Blackout Shelter

by Brass Polish

4 Total Collapse

Twilight and Spike were by no means uncomfortable in that bunker. The cot was comfy and broad enough for them to share, the non-perishable food wasn’t totally tasteless, the temperature was satisfactory, and neither of them had anything bad to say about the game of pool… it seemed like Tuckaway spent the majority of the time she lived there making sure the pool table was perfectly level. But a while after Twilight’s second unsuccessful trip to Ponyville, an unhappy coincidence arose after Spike had sunk a the cue ball along with the one he intended to pot, leaving six on the table. Twilight, who by now had gotten used to holding her cue with her hooves rather than her magic, looked at the 4 ball, the 2 ball, the 12 ball, the 5 ball, the 3 ball and the 11 ball. They strongly reminded her of the Elements of Harmony. She threw her cue to the floor and slapped the balls into the air. Spike took cover under the table to avoid any flying balls. When he next stood, he found Twilight crumpled up on the floor covering her face with her hooves.

“It’s all over,” she sobbed. “We’ve all lost our power. None of my friends can help. They’re all insane from the eternal night.”

Spike looked at the coloured balls on the floor. “What if they’re not?”

“Come on, Spike. I told you they all made excuses not to join me,” Twilight choked.

“But… what if they weren’t excuses,” suggested Spike, walking up to Twilight. “I mean, none of them ever actually said they thought you were guilty, did they?”

“No,” replied Twilight. “But…”

“You’ve seen the newspapers,” said Spike. “Ponyville’s way better off than every other city in Equestria. What if that’s because Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie are the only ponies who can actually think straight? What if the Rainbow Connection really is protecting you six and they’re all the only reason Ponyville’s doing OK?”

Twilight stood up, staring intently at Spike.

“But if they haven’t been effected by the moon,” she asked, “then why wouldn’t they…?”

“Maybe they’re worried that everything will fall apart without them,” Spike went on. “You did say they seemed stressed out, right?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “You’re right. They might be scared to leave when they’re the only ones who can make things even slightly efficient. And when you think about it, my role in Equestria may have changed, but they still have other responsibilities in life. They’ve been doing the jobs they love for years. They’d have to be worried about leaving them if they knew they’d crumble without them!”

“Especially after what happened to where we used to live and work,” added Spike. “But if you can promise them that everything will be fine if they leave for just five minutes…”

Twilight rocketed into the air, nearly shattered the door, zoomed out of the Blackout Shelter and sped towards Ponyville.

“I’ll go see them one by one again,” she said excitedly to herself, “I’ll ask them to meet me at a specific time, I’ll give them my word that everything will be all fixed, I’ll bring them to the dugout, we’ll activate our Rainbow Power, we’ll lower the moon, we’ll raise the sun, and…!”

“We got her!”

Perhaps the prolonged presence of the moon had effected Twilight’s judgement a little bit. She never saw or heard Thunderlane and Blossomforth coming. She was now paying a hefty price for her excitement.

“We got Twilight! We got her!” the two pegasi roared as they grasped Twilight’s forelegs and tried to steer her towards the castle.

The shouts of Ponyvillians and royal guards erupted from below as Twilight tried to fight off Thunderlane and Blossomforth. As reinforcements closed in, she got an idea.

“She’s over there!” she yelled, looking to her left.

Thunderlane and Blossomforth instantly let go of her and flew in the direction Twilight had indicated.

“She’s getting away!” Twilight heard Bon Bon shout as she spun around and headed back towards her hideout.

Just as she flew over the threshold to the Everfree Forest, she felt herself being held back and saw a blue and yellow aura envelop her. She had no time to see or guess which unicorns were trying to magic her back to the mob because a window of opportunity opened in front of her. A tall tree just beneath her had a branch sticking up like an antenna. If she could just grab it and pull herself down into the tree and out of sight…

It worked, but the voices were getting louder and Twilight had to flee to the Blackout Shelter to avoid capture.

“Why wasn’t I more careful?” she scolded herself. “Now they all know I’m hiding in the Everfree Forest.”

The clearing came into view. The door to the bunker was still open. Then Twilight heard snarling behind her. She looked back and shrieked. Bulk Biceps was right behind her, drawing level as she headed for the entrance to the shelter. Twilight tried to stop and let Bulk pass so she could lead him somewhere else. But she didn’t quite manage to slow herself down in time to avoid the door. And at the same time, Bulk struck the ground nearby with a thunderous crash. The ground crumbled. Something rough hit Twilight on both sides.

“Ow!” she cried as her forehead was forced into the wooden frame of the door.

The loud crumbling stopped and a light trickle of dust rose up around Twilight. She looked around. Bulk Biceps was nestled in a dent he’d made in the ground a few feet from her. She was stuck in the doorway with her chin just above ground level, wedged between large chunks of concrete and one of the wooden planks from the doorframe. It didn’t take her long to realise that Bulk Biceps had caused the Blackout Shelter to collapse.

“YYEEEEAAAAHH!” Bulk bellowed in triumph.

“Spike! Are you alright?!” Twilight shouted down into the wreckage as voices arose behind her and Bulk.

Spike’s voice was quiet from beneath the wreckage, but Twilight distinctly heard him yell “Yeah! I’m under the pool table! Are you OK?!”

Twilight craned her neck around. The number of royal guards present seemed to be making up for the Ponyvillians who hadn’t joined the mob. Everypony had a malicious face. There was no sign of any of her fellow taskforce members amongst them.

“No, I’m not OK!” Twilight called back to Spike.

“You got her! You got her!” several ponies shouted.

“YYEEEEAAAAHH!” yelled Bulk Biceps. He seemed extremely proud. This was probably the first time in weeks he’d succeeded in something.

Twilight desperately tried to claw her way out of the wreckage as the mob drew nearer.

“What the jumping jackets is that?!” came High Note’s frightened voice.

The pounding of hooves and the flapping of wings stopped abruptly. Twilight looked up and yelped. There, on the other side of the clearing, obviously following the noise of the mob, was a giant land shrimp. It was walking briskly on its ten legs towards the nearest pony present.

“Perfect!” cried Comet Tail and one of the royal guards.

“That big bug’ll take care of Twilight!” Lyra yelled.

Twilight looked back at her fellow equines for a second before realising that there was no way she could get any sanity out of them without the sun. Her last resort was to try her fake-out tactic again.

“Hey Bulk, can you help me out of here please?”

“YYEEEEAAAAHH!” replied Bulk Biceps, stepping forward.

“Get back, you!” a guard snapped, pulling Bulk backwards.

“Oh! Right!” Bulk said loudly. “She’s supposed to get eaten!”

Twilight began to sweat. She looked ahead again. She’d have to break free of the concrete on her own before the giant land shrimp got to her. It wasn’t working. She was stuck fast. The giant land shrimp lunged hungrily towards her. The mob behind her shouted excitedly. She was too aghast to keep trying to get away. A massive hungry mouth was opening in front of her.

An odd thing happened to Twilight in the face of this danger. At first, she thought her life was flashing before her eyes, but what she was seeing looked an awful lot like somepony else’s life. One second, she saw a puzzled looking red stallion standing beneath an almost bald tree. Next second, she was looking into a thermos of warm, sugary coffee, which was surrounded by a fog of clouds. Next second, she was peering into a pit containing four shiny rubies illuminated by a blue light. Next, there was Daisy Jo snoozing on a sofa and, by the looks of it, snoring like crazy. Then there was a mobile decorated with griffins and manticores spinning around over… could that have been Pound Cake? Finally, Twilight seemed to have her own vision back because the giant land shrimp was nearly upon her.

Bam!

Someone zipped past Twilight and kicked the giant land shrimp right in the face. It toppled backwards just as another pony skidded into the scene with her rope ready to go.

“Rainbow Dash! Applejack!” Twilight cried in amazement as Applejack tied the giant land shrimp up.

Suddenly, two pairs of hooves had grabbed her and tried to pull her free. She looked to her left and then to her right.

“Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie!”

“Seize them!” she heard Prince Blueblood bark.

Twilight looked back towards the mob, but it was a little difficult to see them because there was a unicorn standing defiantly in front of them.

“Rarity!” cried Twilight.

The ground quivered a little bit, and the next thing Twilight knew, diamonds were shooting out of the dented ground and pelting the armour of the royal guards. The armour split on each one of them and fell to the ground with a loud clang. One of the pairs of hooves grasping her let go.

Blueblood started to bark orders again. “Surround them and…!”

He suddenly stopped talking. Pinkie Pie had forced a toffee into his mouth.

“No more bogus orders outta you, buddy!” she snapped as she made her way back to Twilight’s side.

“Havin’ a bitta trouble here!” Applejack hollered.

The giant land shrimp was a little too strong for the rope, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep it in check for long.

“Leave it to me!” called Fluttershy.

Fluttershy stepped forward and right as the giant land shrimp turned to face Twilight, she gave it the Stare. That impeded it in an instant. It began to step backwards. But now the mob was circling around Twilight and her friends.

“Stay back, you animals!” Rarity warned.

“You’re not taking our friend away!” Pinkie Pie said as the six of them were completely enclosed.

“You can’t blame her for what’s happening to the sky,” said Fluttershy firmly.

“We know y’all can’t help it, but you’re making a huge mistake!” Applejack growled.

“And we’re not gonna let any of you do anything to Twilight!” snarled Rainbow Dash.

The mob suddenly gasped and back away. Twilight’s heart raced as she and her friends began to transform. Their manes and tails were lengthening and growing coloured streaks. The hues of their hooves changed, and their cutie marks expanded a little bit. The concrete around Twilight fell apart, and she felt herself rise in the middle of the protective circle her friends made against the threatening circle of maddened ponies. The mob didn’t pose a threat anymore; nor did the giant land shrimp. Everything was under control. Twilight and her friends concentrated hard, and a beam of light arose into the sky and lit up the whole clearing in a gorgeous technicolour glow. The sky began to turn from black to pink as the moon dropped below the horizon. Then, at last, as the light of the Rainbow Connection dimmed, the light of the sun touched Equestria for the first time in weeks. The royal taskforce looked around. Everypony was squinting and trying to witness this stunning event at the same time. Twilight spotted Minuette, who’d evidently abandoned her post to join the mob.

“Where does it go?!” she called to her.

Minuette shook her head for a second, then her horn glowed and she called back “It’s 9:50AM!”

“Perfect!” Twilight beamed, and focusing hard, returned the sun to its proper place.

As the mob started to take all this in, a loud burst erupted from the beam of multi-coloured light. It must have covered the whole of Equestria before disappearing entirely.

The last thing anypony saw before Twilight and her friends returned to normal was Spike rising from the ground as though it wasn’t there.

“You did it!” he cried, jumping into the air in excitement. “You brought back the sun!”

Several Ponyvillians and royal guards joined Spike in the cheering and congratulations. Twilight found herself being raised onto Bulk Biceps’ back and carried towards Ponyville. She looked back. Her friends were being carried shoulder-high right behind her. Hasty apologies for irrational behaviour were being launched at them all the way out of the forest, and Twilight had no reason not to accept every single one. Ponyville slid into view looking beautiful after being deprived of sunlight for so long. A very unwelcome sight awaited Twilight and Spike.

“I’ve done it!” Tuckaway was shouting to everypony who hadn’t joined the mob. “I’ve brought back the sun! I’ve overthrown Nightmare Moon!”

Clearly, she was too far gone due to not seeing the sun for over a year. Even now that the sun was right above her, she still seemed to think she was responsible for the longstanding night finally ceasing. No one was giving her a favourable look as she continued to take credit for the beautiful morning sky.

Discord popped out of a nearby marehole and grabbed one of Tuckaway’s wings with his thumb and forefinger. “Where do you want her?”

Twilight smiled and said “Canterlot Home for the Loopy.”

Tuckaway threw a fit of protest. “I’d rather eat stink vines than go with you, Draconequus!”

“They’ve got egg nog,” Discord said, raising an eyebrow.

“Ooh, the one thing I’ve been craving since I left Ponyville,” smiled Tuckaway, relaxing instantly.

Pinkie Pie seemed to perk up as well. “Egg nog? Can I come too?”

“One day,” smirked Discord before vanishing, taking Tuckaway with him.

Discord’s presence was quickly replaced by Princesses Celestia and Luna, who received a warm welcome back to full power and health.

“Well done, Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia beamed. “Once again, you and your companions have saved Equestria from disaster!”

Everypony around them cheered and applauded.

“I hope you’ll forgive me for misspeaking to my nephew,” Celestia added right to Twilight’s face. “I never meant for all the blame to be given to you.”

“I know you didn’t, your highness,” Twilight said kindly. “And will you forgive me for sending that poisoned note to you and Princess Luna?”

“Absolutely,” replied Celestia, Luna nodding beside her.

A scroll dropped out of Twilight’s nose, which she hastily magiced open, acting like this didn’t just happen in front of the rulers of Equestria. It said ‘So do I.’

Twilight and Spike were in the highest of spirits, but they noticed that none of their fellow taskforce members seemed so accepting of all this praise.

“Oh, don’t look like that,” pleaded Twilight. “I know what you were going through.”

“That doesn’t make up for not helping you sooner,” frowned Rarity.

“Don’t be ashamed. You all may have been scared to lose your livelihoods, but nopony can blame you for being so dedicated,” Twilight smiled warmly at all of them. “But please, try not to worry about leaving your work behind in a crisis. I mean, now that the sun’s back, surely you can trust others to look after things while you’re gone.”

Rainbow Dash looked around at Thunderlane and Blossomforth.

“I’m not so sure about that,” she chuckled.

Author's Note:

I think you can guess what I was playing while making up this story.

Comments

[ponies_forever]

Amazing story

[Brass Polish]

5304543 I'm actually Canadian, but a lot of my favourite shows are British, and I adore British railways. The terminology is stuck in my head forever more.

Cheers, dude.

[Rayanne]

Oh...ha...Canterlot Home for the Loopy

Pinkie Pie seemed to perk up as well. “Egg nog? Can I come too?”
“One day,” smirked Discord before vanishing, taking Tuckaway with him.

Funny funny funny funny funny

[RaritySimper44]

No i cant guess what your playing. Good story.

[Brass Polish]

5329915 Dang it.

[Iron Comet]

funny story, just got resolved way to fast. Just because they got there Rainbow Powers they raise the sun and Discord, Luna, and Celestia are suddenly cured? I don't see where the two connect at all. Beyond that, it was very amusing.

[Brass Polish]

5343623 I love how Pinkie's voice fades as she divulges everything. Cheers.

[Shimmer Shy]

Love it! So awesome!