Chapter 5: Plans work and fail
Spike carefully put Mayor Mare next to the shattered window, who opened it carefully.
"Thunderlane? Are you okay?" She peered into the darkness and saw a shape moving towards her.
"Mayor Mare? Is that you?" Minuet asked as she lit a candle.
"Oh thank Celestia you're home Minuet! Thunderlane crashed in here, is he okay?"
"He's going to be fine, he chipped a tooth in the crash but I took care of it. I did an x-ray and he had no cranial damage I could see. Honestly it just looked like he ingested a toxin. I've been working it out of his system but he'll be down and out for a bit."
"Thank you Minuet! We've been trapped in the Golden Oak Library for hours and saw him crash here. But we really should evacuate."
"I'd like to, but how? Do you have a boat, and how are you standing outside my window? The mud isn't that high is it!?" It was at this moment Spike leaned down and peered through the window at the local dentist. Her eyes widened in terror before she screeched, "Mayor hurry! Jump in there's a dragon behind you!" She scrambled backwards in a panic.
"No Minuet! It's just Spike! He's how we escaped the Library and how we'll get you out!" The Mayor comforted her.
"Are... Are you sure?" Minuet nervously approached.
"Of course!" The Mayor hopped into the home. "Now let's get Thunderlane and out of here."
The two mares carried Thunderlane onto Spike's claw, at first Minuet refused to get on, but after a little encouragement Spike just grabbed her and they were off. They slowly collect more citizens until Spike's arms were full of citizens. He reached the town hall, which had a dock constructed around it. Construction Ponies had already finished several boats, but they were all filled by Spike. The Mayor got them leaving with a few of her only remaining city workers to set up a refugee camp. She sat down and looked at a supply list with her treasurer.
"We have plenty of wood... but we are running low on food... what happened to the storehouse?" The Mayor asked as she watched the sunset. It was beautiful still, even if a little late.
"The doors caved in under the mud before we could get to it. This was all we could salvage." Silver Shill sighed.
"We... We don't have enough to last a week." She whispered on the edge of panic. "We can't just expect all of Ponyville to graze for a few months. We need to do something!"
"There's nothing we can do. Everything that mud touches becomes inedible. We tried washing the food off, but some enchantment is bound to the mud."
"I know what we must do." The Mayor pulled out a quill and scroll. She scribed a quick note and trotted to Spike. "Spike!" The dragon turned, looking angry for a moment before shaking his head.
"Yes?" He slowly growled.
"Send this to Twilight. It's of vital importance!" The dragon picked up the tiny scrap, threw it into the air and incinerated it. A small cloud of smoke zoomed towards the Froggy Bottom Bogg.
"Spike... I have another favor to ask of you. I need you to take me to Sweet Apple Acres." The Mayor commanded.
"Alright..." He offered his claw and she hopped on.
***
Twilight and Applejack zoomed through the bog, narrowly avoiding trees and other obstacles. The Hydras were hot on their trail though! The passed a weak tree and Applejack tore it down with her rope. The Hydras just charged straight through barely even slowed. She tossed up two rocks and bucked them directly into the two closest Hydras striking one in the chest and the other in the eye. One did not care the other ran into a tree crying in pain. It stopped only for a few seconds before roaring and taking chase again. Rainbow Dash harassed the Hydras from the side by pulling cloud from her saddlebag and launching bolts of lightning at them. It seemed to slow them only a moment before they continued to charge on. Fluttershy was behind them, making sure none of the three branched off, while looking for the fourth. They seemed to be catching up to Twilight and Applejack in spite it all! That was until Rarity and Pinkie showed up. Pinkie's party cannon blinded the Hydras, causing them to stumble and fall, and Rarity was able to keep her in range while still effectively avoiding the pitfalls of the mud. They managed to lose the Hydras after leading them to the other side of their ever expanding murk. The four boats met up just out of Ponyville as the sun set.
"We were awesome!" Rainbow panted, lifting her mud scooter into Twilight's boat.
"Yea, we kinda were!" Applejack laughed as she tied her and Pinkie's boat together.
"We were amazing!" Pinkie jumped the gap and helped Fluttershy load up her mud scooter.
The two boat pilot/engines snored softly as the pegasi removed their goggles.
"It must've been hard on those two..." Fluttershy whispered.
"Yeah, I wonder how much energy magic actually takes!" Rainbow wondered. "I mean, I've seen Unicorns sweat while doing hard spells and all, but they don't move a muscle."
"Who knows? Maybe you should ask one of them when they wake up?" Applejack sighed as she chewed on an apple from her pack. At that moment a little wisp of smoke floated in and became a letter. It landed on Twilight, who brushed it off in her sleep. Applejack and Rainbow leapt up and tried to keep it from falling in the mud. Applejacks rope was faster.
"Ha! You lost that race Rainbow." Rainbow snorted in contempt as Applejack pulled the note to herself with a tug of her rope. "Probably from Spike." She looked at the label, "Nope, it's from the Mayor. Funny... it says it's for me! Why would the Mayor talk to me and not Twilight?"
Pinkie snatched the note and giggled, "I know how you can find out!" She opened the note and gave it to Applejack.
Applejack sat down and read it by the moonlight. She took another bite of her apple. "Seems like everythin' is goin' well in town..." She said through her chews, "Nevermind... Thunderlane got hurt and..." Her eyes widened and she dropped her apple. "WHAT!?" She screamed, which woke up Twilight and Rarity.
"What's going on? I wasn't asleep." Twilight swayed from side to side from exhaustion.
Rarity looked around dazed, seeing nothing interesting she went back to sleep, "I was, and am..." She sighed.
Applejack looked furious as she paced from one end of the boat to another. "That no good, rotten, pink maned, looter!"
"AJ? What's the matter?" Twilight yawned, trying to remain focused.
"The Mayor is raiding mah SILO!" Applejack stomped.
"What?" The four of her awake friends asked.
Applejack scooped up the note and read aloud in as prim and proper a voice she could muster, "I regret to inform you that due to food shortages we will be emptying all reserves of food on your property. We are sorry for this inconvenience." She sat down angry, "Malarkey! Everypony knows she has tons of food in storage outside town hall! She just doesn't want to go over budget! I've spent years drying apples for that Silo just in case we had a bad harvest! She can't just... take it... She didn't even ask! I just have to accept it!"
"AJ..." Twilight yawned, "Do you really think the Mayor..." She yawned again, "Do you really think the Mayor isn't going to pay you back?"
"Well no..."
"Do you really think she'd take your Apples if she had enough food for Ponyville?"
"I guess not... It's just... I don't know... I always thought that I'd open that Silo and save the Apple Family from a bad winter or somthin'..."
"Now before I go back to sleep, would you be this mad if you weren't exhausted?" Twilight slowly sank to the bottom of the boat and slept.
"I..." Applejack swayed from side to side, "Wow... I am tired." She collapsed right there.
Pinkie looked at Fluttershy and saw her asleep, then turned to see Rainbow with her eyes barely open. "Rainbow!" She slapped her friend.
"What!?" Rainbow angrily shook herself awake.
"I'm tired..." Pinkie swayed from side to side despite the boat remaining stagnant.
"So? We all did some tiring stuff today, you don't need to hit me!" She yelled.
"No! I AM TIRED! ME PINKIE!" Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs. "Think about it! All I did was shoot a canon! I can run all across Ponyville and only feel winded! Not to mention I just screamed and Fluttershy didn't move an inch!" She picked up and shook the yellow pony, who simply snored softly. "Oh that is adorable." Pinkie whispered before turning to Rainbow, "See!"
Rainbow swayed a bit and her vision blurred. "I... I think I understand..." She slowly walked to a bag and lit a candle. The air around them was a soft green and particles of... something could be seen floating around.
"Rainbow..." Pinkie yawned, "Get us out of here... We're in a bubble."
***
"Alright Spike, now please, can you lift that Silo?" The Mayor asked.
"It will... take... two... claws..." He struggled.
"I'll get on your back." The Mayor climbed the much larger Spike. She was truly getting worried for him. As she climbed her mane fell in front of her face, even through the mud she could see her dignified grey had faded, revealing her natural pink. She laughed as she thought aloud, "With all that is going on I still notice that..."
"Spike... WANT!" The Dragon grew another few feet and lifted the Silo from the ground. He turned and began running towards Ponyville. The Mayor bounced on his back, clinging to one of Spike's spikes. He made good time and they reached the town hall in before the moon reached its zenith.
"Now Spike, drop the Silo there!" She pointed next to the hall. "And keep it right side up!"
The Dragon growled. "No..."
"Spike?"
"No! Spike want!"
"Spike your losing yourself!"
The dragon shook his head and painfully slowly the Silo slipped from his claws with a grating sound. He picked the Mayor up by her bags and dropped her on the Town Hall.
"Spike... Go..." The dragon spun around and ran without another word.
"My hopes go with you my friend, best of luck." She then looked around and realized she was on the roof. "Pony feathers..."