//------------------------------// // Rarity fights a giant crab // Story: 🐍 Medusa // by Phantom-Dragon //------------------------------// "Look! That's where she is!" Pink–Spider pointed, swinging in the lead, towards a cargo bay, which was swarming a whole flock of harpies, griffins, and giant crabs that were all scavenging their spoils of fishes, oysters, and shellfishes that all the fishermen had brought into harbor. "Now that's what I call a feeding frenzy," Spike whimpered. "Goodness!" Fluttershy gasped, watching all the monsters biting and clawing at each other, refusing and wanting a bite of each other's share of the foods. "I'm one to watch documentary films about survival of the fittest and everything, but this is a little....intense." "C'mon, y'all! We gotta get in there!" Applejack began. "Sunset Shimmer's in there, somewhere. And we gotta get her out before she becomes the next main course." "AJ's right! C'mon everyone!" Rainbow Dash began. "Let's do it to it!" with a flash of light, Rainbow Dash activated her geode and became a blur of multicolors. "HI-YAH!" Rainbow Dash screamed, tackling one of the harpies to the ground. In retaliation, the harpy grabbed Dash by the neck and threw her off, into the rest of the flocks. Luckily for Dash, Applejack was quick enough to pull her lasso and with a spin, the apple farm girl pulled her rainbow haired friend out of the fray, while Rarity and Twilight both activated their geodes' powers to hold off the rest of the harpies at bay. "Eat sea urchins!" Pinkie screamed, hurling a box of sea urchins at some of the attacking harpies. "Back! Back you ruffians!" Rarity shrieked, projecting and hurling her crystal shields at the advancing giant crabs that were snapping their claws. "Go on! Back!" Twilight was blasting balls of magic at several harpies, with Maddie's spitting cobras shooting their venoms to stun and blind a few, "Whoa!" Twilight shouted, when spits of the gorgon's snakes splattered across her face. Luckily, her glasses shielded her eyes from the potent toxic of the venoms. "Maddie! Please watch the friendly fire!" "SSSSSSSincccceressssst apologiessssss," Medusa apologized. In the midst of the fight, Twilight looked to see Spike was overwhelmed by a swarm of harpies, "SPIKE!" Twilight screamed, waving her hands, telekinetically throwing the harpies off her little puppy, to find him covered from head to toe in raven black feathers. "Spike! Are you alright?" "I've been murdered!" Spike whimpered. "Sunset!" Applejack called out to the fiery girl, as she muscles her way through the monster horde. "Sunset? Are ya in there, sugarcube?" For a quick moment, Applejack caught a glimpse of her friend's flaming hair of yellow and red, but it suddenly vanished out of sight, disappearing a flurry of feathers, as the harpies suddenly turned tail and took to the sky. "Hey! COME BACK HERE WITH OUR FRIEND YA BUZZARDS!" Rainbow Dash barked in demands. "THIS AIN'T OVER! YOU'LL RUE THE DAY YOU TOOK OUR FRIEND FROM US!" Just then, something huge and terrifying emerges from the waters and towers behind the heroes. "Uh oh, my pinkie senses are tingling," Pink–Spider said, before she turned to the readers and ask, "Do you ever get that funny goosebump feelings that something big and scary is standing right behind you, waiting for you to turn around and look at the scared look on your face?" with that, Pink–Spider and friends all turned around and were met, face-to-face a giant crab that stood just about as tall as an average city building. "HOLY CRAB!" In appearance, the crab was all red in color, with its eyes seemingly colored an eerie aquamarine green, and a unique feature to its appearance, what appears to be a giant mustache. "GIANT CRAB!!!!" Spike screamed. At first, the crab looked down at the heroes, as it moves slowly and advances intimidating, dwarfing the girls and dog. The crab snapped its claws, while letting out a bloodcurdling shriek, as if it was greatly upset by something. "Whoa, that must be one bad shellfish," Rainbow Dash commented. "What's got him so upset?" "Uh, Twilight?" Applejack whispered. "Anything in that Greek book of yers on giant crabs?" Slowly reaching into her bag, pulling out her book, Twilight quickly skims through the pages, before she finds a page of the monstrous crab that reads: "Carcinus – a giant crab that was created by the goddess Hera to hinder the mighty hero, Heracle's battle against the hydra." "So how did Heracle stop it then?" Rainbow Dash asked. Looking back to her book, Twilight reads, "It says that he defeated it by stomping his foot down on its head...crushing it." "Then this Heracle fella must've been pretty big, because that's a lot a head for one crab," Applejack commented. "Or maybe he was just pretty strong, and all he needed to do to crush it was to get at the top of the head!" Rainbow Dash pointed. "That sounds logical," Twilight said in agreement. "But what are you–" Twilight's eyes widen with shock and terror, when she sees Rainbow Dash zipping away with Applejack in hand. "RAINBOW DASH! APPLEJACK! WAIT!" unfortunately, Rainbow Dash was listening, as she zipped up the nearby tallest building to match the carcinus's height, before she leaps off the roof, with Applejack in hand. Again, Twilight voiced her disapproval, "I DON'T THINK THAT'S–" "Gone!" Rainbow shouted, hurling herself and Applejack at the crab, with the country girl activating her geode's powers, summoning her superhuman strength, slamming her feet on top of its the giant crustacean's massive head. "Ooh!" Applejack winced from the damage recoil. "I'm gonna feel this tomorrow." "Yeah, but did we beat this thing or what?" Rainbow smiled arrogantly. "Um, girls?" Pink–Spider pointed, directing everybody's attention to the angry look on the crab's face, and how disheveled its "mustache" looked. The carcinus then let out a loud bloodcurdling roar that rang across the city, and it thrashed its claws about in anger. "Great. Now it's even more angrier!" Twilight muttered, as she and her friends all screamed and scattered to evade the wrath of an angry giant crab. "You and your 'brilliant' ideas, Rainbow," Applejack grumbled. "If we ever get out of this mess, I got a whole stash of apple ciders WITHOUT your name on them." Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously, "That's a joke, right?" in response, Applejack raised an eyebrow in a scowl. "You're not joking," the athletic girl moaned, at the thought of never having anymore of her apple ciders for a long time. Rarity – Fighting Is Magic The carcinus let out another bloodcurdling roar, determined to let the girls and the city to feel its reckoning. "Oh no! It's going to attack the city!" Twilight exclaimed in worry. "We've got to stop it before it hurts all of those people! Everyone drive it back into the water!" "Don't worry, we got this!" with a flick of her hands, Pink–Spider shot several strings of pink web fluids from her wrists and pulled, flinging herself into the air and hurled several sprinkle bombs that exploded in the giant crab's face, creating a cloud of smokes that blinded the giant crustacean. With the carcinus distracted, Rarity didn't hesitate to conjure up several crystal shields, which she quickly hurled at the giant crustacean, "Back you ruffian! Back!" Rarity ordered. Furious at the attack, the giant crab retaliated by furiously stomping its pointy legs at the girls, while thrashing its snapping claws at the girls. Maddie was vigorously twisting her whole serpentine body from left to right as she struggled to evade the giant crab's legs, when she was suddenly pinned down by the tip of her tail, "AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!" Maddie screamed in agony. "Maddie!" the girls and Spike shouted in concern for their gorgon friend. "Pain in the tail!" Maddie hissed, struggling to wriggle herself from the crab's legs. "Why musssst I be cursssssed with a wretched sssssserpent'sssss tail asssss well?" Realizing it got one of its preys in its grips, the carcinus looked down to reach its claws down at Medusa. Medusa's spitting cobras retaliated by spitting several strands of venom at the crab's claws, in a futile attempt to drive the claws back. Thankfully, Rarity interfered by projecting a huge wall of her shields, saving the gorgon from the crab's claws. In the meantime, Applejack came and forced the crab's leg off, freeing Maddie, "Watch yer head there, Maddie," in response, the gorgon shot the girl an irked look, stating how she took offense by that statement. "Oh, sorry, Sugarcube," Applejack chuckled sheepishly as she helped carry the gorgon away. Pink–Spider was shooting web fluids, swinging herself around the carcinus, before she shot several balls of webs, coating over one of the crab's eyes, half-blinding the giant crustacean, "Hey girls!" Pink–Spider began. "You've ever seen that Disney movie? Moana?" "What issssss she ssssaying now?" Maddie asked. "Eh, Pinkie Pie has a habit for saying a lot of things," Applejack grumbled. Nevertheless, Pinkie continued, "You've seen that part with the talking crab? At the end of that song? With the underwater volcano?" "Maybe Pinkie's onto something!" Twilight deduced. "Indubitably," Rarity agreed. "What? What issss she ssssaying?" Maddie asked, still unsure what her friends were getting at. "Rainbow! Distract the crab!" Twilight shouted. "Pinkie, web up the legs! Me, Rarity, and AJ will go high!" "Way ahead of you sister!" Pinkie said as she continues to shoot several web fluids that tangled the crab's legs, rendering it immobile. "Hey Mr. Krabs!" Rainbow Dash taunted. "Nah-nah-nah-nah! Ya can't catch me!" with another angry roar, the crab snapped its claws furiously at Rainbow Dash who continues to zip from side to side to evade the crab's attacks. "Ooh, you should've paid more attention." "Good one, Dashie!" Pinkie laughed at Rainbow Dash's inside joke. "What? What's ssssso funny?" Maddie frowned in dismay. "Now Rarity!" Twilight shouted, as she and Applejack both walked up on a flight of crystal stairs, courtesy of Rarity, and they both landed a powerful magic-super strength combo punch to the crab, causing it to flip itself off its legs and sent it crashing into the ocean in a big splash. But just as the crab was crashing into the waters, Medusa caught sight of a strange symbol on the underside of the crab's exoskeleton. It looked almost like that of an eye that looked as if it was staring right back at her. It was both unsettling and familiar and it alone was enough to make Medusa herself feel cold as if she could turn into stone right then and there. End of Fight "Phew," Twilight sighed. "Glad it's over now." "Oh, I think it's far from over Twilight," Applejack frowned. "Sunset's still gone. "ARGH!" Rainbow Dash stomped her foot in frustration. "All that, and they got away with Sunset!" "It just doesn't make sense," Twilight pondered. "Where did all these monsters come from? And what do they want with Sunset to begin with? Why take her? What did she do to them? What did we ever do?" "And why didn't they come for me insssstead?" Maddie asked herself in sorrow. "I don't know why this is happening," Applejack started, before she looked up, having an idea. "But I know just the pony who might know what kind of hocus pocus we're dealing with now." "What pony?" Maddie asked. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, that's who," Applejack answered, much to Maddie's surprise. "You're a princess?" she hissed to Twilight. In response, the girls and Spike all laughed in response, "No, I'm not that Twilight," Twilight clarified. "We meant another Twilight Sparkle," again, Maddie looked confused. "C'mon. We'll show ya," with that, the Rainbooms and Spike were all on their way back to the hotel, with Medusa following. However, something shining caught the gorgon's attention, and she looked down to see a familiar amulet, with the image of a blazing sun engraved on the front. Sunset Shimmer's geode necklace. Picking it up from the wreckage of the fight, Maddie held it close to her chest, in loving memory of her dearest friend, before she wore it around her neck. After pushing their way through the streets that were teeming with people stricken with fear from the recent monster attack, and passing a still undignified, humiliated, and petrified Zephyr Breeze, the friends finally returned to their room, the girls and dog all gathered around as Twilight pulls out Sunset Shimmer's journal from her backpack. Maddie took a quick glance at the book to see it has a hard cover, with an emblem of what appeared to be half of the sun on the left, merged together with half of the purple star on the right. "Good thing Sunset never leaves home without her journal," Twilight smiled, as she opens the journal and skims through the pages, before arriving at the next clean set. "Spike. Pen me." the girl ordered, which the dog responded by fetching a purple pen for the girl to write with. "What issss thissss?" Maddie asked, looking at the journal curiously. "It's a journal," Pinkie answered. "For you to write in." "Fassssccccinating," The gorgon hissed. "SSSSSsso it'ssss ssssimilar to the scrollsssss we've oncccce ussssed to record hisssstory and eventsssss in ancient timessss then." "Uh.....yeah, kinda like that," Twilight confirmed. "However, bear in mind, this is no ordinary journal. This is Sunset's magic journal. And the way we're using it now, it's more of a communication device," of course, Maddie is stumped, not understanding a single word the girl said. "What?" "Just watch," with that, Twilight began writing in the journal: Hello? To whom it may concern, this isn't Sunset Shimmer writing. Sunset Shimmer's been kidnapped! Before Twilight could write any further, words were already being written back in response: WHAT?! Sunset Shimmer's been kidnapped?! By who? How? And when? "Wow, that was quick," Rainbow Dash commented. In response, Twilight wrote back, saying: I honestly don't know how or why it happened. There were these monsters. They just came out of nowhere and started attacking the town, and they captured Sunset Shimmer! Before long, the journal wrote back: What kind of monsters, exactly? Twilight wrote back, explaining: First, there were these harpies – half woman, half bird – and then there were some griffins, and there was a minotaur, and we just had ourselves an encounter with a carcinus – a giant crab-like monster. In response, the journal replied: This calls for some intense investigation. I'll let you know once I have found the answer. "Fassssscinating!" Maddie hissed. "Ssssssso assssside from her magic amulet, SSSSSunsssset carriessss this magic book of knowledge with her?" "Close," Applejack explained. "This 'book of knowledge' is actually a journal that lets us talk with Princess Twilight Sparkle between our world and the world Sunset came from. If this is loose Equestrian magic we're dealing with, then Twilight's bound to have all the answers for us." "Loose Equestrian magic?" Maddie asked, further confused. "Trust me, Maddie," Rainbow comforted the distraught gorgon. "If you've been through the kind of adventures we've dealt with, then this really shouldn't be much of a surprise." "Look!" Everyone all looked back at the journal to see some words were being written back. I did some quick reading, and from the looks of it, you might've stumbled on the work of Grogar's Box! In ancient times, Equestria was ruled by an evil demon sorcerer by the name of Grogar. He is a master of dark magics, and legends say that he uses dark magics provided by his bell to enslave anyone who dared to resist against him, turning them into his slaves and into monsters to do his bidding – ponies and animals alike. Thus he earned himself the title, the "Father of Monsters." It wasn't until much later, when the great hero, Gusty the Great, broke into his lair and stole his Bewitching Bell, that Grogar's powers were lost, and all those he enslaved rebelled against him. But there have been later stories that stated that Grogar was prepared for this contingency. Rumor has it that somewhere, he stashed most of his powers into a box, just in case something ever happened to his bell. If rumors were true, and if I'm correct, then that box must've found its way into your world, and now it's turning everyone into monsters! "But then, that means-Oh no!" Applejack exclaimed.