//------------------------------// // Chapter 35: The Ponyville Push // Story: Harmony and Courage: Running Parallel // by SSJRandomMaster //------------------------------// Chapter 35: The Ponyville Push ----------------- At the edge of the Everfree, as Ponyville began to come under siege, two ponies: a cyan unicorn and a dark gray batpony, did battle. The unicorn's eyes were more luminous than normal, twin pools of burning cyan light. The batpony had remained ground-bound, using his wings as leverage. Azure tried for a left hook, but was parried by his opponent's own hoof and took a blow to the chest. He was able to give a blow of his own in return. Azure's horn flared, and he channeled magic into his hoof for a power punch, only to have his opponent jump back into the air, wings flapping. Azure's hoof slammed downward, leaving a small impact crater in the ground where the batpony had just been. Azure quickly regained his balance, and looked up. "You aren't safe up there, you know..." Azure said, his horn lighting up as he channeled magic into it. "Ha!" The pony let loose a few laser blasts, but found himself surprised when the batpony's wings began to glow and flap rapidly. A blast of cold wind caught the laser blasts, redirecting them back at Azure. Azure grunted, leaping backwards as the lasers impacted where he was standing. "I'm guessing from Tagane you already knew as much as the stuff we do for our cause...' said the batpony, sneering down at Azure. "In my case..." The batpony's wings glowed again, and what looked like fine powder--snow, perhaps--came from the gust that followed. Azure grit his teeth as he crouched down and moved slightly to the left. He felt a pain on the left side of his face, a burning pain like frostbite and a superifical cut combined. Instinctively, the unicorn put his forehoof to the side of his face, and saw a very small blood trail; the attack had opened a small cut on the side of his face. "It's the power over not just wind...but a cold, icy wind. Long as I'm around, you could say he's got a second wind...One that blows in the night." "You can say that again," Azure snapped, his horn lighting up as he leapt up to the hovering batpony, once more abusing the gravity spell as he reached out with a forehoof. ----------------- Within about a minute of her leaving Azure to his fight, Twilight could only try to fight off the encroaching Shadow Ghouls as they advanced on her--due to a rare malfunction of her teleporation spell, she had only managed to teleport herself maybe a few hundred yards ahead of the summons. They seemed more interested in just attacking anypony, though--it was an all-out attack, and the purple mare could only guess who the intended target was. Instinctively, Twilight's first trip had been to Fluttershy, if only to get her to safety. As Fluttershy ran for her life, Twilight distracted herself against the Shadow Ghouls. "Whoever's behind all this is a monster, through and through," said Twilight cynically as she blasted another one of the darker Shadow Ghouls, causing it to dissipate. Fluttershy, meanwhile, did her best to keep away from the monsters. The meek mare had been doing a good job of running, but it wasn't entirely due to her being the best hider. "T-T-T-Twilight," she practically whispered. "What?" Twilight asked, trying to move closer while fending off all attackers she could see. "Don't you think i-it's...s-strange?" Fluttershy asked. "Of course I do," Twilight responded, immediately leaping to a conclusion, "They're attacking in broad daylight...and they're attacking the town too! If we don't stop them--" "N-not that!" Fluttershy seemed to force herself to speak louder. "I-I mean, last time, they...they...knew what they were hunting for. But now...they're just out to tear into...everything..." Twilight had to consider Fluttershy's statement now as it came to her. It was true. Before, from what she understood about the three previous attacks, they were the target; there was no doubt about that. However, this time, it just seemed like they didn't really care if they got them or not. Though a good few would not mind claiming a prize, as Twilight soon found out. As she considered her friend's statement, she had dropped her guard, and a couple of Shadow Ghouls leapt at her. "Twilight!" Fluttershy called out. Twilight turned, and gasped when she saw the onrushing mosnters and braced herself. However, there was no need for her to worry. A rainbow blur surged in from her left, and tackled the two into the ground, destroying them. "Rainbow...!" Twilight gasped, somewhat relieved to see the save. "Hey, what are friends for?" Rainbow asked, "Besides, Az wouldn't let me hear the end of it if something happened to you..." If the situation wasn't so serious, Twilight would have blushed for slightly longer than a couple of seconds. However, her focus shifted back to the situation at hand. "I was going around town to make sure everypony was okay...Fluttershy hasn't been hurt yet..." "Well, you don't gotta worry about me--" Rainbow was promptly accosted by a few flying ghouls; a few quick strikes made short work of them, "It's under control..." Twilight continued to fight the others off, "Azure's fighting off another pony..." "Is it that unicorn from the last time?" asked the hovering pegasus as she plowed into another one, using it as a battering ram to clear a path, "I owe him a beating after what he put us through!" "No...it's a batpony..." Twilight asserted. "He told me to get going, warn everypony, while he stood up to the others...I just wasn't quick enough to get into the town..." "That does sound like him," Rainbow sighed, "Always telling us to butt out whenever he starts fighting..." Fluttershy had remained quiet up until now, "Doesn't Azure need help with those ponies?" "He can take care of himself in that kind of situation," Twilight said, not in the mood to be anything but blunt. "But--last time, didn't he have trouble...?" Fluttershy asked. Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Come to think of it, it was only because of his cousins and me that he had been able to take down the earth pony who had you, Twilight, right?" Twilight forced herself to remember as another ghoul fell to her laser spell. That was true, but hadn't Azure gotten stronger since then, even with all the distractions he'd probably had to put up with? She knew firsthoof he had an unstoppable drive to protect those he cared for, often times taking extreme measures to make sure he could. "...That's right," Twilight said, gritting her teeth. "Warning the townsponies isn't exactly necessary now..." With that in mind, the purple unicorn quickly decided on her course of action, "Alright...Rainbow, think you can protect Fluttershy until the attack dies down?" "What are you gonna do?" Rainbow asked, having just finished disposing of yet another summon. "I'm gonna see if I can get any of the others to come with me to help Azure," Twilight said, "Fluttershy, I'm sorry to say it, but..." "I know," Fluttershy responded simply, "I just hope this is all over soon." Her pacifist nature hadn't given way; even under this duress, so Twilight didn't feel as though her friend had taken offense to the blunt assessment of her usefulness here. "Alright," Rainbow sighed, no doubt sulking internally that she couldn't be a part of the action this time. "I ain't gonna leave you to it forever, though!" Fluttershy gave a disturbed "meep" in response. Twilight soon began to leap about, unconsciously taking into account some of the freegalloping she had just learned to do again. Watching her go, Rainbow paused, completely stunned. "...Now since when could she do that?!" ----------------- Rarity and Spike never made it to Ponyville; they didn't even know where Twilight and Azure were, or if they were still okay. Within a few hundred yards of the city limits, they were cut off by several summons. Left with no choice, both pony and baby dragon decided to fight their way through the enemies, hoping to make it to Ponyville in one piece. Like the last time she fought, the unicorn mare had taken to whatever blunt object she could find to use with her levitation spell. Each time one of the shadow ghouls came close enough, she would smash them to the ground. For his part, Spike surprisingly attempted to make a stand this time around, using claws whenever possible. "Can't believe they're trying this again!" Spike quipped, managing to claw his way through a weakened blue ghoul. "Really, after last time you'd think he'd have learned not to mess with us!" Rarity was too concerned with a completely different matter to address him. "It's not that they're attacking us again that worries me, Spike...What worries me is why they would attack Canterlot?" Both quickly looked up towards the sky. In the far-off distance, they could see Canterlot. The amount of ghouls flying about up there was almost tangible; even though they couldn't see them as much more than specks, it was obvious what they were, given what they knew. However, neither one could really worry. There were hundreds of Royal Guards up there; they could definitely handle the situation. "Nonetheless, we should not worry about it," Rarity said, "We must continue to Ponyville and make sure our friends are safe..." It wasn't too hard to be reminded they were still very much in the midst of their own crisis. Ponyville was likely under attack now, but they didn't know that. Rarity quickly grabbed Spike and put him on her back. It was rather easy to abandon the actual outing when you had more important news to deliver. She was trying to gallop her way back to town, going fast enough to satisfy her need; slow enough to where she could accurately make it back. Snap! Rarity skidded to a halt, the sound echoing around her. She knew that wasn't her, and Spike was on her back. Both dragon and pony looked around. Trees and shrubs filled their vision, but as soon as rustling sounded nearby, Rarity's ears pricked up and she turned to it. The bushes on her left, just behind her, were moving. The tension began to build. Just back away, Rarity...slowly... she thought to herself, taking small steps back from the bush, never taking her eyes off it. Each step was therapuetic, but it could not last. The growl came from the bush, and the head of a beast she had seen before--very wolflike and bluish in color, came forth. Rarity froze, unable to properly contain her fear as the wolfish creature charged. "Hey, get away!" Before Rarity could force herself to move, Spike leapt off her back, claws ready, and dug them deep into the creature's face. It hissed in agony, and began thrashing about trying to shake off the dragon. Rarity couldn't believe it, but she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. The dragon was hardly opaque when it came to certain matters. Spike eventually lost his grip, despite his best efforts, and was flung off into a tree. Dazed from the impact, there was no way he could have prepared himself for the wolf's recovery. Though carrying a few injuries to the face, with one of its eyes destroyed from the dragon's efforsts, the wolf wasn't about to go on; it bared its fangs and charged, aiming to treat the baby dragon like its personal chew toy. The ice broke. "S-Spike!" Rarity called out, snapping off a branch from the above trees and rushing to strike. If she could just get a good enough hit on the wolf, she'd be able to save Spike. But her plan was quickly ruined when a clone of the same creature began to leap down. Rarity barely had enough time to react. If she didn't get the branch in the way-- Thankfully, it didn't end badly. The wolf's fangs bit down on the branch; while it had saved Rarity, it had only opened up another problem. Now Rarity was faced with a choice. If I let go of the branch, it might attack me again... Rarity still didn't quite know what they wanted with them; either that or she forgot what the ponies were there for to begin with. Either way, it wasn't for the purpose of making friends, But if I try to fight it off, Spike...! It wasn't that hard for Rarity to choose--Spike was a friend above all else. She gave the branch the hardest push she began to muster and made a break for Spike location. However, she noticed the Shadow Fang was recovering faster than she anticipated, and it quickly leapt into her path again. Now at a loss as the fresh monster advanced on her, Rarity was forced to remain rooted to the spot, frozen with fear. "What do you monsters want with us?!" she cried out. The wolf pounced forth, but it barely even made it a yard. Something impossibly fast--was it a shaft?--came rushing in from Rarity's left, striking the wolf dead-center. It gave out a terrifying shriek of pain before bursting into smoke. "W-what...?" Rarity asked. Just then, a cloaked figure ran past Rarity, straight towards the other monster. The unicorn couldn't make out what it was, nor could she discern anything other than the cloak's color: paper bag brown. All she could realize was that the figure was advancing on the one pinning down Spike, who, thankfully, hadn't been harmed just yet. The Shadow Fang brought its claw down but didn't get the chance to ream the baby dragon. In a flash, the figure knocked the large ghoul aside, hard. Spike finally managed to open his eyes, his senses regained and able to freely move. The dragon looked up, expecting to see...well, anypony, but he didn't expect to see a familiar cloaked being. The figure let its hood down, revealing an unmistakable striped complexion. How many zebras did Spike know? Just one. "Z-Zecora?" asked Spike. The zebra turned, acknowledging Spike with a slight smile before turning back to the remaining beast. She reached into her cloak, pulling something out; a long wooden shaft, from Spike's point of view and chucking it straight at the wolflike creature. It couldn't dodge in time; like its brother, it too met its end at the projectile. Rarity managed to rouse herself, looking to what had struck the beast that had held her at bay. It was a shaft of wood, but at the end, she could see a sharpened rock at the end, tied on securely with what looked like twine. "When it comes to survival," Zecora said, "Knowing how to create these tools is vital." "Zecora," Rarity said, "You know of what we went through about a month ago, correct?" "The assault on your friends was certainly unjust," Zecora continued, "But to make sure we are safe, reunite, we must..." Spike got to his feet, prompting Rarity to get to his side, like she had wanted to from the start. "Are you hurt?" "No, I'm fine," Spike said, trying desperately to sound tough, but Rarity could still see the lingering fear for his life in his eyes. "I-I've got tough scales!" "Alright, but don't push yourself so hard, Spike..." Rarity reminded him. "Now, let's head back to Ponyville." "The town we live in is also under siege," Zecora remarked, "This will not be something accomplished with ease." With that, the three began to head back to town, resolving to worry about the details later; right now, making sure everypony made it through this assault alright was top priority. ----------------- Applejack had been in this position twice before; at least, twice within a twenty-four hour timespan. She had seen an attack like this on her orchard, but from what she was able to gather, this was happening everywhere. Like before, Big Mac stayed close to the house, guarding Apple Bloom and Granny Smith from danger, while she managed to stay out in the fields. Thankfully, these weren't those upgraded wolves, so Applejack was not having any trouble with them. However, the numbers were a different matter; for every one Applejack defeated, two more showed up to take its place. And, the orange pony was convinced there was a different breed involved in the affair. She had fought these things ever since they started assaulting her family's farm. She leapt out of the way of one, coming down on top of it and crushing it like the insect it was. She did a one-two kick to a darker ghoul, causing it to disperse into coal black steam. The earth pony had managed to hold her own for the most part; she definitely did not need saving from this swarm. That isn't to say she didn't get it. Two ghouls, one blue, one black, immediately approached her flank, and due to her preoccupation with frontal attackers she couldn't quite respond in time. Two magenta flashes quickly hit the ghouls, eliminating them both. Applejack turned, "Twilight!" "Applejack..." Twilight said, "How have you been holding up?" Applejack allowed Twilight to cover her flank as she righted herself, "This is crazy, Twilight, what's goin' on?!" "Those cloaked ponies are at it again," said Twilight, "This time, there's a batpony...Azure's fighting him right now..." "He ain't responsible for the darker ones, right?" Applejack asked, just to make sure; she had heard of the jewel that the earth pony had last time and wanted to be sure. "That's right; I didn't see him using any magic, no sign of it whatsoever. With the earth pony there was some sort of clue other than my magic not working..." Twilight summated. "But I'm not sure if Azure can handle the batpony on his own..." Applejack didn't want to believe it, "Don't tell me ya'll went and forgot Az fights hard for the ponies he cares for!?" "But he didn't beat the earth pony last time without help..." Twilight said, "I know your hooves might be tied here...but, if Azure needs help, I-I don't know if I'll be able to help him alone..." Applejack blinked. She didn't want to believe Azure needed help. She had, for the most part, recovered from his rejection. But like Twilight said, he needed his cousins and Rainbow both to help him pull a win there. So if he needed help... Applejack sighed roughly. "Twilight...I don't know if he needs it or not, but we'd best at least check it out..." "Alright..." Twilight said, "Then, let's break through the ghouls on three...One...Two..." "Three!!" Both called out at once, orange and purple ponies beginning to advance quickly through the crowds of shadow ghouls, Twilight using magic while Applejack used her physical capabilities to her advantage...