//------------------------------//
// Party Crashers 
// Story: Forces of Nature 
// by DrZed 
//------------------------------//

Chanting voices echo in the dark, Torches light a half circle surrounding a platform, where the moon shines through a crumbling window in the ancient ruins of the Royal Pony Sisters castle, deep in the everfree forest.

The air crackled with magic that night as a half circle of chanting robed creatures: ponies, diamond dogs and changelings surrounded a hard eyed red gryphon in an elegant robe, standing upon the dais where Nightmare Moon met her end, exactly two years ago. 

The Dais now had a pentagram of candles laid out between glowing lines of force, and he was standing just before them.

The Gryphon raised his forelaws to silence the group. "My Brothers and sisters, The stars are aligned, We rapidly approach the moment of our greatest victory. 
Nightmare Moon has come to me in my dreams and told me of a force that none can stand against, as well as the revival of her own glory! 
Soon The moon will be in place and We shall see our ancient mistress once more! Even now the clouds gather around us."

"Excuse me!" One of the ponies raised a hoof. A walleyed blonde grey pegasus mare pushed her hood back. "The note on the bulletin board said there would be punch and muffins. Those are neither."

She hoofpoints at the table against the wall, where a bowl of sickly glowing, bubbling, green liquid sat next to a tray of... things.... that must have been baked by someone who hated the very idea of muffins. 
There would be flies buzzing around the 'refreshments'.... if they werent all dead from the fumes, some of them slowly dissolving in the punchbowl.

The pegasus grimaced and shook her head, "This the last time I answer a Crag's list ad. C'mon Berry. Let's go." She threw off the robe and started flying out, Followed by a wobbly purple earth pony mare, "Wow, thish 'theme party' shtinks." was her slurred comment. 

"You cant leave! The spell is almost comple-" 

*CRACKBOOM!*

Lightning splits the sky as the moonlight fully bathes the pentagram in it's light. The surface of the floor seems to ripple and melt away becoming a deep twisting void.

The Dogs whimper, huddling up, the tallest smacking another in the head, "Rocktooth! This is why I tell you Never trust Gryphons! They are just as crazy as ponies!" He's immediately silenced as a deep roaring sound starts coming from the hole in space.

All eyes except for one (Derpy's) watched the mists begin emerging from the hole, and the grypon moved quickly to capitalize, He leaned over the lip of the vortex, peering down into it. "Yes my mistress, Show me, Show them all What you're capable of!" 

*Whoosh CLANG!*

The Griffon has a poleaxed look to him as the wrench that flew out of the hole met his beak at a rapid clip, spinning him  around in a circle. He picked up the wrench in a claw... "Wha-" 

*Whoosh Whoosh WHACK!*

The office chair flew up out of the floor hole and described a lazy tumbling arc through the air, landing squarely upon the gryphon's head.

*Whoosh whoosh woosh CLANG CLATTER*

The spinning tool cart flew up and out of the hole, the drawers on it opening and scattering wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, sockets and other gear in a broad spray, peppering the walls and the other attendees with high speed chunks of metal. 

That ended all pretense and the half circle turned into a mad dash for the exits.

The groaning gryphon pushed the chair away just in time to read the words stamped into the side of the tool cart, just before it too landed on him.

Yelling could now be heard from the tube, and suddenly the black and grey draconic figure pops out of the tunnel. 

"This is why I hate this part!" he yells as he draws a gun from his side and shoots it at the ceiling, a thin cable trailing from it to the hook, which punches through the ceiling above. 
His upward momentum ceases and he hangs there looking down into the hole. "A floor portal? What kind of jackass makes a floor portal?!" 

He sees a flash of grey and white and takes the cord by his footclaws, hanging upside down with his hands open. 

Soon enough Dawn shoots out of the hole with a little squeal, catching Slaytor's hands. He swings her back and forth and she leaps away to the side of the portal, landing nimbly.

Zed emerges after a moment, Grabbing Slaytor's hands, and swinging free too, He lands roughly and collapses to the floor.

Slaytor glances back down "no, No NONONONONO!!" He yells as as the massive brown Minotaur shoots out of the warp like a cork from a bottle, smacking into Slaytor and smashing him against the celing, which fails, collapsing as the teammates plunge towards the gaping vortex again.

Taruence spreads out his arms and legs wide and catches himself on the lips of the hole, knocking some of the candles aside, the lines of murky light fade as the circle is disturbed.

"NO! It's all lost! Take me with you My Mistress!" The red gryphon dives for the vortex, dissappearring into it with a high pitch scream. 

The vortex fades, returning itself to the stone floor it was before all this began.

Finally all is silent except for groaning bodies and the clatter of hooves and feet running like the fires of tartarus were after them.