//------------------------------// // Crushing Doom! // Story: The Amazing Adventures of Captain Invincible! // by shallow15 //------------------------------// “Okay, there's your book!” Twilight said a little too brightly. She began none-to-gently shoving Apple Bloom towards the door of the library. “Thanks for coming. If you need anything else feel free to come back--” “Well, now that ya mention it, we were thinkin' about findin' books on makin' fireworks,” the filly began. “Tomorrow!” Twilight shouted, then continued in a more normal tone of voice. “Come back tomorrow and I'll find you all the books you need. Thanks for stopping by, Apple Bloom, good night!” With a final shove, Twilight finally got Apple Bloom out of the library and onto the doorstep. Apple Bloom turned to thank Twilight again, then blinked as the door slammed shut. “But, it's ten in the mornin',” Apple Bloom said, confused. After making sure the door was locked and the “closed” sign was up in the window, Twilight retrieved Spike's journal and relocated back to her favorite reading cushion. She made herself comfortable and opened the journal. “All right, lets see. Captain Invincible and Scaleseeker had just been caught in the cave-in Lullaby had Sour Note start...” Scaleseeker's good eye opened and she glanced around, surprised she was still alive. She tried to get to her hooves, but found a large weight pressing down on her. She struggled against it, then her nostrils detected an unmistakeable smell. “Get off me, lizard!” she snarled. “I would love to,” Captain Invincible replied, “but right now, I'm a little busy keeping a few tons of crystal from crushing us to death. I think I can get you a little more room, though. Hold on.” The Captain let out a grunt of exertion and Scaleseeker felt the dragon's weight lift off her enough for her to turn around so she could see the situation they were in. The two were trapped in a small pocket of air barely large enough for the two of them. Even though Captain Invincible had raised himself enough to move, Scaleseeker could still see the dragon was bent over at the waist, using his back, shoulders, and arms to keep the crystals that made up his former lair from burying them both. There wasn't enough room for the pegasus to stand up, so he folded her wings in as tightly to her body as she could, trying to make more space. “The air's not going to last long in here,” she said, surveying the small chamber. “How are you doing with all that?” “I can hold it for a little while, but not long.” “I don't suppose you have some sort of escape spell or something in case something like this happened?” “Considering that I'm not a wizard, and Midnight Sun figured that no one but me and her would ever come here, no. No, there isn't.” Scaleseeker rolled her eye. “Great. So we're gonna die here.” “I said there isn't an emergency escape spell,” Captain Invincible replied, “I didn't say we weren't going to get out of here. But we're going to have to work together to do it.” “Oh, great. My life is in the claws of a lizard,” Scaleseeker groaned. She snorted loudly in irritation then looked up at the hero. “What do you need me to do?” “When I count to three, crawl through the gap that opens as fast as you can.” “Which way?” Scaleseeker asked. “The direction the breeze is coming from. Up by your head.” Scaleseeker frowned and tilted her head upward. Sure enough she could feel a small breeze coming from between the crystals by her head. “What am I looking for when I get through?” “A dark blue crystal about the size of your hoof. All you have to do is hit it, the crystal will do the rest of the work.” “Right,” Scaleseeker twisted herself around so she was on her stomach and facing the direction the breeze was coming from. “Okay, ready.” Captain Invincible took a deep breath, then bent his knees and pushed upwards on the crystals above him with all his might, quickly repositioning his arms to take the brunt of the weight. His muscles bulged and strained with effort and he let out a mighty growl as he pushed the collapsing cavern roof upwards. Scaleseeker watched as the crystals in front of her began to part and she quickly scurried through the widening gap. She popped out into a small alcove near the dimensional gate which led to the lair. She looked around and found the large blue crystal Captain Invincible described embedded in the wall. She raised her hoof, and paused. I can get out of here myself. Why do the lizard any more favors? Scaleseeker grinned and turned to look at the gap she had came through. “Sorry, pal.” The dragon hunter ignored the crystal and strode through the gateway. She quickly stopped, however, when it became clear the dimensional gate was no longer there. She stared in disbelief at the wall of crystal which stood beyond the archway that led to the gate. “Scaleseeker?” came Captain Invincible's voice. “Did you find it? This ceiling's getting heavy.” Scaleseeker looked up at the wall. A snarl crossed her face and she let out a growl of frustration. “Fine,” she hissed through her teeth. She walked back to the blue crystal and smacked it violently with her hoof. The crystal began to glow with a magical light, which soon overwhelmed the dragon hunter's vision. Then there was a brilliant flash, and the cavern collapsed completely. ***** “Let me out!” Hot Scoop cried as she pounded her hooves against the side of the giant glass dome she was imprisoned under. “Let me out of this thing right now!” “Aw, keep quiet,” Joybuzzer said, sending a jolt of electricity through the surface of the glass, causing Hot Scoop to recoil in pain. The pegasus filly smirked and trotted back over to rejoin the rest of the Urchins. Hot Scoop got back to her feet and walked back to the edge of the dome. She took a deep breath and forced herself to keep calm. She watched as the Urchins rejoined the Schoolmarm at the other end of what she presumed was another of Dr. Spectra's hidden laboratories. The older earth pony and the three fillies began connecting cables and wires to one of the many consoles that lined the lab. “Dr. Spectra?” the Schoolmarm called. “Where do you want the green cable connected?” “Isn't it obvious?” Dr. Spectra swooped down from a towering structure Hot Scoop remembered all too well: the Turbo-Powered Unicorn Magic Extractor. The mad scientist raised her goggles and hovered in front of the Schoolmarm. “Connect the green cable to the secondary console over there, then hit the row of switches with the yellow lights-- oh, forget it! I don't have time for this! Buttermint!” The yellow henchpony emerged from behind one of the other consoles. “Y-yes, Dr. Spectra?” “Help the teacher and her dimwitted pupils hook up the consoles for the initial sequence. I have real work to do, and make sure they don't blow themselves up in the process!” “Hey!” the Urchins chorused, as the Schoolmarm snorted at Dr. Spectra. “Yes, Dr. Spectra,” Buttermint said meekly. She walked over to the console and began giving instructions to the Schoolmarm and the Urchins. Dr. Spectra sighed and flew up to a higher section of the Extractor. She connected a few cables and tubes, then flew to another section near a catwalk to check the power couplings. “Is it ready?” The mad pegasus did an impressive backflip in mid-air as Lullaby suddenly materialized on the catwalk. Dr. Spectra quickly recovered her composure and turned to face the sorceress. “It would be ready sooner if I didn't keep having all these interruptions!” Lullaby's eyes narrowed. “Watch yourself, Doctor. You'd still be rotting in jail if it weren't for the Schoolmarm and myself. And you are not the only scientist in the world.” Dr. Spectra gulped as Lullaby's eyes began to glow with an unearthly red light. She cleared her throat and forced a grin onto her face. “Sure, no problem, Lullaby. It'll be up and running in a couple of hours.” “It had better be,” Lullaby said quietly. “I've waited far too long for any more delays.” With a flash of crimson light, Lullaby disappeared from the catwalk. Dr. Spectra let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, and quickly got back to work. Lullaby re-appeared at the bottom of the Extractor, where the crystal coffin containing Midnight Sun had been placed on one end, held in place by a large metal clamp. Lullaby leaned in close, gazing at the purple unicorn's peaceful sleeping face. “All that talent... all that power... and all you did was kiss the flank of that sun-raising figurehead. Well, soon, that power will be mine, and Equestria will follow, and your precious little dragon isn't going to be able to do a single thing about it.” ***** The flash of blue light in the alley behind the warehouse grew larger and larger, until it transformed into a glowing blue portal that appeared in mid air. After a moment, Captain Invincible and Scaleseeker dropped onto the ground. The portal winked out and the two got to their feet. No sooner had she cleared her head, Scaleseeker took to the air and unsheathed her sword from the scabbard on her back. Captain Invincible held up his claws. “You don't want to do this,” he told the dragon hunter. “Yeah, I do,” Scaleseeker responded. “I don't care how you've duped everypony else into thinking you aren't like the rest of the lizards, I'm not going to buy it. I will kill you.” The hero and the hunter faced each other. Captain Invincible could feel his heart pounding. Even with his great strength and power, he knew he was up against the most feared dragon hunter in Equestria. A pegasus with years of experience in taking down the most powerful dragons in the world. Her body language told him that she would fight to her last breath to take his head. Every flap of her wings, the bulge of the muscles on her forelegs as she raised the sword towards him, the curl of her lip as she sneered at him told him that she did not see him as anything but a threat. Then, as quickly as she had drawn the sword, she replaced it in its scabbard. “But first,” she said, “I'm taking down that double-crossing witch, and I assume you're going to go after her yourself.” “That's right,” said Captain Invincible, lowering his claws. “And I probably won't be able to warn you off.” “She has my closest friends hostage, and a plan to take over Equestria. There is no way I'm not putting a stop to it.” Scaleseeker took a deep breath, then slowly let it out through her nostrils. “Okay, fine. We team up. For now.” “For now,” Captain Invincible agreed. “So what's the plan?” Scaleseeker asked. Twilight fidgeted on her cushion, trying to ignore the pressure she felt building inside her. There had been enough distractions already. She was going to finish Spike's story before he got back home, and nothing and no pony was going to-- to-- The journal was left forgotten as Twilight rushed out the back door of the library, praying she made it to the outhouse in time.