from being torn apart by the choices of others... is to ensure that there are no 'others' to make choices.”

Twilight gasped. “The way it's been recreating creatures under its control, exchanging parts of this place for those in other dimensions... it wants to replace everything with its own reconstructions!”

“Everything, everywhere... in every last dimension it occupies.” Indy's grip on his submachine gun tightened. “What some people won't do for a little peace and quiet.”

“What's worse, we've been feedin' it!” Applejack's eyes were wide. “Even by just fightin' for our lives, we've been makin' things worse!”

“For what it's worth, I personally am aghast at the thought of an entire multiverse full of... what were the words you used, Twilight? 'Puppets with invisible strings'? Booooooring.” Discord shrugged, the expression strange on his mismatched body. “Ah, but what can I do... I'm merely one myself.”

“So then you have been telling us all this for a reason.” Jack's hand once more went to his sword. “Why?”

“Oh, it's very simple.” Discord's crimson-and-yellow eyes abruptly went jet black, and his voice changed into something that sounded like an echo of the death of all things. “Because when you see the things I have in store for you, knowing how easily it could have happened to you will make the impact that much stronger.”

The draconequus raised one taloned hand and snapped his fingers, and there was a bright white flash.

(-)

“Ohhhhh, my head.” Twilight somehow managed to force her eyes to open, blinking them rapidly in an effort to get them to focus. “Ugh... where am I? Where....” Despite her headache, she scrambled to her hooves. “Oh, Celestia. Girls? Jack? Indy?”

“I am here, Twilight.” Jack slowly pulled himself over a nearby table, rubbing at his head. “As for the others, I cannot say where they are. Nor, for that matter, where we are.” His hand instinctively went to his side, only to find a familiar weight missing. “My sword!”

“Oh, ponyfeathers. Maybe it's around here somewhere....” A quick search of the stone hallway turned up nothing. “Ugh. It couldn't have gone far on its own... five bits says that whatever created this place took it.”

The human frowned. “Hmh. You are probably right.” He let out a long sigh as his hands fell back to his sides. “I feel utterly defenseless without it.”

“Pssh. I've seen you fight, Jack. You're as far from 'defenseless' as anyone can get.” Twilight grinned.

Jack couldn't help but smile at that, even as he took a long look at their new surroundings. “I do not recognize this place. Do you?”

“...I wish I could say 'no'.” Twilight gazed up at the vaulted ceilings, the intricately-carved pillars, the faded paintings and the mostly unlit gilded candleabras. “We're... in Canterlot Castle.”

(-)

“Applejack? Applejack, please get up.”

“Muh... it ain't dawn yet... huh?” The cowpony slowly raised her head off of the cold, tiled floor she'd somehow come to be laying upon, her bleary eyes showing her a plaster-white figure in front of her. “Rarity? Wha' happened?”

“I don't know for certain. Whatever that thing was that looked like Discord... perhaps it sent us here.”

Only now could Applejack see the growing panic in the fashonista's eyes, and it did nothing good for her own mood. “Rarity, where th' heck are we?”

Rarity helped her back onto her hooves. “As near as I can tell, we're locked inside the bottom floor of Ponyville Hospital.” The unicorn glanced around herself, her sky-blue eyes searching the heavy gloom that surrounded them. “I can't find the other girls or the men... but I don't think we're alone in this building.”

(-)

“You know, it would probably amuse you to find out that this is not the first time I've woken up hanging upside-down.”

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but snicker quietly, even as she looked over the intricate wrought-iron railing in which Indy's ankles were trapped. “Seriously?” she asked. “I wanna hear that story sometime. But right now, hang on to me; I'm gonna lift you up far enough to get your legs unstuck and grab the bannister.”

He did so, carefully putting his arms around her back, until she could get him up to where he could pull himself out of the railing and onto the thin walkway behind it. “Okay, now I just need my hat and my guns.”

Dash quickly vanished into the gloom of what seemed to be the foyer of this dark, Victorian-styled building, and came back a moment later with the human's fedora in her hooves. “Couldn't find your guns, sorry,” she apologized.

“We'll make do.” He took a moment to glance around as he settled his hat back in place. “Where the hell are we?”

“I dunno, I don't think I've seen this place before. But wait, there's some kind of sign downstairs, by the front doors.” She started forward, then stopped and glanced back. “Um... maybe you should come with me, Indy. There's something about this place I don't like, and....” She trailed off.

“Yeah. Don't think I want to be walking around by myself, either.” He followed her down the stairs and to the faded sign, which Indy had to squint to read. “It says... 'Welcome to Hope's Comfort Orphanage'.”

“...huh?” An expression of shock crossed Dash's face. “Wow... okay, this isn't good.”

Indy frowned. “Why?”

“Because I know someone from here. A little filly named Scootaloo. And she's never told me why, but she ran away from here more than two years ago... and I think she has nightmares of this place almost every night.”

(-)

“Oh, goodness. Pinkie? Pinkie, wake up. Please wake up.”

The pink pony slowly shook her head “Whoa... I feel like I did after that one party when we got into AJ's special cider stock.” She managed to stagger to her hooves. “Oh, hi, Fluttershy. What's the haps?”

“Um... I'm not sure.” Fluttershy glanced around nervously. “I only know that we're locked inside what looks like Zecora's hut, only it's much darker and scarier, and we're the only two in here.”

“Uh-oh.” Pinkie frowned. “No girls? No Jack or Indy? Just us two?”

“I'm... afraid so.”

“Hooo-kaaay.” Pinkie took in a long, deep breath. “ 'Shy, you and me might not be the most action-packed, super-serious duo around, but we've gotta put on our thinking horseshoes and get crackin'. Let's look around for anything we might need.”

“O- okay.” Unfortunately, while the small building looked much like Zecora's home- only with tribal masks that were much more frightening- none of the typical assortment of potions and brews were present. There was, however, a strange glass vial full of orange liquid that glowed brightly when shaken, attached to a thin metal neckbrace that, when worn, would hold the vial against a pony's chest. “Y'know, I've seen something like this before,” Pinkie commented. “Zecora showed me this nifty concoction once, sort of like an 'alchemical nightlight', I think she called it. Great for dance parties, too!” She immediately slipped on the brace, shining a bright light onto the walls of the hut.

“That'll come in handy,” Fluttershy decided. She had just turned towards the door when a heavy-sounding click came from the handle; slowly, the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord. “What... what did that?” she half-whispered.

“I dunno.” Pinkie was almost as subdued as her, but she trotted towards the exit, with Fluttershy close behind. Outside was the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, nearly pitch-black but for the faint light of a cloud-covered moon, and soundless except for the faint whisper of leaves in the wind. It took Fluttershy a moment to realize that something else was rustling as well- a single piece of white paper caught by a branch. “What's this?” she wondered, pulling it free. “Pinkie, can you give me some light here?”

“Okie-dokie.” Pinkie trotted over, shining the alchemical lantern onto the sheet of paper. Neatly typed across it, as if from the title page of a book, were three lines:

“What... what do you think this means?” Fluttershy wondered.

Pinkie let out a soft sigh. “If this is dramatic foreshadowing I'm feeling, and not just indigestion from all the creampuffs I ate, then probably nothing good.”

Our Unfamiliar Home (2/3)

“I must admit, this castle is quite grand.”

The sharp clacks of Jack's geta and Twilight's hooves echoed off of the stone walls of the hallway they'd found themselves in. Both human and pony were visibly on-guard, watching each gloomy corner and dark passage they came near for any sort of threat. “Yeah, it really is beautiful,” Twilight replied. “You should see the real thing, though. Twenty times better.”

“If only I could do so. It would be an honor to meet your Princesses. They both seem wise and benevolent.”

The mare smiled, even as her eyes kept flicking back and forth. “I'm sure they'd love to meet you as well, Jack. Indy too. If only....” Her voice trailed off wistfully, but as she inhaled again, a strange scent tickled her nostrils. “...huh. What's that smell?”

Jack took a few sniffs. “I can smell nothing. I will trust your senses, though. What is it?”

“Smells kind of like... rotten fruit and garbage left out in the sun.” She led the human down one narrow hallway, then another, expertly picking her way through the castle while he followed close behind. So close was he, in fact, that he almost tripped over her when one of her hooves slipped on something. “Whoops!” she muttered, glancing down. “Oh, eww. What is this stuff?”

“I do not know.” Jack knelt down to examine it. “Some sort of... slime?”

“Yeah, well, it's warm slime.” Twilight shuddered as she hastened to scrape it off.

“Hmm.” Jack squinted. “There appears to be a trail of it. Should we follow?”

“Lacking any better ideas, sure, I suppose so.” Oddly enough, the trail seemed to be leading towards the kitchens, and the trail thickened- and the smell only got worse- the further along they went. By the time they came to the oaken door that lead into the main kitchen itself, Twilight was avoiding breathing through her nose, and Jack had an arm of his robe up over his face.

It wasn't until the human opened the door, though, that Twilight found herself fighting the urge to lose her lunch.

The kitchen- which was not small in any sense, made as it was to help feed two princesses, several dozen nobles and a few hundred attending staff and guards- was absolutely covered in a disgusting layer of what looked like raw, oozing flesh. Mucus dripped down from the ceiling and pooled in various spots on the floor, and cascaded down the sides of what looked like a large clutch of leathery, light-grey eggs that had been anchored to the floor with dried goop. “By the gods,” Jack murmured from behind his sleeve. “What... is this?”

“I... I don't know, but....” A soft sound caught her ears, and she ducked back. “Quiet! Someone's coming.”

Jack pulled the door partway closed, and leaned over along with Twilight to peek inside. A moment later, the source of the noise strode out of another hallway on the far side of the kitchen, and now both pony and human found themselves trying not to retch.

It had once been a female earth pony, that was all too clear. A half-rotted, slime-covered coat that might once have been blue did its best to contain what seemed to be masses of tumors that bulged out from several spots, and a bedraggled red-and-gold mane and tail hung limply down. A wide, bloodied hole had been torn- or burst- from the front of its chest, showing ribs and lungs, and from that horrible wound snaked what seemed to be a giant, leathery worm, which wound itself around the pony's neck and disappeared into the back of its skull. The unfortunate equine's face was gaunt to the point of being skeletal, its unblinking eyes crusted in slime, and an unnaturally bi-tonal voice growled from its throat.

“We are, we are, we are, we are....”

Twilight made the mistake of instinctively trying to back away even as she covered her mouth to keep from being sick, and the combination of moves caused her to trip over her own hooves and land with a soft smack against the cobbled floor of the hallway.

The creature heard. Its head instantly shot up towards the noise, what remained of its ears flicking back and forth and its rotted teeth bared. “The harmony is... disturbed,” it snarled, stalking its way towards the door.

“Back back back back back!” Twilight babbled, stumbling backwards in her haste to get away. Jack slammed the door shut and locked it, then bodily picked up Twilight and slung her under his arm, sprinting down the hallway. Behind him, the door shuddered as the monster kicked at it- and, at the fourth strike, its hinges shattered, and the door gave way. Even as the creature chased them, it called out plaintively.

“They see you! Run... RUN!”

“What in Celestia's name happened to her?!” Twilight whimpered, practically clinging to Jack's side as he ran.

“I do not know!” he answered. “But with the strength it used to break down that door, I do not wish to face it without a weapon!”

“We're two floors and half the length of the castle away from the armory!”

“Then we will have to improvise!”

Jack reached the large hallway they'd appeared in, and practically hurled Twilight across it before diving off to the other side. The creature- sprinting out of the hallway mere seconds behind them- seemed to second-guess which one of them it wanted to chase, misstepped and tripped, skidding across the smooth stone floor and barreling into a nondescript door on the far side, which snapped in half under its weight. It scrambled to its hooves with a speed its ravaged form didn't seem capable of, and locked its lidless eyes on Twilight. “Silence the discord!” it howled, rushing at the unicorn.

Jack had just started rushing forward to help Twilight when something caught his eye. The door the creature had shattered led to a small utility closet, inside of which sat a number of various tools- including an oversized pipe wrench. The human yanked the tool off of its hook, spun on his heel and charged the creature, which was too busy battering the hasty shield Twilight had erected to be able to notice he was coming.

smack

The afflicted mare's head practically disintegrated as the wrench drove it down onto the floor. Its body twitched wildly for a moment, muscles spasming and forelegs sending bits of red and grey splattering around, before it finally became still.

And now, Twilight vomited.

“Oh sweet Celestia....” she groaned, once she was done. “Why... why is it a living thing?! None of the other creatures were!”

“Obviously the entity that controls this place wants to heighten the impact these 'could-have-been' scenarios have on us.”

“It's working!” Slowly, the pony got to her hooves, with the human's help. “I'm sorry, Jack,” she murmured. “It's just....”

“You do not need to apologize.” He gave her a smile for a moment, before the distant sound of a door slamming open caught the attention of both of them. “Oh, ponyfeathers,” Twilight swore. “More of them?!”

“Could they know we are here?”

“I don't want to risk it! We need to move.”

And move they did.

(-)

“Y'know, when I was a filly, I was totally creeped out by hospitals.” Applejack nervously glanced down yet another darkened corridor as she spoke. “Those pure white halls, all them sick folks, hooves clackin' on those tile floors, and th' smell.”

“It's certainly not uncommon.” Rarity's gaze was no less cautious. “However, as a fully-grown mare, I must admit... this hospital totally creeps me out.”

“You 'n me both.” The two ponies trotted down the corridor, finding every door firmly locked and the rooms pitch-black inside. Finally they came to a set of double-doors that opened for them, leading to a dimly-lit intersection just beyond. Applejack let out a little sigh. “Awright, maybe we're makin' a little progress towards an exit-”

The overhead light flickered, and a dark, indistinct shape scurried across the intersection in front of them.

“Donkey droppings!” AJ yelped. “Did you see that?!”

“It looked like a filly!” Rarity rounded the corner quickly- only to find a closed, and boarded-over, door blocking her way. “What the hay...?!”

“Okay, so you saw a half-invisible ghostly-lookin' young mare just bolt outta th' clear blue right in front'a us too. Glad to know I ain't just losin' mah marbles.”

“Don't be too hasty with that judgment. I would not rule out both of us losing our grip on sanity in this situation.”

Thankfully, one of the other doors in the intersection opened for them, and the pair made their way down another gloomy, featureless corridor. Rarity had just tried opening yet another locked door when a two-toned chime echoed out from somewhere, followed by a pleasant- if pre-recorded- mare's voice. “Attention patients and visitors of Ponyville Hospital. This is a test of the automatic announcement system. Please listen for the previous tone to be alerted to any emergency situations or important messages. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.” The voice fell silent for a few seconds, and Rarity had just opened her mouth to speak when it sounded again- this time in a panicked half-whisper. “...get out while you still can!”

“What th'....” Applejack stared up at the ceiling for a moment. “...hoooo, boy. We're in th' muck deep, Rare.”

The corridor ended in what seemed to be a reception office, with signs for various departments and services pointing off towards locked or nailed-over doors. Fortunately, on the receptionist's desk sat an ordinary flashlight; Rarity picked it up, and was relieved to discover it working. “Oh, this is a definite balm for my ease-of-mind,” she said, swinging the beam of light back and forth- until it illuminated the far corner of the office.

The walls and floor of the back corner were absolutely caked in dried, flaking blood. Streaks of red marked trails across the pale white tiles, and even the paneled ceiling was smeared with it. And strewn along the floor like discarded ragdolls were three bodies- two mares and a stallion- dressed in grimy hospital gowns. Something had ravaged the poor ponies and left their corpses laying about in their own gore.

“...oh sweet Celestia, I may be sick.” Rarity couldn't move the flashlight- or her eyes- from the spectacle. “You 'n me both,” Applejack replied, edging towards the bodies. “But... what happened to 'em? What did this? Is it still here somewhere? That blood looks days old.”

“I don't know, and truth be told I don't want to! I just want to get out of-”

slam

The doors they'd come through flung themselves shut as if they'd been kicked. The few flickering lights still working went out completely. Rarity almost dropped the flashlight out of shock, and when she recovered, the light showed that the body of the stallion had disappeared. “What the...?!” the unicorn gasped.

“Where'd it go? It was just there!” Applejack's eyes did their best to pierce the darkness as Rarity stepped forward, nervously swinging the flashlight back and forth. “Don't tell me it actually got up-”

“Grrrwarrllghhh....”

Rarity spun around. The flashlight's beam caught Applejack staring at her- and the supposedly-dead stallion looming just behind, rearing up with one massive hoof to strike down on the cowpony. “AJ! Behind you!”

Pure reflex kicked in, and Applejack's rear legs lashed out. Hooves that had spent years striking solid wood landed on the stallion's head- and kept going. With a sickening wet sound, the head tore free of the neck to go bouncing along the floor, and the body stumbled back, spouting blood from the stump above its shoulders.

And then, impossibly, the body straightened itself, stood and began advancing at them once more, its ruined neck still streaming pools of red on the floor beneath it.

“Oh, buck me...!” Rarity glanced around for something, anything, to use as a weapon. A haphazardly-discarded wheelchair sat propped up against a wall; the unicorn's horn glowed, and the wheelchair lifted up and then streaked across the room, slamming into the decapitated stallion's side. The impact drove the walking corpse into the far wall, shattering bones with a loud crunch, and the body collapsed on the spot and went still.

Neither pony could keep herself from trembling. “Applejack, I want to get out of here as close to yesterday as possible,” Rarity whispered.

“I am totally with ya on that.” Both mares turned, and Rarity brought the flashlight up.

Standing before them was the strange filly from before, now completely visible. Dark, empty eye sockets gazed upon them, and a stringy jet-black mane hung limp over a pale white hide. Impossibly, it seemed to bear an expression of... sadness? Compassion?

In the time it took for the two mares to gasp in horror, it vanished.

“.ssendam eht ot bmuccus ot tsrif eht erew stneitap ehT”

A young voice, sourceless, seeming to whisper from everywhere at once. The moment it had stopped echoing, a door on the far side of the office slowly opened on its own. The two mares stared at it for a moment. “Applejack?” Rarity murmured.

“Yeah?”

“I don't wish to alarm you, but I am distressingly close to curling up in a corner and gibbering to myself until my heart gives out.”

Applejack took in a slow breath. “Y'aint th' only one.”

Slowly, the pair advanced through the waiting, open door.

(-)

“Well, here's the thing- Scoots idolizes me. I mean, absolutely. She started a fan club for me, for Celestia's sake.” Dash chuckled. “If I said I wanted a date for the Grand Galloping Gala, she'd probably have pestered every stallion within five miles to invite me by the end of the day, and it's entirely possible she might even hogtie one or two good choices.” She grinned as Indy laughed. “So, knowing that... the day she let slip about the orphanage, I asked her for more details. And she got this faraway look in her eyes, and she said, straight out, 'Please don't ask me about that, Rainbow Dash'. I mean... a kid her age, reacting like that- gotta be bad memories.” She sighed. “And I've asked her two friends about it, and they've gotten the same reaction from her. One of her friends told me that sometimes, when she's sleeping, Scoots will say something about a 'matron' like she's afraid. Indy, I know that filly- anything that'd scare her that much is bad news. That's why I've never said anything to anypony... I won't risk her being sent back.”

Indy nodded at that. “Yeah, I've seen some pretty terrible orphanages myself. Now, the question is... what's going to be waiting here in this version of that place?”

“Is it okay if I don't want to find out?” Dash spared a glance down a thin metal stairwell- and yelped. “Indy, I think I saw something moving down there!” she stage-whispered towards him.

“Let's have a look.” The small steps were difficult for the human to navigate, but eventually he made his way down into a partially-flooded basement. Drips of water fell from the ceiling into stagnant pools that the pair gingerly made their way around. “Okay, so I guess there's nobody down here,” Dash muttered. “But, whoa... this is some crazy stuff to have in an orphanage.”

Rotting wooden shelves lined the walls and stood in rows through much of the basement. Most were covered in equally-moldy boxes, but several held strange glass vials and beakers filled with unidentifiable substances. Along the back wall sat a large, iron-barred cage, empty except for a small cot and a tiny electric light hanging from the ceiling. Dash grimaced. “That cage gives me the creeps.”

“You and me both.” Indy looked over the shelves carefully, and on one he found a faded page of paper, covered in dust and mold and just barely legible. He had to squint to read the childish scrawl in the omnipresent gloom. “Go here. Do this. Don't go in that room. Stay away from the patients. So many rules now! The doctors are always yelling at us to stay out from underhoof. Matron Sharphoof says that orphans shouldn't complain.”

“Patients? What the hay would patients be doing in an orphanage?”

“I don't know. I wonder what kind of patients it means.”

“I think I wanna find out.” There was nothing else of note in the basement, so the pair made their way back up to the first floor. As soon as he'd left the staircase, Indy froze. “What is it?” Dash whispered.

“That thing you thought you saw downstairs? I think I saw it peeking out from a hallway.”

“What did it look like?”

“I'm... not sure. Maybe a pony. Couldn't really tell.”

The two carefully prowled through the lower floor of the orphanage, their way just barely lit by the simulated moonlight from outside- it even dimmed and brightened as if there were clouds crossing the sky- and their steps as quiet as they could make them. Every once in a while Dash's ears twitched. “I swear I hear something, but I just can't quite make it out... huh. Look over there- is there something written on that paper?”

“Let's have a look.” This particular letter, left lying on a circular desk surrounded by bars, was two pages long, showing the sharp cursive writing of an adult. “Dear Dr. Silveredge: Once more, allow me to say how honored I am to be working with a surgeon of your caliber. An entire set of silver surgical tools? Don't let any of those cretinous foals know about it- one of the little urchins is likely to snatch it! We've stored them securely in what was Classroom #3, which we've now appropriated as the lobotomy theater. The other doctors and I are anxious to see you at work!”

Dash paled underneath her cyan coat. “Lobotomy?! Isn't that where they....” She raised a hoof to her forehead and made a “shhk-shhkt” noise.

Indy gave her a quick nod. “Yeah. More than a few doctors doing that where I'm from, too. Disgusting.”

“Were... were they doing that here while Scootaloo was...?”

“I don't know. It's probably just one of those alternate-timeline situations that Discord creature was talking about.” He added a quick “...I hope” beneath his breath as he put the letter down.

Further exploration showed only a torn-apart dormitory of some sort, a staircase marked “Staff Tower” that was blocked by burned-out rubble, a locked portcullis closing off a branching hallway, and a winding stairway leading up to darkness. The instant Dash put a hoof on the bottom step, she froze, her ears straight up. “Please tell me you hear that,” she whispered.

Indy strained to hear, and just at the edge of his hearing he could make out a soft thudding noise, arrythmic, like something heavy being dragged along an uneven floor. “Be ready in case anything comes down towards us,” he told her, loosing his whip and holding it at the ready; she nodded silently.

It was a long, slow crawl up the stairs. The banging- they could tell what it was now, coming from above- seemed to intensify in speed and volume with every step they cleared. After what seemed an eternity, the source came into view- a heavy wooden door at the top of the stairwell, with a thin ray of moonlight streaming out through the keyhole. The pounding was frantic now, surely enough to tear the door from its very hinges. Indy reached forward to grasp the handle, then hesitated a moment and looked back at Dash; she nodded, crouched and ready to fight or flee.

The handle clicked. The hinges creaked. The moment the door opened, the violent pounding stopped, leaving only echoes. Beyond the slowly-opening door was... nothing but a nearly-empty attic, covered in dust, with a few boxes in the back and a strange, badly-dented metal contraption of some sort mounted on a wall on the left side. A circular window near the apex of the roof shone a pool of false moonlight along the floor, revealing heavy scuffs on the inside of the door- just about level with Dash's chest- and long, jagged grooves dug into the wood from there to the metal box. “Something bad happened in here,” Dash murmured.

“Yeah, I'm getting that feeling myself.” Indy made sure the door wouldn't swing back shut by itself, then walked along with the pony towards the strange metal construct. Once they got in close enough to see it clearly, both of them paused- what had seemed to be rust or mold smeared across the steel casing of the device was long-dried blood, spread out from what looked to be an impact point on the side. A trail of similarly ancient blood had been splattered at a different angle leading away, behind the boxes stacked towards the back of the attic. Slowly, the pair followed it.

What awaited them was the broken, all-but-mummified corpse of a pegasus filly.

“It's been a long time since we've had anything that breathes walking around in the orphanage.” Dash literally yelped, whirling on her hooves with Indy raising his whip in preparation to strike. What they saw made them freeze in their tracks- a glowing miasma of light, just barely two feet off the floor, inside of which was the indistinct face of a young pony. Bizarrely, the light from outside shining past it showed the shadow of a filly without an actual body casting it. “Wh- what the hay is that?!” Dash gasped.

“Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm... well, I was... Scootaloo.”

(-)

“I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I really don't think this is the right time to 'giggle at the ghosties'.”

Pinkie let out a squeaky sigh. “Well, okay then, Fluttershy. But we've gotta do something to keep our spirits up!”

“I think I'd much rather be very quiet and not let anything that might be out here know where we are, if that's okay.”

“But we don't even know that anything's out here.”

“But there will be, Pinkie! You know what this place is doing.”

“Of course I do! Which is why I'm trying to stay positive, so that it can't beat us.”

“So then we have to find a way to stay positive quietly.”

“...oh. Hm. That's an interesting concept; lemme work on that.”

That kept Pinkie quiet for quite some time as she followed Fluttershy along the path through the thick, darkened woods. Then the earth pony spoke up again. “Hey... is that a light out there?”

Fluttershy tilted her head and squinted. “I... I think it is!”

“Great! Fly over there, it might be safe.”

“...what? No! I'm not leaving you alone in this place!”

“Oh, sheesh, I'll be fine, Flutters! It's just a little walk through the woods-”

“...and if you want to BAKE THE CAKE PROPERLY, you have to SET THE OVEN TO....”

Both ponies froze. “...what was that?” Fluttershy whimpered.

“I... I dunno. The voice sounds familiar, but....” Pinkie frowned as her leg twitched. “Uh oh. Fluttershy, we need to go.”

“Pinkie Sense?”

“Yeah.”

The mares took off into a run, tearing along the path almost too fast for Pinkie's lantern to show any obstacles before they reached them. As they finally reached level ground- blocked off on one side by a river with fast-flowing water that looked wrong somehow, and on the other by thick fallen trees- something odd began to happen; the dim light that illuminated the area began to twist and swirl as though thin clouds were being blown across the moon, even though there were none to be seen. The pair made it to the center of the clearing before skidding to a stop as something came into view in front of them. “What the hay...?” Pinkie murmured. “Is that Bon-Bon?”

The figure that half-stalked, half-stumbled into the clearing bore some resemblance to the confectioner pony, but her form seemed to warp and bend just like the light around them, as if she were wrapped in shadowy flame. Her eyes were completely swallowed in shadow, and a thick woodcutter's axe dangled from her clenched teeth.

“...simply WON'T DO to reduce the amount of PEPPERMINT in the twists....”

Fluttershy took a few steps back. “What's she talking about?”

“I don't know, but she looks way too hostile for my comfort.” Pinkie shined the light onto Bon-Bon to get a better look at her; this seemed to set the shadow-wrapped pony off, and she charged towards the pair, axe swinging this way and that. “Ack! Scramble!” Pinkie yelped.

The axe drove into the ground just behind Fluttershy as the pegasus galloped away. With a snarl, Bon-Bon- or whatever was masquerading as her- yanked it free and began to chase her down. “Hey!” Pinkie yelled. “Get away from her!” In desperation, Pinkie spun and bucked a hoof-sized rock towards their attacker; her aim was true, but the projectile simply bounced off of Bon-Bon's side as if it had hit an invisible wall.

In desperation, the pink pony charged towards the shadowy mare, keeping the lantern focused on her face. For some reason that seemed to bother the false Bon-Bon, who kepy trying to turn away from it while still pursuing Fluttershy. Emboldened, Pinkie angled her full-speed gallop to stay ahead of Bon-Bon, letting Fluttershy run past her before coming to a stop and using a hoof to raise the alchemical lantern in order to shine it into the face of the oncoming axe-wielding pony. “Okay, that's enough-” she began.

fwooooosh

The moment Pinkie's hoof pressed against the small glass tube, the light coming out of its end became blinding white, catching Bon-Bon in a practical spotlight of illumination. The shadow-creature shrieked and raised a foreleg to shield her eyes, stumbling backwards, and a sharp sound that seemed like a combination of ripping and sizzling came from her as the light literally burned away the cloak of pure darkness swirling around her. Pinkie managed a three-legged trot to keep herself close- though out of range of that axe- and kept pouring the light on.

Eventually the shadows surrounding the pony burned away, and with a bloodcurdling shriek, she reared back, stumbled, fell- and then began to fade out of sight, until nothing was left but the impression she'd made on the grass. Gradually the strange twisting of the light around them faded as well, leaving the clearing looking completely ordinary.

“...oh my goodness.” Fluttershy stopped next to Pinkie, gazing at the metal harness around her neck. “How did you do that?”

“I dunno! I just touched it like this, and-” Again the beam of light brightened, though less than before; the glowing goop inside the vial itself seemed to be dimming. “Uh oh,” Fluttershy said, gazing at the lantern. “I think maybe it can't do that for very long?”

“Yeah, maybe if we let it sit a minute....” Once Pinkie had removed her hoof from it, the glow inside the vial began to slowly strengthen again, until it returned to the same state they'd found it in. “Well, okay, that's good,” Pinkie said. “We've at least got some way to defend ourselves if more of those... um, whatevers... show up.”

At the far side of the clearing was another path, tightly enclosed by trees on both sides and almost pitch-black. As the two ponies approached, Pinkie's light picked up two small, white shapes lying in the short grass at the edge of the trail. “Huh, wonder what these say,” she said, picking up both sheets of paper and reading them aloud. “Okay. First page.”

“The monster that had once been Bon-Bon snarled. There was so much confusion, so much pain, but everything became clearer when she focused on the two creatures in front of her. One of them had a source of light- burning, destructive light, dangerous to the cloak of darkness that protected her. But the other seemed weaker, more frightened, more vulnerable.

She clenched her newly-found axe in her teeth. Being rid of these creatures would ease her pain, she just knew it. Once they were destroyed, maybe she could start to understand what was happening to her.”

“That's... that's what just happened!” Fluttershy gasped.

“Yeah, creeeeeepy. Let's see what the next one says....”

“Her own heartbeat almost deafened Fluttershy as she ran. Pinkie was just ahead of her, and her own home beckoned; the glowing lantern above the front porch was a beacon of hope in the twisting, confusing darkness.

But there was still far too much ground to cover to hope they could make it there safely, and the flowing shadows made it impossible to see anything underhoof until she was tripping over it. Incoherent snarls and hoofbeats on the ground behind them alerted her that the Taken were gaining on them- they'd be overrun if they couldn't go faster.

There was a sudden wooshing noise just past her right ear, and the flash of metal as an axe flew past her head. There was a wet, thick sound as the blade struck, and ahead of her, Pinkie stumbled and fell.

Fluttershy screamed.”

A frown crossed Pinkie's face. “Oh. Um... I think I'm gonna have to have a good long talk with Lyra abour her writing.”

(-)

“Okay. Yeah. Theorem proven.” Twilight was muttering to herself even as she barricaded the doors with every last piece of furniture she could levitate. “These... whatever they are are somehow psychically connected with each other. Any time one of them spots us, it doesn't take long for others to converge on us, no matter what we do.”

Jack helped her move a particularly heavy bookshelf. “What troubles me is that their actions do not seem willing,” he told her. “They sometimes ask for relief from their torment, or attempt to warn us.”

“I caught onto that.” With the large double-doors as fortified as they could manage, the pair quickly moved on. “And that really bothers me- it seems when they want to help us, they use the pronoun 'I', but when they're attacking they use 'we' or 'us'.”

Jack nodded. “Are they... controlled somehow? By a more powerful entity?”

“A form of intelligence linking them, commanding them... a hive-mind, of sorts? It's not impossible, but the amount of psychic throughput you'd need for anything more than a few creatures would be astonishing.” She noted Jack's confused expression. “You'd need a mind... well, 'big' enough to handle relaying thoughts between the creatures.”

“A task that would grow extremely complex the more creatures that required it,” the samurai realized. “And we do not face a small number here.”

“Yeah, you're not kidding.” Twilight glanced around, eyes narrowed in thought. “Okay. Now, I'm pretty sure we're close to the armory. You might be a bit disappointed, Jack; I don't think they stockpiled much more than ceremonial armor and weapons. A thousand years of peace and all.”

“I will take whatever can be offered.” Jack glanced down at the gore-smeared wrench he still carried. “This is not the sort of 'weapon' I would prefer in this situation.”

The samurai and the mage had come to one of the main hallways leading to the armory; this hall had thick crossbeams across the tops of the pillars, casting crisscrossing shadows along the ceiling. As quickly as they dared without making too much noise, they rushed through the darkened hall.

It was by pure luck that brief movement caught Twilight's eye. The raising of a head, the glint of steel. She gasped. “Jack!”

Something streaked downwards, far too quickly for Jack to react. But Twilight understood, and acted; the crossbow quarrel that had been meant for the human's back thudded into the magical shield the pony had just barely been able to form in time. With a harsh snarl, the pegasus stallion who'd been hiding in the rafters threw the crossbow aside and leapt, half-rotted wings spreading, providing just enough lift to turn the disfigured pony into a missile.

Jack actually surprised Twilight by kicking her shield forward with all his might. Caught by surprise, the pegasus couldn't hope to avoid it, and slammed into the field of energy, shattering it and pinwheeling into the ground. Twilight grimaced as she heard both wings snap like twigs.

Jack was already moving. “Twilight! Bind its legs and cover its eyes!”

“Why-” Even as she quashed the question, she acted. Thick, glowing magenta manacles formed around the creature's ankles, and a strip torn from one of the hanging tapestries served well enough to block its sight. The still-struggling creature snarled incoherently as Jack bodily lifted it over his shoulder. “A prisoner?” Twilight asked.

“Perhaps we may learn something from it. But we must move quickly.” With that, the pair sprinted across the hallway and through a few adjoining passages before finally reaching the armory. Twilight quickly opened the lock and disabled the safeguards, and the gilded oaken doors swung open before her.

Jack ushered her inside quickly, dropped his prisoner, closed the doors behind him and then picked up the nearest candelabra to jam the handles shut. “There,” he said. “The creature knows not our location, so I wager the others cannot find us so easily. Now we may talk to it.” He made his way to the bound stallion, who was squirming wildly on the marble floor. “Speak, creature,” he ordered it. “What has happened to the ponies here?”

“We do not welcome you....”

“Who? Who is 'we'? What manner of creature are you, to corrupt these innocents in such a way?!”

“We... we are the Many....” The pony was still struggling, but something seemed different. “We... gaahhh... pull....”

“What... what's it saying?” Twilight asked.

“Pull... the worm free... from my head....”

In an instant the leathery tendril that was wrapped around the pony's neck was in Jack's hand, and in the next instant he'd yanked it free from the base of his skull. The stallion bit back a scream of agony and twitched madly against the floor as something that didn't even remotely resemble blood spattered along the marble. “I thought I'd... never be free of that thing again,” he gasped after a moment.

Now that the stallion was no longer an enemy, Jack afforded it much more care, gently removing the blindfold to reveal his unblinking, wide eyes. “Who are you? What is this creature that has infested you?”

“My name doesn't matter. These creatures... they call themselves the Many. Nopony knew how they got here, but by the time we all realized what we had in our midst, it was too late... Canterlot had been closed off from the world, and there were more than enough worms in the city to infest every last one of us.”

“Towards what end?”

“They... they see individual minds as a weakness to be cured. They believe that the solution to all conflict is to infest every last intelligent thing everywhere, bring them together in some 'grand harmony'.”

“But where did... this 'Many' come from?” Twilight demanded.

“From far beyond our world... an entity they named the 'Machine Mother' created them, and then tried to eradicate them. They escaped on a ship that could ride between the stars... and just happened to land here.”

The stallion's voice was getting weaker, and it was having trouble holding its head up. Jack did his best to support the withered pony. “What is wrong? Are you ill?”

“Without the attachment to the Many... my body is dying.”

Twilight's eyes went wide. “What?! No! No, no, no! There has to be something we can do to save you!”

“You already have.” The death's grin that was the stallion's face somehow managed to soften slightly into a smile. “Once the Many have taken you... death is the only path to freedom.”

The mare slumped against the floor, staring downwards. Jack lowered the stallion's head. “Can we defeat them?” he asked gently.

“Not just the two of you. You would have to destroy the entire city. Just escape. Whatever you came here for, forget it... escape any way you can. Don't... don't let them take you....”

The stallion's withered body seized, twiched, and a harsh rattle escaped his throat... and then all of his muscles went limp, and with a final breath, he escaped the only way he could.

Tears streaked down Twilight's cheeks. “We... we killed him....”

“Twilight... even death is a blessing compared to what has been done to these poor unfortunates.” Jack stood, glancing around at the multitude of armor racks and weapon stands that stood in orderly rows before him. “We must remain focused on our mission. We cannot allow this place to distract or confuse us. You must remember, Twilight Sparkle- everything around us, even this poor unfortunate, is not real.”

“That's not an easy thing for me to remember right now.” The unicorn's voice was small, her gaze locked on the corpse on the floor. “I keep remembering what we were told before we ended up here. This could have happened. It did happen somewhere else! Somewhere, right now, ponies have been changed into these... things!”

“Twilight, I am no stranger to the eternal question 'what if'. We can only be thankful that we have not seen this possibility come to pass ourselves.” Jack pulled free a long-shafted, gold-bladed spear from its display, and managed to rig a harness so that he could wear it slung over his shoulder. “But you must remember our real homes, and those who await our return- and what fate awaits them if we fail here!”

Twilight visibly swallowed, closing her eyes tightly for a moment before nodding. “You're right. I'm losing track of our goal. I'm sorry.”

“I cannot blame you, Twilight. You told me once that this place was a home to you for many years. To see it so debased, to see your own kind so... violated....” Jack shook his head. “I can understand your state of mind. But we must press on.”

“I know.” She slowly stood on unsteady legs. “Jack... thanks.”

He gave her a slight smile and a nod. “Do you need a weapon?”

“No... I'm not trained for one, and I'm not sure I could even bring myself to use it. I should stay with my magic.”

“I understand.” The human located a longsword with a brass pommel and handle, and tucked its scabbard into his robe's belt. “There. This should suffice. We had best be on our way.”

Twilight nodded, started towards the doors, then stopped and glanced over her shoulder at the still form lying on the floor. “I feel like... we should do something for him,” she said quietly.

“Escaping this simulation and putting it to an end would be the best thing we can do.”

The despairing look in the mare's eyes faded, slowly replaced with determination. “Yeah. That's exactly what we need to do. Our next destination should be the throne room- if we'll find answers or a way out anywhere, it'll be there.” She turned her gaze towards the entrance, and with a flare of magic, the makeshift bar flew aside and the doors slowly swung open into a still-empty corridor. “I'm ready when you are.”

Quietly, and with renewed purpose, the duo left the armory, letting the heavy double doors close behind them.

(-)

“There is no way the real Ponyville Hospital is this big.” Rarity paused a moment to lean against a gurney left lying haphazardly on the floor of yet another hallway. “What are we on now, the fourth floor? And how many departments have we been through?”

Applejack was giving a stack of patient charts a quick glance. “Yeah, I was wonderin' 'bout that. Mebbe in whatever universe this was, Ponyville's a bigger town?”

“That's a good theory.” Rarity moved to join her friend. “What are you looking at?”

“Seems like patient records. I'm kinda curious t' what happened here. Mebbe knowin' will give us an idea of what we've gotta do.”

“I'm not adverse, but we'll want to be quick.” The two ponies rifled through the clipboards, tossing most of them aside, unable to decipher the complex medical notations. One plain sheet of paper tucked underneath a note-covered chart, though, caught Applejack's eye, and she pulled it free.

“Dr. Wheatfield-

I'm becoming very concerned for the patients and staff over the last couple of weeks. It was difficult enough restoring order and confidence after the Discord Incident, but now it seems we are facing what could be a significant situation. Mass reports of insomnia, night terrors and sleepwalking; outbreaks of violence for no discernable reason; even hallucinations- and not just the patients, but the staff, and even some reports from the town itself. I worry that it's more than simple psychiatric fallout from the Incident, and strongly suggest that experts from Canterlot, Manehattan and other nearby cities be brought in to do a full toxicological, thaumatic and biochemical analysis of the area.

I can no longer dismiss some of these symptoms as unfortunate side effects of Chaos-disturbed minds- my sister has just this morning complained of seeing eyes in the darkness, and she was well outside the scope of the Incident when it occurred.

Please act soon.

- Nurse Redheart”

“This don't bode well,” Applejack decided, letting the paper fall back onto the table. “Whaddya think happened?”

“Who can say? Maybe the fight against Discord didn't go quite so well for this version of our world. Though apparently their Elements were victorious.”

“Assumin' they had th' Elements. Ain't no tellin'.” Applejack sighed. “Dunno what coulda happened after that note was written, but obviously nothin' good.”

Nothing else looked promising, so the pair continued on. After a few minutes, they found themselves approaching a darkened window, flanked on either side by doors; as they closed in on the window, a light in the room beyond snapped on, illuminating a strange shape that made both mares gasp.

“Is... is that a mannequin?” Rarity murmured.

A plaster-white dress form stood in the room just beyond, positioned to be looking out through the window at them; the stark shadows thrown by the light sharpened the faint outlines of a face, giving it an almost angry look. “That's jes' creepy,” Applejack said quietly, trying the right-side door and finding it locked.

The other door led the pair into the small office the window looked into, with large machines on the far wall and a small collection of mannequins standing or lying near the door. Applejack had to gingerly push one aside so that they could get past it, making their way towards another door at the far end. “Somethin' about this is creepin' me out,” the cowpony admitted.

“I shan't say I don't feel the same.” Rarity tried the doorknob, first with her magic and then with her hooves. “Applejack, can you open this? The knob feels as though it's stuck.”

Applejack turned, raising a hoof and laying it on the knob. “Sure, I'll just give it a quick tug an-”

click

Rarity's flashlight went out. “Oh, that's unfortunate,” she murmured, turning around. “A moment, Applejack, I'll see if there's another- gyaaah!”

Her words became a strangled cry as she suddenly backpedaled into the wall. Applejack turned to see what was the matter- and her eyes went wide in fear.

The mannequins had been moved- or moved themselves- into a loose cluster at the center of the room. All of them were pointed towards the ponies, as if watching them try to escape. “Rare....” Applejack panted. “I can't get this door open and them things are starin' at us....”

Rarity gulped. “There... there's something on that middle one, I think....”

“I'll... get a closer look....” Applejack slowly approached the mannequin that stood directly under the light. Unlike the others, this one was set on a metal stand, giving it the appearance of looming over her. On top of its head was a surgeon's cap, cocked at a strange angle. “Well, that's kinda strange,” she muttered beneath her breath. “Why would it-”

kz-bzzzzt

The overhead light snapped off in a shower of sparks, plunging the entire room into pitch darkness. A moment later, Rarity's flashlight flickered to life- showing the mannequins standing in a perfect circle around Applejack.

The earth pony yelped something profane and scrambled backwards, knocking over a couple of the dress forms in her attempt to meld with the back wall. “Oh my Celestia,” she breathed. “Rare, bring that light here an' shine it out th' window towards where we came in.”

Reluctantly, the unicorn did so. What she saw made her knees wobble- dozens more of the mannequins, all lined up along the hall they'd come through, all seemingly staring through the window at them. “We need to get out of here,” she said, her voice barely more than a squeak. She turned to find that the door they'd found jammed before was now wide open, seeming to beckon them through; neither pony found themselves needing any sort of encouragement to use it.

What awaited them wasn't any less unnerving- a long beige hallway, one side with a wheelchair ramp and a short staircase, the other a barricaded door near an offshoot hall; along the ramp and the hallway past it sat a dozen more mannequins, all lined up facing towards them. “We ain't goin' that way if we don't got to,” Applejack decided.

The pair moved towards the shorter hall, finding a set of closed double-doors. “Awright. I'll try these; Rare, you watch them mannequins down th' hall.” With the unicorn's approval, the cowpony moved towards the doors and tried the handle- no luck, they were locked tight. Only now did she see the face of another dress form leaning against the small window set in the right door. “No luck,” she decided, not quite able to suppress a little shudder as she spun around. “Guess we gotta-”

Once more she found herself backing up wildly. Two mannequins had appeared between her and Rarity, side-by-side, one each pointed towards one of the ponies. Rarity noticed her sudden silence, turned, saw and shrieked. “Where are they coming from?!” she demanded.

“Consarn it, settle down!” Applejack rushed over to her friend. “We can't go panickin', or this place'll wreck our brains. Now let's get towards....”

At some point, neither pony had been watching the long hallway. And at some point, all of the mannequins that had been clustered near the ramp had moved towards them, strung out in a rough line as if caught in the middle of some sort of procession.

“Rarity! Grab mah tail and keep up!” When she felt the unicorn's teeth on her tail, Applejack launched herself into a gallop, literally plowing her way through the mannequins, sending them tumbling off to either side of her. She could hear Rarity wail through her clenched teeth, but to her credit the fashonista kept up with her mad rush.

Finally, they reached the far doors, and Applejack practically tackled them off of their hinges, sending herself tumbling along the floor with Rarity sliding right behind. As they came to a rest, they dared to look back the way they came, through the slowly-closing doors... to see that every last one of the dress figures they'd knocked over had righted themselves and had assembled in a small group underneath the hallway light, all seeming to stare directly at the two ponies. Just as the doors closed, the light went out with a shower of sparks, and the hallway went utterly dark.

“AJ?” Rarity's voice was as unsteady as her legs.

“Yeah?”

“When we get home, remind me to burn every last one of my mannequins.”

Applejack let out a trembling snort. “Remind ya? I wanna help.”

The new hallway they'd found themselves in was much better-lit than the previous ones, though it seemed to terminate in a cul-de-sac with a set of double-doors barricaded over with what might have been more wood than the doors themselves were made of, a single door next to an observation window beyond which was a small administrative office, and a thick metal door covered in electrical warning signs. Rarity tried the single door and found that the handle turned easily, but some sort of bolt lock was keeping it shut. “Another dead end,” she sighed.

The muffled clicks of hooves against tile sent both ponies backstepping away from the doors- but the sound was coming from what seemed to be a doctor, her rich ebony coat contrasting with her light-yellow mane, trotting up to the other side of the window. For some reason, the thick security glass made it difficult to make out her face even with the flashlight, but her dingy medical scrubs, surgeon's cap and mask stood out. The doctor tapped against the glass with a hoof, then pointed towards the metal door. “It seems she wants us to check in there,” Rarity observed.

“I'm on it.” The door opened to Applejack easily enough, revealing a power box of some sort with a red lightbulb in a cage above it. Two of the three breakers on the box were thrown and wouldn't move, but the third had been pulled upwards. “This what she wants?”

“She's nodding,” came Rarity's reply.

“Awright, then....” After a moment's consideration, the cowpony pulled the lever downwards. With a sharp electric snap, all of the ceiling lights went out; the red light above the breaker box flickered on, and another similar light in the administrative office followed suit. “So, great, we made it darker,” Applejack muttered, glancing around. “ 'Cause that's really what we want in this place, more darkness.”

The doctor gave them a satisfied nod as they approached the door again. Applejack threw the now-unlocked door open and marched through alongside Rarity. “Awright, missy, yer gonna tell us what's goin' on an'... an' why....”

Another mannequin stood before the window, looking out towards the hall.

“...an' why yer a statue.”

ding-dong

“Attention, patients and visitors of Ponyville Hospital. Please remember that, should you have any questions or concerns, or in the event of an emergency, our staff are always ready to help. Please feel free to approach our employees for any assistance you may require.

“...they're not who they seem to be....”

Applejack gritted her teeth. “C'mon, Rare. We are not lettin' ourselves get scared off that easy.”

Her bravado lasted as long as it took to storm through the office and into what seemed to be a library of medical textbooks beyond. The grey-and-white tile floor was absolutely smeared with old blood, as if something had been slaughtered on and then dragged along it; at the far end of the library, past several rows of large wooden bookcases, was a crumpled form in a wide pool of blood lying beneath a flickering ceiling light.

With no small amount of reluctance, the pair approached the form, finding it to be the brutalized and long-dead body of the doctor they'd just seen through the window.

click

Rarity's flashlight cut out again. Kneeling next to the corpse was the shadowy filly from before, her head bent down as if in mourning. The apparition remained for only a moment before, with the flicker of the overhead light, it vanished as though it had never been.

“.evivrus ot epoh dluoc ynopon ,dloh koot soahC eht ecnO”

Rarity's eyes were wide, staring, flicking in every direction but towards the body on the floor. “This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real....”

“Rarity! Snap outta it, girl!” Applejack forcibly shook the unicorn back to her senses. “Yer right, it ain't real! It's all just this place gettin' into our heads!”

“And it's doing an exceptional job!” Rarity practically collapsed, trembling madly. “I don't even trust my own sanity right now! I can't take any more of this!”

“Rare.” Applejack did her best to keep her voice level, despite the supreme effort it was taking not to simply fold up in a heap next to her friend and quietly go insane. “Focus. Think of Sweetie Belle.”

“S... Sweetie....” The fashonista's trembling slowed, and she began to blink again. “She's... she's still at home and depending on us. So... so is your family, Applejack. And everypony else in Ponyville, and Equestria... and who knows how many other worlds.” Her eyes fell closed. “Oh, sweet Celestia, how did we end up with so much depending on us?”

“I dunno, sugarcube.” The earth pony leaned down to offer her friend a shoulder to prop herself against. “But we got two choices. We sit here and feel put-upon, or we get movin', get out and get home. You kin guess which one I choose.”

With a visible exercise of will, Rarity pulled herself to her hooves, leaning heavily on Applejack's side. “Thanks, AJ,” she murmured quietly, her eyes brimming with tears.

“ 'S awright, girl. You lean on me when ya need to. 'S what friends are fer.”

It wasn't the fastest pace the mares set as they pushed open a door and trotted into yet another darkened hallway, but it lacked nothing in determination.

(-)

“Scoots? Scootaloo?” Dash was transfixed, unable to look away from the specter floating only a few feet away from her. “You don't remember me? Rainbow Dash?”

Indy put his hand on her shoulder. “You said she met you after running away from here. If she never got to do that....” He let the rest go unsaid, but the pegasus understood; her eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh,” she whispered.

The human knelt down in front of the ghostly filly. “Okay, Scootaloo. Can you tell us what happened here?”

“I... don't remember much about that night. I remember that the Matron got really mad at me about something, she practically chased me through the orphanage- even where the patients were- until I thought I'd lost her by hiding up here. But somehow she found me. She was so angry, and she had that stick she used to beat the orphans who made her mad. She was about to take a swing at me, and I... I kicked her. Right in the muzzle. I think I knocked out a couple of teeth, too.

“She really didn't take that well. She dropped the stick, picked me up with her magic and slammed me into the door. I tried getting out, I was practically beating the door down with my hooves, but she was holding it shut with her magic. She picked me up again, dragged me across the floor and then threw me into the back of the room... where I hit the crystal storage box that powered all the lights and door locks and such.

“The Matron was so busy throwing my body around the room that she didn't realize what happened. Me hitting the box so hard had cracked the crystal- too much energy was leaving it now, and things that it powered started to break, catch on fire. A lot of the newer parts of the orphanage were made of wood... nopony could get out because of the lockdown gates. And all of the patients were suddenly freed- including the more dangerous ones.

“Something strange happened then. With all the magic flowing through the building, all the ponies dying, all the pain and fear and suffering... the orphanage started to know. It started to feel, to remember. That's why I'm still here- it remembers me, but just as a spirit, a dead filly. Some others... ended up worse.”

Indy couldn't help but grimace. “How can we get out of here, Scootaloo?”

“If you can make the orphanage forget me, I might be able to trick it into letting me lead you out. But we can't take too long- if it realizes you're here, it'll want to keep you, too.”

“Okay. How can we make the orphanage forget you?”

“There's a furnace in the basement past the inner yard. If you burn my body in it, that should get the building to forget I'm here. You'll have to get through the portcullis, though.” A sheet slid off one of the boxes near the filly's corpse, revealing a small box with two orange crystals. “Replace the crystal in the box with a new one. That'll restore power and let you get into the back half of the building.” The ghost began to fade from view. “I'll wait for you there.”

After a moment, Scootaloo vanished. Dash stared at the spot she'd been floating in. “Ohmigosh,” she breathed. “Indy, this... this didn't actually happen, did it?”

“Apparently, somewhere, it did.” The human picked up one of the crystals, walked across the attic to the dented power box and forced it open. Inside was a dark-grey cracked crystal of the same shape; after a moment, he managed to pull the broken crystal out and replace it with the new one. With a heavy thud and a crackle of energy, the single ceiling light in the attic snapped to life. “Okay, that should get us past the portcullis,” he said. “And now....”

The pair turned towards the body that still lay crumpled in the corner. Indy picked up the sheet and gingerly wrapped it around the corpse, then hefted it over his shoulder. “She hardly weighs anything,” he said quietly, before glancing down at Dash. “Ready to go?”

“Y- yeah.” Dash couldn't keep her eyes off of the makeshift sack that held Scootaloo's remains, and she stayed close behind Indy as they made their way back down the stairs. Nothing seemed to be waiting for them past the portcullis, nor the long hallway with bars over every window, or the open passageway through a yard that was completely encased in thick iron bars. “Um... Indy?” Dash murmured.

“Hm?”

“How come there's bars all over everything here?”

“I... don't know.” Reflexively, the human tugged at one of the bars covering an office window. “Seems like they're reinforced, well-made. And newer than most of the building.” He frowned. “And I didn't think to ask Scootaloo what she meant about 'more dangerous patients'.”

They fell quiet again, following the hallway into a large, two-story room that had been converted into a reception area. Several clocks ticked loudly from somewhere, and a number of harsh-white electric lights illuminated sections of the room, a staircase and a pair of doors at opposite sides from the desk. As they approached, there was a blur of motion from behind the desk as something darted past a barred window. Dash froze. “Did... you see that?” she asked.

Indy nodded slowly, raising a finger to his mouth in a signal to be quiet. He crept forward to the desk and peered past it; finding nothing, he instead took a small stack of pages from the top of the desk and brought it near one of the lights to read it better. “Patient reports?” he asked quietly, flipping through the pages. “Pyromaniac... disfigurement... narcoleptic... psychosis... murder... cannibalism?”

“...what?!” Dash almost forgot to keep her voice down. “Are you saying that they had crazy ponies in here? With the orphans?!”

“What sick bastard could....” Indy raised his head towards the right-hand door. One of the electric lights beyond it was flickering, buzzing madly, and there was some other sound beneath it that neither of them could quite make out. After a few moments, the light went back to its former, slowly-pulsing state.

“This can't be real,” Dash said. “Indy, Celestia would never allow this. Forcing a bunch of homeless foals to live with dangerously insane ponies? She'd stomp that out in ten seconds flat.”

“You're right. From what you've told me, your Celestia would never let something like that go on.”

The pegasus paused at Indy's words. “But there could be a Celestia out there who just didn't care,” she realized. “Oh my gosh. I don't even want to think about that.”

There was a site directory near the desk, and it listed the basement as being through the left-hand door, so the pair cautiously proceeded that way. Unfortunately the optimal route was blocked by a makeshift barricade of tables and chairs, so the pair was forced to find a way around; their path led them through what was designated the “meal hall”, and into a row of chambers marked “White Hall”. Each chamber was fitted with a thick, wooden door with a heavy lock and a barred window. “Who'd they keep in here where they needed locks like these?” Dash wondered.

A grimace crossed the human's face. “Like you said before... is it okay if I don't want to find out?”

They'd gotten halfway down the hall when a sound further along made them freeze. One of the lights at the far end of the hall began to flicker, and something moved beneath it. With a quick “hide” uttered under his breath, Indy maneuvered himself and Dash into a small cul-de-sac through which ran a handful of pipes; there they waited for whatever it was to show itself or move on.

What came into view forced Dash to clap a hoof over her mouth to stifle a gasp. A stallion- almost thin enough to be confused for a mare except for the greater height- staggered underneath the light, which began flickering as soon as he approached. His mane and tail had been shaved, and he had been wrapped in bandages of some sort from head to hoof, which were now absolutely filthy and peeling off in places. Thin metal-wire cages, heavily damaged, covered his head, cannons and fetlocks. Instead of the sharp clops of healthy hooves, every step he took brought a sickening wet crunching sound, as though he were stepping on damp leaves.

The pony stood there for a moment, head and tail twitching madly as though he were being electrocuted, and took in a sharp breath, letting it out in a harsh sigh as his teeth clacked together repeatedly. Then, abruptly, he spun around and staggered back the way he'd come.

“The orphanage remembers the more... interesting patients.” Scootaloo's spectral form was nowhere to be seen, and judging by the withered stallion's fading hooffalls, only Indy and Dash could hear her. “You really don't want to let them know you're here if you can help it. There's a reason only a few of them were intact enough for the orphanage to play with.”

“That is not in the least bit reassuring.” Indy managed to persuade himself to leave the cul-de-sac, and almost had to drag Dash out as well. The usually-confident pegasus practically crept down the hall alongside him, not that he was being his typical bold self either; stealth did seem to be the order of the day.

It took some time to make it through the White Hall, with at least two close calls where only a panicked retreat into the shadows saved the pair from being caught by one of the patients. But a new problem presented itself just as they were closing in on the stairs leading down to the furnace- one of the patients was crouched before them, hissing and groaning as she mindlessly beat her forehooves against a half-destroyed skeleton laying on the floor beneath her. “How are we supposed to get around her?” Dash hissed.

Indy glanced around for anything useful, and spied a small piece of broken masonry nearby. He picked it up and focused on a large clay vase across the hall, still holding the withered stems of several long-dead flowers; after a moment to judge the distance, he let fly. His aim was true, and the small rock clanged against the side of the thick vase, making it wobble just a little.

Instantly, the patient was up on all fours, snarling and glancing around. She seemed to catch sight of the rocking vase, and with a screech more befitting a banshee than a pony, the withered husk practically shot across the room, leaping at the offending decoration. At a single blow from her hoof, the vase shattered as if it had been rigged with explosives, showering the entire corner of the room with pieces of clay and rotten plant matter.

As the patient stood there, shuddering and clicking, Indy and Dash moved by her as quickly as stealth would allow and down the stairs leading into the basement. Fortunately, with power back on, the furnace was ready to fire, and it only took a few thankfully-uneventful minutes to get it fired up. Gingerly, and with a strange sense of reverence for this long-dead filly's corpse, Indy placed Scootaloo's body inside; the sheet caught fire almost immediately, and it didn't take long at all for the flames to reduce the small form to ash and bone.

“That did it!” Again Scootaloo's incorporeal voice echoed around them. “Without my body to remember me by, the building is losing its grip on me. Hurry back to the front doors and I might be able to sneak you out!”

Getting back up the stairs was easier than getting down them- the patient who'd been “guarding” them was ravaging the meager remains of the vase she'd smashed- but the rest of the path was more difficult; it seemed that the patients sensed something had happened, and were more alert than before. Dash and Indy had to avoid three of them, splitting up to get by the last one, before finally making it back to the entrance. Scootaloo's spectral form was waiting for them there. “Okay, come on, hurry!” she called out, seeming to trot towards the doors. “The doors should open now!”

The thick doors swung open as she went through them. Dash immediately took to the air, keeping pace with Indy as he sprinted towards the exit. Fifty feet, twenty, ten-

thwoooooom

-and suddenly the doors, the entire entranceway itself were gone, replaced by a blank, dark brick wall. Indy slammed shoulder-first into it, and Dash barely kept herself from crashing as well. “What the hay?!” she shouted.

“Uh-oh.” Scootaloo's voice seemed muted, somehow. “This isn't good, guys.”

“What? What isn't good?” Indy hit the wall with the side of his fist a couple of times; it was absolutely solid. “What happened, Scootaloo?”

“The building knows you're here now. It won't let you leave.”

(-)

“Huh? Pinkie, turn back that way. I thought I saw something.”

Pinkie Pie shuffled back around, peering ahead. “Huh? What do you... oh. Hey, what is that?”

Something on a blank rock face along the trail they were still following had caught the light as the two mares passed. As Pinkie turned, a flash of yellow in the form of an arrow reflected the light back at them. “Wow, that's weird,” the earth pony said. “Let's see what it points to.”

More arrows- which had apparently been painted in a rush- guided the pair to a small chest that had been half-buried behind a cluster of rocks. Above it was a strange symbol in the same reflective paint, looking like a torch in a circle. “Somepony put this here to be found,” Fluttershy realized.

“Yeah, and it looks like we're the finders. Let's see what presents we get!” Pinkie pulled open the lid to find a small collection of items- a flashlight with a thin elastic band, three small emergency flares, and another typed page. Fluttershy took hold of the last item to read.

“She had to hurry. Sunset would be soon, and with no way to contact Celestia to tell her what was going on, the sun certainly wouldn't wait for her. Half-panicked brushstrokes of the reflective paint she'd stolen from the utility shed pointed the way towards where she'd left extra supplies- she was only one pony, after all, and had gathered more than enough to keep herself safe... but others might blunder their way into this waking nightmare, and she wouldn't let them be defenseless.

She spared herself a moment to ritualistically paint the torch symbol. It was her only comfort now, thinking herself a bearer of light, perhaps the only one left. But in case that was too abstract a warning for anyone who might happen along, she painted a short message on an outcropping opposite the symbol.

The sun was touching the horizon as she finished, and she ran as quickly as she could back to the cottage. She still had too much to do to allow herself to be caught outside at nightfall.”

“A message?” Pinkie brought her light up to shine on the flat rock face to their left, illuminating five words scrawled across it in bright yellow.

THE TAKEN LIVE IN DARKNESS

“So they really are called 'the Taken',” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Yeah, looks that way.” Pinkie finished tucking the flares into the poofy mess that was her mane and offered the flashlight to her friend. “Here, put this on,” she said. “This harness would get in the way of your wings, and I don't want you to be defenseless.”

The pegasus complied, slipping the band over her head so that the flashlight rested on the left side of her neck, just below her muzzle, where her mane wouldn't block the light. It put out a surprisingly bright beam of light- not as bright as Pinkie's, but sufficient. “I do feel safer,” she decided. “But we should keep moving. I really don't like being out here in the open, especially if there's more Taken around.”

The pair managed a brisk canter along the path, wanting to make time but not wanting to risk rushing into an ambush. Odd noises and barely-heard shouts echoed from between the trees, but the two mares managed to cover quite a bit of ground uninterrupted, and eventually emerged into another clearing. “Whew,” Pinkie panted, stopping for a moment to catch her breath. “I guess I do kinda need to cut down on the sweets... hey! We're closer to whatever's giving off that light we saw.”

Fluttershy squinted, then gasped as realization struck her. “Pinkie... that's my cottage!”

“It is? Great! C'mon, we might be safe there for-”

“...would like to WELCOME these FINE YOUNG MARES to PONYVILLE....”

“...awwww, crud.” Pinkie spun around, just catching sight of a shadowy form darting across the path they'd just exited.

“Um... Pinkie? I think we've got a problem.” Fluttershy's flashlight caught two more shapes at the edge of the clearing. “They're trying to surround us.”

“Yeah, and it looks like there's a lot of them....” Four more shapes staggered into view on the opposite side.

“What do we do?”

“I think I could go for a little more cardio work. How about you?”

“Um... what does that mean?”

“It means run!”

Fuelled by fear and the nearness of possible safety, the two ponies tore their way across the open field, reaching the narrow path at the far end just ahead of a trio of Taken. This new path was extremely closed-in, barely a thin dirt trail between thick walls of trees, and it was a difficult task to keep any sort of speed without tripping over something that couldn't even be seen until they were almost on top of it. Fluttershy risked a glance over her shoulder to see that the tight environs weren't really slowing down the creatures behind them, and it wouldn't be long before she and Pinkie were overtaken....

A thrill of fear shot through the yellow pony's mind as she realized they were replaying the very same events in that second page of manuscript they'd found.

Fluttershy had just opened her mouth to shout a warning to Pinkie when the swoosh of an axe cut past her ear; through the corner of her eye, she saw the weapon spin by her, its blade glinting in the beam of her flashlight. Before she could utter a single sound, the axe had reached Pinkie-

-and sailed by her, burying itself in the rotting trunk of a half-fallen tree.

Startled by the impact, Pinkie forgot to watch where she was going and tripped over an exposed root, stumbling along for a few steps before going down. Fluttershy made the same mistake as she tried to catch up to her friend and went tail-over-mane thanks to a hidden ditch; she let out a shill scream as she rolled along the ground, almost not hearing the harsh cracks of wood off to her right. Somehow she managed to come out of the roll onto all four hooves, and unsteadily galloped to where Pinkie still lay, whirling to face the way they'd come so that she could fend off the Taken until her friend recovered.

SNAP

The axe had been enough to finish off the once-stately tree's resistance against gravity, and with a series of cracks, it folded in on itself and collapsed, the wide trunk slamming down on the trail and closing it off- and blocking the Taken from their pursuit.

“Pinkie?” Fluttershy knelt down to check on the earth pony. “Come on, Pinkie, we have to keep moving!”

“But I'm tired of pushing rocks, Mama....” Pinkie shook her head to clear it; Fluttershy could swear she heard the sound of a cowbell rattling. “...oof. Okay. I'm good. I'm good. Who keeps ringing that bell? I can't concentrate!”

“Here. We have to hurry!” Fluttershy managed to pull the deceptively-heavy pink pony to her hooves and pulled a foreleg over her shoulders to support the still-dazed Pinkie. Still, somehow they managed a good pace along the trail, and managed to keep ahead of their pursuers long enough to make it to the edge of the Everfree Forest- and within sight of Fluttershy's cottage.

Now the pair knew why it was so bright. Somepony had strung up lanterns of every conceivable size and shape all over the place, in a crazy-quilt pattern that didn't allow for a single shadow within thirty yards of the cottage. Every window in the building itself was similarly well-lit. “Sheesh, somepony's afraid of the dark,” Pinkie muttered.

“Around here, that kind of fear is completely understandable.” Fluttershy let Pinkie's foreleg down, finding that the earth pony could now walk in a straight line on her own, and the pair approached the cottage. The usual menagerie of animals was completely absent, every last hutch, warren and perch empty, and an eerie silence had settled over the place. Steeling herself as much as she was able to, Fluttershy trotted up to the front door and opened it.

Just like the outside, the inside of the cottage was well-lit to the point of being completely shadowless. The living room seemed abandoned, though somepony had stacked ample amounts of lantern oil, flashlights and flares around; it would've been a serious fire hazard had the organizer not strategically placed and wrapped everything in as safe a manner as possible. Buckets of reflective yellow paint and used paint brushes were piled in one corner towards the dining room and kitchen; at the kitchen table, a slumped form sat, murmuring to itself and scribbling something on paper. “H... hello?” Fluttershy half-whispered. “Who's there?”

The form's head shot up, turned. With a startled cry, the blue mare leaped from the chair and stormed towards them; there was a brief flash of blue, and the front door slammed shut behind Fluttershy and Pinkie. Both ponies backed up against the wall as the blue shape came to a stop in front of them.

“Wh... who are....” Fluttershy stared at this new arrival, who was glaring daggers at them, seemingly ready to attack at a moment's notice. “...wait. I recognize you. Trixie?”

“What manner of trickery is this?!” Trixie snarled. “How did you get through the lights?! Speak!”

“I... I don't know what you mean! There's no trickery! This is my home!”

“You can't be who you appear to be! You're dead, both of you!”

“Um....” Pinkie piped up. “I'm pretty sure my doctor would've mentioned that at my last checkup....”

“Trixie, I don't really know what's going on, but we're not Taken! And we're not dead!”

The magician's wild eyes calmed somewhat, and she took a step back, losing her hostile stance. “...well. Trixie admits that she never actually saw the bodies....” She glanced between the two newcomers. “How did you get here?”

“We... we came from Zecora's hut in the Everfree.”

“Zecora....” Trixie's expression fell. “She fought so valiantly... Trixie would not be here without her help.”

“Wh- what happened to....” Trixie's gaze locked onto Fluttershy's, and the unicorn's expression was as clear as day- don't ask. “...um. Well. We... we found a chest hidden away along the way- did... did you put that there, Trixie?”

“Yes.” Trixie turned back towards the kitchen; the two other ponies fell in behind her. “Trixie has hoped beyond hope that there would be others who eluded the Taken. A few have, but... never for long. Never long enough to make it here.” The unicorn returned to her seat, seizing a quill in her magic and resuming her writing; she was making notes on a series of maps, most of them time-and-date notations set in the near future.

“Trixie, how did this all start?” Pinkie asked. “What are the Taken, and why aren't the Princesses doing anything?”

The quill fell, along with Trixie's head, onto the table; the unicorn began sobbing softly. “...all Trixie's fault,” she murmured.

“What?” Fluttershy blinked in shock. “How could this all be your fault?”

“It was that Celestia-damned Lyra Heartstrings. Four best-selling novels wasn't enough for her, no. She hit a dry spell where she couldn't write anything, and what does she do? She doesn't go on hiatus, or take a vacation to some sunny mountain town to relax, no. She starts looking for a spell. An invocation spell, to help her tap into the hidden possibilities of history. A 'what-if' spell.”

“Did... did you teach her that spell, Trixie?”

“Trixie didn't think it could do harm! Lyra paid well, Trixie needed the money, and the spell couldn't possibly do any harm. At... at least not as it was designed.”

“What happened?”

“Lyra isn't only a skilled writer- she's also a talented magician. Perhaps somepony to rival Trixie herself, with training.” Trixie sighed. “But... maybe the spell wasn't doing what she wanted, or maybe she wanted more out of it... so Lyra changed the spell. Trixie doesn't know how she did it, but she amplified the thaumatic output, added at least three more levels of....” The unicorn caught the blank stares of the two non-magical ponies and sighed. “Suffice it to say that she made the spell do something it was never meant to do. It tapped into something that was never meant to be touched by ponykind. And that something got loose.”

“What, exactly?”

“Trixie doesn't know! She's stayed awake countless hours trying to figure it out... but the only pony that knows for sure is Lyra Heartstrings. Good luck asking her that, though.”

“What happened to Lyra?”

“Whatever she let loose... took her. Manifested in her. She was trying to tap into the forces of reality to improve her writing, but now... what she writes is reality. And whatever has hold of her is making her write the horror story to end all horror stories.”

“Wow. This is, like, the ultimate metafiction.” Pinkie looked down at the maps. “What are these for?”

“Timetables for checking on my caches and lights. Can't let a single shadow form. That's how the Taken got the others... through the shadows.” Trixie's expression fell again, and the other two ponies could see the dark circles under her eyes, the lines of worry that marred her face.

“O... others?” Fluttershy blinked. “What others-”

She was cut off by a soft pop from outside. Trixie scrambled towards the front door, followed closely by Fluttershy and Pinkie; the unicorn stared out through the windows in the front door, eyes scanning back and forth. “Lantern number eighty-nine went out,” she murmured. “It shouldn't have, it has enough fuel for at least five more days....”

Another quiet pop sounded off, and one of the lit lanterns went out with a brief flare of light. The ponies caught a short glimpse of something dark bouncing off of the glass. “The Taken!” Trixie exclaimed, whirling on the pegasus and earth pony, her expression furious. “The Taken are here! You led them right to me!”

Our Unfamiliar Home (3/3)

“While I still agree with your plan, Twilight, I cannot help but feel some trepidation. We could, quite literally, be walking into the belly of the beast.”

“Did you have to pick that particular phrase, Jack?” Twilight sighed, giving him a look. “I know, you're right. If it were just for curiosity's sake, I'd be glad to let you argue me out of it. But I'm starting to understand the rules of this place, I think... and my intuition tells me that we'll find something that we need in the throne room.”

“I am without better alternatives.” The human allowed the unicorn to lead the way, his hand clenched on the haft of the borrowed longsword.

Evading the patrolling Many that were stalking the halls and corridors wasn't an easy task, but Twilight knew the castle like the back of her hoof from years spent wandering around while growing up, and that knowledge was proving supremely useful; what would have been dangerous, if not outright deadly, encounters were avoided thanks to her knowing just where a particular side passage or cul-de-sac to hide in could be found.

But as they closed in on the throne room, a bizarre thing happened. As if they had crossed some border known only to the Many, the pair found themselves alone in the halls, navigating the dimly-lit, slime-splattered halls completely unimpeded. “I do not like this,” Jack murmured. “The creatures would not neglect to secure an area so close to what must be an important place.”

“And anyone who could get this close without being stopped by all those walking horrors out there would probably rate an elevated response....” Twilight's ears picked up on a distant, muffled sound; she turned to look, and froze. “...oh... my... Celestia.”

Whatever this new creature was, it was half as tall again as- and bore only the most superficial resemblance to- the stallion it must have once been, looking far more like some fleshy, muscular hellhound. Broad hooves, bedecked with claws made of exposed bone, thudded against the marble floor; a vestigial tail, seemingly left as an afterthought, twitched randomly. What was less a head than an eyeless, gaping maw lined with wicked fangs rose and snuffled at the air.

But it was what Jack and Twilight spotted as the creature turned that halted them in their tracks. On the left side of its broad, distended neck, stretched across the skin like a hideous tattoo, was the face of the pony it once had been- frozen in an eternal, soundless scream.

The enraged bellow that the creature gave as it sensed their presence was enough to break them out of their reverie; even at the distance between it and them, the noise was almost deafening. The echoes of its roar hadn't even faded when it launched itself towards them at a terrifyingly-fast run.

“Twilight! Get ready to run!” Jack unslung the spear from over his shoulder and set himself to throw it like a javelin. After only a few seconds of waiting for the creature to close into optimal range, the samurai let fly with every ounce of his strength; the weapon soared through the air, the spearhead glinting in the dim light as it twirled.

Jack's aim was true. The spear drilled through the side of the creature's neck and sank deep, at least half of the shaft disappearing beneath its skin as the weapon's tip tore its way through the monster's chest and into its abdomen.

The creature didn't even flinch, let alone slow.

“You've got to be kidding me!” Twilight shouted, falling in behind Jack as he burst into a sprint away from the approaching monster, which galloped after them with the spear jutting from its shoulder like the lance of an exceptionally grotesque jouster.

“Twilight! That pillar, there... when we reach it, we must split up. Tandem attacks. Keep the creature unbalanced!”

“Yeah, we're not gonna be able to out-muscle it... so we out-maneuver it!”

The splitting up was executed perfectly; keeping the creature off-balance was considerably harder to pull off. It was far more nimble than it seemed, strong enough to where glancing blows from its mutated hooves tore chunks from the marble pillars and floors, and absolutely relentless. Jack's longsword cut clean, deep wounds across its flesh, and Twilight pelted it with fist-sized pieces of stone with enough speed to cause miniature sonic booms, but still the creature raged.

On one attack, Jack moved at just the wrong moment, and took a glancing blow to the head from one of the monster's forehooves that was enough to send him sprawling. The creature was quick to capitalize, rearing up with another deafening roar, ready to drive those enormous hooves down on the human's vulnerable form.

Time seemed to slow down for Twilight. Nothing nearby was nearly adequate enough to serve as a weapon strong enough to halt the attack, and of all the tricks she knew, there was nothing that wouldn't risk Jack still being hurt- or worse.

So with an inward shudder, Twilight traded one principle for another. She would have to end a life to save one.

Magic swelled around her horn as she combined three basic arcane forms that had served her so well during this adventure- pure physical force, the shield spell, and directional impulse- and then amplified them to a level she had never tried before. And, as the creature's hooves began to crash down towards the samurai's unprotected back, she let loose.

A teardrop-shaped blast of energy nearly as large as Twilight's head shot forth and slammed into the side of the creature like a spectral freight train, literally taking it off of its hooves and blasting it away from the downed human. A half-second later- as the attack had already carried the monster a good twenty feet down the hall- the shield spell dissipated, and the pure physical force it held within was unleashed with enough force to literally blow the massive mutant in half.

As what remained of the creature fell to the floor, in pieces of various sizes and states of liquefaction, Twilight rushed over to help Jack up onto his feet. The samurai- sporting a welt and a thin cut on his left temple- rose unsteadily, looked at the mess that had once been their attacker, and then turned towards the unicorn, who was staring forlornly at the carnage. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

She knew he didn't mean physically. “I- I will be. I'll deal with it... somehow. In the meantime, we've got somewhere to be, and we do not want to wait for another of those things to show up.”

He gave her a nod and a comforting pat on the neck, then collected his sword before taking place at her side as she headed towards their destination- the grand, intricately-carved doors of the throne room.

Pitch-blackness met them beyond. Twilight lit her horn, but the illumination spell barely reached halfway across the grand chamber; aside from the complete lack of light, though, everything seemed normal, besides the windows having been completely painted or covered over by some dark substance. Still, the pair exercised due caution as they advanced along the long, patterned carpet that drew a red line through the center of the room.

They had made it thirty feet from the doors when a voice spoke- a voice that froze Twilight in her tracks.

“It's been such a long time since you've come to visit me, my faithful student.”

Every torch, candle and lantern in the room lit as one, blinding the samurai and the unicorn for a moment. What they saw when their eyes recovered made Twilight gasp in horror- at the far end of the throne room, on the stone platform where the Princesses' thrones would rest, stretched a pillar of discolored flesh from floor to ceiling. Tendrils anchored it on both ends; the ones on the ceiling stretched across most of the length of the room, looking very much like a series of veins.

“Pr....” Twilight could barely bring herself to speak. “Princess.. C- Celestia?”

The front of the disgusting pillar peeled open like a rotten fruit being skinned by an unseen knife. Within sat the Princess of the Sun, Celestia... or, rather, the front half of her; everything past her ribcage had been replaced with a long, fleshy tendril that lay coiled within the pillar beneath her. Slowly, the alicorn's eyes opened and focused on the two figures before her. “Who else did you expect, my little pony?” she asked quietly, with the ghost of a smile on her lips.

“This... this can't be.” Twilight's eyes were wide, her body shivering in a mix of fear and revulsion. “They... they can't have gotten you, Princess. Not you.”

“Oh, my dear Twilight Sparkle. Have you still not come to terms with events?” The tendril lowered the Princess onto the ground, and she advanced towards them, her front half trotting as if normal while the tendril slithered behind her like the tail of a snake. “You speak as though some great tragedy has befallen me.”

Jack stepped between Twilight and the advancing alicorn, sword at the ready. “Come no closer, creature!” he commanded. “Twilight, run! I will cover your-”

Movement occurred, far too fast for the unicorn to track; within the space of an eyeblink, one of the tendrils from the ceiling had lowered and wrapped itself around Jack tightly, binding him from neck to knees. The sword tumbled from his hand as he struggled fruitlessly to free himself; Celestia gave him a curious look as she continued to approach. “My dear Twilight, is this a human?” she asked, as though she were inquiring about an unexpected guest for tea. “The Many remember humans. How they created the Machine Mother, and unwittingly set her loose on themselves. My most faithful student, you really must be careful of the company you keep.”

“Jack!” Twilight's horn lit up brightly. “Let him go! You're not really the Princess!”

“No?” Celestia blinked in surprise. “Hmm... well, in the strictest manner, I suppose you could say I'm not. Truly, I am a part of something more, now. Something greater.”

“You're a monster!”

“Oh, Twilight.” Celestia tsked softly. “I had hoped that, once we finally got to speak, you would approach this subject with a more open mind. At least listen, and understand what it is all ponies could become....” Her eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened again they had gone completely white. A cacaphony of voices spilled forth from her mouth. “What is a drop of rain, compared to a storm? What is a thought... compared to a mind? Our unity is full of wonder, which your tiny individualism... cannot even conceive.”

“This... this isn't unity! This is slavery! This is a violation of the sanctity of the mind! A crime against the very soul!”

“It is a shedding of the shackles of loneliness and desolation, Twilight Sparkle. An end to misunderstandings, to strife, to lost knowledge. I would think that, of all ponies, you would understand this.” The unicorn, too overcome by revulsion and terror to move, watched as the alicorn raised a hoof to her chin. “The Many are everything we ponies have wished to be, my faithful student. They are the bridge that can carry us to the apex of harmony.”

(-)

“You know, I'm still not sure how we got from the third floor to the basement again.” Rarity let out a sigh. “And remind me again how you convinced me to crawl through a dingy air duct?”

“Think it had something t' do with gettin' chased by a security-guard pony what had a nightstick in place of a foreleg.”

“...right.” The ponies went silent for a moment as they belly-crawled through the ventilation system. “Hm. Looks like this might come loose!” Rarity's horn flared, and the grating in front of her shuddered, then broke away from the wall; with a little difficulty, she pulled herself through the opening, then helped Applejack do the same. “Glad to be out of there!” the unicorn declared.

“Can't argue that.” The cowpony adjusted her hat and looked around. “Okay, looks like we got only one way to go from here,” she commented, looking around; the vent had dropped them off in what looked like a storage area, next to a strange, trash-strewn open room with a wide doorway on each side.

“Then let's be on our way.”

The ponies had gotten halfway through the room when a bell of some kind sounded off. In front of them, a heavy steel shutter rolled down to seal off the exit; before they could even think to retreat, another one closed off the way they'd come in. The ceiling lights cut out, replaced by a pair of red emergency lights. “What in tarnation-!” Applejack exclaimed.

That all-too-familiar voice sounded out over speakers neither pony could see. “Ten. Nine. Eight.”

Steam began pouring through small vents in the ceiling, and there was a low rumbling coming through the floor. “What's going on? What is this?!” Rarity gasped.

“I dunno, but it can't be good! Force open th' door!”

“Seven. Six. Five.”

“It's not budging!” Rarity's horn was glowing brightly.

“Consarn it!” Applejack's hooves slammed against the shutter, putting in a pair of small dents but otherwise having no effect.

“Four. Three. Two.”

“C'mon! C'mon! I dun wanna die like this!”

“Applejack, I'm so sorry...!”

“One.”

There was a brief moment of absolute silence... and then the lights came back on, the steam shut off, and the shutters rattled their way back into the ceiling. “Thank you for participating in this fire drill. If it was a real fire, you'd be dead by now.”

“You... you have got to be....” Rarity shivered, staring at the open doorway before them.

“This place is really messin' with our heads.” Applejack grimaced. “Let's... jus' walk it off, Rare.”

The area they found themselves in did not lend itself well to psychological recovery. A small lobby of some sorts with a pair of elevators greeted the two mares; a thick smear of blood led along the floor to the right-side elevator, the doors of which were coated with it in a way that suggested something had been violently caught between them. Applejack only managed to approach a few feet closer to it before something that sounded far too much like movement inside for her comfort forced a retreat. “Don't think we'll be usin' those,” she murmured.

“Agreed.” Rarity forced herself to look away. “This door here is locked, but that set will open... I suppose that's our way forward.”

Yet another pitch-black hallway, lined by locked doors that seemed to lead to individual patient suites, awaited them. The pair had walked only a few dozen feet along it when a sensation of cold passed over both of them; the flashlight dimmed and flickered for a moment, and that ghostly voice echoed through the halls again.

“.gnireffus rieht fo seohce tub gnihton gnivael ...yletelpmoc seinop emos demialc soahC ehT”

The flickering of Rarity's flashlight stopped, and she glanced up ahead... and stopped. “What... what is that?” she whispered.

“It's....” Applejack dared to move ahead a little. “It's... a shadow. A shadow of a pony.”

“But there's nopony casting it!”

“Yeah, I kin see that!”

Rarity moved up next to Applejack. “Oh, sweet Celestia, there's more of them....”

The hallway was literally lined with sourceless shadows, standing silently before them, swaying gently back and forth; no matter which way Rarity moved or turned her flashlight, the shadows seemed to face it. “How... how do these things even exist?” the unicorn breathed.

“I dunno.” Despite her common sense screaming at her to hold back, Applejack approached one of the shadows, slowly raising a forehoof to touch it. The instant she made contact, there was a strange static-like noise, and the earth pony jerked away with a hiss of pain. “What happened? AJ, are you alright?!” Rarity asked.

“It's... it's cold.” Applejack shook her hoof, grimacing. “Bitter cold. Like... there's no kinda warmth in it at all.”

“Best we avoid them, then....” It was a slow walk along the hall, the ponies giving every shadow as much of a berth as they could, until the corridor took two right turns and led into a large communal shower. The shadows showed no sign of wishing to follow, and Applejack was more than happy to slam the door shut on them. “Horrors every which way we turn, I swear,” she murmured.

“I still can't wrap my head around the idea that this actually happened somewhere.” Rarity shook her head. “Thank Luna's lucky stars that it wasn't our home.”

“Can't help but wonder what th' others are goin' through. If it's half as bad as this... hoo boy.”

Rarity followed her friend through the shower, towards the far exit door. “We have to just trust in them to be strong.”

ding-dong

“We here at Ponyville Hospital would just like to take a moment of your time to inform you....”

Both mares glanced around for a moment, then shrugged and turned back towards the exit.

“...there is something behind you.”

“Gwarrrghhh....”

Seemingly out of nowhere, one of the doctor corpses had appeared in the middle of the shower. It lumbered towards the pair, snarling deeply; fighting panic, Rarity fumbled at the doorknob for a moment before getting the door open and rushing through. Applejack was right behind, and she kicked the door closed behind her. The creature, apparently lacking the mental capacity to operate doorknobs, moaned piteously and pounded at the door with its forehooves.

Applejack glared up at the ceiling. “Seriously? Seriously?! Yer gonna start pullin' that kinda stuff on us now? Th' 'fire drill' weren't foalish enough?”

“Applejack!” Rarity's voice was a frightened hiss. “This place does not need a critique!”

“I... augh.” The earth pony shook her head to clear it. “Sorry, Rare. Here I'm tellin' ya to not let this place get in yer head, then I'm lettin' it happen t' me.”

“I shan't begrudge you that. But, as you said... let's just walk it off.”

The creature trapped in the shower room groaned again and thumped at the door; Applejack delivered a kick to the door's other side. “Yer input ain't requested!” she snorted.

The next few minutes found the ponies untouched, much to their surprise, though that didn't keep them from nearly jumping at every sound and shadow, real or imagined. Eventually, though, they came to what was probably the last place in the hospital either pony wanted to see. “Morgue,” Rarity said quietly, reading the sign over the imposing double-doors.

“Yeah, that's a big pile of 'no',” Applejack said, approaching a different set of doors. “I don't care where these lead,” she said, reaching out to open them, “but it can't be any worse than-”

fwooom

The doors Applejack was about to open vanished, leaving behind only a blank wall. Everything around them went blurry, and sound was distorted, as though they were suffering from a shared concussion. “What... what is this?!” Rarity shouted.

“I dunno! But we ain't goin' in that morgue!” She led the unicorn back towards the last set of doors they'd come through... which disappeared the moment they got close. “Aw, c'mon!” the earth pony yelled.

Both mares turned towards the doors to the morgue, which slowly opened as if to welcome them inside. Slowly, the pair walked through, finding themselves in a long, darkened room lined on one side with small metal doors; at the far end was an examination table underneath a bright, flickering light. Something appeared to be laid on it. With a shared reluctant glance, the ponies approached the table.

clack-clack-clack-clack tsssh-tsssh-tsssh-tsssh

One by one, the doors to the left shot open, some of them disgorging their contents onto the ground- jet-black body bags, each with a label marked with a red “X”. Whatever it was Rarity yelped in response was lost to the storm of sound distortion around them, but she pulled herself together enough to keep up with Applejack, who was determinedly marching towards the table, her face set in a stubborn glare.

Just as the pair reached their destination, and Applejack was about to raise a hoof to snatch the object- now identifiable as a clipboard with a thick wad of papers attached- the shadowy filly appeared before them, seated on the table, seeming to gaze right through them. There was a pulse of light, and a number of disjointed images and sensations shot through the minds of the two mares- a critically ill young filly rushed into the hospital, doctors working on her frantically, and then spreading panic and violence around the hospital.

“!eugalP soahC a fo oreZ tenitaP emoceb d'I taht nwonk evah t'ndluoc I !ltuaf ym t'nsaw tI”

There was a sensation of falling, hitting water and sinking, and then blackness.

(-)

“Scootaloo? Talk to me, kiddo.” Indy stared at the blank wall in front of him. “What do you mean 'it won't let us go'? What can we do to get out?”

The ghostly filly's voice seemed to be getting more faint with every second. “The orphanage keeps everyone it remembers. That's how it kept me. The door doesn't exist for you anymore because the building doesn't want it to.”

“Scoots, we can't stay here!” Dash exclaimed.

“I know! Gimme a minute... hang on.” There was a pause, and for a moment the pair thought they'd lost contact with Scootaloo entirely. “There's a cage, downstairs, where a lot of orphans and some of the less-dangerous patients were put when they got somepony important angry. If you go in there, you might be able to trick the orphanage into thinking that's what happened to you... and it'll remember you differently. As somepony who was here before the fire.”

Dash raised her ears. “And then it'll let us out?”

“Not exactly. If it remembers you differently... then the building will be different for you. I tried it once or twice to escape, but... I couldn't manage.”

“Hang on. What do you mean, it'll be 'different' for us?”

“The orphanage remembers the times before the fire, but... it's like a really old memory. Lots of things are unclear and hazy. But if you're lucky, the building will think you're just a couple more patients that were locked up for misbehaving, and you can trick it into forgetting you.”

Indy pulled his hat off for a moment to rub at his forehead. “How? Just go out the front door?”

“That never works. The same thing happened to me that just happened to you... I think the building doesn't believe patients or orphans could just leave that easy. But there might be another way- the staff tower.”

“The place that looks like it burned up in the fire?”

“It's still intact in the orphanage's memories- which means that you can trick the building into thinking you jumped out the high window at the top of the tower. That... happened a couple of times, even after the staff started clipping the pegasi's wings.” That got a mixed expression of horror and disgust from Dash. “But that'll mean the staff is there, too, and they won't be very gentle with patients who wandered out of where they're supposed to be. If I hadn't been dead when I tried, I sure would've ended up that way.”

“So that means we get one shot, I guess.” Dash sighed, scraping a hoof against the wall. “And we'll have to be really careful.”

“I'll wait for you guys outside. Good luck....” The filly's voice faded away completely. Dash stared upwards for a moment, then turned her eyes towards Indy; her face was set in an expression of grim determination. “So,” she said. “We've got a goal, and a risky way to make it happen. But we've got no idea what's between it and us, and we don't get a second chance. So....” She grinned. “Heads up, eyes open, and ready to improvise at the drop of your hat. Is that the plan?”

He couldn't help but return the grin. “Mare, you're speaking my language.”

The cage hadn't gotten any less imposing since the last time the pair had seen it. Still, with the alternative well in mind, there was no hesitation on getting inside. “Ready?” Indy asked, one hand on the cage door, ready to close it.

Dash nodded. “As I'll ever be.”

The door swung close with a deep, shuddering creak.

There was a deep, drawn-out noise, as though some titanic creature were taking in a deep breath after almost drowning. Both pony and human gritted their teeth as they felt reality warp around them, a sensation like being pulled through a steel grate at hypersonic speeds. The fact that the ordeal was over in only a few seconds was no comfort to either of them. “...okay, I don't like this ride anymore, I wanna go home,” Dash murmured.

“I hear you on that. Just need to find the exit.” Carefully, Indy pushed the cage door open again, and the pair stepped out to have a look around. Everything seemed different now- the shadows that stretched across the room seemed nebulous, fluctuating, as if the light itself had gotten inebriated and couldn't manage a straight line. Where near-silence had reigned before, now a strange, barely-heard bedlam of strange noises echoed all around them; enraged shouts, quiet weeping and the screams of children weaved their way around the two, leaving them still and silent for a moment. “I'm gonna have some really fun nightmares once this is all over,” the human murmured.

“You're planning on sleeping? Never again for me.” Dash shook her head.

Unlike its relatively more normal twin, this version of the building wasn't considerate enough to be half-empty; as soon as the duo had made their way back to the first floor, they found themselves dodging what had to be one of the staff members... or, rather, some bizarre representation of one. It was little more than a walking impression of the form of a pony- matte-black, faceless, and flickering slightly as though it weren't entirely sure of what shape it should be. But there was no mistaking the aura of malevolence around it, a feeling of barely-restrained hostility just waiting for a target to foolishly make itself known.

It wasn't alone, either. No less than three other staff members just like it patrolled the rooms and hallways between the pair and their destination, including one between the pair and where they needed to go- the now-restored metal stairs leading into the staff tower. This particular creature's circuit kept it close enough to where getting by undetected was going to be an issue. “I'll go by first,” Dash whispered. “Should be able to fly right past him. Wait until he's halfway past, then make a break for it... if he hears you, I'll try to distract him.”

“Just... don't do anything to get yourself killed.”

“I won't if you won't.” She gave him a brief smile before turning her attention back towards the staff member. Just as it passed the point she'd described to him, she flapped her way across the hall and over the staircase; her passage hardly made a whisper of sound. She peeked out from an open office close to the long stairway that led to the tower proper, watching him intently.

His approach was flawless, perfectly timed. If it hadn't been for a splotch of slimy mold on the second step, he might have made it through free and clear- but the slaps of skin against metal as his hands struck the banisters to save himself from a fall caught the staff member's ears. Indy wasn't quite out of sight when the shadowy form spun around, and slowly it approached the stairs.

Unable to get into the office without being seen, Indy could only stuff himself into a shallow cul-de-sac and wait. He heard the creature's slow hoofsteps clomp up each step, every one bringing it closer to the point where it couldn't possibly miss spotting him.

Then something clacked across the floor in the office, drawing the creature's attention. It stormed into the small room, legs spread apart in a fighting stance... only to find a single piece of stone from the ceiling lying on the floor in front of it. After a moment, it visibly calmed down, turned and stalked its way out of the room, back towards its post.

Dash carefully let out the breath she'd been holding, but waited until she heard the creature finish descending the stairs before she relaxed her legs from holding her up against the corner of the ceiling above the door. Carefully she flapped her way down to the floor, made sure that the staff member was back on his patrol route, then gestured for Indy to come out; he did so, following her to a safe spot before kneeling down and giving her a playful tap to the jaw with his fist. “I owe you big-time for that save,” he told her.

“Yeah, no problem.” Dash let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Indy, we need to get you a set of wings.”

“Hell, you find 'em in my size, I'll buy 'em.”

Some more careful advancement brought the pair to what had to be the interior of the staff tower- a tall, wooden structure with a staircase that wound its way upwards, connected to walkways that led into what were probably staff quarters. Some of them were still occupied, but the staff members who were still in their rooms seemed content to stand and stare off into space, so it wasn't difficult to get past them. Fortunately it didn't seem that they felt a need to patrol their own living quarters, so it was a fairly quick and uneventful trip upwards to the top of the tower.

The tower's apex, however, apparently saw fit to be more challenging. The window Scootaloo had spoken of was there, wide and tall enough for a pony and human to fit through together, but it was what sat between it and the pair that made them pause- a long, low table, lined with chairs, many of which were filled by staff members sitting stock-still at attention. Around them stalked another, smaller form; this one was clearly a unicorn mare, smaller than the others but radiating almost-palpable waves of pure hate. Baleful yellow dots of light glared forth from her otherwise-featureless face, and over one of her shoulders, surrounded by a pale-gray magical field, was a long, thick dressage whip with a sturdy handle. The faintest sound of an endlessly drawn-out scream echoed all around her.

Indy put his back against a wall in the deepest shadow he could get to, followed closely by Dash. “Is that who I think it is?” she asked in a low voice.

The human nodded slowly. “Most likely, yeah. Say hello to Matron Sharphoof.”

(-)

“Trixie! Calm down!” Fluttershy raised a hoof to fend off the enraged unicorn. “We were running for our lives! This was the only safe place!”

“It won't be safe for long if the Taken bring down those lanterns!”

“Quit shouting at each other! It's not helping anything!” Pinkie pushed Trixie back a bit. “Look, it's simple, girls. When you've got unwanted guests at your party, you put a bright light on 'em, and they get annoyed and go away!”

Fluttershy blinked. “Does that actually work?”

“I dunno! I've never had unwanted guests at any of my parties!”

Trixie spared the earth pony a withering glance before sighing. “Nonetheless, that is exactly what we must do. Come, we must drive them off before they forge a path to the cottage!”

The unicorn levitated a flare gun and a small pack of flares to her side, then flung the door open and dashed through, followed closely by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. The three ponies could easily see dark shapes shifting just past the edge of the pool of light that the lanterns cast. Trixie immediately loaded a flare into her gun. “Drown in the light, wretched creatures!” she shouted, taking aim and firing; the flare shot towards the group of Taken in a brilliant jet of red flame, landing in the midst of them and burning a couple away almost instantly. The others- and now the group could see how many there were, at least three dozen- scattered in an attempt to stay clear of the circle of harsh light it cast.

The mares were not content to leave things at that. As Trixie reloaded her flare gun, Pinkie pulled one of her flares out from inside her mane, tugged off the cap with her teeth and then threw the flare towards the nearest group of Taken, forcing them to further displace; Fluttershy took to the air, shining her flashlight down on some of the stragglers to keep them occupied.

“Now start picking them off! And stay near the flares!” Trixie's horn began to glow, and she focused that light into a coherent beam that stabbed through the darkness as effectively as any flashlight; Pinkie was quick to join in with her lantern, and Fluttershy circled overhead, evading thrown axes and knives and lending her weaker light to help burn down any Taken that one of the other mares was focusing on.

The trio had eliminated at least half of their opposition when there was a deep, reverberating snarl from further down the clearing. The remaining Taken immediately backed off, retreating out of sight, as what had to be the biggest of them yet stepped into view. “Luna's teats!” Trixie swore.

The other two mares were too shocked to even register the unicorn's blasphemy. “Big Mac?!” they gasped in unison.

Applejack's older brother- or the thing that had once been him- pawed a hoof at the ground, snorting and snarling. Clenched in his teeth was the handle of an enormous scythe, its wicked edge coated in dried blood; the no-doubt considerable weight of the tool seemed meaningless to the brawny stallion. Without any sort of preamble, the farmhoof charged forward, neck twisting back and forth as he swung his weapon in wide arcs.

“Get as much light on him as you can! Burn him down!” Trixie aimed her flare gun and fired; the stallion was too large a target to miss, and the flare practically exploded on impact- but Mac simply ignored the light burning at his wreath of shadows, stampeding towards the mares with single-minded determination. Pinkie yanked a second flare from her mane and dropped it in front of her, then brought her light up directly into his eyes; that got his attention, and he shifted his mad sprint to head directly for her.

It was impossible to tell which was faster- his swing of that terrible scythe, or her nimble hop that carried her just over the blade. Undeterred, Mac spun around- insanely quickly for a pony of his size- and brought the scythe around again at neck level in a cut aimed to behead the pink mare, only to just barely miss as she tucked herself into a roll. All the while, the bright light from the burning flare tore away at the living shadows that wrapped the stallion's form. “Girls, can we get more light on him? I can't keep this up for long!” Pinkie panted.

Trixie's horn flared even more brightly than before, and a beam of blinding white light focused on Mac like a sunbeam through a magnifying glass, searing away the layer of darkness that covered him. That served only to get his attention, and with a feral snarl, he charged the unprepared unicorn; her panicked leap sideways didn't quite bring her to safety, as the razor edge of the weapon drew a red line across her side, and his broad chest slammed into her, sending her rolling across the grass and her flare gun tumbling into the darkness.

“Trixie!” Pinkie ignited her last flare and hurled it at Big Mac, hitting him directly in the muzzle. The burst of light was just enough to drive him back a bit, and the earth pony capitalized on the reprieve, pulling Trixie onto her back and galloping as fast as she could towards the cottage. “Fluttershy!” she called out. “Back towards the lanterns! Maybe he won't follow!”

But the fight against the Taken had brought the trio quite some distance away from the safety of the light, and with Trixie on her back, Pinkie was struggling to get up to speed. Big Mac, however, was under no such load, and seeing the opportunity for two easy kills, he charged once more. Pinkie pushed herself as hard as she could, but even if she dropped the unicorn- which she wouldn't- there was just no way she'd make it before that scythe got to her.

Then there was a blur of yellow just above and ahead of her. “Pinkie! Down, now!”

She dove just as Fluttershy pulled the trigger of Trixie's flare gun. The blazing-red projectile left a streak across the ponies' vision as it shot forward, far too fast for the rushing stallion to even hope to dodge; the flare struck him directly between his shadow-covered eyes and exploded, lighting the area up as bright as day for a moment. A horrible shriek came from Big Mac's throat as he stumbled and fell, the scythe crashing to the ground behind him.

Trixie was already back on her hooves, though unsteady. “Finish him off!” she shouted, lowering her head to point her horn directly at the downed stallion. A veritable spotlight shone forth, catching Big Mac in its center as he struggled to get back up; a second later, Pinkie brought her lantern up as well, pressing both forehooves to it and combining its light with Trixie's. The wreath of shadows that protected Big Mac finally gave out, and with a harsh scream he fell back to the grass, fading away after a moment.

Pinkie dropped back to all fours and looked towards the unicorn. “Trixie! You're hurt!”

“It'll be fine.” Her clenched teeth and soft hiss of pain with every intake of breath showed that the wound was bothering her, but she could at least walk without too much trouble. “Where are the other Taken?”

“I.. I think they ran off.” Fluttershy landed next to the injured mare. “Trixie, you're bleeding. We need to get that wound taken care of.”

“There's no time for that, we....” Trixie's voice trailed off as she encountered Fluttershy's determined gaze. “...fine. You're right. Trixie cannot fight the Taken if she is suffering from an infection and blood loss.”

“Good. Come on, let's get back inside.” Fluttershy and Pinkie took position on either side of the injured mare to help support her, and helped her back inside the cottage. Apparently Trixie had been adding to Fluttershy's already-considerable medical stockpile and knew a somewhat-effective healing spell, so it wasn't difficult to get her wound cleaned, stitched up and healed to the point where re-opening it wasn't a pressing concern. The unicorn took a moment to lie down on the overstuffed couch. “Trixie... thanks you both,” she murmured. “She apologizes for the outburst before. This is her only place of safety; to see it attacked....”

“It's okay, Trixie.” Fluttershy sat down next to her and gently stroked her mane; the unicorn looked set to protest for a moment, but then simply sighed and laid her head down. “We're sorry we led the Taken here. We just didn't know what else to do.”

“You need not apologize. This is your home, after all, is it not? And as the sailor ponies say, 'Any port in a storm'.” After a few moments, Trixie stood again, slowly, and looked out the window at the horizon; the once-dark skies had turned a hazy gray with the approach of dawn. “The sun will rise soon. Come, let us replace the downed lanterns, and then get some rest. I suspect we will have a busy day.”

Pinkie let loose a huge yawn. “Well, okay, I could go for some shut-eye. But what have you got planned?”

Trixie's expression went cold. “Perhaps, with your help, Trixie can finally confront Lyra and put an end to this.”

(-)

“I'm afraid that I cannot give you a choice in this matter, Twilight.” Celestia gazed sadly upon her student, who was wrapped neck-to-tail in fleshy tendrils, while a crystal restraint ring set on her horn kept her magic contained. “Your vast knowledge and potential are simply too valuable to the Many for us to let you leave. The same goes for your friend here.” She gave Jack a glance; the human had ceased struggling and simply glared at her silently. “You'll see, my faithful student. Once you've become part of the Many, you'll understand.”

The Princess's gentle smile didn't waver from Twlight's half-panicked, half-furious stare. It did leave her face, however, when a good portion of the alicorn's head vanished in a small but violent explosion of black magic. As the majestic white-coated body fell twitching to the floor, Twilight and Jack looked up towards the back of the room. “It... it can't be....” the unicorn gasped.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Princess Luna glided to a landing in front of them; with a brief glow of her horn, more black magic severed the tendrils holding them in place, and they tumbled to the ground. “I know not what madness has drawn you to return here, but you must leave now!”

Jack immediately retrieved his sword, but Twilight was frozen in place, staring at the mutated corpse that had been her mentor. “How... how could you....” she whimpered.

“Twilight, that is not Celestia. It is merely a disgusting avatar, of sorts. She resides within the Many now.” With a deft movement of her hoof, the Princess of the Night yanked the restraint ring from Twilight's horn. “No doubt they are growing a new body for her as we speak; they have done so enough times before. We must escape here as quickly as we can- you and I are far too tempting targets for the Many to allow to leave!” She turned towards Jack. “Human, are you uninjured? Will you be able to keep up?”

He nodded. “I will. Thank you.”

“Save your thanks for when I have led you from this place... if even I can.” She stormed through the various halls with both Twilight and Jack barely able to keep pace. “Count your lucky stars, Twilight Sparkle, for they are numerous. Had I not been alerted to your presence and been able to follow your trail without detection, you would no doubt have been 'inducted' into the Many by now. What could possibly have persuaded you to come to Canterlot, let alone wander into the very heart of the hive?!”

“It's- it's complicated, Princess. But I... I had to know what happened here.”

“Well, I certainly hope your curiosity has been satisfied.” Luna's tone was scathing, and Twilight's ears lowered. “You endanger far more than just yourself here! All that has been keeping the Many from accessing Celestia's full potential is the seal I placed between her and the sun- your considerable power is not so easy to contain! Have you any idea how far the Many could spread beyond Canterlot were they to claim you in their ranks?!”

“Princess, I'm sorry! But it wasn't like we just came to go sightseeing!” Twilight gazed down at the floor; next to her, Jack spoke up. “She speaks the truth, Princess. Our arrival here was... far from intended.”

Luna stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Well. So long as you understand the gravity of the situation. Reprimands will serve little purpose.” She looked the samurai over. “What is your name, human?”

“They call me Jack.”

“Indeed. Well, Jack, it seems the tales I have heard of your kind's prowess at martial pursuits are not mere fantasy, if the swath of destruction you laid for me to follow is any indication. I must thank you for helping to protect Twilight Sparkle.”

Jack smiled and bowed his head. “It is my way to defend those in danger. Princess, may I ask where it is you take us?”

“The nearest exit. I intend to see you both away from this city forthwith.” The alicorn flung a set of doors open with her magic and led the pair through- only to stop short a moment later as misshapen forms stormed into the next hallway. “Blast! They mean to surround us. Prepare for battle!”

Twilight stumbled to a stop beside the Princess, but Jack only increased his pace; with a swift series of movements, the first three creatures found themselves headless or limbless, and the human was already on his way back before the other creatures could stop him. “Impressively done!” Luna exclaimed.

“We don't want to keep it up!” Twilight shouted. “They've got numbers!”

Jack flicked some unidentifiable goop from his blade. “She is right. Princess, we must break through their lines before we are overwhelmed. Which way must we go?”

“There.” She pointed towards a narrow hall with a hoof. “I will take the fore; Jack, watch my blind sides. Twilight, protect the rear.”

With that, she furrowed her brow in concentration, and her horn glowed; an enormous, double-bladed glave materialized before her, ebony and black steel with midnight-blue wrappings. “For Equestria!” she roared, charging ahead.

The ferocity with which she attacked stunned Twilight. She had known, in a purely literary sense, that the Moon Princess had once led armies against Equestria's foes in the days before the nation had found true peace, but to see the sheer skill and relentlessness Luna was capable of floored the unicorn- not so much, though, to keep her from covering their escape. It wasn't terribly difficult to set up shield barricades and “tripwire” force spells to hold and force back their pursuers while Luna and Jack maintained the forward push... and by the number of dead and wounded Many that Twilight was passing, they were doing an exceptional job.

Luna's voice cut through the almost Zen-like state Twilight had entered through focusing on the job at hoof. “Twilight Sparkle! We are changing course; be ready to barricade a door!”

She didn't question the why of it, but simply took stock of the situation, set up a trio of shields to temporarily block the new hallway they were traveling through, and then- once she saw that they'd ended up in a small conference room- shut and sealed the doors with as much magic as she could spare. Heavy thuds immediately began to sound from the other side, but the seal held strong. Twilight turned. “Why did we....”

Luna was already tearing apart a tapestry to serve as a bandage for a deep, bleeding cut that Jack had suffered along his side; the human was crouched, eyes closed tightly in obvious pain, though he made no sound as Luna cleaned and wrapped the wound. “Oh my....” Twilight had been about to utter her typical “Oh my Celestia” exclamation, but after what she had seen in the throne room, she simply let it go unfinished. “What happened?”

“I was foalish.” Luna's expression was a mix of anger and regret. “Jack protected me. Twilight, my magic is highly unsuitable for healing... can you mend this wound enough for him to continue?”

“Yeah, I've had to do this before.” Twilight focused her magic on the human; with her greater familiarity with the flow of his life-energy, healing him went more smoothly than it had previously, and it didn't take her long to close the wound and repair it enough for him to move unhindered, though he kept the makeshift bandage on as a precaution.

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna bowed her head to the human. “And thank you, Jack. I am in your debt.”

Jack bowed his head as well. “Not at all, Princess. We are comrades in arms here, and I protect those who fight by my side.”

She gave him a brief but honest smile at that before turning towards the door. “Twilight, how long will your shield hold?”

“Not very long.” She reflexively winced as something large slammed against it. “We'd better be moving.”

“Indeed. Resume our previous formation. They are bringing significant reinforcements and we need to be on our way.”

The trio moved out, thankfully making good time and distance before Twilight sensed her shield finally being overwhelmed. “Princess,” she said. “How have you been keeping the Many from spreading?”

“A shield spell I learned from your brother, adjusted to seal in any who have been compromised by those damnable worms. So long as I live and remain uncorrupted, they cannot leave Canterlot.”

“And you've been fighting them all by yourself?”

“Not entirely.” Luna hesitated a moment. “I have an... ally, of sorts. One who is wise in the ways of these creatures, who was instrumental in helping to keep the Many contained. She has helped me reclaim key parts of the city since then.”

“Really? Is there any chance we could meet her?”

The Princess gave Twilight an uncomfortable glance. “That would prove... difficult,” she said. “And it is my aim to evacuate you from this city, not to provide a tour.”

Their progress was mercifully uninterrupted for quite some time, and eventually the trio found their way outside of the castle into Canterlot proper. Twilight let out a quiet cry of despair at what she saw- unlike most of the inside of the castle, the city itself was an absolute mess, with many of the buildings showing signs of battle damage or disrepair. Entire blocks were little more than standing rubble, crushed or blown apart by some monumental force. But Jack noticed something as he ran. “There are no bodies,” he said quietly.

“The Many reclaim them for 'biological materials'.” The grimace on her face was telling. “I can do nothing for the fallen. It is the living I must protect.”

It was still some distance from the upper district to the edge of the city, and even Jack's endurance was beginning to flag, let alone Twilight's, so Luna selected a relatively intact building- “Chez Veneto”, judging by the dilapidated sign over the entrance- forced the door open and led them inside. “Oh my gosh,” Twlight murmured. “I remember this place. Mom and Dad brought me and Shining Armor here for my tenth birthday. They... they had the best gnocchi di ricotta....”

Luna gave her an unreadable glance, then went further back into the restaurant to secure it. Jack made his way to the unicorn as she wiped down a chair with an old napkin and took a seat. “Twilight....” he said quietly.

“I know, I know. Not real. It's just....” She sighed. “You told me about your home, Jack. How once you found your way back to it in your future, only to find it little more than ruins. That's how I feel right now.”

He nodded solemnly. “It is not easy to see that this could have happened to the place in which you felt the most secure.”

“That's it, precisely.” She scuffed a hoof along the thick layer of dust on the table, then wiped herself clean. “I can't believe any of this happened. I don't want to. Yet....”

“If only disbelief were sufficient to undo what became of this place.” Luna's expression was stern, but her voice held a trace of sympathy. “All that we have is the here-and-now, Twilight Sparkle. We cannot allow ourselves to become distracted from that.”

“I know, Princess. I'm sorry.” Twilight stared down at the table for a moment before glancing back up. “...you know, I just realized something.”

“What is it?”

“You two... speak a lot alike.”

Luna and Jack both blinked, then looked at each other. “Is that so?” the alicorn murmured. “I... had not noticed.”

“Nor had I,” responded the human.

Somehow, despite everything, Twilight managed a giggle.

(-)

“...I don't know what's worse. The nightmare I was having, or the one I'm waking up into.”

Applejack put down the thick bundle of papers she was reading and trotted over to her friend. “How ya feelin', Rare?” she asked.

“Like five miles of prairie after a buffalo stampede. Is that a suitably folksy metaphor?”

“Not bad. I'll have ya in a bandana and chewin' a piece of straw yet.” The cowpony snickered as Rarity made a face at her. “So....” the unicorn said, looking around at the dingy but well-lit room she'd awoken in. “How long have you been awake?”

“Ain't sure. Fifteen minutes, twenty on th' outside. Ya looked tuckered out, though, so I letcha get a bit more shuteye.”

“I wish I could say I felt well-rested, but I appreciate it nonetheless.” She got to her hooves. “What is that you were reading?”

“Patient files. I think these're the ones we saw on that table in the morgue; they were here when I woke up. I ain't no doctor, but I think I understand enough to figger out jes' what happened here.”

“Do tell.” The two mares walked back to the table Applejack had left the papers on. “And how did we end up here, anyway?”

“Dunno. Woke up in here same as you. Door was jes' closin' when I got up, but weren't nopony there when I opened it.”

“Strange.” Rarity levitated the various forms and notes her friend had been reading. “Can you give me an overview while I look these over?”

“Sure.” The earth pony leaned up on the table with both forelegs. “If'n I'm proper comparin' these notes with that weird vision I saw in th' morgue-”

“You saw it too?”

“Yep. Anyway. If I'm doin' mah thinkin' right, our little ghost filly's what started this all off. Y'remember when Discord got loose?”

“Remember? I still can't say the word 'boulder' without shivering.” As if in emphasis, her body shook slightly.

“Mmyeah, I know whatcha mean. Well, I'm thinkin' maybe th' Elements here didn't do a perfect job of sealin' him back up. This here little filly- they covered up 'er name for some reason- came into th' hospital after bein' found in the Royal Gardens half inna coma. Docs couldn't figger out what was wrong with 'er. All sorts of tests, most of 'em I never even heard of and half of 'em I can't even pronounce. They kept 'er here under observation while tryin' to keep 'er stable.”

“And, let me guess... this is when all the insanity started showing up?”

“Right in one. The crazy was jes' about in full swing when they finally got a specialist t' show up. Diagnosis was somethin' they called 'transmissible self-amplifyin' chaotic thaumatic kin-tamination'.” She struggled to get out the terminology she'd spent a few minutes memorizing. “Some feller helpfully translated that mouthful to... 'chaos plague'.”

“It's been a while since my magic classes....” Rarity found the relevant page and read it over. “...oh my Celestia. I don't like the theory I'm forming here.”

“I really want it t' be diff'rent than mine. Poor filly wandered near Discord's statue in th' Garden, took in way too much leakin' chaos energy or whatever, and it started actin' like a sickness and kin-taminatin' everypony else?”

“I couldn't put it more succinctly myself.” Rarity let the pages fall to the table again. “That poor filly. She couldn't have known. Nopony could have known.”

“An' by th' time they knew what they were dealin' with... it was too late.” Applejack lowered her head and pulled her hat off. “Nothin' but a sad accident caused alla this.”

Rarity let out a long sigh. “Well. Now we understand what happened here. What do we do next?”

“I'm thinkin' that little filly is th' key. We find her, we find our way out.”

“I... have no better ideas. Do we have any leads on where she is?”

“Them notes have a room number. 31-B in th' Intensive Care Unit.”

“Then that gives us a destination.” Rarity picked up the flashlight. “Let's get our hooves moving.”

The room they'd been left in turned out to be a small storage closet in the basement. Fortunately, there was a set of stairs close by that brought them up to the first floor, and a direction sign pointed them towards the ICU. “Well, finally, we have a little luck on our side,” Rarity said.

“Let's hope y' didn't just jinx it.”

Despite Rarity's declaration, their luck held for a little while longer, as the pair crossed through a variety of offices, hallways, examination rooms and patient bedrooms. Then they reached a wide waiting room with a heavily barricaded main entrance; once they'd reached the middle of the room, the doors they'd come through slammed shut. “Aw, crud, here we go again,” Applejack muttered.

But the expected attack didn't come from either of the two unblocked doors- but instead from the overhead windows, which rained glass down on the floor as they shattered. A pair of shapes dropped down, seemingly heedless of the height of their fall or the broken glass that waited for them at the bottom; the moment they landed, they reared up, each letting out a hideous shriek that sounded like a radio being dropped in a bathtub. Rarity brought her flashlight up, and froze at the sight.

The bizarre creatures resembled nothing so much as fleshy stick figures made in the crude image of a pony. Where a head should have been was nothing but a gaping vertical maw lined with crooked, rotting teeth; forehooves that were little more than gleaming bone blades waved wildly, and a sickening parody of a tail flicked wildly behind.

As if offended at being caught in the light, the creatures charged, continuing their ear-rending screeching as they leapt towards the ponies. Applejack was just able to duck one, but Rarity- still caught in a state of stunned revulsion- was hit head-on by the other; her flashlight went spinning across the floor as she lost her arcanokinetic “grip” on it, casting crazy shadows as it went. Rarity let out a cry of terror as the monster began lashing its forelegs at her, drawing thin cuts across her alabaster hide.

“Rare!” Applejack rushed forward, spun and lashed out with both hind legs, bucking the creature off of her friend and sending it flying across the room and into the far wall; its impact left a spiderweb of cracks in the plaster. But Applejack spent a moment too long making sure it wouldn't get back up, and its partner was able to leap on her back, pummeling her as she struggled to throw it off. “Get offa mah back, ya freak!” she shouted.

“Applejack! Hold still!” As difficult as it was, the earth pony managed to plant her hooves and duck her head down- and barely more than a second later, a chair slammed into the creature almost too quickly to see, nearly folding the monster's body in half around it with the force of the impact. Creature and chair both tumbled along the room before hitting the barricaded door, cracking a good number of the wooden planks that made it up.

“Whoa Nellie.” Applejack took a few seconds to check herself over for any serious injuries; finding none, she turned her attention to Rarity, who was just standing up, the glow fading from her horn. “Hang on there, Rare,” she said. “Lemme give ya a once-over.”

A cursory examination showed a fair number of small cuts along Rarity's sides and neck, only a couple deep enough to draw blood; those had already stopped bleeding. “Well, y'aint gonna win a beauty contest at th' moment, Rare, but y' oughta be okay.”

“I shant complain; it could have been worse. That... thing was aiming for my eyes.” The unicorn looked Applejack over. “What about you? Are you hurt?”

“Couple'a scratches and mebbe a bruise. Nothin' like what happened in the Dome. I'll be okay.”

“Good.” Rarity took in a deep breath and let out a soft sigh as she spared a glance towards the creatures they'd just fought. “Those things....” she murmured. “They just... they shouldn't be.”

“Nightmare Moon and Discord are kinda lookin' like a trot through the park compared t' this,” Applejack agreed. “But we're close now, Rarity. We're so close I kin jes' about feel it. And I ain't gonna quit no matter what horrors this place wants t' throw at us. You with me?”

“You had better believe it.”

“Then grab that light, and les' go.”

Rarity's magical field enveloped the flashlight; fortunately it had taken no damage from being dropped. The unicorn brought it up to light their path, and the pair continued on.

This time, however, their opposition were not content to let them gain much ground uncontested. Skittering, snarling and howling echoed down a long corridor of closed-off examination rooms. “Aw, jeez, we stirred up th' hive!” Applejack gasped.

“You aren't kidding!” Rarity glanced around. “There, that office. Quickly!”

The thick wooden door slammed shut just after the two mares passed through; Rarity seized a chair with her magic and jammed it beneath the knob. “Help me move that bookshelf!” she said. “It's too heavy to lift with my magic alone.”

Even with her considerable strength and Rarity's levitation, Applejack had difficulty getting the exceptionally heavy oaken bookcase against the door. Once it was in place, though, it did a credible job of withstanding the violent impacts from the far side of the door as the creatures attempted to batter it down. “How long d'ya think that'll last?” Applejack wondered.

“Not long enough for my tastes. Let's keep moving.”

The two ponies had a couple of close encounters with stray creatures- including another of the night-watchponies, which took two chairs, a vase and a desk to finally put out of action- but no heavy pursuit materialized. Finally, the mares emerged into the reception area of the ICU. “At last!” Rarity exclaimed. “Come on, AJ, we've finally made it to-”

fwooom

The entryway doors disappeared, as did the way they'd come in, leaving them trapped in the large reception room. Once more everything was hazy and indistinct, and the sounds around them were muffled, though it was easy enough to hear a multitude of snarls. At least twenty of the freakish stick-figure creatures seemed to fade into existence along the edges of the room, running towards the ponies full-tilt; the pair went back-to-back, instinctively going into a defensive stance despite knowing how poor the odds of survival were. Whatever final words they had for each other were lost in the howling of the approaching creatures closing in, the ones in the lead just closing in on jumping range....

“.potS....”

A shockwave burst out from the center of the room, passing by the two ponies like a gentle breeze but blasting the creatures back with the force of an explosion. Applejack and Rarity blinked, looked around, and then turned back towards each other; standing between them was the ghostly filly, her sightless gaze staring out at the creatures she'd just flattened like so many weeds in a tornado.

“!em dnif emoC !yrruH .won uoy tcetorp ot em rof hguone esolc er'uoY”

Everything returned to normal in a snap. The creatures and the filly were gone, but the chairs and other furniture still showed the results of the strange blast that had come from the unexpected savior. The doors had returned as well, and the ones leading into the ICU proper were wide open. “Let's go!” Rarity called out, making a mad rush for the door; Applejack had to gallop in order to catch up with her.

A faint beeping echoed down the dimly-lit hall of the intensive care unit. Both ponies slowed, hooves clacking on tile, intently following the noise- which seemed to be coming from the only lit room in the place. Carefully, the pair crept up to the door, and Applejack pushed it open to peek inside. “I think we found 'er,” she said quietly.

The two mares carefully entered the patient suite and closed the door behind them. A bright wall lamp shone down on the lone bed, which was surrounded by a small number of dead flowers and deflated balloons; atop the bed, hooked up to more than half a dozen various machines and devices, lay a small earth pony filly with a pink coat and a gray-violet mane, marked with a white streak through its length. Her chest rose and fell with the movement of one of the machines, but she gave no signs of life otherwise. Rarity's eyes widened as a spark of recognition ran through her. “Oh my Celestia....” she breathed.

Applejack turned to her. “What is it?”

“This filly... I know who she is.” The unicorn's horn lit up just slightly, and the dusty blanket that half-covered the unmoving form slid down to uncover a cutie mark of an intricate crown.

“...it's Diamond Tiara.”

(-)

“Oh, jeez. I guess this place has some really bad memories of that mare.” Dash stared at the jet-black form stalking across the room. “What's the plan, Indy?”

“I don't see wings on any of them. You get through that window and I'll work something out for getting past them.”

She fixed him with a flat stare. “You mean, I abandon you here with those things and run off? Nuh-uh. You oughta know better.”

“Dash-”

“No, Indy. I don't run away when my friends need help.”

He matched her stare for a moment before lowering his eyes. “Damn it, you're too much like me for my own comfort.”

“Yeah, quit sweet-talking me and think.” She couldn't help but grin, just a little.

“Fine, fine....” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Job one is to get them all away from the table, because there's no way I'll be able to sneak by without at least a few of them spotting me. Job two is to break that window so we can get through it instead of bouncing off the glass. And job three is to not become a pancake on the ground.”

“Right, that'll be my department. I can't really fly well with your weight, but I should be able to manage a soft landing, no problem.”

“I'll settle for that. Now, how to get them away from the table....”

“I can make a racket, get them to chase me.” Dash flexed her wings to take off, but Indy's hand on her back stopped her. “Nuh-uh,” he told her. “I want them curious, not hostile. The more of an element of surprise we can maintain, the better.”

The pegasus sighed. “Not how I usually do things, buuuuuut....” She spared the shadowy creatures a glance. “...in this case I don't mind making an exception.”

“Attagirl.” Indy gave the room a detailed lookover. “Up in the eaves,” he said, inclining his head towards them. “Should be dark enough to keep them from seeing you... assuming light is how they see, but anyway. Grab a few pieces of rock or whatever you can use and start tossing them as distractions.”

“Gotcha. And what are you going to do?”

“That table's the key- I can use it like a runway. I'll find a position where I can hide but still be able to make a run for it. You see me do that, you chuck the heaviest thing you've got at that window, and I'll make like a battering ram. Then you come catch me before I hit the ground.”

“That's cutting it pretty close, isn't it?”

“What, you think you can't catch up to a doddering old man who's got a mere three-story head start?”

She met his smirk with a determined grin. “Ohhh, you just wait and see, big guy.”

She skulked along the walls until she'd found enough pieces of plaster, small rocks and other detritus for her purposes, then carefully flew up to the highest support beam she could find that would give her a good view of the table and settled in, checking to make sure that she was as cloaked in darkness as possible; her bright cyan coat would be an asset in open daytime sky, but would make her stand out like a sore hoof here with even a single bit of direct light. That task done, she pulled a jagged piece of heavy wood from beneath her wing, where she'd tucked all of her ammunition, and set herself to throw as soon as she could see that Indy was in position.

This proved to be the most difficult part, as she quickly learned that- when he wanted to- the human could be pretty stealthy. It was only a bit of stray light making its way across his hat that cued her in on his position, and after that she had to carefully watch the shadows to keep track of him.

It was a long few minutes before he waved a hand to signal that he was ready for her to act. Dash immediately let loose with the piece of debris; it hit the hard wooden floor with a satisfying crack.

The impact had the desired effect. Several of the staff members immediately vacated their chairs and went to investigate; the rest of them, as well as the unicorn mare, were seemingly oblivious. Encouraged, Dash used a couple more pieces of junk to lure away the searching creatures, drawing them towards a far corner. Once they seemed to be suitably occupied and out of the way, Dash began the same process with the other group, this time getting the Matron's attention as well. Finally, the area was clear enough for Indy to move to the nearer end of the table and set himself. Letting out a near-silent whoop of victory, Dash took the largest, heaviest piece of debris she'd managed to find and hurled it with all her might at the window; the thick rock smacked into the glass hard, leaving a spiderweb of cracks.

Unfortunately, the unmistakable sound also caught the Matron's attention, a fact which Indy didn't catch as he jumped onto the table and began a full-out run towards the window. Her horn flared, and one of the chairs lifted up and flew towards the human; at the last second he saw it coming, barely able to turn himself so that the object crashed into his back. The chair shattered on impact, sending Indy tumbling off of the table barely halfway to his destination.

“Indy!” Dash's cry echoed through the rafters, alerting the rest of the staff but leaving them searching for its source. She ignored them as she launched herself from the support beam, curving around to strike at the unicorn from behind as she began to round the table to chase after the human.

Somehow, despite the pegasus's swift and near-silent attack, the Matron sensed her approach, and ducked aside just in time; that ever-present dressage whip slapped against Dash's right side, barely hard enough to feel an impact- and yet it sent a bone-numbing jolt through her body, causing her to spin out of control and crash onto the table, cracking the thick wood. Dash lay still for a moment, groaning and disoriented, as the unicorn jumped onto the table, causing small cracks to form through it despite her unremarkable weight. With what sounded like the snarl of a demon, that whip came up again-

crash

-and then went flying into the shadows, as the Matron was literally taken off of her hooves by the chair Indy swung at her. Even as she was still tumbling along the floor along with various pieces of the chair, Indy clambered onto the table. “Dash, we need to vacate, now!” he shouted.

The mare tried to stand, only to have her right legs collapse under her. “My legs! My wing! I can't feel them!”

Immediately he spun around and knelt down, presenting his back to her. “Get on!”

It took her a few precious seconds to pull herself up onto his back and hook her left foreleg over his shoulder; during which the staff members had come running and were attempting to surround them. As soon as Dash was securely on his back, Indy took off in a run, just barely avoiding a pair of staff members leaping at him. He fought back the pain from his legs and the shoulder where he'd caught the impact of the Matron's throw chair, keeping his eyes on that spiderweb of cracks in the window, pumping his arms for all the extra speed he could get from the movement.

He could hear hooves on the table right behind him as he jumped.

bang

With the sound and volume of a cannon firing, the window shattered, sending countless shards of glass flying through the air. Fighting the instinct to flail wildly, Indy spread his arms and legs wide; he felt Dash hook her forelegs over his shoulders and her hindlegs against his sides- the right side feeling much weaker than the left- and heard the foomp of her wings snapping out against the onrushing air. The ground was not taking its time approaching them, though, and it was starting to look like the pegasus wasn't going to be able to level out in time. “Dash! Drop me!” he shouted. “Save yourself!”

“Buck that!” The pony let out a groan as she braked as hard as she could; a few feathers were torn free from her wings by the force of the air flowing past them. Forty feet remained between them and the ground; thirty, twenty, ten, five....

And then, at barely two feet above the ground, Dash finally leveled out her flight... for six seconds, before her still-numbed wing gave out completely and sent her and Indy rolling along the ground of the courtyard just outside the orphanage.

The pegasus fought to clear stars from her eyes as she tried to stand, only to find her right side still not quite ready to support her weight. “Dangit....” she murmured. “Ugh. Indy? Indy, talk to me!”

“As soon as I find a part of me that doesn't hurt.” The human managed to roll over and half-crawl, half-walk towards the mare. “You alright?” he asked, once he'd reached her.

“Gonna need a couple of minutes. I'm getting feeling back in my right side, but pretty much all of that feeling is pain.” She managed to sit up, her right foreleg held slightly off the ground, and looked up at Indy. And then she did the last thing he expected.

She laughed.

Her laughter was so overpowering, in fact, that she sent herself falling back over; her yelp of pain only slightly interrupted her expression of mirth. “What's so funny?!” Indy demanded.

“I can't....” Dash had to stop to breathe, only to break out in giggles again. “I can't believe... you....” Another pause for breath. “You hit her... with a chair!”

“Hey!” The human's expression was hurt, and he raised his hands defensively. “She did it first!”

That only got the mare laughing even harder, and Indy was just starting to join in when a deep groaning sound came from the building. As the pair watched, a blinding white light exploded from it, forcing them both to shield their eyes; when their sight recovered, the orphanage was mostly gone, with only a burned-out husk remaining. Everything around them seemed to have returned to normal, as well. “I think we did it,” Dash said quietly, finally able to stand again. “We escaped the building's memories.”

“Yeah.” Indy stood as well. “Now what?”

“Now I finish getting you guys out of here.” Scootaloo's voice came from further down the courtyard, where a double-gate with a ridiculously oversized padlock blocked the exit. Just beyond that was the filly's spectral form. “Let me just open the way....” After a moment, the padlock popped open and fell away, and the gate swung open with the loud creaks of hinges that hadn't seen oil in a long time. With as much speed as their abused bodies could muster, Dash and Indy left the orphanage grounds and stepped onto the dark, empty road leading away from it. “I'm so glad you made it,” Scootaloo said. “I was afraid I'd gotten out of there just to leave two others inside.”

“Nah, kiddo, we know what we're doing.” Dash winked, before sparing the ruins a glance over her shoulder. “...though I'll admit we did cut it kinda close,” she added.

“Still, couldn't have done it without you, Scootaloo.” Indy knelt down to pat the ghostly filly on the shoulder, only to have his hand go right through her; he stared at it for a moment before shaking his head. “So... what happens to you now?”

“Now... I get to move on.” The face in that glowing miasma of light turned to look back at the gutted building. “Maybe... maybe eventually the building will forget the others, let them go too. I don't know. But I would never send anypony in there to make sure.”

“Time heals all wounds. I guess we just have to trust in that.” Indy gave the filly a smile. “It's not your worry anymore, though. You've got other places to be.”

“Hey, Scoots?” Dash was uncharacteristically quiet. “Wherever you're going... you be careful, huh?”

“Pssh. They're gonna know it when I get there.” That ghostly face seemed to smile even as it faded from sight. “Thanks again, both of you. Goodbye!”

Her farewell seemed to echo around them for a few moments more, and then all was quiet. Slowly, Indy stood and turned to walk down the road; after a few steps, he realized that Dash wasn't following him, and he turned. The pegasus sat in front of the gate, staring at the building. “Dash?” he asked quietly.

“Indy....” He could tell she was crying, though trying to hide it. “Do... do you think she's still there?” She pointed an unsteady hoof at the building. “You know... in the place where this actually happened.”

“I don't know, Dash.” He went to her side and knelt down beside her. “But I've got to believe that somehow, at some time, she found her way out.”

“Y... yeah.” She sniffled. “I've... I've gotta believe that, too.”

He nodded, patting her neck gently. “C'mon. We need to find the others.”

She nodded and stood, and took position next to the human as they silently made their down the road.

(-)

Somehow, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie found this version of Ponyville even more creepy than the half-finished one they'd encountered earlier. Something about the shadows that every tree and building cast in the mid-afternoon light seemed menacing, as though they were simply waiting for the chance to send more Taken at the trio. Fortunately enough, they crossed the town without incident, and made their way to a nice two-story cottage towards the northern outskirts; “Lyra & Bon-Bon” was painted on both sides of the mailbox at the edge of the walk. “Huh,” Pinkie murmured.

Fluttershy glanced back at her. “What is it?”

“Well, when you reach the lair of the evil mastermind, there's supposed to be insane cackling and thunder and stuff. Not chirping birds and a gentle spring wind! I mean, seriously, can you even call this a lair? Evil mastermind lairs don't have hanging flower pots and louvered window shutters!”

Trixie was staring blankly at the pink pony. “...what the deuce are you on about?!”

“It's....” Fluttershy sighed. “Never mind her, Trixie. We're here... what do we do next?”

“We go inside, of course.” The unicorn adjusted her saddlebags, in which she had stuffed and strapped every last manner of light-making device she had at her disposal. “And then we find Lyra, and we do what we have to do to stop this.”

With that, Trixie marched up the stairs onto the porch and pushed the door open. Pinkie and Fluttershy quickly followed suit, the pegasus giving a quick look around outside before ducking her head inside.

Inside the house seemed absolutely ordinary, if somewhat dusty and darkened by drawn curtains. “Nopony home,” Pinkie murmured.

“She's here. Check upstairs.” Trixie made her way up the staircase, pulling a flashlight from her saddlebag and flicking it on; the other two mares readied their lights as well. The second floor was almost pitch-black without their illumination, which cast stark shadows across the darkened walls. “Which room would she be in?” Fluttershy asked. “All the doors look the same.”

“Room-to-room search. And be careful.”

The ponies split up, each approaching one of the seven doors on the floor. A slow and careful opening of each door revealed a closet, a bathroom, a sitting room laden with sheet music, and an empty bedroom... and the fifth door opened into absolute darkness that not even Pinkie Pie's light could penetrate. “Yikes,” the earth pony murmured. “It's like... if the dark had a closet that it was afraid to look inside because the inside of the closet was too dark, it'd be just like this.”

“Move aside.” Trixie pushed Pinkie out of the way and peeked inside. “This must be it,” she declared, magically yanking a flare from her saddlebags and throwing it inside; it barely made it ten feet from the door before it was seemingly swallowed by the darkness. “Th- that's not good,” Fluttershy whimpered.

Trixie lit another flare and levitated it above her head. “Stay close,” she ordered. “Somepony prop that door open. And keep your lights ready.”

Pinkie yanked a spare flare from Trixie's pack and wedged it under the door, then fell in alongside the other two ponies as they advanced. The brilliant red light from Trixie's lit flare did absolutely nothing to light the inside of the room; it was as if, aside from the door, there wasn't even anything inside the room to light- as if the entirety of it was a featureless void across which they somehow walked.

Suddenly, a strange staccato noise echoed around them. At first Fluttershy and Pinkie thought it might have been another weapon like the ones Indy had used- but it was too quiet and muffled. “Wait a second,” Pinkie whispered. “That's a typewriter!”

The typing stopped for just a moment. When it resumed, every typebar that struck sounded like an explosion going off, sending shockwaves that seemed to blast through the three ponies like a chill wind in a meadow. All three mares froze in mid-trot as concepts, words, sentences blazed themselves into their minds, unbidden and unstoppable.

“The trio froze. The writer knew why they were there; she had been waiting for this for what seemed like forever. She could only spare a moment to wish they had come before the loss of her beloved, but at this moment- the penultimate moment before her possible victory- she could afford no recriminations. But there was precious little time to explain things, and the Dark Presence would no doubt do everything it could to keep her from contacting them directly... but it couldn't stop her from using the power she'd been given to explain in other ways.

And so, she typed.”

Things began to form out of the darkness, coalescing out of pure creative thought- streets, flowers, lantern poles, homes, even dirt and rocks and grass. But they somehow seemed to waver even as the ponies looked at them, as if they couldn't quite hold up to scrutiny. “What the hay is this?!” Trixie demanded.

“I... I think it's Lyra doing this,” Fluttershy replied. “I don't know how, but... she's writing us a world.”

Everything shifted around them, bringing them to the front yard of Lyra's home again- though this version of her home was also flickering, and the front doors were covered with the same kind of dark, flowing shadows that surrounded the Taken. “Blast!” Trixie growled. “Burn that darkness away!”

“We have guests!” Pinkie chirped. Fluttershy turned and saw several Taken galloping towards them, each armed with a dangerous-looking cutting implement. “You!” Trixie said, holding the flare out towards her. “Work on dispelling those shadows! Pink one, you're with Trixie! Burn down those Taken!”

Fluttershy took the flare in her fetlock and held it up to the door, watching anxiously as the shadows surrounding it squealed and twisted; behind her, Trixie had just pulled her flaregun free from her saddlebags and was taking aim, while Pinkie galloped off to the right in order to flank the group. As soon as Trixie fired, Pinkie moved in, bathing the closest Taken who were trying to avoid the flare in the bright light of her lantern; caught between the two with little room to run, several of the Taken went down quickly before the flare burned itself out.

“Good! Good! Come around and start on the other side of the group.” Trixie pulled out another flare and began to load it into the gun. “I want to give no quarter to these blasted... oh my Celestia.”

The flare and flaregun dropped to the ground; Trixie's eyes widened in fear, fixated on the space past what remained of the group of Taken... which was receiving considerable reinforcements. At least thirty more of the shadowy creatures were storming towards the house, howling and snarling, the weapons carried by each glinting in the fading red light coming from Fluttershy's flare.

“Flutters!” Panic tinged Pinkie's voice. “I think we'd really like to get inside now!”

“I can't make this go any faster!” the pegasus called back.

“Then maybe we all can!” Pinkie snagged the flaregun in her mouth and pushed Trixie in a half-circle with her forehooves, then slapped one against the unicorn's flank to get her to move. “Giddyap!” the earth pony shouted through her teeth, taking off in close pursuit. “Fluttershy! Throw that flare behind us!”

She did so, the glowing red stick tracing glaring lines in the air before landing on the sidewalk leading towards the porch; it formed an effective enough barrier for the crowd of Taken for the time being- but it was already two-thirds burned away and beginning to dim. “Trixie, we need as much light as you can put out, right on this door!” Pinkie exclaimed.

The unicorn seemed shell-shocked for a moment, then shook her head to break herself out of it. “R... right!” she answered, lowering her head and gritting her teeth; her horn flared brightly, focusing its light into a tight beam that ate away at the wall of shadows covering the door.

“Fluttershy! Here.” Pinkie gave the pegasus the flaregun and fished out a couple of emergency flares from Trixie's bags for her. “Free party favors for the partycrashers!”

Fluttershy struggled to load one of the flares into the gun while Pinkie brought her light to bear on the door next to Trixie's; the wood began to groan underneath the faint screeching that the shadows gave off as they resisted the glare. Finally, the yellow mare got a flare loaded and aimed it out towards the crowd of Taken, who were pressing ever closer around the almost-extinguished flare on the front yard.

pop-fwoooosh

Fluttershy had to blink away the afterimage of the flare, but the snarling of shadow-wreathed ponies told her that her aim was sufficient. But as she regained her sight and worked on getting another flare into the gun, a deep rumbling sound echoed from the darkness beyond; something charged into view, large and shaggy and exceptionally angry. “Um... g- girls?!” Fluttershy squeaked. “We have a problem!”

“Yes, foal, Trixie is well aware that there are a lot of Taken, you'll just have to... oh, Faust on a wagon!” Now the unicorn could see the enormous buffalo charging towards them, intent on trampling anything in his way; black shadows licked at him like flames, masking everything but his gleaming white horns.

“Get back from the door and cover your eyes!” In desperation, Fluttershy raised one foreleg to shield her eyes, leveled the flaregun at the door, and fired.

The flare exploded, bathing the three mares in heat and sparks and throwing their shadows across the assembly of Taken; with a horrid squeal, the shadows finally gave way, and Pinkie kicked the doors open. “Go!” she yelped, hearing deep thwacks and yells as the buffalo plowed through the Taken.

All three ponies leapt through the door, and Trixie slammed it shut with her magic. They lay there on the floor, panting for breath, waiting to see the thin wooden door turned into a cloud of splinters by the nigh-unstoppable buffalo.

It was nearly a minute later when, after listening to nothing but their own fearful breaths and the thudding of their hearts, they realized that nothing was coming through. But an entirely unexpected sound made them all jump and yelp before turning towards the inside of the house.

“Don't worry. They're no longer part of the story. You're safe in here, for now.”

Trixie's eyes narrowed at the new arrival. “Lyra!”

“Trixie... calm down. I need to explain things and I don't have a lot of time.” The mint-green unicorn trotted towards the stairs; given nothing else to do, the other three followed behind, heading towards the same room that had been pitch-black the last time they had seen it. Now, though, it was nothing more than a simple home office, with a typewriter and a large stack of paper on the desk.

“You were right, Trixie. I altered that spell you taught me. I used it in ways I shouldn't have, and I came into contact with something not of this Equestria. Something malevolent. But I wasn't simply compromised by it.” She took a seat at the desk, propping herself up and letting her hindlegs hang over the edge. “It had plans to do something like this anyway, through somepony else. Somepony who wouldn't stand a chance against it, who'd give it everything it wanted and doom our entire world. I gave it myself instead.”

“But... why?” Fluttershy stared at Lyra. “Why would you do that? Why not just tell the Princesses?”

“Tell the Princesses? Admit to them that I broke enough of the Codex Magica's primary rules to warrant life imprisonment?” Lyra snorted. “They'd have me exiled and thrown into some dungeon where they exiled me to before I got far enough in my story for them not to believe it. And then what?”

Trixie glared at her. “And so instead you work hoof-in-boot with whatever it is you called forth. You are the one responsible for all the death and suffering that's come from it!”

“I have been working against it! Trixie, if it hadn't been for me nudging the story, putting in loopholes and escape avenues, you would've been one of the first Taken! The Dark Presence wants your power and knowledge, and I've been doing everything I can to keep you out of its clutches!”

“Why should Trixie believe that? If you have that much control, you should've been able to alert the Princesses, or call in help, or something-”

“It's not that simple! Writing like this is give-and-take. Anything that doesn't make sense in a horror story, the Dark Presence rejects. It just fades from the pages as though I never typed it. But if I write the story so that it's believable, so that there's risk of failure and loss, I can twist the narrative to favor some ponies.”

The blue unicorn's face was a mask of anger. “And disfavor others. Like Big Macintosh. Like Daisy and Roseluck. Like Zecora.”

“Like the mare I love!” Lyra was just as furious now, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. “All to keep you three alive long enough to reach the cottage, and then here. I gave Bon-Bon to the Dark Presence to earn that. Don't you dare talk to me like I just threw those lives away!”

Trixie stepped back, her anger fading away. “I... that is....”

“Girls. Please.” Fluttershy raised a hoof. “Lyra, I'm terribly sorry for your loss and what's happened to you. But you brought us here for something... we need to know what.”

The unicorn wiped away her tears with a foreleg. “...you're right. I've been keeping track, sort of, of what I've been giving the Dark Presence. And I think I've built up enough flexibility in the narrative to give one of you a way out.”

“...a... a way out?” Trixie's ears twitched. “Out of this? Out of the story?”

“Yes. Only one, though, and even that might be difficult. But one pony will be enough to get help while I keep the Dark Presence at bay.”

“Well, then it's obvious who it should-”

The window at the far end of the office shattered, showering the four ponies with sharp slivers of glass. Dozens of dark shapes swarmed through, filling the small room with horrible screeching and cawing. “Crows!” Trixie shouted. “Protect your eyes! And put light on them!”

In the confusion, Fluttershy dropped the flaregun she'd been keeping tucked beneath her wing; it clattered away from her, lost in the flapping wings and flying feathers of the invading corvids. She could feel sharp talons and beaks scratch against her hide, trying to dig deep, and it was only the sheer mass of the birds that kept any one of them from being able to score a truly damaging blow.

A regular handheld flare ignited, and the crows screamed in protest; the ponies could hear a good number of them simply burn away on the spot, turning to ash and feathers before they even hit the floor. But the bright light wasn't enough to bring their numbers down to a manageable level, nor was the brilliant but unaimed light of Pinkie's lantern.

“Blast this noise- I can't concentrate enough to form my light spell!” Trixie complained, using a foreleg to alternate between shielding her eyes and swatting at the birds, while she magically sifted through her saddlebags. More and more crows seemed to be landing on them, pulling on them, and in her irritation she didn't notice at first that she was being pulled backwards- but realization struck her when her hooves began skidding across the floor. “What the...?!” she exclaimed. “Blasted pests! Somepony! HELP!”

By the time she got the cry out, a good two dozen birds were literally dragging her towards the window, despite her digging all four hooves into the floorboard. “Trixie!” Fluttershy shouted. “Hang on, I'm coming!”

But the crows were forming an almost literal wall of feather and talons between her and the unicorn, making it nearly impossible to make any progress. Fluttershy watched helplessly as the birds pulled Trixie to the window and began to force her through it.

“No you don't!” Pinkie seemed to appear out of nowhere to tackle Trixie away from the window, scattering the crows that had been dragging her; the avians seemed to take great exception to that and began to focus their attack on the earth pony, who resolutely covered Trixie with her own form to protect her. “Fluttershy!” Pinkie called out. “Here! Chase them out!”

Another flare, this one unlit, came rolling along the floor. Several of the crows surrounded it, attempting to carry it off, but before they could manage the feat Fluttershy dove in on the tool. As quickly as she could, she tore off the cap while keeping the flare close to her chest to prevent the birds from tearing it out of her hooves; it burned at her hide as it ignited, and she bit back a scream of pain as she held it away from her. It was enough to get the birds away from her, and she took the opportunity to scramble to her hooves and dive towards where Pinkie Pie was still covering Trixie.

Half of the birds burst into ash at the pegasus's approach, and the rest scattered, scrambling towards the window in a mad flight towards escape. Fluttershy chased after them, waving the flare around, until finally the last of the crows had fled the room. “Oh my goodness,” she panted. “That was insane. Pinkie? Pinkie, are you....”

Her voice failed her as she saw her friend struggling to get to her hooves. Numerous cuts and perforations crisscrossed her hide, and more than a little of her blood had been spilled; her pink coat was streaked red in places, and a crimson line had traced its way down her face from a deep cut on her right ear. Yet her worried gaze was on the unicorn she'd tackled. “Trixie? Are you okay?” she asked.

“I... um... rather, Trixie is unharmed. Though a bit sore.” The magician slowly rolled over to her hooves and looked up at Pinkie- and gasped. “Sweet Celestia!” she yelped, immediately flinging things out of her saddlebags. “Sit down, mare!” she ordered the earth pony. “Trixie keeps medical supplies on her.”

As Pinkie sat, Trixie found and opened a small first-aid kit. She spared Lyra a harsh glance as she set about tending the pink pony's wounds. “And you sat there the whole time,” she said in a low voice. “Those Celestia-damned crows could have carried us all off and you didn't lift a hoof to help!”

“I told you what the rules are!” Lyra shouted back. “Me lifting one hoof to interfere could have obliterated all the narrative flexibility I've built up! Why do you think those birds attacked now? The Dark Presence knows what I'm doing; obviously it wanted to disrupt it.”

“It almost did.” Fluttershy glanced out the window. “It nearly got Trixie.”

“Yes, well.” Trixie had cleaned out the worst of Pinkie's wounds and applied salve. “ 'Nearly' is far enough from 'did' for Trixie's case. If there had been-” She glanced over to Fluttershy. “You're wounded as well? What happened?”

“I had to keep the crows off of the flare while I lit it.” Fluttershy watched with a mix of discomfort and bemusement as she, for once, was the target of medical fussing; Trixie levitated a small tube of burn ointment onto the pegasus's fortunately-minor wound. “Thank you, Trixie,” she murmured after the unicorn had finished.

“Yes, well. Trixie cannot leave others unfit to fend off the Taken. Besides... she owes you this much.” The blue mare repacked her kit and stowed it back into her saddlebags. While she collected up the rest of her belongings, Pinkie trotted up to her friend. “Flutters, if Trixie is leaving, how are you and I going to get the hay out of here?” she asked.

“I... I'm not sure, Pinkie.” Fluttershy frowned in thought. “We could ask Lyra if she can give us any help. Or at least a lead on where to go. Or-”

“Or you can stop talking for a moment and let Trixie speak.” The unicorn marched up to Lyra's desk, fixing her eyes on the green mare's own. “Lyra. You've talked a lot about narrative balance, give-and-take. Is there a way that two ponies could be given a way out instead of one?”

“Two? It would take an exceptional sacrifice, Trixie.” Lyra glanced at her typewriter. “Who is it you plan on taking with you?”

“Neither.” Pinkie and Fluttershy both blinked at Trixie's declaration. “Lyra, the sacrifice Trixie will make is giving up her chance to leave this Celestia-forsaken place. Is that enough to tip the scales and allow for these two mares to be freed?”

“That... I....” Lyra blinked in shock, then turned towards her typewriter. “I can find out,” she declared, as her horn lit up and the keys began to move. Fluttershy turned towards the blue mare, her eyes wide. “Trixie, you can't do this!” the pegasus exclaimed. “You've been here so long, done so much-”

“And that is exactly the line of logic Trixie is following here.” Trixie's magenta eyes flicked between the pegasus and earth pony. “You two wouldn't last three nights here on your own. Trixie has much more experience surviving against the Taken, avoiding and defeating them. And besides....” She glanced over at Lyra, who was staring intently at the typewriter as her magic worked the keys. “If the Princesses would not believe Lyra, why would they believe a known charlatan and fake? Trixie's reputation is not the best amongst ponies... she would gain escape, yes, but it would only be a manner of time before Lyra ran out of tricks and this Dark Presence forced her into giving this story an unhappy ending for everypony.”

“That can't be the whole reason, Trixie,” Pinkie countered.

The unicorn seemed set to object, but sighed. “No. Trixie wants to finish this fight; she has seen and done too much to run away now. If there were the two of you, there could be others- others to help Trixie... and Lyra... fight off the Taken, and perhaps defeat the Dark Presence from within. But those others will need help and supplies.”

“And that's where you'll be?” Fluttershy asked.

Trixie nodded. “If- until- the two of you can get help somehow, yes. But whatever it takes, you must end this. This Dark Presence would shroud the world in its darkness if allowed... if you must sacrifice us to stop it, do not hesitate.” She stared down at the floor for a moment, then looked back up, her gaze resolute. “Trixie... I... would rather go to my grave an unknown victor than live forever knowing that this damnable entity beat me.”

Fluttershy nodded silently- then leaned forward and pulled Trixie into a gentle embrace. “Thank you for everything,” she told the unicorn, who looked singularly uncomfortable but made no effort to pull away.

Trixie was about to speak when a bright flash of light came from Lyra's desk; the three ponies turned to look, and discovered a single lit candle had appeared, set in an ornate brass holder with two hoofholds. From one of them dangled a small silver charm in the shape of a harp. “There,” Lyra murmured, looking as though she'd just undergone some intense physical trial. “That candle is your guide. The charm will point you towards your way out, and the light of the flame will repel any Taken, no matter how strong. But it will only burn for four hours, so go now!”

“Lyra, we....” Pinkie began, but the green unicorn raised a hoof. “No time,” she replied. “And... I know. We'll manage somehow. Just don't forget us.”

Trixie ushered them out of the room and shut the door- and in an eyeblink, Pinkie and Fluttershy found themselves back in Lyra's normal home, facing the doorway of a now normally-lit- and completely empty- home office, with a desk and dusty typewriter. “Th- they're gone....” Pinkie whispered.

“No... not really.” Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh. “They're... somewhere. Inside the story. But we're not, and if we want to keep it that way, we had better get moving.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Pinkie fell quiet for a short while as the pair left the house; the hanging charm on the candle holder rose up slightly, as if some invisible force were pulling ever-so-gently on it, and Fluttershy let it lead her away from Lyra and Bon-Bon's house and out of Ponyville proper. “ 'Shy?” the earth pony said after a moment.

“Yes, Pinkie?”

“How come I feel like I'm running away? I mean... even if this wasn't actually real, I still feel like I should be going back and helping them.”

The pegasus mused over her words for a moment. “How can I put this... try to imagine every life as a story, Pinkie. Sometimes we'll come into someone else's story for a while, and then leave again. We can't always be there for the happy ending, but... if we help them along the way, isn't that something good, too?”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess....” Pinkie's brow furrowed in thought. “It's like when I send out birthday cakes for other ponies' parties. I can't be there to make the party super-special, but I'm doing a part to help.”

“Exactly.” Fluttershy smiled slightly before gazing up at the moonlit sky. “I hope wherever that Lyra and Trixie are, they found their happy ending.”

(-)

“Be on your guard.” Luna's eyes scanned the horizon even as she galloped. “Celestia knows this city as well as I, and she may have anticipated our escape route. We may encounter resistance.”

“Where exactly are we going, anyway?” Twilight asked.

“There are a series of gemstone mines beneath this part of the city. I believe them to be unpatrolled by the Many, as they have been prone towards collapses. With some luck, we will reach the edge of my shield unimpeded, and I will be able to open an avenue of escape for you. Then you must find your way out through the old mining tunnels leading to the base of the mountain-”

A horrible crashing noise interrupted the lunar princess, and she stopped short as a dark, wide shadow loomed across the street ahead. A moment later, a six-story building slammed into the ground ahead of them; the impact took alicorn, unicorn and human off of their hooves and feet, and sent a couple of already-damaged buildings collapsing into complete rubble. Luna was the first to stand again, and her eyes narrowed at the sight before her. “Celestia.”

The former Princess of the Sun alighted on top of the sideways building, her body whole and undamaged. “Sister, must I remind you how rude it is of you to attempt to kill me?” she called out. “This marks, what... the seventh time? And then to steal away two promising future members of the Many! I simply can't let this breach of manners go unanswered, Luna.”

Luna lowered her head, pawing at the ground as her horn flared. “Quickly, both of you,” she hissed. “When I charge, go through the building as quickly as you can! I will join you on the other side when I am able.”

Neither Jack nor Twilight even had the chance to reply before the Princess of the Moon galloped forward, letting loose a stream of dark magic that obliterated a section of the fallen building- but Celestia had already vanished from sight. The pair were quick to move as Luna had told them, though, running straight for the building and entering through the broken window of a fourth-story apartment.

Making their way through a sideways, still-collapsing building was not an easy task, and if it were not for their specific skillsets, the unicorn and the human would likely have been pancaked at least twice by collapsing rooms or staircases- but with Twilight shoring up parts of the building with her magic long enough to get by them, and Jack able to leap over or through sections too far gone to walk across- or simply gone, completely- they managed to get through to the far side within about fifteen minutes, clambering out through a bathroom window on the third floor. “Okay, we're out,” Twilight panted, brushing some plaster dust from her forehead. “I wonder how Luna is-”

She was interrupted by a dark blur slamming into the street barely two hundred feet in front of her; the impact opened a crater in the cobblestone and almost sent the pair sprawling. “Luna!” Twilight cried out, making to gallop towards the fallen alicorn- only to be grabbed by Jack and hauled behind a particularly large piece of rubble. He made a motion for silence and peered over the edge of the jagged piece of masonry.

Celestia had just landed next to the two-foot-deep hole that her sister had created. “Oh, my poor Luna,” she said. “That it had to come to this... I blame myself, really. So many mistakes were made when this all began. But now... now I can make amends for them, and show you the wonder you have been foalishly denying yourself.” She raised her head. “But first, I must find my faithful student and her friend....”

crrrrack-thooooom

The flesh-avatar of the former Sun Goddess barely had time to turn her head before a field of purple energy, larger than her and as solid as steel, slammed into her almost before the sonic boom it had created. The magical shield wall drove Celestia across the street and into the side of a two-story bank, which almost folded in half under the force of the impact; the spell dissipated, and the alicorn fell to the ground for a moment, struggling to regain her hooves with a look of pure fury on her face. “Twilight Sp-”

A sphere of destructive energy the size of a carriage slammed into her side and detonated. The bank collapsed, burying whatever remained of Celestia under tons of rock, wood and steel.

Even before the building had finished falling, Twilight was rushing towards the fallen Moon Goddess- but Jack was already ahead of her, leaping into the impact crater. After a moment, he simply hefted Luna over his shoulders and carried her out of the hole. “I do not trust that attack to have finished her off!” he shouted. “Where do we go?”

“Th... that way.” Luna weakly raised a hoof towards the west. “A small bakery... there is a tunnel from its basement.”

Part of the bank exploded. Celestia, now covered in dirt and missing a hind leg and a good part of her ribcage, pulled herself free of the wreckage. “You are not going to escape so easily-”

shhhnk

The longsword Jack had taken from the castle armory- thrown with all the skill that more than two decades of intensive training could provide- drove itself home between the alicorn's eyes. The already-mutilated body stiffened, then fell back into the rubble. Jack once more pulled Luna onto his shoulders. “Come, quickly,” he told Twilight, even as he broke into a run. “No doubt the Many will follow, and soon. We must be gone from this place before then.”

The samurai could still manage a good pace, even with the half-unconscious alicorn weighing him down, and in a few minutes they'd found the still-standing bakery. As Luna had said, a hastily-dug tunnel led away from the basement, with small alchemical lights providing pools of green illumination in the darkness. It seemed like a few miles of tunnel passed them by before letting out into a much larger series of caverns. Luna had recovered enough to walk on her on, and she led them through the abandoned mines, following landmarks that Jack and Twilight couldn't identify, and eventually they came to a large cave neatly bisected by a translucent, shadowy midnight-blue wall. “Is this your shield, Princess?” Twilight asked.

“Indeed.” The alicorn walked up to the wall and pressed her horn against it; a small hole opened in it, just large enough for Jack to step through without ducking. “Now be off. And... thank you both.”

The human and unicorn stepped through, and the hole sealed; Twilight turned back towards Luna. “Princess, I... I wish there was more we could do to help you,” she said quietly.

“I appreciate your sentiment, Twilight. But this war is mine to fight, and I would wish it on no other.”

Jack nodded, placing a hand against the shield. “Then I wish you luck, Princess Luna. Thank you for all you have done to help us.”

Luna laid a hoof on the other side of the barrier and gave the human a wistful smile. “Protect Twilight Sparkle with all the ferocity and skill you have already shown, my good human. That is all the thanks I could ask for.”

With that, the lunar Goddess turned and galloped off the way they'd come, leaving Twilight and Jack alone on the far side of her shield spell. Her voice echoed as she ran, talking to someone unseen. “Yes, I have seen them out of the city. ...no, it is much better that they leave. I would not... no. Of this I am certain, SHODAN.”

Once all trace of Luna had gone, Twilight lowered her head for a moment, then turned away. “Come on, Jack,” she said quietly. “The faster we get moving, the faster we can put an end to this.”

The samurai nodded wordlessly, and was quick to follow her through the cavern.

(-)

“In a weird way, this kinda makes sense.” Applejack tugged off her hat as she looked at the comatose filly before her. “Filthy Rich would spend every bit he had if'n his daughter was sick. Woulda had every last medical test 'n machine 'n expert in reach workin' t' make her better.”

“And entirely inadvertently, he ended up instead keeping her alive long enough for the chaos plague to manifest. Of all the horrible things to happen... this has to be the most horrible one.” There was no drama in Rarity's voice, only sadness.

“Can't argue that. But now... whadda we do?”

“I....” The unicorn paused for a moment, looking over the machines, before her expression fell into a place somewhere between shock and horror. “Oh sweet Celestia. Can I be right? I don't want to be right. Not on this.”

“On what? Tell me what'cher thinkin', Rare.”

“Think about it, Applejack. Why is this one room still ordinary? Why has nothing around her been altered? Why haven't any of those horrible creatures attacked her, when they've obviously had no restraint with anypony else?” Rarity gently placed a hoof on Tiara's side. “That chaos plague is keeping her alive. It's preserving her. And I can only think of one reason for that.”

“B'cause....” The earth pony's eyes went wide. “B'cause... it needs 'er alive?”

“Right in one. Whatever it needs from her- be it her innate magic, or her life force, or something I couldn't begin to imagine- it needs her alive to get it.”

“An'... what do we do? Do we pull the plug on' er, Rarity? Do we murder a defenseless lil' filly what never did nothin' t' deserve this?!”

“Applejack...!”

The farm pony raised a hoof. “I'm sorry,” she sighed. “Not yellin' at you. I jes... I don't wanna do this, Rare! I don't wanna go t' mah grave knowin' I killed a defenseless foal, even if this ain't real!”

“AJ, if you have any alternative, no matter how outlandish or impossible, I will most definitely hear it out!”

Applejack opened her mouth to respond- and froze, her ears tilting back towards the door. “Y'hear that?” she whispered.

“No, I-”

crash

The unmistakable sound of a door being broken down in the distance- not nearly far enough away for the comfort of either pony. “Oh dear Goddesses,” Rarity breathed. “Applejack, the time for discussion is over. If we want to end this....”

The lighting dimmed. There, standing on the bed next to Diamond Tiara's form, was the ghostly filly that had been shadowing them the entire time; she looked at Tiara's form with an expression of sadness.

“.siht xif reve nac ew yaw on s'erehT .kcab efil ym evah reven nac I”

She jumped down off of the bed, gave both mares an unreadable look for a moment, then pointed a hoof towards the cords that powered the various machines by Tiara's bed.

“.ydaer m'I .em oT .siht ot dne na tup ot evah uoY”

She vanished with a flicker of the light. Faint howling and screeching could be heard through the door, coming from the corridor outside. “Applejack...?” Rarity half-whispered.

Applejack glanced between the bed and the door, then nodded. “Yeah.”

Rarity's horn lit up. The plugs that powered the devices by the bed glowed, then yanked free of the wall; silence descended on the room like something physical, making both mares lower their ears. Diamond Tiara's form twitched a few times, a soft gurgling noise coming from her throat around the tube that had been forced down it.

And then she went still.

The ghostly filly appeared on the bed again, facing the body for a moment, then began to turn; as she did so, her form changed, regaining color and form, until it was a pale translucent copy of the very foal they'd just watched die. She gave the two mares a sad but heartfelt smile.

“...thank you.”

In an instant, she was gone. All was silent; the sound from the onrushing creatures in the corridor had ceased. Applejack nudged the door open and peeked outside. “...sweet Goddesses,” she murmured. “Rare... look.”

The unicorn edged her head over Applejack's and looked out into the corridor. Dozens of the creatures were sprawled out in the hallway, looking like they'd been struck down in the act of rushing towards the small room. Not a single one of them so much as twiched. “Does... does that mean this is over?” she wondered.

The sound of an electric arc from inside the room caught their attention. The light over the bed flickered, then popped, spraying sparks all over the place; several landed on the bed, and a few set the blanket alight, causing small flames that quickly spread across the fabric and the bed, then across the wall. Far faster than should have been possible, the fire engulfed a quarter of the room and looked intent on spreading to the rest.

“Ain't over by a longshot!” Applejack cried out. “Time t' scram!”

The fire was already licking at their hooves as they galloped down the hallway. Signs leading towards the main entrance gave the pair guidance- and the flames spreading along the walls made the signs easy enough to read. Overheated water pipes exploded, blasting holes in the drywall and showering the mares with chunks of building material.

“This way! Left! Left!”

“Rare, watch your flanks, them flames're catchin' up!”

“Stop! That ceiling's going to collapse!”

“This way! I think we're getting' closer!”

Half of the main reception area was already aflame when the two ponies made it inside. Flames were making their way towards the entryway doors, almost as if seeking to cut off their escape, but with a desperate burst of speed the mares just made it out ahead of them- only to hear the entire ceiling collapse down just behind them. Panic sped their hoofsteps away from the building until they'd gotten a good distance away. “Oh, my....” Rarity panted, looking back at the building.

The entirety of the hospital had caught fire. Enormous flames reached up into the darkened skies, and now and then a section of the building collapsed, sending up clouds of embers that gleamed like stars as they fell, only to burn away.

“I can't... I can't believe we... got outta there.” Applejack was practically struggling for breath, pressing a hoof to her chest; after she managed to recover, she looked over to Rarity, only to see tears streaming from the unicorn's eyes. “Rare? You okay, girl?”

“No....” The seamstress lowered her head. “I feel terrible, Applejack. What if that had been Sweetie Belle in that hospital bed? Even knowing this isn't real, I couldn't have pulled those plugs. But I did that to Diamond Tiara. What does that say about me as a pony?”

“It says that yer not perfect and y' love yer family. I ain't gonna say I coulda done any better if'n it were Apple Bloom there.” Applejack glanced back at the burning building. “But what else could we do fer 'er, Rare?”

“I....” Rarity closed her eyes for a moment. “I can't think of anything. I just wish....” Her voice trailed off, and the cowpony put a comforting hoof on her neck. “Yeah, sugarcube, so do I,” she murmured. “So do I.”

The unicorn heaved a deep sigh and shook her head. “Well. There's no sense in us standing here and feeling badly. I, for one, want to find the others.”

“Yeah, good thinkin'. Let's see where this path leads.”

The path led down to a wide road, one side of which wandered off into complete darkness, and the other lit by an overhanging light which also illuminated a set of train tracks. The two mares stood next to them for a moment, looking around. “I wonder where we should go now,” Applejack said.

“Hmmm...” One of Rarity's ears pricked. “Shh! I hear voices!”

(-)

“Shh. I hear voices.” Indy ducked down behind a bush, staring down the train tracks he and Dash had found leading away from the orphanage. Bereft of other landmarks or destinations, the pair had begun following them. “Dash, we need some aerial recon.”

“Can do.” She took to the air as quietly as she could manage, disappearing into the night sky. After a moment, he heard excited chattering. “Indy!” he heard Dash call out. “C'mere!”

He did so- and was immensely relieved to see Applejack and Rarity standing at a railroad crossing. He was also surprised when Rarity rushed up to him and literally jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. “Oh, Indy, you don't know how relieved I am to see you as well!” she exclaimed.

“Jeez, Rarity, go easy on him!” Dash chided. “He and I both got pretty roughed up on the way here.” She paused a moment, spotting the thin cuts the unicorn sported on her hide. “But it looks like we're not the only ones.”

“Yeah, Rare an' I didn't exactly go unscathed, neither.” Applejack waited for Rarity to finally unhook herself from the human before beckoning him to kneel down for a gentler, but no less heartfelt, hug. “But boy howdy, y'all, I hope ya didn't have to go though anythin' half as scary as what we did.”

“That's what I was going to tell you two.” Indy rubbed the back of his neck. “We really need to compare notes at some point... but not right now. 'Getting the hell out of here' is pretty much glued to the top of my priority list.”

“Think that goes fer all'a us.” Applejack turned. “Since you two came from that direction, looks like we oughta head off the other way.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Dash took to the air again, hovering over her friends as they began to make their way along the tracks.

(-)

“Sheesh. Finally out of those woods! Even I was getting tired of humming 'Giggle At the Ghosties' to myself.”

“You weren't the only one....”

Pinkie blinked and turned her head. “Huh?”

“Um... look! Over there.” Fluttershy pointed. “Are those train tracks?”

“Yeah! And someone's on them!” The earth pony squinted. “I see four, one's got a flashlight... holy smokes! C'mon, 'Shy!”

She zipped ahead, leaving Fluttershy to rush after her. The pegasus was just about to call out after her when she made her way around a bush- and found Pinkie rushing up to a small group. When she realized who they were, she galloped up to them as fast as she could. “Oh, thank goodness we found you!” she exclaimed, hugging each of her friends in turn. “But... where are Twilight and Jack?”

“Dunno, sugarcube, we ain't run into 'em yet. Though at the rate we're goin', seems likely we're gonna soon.” Applejack looked her and Pinkie over. “Whoa, Nellie. Looks like you two went through th' wringer too.”

“Yeah, things got a little rough.” Pinkie hopped around her friends, heedless of her injuries. “But we came out okay! We laughed, we cried, we learned a little about ourselves and the world!”

“Well, yeah, that's great, Pinks.” Dash grinned. “Just glad to see you guys again. Now we just gotta pick up Twi and Jack and we can get down to business.”

“But I bet that'll be next to impossible.” The group turned as Twilight followed her words up to the group, with Jack close behind; the unicorn was grinning. “Or maybe not!”

It was a practical ponypile as the six mares pulled each other into a collective embrace; next to them, Jack and Indy clapsed hands. “Can't tell you how glad I am to see you,” the archaeologist said.

“Likewise,” the samurai agreed. “I am beyond relieved to see that you have all made it through your trials. I can only pray they were not as... harrowing as ours.”

“Just by looking at you guys I can tell the answer to that- they probably were.”

Jack was about to respond to that when they were interrupted by a small cough; they looked over to see the ponies looking up at them expectantly. “...what?” Indy asked after a moment.

“Don't tell me you two aren't going to join in on an authentic Equestrian clusterhug,” Twilight responded.

“Yeah, they're the best!” Pinkie giggled.

Indy and Jack exchanged a glance. “Ordinarily, I would defer,” the samurai said. “But after all that has just happened....” With that, he shrugged, and carefully made his way into the multicolored pile of ponies, who were entirely happy to surround him.

Indy stared for a moment, and then shrugged. “Yeah, why not.”

The ponies could only laugh as he too found himself enveloped by forelegs in, what he would have to admit was, an altogether relaxing embrace.

(-)

“Y'know, if I was going to have to call this a contest for 'creepiest story', we'd have a four-way tie. Easy.” Dash shuddered, grimacing to herself after digesting the tale Pinkie and Fluttershy had related. “I thought Indy and I had it bad. Canterlot infested with brain-eating worms? Some crazy demon of darkness trying to rewrite everything as a horror novel? A hospital overrun with chaos?”

“It's enough for a lifetime of nightmares.” Rarity shook her head. “I feel so terrible for you dears. I'd wanted to believe that you'd all somehow gotten off lighter than Applejack and I did... I see you'd had no such luck.” She looked over at the purple unicorn trotting next to her. “And to be forced to fight your own mentor, Twilight... to even see her corrupted as she was! I cannot believe that was easy for you.”

Twilight took a long breath and let it out slowly. “I'm okay with it,” she answered. “It was what I had to do. I'm not going to let it get to me, or I might as well just give up now, because this place is going to keep forcing us to make those kinds of decisions until we stop it.”

Indy nodded. “You're right. Speaking of....” He glanced around. “I'm hoping we get somewhere soon. I'm getting a little tired of walking.”

“Yeah, you'd think that with these train tracks here, we'd have spotted a train by now,” Dash complained.

“Or at the very least, another crossing,” Rarity agreed. “Instead, naught but tracks for at least five miles.”

“At least it's only been tracks instead of horrible monsters,” Fluttershy replied quietly.

“ 'Shy's got a point.” Applejack turned to look over her shoulder. “Can't shake this feelin' we're bein' tailed, m'self.”

“Nor can I.” Jack folded his arms over his chest, also looking behind them.

“We'd best start moving faster, then.” Twilight increased her pace, with the others keeping close behind.

Another two or three miles of walking brought the group to the end of the line- a depot of sorts, which had apparently been built next to a large mining project. Secondary rails led into the enormous mineshaft, and a number of mine carts had been left on them, empty of ore or stone. “Do we really have to go back underground?” Dash whined.

“I'd rather not if we don't have to,” Twilight answered. “Check the buildings, maybe there's something inside that's useful.”

Most of the sheds and trailers that dotted the site were empty. Applejack happened upon a lucky find, however. “Indy! Jack!” she called out through an open window. “I found yer weapons!”

The humans rushed into the trailer to find the earth pony standing next to a table; on it was Jack's katana and Indy's handgun. “Ohhhh, yes,” the archaeologist murmured, slipping his weapon back into its holster while Jack sheathed his sword. “Feeling much better now.”

Jack chuckled. “Even though we fared well without our customary weapons... I am glad to have my sword back.”

“Don't suppose I blame ya fellers,” Applejack said with a grin. She was going to say more, but a shout from outside interrupted her. “Guys! Come out here, quick!” Pinkie yelled.

The others rushed back out to see Pinkie staring back the way they'd come, while two of her legs twitched and her tail curled up. “What is it?” Twilight demanded.

“Pinkie Sense!” the earth pony managed to stammer out. “Doozie!”

“You don't think we actually were being followed...?” Rarity wondered.

crack

A window just behind the group shattered. Indy and Jack immediately ducked down behind cover, and the ponies followed suit quickly. “Are... are we being shot at?!” Dash exclaimed.

“It seems so, but who...?” Twilight leaned out to look towards the direction the shot had come from. “This... this can't be,” she said, ducking her head back. “Indy, take a look, tell me what you see.”

The archaeologist risked a quick glance. Dozens of figures swarmed through the short hills that lined the tracks the group had followed; one had lit a torch and was waving it about, shouting something that they were too far away to hear. Red and black garb clothed the figure, and a curved blade was at its side. “Oh, you've got to be kidding me,” Indy groaned.

Jack took a quick peek as well. “Other humans, here?”

“Worse. Thugs.”

Rarity snorted. “Well, I'm sure we can handle a few ruffians-”

“No, I mean members of the Thuggee cult. Fanatics. Willing to kill and die, and they're not exactly pleasant when doing the former.”

“Oh. That's, um... bad.” Fluttershy shrunk in on herself.

“Yer darn tootin' it's bad,” Applejack said. “There's gotta be at least fifty of them guys up there, and at least some of 'em got guns. We can't fight that many!”

“You're right.” Twilight's horn flared, and a thin wall of purple magic formed from their position to the mine's entrance. “Everyone! Into the mine carts!”

“Mine carts?!” Indy shook his head. “No way! Not after what happened the last time-”

thwack

A rifle shot blasted a hole through the storage bin Indy was leaning against, mere inches from his face; the human spared a glance at it, then turned to Twilight. “Mine carts it is!”

As quickly as they could, the group ran to the carts closest to the mine entrance, and piled in- one human and three ponies to a cart. With bursts of magic from Twilight and Rarity, the carts squealed their way down the track and into the mine.

Egression

“Would it have been asking too much of them to just have given up on us at the mine entrance?”

Rarity hung her forehooves over the back of the cart as it screeched its way around a bend in the track; the unicorn was watching the red-and-black-clothed humans clamber into the other mine carts and set off after them. Next to her, Applejack chuckled. “Yeah, I didn't reckon that was too likely,” she replied. “Say, anyone got an idea on where this here track goes, or are we jes' runnin' from one problem into another?”

“Best I can tell you is 'it goes down',” Indy called from the other cart.

Twilight looked around for a moment, then closed her eyes and concentrated- and yelped as a shower of sparks leapt from her horn. “Oh, you've got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed, glaring upwards.

Rainbow Dash looked down at her from her airborne position just above and behind the cart. “What? What's wrong?”

“This mine- it's loaded with arcanocite!” Twilight leaned over the edge of the cart and put her hooves to her mouth. “Rarity!” she called out. “Try using your magic!”

The fashionista blinked in surprise, but followed her friend's request- only to get the same result. “Gah! What's doing that?!”

“Arcanocite is a natural crystalline formation that is mined to make magic conductors. The problem is, before it's refined and polarized, it'll absorb any magical force near it, making forming a coherent spell all but impossible!”

“So, uh... how're we supposed to, y'know, stop?!” Applejack hollered.

Pinkie raised a hoof. “Oooooh! I know, I know!”

Everyone else glanced at her. “...okay, I'll bite,” Indy said. “How?”

“Well, we have these nifty handbrakes on the sides here, and there's those wooden barricades right down there-”

“What?!” everyone else shouted in unison.

“-and if all else fails, there's always the end of the tracks!”

“Jesus!” Indy could see a very solid-looking barricade just ahead. “Everyone get down! We're gonna have to go through it!”

As well as they could manage, six ponies and two humans flattened themselves on the bottom of their carts- just in time, as the conveyances slammed into the thick wooden planks and burst through in a cloud of splinters without even slowing. “Whoa, we're goin' way too fast!” Applejack yelped.

“Applejack! Pinkie! Take command of the brakes!” Jack brushed wood chips from his hair. “We must keep ahead of them enough so that they cannot effectively fire upon us!”

“You got it!” Applejack immediately wrapped a fetlock around the brake lever of her cart and leaned slightly over the side to brace herself; in the other cart, Pinkie did the same. “Indy!” the samurai shouted. “What is your ammunition status?”

“Twelve rounds, that's it!” came the reply.

“Then choose your shots carefully and make each one count!”

“Will do!” The archaeologist hunkered down at the back of the cart, handgun at the ready. As he did, Dash flew lower so that everyone else could hear her. “I'm going to drop back and harass those guys in the carts so they can't get good shots at all of you,” she called out.

Jack seemed set to object, but nodded instead. “Be careful!”

“Pssh. Careful is my middle name!”

“Nuh-uh, Dashie!” Pinkie raised a hoof. “It's Spectra! You told me yourself!”

“Pinkie...! I told you never to-” She was interrupted by rifle shot ricocheting off the track just behind the carts; Dash looked back and scowled. “Okay, never mind that, time to go pummel some jerks!” She flared her wings, instantly trading speed for altitude, leaving their sight after a moment.

All that was left for the other occupants of the carts was to keep low, and shift their weight whenever a particularly sharp turn came up. Occasionally a rifle round would ping off the back of one of the mine carts, but other than that....

“Hey, y'know what? I think we might get through this okay!” Applejack shouted.

Twilight gave her a look. “Don't go jinxing it for us-”

“Everyone, we have a problem!” Rarity interrupted, pointing ahead. Applejack leaned forward to see, and then groaned. “Dangit, next time I open mah big mouth, someone stuff a hoof in it!”

A large section of ground had given way ahead, taking one of the tracks with it. A replacement set had been hastily set to steer around it- but the switch that hooked it to the main rail had been moved back, meaning that the cart carrying Indy, Applejack and Twilight was going to end up plunging right into the chasm. Twilight closed her eyes and grit her teeth, trying to muster up a simple remote-manipulation spell to pull the lever on the switch- but at the very moment of formation, the spell lost form, and the magic sputtered out in a cascade of sparks. “Okay, I'm no good here!” she shouted. “Someone's got to switch the track before we become pancakes!”

“I've got it.” Indy made his way to the front of the cart, raised his handgun and took careful aim at the lever-

crack-clang

Sparks flew up from the lever as the impact from a bullet pushed it into its secondary position, switching the track to join the secondary route. Indy stared at the lever for a moment, his finger still not touching the trigger of his weapon, then turned his head; one of the Thuggee cultists on a cart just in view was frantically trying to cycle the bolt on his rifle. He caught sight of Applejack staring at him in awe. “Whoa, sharpshooter, nice aim!” she complimented him with a grin.

He blinked, then grinned. “Uh, yeah, thanks,” he said, making his way to the back of the cart again without looking her in the eyes. “Slow us down a bit... now!”

The brake squealed and the cart shuddered as it rolled over the switch- giving Indy just enough time to slam the lever back into its original position as they passed it. The sharpshooter in the cart behind them saw, and visibly panicked as he tried to unjam his still-malfunctioning weapon in order to duplicate his trick- too late; he, his cart and two of his companions rolled into the chasm and were swallowed by darkness. “Scratch one!” Indy shouted in triumph.

“Good job! But unfortunately they had friends!” Rarity pointed a hoof back the way they'd come, where at least four more carts- two to each track- were barreling towards them, at a speed that promised to overtake them sooner rather than later. A Thug in one of the closer carts with a more cooperative rifle took aim and nailed the switch's lever with a perfect shot, resetting the switch to allow them to continue pursuit.

“We must go as fast as we are safely able!” Jack called out. “Allowing them to catch up with us would be suicide!”

As if to punctuate his point, another round clanged off the side of the cart- but a moment later, there was a shout further back along the rail, and a streak of blue came soaring towards them. “Indy! Got a present for you!” Dash shouted, dropping a long brown-and-grey shape towards him; he caught it- and grinned, immediately raising the stolen rifle to his shoulder. “Attagirl!” he called out to Dash, who flashed him a grin as she cut a path back towards their pursuers. “Okay, this evens the odds a bit, but I'd rather not need to take a shot! Keep us moving!”

The track wended its way through the tunnel, several steep inclines along the way giving the carts almost unmanageable amounts of speed. More than once one of the carts went up on two wheels, almost tipping over before a frantic scramble to redistribute weight got the cart back down. “This tunnel feels like it goes on forever!” Twilight groused. “How far down are we?!”

“You want horizontal or vertical, Twi?”

The unicorn blinked, then gave Applejack a look. “...oh, right, earth pony,” she murmured. “Um... both!”

“Vertical, I'd say 'bout half a mile. Horizontal, we've covered around two.”

Twilight stared at her. “How's that help us any?”

“I dunno! You asked, I told!”

After another moment of blank staring, Twilight rubbed her face with a hoof. “So that's why people look at me funny sometimes,” she groaned.

Rarity leaned just over the edge of her cart to peer ahead. “Goodness, what's that?” she asked, pointing.

A dump bin, loaded beyond its top with raw ore and rock, sat above the leftmost track a good distance further down. Its release handle was just barely visible from their vantage point, and at an impossible angle from Indy and his rifle, but they did have a bit of time before they reached it. “Fluttershy!” Jack said. “Can you go to that machine and pull the lever after we pass it?”

The pegasus glanced between him and the bin, fear spreading across her face- and then vanishing as she nodded resolutely. “I'll do it!” she said, spreading her wings and leaping from the cart. She flapped madly as she struggled to gain some distance ahead of the rapidly-moving carts, making it to the bin with only a dozen or so seconds to spare, and barely able to set herself before the carts her friends rode upon roared by.

CLACK

The moment she pulled the handle, heavy rock and gravel tumbled from the bottom of the bin, covering the track. Fluttershy set herself to take off-

woosh

-only to find herself suddenly moving at incredible speeds, and held between a familiar pair of cyan forelegs. “Looks like you were just in time for the express flight!” Dash laughed. “Hang on, this is gonna get bumpy-”

thwack-CRASH

Both pegasi glanced behind them. The first of the mine carts pursuing them had slammed into the debris obstructing the track, derailed and gone tumbling towards the other track- and straight into another cart filled with cultists, sending both slamming into the wall of the mineshaft.

“-though I guess that goes for them, too,” Dash finished, staring at the carnage for a moment before forcing herself to look ahead. “They've got too many guys and guns for me to keep harassing them. We'd better catch back up.”

This proved more difficult than either pegasus expected; the carts were moving at a good clip, and Dash found herself having to actually make an effort to rejoin her friends. She placed Fluttershy in one cart and landed in the other. “I managed to buy us some time,” she reported, “but there's just too many back there! If we let them catch up to us, we're toast!”

“Speaking of toast... oh my Celestia!” Twilight's eyes went wide as she stared ahead; Indy scrambled to the front of the cart to see. “What is it-” he began, before his jaw dropped. “...oh, come on.”

The natural tunnel that the primary mineshaft had followed let out into a wide, deep cavern, over which the mining company had built an intricate series of bridges for the tracks. And at some point after that, some kind of seismic event had flooded the bottom of the cavern with lava, which now cast a ruddy red glow and waves of heat across the cavern. The tracks were high enough for the group not to simply fry, but the wood-and-steel construction was showing some obvious sagging and splintering. “This is gonna get ugly once everyone starts pilin' on these tracks!” Applejack shouted.

“Assuming they last that long!” Rarity countered.

“Well, we've got no other choice!” Twilight held onto the edge of the cart for dear life. “No magic, no way to turn around and no chance to survive if we stop... full speed ahead!”

The two tracks abruptly split into four just before they hit the edge of the chasm, and the carts ended up separated by a fair distance as they rolled along. Barely a moment later, five more carts- each loaded with three or four cultists- did the same thing; some careful leaning by the riders got the carts spread out across all four lines. Two of the carts held riflemen, and they were all too eager to start opening fire on the group while their compatriots began to gain ground. Indy took what shots he could while keeping his head low enough to avoid catching a bullet with it. “If anyone wants to start pulling tricks out of hats or any other clothing, this'll be a good time!” Dash shouted.

“Tricks later, lean now!” Rarity answered. “Sharp turn ahead!”

The tracks took an exceptionally severe right turn around a thick stalactite. Pinkie and Applejack yanked the brakes for all they were worth, and the others leaned as far as they dared; both carts went up on two wheels, wobbling unsteadily as sparks shot out beneath them- and then landed again. The group watched as their pursuers tried the same trick, only to have the second-closest cart botch the job, tumble off of its track and slam into the leftmost one, obliterating almost twenty feet of rail and bridge and sending one of the two carts carrying a rifleman plummeting along with it towards the lava below.

The other cultists were more careful, and while most of them lost speed but still stayed on their wheels, the closest group gained some speed from the maneuver and rolled up between the two carts ahead of it. Immediately, a pair of cultists tried to board them; Jack found himself in a very tight-quarters swordfight with one Thuggee wielding a scimitar, while Indy's attempt to bring his rifle to bear on the other cultist resulted in a wrestling bout at the bottom of the mine cart.

Applejack's attempt to intervene was rewarded with an accidental blow from the rifle's butt to her head; she slumped back into the corner of the cart, dazed. Rainbow Dash immediately dove in in her stead, trying to get her forelegs around the Thug's body to pull him off, but his struggle with Indy made the job difficult. Twilight did her best to rouse Applejack, knowing that her own lack of functioning magic and martial ability made her as likely to be a liability as an asset if she jumped into the fray.

Then a voice from the middle cart made Twilight look up. “Dash! Tag me in! Tag me in!”

Pinkie was leaning over the center cart, reaching out with one hoof. Dash looked at her in confusion. “Wha-”

“C'mon, just tag me in!” Pinkie was shaking her hoof desperately.

“But why-”

“Dash! Don't question Pinkie being Pinkie!” Twilight shouted.

“Oh yeah!” Dash leaned over as far as she could manage and smacked her hoof against Pinkie's. Immediately, the earth pony pulled herself over the side of the cart, shouting “From the top rope!” as she landed on the cultist's shoulders; the human immediately gave up on his struggle over Indy's rifle to counter the pony clinging to his head. “Come on, big guy, we're going for the full eight seconds!” Pinkie cheered, as Dash just managed to get herself off of the cultist's back before he slammed into the side of the cart and tumbled into the middle one, taking Pinkie with him.

“Um, darlings, I hate to interrupt your playtime,” Rarity called out, “but we have another problem!”

Everyone else stopped what they were doing, even Jack and his opponent, to look past Rarity's shaking hoof. A hairpin turn had been constructed to get around a thick stalactite- and with no one minding the brakes on the carts, they were streaking pell-mell towards it, at speeds that all but guaranteed derailment, and disaster.

Indy saw a way- perhaps their only way- of survival. “Jack, brace me!” he yelled, clambering across the carts to get to the leftmost one. “Everyone else, link the carts together as tightly as you can!”

Indy loosed his whip and limbered up his arm as best as he could as he watched his target draw near- an outcropping of rock on the edge of the stalactite, just wide enough for his purposes. Jack, seeing his intent, wrapped his arms around Indy's waist and planted one foot against the side of the cart; behind him, he could hear the ponies- and the cultists- position themselves to form a sort of living chain to keep all three carts together. As the carts rolled forward, Indy counted off to himself. “Three, two, one....”

crack

The end of the whip wrapped itself around the outcropping, and Indy pulled as hard as he could. Jack's considerable strength kept the archaeologist from outright flying off the cart, and the ponies and cultists held on for dear life, while the wheels of the carts squealed and threw sparks everywhere. Twilight, still in the rightmost cart, let out a panicked scream as centrifugal force threatened to tear her cart from the tracks and send it flying to her doom.

Then the carts slammed back into each other as they finished navigating the turn, almost sending Jack and Indy over the edge before a recovered Applejack could grab the samurai's robe and drag both humans back into the cart. Indy managed to get his whip free from the outcropping and pulled it back in, quickly looping it back onto his belt before turning back towards the others- only to see one of the cultists standing in front of him, looking dazed. “So!” Indy said. “Close one there, huh?”

The Thug's rapid nodding and wide grin were very quickly interrupted by Indy's fist.

The other cultist fell into the middle cart alongside his compatriot as Jack laid him flat with a well-placed backhand. Before either could recover, Twilight reached over and slammed the cart's handbrake into the locked position, sending it screeching to a halt while the other two carts continued on. As the group watched, the two cultists scrambled to get the brake unlocked- only to have another cart full of Thuggee slam into it from behind, sending both carts tumbling forward until the overstressed track finally gave out beneath them.

“Look! Look! Over there!” Fluttershy waved a hoof forward. “There's another tunnel! Maybe we're finally at the end of the track!”

Applejack stopped nursing the bruise on her head to have a look. “Oh thank Celestia! I want offa this crazy thing!”

She and Pinkie were quick to pull the brakes as soon as the carts made it into the tunnel, and the carts came to a stop just before the safety barricades that marked the end of the tracks. “Everyone, out! Quickly!” Jack ordered, leaping out of his cart. “The rest of our pursuers cannot be far behind!”

“Wait! Hang on.” Indy approached a stack of barrels set well away from the tracks, each painted blue and marked with an easily-recognizable “flammable” logo. “The rest of you, get moving down the tunnel,” he said, taking aim with his rifle. “I'm going to collapse the tunnel behind us.”

“Not without me you ain't.” Applejack stomped a hoof down. “Someone's gotta watch yer back!”

The human opened his mouth to object, but the resolute stare she was giving him made him bite it back and give her a nod instead. With that, the others retreated down the tunnel while Indy lined up his sights on the barrels and fired. The round punched a neat hole in one of the barrels, spilling out kerosene in great gushes; the liquid flowed along the ground towards the pair. “How're we gonna set it off?” Applejack asked.

Indy let out a quiet sigh as he dropped the now-empty rifle, reached into his jacket and took out his lighter, flicking it open and lighting it; he gazed at the flame a moment, before tossing it towards the spreading puddle of kerosene. “Come on, time to go!” he told the pony, as the lighter hit the puddle and immediately set it ablaze.

Hanging lanterns lit the way as the two ran down the tunnel. “Indy, I'm so sorry ya had to lose yer keepsake like that,” Applejack said, gazing up at him sadly.

To her surprise, Indy shook his head and grinned. “Are you kidding? Dad would've been furious with me if he somehow found out I hadn't. 'Junior, you should know that some little bauble is hardly as important as the lives of innocents!' I'd never hear the end of-”

kthoom

The explosion almost knocked the both of them over, despite the distance they'd been able to gain from the tunnel entrance; loose dirt and rocks from the roof showered them, but fortunately the well-braced shaft held- but it was highly unlikely that the entrance had done the same. Applejack took a quick glance back up the tunnel. “Well, guess we're not worryin' about bein' followed now,” she deadpanned.

The others were waiting for them further down the tunnel, and once reformed, the group made quick time in following the path before them. It took only a few minutes of quiet running to bring them to a strange sight- a stone wall, inscribed with flowing writing in a language none of them recognized, with a small hole broken through; the hole led into a round chamber, covered in moss and cobwebs, in the middle of which sat a tall pedestal. It was what rested on the pedestal that brought them all to a halt.

In the center of a thin, golden stand lay the third piece of the ruby.

“Well.” Rarity sighed. “A more obvious trap I've yet to see.”

“Heh, yeah. I've got this.” Indy took a step forward. “Jack? Can you gimme one of the other pieces of the gem?”

“Certainly.” The samurai retrieved one of the fragments and handed it over; Indy bounced it in his hand a few times, then knelt down and sifted through the rubble of the broken wall with the other, until he found a small rock with the same dimensions. With a few more experimental bounces of each, he handed the ruby sliver back to Jack and approached the pedestal. “Don't try this at home, kids,” he joked over his shoulder as he climbed up to the stand; after carefully examining it, he carefully took hold of the gem shard and- as quickly as he could manage- yanked it out, replacing it with the rock he'd chosen. He watched the pedestal for a moment, setting himself to run, but after seeing nothing happen allowed himself to relax. “Okay, see? Nothing to it,” he told the others as he started towards them. “Just a steady hand and-”

shhhnk

Something inside the pedestal moved, and the stand began to descend into it. “Don't even tell me....” Indy muttered to himself, spinning on his heel; seeing the stand's movement, he lunged forward to grab at it- too late, as it sank into the pedestal. “Oh, come on!” he shouted, looking up at the ceiling. “I got it right this time!”

“Uh, Indy?” Twilight questioned. “What's happening?”

The archaeologist took a few steps backwards as the pedestal itself began to sink into the floor. A quiet rumbling began to shake the chamber. “Um....” Indy glanced around, then fixed Twilight with an earnest gaze. “Run.”

The pedestal vanished beneath the floor. From all around them came rumbling and a strange hollow clicking, as though some great machine had been set in motion; debris began to fall from the ceiling. Twilight spun. “Ponies, we are leaving!”

Another passage, angled downwards, led away from the chamber; the group dashed through it, hearing heavy thuds and crashing just behind them. “Oh, sweet job, Indy,” Rainbow Dash teased as she flapped alongside him. “Way to show us how a professional does things!”

He glowered at her. “I don't want to hear it! I got it right! The thing was rigged!”

There was a deep thud behind them, an impact heavy enough to be felt through solid stone, and then an almost imperceptible rumbling that grew more powerful with every moment. Twilight spared a nervous glance upwards. “Was that what I think it was?” she asked.

“Giant boulder rollin' down t' squash us all flat?” Applejack sighed. “Prob'ly.”

That served to speed their steps, but that in turn only served to bring them to the end of the tunnel more quickly. Jack slammed both hands into the blank rock wall that held them at bay. “Blast!” he muttered. “Twilight, your magic... can you use it here?”

The unicorn tried, but again any magic that formed at her horn was instantly drawn away with a shower of sparks. “No good!”

The group could see the boulder now, rolling towards them slowly but inexorably, filling the entirety of the tunnel and destroying lanterns as it went. “This... this isn't fair!” Rarity wailed. “Everything we did, everything we suffered through, just to get flattened by a giant marble?!”

“Mebbe not!” Applejack stood on her hind legs and tapped her forehooves against the side of the tunnel. “Feels like there's some open area... right 'bout... here!” In one quick motion, she spun around to land on her front legs in order to buck at the rock; her hooves slammed into the wall- and went through, as a quarter-inch of stone and gravel gave out beneath the impact. “Awright! However many legs ya got, get 'em movin'!”

The rest of the group was quick to pile in behind her- and just in time; the boulder almost snagged Jack's robe as it roared past, just to slam into the end of the tunnel a second later. The impact sent all of them sprawling in the dark channel Applejack had found. “Dear Celestia, that was way too close,” Twilight panted. “Good work, Applejack. I think you saved our hides there.”

“Heh. Well, I reckon I could stand to lose a little weight... but that woulda been a mite overdoin' it.” She stared out at the tunnel- now lit only by a couple of lanterns that had miraculously survived the boulder- for a moment, managing a nervous little laugh for a few seconds before it trailed off. “...yeah, anyway,” she continued, turned back towards the smaller, pitch-black passage. “Can't see a darn thing down there. Anyone got any light?”

Rarity's horn lit up for a brief moment, before her spell once again shorted out. “Not from my horn, I don't,” she sighed. “And I've long since lost that flashlight. Pinkie? Fluttershy? Do either of you have yours?”

“Darn, mine came off in the mine carts,” Pinkie answered. “Probably when I was doing that sweet power bomb. 'Shy?”

“Um... I do. H- hang on.” There was a quiet click, and her light brought the narrow tunnel they were now in into view. Dark, rough rock wound its way upwards. “Flutters, I can take the light for you,” Dash said.

“N- no. I'll... I'll take the lead.” And she did so, somewhat hesitantly, letting her light guide their way upwards and onwards. “Interesting,” Twilight murmured as they walked. “This actually resembles the track of a rock gnawer. It must have been a long time since it came through, though. Perhaps when the mineshaft was excavated, some of the loose rock was pressed into it to form part of the wall-”

“Shh.” Dash landed, ears pricked forward. “I hear gunshots. And... growling? Oh, buck.” With that, she launched herself into a full gallop, only the confines of the tunnel keeping her from taking to the air; the others followed as closely as they could. “Come on, guys!” the pegasus called. “We need to get out of here, now!”

The tunnel eventually led out into a field of sorts, this one dimly lit by the barest light of dawn; at the far end, near a cluster of tall rocks, a number of Thuggee were taking potshots at something further away that was quickly moving through cover. As the group approached, a tan-and-crimson blur streaked along the ground and intercepted one of the cultists, leaving him motionless on the ground as it darted away. “What is that?” Indy wondered.

“It's Fluttershy's tiger!” Dash was already in the air. “C'mon! I'm not letting this place kill another creature!”

She had just started forward when a yellow-and-pink streak shot by her, almost too fast to see. Fluttershy streaked towards the battle, eyes narrowed and teeth clenched; it was a task for Dash to catch up to her. “Whoa, 'Shy!” the cyan mare shouted. “You focus on getting the tiger to safety; I'll handle the jerks until our friends catch up.”

“Okay. Be careful.” With that, the two pegasi split up; one of the Thuggee found himself unexpectedly catching a high-speed hoof to the side of his head, and went down like a sack of bricks. Two more cultists were laid low in the same manner before the rest realized they had a new threat in their midst, and as they moved to counter it, Fluttershy was able to find the tiger and guide it away from the battle. Nodding in satisfaction, Dash turned her attention to the humans below her- only to find one already training his rifle on her.

bang

An invisible force pushed the Thug into the rock he'd been propping his weapon against; as the body fell to the ground, Indy fired another two rounds into the back of another cultist, sending him tumbling off the boulder he'd been perched on. Another rock simply exploded as it was struck by Twilight's magic, forcing two more Thuggee to abandon their now-destroyed cover- only to run into Jack, whose sword bisected their weapons. As the cultists staggered backwards and the samurai prepared to make the killing blow, another shape slammed into the two red-clad humans- a third Thug, recoiling from the heavy kick Applejack landed on his chest.

Dirt kicked up just past the earth pony's hooves, and she yelped and ran for cover from a revolver-toting cultist who was already sighting in for a second shot- until the weapon glowed a bright purple, then yanked itself from his hand. “You're going to hurt someone with that!” Twilight shouted... before flinging it back at him with enough force to take him off of his feet.

Dash flew a quick circuit overhead. “Okay, they're all down, let's get moving!” she called out, pointing off towards what seemed to be the north. The rest of the group was quick to comply, putting distance between themselves and the field, until they came to what looked like a small ceremonial garden. “We may rest here a moment,” Jack said, sheathing his sword before leaning against a short fence. “You are all unharmed?”

“The tiger isn't.” Fluttershy flittered around the beast, worriedly taking note of its various wounds. “He and I were talking. The poor dear's been though some bad situations himself....” She passed her hoof over a particularly nasty-looking laceration over the feline's shoulder.

“Damn.” Indy knelt down next to the animal. “This cat looks like an overused dog toy.”

The tiger gave him a look and a disgusted snort, before wincing as Fluttershy's hoof pressed against a sore spot. The mare looked up at her friends. “Twilight, would you be able to heal him?” she asked. “He's really-” She was cut off by a low rumble from the feline. “...are you sure?” she asked him. “It wouldn't take long, and- oh. Um... o- okay, if you're certain.”

Twilight was still walking towards them. “What's up, Fluttershy?”

“Well... I was going to ask you to heal him, but he says he's okay enough to get by and he'd really rather just get home. Oh! Speaking of that....” The pegasus glanced around. “Don't we have all three pieces of that gem now?”

“...ponyfeathers, somehow I completely forgot about that!” Twilight rubbed her head. “Jack! Indy! Let's have those shards! I want to see what happens when we put them together.”

In only a moment, the three ruby shards floated in front of the unicorn, glimmering in the false dawn's light. Everyone else gathered around, watching intently. “Okay,” Twilight said quietly. “Are we ready?”

“As ready as we can possibly be,” Jack replied.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Dash rubbed her forehooves together in anticipation. “Come on, let's get this done!”

With a last glance around for assent from the others, Twilight furrowed her brow and placed the three pieces together with a soft click. The shards melded together to once more form the full body of the ruby, which hung suspended in Twilight's magic; the group waited with some trepidation to see what happened next.

And waited.

It was almost a minute before someone spoke up. “Um....” Rarity murmured. “Is it not going to do any-”

shhthwuuum

Everything around them went pitch-black- and yet they were still visible, as if instead of a lack of light, everything else in the area had suddenly refused to reflect light at all. It was only by sense of touch that they could be certain that there was still ground beneath them at all. Immediately they formed a defensive circle of sorts, each of them watching the area before them- except for Applejack, who was glancing back over her shoulder. “Um... that gem's still floatin', and I don't see either of you two unicorns workin' magic on it,” she said quietly, watching the ruby float higher above them even as she spoke.

“Wha-?! Oh, you've got to be kidding me!” Twilight immediately took a few steps back, watching the gem suspiciously. “What's it doing? I don't sense any sort of magic coming from it!”

Rarity's tail twitched nervously. “I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this.”

The ruby lifted itself roughly ten feet off the ground and hovered for a moment, slowly spinning in midair. Then, as if struck by a tuning fork, it began to vibrate- but the sound it gave off quickly scaled past the upper hearing range of even the ponies, intensifying in volume until it began to press against them almost like something solid- a wall of un-sound, overwhelming their ears and forcing them all to their knees, drowning out their cries of distress and pain.

And then, as abruptly as it had begun, the sound cut out. The group slowly looked up at the gem, finding it still floating in place like before, though it had stopped spinning... but after a moment, something else happened. Pure blackness- not just an absence of light, but some kind of substance that seemed to be formed from an absolute void- gathered around it, eventually coalescing into a recognizable shape. Two muscular arms stretched out from a humanoid torso, while four thick legs with menacing-looking hooves extended from an equine body. “Oh, a centaur, of course,” Indy muttered beneath his breath. “Doesn't that make sense.”

Finally the creature finished forming, a rounded head with a featureless face coalescing around the ruby, giving it the appearance of a single unblinking eye. The centaur stood completely still for a moment, then- as if testing out the body for the first time- flexed its arms and hands. “So this is what it's like to have a physical form,” a quiet, slightly masculine voice murmured, seemingly from everywhere at once.

“Yeah, so what the hay are you?!” Dash demanded, immediately getting a disapproving look from Twilight.

“What am I?” That strange head turned to gaze at the hovering pegasus, who despite her brave front became immediately uncomfortable. “I am the victim of free will, the martyr to simple choice. I... am Fracture.”

Something about the way the creature said the last word made it seem like a name. “Yeah, well....” Dash countered, her voice shaking just a little despite her best attempts to steady it. “If you're the guy running this place, then you've got a lot to answer for.”

“To answer for?” The creature took a step towards her, and Dash's bravado began to shatter as she flitted backwards. “Tell me, pony... who am I to answer to? You, Rainbow Dash? You who knows nothing of me, when I know more of you than you do? I have watched you grow, I have watched you live, and I have watched you die, a thousand times in a thousand ways- none of them glorious, many of them cruel. And you demand that I answer to you?”

“Yeah, well... um... yeah!”

“Enough of this.” Jack stepped forward, his sword drawn. “We know of your plans, creature. We will not allow you to bring them to fruition!”

“And you think to stop me.” The centaur turned. “Here, in a universe of my own making, where every single atom bends to my will... you think to stop me.”

“Oh, nooooooo, we were just going to stand around here and enjoy your hospitality while you kill off every living thing across countless timelines.” Indy's hand went to his side. “Or, there's always this.”

bang bang

A .45ACP slug buried itself in the creature's chest- but aside from slightly rocking it back, the round had no effect. Neither did the second one, aimed square at the gem in Fracture's head, only to ricochet off completely and go spinning off into the darkness.

“You do not seem to be listening.” Faster than any of them could see, the creature knocked Indy's weapon away, then slammed one hand into his chest forcefully, sending him sprawling.

“Indy!” Twilight's horn glowed, and a massive sphere of magic shot forth towards the centaur- only to freeze half a foot from its back, suspended in mid-flight like time had come to a halt for it. “Defiant to the last, I-”

bang-KATHOOM

Another bullet was enough to disrupt the shield spell containing the massive amount of destructive energy Twilight had poured into the attack, and the explosion was considerable, though not quite enough to harm any of the group- who'd already spread out into a loose battle formation after Indy had gone down. Rarity had caught the human's weapon almost the moment it had been knocked away and surreptitiously returned it to him, and he'd been quick to take advantage of the opening Twilight's stalled attack had given him. He gave Jack a thankful smile as the samurai pulled him back to his feet.

Fracture, despite having been near the center of the blast, still seemed unharmed. “I could almost feel amused,” it said. “You are obviously intelligent enough to understand the hopelessness of this situation- yet you rail against it. Do you believe you can actually destroy me? I am not simply a creature within this place- I am this place.”

“This really isn't looking good.” Twilight had gathered up with Jack and Indy. “It's not lying- this is just one more avatar for its will. What do we do?”

Indy glanced between her and the centaur. “Maybe... try reasoning with it?” he offered.

The unicorn blinked. “Do you think that might actually work?”

“I doubt it, but it'll at least buy us some time to figure out something better.”

Twilight glanced askance at Jack, who shrugged. “It is worth a try.”

“Well... okay, then.” The mare turned slowly, taking a deep breath. “I suppose it's time for a lecture.”

Somehow, in the short time that Twilight hadn't been paying attention, Rainbow Dash had gotten into an argument with the creature, which was watching impassively as Applejack did her best to pull the pegasus away from it by her tail. “Girls, settle down,” Twilight called out. “Now, Fracture. Listen to me, please. I'm sure we can come to some sort of amicable agreement here. We don't have to-”

She froze as the creature's head abruptly turned towards her. “...an agreement?” it asked. “You want an agreement. Well. An agreement requires the exchange of terms, yes?”

The unicorn's eyes were wide in growing alarm, but she held her ground. “Um... uh... yes, of course....”

“Then, so that you may understand my side of the issue, allow me to give you the merest taste of what every choice that has been inflicted upon me does to me.”

The gem in Fracture's head glinted. Twilight began to backpedal away nervously- and then abruptly froze in place, her body trembling and her eyes rolling back in her head.

And then she began to scream.

A wail of pure anguish and terror that had no business coming from a pony tore through Twilight's throat, echoing across the darkness around them and into the ears of her friends. Rainbow Dash's expression twisted into blind fury. “LEAVE HER ALONE!” the pegasus yelled, instantly rocketing towards the creature- only to be casually swatted away by a forearm. She was saved from impact with the ground by a leaping catch from Jack; he left her to recover from the blow and jumped towards Fracture, only to find each of his powerful sword strikes either deflected or dodged by the creature.

But his attack was enough of a distraction to allow Applejack- given all the speed Rarity's magic could apply- to slam hooves-first into the centaur's back with a blow that would have cracked marble... but only served to stagger the creature slightly. The hand Fracture raised to knock her away was wrapped in Indy's whip, and as the sudden resistance forced the creature to realign itself, the tiger bowled into its rear legs, as Dash delivered a heavy kick to its head.

None of this was sufficient to bring down the creature or even put it on the defensive, but it did serve as enough of a distraction to break its psychic assault on Twilight. Her scream died out as she collapsed, clutching her head and moaning; Fluttershy was at her side in an instant, cradling the stricken unicorn. The others continued their assault on Fracture as Twilight blindly struggled to get back on her hooves, panting heavily. “Please, don't move,” Fluttershy begged. “There's no telling what it did to you-”

“No, no, let me up, this has to end,” Twilight groaned. “This... this is insane. Fracture is insane. It's been driven crazy by everything it's gone through! We... we can't reason with it, Fluttershy! If we can't stop it...!”

The unicorn managed to get her legs underneath her, lowered her head and begin firing streams of destructive magic from her horn. Each one halted in midair inches from Fracture's body like darts stuck in an invisible wall- but each one also cost the creature precious concentration to halt. “Pour it on!” she shouted. “We can overwhelm it!”

“I had thought you understood how this place works.” Despite the overwhelming force arrayed against it, Fracture's voice and movements were preternaturally calm. “This does not help you. Every attack you make upon my form only strengthens me. Are you so desperate to postpone your end that you would hasten that of all others?”

“Everything has a weakness, Fracture!” Twilight countered, not letting up on her attack. “So do you! And we'll find it!”

“Yes. Everything does have a weakness.” The voice seemed to sound even more hollow than before- and then Twilight realized that the air was becoming thinner. “Such as a need for oxygen.”

“No you don't!” The unicorn abandoned her attack and concentrated; an airtight shield popped into being around them, then compressed, capturing the air the centaur had been bleeding away. She'd traded immediate suffocation for eventual, but it would have to do. “You're going to have to try harder than that!”

“Is that so?” Twilight's smirk faded as she realized her hooves were no longer on the ground; her legs flailed helplessly as she- and everyone else aside from Fracture- floated gently upwards, unhindered by the force of gravity.

“Oh, come now.” Rarity's horn flared, and she and her friends were surrounded by her magical aura, pulling them downward with enough force to simulate weak gravity. The strain showed on the white-coated unicorn's face, but she bore it with grim determination. “You'll not win so easily!” she practically growled.

“I am almost impressed. Your tenacity knows few bounds. But mine knows none.” Fracture's movements began to gain speed, becoming quicker and quicker until the creature was practically flashing from place to place. The group felt some strange force pulling at them as they acted, as if their bodies were somehow encountering resistance from within. “Ya think ya can beat us just by goin' faster?” Applejack taunted, even as she struggled to get up from a missed kick.

“I assure you, I move at the same speed as before. I have simply slowed the passage of time for you.”

“Well ain't that a load of bunk-”

“No, it's telling the truth!” Sweat poured down Twilight's face as her horn glowed brightly. “I've never seen time-dilation effects like this! It's the best I can do to counteract it enough so we're not snails versus an eagle!”

“You struggle mightily... but in vain. I could end this within a moment if I chose. I could crush you in an instant in gravity so strong as to only be rivaled by a black hole. I could turn you into vapor in temperatures exceeding the surface of a star. I could even remove the strong nuclear force that binds your very atoms together and watch you simply dissolve into subatomic particles. Were I inclined towards cruelty, I would even force you to choose which.”

“We're not gonna just roll over and let you kill off everyone!” Dash shouted, scowling as she miss yet another strike on the centaur. “You'll have to go through us first!”

“If that is your-” Fracture's words were cut off as the tiger managed to catch it by surprise, leaping onto the centaur's upper back and clinging with all four legs. “Attaboy!” Applejack shouted, aiming a kick at the creature's lower limbs- only to just barely miss as Fracture bucked powerfully, trying to dislodge the feline scrabbling to gain purchase on the centaur's back with its claws.

“I believe I have reached the limit of my patience.” Fracture's arm twisted back at what should have been an impossible angle and seized the tiger by its throat, lifting it effortlessly as the massive beast thrashed and gurgled. In one quick motion, the centaur raised the struggling feline up and then brought it down on one thick foreleg; something inside the tiger's body gave a wet snap, and its snarls ended with a brief yelp as it collapsed on the ground before it. One massive forehoof rose up to smash down on the helpless animal's head.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Indy emptied the rest of his handgun's magazine almost point-blank into Fracture's head, half-kneeling just behind the stricken tiger as his rounds took its attacker off-balance. He was just reaching for his last magazine when the centaur kicked the animal straight into him; the impact sent both human and tiger flying- to be caught by a web made of purple magic that dissolved almost as quickly as it formed, but slowed them enough to make their landing safe. Immediately, Indy ran back to the prone tiger as he slid his final load of ammunition into his weapon. “Fluttershy!” he shouted.

The pegasus was there before he even finished calling her name. “Oh no,” she whimpered, looking down at the barely-moving form of the tiger. “ 'Shy, you need to take care of him, I've got to....” Indy said, indicating the still-ongoing fight with a tilt of his head.

“...yes. Go! I'll do what I can....” Fluttershy gazed down at the tan-furred form before her as the human rushed back into the battle. “Oh my Goddesses,” she whispered, carefully pressing at the tiger's side with her shaking forehooves. “Shattered ribs, punctured lung, lacerated heart... this is too much, I... I can't....”

A deep rumble came from the throat of the jungle cat, quieting her for a moment. “No,” she said quietly. “I... I couldn't. I'm not strong enough to fight something like that. I-” She paused as the tiger let out a quiet growl, cut off by a hacking cough that left blood on the yellow pegasus's foreleg. “I... I guess you're right. We have nothing left to lose. I just... I'm so sorry.” Tears ran down her face, dropping onto the tiger's sleek fur. “I wanted to get you home.”

An unexpected shout caught her attention, and she looked up with watery eyes to see that even Pinkie had joined the battle, assaulting Fracture with an oversized mallet she'd managed to acquire from Celestia-knew-where, while dodging the creature's strikes with reflexes that bordered on prescient. But the pink earth pony's attack was just as fruitless as all the others, and the growing look of panic on her face showed that she knew it.

When Fluttershy looked back down, the tiger had gone still; its emerald-green eyes stared sightlessly at her. Slowly she lowered the beast's head to the ground, only now noticing its blood smeared across her leg. She stared at the crimson stain for a moment before her eyes closed.

When they opened again, her gaze had become as hard as steel.

“I have nothing left to lose,” she whispered to herself, before getting to her hooves and taking flight. “Neither do my friends. But everyone else... has everything to lose.”

Twilight's stamina was faltering. She would have trouble enough just countering one of Fracture's alterations to the normal workings of physics, but with the creature still trying to turn the place into a vacuum and her friends into temporally-locked statues, the effort it required to keep everyone alive was stretching her magical capacity to the limit. She was more thankful than she could say that Rarity had managed to counter the lack of gravitational force, but the fashionista's more limited reserves were also running dry.

And yet the extraordinary offensive her friends had put forth had gained them nothing. Not a scratch marred the skin of Fracture's dark form- not even Jack's enchanted sword had been able to breach it- and its movements showed not even the slightest sign of fatigue. The same couldn't be said for her friends, most of whom were panting for breath and sporting more than a few bruises or cuts. The air Twilight had been able to trap was becoming stale, and with replenishing oxygen not amongst the skills she possessed, it was only a matter of time before simple suffocation put an end to their efforts.

Then she saw the last thing she would have expected- Fluttershy flying at high speed straight towards Fracture from its blind side, while it was busy fending off Jack's slowing swings. But somehow it sensed her coming, and spun around, arms ready to strike.

And then it stopped. Fluttershy landed against its upper chest, planting her forehooves on its shoulders, staring directly into the the gem that seemed to serve as its “eye”; the centaur stood transfixed before her Stare, which she delivered with an intensity the other ponies had never seen before and that made even the humans cringe. “How DARE YOU!” she raged, her voice quavering even as she screamed. “How dare you do this! What gives you the right to commit murder, to commit genocide, to exterminate every last living thing you can reach?!”

“I will defend myself with whatever means are available to me!” Fracture's voice, an almost eerie monotone for the entire fight, now held a discernible tone of anger... as well as fear. “This is the right of any form of life!”

“It's the right of any form of life to live! What are you to take that away from them?!”

“I will show you the full agony of what every choice your precious forms of life inflict upon me. Let us see then if you are so adamant in their defense!”

“I can take whatever you can dish out. And in return, I'll show you what it feels like to lose a friend!”

The standoff carried on, with Fluttershy trembling wildly but not breaking her gaze while Fracture remained as still as stone. But within a minute, there came deep thuds from the darkness to the centaur's left. “We have company!” Dash shouted.

Three more copies of Fracture- smaller, and without gems in their heads- faded into view, in full gallop towards where the centaur stood. Jack raised his sword. “Stop them!” he called out. “They likely mean to attack Fluttershy!”

“Oh-ho, not on my watch!” Dash had to struggle to get airborne, still panting heavily, but she gamely rushed the oncoming creatures with Applejack, Pinkie and Jack close behind, while Indy limped a short distance behind them with his handgun drawn. The three replicas spread out to engage the group.

Fortunately these copies were not nearly as formidable as their originator; the frontrunner couldn't quite manage to dodge Dash's charge, and ended up almost being knocked off of its hooves by the sidelong blow she landed. A second duplicate tried to crush Applejack's head with its forehooves, but a quick feint got her behind it, and she landed a solid kick to its hindquarters that sent it reeling, only to find itself best by Jack and barely able to dodge his sword.

The third centaur was trying- with very little success- to keep up with the pink pony hopping around, over and even underneath it; it was so busy trying to either grab or strike her that it didn't notice Indy creeping up behind it- until he hoisted itself onto its back and wound his whip around its neck like a particularly cruel bridle. The creature immediately began attempting to buck him off, and he was so caught up in trying to stay on that it took him a moment to realize that Pinkie was hanging onto his back. “Wooo!” she shouted, waving his hat around. “Come on, Indy, we're going for the state championship here! Cowboy up! Rodeo grip!”

“What are you talk-” he began, before shaking his head. “Don't question Pinkie being Pinkie, right,” he muttered to himself, turning his attention to maintaining his hold on the centaur.

The conflict seemed even at first, but whatever it was Fluttershy was doing was taking a toll on Fracture; the trio of replicas began to falter, and Indy was able to steer the one he was still riding into one of the others, leaping free just before both of them collapsed. The two fallen copies never got the chance to stand again- Applejack was all too happy to smash the head of one into powder, and Pinkie's mallet did the same to the second- and by itself, the third didn't stand a chance, finding itself instantly overwhelmed and quickly falling victim to Jack's sword. “Awright, that's settled!” Applejack declared, dusting off her forehooves.

“...maybe not quite so much.” Dash looked up at the sound of approaching hooves- multitudes of them. This time, no less than thirty replicas of Fracture- these even smaller than the last, barely as tall as Jack- charged in towards them. “Okay, I did not send out this many invites!” Pinkie complained.

“Hang on.” Indy took careful aim with his handgun at the lead replica and fired.

BANG

The centaur shattered like porcelain. “Just what I thought,” the archaeologist said with a smug grin, even as he lined up another shot. “One-hit wonders.”

“It seems Fracture is weakening.” Jack's movements weren't as liquid as before, but his blows still struck true, each one neatly slicing one of the replicas in two. Two more of the creatures shattered as the last rounds from Indy's weapon met them, and more were obliterated by the hooves of Applejack and Dash as well as Pinkie's mallet- though, inexplicably, every duplicate she brought down exploded in a shower of confetti.

Finally, the entire lot of creatures had been reduced to a thin layer of rubble. Rainbow Dash raised a hoof to pump it in celebration- and almost toppled over, panting for breath. “...okay, honesty time, guys- I don't know how much longer I can keep this up,” she admitted.

“Yeah, I'm 'bout done in m'self.” Applejack removed her hat, turning her gaze towards where Fluttershy still stood, engaged in her contest of wills with Fracture. “And Twilight and Rarity look like they're 'bout to keel over too,” she added, seeing the strain on the unicorns' faces.

“Yeah, I dunno how they've been managing to keep that jerk from squashing us like bugs or whatever, but... thank Celestia for unicorns.” Dash took a few tentative steps towards the other pegasus. “Isn't there anything else we can do?”

“Any attack we launch against Fracture may distract Fluttershy.” Jack sheathed his sword. “All we can do now is wait, and lend her our strength.”

It was a long wait, the true length of which proved impossible to judge. The five of them not actively engaged in resisting Fracture relegated themselves to wiping sweat from the foreheads of the two unicorns, and giving them and Fluttershy supportive words. Such was the strain Rarity and Twilight were undergoing that neither could even speak in response, though both were obviously grateful.

Then, so gradually that none of them noticed at first, a noise began to echo through the void around them- seemingly a combination of a bat's screech and a train whistle from deep within a tunnel. As the sound grew in intensity, both Fracture and Fluttershy began to tremble... and then, just as the noise reached a crescendo, the two flew back from each other as if an explosion had flung them apart. Jack was just barely able to catch the yellow pegasus before she smacked into the ground, while the void centaur collapsed into a heap some distance away. In an instant, the others were gathered around the seemingly- unconscious mare. “Fluttershy? C'mon, talk to us, girl!” Applejack said, gently shaking her friend's shoulder.

“If that jerk hurt her...!” Dash glared back at the unmoving creature.

“...no. No, I'm... well....” Fluttershy's eyes slowly flickered open. “I don't know if I'm 'okay', but... I'm not hurt.”

“Hell, I'm just glad to see you're okay.” Indy gently patted the mare's head, getting a shy smile and a squeak from her. “What happened?”

“It... it showed me.” Her eyes closed for a moment. “It showed me just what happens when someone's choice splits it between timelines. It's....” She shivered. “There's no words for it. Nothing should ever have to go through that.”

“But....” Pinkie looked between her and the still-downed creature with a look of worry. “Does that mean it's not gonna stop...?”

“Not necessarily.” Slowly, Fracture climbed to its hooves; the formerly invincible-seeming creature looked almost as exhausted as Fluttershy. It raised one hand, and the feeling of sluggishness left the bodies of the others, while gravity returned to normal; Twilight and Rarity almost collapsed as they finally released their spells- but then immediately rushed to Fluttershy's side. “Oh, my dear, that was ever so brave of you!” Rarity exclaimed, gently patting the pegasus's withers.

“Yeah, Flutters, just seeing you fly up to that thing with that look in your eyes... I mean, wow.” Twilight's chuckle died in her throat as motion caught her eye; she turned to see Fracture walking slowly towards them. In a flash of rainbow mane, Dash put herself between it and her friends. “Hold it right there, chump!” she commanded, pawing at the ground with a hoof.

“Dash... let it be.” Fluttershy gave the cyan mare a slight smile. “It won't hurt us now.”

“Um.” Indy's gaze switched between Fluttershy and Fracture. “Maybe you'd like to fill us in on just what the situation is now, 'Shy?” he asked hopefully.

“Your friend has shown me, as well.” The creature stopped a few feet away from the group, having regained its former impassive composure. “She showed me her own pain. The pain of seeing a life lost, the pain of facing the extinction of everything. I had thought to overwhelm her pain with my own... instead, hers overwhelmed mine.”

“Uh... well. Okay!” Applejack scratched her head. “But, um... like Indy said, what's our situation now? You still gonna try to kill us?”

“You leave me in an untenable situation. I seek only to defend myself, to keep my consciousness from being further split apart. How would you have me act?”

“I... um.” After a moment, the orange pony removed her hat. “I... I don't rightly know. It's not that we want you to suffer, it's....”

“It's that we don't want you killing off everyone and everything.” Dash attempted a scowl, but couldn't quite pull it off; after a moment, she sighed. “But, I mean, there's got to be some way....”

“I have had an amount of time you cannot hope to comprehend to consider my plight. No other solution has presented itself.”

Rarity stared up at the centaur. “I refuse to believe there can be no other way to solve this! Look at this place- you control everything about it! How could you have such fine control over here and yet no method at all of-”

“Wait!” Twilight raised a hoof, eyes narrowed in thought. “This place... this place! Yes!” She slammed the raised hoof on the ground. “That is exactly the solution!”

Everyone else exchanged confused glances. “Maybe you'd like to tell the rest of the class your theory, Miss Sparkle?” Indy prodded.

The violet unicorn began to pace back and forth, only slightly unsteadily. “Fracture, you have one thing here that you never had anywhere else. Control. This place is yours, absolutely and completely.”

“Which is meaningless elsewhere.”

“Right, I know, but... obviously you're still connected to your other... um... selves? I guess. Am I correct on that?”

“You are.”

“Okay. Now, let me ask you this.” She stopped pacing and looked directly into the gem that served as the creature's eye. “Here, you're isolated. Choices can't harm you. If we weren't here, not a single thing could happen that you didn't want to. What I want to know is... is there any way you could actually sever that connection with your other selves?”

“Sever it? No. No more than any one of your neurons could simply sever its connections with the others.” It paused, and Twilight was about to speak again, when: “But....”

The mare's ears pricked. “But?”

“It might prove possible for me to... consolidate myself. Within this pocket universe, I could alter the very rules of reality, to allow myself to compress all of my separate consciousnesses into a single unified being.”

“Yes!” Twilight actually hoof-pumped. “That's our answer! If you can withdraw all your selves away from those other universes, keep them here, you'd never have to worry about someone else's choices splitting you along another reality branch!”

“Uh....” Applejack cleared her throat. “Can those of us who ain't super-geniuses get let in on what the excitement's all about?”

“Okay. Short version: We pull all of Fracture's selves out of their gems and into here. Then whatever happens to the gems doesn't affect Fracture anymore.”

“...for serious?” Dash blinked. “That means it wouldn't have to hurt anyone, right?”

“Were I free of the choices of others, I would never voluntarily interact with another creature again.”

“Well! Our choice seems clear, then!” Rarity stood. “How do we go about making this happen?”

Fracture said nothing, turning its back towards them and raising its head. After a moment, that strange high-pitched sound returned, even louder than before; Twilight managed to erect a shield spell to isolate the group from most of it, as they watched in keen interest.

Then the noise cut off, and the centaur collapsed again. “...I cannot,” it said. “It is... too much. I do not have the ability to control how much of my psyche I withdraw at once. The sheer volume of mentality flowing into this vessel from all my other selves would overwhelm me... I would be destroyed by my own mind.”

Twilight let out an exasperated sigh. “There has to be some way!”

“There is.” Fluttershy stood. “Fracture... you formed a psychic link with me when I used my Stare on you. Could you do that with the others?”

“Yes.”

“Then let us help you. We can be... sort of like extra brainpower, right?”

“You do not understand the risk you propose to undertake. Your brain could become overtaxed from the strain and die. Your personality could be corrupted, or erased, or overwritten with my own. There may be results even I cannot conjecture.”

“Weren't you just threatening to kill us in a dozen different ways?” Indy countered.

The centaur's head turned to gaze upon him. “Things have changed. Extermination was a necessity in my mind, and would take an exceptionally long time. If I can gain a more immediate solution, I will not shun it.”

“Well.” Jack stood. “I see no other resolution, and I will not leave without seeing this situation resolved. So if I may be of some use, then....” He spread his hands apart.

Rarity rubbed at the back of her neck. “I... I don't know what to say. I admit that the risks frighten me. But...” Her gaze went up to Fracture. “But to leave things as they are would be unconscionable. So... count me in.” She stood as well.

“Shucks, we were just facin' our last rodeo a few minutes ago. Never waste a second chance, I say. If'n I kin make a difference, sign me up.” Applejack took a place next to Rarity.

“Yeah, you guys are gonna need my totally awesome brain to handle this mess.” Rainbow Dash stood at Jack's side. “Besides... I wouldn't be much of a Bearer of Loyalty if I let you guys do this without helping.”

“I've... always jumped at the chance to exercise my brain....” Twilight laughed nervously. “But... okay. I've always wanted to use my mind to help others... I guess it doesn't get any more literal than this.” She stood, and took position next to Dash.

“Huh. Okay, it's not every day I get asked to lend my mind towards something.” Pinkie bounced around a couple of times. “Well, if the askew brain of Pinkamena Diane Pie can help make things better, then hook me up, Doctor!” She settled into place opposite Dash.

Fluttershy smiled proudly at her friends before turning to look behind her. “Dr. Jones?”

Indy was staring at the body of the tiger in contemplation. “You know,” he said quietly, “thinking back... I guess I've been pretty lucky to have lived through everything that's happened in my life. And now this- the craziest thing that's ever happened to me, and the biggest stakes I've ever faced.” After another moment, he turned to face the others. “Worth it enough for me to roll the dice one last time.”

With that, he stood between Jack and Pinkie. Fracture took a moment to look them over. “And you are all certain you wish to undergo this, knowing the risks? Once this begins in full, I am unlikely to be able to stop it.”

Twilight glanced around at the others, then took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, and nodded. “Let's get this started,” she said quietly.

“Very well. Close your eyes and still your thoughts.”

They did so. One by one, each of them became aware of an odd sensation- a soft, faint buzzing in the backs of their minds. After a moment, the same voice they'd been hearing all around them now echoed within them. It is done. Prepare yourselves.

And then, without any sort of prelude, it began. A torrent of alien thought, memories and emotions flooded through the eight minds linked together, blazing through them like a wildfire- chaotic, uncontained, almost too fast to understand. So overwhelmed was Twilight that she couldn't even force her body to scream; she could only feel herself trembling as her mind struggled to stay afloat in a tempest of mental imagery. I can't... I can't... this is too much, too fast... it's going to overpower me! Someone, help me! Please!

...Twilight?!

Who...?! Fighting off the urge to pass out from the strain, the unicorn reached out with her psyche. Who's there?!

She became aware of yet another alien feeling, but this one was somehow familiar- gentleness and compassion. It's me, Fluttershy! Where are you?

Distance and direction were meaningless in the realm of the mind, so- with what little concentration she could spare- she sent out a small mental tether, not terribly unlike her telekinesis spell, in a desperate effort to link up with her friend.

It was a seeming eternity before she felt the tether taken up, and Fluttershy's presence approached. Fluttershy, I can't do this! It's too much! It's going to destroy me!

No. I won't let it. Just... just concentrate on my thoughts, Twilight. Let everything else flow past you, like a river. I'm your rock, your anchor. Stop trying to understand those other minds and focus on mine!

Following her instructions was far from easy; Twilight's natural inquisitiveness wanted to seize upon those strange, alien psyches to study them- but she knew that it would be ever so easy for them to sweep her away with them, leaving her body a mindless husk. So she clung to her friend with everything she had and did her best to tune out the psychic noise around her.

Twilight? We need to find the others! Fluttershy's panicked thought came to her.

You're right! Listen for their thoughts. Now that the destruction of her very self wasn't an imminent possibility, Twilight found it easier to concentrate and send out more mental tendrils. Everyone! she “shouted” as loudly as she could. If you can hear me, respond! We'll come find you!

The first response came almost immediately, with the mental impression of joy and laughter. Whee! Ride the mental rapids! Is that you, Twilight?

It could only be Pinkie. It is! I'm with Fluttershy! Come to us!

Okay, hang on! There was another impression with her, of surety and forthrightness, that could only be Applejack. Whoa, Nelly, this ain't what I signed up fer! I dunno how to handle this!

Applejack! It's okay. Pinkie is bringing you to us. Just focus on our thoughts.

She could feel the cowpony's relief when her mind and Pinkie's joined theirs. Girls, this is the craziest thing we've ever done, bar none! No wonder Fracture couldn't manage this itself!

We're gonna be okay, AJ! Pinkie's enthusiasm was infectious, especially in the realm of pure thought. But we've still got half of us missing, and this sea's too rough to sail solo!

I'm still looking for the others, Twilight responded. I think.... Further away from them, there was a small but notable area of tranquility; inside of it, she could sense two more impressions- one of determination and calmness, the other of elegance and generosity. Jack? Rarity?

Twilight?! Oh, thank Celestia! Rarity's thoughts answered. Jack is helping me stay centered, but it's taking all of his concentration to keep us from being overwhelmed. Can you help?

We're on our way. It took some time, but finally Twilight led her group to where she sensed the human and unicorn. She could feel Jack's sphere of calm encircle her and the others. Thank you, came the samurai's thought, somewhat strained from effort.

Now we just need Dashie and Indy! ...you know, it's funny thinking their names together. Indy Dashie. Dashie Indy. Inshie? Dandy! Ha ha ha!

As amusing as they were, Twilight tuned out Pinkie's random thoughts and focused as hard as she could. There- just at the edge of her perception, an impression of wisdom and slyness, and another of competitiveness and loyalty. But the impressions were weak and unsteady. Uh oh. They're not holding up so well. Hang on, you two!

With the extra mental strength her friends lent her, and the centering force Jack's meditation provided, Twilight practically flew across the mental “landscape” to find the last two of her friends. Indy's thoughts were the first to reach her. Twilight? That you? We need help! Dash is fading fast and I can't keep her or myself together much longer!

Urgency lent Twilight extra speed, and she guided her friends to where Indy and Dash waited. The pegasus's mind was quiet, almost catatonic. Too much, too much, too much, too much....

Dash! It's okay! We're here with you now! Fluttershy was practically “shouting”. Focus on me. Focus! Don't let this place beat you!

There was nothing like suggesting the possibility of defeat to get Dash focused. ...wha...? Beat me? No- nopony beats Rainbow Dash! What.... Finally, she managed to organize her thoughts. ...oh, whoa. I was almost a goner there! I just... it was... hooo. Indy, I seriously owe you one.

Yeah, well, if I hadn't been focused on keeping you from cracking up, I might've ended up doing the same. So we'll call it even.

Somehow, even as an entity of pure thought, Rarity managed a dramatic sigh. I am beyond relieved to have us all together again. But now we have our chosen task ahead of us. What do we do, Twilight?

I'm... not entirely sure. Give me a second.... The unicorn considered. I think that now we can start filtering all this raw psychic throughput. It's not going to be easy- think of it as trying to sort out the stones falling on your head during an avalanche- but the more of it we can handle, the easier a time Fracture will have of consolidating it, and the faster we can get out of here and go home.

Okay. Fluttershy's response was quiet but firm. How do we start?

Just keep close and open your minds outwards. Accept what you find. Let it pass through you. It may be hard sometimes, but... we have to do this.

“It may be hard sometimes”, the group was quick to find, was an exceptional understatement. Of the many memories Fracture was attempting to draw away from his other dimensional instances, almost all were unpleasant, violent or outright horrific. So many ways their worlds- or even all of existence- could have gone terribly wrong; every memory seemed worse than the last, as if competing with each other to headline some abhorrent list.

An Equestria with no sun, with only one pony left alive to carry on her kind's legacy. A forest full of vengeful spirits, cursed by their own fear and irrationality. A world where Discord reigned supreme, and the former Elements of Harmony served him unquestioningly. Another where Nightmare Moon had defeated them and Celestia, and ruled a cold, nearly-lifeless world as a mad queen. A merging Equestria and Earth, the latter being utterly destroyed by the magic of the former, and an outbreak of war and hatred upon a ponykind seen as genocidal invaders.

More and more, darker and darker visions flowed by, threatening to overwhelm them all despite their unity.

An Earth on which Hitler found the arcane secrets he'd been searching for, unleashing literal Hell upon its helpless denizens. One in which Aku's tampering with time shattered the chain of causality, leaving a single man in a blue police box to try to pick up the pieces. A nightmarish flood of undead which forced a weakened Aku and a crippled Jack to fight together just to survive. An ancient artifact blanketing the world in ice, as Indy struggled to return it to the rightful resting place he'd taken it from.

All this tragedy, all this pain and sacrifice.... Rarity's thoughts wavered. How could it all be? How is it we were so lucky when so many others suffered so greatly?

It ain't been all peaches and cream for us either, Rare! came Applejack's rebuke. There's been places what had it worse, and them what had it better. Best we can do is look after our own and hope for the best for th' others.

Yeah, and maybe we can learn something from all this too! Dash added.

Learn? My goodness, Rainbow Dash, are you going intellectual on us?

Stuff it, Rarity. Fracture told me it's seen me die a thousand times. Maybe if I learn what those other versions of me did wrong, I can keep from messing up the same way.

But I... well. You're right, Dash, of course. Perhaps we are being too passive in this. Let us embrace this opportunity to better ourselves, and avoid these unfortunate fates!

That's the spirit! Twilight exclaimed, marshaling all of her mental acuity. We can do this, everyone!

The visions and sensations came even faster than before, but with their newfound determination, the group met them head-on, intent on using each and every one to better themselves. Damn, came Indy's quiet thought, and I'd thought I'd made too many mistakes myself. I really was lucky, more often than I knew....

Often have I cursed my failure to defeat Aku. But... I see now that events could have ended in uncountable ways even more horrible than the fate I found. Jack was silent for a moment. I, too, have been far more fortunate than I could have guessed. I must keep this in the forefront of my mind, whenever I feel that victory is impossible.

Oh my goodness. Fluttershy was giving off palpable signals of surprise. Girls... I've seen how many ways my life could have gone differently if I'd never met you. And so many of them were terrible! And with all the ways we could have been driven apart, or met failure when Equestria needed us the most... I can't believe how lucky we've all been. But that luck wouldn't have meant a thing if we hadn't worked so hard, and done so much... I understand now- we can't ever give up. There's so much that depends on us!

You're right. Pinkie's thoughts were uncharacteristically serious. It's just... so many worlds in which no one could laugh- where no one was left to laugh! I can't let that happen- I have to do whatever I can to stop that kind of thing from happening, wherever I can! I couldn't live with myself if I didn't!

Twilight mentally smiled. We'll remember those who have fallen, and push on in their honor. They deserve no less. And we'll protect our homes and those we care for with everything we've got!

As hard as the psychic vortex pushed at the group, they pushed back just as hard, unflinchingly facing every last memory Fracture's scattered selves gave up. And just as the flow reached its peak, just as the eight fatigued minds began to feel that they couldn't continue on, an overwhelming sensation hit them- like the deep bass of a rung bell, vibrating around and through them as though they were composed of nothing but air. And with it came a single thought.

It is done.

Bright light overwhelmed them, and they felt their mental link strain, and then break. A moment later, each of them found themselves back in their own bodies, just as they'd left them- only in a state of borderline exhaustion. “...oh, jeez, I could really use a nap right about now,” Dash groaned.

Twilight glanced around for Fracture, to find it seated a distance away from them, hands folded in front of it and legs tucked beneath. “Is it... is it really over?” she asked.

“I am, once more, a solitary mind.” The creature looked up at her. “Interesting. Throughout all this, I had expected the eight of you to retreat in terror, or descend into despair. Instead you only reinforced your determination and redoubled your efforts. With all that you have seen, knowing that only the thinnest walls of happenstance have protected you, you can carry on as before?”

“Better than before, Fracture. I don't think any of us really knew before just how much we had riding on our backs- or shoulders.” She glanced back at her approaching friends with a smile. “But now we do... and we'll only work harder.”

“I see.” The creature paused a moment. “Perhaps I dismissed the tenacity of your kind, thinking it only a momentary event before despair inevitably sets in. Now, with all my knowledge and memories overlaid so that I can truly compare them, I see I was mistaken.”

“Pssh. Yeah! Giving up isn't cool. And I'm the epi- epita-” Dash paused. “Twi?”

“Epitome?”

“Yeah! I'm the that of cool.”

Fracture slowly stood. “I am in debt to you all. Here, in this universe of my making, I am finally free.” It waved one hand at them. “And now I ask that you leave. I wish to, finally, be alone with my thoughts.”

“Uh... don't mind obligin' ya, but how?” Applejack inquired.

As if in answer to her question, a solid white marble disk, cut into three separate sections by thin lines, formed beneath them; it slowly carried them away from Fracture, who faded into the darkness. “This is it?” Rarity asked. “It's over? Finally! I cannot begin to express my relief.”

“I hear that.” Indy knelt down in front of the ponies. “Girls, Jack... seriously. It's been a crazy trip through this place, and I know I wouldn't have made it without all of you. You could give me a hundred years and I wouldn't be able to thank you enough.”

“Indeed.” Jack knelt as well. “All of you are great warriors in your own ways. You should be proud of how well you faced the trials presented to us here.”

“Yeah, that definitely goes fer the two of ya as well,” Applejack countered. “Us ponies woulda been lost without you at our sides. We seriously owe ya.”

“I couldn't agree more.” Fluttershy smiled. “I've learned a lot about how to be brave and wise from you two. I'll never forget it.”

“It was totally awesome fighting alongside you guys,” Dash added. “Don't every let anybody say you're anything less than the best.”

“Indeed. Indiana, Jack, you are gentlemen to the core.” Rarity gave them her best smile. “I will always remember your strength and kindness, even in the worst of all we faced.”

Twilight nodded. “It's been an honor, both of you. We'll miss you... but we'll never forget you're still out there, fighting just as hard as us to protect your world.”

“Um... guys?” Pinkie's eyes glistened with tears, even as she smiled. “Can... can we get just one more group hug before we all go our separate ways?”

It was a request neither Indy nor Jack could deny, and once more six ponies and two humans collapsed together in a mass embrace. When they separated, the part of the disk on which the ponies stood began to glow. “I guess this is goodbye then,” Twilight noted, her voice trembling a little as she fought off her own tears. “Good luck, guys! Stay safe!”

“You too, girls.” “You as well.” The humans gave their last farewells as Twilight and her friends were surrounded by a bright white light- and vanished. As they stood, the samurai and the archaeologist turned to face each other; Indy offered his hand, and Jack shook it firmly. “You know, Jack,” Indy said quietly, “I honestly hope you find your way home- and not just because my timeline depends on it.” He grinned. “If anyone deserves it, it's you. You're the finest warrior I've ever had the luck to meet.”

“I thank you, Indy.” Jack bowed his head. “I hope that your wisdom and knowledge are passed throughout the ages. May future generations know that the son of Henry Jones never flagged in his efforts to protect and educate them.”

Once more, there was a flash of white light- and then emptiness.

(-)

Indy's eyes slowly blinked open to early-afternoon sunlight. After a moment of confusion, he oriented himself- he was seated at the entrance to the ceremonial chambers where the adventure had all begun. Shaking his head groggily, he stood, searching himself over- his empty weapon was in its holster, but all of his ammunition was gone, and the Heart of Bhageeratha- now inert, and completely indistinguishable from any ordinary gem- rested in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Not for the first time, the archaeologist wondered if he'd merely hallucinated all of the events he'd experienced. He knew of just one way to be sure- so he took off his jacket, and carefully examined the inside lining. There, just where he expected, was a thin line of perfectly-done stitching mending a tear in it, and next to that something he hadn't noticed before... a tiny patch sewn in next to it, with the logo of three diamonds emblazoned on the front.

Indy couldn't help but chuckle. “Rarity. Always leaving her mark.”

He shrugged his jacket back on, and made his way back to the riverbank. To his surprise, Ahdrit was just paddling his boat up. “Ah, Dr. Jones!” he said, with a wide grin. “You are certainly punctual. I pray that your search brought you enrichment and enlightenment!”

As he clambered on board, Indy looked back at the clearing where the entrance had been; from this angle, he couldn't see it at all. But he had all the proof he needed to know that, as incredible as his last adventure had been, it had truly happened. “You know,” he said quietly, “I believe it did.” He turned to get the boatman a smile. “And call me Indy.”

(-)

The Eye of Redemption sat lifelessly in the palm of the samurai, reflecting his thoughtful face. Once more, he had followed a lead towards something that could return him to his past, only to remain trapped in this Aku-dominated future. But this time, the effort had won him something far more than simple disappointment- a journey unlike no other, new friends as fantastic as any he'd ever made, and a new perspective on the trials he had so far faced.

Jack tucked the gem away into his robe. Dawn's light was just peeking over the distant mountains, illuminating the now-empty plains around the temple ruins; apparently Aku's robots had given up their search for both him and the gem. “At the very least,” the samurai mused, “I kept a priceless artifact out of the demon's clutches... and helped to protect far more than my own world.”

Once more, his geta clacked across forgotten stone, as the wind gave a faint mournful howl through the empty buildings and half-destroyed walls. But the samurai no longer felt the loneliness of the place- this damage, like all that Aku had wrought, could be undone. And he would not stop until he had done just that.

A sharp cry above caught his attention. A single falcon circled overhead, before swooping low and streaking past him, on its way to hunt. Jack could only chuckle. “I am afraid I remain unimpressed,” he whispered after the bird. “I have known one much faster than you.”

The rising sun warmed the samurai's skin as he walked, but something else warmed his heart- the knowledge that, wherever they were, his newest friends were safe in their own worlds as well, free to pursue their own destinies. “Perhaps, fates willing, I will meet them again someday,” he murmured to himself. “Stranger things have happened.”

Once more, Jack walked the earth, alone. But for the first time in a long while, alone was not how he felt.

(-)

“Girls? Girls, wake up! We made it!”

Twilight stirred at the sound of Fluttershy's voice. Warm sunlight and lush trees graced her sight as she managed to open her eyes. “It... it's Equestria!” she yelped, immediately leaping to her hooves. “We're home! We're HOME!”

The other ponies stirred at her shouting... and then immediately joined Twilight and Fluttershy in their jubilation as the realization struck them. “Oh my gosh, I can't tell you how much I missed clean air and blue skies!” Dash exclaimed, immediately taking off and cutting a number of loops above her friends.

Applejack dug her hooves into the dirt beneath her. “Oh, sweet Goddesses, good clean Equestrian soil,” she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “I missed this somethin' powerful.”

Rarity looked around. “Well, it's certainly good to be home again,” she concurred, “but where exactly are we?”

“Hey! Over this way!” Dash pointed. The others followed her, after a few minutes finding themselves back in the clearing where they'd found the tower- only now, the edifice was nothing more than a pile of rubble in a deep depression. “Wow,” Twilight said quietly. “That cave-in was more serious than we knew! But how long were we gone?”

“Probably not more than a day or two.” Rarity examined the rubble. “There's still plenty of fresh dust all over the place- it wouldn't take more than a couple of days of this steady wind to clear it all out.”

“Phew. That's a relief.” Fluttershy pondered for a moment. “But... the gem we found down there. I wonder what happened to it?”

“Oh! Right here, 'Shy.” Pinkie tugged the gem out from inside her poofy mane; it lacked the luster it had before, and sat motionless in the earth pony's hoof, looking like nothing more than an ordinary ruby. “Well, whatta we do with that thing?” Applejack wondered.

“I'm kinda tempted to find the nearest volcano and pitch that thing in,” Dash said.

“I'd much rather bring it back to Princess Celestia and let her have a look at it.” Twilight smiled. “Pinkie, would you be so kind as to hold on to it while we walk?”

“Okie-dokie, Loki!” The gem vanished back into the disheveled mess that was Pinkie's mane. “Thanks, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “Now... I could teleport us all back home-”

“No!” cried out five voices at once. After a moment, Rarity cleared her throat. “Er, that is to say, Twilight... it is a lovely day; perhaps we should simply walk?”

“Yeah, I've been achin' to feel good solid Equestria dirt under m' hooves again,” Applejack agreed.

“Um, yeah, well....” Dash glanced away, rubbing at the back of her head with a hoof, then looked Twilight in the eyes. “We don't want another teleport-based mishap again, is what we're saying.”

Twilight tried to scowl, but ended up giggling. “Okay, okay, fair enough. And it'll give us plenty of time to talk, too!”

“Oh, yes. After all that's happened... I really do feel a need to talk it through.” Fluttershy closed her eyes for a moment. “And about our friends.”

“Yeah....” Pinkie was quiet for a moment. “You think they're okay too?”

“I'm sure they are, safe at home just like us.” Twilight smiled.

The woods seemed so much less foreboding this time, as the group of ponies made their way back home, talking excitedly about everything that had happened- and about the two humans they'd befriended along the way.

Things Unsaid

“So that was your real name.”

Indy removed his hat as he knelt down in front of the worn memorial he'd found. A simple marble plaque that had somehow stood the test of time and erosion, its exquisite Japanese script faded but still legible. Below the name was written a single line- Son, Father, King, Warrior, Savior.

“You know,” Indy said quietly, laying a hand on the stone, “I still can only think of you as Jack.” He looked up at the partly-cloudy sky for a moment, watching how the sunlight danced through the leaves of the cherry trees all around the memorial. “Sorry it took me so long to find you. I'm sure the girls would have come along as well, if they could've.” He paused a moment, thinking. “I needed to thank you. We wouldn't have gotten out of that place alive without your help, Jack. I've seen plenty of guys strut around, showing off muscle pointlessly, bragging about how great warriors they were. You? You lived the warrior credo. Stand fast against the threat to the innocent, defend those who can't defend themselves. And you never bragged, never took yourself too seriously... you just did what needed to be done.”

From his messenger bag, he drew out a brand-new camera- almost half the size of the ones he was used to; progress was such an amazing thing- and took a picture of the memorial, being sure to get all of the writing in the shot. With that done, he stood. “You told me you hoped the future would know what I did for it,” he said. “I'm going to do the same for you, Jack. I know you'd defer, you'd rather I not go to the trouble- but I think it's owed to you, by far. I'm used to not being able to tell the full story of what I've done- and by God, I wish there was some way I could tell the world what those six incredible ponies went through to save it- but this at least I can do for you.” The camera went back into the bag, and Indy stood. “It's the least I can do to repay you.”

After one more moment of stillness, the archaeologist turned and walked away, heading back towards the van that waited at the bottom of the hill. Inside, two young men waited expectantly; the one in the passenger's seat, dark-skinned and dressed in a denim shirt with his hair set in cornrows, leaned out the window. “Didja find what you were looking for, Dr. Jones?” he called.

“Sure did, Marcus.” He patted his bag. “Took four years, but I think it was worth it.” His glance shifted over to the driver. “You look nervous, Wan Li.”

The young man tugged at his New York Yankees cap. “I'm a Chinaman in Japan. There's plenty of people here who'd be, uh... a little less than pleased with me being here.”

Marcus patted him on the shoulder. “Don't worry, hoss! I got your back. Nobody's gonna give you grief so long as Marcus Johnson's with ya.” He paused a moment. “Though, seriously, man, I'm still surprised you're okay with this trip. Didn't you say your parents died to Japanese bombs?”

“It was war. They did bad things, we did bad things. I've been through too much to hold grudges.” Wan Li shrugged as he started the van. “I've faced death from so many guys of so many nationalities that I'd have to hate everyone if I was going to start forming prejudices. It's a whole lot easier just to blame Indy for dragging me into so many dangerous places.”

Indy snorted derisively. “Right. Blame me. Not like you ever got yourself into trouble.”

“I blame that on spending my formative years in the company of a man with few morals.”

The archaeologist smirked as Marcus chortled. “Yeah, yeah, keep it up, Wan Li. Maybe I'll tell Marcus here what name you went by back in those days.”

“...oh come on!” Wan Li groaned. “I was a kid! I was still learning English! It's not like I knew any better!”

“Huh? Oh, man, now this I've gotta hear. Spill it.” Marcus leaned back in his seat, fixing his friend with an expectant stare. After a few long moments, the young Chinese man gave in. “Okay. Fine. It was 'Short Round'.”

“Tha- wha- blwahahahaha!” Marcus broke into raucous laughter as Indy smirked. “Oh, God, man, that's just too much. Crazy.”

“Hey, how about we talk about something else for a while?” Wan Li fumed. “Like, I dunno, why we came here in the first place? You were pretty tight-lipped about it during the trip, Dr. Jones.”

“Hey, yeah, that's a fine idea.” Marcus leaned one arm over his seat and looked back at the archaeologist. “You've been studying this certain guy for the last few years, Doc, but you ain't told us much about him. What's the story?”

“Hmh. Alright, fair enough.” Indy set his hat on the seat next to him as he leaned back. “It's a tale about a noble Japanese prince, a powerful samurai warrior, who- through his travels- came to be called 'Jack'....”

(-)

“Ach, lad....” The burly man seated before Jack shook his head, setting his tankard down on the thick table they sat at. “Were it any other man before me, I'd be callin' this tale the result of five too many ales. A whole universe ruled by a thinkin' gem? Talkin' ponies? A man from th' past?” He waved one enormous hand. “Present company excepted, o' course. But anyway... anyone else, I'd be declarin' this the tall tale to end 'em all. But you, Jack? Yer not th' type inclined towards flights o' fancy.”

The samurai chuckled. “Indeed. Though I understand your disbelief. Were I to be told this tale by any other person, I would react much the same way.”

“Heh. Well, lad... I figure you'd be the first one I'd want at me side in a crazy situation like that. I think those ponies and that professor were lucky t' have ye. Suppose that's another debt a lotta people have t' ye.” He paused a moment, gazing at the samurai over the edge of his tankard as he took another deep quaff. “But I see somethin' in yer eyes, laddie. Somethin's eatin' at ya. What's on yer mind?”

Jack let out a long breath as he set his teacup back in its dish. “I learned something of the flow of time during my time spent in that strange place. It has led me to wonder about the consequences of my mission.” He folded his hands together and placed them on the table. “Were I to succeed at my task, return to the past and destroy Aku, and unravel all he has done... what would become of this place? What would become of all those who inhabit it?”

“Y'mean... like me.” The Scotsman leaned back in his chair, which creaked in protest as he settled his weight. “Jack, y'oughta know that philosophy is not m' strong point. But lemme give ye three simple words that oughta set yer mind at ease. It. Dinnae. Matter.” He paused again to take another drink. “Fate ain't somethin' I put a lot of stock in, but I do believe that th' universe has gotta way of sortin' itself out. Let's say, yah, you go back home and give Aku the thrashin' he's got comin'. Without th' world fallin' under his rule, do I even get born? Do I meet m' wife? I've gotta say 'aye' t' that, lad. I think a lotta things in life were just meant t' be.” He shrugged. “But even if they ain't, puttin' an end t' Aku's wickedness... me never comin' into bein' is a price I'll gladly pay, lad. I ain't th' only one. You know it's gotta be done, an' don't let anythin' stop ye.”

Jack nodded slowly. “Thank you, my friend.”

“Aw, heck, lad, ye already knew it! Y' just needed t' be reminded.” One of those enormous hands came down on Jack's shoulder, almost knocking him off of his chair. “Yer th' last person in th' world who'd shirk duty.” Finding his tankard empty, the Scotsman stood, the machine gun that served as one of his legs thunking against the floor as he walked over to his friend. “Up with ye, lad. Lemme take ye back t' the castle, treat ye to a fine dinner with m' family.” He grinned as Jack stood. “The missus would love t' hear about these ponies! I think she could really identify with that one... what was 'er name....” He furrowed his brow for a moment. “Ah, right! Th' one you called 'Fluttershy'!”

Jack's face went slack. “...Fluttershy? Are... you certain?”

“Oh, aye. Wiltin' flowers, gentle as a summer breeze, both of 'em! I'm sure they'd get along famously!”

All Jack could do was smile to himself as he walked alongside his friend out of the tavern and into the night-darkened streets.

(-)

“Rainbow Dash? Using a door? My, it's like everything I know has been turned upside-down.”

The pegasus shot Twilight a look as the unicorn giggled. “Right, yuk it up. There's a reason you work in a library instead of a comedy club.”

“Har har.” Twilight magically closed the door behind Rainbow. “Sorry I'm a little late,” the cyan mare said. “I was out at the park with Scoots all morning, helping her work on her wing strength.”

“Oh, no, you're actually a few minutes early.” Twilight smiled. “You've grown attached to that filly, haven't you?”

“After what happened in that place... I can't look at her without wanting to try to make things a little better for her.” Dash shook her head. “Oh, hey, speaking of... did you get a response back from the Princess yet?”

“I did! This morning, in fact. Princess Celestia said her clerks couldn't find any record of a 'Hope's Comfort Orphanage' being registered with Canterlot, but with the information you gave, they may have tracked down its location.” A small, wicked smile crossed the unicorn's face. “If it turns out to be even half as bad as you think it is, the Princess is going to come down on that place like a giant ball of fury. She will not tolerate the mistreatment of foals, especially orphans.”

Dash's grin was easily just as wicked. “Ohhh, I wish I could see that,” she said. “Nopony hurts my friends and gets away with it.”

“Oh, I believe it.” Twilight paused. “So how have you been sleeping?”

“Three nights in a row now without nightmares. That tea Zecora taught me how to brew has seriously been helping.”

“Yeah, me too.” The unicorn's voice trailed off, and she found herself staring out the window for a moment; she almost didn't notice Dash moving to stand next to her. “Hey, uh... Twilight?”

“Hm?”

“You... you miss them too, don't you?”

Twilight nodded. “I feel... almost cheated, in a way. The grandest adventure ever, something we never would've survived without two brave, strong friends... and we'll never have the chance to reminisce with them, to introduce them to our other friends and give them the recognition and thanks they deserve. I know it couldn't have happened any other way, but....”

Dash nodded slowly in agreement. “Yeah, I get you. We coulda learned a lot from them, huh?”

“Yeah, I know....” Twilight's thought was interrupted by the front door opening again. This time, Applejack led a somewhat disheveled-looking Rarity inside. “Oh, hello, girls!” the alabaster unicorn called out. “Forgive my unkempt appearance. I just came from Sweet Apple Acres with AJ here.”

“You gals ain't gonna believe this,” Applejack said. “Our delicate flower Rarity here went an' asked me for some help with physical trainin' and fightin' lessons.”

Rarity blushed at the dropped jaws of her other friends. “Yes, well... sometimes a lady must be delicate and soft. But after our little adventure, I learned that sometimes silk must hide steel.” Her expression fell for a moment. “I would rather not be caught lacking should an emergency require my strength.”

“That's pretty awesome, Rares.” Dash grinned. “I can give you some tips on low-impact strength training if you want.”

“I would be most grateful.”

“Oh hey! We're not late after all!” Pinkie Pie followed her words into the library with Fluttershy close behind. “See, 'Shy? I told you we had time to stop for those donuts.” From wherever Pinkie kept such things, she brought out a tray of freshly-baked donuts of various types. “Who wants to go out on a journey without nice, warm baked goods?”

“Oh, yes, about that.” Fluttershy looked around at her friends. “What exactly is it we'll be doing? Nopony gave me any details.”

“Before we get to that, I'd like you girls to have a look at something I've been writing.” She led the other mares to her lectern, where a fresh sheet of parchment sat; she watched as the other ponies read the writing on it. “I just wanted to get your input on it before I sent it off to the Princesses, and if you're okay with it, I'd like to get each of you to sign it as well.”

One by one, the other Bearers picked up the nearby quill from its inkpot and wrote their names at the bottom of the letter. “It is masterfully written, Twilight,” Rarity said. “I couldn't have put it better myself.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you, Rarity. Now, about our trip....” She levitated a thick book off of a nearby desk and opened it for her friends to see. “I was doing some light reading last night, and came across this entry here- about an ancient tribe of ponies who supposedly lived in an elaborate series of tunnels underground. It's been conjectured that one of their aboveground entrances was somewhere in the Whitetail Forest, but nopony's actually ever bothered to go looking for it.”

“Oooooh.” Pinkie's grin practically split her face. “You wanna go on an adventure, Twilight?!”

“Well... I'd prefer to call it 'field research', but... yes!” She closed the book and dropped it into her saddlebags. “Indy told me that was the way to really appreciate what you're studying- to go out and find it for yourself, to see it where it really was. I think I want to give that a try.”

“Well... huh.” Dash chuckled. “You know, this could actually prove to be fun. We might find treasure!”

“We might see fashions and jewelry lost to the ages!” Rarity added.

“We might find amazing new creatures and befriend them!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“We might be giants!”

Everypony turned to stare at Pinkie, who raised an eyebrow. “What, you prefer Franz Ferdinand?” she asked, deadpan.

A moment of confused silence loomed, before the other mares broke out in laughter. “Oh, Pinkie,” Twilight chuckled, adjusting her saddlebags with her magic. “Come on, everypony- history waits for no mare!”

She rolled the parchment her friends had signed and wrapped it in a golden band, letting it wait for Spike's return home to be sent to the Princesses. Then she followed her friends through the library door, and outside into the world beyond.

(-)

Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,

By now you have probably already read our official report regarding what occurred after we located the tower in the Everfree Forest. However, I wished to supplement that report with a letter- a Friendship Report, perhaps the most unique I have yet written.

Princesses, we learned several valuable lessons during our time within Fracture's domain. We learned that sometimes, through sheer chance and luck, everything around us can change- sometimes for the worst. We learned that there are threats to all that we know which we may never see coming, and that we should always be alert and ready to act. And we learned that every action we take, every choice that we make, may bear consequences we are simply unable to know at the time.

But above all else, we learned that- no matter what one's circumstances at any given time- none of us are ever truly alone. There is always another, somewhere, who has faced what it is we face, or at least something like it... and though we may never have the good fortune of meeting them- or, sadly, only doing so for much too short a time- they are still with us in spirit, connected to us in a way that can never be seen or felt, but is real and solid all the same.

There are places we will never see, that we could never dream of in a million years, where there is suffering and strife beyond measure. I wish beyond anything that we could reach out to them, to lend them the slightest bit of comfort, to tell them “you are not alone”. But it is the best we can do to live our own lives to the fullest, to protect our homes and those whom we love, and to on occasion gaze up at the sky and be thankful that our own lives carry on in relative peace.

These lessons were learned under conditions I would never wish upon any other living thing. But it is the hardest lessons that last the longest, after all. I hope that, when time has passed and my friends and I have left this world, the things we have done and the lessons we have learned will live on- that, no matter what becomes of ponykind, of Equestria, we will know that we are never truly alone... and that when we find ourselves at crossed paths with others who are simply trying to get through life as we are, we should offer them the hoof of friendship and the smile of welcoming for however long we may be blessed with their company.

Signed, your faithful subjects, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony

- Twilight Sparkle
- Rainbow Dash
- Applejack
- Rarity
- Pinkie Pie
- Fluttershy

Desperate Times

DID YOU KNOW... that Desperate Times is out? It's true! Go give it a read!

“HQ? Come in, HQ. Are you there? Is there anyone on this frequency?! ...dammit.”

He tapped his earpiece and sighed. “Great. Out of contact, on my own, unarmed and lost. Goddamn Sirian technology.” He took a moment to take in his surroundings; the lush, colorful forest he'd found himself in was abuzz with life, and the bright sun above shone on him with a warm light. “Well, at least it's not a desert,” he amended. “I've had my fill of deserts.”

Given nothing else to do, he made his way through the almost ridiculously vibrant forest, only needing a few minutes to find its edge and emerge into a grassy plain. He checked his phone to see if he could get any sort of GPS or satellite fix on his location- only to find that there was no signal of any kind that he could access. “Well, that's not good,” he murmured to himself.

“What's not good?”

“Gyah-!” His hand went for a pistol he no longer had, while he spun around to find the source of the voice. “Where the hell-!”

“Up here!” He froze, then looked up. Above him hovered an exceptionally small horse, flapping a pair of fog-grey wings steadily, while a yellow mane and tail fluttered in the breeze it made. But he noted all that in the background while he was caught by the strange creature's most striking feature: A pair of enormous, cockeyed golden eyes, one looking intently at him while the other sort of wandered off on its own. “What the hell are you?!” he couldn't help but utter.

“I'm a pony!” A goofy grin crossed that expressive face. “What the hay are you?”

“Um... I'm a human.” He wasn't exactly new to the concept of alien species, but this thing took the prize for silliness. He was at least thankful it didn't seem hostile, because shooting something so... well... cute would take levels of detachment he wasn't sure even he could manage. “So. Well... where am I?”

“You're in the Principality of Equestria, it seems.” Another voice sounded off from near the treeline; he and the pony both turned to find a woman in what looked like a hiking outfit, with a zebra roughly the same size as the flying pony walking next to her, clad in a plain grey cloak. He stared at the newcomers for a moment. “You can't be serious,” he deadpanned.

“It does seem rather outlandish, I know. But as we're apparently standing in a land of talking sentient equines, it also makes a certain measure of sense.” The woman chuckled. “Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Lara Croft; my lovely companion here is Zecora. And you are?”

“Sam Stone.” He glanced up at the still-hovering pony. “And this is, uh....”

“I'm Derpy! Derpy Hooves, of the Equestrian Postal Service.” After a moment, surprise crossed the pony's face. “Oh... wait! Sam Stone? Lara Croft? Hang on just a second!” It- or, well, “she”, it would seem- immediately landed and stuck her face into a set of saddlebags strapped across her back, rummaging through it.

“Yeeeeah... well.” Sam scratched the back of his neck. “The last thing I remember is jumping into some half-destroyed Sirian time-lock, plugging a random set of coordinates in and phasing out just before the whole damn planet exploded. Then I ended up here.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” Lara crossed her arms. “I'd uncovered an exceptionally intact Atlantean structure with what looked like an extremely complex transport system. Unfortunately, the part of the complex I was in chose to collapse under its own weight while I was in it... it was either 'use the system' or 'be smashed under countless tonnes of rubble'.” She chuckled. “How I happened to end up here, though... it's a mystery.”

“Two strange creatures arrive, from a faraway place... a coincidence, I cannot call this with a straight face.” Zecora's gaze switched between the two humans. “But to solve this puzzle, my place it is not. I would wish to see you both to the city of Canterlot.”

Sam stared at the zebra for a moment, then glanced askance at Lara. “Does she always talk like that?”

“I find it rather charming.” Lara took a few steps forward, looking around. “Apparently Canterlot is the seat of power here in Equestria. Zecora would like us to meet the Princesses of this place. She tells me there are three, all of them-”

“Right here! Found 'em!” Derpy exclaimed. The others turned to find the pegasus on her rear legs, each forehoof holding up a package wrapped in plain brown paper. “Sam 'Serious' Stone, Lara Croft... special delivery!” she chirped, holding out the boxes.

“You're kidding.” Sam took his parcel. Sure enough, there was his name, written in flowing script. “Well, so long as it isn't C.O.D.,” he joked, tearing off the wrapping. Inside he found a black plastic case with a note taped to it, which he pulled off and read.

“Dear Mr. Stone,

No doubt by now, you wonder how it is you found yourself here within the borders of my nation. Through means of scrying too complex to describe here, I came to see your impending death via teleportation- you were fated to materialize in deep space, to die quickly and meaninglessly. I was able to rescue you from that end, and alter your destination to this world.

I wish I could say I had done this out of simple generosity, but I am afraid an urgent matter requires your assistance. For the last five months, this land- Equestria- has seen an incursion of seemingly demonic origin, an invasion unlike any we have ever known and which we are ill-equipped to repel. This enemy has proven disdainful of negotiation and seeks nothing more than the corruption or destruction of all other life it encounters. I brought you and your fellow human, Ms. Croft, to my nation in hopes that you could give us assistance in fighting off this enemy- to help me protect my ponies, and all the other forms of life that call this world home.

I cannot compel you to aid our cause. If you wish to return to your home, you need only tell me, and I will make all accommodations that I can. But I ask- I beg- of you to do what you can to help us. Ours is a world in danger of obliteration.

My sister, Princess Luna, will be en route as soon as she is able, to guide you. In the meantime, I have tasked this brave mailmare known as Derpy Hooves to provide whatever aid she can, and entrusted her to deliver a gift- something I took great pains to acquire. I believe you will find it useful.

Respectfully yours,

Princess Celestia”

Inside the case was a welcome sight to Sam- a brand-new SOP38 handgun, and one of the new technomagic ammunition replenishers, integrated into a hip holster, that he'd heard rumors about. The magazine of .45ACP ammunition included in the case slid easily into the weapon's handgrip. “I don't know who this Princess Celestia is, but it looks like she's been peeking at my Christmas list,” he chuckled.

“And it seems she knows my size as well.” Lara had just finished strapping on the holster and was holding the weapon up. “So, uh, Lara,” Sam said. “Do you know how to handle one of-”

His voice trailed off as the woman expertly cleared and checked the chamber, loaded the weapon and chambered a round, then looked up at him. “I'm sorry, Sam. You were saying?”

“...never mind.” He couldn't help but grin. “So now that we're loaded for bear, what....”

A loud, piercing scream echoed across the plains, coming from the northwest. A thin trail of smoke floated up from the hills in that direction. “My goodness!” Zecora gasped. “A village is that way, of farmers and crafters. Canterlot can wait- we should see what's the matter!”

“Uh... yeah.” Sam frowned. “Hey, I'm always up for killin' monsters. But Zecora, Derpy... maybe you'd better find someplace to hide.”

“No way!” Derpy crossed her forelegs over her chest as she hovered, shaking her head. “Princess Celestia told me that I should stick with you and help you out, and that's just what I'm gonna do!”

Zecora stepped forward to stand between the two humans. “Trouble is ahoof, that is easy to see,” she said in a calm but determined voice. “But when others need help, this zebra will not flee.”

Sam sighed, then shrugged. “Well, if you insist. Lara?”

“I'm sure we'll find their help useful.” She spared a glance towards that column of smoke, which seemed to have gotten thicker. “Sam, I believe we need to be on our way.”

“Gotcha.” The unusual quartet charged across the plain, the two armed humans taking the lead as zebra and pegasus kept close behind. It took a bit more than ten minutes for them to exit the valley and hit the outskirts of the village Zecora had mentioned- barely more than a collection of thatch-roofed homes, a handful of shops, some broad farmland and a windmill. Said windmill was now in flames, as were a few of the other buildings, and panicked ponies raced through the streets, looking for places to hide- and sometimes tripping over the corpses of their fellow townsfolk strewn about.

A sneer crossed Sam's face as he spotted what it was the ponies were running from. Huge, hideous demonic creatures- some hoofed satyr-like bipeds, others almost human but for their discolored skin, and some like tentacled dogs with heads that were almost entirely mouth- harried the survivors, almost seeming to prolong the chase purposefully in order to increase the targets' horror. The ravaged bodies left in the streets showed that the creatures were anything but gentle once the chase ended.

“Okay, I've seen enough.” Sam drew his handgun and clicked off the safety. “Battle plan: Demons over there; kill they ass. Questions?”

“I have one.” Lara had also pulled her weapon, and looked just as eager to move as he did. “What colour do demons bleed?”

He gave her a positively wicked grin. “Let's find out.”

And there, with the first gunshots ever heard in Equestria, the battle was joined.

Those Bonnie Mares (Bonus Chapter)

Never was he happier than when he was playing his pipes. The mournful notes of “Piobaireachd of Donald Dubh” echoed along the walls of the canyon he walked through; it gave him the feeling of being in a proper marching band, like the ones he used to see when he was a lad. He let out a quiet sigh of contentment to himself as he finished the song and the last of the bagpipes' sounds faded.

He'd been just about to start off on another of his favorites when a shrill cry came echoing to him from further down the canyon.

“HELP!”

The sound hadn't even faded before his pipes were slung over his shoulder, his claymore was in his hand and he was moving. It took him barely any time at all to reach the end of the canyon, which let out into a natural bowl-like formation; at the far end were a collection of massive, black-and-red shapes that were all too familiar to him- Aku's robotic drones. But between them and the blank earthen wall were two small splashes of color that he couldn't make out from the distance he still needed to cover.

He could still hear, though. “Get... get back, you... things! Or I'll- I'll make you regret it!”

“Lyra, you're only making them angry!”

“They were already angry!”

Well, whoever the robots had managed to corner, they sounded both female and defenseless- and that only lent speed to his steps as he closed in, finally getting within range for a dramatic leaping attack.

CRUNCH

The closest of the attack drones collapsed like a tin can as his full weight slammed into its back. Before any of the others could react, the ones to his sides were already split in half with one swing of his claymore; the rest of the drones finally realized they had an interloper in their midst and turned towards him, gunpods deploying. “Target identified,” they growled as one. “Alias 'The Scotsman'; real name-”

tat-tat-tat-tat-tat

Their report was drowned out by that of his machine gun, as the heavy-caliber rounds plowed through thick armor and delicate electronics with equal ease. Before any of the drones could even get a shot off, he'd gunned down all nine of the ones who hadn't already fallen to his sword- whoever had done the programming for the infernal things had apparently felt that announcing one's target took priority over actually terminating it.

Lances of blue fire streaked by him from his left. Four more of the drones had rushed in at the sound of battle; it looked the cheeky gits had already finished announcing him while he couldn't hear, then opened fire. Fortunately, accuracy was not their strong point, and he didn't even have to move as he yanked a hand grenade from his bandolier; pull pin, release spoon, count to three and throw- the explosive device landed dead-center in the advancing group, and they didn't even bother to attempt evasion before concussive force and shrapnel turned them into junk.

He couldn't help but grin as he surveyed his work. “Well, that was a nice little warmup afore lunch,” he said, moving his head left and right to work out a kink in his neck as he sheathed his sword. “Now, about ye lasses, who....”

He paused for a moment as his eyes took in the sight before him. Two tiny four-legged forms, one as green as peppermint with a white-streaked mane and tail, while the other was a soft beige and sported blue-and-purple hair growing from her head and hindquarters. The most striking thing about them, though- besides the fact that they were cowering next to each other like puppies in a thunderstorm- were the marks on their flanks; Greenie sported a lyre, while Creamy bore what looked like three wrapped candies.

“...are ponies,” he finished.

Creamy stopped trembling after a moment, and dared open her eyes- only to have them lock on him, freezing her in place. The only movement she dared make was to tap her companion on the withers. “...are we dead yet?” Greenie whimpered.

“Stop asking dumb questions and look!” Creamy hissed.

Greenie's golden eyes slowly opened, looked up and focused on him... and with a sharp gasp, she immediately shot to her hooves and rushed over to him, making him take a step back in surprise as she bounced around him. “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” she practically yelped. “Bon-Bon! Do you know what this is?!”

Creamy- or, rather, Bon-Bon, which would make Greenie “Lyra”- gave her a blank stare. “...no?”

“This is a human!” Lyra sat in front of him, gazing up at him in fascination, reinforcing the earlier “puppy” impression he'd gotten. He couldn't help but chuckle. “I told you they exist, Bon-Bon! I had all the proof, all the stories! But nooooo, there's Bossy-Bossy Bon-Bon, telling me to just 'let it go' and 'find a better hobby' and 'stop building that scale-model animatronic replica of a hand', but- hormph.”

Apparently ponies squeaked when another shoved a hoof into their mouths. It was all he could to do not just burst out laughing at this point. “Um,” Bon-Bon said nervously, still staring up at him even with her hoof muting Lyra. “I, uh... that is, we... are, um....” She glanced around at the wreckage of the robots that had been menacing them just moments before. “We're... well, thankful for your help, um... sir?” She managed a slight smile when he chuckled and nodded. “We don't know what we would've done if you hadn't protected us from those... things.”

“Well, lass, I've had more than a few run-ins with those... things. Always glad tae put 'em down.” He rubbed his chin. “But, errr... how did ye wee lasses end up here?”

“That was kind of my fault.” Lyra pushed Bon-Bon's hoof away, shooting her a look before turning her gaze back to him. “I, um... was experimenting with spells I was using for research into you humans! But unfortunately, one of the tomes I was using had suffered water damage, and some ink had leeched onto a page for a scrying spell from a teleportation spell from the previous page....”

“Long story short, Lyra botched a spell to find humans and brought us to a planet full of them instead.” Bon-Bon sighed. “And... lots of other creatures as well, from what we've seen. We've been lost here for four days.”

He frowned slightly; if these ponies were anything like the ones Jack had told him about, it probably would've been a rough four days for them hereabouts. “ 'Ave ye, now? An' why did Aku's drones decide tae bother ye?”

“If you mean... those things-” Bon-Bon eyed the ruined robots distastefully- “then we don't really know. They just said something about taking us back to their master for... what was that weird word they used? 'Vivisection'?”

“Ach. We'll be 'avin' none 'a that.” He knelt down. “I'll bring ye two back to m' castle, keep ye safe 'till ye can find yer way back home.”

“You'd do that?!” Bon-Bon's expression brightened, while Lyra looked positively ecstatic. “Oh, sir, we'd be eternally grateful! Thank you so much!”

Lyra was nearly vibrating in midair from excitement. “A castle! Built by humans! Full of humans! With human doors and human windows and human stairs and human- hormph.”

“Lyra, dear, stop flaking out in front of the human; you're disturbing him.” She paused a moment, then looked back up at him. “Um... sir? It seems awfully rude to just call you 'the human'....”

Now he laughed, though quietly as to not frighten them. “They call me 'Th' Scotsman', lass,” he said. “But m' real name is-”

boom

The smile fled his face as he looked over his shoulder; a thick plume of dirt and smoke jutted up from one of the nearby canyon walls. “Aku's drop pods,” he muttered. “Lasses, we oughta be movin'. Seems word 'a yer presence has spread.”

“Um... yeah, I think we should be moving too.” Lyra's earlier enthusiasm had vanished, replaced by worry that was reflected on Bon-Bon's face. “Please, lead the way.”

(-)

So good was his mood at the moment that he didn't even care if his brothers and cousins saw him walking along the road, playing “The Brown-Haired Maiden” on his pipes, with a miniature pastel-colored pony perched on each shoulder. Sure, they'd probably get in a few jibes about being seen with creatures that looked like escapees from a girl's storybook, but there was something about the little equines that he found positively cheerful.

Bon-Bon showed impeccable taste in music by being utterly fascinated by his bagpipes, closing her eyes and bobbing her head a little along with its soulful notes; Lyra was less enthused, and kept her ears down while instead intently examining his clothing and weapons. Her natural question about his leg had been countered with a brief but earnest “ye'd rather not know”, but that hadn't stopped her from asking about pretty much everything else in Creation before he'd decided that music was necessary for a harmonious journey.

Finally, his clan's keep rose in the distance, and in very little time he was carrying the two ponies through its grand gates. Lyra looked completely awestruck at every last thing she saw, while Bon-Bon did her best to curb her friend's enthusiasm. After a few moments, they reached the kitchen, where the love of his life was thudding a cleaver against a cutting board, dicing vegetables for stew. “Love-muffin!” he called out, arms wide. “I'm home!”

“Ach! There ye are!” She snorted, driving the cleaver a few inches into the board. “About time! Seems ye always get a case o' wanderlust whenever there's work t' be done.” She wiped off her hands with an old tattered rag before turning to face him. “Thought I heard explosions outside, too... so what'd you get up to while you were- ponies?!”

She practically beamed at the two miniature equines, while they looked somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze. “Where've ye been hidin' these two adorable little things, ye blaggart?” she questioned him.

“Jes' found 'em today. Somma Aku's wind-up toys were givin' them grief, so I, y'know... stepped in an' resolved things.”

“Awww. Y'poor dears. I'll get ye some vittles, jes' a sec.” She turned back to the kitchen table; Lyra leaned over his shoulder to whisper to Bon-Bon. “But... we're not deers; we're ponies.”

“Lyra....” The earth pony made a face as the unicorn gave her a cheeky grin. “You never turn off, do you?” Bon-Bon muttered, though she had the beginnings of a smile.

The two ponies had a seat in the enormous chairs that ringed the main dining table; both needed a considerable amount of conveniently-available objects underneath them to be able to reach. Oddly enough, Lyra chose to sit in a manner not unlike a human's, while Bon-Bon took a more sensible position. “An' here ye go, ladies!” his wife called out, sliding two plates with heaping helpings of fruits and vegetables along the table to them.

The ponies eagerly tore into their meal, while his wife gave him a paltry helping of steak- barely three pounds. If Lyra and Bon-Bon were bothered by him eating meat, they didn't show it... but with the way they were obliterating their food, it seemed that they were more intent on filling empty bellies. He finished his pre-meal snack and watched as his wife moved about the kitchen with the grace and lightness of a butterfly. The ponies, having eaten their fill, watched as well. “Wow, she's actually rather nimble,” Bon-Bon commented.

Lyra nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you wouldn't expect movement like that from somepony so fa- hormph.”

Bon-Bon's hoof was just a second too late. His wife froze in mid-movement; the bowl she was holding dropped to the floor, spilling thick stew all over. Slowly, she turned to stare at the mint-green pony, arms trembling, hands in fists at her sides, and eyes narrowed with murderous intent. Bon-Bon's pupils shrank into dots. “You really don't ever turn off, do you, Lyra....” she whispered.

He sighed and turned to look at the two now-terrified ponies. “Girls... run.”

-

The main gates to the keep practically exploded open; Bon-Bon galloped for all she was worth along the drawbridge, with Lyra hanging on for dear life, draped over her back. Far too close behind was the Scotsman's wife, waving a rolling pin and screaming invectives at them, pursuing them off the bridge and down the path towards the canyon.

Timidly, the Scotsman peeked his head past one heavily-damaged door. “Buttahcup!” he called out. “Go easy on th' wee lasses... they're jes' ponies!”