//------------------------------// // And Then There Were Three // Story: An Earthbound Journey // by ShadeJak //------------------------------// “Excuse me, Mister… Sea Serpent?” Twilight asked, approaching the towering creature. “Ooh! I remember you! You’re friends with that unicorn who fixed my mu-stache!” the sea serpent said in a giddy tone. “What can I do for you?” “Well, you see, we kinda need to get across this river to the other side, if it’s not too much trouble,” Twilight explained. “Get us there fast, and you can have this mane spray we brought!” “You know, I probably could use a spare! This luscious pompadour is not easy to maintain in these currents, I'll tell you!” the sea serpent replied, placing his hand to his forehead and leaning back dramatically. “So is that a yes?” Spike asked. “Of course it is, you cuddly little thing, you!” the sea serpent answered, leaning down and placing his head on the shoreline. “You two just climb right on and mind the hair, and ol’ Stevey will ferry you right across!” he said with a grin. Nodding, the unicorn and dragon climbed on, and the sea serpent rose up and looked over at his audience. “I’ll be back in juuuuuust a second, don’t you go anywhere!” he said with a grin, and lowering himself down, the purple beast swam his way across the river. “Well... that went well,” Spike said. “Still, I wish I coulda brought this to Rarity, I know she might want it.” “Don’t worry, Spike. I’m sure she’ll find some way to survive without mane spray for a little while,” Twilight responded, earning a glare from the young dragon. “Obviously you don’t know her like I do,” Spike replied crossly. “Poorly-maintained manes is no laughing matter, sweetheart!” the sea serpent chimed in as he continued swimming. “Tell you what, if you promise to bring that spray to that magnificent unicorn friend of yours as soon as you see her then you can forget about trading it to me, we’ll call this even-steven okay?” “Yeah, sure,” Twilight said with an eyeroll, unable to believe she was still having this conversation. Within moments, the two were brought to the shorelines of the other side of the river, where a large cave awaited them. “Well, I’d best not keep my audience waiting!” The sea serpent said after the two got off his head. “Thanks for your help!” Twilight said. “Oh don’t worry about it! You two have fun!” the sea serpent replied, striking a pose as he slowly descended underwater and swam back towards Canterlot. When the sea serpent had left, Twilight approached the cave entrance and looked over at Spike. “Well, we’d better get going if we want to make it to Hollow Shades,” she explained, floating out the map. “This says the cave leads to the obstacle course, and from there we’ll go through one more passage and then it’s Dr. Whooves’ lab!” “Well then let’s get going!” Spike said, following Twilight as she entered the cave. ~ “Honestly, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked, an exasperated look on her face as the pegasus smirked at the scroll that had just vanished when it touched the magic candle. “Hey, I wanna see if this pizza delivery place is half as reliable about finding ya no matter where you order from!” Rainbow said with a chuckle. “At a time like THIS?! Rarity demanded. “Rarity, we’ve been down here awhile and we’re out of snacks,” Rainbow replied, and in the dim light she saw the annoyed unicorn facehoof and shake her head. ~ Welcome to the Celestia School for Gifted Unicorns Official Obstacle Course! …Lyra Heartstrings “I see what Amethyst was talking about regarding Lyra’s enthusiasm for making this thing,” Twilight said, exchanging a glance with Spike. “I just hope this doesn’t set us back too much.” Entering the next passage, they found a long stepladder leading down. Shaking her head, Twilight gestured for Spike to hold onto her and they immediately teleported to the bottom. “Well, I can see she’s been busy,” Spike remarked; looking at the weird rock maze with random objects placed around them. “Doesn’t look too hard though!” Spike said, marching ahead. “Spike, wait!” Twilight yelled, and before Spike got five steps ahead of her a pie flew out of a wall and smacked him in the face, knocking him off his feet. “See?” “Ughh… didn’t see that coming,” Spike said, wiping the gunk off his face. “…So now what?” “Well, if it’s like the previous ones, it can get a little crazy at times, but nothing too dangerous. We gotta make the right turns or else a trap goes off.” “Well then let’s hope we don’t make any wrong ones again, that pie was kinda stale,” Spike replied. As the two moved on, they were quickly beset by a fork in the odd rock path and a sign awaited them. Have you left your hope behind? Or maybe the right choice will eventually come to you! …Lyra Heartstrings Twilight rolled her eyes and chose the path leading right. Continuing onward, they made several more choices with strange signs and were eventually met with three paths. No need to duck out if you’re left with any more options! …Lyra Heartstrings “What does that even mean?” Twilight asked. “Doesn’t make much sense to me, Twilight.” Spike said. “So where to?” “Well, let’s go center this time. Logically paths take a center route near the end to afford as much free range for the exit,” she said. The moment she stepped ahead, though, quacking was heard, and several ducks suddenly came charging forward. “W-What the?!” she cried out, backing away. The ducks quacked loudly, their eyes flashing green as they flew around them erratically. “Mad ducks?! This doesn’t make ANY sense to me anymore!” Spike protested, covering his head and swatting at the aggressive waterfowl. “Hold on!” Twilight said, jumping over one of the rock boarders and ducking down. The unicorn smirked as the trap was triggered and several pies flew over her, smacking into the ducks and knocking them out of the air. Teleporting back onto the correct path, Twilight smiled at the defeated ducks and gestured for Spike to follow. In a matter of moments, they had reached the end of the path and were greeted by another sign. Thanks for partaking in the Celestia School for Gifted Unicorns Official Obstacle Course! Wait till you see what I have planned next time around with a little help from Minuette's dad! …Lyra Heartstrings “Needs work,” Spike said as the two continued on their way and exited the cave, greeted by the daytime sky. Continuing onward, they passed another cave entrance. “Hey, Twilight… this the way?” Spike asked. Twilight floated out her map and looked it over. “Hmmm… Nope. That leads to a tourist site called the Ever Frozen Circle,” she explained. “Doctor Whooves’ lab is this way!” she said, gesturing up ahead. A few moments later, they came to the top of the hill and down below was a strange building the size of a large cottage. “Well, we better go say hello,” Trotting down the hill followed by her assistant, the unicorn came up to the metal door and gave it a crisp knock with her hoof. The sounds of frantic struggling and angry sounds, and possibly one trip could be heard, and shortly after, the door was suddenly opened by a brown earth pony with a spiky brown mane and an hourglass cutie mark. He wore a collar with a green necktie and looked like he may have had a few too many coffees. “Oh my, Miss Twilight Sparkle! What brings you out here?” the earth pony asked. “Dr. Whooves? Your daughter Minuette told me you’d be here! She said you’d have something that can help get me to Hollow Shades?” Twilight asked. “Oh did she? Heh, I trust she’s at least keeping well with her grades? By the way, it’s just ‘the Doctor’, please and thank you,” the earth pony answered. "As far as I—“ Twilight began when the Doctor’s foreleg wrapped around her and yanked her in. The lab was filled with strange contraptions unlike anything she’d seen before, as well as a bed that was a mess, and a tall blue box of some kind sat in one of the corners. “So I take it she must mean my new car! A far nicer design then those oversized balloons or blimps, enough to fit maybe four ponies even!” the Doctor explained, gesturing to a contraption that appeared to be some sort of hovercraft. “Minuette calls it the Whoovesmobile, which I suppose is as good a name as any!” “I don’t see how it can fly,” Twilight said, looking it over. “Details, details my dear!” Whooves answered. “That’s what the switches are for after all! She can surprise you.” “So, it’s suited for all different modes of travel?” Twilight asked. “Very good, Miss Twilight! I’d call you a genius except I’m in the room,” the earth pony explained. “I’ve been studying the anomalies that have occurred since the explosion in Ponyville and I must say the magical energy levels are off the charts!” he said, rushing over to a desk loaded with scrolls and notes. “Sombra is behind this? Of course he is! His horn survived and with it so did his magic. Ponies’ magic comes from the soul and thus enough of his soul endured that now it would seem he’s making quite the comeback!” he explained, raising his hoof up in triumph. “…You’re staring at me,” he said all of a sudden, cocking an eyebrow as he looked at the unicorn. “How did you…?” Twilight asked, a little put off by the pony’s eccentricities. “That’s not very polite, you know,” Whooves answered, earning a facehoof from the unicorn. “But still, I suppose that's not important is it?” the earth pony asked with a shrug. “What matters is getting to the bottom of what he intends, how he’s doing it, and most importantly where he’s doing this from!” “Obviously,” Twilight answered, and she looked over to her dragon assistant. “Spike? If we’re gonna get to the bottom of all this and find Sombra, the good Doctor here might need some help, so I’d appreciate you stay here with him while I head to Hollow Shades.” “An extra... or in this case actual set of hands would actually be much appreciated!” Whooves said with a grin. “Considering I don’t have any after all! Very well it’s settled, Spike will stay here with me and help me out. You have at and find your friends! Just pull the green lever and you’ll be up-up and away!” he said, gesturing to the ‘Whoovesmobile’. “But Twilight… Rarity’s there!” Spike protested. “I’ll make sure she’s okay, Spike. She’s one of my friends after all I won’t let anything happen to her!” Twilight said with a smile. “If anything does, Twilight,” Spike said, glaring. “I promise she’ll be fine, Spike!” Twilight said as she approached the vehicle she’d been directed to and climbing in. “Ohh, okay, Twilight. Good luck! And don’t forget to give her that mane spray!” Spike insisted. “I won’t, Spike!” Twilight replied with an eyeroll and focused her magic, causing the green lever to go down. The odd vehicle shook a few times, and it slowly rose higher and higher above the ground towards the ceiling before bumping into it. “Oh my! Silly me I forgot to open the sky light, didn’t I?” Whooves said with a chuckle as he pressed a button on his desk and the roof split in half and opened up for Twilight to fly out of. Taking a few breaths as she found herself up in the sky, Twilight pulled out her map and looked at the compass in the middle of the craft’s control board. Turning it northeast, she found a shift that seemed intended for directional movement and sent it forward with her magic, flying towards the Hollow Shades. “Okay, now to find Rainbow and Rarity,” she said, floating out a town map and opening it up. “Locator spell, don’t fail me now!” A tiny glowing point appeared over its cemetery. “Well there we go! Easy enough, now let’s gently move this thing towards them,” she said, pressing a red button labeled for forward thrust with her hoof. ~ “Strawberry!” Rainbow said. “Rice,” Rarity replied. “Casserole!” Rainbow said. “Linguine,” Rarity answered. “Nachos!” Rainbow replied. “Omelet!” Rarity said with a smirk. “Egg salad!” Rainbow answered, grinning. “Angelfood ca—ARRRGH! I can’t play this game when I’m so hungryyyy!” Rarity half-sobbed-half-shouted, stomping her hoof on the dirt floor. “Hey, gotta pass the boredom somehow, Rarity,” Rainbow answered as she stood up. “So, any other ideas?” “None! At this point Rainbow I’m at my wits end! We may as well just hope something drops in from above and saves us!” the unicorn answered. The moment the words left Rarity’s mouth, the ceiling collapsed and a strange craft fell through, landing on the ground between the two ponies and filling the cave with dust. “What in Celestia’s name,” Rarity muttered as a figure rose up from the wreckage. “Hey, girls! Hope you didn’t wait too long!” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. “Ohh… guess that’s not gonna be usable for awhile!” she said, frowning when she saw the ‘Whoovesmobile’ was little more then smashed rubble now. “Twi! You’re here! We can get out!” Rainbow said with a grin, spreading her wings and rising up into the air, only to be knocked out of the sky by a gray blur, causing her to crash back onto the floor. “What the?” she asked, struggling to get whatever had landed on her off of her back. “Your pizza’s here, Dash!” Derpy said with a smile, holding up the warm box. “That’ll be five bits!” ~ “Zomponies?” Twilight asked. “Zomponies,” Rainbow answered, pulling the last pizza slice from her box and tossing it into her mouth, dropping the box in a trash can after. Rarity meanwhile floated her slice in front of herself as she took tiny bites. “We gotta find some way to get to the passage at the back of the cemetery, but it’s too heavily guarded… and coming from a pony as awesome and capable as me that’s saying something.” “Captain Spitfire’s got a whole group fighting them off at a big tent in the middle of town, so maybe we can get some ideas of what to do next if we meet up with her,” Rarity explained. “Also, thank you for the mane spray, Twilight. That was very wonderful of Spikey-wikey to include it in your supplies!” she added, giving her head a turn and letting her restyled mane bounce with her movement. “You’re welcome, Rarity,” Twilight replied. “Well let’s get to the tent and see what they’ve got for us to do.” Before they could go any further, seven zomponies emerged from behind the buildings and stood in their path, and promptly charged at them. “Alright, plenty for all of ya!” Rainbow said, hovering in the air and swinging her forehooves. The zomponies growled and began to advance, and five more emerged from around the corner. “Maybe we should run, there appears to be quite a lot of them...” Rarity muttered, noticing a few flying zomponies approaching, purple goo dripping off their decayed wings. “Under our unstoppable lord we serve… he shall smother all,” one zompony said with a rotted grin before Twilight fired a burst of magic at it, shattering the decaying creature. “Rarity’s right, there’s too many of them! Let’s just hurry to the tent!” The three ponies immediately ran for it, the zomponies in pursuit. After a few confusing twists and turns, they finally found themselves at a clearing, and the zomponies all seemed to stop and back away. “Oh good, we’re here!” Twilight said with a smile as she looked over the large tent. “Hey, Captain Spitfire? Are you there?” No answer. “Uhh, Rainbow? Does it seem a little too quiet here?” Rarity asked. “Yeah, last time we were here it was like a war-zone!” Rainbow replied, staring at the tent with suspicion. “Spitfire? Dear? We’re back,” Rarity said softly. “Hey! I’m glad you made it! Sorry to scare you there, we managed to drive them back! Come on inside for dinner!” s voice that sounded like Spitfire’s said from inside the tent, and the three ponies gave a sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia,” Twilight said. “It’d be nice to have something other then pizza,” Rarity added. As the three drew closer, however, Rainbow suddenly flew in front of them, her forelegs stretched out on either side of herself and blocking her friends from going any further. “Wait! Since when was the tent they were using colored purple?” Rainbow asked. The moment the words left her mouth, a pair of glowing green eyes and a fanged maw appeared in the front of the tent. “I believe I said come on inside for dinner!” the tent said with a laugh.