Twilight peered at the run-down town from her hiding spot in the bushes. The monsters were indeed using it as their own, since she could spy numerous shadows moving around that obviously weren't ponies. Even if she wasn't already hurt, fighting her way in would be impossible. Still, there had to be some way, Spike was in there and she wasn't going anywhere without him.
Frowning and scanning the sky, she didn't spot Ditzy anywhere. The pegasus had said she was going to have a quick look around and sped off before Twilight could stop her. There was no flurry of movement in the town to suggest Ditzy had been noticed, and she was technically a scout for the camp now, which meant she had to have some talent for it to last as long as she had. Though Twilight still thought her diving into that flock of winged ones was just crazy.
A rustle came from behind her and Twilight jumped, spinning and preparing her magic. "W-who's there?"
It was silent for a moment, then something slid out from under the bushes, coming to a stop just short of Twilight's hooves. She glanced down at the object, a knife, then back up just to catch a glimpse of two gleaming eyes watching her before they disappeared into the foliage again. Hesitantly, she let her magic fade and focused on the weapon. It looked familiar, and almost sounded like it was buzzing. Magically lifting it up for a better look, she realized it was the one Rakanishu had been using.
A thump to her side made her jump again, this time scrambling away from it and positioning the knife between her and whatever had made the noise. Ditzy was staring at her looking like... well, Ditzy.
"Paranoid." She muttered, a smirk on her face. "Just me."
"Sorry about that..." Twilight said, lowering the knife and wondering where she could put it. She wasn't exactly prepared for the situation, but it's hard to plan ahead for an abrupt ponynapping.
Ditzy must have guessed what she was doing, since the pegasus grabbed it out of the air with her mouth and slid it into her front left boot.
"Will you be okay with it there?" Twilight asked.
"Padding." She replied simply. Though Twilight didn't know if she meant there was padding between her leg and the blade or if it acted like padding.
"Okay... did you see a way we could sneak in?"
Ditzy shook her head. "Too many."
"Great." Twilight grumbled, peeking out at the town again. "Well, even if we did, we don't even know where we'd find Spike. Going in blind is just asking for trouble." Ditzy pressed herself against Twilight's side. She was about to pull away and ask what in Equestria the pegasus was doing, when she lifted a hoof and pointed at the largest building left standing.
"Prison is there."
"You saw it? Was Spike okay?"
Ditzy shook her head. "Didn't see it. Coldcrow mentioned it."
She blinked. Mentioned it? Ditzy could understand these things? As much as she wanted to ask, other things were on her mind. "Is that the leader here?"
"No. Blood Raven leads."
Twilight stared at her for a moment. "Did you find all this out just now?"
Ditzy smiled. "Yes. Good scouter."
"Very. You've sure impressed this pony." Reclaiming some personal space and sitting down, Twilight started thinking. "We just have to figure out how we can get in without being seen."
It was quiet for a couple minutes, Twilight running ideas and wishing her magic was still working right, while Ditzy kept a vigilant eye on the town and another on the skies at the same time. Twilight idly wondered for a moment if her friend was really able to look in two different directions at the same time, but thought it might come off as rude to ask.
"Disguise?" Ditzy suggested, glancing over at the staring unicorn.
"Thought of that. Even if my magic was working right, I couldn't change the way we look." She replied. It wasn't exactly true, since she was able to give Rarity wings one time, but that alone was exhausting and she'd never tried changing the shape of a living thing before. She didn't want to try either, after reading about some of the possible side effects.
Ditzy frowned, stepping away from the bush. "Wait here." With that she was off again before Twilight could say anything.
"That pony really needs to explain things before rushing off." She muttered, going over to look at the town again. It didn't take long before Ditzy came whizzing back, dragging a large, dirty brown cloth with her. Twilight blinked in confusion. "What's that for?"
"Magic's not everything." Ditzy replied with a smile.
The monsters scurried about the town as if they owned the place. They did, in a way, but Ditzy didn't like it one bit. Mainly because she knew it before it was turned into this. It was one of the few towns she worked as a mailpony before moving to Ponyville. She had a few happy memories of the place, aside from being fired for the usual reason she had been back then.
Watching another group of the little monsters walk by, Ditzy tried to hide her face deeper in the hood and hoped she was flying close enough to the ground they actually looked something like a tall, cloaked creature walking. Either it was really convincing or they were really dense, because every one of the groups they passed by didn't even look her way.
"Almost there." She whispered to Twilight, who had awkwardly hooked her front legs around Ditzy's hind ones and was hanging on with everything she had.
"Be careful." Twilight said with a strained voice.
The unicorn was obviously still hurting where the big thing had punched her, but she wouldn't budge when Ditzy suggested she wait outside and leave the job to her. A grin crossed the pegasus' mouth. She'd heard about how devoted Twilight could be to her friends, but this was something else. There was probably only one pony she'd personally go to these lengths for...
Shadows covered her as she entered the old town hall. The room was as she remembered it for the most part, if a lot darker and emptier. A voice echoed from up ahead, getting louder as it moved closer and making her rethink the emptier description. Drifting over to the side of the room where the shadows were thicker, she noticed the faint outline of a hole in the wall, big enough for a pony to squeeze through.
Dropping the cloak and placing a surprised Twilight on the ground, she urged her toward the hole. "In there, quick."
"In where? I can't see a thing." She whispered back.
The voices were getting closer. "Here." Ditzy landed as quietly as she could on the hard floor and gently took part of the unicorn's mane in her teeth, trying to guide her in that way. Finally she started through, only to bump into something on the other side halfway through. Fortunately it wasn't very loud and Twilight managed to get around whatever it was since the rest of her disappeared into the hole a moment later.
Ditzy followed, noting the upturned table just on the other side, grabbed Twilight's tail so she wouldn't wander into anything that could cause a crash and turned back to the hole as the voices on the other side became clear.
"I still think I should go with you." A cold, female one said. Ditzy recognized it as Coldcrow from her brief scouting mission.
Twilight's head whipped around. "I understood that."
"Do you not trust my abilities?" The second voice asked, this one oddly distorted. If Coldcrow was answering to it, the owner had to be Blood Raven.
"That too." Twilight murmured, turning around and almost walking into the wall trying to find the hole so she could look out. Ditzy helped her get into position, starting to think leaving her behind might have been a better idea.
"Of course not. I only worry you may have more problems than you anticipate." Coldcrow replied as she stepped into their view, though she didn't sound too convincing.
Blood Raven followed and neither pony could believe her eyes. Covered in spiked red and white armor with a mask to match was one of their own, not just working with the creatures but actually leading them. "You worry too much."
"Griswold can handle things here, if I-"
"Griswold is a brute." Blood Raven cut her off. "I need someone with half a brain to look after things while I'm away. You do have that, don't you?"
Coldcrow's expression turned dark as Blood Raven walked out of the ponies view. "Do not be arrogant just because Lady Andariel chose you, especially since you're-" An arrow sped by Coldcrow's face, leaving a slice in her cheek.
"Oh dear, my apologizes. Your uvula looks just like a bullseye, so I couldn't help myself. Perhaps it would be better if you keep your mouth closed. We wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen now, would we?" Blood Raven said with a cruel laugh.
Silence filled the foyer on the other side and Coldcrow turned, stalking off the way she had come. The two ponies that had witnessed the display glanced at each other.
"What in Equestria do you think that was all about?" Twilight wondered.
"Don't know." Ditzy said, getting a bad feeling. "Nothing good."
Spike bolted to the side as Griswold dove at him, axe gleaming in the faint moonlight. Metal clashed against the floor as the dragon scampered around him, diving down just before the blade whooshed through the air where his head had been. Rolling away from the monster since he doubted he'd be given time to stand, sparks flew over him as the axe came down again, barely an inch from his side.
Getting back on his feet without losing momentum, he made a mad dash toward the door. Then remembered he wasn't trying to escape just for himself. He had to help everyone still locked up. Now was his chance to be the hero like he'd wanted. Twisting back around, the sight of Griswold rushing at him gave him second thoughts about the whole hero thing, thinking he should try something with less chance of him ending up a head shorter to start with. He was short enough already.
Now though, he didn't have any options. Griswold was on him again, swinging like a lunatic. Blowing a burst of fire as he dove out of the way of another wild swing, Griswold's clothing ignited. Thinking it would be enough of a distraction, Spike leapt at the key hanging from the thing's belt. Not a second after he got his claws on the key, the axe blade came rushing around to meet him. Letting himself fall out of the way, the monster's axe dug into its own side, cleaving the belt in half and the key dropping to the floor with a ping.
Spike grabbed the key, but once again was only able to touch it for a second. Griswold turned, kicking the little dragon in the stomach and sending him flying, the key slipping from his grasp. Slamming into the far wall and dropping limply into the floor, he watched in a daze as Griswold yanked the axe roughly out of his own side, showing no reaction to it or the flames still blazing on his torso.
Trying to stand, Spike cried out as a sharp pain shot through his chest, forcing him back onto the ground. Once it had passed, he glanced back up just in time to see Griswold bring down his axe.