"What?!" Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, the CMC and me all almost said in perfect harmony. The sudden news of Ponyville being attacked by a monster threw us all off guard.
"It just seemed to have appeared out of nowhere! It's been stomping through town and is destroying anything in it's way!" Ditzy Doo confirmed as she pointed towards the center of town.
Without a word, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy bolted toward the chaos, followed by Ditzy Doo and the CMC. It only took me a second to realize I had been left behind. Normally people run AWAY from danger, not toward it. These ponies are crazy. I thought before running after them inorder to catch up.
"Hey......wait up!"
It didn't take us long to catch up to the scene of destruction. A trail of debris stretched from the outside of town and ran clear into the smack dab in the middle. Huge footprints followed the path, and seemed to be going in a straight line. Anything that was in the path was lefted in ruins. Flower gardens, sides of some houses and even a few food stalls where smatched into bits as the monsters trail of destruction continued to grow, bit by bit. And at the end of the trail, standing tall in the middle of town was a huge rock monster. it's whole body was made of rock and stones, as it's form resembled almost that of a human. While it didn't have a mouth to speak of, it did have two eye holes, which were glowing a dark green glow that almost gave it a look of evil. My past knowledge as a D&D player pointed out that this could be a golem, but I wasn't too sure about that. Whatever it was though, it sure looked pissed.
"Put that down ya big old pile of rocks!" A country voice yelled, snapping our attention near the 'golem'. Nearby the monster was Applejack who was fuming as it picked up her apple stall and raised it high over it's head.
"You better put that down right now!" AJ demanded. But the monster just turned it's head toward her, before throwing the stall at her in full force. Applejack barely managed to jump out of the way, before the stall smatched into pieces on the ground were she just was.
"APPLEJACK!" Applebloom screamed, before trying to run to where her sister was. Fluttershy reached out in time to hold her back, keeping her from getting into danger.
"Stay back, Applebloom! It's too dangerous." Fluttershy commanded, as she did her best to hold the filly back.
"But.....but my sister..." Applebloom said between sobs, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
While that was going on, Applejack was already back on her hooves and was glearing up at the monster with a determination in her eyes.
"So, ya want ta play like that, do ya?!" AJ stated before pulling out a lasso from her side. Where did she pull that from? I wondered. She held the rope by her mouth and began to swing it around over her head. Then with a quick flick of her head, she sent the lasso flying, wrapping it around a near by barrel. She then gave the rope a quick snap and sent the barrel flying toward the golem. However, the monster swung it's arm wildly, hitting the barrel and smashing it in on impact. Pickles flew everywhere.
"Aww.... applesause!" AJ cursed in frustration, as the golem turned to face her, and began walking at her with quaking steps.
But before it could reach AJ, a steak of rainbow flew by it, circling around it a few times before stopping above it. There, just out of reach, hovered a pegasus. She was blue, with a rainbow streak colored mane & tail, starring the monster down with her purple colored eyes (well, it looked like a purple color to me). Her whole body stroke a pose of determination, making it obvious that she had attitude.
"It's Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo proclaimed happily, making it clear she held her in high regard. "She'll deal with that stupid monster."
I hope your right Scootaloo. I thought as I gave the filly a quick look, before turning my gaze back to the action.
"You picked the wrong town to mess with ugly!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the golem, her arms folded infront of her. "You better turn around and leave before I put a hurting on you."
The golem had other plans though, as it began waving it's arms around trying to swat Rainbow Dash out of the air. Dash was able to advoid it's blows easily enough, keeping out of reach as she flew around it. She Reminded me of a fly bothering a sweaty person on a hot summer day. While that was going on, Applejack used the distraction from Rainbow dash to throw her lasso around it's neck, pulling it tight. The golem stopped swinging it's arms at Dash and placed it's stone hands around it's neck, trying in vain to rip the lasso off.
"Alright, they got it!" Pinkie cheered as AJ and Dash used the moment to try to tame the monster. AJ used the lasso to hold the golem in place with seer strength, while Dash used her speed to fly around and hit it with each pass. With each hit the golem staggered back, until it fell on one knee to keep from falling backwords. Everyone started cheering in delight as the battle looked to be in the ponies favor, even I couldn't help but look on in awe. I can't believe they're holding their own against a rock monster! I thought in surprise. Even without the Elements of Harmony, these girls are a force to be reckoned with. As the golem's arms fell to the side and it's body began to sag, AJ started walking closer to it while Dash lowered down some. Judging from the looks of it, they planned on tying the monster up and dragging it out of town.
And that's when everything went to hell.
Before anyone could react, the golem shot it's arm out to grab hold of the rope, and wanked it back with all it's strength. Applejack went sailing into the air, before slamming head first into one of the only stalls left intact. Cabbage and wood flew everywhere from the sheer force of the impact.
"APPLEJACK!" Everyone yelled in horror, afraid for their fallen friend. From the small movements she made, it was clear she was still alive, however it was clear she was out of the fight.
"Now you've done it!" Rainbow Dash yelled out before flying at the monster in full force, spinning around and around it in a rainbow streak. Faster and faster she flew, until the rainbow around the golem began to form into a whirlwind. Wind from it was so strong that some loose pieces of debris and veggies began to fly around in the air. All of a sudden, I was hit by a fly-by cabbage.
"Ouch!" I yelped as I held the side of my head.
The golem wasn't empressed by Dash's moves however, and waited for the right moment before throwing it's arm straight out into the whirlwind. The wind and whirlwind dissipated as Rainbow Dash slammed right into the golem's fist, stopping dead in her tracks. She fell to the ground infront of the monster, completely stunned by the blow. But before she could even shake the cobwebs out of her head, the golem raised it's foot high in the air, before bringing it down on top of her with a thunderous boom.
"RAINBOW DASH!" Everyone, including me, screamed in horror. At this point, the fillies were crying for there fallen friends, while Fluttershy and Ditzy Doo wrapped their arms around them. Trying their best to comforting the children, as well as themselves. Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead... I chanted to myself, almost pleading. The whole event had me biting nails... er, hooves. The golem pulled it's foot away to study it's work, a footprint about a foot deep in the ground, with Rainbow Dash embedded in the middle of it. Her soft moans let us know she was still alive, but she too was defeated. Thank god for that! I sighed, glad to know the mare was still breathing.
But my relief was short lived however, as the golem turned it's attention straight at us and began to slowly step toward us. But before anyone could react, Pinkie Pie rushed right for the monster.
"Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy & I both yelled, surprised by our friend's action. Wait, did I just call Pinkie my friend?
Pinkie stopped to meet the golem halfway, before reaching off to the side and pulling a cannon straight out of nowhere. How the hell did she do that?!
"Hey you big meanie!" Pinkie yelled up at the monster, before aiming the cannon right at it. "You leave my friends alone!" She then pulled a cord in the back, firing the cannon and releasing a burst of confetti and streamers right out of it. But a bowling ball was also shot out of the cannon, hitting the golem square in the chest, and almost knocked it on it's ass. It was able to straighten itself up, but the blow had left a serious dent in the middle of it's chest.
"Alright! Way to go Pinkie Pie, keep it up!" I yelled with excitement. Pinkie turned to give me a quick nod, before pulling the cord over and over again. Wave after wave of confetti, streamers and random objects flew out of the cannon, hitting the golem.
As this was going on, a white unicorn ran up to us. She had a well combed purple mane & tail, which curled at the end. She had very pretty blue eyes and...wait a minute, is she wearing makeup?! Anyway, one thing was for sure, she was B-E-A-UTIFUL! If not for the pressing matter at hand, I would have been taken by the cute mare.
"Sweetie Belle!" The white unicorn cried out as she ran to the little filly and embraced her in a warm hug.
"Rarity..." Sweetie Bell replied between sobs as she returned the hug.
"I heard screaming outside, and went to find you as fast as I...." Rarity trailed off as she looked up and noticed the destruction infront of us. "Oh my... what happened?!"
"It's horrible!" Applebloom sobbed as she pointed toward the golem, still being shot at by Pinkie's strange cannon. "That huge rock monster is destroying everything! It... it..."
"It already took out Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and now it's after Pinkie Pie!" Scootaloo exclaimed, fear plan as day on her face.
Rarity released Sweetie Belle from her hold and looked on to the battle. It was at that time that Pinkie's luck ran out.... she was out of ammo.
"Uhhh....can I have a time out?" Pinkie sheepishly asked the golem, but seeing as it was beginning to move toward her, the answer was no.
Rarity quickly turned to face us, with a stern look of determination on her face. "Ditzy Doo, dear, look after the girls. Fluttershy, check on Applejack and Dash." She ordered, before rushing off toward Pinkie and the golem. Fluttershy gave a small whimper, before spreading her wings and flying off toward her injured friends.
"Don't worry girls, everything will be alright." Ditzy Doo reassured the girls as she wrapped her arms around them. The girls said nothing but sniffed as they looked on to the action ahead.
I hope you're right Ditzy. I thought to myself, trying my best not to freak out with worry. I hope your right...
The golem stopped walking toward Pinkie, before reaching down at the ground and slamming it's fist deep into the earth below. Using all it's strength, it pulled out a huge hunk of rock. Holding the boulder in it's hand, it threw it hard like a pitcher with a baseball, straight at Pinkie Pie. She let out a small Eeepp, before cowering in fear, as the the rock raced at her at neckbreacking speeds. But all of a sudden, the boulder stopped just a few feet infront of Pinkie, held in the air by a strange blue aura. Pinkie relaxed as she looked around to find the cause of her rescue and spotted Rarity, her horn glowing the same color as she trotted toward her.
"Rarity!" Pinkie happily proclaimed, thankful to see her friend. The boulder landed on the ground, before transforming into a small pony statue in a flash of light.
"Pinkie, darling, don't you know better then to play catch with roughians like him?" She asked as she walked up to her friend. "They always play too rough."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Pinkie replied. "If Maud was here, she'd give this mean old rock a good spanking."
Before the two could continue talking, however, the golem continued it's attack as it charged the two mares. They ran out of the way, stopping on either side of the monster, before pressing their own attack. While Pinkie Pie zig-zagged around the golem, keeping it distracted, Rarity used her magic to throw loose debris at it's head. While it proved to do nothing more then piss the golem off, it did give Fluttershy a chance to check on her friends. Applejack was easy to wake, looking to only have a few cuts and scraps on her body, but as they walked over to Rainbow Dash it became clear she was favoring a limp on one of her legs. Rainbow Dash didn't wake up when they tried to stir her, however, forcing them to place her on AJ's back before walking away from the fight and over toward us.
"Applejack!" Applebloom cried as she hugged her sister, after she placed Dash on the ground beside her. "Ah was so worried!"
"It's okay, sugarcube. I'm alright." She said as she returned the hug.
"Will she be okay?" Scootaloo asked as she walked over to the unconscious Dash, before looking up to the others with teary, pleading eyes.
"She's pretty banged up, but I think she'll pull through." Fluttershy answered as she gave Dash a quick look over.
"Shoot, ah can't believe how freakin' tough that thing is!" Applejack cursed as she kicked the dirt below her hooves.
"How are we going to stop this thing?" I asked the others, earning a questioning look from them. "I mean, can't you girls just blast it with your harmony beam or something?!"
"No can do partner." AJ answered as she shook her head with a sigh. "With Dash down for the count and Twilight not here, we can't use the power of the elements."
"Great..." I muttered. Why is it that all the powerful deus ex machina powers always have a catch to them?!
Meanwhile, the golem had grew tired of Pinkie Pie & Rarity's actions, taking both it's fists and slamming them into the ground. There was a rumble as the ground shook a little, before rock hands appeared beside both mares, holding them in place. The golem's arms moved and reformed, until they were back to normal as he held the girls both infront of him. He shook them afew times before he chucked them, sending them both sailing into the air. but before they could slam into a nearby house, they were both enveloped in a purple aura. They slowly moved across the air, before landing next to a puprle unicorn. As I got a better look, I saw that she also had wings on her sides and a crown on her head. I didn't have to guess to know who she was.
"Twilight!" Pinkie and Rarity exclaimed as they gave their friend a quick group hug. Once they released their hold, Twilight began walking toward the golem, a mean snarl on her face.
"No one hurts my friends!" She proclaimed, earning the golem's full attention. "This ends now!" Unfolding her wings, she took off to the air, soaring high above the monster. She hovered there few a few seconds as her horn glowed with a bright purple light, before shooting a magical energy beam straight at it. The golem flinched in pain as the beam hit, making it fall to one knee.
Twilight pressed on the attack, flying around the monster as she continued to fire beam after beam at it. Each hit took it's toll, as it's body began to crack in someplaces while chips crumbled off it's sides. The golem tried to fight back, reaching for the nearest chunks of debris and throwing them at Twilight. She avoided them easily enough, swerving and diving in the air before firing more magic beams at him. When a direct hit made one of the golem's arms crumble apart, everyone began to cheer with excitement. Twilight landed near the golem, while it slumped to the ground, using it's knees and one good arm to keep upright. It was clear the battle was almost over. Thank god!
"It's over." Twilight stated as she slowly walked closer to it. As the Golem began to shake violently, a green glow filling it's cracks, she stopped and watched it curiously. "What the...."
Suddenly it's head shot up, it's eyes burning with a green light, before shooting green energy beams out of it's eyes and straight at Twilight. Catching her off guard, the beams hit Twilight with full force, Causing her to scream in pain. The force from the blast caused her to fly back, landing on the ground with a small thud.
"TWILIGHT!!" The girls screamed, as Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and AJ rushed to their fallen friend. They stopped in horror, however, as the golem stood back up, the green energy around it began healing it's wounds. Though it's busted arm remained as a stubble.
"Great, now what are we going to do?" Pinkie asked in frustration, while the others looked between the monster and Twilight. Twilight was still alive, but that hit she took left her out cold.
It was then that the golem turned it's attention towards Ditzy, the kids and me. It's green glowing eyes bore down at us as it began making it's way towards us with thunderous stomps.
"Run!" Applejack yelled over at us, trying to get the girls to run for cover. But fear held them in place, as they stared at the golem in horror while holding each other. As the monster started getting closer, it's eyes never left us. As I looked up in it's eyes, I could swear the thing was staring at me, almost as if.....
And then it hit me, It's after me!
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Why?! Why would it be after me? I'm just a nobody, an average joe. I'm not even a real pony, just.... And then the pieces began to fall into place. Of course! It's not really after me, but the crystal. Wait a minute, where is the crystal anyway?! I mean, it's not like I have any pockets. I thought to myself as I tried to figure out what to do. As I glanced between the oncoming golem and the girls next to me, I felt a fire ignite inside my belly. I can't let this thing hurt the girls! But what am I supposed to do? I'm no hero! If this thing could take out Twilight and the others like they was nothing, then what chance do I have?! With the golem only a moment away from reaching us, the decision was already made out for me.
Oh fuck me!
"Hey you big ass ugly pile of rocks!" I shouted as I dashed out infornt of the thing. "You want me? Come and get me!" I declared before running out of it's reach. Sure enough, the golem's attention was now focused squarely on me. Looks like I was right. Dammit... All I had to do was lead this thing away from the girls and out of the city, giving the others a chance to recover and hopefully save my ass.
The golem had other plans though, as it shot it's arm into the ground and then grabbing me before I had a chance to even dodge the attack. Reforming's it's arm as it pulled me close to it, I tried to struggle free myself from it's grasp but to no avail. As it pulled me infront of it's face to stare at me, I could swear I thought I heard an evil laughter inside my head. Then with a flick of it's arm, it threw me into the wall of a nearby house. I slammed hard against the wall, the force knocking the wind right out of me, before I fell to the ground in pain. My whole body was paralyzed as it throbbed with pain, my senses were shattered. My vision was blurry, my head was spinning, and I thought I heard Pinkie and the other girls hollered my name, but I couldn't tell past the ringing in my ears. It took me a moment to snap out of it and gather my thoughts, but by then the golem was right on top of me.
I looked on in horror as the golem raised it's arm, ready to finish me off. Holy shit, I'm going to die! In the corner of my eyes I saw Ditzy shielding the kids from the carnage about to happen, as tears flowed down her face. To the other side, I saw the other girls waking Twilight in the hopes she could reach me in time, but I doubted it. I just couldn't believe this was going to be how I was going to die, in a magical world of talking ponies! The whole thing made me angry. If someone else had been in my shoes, this world would have been all sunshine and lollipops. But me, I get to be chased, attacked and then killed by fucking monsters! Rage filled my thoughts as the burning in my stomach began to grow and grow.
Fucking monster, in a fucking world of FUCKING PONIES!! I thought, almost seeing red, as I watched helplessly as the golem was about to strike. "DAMMIT!!!!" I screamed as it started to bring it's fist down on me.
Then I felt something inside me snap. Suddenly a blinding flash of light erupted from my body, covering everything in a white light. My senses were gone, my body went numb as light continued to pour from me. My head went fuzzy before everything suddenly went black.