The door of the sheriff’s office ripped off its hinges and went sailing into the darkness.  “Go ahead,” she taunted, “throw your best spell.”  No spell came.  I had none to throw at her.

“Oh!” she laughed as if she had somehow read my mind.  “No spells?  Well, aren’t you just a pathetic excuse for a unicorn!”

I finished binding Velvet as best I could.  She stirred, moaning in pain.  My heart jumped.

“And here We were hoping that the great assassin who decided to assault Our town would at least provide Us with a challenge.  We have been so utterly bored!”

I focused.  My horn began to glow.

“Telekenesis again?  Such a foal’s game.”  She was trotting closer, but stopped several yards from the steps.  “For the trouble you’ve caused Us… and worse, for wasting Our time with your patheticness, first We will kill your friends.  Then have them chopped up into a nice stew.  Which We will feed to you.”

My horn glowed brighter.  I was beginning to sweat with the effort.

“…No, We think We will instead feed them to the foals, and make you watch!”

The glow of my horn flared, a bright overglow enveloping it.  I began to tremble with exertion.

“Still.  Not.  Impressed.”  The strange mare’s voice was glorious and impossibly jaded.  The light from my horn was pouring out the doorway and through the bullet holes of the building, and she couldn’t have cared less.  “So what’s this?  Levitating all the little ponies away?  You can’t send them far enough that We won’t catch them.  Or maybe you are trying to levitate every gun in the armory?  Even if you could, this shield around Us will stop any bullet!”

A second overglow erupted from my horn, enveloping the first.  I screamed as the energies burned through me.

The strange mare looked from one side to the other.  Turned in place to see if there was anything behind her, but noticed nothing but running water and darkness.  Even up, but still saw nothing. “Oh, enough of this!”  She turned back to me.

“You’re right,” I said, stepping feebly into the doorway, the effort draining such energy from me that I feared I would pass out at any moment.  “I am small.  Weak…  pathetic.”  My crippled leg was wobbling so hard it made my teeth chatter.  My eyes teared from the pain.  I kept my head low, horn to the ground.  Almost looking worshipful.  “I am a sad excuse for a unicorn with no spells but the foal’s cantrip of levitation.”  Without raising my horn, I looked into her eyes.  This close, my light bathed her.  I could see that she was not actually black, but dark forest green in coat, with a mane streaked in green and purple.

“But I’ve gotten really, really good at it.”

Again, the mare looked around casually, trying to guess what I was up to.  But I could see just a touch of apprehension in her bored expression.  “Well, maybe you are not worthless after all.  Give yourself to Us.  Join Us in Unity.  Become something greater than this wretched thing you are now.”

A third layer of brilliant overglow erupted from my horn.  The light was blinding.  My lame leg gave out agonizingly, and I dropped to one knee.  “No!”

Rearing back with disgust, the mare demanded, “Oh what are you doing?”

I heard Calamity chuckle nearby.  “Keeping ya from castin’ a shadow.”

“What?”  The mare looked down.  Then up a second time, this time seeing the much softer glow coming from above the sheriff’s office.  A moment later, the silently gliding boxcar drifted over the roof and stopped above her.   Her eyes went wide with comprehension as I let it go.

<<<------======!!!WHAM!!! ======------>>>

The massive wave splashing out from the impact bowled me over, getting into my nostrils and lungs.  I coughed, gasping.  I tried to get back to my hooves, but exhaustion smothered me, and I passed out.

Fallout: Equestria Chapter 7