Mega Mare
Chapter 5 – Eye Shy
"Tell me it isn't a long way up." Twilight looked up the mountain and groaned.
Having emerged from the gem mines of the Diamond Dogs to the cliff path winding up to the top of the mountain, her courage had suddenly drained away at the sight of the climb ahead. Spike's data feed popped up on her display and she dismissed it without bothering to read it.
"Hey!"
"Spike, I'm really not in the mood to know wind speeds or terrain heights. What's the important stuff?"
"Well, judging from the height and geological data I'm reading, this is Mt. Rushmare, the third-highest peak in the range. A few centuries ago it was an airship refueling center for transports between Appleloosa and Connecticolt. Then Connecticolt built a cloud-based station south of here, and they abanadoned the mountain and removed all their equipment. Two years ago a committee chose Rushmare to be the site of a giant sculpture of Celestia carved into the mountain, but the project hasn't gotten off the ground yet. None of the pegasi have the skills demanded to work with stone, and the earth pony sculptors don't want to work in this environment until the pegasi build a more reliable airship to get them around here safely."
"Sounds like a great plan, can we wait for that to happen?" A gust of wind blew Twilight's mane past her face and she huddled down, shivering. Fighting crazed ponies and other dangers, even if she wasn't enthused about it, she could handle, probably. What she was not ready to handle was the long, certainly fatal fall that was just a few hooves in front of her. Twilight didn't care to approach the edge of the path and see just how far down the fall was.
"Come on, Twilight," Spike said. She turned her head and saw the holographic claw pat her on the back of the neck. She didn't feel a thing from it, but smiled at the attempt. "We can do this."
Twilight gulped and took a deep breath, and looked up the mountain. "Well... come on, then. Let's move." She started up the path, moving slowly and keeping close to the cliff. She hoped for their sake that there weren't any berserk ponies up this way, if she got into a fight there was no way it could end without someone going down the mountain the hard way. The path wasn't very steep, fortunately, and wide enough to stay well away from the edge.
As Twilight climbed she mulled over the encounter with Rarity. The unicorn said she had allied with the Diamond Dogs to keep the non-cybernetic ponies prisoner, but why? She understood that this 'Master' wasn't able to control them, but what use did this mysterious enemy have for ponies it couldn't control?
"Spike, any sign of the last aide?"
"Nope, just the one at the mountain top. Why, what's up?
"Doesn't this all feel a bit weird?" Twilight said, looking up the cliff face beside her. "Every time we beat one, we just happen to sense another one nearby?"
"What do you mean?" Spike asked. Twilight sighed. She hoped she was just being paranoid, but she couldn't shake the idea from her head.
"It feels like we're being led around by something, more likely someone. And if we are, we know who, now. And if that's the case, we could easily be walking into a trap."
"I think you're worrying over nothing," Spike said. Twilight noted he didn't sound like he believed it himself. "If there was anypony else around here, I would detect them, right?"
"Yeah, except we've already had to deal with Pinkie Pie, and we couldn't detect her while she was tunneling."
"Again, worrying over nothing. Out here I'd definitely… uh-oh." Spike interrupted himself, and Twilight called up her map to see two red dots approaching. And judging from the way they were moving, they were flying, and coming in fast.
"You were saying?" Twilight readied her horn and looked up. She saw glimmering mists of blue light swooping through the air, turning to come towards her. As they neared Twilight saw they looked like over-sized, spectral ponies. They were light blue and transparent, and moved as if galloping on the air itself, their manes and tails blowing behind them.
Spike gasped in her head. "I don't believe it. Windigos!"
Twilight saw one of the ghostly ponies rear back its head and snap it forward, a spray of three pale blue lasers shooting at her. She jumped out of the way and fired back three blasts. Two caught the Windigo but didn't faze it as it turned away, and a second came in its stead. As the second Windigo fired, Twilight thought she saw a flash of silver in its mouth, and focused on avoiding the triple shot instead of firing back.
"Spike, scan them closer, something's odd!" She heard her internal components whirring to life.
"I'm sensing something mechanical. But that's not right, the Windigos are mythical spirits of hatred," Spike reported. Twilight took careful aim with her horn as the second specter flew over her head, and fired a blast directly into its mouth. The Windigo visibly flashed, and Twilight saw a small steel orb in its place before its visage flickered back into being. She smiled in triumph.
"It's a hologram!" She aimed for the mouth of the first Windigo that was circling back and fired off several shots as it began to fire. The image of the ghostly pony vanished, leaving a small, floating steel orb to continue flying forward, clanging off the mountainside and rolling down the path. The second Windigo whinnied at the sight of its wounded comrade and came right at her, triple shot laser firing. Twilight fired as she dodged it, catching the silver orb projecting the hologram of a pony and sending it falling into the abyss below.
"Well, that was something." Twilight lifted the disabled orb lying on the path in her telekinesis and floated it over to inspect more closely. It was a flat metal sphere, an anti-gravity thruster installed on the back with three laser barrels emerging from the top. The top and bottom had combination force field and hologram emitters.
"Okay, this is making more sense now," Spike said. Twilight felt her internal components humming as he scanned the device. "It's a weather scouting drone. Pegasi deploy them around Equestria to keep track of weather patterns in problematic areas and report any anomalies to the local weather teams. They usually project holograms of clouds to avoid being seen and tampered with by vandals, the laser systems are for the same, usually at a lower power setting."
"So then, somepony has hacked them to work as offensive fighters," Twilight finished, turning the robot around. "Any more of them around here?"
"Let's find out," Spike replied. Twilight called up her map and soon two blinking silver dots lit up on it. She dropped the disabled machine and continued up the mountain, watching her map closely. Aside from the blinking red dot of Celestia's next aide, only those Windigo-scout drones were up here, and fortunately not many of them. Twilight looked down at her hoof and thought.
"If they fight using only lasers, I guess it's a good chance to try those gems we got from Rarity." She sent the command and her hoof shrank, a thicker band emerging around the center with the four gem shards she had picked up in the mines emerging on the sides. "They're strong enough to absorb their lasers, right?"
"Even hacked, the drones don't have the generator capacity to shoot with much kick to it. We'll be fine."
Twilight nodded and continued on, this time keeping an eye on the clouds for incoming Windigos. As they climbed higher, the wind picked up slightly, and the path got steeper, making the going even slower as she took her time to make sure her steps were steady and sure. After a few trips around the mountain itself, Twilight saw another Windigo coming after her, mouth opening to fire at her. Twilight launched the Rare Shield, the orbiting silver gems absorbed the blasts, and her own violet shots fired in tandem with the reflected blue lasers of the Windigo. Even without being hit in its weak point, the hologram broke like glass and fell away, the emitter device sailing through the air and down the side of the cliff. The four orbiting gems shrank back down and latched back around Twilight's hoof, and she continued the climb.
Further up still, Twilight began to see clouds coming close, and saw the mountain plateau ahead. Emerging on a flat plane of ground where the path curled around a central spire of the mountain going up even higher, Twilight turned and ducked to the ground to avoid another Windigo, the three blue lasers scorching the ground behind her. She rose to her feet and waited for it to turn back, then opened fire, disabling it and sending it crashing into the ground next to her, the metal bouncing along the ground.
"I'm not sensing much else. It's all clear," Spike said. "Keep going." Twilight gulped loudly and switched her hoof to the Apple Whip, using its claw to dig into the ground as she slowly took the path. The path was still not all that narrow, but given the height she was taking no chances. She slowly stepped around the edge of the peak and looked forward. The path stretched over to an adjacent peak, a narrow gap between them. Twilight approached the gap, willing herself not to look down, and focused on her map. The next aide was definitely across. It was only a hoof or two wide, but it was wide enough to frighten her. She took a shaky breath and stepped back.
"Okay Twilight… just don't look down. Don't… look…" She hesitated, closed her eyes, and ran forward. Twilight leapt, firing the Apple Whip as she sailed through the air. The three rings around her hoof vibrated as the claw hit the cliff ahead and dug in. Twilight retracted herself over and slowly opened her eyes. To her relief she had landed safely, and her hooves were dragging on the ground as the Apple Whip pulled her into the cliff. Loosing the claw, metal plates clicked together and shifted as she changed her hoof back to its default mode. Twilight took the moment to calm her nerves, breathing deeply.
"Spike, please tell me she's nearby." In response her horn projected her map in front of her. Twilight raised her eyes. To her dismay the path curved up the mountain in front of her yet more, but the blinking dot of their destination was close. Twilight pushed herself to her feet, swallowed the lump in her throat, and slowly climbed, using the Apple Whip's claws to sink into the ground for stability. The clouds were so close now she was sure if she fired her horn she could disperse them. She crested the top of the path, and stopped to rest, and to stare ahead.
The mountain plateaued, with a few smaller spires of rock poking out, but mostly it was flat. And to her relief, it wasn't large enough to give her a view downwards to remind her she was miles into the sky. On the edge of the mountain ahead, sitting on her flank with her face hidden behind a long mass of light pink hair, was a butter-yellow pegasus. Twilight saw a metal plate with a control panel on the back of one of her hooves, but not much to hint at once it might be for. As she got closer she saw civilian-issue stun gauntlets fitted around both hooves. They weren't cybernetics, just boots with low-powered concussive pulse blasters mounted on the sides, their ends glowing a dull blue.
"That's her. Fluttershy."
"Hello?" Twilight approached cautiously. By now she definitely knew better, Fluttershy would be corrupted by the Master. She didn't see any significant weapons, which she hoped meant this would be an easy fight, but she wasn't taking any chances. "Fluttershy?" The pegasus moved her head slightly at her name, but her mane still hid her face.
"H-hello?" A small voice whimpered. Twilight edged closer. Just in case, she couldn't attack the other pony out of paranoia. First, she'd make sure.
"Fluttershy, I need you to turn and face me." Twilight spoke gently, hiding her fear. Fluttershy brushed a hoof on the ground but didn't move her head. "Please?" Twilight asked.
"Um… o-okay." Fluttershy's mane moved as her head turned, and Twilight smiled as Fluttershy's face came into view, blinking at her with large cyan eyes.
"Hello Twilight Sparkle."
There was a blinding flash of light, and Twilight felt herself freeze in place. Her eyes went wide. She tried to move, but every part of her body, biological or mechanical, refused to obey. Pulling at her hooves and her body, she found herself completely paralyzed. Even her head refused to turn.
"Spike! What's happened?" There was no response. "Spike?" Empty silence filled her head. Twilight began to panic in her own mind, her breathing quickening as much as it could with the paralysis in effect. What could do this? There was a low chuckle, and Twilight turned her focus back to Fluttershy. The pegasus was slinking towards her with a cruel smile, eyes gleaming red.
"So, this is the unicorn who has interfered with my plans?" She sneered and tapped a hoof against Twilight's Multitool. "I was expecting more. You're barely out of fillyhood, and yet you've already defeated three of the aides, and made your way this far." Fluttershy stepped back, smirking. Twilight tried to move her mouth, and with great difficulty, managed to squeak out one word.
"F-flut..shy?"
Fluttershy snorted and tossed her mane with a hoof. "Not quite. This body is insulting for one of my grandeur and power, but it will do to speak to you. Not that I had much choice, I have matters more important than you that won't wait." Twilight felt a tingling in her limbs, and gasped in a breath as movement in her head returned, turning her head slightly to look at her body. "I don't think so." Fluttershy's hoof turned her head forward, and her eyes lit up in a bright gleam of cyan light. Twilight froze in place again.
"The little one had implants in her skull, to keep her animals at home in line." Fluttershy smiled and gestured with her hoof, tapping the control panel implant on it against Twilight's horn. The metal ringing sounded hollow in Twilight's ears, her senses dulled. "Rapid flashes of light from the eyes, tuned specifically to disrupt the brain's neural passages and hamper movement to the point of near-total paralysis. Not that she ever took it that far, just enough to demand attention and obedience. But, as I'm sure you've seen with my other servants, I need to take some liberties with their abilities to make them proper fighters."
"Mas-ter." Twilight struggled to get the word out as she realized who she was really speaking to.
"At last she figures it out," the Master replied in Fluttershy's voice. "If it is of any consolation, this one was hard to break. Oh, they all resist, of course, but this one doesn't have a mean bone or plate in her body. I was able to influence her to come here, but anything other than background suggestions and she fights back. Direct control is a waste of my time for most of them when system corruption bends them just fine, but for you, I'll make an exception."
Twilight struggled to move. She had to do something. Her eyes moved, and she could move her mouth through great effort. She put all her energy into trying to move a hoof, even just a step back. Fluttershy looked down and snorted at the sight of Twilight's hoof twitching rapidly.
"How cute. You're trying to resist too?" She laughed. Fluttershy held out her hoof. The civilian stun gauntlets whirred to life, the twin barrels on each hoof lighting up a brighter blue. Two volleys of energy blasts hit Twilight's flank, knocking her to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Under normal circumstances, she would have barely flinched; the gauntlets on the pegasus's hooves were low-powered civilian stun weapons, usually used when a pony went adventuring in the wild and wanted some protection against hostile animals. But with Twilight almost entirely paralyzed, she was helpless before them. Twilight tried to move in her new position, but then Fluttershy's eyes flashed again, and Twilight's body seized up anew.
"Now, the question becomes, what should I do with you?" Fluttershy thought aloud, walking around the fallen unicorn. "On the one hoof, I could kill you here. This body's combat capabilities are poor, but I think good old-fashioned gravity will work just fine." Fluttershy put a hoof under Twilight's side and flipped her over. Twilight stared in horror at the edge of the cliff just a few hooves away from her eyes. "On the other hoof, you might be quite useful, if I could corrupt you." Fluttershy's shadow loomed on the ground before Twilight's face, and she looking down at her saddle. "You defeated three of Celestia's aides, and got here on your own. You might be worth keeping around, if you could be controlled. When I conquer Equestria it will be helpful to have powerful ponies like you by my side."
"Gotta be something I can do…" Twilight whimpered in her head. She could talk, with great effort, and could move her eyes. But the rest of her body didn't listen, and any time the paralytic effects of that stare began to wear off, Fluttershy used it again. Twilight tilted her eyes as best she could to see her. She wasn't using it constantly, and given the small amount of cybernetics she saw on the outside, they probably didn't have a good generator. Twilight realized her one advantage. She just had to hope now that Fluttershy, or rather, the Master, wouldn't notice until it was too late to stop.
"The other three I had chosen as my elite generals are strong, but perhaps they could use a fourth member? Of course, the unicorn probably wouldn't take kindly to having you around." Fluttershy continued speaking as casually as discussing a dinner date. "But then we don't need to worry too much, she'll do as she's told. Though she does have great power, likely too much for you to handle. I might have to get rid of her pre-emptively." Fluttershy looked down at Twilight and saw her Multitool begin to twitch, one plate clicking apart from the rest to slide into a new position. "Silly me, I almost got carried away. Hold still now." Fluttershy tilted Twilight's head towards her, and her eyes lit up in an array of flashes.
The flashes subsided, and Fluttershy began to speak again, turning away. Twilight didn't listen however. The feeling in her limbs began to return, she could feel her cybernetics coming back to her. Her body was hers again, her suspicious confirmed – Fluttershy's paralyzing glare must only work via direct eye contact. Smiling in triumph, Twilight climbed to her feet and opened her eyes. The plates of her hoof slid apart and clicked into a familiar shape, the cannon barrel glowing pink.
"So." Fluttershy spun around in the middle of her speech and gasped at the sight, her eyes wide. "How long does that stare take to recharge?" Twilight asked, giving her a knowing look. Fluttershy's eyes flashed red, and she flew forward, raising her front hooves and firing a blast of energy blasts from her gauntlets. Twilight raised her own hoof in return and fired the Pinkie Cannon. Fluttershy pulled up to avoid the glowing energy orb and flew higher into the air. The Pinkie Cannon detonated on the ground and the explosion sent shards of rock flying with a shower confetti. Twilight stumbled slightly, her control of her body still coming back to her, and looked up at Fluttershy flying overhead.
"Twilight!" She turned her head to see a blue hologram flicker into place on her back. Twilight smiled.
"Spike…" The hologram moved to hug her from behind, a futile gesture since the arms passed through her. Twilight still raised a hoof to touch the projected claws.
"I'm sorry, Twilight!" Spike cried. "Whatever she did, it disrupted our interface, I could see and hear what she was doing but couldn't connect to you. I'm so sorry, I tried everything, really, I couldn't stop it!"
"It's okay, Spike." Twilight tried to sooth the program's nerves along with her own. "You're back, I'm back… we're okay…" Looking back at the sky, Twilight saw Fluttershy circling to come back and closed her eyes, firing another blast from the Pinkie Cannon. Fluttershy dodged it once again and swooped down, the energy orb sailing through the air and off the mountain, the distant explosion coming several seconds later.
"I'm not done with you!" Fluttershy shrieked and swept over Twilight, firing a barrage of energy blasts. Her eyes were blazing the familiar corrupted red, and Twilight had to turn and run, both to avoid her attacks and to avoid her gaze.
"If she catches me in another one of those stares, there's not gonna be a second escape. Any ideas Spike?" Twilight cautiously opened her eyes as Fluttershy flew past her.
"Yeah. My turn. Close your eyes," Spike replied. Twilight closed her eyes, and the world rippled into sight around her, a sea of blue wireframe images. "Your saddle has on-board sensors, remember? If she wants to paralyze you with your eyes, then let me sub in!"
"Right, good work." Twilight looked up, and a red wireframe pegasus came into view in her mind's eyes. "We'll fight her together!"
Fluttershy dove down, her gauntlets blazing. Twilight ignored the Pinkie Cannon this time and fired energy blasts from her horn. A few pinged off of Fluttershy but Twilight took it worse in return, Fluttershy's barrage hitting the mark on her flank and knocking her to her knees. She shook it off and stood back up.
"Sorry Twilight, with all the firing going on it's hard to track her shots without mixing them up with yours," Spike explained in her head. Twilight thought and watched the red digital Fluttershy fly away.
"Well, if I can't dodge…" Twilight sent the command to her hoof, and with a whirl of machinery she felt the weapon form. The thick metal band studded with four gemstone shards appeared around her hoof, and she launched the Rare Shield. The silver gemstones took up formation around her in an aura of violet magic. "I'll shoot, you block!"
She turned forward to see Fluttershy coming at her. The two ponies open fire on each other, and the gems encircling Twilight spun around to catch Fluttershy's attacks. The pegasus swooped back into the sky, and the Rare Shield released its blocked attacks back at her, pale blue pellets filling the air. Fluttershy ducked and weaved through the air to avoid them, a few shots hitting her wings in small bursts of energy. She gasped and wobbled from the impacts, glaring down angrily.
"We got her, keep it up Twilight!" Twilight focused and fired, her horn raining violet bolts of magic into the air. Fluttershy flew too far away to hit, and then turned and dive bombed towards Twilight, her hooves held out and firing rapidly. Spike moved the Rare Shield to catch the blasts, and Twilight realized that she was coming straight towards her and not stopping. She dove aside as Fluttershy dashed through the air where she had stood. Spike on the other hand circled the Rare Shield around and fired back the absorbed energy, light gleaming along the silver gems. Twilight looked up to see Fluttershy get hit on the flank with several blasts, crying out and swooping back down.
"You're annoying me, Sparkle!" Fluttershy snarled, shooting wildly. Twilight saw her trajectory and shot as many of her own attacks as she dared before jumping to avoid a second diving tackle. Once again the Rare Shield shot the attacks back, and Twilight heard Fluttershy's cries again, though it sounded like she was more angry than in pain. She got up and aimed as Fluttershy circled around and came at her again. Her eyes were such a bright red Twilight could have sworn they were just red voids set on her face. Firing rapidly Twilight stepped back as Fluttershy came at her, the enemy mare not even attempting dodging.
Suddenly, the red light in Fluttershy's eyes flickered, and she pulled up slightly as it going limp and spinning through the air. Twilight gasped as she realized what was happening.
"No!"
Twilight ran after Fluttershy as she approached the edge of the mountain and recalled the Rare Shield, reconfiguring her hoof and launching the Apple Whip as Fluttershy began to dip over the edge of the mountain. The claw bit into the flesh of Fluttershy's rear left hoof, the chain snapping taut and wobbling in the air. Twilight strained to keep her footing, gritting her teeth. Slowly, she took a step back, then another, and began retracting the whip. The chain coiled back up her hoof, and the claw came into view, Fluttershy's rear right hoof seized in it. When she was back on solid ground Twilight let her go, panting. Small droplets of blood ran down Flutterhershy's hoof from where the claws of the Apple Whip had bit in, and she slowly climbed to her feet and turned to Twilight.
"No…not…bad." The red light in her eyes was flickering and fading. "But…this isn't over…" Fluttershy collapsed to her stomach, and Twilight approached cautiously. "I'll…be seeing you…" a few flashes of light lit in Fluttershy's eyes and Twilight almost panicked, but they weren't having their usual paralytic effect, and a few seconds later the pegasus went limp.
"Scans are showing she's alright now," Spike advised. Twilight sighed and approached her, putting a hoof under Fluttershy's chin to hold her head. Fluttershy's eyelids wiggled, and she slowly cracked open her eyes. Twilight peered down.
"Fluttershy?"
"I'm so...sorry..." The pegasus's voice was weak. "I couldn't..."
"It's okay." Twilight gave her a gentle smile. "I'll take you back to Celestia and we'll get you back to normal." Fluttershy's eyes flitted closed, and Twilight gently lay her head back on the ground.
"I'll take a look at her systems and see if I can find anything useful," Spike said. Twilight felt her saddle begin to hum, her focus on Fluttershy. She laid down on her stomach and made a face.
"Poor thing wasn't even corrupted. This was direct control." Twilight looked over at the wounds on Fluttershy's hooves. Fortunately the Apple Whip's claw hadn't dug in too deep, and they were just flesh wounds. Still, Twilight removed another vial of healing salve from a hatch on her saddle and spread it over them.
"Got another executable program here," Spike spoke up. Twilight felt some clicks coming from her saddle and looked back. "If we flash the lights on your saddle in the right frequency with the right intensity, I think we can replicate the effects of that stare she was giving you. It won't be able to induce a full paralysis like she could with dedicated implants, but it should disorient and confuse anyone who catches sight of it."
"We'll use it only if we have to," Twilight replied. The fear of having lost entire control of her body and being at the mercy of the Master welled up on her from her recent memory, and she pushed it away. She didn't have time for fear, not yet. There was just one aide left to track down, she could break down to sob to Celestia about how frightened she was once they were all finally safe back at Canterlot. Speaking of, the interference likely had cleared up again. "Spike, open a channel to the Princess please." Twilight waited patiently as he complied, and Celestia's holographic head rippled into the air in front of her a moment later.
"Given this is the fourth transmission, I hope this means there is only one left to find."
"Yes, but it wasn't easy. Fluttershy was directly controlled by the Master," Twilight replied. Celestia's warm smile vanished and she leaned forward slightly in the projection.
"What? You're alright I hope?" As Twilight replied, Fluttershy's body lit up and vanished in the light of Canterlot's teleporter system.
"Yes, it was a close call though. This 'Master' says she has three other ponies serving her, and she's plotting to take over Equestria." Twilight paused before repeating to her mentor the same conclusion she had given Spike. "And following your aides around has just played into their hands. I feel like I'm always walking into their traps."
"That is a possibility, though this realization comes too late to help," Celestia admitted. "But, we must rescue my aides, their safety is of utmost importance. And, following their signals has worked out for us so far, hasn't it?"
"Worked out?" Twilight couldn't help herself from losing her temper, even knowing she was speaking to the most powerful pony in Equestria. "I've had to fight for my life against ponies and robots and have barely made it through in one piece! You sent me into a warzone with nothing more than some healing salves, a concussive energy spell, and an AI with an attitude problem!"
"Hey!"
"I know," Celestia said. "But, Twilight, please understand. I would not have given you this task if I didn't feel you were capable of doing it. I confess I didn't expect this level of combat from you, and would have better prepared you if I had. Yet you have proven yourself more capable than I'd have thought. You must trust in your own abilities. You've gotten this far, haven't you?"
"So I should feel proud that I'm good at fighting other ponies?"
"No. Be proud you have fought valiantly to save Equestria. And now there is only one more challenge for you to surmount. Once my fifth aide is back with us, you can return to Canterlot, and we can begin discussing how to deal with this 'Master' the crazed ponies serve."
"Uh, yeah, about that." Spike flipped up Twilight's display next to the hologram of Celestia's head, and data began scrolling. "We have a problem."
"Problem?" Twilight asked. The display flashed to a model of a floating system.
"Yeah. I'm tracking the fifth aide, and she's, um…" Spike hesitated. "She's in Cloudsdale."
"Cloudsdale?" Twilight repeated. "As in, the pegasus city?"
"Yeah. And the Princess will tell you, the only aide left is not one you wanna try and take on in the sky. Or anywhere in open air, really. Rainbow Dash sort-of kinda has a reputation as the best flyer in Equestria."
Twilight paled at Spike's explanation. "See? This is the trap I was talking about!" She slumped to her stomach, looking down at the ground. "The best flyer in Equestria is waiting for me in an aerial battle in a pegasus city. Now what?"
"Don't worry, my student, you are more prepared than you realize," Celestia said. "Canterlot's central computer core connects to every satellite and computer in Equestria. We can get an airship under our control to ferry you to the city. And you have studied cloud-walking spells, yes?"
"Yeah, but… Cloudsdale," Twilight said lamely. "It was hard enough climbing a mountain, I'll be a sitting duck in a city full of pegasi in the lower atmosphere."
"You have not been to Cloudsdale, but it is not nearly as treacherous as you seem to think. Provided you have the needed spell to walk on the clouds, you'll be able to traverse the city quite comfortably," Celestia replied. Twilight just groaned again and looked up at the model Spike was displaying.
"This is really all on me?"
"I understand you're afraid, and you are well within your rights in this. You have encountered many hardships, and sadly, more await you still. But I promise you, if I did not think you capable of accomplishing this task alone, I would not be asking it of you. If you wish, I can send some loyal pegasi from the guard corps to aid you. But it must be you to face Rainbow Dash and restore her to her senses. I can trust no one else with this duty but you, Twilight."
Twilight looked up at the transparent image of her idol and mentor smiling down at her, and slowly pushed herself to her feet.
"Alright…alright, Princess." Twilight gathered her courage, her voice becoming stronger. "I'll do it. Alone. Send the transport. We'll head out immediately."
"Thank you, Twilight. And good luck." Celestia's visage vanished, and Twilight took a few deep breaths as she tried to reassure herself.
"You really sure you can do this?" Spike asked. Twilight turned towards the pegasus city and sat down to await the promised transport.
"No." Twilight closing her eyes. "But I have to." Celestia's words rang with her somehow. Even if she was afraid, and even if there was a very likely chance more than ever of not surviving the next phase of her mission, Twilight felt like this was something she had to do. Like something only she could accomplish. It wasn't just Celestia's reassurances and trust. Something else, something inside her, was telling her she had to track down Rainbow Dash herself and try to restore her.
Twilight was about to confront Equestria's fastest pegasus on her home turf miles above the ground, and now there was the additional fear that Rainbow Dash or any number of other pegasi waiting for her could be directly controlled by the Master. Thinking back on all the other crazed ponies she had fought, the sea of glowing red eyes glared at her from her memories. All controlled by this 'Master', apparently with intent to conquer Canterlot. Twilight realized she was almost hoping the Master was waiting for her. Because if she was, then she could put an end to this for good.
Angry now, for the sake of all the ponies this newly revealed enemy had forced her to subdue, Twilight opened her eyes and thought she saw the distant image of a transport ship flying towards the mountain.
"Come on, Spike," she whispered. "We've got a mission to finish."
LEVEL COMPLETE
WEAPON ACQUIRED – FLUTTER STARE