//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9: "Cut To The Windmill Chase" 
// Story: The Elements of Harmony 
// by MarcellusMiro66 
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Unbeknowst to all the parties in pursuit of the ponies, Twilight and the group managed to escape from Capper's residence a long time ago, the cat himself trailing behind with his associate and Smolder as they tried to make their way to the docks, which contained a large array of airships used to transport goods in and out of the city. The group had to keep calm, be careful, and remain unnoticed at all times...but this proved much easier said than done when they, a large of multicolored mares (plus a cat, a dragon, and a hooded mercenary), were the fugitives in question. Sure enough, the moment a Klugetowner spotted them, all bets were off.

"Hey! There they are!"

The group took off in a sprint as the creatures began climbing the wooden and metal scaffoldings in an attempt to claim their prizes. Knowing that teleportation with a large amount of people was quite a risk, the unicorns of the group turned their focus to getting the bad guys off their tail. Trixie and Starlight used their horns to levitate the lightweight creatures and harmlessly toss them away while Twilight shot concussive blasts, the latter (Starlight) eventually joining her with her own magic blasts that were slightly on par with hers. On the other hand, while giving it her all, Sunset was not entirely used to wielding a magical horn in her unicorn form, let alone having one in her head. As such, she decided to throw punches and kicks as she would in the human realm, a similar tactic taken up by Photo Finish and Apple Cobbler, both of whom were Earth Ponies who lacked the horns necessary to perform magic.


I mildly curse this pony world for not having guns...or swords...or even bows and arrows.


Suddenly, the scaffolding began to wobble under the extra weight that was the rest of the Klugetowners, even if there was metal implemented in certain points. In addition, while he was trying to help, Capper did not help their situation by grabbing a piece of wood and metal respectively and using them both as improvised melee weapons, smacking them away as they fell to the ground. Nevertheless, the Klugetowners persisted and pursued the ponies and their partners.

Watching the chase unfold from a distance, Tempest Shadow gestured Lightning Dust and the three Changelings to take flight as Grubber groaned and lamented, "Sometimes, I wish I can fly."

"Sometimes, your wish is granted," Tempest smirked deviously.

"Wha--?"

Grubber was suddenly snatched and hurled into the air, flying past Lightning Dust and the Changelings (which is a 20% cool name for a band by the way) and then the group when he smashed into the scaffolding, causing it to completely collapse, but not before leaning forward and smashing into the second scaffolding, which the group leapt onto. Even so, the Klugetowners continued the chase, joined by Verko and his lackeys.

"These ponies better shoot rainbow lasers out their eyes if they're gonna settle your debt, Capper!" Verko cackled in the distance as he turned his attention to his heavies, "Bring the big cage and let's load 'em up!"

The Klugetowners who pledged their allegiance to Verko climbed up the second scaffolding a little faster, causing the fleeing group to step up their game. Even Sunset, who had trouble mastering the usage of her horn and was feeling the pressure and possibility of being reduced to a prisoner of captivity weighing down upon her, managed to get the hang of it as the pursuers picked up the pace. Blasting them off and tossing them away, she also tossed in a few of her signature punches and kicks for good measure.

"Capper, where exactly are the docks?" Twilight called out for their feline f(r)iend.

"A few miles from where we currently are!" Capper drummed in the heads of a few less-than-fortunate Klugetowners, "but the last ships leave in exactly fifteen minutes!"

"This chase is going to last for twenty if we don't lose the Klugetowners!" Sunset kicked away one of the aforementioned citizens, "We need a diversion, and we need it now!"

A flurry of ideas swirling in her head, Starlight's eyes widened, "Ohh! Trixie! You're a stage magician, right? Do you have anything in that satchel to provide a quick getaway?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Trixie smirked in acknowledgement as she dug through her satchel and produced a group of miniscule balls, "A-ha!"

Suddenly, the scaffolding was slammed into Mori, who had returned with a vengeance under the false impression that Capper and Tempest had presumably proposed an alliance, thereby leaving the rest of his fellow Klugetowners to be hung up to dry. Given their present circumstances, Capper would probably not enough time to explain the situation to Mori, and even if he did, the larger creature would probably choose not to listen to the smaller creature...but not without reason.

Trixie managed to catch herself just as Photo Finish leapt over a Klugetowner and kicked him away, "Trixie, Starlight... Is there a plan or not?"

"Or at least something resembling it?" Apple Cobbler tossed another off.

"Absolutely!" Trixie smirked and called over to Tempest, "Hey, Hornless! You have messed with the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

With that and an accompanying shout, just in time for Mori for knock them off the scaffolding with one last shove, Trixie hurled the balls at Tempest, who thought quickly (perhaps too quickly) and blasted them with her broken horn. The blast hit the balls one by one, causing them to explode and create a big-enough smokescreen to conceal the group, who fell down to the ground and still managed to land on their hooves (feet in the case of Capper and Smolder).  

"Smoke bombs?" Starlight chuckled in admiration, "Nice!"

"A favorite amongst us stage magicians!" Trixie could not help but boast.

"Stay close and stay low!" Twilight called out to the group, "We have to get to the docks!"

Twilight's group (Capper, Smolder, and the hooded associate included) took off and carefully navigated their way through the mist, leaving their enemies and pursuers to panic blindly in the dust. The smokescreen could not possibly last long so they had to pick up the pace much faster. Unfortunately, them taking their time to traverse the mist allowed for Lightning Dust and the three Changelings to catch up with them.

"Salutations, Sparkle," The Pegasus giggled in derision under her breath.

"L-Lightning Dust?" Twilight gasped out in horror upon taking a closer look at the former Wonderbolt, specifically her new metal wings. Sunset was horrified as well, but for an entirely different reason. Even before she succumbed to the peer pressure and the "Anon-A-Miss" witch hunt, the human Lightning Dust was already a jerk back in her home dimension, despite her displaying a few acts of kindness throughout. Here? She was now a bloodthirsty Pegasus with the intent to kill, armed with metallic wings to boot...or hoof?

"Oh, so you do remember me?" Lightning Dust maintained her faux friendly attitude for a little longer before dropping it in favor of a scowl of scorn, "Good. You should, because this face...is the last thing you and your friends will ever see."

"Wow," Sunset could not help but groan and let slip, "You always had a way with cliched comminations and perilous platitudes, Lightning Dust."

"I don't even know what that means, but I can tell that's an insult. May I have the pleasure of learning your name before I put you out of your misery?"

"Sunset Shimmer. We've met before under...different circumstances."

"Hmm. Sunset Shimmer? I don't remember meeting you prior...and I doubt I'll remember killing you prior."

With that, Lightning Dust hurled her metallic wings, which flew off her back and towards the group, shocking Twilight to the point where she almost forgot to place a shield up. Fortunately, Sunset came through and placed a shield of her own in her place. Unfortunately, though, the sharpened wings nearly pierced through the shield not because she was rather flimsy in her magic, but also her wings were glowing green. Whatever was the cause of her wings glowing green was also the cause of them penetrating the shield. Placing more focus on her strength and magic, Sunset nonetheless expanded the shield enough to where the wings were deflected and sent back to Lightning, who performed a dramatic spin and attached the pieces back on her back.

Despite landing no hits on the group, Lightning Dust smirked at her new and improved wings at their first official usage and offered a simple-enough explanation, "You like the upgrade? My Commander Tempest laced my new wings with Obsidian essence that, for a simple-enough explanation, breaks the spell of an individual's shield. In short, you little ponies are doomed."

"Never!" Photo Finish suddenly shouted as she galloped forward despite the protests of the main group, "You'll never take us alive!"

Wielding her trusty camera, Photo Finish took a picture of Lightning Dust's shocked and confused face, temporary blinding her as well, providing an easy distraction for her to leap up and kick her in the face, sending her flying backwards towards Pharynx, who was knocked down with her. Having leapt out of the way in time, Thorax and Ocellus charged after the group, changing into Twilight and Sunset when they ran ahead and leaped in front of their path. After brief confusion, Twilight blasted Thorax from head to hoof, exposing his Changeling appearance.

"What the-?" Photo Finish clutched her camera as she now cowered behind Apple Cobbler, "How is this possible?"

"They're Changelings, remember?" Twilight reminded them.

"They're Changelings, remember?" Thorax and Ocellus repeated her in Twilight's form, causing the unicorn to groan and blast them back, leading the charge once again.

"We have to split up!" Twilight shouted, "That way we can lead them off track before we make our way to the docks!"

"But that will just give them a chance to pick us off one by one!" Sunset protested back.

"We don't have much of a choice!"

"Oh... Fine! Capper, go with Starlight and Trixie! Smolder, go with Photo Finish and Apple Cobbler! You, come with us!"

Beneath his hood, the associate rolled his eyes before galloping beside Twilight and Sunset, splitting up from the main group. 

Photo Finish, Apple Cobbler, and Smolder watched each other's backs as they navigated the mist.

"Excuse me?"

All three of them jumped in fright as they turned to face Ocellus, whose facial expression was one of empathy and regret, "My name is Ocellus, and I just want to take this opportunity to apologize for all the trouble my group is causing you. I hope you realize that I'm just doing my job."

"Well, of course I do, Ocellus," Apple Cobbler kneeled down to her level, "I can only imagine this Queen Chrysalis is mad at you and your fellow Changelings."

"Honestly, it's preferable to being ignored. Listen, you two need to leave."

"What do you honestly think we're trying to do?" Photo Finish scoffed, "We're trying to get to the docks, young Changeling."

"Uh..." Ocellus thought hard, "From what I remember, it should be at the end of Klugetown. Your group is heading in the right direction, just take another left."

"Thanks for the help, partner," Apple Cobbler smiled in gratitude, "Stay safe. Come on, you two!"

"Good luck!" Ocellus called out after them as they left just as Thorax flew in.

"Come on, Ocellus!" The older Changeling beckoned her along as they continued the chase.

Meanwhile, Starlight, Trixie, and Capper found themselves in a darkened alleyway.

"Okay, The Great and Powerful Trixie is trapped in a dark, disgusting alleyway with her apprentice facing absolute, sudden death. What can possibly go wrong?"

"Everything and anything. Wait...since when I was your apprentice?"

"Since a few days ago."

"A few days ago was when the invasion began."

"My point still stands."

Unfortunately, so caught up in her conversation was Trixie that she failed to notice her satchel was caught on a snag of a windmill, thus pulling upward.

"Gah! Starlight! Capper!"

"Trixie!" Starlight and Capper called out for her friend, unintentionally catching the attention of more than a few Klugetowners, who rushed to claim their prizes. Left with no other choice, the feline con artist helped the helitropic unicorn up to chase after her azure friend, who was still hanging on for dear life. The Klugetowners continuously spun the windmill in a vain attempt to snatch the two unicorns. It was this attempt at a smash-and-grab that an idea began to form in the heads of Starlight and Capper.

A crazy, stupid idea.

Meanwhile, Twilight, Sunset, and the hooded associate made their way out of the mist and scanned their surroundings. They had reached the end of Klugetown, which comprised of the town hanging precariously from the cliff of a canyon. 

"It seems that I have gravely underestimated you and your friends."

The three of them turned around in dread. Emerging from the mist was Commander Tempest Shadow, her eyes glowing vivid red from the influence of the Alicorn Amulet, a fact that Twilight noted with abject horror.

"I must say I'm impressed. Let's just hope that your skills would prove useful under the Storm Guard."

"Not a chance, Commander Tempest," Twilight placed up a brave front, "I will never join you."

"Suit yourself, little pony," Tempest chuckled under her breath as her horn began to charge up.

"HIYA!"

Before she can blast the trio, however, she was kicked away by a pair of hooded ponies and sent flying into a bushel of barrels. They turned to face the three stunned silent ponies, unmasking themselves and revealing their identities to them.

"Mom?! Dad?!"

"Twilight!" Twilight Velvet and Night Light rushed forward and shared a hug with their daughter, who immediately pulled away out of suspicion.

"Wait!" Twilight's horn glowed, "How do I know it's you two?"

"You turned me and Night Light into an agave and a cactus when you were just a filly enrolling in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Twilight Velvet hastily responded, "A Changeling wouldn't know that."

Twilight's breathing briefly stopped, "It is you, Mom. How are you and Dad here?"

"We were on the way to the wedding when the invasion started," Night Light took off his cloak, revealing the black suit he wore in preparation for the wedding, "It's a miracle we're even here."

"These are your parents, Twilight?" Sunset gaped in shock, "They're hot!"

"Why, thank you, young miss!" Twilight Velvet fluffed up her mane, "And you are?"

"Sunset Shimmer, a new friend of your daughter's. It's a long story."

"We'll have time," Night Light nodded in understanding, "Where are we going, Twilight?"

"We need to get to the docks! Come on!"

As Twilight's mini group rushed to the docks, Capper tied one end of a rope to one sail and tossed the other end with a hook to a wooden pillar.

"Now what?"

"Now run counterclockwise!" Starlight called out as she, Trixie, and Capper took off in that direction. As they did, the rope began rounding around the windshaft, an action unintentionally aided by the Klugetowners. 

"Now hang on!"

Eventually stretching the rope to its absolute limit, the windmill eventually wound back clockwise as the three of them hung on for dear life. Snapping off the shaft, the windmill sail spun, jumped, and rolled throughout Klugetown, running over many Klugetowners in the process, including Verko, whose last moments consisted of looking up at the instrument of death. Spotting this, Photo Finish and Apple Cobbler ran beside it before jumping on to join them, the both of them holding back the urge to vomit.

"We're..."

"...gonna..."

"...be..."

"...sick!"

Catching up with Twilight's group, Tempest's group caught notice of the windmill and ran after it just as it caught up with Twilight's group.

"Twilight!" Starlight called out for her, "Hop aboard!"

Taking a mere moment to process the craziness of the contraption, Twilight and her group jumped aboard, appropriately at the same time Tempest's group jumped. The Storm King's Commander fired magical blasts at the main combined group, prompting Twilight Velvet and Night Light to shield their daughter while Starlight and Trixie fire back. Their little firefight gradually tore up the windmill as it rolled all the way to the docks. Twilight, her parents, Capper, Smolder, the spy, Apple Cobbler, and Photo Finish worked together to steer the windmill while it garnered momentum.

At the docks, one of the captains of the departing skyships, a female anthropomorphic parrot, watched the chase unfold through her telescope from the quarterdeck alongside her first mate. Shaking her head, he nodded his own and commanded the crew to finish loading. At that moment, the windmill reached the docks just as Tempest, Starlight, and Trixie fired one more blast that collided each other and exploded, blowing the already dilapidated windmill apart, sending the two groups flying in opposite directions. Tempest's group were blown backward to Klugetown while Twilight's group were blown forward to the ship, crashing into the lower decks where boxes were being held. Unfortunately, the blast was not enough to propel Starlight and Trixie forward along with them, sending the both of them into freefall.

"GUYS!"

"Trixie! Starlight!"

Without thinking, Smolder jumped out of the ship and flew after them, prompting the spy to follow her down and exposing his true identity. He was a male Pegasus with a brilliant gamboge coat, a moderate sapphire blue mane that was two different shades, and a pair of vivid cornflower blue eyes, the left side covered by a black eyepatch. Snatching up Trixie at the same time Smolder snatched up Starlight, the both of them flew back to the ship and dropped them off, taking a much needed breather while at it.

While Twilight and Sunset both gaped at the reveal of the spy, the latter's reason was more personal than the former's. His identity was all too familiar to her.


No... No, It can't be...

Flash Sentry...?