//------------------------------// // Attack on Dragon // Story: PONYVERSE // by TopWanted //------------------------------// Attack on Dragon /^(*vv*)^\ Flutterbat slept comfortably in the room prepared for her. There was a bed in the room but she had preferred to sleep in the corner of ceiling. Time or the passage of days didn’t really seem to matter in the Veloci-Lair yet somehow Flutterbat knew when it was time to wake up. She stretched her wings and jumped down to the ground. Yesterday had been an interesting first day, but she was well aware that there was so much more to do. She exited her room and perked up a bit as she saw her new friend Rainbow Dash leaving her room as well. Rainbow yawned and stretched her hooves before noticing her. “Oh, hey Flutterbat,” she yawned. Flutterbat began to purr as she stuck her head beneath her new friend’s wing and nuzzled. Rainbow giggled at the ticklish feeling her long mane made. “I’m surprised you’re a morning pony,” she chuckled. Once Flutterbat was done the two of them walked to the kitchen of the Lair and took a look around for some food. Flutterbat was pleased to find that there was a large supply of fruits in the pantry while Rainbow poured herself some oats and milk. Flutterbat grabbed a banana and an apple and sat down with Rainbow. They both ate silently for a minute, Flutterbat noticing that her new friend seemed to be looking all around the kitchen with her eyes. Flutterbat started to as well. It was a clean eating area with lots of stainless steel. Plenty of space to keep food in and there was even some big humming pantry with heavy doors that was super cold inside to keep perishables. It was all very new to Flutterbat. “You know something,” Rainbow spoke up getting Flutterbat’s attention once more. “This is actually my favorite brand of oats.” She held up the box to show her. There was a picture of a happy sun winking on the box. “Kind of weird. This whole multiverse thing,” Rainbow mused. “I mean, I wonder how many other worlds have this same brand. How many of them taste the same?” She paused for a minute, the only sound in the room being Flutterbat’s chewing. Rainbow turned to her with a slightly serious look. “Do you think… that deep down… we’re all the same?” Flutterbat cocked her head to the side in confusion. Rainbow frowned and looked into her cereal. “Are you… the same Fluttershy I know? Could I see you fall to the same things she did? And what about me? What if there’s another me who’s not as awesome? It’s just… kind of hard for me to get my head around the idea of a friend…” She trailed off as if she was about to say something she didn’t mean to divulge. “Nevermind. I doubt you really understand whatever I’m going on about anyway.” Flutterbat was seriously having a hard time trying to comprehend what her friend was dealing with, but she could sense the hesitation was partially directed at her. Flutterbat swallowed the last of her apple and smiled. “Flutterbat is Flutterbat. Rainbow is Rainbow. Ponies are who are. Bats as well.” This seemed to comfort Rainbow somewhat and she smiled back. “Yeah,” she lifted a glass of orange juice. “To new friends and old.” Flutterbat stared at the orange juice with confusion before lifting her banana as well. Rainbow laughed at the awkward toast but drank to it anyway. ~`(\/)’~ Rarity had been in a constant state of meditation since entering her room. All she could think about last night was the things she saw. When Suntrix engulfed herself in those dark flames and nearly destroyed them all, she could feel it. Suntrix was many times more powerful than her at that moment. And while Rarity had been looking for danger, something that might just end her miserable existence without having to resort to… the unthinkable made her uneasy. At that moment, she was terrified. “Do you understand now?” a voice called to her. Rarity opened her eyes and looked into the mirror across from her. The reflection gazed back with tired but still hateful eyes. “Yes,” Rarity replied quietly but resolutely. “I understand now why my existence must continue. To defeat such darkness.” “Pahahaha!” the reflection spat out a laugh. “You are seriously still telling yourself that? You forget that I’m in your head, I know every thought you have. This ‘crusade’ you believe yourself to be on is nothing more than your twisted way of trying to find an end.” Rarity grit her teeth but didn’t respond. “Play the sanctimonious hero all you want, but we both know what you’re really thinking. If I were you I would take my friend’s dying words to heart.” Rarity’s eyes widened at that statement and she screamed at the mirror. The surface cracked with her magical power and shattered to the floor. Rarity scowled down at the broken pieces. “Don’t you dare mention her,” she seethed. A knock came at her door. Rarity looked up in surprise. She was not expecting somepony to fetch her so soon. Had they found a new trail of this Mr. 4 pony Suntrix had spoken of? Rarity tried to collect her nerves. “Come in,” she said as properly as she could. The door opened a crack and an orange coated pony in a white robe walked in. “Sorry for the intrusion,” she apologized with a slight bow. Rarity was surprised to see Applejack here but she tried to hide it. “No, it’s fine. And please don’t bow.” Applejack brought her head back up with a polite smile. “I… I know it might be custom where you come from, but please don’t ever bow to me.” Applejack frowned a bit but nodded. “Okay, you got it.” “Was there something you needed?” Rarity asked. “Two things actually,” Applejack replied, her face showing that she was now getting down to business. “One is that we’ve got a lead on the Glitch. Mare Do-Well and Fili-Second want us all to meet in the monitor room for a rundown. Rarity nodded and began to get up to leave but Applejack put up a hoof to stop her. “The second thing is a little more personal and private.” “Alright, what is it?” Rarity asked as she sat at the edge of the bed. Applejack slowly closed the door so they had some privacy then walked up to her. Rarity slightly pulled back as the sight of Applejack approaching filled her with unpleasant memories but the orange mare simply leaned in close to her ear and whispered something. “Could ya put a sound proof bubble around us?” Rarity frowned in confusion but complied and formed a bubble around the two. “Thanks.” “What’s this about?” Rarity asked. Applejack bit her lip as she considered what to say next. “Mare Do-Well and Ah have been pretty suspicious of Fili-Second lately. The mare is kind, but she’s got a lot of secrets.” Rarity felt bad about Applejack talking about Pinkie Pie like that but she had to admit that she too had been having the odd suspicion about the pink mare. “Anyway, Mare Do-Well and Ah trailed her last night and it seems she’s not working as alone as she said.” “What do you mean?” Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Ah mean we’re not alone in here,” Applejack spoke clearly. “Mare Do-Well and Ah both agree that it’d be in everypony’s best interest if we know just what this mysterious pony wants. She seems to be holed up in a secret room in the monitor room. We were hopin’ that you could use your magic to reach out and maybe get a sense of what we’re dealin’ with.” Rarity paused before answering. This did sound serious. Though the threat to the multiverse had proved true, it slightly stung for her to learn that Pinkie Pie was keeping secrets. But what was to be expected of ponies she barely knew. She had to remember that even though they looked familiar they were complete strangers. For now she would agree with Applejack, but only to serve her own interests. She was done being used. “Alright, Applejack,” she replied succinctly. Applejack smiled warmly. “Thanks, Rarity.” Rarity’s heart skipped a beat as she saw a smile she hadn’t seen in so long. “Y- You’re welcome,” she stuttered. “Just give me a minute and I’ll meet you there.” Applejack saluted and went to the door, passing through the sound proof bubble and making it disappear. She paused before leaving and turned back. “Hey… be safe.” “… You too.” Above them in the corner of the room an almost invisible camera whirred as it retracted its lens from magnifying the ponies’ mouths. A mysterious pony in shadows watched from a hidden room as the two parted. “Damn it… DAMN IT!” she picked up a keyboard and threw it at the wall. ---<^^>--- Mare Do-Well sat at the monitors studying the digital map of the multiverse. Why? Why did it seem so familiar? Something odd was going on. Images would flash through her mind. A glowing wall. A crack. Every now and then she would even see a tall girlish figure in a black robe and fiery hair. She had tried to pin it up to stress but the images just kept on coming. Perhaps they had something to do with her episode. Fili-Second walked up beside her with a cup of cocoa. “Still getting used to the equipment?” she asked with a smile Mare Do-Well would not expect from her after last night. This mare just bounces right back, she thought. Either that’s a sign of a strong will or somepony really crazy. “Yeah,” she replied. “Though I’m pretty sure you and I are the only ponies here who would even comprehend the workings of this thing.” This earned a giggle from Fili-Second. “Maybe I should find a way to foalproof it from Flutterbat?” For the briefest of moments Mare Do-Well found herself cracking a smile. She immediately straightened herself up. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the world the Glitch is residing in right now, would you?” she asked. Fili-Second shook her head and sipped her cocoa. “No. It’s in unmapped territory.” Mare Do-Well rubbed her chin in thought. “Something’s bugging me.” “Shoot.” “If the Glitch is a pony then he probably is cognizant.” Fili-Second cocked her head to the side with a blank expression. “It means he’s a rational thinker.” “Oh!” “Well, if he does think rationally, what is his endgame?” “Endgame?” Mare Do-Well steepled her hooves together in thought. “What’s his goal? If he’s got the kind of power we saw from Suntrix then he could just find some far off world and make it his kingdom. Instead he continues to jump from world to world, never staying in one place for too long.” “Except Maretropolis,” Fili-Second sighed. Mare Do-Well bit her lip as she kind of regretted bringing such a memory back to the mare. “What I’m saying is that I’ve seen this kind of behavior in criminals many times before.” “What’s that?” Mare Do-Well turned to face Fili-Second head on. “He’s looking for something.” Fili-Second frowned thoughtfully but nodded her head in earnest, clearly excited to learn something more about her foe. Mare Do-Well furrowed her brow as she studied the pink mare. She had seen lots of lower class ponies getting pushed around by big ones all her life, it was something she was used to. Before last night she was very suspicious of Fili-Second, but now she knew there was some other pony behind her. One that was probably holding all the reins, and from the sound of it Fili-Second was having second thoughts about whatever they were doing. She kind of pitied the mare in that regard. “Hey,” she spoke up getting Fili-Second’s attention once more, “um, if you want I can teach… you some more criminology tricks… later.” Her words came out disjointed and stumbling, not used to acting kind towards a suspect. “Y’know, just for when this is all over and you go back to being a superhero.” Fili-Second smiled warmly, but Mare Do-Well could still detect a hint of sadness behind that happy grin. “I’d like that.” “So what’s up?” came a raspy feminine voice entering from the hallway. The two heroes turned around to see Rainbow Dash and Flutterbat stroll in from the kitchen. “I see the rest of us have convened,” another feminine voice came from the direction of the bedrooms. Mare Do-Well turned and saw Rarity walk in with Applejack. Applejack and Mare Do-Well shared a brief but knowing nod to one another as they entered. Good. Rarity was in. “I’m glad you’re all up,” Fili-Second said. “Now we can get going!” “One minute!” Mare Do-Well stopped her, trying to stall for time Rarity could use to magically search the room. “We, uh, need to make a plan of attack.” Fili-Second scratched her chin. “Don’t we need to know the situation before that?” “We just need to know his movements,” Mare Do-Well interjected. “Criminology!” “Oooo!” Fili-Second went back to the monitors. Luckily enough Rainbow and Flutterbat went over as well to check out what they were doing, leaving Rarity and Applejack to scan the room in peace behind them. What followed was ten minutes of Mare Do-Well pulling every bullshit thing she knew about criminology out of her plot and dishing it out like slivers of wisdom. Luckily enough, again, her three listeners weren’t on the smartest wave lengths. “…And that’s how you track a crocodile/pony hybrid through the sewer,” she finished on her very random lesson. Fili-Second listened in rapt attention and somehow had a notepad with her that she hadn’t had before, scribbling down her words with great interest. “That’s cool and all,” Rainbow said hesitantly, “but what does that have to do with capturing this Mr. 4 guy?” Mare Do-Well began to stutter in response but oddly enough she was saved by Fili-Second. “He could create an army of crocoponies and have them swarm a city.” Her eyes became serious but her words still had a playful tone. “Every little bit helps. But, we should probably still go now. Just in case he might leave soon.” Mare Do-Well looked over everypony’s shoulders and saw Applejack and Rarity give her a nod signaling that they were done. She sighed in relief. “Yeah, let’s go.” A few moments later they were all rounded up once more in the center of the room. Mare Do-Well made sure to stand next to Applejack. “So, anything?” she whispered. “Rarity saw the room,” Applejack whispered back. “Bunch of monitors like this one, but nopony was there.” Mare Do-Well frowned. “Did you find any kind of escape hatch or door?” “That’s what’s odd. No.” Mare Do-Well didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t like variables. And whoever or whatever was behind that door was now a variable. For the briefest moment before they disappeared in a sonic boom, Mare Do-Well could swear she felt something icy cold shiver down her back. {(SxT)} “Get off me!” a young stallion with a white and brown spotted coat yelled as he threw the prisoner they had collected last night into the holding cell. She had just tried to bite him. What the hell was up with this mare? The blue unicorn with a gold and silver mane fell to the straw covered stone of the holding cell and immediately jumped back up and lunged at him. However this time the stallion was quick enough to shut the door before she could bite him again. The unicorn slammed against the bars of the door and shot her hoof through, growling in an almost primal way. “You’re one bucked up lady, bitch.” “Hey Pipsqueak!” a voice came from outside. “I told you to stop calling me that!” Pipsqueak replied as he started to walk back, leaving the mare alone in her cell. “What do you want?” --- Suntrix crawled back into the corner of her cage, her eyes darting back and forth in rapid succession. Right now she was surrounded by safe stone. At least it would feel safe if she didn’t know what was out there. Her left eye twitched slightly. “You’re looking well,” a familiar voice popped up. Suntrix spun to the other side of her cell and saw the familiar blue pony with a smug grin. “Going for the ‘wild’ look, hmm?” “You!” Suntrix shouted angrily and lunged at the pony, immediately finding herself hitting the brick wall. “Yeesh,” Mr. 4 sighed, now on the side of the cell Suntrix was just at. “What’s with all the hostility?” Suntrix shook her head to regain her balance but she had conked it pretty bad. She steadied herself and growled at Mr. 4. “It’s gone! The power is gone! I can’t feel it anymore! Give it to me again!” Mr. 4 shook his hoof back and forth. “Tut, tut, tut. You’ve been touched by Harmony. I’m afraid even I can’t bring back your severed connection to the Wall.” Suntrix growled again and lunged. Mr. 4 merely rolled his eyes and once again their places were switched with Suntrix tackling a bench. She pulled herself up and glared daggers at Mr. 4. “Why are you here? Two weeks I’ve been here and now you decide to show up?” “Two weeks?” Mr. 4 sounded actually surprised. “Hmm, must be a time dilation effect. Time must move faster here than it does in others.” He seemed to make a mental note of that as he mumbled to himself. “Wait,” Suntrix stopped glaring. “So… So you didn’t abandon me?” Mr. 4 returned his attention to her. “Hm? Oh! Uh, yes, my dear! I was really worried about you.” His voice was laden with falsity but Suntrix didn’t seem to notice. She broke down and began to cry. “I was… I was alone so long out there,” she breathed heavily through tears. “In that wilderness, with those… things! Those horrible things!” She crawled on her knees over to Mr. 4. “This world is a nightmare! Just send me back! Please!” Mr. 4 did not kneel to eyelevel with her. “My dear, why don’t you just do it yourself? I mean, you got here, didn’t you?” Suntrix began to cry some more. “I don’t have any more magic! Those things. They absorbed it all while I was in the woods. I can’t even make a spark.” “So they can absorb magic?” Mr. 4 mused to himself. “Intriguing. Nevertheless, my dear, rest assured that I will return for you once I’ve finished my business here.” With a blink he was gone once more, the cell looking as if he were never there at all. “Wait!” Suntrix shouted to the air. “Wait! Please! Take me with you!” She cried and curled up into a ball. “I don’t want to be here alone.” <____|=0 Applejack’s eyes widened as the new world around her came into focus, her warrior’s senses immediately active. “Get down!!” she shouted. Everypony did as commanded as a blast of black fire carved a swath of destruction on the trees above them. The sound of heavy wingbeats could be heard above. The six scattered to several trees or bushes around the forested area they had appeared in. They stayed there for a moment as the sound of the wings continued. Applejack peaked her head out just enough to see out over the treeline. She dropped her jaw slightly in amazement. Two giant dragons were fighting in midair, one with scales black as night. “Dragons?” Mare Do-Well whispered across the clearing. “That one aint no dragon Ah’ve ever seen,” Applejack replied looking at the black one. “Me neither,” Rainbow whispered. “Flutterbat?” Applejack could see Flutterbat shake her head from the two mares’ hiding place. “I’ve never encountered a dragon like that either,” Rarity whispered. “What kind of dragons breathe black fire?” Fili-Second asked. Applejack watched as the black dragon swung its mighty tail and slammed the other into the ground just a little bit away. It proceeded to pounce on top of its foe and drew back its head. Applejack had to cover her eyes as a blast of intense black flame exploded from its gaping maw and enveloped the entire area around it. Though the flames were dark it still hurt to stare at it, like looking into an eclipse. When the torrent ended the surrounding fire immediately died down and Applejack drew back a breath. The entire forest area was alright with not a single tree or blade of grass singed. However, the smaller red dragon below the victorious one was not so lucky, it’s body charred down to the skeleton. Applejack watched the winner draw its head back up as it looked over the scene of its victory. She gulped as she finally got a good look at it. Its long serpentine body was covered belly and back with thick black scales. Its long sinuous tail was about half the size of a hoofball field, its body height close to that of a fortress wall. Its wings were thin filaments that were almost transparent. Sunlight shown through them and played across the ground in various colors like a kaleidoscope. But what scared Applejack most was not its impressive strength or its imposing build, but its eyes. It scanned the forested area with completely gray expressionless eyes. When it held still Applejack could swear she saw smoke billowing behind the pupils, as if they were merely made of glass and the inside of the beast’s head was on fire. In any other creature this would imply it was blind, but Applejack could tell just by looking at it that it wasn’t. This… thing had no soul, she could feel it. “Dragon hide is supposed to be flame proof, right?” Rainbow asked. “So how did that thing just burn a fully grown dragon alive in under a minute?” The six grew still once more as the black creature lifted its head and sniffed the air. It sniffed in several directions before landing on their own. Applejack’s pupils shrank as she saw an image that would haunt her for the rest of her life. She saw the soulless creature smile. “Yaaaahhh!!” a loud shout was heard from behind the creature and the six turned their attention to a couple of ponies coming through the trees behind them. They looked back to see a group of six earth ponies in tan uniforms slinging their ways through the trees, outfitted in some kind of metal wire dispersal device. After every arc of their swings the device would shoot out another metal rope and then retract the previous one, giving the ponies the illusion of swinging through the trees like monkeys. At their head was a gray mare with a flat purple mane. “Flintlock is down!” she shouted in a harsh voice. “Surround and go for the neck!” The ponies all obeyed as the creature stayed completely still and waited for them to enter its attack zone, smiling all the while. A team of two swooped up the right side of it and narrowly dodged a fast swing of its mighty arm. Applejack could see them smile as they assumed they had managed to outmaneuver it but it was for naught. One of the ponies screamed as the creature’s wing slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. The pony crashed to the ground and immediately tried to get back in the air but the device on his waist was stuck or stalled. He looked up in horror as he saw the creature look down at him, its toothy smile never fading. He screamed once more as it picked him up in its claws and brought him to its mouth to swallow him whole. Applejack felt like throwing up as she heard the tortured screaming suddenly halt. “Attack!” Another couple ponies shouted as they had been able to maneuver behind the beast while it was distracted. The ponies all pulled out long glistening blades from waist devices and lunged forward to slash at the back of the beast’s neck. The monster turned around sharply but was only able to swat away a few of them. The gray mare at the forefront accelerated the retraction of her device and pulled back to the neck of the creature. Now that it had its back turned to them Applejack could see that there was indeed a soft looking spot on the back of its neck. Where the base of the neck met the back of the body was a small barren patch of scales exposing a soft skin underneath. The gray mare cut clean through it. The creature did not roar or cry out in pain but merely opened its mouth as if to scream and fell forward, a burst of acrid smoke spraying from its back. Now that she thought of it, the creature never truly did make a noise. Even while fighting the dragon the only roars they could hear were from the fallen dragon itself. The last of the ponies present set themselves down from the trees and walked over to join their leader as she stood eerily silent and watched the body fall to the ground. Applejack didn’t understand why they didn’t try to save the pony that got eaten. He was swallowed whole so he must have been intact, plus the neck was pretty long it would have taken a little longer for him to reach the stomach. Her answer came as the creature burst into black flames as its body fully hit the ground. She stared in utter disbelief as the ponies watched the horrific scene with emotionless expressions, the scariest of which was the gray mare in the center. “Holy Faust,” Rainbow whispered in disbelief. It wasn’t much but it was enough for the gray mare to notice. Her ear twitched and she spun around, her eyes still emotionless. She grabbed a knife from a pocket in her uniform and threw it Rainbow’s way. Applejack jumped out of her hiding place and flung herself between the path of the blade and her friend. With a samurai’s discerning eye she caught the knife between her hooves right before it impaled her. The group of ponies looked on stunned, all except the gray mare. “Who are you?” she asked harshly. “You’re not with the Scouting Party. Don’t you know Wall Cadence fell already?” Applejack was about to answer when another rustle from the bushes came and she turned to see Fili-Second walk out from her hiding place and remove the white body suit’s cowl from around her face. Her hair immediately poofed up in all directions. “Maud,” she said slightly in a hushed tone, her eyes wide with growing tears. The gray mare’s expressionless eyes changed for a second and Applejack could see actual color behind them. Her accusing hoof dropped to her side and her mouth fell open, beginning to quiver. “P- Pinkie?”