Robin gestured towards rifter to sneak to the fallen bookcase. "I'll go one side you go the other. We need to rescue Tyro". He then got up doing a combat roll past cydonia and focused his magic on the bookshelf a glow surround it. He then turned his head to witness a machine about to do something to clockmaker.
The scales were now completely covering Karls crystallite leg, while the black goop had created a black, spiky armor around his body, only his head and crystallite leg showing. He looked upwards at the decently-sized machine infront of him. "Ah, i think that's the Life-Swapper. Well, i don't really have the will or the time to be swapped with a beautiful mare right now so, toodles!" Karl turned around and zipped off, taking to the shadows to hide while a scale lit up on his crystallite leg, editing the shadow to become darker and more protective.
Things weren't looking good for them. But whatever was happening, Cyanside had the feeling it would get a whole lot worse if she let Cydonia get her book. "What do you mean i call it like a dog? What; do i go: 'Fido, here boy, come here Fido'? Because calling a book Fido would sound so stupid." Somehow, Cyanside managed to keep the trembling fear out of her voice and remain casual. But she was keeping Cydonia away from the last of their books, whatever happened, she had to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Fair Capriccio jumped as the bookcase smashed to the ground. She saw books scattered this way and that; one of them landed right in front of her with its spine twisted in an abnormal direction. She quickly picked it up and placed it down correctly so as not to ruin it. She looked at the other books, horrified. "Ho- Hold on!" She squeaked. "You're going to break the books! These things are old! Stop!"
Ria swooped upon Cydonia. She screeched, and a just of wind took itself upon her, fighting her wherever they could. Upon hearing Fair, she focused, and a tumultous wind swept through the books. Ria's wings were a blur now, and her face was in slight pain. The books rightened themselves, and Cydonia was continuing to fight the wind. A bubble of wind surrounded her head, trapping off air, suffocating her.
Through a doorway, a colossal machine could be seen through the open doors. The machine had two huge cylinders of hundreds of tiny writing heads on small mechanical arms all hung out the bottom like a metal squid. These two devices hang from the machine over two pedestals like sleeves. The bulk of the machine has a large grill, like a gaping mouth that holds a hellish glow that spills out onto the floor. Large gears mesh and whir behind the brushed bronze panels. It stands towards the back wall, with a seat for the Judge to address the accused. The writing heads are scribbling frantically, erasing what was already there and printing something else in at lighting speeds into both books. That same leg Karl was using turns grey, crumbling to dust on the floor. Like cigar ash, it crumbles away but doesn't end up falling on the floor. Instead, it just drops straight through it, vanishing below the carpet. Karl's other hooves begin to do this, dropping through the floor at a steady rate. The air around him begins to pick up, blowing his mane and tail round and helping to wear that away. That same thing began to happen to Rifter. His claws sink into the floor while his body is slowly absorbed into the ground. The wind begins to pick up, flicking book pages while blowing more dust off of him. Cydonia gags in the bubble, unable to growl or shout. However, she turns and fires a volley of shots at Ria to try and strike her back. Meanwhile, a book flops to the floor having dropped to the ground. Possibly of it's own accord. It smacks to the floor with a loud thud.
Ria screamed. "No!" she screamed. The bubble around Cydonia's head tightened, and Ria yelped in the effort. A small bullet goes through her leg. She squeals and her face contorts in pain. She takes a deep breath. "Tyro! If you can hear me, and are able to answer, what do I do?"
Rifter stared in half fear, half amazment at what was taking place. "What the bloody heck is going on?!" He watched as he began sinking into the ground, unable to do anything. He couldn't move. He could do nothing.
"better free Tyro from under the bookcase soon before that happens to me". With most of his magic he lifted the 15 shelved bookcase and cleared the books surrounding tyro the book covering tyros face looked a bit like cyansides. He then got tyro back on his feet. "you alright I think I found Cyans book". He then points to it.
Karl didn't seem scared. Infact, he seemed more fascinated then scared by his current situation. "Wait, did my Editor just crumble to dust? Fascinating...and now all my legs are gone!" Karl looked around himself as the air picked up around him. "Wait..." His crystallite eye began glowing as it vanished into digits who faded away. "Atleast the next Clockmaker'll find this and remember." He said, closing his eyes and letting the swapping event take place, keeping as calm as ponyably possible.
"wait I must be seeing things that's a guard not tyro. Cydonia's really messing with me". Steel put on the guards uniform and helmet to cover his face before storing the book in his bag now off to find tyro once he did he was shocked flinging him onto his back and whispered to ria. "psst, we got an injured possibly dead fox over here also I got cy's book".
"Now is not the time for subtlety, Steel spat Ria. She wasn't a mean Pegasus, but right now, she had to focus on 4 things at once now, and really, she was barely an adult.
Rifter and Karl slip away. The last of their bodies are blown away and scatter as dust. They are blown away and melt into the floor. As lasting as a snowflake, as silent as a feather, Karl and Rifter vanish. They disappear without a trace. Cydonia sucks in a few lungfuls before standing straight. Breathlessly, she rasps towards the doors leading to the machine: "I want another pair done now!" "We are ready, your highness!" Comes the reply from the doors. "Good!" She revs up her minigun, "Tyro is still at large! I want him and that white pegasus brat out of here now!" Cydonia turns around and starts up the hill of books towards the voices she just heard. She slips a couple of times as books slide around but she was currently just about to reach the top, gun ready. And a word about Tyro's current state: You see how he's not moving? Judging by the fact that he was hit by a minigun, you can bet that Tyro isn't going to be particularly daisy fresh after that. In fact, his general lack of activity suggests that he'd shuffled off that now hole-ridden mortal coil.
Capriccio was in tears by this moment. She had seen Rifter moments before he disappeared without a trace. "NO!" She screamed in his direction, but she couldn't do anything about it. Poking her head into open view, she saw Cydonia revving up to finish off their host. Wiping the tears off her face, she pulled the Flugelhorn from her side and held it up to her face. I'm dead, was her last thought before she blew into her horn as hard as possible in Cydonia's direction.
Cyanside watched as Rifter and Karl dissapeared, stunned by how wrong everything was going. A single tear drop fell to the floor, followed by another as the water tracked a river down her face. "They're gone...both of them...I couldn't save them." Her voice was quiet, her words spoken in between sobs. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the Flugelhorn ring out, and turned to see Fair blowing the horn, revealing her position to the mad alicorn. They were all going to die, each and every one of them...and she hadn't been able to protect them at all. "No...please....stop this..." She whimpered to herself.
Cydonia halts as the Flugelhorn trumpets loudly into the large hall. The sound rolls through the bookshelves, disturbing any dust that had settled in the interim between the last land-shaking noise. The spinning gun whirls around as Cydonia rears and slides down the hill of books, steam billowing out of the boiler on her side all while the gun was ready. She gives an exacerbated glare at Cyanside: "Book. Now." The mini-gun was now pointed at the collection of bookcases where Capriccio was hiding. The bullets wouldn't be stopped by centuries old wood and books alone. A small breeze in the air carries tiny amounts of dust from the tips of Ria's ears. Like blowing excess chalk from the end of a pool cue, it begins the process of decaying that which has been deemed no longer fit to exist.
Capriccio lowered her horn in time to see Cydonia turn in her direction. Didn't think this part out she thought fearfully. Fair jumped from her bookcase and ran to another, tooting her horn and random intervals to keep Cydonia's attention long enough for the others to do something. If any of them are still alive. Left untreated, the tears were flowing down Fair's face again.
"I already told you...I don't know how to..." Cyanside said, her hooves trembling in a mix between anger and sadness. "And after what you did to them..." The shadows in the area seemed to drain into her, turning her coat pitch black "The only thing I'm going to give to you..." Her mane's colours shifted, wisting around to inverse their positions. "Is your death!"
Steel approached fair and knelt to comfort her although he was still cydonias guards armour and helmet. "don't be scared, everything's gonna be alright as ive got a plan see thisbook it's Cyans I've also got another random book I believe it's lyra heartstrings. soo... If I swap the book covers I can give lyra's book with cy's cover to cydonia while posing as a guard cy would be saved. Now wish me luck". Steel then put his helmet back on activated a voice deepening spell, changed the covers of lyra's and Cyans and approached Cydonia. "my mistress, I have found Cyans book". Hands lyra's book in cyansides book cover.
A guard emerges in front of Capriccio, standing within the light. His expression goes from serious business to groggy incomprehension. He flops to the floor in a clattering heap. Tyro slips in and darts straight for the crystal pony. One of his paws bats the horn from her mouth, pinning it to the floor. "Not the time!" He hisses. A quick glance behind him for any more guards before he raises a paw to point towards the exit with. "Now, we need to...to..." He could see that his paw was no longer there. Instead, a grey cloud was dispersing itself into the air and the was no paw. Instead, he had a distinct absence of limp. His heart leaps into his head, beating out a loud warning sign. "Oh bugger..." Was all he manages. He turns his head towards Capriccio: "Run as far as you can." Without a single thought, Cydonia grabs the book with her magic. "Finally." She snaps, swerving the gun around to Cydonia, steam still billowing out of the boiler to turn the gun barrels. She opens the book to the last page, holding it ready. "Check-mate, my little pony. You cannot perform a single move without me knowing it. Frankly, you've tried my patience for too long. How about we see if the machine can swap the lives of the dead too?" Finally, the weapon bursts into life, roaring with every shot fired at the newly transformed Shadow.
