The Pony Lisa

by Hi World


Chapter 8: First Encounters

>Rainbow Dash 1445 hours

Rainbow Dash was unsure about who had it worse. Luna and Rarity and the others who had to wonder the dark maze? Or herself, who had to sit all alone in the gloom, surrounded by Pony killing Griffins? She’d lost contact with Luna and the others shortly after the last time they spoke.

She liked Luna. Thought she was awesome. She had been scared of her at first, not that she ever admitted it, since Luna was a big, blue Alicorn, capable of raising the moon over Equestria. She was tough, too; not afraid to get her royal hooves dirty, even if that dirt was the blood of Griffins and Ponies. The Princess also had a respectable kill count, defeating Griffins both with weapons and with her bare hooves.

On leave however, she was a completely different Pony. She was kinda like a confident version of Fluttershy; still sweet and awkward, but louder and not as much of a scardy Pony.

Last time they were on leave, at a beach on a new world not yet discovered by the Griffins, Pinkie Pie had suggested they eat some ice cream, and brought with her a humongous wagon of the stuff. When Pinkie stated that they should all take an oath to finish the entire wagon load, Luna was ecstatic, licking her lips and her eyes glistening, and dove straight in to the ice cream mountain before anypony had finished making their oath. The rest of the Ponies soon lead after Luna and joined her in the alp of many flavours.

So, all of them ate and ate until it was all gone, thus fulfilling their oaths and getting dreadful tummy aches. Once they felt better, they partied til sunset, playing all sorts of fun games like tag, volley ball, and just wallowing in the surf of the sea. What Rainbow remembered most however, was Luna, roaring with uncontrollable laughter, rolling around on the beach. Everypony else was doing the same, but it was strange to hear it from their tough, nerve-wracking, Sergeant Princess Luna of the night. T'was as if they had a super villain on their side, and that felt awesome.

In the cock-pit of the Pelican however, things were a little less cheerful. Rainbow had been chewing gum aggressively, all worked up. She had built up a neat little collection of it, chewed up and stuck under the dashboard. Spitting her latest blob onto her hoof, she pressed it under the dash with the others, then drew out a fresh wad and chucked it in her mouth.

She’d tried reading her favourite book; "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue," but had given up after reading the same paragraph for twenty minutes.

So far, nothing interesting had appeared on the monitors. It was funny though; she was so jumpy, she thought she saw a silhouette with two heads earlier, which was a stupid thing to have thought she’d seen. It must have been her imagination getting all edgy. It must have been. And so, with that out of the way, but not entirely out of her system, she waited...
And waited...
And waited...
Until…

Two Ponies limped into view on one of the monitors, but it was dark, and Rainbow could hardly see who they were. Shining, a pair of tell-tale, purple tinted glasses perched on the muzzle of a Unicorn.
“Vinyl Scratch!” Gasped Rainbow with elation. “Thank Luna! I aint gonna be alone no more!”
Would’ve said “thank Celestia,” but she was starting to lose respect for that one.

Rainbow Dash had always admired Vinyl for her style, her music, and her laid back, relaxed, “chill out” attitude.

She was so glad to finally have some company, she almost exploded. Snickering, she donned her soldier saddle with pistol, hit the controls to lower the gangplank, slid through the door into the troop bay and called them over.
“Vinyl! Other guy! Get over here!”

With her own cerise eyes, Rainbow could now see that they were injured; Vinyl dragging one of her hind legs along the deck, leaving a trail of blood. The other Pony was facing the other way, revealing a cutie mark of a purple treble clef to match Vinyl’s black musical note. Octavia! Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, here to bring some music to her forsaken Pelican!

She never did like Octavia; thought she was stuck up, but that didn’t matter. Right now, Vinyl and Octavia were the two most amazing Ponies ever! Whatever they had fought, they had won. They had lived, and now she was going to hear all about their incredible story.

“Octavia! Vinyl! Come on guys!” She beckoned them over as the gangplank finally made contact with the metal floor.

As Octavia pivoted to face her with a grunt, and Vinyl stepping out of the shadows, she saw that their injuries were worse. Much much worse.

One of the lenses of Vinyl’s radical glasses was smashed, exposing not her eye, not her eye socket, but flesh; brownish green flesh where her eye should’ve been.

Octavia… didn’t even have any eyes! Just gaping black holes in her head, with the burgundy stains of dry blood running down what was left of her face like frozen waterfalls. Three tentacles, tipped with red, feather like… things, formed an untidy cluster, bursting from her chest.

Rainbow Dash was speechless. Too afraid to make a sound… but she’d already made a sound. What had once been Vinyl and Octavia advanced towards her, picking up speed.

Vinyl’s ribs where held up so tightly against her skin, they had ripped through, and were visible along each side. Underneath her, the same three tentacles that Octavia had, wriggled and writhed, aiming forward like eyes, noses, or ears. The broken leg she was dragging along behind her wasn’t a leg. It wasn’t a leg at all. It was a huge, fat tentacle, like a Python that had just eaten a large meal.

Rainbow Dash could hardly breathe, her first instinct was to take off and hover out of reach.
Woah boy! Er…”
What to do, what to do... Pistol!
Her trusty M6H Magnum had completely left her mind until then.

Aiming down, the retractable arm that held the pistol kicked back with every shot. She missed. She hit Octavia in the head. She missed again.
Did Octavia die? No! She just shrieked, so loud and powerful that her throat began to disintegrate, and chunks of it flew passed her remaining teeth.

The Rainbow tailed Pegasus fired and fired, missing and scoring an equal amount. She hit Vinyl in the spine two consecutive times, but Vinyl just leaped up, higher than anypony could ever leap, and attempted to bite her.

With a burst of wing power, she narrowly evaded the ex-DJ.
Waa! G… Go away! S… Stay back you two! … You monsters! What have you done with Vinyl Scratch and Octavia?!” She pointlessly yelled at them, resuming fire.
But it was too late.

>Rarity 1450 hours

“We got a plan B?” Twilight queried as Fleur, Big Mac and Fluttershy stomped on the trap-door that led to the recycling plant.
Fluttershy not putting in as much effort as Big Mac. Fleur even less.
Ooh, I thought this was plan B,” moaned Rarity. “This is taking forever, and we have to go through the putrid recycling plant. Are you sure there is no other way, Twilight?”
“I’m sure Rarity, and I agree, we should be much further along by now. But as you know, almost every route to the engine room is blocked.”

Big Mac stomped on a tiny panel just next to the hatch, breaking it loose to expose a bunch of colourful wires.
“Big Mac! Wait!” Rarity cried out as he lifted his hoof. “Look!”
He followed her pointing hoof to the set of wires, then looked at her, knowing what she was about to do, but then Twilight jumped at the opportunity.

“Rarity, shine your light down here so I can hotwire the lock.”
You may be smart Twilight, but I’m the one in charge, and I’ll make the orders thank you very much.
“No, Twilight Sparkle.”
There was a surprised Oh? from the purple Unicorn.
“You shine your light down there, so that I may hotwire the lock.”
“Rarity? Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Twilight didn’t sound too confident.
“Why of course I do. It’s just like sewing!”
“It’s nothing like sewing!” Twilight failed to understand, and Rarity knew that made her angry.

Humming a tune she used to hum when making beautiful dresses back in Equestria, she chose to ignore Twilight.

Hotwiring was easy peasy; you just take that wire, thread that through there, strip that one back, switch those two around and… wolah! Open!

Rarity laughed with triumph, only for a couple of seconds however, as the tremendous stench of sewage billowed its way up and into their nostrils. There was coughing and spluttering from all around the herd.
“We… have to go in there?” Trembled Fluttershy.
Spluttering, Twilight answered, “Yep, aha-aha, urgh! … So… who’s first?” She then scanned the Ponies expectantly, as if somepony would volunteer.

Oddly enough, Fluttershy spoke up. “Um... For the record, I don’t mind.”
Aaww, are you sure, Fluttershy?” Rarity questioned, already having Fleur De Lis in mind.
Living up to her name, Fluttershy responded awkwardly, “Oh, well, sort of - I mean... no - I mean... I don't know... I'm kinda scared, but... It's ok... I'll do it if I have to.”
Bless her cotton socks.
“Nopony's forcing you down there, Fluttershy," Rarity let her Pegasus friend know.
"Nope," agreed Big Mac.
Already regretting it, Rarity said, "But if you feel up to the challenge then it would be unfair of us to stop you, right Twilight?”
"Of course. But are you one hundred per cent sure about going down there first, Fluttershy?"
To which Fluttershy replied, "Yes."
There was an uncomfortable silence as the others expected Fluttershy to come up with a reason, which eventualy turned out to be:
"Well... I'd rather it be me in danger than any of you."
Darn it Fluttershy, don't melt our hearts like this!

Rarity felt touched, and so did Twilight and Big Mac, judging from the way they stared at her with wide, glistening eyes and warm smiles.

As for Fleur, she just stared in disbelief at the shy one as if to say: What are you? Stupid?
Rarity watched her from the corner of her eye. Don't you dare think bad things about our Fluttershy.

Hating putting Fluttershy in danger, Rarity then decided, “Big Mac, you go in second. Then it shall be me, Twilight, and Fleur can take rear.”

Being on rear was almost as bad as being on point, almost, and Fleur was not too pleased about that.
“Aw c'est quoi ce bordel!?”
“Fleur De Lis, guess what: Nopony knows what you are saying.” She said that with a patronizing manner, knowing it would wind up the model Unicorn.
Fleur rumbled in response as Fluttershy fluttered down the shaft, followed by Big Mac who, as an Earth Pony, awkwardly made his way down the ladder.

A giggle from Twilight as Rarity had reluctance pasted across her face. “Y’know, I think this counts as spelunking!”
“Ha ha ha, very funny. Just stay close, Twilight." Her laugh was forced and sarcastic. She began lowering herself down the ladder. "And make sure Fleur follows you.”
“Yes Corporal!”

Recycling. Bilges. Sewer. It had all the charm of a crypt. Less than a crypt. It stunk of sewage, obviously. The air was moist, the walls were damp, and there was a constant hubbub of recycling machinery, working to make the filthy water worthy enough to return to the mix.

Tanks holding clear water, grey water and brown water lined the walls, like Celestia’s and Luna’s old royal guards, only smellier.

A steady drip, drip, drip, could be picked up, echoing off the walls. The whole place was flooded; the murky, ankle deep water submerging their hooves splashed and rippled with every step they took. Except for Fluttershy however, who hovered just above the surface. Yet another reason to be jealous of Fluttershy.

Rarity was proud to be a Unicorn, but right now, she desperately wanted a pair of wings. There were tonnes of reasons to be jealous of Fluttershy: Her wings, her gracefully long, pink mane and tail, those adorable blue eyes, her triple butterfly cutie mark, and that soft, delicate voice. Rarity may have style and charm, but Fluttershy had natural adorability that turned Rarity’s blue eyes green with envy.

The shy Pegasus was hopeless in battle though; always scared of this and that. The only field she was really any good in was stealth and reconnaissance; quiet stuff.

On top of all this however, Fluttershy was her friend, a very good friend, and Rarity would do everything in her limited power to ensure her survival, as well as the survival of her squad as a whole. Unfortunately, that meant getting dirty, and that made her most unhappy.

Her moans of discomfort must have become a white noise to the others. Ooohh, this is dreadful. Twilight, can’t you do something?”
Twilight finally grunted, “Well I could… but not without giving away our position to any Griffins that might be lurking by the tanks.”
“Now why would the Griffins do that?” Rarity whined.
“Because they’re Griffins. It’s them versus us. Do you not know that, Rarity?”
“Do they know we’re here? Because if they don’t know we’re here then they have no reason to lurk around down here. If I was them, I'd be nice and cosy in the ship's spa..." She paused for a moment as she pondered. "Does this ship even have a spa?”
Annoyed, the smart one responded, “No, Rarity, it doesn't have a spa. This is a prison ship, remember. And even if the Griffins don't investigate those noises you're making, there's still the possibility of being ambushed by prisoners.”
Good point Twilight… again.

Being corrected by Twilight got old and boring fast. The purple Unicorn was a huge asset, but she was always there to outsmart everypony. She never bragged, but that didn't stop it getting annoying every now and then. However, just like Fluttershy, she was a close friend, and they respected one another. None of this stopped Rarity from moaning though.

“Ugh, how long have we been walking? This is taking forever. My hooves are getting pruney. This smell is nauseating.”
“Rarity, be quiet,” urged Twilight. “We don’t know who or what could be hiding amongst these tanks. We need to tread carefully.”
“Forgive me, Twilight, but I can’t help but wonder if we could’ve tried harder to look for another route that doesn’t involve wading through… whatever it is we’re wading through.”
After that, she decided to be quiet.

The five of them crept on and on through the warm water, then a light bulb pinged on over Rarity’s head.
Ideaaa! She sang with sudden inspiration. Facing Big Mac, she asked, “Big Macintosh? Would you be so kind as to give a lady a ride?” She added a dazzling eye flutter at the end.
Said Stallion sighed and gave in. “Eeyup.”
And so, with her hind legs dangling down Big Mac’s right side, Rarity rode the farm Pony through the flooded stink tunnel.
“Thank you kindly Big Macintosh, you are a true prince.”

Not noticing Twilight’s eye role, Rarity did get an eye full of evils from Fleur who brought up the rear.
“Je suis celui qui doit être monté sur un étalon.”
Ignoring Fleur’s tone, and unable to comprehend her language, Rarity replied, “Ha ha! Good one Fleur.”
The slender, white Unicorn growled.
That’s right. You be that way, you grump.

There had been no contact with the Princess or Rainbow Dash for too long. She half expected the Princess and her squad to have already completed their task, and be waiting for them back at the shower block, ready to regroup and return to the Pelican. What if they had waited for too long and left without them? What if they were back on the Red Horse, hitting the showers?! What if… no, the Princess wouldn’t do that, she wouldn’t leave them. To Rarity, Luna came across as more of a titan than a Princess. Strong in the body, and as it turns out, strong in the heart.

She admired Luna, but she’d always liked Celestia too. Luna would often lead them through muck and dirt, which she thought was unnecessary. Celestia just gave simple instructions; "Go over there. Do this. Use the Warthog LRV."

She wished she had a Warthog right now. Marvellous vehicle; would certainly keep her hooves out of this grimy water. But, Big Mac would have to do for now, and that got her thinking:
Who’d win in a tug of war? Big Mac or a Warthog? ... Darn it, focus!
There was much to do, and according to Twilight, much to beware of.

“What was that?” Whispered Fluttershy, hovering in place, barely keeping it together.
“What is it, Fluttershy?” Twilight inquired, almost as spooked as the yellow Pegasus, who squeaked:
I heard something!
“Don’t get jumpy Flu-”
A warbling voice rose up above the muted hubbub of the recycling systems. A voice that spoke no words, that didn’t try to, that didn’t know how. It sounded reminiscent of yodelling, only much more discordant, and much much less comical.
Aah! There it is agai-”
Twilight used her magic to zip Fluttershy's mouth closed. Sshh! I know you’re scared Fluttershy, we all are, but we have to be quiet.”
Muffling behind her zipped lips, Fluttershy pawed at her muzzle until Twilight made the zip vanish with a flash.

All those concerns about hygiene and appearance fled from Rarity’s mind; riding Big Mac was not the wisest thing to be doing right now. With that in mind, she hopped down from the high riding Stallion with a splash, ignoring the mess it made of her hooves.
“Let’s keep moving,” she murmured with unease.

Marching on, a mighty uproar clawed its way up the bilges, containing a depth and jaggedness that tripped Rarity’s pulse.
Fluttershy began making noises, sniffling and whimpering, fighting her crying, slowly failing. She remained airborne however, something she had struggled to do when frightened when she first met her a long time ago.
“Hold it together Fluttershy,” she announced to her.

They all picked up speed, all had rifles at the ready, all glanced around their disgusting surroundings.
“Twilight, get up front. I don’t care what you say but this water is slowing us down,” susurrated Rarity.
Twilight protested, “But Rarity-”
Do it!
Twilight obeyed, and galloped ahead of Fluttershy, just as another blood curdling cry of monstrous rage from a non-Pony, non-Griffin throat, blasted up from behind them.

“Stay close, Fleur!” Rarity called back as she broke into a mad sprint with the others, forgetting her dislike for the fancy Mare.

Big Mac’s thundering hoof steps caused tidal waves of sewage that sprayed onto her face.
Urgh! Twilight! Clear the water!” She cried, not bothering to be stealthy now; whatever contributed to the growing cacophony behind them knew they were here.
Twilight beamed up her horn, “Here goes!”

Zing! The water split in the centre, forming a moist path through the river of muck.
Ha! Well done Twilight!”
The water was a zip being undone as the Ponies stampeded onwards. It then closed itself behind them, splashing wildly as the two sides re-met, not to mention the tremor their boisterous pursuers were generating. Gurgles and screeches and roars bounced off the walls to fill their ears. Rarity’s mouth and nose were clogged by the pong of what was once food, leaking from the many storage tanks to either side.

“What are they?!” Now Twilight was asking the questions for once. “They don’t sound like Griffins!”
Fluttershy was still panicking, her lungs puffing in and out heavily as she winged along. “I’m scared!”
Rarity; “Twilight! Ptooey! Darn water. “Where are you taking us?!”
“Maintenance storage room! There should be access to the upper level from there!”

They were panting, in need of fresh air, not this humid gunk that was drowning them. Rounding a left corner, Rarity spied an open doorway further down the line.
“Is that the storage room?!” She panted, followed by a gag as the stench intensified in her gullet.
“No! Storage is further on! This is just a checkpoint to prevent a flood from spreading!”
Seriously?
“A lot of good that’s done! Everypony! Hold position at… over there… the checkpoint!” She knew that didn’t make absolute sense, but she didn’t care; they all knew what she meant.

Fluttershy spun in mid-air and brought her MA5D to bare, tears in her eyes as she wept in fear, forcing herself to stare at exactly where the follow-ups would emerge from, ready to fire. Twilight skidded and hit the side of the doorway with a crash, and was then sandwiched by Rarity who did likewise. The spell Twilight had been casting faded, and the non-transparent water sloshed back to its natural state, engulfing their hooves. Defiantly, Big Mac planted himself like a tree, gritted his teeth, Assault Rifle at the ready.

“My apologies, Twilight!” Rarity wheezed as the two Unicorns shook their heads clear of stars.
Whirring, the arms of their soldier saddles positioned their weapons where they wanted them to be.
Sudden realisation caused Rarity to gasp. “Fleur...! Where’s Fleur!?”

Her answer came bolting around the corner with all the speed of a Cheetah, pupils reduced to dots, mouth set with inconceivable terror, sewage splattering her pristine white coat and pink tail.
Screaming in her language, she might as well be talking in tongues. Ne vous arrêtez pas! Continuer à courir! Ils sont trop nombreux! Nous ne pouvons pas prendre! Nous allons mourir!

She slammed into Big Mac, who stood in front of the doorway, and scrambled manically to get past him.
“We’re holding this position, Fleur! Now get ready!” Ordered Rarity as the approaching footfalls grew louder and nearer.

Fleur wasn’t having any of it. Non! Nous devons aller! Il ya un trop grand nombre d'entre eux! Sortez de mon chemin!”
Big Mac shoved the weedy Pony out of his sights as she proceeded to sob helplessly in the water.
Fleur! Do as I tell you!” Snapped Rarity.
Still in a state, the fear crazed Fleur rose up and hunkered down, rifle pointing the way she came, teeth chattering.

This was bad. Had she seen what was chasing them? Without somepony to translate what she was saying, there was no way of knowing.

Anywho, now was the time to find out just what was the source of that deafening unmelodiousness, as the first pursuer came coasting around the bend...

... They weren’t Griffins.