//------------------------------// // Fleeing through Everfree // Story: Abstract the dark's revenge // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// Meanwhile, before the princess were drained of their powers, and tossed away like rag dolls, everypony in Ponyville had gathered in its center to see what exactly was going on in Canterlot. It was so far away, yet the thundering clouds of shadow could still be heard crackling as they swirled into ever larger proportions. Twilight was starting to worry, as Spike was sent to the castle to retrieve some books from the royal library. The gossiping of the ponies vibrated throughout the air as the mane six reunited in their own little circle. "Twi, do ya know what that is?" a certain orange cowpony asked. "No. I thought that it was the pegasi doing something special." The group turned to face Rainbow Dash. "What? Don't blame me! I don't have anything to do with this. I didn't even know about that weather plan." Rainbow flew a bit higher and squinted to try and get a better look at the swirling clouds. "Those don't even look like storm clouds." "Well, I think it looks simply dreadful. Such a horrid color too," Rarity answered in her typical way. "Yeah, well we don't think that it might be 'fashionable' issues," AJ said in a bemused manner. "I hope the Cakes are okay. What will happen to the babies?!" Pinkie screeched while clutching her head. "Heh. If you become their 'step-mother', I don't know what we'll do," Rainbow mocked. "Oh no! THREE Pinkie Pies?! I'd rather leave Ponyville." Rarity added in a sarcastic tone. "Hey, Fluttershy hasn't said anything lately. You okay?" Twilight put a hoof on the yellow pegasi staring at the cloud and tried to approach her friend's face. "Fluttershy?" "RUN!" she screamed before grabbing Twilight and galloping far away. "Fluttershy, sweetie! What's wrong?!"' Rarity asked while following. The worries were spreading through the group. Suddenly, those gathered in the center of Ponyville started to disperse in screams as what looked like two large objects crashed through several buildings, ejecting stone and brick throughout the area. Some ponies were hit by the flying debris, forcing some to help them out. As the six mares ran away from the flying objects, said projectiles crashed with full force into the ground and slid very far, creating a little hill of dirt. Fluttershy quickly stopped and walked carefully towards the two objects. She was followed by the remaining five ponies, all covered in a wide assortment of dust and dirt. Rarity stuck her tongue out in disgust and complained while she started to wipe her body of the "nasties". Applejack simply brushed her hat and mocked Rarity for her girlishness, while Pinkie Pie somehow grabbed everything and made it into a dirt mask. The two "objects" turned out to be nothing but two earth pony mares. Yet, they seemed familiar to Twilight, who just couldn't put her hoof on it. One was of a regal white with a flowing pink mane and tail, while the other was of a night blue, while her mane and tail were slightly shorter than her compatriot, and were of a bright, sky-blue. Looking over these two, Twilight suddenly noticed their cutie marks. Her heart raced, her pupils shrunk, and she began to stutter with her mouth wide open while pointing like an idiot towards them. "What's wrong Twi? Ah know these somehow landed here, but we've seen crazier," AJ tried to comfort her friend. "Yeah! Remember Discord? He had AWESOME chocolate rain," the pink party pony slurped her lips after saying this. "You...you don't understand. Those two are...P-P-P-Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." "What? C'mon Twilight. Don't say stuff like that." Rainbow Dash started to panic once she saw the cutie marks, and this panic caused her voice to crack. "I...she's right. But, who could do such a terrible thing?! We've got to help them right away!" Fluttershy whisper-yelled. "I don't think we have the time for that darling. Look over there." Rarity pointed towards the sky, which was being blotted out by strange black creatures who were letting go of even MORE of their kind on Ponyville. Screams and sounds of destruction vibrated through the air as these creatures landed on everything below them with a huge kick up of dust and dirt. Some even landed near Twilight and her group. As these strange monsters of shadow surrounded them, Twilight and her friends prepared for battle, but the weakened Luna tried to tell them something: "N-no...flee from...them...The shadow is...too powerful." "Too powerful? Ya dun know who yer messin' with princess," AJ spoke aloud after adjusting her hat to slide forward a bit more. Everypony started to fight, except for Fluttershy, who tried to protect the princesses and hide at the same time. Rainbow Dash was using her extreme speeds to shock the flying creatures and throw them into each other, letting a dissipating trail of black smog reach the ground in a heartbeat. Applejack dodged every swipe and strike at her, only to return it ten-fold with a buck to the chest of every single beast. These smaller creatures started to panic as their brethren were tossed aside like mere rags. Even Pinkie Pie was starting to disturb them. She somehow got herself a samurai armor with a katana and was striking through them all, only to throw an explosive bomb and have it toss everything around into the air with confetti and cream. Rarity, on the other hoof, had gone berserk. The creatures tossed too much dust and dirt on her, and they started to back away as she literally chewed and bit through every single one of them. Her heavy breathing, rabid eyes, and the sight of just one limb remaining in her mouth was enough to scare most off. Unfortunately, two of the giants which attacked Canterlot had arrived. They were standing right above the group, who stared at them in disbelief. Before they could say a word, the creatures lift their arms and threw them down with unbelievable speeds. They managed to hit Rainbow Dash, who was caught in a second by Applejack. They were all about to die, until something bright exploded from the ground. It was a crystal. The things were spreading incredibly fast. This sudden outburst, was followed by the two giants falling on their backs. "Quickly everypony! Grab the princesses and run for the Everfree forest!" Twilight shouted in a panic. Knowing full well that this was not the time to argue, Applejack put the shrunken Celestia on her back, While Pinkie did the same Luna. As the mares began to run for the greenery of the trees, several more crystals punched out of the ground. One even destroyed the school, much to the certain delight of the children. A mighty roar indicated that the giants were behind them, accompanied by the tinier shadow creatures. They had finally entered the forest after the run of their lives. Stopping for a quick breather, the mares turned around to see that the giants wouldn't enter the forest. Everypony sighed in relief and smiled nervously, until the smaller beings started to run along the tree-lines and the ground. "Awww, horse apples," AJ cursed with an eye roll. The ponies ran. They ran. They wouldn't stop. Only sheer conviction for their survival allowed them to push through their limits. However, the creatures were catching up, until some sort of creature clad in crimson-red armor jumped down from the tree line and spread its hand wide open. The shadows stopped, and turned tail as their faces changed from "maniacal killer", to "I'm falling to my doom". It was too late , however, as a wide ray of light burst forth from the gauntlet and incinerated everything in front of it. Once that part of the forest was gone, it turned around and gestured for the ponies to follow. Its helmet had horns on it, which twisted once but ultimately, pointed forward. The only view-port through this helmet was a single black slid outlined by white going across the entire armor piece. Its body armor seemed to be composed of three over-lapping plates of metal, same for the arms and legs. The head of a minotaur was emblazoned on the body armor in a very dark red, almost black. As the ponies ran through the forest, twilight wanted to thank the helper: "Thanks a lot for your help, mister...?" "Cronos Boliveri." "Cronos? Sounds interesting." "I don't want to be rude, but we are approaching the center of the forest," the warrior spoke with an accent similar to the ponies of the far-east. "So? It's not like-OW! It's not like that's a bad thing," Rainbow Dash laughed as she tried to fly through the branches. "No? Then you will see it up close." The group suddenly stopped in front of what looked like a rather sized crater full of blue and yellow flowers. In its middle was a little mount of dirt with what looked a huge pile of vines. Rainbow Dash snuffed around and shrugged. "I don't see what the deal i--" The blue pegasus was about to step on a flower when the warrior pulled her back and held her in one arm. The pile of vines had come to life. There was an extremely large head, similar to that of a carnivorous plant, with a quadruple-jawed mouth. It had two sets of petals. The first were yellow, and they were pointing straight forward while looking sharp as well. The second were blue, and they looked rather flimsy. A bit normal, seeing as some sort of poison was dripping from them. Six more smaller heads rose out from the garden and started to growl violently at the group, who all flinched back. "What is that thing? Why is it in that magnificent garden?" Rarity creaked. "That is the Ivamora. One of the most powerful beasts of Equestria. It will not let us pass so easily. If we even attempt to fight it, we will certainly die." "Oh my. Maybe if I tried to talk to it? I am very good with animals." Fluttershy blushed. "I do not care. There is no talking with the Ivamora, no matter what you say." the warrior stopped to listen to the roars coming from behind. "There IS one way. I can offer it this ginto flower." The flower this character took out from his armor belt was a beautiful red, and its petals overlapped each other just like the warrior's armor plates. It had four stems ending in an orange ball at the end. The warrior slowly approached the creature who began to growl, only to stop as it noticed the flower being offered to it by a kneeling creature. One of the heads grabbed the flower gently, allowing the biggest to observe it from up close. It seemed to smile, and ate the flower, chewing it violently. Confusion ran through the mares who didn't understand what just happened. Surprisingly, the Ivamora began to spit out several thousand seeds all over the garden, planting the flowers. It seemed all giddy at the newest addition to its favorite spot, and was about to return to rest when it remembered. Stretching a bit, the beast pulled out some of its vines and creating a bridge over its garden and to another side of the crater. The warrior bowed down to it and tanked it humbly. Gesturing the mares, they each crossed the "bridge". Despite Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy's fears, the Ivamora just watched them cross. With another bow, the warrior headed out to the other side of the forest with his "protégées". "Will it be alright with those creatures going into its garden?" Fluttershy worried. "I would worry about those shadows more than the Ivamora. Also, cover your ears." "Why?" "Just do it." "If you say so." "You too." "Pff. It's gonna roar? Tcheah. Like that is going to hurt me." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "No, but you will go into an epileptic seizure if you do not cover your ears." The rainbow pony slammed her hooves on her ears after a gasp. Sure enough, some sort of screeching roar tore through the forest. It was so loud that everyone's head began to spin. It had some sort of tone added to it that managed to peel the bark off the surrounding trees and bring about cracks in very large rocks. Once confirmation of the roar was over, everyone uncovered their ears and continued to run. The sounds of trees cracking and objects being thrown through them accompanied every step the group made until they reached the other side of the forest. Beyond the tree-lines, upon the greenest of grass which encroached upon the territory of the forest, sat a strange vehicle. It seemed to have four wheels, and had the appearance of a boat, yet, it had sails. Not taking any chances, the warrior tossed everypony on the vehicle, and urged them to enter the cabin and go to the lower floor. There, med-kits and nourishment awaited the two wounded they were carrying. There were only two beds, and the bluish hue of the single room didn't help much as the vehicle began to move. Twilight wondered what was going on, and what she could do to repair everything. So many questions left unanswered. As she began to ponder these things, above, the crimson warrior looked behind himself as he steered the "boat", only to see two very tall creatures of darkness rise from Ponyville. Unlike the giants, these ones seemed draped in a long black robe adorned with several decorations and symbols not recognizable by the average mind. These things had a head, but no mouth, and the crowns they wore had several branches sticking out of them. In one last sweep, they slammed their hands together, creating an orb of pure darkness and flew throughout a massive area surrounding Ponyville. Oddly enough, this "orb of darkness" avoided Everfree. The warrior grunted. "I think it's time to reach the others. Those accursed Crystallions are back."