//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Ponyville Part 1 // Story: The Phantom Filly // by Lucar //------------------------------// It was quite the sight for the ponies of Appleloosa to see thirty futuristic airships fly above their town. Unbeknown to them, they were lucky that the armada passed without paying attention to the little town. The armada then went to the Everfree Forest, and in a few minutes, they traversed it, and the first pony of Ponyville who spotted them in the distance was Rainbow Dash as she was in the middle of bucking some clouds. She paled. "Oh, buck!" Twilight was in her underground lab, rereading some notes. She could feel it, she was getting closer to make a perfect one. She could finally make one stable enough to be safely used, she just needed to find a way to get rid of that annoying defect, making that only the first user of one could use this same one. Then Rainbow slammed open the door, barreled down the stairs, and yelled, "Twilight! Twilight! Eggman's robots are coming! Come quick!" First annoyed that one of her friends suddenly entered her lab while she was busy, she was then horrified at what she heard. Eggman's army was coming? Here, to attack Ponyville? Or maybe even to attack Canterlot? "I'm coming! Go first to warn as many ponies to shelter in basements as possible! And try to gather our friends!" "Aye!" Rainbow flew out of the basement and out of the library to do as she was told. Meanwhile, Twilight took a pouch and put it in it. "Scootaloo! Look!" shouted Sweetie Belle as she pointed through a window of the clubhouse, turned to the Everfree Forest (the forest wasn't visible behind the apple trees), in panic. Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked out the window and saw the many red airships approaching in the distance. "Oh no..." said Scootaloo in horror before she quickly turned to her friends. "Go to the Apples' basement! This will be ugly!" After saying this, she transformed into Zero and flew through the window toward the airships. She rapidly reached them, and as she charged toward the first one, she started spinning. With her body, she then pierced the ship from bow to stern, destroying it. The other airships fired at her, forcing Scootaloo to maneuver to avoid all the projectiles while she approached a second airship, materialized a sword, and cut it clean in half. Hundreds of flying robots came out of the ships to stop her, but she easily destroyed them as she went to a third airship and threw at its bridge a very powerful bomb that she created, destroying the bridge and damaging the ship so much that it started to drop to the forest below. Scootaloo then manipulated the gravity of a fourth ship to make it crash on two other ships. Already six ships down. It would be fast, but she knew that Discord will probably appear anytime now to stop her. But then, as she charged toward another ship to cut it, she saw an electrified drill coming from above and barely avoided it with a teleport. When she appeared, she flew rapidly while moving left and right to avoid more drills. The attacks eventually stopped, and Scootaloo looked up, then quickly teleported a few steps back to avoid being rammed by something huge and red. Scootaloo was now facing a red mecha even bigger than the Death Egg Robot, seemingly designed after a dragon, with a bulky torso with many highlights, spiked shoulders, disembodied flamed wings made of blue energy, a drill for a left arm, a huge six-barreled cannon for a right arm, and a lower belly much smaller ending with two talons-like cannons for feet, and a tail. There were two cockpits: one as the head, and another above the feet, between two protrusions. There was also a glass dome in the lower belly. EGG MAGICAL DRAGOON In the head's cockpit, there was Eggman. "Eggman?! You're the one fighting me?!" shouted Scootaloo. "I thought it would be Discord! Again!" "Ahahahaah! Not this time! Discord will be busy dealing with your little quadrupedal friends!" "Oh no... They've no chance against Discord!" She was about to fly back toward Ponyville, where the airships had continued to advance, only for the mecha to teleport in front of her, blocking the way. "Where do you think you're going?!" shouted Eggman. "Don't think you will get away from me! This mecha is the pinnacle of years of research that I received from my future self! And I modified it with the magic of this world to make it even more powerful! This time, not even this Infinite guy in you will be able to destroy it! I will defeat you and get my hands on the powers of the ruby! And this world, and many others, will be mine! Nothing will stop me!" "I will stop you!" "You're as bad as Sonic! Don't you remember what happened the last time?! Don't be so confident!" "A lot happened since the last time! This time, I'm ready!" shouted Scootaloo before she looked worriedly toward Ponyville. Hold on, everypony. I deal with him, and I'm coming. "Then let's see if you're ready against this!" Watch out. It's an Egg Dragoon. Eggman wasn't joking about it being the pinnacle of his technology, warned Infinite. Magical energy charged at the two big spikes on the shoulders, and they fired toward the sky, exploding into dozens of huge magical beams that rained all over the area. Scootaloo flew around to avoid the magical beams while Eggman charged more magical energy in the spikes and unleashed it as dozens of smaller beams that homed in on her while he started to fire fireballs with the arm cannon. Scootaloo teleported to avoid the homing beams, then charged toward the cockpit, hitting it only to hit a protective shield. The Egg Dragoon teleported, and Eggman moved to the lower cockpit, starting to control the feet. From them, he fired ice waves while firing powerful magical beams from the protrusion. Scootaloo slalomed between the waves and the beams while approaching, only for the tail to suddenly fire a burst of electricity, electrifying her. While she was stunned, the tail then slapped her, and Eggman returned to the head cockpit to fire a drill at her. She recovered and avoided the drill, only for it to chase her, and Scootaloo had to destroy it with an energy beam, then quickly teleported to avoid a stream of fire from the arm cannon. "Maybe I should leave it to you..." Scootaloo told Infinite. Better this way. You became strong, but this mecha is on another level. In an instant, Scootaloo and Infinite switched control, Infinite's mask appearing on the head. Eggman immediately teleported behind him, drill ready to gore him. Infinite teleported and slashed at the Egg Dragoon with his sword, only for the Egg Dragoon to teleport away. The mecha then continued to teleport around randomly, leaving at each teleportation a magical ball that slowly floated toward Infinite, exploding after a few seconds. As Infinite avoided the explosive balls, Eggman stopped teleporting and fired the cannon, many bursts of magical beams homing in on him while also firing an electrified homing drill. Infinite destroyed the drill while avoiding the rest, then teleported beside the Egg Dragoon and slashed, only for his sword to barely cut it, the robot revealing to be even more resistant because of a defensive magical boost. As I thought! You must focus on the cockpits! shouted Scootaloo. Before he could do so, the Egg Dragoon teleported away. Cursing, Infinite sent Phantom Cubes toward the mecha, getting more serious as the mecha began to use magic to create and gather storm clouds, the clouds firing lightning bolts at him while partially masking what Egg Dragoon was doing. At least, some of the cubes hit the mecha, trapping it in a reality where laser cannons fired at its cockpits, but the protective shield around it revealed to be extremely resistant too. As Eggman cackled at this, Infinite cursed again. "This will be a long battle." Leave the clouds to me! I know how to get rid of them! So Infinite let Scootaloo taking control of their body, the filly getting rid of the mask (still not used to it). While the change happened, a lightning bolt hit her, but she quickly recovered and avoided the many other lightning bolts while approaching the clouds. Partially masked by the clouds, the Egg Dragoon began to use its feet to fire ice waves at her while firing magical arrows from the protrusions beside the lower cockpit. Scootaloo had to teleport a lot to avoid them while she kicked the clouds, destroying them. Once enough clouds were destroyed, she sent Phantom Cubes at the Egg Dragoon only for it to teleport. She knew it would happen, so she sent cubes in all directions, and some of them hit the mecha as it reappeared. It was then sent to a reality where it was surrounded by a very dense fog, and Eggman couldn't see Scootaloo coming as she charged at the lower cockpit and rammed it, followed by replicas of her doing the same. In total, the cockpit was hit five times at a speed superior to sound, and yet, the surrounding shield still resisted as the Egg Dragoon returned to the normal reality. Then, the Egg Dragoon's wings quadrupled in size, the blue energy becoming magical energy, and it charged toward Scootaloo. She flew up to avoid it, only for the Egg Dragoon to teleport, and it appeared just above her. Not prepared for this, it rammed her with one of the wings. However, she still managed to grab the wing, and she threw the mecha to the ground. Despite the wings being disembodied, they still seemed attached to the main body by some force. The mecha teleported back, and Scootaloo let Infinite take control again as the Egg Dragoon did the magical beam rain while firing fireballs from the arm cannon and lightning bolts from the drill. Twilight came out of the library as the airships reached the edge of the Everfree Forest and dropped hundreds of robots while firing at the buildings. In just a few seconds, Ponyville passed from a peaceful little town to Tartarus, buildings burning, ponies running left and right to find shelter or escape, and equestrian soldiers and robots guarding the town readying themselves for the oncoming enemy robots. As robots dropped directly on the streets, she attacked them, protecting the ponies. Before long, she saw Tirek drop from one of the airships at the edge of the town, and as she advanced toward his position, she was joined one by one by her friends. "Don't come with me!" she ordered. "Tirek is in this direction! You would be drained! Just continue to fight the robots and protect the ponies" "Where's Scootaloo?!" asked Applejack. Fluttershy pointed toward the Everfree Forest, where they could see Scootaloo, as Zero, battling a giant red dragon-like mecha. "Occupied..." "Wait? She isn't fighting Discord? Then where is he?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she looked around. "I found Discord!" shouted Pinkie as she pointed at a draconequus wearing a red and white striped shirt, a similar bobbled hat, blue jean, brown boots, round glasses, and a cane partially hidden in the chaos. "D'oh! How did you find me so quickly?!" shouted Discord. "Because you stood out too much!" answered Pinkie. "YOU!!!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she charged toward Discord in rage. Discord materialized a red cape that he put on the path of Rainbow, and moved it at the last second while moving to the side with an "Olé!" Rainbow found herself entering a cannon, and Discord appeared behind it disguised as an officer, holding the rope of the cannon. "Fire!" He pulled on the rope, making the cannon fire Rainbow Dash right back at the ponies. She was caught in Twilight's magic before she could ram anything or anypony. "Are you alright, Rainbow?" asked the alicorn. Rainbow Dash sighed in relief. "Yes, thanks." The ponies then turned back toward Discord, glaring at him in anger. "Ooh. We could cut the tension," said the draconequus. "And I think you know perfectly why," said Twilight. "Hey! It's not my fault that I betrayed you, it's your fault!" "Say that again?! How can it be our fault?! Ya betrayed us!" yelled Applejack. "Because I'm the Spirit of Chaos. I don't know if you remember. Chaos is in my nature. It's part of me. And yet, you who wanted me to become your friend, you hated it. Each time that I used it, it annoyed you! You refused it!" "I... didn't mind it... as long as it didn't do any harm..." said Fluttershy. Discord looked visibly guilty for a second and quickly turned his head to not face her. "You were the only one with Pinkie. And even then, I felt very... limited." "It's part of being friends," Said Twilight. "You have to control yourself to not hurt the ponies around you, and it means imposing some limits." "And yet, despite me imposing myself those limits, outside of Fluttershy and Pinkie, none of you accepted me." "You weren't helping too, like when you faked this sickness and spread it to the entire town," Said Rarity. "I was still learning! Okay? A Thousand years of being me doesn't go away in a few days. I was new to that friendship stuff. And again, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but mainly Fluttershy, were the only ones who supported me." "Then why?" asked Fluttershy. "Like I said... I felt too restricted, even by you. When Tirek told me that he would become my friend and leave me to do all the chaos I want, giving back the freedom I lost among you, I couldn't refuse." Discord showed them the medallion around his neck. "He even trusted me enough to give me this medaillon that was given to him by his own brother." "So... You didn't like the time we passed together?" asked Fluttershy as her expression became somber. "I... liked it... But..." "Is it worth it? Is your chaos worth all that suffering that your new 'friends' are spreading?" she asked as she advanced. "The animals imprisoned and used to power the robots? The ponies hurt? Captured and enslaved? Drained of their magic? Becoming miserable?" "Fluttershy?" called Twilight. Hearing her, Fluttershy turned her head toward her, showing her tear-stained face, her anger, her pain... "You... want to have a 'talk' with Discord, right?" asked the lavender mare. "Then take this." She gave Fluttershy a pouch. "You will probably need it." She then looked at Discord. "What you said about us was right. We were... too hard on you. I'm sorry... for failing you." Fluttershy looked at what was inside the pouch, and her eyes widened. Understanding what was in it, she nodded at Twilight in thanks and advanced again toward Discord. "What did you give her?" asked Rainbow. Twilight smirked at her. "The result of my research." "Mmh... I don't know what you have in mind, but..." Discord snapped his fingers, and the ponies were all trapped in cages, without horns or wings. "You will all come with me. You caused too many problems to Eggman and Tirek." Fluttershy dropped the content of the bag on her hoof, revealing what was inside to be a magenta icosahedron ruby with black ripple patterns along its surface, small enough to fit on her hoof. Then, with a familiar sound, space distorted, and suddenly, the cages were erased, and the wings and horns returned on everypony. Actually, a horn also appeared on Fluttershy's forehead. Discord's jaw dropped, and his eyes popped out of their sockets. The same for the ponies, less literally, excepted for Twilight who bounced in joy, shouting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Twilight then stopped and looked at her friends. "Let's go. Fluttershy can deal with Discord. I'll stop Tirek while you go destroy the robots. Explanations later!" she finished just as her friends were about to ask something. "Oh! Right! Fluttershy! Watch out what you do with this ruby! Its energy is limited, and slowly recharges with time! So avoid using too much of its powers at once!" "Understood," replied Fluttershy as she glared at Discord. Twilight nodded, "Let's go," she told her friends before she flew toward Tirek. The other ponies nodded and separated to fight the robots. When they were gone, Fluttershy began to talk. "Discord... I'm sorry for what I'm about to do... But you leave me no choice... I must save everyone." She looked at him sadly. "Maybe I can even save you..." Discord shook his head, recovering from his surprise, and said, "Save me? I don't need to be saved!" "That's what you think..." Discord looked at Fluttershy, then closed his eyes and lowered his head in sadness. DISCORD He then readied his claw to snap. Rainbow didn't go far before a familiar hedgehog robot appeared in front of her, stopping her. "Oh? You want more?" asked Rainbow Dash. Metal Sonic readied himself. "Very well. Time for me to kick your shiny metal butt for the second time." "WAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIT!!!" a yell suddenly interrupted them. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie came out of nowhere, flying on the back of one of those Eggman-looking robots, and jumped down, leaving the robot to crash into a building. "You already had your boss fight, Dashie! My turn!" "What? Uh... Are you sure? This robot is very strong and fast and... Right. That's you. Alright, have your fun!" She turned back to Metal Sonic. "Sorry buddy! Maybe next time!" At this, she flew to the nearest robot. Metal Sonic was beginning to follow her, only to be tripped by one of Pinkie's hooves, making it faceplant on the ground. "Oops. Silly hoof getting in the way," said Pinkie with an innocent smile. Metal Sonic made a sound like growling and got up to face the pink pony. METAL SONIC Spreading its arms, hands open facing up, it then created two magical balls. "Hey! You got magical powers! So cool!" Metal Sonic threw the balls at her. Twilight reached Tirek, the centaur draining two Royal Guards at once while destroying an equestrian robot. He had changed a little since last time. He had almost doubled in size, his horns were much longer, and his skin had turned from red to magenta. As Tirek spotted her, Twilight gulped. TIREK If only she had created a second stable Phantom Ruby Prototype...