Stories in Stone
Capricorn's Curse
By TDR
Bring me to life
[Manehatten Docks, aboard the Storm Cloud.]
Babs was beside herself. Not literally as one might expect when dealing with Changelings, but more in the panicky sort of way that wasn't likely going to end in the question 'is it masturbation or incest?' like the other way.
Despite being an official member of the CMC, she had never really done much with them. She had never been part of their wild adventures and she had never been involved in any of their disasters. She had gotten a number of others to join her branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in Manehatten, but they had never hit the heights that the original trio had. Though she had heard rumors that the next generation out of Ponyville was nearly as chaotic as the first, though the founding CMC was still going strong in terms of disaster it seemed.
Babs had grown up, gained her cutie mark after taking a couple of home EC classes and built her life from there. She always loved food as her plush figure showed, though aside from a a ruined dish or a grease fire, there had never been any big disasters leading up to her getting her cutie mark.
By contrast, Scootaloo had to be burned to ash by a dragon, Sweetiebelle had made a entire concert hall weep with a song, and Applebloom had imprisoned a monster that had destroyed half of Equss, then turned into an Elk to get hers.
Really her life was pretty boring. Even Silver, who she thought was the most interesting thing to happen to her, she had met during a event she was catering for his dads retirement from the steel mill. They had talked a little and hit it off.
No fuss no muss, no giant quasi dietys from the ninth dimension made of pasta rampaging the country side.
Well there was Tirek's attack, but getting trapped in a shelter for three days wasn't her idea of exciting, despite her fame growing a bit as she was one of the ones in there preparing food for the mayor. She had lucked out being in that shelter.
Now she was on a airship that was slowly transforming into a concert stage, in mid air, getting ready to fight off a swarm of zombies while Sweetiebelle and the only ones with any combat experience sang them a song. All of this while dropping some secret agent off the ship to battle a necromancer in the middle of her city. To add a cherry to it all, there was a good sixty plus ponies, Griffons, and other assorted individuals bouncing around in the airships hold, absolutely going nuts at the impromptu concert they were brought into, not a one of them even having a hint of what was really going on.
“You alright Babs?” Sweetiebelle asked trotting up to her, that ridiculous costume still on her. Babs did have to admit it looked good on her , but it seemed she changed a few things. Her face mask had been replaced with just goggles, she had a red hooded cloak now and her left leg was wrapped in black cloth. She looked a little like the agent sitting at the prow of the ship.
“What the heck are you wearing now?” Babs demanded.
Sweetiebelle shrugged.” Button suggested it, says he and Carol had an idea, but he ran off too quick to explain and Carol's busy in the hold. It'll probably be awesome, he is our head tech, and Carol does a lot of the show planning with our manager.”
She looked back over her shoulder and Babs followed her gaze. Button was currently darting around like a foal hopped up on whatever kept Pinkie Pie going. By this point he had opened the middle half of the ship, the side of it opening out revealing a rather large stage that used to be the side of the airship. It stuck out about half the ships width from the side and was partially positioned between the hold deck and the living quarters. Those in the hold were forced to look up at those on stage, but that was normal for a concert stage. Button had set up a sound board on the main deck overlooking the new stage. Inside the ship the fans couldn't see the zombies, only the armored pony and the large pony with a hammer moving around on stage setting things up. Melody, Shanty, and Aria were still mingling and talking with the group, explaining what was happening, as well as the rules of this concert. Ditty and Carol were on the upper deck informing the Captain and the dozen crew members of what was going on.
This was Babs first look at the ships crew. She had somehow always thought the Changelings flew the ship, but in hind sight that was fairly dumb to think just the five of them could do that.
Like Captain Finch all of them seemed injured or wounded in one way or another, most of them were Griffons, though there was a scattering of Pegasi and at least one Harpy. All of them had the look of old soldiers who hated the idea of retiring. In fact she was certain she had read something about Sweetiebelle hiring them out of the ESO when she left. Most of them looked as if they would never fly on their own again, or at least not well, but the airship was the next best thing.
The crew would be keeping the ship flying and setting up a few maneuvers to keep them away from the Zombies , yet close enough to hold their attention from attacking any one else until the real soldiers got here. She had heard one of them mentioning pulling a 'Crazy Ivan', and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what that meant.
“How do you do this Belle?” Babs finally sighed.
“Do what?” Sweetiebelle asked tilting her head in confusion.
“All this... there's a horde of monsters down there, and you're gonna put on a concert in an air ship for a bunch of civilians who should be getting evacuated, not treated to a show before they might die.” Babs snapped. “ All of you are so calm, like you do this sort of crap all the time!”
“Well with the ESO we did kinda fly around and solve a bunch of mysteries, and fight a bunch of monsters. Granted most of those were some crazy pony in a monster suit protecting Seapony Doubloons or something stupid. We also had Coco's great dane with us for some reason... never mind...” Sweetiebelle shrugged. “Still, we're not used to this sort of life and death thing. I mean this is the third time I'VE been in a situation like this. The War of Gods had the CMC on the front lines, not intentionally mind you, the three of us plus Pip, WERE the front line against Tirek and now this. And it's just me this time, with out the other crusaders. Well I mean you're here, but you were never with us for the really scary stuff.”
Sweetiebelle exhaled and smiled a little despite the expression looking forced.
”All I know is I'm in a position to help ponies and to stop another disaster. So I'm gonna do everything I can to put an end to this before any pony gets hurt. Best I can do is sing, but if that helps then I'm damn well gonna do it.”Sweetiebelle sighed a little. ”My sister wouldn't do any less, so I am sure as buck gonna give it everything I have too.”
Babs stared at her friend a moment more before reaching up to hug the much smaller mare.
“Akk hey!” Sweetiebelle protests before sighing and accepting it, not like she could wiggle free of Babs grip any way, pudgy as she was, that mare had some power to her.
“Sorry .. yer right..... If we ken do something we gotta do it.” Babs agreed letting go of Sweetiebelle. “ What did yah need me to do?”
“Well I guess right now maybe set up some snacks or something. Not much in the larder, but Button picked up some groceries earlier so maybe you can whip something together. Once we start best I can tell you to do is hold on. Finch is the best airship pilot that any ones seen. He's also the craziest. I saw what he did when we put the Storm Cloud through it's paces........ lets just say we are gonna be tying every one down The girls are getting the fans down stairs anchored to guide ropes with a few padding spells for good measure.”
“Ummm oh yeah okay. I can do that.” Babs agreed
============================================================
[Tamberlane, inside the shield.]
“Well that's all of them, now we just need to wait for her to wake up.” Luna sighed brushing off the soot that was all that remained of some of Twilight's mane and fur. Her skin and hair were growing back almost instantly though she was still out cold. That last worm had hardened around the base of her horn making it a bitch to burn off.
“WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU DOING IN MY LIBRARY!!?!?” a voice boomed out from the door.
Lyra shrieked as the mint colored unicorn was flung away from the door to crash into a bookcase, the whole pile collapsing down on top of her with a resounding crunch of wood.
“Lyra!” Octavia shouted rushing over to her friend only to slam bodily into a suddenly raised gold colored shield, the gray mare fell back to the floor with a crash being forcefully yanked to her hooves before her head was snapped up suddenly and she was flung back into a wall on the far side of the library.
Trixie yelped as she was scooped up off the floor and shot skyward smashing into the ceiling hard enough to leave a crater before being dropped back to the floor, the blue mare smashing through a table as parts of the ceiling fell down atop of her.
Luna whirled away from Twilight only for something to smash her across the face and send her tumbling away from the table Twilight was on.
“And you!?! HOW DARE YOU BRING FIRE IN HERE!!” the voice screamed. Luna winced as another blow lashed out sending her reeling back. She stumbled back only to be hit again and again by some unknown force. She felt like she was boxing with a dragon, and she was quite certain one of her teeth had been knocked loose. Luna tried to brace herself from the blows, the impacts were quite powerful, though she had suffered far worse. Still the blows were enough to knock her back on her rump and make her vision blurry. She shook her head seeing stars and hummingbirds........wait that looked like a …..
The next hit snapped the chitin covered mares head back sending lifting her off the ground and dropping her back to just as hard. She felt her tail being grabbed and yanked into the air as she was swung about and sent flying towards a wall. Her wings fanned out flapping madly as she tried to right herself. She managed to soften the impact and land shakily on her hooves.
She shook her head hard clearing her vision and looked for the little black dot she saw before. It only took her a moment to spot it making a beeline for her. The tiny thing looked like an elongated pony with bug wings wild hair and a pair of long antenna.
“A breezy?” Luna gasped only for the tiny creatures two antenna to glow gold, the magic wrapping around her neck and hoisting her into the air crushing her throat. The creature in question moved right before her face and she got a clear look at it.
The creature was indeed a Breezy, or used to be. It's white skin was pulled tight over his features, stretched taught enough that it had begun to peel back from it's mouth exposing it's teeth and part of it's skull. It's eyes were hollow sockets with a gold glow deep within them. The black body suit it wore was pulled tight over a emaciated frame, the creatures bones were visible though the tight material as if there was no fat or muscle left on it's body. It's hair was shock white with black tips and was only on it's body in patches. The wings were mismatched, one seemed to be from a large moth and the other from a butterfly, Luna could see the stitching holding the wings in place.
“Yeah, yeah, a Breezy... one who's kicking the shit out of you trespassers.” The creature hissed his magic belting Luna across the face again and flinging her down into the floor. After a moment she felt the magic grab a hold of her wing yanking her back up by the gossamer length causing Luna to cry out.
This was far stronger magic than she expected,it seemed it was enough to bypass a gods ability to heal. Where she had been hit and choked directly by the magic the injuries were still crying out to her, barely healing. The impacts with the floor and bookshelf she had already recovered from, though the pressure on her wing was excruciating and she felt it was starting to tear it as the little monster yanked her into the air by her wings then slammed her back into the ground.
“Always had bastards trying to pull my wings off like a bug, never thought I’d get a chance to pull the wings off a bug bigger than me.” The Breezy cackled yanking harder on the Changeling Queen's wing, its magic pulling her wing and holding her down. The pain was enough to cause her to scream out as green blood began pooling at the base of her wing where he flesh was starting to tear.
Luna grit her teeth getting ready to shove herself forward and attack even if it mean ripping her wing off fully, she had to protect the others they were not nearly as durable as she was.....
Her thoughts on the matter as well as the pressure on her wing were suddenly cut off by the sound of a high pitched scream, the crunching of tiny bones, and the loud thud of two massive books hitting one another.
“His library.......if that's how the little shit treats books then he doesn't deserve this place.” growled a voice.
Luna looked up as two massive tomes gripped in magenta magic pulled apart, letting the powdered breezy corpse fall from between them to the ground, a moment later both books stacked neatly atop of the corpse and Luna was lifted in the same glow as the books and floated over to the table. Trixie, Octavia and Lyra were similarly pulled out of where they fell and brought over to the table.
Lyra was out cold, though Octavia and Trixie just seemed a bit banged up.
Slowly sitting up on the table with a fan of her purple wings, Twilight Sparkle pulled Luna nose to nose with her glaring at the Queen of changelings with bleary bloodshot eyes.
“This is why we don't do things like knocking out one of our own, we could get jumped.” Twilight growled.
“I was attempting to spare you a great deal of pain.” Luna responded.
“Yes, well thank you for that, though now every one else is hurt or dead.” Twilight grumbled.
“I'm not dead.” Lyra muttered stirring a bit.
“What?” Twilight questioned.
“I'm not dead.” Lyra stated again with a groan.
“She says, she's not dead.” Luna pointed out.
“Yes she is” Twilight sighed.
“I'm not” Lyra fusses.
“Well you soon will be you're badly injured.” Twilight sighed.
“I'm getting better.”Lyra bemoaned.
“No you're not you'll be stone dead in a moment..... you know what? Fine! I have a headache twenty leagues wide, I am quite cross and I still feel like throwing up, even without the scent of my own burnt flesh filling my nose.” Twilight cursed, her magic gripping the rings on every ones horn yanking them off and tuning the small creatures into little balls of ash incinerating them almost immediately.” Now then, I know a few healing spells, but I am still shit at casting them. Trixie, Lyra if you have any healing spells or medical knowledge please use them on every one. Luna if you are able see if you can get a trace of magic going on that Breezy corpse and see if you can find something similar in the area around here. Am going to assume that thing was one of the Lichs mentioned in the book and we need to destroy it's phylactery before it will be gone for good.”
“YOU BITCH!!!” shouted a voice, an arc of lightning lanced towards the group only to hit a magenta shield. Twilight drops the ponies she was holding slamming together two broken pieces of shelving in the air, not far from where the bolt came from. There was a loud clack of wood, a tiny curse and the sound of more crunching bone and powdery flesh falling.
“Never mind found him. Two minutes. I wonder if it's smaller size means it can re-spawn faster. Also it's phylactery is quite close, come on now heal up and lets got I am not going to fight any more in a library.” Twilight ordered. “Now then we need a way outside.... ah this will do.”
The group watched as Twilight cast a spell that blew a hole in empty wall where a book shelf had been, and several other stone walls behind it. The mare barely paused her magic fanning out and tidying up the library and at least stacking a few things properly if not in proper order before she stormed out the hole she had made in the wall. The other four simply stand where she had placed them down staring after the fuming mare..
The other three look at Luna who simply shrugged.
'Tia said she was cranky when she first wakes up ,but I didn't expect this.”
=============================================
[Crystal Empire, Dreamscape]
“You look weird.” Shin stated flatly looking up at the dark alicorn that was Dawn.
“I know right?” Dawn pouted her form shimmering as she put forth the effort to imagine herself back to her normal form. “I'm gonna choke that Griffon when I see him again....Not you Brainy.”
“I should hope not.” Talon snorted, having less of an idea of what was going on than any of the others. All of this was far too fanciful for his grasp. He preferred logic and this place had none of that. It was one of the reasons he wasn't too concerned that Dawn seemed to know what was going on here. This place seemed as chaotic as she was to him. “ Well at least we are all together this time.”
Elusive nodded looking over at Rynthia as she seemed to be trying to see her own neck. “ I don't think you are wearing it now Rynthia.”
“That is something that I know, but if that is the case where did it abscond..... vanish..... move....?” Rynthia muttered.
“Go.” chimes Glimmer who was fluttering around looking for something as well.” I don't see Charlotte any where either.”
“I smell him.” Dawn stated sniffing the air. “ Smells like bacon.”
“you didn't even know who he was five minutes ago how do you even know what he smells like?” Glimmer fussed at Dawn as the Kirin mare shrugged.
“Perhaps we should hunt for the Taipair while Rynthia tries to recall how to call that necklace of hers. She was the last one to get kicked out of the dream last time, maybe it is some sort of protection and once she has it we can copy it to gain it's protection. So long as we don't disrupt anything and keep to ourselves here the Tantabus shouldn't bother us. It didn't seem to care about us last time until we tracked it down.” Talon theorized.
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Elusive agreed with nods from the others..
The six foals set out across the roiling shapeless dream scape following Dawn's nose, unaware of a multitude of eyes watching them.
======================================================
[Manehatten, in the graveyard in front of the steel mill.]
Bray stared out from the top of the stone mausoleum at the ever growing horde. He was rather surprised at a number of things to be honest.
First that there were this many here. Maybe a hundred or so were ponies, but it was bordering on the thousands already of Orcs. He knew this was a mass grave, but not this big of one. It was like they had dumped an entire army here.
The second thing was how well they had held together. There were a number that were little more than skeletons or were chard lumps, but there were far more relatively whole bodies with flesh and sinew left as well as decent enough armor. The mass graves were over a thousand years old, perhaps it had something to do with the swampy nature of the area, or perhaps this hadn't been a mass grave dug so much as a bunch of bodies tossed into a peat bog.
The third thing was that he barely felt the drain of raising the undead. This was excessively odd as they were not simple zombies. Most of these undead had risen as Ghouls. There were a few lesser in the mix but even Grogar would have issue raising this many of the mildly intelligent undead. Bray didn't even think he had spent a quarter of his power. Had Tamberlane come close enough for him to tap into it? Was there something more about this place than he knew? Or was his time serving Grogar finally paying off some how?
“BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” something bellowed from the ground.
Seemed there was something else he hadn't considered.
The ground before him erupted in a shower of dirt and flailing soil. Viscous tendrils of odd roots and ratty tar soaked hair exploded out of the ground hauling a massive figure along with it. Bray stared at the creature in shock recognizing it immediately and having no bucking clue how he had managed to raise this thing.
A Gallows Gaunt.
The behemoth of an Orc ripped itself free of the ground shaking off the dirt and soil it's eyeless gaze sweeping over the gathered army. The gathered Orcs enmasse knelt before the behemoth and a chanting cry rose up from the ranks .
Bray wasn't sure what the chant was, but a single name seemed to be in the chant.
Je'fray.
“WHERE IS THE DEMON?!?!?!” the undead Orc god bellowed and Bray felt all the others eyes and empty sockets turn to him. The Orc God slowly turned to follow suit, looking up at the Donkey. Bray could see the wound that likely killed him a gash in the middle of his forehead that clearly went through his skull and oozed a black icor. His chest and back also had a massive wound in them that seemed to pass fully through his body. Bray could see a bit of light under the Orc from a streetlamp above them.
Bray wasn't sure what the Demon was though he didn't need a proper answer. He had seen Grogar deal with the few Gallows Gaunts he had created. It was easier to simply tell them what you wanted them to do, but in a way that made them think it was their own idea.
“You seek your killer then?” Bray smirked getting a glare from the hog, getting it right in one. “ Calm yourself. I am not your enemy. I have brought you back to finish what you started , the destruction of this city. Your Demon is here some where, or at the very least, he is sure to come after Manehatten is no more than rubble.”
There was a roar from the gathered Orcs. While Bray could try to force his control over them, all he needed them to do was run wild, something they seemed far more inclined to do. Only the Orc God Je'fray seemed skeptical. Bray really didn't care as long as he agreed to destroy everything.
“FINE THEN MEAT. WE WILL FINISH WHAT WE STARTED, BUT IF THE DEMON DOES NOT COME THEN I SHALL TAKE OUT MY FRUSTRTATION ON YOU.” Je'fray bellowed.
Bray didn't respond, actually rather impressed that the Orc God was speaking passable common including a few multi syllable words here and there. Again was this something he had done with his spell? He cast something he was only vaguely familiar with adjusted with some of his own studies, a mass raise spell directly on the graveyard., it still shouldn't have had the power to do all this.
There was a yammering in the horde and Je'fray looked up in the sky at something with a confused expression on his face.
“WHAT THAT!?” the Orc God bellowed.
Bray looked up in the air curiously noting what looked to be a airship, with of all things a stage emerging from the side, drifting towards them. He had seen that ship at the docks when he came to this graveyard and had marveled at it a bit, though he was curious about what the stage was about when he noticed a couple of ponies standing on it. The one in the lead caught his attention the most, it looked like that damn mare who tired to kill him earlier.
“The enemy has found us, Destroy th.....” Grogar shouted before a noise cut him off knocking him from the mausoleum.
======================================
[Tamberlane Outside the shield ]
Jer'rahd grinned, the Waning Moon rushing up to block the odd blade of darkness the pompous vampire was using. The male had identified himself as Karlac before he launched into an attack. It was rather interesting to find out the creature was a pegicorn of sorts. That cloak of his had actually spread out into great bat like wings as he began his attack. He held a blade in his magic, one in his mouth , one on each wing and a pair of short spikes of the same odd dark matter on his fore hooves. He was fast too, whirling about Jer'rahd like a blender on high speed. The strikes were light, but Jer'rahd was hard pressed to block or dodge them all, his shields were popping up all over the black deflecting attacks and filling the air around the undead,making the vampire move around them. It wasn't hard keeping the vampire back, though it did mean he couldn't attack. Jer'rahd wasn't sure he wanted to know what might happen if that darkness blade hit him. Unfortunately the two of them were evenly matched at the moment.
It was great fun.
Celestia was not doing much better. As fast as Karlac was the scantily clad pompous mare made him look like he was standing still. She had introduced herself as Visna, before vanishing in a puff of smoke and nearly slicing off Celestia's head before the Sun Princess managed a teleport. She had the same sort of shadowy weapon, though hers was a massive ax rather than a lot of blades. The way she spun and flipped around the long hafted weapon reminded Jer'rahd of one of those pole dancers in the clubs Rhede had liked. Still the weapon whirled faster than he had thought any one could wield something of that size.
Celestia amazingly enough was holding her own rather well, deflecting blows with the Brilliant Dawn and her own shields and retaliating with fire attacks forcing the mare to keep popping in an out of existence. Jer'rahd thought Visna an earth pony, but she sprouted bat like wings as well. Maybe she was an earth pony and Karlac was a unicorn and the wings were the vampire part of them. He really didn't care enough to ask
In any event Celestia and Jer'rahd couldn't even switch targets to see if they would fare better against the other. Every time they moved to press an attack, their foe switched locations with a faint pop of teleportation or a swift flap of wings, so they were stuck facing the same foe.
“I hate this.” Celestia snarled, slapping the ax away with the Brilliant Dawn.
“What finally having something stand up against us?” Jer'rahd snorted in amusement, ducking a shot to his head from a wing blade.. “Rather exciting if you ask me.”
“I don't like playing fair with a opponent holding their own against me in a situation like this. I have no idea how you can find this fun.” Celestia snarked a blast of fire leaving her horn doing little more than making a splash of burnt glass where the vampire had been.
“Ehh I see your point, so what are you going to do about it?” Jer'rahd shrugged forcing the vampire back with a few well placed shields.
“What I usually do when a game gets to the point I have trouble.” Celestia muttered hopping back with a few flaps of her wings.
“Cheat?”
“Of course.” Celestia grinned, fanning her wing suddenly and flinging a group of small objects at the female vampire.
Visna barely paid it any mind, blocking the objects with a twirl of her ax. The items hitting the weapon with faint pops and seemed to shatter.
“Throwing blades? In a duel? If that is your idea of cheating...GAH!!!” Visna cried out her skin starting to sizzle.
“Not throwing blades.” Celestia grinned as the vampire mare dropped her ax and started screaming her wings and hooves clawing at her face trying to wipe her forelegs chest and head clean. Small char marks appeared on her fur and got larger the more she tired to wipe them off. She flailed rolling on the ground, loud pops filling the air as she randomly teleported around on the sand trying to get rid of the sauce that had struck her face.
Jer'rahd blinked catching the unmistakeable scent of garlic and onion.
“You threw special sauce packs at her?Why do you even have those things I thought you hated it?” Jer'rahd questioned.
“The sauce is actually pretty good on the hay fries.” Celestia admitted.
“ HAH! “ Jer'rahd laughed. “Alright remember what you did to the cockatrice in training?”
“Seriously? Fine, on you, twelve o clock low.” Celestia smirked as her horn started to glow.
“Right.” Jer'rahd stated blocking a blow from the male vampire who seemed distracted by the mares screaming, though he also appeared wary of whatever they were talking about. Jer'rahd formed a shield above the vampire to keep him from flying, though another appeared under their hooves keeping them off the black sand which had started to smoke. Jer'rahd shoved the vampire back off the shield he had just formed, only for the ground under the vampire to give way dropping him into a chest deep pit of molten glass.
The male vampire's screams joined the females though the mare's voice was quickly silenced as Celestia removed the undead's head from her shoulders, yanking a piece of driftwood from the sand and driving it into the mares chest presumably through her heart.
Jer'rahd quickly followed suit, though he speared the male with the thicker part of a dead tree destroying much of the vampires chest, ensuring he hit the heart, and probably obliterated it.
The remaining vampires of course freaked out and swarmed the pair only to be just as quickly dispatched leaving nothing but burning corpses scattered across the beach, and a cursing Capricorn necromancer.
=====================================================
[ Manehatten Aboard the Storm Cloud.]
Button Mash was running around like a mad pony, connecting wires and setting up crystals at cardinal points of the ship. The crowd in the hold was losing their shit as the band readied their instruments and Sweetiebelle took the stage. Button rushed around making sure all of them were tied down, the stage had no railings and the slightest adjustment of the Storm Cloud would send everything sliding that wasn't tied down. Thankfully the instruments already had anchor points preinstalled.
A few of the fans had helped out with the prep for the show. An older unicorn stallion named Sunburst had known a anti gravity spell and with the help of some of the other unicorns the deck of the ship would now be down no matter which way the ship tilted. Sweetiebelle promised an autograph or two for the help after the show, which only made a number of them even more eager to help.
Button had rushed off after making sure everything was secure and was talking with agent Sweetie Drops about something. After a moment he attached a com crystal to the front of her cloak. The mare didn't seem thrilled about it, but Button seemed insistent. Sweetiebelle really wanted to know what he was up to but neither he, nor Carol was telling and both of them were too busy to talk any way. Finally the stallion moved behind the sound booth on the upper deck and called a all clear to Captain Finch who started to move the ship towards the zombie horde or siege or what ever. The rest of the band signaled their readiness and it was up to Sweetiebelle to motion to start.
The Rarities were ready to go
Sweetiebelle could hear yelling and as they swung around the iron works building the largest Pig she had ever see was in the middle of the mass of undead screaming up at a Donkey perched atop a stone crypt.
It was now or never. She waved a hoof at Shanty who began playing the piano. The yellow maned Hippogryph Changeling had shifted to her silver furred Hippogryph form that most of the fans knew for this. She began tapping out a few careful notes with her claws.
“How can you see into my eyes......” Sweetiebelle spoke slightly more than a throaty whisper.
The pink maned Melody who was in her pegasus form, her black feathered wings strummed across a bass guitar she clutched tight to her pink hued form. The base line hit the speakers as Sweetiebelle hit the first words of the song. The reverberations from the ships speakers shook the entire ship as they thrummed a massive dust cloud of dirt and litter exploding from the ground under them . The wave of sound washed over the zombie horde and echoed across the streets of Manehatten raising a dust cloud from the ground below them that washed over the zombie horde and echoed down the streets of Manehatten.
“Like open doors.” Sweetiebelle continued ignoring the faint crackle as Ditty started on the guitar. The male changeling took a form he rarely did on stage of a red stallion with a silvery mane highlighted with pink. Melody was of course ecstatic that he chose to highlight his mane with her favorite color and Ditty made some excuse about it not being related that no one believed at all.
“Leading you down into my core.
Where I've become so numb,”
The second bass blast hit even harder as Button played with the volume, the reverb echoing off the surrounding buildings and blowing out windows across the city, making buildings shake as if the city was hit with an earthquake. Rotted flesh and body parts were blown off the leading edge of the horde, a number of 'not quite as well made' creatures collapsing completely as exposed bone shattered and rotted forms vibrated into nothing from the massive boom of the speakers. Bray had been knocked off his perch by the first bass boom and he had barely managed to right himself when the second boom hit, sending him back to the dirt.
“Without a soul” Sweetie sang as Aria and Melody lent their voices to a wordless echoing chorus.
“My spirit's sleeping some where cold.
Until you find it there and lead....
It.
Back.
Home.” Sweetiebelle finished her part with a smirk.
Ditty began playing in earnest now, his guitar coupled with his own voice as he sang the male part of the song. The volume boost of the sudden jump in the songs tone sending a number more Orcs scattering , many clutching their rotted ears or falling to the ground as what was left of their brains was rattled around to mush.
“WAKE ME UP!” Ditty cried
Sweetie Drops wasted no time once they were in position. She lept over the edge of the ship Dropping into free fall barely twenty stories over the street bellow. She turned in mid air firing her line up to hook on the ships figure head, a statue modeled after Rarity Reighnolds. The line snaps taught and she swings low, skirting over the heads of the stumbling horde and plowing bodily into Bray. The Donkey flailed as he was grabbed and swung upwards with the rest of her arc. The red cloaked mare flung the Donkey ahead of her and through one of the windows into the smelting plant. She disconnected her grapple and dove through the broken window after Bray vanishing from view.
“Wake me up inside,” Sweetiebelle responded to Ditty.
“I can't wake up.”Ditty called.
“Wake me up inside,” Sweetiebelle and the others chorus.
“Save me!” Ditty cried
“Call my name and save me from the dark.” Sweetiebelle crooned.
“Wake me up.” Ditty shouted.
“Bid my blood to run.” Sweetiebelle sighed out.
“I can't wake up” Ditty hollered.
“Before I come undone,” Sweetiebelle continued.
“Save me “ Ditty pleaded.
“Save me from the nothing I've become” Sweetiebelle pleaded.
Button had rushed to the railing again, where some of the crew and Silver were tied down to one of the guide ropes running along the ship, it was less secure than the band was, but it allowed them to move about. Silver was watching down over the side of ship as the Griffons began firing crossbows into the undead crowd. There were only six of them, but the group were old soldiers and reloading and firing Griffonese crossbows, it was second nature to the lot of them. Very few shots missed their marks.
Button however was a little more precise it seemed with firing Vera. The Crossbow had been mounted to the railing and the bolt head loaded had a communication crystal strapped to it for some reason. After finding a proper target Button pulled the trigger and fell over backwards as the massive bolt kicked out of the crossbow, shooting through the air and slamming hard into the side of the largest undead Orcs there. A few more bolts with crystals attached were launched before the brown Earth pony ran off to do something else.
Je'Fray's howl was drown out by the music, though the pig began shouting orders as he yanked the spear sized bolt from his side.
“Now that I know what I’m without.
You can't just leave me” Sweetiebelle belted out with the other girls echoing her words softly.
“Beeaaathe into me and make me real.” Sweetiebelle croons, the last words echoed by her chorus.
“Bring.
Me.
to life.” Sweetiebelle breathes out the last in a throaty whisper.
Blasts of lightning and fire suddenly turn the dark street into day as a pair of massive winged forms tear around the corners of the building strafing the Orc horde with green flame and blue lightning.
Spike and Bleu soar over the crowd zipping under the airship as it started to rise, the package delivered, the wind of their passage making Sweetiebelle's cloak flutter like mad as the zephyr whipped across the stage.
“WAKE ME UP!” Ditty cried
“Wake me up inside,” Sweetiebelle responded to Ditty.
“I can't wake up.”Ditty called.
“Wake me up inside,” Sweetiebelle and the others chorus.
“Save me!” Ditty cried
“Call my name and save me from the dark.” Sweetiebelle crooned.
“Wake me up.” Ditty shouted.
“Bid my blood to run.” Sweetiebelle sighed out.
“I can't wake up” Ditty hollered.
“Before I come undone,” Sweetiebelle continued.
“Save me “ Ditty pleaded.
“Save me from the nothing I've become” Sweetiebelle pleaded.
Je'fray roared out as everything around him burned, the former Orc god had whipped himself into a proper fury. The rotted tendrils of his hair and the old roots and moss mixed in with them lashed out soaring into the air to grab a hold of the airship before it got too high. The massive boar dug in his hooves yanking the ship down as Finch struggled to take the ship up higher. The griffon behind the wheel growls as he sends the ship into a sharp turn spinning around the Orc trying to rip free of the hair holding it without smashing into a building. He was partially successful as he clipped the side of a tower knocking off a string of Gargoyle statues and a great deal of decorative masonry.
Je'Fray squealed out an order as he hunkered down more trying to reel the ship in like a fish. A number of Orc zombies begin clamoring up his hair rushing up to the ship with a few dead Griffons and Pegasi taking to the air to attack as well.
“Bring me to life,” Sweetiebelle cried, her horn glowing as she smashed an empty crate into a undead Griffon knocking it from the air.
“I've been living a lie” Ditty shouts, a extra wing forming on his back holding a crossbow which blasts through a Pegasi who had made it to the stage.
“There’s nothing in side!”
“Bring me to life.” Sweetiebelle intoned.
The first of the Orcs made it up to the edge of the deck only for a sledge hammer to slam into it’s face, sending the rotted Pig squealing off into the abyss. Silver snorted looking over the edge of the ship as one of the Griffon crew works to cut the hair root free.
“Frooooozen” Sweetiebelle harmonized with the Shanty and Melody, the other two Changelings lashing out with flashes of green fire and other magics that work to keep the stage deck clear of the creatures trying to swarm over it like ants on a picnic.
“Inside without your touch.
Without your love darling “Sweetiebelle serenaded along with the other two echoing her despite their attacks.
“Only you.
Are the life among the dead.”
A Orc with an ax as large as she was shrugged off the magic attacks from the Changelings and rushed Sweetiebelle. The white mare tensed up ready to dodge before remembering she was tied to the deck. Before she had time to even break song, a large crate attached to a rope swung through the air and slammed into the Orc flinging her off the stage and to the ground below.
Looking up Sweetiebelle saw Button riding atop of the crate. The Earth pony cut it loose and letting it fall onto the Orcs below as he swung back to the upper deck on the rope, likely not even seen by the crowd watching the song.
Sweetiebelle smiled at how good Button was at this. A good roadie knows his whole job is to make someone else look good, keep someone else safe, help someone else do what they were put here to do. A good roadie stays out of the spotlight. If he's doing his job right, you don't even know he's there. Once in a while he might step on stage just to fix a problem, to set something right. But then before you even realize he was there or what he did, he's gone. Button was Equss best roadie.
“All the time I can't believe I couldn't see,” Ditty soloed,
“Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me.”
“I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems.” Sweetiebelle continued trying to calm her beating heart from the close call.
“I've got to open my eyes to everything.”
“Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul.” Ditty belted out
“Don't let me die here..” Carol purred.
“There must be something wrong,” Ditty piped.
“Bring me to life.” Sweetiebelle resounded.
More Orcs had clamored up onto the ship and the Griffon crew was hard pressed to push them back enough to cut the lines holding the ship. Silver was fighting off two of them when a resounding clang sent one crashing into the other and sent both tumbling off the side of the ship. Looking up from the fallen Orcs his eyes locked with Babs as the mare spun a dented cast iron frying pan around a hoof. She grinned and took a quick step to the railing and smashed another Orc in the face as it climbed over.
The chubby mare was dressed in an apron festooned with various kitchen items. Silver was about to question it when the cook took the head off another Orc with a thrown cutting board. She waded through the Orcs on deck laying waste with rolling pins sauce pans and everything else that could complete a full kitchen set.
It was only when she started tossing bags of flour onto the hair ropes along with cooking oil that Silver finally started moving again, helping the others knock the still twitching Orc bodies off the ship.
A few matches from the mare burned away a great many of the old rotted anchors holding the ship in place allowing Finch to start pulling away again, a bit slowly.
“WAKE ME UP!” Ditty cried
“Wake me up inside,” Sweetiebelle responded to Ditty.
“I can't wake up.”Ditty called.
“Wake me up inside,” Sweetiebelle and the others chorus.
“Save me!” Ditty cried
“Call my name and save me from the dark.” Sweetiebelle crooned.
“Wake me up.” Ditty shouted.
“Bid my blood to run.” Sweetiebelle sighed out.
“I can't wake up” Ditty hollered.
“Before I come undone,” Sweetiebelle continued.
“Save me “ Ditty pleaded.
“Save me from the nothing I've become” Sweetiebelle pleaded.
The Dragons were making the second pass Bleu and Spike had focused fully on the large Orc anchoring the ship to the ground. The creature roared a last time before the mix of fire and lightning finished what should have been done a thousand years ago.
The ship lurched suddenly as it was freed, soaring into the air rapidly. A number of those on board where flung to the deck. One pony however had been trying to fend off a undead Orc, both had lost their footing and fell off the side of the ship. The pony manged to grab a hold of a hair vine still attached to the rapidly rising Storm Cloud, the Orc was not as lucky. Still without Je'fray holding the hair together, the vine like tendrils were rapidly disintegrating into nothing.
“Bring me to life,” Sweetie and her chorus cry out, Sweetiebelle caught sight of Button's plight from the corner of her eye.
“I've been living a lie.” Ditty screams out.
“There's nothing inside.”
“Bring me to life............” Sweetiebelle all but whispers as she turned fully meeting Button's eyes as the strands holding the pony up gave way, the Brown Earth pony plummeting towards the city far below as the last strains of piano fade into nothing.
==========================================================
[ Tamberlane outside the shield]
Jer'rahd's ears perk as he looked up from the burning corpse of the vampire looking out towards the water with a small shiver. The unmistakeable sound of music seemed to be echoing across the water from some where.
He reached up tapping the com crystal in his ear.
“This is Guard Captain Kaisur. All units report.” Jer'rahd demanded noting Celestia was also looking out at the water. Grogar seemed to be plotting something, though even he seemed to notice the noise.
“Gallopagos here, we're getting sounds of music of some kind on the beach. Talia says it sounds a bit like Lady Belle.”
“Neighlantis Guard reporting in, no change though we have had to destroy more sea life that died and turned. This thing's an ecological nightmare. We have a small advantage that it's stationary, but at least six of the pylon farms are going to need to be gutted and rebuilt.”
“Jupiter reporting in. Lady Bleu and Lord Spike have left to deal with a situation that has arisen in Manehatten. We are unsure of anything more than that.”
“Where's the mainland report? Or Green two?” Jer'rahd stated after a moment waiting.
“Mainland Guard here sir, I'm sorry I didn't hear you over the noise. For some reason the Rarities airship is putting on a concert at max volume and we're hard pressed to do anything about it without leaving our post, but we are swamped in complaints.” The noise of music blasting through the comlink made Jer'rahd wince though he caught the gist of what was said.
“Green two reporting in. My apologies we are overseeing an operation here and it was too critical to respond at the time. The Fox has cornered the chicken, though the chicken raised a pack of green piggys to help it and the Fox wanted a musical accompaniment. The raptors and eagles are in the air and Animal control is on the scene. No casualties to report thus far, evacuations of the area are under way though the city is being roughed up a bit, still no casualties, though property damage reports are already coming in. Poison Joke and Balloons are also rumored on site. No word from Fox yet.”
Jer'rahd blinked putting together everything that had just been said. Raptors were often a call sign of the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts though the latter were more often called raptors shadows. The eagles were Spike and Bleu. Fox was of course Agent Sweetie Drops and the chicken Bray. He wasn't sure what green piggys were though he expected they were zombies of some kind. Animal control was the Six Sixty Sixth He had no clue what the code Poison Joke or Balloons were for however.
“Got it. All units be ready just in case something else comes up or the situation gets out of hoof in Manehatten. Jupiter I want you to move over the water between Gallopagos and Manehatten so you'll be ready to help in either situation.”
“Yes sir”
“On it”
“Will do.”
“Yes sir, we'll deal with the complaints.”
“Green two will keep you appraised Sir.”
“Just tell me when I ask Green two things are getting interesting here I don't need a distraction.” Jer'rahd stated.” Guard Captain out.”
Celestia looked over at him waiting for Jer'rahd to finish. “What's going on?”
“Bray's cornered but he raised some zombies or something to help him. The Bolts and the Monster hunters are on sight as are Bleu and Spike. Some how Sweetiebelle's gotten involved again so get ready for some repair invoices.” Jer'rahd sighed.
“Lovely.” Celestia sighed watching Jer'rahd play with the in front of him, he was holding a long stick of drift wood over the fire. She frowned when she saw was was on the end.” You are seriously not considering eating that are you?”
Jer'rahd looked up from where his stick had been hovering over the burning corpse of a vampire, a white marshmallow sitting on the end of it, just starting to turn golden and gooey from the heat.
“Of course not.......”
“Well that's good.....”
“I planed to flick it into that wavy mass of what you call a mane and see if it stuck. I can't test it on Luna any more and Twilight's not here.”
“Don't you dare.....” Celestia growled.
Before Jer'rahd could respond a blast of magic tore through the sand before them, flinging both of them back away from the burning vampire and vaporizing the stick marshmallow and the fire.
Celestia flicked out her wings, landing lightly on her hooves though Jer'rahd tumbled a bit before righting himself. The pair of them glare across the field to the nine forms in a half circle around them.
There were four Unicorns, a Griffon, one Zebra, two Diamond Dogs and a small Dragon. All of them looked emaciated with their skin Stretched taught and turned ashen gray. Glowing pin pricks of light stared at the pair from hollowed eye sockets.
The unicorns were all stallions dressed in armor that had not been in style since the three tribes era. One of them had metal plates one it's legs and face that seemed to be bolted there.
The two diamond dogs were dressed like wanderers, but each leaned heavily on oddly gnarled staves, one seemed male the other female.
The zebra had faded red stripes and a dull crystal horn, it was covered in dust and cobwebs as if it had been sitting some where for a long time.
The griffon was bundled up in bandages and looked rather like a mummy.
The dragon for some reason had given itself a cape and a crown , though it's head was completely skeletal.
“Liches.... Kill them!” Grogar roared.
“Well now. This might suck a little.” Jer'rahd grumbled.