//------------------------------//
// Spiteful Society, Humorous Mare 
// Story: Fall Of Dark Tyrant Eclipse 
// by The REAL Mister Pkmn 
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Over the trip to the Caverns of Confusion, Flutterbat had explained more about what her position in all this was. She had been born into a normal pegasus family, but set up for adoption when they saw that she was a thestral. She didn’t resent them for it, rather she thought they were scared. She had gained her mark when visiting a run down animal sanctuary and restoring it somewhat. Flutterbat explained that her plans after all was said and done included going back there and finishing her work on it. Her motivation was rather selfless, only wishing for all in the nation to finally get along. The trip to the Caverns of Confusion was rather short compared to the rest of their travels so far- but when they arrived, they saw that the name was rather accurate. It was a collection of caves strewn into the cliff face. The daunting thing about it was that  they had no clue which to tackle first. They then heard a little bit of a snicker come from afar. The girls huddled together, and Trixie called out to the voice. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

From the shadows came two very odd pupils, purple orbs with pink swirls instead of the typical black. A face of pinkish lavender filled out, the muzzle of a young foal. Her mane of dark purple had white curls strewn throughout. On top of her head was a propeller beanie that never stopped spinning. As the rest of her came into frame, it appeared that she was flying, despite her being an Earth Pony. Her Cutie Mark was just about as odd, seeing as it was a screw next to a baseball. The (young?) mare grinned widely, and introduced herself in a chipper tone. “Hi there! I'm Screwball, Discord's daughter!" She turned her head slightly. “So, what brings you to my neck of Equestria, eh?”

Flutterbat made a step forward. “We’ve come for your help, Screwball. We need your help to defeat the Tyrant.”

At that, Screwball looked at them with a slightly serious look for a split second. Then she giggled lightly. “Sure, why not? After all, he did beat dad, so it’s kinda personal…” He grin widened. “Though, the essence of the next Element you need is somewhere in the Caverns themselves. We need to traverse them together to awaken it.”

Trixie stepped forward, determination on her face. “Alright then, lead the way!”

Screwball landed, and went over to one of the cave entrances on the right. She went in, and the girls followed soon after. A little way off, somepony watched them enter. After looking around to ensure that nopony was watching, the figure darted in after them.





The Caverns were full of slitting paths, dead-ends, and paths that were too small for a regular pony to go through. As the rag-tag group went through, they ran across various things that might scare ponies of lesser caliber away. It was a good thing that Trixie and the others were made of tougher stuff. However, they soon stumbled into a large open area within the Caverns. The lighting was virtually non-existent, and something about the surrounding area seemed to snuff out any magic that started to be used. The heroines stood near one another, a bit more confident than they were apart. The area rumbled, and Screwball piped up. “Okay. No matter what comes, follow my lead. It might be the only way to awaken the next Element.”

The girls shared a look of silent agreement, and waited for what was to come. From one of the “exits” to the area came a large creature unlike anything they’d ever seen. It was hard to make out through the darkness, but it seemed to be some sort of large snake creature. Its hiss pierced the silence, setting the six of them on edge. The snake’s features started to be slightly visible as the darkness lifted only slightly. The scales were black as pitch, and it had fierce red spikes jutting out of its body. Its face was still somewhat obscured, but it almost looked to be reminiscent of some sort of dragon. This is when Screwball made her move. “Hey, do those spikes look like polka dots to anypony else?”

This caused the others to take a bit of a double-take. At first, they couldn’t quite see it. Sure, the base of the spikes was circular, but beyond that, the connection was a bit strenuous. Yet now that the idea was there, the spikes started to look less and less intimidating by the second. Trixie let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, just imagining those as bright pink spots is rather hilarious!”

Once those words left her mouth, the others could imagine it too. Pink spots were far less threatening than red spikes, after all. The darkness lifted slightly, and the spikes had shortened considerably, becoming a brighter shade. They could now see that the underbelly was dark tan with ice blue spots. Catching on, Lightning pointed out something. “Hey, now that I think about it, there’s more that looks like something else. That underbelly almost looks like cookie dough!”

It took a little while for the others to see it, but the laughter from such an absurd thought soon rang through the cavern. The darkness rolled back further, and the underbelly now seemed to look more like cookie dough than previously. The snake’s tail rattled furiously, in an attempt to intimidate them. But, it was all for naught as Octavia let out a whopper. “Just thinking about it being a baby rattle at the end of the tail has me nearly in stitches!”

The thought quickly seeded itself into their minds, for they hadn’t quite seen the tail yet. But the laughter that came from such an odd prospect seemed to beat back the darkness further, causing the snake to hiss louder. Its tail was now visible, and while it probably was something far more intimidating before, it did now look more like a baby rattle. They could now see more of its face. It looked like an older dragon mixed with the head of a king cobra. Strange pulsating etchings could now be seen on its scales, glowing in a threatening dark orange. Yet, its attempt to regain the intimidation factor was all for naught as Moondancer spoke up. “Just look at those scales! Those etchings on them make them look more like typesets!”

Once the thought was spoken, it wasn’t very hard for the other girls to see it. The size of the scales made it more funny, seeing as the typesets would end up comically large. The laughter beat back the darkness once more, to a point where they could finally make out the head. It was the fiercest part yet. The rest of it may now look more akin to the way the girls described it, but this portion had maintained its fierce nature. Two long horns that looked like diamond sprouted from its head, one on each side. Its face was made of navy blue scales, and its fangs were as sharp as nails. Even so, Flutterbat did manage to find something about it funny. “You know what would be funny?” she snickered lightly before pointing at the beast’s horns. “If those were flowers!”

Once the words left her mouth, raunchous laughter filled the area. The darkness fully abated, and when it had, the horns of the beast did in fact appear to be more like flowers. Its teeth looked less sharp, too. And Screwball finished it off. “Listen, bud. You’re not scary. Your face looks like a raisin! Go home.” Once the words were spoken, the snake’s face shifted, and girls couldn’t stop laughing. The snake found itself repulsive, and slithered off distraught.

The laughter died down a bit, and they all saw blue light flow into Screwball. She beamed, but Flutterbat looked toward where the beast lumbered off to. “I feel bad that we did that… Maybe when this is over, we can…”

Trixie sighed. “I get you. We’ll come back later. For now, let’s get out of here.”

But then, a familiar voice made itself known. “You’re not going anywhere.” A figure trotted in, revealing the speaker.

Trixie, Lightning, and Octavia shared a gasp, but Moondancer, Flutterbat, and Screwball looked to one another in confusion. Trixie identified him first. “Chromablade! What are you doing here?”

At that, Chromablade was silent. He looked away. Lightning noticed something, though. “Hey ‘Commander’! Where’s your goons, eh? You can’t take all of us on!”

Silence prevailed for a while longer, then Commander Chromablade sighed. “I’m not here to fight. Let me ask you… why do you fight against Eclipse?”

That question had many implications to it, but they each answered readily enough.
“To make my father proud! To change Equestria for the better!”
“To find my family! To make a better future!”
“To bring freedom to the oppressed!”
“To ensure no family is ever separated again!”
“To heal the scars on the nation!”
“Justice for my father!”

Silence fell. He seemed to process that for a while. Would he judge them for it, and take them in for treason? Were his “goons” waiting outside? However, he did none of these things. “You know, it’s kind of odd when I think about it. This whole situation, that is.” He paused for a while before continuing. “If you want some answers, come to the Frozen North. I’ll be waiting there, as will the Element you need next.” He then left without saying goodbye.


To Be Continued...