//------------------------------// // Winter Wrap-Up // Story: Friendship Force! // by Chrome Masquerade //------------------------------// Sufficiently trained, the heroines were ready for action. They had prepared as much as possible, so it was with eagerness that they answered the call to duty by the Defense System(1), which scanned the city for activity. Especially the activity of Frozen Heart and his ilk. Flicker and Flare, being the newest to the team, were brought up to speed on the situation and their history with the villain. Naturallly, their fire-based abilities would be extremely useful against the frosty villain's forces. The Defense System detected activity around a certain warehouse. By the readings that it was getting, Frozen Heart had found what he was looking for, and they had to stop him before it was too late. Lightning Dust pointed out a flaw in this. "Why are we getting readings on them just now, if they've been doing this a while? Why reveal themselves now? It's too obvious." Winter Breeze finished the thought. "Which means... this is probably a trap." Lightning Dust nodded, confirming that she suspected so as well. "But it's our only lead." Applejack said. "But since we know this's a trap, we stan' a much better chance of gettin' out alive, and turnin' the trap on them!" she finished, to the agreement of the other mares. "That actually makes sense, in a weird way. We're stronger than he could possibly account for, and the addition of Flicker and Flare compound that." Twilight said. "Well, what're we waitin' fer?" Applejack said, shortly thereafter spinning on the spot rapidly, Groundskeeper emerging from the grande sized top when it stopped. "Whoa!" Spring Breeze said. "How did you DO that?" she asked. Twilight fielded that. "That bracelet you see uses kinetic energy to power the transformation. That's why spinning on the spot is the quickest way to build it up. After that, just imagine how you want to look and press the green button." she said, handing them each one of the devices. It took a few tries, but before long they each had fairly nice costumes(2), laced with protective enchantments, just in case. When the heroes came on the scene, the place was covered in ice. However, this time there was more solid ground, frozen as it was, which suited Groundskeeper just fine. "A-HA!" a literally chilling voice exclaimed, "You fell for my trap!" Twilight glared at Groundskeeper. "You said that this wouldn't be a trap." "How kin it be a trap when we pre-pared fer a trap?!" the orange mare queried in reply. "(sigh) It's a trap-trap." "Whatever." Blue Blaze interrupted. "We're here to kick flank and take names. And we have all the names we need." she added cockily. Frozen Heart glowered at her with a bitingly cold gaze. "I'll deal with you later, FEATHERBRAIN." he said, leaving Blue Blaze in a slight huff at being disregarded so. "We ain't th' same weak team that ya fought over on that frozen lake." Groundskeeper said. "Ya can tell, can't ya?" Frozen Heart nodded appreciatively. "True, true." he admitted, before his ethereal face took on a grin. "But did you think I wouldn't account for that?!" With a gesture of one limb, a couple dozen or so large figures materialized. "These are my enforcers. They are much stronger than those that you fought before. They should at the least keep you busy while i get in some well-deserved gloating." he said, then floated over to a large round device as his 'enforcers' started forward. "Do you recognize this?" he asked, indicating the device. Groundskeeper's eyes widened in shock. "You've gotta be kiddin' me!" "Oh, yes! This is one of the more powerful nuclear bombs left in this day and age. It took a long time to find just the right one. When this baby goes off, just IMAGINE the destruction that it will cause! And what will follow! My brethren and I can get ourselves a safe distance away before the blast reaches us, and our ethereal forms will protect us from the brunt of the possible damage. You and the city itself? The rest of the country? You won't be so lucky!" the spiritual villain cackled madly. Archmage looked over to Groundskeeper questioningly. "You know of such a device?" Groundskeeper replied, "Unfortunately. Ah served as a... midwife at its birth, ya might say. It's a testament ta th' sins and malice of the worst of mankind, bound in metal and set to blow!" Frozen Heart spoke again. "Horrific, isn't it? Even more so because its core is made from a canister of what created US! A full canister of Energy X! The results will be catastrophic! And we plan to use these around the world to create a permanent nuclear winter! My brethren will thrive in the coming chaos! And-" Just then, Solar Wind cast a gout of flame at the gloating villain, scorching his cheek. "You talk too much." she growled. "KILL THEM!!!" he ordered, and the fight began. Groundskeeper immediately dropped her hammer and focused her energy on forming the blades that she had used to defeat Chokov's forces before. "Justice to my left! Loyalty to my right!" her double battle-axes appeared and she took a moment to give each a quick kiss. "Oh, how Ah missed you two!" she said with a smile. The blazing blades of harmonic energy glowed fiercely, as if just waiting to be unleashed. And Groundskeeper didn't disappoint, launching herself in the direction of the frosty fiends. Blue Blaze focused her energy and summoned two wicked-looking fist-blades(3). She was the next to rush into the fray. "For the glory of Celestia!" She paused briefly. "Wait, who's Celestia? Oh, whatever." she said, before continuing her bull rush. Solstice and Chinook took turns blasting their targets from afar, dancing out of the way when necessary. Solar Wind merely needed to touch her targets to deal a fair bit of punishment. Gale Force used her aptly named magic to keep the attackers away from her sisters, also giving them combat buffs. Flicker and Flare were like a pair of Olympic ice skaters. The two of them danced back and forth, not a single movement wasted, as if they had been practicing for years. Flicker, as Enrico, would have willingly admitted that he barely knew how to dance at all, but this was just coming naturally, the two of them sliding across the ice and punishing those who got too close. Archmage, for her part, was also staying back and casting various spells at the oncoming horde. But in the end, try as they might to get to the bomb in time, there was always something or someone to block their path. And the rare wounds they were getting were starting to take their toll. Eventually, Archmage said, "Okay, we may not be able to stop the bomb, but if we work together, i think we can prevent most of the radiation it'll release from spreading! This might or might not work, but i'm sure as hay going to try! Are you all with me?!" she exclaimed, raising her staff, to the cheering of her party. Unexpectedly, a clear heart shape materialized and spun around in midair. Archmage felt her horn start to blaze with energy as the shape began to siphon magic from the heroines, who willingly added the energy of some of their more powerful attacks to it. Frozen Heart and his cronies were repulsed by the light that was being given off. "What is this horrible energy? I can't fight against it!" "This is the magic of Harmony." Archmage said, horn still blazing with lavender light. "The magic of Kinship." the sisters and Blue Blaze added, starting to glow as well, especially around their wings. "The magic of Love." Flicker and Flare said in unison, starting to glow as well.. "The magic of Hope." Groundskeeper said, sheathing her axes and focusing her energy into the building spell too. "THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!" they shouted as one. Two flashes occurred and warred with each other. The pulse of unleashed nuclear energy and the glow of harmonic energy. The heroes stood undaunted by the oncoming wave of power, determined to stop it. Frozen Heart and his minions, ironically, weren't so lucky after all. Being unable to flee from the light of the Heart's Fire, they were crushed in between that and the radiation emitting from the souped-up nuke, soon utterly obliterated. At length the energies of both the bomb and the glowing heart started to dim. The heroes were still alive, but greatly tired. "I guess... that's it?" Chinook asked. Archmage nodded. "I think that Frozen Heart's downfall was trying to use Energy P as a booster. Pony magic would never allow something so destructive to occur. So instead of boosting that device's power, it boosted ours instead. It just goes to show that if you don't care for the natural, the supernatural will take care of you." She grinned, putting on a pair of shades. "It looks like the windigoes... just couldn't take the heat." Everypony present laughed, happy to be alive. "Come on, y'all." Groundskeeper said. "Let's go home. Ah'm tuckered."