//------------------------------// // Multiplication // Story: My Little Academia: Friendship is Heroic! // by Fullmetal Pony //------------------------------// “What is this?” Garble growled. Rarity shrank back, but Spike stood firm. A bit of smoke rose where Spike’s fire had hit Garble in the chest and mixed with the embers hissing out from between Garble’s fangs. “Runt, we’re here to beat these ponies black and blue!” “And I’m here to take down villains!” Spike shot back. He glanced at Lyra and Bon Bon lying unconscious on the ground, covered in wounds and bite marks. He snorted out some smoke. “Especially ones that hurt my classmates!” “You’re annoying.” Garble gnashed his fangs and rushed at Spike. He raised up his right claw and swung it down. The blow was telegraphed— nothing compared to a raging manticore—and Spike raised his arms to defend. Garble’s claw batted him off his feet and scored the scales of his left arm with gashes. “Spike!” Rarity cried. Her cry turned into a yelp when Garble flailed his tail at her. Her whole body crystalized and absorbed the blow, but the strike left her eyes swimming and her body off balance. Propelled by his momentum, Garble spun around and brought a claw down on Rarity while she was still stunned. A blast of fire drove him back. Spike was back on his feet, but his left arm remained limp at his side with blood dripping from the gashes in it. Beneath the slashes, he could feel bones that were out of place. It sent pinpricks of pain up his arm even while it just dangled. Garble bared his fangs and charged. “Rarity! Look away!” Spike remained in place and sucked in his breath. Just as Garble was upon him, he unleashed a blast of fire straight in Garble’s face. It was not a large stream of flame, but rather a concentrated burst of emerald. It was far brighter than his regular flame and Garble got the full brunt of it. He barreled past Spike and roared due to his temporary blindness. His claws rent through the air and he snapped at anything nearby, but Spike had quickly retreated over to Rarity, who had heeded his warning and had retained her vision. “Spike, let’s get out of here,” she said, voice shaky. Changelings buzzed nearby. He kept his eyes on Garble. “That won’t work. He’ll only be blind for a few more seconds— not enough time to get through those changelings. We’re gonna have to take him down.” “But your arm.” “I’ve dealt with wor—” Spike stopped when he heard something rip. Rarity tore some of the fabric from her costume and bound it around his arm. “Thanks, what I need now is some back up. If his scales are as tough as mine, fire alone isn’t going to cut it.” “I…” Rarity gulped. “I’ll do whatever I can.” “Great, then listen close…” Nearby, Garble’s vision began to clear. Smoke constantly bellowed out of his mouth now and his underbelly grumbled, just waiting to unleash a gout of flame on his opponents. He glared out at the still-blurry shapes of white and purple. “You damn hatchling! I’ll fry you to a crisp!” Flames exploded out of Garble’s mouth. The sand in front of him turned red, white, and then melted, leaving a sheet of smoking glass. When Garble cut off his attack, both Spike and Rarity were gone. He grinned, but when a streak of green fire grazed his snout, the grin became a snarl. Spike continued to blow flames even though they were just passing Garble now. With a snort, Garble charged, but within inches of Spike, heat slammed into his back. Spike’s flame had curled around and split into five blazing tongues. It looked like a fiery hydra. The “heads” latched onto Garble’s limbs and neck and slammed him into the ground. Garble glared up at Spike. “You runt! This wimpy fire can’t hurt me!” Spike cut off his flames. “It’s not meant to.” A sandstorm kicked up around Garble and Spike, sealing them in its eye. The sand had a light blue glow to it that kept it swirling despite a lack of wind. Outside the localized storm, Rarity kept her horn lit. The changelings buzzed at the display and pounced at her. Rarity silently thanked Lyra and Bon Bon for having taken out the other dragons and crystalized her body. Fangs chipped and cracked against her impenetrable skin. The changelings kept coming and piled on her, but she kept her spell going. She felt her magic pulling the sand around while she also felt the vibrations of two sets of claws, one pair smaller than the other, strafing in the middle of the storm. Her horn brightened. Garble slashed a claw and Spike jumped back. He sucked in the air and sent out a blast of fire. A seam of sand burst out of the storm and came between Spike and Garble. The flame instantly turned it into a sheet of glass. Garble snarled and tore through it, only for another seam of sand to flow over his arm. It was Spike’s turn to blast it with fire, locking Garble’s right arm into a sheet of glass. “Runt!” Garble struggled to free his arm. Cracks instantly appeared in the glass, but the confinement was just long enough for Spike to let out another blinding blast. Thrown into darkness, Garble still smelled Spike was near and lashed out with his free arm and tore his other one out of its glass prison. Just as he did though, he felt sand flow over his other arm. He tried to jump back, but heat washed over his left arm and he found it immobilized. He brought a claw down at where he guessed the glass was, but at the same time, sand crept up his legs, followed by heat. His vision was clearing now, yet it only showed that his legs were bound to the ground and Spike was rushing straight for him. He broke his left claw free and raised both arms to strike Spike down, but Spike zipped forward. Garble’s attack whipped over Spike, and, with his legs bound, Garble tipped forward and was unable to get back up before Spike fired off a blast right into Garble’s stomach at point-blank range. The fire was not enough get through Garble’s scales, even those of his underbelly, but the concussive force of the blast lifted him off the ground and knocked the wind out of him. Spike used that same force to propel himself through Garble’s legs and spun onto his feet. Through the storm, he yelled, “Now, Rarity!” Rarity managed to hear Spike’s command, albeit a bit muffled through the mass of changelings around her, and made her horn glow bright. The sandstorm suddenly stopped and crashed down on Garble while he tried to catch his breath. Spike gulped down air and then unleashed a massive wave of flame that washed over the sand covering Garble. Garble’s pupils shrank, and he blasted at his own legs with his flame, but the sand was already solidifying around him. His flame started to shrink while Spike’s swelled around him. Panic coursed through Garble when his vision darkened because sand was rising up to seal him in. He cut off his flames, but the sand had already surrounded him. He lashed out, but his claws could not manage to strike through the glass—it was far thicker than last time. He let out a roar, but all that did was consume more of the air that was already dwindling down. Outside the freshly created glass dome, Spike cut off his flame, but he did not have time to recover his breath. He spun and rushed toward Rarity. Some of the changelings detached themselves from her to meet him. His right claw slashed the changeling in the lead in the face, rending its chitin and its right eye. It hissed and tried to bite him, but Spike jumped and crashed down on it with his feet. Using the changeling’s head as a springboard, Spike launched himself at the next one, but another was coming from his left. The brief moment of airtime gave him just enough time to regain his breath and let out a blinding flare. The two changelings crashed into each other while Spike tucked and rolled under them. More and more changelings were flying off Rarity now and racing toward Spike. Seeing a flash of emerald through the mound of chitin, Rarity lit up her horn. Light exploded out of the changeling mass that surrounded her, and more changelings dropped off her, just enough for her to regain movement. Crystal hooves flew. Chitin cracked. When Rarity had bashed enough changelings off of her, she reared up to shake off the remaining stragglers and raced to Spike’s side. He was breathing heavily now, and the changelings kept coming at him. One raised up behind him, fangs poised to sink into his neck when a hoof buried into its snout instead. Spike managed to grin between breaths. “Thanks.” “I owe you.” Rarity got back to back with Spike. She took a glance down at her tattered costume. “Let’s finish this, I’d rather not have the others see my costume in such a state.” “Right!” The changelings hissed at Spike and Rarity’s banter. While their compound eyes could take in both Rarity and Spike, their instincts drove them to focus on the latter. To them, he practically glowed, but not in the same way Lyra and Bon Bon had nearly blinded them. His attacks also lacked the searing pain their attacks had carried, but his flames and claws were more than enough to crack their exoskeletons and burn their innards. Rarity’s hooves bashed through their ranks in a similar manner. Between her impenetrable crystal and Spike’s scales, the changelings could not get a bite in. Sensing their shrinking numbers, the changelings all rushed forward in an attempt to split up Spike and Rarity. At the same time, sickly green flames engulfed their bodies and replaced them with copies of Spike and Rarity. Now there were several of each staring each other down. “Spike!” a Rarity called out. Several more joined in. “What should we do?” “Hmmm.” Spike looked left and right. Then he unleashed a wave of flames on the Spikes and Raritys to his left. When the flames died down, only sizzling changelings were left. Spike pointed to his nose and grinned at Rarity. “Looks like changelings can’t copy everything.” Just as Spike turned to fire on the remaining changelings, the ground rumbled, and a voice rang, “Is that so?” The ground split and Garble surged out of it. He barreled through the surrounding changelings and wrapped an arm around Rarity. She crystalized, which prevented him from crushing her ribs, but his grasp still constricted her breathing and held her tight. The remaining changelings grinned and reverted to their original forms. Garble glared at Spike and sneered, “Payback time, runt.” ~~~ Sunset hooked at Aria with her right leg, her crimson hoof angled at the blood-red gem poking out of Aria’s chest. Aria sank and weaved backwards— Sunset may have had some footing thanks to her magic, but the water was the Aria’s turf. While Sunset’s body lurched to the left, she craned her head forward and aimed her horn at Aria. Instead of fire, a bolt of pure magic shot out of her horn. Aria dove, the spell zipping just above her dorsal fins. At the same time, she flicked her tail with enough force to turn the droplets flying off it into small bullets. They burst into steam when they crashed against Sunset’s blazing barrier. Underwater, Aria swam a few meters away from Sunset. The swamp was murky, but to Aria, the view was clear, at least from a thaumic point of view. Above her was Sunset, who appeared as a bight pony-shaped mass of red with white hooves and horn. A bolt of magically created lightning plunged into the water near her, a burning white at first, but it quickly flashed from red to purple to green to blue and then vanished into the depths. The large amount of water between Aria and Sunset dealt with the electrical component. Glancing to the right, she saw Sonata and Adagio in the form of ruby red silhouettes with pulsating white where their jewels were. Save for her horn, the purple pony was still purple in thaumic vision while the pegasus was green save for her hooves, which now had talons on the ends. Her wings also glowed purple and appeared slicker than when Adagio had nailed her to a tree. Talons and spells struck at Sonata and Adagio, but they nimbly dodged the attacks just as Aria had with Sunset. Aria wanted to smirk, but the way the attacks were targeting them gave her pause: all three of their adversaries were aiming for the Sirens’ chests. They know. Above the water, Adagio had a similar thought when another bolt zipped by her chest and crashed behind her, sending up a spray of water. She flailed a leg at Twilight, but it crashed against a shield. Unlike Sunset’s barrier, Twilight’s cracked under the force of Adagio’s blow. Adagio sneered and opened her fanged mouth. ♪Just give up, just give in. You have no chance, you cannot win♪ The song reverberated around the two of them, but Adagio’s slitted eyes narrowed when she spotted a glow encasing Twilight’s ears. Her mouth closed into a snarl. “Clever brat.” Adagio snapped open her mouth again, but instead of a sweet serenade, she unleashed a deafening wail. The air rippled and the noise took on physical form in the form of pulsating red rings that slammed into Twilight’s shield. They shattered the spell in an instant and knocked Twilight off her hooves. Sonata grinned at Adagio’s display and did the same to Fluttershy, blasting her out of the air. Both bared their fangs and rushed to take down Twilight and Fluttershy, but a pulsation of magic from Twilight gave them pause. It was only for a second, but something had flared up in her just long enough for Twilight and Fluttershy to get back onto their hooves and into the air. They’ve got too much of an advantage in the water, Twilight mentally communicated to Fluttershy. As soon as the Sirens had disappeared under the water after revealing themselves, she had cast a deafening charm on herself and Fluttershy. She had turned to Sunset, but she had already cast the charm herself, not that Twilight expected anything less. Taking the initiative though, she had established a telepathic link with Fluttershy and Sunset. Sunset had just brushed it off and had charged at the first fin she spotted, while Fluttershy and Twilight had remained grouped together. Sunset appeared to be holding her own against one of the Sirens, but none of them were getting in any major hits it. Between the water and the Siren’s scales, the Sirens had a massive defensive advantage. Even if the students could manage to disable their gems, taking out their most powerful weapons, Twilight could tell from how the fight had gone so far that the Sirens were vicious with or without their song magic. Twilight had to win though. With the swamp’s water and fog, escape was not an option. Sirens fed and hunted based on emotions, so clear sight was not an issue for them, while Twilight and Sunset would have to continue shambling through the swamp. Fluttershy might have been able to get away, but with the Siren’s speed and the particular animosity at least the yellow one had shown to her, they were not letting Fluttershy go anywhere soon. Then, her attention flashed away from Sunset up to the steam rising off her legs. She looked down at her own hooves and then turned to Fluttershy. Clouds! W-what? Fluttershy asked. Fluttershy, I need you to whip up some clouds! Twilight saw the water ahead of her ripple. Sound waves burst out, but she managed to dodge. I’ll cover you! O-okay! Fluttershy flashed a shaky grin that Twilight reciprocated. Her talons receded, her eyes softened, and her wings lost their sharp angles. With a flap, she went to work collecting the moisture with her hooves and wings. Sensing what Fluttershy was up to, Sonata surged out of the water with her fanged mouth wide open. Before her jaws could pierce Fluttershy, a thick wall of aura slapped her away. Contact with it sent a mild shock through her, not like electricity, but rather something she felt directly working toward her gem. Twilight clenched her teeth. Her horn throbbed even from such a relatively small spell. She could not see it, but there were rainbow flecks in her irises now and her cutie mark had a faint glow to it. Internally, she could feel the Elements’ pull her own magic, but she pulled back. More sound waves erupted out of the water, but when they met Twilight’s shield, they crashed against it and could not shatter or even crack it. Adagio growled while Sonata joined her underwater. There were some scorch marks on Sonata’s left side. She rolled her shoulder, producing a few cracks. “Ow, ow, ow! I can see why the boss wanted that one now! We could actually be trouble if she lands a strong spell on us!” “She won’t.” She then jerked to the left. “Aria! Forget the hot-head! These two are trying to gain a foothold!” “On it.” Aria threw a wall of water at Sunset, cooling her blazing barrier long enough to whip her tail at it. Her tail smashed through and bashed Sunset off her hooves. Her armor absorbed most of the impact, but she realized too late that the attack was not meant to hurt her as much as to throw her as far away as possible. She flailed out her legs to clasp onto Aria, but she went flying away into the fog. With Sunset out of the picture for a little, Aria dove over to the other Sirens. They angled their maws up at Twilight and Fluttershy and unleashed booming waves of sound. Twilight saw the water roil before the sound waves exploded out of the surface and gritted her teeth. Two spells flew out of her horn in quick succession: one was directly into the air while the other summoned a barrier as thick as a full-grow stallion’s leg in front of her and Fluttershy. The air in front of the barrier still glowed a pale purple hue. When the sound waves passed through the enchanted air, they shriveled up, but their magic kept them racing forward. Twilight was glad she had prepared the localized vacuum in addition to a physical barrier. The spell may not have worked with Rainbow Dash, but at least it had some effect on the Sirens’ sound magic. She still braced herself against the impact from what remained of the sound waves. They slammed into her barrier and she pushed back. Her horn glowed brighter while a bit of smoke curled off it. Fluttershy was still collecting moisture into a cloud, but she kept one eye on Twilight while she worked. “Twilight!” she gasped even though Twilight could not hear her. A second later, amphibious features returned to her body and a lengthy tongue whipped out of her mouth. She snatched Twilight up an instant before Adagio’s jaws snapped down on where Twilight had been. Fluttershy let out the smallest of sighs and dangled Twilight over the cloud. It was small, but more than enough to a filly like Twilight and maybe one more pony. She quickly changed the spell encasing her hooves from water-walker to cloud-walker and touched down on the cloud. “Right in the nick of time,” Twilight huffed. Her heart thudded in her chest. The Sirens circled below her, their spiny fins poking out of the water, giving her chills greater than seeing any shark. “Now what?” Fluttershy croaked. “We attack… and hopefully send out a signal.” Twilight looked out, but only saw fog. “It’d be easier if Sunset was still close, but we should still be able to do it.” It’ll probably take my horn out of commission though. Fluttershy was about to ask what Twilight was planning, when she felt the air shift. Her eyes shrank, and she reverted to her base form. Spreading her wings wide, she called out with all her metal fortitude Twilight! Get close to me! “What?” Twilight then felt her hair rise up. Even a unicorn could feel the change in the atmosphere now. She rushed forward into Fluttershy’s embrace. Fluttershy covered her with her wings and balled up. Below the water, the Sirens continued to circle, their eyes fixed on the cloud. “They can’t stay up there forever,” Aria grumbled. “We’ll knock them down!” Sonata cheered. “Well, let’s get t—” Adagio stopped. Her slitted pupils narrowed. She pointed down at Aria’s tail. “Aria, what is that?” “What is what?” Aria looked down at where Adagio was pointing. At first, she just saw her tail, but when she squinted, she spotted an almost imperceptible string. Were it not for her thaumic vision it would have been imperceptible. “When did she…” “Cut it, you fool!” Adagio yelled. Aria flicked her tail to bring it closer to her mouth, but something tugged at it, making it go taut. Adagio and Sonata surged at the string to sever it. The former got to it first and slashed it with a finned leg. “Heh.” Adagio watched the sting fade away. “Pretty clever for a pony.” All three Sirens snickered at having foiled Sunset’s plan, but Aria stopped when something felt like it was poking inside her head. Her brows knitted, and she brought a hoof to her left temple. Sunset’s voice pierced her mind, Too late! Sunset soared above the surface, careening back towards the battle. When Aria had batted her away, she had not just flailed around with her hooves, but had rather moved her enchanted legs around to disguise her laying down a thread spell, one that, amid battle, would take even a creature that naturally saw magic some time to spot. At the same time that she had been flying back, Sunset had enchanted her own vision to see everyone’s magic. When she had spotted Twilight get on the cloud, she pulled the string connecting her to Aria and slingshotted herself back. Anticipating that the Sirens would catch onto her trick, she had ignited the air around her hind legs into explosive kicks, propelling her forward. When the battlefield had come back into her regular view, she had canceled out the thaumic reconfiguration coursing through her legs and greaves except in her left foreleg. At around the same time Adagio cut the magical tether, Sunset’s leg stopped emitting heat and turned from crimson to a blinding white with a neon blue outline. Sunset felt jolts rushing up her leg, but she kept her eyes locked on her targets. Rearing her leg back, she concentrated the magic around her left foreleg while simultaneously reinforcing the water-walker spell that was still active in the rest of her hooves. She slammed into the water right beside the Sirens. Her crash sent up waves and it also blasted away some of the water between her and the Sirens. She admired the twinge of fear she saw in all their monstrous faces before she swung her left leg at them with all her might. “Die!” The world flashed white for a second. Bolts of lightning exploded out of the water. A few skimmed by Fluttershy and Twilight, but Fluttershy managed to ward off the worst with some flaps of her wings. All the Sirens spasmed in pain as massive amounts of electricity coursed through them and the surrounding water. With a strike on this level, there was not enough water to dissipate the charge. Sunset did not remain still to admire her work and blasted up onto the cloud alongside Twilight and Fluttershy. Sunset Shimmer Talent- Promethean Spark: As a young filly, Sunset awakened a Talent with an incredible affinity for incendiary magic, or could it be something more? Her talent is reflected in her attitude and quest for knowledge. Like an inferno, she has blazed through various magical studies, obtaining skills even some adult ponies have difficulty mastering. She’s even figured out thaumic reconfiguration, a move that allows her to channel magic through her limbs. Her magical wisdom could be a talent unto itself! Sunset gave her leg a shake. Invisible pinpricks stabbed every inch of it. The greave sizzled against her skin and smoke rose up from a few spots. Her mouth was hidden behind her faceplate, but her eyes betrayed no sign of her leg paining her. Below, she saw the Sirens were still twitching. A glimpse through thaumic vision made her scowl. She glanced at Twilight and Fluttershy. If you two are done wetting your nethers, got an idea for finishing these loudmouths off? Twilight stood up and assessed the situation. She looked down at Sunset’s leg and then met her face-to-face. How big of a fire spell can you launch? Enough to fry them up if they showed their heads above the water. Twilight trusted Sunset’s words and turned to Fluttershy. Below, the Sirens were righting themselves and shaking off the lingering effects of the shock. Fluttershy, I’m going to need your help again. I’ve got a plan to take them out and get us out of here. Fluttershy bowed her head. I’ll do what I can, Twilight. Well, let’s hear it, Sunset grumbled. Twilight dared to grin. We’re gonna improvise sending some water to Cloudsdale. Underwater, Adagio gnashed her fangs. “Damn them! I thought we were dealing with snacks!” “Ugh,” Aria snorted, “they remind me of Starswirl.” “At least they’re not singing,” Sonata pouted. A predatory gleam flashed across her eyes. “This is making me hungry now.” “Then let’s eat!” Adagio declared. “They’re not that far up, we can still sna—” Adagio stopped and blinked. The aura that comprised Twilight’s horn was now flashing multiple hues. The only thing she could compare it to was the scrambling Enigma did, but something about this felt more uniform. Sonata got a chill looking at it. “What is that?” Aria asked. “Nothing good,” said Sonata. “It’s, like, something that directly targets our gems. It really hurt!” “Dive!” Adagio ordered when the aura concentrated into a blinding point and then exploded out of Twilight’s horn as a spell the size of a bowling ball. The sirens bolted away from the sphere, but as it passed, it pulled them and the water around them with it. The water churned around the sphere. Soon, a spiraling current formed. All around them, the water glowed a faint purple. When the forces pulled the surface apart, the Sirens found themselves swirling around a maelstrom. Twilight Sparkle Talent- Elements of Harmony: The only known Talent that is “inherited.” It is an ancient power originally wielded by Princess Celestia herself that grants the user incredibly enhanced magic. Twilight is still new to accessing this power, but her encyclopedic knowledge of magic allows her to use it in ways even Princess Celestia had not thought of! Who knows how it will develop in the hooves of its new user? The Sirens swam against the vortex and managed to stay abreast. Up above, they spotted Twilight and Sunset still on the cloud. Adagio grinned. “Ha! Bit surprising seeing a filly pull a stunt like this, but it can’t hold us for long!” “Yeah!” Sonata cackled. Even though she knew the students had deafened themselves, she still sneered at them, “Just you wait! We’ll gobble you up!” “Um, where’s the pegasus?” asked Aria. All three of them looked away from Sunset and Twilight. They locked onto Fluttershy circling above them. A wind followed her. She beat her wings and the wind slowly picked up strength. Drops of water started zipping upward. Sonata’s jaw loosened. “No way.” “It’s a bluff,” said Aria. “There’s no way a single pegasus can summon a cyclone.” Adagio remained silent and took in the situation. Her pupils contracted when she sensed more magic accumulating around Sunset and Twilight. She swerved and tried to angle her head at the cloud, but the maelstrom’s pull kept her from getting an accurate bead on it. Sensing what was coming, she yelled, “Fire on the unicorns! Don’t let them cast anymore!” Aria and Sonata immediately complied and let loose attacks. A shield went up to protect the cloud. The sound waves either crashed against it or missed the cloud completely. Above, Twilight winced. Her horn smoked, and the tip had blackened, but she made sure her spells held strong. Can’t believe I had to rely on you for cover, Sunset mentally muttered. A stream of fire spouted out of her horn and launched downwards into the center of the maelstrom. It spiraled upwards, matching the flow of the water and the wind around it. The cloud she and Twilight were on was pushed back by the sudden updraft but then was pulled in by the flaming cyclone. Sunset set out another spell and latched herself and Twilight to a tree poking out of the swamp with a magical tether. The wind swelled to a gale. More water was getting picked up and fed into the fire tornado. Twilight grunted and lurched her horn upwards. The gravity sphere she had initially summoned pulled out of the swamp’s bottom and rose through the eye of the tornado. Water flowed along with it. The wind howled. The Sirens felt the pull and tried to swim out of the maelstrom, but the combination of the current, the wind, and the fire’s updraft pulled them back and downwards. Fluttershy spun at a dizzying pace but did not let up. She morphed her body to become more aerodynamic and pushed harder. She could feel that she just needed a few more units of wing power thanks to Twilight and Sunset’s help. So, even though her wings were burning, and her muscles ached, she reached deep in herself and flew with all her might. Something clicked, and the water shot upwards, overtaking the fire. Sunset canceled out her spell just as the cloud was pulled apart under her. Only her tether kept herself and Twilight from getting sucked into the waterspout. The Sirens were not as lucky. With a yelp, all three of them were thrown upwards. Their vision spun. They tried to swim, but they could not long tell which direction was which. They had lived long lives and had seen many phenomena before, including the delivery of water to Cloudsdale— they had even feasted on the hatred and misery failed deliveries had brought. They also knew what happened when the delivery cyclone was strong enough to form but too weak to become self-sustaining. The image of pegasi battered and beaten around lakes flashed through all their heads, but there was nothing they could do. “Damn you!” Adagio cursed. She roared, but her attacks could have gone anywhere. “We’ll remember you!” With her task accomplished, Fluttershy used the momentum she had built up to launch at Twilight and Sunset. Her talons grasped their legs and held on tight. Sunset’s tether snapped before she could undo it. The three of them careened away while the waterspout started lurching right and left. It ballooned out in spots and shrank in others. Fluttershy Talent- Inner Beast: This animal lover has got a wild side to her. Once she’s formed a close connection with an animal, she can borrow its traits. She can only currently borrow traits from two animals and only one at a time. What’s up with that stare though? Could there be more to this talent? Current loads: Frog, Eagle In the midst of the chaos, Sonata felt something warm against her chest. It was a struggle just to move her head while she was caught in the flow, but she managed to look down and spotted a piece of metal affixed to her jewel. “What th—” A trio of explosions went off though the water spout. The blasts finished the disruption that had already begun and sent water in all directions at blinding velocities. The Sirens, with smoke rising from their chests and charred scales flicking off them, went barreling in different directions. Far away now, Sunset grinned. “That’ll show ‘em.” Twilight looked to her. “Hmmm?” Twilight could not see it, but a few chunks of metal were now missing from the greave on Sunset’s right hind leg. “Just left a little parting gift.” “If… if it keeps them away from us, I’m fine with that,” said Fluttershy. Ahead of them, the fog was finally thinning. From this height, they could see they were headed back towards the center. Twilight had hoped the plan would send them off toward the edge of the WTF, but she was already forming a backup plan. She could not suppress that tiny chill in the back of her mind that she was going to be closer to the villains’ leader and her bloodlust though. ~~~ Spike silenced a pained yelp by crunching his teeth together. Searing flames washed over his legs. His cape ignited and burned to ash. A few scales flew off from the force of the heat and pressure behind the flames. He could endure it only so long before his legs gave out and he crashed to the ground. Garble cut off his flames when Spike fell, so the young dragon only got a few sears on his face. Garble’s cackle rent through the air. Rarity struggled against his grasp, but he only clamped down harder, constricting her breath. “That’s a good look for you, runt! Maybe when this is all over, I’ll take you back, so the boys and I can have a new toy to play with!” “Spike!” Rarity cried. The flames had touched one of Spike’s eyes, forcing it shut, but his other remained open. He focused on Garble. Despite his opponent being immobilized on the ground, there was a power within Spike’s eye that kept Garble from advancing closer. As he settled with frying Spike just enough that it did not kill him and then beating Rarity to a pulp, Spike called out. “Rarity! I need you to trust me on this! This might hurt a bit, and I’m sorry, but I’ll need you to hit him with everything you’ve got!” “Ha! You’ve lost it!” Garble sneered. Spike’s words were just a jumble of ramblings now. Garble breathed in deep, readying for his final blow against Spike. “Time t—” Spike let out a blast of fire first. It raced toward Garble and Rarity and smacked Garble in the arm. His initial surprise gave way to bellows— the flames were too far away and too weak to get past even his underbelly scales, but they were more than enough to consume Rarity. “That’s it?” he roared. “All you did was kill your own stupid friend of a pony! Heh, at least you did one thing like a real dra—” Garble’s arm suddenly banged against his chest. The remaining embers cleared away, revealing just his underbelly. A look of confusion registered on his face a second before something incredibly sharp and sturdy crashed into his head. Rarity, wreathed in flames, had reappeared from above in a flash of emerald and had brought all her weight down on Garble through her horn. Her whole body was crystalized, but her horn was absolutely gleaming thanks to a few last second enhancement spells. Having the full weight of a crystalized filly come down on him from directly above sent a shock through Grable’s spine and produced a few sickening cracks. He could not even let out a yelp since the force of the crash had slammed his upper jaw into his lower. He fell to the ground. Rarity rolled off him. A thick lump was already rising, and a bit of blood dribbled out of the spot where Rarity’s horn had connected with Garble’s skull. He lay limp on the ground, the only sign of life from him was shallow breaths. Rarity sprung to her feet even though her head ached a little and a bit of smoke rose here and there on her and rushed over to Spike. She scooped him onto her back and faced off against the remaining changelings. Seeing a dragon of Garble’s strength defeated, a few inched back. “Knew I could count on you,” Spike huffed. Spike Dragon: One of the most powerful races in Equestria. Even their hatchlings have the strength to cleave through rock with their claws and crush gems with their teeth. While their fire may look like regular flames, it actually has a magical attribute. Spike, thanks to his training with Twilight and Princess Celestia, has honed this ability for multiple uses, instead of just burning things. Who knows how far this young hero will develop? “We need to get you some medical attention.” Rarity glanced at Lyra and Bon Bon. “And get them out of here too.” Rarity Talent- Diamond is Rough: Don’t let her admiration for fashion and beauty fool you, Rarity can pack a punch! Based on the gems she eats, she can strengthen her skin until it’s nigh-impenetrable. This talent has also helped her hone her detection abilities, initially to find gems buried in the earth, but she can use it in various ways now! Spike looked out at the changelings that still remained and grinned. “I think we can take ‘em.” ~~~ Adagio coughed and spit up some water. Her whole body ached and her chest especially stung. A glance down revealed that while her gem was still intact, it was chipped and had lost some of its luster. A side glance revealed she was at the water’s edge somewhere in the swamp. She imagined Aria and Sonata were in similar states. With a resigned sigh, she let her body loosen. In her heart, hatred for those three students still burned, but in her current state, there was nothing she could do about them. So, she took solace in the one thing she knew for certain: Equality would not let them escape. “Heh,” she rasped. “Those foals have no idea who they’re dealing with.”