//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven: Common Threat // Story: The Nail // by Boltstrike58 //------------------------------// Fizz and Twilight popped back into existence on the front lawn of Canterlot Castle. The princesses, as well as Shining Armor and Fizz's friends, were still bound in Twilight's magical chains. Fizz stumbled and nearly fell over, looking like she was about to vomit for a minute. "Not used to teleporting, huh?" asked Twilight, looking sympathetically over at her. "Not really," admitted Fizz. For all her unique magic skills, teleportation was one thing Fizz had never quite managed to master. Every time she tried, her horn would just spark some more and burn things around her. Twilight gave a soft smile, before taking a quick look around. She released a horrified sounding gasp, and Fizz followed her gaze to see why. Canterlot was burning. Spike was still clinging to the side of the mountain, but his eyes had become glazed over, and he was breathing streams of emerald fire all over the city. Everywhere, buildings were burning, ponies were screaming in terror, and it was all utter chaos. "Spike! What are you doing?!" Twilight screamed. "Snap out of it!" The dragon did stop breathing fire, but as he turned towards his sister figure, Fizz could tell it wasn't for a good purpose. He inhaled, preparing to release another blast of flame on her, and Twilight was too stunned to react. Thinking quickly, Fizz fired a bolt of lightning that sailed upwards and struck Spike in the eye, dazing him. "What the heck is going on?!" she demanded. "We're not sure!" responded Rainbow Dash. "One minute, he was doing nothing, like Twilight told him to, and the next, he's setting Canterlot on fire! We didn't do anything!" "It's Discord's chaos magic," said Twilight, realization slowly dawning on her face. "He told me that nopony besides him could control it. I thought he was just lying to try and get me to stop, but..." "Uh, maybe we could reflect on what went wrong another time?!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "Because I don't think he's happy!" Indeed, Spike had recovered from Fizz's earlier assault on him, and was now glaring down at the ponies. He lifted one giant claw off the side of the mountain, and reached down to grab the ponies and crush them. Thinking fast, Twilight lit up her horn and magically removed the chains binding the Element bearers and the princesses. Everypony broke free and ran away, avoiding Spike's claw as it slammed into the ground. "This is all my fault," Twilight whimpered. "I'm so sorry!" "Sorry? SORRY?!" shouted Rarity. "Do you have any idea what you've done, you uncouth scoundrel?!" "Hey!" snapped Fizz, jumping in between the two unicorns. "Look, I agree that this is all her fault, but we need to put that aside for now and get this fixed before Spike destroys Canterlot!" "She's right," said Applejack. "We've got work to do!" Twilight lit up her horn again, creating a ball of golden magic at the tip. The ball slowly grew in size, before it shattered into three pieces. The pieces flew towards Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, restoring their magic to its proper place. Celestia and Luna's manes began flowing the way they usually did. "Thank you, Twilight," said Cadence. "We'll help out however we can." Celestia turned to Fizz. "Can you all use the Elements to purge Spike of Discord's magic?" Fizz swallowed. After her little outburst (which she didn't regret, but still), she wasn't sure she was in total harmony with the others, which was one of the requirements for the Elements to work. Without them, she didn't think they could overcome a giant dragon with chaos magic. "I-I guess we could try," she finally said, forcing a smile onto her face. The other five looked at her, their expressions ranging from confused to nervous. "Good," said Luna. "We'll attempt to keep Spike busy. You use the Elements to stop him." All three princesses spread their wings and took off towards the sky. Shining Armor shot a concerned look towards his sister, before charging after them. Twilight made no move to follow, instead slumping where she stood. Fizz turned towards the other Element bearers. "So..." she began, "I guess we have a lot to talk about, huh?" "Y-yeah," replied Fluttershy, quivering on her hooves. Fizz felt a stab of guilt pierce her, knowing how sensitive Fluttershy was. "Look, I'm sorry I lost my temper," she continued. "I could say it was a combination of the stress of being in the middle of a fight, plus the fact that you all have been acting nervous about me more and more, but that's not an excuse. I know none of you meant to offend me by acting the way you did. I'm sorry." "We should apologize as well," said Rarity. "You were right when you said you don't need us to look out for you like that. You're a strong pony, and we should've understood that better." "And we shouldn't just dance around the topic of your horn like you'll explode if we say the wrong thing," added Rainbow Dash. "We said we didn't think less of you, and we meant it." Fizz smiled a little more. "That's good," she replied. "I guess we all have to learn from our mistakes." Satisfied, she turned to Twilight. "Alright. Can you help the princesses distract Spike while we power up the Elements of Harmony?" "Me?!" exclaimed the purple unicorn. "Are you crazy?! I'm the reason this disaster is happening in the first place! Why would you want me to do anything related to stopping it?! What if I just make everything worse?!" "I hate to agree with something so negative," said Applejack, "but she's got a point. Why are we not arresting her right now, anyway?" Fizz sighed. "It's complicated," she answered. "Let's just say it turns out she's not evil, just really, really misguided." She turned back to Twilight. "Look, you made this mess, true, but if you really want to make reparations, that starts with helping clean it up. So get off your rear, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and help!" Twilight swallowed. "Alright, fine. What do you need me to do?" she asked, after a moment's hesitation. "Well, the thing you have to know about the Elements of Harmony is that they can't fire those rainbow lasers over and over again in rapid succession," said Fizz. "They need time to recharge their magic, and so do we. Can you help the princesses keep Spike busy and keep ponies safe?" Twilight nodded. "How long do you need?" Fizz powered up her stump of a horn, probing the Element of Magic to see how much power it had left. "Let's say about fifteen minutes. After that, one blast should be enough to change him back to normal." "I'm on it!" Twilight turned and galloped towards Spike. Fizz breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing we talked over my whole meltdown before doing this. You know, because the Elements don't work if we're not in perfect harmony." "Yeah," agreed Rainbow Dash. "We'd better try and help the ponies in the city while we're waiting." "Good thinking," replied Fizz. "When the fifteen minutes are up, I'll signal the rest of you, and we can finish him off." Spike gave another fierce roar, attempting to blow Celestia, Luna, and Cadence away, but the three alicorns floated firmly in the air. The three of them launched their horn beams at once, where they collided in the air and combined into a single beam. As it flew towards Spike, it transformed into a long, magic tether connected to their horns, and wrapped around his jaws, sealing them shut. Spike grunted in frustration, his mouth opening a few inches at various locations and panting out green flames, but the rope held. He then reached up with his free claw, attempting to rip the tether off his maw, but a magenta-colored dome encased his head, and his fingers bounced off it. Down below, Shining Armor grunted as he struggled to maintain the shield spell. "Keep holding it, honey!" yelled Cadence. "Trying...to!" grunted the unicorn, as he squeezed his eyes shut from the strain. Spike took another poke at the shield, and it started to crack from the strain. Suddenly, a wave of magic, the same color as Shining's, washed over his shield, reinforcing it against Spike's assault. Shining and the princesses looked surprised at the sight, until they saw the familiar unicorn trotting up to Shining. "I got you, BBBFF!" she shouted as her horn flared. "I never forgot that shield spell!" Despite the fact that he was still fighting to keep the barrier from breaking, Shining Armor smiled at his little sister. "Thanks, Twily," he said, quietly. Meanwhile, in the city, Fizz and her best friends were doing their best to minimize the damage and casualties. Fizz and Rainbow Dash, the fastest fliers, had zipped across the nearby sky and gathered every loose cloud they could get their hooves on. Then they mashed the clouds together, forming one big cloud, pushed it over the burning parts of Canterlot, and jumped up and down on it, releasing the rain drops from inside to douse the fire. The other four found themselves tasked with saving as many ponies as they could. Rarity used her magic to snag a hooful of tapestries from the outer gates of the castle, and hurried up to a burning building. Levitating a single tapestry upwards, she placed one end in the window, and the other end on the ground, creating a makeshift slide. Pinkie Pie then produced a hammer and stake, and nailed the bottom in place. "Hurry, girls!" shouted Rarity. She was already rushing off to the next building. "We've got ponies up there!" Fluttershy obeyed without question, flying straight towards the top of the slide. She shielded her face with her hooves, and smashed through the glass window, landing inside the apartment. Looking around, she discovered an adult earth pony mare cowering in the corner, cradling two foals in her forelegs. "It's okay," Fluttershy assured her, coming closer. "Let's get you out of here." The mare still looked afraid, but she nonetheless obeyed, getting to her hooves and passing one of her children to Fluttershy. Then she followed the butter yellow pegasus out the window, sliding down the tapestry, while Fluttershy simply flew down, passing her other foal back once they were both safe. Above the city, Fizz called out to her friends, using a simple spell to amplify her voice. "Earth ponies to seventh! There's a bunch of ponies trapped in the bank! The front arch collapsed, and it looks like the rest of the building is gonna follow!" Indeed, she was correct, but that didn't matter with Applejack and Pinkie on the case. The two earth ponies charged up to the pile of rubble and reached under it with their forelegs. Utilizing every ounce of strength in their bodies, they lifted, creating a passage through which the ponies trapped inside could escape. "Everypony out!"yelled Applejack. "But don't trample each other!" Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash discovered a building where some fire remained burning at the top, despite their impromptu rain shower. It was small, just a one-story house, but there could easily still be ponies inside. Rainbow wasted no time, punching through a window to find a family of three unicorns trapped in the bathroom by debris. "Okay!" she called out, looking around the room for anything she could use. "Everypony in the tub!" Her orders were obeyed quickly, and once the three ponies were inside, Rainbow put her forehooves under the tub. It was heavy, but she managed to lift it up, then carried it out the way she'd come in. Fizz, seeing that her friends had things mostly under control, took another glance at Spike. Shining and Twilight's shield was holding, and the princesses still kept his mouth closed, preventing more fires from breaking out. But she knew they couldn't keep it up forever, and going by the look of insanity in his eyes, he wasn't getting any more control over the chaos magic. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that about ten of the fifteen minutes she'd allotted had passed. Fizz cursed quietly, wishing time would go faster. Suddenly, Spike stopped scratching at the barrier, and snapped the fingers on his free hand. Remembering what had happened the last time he did so, Fizz's eyes widened in fear, wondering what effect he'd caused. As it turned out, she didn't have to wonder for long. A large ball of rubber chickens, about the size of a carriage, suddenly materialized over Canterlot, and dropped into the city. Fizz started to laugh, until the chickens suddenly stood up, and opened their mouths, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth. "Oh, come on," she groaned. "Stupid chaos magic. Even Discord never made things that attack ponies." The chickens were clustered in a small area around Canterlot's restaurant row, so that's where Fizz flew. She landed in the center, and immediately lit up her stump. Several rubber chickens, who were evidently looking for a snack, charged her, but found themselves vaporized by bolts of lightning. "You need a hoof there?" asked Rainbow, as Fizz seized another chicken by the throat and slammed it into the sidewalk. "No, I got this," insisted Fizz. She turned around and bucked three chickens, scattering them like bowling pins. "You just make sure none of the ponies fleeing come this way." "On it!" replied Rainbow, before she zoomed off. Fizz smiled a little, before a chicken bit her leg, and was promptly zapped by her horn. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were running out of magic. The strain of making a tether strong enough to keep Spike's massive jaws closed, plus the fact that they had to keep flapping their wings to stay aloft, was beginning to get to them. Down on the ground, Shining and Twilight were in a similar situation. Spike had gone back to scratching at the barrier that encircled his face, and cracks were beginning to form. Twilight and Shining had nearly fallen to their knees from stress. "Can't...hold...much...longer..." whimpered Twilight. "Hold firm!" yelled Princess Luna. "Just a bit longer...!" But her words proved to be in vain. Spike reached back with his free hand, and drove his claws as hard as possible through the shield, piercing it like a javelin through glass. Twilight and Shining both screamed in pain as the magic backlash went down their horns directly into their brains, and fell to the ground. With the shield gone, Spike grabbed the magic chain with two fingers, and ripped through it as though it were made of straw. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were nearly knocked out of the sky. Spike, free at last, turned his sights towards Canterlot, and opened his mouth, preparing another mighty gush of flame. He would've burned the entire city to the ground in one blast, had he not heard a faint, "Hey! You big meanie!" Annoyed, the dragon turned once more. There, flying above the city, were Fizz (holding Applejack), Rainbow (holding Pinkie), and Fluttershy (holding Rarity). Fluttershy was the one who'd made the call, and she was giving Spike the full force of the Stare. Unfortunately, in Spike's current condition, he didn't feel the effects. "Now, girls!" shouted Fizz, powering up the Element of Magic. A rainbow thread emerged from within the gem set in the crown, linking the element to Loyalty and Kindness, and then to Laughter, Generosity, and Honesty. The six mares floated in midair as the rainbow line of power began to charge, preparing to blast Spike with the full force of Harmony itself. Spike noticed this, of course, and turned his maw towards them, preparing to incinerate them. However, a single beam of magenta magic blasted him in the eye, drawing his attention once again. "There..." breathed Twilight. "That's...all I've got..." The eyes of Fizz, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack all snapped open, and they were pure white. From their bodies came a blast of magic, all the colors of the rainbow, that stretched towards the sky, and came down like a waterfall, aimed directly at Spike. The dragon barely had time to look up before the beam hit him directly in the eyes, and went inside his body, zapping him and making him roar in pain. He lost his grip on the side of the mountain, but he didn't fall. Instead, he floated in place, and from out of his mouth came Discord's chaos magic, which zipped through the air before flying back towards the top of the mountain, where Discord presumably still was. Meanwhile, Spike's body was shrinking back down to its original size. The downside of this was that he dropped like a rock, plummeting towards the bottom of Mount Canter. Fortunately for him, Fizz noticed this right away, and, after depositing Applejack on the ground, rocketed towards him. She just barely managed to snag him out of the air before he fell too far. Looking down at the dragon, Fizz saw that he'd passed out from the harmony beam. She made a quick u-turn, and flew him back upwards, towards Twilight. "Spike!" Twilight wheezed, struggling to get to her hooves. Shining Armor placed himself against her side so she wouldn't fall. Fizz came to a stop in front of them, and laid Spike on the ground. "I think...he's okay," she panted. It was clear the day's efforts had taken a toll on her, too. She could barely stand. The other Element Bearers all scurried over to her, though they were exhausted as well. "So...that's it? It's over?" asked Applejack. Fizz looked over at Canterlot City. Though their efforts had reduced the casualties and contained the damage to a few blocks, several buildings were still charred black, and fire damage had caused them to cave in in certain areas. "Maybe not..." she muttered, looking over at Twilight.