//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: The Icy Invasion // Story: The Trouble With Unicorns // by CartsBeforeHorses //------------------------------// The six ponies walked off in the direction of Ghastly Gorge. They all wore their elements around their necks, prepared for the worst. “So, let me get this straight. There’s a giant crack in the earth near Ghastly Gorge, and you think that this is causing the heat?” Rarity asked. “Yes,” Twilight answered. “Well how do we even know that we’re gonna find Discord there? For all we know he’s moved on to cause chaos someplace else,” Applejack asked. “That may be true,” Twilight said, “But if we can somehow restore the earth, maybe then Discord will show up to wreck it again.” The sun beat down on their backs as they walked the twenty miles from Ponyville to the gorge. Beads of sweat dripped down Twilight’s face as she struggled in the taxing heat. The others fared no better, and it seemed that only the physically-fit Applejack and Rainbow Dash were unfazed by the trek. “Maybe we should have made this trip early in the morning when it’s not so hot,” said Rarity. “No, we gotta go and stop Discord right now,” said Rainbow, “We can’t afford any delays.” Finally, the group arrived at the precipice of the Ghastly Gorge. The pungent smell of sulfur and smoke from the depths of the earth permeated the air. As the six approached the edge of the gorge, they could see thousands of miles down into the orange, glowing depths of the earth. Waves of heat emanated from the gorge, and it was far hotter than it was on the walk to the gorge. “I wonder what happened to the stream that used to run through here,” Fluttershy mused, “I hope all the fishes are okay.” “Discord probably just thought this gorge was a convenient place to open up the earth,” Twilight replied, “This is on a natural fault line, after all.” “Since when does Discord pay attention to geology? I thought he was all about ‘not making sense’ and chaos and all that?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight responded, “He’s very powerful, but he’s not a god. He can’t do anything he wants. I think, even with his immense power, he still would find it easier to open up a rift in a place where there was already a pre-existing one.” “So how are we gonna close this rift, anyhow?” Applejack asked. “Twilight could use that repairing spell,” Rainbow Dash said, “You know, the one that you used as Mare-Do-Well to repair the dam in Ponyville? You could just use it to repair the gorge.” “I guess that idea might work. I’ll go ahead and try the spell,” said Twilight. She flapped her wings and took off into the air. About a minute later, she returned. “I’ve got some bad news, girls,” she said, “I would use the repairing spell that I used to repair the dam, but there’s just one problem. There’s nothing to repair the gorge with. When I repaired the dam, there were spare chunks of the dam wall around that I could use. But here, I can’t find the earth that Discord moved out of the way to make this rift. Maybe it’s all molten lava now, or maybe he just dumped it someplace that I can’t find. But either way, the repairing spell won’t work. Not unless we can find a bunch of spare rocks someplace that I can use.” “Well, shoot,” said Applejack, “Now how are we gonna get this gorge fixed?” “Oooh! Oooh! I know! We’ll get some of that pink fiberglass stuff that they put in houses! The stuff that looks like cotton candy, except it isn’t; I would know because I mistook it for cotton candy once and it wasn’t very tasty,” Pinkie Pie said, “But we’ll get a whole metric BOATLOAD of it and then just pack it into the crack!” The other five ponies rolled their eyes at her. “No, I’m serious!” said Pinkie, “It’s an insulator, right? Except instead of keeping heat in a house so it doesn’t get out, we’re keeping heat in the EARTH so it doesn’t get out!” “Pinkie, don’t be silly,” said Twilight Sparkle. "Yes, that’s a ridiculous idea! Especially since I would have just come back and taken the fiberglass out again.” The six ponies turned around to face away from the gaping gorge to see the towering form of Discord standing over them. “Discord!” Twilight yelled, “We’ve got you now! Come on girls, let’s use the Elements of Harmony!” Discord held up his hand in front of Twilight's face. “Oh, don’t be so naïve, Twilight. Do you honestly think that I would willingly appear before you now only for you to trap me in that stone imprisonment again? No, of course I wouldn’t. Try and use the Elements, and with a mere flick of my wrist I will telekinetically fling you and your friends down into the fiery gorge. You are standing mere feet from the edge, after all.” Fluttershy glanced back behind her to see the gorge, and then looked back at Discord, and nervously took a few steps towards him. “Oh, how precious; Fluttershy prefers me over death. But anyway, I came here to congratulate you on the wackiest idea I have ever heard in my life. Fiberglass! Why, I couldn’t have come up with anything more outlandish myself.” Discord snapped his fingers and a golden trophy appeared in front of Pinkie Pie. She grinned and wrapped her hooves around it. Twilight glared at her and she let go of the trophy. The alicorn turned to Discord and asked, “Is that the only reason you came here? To gloat?" Discord recoiled. “Well, goodness, what manners! I was about to give you a clue as to where and how I may strike next, but since you’ve given me such a COLD reception, I think I may just not.” Rainbow Dash flew up into Discord’s face, pointed a hoof at him and said, “Where is it, Dip-cord? Canterlot? Cloudsdale? Ponyville? Tell us!” Discord replied, “Personal space, Rainbow Dash! And yes, one of those places. Which is the only hint I’ll give you. Toodaloo!” With a flash of white light, Discord vanished. The six ponies turned to each other. “So. One of those cities. I don’t think it will be Canterlot, since Discord said that he wouldn’t attack there,” said Twilight. “How do you know he ain’t lyin’?” asked Applejack. “We don’t,” said Twilight, “But I think he has some sort of bizarre plan that involves leaving Canterlot alone... for now.” Twilight did not want to reveal to her friends the true reason behind Discord’s decision to spare Canterlot: that he had found out about Celestia’s suspicion of unicorns and had seemingly decided to leave Canterlot alone out of some bizarre sense of sympathy. “Well, okay, Twilight, we’ll trust you,” said Rainbow Dash. Twilight continued, “So, he said either Ponyville or Cloudsdale. Why don’t we just split the difference? Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and I will go to Cloudsdale since we all have wings. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity can stay in Ponyville. That way, we have all of our bases covered.” “But we need all six elements,” said Applejack, “How in the hay are we gonna get the other three to where he is in time? Especially if he attacks Cloudsdale.” “We’ll figure it out,” said Twilight. ***** Far above the city of Cloudsdale, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy hovered in the air, keeping an eye on the city below. “Gosh, my wings are getting tired,” said Fluttershy. “Mine too,” said Twilight Sparkle, sweating despite the cold air of the upper atmosphere. “Ah, you two need to learn to toughen up. We’re supposed to be standing watch, remember? If you two go back down to rest, that leaves me all alone! What if I miss something? We need to have all directions have eyes on them at all times!” Rainbow Dash replied. “I guess you’re right, Rainbow Dash. Speaking of, what are those dark clouds doing over there way off in the distance? Was there a thunderstorm scheduled?” “I don’t think so. Even if there was, we can hardly keep clouds together in this drought long enough to carry them. They usually just evaporate before we can take them anywhere,” Rainbow Dash answered as she glanced over at the dark clouds. “Yeah, that’s definitely not from the weather team,” she said. “Discord, then?” Fluttershy asked. “Quite possibly,” Rainbow Dash responded. She flew off in the direction of the clouds full-speed. About an hour later, Rainbow Dash approached the large, dark clouds. She tapped on one with her hoof. It appeared to be real enough. It also was slowly inching towards Cloudsdale. Suddenly, her ears perked up as she heard a high-pitched, screeching whinnying. Rainbow Dash looked into the cloud formation to see a ghostly, white, horse-shaped figure. It was about twice the size of a pony, and had a translucent body with no hind legs. It gazed at Rainbow Dash with its glaring eyes. She looked away, the light burning her retinas. Wendigos. “Neiiiiigh!” the creature whinnied. Rainbow Dash flew up and out of its way. Thankfully, the creature did not take much of an interest in her, and continued floating forward at a rapid pace, passing underneath Rainbow Dash. As Rainbow looked down, she saw none other than Discord. Oddly, he was fully clothed, and wore a blue general’s outfit with regalia. Rainbow Dash hid behind a cloud so that he wouldn’t spot her. “On Dasher, on Dancer! Let us march on Cloudsdale and freeze them all!” the Draconeqqus said, gleefully whipping at the icy creatures with a leather whip. Rainbow zipped off, staying high in the air to avoid the wendigos’ gazes. She had to warn her friends! She flew back towards Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy at a sprinting pace. They were both still hovering in the air above the city when she arrived about thirty minutes later. “Okay, I’ve figured out what it was: wendigos. Discord’s hidden them inside of a dark thundercloud so that he can mount a surprise attack! At the rate they’re going, they’ll be here in just a few hours.” “Wendigos? But those haven’t been seen in Equestria in thousands of years,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “Well, I know what I saw, Twilight. And I know that they are going to freeze Cloudsdale. I heard him say it while I was spying on them.” “But... don’t the wendigos normally feed off of division and hatred?” said Fluttershy. “That must be why they are responding to Discord,” said Twilight, “He’s found a way to harness them and control them! When they get here, they’ll freeze everything in their path!” “What do we DO?” Fluttershy asked, shaking in panic. “We have to rally the troops, that’s what,” said Rainbow Dash, “We need to get geared up to fight these things!” “But what if that just makes them angrier?” asked Fluttershy. She added, “And besides, it’s not the wendigos’ fault that Discord is using them as pawns. As monstrous as they are, they’re still living creatures. We should only fight them as an absolute last resort.” “Then we have to take out Discord,” said Twilight Sparkle, “If we take him out, then the wendigos should leave Canterlot alone. That is, if Fluttershy is willing to use her element on Discord.” “To stop the wendigos from being abused? Yes, I will,” said Fluttershy. “And what if we can’t stop him?” Rainbow asked. “Then we’ll follow your idea and fight the wendigos,” said Twilight, “Fluttershy and I will go and get the others, and we’ll come back up here in the hot air balloon. Rainbow, you go and alert the Wonderbolts. Tell them to be on guard. When I’m in Ponyville, I’ll have Spike send a letter to the Princess so she can get some of her Royal Guards up here. We’ll all meet up at the weather factory in Cloudsdale.” “Sounds like a plan,” said Rainbow Dash as she descended towards the Wonderbolt Headquarters near Cloudsdale. “Come on, Fluttershy, let’s go back to Ponyville and get the others!” ***** “My, it is SO HOT out here. Can’t we stand guard inside?” Rarity asked, standing on the balcony of Twilight’s treehouse. She held a pair of binoculars in her hooves, looking around on the horizon. “Come on now, Rarity. Can’t stand a bit a’ heat?” Applejack teased. “I don’t mind it,” said Spike, who was standing on the balcony and fanning Rarity with a paper fan. “I know what will cool us off—” Pinkie started. “What, a party?” Applejack and Rarity asked in unison. “Huh? What, no. I was going to say ice cream!” Pinkie Pie grabbed a gallon jug of ice cream and several spoons. “Where’d you get that?” Applejack asked. “Oh, just everywhere,” Pinkie responded. “My, thank you, Pinkie,” said Rarity. “Yeah, thanks!” said Applejack and Spike. “No prob—” “GIRLS! GIRLS!” The three looked up to see Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle flying towards them. “What is it?” Applejack yelled. “Discord... he’s got... wendigos with him and... they’re invading Cloudsdale...” she said, gasping for air. “WHAT?” the three wingless ponies exclaimed. "Yeah, that meanie! How dare he take advantage of poor, innocent creatures!” Fluttershy added. “Well, nice to know that you are aboard at least, Fluttershy,” said Rarity. “He’s crossed a red line with me,” the pegasus responded. “Alright, enough talking! Let’s get a move on. Spike, alert the princess. The rest of us get in the hot air balloon, it’s parked out front!” Twilight said. Spike got out a piece of parchment and wrote to Princess Celestia. The five ponies exited the library and boarded the balloon. Twilight just hoped that they could make it to the weather factory before it was too late. ***** “...So now Cloudsdale is about to be invaded by wendigos led by Discord!” Rainbow Dash finished in a long-winded explanation to Spitfire, the commander of the Wonderbolts. The fiery-orange mare removed her aviator sunglasses and looked up from her desk, where she had been busy writing all of the details of Rainbow’s story down. “Wendigos, eh? Hmm... I’ve been waiting to try my hoof against them in combat for years!” Spitfire said, her face lighting up with excitement. Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, and then simply said, “What.” “Yep. Actually, I’ve even trained the Wonderbolts in how to use flamethrowers, should those icy demons ever try any funny business. Now it’s time to hit ‘em and hit ‘em hard!” she said, slamming her hoof down onto the table. Rainbow responded, “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Let me get this straight. You went to the trouble of arming the Wonderbolts with flamethrowers just in case wendigoes showed up? Wendigos, who until about thirty minutes ago I would’ve told you were just as much a myth as Santa Hooves and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pegasus?” Spitfire chuckled. She said, “Yes, but I would’ve also told you three years ago that Nightmare Moon was just a myth, and that the Crystal Empire was just a myth. Given how more and more myths have been turning out to be true lately, I wanted to be on the safe side.” “Fair enough,” said Rainbow Dash, “Are you also prepared to fight the Headless Horse if he turns out to be real?” Spitfire glared at Rainbow Dash for a few seconds, her brow furrowed. Rainbow blushed and glanced at the floor. Ignoring Rainbow’s sarcastic remark, Spitfire said, “So, we will assemble our flamethrower division and be prepared for battle should you be unable to stop Discord and the wendigos in time. I’ll also send out one of our airborne infantry squads to follow you. Now, get out there and use the Elements on Discord, cadet!” “Yes, ma’am!” Rainbow Dash said, flying off towards the weather factory. ***** Rainbow Dash arrived at the weather factory shortly before her five friends arrived in the hot air balloon. As she flew, she could hear air raid sirens blaring in the distance. Normally the sirens were reserved for dragon attacks, but now were being put to use for a different purpose. Cloudsdale was emptying quickly as hundreds of pegasi fled the city towards the ground. As a city in the sky, Cloudsdale had been subject to its share of dragon attacks or runaway tornadoes in the past, and its residents were quite adept at protecting themselves from imminent danger. Little did they know, however, that this was an entirely different threat. Unlike the random acts of nature such as dragon attacks, unlike accidents such as runaway tornadoes, this threat was malicious and deliberate, and therefore had potential to do far more damage. And, Twilight Sparkle suspected, had something to do with Princess Celestia’s earlier statements about the unicorns. Perhaps it was simply Discord’s way of “equalizing” things: he would attack a pegasi city since Celestia didn't trust unicorns. Or, maybe it tied into a larger plot also involving the drought in southern Equestria. Or, maybe it was just Discord being random and chaotic. She had no way of knowing. “Rainbow Dash, did you alert the Wonderbolts?” the unicorn asked upon landing in front of the weather factory in her balloon. “Yeah, Twilight. They’re getting their flamethrower batallion ready. They actually have a plan for this, believe it or not,” Rainbow said, still in disbelief about it. As if in response, four flamethrower wielding Wonderbolts landed beside the six ponies, ready to accompany them on their way to face Discord. “Well duh, Dashie, why wouldn’t they? I have a plan for EVERY emergency. I have eyepatches stashed all around Equestria in case of eyepatch emergencies; I have balls stashed--” “Yes, I know, Pinkie. And I, too, am always preparing for any eventuality, Rainbow. Just not as... outlandish... as the ones that Pinkie might prepare for,” Twilight said. “Alright, so are we going to go and get Discord, or what?” Rainbow asked. “Yep. So here’s the plan. I’ve worked out a strategy. Rainbow Dash: you, Fluttershy, and the Wonderbolts will go and flank the cloud from the left and right. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and I will stay in the balloon, which I will be protecting with a force field. Discord will likely try to go after us first and try to destroy the force field. That’s where you come in. You’ll sneak up behind him and use your two Elements on him from behind. Then the four of us will fire ours, and he’ll be surrounded from all sides!” “Sounds good,” said Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Yes ma’am, Princess Twilight!” said the four Wonderbolts. “Uh, you guys don’t have to call me that. Just ‘Twilight’ is okay,” she said, blushing. “Yes ma’am, Twilight!” they responded. “Uh... sure.” “Okay, so let’s do this!” said Rainbow Dash as she took off into the air. Fluttershy and the five Wonderbolts followed. “Alright, let’s go fight off Discord!” said Twilight, throwing a sandbag out of the balloon, causing it to rise. ***** Heavy gusts of winds and snow buffeted the hot air balloon as it got closer and closer to the wendigo front lines, entering into the large black cloud which concealed the icy horses’ movements. “Hang on tight; we’re going into some heavy winds!” Twilight exclaimed. “Applejack, tighten down that rope over there; it’s coming loose!” Applejack grabbed the rope in her teeth and bit down, tying it into a tighter knot. “Pinkie, how’s that fire goin’?” Applejack asked. “Uh, it’s going!” Pinkie said, staring intently at the fire under the balloon which kept it aloft as she kept it fueled. “Rarity, how’s uh... how’s your hair?” Pinkie asked. “Oh, it’s fine, really. A bit tousled about by the wind, but otherwise okay. Are you three sure that there’s nothing I can help with?” “Nope, just stand there lookin’ pretty,” Applejack responded. “Uh, actually, you can help me with the force field if you want to. Just add your magic to it to make it stronger,” said Twilight. Rarity powered up her horn and did as Twilight said. “Alright, we’re coming up to the first few wendigoes! Hold on tight, everypony. This force field should hold, but it’ll be bumpy!” Twilight said. The four ponies braced for impact as a particularly large wendigo brushed the side of the force field. The balloon shook, but remained intact. “Well that wasn’t so bad--” Rarity started as five more wendigos slammed headfirst into the force field. The balloon rocked from side to side as Twilight struggled to maintain the force field against the large beasts. “Ah, I’m gettin’ seasick!” said Applejack, running over to the other side of the basket to tighten down another rope. “We’re almost there, I think!” said Twilight Sparkle. “Ah yes, the Elements of Harmony!” They heard a devilish voice boom out across the sky. As they looked in front of them, they saw Discord riding a wendigo. He was approaching the force field. The rest of his wendigo army stopped in their tracks. “Do you honestly think that this puny little force field can stop me?” he asked. He banged on the force field with his lion paw and a crack appeared in it. Twilight strained with her magic to repair it, her horn glowing brightly. Rarity came to her aid, attempting to reinforce the crack with her own magic. However, more cracks appeared as Discord continued to bang on the magical shield. ***** “I see him, he’s right there! He’s falling for the trap!” said Rainbow Dash to the two Wonderbolts who had accompanied her to the right side of the cloud. Fluttershy was on the left side, accompanied by the two other Wonderbolts. “Shall we move in?” “Affirmative,” Rainbow Dash said, “Just make sure I can make it through these wendigos! Use your flamethrowers only as a last resort; don’t give away our position unless you have to. We want to catch him by surprise.” “Yes ma’am,” the two infantrystallions said. One of them radioed his counterpart on the other side of the cloud bank to give the go-ahead. “All set on this end. Is Fluttershy set?... copy. Roger. We’re all clear.” “Let’s do this!” Rainbow commanded. She and her two guards charged into the cloud banks, weaving their way through the wendigoes as they began closing in on Discord. ***** Discord pounded his lion paw repeatedly against the force field. Cracks spread across the force field in spider-web patterns as it lost its structural integrity. Soon, the four ponies inside could barely see out of it, it was so cracked. Discord brought up his fist once more, but paused for a moment. He looked around himself, and then back at the four ponies in the balloon. “Wait... why are there only four of you... aha! You’re trying to flank me! I know military strategy too, you know,” he said, pointing at his military uniform. “Well, if it’s a war you want, then it’s a war you’ll get! WENDIGOES! Launch your icy breath to the left and right! The two pegasi who wield the other Elements are hiding there!” A great cacophony of whinnying and neighing sounded as the wendigos obeyed, breathing icicles out at either side of the thundercloud. “AAAH!” a scream pierced the air as Rainbow Dash fell through the air, her ankle pierced by an icicle. “Rainbow Dash!” one of her two Wonderbolt companions yelled out, and flew down to catch her. The other Wonderbolt fired back with his flamethrower. “EEEEEEE!” one of the wendigos screeched as his icy, ethereal body disintegrated. The Wonderbolt retreated back with Rainbow Dash and the other batallion member. “The rest of you, attack these four!” Discord called out to the wendigoes on the front line. They pounded their hooves on the force field as it finally gave way and shattered into a thousand pieces. After the force field disintegrated, the wendigoes fired icicles at the balloon, poking hole after hole in it. After about ten seconds, the balloon collapsed, and the basket started to fall. Thinking quickly, Twilight Sparkle grabbed Applejack and held her aloft. She could not grab any of the others, as she had to dodge the icicles. “AAAH!” Pinkie yelled as she fell down. However, she was caught by a Wonderbolt. Rarity levitated herself to delay her inevitable fall as she waited in vain for a Wonderbolt to come along. A blue glow enveloped her as she hovered in midair for about ten seconds. However, an icicle hit her, breaking her concentration, and she fell. “AAAH!” Rarity yelled as she accelerated, now going too fast to stop her fall. “Gotcha!” Rarity looked down to see Fluttershy, who had caught her. “Why thank you, Fluttershy! You saved my life!” “No problem. Let’s find the others.” Fluttershy and Rarity followed the Wonderbolt back towards Cloudsdale. They were soon met by Applejack and Twilight. Another Wonderbolt arrived, carrying Rainbow Dash. “Oh good, everypony’s okay!” said Applejack as she and Twilight landed. “Yep! Thanks for saving me, Mister Wonderbolt.” said Pinkie. “Rarity, I didn’t know you could self-levitate. That sort of magic is somewhat difficult,” Twilight observed. “Well, with how many times I’ve almost plummeted to my death before, I figured that I should at least learn how to delay my falls long enough for somepony with proper flight to come along and save me, as Fluttershy here did. As much of a boor as Prince Blueblood is, his book does have some helpful magic training tips in it.” Rarity was of course referring to her bad habit of falling from great heights, as happened to her on three different times before this: once during the Best Young Flyers Competition, once when Spike had become a rampaging adult dragon, and once during Rainbow Dash’s Wonderbolt training. “Oh, and thank you for saving me, Fluttershy.” “You’re welcome. Sorry I couldn’t get there quicker,” said Fluttershy. “Uh, gang? I know that we’re all glad to still be alive, but look over there,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing off towards the horizon. The other ponies all glanced towards where Rainbow pointed her hoof. They could see the dark cloud and the wendigos within rapidly approaching Cloudsdale. At the rate that they were traveling, the icy spirits would be in Cloudsdale in mere minutes.