//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Of musicians and muffins // Story: The Great Equestrian Foam Sword Fight // by crimsongraph //------------------------------// -({Ponyville roof} 2:55 P.M)- A few tense seconds passed, as both duos just stared intently at each other. The emotions varied as hatred, curiosity, and fear flew thought the air. Each pair of vibrant eyes summed their competitors up, battle plans already formulating in their minds. Each second began to tick slower, as the final preparations fell in place. The mint green unicorn was the first to act with a smart and efficient move that would ensure their victory. "Derpy." Lyra paused and waited until the mail mare's attention was focused on her, before continuing and motioning her hoof to the enemies, "They stole your muffin." -({???} 3:30 P.M)- A sudden jolt passed through two shrouded beings as they watched the battles rage across Equestria via an unknown means. They both paused their over worldly viewing and gave a silent prayer to the ponies that incurred the wrath of a being of great power. "Who would do such a thing to their own kind? Force that great power onto mortals, nonetheless," the smaller shrouded being softly said, as the larger being responded with a blunt retributal. "Who cares? That means more fun for us to watch!" A brief moment passed as the smaller being shrugged at the response, as they both resumed their viewing of ponies bludgeoning other ponies with foal toys. -({Ponyville roof} 3:01 P.M)- Back to the rooftop, the musical duo found themselves on the receiving edge of a rather large foamy paddle. Said foamy paddle was wielded by the muffin mare on a mission to severely maim. The paddle itself was shaped in a perfect formation of a muffin. It was as if somepony grabbed a giant muffin made out of foam, stabbed it onto a stick, and used it to beat the tar out of some unfortunate creature. For Octavia, that was exactly what was about to happen. "Vinyl! Why won’t this thing shoot whatever it shoots!" screamed the prim pony as the muffin eater slowly approached her with a fearsome pole arm equipped. Octavia was doing what any normal pony would do, panic and try to press the trigger with flat hooves. "Well." Vinly paused for a moment and briefly looked at the weapon in question, "Maybe it's because you can't pull the trigger?" the white made coyly said. Upon hearing the response, the cellist stopped trying to futilely activate the weapon and instead grabbed it like one would grab a sword. At the gesture of using the precision weapon as a saber, Vinyl let out a gasp. With a quick burst of magic, the wub bringer was forcefully yanked out of the hooves of Octavia, "'Tavi, I know that you can't use the weapon; but, you will NOT use it like a bat!" With the only means of defense taken away from the cellist, Octavia threw a harsh glare at Vinyl, "Vinyl, give me the weapon." "No." "Stop being stubborn and give me the weapon! What will I defend myself with!?" Octavia yelled at the white mare as the harbinger of muffins slowly got closer and closer. "I recommend curling up into a ball and crying, that might work," the DJ said with a matter of facility. "Vinyl, this is serious. Just give me the thing and everything will be OK." "No." The white mare added with a pout. "Fine, be a stubborn mule. Can you at least shoot them?" Octavia said, her patience visibly wearing thin. "I was going to do that, but you called me a mule." Vinyl retorted. "You know what, forget you. I'll do this myself," Octavia finally ceased her useless pleas, as she took a battle stance. What she failed to realize was that talking about useless things makes time fly by. As soon as she turned around, the cellist was given an unruly hug by a foam pole arm. With the foamy hit came a great pain, a pain enough to send the musician sprawling to the ground. Octavia barely had any time to react to the next swing from the master of muffins, as she dodged the one hit that would have sealed her doom. On the sidelines, the white mare stared with a small grin at the display happening in front of her. Unbeknownst to Vinyl, a still chocolate glazed mare ever so slowly crept up to her side. "Why aren't you helping her? She's bound to lose if you don't," the lyrist said, faking concern for the cellist. "Oh, I will help her; but I wanted to see her fight first and get roughed up a bit," Vinyl added with a playful grin as she kept on watching the battle before her. "Why?" Vinyl's answer only served to confuse Lyra. "Because little miss prim and proper is a pain in the flank, that's why. She always gets everything she asks for, no matter how crazy it is. On the other hand, I get nothing." "Hold on a second, what is she to you?" was the only question to come to Lyra's mind. Her answer was delayed by another sound of foam hitting soft flesh. "Vinyl, help me or I swear to Celestia you will sleep on the couch forever!" Octavia barely managed to scream as she narrowly avoided another blow from the lengthy and blunt pole arm. The order only inspired a grin and a small laugh from Vinyl directed at the cellist. "She." Vinyl pointed to the running pony, barely able to stifle a laugh as the pole arm grazed the cellist, "Is my sister." "Fascinating," Lyra feigned amazement as she slowly inched toward the wub machine. As Vinyl resumed stating out at the live reenactment of cat and mouse involving ponies, the green colored made made a move. Using a faint hint of magic from her horn, the weapon at Vinyl's side slowly levitated off the ground. Careful about giving away her plan to the disk jockey, Lyra made slow progress and focused on keeping the weapon in Vinyl's blind spot. As the weapon of mass wubstruction slowly floated toward the lime mare, her smile grew more sinister. Vinyl still sat there and stared with amusement at the fighting in front of her, remaining completely oblivious to the actions occurring behind her back. “Well, it’s been fun having this conversation Vinyl; but I think ‘we’ should take our leave,” Lyra finally broke her friendly guise, letting her malice run freely. “and by ‘we’, I mean all four of us.” "What do you mean by all of..." Vinyl's voice trailed off when she saw the unicorn aim the weapon at her. "oh, I see your point." the white mare finished with a shakey voice. "It's nice to know that we have all willingly agreed to this. Now if you excuse me, I must tell Derpy that her muffin bandits are in Canterlot." Lyra curtsied and began to walk with a spring in her hooves to the firefight between two different grey ponies, still holding the weapon in her magical field. "Hold on a second," Vinyl said to herself, "Did I just get mugged by my own weapon for my own weapon? That crafty little-“ On the other side of the roof, Octavia found herself in quite a pickle. She had tripped on her own hooves and was sent sprawling to the ground. Not far behind, the foamy pole arm slowly approached. The cellist prepared herself for the worst, having resigned her fate to Derpy. The silence on the roof was full of suspense, as Octavia had taken Vinyl's advice and curled up into a ball. She waited and waited, yet nothing came. Daring to poke her head out from the cover of her hooves, she meekly looked around the mediocre roof. What she saw instead of the furious monster was a curious wall eyed pegasus stating with rapt attention at her. To the side of the former monster stood Lyra with a bored expression, waiting for the cellist to get up. "Well?" the unicorn asked. "Well what?! That, that... thing... nearly killed me! I think I should be the one asking questions!" Octavia retorted, still visibly shaken from the experience. “Oh, that, you’re still worrying about that. It was an honest mistake that won’t happen again. Now, get up, we’re going to Canterlot.” Not saying another word, the mare turned around and began searching for a way down that did not involve Derpy carrying them off the roof one at a time. In her wake, the green unicorn left Octavia in a state of confusion. “Hold on! What gives you the right to order me around? Why do you have Vinyl’s weapon? Answer me!” her confusion and anger were quickly vanquished when she saw Derpy slowly approach her, curiosity evident. “Wait! I regret everything I’ve said! Don’t leave me with her!”