//------------------------------// // CH 5: Point of Crisis // Story: There Is Nothing New Under The Sun // by chasethebrony //------------------------------// Point of Crisis The entire leadership for the Army, The Royal Guard, The Ponyville Weather Patrol, The Elements of Harmony, And even Princess Luna were gathered in the already crowded Ponyville Inn. A very haggard looking Shining Armor walked onto the makeshift stage and cleared his throat. “I have come forward to give everypony an update on the situation in the Everfree Forest.” He began. “I will begin with the good news: 2nd Private Storm Front is expected to recover from the wounds he sustained in trying to contain the monster in the Everfree forest. As of now, he is being moved from critical condition to long term recovery.” The looks of relief on some of the assembled ponies was refreshing from the constant looks of worry seen around camp. Looking down, he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to say next. “However, I also have some bad news. Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness has gone missing.” Gasps could be heard throughout the assembled mass of ponies. “What kind of monster would take poor Fluttershy?” gasped a swooning Rarity. Shining Armor once again silenced the room. “We were hoping to avoid drastic measures, but we are going ahead and calling all pegasi to assemble for search and rescue. We have also activated the Equestrian Reserve to help provide the horsepower we will need to begin our more thorough search of the forest. We do not know if Fluttershy was taken by the beast, or if she hasn’t returned of her own volition. Regardless, we are stepping up our patrols of the Forest. Lieutenant Lost here will provide all of you with your mission briefings. Except for the bare minimum needed to maintain border security around the forest and the base, all patrols and work groups are being called in for R&R. I expect all of you to brief your teams on your exact mission. If you have any questions, please direct them to Lieutenant Lost. Faust Speed everypony” Walking off the stage, Shining armor went back to his room and just sat at his desk and stared at the ceiling. ‘how has all this fallen to pieces so quickly?’ he thought to himself. ‘Two days ago, I would have never believed that we would already have casualties and missing ponies. And one of them is Fluttershy no less” Alternating between sorrow and anger, he didn’t notice a lavender unicorn walk over to his side. “Shining?” “Leave me alone Twilight. I’m trying to figure out how to solve this massive mess” “Well maybe you could use some help. You are trying to coordinate the largest military operation since the griffons invaded five hundred and fifty years ago. Nopony can handle that all on their own, and you are no exception.” “Then what would you have me do sister?” “Well for starters, why don’t you use your subordinates? You have at least five or six lieutenants who are more than able to draft orders and manage the supply aspect of the camp. Trying to do everything on your own will not work. You owe it to your troops to be ready to lead. You can’t do that when you are up every night trying to frantically coordinate movements and figure out where you will get the food to feed your troops. Give your commanders some leeway with their orders and let them take the lead. Let them know what you want them to do, and let them figure out how to do it.” “Twilight, since when did you become a military genius?” “One of my research papers was over the military history of Equestria and how we became a global superpower.” “So, you read it in a book.” Shining deadpanned. “Yes, but that is irrelevant. Book knowledge is secondary compared to being the student of the greatest military strategist in Equestrian history. How else do you think Celestia managed to overthrow discord? She didn’t do it by herself, she worked through multiple commanders she trusted to be able to distract the dragonequus so that she could sneak up on him and turn him to stone with princess Luna. She put you in this position because she believes that you are able to successfully lead her armies to victory. That is why she picked you herself from the hundreds of other aspiring guards. Trust me Shining, You can do this. Just let everypony do their job, and make sure you do yours” Feeling a bit better after her pep talk, Shining reached over and gave his sister a hug. “Thanks Twily, I really appreciate you talking to me. I can’t guarantee that everything will be better, but... thank you” he finished with a weak smile. Knowing that that was about as good as she was going to get from him, Twilight hugged him back and with a smile left him to his own thoughts. The Great Awakening The darkness surrounded her. She didn’t know where she was. She couldn’t move. She couldn't scream. All she could do is lie still and freak out. Consciousness and unconsciousness blended together in endless repetition. Suddenly, there was light. Her pupils shrinking down to mere pinpoints. Still in pain from the light, she saw a shadowed beast get up. It seemed to molt off an outer shell until a two legged beast emerged form with in. Then, in a moment of clarity her memories of the night before rushed back to her. Her only thought: ‘he ate Henrietta!’ the thoughts of this monster eating her pet caused her to once again faint. Dazed and Confused After rolling out of my sleeping bag, I realized one thing: I REALLY had to pee. Seeing that the horse thing on the other side of the cave was still passed out, I peeked outside. Not seeing anything, I walked out and relieved myself on the opposing wall of the ravine. Returning to the cave, I suddenly realized that my prisoner had been tied up for over eight hours (by my watch). Deciding that the cordage was probably cutting off some of the circulation to her legs, i crawled over, and loosened the bonds on one of her legs. Standing behind her so she couldn’t kick me, I looked over the tied leg, and noticed that there were shallow indention in the skin where the cordage had been. cutting circulation to an extremity is a Very Bad Thing. After a number of hours, if the bonds are loosened, septic shock can kill the creature. At some point while I was thinking about how to loosen my prisoner's bonds without risking myself she awoke again. Not seeing me at first, she jumped in fright when she noticed that I was kneeling behind her. moving to where she could see me, I decided to try and communicate. What the hell, might as well see if it can learn my name. Signing that i was going to remove her gag, she let me take it off her face. scooting back, I pointed at myself. “Jack” I said simply. Then I pointed at her. Se3eming to understand, she mumbled something indiscernible. Motioning to my ear, I pointed at her again. This time it was louder, and sounded something like fluffershe. Just to make sure i heard correctly, I motioned one last time. Finally she responded with a somewhat intelligable “Fluttershy”. So to make sure, I pointed at myself and said “Jack”. Then I pointed at her and said “Fluttershy”. She nodded, and was about to say something when I noticed three small heads poking through the brush staring intently at me, mouths agape. Then the screaming started. Cutie Mark Cruasaders Cave Explorers! Two Hours Ago: Three young fillies were sitting in their super secret clubhouse on Sweet Apple Acres. “Why can’t the grownups let us play again” Asked a bored looking Sweetie Belle. “Apparently ther’s a fearsome two-legged monster eating ponies in the Everfree Forest!” replied Applebloom. “Yeah, but remember how the Cutie Mark Crusader Monster Hunters turned out?”. After some grumbling at the memory of how that turned out, the three fillies sat and were thinking hard about new ways to find their special talents. Suddenly a small orange pegasus stood up “Ooh! ooh! I know! How about the Cutie Mark Crusader Cave Explorers!” The other two fillies stood up, their faces filled with excitement. “Yes! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CAVE EXPLORERS! YAY!” They screamed in unison. Running around they grabbed the necessary materials for their new adventure. Cutie Mark Crusaders Capes: Check Super awesome bagged lunch in case they were out long: Check Saddlebags of Carrying: Check Scooter: Check Telescope: “Uhh, hey guys, why exactly are we takin the telescope with us? I thought after we hauled it to the top of Mt. Ponyville for the Cutie Mark Crusaders Stargazers, we agreed never to take it anywhere ever again.” Asked a nervous Apple Bloom. “Uh, i dunno. Maybe because it’s pretty and shiny?” Replied an innocent looking Sweetie Belle. Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom facehoofed. “Sorry Sweetie Belle, I don't think we are going to take it this time” A very sad looking Sweetie Belle pouted for a while, then suddenly brightened up. “OOOH, can I take the awesome animal catching net I made for the Cutie Mark Crusader Animal Tamers?” Knowing that this would continue to go on until Sweetie Belle got to choose something, they agreed. But only if she carried it herself. “My back still hurts from the last time you made me carry that stupid sack of lead weights” groaned Scootaloo. “Oh come on, once we were able to melt them all down into a statue for the Cutie Mark Crusaders Statue Makers even you thought that it was pretty awesome.” “Yeah it was, until we accidentally poured molten lead all over Mr. Tinsmithy’s carriage.” “Whatever, let’s go cave exploring!” gathering their gear, the three fillies ran off in search of some unexplored caverns near Ponyville. Two Hours Later: “Why can’t Ponyville be more geologically interesting” sighed Scootaloo. “I dunno, but we looked all over town and we didn’t find anything more interesting than the cellar they turned into a jail underneath the Ponyville in.” “Yeah, and then the guards caught us, threw us out and told us not to go snoopin around a war camp” replied Applebloom. “Ooh! let’s go look in the Everfree Forest! They have all sorts of cool places to look for caves!” Exclaimed Scootaloo. “But isn’t that the one place the grownups told us not to go?” Scootaloo thought for a second. “So? I don’t believe in monsters. Sure, there have been a few weird creatures like Discord and that chicken-snake thing, but I bet they are just trying to keep us from having fun. We can even stay near the lake at the edge of the forest. That way we can just say we wanted to go swimming.” “Are you sure about this Scoots?” “Yeah, I don’t want to be eaten by another monster. Havin almost been eaten once, I dont wanna repeat the experience”. “Don’t worry girls, I don;t think there is anything out there to get us. And anyways ‘Bloom, that hydra only lives in the Froggy Bottom Bog and we won’t be going anywhere near there again.” “If you say so”. “Ok then Cutie Mark Crusaders, Let’s go find a cave!” after sneaking past all the guard patrols, the three fillies manage to sneak their way to the Everfree Lake. “Oh wow! This lake is bigger than I thought!” “Oh come on, Apple Bloom. Everyone knows that the lake under Canterlot is bigger than the one here.” “is not” “is too” “IS NOT!” “IS TOO!” “uh, girls. I think I may have found a place with some caves” interjected Sweetie Belle. Pausing in their argument, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both answered at the same time “Where?” “Over there in that ravine. I bet there are all sorts of cool caves in there!” Running off towards the ravine the three girls soon found themselves surrounded by all sorts of neat washouts in the sides of the washout. “Wow, these are cool, but I wish we could find a real cave!” “Wait, look over there! see those vines and plants on the bend in the path? I bet they are covering a secret entrance, just like in the Daring Doo books!” said a hopeful Scootaloo. Pretending to be a group of hardened adventurers, the triad slowly made their way over to the entrance to the dungeon. once next to it they stuck their heads inside, only seeing darkness. Then their eyes adjusted, and their jaws dropped. Inside the cave was the ugliest monster they had ever seen. It was walking hunched over on two legs, and was making awful noises and hand gestures. But the worst part was that it had Fluttershy tied up in the corner. The trapped pegasus saw them and her eyes begged the three fillies to run away quickly. So, the Cutie Mark Crusaders did the only think they could think of in the situation: First, Scootaloo started Screaming Then, Sweetie Belle Threw her net at the beast and screamed. Finally Apple Bloom ran in circles screaming “OHCELESTIA,ITSGOINGTOEATFLUTTERSHY!” over and over. This had the combined effect at stunning the creature long enough for it to get trapped in Sweeite’s net. Then Fluttershy found her voice and yelled over the screaming girls “Run! Go find the Guards! They should be nearby!” Finally given some sort of direction, the three fillies ran screaming outside. Straight into the arms of several armored pegasi. “What is going on here? We heard some screaming.” Asked the lead pegasus. “thereisamonsterinthatcaveandit’sholdingFluttershyprisonerandit’sgoingtogobbleherupfordinner” Once they puzzled out what the fillies said, they dove into the cave. Sounds of fighting could be heard, and eventually a very bruised and tired Fluttershy limped out of the opening. Following her were the three pegasi and the monster all tied up in it’s rope. “Oh thank goodness you found me girls, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t saved me” Said Fluttershy as she gave the three shocked fillies a massive hug. “Now let’s get you back to Ponyville, where I am sure your sisters are worried sick about you.” With the pegasus guards leading the way with the monster, Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked slowly back to town.