//------------------------------//
// Arc 23-5: Unexpected Heroes 
// Story: My Little Pony: One as a Family.  "Trials of Friendship" 
// by SaburoDaimando 
//------------------------------//


Unexpected Heroes



The crowd of Gold Bankers made their way towards the entire group, who were completely horrified.
“You’re going to surrender yourselves to our leader Gold Banks, and you’re going to do it now,” One of the Gold Bankers demanded.
“You’re out of your mind if you think we’ll do that,” Firelight Glimmer yelled as he held Starlight Glimmer close to him.  “Besides, she had to nerve to take my Pumpky-Wumpkin away before.”
“You’ve got no other choice,” Another Gold Banker said.  “There’s no way out of here.   Either you give up your younglings or you never see your way out of here again.”
Pinkie Pie immediately pulled her party cannon out of nowhere and pointed it at the Gold Bankers, who backed off in fear.
“YOU WANNA GET NUTS?”  Pinkie Pie yelled.  “Come on.  Let’s get nuts.”
But before Pinkie Pie could press the button on her cannon, one of the vines popped out of nowhere, grabbed Pinkie Pie’s cannon and pulled it away from her, leaving her defenseless and confused.  The Gold Bankers glare at Pinkie Pie, who backed up next to Canter Zoom and Silver Banks.
“Okay…” Pinkie Pie said awkwardly.  “I didn’t expect that to happen.”
“You’ve met with a terrible fate, have ya?”  One of the Gold Bankers said.
“Maybe it’s time we taught you brats a lesson,” Another one said.
More vines reached out from the balcony before diving into the group.  The entire group screamed in horror as the vines pulled out Twilight Sparkle, Wallflower Blush, Sonata Dusk and Misty Brightdawn.  All four fillies screamed, struggling to pull themselves away by clinging onto Celestia’s bed.
“HEEEEELP!” Twilight screamed.  “They’re taking us away.”
Sunset Shimmer ran up to the vines and fired off blasts of magic right at it.  But the shots only bounced off and hit the ceiling harmlessly.  Cozy Glow jumped out and fired right at the vines, only for her shots to bounce off and disappear.
“Careful,” Sunburst yelled.  “Whatever those plants are, they’re not normal.”
A number of other vines leaped out at Sunset Shimmer in an attempt to grab her.  Sunset jumped out of the way of the first one before dodging two more that came her way.   Cozy Glow flew over and under the vines as they came right at her.  But nearby, one of the Gold Bankers lifted his hoof into the air.
“Good-bye you little brat,” The Gold Banker said with a smirk.
With one stomp of his hoof, the floor beneath Cozy Glow began to quake.  Sunset Shimmer turned around and quickly ran up to the little filly alicorn.  
“HANG ON!” Sunset yelled.
Once Sunset Shimmer reached Cozy Glow, she shoved the alicorn filly out of the way as a formation of rocks formed beneath the sun unicorn, hitting her.  She went flying into the air before falling down and slamming right into the floor.  Cozy Glow landed nearby and watched in horror as Sunset collapsed on the ground.
“SUNSET!”  Cozy Glow yelled as she reached out to her fallen friend.
Immediately, Princess Cadance flew out and grabbed the unconscious Sunset Shimmer with her arms.  She flew her sister back to the group as Wanda looked up at them both.
“What…” Wanda cried.  “What happened to Sunset?”
“She’s been hit badly,” Princess Cadance said.  “I don’t know if she’s alright or not.”
But as Wanda, Cadance and Abigail looked after the unconscious Sunset Shimmer in tears, Twilight Sparkle, Misty Brightdawn, Wallflower Blush and Sonata Dusk yelled really loud, struggling to pull themselves away from the vines.
“HEEEEEELP!” Sonata yelled.  “WE DON’T WANT TO BE TAKEN BACK TO DAISY JOY TECH!”
In a pair of growls that sounded like wolves, Danged Spell and Golden Lace’s eyes glowed and their teeth were bare.  They leaped at the vines and sunk their teeth right into two of them, freeing Twilight Sparkle and Misty Brightdawn.  Twilight Sparkle ran up to Twilight Velbet, who held her tight, while Chancellor Cinch held onto Misty Brightdawn.
“SPELL! LACE!” Shining Armor yelled.  “GET BACK HERE!”
But neither Danged Spell nor Golden Lace paid attention to Shining Armor’s command.  Instead, they jumped onto two more vines before biting right into them, freeing Wallflower Blush and Sonata Dusk.  Canter Zoom quickly scooped up Wallflower to his side while Sonata embraced Adagio and Aria.
“Daughter, you must come back,” Silver yelled.  “THEY’LL GRAB YOU!”
Danged Spell and Golden Lace turned their attention to the mob and they leaped towards them, dodging more vines that came their way.  The two approached the Gold Bankers, teeth bare and growling loud.
“You’ve been a pair of bad, bad dogs,” One of the Gold Bankers said, clutching a pod in his hoof.  “It’s time someone muzzled you.”
The Gold Banker threw the pod right at Danged Spell and Golden Lace.  On impact, the pod exploded, letting loose some kind of blue gas.  Danged Spell and Golden Lace coughed loudly as the glow in their eyes disappeared.
“What the hay is this?” Danged Spell coughed.
“I can’t breathe,” Golden Lace coughed.  “And I’ve lost my curse.”
Immediately, Shining Armor jumped out of the group and pulled Danged Spell and Golden Lace aside from the blue gas and towards him.  Shining Armor held onto both Spell and Lace, who looked weakened from the effects of the gas.
“Shining,” Danged Spell coughed.  “I don’t feel so good.”
“What did you do to them?” Shining Armor yelled.
“It’s called Wolf’s Bane Miasma,” The Gold Banker said.  “It cancels out any Wolf’s Breath curse and severely weakens the bearer of the curse.  A shame that we can’t use it on Princess Celestia since she also bears the curse.”
“You’re insane to do this,” Silver Banks said.  “These are little kids and you have the audacity to attack them.”
“And you have the audacity to keep that last name you old goat,” Another Gold Banker said.  
“You leave now this instant,” Chancellor Cinch demanded as she stepped in front and powered up her unicorn horn.
“Who are you to command us?” The Gold Banker said in a mocking tone.  “You’re just another bureaucrat who doesn’t deserve to be called Chancellor.  In fact, I think it’s time we took away your pet.”
Another set of vines reached towards the group.  Eyeing a sobbing Princess Wanda Young, Chancellor Cinch jumped out in front, horn glowing at maximum power.
“Do your worst, you despicable maniac,” Chancellor Cinch snarled.
“With please,” A third Gold Banker said.
Suddenly, the vines leaped over Chancellor Cinch and dove right at Wanda.  Before she could react, the vines grabbed Wanda and pulled her away in a flash.  
“HEEEEELP!” Wanda cried.
“YOU GET HER GO THIS INSTANT!” Chancellor Cinch yelled.
Cinch reached out and tried to grab Wanda.  But another set of vines shot out from the balcony and struck Cinch on the side, knocking her down.
“Chancellor,” Wanda cried.
Everyone was paralyzed as they saw the vines pull Wanda towards the Gold Bankers.  The Man’s Cub looked like she was on the verge of crying as the Gold Bankers looked at her before turning their attention to the group.
“Now you listen to us, and you listen well,” One of the Gold Bankers demanded.  “Unless you want something bad to happen to this shrimp, you better surrender those little brats to us, this instant.”
Chancellor Cinch, Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, Firelight Glimmer, Starseeker Glimmer, Canter Zoom, Silver Banks, Airazor and the rest of the Wonderbolts looked down at the younglings, most of which looked up at the grown ups.  Danged Spell and Golden Lace struggled to look up at Shining Armor while Night Light and Twilight Velvet held onto Twilight Sparkle and Spike the Dragon, Juniper Montage held onto Canter Zoom while Princess Cadance held the unconscious Sunset Shimmer next to her.  
“Sister, please don’t,” Wanda cried.  “I’ll take the fall.  Get them out of here.”
“Don’t listen to this ignorant fool,” Another Gold Banker laughed.  “There’s nowhere to run and no place to hide.  If you care for this juvenile delinquent and you want to leave, you will give them up…NOW!”
Princess Cadance looked at Wanda, who struggled to break free and broke down crying.  She turned her attention to Abigail, whose focus was on her best friend.  
“Wanda,” Abigail cried.
Princess Cadance turned towards the Gold Bankers and said with tears in her eyes “Alright.  You win.  You can have them back.”
“Princess, no,” Twilight Sparkle cried.
“I’m sorry,” Princess Cadance said.   “But there’s no other way out.  They have us cornered, and the only way to ensure our safety is that I have to let you all go.  I wish there was another way.”
“But there is another way, Princess Cadance.  You never realized that you had another guardian angel by your side.”  Those words caught the attention of nearly everyone in the room, especially Misty Brightdawn, who’s eyes lit up and her face shined brightly.
“Big Brother,” Misty said as Chancellor Cinch held onto her.  “It’s you.”
“Big Brother?” One of the Gold Bankers said.  “What’s going on?”
“Look behind you.”  The Gold Bankers turned around and saw one of their own approach the other younglings with a smile on his face.
“Who are you?” Another Gold Banker yelled.  “And why are you taking their side?”
The lone Gold Banker turned towards the crowd and said in a deep, but reassuring tone “Oh I’ve always been on their side.  The problem with you is that you didn’t notice it, until it was too late.”
With a hearty laugh, the Gold Banker was surrounded by a shadowy aura, much to the surprise of the Gold Bankers.  When the aura disappeared, he became a dark gray unicorn with a curved horn, a black mane and grayish sap green eyes.  He wore a light purple buttoned shirt and a simple dark red cloak.
“I…I don’t believe it,” Princess Cadance said.  “That’s…King Sombra.”
“King Sombra?” Cozy Glow asked.
“The ruler of the Crystal Empire,” Shining Armor said.  “And Misty Brightdawn’s big brother.”
King Sombra turned towards the group and said “It’s an honor to meet you all in person.  But it’s time I skipped the pleasantries and got down to business.”
“Oh you won’t get down to business,” The Gold Banker said, holding Wanda close.  “You better surrender the other brats if you know what’s good for you.”
“My dear friend,” Sombra said.  “You don’t know what’s good for you.”
With that, King Sombra turned himself into a shadow and dove into the floor, much to the surprise of the Gold Bankers.  The shadow moved itself under the mob, causing the crowd to freak out and panic.
“WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS HE?”  One of the Gold Bankers yelled.
“Oh I’m no monster,” King Sombra said from his shadow.  “Compared to you clowns.”
In a burst of light, King Sombra emerged from his shadow and emits a pulse of magic from his horn, knocking the Gold Bankers away from Wanda.  He leaped into the air and sliced the vine off, releasing its hold on Wanda and freeing her.
“You okay, Princess?” King Sombra asked.
“I am,” Wanda said.  “Thank you, your majesty.”
“Oh no need for formalities,” King Sombra said.  “Besides, I think these guys deserve a harsh lesson for treating you all worse than trash.”
As the Gold Bankers began to back off towards the entrance, King Sombra approached the mob, his smile turned into a frown.  Wanda stood by King Sombra as she glared down at her would-be attackers.
“You all had the nerve to treat these younglings like they had no part in this world,” King Sombra said in a thundering tone, causing the Gold Bankers to cower in fear.  “Especially my little sister Misty and her best friend Wanda.  If I were you, I’d flee for your lives.”
“You heard what he said,” Wanda shouted.
“Now wait a minute Mr Sombra,” One of the Gold Bankers said, cowering for his life.  “Let’s talk this out.  We didn’t mean to give these brats a hard time.”
“I beg to differ,” King Sombra said before he signaled to Shining Armor.
Shining Armor looked down at the weakened Danged Spell and Golden Lace before nodding to the two ponies.  Twilight Velvet walked up to Spell and Lace and held onto them before Shining Armor leaped out of the group and stood by King Sombra.
“You have a lot of nerve to pick on my Twili and her friends,” Shining Armor yelled.   “Now you better get out of here before you incur our wrath.”
“Okay okay,” Another Gold Banker said.  “We’ll go.”
And with that, the Gold Bankers ran out the doorway and down the hall in a hurry, leaving King Sombra, Shining Armor, Wanda Young and everyone else behind.
“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Shining Armor said as the group pulled themselves out from the corner.
King Sombra turned his attention towards the group and noticed the weakened Danged Spell and Golden Lace.
“Wolf’s Bane Misama,” King Sombra said.  “I don’t know how they were able to synthesize this stuff.  But if left untreated, it could be fatal.”
King Sombra’s horn lit up as he tapped both Danged Spell and Golden Lace on the head.  Within an instant, the energy in their bodies were restored as the poison from the miasma dissipated into nothing.
“Wow,” Danged Spell said.  “That was great.  Thanks, oh great king.”
“Oh please,” King Sombra laughed.  “You don’t need to dispense with the pleasantries.  After all, you both still have lives to live out.”
But when King Sombra turned towards Princess Cadance, he saw the unconscious Sunset Shimmer and his frown was bare once more.  He walked towards the comatose filly and placed his hoof on her forehead.
“Poor kid,” Sombra said.  “And she didn’t deserve this.  At least I can still save her.”
With a warm light surrounding his horn, King Sombra fired off a small stream of magic at Sunset Shimmer, surrounding her with a warm light.  When the light vanished, Sunset Shimmer’s eyes opened.
“Wha?” Sunset said.  “What happened?”
“You’re okay,” Princess Cadance said with tears in her eyes.  “You’re okay sis.”
“I don’t know what happened,” Sunset asked as she struggled to move her body.  “But…”
“It’s okay,” Princess Cadance said.  “You don’t need to move for a bit.  But you’ll be alright.”
As King Sombra stepped away from the group, Misty Brightdawn jumped into the air and hugged her brother.
“I’m glad you made it, big brother,” Misty cried with joy.  “I was worried I wouldn’t see you again.”
“It’s not the first time that we’ve been separated, Misty,” King Sombra said.  “But I’m glad to see you again.”
But as everyone relaxed with a sigh of relief, Chancellor Cinch turned her attention to Shining Armor, who noticed a bracelet lying on the floor.
“Shining Armor,” Chancellor Cinch said, walking towards the young stallion.  “Where did you find that?”
“It dropped off the mob when they made a run for it,” Shining Armor said, picking up the bracelet with his magic.  “Something about the crystal in this bracelet feels odd to me.”
“That must be what was powering their earth pony magic,” Chancellor Cinch said as Shining Armor handed the bracelet to her.  “But who could have made that for Gold Banks?”
King Sombra approached the group with Misty in his arms before he said “This is a serious question that we’ll get to the bottom of.  But for now, I think Princess Celestia is on her way, along with a face from Lio Lani.”
“Are you talking about High Chieftess Pele?” Danged Spell asked.
“I sure am,” King Sombra said with a smile.
“After what happened,” Danged Spell said, “I’ll be glad to see her face once more.”

The Gold Bankers made their way down the staircase as they ran towards the door in a frantic hurry.  Some of them made their way into the kitchen area, pulling whatever food they could out of the pantries or refrigeration units.  Nearby, Majordomo Kibitz was smacking some of the Gold Banks Supporters with a frying pan, forcing them to back off.
“Get back I say,” Kibitz yelled as he smacked the Gold Bankers with the frying pan.  “You have no right to be in this castle, much less this kitchen.”
As the crazed mob made their way out the doorway, Kibitz was left behind in the kitchen, now left a mess.  He placed the frying pan on the counter and grabbed a mop from a nearby corner.
“These buffoons don’t know how to clean up after themselves, much less this place,” Kibitz groaned.  “Guess I’ll have to tidy this place up, once more.”
As the Gold Bankers poured out of the castle, they ran down the streets of the city in a panic, making their way through as the ponies inside the houses and buildings watched from behind the windows.  Inside one of the houses, Sunlight Starscout held Bright-Eyes Starshine close while Argyle stood tall in front of his mother and sister.
“What’s going on, son?” Sunlight Starscount asked.
“Stay down,” Argyle Starshine replied.  “These hooligans are still dangerous.”
“I wish those meanies would stay away,” Bright-Eyes said as Sunlight held her tight.
Suddenly, a number of the Gold Bankers crashed through the front entrance of Argyle Starshine’s house.  As they got up, Argyle Starshine pulled a broom to him with his magic and took a defensive stance.
“That’s about far enough,” Argyle Starshine said.  “Get out of my house and get out of Canterlot.”
“Oh, if we can’t bring Gold Banks the younglings,” One of the crazed mob members said as he and his companions got up, “Then we’ll settle with you three.”
Argyle Starshine pointed his brook at the Gold Banker and shouted “I’m warning you.”
“Warn this,” The Gold Banker said.
The Gold Bankers raised their hooves into the air and slammed it down on the ground.  But to their surprise, nothing came out from beneath the ground.   They stomped the ground again and again, to no avail.
“What’s going on?” The Gold Banker said.  “Why can’t we move the earth beneath us anymore?”
“It’s that blasted King Sombra,” Another Gold Banker said in a panic.  “He must have nullified our bracelets.”
“I don’t know what you were trying to prove,” Argyle shouted.  “But you just made a big mistake.”
As Argyle Starshine approached the Gold Bankers, the group began to walk back, looking completely scared.
“Now now, hold your horses,” One Gold Banker said.  “You don’t need to be that harsh.”
But Argyle Starshine came to a stop and threw down his broom, causing the Gold Bankers to breathe a sigh of relief.
“You’re right,” Argyle Starshine said.  “I don’t need to be that harsh.  But she does.”
As the Gold Bankers were confused by Argyle Starshine’s words, they were pulled out of the doorway by a dark red magical aura screaming in agony.  Argyle Starshine walked up to the door and just closed it without breaking a sweat.
“Son,” Sunlight said.  “What was that?”
“Someone we didn’t expect to come to our rescue,” Argyle said with a smirk on his face.
“Like a guardian angel pony?” Bright-Eyes asked.
“More like the High Chieftess of Lio Lani: Pele,” Argyle said.

Outside, the Gold Bankers that were pulled out of the house were thrown on top of the roof, where an alicorn with a light brown coat, a mane that resembles the flow of lava, eyes that were a bright orange, and a cutie mark that represents a volcano, landed right on top of them.
“I know you,” One of the Gold Bankers said, quaking in fear.  “You’re Pele of Lio Lani.”
“I am,” Pele said.  “Often referred to as the Ka lio wahine ‘ai honua.”
“Now look here,” Another one said with his voice shivering in terror.  “We didn’t mean to harass those little kiddies.”
“SILENCE!”  Pele roared, causing the group to just look up at Pele, scared stiff.  “Now you listen to me.  I don’t ever want to see you anywhere near my great-grandson, or any of his friends, EVER AGAIN!  DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”
“Ye…yes ma’am,” One Gold Banker said.
“Good,” Pele said as she took a few steps back.  “Now why don’t you cool off.”
With that, Pele picked up the Gold Bankers with her magic and dropped them into a nearby river bank that flowed through Canterlot City.  The group screamed loudly before splashing into the water below.  Not long after, they pulled themselves out from the river and made a run for it.
“Never mess with the offspring of a kapi’olani,” Pele said as her frown turned into a smirk.
As the Gold Bankers ran as fast as they could towards the city gates, Princess Celestia flew above the city and observed them retreating in a panic.
“Guess I am too late in a sense,” Princess Celestia said.  “Though judging by the crowd below, I don’t see a sign of Wanda, Sunset, or their friends.  So this might be a good thing.”
As Princess Celestia flew above Canterlot City, looking down at the retreating Gold Bankers, she looked up and saw Pele standing on the rooftop.   Celestia flew up and landed near the high chieftess.
“Princess Celestia,” Pele said.  “Apologies for not showing up in La Maresa sooner.”
“It’s been awhile, cousin Pele,” Princess Celestia said.  “Blessings to your mother and my aunt Haumea.”
“No need to be humble, cousin,” Pele said.  “I only came here because of my grandson’s request.”
“You’re talking about Fortwright, correct?” Celestia asked.
“I did,” Pele said.  “Shortly after you left La Maresa, I ran into my grandson.  He told me that Lah Walakeli, also known as Danged Spell, was back up at Canterlot hunkering down.  I had to come by here to make sure he survived.  But judging by the crazed crowd of Gold Bankers retreating, I assume he’s alright.”
“I believe he must be,” Celestia said.  “Though I wonder who drove them off.”
“Let us go investigate,” Pele said.
With that, Pele and Celestia flew up to the castle, where they eyed the damage done to the balcony.

But below at Creme Dream’s manor, the Gold Bankers that fought against the Magistrate ran off with a number of injuries on their fur.  Creme Dream brushed herself off while she saw the cowards take off from her pad.
“What a shame,” Creme Dream said.  “I thought they would put up more of a fight.”
But when Creme Dream directed her gaze towards the ground, she saw a bracelet with a jewel embedded into it.   Creme Dream walked up to the bracelet and picked it up before observing it.
“Well this is strange,” Creme Dream said.  “For some reason, I can sense a slight hint of the Pony of Shadows in this jewel.”
Creme Dream held the bracelet in front of her before walking inside her mansion and shutting the front door.  She took a few steps towards a nearby hallway before enhancing her throat with magic.
“Majesty,” Creme Dream shouted with reverb in her voice.  “You can come out now.  They are gone.”
Majesty emerged from the staircase leading to the basement.  She walked up to her mother, who was observing the bracelet with her magic.
“Mother,” Majesty said.  “What is that you have?”
“One of those goons dropped this when they retreated,” Creme Dream explained.  “This must have been what powered their earth pony magic, moving the earth with a powerful force that is only seen within alicorns, such as myself and you.”
“What I want to know is how Gold Banks got her hooves on that kind of magic?” Majesty asked.
“That is a question worth answering,” Creme Dream said.  “And I think I might know the alchemist responsible for creating this abomination.”
“Alchemist?” Majesty said.  “Are you talking about Grand Philosopher?”
“Princess Celestia is not the only pony with an alchemist by her side, whoever she is,” Creme Dream explained.  “Grand Philosopher is my own personal alchemist who’s helped me forge powerful artifacts.  But for some reason, he’s taken sides with Gold Banks and forged these crude bracelets that imitate the powers of the Pony of Shadows.”
“What do you think she’s up to?” Majesty asked.
“We’ll find out, sooner or later,” Creme Dream said.  “Now come.  We have some important work to do.”
With that, Magistrate Creme Dream walked upstairs to the balcony part of her foyer, with Majesty following from behind.  Creme Dream held up the bracelet, still puzzled.
“Knowing Gold Banks, she’s going to find an even bigger source of power than what I see,” Creme Dream said to herself.  “She may be more dangerous now that I’ve relieved her of her duties.”


	To Be Continued in…


	The End of Another New Day