Chapter 6: Destiny
Midnight closed his eyes tight, trying to hold back tears.
“It doesn't mean anything,” he told himself, “It's just their car, not them.”
The ice clutching his heart didn't release, though. He saw them falling within feet of the vehicle, and would have landed within the collapsed area. Perhaps they got away before it collapsed, but if so, where were they?
“Sweetie Belle! Applebloom! Scootaloo!” he called.
With a flash of his seal, he summoned Wingnut to search from the air.
If they're hiding, they might see him and figure I'm looking for them, he thought to himself. If they're still- No! Can't think like that. They're resourceful girls.
He was about to turn away when something caught his eye. Lodged between two rocks was a familiar strip of cloth. One he remembered Rarity giving to a little blind filly. The sight made the ice clench ever harder. He began to make his way down to search for their bodies when he heard a loud boom. He turned to see a section of the mountain explode outward. A few seconds later, a silver capsule launched out. A pulse of magic slowed it, before hitting the ground.
Worried it could be dangerous, Midnight rushed down to investigate. As he approached, a door on the side opened and a familiar, if tattered, red ribbon was seen moments before the yellow filly who wore it pulled herself out.
“Applebloom!” Midnight rushed over to the child. He helped her to the ground and looked inside, finding a dazed Sweetie Belle, but... “Where's Scootaloo?”
Applebloom looked to the ground, tears flowing again. She didn't need to speak, he knew from her reaction. He tried to hold back his tears, he really did, but he failed. Instead, he took the two fillies in his forelegs and held them tight as all three mourned.
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The sounds of falling earth reached her ears as the mountain began to quake. Her wings beat furiously, painfully protesting the punishment they were enduring. But still she pushed on, up the near vertical slope. She had to survive for her friends, her mom, and for her big brother. She knew her friends made it. Her gut told her.
She felt the heat before she saw it. She noted that fire looked just like it did with eyes, just more vivid. The flames raced toward her at an alarming pace. She couldn't even see the exit, but the fire was coming fast. She did the only thing she could; she grabbed the metal shelf and placed it between her and the fire, bracing all four hooves against it.
As the fire neared she gritted her teeth and prayed to whoever was listening.
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A rumbling from the mountain drew the stallion and two fillies from their grief. They looked at the towering peak as jets of flame erupted from its surfaces, ejecting debris. One drew their attention more than the others, as a particular piece of orange debris hollered its excitement.
“Yahoo!” the three others stared with gaping jaws as the last Crusader was fired from the mountain like a cannon. She put the blackened metal back beneath her and fluttered her wings to slow herself before slamming into the mountain side with an, “Oof.”
The filly raced down the slope steering with her wings and body. Leaning back, she hit a ramp-like boulder and soared into the air, pulling off a few stunts in her joy to feel the warm, comforting sun again. Seeing her friends and a blue pony-shape covered in red spots that she assumed was Midnight, She pushed herself toward them with her wings. Just before hitting the ground, she was halted mid air in a green aura.
“Hey guys,” she said nonchalantly.
“Scootaloo!” the three shouted in unison as they smothered her in hugs.
“What was you thinkin', ya dodo?” Applebloom's admonishment was softened by the joyful tone in her voice.
“We thought we lost you!” Sweetie cried.
“What happened? What was that explosion? And how did you do that?” Midnight asked through the tears of joy.
“It's kind of a long story, but I can see…kind of,” Scootaloo's answer just brought up more questions.
Sweetie Belle's gasp brought all their attention to her, “Oh my gosh, Scootaloo! You got your cutie mark!”
“No way,” Applebloom cheered, “This is amazin'. We all got our cutie marks together, just like Ah always pictured!”
“What is it?” Scootaloo asked.
“It looks like a silhouette of a lion's head,” Sweetie said, “I guess it's courage? You did face all those monsters so we could get out.”
“Monsters?” Midnight said with worry in his voice.
“What about you girls?” Scoots asked.
“Applebloom's is a marble pillar. It's gotta be strength, because she got it with she ripped a steel security door off its hinges, and mine's a chess pawn-”
“'Cause you're smart,” Applebloom said.
“I'm not that smart...” Sweetie kicked the ground.
“Yeah right!” Scootaloo stomped a hoof in protest, “If it wasn't for your smarts, we never would’ve gotten out. You figured out how to use that... uh, thingy.”
“Okay, hold on a second,” Midnight stopped his little sisters, “What the heck happened down there? Start from the beginning.”
“Well, after we fell, the ground caved in on us. We fell into this cave where-”
Sweetie's story was interrupted by a screeching. The four looked up the mountain to see a familiar monster.
“What is that?” Midnight asked.
“Th-th-that's the monster!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed as she raised her leg and fired a plasma bolt, causing Midnight to start and incinerating the beast. Suddenly, though, the side on the mountain exploded and a tidal wave of evil arthropods poured out of the bowels of the earth.
“We gotta stop 'em or they'll eat everything in the world!” Applebloom shouted.
Midnight's fireballs joined Sweetie’s plasma in trying to stave off the ever growing tide of monsters as he asked, “How dangerous are these things?”
“The scientist that made them said they would consume their food source and reproduce exponentially until there's nothing left. He said they went from one to a couple hundred after eating a dozen ponies.”
A bolt of lightning from Midnight arced through several as he considered the possible implications of these things eating the Everfree. Needless to say it wasn't good.
“You girls get out of here,” he instructed, “I'll hold them off while you go warn the others!”
“No,” Said Scootaloo's voice as she stood beside him, facing the coming hoard, “You can't stop them alone, and if just one of those things make it past you, Equestria's done for.”
Applebloom took her place beside her orange friend, “We ain't gonna leave you here.”
“Besides,” Sweetie said from Midnight's other side, “We don't know how to get back.”
Time seemed to slow for him as he looked from the army of devourers to the three fillies that found a special place in his heart. He had to admit, he was proud of them at this moment.
Sweetie Belle, so smart and wise beyond her years. She was definitely the voice of reason in their little group, even if she was something of a klutz at times.
Applebloom, so strong, both physically and emotionally. She always kept the others going even when she herself wanted to give up. Of course, she was rather bull headed and impulsive, but she always came out alright.
Scootaloo, so brave. The only filly that would throw herself in front of a deadly monster for her friends. Sure, she wasn't always the brightest, but she knew that and learned to trust her friends to help make up for it.
It was then something clicked. He looked back at the charging monsters. They were a fearsome sight with gaping, razor tooth filled maws. Screeching and drooling as they crawled over each other to get to their meal.
Then he looked at the Crusaders. They looked like they had been through hell and back, which wasn't too far off. They were dirty, scratched, and tired, but here they were, ready to fight alongside him. Eleven and twelve year old fillies were ready to give whatever they had to protect what they cherish.
My goddess... How didn't I see it before?
“Alright then, girls,” Midnight steeled himself and faced his enemy, “These things want to eat everything in Equestria? Then we'll stop them right here!” A flash of light forced the others to flinch as a suit of armor appeared on the stallion. “We'll stop them together!”
A white light engulfed the blue alien as he was lifted into the air. The girls watched in awe until tendrils of magic latched onto them, raising them with him.
Sweetie Belle's mind raced as thoughts and ideas flooded her mind. In a flash of light, a cuirass, adorned with an emerald pawn over her heart, materialized.
Applebloom Apple felt her muscles bulge and tense, ready to break something. She was blinded by white light as thick steel appeared on her with an amber stone in the shape of a pillar.
Scootaloo Dash's nerves steeled as she prepared to do whatever it took to protect her friends. Even the intricate magic weaving itself into an armored covering with an amethyst lion's head on the barrel couldn't distract her from her goal.
Midnight felt a power unlike anything he had ever experienced course through him, as he linked with his fellow Elements of Order for the first time. It was a feeling of righteous fury and power, all directed at these unnatural things that only want to destroy. There could be no redemption for that which cannot think.
Their power coalesced into an orb of pure magic above their heads as the beasts neared what they thought would be a meal. As the first dozen or so leaped, the magic erupted. Streams of light, hundreds of them, shot out of the orb, arcing and weaving through the mass of monsters. One by one the spears of light pierced the abominations. Thousands, upon thousands of the manufactured terrors were skewered within seconds, in a brilliant display of power.
The enemy destroyed, the energy spent, the four ponies slowly descended back down to the solid ground.
“I think it came from over here!” a familiar voice called.
“Hey, guys! There they are!”
Midnight looked up at the cyan mare heading their way and smiled.
“Hey... it's mom,” Scootaloo said, tiredly.
“That's great,” Applebloom said, equally exhausted, “Can we go home now?”
“Yeah, Bloom,” Midnight assured the kid, “We're going home now.”