My head was swimming as soon as I came to, and I immediately let out a groan that evolved into a coughing fit as my chest exploded with pain. I leaned forward with a gurgle only to find my hands were bound behind my back and around what must have been a pole or beam. As I opened my eyes, I also discovered my left eye was swollen shut, but I could see a few droplets of blood falling from my nose to my splayed-out legs.
"Mornin', Handsome. You sleep well?" I grimaced and looked up to see Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity looming nearby. A quick scan of my surroundings revealed I was in the Apple family's old barn, one of the few structures in the area that had been repaired without my assistance. The Apples had been particularly stubborn about refusing aid from my machines when it came to their farm and continued to handle all labor and harvesting manually. I'd always assumed their refusal would eat into their profits due to the competition being so much more efficient, and the barn at least partially confirmed my suspicions.
The whole interior was patchy and light visibly streamed in at a few points, as well as the fact it seemed sparse as far as farming equipment came. The thought of the Apples having to sell off some of their tools just to stay afloat and continue spiting me was of little comfort, unfortunately.
Glancing back at my captors, the signs of time's withering touch on their faces were equally of no comfort. Rarity, in particular, now had a narrow streak of grey running through her mane.
I managed a smile despite myself. "Hello, Ladies," I chirped and tilted my head slightly. "Morning, you say? And how long have I been out for?"
Applejack snorted. "Just a turn of phrase. Dash just dragged ya in," she replied and leveled a scowl at me. "We gotta policy round here 'bout not lettin' rodents stay overnight, y'see."
I chortled, ignoring the stabbing pain the act brought. "Well! I'd hate to overstay my welcome, so if you'd be so kind as to-"
"Shove it," Rainbow spat, jabbing a hoof at me. "You ain't going anywhere, pal." I clenched my teeth.
"Fine. But what exactly are you going to do with me?"
"Simple, really," Rarity replied with a huff and leveled a dark glare my way. "We're going to have Starlight turn you to stone."
I recoiled with a grunt, at which she grinned. "Sweetie, her friends, and Pinkie are all out looking for her right now."
I composed myself and leveled an even glare at her. "Are any of them heading to Canterlot?"
"Uh, yeah?" Rainbow replied. "That was where Mayor Mare heard Starlight was."
I barked a laugh. "Well! Bad luck for them, but good luck for me," I laughed again as they shared a look. "And if you're looking for Starlight, she's in town right now with Twilight."
The three recoiled and Rarity gasped. "What? Twilight's here?"
"That's not all. KS 6 is still alive, and she's planning to usurp my empire," I huffed. Applejack scowled and rolled her eyes, but before any of them could retort, I continued. "She's building a weapon that can turn living things into animunculi, and is going to use it on the whole world's population."
"Uh-huh," Applejack replied with an incredulous leer.
"You can choose not to believe me if you want," I growled before raising an eyebrow. "Can't even say I blame you, but surely you'd believe Twilight?" The girls paused and shared a look.
"Like I said, she and Starlight are in town," I said with a nod. "One of you can go find her and ask them."
A grim smile came to my face. "And you might want to hurry. KS 6 has already taken over Canterlot."
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity gasped.
"Applebloom," Applejack murmured, biting her hoof.
"Liar!" Rainbow spat before rising in the air with a beat of her wings. "I'll check the town and prove it!" In an instant, she tore through the door at top speed, ripping it off its hinges and causing Applejack to wince.
"Fer cryin' out loud," she groused. After a moment she shifted her glare back to me. "So, assumin' you ain't lyin', if that clankin' dummy of yers is takin' over, what's that mean for you?" I grimaced but before I could answer, Rainbow came crashing back through the wall beside the door, causing both mares to jump.
"Consarnit, Dash! Why the heck-" Before Applejack could chide her further, she was blasted and sent flying through the opposite wall of the barn.
"YOU!" Rarity screamed, narrowly conjuring a thin shield that saved her from a similar fate. Regardless, she was still sent sprawling back away from me. I looked towards the ruined door frame and gasped.
"Tempest!" I cried as she came charging in and smashed the beam I was tied to with a kick. In the same move, she hefted me up in her magic again and took off.
"Can you walk?" She demanded as we rushed along.
"I think so," I replied, glancing back to see the girls trudging out and scanning for us.
"Good. If I get caught up with them, try to get to the castle in the Everfree," Tempest said peering back for a moment. "Jury and I agreed to make it our extraction point once I'd found you again." I blinked and looked down at her.
"Jury?"
"After Starlight abducted you, I used the outpost's console to make contact," she explained. "There'll be a hovercraft piloted by one of the free-thinkers waiting for us." I took a breath and glanced back.
"Heads up!" I cried as Rainbow came hurdling towards us. Tempest grit her teeth and whirled around before safely and gently dropping me on the ground. With a grunt, she then warped towards Rainbow with a somersault and swung her back hoof at her. Rainbow whirled in the air and parried the kick with one hoof before sweeping her other leg up and grappling Tempest to the ground, redirecting all her forward momentum into the throw.
The pair slammed into the earth, kicking up a dust cloud that suddenly split apart as Rainbow burst out of one side with a grunt. Three beams of magic arched out of the cloud after her but as the pegasus caught herself and moved to dodge, Tempest teleported behind her and kicked her towards the beams. The magic violently exploded on contact, forcing me to close my good eye. As the light faded and the dust settled, I saw to my and Tempest's shared shock that Rainbow was still standing, if smoking, and hunched slightly with a grimace.
The pegasus raised her head and glared back at Tempest before beating her wings once and vanishing. There was a metallic clatter as Tempest was knocked off her feet and sent sprawling into a tree. The force of her impact caused one of her metal legs to snap at the joint, drawing a wincing groan from me.
She slid to the ground with a moan, but before she could recover she was struck again by a multi-colored blur and launched skyward, where the blur caught her and then began hammering her from all sides with an echoing rumble like continued cannon fire. After just a few seconds, she and Rainbow both fell to the ground, the latter hitting the ground in a clumsy roll before settling and panting as her wings hung limp.
Tempest, meanwhile, landed on her hooves with a ferocious snarl before her eyes rolled back and she toppled over with a wilting moan. As the two just lay there, I found myself panting with anxiety.
"Tempest?" I weakly called out. She groaned and struggled to her feet, while Rainbow did the same.
"What'd we talk about, Eddy?" She wearily replied, her focus firmly on Dash. I grimaced with a whimper.
"I-"
"Dash!" Applejack yelled as she came galloping up. Tempest and I both grimaced at her arrival, before wilting. "We got trouble!" Rainbow looked up and recoiled in shock.
"What the heck?"
"Oh, fuck," I murmured.
[Return to your homes. Curfew is in effect,] declared the small horde of flying animunculi, all speaking using KS 6's voice.