After a recent monster attack in Piraeus, Sunset Shimmer went missing. In their search for answers, the remaining Rainbooms, Spike, and Maddie traveled to Athen city, hoping to reach the fabled Parthenon, the fabled temple of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, where they were hoping to seek guidance from the legendary goddess herself. Unfortunately, the heroes ran into trouble, in the form of their latest monster adversaries of the infamous Stymphalian Birds.
The friends ran down the streets, with many civilians jumping out of the way out of the Rainbooms and Medusa, as well as avoiding the arrow-like feathers raining from the flock of Stymphalian Birds.
"EVERYONE! FIND COVER! QUICKLY!" Rarity shouted, while conjuring a large diamond shield in the shape of an umbrella.
However, most of the people were dumbfounded at what Rarity was saying, "I don't think they understand english," Twilight frowned.
With that, Medusa reared up on her coil and hissed, "Βγείτε από εδώ αν θέλετε να ζήσετε! Αυτά τα πουλιά θα σε σκοτώσουν! (Get out of here if you want to live! Those birds will kill you!)"
In response, all of the people quickly went into hiding. But whether it was because they were heeding Maddie's warning or just terrified of her appearance, it was left to debate.
Nevertheless, Rarity was appreciative of the gorgon's assistance, "Thank you, darling!" She smiled, patting Maddie on the shoulder.
Back to the conflict at hand, Pinkie Pie was supplying Applejack with several of sprinkle bombs, which the strong country girl would then hurl at the birds.
"I don't get it," Applejack began. "How come Maddie can turn other creatures to stone, but she can't work her magic on these birds?"
"Who cares?" Rainbow asked, while using a still petrified Zephyr Breeze as a melee weapon. "All I want to know is how do we get rid of them?!"
"According to my encyclopedia," Twilight began. "The hero, Heracles, killed them with his arrows that were tipped with the poisonous blood of a hydra. A large multi-headed serpent."
"Oh dear," Fluttershy whimpered.
"Great, and kinda gross," Spike grimaced, together with some of Maddie's snakes. "But where do we get one of those? We don't have poison blood."
"And we don't have arrows," Applejack added. "WHOA!" The girl yelped, ducking her head right when a Stymphalian nearly snapped its beak on her.
In retaliation, one of Maddie's spitting cobras shot a strand of venoms at the bird, splattering and covering upon impact with its eyes. Blinded by the venom, the bird flailed its arms, firing its arrow feathers blindly, with some of it hitting and skewering its fellow birds, causing them to cackle sparks of electricities.
Twilight's eyes widened in realization, "They're machines!" She shouted. "Not living creatures! They can't be petrified because they're not alive! Well... technically speaking..."
"They're killer robots?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "That's kinda awesome!" In response, the Rainbooms and Spike all shot the girl with exasperated glances. "I mean... LET'S SMASH THEM!"
With that, the fight resumes between the girls, Spike, and the Stymphalian Birds. Rarity projected more diamond shields to protect herself and her friends from the Stymphilan Birds' arrow feathers, with Pinkie Pie and Applejack firing sprinkle bombs at the birds, causing them to explode into bronze metal parts, with Maddie providing cover by firing venomous spits at the birds, courtesy of her spitting cobras.
"Y'know, we may not have Heracles or his poison arrows," Applejack began. "But we do have something better."
"Yeah! And she's our friend!" Pinkie Pie smiled.
During the fight, one of the Stymphalian Birds dived at Maddie from behind. Luckily, one of the cursed gorgon's snakes hissed, alerting her of the incoming sneak attack. Maddie leapt to the side, but it was too late to dodge, and the bird clamped its beak around Maddie's neck.
"Let me go!" Maddie struggled to pry the bird's beak off of her.
"I'm coming Maddie! I'm comin'!" Rainbow Dash shouted, running in a blur of multicolors, while holding Zephyr by the seat of his pant and the back of his collar as if he was a battering ram, slamming the disgracefully mortified boy against the bird, knocking it off of Maddie. "Maybe there's some use for you after all, Zeph."
Fluttershy could only shook her head in disgrace and discomfort, "Why can't I have a normal younger brother?" She asked, while holding Spike close.
"How is that guy younger than you again?" Spike asked, before he and Fluttershy watched their friends resuming their fight against the birds.
Twilight was firing bolts of purple magic at the birds, while also using her telekinesis to catch some of the birds' arrow feathers and firing them back on the birds. In spite of the Rainbooms combined efforts, the Stymphalian Birds kept on coming.
"There's too many of them!" Spike pointed.
"Well then. RUN FOR YOUR LIFES!" Pinkie Pie shrieks, as the friends all took off running, with the birds giving chase.
"Split up!" Twilight suggested. "They can't follow all of us!"
"No way!" Pinkie Pie protested. "Because then they'll follow me!"
"Why would they follow you?" Applejack asked.
"They always follow me!"
"Stop being paranoid and just do it!" With that, one-by-one, the heroes all went their separate ways until only Pinkie Pie remained to be chased by the birds.
"NOOOOOO!!!!" Pinkie Pie wailed. "I told you they'd follow me!" With that, a chase sequence parody of a cartoon talking dog and mystery sleuthing teenage detectives went underway.
The Rainbooms and friends all ran down the streets of Athens, chased by the robotic Stymphalian Birds. Both Rarity and Applejack ran into a fashion store, where they immediately put on some clothes, while posing themselves as if they were mannequins to fool the birds that were chasing them. After the birds have passed, the two girls quickly ditched their disguises and left, though not before Rarity decided to purchase a few new accessories for herself.
Fluttershy was hiding out in an alley, with Rainbow Dash, behind a dumpster, with the athletic girl peeking out from the side of the dumpster to check if the coast is clear. Without warning, an arrow from one of the birds flew at an intense speed, too fast for the naked eye, nearly piercing Rainbow's hand.
"WHOA!" Before long, the birds were already on the two friends.
Rainbow Dash quickly took Fluttershy by the hand, and dashed off in a blur of multi-colors, while dragging a still petrified Zephyr Breeze along the way.
It wasn't until a frightened pigeon flew into Zephyr's mouth that he finally came to, "What?! What happened?" He spluttered. "Flutter? Rainbows? Where am I? Where are we?" The girls didn't have time to answer as the trio quickly jumped into a fountain.
One of the Stymphalian birds followed, jumping into the water, pecking its beak in search for the girls and boy. It didn't last very long, however, since the waters from the fountain managed to find their way into the bird, causing its gears to rust, until at last it collapsed, onto Zephyr Breeze.
"Get this thing off of me!" Zephyr wheezed, trying to get the robot bird off of him.
Rainbow and Fluttershy both tried to lift the bird up, but it was so too heavy. Then, suddenly, more of the Stymphalian birds attacked.
"We'll be back for ya, Zeph," Rainbow said. "Right now, we gotta make a like a piñata and beat it!" With a rev of her feet, Rainbow Dash took off running with Fluttershy, with the Stymphalian Birds in hot pursuit.
"Wait! You can't leave me here!" Zephyr whined. "Come back! Please come back!" But it was clear, the girls were too far out of earshot to hear Zephyr's desperate plea for help. "Aw phooey..." Zephyr pouted, as he remains trapped underneath the massive robot bird standing atop of him.
Pinkie Pie was randomly hanging upside down, before she pulled herself upright, when she saw Maddie being chased by the birds. The pink eccentric party girl immediately pulled the cursed gorgon into a bakery, where she quickly works her magic, cracking eggs, pouring flours, butters, and all kinds of ingredients into a mixing bowl, before she quickly makes a huge cake that is an exact replica of herself and Medusa.
With that, they both set the cake out, next to a crudely baked cake of the Biskit Twins, before they went into hiding. Shortly after, one of the Stymphalian Birds appeared, when it saw the cakes, immediately thinking they were people. The bird let out a bloodcurdling screech, alerting its friends, and together, a huge flock of the ravenous birds pounced on the cakes, biting and clawing at the baked decoys, ripping them to crumbs.
Watching from underneath the table, Pinkie Pie was disgusted, if not dismay at how the birds were tearing the cakes apart, especially since one of them was modeled after her. She watched as a Stymphalian Bird bit off the head, before it proceeds to tear off the hand in a single gulp, and while two other birds were savagely tugging on a piece of the cake's leg, like two dogs fighting over a bone, and another bird sliced the cake replica of Maddie down the middle with its wings.
"Yeesh!" Pinkie grimaced. "And I thought Twilight was a messy eater."
The feeding frenzy got a lot more messier, when the birds proceed to eat the Biskit Twins' cake. Upon biting the heads off, borscht berry juices erupted from the cakes like blood, spraying into the birds' eyes, and they retaliated by biting into the cake even more aggresively.
"Now that's just disturbing," Pinkie grimaced. "How did Hasbro get away with that again?" The girl asked the readers.
Before the scene could get anymore disturbing, one of Maddie's snakes tugged at Pinkie's hair, getting her attention back on track. The snakes all hissed as they tugged Maddie along, nudging the gorgon to an exit. With that, both gorgon and girl quickly took their leave.
Lastly, Twilight was running blindly with Spike on her head, "Hurry, Twilight!" Spike barked. "They're right behind us!"
"I can't see!" Twilight shrieked. "Your paws are covering up my glass–OOF!"
Twilight and Spike fell to the floor, when they happened to ran into Pinkie Pie, "Owie, owie," Pinkie moaned, before she got up and got a good look at who she ran into. "Twilight?"
"Pinkie?"
"TWILIGHT!?"
"Pink––UGH! What are we doing?" Twilight asked.
"There y'all are!" Applejack sounded, as both she and Rarity joined them, along with Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Maddie.
A loud screech filled the air as the friends looked up to see they were, once again, surrounded by the birds.
"These things just don't give up!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Then I guess this is it!" Fluttershy whimpered. "We're goners!"
"Not yet!" Rarity said, as she activated her geode's power and projected several more crystal shields to protect herself and her friends. Again, the birds rained their arrow feathers at the heroes, with some banging their beaks and claws agains the crystalline shields, "Darlings, do something!" Rarity groaned, as she struggled to keep her shields up. " I can't keep this up any longer!"
"SOMEBODY HELP US!!!" Spike barked.
Then, as if answering Spike's call, help did came, when the Stymphalian Birds were suddenly attacked by two winged assailants. From inside their protective dome, the friends watched as the robotic birds were smashed and torn to pieces by these two newcomers. Soon the birds had enough and immediately flapped their wings, retreating from the fight.
"Yeah!" Rainbow shouted. "Keep flying ya stupid robot chickens!"
"Hello Medusa," A voice greeted the gorgon. "Need some help?"
The Rainbooms all looked up, as Rarity lowered her shields down to see who their new saviors are. In appearance, they looked like living statues of beautiful women, with long sharp bronze claws on their hands and feet, large feathered wings, pointed ears, piercing yellow eyes, and like Medusa, they each have snakes for hairs.
However, one is colored red with a massive python curled around her waist and has a pair of large tusks protruding from her mouth, while the other is colored sea green-blue, and almost appears human than her red counterpart.
Maddie could hardly believed her eyes, "Sssstheno?!" She hissed to the red statue. "Euryale?" She hissed to the other.
"Yes, it's us, little sister," Stheno confirmed, much to everyone's shock.
"And it's good to see you again." Euryale added. "We've missed you for so long!"
Maddie was at a loss for words as the pipes break and tears flooded from her eyes, for she could hardly believe it. Standing before her, are the sisters she thought were long gone. Though not exactly like how they were since she last left them, they are at the very least very much alive.
"Hey, uh, not to ruin a happy reunion or anything," Rainbow Dash began. "But are you two really Maddie's sisters?"
"Maddie?" Stheno snarled, as she towers over Rainbow Dash. "What did you call our sister, mortal?"
"Whoa, whoa, easy there!" Rainbow quickly assured. "I meant no disrespect, it's just a–"
"Stheno, be still!" Euryale said, coaxing her sister to calm down. "I'm sure the rainbow-haired girl meant any disrespect to our dear sister."
"Yeah, yeah! Maddie's just a nickname of ours for your...sister!" Rainbow nodded.
Maddie slithered up before Stheno and vouched, "It'ssss true, sssssissster," Maddie hissed. "They are my friendsssss. They are attempting to free me of my cursssssse."
"Are they now?" Euryale asked, looking at the Rainbooms and Spike, who all responded by waving awkwardly at her skeptic look. "Then you must be the guests of whom Athena has been expecting then?"
The heroes, especially Maddie, could hardly believe their ears, "Th-Th-The Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, is waiting for us?!" Twilight stammered.
"She knew we were coming?" Rainbow asked.
"And she's throwing a welcome party for us?!" Pinkie Pie chirped gleefully.
Stheno and Euryale both exchanged confused glances, "What's a party?" Stheno asked.
Twilight simply giggled as she explains, "Well, in Ancient Greece, what you call a symposium is what we call a party, today."
Euryale simply nodded in acknowledgement, while Stheno shook her head in frustration, "Urgh, we must've been asleep for so long, the world has changed too fast for us," She was further bewildered, when Pinkie Pie came up to her, inspecting her too closely, much to her discomfort. "What are you doing?" She asked.
"I can't quite put it," Pinkie began. "But you almost remind me of my sister, Limestone Pie, from back home," Pinkie then turned to Euryale, "And you're kinda like my sister, Maud Pie, which automatically makes Maddie similar to my sister, Marble Pie!" Pinkie screeched excitedly, as she pulled the cursed gorgon, together with her two sisters, while she center herself in the middle. "GROUP SELFIE!!!" Pinkie Pie screeched, taking a picture of herself with the three bewildered sisters.
"...My," Euryale began. "You are quite the odd one."
"Thank you!" Pinkie Pie smiled.
"Anyway, if we're all done with the conversations," Stheno began. "Shall we seek an audience with Athena? You do want to know where your friend, Sunset Shimmer is, do you not?"
"Oh! Yes!" Fluttershy quickly answered. "Of course we do!"
"Where isssss Sunsssset Shimmer?" Maddie asked. "Do you know where she issss?"
In response, Euryale and Stheno took the lead, "Follow us, if you want to know," Stheno instructed, as she and her sister proceed to guide the heroes the way. "And stay close. With the box opened, there are monsters about. Can't be too careful."
"Don't have to tell us twice," Applejack replied.
"Speaking of which," Twilight began. "What's the story about you two?"
"I beg your pardon?" Stheno asked, sound somewhat irritated.
"Just curious. I mean, from Maddie here, we get why she's...like this. But what happened to you two? How did you end up like this?"
The two sisters turned to each other, looking somewhat troubled for a moment, before Euryale simply answered, "All shall be explained soon enough, with Athena. Now come. There's not much time to waste for your friend."
The Acropolis
The sun was just barely over the horizon, by the time the friends have at last arrived at Athen's most distinguishing landmark, the Acropolis.
They were walking up the steps, with Pinkie Pie enthusiastically taking pictures of the moment, "Wow, you can see all of Athens from up here!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly.
"And over on your right, you can see the Theatre of Dionysus," Twilight lectured.
"A Dio-what?" Applejack asked.
"Dionysus, the Greek God of wine, festivity, and theatre," Twilight explained. "This theatre was built by the Ancient Greece as part of a sanctuary for Dionysus, or Dionysus the Liberator as he was best known for."
"Ooh! Sounds like my kind of god!" Pinkie Pie smiled.
At last, the heroes had reached the top of the Acropolis, where they looked down at all of Athens and were enchanted by the breathtaking view they've got of the city.
"Hey!" Pinkie pointed enthusiastically, with a pair of binoculars. "I think I can see our hotel, all the way from here to Piraeus!"
The other Rainbooms looked around the area, while noting how quiet it is, "You know," Twilight began. "Normally at this time of day, this place would be overwhelmed with tourists."
"Maybe," Applejack replied. "Though with the recent monster attacks, I'm afraid not many people are interested in coming, which could really hurt a lot of businesses here. We better figure out a way to end all this soon, for Sunset's sake, as well as all of Greece, and probably the world."
"Oh my," Fluttershy whimpered. "I know we've dealt a lot of problems with Equestrian Magics before. But for the whole world to be swarming with monsters, I can't bear to think about it!"
As for Medusa, the cursed gorgon slithered along the area, surveying the ruins of the land she once knew, and the world that has changed around her, and her sisters, for the past centuries.
After they've done much exploring around the area, the friends were taken to a large building, surrounded by constructions platforms and a crane in the center.
"I take it that there's the temple of Athena y'all were talking about?" Applejack deduced. "Looks like someone's planning on demolishing this whole place for a big condo, or somethin'."
"On the contrary, Applejack," Twilight began. "This is all part of a big project on restoring the Parthenon to its former glory, after the heavy destructions it took, during the Morean War in 1687."
"Astute as always, Twilight Sparkle," A haunting voice echoed, before revealing itself to be a woman, with an owl perched on her shoulder.
In appearance, the woman is tall and slim, with a long flowing brown hair that swayed gently in the breeze, and piercing silver eyes. For attires, the woman appeared to be dressed in a long silk robe of the olden days of Greece, with the the skirt reaching pass her knee, and she stood adorn in a suit of armor that was worn by warriors of the olden days of Greece.
"Athena!" Twilight gasped, as she and friends gazed at the goddess herself in shock and surprise.
"Yes, it is I," the goddess greeted. "And I've been expecting you all," after a moment of their stupor and coming back to their senses, the Rainbooms, Spike, and Maddie all got down on the floor and bowed their heads respectfully to the goddess. "Please, rise up," Athena beckoned, before she sets her sight on the cursed gorgon. "I was wondering when I would see you again, Medusa. Or would you prefer your other nomenclature, 'Maddie?'"
Startled, the gorgon looked up at the Grey-Eyes Goddess, "How did you know?" she asked.
Turning to her owl companion, giving it a gentle scratch to its feathers, Athena answered, "Let us say I have my ways, and that I've been watching over you for quite some times."
"You were?"
"Then I take it then that ya know why we're here then?" Applejack asked.
"Yes, of course," Athena replied. "You've come searching for answers."
"Yeah, you got that right," Rainbow Dash began. "First off, we would like to know, why did you turn Maddie into a monster in the first place? Or why did those monsters kidnapped Sunset Shimmer? And why–"
"Okay, okay, Dash! Calm down! Just be quiet!" Twilight and the Rainbooms coaxed the athletic girl, before she could escalate the situation any higher than it needed to me. "Please, excuse Rainbow Dash's... enthusiasm, your excellency," Twilight chuckled nervously. "What she meant to say is, what is your take on the whole true story of Maddie?"
"Yeah, and why is she like this?" Applejack added, gesturing to the gorgon's state of being. "And what's with her sisters?"
"And more importantly, where is Sunset Shimmer?" Rainbow asked.
Nodding in acknowledgement from the questions she was given by the girls, Athena looked sternly as she began, "I've been waiting for this day to come. The day when you and the world would at last know the truth. All of it."
"Oh, great. My second favorite part about the adventures," Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Story time."
"I love story time!" Pinkie Pie chirped.