Sweetie Belle stared out the window of the antique shop, staring as a massive black creature that her mind somehow classified as half-dragon, half-squid, and half-human - despite her mathematical side telling her that was too many halves - and she somehow knew that she was only aware of the merest fraction of what the creature could really be. Even as she watched it uproot a lamppost to use like a golf club on a Volkswagen to send it flying into the bay, she felt a shudder race from the depths of her soul as she saw the destruction make the creature grow. "U-Uncle?" she called out, fear stealing the strength from her voice.
"Sweetie?" Uncle called out worriedly, approaching her. "What is scaring you-" His eyes widened as he caught sight of the creature. "AIYAH!"
"Uncle?" Scootaloo called out, running down the stairs. "Something's wrong with Cumulo. He can't support me, and-" She screeched to a halt as she caught sight of the creature. Letting out a shriek of terror, she dove into the nearest vase to hide. Uncle didn't even have it in him to chide her about it being yet another rare Ming vase.
The wind warp upstairs burst with light before collapsing as Jade and Apple Bloom tumbled through it, Audrey III catching them before they could injure themselves on landing. "That's not good..." Apple Bloom muttered worriedly.
"Uncle!" Jade called out, getting to her feet quickly and running downstairs. "The Rat Talisman fell into a Lovecraft book and turned into Cthulhu! What do we do?"
"...we die," Uncle offered morosely. Noticing the girls all staring at him, he shook his head sadly. "Chi magic cannot stand against Old Ones. Old One is manifest in physical world. All is doomed. If we die by our own hands, our souls will still be part of the natural cycle. If we die to that..." He didn't say anymore.
"CHANS!"
That bellow caught the attention of all those in the shop. Looking to the side, they saw Tohru lowering his hands from his face, having shouted to get their attention.
Having got the attention of the old man and the girls, Tohru stepped back, deciding to let Ratso explain things to them. He was the most good-natured of the group, and the least rattled by what was going on.
Ratso took to it quite well. "Hey. Long story short, our boss wants us to work with you to stop the fake-Cthulhu from destroying enough to become the real one." He frowned, scratching his chin. "I...think I got that right. Something about mind magic, spirit magic, and body magic...I didn't really get it-"
"Aiyah!" Uncle gasped out happily. "Facsimile is not yet complete Old One! It is still a summoning ritual, and rituals can be stopped!"
"Then you know how to stop it?" Tohru demanded eagerly, only to pull back from a sharp pain at his temple. "Ow..." He rubbed his head as Uncle pulled his hand back.
"Of course not! Uncle is wizard, not miracle worker!" Uncle pointed to his chi lab. "We must do research!"
"Do we have time?" Scootaloo asked worriedly. "How big is that thing going to have to get before...well, before?"
Tohru glanced at the Talisman tracking statuette in his hands, noticing how the erratic illumination continued, a reaction to the energies of the Rat Talisman going haywire. "An hour at the most."
"We need more time than that!" Sweetie Belle squeaked out, terrified.
"Good thing I grabbed this then, huh?" Jade asked, pulling out the Rabbit Talisman.
"That only increase speed, not comprehension!" Uncle chided. "One more thing! Uncle too old to use Talismans willy-nilly. Must save chi for whatever stops magic beast from becoming Old One!"
"Oh..." Jade drooped sorrowfully.
"What if you used the Talisman on the shop?" Ratso asked curiously. "Or the library? Couldn't you, I dunno, make the room faster relative to the rest of the world, and give yourself more time?"
Uncle rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...is worth a shot." Taking the Talisman, he slammed it into the door of his chi library. The Talisman flared brightly, and he stepped inside, teapot in hand. The door closed behind him with the sound of a hermetic seal and an ominous click of the doorknob.
Twenty minutes later, Uncle staggered out, a sheaf of papers in his hands and a harried look on his face. "Aiyah..." he gasped out tiredly as the Talisman fell off the door.
"You okay, Uncle?" Jade asked worriedly as she caught the Talisman. "You've been in there for twenty minutes-"
"Five days," Uncle corrected. "At least, that is what I experienced..." He staggered into his chair. "But...Uncle found solution."
Tohru sat down nearby. "Go on."
"We need to match power of false Old One," Uncle explained. "We need to make being that is equal parts body, mind, and spirit, with enough power to meet creature on even footing."
"Uh, it's about the size of a building now," Finn pointed out, looking out the window. "Where are we gonna find that much power?"
Smiling, Uncle pointed at Tohru.
"M-me?" Tohru stammered out, stunned, his face actual losing its usual fierce scowl and becoming far less threatening. "I'm strong, but-"
"You have much chi inside you!" Uncle insisted. "More than enough for what we need." He handed the sheaf of papers to Sweetie Belle and Jade. "Set up ritual outside. Apple Bloom, fetch Audrey." The girls scampered to obey.
"So, what's the plan then?" Scootaloo asked. "Feed Tohru to Audrey so he's got enough energy to go toe to toe with Not-Old-Enough One out there?"
"Almost," Uncle corrected. "Apple Bloom will act as medium so Tohru's chi can feed directly into Audrey, allowing them to fight together as a giant. Enough damage to facsimile will destroy it."
Tohru and Apple Bloom's eyes both widened as they heard this pronouncement.
I suddenly feel that Tohru's continued employment with Velmont and Shendu will be ending earlier then it did in the show.
too
well, hay. if you like that.... (volume's a tad low)
This shall be fun. Kaiju style fight, only one thing can be said here, One Minute Melee style.
HERE WE GO!!
Love the new cover art!
ONE MORE THING! Clever use of Rabbit Talisman!
ONE MORE THING! Scootaloo needs attitude adjustment! Is too sociopathic!
I'm getting a Mon Colle Knights vibe, here.
Now this is shaping up to be one awesome big battle!
Welp, WHO'S READY FOR A KAIJU BATTLE?
A battle between a giant plant and an ancient monster... I'm loving the prospect.
A thought strikes me. Possibly upon their returns to Equestria (if they return) Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, will probaby know enough to rival Twilight and Zekura combined in the mystical arts.
Audrey is now holding Tohru.
Not-Old-Enough One appeared!
Audrey's Tohru is reacting to Apple Bloom's Chi!
Audrey is Mega Evolving! It's become Mega Audrey!
Or perhaps it'd make more sense for Tohru to be holding Audrey...
What's this? Audrey is evolving! It evolved into Biollante! Biollante is attempting to learn how to shoot corrosive radioactive sap! Would you like to hide in a safe location while Biollante does so?
7616397 ratso is better suit to be a planner than a thug
Another enjoyable chapter. Great job.
Tohru: "Plz no eat." (EDIT: This should totally become a running joke)
Seconding awesome new cover art.
And Kaiju Battle. Wonder what his mom will think of that.
Cthulhu also known as ManDragonSquid.
Why do I feel so strange now? I feel like I'm being challenged.
Please make Audrey sing as he fights.
Also, how in the hell is Captain Black going to explain away this one?
7616700
He's still in recovery from the Dragon Talisman scenario. He hasn't seen any of it, and the nature of what the Talisman raised means it can't be recorded.
7616660 No he is correct One Minute Melee it is separate from death battle and was around quite awhile before DBX.
Cthullu VS Biolatte... Round one... FIGHT!!
I almost think Cthulhu was trying to be fore boding when he hits stuff.
Oh Sweetie, you don't even know half of what you saw just yet.
Now that's what I call speed research.
Ha-cha! Enemy mine situation is progressing well!
One more thing! There is hope that Tohru will find a moment to show affection towards fillies.
So Biollante vs Cthulu. A giant singing plant that will sing either toxic love like Tim Curry or something that involves beating a threat down like "Stronger than You". At least in my head.
7616660 I think it was also actually used for the the last 2 OMMs of season 4 that recently aired. Specifically for Kenpachi Shikai mode vs Oni/Akuma.
Tohru: I don't want fuse with the plant thing.
Ratso & Jade: Come on monster fight!
Anyone else get the sense that Tohru will be borrowing Jackie's catchphrase?
Oh, this is going to be fun! Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
... Y'know I was thinking for a minute "...We're going to end up with an Alicorn Crusader aren't we?" and I was quite surprised to see this wasn't the case.
7616659 The hypersonic rhyme chamber.
7616807
Audrey 3: Ohhh oh oh oh ohhhhh, everybody was Kaiju fighting~
7617058 That was a Dragon Ball Z Abridged reference.
is audry going to become biolantie from Godzilla to fight cthulu
Like the new coverart.
7616997 You get one more....
Really like the cover art.
7616362 Me, too.
7617297 Hype Ebonics Rhine Chamber.
7617333 ... Yay855. *kicks him out of the comment box*
As an actually comment on the chapter, I'm just remembering the alternate finale from Little Shop
Okay, I think I'm missing something... How many Audry's are there?
7616807 Either one of those would be awesome.
Chapter Fifty One
"Aiyah!"
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Chapter Count: 3
Total Count: 32
"One More Thing!"
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Chapter Count: 1
Total Count: 58
I love it when he's smart like this.
So will Tohru be essentially piloting a plant made mecha with Apple Bloom???
7617370
There's Audrey, the main love interest in Little Shop of Horrors.
Audrey II, the alien plant monster in Little Shop of Horrors.
And Audrey III, Apple Blooms plant familiar named as a reference to Little Shop of Horrors.
7616362 oh yeah
Awesome chapter, good work.
couldn't continue after chapter 20,
7618259
What was wrong with Chapter 20?
7617738
Oh yeah! Bring on the mayhem!
7618195 I almost wonder if this is going to be like Pacific Rim where Tohru and Applebloom control Audrey III while also letting Audrey III do its thing as the "Big Green Mother from Outer Space" and such.
7618259 Are you sure because there's about to be a giant monster fight between Ink Almost-Cthulhu and an Applebloom/Tohru powered Audrey III. It is the "fight of the century" Old One-summoning-in-progress VS A Little Pony's Big Green Motha From the Secret Lab.