//------------------------------// // Manticores and Musical Numbers // Story: Archangel's Adventure // by SabreXio //------------------------------// After making sure everyone was alright and prying Guardian's drone away from a very thankful Pinky Pie, we continued on the path to the castle. I didn't talk much, as I was thinking about what I thought I saw and talking it over with Guardian. "Hey G, did you see that thing from before?" I mentally said to Guardian "Affirmative." he answered, "I did indeed detect an anomalous energy signature in the area you specified" "Any idea what it was?" I asked "Negative, the signature was only recorded for approximately .08 seconds before disappearing but its shape suggests that it may have mearly been interference as this area, as Ms. Jack so eloquently described, ain't natural." I laughed a little at Guardian's imitation of Applejack's accent, but I knew he could have been right: this place was unnatural. "Well, keep scanning for it." I ordered, "If it appears again let me know" "Of course, Sir." As we walked, the forest seemed like it was getting darker and more forboding and I could see my companions were getting nervous, but we had to push on. I still had some questions, so what better time than now to ask them. "Hey Rainbow" I said "what did you mean when you said the clouds here move on their own?" "I mean the weather is out of control, no pegesus can keep it in check" she explained "Wait, you mean pegesi like you and Fluttershy make weather happen and not air currents?" I responded in amazement "Well, Fluttershy doesn't really handle weather jobs, but yeah; me and a team of weather ponies take care of the weather in Ponyville: making it rain, clearing clouds that sort of thing" she continued "Pegesus ponies are uniquly gifted with the ability to walk on and manipulate clouds." explaned Twilight "it's like a kind of passive magic they possess" "Ok, so if Pegasi have weather magic and unicorns have...active magic I guess, then do regular ponies also have magic?" I asked. "First of all, the proper term is 'Earth pony'." corrected Twilight "Second, yes they do, but it is even more subtle than the pegesus magic." "How so?" "Well, it is a kind of natural magic that has developed due to their close relationship with the earth and nature." "Oh, ok, so Applejack and Pinkie Pie are capable of manipulating nature." "Not exactly, it's more like they work with nature and help it do what it wants instead of forcing it to do what they want" "Oh, I get it now" I say, not really understanding. After a short break in the conversation, I heard a voice. "Mr. Archangel, could I ask you a question?" Inquired Rarity "Go for it." "I noticed that there is a gem in the middle of your chest," She said "And it is unlike anything I have ever seen. I simply must know what it is" "Oh this" I said gesturing to the glowing circle in the center of my chest "it's a Lapotron Emerald. I use it as my power cell." "I've never even heard of such a gem." "Well, technically its a composite of emerald and lapis lazuli, with some electronics to help monitor its energy." "Oh you simply must let me take a look at it, it would go perfectly on the new dress design I have." "NO" I blurted out accidentally startling Rarity "I mean, no, I can't let you see it. Once charged, a Lapotron Emerald has to remain in a special purpose containment unit. Removing a charged crystal causes it to destabilize and explode" "Oh, I am sorry Mr. Archangel" she apologized, why I don't know "I had no idea" "Not to worry, how could you have known" I assured her "actually, now that I think about it, I think I may have an uncharged spare cell back at my base that I could give you" "REALLY!?" she exclaimed "that would be absolutely perfect" "Sure, once this is over we can...wait, what was that?" I said "Ah don't know, but it sure don't sound friendly" confirmed Applejack Then out of nowhere a huge creature landed directly in our path "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" I exclaim in confusion "It's a Mantacore" explained a terrified Twilight "Mantacore are creatures that combine a lion's body, draconic wings, shark teeth and a scorpion's tail" recited Guardian It took a step forward and slashed at us. Ducking out of the way to avoid it, we all watched as Rarity delivered, I guess you could say a double-hooved buck, right into the Mantacore's face. "Take that, you ruffian!" she said triumphantly. But her victory was short-lived as the Mantacore recovered and gave a mighty roar, which was apparently enough to send Rarities mane into complete disarray, making her run for cover. "My turn" I declared "G, boost power to strength" And with that I charged the Mantacore, intent on doing some damage. As I approached, it lashed out with its tail which, with the boost I received from my implants, were easy to evade until I got within range. In one motion, I sent an uppercut directly into the beasts chin causing it to recoil, leaving its ribs open to a left hook and a roundhouse kick. But just like with Rarity, the Mantacore recovered and fought back. With a swipe of it's tail, I was sent airborne over the six ponies and directly into the trunk of a tree which I collapsed against, stunned by the impact. When I finally regained my senses, I stood up and walked back to the group and watched as Applejack rode the Mantacore like a rodeo champion. I doubled over laughing at just how ridiculous this looked and apparently the Mantacore heard me, because when I looked up, a bright orange cannonball was flying at me at high speed. Bracing for impact, I caught Applejack, who was flying at terminal velocity, and was shot back into the same tree. "Sorry 'bout that" apologized Applejack as she hopped off of me "thanks for catchin' me though" "Ugh, no problem" I said dazed as I stood up a little shaky "this thing is going to get it now" As I charged at the Mantacore I noticed that Rainbow Dash was making a multicolor cyclone around the creature. Perfect, that is the perfect distraction so I can get in a finisher. But, then the Mantacore deflected the Pegasus which was now rocketing toward me like a rainbow artillery shell. "OH COME ON!" I exclaimed as I was hit by Rainbow Dash which flung us both back into my favorite tree again. Landing in the imprint I had been working on and slumped back down onto the ground dazed. "Captain" said Rainbow concerned "are you ok?" "I'll be fine" I said "just give me a minute" As I stood up, Rainbow and I both looked on in fear as Fluttershy approched the manticore speaking calmly and softly, nuzzling its paw. Dumbstruck, the two of us rejoined the group and watched as the manticore turned over its paw to reveal a huge thorn, she then gently removed the thorn and was immediatly tackled by the manticore who began licking her like a happy puppy. While Fluttershy had the manticore's attention, the rest of us picked our lower jaws off the ground and snuck around the creature. Once on the other side, Twilight and I waited eagerly for Fluttershy to follow us so we could ask her how she knew what to do. "Fluttershy, that was amazing" said Twilight "how did you know ?" "Oh, I didn't" she confessed "sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness" "Captain, the energy signature has just appeared" reported Guardian "Where?" "Signal lost" said Guardian "I am sorry, Captain. It did; however, appear to be moving in the same direction as we are" That's when I noticed the thorn was gone. What is going on here? I'm starting to sense something is wrong here. "Captain, is something wrong?" inquired Twilight "Huh, oh, no, I'm fine. Lets move on" After the manticore, we all had a new-found respect for our gentle friend. I was still thinking about that weird entity that was apparently following us, but I tried to forget about it. I decided to ask Fluttershy a question. "Hey, Fluttershy" I said trying not to startle her "you really like animals, huh?" "Oh yes, I love all my little critter friends" she replied with a renewed energy "they are just like us, they like when you're kind to them" "Well, you seem to have quite a bit of experience with animals" I said "is that what you do instead of weather jobs like Rainbow?" "Yes. I take care of all the little animals" she said "I give them food, shelter, and medical help if they need it. Actually, that's how I met some of my little friends like Hummingway the hummingbird" "Wow, you really are an animal lover" I said "You have no idea" interjected Rainbow Dash "she's the only pony I've ever seen have a tea party with a bear, an alligator, and a snake" "I'll take your word for it" I said with a laugh As we walked through the forest, I could see the trees were getting thicker. As I attempted to make sure none of the ponies became seperated from the group, I heard a symphony of screams from the group. "What? What's wrong?" I said as I drew out my tomahawk, ready to do battle with whatever came up They didn't say anything, they just pointed at a tree in front of them which happened to have a mildly startling face on it. that's when I noticed that ALL of the trees around us had the same kind of faces. I just rolled my eyes in disbelief. "Really? That's it?" I said "You do realize that it's just a tree, right?" "Y-y-yeah, but the f-f-faces are s-s-scary" stuttered Twilight. I turned to face the tree "Maybe so, but it's a tree" I repeated. Then in one swift motion, I raised my axe and sent it flying toward the tree, hitting it dead center with a satisfying THUNK. "See? It's not going to hurt you" That's when I heard the laughter. We all looked over and watched as Pinkie Pie giggled and made faces at one of the trees. "Pinkie, why aren't you scared?" asked Fluttershy Because it's a tree I thought as I retreaved my tomahawk. "Oh girls, don't you see?" she replied. And that's when she started singing. "When I was a little filly and the sun was going down..." she began "Tell me she's not..." groaned Twilight "The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown..." Pinkie continued, hopping around happily "She is" confirmed Rarity "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding" I complained punctuated with a facepalm Thats when Pinkie started to push everyone toward the trees and encouraging them to laugh. The crazy part (by comparison) was that as they laughed, the faces disappeared, and we were actually having a fun time defeating the army of scary trees. By the end of Pinkie's song all of the trees were back to normal and we were all laughing and having a great time, until I saw it. G warned me that the energy signal was back, which I confirmed with the sight of a very fast moving purple mist that disappeared almost instantly. "You saw that, right G?" I asked mentally "Affirmative" he responded "I confirm that that anomaly is indeed the signal that we detected at the cliff, as well as near the manticore. I also suspect that that entity is responsible for and will continue to be responsible for the troubles we face on this mission" "I fully agree, let's not keep it waiting"