//------------------------------//
// Ch. 35 Pay The Man 
// Story: Strange Yet Wonderful 
// by Bionic Slime 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 35: Pay the Man



FLASH!

Crowe materialized in a flash of gold and purple energy, electrical sparks crackled underneath his armored hooves. The twisted Earth pony had remained in his newly formed castle for the entirety of the ultimatum he delivered to the element wielders.

That was 3 hours ago.

“Time’s up…time to go pick up my bouquet of roses” Crowe said; licking his lips lewdly.

He walked with an arrogant swagger about him, like he was untouchable and everything was going to go his way no matter what. All observing Ponyville citizens found it detestable to watch this cruel invader waltz in like he owns the place, and yet, they knew watching was the only thing they could do. If Princess Twilight and her friends were powerless against Crowe, what chance does an ordinary town full of common ponies stand against someone that powerful?

Crowe was about to find out.

“Huh…well…isn’t this a…thing.”

Dozens of Ponyville citizens formed a blockade to prevent Crowe from going any further. Some knew where Twilight and the others were hiding out, some didn’t. Regardless, the townsfolk love and treasure their neighbors and Twilight and her friends were no exception. They were not going to let them go without a fight. They stood proudly, bravely, and also timidly; fully aware of the frightening power difference between them and Crowe.

They were going to lose…badly…painfully…some may even lose their lives, but none of them were willing to lose the element wielders; not to him. The likes of Cheerilee, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia Melody, Neon Lights, Mayor Mare, Dr. Whooves, Derpy, Bon-Bon, Lyra and Bulk Biceps stood in defense. Even Cranky and Matilda and Mr. and Mrs. Cake locked arm and arm against Crowe’s presence.

“Let me guess, you’re all going to burst into a musical number; right?” he asked dryly. Crowe unlocked his faceplate mask.

A dark pink female unicorn cautiously stepped forward. Her hair was a mix of light and dark shades of purple, her cutie mark resembling 3 blue diamonds in an upside down triangle formation.

“We know how strong you are…and w-w-we know what you can d-d-do to us, but we don’t care,” Amethyst Star said. Her knees rattled frigidly just looking at those empty royal blue eyes.

“Look guys, this is,” he paused to sigh; scratching the back of his head, “emotional and all, but I’ve got a full course babe buffet waiting for me and guys like me, emperors? We don’t wait. So I don’t really got time for some ‘hooves across Equestria’ bullshit. Plus this is kind of like…you know…defying the crown and that’s super illegal. So tell you what, we can do this one of two ways: the easy way or the real easy way. You pick.”

She eased her trembling nerves; forcing herself to stand up tall and brave. The purple mare locked arms in a chain like fashion with Lyra and the other ponies in the group immediately followed suit. They had fear in their eyes and in their bodies as well, it spread to them like sickness and worsened each time they locked eyes with the armored monster before them. Amethyst knew Twilight would tell them to stop, to not help for fear of them getting hurt, but like she said before…they don’t care.

“If you want Twilight and the others then you’re going to have to go through us,” she declared.

“Eeyup” Big Mac added.

“Go through you…man oh man…yeah-yeah that’s a problem. I mean, come on, one pony against a whole town? I mean obviously I’m like-like way beyond outclassed here. You got the whole numbers thing down. What do I got? Just some jacked up super mega armor with a crazy cursed amulet, what’s all that about? That won’t do me any good. I’d need um…something…something really big and super strong, you know? Just something to um, well, how do I put it? Hammer the message in and-and I just wish I had something OH WAIT, YEAH THAT’S RIGHT, I DO!” he spouted smugly.

Crowe’s faceplate quickly latched over; concealing his mocking grin behind cold, unflinching metal. The Alicorn amulet flashed a sinister shade of blood red. Octavia flinched in fear, Vinyl tried to put on a brave face but deep down she felt the same fear her roommate was experiencing. They knew something horrible was coming but they were prepared for it…or so they thought.

ZAP! THUMP!

A boulder sized bowling ball appeared suddenly. Crowe flapped on wings of fire and lifted the gargantuan ball with his magic. He grunted as he tossed the ball towards the crowd of ponies, they screamed and frantically leapt out of the way of the crushing ball. The ball collided with the centerpiece fountain; completely destroying it. Chunks of Earth and mangled food carts rained down like raindrops as the ball continued barreling through downtown Ponyville.

“Is-is everyone all right?” Mayor Mare asked; stifling a coughing fit.

There was a haze of grey dust from the obliterated fountain floating about. A few ponies cried out in pain; receiving wounds or injuries while trying to escape the ball’s destructive path. Mayor Mare wiped dust and dirt from her glasses, lying tremblingly on the ground. Crowe approached the Earth pony mare. She looked up at the frighteningly familiar sight of Crowe’s soulless mask plate, it reflected menacingly in her dirt smeared lenses.

“You see this; this is why we can’t have nice things! I actually really liked that fountain. It really tied the town together,” Crowe said with a heavy sigh. He rolled his eyes and brought his hoof to his chin, tapping it musingly. “Now I gotta find a replacement, something that’s more personal; something that screams: me,” he looked around the crowd; pointing his hoof at the ponies as if playing duck-duck-goose with them. “Eenie meenie miney YOU!” he declared.

Crowe pointed directly at Mayor Mare.

She felt her heart drop suddenly as all color drained from her face. The look in Crowe’s eyes, it made her felt like her blood was freezing over just by looking at him.

“Everyone…RUN!”

Mayor Mare jolted from the ground and pumped her legs; desperately trying to run away before it was too late. Crowe’s horn fired a crackling dark bronze colored beam at the fleeing mare. Her cries of fear turned into a full blown scream. She felt her flesh and fur suddenly turn to stone, consuming her body like wildfire. Mayor Mare was frozen in that position; forever frozen with a look of terror in her eyes. Crowe levitated her towards the site of the former fountain. He conjured a new base, planted the Mayor at the center and activated the fountain’s waterworks with his magic. Water flowed from the Mayor’s eyes, appearing as if she was crying.

Crowe took one look at the fountain and burst with murderous laughter.

The ponies stared in speechless horror at this sickening display. Reality had been painfully hammered into skulls; they were doomed.

Octavia landed on her rump. She was trembling like a drenched feline; paralyzed and powerless against the fear that crippled her. She wanted to get up and run, she wanted to move those grey legs from their frozen status and never look back. But she couldn’t, she couldn’t stop staring at this monster and what he had done to poor Mayor Mare.

“Tavia, get out of there! You gotta run, he’s gonna smoke us all,” Vinyl called out. Neon was trying to pull her back to safety, but the stylish DJ wouldn’t leave without her roommate. “Just get up and jam before it’s too late!”

Octavia heard her friend but couldn’t respond. Her teeth were too busy chattering to speak, every scrap of energy and spirit had been voraciously devoured by the soulless eyes of the power mad pony glaring at her. Tears dripped down her dark grey cheeks; dampening her pink bow tie.

“Y-y-y-y-you’re a monster,” Octavia whimpered.

Crowe rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“I know.”

ZAP!

A toxic green colored beam blasted Octavia and seemingly vaporized her from existence. Her pink bow tie collar dropped to the ground; a single smoldering reminder the grey Earth pony ever existed. Vinyl’s hot pink glasses slipped down her nose, her eyes widening as tears slowly trickled down. She screamed and called out her roommate’s name.

“NO, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!?” she shrieked.

Neon knew Vinyl was in pain, he could hear the depths of her anguish and sorrow raging in her distraught voice. The idea of pulling her away filled his stomach with disgust. She wanted her friend back, as for Neon, he just wanted to make sure his special somepony wasn’t about to be next. So he pulled her back, nobly; selfishly he pulled her back.

“Babe, I’m sorry but we’ve got to go. I won’t let him do that to you too!”

“No, I can’t, I can’t leave her! That’s creep has to pay, HE HAS TO!”

The white unicorn struggled and thrashed against her DJ boyfriend’s hold. She knew he was right, she knew that psycho would tear her apart and Neon’s concern was sweet, but right now she didn’t care, all she cared about was shredding Crowe into a million mangled pieces.

Crowe summoned a pony sized fishing rod with a hook, though it looked more like a spear launcher with a grappling hook based on its design. He launched the hook towards the quarreling unicorn pair. Vinyl was facing towards Neon; still arguing with him for wanting to leave. Only he could see the oncoming lethal projectile. He wrapped his hooves around her, swapped places with her and took the hook-like blade head on; piercing into his shoulder and sinking in deeply.

SHINK!

Neon cried out. His shoulder turned bright red with blood; soaking into his white coat. Before Vinyl could react, Crowe reeled back on the line and yanked Neon from her caring, trembling hooves. He was hurled through the window of Vinyl’s music shop.

“Go back to the gutter where you belong, trash,” Crowe spat.

CRACK! CRASH!

Crowe blinked as a series of vinyl records struck his armored helmet. Vinyl was charging towards him, screaming, crying and flinging multiple records at him like Frisbees. The blue haired mare cursed his name as she charged closer and closer. The records shattered harmlessly off of Crowe’s armor; not even causing him to flinch. He levitated her off her hooves and directly into his own. Crowe clutched her throat in a vice-like grip. Her legs fumbled uselessly above the ground. She spat at him, bit him, kicked him, punched him; anything to make him pay for harming the two ponies she treasured the most. Crowe stared drolly at the resisting mare.

“I’m gonna make you pay for what you did to my boyfriend and my roomie, you bastard! I’ll rip your black heart out and then I’ll-”

“Do you like Feng Shui?”

“Huh?”

BZZT!

Before Vinyl could properly respond, Crowe blasted her with the same toxic green colored beam he used on Octavia. The blue haired mare let loose one final scream before vanishing completely. Her trademark sunglasses dropped to the ground, Crowe took intense delight in crushing them under his iron hoof.

He looked around the fleeing citizens of Ponyville, analyzing them for some unknown purpose. Two mares were spotted fleeing town: Bon-Bon and Lyra. They were holding each other’s hooves, unwilling to let go or look back as they continued to run farther and farther away. Crowe sized them up as if pitching a baseball. He formed a toxic green colored energy ball, placed it in his right hoof, lined up Bon-Bon and Lyra and pitched the ball right down the line.

ZAP!

The lovers screamed helplessly as the ball struck them. Just like Vinyl and Octavia, they were seemingly vaporized without leaving a trace behind. Crowe performed a quick little victory dance and laughed. His faceplate opened up.

“HA! Home run on the first swing, nice,” he chuckled proudly.

CLANG!

An empty soda can struck Crowe’s armored shoulder. He looked irritably at the dented can, wondering where it came from. His gaze followed the can’s trail off to the side. There, standing apart from the fleeing crowds were 3 little fillies: Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell. They proceeded to chuck more objects at the tyrant, including rocks, tomatoes and apples.

“Get out of our town you big bully, you’re not welcome here!” Scootaloo barked.

“No pony is going to take our sisters away,” Sweetie Bell added.

“Yeah, so just take all your nasty, ugly magic and leave us alone,” Apple Bloom shouted.

Cheerilee ceased running upon hearing those familiar voices. She remembered the CMC’s were still following her with the rest of the children she gathered while trying to escape. The 3 fillies must have slipped past her amongst all the confusion. Her magenta eyes widened in horror as Apple Bloom reared back an apple to hurl at Crowe.

“Apple bloom, girls, NO! DON’T!”

SPLAT!

The apple splattered messily against Crowe’s face. Chunks of the red fruit slowly dribbled down the yellow colt’s cheek, leaving long streaks of sticky juices across his face. His teeth reared back in a vicious, menacing snarl. Crowe quickly relaxed his lips and formed a casual, yet, unnerving smile. He turned to face the Crusaders.

“Oh look, the children.”

Crowe summoned a wagon sized spiked club. It hovered menacingly above the 3 filly’s heads; littered with twisted spikes and bent jagged nails. Cheerilee gasped.

“I hate children.”

The club swung in the direction of the helpless pony trio. Cheerilee leapt in front of the path of the club; shoving the girls off to the side and taking the full blunt force of the spiked club. The maroon mare bounced like a stone skipping across the water. Her body eventually skidded to a stop.

“MISS CHEERILEE!” the girls shrieked in unison.

The Crusaders rushed towards their fallen teacher; tears streaming down all their faces. They jostled her body, trying to see if she was all right. The teacher had bruises and blood stains over most of her upper body but was still alive. Crowe approached them, still magically wielding the spiked club in mid-air. The fillies looked to him with sullen, heartbroken faces. He stared back with merciless eyes and raised the club up once more to finish the job he started.

“Why do creatures like you even exist? Throwing your life away for such wretched little turds, you’re as worthless and weak as they are.” 

Crowe concealed his face with his mask plate once more. The yellow colt couldn’t stand to look at them face to face any longer; insulted by their frailty.

“You should all be thrown out like garbage!”

WHAM!

Out of the blue, a muscle bloated red hoof plowed into Crowe’s face; denting his mask inward and skidding the villainous pony away from Cheerilee and the Crusaders. Big Mac snorted furiously. He scoffed his hooves against the dirt, getting ready to charge Crowe like a mad bull.

“That...ugh…that actually freaking hurt; you Earth pony trash! What are you made of anyway? Felt like I got hit by a-”

BAM!

Big Mac charged forward and crunched a right hook across Crowe’s masked face before he could finish. He doubled up with a left hook to the face, followed by a bucking kick into Crowe’s jeweled chest plate. The would-be emperor had trouble keeping up with the power and speed in Big Mac’s attacks. The enchanted armor continued to rapidly heal Big Mac’s dents and dings, but it still aggravated Crowe to no end. Big Mac took one look at Cheerilee and his sister lying there, and he knew that this monster deserved everything that was coming to him and more.

“You know, I am getting real sick of you constantly interr-”

“SHUT UP! You talk too much!”

The bold stallion tackled Crowe to the ground. He pinned the tyrant before he could focus enough to blast him off, Big Mac proceeded to relentlessly pummel Crowe with his hooves.

BAM! 

“That’s for hurting my special somepony.” 

WHAM! 

“That’s for TRYING to hurt my little sister.” 

SLAM! 

“That’s for trying to steal my big sister away.”

Big Mac removed one of his horseshoes and wielded it like a pair of brass knuckles. His green eyes glared venomously at Crowe. He looked back just as angrily at the red stallion.

“And this is for me.”

“No, this is.”

SHINK!

Before Big Mac could take the shot, a golden sword plunged itself into Big Mac’s chest and burst out of his back. Crowe used the Alicorn amulet to conjure it and stab while he was rearing up his punch. Mac’s eyes bulged in shock, his voice barely managing a few measly squeaks. Cheerilee and Apple Bloom called out to the beloved red Earth pony as tears streamed down their cheeks. No words could describe the horror and pain they felt, watching the colt they loved get skewered right before their eyes. Big Mac collapsed to the ground, blood spilling out from his wound. Crowe stood back up and cleansed the sword of Big Mac’s blood with a swift swipe.

“This is no place for a hero, big boy,” Crowe scowled.

Another Earth pony stallion was drawn to this violent scene. This one was brown, wore a collar with a green tie and carried a glowing, metallic screwdriver-like device in his mouth. Doctor Whooves had arrived to come to Big Mac’s aid.

“I strongly suggest you step away from that noble stallion this instant!”

“Is it raining morons today or something?!? Did all of you dipshit losers forget what I can do? I thought I was pretty damn clear.”

“I have lived for eons untold, witnessed countless civilizations perish over time and dealt with twisted souls incapable of compassion; just like you. But no matter the form or time I’m in, I will not sit back and let innocent beings be subjected to evil!”

“Can the grandstanding, Earth pony trash! I’m king of the mountain now and I’ll do whatever I want whenever I want.”

“And what good is being ruler if every one of your subjects is dead?”

“Not my fault everyone is too stupid to get with the program. The sooner everyone realizes defiance is bad for their health, the smoother things will be.”

“Then you leave me no choice but to stop you. I know I won’t succeed, but sometimes a stupid idea is the best idea you’ve got.”

“HA! You stop me? What, you going to use that blinky little metal stick of yours? Please! What’s that thing even supposed to do, hypnotize me?”

“No, just give you a splitting headache.”

“Well it’s not working.”

ZAP! CRASH!

Whooves blasted a micro blast of energy from his metallic screwdriver. The energy struck Crowe’s helmet, shattering it into pieces along with his faceplate and Sombra horn attachment. Crowe’s head was completely exposed. He had a baffled, bewildered look on his face.

“Yay, way to go doc; I knew you could do it,” Derpy cheered from the sidelines.

Fury consumed Crowe’s face. He felt his composure and cool melt away in a boiling fit of rage. He lunged at Dr. Whooves, violently pinning him against the side of a café building. Chairs and tables were scattered. Crowe crushed his iron hoof tightly around Dr. Whooves neck.

“You worthless sack of gutter trash, what the frick do you think you’re doing?!? Where do you get the balls to dick with my armor like that, huh? No one does that to the emperor, NO ONE! You better fix my helmet right freaking now, or else I’ll blast a hole right through your dumbass face!” Crowe snapped.

“If you ask me that’d be an improvement, at least then I wouldn’t have to listen to your blabbering all day,” he smarmily replied.

“I mean it necktie! I will end you’re ass if you don’t fix it.”

“Kill me and you’ll never get it fixed. So long as there is breath in my body, I will never do anything to ever help the likes of you so either way; you’re fresh out of luck.”

Everything Whooves said made Crowe angrier and angrier. He refused to let an Earth pony talk back to him, even if it means losing his helmet and horn. Crowe materialized a power drill the size of a pony’s head and fitted it onto his foreleg; wearing it like a glove. He activated the spiraling drill and aimed it directly at Dr. Whooves face.

“Time to deliver that makeover I promised you!”

“NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

The colts turned to see Derpy Hooves flying towards them; barreling right into Crowe’s side. She tackled the armored pony to the ground. Whooves watched in horror as the cross eyed mare that was hopelessly in love with him risked her life by attacking Crowe, something he wished she hadn’t done.

Dr. Whooves dropped to the ground, clutching his throat. Crowe regained his stance and now had Derpy’s neck trapped in his crunching clutches. She struggled frantically but her attempts at resistance proved utterly useless against Crowe’s armor and strength.

“You stupid whore, how dare you interfere! I’ll rip your useless head off!”

Derpy tugged and pulled against the hooves crushing around her throat but couldn’t stop it. Her legs and wings flailed wildly in panic.

“Doctor, I’m so sorry! I just wanted to help. I just…I’m so scared right now,” she whimpered. 

“No, stop, please don’t hurt her!” Whooves pleaded.

“I’m the one calling the shots here, not you. Both of you clearly didn’t get the memo so I’m going to have to hammer it into both of your skulls the messy way!”

“She’s an innocent, please, blame me. I beg you. She doesn’t deserve any of this!”

“Yeah well she’s getting it anyway! Either you fix my helmet and Sombra’s horn back the way it was, or I’ll break this bitch’s neck like a toothpick!”

He knew he shouldn’t. He knew that shattering Crowe’s helmet weakened his magical powers, which means it could help give Twilight and the others the advantage they need to stop him. Unfortunately, none of that mattered now because he had her.

The Doctor had never seen such terror in Derpy’s eyes before, such overwhelming fear and panic. Those adorably beautiful eyes of hers were now swollen with tears; pleading with him to save her fragile life. He was willing to give up his own life in a heartbeat, but not hers. Whooves could never let any harm come to such a simple-yet-sweet angel like her, never.

“On second thought, I changed my mind. Khan spent his whole life hiding his zombie face behind a mask because he was too nasty and nauseating to look at, I don’t have that problem. I think an emperor should show his face proudly to his people. I want you to turn the helmet and horn into a proper crown. Do this and I might just spare this dingbat’s life.”

Whooves was quick to refuse but Crowe’s brutality was far quicker. He crushed Derpy’s neck even tighter; eliciting far louder screams and cries of pain. The brown stallion snarled loathingly under his breath. There was so much he wanted to say and do to this monster for daring to harm such a loving and kind mare, he would make him suffer as he’s making her suffer if he had the power to do so! But sadly he didn’t and he also had no choice, not unless he wanted to watch Derpy die.

BZZT!

Dr. Whooves used the sonic screwdriver device to reassemble the fragments of Crowe’s helmet and Sombra’s horn. A crown sporting the cursed horn soon emerged. Dr. Whooves reluctantly obeyed the barbaric tyrant and approached him with the crown. He placed the newly forged crown on Crowe’s head. The whimpering gray mare was carelessly tossed to the side; no longer holding Crowe’s attention.

“Now this is a crown worthy of an emperor like me.”

“I trust that you’re satisfied then, my lord?”

Crowe’s smile quickly dissolved to a frown upon hearing Dr. Whooves sarcastic remark. He may have agreed to let Derpy go, but that didn’t mean his fury had diminished or been satisfied in the slightest. Crowe approached the brown stallion. Derpy watched; paralyzed by fear of what may befall her favorite science-babbling-stallion. She reached a hoof out to stop Crowe but the Doc looked at her and shook his head in dismissal.

“Ecstatically; yes, however I’m afraid there’s still one more hatchet that needs burying before I can be done here.”

“And that would be?”

“You…overstepped your bounds.”

THWACK!

Crowe flipped around and smashed a devastating buck-kick into Dr. Whooves. The thunderous clang echoing from metal crushing into flesh and fur caused Derpy’s heart to leap into her throat. Her beloved stallion flew like a buckball; crashing with a bone-snapping crack into a food cart. He demolished the cart instantly. Whooves lay motionless, save for a few idle twitches coming from his limbs. Blood oozed out from his mangled body alongside the mixed juices of the squashed fruits the food cart was carrying.

Derpy cried in horror. She ran to him in tears as she desperately tried to pull him out and take him to safety…assuming he was still alive.

The newly crowned Crowe smirked proudly at his work.

“What in Equestria is happening?” Twilight called out.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy followed their Alicorn friend to the site of Crowe’s monstrous massacre. Moonstruck, Arrowhead and Hopeful Romantic arrived seconds later. The ponies let out a collective gasp of horror at what they saw.

All color drained from Applejack’s face once she saw Big Mac; lying in a pool of blood and cradled by Cheerilee and the sobbing Crusaders.

“Apple Bloom…what the…BIG MAC!” she shrieked. AJ ran as quickly to her brother as she could. “What in tar nation did that monster do to you?!? Twilight! Come here fast, Big Mac needs ya!”

Twilight rushed to perform a healing spell on the fallen stallion. Hopeful followed her to his maiden’s side. Fluttershy failed to contain the oceans of tears pouring from her teal eyes.

“This is-this is absolutely horrible! What happened here? It looks like a tornado came crashing through,” Rarity exclaimed.

“It was him, it was all Crowe,” Moonstruck added. Rarity looked to the Necricorn prince, his eyes boiled scornfully towards the armored emperor. “He vaporized several ponies and trashed the place…just for fun, I can sense all of it in the fear coming from the town; it’s overwhelming.”

“V-v-v-vaporized, are you telling me that he-”

“Still a dumbass I see, eh roomie? Those pony pests aren’t dead, I merely moved them to a different location for an alternative use you could say,” Crowe snickered.

“But why, why would you do such awful, terrible things to such sweet ponies? We were on our way to tell you our decision,” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Fluttershy is right Crowe, there was no need for this senseless violence,” Twilight said; finishing with Big Mac’s healing spell. Cheerilee slowly carried him to the hospital. “These are good ponies, innocent ponies that had nothing to do with your ultimatum! If you had simply waited, we were coming to tell you that-”

“I DID NOT ASK FOR YOUR PERMISSION!”

Crowe flared his Phoenix wings into the air; asserting his authority and dominance over the Alicorn princess. The ponies glared defiantly at the wicked villain but kept their distance.

“You sorry sacks took too freaking long to make your decision. I got bored and I needed something to do to kill time, so deal with it!”

Rainbow went to comfort her fellow Pegasus friend, Derpy. One look and she knew Dr. Whooves needed some serious medical attention too. The poor cross eyed mare couldn’t speak or look away. All Derpy did was sob and sob and sob; clinging to Dr. Whooves frail form and refusing to let go.

Rainbow growled fiercely at the arrogant colt.

“That. Is. It! I don’t care about the stupid deal anymore; no pony does this to my friends and gets away with it. It’s time for a rainbow beat down,” she declared.

The colorful mare launched herself towards Crowe; hooves reared back and revved up to pummel the armored villain until he looked like a flattened soda can. Crowe conjured a pony sized chrome flyswatter out of nowhere and easily struck down Rainbow with it. Enraged at seeing this, Arrowhead quickly charged in to avenge his fallen girlfriend. The armored tyrant powered up his cursed horn and blasted a series of ice blue lightning bolt beams at Arrowhead’s hooves. All 4 of his hooves were sealed in solid blocks of ice. He grunted and fumbled; collapsing to the ground and skidding right past Crowe.

“I’ve never met a pony so tired of living…”

Rainbow shook her head and grunted. Her head was throbbing and she was trying to get her bearings straight, she looked up towards Crowe and saw him conjuring up a massive battle axe. He was going to kill Arrowhead! She tried to attack him from behind but was slammed back down with one swing of Crowe’s spiked club tail. Crowe stopped and turned towards Rainbow.

“Don’t you dare touch him, you twisted freak!”

CLANG!

Crowe crushed a metallic hoof against Rainbow’s head. He pressed down splittingly against Rainbow’s skull; leaning into it and adding more weight. Rainbow cried out defiantly.

“You open your mouth again…I swear I’m going to break it,” he said mercilessly.

“Dag nabbit, we came to tell ya the answer is yes. We’ll agree to go with ya if ya set Spike free.”

“Say WHAT?!? Applejack, you did NOT just say that! After what he did to Big Mac, how can you-”

“Tighten that lasso Apple Bloom, this is mah only way to keep you and the family safe. Ah hate it as much as you do, but we can’t turn our backs on Spike. At least this way…maybe he’ll back off a bit too.”

The little filly was still clearly mortified by her sister’s answer. She refused to accept this truth, she understood why AJ and the others were doing this but she still refused it. Hopeful protested as well but received the same stern response from Applejack. Similar horrified looks were seen on Sweetie Bell and Scootalo’s faces.

“This isn’t fair Rarity! You deserve better than this, I can’t just let my big sister throw her life away; not after you finally got together with Spike,” Sweetie Bell wept loudly.

“I’m doing this for Spikey Wikey, sister dear. I love him and you too much to risk any more harm befalling you,” Rarity explained; holding back her own tears and sobbing.

Crowe watched gleefully at the ponies finally seeing things his way. He remained firm in his position with his hoof on Rainbow’s head, he took notice of Scootaloo. She was staring at her “adopted sister” with agony overwhelming her senses.

“It was our fault, were so, so, so sorry! If we hadn’t jumped him like that, Big Mac and Cheerilee wouldn’t have gotten hurt and-”

Rainbow pointed her fore hoof at the little orange Pegasus. She remembered what Crowe threatened to do if she spoke, so she spoke with her eyes; communicating to Scootaloo: It’s all right, it’s not your fault, and it’s going to be okay.

“No more blood has to be spilled today,” Twilight said boldly. 

She had finished healing Dr. Whooves and had left him to be carried off to the hospital by Derpy. The princess looked to Crowe. She bowed down and lowered her wings in a submissive presentation, hoping to please him enough to release her friend.

“Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and I agree to your terms and…and we…and we humbly submit ourselves to be you’re willing…brides. Now please, promise us no more harm will come to our friends and family and release Spike as agreed and we will obey,” Twilight said with a heavy sigh.

Pleased with her humbleness, Crowe released Rainbow and allowed her to return to her friends. He casually strolled up to the bowing princess; looking at her with indifference.

SLAM!

Crowe stomped his metallic hoof against Twilight’s skull, similar to Rainbow but with much firmer force and pressure. She squeaked in pain. Her cheek was forced to grind uncomfortably against the ground, forced face down in the dirt under this monster’s heel. Worst of all, everyone had no choice but to watch and stand back or else they’d be punished. Twilight had to endure.

“There now, doesn’t THAT”, he slammed down harder, “feel so much more NATURAL”, and again, “getting a face full of dirt; down below at the bottom of the barrel where you high and mighty flying magic users have ALWAYS belonged.” 

Twilight grunted in pain. Crowe yanked her up by her hair with his magic, clumps of dirt crumbled from her cheek. Moonstruck snarled viciously at Crowe. He tried to lunge at Crowe but the girls held him back; despite how badly they wanted to rush Crowe alongside him.

“Without your precious gifts, without your special powers or your royal titles, what exactly does that make you? I’ll tell you what that makes you, it makes you me…this is how I’ve felt my entire life…so tell me…how does it feel? Isn’t it just peachy?” he hissed into her ear.

As much as she wanted to fight back, as badly as she wanted to stop this evil and undo the wicked horrors he’s unleashed upon her home, she knew this was the only way to save Spike. She only wished Moonstruck wasn’t here to see her like this, Celestia knows how badly this is eating him up inside.

Speaking of, Crowe noticed the scathing look of loathing Moonstruck was sending his way. It was almost hilarious how infuriated the Necricorn prince was. A sick smile formed on the yellow colt’s lips.

“You got something to say, roomie? Feel free to speak your mind. The floor is yours.”

“Yeah, I’m going to kill you. May not be today, may not be tomorrow or even for several months but I swear one of these days I will find you, I will stop you…and I will kill you.”

“Aww, I’ll meet you at the playground after school.”

Moonstruck screamed and flapped his wings furiously. It took the combined weight and strength of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Arrowhead and Hopeful to hold Moonstruck back after that comment.

“Listen up ladies! From this day forward, I am your master, your emperor, your lover and above all else…your owner. Friendship fun time is officially over. You and your trampy troupe will do what I say, when I say it; no questions asked. If you step out of line, I will correct you and if anyone from Ponyville does the same or tries to mount a rescue, you can expect to see a lot more nights like this one. Everybody got that?”

The surrounding ponies seethed silently at the armored tyrant. Eventually, reluctantly, they nodded and agreed.

“Now that’s more like it…”

Crowe released Twilight and dusted off his hoof. She rushed to her friends and quickly embraced Moonstruck; silently assuring him she was all right.

FLASH!

Spike’s monstrous form suddenly appeared beside Crowe. He clapped his hooves together, causing a few magic sparks to fly out. Spike shrank back to his normal form and the hypnotic glaze that clouded his eyes was now gone. The young dragon staggered drunkenly before his friends; a claw clutching his aching temple.

“A deal’s a deal,” Crowe said.

“What the…how did I…where was I during the…What have I done?” he exclaimed; memories rapidly rushing back to him.

Before he could comprehend what nightmare he just lived through, he was quickly embraced in a loving hug from his surrogate mother. Twilight buried her face in Spike’s scaly chest; dripping tears along his green belly. She felt the scars along his body. Twilight wanted to yell and rip into Crowe for what he done to her precious adopted son, but at least he was here.

“You’re all right,” she cooed.

Rarity charged in next and wrapped her ivory hooves against the two purple bodies, peppering Spike’s face with kisses. Soon everyone congregated around the flummoxed dragon and offered their hugs and love to him.

“It was so-so weird. I could see everything but I c-c-couldn’t stop what I was doing, like I was watching myself sleep walk or something. Those things…those awful things I did…it was me…I was the one who-”

“That wasn’t you darling. It was out of your control, you have no reason to blame yourself and I won’t dare let you even attempt. It was him and him alone, do you understand?”

Slowly and a tad reluctantly, Spike nodded towards Rarity.

“Nothing that happened before matters now. The only thing that matters is you’re back, you’re your sweet old self again and I’m just so glad I got to see you one last time before I go.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘before you go’?”

Rarity felt like her heart was breaking in two. Mere minutes after she got her precious Spikey Wikey back, now she had to destroy his world even further by telling him what was to come next. Knowing they’d all have to leave soon, the other mares stepped back from the group to prepare their goodbyes.

Twilight approached Moonstruck while Rarity continued to explain everything to Spike. Knowing his history with Crowe, Twilight knew Moonstruck was going to be hurting even more so than the others over this. She had to heal his heart once more, to save him from the darkness while she still had the time.

“This is sick, absolutely sick! You can’t expect me to just-just sit here and take this. He needs to pay for this; he needs for pay for ALL of this. We can’t let it end like this, we can’t just-”

“Marshmallow…I know. I’m not happy with how things have turned out, but I am happy Spike is safe and that’s what matters most to me now. I don’t regret this decision. I’d do it again and again as long as it meant Spike was all right.”

“I know I know, believe me; I get it. Twilight, you mean more to me than life itself and I can’t go back to a life without you, I just can’t. It doesn’t matter what he says or how much power he has, I’m going to get all of you out of there and then I’m going to make that cold blooded sicko pay!”

“Don’t worry about that now. Take care of Spike and the rest of Ponyville, that’s your job now. I’m not saying were giving up but we need to be smart about this and play along until…well…something comes up.”

The purple ponies kissed, held each other close and enjoyed the feel of their bodies against one another one last time.

“I know this sounds horrible but…if he touches you…I swear I’m going to kill him.”

“You’re not Night Terror; don’t destroy who you are over someone like Crowe. Please, promise me.”

Moonstruck slowly nodded.

Rainbow and Arrowhead were arguing over the decision the girls made, it was escalating in tone and intensity. The grey colt kept trying to charge Crowe but Rainbow blocked him at every turn.

“Look, I love a good fight as the next pony but it’s not going to work. This guy is super bad news and I refuse to let you get yourself killed just because you’re pissed.”

“How are you NOT pissed? This is unacceptable and inexcusable. Who knows what depraved things he’s going to pull on you and the others? We need to take him now, rush him while we still got the chance.”

“Believe me; I appreciate the love you’re showing me big guy, I really do. It feels pretty cool to have some pony willing to die for me…but seriously…don’t. We got to take one for the team no matter how much it sucks but it’ll suck even more if something happens to the coolest stallion on the planet.”

“Then what, what do you expect me to do?”

Rainbow smiled sadly and extended her hoof to Arrowhead’s cheek. She gently cupped it, leaned in and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. Her cheeks flashed bright pink. Arrowhead sighed and hanged his head; feeling his anger subsides from her touch.

“Stay awesome, stay strong and don’t give up. I know you can do this, hot stuff. We’ll think of something.”

The grey colt smiled proudly. He didn’t think Rainbow would be this level headed and emotionally mature, especially considering how eager she usually is to jump into fights head on. He always knew she was a girl worth fighting for.

Hopeful knew AJ wasn’t going to listen to his protests. He knew all too well how stubborn she was, she made that clear to him when they first started dating. Right now, all she cared about was making sure Hopeful could help take care of her family during all of this.

“Now with Big Mac hurt and Apple Bloom blamin’ herself, she’s gonna try somethin’ crazy to bust me and the girls out. Ya gotta watch over her closely. Don’t let her be a hero and plan any kind of escape, same goes for-”

“Big Mac?”

Hopeful’s interjection momentarily stunned Applejack. She bit her quivering lip, trying to hold back tears dripping down her freckled cheeks. She gulped heavily and tried to recompose herself.

“Ah uh…Ah need to…look…just please…take care of them. Big Mac is going to be all right, Ah just know it; call it an Apple’s intuition. But if he acts like a dang fool and tries to get up too fast to help with the chores or break me out til he fully heals, he could make things a million times worse. Ah need them to be all right and not worryin’ bout me 24/7, the family has to keep movin’ forward no matter what.”

“This isn’t…this isn’t right. Your family has already been through enough pain to last a lifetime, fair maiden. It has to stop. All of this has to stop.”

“Ahm not so sure there’s a way out of this one, Sugar. This is one mighty pickle we’ve found ourselves in and it’s gotten me more bushwhacked than a snowball fight in July. Ah want to sound positive, but at the same time, Ah can’t deny things ain’t gonna be right with the world for some time.”

Hopeful wrapped AJ in his arms and wings. His eyes closed tightly as tears dripped down his cheeks; splashing onto Applejack’s.

“I won’t lose you too, I can’t lose you. I’ll set you free. I swear on my life this isn’t the end,” Hopeful said protectively.

Applejack’s cheeks burned bright red. She smiled sweetly and nuzzled her man, happily breathing in his scent and reveling in the sound of his kind voice.

ROAR!

The ponies turned towards Spike and Rarity. He screamed defiantly into the skies, refusing to accept this heinous proposal.

“You guys are marrying that-that piece of evil slime because of me?!? No way! I’m going burn him into a pile of ashes,” he howled darkly.

“Spike, this isn’t helping me, this isn’t helping any of us. You have to calm down darling,” Rarity said pleadingly. She felt just as loathed as Spike did over this situation, but she knew his anger would only make things worse. “Just look at me and listen to my voice.”

He resisted at first, but Rarity kept redirecting his face back to hers; averting his attention from the armored villain he wished to harm. Her sapphire blue gaze bore into him intensely, Spike felt his fury declining. She always did have a way of getting his attention without much difficulty. His claws unfolded and his tense muscles slowly relaxed.

“Twilight and the others agreed this was the best option at the time, and so do I. So don’t even think about telling us we should have left you with Crowe because that was absolutely out of the question! You need to be the brave and strong dragon I know you are and handle this like a true gentlemen would.”

“All right, all right, but only until I find a way to tear Crowe and his castle apart and rescue you and everyone else.”

“Oh come now, dear Spikey Wikey. You know that won’t be necessary. After all, I’m not just another pretty faced damsel in distress. I’m quite capable of handling myself.”

“I know you are, but I’m coming after you anyway.”

“Heh of course you are, I’d expect nothing less from my knight in-shining-scales. Try not to keep a lady waiting too long, and don’t forget to stay safe.”

The drake and mare shared a final, loving kiss before being forced to separate.

“The goodbye tour is over ladies! It’s time to get moved in and settled into your new home. Don’t worry, you’re going to love what I’ve done with the place,” Crowe snickered knowingly.

He used his magic to encase Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity in see-through spheres and positioned them above him; hovering ominously up in the sky. The spheres had a faint blue color to them but the ponies inside were still visible.

“Now then, I don’t want anyone to think that because of what happened tonight you should be reluctant to come and speak to your Emperor. Ponyville is my kingdom and home now! If any pony has any problems or public concerns; please, don’t hesitate to bring them to my attention. My door is always open,” he stated smugly.

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

Golden collars suddenly appeared over the necks of the captive mares.

“Hey, what’s the big idea, what is this thing?” Rainbow protested; tugging at the collar.

“Ugh how tacky. It could certainly benefit from a few diamonds here and there,” Rarity said with a grumble.

Crowe rolled his eyes in annoyance at the mares whining.

“Consider them engagement rings,” he replied casually.

“They look more like slave collars to me,” Applejack snorted.

“Oh my, is that what they are?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Be careful girls, there’s some kind of magic attached to these collars. I’m not sure what kind though,” Twilight mused.

The more the men heard about what was going on with collars, the more concerned and irritated they became. Moonstruck looked especially bothered. He flared his wings and charged up his horn, preparing to blast Crowe.

“I don’t like this. Something’s wrong, I say we stop him before-”

“Good seeing you again Roomie! It has been a pleasure doing business with you, peasants. Oh and Spike? Heh it’s been fun.”

FLASH!

In a brilliant, blinding surge of light, Crowe disappeared and took all of the captive mares with him. The twisted stallion no doubt returned to his black castle home with his ‘brides’ in tow.

“DAMMIT!”

Moonstruck howled angrily. He blasted a striking red lightning-like energy beam from his horn into the sky. Just thinking about what Crowe would do to the girls made his blood boil and stomach churn with revulsion. It was like a nightmare had unfolded right in front of his eyes; the worst nightmare unimaginable…and he was powerless to do anything about it.

“So what do we do now? Obviously were going to storm the castle and cave that guy’s skull in ASAP, right?” Arrowhead boomed.

“I’m with you. Every second Mom, Rarity and the others are in there, Crowe could be doing something seriously messed up to them…like he did to me,” Spike said somberly.

“We can’t be too hasty. Crowe is way stronger than all of us put together, plus he’s probably got some kind of guards we don’t know about protecting the entrance to the castle. One wrong move and it could be bad news for the girls AND for us,” Hopeful said wearily.

“It’s already bad news for the girls and for us. Crowe is an unimaginable bastard and there’s no way we can let this perverse deal stand. We need a plan,” Moonstruck said.

“Why that’s an excellent point my marshmallow loving friend, fortunately for all of you, I happen to have the most brilliant plan EVER!”

The boys turned behind them to find the source of that familiar female voice. It was Pinkie Pie. The party pony stood tall and proud; sporting white bandages over her stomach and wearing a hilariously oversized sombrero made out of cheese flavored nachos with a dipping center at the top for guacamole. To say Spike and the others were concerned would be a gross understatement.

“Um Pinkie Pie, I’m sure you get asked this question a lot but…are you all right?” Arrowhead inquired.

“Yeah you don’t look like you’ve fully recovered just yet,” Hopeful pointed out.

“Heh don’t worry, I’m the picture of perfect pony health,” she cheerfully replied.

Pinkie reached up, grabbed a hoof full of nacho sombrero, dipped it in dip and then stuffed it into her mouth. She munched loudly with bloated, puffy cheeks but then paused momentarily; tasting something strange. A thin strand of hot pink mane hair poked visibly out of her lips.

“Hmmm no one told me the nacho dip was hair flavored,” she said; tapping her chin.

Arrowhead and Hopeful both face palmed.

Moonstruck looked towards Spike, a deadpan, defeated look on his face.

“We are screwed,” he groaned.

“Hey no come on, I don’t want to hear that; we need to be upbeat,” Spike countered.

“We are screwed!” Moonstruck said in a more positive, upbeat tone.

“Sigh…there you go,” Spike replied.



To be continued…