//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Don't Get Close // Story: M̸y̶ ̸L̴i̶t̸t̶l̴e̶ C̵o̸r̷r̴u̶p̶t̶e̷d̸-P̵o̴n̴y̷ // by ScorchingFlamesInc //------------------------------// It was another long trip across the sky. Nothing was different aside from the destination everyone was going to. Other than that, it all remained the same. The tempting feeling of sleep began to crawl on half of the group, including Spike. Even after all the tension, stimulation, chaos, and insanity, some of them couldn’t help but feel tired. “Is the ruby buried somewhere in Griffonstone?” Spike asked. Chrysalis picked up the book and went through the pages. She quietly hummed to herself until she finally found what she needed. “Not this time,” she began. “According to this the ruby was left in the… talons… of the ruler.” “But Griffonstone really doesn’t have a definitive ruler anymore!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Sure Grampa Gruff was kinda like a representative but I wouldn’t call him the ruler. He’s a Historian! I don’t think he has the ruby!” “So… we’re gonna have to search… again?” Smolder raised an eyebrow. “Most likely,” Chrysalis answered. “Ooohh, it better not be in the Abysmal Abyss!” Pinkie said. “That would be bad.” “But Griffonstone is populated!” exclaimed Spike. “How are we even going to pull this off now if we don’t even know where the ruby is?” “I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Fluttershy assured the group. “I know it.” Soon, the city of Griffonstone came into view, with the ship flying so low it was nearly level with the city. Although it was far, everyone could tell that it wasn’t like some of the other places. Scattered all around the city, on buildings and structures and streets, was the black matter. It reminded everyone of Ponyville’s condition. It was exactly like this. The mission at claw/hoof was clearly going to be tougher than the last one. “Okay, this’ll be tougher than we thought…” Smolder gulped. Spike opened the door to the cockpit. “Tempest,” Spike started. “Can you stop this thing without landing it? "Yes I can. Hold on." The sounds of mechanics and parts being changed was heard, and the ship stopped, still hovering in the air. The city itself was still far away. “Alright everyone, what’s the plan?” Silverstream asked with anticipation. “Give us time to think…” Chrysalis mumbled. They all sat and thought, but that didn’t last too long. “Perhaps…” Spike suggested. “Chrysalis could disguise herself as fully corrupted?” “Hm. I’m not so sure. I have doubts.” “Why? They sense you. But if they sense the corruption and see you as one of them then maybe they won’t go after you?” “They may sense it’s on me, but I doubt they would be fooled with a disguise. Chances are they can also tell if I have even been claimed or if it’s all one ruse!” “Maybe the more powerful ones sense it!” Silverstream suggested. “I doubt it’s the case, and even if it is, you never know which powerful being could be lurking.” “But what else are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked. "Uh... we've got a problem-" warned Pinkie. Nobody was paying attention. "Well, if we carefully plan out a strategy maybe we can pull it off if it's a good-enough plan," Spike said. “We reeeeeaaaally should get going-“ “Did you say something?” Smolder asked. Pinkie pointed to the distance. “LOOK!!!” They all did, and the sense of danger hit a top level. A large group of corrupted Griffons were flying right for the airship, with no signs of stopping. Everyone immediately got ready. “This is going to be a challenge!” exclaimed Chrysalis. “Try and do what you can to manage! Don’t get distracted!” Quickly the Griffons swarmed. Fluttershy and Silverstream both took cover and ran for where Tempest was piloting, knowing they couldn’t do much. And meanwhile, Spike, Smolder, Chrysalis, and even Pinkie were all on the defense. The ship tilted as it quickly moved to turn around. Chrysalis was of course the best out of the bunch, fighting off multiple Griffons at a time while trying to stay safe. Spike, Smolder, and Pinkie all had to fight together as a group so they could have each other’s backs. It felt impossible with the many Griffons swarming everywhere, but they held their own. Of course, Spike, Pinkie, and Smolder really didn’t want to hurt the Griffons, nor did they want them to fall to their demise. Luckily, they only considered that possibility halfway through the fight, and by then every Griffon that they hit fled, only to come back for more later. The only one truly picking off Griffons was Chrysalis. One-by-one she’d send them into unconsciousness, and using every spare second she had, held multiple sleeping Griffons while dueling before using her spare time to stick them together with green goo and tossing them at the closest rock there was, sticking them to it. She had no time to consider that she was going soft, but to her sticking Griffons to rocks whether the distance would injure them or not didn't mean anything. Something caught Pinkie’s eye, and it was a familiar Griffon, crashing into the cockpit of the ship where Tempest, Silverstream, and Fluttershy were residing. Pinkie went to stop her but three Griffons landed right in her path, preventing escape. She couldn’t go anywhere further, but luckily, Chrysalis had just enough time to rescue her, spitting green goo on the eyes of all the Griffons before she picked them up and put them to sleep with magic before any of them could touch her. Pinkie gave a nod and quickly ran to the rescue, having no choice but to maneuver and use her bazooka whenever Griffons got in the way. *** Something crashed into the cockpit of the airship. Tempest and Silverstream didn’t recognize the face. But Fluttershy did. They were facing none other than Gilda Griffon, and her claws were already to attack. Tempest made her attempt to try and distract the enemy as best as she could. Her horn stump lit, and flashed a bunch of sparks every which way in an attempt to disorient the monster. “You got this Tempest!” Silverstream cheered. But they were wrong. What seemed to have worked on others didn’t work on Gilda. Amidst the flashing lights, the Griffon leapt, and tackled Silverstream. Fluttershy shrieked and Tempest tried to get her faulty horn to muster up an attack against the Griffon, even though she knew there was absolutely zero use in trying. Silverstream was pinned. The corruption pouring from Gilda’s arms seeped up Silverstream’s, but that wasn’t enough for her. The moment Silverstream was pinned, Gilda slashed her talons across the Hippogriff’s face, immediately finishing the job. Gilda got off of Silverstream, while the latter got up and faced the group, her mouth now unhinged and grinning, complimenting the blank eyes. Right then, Pinkie came to the rescue. She leapt in right between them and shot her bazooka, successfully taking out Silverstream. Gilda shrieked in rage and charged, leaping and hopping off of the ship’s steering, and lunged. The others dove out of the way, but Pinkie was right near Silverstream’s grasp. Right as she reached for her though, Pinkie spun with her bazooka, accidentally knocking it into Silverstream and knocking her unconscious. “AH! SILVERSTREAM! I’M SORRY!” “PINKIE!” Tempest yelled, dodging a pounce and slash. “WE HAVE OTHER PROBLEMS HERE!” Gilda was back on the steering, ready to pounce once more. “HEY GILDA!” Pinkie called out. Gilda’s head rotated 180 degrees and her body rightened itself. Pinkie smirked. “INCOMING GRIFFON!” She shouted directed at the others outside. “WATCH OUT!” Gilda pounced. Pinkie took her shot, bazooka set on max power. The force was strong enough to blast Gilda right out of the cockpit, past the front of the airship, and away from them. “Shoulda picked a better spot to pounce off of,” Pinkie smirked. Pinkie joined with the others, proud, before Tempest pointed out that there were other problems. Silverstream got back up, and was slowly making her way to them. Pinkie attempted to use her bazooka, only to find outit was empty. “WE COULD USE A DRAGON OR A MAGIC USER RIGHT ABOUT NOW!” Pinkie shrieked. Smolder flew in moments after. “Got enough Griffons out there for Spike and Bug Queen to handle by themselves. Did someone call a dragon?-“ She paused for a moment to fend off an incoming Griffon, before she saw what became of her friend. "S-Silverstream?-" "You gotta get her out of here!" Tempest ordered. "She's my friend! I can't-" Silverstream suddenly charged, the corruption expanding and reaching out, and out of a mixture of instinct and protecting the others, Smolder showered Silverstream with fire, stopping her right as tendrils were about to touch the others. She fizzled, and immediately fled outside to the front. Smolder flew out right after her, where Silverstream stood, staring. "I don't want to fight!" Smolder exclaimed. Silverstream's head tilted and tentacles lunged out of her mouth. Again Smolder reacted and breathed fire as defense, which caused Silverstream to quickly flee. "WAIT!" It was too late. She was gone. In shock of what happened and with nothing else to say, Smolder flew past the cockpit and joined the others at the deck. "Smolder! Are you okay?" Spike asked with concern. No answer. Chrysalis landed beside them. “That was the last of the Griffons.” Spike began to realize that something wasn't right. “Uh… Where’s the ship going?…” They all looked. They were heading right to Griffonstone. And not to land… but to crash! “TEMPEST!!!” Spike bellowed. “WHAT’S GOING ON?!” “THE STEERING’S JAMMED! I’M TRYING TO… FIX… IT!…” In the cockpit, Tempest used all of her might to fix the issue. Corrupted Griffons that remained were taking notice of the impending ship and we’re ready to take the enemy out at all costs. The steering suddenly snapped out of being stuck. The airship jerked, but it was too late. It rammed right into the tree holding a good chunk of the city, before any Griffons could do anything. It could have happened two ways… the city undergoes destruction, or the airship would crumble. To the surprise of some, the former happened, and the whole thing came crashing down. With the direction they went also, it all collapsed right onto the base of the city, with plenty of rubble falling into the abyss. Everyone stood still, hearts frozen, shock overtaking them. The Airship itself already seemed more faulty and on the verge of breakdown, but it still flew, gliding slowly and riskily above the city. No traces of any conscious Griffons were seen in the rubble. Everyone stared. “Griffonstone…” Fluttershy gasped. “It’s… destroyed.” "And..." Smolder whimpered. "We lost Silverstream..." Spike looked at Smolder. He could tell she seemed a bit more broken than usual, her tough exterior struggling to hide her frustration over losing her friends more and more. He then looked over the destroyed city, and saw something in the rubble. A red glint. Could it be so? “I… I see something!” he pointed. Everyone looked. It was hard to see but the red glint among the rubble was clear. Chrysalis told them all to stay and flew down to see if they found what they were looking for. Everyone watched as her figure below examined, and took out a few Griffons that woke up and we’re easily beaten without a fight. She flew back up carrying the object, and set it down in front of everyone. The massive ruby shone in the moonlight. “Two down! Two to go!” Pinkie cheered. The airship sputtered. “We have to land! Fast!” exclaimed Tempest. “Is it on Autopilot? Maybe it’s faulty,” Spike said. “Yes to both, but it’s not like this. The ship’s been severely damaged. We have to land. Luckily there’s a spot not far from here. I’ll see if we can make it.” Tempest returned to the cockpit and the ship flew off, sputtering sounds beginning to increase. Once again, a member of the group was lost at the cost of something they were on a mission for. Spike wondered if it was going to happen again and again. He didn’t want to find out. But he knew he was going to eventually. That is, if the ship didn’t break down and crash first.