Summer Sun, Dawning Chaos

by CTVulpin

Act I, Scene 7: Face the Swarm

Twilight Sparkle was standing on the veranda of the town square pavilion, looking around at the orderly, innocent comings and goings of ponies either putting the finishing touches on their decorations or simply hanging out. The skies were finally clear, save for one cloud that Rainbow had brought down close to the ground to relax on after almost breaking her speed record for cloud kicking. To Twilight left, Pinkie Pie’s hooves were drumming up a rapid staccato rhythm as her entire body shuddered uncontrollably. “You’re absolutely sure the doozy’s going to happen here?” the lavender unicorn asked her friend, looking skeptical.

“A-a-a-as s-s-sure a-as I can be-e-e abou-out a d-d-doozy,” the party pony stammered through her vibrations. The queen of all Pinkie Sense twitches has struck not long after Twilight had stopped by to check on the preparations for the school-house party and had increased in frequency when Rainbow Dash happened by and the group made their way to the center of Ponyville. Like the previous time it had struck, Pinkie was at a complete loss as to the doozy’s nature and Twilight was trying her best not to panic over the uncertainty.

With a flash of light, six ponies and a baby dragon appeared in front of the pavilion, creating a large crack of displaced air that brought all activity in the square to a halt as ponies turned to look. Pinkie’s jitters increased to the point that Twilight was worried she’d start punching a hole in the veranda. Before anypony could ask what was going on, an unsteady-looking Ashen Blaze separated himself from the group and walked up onto the veranda and came over to the lavender unicorn. “Lucky coincidence seeing you here,” he said with a grin, and then spotted Pinkie and wondered aloud, “or is it?”

“What’s going on Ash?” Twilight asked.

“Ah, now… how do I say this?” the ash-grey stallion mused.

“As quickly as possible,” Soul Mage snapped at him, coming up onto the veranda himself, “Twilight, there’s about to be a sudden influx of parasprites.” The moment the word left his mouth, a chorus of screams rose up from the west side of town as a veritable wave of multi-colored furballs rose up above the rooftops and came flowing toward the town square. Pinkie was hit with a number of odd spasms, her body inflating like a balloon for half a second at one point, before settling back onto the veranda jitter-free but wide-eyed in shock.

“That’s a doozy all right,” she said.

“Oh no,” Twilight said, irises shrinking and mane frizzing as the parasprites began to descend on the town, “No no no no! Not now! This can’t be happening!”

“We’re doomed!” a cream-colored mare with a rose-red mane wailed. The crowd broke out into panic, running every which way to find cover to try and protect something. The parasprites milled about as well, searching for edible substances or some sort of mischievous fun. A bunch came for Rainbow Dash, who took off from her cloud and led them on a chase around the square.

“That could’ve gone better,” Gale said dryly.

“Somepony needs to take charge here,” Ash said, giving Twilight a meaningful look that the panicky unicorn failed to catch. Ash rolled his eyes and sighed. “All right, how do we-”

“BE STILL AND SILENT!” All motion in the square came to a stop; even the parasprites paused where they were under the influence of the Royal Canterlot Voice. All eyes turned to Stella Moon, who was standing tall and regal with a look on her face that commanded instant obedience. Her night-black mane was flowing behind her in an unfelt breeze, until Gold Heart recovered her senses and discreetly pointed it out to the tall unicorn.

“Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, gazing in surprise and confusion at the disguised alicorn, “What are you-”

“There are more pressing matters Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said in a low voice, “Have you the means to take control of this situation?”

“I… yes,” the lavender pony said, looking to the pink pony standing next to her. Pinkie returned the look with uncharacteristic seriousness. “What do you need?” Twilight asked.

“Time,” Pinkie replied, indicating the parasprites that were starting to move about again, and then looked around the square. “Pie family!” she shouted. Susan ran over to stand in front of her sister and Maggie came galloping over from another part of the square. “Shoo Fly,” Pinkie ordered, pacing on the veranda as she looked down at her sisters, “You’re on rhythm duty. We need cymbals, a drum, and a metronome. Maggie, you get the flute, tuba and harmonica. I’ll handle everything else. Are we ready?”

“Yes!” the two ponies replied smartly.

“Then let’s go!” The Pie sisters dashed off in separate directions. The Order-naries and Luna looked on with expressions of confusion and were about to ask for an explanation when Twilight stepped up to the railing and called for everypony’s attention.

“You all know what they’re up to, I think,” she said, “Anypony with a musical instrument to spare go get set it out where Pinkie or her sisters can find it. As for the rest of us, lock down all the food and try to corral the parasprites into groups. Remember, they can’t hurt you and they’re only after food. Don’t let them have it. Go!” Emboldened by Twilight’s take-charge attitude, the Ponyvillagers resumed running about, but this time with clearer purpose. To Gale, it didn’t look much better than the panicked stampeding. “So, Ashen Blaze,” Twilight started to say, only to pause for a moment as Rainbow Dash buzzed past with a small cloud of parasprites almost riding on her tail. Twilight grabbed the insectoids in her magic and pulled them down to the ground, keeping them immobilized under a dome of lavender energy. “What do you know about this?” she asked.

“And where have you been all day?” Gale added, glaring at the fire-maned unicorn.

“I assume I’ve been in the Everfree Forest,” Ash answered, “Everything between when I started working on the stinim rolls and roughly an hour and half ago is just a foggy blur in my mind. Whatever was influencing me sent me to a remote part of the forest where I found the Fountain of Eternal Grapes.”

“Fountain of what now?” Soul asked incredulously.

“I kid you not,” Ash said sincerely, “There was a stone fountain the likes of which you’d find in a Canterlot garden, except it was spewing red grapes like there was no tomorrow. They were really good quality grapes too, putting last year’s best crop to shame.”

“That makes absolutely no sense,” Twilight said, “and that means it could only have come from one place: Discord.”

“But Discord remains sealed in stone,” Luna protested.

“That is true Princess,” Twilight said, “but even after we ended his short stint of freedom, we kept finding little remnants of his handiwork here and there. I thought we’d finally got them all a couple months ago though… Anyway, what does this have to do with the parasprites?”

“As I presume you already now, one parasprite plus food equals more parasprites,” Ash said, “So, what does two parasprites plus an unending source of grapes equal?” Twilight’s jaw dropped and her hold on her captives weakened, allowing some to make a break for freedom. “I threw up a barrier around the fountain to keep the buggers away from the food,” Ash continued, “but one of them ended up on the inside, so it wasn’t long before I found myself and my poor excuse for unicorn magic trying to keep a stopper on… well, the present circumstances as I tried to make my way out of the woods to warn somepony. I must have blacked out from the effort because the next thing I knew I was outside the forest with this lot,” he gestured to his companions, “and my magic wasn’t active, leaving the barrier to run out its very short battery life. And now we’re here, apparently waiting for Pinkie and her sisters to throw together an orchestra?”

“Parasprites are mesmerized by music,” Twilight said, “or at least certain kinds of music. Last time the parasprites got into town, Pinkie’s one-pony band was the only thing that got them to leave for good.” She looked around with unusual calm for the circumstances at the square, which was becoming thick with parasprites as unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies worked together to keep them bunched up, but then her face fell. “Wait,” she said, “if there are still parasprites around that fountain, even Pinkie’s music might not be enough to stop them from coming back. We’ll have to cut off the source. Rainbow!” The cyan pegasus, who had been busy bucking off another batch of overly-familiar bugs, gave one last spin to dislodge them and dove down toward the group.

“Kinda busy here,” she said grouchily as her “friends” caught up with her. Luna grabbed the swarm and added them to the bunch Twilight was still holding, taking over for the lavender unicorn.

“There’s a Discord remnant behind all this,” Twilight explained, “round up the girls and meet up outside the Everfree.”

“I’m on it Twi,” Dash said with a salute. As she flew off, another band of parasprites tried to tail her, only to be blown aside by some other pegasi.

“Can you lead us to this grape fountain Ash?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight,” the grey unicorn said with a flat look, “I was more or less unconscious going to and from that spot.”

“Zecora found him,” Gold Heart said, “Assuming he didn’t get too far before blacking out…”

“PC’s bound to have a record of the magic surrounding the thing,” Ash said, floating the head-mounted computer toward Twilight and flopping down onto the ground, “Get close enough and he’ll guide you the rest of the way. If you don’t mind, I’ll be staying here and recharging.”

Soul Mage grabbed the computer in his own magic and set it on his head. “Count me in,” he said, “the more ponies we have traveling through those woods together, the better.” Gale and Heart nodded in agreement.

“I shall remain here,” Luna said, “Ponyville still needs protecting until this infestation can be removed.”

“Yeah,” Ash said lamely, “that too…”

---

“Argh! Why are you so attracted to me?!” Rainbow paused in her flight to once again shake off the parasprites that were forming a chain attached to her tail, delivering a kick to the face of the lead bug that left it dazed. While the voracious furballs regrouped, the cyan pegasus put some distance between her and them, keeping an eye out for her friends. She spotted Pinkie Pie galloping down the street a few blocks away, an accordion bouncing up and down on her rump with surprisingly musical rhythm. “Pinkie! Wait up,” Dash shouted, speeding over to fly above the pink pony.

“Hi Dashie,” Pinkie said, “You seen a banjo anywhere?”

“No,” Rainbow said, “List-” She stopped as her pursuers caught up with her and bunched up on her head. She shook them off and then gave a defeated sigh as they formed a belt around her middle instead. “Listen,” she said, “Twilight needs the six of us to meet up at the Everfree forest as soon as possible.”

“Why?” Pinkie said, barely slowing down, “What could be more important than getting rid of the parasprites?”

“Apparently there’s something Discord-y in the forest that’s making all these things,” the pegasus said, brushing the parasprites off of herself.

Pinkie frowned in thought for a few seconds. “Ok,” she said at last, “I’ll meet you there.”

“Don’t forget your Element necklace,” Rainbow called as she veered away, aiming toward Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie watched her go, and then huffed and changed her gait a little, drawing a tune from the accordion that began to draw the attention of the nearby ‘sprites.

---

Sweet Apple Acres was a veritable warzone when Rainbow Dash arrived. A trio of weather pegasi had managed to scrounge up clouds from somewhere and were using them as a barrier to keep the parasprite swarm from getting too high above the road for the earth ponies lining the fences to reach. The Apple clan was armed with brooms, shovels, mops, sticks, and anything else they could fit their mouths around and use to try and beat back the multi-colored bugs. Rainbow, sporting a parasprite beard, came to a stop and surveyed the battlefield, looking for her orange, blonde-maned friend and rival. She spotted her near the gate, running behind the main defense line calling out encouragement and orders as the parasprites tried to exploit holes in the defense. The pegasus shook the parasprites off her face and started to dive toward Applejack when she saw Apple Bloom, who had been perched on the fence wielding a butterfly net, lose her balance and fall to the ground, opening a hole that the ‘sprites quickly moved to take advantage of.

“Oh no you don’t,” Rainbow said, zipping over to head off the flow. She reached them just as they began to fly up toward the apple-laden branches of the trees closest to the fence and forced them down with powerful wing strokes.

“Great timing there Rainbow,” Applejack said as she and Big Mac came galloping over, “Keep it up.”

“No problem,” the pegasus said, backing up slightly to sweep up a parasprite that was threatening to slip out of her downdraft. AJ and Mac flanked the swarm while Apple Bloom trotted over to do her best helping Rainbow push them back toward the fence. Once the enemy was pushed back and Bloom was back at her post, Applejack gave Dash a thankful smile and turned to leave. “AJ, hold up,” Rainbow said, “There’s something in the Everfree Forest that’s responsible for all these parasprites. Twilight needs all of us to take it out.”

“Shoot, really?” Applejack said, looking around with concern, “I don’t want ta leave the farm like this, but…”

“I think we can spare one pony,” Macintosh said, “With the whole of the Apple Family here, ain’t nothin’ gonna get to our crops.”

“I do hope yer right big brother,” AJ said, and then nodded to Rainbow. “I’ll be there in a jiffy.”

---

The parasprite swarm hung like a pastel-colored fog over Ponyville as Twilight, Heart, Soul, Gale, and Rarity arrived at the edge of the Everfree Forest. The group had found the fashionista at her boutique after picking up Twilight’s Element tiara from the library, and she had been hesitant to leave until Twilight threw a hat out into the street to prove that the parasprites weren’t going to eat Rarity’s work. Zecora and some of the braver animal tenants were defending Fluttershy’s herb garden from a surprisingly small number of parasprites, so all that was left to do was to get the shy pegasus out of her house and wait for the other three Element Bearers to arrive. Twilight walked up and knocked on the door and was instantly answered by a panicked shout from within, “NO! Go away! You’lllettheParaspritesin!”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight started to say, and then paused and activated her magic, creating a dome of energy around her and the door. “Open up Fluttershy,” she said, “I won’t let them get past me.” Silence greeted that declaration, so she tried again, “There’s something in the forest feeding the parasprites. If we don’t get rid of it, they’ll never go away.” After a tense moment, Twilight heard the sounds of objects being moved around and the cottage door finally cracked open. Fluttershy peered out and her eyes widened in understanding when she saw the tiara on Twilight’s head.

“I’ll be right out,” the yellow pegasus whispered, “don’t let them in.”

While Twilight waited by the door, maintaining the shield, Soul Mage made his way over to the herb garden, firing short bursts of spirit magic from his horn to stun the parasprites flitting around the area. Zecora gave him a thankful nod as he took down the last one and then turned her gaze toward the forest expectantly. “I have to say,” the golden-yellow unicorn said, “I’m surprised there aren’t more parasprites around here.” No sooner had he finished speaking than a thick cloud of parapsrites came pouring out from the trees. Most passed by the cottage, heading for town, but a few held back to try their luck at getting to Fluttershy’s herbs.

“As you can see, they come in waves,” Zecora said as she swatted the insectoids away, “But even with the lulls, the situation is grave.”

“No kidding,” Soul said, “if the town’s not eaten out of house and home, they’ll be smothered under all this fuzz. Ash told us why they’re multiplying, but he can’t remember where exactly the source is.”

“Parasprites will leave nothing edible in their wake,” Zecora said, “Barren trees and stripped bushes should mark the path you should take.” She smacked a parasprite with her tail and then pursed her lips in thought. “It is strange how they go straight for Ponyville,” she said at last, “It’s as if they have a purpose beyond eating their fill.”

“Well,” Soul said,” if we’re right about where the…” he trailed off as the sounds of polka music drifted in from the direction of town. The parasprites that were still mobile stopped and turned as one toward the music, starting to bob in time with the beat. Fluttershy emerged from her house with her Element necklace on and joined the others in watching as the multi-colored swarm encompassing Ponyville began pulsing with the rhythm and congregating toward the source. A few minutes later, Pinkie Pie marched into view, her two sisters three steps behind her and innumerable parasprites bouncing along behind them in perfect formation, six columns wide and seemingly endless in length. Pinkie had a banjo hanging from her neck, an accordion balanced on her haunches, and a pair of tambourines tied to her rear legs, all sounding off from her high-stepping gait, while she played the melody line on a harmonica. Susan was playing a tuba while keeping the beat with a set of cymbals on her front legs and Maggie was balancing a drum on her back with a drum stick rigged to her leg so that it struck on every other step while somehow managing to play the flute. A ways down the line of parasprites, Rainbow Dash and Applejack could be seen walking along the side of the road toward the cottage, their respective Element jewels adorning their necks.

“Boy, I tell you,” the farm-pony said as she came up to the flummoxed Order-naries and the less bewildered other ponies gathered at Fluttershy’s gate, “This is no less mind-blowing than the last time, and I was expectin’ it this time around!”

“Is it that specific march they’re playing, or does music in general work?” Gale asked, watching the parade of ‘sprites bouncing by and heading into the forest while the Pies took up positions on either side of the path.

“Dunno,” AJ said with a shrug.

“Well, either way, cheers for the Pie Pipers of Ponyville,” Soul said with a big grin.

“Pie Piper…” Heart muttered, and then groaned, face-hoofed, and smacked Soul upside the head with her wing. “I almost didn’t catch that one.”

“Please sis, anyone could’ve pulled that one,” Soul said, rolling his eyes, “Anyway, let’s see here. Six Elements of Harmony, three Order-naries, one Zebra, two back-up musicians…”

“Hey now,” Susan said crossly, leaving off the tuba playing for a second.

“Pardon, just a jest,” Soul said with an apologetic wave of his hoof, “Shall we press on?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, stepping out onto the path and joining the flow toward the Everfree Forest, “Let’s go everypony. You too Pinkie Pie.” Pinkie nodded, not taking her mouth off the harmonica, and then gestured for her sisters to stay put and keep an eye on the parade. When they nodded their agreement, the pink pony turned and began marching into the woods, with her friends running to catch up with her.

Comments

[MariusIoannesP]

And Pinkie Pie saves the day from the parasprites again! She needs to do that more often.